Afghan President Hamid Karzai, already at odds with the U.S. over a vital security pact, snubbed western leaders once again by joining the likes of Syria and Venezuela in backing Russia's annexation of Crimea.
Karzai's office released a statement over the weekend saying Afghanistan "respects the free will of the people of Crimea to decide about their own future."
And if anyone would know about the free will of the people it's the president of Afghanistan...
The statement said "we respect the decision the people of Crimea took through a recent referendum that considers Crimea as part of the Russian Federation."
Karzai weighed in on the Ukraine crisis shortly before President Obama flew overseas for meetings with European partners. The Obama administration and European allies have described the Crimea referendum, and Russia's decision to annex the peninsula, as "illegitimate."
The Afghanistan statement, though, was yet another indication of how far the Karzai administration has drifted away from the U.S. as the Afghanistan war -- or the United States' involvement in it -- draws to a close, despite Washington's past support for his presidency. Karzai, in backing Moscow, was also aligning with actors who, under the Soviet Union, prosecuted a prior decade-long war in his country. The U.S. backed Afghan groups fighting against the Soviet-led forces in that war.
Karzai may yet get his Najibullah moment...
Karzai may now be seeking to court Russia, for its aid and general support, as American forces withdraw from the country. Karzai, though, so far has refused to sign a security agreement that would provide for a residual force of U.S. troops to stay behind after the final withdrawal.
No problem. Next time al-Qaeda sets up shop we'll just do an Arc-Light...
In his final address to Afghanistan's parliament earlier this month, Karzai told the United States its soldiers can leave at the end of the year because his military, which already protects 93 percent of the country, was ready to take over entirely.
The Afghan president has come under heavy pressure to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement, with a council of notables that he himself convened recommending that he sign the pact. The force would train and mentor Afghan troops, and some U.S. Special Forces would also be left behind to hunt down Al Qaeda.
All 10 candidates seeking the presidency in April 5 elections have said they would sign the security agreement. But Karzai himself does not appear to want his legacy to include a commitment to a longer foreign troop presence in his country.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2014 00:00 ||
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BOSSASO, Somalia -- The President of Somalia's Northeastern State of Puntland Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas for the first time disclosed at public meeting in the port city of Bossaso that Somaliland's separatist administration finances Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab group on Monday, Garowe Online reports.
That had better not be true, or the Somalilanders will become a state over our strongest objections...
Puntland leader said, Somaliland continues to provide financial muscle with the Al Shabaab fighters operating in Galgala area near Golis Mountain Ranges following escalations of deadly hit-and-run attacks shortly after Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud (Siilaanyo) made a surprise visit to Laasqoray coastal town which lies 107km from Bossaso.
Speaking about Al Shabaab's infiltration into the hard and mountainous terrain along Golis chains, President Gaas noted that Al Shabaab remnants who were fleeing from African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) onslaught in southern and central Somalia easily passed through Somaliland borders and crossed into Puntland.
That may not be because the Somalilanders let them...
According to intelligence briefings, President Siilaanyo's visit to Laasqorey coincided with a day before the killing of the commander of Puntland defense forces units in Galgala Col. Jama Saed Warsame (Afgaduud). Reliable sources within Puntland Government and requested anonymity tell GO that preliminary scrutiny linked the pre-planned tour to terror activities.
Somaliland Sunday beefed up troops presence in Sanaag region by stationing hundreds of soldiers in armored fighting vehicles in Armale village, about 75km from Sanaag regional capital of Baran.
Puntland Information Minister Abdiweli Hirsi Abdule said on VOA Somali Service that Somaliland's move is provocation and land grab.
So now it's looking more like "she said, she said"...
United Nations envoy to Somalia Ambassador Nicholas Kay expressed concern about the renewed security threats in northern Somalia, urging both Puntland and Somaliland to exercise restraint.
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03/25/2014 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] The trial of two sons and dozens of top aides of toppled Libyan dictator Muammar Qadaffy ...The late megalomaniac dictator of Libya, admired everywhere for his garish costumes, funny hats, harem of cutie bodyguards, and incoherent ravings. As far as is known, he is the only person who's ever declared jihad on Switzerland... is to open on April 14, a prosecution official said in a surprise announcement Monday.
Seif al-Islam Qadaffy, Saadi Qadaffy and former spy chief Abdullah Senussi are among more than 30 officials from the ousted regime who are to stand trial on charges ranging from murder to embezzlement.
Former premiers Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmudi and Bouzid Dorda are also among those going on trial from April 14, Seddik al-Sour, front man for the state prosecutor's office, told a news conference.
Charges against Qadaffy's sons and aides include murder, kidnapping, complicity in incitement to rape, plunder, sabotage, embezzlement of public funds and acts harmful to national unity.
Saadi Qadaffy, who was extradited from Mali earlier this month, is to stand trial in the same case, said Sour.
His older brother Seif al-Islam, Qadaffy's former heir apparent, is being held by rebels in the western city of Zintan who have refused to transfer him to 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... for the trial.
Sour said he could stand trial via video conference from his detention cell in Zintan.
Sour said the trial date was set at a hearing Monday that was "open to the public", although the media were not informed in advance.
According to state news agency Lana, 23 out of 37 defendants were present, including Senussi and Mahmudi.
The defendants are being prosecuted for gross abuses during the 2011 uprising during which veteran strongman Qadaffy was tossed and killed.
They were charged last October.
In February, Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... said Seif al-Islam and Senussi had complained of having had no legal representation during interrogation and pre-trial hearings.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/25/2014 00:00 ||
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[Telegraph] Secondary to be placed in special measures by Ofsted as parents and staff detail campaign of 'Islamisation' in city
Score one for the good guys.
The Birmingham school at the centre of an alleged campaign of "Islamisation" by Moslemturbans is to be placed in "special measures" by the Government's education watchdog in a move that could see its head teacher and governors removed.
Park View, previously rated "outstanding" by Ofsted, will be downgraded to "inadequate", the lowest possible score, in the category of leadership and management, senior education sources said.
#1
Birmingham is full of Pakistanis.It was only a matter of time that they want to brainwash their kids Saudi style ie hatred of other religions.
They are taught Muslims are the true religion.Christian religion is fake/false and we hate the jews/Budhist and Hindhus as they dont believe in Mo and Allah.
Saudi ideology is dangerous for the whole world.We need to stop their indoctrination of hatred for other religions which is behind all the worldwide conflicts where Saudi has influence.
When i was a kid i was not taught hatred of other religions.Tbh i knew nothing about Muslims,Hindus and Jews until i was at least in secondary school.
Posted by: Paul D ||
03/25/2014 6:58 Comments ||
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#2
We need to stop their indoctrination of hatred for other religions
#3
I have no problem with people being taught that their religion is the true religion. If you don't believe that your religion is the true religion, why do you believe it at all?
I do have a problem with teaching kids that people of other religions are the enemy.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/25/2014 22:44 Comments ||
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North Korea's Kang Kon Military Academy, which trains the country's top officers, has hung up signs with a quote from nation founder Kim Il-sung that China is a "turncoat and our enemy."
I wouldn't trust them either, but don't they feed you guys?
Kim made the remark during a visit to the academy in 1992, angered by Beijing's decision to establish diplomatic relations with South Korea.
The former leader then instructed school officials to hang signs bearing his remark on the walls of the school, which remained there until 1995. They reappeared briefly in 2009 after the North conducted its second nuclear test.
North Korean leader Fat Boy Kim Jong-un ordered the signs displayed again at the academy after China joined UN Security Council sanctions last year over the North's long-range missiles and third nuclear test.
Sources say the signs also urge soldiers to take a "proper view" of China and to incite revolution on the Korean Peninsula without outside help. The signs are reportedly also displayed at training schools for high-ranking Workers Party officials.
A source said, "The position of the North Korean regime is to use China, but not trust it."
Don't worry, the Chinese will never catch on. Never...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Perhaps NK is about to do something truly awful to the US and/or allies and China wants a measure of plausible deniability before events unfold.
#2
Something absolutely cataclysmic must happen in order for our constitution to be set aside, the 'police state' to be fully established, martial law declared, and our half-swart, Kenyan master Champ and his groot Queen to be enthroned for life.
#3
Given that North Korea was, at one time, an appendage of Greater China, I'd be concerned about all these reestablishment of old empires that seem to be the 'in' thing these days.
[Ynet] Campaign to boycott Israel clouds otherwise strong economic and security ties between European countries and the Jewish State.
Almost every day comes news of another European financial institution, cultural or educational organization that has signed-on to the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement aimed at isolating the state of Israel from the international community.
Most recently, it was the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) which passed a resolution calling for the suspension of its Israeli counterpart -- the Israeli Association of United Architects -- from the worldwide umbrella organization.
Continued on Page 49
WASHINGTON -- A jihadist group repeated its calls for French president Francois Hollande's assassination in revenge for the European nation's recent interventions in Africa, terrorist monitoring group SITE said Sunday. The al-Minbar Jihadi Media Network, a militant Islamist web site with ties to al-Qaeda, says it wants Muslims to stage attacks in France and on French interests elsewhere in support of Muslims in Central African Republic and Mali.
"Supporting them is an easy matter for every honest and loyal person, because the embassies of France fill the lands of the Muslims, not to mention the lions of our Ummah who live in the West,"
That's Lions of Islam, for those of our readers who don't speak Ummah. To think I thought I'd invented something silly, the first time I used that.
it said in a message introducing the latest campaign, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.
Let's put al-Minbar at #1 on the drone-zap list, with a bullet...
On its online forum, it posted 22 posters, a video, an article, and a poem, adding to the campaign it began earlier this month urging terror attacks in France and for Hollande's killing.
"To our lone wolves in France, assassinate the president of disbelief and criminality, terrify his cursed government, and bomb them and scare them as a support to the vulnerable in the Central African Republic," the March 9 message read.
"Neither Hollande, nor his soldiers will know peace in France as long as the Muslims of Mali and the Central African Republic cannot live properly in their country," it said.
Hollande responded at the time, saying "this is not the first time that there have been threats," and "we are extremely vigilant."
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
cannot live properly in their country
Translation: live properly - pillage, rape and murder any non-Muslim, male or female, as the spirit (Allan) moves one. Collect taxes from any non-Muslim that we allow to live for that privlege.
#2
Appears to be something of a common theme within the community. Almost as if they were reading from the same hate-filled instruction manual. Perhaps attempts at integrating such a peculiar, intractable culture should be suspended until cultural differences can somehow be overcome.
#2
Champ's threats and enemies are internal, not external. He's mildly interested in supporting post-colonial tribal governance in Africa, but has absolutely no connection to Europe or it's challenges.
#5
The Royal Kingdom of Free and Independent Obamaswaziland cannot be fully established and adequately funded until these foreign entanglements are severed, and our apartheid, pub voting standing armies are abolished.
The photo at the link looks like a concrete lined drainage ditch to me, but I'm no civil engineer,
[Dawn] Terrorists and criminals have found new and safer routes to enter our fortified capital. No longer are they entering Islamabad from the conventional routes where police checkposts have cropped up at various points.
Several nullahs pass through various sectors of the federal capital, including the heavily-guarded Red Zone. Besides the rural areas, nullahs and streams provided a safe passage to criminals as well as bully boyz as police vigilance there is next to naught.
The capital police have set up over 60 checkposts in the city and mounted regular patrolling but all their efforts have proved futile to arrest myrmidons.
Apart from auto-thieves, who have been intercepted at various checkposts now and then, no terrorist has ever been apprehended on the regular roads. These checkposts came up after the suicide kaboom at F-8 Markaz in 2007.
However, if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well... the recent discovery of routes along nullahs and streams has made the police think of reviewing their security strategy.
A police officer on the condition of anonymity said it seemed as if the criminals and bully boyz had been using these routes for a long time.
"Criminals managed to escape after striking in the city, and bully boyz easily brought in weapons and explosives from these routes," the police officer said.
He said preliminarily investigation suggested that it were the scavengers who started using these routes decades back.
"They walked along nullahs and streams, collecting waste floating there," he added.
Investigations have also shown that criminals had been using scavengers as guides and sources of information to choose houses for robbery and burglary, the officer said.
"However, if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well... now these scavengers have started assisting bully boyz to move in the city."
An exercise was conducted two weeks ago to find out which areas were targeted the most by robbers. It was revealed that outlaws targeted those houses which were either adjacent to a nullah or close to it.
During raids conducted in the last couple of years, the police incarcerated Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! criminals from the green areas adjacent to nullahs just when they were planning to commit robberies, the police officer said.
These criminals reached their targets by walking along the nullahs and after committing the crime escaping from the same route.
The officer said as many as 50 families living in the city's Machar Colony near Kural have been reported to have given refuge to criminals from their area.
Robbers coming to Islamabad from other areas stay with their acquaintances in the colony. "They select houses for robbery on the basis of information provided by the scavengers," he said.
"In view of this information, the police have started interrogating those families living in the colony to arrest criminals, and also intercept those trying to enter the city, he added.A similar exercise is underway to determine the areas in the city frequently targeted by terrorists.
According to the officer, most of the suicide attacks that took place were in areas close to a nullah.
He cited the attacks in Aabpara Market in July 2007, G-6/2 on July 6, 2008, Special Branch in G-7 in March 2009, FC barracks in April 2009, Rescue-15 in June 2009, World Food Programme office in October 2009, International Islamic University in October 2009 and Silk Bank, I-8 Markaz, in June 2011.
Last week, the police failed to trace the whereabouts of two suspects who disappeared into a nullah beneath the heavily-guarded Red Zone.
The nullah passes beneath Parliament Lodges, FBR, Wafaqi Mohtasib, Federal Shariat Court and NAB office. After failing to trace them, the police concluded that they were ordinary scavengers and were collecting waste.
Another police officer told Dawn that no one could step inside the nullah without taking precautionary measures as poisonous gases were produced in the drain and besides it stretched at a distance of half a kilometre.
The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) personnel failed to enter the nullah without using proper gas masks.
Similarly, four robbers who struck at a house in G-11/3 sector last week escaped through the nullah close-by. However, if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well... since the police cordoned off the area on time, the robbers were intercepted and three of them were arrested after an encounter.
The fourth robber, who was injured, escaped to Mehrabadi in G-12 by walking along the nullah, and ended up in a hospital in Rawalpindi from where he was arrested.
#1
Funny how the word for "ditch" is so similar to the word for "holy man." Granted, I don't know thing one about middle eastern languages, so maybe it's only amusing to my ignorant eye.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/25/2014 8:20 Comments ||
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#2
Nullahs and mullahs - sounds like grist for the Zenobian poetic mill.
#3
In Islamabad, it just isn't cricket
To sneak into the grounds with no ticket.
Infiltrating the pitch
Through an illicit ditch
Might force umpires to picket the wickets.
[Dawn] ISLAMABAD: Rustam Shah, one of the state-committee's members for peace talks with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), said Monday that the government had completed its homework for pursuing talks with the banned myrmidon organization, DawnNews reported.
Rustam added that the government team was planning to hold direct talks with the Taliban tomorrow and had the weather not turned for the worse, then the meeting could have taken place today.
He said the government had also prepared its list of demands.
Sources told DawnNews that the government would negotiate the recovery of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's former prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics could be awe-inspiring ... 's son Syed Ali Haider Gilani, Shahbaz Taseer, the son of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer and Ajmal Khan.
Meanwhile, ...back at the cheese factory, there was only one thought in the mouse's mind: I can do this! I can do this! Then the trap sprung... the Taliban committee's representative Professor Ibrahim said he was in continuous contact with the government's negotiators.
He said the date for holding talks would be finalised today.
Earlier, the TTP had proposed its stronghold of North Wazoo as the venue, while the government wanted to hold talks in Bannu.
[Ynet] After previous annual 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... summits were dominated by Israeli-Paleostinian conflict, upcoming meeting will address Syria and Iran, which have polarized the region.
Rifts over foreign policy will likely make it harder for Arab leaders meeting at a summit this week to forge a common stand on regional challenges, including what many of them see as a threat from Iranian-US rapprochement.
Continued on Page 49
[Ynet] Israeli hospital in northern Israel treats 16 Syrian patients, who call Hezbollah 'Satan's organization', express much gratitude for the treatment they are given.
"I've always thought of Israel as an enemy state that is not willing to help us. My case changed my thinking entirely. Israel is a good country that saves our lives, while the Syrian regime murders its citizens," said one of the Syrian patients currently treated at the Ziv Medical Center in Safed.
Of the 16 Syrian patients in the Israeli hospital, three are at death's door. Among them are children and rebels who fought against Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... 's army. Those who can speak have one message for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "Keep attacking in Syria in order to save the Syrian people from the Assad regime."
A 25-year-old rebel from Homs, who is being treated at the hospital's surgery ward, told how he was brought from the battles to Safed: "I was maimed in the leg by a shell when I was by my home, and Israeli forces evacuated me from the border to the hospital. Syrian army soldiers are the ones who hit me."
The young, maimed Syrian expressed support for Israeli strikes against his country. "I heard several days ago that Israel struck a military base in Syria. This move should have been executed a long time ago to help us bring down the terrorist regime in Syria. I wasn't sad because of the strike, but rather quite happy."
The 25-year-old rebel chose to denounce the actions of Hezbollah and its backers in Iran: "I also heard of Israeli soldiers who were maimed in the Golan Heights, apparently by Hezbollah myrmidons. I oppose the organization, Iran and Russia. Most of the Syrian citizens do not want them around and demand for them to not intervene in the war."
He also explained why he chose to fight against the Assad regime: "I joined the rebels after I saw the cruel treatment of the Syrian army. This treatment made me participate in the war against Assad and Hezbollah, who need to be called 'Satan's organization'. I would really like to return to Syria to keep fighting."
The Syrian rebel concluded his remarks by saying "I want to thank the prime minister of Israel for the amazing treatment we are receiving."
'Remove Hezbollah'
Another Syrian patient, from Daraa, also fought alongside rebel forces in Syria: "I was injured by a shell fired from a military chopper. The situation we are in is very severe; I will keep being united with the rebels until the truth prevails."
He expressed a hope for a better future for Syria: "We want to live in a safe environment, with no killing or destruction, but unfortunately the Syrian regime does not end the bloodshed. All this encourages us to sacrifice our lives for Syrian and its good people."
According to him, the most important task is to get Hezbollah out of Syria: "We call to stop the war, but as long as Assad is president then the war will continue. We call on the Israeli government to repeatedly attack every army base in Syria in order to help us remove Hezbollah gunnies from the country, who love to murder Syrians and destroy the country."
A Syrian woman, whose 12-year-old son is admitted at the Israeli hospital in serious to critical condition, prays for his recovery: "I want to see my son alive and hug him. He was injured by an object he found that contained a grenade. A friend that was with him was killed instantly and my boy was maimed."
Doctor Shukri Kassis, director of the Ziv Medical Center plastic surgery unit, elaborated on the condition of the patients: "We have 16 Syrian patients, three of which are at death's door. Five of the patients are supposed to be released from the hospital. The unit treats a 12-year-old in very serious condition, with amputations in both legs and both arms. We make all the possible efforts to save his life. All Syrian patients are pleased and surprised by the treatment they are provided with."
What made morning coffee so sad?
"Hot cocoa came back to my pad!
I'd just started to boast
About being dark roast,
When I woke to a splash of cold cream."
[Ynet] Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil warned on Monday of a plot to keep Syrian refugees in Leb for a long time.
He also warned of a plan "for the refugees to equip themselves militarily in order to carry outs attacks beyond Lebanese borders."
"We will therefore work on setting up camps for Syrian refugees outside of Lebanese territories," he said after attending the Arab foreign ministers summit held in Kuwait.
Bassil also demanded a halt to the flow of Syrians into Leb to redistribute them among countries neighboring Syria.
"Leb has suffered the most, in all fields, from the conflict in Syria," he lamented during a presser.
Commenting on terrorist threats in Leb, he remarked: "It is unfortunate that Leb is gradually slipping into the clutches of blind terrorism that is infiltrating the nation from Arab countries."
These snuffies are then traveling from Leb to other countries where they carry out their attacks, he added.
"We are in need of Arab support to confront terrorism and defend Leb against Israel," he stressed.
"Leb cannot distance itself from terrorism. It is our fate to pay the consequences of the conflicts of others," he noted.
Bassil therefore highlighted the importance of supporting the Lebanese army in combating terrorism, praising the Arab pledge to back it.
"We hope words on supporting the army can be turned into actions," he said.
"Leb is fighting terrorism for all the Arabs and all the world," he responded to a question in English.
Bassil announced on Sunday that a meeting of Arab foreign ministers held in Kuwait approved a plan he had presented aimed at bolstering the army.
He said: "The foreign ministers agreed to support the army in its resistance of Israel and battle against terrorism."
This entails bolstering it financially and providing it with the necessary equipment in accordance to international initiatives, he explained.
The plan will also seek to support the Lebanese government to that end, stated Bassil.
The Arab foreign ministers held their meeting in Kuwait ahead of the two-day 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... summit that will kick off on Monday.
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... is scheduled to take part in the talks.
THE HAGUE -- The head of the organisation overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile said he still hoped Damascus could meet a final deadline of June 30 but it might miss that target.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government agreed to destroy its chemical weapons arsenal by mid-year as part of a U.S.-Russian agreement negotiated after a chemical attack last August that killed hundreds of people around Damascus.
It has handed over roughly half of its stockpile to a joint mission with the United Nations but is several weeks behind schedule, blaming security problems for the delays.
"I think that some targets have not been met, but the deadline of 30 June still remains our target, and we think we can finish the destruction by that time, or close to that time," Ahmet Uzumcu, head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, said.
An official at the OPCW, which won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, said Uzumcu meant the process could run past the June 30 deadline Damascus had agreed to. This was the first official indication it might not be met.
Experts have said the deadline is overly ambitious but Russia and the United States have invested huge resources and political capital in the operation, which is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Russians would be happy to walk away from this just to spite Obama...
Uzumcu made the comments after meeting the ineffectual U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry said he hoped the confrontation over Moscow's annexation of Crimea would not harm cooperation with Russia on international efforts to destroy Syria's chemical weapons.
"All I can say is I hope the same motivations that drove Russia to be a partner in this effort will still exist," Kerry told reporters in The Hague.
Hope is not a plan, Jahwn...
A large portion of the chemicals are to be destroyed on a U.S. ship, the Cape Ray but that process has not yet started and will take up to 90 days, Washington has said.
Syria has missed almost all deadlines agreed in the deal brokered by Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whom Kerry met in The Hague for bilateral talks.
Lavrov repeated Moscow's position that Syria will meet its obligations under the deal.
"We have reason to believe that the deadlines will be respected and the chemical weapons will be removed from Syria by the middle of 2014," Lavrov said, as quoted by Russia's foreign ministry.
Plans for a joint mission between Russia and NATO to protect the Cape Ray that will destroy Syria's deadliest chemical weapons at sea have been cancelled due to tensions over Russia's annexation of the Crimea.
Kerry, who made no further allusion to Crimea in his remarks, noted that Syria had also missed a March 15 date for destruction of a dozen production and storage facilities.
"We have some real challenges ahead of us in these next weeks. We in the United States are convinced that if Syria wanted to they could move faster," he added.
"We are just about at the 50 percent removal mark. That is significant but the real significance would only be when we get all the weapons out," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2014 00:00 ||
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...slightly improved from Kofi Annan, though not more competent...
reported on Monday that humanitarian access to Syrians remains "extremely challenging" a month after the world body demanded a lifting of sieges and bombardments of Syrian residential areas. Ban called on the government and the opposition to take measures to ease the delivery of relief supplies, notably medicine, to 9.3 million Syrians in need.
Perhaps instead Syria should be completely depopulated of all 'innocents'. Then the gunnies on both sides could hammer away at each other 'in peace'...
"One month after the passing of Security Council resolution 2139, humanitarian access in Syria remains extremely challenging for humanitarian organisations," Ban said.
"Delivering lifesaving items, in particular medicines, remains difficult. And the assistance reaching people continues to fall far short of what is required to cover even their basic needs," he said.
Ban was referring to a UN Security Council resolution passed unanimously February 22 that called for the lifting of sieges and an end to bombardments of residential areas with barrel bombs. The resolution, which Russia supported after negotiations, provides no sanctions against those who fail to respect it.
Which is why the Russians supported it...
"I strongly condemn the continued heavy shelling, including the use of barrel bombs by the Syrian government forces in residential neighbourhoods, as well as the terror acts in Syria by extremist groups who are attempting to impose radical ideologies in some parts of the country," Ban said.
A toughly worded statement, mind you...
He also said he was deeply concerned about the use of foreign fighters and the shipment of arms and fighters into the country from outside.
He's tough and concerned...
He appealed to states and other actors in the Syrian civil war to end their support for the violence, and to use their influence to promote a political solution for the conflict, now in its fourth year.
...and doesn't have any solutions...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2014 00:00 ||
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Lebanonâs foreign minister called on Arab countries on Monday to support the Lebanese army to counter fallout from Syriaâs civil war, which he said threatened to tear the country apart.
Around 1 million Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon, a displacement that has strained public infrastructure and threatened to upset the sectarian balance. This âis threatening the existence of Lebanonâ, Gebran Bassil told reporters before a meeting of Arab League leaders in Kuwait on Tuesday.
âThis would create a danger also to the whole (of) humanity, because if the Lebanese model would vanish, then a big clash is to be expected between civilisations, religions and all aspects or differences in the world,â he said, speaking English.
So it's pretty much the end of the world if we don't support you. I can see why you'd think that...
Communal tensions in Lebanon were stoked last week by the fall of the Syrian border town of Yabroud to Syrian government forces and their allies in the Lebanese movement Hezbollah. The fighting prompted a chain reaction of car bomb and rocket attacks, roadblocks and protests along sectarian lines that took days to calm and revived memories of Lebanonâs own 1975-90 civil war.
Bassil, who became foreign minister in a cabinet formed last month, said a preparatory meeting with his Arab counterparts on Sunday discussed Syriaâs conflict, now in its fourth year, the refugees and support for the Lebanese army.
âWe hope that these decisions will be translated into reality by direct and tangible help and aid to Lebanon in backing the army, because the army of Lebanon is fighting terrorism for all the Arabs and all the world,â he said.
Bassil said the only way to protect Lebanon and its borders was to give additional support to the army. Saudi Arabia donated $3 billion to the army in December for upgrades and asked France to supply weapons using a large proportion of these funds.
So basically it's a sop to the French arms makers...
âWe cannot live with new military camps, whether Syrians or others, inside Lebanon,â he said. âSupport for the army is something real for facing this coming danger.â
Lebanon is already home to large camps for displaced Palestinians where state authority does not fully extend. Many Lebanese trace the origins of their own civil war to militarisation in the camps in the 1970s.
The Lebanese, unlike much of the rest of the world, do get the idea of "cause and effect" when it comes to the Paleostinians...
Lebanonâs military nowadays is religiously mixed but some Syrian rebels and Lebanese have accused it of being in thrall to Hezbollah, which has sent fighters to support President Bashar Al Assad.
The army would just prefer not to be wiped out until it's ready to take on the Hezbies...
In a video posted online this week, influential Lebanese Sunni militant leader and cleric Ahmad Al Assir called for Sunnis to defect from the army.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2014 00:00 ||
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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.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, already at odds with the U.S. over a vital security pact, snubbed western leaders once again by joining the likes of Syria and Venezuela in backing Russia's annexation of Crimea. 
BOSSASO, Somalia -- The President of Somalia's Northeastern State of Puntland Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas for the first time disclosed at public meeting in the port city of Bossaso that Somaliland's separatist administration finances Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab group on Monday, Garowe Online reports.
Wazoo
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
THE HAGUE -- The head of the organisation overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile said he still hoped Damascus could meet a final deadline of June 30 but it might miss that target.
