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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Indonesia: Explosion at church causes casualties Update: 20 maimed, 2 jacket wallahs toes up
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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4 19:36 Caesar Untervehr5293 [19]
4 13:33 Glusons Sforza5354 [12]
1 13:22 trailing wife [7]
2 12:15 Clem [11]
2 13:51 Angstrom [16]
7 12:28 CrazyFool [9]
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3 16:05 Anomalous Sources [8]
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1 05:25 Unusomp Thrinese9406 [10]
9 23:31 Glose Smiter of the Mongol Horde6930 [11]
5 19:43 Caesar Untervehr5293 [18]
6 12:04 Clem [7]
Page 4: Opinion
2 09:21 M. Murcek [17]
2 18:00 Chris [16]
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6 14:46 Matt [7]
2 13:53 Frank G [8]
5 17:13 Albert Dribble9133 [10]
6 08:45 Mercutio [8]
5 17:25 ruprecht [23]
Page 6: Politix
8 18:21 Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589 [17]
4 20:49 Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589 [22]
1 11:59 JohnQC [12]
4 11:06 Clem [14]
12 18:23 CrazyFool [21]
5 16:42 AlmostAnonymous5839 [15]
4 11:12 Clem [16]
2 10:02 Procopius2k [9]
Afghanistan
US intelligence agencies warn of Taliban ‘takeover’ of Afganistan
[KhaamaPress] US spy and intelligence agencies have warned the Biden administration that the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
could take over most of Afghanistan within two-three years if U.S troops leave before the power-sharing deal. New York Times

...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...

reported.

According to New York Times, such overrun and takeover would potentially allow the al-Qaeda group to rebuild and remerge in the country.

US officials who favor keeping American troops in Afghanistan are Using intelligence reports to argue that troops must remain beyond the May 1st deadline

The report comes as the US-Taliban deal continuous to be under the review of the Biden administration, which also includes American military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

This classified intelligence assessment was prepared last year when former President Trump was in the office.
Did they actually share it with him? Because this makes it sound like they decided to save the sales pitch for a more amenable target.
Earlier, President Joe The Big Guy Biden
...46th president of the U.S. You're a lyin' dog-faced pony soldier...
said in a White House news conference that it would be extremely hard to comply with the May 1st deadline which also requires the withdrawal of 7,000 NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
forces.

On the other hand, Taliban on Friday said that the group will resume attacks on foreign troops if the Doha deal is violated.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/28/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [12 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Those troops will never leave. Permanent war, forever. No victory, because that would end the war.
Posted by: Elmung Hatrack5948 || 03/28/2021 2:14 Comments || Top||

#2  If they can't defeat the Taliban what makes them think they could defeat a real insurrection here?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/28/2021 9:43 Comments || Top||

#3  P2k,
Because they don’t hate the taliban like they hate conservatives.
Posted by: Xyz || 03/28/2021 10:23 Comments || Top||

#4 
We are owed stock in Afganistan llc. and are sticking around for the stock options, dividends, and convertible notes.

Afghanistan is a business transaction.
Posted by: Whomomp Stalin6875 || 03/28/2021 12:44 Comments || Top||

#5  The are propping up the narrative so war as usual can go on and fund the defense industry friends with payback channels around the world so deeply embedded now in our government.
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 03/28/2021 17:46 Comments || Top||

#6  who gives a fuck? let them have it.
Posted by: Chris || 03/28/2021 17:57 Comments || Top||

#7  /\ You got that right.

Posted by: Clem || 03/28/2021 18:58 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
AU troops hand over control of military base to Somali army
[Garowe] The African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) handed over control of the Afgoye military base to the Somali National Army (SNA) as part of plans to ensure the transfer of security responsibility to Somali forces.

Afgoye town was wrested from al-Shabaab
...... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia attempting to metastasize into Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and similar places, all ofwhich have enough problems without them...
’s control in May 2012 in a joint operation of AMISOM and the SNA. The town, which is situated along the main supply route to north, west, and south Somalia, had since been secured by AMISOM’s Ugandan troops.

The base was handed over on Wednesday by the AMISOM Deputy Force Commander in charge of Operations and Plans, Maj. Gen. William Kitsao Shume to the Governor of the Lower Shabelle region, Abdulkadir Mohammed Nur Siidi.

Ugandan troops are deployed in an area of Somalia named Sector 1, which comprises the regions of Banadir and Lower Shabelle.

"This is in line with AMISOM mandate, the Somalia Transition Plan, and other strategic documents that envision handing over priority locations as initial stages towards a handing over of security responsibilities to Somali Security Forces," Shume said.

Since July 2017, six FOBs, including Afgoye, have been handed over to Somali security forces by AMISOM.
Shume appealed to the SNA to do its best to protect the area, secure the neighboring areas and reach out to AMISOM commanders for assistance where necessary.

Shume added that AMISOM would hand over other such areas, referred to as forwarding Operating Bases (FOB), in due course.

Siidi, on his part, welcomed the handover describing the move as a chance for Somali security forces to handle greater tasks.

"If we hold our ground and ensure the base is not breached, then we will be able to take over all the other FOBs in the country. We want to stand on our own feet, and to strengthen the capacity of the government," he said.

Since July 2017, six FOBs, including Afgoye, have been handed over to Somali security forces by AMISOM.

AMISOM troops were first deployed in Somalia in March 2007 and have since helped Somali security forces push the Death Eater group out of much of southern Somalia including most major towns and cities.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/28/2021 00:26 || Comments || Link || [19 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
New Libyan Ministers are Facing Claims of Fraud
[LIBYAREVIEW] On Saturday, the Head of the Administrative Control Authority (ACA) in 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...
, Suleiman al-Shanti, sent an official letter to Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdelhamid Dbaiba, requiring that the ACA be provided with the CVs of the members of the government and its Ministers as well as a copy of their academic qualifications.

This came after the authority received information and reports by many media outlets about the existence of forged certificates by a number of the Government of National Unity’s (GNU) members.

Last Wednesday, the Head of the Libyan Presidential Council (PC), Mohammed Mnifi, and his Deputy, Moussa al-Koni, attended the GNU’s first regular meeting at the Presidency Office in Tripoli. The meeting was chaired by the GNU’s Prime Minister.

In a statement, the PC’s Media Office said that Mnifi, during his speech, stressed the need to unify all Libyan institutions, overcome all problems facing the Libyan people and exert utmost efforts to improve their living conditions to live a decent life.

It added that Mnifi’s keenness to attend the cabinet’s first regular meeting aims to support the GNU in fulfilling its duties to serve the national interests of the Libya people.
Posted by: Fred || 03/28/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Europe
Germany presses on with deportations despite COVID pandemic
[DW] Germany deported more than 750 people to Africa in 2020.
2020 was a tough year for most endeavours. They’ll do more this year, perhaps.
Most African countries are ill-prepared to welcome rejected asylum-seekers, and activists say the coronavirus pandemic could make matters worse.
According to the very clear table at the link, the top ten African countries for deportees from Germany are: Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Cameroon.
German courts have become stricter in determining who can be deported. In December, an administrative court in the southern German state of Baden-Württemberg stopped the deportation of an asylum-seeker from Afghanistan. It ruled that Afghanistan's situation had become so bad because of the pandemic that deported migrants with no families or assets on the ground faced "destitution."

Additionally, some migrants — like Toure — face deportation simply because they do not have documentation to prove who they are. In this pandemic period, getting such official documents can prove especially difficult.

"The pandemic did not deter the authorities from compelling refugees to identify themselves," Osa said. "Refugees were still being sent letters giving them time frames by which they would have to submit their documents, even though the borders were closed and the embassies were not functioning."
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/28/2021 00:45 || Comments || Link || [19 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well, if you hadn't let them in in the first place....
Posted by: Clem || 03/28/2021 11:09 Comments || Top||


A look back: Germany's long military mission in Afghanistan
[DW] The German Parliament has extended the Afghanistan mission by 10 months — likely for the last time. It is the bloodiest deployment of the Bundeswehr in Germany's postwar history. After two decades, witnesses take stock.

Was it worth it? It is a tough question many in Germany are asking, including the families of the 59 German soldiers who bit the dust in Afghanistan. And it's a question more will likely have to ask following a decision by the German parliament to extend the deployment for another 10 months.

Soldiers of the Bundeswehr — Germany's armed forces — were expressly told that their mission was not a combat one, but rather a short intervention aimed only at stabilizing a war-torn, isolated country in which al-Qaeda founder and September 11 attacks criminal mastermind the late Osama bin Laden
...... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones......
was hiding.

But everything turned out very differently: Germany is still taking part in a NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
-led mission to train the Afghan National Defense forces, with up to 1,300 soldiers deployed to Afghanistan until January 2022.

According to the German government, the Afghan intervention had cost German taxpayers around €16.4 billion by the end of 2018. The use of the Bundeswehr alone accounted for €12 billion.

Nearly 20 years after the September 11 attacks, the US desperately wants to end what has become America's longest war — and that puts pressure on Washington's allies, including Germany. Because if the Americans go, all other NATO partners go, too.

SUCCESS AND FAILURE
The fundamentalist Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
regime that had sheltered al-Qaeda in Afghanistan was tossed in December 2001, and bin Laden was killed a decade later — in neighboring Pakistain.

An Islamic republic has been formed, and Afghanistan today has an elected president and an elected parliament. Women are allowed to work and girls can attend school. The rubble desert of Kabul has turned into a modern city, where the internet and smartphones are part of everyday life for many people.

But the conflict in Afghanistan is still one of the bloodiest in the world. According to the United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
, more than 32,000 non-combatants were killed in terrorist attacks, battles and air strikes in the past 10 years alone, and more than 60,000 were maimed.

The Taliban control half of the country again and are pushing their way back to power after direct negotiations with US officials.

More than half of the population lives in dire poverty. The country cannot finance itself without international help, corruption is eating away at the state.

Was it worth it? DW asked two veterans and a military historian for their takes.
Interesting answers from Lieutenant General Carl-Hubertus von Butler (ret’d), Medical Sgt. Dunja Neukam (ret’d), and military historian Sönke Neitzel. (Names of the first two given because some Rantburgers might know, or have heard of, them.

Video: Was Germany's military mission in Afghanistan worth it?
[DW] The first Bundeswehr troops were sent to Afghanistan nearly 20 years ago, on what has turned out to be the bloodiest mission in the modern history of Germany's armed forces. Was it worth it? That's a question that won't go away for those who experienced the mission and survived.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/28/2021 00:26 || Comments || Link || [14 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


The Grand Turk
Turkish Women Protest over Erdogan's Decision to exit Domestic Violence Treaty
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] Several thousand women erupted into the streets in Istanbul on Saturday to demand The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund...
reverses its decision to withdraw from an international treaty against domestic abuse which it once championed.

President His Enormity, 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. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
stunned European allies with last week’s announcement that Turkey was pulling out of the Istanbul Convention, named after the Ottoman Turkish city where it was drafted in 2011.

Turkey was one of the first signatories and women say their safety has been jeopardized by Erdogan’s move against the European treaty.

Amid a heavy police presence, protesters gathered in an Istanbul seafront square waving purple flags and chanting slogans including "Murders of women are political". One placard read, "Protect women, not the perpetrators of violence."

"Withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention is a disaster for millions of women and kiddies living in this country," Amnesia Amnesty International Turkey Director Ece Unver told Rooters, calling for Ankara to reverse its decision.

World Health Organization data shows 38% of women in Turkey are subject to violence from a partner in their lifetime, compared with 25% in Europe.

Estimates of femicide rates in Turkey, for which there are no official figures, have roughly tripled over the last 10 years, according to a monitoring group. So far this year 87 women have been murdered by men or died under suspicious circumstances, it said.

"We will not give up. We will be here until we get our freedom and our convention back. We will not give up on the convention," said student Selin Asarlar Celik.

Conservatives in Erdogan’s AK Party say the convention, which stresses gender equality and forbids discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, undermines family structures and encourages violence.

Officials said this week domestic law would protect Ottoman Turkish women, not foreign treaties.

The protesters concerns were echoed by Ankara’s Western allies, who denounced what they described as a baffling and unwarranted decision which risked undermining the rights of Ottoman Turkish women.


Posted by: Fred || 03/28/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  Piffle. You still have all the rights you need, dears. If your lord and master dares to beat you with a stick wider than his thumb, you can report him to the nearest imam.
Posted by: Mercutio || 03/28/2021 8:37 Comments || Top||


Ruling AKP headquarters employee detained over drug charges
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 03/28/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Sri Lanka
Lebanon's FPM Warns Hariri against Sidelining President
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 03/28/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lebanon Frozen by Political Intransigence as it Hurtles towards Collapse
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 03/28/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Iran and China to sign 25-year economic, strategic cooperation pact Saturday: Tehran
Both are facing population collapse not far in the future, so this should be interesting.
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 03/28/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [12 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Soviet Russia signed a Non-Aggression Treaty with Japan, just saying
Posted by: magpie || 03/28/2021 0:56 Comments || Top||

#2  No one fears the current administration.
Posted by: Tom || 03/28/2021 14:13 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
35[untagged]
5Hezbollah
4Taliban
3Antifa/BLM
3Commies
2Islamic State
2Sublime Porte
1Houthis
1Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
1al-Shabaab (IS-Mozambique)
1Arab Spring
1Devout Moslems
1Fulani Herdsmen (Boko Haram)
1Govt of Iran
1Govt of Syria

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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.
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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2021-03-28
  Indonesia: Explosion at church causes casualties Update: 20 maimed, 2 jacket wallahs toes up
Sat 2021-03-27
  31 firearms, 81 grenades, two grenade launchers, $1.8 MILLION in cannabis seized in London (Canada) bust
Fri 2021-03-26
  Spain police bust suspected Al-Qaeda finance ring
Thu 2021-03-25
  Libya: Gunmen Kill Warfalli in New Sign of Instability
Wed 2021-03-24
  Philippines: 14 Pro-IS Militants Killed in Southern Battles
Tue 2021-03-23
  10 Killed In Shooting At Colorado Supermarket by ISIS sympathizer
Mon 2021-03-22
  Iran threatens US Army base and top general
Sun 2021-03-21
  Miami imam slams normalization with ‘descendants of pigs and apes’
Sat 2021-03-20
  DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: Jihad Is Over, 'Domestic Extremism' Most ‘Lethal and Persistent' Threat to U.S.
Fri 2021-03-19
  Gang Member Accused Of Murdering Police Sergeant While Out On Bond Gets Released On Bond Again
Thu 2021-03-18
  250 Houthis Killed in Marib, Taiz Battles as Yemen Army Makes Advances
Wed 2021-03-17
  ISIS beheading children in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado
Tue 2021-03-16
  Suspects accused of toppling a statue and hitting a cop on head with bottle actually indicted by Portland grand jury
Mon 2021-03-15
  Libyan National Army arrest ISIS commander Mohammed Mailed Mohammed
Sun 2021-03-14
  Yemeni Army Stuns Houthis in Hajjah, Prepares for Taiz Operations
Sat 2021-03-13
  Houthis Reject US Ceasefire Plan in Yemen


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