(APP): U.S. General David Petraeus, who will head Central Command from October 31, has launched a major reassessment of the regional strategy, warning that the lack of development and the spiraling violence in Afghanistan will probably make it "the longest campaign of the long war," The Washington Post reported Thursday.
The review will formally begin next month, but experts and military officials involved said Petraeus is already focused on at least two major themes:
government-led reconciliation of Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the leveraging of diplomatic and economic initiatives with nearby countries that are influential in the war.
"The effort in Afghanistan is going to be the longest campaign of the long war," Petraeus told the newspaper Wednesday.
Petraeus is recruiting a brain trust of advisers, much as he did for Iraq, taking the studious approach that has become the hallmark of the four-star general who holds a doctorate in international relations from Princeton University.
Reconciliation of moderate Taliban insurgents who are willing to ally with the Afghan government is emerging as one main thrust of Petraeus's approach, according to officials and experts who have discussed it with him recently.
"In Afghanistan, or in any country where society is dominated by tribes, reconciliation really needs to be a focus," said a senior Central Command official.
Petraeus agreed but stressed that any outreach needs to be done in conjunction with the Afghan government. "I do think you have to talk to enemies," he said at the Heritage Foundation. "Clearly you want to try to reconcile with as many as possible. . . . The key there is making sure all of that is done in complete coordination and with the complete support of the Afghan government and President [Hamid] Karzai."
Afghanistan and Pakistan experts consulted so far include Shuja Nawaz, author of "Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within," whom Petraeus consulted during a private lunch in Washington last week, and Ahmed Rashid, author of "Descent into Chaos."
Another expert slated to join the team is Clare Lockhart, co-founder of the New York-based Institute for State Effectiveness, who spent five years working in Afghanistan as an adviser to the United Nations, the Afghan government and the NATO-led military command. "This team will essentially provide a policy bridge from one administration to the next," Lockhart said.
Another priority is to take a regional approach to the problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including more robust diplomacy with neighbors and a regional economic development effort, experts said.
"When you look at a lot of these problems, you see considerable regional connections," Petraeus said Wednesday. The effort would embrace all of Afghanistan's neighbors and possibly extend to India, which has had a long-standing rivalry with Pakistan, the report said."There may be opportunities with respect to India," Petraeus said, according to the newspaper.
An overview of the review team's mission obtained by The Post says that including other government agencies and other nations in the planning will "mitigate the risk of over-militarization of efforts and the development of short-term solutions to long-term problems."
Nevertheless, some experts questioned whether Petraeus will have the authority to carry out such a sweeping strategy.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2008 00:00 ||
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Nevertheless, some experts questioned whether Petraeus will have the authority to carry out such a sweeping strategy.
Easily answered. He most definately will not under an Obama administration. I suspect he'll be summarilly retired and will certainly risk being tied to legal actions associated with the liberals/socialists attempts at charging "W" with war crimes.
#2
"These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. The Taliban must act, and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate."
George W. Bush, Statement To Joint Session Of Congress September 20th 2001
"We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them. "
George W. Bush, September 11th 2001
Let's not mince words, this would be a western surrender.
The reason for the presence of the US and NATO in Afghanistan is 9/11. The central
mission is retribution. It is the restoration of western deterrence, by eliminating the Taliban, whether the Afghans like it or not.
It's a surgical operation in the sense that the only the Taliban are direct targets, not the Afghan nation or people.
The goal however is the destruction of, not reconciliation with the Taliban.
If the Taliban survive with the blessing of the US government, then it has been established that a mass fatality attack on the continental US is not a suicidal mistake.
George Hussein Bush would be well advised to at least kick this can down the road.
Barack Hussein Obama will surrender in Afghanistan by reconciling with the Taliban and inviting them to participate in an islamofascist unity government. But this collapse of the war effort and the consequences thereof would be fully owned by B. Hussein Obama and the Democrats.
BTW, I don't fault Petraeus here, this is a political matter. It's within the responsibilty of the civilian political leadership, not the military's.
This reads like it was written by the Soviets Disinformation Service ...
Somali police say AMISOM commanders at Somalia's Aden Adde International Airport are forced to take direct orders from US government officers.
They (the policemen) have confirmed to our Press TV correspondent that whenever insurgents attack AMISOM (African Union Mission to Somalia) bases and the Aden Adde International Airport, they have to consult the American officers before taking any action. He says that according to his police source, there are more than 25 US military officers (including nine female) stationed secretly in AMISOM bases.
At least 35 times AMISOM has been attacked, and every time the American officers have given the orders to shoot at civilians in Bakara and other districts in south Mogadishu, our reporter says quoting 10 policemen he has talked to. They also plan attacks for the AMISOM, the policemen said.
Whenever the AMISOM spokesman, Bragiye Bahoku, speaks to the media, he reads out the text dictated by US officers, they say.
The policemen also say that the peace keeping forces from Africa, Uganda and Burundi are like US paid soldiers. They have to obey what is ordered by the US officers, even if they do not like it.
In 1993, the US forces launched an operation is Somalia, named 'Operation Gothic Serpent' supported by the United Nations Operations in Somalia against Somali militia fighters loyal to warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. That mission had ended in failure, our correspondent said.
The US has assigned the Ugandan soldiers to control all the communication especially when an attack takes place. They were asked to interrupt and block conversations passing through the Mogadishu telecommunication company and also listen to their daily talk.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2008 00:00 ||
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including nine female
Oh, noes! Horror!
and every time the American officers have given the orders to shoot at civilians in Bakara and other districts in south Mogadishu
I think that's true. I mean, if you can't trust an iranian news org quoting unnamed sources about warcrimes being committed at random for no apparent reason whatsoever bar sheer cruelty, then... who can you trust, I ask you!?
#2
This reads like it was written by the Soviets Disinformation Service ...
Well, that true, if it read like it was written say by paleo Disinformation Service, then, the 9 female Us officers would bare their breasts and show their titties at the civilians to daze them, just before the AMISOM open fire.
JEDDAH - Imams (preachers) of Saudi mosques have come in for severe criticism for not being able to guide Saudi youth away from extremist ideologies that pose a serious threat to the security and stability of the country.
Did he say this in English or Arabic?
The more than 15,000 mosques in the country constitute the best forums for guidance, but the imams have failed miserably in discharging their duties, Interior Minister Prince Nayef said after opening a seminar on Human Rights in Higher Education and Intellectual Security at Umm Al Qura University in Makkah on Wednesday night.
"The infidels are on to us!"
Frankly speaking, I would like to say that the imams of mosques, with the exception of the two holy mosques, have not played their desired role (in the fight against extremism), Prince Nayef said. The introduction of topics related to human rights in the education or any other area of life does not mean that our society is ignorant or deficient in human values as some quarters have been portraying, Prince Nayef stressed.
So he heard us!
He highlighted the significant role universities had to play in keeping the young Saudis away from the dangers of destructive ideologies. Since universities are centres of research, it is their duty to study ways to root out ideas that distort religion and defame the nation, he told an audience that included Minister of Higher Education Khaled Al Anqari and Rector of Umm Al Qura University Adanan Wazzan.
So shut yer yaps and do as yer told ...
Prince Nayef urged intellectuals in Saudi universities to shoulder their responsibility in keeping society free of extremist ideologies. Intellectual security is by no means less important than public security, he said.
He added that the security of a country was closely related with scientific achievements. Universities should be capable of contributing to the service of the country and it is in line with the teaching of Islam which urges its followers to benefit from fruits of learning, he said.
Does that mean that the princes will fund fewer madrassas and more real schools?
He said that by following the true path of Islam the Muslims would be able to achieve security and stability everywhere. He added the late King Abdul Aziz, founder of the kingdom, had striven to introduce modern sciences into the country and to convince the people of their importance.
After the unification of the country, King Abdul Azizs concerns were about the peoples education and their security, and his sons followed the footsteps of their great father in this respect, he said.
Worked well so far, huh ...
While speaking with the faculty members of the university, Prince Nayef expressed his hope that no harm would come to the country, which was always defended well. He commended the achievements of the soldiers and other security organs in the past in foiling the destructive designs of terrorists. We have proved to the world that the Saudi security forces are capable of confronting the challenges of the deviant ideology though the country was the main target of extremist plots, he said.
Proven to whom, exactly? I don't remember the Saoodi forces doing so well in the Gulf War. And the security forces have allowed a steady stream of rubes into Iraq and Afghanistan.
While commending the strong cooperation between citizens and the security forces, the minister stressed the role of the citizens as the first line of the defence of the country against all kinds of enemies.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/18/2008 00:00 ||
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Could the greatest "Personality Cult Figure" of the late 20th early 21st century be moving on now knowing that his heir-apparent (and better) is soon to be annointed here in the states? Oh please, oh please, oh please ...
North Korea has ordered its diplomats overseas to get ready for an "important announcement" that may be related to the health of its reclusive leader Kim Jong-Il, a Japanese newspaper said Saturday.
Pyongyang has told diplomats around the world to stay in one place and refrain from travelling, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported, quoting several unnamed sources familiar with North Korean issues.
The sources speculated the message could be related to North Korea's relations with South Korea or the health of Kim, Japan's best-selling daily said, adding that the announcement was expected in a few days.
Reports of Kim's illness surfaced after he failed to appear at the country's 60th anniversary parade on September 9. South Korean officials have said he underwent brain surgery following a stroke around mid-August. "We've heard the news. We are checking it," a spokesman for South Korea's National Intelligence Service said. He declined to say whether the spy agency has learned of the news from Yomiuri or from a different source.
North Korean state television a week ago aired photographs of Kim inspecting a women's artillery base, although a US official doubted that the images were recent. Some reports said Kim suffered partial paralysis.
The Japanese report came as South Korea's defense minister said he believed Kim remained in control of the government despite the reports of ill health but that the situation in the isolated country is unpredictable. "Kim Jong-Il has not been seen in public for a while now, but both Korean and United States intelligence services estimate that he still has control over his administration," minister Lee Sang-hee told reporters in Washington.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
10/18/2008 12:43 ||
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herrrrro! *ack*
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/18/2008 17:35 Comments ||
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The Japanese report came as South Korea's defense minister said he believed Kim remained in control of the government despite the reports of his death and subsequent undeath ill health...
#4
Kim moving to the Robert Byrd Hospice? I'm sure both staffs will keep their corpses bodies in stable condition to keep the little money machine delivering.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- President Asif Ali Zardari returned from China late Friday without a commitment for cash needed to shore up Pakistan's crumbling economy, leaving him with the politically unpopular prospect of having to ask the International Monetary Fund for help.
Pakistan was seeking the aid from China, an important ally, as it faces the possibility of defaulting on its current account payments. With the United States and other nations preoccupied by a financial crisis, and Saudi Arabia, another traditional ally, refusing to offer concessions on oil, China was seen as the last port of call before the I.M.F.
Accepting a rescue package from the fund would be seen as humiliating for Mr. Zardari's government, which took office this year. An I.M.F.-backed plan would require Pakistan's government to cut spending and raise taxes, among other measures, which could hurt the jihadis poor, officials said.
The Bush administration is concerned that Pakistan's economic meltdown will provide an opportunity for Islamic militants to capitalize on rising poverty and frustration.
As if they don't have sufficient motivation today ...
The Pakistanis have not been shy about exploiting the terrorist threat to try to win financial support, a senior official at the I.M.F. said. But because of the dire global financial situation, and the reluctance of donor nations to provide money without strict economic reforms by Pakistan, the terrorist argument has not been fully persuasive, he said.
"A selling point to us even has been, if the economy really collapses this is going to mean civil strife, and strikes, and put the war on terror in jeopardy," said the official, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the news media. "They are saying, 'We are a strategic country, the world needs to come to our aid,'" he said.
Pakistani officials said they had received promises from the Chinese to help build two nuclear power plants, and pledges for business investment in the coming year. But Pakistan had also hoped China would deposit $1.5 billion to $3 billion in its central bank, according to senior officials at the I.M.F. and Western donor countries. The infusion of cash would have helped with payments for oil and food as currency reserves dwindle, officials said.
If you use the money to pay for oil then it isn't a 'deposit' ...
Shaukat Tareen, the new Pakistani financial adviser who accompanied Mr. Zardari to China, began to prepare the public for an I.M.F. program on Saturday, saying for the first time at a news conference that if Pakistan could not stabilize its economy within 30 days, it "can go to the I.M.F. as a backup."
"We may have to go to Plan B," he said.
This assumes the IMF has any money today, and if so that they would lend to you ...
Economic hardship has been mounting across Pakistan for several months. Electricity shortages have become so dire that even middle-class families in big cities have to ration supply, with power cuts for 12 of every 24 hours, with one hour on, and one hour off. Food prices have soared, making some basics, even flour, too expensive for the poorest to afford. No large-scale riots have occurred, but concern is mounting that such protests are not far off.
The new government has reduced subsidies on fuel and food, and the central bank moved on Friday to ease an intrabank liquidity crisis. In addition, new rules were imposed several weeks ago on the Karachi stock exchange to stop sell-offs.
But none of those steps have stanched the crisis in confidence.
The central bank's currency reserves have dipped to $4 billion, enough to cover payments for oil and other imports for about two months. As it became clear over the past two days that the Chinese were not going to provide a cushion for Pakistan, the rupee slumped to a record low.
The thin results from the China trip were of little surprise to Western donors. Asked about the likelihood of Pakistan winning the direct cash infusion it was seeking, a senior Chinese diplomat was reported by Western officials to have said, "We have done our due diligence, and it isn't happening."
"What we needed is $3-to-$4 billion," said Sakib Sherani, a member of the government's economic advisory panel and chief economist at ABN Amro Bank in Pakistan. That amount was necessary "to build confidence," he said.
The central bank governor, Shamshad Akhtar, said in a telephone interview on Saturday, "We are very open to all kinds of financial support." She added, "We've taken a lot of corrective actions, and we plan to take more."
But Zubair Khan, a former commerce minister and a critic of the government's economic management, said confidence would improve once Pakistan arranged an I.M.F. rescue package. Mr. Khan said that the alternative would be the imposition of controls on imports and capital flows that could do long-term harm to the economy.
Meanwhile, the American financial crisis is also expected to hurt ordinary Pakistanis. Remittances from Pakistanis living abroad to their relatives in Pakistan were expected to be about $7 billion this year, about $3 billion of that from Pakistanis living in the United States. But those remittances are likely to dwindle, affecting real estate values in Pakistani cities and families who live in poorer rural areas.
Mr. Zardari had approached the China trip with considerable fanfare, saying he was looking forward to visiting a country that had enjoyed a warm relationship with Pakistan, particularly during the rule of his father-in-law, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. His visit to Beijing followed a trip there by the chief of the army, Gen. Parvez Kayani, and came at a time when the relationship between Washington and Pakistan was strained over how to deal with the escalating threat from the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Javed Burki, a former Pakistani finance minister, said China had provided $500 million in balance-of-payments support in 1996, when Pakistan was on the brink of default. He had flown to Beijing to ask for the money and his request was fulfilled. But those days are over, he said, because China is no longer inclined to grant cash outright without structural reforms from the receiving government, he said.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/18/2008 15:50 ||
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I've got an idea. Pakistani Baluchistan is rich in minerals, and so is next door Iranian Baluchistan. If Iran got into a war with Israel and/or the US, Pakistan could take over Iranian Baluchistan, and not only get a lot of wealth, but finally end the Baluchis creating problems for both nations.
If you'd quite funding the Talibunnies, you'd have plenty of money, Asif.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/18/2008 19:50 Comments ||
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Economic hardship has been mounting across Pakistan for several months. Electricity shortages have become so dire that even middle-class families in big cities have to ration supply, with power cuts for 12 of every 24 hours, with one hour on, and one hour off. Food prices have soared, making some basics, even flour, too expensive for the poorest to afford.
Some how I missed that over the last few months. The Land of the Pure now has too many weapons and not enough food. What say you all: more raids into Afghanistan, or more fighting at home?
Muqtada al-Sadr Urges Rejection of U.S.-Iraqi Pact
BAGHDAD -- Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Saturday called on Iraq's parliament to reject a U.S.-Iraqi security pact as tens of thousands ... More like a couple of tens of hundreds if the footage on FoxNews this AM was the be believed...
... of his followers rallied in Baghdad against the deal.
The mass public show of opposition came as U.S. and Iraqi leaders face a Dec. 31 deadline to agree on the deal, which would replace an expiring U.N. mandate authorizing the U.S.-led forces in Iraq.
Al-Sadr's message was addressed to Iraqi lawmakers and read by his aide Sheik Abdul-Hadi al-Mohammadawi in Baghdad before a huge crowd of mostly young men waving Iraqi and green Shiite flags and chanting slogans including "no, no to the agreement" and "yes to Iraq." "The Iraqi government has abandoned its duty before God and its people and referred the agreement to you knowing that ratifying it will stigmatize Iraq and its government for years to come," he said.
Al-Sadr, who is living in Iran, ...And knows better than to stick his lil' head up Baghdad way...
also cast doubt on the Iraqi government's argument that the security pact is a step toward ending the U.S. presence in Iraq. The deal would require U.S. forces to leave by Dec. 31, 2011 unless Iraq asked some of them to stay. "If they tell you that the agreement ends the presence of the occupation, let me tell you that the occupier will retain its bases. And whoever tells you that it gives us sovereignty is a liar," al-Sadr's message said. "...Who gonna believe - me or yer lyin' eyes?"
"I am confident that you brothers in parliament will champion the will of the people over that of the occupier ... Do not betray the people."
The demonstrators marched from the main Shiite district of Sadr City to the more central Mustansiriyah Square in eastern Baghdad. "No, No to America," shouted one man, wearing a white Islamic robe as he sat in a wheelchair and clutched a poster of the Iraqi flag. "We prefer death to giving concessions." That can be arranged, ya know...
Security was tight, with Iraqi security forces manning checkpoints on side streets and snipers on rooftops. Iraqi Humvees controlled all the roads leading to the square. Giant Iraqi flags covered nearby buildings.
One banner in English said "We refuse the existence of the U.S. in Iraq." We ain't too happy about you either, as@hole...
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government and the Bush administration have hammered out a draft agreement after months of bitter negotiations. But the Iraqi parliament must ratify the deal and Iraq's pre-eminent Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has said any accord must have national consensus.
Al-Maliki, a Shiite, could be politically isolated if he tries to win parliament's backing in the face of widespread opposition.
Several Sunni and Shiite clerics, who wield considerable influence in shaping public opinion, also spoke out during Friday prayer services against the draft, complaining that the Iraqi public knows little about the terms.
A copy of the draft accord obtained by The Associated Press specifies that U.S. troops must leave Iraqi cities by the end of June and be gone by 2012. It gives Iraq limited authority over off-duty, off-base U.S. soldiers who commit crimes.
U.S. Congressional approval is not required for the pact to take effect, but the administration is trying to build maximum political support anyway. ...Not sure WHY...if Obama wins, we'll bail at full throttle no matter what the agreement says.
The march was called by al-Sadr after he had to postpone a mass demonstration on April 9 ... Called on account of of a chance of airstrikes, yass...
... to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S. capture of Baghdad. That march had been postponed after many of his followers complained they were not allowed to enter the capital amid fears of violence. Yeah, on THEM....
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
10/18/2008 10:52 ||
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Foreign and Iraqi observers alike have been noting Prime Minister Nuri al-Malikis increasingly assertive conduct, dating back to his ambitious operation last March to wrest control of Basra from militias that had reduced the southern city to chaos. But even veterans of Iraqs Byzantine politics are wondering what brought the prime minister to issue a decree this week declaring that ministers and various senior government officials may not travel outside the country until they get approval from him.
The decree, released by the National Media Center, says ministers must send a written request to the Cabinets secretariat-general and wait for approval. The order seems especially odd, because the government officials have already been bound by this rule for the past year. Some speculate that this is a rebuke to one of the approximately three dozen Cabinet ministers, who are from a variety of political parties, who might have wandered abroad without permission.
It is not clear who that might be, although Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani has been in London meeting with representatives from 35 energy companies to discuss development and exploration in Iraqs oil industry. In June, the oil ministry opened six oil fields and two gas fields for international bidding, a move expected to lead to the return of foreign oil companies to the country 36 years after they were expelled by Saddam Hussein.
Malikis order may have nothing to do with Sharistani, a nuclear scientist who was imprisoned for a decade during Saddams regime for refusing to work on developing an atomic bomb. But there is said to be no love lost between the fellow Shiites. Shahristani is considered too independent and regarded as someone who may not support the prime ministers program. The minister travels frequently in his bid to develop the oil sector.
On the other hand, Maliki also has feuded with the foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd who also travels a lot, and he has clashed with other members of his sometimes dysfunctional Cabinet. So, why he felt the need to issue a reminder and via a publicly released decree remains unclear.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday that U.S. troops should not be concerned by a deal that is said to let Iraq prosecute American military personnel if they commit serious crimes on Iraqi soil. Some members of the U.S. Congress have questioned whether the pact offers enough protection from an Iraqi justice system that does not guarantee due process.
Iraqi officials have said the final draft agreement, which creates a legal basis for American troops to stay in Iraq after a United Nations mandate expires at the end of this year, states that U.S. forces should withdraw by the end of 2011. They have also said that the pact, known as a Status of Forces Agreement, would allow Iraqi authorities to prosecute U.S. troops for serious crimes under certain circumstances.
But the pact appears to contain many caveats that mean U.S. forces would face Iraqi justice only in very rare cases. "I think there is not reason to be concerned," Gates told reporters at the Pentagon.
He said Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and his predecessor, Gen. David Petraeus, had been deeply involved in negotiations over the deal, which also has the backing of Adm. Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer. "Adm. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Petraeus, Gen. Odierno and I are all satisfied that our men and uniform serving in Iraq are well protected," Gates said.
Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have briefed key members of Congress, including the presidential candidates, Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama. Gates described the reaction from lawmakers he spoke with as "generally positive," but Rep. Ike Skelton, a Missouri Democrat who chairs the armed services committee in the House of Representatives, said he had "real questions". "I am very concerned about reports that U.S. service personnel may not have full immunity under Iraqi law," said Skelton, who was briefed by Gates.
However, Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said initial briefings suggested the deal was acceptable. "It appears ... that the administration has negotiated responsibly on behalf of U.S. national security interests and with the protection of American G.I.'s at the fore," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/18/2008 00:00 ||
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the pact, ..., would allow Iraqi authorities to prosecute U.S. troops for serious crimes under certain circumstances.
GENEVA - Some 19,500 Iraqis applied for asylum in wealthy nations during the first half of 2008, still by far the top nationality seeking refuge abroad, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday. But the overall number of Iraqis filing asylum applications continued to decline, down 18 percent from the last six months of 2007 and almost 10 percent below the first half of last year.
"In spite of this downward trend, Iraqis still accounted for 12 percent of all asylum applications lodged in the industrialised world in the first half of this year," said Ron Redmond of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). "The situation on the ground in Iraq has improved somewhat, which may mean fewer people are fleeing," he said. "It is also true that barriers have been erected, increasingly in recent years, that make it more difficult for people to seek asylum."
It's a problem that will solve itself over the next couple of years as Iraq continues to recover from the war and insurrection. People will return and the UNHCR will be out of a job.
In all, 165,100 asylum applications were lodged from January to June in 44 developed economies worldwide, including 38 countries in Europe as well as Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the United States. That six-month toll was up 3 percent from the same period in 2007.
Most of those seeking asylum filed for protection on arrival at borders, in airports, and in police stations in the countries where they hope to stay, Redmond said. The asylum figures do not include refugee resettlement programmes in which pre-screened people are expressly sent to host countries.
Iraqis fleeing violence or persecution typically head for neighbouring Jordan and Syria for "initial protection, then they go north to Europe," Redmond said. Some 60 percent of Iraqi asylum-seekers filed claims in only four countries -- Sweden, Germany, Turkey and the Netherlands. Sweden, with 3,900 applications, has been the "main destination country" for Iraqi asylum-seekers for some time, Redmond said.
Asylum seekers from Russia were the second largest group, with 9,400 new claims lodged in industrialised countries during the period, followed by China with 8,700 applicants, according to the Geneva-based agency. Some 7,400 Somalis sought asylum in the period, the highest level since 2003, "reflecting the deteriorating situation in the country," the UNHCR said. Asylum seekers from Pakistan and Afghanistan were fifth and sixth largest with 6,300 each.
The United States remained the largest single recipient of new claims by asylum seekers during the period, with 25,400 applications, or 15 percent of the total. Canada was the second preferred country, with 16,800 applications, followed by France with 15,600 and Britain with 14,500.
The 27 countries of the European Union registered 103,500 new asylum applications during the first six months of 2008. Excluding Italy, which only started providing statistics this year, 26 EU countries recorded 96,300 claims, some 11 percent less than during the second half of 2007 and 3 percent less that the first half of 2007, according to the UNHCR.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/18/2008 00:00 ||
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Baathist asylum seekers? I could understand their concern.
Hamas is likely to seek to extend its truce with Israel for another six months, Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip predicted Thursday. The current six-month truce, brokered by Egypt, expires in December. A senior Hamas official told Haaretz that the Islamic group has not yet made a decision on extending the truce.
"To date, Israel has not met its commitments regarding the transit of merchandise to the strip," he said. "Our focus [in talks] with Egypt is currently the issue of reconciliation with Fatah, but it is not inconceivable that the issue of the cease-fire could come up for discussion. If Israel meets its commitments, Hamas will seek to continue the truce."
But other sources in Gaza predicted that Hamas would seek to extend the truce even if Israel does not reopen the border crossings completely, to give it more time to consolidate both its rule in the strip and its political challenge to Fatah. As evidence, they noted that it had recently muted its complaints against Israel over arrests of its operatives in the West Bank - though in part, that is because such arrests are increasingly being carried out by the Palestinian Authority rather than Israel.
They added that Hamas has no interest in opening a front with Israel as long as its relationship with Fatah remains unsettled.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2008 00:00 ||
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I suppose they figure it will take them almost that long to get their tunnel system up to speed again?
Three Palestinians have been killed by the Israel Defense Forces in the West Bank in the last several days, prompting concerns that violence in the area is back on the rise.
All three incidents took place near Ramallah and the settlement of Beit El, and all involved young Palestinians readying to throw firebombs at either IDF soldiers or settlers.
The fact that all three incidents involved firebombs and not more sophisticated weaponry may reflect the destruction of the West Bank's militant networks, and the subsequent shift to makeshift means of attack.
In the latest incident, IDF soldiers shot dead a Palestinian early Thursday as he was preparing to throw the firebomb. The IDF said he was one of three an army patrol spotted carrying firebombs under cover of darkness in the West Bank village of Kufr Malik, and he was shot when he ignored warning fire. The other two escaped.
Palestinian medics named the dead man as Aziz Yousef, 20, and said his body was handed over by Israeli officials before dawn.
Earlier Thursday, another fire bomber died in a Ramallah hospital after being shot Wednesday during what the military said was a mob attack on an army position in nearby Jelazoun refugee camp. Hospital staff named him as Mohammed Ramahi, 21.
On Tuesday, 18-year-old Abdel Kader Zeit, also from Jalazoun, was shot dead on suspicion of preparing to attack the settlement of Beit El with fire-bombs.
Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned the killings. He noted that Israel has been observing a cease-fire with the Hamas militant group, which controls the Gaza Strip, and asked "why Israel is utterly unwilling to do the same in the West Bank."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2008 00:00 ||
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The leader of the Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday that the global financial meltdown was God's way of punishing the United States for its support of Israel and its occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We see it as God's punishment for the criminals. Nothing is more unjust than occupying an Islamic state. Nothing is more unjust than keeping the Palestinian people under occupation for over 60 years," Ismail Haniya told worshippers before Friday prayers in the Gaza Strip. "They deprived our people of money and now God has deprived them of money. They besieged our people and now they are besieged by the punishment of God," Haniya said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
And here I thought that G*d was punishing USA with Obama
#3
But, of course, the fact the arab world in particular, and the muslim world in general, are Humanity's collective *rsehole, basically, is not a punition of allan, it's just they're not muslim enough. See, they can't lose!
#4
Greed and stupidity result in their own natural consequences. God merely allows it to happen just like all the crummy things the Paleostinians have brought upon themselves.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
10/18/2008 11:10 Comments ||
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#5
Greed and stupidity result in their own natural consequences. God merely allows it to happen just like all the crummy things the Paleostinians have brought upon themselves.
Iran's foreign minister says the West is institutionalizing Islampophobia to pretend that Islam is an enemy that should be fought against.
"Islamophobia is a theory developed in the West," Manouchehr Mottaki said in a forum under "Common World: Progress through Diversity" in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, on Friday.
"Following the collapse of the bi-polar system of the world, the liberal democrats tried to institutionalize Islamophobia as a theory in the West, because they wanted to indoctrinate the public opinion that there is a new enemy and that they should fight against it," IRNA quoted Mottaki as saying.
"Islamophobia is a challenge for all, because the issue heavily influences international peace," Iran's top diplomat warned.
He added that resolving global challenges needs a global partnership, which should bring all the world's countries including the Western and Muslim countries together.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Nope, Islamic actions are cementing Western Islamaphobia.
Iranian state-run television says the country's army air force has begun a military exercise near Iran's northwestern border with Turkey. Thursday's report says jet fighters, including American-made F-4s, F-5s and F-14s and Russian-made Sukhoi planes, are involved in the operation. The exercise in the northwestern town of Tabriz also includes the new domestically manufactured jet fighter called the Saegheh, or Lightning.
The broadcast says the exercise is aimed at boosting Iran's defense capabilities, upgrading the morale of the army and displaying the might of the country's air force.
Iran launched an arms development program during its 1980s war with Iraq to compensate for a U.S. weapons embargo.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Or it is aimed at intimidating Iraq through a display of air power that Iraq would be helpless to defend against until it gets an Air Force of its own.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
10/18/2008 2:12 Comments ||
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#4
In the mid to late seventies Iranian pilots were receiving training at Reese AFB. A T-38 trainer at low altitude will set off an alarm to remind a pilot to deploy his landing gear. An Iranian pilot on a solo flight approaching for landing failed to deploy his landing gear. The tower yelled at him on the radio to deploy his landing gear.The pilot belly landed the plane. They asked him later why he did not deploy his landing gear after the tower yelled at him on the radio to do so. He told them he could not hear them because of a loud beeping noise inside the cockpit.
#8
Sounds like an excellent opportunity to test the airborne laser on some of their better aircraft.
That's the thing about Russian aircraft. It's just so darned unreliable. One instant you're flying along, and the next, *POOF*, you disintegrate into burning metal filings.
The mayor of Tehran, a possible contender for the Iranian presidency, said on Friday his country would welcome talks with the United States as supported by White House contender Barack Obama. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, a harsh critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, expressed hope that Obama would make good on calls to hold dialogue with Iran should the Democrat win the November 4 election.
"Senator Obama said in his ... campaign that he would like to have such a relationship," Qalibaf said, adding that any talks must be to the mutual benefit of the two countries and "without any sense of pressure."
"I think the world community, the Iranian society and the US society would benefit" from such talks, he said during a visit to Tokyo at the invitation of the Japanese government.
Obama has said Washington must engage in "tough, direct diplomacy" with Iran, and that as president he would have the right "to meet with anybody at a time and place of my choosing if I think it's going to keep America safe."
His approach contrasts with the current hard-line US policies. President George W. Bush famously named Iran as a part of an "axis of evil." An escalating nuclear standoff between Iran and the West and inflammatory rhetoric from Ahmadinejad has only deepened the hostility.
Qalibaf, seen as a contender for next year's presidential election, pressed the US to withdraw troops from Iraq and said "superpowers" must acknowledge an Iranian role in bringing stability to the Middle East.
Echoing other Iranian leaders, Qalibaf called for a country encompassing both Israel and the Palestinian territories to replace the Jewish state. "Muslims, Christians, and Jews ... must be allowed to return to their own land and, through a democratic and free election, choose the type of government they would like to have," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/18/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
Four of the five main online forums that al-Qaeda's media wing uses to distribute statements by Osama bin Laden and other extremists have been disabled since mid-September, monitors of the Web sites say.
The disappearance of the forums on Sept. 10 - and al-Qaeda's apparent inability to restore them or create alternate online venues, as it has before - has curbed the organization's dissemination of the words and images of its fugitive leaders. On Sept. 29, a statement by the al-Fajr Media Center, a distribution network created by supporters of al-Qaeda and other Sunni extremist groups, said the forums had disappeared "for technical reasons," and it urged followers not to trust look-alike sites.
For al-Qaeda, "these sites are the equivalent of pentagon.mil, whitehouse.gov, att.com," said Evan F. Kohlmann, an expert on online al-Qaeda operations who has advised the FBI and others. With just one authorized al-Qaeda site still in business, "this has left al-Qaeda's propaganda strategy hanging by a very narrow thread."
On several occasions over the past three years, unknown hackers have shut down al-Qaeda-affiliated Web sites after they announced the imminent release of a new video message from Osama bin Laden or another extremist leader. It is often impossible to pinpoint the source of such online attacks, though some experts say the culprits could be independent activists.
A U.S. intelligence official, asked about the online attacks, declined to say whether U.S. spy agencies engage in them. American and British security forces each have joint commands overseeing online operations against extremists. Anybody ask Halliburton?
"There had been this aura of invincibility" about al-Qaeda's media operations, said Gregory D. Johnsen, a U.S.-based expert on violent Sunni groups in Yemen. "Now this has really been taken away from them." In early September, the al-Fajr forums were drumming up anticipation of al-Qaeda's annual video marking the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "Await Sept. 11!" one message declared.
Instead, on Sept. 10, the forums vanished. Coincidence, no doubt. Al Gore, maybe?
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/18/2008 11:22 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
JEDDAH - Imams (preachers) of Saudi mosques have come in for severe criticism for not being able to guide Saudi youth away from extremist ideologies that pose a serious threat to the security and stability of the country.
oreign and Iraqi observers alike have been noting Prime Minister Nuri al-Malikis increasingly assertive conduct, dating back to his ambitious operation last March to wrest control of Basra from militias that had reduced the southern city to chaos. But even veterans of Iraqs Byzantine politics are wondering what brought the prime minister to issue a decree this week declaring that ministers and various senior government officials may not travel outside the country until they get approval from him.
GENEVA - Some 19,500 Iraqis applied for asylum in wealthy nations during the first half of 2008, still by far the top nationality seeking refuge abroad, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday. But the overall number of Iraqis filing asylum applications continued to decline, down 18 percent from the last six months of 2007 and almost 10 percent below the first half of last year.
Three Palestinians have been killed by the Israel Defense Forces in the West Bank in the last several days, prompting concerns that violence in the area is back on the rise. 
