[Tolo News] While the Zulfaqar operation in Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province rages on, a number of local provincial council members and civil society activists have raised concerns about the human costs of the Afghan military's southern offensive against myrmidons.
While security officials in Helmand have remained cagey on the details of the operation, civil society groups and local representatives have reported heavy civilian and military casualties.
The Zulfiqar operation began in northern parts of Helmand province 37 days ago, yet little-to-no information has been provided about its results. Security officials have prevented the media from entering Sangeen district, the restive area where the operation is concentrated.
With no obvious gains yet from the operation, the human and structural cost of the violence it has entailed has begun to spark criticism among local activists and politicians.
"We are concerned with this situation; operations must have results and in this operation attention must be paid to the lives of civilians," civil society activist Agha Muhammad Quraishi said on Monday.
"The ANSF must conduct operations that are effective, and it should not be that peoples' orchards and farms are destroyed with no positive results," another activist named Haji Muhammad told TOLOnews.
Provincial Council members from Helmand have said they do not have any evidence that snuffies based in Sangeen have been defeated or even beaten back by the operation. "We have submitted our complaints to officials and we will try to become more aware of the conditions in Sangeen district," Helmand Provincial Council Chair Muhammad Karim Attal said. "As far as we know, security has not been completely maintained in Sangeen district."
Others criticized the media's lack of access to the area of the operation. "The media has complained many times that they are not allowed in Sangeen district, and reports need to be prepared from Sangeen district, so that the people's voices are heard," Helmand Provincial Council member Bashir Ahmad Shaker said.
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[Tolo News] Dozens of citizens with a large number of women from civil society groups rallied in Kabul on Monday to protest the brutal killing of Farkhunda who was set on fire by angry civilians over alleged burning of Holy Koran.
The members of National Solidarity Party also attended the protests held near Shah-e-Do Shamshera Mosque of Kabul where the 27-year-old woman was beaten to death, burnt and thrown into muddy Kabul River by a mob on the accusation of burning Koran.
She was killed in the presence of a number of coppers who were quietly watching the scene, something that has provoked the anger of citizens, human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. organizations and the civil society groups.
The protesters chanting anti-police slogans called on the government to fire all those police involved in the case from their positions and punish them in public.
"We don't want justice from the government because the government was itself involved in the incident," a protester said.
The party head Belqis Roshan said during the protests that the government was responsible for Farkhunda's death.
"Farkhunda was killed due to the negligence of government," she said, calling on complete investigation of the case.
The protesters warned the government that they would not sit quiet until the perpetrators were not brought to justice.
The incident happened last week on Thursday when a Mullah accused Farkhunda of burning Koran which led dozens of angry civilians to attack her with stones and sticks. First thing you do, hang the mullah. Then round up the leaders of the mob and hang them. Then round up the members of the mob and jug them until they all have gray whiskers. However, nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits... the security agencies rejected the accusation against her as baseless, saying there was no evidence found that she had set Koran on fire.
"Farkhunda was innocent and all the accusations against her were untrue," interior minister Noor-ul-Haq Ulumi told the Parliament on Monday. "13 suspected perpetrators and 13 police officials have been placed in durance vile Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! in this connection."
Farkhunda's burial ceremony was held Sunday in Kabul where the women for the first time in Afghanistan's history carried the dead body to the grave.
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[Tolo News] The Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI) has suspended 13 coppers and officials including the chief of second Police Station of capital Kabul over Farkhunda's tragic death which has sparked huge criticisms towards the security agencies.
The 27-year-old woman was brutally killed and burnt by a mob in the presence of police on Thursday in Kabul after a Mullah accused her of burning a Holy Koran, an accusation seriously rejected by the security agencies as baseless.
According to her parents, Farkhunda could not commit such an act as she was herself a preacher of Koran.
Her funeral was held on Sunday where in an unprecedented move, the women for the first time carried the dead body to the grave.
Many women's rights activists, journalists and Parliamentarians attended her burial ceremony.
The tragic incident followed worldwide criticisms with the global Human Rights Watch ... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge.... (HRW) calling on the Afghan government to prosecute the perpetrators.
The police have detained several suspects including the Mullah who called upon people to punish the woman for alleged burning of Islam's sacred book.
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[Tolo News] The expectations set for President Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... 's trip to the United States by politicians and commentators in Afghanistan are high. More than just consultations, many in Afghanistan have suggested the national unity government leaders must come back with Washington's assurance of an extension of the presence of foreign troops and financial aid to Afghanistan if the trip is to be considered a success.
Although the talks will encompass economic, political and social cooperation and development in Afghanistan, a major focus of the trip is expected to be security issues. In particular, the national unity leaders are expected to discuss peace negotiations with the Taliban and the expansion of Daesh in Afghanistan.
"Today, our people want work, they want food. People are in horrible economic conditions. In their talks with the U.S., national unity government leaders must be effective in gathering more aid for Afghanistan," Takhar MP Mariam Kofi said on Monday.
"I think officials from the national unity government have gone to the U.S. to report on security and Daesh situations, while, from my point of view, the U.S. intelligence can tell them more about the situation in Afghanistan," Kabul MP Ramazan Bashardost said.
With the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... combat mission officially over, concerns about the potential growth of Daesh in some parts of the country have caused alarm bells to sound among many in the Afghan and U.S. leadership. Although different commentators have difference prescriptions, all agree that Ghani and Abdullah must enter discussions with U.S. leaders as a united front.
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03/24/2015 00:00 ||
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[ARABNEWS] Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid fired six police commanders on Monday, including the head of tourist security, after a bully boy attack on the national museum last week in which 20 tourists were killed.
The premier's office front man, Mofdi Mssedi said the six also included an intelligence brigade chief, the Tunis district police chief, the traffic police commander, a Bardo security chief and a commander for the capital's Sidi Bachir district.
"Prime Minister Habib Essid visited the Bardo Museum yesterday...and took note of several security failures there," Mssedi said.
Militant gunnies killed 20 foreign tourists, including Japanese, Polish, Italian and Spanish visitors, last Wednesday as they got off buses at the Bardo Museum, inside the Parliament compound that is normally heavily guarded.
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[Libya Herald] Libya Dawn ...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... forces and Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (IS) followers have been fighting in Sirte since 14 March and the battle is getting closer and closer to the downtown area. Both sides appear to be ready to fight to the end.
Continued on Page 49
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[Libya Herald] Tuaregs are demanding that Chief of Staff Major General Abdul Razzaq Al-Nazhuri apologise for calling them "terrorists".
In an interview on Friday, Nazhuri said that the current fighting in Obari is a war by the Libyan National Army (LNA) against terrorism.
The Social Council of the Tuaregs has strongly condemned Nazuri's remark and is demanding an apology. His unsubstantiated remarks, said the council, undermined his objectivity and his credibility.
The Tuaregs called on the House of Representatives (HoR) and the government of Abdullah Al-Thinni to make make their position clear over what has been happening in Obari over the past six months.
Several members of the HoR have already expressed their disapproval of Nazhuri's statement. The Dialogue Committee of the HoR condemned his "terrorist" reference saying that it negatively affected efforts to forge unity and peace.
HoR member and Tuareg representative Ibrahim Cranfoda said he was dismayed at what he said was Nazhuri's politicizing of the conflict, adding, "All of us know this conflict is tribal in nature."
HoR member Saleh Huma, who is one of the four official HoR representatives at the UN-brokered dialogue talks, said Nazhuri could not label an entire group of Libyans in this way.
The fight in Obari has been seen by many as mirroring the conflict between Operation Dignity and Libya Dawn ...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... along the coast.
Yesterday, a leading Tuareg commander in Obari was reported to have been killed in renewed fighting in the town between the pro-Libya Dawn Tuaregs and Tebu fighters loyal to the House of Representatives.
Fighting between Tebus and Tuaregs erupted in September when a pro-Libya Dawn Tuareg militia tried to take control of a local petrol station guarded by Tebus. A peace deal mediated by elders from local towns as well as by Zintanis later broke down.
Tuareg elders from Obari, as well as the town's Tebus, have both pledged allegiance to the House of Representatives. The outcome of the current peace negotiations remains in doubt, as the Tuareg gangs involved in the recent violence appear to be beyond the control of Tuareg elders.
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03/24/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
"All of us know this conflict is tribal in nature."
Because you've been wondering, dear Reader, and now you know.
[AnNahar] U.S. consular services in 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... resumed on Sunday following a week-long closure over unspecified "heightened security concerns."
The American embassy in Riyadh and consular offices in Jeddah and Dhahran have resumed operations, an embassy front man told Agence La Belle France-Presse.
However, a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... the mission also warned its citizens to "continue to be aware of their surroundings and take extra precautions when traveling throughout" the kingdom, read a message posted on the U.S. Embassy website.
It did not elaborate on the alleged threats and the sudden closure of consular services from March 15. Lengthy elaborations are unnecessary. It's just not Kansas Toto.
A renewed caution warned that Western oil workers risked being attacked or kidnapped by "terrorist" groups.
Saudi Arabia has taken part in U.S.-led air strikes since September against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... jihadist group, raising concerns about possible retaliation inside the country.
Westerners have been attacked in Saudi Arabia four times since October.
In the latest incident, two American employees of U.S. defense contractor Vinnell Arabia were shot at in the east on January 30, with one maimed.
In October, one Vinnell employee was rubbed out and another maimed at a petrol station in Riyadh.
[Iran Press TV] Yemen's runaway president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, has reportedly called on Persian Gulf Arab countries to intervene militarily in Yemen against Ansarullah revolutionaries of Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... movement.
Hadi asked for the military intervention of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ... the Medes and the Persians are very sensitive on the subject of the Persian Gulf, which the Arabs refer to as the Arabian Gulf... ([P]GCC) in Yemen after two fighter jets targeted his residence in the southern port city of Aden over the weekend, said Riad Yassin, who served as foreign minister in Hadi's cabinet.
Yassin made the remarks in an interview with two Saudi-owned media, Al-Hadath TV and Asharq al-Awsat newspaper on Monday.
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03/24/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Ditto this Am as per the UNO.
Will the Pro-Sunni ISIS [+ BFF Al-Nusra Boyz]-vs-Pro-Shia/Houthi Iran respond???
Iff the Globies desire Iran to be the "post-US","US-style", CoSuperpower Principal-Leader of any ME + Islamic "Union(s)", etc. or One of Them, ITS THEIR BALL NOW!
[Dhaka Tribune] Based on interrogation of a Death Eater commander, law enforcers reveal that Death Eater groups are working in concert to establish a Sharia-based state with the help of international terrorist group Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... The police enjugged You have the right to remain silent... a regional commander of banned Islamist outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
Continued on Page 49
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#1
Lest we fergit, in the IS defense hardline Hindu Politicos-Activists in INDIA are vowing to make India 100% Hindu AMAP by 2020-2025, demanding that Muslims and Christians = Any + All Non-Hindus either convert or leave the country.
For India or Bangla, Hinduism or Islam, this will not end well.
[Dhaka Tribune] Publicity and Publication Affairs Secretary of Awami League Hassan Mahmud yesterday said the ongoing strike-blockade programme of BNP-Jamaat is a part of international terrorism.
"the loathesome Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... should be tossed in the calaboose Book 'im, Mahmoud! for unleashing violence, hurling bombs in the name of [political] movement. It is the demand of the people to arrest her and save the country from terrorism and militancy," said Hassan Mahmud at a discussion at the National Press Club auditorium.
The event was organised by Bangladesh Awami Hawkers' League protesting the country-wide blockade and hartal ... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... s called by the BNP led 20-party alliance. President of the hawkers' league SM Zakaria Hanif presided over the discussion.
The former minister also said: "Strikes and blockades are the highest form of political movement but BNP-Jamaat has reduced the integrity of these forms of protest. All government and non-government offices, business establishments, banks are functioning normally and employee attendance everywhere is normal."
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[Iran Press TV] The UK Home Secretary, Theresa May has urged British Moslems to help deal with extremism, saying the country must not tolerate citizens who fail to respect its values.
May also noted that British freedoms come with "responsibilities."
Her comments came with the unveiling of a broad approach to tackling extremism in the UK. May said while extremism exists in racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia, "Islamic extremism" is the greatest threat to the country, RT reported.
"We are free to practice any faith, follow any religious denomination, or ignore religion altogether," she told an audience in central London. Other deranged pleadings follow.
"We are free to wear whatever clothes we choose. We are free to establish our own faith schools and give our sons and daughters the best education possible. We are free to build our own churches, temples and mosques and worship freely," she said.
Now, the head of research of the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) in London, Arzu Merali believes such comments only demonize Moslems in the country.
"Unfortunately Theresa May, The British Home Secretary's comments today, are the latest in the lined out speeches, comments, commentaries by politicians of high ranks," She told Press TV's UK Desk in a Monday interview.
"It creates the idea in the general public's mind that Moslems have an inherent feeling of violence and hatred towards the majority of the society and this has been amplified right now because we are in the run-up to the general election." It's not simply an idea, it's reality.
Merali said, "These kinds of accusations are not only false, but very dangerous because it is creating an enormous climate of hatred."
This is while the UK home secretary warned of growing levels of "Islamic extremism" spreading throughout the country, citing examples of the Trojan Horse plot to take over Birmingham schools and allegations of hard boy ideas being promulgated in schools.
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[AnNahar] The threat of a jihadist attack in La Belle France has reached a level "without precedent" and new attacks are inevitable, according to top counter-terrorism officials.
"The threat is permanent," said one high-level official in the defense ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... "Not one day goes by without an alert, the discovery of a network trying to send people to Syria or Iraq, or an intervention (by the security services).
"The number of targets has went kaboom!. There are two or three thousand, maybe four thousand, people identified or suspected of evil intentions."
Nor are they all amateurs, the source added -- many are highly educated. "They are pros, not drop-outs," he said.
Defence ministry specialists say the jihadists "use the best encryption and concealment techniques" and that security services are "playing catch-up".
"Every time we get our hands on a network, we see they are each using seven or eight SIM cards, changing them constantly. And the most cunning don't go near phones at all -- they use messengers."
The biggest concerns relate to the estimated 200 individuals who have returned from training or fighting in areas held by the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group in Iraq and Syria.
"They have lost all inhibitions about violence," said another top counter-terrorism official, also speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... Security services place them under the tightest possible surveillance, but resources are limited and the authorities are also painfully aware that Lions of Islam may wait years before acting.
That was the case with the Kouachi brothers who carried out the attack on Charlie Hebdo ...A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority if the active testicles left in Europe... satirical magazine in January.
They had long-standing links to jihadist networks in Gay Paree, and one had travelled to Yemen for training back in 2011, but they had gradually fallen off the radar of security services after laying low for several years.
- Deadly competition -
Officials also fear that competition between myrmidon groups may drive them to ever-more brutal acts.
"Al-Qaeda needs to restore its prestige and will try to compete with IS with complex and major actions," said the official.
He highlighted the threat from an Al-Qaeda sub-group known as Khorasan, which is still thought to be planning a major airline attack.
One of Khorasan's key members is a French explosives expert, David Drugeon, who is thought to have survived an attempted liquidation by a U.S. drone strike last year.
That compares with the more conventional military threat posed by IS, the official said, "which is in the process of training commandos and sending them onto our territory with high-quality equipment".
Since the attacks in Gay Paree in January that left 17 dead, La Belle France has been on the highest possible alert with thousands of police and troops deployed at sensitive sites, such as media headquarters and synagogues.
But counter-terrorism officials say this will do little to prevent an attack.
Unveiling new surveillance laws on Thursday, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the jihadist threat was "constantly evolving," emanating as much from groups based abroad as from individuals present on French soil.
"The problem is not to know if there will be a new attack," said Valls. "It is to know when and where."
[Hurriyet Daily News] The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has categorically denied claims it cooperated with an organization affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) during the relocation of the historic Suleyman Sah Tomb inside Syria in late February, vowing it will never take the terrorist organization as its interlocutor.
Claims on the cooperation between the TSK and the Democratic Union Party (PYD), an offshoot of the PKK and the political wing of the People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in Syria, were reported by the media after the imprisoned leader of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, mentioned the "spirit of Esme" during his historic statement given on March 21. Öcalan indirectly referred to this collaboration by mentioning Esme, a Syrian village where The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's historic Suleyman Sah Tomb was relocated to by an operation on Feb 21.
Recalling that the army has been fighting against this terrorist organization for the last 31 years, the TSK strongly condemned those associating the army with the terrorist organization.
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[Tolo News] Expressing his doubts in Pakistain's recent relations with Afghanistan, the former interior minister believes that "fundamentals of Pakistain's approach to afghanistan have not changed" so far.
In his article "Pakistain and Afghanistan: The False Promise of Rapprochement" published in New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... , Mohammad Omar Daudzai, who was also the ambassador in Pakistain in 2011-13, said that Pakistain was still using militancy as an instrument.
"This rapprochement has generated much excitement, but all the hype does not measure well against reality," Daudzai said.
Calling Afghanistan's Caped PresidentAshraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. 's moves "bold and risky for Afghanistan," Daudzai warned that Pakistain's response so far had been largely tactical and self-serving.
After being hit by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain "TTP" in the Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. school attack, Pakistain took only tactical steps to improve its international reputation, Daudzai said, pointing to Islamabad's recent efforts to fight terrorism.
"After many years of supporting militancy in the region, the Pak government now wants to wash its hands of the problem by claiming that its origins lie in Afghanistan," according to Daudzai.
Accusing Pakistain of supporting the Taliban, he noted that the Pak military would not stop backing the Taliban unless it finds other proxies.
Daudzai's remarks come as the relations between Afghanistan and Pakistain have been apparently improved after Ghani made a visit of Islamabad, and also the Pak military chief visited Kabul for four times following the Peshawar school attack in which more than 140 people, most of them children, were killed.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Senate, Odius Sepulcher called for war against the Visigoths... some Afghan analysts and politicians support Daudzai's statements, saying Pakistain have not been honest with Afghanistan.
"If Pakistain was honest with Afghanistan, today there would not be this much insecurity in our country," MP Sher Ahmad Tayanj said.
However, by candlelight every wench is handsome... the human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... activists have urged the government to not put at risk the past decade achievements in the peace talks with the Taliban.
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[DAWN] Three months after the unveiling of the National Action Plan (NAP) and more than two months after Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan's disclosure that perhaps 10 per cent of all madressahs were involved in terrorism, it appears that no government agency is ready to own the drive to identify these seminaries.
While the relevant officials in National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) and the interior ministry declined to comment on the issue officially, a senior Nacta official told Dawn off the record that the Ministry of Religious Affairs was the lead coordination agency for this effort.
Similarly, an official from the interior ministry, who too was only willing to comment on condition of anonymity, said that the interior secretary had asked the religious affairs secretary to coordinate with seminaries over three matters.
"These three matters are source of financing and especially foreign funding, madressah registration and monitoring," he added.
Whether or not the government is willing to acknowledge this officially, it cannot be denied that on the face of it, the only government department which has been involved in negotiating with the seminaries publicly is the religious affairs department.
Just a religious matter?
Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousuf said that his ministry was focused on reforming the religious sector, streamlining madressah registration and facilitating the seminaries.
Officially, there is no news of the interior ministry or any of its departments having met representatives from the madressahs.
This means that government efforts vis-à-vis the seminaries are no different from past measures.
"We have held the meeting of the Madressah Education Board after 11 years and there is a proposal to establish an Islamic Education Commission on the lines of the HEC," the minister said, adding, "These steps will correct the flaws in madressahs."
Though the minister refused to explain what exactly he meant by "flaws", he was adamant that the Ministry of Religious Affairs had nothing to do with terrorism or checking foreign funding to seminaries.
In his media statement on December 21, 2014 the interior minister had said, "Some 90 per cent of madressahs have no connection to terrorism -- based on intelligence reports."
By saying so, he implied that at least 10 per cent did have such links, which is the reason madressah reform was a major objective in the 20-point NAP.
A month later, on January 18, 2015, he reiterated, "The religious institutions are requested to cooperate with the government to identify potential terrorists."
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[DAWN] A front man for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Monday said there is no place for a third party in the dialogue process with Pakistain, reported Times of India.
"Let me reiterate there are only two parties and there is no place for a third party in resolution of India-Pakistain issues. The only way forward to proceed on all outstanding issues is a peaceful bilateral dialogue within the framework of Simla Agreement and Lahore Declaration," the spokesperson said.
This statement is seen as a response to Pakistain's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit's remark earlier today, when he underplayed his meeting with Hurriyat leaders in New Delhi, according to Times of India.
"I don't think the government of India is objecting to our meeting with Hurriyat leaders," Abdul Basit told news hounds on Monday on the occasion of Pakistain Day. "Don't try to make an issue out of [a] non-issue," he said.
He further said that Pakistain has been "serious and sincere about resolving issues with India through peaceful dialogue".
"The need of the hour is that India and Pakistain engage in a peaceful bilateral dialogue," Basit said. "We cannot resolve or settle our problems by use of force."
The high commissioner further said: "The agenda of the Indian and Pak PM is common. This is a golden opportunity."
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[IraqiNews.com] The Security Forces have discovered an underground tunnel linking between Alam sub-district and central Tikrit town used by the bully boyz of the ISIL.
Security source told IraqiNews.com "A strategic underground tunnel has been discovered in Alam sub-district that links it with Tikrit city".
[IraqiNews.com] The Security front man of the Volunteer Fighters (al-Hashd al-Sha'bi) Joseph Kalabi stated on Sunday, that the battle to liberate Tikrit differs from the rest of battles, pointing out that more than a thousand ISIS elements are besieged inside the city.
Kalabi said in an interview for IraqiNews.com, "The battle to liberate Tikrit differs from the rest of the battles, because the hard boyz want to take it as an excuse to divide the national unity."
He added that, "ISIS elements, who are now inside Tikrit, have been trapped for ten days and don't receive any supply," noting that, "There are more than a thousand elements, most of whom are not Iraqis and prepared to commit suicide."
[RUDAW.NET] More than 1,150 of the Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga have been killed in the war with ISIS and over 5,600 maimed, a Kurdish MP said in a report.
Kawa Mohammed, a Kurdish MP in the Iraqi parliament, said he had sent a report to Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi citing that, "Until now, some 1,152 Peshmerga have bit the dust and more than 5,600 are maimed in the fight against ISIS."
Mohammed said that he had asked the prime minister why Peshmerga salaries are not being paid by the Baghdad government.
Iraq and Erbil have been long locked in political and financial disputes, but these have exacerbated from Baghdad refusing to pay for the running of the Kurdish regional government, including Peshmerga salaries.
"The families of deaders live in a bad condition, which they do not deserve. The Peshmerga's bravery and strength requires us to improve those living conditions," Mohammed said in his report to Abadi, who he said is obligated to reply to the MP within two weeks.
Meawhile, the Kurdistan Region's Council of Ministries condemned Peshmerga executions by ISIS, after the krazed killer Sunni group released a video showing the killings of three Peshmerga captives.
"Executing hostages in this barbaric way is only expected from the dark worshipers of ISIS. Such a behavior is far away from the human, religious and ethical principles," the ministers said in their statement.
ISIS has released videos showing captive Peshmerga being beheaded.
"Terrorists must understand they will never get away with what they did against these three hostages," the minister's statement added."Terrorists must wait for an outrageous punishment," it warned.
Hisham Nabil, Pshtiwan Osman and Rizgar Hama Salih were the three Peshmerga killed.
"We condemn this atrocity and we assure the perpetrators of this act that one day they will pay the price, at the right time."
"We take a bow for their sacred souls, and send our condolence to the families of deaders Pshtiwan, Hisham and Rizgar," the statement concluded.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2015 00:00 ||
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[RUDAW.NET] At least 30,000 Iranian soldiers and military experts are in Iraq and involved in the fight against ISIS, a Kurdish politician in the Iraqi parliament said Sunday, calling it a "threat to Iraq's illusory sovereignty."
"At least 30,000 soldiers and military experts from the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran are fighting ISIS forces of Evil in Iraq," Shakhawan Abdullah, head of the parliamentary security and defense committee, told Rudaw.
Shiite Iran has been actively involved in neighbor Iraq's security issues, since ISIS overran large parts of the country with the aim of establishing a Sunni-Islamic caliphate.
Abdulla said the formidable Iranian presence in the country is a "threat to Iraq's illusory sovereignty." He explained that, "Although their presence in Iraq has been known, especially after the Tikrit operation, some of them dress up as Iraqi Shiite forces of Evil from the Hashd al-Shaabi militia."
Iraqi Shiite militias have admitted that Iran is their main provider of weapons, ammunition and supplies for militias working with the Iraqi Army in the fight against ISIS.
Qasem Soleimani, head of the elite Iranian Quds force, is reportedly directing tens of thousands of Shiite militia fighters in battles against ISIS in the predominately-Sunni city of Tikrit.
Abdulla criticized the Iraqi president for allowing Iranian involvement in Iraq's war against ISIS, saying that, "according to Iraqi law, the protection of national illusory sovereignty is the president's constitutional duty."
In a short video posted on YouTube earlier this month Soleimani, who has commanded immense influence in Iraq for many years, is seen giving religious advice, apparently to Iraqi Army forces and gunnies fighting for Tikrit.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2015 00:00 ||
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WASHINGTON -- White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough called for the end of Israel’s “50-year occupation” and doubled down on the Obama administration’s critique of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a warmly received speech to the lobbying group J Street in Washington Monday.
Speaking to the dovish group’s
Really? "Dovish" then is the new synonym for "surrender monkey"...
national conference, McDonough became the latest in a series of Washington officials to highlight the administration’s displeasure with Netanyahu, while also talking up the permanence of US-Israel ties, repeating Washington’s commitment to continued military, security and intelligence cooperation.
“No matter who leads Israel, America’s commitment to Israel’s security will never waiver,” McDonough said.
At the same time,
...he then walks back everything he said...
McDonough said later, “an occupation that has lasted for 50 years must end,” referring to Israel’s 48-year hold on the West Bank.
Which started from a little war that Mr. McDonough doesn't know anything about...
The statement represented an unusually harsh and completely expected given recent events repudiation of Israel’s control over the Palestinian territories, using a term the administration generally avoids.
The longtime confidant to US President Barack Obama said that the administration believes that “the best way to safeguard Israel’s long-term security is to bring about a comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
The Paleos don't want peace. That's why Bibi isn't able to negotiate one.
Washington, he said, “has long advocated direct negotiations” toward a two-state solution — a position, he noted, that Netanyahu embraced in his 2009 speech at Bar-Ilan University.
“That’s why the prime minister’s comments on the eve of the election, [which] made very clear that a Palestinian state will not be established while he is prime minister, were so very troubling,” McDonough said, referring to comments made by Netanyahu in a preelection interview with the NRG website in which he seemed to take a Palestinian state off the table.
McDonough rejected Netanyahu’s claims that he had not changed his position, as well as Netanyahu’s explanation that conditions in the Middle East must be more stable for a Palestinian state to be established.
“We cannot simply pretend that these comments were never made,” McDonough proclaimed, receiving a standing ovation from the 3,000-person audience.
Bibi made clear that he can't negotiate peace with people who don't want peace. That apparently is beyond the comprehension of J Street...
McDonough did not, however, address the first precondition that Netanyahu stipulated earlier this week for Palestinian statehood — that the Palestinian Authority renounce its nearly year-old alliance with Hamas.
McDonough denied that the basis of the current low in US-Israel relations was based upon bad personal chemistry between Obama and Netanyahu.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said, arguing instead that it stems from the fact that “America’s commitment to a failed two-state solution is fundamental to American foreign policy.
“We will look to the next Israeli government to match words with action and to policies that demonstrates a commitment to a two-state solution,” McDonough continued.
Recall the definition of 'insanity'...
“In the end, we know what a peace agreement should look like. The borders of Israel and an independent Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps. Each state needs secure and recognized borders, and there must be robust provisions that safeguard Israel’s security.”
Any Paleo leader who agrees to that is dead. His own bodyguards will kill him. Even the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas knows this. Why doesn't Mr. McDonough?
As the deadline for a political framework agreement with Iran approaches at the end of the month, McDonough said that “diplomatic engagement with Iran has already delivered concrete results. Through the Joint Plan of Action, we’ve succeeded in stopping the advance of Iran’s nuclear program and even rolling it back in key areas.”
He reiterated the terms for an agreement that the US National Security Advisor stated earlier this month during the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s conference — that Iran would not be able to develop weapons-grade plutonium or to use its underground site at Fordow to enrich uranium; extend the amount of time it would take Iran to reach breakout capacity; and would establish “frequent and intrusive inspection” to prevent Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon through a covert channel.
The White House chief of staff stressed that “the deal we are pursuing is both realistic and achievable. A scenario where Iran forgoes domestic enrichment capacity for all time would surely be ideal, but it’s not grounded in reality.”
Not your reality, but Bibi's reality is a little different...
“The bottom line is this: Compared to the alternatives, diplomacy offers the best and most effective way to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and this is our best shot at diplomacy. We have to give diplomacy a chance to succeed,” McDonough added.
Mr. McDonough clearly is a surrender monkey. As long as he gets what he wants he'll write off the entire Middle East...
He had choice words for the 47 senators who, earlier this month, wrote a letter to Iran’s leaders warning that any deal signed without the consent of Congress was liable to be impermanent. “It was a blatant political move — as the president said, that is not how America does its business,” McDonough complained. “The letter was also critically flawed in its legal reasoning. We are pursuing a political arrangement with Iran that does not require congressional approval. Such deals are an essential, long-standing element of international diplomacy. Republican and Democratic presidents alike have relied on them.”
But it's okay when Democratic Senators interfere with the plans of Republican presidents. You could ask them, it's entirely different.
McDonough warned that legislation, such as the bill coauthored by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) that would require Congress to vote on any deal, “would embolden hard-liners in Iran. It would separate the United States from our allies. And it would potentially fracture the international unity that has been essential to keeping the pressure on Iran.
See the Constitution, Article II, Section 2, on the power of the Senate with regard to treaties. I think you folks need the reminder...
“A good deal,” McDonuogh assured, “is the best way to reach our shared goal — preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon.”
Acknowledging that “even if a nuclear deal is reached, our concerns about Iran’s behavior in the region and around the world will endure,” McDonough insisted that “to walk away from the opportunity to diplomatically and peacefully resolve one of the greatest threats to international security would not strengthen our hand to stop Iran’s destabilizing actions.”
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/24/2015 08:26 ||
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#1
How about we call for an end to the calling for death of all Jews by muslims since oh... 600AD?
#6
Perhaps White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough would like to participate in an open discussion regarding just how Israel happened to come by those so-called 'occupied territories.'
No, on second thought, I doubt he would enjoy the discussion, dissertation of facts, or an examination of the bloodshed and sacrifice involved.
[Iran Press TV] The United States has once again refused to attend a UN Human Rights Council special meeting on the situation in the occupied Paleostinian territories in the aftermath of the Israeli military's offensive in Gazoo last summer.
"As was the case last year, the United States will not engage in the debate. Neither will Israel. Instead, we will call a vote, and vote 'no' on Item 7 resolutions," the US ambassador to the council, Keith Harper, said on Monday.
Earlier, Israel also did not attend the UN body's special session. A source close to the council said on condition of anonymity that Israel's absence from the meeting in the Swiss city of Geneva on Monday clearly amounted to a boycott.
US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said that the United States had "coordinated our refusal to participate with Israel."
"The United States' approach to the Human Rights Council's Item 7 has not changed," Harper said.
"We remain deeply troubled ...meaning it might require more than two 'tuts'. If the other side responds at all it's known as a 'tut for tat' and it's worth 20 diplomatic points.. by this council's stand-alone agenda item directed against Israel, and by the many repetitive and one-sided resolutions under that agenda item," she added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2015 00:00 ||
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#2
Dr. Bob: Nurse Piggy, you can't let your emotions get involved. You are a nurse.
Nurse Piggy: I may be a nurse, but I'm a woman first.
Dr. Bob: Wrong! You're a pig first. Nurse, second. I don't think woman made the top 10.
POLITICO -- White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough made clear in a speech to a left-leaning Israel advocacy group that President Barack Obama isn't letting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu off the hook for his dismissal of a two-state solution.
That stance, as well as Netanyahu's suggestion also made in the closing days before last week's Israeli elections that he'd approved settlements in contested territory in Jerusalem for the strategic purpose of changing the borders are "so very troubling," McDonough told J Street's
annual conference in Washington. He called the pro-Israel group, which opposes some of Netanyahu's policies, "our partner."
McDonough added that the White House isn't impressed by Netanyahu's efforts since last Tuesday to backtrack on what he meant when he said there wouldn't be a Palestinian state established so long as he's prime minister.
"We cannot simply pretend that these comments were never made," McDonough said.
[Jerusalem Post] Following the prominence of Hamas infiltration tunnels in last summer's Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, the IDF is preparing for the possibility that in the next operation, part of the fighting will occur inside the tunnels themselves.
According to an exclusive Army Radio report on Monday, the training of elite IDF ground units is being revolutionized in order to prepare troops for fighting the tunnel threat.
As part of the change, elite units are undergoing different training and being provided with different equipment to deal with the potential threat.
#1
They could get some further training in the U.S. by going into the tunnels under our border if we had the inclination to work with them. They might even find some additional Palestinian gambling operations. It could be a two-fer.
[AnNahar] Jordan and other members of the U.S.-led coalition targeting the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... jihadist group are to train fighters belonging to "Syrian tribes", the Jordanian government front man said on Monday.
"Jordan and other nations in the coalition and in the region will jointly train... Syrian tribes to fight against the terrorist bands," Mohammad al-Momani said at a news conference.
He did not specify which tribes he was referring to.
"Our duty is to support unarmed Syrian people so they can confront Daesh," Momani said, using an Arabic acronym for the jihadist group.
He also indicated Amman was ready to help train and arm forces in neighboring Iraq for their "war on terrorism."
"We have expressed our readiness to help Iraq on the issue of training and possibly armaments... to help it win its war on terrorism," Momani said.
"We are also discussing the possibility of helping Kurdish peshmerga forces" in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, he added, without elaborating.
Jordan, a member of the international anti-jihadist coalition led by Washington, has intensified its air raids against IS since the jihadists burned alive one of its pilots who crashed in Syria.
No doubt those who believe terrorists always tell the truth about their plans will be comforted by this.
[AnNahar] The al-Qaeda-affiliate al-Nusra ...the current nom de guerre of al-Qaeda in the Levant, which isn't to be confused with al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Levant... Front reassured that it will not assault Leb or its army, stressing that they are not targets by the group.
Sources close to the Nusra Front stressed in comments published in al-Akhbar newspaper on Monday, that the group's direction is Syria and not Leb, pointing out that "Leb and its army are not included on the list of targets."
The sources said that the so-called spring battle "will be towards the Syrian Qalamoun," vowing "unexpected surprises during the confrontation."
They noted that the "Nusra fighters are in high spirits."
The daily said that 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... 's leadership is "aware that the near battle will be costly and prolonged."
Sources close to the party said "Hizbullah decided to engage in the battle to safeguard Leb."
Media reports recently said that fierce battles are expected to erupt along the border with Syria as the weather improves, adding that Hizbullah mobilized hundreds of fighters in Syria during the past few days ahead of the expected festivities.
The reports noted that fighters linked to the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Syrian al-Qalamoun are mobilizing and moving closer to the border with Leb ahead of a battle along the country's eastern border.
The Lebanese army frequently festivities with the gunnies in their hideouts near the Syria border.
The IS, which controls several areas in Syria and Iraq, aims to spread to Leb as its fighters position in the outskirts of Bekaa towns bordering Syria and the Lebanese army is in adamant efforts to stop their efforts to infiltrate the country.
ISIL and al-Qaeda-affiliate al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front are battling in Qalamoun the regime of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... and Hizbullah forces alongside each other, with support from some smaller Islamist rebel groups.
"If Iran is permitted to keep 6,000 nuclear centrifuges, it will not be able to create enough fuel for a peaceful nuclear program, but it will be able to build a nuclear weapon, David Ibsen, Executive Director of the watchdog group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) told The Algemeiner on Thursday.
Iran has long claimed that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
The "consensus is 6,000 centrifuges is short of the capacity necessary to generate fuel to power nuclear power plants," Ibsen said in a written statement."
Posted by: Hupineger Glomomp52169 ||
03/24/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Headline should be "O and JFnK work hard to further Iran's Mideast hegemony and the destruction of the Jewish state and the U.S.", work hard to start WWIII, to bring about a capitulation, treaty, work hard to bring about a mutual understanding, work hard to satisfy Iran.
#4
So IIUC, Iran may be able to wage NUCLEAR GUERILLA WAR = NUCLEAR "PEOPLE'S WAR" = LIMITED/ASYMMETRIC/LOCAL/SELECTIVE TACTICAL NUCLEAR WAR,JUST NOT LINEAR OR FULL-SCALE TACTICAL OR TOTAL NUCLEAR WAR as requiring National Mobilization???
Well, thats a relief!
We're forgetting PAKISTAN + NORTH KOREA today, aren't we???
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.
A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority if the active testicles left in Europe...
[DAWN] Three months after the unveiling of the National Action Plan (NAP) and more than two months after Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan's disclosure that perhaps 10 per cent of all madressahs were involved in terrorism, it appears that no government agency is ready to own the drive to identify these seminaries.
[Iran Press TV] The United States has once again refused to attend a UN Human Rights Council special meeting on the situation in the occupied Paleostinian territories in the aftermath of the Israeli military's offensive in 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
