[FOXNEWS] Army Pvt. Bradley Chelsea Manning is seeking a presidential pardon for leaking reams of classified information that her lawyer says did not merit protection.
The Pvt. Manning Support Network released documents Wednesday that defense attorney David Coombs filed a day earlier with the U.S. Justice Department and the Department of the Army.
Manning, previously known as Bradley Manning, has declared her desire to live as a woman while serving a 35-year prison sentence at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
In his her petition for pardon and commutation of sentence, Manning writes: "The decisions I made in 2010 were made out of a concern for my country and the world that we live in."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 10:25 ||
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The scary thing is that I can see Obama granting it.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
09/04/2013 13:53 Comments ||
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I know a cattle farmer and veterinarian assistant down in Bibb County who could assist him with the transition operation. Fairly certain it would be at no cost.
#5
No, I'm pretty sure they don't want Snowden coming home anytime soon. The legal and judicial aspects would be a PR nightmare for the regime. Notice how extradition discussions have faded from the news ?
[Telegraph] May need the west's support for years.
General Joseph Dunford, the highest US and 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... commander in the country, said that the security forces' weekly death regularly toll tops 100 and therefore they may need five more years of western support before they can fight independently.
He added that it was too early to tell whether NATO had been right to end combat operations and only offer training and support in the war torn country this Spring.
He said that both NATO and Afghan commanders viewed the number of men being lost as "serious", telling the Guardian: "I'm not assuming that those casualties are sustainable."
The rapidly expanded security forces, now 350,000 strong, have grasped the basics
Our original committment in that area included the goal of having all officers and enlisted men able to read and cipher at the second grade level. Anybody know how that's going?
but struggle to support themselves in areas varying from logistics and planning to intelligence-gathering and back-up in difficult battles.
The west officially shifted their role in Afghanistan from combat to support and training in June, and General Dunford said that "time is going to tell" whether that was the correct decision.
His comments highlight a rift between the views of western politicians keen to end a bloody and expensive war and military commanders on the ground who see Afghan forces struggling to cope.
All NATO combat troops are due to leave by 2014, and President Barack Obama They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them... has said that in 17 months the transition to Afghan control will be complete, although he has promised a follow up NATO training mission.
However, those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... no firm date has been set for the end of assistance, and General Dunford told the Guardian that western troops may need to remain until 2018 to tackle problems from the air force to intelligence.
"I look at Afghan cops development as really kind of three to five years," General Dunford said, adding that this could include a combat role such as close air support.
The US is currently negotiating a long-term security deal with Kabul to pave the way for wider western co-operation, but Washington has warned that unless a Bilateral Security Agreement is agreed in the next few months they will be forced to remove all their troops.
That could pave the way for a civil war given the state of the economy and the security forces this could pave the way for civil war, it is feared.
Despite the heavy losses the Afghans have managed to remain "resilient," General Dunford added, preventing the Taliban from accomplishing and ensuring 80 per cent of the population is secured from violence.
The Afghan defence ministry no longer publishes monthly corpse counts because of concerns about morale, and the interior ministry said that 1,792 coppers had been killed since March.
#1
The real disaster is Afghanistan and as I warned years ago, will cause Western nations not to intervene in countries where they have a genuine strategic interest like Syria.
But this is taboo and never mentioned because Afghanistan was 'authorised' by the UN, so everything must be hunkydory.
[Al Ahram] Egypt's newly formed constitutional committee marginalises the Islamic current, the Nour Party has complained. So they've figured out the grand plan...
"The formation of the committee is really bad and reflects the domination of the leftist-Nasserist faction," Sherif Taha, spokesperson for Egypt's largest Salafist party, said in a statement on Sunday.
The 50-member committee includes only two Islamists: ex-Moslem Brüderbund leader Kamal El-Helbawy and Nour Party deputy leader Bassam El-Zarqa.
Taha added that his party was still evaluating the situation, stressing that "all options are on the table."
Nour was Egypt's second largest bloc in the now-dissolved 2012 parliament and participated in the controversial Constituent Assembly, which drafted the 2012 constitution.
A week before the 50 nominees were announced, Nour Party spokesperson Nader Bakkar told Ahram Online he was worried about unequal representation on the constitutional committee.
Bakkar explained that his party did not want to stall Egypt's transition process, despite being "underrepresented" in the constitution writing process.
Meanwhile, ...back at the fist fight, Jake ducked another roundhouse, then parried with his left, then with his right, finally with his chin... Salafist Call leader Yasser Borhami said the committee was dominated by "enemies of Sharia [Islamic law] and the Islamic project."
He further complained that while the Islamic current had been marginalised from the committee, at least 11 leftists and Nasserists were included.
"A real national dialogue within two months is not possible due to excessive differences on several matters," Borhami added at a press statement on Monday.
Nour had earlier said it would boycott the constitutional committee after Article 219 was removed by the technical committee that amended the constitution before passing it on to the broader committee. The party later retreated, saying the issue could still be debated by the 50-member committee.
Article 219 defined Sharia (Islamic law), which is mentioned in Article 2 as the main source of legislation in Egypt. The article was added by the Islamist-dominated Constituent Assembly in 2012. It states: "The principles of Islamic Sharia include its commonly accepted interpretations, its fundamental and jurisprudential rules and its widely considered sources, as stated by the schools of Sunna and Gamaa."
The Salafist party warned that eliminating this article was an attempt to move Egyptians away from their "Islamic identity."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
FTA: The Salafist party warned that eliminating this article was an attempt to move Egyptians away from their "Islamic identity."
[Al Ahram] Egypt's Moslem Brüderbund said on Monday it holds the Interior Ministry and the General Prosecution Office accountable for the well-being of the group's supreme guide who is currently locked away Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! pending trial.
"The Moslem Brüderbund puts the Interior Ministry, the general prosecution office and all state officials fully responsible for the health and safety of the Supreme Guide [Mohamed Badie] and all detained citizens whether they are from the Brotherhood or not," the Brotherhood statement read.
It also claimed discrimination against Brotherhood detainees in terms of the treatment they receive compared to detainees affiliated to "the ousted president's [Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... ] former regime." The Brotherhood attributed the alleged discrimination to its opposition to "the coup", referring to president Mohamed Morsi's deposition on 3 July amid mass protests against him.
Badie, 70, reportedly suffered a heart attack last week. A security source told Ahram Arabic news website that Badie's condition is stable and a team of doctors were sent to examine him in prison. In addition, an interrogation session was also delayed once as he reportedly suffered from fatigue.
The supreme guide was tossed in the clink Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! on 20 August in Cairo. He was referred to the Criminal Court on charges of inciting the murder of protesters at the Moslem Brüderbund headquarters in Muqattam on 30 June.
The prosecution regularly interrogates Badie in prison as investigations are ongoing in his alleged involvement in other cases including festivities at the Ittihadiya Presidential Palace in December and July's festivities at the Republican Guard headquarters.
Meanwhile, ...back at the cheese factory, all the pieces finally fell together in Fluffy's mind... concerns were recently raised by Egyptian NGOs for alleged cases of torture against detainees in prisons, including those of the Brotherhood. On Sunday, Egypt's Prosecutor-General Hesham Barakat ordered all prosecution offices nationwide to conduct a search in Egypt's prisons to reveal such cases, if they exist.
Dozens of Brotherhood leaders and hundreds of members and supporters were arrested in the wake of the 14 August police forced dispersal of the pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo and Giza which triggered a wave of violent attacks across the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Egypt's minister of social solidarity, Ahmed El-Borai, said on Tuesday that the Moslem Brüderbund association, formed in March 2013 by the political group, has no legal standing.
The minister said during a presser on Tuesday that the prosecution had accused the Brotherhood of possessing firearms at its Cairo headquarters.
The ministry, which is responsible for registering non-governmental organizations and associations, sent several letters to the chairman of the Brotherhood NGO requesting explanations but has not received an answer.
"I know there is tension in the Egyptian street and people are attacking me for not taking an order to disband the Moslem Brüderbund association," said El-Borai, who added that the ministry needed a memo from the federation of NGOs in order to disband the association.
"We need to follow the legal path," he said.
El-Borai had previously said that disbanding the Brotherhood association without a court ruling would support allegations by western countries that the current regime in Egypt wants to liquidate the Moslem Brüderbund.
On Monday the board of state commissioners recommended to the Administrative Court that it issue a ruling terminating the Moslem Brüderbund association.
"The Moslem Brüderbund association was not registered as a NGO to do its role in accordance with the law and to serve the nation. It only helped the regime and its ruling party to keep the president in his position," read the report issued by the board.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm a California voter. I know how it feels to have no standing.
#2
I switched to "Decline to State" and vote-by-mail recently, EU, rather than waste gas being a party to a party with a death wish. Our local fella, Katcho, is purdy gud. But he'll time out all too soon. I vote more out of habit than anything else.
[Al Ahram] Egypt's National Coalition in Support of Legitimacy (NCSL), the Islamist alliance supporting deposed president Mohamed Morsi, said on Tuesday that Egypt has suffered a myriad of political and economic losses since the former elected president was ousted on 3 July.
Marking 60 days since Morsi's overthrow by the armed forces, following mass popular protests, the NCSL issued a statement listing the losses they think Egypt has sustained under the "coup authorities," including: the closure of several factories, the incurring of more debts, and the renewed state of emergency, which is due to end in less than two weeks.
"Sixty days have passed since the coup of the 3 July 2013 against the first elected civilian president for Egypt," the statement reads. "The Egyptian people have been subject to a forgery of history that might be the worst in the history of mankind."
"The authorities of the coup have committed the worst crimes against humanity; They killed, burned, and tortured patriotic and Islamist figures, twisted facts ... and the Egyptian economy was dealt major blows from the first moment."
The pro-Morsi Islamist forces have staged demos on Tuesday to mark the day, with a turnout of protesters estimated in the thousands.
The interim authorities resorted to forcible eviction of the pro-Morsi sit-ins at Rabaa Al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda squares (in Cairo and Giza) on 14 August, leaving hundreds dead, predominantly from the Islamist camp. This was followed by a stream of arrests of prominent Brotherhood and Islamist leaders, who have been given an array of criminal charges.
Two days after the deadly dispersals, Friday 16 August saw large heated rallies supporting Morsi, who hails from the Moslem Brüderbund, as the day was marked by exchanges in live fire and dozens of deaths.
However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... the last two Fridays have been much calmer, with a lower turnout at planned pro-Morsi protests, fueling speculation the security clampdown on the Moslem Brüderbund has left them crippled.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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IIRC TOPIX > EGYPT PRESIDENT MORSI SAYS MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD'S FATE IN THE HANDS OF JIHADIS.
Pragmatically, iff Iran can send IRGC + Quds Force to Syria ot protect + fight for Baby Assad, it can do the same wid Egypt + MusBros - ditto as per Al-Qaeda + Taliban, etc. foreign militant groups???
[MAGHAREBIA] As part of a struggle to improve his name since losing his al-Qaeda command, terrorist Mokhtar Belmokhtar just released a "greatest hits" video of his freelance work in Mali, Algeria and Niger.
How cute! Only, isn't that the kind of thing that shows up on late night teevee on that other channel after our hero has been reduced to the not-main stage in Las Vegas for a decade or several?
The video sent Sunday (September 1st) to Mauritanian daily ANI shows members of Belmokhtar's "Signed in Blood Brigade" and El Moulethemoune katibat ("Brigade of the Veiled Ones") training for Sahel operations.
Do they dive through flaming hoops? That's awfully popular at the Hamas summer camps... or perhaps rappel down buildings like the Iranian Women's Corp in full and flowing veils?
The 51-minute video marks the first time that Belmokhtar (aka Khaled Abou El Abbès, or "Laaouar") has been seen since the president of Chad reported him as killed in northern Mali.
'E's not dead yet, 'e's just restin'...
On the new video, Belmokhtar is shown giving instructions for the twin suicide boom-mobileings at a military camp in Agadez and a uranium mine in Arlit. The Niger attacks killed at least 20 people.
The MUJAO and al-Mua'qi'oon Biddam -- Laaouar's group -- grabbed credit for the Niger violence, saying the actions were to avenge the February killing of Al-Qaeda brigade commander terrorist Abdelhamid Abou Zeid by international forces in Mali.
Laaouar appears on the tape training fighters for the Niger attacks, dubbed "Sheikh Abdelhamid Abou Zeid's conquest". The video includes photos of Abou Zeid with Belmokhtar, to emphasise their accord.
Going at it alone has not proven successful for the one-eyed terrorist.
The ousted al-Qaeda brigade leader last month joined forces with Mali-based terror group Movement of Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) to create the "Mourabitounes".
Seriously? Over here, we only give names like that to Sixties girl bands. Still, Pashtun warriors love their cosmetics, so who are we to judge?
He publicized the merger by including clips of his fighters as well as those of the MUJAO.
The video shows training and preparations for the 2013 siege at Algeria's In Amenas gas plant, which left dozens of civilian hostages dead. The January attack was a joint operation by the MUJAO and Laaouar's katibat.
The tape also features clips of the gunnies in action in northern Mali last year. Laaouar's "Brigade of the Veiled Ones" and their MUJAO allies are seen engaged in bloody festivities in Gao against the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA).
Didn't all that fighting get them driven into the desert?
For many observers, however, Belmokhtar's video was a failure.
"This latest media production is an attempt by this group to show that it still has the strength and the gear to continue the fight in the Sahel," filmmaker Zine El Abidine Ould Bukhari told Magharebia.
"It is nothing more than a propaganda movie," he added. "This display of military equipment and mental readiness of terrorist elements did not bear fruit in the real field of confrontation, which means that it is mainly promotional material and nothing more."
This is where we point and laugh.
Furthermore, young people are becoming more aware about terror recruiting efforts, so multimedia and propaganda tapes "no longer have the same magnitude of influence on them,", he said.
According to Sahara Media Editor Bashir Ould Babana, Belmokhtar was weakened and his forces divided.
"Therefore Laaouar is seeking to reunite the remaining pieces and trying to rebuild an organization through publicity campaigns and buying weapons," Babana said.
To that end, the terrorist is now in Libya, Mosaique FM reported on Friday.
"Laaouar, who has a network of positive relations with some of the leaders of terrorist organizations in Libya, was accompanied on his trip by Iyad Ag Ghaly, leader of Ansar al-Din," the Tunisian radio station reported.
Laaouar is in Libya looking for weapons, unnamed security sources reportedly told the radio station, in order to conduct terrorist attacks in Tunisia and Algeria.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
The guy cut a multi-media video resume?
Is he gonna post it on Utube?
[MAGHAREBIA] The United Nations Special Wrapper Rapporteur on racism began a week-long visit to Mauritania on Monday (September 2nd), ANI reported. Mutuma Ruteere will gather information on challenges to the elimination of racism and discrimination in the country, the UN said.
Ruteere will visit Nouakchott, Rosso and Kaedi to meet with local authorities about laws, policies and measures to fight racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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A little under two years ago, Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, urged British businessmen to begin "packing their suitcases" and to fly to Libya to share in the reconstruction of the country and exploit an anticipated boom in natural resources.
Yet now Libya has almost entirely stopped producing oil as the government loses control of much of the country to militia fighters.
Mutinying security men have taken over oil ports on the Mediterranean and are seeking to sell crude oil on the black market. Ali Zeidan, Libya's Prime Minister, has threatened to "bomb from the air and the sea" any oil tanker trying to pick up the illicit oil from the oil terminal guards, who are mostly former rebels who overthrew Muammar Gaddafi and have been on strike over low pay and alleged government corruption since July.
As world attention focused on the coup in Egypt and the poison gas attack in Syria over the past two months, Libya has plunged unnoticed into its worst political and economic crisis since the defeat of Gaddafi two years ago. Government authority is disintegrating in all parts of the country putting in doubt claims by American, British and French politicians that Nato's military action in Libya in 2011 was an outstanding example of a successful foreign military intervention which should be repeated in Syria.
Proposal: put Libya into U.N. receivership for twenty years. Appoint a modern, civilized country with no history of 19th and 20th century colonialism to serve as steward. They rebuild the country, re-order the sensibilities of the people and fix what's wrong, and they spend the oil revenues to do it.
I nominate Poland.
In an escalating crisis little regarded hitherto outside the oil markets, output of Libya's prized high-quality crude oil has plunged from 1.4 million barrels a day earlier this year to just 160,000 barrels a day now. Despite threats to use military force to retake the oil ports, the government in Tripoli has been unable to move effectively against striking guards and mutinous military units that are linked to secessionist forces in the east of the country.
Libyans are increasingly at the mercy of militias which act outside the law. Popular protests against militiamen have been met with gunfire; 31 demonstrators were shot dead and many others wounded as they protested outside the barracks of "the Libyan Shield Brigade" in the eastern capital Benghazi in June.
Though the Nato intervention against Gaddafi was justified as a humanitarian response to the threat that Gaddafi's tanks would slaughter dissidents in Benghazi, the international community has ignored the escalating violence.
Just like we did in Syria...
The foreign media, which once filled the hotels of Benghazi and Tripoli, have likewise paid little attention to the near collapse of the central government.
The strikers in the eastern region Cyrenaica, which contains most of Libya's oil, are part of a broader movement seeking more autonomy and blaming the government for spending oil revenues in the west of the country.
Once upon a time Cyrenaica was a country separate from Tripolitania. Libya is a modern invention. Blame the Italians...
Foreigners have mostly fled Benghazi since the American ambassador, Chris Stevens, was murdered in the US consulate by jihadi militiamen last September. Violence has worsened since then with Libya's military prosecutor Colonel Yussef Ali al-Asseifar, in charge of investigating assassinations of politicians, soldiers and journalists, himself assassinated by a bomb in his car on 29 August.
Rule by local militias is also spreading anarchy around the capital. Ethnic Berbers, whose militia led the assault on Tripoli in 2011, temporarily took over the parliament building in Tripoli. The New York-based Human Rights Watch has called for an independent investigation into the violent crushing of a prison mutiny in Tripoli on 26 August in which 500 prisoners had been on hunger strike. The hunger strikers were demanding that they be taken before a prosecutor or formally charged since many had been held without charge for two years.
You won't see the Committee on Constitutional Rights campaigning on behalf of these prisoners with near the fervor they have over the mooks jugged in Gitmo...
The government called on the Supreme Security Committee, made up of former anti-Gaddafi militiamen nominally under the control of the interior ministry, to restore order. At least 19 prisoners received gunshot shrapnel wounds, with one inmate saying "they were shooting directly at us through the metal bars". There have been several mass prison escapes this year in Libya including 1,200 escaping from a prison after a riot in Benghazi in July.
The Interior Minister, Mohammed al-Sheikh, resigned last month in frustration at being unable to do his job, saying in a memo sent to Mr Zeidan that he blamed him for failing to build up the army and the police. He accused the government, which is largely dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, of being weak and dependent on tribal support. Other critics point out that a war between two Libyan tribes, the Zawiya and the Wirrshifana, is going on just 15 miles from the Prime Minister's office.
Diplomats have come under attack in Tripoli with the EU ambassador's convoy ambushed outside the Corinthia hotel on the waterfront. A bomb also wrecked the French embassy.
Tell us about it...
One of the many failings of the post-Gaddafi government is its inability to revive the moribund economy. Libya is wholly dependent on its oil and gas revenues and without these may not be able to pay its civil servants. Sliman Qajam, a member of the parliamentary energy committee, told Bloomberg that "the government is running on its reserves. If the situation doesn't improve, it won't be able to pay salaries by the end of the year".
About as smart as Egypt, having to import half the calories required to feed its people, running off the tourists that provide 90% of the foreign exchange. Is it something in the water over there?
Posted by: Beavis ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Another sad all over situation where deposition ruined chances for stability. It was coming anyway, just not as badly as it is now.
#5
#3 The west seems to be infected with serial stupidity and cupidity in all diplomatic matters these days. AlanC
Filling the news with a foreign crisis cut from whole cloth, appears to be the standard antidote for a regime beset by a failed economic strategy and scandal.
Anyone who cannot see through Champ's methodology really isn't bright enough to be elected to public office. Boehner's and other pubs signing on to the Champ's Syrian resolution only highlights their complicity in the grand beltway scheme of obfuscation and deception.
#6
certain tribal cultures seem to be unable to maintain productive civility without the boot of an ultra strongman on their collective necks. Islam seems to exacerbate this tendency
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/04/2013 9:39 Comments ||
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[Politico] A new use-of-force resolution for Syria sets a 60-day deadline, with one 30-day extension possible, for President Barack Obama to launch military strikes against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and it will also bar the involvement of U.S. ground forces in Syria.
#2
Here's my compromise. Congress votes to allow Champ to bomb Syria, if Champ publicly acknowledges that he is doing exactly what he previously critisized Bush for doing.
[Dawn] Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... general secretary Liaqat Baloch has warned the federal government against destabilising the coalition government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... A blurb issued here from the party provincial secretariat on Monday quoted Liaqat Baloch as saying that the federal government was hatching conspiracies and trying to buy MPAs to overthrow coalition government in the province.
"Federal government will have to pay heavy price if it tried to destabilise provincial government," he said while addressing meeting of the provincial office-bearers of the party. The meeting discussed strategy for the next local bodies elections in the province. JI is coalition partner of Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... and has received three ministries in the provincial cabinet.
He criticised the federal government for increasing prices of petroleum products and electricity charges and alleged that Pakistain Mohammedan League-N had mortgaged the country with International Monetary Fund and other donors. He said that the recent increase in oil prices was part of the IMF conditionalities and added that oil prices in international market had not increased.
Expressing concern over the recent drone strike in North Wazoo agency he criticised the central government policy and said that America had been defying international law by violating Pakistain's airspace while the federal government was silent on this serious issue.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Meanwhile, not to be outdone by the JeI ...
* INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > A NEW PAKISTANI MILITANT OUTFIT "ANSAR AL-ASEER" VOWS TO WAGE WAR ON INDIA | ... ... ... WAR IN KASHMIR [J-&-K] + OTHER INDIAN CITIES - INDIA TODAY.
* FYI also from SAME > CHINA MOVED N-MISSLES [DF-11 SRBMS + TELS] TO PAKISTAN VIA KARAKHORAM
HIGHWAY IN 2005: INDIAN INTELLIGENCE REPORTS | IDRW.org.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > POSTER THREAD: NORTH EAST INDIA TO SEEK SECESSION + INTEGRATE WID CHINA?
[Washington Post] The $52.6 billion U.S. intelligence arsenal is aimed mainly at unambiguous adversaries, including al-Qaeda, North Korea and Iran. But top-secret budget documents reveal an equally intense focus on one purported ally: Pakistain.
No other nation draws as much scrutiny across so many categories of national security concern.
A 178-page summary of the U.S. intelligence community's "black budget" shows that the United States has ramped up its surveillance of Pakistain's nuclear arms, cites previously undisclosed concerns about biological and chemical sites there, and details efforts to assess the loyalties of counterterrorism sources recruited by the CIA.
Pakistain appears at the top of charts listing critical U.S. intelligence gaps. It is named as a target of newly formed analytic cells. And fears about the security of its nuclear program are so pervasive that a budget section on containing the spread of illicit weapons divides the world into two categories: Pakistain and everybody else.
The disclosures -- based on documents provided to The Washington Post by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden -- expose broad new levels of U.S. distrust in an already unsteady security partnership with Pakistain, a politically unstable country that faces rising Islamist militancy. They also reveal a more expansive effort to gather intelligence on Pakistain than U.S. officials have disclosed.
The United States has delivered nearly $26 billion in aid to Pakistain over the past 12 years, aimed at stabilizing the country and ensuring its cooperation in counterterrorism efforts. But with the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now among the dear departed, though not among the dearest... dead and al-Qaeda degraded, U.S. spy agencies appear to be shifting their attention to dangers that have emerged beyond the patch of Pak territory patrolled by CIA drones.
"If the Americans are expanding their surveillance capabilities, it can only mean one thing," said Husain Haqqani, who until 2011 served as Pakistain's ambassador to the United States. "The mistrust now exceeds the trust."
Beyond the budget files, other classified documents provided to The Post expose fresh allegations of systemic human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... abuses in Pakistain. U.S. spy agencies reported that high-ranking Pak military and intelligence officials had been aware of -- and possibly ordered -- an extensive campaign of extrajudicial killings targeting forces of Evil and other adversaries.
Public disclosure of those reports, based on communications intercepts from 2010 to 2012 and other intelligence, could have forced the B.O. regime to sever aid to the Pak armed forces because of a U.S. law that prohibits military assistance to human rights abusers. But the documents indicate that administration officials decided not to press the issue, in order to preserve an already frayed relationship with the Paks.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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Just read an article about the Taliban in Karachi. They are regularly funded by College students and local businessmen.
We need to support the MQM in Karachi.
Posted by: Paul D ||
09/04/2013 11:09 Comments ||
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[Dawn] Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... on Tuesday vowed not to politicise a planned solution to restore peace to Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... and hoped others would cooperate with the federal government in doing so.
The premier arrived in the picturesque provincial capital earlier this morning, a day before he was scheduled to preside over the federal cabinet session on the port city's deteriorating law and order situation. The crucial session on Wednesday is expected to decide on a planned targeted operation against criminal gangs and armed militias of political groups, whose deadly pie fight has ruined peace in the country's economic hub.
Sharif held a meeting with representatives of all major political parties after arriving in Karachi, including the Pakistain People's Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... (MQM), Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... , Sunni Tehrik ...formed in Karachi in 1992 under by Muhammad Saleem Qadri. It quickly fell to trading fisticuffs and assassinations with the MQM and the Sipah-e-Sahaba, with at least a half dozen of its major leaders rubbed out. Sunni Tehreek arose to become the primary opposition to the Deobandi Binori Mosque, headed by Nizamuddin Shamzai, who was eventually bumped off by person or persons unknown. ST's current leadership has heavily criticized the Deobandi Jihadi leaders, accusing them of being sponsored by Indian Intelligence agencies as well as involvement in terrorist activities... and Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... -Fazl (JUI-F). The meeting was also attended by Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah and Governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ibad.
Speaking at the meeting, Sharif stressed that he had come as the prime minister of the entire country and not just as representative of the Pakistain Moslem League -- Nawaz (PML-N).
"Karachi is the most important city and the economic hub of Pakistain. Unemployment will rise if the unrest in Karachi is not quelled," he said. "Peace is imperative to bring foreign investment into Pakistain."
The PM said that his government wished to restore peace to the city, and said he respected the mandates of all political parties. He assured that his administration was ready to extend all support to the Sindh government.
Earlier, the MQM and the federal government appeared to be heading on a collision course after news trickled in that an earlier invitation to MQM leader Farooq Sattar to attend the cabinet meeting on Wednesday had been withdrawn.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is warning that any "punitive" action taken against Syria for an alleged chemical weapons attack last week could unleash more turmoil and bloodshed in that nation's civil war. Wouldn't that be the intention?
Ban also cautioned nations such as the United States and France that may be considering such strikes that they are legal only in self-defense under the U.N. Charter or if approved by the U.N. Security Council. Ban's statement probably gives some Republicans a good reason to support military action He's just another fool. See also, Kerry...
Posted by: lord garth ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Or You have to face the Dreaded Strongly Worded Letter of DOOM!
[Washington Post] As the hearing continues, our ace photographer Melina Mara reports she spotted Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) "passing the time by playing poker on his iPhone during the hearing."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 09:58 ||
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#1
I'm not sure how to appropriately express how mad this makes me.
Maybe it would be like getting ready to enter a burning house, knowing that there are patients trapped inside, perhaps even an arsonist, and upon looking for orders, finding the chief staring at a good looking on-looker in a weird creepy way.
Maybe its the sarcastic response that makes me want to pound by fist through the desk. Coming from a guy who should know the seriousness of flying combat missions over enemy territory.
#2
Maybe if he'd known the seriousness of flying combat missions over enemy territory he wouldn't have been a guest for so many years at the Hanoi Hilton.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/04/2013 19:19 Comments ||
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#5
What mind, RJ?
Posted by: Barbara ||
09/04/2013 19:51 Comments ||
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#6
Oh, his mind is made up already. He's so far in the tank he can't be in the same room as the betta.
He has been banging the drums loudest for over a year now, finally has his hearing, and finds all that and the fate of this nation less interesting than a losing game of p@kr. Really shows off that resolve, not able to focus for a measly three hours. Pathetic.
Hey McCain, who you playing against? '08 Obama, Palin, and betta?
[WEEKLYSTANDARD] "First of all, I didn't set a red line," said Obama. "The world set a red line. The world set a red line when governments representing 98 percent of the world's population said the use of chemical weapons are [inaudble] and passed a treaty forbidding their use, even when countries are engaged in war. Congress set a red line when it ratified that treaty. Congress set a red line when it indicated that in a piece of legislation entitled the Syria Accountability Act that some of the horrendous things happening on the ground there need to be answered for. So, when I said in a press conference that my calculus about what's happening in Syria would be altered by the use of chemical weapons, which the overwhelming consensus of humanity says is wrong, that wasn't something I just kind of made up. I didn't pluck it out of thin air. There's a reason for it."
Nobody, nobody passes the buck faster or better than Champ...
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 09:50 ||
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#1
I believe he initially called it.... "my red line". Nice of him to so willingly share his red line.
#2
Seems that 98 percent of the world expects the US to enforce the red line Mr President. One would think that if it was a group red line and of such importance they'd be falling over themselves to help.
#3
Well, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz says there are actually dozens of countries behind us. She's just not allowed to tell us who they are.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
09/04/2013 10:30 Comments ||
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#4
What a puss in suits. Kerry too, "oh, just thinking out loud about sending in an invasion force; geez is that a pretzel hot dog?"
Horses and bayonets. What was being used alongside gas in WWI. I think it was 3dc, and please correct me if I'm wrong, who had the suggestion of a world convention to re-certify the chemical weapons ban. Made sense to me, simple up or down vote, get everyone on record.
Maybe if our warmongers weren't so busy playing video p@kr, these ideas would happen.
#7
And quoting a WH official in April of 2013:
"And the people in Syria and the Assad regime should know that the President means what he says when he set that red line. And keep in mind, he is the one who laid down that marker. He's the one who directed that we provide this information to the public. And he's the one who directed that we do everything we can to further investigate this information so that we can establish in credible, corroborated, factual basis what exactly took place."
#8
BULLSHIT, it's on tape.
No backing out on this one.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/04/2013 11:28 Comments ||
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#9
I was suggesting convening all the signers to ask if it meant nothing but paper as it had no penalty clause with no defined enforcement. Let them decide what to do and walk away until they get some spine or tear it the fuck up.
Wonder if it was this group that came up with that "I didn't set a red line," said Obama. "The world set a red line."
Sept 3rd:
The White House is getting advice from some former campaign advisers on how to win congressional support for a strike on Syria, Fox News has learned, with top White House aides soliciting their input during a long strategy session Tuesday afternoon.
The aides met with former top Obama campaign hands like strategist Anita Dunn, former deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter and long-time adviser David Axelrod.
While the president himself did not attend the meeting, attendees said the goal was to kick around ideas about how to help Obama win crucial votes in Congress as he faces a critical test of his presidency as soon as next week.
#13
How in the name of all that's holy could any congress person vote for this abortion after this display of bald face lying and blatant, virtually admitted, attempt to pass the buck???
How could any self-respecting person look at themselves in a mirror after cowering in the face of this humiliation???
"Hey isn't it great that Obama is asking Congress to vote on authorizing bombing in Syria; maybe if this works out Obama will obey other portions of the Constitution"
Posted by: lord garth ||
09/04/2013 13:40 Comments ||
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#15
What saddens me about this most of all is that my
children's reaction seems to be representative of there age group.
Note I'm talking about 27 - 36 sons & DILs...
the reaction is "ehh, so what, they all do it. It really doesn't effect me". Though they will grumble about taxes that hit them directly they can't put it all together. I tried from when they were little to inculcate a sense of individualism and hard work. THAT WORKED. They are both hard working and take full responsibility for themselves but they can't translate that into principles that should govern the elite, ruling class.
I blame the progressive sucker women they married and their ultra-left Masshole educational system brainwashing. 8^(
#17
And if you like your health insurance, you can keep it. And if you make under 250K a year, your taxes won't go up. I never said that shit either...
#18
Watched both Senate and House hearings... all 8 hours...
It passed the Senate committee on a 10-7 margin and goes on to a Monday vote in the Senate.
It has a less likely chance of passing the house. Both parties very troubled and upset in the house.
It really looks like the administration want's to do a Gadaffi but doesn't want to say it.
It looks like 30 to 60 days of intensive air and missile ops.... over and over
with an option of 90 more. I would venture the attack will be modeled on Shock and Awe.
As to PaxAm's statement.... I doubt we have 60 days worth of Tomahawks in the inventory...
This should address Thoughtful's "use by date worries".
Mention was made of several Globalhawks on the scene monitoring all movements...
No real desire to actually touch the poison gas stockpiles...
Also, noise about "bones" and other planes.
It's shock and awe. Oh and I have heard heavy trains late at night last heard before Shock and Awe.
No mention in all 8 hours of Syria being a proxy war between Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi. Some distant hints but no questions or statements.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
09/04/2013 18:00 Comments ||
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#26
No mention in all 8 hours of Syria being a proxy war between Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi. Some distant hints but no questions or statements.
This is most worrisome. Nobody even asked? They're either morons or complicit or both, just going right along with whatever information the administration spoon feeds them.
And then there was Kerry's remark (see Drudge) that Soddies will pay for us to invade Syria. So we're just hired guns for the Soddies? I knew it all along.
#29
Let's get one thing straight. If "regime" is overthrown, Allawites and Christians, and---probably---Kurds and Druze, get butchered.
OTOH, this is the same "regime" that uses Lebanon's Christian and Druze and Sunni Moslem populations as human shields for its proxy Hezbollah's attacks against Israel. So to me it looks like six of one, half-dozen of the other.
On the Third Hand... I wouldn't trust the current administration, or the people who tell me they're trustworthy, to tell me Charles Manson needed to be incarcerated, much less think they have the brains or intestinal fortitude or moral backbone to go against people like Assad or Putin, even if it needed to be done.
If they think it's so goddamn important, they could resign and find replacements who didn't have lunch with the SOB while his proxies were killing American soldiers and torturing Israeli soldiers to death. (Anyone have any idea about whether Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were still alive in April 2007?) Maybe enter a monastery while they're at it, I understand that's the traditional thing for Annointed-monarchs that resign.
#32
FOX'S BRIT HUME said it best this AM [paraph] > "THIS PRESIDENT JUST DOES N-O-O-O-O-T WANT TO TAKE OR ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANYTHING".
* FREEREPUBLIC > [Fox News] ISRAELI SOURCES ON OABAM SYRIA APPROACH [strategeery]: "THIS IS NOT HOW A SUPERPOWER ACTS".
Missing POTUS Jimbo Carter's Rabbit + well-intentioned naivete'???
There is no leadership in the Syria Crisis, only [intentional = pre-planned?] UNIVERSAL/PERVASIVE CHAOS - THE QUESTION IS "WHY"?
IMO, iff one believe that the Bammer is a dedicated anti-US Marxist-Anarchist-Globalist, the answer may lie in his PCorrect-Deniable support or adherence to an anti-US OWG-NWO + "Multipolar World" dominated, controlled, or otherwise managed by PAR GLOBAL CO-SUPERPOWERS.
By this scope, he is covertly but intentionally helping Shia Iran become the world's first ISLAMIC GLOBAL NUCLEAR SUPERPOWER, + already Nuclear China to take over 1/2 of the Pacific , including but not limited to Guam-WESTPAC + Hawaii, perhaps even 1/2 of CONUS-NORAM.
FOR IRAN + CHINA, ETAL? TO BE A US-STYLE, PAR "CO-SUPERPOWER" = THE US M-U-S-T LOSE OR UNILATERALLY GIVE-UP POWER-N-INFLUENCE IN IMPORTANT WORLD REGIONS + ACTIVITIES TO TRANSFER TO THE NEW GUYS???
Subjectively speaking, FAIR TO SAY/ARGUE THAT SEVEN WORLD CONTINENTS = SEVEN OWG GLOBAL FEDERAL "UNIONS" = SEVEN OWG "CO-SUPERPOWERS"???
The prob or folly is iff the deliberate or intentional US rollback will NOT be interpreted as de facto MilPol = Startegic weakness on the aprt of Amer's rivals, inspiring them to attempt to take over from the us completely. HISTOIRE' SAYS MORE THAN NOT THE US ACTION WILL BE INTERPRETED AS DE FACTO WEAKNESS.
Truth be told, iff the Syria Crisis alone is any measure, IT ALREADY IS SEEN AS SUCH AS PER THE MSM-NET + TOP US POLITICOS.
Outrage is not a strategy. I thought military action always had to have a purpose behind it so what is the endstate here? Hit, and then hope?
I am not sure in what way even limited strikes help the people living in my constituency: how does this further Britains or Americas national security?
There cannot be a sane person in Britain who would not think it a good thing for us to get involved in the war in Syria if by doing so it would ease the horrors faced by the Syrian people and dire risks to people in neighbouring countries.
We must be guided not by our alliance to America, but by our duty to understand that military force should only be used in support of a clear purpose and with a clear objective in mind - in support of our national interest. I am yet to be convinced that there is a strong and clear-cut case that military action will deter the Syrian government from using chemical weapons nor am I convinced that in 20 years time some other tyrant thinking of using chemical weapons will turn around and say to his or herself Whoops, better not do that: remember what Obama, Cameron and Hollande did back in the summer of 2013.
The use of chemical weapons was indeed a crime against all of humanity. But by firing one missile we are involving ourselves in a civil war on the side of a fractured opposition which includes people with proud links to Al Qaeda. By striking now, without clear cause and purpose, we risk consequences that we have not even thought of: this is a case of hit and then hope.
Adam Holloway, is a former British Army officer turned investigative war journalist. Mr. Holloway, without consulting his government, slipped into Afghanistan using his own funds (much like Michael Yon). In 2006, Mr. Holloway returned to the UK and eventually was elected to Parliament.
#5
The beheading of a British soldier on a street in his homeland by an muslim is still fresh in the British public's mind.
I guess the average Brit perhaps feels there's no good reason to help out any ingrates in Syria...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
09/04/2013 7:09 Comments ||
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#6
And, no, I'm not saying there are no innocents in any of the benighted middle eastern cesspools states.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
09/04/2013 7:10 Comments ||
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#7
Not sure of the specific reason(s), but British officers and NCO's being prohibited from the CENTCOM Syrian planning cell; pretty good confirmation that Great Britain made the correct decision.
#10
Listening to the clueless, stumbling bastid ramble, on the teevee. Talking about the outrage of "400 dead children"....while at the same time he's 'fully in' with Planned Parenthood extermination centers. Absolutely incredible.
#12
Shi'a vs Sunni civil war and christian nations are considering getting in the middle of it? Yeah, that'll work out well, give them a common enemy.
It's hezbollah vs Al Queda. Let them work it out and clobber the survivor. Perhaps my thinking isn't nuanced enough but it doesn't seem that difficult.
#13
Ofcourse all the UK could deliver is a few tomahawks from submarines and some stand-off missiles. The US could deliver are share of the payload easily.
The best thing we can do is just provide the refugee camps with materials and money. Help support are Nato allies and Jordan - which is now 1/5th Syrian!
#14
"The best thing we can do is just provide the refugee camps with materials and money."
F*ck that. Why does it have to always be US?
Let the Saudis, Kuwaitis, etc., help their co-religionists. After all, they've got billions for our oil money - let them spend it on something besides gold faucets.
Yes, I'm sick of it. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara ||
09/04/2013 13:12 Comments ||
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#15
I was talking about the UK's contribution, but I do agree.
#17
I'll support this intervention when the Pakistani Parliament votes to intervene with us. They can provide the manpower on the ground, and we can join them by providing air cover and technical support.
[An Nahar] The United States must "stand up and act" to punish the Syrian regime and cannot resort to isolationism in the face of "slaughter," Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... told politicians Tuesday.
"This is not the time for armchair isolationism. This is not the time to be spectators to a slaughter," Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Isolationism: the concept that it's not always appropriate to go bombing foreigners...
"Neither our country nor our conscience can afford the cost of silence," Kerry said, according to prepared remarks.
Not quite what you said in 2002...
"We have spoken up against unspeakable horror. Now we must stand up and act," he added.
Kerry also pointed out that failure by the United States to take military action against Syria would send a dangerous signal to Iran and Hizbullah.
"Our inaction would surely give them a permission slip for them to at least misinterpret our intention, if not to put it to the test," Kerry told senators.
Hizbullah "militants" in Leb are "hoping that isolationism will prevail" and "North Korea is hoping that ambivalence carries the day," he said.
"They are all listening for our silence."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Hmm... in over a year we still can't get a straight answer about Benghazi in territory that is much more open to our intelligence gathering, yet in Syria, within a matter of days, we have proof positive, not only of a sarin attack, but who did it, and the exact number of casualties (higher even than what the rebels sent us)? Considering most of the dead were buried within 24 hours per custom, how the heck can we know that number? Amazing the level of bull that is being tossed by the administration, and people credulously accepting it given the previous track record. Kerry today would not rule out involvement of ground troops. Ready for another Mogadishu?
How will this further US National Security? And what is the goal, the end-state? How do these strikes achieve that? What are the probable and possible downstream consequences of these actions in Syria and in the region over the next few years?
I have yet to see those questions adequately addressed. That is why oppose our getting involved by putting our military in harm's way to hit Pencilneck. Then there is the problem that the striked may end up helping Al Qaeda and Iran far more than it does the people of Syria or others in the region (especially the Kurds).
#2
One other thing to consider - Obama is always playing politics. His angle here? Use the Syria crisis to either macho-up and cover his earlier error about "red line", or else dump the blood of the Syrian rebels in the GOP's lap if they vote it down. And the press will be willing accomplices either way.
I remember back when we had a free press in the US that reported fairly openly instead of openly partisan and lying by commission and omission like Pravda. I wonder if I will see that again before I die?
#9
Obama today: "First of all, I didn't set a red line," said Obama. "The world set a red line. The world set a red line when governments representing 98 percent of the world's population said the use of chemical weapons are [inaudble] and passed a treaty forbidding their use, even when countries are engaged in war. Congress set a red line when it ratified that treaty. Congress set a red line when it indicated that in a piece of legislation entitled the Syria Accountability Act that some of the horrendous things happening on the ground there need to be answered for. So, when I said in a press conference that my calculus about what's happening in Syria would be altered by the use of chemical weapons, which the overwhelming consensus of humanity says is wrong, that wasn't something I just kind of made up. I didn't pluck it out of thin air. There's a reason for it."
#11
Waging limited war is expensive. Of course we'll soon need to raise the national debt limit and borrow more money from China, but we'll be saving untold numbers of Syrian women and children. Did I mention the children ?
#12
This may end up being a very important vote for reasons that have nothing to do with Syria or War.
0 only decided to submit this to Congress when the British Parliament said no thanks. The Tory MPs, who are supposed to be a rubber stamp for the PM voted with their constituents.
Here, the Senate looks like it is lining up with 0. Likewise, the leadership of both parties in the House has lined up with 0. Ultimately it is the rank and file in the House, especially those in competitive districts, who are going to throw a monkey wrench into 0's works. Because they're listening to their constituents.
What could be happening here is a rejection of the elite by the hoi polloi. If so, 2014 could be very interesting. The answer is blowing in the wind.
#13
Limited war would be bad enough but there are no freaking objectives. I guess that makes it easier to walk away and say we're done but it also guarantees the enemy will claim they survived and chased you away making it a victory for Assad and his allies.
Far better to just recind the No Assassinations executive order and let the enemies imaginations run wild for awhile.
#15
180 countries signed the poison gas treaties. If the only one who cares about it is the USA then the treaties are worthless and we should walk away
#17
With the exception of France, the rest of the world has shown zero inclination to send men and equipment to bomb Syria. If we're isolationists, then being isolationist means "being more or less in line with the rest of the world".
#23
Of course it doesn't enter these twits minds, that while you're watching and getting hyper ventilated with Syria, that once America executes basically unilaterally, the Soviets Russian take care of the Georgia 'problem' using the same rationale and unilateral application of force.
[An Nahar] Al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... bloc on Tuesday condemned Hizbullah's "attacks against citizens and diplomats under the excuse of security measures," urging the president and the premier-designate to overcome "illegal obstacles" and form a new cabinet.
"We strongly condemn the attacks of Hizbullah's militia on citizens and diplomats," the bloc said in a released statement after the MPs' weekly meeting at the Center House.
The statement elaborated: "In addition to its fighting in Syria alongside the regimes' forces and subjecting Leb to all kinds of dangers, Hizbullah keeps dragging the country into festivities and puts it in a confrontation with neighboring Arab nations."
Kuwait's ambassador to Leb revealed on Friday that a Kuwaiti diplomat was searched at an "unofficial checkpoint," also calling on his country's nationals to leave Leb.
Also, Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... had filed a complaint to the Foreign Ministry after one of its embassy vehicles in Leb was searched by Hizbullah members at a checkpoint near its stronghold of Dahieh in Beirut's southern suburbs last week.
Diplomats in the car were also searched before being allowed to return on their way.
These incidents come after Hizbullah had stepped up its security measures in and around Dahieh after a bombing in the area on August 15.
Al-Mustaqbal said that last month's twin blasts in the northern city of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... "were orchestrated by Syrian intelligence bodies."
"This contradicts with all claims that say Leb and its security have become under the mercy of the Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... s,"
"(Syrian President Bashar) Assad's regime is the top Takfiri and terrorist that is targeting both Leb and Syria," the statement stressed.
"Tripoli's crime is a continuation of the Samaha-Mamlouk scheme."
The statement was pointing out to the case of former Information Minister Michel Samaha and Syrian security chief Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk.
Lebanese judicial authorities have charged Samaha and Mamlouk with forming a group to commit terrorist crimes in Leb.
The two were also charged with plotting to assassinate political and religious figures.
The al-Mustaqbal statement added: "We praise the efforts exerted by security bodies, especially by the International Security Forces Intelligence Bureau, to uncover the group that executed the bombings in Tripoli and the one behind the kidnapping of the Turkish pilots."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The visiting head of Iranian parliament's foreign policy committee discussed on Tuesday with top Lebanese officials and Hizbullah leader His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... the latest developments in the region.
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, who is the chairman of the committee for foreign policy and national security of the Iranian parliament, arrived in Beirut on Monday and went into separate talks with Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, a member of AMAL, a not very subtle Hizbullah sock puppet... and Premier-designate Tammam Salam.
The state-run National News Agency said that Boroujerdi and his accompanying delegation discussed with Nasrallah on Tuesday the regional developments, mainly in Leb and Syria.
Also Tuesday, the delegation met with President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... , Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati and Caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour.
Suleiman discussed with Boroujerdi "the dangers that could result from any foreign military intervention" in Syria, said a Baabda palace statement.
Suleiman reiterated Leb's rejection of military intervention and stressed it was up to the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... to hold responsible the parties that allegedly used chemical weapons in Syria, said the statement.
Boroujerdi said he agreed with Mansour that there was a "U.S. plot against the region's security and stability."
He called for unity to prevent a possible disaster and expressed hope that "U.S. President Barack Obama I inhaled. That was the point... would act wisely and would not rush in his decision on taking a military action against Syria."
"We hope that the U.S. Congress would have the same level of self-restraint and wisdom to prevent acts that threaten the security of the region," he said.
He made similar remarks after visiting Miqati, calling for strong efforts to prevent the crisis from spiraling out of control.
The delegation of Iranian MPs led by Boroujerdi held talks Saturday in Syria with Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... and denounced any possible Western attack on the country over chemical weapons allegations.
But Obama shocked the world on Saturday when he decided to seek support for military action from Congress.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
LEBANON knows that neither ISRAEL nor SYRIA will confine any MilOps agz the other to just the disputed Golan Heights.
That being said ...
* TOPIX > [UPI] STUDY: IRAN BUILDS UP ITS "FOREIGN LEGION" IN SYRIA.
* FREEREPUBLIC > [Al-Monitor] ISLAMIC JIHAD [Palestinian] MAY RESPOND IFF ISRAEL ENTERS SYRIA WAR.
[An Nahar] President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... voiced on Tuesday his rejection of foreign military intervention in Syria.
He instead called for a reaching a political solution to the unrest in the neighboring country.
He made his remarks during a meeting with the ambassadors of countries who enjoy permanent membership in the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... Security Council, which also included U.N. Special Coordinator for Leb Derek Plumbly, representatives of the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... , and Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... envoy in Beirut.
The meeting was held in preparation for an international conference on Leb in New York on September 25 on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Y-o-o-kay, but the basic prob remains, i.e. getting the all-or-nothing Assad Regime to the same negotiating table as the all-or-nothing FSA as the all-or-nothing Foreign Militant Groups.
* FYI WAFF > JIHADIS FROM THE CAUCASUS FORM OWN
[independent] GROUP IN SYRIA.
[An Nahar] German intelligence said Tuesday that spying on a conversation between a Hizbullah member and an Iranian diplomat provided "an additional clue" that proves Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... used chemical weapons in the August 21 attacks.
"The intelligence agency (BND) intercepted a phone conversation between a high-ranking Hizbullah member and the Iranian embassy and in which the Hizbullah official seems to admit chemicals were used," a report by Der Spiegel magazine said.
It elaborated: "He said in the phone call that Assad lost his nerves and made a big mistake by ordering the chemical weapons attack."
The magazine said the revelation was made during a secret briefing to select politicians on Monday, in which BND head Gerhard Schindler said that while there is still no incontestable proof, analysis of the evidence at hand has led his intelligence service to believe that Assad's regime is to blame.
Schindler explained that "only Assad's regime is in possession of binary chemical weapons such as sarin."
"The BND believes that regime experts would be the only ones capable of manufacturing such weapons and deploying them with small missiles and that they were used in attacks before August 21," the German magazine said.
It pointed out: "The telephone conversation intercepted by the BND could be an important piece in the puzzle currently being assembled by Western intelligence experts."
Der Spiegel's report comes after U.S. President Barack Obama Republicans can come along for the ride, but they've got to sit in the back... warned last week he was ready to launch military strikes on Assad's regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons.
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09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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[BBC.CO.UK] President Barack Obama Ready to Rule from Day One... has won backing from key US political figures on his plans for a military strike on Syria.
Mr Obama said a "limited" strike was needed to degrade Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators... 's capabilities in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack.
Key Republican leaders John It is not pronounced 'Boner!' Boehner ... the occasionally weepy leader of House Republicans... and Eric Cantor both signalled their support for military action. Congress is expected to vote next week.
The UN earlier confirmed that more than two million Syrians were now refugees.
More than 100,000 people are thought to have died since the uprising against President Assad began in March 2011.
President B.O. and Vice-President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden The former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body... met House Speaker John Boehner, House Democratic Leader Nancy San Fran Nan Pelosi Congresswoman-for-Life from the the Socialist paradise of San Francisco ...where God struck dead Anton LaVey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964... Bay Area, born into a family of politicians. Formerly Speaker of the House, but it's not her fault they lost. Really. Noted for her heavily botoxed grimace... and the chairmen and ranking members from the national security committees in Washington on Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Yokay, so given that the Russians, Turks, + UNO repor believe the Syrian Rebels, NOT Baby Assad, may had done the dirty deed, it now behooves the Bammer to reasonably release its evidence agz Baby Assad to the scrutiny of the MSM-Net + Internatinal Community.
SORRY, BUT THE "YOUTUBE" EVIDENCE DOESN'T CONVINCE ME IT WAS ASSAD.
[An Nahar] Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... leader MP Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... on Tuesday hoped U.S. President Barack Obama I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money... will not act on Syria as his predecessor George W. Bush acted on Iraq, accusing caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati of appointing directors general as "his spies" in state institutions.
"I had suggested in 2005 to form a parliamentary committee on security, but they have been delaying it because there is a political will against its creation. It should be a regular committee like the rest of committees and MPs must demand a proper performance from the security agencies, or else it should not be formed and let them bear the responsibility," Aoun said after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform bloc in Rabiyeh.
"Let the draft law be defeated in the Administration and Justice Committee, but I have performed my duties before God and society," he added.
Aoun accused Miqati of issuing a decree "in which he says bizarre things about the jurisdiction of the caretaker cabinet," noting that the caretaker premier "has named directors general as his spies."
"This case did not happen in any cabinet in the world. This is a constitutional and legal heresy that is against all the norms of proper governance," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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We need to send a few U-hauls to the middle east and let the different ethnic groups move and consolidate. If that means Shia Iraq, Kurdish Syria, Christian Lebananon (including Copts), and Jewish Israel so be it.
[Al Ahram] President Barack Obama Ready to Rule from Day One... this week plans to urge reluctant world leaders to support a U.S.-led military strike against Syria as he attends a global summit in Russia and makes a stop in Sweden. His three-day overseas trip comes as his administration seeks authorization from Congress.
Top politicians signaled support Tuesday after meeting with Obama, while La Belle France said it will wait for Congress' decision before any military action of its own.
Obama's presence at the Group of 20 gathering in Russia is bound to bring questions about Syria, recently leaked U.S. surveillance programs and especially his tense relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... , an ally of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... "It's been like watching a slow-moving train wreck for nearly two years," Andrew Kuchins, a Russia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said of the Obama-Putin relationship. "Mr. Putin and Mr. Obama don't like each other at all."
That's not Obama's only headache.
His surprise announcement over the weekend that he would seek congressional authorization for a military strike against Syria, instead of going ahead with a strike as many expected, may have caused doubts among world leaders about his willingness to follow up on his threats to rogue nations.
His administration argues that the strike is needed in response to what it says was a deadly chemical weapons attack last month.
Before his White House meeting Tuesday with top politicians, Obama said he is confident he will be able to work with Congress to pass a resolution authorizing the strike on Syria. Obama said congressional authorization must send a clear message to Assad and hamper his ability to use chemical weapons.
After the meeting, the top Republican in Congress, House Speaker John It is not pronounced 'Boner!' Boehner ... the occasionally weepy leader of House Republicans... , said he would support Obama's call for action against Syria and said his party colleagues should, too.
Votes in the House and the Senate are expected next week, just after Obama ends his overseas trip. He leaves for Sweden later Tuesday.
Syria isn't officially on the agenda at the economy-focused G-20 summit. But world leaders are expected to ask Obama whether he plans to proceed with a military strike if Congress doesn't support it. It's a question Obama's aides have refused to answer.
Obama spoke about Syria by telephone Monday night with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the White House said Tuesday. A White House statement said Obama and Abe pledged to consult on a possible international response.
Obama is to arrive in Stockholm on Wednesday morning after an overnight flight from Washington.
The White House hastily added the Sweden visit to his schedule after he canceled plans to meet one-on-one with Putin in Moscow ahead of the G-20. That came in response to the Kremlin granting temporary asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, defying Obama's requests to send the former NSA systems analyst back to the U.S. to face espionage charges.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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The Bammer + Admin may also have tp pull double duty vee helping CHINA + JAPAN MAKE AMENDS OVER THE SENKAKUS/DIAOYUS DISPUTE [Okinawa?].
* FYI see TOPIX > [Japan Times]HIGH-RANKING CHINESE OFFICIAL SAYS BALL IN JAPAN'S COURT, over islands dispute.
Maha-Rushian histoire' says that when China starts talking like this, it means or strongly infers that MILITARY OPTIONS are increasingly being considered.
* Also from TOPIX > PHILIPINES SAY CHINA BUILDING ON DISPUTED SHOAL.
Beijing ignoring Manila.
* SAME > [PHIL Sun-Star] MNLF CALLS FOR SUPPORT FOR INDEPENDENT MINDANAO.
* GMA NEWS > NEW ARMED GROUP POSES THREAT TO GPH [Govt. of Phil]-MILF TALKS - MILITARY [aka AFP = Armed Forces of PHIL].
[Al Ahram] Congress is holding its first public hearing about U.S. plans for military intervention in Syria as President Barack Obama I am the change that you seek... seeks to convince skeptical Americans and their politicians about the need to respond to last month's alleged sarin gas attack outside Damascus.
Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... , Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey were to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday. A classified briefing open to all members of Congress was to take place as well.
The president's request for congressional authorization for limited military strikes against Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... 's regime is at the core of the discussions planned in Washington over the next several days as Obama sends his top national security advisers to the Capitol for a flurry of briefings. And with the outcome of any vote in doubt in a war-weary Congress, Obama was to meet Tuesday with leaders of the House and Senate armed services committees, the foreign relations committees and the intelligence committees.
The president announced over the weekend that he would seek approval from Congress for military strikes against the Assad regime to respond to an attack in the Damascus suburbs last month that the U.S. says involved deadly sarin gas.
That decision sets the stage for the biggest foreign policy vote in Congress since the Iraq war. A vote could come once politicians return from summer break, which is scheduled to end 9 September.
Obama won conditional support Monday from two of his fiercest foreign policy critics, Republican Sens. John Maverick McCain ... the Senator-for-Life from Arizona, former presidential candidate and even more former foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution... of Arizona and Lindsey Graham ... the endangered South Carolina RINO... of South Carolina.
A congressional vote against Obama's request "would be catastrophic in its consequences" for U.S. credibility abroad, McCain told news hounds outside the White House following an hour-long private meeting with the president.
But despite Obama's effort to assuage the two senators' concerns, neither appeared completely convinced afterward. They said they would be more inclined to back Obama if the US sought to destroy the Assad government's launching capabilities and committed to providing more support to rebels seeking to oust Assad.
"There will never be a political settlement in Syria as long as Assad is winning," Graham said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2013 00:00 ||
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During the Kerry testimony yesterday, I watched a female US Army colonel sitting to the rear and just to the right of Kerry. I suspect she might have been assigned to the State Department's Office of Political Military Affairs, but honestly have no idea for certain. She appeared rather stoic and with the exception of a glance at her phone, stared either down or straight ahead.
As Kerry finished his initial statement regarding "troops on the ground", the colonel shot an immediate glance in the direction of General Dempsey. Could meaning nothing, but at the moment I saw her quick glance I thought....she's reading the reaction of her boss. Dempsey was not in the field of view of the camera, so I could not see his reaction.
Everything I see points to an effort to support the so-called Moderate Syrian Rebel Forces in Syria. A similar kinetic demonstration was used in the early stages of the Afghan war to win the trust of the Northern Alliance and General Rashid Dostum.
I suspect boots are already on the ground, commitments have been made, and we're being Clappered to.
* FREEREPUBLIC > [Guardian.UK] OBAMA HINTS AT LARGER STRATEGY TO TOPPLE ASSAD, EFFECT TO WIN OVER [US] REPUBLICANS.
The Bammer's target is no longer limited to just baby Assad's ChemWar arsenal, but Assad himself???
versus
* POLITICO > SENATORS CRAFT SYRIA COMPROMISE WID 60-DAY DEADLINE, POSSIBLE 30-DAY EXTENSION FORM MILITARY STRIKES.
versus
* OTOH FREEREPUBLIC > [Israeli National News] US AIR FORCE LACKS PREPAREDNESS FOR SYRIA STRIKE.
IOW, POTUS Obama may need the boots after for his Syria strike to succeed, espec iff also now to remove Assad from power [vee so-called "OBAMA DOCTRINE"]???
* TOPIX > [Daily Star.LB] MIDDLE EAST VIEW OF US AS "HESITANT SUPERPOWER" SHARPENS.
N-O-T getting better for the Bammer, but getting worse = STILL DETERIORATING???
* SAME > [Canada.com] US CREDIBILITY KEYED TO MILITARY STRIKE ON SYRIA.
#3
I suppose we should also keep in mind that a so-called 'limited conflict' would obviously be very expensive. With a budget battle looming and new borrowing power needed, hitching the congress to a costly military action [through a vote] might strengthen the regime's case for raising the debt ceiling and additional borrowing. This may be a stretch however, as it's all about the women and children...right ?
#5
This business stinks. Zombies trying for political legacy are we. The left, media , anti war hippies(joke) run the show. Brings to mind this video, man did I ever hate the Johnson era;
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.
[Telegraph] May need the west's support for years. 
[Al Ahram] Egypt's 
[MAGHAREBIA] As part of a struggle to improve his name since losing his al-Qaeda command, terrorist Mokhtar Belmokhtar just released a "greatest hits" video of his freelance work in Mali, Algeria and Niger.
"It is nothing more than a propaganda movie," he added. "This display of military equipment and mental readiness of terrorist elements did not bear fruit in the real field of confrontation, which means that it is mainly promotional material and nothing more."
[MAGHAREBIA] The United Nations Special 
[Dawn] 
[Washington Post] The $52.6 billion U.S. intelligence arsenal is aimed mainly at unambiguous adversaries, including al-Qaeda, 
Nawaz Sharif
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is warning that any "punitive" action taken against Syria for an alleged chemical weapons attack last week could unleash more turmoil and bloodshed in that nation's civil war.
[WEEKLYSTANDARD] "First of all, I didn't set a red line," said Obama. "The world set a red line. The world set a red line when governments representing 98 percent of the world's population said the use of chemical weapons are [inaudble] and passed a treaty forbidding their use, even when countries are engaged in war. Congress set a red line when it ratified that treaty. Congress set a red line when it indicated that in a piece of legislation entitled the Syria Accountability Act that some of the horrendous things happening on the ground there need to be answered for. So, when I said in a press conference that my calculus about what's happening in Syria would be altered by the use of chemical weapons, which the overwhelming consensus of humanity says is wrong, that wasn't something I just kind of made up. I didn't pluck it out of thin air. There's a reason for it."
Outrage is not a strategy. I thought military action always had to have a purpose behind it so what is the endstate here? Hit, and then hope?
[An Nahar] The United States must "stand up and act" to punish the Syrian regime and cannot resort to isolationism in the face of "slaughter," Secretary of State 
North Korea
Najib Miqati
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[BBC.CO.UK] President 
Joe 
Michel Aoun
...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Lindsey Graham
