[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Hezb-e-Islami party led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil... officials have said they will consider an invitation to the proposed peace talks likely to take place in the first week of March.
A big shot of the party based in Pakistain has said they have not received any formal invitation for the direct talks so far, a local newspaper reported.
The big shot, Dr. Ghairat Baheer, said Hezb-e-Islami party gives importance to the statements delivered by President Ghani and Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbni, mentioning Hezb-e-Islami and showing interest to include the party in peace talks.
He said consultation at the party level is underway and a final decision will be made once a formal invitation has been received.
Meanwhile, ...back at the dirigible, Cynthia backed into the galley, the barbecue fork held in front of her. Jack! she called. Where the hell are you?... the Taliban group’s political office in Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... said Wednesday that they are unaware of the proposed peace talks but they insisted on the group’s preconditions to sit-in for peace talks.
Pakistain has offered to host the first round of direct talks between the Afghan government and Taliban representatives following the conclusion of the fourth round of Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) meeting on Tuesday.
"The QCG member states invite all Taliban and other groups to participate through their authorized representatives in the first round of direct peace talks with the Afghan government expected to take place by the first week of March 2016," according to a joint statement by QCG.
The statement further added that the fifth round of the QCG meeting will take place in Islamabad immediately after the first round of direct peace talks.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hizb-i-Islami-Hekmatyar
#1
Hek throws his hat into the ring.
Of course, he missed
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/26/2016 11:38 Comments ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Manpreet Vohra reaffirmed his country’s commitment to equip and support the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).
During a meeting with Hanif Atmar, the National Security Adviser, Mr. Vohra also promised India’s support towards the Afghan government’s policies for peace talks with the anti-government armed bully boy groups.
According to the Office of the National Security Adviser, the group was formed in 2012 which include India, Pakistain, Iran, Russia, United States, china and Afghanistan.
The group was formed with an aim to fight the menace of terrorism and secure peace and stability in Afghanistan, the Office of National Security Adviser said, adding that Mr. Atmar emphasized on the vital role of India in resolving regional disputes, being an active regional power.
India has played a crucial role by participating in the rebuilding of Afghanistan following the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.
Since 2002, the Government of India has committed around USD 2 billion dollars to the socio-economic rebuilding of the Afghan state and society in accordance with the development priorities of the Government and the people of Afghanistan.
India took a major step in enhancing the capabilities of the Afghan cops by supplying three Mi-25 gunship helicopters to the Afghan Air Force late last year.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
"Couldn't have been our guys. Our guys are somewhere else doing something else entirely."
"Could have been the Ruritanians. They're sometimes mistaken for the French. How spiffy were the uniforms?"
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] French military advisers have been helping coordinate Libyan forces fighting ISIS bandidos murderous Moslems in the eastern city of Benghazi, a senior Libyan military commander said on Thursday.
"The French military group in Benghazi are just military advisers who provide consultations to the Libyan National Army in its battle against terrorism, but they are not fighting with our Libyan forces," special forces commander Wanis Bukhamada told Rooters. There was no immediate French comment.
The French newspaper Le Monde reported on Wednesday that French special forces and intelligence commandos were engaged in "a secret war" against ISIS in anarchy-ridden Libya in conjunction with the United States and Britannia. La Belle France’s Defence Ministry declined comment on the report.
Libyan military forces in Benghazi are under the command of General Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... and loyal to the North African country’s government based in the eastern city of al-Bayda. A rival armed faction took over the capital Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... in the far west in 2014 and set up its own self-declared government.
Haftar’s forces have been advancing against ISIS in Benghazi, taking back neighborhoods that had been under bully boy control for months.
Western leaders have been looking at ways to stop the spread of ISIS in Libya, where holy warriors have exploited a breakdown of state order since the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Qadaffy ...Proof that a madman with money will be politely received for at least 42 years until his people get tired of him and kill him... to seize control of some towns.
Last Friday a U.S. air strike targeted Islamist holy warriors in the western Libyan city of Sabratha, killing more than 40.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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If you are talking about eye gouging, ear biting, e-tool and brass knuckles, hand grenades, and pistols, no we are not fighting BUT popping bad guys at 1200 meters with a large caliber rifle...maybe.
Does rousting some miscreant out of bed in the middle of the night with a gun stuck in his mouth count as fighting???
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
02/26/2016 22:02 Comments ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] An Egyptian court on Thursday sentenced three Coptic Christian teenagers to five years in jail for contempt of Islam after they appeared in a video reciting Muslim prayers.
A judge in the central Egyptian province of Minya also sent a fourth defendant, aged 15, to a juvenile detention center for an indefinite period.
Defence lawyer Maher Naguib said the four had not intended to insult Islam in the video, but merely to mock the beheadings carried out by ISIS myrmidons.
The video was filmed on a mobile phone in January 2015 when the three teenagers who were sentenced to five years were aged between 15 and 17.
The four had not yet been placed in durance vile I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! as of Thursday and Naguib said he planned to appeal the judgement.
"They have been sentenced for contempt of Islam and inciting sectarian strife," Naguib told AFP.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
Top|| File under: Arab Spring
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A Saudi government prosecutor called for the death penalty for 20 Saudi suspects, and one Afghan, and for severe jail terms for the remaining four, three Saudis and one Iranian.
A business analyst and a security serviceman are among the 32 people put on trial 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... this week for spying for Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A Saudi military front man urged Leb on Wednesday to stop the Shiite Lebanese movement Hezbollah from exporting its "mercenaries" to Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... and Syria, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.
Brigadier General 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... i said participation of some Iranian and Hezbollah "mercenaries," who were killed in Yemen, violated the U.N. resolution 2216, which demanded an end to violence in the southern Arabian Peninsula country.
Asiri made his statements after the internationally recognized Yemeni government on Wednesday said it has evidence that the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah is backing the 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 ... militia group.
The government, which is currently working with the Saudi-led Arab coalition and Popular Resistance units to dislodge Houthi turbans from the capital and other areas, said that Hezbollah military trainers planned ‘hostile’ acts implemented by Houthis against 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... The government has evidence of "Hezbollah’s involvement in the Houthi war against the Yemeni people," its front man Rajih Badi said in a statement published by the official sabanew.net website.
Hezbollah turbans are present in "the battlefields along the border with Saudi Arabia," where attacks from Yemen have killed about 90 civilians and soldiers in the kingdom since March last year, said Badi.
Hezbollah is taking part in the Yemeni war on the ground by training the Shiite Houthis and orchestrating attacks against Saudi Arabia, said Badi, urging "international legal measures" against the movement.
"This evidence is documented and Hezbollah cannot deny its role in the destruction it is contributing to through the clear moral and logistic support" for the rebels, said Badi.
The Yemeni government added that it will file a complaint at the UN Security Council against what it called Hezbollah’s ‘terrorist’ acts.
Both Hezbollah and the Houthis are backed by Iran.
The Yemeni government statement comes after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait warned or banned their citizens against travel to Leb.
Saudi cut its $4 billion military aid to Leb after Beirut’s failure to back Saudi in its spat with Shiite powerhouse Iran, the leading backer of Hezbollah.
Saudi is currently leading a coalition against the Houthis, who attempted a coup against the internationally recognized Yemeni government of Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia
#1
How is it the Saudis, with their extensive modern military planes and sensors, unable to interdict the flow of weapons and people into Yemen?
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] New video footage shows the Lebanese-based Shiite group Hezbollah being involved with terrorist activities in both Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... and 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... The Government in Yemen confirmed that Hezbollah is directly caught up with the war tearing through the country between pro-legitimacy forces and krazed killers. The insurgency is being led by Houthis and militias affiliated with the ousted former President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... .
The video recording broadcasted exhibited a Hezbollah commander referred to as "Abu-Saleh," who is responsible for training Houthi krazed killers. Training revolved around operations that will take place in Saudi Arabia in the future. The Hezbollah commander dubbed them: operations "impair Saudi Arabia".
Abu-Saleh reveals plans for assassinating high-up figureheads in Riyadh, the liquidations would be carried out by terrorist attacks and bombings. When the Hezbollah commander describes the process, a Yemeni recruit answers saying that it conveys suicide-attacks, however, the commander rephrased the explanation saying that it was "martyrdom".
Throughout the leaked video Abu-Saleh hints that there are terrorist attacks scheme planned for Saudi Arabia, yet the latter refuses to reveal their details before the Yemeni recruits, for being confidential.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[Dhaka Tribune] Investigators claim to have identified three assailants who took part in the killing of writer-blogger Avijit Roy on the Dhaka University campus a year ago.
So far, eight persons have been locked away Book 'im, Mahmoud! over the murder. Among them, Sherlocks said they had found no evidence against one while another had confessed to instigating killers.
After the recent arrest of two suspected members of banned Death Eater outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team from Badda, Sherlocks claimed they had gleaned important information from them about Avijit’s murder and hoped to crack the case soon.
Avijit, an engineer by profession and administrator of Mukto-mona blog, was an atheist who advocated secularism. He had received death threats for his writings. Two of his titles were published in last year’s book fair.
Machete-wielding assailants attacked Avijit and his wife Rafida Ahmed Bonya, both US citizens of Bangladesh origin, on February 26 last year when they were returning from the book fair. Avijit died in the attack while Bonya sustained several head wounds and her left thumb was sliced off.
Additional Commissioner Monirul Islam yesterday said they had found evidence of six people’s involvement in the killing and that banned Death Eater outfit Ansarullah was behind the attack.
"We have identified three assailants and have their permanent address. However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... we could not arrest them as they are on the run," he said.
Investigators sent DNA samples collected from the spot and the arrestees to the FBI who have completed analysing them and would soon send a report. Monirul said the case was at a stage where they expected a positive result soon.
He claimed that they had kept in touch with Avijit’s wife Bonya through the FBI. In an interview with Rooters last May, Bonya lashed out at Bangladesh government for not responding more aggressively to Avijit’s slaying. "This was well planned, choreographed -- a global act of terrorism," she told Rooters adding that no one from the government had reached out to her until then.
Avijit’s father Ajoy Roy was less than impressed and expressed frustration at the slow progress of investigation. He said since his son’s murder, the Sherlocks had been telling him that they were waiting for the FBI report and would solve the case soon.
"But the time never came in last one year," Ajoy Roy said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
Top|| File under: Ansarullah Bangla Team
[NATION.PK] Three brothers and their uncle were found guilty Wednesday of sexually exploiting maidens of tender years in northern England, in the latest of a string of grooming trials that have highlighted failings by police and social workers.
Not failings so much as connivance, but do go on, O Pakistani journalist.
Brothers Arshid and Basharat Hussain were found guilty of multiple rapes and indecent assaults in the town of Rotherham in Yorkshire between 1987 and 2003, against 15 victims as young as 11.
Their younger brother, Bannaras Hussain, had previously admitted 10 similar charges, while their uncle Qurban Ali was found guilty of conspiracy to rape.
Two women, Shelley Davies and Karen MacGregor, were convicted of conspiracy to procure hookers and false imprisonment.
The case represents the first successful prosecution of a gang in Rotherham since a 2014 report warned of as many as 1,400 victims of child sexual exploitation in the town.
Their trial heard how vulnerable girls, many from troubled backgrounds or living in care, were groomed by the gang before being beaten, raped and passed around to have sex with other men.
"Arshid Hussain in particular played a key role. He was domineering and in some instances brutal in his treatment of girls," said Peter Mann of the Crown Prosecution Service.
"He used them for his own gratification, then often hookerd them or passed them on to his brothers or associates."
Mann said the girls had endured "unthinkable" suffering but showed "extraordinary courage" in giving evidence.
It is only the latest in a series of grooming trials across English towns, often involving gangs of south Asian origin
...almost all being Pakistani immigrants or of Pakistani descent, as I recall, and so of particular interest to the readers of a Pakistani newspaper...
and highlighting major failings in child protection.
...not to mention the predatory nature of the south Asian predators and their mainly south Asian predatory, pedophilic clientele.
The Rotherham report condemned the failure of police and social workers to halt the abuse, warning that in some cases officials turned a blind eye to avoid appearing racist.
And in other cases?
South Yorkshire Police, which brought the latest case, is under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission amid allegations that officers not only ignored but may even have participated in the abuse.
How many of those participating officers are also south Asian?
Mohammed Shafiq of the Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim commentator who has previously spoken out on the issue, said Britannia’s Pak communities must wake up to the problem of grooming.
"The sad reality is that in the case of on-street gang grooming there is an over representation of Pak men," he wrote in a statement.
"Until British Paks accept that this is a problem for our community we will not be able to eradicate this evil. Burying our head in the sand as the usual response is not good enough."
A brave man.
The six members of the gang will be sentenced on Friday.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[8 views]
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#1
They were rapefugees before being rapefugees was cool.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
02/26/2016 12:41 Comments ||
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#2
Seems like this will be on the top of the minds of the British while they debate the refugee issue.
A proposed package of new U.N. sanctions would require mandatory inspection of all cargo going in and out of North Korea and ban its exports of mineral resources, a key source of hard currency for Pyongyang, a U.S. envoy said Thursday.
Now that's an interesting move. Certainly didn't expect that from the Obama administration at this date...
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power unveiled the unprecedented measures as she outlined key points of the draft U.N. Security Council resolution expanding sanctions on North Korea for conducting nuclear and missile tests in violation of U.N. bans. The U.S. and China reached a final agreement on the draft Wednesday after more than a month of negotiations.
"The United States tabled a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that, if adopted, would break new ground and represent the strongest set of sanctions imposed by the Security Council in more than two decades," Power told reporters.
"For the first time in history, all cargo going in and out of the DPRK would be subjected to mandatory inspection. For the first time, all small arms and other conventional weapons would be prohibited from being sold to the DPRK," she said.
Definitely twitches the surprise-meter. Inspecting ships and aircraft? If we have the manpower and the will to do it it'll force the Norks to respond: either with war or by coming (spluttering) to the negotiations table.
In addition, the resolution would impose financial sanctions targeting North Korean banks and assets, ban aviation and rocket fuel supplies to the North, and ban the North's exports of coal, iron, gold, titanium and rare earth minerals, she said.
That's more of the usual. Those sanctions are leaky -- worth doing but we shouldn't expect much.
The proposed sanctions would also ground North Korean flights suspected of carrying contraband, and suspicious vessels carrying illicit items would be denied access to ports, Power said.
"These sanctions, if adopted, would send an unambiguous and unyielding message to the DPRK's regime the world will not accept your proliferation. There will be consequences for your actions and we will work relentlessly and collectively to stop your nuclear program," Power told reporters.
"If adopted and implemented fully, these sanctions would constitute a major increase in pressure compared to the council's previous actions on the DPRK. They have a broader scope and target more of the DPRK's pressure points," she said.
According to media reports, the draft resolution also calls for blacklisting 17 North Korean individuals and 12 entities, requiring states to expel North Korean diplomats involved in illicit activities and ban the North's imports of luxury items.
All of that won't accomplish much...
Power spoke after she formally presented the draft resolution at a Security Council meeting. Unless objections are raised after a review by the council members, the council can formally adopt it, possibly as early as Friday and by Monday at the latest.
Power said that the new sanctions would make it much harder for the North to raise the funds, import the technology, and acquire the know-how to advance its illicit nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
"The DPRK has taken progressive steps toward its declared goal of developing nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles," she said. "The international community cannot allow the DPRK regime to achieve that goal. The United States will not allow this to happen."
She also made it clear, however, that the sanctions are not aimed at the North Korean people.
"The North Korean people have suffered so much already under one of the most brutal regimes the world has ever known. Rather, the resolution focuses on a ruling elite that have inflicted so much of that suffering, always privileging the nuclear and ballistic missile programs over the welfare of the North Korean people," she said.
Power also said the U.S. and its partners will continue to pursue "rigorous and unyielding sanctions" as long as the North pursues nuclear weapons.
"We have seen how robust sanctions can alter a government's dangerous nuclear ambitions," she said. "The time to use this tool with the DPRK is now and we look forward to working with the council to put in place comprehensive, robust and unprecedented sanctions against the DPRK regime."
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Sanctions may actually matter - look how fast Iran responded in their nefarious activities as soon as sanctions were lifted.
#2
Ah, ah, ah...no, no, no stepping on the tiger's tail. The first Pacific inbound stop&frisk will be humanitarian shipments of rice from Cali or Japan. I don't think there is any international water between China and NKor so that load of tractor parts will be claimed to have been 'pirated' in national waters.
I bet these sanctions are retaliation for the Spratly Island buildup. I wonder if JFK had to interrupt his Medi-Iranian vacation?
#3
The primary rail gateway to North Korea is via the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge from Dandong, China to Sinuiju, North Korea.
Rajin has a rail link to the Russian system over a bridge across the Tumen River in the North Korea–Russia border.
Ship illegal stuff to a Chinese or Russian port and voila; instant sanction relief. Now, will Russia and China allow international inspectors to inspect trains enterining into norkland? That is when you know that they are serious.
There is a rail link from the ROK to the Kaesong industrial park but I trust that everything is already being inspected.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
02/26/2016 15:53 Comments ||
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#4
There is also at least one improved highway along China and NorK, with at least one upgraded border crossing. Likely the former is more for Chinese border security.
[ALMANAR.LB] The White House announced on Wednesday that the US and China have agreed on a UN resolution on North Korea's nuclear "provocations."
Diplomats at UN headquarters in New York said Washington and Beijing, Pyongyang's main ally, had agreed on a draft resolution that contained "very tough measures."
The United States circulated the draft text to the other three permanent council members -- Britannia, La Belle France and Russia -- on Wednesday and was set to formally present it to the full 15-member council soon, said the diplomats, who asked not to be named.
Negotiations on the draft resolution began six weeks ago after North Korea carried out its fourth nuclear test on January 6, claiming it had successfully developed a thermonuclear device.
During a meeting at the White House Wednesday, US National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed "on the importance of a strong and united international response to North Korea's provocations, including through a UN Security Council resolution that goes beyond previous resolutions," said a statement from National Security Council front man Ned Price.
"They agreed that they will not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state," added the statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
In other words, very harsh language in the next sternly worded letter. In fact they might even use the word heck!
#2
But now they have tested their nuke and launched one or more satellites with the payload delivery system. There isn't much more to be done other than to continue refining the Iranian 235 for the Soviet's clean energy conversion strategy.
[TheDiplomat] There's a lot more to THAAD's feature set. The "high altitude" part of the acronym isn't there for show: THAAD is able to intercept incoming missiles at endo- and exo-atmospheric altitudes, with a maximum engagement altitude of roughly 93 miles above the earth's surface. The missile itself can travel at speeds over Mach 8, placing it in the "hypersonic" category. Indeed, THAAD manufacturer Lockheed Martin is interested in developing an extended range THAAD variant to counter hypersonic glide vehicles, including China's own WU-14.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ||
02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
China's support for the norks has consequences. You don't like those consequences? Then change the behavior.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
02/26/2016 9:26 Comments ||
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#2
Maybe China's war plans call for simultaneous hits on both the ROK and USA. A THAAD deployment in the ROK would put a crimp in that plan.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
02/26/2016 9:29 Comments ||
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#3
Soviet's didn't like it back in the 80's either. Good thing it's not up to them.
#4
Perhaps more bluntly, as WORLD MILITARY FORUM + NATIONAL DEFENCE UNIVERITY PROFESSOR-EXPERT ON US-ASIAN AFFAIRS, the deployment of THAAD + advanced warplanes to SOKOR + JAPAN endangers China's new ADIZ in the East China Sea, as well as possible PLA MilPlans for the [forced = military] recovery of TAIWAN.
MAINLAND CHINA = BEIJING will be all but forced to resort to PREEMPTIVE MIL STRIKES, poten including TacNuke andor Limited Strategic Nuke Exchange = NucStrikes agz US-Allies.
#5
No such thing as a preemptive nuclear strike. That retaliation, it is a coming.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
02/26/2016 20:50 Comments ||
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#6
New this Guam AM ...
* USNI.ORG > PACOM CHIEF HARRIS: US WILL IGNORE ANY "DESTABILIZING" CHINESE SOUTH CHINA SEA AIR DEFENCE IDENTIFICATION ZONE [ADIZ].
USPACOM Chief USN ADM. Harry Harris.
* REUTERS > US [Obama WH] URGES CHINA TO EXTEND PLEDGE OF NON-MILITARIZATION TO ALL OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA.
* WORLD NEWS > [Taipei Times] CHINA SECURING "DE FACTO" [Sea] CONTROL OVER SOUTH CHINA SEA: US NAVY ADMIRAL [USPACOM Chief Harris].
Not just informal, "effective" sea control, but "de facto" sea control???
* RELATED MANILA TIMES > CHINA TAKING DE FACTO SEA CONTROL, of the SCS.
* SAME > [SCS Missle, Radar] DEFENCES REASONABLE, NECESSARY [agz US "Militarization" of SCS + "Return to Asia"]- BEIJING.
WORLD NEWS > [SMH] CHINA SAYS IT "REALLY NEEDS" SOUTH CHINA SEA DEFENCES IN FEAR OF US.
Absolutely prositively categorically undeniably ...rly Reely Rly RLY REALLY R-E-A-L-L-Y NEEDS THE DEFENCES AGZ THE US.
* YAHOO NEWS > [CNS News] PACIFIC COMMANDER [ADM. Harris]: CHINA BUILDING OPERATIONAL, TACTICAL CONTROL OF MAJOR US TRADE ROUTE.
IIRC RELATED BIGNEWSNETWORK > PACOM CHIEF HARRIS: CHINA MISSLES DEPLOYMENT TO SOUTH CHINA SEA A THREAT TO GLOBAL COMMERCE.
* TOPIX > [Reddiff] ASIA WILL BE DIVIDED IFF INDIA JOINS [US-led] SOUTH CHINA SEA PATROLLING: CHINESE MEDIAS.
versus
* TOPIX > [Washington Times] CHINA GRUDGIBNGLY ACCEPTS [Seoul = ROK-approved] US MISSLE SHIELD DEPLOYMENT TO SOUTH KOREA.
Apparently, unlike the US State of HAWAII in EASTPAC Mainland China = CPC/CCP Beijing still recognizes ROK-SOKOR State sovereignty???
* CHINAMIL aka PLA DAILY ONLINE [PDOL] > [Xinhua] CHINA SAYS US THAAD DEPLOYMENT TO SOUTH KOREA UNDERMINES GLOBAL STABILITY.
'Tis a "game-changer" to the NE Asia + Inter-Korean "staus quo".
FYI USA = reopor may formally request return of "sole" or sovereign control of its former Clark + Subic MilBases iff China proceeds to deploy ANTI-NAVAL = LR ASBMS TO DISPUTED SCS ISLANDS.
#7
Missiles + Theater Anti-missiles means that the Chinese would need *many* more missiles for a "first strike kill" on the US/Japanese/SKorea bases. If they can bluff us from deploying it saves them a lot of money and talk is cheap.
I recommend the Ralph D. Sawyer's translations of Ancient Chinese Military thought to give an idea on their thought processes.
[ALMANAR.LB] Australia on Thursday warned that snuffies might be in the "advanced stages of preparing attacks" in Indonesia and advised travelers to take precautions, just days after a similar warning about neighboring Malaysia.
"Recent indications suggest that snuffies may be in the advanced stages of preparing attacks in Indonesia," the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said in an updated travel advisory.
"We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in Indonesia, including Jakarta, Bali and Lombok, due to the high threat of terrorist attack."
The advisory did not raise the overall threat level, which is at "exercise a high degree of caution", and noted that the department continued to "receive information that indicates that snuffies may be planning attacks in Indonesia, which could take place anywhere at any time".
It said travelers should be particularly careful when in places that have low levels of security and while at possible known terrorist targets, listing previous attack sites such as nightclubs, bars, cafes, restaurants, international hotels, airports and places of worship.
"The Indonesian government has recently increased security across Indonesia, which underscores the ongoing high threat of a terrorist attack," it added.
However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... a front man for Indonesia's national police said authorities had not seen any indications of an imminent attack.
"We have not found anything worrying," front man Agus Rianto told AFP. "At the moment, Indonesia is safe."
DFAT on Sunday warned of possible attacks in and around the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, that they could be indiscriminate and may target Western interests or locations frequented by Westerners.
Indonesian police on Friday tossed in the clink I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! dozens of suspected bandidosmurderous Moslems on Java island, but it was not clear if they were linked to gun and suicide kabooms in Jakarta last month that left four civilians and four assailants dead.
The Jakarta attacks were claimed by the so-called '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) 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... group, which has provided a potent new rallying cry for bandidosmurderous Moslems in Indonesia.
Indonesia suffered several major kabooms by bandidosmurderous Moslems between 2000 and 2009, but a subsequent crackdown weakened the most dangerous networks.
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02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[The Telegraph] Camp's densely populated southern section to be razed, in move NGOs say will leave thousands with nowhere to go.
A French court on Thursday gave the authorities the green light for the mass eviction of migrants heading for Britain from part of the "Jungle" camp in Calais.
The court overturned a legal challenge by NGOs and ruled that the southern part of the muddy, rat-infested settlement of wooden shacks and tents can be demolished, except for places of worship and a makeshift school.
It will be the most dramatic step France has ever taken to end Calais’ migrants’ problem, which has festered for years, fuelling support for the the far-Right and causing tension with Britain.
The government says the removal of up to 1,000 migrants intent on reaching Britain is a "humanitarian operation" and the cold, squalid camp will be evacuated gradually "without the use of force".
However, the charity Help Refugees said it counted more than 3,400 people in the area to be bulldozed. Save the Children said nearly 400 unaccompanied minors, mostly aged 15 to 17, live there. Under French law, children of 15 and over cannot be forced into care.
#5
Wonder how badly the squatters will fight back. Also wonder if they might hit a terrorist or three waiting to get across and get into a firefight.
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02/26/2016 17:01 Comments ||
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#6
Whenever I see the word 'bulldozer', Frank Zappa's "St. Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast" starts playing in my head. I blame Rachel Corrie for this.
While googling for the correct spelling of her name, I came across her entry in the Encyclopedia Dramatica, which pretty much lays out the whole story in tasteless but funny fashion.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Greece on Thursday said it would not be left by the rest of the EU to become the "Leb of Europe" by hosting millions of migrants colonists and refugees.
Greece won't be Lebanon? It's an easy mistake to make...
Speaking ahead of a crucial meeting in Brussels, Greek migration minister Yannis Mouzalas criticized other countries for "unilateral" actions that affect Greece.
"A very large number (of participants) here will attempt to discuss how to address a humanitarian crisis in Greece that they themselves intend to create," he told news hounds.
"Greece will not accept unilateral actions. Greece can also carry out unilateral actions. Greece will not accept becoming Europe’s Leb, a warehouse of souls, even if this were to be done with major (EU) funding."
Four million refugees have fled Syria for the relative safety of neighboring countries, according to the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... , with more than one million in Leb.
Greece is the main entry point for migrants colonists to the EU, with most of them coming over the Aegean Sea to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... via the Greek islands.
Athens faces growing pressure to stop "waving through" migrants colonists to the rest of Europe, but it has criticised the response of the EU.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
At this point, it's more like the Morocco of WWII.
[REUTERS] Struggling with a growing logjam of refugees, the Lebanon of Europe Greece recalled its ambassador to Vienna on Thursday in protest at moves by Austria and Balkan states to make it harder for migrants colonists to head north across Europe.
The unusual step reflected Greek fury at being excluded from a meeting of Balkan states in Vienna on Wednesday to coordinate border restrictions across the region to limit the flow.
"Greece will not become a Leb or a warehouse of souls," said migration minister Yannis Mouzalas. Leb, a country of 4 million people, is hosting more than 1 million refugees from the civil war in neighbouring Syria.
Greek officials estimated there were 20,000 refugees and migrants colonists trapped in the country as a result of the new restrictions, which began when Austria announced on Feb. 18 it would let in no more than 3,200 people a day and cap daily asylum claims at 80.
European countries are trading bitter recriminations as they wrestle with the continent's worst migration crisis since World War Two. More than a million people arrived in 2015, most fleeing conflict in countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and over 100,000 have reached Greece and Italia already this year.
Greece is likely to face a cost of more than half a billion euros this year, equivalent to about 0.4 percent of economic output, even as it struggles to cope with its worst financial crisis in generations.
"It's a conservative estimate. Costs could go up if there is increased inflow and refugees become logjammed in Greece due to border closures," said a central bank source.
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02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[ALMANAR.LB] Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday said a ceasefire agreed between Syria's warring parties was only valid inside Syria and was "not binding" for Turkey if its national security was threatened.
"It must be known that the ceasefire is valid in Syria," Davutoglu said in televised remarks in the central Anatolian province of Konya.
"When it is a question of Turkey's security, then the ceasefire is not binding for us," he added.
Turkey on successive days last week targeted Kurdish fighters inside Syria with artillery barrages, claiming that the army was responding to incoming fire, and had repeatedly reserved the right to open fire again.
Russia and the United States have set a deadline of midnight Damascus time (22:00 GMT) Friday for the "cessation of hostilities" between the Syrian army and the armed groups.
The deal, which marks the biggest diplomatic push yet to help end the five-year global war on Syria, excludes the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) takfiri group and other terrorist organizations.
Davutoglu said Turkey would closely monitor how the ceasefire would be implemented, adding: "We support the ceasefire under any circumstances."
However, he noted on Thursday that if Turkey's security was concerned, "we do not get permission from anyone, we do not ask anyone but we do what's required."
"When it's a question of the security measures Turkey will take, the only place to have a say is Ankara," the premier said.
Turkey has demanded that the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its People's Protection Units (YPG) forces should remain outside the scope of the truce.
"To us, YPG is a terrorist organization the same as Daesh (ISIL) and (Al-Qaeda affiliate) Al-Nusra," Davutoglu said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano told viewers Thursday on "Special Report with Bret Baier" that charges of personnel at U.S Central Command (CENTCOM) allegedly destroying evidence to minimize negative assessments of the administration’s fight against ISIS is "a big deal and I'm sorry to say I think it's going to go nowhere in the Obama administration." Whatever gives you that idea? Actually, I would think that 0bean would want to prosecute this to the fullest extent so he can blame CENTCOM for his failures.
At an annual hearing on global threats facing the United States, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said, "We have been made aware that both files and emails have been deleted by personnel at CENTCOM, and we expect that the Department of Defense will provide these and all other relevant documents to the committee." It would be nice to have backups, hopefully they will make an appearance one day. But doesn't destruction of evidence count heavily against the defendant?
Napolitano said the charges are unlikely to be pursued criminally for political reasons: "if the President's purpose, or the purpose of the people around him, was to shade intelligence with which the American people are familiar, in order to justify its behavior, they are not going to prosecute the people that did the shading."
"But there's only 11 months to go in his term, these are prosecutable events. The willful destruction of information, that the government requires be kept, particularly if they have reason to believe that this stuff is about to be subpoenaed by the Congress or any other subpoenaing authority. But don't look for anything other than political outrage and editorial outrage over this in the next 11 months," Napolitano said.
#1
If you kick a decorated soldier out for thumping a child rapist on an American compound, what do you do to those who willfully destroy government property (to cover their assets)? (Literally) time will tell. BTW, that falls under the UCMJ which means DoJ is not just on the hook, but the entire chain of command cause to have knowledge of and failure to act is conspiracy under the provisions of military law. Someone just handed the next Prez the means to clean house of a lot of those promoted during this reign.
[Daily Excelsior] The Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, North Kashmire, Garib Dass, today said that security forces this year achieved major success against Jaish-e-Mohammad ...literally Army of Mohammad, a Pak-based Deobandi terror group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, after he split with the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. In 2002 the government of Pervez Musharraf banned the group, which changed its name to Khaddam ul-Islam and continued doing what it had been doing before without missing a beat... (JeM) and would wipe out the traces of the outfit in North Kashmire soon.
While addressing a presser after the arrest of a Pak Fidayeen, the DIG said that the JeM has received set back in Kashmire valley as "we have busted their network recently". "This is third success against JeM. In Handwara we busted their network. The arrest of Fidayeen is a very big success. We will now wipe out the traces of JeM", he added.
Continued on Page 49
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02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[Daily Excelsior] Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag today slammed Pakistain for giving "candid support" to terror groups like JeM and LeT as he called on the international community to join hands in combating the menace.
Days after suspected LeT operatives struck in Pampore in Jammu and Kashmire, Suhag hit out at Pakistain, saying, "Terrorist groups like LeT and JeM get candid support from across our western borders."
The attack at Pampore left three Army personnel dead, including two Captains of the Special Forces. Two CRPF personnel, too, were killed by three heavily armed "foreign" holy warriors who were rubbed out after a fierce 48-hour-long shootout.
At a seminar organised by Army think tank CLAWS, Suhag also said that the spreading influence of 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.... , in particular through social and other forms of media, has thrown up challenges of global and regional security.
"What is worrying is that these groups can no longer be dismissed as regional manifestations of violence," he said.
Noting that such jihadist outfits take advantage of the international connected systems of finance, commerce and transit to stay flexible and reach any part of the globe, Suhag said it was "necessary for international community to fight this menace as one by sharing of intel and adoption of training techniques from each other".
He added that the 9/11, 26/11 and recent Gay Paree attacks have changed the perception among world leaders regarding the threat from terrorism.
The Army chief said, "We need to address not only the methods but also the factors that contribute to the spread of terrorism.
"The main threat comes from fundamental ideology and twisted interpretations which are promoting radical thinking."
BJP leader and spokesperson M J Akbar, who also spoke at the event, termed parts of Pakistain as a "sanctuary for jihadis".
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02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[ALMANAR.LB] Moscow is not discussing alternative plans for a political settlement in Syria, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has said. The Russian-American peace initiative is going to be formalized through a UN Security Council resolution.
“We’re perplexed by our Western partners, the US included, mentioning the existence of some kind of ‘Plan B,’ Nothing is known on that one, we are considering no alternative plans,” Bognanov told the ‘Middle East: From violence to security’ conference in Moscow.
On February 22, Russian and American presidents simultaneously announced that an agreement on peaceful plan for Syria had been reached, coming into force on February 27, at midnight Damascus time.
Terrorist organizations such as ISIL and Al-Nusra Front (Qaeda branch in the Levant) are not included in the ceasefire and will continue to be attacked until their complete annihilation, the Russian president said in a statement dedicated to the Syrian truce.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2016 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] An Egyptian court on Thursday sentenced three Coptic Christian teenagers to five years in jail for contempt of Islam after they appeared in a video reciting Muslim prayers.
A proposed package of new U.N. sanctions would require mandatory inspection of all cargo going in and out of North Korea and ban its exports of mineral resources, a key source of hard currency for Pyongyang, a U.S. envoy said Thursday.
North Korea
[TheDiplomat] There's a lot more to THAAD's feature set. The "high altitude" part of the acronym isn't there for show: THAAD is able to intercept incoming missiles at endo- and exo-atmospheric altitudes, with a maximum engagement altitude of roughly 93 miles above the earth's surface. The missile itself can travel at speeds over Mach 8, placing it in the "hypersonic" category. Indeed, THAAD manufacturer Lockheed Martin is interested in developing an extended range THAAD variant to counter hypersonic glide vehicles, including China's own WU-14.
[The Telegraph] Camp's densely populated southern section to be razed, in move NGOs say will leave thousands with nowhere to go.
Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano told viewers Thursday on "Special Report with Bret Baier" that charges of personnel at U.S Central Command (CENTCOM) allegedly destroying evidence to minimize negative assessments of the administration’s fight against ISIS is "a big deal and I'm sorry to say I think it's going to go nowhere in the Obama administration."
