The US is seeking $20bn from its allies to help stabilise Afghanistan as it plans to send thousands more of its own troops to confront the growing insurgency in the country, American officials disclosed yesterday.
Robert Gates, the American defence secretary, said the US was considering a fundamental review of its strategy. But his message was clear - the US expected countries which did not contribute troops to Afghanistan to contribute money instead. "Lessons had been learned from Iraq ...that means more forces," Gates told journalists in London.
General David McKiernan, the US commander in Afghanistan, has asked the Pentagon for three more American brigades in addition to the extra one already announced by President Bush and due to be deployed in January. This would increase the number of US troops in Afghanistan, at present numbering 30,000, to nearly 44,000.
It remains unclear, however, whether Britain will increase its military presence in the country after the bulk of the 4,000-strong garrison now stationed at Basra airport leaves Iraq, as expected, in the first half of next year. There are now about 7,800 British troops in Afghanistan. Gates, in London for a meeting of Nato defence ministers, said that "the UK may increase the size of its force [in Afghanistan]".
Gates said he expected "substantial commitments" from other allies for other purposes. "One of the issues I will be raising at the [Nato] meeting is that we need as an alliance and with our partners to figure out a way to help pay for [doubling] the size of the Afghan army," he said. "The capability of the Afghan army ultimately is the exit strategy."
A US official said yesterday that the plan was to double the size of the Afghan army from the present 65,000 in five years. That would cost an estimated $20bn. "We can see what those countries which are not contributing troops can contribute financially," he said. That plan, which could include countries outside Nato, such as Japan, "makes sense", he said.
Admiral Michael Mullen told the US congress last week he was "not convinced we're winning it in Afghanistan".
Gates referred to "increasing challenges" and a more complex conflict. It was not just a fight between foreign forces and the Taliban, he said. He referred to "a kind of syndicate working together" consisting of the Taliban, foreign fighters, and supporters of Gulbertin Hekmatiyar, an Islamist militia leader. "Syndicates of different players [present] a different kind of challenge," Gates said. He added: "Clearly a piece of the problem is governance and corruption fuelled by the narcotics trade."
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Add another bil or two to buy up the poppies while you're at it. Or Afgh farmers could sell their harvest to the global pharma companies.
Posted by: tep ||
09/19/2008 3:09 Comments ||
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#2
I dunno. Using a calculator, the cost of Afghani troops = $300,000 each. Just for the new ones. Sounds high to me. Let us open the books.
#4
I've a better idea. Britain could start a program of enlisting its overcrowded prisons as "noncombatant" and unarmed soldiers in Afghanistan. Your basic labor battalions. And if they wanted to desert and join the Taliban, well, wouldn't that be a shame?
#9
Ok, and what part of Afghanistan has a shoreline? Then what exactly is the good Admiral's opinion worth again?
Admiral Mullen is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The JCS is responsible for ensuring personnel readiness, policy, planning and training of their respective military services. The JCS also act as military advisors to the President and the Secretary of Defense.
As such, Admiral Mullen is working within his capacity as senior military advisor and his opinion matters.
#11
I see the $ sign but wouldn't they be paying in euros? ha!
As to Adm Mullen, we should hang on every word or haven't you noticed - the Dept of the Navy is methodically taking over the world. Not really a bad thing IMHO. ;~)
The 8,000 British troops currently in Helmand could be substantially boosted next year, possibly by an extra brigade of up to 4,000 soldiers.
Military commanders are already in advanced planning to substantially reduce the 4,000 strong force in Iraq to just a few hundred early next year. It is thought that this will free up troops from the overstretched military to be used in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defence has refused to confirm that numbers will increase only saying that the force levels were "under constant review". But during an interview with journalists Mr Gates told The Daily Telegraph that "my understanding is that the UK may increase the size of its force there (Afghanistan)".
Asked to clarify what the size of the reinforcements might be Mr Gates, who immediately after the meeting had lunch with the Defence Secretary Des Browne, said: "Maybe I will find out today."
With large parts of southern Afghanistan still under the sway of insurgents, commanders have been discussing a "surge" of the area by swamping it with extra troops.
The Americans have already committed a brigade of US Marines to Helmand and another four Brigade Combat Teams are expected to deploy to Afghanistan next year. The Nato-led force in Afghanistan has 53,000 troops, and the United States has pressed allies to provide more forces and military capabilities to stem an increasingly violent insurgency.
Mr Gates admitted that southern Afghanistan had become "an increasing challenge" and had seen most of the fighting since 2006 when the British first entered Helmand. "We see some lessons to be learned from Iraq in terms of the need to establish security as a precondition to economic development and better governance. That means more forces," Mr Gates said. "But I think we are in complete accord with our European allies that the military side of this is only one piece of the solution."
Mr Gates admitted that Washington was "looking at" a possible change of strategy in Afghanistan.
On the orders of President George W Bush an extra Army brigade of 3,700 soldiers will join the 33,000 US troops in Afghanistan. An American commander in Afghanistan has already asked for an additional 10,000 troops to surge the country.
The Afghan National Army is also expected to double from 65,000 to 122,000 at the cost of £12 billion.
The Ministry of Defence said there were no immediate plans to increase troop numbers in Afghanistan beyond the extra 230 being sent on the current six month deployment boosting numbers to 8,000. "There is no further intention to increase levels beyond this," a source said but added levels were "kept under continual review".
The MoD said in a statement it had been assured that Mr Gates was not attempting to "pre-empt a UK announcement" or to "box in" Britain into increasing troop numbers.
There is a limit to how many troops can be sent to Afghanistan without drawing down the number deployed in Iraq or other places, the Marines' top general said Thursday. Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, told reporters before speaking to a sea power conference that the time is right to send about 2,000 Marines to southern Afghanistan instead of Iraq's Anbar province because violence has subsided.
The Marine task force includes a battalion from Camp Lejeune and will replace two North Carolina-based Marine units now in Afghanistan. The task force is scheduled to deploy in November.
"The things we used to do in Anbar are much less needed today," Conway said, noting that on a recent trip to Iraq he saw people building instead of fighting. He said 20,000 to 25,000 Marines in Anbar plus Iraqi forces that have been trained are enough for now.
But if the president wants "to increase the Marine presence in Afghanistan you must reduce in Iraq," Conway said, adding his personal belief is Marines are needed more in Afghanistan than Iraq. "We can't continue unless we're allowed to draw down elsewhere."
Conway said Marines also need more time at their home bases so they can reconnect with their families and get more training for both traditional combat and counterinsurgency missions. He said the Marines can do both missions, but need training and have been focused on counterinsurgency. He said they need to be deployed seven months and at home for 14.
He also said it would take a year to remove all Marines from Iraq if ordered. Conway also said Marines are being trained both for duty in Afghanistan and Iraq at desert and mountain training centers.
Conway and other military officers also spoke to a conference that promotes the importance of U.S. sea power. Conway said the U.S. should equip sea bases with ground combat troops and aircraft that can quickly respond to emergencies in countries that won't allow war ships into port. He said the sea bases could allow U.S. forces to move around hostile countries rather than needing to seize airfields and ports. Sea bases comprised of five or six ships that act as ports and airfields afloat also can be used for humanitarian relief.
Planners in the Marine Corps believe future conflicts will include oil supply disagreements but "nations will be prepared to go to war for water," he said.
#1
On the last part, nanotechnology help may be on the way, in which USMC might not have to fight in "water wars" over fresh water but help provide "water support missions."
That is, new nanotechnology filters are able to convert brackish water to fresh water with a fraction of the energy needed by reverse osmosis, and they are also scalable. So a nuclear ship would park on the coast and pump enormous amounts of fresh water inland.
The USMC would be needed to prevent attacks against the pipeline and denial of the fresh water to the hated enemies of the locals, whoever they were. And that can get pretty harsh--as bad as delivering food aid--people will fight and die to keep other people from being fed or having water.
#2
Lily Pad Theory, he's been to NWC in Newport, paid attention in class. Wasn't that long ago though the "war for water" thing was eh'd. Things change and I'm more intent on raking leaves and lowering my handicap.
Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh remained unnoticed for several years before the grenade attack on the British high commissioner at Hazrat Shahjalal shrine in Sylhet over four years ago.
Though it has been banned in Asian and European countries and even in the Middle East, its chapter here has been operating overtly and unhindered for the last few years. Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh had posted anti-British and -US posters around the Shahjalal shrine two days before the attack on the then UK High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury on May 21, 2004.
This made the investigators suspect that the shrine attack was carried out by Hizb ut-Tahrir. Since then, the outfit has been alleged to have militant links at home and abroad, said a law enforcement official who was involved in the probe.
Rajshahi police yesterday rounded up some of their leaders and activists as they were preparing to hold a press conference in the divisional city.
According to information from different websites, Hizb ut-Tahrir (the Party of Liberation) is banned in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. It is also banned in Pakistan, Tunisia, Libya, Turkey, and in the former Soviet states in Central Asia.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/19/2008 00:00 ||
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Britain's youngest terrorist was locked up for two years after plans to cause death and destruction were found hidden in his bedroom. Schoolboy Hammaad Munshi was just 15 when he was recruited into a worldwide plot to wipe out non-Muslims and longed to become a "martyr".
Munshi, a GCSE student and grandson of a leading Islamic scholar, led a double life, obediently attending school by day and surfing jihadist websites at night. He was part of a cell of cyber groomers devoted to brainwashing the vulnerable into killing "kuffar", or non-believers.
Munshi, 18, of Greenwood Street, Saville Town, Dewsbury, West Yorks, was found guilty last month of compiling information likely to be useful in terrorism. London's Blackfriars Crown Court heard how he downloaded files about making napalm, detonators and grenades for himself and terrorist comrades Aabid Khan and Sultan Muhammad.
Sentencing him at the Old Bailey to two years in a young offenders' institution, Judge Timothy Pontius said that he "fell under the spell of fanatical extremists". He added: "There is no doubt that you knew what you were doing."
The convict's grandfather is Sheikh Yakub Munshi, president of the Islamic Research Institute of Great Britain at the Markazi Mosque, Dewsbury.
Russia has threatened to block NATO from using its airspace for operations in Afghanistan if member states did not stop 'hostile' policies towards Moscow, the Kremlin's top diplomat in Kabul said. "Russian air space is still open, but if the NATO countries continue their hostile policies with regard to Russia, definitely this issue will happen," Zamir Kabulov told BBC Radio in an interview aired on Thursday. NATO imports most of its logistics via Pakistan to Afghanistan, but also uses Russia's air space for some cargo. Russia is fiercely opposed to further NATO expansion. Kabulov said the United States had made far too many mistakes since toppling the Taliban government in 1991. "During the past six-and-a-half years, they have strengthened their military presence instead of strengthening the Afghan government, the Afghan armed forces and the Afghan economy, and this is a main and fundamental mistake."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Don't you shmoogliki have more important things to worry about right now? Given that the RTS has lost over half its value in the span of several weeks, aren't Volodya and his fellow FSB/mafiya pals feeling a bit, er, lighter these days?
Posted by: tep ||
09/19/2008 3:13 Comments ||
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#2
Russian airspace or CIS airspace? As far as I can see, Russia doesn't come that close the A-stan.
German authorities arrested two men suspected of supporting a Sunni Muslim group that prosecutors say was linked to plans to attack U.S. facilities in German cities last year. The two 27-year-old men -- a German of Afghan origin identified as Omid S. and a Turkish national called Huseyin O -- were taken into custody yesterday in the Frankfurt area, the German Federal Prosecutor said today in a statement. The prosecutor said both men traveled to Pakistan last year for training at a militant camp, and they provided aid to a network that was planning what authorities say could have been one of the worst terrorist attacks on German soil.
A year ago, police unveiled the alleged plot when they seized hydrogen peroxide-based explosives with more power than those used in Madrid in March 2004 or London in July 2005. The bombers were targeting U.S. citizens and facilities in cities including Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Munich, Cologne and Stuttgart, the prosecutor said two weeks ago. The three men arrested then, identified as Fritz Martin G., Adem Y. and Daniel Martin S., were members of the Islamic Jihad Union and also trained at camps in Pakistan, from where they allegedly planned to ``take the Jihad to Germany,'' the prosecutor said. The three were formally charged with plotting terrorist attacks on Sept. 5.
The two men arrested yesterday were sent to camps on the Pakistani-Afghan border at the instigation of Adem Y., who also took both men's debit cards to fund the plot, the prosecutor said. They also furnished the IJU network with objects including binoculars, an infrared beam, mosquito nets, flashlights, batteries and compasses, the authorities said. While Huseyin O was apprehended by Pakistani authorities in July 2007 and didn't make it to the training camp, Omid S. received training between May and September of last year and was planning to return this month before he was arrested.
One of the key pieces of evidence against 11 alleged Toronto-based terrorists has been posted online -- a home video that shows masked men marching through a snowy Ontario forest and shooting guns.
The video has already been played in a Brampton, Ont. court this summer, but the judge hearing the case denied a request to release it to the media.
The two-and-a-half minute video shows men in wi More..nter camouflage carrying out activities that are alleged to be terrorist training exercises. They also shout "Allahu Akbar" -- or "God is Great" -- while waving a black flag.
...
Police rounded up 18 men in June 2006 in what they called Canada's largest anti-terrorism operation since 9-11.
The men arrested were alleged to be planning an attack on a number of Canadian targets, including downtown Toronto, Parliament Hill and specifically, an alleged plot to behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Posted by: ed ||
09/19/2008 09:58 ||
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#1
...to behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper
at least such an attack wouldn't hurt anything he uses on a regular basis
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
09/19/2008 15:52 Comments ||
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#1
And they will be called "Uncle Toms" and traitors to their race.
Which I find to be completely racist, but what do I know? I'm only a German-Irish-Cherokee ... ooops, sorry... WHITE male who is completely racist by not supporting THE ONE.
Liberals only support free speech and freedoms when you support them and their viewpoints.
I suspect that his rallies have become noteworthy precisely because they have no demonstrators of any kind--only disciples in attendance--and this is making his campaign strategists very worried.
So if you are going to make phony protesters, who should they be?
"Republicans against Obama?" Nah.
"Women against Obama?" Nope. That is opening a big can of worms.
"White people against Obama?" I don't think so.
"Hispanics against Obama?" Definitely not, they are trying to attract Hispanics.
So who's left? Only one group. Blacks.
The one detail left is to insure that there are only crowd shots of the protesters--no face shots. Hide them behind signs. Put a ring of security around them to protect them from disciples.
See? Our candidate is controversial. He's oppressed or something.
Pakistan is one of the few countries where the deadly, crippling disease still exists. Polio, spreads through poor hygiene, and is also endemic in Nigeria, India and Afghanistan.
Islamic Jihadis are hostile towards vaccinating teams has led to a sharp increase in polio cases in Pakistan this year, health workers said on Friday.
Allan Akbar!!
Islamic Jihadis = Pakistani Pigs!
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/19/2008 12:25 Comments ||
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#1
* US deputy secretary of state says co-operative efforts best way forward
When talk is your only "weapon", you insist that talk is the only solution. Just another State POS spewing assinine drivel. Glad he's out of Homeland Security!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/19/2008 14:24 Comments ||
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(AKI) - Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Thursday the government received no warning from the United States about a suspected missile strike in the country's northwest.
Ooops. Forgot. Our bad.
Wednesday's missile strike was reportedly targeting a compound in South Waziristan used by Taliban militants and Hezb-i-Islami, another group involved in attacks in Afghanistan. It was the fifth American strike inside Pakistan this month and came came hours after US military chief Admiral Michael Mullen reiterated Washington's respect for the sovereignty of Pakistan.
Officials say at least five people and fourteen fluffy bunnies were killed when a US drone fired missiles at the suspected target.
The incident came as Mullen was in Pakistan to discuss with top officials the growing tension over US attacks along the Afghan border. While denying prior knowledge of the strike, Qureshi said Pakistan's leaders wanted to defuse tension through diplomacy in upcoming talks in the United States.
Addressing the media, Qureshi said all countries should respect each other sovereignty. But he said the cross border violations will not benefit the US in the long-term.
Nor will it benefit the Paks. Just wait til we train the Afghan National Army (and Air Corps) sufficiently so that they can do cross-border raids ...
Qureshi said there was a lack of coordination between US government and military. He also said there was a communication gap between allied and US forces in Afghanistan.
We've noticed that ...
Wednesday's attack is expected to provoke more anger in Pakistan over a surge in cross-border operations by US forces -- including a 3 September ground assault -- that strained relations and led to a formal complaint from Islamabad.
Just because Zardari and Gilani can't control their border is no reason for us not to.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
General Petraeus: "Hello. I'm calling to inform you about our next attack."
Mahmoud the Weasel: "Yes, General. Where and when?"
GP: "Within one meter of your present location in 3, 2, 1..."
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/19/2008 7:30 Comments ||
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#3
You've got to wonder how often we called in a notice and watched the cell phone lines light up and the targets scramble to safety at some large population area they know we wouldn't target.
If I was the CIA I'd send warnings in the middle of the night all the time. Keep the buggers awake and also make the numb to the warnings. Then eventually after you've cried wolf often enough: BAM!
#5
In some instances they're calling us, i-phones and Google earth = devastating target acquisition. Works/ed well in Iraq. Nice calculus, cash + i-phones = less humpin' the street > dead jihadis.
Pakistan is close to completing a second plutonium-producing reactor, and is well into building a third, and these reactors could increase its ability to make atomic bombs, a United States think-tank said on Thursday.
"The wider implication ... (is that) there is a real risk this will exacerbate an India-Pakistan nuclear arms race and increase tensions more broadly between the two," the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said in a report.
The report included commercial satellite images taken two weeks ago and in February and May showing construction of the second and third Khushab complexes. The 10-page report estimated the reactors would run on power of "about 100-megawatts or more", which could enable the two combined to yield plutonium for 8 to 10 atomic bombs a year.
Pakistan has an operating heavy-water reactor and heavy-water production plant already at Khushab.
A row of cooling towers indicated the second reactor was close to completion and could be ready to operate in a year's time, according to the 10-page report. "Once completed, these reactors will increase several-fold Pakistan's ability to make weapons-grade plutonium (fuel)." "When finished...will allow a significant increase in the quantity and quality of Pakistan's nuclear weapons."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
If there is a place you don't want an increased nuclear capability it is Pakistan. And Iran... Both pose tremendous dangers to the West.
ION NOT NECESSARILY UNRELATED [Russ = USA/Ruso-Georgian war], IRNA > IISS DECLARES: IDEALISTIC MODE OF WESTERN FOREIGN POLICY [read - USA] IS OVER. AGE OF AMBITIOUS DEMOCRATIZATION + REGIONAL STRATEGIC MAKEOEVRS being replaced by INCREASINGLY INWARD-LOOKING NATIONALIST + REGULATORY FOCII, as due to the WORLD-AFFECTING TRIPLE SHOCK OF OIL, FOOD, and CREDIT etc. WOES.
"IDEALISM and REALPOLITIK" will be dependent on the NEXT US PRESIDENT.
(AKI) - The Palestinian economy is becoming increasingly aid dependent, and Israel's policy of border closures in the Gaza Strip is eroding the occupied territory's industrial backbone and paralysing its municipal services, a World Bank report warns.
Becoming?
Real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is now 30 percent below its 1999 level as the economy shrinks and the population grows and grows and grows, according to the report on Palestinian economic prospects.
Maybe if you knocked off a few more Dogmushes ...
The report has been published amid growing concern over the occupied Palestinian territories' stability. Unemployment has reached nearly 30 percent, ...
... the other 70 percent work for the Gaza Tunnel Authority ...
... and the percentage of those living below the national poverty line rose to 57 percent in 2006, according the UN.
The report noted that the Palestinian Authority has received 1.2 billion dollars in external budget support so far this year but requires another 650 million dollars and 300 million more in development aid. The figures highlight the fact that as Palestinian economy worsens, it is becoming more aid dependent, the report said.
Ninety-eight percent of its industrial operations have been shut down. Out of 3,900 industries, only 23 are still operating, showing the crippling economic effect of Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip, according to the report.
And Egypt's blockade. But most of all, their own stoopidity.
"Closure of Gaza is also resulting in the collapse of the municipal sector. Municipalities, providing key services such as water, sewage, solid waste [disposal] etc. are facing a deep financial crisis," the report stated. "The impoverishment of the population and the near absence of private sector activities imply that municipalities are unable to collect fees for service provision and are unable to pay staff salaries."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/19/2008 00:00 ||
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starve in the dark, f*ckers
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/19/2008 7:43 Comments ||
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#2
...and 300 million more in development aid.
Besides rockets and tunnels, what do these guys 'develop'?
#3
The only major export is hate and death. Usually not in high demand on the world market [often due to more than sufficient local domestic production.]
#4
And kaffiyehs, P2K. But once they stop being "hip" at Urban Outfitters and Abercrombie & Fitch, I'm sure that approximately 1/2 of the remaining 23 industries will shut down, too.
#5
The Paleo's used to be self sufficient? and now are becoming aid dependent? I didn't know that. What are they smoking at the world bank these days? Whatever it is it helps keep the staff a long ways from reality.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/19/2008 11:22 Comments ||
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#6
Well, that is what happens when you accept to feed opeople who have burned the greenhouses who were supposed to feed them.
And that is what happens when you acpat that people live without working for sixty fricking yeatrs.
That is what happens when you accept to feed people who have not enough money to deed themselves but have plenty of it for terror.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out again at Israel on Thursday, saying that it won't survive in any shape or form. Speaking to reporters, the hard-line leader smirked at a former mantra of the Israeli right of a Greater Israel that would include Palestinian territories. The idea has since been abandoned, with Israeli consensus now that there will be a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the idea of a Greater Israel, which includes the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, is a thing of the past, and that anyone who still thinks in this way is delusional.
Ahmadinejad said that "while some say the idea of Greater Israel has expired, I say the idea of a Lesser Israel has expired, too."
The press conference was an opportunity for Ahmadinejad to speak to the media at length before traveling to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly. The Iranian president repeated his previous anti-Israel comments, calling the Holocaust by Nazi Germany during World War II a fabrication and saying that Israel is perpetrating a holocaust on the Palestinian people.
The remarks appear to be part of Ahmadinejad's effort to deflect growing criticism at home over failed economic policies and recent comments by some close associates. Iran's inflation hit 27.6 percent last month, while Vice President Esfandiar Rahim Mashai was recently quoted as saying Iranians were friends of all people in the world - even Israelis.
Ahmadinejad, known for virulent anti-Israeli rhetoric, said in 2005 that Israel should be wiped off the map and later called the Holocaust a myth. Most recently, he described the Jewish state as a germ of corruption.
Speaking about Iran's controversial nuclear program, Ahmadinejad claimed the UN nuclear watchdog agency has no right to consider documents provided by the U.S. alleging that Tehran sought to make an atomic bomb.
Ahmadinejad said regulations under which the International Atomic Energy Agency operates do not allow it to act on claims by any government. On Monday, an IAEA report said Iran had blocked a UN investigation into allegations it tried to make nuclear arms and that the inquiry was deadlocked.
Ahmadinejad said the report verified the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran says is only for electricity production, and urged the West to end its hostile policy toward Iran.
Iran is already under three sets of sanctions by the UN Security Council over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment. Ahmadinejad on Thursday insisted the enrichment would not be stopped. "Let them put sanctions on us, Ahmadinejad said. We are a very strong nation," he said.
The United States and its allies are expected to press the UN for a new round of sanctions after Iran refused to accept a recent package of economic and technological incentives in return for suspending enrichment.
Iran denies U.S. claims that it is seeking to build a nuclear weapon, and insists that it has the right under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to develop reactor fuel using enrichment.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Some witty Zionist could really get Nutjob's goat, if he proposed that the Joos already had a conspiracy in place and were soon to take over Iran.
Ah, the scheme: forcing comely Iranian women to wear sexy designer clothes in public, as well as high heels, perfume and makeup. Forcing young people to dance in discos and listen to rock music, while making them drink overpriced and silly looking liquor drinks served by flamboyantly gay bartenders.
And the worse part would be that goats would be only be allowed on farms and protected from those who would sexually exploit them.
Hackers have shut down several hundred Websites of Shiite clerics and seminary schools in Iran, Iranian media reports said.
The hackers have blocked access to 300 sites, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported.
According to Iranian state TV the hackers are Sunni Muslims based outside of Iran, suggesting a possible sectarian motive, but it did not say how it had obtained this information.
Fars said that the hackers are based in the United Arab Emirates, home to a large Iranian community, some of whom oppose the clerical rule in the Islamic Republic.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
One way to shut up the clerics. Of course, there are other ways as well. Sounds like a concerted, organized effort. Mmmmmm.
Iran's president played down the possibility of an Israeli attack against the Islamic Republic, saying the Jewish state was in a weak position, Iran's state Press TV reported on Thursday. In an interview with Press TV, Ahmadinejad had said "Israel is in a weak position to launch attacks against any other country."
He said Iran had made it clear it would defend its territorial integrity if attacked, Press TV reported.
The comments came amid persistent speculation about a possible U.S. or Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, which the West and Israel suspect are part of a covert bid to build bombs, despite Tehran's denials.
Meanwhile, a top adviser of Iran's supreme leader said that in the event of war no ship passing through the oil-rich Gulf region would be beyond the reach of the country's missiles, a government newspaper reported on Thursday.
Iran, embroiled in a standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions, has said it could respond to any military attack by closing the strait at the southern end of the Gulf through which about 40 percent of the world's traded oil passes. The United States, whose Fifth Fleet is based in the Gulf state of Bahrain, has vowed to keep shipping lanes opened.
"At a time of war no ship can pass through the region of the Persian Gulf without being in the reach of the Revolutionary Guards' coast-to-sea missiles," Yahya Rahim-Safavi, a senior military adviser of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted by the Iran daily as saying.
Rahim-Safavi earlier this week said Khamenei had put the elite Guards in charge of defending the Gulf against any enemy attacks and that they would not hesitate to "confront foreign forces."
The Guards have a separate command and their own air, sea and land units. They are deployed on sensitive border regions and guard key institutions and their arsenal includes the Shahab-3 missile, which reports say can reach targets in Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/19/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
PAYVAND > RUSSIAN MILITARY ALLIANCE WID IRAN IMPROBABLE DUE TO DIVERGING FUNDAMENTAL INTERESTS.
JURASSIC PARK > T-REXES - ITS UNETHICAL TO PLAY WID PREY/FOOD WE'RE GOING TO KILL???
A top adviser of Iran's supreme leader has declared that in the event of war no ship passing through the oil-rich Gulf region would be beyond the reach of the country's missiles, a government newspaper reported on Thursday.
Iran, embroiled in a standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions, has said it could respond to any military attack by closing the strait at the southern end of the Gulf through which about 40 percent of the world's traded oil passes. The United States, whose Fifth Fleet is based in the Gulf state of Bahrain, has vowed to keep shipping lanes opened.
The West accuses Tehran of seeking to build nuclear warheads but Iran, the world's fourth largest oil producer, insists its aim is to master technology to make electricity. Washington has not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to end the row. "At a time of war no ship can pass through the region of the Persian Gulf without being in the reach of the Revolutionary Guards' coast-to-sea missiles," Yahya Rahim-Safavi, a senior military adviser of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted by the Iran daily as saying.
Rahim-Safavi earlier this week said Khamenei had put the elite Guards in charge of defending the Gulf against any enemy attacks and that they would not hesitate to "confront foreign forces."
The comments came amid persistent speculation about a possible U.S. or Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. Iran has dismissed reports of possible U.S. or Israeli plans to strike the country, but says it would respond by attacking U.S. interests and Israel if any such assault was made. Iran's air force and defence units held war games this week to test equipment and boost readiness, Iranian media reported.
Alongside the regular army, Iran has a Revolutionary Guards force viewed as guardians of the Islamic ruling system. The Guards have a separate command and their own air, sea and land units. They are deployed on sensitive border regions and guard key institutions and their arsenal includes the Shahab-3 missile, which reports say can reach targets in Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
And your missiles would be within reach of the 101st Airborne, for starters.
#3
We've been hearing this crap for years. It has gotten to the point that I'd love to see the US launch a few a SMs and fire up the CIWSs, just to teach Iran a lesson. Just to set an example before anyone else feels like being belligerent for the wrong reasons.
Posted by: tep ||
09/19/2008 4:20 Comments ||
Top||
#5
What's the old saying?
"REMEMBER, If the enemy's in range SO ARE YOU"
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/19/2008 12:07 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Actually since Iran borders the Persian Gulf their hand grenades can reach the Persian Gulf. If the ships get within 3 miles even a primitive rocket could get near them.
Its a bit like saying that Russian missiles can now hit the Caspian Sea.
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The US is seeking $20bn from its allies to help stabilise Afghanistan as it plans to send thousands more of its own troops to confront the growing insurgency in the country, American officials disclosed yesterday.
The 8,000 British troops currently in Helmand could be substantially boosted next year, possibly by an extra brigade of up to 4,000 soldiers. 
here is a limit to how many troops can be sent to Afghanistan without drawing down the number deployed in Iraq or other places, the Marines' top general said Thursday. Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, told reporters before speaking to a sea power conference that the time is right to send about 2,000 Marines to southern Afghanistan instead of Iraq's Anbar province because violence has subsided.
Russia has threatened to block NATO from using its airspace for operations in Afghanistan if member states did not stop 'hostile' policies towards Moscow, the Kremlin's top diplomat in Kabul said. "Russian air space is still open, but if the NATO countries continue their hostile policies with regard to Russia, definitely this issue will happen," Zamir Kabulov told BBC Radio in an interview aired on Thursday. NATO imports most of its logistics via Pakistan to Afghanistan, but also uses Russia's air space for some cargo. Russia is fiercely opposed to further NATO expansion. Kabulov said the United States had made far too many mistakes since toppling the Taliban government in 1991. "During the past six-and-a-half years, they have strengthened their military presence instead of strengthening the Afghan government, the Afghan armed forces and the Afghan economy, and this is a main and fundamental mistake."
* US deputy secretary of state says co-operative efforts best way forward 
(AKI) - Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Thursday the government received no warning from the United States about a suspected missile strike in the country's northwest. 
(AKI) - The Palestinian economy is becoming increasingly aid dependent, and Israel's policy of border closures in the Gaza Strip is eroding the occupied territory's industrial backbone and paralysing its municipal services, a World Bank report warns.
Hackers have shut down several hundred Websites of Shiite clerics and seminary schools in Iran, Iranian media reports said.
A top adviser of Iran's supreme leader has declared that in the event of war no ship passing through the oil-rich Gulf region would be beyond the reach of the country's missiles, a government newspaper reported on Thursday. 
