[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The attorney general of Afghanistan has ordered to arrest at least 9 security guards of Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum ...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier... in connection to alleged abduction and sexual abuse of the political rival Ahmad Ischi, it has been reported.
The arrest warrants were issued on Monday after the men refused to appear before the Attorney General to respond regarding the alleged accusations.
The Vice President and his security guards have been summoned for at least three times by the Attorney General but neither of them has responded to the summonses.
According to Afghan law he could be suspended from his position and put under house arrest for his refusal to cooperate with the investigation, Attorney General Farid Hamidi told The Wall Street Journal.
However, some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... the Office of the Vice President has said it would cooperate with a government investigation, saying the accusations by the rivals are baseless efforts to defame Gen. Dostum.
Ishchi claimed that the vice president detained him and forced him to strip naked besides he was beaten by the bodyguards of Gen. Dostum and was sodomized with a rifle.
This comes as a detailed report was presented to a meeting of the National Security Council chaired by President Mohammad 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. .. late in December last year.
The Office of the President, ARG Palace, said the report presented by Attorney General focused on circumstances to launch an investigation regarding the claims made by Mr. Ischi.
The Palace said the report was reviewed and necessary decisions were taken but no further details were given regarding the decisions taken during the meeting.
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#1
Attorney General hasn't really thought this through
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[Libya Observer] The criminal masterminds of 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... boom-mobilekaboom near the Italian embassy on Saturday have been identified, the Special Deterrence Force has reported.
"The aim of the kaboom was political in order to undermine security in the capital," the SDF said today, without providing further information.
The force added that investigations are still ongoing, and promised to unveil all the details of the terrorist attack soon after they finish.
A boom-mobilewent kaboom! nearby Libya Palace Hotel, an area very close to the Italian embassy in al-Dahra district, killing the two attackers.
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[Saudi Gazette] The Ministry of Interior on Tuesday announced the arrest of three Saudis and 13 Paks for terror activities.
The ministry also identified the two Saudis jacket wallahs who blew themselves up in a rest house in al-Harazat District of Jeddah on Saturday. In other simultaneous security operation, one Saudi man and a Pak woman were tossed in the calaboose Please don't kill me! in a residential apartment in al-Naseem District of the city.
The two Saudis blew themselves up after security forces laid siege on the rest house they were staying in and planning terror activities.
The dead Saudis have been identified as Khalid Ghazi Hussain al-Sarwani and Nadi Marzooq Khalaf al-Mudhyani Enizi, the ministry’s security front man said in a statement.
Laboratory tests on the remains of the dead Saudis revealed their identities, the statement said.
Al-Sarwani is thought to be among the most wanted and dangerous terror suspect due to his various roles and numerous links with terror activities. The activities of al-Sarwani and al-Mudhyani Enizi include promoting deviant thoughts on the social media, inciting others to travel to conflict areas in response to the dictates of ISIS (the so-called IS) terrorist group.
In addition, al-Sarwani was also found guilty of supporting terror attacks on worshipers in the Special Forces mosque in 2015 and eulogizing the suicide kabooms in a Najran mosque a year ago. He was also involved in the murder of security bigshot Brig. Gen. Kattab Majid al-Hammadi. al-Sarwani was also thought to be involved in manufacturing explosive vests and devices at his abode in al-Hazarat District.
Al-Mudhyani Enizi traveled outside the Kingdom to fight in areas of conflict flouting the Kingdom’s laws. After his return to the Kingdom he was put behind bars and went back to his deviant way after completing his prison term. He was in direct contact with the detained terrorist Oqab Mujab al-Otaibi and Suwailim al-Hadi al-Ruwaili and several others.
Security forces seized 3 hand grenades, 8 blocks of explosives, 48 bags of chemicals believed to be used in manufacturing explosives, 2 iron cylinders, ten bombs, two adhesive bombs, six bags containing huge quantity of iron splinters and several tools and electrical equipment, the ministry statement said.
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[Saudi Gazette] 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... will work with the Trump administration to contain Iran, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said here on Tuesday at a joint presser with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault.
US 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... has "spoken about containing Iran and its ability to cause mischief, and making sure that Iran abides by the agreement that was signed," Jubeir said, adding, "This is exactly our position."
Trump "has made it his objective to rebuild traditional alliances or alliances with traditional American allies, and this is something that we also welcome," Jubeir said.
"We look forward to working with the Trump administration and we are very positive about the future of the US-Saudi relationship."
The minister said Saudi-US relations are strong in all areas and that his country would respect the decision of the American people.
He also said he looks forward to cooperating with the Trump Cabinet, and that he is "optimistic."
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Kuwait's foreign minister will make a rare visit to Tehran on Wednesday to deliver a message to President Hassan Rouhani on a "basis of dialogue" between Gulf Arab states and arch-rival Iran, Kuwait's state news agency reported.
The visit comes days after Rouhani said countries including Kuwait had offered to mediate in the escalating feud between Shi'ite Muslim Iran and Sunni power Saudi Arabia.
[AnNahar] Germany deported a second batch of would-be Afghan refugees to 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.... Tuesday under a disputed Afghan-EU deal signed last October and aimed at curbing the influx of migrants colonists.
The 26 men, escorted by 80 German coppers, landed shortly after 7.30 am (0300 GMT) in Kabul, airport police front man Mohammad Adjmal Fawzi told AFP.
He said at least one of the 26 was "suffering" and showing signs of psychological distress, adding: "He could be brought back to Germany."
Several of the refugees told AFP they had been locked away You have the right to remain silent... Monday morning at dawn and sent to Kabul with just a small piece of luggage or a backpack containing their belongings.
The men were the second batch of would-be refugees denied asylum by German authorities and deported, despite growing insecurity in Afghanistan.
The conflict caused some 9,000 deaths or injuries among civilians in the first nine months of 2016, according to the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... , which is to publish its annual report by the end of the month.
In 2015 the number of civilians killed or maimed was more than 11,000, the highest recorded since 2009, with children paying a particularly heavy price, according to UN figures.
A first flight carrying 34 men arrived in Kabul in December, a third of whom were convicted of crimes ranging from theft to homicide, according to the German authorities.
That did not appear to be the case on Tuesday, when the passengers were able to leave the airport freely.
They will be sheltered by the government for at least two weeks after which they face an uncertain future, with Afghanistan already so overwhelmed by people fleeing fighting that officials have warned of a humanitarian crisis.
#1
He said at least one of the 26 was "suffering" and showing signs of psychological distress, adding: "He could be brought back to Germany."
1) 26 isn't going to make much of a dent when they're invading by the hundreds of thousands.
2) So what's the point of deporting these guys if you might bring one of them back?
[Ynet] Belgian-led investigation indicates snuffies pursued Haredi Jews, scouted for Israelis, ahead of the kaboom; source says 'The attacker seemed to rush towards two Orthodox Jews...He really, clearly wanted to kill a Jew.'
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.... jacket wallahs who attacked Brussels airport last year targeted passengers travelling to the United States and also Jewish people, several sources told AFP.
The Belgian-led investigation believes a check-in counter for an American carrier was one of the targets in the March 22, 2016 attacks, the sources said on condition of anonymity. They also suspect that travellers to Israel may have been in the cross-hairs, and that airport security camera footage shows one bomber apparently pursuing Hasidic Jews seconds before one of the blasts.
Islamic State (IS) bombers Najim Laachraoui and Ibrahim El Bakraoui killed 16 people at Zaventem airport. Around an hour later Bakraoui’s brother Khalid attacked a metro station near EU headquarters, killing another 16.
One source close to the investigation told AFP, which contacted Sherlocks in several countries, that one of the airport bombers "attacked the Delta Airlines check-in".
"We know they wanted to target Americans," said the source, who asked not to be named. "It’s clear they had quite specific targets." Asked if these targets included the check-in counter for a flight to Israel, he replied: "We know they were obsessed with the Israelis too." The possibility that they targeted Russian travellers was an "option" that had to be clarified, he said.
’Wanted to kill a Jew’
There were casualties from at least 40 nationalities in the Brussels attacks, but Sherlocks and sources believe the Zaventem bombers had specific targets.
"Even early on (in the investigation) there were indications that they targeted US, Russian and Israeli check-in counters," a US law enforcement source told AFP on condition of anonymity. "That understanding has held up with later investigations, including with Abrini’s alleged confession," the source said.
Mohammed Abrini is the so-called "man in the hat" who fled the airport without detonating his suitcase bomb after his accomplices set off theirs. He was captured a month later. Four Americans were killed at the airport and several injured, while two Israelis aged 23 and 28 were treated in Jerusalem after the attacks. Israeli media identified the pair as members of the Belz Hassid ultra-Orthodox religious sect, who had been scheduled to fly from Brussels airport to Ben Gurion.
Sources close to the investigation added that camera footage never released to the public showed that Laachraoui had been standing among some 60 high school students before deciding to pursue two Orthodox Jews. "The attacker seemed to rush towards two Orthodox Jews," one of the sources said. "He really, clearly wanted to kill a Jew."
A US government source said separately that Lachraoui was targeting a Hasidic Jew. Hasidic men are easily recognisable because they wear dark suits over white shirts, have long beards, hats and curly sidelocks.
Investigators "are very confident they (bombers) were targeting US, Russia and Israel," the US government source said. Israeli security measures have dramatically increased since the attacks, an airport source added.
A Belgian press report said Sherlocks had found an electronic message from Khalid El Bakraoui saying flights departed every Tuesday from Brussels to the United States, Russia and Israel, but Sherlocks would not confirm that.
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[AA.TR] A PKK leader was tossed in the calaboose Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! for three years by a German court on Tuesday, the court said in a statement.
The Higher Court of Dusseldorf said Ahmet C., 52, had organized PKK propaganda and "militants’ affairs" in North Rhine-Westphalia state, which includes the cities of Cologne ...a lovely city in Germany. They invented perfume there... and Dortmund, between June 2013 and July 2014.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , the U.S. and EU. It has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years during which more than 40,000 people have been killed.
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[Hurriyet Daily News] Istanbul police are searching for a third myrmidon in the deadly December 2016 terror attack outside Besiktas football club’s Vodafone Arena.
The myrmidon, images of whom suggest is female, is suspected of acting together with and supervising the two forces of Evil who carried out the kabooms at two sites in downtown Istanbul, claiming at least 45 lives.
Police suspect that the third myrmidon carried out reconnaissance tours earlier in the day of the attack with the two forces of Evil who performed the acts, while also directing and coordinating the plot.
According to information acquired by prosecutors, Kadri Kilinc, who was driving the bomb-laden vehicle, was moving according to a designated route as the three forces of Evil carried out reconnaissance from 2:56 p.m. to 8.10 p.m. During this reconnaissance, the third female myrmidon allegedly pointed out the roads, stadium and other key spots to the other two myrmidons.
Prosecutors have also found that at 8.10 p.m., an hour and 20 minutes before the attacks took place, the assailants stopped the vehicle in front of a fast food restaurant on Istanbul’s Taskisla Street and the woman myrmidon exited the vehicle before it started advancing toward the scene. The woman allegedly walked in the opposite direction from the stadium before entering the nearby Macka Park and then disappearing.
The attack came as the bomb-laden vehicle ran into riot cop shoppeed outside the Vodafone Arena following a Besiktas match. Some 45 seconds later, the second assailant went kaboom! at Macka Park near the stadium.
The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), an offshoot linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), grabbed credit for the attack.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pie fight, Bella opened her mouth at precisely the wrong moment... the assailant of the Jan. 1 attack who killed 39 people in gunfire after raiding Reina nightclub by the Bosporus in Istanbul underwent a health check early on Jan. 24 under intense security.
Police in Istanbul had late on Jan. 16 apprehended the Uzbek-origin gunman, Abdulkadir Masharipov, 16 days after the attack took place, in an apartment in the Esenyurt district of Istanbul. 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 (ISIS) has claimed the attack.
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[Hurriyet Daily News] An Istanbul court trying 62 soldiers on allegations that they raided Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen Airport on the night of the July 15, 2016, coup conducted its first trial on Jan. 23 in the absence of 34 on-duty soldiers who are currently participating in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s Euphrates Shield operation in northern Syria.
The head of the court, Ali Özturk, said they sent notification about the case to the 34 soldiers but were notified in response that some of the soldiers were abroad, participating in the al-Bab operation in northern Syria.
The operation began as part of Turkey’s Euphrates Shield offensive launched in August 2016, to clear its border 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.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) Death Eaters.
"Because there cannot be a court notice sent abroad, we could not issue a second notice," said Özturk.
The suspects are charged with "attempting to abolish" the Turkish parliament and the Turkish Republic through force. Some of the suspects are also accused of being members of an "armed terror organization," while others are accused of "aiding an armed terror organization without being a member."
The organization in question is the Gulenist network of U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen ... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world... , who is widely believed to have orchestrated the coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.
The suspects face three aggravated life term each, as well as jail terms extending from five to 10 years.
In the trial, one of the soldiers, Specialized Sgt. Yusuf Yaylaz, said they were dispatched to Sabiha Gökcen Airport after a higher-ranking soldier told them that intelligence had been received regarding an imminent terror attack.
"The people stopped us at the security gate. In the meantime, my wife texted me. She said the bridges were closed. Later a citizen climbed up onto the [military] vehicles. He said a coup d’état was taking place. This person called a police officer he knew. Until the police came, we secured the weapons and then surrendered. I did not use any weapons," said Yaylaz in his court testimony.
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U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign several executive orders on Wednesday restricting immigration from Syria and six other Middle Eastern or African countries, according to several congressional aides and immigration experts briefed on the matter.
In addition to Syria, Trump's orders are expected to temporarily restrict access to the United States for most refugees. Another order will block visas from being issued to those from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, said the aides and experts, who asked not to be identified. Continues.
There is no room under the current configuration for more strikes against the Islamic State group without endangering civilians, a top Air Force official who just stepped down says, despite repeated claims from President Donald Trump he will ramp up the air war, and a spike since his inauguration of strikes in Iraq and Syria.
Perhaps this is why, Ms. James, you're no longer the Air Force Secretary.
"We're not failing to hit targets when appropriate targets make themselves known," Deborah James, who served as Air Force secretary until Friday, told U.S. News in an interview days before stepping down. "What we have been very careful about is making sure we know what we're hitting, and taking care to hit what we intend to hit."
"There are not a whole series of targets we have simply not hit. That's not the case," James harfed says.
[DAWN] Continuing his arguments before the larger bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... (JI) counsel Taufiq Asif earned the ire of the presiding judges after he made repeated references to a past case which had validated the Oct 12, 1999 military takeover of the PML-N government at the time.
It was the second instance the advocate had referred to the Zafar Ali Shah case while presenting his arguments before the five-member bench of the Supreme Court.
What followed was a repeat of what happened when Asif first brought it up: the bench had to remind the lawyer that the decision reached in the Zafar Ali Shah case did not, in fact, acknowledge Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... 's ownership of the London flats.
The bench also expressed anger at the counsel for bringing the argument up again, noting that he seemed insistent on referring to the case seemingly without having even read its decision.
Justice Ijaz-ul-Hassan admonished the lawyer saying he had "made a mockery of the case."
"You have caused as much damage to your client as you possibly could," Justice Azmat Saeed added.
The court also told the lawyer that he had not been able to establish any relationship between the references he was making and the ownership of the London flats.
As he concluded his arguments, Advocate Asif turned the court's attention back to the Gulf Steel Mills set up in Dubai in 1974, saying he suspects the London flats were bought by selling the mills
"All the petitioners should be given the chance to cross-examine Nawaz Sharif [in this regard]," he said.
Justice Khosa told the advocate that the bench would decide on the matter after hearing the arguments of all the petitioners.
"We will call Nawaz Sharif [to present himself in court] if there is a need for it," he assured.
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(Reuters) Schools in the east of the Iraqi city of Mosul are seeking to return to a semblance of normality after two years under Islamic State rule when they were either shuttered or forced to teach a martial curriculum that included lessons in bombmaking.
Around 40,000 students – most of whom have been kept at home by their parents since the militants captured Mosul in 2014 – will attend around 70 schools in the coming weeks after the buildings have been checked for unexploded bombs.
U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have retaken most eastern districts of the city and are preparing to push into the western part of Mosul, the largest city held by Islamic State across its self-proclaimed caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
Teachers and parents told Reuters about the jihadists’ brand of education received by those children who have attended school over the past two years, including many children of militants. This included chemistry lessons on bombmaking and maths classes devoted to tallying up weapons caches, they said.
“In math, my six-year-old son was counting rifles. In other classes, he was being taught about suicide bombing,” said Mishwan Yunis, a 41-year-old water ministry worker whose son attends Kufa Boys’ School.
“He lost two very important years of his life. He should have been in the third grade; now he goes back to first.”
The northern city is coming back to life with markets and shops reopening and people selling once-prohibited goods such as cigarettes openly on the streets yet the damage of battle is everywhere – and fighting rages just a few kilometers away.
At Kufa Boys’ School, children run around the concrete yard wearing new bright blue school bags provided by UNICEF, in the shadow of neighboring buildings reduced to rubble.
One schoolyard in the area has been turned into a cemetery covered with dozens of freshly dug graves.
Yet a return to normality will not be easy for children, who bears the scars of living in the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Iraq and the bitter battle for the city since late last year when Iraqi forces launched the biggest ground operation in the country since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.
They could face psychological hurdles, as might their teachers, many of who told Reuters they had been threatened with being hung from their schools’ walls if they did not continue teaching under Islamic State.
“Our role is bigger now than it was two or three years ago because you need to deal with the children’s psychological state before you can teach them,” said Omar Khudor Ali, headteacher of nearby Badayel Boys’ School.
“For us to do this we need better coordination between the teachers themselves and the entire education system.”
“I need to make them forget Islamic State and be free again,” said a teacher at the adjacent Badayel Girls’ School who asked that her name not be revealed for fear of retaliation by Islamic State, fighting Iraqi forces across a nearby river.
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[Iran Press TV] Iraq's prominent Shia holy man, Moqtada Tater al-Sadr ... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah... , has slammed the potential relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds as a "declaration of war on Islam."
"Transferring the US embassy to Jerusalem [al-Quds] would be a public and more-explicit-than-ever declaration of war against Islam," Sadr said in a Tuesday statement.
Touching on US 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... ’s pledges to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of the occupied territories, Sadr called for the "formation of a special division to liberate Jerusalem [al-Quds]."
Sadr urged the Cairo-based 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 well as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to either take a decisive stand on the issue or be dissolved.
The Shia holy man also called "for the immediate closure of the US embassy in Iraq" if Washington goes ahead with the plan to move its embassy to Jerusalem al-Quds.
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#1
These days is he still in Iran or back in Iraq.
If Iraq ... reprogram a cruise missile?
#3
Well, Tater, think of this as follows. So far only Israel was fighting you seriously: while USA was playing 'Nation Building', and Russia was pursuing limited strategic objectives. But Israel is not that strong - so, eventually, we'd have to exterminate you. USA, however, can afford 'whipping you back to your kennels'. So, with Trump, you get to live.
[IsraelTimes] ’We’re building -- and will continue to build,’ Netanyahu says; Liberman also seeks green light for Paleostinian industrial zone.
Israel approved the construction of approximately 2,500 homes in the West Bank, most of them in existing settlement blocs, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman announced on Tuesday.
The decision came two days after a Jerusalem planning committee approved the construction of 566 housing units in East Jerusalem, and on the heels of a phone conversation on Sunday between Netanyahu and US 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... , in which the two discussed their plans for the region.
Most of the housing units will be built in the large settlement areas, notably in the city of Ariel and in Givat Ze’ev, outside Jerusalem. But some will also go up in settlements outside the larger blocs, due to prior agreements and court decisions.
"We’re building -- and will continue to build," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, following the approval.
Paleostinians quickly condemned the announcement, calling it "land theft and colonialism."
"Such a deliberate escalation of Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise constitutes a war crime and the flagrant violation of international law and conventions, in particular UN Security Council resolution 2334," said PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, referring to an anti-settlements UN decision passed last month.
Liberman also said he would request permission from the cabinet for the construction of a Paleostinian industrial park in Tarkumiya, northwest of Hebron.
"It will be one of the largest industrial zones in the West Bank, in which we are planning to set up warehouse and fuel storage infrastructure, along with other elements," Liberman’s office said in a statement.
According to the defense minister, the decision to approve the settlement construction was made in order to "provide a response to the housing needs."
[IsraelTimes] White House front man Sean Spicer today declined to condemn or offer support for Israel’s announcement of 2,500 new West Bank homes. Asked at today’s briefing about Israel’s announcement, Spicer says: "Israel continues to be a huge ally of the United States, he wants to grow closer with Israel, to make sure that it gets the full respect that it deserves in the Middle East."
"We’re going to have a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and we’ll continue to discuss that."
[FOXNEWS] Gazoo's Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, rulers are warning the U.S. not to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, saying such a step could unleash new violence.
In a statement Tuesday, the Islamic Death Eater group said a move would "open a new chapter of conflict" and "add fuel to the fire."
Hamas is sworn to Israel's destruction. It has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide kabooms, and fought three wars with Israel since seizing control of Gazoo 10 years ago.
The rival Paleostinian Authority has also urged 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... not to follow through on his campaign promise to move the embassy. The Paleostinians seek east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967, as their hoped-for capital.
In southern Gazoo, dozens of Paleostinians demonstrated against the move. Some burned a caricature of Trump.
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#1
So, what do they have to offer in exchange? They will be our Friends ?
They will love the Jews? What do we have to gain from Hamas by giving Hamas anything?
Nothing? Well then , they seem to be sh*t out of luck then, don't they ?
[AA.TR] Jerusalem’s Authority for Islamic Endowments on Tuesday condemned increasingly frequent visits to the al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli settlers who often perform religious rituals at the site.
Almost daily visits to al-Aqsa by Jewish settlers, the authority said in a statement, constituted "violations of the sanctity" of the al-Aqsa Mosque, which is regarded by Moslems as the world’s third holiest site.
According to the authority, settlers frequently perform "religious rituals" in the mosque complex, praying and conducting marriages and coming-of age ceremonies.
Such rituals generally enjoy the protection of Israeli police, the authority noted.
"We consider these escalations by Jewish bad boys... a threat to the historical status quo at the mosque," read the statement.
In recent years, bad boy Jewish settlers -- usually accompanied by Israeli police -- have forced their way into the al-Aqsa Mosque complex with increasing frequency and in increasing numbers.
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Once you're a jet, you're a jet all the way...
[ARA News] Hasakah – At least 15 foreign jihadists have defected from the Islamic State (ISIS) group in the town of Margada in northeastern Syria, local sources said on Wednesday.
Activists reported a state of alert in ISIS ranks in the town of Margada, south of Hasakah Governorate, after a group of jihadists evacuated their posts and fled Syria.
“The defectors were Western members of the group who have been recently transferred from Iraq’s Mosul to Margada in Syria’s Hasakah,” media activist Ghassan al-Omari told ARA News.
“The ISIS-led Hisba Police was unable to find them in the area. The defectors have most likely crossed the border into Turkey,” another local source said, citing an ISIS member.
“They have apparently lost their hope in winning the fight against the US-backed Iraqi and Syrian forces, which led them to abandon the ISIS ranks and escape,” al-Omari told ARA News.
ISIS installed new security checkpoints and deployed dozens of guards in the vicinity of Margada town in the wake of the incident.
Margada is the Islamic State’s last stronghold in Hasakah Governorate. It is located on the administrative border between Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor Governorates.
Dozens of militants have recently deserted ISIS ranks amidst growing internal rifts over power and money, according to local monitors.
Posted by: badanov ||
01/25/2017 00:00 ||
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[Gulf News] Continuing his vocal opposition to any accommodation with Hezbollah, Ashraf Rifi -- Leb’s former head of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) and former Minister of Justice -- told Kuwait’s Al Qabas daily that his former allies in the Future Movement and the moribund March 14 coalition "bowed to Hezbollah."
In what was a dramatic accusation, Rifi declared "the party has 17 [out of 30] ministers in this government [led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. ] and this is a major national crime against the cause," which implied that except for Future (7), Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... (3), Progressive Socialist Party (2) and a sole independent minister, all of the others -- those that belonged to the Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... (8), Amal (3), Hezbollah (2), and one each for the Tashnag Party Socialist party representing the Armenian diaspora in Leb. They're Christians, but they try to remain neutral, which means they get shot at without shooting back... , the Marada Movement the personal militia of Suleiman Franjieh, president of Lebanon at the outbreak of the civil war, currently Syrian toadies, but you never know when that could change... , the Lebanese Democratic Party and the Syrian National Socialist Party -- were beholden to Hezbollah.
Rifi accused his erstwhile Future allies, declaring: "Corrupts cannot build a state and those who surrender cannot build a state. We are against corruption and surrender," adding that it was better to remain principled than to kowtow to pragmatism.
In what was a direct attack against Hariri, a potential rival in the upcoming parliamentary elections, Rifi stated that pragmatists "might cooperate with the occupier in a certain period while principled individuals shun any post or personal gains," concluding with an open declaration of war: "the approach of pragmatism sometimes leads to high treason."
The increasingly popular Rifi announced that he would be a candidate in the next elections as he anticipated to field candidates in 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... , Minieh, Dinniyeh, Akkar, central and western Bekaa, Iqlim Al Kharroub and Beirut’s second and third electoral regions. These are all Future strongholds where Sunni constituents lead.
"We will not engage in Sidon’s electoral battle out of respect for Bahia Hariri and Fouad Saniora," two leading Sunni parliamentarians, Rifi added, but vowed to fight for all other seats.
Unabashed, he affirmed that his contenders "will not allow a win for any of Hezbollah’s candidates in [these] electoral strongholds," underscoring that the party’s military might did not scare him. "Hezbollah cannot overlook or eliminate me, even if it possesses 200,000 rockets," he hammered, because he insisted that he was "not engaged in a military confrontation."
Far more important, and perhaps for the first time uttered by a leading Sunni figure, Rifi clarified that Sunnis and Shiites "are equal demographically and ... present on the same land."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017 00:00 ||
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[AA.TR] Syrian Kurdish Peshmerga fighters will return to Syria after receiving training in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, a Kurdish politician said Tuesday.
"Syrian Peshmerga will return [to Syria] over the next six months under the protection of the international U.S.-led coalition," Nawaf Rashid, a representative of Syria’s Kurdistan Democratic Party, told Anadolu Agency.
U.S.-led coalition forces, he said, were ready to confront any obstacles put up in this regard by the PKK terrorist group.
According to Rashid, Syrian Peshmerga forces hope to eventually increase their numbers to a total of 10,000 fighters.
To this end, he said, Peshmerga officials had already opened a recruitment agency with a view to enlisting fresh recruits.
Drawn up largely of forces affiliated with the Syrian National Council, Syrian Peshmerga forces operate under the umbrella of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.
Syrian Peshmerga forces consist largely of Syrian Kurds who have fled their war-battered country in recent years to northern Iraq’s Kurdish region.
For the past four years, however, Syrian Peshmerga have been prevented from returning to their home country by the PKK terrorist group.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017 00:00 ||
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Russia and regional powers Turkey and Iran backed a shaky truce between Syria's warring parties on Tuesday and agreed to monitor its compliance, but on the ground rebels faced continued fighting on two fronts which could undermine the deal.
After two days of deliberations in Astana, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said the powers had a agreed in a final communique to establish a system "to observe and ensure full compliance with the ceasefire, prevent any provocations and determine all modalities of the ceasefire."
While welcoming the text, the Syrian government's chief negotiator Bashar Ja'afari said an offensive against rebels west of Damascus would carry on. Rebels say it is a major violation of the ceasefire agreed on Dec. 30.
The ceasefire didn't fail, it just became more selective...
Opposition negotiator Mohammad Alloush in turn said he had reservations about the text which he said legitimized Iran's "bloodletting" in Syria and did not address the role of Shi'ite militias fighting rebels.
In northwest Syria, heavy fighting erupted between the jihadist group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and Free Syrian Army factions who were represented at the Astana talks. FSA groups are still reeling after being driven from Aleppo city last month by government forces and their allies. Any further loss of territory in their main northern stronghold - this time at the of jihadist insurgents - could leave them too weak to achieve any meaningful gains from peace negotiation.
In Astana, rebel and government delegates held indirect talks for the first time in nine months at a time when Turkey, which backs the rebels, and Russia, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, each want to disentangle themselves from the fighting.
That has led them into an ad-hoc alliance that also appears to enshrine Iran in a process that could lead to some form of political settlement - leaving the United Nations role unclear especially with the United States distracted by domestic issues.
The talks represent a coup for Moscow, which has evolved into the main powerbroker since its military intervention in September 2015 to shore up Assad. "We have managed ... to give birth to the Astana process," the head of the Russian delegation, Alexander Lavrentyev told reporters.
The final text did not go into any details beyond reaffirming the Turkish-Russian December 30 ceasefire.
Since the ceasefire announcement government-backed forces have launched an offensive northwest of Damascus in the Wadi Barada area, where fighting intensified on Tuesday. The government and its allies including Lebanese group Hezbollah were trying to push forward in Ain al-Fija, where springs and a pumping station that supply most of the capital's water are located.
Rebels had come to the meeting hoping that Moscow would put pressure on the Iranians to curb military offensives.
"The Russians have moved from a stage of being a party in the fighting and are now exerting efforts to become a guarantor. They are finding a lot of obstacles from (Lebanon's Shi'ite) Hezbollah forces, Iran and the regime," Alloush told reporters after the talks.
He said he expected Russia to respond within a week on a rebel ceasefire proposal and that rebels would never allow Iran, which they accuse of trying to change the demographic make-up of certain Sunni Muslim areas, to have a say in Syria's future.
Government envoy Ja'afari said it was "pitiful" that some "armed terrorist groups in Astana" were criticizing Iran, one of the three guarantors.
Western diplomats attending the talks informally said despite a lack of detail about the ceasefire, it was positive that the final communique mentioned reviving the U.N. political talks in Geneva under U.N. resolution 2254 and that the three powers agreed to jointly fight Islamic State and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham - which changed its name from Nusra Front last year, and to separate them from armed opposition groups.
However, Assad's foreign backers and opponents have rarely agreed on exactly which fighters represent moderate rebel forces and which ones are jihadists.
Perhaps because there's no way to tell the difference?
U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, who was attending the Astana talks, said he now hoped to reconvene peace talks in Geneva next month.
"We (the UN) are the main player in regards to the political process," de Mistura said. "The political process should continue in Geneva... We cannot allow another ceasefire to be, in a way, wasted, because of a lack of a political process."
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Posted by: Steve White ||
01/25/2017 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.
...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier...
...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. ..
[AA.TR] A PKK leader was 
There is no room under the current configuration for more strikes against the Islamic State group without endangering civilians, a top Air Force official who just stepped down says, despite repeated claims from President Donald Trump he will ramp up the air war, and a spike since his inauguration of strikes in Iraq and Syria.
Moqtada 
[IsraelTimes] ’We’re building -- and will continue to build,’ Netanyahu says; Liberman also seeks green light for Paleostinian industrial zone.
Russia and regional powers Turkey and Iran backed a shaky truce between Syria's warring parties on Tuesday and agreed to monitor its compliance, but on the ground rebels faced continued fighting on two fronts which could undermine the deal.
