[AnNahar] Overstretched Afghan forces are pulling back from violent southern districts without a fight, ceding key territory to the resurgent Taliban as part of an unprecedented "strategic retreat" that has stoked fears government control is slipping.
Beset by record casualties, desertions and troop shortages, Afghan troops have recently abandoned outposts in parts of central Uruzgan province, extending a withdrawal which began last month.
They have already pulled out of Musa Qala and Nowzad districts in neighboring Helmand
Continued on Page 49
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. said on Sunday that the ISIS group has been defeated in the eastern parts of the country, where it had taken over some remote districts.
Speaking at the opening of parliament, Ghani said Afghan forces had dislodged ISIS loyalists from regions of Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province bordering Pakistain.
"Afghanistan will be their graveyard," he said in an address broadcast live on national television.
ISIS has had a presence in Afghanistan for more than a year. Officials have said most snuffies calling themselves ISIS are disaffected Taliban fighters.
Afghan forces have claimed victory following a 21-day operation in the Achin and Shinwar districts of Nangarhar, claiming at least 200 snuffies killed, a provincial official told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
Achin and Shinwar are among a number of districts in the remote mountainous regions along the Pakistain border that were overtaken by ISIS loyalists in recent months. Operations against the snuffies included Arclight airstrikes to destroy bases and a radio station that was broadcasting ISIS recruitment messages across Nangarhar province. The radio station was destroyed, along with at least seven bully boys, on Feb. 1.
"The aim of the operation in Nangarhar was to root out IS from the area," said Afghan Army Lt. Col Sharin Aqa, a front man for the 201 Corps.
The operation was aided by local residents who set up checkpoints to help maintain security in their villages. These so-called "local uprisings" had supplemented the Afghan forces, which have been stretched since the drawdown in 2014 of the international combat mission, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/07/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Cause they're bad for (the opium) business. Incentives, man, incentives. BTW, the ROE for the drug lords is a lot looser than for coalition forces in dealing with ISIS.
Reports reaching our news desk indicate that Kenyan troops launched a security sweep in Afmadow town of Lower Jubba region, arresting six teenage boys linked to Al shabaab.
Abdirashid Abdi Goni, Lower Jubba governor, told Radio Shabelle the KDF conducted massive operations inside the town, and held six youngsters, whom they believe to be Al shabaab members. Mr Goni has urged Afmadow residents to assist with the process, report any cases of crime, insecurity to the city’s police station and Kenyan army to maintain peace and lasting stability.
Finally, Afmadow inhabitants were asked to pay the taxation to support Mr. Big the developmental projects to repair the wrecked streets in the city and nearby villages.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/07/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Moody’s Investors Service has cut its outlook for the debt ratings of Saudi Arabia and three other Gulf states while lowering Bahrain’s rating to junk, citing concern over the impact of low oil prices on their finances.
Saudi Arabia’s Aa3 rating was placed on review for a possible downgrade, Moody’s said late on Friday, adding that it would study whether Riyadh’s efforts to expand its non-oil revenues and diversify its economy were likely to work.
“At around $650 billion (or roughly 95 percent of forecast 2016 grossdomestic product) at the end of September 2015, the country’s foreign currency assets are large,” it said.
“But potential calls on these funds are growing - emanating from the need to finance future current account and budget deficits, and from use in small-scale currency interventions to defend the currency peg amid rising speculation.”
Moody’s also put the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar on review for downgrades - countries which are widely seen in the debt markets as more able to cope with an era of low oil prices because of their huge financial reserves relative to small populations.
‘Structural shock’
It acknowledged that the UAE planned tax reforms and that its economy was more diversified than most in the region, but added: “The structural shock to the oil market is weakening the UAE’s government balance sheet and its economy, and therefore its credit profile.”
Moody’s cut Bahrain’s rating by one notch to Ba1, below investment grade. It kept the rating on review for a further downgrade; Bahrain has much smaller reserves of money and oil than its wealthy neighbors.
Central to the agency’s analysis was its view of oil prices. It said it had recently cut its forecasts for Brent crude to $33 per barrel in 2016 and $38 in 2017, rising slowly to US$48 by 2019. In December, it had predicted Brent at $43 in 2016.
Late last month, Moody’s cut the rating of Oman, the other member of the Gulf’s six wealthy oil exporters, by two notches to A3 and kept the rating on review for a further downgrade.
Moody’s actions followed a mass downgrade of oil producers by Standard & Poor’s in mid-February. S&P cut countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman. Saudi Arabia was cut by two notches to A-minus, three notches below Moody’s rating, while Bahrain was lowered to junk.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/07/2016 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The Bangladesh High Court will this month hear a writ petition that was initially filed 28 years ago, challenging the constitutional amendment that gave ‘Islam’ status of the state’s religion.
The development comes amidst a crackdown by the Bangladesh government against ‘forces of Evil and holy warriors’ behind the ‘Islamist violence’ that has recently gripped the country -- liberal activists, members of minority Muslim sects and other religious groups have been targeted in multiple attacks.
The move to make Islam the state religion had come under military ruler HM Ershad, who had inserted a section in the eighth amendment to the constitution making Islam Bangladesh’s state religion on Jun 9, 1988.
The amendment was immediately challenged through a writ petition.
The court heard the petition for the first time in Jun 2011 and sought an explanation from the government on why the part of the eighth amendment to the constitution -- that had made Islam the state religion -- should not be annulled.
While the government did not respond to the court’s query, it went on to maintain Islam as the state religion via the 15th constitutional amendment, which also reinstated ‘secularism’ as a founding principle of the state.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/07/2016 00:00 ||
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Long, long piece from VOA. Thousands of refugees from Syria and Iraq stuck on the border between Greece and Macedonia are wondering why the Euros don't just let them through to Germany, which is where they all want to go.
Nice going, Ms. Merkel: you've established your brand!
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/07/2016 07:55 ||
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#1
Rents up & wages down, you can see why the rent-seeking establishment want them.
They also won't pay the non-financial costs in increased criminality and higher density schools hospitals and roads.
#2
Where are the NIMBY 'sustainable growth' wienies to explain this. They seem so vocal when its something else everyone can benefit from (other than the Lower Delta Smelt critter).
#4
At the risk of evoking Godwin's Law, I think it's safe to say that Merkel has effectively done more harm to Germany and Europe than Hitler.
Posted by: regular joe ||
03/07/2016 9:34 Comments ||
Top||
#5
It is not the stray puppy we do not like, it is the plague ridden fleas and the rabies you bring in with you. Als we cann afford only one puppy, not a pack.
Posted by: regular joe ||
03/07/2016 21:45 Comments ||
Top||
#11
Didn't catch it all but IIUC CNN AM NEWS SEGMENT indic that the EU wants to deport or send all Muslim Migrants to Turkey where they will be properly vetted prior to being formally accepted + allowed to re-enter the EU.
LOOKS LIKE TURKEY = EU'S GIANT VERSION OF AMERICA'S FAMED "ELLIS ISLAND"???
[Iran Press TV] Austria has called on Germany to set restrictions on the number of refugees it will allow to enter its territory in an effort to help curb the flow of refugees flocking to Europe.
"Germany too must give a number for the refugees it is prepared to take from the Syria and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... region. Germany must finally create clarity or else refugees will continue to head off in the direction of Germany," Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann told the Kurier newspaper on Sunday.
Austria has introduced restrictions on accepting refugees. It accepts only 80 refugees per day and allows 3,200 refugees to transit the country each day. It received 90,000 asylum requests last year.
"If you take the Austrian guidelines, Germany could give its quota at around 400,000. As long as Germany does not say that, it is clear what will happen. The refugees will continue to believe that they will be waved through," Faymann added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/07/2016 00:00 ||
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NATO announced Sunday it will expand its mission in the Aegean to crack down on human smugglers and stem the flow of refugees coming into Europe, according to Anadolu.
NATO is still looking for a mission 25 years later...
In a statement, the alliance said: "NATO ships are already collecting information and conducting monitoring in the Aegean Sea. Their activity will now be expanded to take place also in territorial waters".
Last month, NATO agreed – at the request of Turkey, Germany, and Greece – to send its vessels to the Aegean, a major transit area for refugees entering Europe via Greece and Turkey. The decision was finalized on Sunday, with NATO allies agreeing the vessels will not only operate on international waters, but in Turkish and Greek territorial waters as well.
"Our commanders have defined our area of activity in close consultation and coordination with both Greece and Turkey," NATO said in Sunday’s statement.
"Our activities in territorial waters will be carried out in consultation and coordination with both allies."
NATO will liaise with the Turkish and Greek coast guards, who have been struggling to protect and save refugees put at risk by human-smuggling gangs that place them on often unseaworthy bats.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/07/2016 00:00 ||
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According to the Russian language regnum.ru, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin visited Baku Sunday to discuss military-industrial cooperation. The Russian Air Defense branch (PVO) used to maintain an air base in Nasosnaya in Baku, host to 2 Russian interceptor air regiments. Dismantled prolly sometime around the 2009 military reforms.
Air Forces of Azerbaijan and Turkey will hold joint military exercises “TurAz Shahini-2016” in the Turkish province of Konya. The exercises of the two countries will be held on March 7-25, the Turkish General Staff reported on March 4.
The first "TurAz Qartali" drills of the Azerbaijani and Turkish Armies were held in Azerbaijan in September 2015. The exercises were conducted as part of an annual joint military plan8. The joint military exercises TurAz Qartalı or TurAz Shahini and drills of the Land Forces are a good example of the level of cooperation between the armies of both countries.
Baku and Ankara enjoy strategic relations in many fields, including the military. Military cooperation between these two neighboring nations dates back to 1992 when they signed an agreement on military education. Since then, the Azerbaijani and Turkish governments have been closely cooperating in both defense and security fields. In December 2010, both countries signed a range of treaties provisioning for military assistance should any of the party be attacked by third party.
Based on numerous agreements on joint military exercises as part of bilateral progressive efforts towards military cooperation, the Azerbaijani and Turkish armed forces have hold regular drills, featuring various tactical and combat tasks so far.
EU High Representative Federica Mogherini linked Turkish authorities’ takeover of a leading newspaper to the country’s EU aspirations Saturday, warning any prospective member of the Union must respect “high democratic standards.”
Protesters outside the offices of the Zaman newspaper in Istanbul were met with tear gas and rubber bullets Saturday, after a court ruled Friday that the daily, with a circulation of 650,000, be run by administrators. State media reported the decision came at the request of a prosecutor investigating Fethullah Gülen, who is affiliated to Zaman and one of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main opponents, on terrorism charges. U.S.-based Gülen denies the charges.
“The EU has repeatedly stressed that Turkey, as a candidate country, needs to respect and promote high democratic standards and practices, including freedom of the media,” Mogherini said in a statement. “Free, diverse and independent media constitute one of the cornerstones of a democratic society by facilitating the free flow of information and ideas, and by ensuring transparency and accountability.”
And we all know how powerful a warning from the EU is...
Johannes Hahn, the EU’s enlargement commissioner, tweeted that the decision to takeover the paper risked progress Turkey has made in other areas towards joining the bloc.
European Parliament President Martin Schulz said he would raise the issue with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu over lunch at a summit on Monday aimed at stemming the flow of migrants into Europe. Turkey is a key part of the plan, with the EU pledging €3 billion in aid in exchange for Ankara’s help.
And if Yippy sez that if you bother him one more time about the newspaper that he'll open the spigots on the refugee flow, what then?
The Saturday edition of Zaman, completed before authorities took over, carried the headline: “The Constitution is suspended.”
The U.S. State Department called the move “troubling” on Friday. Spokesman John Kirby told reporters: “We see this as the latest in a series of troubling judicial and law enforcement actions taken by the Turkish government targeting media outlets and others critical of it.”
You have to believe that there are some in our own government taking notes...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/07/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Too little, too late. Zama is now turning out pro Erdogan propaganda. Turkey has no free press and no voice for the opposition anymore. Erdogan wants to be Sultan and will destroy the republic Atatürk built. He has turned his back on the west. It is time for Europe, UK and the US consider Turkey an hostile regime and treat it as such. Close bases, take weaponry with you, do not sell arm to Erdogan, withdraw aid, limit trade.
[Inquirer] U.S. troops are now training members of the elite Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police on combat tactics. Chief Supt. Randolf Delfin said the 45-day training program would equip SAF members with more skills "in our fight against insurgency and terrorism."
Delfin's statements drew angry reactions from the left saying the police officer confirmed what they had long held — American government involvement in Philippine counterinsurgency operations.
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate said, "We condemn this continuing US interventionist policy."
He said US military operations in the Philippines, "like this one disguised as a supposed training, are in fact among the causes of rebellion" by past and present-day revolutionaries.
Kim Gargar, spokesperson of environmentalist group Panalipdan, said the use of US troops to train policemen against insurgents is "pure and simple foreign military intervention."
"By allowing this, the Aquino government is guilty of violating the Constitution," Gargar said.
Supt. Reynard Arino said at least 60 SAF men would participate in the training program with courses on marksmanship and small unit tactics.
Last month, US soldiers also started training SAF men on tactical combat care or life-saving support, according to Chief Supt. Miguel Antonio Jr., head of the Western Mindanao police.
[AlAhram] The United States has nearly finished setting up an air base in Kurdish-controlled northern Syria and was proceeding with the construction of a second base for dual military and civilian use, a Kurdish website said on Sunday.
The Erbil-based news website BasNews, quoting a military source in the Kurdish-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), said most of the work on a runway in the oil town of Rmeilan in Hasaka was complete while a new air base southeast of Kobani, straddling the Turkish border, was being constructed.
The source in the US-backed alliance that also includes Arab gangs told the news portal scores of US experts and technicians were involved in the project.
Syrian Kurdish officials had recently said the Rmeilan airstrip was being used by US military helicopters for logistics and deliveries.
The United States sent dozens of special operations troops to northern Syria last year to advise opposition forces in their fight against the myrmidon group Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... . They have also dropped supply munitions to rebels in the province.
Last month, US advisors backed by coalition air strikes assisted Kurdish-led Syrian rebels in encircling and capturing the strategic Syrian town of Shadadi from Islamic State group but were away from the frontlines, US officials said.
The Syrian Kurds have established control over wide areas of northern Syria since the country erupted into civil war in 2011, and their YPG militia has become a major partner in the US-led coalition against IS.
US military ties with the Syrian Kurds have grown deeper despite the concerns of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... ally The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , which views the Syrian Kurdish PYD party as a terrorist group because of its links to the PKK, which is waging an insurgency in Turkey.
The special US presidential envoy to the coalition against Islamic State, Brett McGurk, visited Kurdish-controlled northern Syria several weeks ago in what appeared to be the first declared trip to Syrian territory by an B.O. regime official in three years.
McGurk said on Saturday in Baghdad the coalition was stepping up pressure on Islamic State and that the murderous Moslems were losing ground in both Syria and Iraq.
#2
As per RELATED GUAM DAILY POST FKA GUAM/MARIANAS VARIETY, the US will repor not be controlling the new Bases - IFF TRUE, WHOM WILL I.E. THE IRAQI GOVT-MILITARY OR THE KURDS???
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iran's President Hassan Rouhani says that both Iran and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... support the current Syrian cease-fire and the preservation of Syria's territorial integrity.
A Sunday report by the government-owned IRAN daily quotes Rouhani as saying, "There is no difference" between the two countries regarding stopping the war and "providing relief assistance to displaced people."
His remarks came during a meeting with visiting Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu ahead of talks between the Syrian government and opposition later this month.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/07/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] An Iranian court has sentenced a well-known tycoon to death for corruption linked to oil sales during the rule of former President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad, the judiciary front man said Sunday.
Babak Zanjani and two of his associates were sentenced to death for "money laundering," among other charges, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi said in brief remarks broadcast on state TV. He did not identify the two associates.
Previous state media reports have said the three were charged with forgery and fraud.
"The court has recognized the three defendants as ‘corruptors on earth’ and sentenced them to death," said Ejehi. "Corruptors on earth" is an Islamic term referring to crimes that are punishable by death because they have a major impact on society. The verdict, which came after a nearly five-month trial, can be appealed.
A news website run by the judiciary identified the two associates as British-Iranian businessman Mahdi Shams, who was detained in 2015, and the other as Hamid Fallah Heravi, a retired businessman.
Zanjani was incarcerated Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! in 2013 during a crackdown on alleged corruption during Ahmadinejad’s rule. Iran’s Oil Ministry says Zanjani owes more than 2 billion euros ($2.25 billion) for oil sales he made on behalf of Ahmadinejad’s government.
Zanjani is one of Iran’s wealthiest businessmen, with a fortune worth an estimated $14 billion. He was arrested shortly after the election of President Hassan Rouhani, who ordered a crackdown on alleged corruption during the eight-year rule of his hard-line predecessor.
Iran has in the past executed other wealthy individuals found guilty of similar charges. In 2014, Iran executed billionaire businessman Mahafarid Amir Khosravi over corruption charges.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/07/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Alas, not Donald Trump.
Let's not go a single step further in that direction.
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.
NATO announced Sunday it will expand its mission in the Aegean to crack down on human smugglers and stem the flow of refugees coming into Europe, according to Anadolu.
[Inquirer] U.S. troops are now training members of the elite Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police on combat tactics. Chief Supt. Randolf Delfin said the 45-day training program would equip SAF members with more skills "in our fight against insurgency and terrorism."
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] An Iranian court has sentenced a well-known tycoon to death for corruption linked to oil sales during the rule of former President 
