NAIROBI, Kenya: East African officials are considering having Ethiopian troops join the war in Somalia to create a third front against Al-Qaeda linked insurgents, officials said Friday, as around 400 Kenyan soldiers moved to the border to push toward a key Somali town.
International interest in famine-hit, war-ravaged Somalia is at the highest it has been for a generation, since US troops arrived in 1992 to help safeguard humanitarian shipments following the collapse of the Somali government. US involvement, and that of a subsequent UN mission, ended abruptly in 1993 after Somali fighters shot down two US Black Hawk helicopters, killing 18 American servicemen.
Now theres another build up of international forces, and another famine. But its not clear that those intervening in the war have a plan to effectively govern any territory they take. Many analysts say the insurgency only flourishes because of corruption and abuses by the government.
Taking towns is the easy part. Then you have to hold them and provide security and make them nice places to live, said Roger Middleton, a Somalia expert at London-based think tank Chatham House. Islamist organizations have been defeated militarily quite a few times but the hardcore leadership always comes back because they are one of the few people with a political vision that goes beyond their clan or subclan.
Kenyan troops pushed across the border with Somalia into insurgent territory in the south last month, following a string of attacks by Somali gunmen on Kenyan soil. The same month, 9,000 African Union peacekeepers supporting the weak UN-backed government squeezed the Islamists out of the capital of Mogadishu for the first time in four years.
If Ethiopian troops cross into Somalia in substantial numbers, it would further stretch the Islamist Al-Shabab militia by opening a third front. But it could also hand the Islamists a propaganda victory because Ethiopian forces are wildly unpopular in Somalia.
Al-Shabab was born of the remnants of the Islamic Courts Union, which seized control of much of southern Somalia in 2006 by clamping down on abusive warlords and using Islam to unite warring clans. But the Ethiopians worried the Islamists had designs on Ethiopian territory that is ethnically Somali and the US was concerned the Somali Islamists were harboring terrorists. The Ethiopians entered the country at the end of 2006 and drove the Islamists from power.
In response, the Islamists launched an insurgent campaign of bombings and guerrilla attacks. Residents say the Ethiopians reacted by mortaring civilian neighborhoods and shooting wildly whenever they were attacked.
The Ethiopians left in 2009 as part of a deal that established the current African Union force and brought President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed into power. Ahmed was a former Islamist leader who made his name fighting the Ethiopians.
Spokesmen for the African Union and Kenyan military said Ethiopias possible role in the conflict is still being discussed, but declined to rule out an Ethiopian intervention.
The issue is, after Kenya has gone in, how does the mission proceed? said Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda, the spokesman for the AU force in Somalia. There had been meetings this week in the Ethiopian capital, he said, where East African leaders had discussed greater regional involvement in Somalia by countries that included Ethiopia.
Ethiopian intervention in Somalia was also allowed under regional agreements, a Kenyan military spokesman said.
Ethiopia is supposed to build (military) capacity in Somalia. That could apply to cross-border operations, said Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir.
Ethiopian officials could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday.
Ethiopian troops frequently make small incursions across the border and support friendly Somalia militias. Ethiopian troops and Somali government troops carried out joint exercises in the Somali town of Belet Weyne, near the border.
If Ethiopia does send substantial numbers of troops, it could help energize Al-Shabab, which has been weakened by infighting and a famine in its southern strongholds, said Middleton.
Ethiopia is the number one boogeyman in Somalia, he said. An intervention could help feed a narrative of foreign invasion and Christian invasion.
Burundi and Uganda the two countries contributing troops to the AU force are predominantly Christian, as is Kenya. Ethiopia has large numbers of Christians and Muslims. Somalia is almost entirely Muslim.
Kenyan troops have not faced any significant resistance in Somalia, but they might be about to begin their first serious fight.
A local official said around 400 Kenyan soldiers arrived Friday morning in the Kenyan border town of Liboi along with helicopters, light aircraft and other equipment. He says they were sent to help take Afmadow, a Somali town that has been heavily fortified by Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents. Afmadow is on the way to the port city of Kismayo, which provides the bulk of Al-Shababs revenues.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/19/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Again?
Didn't they already do that once a couple of years ago?
#3
They did do it a couple years ago and they broke the Islamic Courts. Al-Shabaab is built around Islamic Courts remnants. After al-Shabaab's been destroyed -- it looks like it will be -- something else will form around its remnants and continue the Islamic anarchy. Count on it.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2011 8:48 Comments ||
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#4
Burundi and Uganda -- the two countries contributing troops to the AU force -- are predominantly Christian, as is Kenya. Ethiopia has large numbers of Christians and Muslims. Somalia is almost entirely Muslim.
There's an important point in that paragraph, and it's not geographic.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] President Museveni has called on Sudanese 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. to end "aggression" against the South.
He urged the Khartoum government to back off South Sudan stating that President Bashir must abide by the 2005 peace agreements ending decades of conflict between the North and South.
At a joint news conference with South Sudan leader Salva Kiir, the Ugandan leader said Khartoum cannot make the "mistake of managing Sudan as an Arab country and yet it is Afro-Arab."
South Sudan blames the North over recent attacks on the continent's newest country, that became autonomous following a referendum in July 2011. (READ: South Sudan accuses Khartoum of fresh bombing)
A statement from President Museveni's office said South Sudan people had "voted twice democratically" expressing their right of self-determination.
Salva Kiir is in Uganda for a two day State visit. While officials remained tight lipped over the agenda of the visit, sources confided to the Nation that regional security was top on the agenda.
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11/19/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tripoli Post] British foreign secretary William Hague revealed that British intelligence agencies thwarted an liquidation attempt on members of Libya's National Transitional Council by former Libyan leader Muammar Al Qadaffy. ... one of those little rainstorms from the Arab Spring... In a public speech on the work of the British intelligence agencies, which he described as "vital assets" with a "fundamental and indispensable role" in keeping the nation safe, Mr Hague said that after discovering details of the planned attack UK intelligence agencies were able to warn the National Transitional Council in Benghazi. He said the attacks, planned for early spring this year by the head of Libyan intelligence, would have involved a car or suicide bomb.
Mr Hague made the disclosure as he praised the work of MI6 and other British intelligence agencies, which include the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, and the electronic "listening" agency GCHQ. He said he had seen 'daily' examples of how the professionalism of the secret services had saved the lives of Britons. They had also played a vital role in the struggle that toppled the Al Qadaffy regime, he said.
Speaking at the foreign office about the bomb plot, Mr Hague said: 'The Al Qadaffy regime tried to attack the National Transitional Council in Benghazi, and to kill some of the Western representatives in Libya.
'He went on to say that the agencies were able to warn the NTC of the threat and the attacks were prevented.'
He added: 'We should be proud of Britannia's role in securing intervention in Libya to protect civilians and stop Al Qadaffy from massacring his own people. This diplomatic and military success was also backed by effective intelligence.
Mr Hague said that throughout the conflict in Libya, the agencies used their global capabilities to provide insight into the intentions of pro-Al Qadaffy forces and to understand the progress of the battles around Brega, Misrata and finally Tripoli.
"They worked to identify key political figures, develop contacts with the emerging opposition and provide political and military intelligence. Most importantly, they saved lives.
He also revealed that British nationals had been foiled in a bomb plot to attack this country after they travelled abroad for terrorist training.
He also spoke of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ work in helping to defend the UK from cyber attacks by terrorists. He said all three work closely together and with others around the world to safeguard the security and national interests of the UK against those who try to steal our confidential information in cyberspace.
At the same time he acknowledged that Britannia's reputation in the world had been damaged by allegations that M15 and M16 officers had bee too close to the former Libyan regime and was involved in the extraordinary rendition of anti-Al Qadaffy activists. He said the Government was determined to tackle the issue,
'The very making of these allegations undermined Britannia's standing in the world as a country that upholds international law and abhors torture,' Mr Hague said.
He also strongly defended controversial proposals to hold secret court hearings in civil cases when evidence involving sensitive intelligence material was being discussed, saying that in "exceptional instances".
He said said that it was essential the agencies were able to protect their sources and their methods if they were to carry out their work effectively. "A blend of people, technology and partnerships give us an intelligence edge. If our techniques come to light, adversaries benefit and are able to switch techniques and communications resulting in a loss of knowledge about their plans," he said.
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11/19/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tripoli Post] To a colourful group of Americans - the Washington terrorism expert, the veteran CIA officer, the Republican operative, the Kansas City lawyer - the Libyan gambit last March looked like a rare business opportunity, is how The New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... introduced am interesting report, entitled: Group in US Hoped for Big Payday in Offer to Help Al Qadaffy ... who is now napping peacefully in the dirt...
It goes on to report that even as NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... bombed Libya, the Americans offered to make Col. Muammar Al Qadaffy their client - and charge him a hefty consulting fee. Their price: a $10 million retainer before beginning negotiations with Colonel Al Qadaffy's representatives.
The newspaper reported that a draft contract, with capital letters for emphasis, had been prepared that said: "The fees and payments set forth in this contract are MINIMUM NON-REFUNDABLE FEES. The fees are an inducement for the ATTORNEYS AND ADVISORS to take the case and nothing else."
Neil C. Livingstone, 65, the terrorism specialist and consultant, told NYT that he helped put together the deal after hearing that one of Al Qadaffy's sons, Seif al-Islam was interested in an exit strategy for the family. Mr Livingstone said that he and his partners were not going to work for free. "We were not an eleemosynary organization," he told the US daily.
Mr. Livingstone, a television commentator and prolific author moved home to Montana this year to try a run for governor. He said he had long been a vocal critic of the former Libyan dictator and was briefly tossed in the slammer by the Libyan regime on a visit to Libya in the 1970s. The goal of the consulting deal, he insisted, was not to save Al Qadaffy but to prevent a bloodbath in Libya by creating a quick way out for the ruler and his family.
"The idea was to find them an Arabic-speaking sanctuary and let them keep some money, in return for getting out," he said. The consultants promised to help free billions of dollars in blocked Libyan assets by steering the government into compliance with United Nations ...an international organization whose stated aims of facilitating interational security involves making sure that nobody with live ammo is offended unless it's a civilized country... resolutions.
But the Americans did not get the Treasury Department license they needed to accept payment from Libya, which was then subject to sanctions.
Now the confidential documents describing the proposed deal have surfaced on the Internet.
The papers revealed a three-page letter addressed to Al Qadaffy on April 17 by another partner in the proposed deal, a Belgian named Dirk Borgers, who offered the former Libyan leader the lobbying services of what he called the "American Action Group" to outmanoeuvre the rebels and win United States government support.
Noting that the rebels' Transitional National Council was gaining control of Libyan assets abroad, and attaching a registration form showing that the rebels had engaged their own lobbyists, Mr. Borgers said it was time for Al Qadaffy to fight back with his own Washington representatives.
"Our group of Libyan sympathisers is extremely worried about this and we would like to help to block the actions of your international enemies and to support a normal working relationship with the United States Government," the letter said. "Therefore it is absolutely required to speak officially and with one strong voice with the American Government."
Mr. Borgers. 68, ended the letter with the words "Your Obedient Servants," signing his own name and adding those of the four Americans.
In the letter, Mr. Borgers described Mr Livingstone in the proposal as the "recognised best American anti-terrorism expert"..
But Mr. Livingstone told the NYT that he had never seen the letter before this week and that it distorted his intentions. "That doesn't reflect our view at all," Mr. Livingstone said. "Our whole goal was to get the Al Qadaffys out of there as fast as possible."
Another member of the proposed American team is Marty Martin, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer who led the agency's Al Qaeda department from 2002 to 2004 and retired from the CIA in 2007. He said he too, was chagrined to see Mr. Borgers's letter this week.
Mr Marting was reported saying: "We were not there to be lobbyists for Al Qatahafi. I was not told anything about that letter."
The other American partners were Neil S. Alpert, who had worked for the Republican National Committee and the pro-Israel lobbying group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and Kansas City lawyer Randell K. Wood who, according to the report, has represented Libyan officials and organizations since the 1980s. (Neither Mr. Alpert nor Mr. Wood would comment)
Reached at his home in Belgium by the newspaper, Mr. Borgers, dismissed his former partners' complaints about his letter to Colonel Al Qadaffy - though he said he "might not" have shared its text with them.
"Let's not argue about semantics," he said. He was in Tripoli at the time, he said, watching the chaos and violence escalate, and he thought Al Qadaffy should remain in power at least until an election could be held. He said he, too, wanted to "stop the butchering," but he offered a positive spin on Al Qadaffy's record.
"I don't think he was that brutal a dictator," Mr. Borgers said. "He created a country out of nothing over 42 years. He created a very good lifestyle for the people."
Of the $10 million fee the group sought, Mr. Borgers said, "The aim was not to make money." On the other hand, he added, "If you want to put up a serious operation in Washington, I think you need at least $10 million."
Mr. Borgers said he was a project engineer who had worked on infrastructure projects in many countries. He added that he was told by Libyan officials a week after sending his letter to Al Qadaffy that the proposal had been rejected. He said he had no idea if the former leader saw it.
Seven months after the $10 million deal that was not to be, Al Qadaffy is dead, while his son Seif al-Islam is believed to be in hiding. Mr. Livingstone is focused on the problems of Montana, and Mr. Borgers said he was "trying to retire."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda party and its two coalition partners have reached agreement in principle to share out the top three government posts between them, senior sources from two coalition parties told Rooters on Friday.
Under the deal, the most powerful post, of prime minister, will go to Hamadi Jbeli, secretary-general of the Islamist Ennahda party which won last month's election, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity. ... for fear of being murdered...
Moncef Marzouki, leader of the secularist Congress for the Republic, a junior coalition partner, is to be named Tunisian president, and Mustafa Ben Jaafar, leader of third coalition partner Ettakatol, will be speaker of the constitutional assembly, the sources said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2011 00:00 ||
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[Nigerian Tribune] As the turban group, Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. Currently wearing a false nose and moustache and answering to Jama'atu Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda'Awati Wal Jihad, or Big Louie... , continues its bombing of strategic places in the country, the World Investment Report (WIR) of the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Conference Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said that the domestic economy has lost a whopping sum of N1.33 trillion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) owing to the problem.
According to the report, FDI flows to Nigeria fell to $6.1 billion (N933.3 billion) in 2010, a decline of about 29 per cent from the $8.65 billion (N1.33 trillion) realised in 2009 fiscal year.
The report obtained by Saturday Tribune further revealed that the sharp decline of FDI to the country was compounded aftermath the global financial crisis.
Also, statistics obtained from the 2010 annual report by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the total foreign capital inflow into the Nigerian economy in 2010 was $5.99 billion.
The record showed that FDI represented about 78.1 per cent drop from $3.31 billion in 2009.
It would be recalled that the decline in investment had been lately generally attributed to the increasing rate of insecurity in the country, as well as infrastructural decay.
Besides, the fear caused by the Boko Haram bombings in particular has made most foreign investors, who usually featured at the annual Lagos Trade Fair to show case their products to stay away, even as those who were presently on ground had heavy security network around them.
Speaking with Saturday Tribune, the former National President, Association of National Accountant of Nigeria (ANAN), Dr. Sam Nzekwe, said the activities of Boko Haram were causing an incalculable damage to the nation's economy.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
It all started when they got an email from Bill Clinton, stating that when he left office, he stole $3 trillion dollars that he wanted to deposit in a Nigerian bank...
#2
The level of corruption in Nigeria is so large I don't know whether to believe any figures re: investment, GDP, inflows, outflows, etc.
Even Nigerians don't understand their situation. I used to know a US Army doc who was born & had his basic education in Nigeria. He once tried to import a Mercedes he owned into the country so he could drive it around when he visited his friends & relatives. I don't have to detail what became of his car...
#3
Stop trying to negotiate with the bastards and just kill them. That is what they are trying to do to everyone else. Stop trying to be "better" than they are and just get rid of them
[Yemen Post] Senior defense ministry officials said that the presidential palace-bombing file has been sent to the Yemen prosecution.
An official at the defense ministry said that the prosecution will soon reveal the results of the investigation which killed thirteen and injured more than seventy, including Yemen's President-for-Life Saleh ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... in June.
Senior ruling General People Congress party officials are pointing fingers at opposition leaders in an effort to stall more time in power for President Saleh.
However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... no proof has been brought to the public to prove the government's case in the bombing.
Millions of Yemenis have crowded Change Square around the country demanding that he is not given immunity for the killings of more than 1000 protesters this year.
Political analysts are surprised that the ruling family is making a strong case against the presidential palace bombing and not the daily attacks against unarmed civilians.
"The president's blood is not more valuable than those who were maimed by his forces. More than 22,000 protesters were attacked by his troops. He does not care about Yemen. He cares only of his family," said Sabri Alem, a youth activist in Taiz Freedom Square.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2011 00:00 ||
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Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders, a key ally for the ruling Liberal-Christian Democrat coalition, said on Saturday he opposed a planned visit by Turkish President Abdullah Gul because Turkey is an "Islamist regime".
Wilders, whose party is the third-largest in the Dutch parliament and opposes closer ties between Europe and Turkey, backs the Dutch minority government in return for tougher immigration and integration rules. Gul has been invited to visit the Netherlands next year, when the two countries will celebrate 400 years of relations.
[One Pakistan] A secret memo is laying bare the profound division between Pakistain's powerful army and its civilian government, and the nation's relationship with the United States is once again at the center of the gulf.
According to a Washington Post report, at issue are allegations that the Pakistain Government asked for U.S. help to prevent a military coup after the Navy SEAL raid in May that killed the late Osama bin Laden ... who no longer has to waste time and energy breathing... in Pakistain.
The claim is thought to have enraged Pakistain's army, and the resulting controversy prompted Pakistain's ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani, to offer his resignation this week.
Zardari's government has nominally been leading Pakistain since 2008. But real power remains in the hands of the military, which has ruled the South Asian nation for half its 64-year existence and was livid after the U.S. operation against bin Laden.
Though both the army and the civilian government receive billions of dollars in American assistance, the military views the United States, and its support for Zardari's unpopular administration, with deep distrust.
That attitude is widespread in Pakistain, where patriotism is equated with support for the military and the United States is often seen more as bully than friend.
Against that backdrop, a column published last month in the Financial Times has proved explosive.
In it, Pak American businessman Mansoor Ijaz asserted that a senior Pak diplomat -- whom he identified Thursday as Haqqani -- asked him to help relay a request to the then-chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, to stop the military from staging a coup.
The memo, a copy of which was provided by Ijaz to The Washington Post, warns that a military takeover would result in "potentially the platform for far more rapid spread of al Qaeda's brand of fanaticism and terror."
The upheaval in the wake of the bin Laden killing, it said, provided "a unique window of opportunity" for "civilians to gain the upper hand over army and intelligence directorates."
It said that in exchange for U.S. "direct intervention" to convey a strong no-coup message to Gen. Ashfaq Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... , leader of Pakistain's military, a newly appointed civilian national security team would shepherd an independent investigation of the bin Laden matter and terminate any "active service officers" found to have been complicit in concealing the al-Qaeda leader.
Pakistain, it said, would also move to hand over all remaining al-Qaeda leaders on its soil, as well as Taliban leader Mohammad Omar and Sirajuddin Haqqani of the Haqqani hard boy network.
Alternatively, it could give "U.S. military forces a 'green light' to conduct the necessary operations to capture or kill them on Pak soil," the memo said.
It said the civilian government would eliminate "Section S" of Pakistain's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, a unit that handles relations with hard boy groups; bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai; and implement new measures to secure Pakistain's nuclear arsenal.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Is Pakistain's ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani any relation to the much-maligned Sirajuddin Haqqani of the Haqqani hard boy network I wonder?
Or are the first names the family name?
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/19/2011 8:32 Comments ||
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#2
I don't think there's any close relation. I think it's a clan name, rather than a family name.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2011 8:50 Comments ||
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#3
I recall that Mansoor Ijaz often appeared as a commentator on Fox News a few years ago.
In 2006, in an interview with Gulf News, he made the world exclusive claim that Iran already had a nuclear bomb and that US think-tanks were already formulating strategies to overthrow the Iranian Government.
[Dawn] The inquiry commission on the May 2 US operation in Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... had shown its dissatisfaction over the credibility of evidence gathered during the probe.
A BBC Urdu report quoted a security official familiar with the investigation as saying that the members of the commission had formed a list of 'important witnesses' and conducted lengthy interviews.
But, the information gathered from these interviews was not sufficient to estabilsh the facts, the report said.
Only credible information about the presence of OsamaBin Laden in the compound came from the women who were said to be the wives of al-Qaeda chief, the report added.
Justice (r) Javed Iqbal, the chairman of the commission, had said after the formation of the commission that he would also ask the United States government to provide evidence.
But, a front man of the US embassy told the BBC Urdu that the commission had not yet contacted them on the issue.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2011 00:00 ||
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Palestinian official claims breakthrough achieved on reconciliation agreement; says 'sides agree that next government will be based in Gaza.' Hamas PM Haniyeh, Fatah PM Fayyad unlikely to seek reelection
A Palestinian source said that preliminary meetings between Hamas and Fatah officials have led to mutual understandings between the sides, the Palestinian newspaper al-Ayyam reported on Saturday.
According to the source, the understandings will be officially published after a meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal, scheduled to take place in Egypt next week.
The two are slated to discuss the implementation of the inter-Palestinian reconciliation agreement, as well as the parliamentary and presidential elections.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Youssef, the former political adviser of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, noted that the two sides have agreed that the next Palestinian government will be based in Gaza, adding that the next prime minister may also be a resident of the Strip.
[Emirates 24/7] Sri Lanka's former army chief was sentenced on Friday to three more years in prison for reportedly implicating the defence secretary in war crimes at the end of the country's civil war On Easter Sunday in 402, General Stilicho defeated Alaric, King of the Visigoths, at the Battle of Pollentia, capturing his camp and his wife. This battle was the last victory celebrated in a triumphal march in Rome. In 403 at Verona, Stilicho again bested Alaric, who only escaped by the speed of his horse. In A.D. 408 the Emperor Honorius had Stilicho put to death. Two years later Alaric and his Visigoths sacked Rome, making off with most of the city's wealth and a fair number of its residents as slaves or as hostages. At the time there was suspected to be a connection. But I suppose I could be wrong.
Two judges of a three-member High Court bench ruled Sarath Fonseka's reported comments to a newspaper in 2009 breached the harsh emergency law in place during and after the 26-year civil war. He claimed at his trial he was misquoted.
Fonseka rejected the verdict as unjust but said he was not surprised because Sri Lankan authorities did not want him active in politics. Attorney Nalin Ladduwahetty said Fonseka would appeal the sentence. The court's third judge ruled to acquit him.
Fonseka led Sri Lanka's army to victory in its 26-year civil war with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009. He had immense popularity from leading the army that defeated a rebel group that had seemed invincible for decades and challenged one-time ally
President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the presidential election last year.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2011 00:00 ||
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Guess, no NATO no-fly zones then.
Russian warships are due to arrive at Syrian territorial waters, a Syrian news agency said on Thursday, indicating that the move represented a clear message to the West that Moscow would resist any foreign intervention in the country's civil unrest.
Also on Friday, a Syrian official said Damascus has agreed "in principle" to allow an Arab League observer mission into the country.
#1
Israel could pull off the coup of the century if it could come up with some way to use a Russian built, sold to Syria, anti-ship missile, fired from Syria, to sink and severely damage a Russian warship.
Not impossible, since the rebels might actually be able to obtain such a weapon, and would probably be more than willing and able to fire it.
#2
This is interesting. What does Russia hope to gain here. Effort to stabilize perhaps. No oil but Syria does purchase weapons. Why did Russia sit back and let Libya go under. That was the prize. Project a strong image with no entanglement that may help Putin for Russian elections. The Arab world would prefer Russia to just about anyone else. Yes, the Russian image may well be the answer now that I think about it.
The Russian people don't want war but they want respect. Many social ills there. Pride and Nationalism are good but how those in power who use it for evil adventures are ill-advised to do so. The Russian people have a history of rebellion even today. The Russian summer is here but the winters return is most feared.
#3
I'm surprised that the Russian warships are able to get underway.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
11/19/2011 9:14 Comments ||
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#4
What does Russia get out of this? Higher oil prices. Syria continuing as it is is an agent for instability in the ME.
Meanwhile, if the West wants to replace the head of Libya with someone less stable, they really have no problem with that at all. More money for them. They'll pretend to protest, while we screw ourselves over.
#6
See also WAFF > TURKEY URGED TO TAKE [military]ACTION ON SYRIA.
France arguing to international community that things/affairs in Syruh are coming to head.
* SAME > TURKS + ARYAN KURDS FIGHT IN EUROPE.
versus
* WORLD MIL FORUM > IRANIAN "FARS NEWS" MEDIA: IRAN CLAIMS THAT UP TO 30,000 IRANIAN + PALESTINIAN SUICIDE BOMBERS ARE READY TO STRIKE AGZ ISRAEL IFF SYRIA IS ATTACKED. Ditto iff Israel attacks Hezbollah in Lebanon.
IOW, IIUC Tehran is effectively saying or warning that there will REGIONAL WAR in which Iran will side wid Assad + Hezbollah Govt. in Lebanon agz all comers???
[An Nahar] The Syrian Ambassador to Leb Ali Abdul Karim Ali stressed on Friday that Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... is implementing reform despite the media uproar indicating the contrary.
He said after holding talks with Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, a member of AMAL, a not very subtle Hizbullah sock puppet... : "The international pressure against Syria will crumble before its national unity and its leadership's responsible policies towards all challenges."
"The dialogue Assad called for encompasses all factions of Syrian society and its positive results are being felt throughout Syria," he added.
Furthermore, Ali quoted Berri as saying that Syria is eager to maintain good ties with the Arab world and comply with its initiatives.
The speaker also emphasized the need to fortify Arab and Syrian efforts against international pressure.
Berri later held talks with the British Ambassador to Leb, Tom Fletcher.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] The UN nuclear watchdog board of governors censured Iran on Friday over mounting suspicions it may be seeking to develop atomic bombs, after the six big powers overcame divisions on how to best deal with a defiant Tehran.
But the resolution, which won overwhelming support at the 35-nation meeting of the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), omitted any concrete punitive steps, reflecting Russian and Chinese opposition to cornering Iran.
It was adopted by 32 votes for and two against - Cuba and Ecuador. Indonesia abstained.
Iran showed no sign of backing down in the protracted dispute over its atomic activities, threatening to take legal action against the Vienna-based UN agency for issuing a hard-hitting report about Tehran's nuclear program.
Last week's IAEA report presented a stash of intelligence indicating that Iran has undertaken research and experiments geared to developing a nuclear weapons capability. It has stoked tensions in the Middle East and redoubled calls in Western capitals for stiffer sanctions against Tehran.
Iran says it is enriching uranium only as fuel for nuclear power plants, not atomic weapons. It has dismissed the details in the IAEA report obtained mainly from Western spy agencies as fabricated, and accusing the IAEA of a pro-Western slant.
Iran's ambassador to the Vienna-based IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, accused the agency of leaking the report early to the United States, Britannia and La Belle France. Some of its contents appeared in Western media before their release on 8 November.
Iran considers the IAEA report "unprofessional, unbalanced, illegal and politicized", Soltanieh told the board meeting before the vote, the second against Iran in as many years.
"Any resolutions based on this report ... are not legally binding, thus they are not applicable."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
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.
[One Pakistan] A secret memo is laying bare the profound division between Pakistain's powerful army and its civilian government, and the nation's relationship with the United States is once again at the center of the gulf.
[Dawn] The inquiry commission on the May 2 US operation in 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Al Ahram] The UN nuclear watchdog board of governors censured Iran on Friday over mounting suspicions it may be seeking to develop atomic bombs, after the six big powers overcame divisions on how to best deal with a defiant Tehran.
