[Quqnoos] The Afghan peace jirga delegates on Friday endorsed President Karzai's plan calling for negotiating with the Taliban on ending the war
Hamid Karzai's plan would offer amnesty, money and job incentives to Taliban foot soldiers and asylum in other countries to Taliban leaders, according to officials familiar with the plan.
"You have shown us the path," Karzai said at the end of the meeting. "We will follow that path step by step and, God willing, we will reach the end."
"I again call on my brothers, the Taliban, dears, Hizb-i-Islami to take this opportunity and say yes to the call of the people," Karzai said, addressing some 1,600 delegates to the three-day jirga.
On Thursday, 28 committees debated proposals for peace and on Friday a declaration was made based on those suggestions.
The Taliban have yet to give an official response to the conference's concluding statement, though they had earlier criticized the jirga.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
What part of Taliban-already-rejected-a-deal don't those bozos understand?
A couple of years ago, Karzai told Der Spiegel that he admires Taliban for their "morality." Yah, real moral be-headers.
[Quqnoos] NATO forces have killed the Taliban's top commander for Kandahar city during a gun-battle, the alliance said Friday
Several other militants were also killed who were armed with machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
NATO identified him as Mullah Zergay, called him "the top Taliban commander for the Kandahar city area" and accused him of being responsible for multiple deaths in Kandahar, as well as directing attacks in nearby districts.
He was killed in Kandahar's Zhari district last week, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.
"Zergay directed insurgent activities in the Arghandab and Zharay districts, including Kandahar City," the statement noted.
The death comes in same week as NATO vowed to escalate their operations against the Taliban in Kandahar province.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2010 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] A provincial government building in Kandahar has been bombed, leaving one policeman dead and over 14 civilians injured.
In the incident, which occurred on Saturday near the provincial governor's office in the capital of the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, an explosive-laden bicycle was detonated outside the compound where the governor lives and works, the Associated Press reported.
The governor's spokesman said the injured include five children, adding that four of the injured were in critical condition.
The governor was reportedly not in his office at the time of the explosion.
Earlier in the day, Britain's Ministry of Defense announced that two British soldiers were killed in clashes with militants in the Helmand province, which is also in southern Afghanistan.
The latest string of militant attacks comes as the US-led forces in Afghanistan are preparing for a major operation in the south.
On Friday, a Jirga, or gathering of tribal elders, ended with the local leaders agreeing that the only viable path to peace is through negotiations with the Taliban.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] A Yemeni colonel and two of his bodyguards were killed in an attack by suspected al-Qaeda members on Saturday near the city of Marib east of the capital, a tribal source said.
"Colonel Mohammed Saleh al-Shaief and two bodyguards were killed when his vehicle was fired upon by al-Qaeda members" from another car, the source said.
Shaief, 43, was travelling with a convoy to inspect military forces stationed in the Safar oil field when the attack occurred south of Marib, the source added.
A military source confirmed that Shaief and two bodyguards were killed in an attack, but did not accuse al-Qaeda of being behind it.
Another tribal source said that an al-Qaeda member identified as Al-Uqaili, from the Beyhan area south of Marib, was among the attackers.
In late May, provincial official Jaber Ali al-Shabwani and four of his bodyguards were killed an air strike in Marib province that targeted a wanted al-Qaeda suspect.
The suspect, named as Mohammed Said bin Jardan, was wounded but managed to escape, security sources said.
The deaths sparked a string of revenge attacks in Marib by members of the Al-Shabwan tribe, on the oil pipeline from the Safar field, petrol stations, army positions and a government building.
Two tribesmen were also killed and a policeman was wounded in the unrest.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered an investigation into those incidents, and the high security council vowed to continue efforts against al-Qaeda.
Yemen is the ancestral homeland of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and has been the scene of several attacks claimed by the group on foreign missions, tourist sites and oil installations.
Marib is one of al-Qaeda's strongholds in Yemen.
The group has suffered setbacks amid U.S. pressure on the government to crack down. But its presence threatens to turn Yemen into a base for training and plotting attacks, a senior U.S. counter-terrorism official said in September.
In addition to the al-Qaeda threat, Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, is also contending with a separatist movement in the south and the aftermath of a six-year uprising by Zaidi Shiite rebels in the far north.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2010 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] An operative of outlawed Gono Mukti Fouz
Ooooh, a new group of bad guys! I wonder if they're Commies...
They're classed as a Left Wing Element. Good enough...
was killed in a 'shootout' between their cohorts and the police in Shailkupa upazila of Jhenidah early yesterday.
It's on the map -- somewhere -- no doubt in letters only visible with a 10x jeweler's loupe.
The deceased was identified as Nasirul Islam alias Shuknal, 45, son of Nurul Islam alias Nuru Dakat of Bogra village in Shailkupa.
Clearly family tradition, this taking of aliases for no doubt nefarious purposes. How many names have his sons and grandsons, I wonder?
He was accused in 10 cases, including four for murder, police said.
A badman, a definite badman. One hopes at least his mother loved him.
Anwar Hossain, officer-in-charge of Shailkupa Police Station said his team cordoned off a field at Komol Nagar village at about 3:00am when the gang was holding a clandestine meeting there.
A nicely proletarian touch, that village field. One hopes the villagers won't go hungry for lack of the grain trampled in this encounter.
Sensing presence of the law enforcers,
"Hark, boss! My Spidey sense is tingling!"
the outlaws fired shots,
Madly shooting in all directions, awakening dogs and making children cry, but magically hitting no one...
prompting the police to retaliate
One can't let such things continue, lest innocents be harmed, after all.
which triggered a gunfight.
That bit always puzzles me: isn't it a bit late at this point to begin a gunfight?
Must be a Bangladeshi version of the Marquess of Queensberry rules
Shuknal got killed
Naturally.
while his accomplices managed to flee.
Literally like thieves in the night, leaving no sign they'd ever been.
The law enforcers found his body near a bridge in the village.
From field to bridge? That's quite a distance to travel, especially with a bullet behind each ear, quite unlike chewing gum.
His accomplices must've gotten tired of carrying him.
The body was sent to Jhenidah Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy.
"Yes, he's definitely dead, Jim."
Police recovered one shutter gun,
Whew! We feared it lost, but clearly not.
one shotgun and four rounds of bullets from the spot.
Not much for all that mad firing that took place, but no doubt more bullets will turn up when the grain is harvested.
Shuknal was leading the group which was involved in various anti-social activities including robbery and murder, all over Jhenidah and Magura districts for a long time, said Hossain.
Very, very badmen, indeed.
But not for smoking in public - so they're not all bad.
A case has been filed in this connection.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2010 00:00 ||
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This is just out of the area we have been generally covering, northern Mexico.
A police agent, Guillermo Vazquez Anaya, was found shot to death near a farm near San Pedro, Sinaloa only hours after he was abducted at gunpoint.
Guillermo Vazquez Anaya was charge of the security of the Center of Execution of the Legal Consequences of the Crime (CECJUDE), of Mazatlan since last January, and was an agent for Sinaloa's Policía Estatal Preventiva (PEP).
Investigators found several spent cartridge casings for a 9mm weapon at the scene.
In roughly the same location, two agents for Ministerial Police of Estado (PME) were found executed, also only a few hours after being abducted a gunpoint.
Víctor Manuel Ochoa Sanchez and Rafael Galicia Morales were both elements of the Operational Department of the PME.
The two agents were found shot to death with AK-47 and 9mm weapons.
According to sources, 42 police have been executed in Sinaloa, 29 of them municipal police.
A director for Dirección Servicios de Protección for the Sinaloa Palacio de Gobierno, the Sinaloa governor's residence, was attacked near his home Friday morning.
Martín Delgado Quezada, 43, was listed in stable condition. Delgado Quezada was not armed. He was not authorized to carry a weapon.
Police think the attack made with a .38 weapon, may be related to politics.
In an unrelated crime, the sister of a Partido Institutional Revolucionario (PRI) mayoral candidate was murdered inside a super market in Bachimeto, Sinaloa Friday. Also, three Sinaloa state police agents were found shot to death in two different crimes, according to various Mexican news reports.
Rosalinda Plata Inzunza, sister of mayoral candidate, Evelio Plata Inzunza, was shot to death as she shopped inside the Super Bachimeto store Friday. Police think she was shot as part of an armed robbery.
Swedish dockworkers plan to launch a blockade of Israeli ships and goods to protest the May 31 attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla.
According to Peter Annerback, the spokesperson for the Swedish Port Workers Union, the workers of the union will block Israeli ships and not handle any of their goods from June 15 to 24.
He went on to say that the decision to blockade Israeli ships and goods was taken to condemn the "criminal attack" on the convoy of ships, which was peaceful and non-violent.
All of the 1500 members of the Swedish Port Workers Union have mutually decided to support the Ship to Gaza, which was a part of the Freedom Flotilla.
The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea early on May 31, killing nine Turkish citizens on board the six ships and injuring about 50 other people.
The fate of three other Freedom Flotilla activists is still unknown.
Israel also arrested nearly 700 activists from 42 countries on board the Freedom Flotilla, which was attempting to break the siege of Gaza in order to deliver 10,000 tons of humanitarian assistance to the long-suffering people of the territory.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Just one more piece of evidence on a growing pile that labor unions are the enemy of Western civilization.
How far is that from Ashdod and Tel Aviv? I mean, in thousands of miles or the rough equivalent?
And Nicaragua? What does Israel import from Sweden? Besides Lamarstruesel and Picnelshnatz?
And does Israel export a lot to Sweden?
Nothing comes to my mind about Exports to Sweden. Maybe there is big money involved, who knows?
Widgets? Digits ? Contact the Swedish Ministry of Schanzgruppen and find out. Those Lutherans are a mean lot when they are morally aroused.
Too lazy to actually google, but I did buy some plastic food storage containers stamped Made In Israel in the dollar store. Kind of amusing: plastic stuff made from oil manufactured in a country with no oil of its own, shipped across the ocean and sold for a buck. Gawd, I love globalisation.
#8
Fine. From now until He$$ freezes over, or the Swedes change their minds, I won't buy anything imported from Sweden. That includes second-hand sales. So, no Volvos, no Saabs (including the flying version), n Lapland wool blankets (unless they're made in Finland and sold from there), and no Swedish cookies or meatballs. Two can play this game of political insanity as well as one. I doubt either the Swedish blockade of Israeli goods or my blockade of Swedish goods will result in any substantial change in politics in either country.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/06/2010 17:01 Comments ||
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#9
Duh! Are israelis trying to smuggle in missiles, for use against civilians? Don't think so.
#10
Israel exports a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables to Europe, eg. Jaffa oranges, but I believed that's all airshipped. Not to mention computer thingies and programs, medicines, medical technology thingies, high fashion, off-the-rack fashion and, clearly, Dollar Store stuff. All of which could be shipped by boat instead of air freight.
This was covered here last week - but more on the cache/investigation. HT to AOSHQ
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/06/2010 15:07 ||
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#1
The .223 rifles (semiauto?) and ammo don't have much use in Iran since they get that stuff much cheaper and less risk from the Chinese or make their own. My guess is Iranian agents stockpiling for a terror campaign when the US-Iran balloon goes up.
Posted by: ed ||
06/06/2010 15:44 Comments ||
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#10
"Thus he is in the country illegally, it alleges."
Doesn't that mean that ICE was required to let him go? I thought they weren't supposed to interfere with illegals.
"For further transshipment?"
I don't think so. I believe this guy was one of probably several people in this country performing the logistics function of arming Iranian/Hezbollah sleeper cells that would be activated in case of any action against Iran over their nukes.
I can't know first hand about any of that but it would be consistent with things Iran has said and capabilities they are claimed to have.
#14
If I were going to sell weapons South of the border, why would I go to Yamhill County, Oregon, buy them, and then haul them back North to Washington closer to the Canadian border? Why wouldn't I haul them to California closer to the Mexican border? The Mexican drug cartels have hundreds of people in California tending illegal pot groves on public lands. You could sell them directly to the cartel members without having to take them across the border yourself.
I believe these weapons were being cached for Iranian operatives who were to come across the border from Canada at some future point.
#15
GUARDIAN.UK > seems BRITANNIA = UK-London has decided to follow CANADA + formally set up STREET-LEVEL SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS = PUBLIC MONTORING SYSTEMS IN TROUBLED OR SUSPECT MUSLIM NEIGHBORHOODS???
#16
ION NOT-NECESSARILY-UNRELATED, WMF > ZHAO ZHAOZHONG: US SALE(S) OF ARMS TO TAIWAN WOULD BE AKIN TO CHINA SELLING ARMS TO ANTI-US/FEDERAL OPPOSITION OR MILITANT ELEMENTS [Pol, Militant Parties-Groups] IN THE US STATE OF HAWAII.
#17
It's easy to hike across the border into Canada from Ferndale
Used to live in Ferndale WA. Still about 10Mi or so from the border. Quite a ways to pack it over open farmland - most of it pasture. Knew some people in Sumas who live, literally, about 300' from the border - which was little more than a ditch.
The suspects were reportedly about to board planes to Egypt with plans to travel to Somalia to join with an extremist group there.
The Newark Star Ledger said the New Jersey men, Mohamed Hamoud Alessa 20, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 24, are both US citizens and quoted neighbors as saying they went to school in the United States.
"As of this moment I am only able to confirm that two arrests took place last night," an FBI spokesman said.
"Please understand due to the sensitivity of this matter this is the only information we are able to release at this time," she added.
Around the time of their arrest, both men's homes were searched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the federal agents carted away boxes of evidence.
Authorities told the paper the suspects had been under surveillance for some time and their circle of friends had been infiltrated by a New York City police officer who saw them prepare to travel overseas.
The men were not, however, planning an attack in the United States, authorities said.
#2
From the other post on this. in quotes: "the arrests do not relate to any known immediate threat to the public or active plot against the United States." Parse that.
#3
Surely they wouldn't receive training, go through a couple of operations, and then be returned home to start mayhem. No, that would be stupidity in planning by AQ.
#4
Area familiarization and language immersion. They'll probably be offered Georgetown enrollment and DOJ positions before they leave. Nothing new here.
#8
per Fox news: SO they were plannng anything in the US, huh?
"In late November 2009, Alessa was recorded as saying that if he and Almonte cant kill targets overseas, then theyll "start doing killing here" in the United States, according to court documents. He later said he would return to the "crap hole" of the United States if "the leader ordered me to come back here and do something," court documents allege.
Note that its from Chiapas, home of radical leftwing Commandante Marcos, who is reported to have converted a few years ago and to have welcomed a lot of Saudi money that went into a huge mosque, schools etc. in the region.
#10
Some kind of psychological affinity of a certain kind of person to gangster thugism, to radical Islam, and to the militant left wing? Mix-n-match, makes no difference?
#11
See also FRONTIER INDIA > AL-SHABAAB'S THREATS TO THE UNITED STATES [covert = subtle for the time being]. Pro-Islamist/Shabaab Somalis are a'comin to America = Amerika.
[Iran Press TV Latest] US President Barack Obama has picked retired General James Clapper as head of the US national intelligence, describing him as "eminently qualified" for the post.
In the White House Rose Garden on Saturday Obama gave the sensitive job to the former Air Force General, characterizing Clapper as someone who "understands the importance of working with our partners in Congress."
"With four decades of service to America, Jim is one of our nation's most experienced and most respected intelligence professionals," Obama told reporters.
Clapper will succeed Dennis Blair, a retired navy admiral, who stepped down last month as director of national intelligence.
Blair's resignation came on the heels of a series of security lapses in the US intelligence, including the failure to detect the Christmas Day airline bomb plot.
Obama called on the lawmakers in the US Senate to quickly ratify Clapper's appointment, saying that "this nomination can't fall victim to the usual Washington politics."
"Given the importance of this position, the urgent threats to our nation and Jim's unique experience, I urge the Senate to do so again and as swiftly as possible," he said.
If approved as the director of national intelligence, Clapper will monitor the 16 agencies that form the US intelligence body, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA).
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
If approved as the director of national intelligence, Clapper will monitor herd the 16 agencies cats that form the US intelligence body.
After a brief enlistment in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, General Clapper transferred to the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program. He was commissioned in 1963 as a distinguished military graduate from the University of Maryland. He commanded a signals intelligence detachment in Thailand (where he flew 73 combat support missions in EC-47s), a signals intelligence SIGINT wing at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, and the Air Force Technical Applications Center, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Clapper served as director of intelligence for three of the unified commands: U.S. Forces Korea, U.S. Pacific Command and Strategic Air Command. Also, he served as senior intelligence officer for the Air Force.[3] Clapper's final military post was as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. After this he briefly served as an executive in several private companies such as Booz Allen Hamilton and SRA International.
[edit] Appointment as USD(I)
After his departure from NGA in June 2006, Clapper briefly served as the chief operating officer for Detica DFI, now a US-based subsidiary of BAE Systems. For the 2006-2007 academic year, Clapper held the position of Georgetown Universityâs Intelligence and National Security Alliance Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Intelligence.[4] While teaching at Georgetown, Clapper was officially nominated by President George W. Bush to be Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence on 29 January, 2007. Clapper was confirmed by the United States Senate on 11 April 2007.[5] He was only the second person to hold this position, which oversees and provides policy, program, and budgetary guidance to the defense intelligence agencies - DIA, NGA, the National Security Agency (NSA), and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) - and also works closely with the Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/06/2010 13:37 Comments ||
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At least seven militants and two civilians were killed on Saturday in an armed clash between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Lashkar-e-Islami (LI) in the Tabai Bazaar area of Zakha Khel. The clash erupted when TTP militants reportedly kidnapped a man of the other militant group. The Lashkar-e-Islami militants surrounded a TTP hideout in the Tabai Bazaar area where nine people, including two passers-by, were killed in the exchange of fire between the two groups. Two militant commanders were also killed in the clash after which the Lashkar-e-Islami abducted another two TTP militants, said sources at the political administration, confirming the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] KARACHI: An intermittent exchange of fire between rival groups in Lyari — some areas of which also came under mortar attack — kept the strife-ravaged locality in a state of fear for a third consecutive day, said police and area residents.
However, compared to the previous two days which saw bloodshed, the situation showed signs of improvement in that frequent exchange of fire and hide-and-seek between armed men and the police did not cause any loss of life on Friday.
Two mortar shells fired in the early hours of Friday fell in an open plot of land without causing any major damage.
Also, the two rival groups, who had staged a deadly gunbattle in the neighbourhood over a couple of days, agreed to come to the negotiating table with the efforts of political leadership and the administration.
An official of the Baghdadi police station said: "At least two mortar shells fired from Ali Mohammad Mohalla landed in a neighbouring plot of an Eidulane residence in the early hours of Friday. No loss of life was reported today.
"Hundreds of rounds have been fired from each side. A 20-year-old man, Imam Bukhsh, received a bullet wound and was shifted to the Civil Hospital Karachi," he added.
The police claimed success as the guns gradually fell silent after the intense firing that continued during the previous two days — resulting in the death of 10 people, including a 12-year-old boy. The officials believed that 'a change in the strategy' by the police high-ups really worked.
"We have some 17 APCs [armoured personnel carriers] with nearly 300 policemen deployed in the area since Wednesday," said SSP Khadim Hussain Rind of Lyari Town.
"We have changed the strategy and deployed policemen on the affected streets, which cause deterrence against frequent firing and the guns fell silent gradually. Right now there is no firing and life is returning to normality," he said, while speaking to Dawn an hour after sunset.
The fresh wave of gang warfare in Lyari started after an armed group — suspected to be associated with Ghaffar Zikri by the police — attacked an office of the People's Peace Committee — a lately formed socio-political group enjoying support of influential individuals and groups — in Singhulane and killed its young members in the early hours of Wednesday.
The two congested neighbouring localities of Ali Mohammad Mohalla and Eidulane in Union Council No 6 of Lyari Town remained the worst-affected areas during the standoff, as People's Peace Committee's president Shahid Rahman lives in one and Ghaffar Zikri in the other. Surprisingly, both groups claim to be closer and more loyal to the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and to enjoy support from the ruling party. For many Lyariites, their (both the groups') association with the ruling party seems to be working again to spare those behind the deadly violence from any legal action.
"We only want the people to dissociate themselves from criminal elements and come into mainstream politics which means service to their people," said Sardar Nabeel Ahmed Gabol, a state minister and a PPP's parliamentarian from Lyari.
Mr Gabol is one of the few leaders after the assassinated prime minister Benazir Bhutto and President Asif Ali Zardari whose portrait was placed outside a PPP office recently set up by Ghaffar Zikri group after parting his ways from the People's Peace Committee.
"We will definitely support if the talks between the groups bring peace to the people of Lyari. But the problem is that one of the groups is not ready to move on these lines, which creates law and order situation most of the time," he added.
After voicing the same complaints against his rival group, Shahid Rahman of the People's Peace Committee showed his willingness to hold talks with the rivals. He believes: "Each and every problem has a solution in dialogue. And if the same theory works to avert the present crisis, I think there is no harm in it. We hope the situation will show improvement in a day or two
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2010 00:00 ||
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The following passengers on board the Mavi Marmara are known to be involved in terrorist activity. The Mavi Marmara attempted to break the maritime closure on the Gaza Strip on Monday, May 31st 2010, and was boarded by Israel Navy forces.
Fatimah Mahmadi (born 1979), is a United States resident of Iranian origin, and an active member of the organization Viva Palestine', she attempted to smuggle forbidden electronic components into the Gaza Strip.
Ken O'Keefe (Born 1969), an American and British citizen, is a radical anti-Israel activist and operative of the Hamas Terror organization. He attempted to enter the Gaza Strip in order to form and train a commando unit for the Palestinian terror organization.
Hassan Iynasi (born 1982), a Turkish citizen and activist in a Turkish charity organization, is known of providing financial support to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Terror organization.
Hussein Urosh, a Turkish citizen and activist in the IHH organization, was on his way to the Gaza Strip in order to assist in smuggling Al-Qaeda operatives via Turkey into the Strip.
Ahmad Umimon (born 1959), is a French citizen of Moroccan origin, and an operative of the Hamas Terrorist organization.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/06/2010 16:26 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] The Rachel Corrie aid ship arrived at an Israeli port on Saturday after being prevented from reaching Gaza, but there was no repetition of the bloody violence that erupted when commandos stormed an aid boat earlier in the week.
The Irish-owned 1,200-tonne vessel was escorted into the southern port of Ashdod by two small naval launches some five hours after being commandeered by Israeli forces when it ignored orders not to head to Gaza.
Israel hailed the peaceful end to the operation which the military said was carried out without any injuries while the pro-Palestinian organizers lashed out at the Jewish state, accusing it of "hijacking" the ship.
The Israeli military said its forces boarded the vessel "with the full compliance" of the crew and passengers and that there was no violence involved at all.
"Our forces boarded the boat and took control without meeting any resistance from the crew or the passengers. Everything took place without violence," the spokeswoman told AFP.
The move came after the Rachel Corrie refused to respond to four requests from the navy to head for the southern Israeli port of Ashdod, and stayed its course for the Gaza Strip, which is under an Israeli naval blockade.
Activists on board the ship had previously indicated they would not heed Israeli calls to change course, and would continue to head for their destination, although they were prepared to let their cargo be inspected.
The ship was intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters shortly after dawn but the troops held back from boarding the vessel for several hours.
The apparently peaceful ending to the standoff comes just five days after the Israeli naval commandos raided another aid ship heading for Gaza in a bungled operation which left nine foreign activists dead and scores wounded, among them seven Israeli soldiers.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
interestingly, the Al Arabiya coverage is less anti Israel than that of the BBC (about equal with CNN)
interestingly among the 'peace activists' is Denis Halliday; this fellow was director of of the Oil-for-Food program (also known as the oil for palaces program) in Iraq between the Gulf War and Iraqi Freedom.
Posted by: lord garth ||
06/06/2010 0:13 Comments ||
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#2
The Israelis handled this well. There's a good shot of soldier gently offering his hand to help that old bat Irish Noble Peace Prize winner down the gang plank. Her with a big smile on her puss wheeling a suitcase behind her.
#3
interestingly among the 'peace activists' is Denis Halliday; this fellow was director of of the Oil-for-Food program (also known as the oil for palaces program) in Iraq between the Gulf War and Iraqi Freedom. Posted by lord garth
The "Oil for Food Program" was run out of the old Canal Hotel in Baghdad as were the UNSCOM Inspection Regimes. The "Oil for Food" people were a seedy, very secretive lot who avoided contact with the UNSCOM crowd and Americans in particular. Most everyone on the teams figured they were dirty, but we didn't know until years that followed just how dirty.
#4
Do people still disbelieve that Israel allows passage of goods through borders with Gaza, but controls flows - as does Egypt on the south - because Hamas made the area a war zone?
Terrorists Suspected insurgents shot and killed four people in the latest violence in Thailand's Muslim-majority southern provinces, local police said Sunday.
Three Buddhist workers on a shrimp farm in Pattani Province -- two men and one woman -- were shot dead by unknown assailants with assault rifles on Saturday evening. Another worker was seriously injured.
In another incident, a 34-year-old Muslim man, recently released from prison, was gunned down in front of his house in Narathiwat Province, police said. Bangkok Postsays:
Police identified the dead man as Abdullah Dao, 34, who had been released from Narathiwat Provincial Prison a month ago after being jailed for stealing motorcycles in Muang district to sell to militants who would use them to stage roadside bomb attacks.
#2
Realistically, Israel has lost friendly relations with Turkey, while Iran has united Ataturkist and Muslim Brother elements. And that is causing concern among the Wahabis. And Iraq is veering towards the Sunni-Shiite united front. Syria was already in. Egypt has been forced into a somewhat neutral position, but could shift toward the front.
What if the above partners sited 30,000 missiles around Israel, that could reach Tel Aviv? That could happen.
#3
Then we have ourselves, Armagedan. We know what that means. Times up! (per the Christian perspective) And now that the Flag Ship of the once Free World has swung hard left, nothing will save Israel but the Big Guy himself. Give it 7-10 years, my best wild guess before its all over!
[Al Arabiya Latest] Iranian troops have crossed into Iraq twice in three days amid clashes with Kurdish rebels in the Qandil mountains near the border, a security spokesman said Saturday.
The incursions, which both occurred after Iran's ambassador to Baghdad was summoned to the foreign ministry over the issue, came during a series of clashes in recent days with the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK).
"Iranian forces, two days ago (Thursday), entered... Iraqi territory in the Haji Omran area" in Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region, a spokesman for the region's peshmerga former rebel security force told AFP.
"The Iranian soldiers numbered more than 30, and were combined with armored vehicles and heavy weaponry," Major General Jabbar Yawar said.
Yawar said the Iranian troops penetrated two kilometers (just over a mile) into Iraqi territory, two days after they crossed three kilometers (two miles) over the border in similar clashes with the PJAK.
In recent weeks, Iran has repeatedly shelled suspected PJAK rear-bases in the border area. It has also carried out helicopter assaults across the frontier.
In a statement on May 31, the foreign ministry said it had separately summoned the ambassadors of Iran and Turkey over cross-border attacks by Tehran and Ankara against Kurdish rebel movements.
"The ministry expressed its strong concern over the two states' actions in the form of bombardment and air strikes along the border," the statement said.
It added: "The ministry called on both countries to cease these violations in future because they have a negative impact on the friendly relations between our countries."
Turkey on May 20 conducted its own bombardment of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases in northern Iraq.
A May 31 rocket strike on a naval base killed six Turkish soldiers. A news agency close to the PKK said it had been claimed by the rebel group.
The PJAK is closely allied with the PKK which has been fighting for self-rule in eastern Turkey since 1984 and is blacklisted as a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States.
Last month, Iranian troops clashed with Iraqi border guards after mistaking them for rebel fighters. An Iraqi guard officer was captured but later released.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
As someone on the 'Burg suggested, Israel should announce that they are sending humanitarian aid to the Kurds. After all, the Kurds have suffered greatly at the hands of Iran, Iraq and Turkey. All Israel is doing is helping them.
If there happened to be bulletproof vests, night vision goggles, and other supplies like there were on the Turkish ship, Turkey and Iran should not complain.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
06/06/2010 0:16 Comments ||
Top||
#2
They could just forward the stuff that was intended for the "Palestinians" a while ago. Where could the harm be in that?
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.
[Iran Press TV Latest] A provincial government building in Kandahar has been bombed, leaving one policeman dead and over 14 civilians injured. 
[Bangla Daily Star] An operative of outlawed Gono Mukti Fouz 
