KANDAHAR: The top US general in Afghanistan, Gen David McKiernan, is reaching out to influential Afghan tribesmen in regions where US troops will soon deploy, apologising for past mistakes and saying he is now studying the holy Quran.
As the battle manual for the opposition ...
McKiernan met villagers in Helmand and Kandahar - two of Afghanistans most violent provinces - in an attempt to foster good will ahead of the US troop surge that will send 21,000 more forces here this summer to stem an increasingly violent Taliban insurgency. He said he wanted to explain to the tribal elders some of the mistakes US forces have made in the past.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 00:00 ||
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US troops will soon deploy, apologising for past mistakes and saying he is now studying the holy Quran.
Appears Barry may have found a potential replacement for Joe Biden.
The recent meeting between a deputy of Richard Holbrooke, the United States special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and an emissary of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), is by all accounts a landmark move in the United States' stated aim of involving militant groups in ending the conflict in Afghanistan.
I can't imagine Hekmatyar would want to be seen with Holbrooke ...
The choice of Hekmatyar also indicates just how desperate the US is in finding an escape route from the escalating crisis in Afghanistan. Hekmatyar is a declared terrorist with a reported $25 million price on his head. The 61-year-old engineer from Kunduz province and his anti-government fighters are responsible for large numbers of attacks against Afghan and international forces, mainly in the northeast of the country. For years, Washington has branded Hekmatyar an irreconcilable militant.
Which is correct ...
The HIA, founded by Hekmatyar, was one of the most effective mujahideen groups to fight the Soviet invasion during the 1980s. But, according to reports, the party became a favorite of Pakistan's intelligence agency and Hekmatyar's men were known as the most fundamentalist of all Afghan resistance fighters. It was "one of the most effective" in the sense that the Hek's mujaheddin and Masood's mujaheddin between them were responsible for a majority of the operations, when Hek wasn't actually on the Sov side. But the majority of that majority consisted of Masood's operations -- he really was the hero of the Afghan war. And combining Ismail Khan's operations or Haqqani's operations with Masood's while excluding Hek would probably still account for a majority of the operations, and certainly better account for the majority of the effective operations.
To date, however, the US has failed miserably in attracting mainstream Afghan forces of the past back into the political process, including tribal warlords, the Taliban, the Northern Alliance and the HIA. I kinda sorta agree with that. We should be looking forward to replacing Karzai with somebody more capable, like Ismail Khan or even Younus Qanooni. We should be best friends with Ismail and with Mohammad Fahim and even with Dostum. We really should be holding together and expanding the Northern Alliance, if only in anticipation of Karzai actually losing the Pashtun areas to Pakistan-based al-Qaeda and their puppets like Baitullah Mehsud.
This means, as Peter Lee wrote last month in Asia Times Online, "...the unpredictable Hekmatyar, who has survived the jihad, the civil war, defeat at the hands of the Taliban, exile in Iraq, an assassination attempt by the CIA, and return to Afghanistan as an insurgent leader, is the great hope of all parties as the only Pashtun strongman untainted by al-Qaeda and possibly capable of taking on the Taliban." I'm sure that Hek "allies" with al-Qaeda just as easily as he allies with Iran and the Paks and probably with the Paraguayans or even the Antarcticans if they have any money. He doesn't have to be "tainted" by an al-Qaeda alliance, since he's a taint in himself. His motto: "To thine own self and nobody else be true."
The insurgents loyal to Hekmatyar have now emerged as the most important component of anti-Western coalition resistance in Afghanistan. While most of Taliban-led resistance is situated near the Pakistan Afghanistan borders, insurgents loyal to Hekmatyar hold complete command over Kapissa province's Tagab valley, only 30 kilometers north of Kabul. The HIA, whose political wing has offices all over Afghanistan and keeps 40 seats in the Afghan parliament, is fully geared to replace President Hamid Karzai in the upcoming presidential elections.
Now, eight years after the US attack on Afghanistan, Washington is initiating dialogue with Hekmatyar through his longtime lieutenant Daoud Abedi, the link between the Hekmatyar and the West. Abedi is an Afghan-American based in California as well as a prominent businessman, social worker and a former representative of the HIA. Kill him. And set Ismail Khan on Hekmatyar.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 00:00 ||
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I'm not even a guerrilla leader and I wouldn't want the stank of Holbrooke on me.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 0:24 Comments ||
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"Sorry Richard, but you are just not my type. But if you have any pre-teen sons, or even a daughter..."
This is the headline on the front page of the WaPo this morning - "Mulls Aims". YJCMTSU. Seeing Potential Terror Threat, Officials Debate Their Options
Senior Obama administration officials are debating how to address a potential terrorist threat to U.S. interests from a Somali extremist group, with some in the military advocating strikes against its training camps. But many officials maintain that uncertainty about the intentions of the al-Shabab organization dictates a more patient, nonmilitary Euuuwww-ropean approach.
Al-Shabab, whose valiant fighters have battled Ethiopian occupiers and the tenuous Somali government, poses a dilemma for the administration, whadda we do? Whadda we DO? according to several senior national security officials who outlined the debate only on the condition of anonymity.
The organization's rapid expansion, ties between its leaders and al-Qaeda, and the presence of Americans and Europeans in its camps have raised the question of whether a preemptive strike is warranted. Yet the group's objectives have thus far been domestic, and officials say that U.S. intelligence has no evidence it is planning attacks outside Somalia. Except on the open ocean, or "high seas," ... international waters, so to speak.
An attack against al-Shabab camps in southern Somalia would mark the administration's first military strike outside the Iraq and Afghanistan-Pakistan war zones. The White House discussions highlight the self-imposed challenges facing the Obama team as it attempts to distance itself from the Bush administration, which conducted at least five military strikes in Somalia. The new administration is still defining its rationale for undertaking sensitive operations in countries where the United States is not at war.
Some in the Defense Department have been frustrated by what they see as a failure to act. Many other national security officials say an ill-considered strike would have negative diplomatic and political consequences far beyond the Horn of Africa. Other options under consideration are increased financial pressure and diplomatic activity, including stepped-up efforts to resolve the larger political turmoil in Somalia. Yah, that'll have an effect in - oh, twenty or fifty years.
The most recent discussion of the issue took place early this week, just before the unrelated seizure of a U.S. commercial ship in the Indian Ocean by Somali pirates who are holding the American captain of the vessel hostage for ransom.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/11/2009 06:36 ||
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increased financial pressure and diplomatic activity, including stepped-up efforts to resolve the larger political turmoil in Somalia.
....ie, forcing Somalia to accept US taxpayer funded bialouts in the form of economic aid, accademic visas, Harvard fellowships. Ending the legacy of hunger, racism, and white colonial oppression. These people are citizens of the world, potential ACORN volunteers and VOTERS!
#4
simple solution. utilize percussion devices to stun all on board, have team in water ready to rescue our guy.or helicopter dropped..is there any proof that any pirates understand english? Hell if its clear they dont, our ship could give the captive advance notice of what is about to happen. if a suitable percussion instrument isnt available use a sleeping agent in combination with a fog so they cant know which to pick up and dispose of, drop a few dozen pieces in one boat, covered by smoke....
#6
We've got an American held hostage by savages, a bunch of military assets standing by waiting for instructions from a book smart/life stupid commander in chief who's more interested in finding out "what it all means and what their motivation is", in a situation where the UN is beyond useless and pretty much no foreign government would condemn us if we went off and killed the MF'ers.
That would violate the Pirate's civil rights! Which would be JUST AWFUL! One of them might get a hangnail or a Quaran might be looked at the wrong way!
Can't have that!
/Sadly - I think I really do need a SARC tag here....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/11/2009 13:01 Comments ||
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Paul Revere is riding. Nobody is listening.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 13:41 Comments ||
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So this is the big test that guy sitting in the VP seat is talking about. Well, he was right, I'm not happy with what our leader is doing. He was right a second time as well, I have to be patient and wait, wait for the next election, if my country still exists. I bet Jimmy Carter is proud!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/11/2009 14:26 Comments ||
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This is the pre-real-test quiz. The strategy is that 0bama knows it isn't the real test, so he's letting them get lulled into a sense of false security. Then when the real test comes, BAM, POW, he'll knock them out of the park! Just like Marvel.
#19
P4K where did you find this youtube moron?? UM, Um, Um, you know, like, like, like my 12 year old speaks better than he does. If you knew the truth, most here are not fans of Beck, nor do we watch that moron at MSNBC. Wake the F@#k up son, there is a United States citizen, husband, and father being held hostage by pirates. The only thing we need to understand is how to stop them, kill them, and make it safe. Your the same fool that bitches and cries that we all need to love and understand each other, then when your family member gets taken you blames the military and everyone else but your own actions for our inability to act....
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/11/2009 16:27 Comments ||
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Play4Keeps: that might be one of the worst nics for someone on-line since (I'm guessing here) that if you were in a decision-making position you'd fold like a cheap lawn chair.
Whereas many of the regulars here are military, ex-military, professional and business types who make tough decisions on a regular basis.
As said previously: an American citizen is being held hostage on the high seas. I don't object to patience and careful consideration of the situation, since we all want the man alive and unharmed. If a little talk and care, backed by lots of guns held by U.S. Navy sailors, helps the pirates 'understand' that they need to let our man go, that's fine.
What's I am NOT open to is negotiating with the scum holding our man, or paying them so much as one Lincoln-head penny in ransom.
We can talk about next steps. How do we keep ships safe in the region? What's the proper way to handle captured pirates in the 21st century? How do we fix the problem of Somalia?
But first, we get our man back. And if we can't, each and every pirate holding him dies. It's really that simple.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 16:58 Comments ||
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Actually, I'm all in favor of paying the ransom. Give them 4 million, but it has to be in cash, and they have to hand over Captain Phillips to the vessels on scene. Then let them sail away with a full tank of diesel and the ransom....about 5 miles and then blow them to hell, then airstrike the village they came from, napalm preferably...
Thats right...LIE to them to get him back and then cauterize the puss-hole they came from!
#24
Leaflets should have already been dropped over coastal Puntland to inform the rats there that if the captain is harmed they can expect dire retribution. We know that the pirates have been in contact with Reuters, and it should not be hard to contact them == either from abroad, or from Puntland.
Congratulations to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who won re-election to his third term yesterday by a razor-thin margin of 87 percent...
The regional tribes region in Algeria had made a huge difference in the recent Presidential elections won by Abdelaziz Boutaflika especially with the fact that such sector of society was not known for its democratic contribution since the independence of 1962. According to the number announced by the Interior Ministry, Tizi Ouzou, the major state which consists of several tribal groups, had participated heavily in the elections with voting rates reaching 30.88 percent and this also applied to Bajaiya state , 29.42 percent, Bouwaira region, 66.31 percent, and Boumedras state, 57.22 percent.
The recorded percentages in the aforementioned states reflected a vast difference from previous election were the utmost percentage would be around 20 percent.
The participation had reflected the people's acknowledgement of democracy as the key bring upon peace and stability in the country.
The government is going to restructure Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in the next month renaming it 'Bangladesh Simanta Bahini' (BSB, Bangladesh Border Force), a highly placed source in the government said.
The border guards, who were found, involved in the bloody massacre at BDR headquarters in Peelkhana on February 25, in which a total of 75 people including 56 army officers from captain to major general were killed, will be excluded from the new force. But, the BDR men who were not involved in the carnage will be included in the new force.
A six-member committee comprising members from BDR, Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Ansar, Home Ministry and Bangladesh Armed Forces headed by Director General (DG) of the BDR was formed for recasting the border guards following the carnage. The committee is now busy collecting expert opinions from home and abroad including the ex-DGs of the BDR to sort out the process of recasting the border guards, selecting its new name and dress.
The committee is likely to submit its report to the government in the last week of the month or in the first week of the month. The government will recast the BDR after getting the report, sources said.
The government is now thinking about some names for renaming the BDR. Two names are now under consideration of the government-'Bangladesh Simanta Bahini' and 'Bangladesh Simanta Rakkhi' (Bangladesh Border Guards), a highly placed source said requesting anonymity.
But, Bangladesh Simanta Bahini is likely to be finally selected as the new name of the BDR, the source said adding that 'Bangladesh Simanta Rakkhi' is not to be selected as there is smell of 'Rakkhi Bahini'.
Commerce Minister Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan said this correspondent yesterday, "We hope that we will be able to restructure the BDR in the last week of the this month or in the first week of the next month with new name and new dress. "We want to complete restructure of the BDR as soon as possible, as we would have to conduct fair trail for bringing the border guards and others people involved in the BDR carnage into justice," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 00:00 ||
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Cross-border movement of criminals, and trafficking of illicit goods including small arms increased alarmingly in the days following the events in Pilkhana Headquarters of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), observed an internal security report. The national security is likely to be affected by the recent development, and trafficking of illegal weapons might rise taking advantage of it, the report cautioned.
Director General of BDR Maj Gen Md Mainul Islam however told The Daily Star over the phone yesterday that the number of illegal cross-border activities has been dropping fast with the increasing activities of the border security force, initiated lately. "Our border patrol activities have increased with the passing of time. We've tightened the control on the border areas resulting in arrests of illegal intruders, and seizure of illegal goods," he observed.
The internal security report, submitted to the highest authorities of the government in early April, observed that the post BDR mutiny time has been marked by sharp increase of different illegal activities across all frontiers of Bangladesh. It identified the illegal activities as trafficking of women and children, and illicit narcotics, and smuggling of arms and ammunitions.
It mentioned that the price of a bottle of illicit narcotic, phensydil, had been around Tk 700 before the events in the BDR headquarters, the price of which nose dived to around Tk 350 since then, due to massive increase in inbound smuggling of the drug.
It also observed, "Since most of the members of different battalions of BDR were either directly or indirectly involved in the mutiny and lawlessness of February 25 and 26, so most of them are in a state of confusion and dilemma about their careers and future until the investigation is over. That is why, many of them are not playing an active role in guarding the borders and in curbing smuggling."
Quoting anonymous sources the report mentioned, "Keeping in mind the uncertainty of their future, some of them are even trying to ensure a future by getting themselves involved in cross-border smuggling."
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 00:00 ||
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LAHORE: Around 50,000 Pakistanis have travelled to Britain on student visas during the last five years, according to The Sun newspaper. Since 2006, 98 percent applications for extension of leave to remain in Britain have been granted.
Rules introduced last month require that colleges get government approval before students arrive here and ministers insist there has been a crackdown on visa abuse. But critics claim there has been an open gateway over recent years. Sir Andrew Green of the Migration Watch told the paper, Not enough checks are being made on those from countries of concern like Pakistan.
Everyone coming here should be given a thorough interview. That is not done at the moment. There is also a problem with bogus institutions sponsoring students. Security needs tightening up. We have been calling for this for years.
Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling also called on the government to urgently step up background checks on students from countries linked to terror. A Home Office spokesman said all students applying to come to Britain were fingerprinted and then checked against a range of immigration, terrorism and crime-watch lists.
Meanwhile, Pakistans high commissioner to the UK said not enough security checks were being done. Wajid Shamsul Hasan said Pakistani authorities could help carry out background checks on student visa applicants but were not allowed to. He said, It is at your end, you have to do something more.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 00:00 ||
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This whole episode is an absolute disgrace, it sickens me some call my country Britistan
Posted by: Dave UK ||
04/11/2009 7:50 Comments ||
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No worries Dave, with Barry at the helm here in the States, we can't be far behind you!
Check the very cool Google Earth pic of the Nork missile launch at the link. That's the only useful thing you'll get from this article, which reads like a NYT intern wrote it over a liquid lunch.
For the second straight day, the United Nations Security Council yesterday failed to agree on a response to the North Korean rocket launch, but Mexican and Costa Rican ambassadors said China, which has urged restraint in response, may support a resolution affirming previous sanctions as a compromise.
While there was no official meeting of the 15 member nations, the five permanent members with veto power - the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, China and France - met separately with Japan, a non-standing member, to discuss the UN response. They reached no agreement and scheduled another meeting for today.
The United States and Japan believe the North Korean launch, regardless of the payload on its rocket, constitutes a violation of existing Security Council Resolution 1718 that bans the North from ballistic missile-related activities. They have been pushing for a strong response, while China and Russia have suggested a more muted one. A Security Council resolution requires unanimous support from the five permanent member nations.
Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State, reiterated the U.S. stance that a firm measure is necessary. We are actively involved in consultation with partners at the United Nations, members of the Security Council, she said. We know that working out the exact language is not easily done overnight, but we remain convinced that coming out with a strong position in the United Nations is the first and important step that we intend to take.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood also called for a strong, effective and coordinated response from the Security Council.
But when asked if the U.S. was pushing for a resolution, Wood said, We want the strongest possible response that we can get in the Security Council. Id just prefer to leave it at that.
Meanwhile, diplomats told Bloomberg that China may back a resolution that urges North Korea to comply with UN resolutions, as a compromise with the United States.
Boy howdy, that should do it.
Jorge Urbina, Costa Ricas ambassador to the UN, said China might accept a weak resolution or a strong statement. A statement is not legally binding.
Before the launch they [Chinese envoys] were not ready to accept a resolution, but now they could do so, Urbina was quoted as saying. They are just concerned that the process of the six-party talks is not endangered.
Ambassador Claude Heller of Mexico, which holds the presidency of the Security Council this month, also said Chinese representatives suggested privately that they might be willing to agree to a resolution that, without levying new penalties, merely warns Pyongyang to honor existing resolutions.
However, Liu Yutong, spokesman for Chinas mission to the UN, said China has never officially announced it would support a resolution of any kind. There needs to be further discussions, Liu said.
Meanwhile, Russia maintained that the international community should not overreact. The key thing is to make sure we do not confine ourselves to some kind of emotional knee-jerk reaction, said Vitaly Churkin, the Russian ambassador at the UN.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 00:00 ||
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German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomed on Friday US readiness to start direct negotiations with Iran regarding Tehran's nuclear program.
The US government initiative regarding direct negotiations is a new and forward political step, the German minister said in a statement published by ministry's website. Steinmeier also noted that the direct negotiations would be a new path to improve relations between Washington and Tehran.
The minister called on Iran to take advantage of this opportunity and kick start long awaited talks, noting that such relations would need a positive dialogue and vital steps toward building bilateral trust.
Last Wednesday, UN Security Council members, including Germany agreed to ask EU foreign policy Chief Javier Solana to talk to the Iranians to hold negotiations with the US to discuss Iran's nuclear program and end the dispute.
#1
Uh huh. Direct vs. indirect/group talks are always so important. See Nork experience. Cuz ya see the problem here is the precise modality the US chooses in each situation. Yeah, that's it. It's not about the intentions and capabilities of rogue or adversary states. No. Nothing to do with that.
I thought it was a big breakthrough when Dubya told the Euros to go for it with Iran. Epic fail. Oh, so now it's DIRECT talks that are needed.
I admit I am overwhelmed by the silliness and stupidity that not only passes for adult thought on foreign policy - it has come to dominate it. It's like watching a group of mental patients at a card game - they're in a complete make-believe world. And all around, a parallel delusional universe of "press," academia, foundations/think tanks, and the like support, embellish, and perpetuate the silliness. Books, panel discussions, op-eds, distorted factual/analytical frameworks in "reporting".
For the billionth time, it must be noted: one of the great and inexcusable failures of the Bush admin. was its utter passivity on this matter, its refusal to confront, refute, and educate. Now the lightweights and idiots have replaced them in office, so it will only get much worse.
Forged degree certificates, fake income tax returns and bogus payslips were on sale in Pakistan yesterday all valuable tools to help terrorists obtain student visas for Britain.
An investigation, in the wake of last week's arrests over a suspected terror plot, has revealed that a set of documents could be obtained for less than £100 by anyone seeking to support their application to study in the UK.
As concerns grew about the screening processes that allowed 11 of the 12 bomb suspects to enter Britain, self-styled "immigration consultants" in Pakistan were hard at work trying to beat the system.
One said he could provide a convincing certificate from a Pakistani university for £100 on a while-you-wait basis.
A corrupt "cottage industry" has grown up to serve a huge market in young men desperate to find a way of working overseas in the Gulf, North America and Europe, with Britain the favourite destination.
Terrorists can also, however, take advantage of any lax checking procedures.
Many British universities have representative offices in Pakistan's main cities through which they recruit students.
At least one of the suspects arrested last week obtained a student visa after applying to John Moores University in Liverpool through its Peshawar representative office, according to one of its managers.
This newspaper can also disclose that deep diplomatic tensions have arisen over the arrest by Britain of 11 Pakistani nationals suspected of planning a terror attack.
According to Pakistani officials, their country is angry and puzzled that the British Government and its police forces have not provided information on the arrested men.
They say that the reluctance to hand over the names, addresses, telephone records and other information on the suspects to Pakistan indicates a lack of trust.
On Friday, Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, was dragged into a row over the flawed student visa system that allowed the 11 Pakistanis suspects to arrive in Britain unnoticed.
Mr Brown had said that Pakistan "has to do more to root out terrorist elements in its country."
But Wajid Shamsul Hasan, the Pakistan High Commissioner in London, hit back at Britain by saying: "It is at your end you have to do something more."
Police forces arrested 12 men on Wednesday in a series of raids across north-west England.
Officers are investigating to see if there are further members of the alleged plot team beyond the 11 on their initial wanted list who are still in Britain. The 12th man arrested is British-born.
Detectives are confident that any threat of an imminent terror plot has been foiled. In the words of one senior investigator, officers swooped on 14 addresses because they believed that "sometimes disruption is better than cure".
Anti-terror officers were forced to bring forward their arrests by up to nine hours because details of the raids were inadvertently leaked by Bob Quick, Britain's most senior anti-terrorism officer.
He resigned on Thursday morning from his post as an Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard after he was photographed walking into Downing Street with an exposed briefing paper giving secret details of Operation Pathway.
In the wake of the arrests, The Sunday Telegraph carried out inquiries in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar to see how easy it is to obtained forged documents.
The paperwork is designed to convince British immigration officials that applicants want to learn and can pay for their courses, even though some are virtually illiterate and only want jobs.
Britain has a reputation for being easy to get into: the United States, whose immigration officials imposed tougher security rules post-9/11, is most likely to reject applications.
Nearly 4,000 immigration consultants are thought to be operating in the capital Islamabad and its twin city Rawalpindi.
Officials for the British High Commission in Islamabad face a stream of visa applications and they play a vital role in judging whether applicants are genuine students, would-be illegal immigrants, or terrorists trying to trick their way in.
Every year 10,000 student visas are granted in Pakistan, including many for genuine British universities who have set up offices in the country to attract students. Up to 20 times as many, however, are rejected.
Visa applications for students mean big money for some companies. "It is a roaring business," said Siddiqa Awan, 40, a consultant at International Centre for Study Exchange (ICSE), whose legitimate office was in a cramped basement in an Islamabad shopping centre.
A sign outside boasted that the business was British Council-certified and affiliated to Grafton College of Management Science and King's College of Management in the UK.
"On average we process the applications of nearly 100 students for the UK alone every month," she said.
ICSE was not offering forged documents,. Ms Awan said students would pay a £150 deposit once accepted at Grafton College
Pakistani consultants have become notorious for tricks. British officials have noticed on occasion the same pile of dollar bills being presented by several applicants.
It means an agent has lent the wad of cash to a series of applicants to "prove" that they had the cash to come to Britain.
Another consultant, Major Najeeb Ahmed, admitted that the business has lost its respectable image.
"When I started eight years ago there were only a few consultants who had been authorised by colleges to work on their behalf. Now people who are in the property business or run grocery shops are also working for UK colleges," he said.
Some agents were surprisingly candid. "Colleges back in London can be a scam, they are just one-room colleges," one said.
Under the controversial points-based system, visa applicants are not routinely interviewed. Biometric checks - fingerprinting and iris scans - are made, but that is no deterrent to so-called "clean skins" with no terrorist records.
Like most British universities, John Moores University has subcontracted representative offices in all of Pakistan's main cities, including Peshawar where Taliban influence is growing.
The university has offices in some of the world's most unstable and dangerous countries, including Iran, Nigeria, and Libya.
Many other legitimate British universities have offices in Pakistan. As well as providing lucrative earnings, attracting Pakistani students to Britain is regarded as a way of winning over young Pakistanis in the battle for hearts and minds against terrorism.
Many of the forgeries are crude and unlikely to fool immigration officers. But others are sophisticated. And the size of the industry shows how much effort is put in to thwart the system at every stage.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/11/2009 17:37 ||
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A day after the Lahore police said that there was evidence of an Indian involvement in the attack on the Lankan cricket team, Pakistan Interior Ministry has said that there is no clue of Indian hand in the attack.
The Lahore police had on Friday alleged India's involvement in the Lahore attack. They had also said that there was evidence of an Indian link in the recent attacks on police facilities in Pakistan.
Referring to the terror threats during the general elections in India, Rehman Malik said that India should share information about the threat with Pakistan.
Malik also talked about the Swat peace deal, saying that Taliban have not complied with the deal.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/11/2009 14:54 ||
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RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Army Promotion Board on Friday ended promoting 75 officers to the rank of brigadier and 170 officers to that of colonel, defence sources have said. The decision to promote the officers was made at the end of the three-day 63rd Formation Commanders Conference at the General Headquarters (GHQ), which was chaired by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani. Sources said names of more than 1,000 officers were considered for promotion, and the board decided to elevate the best ones after analysing each candidate.
No formal statement was issued by the ISPR at the end of the meeting that approved the promotions. Sources said the names of the promoted officers would be made public at the time of their posting.
How many of them made their names fighting on the eastern front?
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 00:00 ||
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Nearly a 25% selection rate! Damn fine officers they have.
This is the kind of press release condemnation that everyone ignores.
ISLAMABAD: The United States has condemned the killing of three Baloch leaders, saying one of them had helped in the release of kidnapped UN official John Solecki. The remains of the three men were discovered in Balochistan on Thursday, six days after armed men reportedly abducted them.
The US urged Pakistani authorities to bring those responsible to justice, the embassy said in a statement late on Thursday. The human rights group Amnesty International urged authorities to investigate the killing of the three men.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 00:00 ||
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LAHORE: Terrorists involved in last month's attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team near the Liberty roundabout and at the Manawan Police Training School have links with India, CCPO Pervaiz Rathore said on Friday.
Because as we all know, Muslims would never kill other Muslims ...
He was talking to reporters at the foundation laying ceremony of a hospital at the Qila Gujjar Singh Police Lines. He said the police had gathered concrete evidence in this regard.
"Dat's right! Me and Mahmoud, we saw it all! Tell 'em Mahmoud!"
"Daaah, yeah, dem ebil Hindoos done it."
"There, see! And Mahmoud's a true believer. That settles it!"
While refusing to disclose the proof, Rathore said the police would make that public at the appropriate time. He said the police and intelligence agencies had jointly interrogated terrorists arrested during the attack on the school. He said they had confessed to their links with India.
Somehow we'll never see the 'terrorists' in a court, let alone in public ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 00:00 ||
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LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said the country cannot afford a confrontation among political parties at this point in time, a private TV channel reported on Friday.
Yup, might as well put him in charge of everything ...
Addressing party workers in Raiwind, Nawaz said the Punjab government would utilise all possible resources to resolve the problems facing the people of the province. The majority of the PML-N workers opposed the idea of joining the federal cabinet and the inclusion of the PPP in the Punjab cabinet in a vote conducted by the PML-N chief, said the channel. The PML-N workers also chanted slogans against the PPP.
Nawaz said the restoration of the deposed judges was a victory for the masses, and called on the PML-N workers to play their role in strengthening the party.
In a statement, he also strongly condemned the recent killing of three Baloch leaders. Nawaz said the killing of the Baloch leaders was a threat for national integrity. He said such killings were aimed at creating panic, lawlessness and misunderstandings among provinces. The whole nation shares the grief of the people of Balochistan on this occasion, he said.
Except for al-Qaeda, the Talibs, the TSNM, the frontier hicks, most Pashtuns and all the ISI ...
Nawaz said that had other wrong steps also been undone like the restoration of the judiciary, the countrys situation would have been better. I will correct the situation with the help of the masses. Those involved in unconstitutional acts would be made a lesson for others, he announced.
And he'll decide, thank you ...
He reiterated that supremacy of the parliament could be ensured through implementation of the Charter of Democracy.
I'll bet that phrase sounds different in Pashto ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 00:00 ||
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India's Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said that it is world-known that Pakistan was the centre of the menace of international terrorism. "It is universally known that all terror activities emanated from Pakistani soil. They should first set their house in order."
India has vehemently rejected Pakistan's allegation that New Delhi had a Hand in the March 3 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team on March 3 in Lahore.
India described Pakistan's allegation as "preposterous." Speaking to media persons in New Delhi on Friday, India's Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said that it is world-known that Pakistan was the centre of the menace of international terrorism. "It is universally known that all terror activities emanated from Pakistani soil. They should first set their house in order," he added.
Sharma said this while reacting to Lahore Police chief Pervaiz Rathores statement that there was "evidence" of an Indian involvement in the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers at Lahore's Liberty Chowk. "With the help of other intelligence agencies, there has been considerable in this case. One thing is for sure that there is an Indian hand behind the attack," said Rathore earlier in the day.
The 35-member board will hold a meeting to look into the list of the candidates for the senior post in the first half of May.
The International Atomic Eneregy Agency has received nomination applications from Slovenia and Malaysia for the post of the IAEA director general, Mohammad Al-Baradei, whose term is due to expire next fall. The 35-member board will hold a meeting to look into the list of the candidates for the senior post in the first half of May.
Official sources at the IAEA headquarters told KUNA on Friday that the former envoy of Slovenia at the international agency, Ernst Petrich, 72, who had also headed the IAEA board between 2006 and 2007, was one of the nominees for the senior post.
Malaysia for its part had filed candidacy papers for the head of its nuclear authority, Noori Amli, the sources said, adding that the chaiperson of the IAEA Board of Governors, Tawoos Faroukhi, of Algeria, had received names of other candidates from the Argentines, Mexico, Spain and Hungary.
The candidates of South Africa and Japan failed, at an extraordinary session of the board in the end last month, in securing two thirds of the votes to occupy the post.
BAGHDAD - A senior Iraqi Shiite cleric on Friday condemned a spate of political arrests of members of the Sadr movement and warned rivals they could expect similar treatment in the future.
We say to those who carry out such arrest operations that what goes around comes around, said Abdel Hadi Mohammedawi, an imam close to the firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. If the situation is governed by the law, then the law will hold you to account when you are no longer in power, he told thousands of supporters at a mosque in the town of Kufa south of Baghdad.
Mohammedawi said the arrests were illegal and had been carried out for political purposes. At the same time that we see this series of car bombs and terrorism in Baghdad we also see the arrests of the sons of the Sadr movement, and we dont know the reason or the connection, he added.
A senior Sadr official in Najaf told AFP that 12,000-13,000 of the groups followers are in Iraqi and US military custody and that between 200 and 300 had been arrested since the start of the month.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 00:00 ||
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GAZA - Egyptian mediators trying to break the deadlock in talks on a Palestinian government of national unity have told rival groups Fatah and Hamas to cooperate on reconstructing Gaza as a first step, officials said.
Palestinian groups have been talking in Cairo for months but have so far failed to agree on a unity government ahead of elections set for January 2010. The proposal to cooperate on Gaza was an attempt to break the impasse, an official said. It became clear that a deal between the two sides was near impossible, a senior Palestinian official involved in the talks told Reuters.
I think they should fight to the death ...
Egypts new plan is for a Fatah-Hamas committee answerable to the West Bank-based government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Western-backed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to oversee reconstruction work, while the Hamas administration in Gaza provides the headquarters and logistics.
Fatah welcomed the proposal as an introduction to a solution but Hamas said it would give legitimacy to Fayyads government, which the Islamist group has never accepted. Senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath, an Abbas aide, said the Egyptian leadership gave Abbas a written proposal during his visit to Cairo this week and that he was expected to respond before a new round of talks is set to start on April 26.
Both factions must provide Egypt with answers when they return for a new session of talks, said the official, who asked not to be named.
Talks have failed so far because of disagreement over the political agenda for the proposed unity government and the way it will handle the conflict with Israel.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 00:00 ||
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Iranian Army commander General Atqollah Salehe said Friday the Islamic Republic planned to intensify production of modern fighters.
Salehe, quoted by Iran's Fars news agency, said the Iranian people would see the largest and "most destructive" submarine in the region, affirming Tehran's success in its deterrence against foreign threats.
General Salehe announced the holding of an exhibition of the ground forces to display achievements of the troops.
With the new year, he added, Iran would produce modern jet fighters, and that Tehran has programs to manufacture submarines and underwater equipment to be added to Iran's satellite.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 0:22 Comments ||
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#3
largest and "most destructive" submarine in the region
They gonna put the Revolutionary Guards on an oil tanker and sink it?
Posted by: john frum ||
04/11/2009 11:29 Comments ||
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I didn't know the Iranians could make seagoing nuclear reactors, and put them into something that could outdo a Los Angeles class sub.
Besides, it is hard to hide submarine construction from prying satellite eyes, especially when it takes quite a while to build a large submarine. And especially when you don't have any real experience doing it. The ocean is very unforgiving when you are motoring around under the surface.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/11/2009 18:26 Comments ||
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Tehran has programs to manufacture submarines and underwater equipment to be added to Iran's satellite.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah categorically denied Friday that the Lebanese party has intentions to undermine Egypt's security.
Nasrallah was reacting to accusations by the Egyptian public prosecutor that a person identified as Sami Shehab tried to carry out acts undermining security of Egypt. Shehab is a member in Hezbollah, Nasrallah admitted, but added that he was "carrying out logistic work on the Egyptian-Palestinian borders in favor of the resistance and to transfer equipment and individuals to the Palestinian brothers."
Egypt's public prosecutor Justice Abdulmajeed Mahmoud said interrogations were underway with a new 49-member organization financed by the Lebanese Hezbollah, accused of planning to carry out "hostile" actions inside Egypt.
These accusations, said Nasrallah, "aim at arousing the Egyptian people and to say that Hezbollah wants to do sabotage acts in Egypt. They (those who made the accusations) want to tarnish the picture of Hezbollah in Egypt ... (But) it is normal that Hezbollah and the resistant movement are highly respected by the Egyptian people ...," he said.
Nasrallah said Shehab collaborated "with people whose number does not reach 10 persons and many of the arrestees have no relation with him." Nasrallah said: "if helping the Palestinians whose lands are occupied and they are the onse getting killed and starved is a crime, then I officially confess of this crime." Hezbollah, asserted Nasrallah, "does not seek a conflict with the Egyptian regime." The Lebanese cleric had, during the Israeli onslaught against Gaza Strip, urged the Egyptian people and armed forces "to exercise pressure on the political leadership" to open the Rafah crossing. But Cairo considered this a "declaration of war on the Egyptian people," and accused Nasrallah of being "an agent of the Iranian regime." Nasrallah said Hezbollah's sole objective was to liberate and protect the Lebanese territories from the Israeli threats.
Nasrallah brushed aside reports suggesting that Hezbollah was supporting groups in Yemen and Bahrain, calling on the Arab people and governments not to hold Hezbollah "the responsibilities bigger than its country, circumstances and capabilities."
#1
HMMMMMM - the SOMALI PIRACY. "SCUD DIPLOMACY" > active defense/fallback to under LR Iranian or Other defense umbrellas, ee CHINA'S ANTI-NAVAL/CARRIER MISSLES???
#2
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah categorically denied Friday that the Lebanese party has intentions to undermine Egypt's security...yet.
There, fixed that.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/11/2009 3:19 Comments ||
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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.
The recent meeting between a deputy of Richard Holbrooke, the United States special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and an emissary of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), is by all accounts a landmark move in the United States' stated aim of involving militant groups in ending the conflict in Afghanistan. 
RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Army Promotion Board on Friday ended promoting 75 officers to the rank of brigadier and 170 officers to that of colonel, defence sources have said. The decision to promote the officers was made at the end of the three-day 63rd Formation Commanders Conference at the General Headquarters (GHQ), which was chaired by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani. Sources said names of more than 1,000 officers were considered for promotion, and the board decided to elevate the best ones after analysing each candidate. 
LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said the country cannot afford a confrontation among political parties at this point in time, a private TV channel reported on Friday. 
Iranian Army commander General Atqollah Salehe said Friday the Islamic Republic planned to intensify production of modern fighters.
