KABUL, Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan said yesterday that he is in full agreement with President Obama's newly announced strategy for the country, saying it was "exactly what the Afghan people were hoping for" and promising to "work very closely" with the United States.
After months of tension between the Afghan leader and officials in Washington, especially over civilian casualties caused by Western military forces, Karzai seemed pleasantly surprised, calling Obama's plan "better than we were expecting."
Like a cross-section of Afghans interviewed yesterday, Karzai said he was especially glad that Obama explicitly endorsed two ideas Afghan officials have been pushing for several years: that the fight against Islamist terrorism must focus on militant havens in Pakistan and that negotiations with Taliban insurgents are essential to ending the conflict in Afghanistan.
Afghan and US-led coalition forces have been fighting a revived Taliban insurgency for several years but have made little headway, while in Pakistan, other Islamist groups have made steady inroads into Pakistani society, using violent intimidation and religious influence.
Obama's strategy calls for a major expansion of Afghan security forces and the deployment of 4,000 new US troops to train them, on top of an additional 17,000 combat troops. It also proposes a boost in US assistance by specialized civilians, more economic aid to Pakistan in return for stronger action against Islamist militant groups, and support for a more honest and responsive Afghan government.
President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan also praised Obama's plan, telling Parliament yesterday that it represents a positive change in US policy. He specifically endorsed Obama's proposal to aid development in Pakistan's lawless border region as an antidote to Islamist extremism.
Afghans interviewed yesterday in Kabul said they were pleased that Obama had endorsed the idea of seeking reconciliation with the Taliban.
#1
The only thing that's going to "work" in Afghanistan is to go Mongol on them. Genghes Khan is the only outsider to actually control Afghanistan. His methods were brutal, but effective. It seems Islam has adopted an attitude that requires similar tactics to "change". ARCLIGHTing the he$$ out of "pashtunistan" would go a long way toward changing "hearts and minds" - of those left alive. Begin with Karzai and his crooked family.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/29/2009 14:12 Comments ||
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The Somali president said on Saturday that Al Qaida should stop interfering in the affairs of his war-ravaged country. President Shaikh Sharif Shaikh Ahmad spoke following last week's publication of a tape by Osama Bin Laden in which Bin Laden called him an "infidel" and urged Somalis to overthrow his new government.
"I do declare, he's stopped a'preachin and gone to meddlin'!"
Ahmed said Al Qaida "has never helped Somalis reach a peaceful solution and has never wanted Somalis to have a government." He said Al Qaida should leave Somalis alone.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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Algeria's president mingled with crowds of potential voters as he campaigned on Friday for re-election in the restive Kabylie region of Algeria, a hotbed of terrorists and a stronghold of the leftist opposition. They prob'ly came out to admire his comb-over.
Hundreds of police, sharpshooters and armoured vehicles were on hand in Tizi Ouzou, the region's main city, as Abdul Aziz Bouteflika waded through crowds of supporters. The 72-year-old leader was greeted by women's traditional cries of acclaim "Oh Gawd! Oh Gawd! Oh Gawd! Oh Gawd! Oh Gawd! Oh Gawd! Oh Gawd!... Y-E-E-E-E-SSS!"
and celebratory gunshots by tribesmen from the Kabylie ethnic minority.
In the days before Bouteflika's visit, Al Qaida-linked militants carried out two deadly attacks in the region, officials said Militants killed a lieutenant colonel on Thursday, and an attempt by militants to storm a police station south of Tizi Ouzou on Tuesday, killed one person and injured three, local officials and Algerian media said.
Bouteflika vowed that violence would not deter his National Reconciliation programme, aimed at healing the wounds from a decade-long civil war that killed up to 200,000 people in the 1990s.
In a speech to the crowds, he appealed to terrorists to lay down their arms and said, "we have no hatred or bitterness against you and you can rejoin the national community at any time."
The reconciliation programme, passed by referendum in 2005, offers amnesty to militants who renounce violence. Bouteflika, who has made reconciliation and national unity the cornerstones of his presidency, insisted the Kabylie region must adhere to his programme.
Because of its steep mountains and deep forests, and the Kabylie population's traditional hostility to the Arab-dominated state, many militants from Al Qaida in Islamic North Africa are based in the region.
Bouteflika is widely seen as assured of winning a third term in the April 9 race. He has also made high voter turnout a key goal, and his team is aiming for a voter participation of more than 60 per cent.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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Egyptian authorities have released a 22-year-old blogger and activist after holding him for nearly seven weeks, a human rights group said on Saturday. Police detained Diaa Al Deen Gad on February 6 outside his home in the Nile Delta province of Gharbiya. London-based rights group Amnesty International said in February that his incommunicado detention at an unknown location put him in danger of torture.
"Dia was released at dawn (on Friday) ... He was ill-treated in the period where we did not know where he was being held," said Jamal Eid, director of the Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.
Eid said police beat the Egyptian blogger in a car immediately after picking him up and during his detention in State Security offices.
Police beat and kicked Gad, threatened to electrocute him, and electrocuted others in front of him, according to Eid. The government says it prosecutes torturers.
Gad's blog Sawt Ghadib or "An Angry Voice" contained pro-Gaza slogans and news and commentary on Gaza during the three-week Israeli offensive on the coastal strip, as well as strident denunciations of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and the security services.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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PARIS (Reuters) - Voters on Mayotte, a tiny island in the Indian Ocean, chose by referendum Sunday to become a fully fledged part of France -- a change of status that will end local traditions such as polygamy and Islamic courts. Authorities said 95.2 percent of those who voted opted to turn Mayotte into a "departement," strengthening ties with Paris and requiring the island to align itself with French law. Only 4.8 percent voted no. Participation was 61 percent.
Mayotte, 400 km (250 miles) east of Mozambique and 300 km west of Madagascar, is in the Comoros archipelago but voted against independence in referendums in 1974 and 1976. Instead it stayed French, with a status allowing legal differences from the mainland.
It has a population of about 186,000 people, of whom 95 percent are Sunni Muslims. Many do not speak French and a third of the population are illegal migrants, mostly from the nearby islands which make up the independent Comoran state.
"This will reinforce the place of Mayotte in the republic, reaffirming our founding values, particularly equality between men and women, the same justice for all, and the place of the French language," said Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie.
Many islanders were keen to boost ties with mainland France, which have kept Mayotte richer and more stable than the Comoros.
"We may be black, poor and Muslim, but we have been French longer than Nice," Abdoulatifou Aly, a legislator from Mayotte, was quoted as saying in the French weekly L'Express.
President Nicolas Sarkozy had promised a referendum during his 2007 campaign. After Sunday's vote, the island is on track to become France's 101st departement in 2011.
The islanders stand to gain economically from the change of status, as they will become eligible for a wider range of social benefits as well as EU funds. Paris has also promised an economic development fund to boost the island's infrastructure.
However, residents will see their tax bills increase and have to abandon certain customs to conform to French law. For now, men can have several wives whom they can repudiate unilaterally, and women do not have equal inheritance rights. The island has a traditional Islamic justice system with "qadis" or religious scholars who act as judges.
Mayotte will have to ban polygamy, raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 from 15 years old, and give women equal rights. The Islamic justice system will be replaced by secular courts, though qadis will retain a consultative role.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/29/2009 17:29 ||
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#1
This will shortly be followed by hysterics in Saudi, even if they are quiet. This is a big hit in the "fail" department, that on top of huge defections by conversion, have them downright frantic.
Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) yesterday disclosed that two border guards have recently died after long illness.
Define 'long' ...
According to its press releases, havildar Solaiman of 45 Battalion died on March 26 at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and sepoy Roich Uddin of 44 Battalion on March 9 at Kidney Hospital.
Solaiman first got admitted to the BDR Pilkhana hospital following a heart attack on August 28 last year. He got readmitted to the hospital following another attack on January 3 this year, said a release. He was transferred to NICVD for improved treatment on March 4. There, he died at 6:30pm on the Independence Day.
The statement further said Solaiman applied to the BDR director general (DG) for assistance to meet the medical expenses. Based on advice of the physicians concerned, the DG granted him Tk 5.5 lakh that has already been adjusted to his hospital bills.
About sepoy Roich Uddin, another release said he got admitted to the BDR hospital on June 3, 2005 with kidney condition. On January 29 this year, he was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). On March 4, he was transferred to the Kidney Hospital. "While under treatment he passed away at 5:10pm on March 9."
Roich too applied to the BDR DG for financial help to meet the treatment expenditure. He was given Tk 8 lakh as medical grants, the press release said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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More than 30 people including several freedom fighters were injured in a clash over a 'mass grave' of 1971 in Anwara yesterday. Muktijoddha Sangsad leaders of Anwara alleged locals hired by Nawab Khan, an alleged razakar, attacked them when they went to Mohalkhan Bazar to visit a piece of land. They claimed the land as a mass grave of the Liberation War. The razakars were collaborators with the Paks in 1971...
Officer-in-Charge of Karnaphuli Police Station Shahab Uddin said they had to fire 10-15 rounds of blank shots to quell the situation.
Abul Kashem, president of the Freedom Fighters Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society, said Nawab Khan, managing director of Nawab & Co and a resident of North Bandar, has long been trying to "grab" the land. It is a Khas land and marked as the site of Bandar Graveyard, he claimed. Saiful Islam, brother-in-law of Nawab, refuted the allegations saying the villagers tried to protect the land from "land grabbers". He added Nawab bought the land from one engineer Malek 17 years ago. It is not a graveyard, he claimed. He however said if the government identifies the land as a mass grave they would donate it for a memorial.
ADC (Revenue) of Chittagong Zafar Alam told The Daily Star the government had earlier identified the land as Khas land and given it to the Korean EPZ. "Later, Nawab Ali filed a case with the court claiming him as the proprietor of the land. The court imposed an injunction on the land," he added.
Witnesses said around 100 people, mostly freedom fighters and Awami League leaders and activists from Anwara, gathered at the hilly site of Mohalkhan Bazar around 9:30am to attend a prescheduled programme for setting a memorial plaque there. State Minister for Liberation War affairs ABM Tazul Islam and local AL lawmaker Akhteruzzaman Chowdhury were scheduled to attend the programme. But they did not come as the programme was rescheduled for April 10, said organisers. Sources say the minister did not come as he was informed about the dispute centring the land.
In spite of the postponement, some of the organisers decided to visit the spot. As they along with some freedom fighters approached the site, some 200 villagers including a number of women from North Bandar village resisted them resulting in a clash.
Deputy Commander of Upazila Muktijoddha Sangsad Shah Alam said Pakistan army with the help of local collaborators killed about 156 people including freedom fighters and their relatives in this area. Police arrested four people in this connection. A huge number of police were deployed.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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A Dhaka court yesterday sent 63 suspected BDR mutineers to the Dhaka Central Jail and placed four others on a five-day remand for interrogation. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probing the mutiny case filed with Lalbagh Police Station produced the BDR personnel before the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate's Court and prayed for a seven-day remand for four of them.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
4 more patients for the cardiac ward of Dhaka General?
Posted by: john frum ||
03/29/2009 6:57 Comments ||
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Those who are regularly left open-mouthed at the way in which the British media puts across an overwhelmingly Arab narrative about Israel and the Middle East, trasmitting lies and distortions as facts and reversing victim and victimiser to present Israel as the regional aggressor and the Palestinians as their targets, may well also scratch their heads at being told with monotonous regularity that 'the Jews control the media'.
Well now Arab Media Watch lifts a curtain to show us the real lobby at work. And it's not one whit different in USA
The defense secretary told "FOX News Sunday" that the United States can do nothing to stop North Korea from thumbing its nose at the international community by test-firing a long-range missile.
The United States can do nothing to stop North Korea from breaking international law in the next 10 days by firing a missile that is unlikely to be shot down by the U.S. or its allies, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday. Appearing on "FOX News Sunday," Gates said North Korea "probably will" fire the missile, prompting host Chris Wallace to ask: "And there's nothing we can do about it?"
"No," Gates answered, adding, "I would say we're not prepared to do anything about it."
Last week, Admiral Timothy Keating, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, said the U.S. is "fully prepared" to shoot down the missile. But Gates said such a response is unlikely. "I think if we had an aberrant missile, one that was headed for Hawaii, that looked like it was headed for Hawaii or something like that, we might consider it," Gates said. "But I don't think we have any plans to do anything like that at this point."
Tells you everything you need to know about Bambi ...
North Korea has moved a missile onto a launch pad and says it will be fired by April 8. Pyonyang insists the missile is designed for carrying a communications satellite, not a nuclear warhead that the secretive nation appears bent on developing.
Gates said while he doesn't think North Korea has the capability yet to shoot off a long-range nuclear-tipped missile, "I don't know anyone at a senior level in the American government who does not believe this technology is intended as a mask for the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile."
Gates conceded that North Korea will likely get away with thumbing its nose at the international community by test-firing the missile. He also said that six-party talks aimed at curbing Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions have been largely fruitless. "It's very troubling," Gates said. "The reality is that the six-party talks really have not made any headway anytime recently."
Gates also lamented that the missile launch planned by dictator Kim Jong-Il comes just two months after President Obama took office. "If this is Kim Jong-Il's welcoming present to a new president, launching a missile like this and threatening to have a nuclear test, I think it says a lot about the imperviousness of this regime in North Korea to any kind of diplomatic overtures," he said.
It doesn't say anything we didn't know already, and for quite a while ...
Gates also said Japan is unlikely to shoot down a North Korean missile unless it drops debris on the island nation.
The Obama administration has signaled it wants to scale back the deployment of a missile defense system that was initiated by former President George W. Bush. The White House is also talking about dropping plans for missile defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Because missile defense will never work, you know ...
Gates lamented the futility of diplomatic efforts toward North Korea and Iran, another nation with nuclear ambitions. Despite the Obama administration's talk of ramping up diplomatic overtures toward Tehran, Gates was pessimistic about that strategy. "Frankly, from my perspective, the opportunity for success is probably more in economic sanctions in both places than it is in diplomacy," Gates said. "What gets them to the table is economic sanctions."
#5
"I think if we had an aberrant missile, one that was headed for Hawaii, that looked like it was headed for Hawaii or something like that, we might consider it," Gates said.
Well, maybe not Hawaii. After all, BO grew up there and besides it is a blue state.
#9
But maybe you may only have 49 left if shit happens
Posted by: European Conservative ||
03/29/2009 19:28 Comments ||
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#10
"What gets them to the table is economic sanctions."
That, and catered free lunches followed by dinner parties. Gates probably figured Hawaii is actually a lot of islands, and they can't get more than one with a single missile. What a Maroon.
#11
Is the US prepared to respond to the rearmament of Japan under a more frightened and militaristic regime now doubtful of the protection of the US defencive umbrella? Kongo and Chokai. Where have I heard those names before?
WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - A private U.S. relief group providing food aid to North Korea said on Tuesday it was complying with Pyongyang's order to leave the hunger-racked nation by March 31, but added it hoped to resume operations.
Amid tensions over North Korea's nuclear program and an expected missile launch next month, its reclusive government informed Washington last week of its decision not to accept more U.S. assistance, the State Department said. North Korea said a 2008 protocol, which would have provided 500,000 metric tonnes of U.S. food aid over a 12-month period, was "no longer in effect," said Paul Majarowitz, director of Mercy Corps NGO Food Assistance Program in North Korea.
"We were given a letter by the North Korean government that asked us to close our field offices by March 20, and our main office by March 31, and have all of our staff and equipment out of the country by March 31," he said.
The expulsion covered only the food aid program, not the private aid agencies themselves, Majarowitz added. "We're complying with that request and, at the same time, we're negotiating with them, trying to see if there is an avenue to restart or to resume the program," he said in remarks at the Korea Economic Institute in Washington.
Mercy Corp began operating in North Korea in 1996, during a major famine that killed an estimated one million people. Under the 2008 agreement, it ran an office in Pyongyang and two field offices and had 16 international staff, he said.
The United States had delivered 169,000 metric tonnes of the 500,000 metric tonnes of food aid. The last U.S. shipment, containing nearly 5,000 metric tonnes of vegetable oil and corn soy blend, arrived in January, the State Department said.
The following seems at odds with some of the other reports we've seen lately, but certainly not at odds with Nork behavior:
U.N. investigator Vitit Muntarbhorn told the world body's Human Rights Council last week the situation in North Korea was "dire and desperate". Authorities were moving to close all markets on which many people rely for food, he said. North Korean authorities were also apparently planning to ban small-lot, or "kitchen" farming, which had been vital for the survival of much of the population, while army personnel were forcing farmers to provide them food, Muntarbhorn said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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Arrest them all for "Aid and comfort to an enemy"
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/29/2009 11:21 Comments ||
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South Korea, Japan and the United States dispatched five Aegis class vessels, including the South's King Sejong the Great destroyer, to track down a rocket North Korea is poised to launch. The missile has apparently been set up at a launch pad in Musudan-ri, North Hamgyong Province. A South Korean military source on Thursday said Seoul decided to immediately deploy the King Sejong the Great in the East Sea when it became clear the North had set up the rocket. The ship is South Korea's first Aegis class naval vessel and equipped with radar that can track ballistic missiles as far as 1,024 km away.
The U.S. Navy has deployed two of its own Aegis vessels -- the USS Chaffee (DDG-90) and the USS John McCain (DDG-56) -- to track the missile following their participation in joint military drills with South Korea. Japan has also deployed two Aegis vessels in the East Sea -- the Kongo and Chokai -- which are equipped with SM-3 interceptor missiles.
So the SKors and the Japanese are serious. In particular, it seems like the Japanese are almost Jonesing for a chance to shoot down the Nork missile. How serious is Bambi?
U.S. intelligence officials are apparently finding it difficult to determine whether the rocket is a ballistic missile or a satellite-launch vehicle, since the North Koreans have placed a tarpaulin over the warhead.
Doesn't matter. Two different UN resolutions, 1695 and 1718, require the Norks to cease and desist whatever it is they're doing.
Intelligence agencies believe the first stage of the missile has a stronger thrust than originally believed, since it was made by combining five to six Rodong missile rockets into one.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
How serious is Bambi?
No very. Not very much at all.
Intelligence agencies believe the first stage of the missile has a stronger thrust than originally believed, since it was made by combining five to six Rodong missile rockets into one.
I tried that once with M-80's. Tried to blow a tree limb off. Didn't work then either.
The Freedom Party of populist right-wing leader Geert Wilders has climbed again in the polls, this time to a record of 32 seats in the 150-seat parliament. The Freedom Party is in first place and is now four seats ahead of the Christian Democrats, the largest of the three parties in the governing coalition. Pollster Maurice de Hond attributes the rise in popularity to his departure from a parliamentary debate on Thursday. He walked out of the debate in a huff, describing the debate on the economic crisis as "a sham".
His ratings began to soar in February, when the British government refused to allow him to enter the country. Sixty percent of voters who describe themselves as right-wing say they will vote for Wilders' Freedom Party.
(Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that the upcoming NATO summit should start work on a "new strategic concept" to cope with new challenges in the 21st century.
"The challenges of the 21st century are different than those of the 20th century. We have to fight new threats such as terrorism, the consequences of climate change and other natural disasters," said Merkel in her weekly pod cast on Saturday.
With the transatlantic military alliance marking its 60th anniversary at the April 3-4 summit to be hosted jointly by Germany and France, Merkel said Germany advocates a concept of networked security.
"This means that NATO must work with other international organizations to coordinate a common approach," she added.
The German leader also said that she is looking forward to discussing NATO's mission in Afghanistan with U.S. President Barack Obama.
"We want to successfully shape this mission to make sure that Afghanistan be able to take care of its own security," said Merkel, adding that Germany is ready to contribute to the training of Afghan soldiers and police.
Merkel also said that the NATO summit will hold discussions on improving relations with Russia.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Well you better have good relations with Russia if you are going to dedicate your armed forces to fighting 'climate change'.
A Spanish court has agreed to consider opening a criminal case against six former Bush administration officials, including former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, over allegations they gave legal cover for torture at Guantanamo Bay, a lawyer in the case said Saturday.
Human rights lawyers brought the case before leading anti-terror judge Baltasar Garzon, who agreed to send it on to prosecutors to decide whether it had merit, Gonzalo Boye, one of the lawyers who brought the charges, told The Associated Press.
The ex-Bush officials are Gonzales; former undersecretary of defense for policy Douglas Feith; former Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff David Addington; Justice Department officials John Yoo and Jay S. Bybee; and Pentagon lawyer William Haynes.
Yoo declined to comment. A request for comment left with Feith through his Hudson Institute e-mail address was not immediately returned.
Spanish law allows courts to reach beyond national borders in cases of torture or war crimes under a doctrine of universal justice, though the government has recently said it hopes to limit the scope of the legal process.
Garzon became famous for bringing charges against former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998, and he and other Spanish judges have agreed to investigate alleged abuses everywhere from Tibet to Argentina's "dirty war," El Salvador and Rwanda.
Still, the country's record in prosecuting such cases has been spotty at best, with only one suspect extradited to Spain so far.
When a similar case was brought against Israeli officials earlier this year, Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos assured his Israeli counterpart that the process would be quashed.
Even if indictments are eventually handed down against the U.S. officials, it is far from clear whether arrests would ever take place. The officials would have to travel outside the United States and to a country willing to take them into custody before possible extradition to Spain.
Kinda like extraordinary rendition, without the Chloroform.
Boye said he expected the National Court to take the case forward, and dismissed concerns that it would harm bilateral relations between the two countries. He said that some of the victims of the alleged torture were Spaniards, strengthening the argument for Spanish jurisdiction. "When you bring a case like this you can't stop to make political judgments as to how it might affect bilateral relations between countries," he told the AP." It's too important for that."
Boye noted that the case was brought not against interrogators who might have committed crimes but by the lawyers and other high-placed officials who gave cover for their actions. "Our case is a denunciation of lawyers, by lawyers, because we don't believe our profession should be used to help commit such barbarities," he said.
Another lawyer with detailed knowledge of the case told the AP that Garzon's decision to consider the charges was "a significant first step." The lawyer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
There was no immediate comment from Garzon or the government.
The judge's decision to send the case against the American officials to prosecutors means it will proceed, at least for now. Prosecutors must now decide whether to recommend a full-blown investigation, though Garzon is not bound by their decision.
The proceedings against the Bush Administration officials could be embarrassing for Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who has been keen to improve ties with the United States after frosty relations during the Bush Administration Zapatero is scheduled to meet President Barack Obama for the first time on April 5 during a summit in Prague.
Time to go to the barricades, like Bashir's constituents. Anyone want to chant some "anti-Spanish court" slogans with me?
#3
perhaps someone can explain to this tool that he's a minor-league figure in a second-ranked country on their way to the economic shitpile? Take him hunting with Darth Cheney
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/29/2009 8:57 Comments ||
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#4
"So Obama being a Tranzi will he extradite the ex-Bush officials to Spain?"
Secret Service* still protects Bush - it would be interesting to see Bambi try....
*and a sh*tload of Texans and other assorted Americans - all armed to the teeth
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/29/2009 9:54 Comments ||
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#5
Reminds me of when some bus stop in Vermont declares a nuclear freeze or an Iraqi "journalist" throws a shoe.
Posted by: regular joe ||
03/29/2009 10:16 Comments ||
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#6
*and a sh*tload of Texans and other assorted Americans - all armed to the teeth
Count me as one.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/29/2009 11:27 Comments ||
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#7
First of all: Garzon is what the european judiciaries calls an instruction judge, that is he leads and coordinates investigations on crimes but he is not supposed to try to indict suspects but to look for elements both favourable and unfavourable to the suspect. That is why he is called a "juez" (judge) and not a fiscal (Prosecution Attorney).
Garzon has been the man who
-Tried to indict Pinochet
-Was number 2 od the Socialist Party (you could think this should have been incompatible with his job).
-Has time and again neglected the cases he was invetigating reslting in criminals habing been released because he didn't sign the prolongations to their preventive jail
-Decided to investigate the crimes perpetrated by the victorious side during the Spanish Civil War. That is 70 years ago. Of course they have prescribed. So he requalified them as genocide. Of course he wasn't interested in the crimes perpetrated by the losing side (Spain became a virtual Sovit Republic with NKVD agents openly arresting and killing people). He asked for the death certificate of Franco in order no to summon him. At one point the adults in Spanish judiciary forced him to desist.
-He is suspected to have warned Basque terrorists of an operation against them.
-He strted an uinvestigaqtion against the opposition party just before regional elections. He had zero as zilch nada elements, it was pure fluff to influence election outcome. During the investigation he was seen dining and hunting with the Justice Minister and the high ranked cop leading the investigation. The Minister had no hunting licence and was forced to resign (BTW, Garzon's official income does not allow him to spend the thoudaqns of dollars it was supposed to cost). Minister was forced to resign and the adult superviors forced Garzon to desist from the investigation (who anyway was out of his jurisdiction).
-It loooks like he is a tax cheat.
The truth is that in the last five years he hasn't had a single success and all his investigations haéd been either forcefully closed or taken to other judges who closed them after noting there was no clues and/or nothing to prosecute.
In fact the only thing who has prevented him being expelled from the judiciary and possibly jailed for violating the law and using its attributions for illegitimate goals (like proppiong the Socialist Party friom which he is a member) had been the caste spirit of his peers. But this caste spirit hasn't gone far enough to prevent him from time and again having his cases removed from his hands.
#8
The US has, IIRC, three military bases in Spain. One is Rota Naval Base, and the other two are Zaragoza AB and Torrejon AB. Each of the air bases has a fighter wing assigned to NATO. ROTA provides both a port and an airfield where P-3C Orions are based for ASW work. It would inconvenience us a bit, but I'm sure those facilities can be closed and all US military personnel transferred elsewhere with little loss of capability. Spain needs to understand that Mutual Assistance treaties mean that both parties are responsible for assuring the assistance of the other, including squashing stupid cases like this at the earliest opportunity and punishing those that do stupid things.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/29/2009 16:53 Comments ||
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#9
"It looks like he is a tax cheat."
Well, then, JFM - that settles it.
Garzon is qualified for a position in Bambi's Administration.
Lucky us.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/29/2009 17:02 Comments ||
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#10
"Human rights lawyers brought the case before leading anti pro-terror judge Baltasar Garzon..."
A Federal Court judge will rule Monday on an injunction asking that British MP George Galloway be allowed entry into Canada for a series of anti-war speeches.
The federal government advised Galloway in a letter this month that he could not enter Canada because he violated provisions in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, specifically ones that relate to terrorism. The charge he engaged in terrorist activities is apparently based on the fact that Galloway delivered humanitarian goods to war-torn Gaza and gave $45,000 to the Hamas government.
Lawyers representing groups trying to bring Galloway to Canada argued in Federal Court in Toronto Sunday that an injunction should be granted allowing Galloway to enter Canada for four days pending a judicial review. Justice Luc Martineau -- who presided over the court via video from Ottawa -- reserved his decision until Monday.
Meanwhile, the organizers of Galloway's speaking tour said the speeches will go ahead, whether or not the parliamentarian is able to be physically present.
The first of the four speeches titled "Resisting War from Gaza to Kandahar" is set for 7 p.m. in Toronto. They say if the judge rules in favour of Galloway by 2 p.m. he can make it across the border in time. If the ruling does not go in his favour Galloway will deliver his speeches via telecast.
Monday morning, likely before the judge makes his ruling, a group from Montreal is to go to the U.S. border, where Galloway will stand within their sight but he will not attempt to cross the border.
Who says he'll be allowed in the US?
The central issue for both Jackman and government lawyers in court Sunday was whether the letter constituted a decision on Galloway's admissibility into Canada.
Department of Justice lawyer Stephen Gold said the letter was a matter of courtesy to Galloway, so that the five-time MP didn't show up at a border crossing and run the risk of being detained. "It was a courtesy letter, an information letter, although it may have been unusual," said Gold, who at one point had to ask the judge to silence the sometimes raucous reactions from Galloway and free-speech supporters in the overcrowded courtroom.
The letter did not constitute a final decision because Galloway had not yet gone to a point of entry and therefore not submitted to an examination by border officials, so there is nothing for the court to rule on, Gold said.
Jackman said the letter was in effect a final decision because border officers take into account any information from the minister, and the letter would therefore greatly bias their decision.
Gold said the decision to allow or disallow entry to a person at a point of entry lies with the border officers, and if the court decides to let Galloway in it would usurp the officer's authority.
JACKSON, Miss. - President Obama yesterday nominated former Mississippi governor Ray Mabus to be secretary of the Navy. Mabus, 60, campaigned extensively for Obama last year. He had been previously talked about as a candidate for a place in Obama's Cabinet as secretary of education.
A Democrat, Mabus was governor of Mississippi from January 1988 to January 1992 and also served as US ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1994 to 1996 under President Bill Clinton. Mabus served in the Navy from 1970 to 1972 as a surface warfare officer on the Newport, R.I.-based USS Little Rock. Before then, he was in the Naval ROTC while he was an undergraduate student at the University of Mississippi.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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More "Bush Was Bad" on the front page of WaPo.
When CIA officials subjected their first high-value captive, Abu Zubaida, to waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods, they were convinced that they had in their custody an al-Qaeda leader who knew details of operations yet to be unleashed, and they were facing increasing pressure from the White House to get those secrets out of him.
The methods succeeded in breaking him, and the stories he told of al-Qaeda terrorism plots sent CIA officers around the globe chasing leads.
In the end, though, not a single significant plot was foiled as a result of Abu Zubaida's tortured confessions, according to former senior government officials who closely followed the interrogations. Nearly all of the leads attained through the harsh measures quickly evaporated, while most of the useful information from Abu Zubaida - chiefly names of al-Qaeda members and associates - was obtained before waterboarding was introduced, they said.
Moreover, within weeks of his capture, U.S. officials had gained evidence that made clear they had misjudged Abu Zubaida. President George W. Bush had publicly described him as "al-Qaeda's chief of operations," and other top officials called him a "trusted associate" of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and a major figure in the planning of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. None of that was accurate, the new evidence showed. I said 'WaPo', so you know there's much more at the link. But I read enough.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/29/2009 07:19 ||
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#1
I Googled the authors, that was quite enough. "Americans" who hate America, how have they been hatched?
#3
There are so many layers of disinformation on this subject that it's hard to know where to start. However, it's pretty obvious that waterboarding is just an "easy to visualize" red herring. Heck, it was a technique used during the Philippine Insurrection.
Likely what we do today is just give them a shot--and no--not sodium pentothal, which was used during WWII, but psychoactive substances far more advanced than that. Afterward, then we give them a shot of Rohypnol, and they don't remember the interrogation at all. They just wake up in the morning after a good night's sleep.
Heck, some of the ordinary "twilight anesthetics" that are used in routine surgery today get people so talkative that operating room staff have to sign confidentiality agreements not to gossip about what patients say.
...As far as you know. These people never seem to remember the First Rule Of Intelligence Reporting: you always hear about the failures, but you NEVER hear about the successes. I.E.; The WaPo is saying waterboarding never worked because they can find no documented instances that it did.
Mike
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/29/2009 10:26 Comments ||
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#6
Yet another article amongst WaPos rich history of unsourced The dog didnt bark stories. Bravo!
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/29/2009 15:16 Comments ||
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#9
I've never been on that side of the business, but I know that very rarely is there one point source that leads to success. Most of the time, you have to collate information from a dozen different sources, separate the truth from the half-truths and outright lies, and slowly build a consensus of what's really going on. There are probably tidbits extracted from Abu Zubaida that helped firm up - or eliminate - other points. WAPO doesn't have a clue how intel works. Also, waterboarding isn't used to extract information. It's used to break the will of the person from withholding information. Information is extracted using other techniques.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/29/2009 17:02 Comments ||
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#10
One of the creepiest comments came after the start of the WoT. A CIA agent mentioned an overseas facility that had been nicknamed "The Hotel California", because of the twisted parallels that existed between it and its operations, and the Eagles song of the same name.
Even he remarked that it totally changed the complexion of that song for him, giving the lyrics horrifying double entendres.
The state government will build separate rooms at the Rajasthan police's special operations group (SOG) headquarters in Jhalana to interrogate terrorists. In a slew of measures taken to check terror activities after May 13 serial blasts, the SOG building is being modified for the purpose. The need arose following a number of alleged SIMI activists and terrorists were arrested and interrogated here.
"Modifications are being made to accommodate the accused of serious crimes as the role of SOG has become important following many incidents, including the Jaipur serial blasts," said an SOG official.
The building of Anti-terrorist Squad (ATS) is situated near Ghatgate. However, the ATS and SOG plan to interrogate persons held for terror activities in the SOG headquarters for its remoteness from the city.
SOG had interrogated over 300 people from across the state after the Jaipur serial blasts creating enough ground for hue and cry by the human rights organizations. An SMS resident doctor, Abrar Ali, had said in a press conference when he was released after a five-day long alleged illegal police custody that although he was not beaten up by the police but such noises were coming out of other cells in the SOG office where alleged SIMI activists, arrested from Kota, were kept.
SOG officials said off the record that people involved in terror activities are hard nuts to crack. After Jaipur serial blasts, the interrogators came to know about the complex structure of sleeping cells' and many people were interrogated. The need was felt for a special place for interrogating them," said an official.
He added that the modification of the SOG building, according to the needs, will be financed by the special budget of Rs 34 crore sanctioned by the state government for modernization of state police.
"There are plans for buying bullet-proof jackets, metal detectors and latest software to help in investigation for ATS and SOG," the official added.
President Barack Obama says he will consult with Pakistan's leaders before going after terrorist hideouts in their country.
So much for the invasion ...
He also wants Pakistan to be more accountable, but is ruling out deploying U.S. troops there. In Obama's words, his Afghanistan strategy "does not change the recognition of Pakistan as a sovereign government."
In an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation," the president discusses the tenuous security situation in that region. He says, "Unless we get a handle on it now, we're gonna be in trouble."
Obama adds that his new strategy is "not going to be an open-ended commitment of infinite resources" from the United States. He has ordered 4,000 more troops to the war zone as well as hundreds of civilians and increased aid.
Exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen has got yet another extension of her visa for six months with India indicating that her request for permanent residentship in the country would be taken up only by the new government after general elections.
The author was in India recently in connection with her visa extension. She was, however, told that she should pursue the issue from outside as it was not advisable for her to be in India due to security reasons.
Sources in the home ministry said Taslima's visa was extended till August 16. Though she had applied for resident permit, she was asked to take up the issue after polls. The author had left India after getting her visa extended as it was not advisable for her to stay here, they added.
The 46-year-old author was packed off from her Kolkata residence and shifted to Jaipur in November 2007 when some Muslim organisations resorted to state-wide agitation in West Bengal demanding her deportation to Bangladesh. She had to face protests over her controversial book `Dwikhandito' (Split in Two).
Though the author later removed "objectionable" lines from the book, it failed to soothe the tempers of fundamentalists who even issued threats, forcing her to leave for Jaipur. Later, Rajasthan government too decided to shift her to Delhi after receiving certain inputs of threat to her life.
Currently, Taslima's Bangladeshi passport stands invalid. She holds a European Union passport issued by the Swedish government.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/29/2009 17:21 ||
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ISLAMABAD: India has dealt another blow to the Punjabs water interests by establishing the Tawi-Ravi irrigation system some four years back, with New Delhi withdrawing 857 cusecs of water on a daily basis from the river, which is a Chenab tributary.
A senior official at the Water and Power Ministry revealed to The News on Friday the withdrawal of water by India would damage the irrigation of crops in Sialkot, Narowal and Shakargarh. Water from Tawi rivers left bank at the Bahu Fort point in Jammu is lifted 31 meters by pumps.
Daily water sheets issued by Irsa also jolted authorities concerned as Chenabs historic flows drastically reduced from 18,800 cusecs to over 10,000 cusecs these days. When contacted, Pakistans Indus Waters Commissioner Syed Jamaat Ali Shah said he was aware that India had built the irrigation system. Under the treaty, he explained, India could build such schemes to irrigate 1,300,000 acres of land with western rivers water.
But under the Indus Waters Treaty, India is bound to inform Pakistan six months before initiating any water scheme or dam on Pakistans rivers, he pointed out. But Irsa and the Punjab irrigation department are perturbed over the decline in Chenab River from historic average flows.
Asked about the source of this sensitive information, the official replied that Arshad H Abbasi, director of the planning commission in the recent past and currently working as research fellow with SDPI (Sustainable Development Policy Institute), had informed the environment and water and power ministries through a letter.
The Indus System of Rivers comprises three eastern rivers - Sutlej, Bias and Ravi - and as many western rivers - Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, waters of the eastern rivers stand allocated to India and western rivers to Pakistan.
However, India interlinked Tawi and Ravi rivers with the Ravi-Tawi Lift Irrigation Project, withdrawing up to 857 cusecs of water daily from Tawi. Under the Indus Waters Treaty, Chenab water was allocated to Pakistan and Tawi is a major left bank tributary of the river, which originates from the lapse of the Kali Kundi glacier and the adjoining area southwest of Bhadarwah in Doda district.
The official said Abbasi also asked the government to check the irrigation provision as given in Annexure ìCî of the Indus Waters Treaty. The Ranbir and Partap canal systems were constructed by India before the signing of the Indus Waters Treaty. The agriculture use of water permitted to India from western rivers is 912,477 acres and over and above 642,000 acres of land being irrigated from the western rivers on the effective date ñ April 1, 1960.
Abbasis letter, a copy of which has been made available to The News, says with permissible withdrawals from Ranbir and Partap canals, India is entitled to water additional irrigated cropped area (ICA) of 70,000 acres from Indus, 150,000 from Jhelum and only 50,000 from Chenab.
Thus only 270,000 acres could be irrigated from western rivers but India has developed three major canals after 1960 - the Kashmir canal system, the high canal system in Jammu and the Ravi-Tawi Link irrigation system.
New Delhi submitted the justification that since India has not built any conservation storage on western rivers; rather it wastes about 35 million acres feet of water every year. India can develop irrigation by withdrawals from western rivers.
Moreover, the Igo-phey canal has been commissioned for irrigation in Leh and Kurbathang canal in Kargil. Some more canals under construction in the Ladakh region would surrender Indias right to build dams on Indus.
As per the treaty, only 0.15 million acres feet of water can be used for generating hydroelectric power on Indus and 0.35 MAF for irrigation. With the completion of these canals, India cannot build any dam on Indus.
However, at the same time, India initiated major hydropower projects on western rivers, particularly on Chenab, Pakal Dul, Kiru and Kawar, Bursar, Karthoi, Rattle and Shamnot hydropower projects.
Three main projects Baglihar, Dul Hasti and Salal have already been completed. If the projects, which are in the pipeline, get completed, then it would inflict an irreparable loss on Pakistans agriculture.
The official, quoting the letter, said Abbasi stressed enhancing the capacity of Pakistans Indus Waters Commission and making it digitised so that it could be run on modern lines.This will help detect any misadventure of India; satellite altimetry technology is widely used now to measure surface water quantity. The letter also argued that International bodies such as the World Bank ought to help the Indus Waters Commission build trust and avert any serious conflict between the two countries.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/29/2009 07:04 ||
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Pakistan's president has said that he will return control of the Punjab province to the country's main opposition party, ending its rule by the central government.
Asif Ali Zardari told a joint session of parliament that he will allow the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), led by Nawaz Sharif, to return to power in the eastern province. "We shall recommend the lifting of the governor rule in Punjab," Zardari said on Saturday. "The Pakistan's People Party also will support the candidates of the PML-N, whoever he may be."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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Intelligence officials believe the continuation of Nato supplies via the tribal area could be the main reason behind the bombing of Friday congregation in Jamrud Tehsil of Khyber Agency. "Our investigators are probing into the bombing keeping in view the recent threats by militants," a security official told The News here on Saturday. "The militants have recently been threatening of such attacks if the Nato supplies via Khyber Agency are not stopped by the government," he said.
The official said the second reason of the attack could be the ongoing operation in Bara Tehsil of Khyber Agency. The third reason might be the arrest of some persons for links with the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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The United States has indications that elements in the ISI provide support to the Taliban or al Qaeda militants, senior US military officers said on Friday.
Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Army General David Petraeus, head of the US Central Command, said the ISI must stop such activities.
Mullen noted Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence service had links to militants on both its western border with Afghanistan and its eastern border with India. "Fundamentally, the strategic approach with the ISI must change and their support ... for militants, actually on both borders, has to fundamentally shift," he told CNN television's 'Situation Room' programme.
Asked if there were still elements within the ISI who sympathised with or supported al Qaeda and the Taliban, Mullen said: "There are certainly indications that that's the case."
Mullen hoped for more progress but said there was a "trust deficit" between Pakistan and the United States that he and other government officials were working to overcome.
"One of the reasons the regional approach is so important is to de-tension the Kashmir border so that the Pakistani military is not completely tied up on that border, and they are able to train, equip and fight on the western border in the counterinsurgency effort," he said.
Pakistan sees itself as fighting a "two-front" war, in Kashmir and against insurgents in the northwest, he added. Asked about what leverage the United States had over Pakistan, Mullen suggested that aid Washington was offering might be linked to progress in fighting insurgents. "There are linkages between support, aid, whatever the case might be, that I think we need to evaluate in terms of that assistance," he said.
The New York Times, citing anonymous US officials, reported on Wednesday that the Taliban's widening campaign in southern Afghanistan was made possible in part by direct support from ISI operatives.
Also, Petraeus, speaking on PBS television's ëNews Hourí programme, noted some militant groups had been established by the ISI, with the US funding, with the aim of helping drive Soviet forces out of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
"Those links were very strong and some of them, I think, unquestionably ... do remain, to this day. It is much more difficult to tell at what level those links are still established," he said.
Petraeus said there were some cases "in the fairly recent past" in which the ISI appeared to have warned militants that their location had been discovered.
"It's a topic that is of enormous importance, because if there are links and if those continue and if it undermines the (anti-militant) operations, obviously that would be very damaging to the kind of trust that we need to build," he said.
Petraeus' headquarters is responsible for US military operations in a volatile swath of the world which stretches from the Middle East into Central and South Asia.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
If you can't build trust (and I would suggest it's impossible, both for religious and cultural reasons), then instill fear. ARCLIGHT Quetta into dust. Tell Pakistan that we will do the same thing to each of their cities in turn if they don't cut off support for terrorists, and instead work with us to eliminate them. Once a month, at random times, fly a formation of four or five B-52s through Pakistani airspace, just to keep the tension levels at the proper height.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/29/2009 20:23 Comments ||
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ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, QamarFederal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Advisor to Prime Minister on Interior Rahman Malik and presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar visited the press gallery at the Parliament House here on Saturday and assured the journalists that the perpetrators of the murder of journalist Raja Asad Hameed would be brought to the book.
After the assurance, the journalists decided not to stage a walkout from the media gallery on the occasion of the joint session of the Parliament addressed by President Asif Ali Zardari.
Qamar Zaman Kaira said the government strongly believed in freedom of the press and all necessary steps would be taken to remove the reservations and apprehensions of the journalists' community about their security.
Expressing profound grief over brutal murder of the eminent journalist Raja Asad Hameed, the minister said President Asif Ali Zardari had already directed for formation of a judicial commission as per aspirations of the journalist community to probe the killing of journalists.
The minister said action would be taken as journalists were being targeted and killed and in probing into the incidents the government would also seek help from journalists' community.
He said the government would focus on provision of security to working journalists. He said the government would hold talks with representative bodies of the journalists in this regard.
Rahman Malik said President Asif Zardari had already issued directions for conducting a probe into the murder of Raja Asad through a judicial commission, which would also include and journalists.
He said the commission would investigate into the murder of all the 24 journalists killed in recent years and the report of the commission would also be made public.
He said the government had formed an investigation team, comprising Director IB, Director FIA and SSP Investigation to probe the murder and the journalists representatives would be informed on the investigations on a daily-basis. He urged the media not to leak the investigations, as it could damage the process.
Zaman Kaira, Advisor to Prime Minister on Interior Rahman Malik and presidential s
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Saturday officially announced election of Syed Munawwar Hasan as its fourth central Amir for the next five-year term. He would continue to head the JI till April 2014. Qazi has declined to stand for office, presumably because of his heart condition.
According to details provided by the party's election commission, out of 23,480 JI members, 91.30% used their right to vote. The election commission did not disclose the number of votes baged by the new Amir. However, sources said Munawwar Hasan got more than 55% votes while the remaining were shared by other nominees of the JI Shoora -- Liaquat Baloch and Sirajul Haq. The balloting process, started on March 1, continued for four weeks.
Since its inception on August 26, 1941, the JI had been holding elections for new Amir after every five years.
Syed Munawar Hasan hails from a distinguished family, based in Delhi before partition of the Subcontinent. He was born in August 1944 and his family migrated to Karachi in 1947 after partition. He did masters in Sociology (1963) and Islamic Studies (1966) from Karachi University.
Syed Munawar Hasan joined the National Students Federation (NSF) - a student body with leftist leaning - and was elected its president in 1959. He joined IJT in 1960 and became president of its Karachi University Unit, Karachi City Unit and member of the Central Executive Council. He was elected Nazim-e-Aala in 1964 and served in that capacity for three consecutive terms.
This article starring:
LIAQUAT BALOCH
Jamaat-e-Islami
MAULANA SYED ABUL A'ALA
Jamaat-e-Islami
MIAN TUFAIL MUHAMAD
Jamaat-e-Islami
QAZI HUSEIN AHMED
Jamaat-e-Islami
SIRAJUL HAQ
Jamaat-e-Islami
SYED MUNAWWAR HASAN
Jamaat-e-Islami
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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Doha - The international arrest warrant for Sudan''s president will top the agenda of an Arab summit next week, which he may attend despite his indictment for war crimes, host Qatar said on Saturday.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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Violent fighting has erupted between Iraqi government forces and Awakening Council neighborhood guards in a Sunni area in Baghdad.
At least 15 people were wounded in the Saturday clashes and three people were killed. This is while the guards captured five Iraqi soldiers.
Baghdad security spokesman Qassim al-Moussawi said the firefight with the guards, started after Iraqi forces arrested the Awakening Council leader, Adil al-Mashhadani, and at least one of his men, on terror-related charges in the central district of al-Fadhil. "They had a judicial warrant," Moussawi said, adding that seven Iraqi soldiers had been wounded in the clashes.
Al-Sahwa or Awakening members are mostly former Sunni insurgents who fought US and Iraqi forces after the 2003 US-led invasion of the country, but helped curb violence since late 2006 when they sided with the Iraqi government to battle al-Qaeda following its harsh rhetoric and attacks against Iraqi civilians.
Meanwhile, a Reuter's reporter said that he had heard heavy gunfire near the scene and saw Iraqi army snipers on roofs all around the neighborhood. He said Iraqi forces had ringed the area but the streets were largely controlled by the Sunni Arab fighters.
An Iraqi interior ministry source said US forces were close to the disrupted area for back-up.
The Awakening Council and their members have been credited with drastically cutting violence after they switched sides, routing radical Sunnis out of Baghdad and troubled provinces such as Anbar, but deep mistrust remains between them and Iraq's Shia-led government.
Reuters reported a guard who witnessed the battle as saying "What happened to Mashhadani was just revenge. Now it is obvious to us that the government is insincere in its talk of reconciliation. After this, we can't trust anyone anymore."
US officials have said a dangerous situation could arise should Maliki's government fail to bring about reconciliation with the former Sunni Arab fighters. However, they say that Iraq has the right to detain those accused of grave charges in the past, such as murder or terrorism.
Over the past week, Iraq's capital city Baghdad has seen a rise in violence. On Thursday, a bomb blast north of Baghdad led to the death of 24 civilians and the injury of 44 others.
A booby-trapped car went off after midday near a bus stop in a crowded marketplace in Baghdad's Shia district of Shaab, causing the incident. Most of the victims were women and children.
Two separate suicide attacks in the capital this month have killed as many as 70 civilians.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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DOHA, Qatar - An Arab-backed Middle East peace offer will not be on the table for ever, Arab foreign ministers warned on Saturday, days before a right-wing government assumes power in Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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President Shimon Peres launched a campaign a few days ago whose aim is to convince the international community that the "Netanyahu-Lieberman-Barak" government in the making will advance the peace process with the Palestinians. Meanwhile, senior European Union officials have sent messages to Benjamin Netanyahu making it clear that a refusal to adopt the "two-state solution" means freezing any upgrade in relations between Israel and Europe.
...
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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Saeb Erekat, chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, has raised the alarm in Washington D.C. against the incoming Netanyahu government.
Erekat wrote in an editorial column published in Saturday's edition of The Washington Post that Israel's commitment to peace is in doubt, while it is being made a priority by U.S. President Barack Obama as part of America's "more integrated approach" to Middle East policy.
"Peace is not a word that sits comfortably with the Israeli right, which will dominate Israel's new government, even with Labor's decision this week to join it," he wrote.
Taking a swipe at the new coalition, Erekat added, "Among its ranks are those who have long opposed peace with Palestinians, no matter the cost; who use the cover of religion to advocate extremist views and who have supported the expulsion of Palestinians or now devise loyalty tests to achieve the same result."
The PA negotiator bitterly noted that incoming Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu has proposed an "economic peace" rather than accept the notion of a two-state solution from the outset, but Erekat stopped short of issuing an open ultimatum. "Palestinians have not engaged in years of negotiations to see them fail. But neither is our patience unlimited," he warned.
Among the list of "musts" that Israel is expected to comply with -- ending with the establishment of a PA state based on the pre-1967 borders -- is "an immediate and complete freeze on settlement activity, including all natural growth and the construction of Israel's '[security] wall."
The PA chief negotiator warns that "without a settlement freeze, there will be no two-state solution left to speak of."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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A Hizbullah member of Lebanon's Parliament will hold a rare meeting with British parliamentarians in London this week, the group announced Saturday.
The visit follows an announcement by Britain's Foreign Office last month that it has contacted Hizbullah's political wing in an attempt to reach out to its legislators. It said its ultimate aim is to encourage the group to abandon violence and play a constructive political role in the deeply divided country.
A Hizbullah statement issued Saturday says Hussein Hajj Hassan was invited by a number of British legislators to take part in a political meeting of parliamentarians to discuss "regional issues." It said he would be traveling to London on Sunday.
Britain's Foreign Office confirmed he has been granted a restricted validity, singly entry visa for the purpose of the visit.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
The British Foreign Office always did love Arabs more than their own Queen/King. I've no idea why MPs would be interested, though.
It's the law that the policy implements. I don't think Congress is in the mood at the moment to antagonize even more of the electorate. Particularly after the behaviors following the recent plebiscite in CA, which made more enemies than friends of the usual suspects. Those same usual suspects in the narrow mined approach to reality wouldn't mind the military disobeying the law in this instance. That's the problem historically when the military starts disobeying law. Don't remove the leash if you don't want to be bitten.
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 Somali president said on Saturday that Al Qaida should stop interfering in the affairs of his war-ravaged country. President Shaikh Sharif Shaikh Ahmad spoke following last week's publication of a tape by Osama Bin Laden in which Bin Laden called him an "infidel" and urged Somalis to overthrow his new government. 
Algeria's president mingled with crowds of potential voters as he campaigned on Friday for re-election in the restive Kabylie region of Algeria, a hotbed of terrorists and a stronghold of the leftist opposition.
Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) yesterday disclosed that two border guards have recently died after long illness.
More than 30 people including several freedom fighters were injured in a clash over a 'mass grave' of 1971 in Anwara yesterday. Muktijoddha Sangsad leaders of Anwara alleged locals hired by Nawab Khan, an alleged razakar, attacked them when they went to Mohalkhan Bazar to visit a piece of land. They claimed the land as a mass grave of the Liberation War.
(Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that the upcoming NATO summit should start work on a "new strategic concept" to cope with new challenges in the 21st century. 
Even if indictments are eventually handed down against the U.S. officials, it is far from clear whether arrests would ever take place. The officials would have to travel outside the United States and to a country willing to take them into custody before possible extradition to Spain.
Pakistan's president has said that he will return control of the Punjab province to the country's main opposition party, ending its rule by the central government.
Intelligence officials believe the continuation of Nato supplies via the tribal area could be the main reason behind the bombing of Friday congregation in Jamrud Tehsil of Khyber Agency. "Our investigators are probing into the bombing keeping in view the recent threats by militants," a security official told The News here on Saturday. "The militants have recently been threatening of such attacks if the Nato supplies via Khyber Agency are not stopped by the government," he said.
The United States has indications that elements in the ISI provide support to the Taliban or al Qaeda militants, senior US military officers said on Friday.
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, QamarFederal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Advisor to Prime Minister on Interior Rahman Malik and presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar visited the press gallery at the Parliament House here on Saturday and assured the journalists that the perpetrators of the murder of journalist Raja Asad Hameed would be brought to the book. 
The 
Saeb Erekat, chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, has raised the alarm in Washington D.C. against the incoming Netanyahu government.
