A senior Afghan official allegedly took a $20 million bribe to steer a copper mining project to a Chinese company, a glaring example of the claims of corruption clouding the Obama administration's deliberations over expanding the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan.
In Washington, two U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports said that Afghanistan's minister of mines, Muhammad Ibrahim Adel, allegedly accepted the money soon after the $3 billion contract was awarded in late 2007 to China Metallurgical Group Corp.
Posted by: ed ||
11/18/2009 15:31 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Bribes? From the Chinese?
Who'd a thunk it?
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
11/18/2009 16:34 Comments ||
Top||
#2
$20 mil on a $3 billion contract? Cheap at twice the price.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/18/2009 17:04 Comments ||
Top||
#3
How would China respond to finding itself Piggy-in-the-middle, when its investment and employees need to be defended from the sporadically rampaging hordes of Taliban gangs? It could be debated that allowing China a foot in the door was a brilliantly diabolical idea.
The foreign secretary of the United Kingdom says a future political solution for Afghanistan will include senior Taliban commanders in government.
Speaking Tuesday at a NATO parliamentary assembly in Edinburgh, David Miliband said the Afghan government would include "high-level commanders that can be persuaded to renounce al-Qaeda and pursue their goals peacefully."
He said most Taliban fighters could be convinced to stop fighting.
Miliband's comments come a day after U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he wants to host a January 2010 NATO meeting to set a timetable for the transfer of Afghanistan to full Afghan control. "I want that conference to chart a comprehensive political framework within which the military strategy can be accomplished," Brown said. "It should identify a process for transferring district by district to Afghan control, and if at all possible we should set a timetable for transferring districts starting in 2010," he said.
Last week, Brown said NATO countries might send an additional 5,000 soldiers to Afghanistan.
Canada currently has about 2,800 troops in Afghanistan. The military mission there is slated to finish by the end of 2011.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
where's that banana photo of that douchenozzle Milibank? Twit
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/18/2009 17:33 Comments ||
Top||
Somali pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama on Wednesday for the second time in seven months and were thwarted by private guards on board the U.S.-flagged ship who fired off guns and a high-decibel noise device. A U.S. surveillance plane was monitoring the ship as it continued to its destination on the Kenyan coast.
Pirates hijacked the Maersk Alabama last April and took ship captain Richard Phillips hostage, holding him at gunpoint in a lifeboat for five days. Navy SEAL sharpshooters freed Phillips while killing three pirates in a daring nighttime attack.
Four suspected pirates in a skiff attacked the ship again on Wednesday around 6:30 a.m. local time, firing on the ship with automatic weapons from about 300 yards away, a statement from the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain said. An on-board security team repelled the attack by using evasive maneuvers, small-arms fire and a Long Range Acoustic Device, which can beam earsplitting alarm tones, the fleet said. mmmmmmm mmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmm
Vice Adm. Bill Gortney of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said the Maersk Alabama had followed the maritime industry's "best practices" in having a security team on board. Roll call while on board:
Ranger - Present, Sir
Green Beret - Present, Sir
Seal - Present, Sir
Marine - Present, Sir
"This is a great example of how merchant mariners can take proactive action to prevent being attacked and why we recommend that ships follow industry best practices if they're in high-risk areas," Gortney said in a statement.
However, Roger Middleton, a piracy expert at the London-based think tank Chatham House, said the international maritime community was still "solidly against" armed guards aboard vessels at sea, but that American ships have taken a different line than the rest of the international community. And the American ships aren't being captured, now are they? Huh? Strange that, guns, no captives; no guns, captives. Strange reasoning by Mr. Middleton. Maybe he missed that course called, "Just the Fact Sir, just the Facts."
"Shipping companies are still pretty much overwhelmingly opposed to the idea of armed guards," Middleton said. "Lots of private security companies employee people who don't have maritime experience. Also, there's the idea that it's the responsibility of states and navies to provide security. I would think it's a step backward if we start privatizing security of the shipping trade."
A Massachusetts Maritime Academy professor, who is also the father of a sailor who was on the Maersk Alabama during the first pirate attack in April, said about 20 percent of the ships off East Africa are armed.
The owners of the Maersk Alabama have spent a considerable amount of money since the April hijacking to make the vessel pirate-proof, Murphy said, including structural features and safety equipment. The most dramatic change is what he called a security force of "highly trained ex-military personnel."
"Somali pirates understand one thing and only one thing, and that's force," said Capt. Joseph Murphy, who teaches maritime security at the school. "They analyze risk very carefully, and when the risk is too high they are going to step back. They are not going to jeopardize themselves." Heard by pirates, "Fire on my command." Wonder if the pirates have been practicing how quickly they can get their boats in reverse?
The wife of the Maersk Alabama's captain, Paul Rochford, told WBZ-AM radio in Boston that she was "really happy" there were weapons on board for this attack.
"It probably surprised the pirates. They were probably shocked," Kimberly Rochford. "I'm really happy at least it didn't turn out like the last time."
A self-proclaimed pirate told The Associated Press from the Somali pirate town of Haradhere that colleagues out at sea had called around 9 a.m. -- 2 1/2 hours after the attack.
"They told us that they got in trouble with an American ship, then we lost them. We have been trying to locate them since," said a self-described pirate who gave his name as Abdi Nor. Got to love those words, "Got in trouble with an American ship."
A U.S. Navy P-3 surveillance aircraft "is monitoring Maersk Alabama and has good voice communication with the vessel," said Lt. Nathan Christensen, the Bahrain-based spokesman for the 5th Fleet. The ship was heading for the Kenyan port town of Mombasa.
"The crew and the captain are safe," Amanda Derick, a spokeswoman for Maersk Line Limited in Norfolk, Va., said on Wednesday. "The appropriate security measures were taken. That's the main thing, everyone's safe."
Maritime experts said it was unlucky but not unprecedented that the Maersk Alabama had been targeted in a second attack.
"It's not the first vessel to have been attacked twice, and it's a chance that every single ship takes as it passes through the area," Cmdr. John Harbour, a spokesman for the EU Naval Force. "At least this time they had a vessel protection detachment on board who were able to repel the attack." Taking bets the Maersk Alabama won't be attached a third time.
No bets. How many Somali pirates can read English to know which ship they're facing? On the other hand, after they lose more crews, I imagine the American flag will become a recognized Stop sign in Somali.
Houthi fighters in Yemen say Saudi forces have used unconventional weapons in their fight against Shias in northern country.
The fighters said many civilians were killed or injured after Saudi warplanes dropped phosphorous bombs on villages in north.
They have also released pictures of phosphorus bomb attacks by Saudi warplanes.
In a move to protect the civilian population from the raging war in north Yemen, Amnesty International wrote a letter to Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister, Crown Prince Sultan bin 'Abdul 'Aziz Al-Saud last week asking whether phosphorus bombs were used in the attacks.
The London-based rights group demanded Riyadh's explanation about the manner in which the bombs were used and what precautions were taken to ensure that civilians were not put at risk.
The organization however has received no response from Saudi officials yet.
Saudi Arabia launched earlier in November an offensive against Shia fighters, who accuse the kingdom of supporting the Yemeni government in its crackdown.
The Yemeni government launched Operation Scorched Earth in August in an effort to crush the Houthis, whom it accuses of seeking to restore an imamate that was overthrown in 1962.
The Houthis, however, dismiss the accusations, saying they are only seeking to put an end to the government's discriminatory policies against them.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The fighters said many civilians were killed or injured after Saudi warplanes dropped phosphorous bombs on villages in north.
The Israelis held back on stuff like this. Even gave the Innocent Civilians(TM) an extra day or two to mosey on out of the conflict zone before they had at the bad guys who remained in the area.
I thought it was stupid then, and I still do. Looks like the Saudis think it was stupid, too.
#3
I just dont get it. A corpse NEVER complains about HOW it got so cold. The ONLY reason you DONT use gas is because if you dont the other guy wont either..hopefully. Remember Dum-dum bulets? Same thing. But , trust me ,we use 50 cal. rounds for sniper rifles now. Corpses dont CARE, S'truth.
What is the PROBLEM with Willy Pete ( White Phosphorous )? A very good item. Scares people?
GOOD, you WANT 'em scared. FEAR is what you NEED.
Gitcha Gotcha.
It kills people and makes a body the dog wont even touch? Pigs wont even eat it. But! does it WORK?
Yes, it does. You want to kill these people? YES!, you do. So, get some.
Your PC nanny neighbors will be shocked? The French will disapprove? The Germans will lose their "respect" for you. Libya will frown and invade Chad?
So? They might get ideas about using Nape and Snake on YOU? How about Gentlemen dont act that way? Does THAT bother you? You know where GAS works really good ( know your tools ) is in Tunnels and Caves. Willy Pete is a tool just like ANY other tool. A tool is morally neutral. Killing people is what you have DECIDED to DO.The Tool you USE doesnt matter ( not at all).There are no evil Tools.
You want EFFICIENCY. ACCURATE, Quick,Horrific, and Memorable...and a lot of Silence when you are done. You dont care about the Smell or the Mess.
If you cant hide the Blood,dont bother to hide the Body.
And Screw the French. In a narrow rocky Valley Willy Pete will WORK. And it sticks to surfaces and it will burn metal and rock and the Goat.
It smells bad and water wont put it out. It doesnt just Burn ON you, it Burns INTO you.
Do you want to encourage people to move? So you dont HAVE to assault up hill to MAKE them move?
Save your own life while taking THEIRS ( and getting completely away with it )? Yeah?
Coax them out of those rocks with ( our friend ) Willy Pete. When its too tight to use Nape, you CAN shell them...with White Phosphorous.
OR would you LIKE to climb up there and go head to head YOURSELF when you COULD just stand here and listen to them scream while they burn...and then WALK in and shoot the survivors ( and the Goat is still warm).
Posted by: chris ||
11/18/2009 9:30 Comments ||
Top||
#5
since when do the Saudis(middle eastern animals, not unlike their horrific neighbors)care about humanitarian uses of the tools of war, esp. against the goodless shias or whatever their opposite in muslim is,(who cares). let 'em fry each other all day long, big whup.
[Asharq al-Aswat] A Saudi military source confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Huthi infiltrators are following a specific approach in their continuing attacks on the Saudi forces that have been deployed in the border region. The source revealed that the Huthi rebels lay low for the majority of the day before launching surprise attacks on [Saudi] military sites at night.
The Saudi military source said that this tactic had caused the Saudi forces in the area to be more cautious and vigilant against surprise attacks, whether these are organized attacks or attacks of opportunity.
The military source also revealed that there has been a noticeable decline in clashes with Huthi rebels, whether this is the Huthi bombardment of Saudi positions, or Huthi rebels attacking Saudi patrols with heavy-caliber machine guns. Saudi forces in the region are continuing to bombard Huthi targets and sites in the region.
The military source told Asharq Al-Awsat "The Saudi forces are using F-15 fighter jets, Apache Helicopters, and heavy artillery, to bombard locations belonging to infiltrators belonging to the rebel Huthi movement."
He added "A number of infiltrators yesterday and the day before yesterday attacked [Saudi] military sites, but the Saudi forces repelled these attacks."
The source also revealed that a number of Huthi infiltrators have been captured by Saudi forces, and that the number of Huthi rebels killed by Saudi air strikes has multiplied.
Saudi Deputy Education Minister, Faisal Bin Muammar, visited the relief camp in al-Ahad al-Masaraha on Monday. The relief camp houses all citizens who have been displaced or forcibly evacuated due to the Saudi - Huthi conflict in the border region. Deputy Minister Faisal Bin Muammar visited the camp to ensure that all initiatives are being taken [to aid] those displaced by the fighting. The Deputy Minister for Education met a number of students and teachers who were evacuated from their schools; he checked on their condition and assured them that they would be provided with everything that they needed.
Saudi Minister of Education, Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah directed the Administrative Committee to take all initiative to aid the students and teachers [affected by this conflict]. An initiative to equip 30 mobile classrooms and send them to the region to be used as an alternative to the vacated schools was adopted by the Ministry of Education.
The initiative includes providing transport to transfer students from the relief camp to the classrooms, with this operation being funded by the Ministry of Education and costing 3 million Riyals.
At the relief camp, Hamzah Omar Sana'a, Director of Water Resources in Jizan Province, confirmed that Saudi Arabia would overcome all odds to provide the best services to the citizens in the Ahad al-Masaraha relief camp. This includes maintaining the water system, and providing water to the region. He also said that the [Saudi] Ministry of Water and Electricity would be supplying 15,000 bottles of water (750ml) to the camps every day, in addition to thirty 12-ton water tanks in order to ensure that all [water] requirements are met.
In a related note, Saudi clerics accused Yemeni Huthi rebels of working with Iran to try to spread Shiism in Sunni Islam's heartland, days before the start of the annual Muslim hajj pilgrimage.
"Iranian cooperation with Huthi rebels in Yemen is a collusion for sin and aggression, " Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh said in remarks published yesterday.
"Huthi infiltrators entered our territories, so ... it is obvious that they should be fought since the kingdom here is defending itself," Sheikh said.
In a statement issued over the weekend, about 40 Saudi clerics said Iran "destabilizes Muslim nations by implanting, financing and arming its agents to spread" Shiism, a direct reference to Huthi rebels.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
TOPIX > IRAN WARNS SAUDI ARABIA ON YEMEN OFFENSIVE, inferring that SA is suppor or engaging in NEW STATE TERRORISM which can evens threaten entire ME + Gulf Regions.
[Bangla Daily Star] After over 11 months of his arrest, Abdul Majid has been identified as an Indian national and a senior leader of Kashmir-based militant organisation Hizbul Mujahedin, a front organisation of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, which works in Kashmir. Majid's real name is Yusuf Butt who had been staying in the country for years using fake identity to carry out militant activities.
Yusuf Butt alias Majid was placed on a four-day remand yesterday after he was taken on five days' remand from November 12 in August 21 grenade attack case. Earlier on November 11 a Dhaka court placed Majid on a five-day remand. During the interrogation in August 21 grenade attack case, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) investigators have come to know his real and his links to Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Moulana Tajuddin, brother of detained former BNP deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu, and leaders of banned Harkatul Jihad al Islami (Huji).
Additional ASP Abdul Kahar Akand of CID, also the investigation officer of the grenade attack case, told The Daily Star that Yusuf Butt hails from Terigaon village under Kulgaon Police Station of Islamabad district in Kashmir of Indian part. "Yusuf Butt had been staying in the country using fake name Abdul Majid and carrying out militant activities, supplying arms and grenades from Kashmir to the Bangladeshi militants," the CID investigator said.
Replying to a query Kahar Akand said Yusuf Butt went to Pakistan and India several times from Bangladesh.
CID sources said Yusuf is a close friend of fugitive accused Moulana Tajuddin and they had been collecting grenades and arms from Kashmir. Uttara police arrested Yusuf on January this year in an arms case as a Bangladeshi terrorist and on November 10 he was shown arrested in the grenade attack case following a confessional statement of Huji founder Moulana Sheikh Abdus Salam, also chief of Islamic Democratic Party.
This article starring:
ABDUL MAJID
Hizbul Mujahedin
Abdus Salam Pintu
MULANA SHEIKH ABDUS SALAM
Huji
MULANA TAJUDIN
Lashkar-e-Taiba
YUSUF BUTT
Hizbul Mujahedin
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Harkatul Mujahideen
#1
This guy seems to have as many connections as ACORN senior management.
[Bangla Daily Star] The High Court issued a suo moto rule yesterday asking the government to explain extra-judicial killings within 48 hours.
Home Minister Sahara Khatun however claimed that no such killings are being carried out in the country.
That must be why intra- and inter-gang shoot-outs have suddenly become all the rage in Bangladesh.
"We are not carrying out any crossfire right now. No such incident has taken place since our government assumed office," she told journalists after a special meeting on law and order at the home ministry.
The court in the rule directed the government to show why appropriate actions should not be taken against Rab officials--Major Wahiduzzaman and Lieutenant Hasan and their companions--for the killings of Lutfor Rahman Khalasi and Khairul Haque Khalasi in custody in Madaripur.
The High Court bench of Justice AFM Abdur Rahman and Justice Md Emdadul Haque Azad issued the rule following a newspaper report on the killings.
Besides, the court directed Rab director general to give an explanation in this regard, as heinous activities of extra-judicial killings are carried out in his battalion.
During the court proceedings, Supreme Court Bar Association Chairman advocate AFM Mesbahuddin told the court that any extra-judicial killings should be investigated and the responsible persons should be tried and punished.
Deputy Attorney General Kazi M Ejarul Haque Sagor told The Daily Star that the home secretary, DG of Rab, Major Wahiduzzaman and Lieutenant Hasan have been made respondents to the rule.
The lawyers concerned said the High Court bench issued the rule since a few pending writ petitions challenging the killings in custody had not been disposed of.
Lutfor Rahman and his younger brother Khairul Haque, who were operatives of outlawed Purba Banglar Communist Party, were killed during a "shootout" between their cohorts and Rab in Madaripur sadar upazila Monday morning.
Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) filed a writ petition with the High Court on August 6, 2006, challenging the legality of extra-judicial killings.
The HC issued a rule on the government, police and Rab the same day to explain why they should not be directed to ensure protection of the people held in custody.
But the final hearing of the petition was not held since the government did not reply to the rule, and the High Court bench, which was due to hold the hearing, was reconstituted recently, advocate Mazill Murshid, counsel for HRPB, said yesterday.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Perhaps the RAB could take the High Court along on one of their raids at 3:00 am. There will be no more rules issued after that.
North Korea built about 800 bunkers in the demilitarized zone to keep military equipment between 2004 and 2007, Radio Free Asia said Monday quoting a former North Korean colonel who has worked for a South Korean military intelligence agency after defecting during the 2000s.
"Pyongyang had built at least 800 bunkers including an unknown number of decoys by 2007 to prepare for a possible invasion of South Korea," the ex-colonel claimed. "Each bunker contains military equipment that can fully arm 1,500 to 2,000 soldiers."
Construction began in 2004, the second year of the Roh Moo-hyun administration, which continued the so-called Sunshine Policy of its predecessor.
"If a soldier carried all his military equipment, which weighs 32 kg, and came to the DMZ in full gear, he would already be exhausted before reaching the South," the defector said. "So they built bunkers at the DMZ and put all their operations equipment there. In the bunkers, there are South Korean military uniforms and name tags, so that they can disguise themselves as South Korean troops. Also reserved are... 60-mm mortar shells, condensed high explosives, and all sorts of ammunition."
He claimed "70 percent" of the roughly 800 bunkers are fakes or decoys to confuse the South. But the semi-underground bunkers are not linked to a series of underground passages built in the past to attack South Korea, he added.
"Despite Seoul's appeasement policy, or whatever the South does toward the North, Pyongyang hasn't given up its aim of unifying the Korean Peninsula by military force. They are sticking to this principle and teaching North Koreans about it," he said.
The defector is scheduled to testify at a closed-door session of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
ION WMF > CHINESE NAVY'S TOP-LEVEL DISCLOSURE: DEEP-RUNNING INTELLIGENT TORPEDO IS ALMOST CERTAIN. The {smart] SON = GRANDSON OF RUSSIA'S HYPER-VELOCITY, SUPER-CAVITATING "SKVAL" TORP???
* SAME > "MANILA STANDARD" PHILIPPINE MEDIA: CHINA TO BUILD THE WORLD'S LARGEST LITTORAL COMBAT FLEET [not just ASIA'S]. CATAMARAN, TRIMARAN "THREE HULL/BODY" DESIGNS.
#2
This doesn't make much sense to me. That's a lot of equipment to be sitting around unused in bunkers (do the Norks have that much extra equipment?). Besides, if the soldiers are unequiped before reaching the bunkers that would mean that they are also unequiped in case of being attacked. Either this isn't the whole story or this guy is spinning a yarn.
#3
One might indeed have depots of equipment that you marry up to the soldiers. Other militaries do that in different ways. Heck, we have a National Guard depot nearby; it's not like the soldiers keep their Hummvees at home.
But someone has to maintain the depots, rotate the equipment, etc.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/18/2009 9:36 Comments ||
Top||
#4
TOPIX > CHINA, NORTH KOREA TO BOOST MILITARY TIES.
versus
WMF > INDIAN DEFENSE MINSTER: INDIA WILL DEVELOP CAPACITY FOR POTENT ASYMETRIC WARFARE AGZ CHINA { + likely PAK]. INDIA'S ARMED FORCES TO MATCH THOSE OF ADVANCED NATIONS; +
SAME WMF > VIETNAM DESIRES TO JOIN WORLD'S "NUCLEAR CLUB": CONSTRUX TO BEGIN ON TWO NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS [despite any local ENVIRON
STRESSES e.g. WATER DIVERSION, LOSS OF ARABLE FARMLAND, COAL MINING] IMO read, VIETNAM SHOULD DEPEND ON CHINA FOR ITS NUCENERGY NEEDS.
[Kyodo: Korea] South Korean President Lee Myung Bak called for an ""iron-tight"" defense of its territory Monday, following a naval clash near the western sea border with North Korea last week. ""An iron-tight defense posture on the border line, western and eastern Northern Limit Line, and airspace, should be maintained,"" Lee said in a letter sent to the Korea Defense Daily on the 45th anniversary of the state-run daily"s founding.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
TOPIX > [NOKOR Defector] NORTH KOREA PLANNED TO ATTACK SOUTH KOREA DESPITE "SUNSHINE POLICY". Defector claims NOKOR covertly built 800 new bunkers along the Korean DMZ, each one wid enuff arms + supplies for 2000 DPRK troops, whilst many others along DMZ are fakes meant to throw off = confuse US-SOKOR mil planners during a war.
* SAME > KOREA MUST BE READY FOR THE NEW WORLD ORDER.
* SAME > JAPAN: US SHOULD CONSIDER MOVING OKINAWA MARINES TO KADENA.
"We asked him pointedly, 'Nidal, do you consider Shari'a law to transcend the Constitution of the United States?' And he said, 'Yes,' " a classmate told TIME on Monday. "We asked him if homicidal bombers were rewarded for their acts with 72 virgins in heaven and he responded, 'I've done the research -- yes.' Those are comments he made in front of the class." But such statements apparently didn't trigger an inquiry. "I was astounded and went to multiple faculty and asked why he was even in the Army," the officer said. "Political correctness squelched any opportunity to confront him."
While military officials have warned against prejudging the case before the investigation is concluded, President Obama said on Nov. 14 that "if there was a failure to take appropriate action before the shootings, there must be accountability." Investigators have asked at least one classmate why he didn't file a formal complaint if he was upset by Hasan's comments. "I said, 'Sir, why should I have to when the faculty heard all of these things firsthand?' " the classmate says. "We shouldn't have had to say anything because these were all classroom assignments." Army and medical-school officials declined to comment on the allegations, citing the probe into the killings.
And then there were concerns raised by the political beliefs that Hasan espoused. "He wore his rigid Islam ideology on his sleeve and weaved it throughout his coursework," says the third classmate. "He would be standing there in uniform pledging allegiance to the Koran."
The third classmate says he witnessed at least three oral presentations by Hasan over the course of a year that focused on the morality of Muslims, war and justification for suicide bombers. "People were giving presentations on air quality or water quality, but he'd be full of psychobabble about how the persecution of Muslims justifies suicide bombers," the officer says. After a while, Hasan's classmates "would just roll our eyes saying, 'Here we go again.' " So the answer to the question posed in the title is: "YES!".
Americans who are troubled by the decision to send alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to New York for trial will feel better about it when heĀs put to death, President Barack Obama said Wednesday.
During a round of network television interviews conducted during ObamaĀs visit to China, the president was asked about those who find it offensive that Mohammed will receive all the rights normally accorded to U.S. citizens when they are charged with a crime.
ĀI don't think it will be offensive at all when he's convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him,Ā Obama told NBCĀs Chuck Todd.
When Todd asked Obama if he was interfering in the trial process by declaring that Mohammed will be executed, Obama, a former constitutional law professor, insisted that he wasnĀt trying to dictate the result.
ĀWhat I said was, people will not be offended if that's the outcome. I'm not pre-judging, I'm not going to be in that courtroom, that's the job of prosecutors, the judge and the jury,Ā Obama said. ĀWhat I'm absolutely clear about is that I have complete confidence in the American people and our legal traditions and the prosecutors, the tough prosecutors from New York who specialize in terrorism.Ā
In another interview, Obama said he had not tried to tell Attorney General Eric Holder whether the case involving KSM and four other alleged 9/11 plotters should be heard in federal court or before a military tribunal.
ĀI said to the attorney general, make a decision based on the law,Ā the president told CNNĀs Ed Henry. ĀWe have set up now a military commission system that is greatly reformed and so we can try terrorists in the forum. But I also have great confidence in our Article 3 courts, the courts that have tried hundreds of terrorist suspects who are imprisoned right now in the United States.Ā
Obama also suggested that critics of the decision are unwisely building the alleged Al Qaeda operatives into larger-than-life figures who require the U.S. to abandon its usual legal processes. ĀI think this notion that somehow we have to be fearful, that these terrorists are Āpossess some special powers that prevent us from presenting evidence against them, locking them up and, you know, exacting swift justice, I think that has been a fundamental mistake,Ā the president declared.
These comments are dangerous, ignorant and stupid in equal measure.
What's the point of a judicial system: to dispense justice according to the law.
In any just system, the outcome of a trial is not pre-ordained. If it is, the system is not just.
So either Bambi is truly ignorant of how our system works, or he's cynical in that he knows the case against KSM is so air-tight that the outcome might as well be pre-ordained (could be), or he's both cynical and conniving and plans to use this to weaken our own legal system.
Which he's already done by moving KSM to the civilian side.
U.S. military tribunals have a long and honorable tradition. These are part of our system of justice, and just as on the civilian side, the outcomes are not pre-ordained -- just ask the lawyers, judge advocates, etc who work on them. What the tribunals had until the liberal-progressive succeeded in gutting and neutering them was precedent.
Yes, precedent, from the Civil War up to recently, tribunals had the experience to understand who was an enemy combatant. Who was legitimately a PoW. What was a war crime. How a solider was to behave in the field. What the responsibilities of an officer were. What the Geneva conventions are and how those are applied. The system wasn't perfect, no system is, but it was honorable.
And just.
Now it's been tossed aside. It was designed to handle not just military law but also the very important issue of who was under its jurisdiction. The German saboteurs who came ashore on Long Island in '42? Military. Civil war southern sympathizers who blew up Union train tracks? Military. Guerillas who murdered civilians? Military.
A military tribunal would have tried KSM properly using its accumulated law and experience. It might have had some procedural issues to resolve, but it would have resolved them. And being in Guantanamo, it would have done so out of the limelight.
All gone now.
Does a federal district court judge have the experience and knowledge base to handle KSM? Does that judge understand the rules of war, the laws of war, the Geneva conventions, and the legal issues surrounding terrorism? Maybe.
But more likely not. After all, we've had some experience with such judges in the last few years as the progressive Left has tried to wreck the tribunal system. We've had a few trials on the civilian side already. The record of those judges isn't encouraging.
Maybe a federal court judge could cut through all the nonsense. Maybe a strong federal judge would prevent the trial from being a circus.
But look at the Lynne Stewart types in this world and ask yourself, how exactly will a judge control that? You mean, like last time?
It will be a farce. It will force the government to reveal information that shouldn't be revealed. It will put our government, particularly our previous administration, on trial instead of KSM.
And if the trial becomes farce and KSM is convicted, then the world will sense that it was, after all, pre-ordained.
What happens to the respect accorded to our judicial system then?
#2
Its a good thing that since the war on terror is now the prosecution for initiators of man made disasters that there is lawyer in the White House, a constitutional lawyer at that, because if lawfare is going to be the new course than it just makes sense...wait what'd he say? Dammit.
#4
I am not a lawyer, but I've watched a lot of TV shows about courts, and I read overlawyered.com.
Seems to me that a good defense lawyer could get the whole case thrown out on Obama's statements alone. How can a jury render an impartial decision when the President of the United States has said that KSM is guilty, and that he will be executed! Talk about influencing the jury pool!
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
11/18/2009 17:20 Comments ||
Top||
#5
And, because someone has to say it: Just imagine if Bush had done that.
#6
Its not law enforcement, this is a military matter. Damned scumbag lawyers Obama and Holder.
There go our civil liberties, destroyed by the precedents this case will set by forcing military tribunal techniques into the criminal courts.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed pleaded guilty eleven months ago and asked for the death penalty at his tribunal.
Why did they not accept it and get it over with? What is Obama doing, why did he block that and why is he going with the most stupid and dragged out way he could have done this?
#7
If the President of the United States, formally the most powerful man in the world, declares that "New York will feel better about it when heĀs put to death" how can KSM possibly get a fair trial in New York City, much less anywhere in the world?
Else, what is the point of the trial?
Posted by: Kelly ||
11/18/2009 19:47 Comments ||
Top||
#8
What is Obama doing, why did he block that and why is he going with the most stupid and dragged out way he could have done this?
BEIJING -- President Obama directly acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay will not close by the January deadline he set, but he said he hoped to still achieve that goal sometime next year.
Obama refused, however, to set a new deadline.
So he can be educated ...
In an interview in the Chinese capital with Major Garrett of Fox News, Obama said he was "not disappointed" that the Guantanamo deadline had slipped, saying he "knew this was going to be hard."
"People, I think understandably, are fearful after a lot of years where they were told that Guantanamo was critical to keep terrorists out," Obama said. Closing the facility, he added, is "also just technically hard."
Obama came to office pledging to shut a detainee facility that had become a symbol for prisoner abuse at the hands of American officials. He signed orders to shut the military prison by January 2010, but White House officials quickly encountered resistance from members of Congress opposed to moving prisoners to U.S. soil and from other countries they had hoped would accept detainees.
There was also a tangle of legal issues involving what to do with suspected terrorists who had been tortured in prison in a way that jeopardized the integrity of the evidence against them, or who for other reasons could not stand trial.
Last week, the administration announced that it will try five Guantanamo prisoners -- including Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-declared mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks -- in federal court in New York. The fate of dozens of other detainees remains in limbo.
Guantanamo is a sensitive subject in China, where Obama conducted the television interview shortly before wrapping up a two-day visit. The United States has refused to release some ethnic minorities, known as Uighurs, back to Chinese officials for fear that they will be tortured. Several Uighurs who had been detained at Guantanamo have been sent instead to Bermuda and Palau after being cleared as non-combatants.
Yeah, I'll bet that part of the meeting with Hu was a little tense ...
Despite the slow trickle of prisoners out of the facility, Obama insisted in the interview that the facility will be shuttered eventually.
"We are on a path and a process where I would anticipate that Guantanamo will be closed next year," he said. "I'm not going to set an exact date because a lot of this is also going to depend on cooperation from Congress."
Can he fit the whole Congress under the bus?
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/18/2009 13:01 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
The Taliban hit back on Wednesday at claims that towns in their mountain bastion have fallen to Pakistan army control, vowing their guerrilla war would defeat troops waging a major assault. Tis but a flesh wound.
The United States has welcomed Pakistan's offensive, which threw 30,000 troops into battle on October 17 on a mission to crush the network blamed for some of the country's deadliest recent bomb attacks.
"We have not been defeated. We have voluntarily withdrawn into the mountains under a strategy that will trap the Pakistan army in the area," Wait til the Mighty Pak Winter!
Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq told journalists taken blindfold to a mountain top. Say Makmoud, you're not using that jacket, are you?
Posted by: ed ||
11/18/2009 14:19 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Instead of ammo they will be smuggling in long handles, gloves and thick socks.
#2
Wehell, OTOH PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUMS > RETIRED GENERAL MIRZA BEG: US HELICOPTERS FLEW HAKIMULLAH [aka HAKEEMULLAH?], TTP LEADERS SAFELY INTO AFGHANISTAN. GEN BEG also claims that the USA is backing MILTERR fighting their own ally the PAK Army in Waziristan]???
The pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan have proven they are pursing an anti-Islam policy through targeting mosques and civilians, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik says.
Malik said on Monday that those who target houses of worship cannot be pardoned.
"The nation now sees the real cruel face of the Taliban," a Press TV correspondent quoted Malik as telling state TV.
The Taliban, who have been continuously killing innocent civilians, cannot escape the wrath of Almighty God, he stated.
Realizing that they are defeated, the pro-Taliban militants have stepped up their terrorist activities just to terrorize innocent people, Malik added.
On Monday, a suicide bomber blew up a car packed with explosives near a college in Peshawar, killing four people and injuring 26 others. It was the fifth suicide attack in eight days.
The bomber struck a suburban road as children were going to school in the sprawling city of 2.5 million people, devastating a mosque, destroying two rooms at a boys' college, and bringing down one wall of a police station, witnesses said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
[Dawn] Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Tuesday said a handful of foreign elements were trying to disrupt peace in the country and the government would control them with an iron hand.
Addressing a tribal jirga of the Mehsud tribes from Waziristan at the Ratta Kalachi camp set up by the government, Gilani said foreign militants of Arabs, Uzbek, Afghan and Chechen origin were operating in the country and were involved in terrorist activities.
He said the operation 'Rah-i-Nijaat' was launched by the Pakistan Army against the anti-state elements who were involved in terrorist activities, killing of the innocent and destruction of private and public property.
Gilani categorically stated that the Mehsud tribes were patriotic Pakistanis and had nothing to do with the handful of terrorists who had taken refuge in their area. He lauded the role of the tribal people in the creation of Pakistan and said the nation can never forget it.
Accompanied by Governor NWFP Owais Ghani, Minister for Information Qamar Zaman Kaira, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan, Minister of State for Finance Hina Rabbani Khar and Farzana Raja, Gilani was on a day-long visit to personally see the facilities being provided to the people.
Prime Minister said Rs 24 billion were earmarked for reconstruction and rehabilitation work as part of the exit strategy and the first instalment of Rs six billion was already paid to the provincial government.
He said Rs 5000 were being paid to each displaced family while the displaced of Waziristan agency will also be provided Rs 25,000 per family during the rehabilitation phase like the Malakand and Swat affected.
He said it was vital that development work is undertaken in the tribal areas and promised to build dams and educational institutions so that they do not feel any sort of deprivation.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said a military operation was no solution and the government under the exit strategy will take measures to fill the administrative, economic, socio-political and cultural vacuum.
He said students belonging to the Mehsud tribe will be given admission in all schools on priority basis, so that they can play an important role in the country's progress and development.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Graft watchdog Transparency International hit out at rich countries over shady banking practices on Tuesday as it published its annual rankings naming and shaming the world's most corrupt countries.
'Corrupt money must not find safe haven. It is time to put an end to excuses,' said the Berlin-based group's head Huguette Labelle.
'Even industrialised countries cannot be complacent: the supply of bribery and the facilitation of corruption often involve businesses based in their countries,' the report said.
In the wake of the financial crisis, the Group of 20 (G20) industrialised countries turned up the heat on tax havens, targeting rich countries with long-held banking secrecy laws like Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
But Labelle said extra efforts were imperative, calling for more bilateral treaties on information exchange in order to 'to fully end the secrecy regime.'
Overall, the 2009 corruption list is 'of great concern,' the organisation said, with the majority of countries scoring under five in the ranking, which ranges from zero, highly corrupt and 10, which is very clean.
With a score of 2.7, Pakistan was ranked 139 out of the 180 countries on the list, a position it shares with fellow South Asian nation Bangladesh, the SE Asian country Philippines and the Baltic state of Belarus.
The bottom five nations -- Somalia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan and Iraq -- show that 'countries which are perceived as the most corrupt are also those plagued by long-standing conflicts, which have torn apart their governance infrastructure,' TI said.
The five countries seen as least afflicted by corruption were New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden -- and Switzerland.
New Zealand scored 9.4 points whereas Somalia scored 1.0 points.
The score is based on perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have threatened the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) and Chaklala Cantonment Board the (CCB) of contaminating water sources and reservoirs with poisonous material with the aim of pressurizing the Army to stop military operation in Waziristan.
Official sources told The News that a letter threatening to contaminate water was faxed to the Directorate of Military Lands and Cantonments (ML&C) here on Tuesday. The letter states that the TTP has procured 200 litres of poisonous material that would be used to contaminate water sources and reservoirs in the wards falling under RCB and CCB limits. However, the TTP in its letter has not intimated the time frame i.e. time and date of implementing the threat. Through the letter, the RCB and CCB officials (as well as obviously the government) have been threatened to stop the military operation in South Waziristan, sources claimed.
The CEO of RCB and CCB have confirmed the report. Rafiq Adil Siddique, CEO of RCB, showed a photo copy of the letter sent to him by Directorate ML&C which stated that effective security measures have been taken immediately after that. All the six wards have been divided into four zones headed by concerned engineers, supervisors, directors, tube-well operators and valve men. The tube-well operators and valve men have been issued special instructions to keep the doors of their offices closed and boundary walls of the tube-well sections are being raised.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
Iraq's Sunni Arab vice president vetoed part of a key election law Wednesday, a move that could delay national polls slated for January even as the top U.S. commander in Iraq said the timetable for American troop drawdown is on track.
The veto, slammed by Iraq's Shiite prime minister as a threat to democracy, will most likely delay the vote since parliament must now discuss Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi's demands and take a vote on them, a process that could take days or even weeks given the legislature's fractious nature and its track record.
Already, the country's election commission said it has suspended preparations for the vote.
A further complication arose Tuesday when Kurdish leaders threatened to boycott the election unless the three northern provinces they control are given more seats in the next, 223-seat parliament.
Al-Hashemi has sent part of the law back to parliament to be amended so that more seats will be allocated for Iraqis living abroad, most of whom are Sunni Arabs.
Al-Hashemi said all other provisions in the law are satisfactory, and stressed that only the part related to the number of seats for voters abroad will be open for discussion.
Posted by: ed ||
11/18/2009 14:12 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
[Asharq al-Aswat] A Baghdad police lieutenant kidnapped his wealthy neighbour's 10-year-old son, killed him and then sought 160,000 dollars before being snared when his phone calls were traced, police said on Tuesday.
The crime occurred in Mahawil, a town 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of Baghdad, in Babil province.
"We have arrested him and he has confessed to the crime," a police official in Hilla, the provincial capital, told AFP.
The killer, named as Lieutenant Haidar Atlas, worked in Baghdad but decided to snatch the son of Khudair Abdul Zahra, a food trader and neighbour in Mahawil, his home town.
"We caught him on Monday, the corpse was discovered and he has confessed to the crime," the official said, asking not to be named.
Atlas was discovered after calls from his mobile telephone to demand ransom money were traced back to him by investigators.
"He asked for 160,000 dollars but he had killed and buried the child immediately after the kidnap," the police official added.
The kidnapping of children has been on the rise in Iraq in recent months, most notably in the oil-rich city and province of Kirkuk, where criminal gangs have targeted wealthy families.
"Since September, the kidnapping of children has increased," Kirkuk's deputy police chief General Turhan Yussef said on Wednesday, noting "at least 10 cases" were known about but he suspected many more.
"Two were freed by our forces, one child was released after payment of a ransom, three others were after direct negotiations between the parents and the abductors and four, including two girls, are still being held," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
[Al Arabiya Latest] Israel approved the construction of 900 new housing units in the occupied east Jerusalem on Tuesday in defiance of calls by the United States to freeze the project as the Palestinian leadership said it was headed to the United Nations to gain state recognition.
Earlier today press reported that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was adamant on building illegal settlements in the occupied land in east Jerusalem, which Palestinians hope to make the capital of a future state.
U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell had recently asked the hawkish premier to halt the project in Gilo, saying it risks raising tensions with Palestinians amid floundering efforts by Washington to restart peace negotiations, it said.
" I would hope that we would be in a position to recognize a Palestinian state but there has to be one first, so I think it is somewhat premature "
Swedish FM
But Netanyahu refused, saying that the project did not require government approval and that Gilo was "an integral part of Jerusalem," it said.
Asked to comment on the report, a senior Israeli official would say only that Netanyahu "is ready to show the maximum restraint when it comes to construction in Judeaea and Samaria (West Bank) to help restart (peace) negotiations, but this policy does not apply in Jerusalem, our capital."
No comment was immediately available from the U.S. side.
Gilo lies in the mostly Arab east Jerusalem that Israel captured along with the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed in an illegal move not recognized by the international community.
Israel is defiant and promotes the idea that both halves of the Holy City are its "eternal, indivisible" capital. The Palestinians want to make the eastern part of the city the capital of their promised state.
Also on Tuesday the European Union's Swedish presidency said that it was "premature" to recognize a Palestinian state, which the Palestinians are taking as their next step due to repeated stalled peace talks.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, told reporters in Brussels: "I don't think we are there yet."
"I would hope that we would be in a position to recognize a Palestinian state but there has to be one first, so I think it is somewhat premature," he said, before chairing talks with his EU counterparts.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Occupied Jerusalem. Problem solved. To the Endlosung minded Pals - EVERYTHING piece of land in Israel is "occupied". End of preaching to the choir...
#2
Obama told Fox News in an interview that additional settlement building does not make Israel safer. He said such moves make it harder to achieve peace in the region, and embitters the Palestinians in a way that he said could be very dangerous. LINK to FULL STORY
[Ma'an] UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for Israel to end the blockade of Gaza, cease evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes and ensure the rights of children, adding that all allegations of torture and ill-treatment must be promptly investigated and perpetrators prosecuted, in his annual report released on Monday.
"In particular, the Government of Israel should allow unimpeded access to Gaza for humanitarian aid and the non-humanitarian goods needed for the reconstruction of properties and infrastructure," Mr Ban asserted in his report delivered to the UN General Assembly.
"Israel should also address effectively and immediately the water, sanitation and environmental crisis in Gaza," he stressed, citing the devastating damage stemming from Israel's military action against Hamas last winter and its blockade of many materials other than foodstuffs, medical supplies, stationery and some industrial or electrical appliances.
"Those heavy import restrictions, coupled with a near total prohibition on exports, have had a devastating effect on the Gaza economy. The blockade has also severely impaired the realization of a wide range of economic, social and cultural rights, as well as civil and political rights."
In reference to a documented case by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights nu the of ill-treatment of children, in which a 14 year old boy from Qatanna was arrested by soldiers in March for throwing stones at an army vehicle, Mr Ban emphasized that all allegations should be investigated by "credible, independent and transparent accountability mechanisms."
"Equally crucial is upholding the right of victims to reparation," Mr Ban added, reiterating that Israel's apartheid wall built on security premises should be dismantled in accordance with the advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice.
The UN Secretary General further highlighted the plight of Palestinians in Jerusalem in the face of numerous evictions and demolition notices, asserting that Israel should permit viable zoning plans and a less arduous process for issuing building permits in East Jerusalem and the West Bank stating that, "Until such time, the evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes should cease." Mr Ban added that, "Victims of forced evictions should also be afforded the possibility of effective redress. Punitive demolitions should cease immediately."
Between January and July 2009, a minimum of 194 Palestinians were forcibly displaced as a result of Israel's demolition program. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced in August of 1,500 impending house demolition orders in East Jerusalem, a figure it terms "conservative." OCHA added that certain areas face the prospect of mass demolition.
The UN further estimates that 90 houses in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem are threatened with demolition, which would lead to the likely displacement of about 1,000 people. In Sheik Jarrah, an area in central East Jerusalem, 475 residents could face potential eviction as the ownership of their homes is contested by Israeli settlers, following numerous legal actions that are deemed illegal under international law.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Ban Ki-Moon must hang out at bus stops on the Israeli side of the checkpoint for a while before he starts shooting off his mouth like this.
#4
Wonder what he thinks about rocketing civilians, deliberately detonating bombs in shopping centers, shooting Jewish children, the weapons smuggling tunnels from Egypt... Guys like Ban Ki Moon are a joke. The "Palestinians" have a homeland, Jordan.
[Ma'an] De facto Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Tuesday that the Gaza Strip "is part of the bigger Palestinian homeland, and not an independent entity," during a meeting held with a delegation of Egyptian businessmen in in Gaza City
Haniyeh welcomed his Egyptian guests and applauded their efforts to help the Palestinian people face challenges. He asserted that his government provided all the required assistance for companies to invest in the Gaza Strip, adding that the government does not intervene or impede the private sector's activities.
"We need support from all our brothers because the Gaza Strip humanly, morally, and politically relies on our Arab brothers in Egypt," Haniyeh said. Haniyeh also noted that he "hopes Egyptian efforts will achieve reconciliation."
The Gaza government's Minister of Economy Ziad Thatha attended the meeting along with Dr Muhammad Awad, secretary-general of the de facto government cabinet, Dr Faris Abu Mu'ammar, head of lands department, and Dr Hasan Abu Hashish, director of the de facto government's media office.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Ciudad Juarez is part of Mexico - but nobody really wants its problems. Same with Gaza.
Mahmoud Abbas's term as Palestinian president will be extended by the supreme body of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) when it meets in December, senior PLO officials said on Tuesday.
Abbas, the Western-backed leader committed to negotiating peace with Israel, will stay in office, they said.
Though Abbas has said he does not want to run again for the presidency, several members of the PLO Central Council interviewed by Reuters said the body would effectively extend his tenure to avoid a vacuum when it expires on January 25.
Following his November 5 announcement that he did not want to stand again for the presidency in elections he had called for January 24, the PLO urged Abbas to stay on.
However the debate over his candidacy was rendered largely irrelevant last week when the independent election commission advised him to postpone the vote. Cancellation of the election is now seen as a mere formality.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
Should be good for this year's brushoff and another bomb.
Iran's foreign minister on Wednesday said his country would not export its enriched uranium for further processing, effectively rejecting the latest U.N. plan aimed at preventing Tehran from building nuclear weapons.
Instead Manochehr Mottaki said Iran would consider a nuclear swap inside Iran as an alternative plan.
What on earth does that mean?
Posted by: ed ||
11/18/2009 14:05 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Versus TOPIX/WORLD NEWS/OTHER > IRAN SETS CONDITIONS FOR URANIUM/NUCLEAR DEAL WITH UN.
[Al Arabiya Latest] The United States and China agreed that Iran faced "consequences" if it resisted greater openness on its nuclear program, U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday after talks with China's Hu Jintao in Beijing.
Obama told reporters in a joint address to reporters that he and Hu "agreed that the Islamic Republic of Iran must provide assurances to the international community that its nuclear program is peaceful and transparent."
"On this point our two nations and (other global powers) are unified. Iran has an opportunity to present and demonstrate its peaceful intentions, but if it fails to take this opportunity, there will be consequences," Obama said.
China and the United States are among six world powers seeking a negotiated end to Iran's nuclear programs.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
Rolled by Putin.
Rolled by Ahmadinejad.
Rolled by Brown and the Scots leadership.
Rolled by King Fahd.
Rolled by Gen. McChrystal.
Rolled by Pelosi & Co.
Rolled by Government Sachs.
Posted by: Kelly ||
11/18/2009 20:08 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Lest we fergit, and I'm sure ISRAEL hasn't, TOPIX/WORLD NEWS > VARIOUS > IRAN WILL HAVE ENOUGH URANIUM FOR ONE NUCLEAR BOMB IN 2011.
ARTIC = Iran's alleged plans for low-level, NUCNEREGY-ONLY E-U stockpiles at its BUSHESHR Nucplant may not be enuff for Iran to possess a large or huge E-U stockpile after first 90 years at Busheshr, BUT WILL BE ENUFF = "SUFFICIENT" FOR IRAN TO PRODUCE ONE URANIUM BOMB AT RATE OF ONCE A YEAR [IOW, 90-yarn Nucycle = minima 90 uranium bombs for Iran after 90 yarns or come Year 2100-2110]. FIRST URAN BOMB can be as early as Year 2011???
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 foreign secretary of the United Kingdom says a future political solution for Afghanistan will include senior Taliban commanders in government.
[Bangla Daily Star] After over 11 months of his arrest, 
"We asked him pointedly, 'Nidal, do you consider Shari'a law to transcend the Constitution of the United States?' And he said, 'Yes,' " a classmate told TIME on Monday. "We asked him if homicidal bombers were rewarded for their acts with 72 virgins in heaven and he responded, 'I've done the research -- yes.' Those are comments he made in front of the class." But such statements apparently didn't trigger an inquiry. "I was astounded and went to multiple faculty and asked why he was even in the Army," the officer said. "Political correctness squelched any opportunity to confront him."
