A number of former Daesh and Taliban fighters who have recently joined the peace process in Nangarhar said the groups are supported by Pakistan and the members receive military training in the neighboring country.
They claimed that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is involved with the Taliban and Daesh militants, that they equip them and then send them to fight against security forces in Afghanistan.
Old dogs, old tricks.
Khalid, a former Daesh fighter, who joined the insurgent group in Haska Mina district in Nangarhar, said he received military training in Pakistan and was told to fight security forces in Afghanistan.
"They are no methods they haven't used to kill people. They have experienced all ways of killing. What they do is against Islam," he said.
Shergul, a former Taliban commander who has joined the peace process said the Taliban militants are being rounded up and equipped in Pakistan.
"They were the agents of Pakistan who gave the Taliban money and then they told us to blow up bridges, destroy mosques, open fire on district offices, but our conscience did not accept this because our brothers are working in government," he added.
Meanwhile, the head of the High Peace Council's office in Nangarhar, Malik Nazir, called on all militant groups to join the peace process if they want a stable and peaceful Afghanistan.
"They are those who have been deceived and have been told that they should do jihad in Afghanistan. Now they have realized that there is no jihad in Afghanistan; it is a Muslim nation, therefore they have joined the peace process," he said.
Khalid and Shergul also urged all militant groups to avoid being deceived by strangers and to join the peace process.
Posted by: badanov ||
10/07/2016 00:00 ||
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A number of former officials, critics, members of civil society and residents of Kunduz said government has failed to fill the gap between people and the state after the fall of Kunduz city to the Taliban last year and that a lack of cooperation with the residents has resulted in serious security issues in the northern province.
"Unfortunately, no clearance operation was carried out in Kunduz after the city collapsed to Taliban last year. Coordination should be established between people and local government in order to prevent Taliban from advancing once again," said Hamdullah Danishi, former acting governor of Kunduz.
Meanwhile, a number of Kunduz residents and civil society activists said not addressing people's problems was the main reason why the Taliban started their activities on the outskirts of Kunduz city.
"In addition to a lack of coordination among security forces in Kunduz, other problems in this province is that the gap between people and government has increased," said Mohammad Asghar Maihanyar, a civil society activist in Kunduz.
"The [Kunduz] city was destroyed and it happens all the time, but no one tries to bring the city's situation under control. There are thousands of security force members in Kunduz, but there is no coordination among them," said Adila Hussaini, a resident of the city.
Reports indicate that two rockets were fired near the Kunduz governor's office on Thursday where the Interior Minister Taj Mohammad Jahid had a meeting with local officials.
A number of security force members were wounded in the rocket attack, reports indicate.
Talking on Kunduz situation, Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said: "Taliban attacked the city while they had clothes same as local residents. This is a problem in guerilla wars, but on the battlefields, Taliban does not have the power to face our security forces."
This comes after parts of Kunduz city including the main circle were overrun by the Taliban earlier this week, but according to security forces, most parts of the city have been retaken after a large-scale military operation conducted by Afghan forces in the northern province.
[Libya Herald] Former boycotting member of the Presidency Council Ali Gatrani was told today by Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni that Field Marshal Khalifa Hafter should have "an appropriate role in managing the country’s security" in the new government.
Gatrani, who is close to Hafter, and who was in Rome for talks with Italian officials, was also commended by Gentiloni for having rejoined the PC after more than six months’s absence.
He was also told, though, that Italia would continue to "staunchly and resolutely" support the Libyan Political Agreement and all institutions established under it. He was further encouraged by his host to personally work to overcome the current crisis and ensure the formation of the new government.
"Only by reinforcing the institutions, which are the product of the political agreement, and by uniting all security forces, will Libya make the progress we all expect on the road to long-lasting peace and stability," Gentiloni said.
Like his French counterpart, Gentoloni has increasingly stressed the need for the PC to make compromises with Hafter if it is to succeed.
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10/07/2016 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] The Faiez Serraj-led Presidency Council/Government of National Accord (PC/GNA) has failed to make any real progress since March because it depends on specific militias in Western Libya for its survival. As a result of this dependency, it has failed to tackle head-on the issue of creating a unified national army under civilian control.
This was the view of one of the leading members of the UN-sponsored Libya Experts Forum, Zahi Mogherbi, in Tunis last week during a session on Libyan Security Sector Reform (SSR). The Forum aims to act as a think-tank and advisory body to any Libyan PC/GNA, and one of the areas it plans to present some policy papers on is Libyan Security Sector Reform.
The event was attended by a number of leading Libyan academics, experts, former ministers, Central Bank of Libya Board members and activists.
It was also attended by Taher Jehaimi, the PC/GNA’s nominated Planning Minister who was a former Minister of Planning and Governor of the Central Bank of Libya in the Qadaffy era. Jehaimi had made the keynote speech at the opening of the Tunis event.
In an intervention at the Forum, Mogherbi had said that ’’There are differences in priorities in SSR between what Libyans want and what the international community wants ‐ especially after UNSMIL head Martin Kobler’s comments (which he subsequently retracted) that Libya should decriminalize illegal migration’’.
The implication in Mogherbi’s statement is that the international community prioritize fighting ISIS and illegal migration rather than other security sector issues such as general insecurity, kidnapping, high crime, militia control and interference in Libyan society and life in general.
’’The PC/GNA has no real authority on the ground in order to be able to implement any policies. This, therefore, makes implementing any SSR even more challenging’, he added’.
’’The PC/GNA’s lack of consensus has already eroded its legitimacy within the year (since its physical arrival at the Bu Sitta Naval Base in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... on 30 March 2016). It is over dependent on its international recognition and legitimacy and ignoring its internal recognition and legitimacy’’.
Mogherbi, who lives in Benghazi, was referring here to the fact that the GNA has yet to receive a vote of approval from the House of Representatives in Tobruk which has handicapped the GNA and Libya, preventing the GNA from moving forward with the full support of the whole of Libya.
He was also referring to the fact that the PC itself was until recently divided with the two representatives for Benghazi and Zintan boycotting its proceedings.
The PC/GNA was founded under the UN-brokered Libya Political Agreement (LPA) signed in Morocco in December 2015 and backed by a UNSC Resolution.
’’The PC/GNA has also succeeded in legitimizing the militias that it relies on in Tripoli and in its war against ISIS in Sirte but without showing any desire to integrate or control these militias into a unified national army loyal to civilian control’’.
’’The PC/GNA should start to impose their will and legitimacy over the militias at least in key state institutions in order that the model can be reproduced later across the country. The PC/GNA failure in SSR and its dependency on specific militias in Western Libya has contributed further to Libya’s polarization and to the failure of the PC/GNA itself’’, concluded Emeritus Professor Mogherbi.
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10/07/2016 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] Faiez Serraj and other members of the Presidency Council (PC) arrived today in Tunis for the start of what is expected to be several days of intensive discussions on the composition of the new slimmed-down government of national accord (GNA).
Six weeks ago, the House of Representatives (HoR)voted to reject the last proposed GNA, ordering the nine-member PC to come up with a new, reduced list of government ministers within ten days. Serraj promised that a new government would be selected and presented to the HoR but said that until then the ministers in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... should continue in their existing caretaker roles.
The PC has been under growing pressure, nationally and internationally, to give a role within the new government to Khalifa Hafter. Both the French and Italian government have publically called on it to do so. But while this is likely to find acceptance among a number of members, it will be fiercely resisted by others, notably the pro-Islamist Abdelsalam Kajman and Mohammed Ammari.
One suggestion is that instead of appointing a fresh slate of government ministers the PC members take the posts themselves.
This would meet the HoR’s demand that the new government contain no more than nine members ‐ the prime minister and eight ministers.
The decision to meet in Tunis rather than Tripoli meets the objection of Ali Gatrani who agreed to rejoin the PC after months of boycotting it following an appeal from HoR president Ageela Saleh. However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... he refuses to attend sessions in Tripoli while, he says, it remains controlled by illegal militias.
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[Libya Herald] A Bunyan Marsous commander has rounded on the United States saying that its Arclight airstrikes in Sirte have been "useless" and that if Washington had really wanted to, it could have destroyed IS positions and liberated Sirte within a few hours.
The claim came today from Brigadier Ibrahim Bait, the front man for Misrata’s military council. He said on Sheikh Sadeq Ghariani’s Tanash TV channel that America had the technology to end the terrorists’ resistance in a matter of hours, not months. He insisted that warplanes launched from Misrata were more effective than US aircraft in clearing the way for BM forces on the ground.
The US has now launched more than 200 strikes by fast jets, drones and helicopters, the majority believed to be from the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp. Its operations began in August at the request of the Presidency Council. On Monday the Pentagon announced the strikes would continue for another month and indicated that it would now target IS Death Eaters elsewhere in Libya as well as in Sirte.
The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) has reported hitting tanks, truck bombs and terrorist strong points as it said it cleared the way for BM fighters to advance.
However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... Bait said that it was clear to everyone that the US wanted to prolong the battle for the town. He said that BM forces could have taken Sirte without American assistance but that the PC had insisted that the US be involved.
So far there has been no reaction to Bait’s provocative statement from either the Americans nor the PC who are meeting in Tunis.
One diplomat wondered this evening if Bait’s comments perhaps reflected the desperation among the largely Misratan BM commanders at the failure of their forces to crush the last terrorist resistance in Sirte’s coastal Third District.
In recent weeks, the assault has been resumed in fits and starts and each time more casualties have been added to the BM’s official toll of some 550 dead and 2,500 injured. However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... medical sources suggested last month that the real figures were higher.
If the US Arclight airstrikes are indeed inaccurate, for whatever reason, as Bait claimed, it does not appear that any BM fighters have been hit by mistake.
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10/07/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
...but, but we don't fight those kinds of wars anymore.
[THEWHISTLER.NG] The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has said that jacket wallahs will go to hell.
Abubakar made this statement on Wednesday when popular singer, Innocent Idibia, also known as 2baba, paid him a courtesy visit in Sokoto.
The sultan, who said that Islam and Christianity preach peace and love, added that no human being can claim to love God without loving his neighbor.
"Religion is a personal choice of an individual. Therefore, nobody can force any religion on anybody. Suicide bombers are going to hell," he said.
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10/07/2016 00:00 ||
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They're a pesky bunch, to be sure
Aden- The Yemeni national delegation to peace talks expressed readiness to cooperate with U.N. Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in a quest to achieve peace and halt the bloodshed of the Yemeni people.
Houthis, on the other hand, refused to participate in peace talks unless two conditions were met – ceasing the coalition forces’ military operations and lifting the naval siege that is imposed on the weapons imports in line with U.N. Security Council resolutions.
In its statement, the delegation considered these conditions “a clear attempt to hurdle efforts of the U.N. Special Envoy to Yemen and the political solution sponsoring countries… This aggressive approach of the militias is ruining any chance to achieve peace and is increasing the agony of the Yemeni people.”
The delegation reiterated its stance towards reaching a political solution based on U.N. Resolution 2216, the National Dialogue Conference outcomes and the GCC Initiative.
The statement also noted that the Houthis are still besieging the cities, preventing the arrival of humanitarian aid and are targeting civilians. The statement said “the military and political escalation and the nefarious crimes against the Yemeni people and neighbors – plus the threat to international navigation – are all pieces of evidence that these militias are not supporters of peace.”
In the same context, high-ranking Yemeni political sources said that the Houthis in Sana’a began implementing a well-planned escalation policy to paralyze any political solution in the short-run without having directly to reject any proposal by Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
Sources added to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Houthi policy is managed by Tehran which is urging the insurgents to stir more conflicts and deceive the local and international public opinion by attributing the insurgents’ crimes to the Saudi-led coalition.
[Dhaka Tribune] A month before the terror attack in Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant of Gulshan, a consignment of AK22 rifles and some small arms reached the bully boyz in Dhaka.
Of these arms, three AK22 rifles were used in the Gulshan attack while another rifle was used for the security of New Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) chief Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury.
Investigators are now saying they have finally been able to trace the route of the smuggled arms.
Sources in police’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Unit said these arms came from outside Bangladesh and the members of New JMB used them in attacks conducted in Bogra and other northern districts.
"We have finally learned the source of the AK22s supply and have been also able to identify the group primarily," Monirul Islam, chief of CTTC, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
"Now, drive is underway to arrest this group’s members."
The CTTC chief said these AK22 rifles, recovered at different times in drives, mainly entered Bangladesh through the Chapainawabganj border. The consignment was received there by an arms smuggling group, who later sent it to Dhaka inside mango baskets, he said.
Missing New JMB leader Nurul Islam Marjan, who was the field-level coordinator of the July 1 cafe attack, received the consignment in Dhaka and delivered it to the krazed killer den in Bashundhara Residential Area.
"A large amount of mangoes came to Dhaka from Chapainawabganj in baskets at the time and the bully boyz took advantage of that to elude law enforcers," added the CTTC chief.
"Now, drives are underway to arrest Marjan and other mysteries of such arms smuggling will be solved soon after his arrest."
Dhaka Tribune met with an arms expert in the CTTC to ask about the recovered AK22 rifles. The official, requesting anonymity, said the recovered rifles were not originals.
"The New JMB members use modified versions. They do this to carry the rifles around easily," the official said.
"We have also come to know that the modification of these arms was done in Munger city in Bihar state of India and then they came to Chapainwabganj border," said the official.
"A seal from a factory in Bihar was found on the three AK22 rifles recovered after the Gulshan terror attack," he said.
According to law enforcement sources, use of AK22 rifles by bully boyz was also seen during a drive in Bogra on April 27, before the Gulshan attack. During the time, a krazed killer named Abdul Momin was tossed in the calaboose Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! and confessed having used the arms to conduct attack in Shia Mosque of Bogra.
Sanowar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of the CTTC, said they were now trying to learn about the arms capacity of New JMB.
Apart from the three rifles, five pistols were used in the Gulshan attack, that killed 23 people, including 17 foreigners and two police officials, on July 1.
Money for Gulshan attack came through Hundi
CTTC unit chief Monirul Islam said a total of Tk20 lakh came to Bangladesh in two phases through Hundi. On behalf of the New JMB, the fund was received by a person named Chocolate alias Basharuzzaman, a close associate of killed leader Tamim Chowdhury.
"We have identified the Hundi traders who helped the bully boyz get the money. Now we are trying to arrest them," he said.
Police not sure of Hasnat’s involvement
The CTTC unit chief yesterday said that they were not sure about the involvement of the only arrestee in Gulshan attack case, former North South University teacher Hasnat Reza Karim.
"Hasnat was interrogated in the TFI cell and our investigation officer also interrogated him," Monirul said.
"So, we can only comment clearly about his involvement after getting the TFI cell report and investigation officer’s interrogation copy together," he added.
Nothing found against Tahmid
"Tahmid Hasib Khan has been found not involved in the Holey Artisan Bakery attack in Gulshan," CTTC chief Monirul said while talking to news hounds at the DMP Media Centre yesterday.
He, however, said the investigation of the case had not ended yet and if Tahmid’s involvement was found in any part of the investigation, he would be shown arrested.
On Sunday, a Dhaka court granted Tahmid bail. Hasnat and Tahmid were arrested under section 54 on August 3.
However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... police have charged Tahmid with not giving information on the attackers. Terming Tahmid an eyewitness of the attack, the investigation officer on September 28 submitted an application to file a prosecution report under section 176 alleging uncooperativeness with the investigation despite repeated legal notices.
Tahmid Shafi’s voice in IS video
CTTC chief Monirul said voice analysis suggests that Tahmid Rahman Shafi is the narrator of the latest 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.... video that features the Gulshan restaurant attackers.
Asked about the origin of the video, Monirul said: "The video was not uploaded from Bangladesh. It was uploaded from abroad." However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... he refused to elaborate.
On September 23, the Islamic State group released a new video featuring the five forces of Evil who killed 23 people at the Gulshan restaurant.
Sweden-based journalist Tasneem Khalil had earlier posted an analysis confirming that the voice of the narrator in that video was of Shafi. Once a popular Close-Up star, Shafi also sang a motivational song in the video.
Shafi, who worked as a teacher at an English medium school before going missing in mid-2015, and two of his Bangladeshi associates spoke on camera in the first IS video released from Raqqa, Syria on July 6 hailing the Holey Artisan Bakery attack.
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10/07/2016 00:00 ||
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The next step following this report from the other day. Bets that the brothers turn out to be known wolves with ISIS connections, dear Readers?
[IsraelTimes] Belgian prosecutors charged a suspect with attempted murder Thursday over the stabbing of two coppers in a "terrorist attack" in Brussels, the latest such incident in a city still reeling from deadly bombings in March.
The suspect in Wednesday’s attack, named as 43-year-old Hicham D., has been "charged with attempted murder in a terrorist context and participation at the activities of a terrorist group," a statement from the prosecutor’s office said.
His brother, Aboubaker D, had also been taken into custody "in the framework of the terrorist attack against two coppers" in Brussels, it said. The brother was born in 1970 and both men have Belgian nationality.
"The investigating judge, specializing in terrorism, will decide tomorrow on the possible extension of his detention," the statement added.
Police shot the attacker in the leg after he used a knife to attack the two officers, one female and one male, in the Schaerbeek area of the Belgian capital before breaking the nose of a third officer.
[FREEBEACON] A former Arab member of Israel’s parliament who was forced to flee the country after he was accused of working as a top Hezbollah operative is slated to speak next week in Washington, D.C., raising questions about how he obtained permission to enter U.S. soil.
Isn't this just the frosting on the cake of the past eight years.
Azmi Bishara, who is accused by Israel’s Shin Bet secret service of helping Hezbollah plot terrorist operations, is confirmed to speak next week at Washington’s downtown Marriott hotel as part of a conference organized by The Arab Center of Washington, D.C.
An official from the Arab Center confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon that Bishara will be attending the event, raising questions about how an individual linked to a U.S.-designated sponsor of terror obtained permission to enter America.
Bishara was initially slated to speak alongside former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, who the Free Beacon has learned cancelled his appearance. The talk was to focus on the promotion of democracy in the Arab world, according to a current conference schedule.
McFaul’s image was removed from the conference’s webpage several hours after the Free Beacon made an inquiry into the event.
Bishara remains listed as a speaker.
Bishara, who has been living in Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... since he fled Israel in 2007, is accused by Israel of helping Hezbollah select targets during its 2006 assault on the Jewish state. Israel is still seeking to detain Bishara and charge him for these terror offenses. Israeli authorities have said they will arrest Bishara if he returns to the country, where he could face the death penalty, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
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10/07/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Foggy Bottom gives him a visa. I wonder who cleared that at the WH ?
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Pakistain’s Foreign Office on Thursday has reiterated its "concern" following the overriding of US President Barack Obama I inhaled. That was the point... veto on the Justice against the sponsors of terrorism act (JASTA) law passed by the Congress.
"We have noted with concern the overturning of the US Presidential veto on JASTA, a law passed by US Congress aimed at targeting sovereign states," the Foreign Office said in a statement.
It added: "Many countries across Europe and in the Middle East have also expressed similar concern over JASTA. Pakistain had earlier also expressed anguish over the adoption of a domestic legislation with extra-territorial application."
Many states, including US officials and the EU, have criticized JASTA and warned that the potential bill threatens sovereign immunity, an important principle in international law.
Former US Attorney General Michael Mukasey was the latest in slamming the Congress overturning Obama’s veto.
"We have had investigations by our intelligence agencies, by Congress, and by the 9/11 Commission. They found no evidence of Saudi government involvement or the involvement of any senior Saudi officials. And so, there is no reason for this (bill)," he said.
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10/07/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
interesting, to see who is squirming about this.
Remember how the 1970's/80's terror groups went away after the fall of the Soviet Union?
A couple of good, hard whacks on the state sponsors here should produce interesting changes in terrorist activity levels & locations.
[TRIBUNE.PK] An independent politician from Indian-Occupied Kashmire (IOK) on Wednesday said the Indian army is filming a fake operation in the Leepa valley to present as evidence of its so-called surgical strikes.
"Very credible sources confirm that the Indian army is filming videos in the Nowgam and Leepa sectors, adjacent to the border, to show as if it is carrying out covert operations in enemy territory," Engineer Rashid was quoted as telling news hounds by the Greater Kashmire newspaper. The video, he said, will be provided "as evidence to satisfy the Indian masses and the world community."
He said the BJP is staging the surgical strikes drama in order to boost Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s profile as a chief ministerial candidate for next year’s election in Uttar Pradesh (UP).
"Surgical strikes need to be understood in light of a Times of India story published in June which revealed that BJP will declare Rajnath its candidate for UP chief minister and that before doing so, Rajnath may claim to have carried out some big military operation in Kashmire."
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[TRIBUNE.PK] Army chief General Raheel Sharif ..Pak chief of army staff, meaning he pulls the strings on the Nawaz Sharif puppet to make it dance and sing and not do much at all.... said on Thursday that Indian tyranny in held-Kashmire had reached its peak.
He made the remarks while addressing passing out PAF cadets at Risalpur. He called on the world to take notice of the situation.
"India is distorting facts to hide its atrocities in Kashmire which have crossed all limits," General Raheel said. The Army chief also made it clear that any aggression from the enemy would not go unpunished as the nation’s armed forces were prepared to respond to an entire spectrum of threats.
General Raheel visits 10 Corps headquarters, reviews LoC situation
"Any aggression, a deliberate intent or even a strategic miscalculation [against Pakistain] will not go unpunished and will meet a befitting response," he remarked.
"We are highly relentless in defending our motherland against an entire spectrum of threats from the enemy distressed by our prosperity and successes." the COAS said.
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[AnNahar] World powers pledged billions of dollars for war-ravaged Afghanistan until 2020 at talks in Brussels on Wednesday amid fresh calls for the Taliban to make peace 15 years after they were driven from power.
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. .. met officials from more than 70 countries and international groups, including U.S. 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... and U.N. chief the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon, at the conference.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini announced that the 28-nation bloc will pledge 1.2 billion euros ($1.5 billion) a year and said "I would expect similar levels of engagement from our partners."
The United States and the EU currently each provide about a third of all international aid to Afghanistan, with Japan the next largest donor.
For security, NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... nations have already committed at a summit in Warsaw in July to maintain troop numbers in Afghanistan and uphold a pledge of $5 billion a year to fund local forces until 2020.
Afghanistan remains dependent on foreign aid and a limited NATO military presence, despite having improved key life indicators including maternal mortality and lifespan.
But the brutal war in Syria and the worst migration crisis since World War II have left Afghanistan facing competition for dwindling international donor funds.
Total pledges in Brussels looked set to fall short of the four billion dollars a year for four years that the international community promised for Afghanistan at the last such conference in Tokyo in 2012.
The United States has spent around $110 billion on Afghanistan's reconstruction since 2001, more than the cost of the Marshall Plan that rebuilt a devastated Europe after World War II, but with limited results.
On the eve of the conference the EU and Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... published a controversial deal to speed up Afghanistan's taking back of migrants colonists from the Europe, which faces its biggest refugee crisis since World War II.
The plan involves possibly building a dedicated terminal for deportees at Kabul airport. EU officials have however denied that aid pledges will depend on Kabul accepting the return of 80,000 asylum-seekers.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Spokesperson for the Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve Council, Lt. Colonel John L. Dorrian, stated on Wednesday that the Turkish Army in northern Iraq is not part the coalition against the 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.... of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) inside the country.
Furthermore, Lt. Colonel Dorrian went as far as to label the Turkish Army's incursion into northern Iraq as an "illegal" action that was permitted by the Iraqi government.
"The Turkish Army on Iraqi soil is illegal and has not entered the country with the official permission of the Iraqi government. Several countries that are part of the International Coalition Forces are in Iraq due to the permission of the Iraqi Government. These countries support the Iraqi Army in the fight against ISIS," Lt. Colonel Dorrian added.
This statement was released by the official media wing of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) on Wednesday; its authenticity was denied by the Daily Sabah.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iraq has requested an emergency UN Security Council session over the presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq, a Foreign Ministry front man said Thursday, a development that could further increase tension between the two neighbors.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... however, remained defiant, with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim vowing on Thursday to maintain Turkish troop presence "no matter what Baghdad says."
Yildirim on Thursday dubbed Iraq’s reaction to Turkey’s military presence at the Bashiqa army base north of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... as "incomprehensible" and the soldiers will remain there to ensure the region’s demographics do not change.
His comments, in a speech to businessmen, followed Iraqi condemnation of a Turkish decision to extend by a year the deployment of some 2,000 troops in northern Iraq. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned Turkey risked triggering a regional war.
Turkey-Iraq relations strained
Turkey-Iraq relations became strained after Ankara late last year sent troops to the region of Bashiqa, northeast of Mosul, to train anti-ISIS fighters there - a move Baghdad considers a "blatant violation" of its illusory sovereignty. Iraq has demanded Turkish withdrawal but Ankara has ignored the call.
Baghdad is now asking the Security Council for the emergency session to discuss "Turkish violations on the Iraqi soil and the interference in its internal affairs," said the ministry front man, Ahmad Jamal.
Jamal said Iraq also asked the council to "shoulder its responsibility and adopt a resolution to end to the Turkish troops’ violation of Iraq’s illusory sovereignty" and "intensify international support" ahead a major Iraqi military operation to take back Mosul from ISIS bad boys.
In Ankara, Yildirim said Turkish troops would stay in northern Iraq to prevent "efforts to forcibly change the demographic structure in the region" - an apparent reference to Turkish fears that once Mosul is liberated from ISIS, Kurds or Shiite groups may take Mosul over Sunni Arabs or Turkmens.
"It is a waste of time for the Iraqi government to focus on Turkey’s presence there, when there are troops from 63 different countries" to fight ISIS, Yildirim said.
Earlier this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... expressed Ankara’s willingness to join the imminent battle for Mosul. Yildirim later warned that the operation could spark Shiite-Sunni sectarian tensions if the majority Sunni region around Mosul were to be placed under Shiite militia control after the offensive.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wrecked scow, a single surviver held tightly to the smashed prow... Iraq’s parliament adopted a resolution denouncing the extension of Turkish troops’ presence, asking the government to consider them as "occupation forces." Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Ankara’s insistence on maintaining troops in Iraq could lead to "regional warfare."
Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, is ISIS’s last remaining urban stronghold in Iraq. The government is now gearing up for the Mosul offensive and has pledged to recapture the city from ISIS this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Earlier this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed Ankara’s willingness to join the imminent battle for Mosul.
And they will leave, when exactly? There are Turks still occupying northern Cyprus after 22 years.
h/t Instapundit
Secretary of State John Kerry accused Russia and Syrian dictator Bashar Assad of committing war crimes in their assault on rebel-held territory, including hospitals and aid workers, and called for an investigation.
"Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals, medical facilities, children and women," Kerry said before a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. "These are acts that beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes and those that commit these would and should be held accountable for these actions. They're beyond the accidental now, way beyond, years beyond the accidental. This is a targeted strategy to terrorize civilians and to kill anybody and everybody who is in the way of their military objectives." Apparently Jawn, despite being was in Vietnam, doesn't understand the international law on war crimes - you have to defeat somebody before you can try them for war crimes.
#3
These suckers (current administration) are setting us up for a war with Russia after they leave office.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
10/07/2016 16:42 Comments ||
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#4
If you were a Russian who actually got a collection of long-time Russian agents in charge of the US executive branch and department of state, would you want them to achieve peace and have Kumbaya singing all day long, or would you want them to set up the US for failure _and then start the war_?
MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Moscow was interested in a proposal made by UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura about escorting ex-Nusra fighters out of Aleppo.
Lavrov, speaking at a news conference after meeting French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, said Russian officials were carefully studying de Mistura’s idea.
France’s foreign minister told Russia there was no justification for the fierce assault on Aleppo, as Moscow said it was ready to “work on” a French-drafted UN resolution seeking to allow aid into the besieged city.
“What is happening in Aleppo is without precedent — nothing can justify such a deluge of fire and of death,” Jean-Marc Ayrault said after meeting Lavrov in Moscow. “I met Sergei Lavrov to tell him face to face that no one can tolerate this situation.”
Tensions between Russia and the US have spiked after Washington suspended talks over a cease-fire on Monday in protest at Moscow stepping up its air campaign in support of a ferocious offensive against rebel-controlled eastern Aleppo.
The US State Department acknowledged that Secretary of State John Kerry had called his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss Syria despite the announcement.
“Engagement remains,” US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
“What we talked about the other day was bilateral engagement with regard to Syria. That remains suspended, but it doesn’t preclude the Secretary of State and Foreign Minister Lavrov from talking.”
The UN has released satellite images showing most recent destruction of Aleppo. Officials with the UN’s satellite imagery program say new pictures show “an awful lot of new damage” — presumably by airstrikes.
Lars Bromley of UNOSAT says the commercial images from Digital Globe, obtained by the UN agency through an arrangement with the US State Department, show mostly “formerly blasted and blown-up areas” during Syria’s 5-1/2-year war “experiencing a great deal of additional damage.” He said in Geneva: “To a certain extent you’re looking at rubble being pushed around.”
The images mostly show before-and-after pictures from mid to late September showing destruction of buildings, including homes, after the breakdown of a short-lived US and Russia-brokered cease-fire.
President Bashar Assad said his forces would recapture all of Syria, including Aleppo, in a television interview on Thursday but added he would prefer to do so using local deals and amnesties that would allow rebels to leave for other areas.
According to the transcript of an interview with Denmark’s TV 2, he said there were no moderate rebels and that the US was using the Nusra Front, which changed its name in July and broke allegiance to Al-Qaeda, as “a card” in Syria’s war.
[ARA News] HASAKAH – Syrian Kurds in the northeastern Hasakah city buried on Thursday dozens of civilian victims who fell in an ISIS-led attack earlier this week.
At least 36 civilians were killed and 90 more injured in an Islamic State (ISIS) suicide bombing on Monday. The bomber blew himself at a Kurdish wedding party, in Hasakah city.
Thousands of people participated in the funeral ceremony in Sharji district on Thursday.
“Cowardly terrorists spill innocent blood, target Kurdish wedding in Hasakah,” Lahur Talabani, the the Director of the Zanyari and Parastin Intelligence Agency said. “We vow [that our] fight against terrorism will be unrelenting.”
“The deadly attack caused a state of panic among the people of Hasakah,” rights activist Saadoun Hame said.
“Our people have seen enough of blood. We are tired of war, we want peace” Hame told ARA News. “Those innocent people were trying to celebrate life, but the terrorists couldn’t let that happen. We need an end to this deadly conflict.”
This is not the first time that ISIS has targeted Syrian Kurds. In July, over 25 civilians were killed in an ISIS suicide bombing attack in the city of Hasakah. Another attack, also in July, killed at least 50 civilians in the city of Qamishli.
This surge of violence followed the expulsion of ISIS militants from the area at the hands of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The increasing number of civilian casualties in ISIS attacks in the area has been coupled with a sharp shortage of medical supplies. Video report at the link
Posted by: badanov ||
10/07/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Subhi al-Tufayli, the former leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah has slammed the group for its aggression in Syria.
Hezbollah joined the war in 2012 in support of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... , and has been a key player in keeping the president in power.
In a video that surfaced on the internet early this week, Tufayli called on Hezbollah fighters in Aleppo to stop their involvement in the war.
"If there is anyone honorable among you [Hezbollah], then repent and reconsider," he said, "Do not be pawns serving the US and Russia."
Tufayli, who was the first leader of Hezbollah from 1989 until 1991, accused the US and Russia of conspiring against the children of Moslems.
"Aleppo today is being destroyed like Berlin. Warplanes never leave its skies, its children are bombed night and day," Tufayli said.
The besieged east of Aleppo has come under intense aerial bombardment since a cessation of hostilities brokered by the US and Moscow collapsed last month.
Russia launched its military operation in Syria last September to back up long-time ally Bashir al-Assad to Western ire, helping to shore up the regime’s embattled forces. Whereas the US and allies back the anti-regime Syrian Rebels.
"Whoever allies with these people, American or Russian, I swear to God, he is an enemy," Tufayli said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura warned on Thursday that the eastern part of Aleppo may be "totally destroyed" by the year’s end, vowing that the international body will not allow the Syrian city to be another Rwanda or Srebrenica.
In what is known as the Rwandan genocide, an estimated 500,000‐1,000,000 Rwandans were killed in 1994. The Srebrenica massacre, meanwhile, witnessed the killing of more than 8,000 Moslem Bosnians, mainly men and boys, in and around the town of Srebrenia during the Bosnian War in 1995.
De Mistura said if Syria and Russia do not accept offer to end fighting in Aleppo, history will judge their use of turbans as an "alibi" to destroy the city.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, a new, even louder, voice was to be heard... UN humanitarian advisor Jan Egeland said at least 376 were killed and 1,266 maimed in the past two weeks in eastern Aleppo, and there is still no greenlight from the Syrian government to send aid convoys anywhere in the country in October.
De Mistura says total number of opposition fighters in eastern Aleppo is maximum is 8,000.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2016 00:00 ||
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#2
What is the UN going to do about it? Issue a VERY strongly worded memo? They won't be able to get a Security Council resolution through, Russia has veto power.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
10/07/2016 9:20 Comments ||
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#3
The Russers will be cut cold and not invited to tea for a month.
#5
I'll venture to say the UN said the same thing about Rwanda and Srebrenica. Just a guess!
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/07/2016 11:16 Comments ||
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#6
They wanted a "humanitarian ceasefire" to indefinitely prolong the bloodshed in Sri Lanka as well. Sometimes a bloody, quick amputation is the only practical course of action...
[ALMASDARNEWS] According to a report from al-Sumaria News, ISIS issued a fatwa in djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... on Tuesday to forbid indoor cat breeding.
Al Sumaria News, an Iraqi TV station, stated, "The 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.... ’s Central Fatwa Committee issued a fatwa (Islamic legal decree) prohibiting the breeding of cats inside houses in Mosul."
"ISIS called on the residents of Mosul to obey the fatwa and not violate it," Al Sumaria explained. "ISIS issued dozens of fatwas in Mosul based on its vision, ideology and beliefs," Al Sumaria added.
It is not known nor specified why ISIS issued the decree.
The Islamic State group (ISIS) relies on a central committee to issue fatwas; it is comprised of influential holy mans and figures from the terrorist group.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2016 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Recruits into the 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.... group are better educated than their average countryman, contrary to popular belief, according to a new World Bank study.
Moreover, those offering to become jacket wallahs ranked on average in the more educated group, said the newly released study titled "Economic and Social Inclusion to Prevent Violent Extremism".
The study, which aimed to identify socioeconomic traits that might explain why some are drawn to the Syria-based krazed killer group, made clear that poverty and deprivation were not at the root of support for the group.
Almost without exception, fighters joining IS's Syria and Iraq-based forces had several more years of education in their home countries -- whether in Europe, Africa or elsewhere in the Middle East -- than the average citizen.
The data shows clearly, the report said, that "poverty is not a driver of radicalization into violent extremism."
Out of 331 recruits described in a leaked Islamic State database, only 17 percent did not finish high school, while a quarter had university-level educations.
Only those from Eastern Europe were below the average, and only marginally so, according to the study.
"Foreign recruits from the Middle East, North Africa and South and East Asia are significantly more educated than what is typical in their region," the Bank report said.
About 30 percent of the recruits told the krazed killer group what positions in the force they wanted. Around one in nine volunteered for suicide operations, and their educational levels were on par with those who sought to be administrators, the report said.
"The proportions of administrators but also of suicide fighters increase with education," it said.
Most of the 331 recruits also reported having a job before traveling to join the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, according to the study.
However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... it noted that a significant number of those choosing "suicide fighter" as their preferred option when enlisting said that they had not been employed back in their home country, or that they were in the military before joining the group.
"An important finding is that these individuals are far from being uneducated or illiterate. Most claim to have attended secondary school and a large fraction have gone on to study at university," the report said.
"We find that ISIS did not recruit its foreign workforce among the poor and less educated, but rather the opposite. Instead, the lack of economic inclusion seems to explain the extent of radicalization into violent extremism."
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/07/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
"If you try to teach calculus to a dog, the dog goes mad."
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.
[Libya Herald] A Bunyan Marsous commander has rounded on the United States saying that its 
[THEWHISTLER.NG] The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has said that 
[FREEBEACON] A former Arab member of Israel’s parliament who was forced to flee the country after he was accused of working as a top Hezbollah operative is slated to speak next week in Washington, D.C., raising questions about how he obtained permission to enter U.S. soil.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Pakistain’s Foreign Office on Thursday has reiterated its "concern" following the overriding of US President 
[TRIBUNE.PK] Army chief General 
...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. ..
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
