Somali pirates hijacked a Jordanian ship Saturday in the latest in a string of attacks off the lawless coast of Somalia, the head of a seafarer's association said.
Andrew Mwangura of the East Africa Seafarers Assistance Program said the attack occurred early Saturday morning. He could not say how many crew were abroad, but said Kenyans, Tanzanians and some Asians were among them.
The pirates had seized the ship not far from Mogadishu and were taking it north, he said.
It is the second time the ship has been attacked. Pirates tried to board it outside the Somali port of Merka last year but the ship, called the Victoria, managed to escape.
Piracy is rampant along Somalia's 1,880-mile coast, which is the longest in Africa and near key shipping routes connecting the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean. There have been more than a dozen pirate attacks this year alone.
Somali officials have blamed Western companies for encouraging the practice by paying ransoms that can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Last month, the United States and France introduced a U.N. resolution that would allow countries to chase and arrest pirates off Somalia's coast, responding to recent attacks including on French, Spanish and Japanese vessels.
Wracked by more than a decade of violence and anarchy, Somalia does not have a navy, and a transitional government formed in 2004 with U.N. help has struggled to assert control. The U.S. Navy has led international patrols to try to combat piracy in the region.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero backed the Colombian government's war against insurgents a day after Interpol authenticated computer files Colombia says tie Venezuela and Ecuador to the rebels.
Zapatero said the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, are to blame for provoking bloodshed in Colombia and he called for countries in the region to work together to help end the conflict. He said he gave his support to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe during a meeting this morning in Lima. ``Those responsible for what has happened -- the tragedies, the indignities, the kidnappings and the deaths -- are the FARC,'' Zapatero told reporters in Lima, where he is attending a summit of leaders from Latin America, Europe and the Caribbean. ``What all governments should do is join together in the fight against violence and terrorism.''
Zapatero's comments came after Interpol, the international police agency, released a report in Bogota yesterday concluding that computer files seized by Colombia in a cross-border raid into Ecuador in March hadn't been altered by the Colombian government. Colombian officials say information on the computers shows support for the guerillas by the governments of Venezuela and Ecuador.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
No one does the back-hand better than the Spanish.
Posted by: George Smiley ||
05/17/2008 10:53 Comments ||
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Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin has attracted sharp criticism from a large part of the Lower House following the surprise arrest of cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot. He is facing charges of discrimination.
The arrest took place last Tuesday. The well-known stand-up comedian Hans Teeuwen, a friend of Nekschot, said on TV programme Pauw en Witteman that around 10 police dragged the cartoonist out of his home in Amsterdam in a brutal manner. His computer and telephone were seized, according to a furious Teeuwen.
The Public Prosecutor's Office (OM) in Amsterdam confirmed that Nekschot ('Neck Shot') was arrested for the publication of cartoons that are discriminatory against Muslims and people of darker skin. The cartoonist was held for about a day and a half and interrogated twice. The OM still has to decide whether he will actually be prosecuted.
Whether or not they prosecute him, everyone else now has gotten the message.
The arrest is particularly remarkable because it follows a complaint dating from 2005. Three years later, there was suddenly reason to take Nekschot by surprise in his home, said Teeuwen with incomprehension.
Hirsch Ballin said Friday the arrest was only now carried out because Nekschot's identity was not known to the OM before. According to Geenstijl.nl website, this is nonsense because internet providers must provide the details of operators of websites they host if the OM asks for this as part of a criminal investigation.
The OM did not bother to make such a request before, but Hirsch Ballin apparently now wants headlines such as 'Cartoonist Arrested in The Netherlands' to be send into the world to improve tense relations with Arab countries, Geenstijl suggested.
Centre-left D66 MP Boris van der Ham has requested Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin for clarification. The arrest raises "many questions about freedom of speech," according to Van der Ham.
Socialist Party (SP) MP Jan de Wit also finds it very strange that the cartoonist was "arrested in his bed for a cartoon from 2005." Freedom of expression "means that people must be able to draw and say whatever they want." The conservatives (VVD) were also very critical.
The government parties did not want to use hard words. Labour (PvdA) MP Ton Heerts did say that "prosecuting a cartoonist is going pretty far." But the Christian democrats (CDA) and ChristenUnie said the OM probably has good reasons for its way of operating.
Cartoonists, comics and columnists have more freedom of expression than other citizens, according to jurisprudence. This is due to the form - artistic or satirical - they choose for their argument.
Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders is accusing the OM in Amsterdam, which gave the police the order for the arrest, of "dictatorial tendencies." Wilders said Friday he cannot remember a cartoonist ever being arrested anywhere in the West. He wants to call Hirsch Ballin to account Tuesday during the weekly question hour in the Lower House.
The arrest followed an investigation of the work of Nekschot, after a complaint was made against him in 2005 by Abdul Jabbar van de Ven. This Dutch convert to Islam calls himself an Imam. After the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh, he said on TV he would thank Allah if he could arrange for Geert Wilders to die, "for example of cancer".
Jabbar van de Ven made the complaint to the National Discrimination Expertise Centre (LECD). This complaint was passed on to the OM. According to Geenstijl.nl, Paul Velleman, the prosecutor who gave the order for the cartoonist's arrest, is also the head of the LECD.
Gregorius Nekschot publishes mainly on the Internet, but also produced a book titled 'Nekschot: Sick jokes.' Theo van Gogh, assassinated by a Muslim terrorist in 2004, gave space on his website to the work of Nekschot.
According to Teeuwen, the cartoonist was intimidated by one of the officers during his arrest, who apparently said that his real surname would be made public. "A pretty intimidating remark." Precisely because of the threat of radical Muslims, Nekschot is very cautious about who he gives his real name to, said Teeuwen.
Prosecutor Paul Velleman is also leading the OM team that is investigating whether Wilders should be prosecuted for discrimination, according to Geenstijl.nl. In 2005, Velleman decided that the radical E Tawheed mosque in Amsterdam could not be prosecuted for selling books in which calls were made for throwing homosexuals from apartment buildings head-first.
#1
time for a welcome public "debate". Arm yourselves, free Dutch!!
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/16/2008 17:44 Comments ||
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#2
You know, I'm beginning to think it's time for everyone who regularly reads this blog to seriously start thinking about just exactly what they would personally do in a case like this one. Many Jews have stated that if every Jewish family in Germany had met the SS at the door with a 9mm pistol and shot the first one through, the SS would soon have lost their taste for arresting Jews.
What I think is very clear from this example is that the Muslims have no qualms whatsoever about threatening violence to the Dutch society. As a consequence, they've intimidated the Dutch government into conciliating them at the expense of Dutch non-Muslims. The lesson I draw from this is that the Dutch Government will bend to the threat of violence. Obviously then, the only way to make them stop discriminating in favor of Muslims is for non-Muslims to act violently when they do so.
I really don't think such responses are very far off. I think life is going to become very difficult for the Dutch police in the near future as they get caught between enforcing the edicts of a dhimmi judiciary and the anger of their non-Muslim fellow citizens.
Posted by: Thaimble Scourge of the Pixies4707 ||
05/16/2008 18:35 Comments ||
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#3
The Dutch and the Euros in general have made a different bed than we. They have many more recent immigrants than we, proportionately, and they have not assimilated at all. We need to continue to assimilate the vast majorityand prosecute the Lackawana 6 types individually.
We are the Great Satan because we tolerate and assimilate. We kill them with kindness and destroy their religion. And we have done so with every immigrant group except the Amish and the Hutterites. And even the Amish we encroach on and make them run away to new fertile farmland.
Look at Commentary. Every year they have an article about how America is destroying Judaism through intermarriage. A problem they have never had to face before.
The Euro type segregation and discrimination is what Mohammedans thrive on. They've been fighting it at their boundaries for centuries and they have the tactics down. But the appeal of America and its culture to their youth is insidious and something they cannot deal with.
So the ones who come to America deserve to be treated like Americans, including the ones in the slammer when they earn it. The ones overseas? That's why we have the Marines.
#4
The Netherlands will be the first European country with Sharia it looks like. Remember what one of their ministers said some time ago.... "In a bizarre statement made today, the Netherlands' Justice Minister, Piet Hein Donner, has suggested that Sharia law could become possible via democratic procedures." .
#7
Actually, Nimble Spemble, I've seen statistics that the historical level of Jewish out-conversion, generally with marriage, is 25%, rising to 50% when times are very good or very bad. But nowadays there is a steady trickle of in-conversions and mixed marriage couples choosing to rear their children as Jews.
There is a traditional Jewish fear that ours will be the last generation of the Jewish people. It hasn't happened yet, though.
My maternal grandfather was not arrested by the SS the first time they came for him, because he had a pair of his [big, German] hunting dogs lolling about his office. By the time they came back for him, he'd done a runner across the Dutch border. I don't disagree with the house-gun philosophy though -- not every household has room for a pack of hunting dogs. ;-)
#12
Many Jews have stated that if every Jewish family in Germany had met the SS at the door with a 9mm pistol and shot the first one through, the SS would soon have lost their taste for arresting Jews.
Serious Question, were there more jews, or more Nazis?
That wouldn't work if the Nazis were more numerous.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/17/2008 23:06 Comments ||
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When former Guantanamo inmate Abdullah Saleh al-Ajmi blew up an Iraqi police station and himself in April, a U.S.-based Web site was quick to post a reaction. "This is what you call a success story," Revolution.Muslimpad said of the homicide attack, which killed six. It described al-Ajmi as a hero, a "martyrdom bomber" who sacrificed "his life for the sake of Islam." The site is believed to be the brainchild of a 22-year-old American Samir Khan of Charlotte, N.C. When the blog, also called "The Ignored Puzzle Pieces of Knowledge," listed its top "scholars of Islam" and people to "take knowledge from," it wasn't hard to notice that the list of 63 names contained mostly known terrorists including Usama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The site provides links to their works, all translated into English.
Revolution.Muslimpad's sleek, modern style includes collections of the latest videos of U.S. military Humvees exploding from roadside bombs in Iraq, as well as pro-jihad messages aimed at radicalizing readers. But terror experts say it is unique because it is written in English for a Western audience and makes accessible radical Islamic content and context found mainly on Arabic-language sites. "This Web site is one of the premiere English-language sites promoting terrorism," said cyberterrorism expert Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Jewish human rights group the Wiesenthal Center.
Sites like Revolution.Muslimpad are common in other countries, but there are a few that target American Muslim audiences, and this is "among the best," he said. Brachman and others believe Khan is the brains behind the site. According to The New York Times, which interviewed Khan in 2007, he launched his blog in 2005 under the name "Inshallahshaheed," or "a martyr soon if God wills," from his parents home in Charlotte, N.C.
It's unclear if Khan operates his site alone; despite repeated attempts by FOXNews.com, he could not be reached for an interview. In the "About Us" section, Revolution.Muslimpad describes the site as being run by a handful of "bloggers of inshallahshaheed," and says their mission is to "attempt to bring to our readers the reality on the ground in the lands of Jihad, and exposing the lies and deceptions of the disbelievers, hypocrites, and tyrannical Governments," including that of the U.S.
"Blogs offer a high level of anonymity," Eaton said, giving a blogger the ability to work incognito and to pull from multiple sources. Intelligence experts told FOXNews.com that Khan may be working with other radical Muslim bloggers based in the U.S., such as Yousef al-Khattab. Khattab, an American citizen born with the name Joseph Cohen, runs a Web site from Queens, N.Y., that promotes terror.
#2
ok i looked at their site and it is utter bullshit. they are trying too compare the US bombing Hiroshima with 9/11. I think the US was trying too stop an invasion of Japan saving possibly millions of japs and US soldiers. Now after they struck us first several times actuall and are getting their asses handed too them they think we are worse than them. Someone should tell them about the old saying you reap what you sew
#3
Update:
Web Site Sympathetic to Terrorists Blasts FOX News for Profile
An English-language Web site that unabashedly promotes the work of Islamic terrorists has responded to a FOXNews.com profile of the site by assailing "the Kuffaar behind FOX News." Kuffaar, roughly translated, means "unbelievers."
After quoting FOX News.com's Friday story and citing verses from the Koran, the Revolution.Muslimpad.com blog affirms the belief that jihad is "an Islaamic obligation" rooted in Muslim texts.
"So in reality, you are calling my Prophet, Muhammad peace be upon him a terrorist," the blog post continues. "But of course, you guys wont say that directly because you fear the wrath of the Muslims."
The site also decries what it calls a double standard toward terrorists, comparing the attacks of Sept. 11 with the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima during World War II.
#4
LOL - Mo wasn't a terrorist. He was a child-raping, POS. His legacy inspires terrorists and wanna-be's like this POS, Samir Khan. I am not afraid of muslim terrorists. They are too cowardly to attack anyone that has a chance of defending themselves. They hide amongst women and children because they are afraid. They have to be brainwashed and drugged (or be retarded/mentally ill/Downs-syndrome-impaired) to die for Allan. Samir Khan wears a burqa while blogging, it's common knowledge, and he's a catcher, not a pitcher.
Hi, Samir! Google your name often?
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/17/2008 16:33 Comments ||
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#5
what's bad is that the mentally ill may know what's going on but the down syndrome and otherwise have no clue. what brave pplk for using them as this. but didn't hitler want too get rid of all handicapped ppl too. Must be why the baathist party still lives on too this day
Jaipur, May 16 : With the needle of suspicion in the Jaipur serial blasts pointing to the Bangladesh-based terrorist outfit, Harkat ul Jehade Islami (HuJI), the Rajasthan government today issued an order to all district magistrates in the state to identify illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the state and begin the process of their expulsion.
Rajasthan Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathor said the district magistrates have been asked to ensure compliance of the order within one month.
They have been asked to verify if the addresses given by them are really of West Bengal or are fake, Rathor said, clarifying on the status of people who have been issued government documents such as voters identity cards.
He also said that at least 40 Bangladeshis had been picked up by the police in relation with the ongoing investigations. We think the terrorists had been provided local support by some people and are just trying to establish who they are. Our police teams have been sent to Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and we are hoping for a breakthrough soon, he added. The government also said that security will be beefed up for the IPL match scheduled for tomorrow.
Posted by: john frum ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Sounds like a good first step.
Posted by: ed ||
05/17/2008 6:47 Comments ||
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#2
You mean Democracies do not have to be victims?
The country will continue its role in the war on terror until it has gained final victory, but will not compromise on national sovereignty and integrity, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Friday.
We will continue the war on terror, but will never compromise on our national interests and integrity. We want to end the root causes of the war on terror by improving the socio-economic condition of the people in our Tribal Areas with the help of friends, he said during a visit to the headquarters of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Accompanied by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik, he was briefed on the internal and external security situation of the country, with special focus on FATA and Balochistan.
Peace talks: Lieutenant General Nadeem Taj, director general of the ISI, gave a detailed briefing on Pakistans role in the war on terror. He also informed the PM and his colleagues about the progress of peace talks between the coalition government and the militant elements in the Tribal Areas. The briefing also included an overview of the role and performance of the ISI, and its performance in battling internal and external threats.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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The government is likely to discuss the issue of a general amnesty for militants who attacked security forces over the past year during the third round of talks with the Mullah Fazlullah-led militants on Wednesday (May 21). An official source privy to the previous meetings told Daily Times that there were three contentious issues in the talks: general amnesty; the militants surrender of weaponry seized from security forces; and the governments return of Fazlullahs Imam Dheri headquarters to the militants. He said that the government had presented 23 conditions for peace and the Taliban had only provided seven. The source said that the government was planning to make the complete peace agreement public once an agreement had been reached. A Taliban representative said that Fazlullah had examined the governments demands, adding that his suggestions would be discussed with the government during the next round of talks. A separate source said that preparations were underway to start army withdrawal from Swat by the end of May. However, army officials in Mingora said that they were not aware of any such plan.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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India and Pakistan are to sign an agreement next week for immediate declaration of arrests of each others nationals, early release of those crossing borders and the Line of Control (LoC) inadvertently, and consular access to all prisoners within three months of arrest. The agreement, to be signed on Wednesday during External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjees first visit after the new government took reigns in Pakistan, will confirm the agreement which home secretaries of both countries reached regarding the exchange of prisoners and release of those who had completed their sentences.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Pakistan Army said on Friday that it has lodged a formal protest to the allied forces in neighbouring Afghanistan over a suspected US missile strike this week in Damadola on Wednesday. Army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas said Pakistan concluded that Wednesdays attack on a house in Damadola village was launched by drones from Afghanistan. Abbas said 14 people died in the attack. He said it was unclear if any foreign militants were killed since local tribesmen had sealed off the area in the aftermath.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"It wuzn't us. It was...someone else"
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/17/2008 8:37 Comments ||
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Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) chief Mangal Bagh has asked the Peshawar administration to close down all cinemas in the city. We will [ourselves] take action to close down cinemas, Bagh said in his address on an illegal FM radio station on Thursday night, according to residents. However, they said the LI chief did not set a deadline for the closure of these cinemas. Bagh uses his illegal FM radio station to issue warnings to his rivals in Khyber Agency. No LI representative was available to confirm Baghs Thursday address.
This article starring:
MANGAL BAGH
Lashkar-e-Islam
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Peshawar administration to Mangal Bagh
"If anything happens at ANY theatre, we hang you" Now just what were you saying?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/17/2008 19:57 Comments ||
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Residents of Indian-held Kashmir, the countrys only state with a Muslim majority, are drinking more alcohol, excise officials said, after years of intimidation by Islamic militants.
Liquor shops, beauty parlours and cinemas were closed in the Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) after a Muslim separatist revolt against Indian rule broke out in 1989, and conservative Islamic ideas were propagated by armed militant groups. But as violence has decreased since India and Pakistan began a peace process in 2004 over the disputed territory, liquor traders are back in business. Half a dozen liquor shops have reopened across IHK. More than 1.2 million bottles of Indian-made foreign liquor and beer were sold in the Kashmir Valley in the past one year, which is of course the highest quantity since the militancy began, said an Excise Department official. Only 414,000 bottles were sold the year before that, he said.
The department is processing dozens of applications for licences to open more liquor shops, he added.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
ASIYA ANDRABI
Dukhtaran-e-Milat
Ghulam Mir, a liquor salesman
Syed Abinah Nawaz, a doctor
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Police probing bombings in western India that killed 61 people said on Friday that new evidence pointed increasingly towards Indian militants backed by a Bangladeshi militant group as being behind the blasts.
Investigators said the attack bore hallmarks of the Bangladeshi militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami (HuJI), suspected to be behind several previous blasts in India. The modus operandi of the entire operation, the way the bombs were manufactured and concealed in bags are very similar to the way HuJI operates, Pankaj Singh, a senior police officer in Rajasthan state where the attacks happened, told Reuters. It is very possible that Indian groups helped them, Singh said in Jaipur.
Bangladeshs response: Bangladeshi officials said India should not jump to conclusions. While we dont rule out the existence of HuJI in Bangladesh we can say their activity has been drastically controlled by the security agencies here, Hasan Mahmood Khandaker, director general of the Rapid Action Battalion, told Reuters. Indian police said they were now looking for Indian suspects and have released several sketches of people who could have been the bombers and the ones who bought bicycles in Jaipur.
An email to local media, from a group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen, claimed responsibility for the attack. Similar claims were made minutes before a blast in Uttar Pradesh state last year. The email also included a video of a bicycle with a bag strapped to it and showed the bikes serial number, which the police said matched with one of the bicycles from the blast site.
Indian police said they were taking the email very seriously, although some police officers and the chief minister have questioned its authenticity. Some portions of the email are definitely true, some appears to be wrong and is an attempt to mislead investigations, Singh said. But they did get the serial number right. In the email, the little known Indian Mujahideen declared open war on India and threatened more attacks on tourists.
Many foreign tourists said they were scared and were leaving Jaipur, in spite of the police assuring them of safety. We saved a lot of money working and then decided to spend quality time in Jaipur, but it has been a shame that we have been stranded in the hotel most of the time, said Samuel and Emily, a young couple from Southampton in England. We are going back.
Some foreign tourists said they have not been able to shop or move freely inside Jaipur, also known as the pink city because of the colour of its ancient buildings. We are very unhappy, we could not shop, said one tourist, as he boarded a bus along with a group of Americans. Armed police patrolled the streets of Jaipurs famous old city. Some local people who have not been able to trace their relatives since the blast were scouting hospitals.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Counter-terrorism authorities are investigating the presence of foreign militants at Wednesday nights special dinner at Damdola that was struck ostensibly by guided missiles, sources told Daily Times on Friday. It was a special dinner and guests included Wazir and Mohmand militants, a source told Daily Times on condition of anonymity. The Taliban have cordoned off the area and our special agents have not found a clue as to whether there was a high value target or any foreign militants [at the dinner]. But since guests were invited from other regions as well, that makes us suspicious of the presence of special foreign guests, the source said.
Taliban commander in Mohmand tribal region Khalid Umars brother Shah Wali was among the dead in the Wednesday night airstrike.
NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani called the strike an attack on Pakistans sovereignty and said he was personally touched by the killing of eight-year-old pleasure boy in the attack. Taliban spokesman Maulvi Umar denies foreign militants were among the dead. He told reporters only local and innocent people were killed in the strike.
Wednesdays airstrike is third of its kind since January 2006. All three strikes were made at suspected targets in Mamoond tehsil, believed to be the stronghold of the Taliban in Bajaur.
Bajaur tribal region overlooks Afghanistans Kunar province where the US forces are facing stiff resistance from militants, also including Arab fighters loyal to Osama Bin Laden. US diplomats expressed concern at an increase in cross-border movement between Pakistan and Afghanistan at Bajaur and over agreements made with militants to buy peace.
The NWFP government is negotiating a peace deal with militants loyal to rebel cleric Mullah Fazlullah in Swat district while the new coalition government of the liberal-democrat Awami National Party and the Pakistan Peoples Party freed Sufi Muhammad, leader of banned Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi.
Death toll: Local sources in Damadola said the death toll is higher than what the Taliban had said. The casualties are as high as 20, they said. The Taliban say only eight people were killed.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
First dish on the menu: revenge, served cold.
Posted by: ed ||
05/17/2008 6:14 Comments ||
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#3
Lets see how she spins the FACT that we have won major battles, and made MAJOR progress there in standing up not only the Iraqi military and police and government, but the whole society.
#11
Sinse, WX, you guys have got to be kidding. She's probably the safest person in Iraq insofar as being off the AQI target list. Why would they want to off one of their best assets situated right at the heart of their worst enemy's government?
Posted by: Thaimble Scourge of the Pixies4707 ||
05/17/2008 18:58 Comments ||
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#12
I don't oppose her visit; it is her return that I oppose.
She looks good in an abaya; maybe she can become some Abdullahs fourth sperm receptacle.
Iranian officials are blaming the shooting in Baghdad partially on inadequate security by U.S. troops.
Iran's Foreign Ministry also blames "distrustful" U.S. security measures for contributing to such incidents, according to a report Friday in the country's Islamic Republic News Agency.
"The onus is on the occupying forces to ensure security of embassy personnel in Baghdad. The distrustful safety measures taken by U.S. military forces in Iraq have become a serious cause for concern as it is stoking instability in the country," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini is quoted as saying.
"The Islamic Republic is determined to launch extensive investigations on the assassination attempt and will pursue the incident through Iraqi officials," Hosseini added.
The allegations followed conflicting accounts of Thursday's shooting.
An initial bulletin on IRNA's Web site said, "U.S. agents carried [out] terror attacks on Iranian Embassy staff in Baghdad," and another posted eight minutes later said, "Iran holds the U.S. government responsible for terror attacks on Iranian Embassy staff in Baghdad."
But IRNA reported on Friday that four Iranian Embassy staff members and diplomats were seriously injured when "unknown terrorists" shot at their car on Thursday.
An Iraqi Interior Ministry report said unidentified gunmen in northern Baghdad fired on two SUVs carrying five employees and a driver -- all of whom were transported to an Iraqi hospital for treatment.
The Baghdad Operations Command, however, reported that an Iraqi army patrol was shot at and returned fire at the SUVs -- injuring the embassy workers and their driver, according to the official.
The U.S. military on Friday said the Iraqi Army found four wounded Iranian nationals in a vehicle near Baghdad on Thursday, and that the Iraqi police are investigating.
Col. Jerry O'Hara, a U.S. military spokesman, emphasized the United States "was in no way involved in this attack," refuting press reports that indicated American forces were involved.
Posted by: tipper ||
05/17/2008 09:20 ||
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#1
If WE shot your spies embassy employees, they'd be dead
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/17/2008 9:49 Comments ||
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#2
Iranian officials are blaming the shooting in Baghdad partially on inadequate security by U.S. troops.
Game's changed Hosseini, fetch my irony gun.
Posted by: George Smiley ||
05/17/2008 10:59 Comments ||
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#3
Who cares what Iran has to say.
It is a nation of idiots.
I heard that a U.S. soldier used the Quran for target practice.
So what.
I have pissed on that fake book of lies.
George Vreeland Hill
Posted by: George Vreeland Hill ||
05/17/2008 18:34 Comments ||
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Ahmad Chalabi is nothing if not indefatigable. The dapper Iraqi multimillionaire who was instrumental in pressing the U.S. to invade Iraq and viewed by many in Washington as the presumptive leader of a future Iraqi government failed to win a seat in his country's parliament in 2005, and came under suspicion in Washington of passing secrets to Iran (although no charges were ever filed in this respect). Still, he bounced back, and was tapped last November to run a committee tasked with improving the delivery of basic services such as water and electricity in Baghdad. The post required coordinating with U.S. officials including General David Petraeus, and Chalabi hoped to use it to begin building a new power base on the streets of Baghdad, especially among the 2.5 million potential voters of the hardscrabble Sadr City.
But not if Washington has any say in the matter: This week, according to two U.S. officials, America's diplomats and military liaisons were told to cut off ties with Chalabi. One official said the instruction came in anticipation of Chalabi being taken off the Baghdad Services Committee, adding that if the Iraqi government is removing him from his position, then there is no need to contact him or provide support. NBC News first reported the rebuke on its website, citing American concern over Chalabi's contacts with Iran. A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad would not elaborate on the order, saying "we maintain contact with a wide variety of Iraqi interlocutors." Chalabi, through a spokesman, said he had not been informed of any change in his relationship with the U.S. or Iraqi governments. Chalabi also denied that his dealings with Iran were any different from those of Iraq's current President, Jalal Talibani, or Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Allegations about Chalabi's ties to Iran are not new. His Baghdad compound was raided in 2004 when U.S. officials suspected he had warned Iranian intelligence that the U.S. had broken its communications codes. A subsequent FBI investigation led to no charges, and Chalabi was never questioned in the matter, even when he traveled to the U.S. in 2005 as a deputy prime minister of Iraq. Since then, U.S. contact with Chalabi has been mostly limited to his efforts to bring power generators and water trucks to the most neglected neighborhoods of Baghdad.
His new position had provided Chalabi with some political capital, and a little publicity. His political organization, the Iraqi National Congress, recently launched a weekly newspaper dedicated to citizens' complaints about the lack of services around Baghdad. An op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal on April 12 wrote that "arguably [Chalabi] has, more than anyone in the country, evolved a detailed sense of what ails Baghdad and how to fix things."
Over the past six months, Chalabi has focused a lot of attention on delivering services to Sadr City, the northeast Baghdad Shi'ite slum that is a major stronghold of the firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. To do this required close coordination with al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which has over the past month been locked in fierce battles with U.S. and Iraqi government forces. The U.S. alleges that elements of the Mahdi Army have received training and weapons from Iran. "We talk to the Madhi Army," says Chalabi spokesman Mohammad Hassan al-Moussawi, "because the Madhi Army is the one holding the ground [in Sadr City]."
But his coordination with the Sadrists has put Chalabi at odds with Prime Minister Maliki. Malaki launched a military offensive in March to squeeze the Mahdi Army out of Sadr City. One of the militia's tactics, taking a page out of the playbook of Lebanon's Hizballah, has been to secure popular support by delivering some of their basic welfare needs. A U.S. official says it is for this reason that Chalabi's coordination with the militia in the course of delivering basic services in Sadr City has become a point of contention with Maliki. And the U.S. is simply following the lead of the Iraqi government by cutting ties with Chalabi, says the official. "This is a beef between Maliki and Chalabi," a U.S. official told TIME, "and we back Maliki." Chalabi's office denies any tension. "We have very good relations with Maliki," says a spokesman, adding that all of his efforts to deliver services in Sadr City are being done not to serve Chalabi's personal political ambitions, but "in the name of the Iraqi government." No longer, it seems.
First of all, Chalabi's committee can't make anybody do anything. Second I've been waiting for Chalabi's rivals to cut him off at the knees as soon as he has too much success. Third providing services to Sadr City could make the GOI look good in the run up to the elections.
I suspect that this has to do with Iraqi elections, with some cabinet ministers trying to make sure Chalabi doesn't replace them.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
05/17/2008 16:29 Comments ||
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#2
Third providing services to Sadr City could make the GOI look good in the run up to the elections.
If it was the GoI direct, and not channeled through the Mahdis...
BAGHDAD - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, leading an offensive against al Qaeda in the north, offered cash and freedom from prosecution on Friday to fighters who give up their weapons within 10 days. Maliki made the amnesty offer in the northern city of Mosul, where he has been supervising a U.S.-backed campaign aimed at delivering a fatal blow to Sunni Islamist al Qaeda in the city and surrounding Nineveh province.
'We have decided to grant amnesty to those who joined the armed groups on condition they hand over heavy and medium weapons to the security forces,' Maliki said in a statement. He did not elaborate, but this would mean weapons such as rocket-propelled grenade launchers and mortars. Iraqi law allows each household to have an AK-47 assault rifle. Those who turned in arms would be paid a cash reward, Maliki said, without saying how much.
But in a condition that could limit the amnesty's reach, he said it only applied to 'those who did not commit crimes against civilians or stain their hands with blood'.
'This operation ... will achieve its goals: imposing law, preserving order, saving (Mosul) from the evil of terrorist groups and the remnants of the past regime,' Maliki said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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[1 views]
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#1
I'm becoming a fan of Maliki. This is a good move to keep the Sunnis onside.
The Shia movement loyal to rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr voiced optimism on Friday over the implementation of a truce with the government, to end deadly clashes in the Baghdad Shia district of Sadr City.
A delegation of five members from the al-Sadr movement arrived in Sadr City with the guidance of Moqtada al-Sadr to follow up the implementation of the agreement, al-Sadr spokesman Salah Al-Obeidi told AFP in the Najaf. There is good co-operation between the Iraqi forces and the al-Sadr movement, he added.
"Please don't kill us!"
Obeidi said that he hoped US forces, which have taken the brunt of the fighting with the militiamen, would now pull back from the district. There was no immediate comment from the US military. The truce deal provides for the deployment of Iraqi security forces in Sadr City but there were no immediate signs of troops moving in.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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[1 views]
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#1
REDDIT > NEOCON US GENERAL SAYS US SHOULD SPONSOR TERROR ATTACKS INSIDE IRAN???
Ma'an - Hamas spokesperson Aiman Taha confirmed on Friday morning that Hamas have delayed their visit to Cairo to next week. Taha told Ma'an that the visit was due to happen on Friday of this week.
He said the delegation are going to Egypt to discuss the results of Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman's meeting with the Israelis regarding the proposed truce. He also said they have not ruled out releasing kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, but this will involve conditions that differ from those set out in the truce.
This article starring:
AIMAN TAHA
Hamas
Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman
Gilad Shalit
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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[1 views]
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Islamic Jihad said on Friday they considered US President George W. Bush's calls to eliminate the Palestinian resistance as a tacit nod to Israel to stage a large scale invasion of the Gaza Strip and thus constitute a declaration of war in the region.
The movement said in a statement that Bush's support for the Jewish state during the Israeli sixtieth anniversary celebrations demonstrated American political and military support for Israel and was an affirmation of personal support to the beleagured Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert.
They said they also considered Bush's visit as demonstrating complete disregard for the Arab leaders who support compromise.
The statement said that the Israeli occupation will not rule another 60 years as Bush had claimed and it will not be able to eliminate the Palestinian resistance along with the right of return and self-determination.
Islamic Jihad also called on the Arab countries that will host Bush to focus on the Palestinians' right of return, ending the siege on the Gaza Strip, re-opening the crossings and ending the ongoing atrocities against the Palestinian people.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Lest we fergit, REDDIT/TOPIX [old] >ISRAEL WILL DISAPPEAR in 10-20 YEARS. Based on article write-use date(s), timeline is approxi 2014-2018???
#2
JPOST > THE GATHERING STORM AND BEYOND; + BIN LADEN VOWS HOLY WAR UNTIL THE END OF ISRAEL AND LIBERATION OF PALESTINE + KRAUTHAMMER: FOR PEACE THE PALESTINIANS MUST RECOGNIZE ISRAEL.
#6
Where 1979 was not? Where the hijacking of our planes and people were not? Where the bombing of the Marine barracks were not? Cole was not? Kobi towers was not?
Piss off, you wastes of oxygen. You have been at war with the west for 50 years and it only took until 9/11 for some of us to realize it. The faster your kind die or give up your murderous ideology, the better.
#8
g(r)omgoru: You have been at war with the west for 50 years
More like 5000---look up pre-Islamic Arab history, Lord Vader
Instead of shitty pot shot at America, Why not an eloquent treaties laying out the entire History between the West and the East; Be sure to Balance the Clash of Civilizations with both constructive relations as well as the destructive.
Ummm, RD you're reading something that isn't there, I see no shitty pot shot at America, I see a factual statement that Islam has been "At War" for around 5000 years, and that's entirely true.
Maybe you should re-read that with open eyes and NO prejudice aforehand, might be an enlightening read.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/17/2008 13:46 Comments ||
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#10
g(r)omgoru is correct. The Islam has been at war with the non-believers since its founding. I was referring to the Palestinian conflict in the 50 year remark that they praised, took part in and glorified every terrorist attack made. I didn't see an anti-American shot in his comments.
#12
Redneck Jim: Ummm, RD you're reading something that isn't there
Hey when wrong it best to admit it.. So yes I read something into it... G'roms long record of nit-picking America.
>:)
Redneck Jim:I see a factual statement that Islam has been "At War" for around 5000 years, and that's entirely true.
whoa, LOL!
How bout getting your facts straight.
Islam (isläm', is'läm) [key], [Arab.,= submission to God], world religion founded by the Prophet Muhammad. Founded in the 7th cent., Islam is the youngest of the three monotheistic world religions (with Judaism and Christianity). An adherent to Islam is a Muslim [Arab.,=one who submits].
For the most part, Islam has been in diametrical opposition to the West, Christendom and the Jews for over a thousand years..
and water is wet... all Rantburgers are aware of this.
Beginning last century the Muslim Brotherhood, [the Egyptian fascist movement] and the extremist Wahhabis from Saudi Arabia [18th century], Reforged a Fundamentalist Islam whose goal was and is to destroy the West, Jews, and Christendom and rule the World.. sounds almost childish except for the millions of dead bodies..
We've witnessed it up close and personal, the malice, the violence and the Contempt they have for our civilation here in the West, Israel, and Christendom.
IN FACT in every Islamic nation as well as Western Nations there are radical Islamic movements in them, some of them are even in the open and flourishing.
Way oversimplified ...
_____________________________________
article:
Islamic Jihad: Bush's calls to eliminate the resistance is an obvious declaration of war!
Gaza - Ma'an - Islamic Jihad said on Friday they considered US President George W. Bush's calls to eliminate the Palestinian resistance as a tacit nod to Israel to stage a large scale invasion of the Gaza Strip and thus constitute a declaration of war in the region.
Good Call Prez. Bush.
The movement said in a statement that Bush's support for the Jewish state during the Israeli sixtieth anniversary celebrations demonstrated American political and military support for Israel and was an affirmation of personal support to the beleaguered Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert.
If Islamic Jihad is tweaked and whining then it's a good Thing!
They said they also considered Bush's visit as demonstrating complete disregard for the Arab leaders who support compromise.
Boo freaking hoo!
The statement said that the Israeli occupation will not rule another 60 years as Bush had claimed and it will not be able to eliminate the Palestinian resistance along with the right of return and self-determination.
Islamic Jihad also called on the Arab countries that will host Bush to focus on the Palestinians' right of return, ending the siege on the Gaza Strip, re-opening the crossings and ending the ongoing atrocities against the Palestinian people.
President Bush certainly didn't please Islamic Jihad!
#13
OK , RD, sometimes i'm a bit slow.
Ive got your fighting style down pat now.
1. Pick a small mistake.
2. Blow it into a big error.
3. Blast it, lie and scream.
Done, I will never contradict you again, just live your hate filled life without my input.
Goodbye now.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/17/2008 22:48 Comments ||
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Following are excerpts from an interview with Sheik Ali Al-Faqir, former Jordanian minister of religious endowment, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on May 2, 2008.
Sheik Ali Al-Faqir: We must declare that Palestine, from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea, is an Islamic land, and that Spain Andalusia is also the land of Islam. Islamic lands that were occupied by the enemies will once again become Islamic. Furthermore, we will reach beyond these countries, which are lost at one point. We proclaim that we will conquer Rome, like Constantinople was conquered once, and as it will be conquered again.
Interviewer: Allah willing.
Sheik Ali Al-Faqir: We will rule the world, as has been said by the Prophet Muhammad.
[...]
We will face a battlefront that is broader and stronger. Its beginnings were in Palestine, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in Chechnya. What has begun will be completed. It will not stop.
[...]
The Zionist entity reached completion, and it is beginning to decline, until it will wane and come to its end. Similarly, America has occupied, thundered, and foamed with rage, and proclaimed, like Pharoah, "I am your supreme God," but it will come to its end, and they have begun to realize that their end is near. We have begun to read in American and European newspapers that "our glory is on the wane, and there is nothing we can do about it." This morning on Al-Jazeera TV, I saw American scientists and strategic theoreticians, who said that America would soon come to its end. They said it before about the USSR, and, indeed, it has come to its end, and we say now that America and the EU will come to an end, and only the rising force of Islam will prevail.
The President of LBH Perjuangan Hukum dan Politik, Aldian Pinem, said in Medan, North Sumatra, in early April that the Geert Wilders short movie Fitna was an attempt to create the impression that all violence in the world was caused by Muslims.
This was not the case, he said, Islam was a creed that always encouraged its adherents to seek peaceful resolutions to conflicts and there were many Quranic verses to support this. He recommended that Wilders be put to death for his lies.
#1
"He recommended that Wilders be put to death for his lies."
YJCMTSU.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/17/2008 18:05 Comments ||
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#2
This reminds me of Mel Brooks when asked what the difference was between comedy and tragedy, responded: "Tragedy is when I have a hangnail, Comedy is when I see you walk and fall into an open manhole and die."
This is so much like the muslims. The least offense to their sensibilities is punishable by death. The most violent of their actions when aimed at the Infidel is considered normal.
Posted by: Crotch Oppressor of the Veal Cutlets9064 ||
05/17/2008 21:45 Comments ||
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Bali bomber Amrozi finds love in prison, and marries today, while his execution seems to be nearing.
Love
On May 12th condemned terrorist will re-marry his ex-wife Siti Rohmah/Rahma, who he divorced in 2000.
Amrozis lawyer from Muslim Legal Team (Tim Pengacara Muslim (TPM)), Mahendardatta, says the love between Amrozi and Rahma had been rekindled of late, because Rahma was a regular visitor to the Nusa Kambangan prison, Cilacap, Central Java, where Amrozi spends his days.
Once Amrozi is gone Mahendardatta says: [1]
That Rahma will carry on the jihad struggle, that is certain. But not as a terrorist, those who call Amrozi a terrorist, well, thats you people [journalists].
Execution
Meanwhile it seems that the execution of Amrozi, and fellow prisoners Imam Samudra and Muklas aka Ali Ghufron, will take place not in Bali but in Cilacap, and the time is drawing near. Says Abdul Hakim Ritonga of the Attorney Generals Office: [2]
The preparations are almost complete.
The final decision to go ahead with the execution rests with the minister for Law.
Amrozi
Method
Mahendradatta of the TPM had requested clarification from the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) on whether death by firing squad was a legitimate method of capital punishment within Islam. [3]
"After a person has been shot they dont die for 5 minutes, so its torture, but if firing squads are deemed within the bounds of Islamic law [by the MUI], well then thats it."
Impatient
Another TPM lawyer, Achmad Midhan, says he cant understand what is happening with the plans for the execution and why the TPMs third request for a judicial review of the case is being ignored. [4]
"If theyre brave enough just do it now! Its strange, there are over 90 death penalty cases where the legal processes are complete but the executions havent been carried out. The Attorney Generals office should respect our clients efforts to have their cases reviewed."
Update. Amrozi wasnt allowed to have the marriage go ahead in the prison, so the ceremony took place in Lamongan, his home village, and he was represented by his younger brother Ali Fauzi. [5]
Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Saturday slammed the government's move to allow U.S. energy firm Halliburton to set up shop in Malaysia, saying the country doesn't need "blood money" to fund its development. Halliburton recently launched a 200 million ringgit ($62.5 million) manufacturing center in the Iskandar Malaysia economic hub in southern Johor state.
Mahathir, a vocal critic of the 2003 U.S invasion of Iraq, accused the firm, which is linked to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, of raking in billions of dollars in profit from the Iraq war. "It is appalling that we have allowed this war-profiteering company to invest in Malaysia," he said in a statement. "Are we so void of our humanity that we have to allow these war criminals to come in and thrive in our economy?"
Mahathir, who remains a respected figure in the Islamic world even after his retirement in 2003 after 22 years in power, urged the government to ban Halliburton from using their "ill-gotten profits to operate in any way" in Malaysia. He described Cheney and U.S. President George W.Bush as "war criminals" who should be put on trial for the Iraq war. The former leader now heads the Perdana Global Peace Organization, a non-governmental group.
Iskandar Malaysia's chief Ikmal Hijaz Hashim has defended Halliburton's investment, saying it would create jobs and benefit the country. The Iskandar hub is among five massive development programs nationwide by the government to woo investment and spur growth in rural areas.
The United States voiced support Friday for talks in Qatar aimed at ending Lebanon's sectarian clashes while hoping from afar that Hezbollah does not turn its military gains into political ones.
US officials have contacted Qatar's prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani and other Arab mediators to assure them of support for negotiations between Lebanon's pro-Western majority and Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria.
"What we are doing is making it clear first of all that we do support this process because there are a lot of people who would like to say that we don't," a senior US State Department official, who requested anonymity, told reporters.
"We are in touch with Lebanese from across the political spectrum ... to note that we are supporting this process, that we will be helpful but not interfering with this process," the official said.
US President George W. Bush's administration does not want Hezbollah, which it brands a terrorist movement, to use any US remarks as a pretext for bolting the negotiations if they are unable to accept concessions, he said.
However, analysts doubt how neutral Washington can be toward a gathering with potentially serious regional consequences.
Paul Salem, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Friday that the United States and its ally Saudi Arabia had drawn "red lines" for the Lebanese government.
He said the main one is not to allow Hezbollah to gain a "blocking third," which would give it a veto over government decisions.
"Hezbollah has made some real gains on the ground and is likely to make some real gains in politics, in agreements that are made in the next days or weeks," the Beirut-based analyst told a conference call with reporters in Washington.
But the senior State Department official said Washington would not intervene in the negotiations to form a future government.
"In terms of the composition of the cabinet, it really is truly a Lebanese decision, it is not an American decision," said the official.
But he could not stop himself from saying that the question of disarming Hezbollah -- required by UN Security Council resolution 1559 in 2004 -- should be on the agenda of the negotiations in Doha, the Qatari capital.
The conference agenda, announced by the Arab League on Thursday, calls for "launching a dialogue to shore up the authority of the Lebanese state throughout the country and its relations with the different parties in Lebanon in order to guarantee the security of the state and its citizens."
The official said: "That reference in the document of yesterday and the fact that the same participants are in Doha that were in the 2006 dialogue, suggests to me that yes, Hezbollah's arms will be part of this national dialogue.
"Certainly the question of Hezbollah's arms is even more important now that Hezbollah has exposed itself to the Lebanese and to the world for what they would use them for," the senior official said.
Since clashes erupted more than a week ago between supporters of the opposition and the majority, US officials say Hezbollah has lost legitimacy as an anti-Israeli resistance movement by turning its arsenal on fellow Lebanese.
The clashes have claimed the lives of at least 65 people and wounded more than 200 others.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
US President George W. Bush's administration does not want Hezbollah, which it brands a terrorist movement, to use any US remarks as a pretext for bolting the negotiations if they are unable to accept concessions, he said.
I wonder what the historians of the Jihad Wars will have to say about Bush II?
"His heart was in the right place, but..."
Lebanon's pro-Western government and the Hezbollah-led opposition have agreed to discuss electing the country's army chief as its next president, following some of the worst sectarian strife since a 15-year civil war ended nearly two decades ago.
The two groups are scheduled to meet in Qatar on Friday, said Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, who has been mediating. The goal is to negotiate an agreement to elect Gen. Michel Suleiman as president, he said.
Political crisis has paralyzed Lebanon and left it without a president since November. On Monday, the government postponed for the 19th time a parliamentary session to elect a new president.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2008 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Somali pirates hijacked a Jordanian ship Saturday in the latest in a string of attacks off the lawless coast of Somalia, the head of a seafarer's association said. 
When former Guantanamo inmate Abdullah Saleh al-Ajmi blew up an Iraqi police station and himself in April, a U.S.-based Web site was quick to post a reaction. "This is what you call a success story," 
India and Pakistan are to sign an agreement next week for immediate declaration of arrests of each others nationals, early release of those crossing borders and the Line of Control (LoC) inadvertently, and consular access to all prisoners within three months of arrest. The agreement, to be signed on Wednesday during External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjees first visit after the new government took reigns in Pakistan, will confirm the agreement which home secretaries of both countries reached regarding the exchange of prisoners and release of those who had completed their sentences.
Residents of Indian-held Kashmir, the countrys only state with a Muslim majority, are drinking more alcohol, excise officials said, after years of intimidation by Islamic militants.
Police probing bombings in western India that killed 61 people said on Friday that new evidence pointed increasingly towards Indian militants backed by a Bangladeshi militant group as being behind the blasts. 
Counter-terrorism authorities are investigating the presence of foreign militants at Wednesday nights special dinner at Damdola that was struck ostensibly by guided missiles, sources told Daily Times on Friday. It was a special dinner and guests included Wazir and Mohmand militants, a source told Daily Times on condition of anonymity. The Taliban have cordoned off the area and our special agents have not found a clue as to whether there was a high value target or any foreign militants [at the dinner]. But since guests were invited from other regions as well, that makes us suspicious of the presence of special foreign guests, the source said.
Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Saturday slammed the government's move to allow U.S. energy firm Halliburton to set up shop in Malaysia, saying the country doesn't need "blood money" to fund its development. Halliburton recently launched a 200 million ringgit ($62.5 million) manufacturing center in the Iskandar Malaysia economic hub in southern Johor state.
The United States voiced support Friday for talks in Qatar aimed at ending Lebanon's sectarian clashes while hoping from afar that Hezbollah does not turn its military gains into political ones.
