[An Nahar] Afghan cops will soon take over responsibility for the whole of the country, officials said Saturday, a major milestone as the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... -led war effort winds down after 12 years of fighting.
The handover of the last 95 districts from NATO to Afghan forces includes many of the most volatile areas of south and east Afghanistan where the Taliban have fought a bloody insurgency against the U.S.-backed government since 2001.
NATO and Afghan officials, who declined to be named, said that 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... would attend a ceremony within days to mark a key point of the "transition process" to full Afghan illusory sovereignty.
The exact date and location of the handover has not yet been announced, but it will complete a program started in 2011 when relatively-peacefully areas inhabited by about 20 percent of the population were put under Afghan security.
"The event will be held shortly and 95 districts in 11 provinces are included in the fifth and final phase. Further details will be released later for security reasons," an Afghan government official told AFP.
The last "tranche" of districts includes 13 in Kandahar province, the birthplace of the Taliban, and 12 in each of Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. , Khost and Paktika ...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo... provinces -- all hotbeds of krazed killer activity along the border with Pakistain.
After the handover, 100,000 NATO forces will only play a supporting and training role as Afghan soldiers and police take the lead in the fight against the gunnies who were ousted from power after the 9/11 attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2013 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid 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... said that he fully backed Pakistain Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... 's stance on the issue of US drone strikes inside Pakistain.
In an interview with a Pak private TV channel Geo, Karzai said, "The issue of drones is between the US and Pakistain, I am not in favor of drone attacks in Pakistain, I am against it and I endorse Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's stand on this. I will stand with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif against drone attacks, just as I have stood against American military operations in Afghanistan where non-combatants were killed, where civilians were maimed, where civilian homes were destroyed. I will fully stand with Pakistain against any activity by any foreign power that causes civilian casualties in Pakistain."
Karzai expressed disappointment over the way the war on terror was being executed saying it is not going to get us any relief.
Answering to a question he regretted that the raids in the war against terror were not hitting the right targets causing civilian casualties and material losses.
Pakistain's new Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, vented his anger on the recent US drone strikes and accused his country's military of lying to Paks about cooperating with the CIA to eliminate terrorism in the northwest tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.
"The policy of protesting against drone strikes for public consumption, while working behind the scenes to make them happen, is not acceptable," Sharif said last week, according to an official statement issued after the first meeting of his cabinet.
But stopping US drone strikes, which he and other Pak politicians have characterised as a violation of their country's illusory sovereignty, seems hardly certain. Two strikes have hit Pakistain since Sharif's ascent to the prime minister's post was assured -- one on May 30, which killed the Deputy Chief of the Pak Taliban, and the other Friday, which killed seven unidentified suspected bully boys.
Apparently, continuation of drone attacks is one of the main barriers of the bully boy's movements in some parts of Pakistain.
"Karzai himself has said that bully boy's hideouts must be targeted out of Afghanistan's geography. Karzai's recent speeches are not in favour of Afghanistan," Shukria Barakzai, Member of Afghan Parliament told TOLOnews.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
He has more faces than Mount Rushmore.
Posted by: Paul D ||
06/16/2013 7:05 Comments ||
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[Pak Daily Times] North Korea on Saturday made a fresh vow to build up its nuclear deterrent in the face of "threats of war" from the United States and a "policy of confrontation" from the South.
An editorial in Pyongyang's ruling party daily, the Rodong Sinmun, said "reckless" war exercises by the US and South Korea could spark a nuclear war at any moment.
"As long as the United States and South Korean puppets continue with nuclear threats and threats of war against us, we will... strengthen nuclear deterrence through every possible means," it said.
South Korean President Park Geun-Hye was no different from her predecessor in taking up a policy of confrontation, the editorial said, accusing the South of deliberately sabotaging planned high-level talks.
"Unless there is a fundamental switchover in the policy of confrontation of the South's ruling forces, dialogue and improvement in relations between the North and the South cannot be realised forever," it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2013 00:00 ||
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Isn't a reasonable suspicion that the NSA was already compromised ante Snowden? If the skinny 31 year old can walk in with a thumb drive and then walk out with critical documents?
From TFA:
National security veterans have been skeptical that Snowden could have been the sole source of everything that has been leaked to date. Many were surprised to see publication of the FISA court order in particular; one former US counterintelligence official noting that in all of its 35 year existence, there has never been a breach of the FISA court. That we know of...
That document was not definitively attributed to Snowden in news reports, and Greenwald has declined to specify whether or not Snowden was the only source. To date, there has been no confirmation that any others were involved. Greenwald prolly typed the informaton himself.
Another point of focus has been the fact that Snowden actually only worked at Booz Allen for a few weeks before taking an unpaid leave. When Snowden was no longer able to be located, his employer notified intelligence officials because of his high-level security clearance.
FBI Director Robert Mueller told House Judiciary Committee members that Snowden is now "the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation," and intelligence officials are handling the matter as a possible case of foreign espionage. While Snowden selected Hong Kong as his place of refuge for the time being, there is tremendous concern that he might be planning to defect to China and share some of our nation's intelligence secrets. Snowden is a cat's paw. Someone else did the heavy lifting.
But if it's okay to tap James Rosen's email at the AP, why aren't we tapping Glen Greenwald, the vicious hard-left commie 'columnist' for the Guardian?
#1
The not so subtle irony; the... "ongoing investigation" of former employee Snowden involves a detailed forensic examination of his net usage. Once again, the painter's house needs painting.
#2
Please forgive one for asking a lowly plebian question regarding high tech -- but shouldn't all computers used at Spook Central be made without ports for thumb drives, etc.?
[Pak Daily Times] The police have tossed in the clink Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! two more aides of placed in durance vile Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! accused Abdullah allegedly involved in killing of Chaudhry Zulfiqar who was prosecuting in Benazir murder case against former president Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... One of the detainees belongs to Mardan while the second one hails from Mulkwal. Both of them have been shifted to secret place for further investigation. According to reports, the accused has been sent on judicial remand due to sickness, as lower part of his body has paralysed. Zulfiqar was the top public prosecutor in high profile cases in which Musharraf and several members of some myrmidon groups are implicated. Musharraf had been accused of failing to provide adequate security for Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... at the time of her death and Zulfiqar initiated the move to arrest him for this after he returned to Pakistain. He was also believed to be close to submitting final evidence against seven members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... , a myrmidon group, who are on trial for planning and executing the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2013 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] The Upper House on Saturday unanimously passed a resolution, strongly condemning the attack on the residence of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Ziarat, Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... The resolution was moved by Leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq. Speaking on a point of order Saifullah Magsi said the situation of law and order in Balochistan was worsening with each passing day.
He was referring to the attack on the Ziarat Residency and bombing at a women's university bus in Quetta.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Gasp! They actually used the word "TERRORISM?" Our govmint hasn't got there yet. They are still trying to sort out the PC venacular. Currently, they are sorting out 300 million+ citizens as possible "man-made disasters" (except for those that aren't).
[An Nahar] The Pentagon confirmed on Saturday that F-16 fighter jets and Patriot missile interceptors will remain in Jordan after the end of a joint military exercise this month.
"Secretary (Chuck) Hagel has approved a request from the Kingdom of Jordan for a detachment of F-16s and Patriot Missiles to remain in Jordan following the conclusion of the Eager Lion Exercise next week," front man George Little said in a statement.
"All other U.S. personnel assigned to Jordan for Eager Lion will depart at the conclusion of the exercise. The United States enjoys a long-standing partnership with Jordan and is committed to its defense."
A U.S. defense official earlier this week said the military will also keep a unit of U.S. Marines on amphibious ships off the Red Sea coast after consultations with Jordan, the official told Agence La Belle France Presse on condition of anonymity.
Officials have declined to say how many F-16 jets had been deployed.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
...so no 'Arab Spring' for Jordan.
[puts on tin hat]
Then again that sort of puts F-16 fighter jets and Patriot missile interceptors between Israel and Iran.
#4
If I told you a few years ago that IRS would be hassling president's political opponents, NSA spying on them, and kindergartens would call a swat team when a five years old brings his toy gun---what kind of hat you'd be talking about, P2k?
#7
I'm not seeing or reading "Syria" - IMO this is the US-vs-Russia in whom can best support-vs-stop an Israeli [only?] IDAF strike(s) on Iran's NucProgs.
US F-16's, PATRIOTS, USMC etc. in Jordan = Utility of Pakistan's LRBMS-Nukes as per Iran = MAINLY ABOUT THE PERSIAN GULF + US-IRAN WAR???
Layers of fact checking don't work when you fail to employ them.
From TFA:
Last week, The Guardian and The Washington Post got their hands on a big story about the National Security Agency and its alleged connection to a handful of giant tech companies.
The bombshell stories in both publications carried the by-lines of experienced reporters. The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald, a vicious communist well-known political commentator who also holds a law degree, has been covering national security issues for nearly a decade, and the Post's Barton Gellman is a Pulitzer Prize winner who has a distinguished record covering privacy and security issues.
But neither publication assigned an independent expert to vet the claims of their source, 29-year-old Edward Snowden, who had until recently worked at the NSA as a contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden provided both publications with classified documents he had spirited out of the NSA. He also made claims that turn out to have been exaggerated.
That absence of an independent tech check means both publications got the story wrong, as subsequent reporting by other journalists with experience in these topics has confirmed. These are not trivial details, nor is this a matter of semantics. We're not quibbling over words. If you don't understand the technical workings of these surveillance programs, you can't understand whether they're working as intended, you can't identify where the government has overstepped its bounds, and you can't intelligently debate the proper response. The fact that the government has maintained rigid secrecy compounds the problem. Greenwald has been something of a legend to rightwing bloggers for his sockpuppetry mostly. It's how he got his start. What Greenwald knows about technology, you could fill a urine test sample cup.
A summary of Glenn Greenwald's extensive military experience can be found here
[An Nahar] Al-Qaida's leader in Iraq has defied orders from the group's global chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri, to break up his claimed union with a jihadist group in Syria, according to an audio message released Saturday.
The purported remarks by Islamic State of Iraq head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in the message posted on jihadist forums indicate tensions between ISI and al-Qaida's central command.
In April, Baghdadi announced that ISI had merged with Syria's Al-Nusra Front.
Al-Nusra leader Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani acknowledged a relationship between the two groups, but he denied there had been a merger and publicly pledged his allegiance to Zawahiri.
Yet in Saturday's message, the man identified as Baghdadi said "the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant remains, as long as there is blood in our veins and our eyes are blinking.
"It remains, and we will not compromise; we will not give up... until we die."
Earlier this month, Zawahiri ruled that the ISI and Al-Nusra should operate as separate entities, according to a letter posted on Al-Jazeera's website.
Baghdadi had "made a mistake" by announcing a merger "without consulting us," he said.
The merger plan has been "damaging to all jihadists", Zawahiri said, adding that "Al-Nusra Front is an independent branch of al-Qaida".
But the message on Saturday said: "Regarding the message which was attributed to Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri ... (I) was put in a situation, to choose between God's command and an order against God."
"I chose the order of my God, over the order against it in the message."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Ayman al-Zawahiri does not seem to have the same power as OBL which is promising.
Posted by: Paul D ||
06/16/2013 7:12 Comments ||
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#2
See WORLD NEWS > [Middle East Online] TENSIONS WIDIN AL-QAEDA: ZAWAHIRI'S AUTHORITY ENDS WHERE AL-BAGHDADI'S BEGINS.
Truth be told, Baghdadi has always been stubbornly self-minded = "arguing for arguing's sake" since he was a kid.
[An Nahar] Israel reacted to the election of Iran's new president on Saturday by saying it was supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who decides on nuclear policy, not the president.
"Iran's nuclear program has so far been determined by Khamenei, and not by Iran's president," the foreign ministry said after Hassan Rowhani was elected to succeed Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad.
"After the election, Iran will continue to be judged by its acts, in the nuclear field as well as that of terrorism," the statement said.
"Iran must conform to the demands of the international community and stop its nuclear program and cease spreading terrorism in the world."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Hizbullah lashed out on Saturday at German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle's accusations that the party killed civilians in Qusayr area of central Syria, near the Lebanese border.
Hizullah described in a statement Westerwelle's accusations as "void, false and baseless."
"The international customs state that the country's stances and policies should not be based on false and misleading information," the statement said.
Oh my goodness, how utterly delightful! This is why they don't have a country of their own to play with.
The party considered that the German FM accusations are part of the campaign on Hizbullah to please the United States.
"Hizbullah adopts the highest moral and humanitarian standards in dealing with civilians and military personal, which every international humanitarian institution agrees on," the statement added.
A statement almost country-worthy.
Westerwelle said in comments published in Saudi Okaz newspaper that Hizbullah's involvement in Qusayr battles is a "dangerous turn of events in Syria," condemning the targeting of civilians in the area by Hizbullah fighters.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Interim head of the opposition Syrian National Council George Sabra accused the Syrian regime of attempting drag Leb into the conflict in his country and by involving Hizbullah in the crisis, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper Saturday.
He told the daily: "The Lebanese government must assume its responsibilities and prevent Hizbullah from fighting in Syria and meddling with the fate of the Syrian and Lebanese people for the sake of regime that will inevitably collapse."
"Hizbullah has awakened a sectarian monster that it will not know how to put to rest again," he lamented.
"The resistance's glory was lost when it directed its arms against Beirut on May 7, 2008 and its weapons turned into shame when they were used in the streets of Damascus and al-Qusayr," he added.
"The party is now preparing to battle for Aleppo, but Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... should heed our warning and avert strife he will regret for the rest of his life," Sabra warned.
"We have great affection towards the Lebanese people and we have true allies who are loyal to the Syrian revolt, such as the Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... Movement, Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... , the Democratic Left Movement, the March 14 alliance, and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... , whose position we understand," he noted.
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06/16/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... called on Saturday on the army to pursue the assailants who fired rockets on the Bekaa city of Baalbek and to maintain the security of the Lebanese people.
"The army should pursue the assailants," Suleiman stated.
He pointed out that such acts that target the safety of the Lebanese areas are completely rejected regardless of who are responsible for them.
"The Lebanese state will not tolerate such incidents and will find those who are responsible for them to maintain the security of the Lebanese people on its territories," Suleiman added.
On Friday, two people were maimed as nine rockets fire from Syrian territory landed in Baalbek, shortly after Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... vowed in a speech to put an end to rocket attacks against the Baalbek-Hermel region.
The agency said the rockets fell in the areas of al-Kayyal, Adous intersection, al-Basatin and near the My College School, the house of Suleiman Ramadan and the house of Sheikh Hassan Shamas.
In his address, Nasrallah noted that "there is a delicate situation in the Baalbek-Hermel area -- which includes the rockets that are falling on the area -- that needs special care."
"The sensitive point is that some media outlets are circulating rumors that these rockets are being fired from Arsal and its barren mountains -- they are accusing a Sunni town of shelling Shiites towns," he said.
"And whenever a resident from Arsal is killed or attacked, some politicians directly accuse Hizbullah. Some media outlets are spreading lies and I call on everyone to verify any report. I announce that the rockets were not fired from Arsal, but rather by the gangs inside Syrian territory and God willing we will find a solution to this issue," Nasrallah vowed.
President Michel Suleiman called on Saturday on the army to pursue the assailants who fired rockets on the Bekaa city of Baalbek and to maintain the security of the Lebanese people.
"The army should pursue the assailants," Suleiman stated.
He pointed out that such acts that target the safety of the Lebanese areas are completely rejected regardless of who are responsible for them.
"The Lebanese state will not tolerate such incidents and will find those who are responsible for them to maintain the security of the Lebanese people on its territories," Suleiman added.
On Friday, two people were maimed as nine rockets fire from Syrian territory landed in Baalbek, shortly after Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed in a speech to put an end to rocket attacks against the Baalbek-Hermel region.
The agency said the rockets fell in the areas of al-Kayyal, Adous intersection, al-Basatin and near the My College School, the house of Suleiman Ramadan and the house of Sheikh Hassan Shamas.
In his address, Nasrallah noted that "there is a delicate situation in the Baalbek-Hermel area -- which includes the rockets that are falling on the area -- that needs special care."
"The sensitive point is that some media outlets are circulating rumors that these rockets are being fired from Arsal and its barren mountains -- they are accusing a Sunni town of shelling Shiites towns," he said.
"And whenever a resident from Arsal is killed or attacked, some politicians directly accuse Hizbullah. Some media outlets are spreading lies and I call on everyone to verify any report. I announce that the rockets were not fired from Arsal, but rather by the gangs inside Syrian territory and God willing we will find a solution to this issue," Nasrallah vowed.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2013 00:00 ||
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The CIA is preparing to deliver arms to rebel groups in Syria through clandestine bases in Turkey and Jordan that were expanded over the past year in an effort to establish reliable supply routes into the country for nonlethal material, U.S. officials said.
On Tuesday. Two o'clock. But don't tell anyone because it's supposed to be a secret...
The bases are expected to begin conveying limited shipments of weapons and ammunition within weeks, officials said, serving as critical nodes for an escalation of U.S. involvement in a civil war that has lately seen a shift in momentum toward the forces of President Bashar al-Assad.
If this is part of the Pournelle Doctrine then it makes sense to put just enough arms into the hands of Syrian rebels to continue a one thousand year proxy war between the Sunnis and Shi'a. Otherwise we're just being schtupid...
Syria experts cautioned that the opposition to Assad remains a chaotic mix of secular and Islamist elements, highlighting the risk that some American-provided munitions may be diverted from their intended recipients.
But U.S. officials involved in the planning of the new policy of increased military support announced by the Obama administration Thursday said that the CIA has developed a clearer understanding of the composition of rebel forces, which have begun to coalesce in recent months. Within the past year, the CIA also created a new office at its headquarters in Langley to oversee its expanding operational role in Syria.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/16/2013 00:00 ||
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#4
The CIA's expanding role as conduit of nonlethal assistance over the past year has also given the agency deeper insight into the composition of groups and the flow of material, U.S. officials said.
Our refugee outreach program and educational facilities in the south of Florida will one day soon, permit the Cuban people to return to their country and establish an effective democracy.
Multinational military exercise 'Eager Lion' has been launched in Jordan amid condemnation from neighboring Syria and its ally Russia. The US brings Patriot missile batteries to the Syrian border, which could remain deployed afterwards.
The exercises will last for 12 days, bringing together about 8,000 personnel from 19 countries, mostly Arabic, but also including the US and Europe. The maneuvers will also involve some 3,000 Jordanian and 500 British troops.
'Eager Lion' which is being conducted only 120km from the Jordan-Syria border is aimed at training personnel for the possibility of the Syrian civil war spilling into neighboring countries.
Russia has raised concerns over the deployment of US Patriot missile batteries and F-16 fighter jets to Jordan: We have more than once stated our opinion on this foreign weapons are being pumped into an explosive region, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aleksandr Lukashevich said last week.
As opposed to Russian weapons being pumped into Syria...
This is happening very close to Syria, where for more than two years the flames of a devastating conflict are burning that Russia and its American partners are trying to stop by proposing to hold an international peace conference as soon as possible, Lukashevich said.
The organizers of 'Eager Lion' say that the troops involved will also train for the possibility of a chemical attack, as Syrias neighbors fear that Damascus may lose control of its chemical weapons arsenal, which could then fall into the wrong hands.
"We all have chemical training from any activity, so we continue to build those objectives into any exercise that we do, said US Major General Robert Catalanotti, the Director of Exercises and Training.
Last week the US military revealed it may indefinitely leave behind the Patriot batteries and F-16s deployed in Jordan due to the threat of the violence in Syria crossing into Jordanian territory.
Jordanian Army Major General Awni el-Edwan, Operation Chief of Staff, told reporters on Sunday that no US troops, Patriot missile complexes or F-16s would remain in Jordan after the exercises conclude: "The drills have nothing to do with any objective related to what is happening in Syria."
No forces will stay after the exercise unless there is a request by the Jordanian government to keep the Patriots and F-16 jets, this is a political decision," General el-Edwan said, adding that Amman has no intention to attack anybody.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/16/2013 00:00 ||
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Nb: this particular use of the word moderate means moderate for those vetted by the ruling mullahcracy, and therefore not moderate at all, but perhaps not as extreme as some others vetted by the self-same mullahcracy.
was declared Iran's new president on Saturday, the interior minister said, in an outright election victory that ends eight years of conservative
See note above...
grip on the top office.
Rohani hailed his election as a "victory of moderation over extremism", media reported. "This victory is a victory for wisdom, moderation and maturity... over extremism," said the mid-ranking moderate cleric who was also backed by reformists.
Cute. Cleric Rohani is very, very cute. Hopefully this will protect him more than the last "moderate" cleric at that level, who as I recall has been under house arrest for several years, though perhaps I misremember.
Rohani, 64, a former top nuclear negotiator who has championed more constructive engagement with world powers,
Translation: "Taqiyah. Ever more taqiyah instead of openly defying the world while we continue working toward our nuclear Israel-destroyers."
won outright with 18.6 million votes, or 50.68 per cent of those cast. Announcing Rohani's win, Interior Minister Mohammad Mostafa Najjar said 36.7 million people, or 72.7 per cent of the electorate, had voted on Friday.
Rohani's tally was enough to ensure there would be no run-off against the runner-up, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who was in distant second place with 6.07 million votes. Current nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, was third with 3.17 million.
Rohani inherits an economy that has been badly hit by EU and US sanctions targeting the key oil and banking sectors.
Which doesn't mean he'll listen to sense...
If he didn't agree with the same rulers who held power throughout President Ahmadinejad's administration, he would not have been vetted. Nothing important will change, regardless of who is elected.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/16/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
if they stopped the uranian enrichment program or only enriched to the 7% or so needed for the reactor, they would save millions of KWh which would then be available for the domestic economy
but we'll see what the boss mullah has to say about that
Posted by: lord garth ||
06/16/2013 10:02 Comments ||
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#2
Just as importantly, they'd be within international law and the IAEA convention, which they signed as a non-nuclear power. That convention gives them the right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
The Mad Mullahs, bless them (PTUI) have gone about this all wrong. FIRST you build the reactors, etc etc for 'peaceful' purposes, with IAEA inspection all the way. "Us? Sure! C'mon down! Look around as long as you want!"
Once they've got the reactors and enrichment program to 5% working, THEN they build the clandestine program.
Do as much as you can in the open exactly within the rules, and lull your opponents to sleep.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/16/2013 10:32 Comments ||
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#3
Steve: they don't have to do that. "We're" willing to let them get the bomb even if they do it the Dumbass Way.
Of course they do. It's all part of the game to stall any Western intervention on the part of the Sunnis in the proxy war...
MOSCOW Russias foreign minister said on Saturday that the evidence put forth by the United States of chemical weapons use in Syria apparently doesnt meet stringent criteria for reliability.
The Obama administration said this week that it will give lethal aid to Syrian rebels in light of evidence that President Bashar Assads forces used chemical weapons in the countrys civil war.
In Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the material does not include guarantees that it meets the requirements of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. He said the organisation specifies that samples taken from blood, urine and clothing can be considered reliable evidence only if supervised by organisation experts from the time they are taken up to delivery to a laboratory.
Technically true enough, and one could argue that the rebels could fake it. Then again, Pencilneck's daddy used chemical weapons on his people so it isn't a big stretch to think that it could happen again...
The OPCW is the autonomous body for implementing the international Chemical Weapons Convention that went into effect in 1997. Its website says Syria is one of six countries that have not signed or acceded to the convention. A spokesman for the organisation, based in The Hague, Netherlands, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Lavrov, after meeting his Italian counterpart Emma Bonino, scoffed at suggestions that Assads regime would use chemical weapons now in light of its apparent growing advantage against the rebels.
The regime doesnt have its back to the wall. What would be the sense of the regime using chemical weapons, moreover at such a small quantity? he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/16/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Shhheeeesh. Putin allegedly stole New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft's superbowl ring and Champ says Assad used chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war. I'd say it's a draw.
#2
Russia: "Chemical analysis shows these are different than the CBW that Assad got from Saddam, and that Saddam got from us, so we can definitely say it doesnt meet stringent criteria for reliability."
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/16/2013 10:40 Comments ||
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But they do in .223 and .45 caliber, so there's that.
Un-rewritten press release because I'm lazy.
From TFA:
Jihawg Ammo today announced release of the industry's first truly defensive ammunition.
Not only does Jihawg guarantee that all of their ammunition meets or exceeds S.A.A.M.I. standards for velocity, penetration, and accuracy, they also coat each projectile with a special ballistic paint infused with pork to make it "Haraam" or unclean to a radical Jihadist.
This makes Jihawg Ammo the only commercially available ammunition with the added deterrent factor of eternal damnation for fundamentalist Islamic Jihadist.
Now Americans can defend themselves, their families, their communities, and their country from Muslim terrorists. Jihawg Ammo is the first product that provides a natural deterrent, promotes peace and yet provides maximum protection when used in a defensive posture.
#3
Holy crap, they have it in .45 AND .308! Double whammy! Have to wait a bit though since I already convinced the wife to let me buy a half case of .45 yesterday.
#5
OK, alternate plan:
(1) Go to grocery store. On aisle where the Crisco is, look for 'manateca' (pork lard).
(2) dip bullet tips, wipe. leave enough that they're shiny.
(3) bust a cap on Achmed. Done.
Alternately, you could use your leftover bacon grease...
Of course, the whole deal here is whether Achmed et al are aware you're doing this, because that is the source of it's deterent value, aside from being made dead in the process. For helpful insight on this, look into the begining of the 'Sepoy Mutiny' in British colonial India, and the stories of Douglas MacArthur in his early years in the Philippines. Both touch on this very subject.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
06/16/2013 12:34 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Hollow points make it easier to apply the proper lube in the cavity
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
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trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Tolo News] 
Nawaz Sharif
North Korea
Pervez 
"We have great affection towards the Lebanese people and we have true allies who are loyal to the Syrian revolt, such as the 
