French President Nicolas Sarkozy said France could boost its presence in Afghanistan to help the Afghan army and police in a surprise visit to give French troops his Christmas greetings. "There is a war going on here, a war against terrorism, against fanaticism that we cannot and will not lose," he told reporters who accompanied him.
He said the French troops, currently 1,900, would help the Afghan army, police, administration and judiciary. Sarkozy said a decision on troop numbers was due in the next few weeks.
Taliban leader Mullah Omar on Tuesday called on foreign forces to withdraw from Afghanistan. Diplomats and the local military have called for a new strategy to fight the rebels. "What is certain is that we have not wanted to give the signal of departure, that would have been a despicable signal at a time when one sees the ravages inflicted by terrorism in the world," Sarkozy said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2007 00:00 ||
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[1 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- In 2002, Ibrar Hussein voted for an Islamic takeover. Fed up both with Pakistan's military-led government and with the mainstream, secular opposition, Hussein decided that religious leaders should be given a chance to improve living conditions in this sprawling frontier city. But five years after support from people like Hussein propelled the Islamic parties to power in the provincial government -- and to their strongest-ever showing nationally -- the 36-year-old shopkeeper is rethinking his choice.
"You can see the sanitation system here," Hussein said, pointing with disgust to a ditch in front of his shop where a stream of greenish-brown sludge trickled by. "People were asking for clean water, and they didn't get it. We were very hopeful. But the mullahs did nothing for us."
Hussein's disenchantment is just one reason why, with Pakistan on the eve of fresh parliamentary elections, the religious parties are struggling to appeal to voters.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/23/2007 00:00 ||
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KATHMANDU: The nearly three-month long paralysis gripping Nepal's peace process could now be coming to an end with PM Girija Prasad Koirala on Saturday giving in to the Maoists demand to axe the monarchy and proclaim the Himalayan kingdom a republic. After interminable negotiations between the ruling parties and the guerrillas, a tripartite meeting on Saturday resulted in an agreement, a senior politician said.
Koirala, who also heads the Nepali Congress, the biggest party in parliament, on Saturday held prolonged parleys with Maoist supremo Prachanda and Madhav Kumar Nepal, chief of the second largest ruling party, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML). The three have reached an agreement to amend Nepal's interim constitution - which has left the kingdom's two-century-old monarchy in suspension - so that the country becomes a federal republic, UML leader Jhalanath Khanal told the media at the end of the meeting.
However, the Maoists, who began waging a war on the Shah dynasty of kings from 1996 and working for a communist republic, would still have to wait for the actual end of monarchy. According to the tripartite agreement, the implementation will start after the twice-deferred constituent assembly election is held.
If the elected assembly endorses a republic by a simple majority, only then will the king be stripped of his crown and become a commoner. Koirala, who had also been opposing the Maoist demand for a fully proportional electoral system, has now reached a compromise with the rebels to hold the polls employing a mixed system in which 60% of the seats will be chosen proportionally and the remaining 40 through straight contests.
Saturday's agreement will be tabled before a meeting of the six ruling parties and the Maoists Sunday. If endorsed by them, the government will finally make a move in parliament to amend the constitution. It has already started taking over some of the properties King Gyanendra inherited from his slain brother Birendra to put them to public use. These properties are mainly 16 royal palaces, including the one in Kathmandu where the king and Queen Komal stay, as well as their winter resort.
Everything now hinges on the critical election.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/23/2007 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
It would be a tragedy to abolish the Monarchy in Nepal. The country would go downhill just like Pakistan or Afghanistan. It is hardly democratic not to ask the people what they think. A fair referendum would be a minimum requirement for such a far reaching decision.
(1) Abolition of Monarchy
(2) Elections. Weak government rules for year
(3) Maoist takeover to save nation
(4) Mass executions of class-enemies
(5) People's Republic of Nepal created
It has happened before and will happen again...
Posted by: john frum ||
12/23/2007 7:00 Comments ||
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#3
Yup. Have to get rid of the one institution that average people could rally around when the Maoists take charge. Hence the chip-chip-chip against the King and the monarchy.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/23/2007 9:17 Comments ||
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#4
(5) People's Republic of Nepal created
You mean: Democratic Peoples Republic of Nepal.
Posted by: Gluting Oppressor of the Heathen Rus6638 ||
12/23/2007 9:51 Comments ||
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#5
You have to admit that the Nepal monarchy isn't much to rally around. After the royal massacre on July 1, 2001, I'd be disgusted with them to, all politics aside.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
12/23/2007 9:58 Comments ||
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#6
I smell a rat...er...I mean a Chicom...They kinda smell the same, you know.
Posted by: Abu Uluque6305 ||
12/23/2007 15:33 Comments ||
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Hawala transactions are big in Bangalore, amounting to a whopping Rs 300 crore per month. The city is also the transit point for such transactions in the state and Kerala. The seizure of Rs 1.2 crore by officials of the directorate of enforcement (ED) on Wednesday was yet another indicator of this thriving racket. The arrest of two persons in this connection Ratan Das, a resident of Banashankari, and Mohammed, a conduit from Kerala revealed that Karnataka and Kerala share a good network.
There are over 50 hawala operators in the city and well-oiled networks are at work in Bangalore, Mangalore and other coastal areas. They transact money in many countries across the globe, with hotspots being Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong. They service businessmen, the rich (with black money), terrorists and others for a commission of 1-3% of the total amount to be delivered. Investigations have also revealed that these suspects are part of a bigger racket that operates in countries like Singapore, Dubai, the UK, Australia and Hong Kong.
Earlier incidents this year the seizure of Rs 37 lakh from a man in Puttur about three months ago and Rs 1.4 crore from a person going to Kerala two months ago prove the existence of a good network. "The money is carried from Bangalore to other centres and Kerala, mostly by road and in public buses," officials said.
Underworld dons operating in and outside the country heavily depend on this mode of money transfer. Also, the hawala channel is being used by Pakistans ISI to pump in huge amounts of "untraceable" money, mostly through Nepal and West Asia to foment terrorism and criminal activities in India. Suspected Al-Badr activists, Mohammed Fahad and Mohammed Ali Hussain, who were arrested in Mysore, and seven Lashkar-e-Taiba activists, arrested by Bangalore city police probing the IISc attack, are under the ED scanner. Officers are probing their links with jihadi groups operating in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Jammu and Kashmir. Fahad had sent money through hawala transactions to Al-Badr cadre in J&K.
The ED, which enforces Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, is responsible for checking this activity. As per the existing law, hawala operation is not a cognizable offence in India and investigators cannot arrest suspects. As there is barely any documentation and "actual" transfer of money involved in the entire process, it barely leave any trail for enforcement agencies. In Karnataka, the ED has an office in Bangalore headed by an officer of the rank of deputy director. Along with him, there are only two assistant directors, three enforcement officers and six assistant enforcement officers. As this activity needs a thorough and close vigil, the detection rate is poor.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba
Graph courtesy Bill Roggio with a hat tip to Spook 86. The graph shows the three-year trend (Dec 04 to 07) for attacks against Iraqi, infrastructure, IEDs and mines, small arms attacks, and mortar/rocket attacks.
'...the surge certainly hasn't hurt. It's helped. I recognize that' --- Sen. Harry Reid, 12/21/07
'...this war is lost and that surge is not accomplishing anything' -- Sen. Harry Reid, 4/19/07
#4
Just wait - it'll get better. He, Nancy and the Dems will start claiming credit for the good outcomes in Iraq because they 'forced the President to change course'.
#6
He, Nancy and the Dems will start claiming credit for the good outcomes in Iraq because they 'forced the President to change course'.
They could have done that if they'd been smart back in May or July. They could have taken credit, but then the nutroots would have gone crazy and (more importantly) quit giving money. Now it's too late to take credit.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/23/2007 9:19 Comments ||
Top||
#7
What Doc said. Now I wonder if Crazy McCain can take advantage of his correct appraisal of the situation. SOB he was right!
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
12/23/2007 10:19 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Just in case you didn't catch me the first time, Harry, eat shit, you filthy f*ckin c*cksuckin motherf*ckin treasonous c*nt.
I wish you yet another Merry Christmas made possible for you by very the men and women you sell out at every opportunity.
Oh, and a bag of flaming poop. I wish a huge one of those for you.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
12/23/2007 11:54 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Damn, Mike - don't hold back. Tell us what you really think of that worthless piece o' sh*t.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/23/2007 13:36 Comments ||
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'...this war is lost and that surge is not accomplishing anything' -- Sen. Harry Reid, 4/19/07
Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure this quote was made months before the surge was fully implemented. Which would only go to show how shameless hussies like him routinely ignore pertinent facts while blathering. But keep in mind, folks, it isn't about the troops and it isn't about Iraq. It's all about that mean old George Bush because of the way he stole the election from Al Gore. Iraq to Reid is just a club that he can use to beat Bush. Never mind the facts...
Posted by: Abu Uluque6305 ||
12/23/2007 15:44 Comments ||
Top||
#12
SEN. HARRY REID: Well, we've been able to accomplish quite a bit, but not very much, certainly not as much as I wanted to. I'm kind of frustrated, like the American people.
Damnn does Harry know how to deliver an inspirational statement or what? Haurrumph! And now lets all give a hardy round of applause for the thespian stylings of... Dick The Whip Duur-binnn!
(KUNA) -- Iraq's government will not allow the neighborhood patrols known as Sahwa (Awakening) forces, to become independent militias, Iraqi Defense Minister General Abdel-Qader al-Obeidi said on Saturday. "We totally reject them (the neighbourhood patrols) turning into a third military organization" separate from the Defense and Interior forces, al-Obeidi told a joint press conference with Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani. Everybody has to know "There will never be a third force. The only two forces are the Ministries of Defense and Interior." He added that the Sahwa would not have headquarters of their own but would be a part of the Iraqi armed forces.
Al-Obeidi's remarks come one day after head of the majority at the Iraqi Parliament Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, called for the Sahwa patrols to be brought under government control. The Sahwa patrols, including bout 71,000, among them former insurgents who fought against the US and Iraqi military, have helped bring down violence in some of Iraq's most volatile areas. For his part the Interior Minister said that the improving security situation in Iraq would not leave a room for any body but to be part of the political process in the country. He also lauded the role by the Sawha forces that ousted al-Qaeda al-Anbar Province and al-Amriyah neighborhood west of Baghdad. They have also maintained full control of former al-Qaeda in Iraq strongholds in Arab Jabur, Doura and other parts southern of the Iraqi capital.
The US troops pay most of the patrol members about USD 10 a day, but Iraqi government said it would take over paying for most of the programme by mid-2008 and join the patrols to the official forces or government civil institutions.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
#2
this is about stipid. they sem too be the only ones who can stand their ground rather thatn the intial iraqi government forces. I fthey aren't causing trouble them leave them alone. Evn CNN did a story about these groups yesterday talking about how good a job they where doing
#3
Here's the part where the local councils find out it's more important to field a creditable, reliable force in their own locales than to have the "stamp of approval" of the Baghdad government buffoons...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/23/2007 9:05 Comments ||
Top||
#4
The Iraqi defense apparatus could make an OUTSTANDING contribution to peace in Iraq by establishing a recognition system for these local groups, incorporating them into a "national militia". Give them a paycheck and uniforms, train their officers and NCOs, establish operating procedures and oversight, but otherwise leave them pretty much alone. Anyone who isn't a criminal should be allowed to join the national militia. Use them strictly as a voluntary force to support the professional Army and police force. Limit how and where they operate (strictly defensive), but recognize both their legitimacy and their effectiveness (a little piece of brass and ribbon can work wonders for morale, as long as it's only used to recognize work "above and beyond"). Let those that want more "adventure" join the Army or Police.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/23/2007 18:17 Comments ||
Top||
Hamas has taken over the estimated 150 smuggling-tunnels from Egypt into Gaza, and charges the owners $3,000 each per day.
Five tunnels whose owners didn't agree to pay the fee were blown up. The other digger/owners quickly agreed to pay the requested fee, enabling Hamas to attain a monopoly on the tunnels. They've thrown out Fatah for being corrupt.
Correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that while the 150 tunnels bring in a total of some $150 million annually, the value of men, weapons and other merchandise smuggled in each year total more than three times that amount - close to a half-billion dollars. The tunnels are run in a systematic manner, with compensation being paid to the family of a tunnel-digger who dies during the work, and with judges who mediate in various disputes that arise. Who says that Arabs are incapable of industry?
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rejected suggestions of a ceasefire with Hamas in Sunday's cabinet session. "The State of Israel has no interest in conducting negotiations with elements that do not recognize the Quartet's conditions," he said. "This is true of Hamas and it is true of Islamic Jihad." Hopefully they'll remain dumb enough to not use taquia
#5
Hmm. Perhaps the moral of the story of the Maccabees, which is the backdrop for Hannukkah, must have finally gotten through that thick skull of his.
Or maybe General Petraeus sent him a crate of the stuff he's been drinking...
#6
Or maybe somebody told him they wouldn't give him the key to the nuke bunker they're building if he didn't start acting like he cares if Israel survives.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/23/2007 17:25 Comments ||
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Ma'an An Israeli military court renewed the administrative detention of Hamas leader Sheikh Saleh Aruri on Friday, sentencing him to another six months in Ashkelon prison.
Aruri is the founder of the branch of Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, in the West Bank. The Israeli military captured Aruri most recently on September 26th, and he has been held without charge since then. Under Israel's policy of administrative detention, Palestinians can be imprisoned without charge for months. Originally from the village of Arura, near Ramallah, Aruri is a graduate of Hebron University.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
(KUNA) -- Any new sanctions by the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Iran will lack legitimacy and logic, Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said on Saturday.
Besides which, our collective mother was a hamster and our collective father smelt of elderberries.
In his weekly press briefing, Elham noted that the Iranian nuclear program is lawful according to all international organizations, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), adding that taking the issue to the UNSC was wrong from the start, and "must be corrected." The Iranian official also called for an international discussion on the issue, noting that such move would help make things return to normal.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2007 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
The United Nations and the Dutch government have signed an agreement on hosting the international tribunal that would try suspects in the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and related crimes as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon approved recommendations to assign judges to the body. The agreement was signed at the U.N. headquarters in New York by an official of the international organization's legal department and the Dutch Ambassador.
In The Hague, officials said the court would be based at a former Dutch intelligence headquarters. The municipality of Leidschendamm-Vorberg, in the suburbs of The Hague, said the government had decided to house the court in the building once used by the AIVD intelligence service. Alterations to the building and other preparations would begin next year, while the court would open in 2009 on a five-year lease.
That's a pretty leisurely pace for a trial, I'd say...
Five year lease? Why not just buy the place?
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende agreed in August to host the special court after some initial hesitation on security grounds. The Netherlands will be responsible for security. Witnesses who cannot return to their own country for security reasons will not be able to live in The Netherlands after they have given evidence.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) will try suspects in the assassination of Hariri, the popular ex-prime minister who was killed along with 22 others in a massive explosion on the Beirut seafront on February 14, 2005. The tribunal will also have jurisdiction over other attacks against anti-Syrian Lebanese figures carried out between October 2004 and December 2005 if they are linked to the Hariri slaying. U.N. investigators probing Hariri's murder have identified several people who they say may have been involved in the slaying, but no one has been charged. The Dutch government will take care of the six-year lease, according to the official statement. Lebanon will handle 49 percent of the expenses incurred for the tribunal, while voluntary donations from U.N. member states will pay the rest of the bill.
No wonder del Ponte regretted not being in on this...
The Hague is already fast becoming the legal capital of the world, as the seat for several international tribunals such as the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Court. The Special Court for Sierra Leone, which has its headquarters in Freetown, has also moved the trial of Liberian former president Charles Taylor to The Hague.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Syria wants to control "all of Lebanon" and stressed that MPs should elect a new head of state even if Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman was dropped as a consensus candidate. Geagea, in remarks to LBC's Naharkum Saeed talk show, said: "We will not accept continued void (in the presidential office) and if Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman withdrew we will push towards an election of a new president by MPs because we are bound by article 74 of the constitution."
He said stands by March 14 forces and U.S. President George Bush are "not identical. We want to elect Suleiman as a consensus president while Bush's address referred to other options."
Bush had called for the election of a new head of state for Lebanon by simple majority, an option that the March 14 alliance is not resorting to in an effort to avert a violent confrontation with the Hizbullah-led opposition.
Geagea urged Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun to "set aside all differences and let's sit and talk ... with the aim of putting an end to the ongoing crisis." He said Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri is "clever in marketing verbal stands, without delivering on them, in order not to elect Gen. Suleiman."
Geagea accused the opposition of being a "follower of Syria for proposing a basket of conditions that are identical to what has been set by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2007 00:00 ||
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[1 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has made what appears to be a veiled threat to drop Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman's nomination for president. Berri said if a new president was not elected by next Saturday he would call for weekly parliamentary sessions throughout January to elect a head of state during a legislative recess by the house, which does not permit a constitutional amendment allowing Suleiman's election.
Berri, talking to the daily As Safir, said "I hope we will be able to accomplish the presidential election (by next Saturday) In any case, and if we did not strike luck, God forbid, parliament would be in constant and extraordinary (open) session and I would call for consecutive sessions, and maybe weekly sessions during January, until we manage to elect a president."
He stressed that due to the ongoing void in the presidential office, Parliament is bound by article 74 of the constitution, which states that the house should "convene immediately in line with the law to elect a successor. Therefore, in light of the persisting void, it is the speaker's right to call the house to convene to elect a president at any time chosen by him."
Berri's statement fueled speculation that he is launching a veiled threat on behalf of the Hizbullah-led opposition to drop Suleiman's nomination for president after Dec. 31 when Parliament enters a legislative recess for nearly three months, which strips the house of its right to amend the constitution, a move needed to allow the election of a public employee to the nation's top post.
Berri's vague stand followed remarks by Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun that a French initiative to facilitate Lebanon's presidential election has "finished and they are looking for other solutions." Aoun also made a rather vague remark regarding his support for Suleiman's nomination, which also fuels speculation that the opposition is considering withdrawing its support for the army commander as a sole consensus presidential candidate. "I stepped aside in favor of Gen. Suleiman. I regain my freedom whenever he is no more a candidate," Aoun said in answering a question after a meeting by members of his Change and Reform Parliamentary bloc on Friday.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
Opposition leader MP Michel Aoun on Friday dismissed George Bush's threats, saying the U.S. President and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy were "incapable of escalating" the situation in Lebanon. Aoun, after a meeting of his parliamentary bloc in Rabiyeh, predicted the postponement of Saturday's presidential elections session. "There is no agreement and all dialogue lines are broken" he justified.
Aoun added that electing a president by simple majority is no longer a viable option. The Christian leader didn't rule out a possibility to meet Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Geagea if the latter "takes his own decisions" independently from his allies.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2007 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
Aoun added that electing a president by simple majority is no longer a viable option
#3
I would love to see the United States quietly make a deal with the Lebanese Army, and then fly about 300 aircraft over Lebanon from north to south, at 350Kts. THEN ask Aoun, "what did you say?"
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/23/2007 18:25 Comments ||
Top||
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.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said France could boost its presence in Afghanistan to help the Afghan army and police in a surprise visit to give French troops his Christmas greetings. "There is a war going on here, a war against terrorism, against fanaticism that we cannot and will not lose," he told reporters who accompanied him.
Hawala transactions are big in Bangalore, amounting to a whopping Rs 300 crore per month. The city is also the transit point for such transactions in the state and Kerala. The seizure of Rs 1.2 crore by officials of the directorate of enforcement (ED) on Wednesday was yet another indicator of this thriving racket. The arrest of two persons in this connection Ratan Das, a resident of Banashankari, and Mohammed, a conduit from Kerala revealed that Karnataka and Kerala share a good network. 
(KUNA) -- Any new sanctions by the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Iran will lack legitimacy and logic, Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said on Saturday. 
The United Nations and the Dutch government have signed an agreement on hosting the international tribunal that would try suspects in the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and related crimes as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon approved recommendations to assign judges to the body. The agreement was signed at the U.N. headquarters in New York by an official of the international organization's legal department and the Dutch Ambassador. 
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Syria wants to control "all of Lebanon" and stressed that MPs should elect a new head of state even if Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman was dropped as a consensus candidate. Geagea, in remarks to LBC's Naharkum Saeed talk show, said: "We will not accept continued void (in the presidential office) and if Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman withdrew we will push towards an election of a new president by MPs because we are bound by article 74 of the constitution."
