Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said Thursday that Pakistans spy agency played a direct role in an attack on the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul last week. With ISI support, Mullen said, referring to Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence, Haqqani operatives planned and conducted that truck bomb attack, as well as the assault on our embassy. Today on Fox News Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said the United States should put all options on the table in response. Thats a pretty stunning statement, host Chris Wallace said and repeatedly asked Graham to clarify whether he was referring to military action against Pakistan. I will leave it up to the experts, Graham said, adding, but if the experts believe that we need to elevate our response, they will have a lot of bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. Watch the clip:
#1
Technically, the ISI is under the control of the Prime Minister. But most of the ISI is staffed with army officers. Musharraf, back when he was both president and army chief, kept a tight grip on the ISI but I doubt that the civilian government exercises any real control today. Still, it is unlike the army to act in an undisciplined manner. The ISI is operating under the direction of the senior military leadership and is not rogue.
It is time for those senior military leaders to feel some pain. 200 F-35's sold to India on generous terms? It would mean jobs in the USA.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
09/25/2011 14:50 Comments ||
Top||
#6
All my friends call me bub - not. Well, bubba sometimes; I have to be honest. :-)
Lets not ignore the 59 French Mirage 2000H's, 8 of which have crashed (my last count) leaving 51.
Or the Sukhoi Su-30MK with both French and Israeli (and six other nations') avionics. I will grant you that India is more open minded than Malaysia which replaced the Israeli components with those manufactured by France.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
09/25/2011 17:21 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Don't know if the F-35 is a lemon, so much an an over-teched, high dollar piece of gear that is beyond the reach or technical expertise of lots of folks ( the US included) Ones example: the USMC has stated they don't want the STOL version, due to the austerity a forward area battle brings and all the complicated bits and pieces for the lift fan. all computer controlled, so if a byte goes titzup, but mechanically there is nothing wrong, you are still down. Doubtful if even MacGyver could duct tape the bird into the air.
at least the russion birds, while more steam gauge era, will be able to fly.
#9
As per NEWS KERALA + TOPIX, FM KHAR has been recalled back home to Pakistan + Islamabad disavows any responsibility for US security in Afghanistan, i.e. US-NATO-Afghan Govt inability to control the Haqqanis, etal.
On a separate note, IMO A NEW INDO-PAK WAR is more likely to occur first before a US-PAK WAR???
CAIRO Egypt, a fecund breeding ground for Arab and Islamic ideologies, is witnessing the birth of yet another: Islamic liberalism.
Wishful thinking from the NYT, of course...
Nageh Ibrahim, the ideologue of the Islamic Group, an umbrella organization for Egyptian militant student groups that in the 1980s and 1990s took up arms against President Hosni Mubarak, was one of the first to use the term, in an apparent bid to woo secularists into a rapprochement.
Once wooed, they'll be controlled, converted or executed...
Liberalism has so many good sides that do not run afoul of the universal principles of the Islamic Shariah, he told an audience drawn from the Wafd Party in July. We have to search for a form of Islamic liberalism compatible with the norms of Egyptian society while not alienating other forces.
Mr. Ibrahim, whose books advocated violence as a means for changing the Mubarak regime, now argues that Islamists and secularists have more common ground than differences. In several public speaking events and articles, he has avoided blaming secularists or liberals for the polarization between secular and religious groups that followed Mr. Mubaraks fall. Instead he has blamed a sabotage campaign by partisans of the former regime.
It's always the counter-revolutionaries who are to blame, comrade; you and I should band together under my direction so as to resist them...
Other Islamists have adopted his conciliatory line. The cleric Mohammed al-Zoghbi, a hero of the Salafi movement and one of the fiercest critics of secularism, recently called the countrys secularist activists brothers with kind, good and patriotic hearts that just need to know the Islamists better. A few weeks earlier, he described secular Tahrir Square protesters as a homeless bunch, forced into Tahrir Square, after they were beaten up by their wives back home.
Less conservative Islamic players have entered the fray as well.
Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al Azhar, the bastion of Sunni Islam scholarship that prides itself on a moderate form of Egyptian Islam, issued a document that seeks to marry secular attitudes with conservative theories. The Azhar Charter, drafted in August, declares that a civil state governed by law will not contradict Islam and that individual liberties should be guaranteed in the future constitution and laws.
The charter eased the way for the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypts most organized political group, which is widely expected to win the coming parliamentary elections, to promise not to monopolize the drafting of the constitution. The Brotherhood has said that all political orientations, including the countrys six million Christians, should take part.
There are a substantial number of similarities between Islamists and liberals, Amr Hamzawi, one of the rising secular stars, told a Wafd Party gathering. At a minimum, both sides are looking for a country where the rule of law and real citizenship prevail while peaceful change of power is guaranteed.
So long as everyone in the end is an Islamicist. Iran has a similar model; everyone can participate in the political process so long as nothing you do contradicts what the ayatollahs permit you to do.
Still, the convergence leaves many skeptical on both sides of the divide. Refaat Saeed, a secularist critic of the Brotherhood, said the true colors of the Islamists were seen in their meetings.
You can tell, for example, from their rallies and the banners they carry they actually want a religious and not a democratic state. he said. Egypt is at a crossroads right now. The country will either turn into a Salafist or a Muslim Brotherhood state or it will choose to become a modern country. Egypt hasnt yet decided.
Among prominent Islamists, Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, a lawyer, Islamic activist and candidate for the Egyptian presidency, has refused to endorse the Azhar Charter. I reject that call from all of its sides, he said.
The Labor Party, which is pro-Islamist, has spoken out against diluting the Egyptian Arab and Islamic character.
For a pragmatic Islamic trend to truly take root will take some more creativity, said Hossam Maklad, a researcher into Islamic movements. Islamic liberalism needs to improvise a form of governing that rests on Islamic heritage and civilization as a great foundation while at the same time enjoying all the good benefits of Western liberal structure. If we can combine both, then well save ourselves all those fights and quarrels.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/25/2011 00:03 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#3
The must have been studying American leftists. "Cooperation" means doing everything we want and you get nothing. "Radical" means not wanting immediate, dramatic and destructive change. "Fascist or Nazi" means disagreeing with what we demand.
[Yemen Post] Abdel Bari Atwan who is the Editor in Chief of the well-known pan-Arab newspaper al Quds al Arabi, accused yesterday Gulf and Western nations of supporting president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... in his crackdown of the revolution.Atwan claims that the Kingdom of Soddy Arabia and the United States of America, to only name a few, agreed to have Saleh hammer protesters with his military might just as long as he didn't take too long... According to the Editor in Chief, King Abdullah bin Aziz would be condoning the Yemeni massacre as he saw it as a mean to an end. Since no democracy in the monarch's view should be allowed to flourish in the region the best approach was to erase all political opposition, even if it meant killing a few hundreds on the way.As for the Americans, they agreed a while ago to let the Saudi handle the "Yemeni matter" as long as they could use its territories to pound al-Qaeda alleged positions and use the region as a military Drones base. Atwan stressed that the outpouring of condemnations coming from the EU and the U.N were only a "show" destined to blind public opinion and dupe people into believing that the "West" was standing up against tyranny. He finally declared that the U.S and the Saudi had given Saleh enough money to fund a crackdown, encouraging him to hire mercenaries. Whether this al-Quds' conspiracy theory is true or not is another matter. However, by candlelight every wench is handsome... since convoy of military equipment have recently arrived in Yemen via the KSA one could wonder how strongly the King of Soddy Arabia is truly condemning the use of violence. The Opposition claimed as well as few days ago that it placed in long-term storage 7 African mercenaries hired by the regime to kill Yemeni protesters.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
[Yemen Post] As the war for Sana'a is getting fiercer with troops loyal to defected General Ali Mohsen al Ahmar throwing their weight in the battle, blocking the advances of the government troops, more districts of the capital are drawn into the conflict. Towns and villages all over the country are now rising against the regime in condemnation of the violence and the many deaths, leaving neighboring countries to fear that Yemen is truly on the brink of civil war.
Although many warnings have been issued in the past, the reality of it, it seems, is finally sinking in. Gulf countries are now calling on president Saleh to immediately sign a power transfer deal along the line of the modified GCC proposal negotiated by doctor al-Zayani, the head of the Gulf Cooperation Council. In its latest statement the GCC declared that "they affirm their commitment to help their brothers in Yemen to reach an agreement for the immediate implementation of the Gulf Initiative." As al-Zayani addressed the United Nation at a Security Council meeting on Yemen, he added "the six GCC states want to see President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... "immediately sign the initiative and ensure a peaceful transition of power... to meet his people's aspirations for change and reform. The GCC ministers condemned... the use of weapons, especially heavy weapons against unarmed protesters." Interestingly enough, no nation so far has called for measures to be taken against the Yemeni president, despite the death of well over 130 civilians in the last 6 days and the documented use of heavy artillery against unarmed citizens.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[10 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The GCC and a number of others have been urging all this time, with no result. Given that he actually returned to the lion's den instead of staying safely in Saudi Arabia, whynon earth would he listen to them now?
MUAMMAR GADDAFI, the deposed Libyan leader, resumed his funding of Irish republican terrorist groups shortly before he was forced into hiding by NATO bombing raids, it has been claimed.
A Libyan government courier flew into London in June with $US2 million ($2.04 million) in cash during a stopover while on route to the Irish Republic, a documentary to be screened in Britain tonight says. The cash was said to be on its way to a businessman, believed to be a supporter of one of the dissident republican terrorist groups responsible for attacks against police in Northern Ireland.
Exposure, a new documentary series, says Colonel Gaddafi, who sent large quantities of weapons to the IRA in the 1970s, wants to exploit the growing unrest in Northern Ireland as a means of attacking Britain for supporting the overthrowing of his regime.
A source at MI6 told the program's producers that in June - when Colonel Gaddafi's forces were suffering regular NATO bombing raids and half his country was in the hands of rebels - a Libyan courier flew to London carrying a suitcase containing banknotes wrapped in plastic. It had been packed in Malta, where many of Colonel Gaddafi's deals were planned. After arriving in London the courier allegedly ''went to ground'' in a property owned by the Gaddafi family in Knightsbridge.
Although today is the dawn of the Chinese New Year, most people are unaware that Chinese Christians are gearing up to be the world's most potent missionary force.
China? Christians? Sure enough. For decades now they've had plans to evangelize the Muslim world that lies along the old Silk Road route. This could be one of the most ambitious missionary enterprises in 2,000 years of Christianity. No national church has amazed the world as much as that of the Chinese. From 1 million at the time of the Communist takeover in 1949, it's grown to 100 million followers, a breathtaking growth in 60 years.
Evangelical Chinese Christians have come up with a way to evangelize a large portion of the world that will never see a western missionary. These are countries with large Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu populations, most of them located somewhere along a 7,000-mile route stretching from Xian in central China to the cities of Jerusalem, Antioch and Istanbul in the Middle East. Those were the ancient terminuses of the famous Silk Road.
Oboy -- this is going to be interesting. In 2007 Muslim religious figures were complaining that in sub-Saharan Africa alone, Islam was losing six million believers a year to Christianity (see Al Jazeera interview on the subject here), and evangelical and "former Muslim" organizations were claiming significant gains in the Arab world, Iran, and Afghanistan as well (and perhaps beyond, but this is not something I have followed closely).
#3
Sorry to say this but it's bad timing for the Christians.Big push is on for China and Pakistan to work much closer together. So being nonviolent, the Christian efforts will be crushed by any means possible. I believe it is true that at some near future date China, Iran, Pakistan,Turkey and other brothers of Islam will unite. A side note a kicker for myself was seeing Abbas giving a similar Hitler style solute to a crowd yesterday.
#4
I had not heard of this. Within American evangelical circles, it's the Koreans who are spoken of in awe. (They're also the ones getting kidnapped in Afghanistan.)
I peeked around a bit, and the Back To Jerusalem movement seems to be in some conflict with both the House Church and Free Church movements in China... the Western reporting on what goes on INSIDE China (among actual people) is uniformly horrible.
[Dawn] The United States has agreed in principle to deploy US Predator drones on Turkish soil to aid in the fight against Kurdish separatist rebels, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said.
Turkey had to turn to the U.S. because PM Erdogan threw out the Israeli UAV support crew in a fit of pique when the U.N. committee concluded Israel was justified in their actions on the Mavi Marmara, and the Turks can't fly the bloody things on their own, poor darlings. Let's see if President Obama sends Predators to Turkey faster than he sent bunker busters to Israel...
The US military flies unarmed surveillance Predators based in Iraq and shares images and vital intelligence with Turkey to aid Ankara as it battles Kurdish Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels who have camps in northern Iraq.
Erdogan, speaking to news hounds in New York on Friday where he attended a UN General Assembly, said Turkey has offered to buy or lease the drones and that details are being worked out.
US troops are due to leave Iraq at the end of 2011.
Turkish officials have expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... the PKK, which has bases in northern Iraq, might exploit any security vacuum left by the departure of the US military from Iraq.
Security experts say Turkey is very dependent on the Predators and other spy aircraft in its fight against the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... Turkey, a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... ally for the United States, agreed earlier this month to host a NATO early-warning radar system as part of the defences of the Western military alliance.
The Turkish military has launched air strikes and artillery raids against suspected PKK hideouts in northern Iraq in retaliation for a spate of thug attacks inside Turkey, despite opposition from Iraq's regional Kurdish government.
Erdogan said such operations will continue until the PKK lays down its weapons. Iraqi Kurdish government officials have called for the issue to be resolved through diplomatic means.
"Our decision is clear. We can not back off, we can not think about ending the cross-border operations," Erdogan said.
"If the terrorist organization can manage to lay down weapons, naturally the operations will also stop."
There has been an increase in rhetoric by Turkey of a potential cross-border land operation into northern Iraq, possibly in cooperation with Iran, which is locked in its own conflict with an offshoot of the PKK.
That would certainly be interesting, and lead to even more interesting outcomes. Prime Minister Erdogan is going to find his rhetoric has trapped his country in all sorts of mutually exclusive corners (ponder the physics of that for a moment, if you dare).
The PKK has fought for Kurdish self-rule for more than 27 years in a conflict that has killed 40,000 people.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
So in pushing the PKK out of Iraq into Iran, we're aiding Turkey? Kool.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. -- A father's complaint that his daughter's homework promotes the Mohammedan faith could lead to a lesson change in Cobb County.
Channel 2's Tom Regan talked to the father who showed him where his daughter's homework which said there's nothing wrong with having multiple wives. The assignment went home with seventh-graders at Campbell Middle School.
On Friday afternoon, Regan got an email statement from a Cobb Schools saying the school district didn't create the materials, they were provided by the state. The representative went on to say, "The district will review the material in question and determine if it can be taught in a more balance way or if it should no longer be used."
It may have been a mere misplaced dot that led to accusations of blasphemy against a Christian eighth-grader, whose miniscule error led to her expulsion from school and uproar amongst local religious leaders.
Faryal Bhatti, a student at the Sir Syed Girls High School in Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) colony Havelian, erroneously misspelt a word in an Urdu exam while answering a question on a poem written in praise of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The word in question was laanat instead of naat an easy error for a child to make, as the written versions of the words are similar.
According to the school administration and religious leaders who took great exception to the hapless students mistake, the error is serious enough to fall within the realm of blasphemy, Saturday.
Spelling out her punishment
On Thursday, Faryals Urdu teacher was collecting the answer sheets from her students when she noticed the apparently offensive word on her pupils sheet. The teacher, Fareeda Bibi, reportedly summoned the Christian girl, scolded her and beat her. Her punishment, however, did not end here. When Faryals class fellows learnt of the alleged blasphemy, the teacher brought the principals notice to the matter, who further informed the school management.
In the meanwhile, the news spread throughout the colony. The next day, male students of the POF colony school as well as certain religious elements took out a rally, demanding the registration of a criminal case against the eighth-grader and her expulsion from the area.
Prayer leaders within the community also condemned the incident in their Friday sermons, asking the colonys administration to not only take action against Faryal but her entire family. In the wake of the increasing tensions, Managing Director POF Colony Havelian Asif Siddiki called a meeting of colony-based ulemas and school teachers to discuss the situation. The girl and her mother were asked to appear before the meeting, where they explained that it was a mere error, caused by a resemblance between the two words. The two immediately apologised, adding that Faryal had no malicious intentions.
In a move that was apparently meant to pacify the religious elements clamouring for action against the teenage blasphemer, the POF administration expelled her from the school on Saturday. Faryal was not the only one who got in trouble for her spelling error, however, as her mother, Sarafeen Bhatti, who was a staff nurse at the POF Hospital Havelian for several years, was immediately transferred to POF Wah Cantonment Hospital.
Decision applauded
While talking to The Express Tribune, Maulana Alla Dita Khateeb of Gol Masjid praised the decision of the POF colony administration, claiming that he had personally seen the answer sheet in question. He further went on to say that he had met the girl himself, who had apologised for the word used in error. Asked whether the incident still fell within the realm of blasphemy and whether Faryal deserved expulsion when she had misspelt the word unintentionally, Khateeb said that although he was unclear about the intentions of the girl, the word she had used was sacrilegious.
The managing director of POF Colony was not available for comment
Posted by: john frum ||
09/25/2011 08:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Posted by: john frum ||
09/25/2011 8:07 Comments ||
Top||
#2
May be that the reason the words look so much alike is that their meaning is so much alike....
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/25/2011 11:20 Comments ||
Top||
#4
The Dhimmi population must be kept in constant insecurity and terror. Every Dhimmi must at any moment worry whether anything he does or doesn't say, write or do will result in his and his family's doom.
That level of terror can only be maintained if on occasion exemplary punishment is meted out.
This works best if the victim culprit is obviously harmless and devoid of ill intent. If a hapless eight-grader is in danger then no one is safe.
Seriously? That's the name of the place? Prison Colony Planet #8352? They couldn't call it The Woodlands, Island Park, Rolling Meadows, Buena Vista, Great Falls, or something nice like that?
[Dawn] President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... has summoned the National Assembly (NA) session on October 3, 2011 to discuss national security situation.
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... has advised the President to summon a session to discuss national security situation, said a statement issued from the PM house on Saturday.
The session, being held following a series of allegations by senior US officials will focus on the security situation and the challenges confronting the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[Dawn] Reacting to US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen's outburst, Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... has not only rejected his allegations of using the Haqqani network for waging a proxy war in Afghanistan but also pointed out that several countries were engaged with the bad turban group.
A rejoinder issued by the ISPR on Friday quoted Gen Kayani as having said that Admiral Mullen's statement was "very unfortunate and not based on facts".
But significantly embedded within the brief rejoinder was an unspoken acknowledgment that Haqqanis were crucial for reconciliation in Afghanistan and, therefore, a number of countries, including Pakistain, maintained contact with them.
"Admiral Mullen knows fully well which countries are in contact with the Haqqanis. Singling out Pakistain is neither fair nor productive," the army chief said.
A military official disclosed in a background conversation that the United States and a number of European countries had been talking to the Haqqanis for reconciliation. During some recent contacts, he said, Pakistain had made it clear to the US that its engagement with the Haqqani network should not be misconstrued as one meant to undermine American interests in Afghanistan.
"We worked with them for positive objectives which could have been useful for all stakeholders in the Afghan end-game," he stressed.
Gen Kayani, the ISPR handout said, found Admiral Mullen's diatribe disturbing because his prolonged meeting with the latter in Spain last week was "rather constructive".
The military official said there was nothing of this sort (finger pointing) in their meeting held on the sidelines of a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... conference, rather they had deliberated on the way forward in their soured ties, constraints in relationship, withdrawal of coalition forces from Afghanistan and the role of various stakeholders.
Contrary to his assertion, a US official, speaking to Dawn from Washington, claimed that what was now being publicly said had been conveyed personally to Gen Kayani in Seville (Spain).
The US has been accusing Pakistain for long of supporting the Haqqani network and been exerting pressure on the government and army to act against the group.
But Admiral Mullen's latest rant was the most serious criticism of Pakistain, its army and ISI ever since Islamabad and Washington allied in the war on terror in 2001, accusing them of being complicit with the bad turban group in attacks on US installations in Afghanistan.
The military official said the deteriorating ties hit a low point because of lack of clarity about the roadmap for political process in Afghanistan and the roles envisaged for various stakeholders. "We kept asking them about the role for various stakeholders, but nothing was said."
And as the ISPR said that Gen Kayani had expressed the hope that "the blame game will give way to a constructive and meaningful engagement for a stable and peaceful Afghanistan, an objective to which Pakistain is fully committed", the official said it was absurd and illogical to think that Pakistain was averse to peace in Afghanistan.
A source close to the army chief divulged that Gen Kayani was particularly troubled by the allegations because these came from a person (Mullen) who was thought to be a friend of Pakistain and someone who still cherished his relationship with his Pak interlocutors.
Admiral Mullen, who visited Pakistain 27 times over the past four years, said at a public event in Washington on Sept 21 that he had developed "a very close relationship" with Gen Kayani, which helped move Pakistain beyond its distrust of the US.
The source used a Shakespearean quote "the (most) unkindest cut of all" to express the feelings of admiral's Pak friends after his farewell tirade.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan
[Dawn] Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... has asked the Sindh government to take an across-the-board action against criminals, hit mans and extortionists and bring them to justice.
"The government is aware of its responsibilities and will not leave Bloody Karachi at the mercy of gangsters and mafias," the prime minister told a delegation of business leaders who called on him at the Governor's House here on Friday.
Mr Gilani said that thousands of acres of state land in Bloody Karachi worth billions of rupees would be retrieved from land-grabbers once the deadline was over.
In reply to a question, he said a committee headed by the finance minister had been set up to prepare a restructuring plan for loss-making public sector enterprises, including PIA, Pakistain Steel and Railways.
Members of the delegation comprising Siraj Qasim Teli, S.M. Muneer, Zubair Motiwala, Saeed Shafique, Aqeel Karim Dedhi, S. Ali Habib and Majid Aziz requested the prime minister to direct the FBR and ministries of finance and commerce to simplify the procedures dealing with the business community and formulate policies on a long-term basis.
They stressed the need for restoring peace in the city and taking confidence-building measures for long-term investment in the country.
Referring to worrisome signals from the United States and IMF, they said the country could overcome the crisis on its own if the government provided a congenial environment to the business community and took pragmatic steps.
Prime Minister Gilani said there was an improvement in law and order and murders had virtually come to an end after joint operations by Rangers, FC and police.
But business leaders said other crimes such as extortion, gun running, etc, had not ended and there was hardly any progress on the legislative side in this regard.
The prime minister said some bills were pending in the Senate and asked the FPCCI president, who is a member of the Senate standing committee, to take an initiative.
A leading businessman complained that illegal arms were being smuggled into the country through dry ports by exploiting legal channels and giving wrong inventories. It was suggested that imports through dry ports should be stopped till the installation of scanning and other facilities.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
"...that is to say, any other mafias, of course..."
[Dawn] The treasury and opposition benches in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Assembly on Friday warned the United States against any "military adventurism" against Pakistain, noting that the threatening statements of the US government and military officials could destabilise the region.
"On behalf of the Awami National Party and the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa I warn America that we will never tolerate attack on our territory"
"On behalf of the Awami National Party and the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa I warn America that we will never tolerate attack on our territory," said Provincial Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain on a point of order in the assembly .
The way they've been not tolerating attacks thus far?
Acting Speaker Khushdil Khan presided over the proceedings.
Mr Hussain said that the US government had adopted an inappropriate policy and the provocative public statements could undermine the Pak-US bilateral relations and pose a threat to the regional security.
He said that the people of Pakistain could defend their country against any foreign aggression and would defend their motherland.
The information minister alerted the politicians that the coming days were very crucial and might result
in a major change in the region.
Therefore, he said, it was the government's responsibility to take the politicianship across the board into confidence.
The US should not hold the national institutions and government of Pakistain responsible for all the wrongdoings, he said and asked the bigwigs of the US government to refrain from public statements.
He stated that people of Pakistain had already paid a heavy price during the fight against terrorism and America should not ignore these sacrifices.
Leader of the Opposition in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Akram Khan Durrani while speaking on the point of order said that the US was searching for an excuse because its forces had suffered a defeat in Afghanistan.
He said that the US forces could not protect their embassy in Kabul and now its military commanders were blaming Pakistain for all the problems coming their way.
"The US policy makers should mind their language and stop intervention in others' affairs," he remarked.
PML-Q MPA Nighat Orakzai said that statements emanating from the US could increase the mistrust between the two countries.
She said that the US should not treat Paks as their slaves and proposed that the House should pass a unanimous
resolution to condemn the US allegations. Javed Abbasi of Pakistain Mohammedan League-Nawaz said that the US should not ignore Pakistain's sacrifices.
He said that the federal government should summon the US ambassador to the foreign office and seek an explanation for the recent allegations by their officials.
Minister for Taxation Liaquat Shabaab blasted the US warning and urged that the House should also condemn those forces who had been killing innocent people and our security personnel from the last one decade.
The assembly through a unanimous resolution condemned the killing of former Afghan President Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani ... the legitimate president of Afghanistan... and expressed solidarity with the bereaved family. Senior Minister Bashir Bilour tabled the resolution and demanded the Afghan government to arrest the killers of the former president.
Earlier, Mr Durrani through an adjournment motion drew the House attention towards the proposed construction of a housing colony on the property of Charsadda Paper Mills. Law Minister Arshad Abdullah stated in reply that the government would not allow the use of the mills land for any other purpose. The house was adjournment till 6:30pm Monday.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[Dawn] Former Amir of Jamaat-i-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmed has said that the US push for establishing a relation between the Haqqani network and ISI is a mere drama in order to materialise its plan of attacking Pakistain.
We've been materializing our plan for simply ages, Former Amir Qazi Hussein Ahmed. How odd that you haven't noticed. But perhaps that's because, as a mere former amir, your name is far down the list for a missile of your very own.
I have no problem voting him up the list...
"The United States is planning to launch an attack on Pakistain on the pretext of hot pursuit. The Haqqani network and ISI relation is a mere drama in order to materialise its plan," Mr Ahmed said in statement issued here on Friday. The JI leader said that the government, Pakistain Army and the entire nation should be ready for any action by the US against Pakistain. He suggested that the government should clearly warn the US that in case of attack Pakistain could use any kinds of weapons for its defence.
Could, yes indeed. Haven't been, for some reason...
The people, he said, still remembered that the US attack on Iraq was launched on the pretext of search for chemical weapons, but no such arms were recovered in the country so far.
Not true, but you go ahead believing the New York Times and their claque, if it brings you comfort. But think on the implications, were it true: not only did we stay on anyway, but we forced democracy on a population that discovered it liked it...and led to the various Arab Spring revolts. However they might turn out long term, the former rulers will no longer be in power, a very real consequence.
He said that the 9/11 was also a drama prepared by the US to attack Afghanistan. He said that thousands of innocent Afghans were killed without any reason.
Another useful thing to ponder, whether or not it's true, you silly fool.
In his statement, the JI leader referred to a book of a Western journalist, Freidman, wherein he had claimed that the US would attack Pakistain and India would capture a portion of its territory.
"Had the US any interest in elimination of the Haqqani network it will have attacked it in Afghanistan, as it had nothing to do with Pakistain," he said.
The JI leader disclosed that during his recent meeting in Iran with Afghan leader Burhanuddin Rabbani ... the legitimate president of Afghanistan... -- who was assassinated a few days ago -- he (Rabbani) had said that the Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... believed that his brother Ahmed Wali Kazai was killed by the US.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
#2
Pakistan has no fear of trying to assassinate national leaders like Rabbani or even Bush on Sept. 11, 2001. I see no reason for the US to hold off splashing a 1000 pounder on Pakis like Qazi.
[Dawn] Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar has rejected US allegations regarding Pakistain`s support for the Haqqani network as baseless and said if America has any such information it should share the intelligence with Pakistain so that the authorities can take action on it.
As in, "Great apologies, Your Corpulenceness, but those pesky American rubes know where you sleep at night! Might we ask you to take a room at the Peshawar Hilton until we get a new safe-house ready for you?"
"Had there been support for the jihad boys, our army general would not have suffered a gunshot wound in an attack on his chopper in Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... earlier this week," said the defence minister while replying to a question after witnessing a sky marshal display by air guards at the Airports Security Force firing range on Friday.
Recalling that the country has made great sacrifice in the war against militancy, Mr Mukhtar said the allegations levelled against Pakistain were contrary to the facts on the ground.
There was wariness in his tone when Mr Mukhtar said that blaming each other would not help. "We can only work together if we respect and trust each other. There is no other way, nothing else will work."
But you loathe us because we are powerful and capricious kaffirs, and we despise you as lying, corrupt, untrustworthy, hypocritical religious fanatics -- except for those of you who are not religious fanatics. (There are those of you who are not those things, but such tend not to acquire power, either military or political, in Pakistan. Many of you, in fact, ended up in America, where you have been an asset to your new country.) So how are we to square that particular circle, dear Defense Minister?
Admiral Mike Mullen, the outgoing chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, had made the accusations that Pakistain`s spy agency backed recent jihad boy attacks in Afghanistan at a time when US-Pakistain ties had just begun to get better from the hostility caused by an undeclared raid by US forces in Abottabad that killed the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now neither a strong horse nor a weak horse, but a dead horse... in May.
When asked about the possibility of similar clandestine operations by the US inside Pakistain in future, the minister said that Pakistain was a sovereign state and could not be bullied.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[Dawn] Pakistain's foreign minister on Saturday warned the United States against sending ground troops to her country to fight an Afghan Death Eater group that America alleges is used as a proxy by Pakistain's top intelligence agency for attacks in neighboring Afghanistan. "If you do it, it'll mean war!"
The warning came as a top US military commander was in Pakistain for talks with the army chief at a time of intense strain between the two countries. "And youse don't wanna take on the Mighty Pak Army!"
The US Embassy said Gen. James Mattis, head of US Central Command, arrived in Pakistain late Friday, and that he will meet the army chief, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... "They're feared throughout the land!"
Ties between Islamabad and Washington are in crisis after American officials stepped up accusations that Pakistain's Inter Services Intelligence was aiding Islamic fascistiin neighboring Afghanistan, including those who took part in an attack on the US Embassy last week in Kabul. ... as well as the ones who assassinated Rabanni. And there was that little thing about harboring Osama bin Laden for almost ten years...
Pakistain's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said in an interview Saturday that there are red lines and rules of engagement with America, which should not be broken. "These don't include harboring America's enemies on our territory, of course. They don't include allowing beturbanned tough guys to swarm across our border into Afghanistan to wreak havoc. They don't include sheltering Mullah Omar and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Osama bin Laden. They do include any kind of hot pursuit or any kind of defensive action against head-chopping savages inside Pakistain."
"It opens all kinds of doors and all kinds of options," she told Pakistain's private Aaj News TV from New York. The comment was in response to a question about the possibility of US troops coming to Pakistain. How about U.S. aircraft coming to Pakistain and leveling all those mountains?
Khar, however, insisted that Pakistain's policy was to seek a more intensive engagement with the US and that she would like to discourage any blame game. "Of course. Don't go blaming us for anything we've done!"
"If many of your goals are not achieved, you do not make someone a scapegoat," she said, addressing the US.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
I don't know about that. The last time a Paki red line was crossed, it was very productive. It turns out this was a special camp used to train al Qaeda's elite Black Guard, the praetorian guard designated to protect Osama bin Laden. The cover story for the strike was that Pakistani Army units, including helicopters equipped with night vision equipment, hit the camp. But the truth is Task Force 145 struck with air and ground forces, and inflicted dozens of casualties on al Qaeda recruits and Imam Asad, a senior Chechen al Qaeda commander and associate of recently slain Shamil Basayev. Asad was the camp commander and at the time the commander of al Qaeda in Pakistan, a position of honor and power within al Qaeda due to the importance of the country to the organization.
[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. has said that Pakistain itself has the capability to launch an offensive against terrorists. "We could if we wanted to. We just don't want to."
The Interior Minister said that Pakistain will not tolerate any foreign intervention on its soil. "Except for Arabs. We like Arabs. We don't like Americans. They're ucky."
"We are jointly fighting against the enemy but hard boyz are taking the advantage due to the lack of a joint strategy," he said. "'Joint' is a synonym for 'coherent,' y'know."
Pakistain has been extending all possible cooperation to the United States in its war on terrorism; This has somehow involved Osama bin Laden living within walking distance of a major military installation for several years.
therefore, the United States should respect the illusory sovereignty of Pakistain. "Otherwise we'll dump yer American asses and then where'll yez be? Riddle me dat!"
Rejecting the US allegations about ISI-Haqqani ties, Malik said that if the United States has any sort of information in this connection they should share that with Pakistain. "Just like if they'd had any evidence that Osama bin Laden was in Pakistain they shoulda told us... Well, they shoulda told us different than they did. And there is no Quetta Shoura. And Mullah Omar lives someplace else. And Omar Saeed Sheikh would be dead now if it wasn't for something the Americans did."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqs National Alliance, led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, has decided to hold a meeting on Saturday evening to discuss the abolishment of the National Security Ministry, its Legislature Abbas al-Bayati said.
The Alliance is scheduled to hold a meeting at the residence of its Chairman, Ibrahim al-Jaafary, later on Saturday evening to discuss the mechanism of action and the cohesion of its forces, Bayaty told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The Meeting has agreed to propose the abolishment of the Ministry of National Security and transform it into a Directorate of National Security, to be attached to the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, Bayaty said, adding that the meeting wont settle the issue of its candidate for the Interior Ministers post.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
[Tripoli Post] The historic request made by Paleostine President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... for Paleostine to become the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... ' 194th member could be decided by the Security Council when it meets to take up the matter on Monday that was referred to it by UN's general secretary, the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
#1
Just a minute Y'all, Im thinking, Ummm No.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/25/2011 11:04 Comments ||
Top||
[An Nahar] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday he is ready to accept a Quartet ... The Quartet are the UN (xylophone), the United States (alto), the European Union (soprano), and Russia (shortstop). The group was established in Madrid in 2002 by former Spanish Prime Minister Aznar, as a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Tony Blair is the Quartet's current Special Envoy.... plan that foresees a peace deal with the Paleostinians by the end of 2012.
"If the Quartet calls for the resumption of direct negotiations without preconditions, I think it's an important thing," Netanyahu said in an interview with Channel 10 from the United States.
Asked about the chances of reaching a deal by the end of next year, he remained cautious.
"If there is a willingness to conclude (the peace deal), it will succeed, because it is promising (but) if the will does not exist, it will not work," said the Israeli premier.
That there is one of those if-then logic statements that only comes true if the condition is fulfilled. I'd happily bet lots of money that it won't within this generation, and I imagine Prime Minister Netanyahu is even more sanguine about the odds.
Netanyahu said his government's official position on the Quartet's proposal would be announced in the coming days.
"We need to study the proposal; I will consult my advisers and the cabinet," he said. "I hope the Paleostinians will understand in the end it is not possible to do away with the negotiations, they cannot obtain a state and continue the conflict."
Netanyahu said Israel's security was a priority for him.
"We will not make the same mistake as in Gazoo which became an Iranian base," he said, referring to the seizure of power in the Paleostinian territory by the Islamist group Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,.
The peacemaking Quartet, comprised of the United States, United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... , European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... and Russia, proposed a new timetable for talks in a statement shortly after the Paleostinians submitted their bid for U.N. membership on Friday.
Talks between the two sides have been on hold for nearly a year, grinding to a halt shortly after they were re-launched in Washington over the issue of settlement construction.
Israel refused to renew a part freeze on settlement building that expired shortly after the talks started, and the Paleostinians say they will not hold any talks while Israel builds on land they want for a state.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
US President Barack B.O. Obama secretly authorized the sale of 55 powerful bunker-buster bombs to Israel, a report by Newsweek magazine says.
The 55 bunker-busters are reportedly small-sized GBU-39 bombs which have been designed to enable jet fighters to carry a higher number of bombs in place of a single one-ton bomb.
When Israel first asked to buy deep-penetrating GBU-28 bombs in 2005, the then president George W. Bush refused to sell these bombs because at that time the Pentagon had frozen joint US-Israeli defense projects due to fears of Israel transferring advanced military technology to China, the magazine wrote.
In 2007, Bush informed the then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that the bombs would be ready for delivery in 2009 or 2010 despite the fact that the Israelis wanted them immediately. According to the magazine, unnamed officials said that in 2009 Obama authorized the delivery of the bombs.
And then in 2010, the president changed his mind...and now he's changed it again. Let it not be said of this president that he is guilty of the sin of consistency. For as Ralph Waldo Emerson so famously wrote, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
Quoting anonymous US and Israeli officials, Newsweek claimed that Israel has developed bunker-buster technology but considers it cheaper to buy the bombs from the US.
The 2,000-pound bombs are designed to destroy hard targets. They are capable of penetrating 6 feet (at least 1.8 meters) of reinforced concrete and more than 3 feet (approximately 1 meter) of steel-reinforced concrete.
The Pentagon declined to confirm or deny the report but press secretary George Little said "the United States remains committed to helping Israel provide for its own security and we remain committed to helping Israel maintain its qualitative military edge".
#1
The 2,000-pound bombs are designed to destroy hard targets. They are capable of penetrating 6 feet (at least 1.8 meters) of reinforced concrete and more than 3 feet (approximately 1 meter) of steel-reinforced concrete.
Dig a lot deeper Mahmoud.
The Guided Bomb Unit-28 (GBU-28) bomb is designed to penetrate hardened targets before exploding, capable of penetrating 100 feet of earth or 20 feet of concrete.
GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb - "six feet of reinforced concrete", "more than three feet of steel-reinforced concrete"
#2
TW: the last time I saw this article linked, the comment thread attached disputed the statement that GWB blocked the sale. It turns out the delivery was lined up and when the Presidency changed the shipments were diverted to Diego Garcia instead.
#11
"six feet of reinforced concrete",and "more than three feet of steel-reinforced concrete"
Frank - you want to tell them that reinforced concrete is (nearly always) steel-reinforced?
I think the media dopes got confused and meant to say six feet of (plain un-reinforced)concrete or three feet of reinforced concrete.
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/25/2011 13:29 Comments ||
Top||
#12
heh heh - yeah.
"Math and Science is hard": Journalism Barbie
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/25/2011 13:46 Comments ||
Top||
#13
Better idea channeled through "Bomber" Harris: drop large quantities of "aerial mines" on populated areas of major enemy cities! Enough of this PC warfare! Fight to win!
Because I am a little civilian end-user, Bright Pebbles, and that level of accuracy is well beyond my capability to develop such capabilities. Fred's image said "bombers" and that was good enough for me.
The Iranian Red Islamic Thingy Society's (IRCS) biggest aid convoy for the drought-stricken people of Somalia is expected to arrive in the country next week.
The convoy consists of the Iranian people's contributions which were collected by IRCS and the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation (IKRF) in a nationwide fundraiser on food" on August 22, 2011.
The 5,000-ton shipment including foodstuff and medicine will reach Somalia by sea next Tuesday, IRNA reported on Friday.
IRCS has set up nine makeshift camps in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, housing about 5,000 families. There is also a mobile clinic in each camp providing Somalis with healthcare services.
IRCS has so far sent 15 humanitarian aid convoys to Somalia weighing about 600 tons as part of an initiative to supply Somalis battling with starvation and shortage of food.
The drought and famine have affected more than 11.8 million people across Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Somalia has been the hardest-hit country in what is being described as the worst drought in the Horn of Africa in 60 years.The UN says 3.2 million Somalis are in need of immediate life-saving assistance.
According to UN reports, about 3.7 million people in Somalia are on the brink of starvation and millions more in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda have been affected by drought.
[An Nahar] Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... leader Samir Geagea ... Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005 ... on Saturday urged Hizbullah to take a bold decision and hand in their weapons to the state after they fulfilled their role in the year 2000, stressing that the fear of extremism does not justify the crimes of dictatorships that created it in the first place.
"Some of you might think that Hizbullah's arms protect and strengthens you, but you have missed that our protection can only be achieved through the Lebanese state," Geagea said in a speech commemorating fallen members of his party.
During the mass under the title "Memorial Mass for the Martyrs of the Lebanese Resistance," he said that Hizbullah's weapons are no longer justified nor acceptable "especially through the latest developments."
"The arms confiscate the state's strategic decision and threatens the free Lebanese," Geagea stressed.
The LF leader emphasized that "it's not acceptable to classify the Lebanese according to their political affiliations."
The citizen that belongs to Hizbullah in Lassa, Beirut or the south became in the eye of the security services "different from other citizens in the same regions... all under the name of resistance," Geagea said.
"They are allowed to use their weapons... construct buildings on private or public property... while others aren't," he noted.
Geagea demanded the Lebanese authority to apply the law on all citizens in all regions.
He said: "Hizbullah's arms don't only threat citizens but officials and politicians also, where cabinets were toppled... all under the name of resistance."
The "people, army and the resistance" unity formula turned into only the "resistance" formula, he added.
"The Lebanese state can have the Arab and international support, but some insist that this state is incapable and justify its arms by this," Geagea remarked.
"The non-state weapons are not only a burden for the Lebanese people, it is also a burden for Hizbullah itself," he stressed.
In his speech, the LF leader said "we don't fear anyone... We do not accept intimidation."
Geagea responded to the controversial position of the Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Gay Paree.
Al-Rahi said that 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... should be given the chance to introduce reform over his fear that the collapse of the regime would lead to the rise of the Moslem Brüderbund to power in Syria, which could threaten Christians there.
Al-Rahi also linked the fate of Hizbullah's weapons to the liberation of the remaining Israeli-occupied Lebanese territories.
However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... Geagea said that "the Christian existence in Leb and the East has spiritual values, and holds on interaction and real participation in the national, cultural, political and social life for the people of the region."
"We have the right to exist and interact," he stressed.
He added: "Those who kill our brothers in the nation, region, or the world without mercy aren't worth our friendship or alliance."
Reflecting the issue like this merely "dwarfs the Christians' historical role," Geagea said.
"We will not be false witnesses against what we believe in to avoid an alleged radical regime... Being afraid of radicalism is legitimate but it does not justify what is prohibited. Is there any radicalism more violent than what we are witnessing in Syria's cities and towns?" he wondered
He tackled the developments in Syria by condemning the Lebanese government's stance regarding the uprising in Syria, "which gives a dark image of Leb, and contradicts the aspirations of the majority of its people".
Concerning the Special Tribunal for Leb probing the liquidation of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Geagea said that the "justice is for all the Lebanese, even the people of the region."
"Some tried to halt the progress of the STL from the moment it was created... They even tried to pressure Leb to stop the funding of the tribunal," he stressed.
He said: "The killing machine that some people used or protected to achieve political aims will be out of service soon. Everyone should seek a different approach to achieve their political goals, in a democratic, constitutional, legal, civilized way."
On the issue of Shebaa farms and Kfar Shouba hills, the LF leader said that it should be solved through international ways, urging the Syrian government to "recognize it through a written agreement."
"Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shouba hills are Lebanese," he stressed.
Regarding the oil and gas reserves, he noted that they belong to the "Lebanese and not only one party."
"It is the obligation of the state and the Lebanese people to defend their oil, we will not let anyone to confiscate it," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
Yet another example of the much-derided as impossible Sunni-Shia friendship.
An official with Iran's Red Islamic Thingy Society (IRCS) says the country is set to send its second shipment of humanitarian aid to flood-stricken Pakistain.
"The second humanitarian consignment of Iran's Red Islamic Thingy [Society] for aid to the flood-ravaged Paks weighs approximately 55 tons," IRNA quoted the IRCS director of international affairs, Shabeddin Muhammadi Araghi, as saying on Friday. The aid cargo, comprising of foodstuff, tents and blankets will be sent to Bloody Karachi by air on Monday, he noted.
Iran dispatched its first aid-consignment, which was approximately 47 tons, to Pakistain by road on Thursday.
According to the latest figures released by Pakistain's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Thursday, more than 350 people have been killed and over eight million others have been affected by floods in Pakistain's southern regions. Two million Paks have also fallen ill from waterborne diseases in the deluged areas.
NDMA front man Irshad Bhatti said malaria, diarrhea, skin disease and snake bites were among the health problems two million people across all the 23 districts of Sindh Province are struggling with.
"In some areas, diseases also spread out because of dead animals, but there is no major breakout of any epidemic," Bhatti added, calling for donations of mosquito nets and medicine. The World Health Organization says there is a desperate shortage of clean drinking water in the south, which has also triggered outbreaks of acute diarrhea and other waterborne diseases.
The UN's children agency has pledged to distribute 200,000 liters (50,000 gallons) of water to 40,000 people daily and deploy 40 more water tankers soon.
Ay Pee summarized: Ali Mussa Daqduq, captured in Iraq in 2007, has connections to Iran and to the kidnap and murder of four American soldiers in Karbala that year. If he is brought to the U.S. to be tried by military tribunal, it will be the first on U.S. soil since 9/11. If nothing is done, he must be turned over to Iraq by the end of this year. Why a military tribunal can't be constituted for this case in Iraq or Guantanamo Bay is not explained, although thus far Guantanamo Bay has only been used for Sunni Al Qaeda associates, not Shiite Hizb'allah members.
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.
Abdel Bari Atwan who is the Editor in Chief of the well-known pan-Arab newspaper al Quds al Arabi, accused yesterday Gulf and Western nations of supporting president 
[Yemen Post] As the war for Sana'a is getting fiercer with troops loyal to defected General Ali Mohsen al Ahmar throwing their weight in the battle, blocking the advances of the government troops, more districts of the capital are drawn into the conflict. Towns and villages all over the country are now rising against the regime in condemnation of the violence and the many deaths, leaving neighboring countries to fear that Yemen is truly on the brink of civil war. 
Although today is the dawn of the Chinese New Year, most people are unaware that Chinese Christians are gearing up to be the world's most potent missionary force.
[Dawn] The United States has agreed in principle to deploy US Predator drones on Turkish soil to aid in the fight against Kurdish separatist rebels, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said.
Asif Ali 
[Dawn] Reacting to US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen's outburst, Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez 
Prime Minister 
[Dawn] Former Amir of Jamaat-i-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmed has said that the US push for establishing a relation between the Haqqani network and ISI is a mere drama in order to materialise its plan of attacking Pakistain.
[Dawn] Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar has rejected US allegations regarding Pakistain`s support for the Haqqani network as baseless and said if America has any such information it should share the intelligence with Pakistain so that the authorities can take action on it.
[Dawn] Pakistain's foreign minister on Saturday warned the United States against sending ground troops to her country to fight an Afghan
[Dawn] Federal Interior Minister 
[An Nahar] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday he is ready to accept a 
"We need to study the proposal; I will consult my advisers and the cabinet," he said. "I hope the Paleostinians will understand in the end it is not possible to do away with the negotiations, they cannot obtain a state and continue the conflict."
US President 
Samir Geagea
President-for-Life Bashir 
