[Arab News] An Amman court of first instance on Sunday resumed the trial in absentia of Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard and 19 other Danish editors and journalists on charges of publishing cartoons of Islam's Prophet Muhammad (PTUI!) six years ago which were deemed blasphemous.
The defendants did not show up or ask lawyers to represent them in the lawsuit which was filed by the "God's Prophet Unites Us Campaign," a coalition of Jordanian academics, politicians, unionists, journalists, lawyers and politicians. I fail to see how a court in Jordan has jurisdiction over someone doing something perfectly legal in Denmark. However, The essential However... Sunday's session was attended by a Danish journalist Uffe Taudal, Middle East Bureau Chief of the daily Berlingske Tidende, who came to Amman to cover the trial's proceedings. Did he bring a kangaroo with him?
Westergaard published 12 satirical cartoons of the prophet in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on Sept. 30, 2005, stirring an outrage in the Arab and Mohammedan worlds that prompted a boycott of Danish products. "No Tuborg for you!"
During Sunday's session, head of the campaign Zakariya Al-Sheikh told the court that the cartoons sought to depict Islam as a religion that preaches terrorism.
"The pictures insult the feelings of all Mohammedans because it depicts them as terrorists, besides running counter to the freedom of expression," he said. Yasss... His expressing himself freely runs counter to the freedom of expression. No doubt that statement makes a lot more sense in Arabic than it does in English...
Also testifying before the court was the campaign's official front man Marwan Shehadeh, who contended that the cartoons had sought to "to sow hatred among religions and between West and East as well as fanning up the conflict among civilizations and trying to attribute terrorism to Islam. "
The list of charges, which has already been approved by the Jordanian public prosecutor, includes "blasphemy against prophet and humiliation of Islam and Mohammedans". My not believing in the Mohammedan god doesn't constitute blasphemy to me. And I can't think of any civilized countries that actually have laws against blasphemy, not for the past four or five hundred years anyway.
"Such offences are punishable under the Jordanian penal code," the campaign's lawyer Tareq Hawamdeh said. The court adjourned until Thursday to hear more witnesses.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
The Europeans need to try muslims. And then ban them.
#2
In 1989 Khomeini's Rushdie fatwa was evidence for the fanaticism and aggressive nature of the Iranian regime.
In 2011 Rushdie rules are the new normal. Even 'friendly' and 'moderate' regimes in the Arab-Islamic world are officially demanding submission. And why shouldn't they?
Jordan won't face any form of diplomatic or economic punishment over this blatant act of terrorism under the color of law. No one will.
Westergaard however will have to be very careful about his travel arrangements. One mistake (or one unscheduled emergency landing in the wrong country) and he's dead. Literally!
[Asia One] A top Malaysian badminton official Monday brushed aside calls by an Islamic party to boycott tournaments following a decision by the sport's world body to compel female players to wear skirts.
The new rule was briefly deferred after causing an outcry among players and officials, but the Kuala Lumpur-based Badminton World Federation (BWF) said that women shuttlers would have to wear skirts or dresses from June 1.
Kenny Goh, general manager of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), said it does not consider the skirt ruling a controversial issue.
"At the moment we have no plans to boycott any tournaments," he told AFP. "It is not a big matter for us," Goh added.
Malaysian players wear either skirts or shorts and are comfortable with their attire, he said.
The opposition Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS) said the rule would discriminate against Mohammedan women badminton players by preventing them from taking part in top-level competition and called for a boycott.
"PAS considers the rule... discriminatory as it will prevent Mohammedan players from competing, since exposing their flesh is against their beliefs," a youth chief in the party, Kamaruzaman Mohamad, said.
"If BWF insists it will proceed with the rule, PAS urges the Badminton Association of Malaysia to boycott the Singapore Open," he added.
The Li Ning Singapore Open from June 14 to 19 will be the first tournament at which female players will be banned from wearing shorts or trousers alone, although they will be allowed to wear them under a skirt.
On Saturday a BWF official said that the new rule could be scrapped amid objections from China, Indonesia, India and Scandinavian countries.
"There is a possibility a rule change can take place," S. Selvam, the federation's Super Series marketing manager told AFP.
BWF deputy president Paisan Rangsikitpho has denied that women were being exploited but said the sport had to "differentiate the women's game", and added that the skirts did not have to be short. ... and you're allowed to wear underpants...
"It has never been the intention of the BWF to portray women as sexual objects, and nor is that what we are doing," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
With my compliments to the PAS and other sub-primititves: Venus Williams
Original headline: Half of Afghan Military Forces Won't Achieve 1st Grade Literacy Level by 2012
Key points:
As of March, 2011 only 14% could read, write and count at first grade level, ie know their numbers and letters, can read/write some basic words.
Literacy/numeracy have been added to basic training and at every training course.
Literacy, attrition, and leadership shortfalls are the key difficulties currently faced by Afghanistan in being capable of self-defence and self-policing.
#1
The other half are still learning how to count bribe money, practice extortion, palm payoff's at border crossings, kidnappings, summary executions, pull Taliban Reserve Duty on week ends.....the usual stuff for this region.
#3
AFGHANISTAN [AFPAK] is Amer's "TEDDY ROOSEVELT" or "PANAMA CANAL" MOMENT for the 21st Century, i.e. IFF THE US CAN'T MODERNIZE + DEMOCRATIZE + "WESTERNIZE" SAME NO ONE CAN.
[Tolo News] There have been reports for a long time that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Blinky Omar is hiding in Bloody Karachi, which I think is almost certainly true, Bruce Riedel a US terrorism expert and a former advisor to President B.O. has said.
Dier Spiegel has interviewed Bruce Riedel about the impact of the late Osama bin Laden's ... who no longer exists... death on al-Qaeda network and how the US should respond to the double game that Pakistain is playing.
Mr Riedel has told Spiegel that the most interesting development was finding the location where Osama had holed himself up.
He was not hiding in a cave in Wazoo, he was not in a tribal area along the Afghanistan-Pakistain border. Instead, he was found in Abbottabad which is a garrison city 48 km from Islamabad, Bruce Riedel has said.
He has said finding Osama in Abbottabad, which is home to three regiments of the Pakistain army and a retirement city for Pak officers, raised very puzzling and significant questions about who protected Bin Laden over the last several years.
While other senior al-Qaeda officials have been captured in Pakistain, Mr Riedel thinks "it is almost certainly true" that the Taliban leader Mullah Omar is living somewhere in Bloody Karachi.
When asked about who the closest allies of al-Qaeda are in Pakistain, Riedel said it has been known for a long time that al-Qaeda has had close connections with the Pak Taliban which has also cooperated with al-Qaeda in the liquidation of Benazir Bhutto.
But the bigger question is what did the Mighty Pak Army and the Pak intelligence service know? And how high up in the chain of command did that knowledge go?, Spiegel quotes Bruce Riedel as saying.
The US had not informed Pakistain government about the raid on Bin Laden's compound in advance over fears that the mission would be jeopardised.
Asked if that can be seen as an indication of US's concrete suspicion towards Pakistain, Bruce Riedel has said he would rather call it "deep mistrust" than suspicion.
Suspicion is the wrong word; it is deep mistrust. The B.O. regime has never had any illusions about Pakistain. I think they understood right from the beginning that Pakistain was playing a double game -- or at least that the Mighty Pak Army was. But this will reinforce those concerns and lead to tensions," he has said.
He has said no one believes that President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... had any knowledge of Bin Laden's whereabouts as Zardari's wife, Benazir Bhutto, was murdered by al-Qaeda and Pak Taliban.
He has also added that Zardari's government is globally considered weak and unable to control Pak intelligence services.
Obama and the West should now focus on strengthening the civilian government while being concerned about the military, Mr Riedel has said.
He has said the reason for ISI's support of al-Qaeda could be loyalty to the common cause of global jihad, anti-Americanism or a combination of motives.
President B.O. is said to be travelling to Pakistain this year and Mr Riedel has said the US President must signal how serious he is about democracy in Pakistain.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Becuz saying PDeniable "time was of the essence", or at worse how the USA had "subjective hesitation" in informing Pakistan was worse than using "deep mistrust"???
Osama bin Laden may be dead, but al-Qaida is alive and well in Germany. Each month, an average of five Islamists leave the country for terrorist training camps in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area. Recent arrests in Düsseldorf show just how dangerous homegrown terror has become.
It isn't easy being a militant Islamist, as Dieter Abdeladim el-K. and Hans Jamil S. learned on a Tuesday two weeks ago. The two men were sitting in a two-room apartment on Witzelstrasse in the German city of Düsseldorf, complaining to each other about how complicated it is to build a functioning bomb. "Bomb is not so difficult as detonator," said Abdeladim el-K., "because detonator more dangerous than bomb."
The al-Qaida handbooks make it all sound so easy. You buy charcoal lighters and extract the hexamine, and already you have a component for a bomb. Apparently the method works everywhere, except possibly in Germany, where charcoal lighters have a different chemical composition than in other countries. In Düsseldorf, investigators would later discover a cooking pot the two men may have wanted to use to boil down the lighters.
The apartment was under surveillance, as were the men's phones and computers. The police had been listening in on the two men's conversations for weeks, except when the sound of the television or the washing machine drowned out what they were saying. On Wednesday, when the men, speaking in broken German, began discussing "making an attack at bus stop" or possibly on a bus, the federal prosecutor's office decided to move in rather than wait until the would-be terrorists had built their bomb and were ready to use it.
On the morning of Friday, April 29, police arrested Moroccan national Abdeladim el-K., 29, German-Moroccan electrician Jamil S., 31 and German-Iranian student Amid C., 19, who was on the verge of taking his final examinations prior to graduating from high school.
At the center of the investigation in Düsseldorf was Abdeladim el-K., who investigators believe was the leader of the cell. He had allegedly brought the virus of Islamist terror from Afghanistan to Düsseldorf and had been in contact with Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, a senior member of al-Qaida. The two men had apparently met in an al-Qaida training camp in Pakistan, and it appeared that el-K. was al-Qaida's man for the Rhine-Ruhr region of western Germany.
Most Have Attended Training Camps
Much has changed in the Islamist terrorist scene in Germany in the almost 10 years since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but one constant has remained. Like the 9/11 attackers, the overwhelming majority of militant jihadists in Germany have attended training camps run by al-Qaida or affiliated groups.
In these camps, would-be terrorists receive instruction on terrorism techniques and are given orders to be carried out in Europe. The camps are still in the Hindu Kush region that straddles Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, but now they are somewhat farther to the south than before, in the border area between the two countries. The Western invasion of Afghanistan did not change that. Neither have countless military offensives or US drone attacks.
Osama bin Laden is dead, as are many of his closest associates. But the recruitment of new blood is still going strong. The terror network has been continually transforming itself, as new terrorists have come up through the ranks, running individual camps and smaller organizations, before disappearing from view again.
Al-Qaida today resembles an army whose battalions were torn apart after the invasion of Afghanistan and whose surviving troop units are now operating more or less autonomously. But there are still many soldiers willing to fight, including some from Germany. "So many people arrive every month that there are problems finding places for them to stay," says Rami Makanesi, a suspected al-Qaida member from Hamburg who also attended a training camp in the Hindu Kush region.
Paradoxically, the new structure, with its many splinter groups, makes it easier for Islamist fanatics to latch onto one of the organizations. "In the last few years, the threat level in Germany from al-Qaida has actually increased," says German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich, a member of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU).
Excerpt from the first part of a two-part report in the German magazine Der Spiegel.
President Barack Obama, set to visit Warsaw this month, will announce the details of a permanent move of U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets to Poland from the Aviano Air Base in Italy, the Polish press reports today. If the plan becomes reality, the move will irk Russia and may become a serious test of the quality of the reset in relations between Washington and Moscow, as well as those between Moscow and Warsaw.
The White House announced last December that it would station U.S. military personnel in Poland to support periodic rotation of U.S. military aircraft into the country to assist with the training of the Polish air force. U.S. officials said the training was aimed at improving interoperability of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
A U.S. defense official said the F-16s going to Poland would be part of the temporary training and would not be permanently stationed in the country.
Poland has long wanted a permanent presence of U.S. military on its territory. It isnt currently threatened by a foreign power, Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski said in his inaugural speech last year. But the memory of occupation and foreign rule by the Habsburg empire, Prussia, Russia, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union at various points between the late 18th century and 1989 lives on in this country, as does the memory of abandonment by European allies when Hitler attacked in 1939, igniting World War II.
Poland has for years vied for a U.S. military footprint on its soil to complement the guarantees of mutual military assistance given by allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. But Russia reacted angrily to even plans for such presence because it would result in NATO military infrastructure on the territory of one of the former Soviet-led Warsaw Pact countries in central Europe.
Russias military doctrine still sees NATO as a threat and the country said it would direct its missiles at Polish targets when under George W. Bush the U.S. said it would place elements of its missile shield in Poland. Naturally, Russia has no reasons to fear a NATO-led attack from Poland. But a permanent presence of NATO and U.S. military infrastructure in the country and the region could be a decisive step in reducing Russias current and future influence here.
When Mr. Obama scrapped the plan for the Bush-era missile shield with Polands participation, Polands leadership didnt hide its disappointment. Russia welcomed the decision, seeing it as the key condition for a warming of ties with the U.S.
A renewed effort to permanently place U.S. military infrastructure in Poland would be a stabilizing factor for a country that has spent the past two decades reintegrating with the West. Hosting U.S. soldiers on its soil would abate its old fears, making it more relaxed toward Russia.
Russia for its part has done all it could to keep U.S. soldiers from moving closer to its borders. Its likely to resist this time, too.
#4
...well, up to a point of transition where the GDPs and population could offset the need for an American presence, there was some need for a ratio of forces. Since the 80s, its been political both as hostages and welfare for the 'host' countries. Remember the South Vietnamese were never given the chance to attain that transition point as the Donk Congress cut the financial and force support from under them.
h/t Gates of Vienna
Researchers found cash pumped into North Africa and the Middle East by the European Union over the last 15 years to encourage "good governance" has made little impact. Of course, it only a waste if you ignore two factors.
(a) The personal payments (consulting jobs, campaign contributions, etc...) from Arabs to their "friends"---not just in Europe.
(b) The pathological hatred that Europeans---not just the elites---have for Israel and, to a lesser extent, USA.
Britain has suddenly started demanding effectiveness from their foreign donations, so it's likely they, at least, will demand the same from their donations to the P.A.
Its bad enough that Islamabad is suspected of aiding bin Laden. Now comes trial testimony that will suggest that the ISI helped plan the Mumbai attacks.
Americas relationship with Pakistan, now revealed as the final home of Osama bin Laden, is about to be pushed even closer to the breaking point.
A terrorism trial set to open next week in Chicago is expected to feature testimony from a confessed Pakistani-American terrorist who will link the central Pakistani spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, or ISI, to the planning of the 2008 terrorist siege of Mumbai, Indias largest city, in which 170 people were killed, including six Americans.
Lawyers and law-enforcement officials involved in the case tell The Daily Beast that trial testimony will suggest that the ISI has sheltered terrorist leaders on Pakistani soilpossibility including bin Laden, who hid out down the road from the homes of senior ISI officers in the city of Abbottabad, home to Pakistans equivalent of West Point. Whats more, the trial will surface claims that Pakistani government spies actively trained, equipped and funded terrorists who target American citizens abroad.
The confessed Pakistani-American terrorist is David Headley, a 50-year-old Chicago man whose mother was American and who changed his name from Daood Gilani in 2006 in what he now admits was an effort to avoid suspicion as he traveled. Headley is scheduled to testify as part of a plea bargain struck last year that spared him the death penalty and deportation to India, where he might also have faced execution
#1
from BBC: The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says that although there have always been questions over the level of Pakistan's commitment to demobilise the Taliban and certain elements of al-Qaeda, the raid on 2 May is the first clear proof of the Americans giving up hope that the Pakistanis would really ever deliver.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
05/10/2011 9:26 Comments ||
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#4
Of course the Paks will, its a trade for the nuke and missle tech stuff. In the 70's a Russian defected to Japan in his Mig-25 Foxbat Fighter. We sent it back a year later in crates. We found out it was a piece of junk.
Posted by: retired LEO ||
05/10/2011 22:08 Comments ||
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#5
Sure, and we can set up a joint manufacturing plant in Gujarat.
It's nice to see the funding and curriculum of that staunch US ally, Soody Arabia, being put to good use.
In a madrassa close to the house where Osama bin Laden lived and died, young Pakistani students are furious over the death of a terror mastermind they considered a religious hero.
Venting their anger over a US raid a week ago in which commandos killed bin Laden, reportedly in front of his family, at the villa that hid him from the world, metres (yards) from their school in Abbottabad they vow revenge.
"This war is not over yet. There are so many mujahedeen (fighters) who will continue Osama's fight and will defeat America," said Muhammad Tofail, a 15-year-old student at the biggest seminary in Bilal Town, the suburb that proved to have been bin Laden's home for up to five years.
"There are many Osamas in the Muslim world
No, there really aren't many Arab trust fund drama queens princelings who hooked up as the pretty face front men of jihadi groups. Sorry, kid. What there is an awful lot of in the Muslim world is cannon fodder like you: narrowly educated lads without skills or prospects, whose only hope for married life lies at the far side of a suicide vest -- they haven't a hope in hell of ever marrying a real, live girl.
and the US can't defeat his ideology," he said.
Kill enough of the carriers and the ideology will disappear, a proven weak horse.
The West fears such madrassas preach a zeal that encourages extremism and builds support for Al-Qaeda-linked militants in Pakistan, particularly in the tribal northwest where training grounds groom future Islamist fighters.
Got it in one, O clever Arab Times journalist.
Islamic seminaries are an alternative to mainstream education for several million children in Pakistan, where only two percent of GDP goes on public schooling and where 31 percent of men and 41 percent of women aged 15 to 24 are illiterate.
"I will myself become Osama and revenge his death one day," said 10-year-old Abbas Khan, sitting in the playground outside the seminary and metres away from the Al-Qaeda chief's hideout.
A little late to go for that particular reincarnation, Master Khan. Timing matters.
The young views reflect part of an ideological battle raging in Pakistan -- a country at war with homegrown militants blamed for bomb attacks that have killed more than 4,200 people nationwide in the past four years.
But the perceived violation of sovereignty with last week's operation has united many in anger against the United States, and worsened the widespread perception that the government in Islamabad is servile to its superpower ally.
The government in Islamabad was first servile to its native army. It's what they do best, other than skimming the cream of the economy to pour into their private bank accounts.
Anti-American sentiment is already rampant over of an ongoing covert US drone campaign that has killed hundreds in the northwest region.
Billions of dollars in military and civilian aid given by the United States to Pakistan fails to assuage mass mistrust of the Western power.
We can stop...
Parents in the garrison city of Abbottabad say they fear bin Laden's death on their soil will only worsen calls for revenge on the West.
"Osama bin Laden has developed a psyche. He has developed a mindset and younger generations are affected," said Farzana Anis, who took her daughter to see bin Laden's hideout, speaking in English.
"If there's no social uplift in Pakistan, if there's no education, there is no healthcare, there's no alleviation of poverty, then this mindset can take place... With the killing of Osama bin Laden, the problem has aggravated."
#4
"If there's no social uplift in Pakistan, if there's no education, there is no healthcare, there's no alleviation of poverty, then this mindset can take place...
The abject failure called Pakistan is the US's fault apparently. Pathetic.
#5
The West fears realizes such madrassas preach a zeal that encourages extremism and builds support for Al-Qaeda-linked militants in Pakistan, particularly in the tribal northwest where training grounds groom future Islamist fighters
Well, duh. Maybe one day we will recognize these radical imams as our enemy in the WOT and we act accordingly.
"I will myself become Osama and revenge his death one day,"
Careful what you wish for kid. Maybe you'd better become a cab driver somewhere--it is safer.
#6
"I will myself become Osama and revenge his death one day,"
Cause killing 3,000 civilians is such a high ideal for the culture. On the other hand, the incident has probably inspired an even greater number of young Americans to aspire to become the type of person to hunt down and kill such dogs.
Pakistan now seems ready to allow the United States to interview the wives of Osama bin Laden who were with the al Qaeda leader when he was killed last week, a U.S. official familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The three wives and several children were among 15 or 16 people taken into custody by Pakistani forces after U.S. Navy SEAL commandos secretly flew into the country, killed bin Laden at a compound in Abbottabad and spirited away his body for burial at sea, said the security official.
"The Pakistanis now appear willing to grant access. Hopefully they'll carry through on the signals they're sending," the official said.
There was no immediate comment from the White House.
#1
Yesterday evening ABC news: The White House had said earlier that Pakistan declined to provide access to the widows or to the material that Pakistani authorities seized after the raid on bin Laden's hideout.
#2
......or to the material that Pakistani authorities seized after the raid on bin Laden's hideout.
Well I for one absolutely insist on the return of the Obama college transcripts and other materials, certificates, etc, that will someday be required for the Martha's Obama's Vineyard Presidential University Library and National Slavery Reconciliation Museum.
India kicked off war games involving thousands of troops Monday along its border with arch-rival Pakistan, which is still smarting from the US operation that killed Osama bin Laden. A military spokesman told reporters the six-day exercise, codenamed Vijayee Bhava (Be Victorious) was being held in the Thar desert region in the Indian state of Rajasthan.
"This exercise envisages sustained massed mechanised manoeuvres," S.D. Goswami said, adding the drill involved an array of weaponry that India has acquired as part of its ongoing military modernisation programme.
More than 20,000 combat troops were taking part.
The Indian army, the world's fourth largest in terms of personnel, has conducted 10 major military exercises along Pakistan's border in the past six years.
Pakistan is currently under pressure to explain how bin Laden -- killed in a US raid on a town near Islamabad a week ago -- had managed to live in the country undetected for years. India has already given its verdict, denouncing its South Asian neighbour as a terrorist "sanctuary" and renewing calls for Islamabad to arrest suspects behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
India says the 10 gunmen who attacked multiple targets in Mumbai, killing 166 people, were members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group.
India suspended peace talks with Pakistan after the attacks. The dialogue was recently resumed but India has continued to criticise Pakistan for not doing enough to bring the alleged organisers to justice.
US forces were given permission to conduct unilateral raid inside Pakistan if they knew where bin Laden was hiding, writes Declan Walsh in Islamabad.
The US and Pakistan struck a secret deal almost a decade ago permitting a US operation against Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil similar to last weeks raid that killed the al-Qaeda leader, the Guardian has learned.
The deal was struck between Pakistan's military leader, General Pervez Musharraf, and President George Bush after bin Laden escaped US forces in the mountains of Tora Bora in late 2001, according to serving and retired Pakistani and US officials.
Under its terms, Pakistan would allow US forces to conduct a unilateral raid inside its borders in search of bin Laden, his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri; and the al-Qaeda No.3. Afterwards, both sides agreed, Pakistan would vociferously protest against the incursion.
"There was an agreement between Bush and Musharraf that if we knew where Osama was, we were going to come and get him," a former senior US official with knowledge of counter-terrorism operations said.
"The Pakistanis would put up a hue and cry, but they wouldnt stop us."
#2
The radio this morning said the same things as Joe - SEALS were ready to fight their way out.
I figger that's true, wherever they go, but maybe no one told zero about the deal W made? Or did he just not believe it?
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/10/2011 6:58 Comments ||
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#3
There have been many versions of the story so far by the 0's administration. Maybe one day there will be "transparency". But then will anyone believe it when they see/hear it? I don't see how the narrative back home got so screwed up for a mission that operationally went so well. "0" could have ridden this horse for quite awhile if he had been a tad bit smarter.
#4
US forces were given permission to conduct unilateral raid inside Pakistan if they knew where bin Laden was hiding, writes Declan Walsh in Islamabad.
Petreaus visisted the PAK Army Chief of Staff and former ISI Chief one week before the INFIL. I think most of us can take it from there.
[Dawn] The Pentagon has alternatives to the key land routes through Pakistain used to supply US forces in Afghanistan and is not wholly dependent on those routes, a top US official said on Monday.
"We're confident that we're not dependent upon any particular single thread, and we can continue to supply the Afghanistan effort," Ashton Carter, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told Rooters.
More strains have emerged in already fragile US-Pakistain ties after US forces killed al Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden ... who abandoned all hope when he entered there... at a compound near Islamabad, prompting some concerns about the US military's ability to get supplies to troops fighting in land-locked country of Afghanistan.
In an interview, Carter downplayed those concerns, noting that the US military's logistics operation was developed to deal with unexpected hurdles such as devastating floods throughout Pakistain last year.
"You've seen when the volcano hit, when the floods in Pakistain hit, when Haiti happened, that our logistics system was resilient enough and had enough diversity that we could shift load from one mode to another," Carter said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Figured it out did ya? Now reduce troops and the required amount of supplies and cut off the $3 billion in US jizya this year to Pakistan plus hundreds of millions more in transit fees.
I'd like to suggest everyone look at consumer goods labels, especially clothes. If they have the Made in Pakistan label, then pass it by and let the store know why you will be shopping elsewhere. Don't feed Islamic Terror Central.
* MICHAEL SCHEAUER, former head of the CIA Bin Laden search unit, whom argued on FOX NEWS AM [Napolitano] that the US is DE FACTO "DEAD IN THE WATER" IN THE AFGHANISTAN THEATER WIDOUT ITS ACCESS TO PAKISTAN PORTS OR LOGISTICS HUBS, ESPEC KARACHI.
#3
I'm with Scheaur. We have gone over all of this before and it's very tedious keeping those supply trains as it is. There is no way to do it without Pakistan without mission modification. Not even a "Berlin Airlift" does a good strategy make.
#5
In an interview, Carter downplayed those concerns, noting that the US military's logistics operation was developed to deal with unexpected hurdles such as devastating floods throughout Pakistain last year.
Notice there was no mention of the millions of dollars worth of supplies stolen as containers are broken into in transit. No mention of the prohibition of shipment of sensitive items to include uniforms either.
#6
we need shipping containers with some cams, a remote detonator an filled with high explosive....
Have one of the AWACs watching transmissions. When a perp makes a move on the column and is near the container --- iff the container is in a Pak town... blow it up.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
05/10/2011 16:25 Comments ||
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#7
This is why we need to get the hell out of Afghanistan yesterday. The logistics train makes this war unsupportable. That along with the lack of infrastructure, illiteracy, tribalism, etc make this place one of the worst in the world to carry out a military campaign. We killed Binny, now lets go home.
What you are proposing is referred to as Trackers/Transmiters and Locacators or TTL. These devices are relatively inexpensive and leverage our technological advantage over cave dwelling jihadi bandits, pirates and thieves and are therefore discriminatory and racist. They shall not be used as they might produce actionable results.
[Dawn] Federal Interior Minister, Rehman Malik Pak politician, current Interior Minister under the Gilani administration. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. He later joined the Pak Peoples Party and was chief security officer to Bhutto. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Näwaz Shärif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. said Monday that the Pakistain Mohammedan League -- Nawaz (PML-N) became orphan after the late Osama bin Laden ... who has won the race to that place where we all eventually end up... died, DawnNews reported.
Malik claimed that PML-N received funding from Osama bin Laden, whereas the PML-N also provided treatment to the maimed Al Qaeda chief.
Speaking at the National Assembly, Malik said the Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar's claim that the government was sleeping while bin Laden operation was baseless.
Malik informed that he had phoned DIG Abbottabad and the prime minister about the Abbottabad incident.
He also said that orders have been issued for investigation of the Abbottabad operation.
Malik alleged that PML-N had embraced Osama bin Laden and was responsible for bringing him from Egypt to Pakistain for his treatment.
He further said that those talking against the ISI and the army were accomplices of the Al Qaeda chief.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The US killing of the late Osama bin Laden ... who no longer has to waste time and energy breathing... a few streets away may have flung Pakistain into crisis, but the al Qaeda chief's neighbours are determined nothing should spoil their wedding.
"Osama is not my problem. I don't care if he died here. I can't postpone my wedding because of his death," said Suhail Nasir, 38, dressed up to the nines and getting married for the first time.
Paks have thrown their arms up in horror at the perceived impunity of the American raid, furiously asking whether their military was too incompetent to know bin Laden was in town or, even worse, conspired to protect him.
The debacle has been one of the worst embarrassments ever to hit Pakistain's powerful military establishment, and the civilian leadership has been left reeling, forced on Monday to explain itself in parliament.
But Nasir and his family have festooned their home with hundreds of coloured lights and will not let the small matter of the world's most-wanted terrorist being caught down the road spoil their fun.
Pak wedding festivities last five days and the Nasir family bash began with gusto on Wednesday while the world's media was still camped on their doorstep and security forces struggled to impose order in the neighbourhood.
The Nasir family's indifference is widely reflected across Pakistain. The death of bin Laden has led to a low-key reaction in the country, where al Qaeda enjoys relatively little support despite demands from the terror network for Mohammedans to rise up against the United States.
Neighbours who lived unwittingly alongside bin Laden for up to five years still struggle to believe the official version of events and local conspiracy theories of American machinations have festered.
"We don't believe that Osama was here. Do you believe this drama?" said Asim Shah, a close friend of Nasir who flew in from Turkey for the wedding. ...and are his arms tired.
"This was just a fake drama," said Rizwan Khan, another friend. "The Americans want to pull their troops out of Afghanistan and they have successfully staged all this drama," he added.
The groom set off in a procession of dozens of vehicles decorated with flowers to the nearby town of Taxila to fetch his new bride before the celebrations got under way with dancing, drums and singing.
"We just came back from Taxila and brought the bride. We are enjoying our wedding. This is our life. We're doing what everybody does at weddings -- music, dancing and singing," said Nasir, surrounded by his friends.
"We are really enjoying ourselves."A week after bin Laden's killing, which thrust the quiet town into global notoriety, life is returning to normal.
Hotels piped out music at the weekend and in one wedding hall, a caretaker said three wedding ceremonies had been held during the week.
Anger with America is after all nothing new. Relations plummeted earlier this year over CIA contractor Raymond Davis's killing of two men in broad daylight and his subsequent detention in Pakistain for seven weeks.
The US drone war against forces of Evil in the northwestern tribal belt and the US sentencing of Pak scientist Aafia Siddiqui to 86 years' jail for attempted murder of US military officers are other long-running sources of tension.
"Abbottabad is a peaceful city. I still don't believe this whole drama, so why should I fear any attack?" said one guest at a lunch arranged by Nasir's family, asked if they now feared suicide kabooms on large social gatherings.
"We have the strongest army and the Americans want to defame it. This is just a conspiracy," said Rashid Khan, another guest.
"Why doesn't America release Doctor Aafia? Why did Raymond Davis kill innocent Paks? Obama himself has violated international laws," he said.
In a market, where activists of Pakistain's largest religious party Jamaat-e-Islami shouted slogans against America and set fire to tyres, other people were busy buying CDs and music.
"Why we should mourn Osama's killing? He was a CIA agent and helped America to organise this drama," said Maqsood Jadoon, buying an Indian film.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
...To the newlyweds, matzeltov!! :D
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/10/2011 7:02 Comments ||
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#2
By all means go on with the wedding.Congratulations! Never mind the mess down the street. It is being cleaned up.
[Tolo News] Some residents of Abbottabad have said a number of US special forces spoke in Pashtu language during raid on the late Osama bin Laden's ... who is currently taking a long nap in the dirt... urm... water... compound.
Of course. Americans view foreign languages as tools to be used for the occasion, not proof of superior education. This was an occasion.
The residents said the US special team warned them in Pashtu language to keep away from the operation scene before the al-Qaeda leader was rubbed out.
"Copters were flying very low and we became worried as it was unusual to see military helicopters flying at nights. At 01:00 am (local time) a huge kaboom rocked our city and then we curiously went out of our houses to see what had happened," said a resident in Abbottabad who declined to give his name for security reasons. "When we got ourselves to the incident site, it was already surrounded by the troops."
A TOLOnews news hound who visited Abbottabad said he made it to the town after going through strict security checks by Pak security.
A Pak check post police told TOLOnews "we search all the vehicles that enter the city. We don't let any person or vehicle in without passing through security check."
Once you get into the city you would immediately find out that Abbotabad, the city where the runaway al-Qaeda leader holed himself up for several years, is a semi-military town.
The structure of Osama compound is more like a military base and one architect living not so far form the compound said "the way the three-story house was designed had made me curious."
Osama bin Laden was reportedly in the third floor of the building at the time of the attack and a US soldier has told the media that Laden had peeked at him from a window and then hastily ran for his life.
People living near Osama compound said those living in the compound had never told anyone about what their occupation was.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
"Widout passing security check ... semi-military town" > HMMMM, HMMMMM, wehell, iff Islamabad = PAK GOVT. is still trying to prove it didn't know OBL was at Abbottabad, ITS NOT WORKING - AGAIN.
#2
I've concluded that many of OBL's Abbottabad neighbors knew there was a big-time terrorist living at the compound, whether or not they knew the exact ID doesn't matter one bit. The kids in the neighborhood are now expressing their main ambition in life, to kill apostates and infidels. There's a lot of Pak love for jihadis. They may some day evolve to a more humane outlook, or perhaps a good sound thumping might convince them to change.
You gotta feel sorry for the Paks (and by 'sorry', I mean overcome with mirth). Every which way they try to spin their way out of this mess, they come off looking either stupid and clueless, or treacherous and conniving. Or some combination of both. It is really kind of impressive, but not in a good way.
#4
The structure of Osama compound is more like a military base and one architect living not so far form the compound said "the way the three-story house was designed had made me curious."
High walls topped with C-Wire, firing ports, and iron, crash proof gate was it?
#5
Fortresses being a typical construct when you live in an barbarian society?
Posted by: Water Modem ||
05/10/2011 16:28 Comments ||
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#6
You don't need fluency to achieve basic communication. I can speak 3 languages at a conversational level, and I would expect basic competency could be achieved in about a month with most reasonably intelligent students, as I must assume the SEALs in question would be.
[Dawn] The United States said Monday it would not "apologize" for launching a raid to kill the late Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden is dead.
He took two shots to the head.
That made him frown
and he had to lie down.
Osama bin Laden is dead. on Pak soil, after the Islamabad government complained about US "unilateralism."
White House front man Jay Carney said Washington took Pak complaints seriously but added: "we also do not apologize for the action that this president took."
He said Obama was convinced that he had the "right and imperative" to mount the raid, and noted that the president said during his campaign he would act to get bin Laden in Pakistain if necessary.
Pakistain's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani earlier complained about the US raid on Abbottabad last week which killed bin Laden, after the Pak government was not informed in advance.
Gilani also insisted Pakistain reserves the right to "retaliate with full force," although he stopped short of spelling out what, if anything, would be done should the United States stage another high-profile anti-terror raid.
Carney also said the United States was still seeking cooperation from Islamabad to gain access to three of the Al-Qaeda leader's widows who are in Pak custody and may have vital information on the terror group.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
"FULL FORCE" > Iff anything, IMO Gilani means INDIA, NOT THE USA.
* NEWS KERALA > OSAMA RAID: US HAD WARNED PAKISTAN [repeatedly] OF UNILATERAL ACTION, since June 2008 iff OBL was ever found to be in Pakistan + the US feared Pak inaction agz him.
* PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUM > BIN LADEN RAID: PAK ARMY CHIEF KAYANI [initially]FEARED OSAMA RAID WAS US STRIKE AGZ PAKISTAN'S NUKES.
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > PAKISTAN IGNORED US WARNINGS ON UNILATERAL ACTION ON OSAMA: REPORT.
SAME > [DailyBashkar] US REJECTS GILANI JIBES, SAYS IT DOESN'T REGRET UNILATERAL ACTION.
#3
That CYA is about as effective as a toddler covering its eyes to make the angry mother disappear, JohnQC. The entire world has noticed that not only are they either complicit or stupid about bin Laden's presence, but their military was unable (for whatever reason) to respond to the American raid. What the Pakistni place in the ranks of nations will be after this has yet to be seen, but like Greece, et al, it most certainly isn't going to be anything as cushy as it was before.
I'd bet their mercenaries aren't going to earn the country near what they do now, either... just when the IMF is about to realize the loans are a bad idea without more controls, and Britain and the U.S. openly consider more stringent controls on their jizya payments.
[Iran Press TV] Pak Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, says it is not his country that should be held accountable for the creation of the al-Qaeda terrorist network. Then his lips fell off
Gilani, in his speech, rejected the allegations that Pak officials were aware of the al-Qaeda leader's hideout as absurd, a Press TV correspondent reported. "Tut tut, my good man! And tut!"
"Pakistain is not the birthplace of al Qaeda. We did not invite the late Osama bin Laden ... doesn't live anywhere anymore... to Pakistain, or even to Afghanistan," Gilani said. "He just moved in to a million dollar compound within walking distance of our national military academy and with dozens of retired generals for neighbors!"
Gilani was briefing the lower house of Pakistain's parliament on the recent US raid in the town of Abbottabad. "Harumph! Harumph!"
"Let no-one draw any wrong conclusions. Any attack against Pakistain's strategic assets, whether overt or covert, will find a matching response. "We will kick yore butt!"
"Pakistain reserves the right to retaliate with full force. "Feeeear the Mighty Pak Army, the Scourge of Kargill! Destroyer of Bangladesh!"
"No-one should underestimate the resolve and capability of our nation and armed forces to defend our sacred homeland," he said. "We mean business, and I ain't talkin' dry cleaning!"
"We have strong differences with the United States. "But we do allow them to give us money..."
"The media spin masters have tended to portray a false divide between the state institutions of Pakistain. I would like to most emphatically reject the notion of divide," the premier noted. "We're all on the same sheet of music here. We do exactly what the ISI tells us to do!" However, The didactic However... he said Pakistain is determined not to allow its soil to be used for militancy. "No, no! Certainly not!"
"Pakistain will not relent in this national cause and it is determined not to allow its soil to be used by anyone for terrorism," he added. "And we have a very precise definition of terrorism, lemme tell youse!"
The Pak premier also told the politicians that an investigation has been ordered into the presence of bin Laden in Abbottabad. "Governor William J. Le Petomane will be submitting a full report any day now! As soon as he's finished with the Benazir Bhutto inquiry..."
Last Sunday, US President Barack B.O. Obama announced that the al-Qaeda leader had been killed in a US military attack on a compound near Islamabad. "He's dead, y'all!"
Washington claims its special forces killed Osama bin Laden in the attack without informing Islamabad. CIA chief Leon Panetta said the US did not inform Pak authorities about the raid since they feared Islamabad might disrupt the mission. The remarks come as pressure mounts on Islamabad to explain how bin Laden managed to hide out in a compound near a military camp for several years.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Thus of course, we have ...
To wit,
* NEWS KERALA > US SHEET CHARGES [serving] PAK ISI MAJOR, FOUR OTHERS [LeT Operatives] FOR 26/11 ATTACKS, aka Mumbai, Indjuh.
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > WIKILEAKS: PAK ISI ALLOWED ATTACKS ON INDIA | GUANTANAMO DETAINEES SAY ISI ALLOWED ATTACKS IN INDIA, as per targets selected by Pakistan Army.
D *** NG IT, JUST BECAUSE THE LET WAS TRAINED IN PAKISTAN + ALLOWED TO CROSS PAK'S BORDERS INTO INDJUH + TOLD TO ATTACK + DESTROY TARGETS IN INDIA CHOSEN BY THE PAK ARMY + "KILL INDIAN CIVILIANS IN INDIA" DOESN'T MEAN PAKISTAN IS RESPONSIBLE OR COMPLICIT!
#3
Sounds to me as if their main worry is that the Vaunted Pak Nukes will be discovered to be the subject of "Inshallah Maintenance" and in status "Rusting In Their Holes"...
[Tolo News] A former CIA officer has said that al-Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden ... who now dances with worms... would not have been able to spend several years in Pakistain without a support structure from Pak networks.
Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer who served as senior advisor to three US presidents on Middle East and South Asian issues; and chaired President B.O.'s first inter-agency review of policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistain told CNN that the al-Qaeda has been Paksed.
Mr Riedel has said that the US did not keep Pakistain informed of Bin Laden compound operation in advance over fears that it would jeopardise the mission.
The fact that Osama bin Laden was living in a military area and whether the Mighty Pak Army knew it or not has strained the credulity to believe that Pakistain was not aware about Osama's whereabouts before the raid.
Last week on Monday Osama bin Laden was rubbed out in an operation by a small team of US special forces in Abbottabad, a city 35km north of Pak capital Islamabad.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
OR, twas it the other way around, i.e. that Osama's so-called "CORE AL-QAEDA/QAIDA" became a de facto STATE, NOT JUST A GROUP OR NETWORK???
versus
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > PAKISTAN TERROR TIES AT CENTER OF UPCOMING CHICAGO TRIAL.
* RUSSIA TODAY > [DNC Chair Howard Dean] "DEMOCRACY FOR AMERICA" BACKS AFGHAN WITHDRAWAL, in wake of Osama's demise + controversy over Pak Govt. role in hiding him from the US.
[Arab News] The killing of the late Osama bin Laden ... who is currently taking a long nap in the dirt... urm... water... in Pakistain has strengthened our resolve to fight the menace of terrorism with renewed vigor, said Pakistain's Interior Minister Rehman Malik Pak politician, current Interior Minister under the Gilani administration. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. He later joined the Pak Peoples Party and was chief security officer to Bhutto. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Näwaz Shärif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. here Sunday.
Al-Qaeda chief Bin Laden was killed in a US military operation in Abbottabad last Monday.
Speaking to Arab News about the much-talked-about failure of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to locate the terror master-mind who supposedly stayed in his Abbottabad hide-out for five years, the minister admitted: "It was an intelligence failure. Sometimes it happens, but I assure our allies that he was not being protected by any government agency."
Malik ruled out the possibility of anyone, either from the political leadership or from the military top brass, stepping down for the "intelligence failure."
He said that 9/11 also happened due to intelligence failure. "Not only 9/11, I can cite dozens of other incidents the world over in which spy agencies failed to see terrorists' designs, which led to attacks. That does not mean that those agencies protected terroristdesignss."
Malik ruled out the possibility of anyone, either from the political leadership or from the military top brass, stepping down for the "intelligence failure."
"Why would anyone resign? How many people resigned after 9/11 in the US? No heads will roll in Pakistain in the aftermath of Bin Laden's killing in Abbottabad," he said, adding:: "This is not the time for blame game but rather to be introspective, to find out the holes and plug them."
Malik denied reports that ISI chief Shuja Pasha was in the US to meet his counterpart and explain the situation and reassure America about Pakistain's resolve to fight terrorism. "No way. I assure you Shuja Pasha is in Pakistain doing his duty." The minister, however, admitted that there was a trust deficit between the US and Pakistain which sometimes fuels theories.
Taking a swipe at the US, the minister said: "Let me ask those who are blaming us for Bin Laden's presence in our country one simple question: Who created Bin Laden and sent him to fight Russians? We never invited him to Pakistain. He went there with hundreds of other Arab fighters to wage a jihad against Russian forces, and the world knows who supported those jihadists," he added. During the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, the US intelligence agency CIA reportedly supported and funded the jihadists.
Asked about the fate of Bin Laden's family members jugged from the Abbottabad compound, the minister said: "They are in our custody, but I will not reveal their whereabouts and will also not share with the media their exact number."
Asked about the whereabouts of Indian mafia don, a chief suspect in 1992 Mumbai kabooms, Dawood Ibrahim, the minister denied having any information. Asked what would be Pakistain's reaction if India also carried out an operation similar to that of the US on Pak soil to take out Dawood, Malik said: "We will give India a befitting reply."
The minister stated that Pakistain has been a victim of terrorism and not a promoter of it. "We have suffered more than any country due to terrorism. Thousands of innocent civilians have been killed by Al-Qaeda. But due to a sustained fight we have been able to contain it considerably. The incidents of suicide kabooms have come down.
Malik assured Pakistain's allies, the US and Soddy Arabia, as well as other countries, that an extensive investigation has been ordered to know the circumstances that enabled Bin Laden to stay in the country undetected and also to find out about the truth behind Abbottabad's operation.
He said: "Although we were not informed about the operation by the US, it was our input that led Americans to that house who finally tracked down Bin Laden and killed him."
Earlier, addressing students at the Pakistain International School (English Section), Malik emphasized that terrorism could not be defeated by military actions alone. "We need to address the root cause and try to deradicalize our youth by addressing pressing issues and giving them the correct information and opportunities.
Malik called Saudi-Pak relations "rock-solid" and said that both the countries cooperate on various issues of mutual interest.
Malik met King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in Riyadh on Saturday. The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Chief of General Intelligence Prince Muqrin, Secretary-General of the National Security Council Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, Minister of State and Commander of the National Guard Prince Miteb Bin Abdullah, Adviser to the King, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah and Saudi Ambassador to Pakistain Abdulaziz Al-Ghadeer.
The two sides discussed security-related issues and pledged to stand by each other in times of need. They agreed to continue consulting and coordinating with each other on every major development.
"I also handed over a letter from President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... to King Abdullah and extended an invitation to him to visit Islamabad soon. The king accepted the invitation," Malik said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Oh my word.
These guys are completely irrational.
How do you even carry on a conversation with them.
Should we file Pakistan under "bad ideas" and close up the shop and sell the inventory to George Soros? or maybe the City of Chicago?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/10/2011 10:51 Comments ||
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The United States' pleas for Iraq's government to decide "within weeks" whether American troops should stay beyond a year-end deadline to leave will not be met, Iraqi politicians say, complicating plans for the U.S. military withdrawal.
No, it simplifies it...
The Iraqi politicians attributed this to a confluence of domestic issues. Political brinkmanship, popular unrest and mounting mistrust among lawmakers have conspired to make a decision on a lasting U.S. military presence politically untouchable for Iraqi politicians for months to come.
Although Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been seen as leaving the door open to some continued U.S. support, he has also asserted that Iraq no longer needs military help from the Americans. Any decision to extend the U.S. troop presence into 2012 would need approval from the Iraqi parliament. Compounding the problem is a wave of assassinations of government officials and threats by extremists of further violence should Iraqi leaders vote to extend the U.S. military presence.
"There is no certain time or certain date to decide on the U.S. military, and we will not be in a hurry to take a decision," Osama al-Nujaifi, the speaker of parliament, said in an interview.
I'm all for helping the Iraqi people. We've been doing it eight years now, and I think the average Iraqi (as opposed to their politicians and the terrorists) understand that we've been helpful. We've made it possible for them to decide whether or not they're going to have a reasonable, working country.
Now then: if the Iraqi people want such a place, and they understand that they still need some help, fine, we should help. Colin Powell was correct about the 'pottery barn' rule.
But if they don't, or if they decide they don't need us anymore, no problem. We'll pack our stuff and come home. The Iraqis then can decide how they'll handle Iran, the ISI and the Sunni dead enders.
Don't take too long in deciding or the decision will be made for you. Cheers.
A growing chorus of military strategists in Washington would like a deal allowing at least some continued U.S. military presence in Iraq. Amid the broad unrest across the Middle East, they say, a U.S. foothold in Iraq is critical to help ensure stability in that country and to keep Iran and other potential aggressors in check.
But publicly the Obama administration has been adamant that any continued troop presence -- beyond a couple of hundred military advisers attached to the U.S. Embassy -- would be authorized only if Iraq requests help.
The lack of clarity about whether troops would be asked to stay or go is what Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, seemed intent on avoiding when he visited Iraq last month and requested its leaders to decide "within weeks " whether they wanted an extended U.S. presence.
An elaborate U.S military withdrawal is set to swing into high gear by late summer, with the removal of nearly 50,000 troops and 63,000 contractors; the closure of nearly 100 bases; and the hauling away or disposal of about 1 million pieces of equipment accumulated during eight years of conflict.
Gen. Babakir Zebari, a Kurd who holds a position roughly equivalent to that of the U.S. Joint Chiefs chairman, has said repeatedly that Iraq's army "will not be ready to control Iraq until 2020."
If Iraqi leaders decide late in the year to request that some U.S. troops or equipment stay, military officials say, it would entail significantly altering or even reversing the course and could compound security concerns and costs.
Maliki said in a recent televised appearance here that Iraq's air force will not be ready by next year to protect the country from foreign threats. He said Sunday that representatives of Iraq's political parties should meet to discuss the troop withdrawal issue.
"The prime minister is the commander in chief, and we must hear from him whether he is with [the U.S.] or against," said Ayad Allawi, head of the Iraqiya bloc, the largest political coalition in parliament. "Unfortunately, we believe neither the Iraqi army nor the police are ready to face the responsibility and shoulder it alone."
Maliki also must resolve a standoff over who should head Iraq's military, police and intelligence services. An unfulfilled deal reached in December requires each to be led by a different faction. That team of Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish officials would share responsibility as part of the government's effort to secure Iraq after U.S. troops leave.
Abdul Hussein Abtan, a Shiite legislator from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, said that no lawmaker wants to be the first one viewed as considering supporting an extended U.S. troop presence. "Everybody wants to stay away from this topic," he said. "I don't want to exaggerate, but this issue might cause the collapse of the parliament and of the entire government."
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi Premier Nouri Al-Maliki called Monday for implementing the Iraqi-US Strategic agreement that organizes the cooperation between the two countries.
So they want us around in some way, just not in any way that's obvious.
In a statement following a meeting with US Congress delegation headed by John Makin, he added that "prospects of cooperation with the United States are widely open".
The statement added the necessity of expanding cooperation between the two countries in economic, industrial, trade and scientific fields.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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Israel plans to invest $1 billion in the development and production of batteries for its Iron Dome rocket interception system, a top Israeli defense official said in an interview published Monday.
Defense Ministry director-general Major General Udi Shani told the daily Haaretz newspaper that five countries have already expressed interest in the system, which was successfully deployed during a rise in rocket fire from Gaza in early April. The best solution given the political limitations
RAMALLAH, West Bank - The Palestinian Authority said on Monday it had not been able to pay public sector salaries for the first time since 2007 because of Israel's decision to halt the transfer of tax funds.
They'll be starving in the streets. Or shooting at each other. Or robbing banks.
Who needs a salary when you have Dignity(tm) and Unity(tm)???
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Israel's decision, taken in protest at a Palestinian unity deal involving the Islamist group Hamas -- had put the Ramallah-based government in an impossible financial position.
Fayyad said the Palestinian Authority (PA) had paid salaries to its 150,000 employees on the 5th day of every month since mid-2007. "We are now on the 9th and we have not been able to meet this obligation," he said.
They have 150K employees in a land of about 4 million people.
The Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided on May 1 to halt the transfers of Palestinian taxes which make up 70 percent of PA revenues, citing fears that the money would go to Hamas, a militant group hostile to Israel.
Hmmm, you are almost completely dependent on one source of revenue, yet your entire existence is based on biting the hand that feeds you. Maybe there is a need to work on trying to figure out the logic of this situation, and making some adjustments to pre-existing habits and assumptions.
That would require them to think things through. Better to have Dire Revenge.
"The situation was difficult before Israel halted the transfer of money. Now, with Israel halting the transfers, it is impossible," Fayyad said.
He added the PA would not be able to pay the monthly wage bill, which totals almost $170 million, until Israel handed over the tax money or foreign governments stepped in to fill the financial gap.
Or the 150K workers actually do something of value other than beat up on Dogmushes...
The European Commission announced on Friday it would provide an additional 85 million euros ($122 million) in aid in 2011, with 45 million euros of this earmarked for salaries for key workers. It was not clear when these funds would arrive.
Enablers...
Did the Commissioners consult with the paying governments before making that grand promise? When Britain is cutting off the U.N, it isn't likely they're going to give extra money to the EU to play with, while Germany and France have Greece and Ireland to finance, among others.
The PA, which is heavily dependent on the financial support of donors including the United States and the European Union, has called for international intervention to persuade Israel to reverse the decision.
"Death to Israel!" oh and, um, please give us our money...
Fayyad said there had been no communication with the Israeli finance ministry since the cancellation of a monthly meeting held to coordinate the transfer of the revenues, mostly collected on goods imported via Israel to PA-controlled areas.
"This matter has obstructed the capacities of the authority and has limited its ability to perform its duties, especially the salaries," Fayyad told journalists in Ramallah.
The salaries paid by the PA include those of around 70,000 employees in the Gaza Strip, who continued to receive their wages even after Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.
Brilliant. I can't think of another place on earth -- well, okay, General Motors -- that is this clueless...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
tough times when you actually have to earn a living, huh, Paleos? Strangle them economically by cutting off their welfare
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/10/2011 0:31 Comments ||
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#2
I can think of one very satisfying way to reduce the Federal budget deficit by $500 million.
#3
Time to end cross border transfer of goods and services from Israel to the Paleos. They are on their own.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/10/2011 2:09 Comments ||
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#4
Make that "Arab" Dignity and "Arab" Unity.Let me get this straight...your enemy (aka the dirty Jewwzzzz) collect YOUR taxes? Why dont you collect your OWN taxes? GOVERNMENTS collect taxes...but you dont collect zip because you arent REALLY a government? And you are ASKING and perhaps even begging for what you dont collect because you are a (pick one) nadless, phoney, illusory, bogus, (help me here) play acting, baloney government?
A government is either sovereign or its baloney. You cant HAVE it BOTH ways. You are EITHER sovereign OR baloney. Ask Pakistan... they understand the distinction and they will explain it to you. You have 150,000 government employees for 6,000,000 citizens and you cant pay them because your "government" is up to its ears in BALONEY? No one "gives" you sovereignty...you TAKE sovereignty. That is WHY it is called sovereignty.
It you cant take sovereignty...you arent sovereign. Rule # 1.
Go get your clown suit and pick up your "Arab" dignity at the door. Governments who HAVE to ask...arent.
Ding ding.
Posted by: de Medici3489 ||
05/10/2011 4:25 Comments ||
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#5
They want to be a state? Fine. Call them a state, cut off all funding and water and fuel transfers without a treaty for it and don't give them any money. Let them be self sufficient.
[Ma'an] Buildings and institutions in Gazoo formerly used as Fatah institutions should be rebuilt and restored for use by the party, Fatah politician in Gazoo Faysal Abu Shahla told Ma'an on Monday.
The politician and member of Fatah's Revolutionary Council said several buildings in Gazoo had been taken over by Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, in 2007 when security services loyal to the rival parties engaged in bloody street battles. The strife ended in the takeover of the Gazoo Strip by Hamas, and the establishment of Fatah-dominated rule in the West Bank.
Following the signing of a unity deal, which saw Fatah flags fly in Gazoo for the first time since 2007, Abu Shahla said his movement would start to restore its presence in the coastal enclave.
Fatah personnel who were forced to leave Gazoo will also soon return, the official added, saying he looked forward to the formation of a committee next week in Cairo to oversee the institutionalized end to political arrests in both the West Bank and Gazoo.
Abu Shahla said Fatah was looking forward to the regular resumption of activities in Gazoo, and noted that the party's Revolutionary Council meeting in Ramallah -- delayed for the past two months -- would be held on time in May.
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05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ma'an] Former Iranian deputy defense minister Ali Riza Asghari has been jugged in Israel since his abduction by the Mossad in 2006, sources told Ma'an.
The sources said Israeli authorities had imposed a gag order on the country's media forbidding them from reporting details of the case.
Iranian officials and Asghari's family have accused Israel's Mossad of abducting the former cabinet minister, who disappeared during a visit to Turkey in December 2006.
Bummer. I thought we had him. Still, if not us, Israel is a good alternative...at the moment perhaps better.
Shortly after Asghari's disappearance, a senior US official told The Washington Post that the Iranian had defected and was providing Western intelligence services with information on links between Hezbullies and Iran.
In March 2009, a former German Defense Ministry official also said Asghari had defected, and that he was providing information on Iran's nuclear program.
Iranian news sites reported in November 2009 that Asghari was being held in an Israeli prison. At the time, Israel's Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
Journalist Richard Silverstein reported in December 2010 that Asghari was found dead in his cell in Israel's Ayalon prison.
God took him in custody? Bet he's not enjoying that questioning process...
Silverstein cited reports by the Israeli news site Ynet and the Israeli daily Haaretz that a security prisoner had did away with himself while in solitary confinement in Ayalon prison. Ynet cited a gag order in its report, and the news was later removed from the site.
A source close to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak revealed that the dear departed prisoner was Asghari, Silverstein said.
Based on the above, what probability would we assign to the the likelihood the unnamed suicide is actually our Iranian? Show your work for extra credit.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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Did the Israelis give him a Muslim funeral and dump him in the sea?
[Ma'an] Paleostinian Authority security forces jugged five Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Mohammedan Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the liquidation of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gazoo until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus. They remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... affiliates for political reasons, the movement said in a statement released Sunday.
"Such arrests are poisoning the conciliation atmosphere," Islamic Jihad said, adding that a continuation of political arrests in the wake of the signing of a unity deal in Cairo was "enforcing division."
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05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
ION FREEREPUBLIC > [Arutz Sheva] ASSAD'S COUSIN SAYS UNSTABLE SYRIA BAD FOR ISRAEL.
and
* JPOST > MASHAAL: ISRAEL HAS ONE YEAR TO RECOGNIZE PALESTINIAN STATE, else Hamas = PA Govt. will dev + resort to new schemas albeit not necessarily violent i.e. warfare.
* SAME > [Netanyahu] PM: WID BIN LADEN GONE, [Iran's] KHAMENEI BIGGEST THREAT TO PEACE.
Benji belabels Iran's Supreme Leader a true "fanatic".
Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station has begun operating at a low level in a crucial step toward bringing it online, the Russian company that built the plant said Tuesday.
The generating unit at Iran's first atomic power plant was brought up to the "minimum controllable level of power" on Sunday, Atomstroyexport, the state company that builds nuclear plants abroad, said in a statement.
Monday, a member of an Iranian parliamentary commission monitoring Bushehr said "final tests" were being conducted, and Iran's Fars news agency said the plant would start providing power to the national grid within two months.
Bochkov said the reactor's operational and safety systems were being tested at the low power level. This will be increased gradually and brought to full capacity, "and after that it will be integrated into Iran's power grid," he said.
Bochkov gave no time frame for that because at that moment Stuxnet caused his phone to melt down.
Iran's hopes of using the Arab Spring to secure regional domination were boosted on Monday as it took a vital step towards strengthening relations with Egypt.
Ali Akbar Salehi, the Iranian foreign minister, announced that one of his deputies would visit Cairo "in the near future" and said that he would hold talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Nabil al-Arabi, in the Indonesian resort of Bali at the end of the month.
It comes as the two states prepare for the full-scale resumption of diplomatic relations in more than 30 years, a development that some observers believe could tilt balance of power in the Middle East in Iran's favour.
Mr Salehi boasted of a flurry of communications between the two capitals as they work towards an exchange of ambassadors, a breakthrough that has alarmed Israel, dismayed Saudi Arabia, Iran's long-standing rival for influence in the Arab world, and caused unease in Washington.
"Currently, many oral and written messages and phone calls are being exchanged between officials of the two sides," Mr Salehi said.
Under Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president ousted in a popular revolution three months ago, relations with Iran were deeply antagonistic
ISTANBUL - Iran will hold talks with major powers in Turkey over its disputed nuclear programme, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday, after earlier discussions failed to resolve the row.
I hope that this important issue will reach its final result in the (next) Istanbul talks, Ahmadinejad told a news conference in Istanbul, broadcast live on Iranian state television, without giving a date.
After talks with his European Union counterpart in Geneva in February, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said he hoped there would be further meetings, but no date was set.
Iranian media quoted Salehi as saying earlier this month that Tehran had received a letter from European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who represented major powers in previous talks with Iran.
Soon the response to Mrs. Ashtons letter will be sent by relevant Iranian officials, Ahmadinejad said.
We have always been in favour of talks. Iran is ready today to hold talks based on justice and mutual respect, he added.
Washington said it could not confirm Ahmadinejads announcement.
Obviously it has been some time since our last p5+1 talks. Weve been quite clear on what we are looking for. But we do support this dialogue, and as weve said often theres two tracks here and the door does remain open, State Department spokesman Mark Toner told a news briefing.
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05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Iran's ruling conservatives have increased the pressure on President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad to "obey" the Islamic republic's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying his latest pledges did not go far enough.
"The president said he would dishearten the enemies of the regime (in accepting Khamenei's authority) but that is not enough. We are waiting for him to act on his words," said influential religious authority Hojatoleslam Kazem Sediqi, widely quoted in Sunday papers.
Ahmadinejad told a cabinet meeting on May 1 that he would obey Khamenei like "a son would his father" in an attempt to draw a line on the stand-off between the two leaders.
The president had last month boycotted all public duties for eight days after Khamenei vetoed his sacking of Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi, an ally of the supreme leader.
But later on Sunday, he reiterated his allegiance to the Velayat-e Faqih system of supreme leader in Iran.
"The government with strength in word and action will continue to defend Velayat-e Faqih," Ahmadinejad said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday, quoted on state television's website.
The clash over control of the intelligence ministry triggered a conservative backlash against the president that shows little sign of abating.
One Ahmadinejad ally, presidential prayer leader Hojatoleslam Abbas Amirifar, was tossed in the calaboose May 1 for his murky role in the distribution of a DVD announcing the imminent return of the hidden imam, whom Shiite Mohammedans believe to be the ultimate savior of humankind who will bring justice to the world.
A court also insinuated the arrest of a "sorcerer" who was allegedly linked to Ahmadinejad's chief of staff, Esfandiyar Rahim Mashaie.
"Certain people within the regime have forgotten the values of the revolution and seek to misrepresent Islam ... but the people do not follow demons or jinns, and will not tolerate such deviance," warned General Mohammad Ali Jafari, head of the Revolutionary Guards, who reports directly to the supreme leader.
But Ahmadinejad on Sunday played down the row.
"The country can only be built with wisdom and sacrifice. For this, we believe those who these days speak of the influence of fortune-tellers and jinns in the performance of the government are only making jokes," he said.
Mashaie has long been a thorn in the side of the religious ultra-conservatives, who say he is too nationalistic, too liberal and wields too much influence over the president.
Regime hardliners also accuse him of "deviating" the revolution and have petitioned the president several times to get rid of him, so far to no avail.
For the past week, religious conservatives have been issuing daily reminders of the president's duty of obedience to the supreme leader.
"To obey and submit to the supreme leader is a religious duty that has nothing to do with politics," said Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, Ahmadinejad's former mentor, who added that the president's "legitimacy is based upon the approval of the supreme leader and not the popular vote."
Hojatoleslam Mojtaba Zolnour, Khamenei's deputy representative to the Revolutionary Guards, echoed the message: "Neither the president nor anyone has any legitimacy without the order of the supreme leader," he said, asking Ahmadinejad to "correct" his position.
The conservative parliament, dominated by hardliners, has opposed the government frequently in recent months.
It has also upped the pressure on Ahmadinejad, launching a petition demanding that he come before parliament to explain his behavior, Mehr news agency reported, adding it had already garnered 90 of the 175 signatures required.
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05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... slammed the new majority's failure to form a new government, saying that the PSP and National Struggle Front can no longer cover up the vacuum it has caused.
He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: "The new majority has failed miserably in forming a new government."
"The new majority had unanimously agreed to appoint Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati to his position and he has fulfilled most of its political demands," he continued.
"Why has it therefore set so many obstacles in his mission despite all the political and economic problems Leb is enduring?" he asked.
"The PSP and National Struggle Front refuse to get dragged into the game of distributing portfolios that are obstructing the government formation," he added.
"The country's interest cannot be served through this side or that acquiring a certain portfolio, but it is achieved through overcoming petty interests and heading towards a new reality," the MP stressed.
Jumblat noted: "It turned out that the new majority is incapable of accomplishing such a reality given its current and endless division."
"The PSP seeks to protect Leb's stability and peace and we can no longer cover up the actions of some sides who only seek their direct interests as doing so will only lead to Leb's downfall," he stated.
Addressing the developments in Syria, Jumblat urged Syrian President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... to implement reforms he had announced "because they serve to breathe new life on Syria's political scene."
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[Iran Press TV] A senior Iranian military commander says the domestically-manufactured Sayyad-2 (Hunter II) air defense system will soon be deployed throughout the country.
Commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base, Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili, told Fars News Agency on Monday that Sayyad-2 would increase the range, altitude and precision of Iran's missile defenses.
Esmaili said the upgraded and digitalized version of the Sayyad-2 has "higher precision and destruction power" compared to its prototype.
On April 16, Iran tested the homemade air defense system, the most accurate one it has manufactured so far.
Sayyad-2 is an upgraded version of the Sayyad-1 system and is comprised of two-stage missiles that can target all kinds of aircraft, including bombers, at medium and high altitudes.
It is also equipped with a 200-kilogram warhead and has a speed of 1,200 meters per second.
In recent years, Iran has made major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in making various military equipment.
In January, the Iranian Defense Ministry delivered new naval cruise missile systems in another move to boost the nation's defense capabilities.
The systems, designed and produced by Iranian military experts, are capable of spotting and destroying various targets at sea.
Iran also unveiled its first domestically-manufactured long-range Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in 2010.
Iran has repeatedly stated that its military might poses no threat to other countries, reiterating that its defense doctrine is based on deterrence.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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The Sayyad-2 static surface-to-air missile system is a further development of the Sayyad-1 series, which in itself is a development of the Russian S-75 (NATO SA-2 Guideline) system. The Sayyad series is also heavily influenced by the Chinese HQ-2 and may benefit from North Korean technology input. Other reports not yet confirmed suggest the updated Sayyad series to be strongly influenced by HAWK and Standard missiles in current IRIADF inventory.
http://scrollpost.com/blog/2011/04/16/sayyad2-sam-test-launch
[Iran Press TV] The Fearless Leader of the Islamic Revolution ...Iran's doddering head theocrat... hails Iranian Kurds for their steadfast resistance to enemy plots They're everywhere! They're everywhere! aimed at creating a rift in the nation.
"The people of Kurdistan have proven their loyalty to the establishment and the enemy's complex propaganda has failed to affect this valuable characteristic," Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei ...the successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the actual dictator of Iran... said in a speech in Kurdistan Province on Monday.
The Leader described Kurdistan as the "land of knowledge and tradition," adding that the province has made significant strides in political, educational and social fields.
Ayatollah Khamenei called on government officials to make more efforts to utilize the talents of Kurdish youth and create employment opportunities in the province.
The Leader concluded that the province would be able to continue its development and neutralize enemy plots through unity between the people and provincial officials.
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05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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IIRC WAFF > PKK WANTS ARMENIAN + TURKISH AREAS, as part of their proposed new sovereign State.
AKA AS KURDISTAN = "KURD REPUBLIC" + "SALADIN-ISTAN".
[Iran Press TV] Iran's President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad strongly criticizes US economic policies, saying that the paper currency created by the American government is taking a heavy toll on the global economy.
In an address to the fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday, Ahmadinejad said that the cash injected into the global economy in the form valueless US dollars amount to over USD 32 trillion, IRNA reported.
"This is while the US budget deficit for the 2011 fiscal year is expected to reach a figure above USD 1.6 trillion," he added.
The Iranian president also pointed that the US foreign debt now approaching over USD 14.6 trillion, while the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the United States stands at around USD 14 trillion.
President Ahmadinejad stated that such figures clearly explain the plunder of national wealth in many countries, and the upsurge in poverty and underdevelopment across the globe.
He noted the certain countries rob less developed states to pay their international debts.
"Most of international economic organizations either defend the existing situation or serve the interests of certain states," he said.
President Ahmadinejad further said the era of colonialism is coming to an end and the management of world issues should be reformed.
He also proposed the formation of an independent commission to assess the extent of damage inflicted on oppressed nations during the era of colonialism, and to oblige former colonialist powers to pay indemnities.
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05/10/2011 00:00 ||
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In an ideal capitalistic economy, man abuses man. In an ideal Islamic economy, the reverse will be true. It was ever such.
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.
[Arab News] An Amman court of first instance on Sunday resumed the trial in absentia of Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard and 19 other Danish editors and journalists on charges of publishing cartoons of Islam's Prophet Muhammad (PTUI!) six years ago which were deemed blasphemous.
[Asia One] A top Malaysian badminton official Monday brushed aside calls by an Islamic party to boycott tournaments following a decision by the sport's world body to compel female players to wear skirts.
Wazoo
Asif Ali 
Federal Interior Minister, 
[Iran Press TV] Pak Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, says it is not his country that should be held accountable for the creation of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.
[Tolo News] A former CIA officer has said that al-Qaeda leader 
[Arab News] The killing of 
[Ma'an] Buildings and institutions in 
[Ma'an] Former Iranian deputy defense minister Ali Riza Asghari has been 
ISTANBUL - Iran will hold talks with major powers in Turkey over its disputed nuclear programme, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday, after earlier discussions failed to resolve the row.
Mahmoud 
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP 
