[Tolo News] President Karzai's Spokesman Monday said Pakistain should stick to its commitments on the fight against insurgency and let Afghan Taliban return home.
At a presser, President Karzai's front man Wahid Omar remarked that some members of Afghan High Peace Council are due to leave for Pakistain to discuss Afghan government's peace efforts with officials in Islamabad.
Pointing out to Turkish-sponsored trilateral talks between leaders of Pakistain, Afghanistan and Turkey, Mr Omar said Pakistain has come to know that terrorism is not only a threat to Afghanistan, but also to Pakistain.
Army Chiefs of Pakistain, Afghanistan and Nato officials discussed joint military operations during a recent meeting, said Mr Omar.
"Afghanistan and Pakistain take effective measures in counter-insurgency combats to target cut-throats whether in Afghanistan or in Pakistain," Mr Omar said. "Pakistain should stop supporting bully boyz in Afghanistan and should honestly assist the Afghan government in the campaign."
When asked if the Afghan government has asked Turkey to negotiate between Afghan government and the Taliban, he dismissed the claim.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2010 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] A top official in Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI) Monday called Nato operation on a private security firm in Kabul against rules.
Ministry of Interior Affairs reiterated that the operation, which was carried out on Friday in the capital Kabul, was not launched in coordination with Afghan cops.
While describing the attack as "disappointing", the front man for MoI, Zemarai Bashari, said Kabul security responsibility was handed over to Afghan forces two years ago and since then foreign troops have no right to conduct offensives in the capital.
"The operation should have been carried out under Afghan forces' leadership," Mr Bashari told news hounds.
President Karzai's Office also called the attack "irresponsible" and commented that such kinds of attacks could flare up fear among people.
"Units within the Interior Ministry without the information of the higher ups in the hierarchy in the ministry had taken part in the operation. And the conclusion in the National Security Council as it was announced yesterday was that this operation was unnecessary and was conducted in a way that should not have been conducted within the Kabul city. It was something that the police should have carried out," said President Karzai's Spokesperson, Wahid Omar.
But Isaf media command said the operation was carried out by Nato with coordination of Afghan cops.
"Isaf coordinated with Afghan cops to move on to the area of interest, so we followed the usual procedures and the operation was partnered," said Isaf front man, General Josef Blotz.
Isaf had previously acknowledged in a statement that those killed in the operation were suspected bully boys.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Wehell....
To wit,
* DAILY TIME.PK > NO [practical] WAY TO SEAL AFGHAN-PAK BORDER: US COMMANDER.
Absolute = total Border Seal would likely be RESOURCES-PROHIBITIVE, + REQUIRE MORE, BETTER COOPERATION + TRUST OF US-NATO FROM LOCAL TRIBALS than exists at present.
* SAME > 2011 DECISIVE [Year] FOR US STRATEGY IN PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN.
MAKE-OR-BREAK US + ALLIED STRATEGERY???
* SAME > [LeT, TTP, AQ, etal.]INSURGENTS LEAVE RIVALRIES AT THE AFGHAN BORDER.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > TALIBAN CHALLENGES US [control, strategy] IN EASTERN AFGHANISTAN.
------------
OTOH DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > ICBM: PAKISTAN INTERCONTINENTAL MISSLE UNDERWAY [to be Test-Fired]. 7000-KM RANGE + ACCURATE.
Meanwhile, INDIA wants to test a SLBM.
IMO Artic also read, IRAN-WITH-ICBMS-BEFORE-2012???
War in Afghanistan: A 'breeze of change' blows in Helmand
As British troops spend their 10th Christmas in Afghanistan, Thomas Harding reports on growing signs of success in the fight against the insurgency.
This is the 10th Christmas that UK forces have spent looking out on to Afghanistan's seemingly untamed landscape. But while no one is clamouring to say it there have been too many false dawns there is a feeling in the air that, as yet another year of the campaign comes to a close, a corner has been turned.
Despite 2010 being the worst year for Nato fatalities, with 705 dead, the casualty rate in the last six months has dropped and this with the "surge" of an extra 30,000 American troops. In the British sector of central Helmand, the number of deaths since July has fallen to 38, compared with 76 in the same period last year. Commanders are understandably reticent about trumpeting success in Helmand but they are getting close enough to whisper phrases such as "irreversible gains" and "unstoppable momentum".
They also mention "virtuous circles", one of which will become apparent in early spring with the next poppy harvest. If it is like last year's low yield due in part to the farmers' fear of eradication, which led them to harvest too early then there will be less money for the insurgents. That means fewer guns, bombs and hired foot-soldiers, which in turn means a less cowed population who will be more inclined to believe Nato's promises of security.
Helmand now has 30,000 troops where there were just 3,000 in 2006. This means that ground being taken is being held. A single platoon can now guard a village of 800; soldiers and villagers will get to know each other's faces and names, bonds are built and the locals point out where bombs have been hidden or inform when outsiders appear.
Clearly, problems will arise that could undo the progress made, but there are signs of confidence creeping into the local population enough for some intriguing requests. "The elders have asked for a fitness centre," a political adviser reports, to great mirth from the men of 3rd Bn The Parachute Regiment at their headquarters outside the flourishing village of Char-e-Anjir.
"A sure sign of middle-class progress," their urbane commanding officer Lt Col James Coates suggests. "They could come here if they want." There is more laughter at the thought of the locals using the Paras' dumb-bells, running machines and exercise bikes.
The Taliban who have found themselves in the Paras' area of operations in northern Nad-e-Ali, a place that was previously their stronghold, have been subjected to a new battle tactic this year that has hit them hard. In the first few years of the Helmand deployment, when numbers were few, there was an over-reliance on airstrikes, which sometimes led to civilian casualties; as a result, a doctrine of "courageous restraint" was introduced not returning fire if there was a risk of injuring civilians but there was unease among soldiers about the casualties among their own number that this caused, so now there is "precision strike".
With the help of advanced surveillance techniques, commanders are able to pinpoint and follow Taliban leaders and their cohorts to build up a picture of daily habits; they can then strike when they need to. The method is precise and "collateral" damage is kept to a minimum. In one incident, I watched at least 15 Taliban eliminated by two missiles and some cannon fire sent from an Apache helicopter, along with a few rounds of small arms fire from the advancing Paras.
No wonder, then, that the intelligence intercepts hint at an enemy reluctant to fight. "We have to get more men," we heard one Taliban commander say as we patrolled north of the village of Washiran. "Hurry up and get ready," he urged. "I can't, I'm cleaning my gun," a foot-soldier replied.
Although the SAS and other special forces have been eliminating insurgent commanders on an "industrial scale", killing is not the sole point of the exercise. Precision strike is also slowly winning over civilians, who are beginning to understand the efforts made to avoid unnecessary deaths. A greater understanding of the insurgency means "we can make sure we are fighting the right people", says Lt Col Coates.
Considerably more at the link: junior Taliban deserting to get off the to-be-killed list, roads and schools built, public concerts, Afghan Police cleaned up... and find out what happened to that desperate Talib commander, two paragraphs up.
[Arab News] The Interior Ministry on Monday identified the suspected terrorist who was killed recently in a shootout at a Wadi Al-Dawasser checkpoint as Muhammad Essam Taher Baghdadi. The man was wanted by the ministry because of his association with the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
The ministry said Baghdadi was killed on Friday while he was trying to cross the checkpoint south of Riyadh wearing a woman's abaya to hide his identity. The ministry said police were looking for Baghdadi because of his involvement in various crimes.
"Baghdadi was associated with a 113-member terrorist cell," the ministry said, adding that Saudi security forces destroyed the cell in March.
Suspects jugged in that operation included Haila Al-Qusayyer, a financier of terrorist activities.
Baghdadi, a resident of Yemen, was killed while he was trying to run away from the Kingdom. Days before his death, he reportedly had stayed in a Jazan hotel and established contacts with people in the region.
A young man who was accompanying Baghdadi has been jugged. He is a resident of Zahir district in Makkah. The 17-year-old was not carrying any identification at the time of his arrest except iqama copies of two Yemenis. Baghdadi had been training the young man for the last three months. He faces charges for abetting a wanted terrorist and providing him with logistics to run away from the country.
Police at the checkpoint stopped the car in which the men were traveling. When police were checking the identity of the driver, a teenager, the other man who was wearing an abaya, came out and shot up police.
"Security officers then shot the man dead," one source said, adding that no police officer was killed or injured in the incident.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh called for dialogue with Al-Qaeda Orcs and similar vermin in order to change their thinking and ways. "Violence cannot be tackled with violence but through sound awareness programs. We should start this by inviting them for a dialogue," he said.
Al-Asheikh urged security officers to keep a watch on Al-Qaeda's websites to follow their movements and know those who are associated with the network.
The mufti said his call was directed not only at Orcs and similar vermin but also khateebs (prayer leaders) and holy mans. As many as 1,500 Orcs and similar vermin have backed down from their turban views as a result of counseling given to them by experts through the Internet.
This article starring:
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh
Haila Al-Qusayyer
Muhammad Essam Taher Baghdadi
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
"who's your Baghdadi?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/28/2010 17:53 Comments ||
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#1
So we should all stone those that like "Life of Brian"? The day the muzzies don't get their burkka's in a knot over some tasteless gag about their religion is the day they can come play in the modern world.
Google Translate. I was unable to find the Cronica de Hoy news report referred to in his article. For a Mexican map, click here. For a map of Guatemala click here.
Guatemala is the second largest supplier of illegal weapons in Mexico, according to the Mexican national attorney general's office. (PGR)
The Guatemalan route supplies primarily Los Zetas drug gang.
According to information gathered following the arrest of four members of Los Zetas a few days ago, two gang members now identified as Margarito Mendoza Lopez, Mexico and Guatemalan Carlos Cuc Juc were said to be the operators of a network that smuggled weapons from several Central and South American regions.
Work in seizing the suspects and investigation was credited to the Guatemalan Policia Nacional Civil (PNC) and the Mexican Unidad Especializada en Investigacion de Terrorismo, Acopio y Trafico de Armas.
Grenades and assault rifles are said to be among the weapons typically smuggled into Mexico through Guatemala.
Weapons as well as drugs are moved through Chiapas and Tabasco states in Mexico using truck trailers with hidden compartments. Criminal groups maintain operators in Guatemala who arrange the transfers, coordinate shipments and pay off officials on both side of the border to permit the weapons to move.
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) -- Warning its patience is running out, North Korea praised itself Monday over its decision not to react to a high-stakes South Korean live-fire drill that had taken place near the countries' volatile Yellow Sea border earlier this month.
The Dec. 20 exercise on the island of Yeonpyeong took place amid the highest tension between the two Koreas in years, after the North bombarded the island last month and threatened to mount a deadlier attack should the South conduct another live-fire drill on it.
Despite the threat, the North refrained from retaliation, belittling the exercise as something that "does not even deserve a passing notice." Analysts said the restraint substantiated their observation that the impoverished communist country chooses to refrain from provocation when its foes are on full alert.
Especially when US forces were on alert, the Korean air force was in the air, and the Korean Navy was ready to go. Kimmie and Sonny-Boy saw that their bluff had been called and decided to fold. That's going to be a problem for them in the coming months given how shrill the Norks were in their threats over this drill.
"Armed clashes have not occurred in the Yellow Sea of Korea despite the dangerous collusion between the U.S. and South Korean war-like forces," the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party, said in a commentary.
"This is entirely thanks to the pluck, the self-restraint and steadfast will of the DPRK to preserve peace. But there is a limit to its patience, too," said the commentary, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The SKors did themselves some good with this drill. By going ahead, they exposed the Norks to be bluffing. In the past there was usually some sort of back-down by the SKors and some diplomatic (or cash) payoff to the North. Not this time. Lee's new message about smacking the Norks down next time now has a little credibility.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Someone ought to invite the Norks out to play wargames with them.
#3
With psychopaths like Kimmie and Junior, it is appropriate to make it clear that there is a big stick around (carriers and subs) that will hurt them personally. The Norks do respect and understand power.
They need to lose face in these games repeatedly, then their credibility goes away, and hopefully they go, also. Bill Richardson needs to stay home. He is an enabler.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/28/2010 15:16 Comments ||
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SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that South Koreans should not fear war with North Korea although his government is eager to keep peace on the peninsula.
"If (we) are afraid of war, we can never prevent war," Lee said in his biweekly radio address, the last of this year.
His remarks represent Seoul's firm stance to deal resolutely with the communist neighbor's provocations down the road.
It's the SKor version of 'sea of fire' ...
"North Korea committed the provocations without reluctance, misjudging our patience and desire for peace," Lee said. "We have clearly realized the fact that only strong counteractions to military provocations are able to deter war and safeguard peace."
He said the South had tolerated the North's belligerence in hopes of maintaining peace on the peninsula, but he stressed that his military should cope with any future attacks without mercy.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
CHINESE MILITRAY FORUM > CHINA RATCHING UP PRESSURE IN THE AIR, agz JAPAN AIR SDFS vee AIR-TO-AIR INCIDENTS.
and
* SAME > [Report]CHINA'S MILITARY CAPABILITIES ARE OVER-RATED, ACCORDING TO INDIA'S SOURCE.
INDJUH = INDIA adding its two cents to the US ONI describing China mil assets as potential "sitting ducks", + RUSSIA'S DEFENSE MINISTER dismissing or downplaying the threat to Russia + USA from China's Nukes + LRBMS.
#3
As per CHIN MIL FORUMS/BLOGS, apparently NEITHER BEIJING NOR PYONGYANG HAVE THE FUEL RESERVES TO FIGHT A SECOND KOREAN WAR = MAJOR WAR.
Which indirectly makes inducement of "GREAT POWERS" MILPOL CONFRONTATIONISM North Korea's only realistic option, given IMO Kimmie + Regime's desire to PRESERVE KIM FAMILY DYNASTIC POWER + "NORTH KOREAN"-STYLE/CENTRIC BRAND OF COMMUNISM-SOCIALISM + "NORTH KOREA-FOR-NORTH-KOREANS/KOREANS", to preserve iff not improve, expand the NORTH KOREAN POLITICAL "STATUS QUO" AGZ BOTH CHINA + US-ALLIES???
ALso, SOUTH KOREA'S DECISION TO STOP REFERRING TO THE NORTH AS ITS "MAIN ENEMY" IS IMO A COVERT = PCORRECT-DENIABLE SLAP AT CHINA BY SEOUL IN FAVOR OF + WILL-NOT-ADMIT-TO-IT SUPPORT FOR NORTH KOREA.
To paraph post-9-11 ROBIN "MORK FROM ORK" WILLIAMS + "72 VIRGINIANS" TV SKIT >"CCCCCCCCCCCCC-Correctness.......SSSSSSHHHHHHH"!
WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) -- The United States does not have any interest in redeploying tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea due to the enhanced mobility of its weapons system and the South Korean public's antipathy toward nuclear weapons, a scholar said Monday.
"In an age of jet aircraft and intercontinental missiles, we don't need to forward-deploy nuclear weapons," Jeffrey Lewis, director of the Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative at the New America Foundation, said in a contribution to the Web site of "38 North," specializing in North Korean affairs. "Putting U.S. nuclear weapons back into South Korea is a dumb idea."
We can deliver from anywhere in about an hour, so he's got a point ...
Last month, then-South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said he would consider discussing with the U.S. redeploying U.S. tactical nuclear weapons back in South Korea, where all U.S. nuclear weapons were removed in 1991.
The removal took place as South Korea and North Korea signed an agreement calling for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean rapprochement. The U.S. then withdrew its global forward deployment strategy.
Kim's remarks were quickly withdrawn by the presidential office, Cheong Wa Dea, and the Defense Ministry, but spawned heated debate on the issue. Nuclear-armed North Korea has made a series of provocations in recent months, including the sinking of South Korean warship and shelling of an island near the western sea border and made repeated threats of a nuclear war.
Lewis took note of the Bush administration's pledge to "deploy nuclear-armed Tomahawk missiles aboard attack submarines" and the Obama administration's commitment to "making a new fighter, the F-35, nuclear-capable and keeping the ability to forward deploy nuclear-capable B-2 bombers to Guam."
"The United States Air Force has absolutely zero interest in forward deploying tactical nuclear weapons," the scholar said. "Ask any Air Force officer about the 180 gravity bombs the United States still keeps in Europe. He'll tell you that they should have gone home years ago. South Korea doesn't have the facilities to handle forward-deployed gravity bombs and a U.S. support unit would need to be established and deployed."
Lewis also noted the South Korean public "remains ambivalent about South Korea's close relationship with the United States."
"South Korea is a vibrant democracy, which is a good thing," he said. "That vibrance, however, often expresses itself in the form of riots, sometimes directed at the United States and its military forces stationed in South Korea."
Lewis said any redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea would be dumber than allowing Seoul to have its own nuclear weapons.
"Why not let South Korea have some totally useless nuclear weapons?" he asked. "As manifestly stupid ideas go, is it any dumber than the U.S. nuclear weapons stationed in Turkey with no evident means of delivering them?"
The U.S. maintains a nuclear cooperation agreement with South Korea that bans Seoul from enriching uranium or reprocessing spent nuclear fuel for fear of Seoul making nuclear bombs.
Late South Korean President Park Chung-hee sought a clandestine project for the development of nuclear weapons in the 1970s to cope with military threats from the North after the U.S. took steps to reduce its troops in Korea. Park's ambitions were thwarted by the U.S., which successfully pressured France and Canada to refrain from helping South Korea build nuclear reactors capable of producing weapons-grade material.
A report of the U.S. Joint Forces Command said in February, "Several friends or allies of the United States, such as Japan and South Korea, are highly advanced technological states and could quickly build nuclear devices if they chose to do so."
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Wel-l-l, PEOPLES DAILY FORUM > A HUGE SLAP IN THE FACE OF CHINA'S MILITARY LEADERS [US ONI Report describing PLA assets as potential "sitting ducks"].
ONI REPORT also read = DESPITE IMPROVEMENTS, CHINA + CPLA HAVE GOT A long Long LONG L-O-N-G WAYS TO GO YET.
The comments of RUSS DEFENSE MINISTER SERDYUKOV dismissing the threat to Russia + USA from China's growng nuclear arsenal ADDS THE PROVERBIAL "INSULT-TO-INJURY"???
#3
I agree. We have nukes on subs and carriers, why the hell would we want to open up that can of political worms by adding tactical nukes? The South can't and won't use 'em and we have much better conventional options now than a tactical nuke. Hell, one MRLS battalion will do the work of a tactical nuke these days.
#4
Lemme play devil's advocate for a bit and throw out an off-the-wall argument.
Bringing nukes into a country and stationing them there is a long process. Getting nukes out of a country (vis a vis Turkey) is a long process. It implies there's going to be a long-term commitment to that country's defense.
Yes, there's nukes on a variety of US delivery platforms and perhaps they can be delivered in about an hour. The question then becomes: Would they be delivered when necessary?
Part of the South Korean government's request is theatrics, mostly for internal consumption. But I think that part is the South Korean government's concern of where US commitment stands.
Considering who the scholar represents, a better rephrasing of Mr. Lewis' comment would be 'the South Korean public U.S. left-leaning political elite "remains ambivalent about South Korea's close relationship with the United States" '.
Then again, that could be said on behalf of a lot of countries.
#5
Doesn't matter about tactical nukes. The NORKS know that if they used nukes against the SKORS, Obama would respond with a UN resolution and a strongly worded letter. So much for deterrence. If I were the SKORS (or Japan or Taiwan) for that matter, I'd be rushing to produce my own nukes.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will visit South Korea next month to discuss enhancing the alliance with South Korea, the Pentagon said Monday.
Gates will meet with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin while in Seoul on Jan. 14, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said, adding they will discuss ways to "address the threats posed by North Korean provocations and its nuclear and missile programs."
The chief U.S. defense official will also travel to Beijing and Tokyo, Morrell said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/28/2010 00:00 ||
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North Korea on Friday continued its campaign of denial over the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island last month that killed two civilians and two soldiers by hauling soldiers on state TV to offer their fanciful version of the attack.
Nobody does political theater like the Norks ...
The soldiers, who were understood to have taken part in the artillery operations, gave their accounts on a talk show on [North] Korean Central TV on the 19th anniversary of leader Kim Jong-il becoming the supreme commander.
"Fire burned in our eyes when we saw [South Korean] artillery shells fall into our territorial waters," one was moved to claim. "We poured our merciless thunderbolt of revenge on them. When we saw the first shell hit the enemy's radar post and several pillars of fire soar there, shouts of 'Hurrah' celebrated our victory."
Not bad. 'merciless thunderbolt' is a nice touch. I was getting tired of 'sea of fire' anyway ...
The official North Korean version is that it was provoked by South Korean artillery fire. In fact, the South had been lobbing shells into waters south of the island as part of routine drills that have been held for 37 years.
"We clearly demonstrated that our earlier pledge to attack it was no empty talk and launched the attack without an ounce of mercy," another soldier said.
Their names and ranks were not given.
So that they disappear more easily ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/28/2010 00:00 ||
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Beijing has signed an investment deal with Pyongyang on developing and using docks in the North Korean port city of Rajin for 50 years as well as constructing highways and railroads linking the city with China's Jilin Province.
The SKors should promise (publicly) the Chinese that all deals involving Rajin will be honored after reunification. Just to watch KCNA explode ...
According to Cho Bong-hyun, a North Korea analyst at the Seoul-based Industrial Bank of Korea, the deal is a follow-up to an agreement reached between Chinese President Hu Jintao and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during Kim's visit to Beijing in August.
Cho added that the two sides are set to establish an office in Pyongyang to pursue the plan, and decide on specific dates and investment methods in the near future.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/28/2010 00:00 ||
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The government is to start fully fledged preparations for reunification with North Korea next year, in a signal shift from the traditional emphasis on stability and cross-border exchanges to a more aggressive vision for the future.
Depending on whose terms ...
A senior official on Sunday said the Unification Ministry will brief President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday on its objectives for next year, which will be focused on preparations for reunification.
Following North Korea's artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island, Lee has made a series of comments hinting at signs that North Korean regime is cracking. At a meeting with Korean residents in Malaysia on Dec. 9, Lee said, "I feel reunification is now not far off" and called it an "important change that nobody can stop." And in a speech at a government meeting on Dec. 3 he said, "No power in history has been able to resist the changes sought by the public."
Another government official said, "The focus of next year's North Korea policy has shifted to bolstering our capacity to handle reunification rather than on communicating with the North." He said there are efforts to map out measures that can bring about changes among the North Korean people."
The ministry also plans to brief Lee on suggestions for funding reunification and gaining the support and cooperation of South Korea's allies and neighboring countries. This marks a U-turn in North Korea policy, given that Unification Minister Hyun In-taek only told Lee in his New Year's briefing early this year that an inter-Korean summit could be possible in 2010.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Hmm. Political "Golden Bridge"? Act as if the current situation was solved, and proffer advantages to those in the North Korean power structure who accept the new reality first. Reap the advantages of the rout that follows.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
12/28/2010 12:32 Comments ||
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FoxNews.com is reporting an Indiana grandmother, who is a Muslim convert, has caught the attention of federal investigators after she was seen in a recent pro-jihadist video.
[Pak Daily Times] Professor Dr Musaddaq Khan of the Benazir Bhutto Hospital, who examined the dead body of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, has been shifted to the US, a private TV channel reported on Monday.
Punjab Health Secretary Fawad Hassan said Dr Khan left for the US without taking advance permission from the government. He had forwarded a leave application on reaching the country, but it was rejected. The health secretary said that investigations into the case had been completed and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has the file, the channel quoted him as saying. Dr Musaddaq is a key person in the murder probe, as he was the one who had examined the wounds and tried to revive Benazir's heartbeat.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
witness protection program
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/28/2010 10:22 Comments ||
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#2
Why, it's almost as if they suspect someone in the current government...
[Arab News] The Bloody Karachi-based Mutteheda Qaumi Movement decided on Monday to withdraw its two ministers from the federal Cabinet. The MQM ministers, who tendered their resignations, were Babar Khan Ghauri and Dr. Farooq Sattar.
MQM front man Faisal Sabzwari made an announcement after a decision was made by the party's coordination committee in Bloody Karachi and London.
MQM leader Altaf Hussain had sought the opinion of the people whether the MQM would quit the PPP-led coalition. It appears that the PPP's days are numbered.
President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who showed remarkably little curiosity about who actually done her in ... is weighing various options to tide over the crisis after the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam with seven members in the National Assembly quit the government recently. MQM has 25 members in the National Assembly.
PPP has only the support of the Awami National Party in the lower house.
Options available for Zardari are either dissolution of the National Assembly or an alliance with PML (Q).
The MQM has not left the coalition in Sindh government to press its demands for an end to corruption.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2010 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] The wives of two Egyptian Coptic priests, forbidden by the Church from divorcing their abusive husbands, desperately sought another way out by converting to Islam. When their intentions were discovered, police handed them over to the Church and their whereabouts since have been unknown.
The cases caused a furor at home that spilled over the borders and turned deadly when al-Qaeda in Iraq cited the women as the reason behind the bloodiest attack ever on Christians in Iraq -- a five-hour siege of a church in October that left 68 people dead.
It was a stark example of the schism between Christians and Muslims that runs through the Middle East and periodically erupts into violence.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Though Salafis in Egypt reject violence, their doctrine is only a few shades away from that of groups such as al-Qaeda.
They print this nonsense with a straight face. Same sickness, slightly different symptoms.
#2
Soft jihad of the law vs. hard jihad of the sword, Free Radical. And with the threat of violence behind it. As you say, same goal, different methods.
"We will organize another trip to Gaza on May 31, the same date the raid happened this year, with a larger crew to draw interest to the embargo one more time," Ümit Sönmez, the production branch coordinator of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation, or İHH, which organized the flotilla, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. This is to include the Mavi Marmara and the IHH hopes to have 50 other ships to accompany it (although this is not real likely as the cost would be very significant and it is likely that this time Israel will disable the ships rather than trying to board them).
Are President Obama's friends still working to sponsor a ship? What about the Ground Zero Mosque imam?
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
12/28/2010 12:33 ||
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Israel should just sink the ships and be done with it. Treat 'em like pirates and hang the survivors.
#2
Disabling is like wounding members of an invading force rather than killing them. The troops get demoralized, are burdened with treating them, or if the wounded are left behind, either able-bodied personnel (usually medical)or the lightly wounded are also left to take care of the more seriously wounded, or the invading troops take a further morale hit knowing they've abandoned their own.
Disable the ships. Force the organizers to expend treasure and effort to tow or repair the vessels. It's possible that a few might sink through incompetence in damage control, or deliberate effort on the part of the flotilla.
#3
Personally, I'm in favor of stopping a ship by tangling its propeller with fishing net, then have some daring divers cause a slow, but non-repairable leak.
The idea is to force them to abandon ship--not to be picked up by an Israeli ship, but by one of their peers, as the first ship sinks. Then as the second ship is picking them up, rig it to slowly sink as well.
In short order, their remaining ships would be "BH to PH" full of stinking troublemakers. Then you disable those and leave the area, so they get to stew in their own juices, without stabilizers, for a day or so before they are rescued.
Ideally, rescued by some 4th world country ship, that would take them to their nasty home port.
Malaysian universities have become major recruiting grounds for Islamists looking for young supporters.
Malaysia has been relatively free from terrorism, but its lax admission policies are worrying some. A number of arrests and detentions this year have demonstrated the growing presence of radicals using Malaysia as a base.
"The terror threat to Malaysia is very real in terms of terrorists who come in as students," said Zamihan Mat Zin, deputy head of the Malaysian Islamic Training Centre, "They are under the radar so they can recruit and create terrorists in our midst." Zamihan is part of a group of Muslim scholars engaged by the government to rehabilitate imprisoned terror suspects.
In June, Al-Qaeda-linked Syrian scholar Aiman Al Dakak along with eight other foreigners from Syria, Yemen, Nigeria and Jordan, were deported. Al Dakak gave lectures to students at his home in Kuala Lumpur, indoctrinating them with jihadist ideology and urging them to carry out bombings on places of worship in Malaysia.
In July, engineer Mohamad Fadzullah was detained for trying to recruit students at Malaysia's national university and technical institutes for Jemaah Islamiyah.
After the deportations, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin called the phenomenon an "unhealthy trend which can affect national security".
"Despite the arrests, we believe there are still many who are here now and this process is continuing," said Zamihan, who was given permission to interview the nine deported terror suspects. "Some of these Al-Qaeda operatives who are caught overseas but not prosecuted because of a lack of evidence or a good lawyer, they are able to escape so they then come to Malaysia to study to do a Masters or PhD, but at the same time they are busy recruiting undergraduates."
"Once they have their recruits, whether local or foreigners studying here, they plan regional attacks. Many of them have confessed this," he added.
Kamarulnizam Abdullah, head of national security studies at the National University of Malaysia, says better screening is necessary.
"Our system is very lax and we just accept whoever without thinking of consequences," he said.
Zamihan said the June deportees were Al-Qaeda agents who were quietly trying to resurrect Jemaah Islamiyah.
"They were recruiting locals or even foreigners studying here to radicalise them and create new terrorists," he said.
FBI assistant director for international operations Joseph Demarest has said recently that the FBI was deeply concerned over home-grown radicalism in the Asian region.
"It is the affiliated groups that we are very concerned about... the smaller group, the individuals that we may not know about, these are the top concerns at least for the FBI," he said at a regional security conference in Kuala Lumpur.
from the Guardian
Back in 1934, a persian fellow named Sadeq Hedayat did an article altering the narrative of the Book of Ester, essentially claiming it was an anti Iranian plot. The goal was to firm up the alliance with the Nazis and catalyze some anti Jewish massacres. It didn't work particularly well and people forgot about it until recent years.
The article has been rediscovered and reinvented by the Ahmanejad govt and is being spread around by his cronies and a few of the younger and more energetic thugs have threatened to destroy the tomb of Ester in Hamadan in a belated revenge action.
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12/28/2010 00:00 ||
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During a press conference on December 22, President Obama was asked about the difficulties his administration has encountered in trying to close Guantanamo. The president explained (emphasis added):
One of the most powerful tools we have to keep the American people safe is not providing al Qaeda and jihadists recruiting tools for fledgling terrorists.
And Guantanamo is probably the number one recruitment tool that is used by these jihadist organizations. And we see it in the websites that they put up. We see it in the messages that they're delivering.
President Obama and his surrogates have made this argument before, but they have provided no real evidence that it is true. In fact, al Qaedas top leaders rarely mention Guantanamo in their messages to the West, Muslims and the world at large.
The president should have been asked: If Guantanamo is such a valuable recruiting tool, then why do al Qaedas leaders rarely mention it?
A nice little analysis follows. Al Qaeda's hates include Jews, Israel, Zionists and Crusaders. Loves include Palestinians, and wars in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Plus other things.
#2
One of the most powerful tools we have to keep the American people safe is not providing al Qaeda and jihadists recruiting tools for fledgling terrorists.
If it's not this, it's that. If it's not that, they're making some $hit up.
He may not be aware of it, but Obean has basically just said that we should be doing nothing to fight these clowns.
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
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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.
