[Dawn] Both Taliban cut-throats and the US military were to blame for an Arclight airstrike a week ago that killed 17 people, including a dozen children, during a fierce battle in eastern Afghanistan, President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... said Saturday.
Karzai made his comments after an Afghan investigation into the April 6 attack raised the civilian corpse count from 11 to 17, including 12 children, four women and one innocent man. An American civilian adviser was also killed during the fighting.
The Afghan report says the US strike occurred after the Afghan intelligence service came under attack by hard boyz during an operation to arrest two beturbanned goon commanders in the Shigal district of Kunar province ... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country..... . The area is a major infiltration route for cut-throats from sanctuaries in northwestern Pakistain to Afghanistan.
The US-led coalition has confirmed that it launched Arclight airstrikes in Kunar province that day but it has not confirmed civilian casualties, saying the investigation is ongoing.
Afghan forces came under fire with heavy and light weapons as they were about to leave the area. It was in that fighting that the American was killed, causing the Americans to call for air support to move the body from the area at the same time houses believed to be containing suspected cut-throats were bombarded for hours from the air, according to the report.
It said most of the houses were made of wood and mud and collapsed under the shock of the Arclight airstrikes, causing the deaths.
The death of Afghan civilians caught in crossfire has been a major point of contention between international forces and the Afghan government. Earlier this year, Karzai banned his troops from requesting coalition Arclight airstrikes following another deadly Arclight airstrike in Kunar.
While he said that Arclight airstrikes on residential areas were unacceptable, he also strongly condemned cut-throats for taking cover in civilian houses during the battle.
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04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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[TOLONEWS] Afghanistan's city of Ghanzi on Saturday was officially named by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) as the capital of culture and civilisation for the Moslem world in a ceremony in the central-eastern city.
Speaking at the ceremony, officials of the Morocco-based organization said their cooperation will not end simply with the naming of the city but they will make an effort for the renovation of the archaeological sites of the province.
The ceremony was attended by high-ranking officials of the Afghan government and foreign countries who watched groups of Afghan performers doing traditional Afghan dance of Atan, swordsmanship, and traditional music.
"We had programmes that were completed last year. There were projects that were completed this year, and there are projects that are being carried out. There are programmes that are not started yet and there should be programmes that would last for 15 to 20 years. And in general, much work will be done for Ghazni which are fortunately ongoing," said Minister of Information and Culture Sayed Makhdoom Raheen.
Many foreign officials including representatives of the international cultural organizations stated their commitment to renovating the ancient remains of the province.
Each year, ISESCO selects from among the Moslem countries in Africa and Asia three cities as cultural capitals of the Islam world that will eventually attract many tourists.
However, a lie repeated often enough remains a lie... in Ghazni's case, many fear that the lack of security could hold back Afghan and international tourists to visit the city.
Ghazni provincial governor called upon the Taliban to stop war in light of the recognition Ghazni has received.
"We hope that by naming Ghazni the capital of Islamic civilisation, this will teach the armed opposition again a lesson of brotherhood and peace instead of them shedding people's blood and make people leave. People should learn, people of Ghazni and armed opposition should learn to go towards the brotherhood and kindness that we had in Ghazni a thousand years ago," said provincial governor Musa Khan Akbarzada.
"I hope this event has a good message for the Taliban," he added.
Security has stepped up in the city, which carries the same name as its province.
The interior ministry officials said that a number of suspects -- who planned to create problems for the Ghazni event -- were caught by Afghan police.
"In cooperation with the people of the province, police forces tossed in the clink Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! four suspects and obtained armaments and a boom jacket in Ghazni province," said interior ministry front man Sediq Sediqqi.
"Insurgent groups of Uzbekistan's Hezb-e-Islami, Haqqani Network, and the Taliban -- backed by the ISI (Pakistain's Inter-Services Intelligence) -- endeavor to destabilise Afghanistan. There is no doubt in this," he added.
Islamabad has constantly rejected the frequent claims by Afghan and foreign officials that Pak intelligence is supporting myrmidons.
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04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
To crib a line from The Untouchables, who would claim to be the capital of Islamic civilization were it not so?
[TOLONEWS] Speaking in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif at a meeting to discuss Operation Oqab in vulnerable areas of northern Afghanistan, Gen Murad Ali Murad said the security threats were growing in the country's north.
"They are making an effort to expand the current situation in the north of Afghanistan but the minds of the people of Afghanistan who cooperate with Afghan cops are not ready to accept this matter," he said.
Operation Oqab, which aims to eradicate gun-hung tough guys from the less secure areas in the north, began last week with the support of international forces.
The commander of army unit 209 Shaheen said that the intelligence of neighbouring countries were behind the increased bad boy activity.
"Some come with their masters and the intelligence of foreign countries to risk the lives of our people. This is our duty, as Afghan cops, to provide security wherever it would be," said Zalmai Weesa, commander of national army's unit of 209 Shaheen.
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04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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[TOLONEWS] Ahead of the upcoming election, there must be a solution to prevent those who have violated human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... and those who are war criminals to not participate in the election. We must not let them gain power," AIHRC executive director Mousa Mahmoodi told TOLOnews.
The Independent Election Commission encourages all residents of Afghanistan, including those who are part of armed opposition groups, to participate in the election - as long as they are not recognised as criminals by any court of law and no charges of human rights violations have been proven against them.
"The Independent Election Commission [IEC] wants all residents of Afghanistan to participate in the election. Even armed Orcs and similar vermin are allowed to participate if they put their guns down," IEC front man Noor Mohammad Noor said.
"I must say that at the present time there are people in the Afghanistan system that have human rights violation charges but because the court has not recognised them as criminals we are allowing them to participate in the upcoming election," he added.
Human rights groups have often said that many people both inside and outside the Afghan government are guilty of human rights violations and war crimes, but they have never been brought to a court of law because of their influence and power.
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04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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[TOLONEWS] The Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in southern Kandahar province has officially finished operating with its responsibilities handed over to Afghan authority, the provincial governor said Sunday.
Its legacy has been tainted by an unsatisfied local government whose criticisms over the years have pointed to poorly implemented projects and squandered funds.
"The Provincial Reconstruction Team of Kandahar did not do many of the works it was supposed to do. We have criticised their activities for the past few years," governor Toryalai Wesa said at a presser in Kandahar city.
Wesa said that the PRT had obtained large amounts of funds for reconstruction projects in the province but it had not spend them well. He also alleged that the team had backed local warlords whose rise will lead to the destruction of the province.
The Afghan government has also previously criticised PRTs around the country for their failed objectives.
President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... has decreed for PRTs to close following accusations that many of them have not acted in coordination with the government.
The PRT in Kandahar was run under the jurisdiction of the US. About 27 PRTs were set up in different provinces of Afghanistan.
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04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Apparently the bribes didn't go to the 'right' people.
[Al Ahram] Somalia's Al Qaeda-linked Shabaab grabbed credit for a suicide raid on Mogadishu's main court complex Sunday that left at least five civilians and several attackers, a front man for the group said.
"This was a holy action which targeted non-believers who were in a meeting within the court complex. We will continue until Somalia is liberated from invaders," Shabaab front man Sheikh Ali Mohamed Rage told AFP.
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04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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[The Nation (Nairobi)] Sudan's oil ministry said Sunday that the first crude from South Sudan reached its territory, bringing both impoverished nations closer to billions of dollars in revenue after a dispute over fees.
"The first batch of oil already arrived on Sudanese land on Saturday," Sudan's undersecretary at the petroleum ministry, Awad Abdul Fatah, told AFP. "It's a small testing quantity."
Kenyan companies had been trapped in this fiasco as they could not get US dollars to import and replenish their stocks as the country's central bank had run out of dollars. They also could not repatriate money back home.
Eight days ago South Sudan held a ceremony to restart oil production at the Thar Jath field in Unity state after a shutdown of more than a year.
"We're really in a hurry to do things quickly, both of us," Fatah said. "We'd like for the money to start flowing to the treasuries as soon as possible."
The South halted crude production in early 2012, cutting off most of its revenue after accusing Khartoum of theft in a row over export fees.
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04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Two Moslem Brüderbund members in northern Egypt have been ordered to stand trial on charges of detaining and torturing students during a protest against the president the group propelled to power.
The charges are a rare acknowledgement of the alleged role that some of the president's supporters have had in attacks on his opponents.
The U.S. State Department suggested this month that Egypt was selectively prosecuting those accused of insulting the government while ignoring or playing down attacks on anti-government demonstrators.
Opponents of Mursi also accuse him of trying to dominate state institutions such as the judiciary. The president has said he is working to rid the government of corrupt remnants from the era of Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... , ousted by a popular uprising in 2011.
The prosecutor's office in Damanhour said on Sunday the men were accused of detaining and beating the students in November at the Brotherhood office in the Nile Delta city during festivities between opponents of Mursi and his Islamist supporters.
The festivities in Damanhour were part of a wave of protests and violence set off by Mursi's decree in November to temporarily expand his powers and prevent court challenges to his decisions.
The crisis triggered by Mursi's decree deepened the divisions in Egyptian society, mainly between the increasingly empowered Brotherhood and its allies and other groups that fear what they see as autocratic tendencies of the Islamist group.
The prosecutor's office referred to case to trial on Saturday, court officials said. It was not immediately clear when the trial would take place.
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04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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[Mail and Globe] The 84-year-old Mubarak who is being held at a military hospital in Cairo, has been treated for a heart condition, fractured ribs, fluid in the lungs, depression and high blood pressure, according to lawyers and official accounts.
At one point last year he was even declared clinically dead as he slipped into a coma.
There were questions over whether he would appear in court on Saturday for his scheduled retrial along with his top security chiefs for their alleged complicity in the murder and attempted murder of hundreds of peaceful protesters in January 2011.
But on Saturday, Mubarak was in the dock, sitting upright and looking strong. Wearing sunglasses, he waved and smiled at supporters, chatting casually with his two sons Alaa and Gamal who face corruption charges.
In the event, the retrial came to an abrupt end with the main judge stepping aside and sending the case to the court of appeal, which will then refer it to a new circuit.
"I expected to see a sick old man and I expected to feel sorry for him," said Cairo resident Heba Radwan. "But the pictures of him smiling and waving, they were so provocative."
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04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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[Maghrebia] Tunisians are voicing concerns over the rise in religious extremism and associated violence.
Rightfully so. But voting for the Menshaviks leads to Bolsheviks. Enjoy the ride.
In the latest incident, salafists on Thursday (April 11th) attacked a police station in Hergla, Sousse governorate, to free a detainee, Tunisia Numerique reported. A 23-year-old was killed in clashes with security services.
A day earlier, radical Islamists in Nabeul attempted to kill the headmaster of the Lycee Menzel Bouzelfa for refusing entry to a student wearing a niqab.
This was not the first time for religious extremists to attack an educational institution. In March, salafists prevented secondary school pupils from performing the "Harlem Shake" dance in El Kef.
According to a poll published this week, more than 70 per cent of Tunisians are concerned about the rise in religious extremism.
Young adults (65.1 per cent) are the most worried over religious extremism, and women were more worried than men, the Al Maghreb/Sigma survey found.
"Radicalism gets worse every day in Tunisian society," secondary school student Wajdi Hamraoui said. "These people don't believe in freedom and the right to differ. They're a real threat."
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04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] A court in Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... has convicted 11 of its citizens on terrorism-related charges, including disobeying the king and fighting in Afghanistan.
The defendants were given prison sentences ranging from four months to four years. All were banned from traveling abroad for at least one year following their release. The special penal court in Riyadh did not immediately release further details related to the case.
[Bangla Daily Star] The families of the three Awami League men killed in Thursday's attack allegedly by Hefajat-e Islam and Jamaat-Shibir activists in Fatikchhari upazila of Chittagong are in deep shock, struggling to get over the cruel blow.
The mothers are the hardest to face.
Monwara Begum, mother of deceased Faruk Iqbal Bipul, vice-president of Bhaktpur union Jubo League ... the youth wing of the Bangla Awami League... , was wailing, "My son was never involved in any violence. Please return my son, please, please, please ..."
Faruk left behind two sons -- one five-year-old and the other two-year-old. Her wife is shocked to the core. She keeps on asking: "Where will I go now with the kids?"
Mother of another deceased, Md Rubel, has stopped talking since she got the news. Her blank stares belie the depth of her grief.
Rubel's uncle Jahangir Alam said he [Rubel] was a day labourer and had gone to the procession on his friends' request. "If we had known about it, we would not have let him go," he said.
Ferdous Begum is numbed by the shock of losing her son Forkan. All she has been saying since Thursday is, "Oh, my son! Where are you? Please come back to me."
Eyewitnesses and local administration sources said the three were killed when activists of Hefajat-e Islam and Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... , joined in by locals gathered through announcement over loudspeakers, attacked an anti-hartal AL procession with sharp weapons and sticks.
The attack was made around 11:30am as the procession was marching through Kazirhat in Bhujpur.
More than 100 people, including 15 coppers, four firefighters, and two BGB men, were maimed. Around 100 vehicles including cycle of violences, jeeps, pick-ups, a police van and a fire truck were torched during the mayhem. Some 20 shops were also set ablaze.
Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, Buford bit the snake and Eloise began speaking in tongues... the government yesterday closed the officer-in-charge of Bhujpur Police Station.
Ang Sung Twain, inspector of the station, had been given the charge, said Superintendent of Police in Chittagong AKM Hafiz Akhter, adding that they were investigating whether the former OC had neglected his duties during the attack.
As of yesterday, police have tossed in the clink Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! 40 suspects.
Additional SP of Chittagong Farid Uddin said law enforcers were looking into the matter and would release the innocent ones after verification. He asked Bhujpur villagers not to be afraid.
On Friday, police filed a case against around 5,000 people, including 100 named, for attacking law enforcers and obstructing their work.
A rickshaw-puller, who witnessed the violence on Thursday, said just when the AL marchers were returning, he had heard an announcement from Kazirhat mosque that Moulana Junaid bin Jalal, principal of Al Jamaatul Islamia Bhujpur Madrasa, was killed in AL assault and the mosque and the madrasa were under attack.
Contacted yesterday, Moulana Junaid told The Daily Star that when he heard the rumour, he rushed to the mosque and announced in the loudspeaker that he was alright and no one had attacked him. But the situation had gone out of hand by then, he added.
Abdul Alim, chairman of Jafarnagar union parishad, was present during the mayhem. He said he had heard the attackers chanting slogans "Allahr Ain Chai, Sot Loker Shason Chai" [We want the laws of Allah, rule of the honest].
Police suspect the attack was planned and inflammatory substances had been used while torching vehicles and shops.
The Chittagong SP said they had found that local Jamaat-Shibir men had instigated the locals to swoop on AL men by spreading a rumour.
Meanwhile, ...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck reached for the green sauce... Hefajat-e Islam has denied its involvement in the violence.
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04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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[Jakarta Post] North Korea on Sunday rebuffed a South Korean proposal to resolve rising tensions through dialogue, dismissing it as a "crafty trick" by its rival.
Tensions have been high on the Korean Peninsula for weeks, with Pyongyang threatening to attack Seoul and Washington for conducting joint military drills and for supporting U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea for a February nuclear test.
While the threats are largely seen as rhetoric, U.S. and South Korean officials have said they believe North Korea may test-fire a mid-range missile designed to reach the U.S. territory of Guam.
Pyongyang also took a direct shot at Seoul by pulling more than 50,000 North Korean workers from their joint factory park in the border city of Kaesong and denying South Koreans access to the complex just north of the Demilitarized Zone.
The move has brought the South Korean-run factories to a standstill, threatening a shutdown of the last joint project left between the two Koreas.
Last Thursday, Seoul pressed Pyongyang to discuss restarting operations at the factory park. South Korean President Park Geun-hye has promoted seeking peace with North Korea, a change in policy from the hard-line stance of her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak.
But on Sunday, North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said Pyongyang has no intention of talking with Seoul unless it abandons its confrontational posture.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
The DPRK per se = Iran = taint gonna give up their NucProgs.
China's traditional "soft power" diplomatic approach is failing to procure their desired overseas Milbases for the PLA, thus its entrenchment ["putting its foot down"] in the SCS, IOR, + China-claimed, Japanese-controlled Senkakus in the ECS.
Again, the ongoing DPRK Crisis has NOT prevented China from repeatedly violating Japan's 12-mile territorial sea limits around the disputed Senkakus even at the Crisis escalates. UNLESS SOMETHING GIVES, THIS CRISIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING AS CHINA GIVES UP ON DIPLOMACY IN FAVOR OF "AGGRESSIVE" MILITARY OR COMBINED MILPOL FORCE.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > WILL CHINA PUT AN END TO THE NORTH KOREAN CRISIS?
Yes it can, of course, but not really as the larger issue is CHINA STILL WANTS OVERSEAS PLA MILBASES + MAY INCREASINGLY BE NO LONGER INTERESTED IN USING PEACEFUL DIPLOMACY TO ACQUIRE THEM.
IMO there are TWO PARALLEL, COMPLEMENTARY GEOPOL CRISES going on here - ONE OR THE OTHER OR BOTH CAN EASILY DEVOL INTO NUCLEAR CONFLICT.
----------
* ION DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > MANILA OFFERS US USE OF ITS BASES IN CASE OF NORTH KOREAN WAR.
PHIL ForSec Albert Del Rosario.
RELATED SAME > NO NEED FOR US TO USE RP [Republic of the Phillippines] BASES SOON.
Unless the PHIL is attacked [read, BY CHINA = e.g. SCS Dispute] + US-PHIL Treaty is invoked.
* SAME > NORTH KOREA CARRIES OUT MILITARY EXERCISE [Paratroops]NEAR CHINESE BORDER.
And a mighty F-I-V-E NOKOR Paratroopers they were.
BEIJING -- Secretary of State John Kerry flew to China on Saturday and offered a concession on missile defense meant to elicit China's help in dealing with an increasingly recalcitrant and nuclear armed North Korea. In a news conference after meetings with China's top leaders, Kerry said the United States would reduce its missile defenses in Asia if North Korea abandoned its nuclear weapons program.
That is just plain idiotic.
Kerry's overture appeared aimed at addressing Chinese concerns that North Korea's provocative actions were leading the United States to build up military strength in the region as China is boosting its own influence there.
''On missile defense, we discussed absolutely why we have taken the steps that we have taken,'' Kerry said, referring to efforts the United States is taking to defend Guam, Hawaii, and the United States' allies in Asia against a potential North Korean missile attack. The United States has dispatched two ships capable of missile defense and said it would speed up land-based missile defenses for Guam.
''Now obviously if the threat disappears -- i.e. North Korea denuclearizes -- the same imperative does not exist at that point of time for us to have that kind of robust forward leaning posture of defense,'' he added. ''It would be our hope in the long run, or better yet in short run, that we can address that.''
Why would we believe that the Norks would keep a promise -- is it their sterling track record of promises kept in the past?
Kerry's offer to cut back on the newly fortified missile defense appeared to be part of a diplomatic strategy to get China, the North's only true ally, to do what it has long resisted -- to crack down hard enough on Pyongyang that its leaders will give up an increasingly sophisticated nuclear program.
So to do that we're offering concessions instead of standing strong and forcing the Chinese to realize that we're not moving. The masters of Beijing must be laughing their asses off at Mr. Kerry this evening...
In the past China has worried that any move to destabilize the North would lead to a collapse of the regime and deliver the entire peninsula to the United States' sphere of influence, possibly bringing US troops in South Korea closer to its border.
Which we could deal with in a cynical way by dividing North Korea between China and South Korea, with an implicit promise that we wouldn't move American forces north of the old DMZ.
China remains a linchpin to the Obama administration's policy of holding a tough line on Pyongyang, a reversal from the past.
What is tough about the new line? We're conceding again...
Previous administrations used aid to mollify the North and gain concessions on its nuclear program, only to see the North's promises evaporate once the aid had been delivered.
Right. Correct. Even the Boston Globe gets it. So now Mr. Kerry thinks that if we make a concession to them and the Chinese that the Norks will behave. Good lord is that man schtoopid...
Kerry said the Chinese shared the US goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, although he declined to say what steps China said it would take to accomplish it.
Even if China were to take a harsher stance, North Korea might not fall into line.
They might wait for more concessions, having taken the measure of Mr. Kerry -- and Champ -- and thinking that more surely will be coming...
Under the new leader, Fat Boy Kim Jong Un, the North has supposedly snubbed China several times, including refusing Chinese entreaties to cancel its recent nuclear test that set off tensions on the Peninsula.
Kerry's remarks are likely to stir concern among staunch advocates of missile defense in the United States, who also see antimissile systems as a means of responding to China's growing military might.
Since China, unlike Russia, doesn't yet have enough ICBMs to overwhelm a layered SM3/THAAD defense.
At the core of the issue is the United States' inability to draw North Korea into a serious round of nuclear talks.
It's not up to us to draw them in. Let them rattle their saber. We can afford to sit back quietly, keep our defense strong, and let them implode.
North Korea's apparent determination to expand its nuclear weapons program and the US demand that it commit up front to eventually relinquishing its nuclear arms have raised the question of whether there is even any basis for negotiations.
''China has an enormous ability to help make a difference here,'' Kerry said Friday during a stop in Seoul, adding that he had planned in meetings with Chinese leaders to ''lay out a path ahead that can defuse this tension.''
The Chinese stance on North Korea has never been a simple one, though. On the one hand, the Chinese prize stability and are eager to avoid a crisis on the Korean Peninsula that would spawn a flood of refugees or prompt the United States to shift more forces to the Pacific.
On the other hand, North Korea is a useful stick with which to jab the United States whenever the Chinese are in the mood...
After Kim's recent boasts about North Korea's ability to carry out military strikes, the Obama administration decided to speed up the deployment of missile defenses to Guam and sent Aegis cruisers equipped with antimissile systems into the region. It also conducted a military exercise in which B-2 bombers flew to South Korea before returning to their base in the United States, and it briefly deployed two F-22 fighters in South Korea as well.
On the other hand, that same Chinese concern for stability has meant that it is reluctant to take steps that would undermine the North Korean government's hold on power and eliminate a friendly buffer between Chinese territory and South Korean and US forces.
In an effort to solicit China's help,
There's your first mistake, Jahwn...
Kerry met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and State Councilor Yang Jiechi. Wang said at a dinner with Kerry on Saturday that China was committed to ''the denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula.''
The Chinese foreign minister also stressed that the ''issue should be handled and resolved peacefully through dialogue and consultation.''
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
It is idiotic but thats beside the point.
Starvation, indigenous econ woes, + Sino-centric/dominant Sino-DPRK free trade is doing more to destabilize North Korea than anything the US-Allies are doing. IMO THE DPRK CAN NO LONGER PROTRACTIVELY WAIT MANY YEARS OR DECADES FOR FORMAL REUNIFICATION WID THE SOUTH TO OCCUR.
It has to occur ASAP, likely widin 5-8 years at max, to avoid a Chinese takeover which the ROK, Nippon, + Russia, etc. don't want to see.
China's problema' is different - Besides modernization, its prob is the Nuclear Global Jihad, + gaining strategic access as befitting a "post-US" Global Superpower = World #1.
Lest we fergit, 9-11 + GWOT > WAR FOR ANTI-STATUS QUO + PRO-US-VS-ANTI-US OWG-NWO = something's gotta give in NE Asia.
ITS NOT GOING TO BE PRETTY, PEACEFUL, OR BLOODLESS. SOMEONE(S) HAS TO SURRENDER LIKE FRANCE TO AVOID A NUCLEAR CONFLICT - either China gives in, or the US gives in.
> China takesover the DPRK while the US-Allies keep Taiwan.
OR
> China takes Taiwan, but can still takeover the DPRK.
Nuclear Islam-Jihad is just starting up in Asia-Pacific BUT ITS COMING.
#3
I'm sure SKorea, Japan, Taiwan, et al can also manufacture their own missile defense [and are idiots if they don't start it up now]. I'm sure the Israelis would be willing to provide technical and material assistance for monetary and political compensation.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/15/2013 9:33 Comments ||
Top||
#5
..true, but when your supplier hems and haws about supply and parts or uses it to stop your own efforts of self defense [when seconds count, the 'international' police are days away], it's time to start reverse engineering.
#6
That's it Jawn. Pretend those NORK missiles are not really ChiComm missiles. That'll make everything all better...until the next batch of NORK missiles and the next crisis. And then, of course, you'll have to make another concession.
[Associated Press of Pakistain] Prime Minister Justice (retd) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on Sunday expressed shock on the killing of Mukarram Shah, a leader of Awami National Party, in a kaboom in Swat. The Prime Minister sought a report from the authorities concerned about the tragic incident. He prayed to Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear the loss with fortitude.
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04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] Amir Jamaat Uleman-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman Sunday promised to bring exemplary peace to the country if his party got representation in the centre.
Addressing a public meeting here as part of JUI-F's ongoing election campaign, Fazl said: "We can fight every kind of battle from the floor of the Parliament".
He said his party's manifesto is based on peace and if it was elected to get representation in the centre an exemplary peace would be established across the country.
The JUI-F chief also pledged to direct a particular focus on education, health and employment if given a chance to serve the nation.
He said Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... is a resource-rich province where poverty and unemployment could have been eliminated if the rulers had paid a serious attention.
Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman said if the US genuinely wants to bring peace to Afghanistan it should directly engage in a dialogue with the Taliban.
On the occasion, JUI-F Secretary General Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Hyderi also addressed the gathering.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Ulema Islami
[Beirut Daily Star] Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... said Sunday he hoped the Paleostinians pick a new prime minister who can work with the United States and "establish confidence" so that Mideast peace can advance.
Speaking to journalists in Tokyo, Kerry praised Salaam Fayyad, who until resigning Saturday as prime minister was seen as one of the Paleostinians' most moderate and respected figures. Kerry called Fayyad a "good friend" who made a big difference for Paleostinians.
Fayyad's resignation comes as Kerry is working to revive the Israeli-Paleostinian grinding of the peace processor. An important part of his strategy is developing the Paleostinian economy and state institutions so the Paleostinians can be a viable partner in any peace deal with Israel.
The United States had expected Fayyad to play a significant role in that effort.
But the 61-year-old political independent and Western-trained economist had clashed with Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... over the extent of the prime minister's power.
"We're totally committed to moving forward with the economic thing no matter what," Kerry said, citing U.S. business partners including Coca-Cola. "The West Bank is there, Paleostinian aspirations are there, the government is there. And in order to be a viable government, there's got to be more than one person that you can do business with."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
#2
Fayyad's problem with Abbas may have been about money. Fayyad doesn't like theft, graft and cronyism and has done what he could to minimize these things. Abbas probably wants to grab as much as possible as fast as possible before he (Abbas) is thrown out of office.
Posted by: lord garth ||
04/15/2013 18:58 Comments ||
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[Ma'an] Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, is ready to implement the 2011 reconciliation deal in its entirety, front manSami Abu Zuhri ...a senior spokesman for Hamas. Zuhri gained notoriety in 2006 when he dropped his money belt containing somewhere between 640,000 and 900,000 euros, which was confiscated by Paleostinian security and customs officials at a routine border crossing from Egypt to Gaza. The news brought competing Hamas and Fatah forces to the crossing checkpoint for an epic face-making and hollering contest... said Sunday.
Fatah's selectivity in implementing different clauses has slowed down the reconciliation process, he said.
Senior leader of the Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... movement Khalid al-Batsh said Sunday that Fayyad's resignation presents an opportunity to begin formatting a unity government headed by president Abbas, adding that Egypt is keen to implement Paleostinian reconciliation.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
[Beirut Daily Star: Leb] Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad called for the formation of a political Cabinet Sunday while another party official urged an understating among Leb rivals over the formation of a new government and a new electoral law.
"Amid the regional crises, this country is in need of a political Cabinet per excellence," said Raad, the head Loyalty to the Resistance That'd be the Hezbullies, natch... parliamentary bloc.
Raad said he rejected forming a Cabinet of business people and non-political figures.
"The country does not need a Cabinet that includes people who may be courteous in their work. The representation should be a political one that leads to a balance that can ensure stability in the country," he said.
The Hezbollah official argued that having a "technocrat" Cabinet would result in the monopoly of political decisions for the prime minister.
"If the prime minister is a politically oriented figure, he cannot prevent ministers from being political," Raad said.
"The prime minister cannot impose his political choices to all the Lebanese people. He should work wisely within a balanced framework to what best preserves the country's stability," he added.
For his part, Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, a high-ranking Hezbollah official, called for an agreement among the rival political parties over the government formation and a new voting system Sunday.
"Leb is based on understanding whether in the [Cabinet] formation or the electoral law," Qaouk said.
He added that the unanimity that Leb witnessed during the nomination of Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam should be reflected on other major developments in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[Beirut Daily Star: Region] Somewhere, underground, in the center of Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... lies one of the most notorious and mysterious prison complexes in the Syria, holding what activists say are hundreds if not thousands of political prisoners.
The Human Rights Violations Documentation Center, a human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... activist group documenting the locked away Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! and killed in the Syrian conflict, released a new report Sunday detailing what is known about military branches of the army's 4th Division, the elite and most ruthless of the Syrian military divisions, headed by Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... 's brother, Maher Assad.
The VDC compiled the report based on testimony from former detainees, but admits little is known about the institutions and those being held there.
The VDC says a number of military institutions have been converted to informal prisons, as prison space ran out over the course of a massive government arrest campaign after the outbreak of the uprising against Assad in March 2011.
"Often detainees are directly held in the 4th Division premises after arrest, or they are transferred there later from air force intelligence branches," the report says.
Among the most used, the VDC says, is the Paratrooper's Regiment 555 complex near the Soumariah bus interchange in Damascus.
The exact location, the VDC says, is unknown, due to the fact that all those taken to this location have been blindfolded while transported to and from the facility.
"None of the detainees who have been held in this center has a clear description on the place's geography, since everyone who was taken there has been blindfolded," said front man Bassam al-Ahmad, who was himself held captive on political activism charges in the building for some 30 days before fleeing the country.
"From what we have been able to see from under the cloth and from the testimonies of others detained, we know it lies about 10-15 minutes from the Mezzah military intelligence division and about 1 km behind the Soumariah bus station," he told the Daily Star.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/15/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
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.
[TOLONEWS] Afghanistan's city of Ghanzi on Saturday was officially named by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) as the capital of culture and civilisation for the 
North Korea
Seeks help from China in dealing with North Korea
[Associated Press of Pakistain] Prime Minister Justice (retd) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on Sunday expressed shock on the killing of Mukarram Shah, a leader of Awami National Party, in a 
[Beirut Daily Star] Secretary of State 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
