The controversial brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai is ready to "stand out of the way" and play a less important role in Kandahar province, a top NATO commander said on Wednesday.
British Major General Nicholas Carter told reporters that Ahmed Wali Karzai, chairman of Kandahar's provincial legislative council who is widely accused of corruption, plans to gradually cede power to the governor of the province.
Posted by: ed ||
05/26/2010 14:34 ||
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[Quqnoos] The number of US forces in Afghanistan overlaps those in Iraq for the first time since the US-led invasion in Iraq in 2003, officials say
New Pentagon figures show there are currently around 94,000 troops in Afghanistan compared to 92,000 in Iraq.
President Barack Obama has pledged to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq by the end of August. Up to 50,000 are expected to remain there until the end of 2011 to help train and equip Iraqi forces.
In December, Mr Obama announced he was sending an additional 30,000 troops to help battle the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. The total number of American troops in the country is expected to reach around 100,000 later this year, while NATO allies contribute another 47,000 soldiers.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
[Maghrebia] New fatwas should follow the spirit of established religious laws, said Maghreb religious scholars and authorities who met in Algeria this week to discuss religion and security.
Participants voiced support for freedom of thought, but said the issue of renegade imams issuing extremist fatwas needed to be addressed.
The "absence of a Maghreb religious marji'ya ... has allowed people to move away from moderation", Algerian Religious Affairs Minister Bouabdellah Ghlamallah said at the two-day event in Sidi Okba, which began on Sunday (May 23rd).
"One of the first signs of disorder in intellectual security is when the people move away from the marji'ya of moderation, with the appearance of religious extremism" that results in intolerance and false interpretation of sharia and Islamic history, Ghlamallah added.
He called for the unification of religious marji'ya to "put an end to the attempts of some foreign parties to take advantage of the vacuum and of young people's minds by exporting flawed fatwas that may destabilise the region".
Algeria's troubles in the 1990s had roots in similar fatwas from foreign sources, added the minister.
Conference participants also encouraged the establishment of a Maghreb institution that would oversee the consultation and co-ordination of religious matters affecting daily life.
"Correcting the ideas and approaches before the use of force is the most effective way to prevent religious extremism and terrorism," said Mohamed Ould Nembaou, an advisor to Mauritania's president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.
Ould Nembaou signalled his support for Algeria's aspiration to unify the religious marji'ya in the Maghreb.
"Algeria has major scientific capabilities in correcting the takfirist approaches through wisdom and dialogue, and through the strong Islamic potential it has," he said.
Algerian professors emphasised their role in preventing the spread of takfirist ideologies among youth.
"There is not a single terrorist who graduated from an Algerian religious school or zawaya," said University of Algiers professor Mohamed Benbrika.
"[O]utreach campaigns carried out by mosques and zawaya, as well as the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, have helped young people avoid developing an interest in takfirist fatwas and have protected [youth] from loss in the midst of terrorist barbarity", he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
"Algeria's troubles in the 1990s had roots in similar fatwas from foreign sources"
Uhm, you might want to grab Sherman, hop in the wayback machine, and look at the causes of the French invasion of Algeria in the 19th century.
Basically it went like this:
Fanatics would enslave and/or murder people, they particularly liked to enslave and murder Christians. France would send a fleet down there, lob some cannon fire into a port, and get an agreement. As soon as the French ships were over the horizon, the Algerians would start up again. After a few iterations of this, the French finally took the primary city and got another agreement. Then they left and the Algerians started business as usual again. Finally France had enough and just took the entire country.
Don't get me started on that idiot in Sudan who proclaimed himself the Mahdi in the 19th century.
[Maghrebia] Algerian citizens held a protest on Monday (May 24th) outside the Baghlia town hall to protest increased terrorism in the Boumerdes region, Liberte reported. The town was also brought to a standstill by a general strike held to demand the release of a young farmer kidnapped in early May.
The protestors denounced the deaths of civilians and soldiers in recent Boumerdes bomb attacks, while a delegation of farmers and property owners from the Baghlia region met with regional authorities to demand better security.
The local APC vice-president told El Khabar that "the population of Baghlia no longer fears the terrorists, and are behind the security authorities in their fight against terrorism".
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa
South Korea's military was tracking four North Korean submarines which disappeared from their east coast base after conducting naval training in the East Sea earlier this week, a military official in Seoul said Wednesday.
Locations of the North's four 300-ton-class submarines have been unknown for two days, the military official said, noting, "We are tracking the four submarines by mobilizing all naval capabilities in the East Sea."
The submarines left the Chaho base located near the Musudan-ri missile launch pad site in North Hamgyong province in North Korea's northeast coast, according to the official.
#3
Locations of the North's four 300-ton-class submarines have been unknown for two days, the military official said, noting, "We are tracking the four submarines by mobilizing all naval capabilities in the East Sea."
So...if they'e disappeared, how are you tracking them?
#5
I think these are Soviet Whiskey class subs. They were built after WW2 until the mid 50's. They look incredibly similar to German Type VII boats.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
05/26/2010 12:30 Comments ||
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#6
"I think these are Soviet Whiskey class subs. They were built after WW2 until the mid 50's. They look incredibly similar to German Type VII boats."
Nyet. The 300 ton Sang-O type is a lot smaller than the Whiskey. It is based on the Yugoslav Heroj class. The Whiskey itself was not based on the Type VII but on the much more advanced Type XXI. They still have 4 of these but the Chinese Ming class, of which they have 22, is their standard ocean-going sub. The Ming, in turn, is a modern variant of the Soviet Romeo class, a follow-on to the Whiskey.
Posted by: ed ||
05/26/2010 13:59 Comments ||
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#8
Instead of a definitive conclusion, I think it would be far better if they went to sea, then just Bermuda Triangle-style disappeared. Land of the Lost, where they are eaten by Sleestaks or something.
#10
sleestak, giant squid, Mk48 ADCAP from a 688, Seawolf or even a one of the new Virginia (Block II) class boats, the USS New Hampshire (Live Free or Die is the ships motto)...
Any of those should do fine.
Posted by: No I am the other Beldar ||
05/26/2010 20:30 Comments ||
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#11
They are used for minelayingand infiltration and have been captured by SKorea before:
Posted by: No I am the other Beldar ||
05/26/2010 20:32 Comments ||
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#12
Posted by: No I am the other Beldar ||
05/26/2010 20:33 Comments ||
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#13
"release the Kraken!"
/Zeus
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2010 20:54 Comments ||
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#14
4 NK subs, disappearing in the 'East sea'/'Sea of Japan'/'Sea of Korea' during a disgusing exercise, isn't that a David Poyer/Dan Lensen scenario with a nuke?
#16
I believe its doubtful that the whereabouts are unknown. Its a diversionary tactic so the South can play the " I didn't know" card as long as possible.
#17
GirlThursday, I disagree. Saying that they are in unknown locations gives everyone the opportunity to express surprise when they don't return to port. The real operation is afoot to make them disappear.
Russia is ready to "closely cooperate" with South Korea over the sinking of the Navy corvette Cheonan in March, President Dmitry Medvedev said in a telephone conversation with his Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday.
Medvedev said he fully understands South Korea's sanctions against North Korea including a motion to the UN Security Council. Lee elaborated the measures in a public address the previous day. He said Moscow is ready to hold close consultations with Seoul.
The Russian president pledged to try to send the right signal to the North, while helping guarantee peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said. Medvedev also thanked the South Korean government for informing Russia in advance of the findings of an international probe of the sinking.
"The Russian president rarely talks with foreign leaders over phone," a Cheong Wa Dae official said. "Moreover, by saying he fully understands' South Korea's sanctions he implied that Russia would favorably consider another round of sanctions against the North by the UNSC."
Lee told Medvedev "anachronistic armed provocation" should not be tolerated in the international community. He promised "ample consultations" with Russia before a motion for sanctions against the North is submitted to the UNSC.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#2
Ok. What I see here is Russia offering support to SK because they sense an opportunity to increase their influence with SK given the weakness of the Obama admin. Geographically, they are close to SK. If Russia could extend their influence down the eastern coast of Asia, at almost zero cost to them, it would be a huge win for them. (I wonder if Moscow will get chummy with Japan?)
Now add in the irritant of the illicit logging camps of NK that must be of some concern to Moscow, something I think of as low level provocation by encroachment.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
05/26/2010 7:49 Comments ||
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#3
And the gradual colonization and control of eastern Russia by Chinese ....
#4
DRUDGEREPORT AM > CHINA MAY SHIELD NORTH KOREA.
PRC + USA + ROK + RUSS/Medvedev , etc. > These may not want a NEW KOREAN WAR, BUT DOES KIMMIE?
Lest we fergit, AGAIN, MSM-NET > recognize DPRK "NUCLEAR/THERMONUCLEAR FUSION" CLAIMS + IRAN-MILITANTS NUCLEARIZATION AS DE FACTO DECISIVE "GAME CHANGER(S)" FOR US-WORLD GEOPOL.
China has urged North Korea to restrain itself over sanctions from South Korea, a senior Chinese official has told South Korean government officials. Beijing reminded Pyongyang that "peace and stability" are vital for the Korean Peninsula after an investigation implicated the North in the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan.
China's special envoy for Korean Peninsula affairs Wu Dawei, who is on a visit to Seoul, met Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and other officials and told them of the warning. A government official said China "reiterated the importance of stability and peace on the Korean Peninsula and delivered the same message to the North," which is frantically rattling the saber.
"The request could be a warning that Beijing may turn its back on Pyongyang if it should launch further provocations," a diplomatic source said.
Wu was quoted as telling Yu that Beijing "seriously reviewed" the findings of the international investigation. But an official added China's position over the sinking is still unclear. "The Chinese government hasn't made its position clear yet over whether it acknowledges the North's wrongdoings or not," he said.
Wu reportedly made no comment about South Korean sanctions against the North and its decision to submit a motion to the UN Security Council. "I got the impression that we'll have to wait a bit longer until China makes its position clear," the official added.
Meanwhile, the chief South Korean nuclear negotiator Wi Sung-lac, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, and Akitaka Saiki, a director-general for Asia at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, meet in Seoul on Wednesday morning to discuss submitting a motion to the UNSC and persuading China to come on side.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
IMO Kimmie recognizes the LT threat to CHINA + CHIN control, influence on the DPRK; + threat to ASIA from ISLAMIST-LED NUCLEAR MILITANCY-TERRORISM.
Iff IRAN gets its Bomb 2010-2012, then why not the DPRK or any other Third-World or Regional State.
AFTER ALL, TOPIX > WILL OBAMA AGENDA MAKE THE US "ONE OF MANY"?
PRO-US-VS-ANTI-US OWG-NWO....
Does KIMMIE = DPRK have the gonads to "PUSH THE ENVELOPE"???
#1
US troops won't be used to stop illegal immigration: US
Photo op.
Holy underwear! Sheriff murdered! Innocent women and children blown to bits! We have to protect our phoney baloney jobs here, gentlemen! We must do something about this immediately! Immediately! Immediately! Harrumph! Harrumph! Harrumph! - Governor William J. Le Petomane
#3
Handing out food and water to America's newest arrivals?
Posted by: ed ||
05/26/2010 22:40 Comments ||
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#4
ION NOT-NECESSARILY-UNRELATED WAFF > [UK ForSec Hague] UK SETS 225 LIMIT ON NUCLEAR WARHEAD STOCKPILE.
ARTIC > ARMS CONTROL ASSOCIATION says US arsenal will be 300 WARHEADS.
IOW, to wit
* Haphazard FED $$$-suppor to allow STTAES to control illegal immigration on their own.
* Even iff Feds did, STATE(S) GOVTS will find ways to divert to other Pol Priorities.
* NO US TROOPS - EVAR???
* US WIL HAVE NO NUKES, OR IN ALTERN NOT-ENUFF-NUKES, TO DETER OR STOP COVERT INTERNATIONAL SUPPOR BY HOSTILE SOVEREIGN POWERS FOR US-BASED ARMED MILITIA, SEPARATIST, + ISLAMIST TERROR, ETC, GROUPS???
[Dawn] A Pakistani student accused of conspiring to aid the Taliban and undergoing training to fight US troops never intended to commit "battlefield Jihad" or help a terrorist group, his attorney told jurors Monday, reports AP. I'll bet he also never intended to get caught.
But a prosecutor said during opening statements in the trial of Adnan Babar Mirza that the student collected money for the Taliban and went through weapons training so he could fight US soldiers in Afghanistan.
Mirza, 33, was one of four men arrested in 2006, accused by authorities of taking part in paramilitary training exercises at camp sites around the Houston area so they could engage in a holy war. He was indicted on nine counts, including conspiracy to help the Taliban and federal charges related to being an illegal immigrant in possession of a firearm.
Prosecutors said Mirza was in the country illegally because he violated his student visa by working.
If convicted, Mirza faces up to 10 years in prison. His trial was to continue through the rest of this week.
Prosecutor Jim McAlister told jurors authorities learned about what Mirza and the other men were doing when one of their friends, James Coates, decided "things were getting out of hand" and became an FBI informant.
"They were training to go overseas and fight in Afghanistan and not for the Americans," McAlister said.
David Adler, Mirza's attorney, denied his client violated his student visa by working and portrayed Mirza as a caring person who collected food for Houston's homeless and promoted Islam and Muslim culture by working with Houston police and through a public access television program. He's a quiet man, ya honor. A quiet man...
Adler told jurors Mirza went on camping trips but denied they involved paramilitary training exercises. He accused Coates of being the one who was militant and promoted violence.
An undercover officer taped conversations with Mirza and the other men in which they allegedly talked about ambushing US soldiers and triggering a bomb with a cell phone, according to court documents. Probably while driving around collecting food for the homeless, I'll bet.
FBI Special Agent John McKinley, the prosecution's first witness, told jurors Mirza can be heard on the taped conversations talking about sending money to support Taliban families. Prosecutors have said Mirza collected about $900 for Taliban fighters and their families. Kinda like "Trick or Treat for UNICEF", except for it's for the Taliban...
But Adler said it's not against the law to send money to the families of Taliban fighters and Mirza collected money for hospitals and other groups but not specifically for the Taliban.
He also said Mirza can be heard in these taped conversations expressing anger about injustices Muslims around the world have experienced, but his client was just expressing emotion and didn't intend to act on it. Yeah, well, you know how they are, ya honor...
The three other men who were arrested have pleaded guilty or been convicted.
Kobie Diallo Williams, a US citizen, was sentenced in August to 4 1/2 years in prison for conspiring to join the Taliban and fight against US forces.
Syed Maaz Shah, a former Pakistani engineering student at the University of Texas at Dallas, was sentenced in 2007 to 6 1/2 years in prison on federal firearms charges.
Shiraz Syed Qazi, also a Pakistani student and Mirza's cousin, received a 10-month prison sentence in 2007 on a firearms charge.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
They never want to fight---they just want to kill.
BAGHDAD - Election authorities in Iraq rejected final appeals on Tuesday against the results of a March parliamentary election, which will now move to the Supreme Court for certification.
Iraq is still without a government more than 11 weeks after the inconclusive March 7 poll, narrowly won by the cross-sectarian Iraqiya alliance led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
An appeals authority within Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) rejected final complaints submitted before Monday's deadline.
The ruling has been certified by the commission and will be sent tomorrow to the Supreme Court,' said IHEC spokesman Qassim al-Aboudi.
Election officials have said they expect the Supreme Court to move quickly, but a government could still be weeks or months away.
Iraqiya, led by secular Shi'ite Allawi and heavily backed by Sunni voters, won the election by a two-seat margin. But the major Shi'ite groups incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law and the Iraqi National Alliance, which has close ties to Shi'ite neighbour Iran have announced plans to unite to form the largest bloc in parliament. They would still be four seats short of a majority.
President Jalal Talabani must call on the new parliament to convene within 15 days of the Supreme Court certifying the results. Members then have 15 days to elect a speaker and 30 days to elect a new president. The new president then has 15 days to ask the largest bloc in parliament to form a government and choose a prime minister.
The last complaints were filed on Sunday by four candidates who had lost their seats in the 325-seat parliament after a recount of votes cast in Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/26/2010 00:00 ||
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NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq: A delegation from the UN Refugees Agency discussed on Tuesday with local officials in Talafar the return of displaced families to their regions.
The UNHCR suggested offering financial incentives to encourage these families to return to their houses, which left them after the spread of violent acts in the district from 2004 until 2008,' head of the Talafar council's displaced people committee, Sadeq Mohammad Ali, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The committee provided the UNHCR with all details regarding the number of the displaced people and their regions and the houses destroyed during the military or terrorist operations,' he added.
Talafar is 60 km northwest of Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa province.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/26/2010 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] The Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, has condemned Israeli threats against a multinational Gaza-bound aid convoy, Freedom Flotilla.
The fleet, consisting of nine vessels from Turkey, Ireland, Britain and Greece, is on its way to break the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip. It carries around 10,000 tons of construction material, medical equipment and school supplies, as well as around 750 activists.
Israeli authorities have vowed to throttle the relief. Israeli media have also warned that the activists were to be put under arrest.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the threats amounted to acts of "state terrorism," the International Middle East Media Center reported on Tuesday.
Tel Aviv has imposed a land, air, and sea blockade on the Gaza Strip since mid-June 2007, when the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas gained control of the territory.
Abu Zuhri said, "The ships carry a humanitarian mission, they want to break this illegal siege and deliver humanitarian supplies."
He welcomed inclusion of Mauritanian, Algerian and Kuwaiti ships in the fleet and said, "The Zionist entity will be held responsible for the lives of the Arab and international activists, and the political and official figures."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2010 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] Top police from ten Southeast Asian countries met in Cambodia on Tuesday to discuss strategies for combating terrorism, arms smuggling, commercial crimes and drug and human trafficking.
Two hundred senior police from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) attended the 30th ASEAN Chiefs of National Police Conference in the capital Phnom Penh.
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng said in remarks to open the conference that cross-border crime had flourished while the world was busy resolving the global financial crisis.
'These activities have seriously affected social stability, resources, the lives of people and law enforcement forces,' Mr Sar Kheng said.
Delegates from China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand as well as Interpol also attended the two-day meeting.
Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. In November they pledged to create a regional immigration database to catch criminals and terrorists going across their borders.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2010 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] ISLAMIC police in Indonesia's Aceh province have been issued with 20,000 long skirts and ordered to cover up women deemed to have broken Muslim dress codes, an official said on Tuesday.
The province on northern Sumatra island has banned Muslim women from wearing figure-hugging clothing such as tight trousers, under Islamic by-laws that have outraged less conservative parts of the mainly Muslim archipelago.
Vice and virtue officers in West Aceh district have been told that from Wednesday they should ask women wearing the wrong clothes to put on the government-issue skirts on the spot. 'Starting tomorrow morning, I will hand over some 20,000 skirts to the sharia police in West Aceh,' West Aceh district chief Ramli Mansur said.
'Female offenders can then immediately change their tight pants to the long, loose skirts if the sharia police catch them.' Mr Mansur said that one day he would have to answer to God about what he did to enforce sharia or Islamic laws, so residents should expect increased vigilance and 'raids' by the morality squad, known as the 'wilayatul hisbah.'
Vice and virtue officers stopped and interrogated 30 women over their clothes as they entered a village in West Aceh on Tuesday. 'What's wrong with the way I'm dressed? What law did I break? Am I a terrorist that I'm being asked to show my identity card?' 40-year-old Fatimah asked officers who stopped her. Her protests fell on deaf ears and she eventually covered her jeans with a skirt she had brought from home. Maybe we'll have to send them the story on how the Saudi chicks handle this?
The 'Islamic police' do not have the power to arrest women for violations of the dress codes but they regularly stop them and demand they change their clothing. The force can however arrest people for other religious offences such as gambling, adultery and drinking alcohol, for which the punishment is caning. Last year the outgoing provincial parliament passed a bill allowing adulterers and homosexuals to be put to death by stoning, but it has not been signed into law by Governor Irwandi Yusuf. Human rights groups say the vice and virtue squad has no legal standing under the country's secular constitution, disproportionately targets women and encourages vigilantism.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
and this is in a country that is held up as a model of moderation and tolerance (at least it used to be that)
Posted by: lord garth ||
05/26/2010 7:56 Comments ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Tuesday the Shiite guerrilla group would attack all military, civilian and commercial ships heading towards Israel's Mediterranean coasts in any future war.
"If you launch a new war on Lebanon, if you blockade our coastline, all military, civilian or commercial ships heading through the Mediterranean to occupied Palestine will be targeted by the Islamic resistance," said Nasrallah in a speech transmitted via video link to thousands of supporters massed in Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs.
"Whether along the northern or southern Israeli shore, we can target ships, bomb them and hit them God willing," he added, speaking on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after a 22-year occupation.
"When the world sees how these ships are destroyed, no one will dare go there (Israel)," he added. "And I am only speaking about the Mediterranean, I haven't reached the Red Sea yet."
Earlier this year Nasrallah threatened to hit Israel's Ben Gurion airport if the Jewish state struck Beirut's international airport in any future conflict.
His speech came against a backdrop of tension in the region following allegations that the Shiite party, which fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006, was stockpiling sophisticated new weapons in anticipation of a new conflict.
No comments on Scuds
Nasrallah said in his hour-long speech that he would not comment on his party's military capacity so as to reserve a "surprise" for Israel in the event of a new conflict.
"The enemy is scared and we will keep him scared," he said, referring to Israel. "But you (the Lebanese) should feel assured because the equation has changed.
"In the next war, we will resist, come out victorious and change the face of the region God willing," he added to applause.
Nasrallah accused Israeli leaders of spreading allegations that Syria was transferring Scud missiles to Hezbollah in order to garner further U.S. financial assistance.
"The whole brouhaha over the Scuds was so that Israel could get $200 or $250 million in aid from the U.S. Congress," he claimed.
"Despite its economic crisis, the U.S. finds money to assist Israel."
Nasrallah's comments come amid a five-day drill in Israel- dubbed "Turning Point 4"- which was launched on Sunday to test the Jewish state's preparedness against possible missile strikes from the Gaza Strip and by Hezbollah in Lebanon.
He said his party stood ready for a new war even though it was not seeking a conflict and added that he would neither confirm nor deny Israel's allegations concerning the Scuds.
"If you are strong, the world respects you and talks to you and takes you into account," he said. "And as such we can impose our conditions."If you are weak, you will be eaten."
His speech also came as Prime Minister Saad Hariri was on his first official visit to the United States, where he met on Monday with President Barack Obama, who raised the issue of illegal arms smuggled into Lebanon.
On Wednesday, Hariri was to address the U.N. Security Council, chaired this month by Lebanon.
Hezbollah, blacklisted as a terrorist organization by Washington, has two ministers in the Lebanese government.
It is the only faction that refused to disarm following the country's 1975-1990 civil war, claiming its arsenal was needed to defend Lebanon against any Israeli aggression.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
I don't know who's a better bullsh!t artist.. Ammadinjehead or the azzmunch known as Nasrallah
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
05/26/2010 0:06 Comments ||
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#2
Between Hezb and the Korean thing it's looking like it'll be a hot June.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
05/26/2010 9:23 Comments ||
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#3
NK subs apparently have some stealth tech to elude detection as four more have departed and disappeared. Maybe we all should be on alert with the fiery spittle of late.
Teams of American special forces have been authorised to conduct spying missions intended to pave the way for a military strike on Iran in case President Obama orders one, US government sources have confirmed.
The military units would penetrate Iranian territory to reconnoitre potential nuclear targets and make contact with friendly dissident groups, according to a secret directive written by General David Petraeus. The document's existence was disclosed for the first time yesterday.
It authorises an expansion in the use of US special forces throughout the Middle East, US officials said. However, it is the possibility of American troops operating covertly inside Iran that has the greatest potential to destabilise regional security.
General Petraeus, the most senior American commander in the Middle East and Central Asia, relied on special forces to ensure the success of the US troop surge in Iraq in 2007. His order to increase the use of Delta Force, Navy Seal and Army Ranger units for intelligence gathering and combat missions could jeopardise US relations with allies in the region while intensifying a long-running turf war between US military intelligence and the CIA.
The seven-page document, seen by The New York Times, remained classified yesterday, though it was written in September. Since then US military specialists working with Yemeni armed forces have killed 6 out of 15 leaders of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The raids followed reports linking the group to the murder of 13 Americans at Fort Hood, Texas, and the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Northwest Airlines jet.
The number of US special operations teams in Afghanistan has also doubled since the Petraeus directive, senior officials have said. Such teams are now believed to account for more than half of all combat operations in the Afghan war zone.
Sending special forces into Iran would be controversial but one of the missions of US Special Operations Command, headed by Admiral Eric Olson, is to conduct reconnaissance in any country deemed to pose a threat. A Pentagon spokesman acknowledged to The Times that individual commanders have authority to conduct intelligence operations as they see fit.
General Petraeus is a member of the Pentagon high command whose tasks include drawing up plans to destroy Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
Such plans are always going to be under serious consideration,' Anthony Cordesman, of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said, because you are dealing with a serious threat'.
#4
The military units would penetrate Iranian territory to reconnoitre potential nuclear targets and make contact with friendly dissident groups, according to a secret directive written by General David Petraeus.
Why would this be leaked to the NYTs? From what I understand BO is not really keeping various Congressional defense groups in the loop. If that is true, then the administration would be the leakers. To what purpose? The Iranians are paranoid enough now and see spies everywhere. Why endanger special ops groups by leaking info. Unless this is propaganda to make them even more nervous. Part of BO strategy (does he have one) to pressure Iran to comply with sanctions? Don't really get it.
#5
Leaks don't have to be part of TOTUS' grand strategy. It could be somebody who wants to show how important he is to his pal at the Times. Or somebody caught with his pants down getting blackmailed. Or somebody from State who doesn't like the Army.
Posted by: James ||
05/26/2010 14:41 Comments ||
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#6
Kick over some desks and find out where this DID come from.
A bikini-wearing blogger with Tea Party ties has placed ads on city buses aimed at outraging Muslims.
"Fatwa on your head? Is your community or family threatening you? Leaving Islam?" read the ads bought by rabble-rouser Pamela Geller and the New York-based Stop the Islamization of America.
They also direct Muslims to a Web site urging them to leave the "falsity of Islam."
Posted by: ed ||
05/26/2010 14:47 ||
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#1
If Pamela Geller ticks off CAIR and the ACLU at the same time she's got to be hitting a nerve.
#2
Pamela Geller is a patriot and wonderful woman. She's been on reporting on the Islamization-of-America before most of us were even aware of it.
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
05/26/2010 20:56 Comments ||
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#3
If Pamela Geller ticks off CAIR and the ACLU
That she does. It's 3000+ lives past time for the people of the USA to go on the offensive against islamic supremacism. Offending those sensitive babies is just a bonus for doing a righteous job.
That said, I was going going to snark this article but didn't have time. While this purports to be a straight news, I found it anything but. The "journalists" couldn't hide their biases and I and didn't know whether to put it in WOT:Politics or Opinion.
Posted by: ed ||
05/26/2010 21:15 Comments ||
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A New York City community board has voted for a plan to build a mosque and cultural centre near Ground Zero. The vote, 29-1 in favour with 10 abstentions, came after hours of contentious public comment.
The board vote, while not necessary for the building's owners to move forward with the project, was seen as key to obtaining residents' support.
On Tuesday night a top Manhattan politician backed the plans, which have angered some conservative activists and families of the victims of the September 11 2001 terror attacks. But standing in front of the ragged building at the centre of the proposal, Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer, who has been the target of disparaging remarks by Tea Party Express chairman Mark Williams for supporting the plans, defended his position and condemned offensive speech directed at him or Muslims. "What I want people to do is to take a look at the totality of what they are proposing," Mr Stringer said. "What we're rejecting here is outright bigotry and hatred."
And what we're exhibiting is outright cluelessness.
Mr Stringer made his remarks outside the Park Place building, a former department store that was damaged by debris in the September 11 attacks.
The American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative, the organisations sponsoring the project, say they are trying to meet a growing need for prayer space in Lower Manhattan as well as provide a venue for the dissemination of mainstream Islam, to counter extremism.
#1
What we're rejecting here is outright bigotry and hatred."
Outright muslim bigotry and hatred are what caused 9-11. Building a mosque on the ruins begs a tacit approval of their actions. Nay, a reward. It reeks of the same actions by muslims of razing temples and synogogues to build mosques.
There are lots of spaces in lower Manhattan that would be suitable for a mosque. Claiming Ground Zero, in particular, as their own is chilling. Bin Laden can be heard gloating from his cave.
#2
Just thinking didn't one of these militant groups say that once land was taken by conquest it's Islamic land till the judgement day. So might these groups claim ground zero to be Islamic land?
#3
Should have to show where the property tax and mercantile revenue is going to be made up from [besides thin air*] to cover the loss of the building's transfer from commercial to religious designation. Call it Economic Ecology.
*Socialism is largely populated by Economic Creationists which believe value and revenue are magically created out of thin air.
#4
One day the wheels of phony feel-good liberal tolerance, PC, guilt, or whatever drives these leftist moonbats are going to come off. It may be when a nuclear weapon is detonated in Manhattan, or another islam-inspired mass casualty event occurs. I predict that when the wheels come off, we will go primitive and it won't be very pretty.
#5
So in simple terms OBL dream is now a reality. He bombed the WTC twice in an effort to bring it down and build a Mosque in its place. Well done OBL, well done. When they do their grand opening he will be there. Why not?
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
05/26/2010 9:10 Comments ||
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#6
Yeah, and OBL will most likely be given the Nobel Peace Prize when he shows up.
#9
I predict that when the wheels come off, we will go primitive and it won't be very pretty.
I predict the bloodbath / backlash will happen in Europe far before it happens here. Americans really are fairly tolerant whereas Europeans just like to think they are.
#11
Uh - dunno, AzCat. Europeans are natives in Europe, but people of European descent in America are invaders/colonisers/settlers, depending on your point of view.
Discrimination is indeed a part of our mindset, as with most nations, but it is more of a discernment heuristic than a hardwired prejudice; our tribal rivalries are not as deep as made out here; I love to hate the French, but have many French friends & am getting married over there in a few months.
Pre-BHO, the most frequently touted accusation of Europeans on R.B. was of being submissive Dhimmis. Post-BHO, we are suddenly an angry mob, held back only by archaic structures of decadent political elites.
We cant be both, but we can be neither.
Anyway - I thought all this spitting on us from US conservatives would stop when Barack got in the White House. Why hasnt it? You have it worse than us now, surely?
#13
Human beings (except for the few still living in the original homeland of the human race, wherever that is) are ALL invaders/colonisers/settlers. Various political groups put various spins on that fact to suit their agendas.
#14
I think it was Hugh Hewitt or Lilicks who said we have become a "mincing leviathan", so constrained by PC that we are pathetic in our inability to execise legitimate power or authority. Since the Clinton era PC has hobbled us, to the point now where we have half the country questioning the exercise of any genuine pro-American act, in our own damn country!
#16
The community board most likely did not want to appear religiously intolerant [despite the muslims being religiously intolerant]. So they passed-maybe figuring it was someone else's problem. It is not illegal but it is insensitive and frankly in your face.
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 controversial brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai is ready to "stand out of the way" and play a less important role in Kandahar province, a top NATO commander said on Wednesday.
