[Al Arabiya] South Sudan president Salva Kiir gave his strongest hint yet he would vote to declare independence from the north in a looming referendum, stoking tensions 100 days ahead of the sensitive plebiscite.
Kiir told thousands of supporters in the southern capital Juba he would not vote for unity as nothing had been done to make unity attractive, increasing pressure on already deeply troubled relations with northern leaders who are campaigning for the two halves of the country to stay together.
People from Sudan's oil-producing south were promised a vote on whether to secede or stay in Sudan in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of north-south civil war.
Arrangements for the vote have fallen behind schedule and analysts have warned there is a risk of a return to conflict if the vote is delayed or disrupted.
Southerners, embittered by the war, are widely expected to vote for independence, but Kiir's Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) has up to now stuck to the official line agreed in the 2005 accord, that they would try to make unity attractive and leave the final decision to the people of the south.
The vote is highly sensitive in the north because most of the country's oil reserves, responsible for up to 45 percent of state revenues, lie in the south. Northern and southern leaders have so far not reached an agreement on how they would share oil revenues after a split.
"I have my own assessment, and I can say what I have observed by myself ... I can say if I was to vote alone for unity or the secession or independence of southern Sudan, I would not vote for unity because I have not seen what attracted me to unity," Kiir said in Arabic on Friday, in a recording of his speech heard by Rooters.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/03/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
So what are the chances that both former senior commanders of the SAS still act in a capacity as consultants to UK security and that this admission to the press is a fairly LARGE suggestion that the current AQ target was London UK?
A fact we need not forget about the Mumbai attacks was not the method but the location; attacking the financial district; the same as for New York, it was an attack on the financial district. This is a clear pattern of preferred target.
#4
For several years I have believed that AQ would come to grasp the difficulty in obtaining serious WMDs and the trained individuals to deploy and employ them effectivbely ina clandestine operation. Further, they would see the relative ease with which small arms and small traditional military explosives (AK-47/RPGs/SEMTEX/C-4)can be obtained in the US and Europe from Latin American and Easter European sources.
As a consequence, consider they have grasped that a Mumbai/DC Sniper/Texas Tower kind of strategy garners all the headlines needed, especially if there are several simulatneously in population concentrations like malls or sporting venues.
Having said that, you have to remember that a part of the success of the Mumbai operation swas the pathetic response of the general Indian LE units. The detailed analysis revealed that a great number of the rank and file responders had no ammunition (they had sold the few issued bullets they actually had for cash) and many had not fired on a range in many years. Not the same ineffective level of response in the US or Europe, so the length and density of casualties should be lessened. Still, the effects would be huge, and the statement enormous, focing the West to pivot to the massive resourcing demanded by a frighten public for traditonal LE presence in exponential increases in staffing and visibility. Another massive investment cost for virtually no expense on their part but throw-away jihadi dupes.
#5
If such an attack happens in the US, it will be in one of the cities with highly restrictive gun laws : LA, Washington DC, Chicago, Seattle, NYC, or Boston. The big cities in flyover country excluding Chicago tend to have well-armed publics, which would make the hajis pick another target.
#6
Complex attacks at busy airport terminals are my number one fear.
*Complex attacks - Initial car or suicide bomber(s) followed by smallarms fire or follow-on bombs targeting first responders. All timed in order to permit full media coverage.
#7
I can think of a dozen targets in Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and England that would result in huge casualties, a tremendous feeling of helplessness, and anger and frustration from the local citizens. I won't list them here for obvious reasons. I think an attack on Europe would be multiple strikes at one time, while the US would be struck at a later date. My assessment of the jihadis' primary target in the US would be Los Angeles, at rush hour on a weekday.
Regardless of where they strike, the pushback will be immediate, and probably extreme. If the jihadis attacked the Eifel Tower, Westminster, Buckingham Palace, the Brandenburg Gate, or the Vatican, the response would not be pleasant for the Muddled East. The terrorists may just achieve that "crusade" they've been claiming exists - to their detriment.
The only way to stop a determined enemy is make him so afraid of the counter-strike that he holds his peace. We've yet to do that with Islamists. We'll continue to have this kind of threat hanging over our heads until we do.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/03/2010 16:59 Comments ||
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#8
Regardless of where they strike, the pushback will be immediate, and probably extreme. OP
From the French, possibly. Others..... anyone's guess. I worked with an old COL years ago who was a Chem/Bio and SALT Treaty guy. He always said "if the French use a nuclear weapon against the Russians, we'll be able to see the flash from an E-Ring window."
#9
a part of the success of the Mumbai operation swas the pathetic response of the general Indian LE units.
Indeed. In 2007 there was a Sudden Jihad Syndrome attack on a shopping mall in Utah. A lone gunman. He was killed fairly quickly by an off-duty policeman from a nearby community who happened to be there, and naturally was armed. The jihadi only killed five (and wounded several) before being killed himself. He only had a few minutes in which to do his thing, unlike in Mumbai, where the jihadis ran around the city for the better part of four days.
Even in big cities where it's hard for ordinary citizens to legally get permits to go about armed, there are a fair proportion of armed people about, even if a number of those are normally considered bad guys, unlike in Mumbai. And our culture teaches both good and bad guys to shoot back when fired upon.
#10
Old Patriot your comment regarding an attack in Los Angeles jihadist' primary target in the US would be Los Angeles, at rush hour on a weekday.
Show me that you need to take your medicine or you are crazy
Los Angeles as more arms procapita than any other USA city and is home of the best and oldest swat , plus over 187 very well arm gangs that if any jihadist even try to do something will be send back to suck allah cock
#11
Iff AL-QAEDA + TALIBS, etal. are as WEAKENED as US INTEL repor believes, then IMO the US-NATO should presume that future Terrops will be agz TOP-VALUE TARGETS, INCLUDING BUT LIMITED TO THE WHITE HOUSE + UK ROYAL FAMILY ["decapitation" strikes], NUCPLANTS, ETC.
Again, 2012 + IRAN, MILITANT NUCLEARIZATION > 2010-2020/2025? the US-ALLIES should anticipate an UPWARD ESCALATION IN WORLDWIDE MILITANT TERRSTRIKES/OPS [Nuke-WMDS Terror], ESPEC IFF POTUS BAMMER + OTHER IS DEEMED AS BEING "WEAK" [MSM-Net Critics].
#12
Los Angeles as more arms procapita than any other USA city and is home of the best and oldest swat , plus over 187 very well arm gangs
An attack on the freeway system at rush hour would be horrific. And unless the LAPD SWAT, or the LAPD in general, can airlift its way in or make its way to the nearest on-ramp, their response is going to be slow.
As for the "187 gangs", I highly doubt that they'll take on the attackers. For one, they're thugs. For two, the idea that gang-bangers would take on jihadis is just as... well... the San Andreas fault breaking open and spewing unicorns has better odds.
#13
My first thought is that the Euro-weenies should consider letting their citizens defend themselves. Part of the reason the Mumbai attack had such success was that even the "armed" cops had no ammo.
My second thought is that shieldwolf knows jack about Washington State's concealed carry laws. Even the libtards in Seattle are armed, even if they are only dangerous when they miss their 10 O'clock soy decaf latte...
#15
TOPIX/WORLDNEWS > GEORGE OSBOURNE: IMPOSE IMMEDIATE BUDGET CUTS OR FACE DECADE OF DEBT.
As NOSTRADAMUS + 1960's-1970's GUAM TAOTAMONAS, ETC. WOULD SAY > ARISE "JOSEPHINE BONAPARTE" = OWG MADONNA, ARISE ............. + D *** NG IT, GIRL, STILL KEEP PAULA AWAY FROM THE VEGGIES!
As the third generation of the Kim dynasty prepares to take over power in North Korea, defectors from the reclusive country say the opinion of North Koreans about the family is getting worse with each passing generation. Many see Kim Il-sung as a father figure who enjoyed widespread respect, but his son Kim Jong-il is seen as a dictator and tyrant and his grandson Kim Jong-un as a nobody without experience.
Many defectors say North Koreans have only good feelings about Kim Il-sung, due to his endearing, fatherly image as well as the relatively better economic situation under his leadership. "Kim Il-sung was called the 'benevolent father of the people' and many shed genuine tears of sadness when he died," one defector said. "The older generation, whose lives became more difficult under Kim Jong-il, used to say things were better under the Kim Il-sung."
Experiencing widespread starvation and economic hardship after Kim Il-sung's death in 1994, "people realized that the heyday of communism had passed and yearned for the bygone days of Kim Il-sung," he added.
In contrast, Kim Jong-il is feared and distrusted. One defector who used to be a high-ranking Workers Party official, said, "Kim Il-sung's office had a placid atmosphere, but stepping into Kim Jong-il's office sent a chill down your spine." He said high-ranking officials and the North Korean people “tremble in fear of Kim Jong-il."
According to defectors, North Koreans voice their dissatisfaction by calling senior officials "thieves" or "villains." Elderly people in North Korea who lived through the Japanese occupation say even under Japanese rule, trains ran on time and food rations were distributed smoothly. They say Kim Jong-il is worse than the Japanese because millions have starved to death and the economy has collapsed.
As for Kim Jong-un, defectors say North Koreans feel neither respect nor fear. They view him as a child. One defector who fled the North early this year and gave his name as Song said, "The regime says Kim Jong-un has inherited the 'revolutionary achievements' and traditions from his grandfather, but the public has no illusions about him." Song added, "People are simply speechless at Kim Jong-il's greed in placing his young son on the throne."
A senior defector said, "Kim Jong-il grew up to become a tyrant and Kim Jong-un is also a scoundrel who relies on his father's power to do whatever he wants. The distrust North Koreans feel toward Kim Jong-il will turn into animosity toward Jong-un, who is said to be just like his father."
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/03/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
No one that counts in North Korea cares at all what the people feel about the dynasty. People shed genuine tears of sorrow when Stalin died. Noam Chomsky still gets choked up over that.
#2
And yet Kim Il-sung was a ruthless tyrant, too, whose Stalinist rule and war of attempted conquest against South Korea led to countless dead and maimed in both north and south, never mind the international troops who placed themselves in his path. Lives are more difficult under his son only because there is less remaining to be destroyed.
#3
HMMM, HMMM, it would broadly appear that KIMMIE [ + Beijing?]may a LR PLAN FOR ACHIEVING SOME KIND OF SELECT DOMESTIC/INTERNAL REFORMS IN THE DPRK, A SCHEMA WHICH REQUIRES YOUTHFUL LEADERSHIP TO CARRY OUT + ENTRENCH???
#4
ION CHINESE MIL FORUM > JAPAN WORRIED ON ROC INTERPRETATION [Daoyus Islands Sino-Japanese dispute + Fish Boat incident].
ARTIC > TAIWAN'S CONSTITUTION still proclaims MAINLAND CHINA = PRC AS PART OF THE ROC ON TAIWAN, to include any = all disputed territories e.g. CHIN-CLAIMED DAOYUS = JAPANESE SENKAKU ISLANDS = TAIWAN/ROC-CLAIMED DAOYUTAI ISLANDS.
* WORLD NEWS > CAN JAPAN DEFEND ITS ISLANDS FROM CHINA?, + WHY JAPAN CLAIMS THE DAOYUS?
* WORLD NEWS > [Asia-Pacific] ASIA AT CENTER OF [Geopol] STRUGGLE FOR DOMINANCE, espec between Rising China + USA.
ARTIC > MANY CHINESE WONDER HOW THE ECON TROUBLED USA WILL BE ABLE TO $$$ AFFORD KEEPING A BIG EXPENSIVE NAVAL FLEET PERENIALLY ON PATROL OFF CHIN'S COASTS FAR FROM CONUS-NORAM???
* TOPIX/WORLD NEWS > VARIOUS > TAIWAN REITERATES CLAIMS [sovereignty] ON DAOYUS [Senkakus].
* PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > DRAGON [China] CLOSING IN ON INDIA [Elephant]. Indian worries oer dedic Chin inroads all around its National Periphery = Neighboring Countries, RUSSIA itself is also UNHAPPY AT CHIN VENTURES IN INDONESIA.
WASHINGTON -- The US State Department may issue a travel warning as early as Sunday advising Americans to stay away from European tourist sites, transportation hubs and other facilities because of fresh threat information, U.S. officials said Saturday.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the administration remains focused on al-Qaida threats to U.S. interests and will take appropriate steps to protect Americans.
A European official briefed on the talks said the language in the U.S. alert is expected to be vague. It won't address a specific country or specific landmarks, the official said.
Airports, public transport, hotels, large public spaces. Germany, France, Britain, possibly Belgium and Italy. The captured German citizen, Ahmed Sidiqui, of Afghan ethnicity, seems to be saying a great deal. Drudge has links to more news reports.
European and U.S. officials have not identified any specific targets that terrorists might be considering, the official said. Officials have called the threat credible but not specific.
The U.S. has told European leaders that the alert would be intended to raise the warning level to match the information about the would-be attack that surfaced last week, the European official said. The European official said there had not been strong opposition to the proposed alert from European leaders.
Intelligence officials believe Osama bin Laden
if he's not cranberry jam in a cave in Tora-Bora...
is behind the terror plots to attack several European cities. If this is true, this would be the most operational role that bin Laden has played in plotting attacks since Sept. 11, 2001.
The implications of a blanket "travel warning" for all of Europe could be big. There are hundreds of thousands of Americans in Europe at any one time, including tourists, students and businesspeople. While the government cannot stop people from traveling there or force them to return home, a warning could result in canceled airline and hotel bookings as well as deter non-U.S. travelers from going to Europe. In addition, many U.S. college and university study-abroad programs will not send students to countries for which a warning is in place for insurance and liability reasons.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/03/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
I note that there's no mention of the some 200,000 US military and their families in the list of "threatened" groups. I guess they don't exist as far as this reporter is concerned.
The absolute WORST thing terrorists could do would be to attack Oktoberfest in Munich. There wouldn't be enough rail cars in all of Europe to ship the dead Turks back to Istanbul. It doesn't matter if there were no Turks involved - they are the symbol of Islam in Germany.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/03/2010 17:16 Comments ||
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#2
That is precisely why they will hit US facilities on German soil, similar to what they have done and attempted to do in the past. As you have wisely pointed out, the postential list should not be shared in this forum.
Debka reports: US about to advise Americans to avoid public places, transport etc. in Europe. Intel signals a likely Mumbai-style multiple attack somewhere in the UK, Germany, France and/or Sweden, planned in Pakiland.
Very useful interactive graphics at the link. The Wall Street Journal's journalists really do understand how to organize information.
WASHINGTON--The U.S. military is secretly diverting aerial drones and weaponry from the Afghan battlefront to significantly expand the CIA's campaign against militants in their Pakistani havens.
Teamwork works. It looks like everybody in DC is taking this seriously.
The shift in strategic focus reflects the U.S. view that, with Pakistan's military unable or unwilling to do the job, more U.S. force against terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan is now needed to turn around the struggling Afghan war effort across the border.
In recent months, the military has loaned Predator and Reaper drones to the Central Intelligence Agency to give the agency more firepower to target and bombard militants on the Afghan border.
The additional drones helped the CIA escalate the number of strikes in Pakistan in September. The agency averaged five strikes a week in September, up from an average of two to three per week. The Pentagon and CIA have ramped up their purchases of drones, but they aren't being built fast enough to meet the rapid rise in demand.
U.S. officials say a successful terrorist strike against the West emanating from Pakistan could force the U.S. to take unilateral military action--an outcome all parties are eager to avoid. U.S. officials said there is now less concern about upsetting the Pakistanis than there was a few months ago, and that the U.S. is being more aggressive in its response to immediate threats from across the border.
"You have to deal with the sanctuaries," Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D., Mass.) said after meeting with Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in Washington this week. "I've pushed very, very hard with the Pakistanis regarding that."
He also phoned Prime Minister Gilani directly, according to this report in Dawn.
The secret deal to beef up the CIA's campaign inside Pakistan shows the extent to which military officials see the havens there, used by militants to plan and launch attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, as the primary obstacle to the Afghan war effort.
"When it comes to drones, there's no mission more important right now than hitting targets in the tribal areas, and that's where additional equipment's gone," a U.S. official said. "It's not the only answer, but it's critical to both homeland security and force protection in Afghanistan."
The idea of funneling military resources through the CIA was broached during last year's Afghanistan-Pakistan policy review, officials say. The shift in military resources was spearheaded by CIA Director Leon Panetta and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a former CIA director himself. It also has the backing of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, and the new commander of allied forces in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus.
Mr. Gates helped smooth over initial dissent among some at the Pentagon who argued that the drones were needed in Afghanistan to attack the Taliban.
Since taking command in Afghanistan in July, Gen. Petraeus has placed greater focus on the tribal areas of Pakistan, according to military and other government officials.
The U.S. now sees the need for a stronger American push in Pakistan because of the growing belief that Pakistan isn't going to commit any more resources to fighting militants within its borders, said a former senior intelligence official. The Pakistani military is tapped out, the former official said. "They've gone as far as they can go."
U.S. officials are also increasingly frustrated by what they see as Islamabad's double-dealing. Some elements of the country's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency continue to support the Haqqanis as a hedge against India's regional influence, and the government has rebuffed U.S. calls for a crackdown on the group.
Gen. Petraeus has taken a hard line on the Haqqani network, calling them irreconcilable. He has also met with top Pakistani military leaders and presented intelligence tying the Haqqanis operating out of North Waziristan havens to attacks on U.S. and Afghan troops, according to a military official.
#1
The agency averaged five strikes a week in September, up from an average of two to three per week.
I'll guarantee you that if we averaged five ARCLIGHT strikes a week for several months against the Tribal Regions, the muslims would already be suing for peace. These people ONLY believe in the strongest horse. We haven't committed ourselves to being that strong horse yet. Outside of using nukes, raining enough iron bombs down on peoples' heads has a way of "winning hearts and minds" through sheer fear. Muslims will NEVER love us, but if we're shown to be absolutely willing to crush an entire population to dust to put a stop to their behavior, they WILL respect us. It may be out of fear, but fear can be a very significant motivator at times.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/03/2010 17:28 Comments ||
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#3
The more the terrorists protest, the more effective we know the strikes have been.
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
10/03/2010 17:58 Comments ||
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#4
OP, we couldn't field the crews and planes for 5 ARCLIGHT strikes a week. The only bombers left are a pitiful few B-52H (somewhere between 56 and 85), a few BONEs, and even fewer B-2s. More to the point, we would need air supremacy over the routes and target areas. Sad but true, in the age of Obama a few Hellfire Ps from Predators and Reaers are about the best we can do (or have the political will to do).
BRUSSELS -- NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen will meet with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday, the alliance said, amid a row over a NATO helicopter strike inside Pakistan.
Oh, to be a fly on that wall.
Qureshi will visit the transatlantic alliance's headquarters in Brussels on the sidelines of a two-day Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). A NATO statement said Saturday there would be no press briefing after the talks with Rasmussen.
Pakistan blocked a land route for NATO convoys carrying supplies to neighbouring Afghanistan on Thursday after officials blamed a cross-border NATO helicopter attack for the deaths of three Pakistani soldiers. The Khyber pass at Torkham is on one of the main NATO supply routes through Pakistan into Afghanistan, where more than 152,000 US and NATO forces are fighting a Taliban-led insurgency.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/03/2010 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani has handed a list of corrupt or allegedly incompetent ministers to President Asif Ali (Ten Percent) Zardari, demanding their removal, according to Western and Pak officials.
Slow motion overthrow of the civilian government? Who then will stand between them and the wrath of President Obama?
According to the Guardian newspaper, the tension between Pakistain's civilian and military leaders is the latest political fallout from historic floods that have triggered stringent criticism of the government's handling of the crisis. A senior Western official confirmed reports that Kayani had asked the president to remove named loyalists from his 60-member cabinet as part of an internal reform process. The official did not give the requested names.
Analysts said the army stance reflected a broader public impatience with the government's performance. An opinion poll taken last July gave Zardari a 20 percent popularity rating.
"The way things are configured now, everyone -- the army, the institutions, the man on the street -- would like to see some kind of shakeup in the current government," said analyst Cyril Almeida.
He added, "I don't think it will work. The more pressure you pile on Zardari, the more likely he is to dig in his heels."
A close Zardari aide denied that the army was pressuring the government. "It's absolute rubbish. This is a rumour-driven crisis, driven by those with a pathological hatred of President Zardari and the PPP. They have been predicting his downfall from the day he was elected. And they have been wrong," he said. How many times to they have to be right?
Some of the tension was punctured on Monday after Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani met Kayani after which they released an anodyne statement about flood relief.
Zardari's aide said reports of army interference were exaggerated. "They have a legitimate input into national security. But to their credit the leadership have been very careful in nurturing democracy this time."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/03/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Who is more pro western out of Zadari and Kayani?
I feel the army are more Pro miltant than the Govt?
Posted by: Paul D ||
10/03/2010 15:41 Comments ||
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[Al Arabiya] The Paleostinian leadership on Saturday said there would be no peace talks with Israel as long as it continued settlement construction, a front man said.
"Our position has not changed. We will not hold negotiations while settlement activity continues," president Mahmud Abbas's front man, Nabil Abu Rudeina, told AFP after a special meeting of the Paleostine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and brass hats from Abbas's Fatah movement.
The PLO, which is headed by Abbas and includes most Paleostinian factions but not the militantHamas, always the voice of sweet reason, movement, was to meet in Ramallah at 1000 GMT with other bigshots from Abbas's Fatah movement, which dominates the group.
They plan to formulate a Paleostinian position on the negotiations ahead of an Arab League meeting in Libya later this week at which Abbas plans to announce his final decision on the talks.
The Paleostinian leader had frequently threatened to walk out of the direct negotiations launched exactly one month ago if Israel allowed a 10-month moratorium on new West Bank settler homes to expire on September 26.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allowed the restrictions to end despite U.S. pressure, but has said he will restrain settlement construction and repeatedly urged the Paleostinians to continue the talks.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/03/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Once the settlements stop, the Palestinians will just come up with another non negotiable demand or else they will walk out of the next rounds of talks.
Since what they really want is a Judenrein Israel, they will never negotiate honestly for peace.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
10/03/2010 1:31 Comments ||
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#2
They haven't negotiated honestly yet. And when, in the entire history 'Palistine' have the Palieo's fulfilled one, single, condition of any 'peace process'?
Abbas doesn't, and never has had, the authority to implement any terms of a 'peace process' anyway.
ahmanutjob must have had a full bowl of fruitloops for breakfast.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday called for U.S. leaders to be buried in response to threats of military attack over Tehran's nuclear program.
Ahmadinejad is known for brash rhetoric in addressing the West, but in a speech Sunday he used a deeply offensive insult in calling for an undertaker to bury U.S. leaders. like the energizer bunny, he just keeps going and going...
The hard-line but soft-brained
president again questioned who was behind the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 in the U.S. and said they gave Washington a pretext for seeking to dominate the region and plunder its oil wealth.
He said there were still "100 questions unanswered" about the attacks. "The U.S. must answer them. If they really presented reliable documents, we would even help them to arrest the elements behind the attack," he said.
"We cannot allow the September 11 incident to be used as a pretext to attack this region and shed the blood of innocent people, therefore all dimensions of the incident should be clarified," Ahmadinejad said.
Referring to the Holocaust, Ahmadinejad said Sunday that "based on a faked and false pretext, they have put a wild dog (Israel) in the region to loot the nations."
The Iranian leader recently returned from a visit to the U.S. to attend the United Nations General Assembly. where he spent much of his time babbling to an empty room.
While in New York, he said most of the world's people believe the U.S. was behind September 11 attacks, drawing a strong rebuke from U.S. President Barack Obama. Nutjob is begging for a smackdown. Even his most faithful supporters must ready to march him off to a mental health unit.
You mean the stories in June that Mr. bin Laden and party had moved to Sabzevar, Iran, Lumpy Elmoluck5091? I don't remember that being confirmed, but certainly others of his family are being held there after escaping Afghanistan (see here).
#4
It's interesting that they're doing precisely what they would be doing if they were behind Bin Laden and wanted some insurance that he wasn't going to suddenly do something against their interests.
#6
See also WAFF/DEBKA > IRAN IS BENT ON AVENGING [StuxNet]CYBER-ATTACK, RAISING MILITARY TENSIONS.
and
* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [TomsDispatch.com]THE WANING OF AMERICAN POWER | [Author DILIP HIRO] THE WANING OF AMERICA. AMERICA IS SUFFERING FROM A "POWER OUTAGE", ... AND THE WORLD KNOWS IT.
ARTIC > By any Econ or Pol measure, America is likely in STEADY, "IRREVERSIBLE" DECLINE, + the 21ST CENTURY WILL NOT BE THE "AMERICAN CENTURY"???
#7
Also from WAFF > CHINA'S IRRESISTABLE POWER SURGE. China is increasingly resorting to overt displays of HARD POWER, as opposed to its historically preferred SOFT POWER.
ARTIC > VARIOUS PERTS...
* CHINA primed to take over from the US as WORLD'S #1 ECON [Post-US, Econ-led Sole Superpower?] CIRCA YEAR 2020-2030???
* Pert ROSS GARNAUT = CHIN TO TAKE OVER AS WORLD #1 despite Chin's people presently being only roughly 1/4 as productive as Americans despite having 4X the US Population [Chin = 1.2+ Bilyuhn].
* Pert HUGH WHITE > ASIA IS A "MARITIME THEATRE", wid WESTPAC evol into a NAVAL "NO-GO" ZONE IN COMING DECADES.
IOW, GUAM-CNMI-MICRONESIA, etc. = US-VS-CHINA MILPOL "NO-MANS-LAND" = STAR TREK KLINGON, ROMULAN "NEUTRAL ZONE" IN COMING DECADES, NOT TO BE CROSSED BY OWG AMERICA = AMERIKA UNLESS
ARE WILLING TO RISK INTERSTELLAR WAR!
* Pert PAUL MONK > Americans may suffer INCREASING CONSTRICTION IN THE FREEDOMS TAKEN FOR GRANTED, + FORMERLY PROTECTED AND GUARANTEED BY US NAVAL PRIMACY, BUT NO LONGER???
For the sake of GEOPOL PEACE + SECURITY, + keeping + maintaining former COLD WAR FOES as OWG America = Amerika's NEW BFF's.
[Arab News] Iran's intelligence minister said the country has learned how to fight off a complex computer worm that some foreign experts have speculated was designed to target Tehran's nuclear program, state television reported. ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
Saturday.
Heidar Moslehi was also quoted as saying authorities have jugged several nuclear spies, but he gave no details and it wasn't clear if the developments were related.
Over recent months, the malicious Stuxnet computer code has also affected industrial systems in India, Indonesia and the US.
And is spreading into China, according to a few reports.
But it has spread the most in Iran, including to several personal computers of workers at Iran's first nuclear power plant, which is to go online later this year.
The destructive Stuxnet worm has surprised experts because it is the first one specifically created to take over industrial control systems, like those at power plants, rather than just steal or manipulate data.
Moslehi did not reveal where or when the suspected spies were jugged, saying only that Iran has "always faced sabotage" by foreign intelligence services.
Iran periodically announces the arrest of nuclear spies without giving details.
The state TV report did not carry any remarks from Moslehi linking the arrests with the investigation into the computer worm.
"Iran's intelligence department has found a solution for confronting (the worm) and it will be applied," he was quoted as saying. "Our domination of virtual networks has thwarted the activities of enemies in this regard." A week ago, Iran said the stuxnet code was found on several laptops belonging to staff at the Bushehr nuclear power plant but that the plant's main systems were not affected.
The plant has stood outside the current controversy over Iran's nuclear program since Russia will be providing the fuel for the plant and supervising its disposal.
But other aspects of Iran's nuclear work, especially its enrichment of uranium, are of concern to the United States and other world powers. Enrichment can be used to produce weapons as well as make fuel for power plants. Iran says it only has peaceful nuclear aims, such as generating electricity.
Who created the Stuxnet code and what its precise target is, if any, remains a mystery.
The web security firm Symantec Corp. says the computer worm was likely spawned by a government or a well-funded private group. It was apparently constructed by a small team of as many as five to 10 highly educated and well-funded hackers, Symantec says.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/03/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Did The BP Gulf oil platform have Siemens controls?
Maybe there's already been several instances of industrial computer sabotage worldwide.
just askin (takes tinfoilhat off)
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
10/03/2010 2:32 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Haven't a clue, but indications were that the failure at the BP site was in the wellhead, not in the equipment IIRC.
#3
Actually, the BP spill was PROBABLY caused by a combination of things, including human error. I don't think it was sabotage.
A Google search of stuxnet garners almost 14 million hits. I still personally believe that it's primarily a warning to Iran to stop its enrichment, with enough problems generated to allow Iran to understand how vulnerable it is. I'd bet money there's a far more lethal - and better hidden - second virus that will be released, either at a specific time or by a specific command, that can do up to a hundred times as much damage. Stuxnet may even be the delivery method for the more potent virus, and is currently busy replicating itself in additional systems in Iran and elsewhere. I doubt we've heard the last of it, either in Iran or elsewhere in the world.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/03/2010 17:47 Comments ||
Top||
"Pay attention to meeeeeee! And check out my humanitarian side. Isn't it pretty?"
[Al Arabiya] Osama bin Laden called on Mohammedans around the world to mobilize to help victims of floods in Pakistain in what purported to be the second internet message from the al-Qaeda leader in two days, a U.S. monitoring group said on Saturday.
In a speech entitled "Help Your Pak Brothers," the al-Qaeda leader focuses on the reluctance of Arab and Mohammedan countries to help Paks, singling out Gulf states, Malaysia and Turkey, SITE Intelligence Group said.
"The response did not match the level of the disaster," said the voice whose authenticity could not be immediately verified.
Bin Laden said Arab and Mohammedan leaders had not paid any visits to flood-hit areas unlike U.N. chief the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon, and added Arabian Peninsula oil wealth should be used as it "belongs to all Mohammedans."
The 13-minute recording appeared on the Internet around 24 hours after bin Laden expressed concern about global climate change and flooding in Pakistain in a similar audio message aired on the Internet.
"The number of victims caused by climate change is very big... bigger than the victims of wars," bin Laden said in Friday's tape, which would have been the first time he had spoken publicly since March 25.
The production date given for Saturday's message was the Mohammedan lunar month which began around Sept. 10, while Friday's tape was said to have been produced in the previous month.
Paul Pillar, a former top U.S. intelligence official, said that that message by bin Laden was aimed at polishing his battered image among Mohammedans.
He aims "to counteract his loss of support among people who have come to perceive him as an uncaring terrorist who has no hesitation about spilling the blood even of fellow Mohammedans," Pillar told AFP.
Bin Laden's whereabouts are unknown, but in August, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, said he is "far buried" in the remote mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistain and that capturing him remains a key task.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/03/2010 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
Telegraphing proof positive that negative financial impacts in Pakistan effect the terrorist OPTEMPO in Afghanistan and elsewhere. More rain please, freezing torrents of it.
#2
I supposed it was always possible, but I doubt it means the OSAMA I remember from the 1980's Afghan War is turning into a dedicated [Islamist]environmentalist.
Or is He???
IFF OBL IS, THEN 9-11 WAS MORE "WORLD-CHANGING" THAN I THOUGHT???
A noble effort, and one that's been needed. The problem is, the Muslim mainstream has ruled the Ahmaddis are not Muslim -- since they claim a prophet who postdates Mohammed -- no matter that the Ahmaddis believe themselves to be so. In Pakistan they actually passed a law to say so, and they're murdered just like the Christians.
Door by door, the surgeon knocks, hoping to convince his audience that he's not a terrorist.
A contractor does the same, saying he stands for peace and is loyal to the country.
Most Muslims are not violent extremists, they say to those who care enough to ask.
Sometimes people show interest. Most of the time they take informational fliers and move on with their lives.
"It's not just lip service," said Ata Ahmad, the surgeon. "We believe it. We don't acquiesce to any of these beliefs that if you're not a Muslim you should die."
In Pakistan, the Ahmaddis are by law not allowed to call their worship spaces mosques or masjids, use the traditional Muslim greeting, worship with "real" Muslims, publicly quote the Koran. These are the people who should be visiting with President Obama at the White House and be shown round the FBI... but that would put the entire Ummah in an uproar.
Ahmad and contractor Nasir Malik, his counterpart on a recent Saturday evening, hoped their efforts -- part of a national campaign -- will help battle growing concerns about Muslims in the U.S.
They and other members of their mosque in north Harris County -- medical professionals, software engineers, business owners and store employees -- fan out into neighborhoods on Saturday evenings, pamphlets in hand as they tell each resident that they are Muslims "with a message of peace and love."
"Every time a terrorist attack happens, and it's found that there's a Muslim behind it, the American public says, and rightfully so, 'Why are there no moderate Muslims speaking out against this?'" Ahmad said. "We are speaking out."
The group began visiting homes in June and so far has gone to about 4,000 residences, with a goal of reaching 100,000 in the Houston area this year.
Organized campaign
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, a national organization for the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam, organized the "Muslims for Peace" campaign, which has included bus signs in New York. The organization plans to reach about 6 million people with every year and so far has allocated about $500,000 to the effort. It is planning a bus sign campaign for Houston.
#1
If only this community was respected in mainstream muslim world because alongside the sufis there would be hope.Unfortunately we let the Saudi hateful version of the religion reign supreme and look what the damage they have done worldwide starting with Pakistan and Saudi Mosques THROUGHOUT Europe and USA!
Posted by: Paul D ||
10/03/2010 15:25 Comments ||
Top||
#2
wish they would knock on my door
Posted by: chris ||
10/03/2010 17:37 Comments ||
Top||
#3
If only this community was respected in mainstream muslim world because alongside the sufis there would be hope
Actually the chief idologue of Sudan's genocidical junta is a suffi. Same thing for some of the most blood-thirsty pirates produced by Islam.
The problem you see is that it Mulims have a book called Coran and it is the Saudis not the Suffis and still less the Ahmadis who are faithful to the spirit and letter of the book so when one of the "peaceful" (true for Ahmadis, very questionable for Suffis) tries to contradict him the Saudi only needs to open the bok, that book not even Allah can change a comma in it, and say him "Read".
BTW, one of the distinguishing features of Ahmadis is that they wear Indian stylme turbans not arab style ones. In other words they don't consider Arabs to be the Herrensvolk.
On September 7, 2008, "Aalim Online", aired on GEO TV, incited religious hatred and violence against the members of the Ahmadiyya
Community. The host of the program, Aamir Liaqat Hussain (former [Pak] Federal
Minister of Religious Affairs), and his two guest panelists, Maulana Mohammad Ameen and Dr. Saeed Inayatulla, referred to members of the
Ahmadiyya Community as "kafir" (infidel) and maintained that anyone who
holds beliefs as Ahmadi Muslims is "wajib-ul-qatl" (deserving of death).
Guest panelists referred to the extermination of the members of the
Ahmadiyya Community as incumbent upon all Muslims.
Subsequent to the program, religious zealots murdered two eminent
members of the Ahmadiyya Community. On September 8, 2008, Dr. Abdul Mannan
Siddiqi was shot multiple times and killed by extremists who barged into
his medical clinic while he was attending to his patients. Similarly, the
next day, Saith Muhammad Yusuf was shot and killed, also while at his
workplace. Both men were leaders of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in
Pakistan.
GEO TV is available through satellite television and over the Internet.
In Canada, it is also available to cable subscribers.
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.
As the third generation of the Kim dynasty prepares to take over power in North Korea, defectors from the reclusive country say the opinion of North Koreans about the family is getting worse with each passing generation. Many see Kim Il-sung as a father figure who enjoyed widespread respect, but his son Kim Jong-il is seen as a dictator and tyrant and his grandson Kim Jong-un as a nobody without experience. 
The 
