KABUL: Afghanistan will not be secure as long as insurgents are allowed to operate freely in sanctuaries on the Pakistan side of the border, NATO spokesman Mark Laity said on Sunday. We know that as long as the insurgents operate safely on the Pakistan side of the border, then there can not be security in Afghanistan, he said.
Laity made no mention of the Pakistani offensive in Khyber Agency but referring to Pakistani government efforts to end surging militant violence through negotiations, said militants could not be given a free hand. There will be no settlements on peace on either side of the boundary while insurgents are able to operate freely inside and outside Pakistan, he said.
In a report to the United States Congress on Friday, the Pentagon singled out the insurgent sanctuaries in Pakistan as the biggest threat to security in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt - The African Union demanded Monday that Eritrea immediately withdraw its troops from a border area in dispute with Djibouti. The African Union strongly condemn Eritrea's military action against Djibouti in Ras Doumeira and Doumeira Island and demands that Eritrea withdraw immediately and unconditionally, it said in a statement from its Peace and Security Council released on the margins of a summit of heads of state being held here.
African Union is almost as effective as the Arab League ...
The African Union urges the two countries, in particular Eritrea, to show restraint, resort to dialogue to resolve any bilateral dispute and to give cooperation to all efforts deployed to this effect, said the statement. The African Union's Peace and Security Committee met Sunday, but the results of the meeting were not previously made public.
Tension between the Horn of Africa countries has been high since April 16 when Eritrean troops raided Ras Doumeira, a disputed promontory on the shores of the Red Sea, as it pursued deserters. Clashes on June 10 killed nine people. The neighbors fought for control of the area in 1996 and 1999 and have never held talks to resolve the dispute.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2008 22:31 ||
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JEDDAH The Saudi security authorities are carrying out raids in the kingdom to foil any terrorist plots and arrest suspects, according to Lt. Gen. Mansour Al Turki, the Ministry of Interiors official spokesman. The security agencies are keeping constant vigil on all suspected activities, but I dont have any report about the detention of anyone after Wednesdays announcement, Al Turki said in Riyadh on Saturday.
They keep arresting people, and terrorists keep popping up ...
Referring to the arrest of 701 people over suspected plots to bomb oil installations and security targets this year, he said the mission has not ended and added that operations will continue, more efforts will be exerted and more arrests will be made. Of the 701 suspects detained so far this year, 520 are still being held while 181 have been released.
The Ministry of Interior periodically announces arrests and terror sweeps over a number of months. In November 2007, it revealed that over 200 suspects had been arrested in raids in different parts of the country.
Meanwhile, several religious scholars have stressed the need to deal firmly with extremists.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Terrorists may be planning to launch suicide bomb attacks in Britain using former NHS ambulances and police cars bought on auction website eBay, police chiefs have warned. The Association of Chief Police Officers said ministers must legislate to stop the sale of such vehicles amid fears that al-Qa'eda inspired extremists may import a tactic already used in Iraq and Israel.
Every year dozens of police cars, ambulances and fire engines are sold. Some are fully marked and can be bought for as little as £1,500. Counter-terrorism officials at the Home Office have now written to eBay, the internet auctioneer, asking it to stop selling emergency service vehicles, equipment and uniforms. However, eBay has said it will only self-regulate if a new law is passed.
A report from the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, sent to chief constables, highlights recent attacks by Al-Qa'eda in Iraq and Israel, including one in February in which a suicide bomber drove a stolen ambulance packed with explosives into an Iraqi police station. The bomber tried to break through a checkpoint but the vehicle exploded when police opened fire.
The report says terrorists have been using ambulances to transport bombs in Israel since at least 2002. It cites a report by the Israeli Defence Forces that Palestinian terrorists have used ambulances to ferry recruits and equipment around the West Bank. Security sources said that while there was evidence that al-Qa'eda had adopted the terrorist tactic in the Middle East, there was no specific intelligence of such a plot in Britain.
Steve Watts, Assistant Chief Constable of Hampshire Police, is chairing a national security committee which is drawing up plans to tackle the terrorist threat. He said: 'What concerns me is the lack of legislation available for the police service to adequately address the threat of pseudo-emergency service vehicles used in such an environment.'
Posted by: ryuge ||
06/30/2008 05:23 ||
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#1
Either that or trying to get you to ship a computer to Nigeria before payment is tendered.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
06/30/2008 14:08 Comments ||
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#5
"That doesn't mean you can say anything, but you have to really cross a line and be unnecessarily hurtful and insulting and not add anything" to the national debate in order for prosecutors to act, she said.
BY the time you read this, I will be in Iran. I've never been there before, never met an Iranian leader - I don't even like the present Iranian leadership - so remember all that, because it might become important.
I'm determined to do my bit for the anti-war effort. We need another war like Gordon Brown needs another by-election.
But the Sunday papers were again full of Israeli war games and threats as speculation mounts of a massive bombardment of yet another Muslim country.
I'm going for the first anniversary of Press TV, on which I present two programmes - Comment at 10.30pm on Thursdays and The Real Deal at 10.30pm on Sundays.
This week I hope to meet Ali Larijani, formerly Iran's nuclear negotiator, now speaker of the Iranian parliament and, I hope, the next president.
Larijani proved beyond even the CIA's attempt at contradiction that Iran is acting entirely within her legal rights to develop nuclear power.
As a signatory to the treaty governing the development of nuclear weapons, Iran has done nothing wrong under it either, at least according to the watchdog maintained by the international community, the IAEA.
Israel, on the other hand, refuses to sign the nuclear weapons treaty and thus, with a chutzpah which takes the breath away, claims it's not in breach of it.
Yet last week, it acknowledged the truth first revealed by the Israeli hero Mordechai Vannunu, who spent nearly 20 years in solitary for telling us that they possess nuclear weapons in abundance.
Their brazenness about this reached its apogee when they publicly thanked France, in the diminutive form of Nicolas Sarkozy, for the decisive help they had given them (we ourselves gave them the heavy water technology) to enable to build their nuclear arsenal.
So let me run that past you. Israel, which has hundreds of nuclear weapons, seems to be planning to attack a country with none with the support of France, Britain and the US and all in the name of, er, checking the spread of nuclear weapons in that region.
You couldn't make it up, but alas you don't have to.
The Dr Strangeloves who've taken over the bunker have already done so.
Next week's column, should I survive, will no doubt tell you about the great civilisation that is Persia, which hasn't attacked another country for more than 300 years, not a boast we can make ourselves.
Iran is no broken-backed land enfeebled by decades of war and sanctions.
If attacked, she most certainly will defend herself and by all means necessary.
Fasten your seatbelts. Let's hear it for Britain's top spy and his effort to assassinate the Iranian President!
#6
Next week's column, should I survive, will no doubt tell you about the great civilisation that is Persia, which hasn't attacked another country for more than 300 years, not a boast we can make ourselves.
Nah. They don't have the guts do it themselves. They just hire proxies like Hezbullah, Hamas, and the Mahdi Army to attack Lebanon, Israel, Iraq and the US. Oh, but there was that little incident at the US embassy in Tehran. But I guess we have to excuse the barbarians if they don't understand the concept of embassies being the territory of the countries they represent.
Then we have the fact that Iranian leaders have declared publicly their intention to "blow Israel off the map". Achmadinejad's words, not mine.
We're not fooled by your propaganda, George. We hope you're at ground zero.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/30/2008 23:15 Comments ||
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#7
And if I get sink trapped for that remark I'm glad I said it anyway.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/30/2008 23:19 Comments ||
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A nearly 700-page study released Sunday by the Army found that U.S. commanders prematurely believed their goals in Iraq had been reached and did not send enough troops to handle the occupation. President George W. Bush's statement on May 1, 2003, that major combat operations were over reinforced that view, the study said.
Hundreds of commanders and other soldiers and officials were interviewed for the report released Sunday. The Army ordered the study to review what happened in the 18 months after the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime. A report on the invasion was released earlier. It was written by Donald P. Wright and Col. Timothy R. Reese of the Contemporary Operations Study Team at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., who said that planners who requested more troops were ignored and that commanders in Baghdad were replaced without enough of a transition and lacked enough staff.
Gen. William S. Wallace, commanding general of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, said in a foreword that it's no surprise that a report with these conclusions was written. 'One of the great and least understood qualities of the United States Army is its culture of introspection and self-examination,' he wrote.
The report said that the civilian and military planning for a post-Saddam Iraq was inadequate, and that the Army should have pushed the Joint Chiefs of Staff for better planning and preparation. Retired military leaders, members of Congress, think tanks and others have already concluded with little basis in fact that the occupation was understaffed.
The report said that after Saddam's regime was removed from power, most commanders and units expected to transition to stability and support operations, similar to what was seen in Bosnia and Kosovo. Commanders with the mindset that victory had already been achieved believed that a post-combat Iraq would require 'only a limited commitment by the U.S. military and would be relatively peaceful and short as Iraqis quickly assumed responsibility,' the study said. Then all the Saddamites, with all the responsibility, were removed, for 'de-baathification'.
'Few commanders foresaw that full spectrum operations in Iraq would entail the simultaneous employment of offense, defense, stability, and support operations by units at all echelons of command to defeat new, vicious, and effective enemies,' it added.
The report said the first Bush administration and its advisers had assumed incorrectly that the Saddam regime would collapse after the first Gulf War. This is relevant to the purpose of the study in what way?
When Saddam was so quickly defeated in 2003, there was an absence of authority that led to widespread looting and violence, the report said. Soldiers initially had no plan to deal with that. The administration's decision to remove Saddam's followers entirely from power caused governmental services to collapse, 'fostering a huge unemployment problem,' it said.
Planners in the Iraq headquarters said 300,000 troops would be needed for the occupation. Even before the invasion, some planners had called for 300,000 troops to be sent for the invasion and occupation. I blame Clinton. Had he not gutted the military, we might have had enough troops to send 300,000.
During an April 16, 2003, visit to Baghdad, coalition commander Gen. Tommy Franks told his subordinate leaders to prepare to move most of their forces out of Iraq by September of that year, the report noted. 'In line with the prewar planning and general euphoria at the rapid crumbling of the Saddam regime, Franks continued to plan for a very limited role for U.S. ground forces in Iraq,' the report said.
The report said it wasn't until July 16, 2003, that Franks' successor, Gen. John Abizaid, said coalition forces were facing a classic guerrilla insurgency.
The authors said the Army had considerable experience and training for guerrilla wars but had not been in one like Iraq since 1992 in Somalia. They said former Secretary of State Colin Powell warned Franks 'that he thought too few troops were envisioned in the (invasion) plan.'
Some commanders told the authors they asked about plans for making the country stable and got no answers. The 'post-war situation in Iraq was severely out of line with the suppositions made at nearly every level before the war,' the report said.
Its writers said it was clear in January 2005 that the Army would remain in Iraq for some time, the writers concluded. The report covered the period from May 2003 to January 2005. Except for the reference to the first President Bush and his mistake in the 1991 war.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/30/2008 06:06 ||
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#1
From Page 19, in the Prologue:
The Coalitions plan to oust Saddam had been an overwhelming success. Its rapidity and audacity moved military historian John Keegan to describe the offensive as a lightning campaign that was unprecedented in its speed and decisiveness.
This stunning victory led President Bush, with the encouragement of his top military leaders,
to announce the end to major combat operations on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. While viewed by some as tantamount to a declaration of victory, in reality, this announcement merely marked the point where the campaign transitioned from combat to the next phase of operations focused on the reconstruction of Iraq. The US Government and Coalition military forces alike found themselves unprepared for what came next. At this point, policy formulated in Washington, DC, and in London began to shape operations far more than plans made by CENTCOM or even the actual conditions on the ground in Iraq.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/30/2008 6:57 Comments ||
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#2
But Clinton did it just right because he kept the Army out of combat and wore the Air Force out with useless no-fly zones and precision bombing in the Balkans from 15,000 feet.
It would be a more impressive report if the Army had displayed its culture of introspection instead of a whitewash with finger pointing.
Reading this excerpt makes me think the Army wants to be only knuckle draggers who go in and break things and kill people then leave to come home. It's not hard to get inside their OODA loop because they don't have one. I know better and can smell a political hatchet job. They'd better be careful about getting into domestic politics.
#3
From Page 38-39 (Overview)The Caldron Boils Over: AprilJune 2004
While the CPA and CJTF-7 were attempting to reestablish control in Fallujah, Coalition leaders found themselves facing a potentially larger threat in the form of Muqtada al-Sadrs forces. In late March 2004 al-Sadrs virulent rhetoric and anti-Coalition actions prompted the Coalition to take action. The CPA ordered al-Sadrs newspaper, al-Hawza, to be shut down, and on 5 April Bremer declared al-Sadr an outlaw.24 At the same time, an Iraqi judge issued an arrest warrant for al-Sadr in connection with the murder of Shia cleric Abd Al-Majid al-Khoei on 10 April 2003.
Al-Sadr reacted by ordering his forces to move against the Coalition. Beginning on 4 April violence erupted in Sadr City and in the Shia-dominated cities of An Najaf, Kufa, Al Kut, and Karbala. In Al Kut the arrest of one of Muqtada al-Sadrs lieutenants, Mustafa al-Yacoubi, prompted the Mahdi Army to take over the local television and radio stations and overwhelm the CPA compound, the local government buildings, and the Iraqi police station. Mahdi Army militiamen launched attacks on local police stations and government buildings in other cities as well.25 In Sadr City the attacks against American units were particularly deadly.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/30/2008 7:05 Comments ||
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#4
Several points were first, that both Bush's followed the advice and conclusions of the military command, and that if there was any fault, it lied not with the Pentagon, or the civilian reconstruction apparatus created by the administration, but with the State Department, whose performance was inadequate under Colin Powell.
#5
This is relevant to the purpose of the study in what way?
It isn't.
..who said that planners who requested more troops were ignored..
Ask the authors to name at least three American commanders of any time (1776- ), who've said - 'We don't need anymore troops. We already have enough.'
The administration's decision to remove Saddam's followers entirely from power caused governmental services to collapse..
And George Bush's failure to fire all the Clintonistas in his own administration demonstrated that no good deed goes unpunished either. George's back resembles a big slice of swiss cheese from all the knife marks.
"One of the great and least understood qualities of the United States Army is its culture of introspection and self-examination,"
Then why have you continued to ignore the first hundred years of your own history of nation building, dealing with tribes and insurgents, civil military government, and playing the political game? Anyone come across in the witting that the Army's own obsession with the 'Big War' [aka Central Europe] has created an institutional mind set that lead to the poor follow through planning? Back up through the early 90's I know the Army's Center for Army Lesson Learned charter charge it with examining ops from 1939 on. Note well the implication of WWII and conventional warfare.
Any good military historian knows that in 1808 Napoleon destroyed the standing Spanish Army and then would spend the next 6 years dealing with the Spanish Ulcer. However, one Marshal of France, Suchet, would establish control and avoid the fight that would plague the others. Instead of looking at what he did [which is remarkably similar to what Petraeus would do], we have to learn all over again, because we're too modern to grasp basic human behaviors.
"Few commanders foresaw that full spectrum operations in Iraq would entail the simultaneous employment of offense, defense, stability, and support operations by units at all echelons of command to defeat new, vicious, and effective enemies,"
Assume - makes an ASS out of U and ME.
Some commanders told the authors they asked about plans for making the country stable and got no answers.
The 'bingo' 'light goes on' moment when you need leaders not managers. So, whatcha doing about McMaster's promotion? Anyone perusing the report find anything castigating the peacetime promotion and selection system being used during wartime? An army exists to conduct war. It's promotion and selection system should be aligned with that one reality. Peacetime systems need to be suspended.
#6
Rummy wanted to get in, depose Saddam, dissolve the Ba'athist party and get out, leaving the Iraqis with the motivation to move up the J curve quickly. He had no desire to be an occupying force and no illusions about what that would entail, IMO.
Powell led the chorus saying if we broke it we owned it - but we could only fix it his way and if anyone tried to break it again we couldn't do anything to stop them other than to retreat in guilt and defeat.
Clinton's generals were pissed at Rummy well before 9/11 and seemed to be stuck either in WWII or in Vietnam mode, failing to learn the appropriate lessons from either but being damned sure they didn't want Rummy to appear to succeed at any thing.
Meanwhile a whole bunch of more junior and mid-grade officers slowly made alliances, learned the culture, developed information sources, brought water and power to people and made friends. Eventually there were enough friends and info sources for the Anbar Awakening and the surge to be possible. And Petraeus leveraged his considerable brainpower and leadership to make it happen.
Despite the holdovers. And Congress.
Meanwhile, what Rummy feared happened: we got stuck doing counterproductive things that have eroded equipment, people and morale and slowed down transformations that we need for future conflicts. Not all is lost, tho, since we're developing a cadre of officers and NCOs who are adapting spec ops competancies to regular army operations -- no small accomplishment.
#7
Not all is lost, tho, since we're developing a cadre of officers and NCOs who are adapting spec ops competancies to regular army operations -- no small accomplishment.
Agreed, lotp, in fact a very major accomplishment. It's true, the men need a break, but the forces in Iraq are the state of the art in warfare at this moment. We are proud. Anyone who isn't is a bitter commie pinko queer.
#9
"Saddam regime would collapse after the first Gulf War" > the key to this was the destruction of the IRGC as a whole + US capture of specific Iraqi cities-towns of historical-cultural significance.
REMINDER > BUSH 1's MUSLIM ALLIES in DESERT SHIELD/STORM DEMANDED OR CONDITIONED ONLY THAT SADDAM BE REMOVED FROM KUWAIT, NOT REMOVED FROM POWER.
Filing this under 'Home Front' and not 'India-Pakistan' because the debate is really here at home. This is very long and is published in the IHT, which means the NYT had a big hand in it. That means they did their best to compromise our intel. As usual.
WASHINGTON: Late last year, top Bush administration officials decided to take a step they had long resisted. They drafted a secret plan to authorize the Pentagon's Special Operations forces to launch missions into the snow-capped mountains of Pakistan to capture or kill top leaders of Al Qaeda. Intelligence reports for more than a year had been streaming in about Osama bin Laden's terror network rebuilding in the Pakistani tribal areas, a problem that had been exacerbated by years of missteps in Washington and the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, sharp policy disagreements, and turf battles between American counterterrorism agencies.
The new plan, outlined in a highly classified Pentagon order, was designed to eliminate some of those battles. And it was meant to pave an easier path into the tribal areas for American commandos, who for years have bristled at what they see as Washington's risk-averse attitude toward Special Operations missions inside Pakistan. They also argue that catching Bin Laden will come only by capturing some of his senior lieutenants alive.
But more than six months later, the Special Operations forces are still waiting for the green light. The plan has been held up in Washington by the very disagreements it was meant to eliminate. A senior Defense Department official said there was 'mounting frustration' in the Pentagon at the continued delay.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Straight NYT rewrite, however, in the NYT all references to Bin Laden are :Mr. Bin Laden.
And Mr. Zawahiri appears there also, which shows me the 'alledged' part of PC is operative, and 'secret plans' aren't.
#2
But General Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai, the commander of Pakistani forces in northwestern Pakistan, was skeptical...The general, a tall, commanding figure who was born in the tribal areas, was Musharraf's main adviser on the border areas...Former American intelligence officials said Aurakzai's sweeps were slow-moving and easily avoided by militants.
Slow moving and easily avoided?
Ya think?
General Aurazkzai?
Aurakzai?
As in the Aurakzai tribe?
As in the Aurakzai Agency? One of the tribal agencies of FATA?
Perv appoints an Aurakzai to "fight" the Aurakzai and no genius has figured out why his sweeps were slow moving and easily avoided?
Posted by: john frum ||
06/30/2008 7:20 Comments ||
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#3
...As in Uruk-hai a corruption of the term for Orcs in the Black Speech of Mordor.
#2
This really pisses me off. When are we going to hold the NYSlimes responsible for jeoparding not only our national security but our men in the field over there?
It appears that the NYSlimes is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that OBL is not caught on W's watch. Even if it means comprimising our assets in theater.
What a bunch of spineless, witless, self-serving scumbags they have over there at the NYT.
Three of the top United States clandestine agencies, along with US Special Forces and Pakistani intelligence outfits, are targeting the Taliban leadership in Waziristan, according to a report published here.
The exclusive report in the New Yorker by Seymour Hersch
ah, yes - Say More Hersh
Does he actually name a source in this report ...
says that the programme is being executed by professionals from the National Security Agency, the CIA and the Defence Intelligence Agency, who are right in there with the Special Forces and Pakistani intelligence, and theyre dealing with serious bad guys.
The comedians we leave alone ....
A source told the American investigative reporter: We have to be really careful in calling in the missiles. We have to hit certain houses at certain times. The people on the ground are watching through binoculars a few hundred yards away and calling specific locations, in latitude and longitude. We keep the Predator loitering until the targets go into a house, and we have to make sure our guys are far enough away so they dont get hit.
Wow - this must be an extra special operation. I mean, our spec ops guys almost never take care in calling in missiles or hitting high value targets or such.
Prominent victim: One of the most prominent victims of the programme, a former official said, was Abu Laith al-Libi, a senior Taliban commander who was killed on January 31, reportedly in a missile strike that also killed 11 other people. The Washington Post reported on March 26 on the increasing number of successful strikes against Taliban and other insurgent units in Pakistans Tribal Areas. A follow-up article noted that, in response, the Taliban had killed dozens of people suspected of providing information to the US and its allies on the whereabouts of Taliban leaders. Many of the victims were thought to be American spies, and their executions a beheading, in one case were videotaped and distributed by DVD as a warning to others.
Another ex-US intelligence official, commenting on the US attempting something similar in Iran, warned, Its one thing to engage in selective strikes and assassinations in Waziristan and another in Iran. The White House believes that one size fits all, but the legal issues surrounding extrajudicial killings in Waziristan are less of a problem because Al Qaeda and the Taliban cross the border into Afghanistan and back again, often with US and NATO forces in hot pursuit. The situation is not nearly as clear in the Iranian case. All the considerations judicial, strategic, and political are different in Iran.
It's always different, except when it isn't.
This article starring:
Abu Laith al-Libi
al-Qaeda
Seymour Hersch
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Just curious and it is off topic but has Seymour Hersch ever got anything even partially right?
#3
I would be willing to take an oath that Semour Hersh is mostly used by his sources as a conduit to pass disinformation to a wider public.
And no, he hasn't been correct about much in years. I've slammed him a couple of times on the Daily Brief, here and here.
#7
......National Security Agency, the CIA and the Defence Intelligence Agency, who are right in there with the Special Forces and Pakistani intelligence, and theyre dealing with serious bad guys
DIA, CIA, and NSA....? Maybe it's just me, but why do do Larry, Moe, and Curly immediately come to mind?
Pakistan Our update today is 12 hours late as we have been trying to verify details of what's happening in Peshawar with some success, but each answer seems to open more questions.
*
Essentially, the Pakistan offensive against insurgents around Peshawar and the Khyber Agency is less an offensive than a warning by the authorities that the insurgents are not to try and attack the city.
*
Background: Mangal Khan Afridi heads several thousand fighters of Lakshar-i-Islam. Khyber Agency is one of the seven political divisions of Pakistan's Federally Administered Territorial Areas, which are located in the North West Frontier Province, one of Pakistan's five provinces (Punjab, Sindh, NWFP, Kashmir, Baluchistan). It is in FATA that Islamists have more or less taken over in recent years. This is a direct consequence of Second Afghanistan, but of course, if it had not been for local factors that have nothing to do with the US, anger against the US would not have played out the way it has. Second Afghanistan is a catalyzing event, not the cause of what's happening.
*
The FATA Islamists have been steadily advancing into other areas of the NWFP and building organizations and ties with other Islamists in Pakistan's other provinces.
*
Their minimum aim has been achieved. This was to create their own governments in the FATA.
*
Their second aim is now being pushed, i.e., and expansion into the rest of the NWFP.
*
Their third aim is distant from now, i.e., taking over Pakistan. But how distant is one of the ten key questions we are trying to get a handle on. As best as we understand, the pace depends on the US. The US has been squeezing Pakistan for 8 years on maters related to Afghanistan. Pakistani push-back began ~3 years ago, with the Pakistan military reviving/rebuilding insurgent groups to fight in Afghanistan. That these groups should start taking over the border area is natural.
*
As nearly as we can tell, if the US begins direct, independent action against insurgents based in the NWFP, it will weaken the civil government and permit a correspondingly rapid rise of the Islamists.
*
But please: that this story is happening this particular way and not another has definitely to do with the US, but the underlying factors, as we've said, have nothing to do with the US. Islamization is a worldwide movement: Pakistan was from inception a theocratic state, Islamization began in earnest in the 1970s, and even if the US were not a factor, Islamization would be growing.
*
The Pakistan military is behind Lakshar-i-Islam, as it is behind most indigenous Islamic militant groups. The object is to retake Afghanistan, something Pakistan had succeeded in doing by 1996, but then was reduced to zero when the US took over Afghanistan. Again, because this is simply a narrative piecing together many developments in an attempt for coherency, we dont want to get into lengthy discussion about what we mean by Pakistan taking over Afghanistan. Lets get the outline first, and then we can tackle these questions, and reshape the outline to finer detail.
*
The object is also to take Indian Kashmir, but that has nothing to do with Peshawar, so we will let it go.
*
Please also remember that the current civil government is NOT an independent entity, leave alone the controlling entity, in this new Pakistani military attempt to reshape South Asia. The military is still very much the real power in Pakistan. Moreover, you must not think the civilians and military are banging heads over the new strategy: all Pakistan supports the new strategy. The sole issue when the new government came to power is who was ultimately responsible for national security, and the matter has been resolved: the Pakistan military will remain responsible for national security.
*
So please don't waste time on headlines such as this from Washington Post, June 29: "Offensive in Northwest Pakistan May Signal Strategic Shift For Rulers". The media, not just western media, are off on this because they seek the quick, easy, black-white way of defining the narrative, and this means defining it in a western way. Pakistan's official rulers are the civil government, but its real rulers are the military. For now the military has ceded to the civil authority purely civil matters such as the economy. But that does not mean the civilians OPPOSE the military on national security. They would have liked to control the strategy, which is another matter altogether.
*
The key question we are grappling with is this. We know the Pakistan Army has accepted Islamization of Pakistan and will not act to block it. A big mistake westerners and even Indians make is you go to visit the Pakistan Army and it is all British flash and crisp and straight-talking and all that, and that unless you make it your point to get the religious views of the persons you are talking with, you will remain unaware that Pakistan's military is very religious. Even then if you are white-skinned (i.e., foreign) they will tell you one thing and if you are brown-skinned they will tell you another.
*
The issue is not Islamization, that is settled. The issue is: are the new Taliban groups tools the Army plans to use in its external strategy or are they now a defacto additional arm of the Pakistan military?
*
The second issue is: how likely is President Obama to give in to US hardliners and order independent operations inside Pakistan - we aren't talking about the little covert stuff that's been happening for seven years. We feel he is 100% likely because he has no credibility - in his own mind - on national security. JFK was very different, by the way: he brought a huge, huge understanding of diplomacy, history etc. to the job. Remind us to tell you another time.
*
We have no doubt President McCain will order stepped up operations not because he cant stand up to the hard liners, but because he is a hardliner.
*
Some readers will say "Oh no, editor has derailed again. Send in the wrecker train and get him back on track." Others will say: "There he goes again, arguing a distinction without a difference." How you react depends on your frame of reference
*
Most readers will say "Interesting," and then reach for another cold one. Obviously 99.999% of humankind does not spend its time worrying about matters such as the above, they have a real life to lead.
*
But whatever your perspective, please be warned: one way or the other, there is trouble brewing in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Indian Kashmir.
Blacks flags emblazoned with swords could be seen flying over many of the mud-houses in the town of Bara on Sunday, in a show of support for a militant who government forces are trying to capture.
The flags were those of the Lashkar-e-Islami (LI) in Khyber Agency, a wedge of tan-coloured mountains speckled with small trees sandwiched between the city of Peshawar and the Afghan border. Security forces launched an offensive on Saturday to push members of the militant group, led by commander Mangal Bagh, from the approaches of Peshawar after Baghs men began making sojourns into Peshawar to impose their Taliban-style teachings.
Unfair accusations: Though many in Peshawar fear the LI, the commander is well regarded in Bara town. Hes a nice man. Hes being painted as a bad man because he talks about Islam, said resident Fazale Mehboob, standing by the debris of Baghs house that security forces blew up on Saturday.
Khyber is one of seven ethnic Pashtun-majority regions in northwest Pakistan that have never come under the full control of any government. A former bus driver with little education, Bagh, who is in his mid-40s, appears to have won support the same way the Afghan Taliban did when they emerged in the early 1990s and sorted out warlords and criminals preying on the people. He brought peace and got rid of the criminals in our area. Hes good for us, Mehboob said.
Bara was peaceful on Sunday with a surprisingly light security presence. Despite a curfew, some people were out in its main market although most stalls were shut. There was no evidence of any militants and no one was seen carrying a gun in a region where most men own a rifle. Some soldiers drove around in double-cabin pick-up trucks and a few armoured personnel carriers patrolled the dusty streets but security forces made no effort to stop curious residents going out to see the ruins of Baghs office and a four-room mud house, both near the market, that soldiers blew up on Saturday.
A senior government official said there had been no violence in the area since Saturday evening and a Reuters reporter heard no gunshots or explosions in Bara or along the lightly guarded road from Peshawar.
Angry sibling: Among those out on the streets was Baghs older brother, Soocha Gul, who is in his early 50s. Its a shame, barbaric, an angry Gul said of the destruction of his brothers buildings. They came suddenly, asked us to vacate the house immediately and then blew it up. What crime did our women and children commit? he asked.
Baghs militants are not allied with the local Taliban and they have not been known to head off to Afghanistan to fight Western troops there.
This article starring:
Lashkar-e-Islami
Mangal Bagh
Lashkar-e-Islami
Soocha Gul
Lashkar-e-Islami
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
could be seen flying over many of the mud-houses in the town of Bara
The operation against militants in Khyber Agencys Bara tehsil is nothing more than hype, a foreign journalist said while standing on the debris of the razed house of Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) chief Mangal Bagh on Sunday.
Really? Wotta surprise.
Similar views were expressed by most of the people in the Sarband, Peshtakhara and Bara Qadeem areas, which are located near the troubled region and were controlled by the fugitive LI chief and his armed vigilantes only three days ago. Residents in the area were unanimous that the government deliberately provided an exit to Mangal Bagh and his commanders by warning him in advance of the fake operation.
This is a mere eye wash, said Muhammad Zaman, a resident of the Sarband area. He said security forces were only razing houses and buildings already vacated by militants to calm the people of Peshawar and other adjacent areas who wanted a strict action against vigilantes.
Why there is no arrest or an encounter despite the lapse of two days? Is the operation being conducted to raze houses or to arrest those challenging the governments writ? another Peshtakhara resident said anonymously, fearing persecution from the militants.
However, Bara residents criticised the government for launching the operation, and said Bagh and his men had established exemplary peace by purging the area of kidnappers, criminals and thieves. Bara Traders Union President Said Ayaz said LI activists had banned the display of weapons in the Bara bazaar. He said there was no justification for the imposition of a curfew in the bazaar when the operation was being done more than 10 kilometres away. We do not know what the government wants to do by disturbing peace here, Ayaz said, fearing that habitual criminals would once again gather in Bara after the expulsion of Mangal Bagh.
Sikh community representatives Gormeet Singh and Dewa Singh said they were satisfied with the security provided by the LI. Gormeet, who runs a cosmetics shop in Bara bazaar and hails from the Tirah Valley, said over 3,000 Sikh families were living in the area but none of them was threatened by the vigilantes. Dewa, the owner of homemade-medicines shop, said, We want Mangal back in the area because he had restored peace here.
Residents of the Shekhabad area, where Mangals house was situated, said people had offered their assistance to re-construct the razed house of ameer sahib. Shops were open in Bara bazaar despite the curfew while cloth smugglers were seen bundling cloths on motorcycles and rushing towards Peshawar city. Paramilitary forces were patrolling the area but there was no sign of tanks, armoured vehicles or helicopters.
This article starring:
Lashkar-e-Islam
Mangal Bagh
Lashkar-e-Islam
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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(AKI) - Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani has strongly condemned the recent destruction of two dozen girls' schools by extremists and vowed to rebuild them to support women's education. "My government will redouble its efforts to banish illiteracy amongst women and empower them through education," Gillani said in a statement issued in Islamabad on Friday.
According to a report on the Pakistani website, GeoTV, the prime minister has asked authorities to apprehend the extremists, who were responsible for the destruction of the girls' schools so they may be brought to justice.
Gillani said that he is determined not to allow certain elements to change what is a moderate and tolerant society. He said that Pakistan was fully determined to move into the 21st century and help men and women to take advantage of available opportunities. The Prime Minister said that the role of women was fundamental to its development. No society can progress unless women are educated, empowered and given equal opportunities, he said.
The Prime Minister said that he has also directed the Ministry of Education to launch a national campaign with the Ministry of Religious Affairs to educate people about the importance of women's education.
More than 100 schools have reportedly been damaged in bomb attacks in the North West Frontier Province and Federally Administered Tribal Areas by pro-Taliban militants in the past year.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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LAHORE: Local Taliban announced on Sunday that they had ended all peace agreements with the government. TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar told Geo News that his organisation had decided to end dialogue.
Peace agreements were definitely worth the paper they were printed on ...
Similarly, Swat Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told Daily Times that his organisation would no longer hold negotiations with the government. A militant for the Darra Adam Khel region, meanwhile, told AFP that unrest in the Tribal Areas could now spread to the rest of the country.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Peace agreements were definitely worth the paper they were printed on ...
Yeah, if you use them as toilet paper...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/30/2008 12:15 Comments ||
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LAHORE: Foreign elements hailing from Central Asian Republics (CAR) are disturbing peace in the Tribal Areas, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Sunday.
Yeah, that's it. Furriners. Maybe Uzbeks. Maybe Lapplanders ...
Silly me. I thought it was Baitullah Mehsud, Mullah Fazlullah, and Ayman Zawahiri. How could I have been so wrong?
Addressing a press conference at the State Guest House in Lahore, Gilani said that the foreign militants from CAR are behind the current unrest and spike in violence in the tribal belt.
... and not the peaceful locals, who're known for their colorful doilies and their annual cheese roll.
Dismissing foreign pressure and involvement in the crackdown on militants in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the premier said that this is a provincial matter and the federal government acts on the invitation and advice of the province.
The Frontier Corps has been so effective the feds haven't had to get involved ...
The prime minister said that the NWFP provincial government had concluded a peace deal with tribal chiefs but they violated the agreement by hanging people publicly, kidnapping members of minority and by setting girls schools on fire.
Shucks, you call that a violation? Mangal Bagh can show you violations ...
Besides which, under articles 51, 68, and 73 they're allowed to do that stuff as long as they have a mullah in attendance.
... and they always have a mullah in attendance ...
No government can afford a parallel government and we will never compromise the countrys sovereignty, dignity and self-respect, Gilani said.
Unless the Indians kick your asses again ...
Or Baitullah scowls that special scowl of his that causes Gilani to have no-warning projectile diarrhea.
The premier also said that the government was adopting a three-pronged strategy to counter militancy in the restive Tribal Areas: political dialogue, development in the region and use of force as a last resort.
Satan's fork has three prongs. Just saying ...
Our priority is to resolve the tribal issue through political dialogue and development of the area and the last option is the use of force to ensure governments writ in the Tribal Areas. Gilani said the medias role is pivotal in keeping the country calm and informed during such critical times.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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ISLAMABAD The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has asked the authorities concerned to unfreeze and release all bank accounts and properties of Pakistan People's Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, which were frozen in connection with corruption cases against him. 'In the light of court orders, NAB has directed all authorities concerned, including the Sindh chief secretary, to unfreeze all bank accounts and properties of Mr Zardari, as cases against him have already been dropped under the National Reconciliation Ordinance,' NAB chairman Navaid Ahsan told reporters.
Gomez is in the chips again ...
He said the decision was taken a couple of days ago by NAB on the directive of an accountability court. The Sindh chief secretary has been given the task to unfreeze the bank accounts and properties wherever they existed. 'I cannot give you the exact details of Zardari's frozen bank accounts and properties,' he said, adding that the chief secretary was in a better position to say anything on the issue. A former federal minister, Faisal Saleh Hayat had alleged that the frozen cash money totalled about Rs1.77 billion.
The Rawalpindi accountability court had quashed seven corruption cases against Zardari. Under the NRO, all corruption cases against politicians and bureaucrats registered since the Oct 1999 takeover had been dismissed. The cases dropped against Zardari include illegal payments relating to the purchase of tractors and construction of a polo ground inside the Prime Minister's House, kickbacks and commissions in several government contracts. However, a money-laundering case is still pending against him in Switzerland.
Betcha the Swissers fold within the month, particularly if Gomez agrees to pay a 'token' fine ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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RADWANIYAH, Iraq Capt. David N. Simms wanted the tribal sheiks to have no doubts the $500,000 his unit spends every month to pay and equip local tribesmen to keep peace here will soon run out and they had better be ready when it's gone. Simms handed the sheiks 600 applications for a vocational school in nearby Baghdad. It's one option, he said, to prepare the men for life after he stops giving them salaries.
The 'Sons of Iraq are the estimated 80,000 fighters recruited and paid by the U.S. military to help fight al-Qaida and maintain security in neighborhoods. @ $300 each that's $300 mil a year, cheaper than trying to kill all these buggers.
The program has been a remarkable success, helping reduce violence across the country by 80 percent since early 2007 at the cost of $216 million to date. Nearly two years into the program, however, the U.S. is gradually handing over responsibility for the Sons of Iraq to the Shiite-led government.
The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been reluctant to absorb large numbers of armed Sunnis into the Shiite-dominated security forces. American officials fear that many of the U.S.-backed fighters may turn their guns on the government unless jobs can be found for them. 'If we don't find work for the men, it will work against us, said Asaad Nawar al-Ameen, a retired general in Saddam's army who heads the Sons of Iraq in Radwaniyah. 'Al-Qaida can get them.
The government already has accepted nearly 20 percent of Sons in Iraq members in the security forces and is pledging to find civilian jobs for most of the rest. Meanwhile, it has introduced 'support councils made up of trusted tribal chiefs and their followers to support the security forces.
But that move is seen by leaders of the Sons of Iraq as an attempt to sideline them at a time when some of them are complaining that the Americans are abandoning them to a government they don't trust.
In Radwaniyah, the government recently named a wealthy businessman, Ayad Abdul-Jabar al-Jaborui, to head the new support council.
Kamal al-Saadi, a lawmaker from al-Maliki's Dawa party, said the leadership had worried about al-Qaida infiltration into the Sons of Iraq but now believed that 'the government has become too strong for the Sons of Iraq to be a threat.
#1
They really have to open up a jobs program with both barrels. Nothing establishes order faster than so much money being made that nobody has the time to be troublesome.
The Iraqi government has said it will file lawsuits in US courts against firms and people suspected of illegally profiting from a UN programme.
Be still my beating heart ...
The UN oil-for-food programme allowed Saddam Hussein's government to sell oil in order to buy humanitarian supplies during UN sanctions from 1996-2003. An inquiry found that 2,200 firms paid $1.8bn in bribes to Iraqi officials.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement that the legal action was to recover damages and hold those who benefited from the illegal activity 'accountable for their actions'. 'The oil-for-food programme was subject to huge financial scandals by companies and others [who] conspired with Saddam Hussein to embezzle large sums of money through kickbacks, inflated prices and the supply of shoddy goods,' he said.
A UN-commissioned inquiry headed by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker found that 2,200 companies in 66 countries had paid kickbacks to Iraqi officials to win supply contracts under the $60bn (£30bn) programme.
Though we peasants have never actually seen his report ...
The Iraqi statement did not name the firms or people the legal action will target nor when and in which courts the suits will be filed.
Baghdad, Jun 29, (VOI) - Two opposition parliamentary blocs' representative commented on the implementation of the Amnesty Law, considering it "inadequate" and "below its expected level."
"Members of the Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF) faulted the amnesty law on a number of its legal items," MP Harith al-Ubaidi told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI). The lawmaker noted, "we contacted officials from the concerned government ministries, and discovered that they either tried to escape the issue or to lay the blame on others," adding "how can others be expected to abide by the law while legal offices are flouting it."
In February 2008, the Iraqi Parliament enacted the General Amnesty Law that allows the exclusive release of Iraqi wanted persons and detainees from Iraqi prisons and U.S.-run detention centers, according to certain terms and conditions. The Iraqi Presidential Council ratified the Law on March 27, 2008, and it was implemented during the same month.
"Iraqi laws do not allow the detention of a prisoner for more than 48 hours without appearing in front of an investigating judge," Ubaidi pointed out. The MP criticized some executive offices for delays in carrying out the law, causing "detainees to serve several years without their legal files being referred to investigating judges."
He attributed the excesses to "influences played by political parties to delay the implementation of the law's items before they are amended by the Parliament." Ubaidi called on the Supreme Judicial Council "to provide the Parliament with names of detainees in order to follow up on their release procedures."
On the other hand, Fawzi Tarzi, MP from the Sadrist Movement loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, said the law "released detainees, yet it is still below the expected level." "Endorsing the law was a positive sign and may contribute in ending persecution for many Iraqi people who remain under custody," he said. Yet he highlighted, "our movement's detainees have not benefited from the law since most of them remain in U.S. detention centers," calling on the government to "force U.S. troops to carry out the amnesty law and to release thousands of detainees unjustly held in their prisons."
However, the Kurdish bloc applauded the amnesty law for having ensured the release of a great number of innocent detainees. MP Muhsin al-Saadoon from the Kurdish List said "legal committees continue to work on the law and it is too early to announce a verdict on its failure."
"If the law has shortcomings, we can amend them in the Parliament," adding "the law has produced important results." The lawmaker called upon the government to "issue similar laws that will contribute to meeting the desires of the Iraqi people, who underwent great suffering."
For its side, Abdul Sattar Birqardar, spokesman for the Supreme Judicial Council, said "the number of persons who have benefited from the general amnesty has reached 100,238, throughout Iraq." Birqardar noted that there are an estimated 13,199 prisoners in Iraqi jails against whom no judicial sentences have been issued. According to the spokesman, 46,371 detainees were released on bail, while 33,273 wanted persons included in the law and have not been arrested thus far.
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06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Diwaniya, Jun 29, (VOI) A curfew will be imposed on Diwaniya, starting from Sunday evening until further announcement, in preparation for the security handover to Iraqi authorities by the Multi National Forces (MNF) on Monday, Diwaniya governor said. "A total curfew, starting from Sunday 6:00 p.m. until further announcement, will be imposed on Diwaniya, excluding the province's services directorates, in preparation for the security handover by the MNF," Hamid al-Khedhairy told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI).
It is planned that Iraqi security forces will receive security responsibilities in Diwaniya from the MNF on Monday, with the presence of Premier Nouri al-Maliki, according to high ranking sources in the province. Diwaniya city lies 180 km south of Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Ninewa, Jun. 29, (VOI) Ninewa security official on Sunday said 1213 persons held in Iraqs detention centres were released in Mosul. '438 people who surrendered to security forces were released according to an amnesty decree issued by Premier Nouri al-Maliki, during the military operations in Mosul city,' Brigadier Khalid Abdul-Sattar, spokesman for Ninewa security operation, told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The spokesman noted 775 detainees were set free in groups after investigations cleared them of charges'. 'Forces recorded detainees details and took written commitments from them to remain under continuous monitoring,' he highlighted.
The security spokesman asserted 'those detainees were set free from prisons of Ninewa police command and the Iraqi army 2nd brigade based in Mosul,' he elaborated.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Gaza's Hamas rulers said Monday they would stick to their tough line in talks over a captured Israeli soldier, emboldened by Israel's decision to trade a Lebanese prisoner convicted in a brutal attack for the bodies of two other Israeli servicemen.
Hamas-affiliated militants captured Sgt. Gilad Schalit two years ago in a cross-border raid. Three weeks later, Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon burst across Israel's northern border and seized Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, touching off a monthlong war between Israel and the militant group.
After nearly two years of German-brokered negotiations, Israel's Cabinet overwhelmingly agreed Sunday to trade Goldwasser and Regev's bodies for Samir Kantar, a Lebanese man convicted of an attack that Israelis perceive as one of the cruelest in their nation's history.
Kantar is serving multiple life sentences for infiltrating northern Israel in 1979 and killing three Israelisa 28-year-old man, his 4-year-old daughter and an Israeli police officer.
Witnesses said Kantar smashed the little girl's head against a rock and crushed her skull with a rifle butt. Kantar courageouslypiously denied killing the girl or smashing her skull. Her mother, while trying to silence the cries of her other daughter, accidentally smothered the 2-year-old.
Israel has balked at Hamas' demands for a large-scale release of Palestinian prisoners, including many convicted in deadly attacks. But the Islamic group said there was no reason to soften its demands in light of the heavy price that Israel agreed to pay in its deal with the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Gaza strongman Mahmoud Zahar, speaking to the independent Al-Quds radio station, said Hamas would take advantage of this decision "to release people Israel accused of having blood on their hands like Samir Kantar. We have to take advantage of this to release our prisoners."
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev would not comment on Zahar's remarks.
Hamas has demanded freedom for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Israel, which is holding about 10,000 Palestinians, has balked at releasing many of the people on Hamas' list because they have been involved in deadly attacks on Israelis.
"Schalit will not see the light until the Israelis fulfill our demands," said Abu Mujahid, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, another armed group involved in his capture. "The occupation's decision to release Samir Kantar will pave the way for the release of Palestinian prisoners who are serving lengthy sentences in an honorable swap deal."
Critics of the Lebanese prisoner swap deal have argued that swapping bodies for Kantar would offer militant groups an even greater incentive to capture soldiers and less of a reason to keep captives alive.
"I'm afraid Hamas, drawing a lesson from this deal, will harden its position," Housing Minister Zeev Boim, one of three government ministers to vote against the Hezbollah swap, told Israel Army Radio.
Unlike his comrades in Lebanon, Schalit has sent letters and an audio tape to his parents and is believed to be alive, though he has not been seen since his capture and the Red Cross has not been permitted to visit him.
Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On, who also voted against the swap, told Israel Radio that the price for Schalit will become so high that it will be difficult to pay it.
Israel's past prisoner swaps traditionally have been lopsided deals. In one hotly contested exchange, Israel in 1985 released 1,150 Arab prisoners, almost all of them Palestinians, in exchange for three soldiers captured by Lebanese guerrillas three years earlier. Some of the freed prisoners later played key roles in a Palestinian uprising against Israel that began in 1987.
Amos Gilad, a retired general involved in the Egyptian-brokered negotiations to free Schalit, told Israel Army Radio that the Cabinet's decision Sunday would have no effect on the talks.
"Hamas' demands regarding Gilad Schalit have been known for some time," he said before Zahar spoke. "They haven't been influenced by the contacts with Hezbollah."
The debate over whether to trade an infamous attacker for two dead soldiers tapped into a military ethos that runs deep within Israeli society, where most young men and many young women perform compulsory service. One of the military's most cherished principles is that it leaves no soldier, dead or alive, behind in the field.
Moshe Arens, a former Israeli defense minister, criticized the Hezbollah deal, saying Israel's previous policy of sending in soldiers to free hostages was better.
"It was clear that negotiating with the terrorists and agreeing to their outrageous demands was simply setting the stage for further kidnappings and higher demands in the future," Arens wrote in an op-ed piece published Monday in Haaretz. "When in past years a policy of negotiating with terrorists for the release of hostages was adopted, it only proved the original premise."
Israel and Hezbollah will be asked to sign a formal deal within a few days, and barring any hitches, the swap is expected to take place within about two weeks, Israeli officials have said.
#1
Israel's past prisoner swaps traditionally have been lopsided deals. In one hotly contested exchange, Israel in 1985 released 1,150 Arab prisoners, almost all of them Palestinians, in exchange for three soldiers captured by Lebanese guerrillas three years earlier. Some of the freed prisoners later played key roles in a Palestinian uprising against Israel that began in 1987.
Usually, the lessons that stick the best are the hard ones. You'd think they'd learn.
(AKI) - Israeli mediators have offered to exchange 450 Palestinian prisoners for the liberation of Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. According to sources quoted in the Arab newspaper, al-Hayat, the Israeli delegation presented a list of prisoners in a proposal put to the head of Egypt's secret services, Omar Suleiman, who is mediating the talks. The names were chosen from a list of 1,000 prisoners delivered in the past few days by Hamas to Egyptian mediators.
Israeli mediators on Thursday returned home and are not expected to return to Cairo before the Palestinian leaders respond to the proposals. The list reportedly includes people who have committed less serious crimes, among them many women and children.
Although there have been repeated violations of the week-long truce between Israel and Palestinian militants, the Jewish state appears to be committed to further talks regarding the prisoner exchange for Shalit.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#3
CB3135, Well, I don't agree. I think an Israeli is worth many times that.
On the other hand, I will be really surprised if Gilad Shalit is returned alive. He has probably been dead for over a year. After the 450 Palestinian criminals are released, Hamas will find some excuse to back out of the deal.
As the Big Lizards blog says, this shows that Olmert doesn't even have the spine to stand up to Israeli families - he freed a notorious murderer in return for the REMAINS of two other soldiers who were captured. Hamas has now learned that the way to get their people out of jail is to kidnap Israeli soldiers and hold them - or their bodies- for ransom.
I wonder where Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the International Red Thingy and the rest of the usual suspects have been concerning Cpl Shalit. He was a legitimate prisoner of war - or would have been if he had been captured by a legitimate army rather than a gang of thugs. He has not been allowed contact with the International Red Thingy to verify his health and well being.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
06/30/2008 1:51 Comments ||
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#5
I get it. Olmert thinks that he can bring peace by negotiating with terrorists. It is all fueled with hope, appealing the the "better nature" of Hamas. Only trouble is that Hamas is a collection of psychopaths, who have no human empathy. I see Hamas sticking to their strategy of wearing down and attriting Israel from a thousand cuts. It is working. Olmert will cling to the hope of appeasing Hamas, which has proved to be a failed hope.
Well, it is up to the people of Israel whether they want to survive as a nation or not. Olmert is the symptom of a greater malaise, not really the problem.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/30/2008 11:09 Comments ||
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#6
I hate to point it out, but they'd probably get better results from just shooting the 450 and dumping them at the Gaza crossings.
Ma'an Ashraf Jum'a, a Fatah-affiliated member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) denied a report on Tuesday that Fatah had withdrawn organizational support for its military wing, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, after the organization launched homemade projectiles at Israel in violation of a Hamas-Israel ceasefire in Gaza.
According to Jum'a, the accusation that Fatah had withdrawn support for its fighters came from Taher An-Nunu, a spokesperson for the Hamas-run de facto government of the Gaza Strip.
Jum'a, while reaffirming that the Al-Aqsa Brigades are a part of the Fatah movement, called on Fatah's fighters to abide by the Egyptian-brokered truce. He said Fatah, the Palestinian Authority, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas support the truce.
Jum'a also demanded that the de facto government release Mohammad Abu Ermaneh (known as Abu Qusay), the spokesperson of the Al-Aqsa Brigades in Gaza. According to Jum'a, Hamas-allied security forces arrested Abu Qusay earlier on Sunday.
Abu Qusay was the spokesperson who first claimed responsibility on behalf of the Al-Aqsa Brigades for the truce-breaking projectile attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Ma'an The Fatah movement released the names of 49 of its members on Saturday that it says are imprisoned by the Hamas-led de facto government in the Gaza Strip. Fatah claims that Hamas authorities have forbidden the detainees families and the representatives of humanitarian organizations from visiting Fatah activists in prison. The movement also alleged that Hamas has denied the arrestees adequate medical treatment.
The Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in the West Bank has also arrested and imprisoned members of Hamas. Hamas has not yet responded to Fatah's latest charge.
This article starring:
Abdullah Al-Muqayyad
Fatah
Abdul-Qadir Muhammad
Fatah
Abdul-Qadir Younis
Fatah
Ahmad Al-Majdoub
Fatah
Ahmad Shaheen
Fatah
Ashraf Al-Arabeed
Fatah
Baha Shaheen
Fatah
Bilal Al-Athamnah
Fatah
Diyab Muhammad
Fatah
Faraj Ulayyan
Fatah
Firas Abu Shar
Fatah
Ghannam Ahmad
Fatah
Hamad Akram
Fatah
Hatim Ashoor
Fatah
Hussein Dhahir
Fatah
Imran Abu Udah
Fatah
Ismail Al-Qreitawi
Fatah
Iyad Radwan
Fatah
Khadir Al-Muqayyad
Fatah
Khadir Shadi
Fatah
Khalid Abu Sharkh
Fatah
Khalid Ad-Dirawi
Fatah
Mahran At-Tashawi
Fatah
Majdi Abu Shaban
Fatah
Majdi Ghaban
Fatah
Mousa Ar-Rashidi
Fatah
Muhammad Abu Harbeed
Fatah
Muhammad Al-Ajiz
Fatah
Muhammad Al-Hajjar
Fatah
Muhammad Al-Majaydah
Fatah
Muhammad Jaradah
Fatah
Muhammad Shubat
Fatah
Muhammad Zeidiyyah
Fatah
Muhanna Nasser
Fatah
Muneer Salim
Fatah
Mutaz Al-Ghool
Fatah
Naim Al-Majaydah
Fatah
Raed Al-Muqawisi
Fatah
Rafeeq Abu Harbeed
Fatah
Ramiz Anbar
Fatah
Sabir Yaseen
Fatah
Samid Ash-Sharabasi
Fatah
Samir Al-Malfouh
Fatah
Sharif Shaheen
Fatah
Shukri Abu Sirriyya
Fatah
Tariq Al-Hajjar
Fatah
Wael Al-Athamnah
Fatah
Walid Al-Majaydah
Fatah
Wisam Khadir
Fatah
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Foes of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tried to kill the hard-line leader with X-ray radiation during his recent visit to Italy, Irans former ambassador to Rome told Russian news service RIA Novosti on Monday. Oh, good. Give the story to somebody that will believe it.
Ex-ambassador Abolfazi Zohrevand said the rising concentration of high-intensity radiation at Ahmadinejads temporary residence in Rome earlier this month led to the claims. 'We found out that the radiation was higher than normal and its intensity was rapidly increasing,' Zohrevand told Irans IRNA news agency. He added that several devices were used to avoid potential error in readings, but they all showed the same results. Plus the ugly little dwarf glowed in the dark...
Ahmadinejad is currently at odds with Iran's new reformist parliament due to growing social and economic unrest. Maybe the Joooos let them borrow it...
In addition, the Iranian president is under fire worldwide for his comments on the destruction of Israel, his 'suspicions' of the Sept. 11 terror attacks and his belief that homosexuals deserve to be executed and/or tortured. Maybe the Joooos let the homos borrow it...
Ahmadinejad said last week that the U.S. was behind another attempt on his life during a recent visit to Baghdad. The West has denied the claim. Maybe the Joooos will let us borrow it...
More from Breitbart. Apparently the reformist Iranians are laughing ...
#8
I bet he uses "Mop and Glow" to clean his floors at home.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
06/30/2008 16:44 Comments ||
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#9
He said that the regular radiation level of such equipment in Italy was "300" but on this machine it had reached "800".
"When the president entered this place, the radiation increased and exceeded '1,000' so that the intensity of the radiation was completely felt inside the building," he added.
#12
"When the president entered this place, the radiation increased and exceeded '1,000' so that the intensity of the radiation was completely felt inside the building," he added.
#13
SHADE OF JFK, CASTRO, + PENN STATE INTEl-PYWAR.
IIUC/IIC, MOUD > Presum that Moud is being honest or truthful, he is claiming that he was knowingly maliciously set up in a POLITICALLY/LEGALLY DENIABLE, PRE-DETERMINED HALF-WAY HOUSE OR OTHER COVERT INTERROGATION AREA-UNIT, and then NON-CONSENSUALLY? MALICE AFORETHOUGHT? subjected to either Analysis or Experimentation. Mind Control-PYWAR Programming, Other, etc.
Very likely/feasible for INTEL-PYWAR and related COVERT OPS > "DENIABILITY", DISINFORMATION + MISINFORMATION, "LEGAL FRAUD" = ADVERSION CONVERSION + DIVERSION, ETC. is for GUBBERMINTS + ESPEC LAWYERS, correct???
US versus US-NATO versus VATICAN versus MAFIA(s) versus ISRAEL-MOSSAD versus ROGUE ELEMENTS versus.........................@!?
As for the "DEATH RAY" > Moud could've seen something that he doesn't yet understand or fully comprehend as to TYPE, FUNCTION, CAPABILITIES, PURPOSE + AGE, etc. of equipment used. MORESO IFF ATTEMPTS TO ALSO DRUG HIM = INJECT HIM WERE MADE BEFORE AND DURING THIS PARTICULAR OP.
ACT(S) OF CRIME/CRIMINAL-FELONIOUS LIABILITY, versus or inclusive of ACT(S) OF WAR as MOUD > HEAD-OF-STATE OF A SOVEREIGN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED NATION-STATE???
An Iranian court on Monday sentenced to death an Iranian businessman on charges of being an Israeli spy who targeted the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear program and its military, media said. The Tehran court handed down its sentence at a time of high tension with Israel and speculation of a possible Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear installations.
Iranian media identified Ali Ashtari as the manager of a company selling communications and security equipment to Iran's government and said he had been accused of 'engaging in espionage for (Israel's) Mossad intelligence service.'
The 43-year-old Ashtari had confessed and asked for clemency after a two-day trial, the semi-official Fars News Agency said. Ashtari, who had been in financial trouble, said he had accepted a loan of $50,000 from Israeli agents, Fars said. His name indicated he was a Shi'ite Muslim but Iranian media did not specify his religion.
In Jerusalem, an Israeli government official said: 'We have no knowledge whatsoever regarding this case.'
Iran, which does not recognize Israel, has previously reported breaking up spy networks and accused the United States and 'Zionists' of trying to destabilize the country. In 2000, 10 Jews from the city of Shiraz were convicted of spying in a closed door trial that sparked international outrage. The last five detained were released in 2003.
Fars quoted Ashtari as telling the court that three Israeli agents had presented themselves to him as foreign bank representatives looking for a commercial partnership. Meetings with the agents, two of whom were called Jack and Tony, took place in Thailand and Turkey and they provided him with a laptop computer for coded communication as well as satellite phones, the news agency said.
ISNA quoted a senior, unnamed Iranian counter-intelligence official as saying Ashtari had had business contacts with the Iranian government agency in charge of the nuclear program as well as 'some defense and military centers' while working for Mossad. With Mossad's help, Ashtari at times supplied 'defective and contaminated equipment ... (and) in some instances the application of these parts led to the defeat of the project with irreversible damage,' the official said, without elaborating.
The Bush administration has been expanding covert activities in Iran under a secret directive in the hope of toppling the country's Islamic rulers, according to a report in The New Yorker which highlights opposition to military strikes.
Another Sy Hersh exclusive ...
The magazine reveals that congressional leaders agreed to a request from President George Bush late last year for $400m (£200m) for measures described in a 'presidential finding', a highly classified document which must be issued when a covert intelligence operation gets under way.
However, Democratic leaders appear to be troubled by the escalation of the cross-border activities inside Iran, particularly the authorisation of lethal force by US special forces as they pursue 'high value targets', which do not appear to be covered by the finding, the investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reports.
The finding focused on undermining Iran's nuclear programme 'and trying to undermine the government through regime change,' by working with opposition groups inside Iran and by 'passing money'.
Clandestine activities by the US against Iran are not new, but the scale and the scope of the operations, involving the CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command, have now been expanded, according to current and former officials quoted by Hersh.
'Senior Democrats in Congress told me that they had concerns about the possibility that their understanding of what the new operations entail differs from the White House's,' the article says.
At a time when Israeli officials and experts have been raising the prospect of a military strike against Iran before it fully masters the technology of enriching uranium to weapons grade, The New Yorker also highlighted resistance by the US military to bombing Iran. 'The Joint Chiefs of Staff, whose chairman is Admiral Mike Mullen, were 'pushing back very hard' against White House pressure to undertake a military strike against Iran,' the article says.
#4
Covert ops reported in the New Yorker, ya say. Well, it may not be covert, but the ops part is welcome. It was probably a message, sent through a leaky Congress, to be disseminated by Hersch the Tool, to the MMs of Iran.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/30/2008 10:58 Comments ||
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#5
Shhhhhhh! It's a secret.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/30/2008 11:49 Comments ||
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#6
There ARE no secrets around Sy Hersch! He's a one-man full-disclosure task force!
Be interesting to see what skeletons he has tucked away in the closet himself, I think.
#7
'The Joint Chiefs of Staff, whose chairman is Admiral Mike Mullen, were 'pushing back very hard' against White House pressure to undertake a military strike against Iran,' the article says.
Free Patriotic Movement official Alain Aoun said the key to solving the government formation issue is allowing his group to control either the justice or communications portfolios. Aoun, in an interview with Naharnet, said a breakthrough in efforts by Premier-designate Fouad Saniora to form the cabinet is "expected any time now."
Discussions at present focus on a proposal that goes along the lines of giving the Hizbullah-led opposition "one sovereign portfolio and other basic portfolios. Opposition factions would agree among themselves on sharing these portfolios," he said. "There is no problem whether we or Speaker Nabih Berri control the sovereign portfolio," Aoun added.
The problem with the majority, according to Aoun, is in differences over other basic portfolios, namely the justice and communications ministries. He said a compromise proposal under consideration gives the opposition a sovereign portfolio, while the FPM gets either the communications or justice ministries as well as the seat of deputy premier in addition to a number of "services ministries, including the public works portfolio."
Aoun reported "major progress" in efforts to form the cabinet after Berri informed Saniora of the latest opposition proposal. He accused the majority of having "suspicious" motives to insist on maintaining the justice and communications portfolios. "No one more than us is keen on safeguarding justice," Aoun said
The opposition, according to Aoun, has an interest in speeding up efforts to form the new cabinet that is why we are dealing positively with the issue."
Recent acts of violence, according to Aoun, are a reflection of the "exposed security situation and the persisting tension that push towards more deterioration." He rejected charges by the March 14 majority that the opposition was blocking efforts to form the new cabinet.
The opposition carried out its commitments by electing President Michel Suleiman, calling off the sit-in the side that is making steps forward is not the side that is blocking," Aoun said. Aoun predicted that if no cabinet is formed "we would certainly observe an attempt to block the election law." He warned that "blocking the election law would be tantamount to a declaration of war."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
MP Nabil Nicola said raising the issue of Shebaa Farms at present reflects a U.S. effort to eliminate the concept of resistance from Lebanon's political parlance and shift to discussing directly the issue of Hizbullah weapons.
Nicola, in an interview with Naharnet, said discussing the Shebaa Farms issue at the United Nations is an effort carried out by U.S. Secretary of State 'Condoleezza Rice because the only issue of interest to the United States at present is omitting any reference to the resistance weapons in the cabinet's policy statement so that Hizbullah weapons could be the topic of discussion and these weapons would be the main problem in Lebanon and not the Israeli occupation.'
Placing Shebaa Farms under the guardianship of the United Nations 'does not mean regaining Lebanese sovereignty over' the area, Nicola said. Lebanon would regain its 'legitimacy in Shebaa Farms only when the Lebanese Army has the right to deploy in the territory,' he added.
Nicola insisted that the Free Patriotic Movement and Hizbullah would 'not stay out of the (forthcoming) cabinet. Any attempt to prevent them from participation is a war recipe,' he said.
Nicola called for 'implementing the Doha Accord in detail,' emphasizing that any attempt to 'beat about the accord would disclose the side that is blocking its implementation.' He said the forthcoming cabinet 'could be formed tomorrow morning if there is a real intention to form it, but if we are following the American agenda there would be no cabinet.'
Nicola reiterated the demand by Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement to hold the finance portfolio. However, 'If they have any other proposal let them declare it. Let them propose any 'sovereign' ministry and we would accept it. All 'sovereign' ministries are important,' he explained. 'Those who reject giving Michel Aoun the rights are targeting the president,' Nicola charged.
Nicola claimed that Aoun's foes had spent 300 million dollars on media campaign to confront the FPM leader. He also said such foes have allotted 1 billion dollars to prevent Aoun from winning the 2009 parliamentary elections.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
Moderate Shiite cleric Sayyed Ali al-Amin said the Shiites in Lebanon and the Arab world support their states and reject the Iran-styled Faqih rule, and called for a judiciary investigation in assaults carried out by Hizbullah against Beirut.
Amin, in an interview with Naharnet, said the "Shiite communities in Lebanon and the Arab world believe in state rule and do not believe in the rule of the Faqih in Iran."
"The Faqih rule in Iran has become a political regime. If I support any (foreign) political regime this means that I would disagree with the political regime that rules me. This is totally unacceptable," Amin said.
Amin, who was removed by the Hizbullah-influenced Higher Shiite Islamic Council from his post of Mufti of Tyre and Mount Amel, criticized Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's recent speech as "non moderate."
"It was a strongly-worded speech not different from previous fiery speeches," Amin said of Nasrallah's address on the eighth anniversary of Liberation Day.
Amin praised President Michel Suleiman's oath address saying it was "moderate and reflected the viewpoint of the Lebanese people."
Asked to comment on the Higher Shiite Islamic Council's decision that removed him from the post of Mufti, Amin said: "We don't have militias to force the council to withdraw its decision."
He was referring to Hizbullah's attack against West Beirut on May 8 that forced Premier Fouad Saniora's former government to withdraw two decisions that Hizbullah had opposed.
Amin said the "silent majority" of Shiites that he belongs to is mushrooming and "in the forthcoming elections we would support whoever reflects its views" that contradict Hizbullah and allied AMAL Movement, headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Amin asked if the Hizbullah assault on Beirut was "launched upon a permission from Iran This would pose a major problem to Iran in the Arab and Muslim worlds."
Amin called for the formation of "investigation committees" to look into what has happened in Beirut. "The Doha Accord should have included a clause on the investigation committee because it would re-assure the population." Amin also said Hizbullah "should apologize" for what it has done and the government should pledge to refer what has happened to the judiciary.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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MP Jamal Jarrah said Hizbullah should withdraw all its heavy weapons and gunmen from the hills of the eastern Bekaa so that clashes would not break out anew in the Saadnayel-Taanayel area.
Jarrah, in an interview with Naharnet, said 'we have no confidence in them (Hizbullah) anymore but we trust the Lebanese army, even if it had failed.'
'Despite the lack of confidence we stretched our hand anew through the Lebanese army that had promised us to supervise reconciliation,' Jarrah said.
'But if aggressions persisted and if they maintained, just maintained and not used, their heavy weapons in the hills of Saadnayel and Taalabaya and if they maintained the deployment of a large number of gunmen brought in from other areas, friction would renew and tension would persist,' he added.
Jarrah said 'we were very clear with the army. We informed the army that there is no need for such heavy weapons in the hills.'
He accused Hizbullah of 'deceiving the army. They had told the army that heavy weapons and gunmen had been fully pulled out, but it was evident that this is not true.'
Jarrah warned that the 'citizens of Saadnayel and Taalabaya would not be left alone (if attacked by Hizbullah once again). Citizens of the central, western and even northern Bekaa would rush to their aid.'
That, according to the Mustaqbal Bloc member, would expose 'Hizbullah's role in a Syrian intelligence scheme to spark inter-factional clashes in the Bekaa.'
He explained that Hizbullah has been targeting the Saadnayel-Taalabaya sector because it commands the road that leads from its stronghold in Baalbek to south Lebanon.
Jarrah emphasized that 'we do not have a militia, we don't have weapons and capabilities to protect our people.'
'It is the army's duty and responsibility to protect the citizens. The Army Command pledged that as of Tuesday its troops would be in charge of security, and anyone who opens fire, from any side, would be punished,' Jarrah said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
BEIRUT - Lebanese President Michel Sleiman pressed on Sunday for the formation of a national unity cabinet within 48 hours after weeks of protracted negotiations between political rivals.
All parties must cooperate immediately to enable the establishment of the government, Sleiman said, according to a statement from his office. Mr Sleiman stressed the importance of forming the government in 48 hours, the statement said, adding that there was no reason to justify the delay.
How's it feel to be powerless?
Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has been tasked with creating a unity government following a deal struck by rival factions in the Qatari capital Doha more than five weeks ago to end a crisis that brought Lebanon to the brink of civil war. But the Western-backed Sunni-led parliamentary majority and the Hezbollah-led mainly Shia opposition continue to squabble over the distribution of key portfolios in the new 30-member government.
Those who are not allowing (the creation of the cabinet) are committing a serious error against the homeland and the people of Lebanon, Sleiman said.
Which is precisely the point for the Syrians and their puppets ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
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.
Terrorists may be planning to launch suicide bomb attacks in Britain using former NHS ambulances and police cars bought on auction website eBay, police chiefs have warned. The Association of Chief Police Officers said ministers must legislate to stop the sale of such vehicles amid fears that al-Qa'eda inspired extremists may import a tactic already used in Iraq and Israel. 
WASHINGTON: Late last year, top Bush administration officials decided to take a step they had long resisted. They drafted a secret plan to authorize the Pentagon's Special Operations forces to launch missions into the snow-capped mountains of Pakistan to capture or kill top leaders of Al Qaeda. Intelligence reports for more than a year had been streaming in about Osama bin Laden's terror network rebuilding in the Pakistani tribal areas, a problem that had been exacerbated by years of missteps in Washington and the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, sharp policy disagreements, and turf battles between American counterterrorism agencies.
The operation against militants in Khyber Agencys Bara tehsil is nothing more than hype, a foreign journalist said while standing on the debris of the razed house of 
LAHORE: Foreign elements hailing from Central Asian Republics (CAR) are disturbing peace in the Tribal Areas, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Sunday. 
ISLAMABAD The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has asked the authorities concerned to unfreeze and release all bank accounts and properties of Pakistan People's Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, which were frozen in connection with corruption cases against him. 'In the light of court orders, NAB has directed all authorities concerned, including the Sindh chief secretary, to unfreeze all bank accounts and properties of Mr Zardari, as cases against him have already been dropped under the National Reconciliation Ordinance,' NAB chairman Navaid Ahsan told reporters.
RADWANIYAH, Iraq Capt. David N. Simms wanted the tribal sheiks to have no doubts the $500,000 his unit spends every month to pay and equip local tribesmen to keep peace here will soon run out and they had better be ready when it's gone. Simms handed the sheiks 600 applications for a vocational school in nearby Baghdad. It's one option, he said, to prepare the men for life after he stops giving them salaries.
Ninewa, Jun. 29, (VOI) Ninewa security official on Sunday said 1213 persons held in Iraqs detention centres were released in Mosul. '438 people who surrendered to security forces were released according to an amnesty decree issued by Premier Nouri al-Maliki, during the military operations in Mosul city,' Brigadier Khalid Abdul-Sattar, spokesman for Ninewa security operation, told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Gaza's Hamas rulers said Monday they would stick to their tough line in talks over a captured Israeli soldier, emboldened by Israel's decision to trade a Lebanese prisoner convicted in a brutal attack for the bodies of two other Israeli servicemen. 
An Iranian court on Monday sentenced to death an Iranian businessman on charges of being an Israeli spy who targeted the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear program and its military, media said. The Tehran court handed down its sentence at a time of high tension with Israel and speculation of a possible Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear installations.
