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North Korea fires long-range rocket despite warnings
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
Interior Ministry Acknowledges Issues On Battlefields
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) on Saturday acknowledged that the Afghan security forces have been faced with certain challenges in their struggle against militants on the battlefields.

According to the MoI, in some cases, the security forces are out-numbered by militants on the battlefields.
However, the ministry is optimistic over their war capabilities and gains made by the security forces in the war against terrorism.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has warned against negligence while tackling the ongoing conflict in the country, saying that dealing with the war in Afghanistan in a superficial manner could bring harmful consequences to the nation.

Amid an unprecedented surge in militant attacks this winter, some Afghan military commentators have criticized the government for a lack of effective management of the war and for failing to draw up a working strategy to tackle the militants.

The statements come after a serious deterioration in security in various regions of the country - including Baghlan and Helmand, provinces which have witnessed heavy clashes, and the strategic town of Kunduz, which collapsed to the Taliban in a dramatic manner last year. This incident sparked nationwide criticism and questions were raised over the management of the war.

As insurgents continue their efforts to secure footholds in strategic locations across the country, the Afghan security forces also remain on alert to thwart plots.

"Our enemies do not miss even a minute, they use all their energy to kill the people, the women and the children, they conduct explosions and commit suicide and they are the enemies of Afghanistan, this is a serious war and should not be taken lightly," Dawlat Waziri, a defense ministry spokesman said.

The war between the Afghan security forces and the Taliban is now entering its twelfth day in Dand-e-Ghor area of Baghlan province. The security forces have been trying to retake the area by suppressing the militants.

Meanwhile, the southern province of Helmand, once a Taliban stronghold, has also seen fierce fighting in recent months and security forces so far have not been able to recapture some areas which collapsed to the Taliban.

"The war should have stopped for a three month period, but we have ground and air facilities and special units, the government must focus on it seriously and review the war plans," former deputy minister of Interior Mirza Mohammad Yarmand said.

"There is a lack of an effective war strategy and accurate management of military operations in Afghanistan. The nonexistence of a common command and control center during the operations has led to the rise in casualties among our troops, the prolongation of the war and increasing the war moral of the enemy," military analyst Jawed Kohistani said.

Military analysts believe that the presence of insurgents in Helmand could pose serious threats to other regions in the south.

Baghlan province is also important in terms of its strategic location in the north and northeastern areas where insurgents hope to infiltrate.

Video report at the link
Posted by: badanov || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Blue on blue slap fight: Taliban Splinter Group Labels Mullah Mansour An ISI Puppet
A dissident Afghan Taliban group that supports Mullah Mohammad Rasoul has released a new video reportedly recorded in Farah province in which the loyalists call Mullah Akhter Mansour, successor to the group's longtime former leader Mullah Omar, an ISI puppet.

In the video, the militants declare a nationwide military campaign against Mullah Akhter Mansour faction.

On Saturday, loyalists to Mullah Rasoul gathered in Farah to demonstrate their power against the Mullah Mansour faction. Loyalists reiterated that they do not recognize Mullah Mansour as a legitimate leader and called on the people to back the Mullah Rasoul faction in their war against Mullah Mansour whom they believe is a puppet of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

"Our group has appointed governors for each of the provinces and assigned tasks to relevant people to run the districts. Therefore, join us in our efforts against the opponent group," Mullah Ahmad Yasin, a local commander and loyalist to Mullah Rasoul said.

"The religious scholars maintain religious obligations to interpret the truth in this sensitive arena of history. If people are killed on the decree of the religious scholars, they will be held accountable in the day of resurrection," another loyalist Mullah Abdul Zahir said in the video.

They pledged to give a well-measured response to the rhetoric attacks of Mullah Mansour faction. They urged that that their longtime leader Mullah Omar is believed to have be killed 14 or 18 years ago in Pakistan.

"How long we must do the slavery of Pakistan? Our leader was killed 14 or 18 years ago and still we do not know where his grave is," another loyalist to Mullah Rasoul faction, Mullah Allah Gul said.

"Mullah Omar Akhund kept the title of Amirulmominin (commander of the faithful) for twenty years. But the new group which operate under the leadership of Mullah Akhter Mansour misinterpreted the rights of the Mujahideen and issued letters in the name of Mullah Omar for years. But finally Zakeri who was a Sheikh killed in Quetta. When asked why our religious figures are killed, then they said that they were belonging to the particular person," loyalist to Rasoul, Mullah Mehrab said.

This comes after the group released a similar video in Faryab province a few weeks ago in which they warned they would seize control of the province in the near future and will eliminate its enemies.

TOLOnews reporter tried to get comment from the Afghan government, but were not able to.

Video report at the link
Posted by: badanov || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Let's you and him fight"
Posted by: Frank G || 02/07/2016 10:38 Comments || Top||

#2  The Taliban are also being hit by Govt forces and ISIS.

and of course we see Taliban vs Taliban and warlord against warlord also

Truly an Islamic paradise.
Posted by: lord garth || 02/07/2016 11:54 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Blast on Somalia airplane Tuesday caused by bomb
An explosion that occurred aboard a passenger plane after it took off from Somalia’s main airport on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing, was caused by a bomb, officials said Saturday, adding they had made arrests.
Brilliant! Inspector, how do you do it?
“Additional investigations conducted by Somali and international experts have confirmed the explosion that occurred inside the Daallo Airlines (jet) was not a technical problem but was a bomb that was intended to destroy the plane and kill all passengers onboard,” Somali Transport and Aviation Minister Ali Ahmed Jama told a press conference in Mogadishu.

“The security forces have detained people suspected of having involved the bomb that exploded inside that plane.”

The blast punched a one-metre (three-foot)-sized hole in the side of the Airbus A321 about 15 minutes after it had taken off from Mogadishu heading for Djibouti. A passenger identified as Abdulahi Abdisalam was killed, probably after being propelled out of the aircraft in the explosion, investigators said.
Occasionally God provides us mortals with an example of exquisite poetic justice...
In their initial appraisal, the Somali authorities attributed the blast to sudden air decompression.
That's a true statement...
Posted by: Steve White || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Zo, it wuz a bim!
Posted by: Shipman || 02/07/2016 2:05 Comments || Top||

#2  What kind? The exploding kind.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 02/07/2016 9:21 Comments || Top||

#3  In their initial appraisal, the Somali authorities attributed the blast to sudden air decompression.

Funny, I thought it was metal fatigue.
Posted by: Pappy || 02/07/2016 15:10 Comments || Top||

#4  Sudden metal fatigue brought on by rapid localized oxidation of an adjacent chemical compound.
Posted by: gorb || 02/07/2016 15:43 Comments || Top||

#5  In other words, a bim.

Does your dog bite?
Posted by: Frank G || 02/07/2016 17:30 Comments || Top||

#6  No, my dog does not bite. (*)
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 02/07/2016 19:12 Comments || Top||

#7  (*)And that is not my dog.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 02/07/2016 19:13 Comments || Top||

#8  Sudden metal fatigue brought on by rapid localized oxidation of an adjacent chemical compound.

Aha! Global Warming!
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/07/2016 19:18 Comments || Top||

#9  ;-) TFSM
Posted by: Frank G || 02/07/2016 19:22 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Al-Qaeda mourns death of top Yemen leader
Al-Qaeda’s branch in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) mourned the killing of a senior commander in southern Yemen, a statement distributed on social media showed, after he was reported dead in a suspected U.S. drone strike last week.

Jalal Baleedi was killed by a drone strike as he was travelling in a car with two others in coastal Abyan province, residents said on Thursday. He had run al Qaeda’s combat operations and had a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head.

“We extend condolences to our Muslim community and specifically our people in Yemen...regarding the killing of the heroic commander Jalal Baleedi al-Marqishi...who was killed in a crusader strike that targeted him while he was among the sons of his tribe in Abyan province,” the statement said.

During nine months of civil war and a Gulf military intervention in Yemen, the United States has kept up drone strikes against extremist groups.

Al-Qaeda overran a police headquarters in a south Yemen provincial capital on Saturday, strengthening their grip on the coast road overlooking the Gulf of Aden, security sources said.

The militants, who hold parts of the lawless south of the war-torn country, seized the headquarters in Zinjibar – located only around 50 kilometers from Aden - unopposed by pro-government forces who fled the capital of Abyan province, the sources told AFP.

The militants have controlled other government buildings in Zinjibar for weeks and also have a large presence in the nearby town of Jaar.
Posted by: badanov || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Subsaharan
Burkina Faso: Kidnapped Australian woman freed
Militants have freed an Australian woman kidnapped with her husband last month in Burkina Faso, releasing her in neighbouring Niger.

Jocelyn Elliott and her husband Ken, who are in their 80s, were snatched from Djibo near the border with Mali. The couple had provided medical services in the town since the 1970s.

Al Qaeda-linked militants said the kidnapping was an attempt to secure the release of imprisoned fighters, a jihadist monitoring group said. The group, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), said in an audio recording that it would release Mrs Elliott so as "not to make women involved in the war", according to a translation made by the SITE Intelligence organization.

Mrs Elliott appeared alongside Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou in the town of Dosso, Niger's presidential spokesman said. Efforts to free her husband were continuing, the spokesman added.

The couple were kidnapped on the same day as a deadly attack on a hotel in the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou, which was also claimed by AQIM.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
North Korea fires long-range rocket despite warnings
Few details yet -- not sure if this is the latest, greatest version or some other 'long-range' but non-IRBM or ICBM type.
North Korea has fired a long-range rocket, which critics say is a test of banned missile technology. It appears the rocket was fired from a base in the north-west and passed over Japan's southern Okinawa islands.

The launch was condemned by Japan and the US, amid fears the North is developing nuclear weapons capable of reaching the US mainland.

The US, Japan and South Korea have requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council later on Sunday.

South Korean analysts had speculated that the North might carry out the launch ahead of 16 February, the birthday of the late North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il.

The North insists its space programme is purely scientific in nature, but the US, South Korea and even ally China say the rocket launches are aimed at developing an inter-continental ballistic missile capable of striking the US.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the launch "absolutely unacceptable," saying it was a "clear violation" of UN Security Council resolutions. UN Security Council resolutions ban the state from carrying out any nuclear or ballistic missile tests.
That ban is working about as well as every other ban the UN has implemented...
US National Security Adviser Susan Rice said North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology was "yet another destabilizing and provocative action".

"North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons programs represent serious threats to our interests - including the security of some of our closest allies," she said in a statement.
Really, Susan? If it's a "serious threat", that means we're going to do something about it, right? Like what, for example? If you don't know come to me, because I have some nifty ideas on how we could stick it to Pudgy without starting a shooting war...
Posted by: Steve White || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It was a three stage rocket that successfully placed a satellite in orbit. If it can do that then it is an ICBM. An ICBM only needs to accomplish a suborbital trajectory.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 02/07/2016 0:16 Comments || Top||

#2  launch images: https://twitter.com/martyn_williams/status/696191264073474048
Posted by: 3dc || 02/07/2016 0:30 Comments || Top||

#3  suggest turning off the sound

Posted by: 3dc || 02/07/2016 0:33 Comments || Top||

#4  Time to get out the erasable red line pencil.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/07/2016 9:31 Comments || Top||

#5  Stratcom says it is in orbit.
https://twitter.com/US_Stratcom
Posted by: 3dc || 02/07/2016 9:37 Comments || Top||

#6  Time for the dreaded Sternly Worded Letter of Doom!
Posted by: CrazyFool || 02/07/2016 10:12 Comments || Top||

#7  We need the professional demarche writers on this...stat!
Posted by: Mugsy Glink || 02/07/2016 10:19 Comments || Top||

#8 
rough track of first orbit over the USA
Posted by: 3dc || 02/07/2016 15:52 Comments || Top||

#9  rough track of first orbit over the USA

Jeez. No chance for mischief there, eh?
Posted by: SteveS || 02/07/2016 16:06 Comments || Top||

#10  Track missed DC and NYC.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 02/07/2016 16:27 Comments || Top||

#11  Detroit, though.

Booyah!
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 02/07/2016 17:35 Comments || Top||

#12  would a EMP blast over Detroit cause any damage?
Posted by: Frank G || 02/07/2016 17:37 Comments || Top||

#13  ...Windsor, Ontario would not be amused.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/07/2016 17:54 Comments || Top||

#14  Over the Yellow Sea, ECS, Okinawa, + near Northern Philippines - looks like Pudgy's Rocket just test-flighted China + PLA's theaters-of- interest???

* SOKOR + JAPAN view the launch as a COVERT LRBM TEST.

* ASIA TIMES, YONHAP NEWS > AFTER [successful] ROCKET LAUNCH, NORTH KOREA "READYING" FOR FIFTH NUCLEAR TEST!?

* SINA.COM > NORTH KOREA LAUNCH IS PREEMPTIVE MOVE, "COMPLICATES" SITUATION.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/07/2016 23:20 Comments || Top||


Europe
Anti-migrant protests in France
Several hundred protesters gathered Saturday in front of a local eatery in Calais, France, chanting slogans such as "We are one" and singing the French national anthem. Calais is the French entrance to the Channel Tunnel leading to the United Kingdom, where many migrants want to end up.

The "We are one" slogan did not include migrants. Rather, migrants were the target of this protest, as well as others around Europe on Saturday. Anti-migrant protests were held not only in Calais, but also in Germany, the Czech Republic, Warsaw, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Amsterdam and Austria.

One protester in Calais shouted at journalists: "You don't understand the problems we have here."

In a statement, police in Calais said 10 people, some armed with blunt weapons and knives, were arrested.

The protest in Calais came in defiance of a ban issued earlier this week by Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. Officials said the ban was put in place after a chapter of an anti-Muslim organization, PEGIDA, filed for a protest permit. Police used pepper spray on some people, and protesters were arrested as they clashed with the police lines.

A statement by organizers of the various marches elsewhere in Europe said they were "aware of the fact that the thousand-year history of Western civilization could soon come to an end through Islam conquering Europe, and the fact that the political elites have betrayed us."

Some of those protests were organized by people with ties to far-right parties, but protesters in Calais denied any link to such groups.

Last month, 35 people were arrested after several hundred migrants, backed by supporting demonstrators from the group No Borders, tore down barriers to get dozens of migrants aboard a ship.

An estimated 6,000 people are living in a refugee camp near Calais called "The Jungle," trying to make their way illegally into Britain.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Anti-Islam Groups Rally Across Europe; Clashes In Amsterdam
Protesters rallied against Islam and immigration in several European cities Saturday, sometimes clashing with police or counter-demonstrators, amid growing tensions over the massive influx of asylum-seekers to the continent.

Riot police clashed with demonstrators in Amsterdam as supporters of the anti-Islam group PEGIDA tried to hold their first protest meeting in the Dutch capital. Only about 200 PEGIDA supporters were present, outnumbered by police and left-wing demonstrators who shouted, "Refugees are welcome, fascists are not!"

Riot police detained several people as officers on horseback intervened to separate the two groups of demonstrators. It was not immediately clear how many people were detained.

Police in Germany expected about 15,000 people at a PEGIDA rally in Dresden, with 10,000 others in a counter-demonstration on the other side of the Elbe River that divides the city.

The group, whose German acronym stands for 'Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West,' has become a magnet for far-right and anti-immigrant sentiment since it was founded in Dresden two years ago. After a drop in attendance last spring, the group saw a rise in support from people angered by the unprecedented influx into Europe of refugees from Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Aside from its nationalist and anti-Islam stance, the group has also sided strongly with Russia. Several Russian flags were flown at Saturday's rally in Dresden, along with banners including "Peace with Russia" and "Stop war against Syria."

Smaller PEGIDA-style protests were also taking place in La Belle France, Britannia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Denmark, Finland and Estonia.
Posted by: Fred || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  1) they are RIGHT to protect their borders against an invasion of migrants

2) they are WRONG in the way they are going about it.

Every crisis is also an opportunity

Who ever said getting a million migrants and putting them in detention camps was a good idea? Who said sending them back to a warzone to get slaughtered was good either?

No -- all medically fit migrants, men and women aged 15 to 50, should be instantly drafted for 2 years into a special Brigade.

Refugee Brigade.

They live on barracks that they themselves help to build under strict supervision.

Anyone that refuses - instant deportation to Turkey

Anyone breaks the rules - instant deportation to Turkey.

No gender segregation, no hijabs. Everyone wears a uniform - a standard blue jumpsuit, men and women.

No religion allowed at barracks apart from 3 hours a week training in comparative religion where you learn all about the worlds major faiths, their history, where they came from, what evidence they have for their claims and how they can all get along together under a secular government (like the US) where religion is separate from law.


You can go pray at a mosque only after hours, and before the strict 10pm curfew, which if you miss 3 times is cause for deportation.

They get 1 year of training in Europe - but by the Israeli Defence Forces who know this shit backwards.

They train on weapons simulators or using disabled weapons with blanks.

They also train in how to repair bridges, roads, infrastructure, basic health care and water supply, garbage collection.

They also train in basic civics eg - how to start local councils, how to get rid of nepotism, how to vote democratically.

They get 1 year of training

Then 1 year of service.

The 1 year of service is being sent back to fight ISIS under Kurdish leadership.

Any defectors/rebels get deported to Turkey. Any refusers get deported.

The only exceptions are the medically unfit or those accompanying children under 15.

Any women who get pregnant in those 2 years will not be given asylum they will be deported to Turkey.

2 years mandatory while their asylum claim is being processed.

Any that refuse - deport to Turkey or repatriate, their choice.

This is a wonderful opportunity to exterminate IS, to instil Western values and to put them to work.
Posted by: anon1 || 02/07/2016 3:00 Comments || Top||

#2  It's way too late for demonstrations.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 02/07/2016 6:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Not fair to the women to put them into a rape situation, anon1, so they'd need separate, guarded barracks. But if it happens, DNA test to find the father, who gets to work an extra four hours per day to pay for her medical care until the babe is delivered, unless it was a rape. In which case he is castrated, then sent home.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/07/2016 10:38 Comments || Top||

#4  Anon1: the only big change I'd make to your plan is that the 'refugee' men don't get their military training in Europe. The Euros take a piece of land in North Africa or Syria, put in a force protection package to hold it, and train the refugees there. They'll then be closer to where the action is going to be when it's time to finish training and get to work.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/07/2016 11:01 Comments || Top||

#5  A French woman married to a BANKOH Offficer + presently resding here on Guam informed me + a friend over dinner that IHO BELGIUM IS LIKELY TO be THE FIRST EURO NATION TO COLLAPSE + FALL TO INTERNAL PRESSURES WROUGHT BY BOTH A LARGE, PRE-ESTABLISHED OR PRE-EXISTING DOMESTIC MUSLIM POPULATION + VIA NEW MUSLIM REFUGEE ARRIVALS.

Belgium + the Lowlands [Argonne Forest?] = first WW1, then WW2, now the Global Jihad???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/07/2016 23:13 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
EU: Turkey must keep border open
Top EU officials on Saturday reminded Turkey of its international obligations to keep its frontiers open to refugees.

“The Geneva convention is still valid which states that you have to take in refugees,” EU Enlargement and Regional Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn said as he went into talks on the migrant crisis with EU foreign ministers and their counterparts from countries seeking EU membership, including Turkey.

An EU diplomatic source told AFP that the foreign ministers, meeting informally in Amsterdam, would take the opportunity to voice their concerns over the fate of the refugees fleeing the government offensive against rebel forces in Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a Syria donors conference in London on Thursday that Ankara would allow the latest group of refugees into the country.

More than a million migrants landed in the 28-nation European Union last year, most of them crossing into Greece from Turkey, and then making their way through the Balkans to Germany and other northern member states. Such numbers have put huge strains on the bloc and the Schengen passport-free zone, with several countries - among them Germany, Austria, Hungary, Sweden - re-introducing border controls while Brussels struggles to find a comprehensive solution.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  See below
Posted by: Shipman || 02/07/2016 2:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Considering the Turkey is not part of the EU (and the EU had no real intentions of including it), sounds like an opportunity to tell 'Top EU Officials' where to stuff it.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/07/2016 9:10 Comments || Top||

#3  At last check, IIRC HASHEMITE JORDAN is also repor at risk from circa 500,000 Syrian or mostly Syrian refugees.

The International Community has repor decided to put out US$10.0Bilyuhn in collective assistance to the Syrian Refugee-Migrant problem.

YOOHOO, TEMPLAR FRANCE, I'M STILL A'LOOKIN AT YOU.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/07/2016 22:45 Comments || Top||


Turkish border crossing closed as Syrians flee
Turkey's foreign minister said Saturday his country would keep its “open border policy” for refugees, but did not indicate when thousands of Syrians camped out near a closed frontier post could cross.

“We still keep this open border policy for these people fleeing from the aggression from the regime as well as air strikes of Russia,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said as he left a meeting with his EU counterparts in Amsterdam.

“We have received already 5,000 of them, another 50,000 to 55,000 are on their way and we cannot leave them there alone because air strikes are ongoing and also regime forces supported by Iran Shia militias are attacking these civilians as well.”

A senior government official says Turkey is caring for some 30-35,000 displaced Syrians on the Syrian side of the border but had no immediate plans to let them in.

Governor Suleyman Tapsiz of the border province of Kilis said Saturday Turkey had the ability to care for the Syrians inside Syria for the time being but had made preparations to allow them in in the event of an “extraordinary crisis.” He did not elaborate.

Earlier, Turkey appeared to be preparing for a new influx of refugees fleeing a major offensive by Syria’s Russian-backed regime, with tens of thousands of Syrians camped out near the border crossing.

The United Nations said some 20,000 people have gathered at the Bab al-Salam crossing, hoping to reach Turkey, which already hosts more than two million refugees from the bloody conflict. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights for its part estimated some 40,000 people had been forced to leave their homes since last Monday.

Turkish authorities were working to free up space within the existing camps along the Syrian border to accommodate the new arrivals.

Opposition forces and some 350,000 civilians were inside the rebel-held Aleppo city, which was targeted in the government offensive.

An AFP correspondent saw trucks carrying parts for tents Friday to the refugee camp close to the border gate on the Turkish side which faces the Bab al-Salam crossing on Syrian soil. At least four Turkish aid trucks were also seen returning to Turkey after making deliveries of food to the Syrian side of the border.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said in a statement that it had finalized preparations for a possible influx.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Pakistan Wants As Many Taliban Groups As Possible to Join Talks
Pakistan said as many Taliban groups as possible must be persuaded to join any upcoming peace discussions with the Afghan government, as a third round of four-country talks aimed at reviving negotiations with the insurgent group began Saturday.

Delegates from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States convened in the Pakistani capital Islamabad over the weekend even as the insurgents wage an unprecedented winter campaign of violence across Afghanistan.Pakistan's advisor for foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz. Pakistan's advisor for foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz said a joint effort would help persuade the Taliban to join the process and lead to a "significant" reduction in violence.

"We believe our collective efforts at this stage, including through supportive CBMs (Confidence Building Measures), have to be aimed at persuading the maximum number of Taliban groups to join the peace talks," Aziz said during his opening statement at the third-round of talks on Saturday.

"In our view, a clear, well-defined and actionable roadmap for the peace process between the Afghan Government and Taliban groups is important."
Posted by: Steve White || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Artic read, LOOMING MILACTION AGZ ISIS/ISIL + POTEN EXPANSION OF INSURGENCY OUTSIDE OF AFPAK TO CENTRAL ASIA + CHINA.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/07/2016 20:09 Comments || Top||


International-UN-NGOs
UN: Assange Should Walk Free
A UN panel said Friday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be able to walk free from Ecuador's embassy in London after nearly four years of "detention," stoking his hopes of wrapping up the case.

The panel added that the 44-year-old Australian should be able to claim compensation from Britain and Sweden, where he faces questioning over a rape allegation, after being "arbitrarily detained."Wikieleaks founder William Assange

But both countries quickly dismissed the non-binding legal opinion, with Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond calling it "ridiculous" and Sweden's foreign ministry saying the panel had no right to "interfere."

Assange walked into the embassy in June 2012 to avoid the threat of arrest and extradition to Sweden. He has lived there ever since in a small office room with a bed, computer, sun lamp, treadmill and access to a small balcony.

In a statement, the panel said it had adopted an opinion "in which it considered that Mr. Julian Assange was arbitrarily detained by the governments of Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."

It added: "The working group also considered that the detention should be brought to an end and that Mr. Assange should be afforded the right to compensation."

Following its release, there was no sign of Assange at the embassy, located near the Harrods department store in London's exclusive Knightsbridge district, although a police van arrived outside. His lawyers are set to hold a press conference in London at 1200 GMT.

Earlier, he hoped that the panel decision could lead to the end of his confinement in the Ecuadorean embassy .

"Should I prevail and the state parties be found to have acted unlawfully, I expect the immediate return of my passport and the termination of further attempts to arrest me," the Australian national said in a statement.

Assange fears that, if detained, he could be extradited to the US be tried over the publication of hundreds of thousands of classified documents.

WikiLeaks filed a complaint against Sweden and Britain to the UN group in September 2014, saying his confinement in the embassy was unlawful. Founded by Assange in 2006, WikiLeaks has infuriated the United States by releasing some 500,000 secret military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and 250,000 diplomatic cables.

The main source of the leaks, US Army soldier Chelsea Manning, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for breaches of the Espionage Act.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
No security wall to be built around Baghdad - Iraqi PM
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday denied the military’s reports of plans to build a security wall around Baghdad in order to protect the city from attacks by Daesh militants. The Prime Minister said in a statement that the idea of fencing off the capital of Iraq from the rest of the state is not worthy of consideration, despite continuous assaults by Daesh.

"Baghdad is the capital of all Iraqis," he claimed. "There can be no wall or fence to isolate it or prevent other civilians from entering it."

Al-Abadi's statement contradicts a prior announcement by Baghdad Operations Command on February 3 that preparatory work for a concrete wall around the city was underway.

Instead of fencing off Baghdad, Iraqi authorities plan to secure the capital by reorganizing checkpoints and sealing gaps in the security perimeter while also easing transit in and out of the city, according to al-Abadi's statement. Iraqi army soldiers and allies from Popular Mobilization Units are seeking to win back the areas under control of the extremist group in joint operations.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Kerry says Russia must stop Syria bombing campaign
I'm sure the Rooshuns will get right on it, ASAP!
The United States Secretary of State John Kerry told Russia that its bombing campaign in Syria is killing scores of women and children and "has to stop."

"Russia has indicated to me very directly they are prepared to do a ceasefire," Kerry told reporters on Friday according to AFP. "The Iranians confirmed in London just a day and a half ago they will support a ceasefire now," he added.

"We will have a much better sense in the next few days of how serious each party is," he added.
I think they've already taken your measure, Jahwn...
Kerry has blamed the Russians for the recent collapse of the Syria talks in Geneva which were suspended mere days after they got off to a rocky start.

Russia gave heavy air support to Syria and its paramilitary allies in a major offensive into Aleppo which is seeing opposition forces in that city being cut off and put under immense pressure.

Kerry has slammed the Russian campaign, saying their heavy reliance on "dumb bombs" over "precision bombs" has seen "women and children, being killed in large numbers as a consequence."

Something which Mr. Kerry insists "has to stop."
Posted by: badanov || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  John Kerry told Russia that its bombing campaign in Syria is killing scores of women and children and "has to stop."

How'd the numbers compare with quarter million who died before Russia become involved?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 02/07/2016 2:33 Comments || Top||

#2  "Effete, Ineffectual, and Feckless"
Posted by: Frank G || 02/07/2016 9:15 Comments || Top||

#3  Jahwn Effite.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 02/07/2016 12:31 Comments || Top||

#4  The real reason is that Putin has held the US's feckless policies in the ME up to ridicule and the bombing puts an exclamation point on that fact.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 02/07/2016 12:35 Comments || Top||

#5  "Effete, Ineffectual, and Feckless"

Why so complementary, #2 Frank.

I'm sure you can describe Jawn much better than that. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara || 02/07/2016 13:26 Comments || Top||


Group of ex-Terrorists in Homs Join Syrian Army
Dozens of Syrians in al-Rastan area in Homs northern countryside fled their homes to escape the terrorists' torture, according to Al-Manar reporter.
And they didn't have to change their ways much to do so...
Among those locals were gunmen that had fought along with the terrorist groups before they realized the real nature of the takfiri militants and decided to join the Syrian army.

The Syrian army organized military drills to prepare the new soldiers to fight the militant groups, the reporter explained.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Iran: Saudis Won’t Dare Send Troops to Syria
The Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said Saudi Arabia wouldn't dare send ground troops to war-torn Syria.

Riyadh has said it could "contribute positively" if the US-led in Syria decided on ground action.

But Major General Ali Jafari, commander of the Guards, said such a move would amount to suicide for Saudi Arabia.IRGC Chief Major General Mohamamd Ali Jaafari

"I don't think they would dare do that... If they do, they will inflict a coup de grace on themselves," he said, according to Fars news agency, a media outlet close to the Guards.

"They thought that through support and financial aid they could make gains in Syria but the recent victories by the resistance front have disrupted all of their calculations," Jafari said.

For his part, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Expediency Council and a former chief of the Guards, also poured scorn on Saudi Arabia's possible presence on the ground in Syria.

"In such a situation, the clash of Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Syria together, and then the entrance of America... eventually a large regional war is possible," the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.

If the Saudi government, known for "madly taking action", embarked on such a move the entire region other than Iran but "including Saudi Arabia, will be consumed by a sea of fire".
Posted by: Steve White || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  See also RELATED CNN? IRAN COMMANDER MOCKS SAUDI [+ Turkey] OFFER TO INTERVENE IN SYRIA.

and

* RUSSIA TODAY > SAUDI INVASION OF SYRIA? THE BLUFF THAT COULD IGNITE WORLD WAR 3.

* FREEREPUBLIC > [FNA] SOURCE: 150,000 SAUDI MERCENARIES [KSA-led Sunni Coalition] READY TO ENTER SYRIA.

Alleged Military + Paramilitary forces or mil elements from various Islamic Regional Allies of the KSA.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/07/2016 23:02 Comments || Top||

#2  Both the KSA + Turkey are repor denying having any plans to intervene in SYria.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/07/2016 23:03 Comments || Top||


Iran not going to deploy "massive" forces in Syria
Iran has no plan on deploying massive military forces in Syria, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced, Feb. 6.
Define "massive"...
“Our policy is not dispatching massive forces to Syria, though there is an enthusiasm and very much willingness among IRGC members to take part in battles in Syria,” Fars news agency quoted Jafari as saying during the funeral of top IRGC general Mohsen Gajarian, who was killed in Syria on Feb. 4.

Jafari also said “defending Syria means defending the Islamic resistance.”

Iran calls the enmity with Israel the Islamic resistance. Jafari further said the major threats are far away from Iranian borders, because the Islamic resistance has spread.

“Palestine and Lebanon’s wars [with Israel] have indicated that the advanced armies are deficient against the Islamic resistance,” he said.

He went on to claim that after the failures in war with the Islamic resistance, “the enemies created Salafi groups like the IS, getting help from Saudi Arabia.”

Major General Jafari also quoted Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as saying that if Iran doesn’t fight the enemies far away from its borders, the threats would come close to its own territory and it would have to fight against the enemies inside the country.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Couldn't beat the Jooooooos, so they invented the Takfiri gangs. As the proprietor would say, makes sense, not a lot, but sense.
Posted by: Shipman || 02/07/2016 2:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Actually it depends on what your definition of "massive" is...according to the Clinton dictionary on semantics
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 02/07/2016 12:41 Comments || Top||

#3  I've read Iran simply doesn't have the troops, presumably competent and reliable. Much like the Soviet Union at the start of WWII. Nor do they have the planes for logistics supply.

And I'm not entirely convinced the Saudis won't double down in Syria. Any ground troops would be a pretext to use their airforce, as in Yemen and as Russia has done in Syria.

Facing the Turkish airforce to the north and the Saudi and Jordanian airforce to the south, the Russians will likely decide it's not worth it.
Posted by: phil_b || 02/07/2016 14:06 Comments || Top||

#4  Iff the KSA + its Coalition can't handle Yemen, what makes them think they can handle SYRIA, agz Al-Nusra, ISIS/ISIL, Hezbollah, IRGC Quds Force, + Kurds???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/07/2016 20:07 Comments || Top||


Saudis ready to join US-led operations in Syria
Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it was ready to participate in any ground operations in Syria if the US-led alliance decides to start such operations, an adviser to the Saudi defence minister said.
With or against us? Or both?
"The Kingdom is ready to participate in any ground operations that the coalition (against Daesh) may agree to carry out in Syria," Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, who is also the spokesman for the Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen, told the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV in an interview.

Asseri said Saudi Arabia had been an active member of the US-led coalition that had been fighting Daesh in Syria since 2014, and had carried out more than 190 aerial missions.
190 -- the Russians call that a good operations week...
He said Saudi Arabia, which has been leading Arab military operations against the Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen, believed that to win against Daesh, the coalition needed to combine aerial operations with ground operations.

"If there was a consensus from the leadership of the coalition, the Kingdom is willing to participate in these efforts because we believe that aerial operations are not the ideal solution and there must be a twin mix of aerial and ground operations," Asseri said.

Asked about the comments at a briefing, US State Department spokesman John Kirby said the coalition was generally supportive of having partners contribute more in the fight against Islamic State but he had not seen the Saudi proposal. "I would not want to comment specifically on this until we've had a chance to review it," he said.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Al-Moallem: Any Ground Intervention Is Aggression That Will Be Confronted
[ALMANAR.LB] Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem warned Saturday against any foreign ground intervention in its war after reports that Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
could send in troops.

"Any ground intervention on Syrian territory without government authorization would amount to an aggression that must be resisted," Moallem said at a news conference in Damascus.

"We assure you that any aggressor will return to his country in a wooden coffin."

Saudi Arabia, Moallem said, is implementing the US will, and "it seems that after Syrian army's victories, the conspirators and funders have got fed up with their tools on the ground, and that they decided to get involved themselves."

Moallem, however, ruled out such a move, but still recalled "their crazy decisions made not only against Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
but also regarding other areas."

Meanwhile,
...back at the buffalo wallow, Standing Buffalo drew a bead on his old enemy and squeezed the trigger...
Moallem warned that "Everyone should realize, on top of all (UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan) de Mistura, that Syria is going for a Syrian- Syrian dialogue without any preconditions and will not comply with any precondition set by any party whatsoever."

"The two Vienna Communiqués and the Security Council Resolution (2254) stress on the broadest representation of the opposition delegation" the Syrian FM said, adding "...We told them 'do not repeat the mistakes of Geneva 2'."

The top Syrian diplomat said that the Security Council resolution no. 2254 and the two Vienna Communiques state that the Syrian people alone have the right to determine their future and that dialogue should be a Syrian- led among the Syrians without foreign interference and without preconditions, while the statements of "Riyadh opposition" delegation, made even before the go to Geneva, were full of preconditions.

'We asked the UN Special Envoy for Syria de Mistura to provide us with a list of the names of those with whom we were going to have dialogue, because we wouldn't hold dialogue with ghosts," the minister said.
Posted by: Fred || 02/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  "Nyet!"
Posted by: Frank G || 02/07/2016 10:46 Comments || Top||

#2  WASHINGTON TIMES Artic on LUCIANNE.COM is warning WW3 may be inching closer as ERDOGANIST TURKEY may enter intervene in the Syrian Conflict.

Iff intervention occurs, it will be put OWG Co-SUperpower Iran in a poten head-to-head mil confrontation agz both the US Neutral Ally KSA + de facto US-NATO-EU Ally Turkey.

* FYI TURKEY = is repor warning the US = POTUS Obama Admin that, iff the Syria situation continues to deteriorate, it may devol where the US MAY BE FORCED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN IT TURKEY + THE KURDS???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/07/2016 22:53 Comments || Top||



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