[Khaama (Afghanistan)] 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 Syria (ISIS) terrorist group still pose serious threats to Afghanistan, a Ministry of Interior (MoI) official said Saturday.
MoI front man Sediq Sediqi told news hounds in Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... that the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) continue to maintain pressure on the loyalists of the terror group in East of Afghanistan.
Sediqi further added that ISIS loyalists have managed to harm the residents of Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province.
He said the Afghan forces continue to suppress the loyalists of the terror group in Nangarhar provinces, specifically in Achin, Kot, and Deh Bala districts.
According to Sediqi, more operations have been conducted to prevent ISIS loyalists expand foothold in Nangarhar districts and other provinces.
The latest remarks by Sediqi came as the loyalists of the terror group received major blows during the recent months in Nangarhar, particularly during the operations of the Afghan and US forces
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2017 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan High Peace Council (AHPC) Chief Pir Syed Ahmad Gilani passed way, it has been reported.
Gilani was an influential political and religious leader and was reportedly suffering from an illness.
Sources close to Gilani have said he passed way as he was receiving treatment in the Afghan Intelligence, National Directorate of Security ...the Afghan national intel agency... (NDS) hospital.
Gilani assumed charged of the Afghan High Peace Council late in the month of February last year.
He assumed charge of the High Peace Council almost a month after the major donors including the United States and United Kingdom suspended their financial aid to the council earlier last year.
According to the council officials, the donors suspended financial support to the High Peace Council since the beginning of the last year, citing lack of chairman for almost a year and issues within the secretariat of the council.
Gilani assumed charge of the High Peace Council amid ongoing efforts by Quadrilateral Coordination Group involving representatives of Afghanistan, Pakistain, United States and China to revive direct peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban groups.
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01/22/2017 00:00 ||
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Burundi and the African Union have signed a deal to renew the mandate of Burundian peacekeeping troops in Somalia, the bloc said Friday.
Amazing what happens when you not just threaten to pick up and leave but start packing the vans...
The move comes more than two months after Burundi said it would withdraw all its troops on duty in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) due to a dispute with the European Union over the payment of salaries.
“I thank the Burundi Ppl for their legendary hospitality & Govt for fruitful visit. Agreement reached; Burundi Peacekeepers will stay in Somalia,” tweeted Smail Chergui, the African Union’s commissioner for peace and security.
“Africa is grateful for sacrifices made by Burundi & all AMISOM TCCs for peace in Somalia. We also deeply appreciate EU’s critical support,” he added, using the acronym for troop contributing countries.
Chergui also said that very soon AMISOM’s Burundian troops will receive their allowances, local media reported.
Which means Mr. Big must have already received his...
“I have just received Chergui, African Union commissioner for peace and security, with whom I have had fruitful exchanges. The question of the salary of our troops in Somalia is settled,” Burundi’s First Vice-President Gaston Sindimwo told a press conference in the capital Bujumbura.
“We are satisfied, we have discussed well with Chergui, and a memorandum of understanding has been signed,” he said.
In March 2016, the EU suspended direct aid to Burundi, including funds for its peacekeeping contingent in AMISOM. Burundian troops have not been paid for 12 months, Gaston Sindimwo said Tuesday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/22/2017 00:00 ||
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[NEWS.XINHUANET] Sudan government on Saturday welcomed the inauguration of the new United States President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... , reiterating commitment to dialogue with the new U.S. administration, Sudan's Ashorooq Net reported.
Donald Trump was inaugurated on Friday as the 45th president of the U.S..
"Sudan will continue what it has started of dialogue with the U.S. on bases of the trust built between the two sides," Ibrahim Ghandour, Sudan's foreign minister, was quoted as saying.
"We do not expect change in the U.S. external policy as it is a state of institutions," he added.
The Sudanese minister reiterated that his country would continue dialogue with President Trump's administration until reaching full lifting of sanctions, including the removal of Sudan from the U.S. list of countries sponsoring terrorism.
That's easy enough: stop spreading terrorism...
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2017 00:00 ||
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[al-Monitor] Egypt's religious scholars are up in arms over a new film that takes on the nation's sheikhs and mosque preachers. The film, called "Mawlana" ("Preacher"), has been screened at cinemas nationwide since Jan. 4. It has stirred up controversy among Islamic scholars who accuse its makers of tarnishing their reputation and call for it to be pulled from theaters.
"Works that address religious texts should be reviewed by religious institutions before being made into films," Shoukri el-Guindi, a member of the parliament's Religious Affairs Committee, wrote on Facebook. "Inside these institutions, there are wise people who love their religion and their homeland, not ones who only follow their personal interests."
He said religious scholars should not be turned into film characters and that their sanctity must be respected, asking, "Will the public follow these religious scholars if they are portrayed as lustful figures ... and hypocrites?"
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Will the public follow these religious scholars if they are portrayed as lustful figures ... and hypocrites?
And here we have the crux of the issue for all things and people, political or religious. .
Is it the portrayal, or is it the reality?
Everyone written about in any religious text or history book or news paper etc. is being portrayed by someone else. The question is "how close to reality is the portrayal" and how much is the narrative?
[LIBYANEXPRESS] According to high-profile Egyptian sources, Cairo will host a meeting between the leader of the Operation Dignity, 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 the Prime Minister of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Serraj.
"the meeting will try to build bridges between the two parties and will aim at finding a solution for the Libyan political crisis." The sources added.
Upon his last visit to Cairo, days ago, Haftar express willingness to sit with al-Serraj, the sources said on Saturday, adding that al-Serraj said he supports removing (Article No. 8) from the Libyan Political Agreement.
Article No. 8 is related to appointment of high-ranking and supreme military positions in the Libyan government.
The sources also said that Egypt is trying to bridge the gap among the conflicting parties in Libya so that the country retrieves its stability soon.
Headed by the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Sokri, a meeting for the neighbouring countries of Libya kicked off in Cairo Saturday to try to find a suitable and common ground among Libya’s political factions so that they can all agree on implementing the Skhirat agreement.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2017 00:00 ||
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[DeutscheWelle] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... recognizes it is no longer "realistic" to reach a solution to the conflict in Syria without Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... , a top Turkish official said on Friday.
"We have to be pragmatic, realistic. The facts on the ground have changed dramatically," Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said at a panel on Syria and Iraq at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... . "Turkey can no longer insist on a settlement without Assad. It is not realistic."
As one of the main rebel backers, Turkey has long insisted al-Assad step down as part of any political solution to the nearly six-year civil war. But Ankara has refined its stance towards Syria in recent months, standing by as Aleppo fell to the regime and reconciling with the Syrian president's main backer Russia.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/22/2017 01:00 ||
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#1
Putin says 'back off' and Erdogan downshifts.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
01/22/2017 13:26 Comments ||
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[CNN] Turkish politicians approved a controversial package of constitutional reforms that would hand sweeping powers to President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... , according to state-run news agency ...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?... Anadolu.
After almost three weeks of debate, the 18-article package -- known as the "power bill" -- was approved by 339 member of the Parliament early Saturday morning, Anadolu reports.
The new Constitution will now be put to referendum vote, likely to be held in April.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who also chairs Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, congratulated politicians for passing the constitutional changes according to Anadolu.
"People will have the final say," Yildirim said.
If the referendum passes, the reforms will turn The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's parliamentary system into a presidential one, effectively consolidating the power of three legislative bodies into one executive branch. It will abolish the role of Prime Minister while granting authority to the President to issue law, declare states of emergency, dismiss Parliament and to appoint ministers, public officials and half of the senior judges.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2017 00:00 ||
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[Creeping Sharia] Over 750 Muslims and Catholics from the surrounding area gathered at the SABA Islamic Center on Monday, January 16, for a community event of hope and solidarity. Following the event, leaders from the two religious communities have agreed to form a local Muslim-Catholic Council.
"Let us commit to move forward together so that today’s prayer is not simply a symbolic gesture of good will, but rather, a promise to engage in an on-going dialogue of mutual understanding leading to friendship and common work," said Bishop Patrick J. McGrath, of the Diocese of San Jose during the event.
Bishop McGrath will appoint several Catholic members and the same will be appointed from members of the Muslim community. The Council will meet quarterly to plan and evaluate collaborative efforts. The multi-lateral aspects of their efforts will include:
Clergy-to-clergy. This would entail regular meetings between Catholic clergy and professional ministerial staff and Muslim clergy and professional staff. These conversations could be about topics that clergy deal with every day, things of professional interest, or possible projects that clergy might want to do together. Some sessions could talk about respective theology and culture, others about hotter items like Palestine. The Council would determine the curriculum of such conversations.
Religious Education; educator-to-educator. These conversations would be between Catholic educators and Muslim educators. Among them, school principals, administrators, religious educators, who would gather to talk about topics that would help respective Muslim and Catholic students understand and appreciate the nuances of religious traditions. It would also help plan and coordinate guest speakers to come to speak to students in classrooms.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
01/22/2017 11:42 ||
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#1
Goody. Still, it offers opportunities for Muslims to quietly decide to convert, a real risk for the Muslim side of the equation.
Israel's leader has recorded a conciliatory message to the people of Iran, saying, "we are your friend, not your enemy."
In the video uploaded to his Facebook page Saturday, Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the people of Iran in English, with Farsi subtitles. He says he will soon discuss with President Donald Trump how to counter the threat of an Iranian regime that calls for Israel's destruction, but that he distinguishes between the regime and the people.
"You have a proud history. You have a rich culture. Tragically, you are shackled by a theocratic tyranny," he says.
Israel regards Iran as its most dangerous adversary because of its nuclear program, development of long-range missiles and continued support for militant groups. Netanyahu considers a nuclear-armed Iran a threat to his country's very existence.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/22/2017 00:00 ||
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday he planned to discuss soon with US President Donald Trump how to "counter the threat" from Iran.
"I plan to speak soon with President Trump about how to counter the threat of Iranian regime which calls for Israel's destruction," Netanyahu said in a video message posted on his Facebook page.
Before his inauguration on Friday, Trump had repeatedly denounced the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, including the United States, which Israel has also staunchly criticised.
Netanyahu has been an ardent opponent of the 2015 pact signed by Iran, the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany. The deal supposedly placed curbs on Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for cash the lifting of international sanctions.
In December, Netanyahu said there were many ways of "undoing" the Iran nuclear deal and that he would discuss that with Trump. "I have about five things in mind," he said.
But before he left office, former president Barack Obama warned against rowing back the pact, emphasising its "significant and concrete results".
EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini has also said that the bloc would stand by the accord -- which she helped negotiate -- because it showed that diplomacy worked and served Europe's security needs.
By kicking the can down the road and allowing the evil Joooz to take it on the chin when the bill arrives...
And on Monday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that the nuclear deal was approved by the UN Security Council and therefore "is not a bilateral deal" with the US that Trump can renegotiate.
In the video message posted online, Netanyahu also addressed the Iranian people saying "we are your friend, not your enemy".
Meanwhile, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, whose role is largely ceremonial, said in a statement that he had invited Trump to visit Israel.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/22/2017 00:00 ||
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[TIMESOFISRAEL] In a recent Friday sermon in the Gazoo Strip, Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", MP Marwan Abu Ras accused Jews of recruiting hookers into the army "in order to lure Arabs into their traps," and further added that Jewish leaders send "AIDS-infected girls to fornicate with Moslem youths."
During the sermon, which was delivered on January 6 and was broadcast on Hamas’s al-Aqsa TV, Abu Ras also claimed that the Jewish state allowed drugs and tobacco to be smuggled through tunnels into Gazoo, while purposefully preventing the entry of essential goods.
"Do you know what commodity enters Gazoo in large quantities, with the blessings of the enemy? It is drugs," said Abu Ras. "Drugs only. The second commodity is tobacco. Those who want to smuggle drugs or tobacco into Gazoo can do so freely, but to smuggle a useful commodity into Gazoo? That is forbidden."
According to a translation provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), the Hamas MP went on to attack Jews on the lam for spreading "filthy pornographic movies and websites."
Abu Ras concluded his sermon with an assurance to the crowd that the Jewish state would soon be defeated, adding a prayer that the "criminal Jews" and those who support them would be eliminated.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2017 00:00 ||
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[NEWS.XINHUANET] Visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari thanked Saturday Leb's support for Iraq in regional and international arenas, pointing that his country "has no desire to interfere in the local affairs of any Arab country."
"We reached an understanding on the need to maintain the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... as a form of unity between Arabs. We don't dismiss the existence of division, as there are various regimes and backgrounds, but what unites us is more than what divides us," Jaafari told news hounds at the Baabda Palace following meeting with President Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... For his part, Aoun stressed that "combating terrorism is not the responsibility of one state but requires collaboration and coordination between all countries".
The president expressed hope that the upcoming Arab summit, which will be held in Jordan in March, would be able to "represent the much-needed Arab solidarity to fend off the circumstances that all Arab countries are passing through."
Jaafari handed Aoun a letter from his Iraqi counterpart President Fouad Masoum, congratulating Aoun on his election and the desire to promote bilateral ties between the two countries and invited him to visit Baghdad.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2017 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Turkish 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.... member that was filmed burning two Turkish soldiers alive in Syria this year was reportedly imprisoned in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... in 2012 and 2015, Dogan News Agency claimed on Saturday.
Aydin was reportedly a known Islamic State terrorist, but was still released by the Turkish authorities in both 2012 and 2015.
According to the Dogan News Agency, Aydin disappeared in May 2015 and was later discovered to have joined the Islamic State in Menbeij, Aleppo.
Aydin is still at-large and his whereabouts are still unknown, despite the cooperation of his family in Turkey.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2017 00:00 ||
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It will be interesting to see if this program continues in the same form on President Trump's watch. I assume the Arab elements of the SDF have been quietly sharing their weapons with their Kurdish allies.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Pentagon officials have emphasized to their Turkish partners that the US are only arming the Arab elements in the Kurdish-less Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF
The US has already begun airdropping aid to the Arab factions of the SDF to assist in their fight against ISIS in Raqqa countryside.
"Our local partners in Syria continue to converge down on Raqqa and I’m also confident that they will soon have ISIS’s so-called capital isolated," outgoing US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said on Thursday about the US support for the SDF forces.
"The isolation of Raqqa continued...our partners cleared more than 3,000 square kilometers since the start of their operations. ISIS’s days there, as well as in Iraq, are numbered," Carter added.
However it was Pentagon spokesperson Peter Cook that tried to ease the concerns of The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... "We have been supplying the SDF, specifically the Syrian Arab Coalition, for some time, with materiel support. We continue to do that, and there’s been no change," he said.
"We continue to provide that support for the Syrian Arab Coalition," he stressed.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2017 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.
[LIBYANEXPRESS] According to high-profile Egyptian sources, Cairo will host a meeting between the leader of the Operation Dignity, 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[CNN] Turkish 
[Creeping Sharia] Over 750 Muslims and Catholics from the surrounding area gathered at the SABA Islamic Center on Monday, January 16, for a community event of hope and solidarity. Following the event, leaders from the two religious communities have agreed to form a local Muslim-Catholic Council.
Michel Aoun
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Turkish 
[ALMASDARNEWS] Pentagon officials have emphasized to their Turkish partners that the US are only arming the Arab elements in the Kurdish-less Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF
