(SomaliNet) The National Security commission in the transitional federal government, Said Wednesday around 3,000 policemen who recently completed training course joined the security forces in the capital to speed up the operations of restoring peace and preventing what they called the peace killers
In a closed doors meeting held in Mogadishu, Somalia capital, the national security commission and the authority of Banadir province discussed over the security concerns in the city. Speaking to the reporters after the meeting, Mogadishus mayor Mohamed Omar Habeb Mohamed Dhere said the 3,000 newly trained police forces were handed over to the Banadir police chief Ali Saed. The new policemen who had completed a course of training joined the police to establish the security in the capital, said Mohamed Dhere.
When asked whether the curfew imposed on Mogadishu will be lifted, Mr. Mohamed Dhere replied that the blackout was initially imposed on the city for security concerns. Until the security is restored, the curfew will remain in effect, He said the most important thing is to fight against those who wage bombings and ambush attacks in the capital. The security threat still exists in the city so we have to get rid of the plotters,
Meanwhile, Mogadishu, the most volatile city in the horn of African region has been quiet for the past 24 hours, no explosions and gun shots were heard, people are doing their normal duties before the dusk comes when curfew habitually starts.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) The unity and the traditional council of Hawiye tribe Wednesday boycotted to attend the consultative meeting by Hawiye clans which is expected to take place in Mogadishu on Thursday.
Hmmm... Hawiyes get a wild hair up their collective derriere and Mog erupts in violence. Oh, who could possibly be responsible?
I'm still trying to parse that sentence. It makes my brain hurt.
In a press release contained of seven articles, the council said their refusal is based on several causes as written below:
41. That the conflict between Hawiye clans to be resolved.
36. That the Hawiye meeting would not be fruitful unless the president of Somalia Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed and the leader of the national reconciliation conference committee Ali Mahdi Mohamed answer the text which the Hawiye council submitted to them.
43. That the agreement between the council and the national conference committee over the duration and the aim of the meeting was violated.
11. The Hawiye council said that there were some amendments on the agenda in the meeting and at the same time no definition was given.
84. That it was refused to raise the Ethiopian harassments on the Somali society particularly on the Hawiye people.
66. That it was absolutely fabrication that Hawiye consultation meeting is paving the way for upcoming the national reconciliation conference.
In the press release, the council put two conditions on attending the 15 July conference: The meeting should be held in a secure and neutral venue and it should be inclusive for political rivals.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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A radical Muslim group was again threatened with a ban yesterday after one of its leaders defended terrorist attacks on British armed forces overseas. Taji Mustapha, a spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir, pledged "support" for attacks on British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Still being threatened with being banned, as opposed to being banned.
"I will stand up and support the right of people whose land is occupied to defend themselves," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"I will defend the rights of our splodydopes to explodulate themselves in pizza parlors and city busses!"
Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) was threatened with proscription by Tony Blair two years ago. The pledge was never carried out because police could not establish that it was a terrorist organisation. However, the law was changed last year to outlaw groups that ''glorify'' terrorism.
You have an MI5 and you can't prove HT is a terrorist group? Come to Rantburg, we'll help.
Harriet Harman, the Commons leader, yesterday said this law could be used against HT. "We must be very concerned that we don't have subversion and support for terrorism fomented in this country,'' she said.
Looks like Glasgow woke a few people up. Better late than never.
HT has managed to avoid being banned even though its influence has been apparent for some time to jihadi watchers. It has waged an effective propaganda campaign to deny any responsibility for the increasing threat from Islamist terrorists.
"We know nothing! Nothing! Tell them, Hogan!"
HT's leaders claim to be nothing more, or less, than a proselytising organisation, spreading the word of Islam, much as evangelical Christians do.
They want to establish a caliphate - a unified Islamic government in the traditional Muslim world, which once stretched as far west as Spain and Portugal.
Just proselytising, that's all, they'd never use force to establish a caliphate, nope, nor terrorism either, nope, nothing more than the Islamic version of Jehovah's witnesses. Here, read their tracts. Or else ...
It also opposes the "neo-colonialist'' western control of the Islamic world, in which it includes Israel. In the Commons this week, David Cameron, the Tory leader, said the group fomented anti-semitism and advocated killing Jews.
'Neo-colonalist' is a term they picked up from the progressives; it means 'like colonalism in any way we plese', and is used to cover a multitude of sins of the West. Used by pomos to browbeat their political opponents into submission, and the Islamists have seized on the 'submission' part.
Founded in 1953, Hizb ut-Tahrir claims to have "spread its message" to more than 40 countries and is estimated to have about one million members.
A fair number of whom are armed ...
MI5 and the police were asked for evidence to justify banning it but were unable to provide any.
"We asked 'um, and they said they wasn't terrorists, so we didn't have any proof, yer Honorfulship."
A report advised that HT did "not directly advocate violence. Indeed membership or sympathy with such an organisation does not in any way presuppose a move towards terrorism". However, the report also said membership of groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir ''may indicate... the possibility of a few of its members being open to gradual consideration of far more extremist doctrine".
Gradual consideration. Or sudden.
HT has been active in British universities for 15 years or more. In one study, Anthony Glees, a professor at Brunel University's centre for intelligence and security studies, said its influence among students was important. "Radicalism isn't the same as extremism which isn't the same as terrorism and the number of people who go from one to the other may be very small,'' he said.
''But it only takes a small number to kill a large number of innocent people, including Muslims.''
Noticed that, did you? Took only 10 to bring down the WTC.
Ed Husain, a former HT member, whose book The Islamist exposed their methods, called it ''an extremist organisation", which ran a cell structure and indoctrinated its members. Even though it is not a violent group, it is the ideological inspiration for those who would cause trouble.
HT is banned in most Muslim countries, rejected by most mosques in Britain, yet it still has a free rein on university and college campuses.
Since its agenda appears to be the same as that of gullible pomos and academic loonies -- to bring down the West.
Julian Lewis, the shadow defence spokesman, said if its leaders were advocating attacks on British troops they should either be tried for treason in Britain or ejected from the country.
An HT spokesman said: ''We accept that our organisation causes the government considerable political and diplomatic discomfort, in that our campaigning against dictators in the Muslim world, many of whom are allies of the government, such as General Musharraf and Presidents Karimov and Mubarak, exposes its hypocrisy.
''But we completely reject the baseless accusation that our organisation calls for the killing of Jews.''
#1
Sorry, moderators! I hit the enter key while editing. Headline should read "Muslim group backing attacks on British Army faces ban". But it could be cleaned up a bit, so if you want to delete and re-do it, that would be fine too.
Only six per cent of imams preaching in the UK speak English as a first language, according to a study into the ability of Muslim religious leaders to adapt to life in the UK. The research suggest that only eight per cent of imams preaching in British mosques were born in the UK.
The study, carried out by Chester University on behalf of the BBC, aimed to measure the ability of imams to adapt to the needs of modern Britain. The report, based on a survey of 300 mosques, acknowledges the use of English is becoming more prevalent at Friday sermons but says more investigation is required to assess the frequency and quality.
Professor Ron Geaves, the author of the report, said: "The study reveals a deeply conservative body of individuals maintaining traditional languages, types of qualification and still largely recruited from the place of origin." The imams were "overwhelmingly" qualified in the traditional Islamic curriculum, which he said had changed little since medieval times. He added: "Although there are social religious and political reasons that drive a need to transform the imamate to a 21st century British context there is as yet little sign of the mosque imams or their employers being ready to professionalise."
The study found that 50 per cent of imams are from Pakistan, 20 per cent from Bangladesh and 15 per cent from India. Some 66 per cent speak Urdu as a first language with 52 per cent giving sermons in that language.
The results of the study are published on the day that a group calling themselves Muslims United have launched a campaign to pre-empt possible divisions in the community in the wake of the attempted terror attacks in London and Glasgow.
The "Not In Our Name" campaign has been launched with a series of newspaper advertisements condemning terrorism. The adverts praise the emergency services and the Government's "calm and proportionate" reaction to the failed attacks. The advertisements carry a quotation from the Koran saying: "Whoever kills an innocent soul, it is as if he killed the whole of mankind. And whoever saves one, it is as if he saved the whole of mankind."
Posted by: ryuge ||
07/06/2007 08:36 ||
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#1
Only six per cent of imams preaching in the UK speak English as a first language, according to a study into the ability of Muslim religious leaders to adapt to life in the UK. The research suggest that only eight per cent of imams preaching in British mosques were born in the UK.
I suppose it would be too much to ask that they might identify this as the actual problem and not just a curious statistic?
The imams were "overwhelmingly" qualified in the traditional Islamic curriculum, which he said had changed little since medieval times.
Makes sense, chopping off heads, treating women like property and divine rule were all rather popular back then.
Iowahawk spoof London - British public safety officials today increased the national alert level to Quite Elevated Indeed the highest category possible and appealed to UK citizens to keep a sharp lookout for diverse people engaged in activities.
We ask the public to report any behaviors by various people that may or may not be of a suspicious nature, said Lt. Clive Jameson of the Metropolitan Police Service. We further ask the public to be especially vigilant for activities of broad stratas of people who may be from countries of some sort, especially those within the eastern and/or western hemisphere.
The elevated alert levels come on the heels of a week when London and Glasgow narrowly escaped potential events that intelligence experts say may have been related to diverse groups of people doing things. Initially police had specifically asked the public for information relating to doctors driving automobiles, but that initial warning brought angry denunciations from the British Medical Association and the UK Automobile Association.
This directive unfairly singles out and targets British medical professionals, a great many of whom are loyal and patriotic citizens, complained Dr. Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the BMA. The fact that some of the people involved in the recent unfortunate events may have been doctors is totally coincidental, just as if they had been accountants, plumbers, or random members of a deranged apocalyptic religious cult.
Sir Trevor Chinn, Chairman of the UKAA, warned that the earlier directive would spark a backlash against the British motoring community and promote a climate of fear and carophobia.
On Tuesday, new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met with representatives of the medical and car communities and announced that the government would henceforth prohibit occupational and transportational profiling by public officials. Brown said further government communications would prohibit the use of certain prejudicial words like doctor, Vauxhall, podiatrist, propane, Asia, drive, ticking noises, panic, and the. Brown also announced the formation of a blue ribbon multicultural community advisory board chaired by Dr. Mohammed Ibn-Yasin of the UK Islamic Podiatric and Car Bombing Club.
Posted by: Helmuth, Speaking for Chusoling1715 ||
07/06/2007 01:42 ||
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keep a sharp lookout for diverse people engaged in activities.
Does diverse people mean muslims or terrorists or just Auntie Em wearing funny hats. How about Uncle Jack cross-dressing? What activities? And what should one do if they see activities?
TOKYO - Japan said Friday it aims to erect a missile defence shield as quickly as possible as North Korea develops increasingly sophisticated weaponry, including long-range rockets.
I thought missile defense couldn't possibly work. Carl Levin and Pat Leahy say so. Why would the Japanese buy something that will never work?
Japans annual defence report warned that North Korea is improving its missile system to cover all east Asia, including Japan, and potentially reach the northern tip of Australia as well as part of Alaska. The report, approved by Prime Minister Shinzo Abes cabinet, was the first published by the defence ministry, which was upgraded from agency status in January in line with Abes initiative to expand the role of Japanese troops.
North Koreas ballistic missiles are now regarded as more practical, the report said. North Korea is improving its capability of managing ballistic missiles. It is considered that North Korea is trying to further extend their firing range.
It is necessary to finish deploying a ballistic missile defence as quickly as possible, the annual paper said, noting the need for Tokyo to strengthen cooperation with the US military.
Gordon Brown's ban on the word "Muslim" in relation to terrorism can be blamed on the EU. The prime minister has told Cabinet members not to mention "Muslim" and "terrorism" in the same breath. The Mujj will be REALLY impressed by that...
It comes after the European Commission issued a guide for government spokesmen to avoid offence by ruling out the words such as "jihad", "Islamic" or "fundamentalist" in statements about terrorist attacks. It has been working with governments to make sure "non-offensive" phrases are used when announcing anti-terrorist operations or dealing with terrorist attacks. "Non-offensive". That's just... sad.
It is not the first time the EU has tackled the issue of language - last year its guidelines suggested that the phrase "terrorists who abusively invoke Islam" should be used rather than "Islamic terrorism". The prime minister avoided labelling the terrorism in his statement to the nation following the Glasglow Airport attack on Saturday. Europe enters its Gelded Age...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
07/06/2007 06:37 ||
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This PC crap makes me want to put my head in the blender and turn it on high speed. Makes me want to go jihadi against the jihadis. Makes me want to stock up on ammo and clean the family firearms-again. Makes me want to go Howard Dean. Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh.....
#3
Phase III involves leveraging on the first two phases to engage our diverse communities to further interact construcively working together to fight the diseaes of Islamophobia and racism that are a cancer in our society
Phase III of the ad campaign. Damned islamic apologists for terror. How about some fucking contrition for regarding the acts of your terrorists brothers. How about doing something actively to stop terrorism. How about not hiding behind the smoke screen of "islamophobia?" How about working to stop the cancer of terrorism that has been foisted on civilized society by your brothers and sisters? How about putting a stop to clerics spewing hatred? How about it?
#7
The willful blindness to the Islamic problem and the complete handover of all power to the EU will doom England to the same fate as western europe. Irrelevance, slavery and destruction.
The folks at the Powerline discussion boards found a live one:
Please read this blog entry by Peter Mehlman at the Huffington Post entitled At Least They Didnt Mean Well (June 20, 2007):
Boy, America has had a lot of s***ty presidents. Just take a stroll down repressed memory land and look at that police line-up from November 22, 1963 through January 1992. Ford may come out looking the best of the bunch and he was widely acknowledged to be unable to walk and chew gum. (Wisely, his advisors encouraged him to sit while chewing).
And really, Clinton could have been a lot better too.
So now were six and a half years into Bush and everyone from Helen Thomas on down is declaring him the worst president ever. What no one is saying is the one overarching reason hes the worst: the Bush administration is the first that doesnt even mean well. . . .
You could argue that even the worlds worst fascist dictators at least meant well. They honestly thought were doing good things for their countries by suppressing blacks/eliminating Jews/eradicating free enterprise/repressing individual thought/killing off rivals/invading neighbors, etc. Only the Saudi royal family is driven by the same motives as Bush, but they were already entrenched. Bush set a new precedent. He came into office with the attitude of Im so tired of the public good. What about my good? What about my rich friends good?
How can anyone not see it? Its not that their policies have been misguided or havent played out right. They. Dont. Even. Mean. Well.
Boldface in original.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/06/2007 08:40 ||
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Yes, it's soooooo simple. How could we have not seen it, guess we arent as smart as him.
Politico is a blog, strictly speaking, but they seem to have the story straight.
In Albuquerque today, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), a six-term incumbent who faces reelection next year, said he was "unwilling to continue our current strategy" in Iraq.
The announcement follows the split of two other high-profile Republicans with the president over his handling of the war. Last week, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) called on Bush to start withdrawing troops.
Domenici did the same today by endorsing a Senate bill that would adopt recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, which calls for a draw down of most troops in Iraq.
"I have carefully studied the Iraq situation, and believe we cannot continue asking our troops to sacrifice indefinitely while the Iraqi government is not making measurable progress to move its country forward, Domenici said in a statement. I do not support an immediate withdrawal from Iraq or a reduction in funding for our troops. But I do support a new strategy that will move our troops out of combat operations and on the path to coming home.
This means that political support for the surge among key Republican incumbents has essentially collapsed.
The Senate will once again revisit the war during the debate next week over the 2008 Defense department appropriations bill.
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Domenici and others should back up their critiques with votes.
Senator Domenici is correct to assess that the Administrations war strategy is misguided," Reid said in a statement. "But we will not see a much-needed change of course in Iraq until Republicans like Senators Domenici, Lugar and Voinovich are willing to stand up to President Bush and his stubborn clinging to a failed policy and more importantly, back up their words with action. Beginning with the Defense Authorization bill next week, Republicans will have the opportunity to not just say the right things on Iraq, but vote the right way too so that we can bring the responsible end to this war that the American people demand and deserve."
And so on. Basically, Reid is inviting Domenici, Voinovich, and Lugar to save their political tails by aiding the Democrats in squelching the surge. The only chance Bush had to give the surge a chance to make a difference was to run out the clock until the primary season begins in earnest in January 2008. Up until now, he had a chance; now that becomes nearly impossible. I have no idea what happens next, but I have this image in my head of Saigon, 1975.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
07/06/2007 11:18 ||
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I don't believe there will be any SAIGON 1975 or even 1973 under Dubya's watch. Osama and Radical Islam are bent on a global agenda, not merely a regional one of getting the US-West out of the ME or Muslim nations. In not so many words, Israel + russia have both indicated they believe Iran will MILITARILY ESCALATE, i.e. WILL INITIATE NEW TERROR/9-11's INSIDE THE USA ANDOR INDUCE US-IRAN WAR IN THE ME. IMO this means a WMD-attack agz the USG-NPE per se inside the USA, including agz Dubya; andor a high-casualty, Iran-led/blamed deadly attack on US milfors in Iraq-ME. *DUBYA-USA's ENTRENCHMENT > the day is coming when Radical Iran-Islamism may NEVER be able to get or force the USA out of the ME = Muslim lands. AS WID THE USSR > RADICAL ISLAM = IRAN MUST IMPLODE, OR ATTACK. Moud can not rely on either the US MSM or anti-GOP-US pols to help the Islamist agenda. US DemoLefty politicos will want to PC side with the side thats winning, and THATS DUBYA + GOP + USA.
CINCINNATI - A federal appeals court ordered the dismissal Friday of a lawsuit challenging President Bush's domestic spying program, saying the plaintiffs had no standing to sue. The 2-1 ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel vacated a 2006 order by a federal judge in Detroit, who found that the post-Sept. 11 warrantless surveillance aimed at uncovering terrorist activity violated constitutional rights to privacy and free speech and the separation of powers.
U.S. Circuit Judge Julia Smith Gibbons, one of the two Republican appointees who ruled against the plaintiffs, said they failed to show they were subject to the surveillance.
The dissenting judge, Wait for it... Democratic appointee Ronald Lee Gilman, Damn Donks. believed the plaintiffs were within their rights to sue and that it was clear to him the program violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.
Although the Bush administration said in January the program is now overseen by a special federal intelligence court, opponents said that without a court order, the president could resume the spying outside judicial authority at any time. The Justice Department has said the case is moot.
The American Civil Liberties Union led the lawsuit on behalf of other groups including lawyers, journalists and scholars it says have been handicapped in doing their jobs by the government monitoring. You mean you were handicapped in your spying for the enemy...
Never said how they were handicapped, you'll notice ...
Others have filed court challenges to the program; this case proceeded the furthest. If the ACLU does not appeal, the case will be sent back to the U.S. district judge in Michigan for dismissal. The ACLU, the White House and the Justice Department did not immediately return calls seeking comment Friday.
The administration had said it sometimes needed to act without waiting for the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, established by a 1978 law. Bush authorized the program in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The ACLU filed suit in January 2006, a month after the program's existence became known publicly.
The government said the case involves state secrets whose disclosure would threaten national security. "The information ... is highly sensitive in nature, and goes to the heart of how the government's foreign intelligence gathering is conducted at a time when the nation is at war with an enemy that has already inflicted devastating damage on the United States by operating through a shadowy terrorist network," a Justice Department brief stated.
#2
"...believed the plaintiffs were within their rights to sue and that it was clear to him the program violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978."
#1
The White House has admitted to a senior government official that it did not vet the audience members in attendance at President Bushs speech last week at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C., despite having been warned of the potential presence of individuals who might have triggered national security concerns.
Would you like another schooner of RoP Kool-Aid?
President Bush said that the special envoys job would be to gulp down Multi-Culti Kool-Aid like Lone Star beer listen and learn from the OIC, and that the envoy will share with (the OIC) America's views and values.
Gotta stop here. Like 3dc, Im about to burst a blood vessel. Would others carry on, please?
#2
Would someone from the Justice Department tell their boss that CAIR has been listed as an "unindicted co-conspirator" in a terror case. Un-indicted means: the DOJ is preparing a case, and the highest American leader shouldn't be associating with suspects.
#5
The White House has admitted to a senior government official that it did not vet the audience members in attendance at President Bushs speech last week at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C.
I guess we all get the picture. No need to read any further.
President George Bush's controversial plan to establish a missile defence system in eastern Europe could be scuppered next week if Congress votes to block funding. The Senate appears ready to join the House in cutting from the defence budget the millions Mr Bush requested to fund US missile bases in Poland and the Czech Republic. The president would have to use his veto to go ahead but that would put the whole defence budget in peril.
Don't worry, the Japanese will buy it lock, stock and barrel.
Congress is seeking ways to reduce the 2008 defence budget that has already ballooned because of the billions needed for Mr Bush's Iraq "surge". The House voted last month to cut the $40m (£19.9m) needed to begin preparations to establish bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.
The Senate armed forces committee, which has been looking in detail at the missile plan, has come out against it not only on cost grounds but because it is sceptical about the technology. Mr Bush wants to place 10 interceptor missiles in silos in Poland and a radar tracking system in the Czech Republic. He insists they would be aimed not against Moscow but Iran, but Mr Putin has not been persuaded.
He doesn't need to be, but tell that to the Dhimmicrats.
The Senate committee said that work should be delayed until the stand-off is resolved.
A convenient dodge, since it give Vlad veto power.
The Bush administration, in evidence to a committee hearing, argued that it would be dangerous to delay because Iran may be further forward in developing its alleged nuclear weapon programme than the rest of the world realises. But the committee's conclusion, reported in the Washington Post yesterday, said: "There is uncertainty about whether Iran will have such long-range missiles, or nuclear warheads that could work on such missiles, by 2015."
And they couldn't possibly be wrong.
The committee said that the US missile "has not yet been developed...and is not currently planned to be flight-tested until 2010". It also said that going ahead without Nato, which has not yet decided whether to participate, would cost the US an estimated $4bn up to 2013.
RAWALPINDI: The Ulema of different schools of thought unanimously decided not to protest against the Lal Masjid issue. The decision was taken at a district peace committees meeting held at Pir Syed Izhar Hussain Shah Bukharis residence. City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Murrawat Ali Shah and ulemas Allama Akram Hamdani, Allama Abdul Jalil Naqvi, Allama Nasir Zaidi, Ghulam Ali Qamar, Allama Syed Hamidullah Shah and Allama Hafiz Saliheen participated in the meeting. The meeting said the issue of Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid would not be discussed in Friday sermons. It said the Ulema should forge unity and highlight the importance of unity in their sermons. Participants expressed satisfaction over the action taken by the government regarding the Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid issue and said the governments wise strategy had helped save precious lives. They assured their cooperation to the government. Allama Pir Syed Izhar Hussain Bukhari said the government should acquire the services of a peace committee to tackle such situations. He said peace committees could be helpful in maintaining peace and forging unity and harmony among various sects. He said the services of peace committees were obvious in eliminating terrorism. He asked the government for the patronage of the peace committees.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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The residents of Sector G-6 on Thursday reacted positively to the operation against Lal Masjid mullahs though some were unhappy with the hardships of the curfew.
Daily Times interviewed people coming out of their houses during the curfew relaxation. Residents of Sector G-6/4 strongly supported the operation against the mullahs saying it was for good reasons and for our safety. They regarded the presence of militants in the area a constant threat. We were threatened by the militants. We were even scared to leave our houses as the mullahs could have kidnapped us. My son was stopped many times by the baton- wielding students of Lal Masjid. We should all cooperate with the government in this targeted operation, said a woman living at Hakeem Laqman Road. Mehmood Ali said the operation would make their lives safer. The attacks of mullahs at shops and houses had sent off a wave of panic in the area and no one was sure who their next target would be, he said.
Another woman said, I think residents would have taken some step by themselves to get rid of the mullahs if the government had remained inactive. She said the reports that mullahs and seminary girls who forced women to wear burqas had scared her family.
Resident Wasim said the mullahs had crossed the line and left the government with no option but to use force against them. He lambasted Abdul Aziz, the head mullah, for the bizarre manner he adopted to escape arrest and demanded that he be tried on terror charges in court. The preacher of suicide bombing should not have worn a burqa to run away. Its quite cowardly, he said.
We were expecting that the tension would prevail for six months. But the operation proved a success, Abul Wajid of G-6/1 said, adding that people had suffered much from the curfew.
People criticised the government for the mismanaged provision of commodities during curfew relaxation. The administration has set up only four mobile stores for two sub-sectors of G-6, which is insufficient, said Ahtisham Khan. The mobile stores were at Saddar Roard and Hakeem Laqman Road but people were not informed of their location, he said.
We are not only suffering from gas shelling but also from the foul odour that has pervaded area because the garbage has not been removed, said Muhammad Junaid and called for the restoration of civic services in the area. We will not return till the end of the operation, said Fareed Khan. He also complained of gunfire that disrupted area residents sleep. M Shafique Abbasi, a union leader of Aabpara Market traders, said the government should speed up the operation as traders could not afford to keep their shops closed for long.
Reproductive Health Service Centre in charge Dr Rifat Shaheen said security forces had not allowed ambulances to move to the Federal Government Services Hospital (FGSH) in case of emergency. Shaheen said doctors movement was also restricted which could result in a loss of life. She said she had relieved 15 patients during the curfew relaxation.
Saadia Khalid adds: Prolonged curfew in Sector G-6 in the wake of a gun battle between the students of Lal Masjid and Jamia Faridia has played havoc with the lives of residents. Daily Times talked to a number of residents of the area and learn that there was hardly anybody who had not been affected by the curfew. Everybody had a different tale to tell.
On Wednesday, many people could not reach their homes and were left with no option but to sleep out in the open or to hire rooms in the area hotels. It was only after a two-hour relaxation of the curfew on Thursday that they managed to reach their homes. Kiran, a resident of Sector G-6/3, said she could not celebrate her Mayuan (the brides last few days before marriage) on July 4th and that her parents had postponed the function to another day hoping that the curfew would have been lifted by that time.
It is also reported that many of the people residing in sector G-6 have left their houses temporarily after the operation.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Once and for all: Fix the mullahs, demand area people
Let's all hope they mean that in the veterinary sense.
ISLAMABAD: Some people on Thursday complained that the Lal Masjid administration was not allowing their relatives who had gone inside the mosque premises to collect their children from coming out, while several students who surrendered said that armed guards kept them from leaving the mosque.
Mohibullah Khan from Dir told Daily Times that his nephew Azizur Rehman had gone inside the mosque to bring his sister Hajra, 12, but had not returned despite passing of several hours.
A group of Pashto-speaking men, all from remote areas of the NWFP, expressed similar complaints, saying they were waiting for their relatives who had gone inside the mosque to pick their children. Many students, both boys and girls, who surrendered to authorities said they had been kept at the madrassa forcibly and militants had pressed them to sacrifice their lives by staying inside Lal Masjid till the end of the standoff.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Why should any civilized human being care? The loving parents sent them there to be among terrorists. They are reaping what they have sown.
Would they do it again? Would those watching send their children off to be taught by other terrorists?
Many people said on Thursday that they resented Lal Masjid chief cleric Maulana Abdul Azizs attempt to escape in a burqa, terming it a disgrace to ulema. Outraged citizens demanded that the government try the Lal Masjid chief in a court and punish him for the killings of innocent people and for bringing untold miseries to many families. Maulana Abdul Aziz was arrested on Wednesday while attempting to escape security forces around the mosque in a burqa.
He should have fought till the end and died to prove what he did was right, said Gohar Ali, a young banker, during a survey conducted by Daily Times.
Raees Khan, a public transport driver, said the Lal Masjid incident and the chief clerics act had maligned the image of ulema held in high esteem by society. This man must be tried in a court as he has brought our religion into disrepute, said Khan.
Advocate Eissa Khan said it was a drama staged by the government to justify the armys further stay in power. Rulers want to tell the West and America that terrorist elements have reached Islamabad and only the army can handle them, he said.
Muhammad Siddiq, owner of a grocery store, said the way Maulana Aziz tried to escape, and that too in a burqa, indicated it was all a drama. Had the Maulana been sincere he would have preferred death to earn a name and not have run like he did, said the grocer.
A retired government official, requesting anonymity said the Lal Masjid incident was aimed at sabotaging the proposed All Parties Conference (APC) taking place in London from July 7. It seems to me the Lal Masjid incident was nothing more than a political game to achieve certain objectives, he said.
How come Lal Masjid clerics and students had latest weapons? asked Ibrahim, an auto mechanic. He said that if the mosques chief cleric had been on the right path he would have resisted till death.
Samad, an accountant, said the Lal Masjid ulema used innocent children as a shield. From now on no one will send their children to madrassas, as people have lost confidence in ulema, said Samad.
Awami National Party (ANP) leader advocate Nasir Khan said, Rulers want to give a message to the European Union and America that terrorists have reached Islamabad and its only the army that is capable of quashing them.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
He should have fought till the end and died to prove what he did was right, said Gohar Ali, a young banker, during a survey conducted by Daily Times.
But he didn't. What does that tell you?
Muhammad Siddiq, owner of a grocery store, said the way Maulana Aziz tried to escape, and that too in a burqa, indicated it was all a drama. Had the Maulana been sincere he would have preferred death to earn a name and not have run like he did, said the grocer.
But he didn't and that speaks volumes about your so-called leadership.
#8
DOn't worry Abdul, we ain't laughing at your chickenshit ways of fleeing rather than showing us that you are indded a true Lion of Islam; we are lauging because you have a little doinker....perhaps even a shall we say, a doinkerette?
PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) NWFP parliamentary leader Bashir Ahmed Bilour said on Thursday the government had plotted the Lal Masjid incident to justify the armys further rule in the country. Bilour said the Lal Masjids was a fake and planned incident aimed to deceive the world that fundamentalists were in control of the Pakistani capital and that it was necessary for the army to stay in power to crush them. General Musharraf should resign, an independent interim government be formed and fair and free elections be held, demanded the ANP leader, while welcoming Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) leader Kamran Wahid who announced his joining the ANP at the Peshawar Press Club.
He said some elements were doing a wrong interpretation of Islam by exploding bombs, destroying music centres, threatening barbers and writing letters to girls colleges. Bilour condemned the government for taking late action against the Lal Masjid clerics. The fact is that the government gave the religious clerics an opportunity to stage the drama to deceive the world, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Maulana Abdul Aziz, prayer leader of Lal Masjid, on Thursday urged the students and clerics to surrender, saying they would not be able to resist the armed operation. In an interview to PTV, Aziz said that he had he tried to flee the mosque after consulting his colleagues including his brother Maulana Rashid Ghazi. He said that earlier it was decided that Ghazi would leave the premises but the plan was changed.
Aziz said that some female teachers of Jamia Hafsa had stopped girl students from leaving the premises by telling them that it was their religious duty to stay.
Aziz said that some female teachers of Jamia Hafsa had stopped girl students from leaving the premises by telling them that it was their religious duty to stay.
Aziz said that the madrassa students had 13 to 15 Kalashnikov rifles, adding that some of the weapons were licensed while the others had been provided to them by their friends. He rejected reports that the students had heavy weaponry. We have a relationship of love and sincerity with jihadi organisations, he said.
Aziz appeared at the start of the interview in a black burqa under which his grey beard was visible, AFP reported. Meanwhile, a press statement issued by the Lal Masjid said that Aziz had been forced to give the interview, Online reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Sounds a little like Pakistan's version of Waco. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.
China voiced support on Thursday for a crackdown on Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa where armed militants have exchanged gunfire with police and rangers. As a friendly neighbour of Pakistan, China backs Pakistans measures to safeguard social stability and economic development, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters. We hope Pakistan will ... severely punish the terrorists attacking Chinese people and organisations, Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang said, without directly referring to the kidnappings.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Of course, we all know how the Chicoms would handle it.
President General Pervez Musharraf on Thursday approved a plan to extend a general amnesty to about 100 militants still holed up inside Lal Masjid, provided they lay down their weapons and surrender to the security forces, sources told Daily Times.
The sources said that the government had decided to withdraw all criminal cases filed since February against the 100 or so militants, including Lal Masjid deputy cleric Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, provided they surrender.
They said the decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Gen Musharraf at the presidential camp office in Rawalpindi. The sources said that the government had decided to withdraw all criminal cases filed since February against the 100 or so militants, including Lal Masjid deputy cleric Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, provided they surrender.
Clashes between security forces and militant students have left 19 people dead and some 100 injured since Tuesday morning, according to official figures. The sources said that the proposal for withdrawal of cases against the militants came from intelligence and security officials, who suggested that the militants had taken Ghazi hostage. The meeting was informed that the militants holed up inside the mosque were wanted by the police in several cases of terrorism, including bombing of imambargahs, said the sources.
The sources said that the proposal for withdrawal of cases against the militants came from intelligence and security officials, who suggested that the militants had taken Ghazi hostage.
"So really, it's better to just issue a general amnesty and get the whole problem out of the way. It's not like they killed many people or something. Better do it soon, before people start wondering why we'd care if they bump off Ghazi."
They said the meeting also decided to send a delegation comprising political and religious figures to the mosque to convey the proposal to the Lal Masjid administration. However, the sources said, Maulana Shah Abdul Aziz, member of the National Assembly from Karak, and Ejazul Haq, religious affairs minister, had refused to accompany or lead the delegation.
"Are youse crazy? Those bastards have live ammunition! And they're nuts!"
The sources said the proposed plan could be passed on to the militants through backdoor channels or through the media if a suitable delegation failed to materialise.
Meanwhile, National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) Director General Brig (r) Javed Iqbal Cheema told a press conference that Gen Musharraf had directed officials to give the maximum time to the militants of Lal Masjid in order to provide safe passage to girl students still in the mosque. He said the president had directed the authorities to provide parents and relatives safe access to their freed children. More time could be given to the law-enforcement agencies so that human loss could be averted, Cheema quoted the president as having said. Gen Musharraf also directed the security forces to complete the operation as swiftly as possible.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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President General Pervez Musharraf on Thursday approved a plan to extend a general amnesty to about 100 militants still holed up inside Lal Masjid, provided they lay down their weapons and surrender to the security forces, those with anti-aircraft guns on rooftops also get ponies and a cowboy hat....
Federal Religious Minister Ejazul Haq said on Thursday that Baloch terrorists were hiding in Lal Masjid and pressuring Maulana Abdul Rasheed Ghazi to continue the ongoing standoff.
"Not Taliban or TNSM or al-Qaeda, certainly not!"
Ghazi has been facing immense pressure from the Baloch militants who, the minister told Geo News, had been called to defend the mosque.
Good idea. Call nationalist hard boyz to defend your mosque. The religious fanatix have other things to do.
He said Ghazi was still putting conditions to secure a safe escape.
"... an I wanna pony, an' some icecream, an' a night in the Motel 6 with my two favorite disciples, an'... an'..."
I saw 25 to 30 trained and hardcore Baloch terrorists in Lal Masjid while I was negotiating with them (mullahs), Haq said. He said the chief mullah of the mosque had regretted all his actions and was feeling ashamed.
"Oh, I'm so ashamed!"
Aziz seemed a nutcaseloon psychological patient when I met him in the Pakistan Television building on Wednesday. The minister said the two brothers were reaping what they had sowed.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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IRONHORSE BRIGADE WORKS WITH CITY OF AUSTIN TO HELP LOCAL IRAQI GOVERNMENT
In order to help Iraqi local governments move to self-sufficiency, the 1st "Ironhorse" Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalary Division is utilizing expertise from the Austin, Texas city manager's office to examine concepts of governance from the standpoint of a real, working local government model that may be applied to reconstruction efforts for local Iraqi governments. In a partnership which originally began prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom II, the brigade is taking advantage of a program formed by both the 1st Cavalry Division and the 4th Infantry Division to receive feedback and advice on how local governments operate through examples from the City of Austin.
The 1st BCT holds meetings and shares information with officials from Austin's city manager's office, to include city manager Toby Hammett Futrell, through video teleconferencing and conference calls. "They (the Iraqis) have their own system and we are working within that system with Austin leveraging their experience and processes. There are things inherent in government concepts that just work," he said, explaining that there are models in place within the realm of civics that are essential to the running of any government. "They can take the models and mold and adapt them to their own culture, and it doesn't have to be modeled after the American government."
With President George W Bushs war strategy clouded by limited results and mounting casualties, two scholars are proposing a partition plan that would divide Iraq into three main regions. The authors, Edward P Joseph of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Michael OHanlon, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, are hoping to draw the attention of Bush administration policymakers.
Wonder if they bothered to ask any Iraqis?
The three main spheres proposed in the report would be Shiite, Sunni and Kurdistan. The Kurds already control Kurdistan. The scholars are circulating their suggestions within the Bush administration.
Sen. Joseph Biden, who is a Democratic presidential candidate and living proof that not every small state has two worthy citizens to send to the Senate chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has sought for months to attract support for a partition plan he formulated with Leslie Gelb, former head of the private Council on Foreign Relations. It would establish a federal system of government in Iraq.
The idea has gained some attention in Congress but has not been embraced by the Bush administration. The time may be approaching when the only hope for a more stable Iraq is a soft partition of the country, the report by Joseph and OHanlon said.
Administration strategy is geared toward building up a strong central government. But US public support is declining, and according to some observers, Iraq may be on the verge of civil war.
Then again, it may be on the verge of stomping out al-Qaeda and co-opting the Sunni tribal chiefs, and isolating some of the more goofy Shi'as.
Under the plan, Iraqis would divide the country into three main regions. Each would assume primary responsibility for its own security and governance, as Iraqi Kurds already have in Kurdistan. Creating such a structure could prove to be difficult and risky, the report said. However, when measured against the alternatives - continuing to police an ethnic-sectarian war, or withdrawing and allowing the conflict to escalate - the risks of soft partition appear more acceptable.
Turns out the Iraqi constitution already allows for considerable regional goverance, which the Kurds are exploting to the fullest. This report is about a year behind.
Joseph said in an interview Tuesday: We have got to find a way through. He said the time had come to decide whether the strategy of promoting a strong central government in Baghdad made sense. The vision we put forward is not a prescription for immediate withdrawal, Joseph said. It does involve substantial commitments of US troops. However, he added, we anticipate a substantial reduction in US casualties.
The proposal would require the acquiescence of major political factions in Iraq. There would be substantial, voluntary movement in mixed, volatile areas. For instance, Saddam and his predecessors deliberately settled Arab Shiites and Sunnis in Kirkuk to disadvantage the Kurds, Joseph said. Arabs settled there have expressed willingness to move out if they are provided with housing and a livelihood elsewhere.
In Baghdad, rather than keeping vulnerable minorities in tense parts of the capital, Joseph said, It might make sense to move them voluntarily to places where they would be safer. Among the Shiites, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim of the Supreme Islamic Council has called for a Shiite region for years. But Muqtada al-Sadr and others in the Shiite leadership oppose it, as do the major Sunni politicians.
And there you have it: the nerve of Iraqis to fail to embrace the gorgeous plan!
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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We have an enlightened Churchhill to thank for Iraq. He was confident they could all just sit down and get along. Here's a not often published quote form the cigar chomper that may amuse you:
"I am storngly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilized trives" Winston Churchill Iraq: From Sumer to Sudan, by Geoff Simons.
T.E. Lawrence was a huge proponent of the "gas" option for these waring, tribal bastards as well.
Unfortunately I'm afraid the only thing we learn from the study of "lessons learned" is that we learn nothing from them.
#3
There will be partition of Iraq. It remains to be seen how much is by negotiation and how much is at gunpoint, and how it is dressed up - strengthened regional autonomy.
The Kurds already know this and doubtless know where their future borders will lie. The Shiia may be waking up to it. The Sunni have get beyond wanting to control all of Iraq to avoid being the big losers.
#5
phil_b is right, for all intents and purposes there are already 2 partitions, Kurdistan and everybody else. I think Churchill would probably agree, a united Iraq is a pipe dream. Best to push for a more realistic solution. Not saying a three partition Iraq is the best solution. I am just saying a unified Iraq is not going to happen any time soon, not even within 10 years. Stopping Iran wouldn't solve the problem either (although it would help a bit). There are still tons of weapon caches we haven't found and neutralized. So really stopping Iran would probably only temporarily help the situation.
#7
Take out Iran and we wouldn't even have to think of partition.
Some deflective thinking at werk hier. Agree, Iran must be dealt with, either now or later. Thank you Jimmy Carter. But to think that the Iran issue resolved will result in these tribal phue*hs laying down their weapons and becoming civilized is unrealistic. They've had thousands of years of whacking each other. Little will stop them now. Saddam's rule was just a 30 year time out.
#8
The situation where Dar assumes it natural state of "every tribe/family/clan for itself" is not inevitable. There are two other options.
(1) They conquer the World and use modern weapons to sterilize it.
(2) We exterminate them.
I don't like #2, and I really against #1.
Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu would defeat party leadership rival Silvan Shalom if primaries were held today, a survey for the Knesset Channel showed on Thursday.
According to the study, 66 percent of voters would choose Netanyahu over Shalom, who would get 34% of the vote. In addition, 61% of voters said Netanyahu would be the best candidate for prime minister, while only 39% said they would vote for Labor chairman Ehud Barak if prime ministerial elections were held today. Netanyahu and Shalom met on Wednesday night to try and set a date for early primaries, but the two have yet to agree upon a time for the elections.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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"Former chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen Dan Halutz corrupted the IDF," another former chief of staff, Lt.-Gen. (res.) Moshe Ya'alon, said Thursday. Ayalon slammed Halutz for conducting business dealings "while he was supposed to be working as chief of staff," saying that he led a "culture of corruption," Channel 10 reported. He described Halutz's tenure as being a "big disappointment."
Halutz said the criticism was "baseless" and he had no intention of offering a further response.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Deposed Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh denied reports on Thursday night that the Army of Islam, the group that kidnapped BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, had received money in exchange for his release, Israel Radio reported.
"Technically, they didn't. It was a wire transfer, all very antiseptic. And it wasn't to Don Mumtaz. It was to Sonny. So, really, we didn't pay him off."
According to Haniyeh, Johnston was released without preconditions, and no deal was struck with the kidnappers. The kidnappers, however, claimed they had received $5 million, as well as large quantities of weaponry. The organization added that Hamas had promised not to harm any members of the group.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Weapons, chemicals, drafts, gold, but no money.
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds ||
07/06/2007 9:01 Comments ||
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A leading human rights group called Thursday for terrorist groups in Lebanon and Gaza to free IDF soldiers they seized in cross-border raids last summer and for Israel to release Hamas lawmakers rounded up after the abductions.
Palestinian gunmen with links to Hamas tunneled from Gaza into Israel, killed two IDF soldiers and kidnapped tank crewman Cpl. Gilad Schalit, on June 25, 2006. Three weeks later, Lebanese Hizbullah guerrillas crossed Israel's northern border and abducted reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, triggering the 34-day Second Lebanon War.
"The groups holding these soldiers hostage must release them immediately," the statement quoted Human Rights Watch Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson as saying.
The statement came a day after a Hamas-linked group freed British journalist Alan Johnston, kidnapped by gunmen from a Gaza City street and held for 16 weeks.
Israel rounded up more than 60 Hamas officials in the wake of Schalit's capture, among them 36 lawmakers, in an operation widely viewed as an effort to collect bargaining chips to force his release. All but a handful are still in custody, although Palestinian officials said that Hatim Qafisheh, a legislator from the Hebron area, was freed on Thursday.
"It was only after Cpl. Schalit's capture that Israel started arresting Hamas legislators and ministers who had participated in Israeli-sanctioned Palestinian elections in January 2006," said Whitson. "Israel's response to hostage-taking should not include arbitrary arrests."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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The foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) called on Palestinians to "turn the clock backwards" in Gaza, and return the Gaza Strip to the conditions prior to Hamas's violent takeover last month, Israel Radio reported Thursday overnight.
The UAE ministers published their joint statement following a discussion they held in the Saudi town of Jeddah, on the shore of the Red Sea. The ministers called on the Palestinian people and the international community to recognize the authority of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, while respecting the victory of Hamas in the 2006 Palestinian elections by giving the group the majority of seats in the Palestinian parliament.
"And tell Pandora to close that damned box!"
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
It's a pity that we can't turn back the clock to 622 A.D. and change a few things, but we'll just have to make the best of it.
Members of the powerful Dughmush crime syndicate family in Gaza and Hamas officials clashed Thursday over what the clan claimed was a deal struck to gain the release of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston. Johnston was released from captivity on Wednesday, and members of the powerful clan said on Thursday that in line with the agreement, the clan's Army of Islam gang would be recognized as a legitimate Palestinian faction in the Gaza Strip.
"Legitimate Paleostinian faction." My head just spun around 360 degrees. I'm going to step outside to projectile vomit some pea soup now.
They also said the accord allowed the clan's private militia to keep its weapons, and denied reports that Hamas had paid a huge ransom for Johnston's release.
However, a senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip said his movement was determined to disarm the Dughmushes. "There is a decision by Hamas to confiscate the weapons of all clans and gangs in the Gaza Strip," the official said. "It's only a matter of time before the Dughmush clan is also disarmed." The Hamas official said the Army of Islam, which is headed by Don Mumtaz Dughmush, was "nothing but a group of gangsters operating under the cover of Islam."
The group has nothing to do with Islam, he stressed. "When its members kidnapped the British reporter, they demanded $2 million and a plot of land from the Palestinian Authority," he said. "But when Hamas came to power, the gang knew that they would never get anything out of us."
A clan member told The Jerusalem Post that the five-point agreement with Hamas recognized the Army of Islam as "the weapon of mujahideen [holy warriors] against Jews, Crusaders and apostates." He said the deal also banned the Barzini clan Hamas and the Army of Islam from attacking each other and called for solving future disputes peacefully. "The Army of Islam belongs to all Muslims, and not a particular clan or faction," the clan member said. "We decided to release the journalist so as not to give an excuse to the Crusaders to dispatch international troops to the Gaza Strip."
Another member of the clan said Mumtaz Dughmush decided to release Johnston after he received assurances from Hamas that he and his relatives would not be killed. "We wanted to avoid a bloodbath in the Gaza Strip," he said. "It's forbidden for a Muslim to shed the blood of his Muslim brother."
Mumtaz, his brother Mu'taz and one of his top aides, Ahmed Mathloum, are all wanted by Hamas for involvement in the killing of Hamas operatives over the past two years. Mathloum, who is known by his nickname, Sonny Knuckles Khattab al-Makdissi, was detained by Hamas militiamen earlier this week as part of the movement's pressure on the Dughmushes to release Johnston. In response, members of the clan kidnapped 10 Hamas-affiliated college students in various parts of the Gaza Strip.
Ahmed Bahr, a top Hamas official in the Strip, said Mumtaz Dughmush decided to release Johnston when he realized that Hamas was about to use force. "On Tuesday night, Mumtaz realized that the game was over when our forces surrounded his house in the Sabra neighborhood [of Gaza City]," he said. "He asked for a fatwa from a sheikh stating that foreigners must be protected when visiting Muslims." Two of the Gaza Strip's top religious leaders, Abdel Hamid Aklouk and Sliman al-Dayeh, each volunteered to issue a fatwa that would provide cover pave the way for Johnston's release.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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For a second, I thought that said "Alan Jackson" deal.
Jarring mental image.....
Posted by: no mo uro ||
07/06/2007 5:22 Comments ||
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#2
Looking forward to massacre of Dogmushes by Hamas.
The U.S. Agency for International Development Mission Director Raouf Youssef and Finance Minister Jihad Azour signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which the U.S. government will provide Lebanon with $250 million in economic assistance , the U.S. embassy said in a statement.
"The United States is providing the $250 million in economic assistance as part of its $770 million Paris III International Conference pledge to support Lebanon," the embassy said. The assistance aims to support the Lebanese government's "ambitious economic reform program, to help Lebanon reduce its debt and to provide better quality services to all its citizens," it added.
U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman who was present at the signing ceremony at the Grand Serail Wednesday said: "Sustained economic reform is a real challenge, particularly given the current difficult political circumstances."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Sustained economic reform is a real challenge, particularly given the current difficult political circumstances
Syrian troops on Thursday reportedly have penetrated three kilometers into the Lebanese territories, taking up positions in the mountains near Yanta in the Rashayya province, in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. The daily Al Mustaqbal, citing sources who confirmed the cross-border penetration, did not say when the procedure in the Fahs Hill overlooking Deir al-Ashaer in the Rashaya province took place. The sources said Syrian troops, backed by bulldozers, were fortifying positions "in more than one area" along the Lebanese border, erecting earth mounds and digging "hundreds" of trenches and individual bunkers.
According to Ahmed Yasseen, a local analyst, it is expected that the Lebanese government will raise hell about Syrian incursion into Lebanon and most certainly will go to the UN security council and submit an official complaint, which will most certainly call for immediate withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.
Syria will deny that there's any incursion but will refuse to allow outsiders into the area, citing their sovreignty. A pair of Jedi knights will be dispatched to resolve the issue, and the Syrians will attempt to murder them. After escaping to Naboo... No. Wait. That's a different episode.
Syria occupied Lebanon for nearly 3 decades but pulled out its troops in April 2005 after a huge demonstration of the Cedar revolution and international pressure led by the US and France, following the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri . Syria was blamed for the assassination but it denied any responsibility
"Wudn't us."
Other developments
Syria on Wednesday reopened the Joussia-Qaa border post with Lebanon, but two crossings stayed closed. Syria's state news agency SANA had said the closure of Jussia-Qaa on June 20 would stay in place "until calm has returned to northern Lebanon," where the Lebanese army has been locked in gun-battles with militants from Fatah al-Islam.
On May 20, at the outbreak of the clashes in Lebanon that have eased in the past week, Damascus shut two other border posts, at Arida and Dabussiya, keeping in place the main Masnaa crossing on the Beirut-Damascus highway. There was no immediate confirmation from Damascus of the reopening of the Jussia border post linking Syria to eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Lebanon's anti-Syrian majority charges that Fatah al-Islam have links to Syrian intelligence, an allegation denied by Damascus.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
They might be;
a) Preparing to attack lebanon.
b) Preparing to repel an attack by Isreal.
Then again, this could be a bit of strategic deception, to cover the recovery of Iraqi WMD that are possibly buried in the Bekka Valley. See here for a discussion on why this is possible.
Maybe there was a catch to Alan Johnston's release. On July 5 the Daily Telegraph reported this item in the timeline describing the BBC's reporters captivity.
...
Wretchard provides a good argument that the UK is exchanging al-Qaida's spiritual adviser in Europe "Abu Qatada" for Johnston!
Sort of a delayed quid pro quo.
#2
Somebody by the name Abu Qatada is in prison in Briton (he lived and openly preached jihad in London for about a decade) and scheduled to be extradited to Jordan where he is wanted for terrorism related charges.
Same fellow is also wanted for terrorism related charges in a half dozen other countries.
#3
This could work - Britain gets its guy back and keeps its word, and gives Qatada over to some other country that wants him for terrorism. Hopefully one not known for kindness to such folks. Sanctioned 'rendition.'
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.
(SomaliNet) The National Security commission in the transitional federal government, Said Wednesday around 3,000 policemen who recently completed training course joined the security forces in the capital to speed up the operations of restoring peace and preventing what they called the peace killers 
(SomaliNet) The unity and the traditional council of Hawiye tribe Wednesday boycotted to attend the consultative meeting by Hawiye clans which is expected to take place in Mogadishu on Thursday. 
TOKYO - Japan said Friday it aims to erect a missile defence shield as quickly as possible as North Korea develops increasingly sophisticated weaponry, including long-range rockets.
You could argue that even the worlds worst fascist dictators at least meant well. They honestly thought were doing good things for their countries by suppressing blacks/eliminating Jews/eradicating free enterprise/repressing individual thought/killing off rivals/invading neighbors, etc. Only the Saudi royal family is driven by the same motives as Bush, but they were already entrenched. Bush set a new precedent. He came into office with the attitude of Im so tired of the public good. What about my good? What about my rich friends good?
CINCINNATI - A federal appeals court ordered the dismissal Friday of a lawsuit challenging President Bush's domestic spying program, saying the plaintiffs had no standing to sue. The 2-1 ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel vacated a 2006 order by a federal judge in Detroit, who found that the post-Sept. 11 warrantless surveillance aimed at uncovering terrorist activity violated constitutional rights to privacy and free speech and the separation of powers.
President George Bush's controversial plan to establish a missile defence system in eastern Europe could be scuppered next week if Congress votes to block funding. The Senate appears ready to join the House in cutting from the defence budget the millions Mr Bush requested to fund US missile bases in Poland and the Czech Republic. The president would have to use his veto to go ahead but that would put the whole defence budget in peril.
RAWALPINDI: The Ulema of different schools of thought unanimously decided not to protest against the Lal Masjid issue. The decision was taken at a district peace committees meeting held at Pir Syed Izhar Hussain Shah Bukharis residence. City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Murrawat Ali Shah and ulemas Allama Akram Hamdani, Allama Abdul Jalil Naqvi, Allama Nasir Zaidi, Ghulam Ali Qamar, Allama Syed Hamidullah Shah and Allama Hafiz Saliheen participated in the meeting. The meeting said the issue of Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid would not be discussed in Friday sermons. It said the Ulema should forge unity and highlight the importance of unity in their sermons. Participants expressed satisfaction over the action taken by the government regarding the Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid issue and said the governments wise strategy had helped save precious lives. They assured their cooperation to the government. Allama Pir Syed Izhar Hussain Bukhari said the government should acquire the services of a peace committee to tackle such situations. He said peace committees could be helpful in maintaining peace and forging unity and harmony among various sects. He said the services of peace committees were obvious in eliminating terrorism. He asked the government for the patronage of the peace committees.
ISLAMABAD: Some people on Thursday complained that the Lal Masjid administration was not allowing their relatives who had gone inside the mosque premises to collect their children from coming out, while several students who surrendered said that armed guards kept them from leaving the mosque. 
Many people said on Thursday that they resented Lal Masjid chief cleric Maulana Abdul Azizs attempt to escape in a burqa, terming it a disgrace to ulema. Outraged citizens demanded that the government try the Lal Masjid chief in a court and punish him for the killings of innocent people and for bringing untold miseries to many families. Maulana Abdul Aziz was arrested on Wednesday while attempting to escape security forces around the mosque in a burqa.
President General Pervez Musharraf on Thursday approved a plan to extend a general amnesty to about 100 militants still holed up inside Lal Masjid, provided they lay down their weapons and surrender to the security forces, sources told Daily Times.
With President George W Bushs war strategy clouded by limited results and mounting casualties, two scholars are proposing a partition plan that would divide Iraq into three main regions. The authors, Edward P Joseph of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Michael OHanlon, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, are hoping to draw the attention of Bush administration policymakers. 
Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu would defeat party leadership rival Silvan Shalom if primaries were held today, a survey for the Knesset Channel showed on Thursday. 
Members of the powerful Dughmush 
Syrian troops on Thursday reportedly have penetrated three kilometers into the Lebanese territories, taking up positions in the mountains near Yanta in the Rashayya province, in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. The daily Al Mustaqbal, citing sources who confirmed the cross-border penetration, did not say when the procedure in the Fahs Hill overlooking Deir al-Ashaer in the Rashaya province took place. The sources said Syrian troops, backed by bulldozers, were fortifying positions "in more than one area" along the Lebanese border, erecting earth mounds and digging "hundreds" of trenches and individual bunkers.
