[Al Ahram] Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it. has issued a decree banning political parties from holding meetings without permission from the authorities, the official SUNA news agency reported.
The decree comes just a week after Bashir assured a meeting of party leaders they had freedom to operate in the run-up to a "national dialogue" he has promised to hold to address urgent demands for change in his 25-year regime.
"No political party has the right to hold meetings and conferences inside their areas without first obtaining permission from the relevant authorities," SUNA late on Monday reported the decree as reading.
At the 6 April meeting in Khartoum, Bashir assured party leaders they were free to conduct activities inside or outside their offices, "according to law".
A day later, however, the Reform Now party said security agents had prevented it from holding a discussion forum and had detained the leader of its student wing, Emad Al-Dien Hashim.
Reform Now was formed in December by Bashir's ex-adviser Ghazi Salahuddin Atabani after the ruling National Congress Party ousted him.
Critics have said Bashir's political dialogue is just a way for the elite to hang on to power without properly addressing the country's problems.
An alliance of small opposition parties has refused to join the dialogue, which Bashir announced in January, unless the government meets several conditions.
These include declaring a ceasefire with the country's armed rebels, and abolishing all laws that restrict freedoms.
The Revolutionary Front, which comprises bad boy groups from Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur, on Sunday rejected participation in the dialogue, describing it as a "farce".
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[Shabelle] The Minister of Information for the Somali Federal Cabinet Mustaf Sheikh Ali Dhuhulow, participated in a special ceremony in London hosted by the Somali community residing in England. During the gathering, the Minister updated the audience on the development of Somalia's security as well as highlighting the positive progress it is going through.
The Minister explained that Al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... are on their last legacy with the majority surrendering themselves to the government, and that the rest will be eliminated by the military offensives launched by the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali National Army.
"The gunnies of Al-Shabaab that are staging stealth attacks in Mogadishu are a minority; with the greater part of the Islamist bully boyz in the process of being eradicated." Mentioned Dhuhulow
The speech by the Minister comes at a time when the Somali National Army backed by the AMISOM force are performing their military offensives to wipe out the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab terrorist cell.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Hat tip to AMISOM and a hearty thank you to Mustafa for his excellent run-down. Counter-Al Shabaab patrolling and offensive operations should continue for another 60 months or so, followed by an on the ground tactical assessment. Let us know when you wish your next MRE shipment to arrive.
[An Nahar] An Egyptian court on Tuesday banned members of ousted President Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... 's Moslem Brüderbund from running in upcoming elections, a lawyer and state media said.
Egypt's military-installed authorities are engaged in a deadly crackdown against the Islamist movement, which swept elections in Egypt after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... in 2011 but is now blacklisted as a "terrorist group."
A court in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria ordered authorities to bar any candidacies from Brotherhood members or former members in presidential and parliamentary elections
The ruling came after a group of private citizens who have protested against the Brotherhood filed a petition calling for the ban.
"It is illogical to receive such candidacies after the government designated the Brotherhood a terrorist organization," Tareq Mahmoud, a lawyer from the group, told AFP.
"We submitted videos, photos and documents showing terrorist acts carried out by the Moslem Brüderbund, which is why it is illogical that they lead the country or represent its people in elections."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[MAGHAREBIA] Fugitive terrorist Mokhtar Belmokhtar is hiding in Libya, AFP reported on Monday (April 14th), citing a Malian security source.
"For some time, we have had evidence that Mokhtar Belmokhtar, one of the most dangerous Algerian Islamists, who operated in northern Mali, has gone to Libya to avoid being tossed in the clink Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! or killed," the source said.
"From the Libyan territory, he intends to control the entire Sahel," the source added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[CNN] A new video shows what looks like the largest and most dangerous gathering of al Qaeda in years. And the CIA and the Pentagon either didn't know about it or couldn't get a drone there in time to strike.
In the middle of the clip, the man known as al Qaeda's crown prince, Nasir al-Wuhayshi, appears brazenly out in the open, greeting followers in Yemen. Al-Wuhayshi, the No. 2 leader of al Qaeda globally and the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has said he wants to attack the United States.
The video started appearing on jihadist websites recently, drawing the attention of U.S. officials and global terrorism experts. U.S. officials say they believe it's authentic.
The video shows al-Wuhayshi addressing more than 100 fighters somewhere within Yemen, a restive nation on the southwestern portion of the Arabian Peninsula, said Paul Cruickshank, CNN terrorism analyst.
U.S. officials believe the highly produced video is recent. With some fighters faces blurred, there is worry it signals a new round of plotting.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also known as AQAP, is considered the most dangerous al Qaeda affiliate. The CIA and the Pentagon have repeatedly killed AQAP leaders with drone strikes. But the group is now emboldened.
"The main problem about this group is that it has a bomb maker who can put bombs on to planes that can't be detected," Bergen said.
That bomb maker, Ibrahim al-Asiri, is believed to be responsible for several attack attempts against the United States, including the failed 2009 Christmas Day underwear bomber attack in bankrupt, increasingly impoverished, reliably Democrat, Detroit ... ruled by Democrats since 1962. A city whose Golden Age included the Purple Gang....
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/16/2014 05:20 ||
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#1
The Feds should of surrounded them with 200+ lawmen and taken all their camels.
#4
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" that leaks tied to Yemen have affected U.S. intelligence collection, but he said he couldn't say whether U.S. intelligence knew about the meeting.
Unsettling indeed. Rogers couldn't say could he? Perhaps he'd have to kill us. He should have asked his wife Kristi, she's obviously got connections. Perhaps Mike Morell could be called in to blame the FBI. If not he, then some "retired" former Klingon.
The car park for over 100 attendees went unnoticed did it? Nobody called home upon their arrival? Well then, was it an 'identify parade' with faces in the video being racked and stacked for future work, then blotted out?
#5
Maybe no bombs were sent because 'we' called the meeting? There is a chance we infiltrated the top line management and need to get intel on the outer/rebuilt network players and locations.
#9
No problemo. FBI, CIA, IRS, ATF, BLM and NSA has it all covered (when they care spare time from checking on conservative American citizens, ranchers, ex-military, gun owners and the Tea Party).
[Ynet] State media in the United Arab Emirates says Dubai's ruler has welcomed the Iranian foreign minister at his palace, a sign of warming ties between the two countries.
News agency WAM says Dubai ruler Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif discussed bilateral relations and regional developments Tuesday.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/16/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Right next door to Yemen + AQAP/AQIY Leader Nasser al-Wuhaishi whom has just threatend to attack + eliminate the US, + any + all "Western Crusaders" everywhere.
Wouldn't it be NOT-ALANIS IRONIC iff Shia Rising Iran saves the US from AQAP/AQIY + new 9-11???
#1
Was CIA Chief David Petraeus Firing Due to Benghazi?
CIA boss David Petraeus suddenly resigned, admitting to an affair. But Petraeus was scheduled to testify under oath the next week before power House and Senate committees regarding the Benghazi consulate. Many speculate that it wasnt an affair but the desire to avoid testifying on Benghazi which was the real reason for Petraeus sudden resignation.
BS flag down on the above para. I cannot imagine Petreaus voluntarily 'taking one for the team' under such a sordid, scheme. I DO think he could have been honey trapped by the regime however.
The balance of the article is entirely plausible and has been cussed and discussed here at great length. In fact, the British [MI6] piece in para 2, ie, the potential Aegis LLC and Blue Mountain Security connection was discussed just last week.
The consulates only mission was to provide cover for the moving of arms, the former intelligence official, who has read the annex, said. It had no real political role.
If the consulate had a mission, an actual diplomatic role, or the regime had even a passing interest in 'find the real killers,' why wasn't it re-opened and re-staffed?
#2
What makes it 'huge' is the actions by the Permanent Party Propaganda Ministry to send it all down the memory hole. By their inaction they've removed all pretense of being anything but a party machine. Mouth of Sauron, indeed.
Sounds like a job for [I used to be a Congressman] and future "memory hole" Minister of Information Mike Rogers. Hey, if Bill O'Reilly can make $7m per year, think wat I can do with my connections. O'Reilly is only making money on one end, I can make shi*loads of money on BOTH ends.
Lean forward attentively, never smile, and always remind the audience of my former FBI employment. What could go wrong.
#4
Many have speculated that if normal security measures werent taken to protect the Benghazi consulate or to rescue ambassador Stevens it was because the CIA was trying to keep an extremely low profile to protect its cover of being a normal State Department operation.
So we would normally move heaven and earth to save a CIA operation but would leave an embassy to the wolves so as not to call attention to the CIA operation? The argument is a non sequitur.
[Ynet] A special New York Police Department unit that sparked controversy by tracking the daily lives of Mohammedans in an effort to detect terror threats has been disbanded, police officials said Tuesday.
NYPD front man Stephen Davis confirmed that detectives assigned to the unit had been transferred to other duties within the department's Intelligence Division.
#4
NYers can congratulate themselves on their Progressive Passivity Tolerance after the next attack
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/16/2014 10:12 Comments ||
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#5
Well, we must not sacrifice diversity for the sake of a few lives.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/16/2014 11:34 Comments ||
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#6
Rice bowl tipping:
The NYPD's counterterror intelligence collection and monitoring efforts have been under attack by the Feds almost since the smoke cleared on 9/11. One of the sticking points, and there ar many, is the NYPD's coordination with foreign law enforcement and intelligence entities. As you may recall, the Boston PD provided congressional testimony that they had no prior knowledge of the Tsarneav Bros. The NYPD was reportedly clueless as well.
The FBI maintains proponency for the Joint Terrorism Task Forces [JTTF]. The JTTF process includes local law enforcement, but access is not all inclusive. Some kimonos never open.
[DAWN] Sardar Mehtab Khan Abbasi, who took oath as the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday, has said there is no harm in granting amnesty to militants if they submit to the Constitution.
Talking to journalists at the Governor's House, Sardar Mehtab said people involved in militancy had become hostage to the situation and their families were facing severe hardship. Many of them might be fed up with the situations, but were not able to find a way out, he added.
"I think the government should grant a general pardon," the governor said. None o' that bullcrap about the Blood of Moslems® crying out for vengeance.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Afghan Taliban front man Zabiullah Mujahid on Tuesday denied that any pamphlets had been distributed by the group in the name of their leader Mullah Mohammad Omar that had called for seeking guidance from the Holy Koran to resolve differences between two rival factions of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain.
In an email, Mujahid said there was no truth in the association of the pamphlet with Omar, adding that the leadership of the Afghan Taliban had no knowledge of it.
He said the pamphlets appear to have been taken out by local group(s) and had no association with the Afghan Taliban leadership.
The pamphlet, apparently quoting Omar, had called for seeking guidance from the Holy Koran to resolve differences between TTP's Khan Said and Sheheryar groups amid reports of rifts widening between the two.
The pamphlet which was written in Pashto carried Omar's name and was issued in Miranshah ... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas... (North Wazoo) on Monday.
Stating that there were serious differences among fighters of the Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan, the pamphlet had asked them to recite verses from Koran to end hostilities.
Clashes between the Khan Said and Sheheryar groups have left a large number of gunnies dead and injured.
The two groups are fighting to capture the TTP leadership in South Waziristan.
Sheheryar has refused to accept Khan Said alias Sajna as chief of TTP's Mehsud gunnies and has declared himself as their leader.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] Diplomats say the UN will certify later this week that Iran's ability to make a nuclear bomb has been reduced because it has neutralized half of its material that can be turned quickly into weapons-grade uranium.
The move is part of Iran's commitments under a deal that mandates nuclear concessions by Tehran in exchange for a partial lifting of sanctions crippling its economy.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/16/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Plus in exchange for helping the US-Allies contain, destroy, or otherwise defeat the [mainly Sunni] Al-Qaeda Boyz + aligned in the Middle East, in coordination wid Baby Assad = Syria.
No doubt he's right, since only Congress and Israel actually care about the consequences.
[Ynet] Iranian president blames 'brutal sanctions' and Ahmadinejad for economic hardship, claims nuclear talks will show 'what has been said about Iran is a lie.'
President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday international sanctions on Iran would unravel in months following negotiations with world powers on its nuclear program, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Some international sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear program have been eased temporarily after a deal was reached last year with world powers, but Washington has said the lifting of sanctions can only happen "in total" after a comprehensive deal is reached.
"With your support, this government has taken the first steps towards the lifting of the brutal sanctions... We will witness the sanctions shattering in the coming months," Rouhani told a crowd during a tour of Sistan-Baluchestan, a restive underdeveloped province bordering Pakistain.
"Today we already see the sanctions unraveling," he said, according to IRNA, referring to the modest easing of sanctions in return for concessions made by Rouhani's government in nuclear talks with world powers.
World powers want Iran to curb its nuclear activity, which Western nations fear is aimed at giving Tehran the capability to make a nuclear weapon. Iran denies that, saying its nuclear program is only for power generation and civilian uses.
The sanctions have bitten deeply. In late 2012, Iran's economy was losing billions of dollars per month as sanctions slashed oil sales. Its currency plunged, inflation jumped and the economy went into recession.
Interim deal
In an interim deal with Iran reached in November, US and EU negotiators agreed to lift sanctions on sectors such as petrochemicals and precious metals for six months, with broader sanctions relief if Iran agrees to permanent curbs on its nuclear program.
The president blamed both the sanctions and "tactless policies" by the previous hard-line administration of Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad for the economic hardship faced by his nation.
"Due to the brutal sanctions and unwise administration, our country has faced myriad problems in the past years... but we will break down the inhuman sanctions," Rouhani said.
"We will prove to the world through these negotiations that what has been said about Iran is a lie. Iran has never pursued nuclear weapons and never will."
Negotiators from Iran and the so-called P5+1 -- the United States, Russia, China, Britannia, La Belle France and Germany -- met in Vienna last week to start drafting a long-term agreement on settling their decade-old nuclear dispute by a July 20 deadline.
Western powers, along with Russia and China, want to prevent tensions in the Middle East from boiling over into a wider war or triggering a regional nuclear arms race.
Iran exported oil at levels higher than allowed under the sanctions for a fourth straight month in February, ship loading data seen by Rooters showed, raising the risk of a crackdown if Washington feels economic pressure is being relaxed too quickly. Iran's main clients are mostly in Asia.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/16/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
May have begun unraveling already???
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > RUSSIA ACKNOWLEDGES NO SANCTIONS ON IRAN.
[Iran Press TV] The pro-Israeli government of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is making diplomatic and military preparations for military intervention in Syria, leaked documents show.
Yep. And they're going to send in spy squirrels to prepare the battlefield. Nobody expects the squirrel inquisition!
Canada's National Defense has drawn up at least five scenarios for the country's military mission in Syria, according to documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen.
In one scenario, Canada recognizes "a legitimate armed opposition group" fighting to overthrow the government of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... .
To justify a war on Syria, the National Defense alludes to "the rapidly deteriorating conditions in Syria, its impact on neighboring countries and ... the importance of Middle East stability."
Daniel Blouin, front man for the National Defense, has described such plans as "routine to significant international events."
Separate documents reveal that Canada has been training alternatives to Assad's government.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2014 00:00 ||
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#3
The Canucks are all vigorous, rollicking
Lumberjacks and jills fruitfully frolicking
Over mountain and prairie!
That's the rule, but some vary,
And require Yanks' poetical bollocking.
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.
Wazoo
[Iran Press TV] The pro-Israeli government of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is making diplomatic and military preparations for military intervention in Syria, leaked documents show.
