The Taliban are using child sex slaves to mount crippling insider attacks on police in southern Afghanistan, exploiting the pervasive practice of "bacha bazi" -- paedophilic boy play -- to infiltrate security ranks, multiple officials and survivors of such assaults told AFP.
The ancient custom is prevalent across Afghanistan, but nowhere does it seem as entrenched as in the province of Uruzgan, where "bacha bereesh" -- or boys without beards -- widely become objects of lustful attraction for powerful police commanders.
The Taliban over nearly two years have used them to mount a wave of Trojan Horse attacks -- at least six between January and April alone -- that have killed hundreds of policemen, according to security and judicial officials in the province.
"The Taliban are sending boys -- beautiful boys, handsome boys -- to penetrate checkpoints and kill, drug and poison policemen," said Ghulam Sakhi Rogh Lewanai, who was Uruzgan's police chief until he was removed in a security reshuffle in April amid worsening violence.
"They have figured out the biggest weakness of police forces -- bacha bazi," he told AFP.
The assaults, signifying abuse of children by both parties in the conflict, have left authorities rattled, with one senior provincial official who echoed Rogh Lewanai's view saying "it's easier tackling suicide bombers than bacha attackers".
The killings illustrate how bacha bazi is aggravating insecurity in Uruzgan, a remote province which officials warn is teetering on the brink of collapse, unravelling hard-won gains by US, Australian and Dutch troops who fought there for years.
"These bacha attacks have fuelled deep mistrust within police ranks," Seddiqullah, a police commander at a checkpoint near the provincial capital Tarin Kot, told AFP.
The insurgents are using boys as honey traps, said 21-year-old Matiullah, a policeman who was the only survivor from an insider attack in Dehrawud district in spring last year.
He said the attacker was the checkpoint commander's own sex slave, a teenager called Zabihullah. Late one night, he went on a shooting spree, killing seven policemen including the commander as they slept.
"He brought the Taliban inside and poked all the bodies with rifle butts to see if anyone was alive. I pretended to be dead," said Matiullah, who now works as a tailor, pointing out a gash on his forehead.
"As his Taliban accomplices gathered our weapons and ammunition, Zabihullah declared: 'Everyone is dead'."
The Taliban, who banned bacha bazi during their 1996-2001 rule, roundly denied deploying any underage boys for insider attacks.
"We have a special mujahideen brigade for such operations -- all grown men with beards," a Taliban spokesman told AFP.
The insurgents have long denied using children in combat, a claim repeatedly debunked by rights groups and the government.
Survivors of insider attacks who spoke to AFP, including Matiullah, suggest the Taliban are exploiting the institutionalisation of bacha bazi in police ranks for military gain.
Practically all of Uruzgan's 370 local and national police checkpoints have bachas -- some up to four -- who are illegally recruited not just for sexual companionship but also to bear arms, multiple officials said.
Some policemen, they said, demand bachas like a perk of the job, refusing to join outposts where they are not available.
Horrifying abuse at checkpoints makes the boys, many unpaid and unregistered, hungry for revenge and easy prey for Taliban recruitment -- often because there is no other escape from exploitative commanders.
Many who have tried to escape have been dragged back with trumped up charges of Taliban links, two senior provincial judges told AFP.
Boys have also spurred a deadly rivalry between policemen, with officials reporting incidents such as a public gunfight this year between two commanders in Gezab district as one of them angrily accused the other of "stealing" his bacha.
"To restore security in Uruzgan, we will first have to separate policemen from their bachas," one of the judges said. Tried using a crowbar?
"But if they are told to reform their ways, a common reply is: 'If you force me to abandon my boy lover, I will also abandon the checkpoint'. The Taliban are not blind to notice that this addiction is worse than opium."
Bacha bazi, which the US State Department has called a "culturally sanctioned form of male rape", peels away the masculine identity of boys in a society where the sexes are tightly segregated.
In conservative areas women are mostly invisible in public -- and often unattainable due to steep bride prices. Bachas supplant the role of women, adopting a feminine gait and sometimes wearing makeup and bells on their feet.
Many in Uruzgan see bacha bazi neither as paedophilia nor homosexuality, which is forbidden in Islam. If social norms had a pecking order, violating boys would be seen as far more ethical than violating women.
"Bacha bazi is pervasive sexual slavery of children, seen widely as a cultural practice and not a crime," Charu Lata Hogg, a director at London-based charity Child Soldiers International, told AFP.
"Since it is mostly practised by those in positions of power -- warlords, commanders, politicians -- it is hard to stamp out. It appears sustained partly by the fact that access to women is limited."
Insider attacks by child slaves have also been reported in recent years from neighbouring Helmand and Kandahar provinces, where bacha bazi is prevalent.
But the tactic appears more deep rooted in Uruzgan, where the boys are widely flaunted as a totem of affluence, with some officials openly displaying cellphone images to AFP of their "handsome bachas".
"Come see my beautiful bacha," said Naqibullah, a police commander in Dehjawze village near Tarin Kot, boasting that he had been holding the teenager for two years.
With a touch of kohl on his eyes, and bleached blond curly hair poking out of his embroidered hat, the boy sat in a corner of the checkpoint surrounded by opium farms, quietly refilling tea glasses for Naqibullah's guests.
"Commanders prowl neighbourhoods for young boys. We are scared of dressing up our children or buying new clothes that will make them attractive," said Nader Khan, a tribal elder in Dehrawud.
Khan's 13-year-old nephew was taken captive earlier this year by Naqibullah, a local commander not related to the Dehjawze official, when his family sent him to deliver bread for policemen. He was released only after angry tribal elders besieged the governor's office in Tarin Kot.
Governor Mohammad Nazir Kharoti told AFP he ordered Naqibullah's arrest but he was released in less than a month because he was needed for combat duty.
"It is difficult to implement the law 100 percent when we are faced with a war situation," Kharoti said, without elaborating on the case.
Afghanistan's interior ministry refused to confirm or deny that bachas were being used in insurgent attacks, but said it was committed to police reforms and acknowledged that "bacha bazi within the ranks of police is a serious crime".
The practice has put the United States and its NATO allies, who have spent billions of dollars to build Afghan forces, in a precarious position.
The US Congress last year voiced concern over "predatory sexual behaviour by Afghan soldiers and police", prompting watchdog agency SIGAR to launch an investigation that is still ongoing.
The head of a government-affiliated agency in Uruzgan showed AFP two letters from the attorney general in Kabul, one last year and another dated January, ordering a separate probe into sexual abuse and the illegal recruitment of child conscripts.
"We haven't been able to visit even one checkpoint to investigate," he said, speaking in hushed whispers in his own office.
"Do you think police commanders will leave us alive if we probe their crimes?"
A number of experts said on Wednesday that the Taliban has suffered heavy casualties on the battlefields against the Afghan forces and as a result the group has changed its war tactics.
At the beginning of their fighting season this summer, the Taliban launched widespread attacks in Helmand, Uruzgan, Kunduz, Faryab and number of other provinces – but now, since the death of their former leader Mullah Mansour, they conduct smaller, focused attacks against security checkpoints, officials said.
Experts believe that the Taliban, with this new tactic, suffer fewer casualties but that casualties are higher among government forces.
Experts have said the Taliban is now conducting "guerilla" attacks – which also include mass kidnappings on highways.
"Because the Taliban is being defeated, they turn to guerilla attacks. Afghan forces must stand seriously against the armed oppositions and terrorists and fight them," MP Syed Hussain Sharifi Balkhabi said.
"As you all witnessed, how many innocent passengers were killed and kept hostage by the Taliban? All these activities are their sign of weakness," said Habiba Danish another MP.
Parliament members believe that ignoring the Taliban's new tactics will increase casualties among security force members and also civilians. They said the Taliban will also use civilians as human shields.
"We are trying to respond to any terrorist activities. Our forces have a strong morale and people are with us," said Dawlat Waziri, the defense ministry spokesman.
"Even if Taliban change their war tactics we are after them and no matter where, if they create problems for our people, will we respond to them with force," said Sediq Sediqqi, the interior ministry's spokesman.
Security institutions said that in addition to providing security for the country's highways and that of passengers, security forces are currently conducting 22 pre-planned military operations in 17 provinces across the country.
The security institutions did however confirm that the Taliban and Daesh have sustained heavy casualty tolls in the ongoing operations.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The leader of the notorious Haqqani terrorist network and deputy chief of the Taliban group Sirajuddin Haqqani ...son of Pashtun warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, still titular head of the Haqqani Network.... has said Taliban is open to talks only if such negotiations are in line with Sharia.
He did not elaborate regarding his statement suggesting that the talks could be held in line with Sharia but the Taliban group and the Haqqani terrorist network have long been demanding the complete withdrawal of foreign forces and establishment a strict Sharia rule in the country.
In a rare audio message, obtained by the local media in Pakistain, Sirajuddin said "The Islamic Emirate [of Afghanistan] is not opposed to talks if they are held in line with Sharia and if the international community agrees to this."
Sirajuddin further added "Our Political Commission deals with the issue of negotiations. If we were opposed to talks, we would have not formed this commission," according to The Express Tribune.
"This was a consensus decision of the Taliban leadership," he said, adding that "The international community has imposed a puppet administration on the people of Afghanistan. They are now asking and even forcing us to join it. We cannot accept this demand. The Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... administration has no power as it cannot implement any decision."
The audio message by Sirajuddin has been released as Quadrilateral talks involving Afghanistan, Pakistain, China and United States failed to revive the peace talks.
The Afghan government was forced to opt a strict military option against the Taliban group after the group rejected calls for peace talks and staged a deadly attack in capital Kabul in April this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Haqqani Network
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan and Pak authorities have agreed on a ceasefire at Torkham following three days of intense tensions that led to heavy festivities on numerous occasions.
The Afghan Ambassador to Pakistain Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal confirmed that a ceasefire was agreed following the meetings with the Pak authorities.
"Productive meetings with relevant Pak leadership on Torkham issue. Agreed on ceasefire, deescalation of tension, draw down of military buildup and steps forward for an amicable solution," Zakhilwal said in a short message posted on his Facebook account.
In the meantime, the local media in Pakistain reported that construction work on Torkham gate also started following the ceasefire announcement.
However, the way to a man's heart remains through his stomach... the Afghan officials have not commented in this regard so far which was the main cause of deadly festivities over the past three days.
At least three Afghan border guards bit the dust during the festivities and numerous others were maimed and the Pak authorities confirmed the death of a senior army officer.
Although, the exact number of casualties of the Pak forces has not ascertained so far.
The festivities in Torkham started late on Sunday night after the Afghan border guards interferred to stop the work on the construction of the gate along the zero point of Durand Line.
The Afghan officials condemned the act by the Pak forces and called it against the bilateral agreement as the two nations must consult before starting work on any installation along the zero line.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
A Turkish military center in Somalia is expected to train Somalian troops to fight against Al-Shabaab armed group. Following a military base in Qatar, Turkey’s second overseas military base will be in Somalia, at the coast of the Gulf of Aden.
This is part of a long-standing interest in Somalia by the Turks.
Why on earth does Turkey care?
According to an agreement approved by the United Nations, almost 1,500 Somalian military personnel will be trained by Turkish military trainers.
The military base in Mogadishu is a part of Turkey’s pledge to build up the national army for the Somali government, which will fight against the al-Shabaab extreme organization as well as other regional extreme groups. According to government sources the initiative was a part of a framework agreement between the countries on defense industry cooperation signed last year.
On January 25 in 2015, Mogadishu and Ankara reached an agreement to increase military cooperation, which lasted almost a year until it was approved by the Defense Committee of the Turkish Parliament on December 9, 2015.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/16/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Shabaab
#2
Note also in that story that Turkey is building an aircraft carrier and that Libya plays into Turkey's game as a restart of the same game the US Marines halted with Jefferson's Barbary War.
#4
Would we or the Euros actually allow such a thing to occur 3dc?
How hard would it be to totally destroy any and all maritime "assets" (other than anchors) and their port facilities if we really wanted to? I don't doubt that deluded Muzzies dream of such things, but really?
The Bunyan Marsous says that its forces have been making progress during the day in Sirte against the so-called Islamic State (IS), moving through the town’s western district of Zafran, some four kilometres from the centre Sirte. It claimed it had inflicted “heavy losses” on IS, both in terms of men and equipment. However, it too had suffered losses. It put these at two dead and 18 wounded.
Misrata Central Hospital, however, reports that it received five bodies of “martyrs” during the day and treated 37 soliders wounded in the fighting. The figure is up from yesterday’s toll of three dead and 29 injured.
MCH also pointed out that today’s dead came not only from Misrata but also from Mizda, Sebha and Tripoli. The wounded, it added, were from across the country.
Fresh supplies of medications and medical equipment donated by various groups have meanwhile been arriving at the hospital over the past couple of days. However, the hospital is working round the clock because of the fighting in Sirte. The administration has called on staff to work overtime because of the current situation.
Posted by: badanov ||
06/16/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
The United Arab Emirates has announced the end of the war in Yemen for Emirati troops, though it may continue to keep its forces there for counterterrorism operations.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, carried the announcement on his official Twitter account late Wednesday.
He was quoting the UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, who had given a speech earlier saying the "war is over for our troops."
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] Bahrain religious scholars (Ulama) denounced the repressive, terrorist acts practiced by the authorities against the people and their religious and political components in the context of commenting on the regime's decision to suspend the activities of the Islamic National Association of al-Wefaq and dissolve al-Tawiya and al-Risala Islamic associations.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Bahrain Ulama considered that the recent developments as a war declaration on the peaceful political opposition, the people's will and aspirations, and the cultural and religious existence of the Shia sect in the country.
The statement added that the regime's terrorist escalation reflects its illogical approach and sectarian as well as arrogant policy in face of the peaceful and opprerssed people who moved to demand that the authorities grant them their legitimate rights.
The regime is mistaken if it thinks that such repressive acts can eradicate the popular mobility, and al-Wefaq association is not mere headquarters that can be closed or a number of people that can be enjugged Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! , yet it reflects the people's will, mobility and ambitions, according to the statement which also hailed the vital role of al-Tawiya association in sustaining the bright Bahraini thought.
Bahrain Ulama finally asserted that the popular mobility will continue because it is based on religious and human grounds despite all the regime practices which would reinforce the popular conviction of the necessity of change and reform.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
OWG Amerika's BFF Rising Iran to attack Bahrain [+ Emirates?] = OWG Amerika's BFF Rising China to attack Taiwan + Japan???
I've said it before - China is NOT going to wait until 2030 or 2050 for the US to give Taiwan back, nor as per its desired strategic access for the PLA in the East China Sea agz Japan. Iff China doesn't make a serious or major mil move agz Taiwan + ECS by the time the Bammer leaves office in Jan 2017, it will during a POTUS Trump or POTUS Hillary Admin, i.e. 2018 < 2020.
#2
Don' fear a US-Russia or other US war - FEAR MORE A US-LED WAR IN DEFENSE OF OUR REGIONAL ALLIES.
SUCH A WAR WILL VERIFY, OR NOT, THE BAMMER'S = AMERIKA'S SELF-PROCLAIMED, SELF-ALLEGED STRATEGIC WEAKNESS AGZ OUR FELLOW OWG "CO-SUPERPOWERS", + THEIR STRENGTH RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER.
[IN.REUTERS] Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... 's powerful deputy crown prince held a full day of meetings with U.S. politicians on Wednesday, part of a visit aimed at restoring frayed ties with Washington and promoting his plan to wean the kingdom away from oil revenue.
Mohammed bin Salman, son of Saudi Arabia's King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Cutodian of the Two Holy Mosquesand Lord of Most of the Arabians.... , is expected to meet U.S. President Barack Obama Jedi mind meld... on Friday.
Lawmakers said his discussions on Wednesday, including meetings with the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees and House Speaker Paul Ryan ...U.S. Representative for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, serving since 1999. He is a member of the Republican Party. He proposed an alternative to President Obama's 2011 budget and made himself the target of both Democrat and Republican verbal pies... , emphasized his push to help end Saudi dependence on oil by 2030.
"I know that there are tremendous cultural challenges that he'll have to overcome, but if he's 50 percent successful, it will be something," said Republican Senator Bob Corker, who chairs the Foreign Relations committee.
The "Vision 2030" plan relies on an expanding private sector, selling shares in the Saudi state-owned oil company and reducing government subsidies. It faces obstacles in the kingdom's conservative religious establishment and a population used to government largesse.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia
#1
Are they concerned their 'investment' in Hillary's campaign won't pay off?
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Police in western Bangladesh said Wednesday they have armed villagers with bamboo sticks and whistles in an effort to deter radical forces of Evil from attacking people of minority faiths.
Officers said they wanted to empower people to act against forces of Evil who have killed dozens of secular activists, Hindus and other minorities across the country in recent years.
The move comes after a Hindu priest was found slaughtered in a rice field in western Bangladesh, the latest in a series of gruesome murders targeting secular campaigners and religious minorities in the mainly Moslem country.
"We want to change the scenario. We want the people to be cautious, safe and united against militancy and other crimes," said Ehsan Ullah, police chief in the western district of Magura, which has a large Hindu population.
Ullah said the sticks and whistles were aimed partly at raising morale among local people.
"Almost all recent (militant) attacks took place during a time when roads were empty and the local community was busy with farming or asleep," he told AFP.
Police denied the scheme could be open to abuse, despite concerns from some human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... activists that the move could trigger mob lynchings.
The ISIS group has grabbed credit for the Hindu priest's murder and other recent attacks.
But authorities instead blame homegrown murderous Moslem groups and say ISIS and other international group have no presence in Bangladesh.
Last Friday the police launched a crackdown on murderous Moslem groups in Bangladesh in the wake of the violence, arresting more than 11,000 people in recent days.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Bengalis may wield their bamboo;
To Britons such things are taboo:
"Of licking we're skittish;
No sticks, please, we're British!
To all that, we've said, 'Toodle-oo.'"
#1
was fired after lamenting that the death toll in Sunday’s jihadist attack on the Pulse LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was lower than it could have been.
[SeanHannity] As we continue to learn details about the terror attack that took the lives of 49 people at a popular Orlando nightclub, we're now learning that the attack might have been preventable. A whistleblower from the Department of Homeland Security has come forward to claim that the department scrubbed records that tied Muslims to terrorism, records that might have prevented the attacks in both San Bernardino and Orlando.
Philip Haney was a founding member of the DHS, beginning his work for the department in 2003. His job, as he explains it, was "connecting the dots" between individuals, organizations, and networks across the country that may have had ties to terrorism.
In 2009, six years into his tenure with the department, Haney claims critical information about U.S. based Muslims with terror ties, which represented years of painstaking work, were deleted from the DHS's records.
"It was directed from DHS headquarters," Haney said on Tuesday's Hannity. "It's important to keep in mind that that was one year after the November 2008 Holy Land Foundation trial, the largest terror trial in American history, that irrefutably proved that these individuals from the Muslim Brotherhood front groups were in direct financial support of Hamas."
It was during this trial that the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America, and the North American Islamic Trust were named as un-indicted co-conspirators in funneling money to the terrorist organization Hamas.
According to Haney, orders to purge DHS records came down shortly after President Obama took office in 2009 and then again in 2012. He believes that both the San Bernardino and Orlando attacks might have been prevented had the purges not occurred.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ||
06/16/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
According to Haney, orders to purge DHS records came down shortly after President Obama took office in 2009 and then again in 2012. He believes that both the San Bernardino and Orlando attacks might have been prevented had the purges not occurred.
Its long past time that we require those that defend the Islamic ideology defend their support of it. IF I were a public official and to publicly declare that green apples provide salvation, its more than fair that the public at large that learned of such a declaration could ask for clarification of what such a belief entailed.
So when you keep seeing the FBI letting this obvious Jihadist Threat off at every opportunity, and when you see them become like the IRS with refusing to disclose who made key decisions like closing the file, rmemeber: they did this intentionally, but don't want you to know who did it.
The FBI will soon put up a brick wall of resistance to Congressional inquiries into this case. On Obama's orders, they will not disclose whom their orders came from.
Because, of course, the orders came from Obama and his inner circle of Fndamental Change."
Excerpt from an ABC News post by Anguper Hupomosing yesterday:
Robert Abell, a co-owner of Lotus Gunworks in Jensen Beach, Florida, told ABC News today that a man entered the store five or six weeks ago and asked specific questions about high-end body armor. When employees said the store didn't carry the body armor he wanted, Abell said, the man made a phone call in a foreign language, hung up and then asked about ammunition in bulk. My emphasis added. Appears, I say again.... appears there was no, or inadequate follow-up by the Bureau on the phone call, probably from a cell phone in a fairly identifiable time frame. CCTV from adjacent businesses, word search on the internet? Did LE contact other gun shops or body armor vendors? Very curious. Hat tip to poster Anguper Hupomosing Good job by the store employees to call the FBI; too bad this didn't lead to an arrest before the shooting.
[AlAhram] US authorities on Wednesday warned that threats against Muslims would not be tolerated, after alleged incidents in the wake of the Orlando gay club massacre, which was carried out by a Muslim gunman.
Officials asked the public to help in the investigation of Sunday's carnage at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando -- the worst mass shooting in American history, which left 49 people dead and 53 others wounded.
Gunman Omar Mateen was killed in a shootout with police.
The city -- reeling from the mass shooting, the murder of a singer who competed on TV reality show "The Voice" and the death of a toddler in an alligator attack at a Disney resort hotel -- was bracing for the first club-related funeral later Wednesday.
"Civil rights violations are a priority for the FBI," assistant special agent Ron Hopper told reporters. "We will investigate reported incidents against individuals based upon any class, any protected class, to include race, religion, and sexual orientation."
US attorney Lee Bentley chimed in: "Making these threats is not only wrong, in most cases, making these threats is illegal. Stop it. Any threats like this detract from what we're doing in law enforcement."
Members of the small Muslim community in Mateen's hometown of Fort Pierce say they have endured profanity-laced taunts in recent days -- and even death threats.
"We're scared," Bedar Bakht, a taciturn Pakistani in his 50s who worships at the same mosque attended by Mateen, told AFP.
"He appears to have been an angry, disturbed, unstable young man who became radicalized," said Obama, who was set to visit Orlando on Thursday to show solidarity with survivors and relatives of the dead.
#4
Members of the small Muslim community in Mateen's hometown of Fort Pierce say they have endured profanity-laced taunts in recent days -- and even death threats.
Toughen up Buttercups. If you were a Christian, it would be far worse. Or if you were Trump or a Trump supporter, it would be far worse.
#6
"Muslims anticipate backlash after tomorrow's massacre of infidels"
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/16/2016 8:48 Comments ||
Top||
#7
"We will investigate reported incidents against individuals based upon any class, any protected class, to include race, religion, and sexual orientation."
This "protected class" crap has got to cease. But it won't, because designating particular groups of people-- Muslims being the latest addition-- as "protected", and therefore deserving of special favor by the government, is the primary means by which the Pander Party acquires and maintains political power in this country.
"Members of the small Muslim community in Mateen's hometown of Fort Pierce say they have endured profanity-laced taunts in recent days -- and even death threats."
Tough shit. You don't like people being angry with you? Then stop slaughtering innocent Americans who are guilty of nothing more than not being Muslim.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
06/16/2016 8:52 Comments ||
Top||
#8
However, it's OK to demonize white Americans for those few who actually owned slaves over a 150 years ago. If you hold 'America' as damned for that, we can hold other communities to the same standard worthy of scorn, suspicion, and intolerance for the jihad against infidels.
Robert Abell, a co-owner of Lotus Gunworks in Jensen Beach, Florida, told ABC News today that a man entered the store five or six weeks ago and asked specific questions about high-end body armor. When employees said the store didn't carry the body armor he wanted, Abell said, the man made a phone call in a foreign language, hung up and then asked about ammunition in bulk.
Abell added that they thought the man was "very suspicious," so they called the local FBI office in West Palm Beach and reported the incident. But they didn't have the man's name, since no sale was made, and the only surveillance footage they had was grainy.
"We gave them information and everything that took place, and that was the end of the conversation," he said.
There was a follow-up conversation with agents, Abell said, but the FBI never visited the store or investigated further.
That was the end of it until he saw the news about the Orlando shooting that took place early Sunday morning and images of the man identified as the killer: Mateen, the man who Abell said was in the store.
[Iraq Sun] Even as the humanitarian crisis unfolds during the fierce battle to recapture Fallujah, ... the City of Mosques, which might have somthing to do with why it's not called Center of Prosperity or a really nice place to raise your kids... Iraq, another humanitarian disaster is developing in northern Iraq.
More than 14,000 Iraqis have now been forced to flee their homes following a renewed offensive by Iraqi forces against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group southeast of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , and more are leaving every day.
Mosul has been under IS control since June 2014.
According to UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, civilians living southeast of the city have been walking through minefields at night to escape the fighting as Iraqi security forces edge closer to the city.
Frederic Cussigh, head of the UNHCR's field response unit in Irbil, said there were reports some refugees had been "trapped, severely injured or killed in minefields on their way to safety."
Camps set up to receive them are rapidly filling up.
An eventual assault on Mosul could result in a displacement of upward of 600,000 people, the UNCHR warned.
The current offensive in Fallujah, by comparison, has displaced 43,000, and humanitarian agencies there are already warning of being overwhelmed by refugees' needs.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2016 00:00 ||
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[Iraq Sun] A resolution of the Paleostinian issue is no longer a key concern of Arab countries, a senior Israeli official confirmed on Wednesday.
It is also of little interest to Israel, the official said.
Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold was speaking to a packed conference in Jerusalem when he revealed the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict is no longer a barrier for Israel in building already-budding relations with the Arab world.
Mr Gold elaborated on behind-the-scenes relations with Arab nations which he said must remain clandestine to respect the Arab public's "sensitivities." Dore has met on a number of occasions unofficially and officially with leaders and officials of Arab countries that have no diplomatic ties with Israel.
Quoted by the Times of Israel, the top diplomat described the 49-year occupation and conflict with the Paleostinians as being "pretty close to the bottom," as far as issues Israel and Arab countries are discussing.
An Israeli rapprochement with Sunni Arab states will take place before a peace agreement with the Paleostinians can be reached, Gold was quoted as saying, confirming this was the "strategy" of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"That is the strategy. Twenty, thirty years ago everyone said, solve the Paleostinian issue and you'll have peace with the Arab world. Increasingly we are becoming convinced, it's the exact opposite. It's a different order we have to create. And that's what we're going to do."
Dole said he looked forward to the day when Israeli journalists can walk in Arab cities and the coverage that will emanate from it.
"It is very gratifying to get that kind of coverage. But we have to be very careful with our Arab neighbors. They have sensitivities," he said. "They have populations which may not always look favorably upon that coverage."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2016 00:00 ||
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I'm the new kid here but my guess is the gulf states hate Iran more than they hate Israel. And absent American power need Israel as a counterbalance to Iranian power. Starting maybe in Yemen?
Posted by: Black John Smith ||
06/16/2016 11:58 Comments ||
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[IsraelTimes] New legislation mandates 3-5 year prison terms for supporters of terrorism, up to 15 years to anyone who aids attackers
The Knesset on Wednesday passed a series of sweeping anti-terror reforms that for the first time enshrine into law penalties for terror attacks. The far-reaching bill passed with 57 politicians in favor and 16 opposed.
The legislation, lauded by backers for enabling Israel to effectively confront terrorism but lambasted by opponents as a setback for civil rights, puts an end to years of deliberation -- including 30 Knesset committee meetings stretching over three different governments. It merges two private member bills and three government-sponsored bills and will replace all previous anti-terror laws and regulations, including those from the pre-state British Mandate era.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Sources have revealed how Iran's Assembly of Experts has elected the well-known hardliner Ahmad Jannati in its rank to head the council of holy mans, which is responsible for selecting the successor of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Although not well-known in the West, Ali Asghar Hejazi is a very powerful man in the Iranian leadership.
The shadowy holy man’s high position, heading up security for the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gives him direct access to the Islamic republic’s most authoritative figure.
In the previous three decades, he served in several senior intelligence roles.
The older Hejazi has been also been busy. Recently, he helped an ally and hardliner take a post in a top governmental council.
Sources revealed how Iran’s Assembly of Experts last month elected the well-known hardliner Ahmad Jannati in May in its rank to head the council of holy mans, which is responsible for selecting the successor of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
A majority of the 88-member council voted on Tuesday in favor of Jannati, keeping the council in the hands of ultra-conservatives, countering the gains by reformists and moderates during the February elections.
Jannati’s election came as a surprise. He had previously been the minority holder in the council, and sources said that he was about to lose the election until the older Hejazi met the chairman of Iran’s expediency council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ... the fourth President of Iran. He was a member of the Assembly of Experts until he was eased out in 2011 He continues, for the moment, as Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council. In 2005 he ran for a third term as president, ultimately losing to rival Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was in Khamenei's graces back then. In 1980 Rafsanjani survived an assassination attempt, during which he was seriously injured. He has been described as a centrist and a pragmatic conservative without all that much reason. He is currently being eased out of any position of actual influence or power and may be dead by the end of 2012... , who is also the former president of Iran.
The source said that a decision was taken then to knock another candidate, known only as "Sejadi," off the list of the assembly’s key figures.
This move paved the way to Jannati to jump in the council’s rank. His new status puts him on the list to run for the Assembly of Expert’s top post ‐ its presidency.
Primed for power
A source said "We can now disclose that alongside his official position, Hejazi serves as a prominent link between Iran’s leadership and the murky operations of the Quds Force, the special forces unit of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards."
Despite his high profile, one of Hejazi’s children manages to maintain a very secretive, yet important role. Uncovered information reveals that his son, Mohammad Hassan Hejazi, is a key Quds Force operative.
The 29-year-old serves as a high-ranking field operative in a unit responsible for intelligence gathering and reconnaissance for the Quds Force’s activities abroad. In the last few years, he headed covert operations in several countries around Europe, South-East Asia and in the Middle East.
Growing up amongst Tehran’s wealthy, connected elite, Mohammad Hassan reportedly has a taste for luxury ‐ with a passion for expensive cars and fine dining. He is also not afraid to pull strings in the capital’s corridors of power.
While the young Hejazi lacks a dazzling social media presence like some of the internet-famous Rich Kids of Tehran, his ilk are commonly nicknamed "Aga-Zadeh," or "spoiled brats."
Like many other Quds Force operatives, Mohammad Hassan is known to use aliases and fake passports to conduct his operations.
If his powerful father stays in his position - and the son continues on this same path - it would seem likely that the young Hejazi could soon become one of the leading and most influential figures in the Quds Force.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... warned Russia on Wednesday that US patience on the Syria conflict and the issue of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... 's fate is "running out."
"Russia needs to understand that our patience is not infinite, in fact it is very limited with whether or not Assad is going to be held accountable," Kerry said during a visit to Norway.
"We also are prepared to hold accountable members of the opposition" who have been involved in continuing violence, he said after a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.
"It is very clear that the cessation of hostilities is frayed and at risk and that it is critical for a genuine cessation to be put in place. We know that, we have no illusion," Kerry said.
"This is a critical moment and we are working very. very hard to see if we can in the next week or two come to an agreement that has a capacity to more fully implement a ceasefire across the country and deliver humanitarian access in a way that then provides for a genuine opportunity to bring people to the table and start talking about a transition," the top US diplomat said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2016 00:00 ||
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The US-led coalition said in a press statement on Wednesday that on June 13, the Syrian Democratic Forces-led alliance of SAC completed their first phase of the operation to free Manbij, and that now the second phase to liberate the city will start.
“Operating on multiple fronts, the SAC have secured the routes to and from Manbij. For the SAC, civilian safety is a critical concern, and as a consequence people are returning to the already liberated inhabited villages,” the US coalition said.
“Since the operation began the Coalition has conducted more than 190 airstrikes in the vicinity of Manbij and in the last four days destroyed three command headquarters, which is encouraging ISIL’s retreat into the city,” the coalition added, using another acronym for ISIS.
According to the US-led coalition, the Manbij operation will prevents threats to Turkey, Europe and the United States.
“The Manbij City operation, coupled with the Coalition-supported Syrian moderate opposition efforts to clear Da’esh [ISIS] from the Turkish border and the Mar’a Line, continues to attrite Da’esh forces and minimize the threat to Turkey, the rest of Europe, and the United States,” it said.
Posted by: badanov ||
06/16/2016 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] Iran on Wednesday accused a British-Iranian woman incarcerated Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! in April of seeking to overthrow the Tehran government, an allegation dismissed by her husband as "complete nonsense".
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an employee of the Thomson Rooters Foundation, was accused of being "involved in the soft overthrow of the Islamic republic through... her membership in foreign companies and institutions," Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said, quoted by the Mizan news agency.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 37, was arrested at Tehran airport on April 3 as she prepared to return to Britannia with her daughter after visiting family in Iran, her husband Richard Ratcliffe said last week.
Iran does not recognise dual citizenship and, if put on trial, she will be considered an Iranian.
According to a Guards statement, Zaghari-Ratcliffe was "identified and arrested after massive intelligence operations" as one of "the heads of foreign-linked hostile networks".
She was alleged to have conducted "various missions... leading her criminal activities under the direction of media and intelligence services of foreign governments".
"Further investigations are being done and her case has been sent to Tehran for legal proceedings," the statement added.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe is being held in a furnished room in a prison in the southeastern city of Kerman, it added.
Her husband, who last spoke to his wife on May 30 and has said she was held in solitary confinement for 45 days, on Wednesday scoffed at the charges levelled against her.
"It's complete nonsense. It's taken them 70 days to come up with this, and it's still not clear what it means anyway," he told AFP.
"Her father has appointed a lawyer. The next step is to discuss with her father what the lawyer knows. And I'll probably go to the Iranian embassy," he added.
Their two-year-old daughter, whose British passport was taken away, has stayed in Iran under the care of her grandparents.
Britannia's Foreign Office said it has raised the case of Zaghari-Ratcliffe "repeatedly and at the highest levels" and will continue to do so at "every available opportunity".
"We have also been supporting Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's family since we were first made aware of her arrest. Minister for the Middle East, Tobias Ellwood, has met personally with the family to reassure them that we will continue to do all we can on this case."
The husband, who said Zaghari-Ratcliffe was initially told a "passport problem" was the cause of her being detained at Tehran airport, organised a rally outside the Iranian embassy in London on Friday demanding her release.
Her employer, the charitable arm of financial information and news giant Thomson Rooters, coordinates training programmes for journalists around the world.
Chief executive Monique Villa said Wednesday that Zaghari-Ratcliffe had travelled to Iran on a family holiday.
"Nazanin has been working at the Thomson Rooters Foundation for the past four years as a project coordinator in charge of grants applications and training, and had no dealing with Iran in her professional capacity," she said.
"The Thomson Rooters Foundation has no dealings with Iran whatsoever, does not operate and does not plan to operate in the country."
In 2012, an Iranian court found the Rooters news agency guilty of "propaganda against the regime", and "publishing false information in an effort to disturb public opinion" in a report portraying female ninja students as assassins.
Iran withdrew the press credentials of all staff at Rooters' Tehran bureau over the story and suspended the work of the news agency, part of the New York-based Thomson Rooters group. It was given permission to reopen the bureau the following year.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/16/2016 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The Taliban are using child sex slaves to mount crippling insider attacks on police in southern Afghanistan, exploiting the pervasive practice of "bacha bazi" -- paedophilic boy play -- to infiltrate security ranks, multiple officials and survivors of such assaults told AFP.
A number of experts said on Wednesday that the Taliban has suffered heavy casualties on the battlefields against the Afghan forces and as a result the group has changed its war tactics.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The leader of the notorious Haqqani terrorist network and deputy chief of the Taliban group 
[SeanHannity] As we continue to learn details about the terror attack that took the lives of 49 people at a popular Orlando nightclub, we're now learning that the attack might have been preventable. A whistleblower from the Department of Homeland Security has come forward to claim that the department scrubbed records that tied Muslims to terrorism, records that might have prevented the attacks in both San Bernardino and Orlando.
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] US Secretary of State 
