KABUL -- With about a week left in the year, the Obama administration is backing away from a Dec. 31 deadline for securing a deal to keep American troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014, though it is standing by its warning that a total military withdrawal is still possible if delays continue, American and Afghan officials said.
The decision is a tacit acknowledgment of what has become obvious in both Kabul and Washington: Neither a hard sell nor soft persuasion has yet induced President Hamid Karzai to go along with the American-imposed timeline for the agreement.
Remind him of what happened to Najibullah...
It is also an embarrassing turn after weeks of threats by some senior administration officials, including Susan E. Rice, the national security adviser, that a complete American withdrawal from Afghanistan -- the so-called zero option -- would be considered if Mr. Karzai did not sign the deal by the year's end.
Instead of prompting Mr. Karzai to action, however, setting a boundary appears to have only reinforced his sense that American officials will back down if he refuses their demands -- a lesson that has been repeated often over the past 12 years.
You get the sense that Karzai has seen red lines come and go...
"I don't know if I would call it bluffing," said one American official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. "But it looks like that's what we were doing, and now it looks like Karzai is calling us out."
The official insisted that planning for a potentially final withdrawal in 2014 was still underway, and that it was still a very real possibility. "But if we want a deal," the official continued, "we're going to have to wait."
The question now is how long the administration is willing to wait. American officials have been careful in recent interviews not to suggest any new deadlines. "I think it's pretty obvious why," one administration official said.
Mr. Karzai, after initially agreeing to the wording of the security deal, known as a bilateral security agreement, or B.S.A., said he wanted to wait until after the April 2014 presidential elections before signing.
But American officials say they need a deal finalized soon, in part to give European allies, who lack the robust logistics capability of the United States military, time to plan for an extended mission in Afghanistan. They also said the longer they waited, the more likely those in the administration -- and the public -- who want a complete withdrawal would gain support.
"We've been clear that our preference is to conclude the B.S.A. by the end of the year, and that if we cannot conclude a B.S.A. promptly thereafter, then we will be forced to initiate planning for a post-2014 future in which there would be no U.S. or NATO troop presence in Afghanistan," said Laura Magnuson, a spokeswoman for the White House. "That has not changed."
With the deal in limbo, the official focus in Kabul has shifted to talks on a companion agreement that would allow other NATO members, such as Italy and Germany, to keep forces in Afghanistan after the alliance's combat mission formally ends next year.
The NATO-led coalition here announced the start of talks in a statement this past weekend. The statement was carefully worded, Western officials said, to head off any talk from Mr. Karzai of cutting out the Americans and trying to work only with European allies, an idea he has previously floated in meetings with Western officials.
"The NATO status of forces agreement will not be concluded or signed until the signature of the bilateral security agreement between the governments of Afghanistan and the United States," the NATO secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said in the statement.
But Mr. Karzai appears to still be holding out for a better deal with the United States, despite the original accord's endorsement last month by a grand council of Afghans, known as a loya jirga, and economic signs that public confidence is falling in the absence of an agreement.
"I want this security agreement with the U.S.," a statement from the presidential palace quoted Mr. Karzai as saying in an off-the-record meeting with Afghan journalists on Sunday. "But Afghans' homes should be protected from American operations, and Afghanistan should not become the battleground of a continuous war."
As opposed to what Afghanistan is now...
Mr. Karzai reiterated that a formal peace process with the Taliban must begin before he signs, and that the United States commit itself to Afghanistan's peace and security.
"The conditions that we have put forward for the signing of the security agreement are ridding Afghanistan of instability and war," Mr. Karzai told the journalists. He would sign, he said, "as soon as they are ready to accept our conditions, because we are not in a rush."
American officials have expressed frustration with Mr. Karzai's demands, saying that the Taliban have not yet shown a willingness to negotiate seriously. And they emphasize that the United States has spent the past 12 years and hundreds of billions of dollars trying to stabilize Afghanistan.
They have also said the deal approved last month by the loya jirga is no longer open for negotiation.
But some American officials say there are ways to meet Mr. Karzai's demands without reopening talks. Addenda could be added, or letters could be sent to Mr. Karzai from President Obama that address the Afghan president's concerns.
First, though, American officials would have to start delivering consistent messages to Mr. Karzai, and to one another, said the American official.
"I think if you want to explain what's going on, you have to look at why it's confusing," the official said. "We've never spoken with one voice. One person says sign now, another tells Karzai that he has time. It's not been clear what's going on."
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/25/2013 00:00 ||
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wasn't this a red line just a few weeks ago
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/25/2013 7:13 Comments ||
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lord garth, and getting pinker by the minute it'll be vaguely pastel by noon.
[An Nahar] Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it. on Tuesday said he was "deeply worried" about the worsening violence in neighboring South Sudan and the Central African Republic.
Fighting has gripped South Sudan for more than a week, after President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar, who was fired from the government in July, of attempting a coup.
The Central African Republic has also been gripped by unrest, with an estimated 1,000 people killed this month in Christian-Mohammedan fighting.
"We are deeply worried about the situation on our borders and in the Central African Republic," Bashir told journalists after a meeting with his Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby in Khartoum.
Bashir said he and Deby had agreed to cooperate on issues related to the Central African Republic, "which affect the security of Sudan and Chad."
Chadian troops in the African peacekeeping force sent to the Central African Republic have been accused of complicity with the Mohammedan Seleka ex-rebels who overthrew president Francois Bozize in March in the predominantly Christian country.
Fighting in South Sudan has intensified over the past week despite international peace efforts, affecting half of the country's 10 states.
Bashir said Sunday that "the role of Sudan is to support these countries in achieving stability."
And Sudan's Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman on Friday said he was worried about the fate of oil flows which South Sudan pays cash-strapped Khartoum to move through northern pipelines for export.
He also feared an influx of refugees and guns from the unrest in South Sudan, which became independent less than three years ago under a 2005 peace deal that ended 23 years of civil war.
Oil-rich but poor, South Sudan won its independence in 2011 after its people voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to split from the north and form a new nation.
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12/25/2013 00:00 ||
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Mogadishu -- The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) for Somalia, Nicholas Kay, has once again called for a timely and credible political process that should lead to a new Puntland parliament this year and regional presidential elections on 8 January 2014.
"As the election draws closer and political temperatures become more heated, I call on all candidates and stakeholders, in particular the traditional titled elders, to work jointly and be prepared, at times, to strike difficult compromises," Mr. Kay said. "UNSOM has supported mediation and consultation efforts throughout the process and I remain hopeful that all candidates are committed to a peaceful and credible election."
Mr. Kay encouraged all stakeholders to fully cooperate with the Commander of the Puntland Darwish Force, General Said Mohamed Hersi Dheere, who is responsible for security for the elections, and urged all candidates to campaign responsibly in support of a peaceful election.
He further stressed that all presidential candidates should be assured of freedom of movement, association and security, and should enjoy equal access to media.
"I will continue to follow events closely and make every effort to assist Puntland to have a free, fair, inclusive and peaceful process," he added.
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12/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Angry Egyptians standing on piles of debris and shattered glass pointed the finger of blame at the Moslem Brüderbund after a boom-mobiledestroyed Mansoura's police headquarters on Tuesday.
"The people want the execution of the Moslem Brüderbund," shouted residents amid the wreckage of burnt-out cars and collapsed walls left by the pre-dawn blast, which peeled off a section of the building.
Twelve coppers and a civilian died in the attack and more than 100 people were maimed.
At a nearby hospital, the floor of the emergency room was slick with blood as medics rushed in casualties.
Mostafa Hadi, a coppers who survived the attack, said the blast sent him flying through the air moments after he had left the safety of his armored truck outside the headquarters.
"I heard a massive kaboom behind me. I flew through glass and wreckage and then lost consciousness," he said from his stretcher, his head swathed in a bandages.
Egypt has been deeply polarized since the military ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... , who belongs to the Moslem Brüderbund, with regular festivities between his supporters and opponents.
The military-installed government that took office after the ouster of Morsi has launched a crackdown on his supporters, mainly from the Brotherhood, that has left more than 1,000 people dead and thousands placed in durance vile Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!
And it was at the Brotherhood that residents of Mansoura, a Nile Delta city north of Cairo, vented their anger over Tuesday's attack.
"The Moslem Brüderbund wants to come to power in any way, by shedding blood, using force or by destruction," Wael Hamdy, 50, told an Agence La Belle France Presse correspondent at the site of the blast.
The 85-year-old Islamist movement prevailed in a series of polls following the overthrow of longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... in 2011, bringing to power Morsi as Egypt's first freely elected leader.
Tuesday's kaboom was massive and caused a part of the police headquarters to cave in.
Its impact was felt around 20 kilometers (12 miles) away and it shattered windows of nearby buildings.
The facade of the police headquarters had been ripped off, and charred and mangled vehicles could be seen amid the debris of collapsed walls of nearby buildings.
Bulldozers were deployed to clear the streets of the debris -- wrecked cars, iron bars and slabs of concrete.
Dozens of coppers wearing helmets and brandishing shields took up positions around the blast site, cordoning off the headquarters and keeping angry residents away.
"The people, the army and the police are together," shouted the crowds.
"We will teach them good manners, we will show the Moslem Brüderbund what real anger is," they chanted, behind them the municipal building and a theater that also bore the brunt of the attack.
Some carrying posters showing Morsi in red prison garb usually worn by death row inmates, rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud in honor of those killed.
Police to avenge deaths
Later on Tuesday, thousands turned out for the funeral of the victims, whose corpses, shrouded in white and Egyptian flags, were carried on fire engines that edged through the chanting crowds.
"The Brotherhood is targeting us, but these operations will only increase our determination to avenge our colleagues," said policeman Tamer Husseini.
A Brotherhood statement condemned the bombing in the "strongest possible terms."
For residents whose homes were shaken by the impact of the blast in the middle of the night, it was clear who was behind the attack.
"Such an attack is in no one's interest except the Moslem Brüderbund," said Mervat Said, a lawyer.
"They are taking Dire Revenge against the people and the police," she said.
Another resident choked with anger as she branded the Brotherhood "our enemies."
"Any one who knows a Moslem Brüderbund member should report about him (to the authorities). They are terrorists," said Hanem Hassan.
A little further from the blast site, traders were distraught at the sight of their shops destroyed by the blast.
The Brotherhood has been a target of a deadly crackdown launched by the authorities since Morsi's ouster.
Thousands of its supporters, including the top leadership, have been arrested.
But the Islamist movement continues to stage protests against the authorities, demanding Morsi's reinstatement.
"Starting from today, they won't be able to hold any more demonstrations," said Mohammed Tag, a youngster from Mansoura.
"We will take care of them."
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12/25/2013 00:00 ||
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Egyptian police arrested on Tuesday Hisham Qandil, who was prime minister under deposed Islamist president Mohammed Mursi, the interior ministry said. A court had sentenced Qandil to a year in prison for not carrying out a ruling to nationalise a private company.
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[An Nahar] Yemeni political parties have signed a document pledging a "just solution" to the contentious south where secessionists are autonomy, state news agency Saba reported.
The text was inked late Monday by delegates to a national dialogue between political parties and the government aimed at drafting a new constitution for Yemen and preparing for elections in February.
The southern question has been a major stumbling-block for the talks launched in March, with hardline factions of the secessionist Southern Movement boycotting the discussions.
The dialogue is part of a transitional process stipulated by a U.N.-backed initiative, brokered by neighboring Gulf countries, which ended a year of Arab Spring-inspired protests against the 33-year rule of former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... .
President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, who took over after Saleh agreed to step down in 2012, attended the signing ceremony alongside U.N. envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar and delegates from key parties.
But hardliners of the Southern Movement boycotted the session.
The document was inked by representatives of 17 political parties and civil society groups who pledged to secure "a just solution to the southern question... on the basis of federalism," according to a copy seen by Agence La Belle France Presse.
The document will empower Hadi to form a committee to determine the number of entities or regions that will make up the future federal state.
The committee will choose between forming two regions in the south and four in the north, or two large entities -- one northern and another southern.
The talks, which had been due to close on September 18, accepted the principle of a federal state, but stumbled over the number of regions that should be set up.
Hadi and northern delegates had suggested a federal state should comprise several entities while secessionists were demanding a federal state made up of a north and south only.
Following the end of British colonial rule in 1967, southern Yemen was independent until union with the north in 1990.
This was followed by a secession attempt in 1994 that sparked a brief but bloody civil war.
The conflict ended with an occupation of the south by northern forces that led to many of the disputes over land and jobs that still fan southern resentment.
But the document inked on Monday recognizes that unification caused "injustice" in the south and offers a mechanism to compensate southerners whose property was confiscated.
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12/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... on Tuesday called on citizens to stage a mass march to the capital Dhaka in an escalation of protests aimed at derailing controversial January elections.
Zia's call stokes tensions in the impoverished country, with over 100 people already killed in festivities since late October when the opposition launched the protests to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. to resign and make way for the polls to be held under a neutral caretaker government.
"I urge all citizens to march to Dhaka on December 29. This march is to say 'no' to these farcical elections and to say 'yes' to democracy," Zia, a two-time former prime minister, said in a speech.
"Wherever you are, carry a red and green national flag and march to Dhaka. We call this a march for democracy," she said in the capital.
She asked the citizens to form "protest committees" in every village to foil the polls."
The center-left government insisted it would go ahead with the January 5 polls despite a boycott by opposition parties and major foreign nations announcing they won't send any election observers.
On Monday, the United States joined the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... and the Commonwealth countries in refusing to send observers to monitor polls, denting the credibility of the elections.
Both the U.S. and EU have raised questions about the polls as the winners of more than half of the seats in the 300-seat parliament have already been declared as they faced no opponents.
It means technically that Hasina's Awami League government could form a government even before ballots are cast as the party and its allies have won 154 seats.
Zia's main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its 17 allies including the country's largest Islamist outfit, 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... party, called the uncontested victories "the worst scandal in the country's election history".
They said they are boycotting the polls because they fear the elections will be rigged by Hasina.
The opposition wants Hasina to quit and make way for a neutral caretaker government to hold the polls in line with the four previous elections.
Hasina has rejected the opposition demand, saying the caretaker government system is unconstitutional.
Last week, she ruled out changes to the election schedule, mocking Zia, her bitter rival for nearly three decades, that she had missed the election train.
Zia's call for a mass march comes as the country has been reeling from the deadliest political violence since its independence from Pakistain in 1971.
At least 265 people have died since January in violence that has pitted opposition activists against police and ruling party supporters. At least 115 of them have been killed in the past two months when Zia stepped up her campaign to topple Hasina.
Zia said she was still ready "to continue talks" with Hasina to resolve the crisis after three rounds of U.N.-brokered talks between the two major parties yielded no result.
But Zia accused the government of not being sincere, charging that "it wants to cling to power at any cost".
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Dhaka - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday requested Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to send another battalion of troops for its peacekeeping missions.
They worked out so well in Somalia...
PMs press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told UNB that Ban Ki-moon made a phone call to the Prime Minister in the evening and sought the troops. The UN Secretary General also requested the Prime Minister to send necessary equipment with the new troops.
Like Bangladesh is going to have the modern 'necessary' equipment. That's a job for Uncle Sugar...
According sources at the Foreign Ministry, Ban Ki-moon made the request to Bangladesh to send more UN peacekeepers to South Sudan, a troubled spot.
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12/25/2013 00:00 ||
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WASHINGTON -- North Korea appears to be running a new fuel fabrication plant in Yongbyon, an apparent sign that the secretive country is making an extensive effort to modernize and restart its nuclear facilities, a U.S. think tank said Monday in a report.
"Commercial satellite imagery has identified facilities at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center that may produce fuel for North Korea's recently restarted 5 MW plutonium production reactor," the U.S.-Korea Institute said on its "38 North" website.
The Washington-based think tank is associated with the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Earlier this year, North Korea reportedly reactivated the reactor, which was disabled in 2007.
"The availability of fuel is a key factor in the North's ability to operate these facilities," the institute said.
The identification of a probable fuel fabrication plant for the 5 MW reactor reinforces the conclusion that the resumed operation of North Korea's nuclear facilities in Yongbyon is "more wide-ranging and extensive than previously understood," said the institute.
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12/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[CRACKED] For a bunch of people in snappy uniforms patting down crotches, the TSA is remarkably unpopular. Nobody likes going through security at the airport, but you probably figured most of it had a point. All those hours spent in line with other shoeless travelers are a necessary precursor to safe flying. It's annoying, but at least it wards off terrorism.
That's all bullshit. The TSA couldn't protect you from a 6-year-old with a water balloon. What are my qualifications for saying that? My name is Rafi Sela, and I was the head of security for the world's safest airport. Here's what your country does wrong.
(If only we could go back to the uber-safe days of the Wild West, where the biggest annual gun death toll in any town was five people. Read The De-Textbook and never let Clint Eastwood trick you again.) Read the whole thing. Just an expert's opinion, of course. What the hell does he know?
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... Secretary-General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... spoke to 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... and other world leaders as he seeks to add 5,500 troops to the 7,000-strong UN force in South Sudan to protect civilians from worsening violence in the country, his front man said Tuesday.
"On the situation in South Sudan, the Secretary-General has been speaking to many leaders, reaching out for their support for bolstering the capacity of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country (UNMISS) to allow it to do its utmost to protect civilians and for stepping up efforts to find a political solution to the crisis," the front man said in a statement..
Besides Sharif, Ban has spoken with Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson 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... Commission; Hailemariam Dessalegn, Chairperson of the African Union and Prime Minister of Æthiopia; Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda; Joyce Hilda Mtila Banda, President of Malawi; Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of Tanzania; Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. , Prime Minister of Bangladesh; and Khil Raj Regmi, Prime Minister of Nepal.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has proposed reinforcing the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) with 5,500 more peacekeepers as well as additional assets. The mission currently has over 6,800 troops and police in the country.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the conflict, including some 45,000 now seeking protection at the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) bases.
Pakistain is the largest troop contributor to UN peacekeeping operations around the world.
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12/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] President Mamnoon Hussain and 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 extended their heartiest greetings to the Christian brethren all over the world and in particular to those living in Pakistain on Christmas being celebrated today (Wednesday).
In his message, the president said Christmas, the commemoration of birth of Jesus Christ, was an occasion to celebrate and rejoice.
"It is an occasion to revert to the message of Jesus Christ -- the eternal message of love, peace, tolerance and compassion for humanity. It is time to re-dedicate ourselves to these noble ideals and work individually as well as collectively for the betterment and welfare of humanity and to contribute our share in making the world a better place to live," he said.
The president said Jesus Christ showed people the path of virtuous living and urged them to turn to God for seeking divine mercy. "We, as Mohammedans deeply revere Jesus Christ as one of the great messengers of Allah Almighty. His teachings and his message of love and peace is as relevant to us as it is to our Christian brethren. Indeed, his message of love, compassion and sacrifice is relevant to the entire humanity," the president said. He reiterated that the government of Pakistain would continue undertaking every possible effort for the welfare and betterment of minorities in the country.
"In this pursuit, we are guided by the teachings of our religion, the vision of our forefathers and the dictates of our constitution that safeguards interests of minorities," he added.
President Mamnoon said the government would continue to fully protect and safeguard the rights and privileges enjoyed by the minority communities and would facilitate them in every possible manner to lead a prosperous life. He said that being equal citizens of state, the government would also continue facilitating minorities in availing all the opportunities for their welfare and contribute towards the national development process according to their abilities.
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12/25/2013 00:00 ||
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Some church leaders in Iraq have told Christians not to celebrate Christmas except with prayer after lethal attacks and continuing threats by militants against the Iraqi Christian community.
"No Santa Claus, no celebrations, no gifts this year," Archbishop Louis Sako, chairman of the Chaldean archbishops in Kirkuk and Sulaimaniya, said on Wednesday. "We don't have the right to jeopardize others' lives."
In a new threat published on an Islamist website, the local affiliate of al Qaeda threatened more attacks against Iraqi Christians. Insurgent attacks have panicked Iraq's minority Christian community. Thousands have fled to the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region or overseas.
In the worst attack, 52 people were killed when security forces stormed Our Lady of Salvation Catholic church in Baghdad after militants took hostages during Sunday mass on October 31. Iraqi authorities said they had arrested 12 suspected al Qaeda members in connection with the assault.
"We are still deeply wounded from what happened in Our Lady of Salvation church," Sako said. "We saw innocent people brutally killed while praying to God, so how can we celebrate?"
"We will not celebrate this year. We will only pray to God asking for peace to prevail in our country."
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/25/2013 00:00 ||
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The Saudis will be proud
Posted by: Paul D ||
12/25/2013 8:21 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Salafistholy man Abu Qatada on Tuesday insisted he was not guilty of terrorism as his trial resumed in Jordan, accusing a presiding judge of being "dishonest."
"I am not guilty, and you are a dishonest judge," Abu Qatada, who was deported by Britannia in July after a nearly decade-long legal battle, told judge Ahmad Qatarneh.
The Paleostinian-born preacher was condemned to death in absentia in 1999 for conspiracy to carry out terror attacks, including on the American school in Amman, but the sentence was immediately commuted to life imprisonment with hard labor.
In 2000, he was sentenced in absentia to 15 years for plotting to attack tourists in Jordan during millennium celebrations, and videotapes of his sermons were allegedly found in the Hamburg flat of 9/11 ringleader Mohammed Atta.
Qatarneh led a panel of civilian judges after Abu Qatada and his lawyer contested the presence of a military judge at the start of his trial on December 10, saying it was against a Jordanian-British deal which cleared the way for him to be tried in the kingdom.
On Tuesday Abu Qatada shook and kissed the hands of his four sisters after the court allowed them, along with his three brothers and son, to attend the trial.
Wearing brown overalls, he stood uncuffed before the judge, smiling and appearing calm and confident in the beginning, but later growing visibly agitated.
"You shut up and sit down," Abu Qatada told a military prosecutor after he demanded the suspect "respect the court."
The judge adjourned the trial until January 16 after a two-hour hearing which was open to the media but with cameras banned.
On December 10, Abu Qatada pleaded not guilty "Wudn't me." , telling the court: "You know full well I am not guilty and that this accusation is false."
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[An Nahar] Syria lashed out at the United States Tuesday, describing it as a "one-eyed pirate." a day after Washington condemned Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Horror of Homs... 's regime over its aerial assault on Aleppo.
"The White House is ignoring the crimes committed by the terrorists," state news agency SANA said, using the regime term for anti-Assad rebels.
"Meanwhile, ...back at the saloon, Butch got the bill for the damage caused by the fist fight, the mirror broken in the shootout, and drinks for everyone...... it condemns what it describes as incessant aerial attacks by Syrian government forces in Aleppo."
"Washington is a pirate that only looks with one eye," said the agency, adding that "in the areas named by the White House... all you have is groups of Saudis, Qataris and Chechens."
Damascus has systematically blamed a "foreign conspiracy" for violence in Syria, refusing to recognize the existence of any popular uprising calling for Assad's removal.
Over the past 10 days, the military has unleashed a massive aerial campaign against rebel areas of Aleppo in the north of the country, killing at least 364 people in attacks deplored as "indiscriminate" by Washington.
SANA also accused U.S. President Barack Obama I inhaled. That was the point... 's administration of silence over the fighting in Maalula, an ancient Christian town north of Damascus that recently fell into the hands of al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadists.
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[An Nahar] Al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... parliamentary bloc on Tuesday launched another verbal attack on Hizbullah's "militia," stating that the party and bad turban groups are "two sides of the same coin."
"The weapons of the resistance were formerly aimed at Israel but have now become positioned and used inside the country," the MPs said in a released statement after their weekly meeting at the Center House.
Hizbullah's arms have thus become those of a militia, they added.
Al-Mustaqbal bloc elaborated: "Hizbullah's arms aim at changing the political system in Leb but they no longer enjoy Lebanese consensus. The party's call for agreeing on a new political formula in the country is no longer viable after it took the unilateral decision to launch a war against the Syrian people in 2012."
"By taking this decision, Hizbullah has abandoned all national pacts and accords, including the Baabda Declaration."
Again, al-Mustaqbal MPs called on Hizbullah to withdraw its forces from the neighboring country.
"The life in Leb will not go back to normal unless Hizbullah goes back to playing its national role only," they said.
"Hizbullah's fighting in Syria, which was a regional decision, has dragged the Lebanese into a confrontation with Syrians," they added.
"The party is trying to give the international community the impression that it is fighting terrorism but this attempt has been exposed. Hizbullah and bad turban groups are two sides of the same coin."
Separately, the bloc demanded 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... and Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam to form a new cabinet of non-partisans.
They also urged them "not to surrender to Hizbullah's blackmailing."
Commenting on the deadly festivities between the residents on the Souwairi town in West Bekaa, they stated that it is "unacceptable and a shame that that social relations transform into armed disputes."
The MPs urged security forces to enter the town and restore coexistence.
Clashes between the Shouman and Jinbeen families in the town left four people dead on Sunday.
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12/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[THEHILL] Iran President Hassan Rouhani is endorsing the spirit of Christmas.
Rouhani on Tuesday retweeted two tweets, one by Iran's supreme leader and one by its foreign minister, that focused on the spirit of Christmas. A year ago Short Round was in power and we were getting daily doses of vitriol from Iran. Rouhani's in power now, they're still got the same Fearless Leader, and they've spun on a dime and we're getting four cents change. Do you really believe, boys and girls? Personally, I think Tinkerbell's still dead.
The tweets appear to be a part of a continuing effort by Rouhani to put a friendlier face toward the West. The new Iranian president earlier this year became the first president of his country in decades to speak to a U.S. president on the phone, and the two sides in November agreed to an interim nuclear deal the Obama administration has hailed as a significant breakthrough.
Skeptics, including Israel, argue it is a mistake to believe in Rouhani, who they note ran Iran's nuclear program for years.
Rouhani on Monday retweeted Iran's conservative supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after he praised Jesus Christ in a tweet on Christmas Eve.
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12/25/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
O little town of Bethlehem
Or maybe Tel Aviv
Our wise men wanna hang a star
O'er you who disbelieve
We wish you happy Christmas
And Jesus is okay
So have no fear until next year
But then it's bombs away!
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.
It is also an embarrassing turn after weeks of threats by some senior administration officials, including Susan E. Rice, the national security adviser, that a complete American withdrawal from Afghanistan -- the so-called zero option -- would be considered if Mr. Karzai did not sign the deal by the year's end.
Egyptian police arrested on Tuesday Hisham Qandil, who was prime minister under deposed Islamist president Mohammed Mursi, the interior ministry said. A court had sentenced Qandil to a year in prison for not carrying out a ruling to nationalise a private company.
Khaleda Zia
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as 
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
Nawaz Sharif
Some church leaders in Iraq have told Christians not to celebrate Christmas except with prayer after lethal attacks and continuing threats by militants against the Iraqi Christian community.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[An Nahar] Al-
