#1
Long overdue. Maybe now we will be free of needing to keep on the good side of the Pakistan government. It will force them to either work harder to keep our support or face the consequences of goping it alone. Couldn't have happened to a more deserving lot.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
12/30/2008 16:59 Comments ||
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Men arrested this month on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks in Bahrain learned bomb-making in Syria last summer from two Bahrainis based in Britain, the interior minister said on Saturday. "The suspects went to Syria with a group of [Shiite] pilgrims during the summer, pretending to want to visit holy sites," Sheikh Rashed bin Abdullah al-Khalifa told a news conference.
Shiite majority Bahrain is ruled by a Sunni monarchy. "On their arrival they met a Bahraini living in London who prepared an intensive training program on bomb-making, how to use the bombs and how to booby-trap cars," Sheikh Rashed said.
The people who had come from Bahrain trained in Syria in July and August, he said. The instructors who had come from Britain "were planning to bring large quantities of weapons into Bahrain to use in acts of violence and terror," Sheikh Rashed said.
He said he has raised the matter with the Syrian authorities and the two countries will try to prevent Bahrainis who go to Syria being "mixed up in illegal activities." The minister added that he has alerted British authorities to "the activities of Bahrainis living in Britain who are threatening security in Bahrain."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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North Korea threatened to stop taking apart its nuclear plant that makes bomb-grade plutonium unless Japan provides it with energy aid as part of an international disarmament deal, Kyodo news agency said on Monday.
The threat is the latest snag in the sputtering deal the North struck with five regional powers and comes about two weeks after the United States called for a halt in all energy aid to punish Pyongyang for failing to agree this month to a system to check claims it made about its atomic programmes.
Suspension: Kyodo quoted a Beijing-based diplomat who participates in the six-way nuclear talks as saying: "Unless Japan implements the heavy fuel assistance, the (disablement) activities will be suspended." Kyodo later said Yoshihiro Kawakami, a Japanese lawmaker from the opposition Democratic Party, had quoted the diplomat as making the remarks in a meeting in the Chinese capital.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
NORTH KOREA > MUMBAI attacks in India reveals the US IMPERIALIST THREAT TO ASIA, NK + KOREAN PEOPLES, which NOKOR vows to eternally resist.
#3
WORLD MIL FORUM > KOREAN MEDIAS: THE WAR/FIGHT FOR THE POST-KIM JONG-IL ERA IN NORTH KOREA HAS BEGUN.
Also from WMF > JAPAN: CHINESE ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE AIRCRAFT DETECTED OVER JAPAN ON DEC. 25th, 26th. JAPAN TO CONTINUE TO INCREASE JSDF REALIGNMENTS TO MONITOR CHINESE NAVAL, AIR MOVEMENTS [recent PLAN Naval SurfWar-Sub incursions].
Edited for length, go read the whole thing...it's basically what we've been saying for ages, but since it's coming out of leftwing mouths, all the sudden it's acceptable. We just have to hope that the Dutch aren't too far gone, though I fear they may have crossed the line of no return already.
Two weeks ago, the country's biggest left-wing political grouping, the Labor Party, which has responsibility for integration as a member of the coalition government led by the Christian Democrats, issued a position paper calling for the end of the failed model of Dutch "tolerance."
It came at the same time Nicolas Sarkozy was making a case in France for greater opportunities for minorities that also contained an admission that the French notion of equality "doesn't work anymore."
But there was a difference. If judged on the standard scale of caution in dealing with cultural clashes and Muslims' obligations to their new homes in Europe, the language of the Dutch position paper and Lilianne Ploumen, Labor's chairperson, was exceptional.
The paper said: "The mistake we can never repeat is stifling criticism of cultures and religions for reasons of tolerance." WHOA WHOA WHOA what is this?
Government and politicians had too long failed to acknowledge the feelings of "loss and estrangement" felt by Dutch society facing parallel communities that disregard its language, laws and customs. Native Dutch don't get these privileges - they're racists...how can this be?
Newcomers, according to Ploumen, must avoid "self-designated victimization."
She asserted, "the grip of the homeland has to disappear" for these immigrants who, news reports indicate, also retain their original nationality at a rate of about 80 percent once becoming Dutch citizens.
Instead of reflexively offering tolerance with the expectation that things would work out in the long run, she said, the government strategy should be "bringing our values into confrontation with people who think otherwise." This is nothing less than earthshaking.
There was more: punishment for trouble-making young people has to become so effective such that when they emerge from jail they are not automatically big shots, Ploumen said. Getting tough on law and order? I'm getting the vapors.
For Ploumen, talking to the local media, "The street is mine, too. I don't want to walk away if they're standing in my path. Sounds like a Texas sheriff. Again, utterly shocking to hear this.
"Without a strategy to deal with these issues, all discussion about creating opportunities and acceptance of diversity will be blocked by suspicion and negative experience."
And that comes from the heart of the traditional, democratic European left, where placing the onus of compatibility on immigrants never found such comfort before.
It's a point of view that makes reference to work and education as essential, but without the emphasis that they are the single path to integration.
Rather, Labor's line seems to stand on its head the old equation of jobs-plus-education equals integration. Conforming to Dutch society's social standards now comes first. Strikingly, it turns its back on cultural relativism and uses the word emancipation in discussing the process of outsiders' becoming Dutch. !!!!!!!! This is nothing less than a repudiation of multiculturalism!!!!
For the Netherlands' Arab and Turkish population (about 6 percent of a total of 16 million) it refers to jobs and educational opportunities as "machines of emancipation." Yet it also suggests that employment and advancement will not come in full measure until there is a consciousness engagement in Dutch life by immigrants that goes far beyond the present level.
Indeed, Ploumen says, "Integration calls on the greatest effort from the new Dutch. Let go of where you come from; choose the Netherlands unconditionally." Immigrants must "take responsibility for this country" and cherish and protect its Dutch essence.
Not clear enough? Ploumen insists, "The success of the integration process is hindered by the disproportionate number of non-natives involved in criminality and trouble-making, by men who refuse to shake hands with women, by burqas and separate courses for women on citizenship.
"We have to stop the existence of parallel societies within our society." This is what multiculturalism is. They built their society, and now they have it, and this is where we've always said it would lead. And now they decide they don't want it? A bit late, fellows.
And the obligations of the native Dutch? Ploumen's answer is, "People who have their roots here have to offer space to traditions, religions and cultures which are new to Dutch society" - but without fear of expressing criticism. "Hurting feelings is allowed, and criticism of religion, too." Had to bold that, too. People go to JAIL for criticizing Islam in Holland. We'll see if this gets off the ground, and what the real leftists say about it. I long for the day that we can go back to having real debates with real liberals, the JFK type, instead of just being called racists because we have differing opinions.
#1
Dutch are pretty hard to anger. But you really don't want to be around when they lose their patience.
Though they had been picked on for many years by the Vikings, when the Frankish Dutch lost patience, in the Battle of Leuven in 891, it was said that Viking bodies were so numerous they blocked the river.
#6
(She)Liliane Ploumen: "The success of the integration process is hindered by the disproportionate number of non-natives involved in criminality and trouble-making, by men who refuse to shake hands with women, by burqas and separate courses for women on citizenship."
Beware of pi**ed-off feminists, insulted and dissed by Islamo-boys. Especially amoral and proud of it Dutch ones. Sharia will put an end to hand-shaking, destroying business civilization as we know it.
#7
You use what you've got as an issue. Attacks on gays weren't enough (sorry, Pim) but dissing women takes it to another level. It's about damned time.
#8
Ok, so we've got some interesting words coming from unexpected sources. Wake me when there's any real action, ok? Because until that happens, none of this really means a tinker's damn.
#3
Zbignew - Jimmy Carter's brains. I rest my case.
Posted by: ed ||
12/30/2008 15:09 Comments ||
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#4
Zbig and his pal Jimmah need to be disposed of in same manner as Jimmy Hoffa. Clean, thorough, final. They've caused trouble well beyond their intellectual capacity.
WASHINGTON Buoyed by more recruiters, bigger bonuses and an elite reputation, the Marine Corps has grown by nearly 27,000 members in a little more than two years half the time that military officials believed it would take. While the rapid expansion has stretched the Marine budget and put some recruits in temporary or quickly refurbished barracks, it is also easing the strain on Marine forces tapped for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In early 2007, the Marine Corps launched a program to expand its ranks planning to add about 5,000 Marines a year for five years, and reaching a total of 202,000 by 2012. But this month the Marines already hit 200,000, and Gen. James Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, said they will meet their 202,000 goal in early 2009. According to Brig. Gen. Robert Milstead Jr., commander of Marine Corps Recruiting Command, the Marines brought on more than 500 additional recruiters and increased the budget for recruiting bonuses from $66 million in fiscal year 2007 to $89 million in 2008.
At the same time, as more recruits were coming in the doors, military leaders also launched a campaign to get more current Marines to stay on and re-enlist for another tour. In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the budget for retention bonuses was $464 million, and that amount was boosted to $469.5 million for the current fiscal year. The bonuses made their mark. In fiscal 2008, 35 percent of active duty Marines re-enlisted, compared with 24 percent two years ago.
As the size of the Marine Corps grew, officials increased the number of battalions from 24 to 27, and bolstered the ranks of critically needed specialties, including linguists, cryptologists and intelligence officers. By 2007, Pentagon leaders approved plans to grow the Marines and the Army, the two services that have borne the brunt of combat duties for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, serving long and multiple tours in both countries.
Plans are to increase the numbers of active-duty Army, Army Guard and Army Reserve troops by 74,000 overall, with the active-duty force growing by 65,000 to a total of 547,000. A year ago, top Army leaders projected that they could accomplish their goal by 2010 also earlier than initially thought.
Lt. Col. Mike Moose, an Army spokesman, said the Army had grown to nearly 541,900 soldiers by the end of October. The active-duty troop increase will boost the number of Army combat brigades from the 2006 level of 42 to 48.
The Marine increase is already paying off. "We're already starting to see the injection of those units into the rotation schemes," said Conway, adding that putting just one more infantry battalion into the mix helps to extend the time other units get to spend at home between deployments. It used to be that Marines would spend seven months at war and seven months at home before turning around and deploying again. Now, said Conway, they are getting nine or 10 months at home. He said the top priority was to get more people into high stress units, including intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance jobs. "We went early and often to those people and they were being ridden hard," said Conway. He said it's taken longer to fill out gaps in aviation units, because of the extra time it takes to get the aircraft and other equipment to them.
Marine leaders said retention rates may be benefiting a bit from the economic meltdown. Marines and their families may be deciding that now is a good time to stay on and wait out the plunging job market, said Milstead.
But while bonuses may lure recruits, a more lucrative enticement for first-time recruits may be the Marines' legacy and identity, Corps officials said. "Kids join the Marines because they want to join the Marines, not because they're tired of flipping burgers," Milstead said.
With the expansion all but over, Milstead said he has already told Conway he can reduce the pool of roughly 4,000 recruiters by more than 130 over the next two years shifting those Marines back into other jobs. And the retention pressure will also ease. "We opened the aperture on the retention side," Milstead said. But now that the Corps is about to meet its 202,000 goal, he added, "we're going to have to close it. We're going to have to reduce the number we allow to hang around the Marine Corps." That will be accomplished, Milstead said, by cutting reenlistment opportunities.
#2
The authorized increase in the Army and Marine Corps was a 'temporary' and not a permanent act by Congress [which sets the size and force structure authorization by Article I of the Constitution]. Let's all watch while the Donk Congress who played the understrength card during the last six years or so as a political gambit now either directly cuts the overall strength authorization or undermines it by failing to fund the support [facilities, training, maintenance, etc] needed to sustain it [rather than earmarks to Rep. Murtha's district et al].
#3
The best recruiting officer is the one serving after an attack on the USA. See Pearl Harbor, 9-11, remember the Maine, Lusitania. Gulf of Tonken not so much.
#5
the San Diego UT noted that Lt Gen. Victor Krulak died at age 95 today, RIP. I'd link but the UT site is buggy this evening
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/30/2008 20:59 Comments ||
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#6
Gen. Krulak was Commanding General FMFPAC when I served in Vietnam. He advocated a strategy similar to the one used by the Marines in Anbar, but was overruled by Westmorland.
His son would become Commandant of the Marine Corps.
President-elect Barack Obama vowed on the campaign trail to shut down the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay. But he never said what he would do with the prisoners there. What to do with the 250 alleged foreign terrorists at the Cuba prison is the real question facing Obama, experts say. "The words sounds simple, but it's wrapped in some very complex issues," Air Force Col. Mo Davis, former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo, said of shutting down the prison. "Saying it is a lot easier than doing it."
Terrorism experts and two recent analyses of unclassified information on the prison population indicate the men who remain there are either committed, highly skilled al-Qaeda operatives too dangerous to ever free, or Islamists whose native countries would do little to prevent them from rejoining the jihad.
Guantanamo opened in 2002 and once held hundreds of foreigners caught on battlefields overseas or nabbed based on intelligence against them. About 500 detainees since have been returned home. Some were low-level al-Qaeda sympathizers. Other, more dangerous men were released because their home countries vowed to keep tabs on them, according to the Pentagon. Still, the Pentagon has said several of those freed did return to jihad. One man released to his native country of Kuwait blew himself up in Iraq in May, killing six people.
Of the detainees who remain in Guantanamo, about 80 will be tried and either kept there or sent home to serve their sentences. Another 60 have been cleared for release, though the Pentagon has not found countries to accept them. Then there are about 110 men of whom little is known but who, the Pentagon says, may be too dangerous to America and its allies to ever be let out.
Thomas Joscelyn, a terrorism analyst and senior editor of The Long War Journal, has studied public information released by the Pentagon about the remaining Guantanamo detainees. He established four red flags to gauge how dangerous each detainee was: if they participated in an al-Qaeda or Taliban training camp, stayed at special Islamist guesthouses where terrorists are shuttled to the front or to training, participated in recruiting networks across the Middle East or engaged in hostilities in Afghanistan or elsewhere.
Joscelyn found that at least 46% engaged in hostilities, 48% participated in the recruiting network, 60% stayed in a guest house, and 72% attended training camps. These men have knowledge and skills that would be critical to al-Qaeda again, he said. "You have some guys who are a first-order threat," Joscelyn said.
A review by the Brookings Institution found that some of the "Gitmo 110" are eligible for release but have not been freed because their countries of origin are sympathetic to their cause. Hundreds of detainees have been released to countries such as Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan because the United States has good relationships with those countries and can trust that they will monitor the released detainees responsibly, said Benjamin Wittes, co-author of Brookings' report.
That has left Guantanamo with a disproportionately high number of lower-risk detainees from Yemen, which has not policed its population and serves as an easy gateway for terrorists into Iraq, Wittes said. Wittes cautioned that these men are far from harmless, describing them as "quite committed."
While the Obama transition team did not return e-mails seeking comment, the Pentagon says shutting down Guantanamo means only that another facility must be found. Pentagon spokesman Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon points to Mohammed Atta, one of the Sept. 11 hijackers. Atta had come up on the radar of national security officials well before 9/11 but had not committed a violent act. "What would you have done with them?" Gordon said. "These are enemy combatants who wish to do harm to the United States. Our government has an obligation to protect the public."
Others do not believe the Pentagon or the Bush administration when they call these men a threat. "We simply cannot take any of the administration's claims as true," said Air Force Maj. David Frakt, a defense lawyer who represents Guantanamo detainees. Frakt said many people who attend training camps or join jihadist movements do so sometimes to show solidarity with oppressed Muslims.
Each detainee is given an initial review by a military tribunal to determine whether they're an enemy combatant to be held until cessation of hostilities in the current war on terror. The combatant then receives an annual review to determine whether he is no longer considered a danger and is eligible for release.
Retired Army major general John Altenburg, who once oversaw the Guantanamo cases for the Pentagon, said those reviews are "unprecedented" in war. "In any other country, in any other place, they wouldn't be bothering to make that determination," Altenburg said. "They would just say, 'We've detained them legally and we can hold them.' "
Davis has disagreed, calling the review panels are unfair. He said most of the evidence presented in the review boards is classified and detainees were rarely able to confront the evidence used against them. Davis said the U.S. would be enraged if one of its soldiers were held under such conditions. But the Bush administration has said that U.S. soldiers are entitled to special treatment as prisoners of war because they follow the rules of war. They wear uniforms and answer to a command structure and a nation. Those in Guantanamo are not soldiers but terrorists who violate the rules of war by pretending to be civilians and targeting civilians, it says.
Altenburg said no matter the debate, the global war on terror will not end with the Bush administration and Obama will need to figure out what to do with captives in this war. "We can detain people that we apprehend in that war as long as the war is still going on," he said. "That may be 10 or 20 years."
#1
We took a bad rap back in the day, but hows about reopening Andersonville? We can do it cheaper in Georgia, it's a Right To Work state. Hot down here...just like back home, and the liberal press seldom visits.
#3
Perhaps Obama can start a foster program for wayward Gitmo residents. What better way to reintroduce them to society? Obama could kick the campaign off by taking in a few at his new residence in Washington. Picture a scene with a few Gitmo guys romping around the White House halls. Obama can do that! Yes, he can.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
12/30/2008 11:35 Comments ||
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#4
Others do not believe the Pentagon or the Bush administration when they call these men a threat. "We simply cannot take any of the administration's claims as true," said Air Force Maj. David Frakt, a defense lawyer who represents Guantanamo detainees.
So how about it Major Dave? You got room for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to bunk at your place?
And that pretty much sums up why the Dems have been so successful as the minority party. As disappointed as I am to see them in charge of everything now, I do look forward to seeing them actually grapple with the world's problems instead of simply demanding that someone else fix them.
SRINAGAR: The former Chief Minister and National Conference patron, Farooq Abdullah, on Monday paved the way for his son and party president Omar Abdullah to become the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
On Sunday, Dr. Abdullah hinted at the choice of Mr. Omar Abdullah as the chief ministerial candidate, but changed the statement late in the night. He told a news channel, You are talking to the next Chief Minister of the State.
However, he told reporters at his residence on Monday that he had made up his mind to leave the slot for his son. I will recommend to the party that Omar Abdullah be our chief ministerial candidate. I will pursue my career at the national and international levels. Jammu and Kashmir is a small canvas for me.
Dr. Abdullah said young and old leaders would put in joint efforts to make the party strong and fulfil the needs of people. I will be the party chief. Omar will lead the State and he is being liked by the people more than me.
The NC had emerged the single largest party with 28 seats in the 87-member House. The PDP finished second with 21 seats and the Congress got 17 seats.
Mr. Omar Abdullah confirmed that he is the chief ministerial candidate. Yes, I will be the chief ministerial candidate for the party. The decision in this regard was taken by the partys legislative committee, he told reporters at his residence.
He said they were hopeful that a Congress-NC alliance would materialise. It will take a couple of days to finalise things there. You will see an NC-Congress coalition very soon.
I had not dreamed that I will be given an opportunity to lead the State. Now it is final. I will try my best to come up to the expectations of people, he said.
He thanked both the people who voted and those who stayed away. When I say people, I mean both those who voted in our favour and those who boycotted. I am thankful to both. I hope those who stayed away will vote for us next time, he said.
He reiterated that his party would continue to strive for greater autonomy for the State. There is no change in our stand vis-a-vis political problem. We will continue to strive for the implementation of autonomy, which we believe is the viable solution to the Kashmir issue.
PTI reports from New Delhi: Mr. Omar Abdullah told reporters on his arrival in New Delhi that his party had got positive signals from the Congress on government formation.
The NC has got very positive signals from the Congress. Otherwise, I would not have come to Delhi, Mr. Abdullah said. He is scheduled to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/30/2008 13:45 ||
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Posted by: john frum ||
12/30/2008 13:47 Comments ||
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Not a description of a single event, but a wrap-up of what we've been following...
Taliban militants are beheading and burning their way through Pakistan's picturesque Swat Valley, and residents say the insurgents now control most of the mountainous region far from the lawless tribal areas where jihadists thrive. The deteriorating situation in the former tourist haven comes despite an army offensive that began in 2007 and an attempted peace deal.
It is especially worrisome to Pakistani officials because the valley lies outside the areas where al-Qaida and Taliban militants have traditionally operated and where the military is staging a separate offensive. "You can't imagine how bad it is," said Muzaffar ul-Mulk, a federal lawmaker whose home in Swat was attacked by bomb-toting assailants in mid-December, weeks after he left. "It's worse day by day." It's probably an American plot...
The Taliban activity in northwest Pakistan also comes as the country shifts forces east to the Indian border because of tensions over last month's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, potentially giving insurgents more space to maneuver along the Afghan frontier. Militants began preying on Swat's lush mountain ranges about two years ago, and it is now too dangerous for foreign and Pakistani journalists to visit. Interviews with residents, lawmakers and officials who have fled the region paint a dire picture.
Many Pakistanis accuse the US of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of last month's Mumbai siege, a report says. I confess. It wuz me. Do we have an tension escalation meter?
"No one in Pakistan trusts the Americans and their moves... they put their weight behind Delhi only to test our nerves," a senior official told The News daily. "It couldn't possibly be our fault."
The daily added that many people also question the role of the outgoing Bush administration as its officials 'used their influence in favor of the Indians'.
The report comes after US, British and Indian officials blamed Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (Let) for the Mumbai siege, which have provoked a sharp rise in hostile rhetoric between the nuclear-armed neighbors. US and UK intelligence officials have said that the LeT commander, Zaki al- Rahman Lakhvi, was the mastermind behind the Mumbai terror attacks.
The US backs India, accusing Pakistan of providing a safe haven for Taliban, al-Qaeda and other terror groups - an excuse US forces in Afghanistan use to pound Pakistani border towns.
We're the Great Satan, we don't need an excuse ...
However, the newspaper hoped that direct high level contacts can ease the tensions between the two neighboring countries following the November Mumbai terror attacks that killed at least 179 people.
"The Pakistani establishment now believes that the 'time of war' with India is over and the recent telephone contacts at the highest military level have led to the reduction in tensions generated in the wake of troop build-up (between both sides) following the Mumbai terror attacks," the daily concluded.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
They never accept the fault for anything.
Try not murdering the Indians, that would also prevent tensions from rising.
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
12/30/2008 16:21 Comments ||
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#3
Well, ya know, you just might be right. But then, maybe we've just come to the conclusion that all you are is sh$$ in a bag, and lying and deceitful at that. Maybe we're tired of the backstabbing, the lying, the cheating, the saying one thing and doing just the opposite, and we've discovered all those bad things the Indians were saying about you were fundamentally true. Maybe, just MAYBE, we've discovered we like them and their attitudes more than we do the constant islamic spew from phakestan. You know all those F-16s we sold you? They come with a self-destruct switch. All that ammo? Same deal. Maybe we'll just pull back into Afghanistan and let you die in your own filth and stupidity.
And maybe we'll decide that we won't stop India this time when they kick your butt all the way to Tehran.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/30/2008 18:17 Comments ||
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Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani denied on Monday that the government has a secret agreement with the Taliban that states the Taliban will not create unrest in the Tribal Areas if troops are withdrawn amid rising tensions on the eastern border.
The prime minister told reporters in Islamabad that the government would not support the 'establishment of a parallel authority' in the Tribal Areas. Gilani said nobody would be allowed to challenge the writ of the government or to encourage militancy, "so that NATO forces do not get an opportunity to sneak into Pakistan's territory".
He said he had already assured his Indian counterpart of Pakistan's co-operation in investigating the Mumbai terror attacks.
He also denied that the United Nations banned the Jamaatud Dawa because India approached the world body, and said the matter had been pending with the Security Council before the Mumbai attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Maulvi Nazir, the Taliban chief in Ahmedzai Wazir areas of South Waziristan Agency, on Monday asked the government to apologise for killing of civilians and mujahideen by drones attacks carried out by the United States-led coalition. Hey, Maulvi. Did you hear that?
Hear what?
That...noise. Way off. In the distance.
Maulvi Nazir's spokesman said the Taliban would support the Pakistan government to defend the country against an invasion by India if it 'publicly apologises and pulls out' from the US-led coalition fighting the war on terror. "If Pakistan tenders an apology over the killing of mujahideen and pulls out from the US-led coalition, we will defend the country against any Indian aggression," the spokesman read out Nazir's statement on telephone. Nazir's statement is the first since he survived an October 31 US missile attack near Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan.
He said, "Should we defend a force which killed hundreds of innocent mujahideen, or helped send them to Cuba, or earned dollars in return for our blood, or which is still an ally of the US?"
"The US has not inflicted damage on us as much as Pakistan has," he said, holding Pakistan responsible for 'helping' the US target the Taliban through unmanned spy planes. He said if Pakistan 'does not render an apology' over its anti-Taliban policy, "we will regard Pakistan as an enemy alongside India and the US".
Nazir, who accepted the army's help for the popular drive against Uzbek Al Qaeda fighters in March 2007, called the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza as 'attack on Waziristan' adding that with "the US defeat, Israel will also vanish from the world map".
He also called all statements by other Taliban leaders pledging support against 'Indian adventurism' irresponsible.
This article starring:
Maulvi Nazir
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Does Nazir think that Taliban has anything to apolegize for? No? I thought as much.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
12/30/2008 11:16 Comments ||
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No clear winner emerged in elections in India's troubled Jammu and Kashmir region, according to results released Sunday, but a new coalition led by the regional National Conference party was likely to assume power in the assembly.
No single party gained enough seats to form a government on its own, but the National Conference is expected to ally with the Congress party. The former, which was in the opposition for the past six years, won in 28 out of 87 constituencies. The Congress party won in 17.
The leader of the National Conference, Omar Abdullah, told reporters his party was ready to form a government with the "like-minded Congress party." The two parties have traditionally been allies.
"People have voted for a coalition government. We are the only two in a position to provide a stable government," Abdullah told television reporters in Srinagar, the region's summer capital. The two parties were engaged in back-channel talks late Sunday.
The staggered, seven-phased polls, held amid heavy security, witnessed an unexpectedly high voter turnout of 61.5 percent despite a boycott call by separatists who oppose Indian rule in Kashmir. In the last election, in 2002, voter turnout was about 43 percent.
"I think the large turnout in Kashmir is a vote for democracy and national integration. We are all happy at the turnout, and who wins or loses is a secondary issue," said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who heads India's Congress-ruled government.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Pakistan People's Party Secretary General Jahangir Badar has said that a United Nations commission will start a probe into former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's murder in January next year, a private TV channel reported on Sunday. They'll get around to it eventually, I guess. Neither the govt nor the UN seems particularly concerned. It's just a dead politician, after all.
According to the channel, Badar said the PPP would provide all evidence to the UN commission to help with the probe. Meanwhile, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the government wanted the UN to probe Benazir's assassination, APP reported. Babar said, "We requested the UN to constitute an investigation commission so that the people who were behind the tragedy could be exposed," adding the announcement regarding the commission's formation was a good omen.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
A UN probe, huh? They'll complete right after the Hariri probe.
The government cannot give space to the extremists to compel others to follow their views, President Asif Ali Zardari conveyed in a message on Monday. "We have to fight terrorism, sectarianism and other social evils, both individually and collectively, in accordance with the golden principles of Islam so that the anti-state elements cannot deter us from pursuing the path towards success, prosperity and development," he said.
Zardari urged the people to pledge to lead their lives by following the true teachings of Islam and to fight extremism and terrorism in the new Islamic year.
The president conveyed his felicitations on the start of the new Islamic year, 1430 Hijra. He said, "Let us pledge in this new Hijra year that we will lead our lives by following the true and great teachings of Islam."
Zardari said Islam did not allow any person or group to force their beliefs and ideologies on other people. "It's in the Koran someplace. You could look it up."
In a separate message, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani congratulated the people on the arrival of the new Islamic year, stating that all Muslims were brothers and each had religious, social and individual obligations towards the other. He urged the Muslim ummah to live in peace, harmony and unity in the new year.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD (AP) - A court Tuesday postponed the trial of a journalist who hurled his shoes at President George W. Bush in anger over the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, an act of protest that made him an international celebrity. The court's decision to review the charges against Muntadhar al-Zeidi comes as Iraq prepares after nearly six years to end America's costly grip over the country and give U.S. troops three years to pack up and leave. Which has absolutely nothing to do with this story, but AP boy will throw it in since he probably won't get too many more chances...
Thursday will also see the official handover of the most potent symbol of U.S. occupation, when Iraq takes formal control of the Green Zonea heavily fortified enclave surrounded by cement walls that extends over 4 square miles of downtown Baghdad and encompasses the U.S. Embassy and the seat of the Iraqi government. And now we know why the Grizzled War Correspondents are really leaving...
But in the most telling sign of the changes that are sweeping over Iraq, Tuesday's second anniversary of Saddam Hussein's hanging went by almost unnoticeda near-forgotten footnote in a war that has claimed the lives of more than 4,200 Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis. The anniversary was not even marked in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, where the insurgency quickly took hold after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Oh, yeah. I remember him. Big Moustache. Liked Doritos, right?
The trial of al-Zeidi was to begin Wednesday on charges of assaulting a foreign leader, which his defense team said carried a maximum sentence of 15 years. But a spokesman for Iraq's Higher Judicial Council, Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar, told The Associated Press it was postponed pending an appellate court ruling on whether the charges should be reduced to simply insulting Bush. ...and maybe he can heal up a little bit.
The Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at Bush during a Dec. 14 joint news conference with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Thousands demonstrated for al-Zeidi's release and hailed his gesture. I wonder how many of them remember his name?
Two of al-Zeidi's lawyers said they hoped the reduced charges, which carry a maximum sentence of three years, would allow al-Zeidi to be released on bail. No date was set for the appellate court ruling. "There is a difference between assault and insult; al-Zeidi wanted to express his objection to the occupation. So the case is within the context of an insult and not an intention to kill," his lawyer Diaa al-Saadi told the AP. I think Bush should've grabbed the shoes and beat him with them and let it end there.
The case transformed al-Zeidi from a little-known TV journalist into an international celebrity for defying Bush, but it also embarrassed al-Maliki who was standing next to the president when the shoes were thrown. Last week, al-Maliki sought to undermine the journalist's popularity by saying he had confessed that the mastermind of the attack was a militant known for slitting his victims' throats. Yeah, it was that...throat slitting guy.
Al-Maliki said that in a letter of apology to him, al-Zeidi wrote that a known militant had induced him to throw the shoes. The alleged instigator has never been identified and neither al-Maliki nor any of his officials have provided a further explanation. The letter was not made public. I was framed, I tells ya! Framed!
The journalist's family denied the claim and alleged that al-Zeidi was tortured into writing the letter. Did they pee on his Koran too?
Aswat al-Iraq: Security leaders in Falluja agreed on Monday to form a joint force within preparations to secure the situation for the next elections in the city and the regions around it. "The security committee of the Falluja support council held its first conference with emergency forces in al-Karma region in east of Falluja to prepare the atmosphere for rendering the upcoming provincial councils elections a success," Colonel Saad Abbas told Aswat al-Iraq. "The joint force will wage inspecting patrols in al-Karama regions and its villages to supervise the polls stations," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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HAMAS last night threatened to assassinate Israeli leaders as the bombing of the Gaza Strip entered a third day and armoured forces were deployed along the borders of the Palestinian territory.
As Israel mobilised 6700 reservists in preparation for the next stage of combat, senior Hamas official Fatah Hamad warned that the militant group would assassinate Defence Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and other leaders if the attacks continued.
Mr Barak countered that Israeli was in "all-out war against Hamas", as the army declared the border area a closed military zone - a move that in the past has often been followed by ground operations in Gaza.
At least 51 civilians were among the victims so far, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said last night.
Palestinian medics said several children had been killed in the latest air raids, with the death toll in Gaza rising to 312.
An Israeli Arab was killed and eight others were wounded yesterday when a missile fired from Gaza landed near a construction site in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon. Earlier, Hamas unleashed the longest-range rockets yet fired into Israel, striking near the port city of Ashdod, 40km inside the Jewish state.
Mr Hamad also threatened senior officials of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and "those in the Arab world who have conspired against us", an apparent reference to Egyptian leaders. Hamas has called for suicide bombers to attack inside Israel.
Planes used bunker buster bombs to destroy 40 tunnels through which supplies were smuggled into the Gaza Strip from Egypt, Israeli officials said.
Most of the targets hit were in Gaza City, including homes of Hamas leaders and the office of Prime Minister Ismail Haniya. A house next to Mr Haniya's home was destroyed but the Prime Minister had gone into hiding, as had other Hamas leaders.
Planes hit a security compound that included a Hamas prison, allowing dozens of prisoners to flee through the shattered walls. Also hit were two laboratory buildings at the Islamic University said by Israel to have been used to prepare explosives and fuel for rockets. Gaza's nine hospitals were reported to be overwhelmed as the number of wounded approached 1000.
Israel announced that it would permit the entry into Gaza of 100 trucks carrying medicines, food and other supplies contributed by Turkey, Jordan and international organisations. Hundreds of Gaza residents breached the border fence with Egypt to escape from the Strip.
Yuval Diskin, the head of domestic spy agency Shin Bet, told the Israeli cabinet early yesterday that Hamas was still in shock from the scale of the onslaught but was preparing attacks it hoped would change the picture.
The cabinet approval for the mobilisation of 6700 reservists suggested any initial ground thrusts would be limited in scope. Ms Livni said Israel had no intention of reoccupying the Gaza Strip, from which it pulled out three years ago. Officials said the Foreign Ministry was already working on an exit strategy that would not involve stationing an international force in Gaza similar to that deployed in southern Lebanon after the war against Hezbollah.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
was still in shock from the scale of the onslaught but was preparing attacks it hoped would change the picture
#2
FREE Streaming TV Shows, Movies, Music (over 6 million digital tracks), Unlimited Games, Money, Books, and College Educations (Stanford, Oxford, Notre Dame and more) http://www.InternetSurfShack.com
#4
Israel threatens to kill Hamas leaders.
So now their even, except that the Israelis have the means to do it. Whether they have the will or not is yet to be seen.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/30/2008 18:34 Comments ||
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(AKI) - Israel on Monday questioned media reports that suggested kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit had been injured in an airstrike on the Gaza Strip. Egyptian television reported on Sunday night that Shalit was injured in one of the Israeli Air Force strikes in Gaza.
The Israeli Defense Force released a statement on Monday saying that "Gilad Shalit is a valuable asset for Hamas. We believe it will do everything to keep him alive." "The IDF holds Hamas responsible for everything that happens to Gilad Shalit," the statement said.
Since Operation Cast Lead began on Saturday, senior IDF officials have been in contact with the Shalit family, and warned them that Hamas might try to use their son in the psychological warfare, Israeli media reported. "We had expected that Hamas would try to use Gilad as part of their political manipulations," Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai reportedly told Army Radio. "We take Gilad into account in every action we take in Gaza, his situation is a consideration," Vilani said. "I believe the less we talk about this matter, the better."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Gilad's release should be a condition for cessation of hostilities. Pray for him.
#2
He's dead, Jim. Sad, but, that's my take. His return live or dead should be a precondition for any truce. Let the Paleos admit he died a year or more ago, in their tender care. PR 101
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/30/2008 21:07 Comments ||
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Muslim nations angrily condemned Israel on Monday over air attacks on the Gaza Strip that have killed more than 300 Palestinians while UN Secretary General Ban Ki--moon deplored the violence. Never saw that one coming, did you?
Anti--Israel demonstrations were held in many countries and there was an immediate fallout with the suspension of efforts to hold talks between Syria and Israel. International powers renewed calls for a ceasefire, but US President George W Bush and president--elect Barack Obama maintained their silence on the fighting. Thousands of Iranians, who were joined by high ranking Iranian officials and military commanders, shouted "Down With USA" and "Down With Israel" in Tehran on Monday. Many carried banners reading "Israel must be wiped off the face of the earth" and "We should all rise and destroy Israel."
Demonstrators have been held around the world since the Israeli offensive started Saturday. Arrests were made during demonstrations in European capitals on Sunday, including 10 in London. About 8,000 people staged a rally in the southern Egyptian city of Assiut on Sunday, while several thousand attended rallies in the capital Cairo and the port city of Alexandria, a security official said.
In Turkey, thousands of people joined demonstrations in about a dozen cities. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit arrived in Ankara on Monday for talks with Turkish leaders on the Israeli offensive, a foreign ministry official said. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Turkish--mediated indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria have become "impossible" after the Israeli offensive.
"To make war on the Israeli--Palestinian track and at the same time make peace on the Israeli--Syrian track -- these two cannot go together," he said. In Syria, protesters burned Israeli and American flags as thousands demonstrated in Damascus on Sunday. There were similar scenes in the Jordanian capital Amman where hundreds gathered to demand the closure of the Israeli embassy. Saudi Arabia sent two hospital aircraft with medical personnel to Gaza to help with the injured and to fly any severely injured to hospitals in Saudi Arabia, the government said. Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, also offered medical aid and joined Pakistan, Afghanistan, Malaysia and other Muslim nations in condemning Israel. There were new calls for a halt to the fighting which erupted after the breakdown of a truce between Israel and Hamas.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki--moon "deplores that violence is continuing today, and he strongly urges once again an immediate stop to all acts of violence," his spokeswoman Michele Montas said in a statement issued late Sunday. China expressed major concern. "The Chinese side is shocked and seriously concerned over the current military operations in Gaza that have caused a large number of deaths and injuries," Vice Premier Li Keqiang said in a statement.
Miliband: European nations called for a ceasefire. Many foreign ministers have spoken to Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband warned the Middle East was facing a "dangerous and dark moment" as he renewed a call for an end to the fighting. Miliband told BBC radio: "I think that any loss of innocent people's life is unacceptable and in this case there have been massive casualties, some of them civilians and some of them children. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who also spoke to Livni made a call to "urgently halt" the military action.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The foreign ministers condemn on TV, the defence ministers phone to inquire about prices on UAVs, Typhoon, etc..
Ma'an -- Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the An-Nasser Brigades refused to participate in the all-factions meeting called by President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, while Fatah officials called for wide participation
Hamas leader Muhammad Nazzal made the announcement for his party during an interview with Al-Arabiya television Monday evening. Hamas will not try to make any political gains on the backs of the Gaza massacre, he said.
Islamic Jihad sent a statement to Ma'an saying "what is required now is resistance," and further stated that it was the party's duty to defend "our land and our people and respond to the massacres committed against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip."
They called for unity in resistance activities, but spurned Abbas' call for national unity.
Abu Abeer with the An-Nasser Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, said that all factions should refuse Abbas' invitation and rally all Gazans, encouraging patience in such harsh times.
Senior Fatah leader Ibrahim Abu An-Naja, however, insisted that all factions must gather and assess the bloody events in Gaza.
Abu An-Naga sent a statement to Ma'an calling the leaders of all security services to stop political arrests immediately and release all political detainees. He said that now is the time when parties can prepare the political climate for a national reconciliation and save the people of the Gaza Strip.
He further called for an end to all media campaigns that further divide the Palestinian people, and asserted the importance of unity in crisis.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Don't take it personal, Mahmoud. They're probably kinda busy right now running for their lives.
Israel's envoy to the United Nations says that there will be no negotiations about peace, as Tel Aviv attacks Gazan civilians for a third day. And there you have it. They're certainly not attacking combatants. Only civilians. Well, this is from Iran, so the the truth-to-lie ratio is about 1% to 99% Israel started an 'all-out' war on the Gaza Strip as of Saturday. At least 345 Palestinians have been killed and about 1,550 have been wounded, Palestinian Medics told Press TV on Monday.
When asked about possible peace in the future, Israel's envoy, Gabriela Shalev, told CNN on Monday, "Don't even speak about peace at this moment."
"The hope is that Hamas will understand finally that Israel has the right to defend itself and the duty to protect its citizens," Shalev said without mentioning the hundreds of civilian Palestinians that were killed in Israel's 'blind raids' on civilian infrastructures in the impoverished strip.
Meanwhile, Palestinian peace negotiator Hanan Ashrawi said that she does not accept Israel's argument that it is acting in self-defense.
"Israel is an occupying power," Ashwari said in another interview with CNN on Monday. "In Gaza, they've been under siege for months now, deprived of the most basic needs. ... And now Israel has decided that if the victims do not lie down and die quietly, it's going to shell them relentlessly from the air," she added.
While the death toll in Gaza continues to rise, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon said Monday that the goal of the massive bombardment of the Gaza Strip is to topple Hamas.
The outgoing Bush administration has also thrown its full support behind Tel Aviv's bloody assault, blaming Hamas for provoking the offensive by firing rockets into Israel from Gaza. "In order for the violence to stop, Hamas must stop firing rockets into Israel and agree to respect a sustainable and durable ceasefire," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said earlier.
Palestinian resistance fighters in the Gaza Strip say they fire rockets into Israel in retaliation for the daily Israeli attacks against them. Unlike the state-of-the-art Israeli weapons and ammunition such as F-16 fighter jets that have killed hundreds, the homemade Qassam rockets rarely cause casualties.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
How come Jimmy "The Peanut Guy" Carter hasn't spoken up yet??????
#2
Napalm the sh$$ out of every "city" in Gaza, plow the fields and sow them with salt, blow up everything standing, all while wearing earplugs to stop the incessant whine of the "victims of Israeli agression".
The way to lasting peace is through kicking every Arab's butt up over his shoulders, forcing him to walk on his elbows. Hard to fire guns and missiles in that position.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/30/2008 18:36 Comments ||
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Another scoop for PressTV Iran... US Congressman Dennis Kucinich says the continuing Israeli attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip are an example of 'collective punishment'. But we already knew which side Dennis is on...
"The perpetrators of attacks against Israel must also be brought to justice, but Israel cannot create a war against an entire people in order to attempt to bring to justice the few who are responsible. The Israeli leaders know better," Kucinich said in a news release on Monday. Well maybe if you offered them some of that secret UFO technology your friends possess, this situation wouldn't be nearly as bad as you say, ya bastid...
Medics told Press TV that at least 345 Palestinians have been killed and about 1,550 have been wounded as Israel on Saturday kicked off the assaults. Israel has called the attack an 'all-out' war on the Hamas movement.
The Democratic lawmaker also urged an independent investigation to be led by the United Nations into Israel's acts of violence. Kucinich said that he wrote to UN General Secretary Ban ki-Moon, urging an 'independent inquiry of Israel's war against Gaza'. And who could be more independent than the UN?
"It is time for the UN to not just call for a cease-fire, but for an inquiry as to Israel's actions," said Kucinich. Yeah, an...inquiry! That's the ticket!
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I clicked on this item just to see what news source would run an article on the Kucinich POV for world affairs. Wonder if Iran thinks it's getting its money's worth out of its useful idiots.
Posted by: regular joe ||
12/30/2008 10:12 Comments ||
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#3
Who better to lead an official inquery, but Dennis? Now, if Dennis would just go to Gaza and stand right about there.. He would begin to understand. Whoop! here it comes. Stay there, Dennis, just a little longer. Aah... They have the wrong GPS coordinates.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
12/30/2008 10:52 Comments ||
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#4
If Israel really wanted to get rid of the Gazans, they could probably do it. They won't do it - they are targeting Hamas. Some civilians are being killed - because Hamas sets up its sites next to civilian locations.
On the other hand, Hamas TARGETS civilians, especially schools.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/30/2008 18:37 Comments ||
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The Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) annual summit in Oman will go ahead and focus on the global economic crisis, though Israel's attacks on Gaza will also be discussed, the host country said on Sunday. "The most appropriate reply to the events under way in the Palestinian situation would be for the Palestinian brothers to close ranks by reaching understanding and national unity," Omani Information Minister Hamad al-Rashidi said.
He added: "It is up to the UN Security Council to apply pressure for Israel to stop the attacks" over the past two days which have left at least 280 Palestinians dead.
The GCC summit seemed under threat when Israel launched its air onslaught on Gaza, which has been controlled by Hamas since splitting with the secular Fatah organization of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
However, Omani Foreign Minister Yussef bin Alawi said foreign ministers of the six GCC countries are likely to meet on Sunday, with finance ministers also invited, to "put finishing touches to the agenda, including economic questions."
The official sessions of the summit are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said in Riyadh that Gulf foreign ministers meeting in Muscat on Sunday would focus on "Israeli aggression" in the Gaza Strip, according to the official Saudi Press agency. Riyadh is contacting neighbors and allies over "the blind use of force by Israel against the people under siege and occupation for more than 40 years," Prince Saud said.
The GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which together sit on 25 percent of the world's natural gas reserves and 45 percent of global oil reserves.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Ma'an -- Islamic Jihad's leadership said on Sunday night that the movement will not stand down to a hypothetical Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ramadan Shallah said that his movement will "fight Israeli tanks, which intend to change the situation in the Gaza Strip by force, through destruction and killing." Shallah told Qatar-based Al-Jazeera TV that "Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip was okayed by international, Arab and regional sides aiming to change the current situation in Gaza." He insisted that Israel's "aggression" must stop, the siege on Gaza must come to an end and the crossings must be opened before any positive talks about a ceasefire will be entertained.
This article starring:
RAMADAN SHALLAH
Islamic Jihad
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Israel's ambassador to the United Nations says the goal of the current offensive in the Gaza Strip is much broader than ending Palestinian rocket attacks. She says Israel wants to destroy Hamas.
In an interview Tuesday, Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said Israel's main goal is to "destroy completely" what she called a "terrorist gang." She would not explicitly say that Israel wants to topple the Hamas government. But she said a return to the terms of a recent six-month truce would not be enough. Shalev says Israel wants stronger assurances that the rocket fire will stop.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#3
Actually what the Israelis have planned is much more Machiavellian : topple Hamas, and then look the other way as Fatah takes its revenge. Fatah has been feeding the IDF targeting information on Hamas hidden sites, which is why so many Hamas safehouses have gone boom the past couple of days.
A senior exiled Hamas official rejected Monday any talk of a new truce with Israel unless all attacks on Gaza cease and the border crossings are reopened, and promised to confront any ground invasion. Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of Hamas' politburo, also told The Associated Press in an interview in Damascus that Palestinians had a right to strike everywhere in Israel in response to its assault on Gaza. Abu Marzouk pledged his group will not surrender and promised to face any Israeli ground invasion. "We are going to defend ourselves, defend our people and defend our land," he said. Well, you probably won't, seeing how you're in Damascus probably playing "hide the salami" with Khaled Mashaal...
Abu Marzouk said there can be no talk of a new truce with Israel under the present conditions. "Stop all kinds of aggression, open all (crossings), stop all the violence against the people in the West Bank," he said in English, listing Hamas' conditions for any future truce. The Hamas deputy chief said any party interested in brokering a truce agreement should be "take some responsibility" to see that it gets implemented by Israel - a reference to the Egyptian role in mediating.
Abu Marzouk said the Israeli attacks were "against any international law" and stressed Hamas has the right to attack everywhere inside Israel in response.
Abu Marzouk said the Israeli attacks were "against any international law" and stressed Hamas has the right to attack everywhere inside Israel in response. "This is their right to do so," he said. He also renewed accusations against Hamas' rival, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, saying he was collaborating with Israel against Hamas and had provided "cover" to the Israeli operations in Gaza. He slammed Abbas for his Sunday comments blaming Hamas for the attacks on Gaza, saying Hamas had the right to "resist." "We need our liberty, we need our freedom and we need to be independent. If we don't accomplish this objective, then we have to resist. This is our right," he said.
Abu Marzouk also called on Arab countries who have peace treaties with Israel - Egypt and Jordan - to sever those ties. He added he hoped Arab leaders meeting for an emergency summit meeting later this week to deal with the Gaza situation would send a very clear message to Israel to stop its assault.
This article starring:
MUSA ABU MARZUK
Hamas
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#5
Line up the 155s and begin barrage fire, first from north to south, then south to north, and finally east to west. Whatever crawls out of the rubble is the responsibility of the rest of the Israeli army.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/30/2008 18:39 Comments ||
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Ooooooh, I love it when they "demand"... Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded an immediate cease-fire in Gaza on Monday and urged Mideast and world leaders to do more to help end the Israeli-Hamas conflict and promote political dialogue. "I think regional and international partners have not done enough," the UN chief said on the third day of an Israeli bombardment of Gaza that has killed at least 360 people - including 62 civilians - and wounded some 1,400 others.
Ban urged Arab foreign ministers, who are holding an emergency meeting in Cairo on Wednesday, "to act swiftly and decisively to bring an early end to this impasse."
"At the same time, other world leaders must also step up efforts to support a longer term resolution of the issue," he told reporters at UN headquarters in New York. Harrrrumph harrrrumph harrrrumph...
This article starring:
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
12/30/2008 8:16 Comments ||
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#5
"urged Mideast and world leaders to do more"
"Ban urged Arab foreign ministers"
"other world leaders must also"
Sounds like a lot of delegating. What has he done lately?
Some are terrifying. Some are silent. But they're all very effective.
The five deadliest conventional weapons in the world are all part of the U.S. Armed Forces' arsenal, though many are used by other countries as well. Some date back to World War II in concept, but they are still lethal and continue to be used in battle in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The AC-130 aerial gunship: This comes in two forms, the AC-130H "Spectre" and the more heavily armed AC-130U "Spooky," both flown by the U.S. Air Force. Versions of the AC-130 were first deployed during the Vietnam War. It's designed to hit targets on the ground or at sea, firing Gatling guns and howitzers fore, aft and to the side. The AC-130's weakness is that it flies "low and slow," making it vulnerable to surface-to-air or air-to-air missiles.
"It can do a lot of damage," explains the Pentagon's Lt. Col. Mark Wright. "It's got a 75-millimeter cannon that can blow through buildings, vehicles. It's designed for taking out protective cover. ... The combination is very lethal -- it's a very feared weapons system."
The 'bunker buster' bomb: The British military first conceived of steel-nosed bombs that dropped heavily and quickly enough to penetrate underground targets.
During the first Persian Gulf War, the U.S. military quickly rigged together similar weapons to attack Iraqi facilities, and then spent the next decade perfecting the concept.
Today's bunker busters are usually laser-guided missiles, either rocket powered or artillery fired. "Instead of hitting the top [of the target] and exploding like a regular bomb, it will literally punch a hole through and then explode inside," explains Wright. "It's a very lethal weapon."
Laser-guided bombs: First used in Vietnam, these bombs (and some missiles) home in on a laser-illuminated target marked either by the shooter or a third party on the ground. Unpowered bombs use fins to steer themselves to the target; powered missiles use rocket or jet engines. Laser-guided missiles and bombs were used to great effect during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, offering unparalleled precision at hitting targets; for example, a tank in an alleyway could be destroyed from miles away without hitting the adjacent buildings.
But they do have some drawbacks -- they don't work well, or at all, in heavy dust, fog or smoke. "The biggest advantage is [not hitting] innocent civilians," says Wright. "You don't want collateral damage.
"Let's say the enemy sets up a position right next to a village," he explains. "Instead of having to plaster the area with explosives and inadvertently destroy the village or religious site, you can use this to pinpoint and take it out with surgical precision."
The .50-caliber sniper rifle: Confederate soldiers first mounted scopes on high-powered rifles during the Civil War, but the first specially designed sniper rifles for both police and military use came about in the 1970s. The barrels are precisely machined and specially mounted to minimize recoil.
Many Western sniper rifles use NATO standard 7.62-mm cartridges, but models using massive .50-caliber bullets are so powerful they can take out enemy ordnance by sheer force of impact. One .50-caliber model, the McMillan TAC-50, set the record for longest kill in 2002 when a Canadian corporal shot a Taliban insurgent from a mile and a half away in Afghanistan.
"The advantage is range," says Wright. "You can fire 2,000 meters plus, more than a mile, and hit a target accurately. ... If it hits it's probably going to kill."
Anti-personnel mines: These little hidden bombs cause such havoc in civil wars around the world that they've been banned by most nations. The U.S. still insists on retaining the right to use them, though it doesn't actively deploy them. Best known is the Claymore mine developed by the U.S. in the 1950s and widely copied worldwide, but possibly most notorious is the Soviet "Butterfly" model that during the 1980s killed and maimed Afghan children who thought it was a toy.
"We make extremely rare use of mines anymore," says Wright. "In the old days you had to go clean the mines up ... now you've got to remember to send people to clean that area, [because] civilians or your own troops may run into them."
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/30/2008 16:44 Comments ||
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#5
Although laser guided bombs had to wait for the laser to be invented before they could become reality, TV guided bombs were first used in World War II, by the Germans.
1) The Stealth aircraft
2) Drones of all sizes
3) The modern nuclear aircraft carrier
4) A Marine expeditionary unit, either aboard their special ships, or deployed.
5) Hellfire missiles that can be guided from several miles away into the back of a pick-up truck (as most of us have seen).
6) The still-reliable BUFF, capable of carrying more bombs than a WWII bomber wing.
7) Tomahawk sub-launched cruise missiles that can hit someone's bedroom window from 1200 miles away.
The list could go on for days, maybe even weeks.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/30/2008 18:50 Comments ||
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#10
The A-10.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
12/30/2008 19:24 Comments ||
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#12
A sternly-worded letter from the UN didn't make the list?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/30/2008 21:28 Comments ||
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#13
ION WAFF > COLD WAR TURNED HOT:BRITAIN FEARED SOVIET ANNIHILATION IN NATO-PACT WAR. Artic claims the Brits' Armed Forces only had enuff ammo to conventionally fight for TWO DAYS before considering surrender like France, or going NUKULAR [unilaterally]???
Red-shirted demonstrators prevented Abhisit Vejjajiva, Thailands new prime minister, from presenting his agenda to parliament on Monday, dealing a further blow to hopes for an end to the countrys political deadlock
The protests were a mirror image of the prolonged demonstrations that paralysed the last administration and the countrys trade and tourism links to the world.
Mr Abhisit, who plans to try to give his policy address on Tuesday, was handed power in a parliamentary vote earlier this month after his Democrat party persuaded some members of the former ruling coalition to change sides. Many of the MPs who switched said they did so because the protesters had left the government unable to function.
With the economy nearing contraction and the countrys tourist trade struggling to recover from the effects of a week-long shutdown of Bangkoks two airports and the global financial crisis, Mr Abhisit planned in his address to outline Bt300bn ($8.4bn, 6.6bn, £5.8bn) in stimulus spending.
His opponents, who are generally loyal to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have called the vote a silent coup and believe the new government lacks legitimacy.
The best thing would be for the Democrats to form a government just long enough to call for new elections, said Jakrapob Penkair, who was leading the protests outside parliament on Monday.
Mr Abhisit has the support of the army, but their reluctance to act against the yellow-shirted demonstrators of the Peoples Alliance for Democracy which targeted the last government has set a difficult precedent.
Some 3,000 police were at the scene of Mondays protests, but officers kept their distance. Mr Abhisit said he would do anything he could to avoid having to use force.
Mr Jakrapob warned that the protests would be stepped up if the current government remained in office. The problems will be enhanced a lot, not just in Bangkok, but throughout the country, he said.
Mr Abhisit will be reminded everywhere he goes that his government is not legitimate.
The group that led protests against the last government, displaced by a court ruling over electoral misconduct, claimed they were challenging the corruption and politicisation of the countrys institutions.
Mr Thaksins supporters, including those outside parliament on Monday, say they are defending democracy. They say that the countrys elites in the barracks, boardrooms and palaces of Bangkok are trying to roll back the new-found power of the countrys rural poor, who voted Mr Thaksin or his heirs into office in the past three parliamentary elections.
(AKI) - The Sunni militant group, Jundallah, has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that targeted the elite Revolutionary Guards in Iran on Sunday.
In a message released on the Arab satellite network al-Arabiya, Jundallah said a suicide bomber from the group had struck an office of the Revolutionary Guards in the southeastern province of Sistan.
The suicide bomber, Abdel Gharuf al Raidi, reportedly blew himself up during a meeting of senior leaders in the area of Sirwan.
Jundallah, or Soldiers of God, is also known as the Iranian People's Resistance Movement.
It is an insurgent Sunni Islamic organisation based in Balochistan fighting for what it claims are the rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran.
The group has been blamed for various offences and kidnappings in southeastern Iran on the border of Pakistan.
Last week, The Tehran Times newspaper cited the city's deputy police chief Ahmad Reza Radan who claimed police had delivered a "deadly blow" against the militant group led by Abdolmalek Rigi.
He said during three operations police had killed Abdolmalek's brother and his deputy as well as 19 others.
Jundullah is reported to have killed 16 police officers they kidnapped in Iran in June.
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A senior Iranian commander has floated the idea that the time has come for Muslims to militarily stop Israel's offensive on Gaza.
Israel kicked off the onslaught on Gaza on Saturday to take out targets linked to the Hamas movement.
On Monday, the Israeli army declared areas around the enclave a "closed military zone," as Israeli tanks and troops massed along the Gaza border while warplanes pounded the strip for a third consecutive day.
At least 345 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 1,550 have been wounded, medics told Press TV.
The international community has condemned the Israeli actions and called for an immediate end to the strikes, which have caused a furious reaction by the Muslim world.
Brigadier General Mir-Faisal Baqerzadeh, Head of the Foundation for the Remembrance of the Holy Defense, said Monday that Islamic countries should move to put the military option against Tel Aviv on the table.
"Only the military option can save Gaza," the Iranian commander claimed.
In retaliation to the attacks on Gaza, Hamas has vowed to launch rocket strikes. On Saturday, an Israeli man was killed by a Hamas rocket and four others were wounded. Another Israeli was killed on Monday by a rocket attack.
Despite international criticism of the Israeli military campaign on Gaza, Washington blames Hamas for provoking Tel Aviv.
The Hamas movement should stop its rocket attacks on Israel "if the violence is to stop," said US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe in a Saturday statement.
On Sunday, the US blocked a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate halt to the ongoing assaults on Gaza. The council, meanwhile, called for an end to all military activities in the region.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also called for an immediate end to hostilities in the Gaza Strip, urging Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the impoverished Palestinian territory.
Ban "deplores that violence is continuing today, and he strongly urges once again an immediate stop to all acts of violence," his spokeswoman Michele Montas said in a statement Sunday.
While the death toll in Gaza continues to rise, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon said Monday that the goal of the massive bombardment of the Gaza Strip is to topple Hamas.
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#1
"On Sunday, the US blocked a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate halt to the ongoing assaults on Gaza. The council, meanwhile, called for an end to all military activities in the region.
Whatever you do, make it good. Israel will never see this kind of backing after January.
#5
Egypt, Jordan and Saudi are all anxiously hoping that Israel and the US smite Iran and Syria. For their part, Iran proxy Hezbollah is now trying to stir up trouble in Egypt.
Egypt, for its part, should make a deal with the Muslim Brotherhood, to back off of persecuting it, if it goes after Hezbollah, Hamas and other Shiite back groups. The MB has great potential to be a major pain in the ass, but it needs to be pointed in the right direction.
#6
A little late there general with the muzzie on muzzie butchery [in which your country actively participated] in Iraq and Afghanistan [and through proxies in Lebanon] generating a larger body count than the Israelis will attain. Of course I'd be nervous too if the most combat effective muzzie Army was the one on my border after I had antagonized them by directing a terrorist campaign within their border.
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North Korea threatened to stop taking apart its nuclear plant that makes bomb-grade plutonium unless Japan provides it with energy aid as part of an international disarmament deal, Kyodo news agency said on Monday. 
President-elect Barack Obama vowed on the campaign trail to shut down the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay. But he never said what he would do with the prisoners there. What to do with the 250 alleged foreign terrorists at the Cuba prison is the real question facing Obama, experts say. "The words sounds simple, but it's wrapped in some very complex issues," Air Force Col. Mo Davis, former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo, said of shutting down the prison. "Saying it is a lot easier than doing it."
Pakistan People's Party Secretary General Jahangir Badar has said that a United Nations commission will start a probe into former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's murder in January next year, a private TV channel reported on Sunday. 
The government cannot give space to the extremists to compel others to follow their views, President Asif Ali Zardari conveyed in a message on Monday. "We have to fight terrorism, sectarianism and other social evils, both individually and collectively, in accordance with the golden principles of Islam so that the anti-state elements cannot deter us from pursuing the path towards success, prosperity and development," he said. 
HAMAS last night threatened to assassinate Israeli leaders as the bombing of the Gaza Strip entered a third day and armoured forces were deployed along the borders of the Palestinian territory.
US Congressman Dennis Kucinich says the continuing Israeli attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip are an example of 'collective punishment'. 
The Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) annual summit in Oman will go ahead and focus on the global economic crisis, though Israel's attacks on Gaza will also be discussed, the host country said on Sunday. "The most appropriate reply to the events under way in the Palestinian situation would be for the Palestinian brothers to close ranks by reaching understanding and national unity," Omani Information Minister Hamad al-Rashidi said.
Ma'an -- Islamic Jihad's leadership said on Sunday night that the movement will not stand down to a hypothetical Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. 
A senior exiled Hamas official rejected Monday any talk of a new truce with Israel unless all attacks on Gaza cease and the border crossings are reopened, and promised to confront any ground invasion. 
Some are terrifying. Some are silent. But they're all very effective.
During the first Persian Gulf War, the U.S. military quickly rigged together similar weapons to attack Iraqi facilities, and then spent the next decade perfecting the concept.
