(SomaliNet) Somalia's ambassador to Moscow said Wednesday that Somalia welcomes Russian help in fighting piracy off its coast and is "not satisfied" with warships from other countries.
Ambassador Mohammed Mahmud Handule said at a press conference in Moscow that Somlai President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed "gave permission for Russian ships to enter the sea (off Somalia) and fight the pirates in the sea and on the coast."
Handule spoke as a Russian warship headed to the African country's coast amid a standoff between the US Navy and Somali pirates over a hijacked Ukrainian cargo ship carrying tanks and other arms.
The Somali ambassador criticised the activities of foreign warships off Somalia, although he did not name any countries. "Many warships can be found near our shores, but we are not satisfied with the results of their activities," said Handule.
We're not either, but likely for different reasons ...
"More than 10 countries are patrolling (Somalia waters) but we have asked Russia and she agreed to our request," he said, referring to an international effort to contain piracy.
Handule also offered warm words for Moscow, a former Cold War ally of Somalia. The enovy praised Russia's conduct in its war with Georgia in August and said Somalia would follow Moscow in recognising the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the rebel Georgian regions at the heart of the war.
There you go: Iran, Syria, Venezuela and now Somalia recognize the breakaway regions: who else do you need?
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Ambassador from non-country Somalia to Moscow. Sorta computes. Yeah, it does make sense.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/02/2008 21:11 Comments ||
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Somalia authorized foreign powers on Wednesday to use force against pirates holding a ship loaded with tanks for $20 million ransom, raising the stakes for bandits being watched by the U.S. Navy.
There was no indications, however, that the Americans or anyone else was preparing to take action.
Last week's hijacking of the Ukrainian cargo ship MV Faina -- carrying 33 Soviet-made T-72 tanks, rifles and heavy weapons -- was the highest profile act of piracy off this Horn of Africa nation this year. Several U.S. ships patrolled nearby and American helicopters buzzed overhead. Moscow also has sent a warship to protect the few Russian hostages on board, but it was a week away from the coast of central Somalia.
Spurred by the latest hijacking, at least eight European Union countries offered Wednesday to form a new force to help protect shipping in the increasingly dangerous waters off Somalia, France's defense minister said -- a move that eventually could give the Navy crucial support in the area. A U.N. Security Council resolution in June gave permission to nations to send warships into Somalia's territorial waters to stop "piracy and armed robbery at sea" if such operations were taken in cooperation with the weak Somali government in Mogadishu.
Mohammed Jammer Ali, acting director of the Somali Foreign Ministry, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he was giving new permission for such actions. "The international community has permission to fight with the pirates," he said.
Somalia's president, Abdullahi Yusuf, also appealed to foreign powers. "The government has lost patience and now wants to fight pirates with the help of the international community," he said in a radio address.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to comment on any possible military operation but said the U.S. remained resolved to keep the Faina's military cargo from falling into the wrong hands -- meaning Somali militants with links to al-Qaida.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Kabopom. Problem solved.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
10/02/2008 4:39 Comments ||
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#2
They figured out the Ruskies were going to, with or without permission. Why provide them with additional targets? If only.
A Pakistani woman suspected of links to al Qaeda who is charged with trying to kill American interrogators in Afghanistan must undergo a psychiatric evaluation and hearing, a U.S. judge ordered on Wednesday.
Aafia Siddiqui, 36, will undergo a month-long medical assessment, treatment and psychological examination before a special competency hearing to determine if she is "medically fit and mentally competent" to stand trial, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman ordered.
The U.S.-trained neuroscientist was shot in the abdomen by an officer after allegedly grabbing a U.S. soldier's gun during questioning in July and was brought to the United States to face charges of attempted murder and assault.
But her arraignment has been delayed after she refused to submit to a strip search and prosecutors argued the now frail-looking Siddiqui, who has also refused to cooperate with prison doctors, is suffering from a mental disease and is unfit to stand trial.
The federal indictment says Siddiqui, while detained for questioning in Afghanistan, grabbed a U.S. warrant officer's rifle and fired it at the interrogation team, which included two FBI agents in the room. The warrant officer then shot her with his pistol.
It is unclear how Siddiqui came to be in Afghanistan. U.S. officials say police found documents in her handbag on making explosives, excerpts from the book "Anarchist's Arsenal" and descriptions of New York City landmarks.
Her lawyers say she may be a victim of torture and believe she was kidnapped with her children in March 2003 in Karachi, Pakistan and secretly held in custody for the past five years by either Pakistani or U.S. authorities.
The hearing was scheduled for December 17 in Manhattan federal court.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
No need for a psychiatric exam - she's a militant Muslim & thus not sane or mentally competent. "Not Guilty, by reason of insanity. Let her go." Right?
India's intelligence and police services now believe that the Indian Mujahideen is not a terror group, but a loose network of Islamist groups tied together by a common cause and ideological affiliation. Based on a careful study of the mechanics of the July 26 serial bombings of Ahmedabad, investigators believe that the Indian Mujahideen is made up of three distinct elements: Students Islamic Movement of India volunteers, a group of Uttar Pradesh men with links to the Harkat ul-Jihad-e-Islami and the jihadist-linked crime cartel of jailed mafioso Aftab Ansari.
SIMI foundations
Students Islamic Movement of India leaders -- many of whom knew Ghauri and Husaini -- provided the foundations for the Ahmedabad operation. Key SIMI organiser Qayamuddin Kapadia, who has evaded arrest, led a team of Gujarat-based volunteers who provided the local knowledge critical for the success of the operation.
(AKI) - Al-Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri narrowly escaped arrest by the Pakistani military, according to an Islamist militant leader. Naji Ibrahim, leader of the Islamist militant organisation, Jemaah Islamiyah made the claim in an interview with Egyptian daily al-Misriun. The Pakistani military had reportedly located al-Zawahiri's hiding place in the lawless tribal areas controlled by the Pakistani Taliban, also thought to be a haven for Al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden.
The US State Department has offered a 25 million dollar reward for the Egyptian-born doctor, who has delivered numerous audio and video messages urging militants to continue the fight against the United States.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Throw in some green cards to the guys who actually nab him.
Rumors and contradictory news spread on Wednesday about the fate of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. Pakistan TV reported he had died of kidney failure overnight but Taliban spokesmen dismissed the report.
Militant commanders close to the al-Qaeda-linked warlord said that Mehsud was seriously ill with diabetes and may even be in a coma. "I just spoke to a close aide of Baitullah Mehsud and he did not mention any such thing," said militant spokesman Muslim Khan, based in northwest Pakistan's Swat Valley. "It could be government propaganda," Khan said of the Mehsud death report.
Mehsud is the militant commander Pakistani authorities and U.S. intelligence accuse of being behind a wave of suicide attacks across the country, including the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in late 2007.
"He is pining for the fjords only suffering from a bout of diabetes. He is under treatment but he will be all right," commander Rahim Burki told AFP.
Mehsud, an ethnic Pashtun tribesman in his mid-thirties, has denied involvement in the attack on Bhutto as she left an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi on Dec. 27. He heads the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, a loose umbrella group of factions based in northwest Pakistan formed in late 2007.
"Baitullah is sick. His condition is precarious," a senior Pakistani security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Mehsud is based in the lawless South Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan and independent verification of his condition was impossible.
A senior Taliban commander close to Mehsud confirmed that he was ill but insisted he would pull through. "He is only suffering from a bout of diabetes. He is under treatment but he will be all right," commander Rahim Burki told AFP.
This article starring:
Baitullah Mehsud
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Would you like some more sugar for your tea?
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
10/02/2008 4:36 Comments ||
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BALAD, Iraq (AP) - The U.S. military's main combat hospital in Iraq has increasingly switched to helping Iraqis. As the numbers of wounded American soldiers have fallen, the hospital is now saving the lives of a remarkable 93 percent of Iraqis who come with devastating injuries.
It's another sign of the radical improvements in health care made at combat trauma care units in war time - especially because unlike U.S. soldiers, most Iraqi patients at the Air Force Theater Hospital don't wear body armor and helmets or drive in vehicles designed to withstand roadside bombs.
"There are people with injuries that are brought here, and I say this with confidence, if they went anywhere else in the world, they would not survive," said Col. Mark Mavity, the commander of the hospital.
Over the years, the hospital on Balad Air Base has become synonymous with combat trauma care. It is best known for saving countless U.S. soldiers with catastrophic battle injuries - more than 96 percent on average over the six-month period ending in August. But even more astonishing: during that same time, about 93 percent of Iraqis left the hospital alive - up from an average of 89.7 percent during the previous six months.
But even as Iraq gets better at handling its own security, it is miles away from providing the level of medical care and other type of assistance provided now by U.S. military facilities. Any large-scale U.S. military pullout by 2011 will have to be matched by a major boost in Iraq health care and sanitation to fill the gap. For now, many Iraqis must rely on the United States to treat their blast wounds.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Violence in Iraq dropped further during the summer although security gains remain "reversible and uneven," with the main threats coming from Iranian-backed militias and the Shiite-led Iraqi government's slow integration of volunteer Sunni fighters, according to a Pentagon report released yesterday.
Potential is growing, moreover, for politically driven violence as ethnic, tribal and religious groups vie for influence in advance of provincial elections planned in coming months, according to the congressionally mandated quarterly Pentagon report on security in Iraq.
Overall, civilian deaths across Iraq declined 77 percent in the three months from June to August compared with the same period a year ago, with June recording the lowest monthly death rate on record since the war began, the report said. Sectarian killings increased slightly in July and August, but they remained 96 percent lower than for the same period in 2007, it said. For example, there were 26 ethno-sectarian deaths in Baghdad in the summer months -- in contrast to more than 1,200 in the same period last year.
Total attacks and other security incidents remained at their lowest levels since early 2004, even as the U.S.-led coalition withdrew thousands of troops. "Security incidents are now at the lowest levels in over four-and-a-half years, instilling in the Iraqi people a sense of normalcy that permits them to engage in personal, religious, and civic life without an inordinate threat of violence," the report said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#5
Nothing against Iraq, Darrell, but that ain't very hard....
BTW, are you Darrell, or the other brother Darrell?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/02/2008 15:25 Comments ||
Top||
#6
IMO its broadly correct to argue that 2008 - 2010 [2012] IRAQ will be mostly safe = "quiet" until such time IRAN conducts its first indigenous Nuke tests.
Again, TOPIX > RUSSIA FEARS NUCLEAR ARMS ON ITS BORDERS, which IMO includes present anti-US ally IRAN. The MILITANTS, etal. are attempting to destabilize ASIA AMAP ASAP [priority front], which in turn is motivating the US-Allies to send + commit more Milfors to oppose local Radical Islamism, which in turn is inducing ISLAMIST/MAD MULLAH-DESIRED GREAT POWERS = GEOPOL CONFRONTATIONISM AND "MUTUAL DESTRUCTION", ETC.
WHICH IRAN USES AS COVERT PDENIABLE COVER TO NUCLEARIZE.
* ISLAMIC MILITARY HISTORY > THE MILITANTS WILL EVENT RETURN TO REFIGHT THE WAR/BATTLE FOR IRAQ, EXCEPT THEY WILL HAVE DE FACTO NUKES-WMDS WID THEM [Nuclear Jihad-Terror]. IMO this will likely not occur intil after IRAN test-detonates its own nucweapons.
Great Satan undermining Gaza Tunnel Authority. Film at eleven...
Jerusalem - Ma'an - US soldiers are aiding Egyptian officials in the search for illegal smuggling tunnels between Egypt and Gaza, according to a report published by a major Israeli newspaper on Thursday.
Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronot said Thursday that American soldiers--operating under the guise of civilian contractors--discovered 42 tunnels under Rafah over the past month.
US forces found the tunnels with advanced American technology and help from other engineering experts, the paper reported. The tunnels were supposedly used for smuggling arms into the Gaza Strip. Yeah, "supposedly"...
Sources also said that US troops were deployed around Gaza after American officials struck an agreement with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak at a Cairo meeting over six months ago. It was not immediately clear if American soldiers had actually entered the Gaza Strip or were working solely from the Egyptian side. Hey, Bob. We got R&R this weekend. How about running up to Gaza?
Sure. Sounds great.
The report also mentioned that the US troops' involvement in the region had been a major source of recent tensions between Egypt and Hamas.
#1
"The report also mentioned that the US troops' involvement in the region had been a major source of recent tensions between Egypt and Hamas."
Awwwwww - ain't that just too bad.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/02/2008 14:02 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronot said Thursday that American soldiers--operating under the guise of civilian contractors--discovered 42 tunnels under Rafah over the past month.
Isn't that sort of illegal??? From the US' standpoint, I mean.
I wonder if it's actually a case of paleo-turncoats that are selling out and in order to cover the info-leak are blaming it on Zee Americans.
#3
Actually, Anon, sounds like Blackwater has the contract.
Plenty to debate about US Army vis Contract forces, but from a purely legal point, I don't doubt that the proper arrangements have been made. It would even surprise if there were some foreign legionaires in the mix.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday ordered the release of 40 Hamas members from PA prisons in the West Bank as a "goodwill gesture" to the Islamic movement on the occasion of the Muslim feast of Id al-Fitr. The decision came two days after Hamas released 30 Fatah members who were being held in its prisons in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas government said that move was also a "goodwill gesture" for the Muslim holiday. The release of the Hamas and Fatah prisoners is likely to pave the way for the resumption of reconciliation talks between the two parties in Cairo early next month.
Hamas claims that Abbas's security forces have arrested over 200 of its supporters and officials in the West Bank in the past few months. Hamas spokesmen welcomed Abbas's decision to release the 38 Hamas members, but said the move was "insufficient." Fatah, on the other hand, said that Hamas's decision to release the 30 Fatah men was "not serious." According to Fatah officials in Ramallah, at least 300 Fatah members remain in Hamas prisons in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Tuesday that his movement was going to the Cairo talks "with open hearts and hands and good intentions" to solve the crisis with Fatah. He added that Hamas would press during the talks for the removal of the sanctions imposed on the Gaza Strip and for recognition of the Hamas government "that was elected in a free and democratic election."
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri denied reports that his movement had accepted an Egyptian proposal to form a new government consisting of technocrats and independents. He said Hamas continues to favor the establishment of a "unity government" that would bring all Palestinian factions together.
In a related development, the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported Wednesday that Abbas has rejected pressure from Fatah leaders to "crush" Hamas in the West Bank. Abbas, according to the report, also dismissed pressure to prepare for a "military confrontation" with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
#1
In a related development, the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported Wednesday that Abbas has rejected pressure from Fatah leaders to "crush" Hamas in the West Bank.
Yeah, that worked out real well for him in Gaza. And they got nowhere to run to this time. Ein el Hellhole is all booked up.
The Hamas regime has cracked down on three major clans in the Gaza Strip following the killing of five senior Hamas commanders. A report by the Institute for National Security Studies identified the clans as Dughmoush, Hilles and Abu Reish. "Hamas successfully imposed its rule over clan-based and other loci of power in Gaza," the report, titled "Hamas Tightens Its Hold on the Gaza Strip," said.
Authored by Shlomo Brom, a former senior military intelligence commander, the report detailed the Hamas crackdown in wake of a spate of explosions in late July 2008. On July 25, five senior Hamas commanders were killed in a suicide attack on a Gaza beach cafe. In wake of the bombings, Hamas has sought to eliminate the Fatah presence in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, Hamas attacked such major Fatah-aligned clans as Hilles, based in Gaza City.
"Ahmed Hilles, the senior figure in the clan, had served as Fatah's director-general in Gaza and is [Mohammed] Dahlan's biggest rival," the report said. "He headed the group of Fatah operatives who cooperated with Hamas, but this did not help him in the current confrontation. It was important to Hamas to break the clan's military strength, the only locus of Fatah power left in the Strip." [On Sept. 24, Hilles was allowed to enter the West Bank town of Jericho. The Palestinian Authority said Hilles, released from Israeli custody, would be allowed to remain at Public Intelligence Administration headquarters in Jericho for 17 days.]
The report said Hamas also imposed its rule on the Dughmoush clan in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City. Dughmoush was said to have sponsored the Al Qaida-inspired Army of Islam, which conducted numerous abductions in 2006 and 2007.
Hamas also cracked down on the Abu Reish clan in the southern Gaza Strip. The clan, led by Ahmed Abu Reish, has been identified as a major player in the tunnel smuggling industry. "This clan suffered a heavy blow when dozens of its members were arrested and stripped of their weapons," the report said. "The containment of the Abu Reish clan strengthens Hamas' control of the smuggling industry and of all that takes place along the Egyptian border."
Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamanei declared Wednesday that Israel is on to road towards "weakness, destruction and defeat" and vowed that his country would continue to stand behind the Hamas movement whose goal is the violent dismemberment of the Jewish state. Khamanei, who is the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, said it was "definite [that] the world of Islam will see that day and [I] hope the existing generation of the Palestinian people will watch the day" when Israel is eradicated.
#2
Every time one of these Iranians comes out with some pronouncement like this, the Israelis should turn it around by addressing him personally with some classical Arabic curses.
That is, something so ludicrous that *Arabs* would laugh at it, even if Persians didn't get it. But Persians hate being laughed at by Arabs.
Classic, because it would be like swearing done by your great grandparents, making it more witty than foul.
"Ali Khamanei, you are a son of a dog, you eater of pork and copulator of she-asses."
"Shut up, you flea bitten monkey! Curses be on you and your dung filled mustache, you stupid lowlife pimp of small boys."
#3
Stalin had to be more Russian than the Russians because he was Georgian by birth. Maybe Khamanei is being more Persian than the Persians because he's Azeri by birth. You have to wonder how much of this is shtick.
#4
ION DRUDGEREPORT/TOPIX > RUSSIA SEES US CREDIT CRISIS AS MARKING THE END OF US GLOBAL ECONOMIC DOMINATION/HEGEMONY/LEADERSHIP.
OTOH, as per RUSSIA, GEORGIAN DAILY > IFF THE CIS DISINTEGRATES, RUSSIA WILL TOO; + ABKHAZIA, SOUTH OSSETIA PRESENTING MOSCOW WITH UNEXPECTED PROBLEMS. Georgian Breakaways are in no rush to give up their newfound LOCAL SOVEREIGNTY-INDEPENDENCE - South Ossetia desires to keep its national independence while also working to unify = collude wid non-independent North Ossetia region inside Russia,; + NEW MOSCOW POLICIES LIKELY TO SPREAD ETHNIC CONFLICTS BEYOND HOTSPOTS. New INGUSHETIA violence, + resistance of ethnic Koryaks to integration wid Kamchatka region Krays/Krayaks. ENTIRE CAUCASIA REGION COULD EXPLODE IN MULTI-ETHNIC SECTARIANISM AS LOCAL ETHNICS CHOSE TO PROTECT THEIR ETHNIC IDENTITY-CULTURAL VALUES AND RESIST MOSCOW-DESIRED/ENFORCED "NATIONAL CULTURAL DIVERSITY" VIA UNILATERAL GOVT-FORCED RELOCATION FROM RUSS FROZEN FAR NORTH TO LOWER MODERATE ZONES - such Population Displacement, etc. vee Moscow may result in undesired non-Russ ethnic migration waves from CENTRAL ASIA + CHINA [e.g. foreign labor]as enclaves engage in various economic development schemas.
Also from GEORGIAN DAILY [paraph] > RUSSIAN RUBLE DECLINES IN VALUE FOR THE SIXTH STRAIGHT DAY IN WAKE OF US FINANCIAL CRISIS [decline keeps going and going...]; + ANOTHER CASUALTY OF THE RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN WAR - SOCIAL SPENDING PROGRAMS IN RUSSIA.
As FARK.com would say, HAVING SOLVED ALL OTHER PROBLEMS, THE RUSSIAN GOVT. IN MOSCOW DECIDES TO IMPROVE AND EXPAND THE ARMED FORCES AND NUCLEAR ARSENAL - STILL NO BORSCH IN THE COUNTRY'S FOOD MARKETS!
CNN > Russian Military Servicemembers happy about their new spiffy Uniforms, not-so-happy at empty food carts and shelves.
MOVE ALONG BOYZ, NO IRANO-ISLAMIST THREAT TO RUSSIA HERE.
#5
Again, the MAP OF ASIA [Political, Cultural, Religious, and Nuclear-MIl, etc.] as whole generations of Americans, etal. know it to be IS AT RISK OF CHANGE AS PER THE US-ISLAMIST WAR FOR CONTROL OF SAME.
Once ASIA is suborned, it only leaves future EURABIA = LONDONISTAN, etc. TO CHALLENGE AMERIKA.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States and Syria held a series of meetings this week, signaling a possible thaw between the two countries as the former seeks to peel the latter from its close ties with Iran. No further meetings are planned between the two sides, said several senior State Department officials, who downplayed the expectations of a major breakthrough.
"You can't tell yet," one of the officials said. "It gave us a chance to raise our concerns directly, but the results will depend on what we see on the ground."
The talks between Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem and U.S. Assistant Secretary David Welch on Monday in New York came on the heels of a brief meeting between Moallem and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a day earlier, the senior officials said. "It is significant that the exchange took place in front of several foreign ministers and not some secret thing," one senior State Department official said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has reiterated his previous statements that Israel is in no way interested in attaining real peace.
Muallem's remarks came in response to latest comments made by Israeli president Shimon Peres, who called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to follow in the path of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and enter direct negotiations with Israel.
He drew the parallel that Peres' comment was like 'putting the cart before the horse', calling it a sign that Tel Aviv was uninterested in attaining real peace, Asharq al-Awasat reported Wednesday.
Muallem meanwhile maintained that it would be impossible to control the common border between Syria and Lebanon, saying that such a move would require its demarcation as well as a security agreement between the two countries.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2008 00:00 ||
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[2 views]
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#1
Lucky for you cause the only real peace is the one without Arabs.
Tehran has announced its decision to withdraw its nomination for a seat on the board of the UN nuclear watchdog in favor of its sock puppet Syria. Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltaniyeh said Wednesday that the Islamic republic had 'officially refrained from pursuing its right to be nominated to the board to pave the way for the membership of Syria.'
"The move is an indication of Iran's support for the Middle East and South Asia group," Soltaniyeh told reporters in Vienna.
The expiry of Pakistan's one-year term has given the Middle East and South Asia (MESA) group a right to fill a rotating board seat this year. Initial reports indicate that Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and Kazakhstan were the four possible candidates for the seat. MESA has until the end of the general conference to reach a consensus on a single candidate.
The 35 members of the IAEA board are annually elected by the agency's highest policy-making body, the General Conference. "We will continue our cooperation with the agency, but it is crucial that the body act according to its statute and chief activities," Soltaniyeh said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Another case of the fox guarding the henhouse as seems so common in UN agencies or is the sole criterion for IAEA membership that Israel has blown up one of your reactors?
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.
Somalia authorized foreign powers on Wednesday to use force against pirates holding a ship loaded with tanks for $20 million ransom, raising the stakes for bandits being watched by the U.S. Navy. 
(AKI) - Al-Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri narrowly escaped arrest by the Pakistani military, according to an Islamist militant leader. Naji Ibrahim, leader of the Islamist militant organisation, Jemaah Islamiyah made the claim in an interview with Egyptian daily al-Misriun. The Pakistani military had reportedly located al-Zawahiri's hiding place in the lawless tribal areas controlled by the Pakistani Taliban, also thought to be a haven for Al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden.
Rumors and contradictory news spread on Wednesday about the fate of Pakistani Taliban leader 
BALAD, Iraq (AP) - The U.S. military's main combat hospital in Iraq has increasingly switched to helping Iraqis. As the numbers of wounded American soldiers have fallen, the hospital is now saving the lives of a remarkable 93 percent of Iraqis who come with devastating injuries.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday ordered the release of 40 Hamas members from PA prisons in the West Bank as a "goodwill gesture" to the Islamic movement on the occasion of the Muslim feast of Id al-Fitr. The decision came two days after Hamas released 30 Fatah members who were being held in its prisons in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas government said that move was also a "goodwill gesture" for the Muslim holiday. The release of the Hamas and Fatah prisoners is likely to pave the way for the resumption of reconciliation talks between the two parties in Cairo early next month. 
The Hamas regime has cracked down on three major clans in the Gaza Strip following the killing of five senior Hamas commanders. A report by the Institute for National Security Studies identified the clans as Dughmoush, Hilles and Abu Reish. "Hamas successfully imposed its rule over clan-based and other loci of power in Gaza," the report, titled "Hamas Tightens Its Hold on the Gaza Strip," said.
Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamanei declared Wednesday that Israel is on to road towards "weakness, destruction and defeat" and vowed that his country would continue to stand behind the Hamas movement whose goal is the violent dismemberment of the Jewish state. Khamanei, who is the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, said it was "definite [that] the world of Islam will see that day and [I] hope the existing generation of the Palestinian people will watch the day" when Israel is eradicated.
