[DAWN] The Foreign Office on Thursday asked the Afghan government to stop blaming Pakistain for its own failings as it trashed Kabul’s allegations about a Pak spy agency’s involvement in Wednesday’s terrorist attack in the capital city’s diplomatic neighbourhood as baseless.
"The onus of setbacks and failures in Afghanistan should not be blamed on Pakistain. Mere rhetoric of blaming others to hide their failures in Afghanistan will not solve the problem," FO front man Nafees Zakaria said at the weekly media briefing.
He was responding to allegations made against Pakistain’s ISI soon after the massive attack in Kabul that left at least 90 dead and hundreds maimed.
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06/03/2017 00:00 ||
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[Hurriyet Daily News] Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) head Kemal Kilicdaroglu has asked his party to prepare a report investigating The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt, as an "alternative" to the parliamentary committee’s draft report released on May 26.
"The members of the coup commission [from the CHP] should run a very meticulous work. They should find out all the relations and points left in contradiction and in darkness regarding the July 15 coup attempt. Let’s try to ensure that the public is informed regarding this matter, leaving no stone left unturned," Kilicdaroglu said during a CHP central executive meeting in Ankara on May 31.
The parliamentary coup commission report was published after work was started on it on Oct. 4, 2016. Over three months active the commission held a total of 22 meetings and listened to 51 people.
However, Switzerland makes more than cheese... opposition voices have blasted the commission as unreliable, with CHP chair Kilicdaroglu saying its report "deliberately tried to conceal the reality of the coup attempt."
"The report we will prepare should be an alternative with dissenting opinions. Our deputy friends are the injured parties of the coup attempt, so let them be involved in the cases, especially regarding the bombing of parliament. Let our friends follow all the trials on July 15. Don’t let the blood of the 249 people [killed in the coup attempt] be left on the floor," he added.
On May 31, CHP spokesperson Bulent Tezcan reiterated the party’s stance regarding the committee’s coup report. Speaking at a presser organized following the party’s central executive board meeting, Tezcan said the CHP sees the report as an attempt to "cover up the political leg of the coup."
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06/03/2017 00:00 ||
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[Hurriyet Daily News] The suspects who are currently on trial for their alleged role in the July 2016 coup attempt are playing a game of Three Monkeys but they will not be able to "escape a painful end," President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... has said.
"Even though they were caught red-handed, what are they now saying in court? The FETÖ [Fethullahist Terrorist Organization] members who have been saying ’we heard, saw and spoke no evil’ and who have their head in the sand will not be able to escape the painful end that is waiting for them," Erdogan said June 1 at his presidential palace during a gathering with local muhtars, leaders of a village or neighborhood, according to state-run Anadolu Agency.
"Who are you playing this game for?" he added.
Earlier this week, senior military officers denied their alleged involvement in FETÖ during court hearings initiated against 221 suspects in Ankara.
"You advance upon my people with F-16s, helicopters, tanks, modern weapons and then still you say, ’I haven’t seen, heard, or done anything.’ Who are you fooling? All the documents and images are out in the open. We also won’t stop following your influencers abroad; by following them step by step, we’ll make sure that they are granted the outcome they deserve," the president said.
"In their hearts, our people have already inflicted the severest punishment upon them [the suspects] for their treachery. I have no doubt that the decisions of the court, which makes decisions on behalf of our people, will end up this way," he said.
The Ankara 17th High Criminal Court began on May 22 a high-profile case against the 221 suspects, who have been accused of perpetrating the coup attempt, which is widely believed to have been orchestrated by the FETÖ.
Akin Özturk, Mehmet Partigöc and Mehmet Disli are some of the former generals who have testified in the court and denied their involvement in the putsch, arguing that there has been a campaign of manipulation against them.
"In the press, there was news that ’Akin Özturk confessed’ before I had even given a statement. This is the beginning of a persuasion operation against me. Even if the anonymous witnesses’ statements which indicate that I took part in the meetings with putschists in Cukurambar, Ankara, were lies, [the press] published them as if they were true," Özturk, the first general to read his defense, was previously quoted as saying.
On May 30, Disli, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy leader Saban Disli’s brother, made his defense at the court, again denying the accusations against him. Asked by the court why he did not phone his AKP deputy brother on the day of the coup attempt, the former general reportedly said he did not have the latter’s phone number.
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06/03/2017 00:00 ||
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See no evil (cover eyes with hands), speak no evil (cover ears with hands), hear no evil (cover mouth with hands), have no fun (cover neither regions with hands!)
[Hurriyet Daily News] President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... on June 2 filed legal papers against former Pentagon official Michael Rubin over perceived "insults."
Oh dear.
The nine-page complaint, which was lodged with the Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s office by Erdogan’s lawyer Huseyin Aydin, accused Rubin, an American Enterprise Institute (AEI) analyst, of insulting the president.
"Rubin’s illogical accusations and insulting tweets are not only a reflection of his hatred and anger toward President Erdogan but also against the Turkish Republic," Erdogan’s complaint said, according to Anadolu Agency.
Simply dreadful.
Rubin is accused of supporting and committing offenses for the Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ), which is blamed for the July 2016 failed coup attempt.
All who do not love Sultan Erdogan the much beloved are clearly either Kurds or Gulenists. Even ISIS loves Erdogan Bey, they are just a tad misguided in how they show it.
In his columns and tweets, Rubin accused the Turkish President of using the coup attempt "to purge society of political and ideological opponents."
"Support for Erdogan is in no way support for Islam and Turkish dignity. Backing Erdogan will be support for corruption and the collapse of The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ," he wrote in a tweet in Turkish.
What a clever way to show Hurriyet's readers what the world thinks of their tyrant.
In another column on the AEI website, he said, "Erdogan has nobody to blame for the coup but himself," adding that the president’s foreign policy of "no problems with neighbors" had caused problems with "almost every neighbor."
In a story titled "Extradite Gulen? Really?" Rubin wrote: "What’s going on isn’t about Gulen. It’s a power play [of Erdogan]."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/03/2017 00:00 ||
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[PJ] Why, they published it, of course. What else did you expect?
WASHINGTON -- He is known as the Dark Prince or Ayatollah Mike, nicknames he earned as the Central Intelligence Agency officer who oversaw the hunt for Osama bin Laden and the American drone strike campaign that killed thousands of Islamist militants and hundreds of civilians.
Now the official, ------- -------, has a new job. He is running the C.I.A.’s Iran operations, according to current and former intelligence officials, an appointment that is the first major sign that the Trump administration is invoking the hard line the president took against Iran during his campaign.
Yes, I blanked out his name. Yes, you can see it in the Times article. And yes, I know the Times had publicized his name in the past.
#4
Don't they think at the NYT or is it taken for granted the CIA has no secrets that Iran already doesn't know ? Perhaps it was common knowledge that Iran already knew?
Even IF they Iranian Intel people don't know, they know now. The NYT is so friendly and loyal to American interests. The NYT is a fountain of patriotism as everyone is well aware.
#5
Leaking the identity of a spy got a Bush official time in the pokey, even though said spy or spies had themselves self identified before the event. Time to haul the NYT reporters again before a grand jury. We have precedent.
#6
Someone inside the IC felt this guy was too hard a threat against Iran. That someone needs to be found and dealt with very harshly. This is betrayal at the level of treason, even for democrats. As for the NYT, they are scum....
BLUF: [LI] "He is a faker," she said of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, going point by point, as if presenting a legal brief. "He has no consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment. He really has an ego. ... How has he gotten away with not turning over his tax returns? The press seems to be very gentle with him on that." ....
"At first I thought it was funny," she [Ginsburg] said of Trump’s early candidacy. "To think that there’s a possibility that he could be president ... " Her voice trailed off gloomily.
"I think he has gotten so much free publicity," she added, drawing a contrast between what she believes is tougher media treatment of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and returning to an overriding complaint: "Every other presidential candidate has turned over tax returns."
That July 2016 CNN lashing of Trump was not a one-off. Justice Ginsburg made two other negative public statements about Trump during the campaign (via Politifact):
#1
The Administration should quietly encourage the high court to ask that she recuse herself. If she refuses, go public for her ouster. Either way, an 'Art of the Deal' Win-Win.
Posted by: Regular joe ||
06/03/2017 12:06 Comments ||
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#5
If she refuses to recluse herself because of the statements she made during the campaign - and then rules against the ban because of the statements Trump made... that would be the definition of hyproracy.
But as you said, they have no shame and the MSM will provide whatever cover she needs.
[Miami Herald] ISLAMABAD Pakistan has frozen the accounts of 5,000 suspected terrorists, taking about $3 million out of their pockets, but Islamabad could still come under scrutiny at a crucial June meeting of an international watchdog that tracks terror financing.
Analysts and government officials say political foot-dragging and sympathetic supporters throughout Pakistan makes it difficult to cut off the money supply to banned terrorist groups.
Next month in Spain, the Financial Action Task Force will update its assessment of "high-risk and non-cooperative jurisdictions," Alexandra Wijmenga-Daniel of the task force's communications department said in an email. She did not offer any specifics.
The 35-nation intergovernmental organization was formed in 1989 to combat money laundering. After 9/11, it also took on the role of fighting the financing of terrorism. Getting on the task force's "black list" could hurt a country's ability to borrow, if its banking system is considered a money laundering haven.
In 2015, Pakistan was exempted from its scrutiny after a similar session applauded the country's progress in tackling both money laundering and terrorist financing.
However, concerns have been raised by the resurrection of banned groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba under new names. Also worrying is the relative ease with which groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed appear to operate, openly running Islamic seminaries and fundraising.
[DAWN] Conceding that the recent US-Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh widened the sectarian divide in the world, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj PrunefaceAziz ...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in good jihadis and bad jihadis as a matter of national policy... observed on Thursday that Pakistain would have to tread carefully in pursuing efforts for greater unity.
While addressing the Senate on a calling attention notice concerning the mandate of the 41-nation military alliance, Mr Aziz ruled out the possibility of an attack on Iran by the coalition. He said the Saudi foreign minister had clarified that the coalition members would be free to decide the activities they wanted to participate in. These activities included political consultations, intelligence-sharing, capacity-building, building counter-narratives and military cooperation.
He made it clear that the parliament’s resolution of April 10, 2015 would continue to serve as a guideline for Pakistain to maintain a balanced position in regional conflicts. He said that Pakistain would support the territorial integrity of 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 protect the sanctity of Harmain Sharifain. "We will not do anything in deviation of the resolution," he assured the house.
He said the military coalition’s terms of reference were yet to be finalised, and added that statements by Saudi authorities would not become ToR.
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06/03/2017 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Jaish al-Islam ...Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) was established by Zahran Alloush, the son of Saudi-based religious scholar Abdullah Mohammed Alloush, after Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011 where he had been serving time for his Salafist activism. The group claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 2012 Damascus bombing that killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani. It was a driving force behind actions in the Damascus region. It cooperated and conducted joint operations with al-Nusra. In Sptember 2013 Saudi Arabia engineered Liwa al-Islam's merger with fifty other more or less Salafist groups as a counterweight to al-Nusra, which the Learned Elders of Islam considered was growing too powereful... ’s (Army of Islam) official front man, Islam ’Alloush, has announced his resignation from the Islamist group on Friday.
While no reason was given by ’Alloush, he did state that Jaish al-Islam’s leadership has accepted his resignation.
The former front man of Jaish al-Islam added that he will be known by his real name, Majdi Noumeh, from this day forward.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/03/2017 00:00 ||
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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.
[Hurriyet Daily News] The suspects who are currently on trial for their alleged role in the July 2016 coup attempt are playing a game of Three Monkeys but they will not be able to "escape a painful end," President 
[Hurriyet Daily News] President 
...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in 
...Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) was established by Zahran Alloush, the son of Saudi-based religious scholar Abdullah Mohammed Alloush, after Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011 where he had been serving time for his Salafist activism. The group claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 2012 Damascus bombing that killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani. It was a driving force behind actions in the Damascus region. It cooperated and conducted joint operations with al-Nusra. In Sptember 2013 Saudi Arabia engineered Liwa al-Islam's merger with fifty other more or less Salafist groups as a counterweight to al-Nusra, which the Learned Elders of Islam considered was growing too powereful...
