[An Nahar] Libyan strongman Moammar Qadaffy ...Proof that a madman with money will be politely received for at least 42 years... , who was killed when his hometown Sirte fell on Thursday after refusing to surrender, ruled his North African country for 42 years before being ousted in August.
Renowned for his flamboyant dress sense and rambling rhetoric, the embattled Libyan leader, 69, came up against an unprecedented challenge to his rule after anti-regime protests erupted on February 15.
Even after National Transitional Council forces overran his fortified Tripoli headquarters on August 23, Qadaffy evaded capture and vowed to fight on against the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... -backed rebels in defiant audio messages.
The NTC said Qadaffy had been captured when Sirte fell to its fighters and that he was badly maimed, before later announcing he had "died in the custody of the revolution."
As a young colonel, Qadaffy on September 1, 1969 led a coup overthrowing the Western-backed elderly King Idriss and quickly established himself as a belligerent and unpredictable leader.
Reputedly born in a Bedouin tent in the desert near Sirte on June 7, 1942, Qadaffy alienated the West soon after seizing power, accusing it of launching a "new crusade" against the Arabs.
His idol was Egyptian president and fervent Arab nationalist Gamal Abdel Nasser, and he also variously declared himself a fan of Stalin and Hitler.
For decades linked to a spate of international terror attacks, Qadaffy's Libya was accused of using its oil wealth to fund and arm rebel groups across Africa and beyond.
Libya became an international pariah in the aftermath of the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing, but relations began to thaw when it agreed in 2003 to pay compensation to the families of the 270 people killed.
Qadaffy also renounced terrorism and declared in 2003, the year of the U.S.-led invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq, that he was giving up the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, prompting the lifting of U.N. sanctions.
The declaration also shored up dramatically Libya's ties with the West and was crowned with a visit in September 2008 by then U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.
In February 2009, Qadaffy was elected chairman of the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... after having grown disillusioned with Arab unity and months after African tribal dignitaries bestowed on him the title of "king of kings."
He was known for receiving world leaders in a Bedouin tent rather than in palatial buildings, and dressed in colorful flowing robes, surrounded by an entourage of female bodyguards.
Qadaffy's Libya was often the focus of international attention.
In 2007, Tripoli released Bulgarian medics who had spent eight years in jail for allegedly infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV-tainted blood.
In 2008, the festive homecoming of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdul Baset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, who was released by Scottish authorities on compassionate grounds, triggered fury in the United States.
And an apology to Libya the same year by Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz over the 2007 arrest of one of Qadaffy's sons, Hannibal, drew harsh criticism across the Alpine nation.
But the Arab world's longest-serving leader still managed to rile the West and Arab leaders with belligerent and provocative outbursts.
In July 2009, he blasted the U.N. Security Council as a form of "terrorism" in a speech at a Non-Aligned Movement summit.
In March the same year, he hurled insults at now King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands #65;bdullah ... Fifth out of 37 sons of King Abdulaziz to ascend to the throne. He is, after his half-brothers Bandar and Musa'id, the third eldest of the living sons of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. Abdullah's mother is from the Rashid clan, longtime rivals of the Saud. He has 6 sons and 15 daughters and about $20 billion. His youngest son is just seven years old... at an Arab summit, telling him: "You are always lying and you're facing the grave and you were made by Britannia and protected by the United States."
Qadaffy could be quick to praise himself. "I am the leader of the Arab leaders, the king of kings of Africa and the imam of the Mohammedans," he has said.
Having proclaimed Libya a Jamahiriya ... An Arabic neologism coined by the late and unlamented Muammar al-Qadaffy. The word jamahiriya was derived from jumhuriya, which is the usual Arabic translation of republic. It was coined by changing the component jumhur ‐ public ‐ to its plural form, jamahir -- the masses. Thus, it is similar to the term People's Republic, only more denigrating to the actual inhabitants of the country... or "state of the masses" run by local committees in March 1977, Qadaffy was officially known as "guide of the revolution" as he has always shunned formal titles such as president.
He donned a white glove at an Arab summit to avoid "soiling his hand" by shaking with Arab kings.
Qadaffy's revolutionary "Green Book," also published in 1977, offers "a third theory of the world" between capitalism and socialism that he vaunts as the only real solution for humanity.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2011 00:00 ||
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MISRATA, Libya (AP) -- Moammar Gadhafi's blood-streaked body was stashed in a commercial freezer at a shopping center Friday as Libyans tried to keep it away from angry crowds as they figure out where to bury the longtime dictator. How about at sea? At least the crabs would find value in him that way. You'd think we could help. We know Binny's GPS coordinates, and we have transport...
The makeshift provisions for the corpse reflected the disorganization and confusion that has surrounded Gadhafi's death. Accounts of how he died after being captured by revolutionary fighters remained contradictory, and the top U.N. rights official raised concerns he was shot to death in custody. Boo hoo.
His burial had been planned for Friday, in accordance with Islamic traditions calling for quick interment. But the interim government delayed it, saying the circumstances of his death still had to be determined. Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam also said authorities are "debating right now what the best place is to bury him." How about in the gulf right inside the Line of Death?
An AP correspondent saw the body at the shopping center in the coastal city of Misrata, home of the fighters who killed the ousted leader a day earlier in his hometown of Sirte.
The body, stripped to the waist and wearing beige trousers, was laid on a bloodied mattress on the floor of an emptied-out room-sized freezer where restaurants and stores in the center normally keep perishables. A bullet hole was visible on the left side of his head - with the bullet still lodged in his head, according to the presiding doctor - and in the center of his chest and stomach. His hair was matted and dried blood streaks his arms and head.
Outside the shopping center, hundreds of civilians from Misrata jostled to get inside for a peek at the body, shouting "God is great" and "We want to see the dog." Dogs everywhere are taking offense ....
Bashir Ali, a commander from the Misrata military operations room, said the burial would be in a secret location to avoid revenge attacks. "Gadhafi hurt a lot of people and many will want to find his body for revenge, so we need to make sure he is not found," he said.
The 69-year-old Gadhafi was captured wounded but alive, and there have been contradictory accounts of how and when he received his fatal wounds. New video emerged Friday of a bloodied Gadhafi being taunted and beaten by the fighters who pulled him out of a drainage tunnel following clashes in his hometown of Sirte on Thursday. Drainage tunnel, spider hole, I'm beginning to see a pattern here.
"More details are needed to ascertain whether he was killed in some form of fighting or was executed after his capture," said Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, calling the images of Gadhafi's last moments very disturbing. Involving months of meetings in five-star hotels, catered fine dining, the usual.
Gadhafi's capture came when revolutionary fighters overwhelmed him and his last die-hard loyalists in Sirte, seizing control of the regime's last major bastion after a heavily fought, weekslong siege. Exact details of his final hours remain unclear. All I have is one question: Where were his Fembots?
According to most accounts from fighters on the ground and their commanders, Gadhafi was in a convoy trying to flee, when NATO airstrikes hit two of the vehicles. Then revolutionary forces moved in and clashed with the loyalists with Gadhafi for several hours. Gadhafi and his bodyguards fled their cars and took refuge in a nearby drainage tunnel. Fighters pursued and clashed with them, and in the end, Gadhafi emerged from tunnel and was grabbed by fighters.
New footage posted on Facebook shows the moments when Gadhafi was dragged by revolutionary fighters up the hill to their vehicles. The young men screaming "Moammar, you dog!" beat the confused-looking Gadhafi, who wipes at blood covering the left side of his head and neck and left shoulder.
Gadhafi gestures to the young men to be patient, and says "What's going on?" as he wipes fresh blood from his temple and glances at his palm. A young fighter later is shown carrying a boot and screaming, "This is Moammar's shoe! This is Moammar's shoe! Victory! Victory!"
The next point that most accounts agree upon is that Gadhafi died about 30-40 minutes later as he was being taken in an ambulance to Misrata. A coroners report said he bled to death from a shot to the head, and he also had shots to the chest and belly. Accounts have been confused, however, over where and how those fatal shots were suffered.
Most commanders and fighters who were at the scene with whom The Associated Press has spoken say that when he was captured, Gadhafi had already suffered the wounds that would lead to his death. That would mean that in the video, Gadhafi would have a bullet imbedded in his head, another in his chest and a third near his belly button. Yet, he is seen upright, talking and has the strength to struggle back, and there is no blood on his chest or belly. At one point, his shirt is pulled up to his chest, but no belly wound is visible.
Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril gave a different account Thursday, saying the fatal wounds were suffered later, when Gadhafi had been taken to the ambulance. As it set off for Misrata, the vehicle was caught in crossfire between revolutionaries and Gadhafi loyalists.
Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam mirrored this version Friday, saying the wounds came later, after his capture. "It seems like the bullet was a stray and it could have come from the revolutionaries or the loyalists," Shammam said. "The problem is everyone around the event is giving his own story."
But other fighters, commanders and witnesses have not spoken of any such crossfire or further clashes. Siraq al-Hamali, a 21- year-old fighter, told AP that he rode in the vehicle carrying Gadhafi as it left Sirte and did not mention coming under fire. He said by the time they reached a field hospital 20 miles (30 kilometers) outside Sirte, Gadhafi had died of wounds he already had.
"I really wanted him alive and everybody did, but he was destined to die and we could do nothing to change that," he said. "He won't be missed, and that's all for the best and let's get on with our lives."
One of Gadhafi's sons, Muatassim, was also killed in Sirte, but the fate of Gadhafi's one-time heir apparent Seif al-Islam was unclear. Some Libyan officials said he had been wounded and was being held in a hospital in Zlitan. But Shammam said Friday that Seif al-Islam's whereabouts were not confirmed, leaving open the possibility he escaped.
Many Libyans awoke after a night of jubilant celebration and celebratory gunfire with hope for the future but also concern that their new rulers, the National Transitional Council, might repeat the mistakes of the past. Try socialism. It's worked so well for everyone so far.
Khaled Almslaty, a 42-year-old clothing vendor in Tripoli, said he wished Gadhafi had been captured alive.
"But I believe he got what he deserved because if we prosecuted him for the smallest of his crimes, he would be punished by death," he said. "Now we hope the NTC will accelerate the formation of a new government and ... won't waste time on irrelevant conflicts and competing for authority and positions."
Thousands of people converged for Friday prayers on Martrys' Square, formerly known as Green Square and the site from which Gadhafi made many defiant speeches trying to rally support as the uprising against him turned into a civil war.
One group of men danced and hoisted the country's new tricolor flag, chanting slogans against Syrian President Bashar Assad, who also faces an uprising against his rule as part of the Arab Spring that has also seen the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia ousted.
"It's your turn Bashar, zenga, zenga, dar, dar," they chanted. And now we have the Song of Death ....
It went viral on YouTube in February, written by an Israeli.
"Zenga, zenga, dar, dar" is Arabic for "alley by alley, house by house," a phrase used by Gadhafi in his last months in power, referring to how his forces would hunt down those who rose up against him.
Women, who wore headscarves and prayed in a separate section, hoisted a banner that said, "It's a new morning without the colonel," using Gadhafi's military designation.
The governing National Transitional Council said interim leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil will formally declare liberation on Saturday in the eastern city of Benghazi, where the revolution began in mid-February. The NTC has said it will form a new interim government within a month of liberation and will hold elections within eight months. Hopefully the Islamic Brotherhood won't hold more than 50% of the votes by the time that happens.
#1
I vote for "At Sea" ther'll be no shrine that way.
(You just KNOW there's some crazed asshole wanting to REVENGE him, Preferably by blowing up a score of innocents.)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/21/2011 14:41 Comments ||
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#2
top U.N. rights official raised concerns he was shot to death in custody.
Boo fricking hoo! STFU and do something proactive for once
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/21/2011 14:50 Comments ||
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#3
The rebels, dedicated as they are, are not much better than a semi organized rabble, IMHO. The could not have done the revolution without help from NATO. It is good that Daffy is dead, but we are talking about an undisciplined mob, and that is a situation ripe for takeover by Islamic radical elements.
Say what you want about Bush, he did go to the Congress and the UN (pee be upon them) for the OK. O did neither and congress just collectively sat there and said nothing.
So O takes what he can get away with and congress shirks its responsibilities under the Constitution. A very bad precedent and a very bad president.
And, of course, the most dangerous adversary in the ME is Iran, and O does nothing. And nothing is done to address Syria, or the Norks. O is after low hanging fruit for a diversion from his disastrous domestic policies.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/21/2011 15:00 Comments ||
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#4
He was a ruthless man who died a ruthless death, piss on him.
What I do not appreciate is the lines of bullshit the big names are selling. The official lines touted by some big name tv news was laughable...found, then caught in a crossfire, then died on way to hospital, f@n kidding me? They pulled him out of a sewer pipe, realized what was going to happen, turned away and pop.
And the pentagon guy saying they had no idea about the convoy..I mean, need 2 lawyers to blast a guy digging a IED but a convoy of however many vehicles bugging out of Sirte and they are shocked that Daffy was in there, give me a break. Which two vehicles, the first then the last? Team Rebels just happened to advance?
Professional US soldiers maybe scratch a knuckle pulling Hussein out of a hole, this is the rest of the world. Daffy is likely lucky the women didn't get ahold of him.
#11
#3 - No one is capable of thinking that far ahead, especially here at "pass the pop-corn" Bloodyburg. What is going to come out of all of this is many more radical Irans. The Obama regime ceased using the term WOT and is now ingaged in supporting Radical Islamic Reveloution which is giving birth to a monster far more senister to America than Qadahfy or Mubarrac could ever be for our future generations (our children) to have to deal with.
#12
Nah, they'll be fewer radical Irans, just as long as President Romney uses the 'Obama Doctrine' to whack any third-world thug who displeases us...
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/21/2011 18:05 Comments ||
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#13
When the Iranian people recently stood up to Dinner Jacket the "Obama Doctrine" and NATO did not support them. Just like the "Obama Doctrine" will accept the same Islamic Radical regime in Egypt and Libya, gobacho.
#14
wr, a good piece of the problem was that President Obama was in charge of executing the Obama doctrine. Hopefully his successor will do better in applying it, starting January 2012. And while it had no effect, we at Rantburg did support Iran's attempted people's revolution.
#4
Uncle Muammar's "passing" is going to end up like Adolf Hitler's, Osama's, JFK-RFK-MLK's, Malcolm X, Muhammad Atta + Abu Musab Zarqhawi's i.e lots of defects = asks more questions than it answers.
#5
Everyone is convinced Chavez is a gonner, based only on rumors of his prognosis. I wish I could be so optimistic. That guy is a vampire and I won't believe he's dead or near death until there's actual proof.
I advise the Venezuelan opposition to think the same way since they've already mistakenly assumed his (political) demise once or twice and they've never stopped paying for their errors of overconfidence.
Posted by: DJ Curtis C ||
10/21/2011 20:53 Comments ||
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It was not hate speech when Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Radio (SR) featured a programme in which a Somali imam called for all converts from Islam to be killed, the Swedish Chancellor of Justice (Justitiekanslern, JK) has ruled.
The motivation for the decision not to open up an investigation into the matter was that the presenter protested against what the imam said immediately following the controversial statement.
The decision said that "the programme features opinions that could be taken as a threat aginst those who have converted from Islam".
However, some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go... due to the responses from the presenter, the Chancellor has decided not to investigate the matter further.
The programme in question was a panel discussion and was broadcast live by SR International's Somali service.
The initial police report was filed by Erik Johansson, at the Swedish Evangelical Mission (Evangeliska Fosterlands-Stiftelsen - EFS), after friends told him of the imam's words underlining every Mohammedan's responsibility to kill anyone who leaves Islam.
"I received a call from my Somali friends who had heard the programme. I don't speak the language myself and when they explained to me, I concluded that this wasn't a message which should be on an SR channel," Erik Johansson told The Local at the time.
Johansson also contacted Sveriges Radio in order to register his dismay that the item was left available on their website for more than two weeks. Soon after his telephone call the programme was removed from the website.
In a comment to the Christian newspaper Dagen following the report, SR International head Ingemar Löfgren said that he decided to pull the transcript from SR's website pending receipt of an official translation, pointing out that he is responsible for several channels broadcast in languages which he does not speak.
"If a holy man calls for other Mohammedans to kill converts, then we have a journalistic responsibility... If he didn't get any follow-up questions then we have failed in our journalistic responsibility," he said.
Erik Johansson told The Local that the journalist had reminded the imam that they were in Sweden, to which the imam had replied that the same rules apply here.
Had the presenter not reacted as he did to the imam's statements, JK might have investigated the matter further.
"It's hard to say if we would or not. The statement was based on personal faith and the ceiling is pretty high when it comes to that kind of statement," said Marcus Agnvall, of the the Chancellor's office to newspaper Dagen,
After the Chancellor's decision was made public, Johansson told the paper that SR has worked hard at balancing the controversial programme after the incident and that this is a direct result of being reported for hate speech.
#9
But let someone say anything about Islam, other than that it is the greatest thing since sliced bread, canned beer and night baseball, and the various PC police will be all over them
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
10/21/2011 17:58 Comments ||
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Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/21/2011 17:09 ||
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#1
The Grand Game, wheels within wheels. Long term goal---divide up Iraq?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/21/2011 17:12 Comments ||
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#2
Apparently they listened to Joe Biden...
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/21/2011 18:05 Comments ||
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#3
OTOH INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > IRAQ: TURK'S RAIDS ON KURDS FUEL [regional] WAR FEARS, espec as Syria
s Babby Assad has threatened to transfer arms to the Kurds unless Ankara stops its military activities agz the PKK.
[Hurriyet Daily News] Freed Paleostinians who came to Turkey will be closely watched by Turkish Intelligence officials and may be sent abroad if they seek to leave, say reports
Paleostinians sent to Turkey as part of a prisoner swap with Israel are currently staying in the National Intelligence Organization's (MİT) headquarters in Ankara and will not be "walking the streets for a long time for security reasons," according to officials.
The 11 Paleostinians who arrived in Ankara on Oct. 18 were expected to speak with Turkish intelligence officials about their time spent in Israel, according to an official who asked to remain anonymous. Turkish intelligence officials, including advisers to the prime minister, were aboard the plane.
Officials will keep a close eye on the Paleostinians, and it is not possible for them to go out and walk on the streets by themselves, said the official. Ankara has said it cannot make the Paleostinians stay in Turkey by force if they wish to leave in the future. If and when that happens, Turkish officials said they would notify the proper authorities.
Ankara consults with Israel over the list
Ankara took precautions to ensure the Paleostinians wanted to come to Turkey and then consulted with Israel about the list, according to media reports.
Amina Muna, a former female prisoner, was a member of al-Fatah, a Paleostinian political and military organization aimed at achieving Paleostinian statehood. The 10 additional male Paleostinians were from Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, said a Foreign Ministry official, adding that these people would always be watched while living in Turkey, daily Hürriyet reported. A diplomatic source said the 11 people are not likely to stay long in Turkey because Ankara has not given any guarantees. Thus, they can be transferred to another country upon request, said the source.
The 11 Paleostinians were part of a group of an initial wave of 477 prisoners that were released by Israel in exchange for the freedom of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was captured by Hamas five years ago. Israel is expected to release around 600 more prisoners in subsequent waves as part of the deal.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
I'd pay money to watch the first time one of them insist on his pwecious rights---the way he would in Israel.
Congressional investigators probing the botched federal gun-trafficking program known as Fast and Furious are now setting their sights on the FBI.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, sent a letter Thursday to FBI Director Robert Mueller demanding answers about the guns found at the murder scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
In the letter, the lawmakers ask 16 detailed questions about the number of weapons discovered after Terry's death. While the Justice Department has maintained that only two guns were found, the Republican lawmakers say there are inconsistencies in documents including the search warrant and the unsealed indictment.
"Out of deference to the FBI's ongoing criminal inquiry, we have delayed asking the Bureau direct questions about the case for nearly 10 months," they wrote. "However, Congress has a right and a duty to conduct oversight of federal law enforcement operations.
"Agencies like the FBI can wield tremendous power and influence over individual citizens. With that power and influence comes responsibility, and nothing exempts the Bureau from accountability to Congress as well as to the courts."
They asked Mueller whether the FBI believes a third weapon killed Terry, since ballistic reports on the two Fast and Furious guns were inconclusive. They also asked the total number of suspects that Terry's unit encountered in the desert, and how many of them are still at large.
So far, only one man, Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, has been charged with Terry's murder. According to documents, Osorio- Arellanes told investigators that he was travelling with four other armed individuals. The letter said that it appears that the men who shot Terry may have been armed with five rifles.
The lawmakers also referred to statements made to Terry's mother at his funeral that three weapons were recovered at the scene. Along with responses to their questions, the letter also asks for all documents and communications between nine FBI officials relating to Operation Fast and Furious. They set a deadline of November 2 for the information.
In response, the FBI said Mueller is out of town, and it's unclear if he has seen the letter.
On Monday, the Justice Department responded to Issa's accusations about a possible third gun saying, "The FBI has made clear that reports of a third gun recovered from the perpetrators at the scene of Agent Terry's murder are false." They also maintain that Issa's staff was previously informed of this.
"Unfortunately, this most recent false accusation not only maligns the dedicated agents investigating the murder of Agent Terry, it mischaracterizes evidence in an ongoing case, the Justice Department said in its statement. The next hearing, will be a joint one between the House Oversight subcommittee and the House Judiciary Committee, sometime in November. Invite the DoJ to clarify and explain. In detail. That would be fun...
[Dawn] A major offensive is under way against Haqqani hard boyz in eastern Afghanistan and Pakistain must act to remove safe havens on its side of the border, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another John Marshall ... said Thursday.
"We are taking action against the Haqqanis. There was a major military operation inside Afghanistan in recent days," she told a joint news conference with 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... "It continues. That has been rounding up and eliminating Haqqani operatives on this side of the border," she added.
The top US diplomat also said there was an "international effort to squeeze the Haqqanis with their funding and other aspects of their operations".
The United States recently accused the Haqqanis of orchestrating a 19-hour siege of the US embassy in Kabul, a September truck bombing on a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... outpost that maimed 77 Americans and a June attack on Kabul's InterContinental hotel.
Clinton confirmed that the United States believes the network operates out of a "safe haven in Pakistain".
"And now it's a question as to how much cooperation Paks will provide in going after those safe havens," she added.
Clinton is later Thursday due in Pakistain, where she is to be joined by CIA chief David Petraeus and top US military officer Martin Dempsey.
"We intend to push the Paks very hard as to what they are willing and able to do with us...to remove the safe havens and the continuing threats across the border to Afghans," said Clinton.
Washington last month escalated pressure on Pakistain to crack down on the Haqqani network, with the then military chief Admiral Mike Mullen accusing Pak intelligence of involvement in the embassy siege.
US commanders say the Haqqanis are their most potent enemy in eastern Afghanistan and increasingly capable of launching high-profile attacks in Kabul. It is an Afghan Taliban faction, loyal to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Blinky Omar.
Afghan Defence minister Abdul Rahim Wardak had said "Operation Knife Edge" was launched earlier this week, confirmed by a senior defence ministry official to be "largely against the Haqqani network".
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/21/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
IMO the following says or describes the US attitude more succintly ...
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > US PUTS PAKISTAN ON [final?]NOTICE OVER TERROR | WE WILL DO IT WITH YOU OR WITHOUT YOU, US TELLS PAKISTAN.
Hillary says Pak had better choose wisely becuase the US isn't about to stop its WOT efforts, inside Pakistan or outside.
#2
DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [US-NATO] US MAKES INROADS INTO HAQQANI HEARTLAND, KILL 115 MILITANTS, espec vee LR MLRS barrages.
Also target AL-Qaeda + Taliban forces concentrated wid Haqqanis in Kunar province.
* SAME > [Swat Taliban leader] FAZLULLAH VOWS NEW WAR AGZ PAKISTAN, to spread Sharia in Makland + ultimately to all of Pakistan.
and
* INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > THE SCARY PROSPECT OF GLOBAL DONE WARFARE, as per symbolizing the preference to use solely military options to resolve the typically long-standing political + socioeconomic problems underlying terrorism + militancy.
#3
PAKISTAN DEFENCE FORUM > US RESERVES RIGHT TO STRIKE INSIDE PAKISTAN: LEVIN [US Senator Carl], espec iff Islamabad can't or won't take any serious action or effort to deal Haqqanis + other Pak-based Militant whom ultimately pose a threat outside of Pakistan + Region, including agz the US.
and
* RELATED > TOPIX = CARL LEVIN: US CAN STRIKE TARGETS IN PAKISTAN.
* INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > AIR MARSHAL (RETIRED) ASGHAR KHAN CLAIMS PAKISTAN ATTACKED INDIA FOUR TIMES SINCE 1947.
Various INDO Bloggers claim more, but whose counting.
Personally, I'm interpreting this Artic as a PCORRECT, SUBTLE WARNING to the US-World that the real threat from the deterioration in US-Pak relations is not outright US-PAK MIL CONFLICT, BUT PAK-INDIA MIL CONFLICT, POTENTIALLY NUCLEAR = LIMITED? ALL-OUT?, WHICH WILL DRAW IN THE US + CHINA, ETC.
[Dawn] In the ongoing war on terrorism the armed forces have so far lost the equivalent of two full brigades. Among those killed were one three-star and a couple of two-star generals.
Briefing defence committees of the two houses of parliament at General Headquarters on Tuesday (partly reported in Dawn on Wednesday), Director-General of Military Operations Maj-Gen Ashfaq Nadeem said that 3,097 personnel had been killed and 721 others permanently disabled.
The total number of Paks killed in the conflict has gone up to 40,309. Maj-Gen Nadeem said the Inter-Services Intelligence alone had lost 63 personnel in various incidents, including attacks on its major stations.
Since 2007, he said, more than 140,000 armed forces personnel had been deployed along the Afghan border.
During the briefing, Chief of Army Staff 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... rejected a perception that defence spending consumed a major portion of expenditures allocated in the budget. He also denied that defence spending had been increasing over the years.
Gen Kayani said that in 2001 defence spending was 4.6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. But it had now declined to only 2.4 per cent of the GDP.
A parliamentarian who attended the briefing quoted the army chief as saying that about 50 per cent of the budget expenditures went to debt servicing and the Public Sector Development Programme. In contrast, only about 18 per cent of the total outlay was allocated to defence.
Gen Kayani said that up to 75 per cent of what was allocated to the defence services was spent on salary and rations of the personnel and just 25 per cent on "everything else". According to him, Pakistain spends on three soldiers what India spends on only one soldier.
Organisations like the Army Welfare Trust and Fauji Foundation contributed billions of rupees to the national exchequer every year in the form of taxes, Gen Kayani said.
When asked why did his old friend and former US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen "stab him in the back" by levelling some serious allegations against Pakistain Army, he said: "Friendship does not matter in such issues.
"(Mike) Mullen did what he thought was in the interest of the United States and I will do what I think is in Pakistain's interest."
He said that before the attack on the GHQ in October 2009, there was an intelligence report about a possible assault there.
"Fifteen Death Eaters were living in a house but the neighbours did not bother to inform the relevant quarters about what was going on."
Gen Kayani said public cooperation was required to effectively combat terrorism.
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10/21/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] The Mighty Pak Army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... , told parliament's defence committee that the US should focus on stabilising Afghanistan instead of pushing Pakistain to attack snuffies groups, Rooters reported.
Mr Kayani also said Pakistain alone will decide if and when to launch a full-scale offensive in North Wazoo attacking Islamist bully boys, the news agency said, citing an unidentified defence committee MP.
The US would have to think "10 times" before taking any unilateral action in Pakiststan, the MP said. Pakistain is not like Iraq or Afghanistan, he added.
Such views could deepen tensions between the United States and its uneasy but important ally Pakistain.
Friction between the US and Pakistain recently increased after top US officials accused the ISI of supporting the Haqqani network, a group thought to be based in Pakistain.
US officials believe that the Haqqani network is responsible for a series of high-profile attacks that may unseat plans for withdrawing smoothly from Afghanistan.
US forces have targeted many Haqqani leaders in Pakistain and Afghanistan.
The Pakistain government has warned the US to stop its drone strikes on their territory.
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[An Nahar] Iran's Ambassador to Leb Ghazanfar Roknabadi stressed that the U.S. "fabrications" against Iran reveal that Washington "failed" in all the other matters during this critical stage.
Roknabadi handed Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour a letter on Thursday concerning the U.S. accusations of an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington Adel al-Joubeir.
He discussed with Mansour the "preparations for the upcoming visit by the Iranian Foreign Minister (Ali Akbar Salehi) to Leb."
Roknabadi noted that "the important issue is that the accused person holds the U.S. nationality along with the Iranian nationality."
However, the man who has no enemies isn't anybody and has never done anything... Iran has repeatedly denied any involvement and claimed the allegations are politically motivated.
The United States says its chief suspect, an Iranian used-car salesman who is a naturalized U.S. citizen living in Texas, Manssor Arbabsiar, confessed to acting as an agent for his cousin, whom he described as a high-ranking official in the Quds Force that forms part of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Arbabsiar is alleged to have tried to contract a Mexican narco mob to assassinate the Saudi ambassador, possibly through the bombing of a Washington restaurant.
But, according to U.S. officials, Arbabsiar's contact in the cartel was a paid FBI informant who raised the alert.
All their accusations "are assumptions and didn't reach a result," Roknabadi said.
"We have demanded the U.S. officially and twice to provide us with the documents (about alleged evidence), but so far we have not directly received anything," he stressed.
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[An Nahar] The former chief of the General Security Department, Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, described on Thursday Progressive Socialist Party leader 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... as a "sectarian dictator" who would have let the Lebanese suffer under his rule if he had controlled the country.
Jumblat "is a small sectarian dictator in Leb" who has terrorized his Druze and non-Druze foes, has been involved in corruption and has ordered massacres and liquidations, Sayyed said in a statement.
His accusations came after the Druze leader criticized the use of military force against Syrian demonstrators. In an interview with Hizbullah's al-Manar TV, the PSP chief also slammed the phenomenon of "Shabbiha," pro-government armed thugs blamed for the killing of protestors.
The former general said God has had mercy on the Lebanese for preventing Jumblat from controlling the fate of the country. "Or else they would have suffered under him because of his mood, his sadism and the psychological disturbances that the Libyans haven't witnessed under Moammar Qadaffy ...... one of those little rainstorms from the Arab Spring...... and the Russians under Joseph Stalin."
Jumblat is the mixture of Qadaffy and Stalin but wears "a fake civilized mask," Sayyed said in his statement.
He slammed the PSP chief for supporting revolutions in Arab countries that have no oil but for rejecting the uprisings where the regimes control huge amounts of oil resources.
Turning to the issue of the funding of the Special Tribunal for Leb, Sayyed said Jumblat backs the STL and its funding but at the same time supports witness protection and false witnesses.
Jumblat "is fooling no one but himself," the former general said, stressing that it is about time for him to realize that we are living in the era of "seriousness" and "important" personalities rather than "small" officials.
"Had he been living outside Leb, he would have been sitting in an international court jail for his crimes against humanity during the Lebanese civil war," he said.
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#1
I'd dunno about all that but I know the guy will kiss anyone's ass to get a political favor.
[An Nahar] Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's liquidation. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. noted on Thursday that the death of former Libyan leader Moammar Qadaffy ...a proud Arab institution for 42 years... marked the end of a dark period in the Libyan people's lives and the beginning of a new phase of freedom and democracy.
He said in a statement: "Qadaffy's fate is the inevitable end of all dictators who reject their people's will for freedom and democracy."
"His death paves the way for justice and the rule of law in Libya that focuses on meeting the people's expectations," he added.
"His death is also a clear lesson to regimes that have adopted oppression in ruling the people," Hariri continued.
"Leb, which has long been a pioneer of freedom and democracy, stands by all who confront oppression, especially in Syria, despite the positions of the government whom the will of the people is capable of overthrowing as the Libyan people have demonstrated today," he said.
"The Syrians are another Arab people who deserve freedom and democracy after decades of oppression," the former premier stated.
"We hope they will be victorious in their quest against the Syrian regime and praise the sacrifices of the Libyan people to rid their country of the Qadaffy regime," Hariri stressed.
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#1
"We hope they will be victorious in their quest against the Syrian regime and praise the sacrifices of the Libyan people to rid their country of the Qadaffy regime," Hariri stressed
For me it's the body counts & long term damage to infrastructure both physical and social.
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.
Qadaffy
King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands #65;bdullah
Bashir Ali, a commander from the Misrata military operations room, said the burial would be in a secret location to avoid revenge attacks. "Gadhafi hurt a lot of people and many will want to find his body for revenge, so we need to make sure he is not found," he said.
Hillary Clinton
[Dawn] In the ongoing war on terrorism the armed forces have so far lost the equivalent of two full brigades. Among those killed were one three-star and a couple of two-star generals.
Wazoo
Walid 
