[KhaamaPress] Colonel Dave Butler, a front man for the U.S. Forces for Afghanistan (USFOR-A) has rejected the Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... claims regarding Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... attack which was carried out against Camp Shorabak last week.
"The Taliban continues to try and turn losses and crimes into imaginary victories by their lies," Colonel Butler said.
He also added "They claim they killed hundreds of coalition forces last week in Helmand. They killed zero. They claim they continue their violence to avenge the deaths of innocents when they are the ones killing the Afghan people."
"I don’t know who they think believes these lies, I do know their energy would be more productive if directed towards seizing a historic opportunity for peace," Colonel Butler said.
This comes as a group of Talibs launched an attack on Camp Shorabak in Helmand last week which according to local officials claimed the lives of more than 20 Afghan soldiers.
The attack was reportedly launched by a group of at least 20 Talibs and jacket wallahs.
[AlAhram] A number of Egyptian rights advocates have called on the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to form an international committee to investigate what they said is Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... 's violation of Libya's illusory sovereignty by supporting armed terrorist organizations in the war-stricken country.
In a statement, the Egyptian delegation charged Qatar with providing support to the terrorist Moslem Brüderbund group in Libya, which it said is a violation of the UN's Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which was adopted in 2006.
The call was made during a meeting held by the Egyptian delegation in Geneva on the sidelines of the 40th session of the UNHRC, which runs till 26 March.
Members of the delegation include Said Abdel-Hafez, representing the Forum for Development and Human Rights Dialogue (Moltaka), and Aida Nour, from the Women and Development Association.
The UN strategy stipulates a commitment by world leaders to non-interference in sovereign countries, respecting their territorial integrity and political independence, and not funding or supporting terrorist and gangs, the statement added.
Abdel-Hafez said that the Egyptian state is confronting since 2013 Death Eater groups that have threatened the stability of the state and its institutions and the fundamental rights of Egyptian citizens.
He added that Egypt has been confronting lies and fabrications from "politicised organizations" regarding the reality of conditions in Egypt.
"I call on the international committee to assume their responsibilities in confronting these militias and their violation of citizens' rights in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen," he said, calling on the community to support the legitmacy of the institutions that confront Death Eater groups.
Nour said that this year's motto for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women should be "stop funding terrorism," asserting that both funding and incitement of terrorism violate UN accords.
She said "terrorism is the most severe form of violence against women."
Wednesday's gathering is among the first in a series of meetings held by the delegation to clarify facts to the international community about the situation in Egypt on the sidelines of the UNHCR session.
[DAWN] The general who leads Algeria’s army responded on Tuesday to protests against the country’s longtime president, darkly evoking the years of bloodshed before the current government took power and the fight against terrorism to portray the demonstrations as dangerous.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah spoke at a military school outside Algiers as hundreds of students marched in the capital to oppose President Abdelaziz Bouteflika ... 10th president-for-life of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term. Maybe it's the fifth.... ’s decision to seek a fifth term.
In his first comments on the protests that started last month, Salah recalled the bleak period in the 1990s when fighting between Islamic gunnies and Algeria’s security forces left 200,000 dead.
"There are parties who wish to bring Algeria back to the years of violence," Salah, one of Bouteflika’s most loyal supporters, said. "A people that defeated terrorism knows how to preserve the stability and security of its nation." He did not mention the president by name during his remarks at the school. The military is widely seen as a silent kingmaker within Algeria’s opaque ruling coterie.
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03/07/2019 00:00 ||
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[Libya Observer] The mayor of Tajoura in eastern Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... Hussein bin Atiyah said he had told the Head of the Presidential Council that "when you advocate for ending violence and hate and for dialogue, Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... is responding by war and more conflicts, which means he doesn't believe in dialogue or civilian state."
Bin Atiyah's remarks came in the meeting for west Libyan municipalities held Tuesday in Tripoli and headed by al-Sirraj, who reiterated that he had told Haftar in the UAE that Libya needs a civilian state building and no military solution will resolve its crisis.
"If al-Sirraj and Haftar monopolized the political solution as the former did with the Presidential Council's decisions, this means war. Libya can only move forward if it adopts February 17 revolutions' constants such as a civilian state." He added.
Al-Sirraj told the western municipalities' representatives on Wednesday that he had agreed with Haftar on agreement based on principles that stress a civilian state, separation of powers and peaceful circulation of powers.
"There's no place for militarization of Libya and there's no place for hate, violence and any disturbances that lead to a civil war in Libya." al-Sirraj added.
He said that such principles were the key points of Abu Dhabi meeting with different parties in order to avoid bloodshed and reach a formula to avoid military escalation.
"We talked about the need to end the transitional phase, uniting state institutions, holding elections and supporting the UN envoy's efforts in Libya." al-Sirraj added.
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03/07/2019 00:00 ||
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[DW] Thousands of pieces of evidence suggesting war criminals were seeking asylum in Germany were left unprocessed according to a report published Thursday in the mass-circulation Bild daily, citing a parliamentary inquiry by the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP).
Between 2014 and the beginning of 2019, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) referred up to 5,000 cases of "crimes under international law" to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the Attorney General. However, only 129 cases were investigated.
An Interior Ministry spokesperson told the newspaper that the "large number of referrals prevented immediate investigation of each case." That was most notable in 2015 and 2016. About 3,800 referrals were made during this period, but only 28 were probed further.
Germany allowed nearly 900,000 irregular migrants to enter the country in 2015 under Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy. Many of them were fleeing war and extreme poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. At the time, Merkel cited the brutal conflict in Syria for her decision.
Since then, the number has significantly dwindled. Last year, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said the figure was far below the 220,000 projected in 2018.
#1
they were to worried about being politically corrct
Posted by: chris ||
03/07/2019 8:02 Comments ||
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#2
How else is a war criminal culture supposed to react?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/07/2019 16:29 Comments ||
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#3
Not too eager to pursue war crimes. If it wasn't for persistent prodding by individuals like Simon Wiesenthal the Germans and Austrians would have given up any WW2 criminal prosecutions as soon it was convenient.
[IsraelTimes] General court rejects Gazoo rulers’ arguments ’in their totality,’ dealing terrorist organization the latest in a series of legal blows.
A European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... court on Wednesday upheld a freeze on Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, funds as it rejected the Paleostinian group’s appeal against its EU listing as a terrorist organization.
The General Court’s ruling amounted to the latest rejection of Hamas’s efforts to be struck from an EU blacklist created in 2001 based on a UN resolution following the 9/11 attacks in the United States.
"In today’s judgment the General Court looks into each of the arguments made by Hamas and rejects them in their totality," the Luxembourg-based court said in a statement.
As a result, "the decision to extend the freezing of Hamas funds is confirmed."
The court upheld an EU 2015 decision to keep Hamas on the blacklist, saying it accepted a British finding that Hamas was still carrying out terror acts between 2011 and 2014.
The court recalled Hamas argued the updated 2015 blacklist was based on errors in "the materiality of the facts" and in assessing the organization’s "terrorist character."
The group also claimed the EU violated the principle of non-interference and infringed the rights of defense, judicial protection and property.
The European Council, which groups the 28 EU member states, has regularly included Hamas on the blacklist, including in 2015.
In December, the General Court, the bloc’s second highest tribunal, dismissed Hamas’ appeal against acts of the European Council adopted between 2010 and 2014 and in 2017.
The case can be appealed before the EU Court of Justice, the bloc’s highest.
The Hamas terror group, which openly seeks Israel’s destruction and has fired thousands of rockets at Israeli cities, has ruled the blockaded Gazoo Strip since 2007 when it ousted the Paleostinian Authority in a bloody coup.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Ottoman Turkish President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey... clarified debate Wednesday about Ankara’s deal with Moscow to buy S-400 Triumf air defense systems, saying his government won’t cancel the deal, despite protests from its ally in Washington.
"This is over," Erdogan said, noting the signatures had already been made on the deal and that the first delivery will be made in July. "We are an independent The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the most dubious NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... ally.... , we are not slaves."
US Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, who heads US European Command, recommended to the US Congress on Tuesday that if Turkey presses ahead with buying the S-400 systems from Russia, delivery to Turkey of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter should be cancelled.
"If they accept the S-400 and establish it within Turkey, there is an issue [...] that has to do with the F-35," the commander told the Senate Armed Service Committee, Sputnik reported.
"It presents a problem to all of our aircraft, but specifically the F-35. My best military advice would be that we don’t then follow through with the F-35, flying it or working with an ally that’s working with Russian systems, particularly air-defense systems, with what I would say is probably one of most advanced technological capabilities."
The Ottoman Turkish president also mused that his government might later consider buying Russia’s top-of-the-line S-500 Prometey (Prometheus) air defense systems at a later date. The S-500 isn’t even fully operational with the Russian Armed Forces yet, but is believed it will be equal in capability to the US Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system once it enters service in 2020.
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03/07/2019 00:00 ||
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[Jpost] US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... said on Wednesday the United States is holding negotiations to try to win the release of US hostages held abroad, but he declined to say in what countries.
Trump made the remark to news hounds at the White House.
[Jpost] President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... signed an executive order on Wednesday that revoked an Obama-era policy requiring U.S. intelligence officials to report civilians deaths in dronezaps outside of active war zones.
President Barack Obama They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them... put the policy into place in 2016 as part of an effort to be more transparent about dronezaps after he had dramatically increased their use against Islamist turbans.
Trump's rescinding of the policy was done with little fanfare. The White House released the text of the executive order that he had signed.
[DAWN] A court on Tuesday extended the physical remand of Maulana Samiul Haq ...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time. Now beyond all cares and wore, courtesty of his jealous secretary... ’s secretary for two more days as police wanted to interrogate him to ascertain the circumstances in which the JUI-S leader was murdered in November last year.
Syed Ahmed Shah was nabbed Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! by the police on Feb 28 on murder charges and produced in the court late last week.
The court granted four days’ physical remand of the suspect during which the Sherlocks could not make any significant progress in the case.
When contacted, Regional Police Officer Ahmed Ishaq Jehangir told Dawn that Mr Shah was arrested after he failed a polygraph test and gave inconsistent statements.
The suspect in his earlier statement had said he locked the main gate of Maulana Sami’s house from outside before he went to a filtration plant. Later, he said he didn’t lock the gate while going out, said a police official close to the investigation.
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03/07/2019 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi on Wednesday said that tensions with India appear to have de-escalated, for which he credited the private diplomacy of the US as well as China and Saudi Arabia, among others.
"There appears to be a de-escalation in tensions [with India] which is a positive development," Qureshi said in a chat with media personnel in Islamabad. "I would especially like to thank US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. By utilising private diplomacy, the US has played a very positive role. I'd also like to mention the efforts of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan and UAE for trying to defuse the situation through diplomacy."
The foreign minister said that as a result of the cooling tensions, it has been decided to send the high commissioner to India back to New Delhi.
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03/07/2019 00:00 ||
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We’ve been trying, but y’all have been playing taqqiya about keeping your jihadi pets.
[DAWN] Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor on Wednesday urged the international community to assist Pakistain in the country's fight against terrorism instead of levelling allegations alone.
Maj Gen Ghafoor, who was being interviewed by CNN when he made that remark, was asked if Pakistain will make "an increased effort" in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack to root out bad boy groups that might "destabilise the situation in [Indian-occupied] Kashmire".
"For sure," the DG ISPR responded. "Anybody who operates from Pakistain [against other countries] is ... we feel that it is not in the interest of Pakistain. Instead of blaming Pakistain, the world should assist Pakistain, facilitate Pakistain in getting rid of such organizations."
He also denied that Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) ‐ the group that claimed the credit for the Feb 14 attack in Indian-occupied Kashmire's Pulwama district ‐ had made any claim about the attack "from within Pakistain".
Posted by: Fred ||
03/07/2019 00:00 ||
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#1
I take that too mean they want money.
Posted by: chris ||
03/07/2019 8:04 Comments ||
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Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) and Business Development, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor
[ALMASDARNEWS] Pakistain claimed that it shot down two Indian warplanes in a dogfight over Kashmire last week, but India said that it lost only one aircraft and had also downed a Pak Air Force (PAF) F-16 fighter jet.
Islamabad captured and later released an Indian pilot as a goodwill gesture, but reports also emerged about the alleged death of the pilot who flew the Pak F-16.
According to a story first reported by Indian news site Firstpost last week and then picked up by multiple Indian media outlets, the pilot, called Shahaz-ud-Din, bailed out of the crashing plane and landed somewhere in the Pakistain-ruled part of Kashmire.
Firstpost alleged, citing London-based lawyer Khalid Umar, that an angry mob mistook Shahaz-ud-Din for an Indian pilot and tried to lynch him; he is said to have later died in hospital because of sustained injuries.
According to Khalid Umar, who claimed to have talked to the pilot’s relatives, Shahaz-ud-Din was a son of retired Pak Air Marshal Wasimuddin.
However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... a further look into this story casts doubt on Umar’s allegations. The Hong-Kong based Asia Times found out that while Wasimuddin did serve in the air force, he did not have a son named Shahaz-ud-Din.
The veteran marshal told the website that he had two sons who had never flown a plane and have never served for the PAF. One of them, Aleem Uddin, is said to be studying in the UK, while the other one, Waqar Uddin, is a telecom employee.
"I have not considered any legal action [against the Indian media]. I actually laughed them off. My sons have been abroad for years. Unfortunately, they have been needlessly dragged into all this," Wasimuddin was quoted as saying.
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03/07/2019 00:00 ||
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[Rudaw] Children suspected of ties with the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) group are not being held by Kurdish Asayish (security) forces and have not been tortured to elicit confessions, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said Wednesday is response to new allegations.
Based on interviews with 29 current and former child detainees, relatives, prison guards, and judicial sources, the report said several of the children had been tortured by security forces, including beatings and electric shocks.
In a statement to Rudaw, Dindar Zebari, the KRG’s Coordinator for International Advocacy, said between 50 and 70 children are being held in reformative facilities managed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs ‐ not by the Asayish or counter-terrorism forces.
Rehabilitation is their goal with the youth, he explained. "We want to bring them back to society and give them special attention," Zebari said in a phone call.
Jo Becker, children’s rights advocacy director for HRW, said that the youth detained in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region are being prosecuted on charges of affiliation with ISIS "regardless of their actual level of involvement with the group" and often tortured to obtain confessions.
The report, ’Everyone Must Confess’: Abuses against Children Suspected of ISIS Affiliation in Iraq,’ alleged the children were denied access to relatives and legal representation, and coerced into admitting ISIS membership even if they had never joined the jihadists.
"This sweeping, punitive approach is not justice, and will create lifelong negative consequences for many of these children," Becker warned.
Zebari denied the allegations. No, no! Certainly not! saying, "They are being given access to lawyers, family visits, and NGOs including UN agencies and the ICRC."
"There are no medical records of torture against them and no NGOs have highlighted cases of torture," he added.
He accused HRW of "politicizing" the issue.
"This report is a contradiction, because Human Rights Watch has been given full access to our facilities. So I’m not sure where these claims came from. I feel they are politicizing the issue," he said.
Becker called on KRG and Iraqi authorities to end the practice of detaining and prosecuting children on the sole accusation of ISIS affiliation, saying the "harsh treatment of children looks more like blind vengeance than justice for ISIS crimes."
"Children involved in armed conflicts are entitled to rehabilitation and reintegration, not torture and prison," she concluded.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/07/2019 00:00 ||
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[Rudaw] Iraq is yet to be granted a new waiver exempting it from complying with US energy sanctions against Iran, Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi revealed Tuesday evening.
The existing 90-day waiver, which allows Iraq to continue importing Iranian energy, will soon expire.
And what will you do when no new waiver magically appears, as if by the will of Allah?
"We received nothing [from the US]," Abdul-Mahdi told his weekly presser.
The US, however, is "practical enough to understand" that Iraq will develop relations with its neighbors, whether The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the most dubious NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... ally.... , Iran, [or] the Kingdom of Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , he added.
Last November, the US granted Iraq and several other countries a 45-day waiver to allow them time to gradually reduce their reliance on Iranian electricity and energy imports.
The US reimposed sanctions on Iran after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal in May.
Iraq was given a second 90-day waiver in December, which is set to expire this month.
"We are trying to have really good relations with all our neighbors. And I think this is in the interest of peace and stability in the region, and in the world," the prime minister said.
"Iran is a neighboring country, is a friendly country."
Abdul-Mahdi spoke with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo by phone. They discussed "bolstering Iraq’s capabilities and its independence," according to a readout from the prime minister’s office on Wednesday.
Washington has repeatedly urged Baghdad to end its energy dependency on Iran.
In their phone call, Abdul-Mahdi and Pompeo focused on the mission of US forces in Iraq, which is to "fight ISIS, train Iraqi forces, and not establish foreign bases, and all based on Iraqi permission," the readout detailed.
There are growing calls in Baghdad for US forces to fully withdraw after US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... said he wanted American troops in Iraq to watch Iran.
The Secretary of State also held a phone call on Tuesday with Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) chief Masoud Barzani. They discussed recent political developments in Iraq.
On Sunday, Iran’s Minister of Energy Reza Ardkanian told state news agency Tasnim that Iran wants to play a bigger role in rebuilding Iraq’s electricity infrastructure.
On February 8, Iran and Iraq inked a deal for Iraq to buy Iranian electricity for another year. Iran exports 1,200 megawatts of electricity to Iraq.
Given that y’all knew the waiver was about to expire, this decision seems unwise. President Trump is no Barack Hussein Obama, after all.
Iraq suffers chronic power shortages. Years of mismanagement, corruption, and old distribution networks have contributed to a defective electricity grid that fueled protests last summer in major cities.
Iraq is planning to capture gas flares from its oil fields in a bid to bolster domestic energy production.
On Wednesday, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani made a televised speech condemning the US sanctions, insisting his government will overcome the pressure.
"No country supported the US in imposing further sanctions on Iran," Rouhani said. "At the Warsaw Summit, they tried to rally the world against Iran."
"The US wants Iran to go back to 40 years ago ... The US should understand Iranians will not succumb," he added.
Sanctions targeting Iran’s oil and finance sectors have devastated the economy and send the currency tumbling.
Abdul-Mahdi’s government has tried to balance relations with the US and Iran.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) ‐ Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi discussed in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo the legal status of U.S.-led coalition forces stationed in Iraq, Xinhua quoted Abdul Mahdi’s office as saying Wednesday.
During the phone conversation, the two sides confirmed "the legal framework for the work of the international coalition forces, including the U.S. forces operating in Iraq," the office said in a statement.
The two sides confirmed that the mission of those troops is to combat ISIS (IS group) and train Iraqi forces, and not to establish foreign military bases on Iraq’s soil, the statement said, adding that all the coalition missions are conducted in cooperation with Iraqi authorities.
The two officials discussed the latest developments of the fight against IS group near the borderline with neighboring Syria, as well as the impacts of the fight on Iraq, the statement said.
They also tackled economic issues and means to support Iraq’s military capabilities and independence, it added.
Over 5,000 U.S. troops have been deployed in Iraq to support the Iraqi forces during the battles against IS Death Eaters.
The troops were part of the U.S.-led international coalition that has also been conducting air raids against IS targets in both Iraq and Syria.
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[IsraelTimes] Shin Bet says al-Aqsa TV presenters in Gazoo conveyed clandestine messages to direct terror in West Bank; IDF bombed channel’s headquarters in November, but it kept broadcasting.
Israel on Wednesday officially designated as a terror organization a Hamas, the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,-run Paleostinian television network accused by the Shin Bet security service of using on-air cues to direct terror attacks and recruit bandidosturbans in the West Bank.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also defense minister, signed a decree proscribing al-Aqsa TV in accordance with Israel’s counter-terror law, his office said in a statement.
Continued on Page 49
[Ynet] According to Arabic-language media, Israeli warning came amid renewed indirect ceasefire talks between the two sides brokered by Egyptian mediators aimed at ending months of escalating tensions
Israel is reportedly warning Paleostinian terror organization Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, that it faces widespread military action if it does not rein in violence along the country's border with the Gazoo Strip, the neighboring coastal enclave that it rules.
The two sides are in the midst of indirect negotiations mediated by Egypt meant to consolidate a ceasefire arrangement after months of escalating tensions between the two sides, the London-based, Arabic-language newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported Wednesday.
According to Leb's al-Akhbar newspaper, Israel said that although the government is willing to amend the terms of the agreement in line with Hamas demands,
*Snicker* Demands.
if the terror group persists with the border violence, a wide-scale military operation in the Strip would be inevitable.
The Israeli warning comes amid an especially close elections campaign in Israel, which sees the issue of security take center stage as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempts to win reelection against a party headed by former military chief Benny Gantz, which appears to be ahead in the polls. Gantz's Blue and White Party is also the political home of fellow former IDF heads Gabi Ashkenazi and Moshe Ya'alon.
The Egyptian delegation‐made up of intelligence officials‐has been mediating a possible ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Hamas for the past few months. The negotiations, however, have stalled due to the continuation of violent Paleostinian "March of Return" protests along the Gazoo border and the start of Israeli election campaigning. In an unusual move, however, the deputy head of Egyptian intelligence also joined the country’s delegation for the latest visit to the coastal enclave.
Not looking terribly effectve there, Egypt. Perhaps y’all ought to reconsider all that unrequited border opening you’ve been doing recently.
The London-based publication added that as a pre-condition for the further transfer of Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... i funds to the Gazoo Strip, Israel is demanding that Hamas cease all violence along the border, including riots near the security fence and the launch of incendiary airborne devices that have decimated Israeli farmland near the border.
In other words, never.
Over the past few days, the IDF struck several Hamas position in Gazoo in response to bombs tied to balloons being launched into Israeli territory.
Hopefully they are only waiting until after the election to bomb more than symbolically...
[CALCALISTECH] In November, Airbnb announced it will be removing "approximately 200 listings" in Jewish settlements in the West Bank from its service.
Following backlash over an announced ban of listings in Israeli settlements, Airbnb highlights the company’s commitment to Israel. "Airbnb has and will continue to have a significant investment in Israel," a company spokesperson said in an email sent to Calcalist Monday. Over the last five years, Airbnb has invested more than $20 million in its activities in Israel, according to the statement.
In November, Airbnb announced it will be removing "approximately 200 listings" in Jewish settlements in the West Bank from its service. The decision was lauded by Secretary-General of the Paleostine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat ...negotiated the Oslo Accords with Israel. He has been chief Paleostinian negotiator since 1995. He is currently negotiating with Israel to establish a de jure Paleostinian state... as an "initial positive step."
Following the announcement, lawsuits against the company were filed in both the U.S. and Israel. On Friday, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Glenn Hegar placed Airbnb on the state’s list of companies which it defines as boycotting Israel.
In the email sent to Calcalist, Airbnb’s spokesperson stated the decision to "not allow hosts to accept reservations in the settlements in the West Bank impacts less than 1% of the listings in the region." The company will remove approximately 200 listings in the West Bank, which account for "less than 0.2%" of the company’s revenue in the region, the spokesperson said.
In contrast, Airbnb removed more than 4,000 listings in the disputed territory of Crimea, the company’s spokesperson noted. In alignment with its new approach to listings in disputed territories, Airbnb will also be removing listings in Georgia’s separatist republic of Abkhazia and breakaway republic South Ossetia, the statement further noted.
In December, Airbnb sent a delegation of senior executives headed by the company’s Head of Global Policy and Public Affairs, Chris Lehane, to Israel following pressure by the Israeli government. The delegation met with Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin. A spokesperson for the ministry told Calcalist in a message that at the end of the meeting, a representative of Airbnb said the company’s policy of removing settlement listings will not be implemented in practice. Airbnb has since denied that this is the case.
Airbnb’s announcement of the planned removal of settlement listings came one day before New York-based Human Rights Watch was set to publish a report outlining the company’s activities in the West Bank. The report lists 139 properties in Israeli settlements on Airbnb’s service.
As of Tuesday, properties in Israeli settlements in the West Bank are still listed on the company’s website.
[IsraelTimes] Israel and Jordan are holding talks in an effort to end the conflict over a contested religious area near Jerusalem’s Golden Gate, according to Hebrew media reports.
The site’s longstanding closure has ignited tensions between Paleostinian worshipers and Israeli police in recent weeks. Worshipers have forced it open and entered on several occasions.
Jordan oversees the Waqf, the religious custodians of the Temple Mount.
Haaretz reports that Jordan has offered for the site be closed for long-term renovations. While Israelis have agreed, they’ve insisted it must first be closed without renovations taking place, as a statement of Israeli authority. This disagreement reportedly led to talks breaking down.
[AlAhram] Israel's navy could take action against Iranian oil smuggling, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, urging world powers to foil any effort by Tehran to evade U.S. sanctions.
The Israeli leader told naval officers that Iran was still resorting to clandestine measures to ship fuel that it first used prior to a 2015 nuclear deal easing Western sanctions on its oil sector.
U.S. President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... last year quit the nuclear deal and reimposed some sanctions, aiming to cut Iran's oil exports to zero.
"Iran is trying to circumvent the sanctions through covert oil smuggling over maritime routes, and to the extent that these attempts widen, the navy will have a more important role in blocking these Iranian actions," Netanyahu said.
"I call on the entire international community to stop Iran's attempts to circumvent the sanctions by sea, and of course, by any (other) means."
It was not clear how Israel would stop such shipping activities or whether it would risk direct confrontation at sea with Iranian vessels. The Israeli navy, whose largest vessels are missile corvettes and a small submarine fleet, is mostly active in the Mediterranean and Red seas.
According to maritime experts, Iranian oil smuggling methods have included changing the names of ships or flag registries, switching off location transponders on ships and conducting ship-to-ship transfers offshore and away from large trade hubs.
There was no immediate response from Tehran.
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[AnNahar] Iran hopes to have its part of a new payments vehicle -- devised to bypass U.S. sanctions -- ready within a fortnight, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday.
"We hope it will be before the end of the Iranian calendar year," Araghchi told news hounds in Vienna, referring to March 20.
He said that Iran now had a "clearer picture" of how the new vehicle, known as INSTEX, would work and that its managing director would visit Tehran for discussions "very soon."
But he added that only when the mechanism was fully operational would Iran be able to assess whether it "can work properly and can produce results, (and) can do payments between Iran and European countries."
Araghchi was in the Austrian capital for a "joint commission" with representatives from China, Russia, Britannia, Germany and La Belle France -- all signatories of the international deal on Iran's nuclear program.
INSTEX is seen as key to European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... efforts to preserve the deal struck in 2015 between world powers and Iran over its nuclear program, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The U.S. was also a signatory but last May President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... withdrew from the deal and in November imposed sweeping new sanctions on Iran.
- REMAINING MEMBERS 'UNITED' -
Araghchi said there was "very strong support" for the deal from all participants at the meeting.
He emphasized that Iran expected INSTEX to work "for all goods and commodities, not only humanitarian goods", but that it could start with humanitarian goods "in order to set the patterns for doing business with Iran".
"Once the patterns are set, then other goods, including sanctioned goods -- and oil of course -- would be added to this mechanism," he added.
"It is late but still a move in the right direction," Araghchi said.
INSTEX was launched at the end of January by Britannia, La Belle France and Germany, who sit on a supervisory board chaired by a UK national. It is registered in Gay Paree.
Russia's ambassador to Vienna's U.N. organizations, Mikhail Ulyanov, who was also at the meeting, told AFP the remaining signatories to the deal were "united in the need to save the JCPOA."
"There are some problems, particularly in the economic field but we are aimed at overcoming them as soon as possible," Ulyanov said.
He said the speed with which INSTEX became fully operational was up to Germany, La Belle France, Britannia and Iran.
But Ulyanov added: "I believe it may take a rather long time, at least a few months; most likely even more."
In February the U.N.'s ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency watchdog said Iran was adhering to the terms of the JCPOA, under which Tehran drastically scaled back its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
Washington has urged European signatories to the JCPOA to follow Trump's example and withdraw, but this has been rejected by the Europeans.
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[AnNahar] In Syria's jihadist-controlled Idlib province, Mudar Darwish and fellow medical students clutched banners and chanted against the closure of their university.
"Our future is being wasted because of unfair decisions against our university," Darwish told the crowd gathered in the northwestern region.
"We won't allow it," said the 28-year-old with a short beard, who has been protesting against the closure of his university in the town of Maaret al-Noman.
Continued on Page 49
[PULSE.NG] Iranian hackers working to penetrate systems, businesses and governments around the world have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, a report said Wednesday.
Researchers for tech giant Microsoft said the attackers stole secrets and wiped data from computer networks after targeting thousands of people at some 200 companies over the past two years, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to an AFP query on the report.
The Journal said Microsoft traced the attacks to Holmium, a group linked to Iran, and that some of the hacking was done for Holmium by another Iranian group known as APT33.
John Lambert, the head of Microsoft's Threat Intelligence Center, told the newspaper the attacks were "massively destabilizing events."
The report said the hackers notably targeted oil-and-gas companies, heavy-machinery manufacturers and international conglomerates in Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , Germany, Britannia, India and the United States.
In 2017, the security firm FireEye blamed APT33 for destructive malware that targeted organizations in the Middle East and elsewhere.
The news comes with Iran, according to security experts, seeking to step up its cyber capabilities amid increasing efforts by the United States to isolate the Islamic regime.
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
Bouteflika
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey...
the 
Mehmood 
[AnNahar] Iran hopes to have its part of a new payments vehicle -- devised to bypass U.S. sanctions -- ready within a fortnight, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday.
[AnNahar] In Syria's jihadist-controlled Idlib province, Mudar Darwish and fellow medical students clutched banners and chanted against the closure of their university.
[PULSE.NG] Iranian hackers working to penetrate systems, businesses and governments around the world have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, a report said Wednesday.
