[Dawn] Several hundred demonstrators were marching to the Afghan parliament building in Kabul, protesting the continued presence of US special operations forces in Afghanistan's troubled Wardak province.
Kabul's deputy police chief General Mohammad Daud Amin said Saturday's demonstration of roughly 500 protesters had been peaceful.
The demonstrators were demanding the release of nine local citizens they believe were detained by US forces.
US officials have said only four of the nine missing men were arrested in joint US-Afghan raids.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai had demanded all US commandos leave the province early last week, but agreed to give top US commander General Joseph Dunford more time to craft a solution that maintains security in Wardak, which is used as a gateway by militants to bring bombers and weapons into Kabul.
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[Guardian Ng] THE Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika, at the weekend, reiterated the resolve of the Nigerian Army to deal decicively with the Boko Haram insect.
He stated that the Army, in conjunction with other security agencies, has, in the last two weeks, recorded significant progress on the war against members of the sect.
Speaking after leading officers and men of the Army headquarters garrison in the range classification exercise, held at the 177 Guards Battalion in Keffi, Nasarawa State, he gave a vivid account of how his men got rid of key members of the sect in Sokoto, Maiduguri and Kaduna states.
He said: "I can tell you that, in the last one to two weeks, the operations have been very, very, successful. You are probably aware of the operations conducted in Kaduna, leading to the recovery of several assault weapons. This was followed by the operation conducted under the Joint Task Force in Maiduguri that also yielded so much recovery of arsenal of the enemy.
"The latest is the one in Sokoto during which we were able to take off one of the leaders of the Boko Haram sect. A member, 'Asalafi', was one of those on whose head we put a price. We took him off. This was followed by another leader, 'Danladi', and yet another called, 'Doctor'. Doctor is a bomb-making expert, while Danladi was said to be their Vice President or so. Asalafi was also known from to be their Minister of Defence. The recoveries made in Sokoto are as important as the ones made in Maiduguri and Kaduna. We discovered assault weapons, rocket launchers and pistols and other bomb making materials."
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[Bangla Daily Star] Opposition leader Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... is putting on an act by visiting temples to protect the Jamaat-BNP myrmidons involved in the recent countrywide violence and brutality, alleged Workers' Party of Bangladesh leaders at a rally yesterday.
Khaleda's act of donating money to people of violence-hit areas, after her party was involved in the destruction of temples around the country, is hypocrisy and people will not be alarmed by this pretence, they said.
The party organised the rally before the capital's Jatiya Press Club protesting against the violence, says a blurb.
"The country is witness to the countrywide planned acts of violence conducted by Jamaat-Shibir activists after Delwar Hossain Sayeedi ...Islamic orator and politician. He was a former Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2008, and is one of the most prominent leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami... was sentenced to death," stated the party's Politburo Member Nurul Hossain.
Khaleda's party did not only support Jamaat-Shibir in their destructive activities but also took part in creating violence, which is an attempt to divide the country and deface the country's image in the international world, he said.
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[Bangla Daily Star] In a scathing attack on BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... , Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since 1981. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide... yesterday said the opposition had unleashed a reign of terror across the country in the name of movement.
"On the pretext of waging a movement, they (opposition) have been carrying out killings, arson and attacks on the minority communities and Awami League leaders and workers," she said.
"The opposition leader will have to shoulder the responsibility for these destructive activities."
The prime minister, who is also the president of the ruling Awami League, made the remarks at the AL Advisory Council meeting at the Gono Bhaban in the evening.
She alleged that the BNP had joined forces with Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... to commit atrocities on the minority communities and assault the police.
"The BNP's character is like that. They set fire to even mosques if they feel it necessary. What type of Islam do they follow? They start chanting slogans before completing prayers," Hasina said referring to recent processions brought out from the Baitul Mukarram national mosque after Juma prayers.
She said Khaleda Zia had all along been against the country's independence.
"Today, they (BNP) are going against the spirit of the Liberation War by siding with the war criminals," the AL president told the meeting.
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[Jpost] Kerry calls Turkish counterpart, asks for Ankara's help in restarting Israeli-Paleostinian grinding of the peace processor; Ankara turns down request.
He's only pretending to be a blowhard, according to some mainstream maven or other. Really, he's The Second Smartest Man In The Room.
#1
US Asks a revived Ottoman Turkey For Help With ME Peace Stability Process
FIFY. Paleos will never settle for anything less than the destruction of Israel. It's in the literature they teach their children with. Deal with reality.
[Jpost] Algerian immigrant admitted to conspiring to bomb synagogues in retaliation for "Jewish mistreatment of Moslems."
An Algerian immigrant to the United States convicted under a rarely invoked New York state terror statute of plotting to blow up synagogues and churches in Manhattan was sentenced on Friday to 10 years in prison.
Ahmed Ferhani, 28, pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy as a crime of terrorism, related weapons charges and other crimes. He admitted to conspiring with another man, Mohamed Mamdouh, to bomb synagogues in retaliation for what he viewed as Jewish mistreatment of Moslems throughout the world.
"This defendant walked far across the bridge to and from terrorism," prosecutor Gary Galperin said. "Now he must stand and watch it burn."
Ferhani, tossed in the calaboose Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! in May 2011 after he and Mamdouh discussed their plans with an undercover New York police detective, told Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus that he was not the dangerous individual described by authorities.
"The government has tried to depict me in the worst light," he said. "My spirit has not been broken, and never will be."
Mamdouh's case is still pending. His lawyer, Aaron Mysliwiec, declined to comment on Ferhani's sentencing.
The case is one of only two brought by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance under the terrorism statute since the law was passed following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The other involves a Dominican-born US citizen, Jose Pimentel, who was also arrested in 2011 after a police informant secretly recorded him as he bought bomb-making materials and planned to target cop shoppes, according to police.
Police characterized Ferhani and Mamdouh as "lone wolf" Islamic fascistiwith no known ties to Islamist beturbanned goon groups. They were arrested after purchasing guns, ammunition and what they believed was a live grenade, police said.
Ferhani's defense lawyers renewed their argument on Friday that Ferhani suffered from mental problems that made him an easy target for an overeager detective.
"This was clearly a case of entrapment," his lawyer, Lamis Deek, said following the hearing.
Deek said Ferhani agreed to plead guilty because entrapment is a difficult defense to prove and because the sentence was appropriate for what she said was essentially a weapons case. He faces deportation at the conclusion of his prison term.
City police commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a statement that Ferhani "posed a real threat" to New Yorkers.
Like Ferhani's attorneys, lawyers for Pimentel have argued that the unemployed Bronx man was "prime pickings" for an overreaching police department.
A Bronx gang member, Edgar Morales, was the first defendant convicted under the terrorism statute in 2007, but his conviction was overturned when an appeals court ruled that the statute could not be used to prosecute street gangs.
When attached to certain offenses, the statute functions as a punitive escalator, allowing for harsher prison sentences.
"Today's sentencing marks an important first for local law enforcement officials in New York State," Vance, the district attorney, said in a statement.
But Ferhani and his lawyers say his true intention was to sell the weapons on the black market because he was desperate for money. The police recordings also captured him talking about lining up buyers and speculating about how much he might earn.
Ferhani is almost certain to be deported to Algeria after his release from jail. His citizenship applications over the years had been denied because of his past criminal history and mental health problems that included repeated hospitalizations for psychiatric disorders.
Ferhani's case has attracted attention from some civil rights advocates because of the tactics police used to reel him in. An undercover operative befriended Ferhani shortly after his release from a three-month jail term, then gradually steered him into talks about retaliating against Jews and others for the way Mohammedans were treated around the world. The FBI and federal prosecutors who normally join in on anti-terror investigations declined to get involved in this case. A grand jury also declined to indict him and a co-defendant on a top-level terror conspiracy charge.
This came over the transom (I seem to have got on a mailing list) -- a free PDF download. Lots of statistical breakdowns about the jihadis who attacked within the U.S., and either died in the process or went up before military or civilian courts. The forward was written by General Michael V. Hayden, ret'd., former director of the CIA and the NSA. For those of you who enjoy such things.
#1
Instead of the CIA training agents to work out of embassies at dinner parties it appears a better longer term approach would be to open up mosques with radical imans and let the terrorist approach the CIA Iman.
[Dawn] Ambassador of Pakistan to the United Nations Masood Khan has said Pakistan-US relations are back on track after a brief period of tensions.
Addressing a largely American audience at the Pakistan's UN mission in New York on Thursday evening, Mr Khan observed that by and large people of Pakistan wanted good relations with the United States and said "there was no sign of hostility".
He was responding to questions about the recent strained relations between Washington and Islamabad and the anti-American sentiment in Pakistan during a lecture on "Pakistan and the United Nations" organised jointly by the United Nations Association of New York and the Columbia University Club.
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Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2013 12:11 Comments ||
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#6
Speaking of rubes...
Addressing a largely American audience at the Pakistan's UN mission in New York on Thursday evening, Mr Khan observed that by and large people of Pakistan wanted good relations with the United States and said "there was no sign of hostility".
Good night everybody. Don't forget to tip your waitress...
[Dawn] Pakistan's National Assembly has completed its constitutional five-year tenure on Sunday for the first time in its political history, paving way for a caretaker administration to oversee general election expected in mid-May.
Earlier on, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf addressed the nation on Saturday night in his farewell speech as the country's premier.
Prime Minister Ashraf said the completion of full constitutional term by his government was no less than a historic achievement, despite all the odds.
"Despite all the odds, completion of the term is an extraordinary and historic achievement," he said and added that the journey of democracy to this stage has seen many difficulties.
He said there was a long history of conflict between democratic and non-democratic forces in the country, however the democratic forces have now finally succeeded.
The prime minister said it was a matter of honour for him that an ordinary person such as himself, was the prime minister of the country and said it reflected a continuity of the democratic dispensation in the country.
He said that in the past five years the government has had to face strong criticism from the media.
"We kept in view the freedom of media and not only tolerated all criticism, but also cooperated with it, so that it continues to work for strengthening of democracy."
The prime minister said while keeping in view the right of the media to be independent, responsibility from elements of the media should not be ignored.
Raja Pervez Ashraf is expected to stay as the premier until a caretaker prime minister takes over.
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[Dawn] Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday said that there was no need to conduct any 'grand operation' in Karachi, DawnNews reported.
Malik said that only 15-20 miscreants were responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation in the city and would be caught soon by authorities.
The interior minister alleged that the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) was involved in spreading violence in Karachi, adding that LeJ members flee to Rahim Yar Khan or Dera Ghazi Khan after committing crimes in the city.
Speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad, the interior minister said that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) played a major role in fighting against terrorism.
Malik also praised the role of the Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in fighting terrorism.
Moreover, he said that he had successfully completed the duty assigned to him, adding that he would be happy to help, should the new government require his assistance.
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After a mob attack on their homes, traumatized Christian residents of Joseph Colony wait to rebuild their lives in make-shift tents
Lots of verbiage about what happened, but this is the key bit of background:
The Joseph Colony arson is the largest attack against the Christian community in a major city in Pakistan in terms of damage done. But it is not the first attack of its kind. Since the heinous Shanti Nagar attack in 1997 in which a mob burned down schools, churches and buses, there have been 80 such incidents as per the data compiled by the National Commission for Justice and Peace, a Catholic Church run human rights organization working on religious minorities.
Leading Human Rights activist Asma Jahangir believes state institutions have accepted defeat. "They are simply afraid of the people who use religion for mob violence."
Indeed.
Veteran journalist, activist and academic Dr Mehdi Hassan blames politicians and their lack of will in resolving the problems with the blasphemy laws. "Until the leading political parties develop a general consensus on the issue of blasphemy laws, we will not get anywhere."
But Pakistan is the Land of the Pure, and the blasphemy laws are taken straight from Sharia. So attempting to change them is itself blasphemy. Q.E.D.
He said police needed sophisticated training for dealing with a mob which is charged because of what they think is a religious matter.
Perhaps if the Pakistani police had an Rab, there would be the possibility they could absorb sophisticated training. But they don't, because that would upset parties best not upset. And so the deterioration continues.
Milking a bull
Izharul Haq writes in Dunya that by making an electoral alliance with Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... , 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... might be thinking he could defeat Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who isn't your heaviest-duty thinker, maybe not even among the top five... in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... and gain some political leverage.
Sharif is a shrewd businessman and he can make 100,000 rupees out of one rupee, but this is politics. Deriving any benefit from the Maulana in politics is like milking a bull. Fazlur Rehman kept former president Gen Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... and President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari ... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ... in his pocket for eight and five years respectively, and did not let them move.
Tariq Ali supports Imran Khan
Nusrat Javeed writes in his column in Express that he used to hear a lot about Tariq Ali in his college days. Ali was known as a revolutionary, but he really wasn't. His struggle was limited to making speeches in foreign countries.
When Tariq Ali came to Lahore in 1970, the staunch socialists of Lahore did not welcome him. He made his uncle Shaukat Hayat Khan put land reforms in the manifesto of the Moslem League, but they were never implemented.
I don't know what Tariq Ali has been doing since then. I bought his novel but found it too difficult to understand for someone at my level of intellect. I could not read more than a few pages.
Tariq Ali attended the literary festival in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , where he said Imran Khan should get a chance. Imran Khan is cranking out reports after reports through think tanks on how to solve Pakistain's problems. He should set up a think tank for Tariq Ali so that he could talk to the Taliban and bring peace in the country. Tariq Ali's flawless English will make Imran Khan's party more revolutionary.
India steals Pak jokes
Afzal Rehman writes in Dunya that Pakistain has the best comedians. India steals Pak jokes, but Indian comedians make one cry, instead of making one laugh. Punjabi is the ideal language for comedy.
Halva and Naswar at APC
Eeported in Dunya, Maulana Fazlur Rehman served Naswar and Halva to the participants of his All Parties Conference. The participants ran towards the Halva dishes as if they were starving for weeks.
Taliban can't sleep
Daily Dunya juxtaposed two statements - one by Interior Minister Rehman Malik Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship. and the other by Punjab Home Minister Rana Sanaullah.
Malik says his security strategy is giving the Taliban sleepless nights. Sanaullah says Malik is a confirmed foreign spy.
Mr Bean of Moslem society
Sohail Bawa complains in Islam that holy mans have become an object of fun and jokes in our society. The Mullah is the Charlie Chaplain or Mr Bean of the Moslem society.
Clerics have been linked to jokes, foolishness, helplessness, poverty and illiteracy in drawing rooms. They are seen as people who call others infidels and promote terrorism.
Anybody can ridicule a holy man. The Mullah is a toy that anyone can play with. When children imitate the mullah who teaches them, their parents laugh and encourage it.
Retired bureaucrats become self-righteous
Famous writer and retired bureaucrat Kishwar Naheed writes in Jang that most generals and civil servants have nothing to do after retirement and they start recalling their evil deeds. They become self-righteous and start writing autobiographies, for example Hassan Zaheer, Roedad Khan, Gen Chishti, Gen Musharraf and Shahid Aziz.
They start fearing Allah in every fourth line. From Qudratullah Shahab to Altaf Gauhar, they all wrote bundles of lies in the name of literature.
Why don't these liars fear Allah when they are in service? Why do they lick the boots of the rulers to get extensions and new assignments when they are retiring?
Taliban do not take Rehman Malik seriously
Quoted in Jang, Taliban front man Ehsanullah Ehsan said his organization did not take Interior Minister Rehman Malik seriously.
He is a comedian and if he continues to talk non-sense, we will take it to mean the government is not serious in holding talks with us.
Fazlur Rehman betrayed Taliban
Abdul Qadir Looni, secretary general of Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... (Nazriati), says in Ausaf that the Afghan Taliban don't trust Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
He ditched them when they needed his help. He is an opportunist. He has no morals and no principles. We can't even think of making an alliance with him.
Nawab Aslam Raisani, the ex-chief minister of 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... , is the chief patron of the ministers who kidnap people for ransom. 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 ... does not exist in Balochistan.
Rescue 1122 saves heartbroken lover
Daily Jang reports that Rescue 1122 foiled a suicide attempt by a spinster whose lover betrayed her. She climbed on a tree and threatened to jump down. Intelligence officers in the Cantonment area failed to convince her to climb down. Rescue 1122 rescued her with a crane.
Destruction in Afghanistan after 2014
Writing in Jang, Saleem Safi says he has gone insane telling the policymakers for years that they need to change their strategy against terrorism.
The strategy he suggests is fool proof and can eliminate terrorism. But he vows to keep advising them. He sees complete destruction in Afghanistan after 2014.
Politicians change faces
Quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt, politician Sheikh Rashid Ahmad says politicians are plastic-surgery leaders. They change their faces in every election.
They are like hungry pigeons that would go to anyone for oat.
Urdu One is enemy number one
Ex ISI chief Hameed Gul's son Abdullah Gul states in Ausaf that he has vowed to wage jihad against obscenity and his enemy is the TV channel Urdu One, which is airing immoral Turkish plays that don't reflect the Turkish culture. They are corrupting the youth with semi-nude Turkish plays.
The father was the masterminded the use of jihadis as tools of Pakistani policy, the son raises voice and waves fists at a television show. Sad, the thinning of the blood in only one generation.
Tens of thousands of people have taken to streets in the southeastern Iraqi city of Kut to express their anger at sectarian violence in the country, Press TV reports. The protesters, who were the supporters of Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, chanted anti-US slogans during the demonstration.
Still say we should have whacked him...
The demonstration was also aimed at marking the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
In an address to the crowd, Sadr, who heads a powerful bloc in the Iraqi parliament, warned people against being dragged into sectarian violence amid rising political tensions in the country.
The incident comes as people in some western parts of Iraq have staged protests against the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, accusing him of discrimination. Maliki rejects the accusations.
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#1
Dump the Uighurs in Syria. They will be right at home. They can even decide who they will fight for. Freedom of choice.
Or force them to be put up by the judge that set them free from Gitmo.
Palau was screwed.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/17/2013 16:57 Comments ||
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#2
A friend of mine + local patron claims of being told by a third-party Micronesian/Chuukese associate that Chuuk [fka Truk] + other FSM States are ready to end the Compact of Free Association wid the USA + vote to become de facto Chinese territory(s).
AGAIN, ITS NO LONGER THE US-VS-RISING-CHINA IN ASIA-PACIFIC, BUT THE US-VS-RISING-CHINA-VS-NUCLEAR-ISLAM IN SAME - ITS ONLY A QUESTION OF WHETHER RADICAL ISLAM'S HARD/BURQUA BOYZ + GLOBAL JIHAD WILL ATTACK THE US OR CHINA FIRST BEFORE ATTACKING THE OTHER???
* OTHER = FYI an Iranian naval task group had recently docked in a Chinese + other SE Asian ports, wid more such visitations to come.
Also, as per PACIFIC NEWS CENTER [fka GUAM K-57 NEWS], a GUam Senator has recently penned a letter to Washington requesting that Guam be included or considered in the plan for upgrade of US BMD capabilities [Fort Greely, AK] per the latest NOKOR threat agz CONUS.
#3
Reminds me a lot of the US situation in the Pacific, albeit imperfectly, just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Just substitute "Japanese" milbases in the Central Pacific/CENTPAC wid "Chinese", save that this time "sequestered" USN Nuclear SuperCarriers + USMC Amphib Carriers back in CONUS homeports may be attacked by China + PLA 2nd Arty e.g. CVS being docked en masse at Norfolk NNSY???
Malaysian officials appeared uncertain of the whereabouts of Agbimuddin Kiram after saying that the clansmen's leader has fled to the Philippines but considered the possibility that he is still lurking in Sabah.
Agbimuddin, younger brother of the Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III, led a group of hundreds, including some heavily armed, to Sabah early February to press their territorial claim, sparking a deadly standoff with Malaysian security forces.
Sabah police commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said that although police believe that Agbimuddin fled to the southern Philippines, they will continue search operations and will catch him if he is still in Sabah.
Hamza said evidence suggested Agbimuddin might have fled sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday. Malaysian Armed Forces chief Zulkifeli Mohd Zin also said earlier that Agbimuddin had abandoned his men and fled to his native southern Philippines. But Kiram's family denied that Agbimuddin had fled Malaysia, saying the announcement by Malaysian authorities was mere "propaganda."
#1
At last check, the PHIL Govt. was proposing bilateral Malay-Phil formal talks on the status of Sabah, But Malaysia's Govt. thus far is maintaining its hardline.
Decisions by France and Britain to step up direct support for Syrian opposition forces, possibly with arms shipments to the rebels, threaten to leave the United States on the sidelines of what many see as the approaching climax of a two-year effort to oust President Bashar al-Assad.
That may be precisely where the Obama administration decides to stay, once it concludes a renewed internal debate over whether to pursue a more aggressive policy in Syria.
The Brits and French are welcome to intervene. They have navies to control the Syrian coast, air units to control the skies, and military units that can coordinate with the rebels. They even have a carrier for a week or two each year when the Charles de Gaulle can take to the sea. If they can't handle Syria without us then they're simply not serious about being world leaders. If that's the case they should give up their Security Council seats and step back to being regional powers.
But U.S. hesitation has frustrated some of the United States closest European and Middle Eastern friends, who say that the time for debate is fast running out. More than 70,000 have been killed and millions have fled their homes. The raging conflict has begun to spill over Syrias borders, and there is no negotiated end in sight.
Were at the point where we have to show some real progress, said a senior official from a Middle Eastern government that actively supports the Syrian rebels. Sophisticated weapons that could help break a months-long military stalemate in and around Damascus and consolidate rebel gains in other parts of the country, he said, could finally convince regime supporters to break with Assad and hasten his downfall.
Anti-Assad governments in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, are privately acerbic in their assessment of U.S. dithering. The Europeans express more understanding, even as they question whether the Obama doctrine of close coordination on issues of shared foreign policy concern is viable if the United States declines to participate.
It slightly undermines the model established with the military intervention in Libya, a senior European official said. There, President Obama took credit for organizing and supporting a strategy implemented along with European and Persian Gulf partners.
We would hope the Americans would join us on Syria, the official said.
The Euros need the political cover, the air transport and the cash...
British Prime Minister David Cameron backed the call to end the embargo and appeared to directly address U.S. concerns in a Brussels news conference.
I think its worth taking on for a moment the two arguments that the opponents of change make. The first is that what is required in Syria is a political solution, not a military solution. Well, of course people want a political solution . . . but this is not an either-or situation, Cameron said, adding that political progress was more likely if democratic opposition forces were seen as growing stronger.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
The old saying "you and whose army?". There is an another army in the area which could kick butt, but the EUs have treated its nation as crap to make political hay in their last days gambit of self importance.
#2
Why would we WANT to "intervene" in Syria? WHY would we want to intervene in Syria? Why would we want to intervene in SYRIA?
Its FULL of Moslems. Are Syrians our friends? Have they EVER been our friends? Do you suppose they ever WILL be our friends?
And there seems to be some need by WHOM to "help" the Syrians? WHY would we want to help them, what is in it for us?
Lets watch them KILL EACH OTHER. And what is this stuff about "our Middle Eastern friends"? Be serious.They aren't really our friends....are they? What? like the French are our friends? Take ten Frenchmen and stand them up and see how many want to shake your hand. Take ten French women and stand them up and tell them to shave.
Have you ever had a Syrian "friend"? Neither have I.
[An Nahar] Syria's President Bashar Assad on Saturday called on the BRICS nations to intervene to end the conflict in his country, in a letter delivered by his adviser Bouthaina Shaaban during a trip to South Africa.
Speaking to Agence France Presse, Shaaban said she had delivered the letter to South African President Jacob Zuma ahead of the BRICS summit in South Africa on March 26.
"Today I passed a message from President Bashar Assad to President Jacob Zuma, who will preside over the March 26 BRICS summit, on the subject of the situation in Syria," Shaaban said, reached by telephone from Beirut.
"In this message, President Bashar Assad asks for intervention by the BRICS to stop the violence in his country and encourage the opening of a dialogue, which he wishes to start."
Shaaban said during the meeting with Zuma, which was also attended by South Africa's foreign minister, "the president was very positive and deplored the destruction affecting this beautiful country."
The BRICS acronym refers to the nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, all developing powers which opposed the use of force in Libya.
Of those, only Russia can project power that far...and Russia hasn't openly shown interest in exerting that power beyond protecting the persons of almost-former President Assad and a few of his immediate circle.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2013 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Say, just for conjectural purposes of course, that things went badly for Assad and he had to STAY with the Russians for the "long term", as it were. He couldn't really expect to stay in Syria and he was aboard their Russian Cruiser and getting his breakfast coffee PERMANENTLY from the wardroom galley. No stop in Turkey, no side trip to Greece or Egypt...he's the "guest" of the Russian Navy and headed for the Black Sea and presumably a Villa in the Crimea. What's a little gold bullion among friends? Putin gets his cut and Admiral Roturkokoff gets his.
Remember the Shah? He had friends who he fell back on too. Who were they? How does the charity flow and the heart remain pure in international politics? And where did the Shah wind up...like where Assad will wind up too dontcha' know. The highly respected and beloved Shah wound up in a pay-toilet in Mexico with his bagful of downers empty and his Credit Cards cancelled.
I love watching this stuff...and they are all Moslems too. Except the Russians...and they are well.....you can expect THEM to be what they are.
The Syrian regime is expanding its use of internationally banned cluster munitions targeting residential areas, said Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Saturday, as the country's grinding conflict entered its third year, dpa reported.
The New York-based group has identified at least 119 locations across Syria where 156 cluster bomb attacks have been carried out in the past six months.
"Syria is expanding its relentless use of cluster munitions, a banned weapon, and civilians are paying the price with their lives and limbs," said Steve Goose, HRW director of the arms division.
The watchdog said it had investigated two cluster bomb assaults in Syria in the past two weeks - in Deir Jamal near the northern city of Aleppo and Talbiseh near Homs in the centre - that have killed 11 civilians, including five children, and wounded a further 27.
"All nations that have joined the treaty banning cluster bombs have a legal obligation to speak out and condemn Syria's ever-expanding use of these indiscriminate weapons, yet too few are doing so," said Goose.
Would it matter if they did?
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
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...in reality, a Moudge class guided missile light frigate, displacing about 1500 tons...
"Mudge" class?
I think it's Persian for 'target'...
produced by the Iranian navy will be delivered to the Iranian navy in the Caspian Sea on Sunday.
The ceremony will be attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Hassan Firuzabadi, the Iranian FARS agency reported on Saturday.
The Jamaran 1 destroyer was delivered to the Iranian navy in the Persian Gulf in February 2010. It is designed and manufactured by Iranian specialists. FARS news agency referred to it as 'the largest defence project'.
Jamaran is able to fight with submarines, aircraft and enemy ships. Moreover, the destroyer has a helipad. According to Iranian media, the Jamaran 2 destroyer was produced with the use of next-generation technology. This is an improved version of the Jamaran-1 destroyer.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2013 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[8 views]
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#1
Produced by the Navy, delivered to the Navy?
You want to clear that up a bit?
WHO's Navy and WHO's Navy.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/17/2013 12:04 Comments ||
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#2
to be named "Shahid"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/17/2013 12:05 Comments ||
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#3
This is an improved version of the Jamaran-1 destroyer.
President Barack Obama, who vastly expanded U.S. drone strikes against terrorism suspects overseas under the cloak of secrecy, is now openly seeking to influence global guidelines for their use as China and other countries pursue their own drone programs.
The United States was the first to use unmanned aircraft fitted with missiles to kill militant suspects in the years after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.
But other countries are catching up. China's interest in unmanned aerial vehicles was displayed in November at an air show . According to state-run newspaper Global Times, China had considered conducting its first drone strike to kill a suspect in the 2011 murder of 13 Chinese sailors, but authorities decided they wanted the man alive so they could put him on trial.
"People say what's going to happen when the Chinese and the Russians get this technology? The president is well aware of those concerns and wants to set the standard for the international community on these tools," said Tommy Vietor, until earlier this month a White House spokesman.
No, he just wants to have a green light to do as he pleases. That's business as usual for him. He's petulant enough to want to create problems for others, but he won't dispute drone use with China and Russia. They can do what they want as long as they don't harsh his mellow...
As U.S. ground wars end - over in Iraq, drawing to a close in Afghanistan - surgical counterterrorism targeting has become "the new normal," Vietor said.
Amid a debate within the U.S. government, it is not yet clear what new standards governing targeted killings and drone strikes the White House will develop for U.S. operations or propose for global rules of the road.
The rule is whatever Champ wants. And whatever 'rules' we come out with to bind the hands of a president will be issued on January 19, 2017...
Obama's new position is not without irony. The White House kept details of drone operations - which remain largely classified - out of public view for years when the U.S. monopoly was airtight.
That stance is just now beginning to change, in part under pressure from growing public and Congressional discomfort with the drone program. U.S. lawmakers have demanded to see White House legal justifications for targeting U.S. citizens abroad, and to know whether Obama thinks he has the authority to use drones to kill Americans on U.S. soil.
#1
I certainly think that global leaders need to think about weaponized drones eventually being available to "common citizens" - citizens who might entertain the thought "Well, if that tyrant's policy is that he can take me out with a drone on his own discretion, it may be prudent for me to look into taking him out first, with my won drone."
And - for the right popular and patriotic cause - I'm sure that "crowd-funding" might be available to help defray the expenses of - let's say - a swarm of a dozen fist-sized, high speed drones, each bearing a golf ball sized payload on mercury fulminate, and programmed to track down someone such as a golfer on a golf course - to pick a purely hypothetical example.
[Daily Beast] It was the U.S. military's most notorious security contractor--but it may also have been a virtual extension of the CIA. Eli Lake reports.
A taste:
Last month a three-year-long federal prosecution of Blackwater collapsed.
Hurrah!
The government's 15-felony indictment--on such charges as conspiring to hide purchases of automatic rifles and other weapons from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives--could have led to years of jail time for Blackwater personnel. In the end, however, the government got only misdemeanor guilty pleas by two former executives, each of whom were sentenced to four months of house arrest, three years' probation, and a fine of $5,000. Prosecutors dropped charges against three other executives named in the suit and abandoned the felony charges altogether.
But the most noteworthy thing about the largely failed prosecution wasn't the outcome. It was the tens of thousands of pages of documents--some declassified--that the litigation left in its wake. These documents illuminate Blackwater's defense strategy--and it's a fascinating one: to defeat the charges it was facing, Blackwater built a case not only that it worked with the CIA--which was already widely known--but that it was in many ways an extension of the agency itself.
#2
Curious name, Blackwater, considering that it basically means sewage. (As an old Doobie Brothers fan, I am aware of the Mississippi River angle too...but still...)
#3
FYI, for what it's worth.
The company takes its name from the Blackwater swamp, which basically surrounds the facilities (surrounds as in you're in the middle of it). The swamp is drained by the (you guessed it) Blackwater River. Seems to be a theme here.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
03/17/2013 16:11 Comments ||
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#4
Nothing to do with Cofer Black?
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
03/17/2013 17:42 Comments ||
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#5
"It was in many ways an extension of the agency itself" > THE HELL YOU SAY!
Sniff, sniff, I'm so proud - he came up wid that conclusion all by himself.
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.
[Dawn] Several hundred demonstrators were marching to the Afghan parliament building in Kabul, protesting the continued presence of US special operations forces in Afghanistan's troubled Wardak province. 
Khaleda Zia
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since 1981. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide...
[Jpost] Algerian immigrant admitted to conspiring to bomb synagogues in retaliation for "Jewish mistreatment of 
[Dawn] Ambassador of Pakistan to the United Nations Masood Khan has said Pakistan-US relations are back on track after a brief period of tensions.
[Dawn] Pakistan's National Assembly has completed its constitutional five-year tenure on Sunday for the first time in its political history, paving way for a caretaker administration to oversee general election expected in mid-May.
[Dawn] Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday said that there was no need to conduct any 'grand operation' in Karachi, DawnNews reported.
After a mob attack on their homes, traumatized Christian residents of Joseph Colony wait to rebuild their lives in make-shift tents
Milking a bull
President Asif Ali 
I don't know what Tariq Ali has been doing since then. I bought his novel but found it too difficult to understand for someone at my level of intellect. I could not read more than a few pages. 
Halva and Naswar at APC
Mr Bean of 
[An Nahar] Syria's President Bashar Assad on Saturday called on the BRICS nations to intervene to end the conflict in his country, in a letter delivered by his adviser Bouthaina Shaaban during a trip to South Africa.
[Daily Beast] It was the U.S. military's most notorious security contractor--but it may also have been a virtual extension of the CIA. Eli Lake reports.
