If the first episode is to be judged, it looks like someone is finally doing it right. If you have Comcast cable or Dish Network you can find it on the G4tv channel. The reality series follows a Navy EOD unit in Afghanistan from deployment to return. Parental discretion is advised. More info here.
[Dawn] The Afghan Taliban will hunt down and punish anyone who takes part in next month's national assembly, where the possibility of long-term US military bases in Afghanistan will be discussed, the group warned in a statement on Wednesday.
The unusually specific threat, in an English-language message from front man Zabihullah Mujahid, said participants will be pursued "all over the country and will face severe repercussions".
It called on Taliban supporters "to target every security guard, person with intention, participant and every caller of this convention."
The four-day gathering, known in Afghanistan as a 'Loya Jirga', will be held in the capital Kabul in late November, where it will bring together more than 2,000 politicians, tribal elders, community leaders, businessmen and civil society representatives from across the country.
The assembly will be a consultative process, and its decisions are not legally binding on the government.
Earlier this month, Taliban vowed to fight until all foreign forces have left Afghanistan.
President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... and his Western backers have agreed that all foreign combat troops would return home by the end of 2014, but the West has promised continued support beyond then in the form of funds and training for Afghan cops.
Despite the presence of tens of thousands of Western soldiers in Afghanistan, the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... and other groups say violence is at its worst since US-led Afghan forces toppled the Taliban from power in late 2001.
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 forces say they have seen a decline over recent months in attacks launched by gun-hung tough guys against their troops.
Safia Sediqi, a spokeswoman for the grand assembly, said she was unaware of the threat.
"I have not read the statement yet and it's early to comment about it," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
TUNIS - The Islamist Ennahda party, which has won Tunisia's first free election, said on Wednesday it would not impose restrictions on how foreign tourists dress on beaches and would not impose Islamic banking rules, according to state media.
"The tourism sector is among the achievements which we cannot touch. Is it logical to handicap a strategic sector like tourism by forbidding wine or wearing bathing costumes? These are personal liberties for Tunisians and foreigners as well," the official TAP news agency quoted Ennahda secretary general Hamadi Jbeli as saying.
"We will not make Islamic banks universal. We are not going to abolish the banking system that exists," he said.
[Dawn] Muammar Qadaffy's ... who is now cavorting happily with Himmler and Heydrich... runaway son Saif al-Islam and former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi are proposing to hand themselves into the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... in The Hague, a senior Libyan military official with the National Transitional Council said on Wednesday. Like Milosevich, they stand an excellent chance of dying of old age before any kind of verdict is reached. If they hand themselves over to Qadaffy's former subjects they stand a good chance of eating a piece of lead within 30 minutes. Don't forget the broomstick...
"They are proposing a way to hand themselves over to The Hague," Abdel Majid Mlegta told Rooters from Libya. It's less threatening of mortality, y'see... Saif al-Islam is wanted by the war crimes court, as was his late father. There is also a warrant out for Senussi. This is Fredo, right? Or is Fredo dead? Or is Fredo missing? Or is Fredo in exile? Or all of the above? I think he took a small boat out onto the lake...
Saif al-Islam has been on the run since Libyan forces overran his father's home town of Sirte at the weekend. He is thought to be somewhere near Libya's southern border with Niger.
Mlegta said his information came from intelligence sources who told him that Saif al-Islam and Senussi were trying to broker a deal to surrender to the court through a neighbouring country, which he did not name.
They had concluded that it was not safe for them to remain in Libya, or to go to Algeria or Niger, two countries where Qadaffy family members are already sheltering.
"They feel that it is not safe for them to stay where they are or to go anywhere," Mlegta said.
In any case, they said that Niger was asking for too much money for them to stay.
Neither the ICC front man or the prosecutor's office was immediately available to comment on the report.
In June the ICC issued arrest warrants for Qadaffy, Saif al-Islam and Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity after the UN Security Council referred the Libyan situation to the court in February.
All three were charged with crimes against humanity for the Libyan regime's violent crackdown on protesters in February in what ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said was part of a "pre-determined" to stamp out the unrest.
It was only the second time that the UN Security Council had referred a conflict to the ICC, the world's first permanent war crimes court.
The Security Council previously referred the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region to the ICC in 2005.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
[Dawn] Soddy Arabia's King Abdullah was expected to name Interior Minister Prince Nayef as his heir after a mourning period for Crown Prince Sultan ends on Thursday, formalising a smooth succession in the world's biggest oil-producer.
Nayef has already run the kingdom on a daily basis for extended periods in recent years, during absences of both King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan, who died on Saturday.
Given the king's age and health problems, the new crown prince is likely to assume an even more active role immediately.
An Allegiance Council of the ruling family, set up by the king in 2006, is expected to approve a new crown prince after mourning for Sultan ends on Thursday. It can step in if anything befalls the ruler before an heir is named.
"There is an institutionalised mechanism in place," said Hossein Shobokshi, a Saudi columnist. "The Crown Prince had been deteriorating for some time so they haven't been caught by surprise. It should be extremely orderly.
"We had been waiting for this development and things will be announced from a protocol point of view after the mourning period is over."
At stake is the stability of a security ally of the United States which wields great influence over Sunni Mohammedans through its guardianship of Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina.
The kingdom stood opposed to the Arab Spring uprisings that caused instability in neighbouring Yemen and Bahrain, fearing they might create openings for major regional rival Shia Mohammedan Iran.
Abdullah accepted the condolences of visiting leaders from his seat at Tuesday's funeral, wearing a surgical mask barely a week after a back operation.
Among mourners who greeted him after a prayer recital was Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi. A US delegation led by Vice President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden The former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body... is expected in Riyadh on Thursday.
Nayef was later shown on television meeting the king of Jordan and brass hats from the United Arab Emirates.
Nayef, born in 1933, is sometimes described by Saudi liberals as an anti-reform conservative who is likely to take a cautious approach to social and political change, while emphasising national security in foreign policy.
He was quoted soon after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States as doubting that any of his compatriots had been involved. It turned out that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis.
Some diplomats and analysts say the man who has served as interior minister since 1975 may show a more pragmatic side as crown prince, and eventually as king.
Some 60 per cent of Saudis are under the age of 30 and, with Internet penetration of 44 per cent according to internetworldstats.com, are increasingly outward looking.
King Abdullah's cautious reforms were opposed by conservative holy mans and have aimed at creating more private sector jobs, reducing the role of religion in education and improving the prospects of Saudi women.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
Posted by: Pablo ||
10/27/2011 8:20 Comments ||
Top||
#3
He was an activist reactionary ten years ago, but then, he was ten years younger then. What's his health like?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/27/2011 9:38 Comments ||
Top||
#4
He's supposed to be 77 years old. I've known several people who were 77 years old who were dead.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2011 10:19 Comments ||
Top||
#5
This is a big problem with hereditary government. You have little or no idea who the replacement is going to be, since he rarely has to justify himself.
#6
It's not hereditary... it's a combination of hereditary qualification and election by a small oligarchy.
A more sane monarchy would have settled on a younger, stronger, more vigorous leader to bring them through these troubled times. They need a Henry V, but they're setting themselves up with a line of about a dozen King Lears before they can get that far.
Darling Cordelia, do you love me more than anything else?
#7
Thing, would you really want a Wahhabi version of Harry Cut-Throat running Saudi Arabia? You could end up with the Persian Gulf a sea of flames & every Shia from Sanaa to Qom either a refugee or dead.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/27/2011 11:08 Comments ||
Top||
#8
@ #7 I might be willing to pay higher gas prices for that.
#9
Mitch: I doubt Saudi Arabia has its stuff together to the extent that Henry's England did. They're going to need someone capable if they want to SURVIVE.
#11
I doubt Saudi Arabia has its stuff together to the extent that Henry's England did.
Even in Shakespeare's sanitized and romanticized version of history, Prince Hal's England had just weathered a peasant's rebellion and three civil wars in the course of the last two dozen years, and he mounted his invasion of France as a distraction from everyone's preparations for a fourth go 'round. Say what you will about Saudi, but they tend to export their rebellions and civil wars to neighboring shitholes instead of stirring the local latrines.
Which, come to think of it, is a pretty good description of Henry V's lilies-of-the-field strategy.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/27/2011 14:36 Comments ||
Top||
The Obama admin. told Rep. Darrell Issa that Kevin OReilly Gunwalkers possible connection to Obama was in Iraq and unavailable. Hes there, but available. After we called him, his phone number was deactivated.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform led by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is investigating to what extent the White House was aware of or involved in the Fast and Furious gunwalking scandal.
The committee recently requested to speak with former White House National Security Staffer Kevin OReilly. According to CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson, the Obama administration answered:
OReilly is on assignment for the State Department in Iraq and unavailable.
Through a tip, PJ Media learned that Kevin OReilly was unexpectedly named director of the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau for Iraq (INL-Iraq). Long-time INL-Iraq employee Virginia Ramadan had been expected to get the position many were quite surprised when she did not.
On October 21, PJ Media reporter Patrick Richardson called the number for Office of the Director, INL-Iraq:
1-240-553-0581, ext. 3275
Richardson reached a voicemail message confirming that it was indeed the correct number. He left a message that was not returned.
On Monday Richardson called again, and an assistant answered. Richardson asked to speak with Kevin OReilly, and the assistant asked who was calling. Richardson gave his name and stated he was with PJ Media.
The assistant said OReilly was currently on a conference call, and asked if Richardson wanted to leave a message. Richardson gave his phone number. His call was not returned.
This morning, Richardson called again. He received a prerecorded message saying this number is not in service.
PJ Media is aware that the number was in service as the line to the directors office for several years prior to Richardsons calls.
Today, PJ Media is forwarding this information over to Darrell Issa, along with some suggested questions to ask of the Obama administration:
Why were we told Kevin OReilly was unavailable if he was employed in a position that has always been open to media, and indeed was easily reached by PJ Media?
Why did Kevin OReilly suddenly get sent to Iraq for the Director, INL-Iraq position when another employee was widely considered the most-qualified person for the job?
Now that we know he is in the Director, INL-Iraq position and not in a position ever considered unreachable, when will you be sending him to Washington to testify?
North Korea's state-controlled media on Tuesday unanimously started referring to leader Kim Jong-il's son and heir Jong-un as "general."
See the pic at the link. Fat bugger. Pro'ly feed a family of four for a week...
[North] Korean Central News Agency and Central Television and Pyongyang TV used the title when they released a list of top officials who attended a meeting between Kim senior and visiting Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang.
The state media had previously used his unwieldy official title -- vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers Party. He was appointed as the official heir to the North Korean throne at a party meeting in September last year. The simplification to "general" suggests that his status is gradually becoming more secure.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/27/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
How about just "Pudgy ".
Posted by: Steven ||
10/27/2011 8:40 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Looks even more murderous than his father and grandfather
Posted by: john frum ||
10/27/2011 9:17 Comments ||
Top||
#4
"Peasant" when Daddy dies.
Lard ass to boot, I see his futurs as DIM, very dim.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/27/2011 10:21 Comments ||
Top||
#5
The guy gives me the creeps - he has those cold, emotionless eyes and expression.
The kind of person who would enjoy watching legs being ripped of people (having ripped of a few from bugs, small and large animals himself). Who probably has a 'trophy cabinet' somewhere of all his victims. No emotion, no compassion, no feeling whatsoever.
Creepy.
I don't even want to know about his personal entertainments and habits. Feel pity for the North Korean people when he takes power from Daddy.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has reaffirmed the American commitment to protect South Korea against provocations from the North. Panetta's comments came Wednesday, in an address to U.S. troops shortly after arriving in Seoul on the final leg of an Asian tour.
Panetta does seem to be the only adult in the Obama administration these days...
His address echoed comments in an essay published Wednesday in a major South Korean newspaper. Writing in the Chosun Ilbo daily, Panetta said the U.S. and South Korean militaries stand prepared to defeat North Korea should it ever force war upon the allies.
Panetta has delivered a similar message throughout his tour, which included stops in Indonesia and Japan.
On his arrival in Japan on Monday, he promised the United States will not reduce its military presence in East Asia in spite of coming budget cuts at home.
Panetta's Tokyo talks also dealt with controversial plans to transfer a key U.S. military base in Okinawa to another location on the island. Japanese Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa told him Tuesday that Japan will complete an environmental assessment on the plan by the end of this year.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/27/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
SECDEF LEON ...
versus
* GUAMPDN FORUMS > STILL THINK THE MARINES ARE COMING!? | [Human Events] "CATASTROPHIC" DEFENCE CUTS SEEN AS TIPPING POINT OF US MILITARY SUPREMACY.
ARTIC = ...
> Few iff any jobs for returning US GWOT veterans.
> US Defense spending to be at its lowest since end of WW2.
> Potential end of credible US Nuclear Deterrence.
IIUC, IOW US enemies will no longer fear either US Conventional andor Nuclear Military Power, a poten development which Maha-Rushian Limbaugh World Histoire' says tends to result in various MilPol Aggressions or Belligerencies, etc. by "Young Turk" = "Wannabe" Great Powers.
FYI a prominent local Guam restaurant patron orally informed me that his sources say the US Marines from Okinawa may not come to Guam until the Year 2046.
versus
* TOPIX > CBO: TOTAL COST OF IRAQ WAR [since start of 2003 OP Iraqi Freedom] LESS THAN FAILED OBAMA STIMULUS BILL.
* DEFENCE FORUM INDIA > US TO EXPAND AUSTRALIA PRESENCE TO COUNTER CHINA.
* SAME > AUSMIN PUT ICING ON [US-Aus Security, Mil Cooper]ALLIANCE CAKE.
* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM [old] > CHINA + WEST AUSTRALIA BYPASS CANBERRA IN HISTORIC TRADE DEAL. WEST AUS Premier Collin Barrett "offended" by Gillard's Govt, Policies vee WEST AUS Region].
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > [Global Times OPED = China] TIME TO TEACH THOSE AROUND THE SOUTH CHINA SEA A [military = war] LESSON. The Spratlys = South China Sea, Energy, Vietnam + Philippines + India versus respect for China + China's sovereignty oer same.
#3
The man is writing checks on an account that is already overdrawn, while the Donks in Congress are about to drain it even further. Severe penalties will apply in the final accounting [as usual].
South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator Lim Sung-nam departed for Russia on Wednesday with the hope of resuming the stalled six-party talks. During his first trip to Moscow after taking the post he will meet with his Russian counterpart Alexei Borodavkin.
The two are expected to exchange views on last month's inter-Korean dialogue that took place in Beijing, as well as this week's North Korea-U.S. meeting in Geneva.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/27/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
And for the same reason that Stalin always imprisoned Soviet POWs when they returned home...
Having seen some corner of the outside world, and eaten its food, they cannot be turned loose among the inmates to trade recipes?
North Korea has reportedly banned its nationals in Libya from returning home fearing they may spread news about the freedom the North African country achieved after eight-month-long pro-democracy protests.
Citing an unnamed source, Yonhap news agency said that Pyongyang ordered about 200 of its nationals in the civil-war-ravaged country to not come home out of apparent concern that they could push for a similar uprising.
There's always Mauritania...
The source added that he believes the North is refusing to recognize Libya's National Transitional Council as the legitimate government.
The North Korean regime has tightened control of information since the so-called "Arab Spring" began and is strictly monitoring the use of computers, cell phones and memory sticks.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/27/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
For "imprisoned", read "executed". There is a notorious story in which Stalin took a map of Europe, and penciled a line from north to south, ordering that anyone who had crossed that line "might" have been "exposed" to anti-Soviet influences, so on their return should be isolated and eliminated.
At the end of the war, there was a minor mutiny in the US Army, because when Soviet POWs were repatriated by US MPs, they were taken just out of sight and machine gunned. So the MPs refused to turn over any more.
The Soviets were ready, and their ambassador in Washington immediately issued a harsh and threatening demand that their POWs be returned immediately, and Washington, not knowing any better, sent a directive to continue. But the MPs refused the orders, until word got back to Washington about what was happening.
In the end, ignoring angry protests from Moscow, the US kept over 100,000 Soviet POWs, who were made citizens of western European nations.
The chaos after the war was pretty ridiculous. Some Wehrmacht support units were just told to remove all their insignia, but keep their rank and continue to do what they were doing, some of them lasting well into the 1980s as semi-private contractors for NATO and the Bundeswehr.
Eisenhower was much later criticized for mistreatment of many German POWs who were kept imprisoned for quite some time, but not well taken care of, after the end of hostilities. They were just ignored in the confusion.
Officials mum over report Berlin may renege on sub deal. Decision to sell advanced submarine is being reconsidered in light of Israel failure to move forward on talks with Palestinian Authority.
Defense officials have remained silent over a report that Germany could renege on its promise to sell Israel a Dolphin-class Navy submarine, due to Berlin's disapproval of Israeli construction in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem.
According to the report, published on Wednesday in Yedioth Ahronoth, German diplomatic officials said the decision to sell the advanced submarine, which would join Israel's existing fleet of five submarines, was being reconsidered in light of the failure of the Netanyahu government to move forward on talks with the Palestinian Authority.
Defense officials in Israel said they could not comment on the report. Similarly, in an e-mail to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday , a spokesperson for Germany's Merkel Administration wrote, "There has been a long-standing discussion about cooperation regarding military armaments in the framework of talks between the Federal Chancellor and the Israeli Prime Minister. In connection with these talks, confidentiality has been agreed to. I would like to adhere to the confidentiality."
Channel 2 cited foreign media as saying that the submarine was supposed to join the strategic fleet of underwater vessels "that carry nuclear missiles on board."
Israel relies on its submarines to carry out long-range security missions far from Israel's borders.
#5
"In 2005 Israel ordered two submarines, which are to be delivered in 2011 and 2012. These two new boats are similar to the highly advanced German U212 submarine and feature an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system.
"Israel is currently discussing a possible third submarine with Germany. In 2011, Israel placed an order for a sixth Dolphin submarine to be built in coming years, for which it will pay $1 billion."
This being said, if it was at all possible, Israel should indeed go in with India for subs, likewise try to contract with Sweden, who makes some fine boats. India has the production capacity to make a world class fleet of boats, and quickly.
The idea could even be expanded to perhaps Japan, who while their submarines are okay, could provide state of the art internal systems to make good boats a lot better.
#6
I should add that the US may have the ace in the hole for submarines, however, because of new satellite technology that can "see" through water from the surface to the bottom, thus rendering all submarines, their location, direction and speed, visible.
And, since we can do it, others may soon be able to do it as well.
Pakistan's security service provides weapons and training to Taliban insurgents fighting U.S. and British troops in Afghanistan, despite official denials, Taliban commanders say, in allegations that could worsen tensions between Pakistan and the United States. We know it. The Afghans know it. The Talibs know it and brag about it. The Paks continue denying it, despite the evidence, despite the Quetta shura, despite bin Laden's corpse, and despite the fact that the Haqqanis own North Wazoo. If it was really "rogue elements" they'd be rooting them out and shooting them because the last thing any kind of effective government wants is parts of its intelligence establishment operating on its own.
A number of middle-ranking Taliban commanders revealed the extent of Pakistani support in interviews for a BBC Two documentary series, "Secret Pakistan," the first part of which was being broadcast on Wednesday. As usual, any reporter other than Daniel Pearl can waltz into Pakistain and find Talibs strutting around Peshawar or Quetta or Dera Ismail Khan and get interviews. Pakistain's intel network is incapable of doing the same thing.
A former head of Afghan intelligence also told the program that Afghanistan gave Pakistan's former president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, information in 2006 that Osama bin Laden was hiding in northern Pakistan close to where the former al Qaeda leader was eventually killed by U.S. special forces in May. Perv, recall, used to say periodically that Binny was either dead or not in Pakistain. When given his address and phone number he still couldn't find him - probably because he was down the road at the Pak army PX that day buying a new stereo...
Admiral Mike Mullen, then the top U.S. military officer, accused Pakistani intelligence last month of backing violence against U.S. targets including the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. At which the entire country became indignant, with demonstrations in the streets against us Great Satans.
He said the Haqqani network, an Afghan militant group blamed for the September 13 embassy attack, was a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI). Pakistan denies the U.S. allegations. "No, no! Certainly not!"
One Taliban commander, Mullah Qaseem, told the BBC the important things for a fighter were supplies and a hiding place. "Pakistan plays a significant role. First they support us by providing a place to hide which is really important. The place to hide being a significant portion of their country...
Secondly they provide us with weapons," he said, according to excerpts provided by the BBC. Y'know, that doesn't sound like the sort of thing allies do. But I'm an old crank. Who listens to me?
Other Taliban commanders described how they and their fighters were, and are, trained in a network of camps on Pakistani soil. According to a commander using the name Mullah Azizullah, the experts running the training are either members of the ISI or have close links to it. "They are all the ISI's men. They are the ones who run the training. First they train us about bombs; then they give us practical guidance," he said.
AL QAEDA TALENT SPOTTING
Another Taliban fighter, known as Commander Najib, said al Qaeda trainers also operated in the camps, talent spotting possible suicide bombers. "I was in the camp for a month ... They were giving us practical training in whatever weapons we specialized in ... Suicide bombers were taken to a different section and were kept apart from us. Those who were taught to be suicide bombers were there," he said.
A former head of Afghan intelligence told the BBC Afghan officials gave Musharraf information in 2006 suggesting bin Laden was hiding in Mansehra, a town just 12 miles from Abbottabad, where bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces in May, but that the information was not acted upon.
Amrullah Saleh, head of Afghan intelligence from 2004 to 2010, said Syed Akbar, a Pakistani believed to be smuggling guns to the Taliban, told Afghan intelligence he had escorted bin Laden from one location to another. "The information we had was suggesting Mansehra was the town where bin Laden was hiding ... It happens after so many years that bin Laden was about 12 miles from that location," he said.
Saleh and Afghan President Hamid Karzai took the evidence to Musharraf who, according to Saleh, reacted angrily. "Oh, that just makes me so angry!"
"He (Musharraf) banged the table and looked at President Karzai and said, 'Am I president of a banana republic? If not, then how can you tell me bin Laden is hiding in a settled area of Pakistan'. Guess that question's answered beyond doubt.
I said 'Well, this is the information so you can go and check it.'," said Saleh, who quit last year after disagreeing with Karzai over plans to talk to the Taliban. So they asked around and then they went away, back to garrison in Abbotabad, where they said a polite hello to the tall guy shopping for new shoes at the PX.
The BBC said Pakistan strongly denied the allegations made in the program. "Tut tut. Pish and bosh. No way, man!" Major General Athar Abbas ... who is The Very Model of a Modern Major General... , director general of the Inter Services Public Relations and official spokesman for the Pakistan military, told the BBC: "To say that these militant groups were being supported by the state with the organized camps in these areas ... I think nothing could be further from the truth." Then his lips fell off.
#1
No surprise to us Rantburgers re the two faced Pakis!Never trust a muslim they are told to lie/hate towards infidels from a youg age!
Good for the BBC to show the programme last night.Just wished it was on BBC1/CNN so more of the Western public are made aware of 10 years of funding the Pakis who in turn used the money to train the Taliban.
Interesting read today on BBC website re more Pak support at the highest levels in the Govt BBC
Posted by: Pablo ||
10/27/2011 12:29 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Have to consider the source - it's the old "I always lie" contradiction.
The Kenyan government revealed on Wednesday that its extensive military foray into Somalia this month to battle Islamist militants was not simply a response to a wave of recent kidnappings, as previously claimed, but was actually planned far in advance, part of a covert strategy to penetrate Somalia and keep the violence in one of Africa's most anarchic countries from spilling into one of Africa's most stable.
For several years, the American-backed Kenyan military has been secretly arming and training clan-based militias inside Somalia to safeguard Kenya's borders and economic interests, especially a huge port to be built just 60 miles south of Somalia.
Sounds sorta like what the Israelis did for a time in southern Lebanon. I thought that was a good strategy then though the world wouldn't let the evvvvvvil Jooooz get away with it. I think it's a good strategy for the Kenyans -- if you have to put up with crazy neighbors, try to keep them at arms length.
But now many diplomats, analysts and Kenyans fear that the country, by essentially invading southern Somalia, has bitten off far more than it can chew, opening itself up to terrorist reprisals and impeding the stressed relief efforts to save hundreds of thousands of starving Somalis.
"We need more hand lotion, our hands are so chapped from wringing!"
Somalia has been a thorn in Kenya's side ever since Kenya became independent in 1963, and the two countries have followed wildly different paths. Somalia has become synonymous with famine, war and anarchy, while Kenya has become one of America's closest African allies, a bastion of stability and a favorite of tourists worldwide.
When Kenya sent troops storming across Somalia's border on Oct. 16, government officials initially said that they were chasing kidnappers who had recently abducted four Westerners inside Kenya, two from beachside bungalows, and that Kenya had to defend its tourism industry.
But on Wednesday, Alfred Mutua, the Kenyan government's chief spokesman, revised this rationale, saying the kidnappings were more of a "good launchpad."
"An operation of this magnitude is not planned in a week," Mr. Mutua said. "It's been in the pipeline for a while."
Many analysts wonder how Kenya will be able to defy history and stabilize Somalia when the United Nations, the United States, Ethiopia and the African Union have all intervened before, with little success. They argue that the Kenyan operation seems uncoordinated and poorly planned, with hundreds of troops bogged down in the mud from rains that fall at this time every year.
The Kenyans do have the advantage of knowing the area, but logistics are a bitch for anyone and everyone.
Kenyan military officials also publicly said the United States and France were helping them, but both countries quickly distanced themselves from the operation, insisting that they were not taking part in the combat.
"The invasion was a serious miscalculation, and the Kenyan economy is going to suffer badly," said David M. Anderson, a Kenya specialist at Oxford.
Oh what would we do without experts?
The Shabab, who have pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda, have killed hundreds in suicide attacks in Somalia and are now vowing to punish Kenya, much as they struck Uganda last year for sending peacekeepers.
There have already been two grenade attacks in Nairobi, which Kenyan officials said were the work of Shabab members, and this usually laid-back capital city has shifted into war mode. Security guards peer into purses at supermarkets, shopping centers are deserted because many Kenyans are now scared to congregate in public, and the American government has warned of "an imminent threat of terrorist attacks" at malls and nightclubs.
Despite their close relationship with Kenyan security services, which receive millions of dollars in American aid each year, American officials said they had been caught off guard by the incursion.
"The United States did not encourage the Kenyan government to act, nor did Kenya seek our views," said Katya Thomas, a spokeswoman at the American Embassy in Nairobi. "We note that Kenya has a right to defend itself."
Pentagon officials are now watching cautiously. "This is not something that's coordinated with us at all, so it's not something we have much knowledge about," a senior Pentagon official. "We want to see how this develops."
Pentagon officials said the immediate impact of dispersing Shabab fighters was good. But without knowing much about the overall Kenyan strategy or long-term plan, they are a bit wary.
"It's difficult to discern what's the next step," the official said.
Kenyan officials say the next step is marching to Kismayu, a port town controlled by the Shabab, who derive tens of millions of dollars a year in taxes from it.
There's a good idea: take it away from the terrorists, use it as a logistics base, and give the third-world relief organizations a place to work.
Afghan forces soon could start taking charge of security in a wide swath of northern and western Afghanistan, but only a few spots in the more violent south and east -- the second step in a transition that President Hamid Karzai hopes will leave his forces in control of the entire nation by the end of 2014.
A successful handover is key to NATO's plan to withdraw most of its combat forces from Afghanistan after more than a decade of fighting there. Western officials and experts have expressed pessimism about the ability of Mr. Karzai and his armed forces to assume command of their country. If they fail, the militant Taliban could stage a comeback.
All or parts of 17 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces are on a list of transition sites that Mr. Karzai officially will announce Nov. 2 at a conference in Istanbul, Abdul Khalik Farahi, director of the Afghan department on local governance, said Wednesday at a meeting with representatives from the areas.
Most are in the north and west, but the list also includes places that have experienced recent attacks, as well as parts of the country near Taliban-controlled areas.
Afghan and Western officials said that after the second phase of transition begins in December or January, 40 to 50 percent of the Afghan population will be living in areas where Afghan security forces are taking the lead from U.S.-led coalition forces.
Though excited, many governors in the newly listed provinces complained that transition can't succeed unless they receive more police, soldiers and equipment.
Others predicted the transition would go smoothly in their regions. Still others worried that insurgents would move in and overwhelm still-nascent Afghan security forces.
Officials in Badghis province in western Afghanistan said they didn't think any parts of their province were ready.
"It's too early," Deputy Gov. Ghani Sabori said, noting that roadside bomb blasts and attacks are still routine in five of Badghis' seven districts.
Appearing on the second list surprised Badghis officials, who quickly met on Tuesday to discuss the issue, he said.
"Everybody was thinking Badghis would be better in the third phase," he said.
Wardak Gov. Halim Fadai said he was happy to see the transition begin in his province, where he said military operations have improved security in the past four months.
"Many key leaders of the Taliban were killed. Some have left the area," Mr. Fadai said. "We recently developed a plan so the military operations are immediately followed by the delivery of government services. The government and international community have not always followed through before."
Nasrullah Sadeqizada Nili, a lawmaker from Day Kundi province, said there were just 400 policemen and no Afghan soldiers in his province.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) dropped in on a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday to suggest that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano acted too slowly to look into the circumstances surrounding the shooting death of a Border Patrol agent last December.
Napolitano responded that her immediate concern was finding the killers of Agent Brian Terry and that she didn't know until the spring of this year that there were indications his death involved weapons that were part of the federal gun trafficking probe titled Operation Fast & Furious. "Our No. 1 priority was to make sure the shooters were found," she said.
In earlier questioning, Napolitano said she had held off inquiring into the relation between the controversial Fast and Furious operation and Agent Brian Terry's death because that matter is the subject of a Inspector General investigation at the Justice Department.
However, Issa noted that Terry was killed on Dec. 14 and the IG probe was requested by Attorney General Eric Holder in February, leaving what Issa said was "three months" (somewhat less, it would seem) for her to explore the matter before the internal DOJ probe was opened into the operation which allegedly allowed more than 1000 guns to flow unimpeded to Mexican drug cartels.
"You had two dead agents. ... It has been months and you tell me you weren't doing it because of an IG investigation," said Issa, whose committee has been leading the congressional inquiries into Fast and Furious.
"Wait just a minute," Napolitano countered. "That insinuation is not accurate."
Issa offered to have the transcript read back to her.
"No, it's the insinuation, I'm objecting to," Napolitano said. "For three months, you had a dead Border Patrol agent and there was no IG investigation. What did you do between December and February to find out about Fast and Furious? ... People on the ground knew those were Fast and Furious weapons found at the scene within hours. It wasn't something that wasn't known. It was known at the time."
"I think your insinuation. ..." Napolitano replied, before Issa cut her off.
"Ma'am please answer the question. Please don't talk in terms of insinuation," Issa said.
After some more sparring and an appeal by Napolitano to the chair, she said her focus in the aftermath of Terry's death was on finding his killers.
"I think we all should be outraged at the death of Agent Terry and I think the first thing is to recognize who actually killed him and that our No. 1 priority was to make sure the shooters were found -- some had gone back into Mexico -- and that the FBI was in charge of that investigation. Several days, as quickly as I could get to Arizona after his death, I met with the FBI, their agents in charge. I met with the AUSA who was going to conduct that investigation and that was my number one concern, that those responsible for the shooting death of Agent Terry were brought to justice. And that's what I was being kept apprised of," Napolitano said.
"That's a laudable goal, Madame Secretary, but it was too late," Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said later in the session. He said Napolitano's department and the Justice Department should have had "better communication" about Fast and Furious, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives operation to which at least one DHS employee was assigned.
"This committee has to avoid a rush to judgment here," Napolitano replied. "It seems to me there will be lessons learned from this."
Earlier in the hearing, Napolitano acknowledged that the ATF told ICE agents to allow guns from Fast & Furious to cross the border at least twice in 2009. This is new information to me. Haven't read of this before.
"ATF said that these are part of a larger investigation. Stand down," Napolitano told Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) Clips from the hearings. Each is a little over 6 minutes long. Worth the watch
[Dawn] Pakistain has extended the detention by 60 days of a leader of the country's most extreme Mohammedan terror group wanted over sectarian killings, an official said on Wednesday.
Malik Ishaq, a founder of the feared Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ... group, was initially put under house arrest, and then sent to Rahim Yar Khan Jail in central Punjab province on September 25, for 30 days.
"The authorities have extended his detention for another 60 days," jail superintendent Shahid Naeem Sheikh told AFP by telephone.
"We received a notification from the Punjab government after the expiry of the previous order on Tuesday," he said.
His detention has been extended in the interest of public order and to preempt any sectarian strife, Sheikh said.
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is regarded as the most extreme terror group in the Mohammedan-majority country and is accused of killing hundreds of Shia Mohammedans after its emergence in the early 1990s.
It was banned by then president Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... in 1999.
Ishaq was also accused of criminal masterminding, from behind bars, the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore which maimed seven players and an assistant coach, and killed eight Paks.
But he has been acquitted in 34 cases against him and granted bail in the remaining 10, official documents said.
Rights groups say a lack of action from the government has emboldened sectarian Death Eater groups, blamed for the deaths of thousands in past years.
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi also played a key role in the 2002 kidnap and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl and in twin failed liquidation bids on key US ally Musharraf in December 2003.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Jhangvi
#1
ISI assets are always looked afer in the long term!
Posted by: Pablo ||
10/27/2011 8:12 Comments ||
Top||
#2
He's the head of a krazed killer terrorist organization. Rather than trying him and hanging him he's under house arrest.
We're supposed to be too stoopid to assume he's a an ISI asset.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2011 10:23 Comments ||
Top||
LONDON - Pakistan's security service provides weapons and training to Taliban insurgents fighting US and British troops in Afghanistan, despite official denials, Taliban commanders say, in allegations that could worsen tensions between Pakistan and the United States.
A number of middle-ranking Taliban commanders revealed the extent of Pakistani support in interviews for a BBC Two documentary series, "Secret Pakistan", the first part of which was being broadcast on Wednesday.
A former head of Afghan intelligence also told the program that Afghanistan gave Pakistan's former president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, information in 2006 that Osama bin Laden was hiding in northern Pakistan close to where the former al-Qaida leader was eventually killed by US special forces in May.
Admiral Mike Mullen, then the top US military officer, accused Pakistani intelligence last month of backing violence against US targets including the US Embassy in Kabul.
When Tripoli, the Libyan capital, fell, rebel fighters found secret intelligence documents linking Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi to a plot by former members of Saddam Husseins military and Baath Party to overthrow the Iraqi government, according to an Iraqi official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The details of the plot were revealed to Iraqs prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, this month in a surprise visit to Baghdad by Libyas interim leader, Mahmoud Jibril, said the official, who demanded anonymity because the matter was supposed to be confidential. This week, Iraqi security forces responded, arresting more than 200 suspects in connection with the plot.
The looted ruins of Colonel Qaddafis intelligence headquarters in Tripoli have revealed many secrets. The trove has uncovered ties between the Libyan strongman and the C.I.A. and shed light on negotiations between Chinese arms dealers and Libyan officials during the course of the uprising, an embarrassment to officials in Beijing.
But here in Iraq, the records of Colonel Qaddafis plot had special resonance. The Iraqi news media celebrated Colonel Qaddafis death last week.
But the news that the colonel may have been backing a Baathist-led coup added another layer of intrigue just as Iraq was digesting the weekend news that President Obama had announced that the last American soldier would leave by the end of the year.
Some suggested that it was a fiction spread only to allow for the arrests of Sunnis, a reflection of the fragile sectarian tensions.
[An Nahar] In the wake of Syrian army cross-border raids into east Leb that left three dead, tension has been on the rise in the remote region as anxious residents brace for more incursions.
"The people of Qaa sleep in fear now," said Mansour Saad, mayor of the village which straddles the border with Syria.
"They live with the constant worry that violence will erupt at any moment, especially if gunnies from across the border escape into Leb."
The sleepy village, located in a pastoral region where fruit and vegetable fields are dotted with Bedouin tents, on October 18 was the scene of a military incursion which left two local residents -- both Syrians -- dead and sparked panic.
A third Syrian was killed in a raid on Arsal, a village 10 kilometers south of Qaa.
Residents of Qaa, who for decades have maintained warm ties with their Syrian neighbors, say the once-friendly border soldiers who cross over daily for morning coffee are increasingly on edge as the seven-months revolt against Bashir al-Assad's regime continues.
The usually bustling official crossing of Joussiyeh, in Qaa, meanwhile has been shut down and an eerie silence has settled over the area where the Lebanese army or security forces are nowhere to be seen.
"We have asked the Lebanese army to strengthen its presence in the area and set up posts at the border in order to prevent infiltration and make sure such incidents do not re-occur," Saad told Agence La Belle France Presse.
But the Lebanese government, largely dominated by the powerful Death Eater group Hezbullies, a strong ally of the Syrian regime, has for the most part stayed mum on the issue.
Washington and the United Nations ...what started out as a a diplomatic initiative, now trying to edge its way into legislative, judicial, and executive areas... , meanwhile, have condemned the incursions, seen as a bid by Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... to clamp down on arms smuggling and prevent dissidents and army defectors from crossing over to Leb.
Adel's home in Qaa still bears the marks of Syrian gunfire on October 18 that prompted his family and neighbors to flee.
"They were scared to death," said the 35-year-old merchant.
"Many women and kiddies in our village are still spending the night with relatives in other towns for fear of more raids."
Leb and Syria share a 330-kilometer border but have yet to agree on an official demarcation. Apart from the Joussiyeh crossing, the rest of the border area at Qaa is separated only by dirt mounds and a tiny creek allowing people to cross freely and smuggling activities to flourish.
The home of Ahmad Abu Jabal, killed in the October 18 raid on Qaa, symbolizes the village's ties to Syria. The humble abode straddles both countries with the front door located in Leb and the back door in Syria.
The circumstances surrounding Abu Jabal's death remain unclear. While Syrian authorities claim he was an arms smuggler, his cousin told a different tale.
Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, he said Abu Jabal was bumped off as he tried to prevent Syrian troops from detaining his brother who was later also killed.
In the nearby village of Arsal, where a third Syrian was killed earlier this month, residents say a long-running political feud with Damascus is now in the open.
"Our town has been in an open war with the Syrian regime since 2005," said Mohammed al-Hujairi, mayor of the majority Sunni town.
He was referring to the 2005 liquidation of ex-premier Rafik Hariri, widely blamed on Syria by the country's pro-Western camp.
"Foreign troops are entering our land and the Lebanese government has not lifted a finger," said Hujairi.
"If these violations continue, we will have no choice but to defend ourselves in any way we can, even if it is only with stones."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[An Nahar] A source close to former Premier Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's liquidation. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. slammed Hizbullah leader His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... for saying that the security situation in Leb was stable at the time when several kidnappings have taken place.
The al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... movement source told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that Nasrallah talked in his TV interview on Monday at a time when Syrian opposition activists are being kidnapped, Hizbullah is expanding its telecom network in the town of Tarshish and the Syrian army is infiltrating in Lebanese territories in the Bekaa and North.
The source also criticized the Hizbullah leader for praising the cabinet for its achievements, saying the accomplishments that Nasrallah talked about are not real.
"They are just projects that haven't been implemented yet, including the electricity (plan) which requires legislations and decrees," he told al-Hayat.
On the situation in Syria, the source expressed regret that Nasrallah "ignored many facts and defended the Assad regime in a way that he linked his interest and fate to the fate of this regime."
"At a time when international, Arab and Islamic calls are being made for the regime to withdraw the army and security agencies from the streets and end the fighting, he (Nasrallah) is asking the people to get off the street," the source said.
"Where is Leb's interest in this bias?" he wondered.
Nasrallah told al-Manar TV that the Syrian regime is largely "out of the danger zone" despite a 7-month-old uprising against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... .
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
I hope Syria falls so these turdz are disconnected from Iran.
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 Afghan Taliban will hunt down and punish anyone who takes part in next month's national assembly, where the possibility of long-term US military bases in Afghanistan will be discussed, the group warned in a statement on Wednesday.
International Criminal Court
Saif al-Islam is wanted by the war crimes court, as was his late father. There is also a warrant out for Senussi.
Joe 
Punjab
