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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Ayatollah Fudlullah dies at 75
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
'Root of Afghan Challenges; Outside Afghan Borders'
The former Afghan Spy Chief said that the root of challenges facing Afghans are outside Afghan borders

The Afghan Challenge is not a domestic issue, if it was so then what the International forces are doing here, the former Afghan Spy Chief, Amrullah Saleh, underscored in an exclusive interview with Quqnoos.

The former Afghan Spy Chief highlighted that once again Afghanistan should not go back to the old days, and the Afghan challenges need to be looked at from an international dimension.

"Calling the issue of Afghanistan domestic would be misbehavior for the whole Afghan nation. If the issue is internal, then what the foreign forces, whose number reaches 150,000, do inside Afghanistan," he said.

While holding peace talks with the insurgents is one of the top priorities of the Afghan government, but Amrullah Saleh said it is necessary to consider Afghan people's desires.

"I don't back the way the Afghan government reaches for peace with the insurgents that are vividly supported by the Pakistani government, after trampling 98 percent of our own people desires," he said.

Following the attacks by the insurgents on the Afghan peace jirga and its disruption, the Afghan Spy Chief and the Afghan Interior Minister stepped down, but the former Afghan Spy chief said he is in an effort to shed light on Afghanistan's situation for the Afghan people.
Posted by: Fred || 07/04/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  Yea, it's in Mecca.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/04/2010 4:39 Comments || Top||

#2  Pappy,

Why are Pakistan desperate for an islamist govt in Kabul when that same forece could cause Pakistan trouble in the long run?

Strategic depth,General Ul Haq dream,Anti Indian presence on the western front?
Posted by: Paul D || 07/04/2010 8:10 Comments || Top||

#3  That all sounds right to me, Paul D. They seem like hamsters on a wheel; having chosen their direction, unable to stop and unable to get off. I have the impression they don't think in the long term, but only as far as the next byzantine plot, because if they thought beyond that, they'd notice that everything they do makes their society's bottom line worse.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/04/2010 9:06 Comments || Top||

#4  Why are Pakistan desperate for an islamist govt in Kabul when that same forece could cause Pakistan trouble in the long run? Strategic depth,General Ul Haq dream,Anti Indian presence on the western front?

Pretty much, tho it's not so much strategic depth as a Pakistan view that Afghanistan their 'back yard' and they have a permanent say in its future.

As for the Islamist government, one has to look at Pakistan itself - essentially an oligarchy laid over a bedrock of tribalism, with a state-sponsored (and populist-supported) Sunni-based religion.

Afghanistan may cause problems for Pakistan in the long run, but more likely for the oligarchs.
Posted by: Pappy || 07/04/2010 11:54 Comments || Top||

#5  Strategic Depth was always a hilarious tactical excuse. The mightee Pak army could no more withdraw there than could England fight from Cuba.
Posted by: Shipman || 07/04/2010 12:46 Comments || Top||

#6  There is hope in that the Sindh,Balochs dont support the Talibs.From my recent reading of Pakistan only the Punjabis and Pasthuns support the Taliban.Sindh people seem to be Sufi and Balochs secular.Unfortunately The Pak army are mostly Punjabi and Pashtun and the Punjabi part of the army fear break up of the country which Sindh,Balochs and Pasthuns welcome.

The break up of Pakistan is best for the West/ region which the Punjabis fear!

Long War Journal have an article about the Pak Army allowing punjabi militants back into South Waziristan to fight in Afganistan.

Why do we fund the Pak army when they support/train/fund the insurgency?
Posted by: Paul D || 07/04/2010 15:34 Comments || Top||

#7  The mightee Pak army could no more withdraw there than could England fight from Cuba.

Actually strategic depth is viewed from the buffer-territory back toward the home country. The Warsaw Pact region was 'strategic depth' to the USSR.

Why do we fund the Pak army when they support/train/fund the insurgency?

(Sigh) I'll repeat my comment from yesterday to another Rantburger:

1. Research 'Cold War History'. Not all foreign policy relationships happened just yesterday.

2. There's this little thing called "supply routes into Afghanistan".

The break up of Pakistan is best for the West/ region which the Punjabis fear!

I won't argue your reading about the various tribes (for lack of a better word). Whether or not it's better for the West and the region for Pakistan to break up is debatable.

Sometimes it's better to have all the elitist incompetence intact.
Posted by: Pappy || 07/04/2010 16:05 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
Jamaats fresh agitation plan
[Bangla Daily Star] Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami yesterday came up with a fresh five-day programme including demonstrations across the country today and tomorrow, demanding the release of its top three leaders.

The party leaders will also form human chains on July 7, and its leaders and workers will be fasting on July 9 and 10.

Party's acting Secretary General ATM Azharul Islam announced the programme at a press conference at the party's headquarters in the city's Boro Moghbazar.

Jamaat at the conference denied allegations of its involvement in any subversive activities in the country.

Jamaat Ameer [Chief] Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid and Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayedee were arrested from the capital and Savar on June 29 on charges of hurting religious sentiments of Muslims.

The Jamaat leaders were placed on remand for 16 days in five cases on June 30.

The party on the same day announced a two-day programme including protest rallies across the country.

Azharul at the yesterday's conference said the three have been doing politics peacefully and lawfully.

People of the country know them well, and there is no evidence of their involvement in any illegal activities, he added.

He also said the detainees were being severely tortured mentally during interrogation.

Jamaat is a legal political party but the government is not allowing it to play its role as an opposition, he noted.
Posted by: Fred || 07/04/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami


Probe focuses on Jamaat's JMB link
[Bangla Daily Star] Police yesterday focused on Jamaat-e-Islami's alleged link with banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) as they interrogated detained Jamaat leaders Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid and Delwar Hossain Sayedee.

Law-enforcement agencies learned about Jamaat's alleged link with JMB from detained chief of the outfit Saidur Rahman alias Zafar.

Sources say Saidur told interrogators that there are at least 25 Jamaat-e-Islami Rokan [highest position in the party's primary level] members who are concurrently holding posts in JMB.

Jamaat's Publicity Secretary Tasneem Alam straightaway denied the allegation. "We actually don't want to comment on this matter as the information gleaned in remand is not supposed to be made public," he told The Daily Star.

In a press release, the party later claimed it does not have even the remotest link with the militants.

Officer-in-Charge of Paltan police station Shahidul Haque yesterday said, "We questioned Mojahid and Sayedee whether their party has any connection with JMB, but they denied the allegation."

A top police interrogator, however, said following their denial, they mentioned specific names of some Jamaat rokans who are also Gayeri Ehsar [part-time] and Ehsar [full-time] JMB members.

"We wanted to know how a Jamaat member can be involved with a banned organisation when no-one in the party takes any decision without the high-ups' nod," said the official wishing anonymity.

In reply, Mojahid said they have already ousted some members with such links, the interrogator continued.

He added as they mentioned names of a number of Jamaat rokans from Lalmonirhat, Chapainawabganj, Nilphamari, Dinajpur and Gaibandha with JMB connection, the Jamaat duo seemed apparently confused and kept mum.

Earlier on Thursday, police took Mojahid and Sayedee to the Detective Branch headquarters for questioning in a case filed with Paltan Police Station for violence, attacking law enforcers and obstructing their work in February.

Jamaat Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Mojahid and Nayeb-e-Ameer Sayedee were detained on June 29. They were remanded for 16 days the next day in connection with five cases.

Nizami has yet to face quizzing. Police sources say he would be quizzed after interrogation of Mojahid and Sayedee in this case ends.

Meanwhile, the two leaders will be produced before a Dhaka court today as their three-day remand in the case ended yesterday, police say.
Posted by: Fred || 07/04/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami


Britain
Dying Lockerbie bomber 'could survive for 10 years or more'
Professor Karol Sikora, who assessed Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi for the Libyan authorities almost a year ago, told The Sunday Times it was "embarrassing" the bomber had outlived his three-month prognosis.
Or 30 years since the Libyan agent and murderer of hundreds is only 58.
Posted by: ed || 07/04/2010 19:11 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  WTG Scotland, you were Englands BITCH but now you are Libya's. Or is it both?
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 07/04/2010 19:47 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Mexican Decision 2010: Polls Will Be Open Despite Resignations
Google Translate
Even with the mass resignations of more than 2,000 election workers in Tamaulipas, Mexican election officials say the July 4th election will take place today, say Mexican news reports.

Electoral Institute of Tamaulipas revealed Thursday that more than 2,000 election workers in Reynosa, Tampico and Ciudad Madero resigned fearing violence in their precincts.

Francisco Javier Tejeda Sanchez, president of the Reynosa Municipal Elections, said that a total of 3,725 people are needed for the 745 boxes to be installed in this border city.

Although 140 applicants have submitted resignations, Tejeda Sanchez said the polls will be open from 8 am.

Officials have strengthened security in Tamaulipas and have added prohibition against alcohol starting Saturday morning.

The resignations are a response to the murder of Tamaulipas gubernatorial candidate Rudolfo Torre Cantu Wednesday by apparent elements of organzed crime. The murder has shaken election officials throughout the region.

The president of the Municipal Electoral Council of Tampico, Maria Raquel Nieto Mar, said the 577 resignations that have occurred represent five percent of the 11,415 individuals will act as polling officials.

Mar Nieto said, "There are citizens who themselves are determined and have seen it as a challenge, is directly expressed, how, then take part without fear."

In Ciudad Madero, approximately 2,000 officials must participate in the upcoming elections on July 4. But, 377 resigned because of security concerns, said the chairman of the Electoral Institute of Tamaulipas Ciudad Madero, José Baldomero Castro Villalobos.
Posted by: badanov || 07/04/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hey, the US DOJ coulda sent 'em some New Black Panthers to supply poll security...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/04/2010 10:19 Comments || Top||


Mexican Decision 2010: Violence Marks Mexican Election Eve
Google Translate
As Mexicans in 14 states go to the polls today, some states have witnessed violence and vandalism on the eve of the election in the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Veracruz and Sinaloa.

In Sinaloa's Fifth Electoral District Alejandro Rivera Rosario Bobadilla was fired on by an unknown armed suspect as he walked to his car accompanied by his brother. The attacks took place on Juan de Dios Batiz boulevard in the city Los Mochis.

In Oaxaca, a group of alleged supporters of the Partido Nueva Alianza (PANAL) burned at least 24,000 ballots in the town of Jalapa del Marqués because of accreditation problems in the state.

The group, led by the brother of the mayoral candidate Alvaro Flores Carreño, placed several blocks on the highway to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in protest.

Also in Oaxaca were reports of fisfights between mayoral candidates and their supporters from the Alliance United for Peace and Progress (PAN-PRD), and the transformation of Oaxaca (PRI-PVEM ) in San Felipe Chinanteco Usila, north of the entity.

A Partido Revolucionario Institutional (PRI) candidate, Santiago Armando Mendoza, was struck in the head by a machete. Another politician was hit in the abdomen by a gunshot.

In Veracruz a man was shot to death and six otgher were wounded in a fight that ended with firearms. The confrontation between PRI and Convergence ( PANAL) took place in Hueyapan de Ocampo in southern Veracruz. The victim who died at the scene was shot with M1 and AR15 rifle and 9mm pistol fire.
Posted by: badanov || 07/04/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


The Grand Turk
Turkey acts to ease fears over Islamic ties
TURKEY has hit back at accusations it is turning its back on the West in favour of closer ties with the Islamic world.

The country insists that membership of the EU is its key foreign policy goal.

"There is no reason to have any doubts about Turkey," President Abdullah Gul declared in a forceful interview designed to allay alarm in Europe and the US about its increasingly close relations with radical Middle East regimes.

Turkey was not "lost", he said, denouncing such claims as "unacceptable" and stressing that Turkey was also forging ties far beyond the Arab world. "I consider it very wrong to interpret Turkey's interests with other geographic regions as it breaking from the West, turning its back on the West or seeking alternatives to the West. Turkey is part of Europe," he said.

Mr Gul argued that the US and Europe should welcome its growing engagement in the Middle East because it was promoting Western values in a region largely governed by authoritarian regimes. Rebuking some Western politicians for their outdated views of Turkey, he insisted the country had undergone a "silent revolution". It was now a big economic power that had embraced democracy, human rights and the free market. It had become a "source of inspiration" in the region. "If this is not acknowledged, it's a pity," Mr Gul lamented.

Turkey is a strategically vital country of 72 million people that straddles the border of Europe and Asia, has NATO's second-largest army and is a supply hub for US war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has also caused consternation in Western capitals in recent months. Not only has it welcomed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and congratulated him on his stolen election victory, it also voted against UN sanctions to try to halt the Iranian nuclear program.

The nation has lent support to Hamas, which is on the US and EU lists of terrorist organisations. "We are respecting the choice of the Palestinian people in Gaza," Mr Gul said. Turkey was preparing to host President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, who is wanted for crimes against humanity, at an Islamic conference until the EU objected. It has assiduously courted Syria, with whom it nearly went to war in 1998.

At the same time, Turkey has condemned Israel, formerly its closest regional ally and supplier of much of its military hardware, over its invasion of Gaza and the recent killing by Israeli commandos of nine Turkish civilians on a Gaza-bound flotilla. Apart from one secret ministerial meeting this week, relations are frozen, with Turkey demanding an apology and compensation.

Mr Gul insisted Turkey had always been Israel's friend but asked: "If an army of a state kills your people in international waters, how would you react?"

From the US, particularly, there have been clear signs of displeasure and mutterings about how the ruling AK Party is returning to its Islamic roots. US President Barack Obama had a frosty meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at last weekend's G20 summit. "We think Turkey remains committed to NATO, Europe and the US, but that needs to be demonstrated," said Philip Gordon, the administration's top European diplomat.
Posted by: Fred || 07/04/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Mr Gul insisted Turkey had always been Israel's friend but asked: "If an army of a state kills your people in international waters, how would you react?"

Intent to border IS allowable investigation. Check maritime laws. That vessel was doing improper ingress. Thats actually a crime in itself.

And Turkey, proof is in the pudding. Act like a partner or forgiddaboudit.
NATO is pathetic enough without you in it.
Posted by: newc || 07/04/2010 0:51 Comments || Top||

#2  "If an army of a state kills your people in international waters, how would you react?"

My proactive effort would have been not to send my people on a boat to invade Israel. If they went there against my advice, I would ignore their pleas for help. If they returned, I would jail them.
Posted by: gorb || 07/04/2010 2:39 Comments || Top||

#3  What can be more Western than "anti-Zionism"?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/04/2010 4:40 Comments || Top||

#4  Well, I for one, feel assured now.
[/sarc]

I am sure that the EU is gonna welcome Turkey with open arms. Good fiscal policy and all.

Camel's nose: meet tent.

Posted by: Alaska Paul in NW Iceland || 07/04/2010 6:24 Comments || Top||

#5  Turkey thought that being anti Joooooo would make them more palatable to the cool kids in the EU. Not an unlikely conclusion, is it?
Posted by: Frank G || 07/04/2010 10:06 Comments || Top||

#6  The Erdogan Regime let the mask slip a bit too early which might spell trouble trouble for the future of Turkish-American relations.

However the Gaza mission managed to successfully intimidate the entire German political class.

See this and this.

The first link's headline is actually somewhat incorrect. The resolution is omni-partisan not bi-partisan. There were no explicit votes for abstention or nay votes. This resolution represents the consensus among all parties in parliament, Merkel's CDU, the Liberals, Social Democrats, Greens, and the Communist Party of East Germany.

Merkel sided with Israel during "Cast Lead" but that was an Israeli-Arab conflict.

When the choice is between Israel and the Erdogan Regime Germany will submit to the Erdogan Regime, not necessarily because of an anti-Israel bias, but because the political class fears a diplomatic conflict with Erdogan.

Turkish riots in Germany, instigated by Ankara, over the issue of Israel would indeed be a political and security nightmare. To avert this our politicians are content to see Israel fed to the crocodile.
Posted by: Jaique Brown3988 || 07/04/2010 17:26 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Schwarzenegger sorry after workers cover 9/11 mural
This is what happens when people turn into bureaucrats and lose touch with their humanity.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger apologized for a decision by state transportation officials to paint over a giant American flag mural on the side of a Northern California freeway.

The 35-foot long flag was painted on a concrete slab near Interstate 680 in Sunol by three men about two weeks after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.

Even though the mural had been in clear view of commuters for nearly nine years, a Caltrans spokesman said it wasn't until last month that someone in the agency asked if the flag was on state property.

Spokesman Allyn Amsk said it was covered up Wednesday morning.

"We don't allow graffiti on state property," Amsk said Wednesday, the San Jose Mercury News reported. "No matter what kind of graffiti it is, we don't show favoritism."
Obviously. Thanks for working in my interests, a$$hole.
'Patriotic and meaningful'

However, Schwarzenegger issued a statement Friday expressing profound regret.
And if this is true, then you won't mind docking their future budget by exactly the amount of funds it took to wipe out this heartfelt, appropriate and popular folk memorial. Might not hurt to have Caltran officials sign an acknowledgment each year in the future, too, as a condition of receiving their budget and keeping their jobs.
“It has come to my attention that Caltrans has recently removed a patriotic and meaningful flag mural that was painted on the side of Interstate 680 following the tragic events of 9-11," he said.

"To do so only days before we celebrate our independence and reflect on the freedoms we are lucky enough to enjoy in America is unconscionable," he added. "I extend my apologies to the artists whose mural inspired drivers along 680 for over eight and a half years.”

R.J. Waldron, Eric Noda and Thomas Hanley — the three artists who painted the flag at the top of the Sunol Grade — have since received messages of support from across the country, the Mercury News reported.

"I think that just gave me the chills and I got all choked up a for second," Noda told the newspaper after being asked about his reaction to the mural being covered.

He said Friday had been "quite a phone call-inundated day" for each of artists as people from all over the U.S. expressed their views. "I didn't realize the gravity of it until this all happened," Noda told the Mercury News.

Hanley sought permission from Caltrans officials to repaint the mural and was asked by Bijan Sartipi, the Bay Area director for Caltrans, to come for a meeting to discuss what to do, the Mercury News reported.

"We don't want to do anything illegal again," Hanley told the paper. "We want to go through the proper channels to get it repainted."
Posted by: gorb || 07/04/2010 03:03 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  someone in the agency asked if the flag was on state property

Erm, aren't there US and state flags on state property ALL OVER THE COUNTRY?!?!
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/04/2010 10:17 Comments || Top||

#2  I wonder if they gointo those gang neighborhoods and start wiping out graffitti with the zest that they seemed too do this with? Could they really not find anything else too do?
Posted by: chris || 07/04/2010 10:46 Comments || Top||

#3  I wonder if that 'someone' has a Arabic or Hispanic surname. Does Caltrans hire illegals?
Posted by: CrazyFool || 07/04/2010 10:55 Comments || Top||

#4  I wonder if that 'someone' has a Arabic or Hispanic surname. Does Caltrans hire illegals?

Grow up.
Posted by: Pappy || 07/04/2010 12:09 Comments || Top||

#5  You right Pappy - that was pretty stupid. Apologies.

Posted by: CrazyFool || 07/04/2010 12:56 Comments || Top||

#6  Bijan Sartipi - a muslim Iranian.
Everything is clear
Posted by: vendaval || 07/04/2010 13:47 Comments || Top||

#7  Thanks, CF.

Everything is clear

It's always so nice hearing from anonymous trolls with fake IPs...
Posted by: Pappy || 07/04/2010 16:12 Comments || Top||

#8  A friend of mine who is an engineer with a city and not with Caltrans said that she heard that the Caltrans workers painted over the flag in protest for being placed on minimum wage pending new contract negotiations.

Posted by: crosspatch || 07/04/2010 16:17 Comments || Top||

#9  How mature. And it makes me feel so comfortable to know this same level of maturity will be brought to the table in their contract negotiations.
Posted by: gorb || 07/04/2010 23:25 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
‘Blasphemy Laws’ Used to Jail Elderly Christian in Pakistan
A Muslim vying with a Christian for a parcel of land here has accused the elderly man of “blaspheming” Islam’s prophet Muhammad, which is punishable by death or life imprisonment, according to the Christian Lawyers’ Foundation (CLF).
Posted by: ed || 07/04/2010 18:28 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ah yes, the famous muslim tolerance for other religions.
Posted by: gorb || 07/04/2010 23:21 Comments || Top||


Parliamentary panel wants anti-terror policy changed
[Dawn] The 17-member Parliamentary Committee on National Security urged the government on Friday to change its strategy for combating terrorism. The committee chairman Mian Raza Rabbani told reporters after a meeting of the committee at the Parliament's House: "When the United States and Afghanistan were reviewing and revising their strategy to combat terror, it is incumbent upon Pakistan also to change its policy for regional peace."

He, however, added: "We can only submit our proposals and it is up to the government to implement or reject these."

He said the government should change its political and military strategy as a frontline state in the war against terror. The committee was preparing its recommendations and would submit a report to the government, he added.

The director general of military operations briefed the committee on operations against militants in Fata and Malakand.

Mr Rabbani said the committee was being briefed by various departments, including the defence establishment, on the situation vis-à-vis the war on terror and law and order in the country.

The committee will meet again on July 7 and 8.

Sources said that Interior Minister Rehman Malik had on Thursday briefed the committee on the nexus between the remnants of Al Qaeda, Taliban and some banned organisations. Aftab Khan Sherpao, Wasim Sajjad, Ishaq Dar, defence secretary and interior ministry officials attended the meeting.
Posted by: Fred || 07/04/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


US responsible for terrorism in Pakistan, says PTI chief
[Dawn] Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan declared the government of Pakistan a slave of the US and added that the ongoing terrorism in the country would continue until Washington stopped meddling in the internal affairs of Islamabad.

Imran, while talking to media in Sargodha, criticized the government and opposition dependency on US.

He said that present situation directed the country towards worst condition and blamed bad policies of provincial government were responsible for Data Darbar suicide attacks.

Imran expressed his hope that mid-term election will be held this year and clarified that PTI will also take part in by-election.
Posted by: Fred || 07/04/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  well they are expanding. they own every damn chevron where i live
Posted by: chris || 07/04/2010 0:52 Comments || Top||

#2  US responsible for terrorism in Pakistan, says PTI chief

Because as every moderate muslim is aware, there is no terrorism. And if there is, it couldn't be a muslim's fault because it is evil, and muslims certainly wouldn't be part of anything evil.
Posted by: gorb || 07/04/2010 2:41 Comments || Top||

#3  And every day USA doesn't nuke Pakistan it compounds the guilt.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/04/2010 4:46 Comments || Top||


PML-N chief backs talks with Taliban
[Dawn] Pakistan's top opposition leader said Saturday that the government should negotiate with the country's Taliban militants to ease the relentless security crisis in the nuclear-armed, US-allied nation.

Nawaz Sharif made the comments two days after a pair of suicide bombers killed 42 people at a famed Sufi shrine in the province controlled by his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N. The party is considered more religiously conservative and aligned with pro-Taliban parties than the Pakistan People's Party, which runs the federal government.

The comments also come as Pakistan tries to weigh in on reconciliation efforts between Afghanistan's government, the US and the Afghan Taliban. Still, the ruling party in Islamabad has not made the same push in Pakistan for quite some time _ at least not overtly _ and its past peace deals with Pakistani militant groups have usually collapsed.

Sharif said Islamabad shouldn't wait for directives from Washington on how to deal with its problems.

''We have this problem in our home. Why shouldn't we take initiatives?'' he said in a news conference in Lahore that was broadcast live. He specified that the government should talk to the ''Taliban who are ready to talk and ready to listen.''

Federal government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Sharif's party has been criticized in recent months for not going after militant groups in Punjab province, which the party runs and where several lethal ones operate that have ties to al-Qaida and Taliban fighters based along the Afghan border in the northwest. One recent group that has emerged in the eastern province has been labeled the ''Punjabi Taliban.''

Punjab's law minister has even campaigned alongside members of Sipah-e-Sahaba, a Sunni extremist group bent on eradicating minority Shia Muslims. And the party's leaders often respond equivocally or not at all on the subject of Islamist extremism in Pakistan.
Posted by: Fred || 07/04/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Iraq
U.S. Senators urge Iraqi leaders to speed up govt. formation
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: U.S. Senator John McCain, who leads a Congress delegation to Iraq, urged leaders of the war-torn country on Saturday to accelerate formation of an independent government including all groups of the Iraqi people.

“We met with the Iraqi leaders and encouraged them to speed up efforts to form a government as soon as possible. We did not offer any proposals,” McCain said in statements replying to a question by Aswat al-Iraq news agency during a press conference held at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

Senators John McCain, R-Arizona, Joe Lieberman, I-Connecticut, and Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, spoke to reporters at a news conference during their visit Saturday. Vice President Joe Biden also arrived in Iraq Saturday to celebrate the July 4 holiday with U.S. troops.

“Baghdad to us now is a very different city than when we first came here,” Lieberman said. “It’s thriving, it’s clean, there’s growth going on, it’s great to see.”

McCain echoed those sentiments, noting that the delegation was able to walk through downtown Baghdad to a bakery.

Graham added, “What’s happened in three years is amazing.”

The U.S. senators pressed Iraqi politicians to select a new government. A new government should be selected that reflects the election results and the will of the Iraqi people, McCain said. Hopefully the negotiations will provide results as soon as possible, he said.

Graham honored the American troops and Iraqi troops who lost their lives in the war. “The Iraqi people have suffered for their own freedom,” he said.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/04/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "the war is lost"

/Harry Reid
Posted by: Frank G || 07/04/2010 10:10 Comments || Top||

#2  ..a Congress delegation..

Who can't even pass a budget back home, want to tell others how to run things. Pot, Kettle.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/04/2010 11:07 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Knesset to vet freeze bill
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation was on Sunday slated to discuss a bill proposing a new law that would give authority only to the Knesset to approve building freezes in the West Bank.
Take this B. Hussein

Now, all we need is another law requiring any "Peace" treaties to be approved by a, minimum, of 3/4 of MKs. (We already have the physical means to make it stick).
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/04/2010 04:21 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Failed. But, a journey of a thousand leagues etc...
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/04/2010 13:36 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Philippine Maoists set terms
[Straits Times] PHILIPPINE Maoist-led guerrillas demanded on Saturday that the government help locate three missing rebel leaders and free from jail about a dozen others before they would agreed to return to peace talks.

The Philippines has been fighting two insurgencies by communists and Muslim separatists since the late 1960s. The internal security risk has delayed development of parts of the country, particularly investment in resource-rich Mindanao.

The government of President Benigno Aquino III promised this week to restart talks with both groups of rebels in an effort to end the two long-running conflicts.

In a statement, the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) welcomed the initiative but set demands it said must be met before it could negotiate. 'To resume and push forward the peace negotiations, the Aquino government needs to commit itself to all previous agreements,' the CPP statement said.

It called for the release of NDF figures held under Aquino's predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Peace talks with the CPP, like those with the Muslim separatists, have been a stop-start process.

Communist Party spokesman Marco Valbueva said the abduction, enforced disappearance and illegal detention of rebel leaders violated a security and immunity deal with the government.
Posted by: Fred || 07/04/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Ayatollah Fudlullah dies at 75
Ay-Pee . . .
The Iraqi-born Fadlallah has followings in Lebanon and Iraq. He was described as a spiritual leader of the militant Hezbollah -- a claim both he and the group denied.
Pieces of Bacon Upon Him.
Posted by: gorb || 07/04/2010 04:42 || Comments || Link || [16 views] Top|| File under:

#1  'Tis the season to be jolly, then.
Posted by: eLarson || 07/04/2010 12:27 Comments || Top||

#2  So how he is just a pile of shiite?
Posted by: crosspatch || 07/04/2010 19:30 Comments || Top||


Enemies confess Iran sanctions futile
[Iran Press TV Latest] In the wake of fresh UN Security Council sanctions against Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has shrugged off punitive measures.

"Even the enemies of the Islamic Republic confess that sanctions will have no impact on the resolve of the Iranian nation to continue its righteous path," said Mottaki on Saturday.

He added that Iran's firm logic at the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference in New York has helped change the views of certain countries.

Mottaki noted that the constant resistance of the Iranian nation resulted in an important international organization obliging Israel to become a signatory to the NPT.

The review conference ended with a collective call for the full implementation of a former resolution aimed at establishing a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East.

Tel Aviv, widely believed to be the possessor of the region's sole nuclear arsenal, was also urged to join the NTP.

While the US possesses and has used nuclear weapons in the past, Washington, in a politically-motivated move, is now imposing unilateral sanctions against Iran, which does not possess nuclear weapons nor seek to develop such weapons.

Iran has repeatedly rejected the West allegations, reserving its right to a peaceful nuclear energy as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a signatory to the NPT.
Posted by: Fred || 07/04/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  If they're so futile, then why all the fuss?
Posted by: gorb || 07/04/2010 2:37 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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3Govt of Pakistan
2Govt of Iran
2Jamaat-e-Islami
1Commies
1al-Qaeda
1TTP
1Taliban
1Global Jihad

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Steve White
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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2010-07-04
  Ayatollah Fudlullah dies at 75
Sat 2010-07-03
  Obama signs toughest-ever US sanctions on Iran
Fri 2010-07-02
  37 people killed in bomb blasts at Pakistan shrine
Thu 2010-07-01
  Protests rock Bangla capital
Wed 2010-06-30
  Bangla Jamaat big turbans held on court order
Tue 2010-06-29
  Kabul dismisses report Karzai met Haqqani
Mon 2010-06-28
  Drone strike kills six Taliban in N Wazoo
Sun 2010-06-27
  15 insurgents killed by their own bombs in Afghan mosque
Sat 2010-06-26
  Mir Ali dronezap waxes two
Fri 2010-06-25
  7 Afghan construction workers killed in bombing
Thu 2010-06-24
  Iranian Flotilla Backs Down
Wed 2010-06-23
  President Obama Relieves Gen. Stanley McChrystal of Afghan Command
Tue 2010-06-22
  Guilty Plea to all Counts in Times Square Bomb Plot
Mon 2010-06-21
  Iran hangs top Sunni rebel Rigi: Report
Sun 2010-06-20
  Gunmen Raid Aden Police HQ, Free Prisoners


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