[AnNahar] Many ordinary Afghans said Monday the five senior Taliban figures who were freed in exchange for a U.S. soldier had blood on their hands and their release would strengthen the bad boys.
The men are all former officials of the Taliban regime that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
The turbans have been battling the Western-backed Afghan government since they were ousted from power in a U.S.-led invasion.
The Taliban had long demanded the release of the five, who are considered still influential within the movement.
They were freed from Guantanamo Bay and transferred to the Gulf state of Qatar, in exchange for army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl who had been captured by the Taliban five years ago.
Of the five, Norullah Noori, the ex-governor of the northern province of Balkh, was seen as the most controversial among the people AFP spoke to in the area, where he is accused of taking part in the 1998 massacre of thousands of Shiites.
The others include Khairullah Khairkhwa, the Taliban interior minister who is considered a relative moderate; Mohammad Fazl, a leading commander with a strong battlefield reputation; Abdul Haq Wasiq, deputy head of the Taliban intelligence service; and Mohammad Nabi.
Nabi, the least known, may have been held on suspicion of ties to the Al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani myrmidon network.
All the men are now in Qatar, which helped broker the deal, and are under a one-year travel ban under the conditions of their release.
Hussain Ali, a taxi driver in Balkh bustling provincial capital of Mazar-e-Sharif, said: "Our close relatives and loved ones and neighbors were killed during Noori's term as governor.
"We are very disappointed to hear about the release of these prisoners," he added.
Amir Mohammad Ziaye, a prominent Shiite leader, added: "These prisoners should not have been handed over to Qatar, they should have been handed over to the Afghan government and Noori should have been tried for war crimes."
The allegations around Noori center on an August 1998 massacre of up to 8,000 Shiites at the hands of the Taliban, who were bent on avenging the killing of 2,000 of their own men a year earlier.
Noori's Guantanamo Bay detention file notes he is "wanted by the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... for possible war crimes including the murder of thousands of Shites". But the respected Afghanistan Analysts Network said no clear evidence has been presented to back up the allegation.
Bahara Bahar, a female activist in the western city of Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... , said the release had dealt a psychological blow to people after years of fighting the Taliban.
"It is almost election time and the release of these five senior members of the Taliban... will scare and dishearten people," she said.
In Pashtun-dominated areas of the country, however, many welcomed the release.
Khalid Zia, a lecturer at Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. University in the east, said: "We consider the release a positive move that will help pave the way for peace negotiations and strengthen morale."
[Ynet] Egypt's top TV satirist said on Monday his show had been cancelled, a move likely to raise speculation that he was pulled off the air because his latest script poked fun at a presidential election won by the former army chief.
Bassem Youssef, known as the "Egyptian Jon Stewart", told a news conference that the station that hosted him, Saudi-owned MBC Masr, had been put under more pressure "than it could handle."
The leader of the Russian republic of Ingushetia has threatened measures to "punish" the relatives of members of illegal armed groups in the republic if they fail to persuade their loved ones to quit the Islamic insurgency.
Yunus-Bek Yevkurov said he would distribute the photos of terror suspects across the republic so that the relatives of victims would be able to retaliate against the suspects' families. He also warned that the authorities in Ingushetia may be forced to allow traditional blood feuds if the militant's relatives are unable to persuade their sons or brothers to return to a normal life.
Yevkurov said on May 27 that those who quit the insurgency and turn themselves in to the authorities will receive a minimal jail term.
#1
"All right, I'm coming out. Any man I see out there, I'm gonna shoot him. Any sumbitch takes a shot at me, I'm not only gonna kill him, but I'm gonna kill his wife, all his friends, and burn his damn house down."
The TIP has approximately 300500 militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but also a network in Turkey and possibly Central Asia (Authors field research in northwest Pakistan, 2012). With such numbers, it is limited in its capacity to launch an insurgency in China, which has a population of well over one billion people. The only attacks in China for which the TIP showed evidence of its responsibility were the Ramadan-eve car rammings in Kashgar in July 2011, which killed 12 pedestrians. The TIP has also claimed several cart-bombings near Xinjiangs border with Pakistan in 2012, which were likely carried out by its cells in Xinjiang (See Terrorism Monitor, Volume 10, Issue 8).
The TIPs main value added in Xinjiang is mostly providing training to Uighurs who travel abroad or, likely more importantly, the clandestine distribution of jihadist ideological and training materials in Xinjiang by way of various Uighur, Pakistani or Central Asian traders.
Al-Qaeda leaders, such as Ayman al-Zawahiri, now usually mention East Turkistan among other jihadist battlegrounds, while jihadists in Syria have proudly featured Uighurs and Han converts to Islam among their fighters.
IMU: Go After Pakistans Mother
While the TIP is still a relative newcomer to the jihadist scenehaving only announced its formation around 2008, despite the presence of Uighur militants in Afghanistan since before 2001it has benefited from the support of other well-known jihadist leaders. In particular, the emergence of IMU mufti Abu Zar al-Burmi as a prominent anti-Chinese jihadist leader in Pakistan has led to Xinjiang gaining more attention among jihadists. Al-Burmi started gaining prominence around 2011, several years after Xinjiangwhich Uighurs who seek independence from China call East Turkistangained attention in jihadist media after the July 2009 riots in Urumqi. At that time, al-Qaeda affiliates and leaders such as Abu Yahya al-Libi demanded retribution against China and called for attacks on Chinese citizens abroad (China Daily, July 15, 2009). Other al-Qaeda leaders gave occasional talks on Xinjiang (Khalid al-Husaynan, Purpose of Jihad, Sawt al-Islam, May 4, 2013; Abu-Yahya al-Libi, The Forgotten Wound, as-Sahab, 2009).
Yet al-Burmi, unlike other al-Qaeda leaders, regularly issues anti-Chinese sermons in Pakistan and, perhaps because of his Burmese background (he is an ethnic Rohingya) seems to hold a personal vendetta against China. He said in a sermon called A Lost Nation that mujahidin should know that the coming enemy of the Ummah is China, which is developing its weapons day after day to fight the Muslims and blamed Burma, China and Germany and the interests of the United Nations for supporting these massacres and mass killings [of Rohingyas] in Arakan (A Lost Nation, a speech for Abu Zar-Azzam, Mufti of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, 2013).
In a sermon in Ladha, South Waziristan, in September 2013, al-Burmi, declared it obligatory for Muslims to kidnap and kill Chinese people and attack Chinese companies, which Abu Zar says have conquered Pakistan like the British East India company did in India (including Abu Zars native Burma) in the 1800s (Bab-ul-Islam, in Urdu, April 25). He blames Pakistanis for their mantra of Pak-China Friendship, including purchasing infidel food and goods from China as if drinking milk from the Chinese government and selling the Gwadar Port in Karachi to China (Ibid).
Al-Burmi urges his followers to turn their attention to the new superpower and next number one enemy, China, now that the Taliban knocked the wind out of the United States. This suggests that al-Burmi may see a role for the IMU attacking China or coordinating training of the TIP to attack China after the withdrawal of most U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2014. In his Ladha sermon, al-Burmi continues with U.S.-China comparisons: We should be aware of the fact that while the United States is the father of the Pakistani system and government, China is the mother of the Pakistani government. The Pakistani government drinks its milk from the Chinese government.
He further claims that The Pakistani president visits China every four months and goes and bows, kneels and prostrates before those atheists, who do not believe in God, and in return he comes back with aid . We should all be aware of the fact that there is no border between Pakistan and China the border that is along the Gilgit-Baltistan region is actually a border with East Turkestan.
[AnNahar] The White House on Monday defended the release of five Guantanamo detainees in exchange for a U.S. soldier held by the Taliban, saying a potential threat had been "sufficiently mitigated."
Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl -- the only U.S. soldier held by the Taliban after being captured in Afghanistan -- was freed on Saturday in a dramatic deal brokered by Qatar.
In exchange, five Taliban prisoners were turned over to the Arab emirate, where they will remain for a year, sparking criticism from some Republicans, who claimed they could return to the battlefield and pose a threat to Americans abroad.
But White House Press Secretary Jay Carney took to the U.S. morning talk shows to downplay the threat posed by the men -- influential former officials of the Taliban regime that was toppled by the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
"We have a history in this country of making sure that our prisoners of war are returned to us, we don't leave them behind," Carney told CNN.
"And it's entirely appropriate, given the determination made by the secretary of defense, in consultation with the full national security team, that the threat potentially posed by the returned detainees was sufficiently mitigated to allow us to move forward and get Bowe Bergdahl back home where he belongs."
Carney added that a travel ban and monitoring was in effect, giving Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel "the confidence to make the determination he did.
"I can say that we do believe and have confidence that the measures put in place in agreement with the host country allow us to feel confident that the threat is sufficiently mitigated," he said.
Bergdahl's almost five years in captivity saw him transferred between various murderous Moslem factions along the volatile Afghanistan-Pakistain border, finally ending up in Pakistain's North Wazoo tribal district, according to murderous Moslem sources.
The circumstances of the Idaho native's disappearance, from a base in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika ...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo... province in 2009, remain unclear.
He arrived Sunday at the US military medical center in Landstuhl in southern Germany where he is to continue his "reintegration process," the army said.
#2
"We have a history in this country of making sure that our prisoners of war are returned to us, we don't leave them behind," Carney told CNN.
There clearly is [or should be] some question as to whether he was actually a POW, or someone who simply went over the hill to the other side. Providing prior notice of his intentions, and leaving his weapon and kit back at the FOB should represent a clue. As far as "our history" goes; we also had a "history" of not negotiating with terrorists.
I suspect Bergdahl is simply another Mohammad Video and convenient cover for action, and there are other issues in play. One look at Bergdaul's father should have prompted some interviews and a closer look at the potentially negative media impacts of a rose garden ceremony, let alone a Pashtun greeting to his son. The regime knew what they were dealing with and went 'all in' with it. There has to be a reason.
#3
maybe the reason for this seemingly incomprehensible White House is that they expect the Taliban to now 'negotiate' and play nice (at least until the 2014 elections are over)
Posted by: lord garth ||
06/03/2014 5:46 Comments ||
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#4
Could be Garth. The Bergdahl exchange has certainly overtaken media coverage of the VA scandal, which had to be at least an intermediate goal. The regime would have had to have known the Taliban release would be radioactive, otherwise they would have arranged the exchange before the presidential election.
#7
Well after crapping over all those who have served, then going to West Point and crapping all over those about to serve, who not trade the starting lineup for the Taliban Heat for an 8th round draft pick and crap all over not only those who searched and died for borgy boy but also all those involved in the capture and detention of the five?
[AnNahar] Russia has lifted its embargo on arms supplies to Pakistain and is holding talks on supplying Islamabad with combat helicopters, the head of state-owned Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, said Monday, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported.
Such interesting times we live in. thanks to The Smartest Men In The Room.
"Such a decision has been taken. We are holding talks on supplying the helicopters," Chemezov said, adding that the negotiations were about Russian Mi-35 Hind attack helicopters.
Russia has long been the largest supplier of arms to India, which is the world's top arms buyer.
But Moscow's move to supply Islamabad came as New Delhi is seeking to modernize its armed forces' aging hardware and has recently chosen to buy arms from Israel, La Belle France, Britannia and the United States.
Leading Russian defense commentator Pavel Felgenhauer said the lifting of the embargo that had been in force since the Soviet era marked a sea change in Russian policy on arms sales, which until now have been focused on India amid difficult relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.
"This is an important, key change in Russian policy in the region," he told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"The sale of arms to Pakistain will abruptly worsen our relations with India, the main buyer of our arms... This risks dismantling our cooperation with India," Felgenhauer said.
#1
As per DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS, Islamabad has no excuse now for not following the whims of Hizbh-ut-Tahrir + sending the mighty Pak Army to the ME to protect Palestinians + liberate Jerusalem from the wily dastardly Israelis = "filthy Jews".
#2
I sure hope this means we are going to get very cozy with India. Of course that would be a smart geopolitical move (years ago), so we know the president won't do it.
Longer than usual for Strategy Page, but lays out observations well worth exploring, it seems to me.
[StrategyPage] An interesting trend in Arab media is the growing number of articles, letters-to-the-editor and online comments that points out some obvious (but unpopular) truths about the Arab world. These include certain obvious facts; that most Moslem victims of violence are killed by other Moslems and despite over half a century of animosity towards Israel by a larger, and because of oil income, quite wealthy Arab coalition, Israel not only still exists but thrives compared to its Arab opponents. By every measure the much reviled Jews have done better than the Arabs. Until recently Arabs openly discussing these truths faced arrest or violence (often fatal) from those opposed to freely talking about a lot of forbidden subjects. But after decades of living the lies more and more Arabs, including many leaders and senior business, government and religious officials are mentioning the unmentionable. This discussion often includes pointing out those Arab states that seem to be doing better; like Dubai and some other states the UAE/United Arab Emirates. It then follows that the successful Arab states are much less corrupt, better run and, well, more like Israel (but without lots of Jews).
#2
The sons of many Arab elites are being educated in the west. They go home and have to see the inconsistencies. Good article and ditto on the thanks.
#3
Always a pleasure to share with this group, gentlemen. And y'all have been doing such a good job posting articles yourselves, I was happy that for once I got there first. ;-)
[Ynet] Hours before Paleostinian unity government expected, Netanyahu slams those calling on Israel to accept Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed Europeans states Monday for their acceptance of a Paleostinian unity government which includes Hamas, he made the comments at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
"It is surprising for me that European governments, which vehemently condemned the Brussels shooting, talk collegially or even in a friendly tone about the Paleostinian unity government with Hamas. This is a terrorist organization which undertakes criminal attacks and boasts about them.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Classic Euro political denial complicated by passive-aggressive behavior. A bit redundant I suppose. Oh well, I doubt it comes as any great surprise to Netanyahu.
[Ynet] Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,'s exiting prime minister Ismail Haniyeh ...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank... said that the Paleostinian unity government signed in Monday was a "historical day which we forged together for the sake of the Paleostinian people and the Paleostinian cause."
Haniyeh further said that "today there is an army in the figure of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas' military wing). We are leaving the government, but the resistance is in excellent shape and can deter and protect that the Paleostinian people."
Haniyeh also praised the Paleostinian prisoners hunger striking in Israel.
[Ynet] During the first Paleostinian unity government meeting, chaired by Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... , the president said that the government is committed to the two-state solution along the 1967 border lines, recognizing Israel, renouncing violence and respecting past agreements.
Uh huh. And unicorns and fairies danced round his head as he said it. Or his lips fell off. Your choice of metaphor, dear Reader.
"We are committed to what we said. Cooperation with Israel regarding security matters will continue so as to preserve the Paleostinian interest," Abbas said.
[AnNahar] A long-awaited Paleostinian unity government was sworn in before President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... on Monday after a landmark reconciliation deal with the Islamist Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, that has infuriated Israel.
Following a ceremony at the Muqataa presidential compound in Ramallah, Abbas hailed "the end" of a bitter and sometimes bloody divide between his Fatah movement and the rival Hamas which rules Gazoo.
Hamas also applauded the new government as representing "all Paleostinians," saying it was a "turning point" in its formerly bitter relations with Fatah.
Standing on a red carpet lined with Paleostinian flags, the new ministers filed past, each laying their hand on either a Koran or a Bible to take the oath of office as Abbas stood by.
It is the first Paleostinian unity government to take office in seven years, and the first fruits of a landmark reconciliation deal signed in April.
"Today, with the formation of a national consensus government, we announce the end of a Paleostinian division that has greatly damaged our national case," said Abbas.
"This black page in history has been turned forever," he pledged in remarks echoed by the outgoing Hamas government in Gazoo.
"We hail the national consensus government, which represents all the Paleostinian people," Hamas front manSami Abu Zuhri ...a senior spokesman for Hamas. Zuhri gained notoriety in 2006 when he dropped his money belt containing somewhere between 640,000 and 900,000 euros, which was confiscated by Paleostinian security and customs officials at a routine border crossing from Egypt to Gaza. The news brought competing Hamas and Fatah forces to the crossing checkpoint for an epic face-making and hollering contest... told AFP, describing it as "a turning point".
Hours earlier, a dispute over the fate of the prisoners' ministry raised fears the government could be delayed, but the issue was resolved after the parties agreed the portfolio would be held by prime minister Rami Hamdallah. He will also head the interior ministry.
The new cabinet, which was pieced together by Fatah and Hamas, counts 17 ministers, all of them political independents. Technocratic in nature, the new government will not have a political mandate.
Hamas's Gazoo prime minister Ismail Haniya and his cabinet resigned, Hamas spokeswoman Israa al-Mudallal said, "paving the way for the new ministers of the consensus government."
Haniya welcomed the new cabinet as "a government of one people and one political system."
"We're leaving the government, but not the nation. We're leaving the ministries but not the question of the nation," Haniya said in a televised speech.
The new government includes three women and five ministers who come from Gazoo. Over the weekend, Israel blocked three of the Gazooks from traveling to Ramallah for the oath-taking.
Abbas has pledged that the new administration will abide by the principles laid down by the Middle East peace Quartet ... The Quartet are the UN (xylophone), the United States (alto), the European Union (soprano), and Russia (shortstop). The group was established in Madrid in 2002 by former Spanish Prime Minister Aznar, as a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Tony Blair is the Quartet's current Special Envoy.... : recognize Israel, reject violence and abide by all existing agreements.
Under the terms of a deal inked on April 23, the Fatah-led Paleostine Liberation Organization agreed to work with Hamas to establish an interim government of independents that would organize long-delayed elections.
The surprise agreement sought to end years of sometimes highly-fraught rivalry which had seen the establishment of rival Paleostinian administrations, with the West Bank ruled by the Fatah-dominated Paleostinian Authority, and Gazoo under Hamas authority.
On Sunday, U.S. 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... telephoned Abbas to express "concern about Hamas's role in any such government," the State Department said.
There was no immediate reaction from Israel which has made no secret of its opposition to the unity agreement with Hamas, whose charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.
"I call on all responsible elements within the international community not to hurry to recognize the Paleostinian government that Hamas is part of," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.
Again on Monday, he hit out at Europe for demonstrating "ambiguity" to the idea of unity with Hamas, which is blacklisted by the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... and Washington as a "terror organization."
Israel's security cabinet met overnight to discuss the new government, reconfirming an April decision to halt negotiations with any government backed by Hamas, newspapers reported on Monday. There was no comment from Netanyahu's office.
In a separate development just hours before the government ceremony, rocket fire from Gazoo and Syria struck Israel in two separate incidents that prompted the military to launch two air raids on the Strip, and to fire across the Syrian ceasefire line in the occupied Golan Heights.
#1
The Gaza individuals in the new 'unity government of the PA' are not formally members of Hamas.
This will allow the EU to recognize the new govt and even 'celebrate' its moderation. Obama would like to do this too and will probably do so (as will some of the left in Israel).
Of course, the Gaza reps were approved by Hamas and will be furthering the Hamas agenda but our diplo types will deny that.
Posted by: lord garth ||
06/03/2014 9:56 Comments ||
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[Ynet] While government believes future growth potential of Israeli economy lies within Israel's Arab population, the new measures will struggle to overcome structural problems within the sector.
In the past week, the government introduced two new measures designed to tackle one of the toughest challenges the Israeli economy faces: increasing employment rate and eradicating poverty in the Arab sector.
On Sunday the government approved the establishment of a ministerial committee for Arab Sector Affairs that will be headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Continued on Page 49
[AnNahar] Syrian refugees believe the presidential election in their country will be "illegitimate," according to a poll released on Monday in Amman by an Arab think tank on the eve of the vote.
Yes, well, no doubt for some it is.
The study conducted by the Doha-based Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) showed that 78 percent of Syrian refugees in the region believe the election on Tuesday will be "illegitimate," while 17 percent said the vote will be "legitimate."
Based on interviews conducted by 400 researchers with 5,267 refugees in camps and urban areas in Turkey, Jordan and Leb, the poll said 75 percent think that the election "does not represent the Syrian people."
Leb is home to more than one million Syrian refugees, while around 700,000 have fled to Turkey, 600,000 to Jordan, 220,000 to Iraq and 136,000 to Egypt, according to the U.N. refugee agency.
"There is almost a consensus... Three-quarters of those polled said they do not trust the Syrian regime and its institutions," said the study, announced at a news conference in Amman.
According to the study, 64 percent of respondents say "changing the political regime in Syria would be the best solution to the crisis," while 23 percent think that "reconciliation between all sides would solve the conflict."
Six percent "see that crushing the opposition is the solution," according to the poll, which has a two percent margin of error, said ACRPS.
The study said "78 percent believe that it would be better for Syria if Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... steps down," while 17 percent disagreed.
Officially, 15 million people are eligible to vote in Syria's election, which Assad is expected to win by a landslide, against two little-known candidates seen as token rivals.
While Syrians living in areas controlled by government forces will vote on Tuesday, Syrians living abroad cast their ballots last Wednesday.
Syria's electoral commission said on Saturday that 95 percent of registered expatriate voters took part in the polls, according to state news agency SANA.
[AnNahar] Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday warned regional countries of the "high price" they would eventually pay for supporting rebels fighting against Tehran's key ally Syria.
Shiite Iran is a staunch supporter of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... 's regime in its struggle against mostly Sunni rebels backed by Arab nations and Western powers.
Khamenei made the comments during a meeting with the visiting Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah whose trip to Tehran has been widely seen as an attempt to warm up the frosty ties between Iran and Sunni-ruled monarchies in the Gulf.
"Unfortunately, some regional countries do not take heed of the danger of 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... groups which will threaten them in future and they are still backing these groups," the leader's website khamenei.ir reported.
Takfiri is a term often used to describe Sunni turbans.
"Some of the regional countries are backing the Takfiri groups and supporting their massacres and crimes in Syria," said Khamenei.
"Eventually these countries will be forced to eradicate these turbans, with a high price," Khamenei added.
Syrian opposition groups and Western countries have accused Tehran of supplying Damascus with military and financial backing.
Iran says it only has military experts on the ground in Syria and that it is providing the Assad regime with humanitarian assistance.
Kuwait's Sheikh Sabah flew out of Tehran Monday afternoon at the end of his two-day visit.
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[AnNahar] Syria geared up Monday for an election expected to keep Bashir al-Assad as president but derided as a "farce" and only staged in regime-held parts of the war-ravaged country.
Officially, 15 million people are eligible to vote in a country bled dry by the three-year conflict that flared from a brutal crackdown on peaceful protests calling for democratic reforms.
A "security plan" has reportedly been put in place in Syrian cities since Sunday, aimed at preventing possible attacks against voters and polling stations, with Tuesday's election being held only in areas under the regime's control.
"Military and security forces are on maximum alert to ensure the security of Syrians who wish to vote," said al-Watan, a pro-regime newspaper.
More than 9,000 polling stations have been "secured" across the country, the daily said.
Rumors have swirled that polling places in Damascus would be targeted by bully boyz positioned in the nearby countryside.
Exiled opposition leader Ahmad Jarba on Monday urged Syrians to stay at home and warned that the regime was preparing attacks on polling stations that would be blamed on rebels.
"We appeal for all Syrians to stay at home," Jarba said in a speech broadcast by Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya.
"The Syrian regime ... is preparing ... a series of attacks and bombings on the so-called polling stations," he charged.
On Monday, a bomb-laden truck killed at least 10 people when it went kaboom! in Haraqi, a regime-held village in Homs province populated mainly by members of Assad's Alawite community, state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
reported.
In the divided northern city of Aleppo, at least 50 people, including nine children, were killed at the weekend in rebel mortar and rocket fire targeting regime-controlled zones, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
And in Damascus, the Qassaa and Mazzeh district as well as a security building in Bab Moussala came under rebel mortar fire, according to the British-based monitoring group.
The Baath party, which has ruled Syria with an iron fist for half a century, as well as other parties and religious officials tolerated by the regime have called on voters to choose Assad, who is widely expected to sweep the poll.
Rebels have urged Syrians to boycott the vote, which excludes any anti-regime candidates from running.
Assad faces two virtually unknown candidates in the vote, which is Syria's first election in 50 years, with the president and his father Hafez renewing their mandates in successive referendums.
Posters glorifying Bashir al-Assad have gone up in Damascus, while some portraits showed his competitors Maher al-Hajjar and Hassan al-Nouri.
Rebels seeking Assad's overthrow and their Western and Arab backers have watched powerless as the preparations drew to a close, after the army secured a series of military advances on the ground, especially around Homs and Damascus.
Opposition activists have branded the vote a "blood election" that is being held amid a war that is estimated to have killed 162,000 people.
A civil servant in Damascus told Agence La Belle France Presse that he would vote.
"I have to, because there is a voting station in the building where I work. I can't escape," he said.
Syria saw a peaceful, Arab Spring-inspired revolt break out in March 2011, demanding political change.
But the movement quickly transformed into a full-blown insurgency, after the regime unleashed a brutal crackdown against dissent, and has since evolved into a complex, multi-front war drawing in thousands of foreign jihadists.
The election is aimed at reinforcing Assad's position in the war, as the army backed by Leb's Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... battle divided rebels who are also fighting the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... Observers from countries allied to the regime -- North Korea, Brazil, Russia and Iran -- have arrived in Damascus to monitor the vote, state media reported.
The vote has been slammed as a "farce" by the opposition and a "parody of democracy" by the United States.
Syrian refugees in Leb held protests on Sunday to denounce the election, four days after tens of thousands of other Syrians living in the country took part in early voting at their embassy near Beirut.
In Jordan, where another 600,000 Syrians have taken refuge, an Arab think-tank announced the results of a study which found that 78 percent of Syrian refugees in the region believe Tuesday's election will be "illegitimate."
Polling stations will be open for 12 hours from 7:00 am (0400 GMT) on Tuesday.
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[AnNahar] Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... defended on Monday Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's recent trip to the Holy Land, questioning the uproar created over the visit and the failure of the majority of the parties to defend him.
He said in his weekly editorial to the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa website: "Al-Rahi's trip was inevitable given the negative repercussions the security and political developments in Paleostine, Syria, and Iraq are having on the region's Christian population."
Smart man. Perhaps one day he'll make a similar pilgrimage, assuming The Mad Mullahs don't achieve their desired nukes.
The trip emphasized the need for the people to remain attached to their homeland regardless of the hardships they are facing, remarked the MP.
"The patriarch made very bold and brave stands in this regard," he noted.
"His visit gave Paleostine's Christians and Arabs a glimmer of hope during the critical time they are enduring. He also succeeded in avoiding Israel's exploitation of the trip," added Jumblat.
"Al-Rahi's trip was strictly pastoral and religious," he stressed.
Moreover, the PSP chief questioned the criticism directed against the patriarch for meeting several members of the South Leb Army during his visit, saying: "It should be noted that those members come from all religions and sects."
"The families and children of the so-called collaborators were forced by the Israeli occupation to cooperate in one way or the other with the enemy, so they should not be labeled as such," he said.
"The boycott of visits to Paleostine over the decades has cleared the way for Israeli practices that have displaced the Paleostinian people, created an artificial entity, and eventually led to the current reality due to the Arab defeats over the years," continued Jumblat.
"The Paleostinian people have been left to lead the struggle alone to obtain their legitimate rights," he stated.
Furthermore, he voiced his rejection of the normalization of ties with Israel, adding however that new approaches with Paleostinians should be adopted in order to motivate them to remain in their homeland.
The MP later received a telephone call from al-Rahi, who lauded him on his stance on his visit to the Holy Land, said the National News Agency.
Commenting on the Interior Ministry's measures to curb the flow of Syrian refugees in Leb, Jumblat hailed the step, especially in light of the recent provocations made during the Syrian presidential elections.
"This is a logical and objective measure that has been appropriately timed," he remarked.
The Interior Ministry announced on Saturday that Syrian refugees registered with the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... should not to return home as of June 1, warning they will lose their refugee status in Leb.
Saturday's decision comes three days before Syria is to witness the first presidential elections since the eruption of the ravaging civil war that has torn the country in the past three years.
On Wednesday and Thursday, thousands of Syrians streamed to their embassy in Yarze near Beirut to vote in the presidential polls, in what Damascus' Lebanese and Syrian critics have described as a prearranged "show of force."
The midweek, poorly organized vote triggered a suffocating traffic congestion in the area, stranding thousands of commuters in their cars amid an excruciating summer heat.
The March 14 alliance strongly criticized the elections at the embassy, calling for dropping the refugee status of those whose life is not in danger and who are constantly traveling across the border.
Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas later announced on Monday that the Interior Ministry's decision "will take effect as of today."
"The security forces at the border will be informed to refuse entry to any refugee arriving from a secure region in Syria," he added.
"The majority of the Lebanese parties view this issue as a Lebanese one, not a political or discriminatory case," he said.
[AnNahar] Suspects held following the festivities that took place near the southern city of Sidon last year went on hunger strike in Jezzine prison to protest the delay in holding their trials, the state-run National News Agency reported Monday.
NNA said the suspects kicked off their hunger strike on Monday morning over the procrastination of the authorities to take them to trial.
The detainees are supporters of Salafist holy man Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir ...Leb Salafist holy man with the usual grouch against Shiites. Currently on the run, he seems intent on reigniting the Leb civil war... , who went into hiding following the gunbattles with the Lebanese army in June 2013.
The 45-year-old holy man who supports the overwhelmingly Sunni rebels fighting to topple Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... , is nowhere to be found along with pop idol Fadel Shaker.
Asir's supporters opened fire on an army checkpoint near the holy man's headquarters in the Sidon suburb of Abra in June 2013. The attack and the fierce festivities that ensued left around 18 soldiers and more than 20 gunnies dead.
The gunbattles concentrated in the area of the Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque and nearby buildings in Abra.
[AnNahar] The conflict in Syria has cost Leb $7.5 billion as it struggles to cope with hosting more than a million refugees from the neighboring country, according to World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim.
"We estimated last summer that the impact of the crisis on Leb was $7.5 billion," Kim said late on Sunday in the Saudi city of Jeddah, which he visited in the first stop of a regional tour.
He said the conflict has had a "profound" impact on Leb and Jordan, which also hosts around 600,000 Syrian refugees.
The conflict that broke out in March 2011 with demonstrations against the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... descended into a civil war that has killed more than 160,000 people, and driven millions from their homes.
Kim said the World Bank is trying "as much as possible" to help the two countries that host the largest Syrian refugee populations.
Leb's gross domestic product dropped 2.9 percent annually between 2012 and 2014, according to World Bank estimates, while 170,000 Lebanese fell into poverty and the unemployment rate doubled to more than 20 percent.
The World Bank warned that refugees in Leb and Jordan are putting extra strain on services such as water, electricity, waste disposal, primary education and health, while increasing competition for scarce jobs.
"The international community needs to step up its support to the Jordanian and Lebanese hosting communities," said Kim in the statement. "The people of these countries have demonstrated unprecedented generosity. They should not be left to shoulder this crisis alone."
After visiting 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... , Kim will travel to Leb and Jordan.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/03/2014 00:00 ||
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The news cycle is currently focused on the swap to release Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl five Taliban commanders for the Idaho native but many Americans still remain held abroad by nefarious regimes or terrorists.
One of those, a Marine veteran who served with distinction in Iraq, specifically said last fall that, even though his unlawful imprisonment in Iran was taking a horrible toll, he would not want his release to come from any sort of swap with Iran.
From our Yellow Ribbon Project story on Flagstaff, Ariz., native Sgt. Amir Hekmati:
Amir took his case directly to Kerry in a letter smuggled out of prison and obtained by the Guardian in September. After thanking Kerry for lobbying on his behalf, Amir stressed that the confessions on false charges were obtained by force, threats, miserable prison conditions, and prolonged periods of solitary confinement.
This is part of a propaganda and hostage taking effort by Iranian intelligence to secure the release of Iranians abroad being held on security-related charges. Iranian intelligence has suggested through my court-appointed lawyer Mr. Hussein Yazdi Samadi that I be released in exchange for 2 Iranians being held abroad, Amir wrote in the letter confirmed authentic by his family. I had nothing to do with their arrest, committed no crime, and see no reason why the U.S. Government should entertain such a ridiculous proposition. I do not wish to set a precedent for others that may be unlawfully (obtained) for political gain in the future.
While my family and I have suffered greatly I will accept nothing but my unconditional release, he continued. The very same suffering that the 3 American hikers have recently suffered and many others by these unlawful tactics. My hope is that those individuals within the Iranian government who respect rule of law and international ethics will intervene in my case. As someone of Iranian heritage, I hope that the Iranian people will also support me and call on their government to respect my legal rights.
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.
Wazoo
Quartet
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
North Korea
Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
The news cycle is currently focused on the swap to release Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl five Taliban commanders for the Idaho native but many Americans still remain held abroad by nefarious regimes or terrorists.
