The public will be able to read daily online transcripts of testimony during next month's trial of five suspected terrorists accused of plotting to kill soldiers at Fort Dix.
Yet defense lawyers yesterday could not challenge details in a classified affidavit that is hands-off to them, even though it had been used to obtain wiretap evidence against their clients. The wiretap was obtained under the controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), in the area's first test of the recently extended law.
The conundrum of trying to be open and secret at the same time played out before U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler in federal court in Camden, where he denied numerous motions during a nearly four-hour hearing. "It's very very frustrating," said attorney Rocco Cipparone, who represents Mohamad Schnewer, 23, the lead defendant, after the hearing. "We're unbelievably hampered to challenge an affidavit we're not allowed to see . . . We have to make arguments blind."
Continued on Page 49
#2
"It's very very frustratin'," said attorney Rocco Cipparone,
heh, I'd worry if my attorney was named Rocco
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/02/2008 10:16 Comments ||
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#3
This is sort of a win-win for the terrs, absent secrecy.
If they succeed, they win.
If they get caught ahead of time, their attorneys can demand classified information and send it to the terrs' bosses.
Got to have secrecy.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
08/02/2008 10:26 Comments ||
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#4
Prediction: Rocco's opening remark will include 'yutes'.
#5
If there's enough evidence to try 'em, there's enough evidence to return them to their homeland. I'd suggest applying a bullet to both knees before releasing them to the tender mercies of their nation's security forces.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/02/2008 15:11 Comments ||
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NEW DELHI: The government has decided to ban all companies from Dubai, Hong Kong, China and Pakistan from investing in port infrastructure projects in the country. Consequently, the ports and shipping ministry will reopen bids for at least 10 port projects.
Although FDI proposals from these countries have been rejected earlier on a case-to-case basis, the government is now introducing a blanket ban on companies from these countries at the bidding stage itself. The country-specific ban will be introduced as part of the international bidding document. The move will impact investment plans of major port development companies like DP World and Hutchison in India.
Based on security threats to Indian naval bases, private players from Dubai, China, Hong Kong and Pakistan will no longer be permitted to invest in over 250 ports being developed on a public-private-partnership model in the country. According to government sources, this will be applicable for all facilities, including cargo handling, ground handling and other services, apart from infrastructure development. A joint decision to this effect has been taken by the ministries of defence, home affairs and shipping and department of industrial policy and promotion.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john frum ||
08/02/2008 15:14 ||
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#1
Well, well, well, that just leaves little ol' us.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency is often portrayed as a rogue operator whose agents pursue their own agendas. In fact, the ISI, as it's known, is part of the Pakistani military, headed by a senior Army general and subject to the military chain of command.
"It's a very disciplined organization, but with a very large freedom of action. When they get a policy directive, they have certain room for maneuver, keeping the interests of the state in view," said Shujaat Ali Khan , a retired general who used to head the internal wing of the ISI, which has functions of the U.S. CIA, the FBI and other agencies.
Although it nominally reports to the prime minister, the ISI answers to the Army chief, said Khan. Pakistan's Army needs to serve the U.S.-- which provides it with billions of dollars of military aid, not including covert assistance that goes directly to the ISI-- but it has contradictory interests, too, and they include supporting the Taliban and other militant Islamic groups that are hostile to the U.S.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john frum ||
08/02/2008 12:37 ||
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#1
A McClatchy reporter actually got it mostly right, perhaps because he's writing about those who hate and fear the U.S. I imagine he got much of his information drinking scotch with the mostly secular officer corps.
#4
We still need to get supplies to Afghanistan. That means a port to unload them from, a highway or railway to carry them to their end destination, and return to the port for more. Pakistan has nominally kept the route clear for us, but that will probably change, especially if they feel we are being successful in Afghanistan. At that point, Pakistan has to go. We can't do it alone - we'll need India's help. That's one reason GWB has been working very hard to develop close ties to India. The MSM and the left know this, which is one reason the Democrats keep trying to throw monkey wrenches in the deal.
Whenever one political party becomes so engrossed in hatred of a member of the other that the legitimate needs of the government take second place, that party needs to be crushed and eliminated. They are part of the problem, not part of any solution, helping our enemies more than they are the people of the United States. Before PC, that was called "treason".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/02/2008 15:17 Comments ||
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#5
Simplify the headline: "ISI is state-sponsored terror: Question is, What to Do"
Terrorize them back. They are much easier targets for us than we are for them.
Posted by: ed ||
08/02/2008 15:53 Comments ||
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#6
OP, we and the Euros need to make the Caspian route the primary supply line (with Russian and 'Stans as backup). Georgia and Azerbaijan are already allies and the Turkmens can be now that the Turkembashi nutcase is dead. Equipment will require a boat trip on the Caspian sea.
We can also help those struggling economies by sourcing bulky food and materials from them. The Azeris and Turkmens are rich in gas and oil and the Russians pay the Turkmens a pittance for it. Best of all, on average, the supply line will be shorter since the bulk is fuel. And we won't have to worry about blown up fuel trucks.
As long as the Pakis control the supply line they will never give up the Afghan jihad. The Pakis depend on the highly profitable moneys it makes to keep their economy from collapsing.
Posted by: ed ||
08/02/2008 16:12 Comments ||
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#7
Mort Kondrake on Fox just said there's a CIA info dump coming this week with proof the ISI was actively involved in the Benazir Bhutto assassination.
Should be interesting. Hardball (not the Chrissy Matthews kind) usually is.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/02/2008 18:27 Comments ||
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#8
The Pakistani Army is like a woman with multiple lovers
Too many lovers and too much cash changing hands and you start looking like a ho.
#9
"Whenever one political party becomes so engrossed in hatred of a member of the other that the legitimate needs of the government take second place, that party needs to be crushed and eliminated."
They're call "DemoncRats" for a reason, OP. ;-p
And I agree it is treason....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/02/2008 18:55 Comments ||
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#10
"Like a woman with multiple lovers..." And all the scabrous diseases that come with that lifestyle...
ISLAMABAD (Agencies) - Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sherry Rehman has said that she was quoted out of context by a western wire service (AP).
Sherry was quoted by the news agency as saying: "Years of backing an anti-Soviet jihad has left its mark. "There are probably still individuals within the ISI who are ideologically sympathetic to the Taliban and act on their own in ways that are not in convergence with the policies and interests of the government. We need to identify these people and weed them out."
In a statement issued here on Friday, she asserted that during Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and resultant Afghan Jehad days a few pro Jehad elements might have found their way in but with the change in Afghan policy these elements were firmly rooted out.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john frum ||
08/02/2008 12:26 ||
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#1
Sorry I don't believe Sherry Rehman.
She is just repeating what's on the paper before her.
The Caliphate elements within the ISI will never step down voluntarily because they are on a mission from Allah.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/02/2008 13:28 Comments ||
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#2
You're prolly right, it would take a "Night of the Long Knives" to clean that nest of vipers out.
Pakistan will not be allowed to become a colony of the United States and President Pervez Musharraf's shadow is going to vanish soon from the country's horizon, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif said on Friday. Nawaz was talking to PML-N Lahore Senior Vice President Mirza Muhammad Javed. He said the country was facing the worst crisis of its history. "We need co-operation from the people at this juncture. The nation had showered love on us and we would honour it," he pledged. Nawaz said the flour crisis had been overcome and power shortage and inflation would soon be controlled. "We cannot be blamed for the prevailing price hike as the conspiracies of the previous government have sparked inflation," Nawaz said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
You'll become a parking lot if you don't get out of the terrorism aiding business.
#6
Pakistan will not be allowed to become a colony of the United States
Unlike Cuba, the Phillipines, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Cambodia, Germany, France, Austria, Italy, Morocco, Libya, England, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Nope.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/02/2008 11:12 Comments ||
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#7
Don't flatter yourself, Nawie baby. Hate to break it to you, but your country doesn't have "colony" potential. You need to be able to produce something valuable to be a colony.
But on the other hand, you might be of service as a toxic waste dump. Looks like your country has extensive experience in relevant areas for that line of work.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
08/02/2008 12:16 Comments ||
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#8
Pakistan will not be allowed to become a colony of the United States
#9
I don't believe it's Americans who are moving into the fancy new neighborhoods around Peshawar, Mr. Sharif. No doubt they will provide plenty of employment for your sons and daughters.
Swat-based Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah is not interested in implementation of Shariah in Malakand division and Swat valley, NWFP Law Minister Barrister Arshad Abdullah said on Friday. Talking to Daily Times, the provincial law minister said that Fazlullah did not respond when the NWFP government sought his proposals for introduction of Islamic system in Malakand and Swat. The minister said that the provincial government had been asking the rebel cleric for one and a half months for his suggestions for implementation of Shariah in the region without success. The law minister said on one hand Fazlullah was demanding Islamic system in the region and on the other he was "keeping himself out of the matter".
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Of course, our muslim brothers can take or leave sharia, as they please.
Lal Masjid deputy chief cleric on Friday threatened that they would take up the task of reconstruction of Jamia Hafsa if the government did not do it.
Amir Siddique, the mosque's deputy chief cleric, issued this threat while speaking to around 200 seminary students who gathered outside the mosque to hold a protest.
The students shouted slogans against the US and President Pervez Musharraf. The police ringed the venue and the protest broke up peacefully. "The government needs to reconstruct Jamia Hafsa and reopen Jamia Faridai immediately otherwise we will do it on our own," said Siddique.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Ambassador of Iran to Pakistan Masha Allah Shakiri called on Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Friday. The Iranian ambassador and the PPP co-chairman discussed issues of mutual interest, including the energy security issue. A press release issued by Zardari House said that the Iranian ambassador invited Zardari to visit Iran. The ambassador condoled the death of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. He said, "The vacuum created by Benazir's assassination was felt not only in Pakistan but also in Iran." He said that Iran wanted political stability in Pakistan. During the meeting, Zardari was assisted by Pakistan's ambassador-designate to Iran MB Abbasi, member of the National Assembly Fauzia Habib and Rizwan Qureshi, while Iranian embassy's political counsellor assisted the Iranian ambassador.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Pakistan has handed over evidence of India's involvement in Tribal Areas to the United States, Aaj TV reported on Friday. The channel quoted diplomatic sources as saying that the security forces had also arrested Indian nationals during operation in North Waziristan. They said that Indian consulates in Afghanistan were involved in anti-Pakistan activities, adding that Pakistan had also sent evidence and images of India's anti-Pakistan training camps in Afghanistan to the US.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Ah, so their bombing of the Indian embassy in Afghanistan was justified. I totally understand now! OK Pakistan, it's cool.
#2
The evidence was kept hermetically sealed in a old sauerkraut jar buried under the back porch of ISI headquarters since 1965, just for such an occasion.
Pakistan on Friday angrily rejected a report that its powerful spy service helped plan the deadly July 7 attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
American intelligence agencies have concluded that members of Pakistan's spy agency, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, helped plan the bombing, according to United States officials, The New York Times reported in Friday's editions.
"The foreign newspapers keep writing such things against ISI, and we reject these allegations."
"The government has already stated that there are no links or evidence of I.S.I. involvement in the Kabul bombing," Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's Information Minister, said.
A foreign ministry spokesperson, Muhammad Sadiq, was quoted by The Associated Press as describing the report as "total rubbish" and "baseless."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Jammu and Kashmir, India: Jammu has been burning for over a month now. As the bandh in the city entered its ninth day on Friday, hundreds of protesters laid siege to the airport here, leaving NC patron Farooq Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti stranded.
I think the Hindus are just fed up
Its clear that the agitation has the support of all sections of society. The traders, for instance, are supporting the bandh, despite having suffered losses to the tune of Rs 3,500 crore in one month. Chamber of Commerce president Ram Sahai alleged that the state Government collects 70 per cent of its revenue from Jammu, but looks towards Kashmir when it comes to developmental work.
A Muslim majority that lives off the tax revenue from the Hindu minority? Just shocking.
The police, on the other hand, are finding it difficult to control the situation. Though SSP, Jammu, S D Singh Jamwal, said they were trying their best to curb the agitation, another senior officer, on condition of anonymity, said "the more we try to check it, the more it gets intensified". "What can the police do when such a large number of people are involved," he added .
With government offices non-functional due to absent staff, commuter services off the roads, banks and educational institutions closed, normal life has been thrown out of gear. However, despite facing numerous hardships like scarcity of essential commodities, the agitators seem to be in no mood to stop without arriving at a solution to the Amarnath land row. Many claim this is the only way to give vent to their ire at being discriminated against by those who ruled from the Valley over the past 60 years.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john frum ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Our own govt. should take notice of what people do when they have had enough.
PESHAWAR: Ittehad Ulema-e-Afghanistan, an organisation of Afghan refugee religious scholars, has urged the US to declare its failure in Afghanistan and immediately withdraw NATO forces from the country, saying that the people of Afghanistan are able to reconstruct their homeland.
They said from the safety of their lair in Peshawar ...
According to a pamphlet issued to press on Friday, the Afghan ulema led by Abdullah made three demands from President Bush.
The first demand is to announce US failure in Afghanistan; the second is to withdraw US and allied forces from Afghanistan and the third is to compensate the Afghan government for killing of thousands of people and damaging their houses and property. "Let the Afghans be free and give them an opportunity to rebuild their country," the Ittehad Ulema-e-Afghanistan said, adding that after US forces' arrival and attacks in Afghanistan, the situation became from bad to worse.
#5
Hey, little a$$holes, you haven't SEEN us get mad yet. Ask some of the survivors of our war against the Germans and the Japanese. Would you like Peshawar to be rendered "inoperative"? We can now do that in a single night, using nothing but bombers. Just keep pushing buttons - one of these days you'll push the wrong one, and cease to exist.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/02/2008 15:37 Comments ||
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The NWFP government has decided to continue the military operation in Swat until all militants are eliminated from the area, Geo News reported on Friday. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by NWFP Governor Owais Ghani and attended by NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti and Corps Commander Lt Gen Masood Aslam.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Hameed Gul on Friday called the agency as the most disciplined intelligence organisation in the world. In an interview with the Voice of America (VOA), he said that ISI was not involved in any policy against the state, adding that it was all propaganda against the institution.
That's my opinion, too. ISI does what it's told to do by the oligarchy. That doesn't mean it's not supporting and training the Taliban. Quite the opposite, in fact.
The responsibility of internal political intelligence was assigned to the ISI during Zulfikar Bhutto's regime, and was part of the agency's charter, he added. Gul said Pakistani intelligence was helping US agencies and as a result more than 750 militants had been arrested and several others killed.
That's 107 hard boyz a year for the past seven years, or about nine a month from all organizational levels -- something like two a week. Given the target-rich environment in a country where you can't chuck a rock without it bouncing off a turban, it's a pretty piss poor record when you think about it.
The US, he said, was expecting the same role from ISI that it played during the Afghan-Russia war but the Afghan are against the US now.
This article starring:
Inter-Services Intelligence
Hameed Gul
Inter-Services Intelligence
Zulfikar Bhutto
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
One can only wish the WORST for the ISI creeps.
#4
I could expand Operation Lemony Snickett to the Paks. They could have a whole series of unfortunate incidents. Hell, given the Paks no one would be able to say that it wasn't just the usual state of affairs.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2008 0:45 Comments ||
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#5
Gul has expressed admiration for bin Laden, and has never ceased support for the Taleban. A moral arbiter for all ages.
#9
thats a very serious allegation, that the ISI is not rogue at all. Of course its complicated if, like me, you dont see the oligarchy as quite homogeneous - if you see the PPP leadership as different from both PML-N and PML-Q and the military. Im not even sure that Nawaz is quite as enthusiastic about the Taliban as Gul is.
BAGHDAD: The sign is a small but significant indication that the security situation is improving in Iraq. It reads: 'Rasha's Salon for Women'. So far, business is buzzing at the four-month-old salon in the heart of the al-Salihiya district, considered one of the most secure neighbourhoods in the capital.
"My dream was to open a famous hairdressing salon," said owner Rasha Amin, 28. "Now, I am fulfilling my dream." It's a dream that might not have been possible as recently as earlier this year. Militants who view salons as anti-Islamic have threatened and killed hairstylists since the US invasion in 2003.
Just eight months ago, a hairdresser in the northern city of Mosul was murdered. Salons have been blown up. Many hair stylists left the country altogether. But with security in Baghdad improving, Amin was able to convince her father that it was safe -- both physically and financially -- to open the salon.
Continued on Page 49
Iraq has nearly doubled its police force to nearly 300,000 officers.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry under Jawad Bolani said that more than 200,000 police officers were hired since 2006. The ministry said police have taken security responsibility in 10 provinces.
"These steps have not come without great sacrifice," Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf, the ministry's operations director, said. "We have had 10,000 police officers killed or injured trying to bring peace to our communities."
Continued on Page 49
#1
They just beat out NYC in terms of cops per capita. NYC has 40,000 cops and a population of 8m. That works out to 1 cop every 200 people. Iraq has a population of 30m and 300,000 cops. That works out to 1 cop every 100 people. I am gonna guess that crime in Iraq is about to take a steep plunge.
(VOI) -- Thousands of Sadrists on Friday staged a demonstration in Baghdad condemning the long-term security agreement to be signed by Iraq and the U.S., said a source from al-Sadr's office in Baghdad. "Around 5,000 Sadrists demonstrated today after the Friday prayers headed by Sheikh Asaad al-Nasseri, who demanded the government to reject the agreement, even if it would be a friendship agreement," the source told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI). "The demonstration occurred at the prayers' location near al-Sadr's office, Russafa (eastern side) of Baghdad," he said.
On Thursday, Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr called on the Iraqi government to avoid signing a long-term security agreement with the United States, pledging "political and popular support" if the government does not sign the deal. "The Iraqi people must rally their ranks to stand up against this agreement through political and peaceful means," Sadr said in a statement released by his office and received by VOI.
"The principle of resistance is a legitimate one. However, arms should not be in the hands of anyone," Sadr said, stressing the need to have "arms exclusively in the hands of the resistance".
The Iraqi government was supposed to sign a long-term security agreement with the United States by the end of July to organize the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq in addition to enhancing political, military and economic relations, but the plans were met by objections in government, political and popular circles. "The principle of resistance is a legitimate one. However, arms should not be in the hands of anyone," Sadr said, stressing the need to have "arms exclusively in the hands of the resistance". The Shiite leader also refused the targeting of civilians under any circumstances, according to the statement.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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(VOI) - An official from anti-U.S cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's office said his group loyalists resumed holding Friday prayer ceremonies in central Basra after three months ban imposed following a major crackdown in the southern city. "A deal has been struck between the Iraqi government and al-Sadr office in Basra to hold Friday prayer ceremonies without harassment or intervention of security forces", an offical from al-Sadr group in Basra, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq-Voices of Iraq(VOI).
The official noted "faithful in large numbers flowed into the prayers place", adding "Iraqi troops provided security faithful". The Mahdi Army, the armed wing of Sadr's movement, clashed with Iraqi security forces in Basra after PM Nouri al-Maliki announced a crackdown dubbed as Saulat al-Fursan(Knights' Assault) late March which extended to major southern provinces and held on along in April and May in the Shiite bastion of Sadr City in Baghdad, until a truce was signed on May 10.
Iraqi forces backed by British troops banned holding Friday prayers for al-Sadr loyalists in an open place- which was a sport centre before 2003- in al-Tuweisa district, central Basra. The Iraqi government said the measures were not aimed at al-Sadr movement, but it came in an implementation to a decree to vacate state properties sqautted by political parties and religious movements.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
Mahdi Army
Muqtada al-Sadr
Mahdi Army
Nouri al-Maliki
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Transport minister Mofaz, who leads Israel in the regular strategic dialogue with the United States, raised strong concerns over Washingtons direct talks with Iran at a meeting of the forum and encounters with Vice President Dick Cheney and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice on July 31.
Mofaz, one of the leading contenders to succeed Ehud Olmert as prime minister, said All options against Iran should not only be on the table, but prepared. And the most important thing is not to rely on people who gave us "nation building" in lieu of anti-jihad
DEBKAfiles Exclusive Middle East sources reveal that not only has prime minister Ehud Olmerts chief of staff and lead negotiator with Syria, Yoram Turbowicz, decided to resign, but Syrian foreign minister Walid Mualem, the leading proponent of talks with Israel in Damascus, is also on his way out.
Turkey, envisaging the breakdown of its initiative, has hared off in a new direction, a bid to mediate between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas. Ok, if true (Debka etc...)
#2
For some reason I can see BH Obama placing American troops (a brigade?) on the Golan Heights as part of a "peace" agreement. Of course the ROA would be so restrictive that they would not be able to protect themselves and they would turn into targets.
Ma'an - The continuing arrests in both the West Bank and Gaza require no just denunciation but also direct action and public events to put an and to the practices, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said in a press statement released on Friday.
PFLP as the voice of sweet reason. What's the world coming to?
They said that the actions on both sides, "violated the red lines of public freedoms."
The time for simply condemning the detentions, they said, has passed, and it was now time to take to the streets in protest at the political arrests that have escalated since Hamas began arresting Fatah affiliates after blaming the movement for the explosions in Gaza City on 25 July.
De facto government in Gaza will file a suit against Ma'an News Agency for what they describe as "mistakes" that the agency made when reporting on crimes committed by security forces in Gaza. Dr Hassan Abu Hasheesh,
His name is Hassan Abu Hasheesh? Like, wow, man. Far freakin' out.
head of the media office of the de facto government said on Friday that where Ma'an dealt "with the violations and crimes committed by the security forces in the West Bank as a campaign to restore order...it deals with the performance of the security forces in the Gaza Strip as clear violations of law."
Abu Hasheesh elaborated on his complaints during a meeting of media representatives, saying that the de facto government's media office has "addressed Ma'an Agency more than once" regarding biased coverage. He said that "the agency expressed its apology and took out the fabricated news report or article [when asked] But repeated has the same mistakes" several times since. This, he said, is why the de facto government moved the whole issue to court. "There is no other way to intervene," he concluded.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Friday said the resistance is strictly "the army and the state." Geagea said the "military parade we witnessed today at the military academy on Army Day represents us. The army is the resistance and the state is the resistance."
He was apparently rejecting the concept that Hizbullah's armed wing, the Islamic Resistance, represents Lebanon's resisting body. "Real salvation goes through the creation of state institutions, topped by the military establishment," Geagea concluded. The "solution is for the Lebanese army and security forces to shoulder their responsibilities in defending the nations and safeguarding security of citizens," Geagea concluded.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
They should incorporate Hez into the Army, then slowly disassemble them over the next couple of years. You know, sneaky shit, like arabs are good at.
Democratic Gathering leader Walid Jumblat said factions of the March 14 majority alliance would compete in the 2009 parliamentary elections as a unified bloc. Jumblat urged "allies and friends to make the right choices and avoid past mistakes to guarantee the best representation of the people." He described his latest meeting with Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri as "very good" and said it fell in line with ongoing preparations for a comprehensive meeting grouping leaders of the March 14 forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Then his lips fell off and the speech had to be postponed.
Relatives of alleged members of an Islamist group that fought a 15-week battle with the Lebanese army last year staged a protest on Friday demanding their release from jail. "My husband was arrested over a year ago and has yet to stand trial," said Omm Mohammed, whose husband Bashir Bitar is an alleged member of Fatah al-Islam.
She was among dozens of women, children and clerics who staged the sit-in amid tight security at a mosque in the southern port city of Sidon after the weekly Friday prayers.
Many protesters held signs reading "Enough injustice" and "We demand the immediate release of our sons who are being held unjustly."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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MP Ahmed Fatfat said Friday the Lebanese People would "reject whatever agenda that contradicts state sovereignty ... Even if included in the cabinet's policy statement." Fatfat, addressing supporters in the northern Minyeh district, said the Lebanese people "would not accept a policy statement imposed by the force of weapons."
"We back resistance against Israel and we were pioneers in such a resistance," Fatfat declared. "But we are against a resistance that has become a militia deployed in the streets of Beirut, the Bekaa and Tripoli," he pledged.
Fatfat recalled that Iran's vice president who also heads Iran's Atomic Energy Agency has offered to swap Lebanon's stability for western approval of Tehran's nuclear program.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"We back resistance against Israel and we were pioneers in such a resistance," Fatfat declared.
With such impressive results, who could argue with that.
The National Liberal Party on Friday criticized Iran's vice president for offering to swap Lebanon's stability for western approval of Tehran's nuclear program. "This exposes involvement by his revolution and its guards in Lebanon's affairs and changing it into an arena and a hostage subject to blackmail," the NLP said in a statement after the weekly meeting of its leadership under chairman Dory Chamoun.
It also criticized Hizbullah for breaching commitments made in line with the Doha Accord and for threatening to use its weapons to force other factions adopt decisions accepted by it. Such threats are "enough to condemn the weapons, be they divine or not, and are enough to spark a Lebanese uprising against your threats," the statement concluded.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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The Phalange Party on Friday said it would not approve any policy statement for the new cabinet that does not restrict sovereignty and foreign policy-related activities to the state. The party's statement was tantamount to advance rejection of granting Hizbullah's Islamic Resistance recognition as some sort of an autonomous entity that the government does not control.
"Past experience shows that any recognition, direct or indirect, of any illegitimate weapons ... has resulted in huge losses," the statement noted. "Pledges that weapons would be used only against the Israeli enemy have not been respected. What we witnessed last May testifies to this," the statement concluded in an apparent reference to attacks by Hizbullah against Beirut and Mount Lebanon.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2008 00:00 ||
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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.
The public will be able to read daily online transcripts of testimony during next month's trial of five suspected terrorists accused of plotting to kill soldiers at Fort Dix.
ISLAMABAD (Agencies) - Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sherry Rehman has said that she was quoted out of context by a western wire service (AP).
Pakistan will not be allowed to become a colony of the United States and President Pervez Musharraf's shadow is going to vanish soon from the country's horizon, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif said on Friday. Nawaz was talking to PML-N Lahore Senior Vice President Mirza Muhammad Javed. He said the country was facing the worst crisis of its history. "We need co-operation from the people at this juncture. The nation had showered love on us and we would honour it," he pledged. Nawaz said the flour crisis had been overcome and power shortage and inflation would soon be controlled. "We cannot be blamed for the prevailing price hike as the conspiracies of the previous government have sparked inflation," Nawaz said.
Swat-based Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah is not interested in implementation of Shariah in Malakand division and Swat valley, NWFP Law Minister Barrister Arshad Abdullah said on Friday. Talking to Daily Times, the provincial law minister said that Fazlullah did not respond when the NWFP government sought his proposals for introduction of Islamic system in Malakand and Swat. The minister said that the provincial government had been asking the rebel cleric for one and a half months for his suggestions for implementation of Shariah in the region without success. The law minister said on one hand Fazlullah was demanding Islamic system in the region and on the other he was "keeping himself out of the matter".
Lal Masjid deputy chief cleric on Friday threatened that they would take up the task of reconstruction of Jamia Hafsa if the government did not do it. 
Ambassador of Iran to Pakistan Masha Allah Shakiri called on Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Friday. The Iranian ambassador and the PPP co-chairman discussed issues of mutual interest, including the energy security issue. A press release issued by Zardari House said that the Iranian ambassador invited Zardari to visit Iran. The ambassador condoled the death of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. He said, "The vacuum created by Benazir's assassination was felt not only in Pakistan but also in Iran." He said that Iran wanted political stability in Pakistan. During the meeting, Zardari was assisted by Pakistan's ambassador-designate to Iran MB Abbasi, member of the National Assembly Fauzia Habib and Rizwan Qureshi, while Iranian embassy's political counsellor assisted the Iranian ambassador.
Former 
BAGHDAD: The sign is a small but significant indication that the security situation is improving in Iraq. It reads: 'Rasha's Salon for Women'. So far, business is buzzing at the four-month-old salon in the heart of the al-Salihiya district, considered one of the most secure neighbourhoods in the capital.
(VOI) -- Thousands of Sadrists on Friday staged a demonstration in Baghdad condemning the long-term security agreement to be signed by Iraq and the U.S., said a source from al-Sadr's office in Baghdad. "Around 5,000 Sadrists demonstrated today after the Friday prayers headed by Sheikh Asaad al-Nasseri, who demanded the government to reject the agreement, even if it would be a friendship agreement," the source told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI). "The demonstration occurred at the prayers' location near al-Sadr's office, Russafa (eastern side) of Baghdad," he said.
(VOI) - An official from anti-U.S cleric 
De facto government in Gaza will file a suit against Ma'an News Agency for what they describe as "mistakes" that the agency made when reporting on crimes committed by security forces in Gaza. Dr Hassan Abu Hasheesh, 
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Friday said the resistance is strictly "the army and the state." Geagea said the "military parade we witnessed today at the military academy on Army Day represents us. The army is the resistance and the state is the resistance." 
Democratic Gathering leader Walid Jumblat said factions of the March 14 majority alliance would compete in the 2009 parliamentary elections as a unified bloc. Jumblat urged "allies and friends to make the right choices and avoid past mistakes to guarantee the best representation of the people." He described his latest meeting with Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri as "very good" and said it fell in line with ongoing preparations for a comprehensive meeting grouping leaders of the March 14 forces.
Relatives of alleged members of an Islamist group that fought a 15-week battle with the Lebanese army last year staged a protest on Friday demanding their release from jail. "My husband was arrested over a year ago and has yet to stand trial," said Omm Mohammed, whose husband Bashir Bitar is an alleged member of Fatah al-Islam.
MP Ahmed Fatfat said Friday the Lebanese People would "reject whatever agenda that contradicts state sovereignty ... Even if included in the cabinet's policy statement." Fatfat, addressing supporters in the northern Minyeh district, said the Lebanese people "would not accept a policy statement imposed by the force of weapons." 
The National Liberal Party on Friday criticized Iran's vice president for offering to swap Lebanon's stability for western approval of Tehran's nuclear program. "This exposes involvement by his revolution and its guards in Lebanon's affairs and changing it into an arena and a hostage subject to blackmail," the NLP said in a statement after the weekly meeting of its leadership under chairman Dory Chamoun. 
The Phalange Party on Friday said it would not approve any policy statement for the new cabinet that does not restrict sovereignty and foreign policy-related activities to the state. The party's statement was tantamount to advance rejection of granting Hizbullah's Islamic Resistance recognition as some sort of an autonomous entity that the government does not control.
