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Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Non-WoT        Politix   
Blue on Blue: 38 Bad Guys die in bombing attack in Nangarhar
Today's Headlines
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
The approaching offensive
[DAWN] ACROSS the world, spring is associated with rejuvenation and rebirth after a burdensome winter. Yet this logic skips Afghanistan. Here spring has been associated with death since 2003. One of the unintended consequences of the long military operation in Afghanistan has been its emulative nature; the adversary, in this instance the Taliban, has learnt the techniques normally used by states.

Its clearest proof was provided last year, when on April 22, the Taliban announced in a tone normally associated with government blurbs that, "The Islamic Emirate is going to launch the spring operations under the inspirational name of 'Azm' [determination] at 5am on the 24th of April". They added that the target of their operations would be the foreign occupiers and their Afghan supporters.

Such an announcement would have appeared farcical at best was it not for its deadly earnestness -- on the said date, 108 deadly attacks were launched throughout Afghanistan, involving attacks on many provincial headquarters.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Arabia
I want to think freely, and write freely
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] In the Arab world, everyone thinks journalists cannot be independent, but I represent myself, which is the right thing to do. What would I be worth if I succumbed to pressure to change my opinions? The atmosphere of freedom must be preserved, and I am happy that my government is doing so. A public meeting I had with a group of youths in Riyadh to discuss the volatile regional environment was recorded and broadcast online without any curtailment.

That was the best cure for the articles that were attacking me and the friends who were abandoning me. I talked to the youths for more than two hours, and answered their questions freely. I felt then that the world cannot bring down someone who is free on the inside. I want to be free, to think freely and write freely. I am free to do so.
Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  That's one way out.
Posted by: newc || 12/30/2015 0:42 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Rangers dilemma
[DAWN] SINDH continues to be an arena of a fight, with the provincial government confronting both the federal government and the paramilitary Rangers that the centre has posted in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
, apparently overriding the objections of the province. As a result, a politico-constitutional crisis is brewing that may imperil the democratic dispensation in Sindh and beyond. Interestingly, all three contenders are justifying their respective stance on legal and constitutional grounds.

Rangers: The paramilitary force claims 'absolute powers' under the Anti-Terrorist Act (ATA) to arrest 'any person', including a public servant, who is suspected of involvement in terrorism-related offences. However,
corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds...
the putative 'absolute powers' are subject to due process of the law under Article 10-A of the Constitution. Moreover, citizens' life, liberty and dignity, protected under Articles 9 and 14 of the Constitution, cannot be abridged on mere 'suspicion'.

Further, the Rangers' quest as an anti-terrorism agency to go against those who are prima facie involved in terrorism-related 'corrupt practices' may lead to double jeopardy for a detainee as seen in the ongoing case of Dr Asim Hussain. He was grilled first by the Rangers under the ATA and now NAB authorities are investigating corruption charges against him. Double jeopardy is prohibited under Article 13 of the Constitution.
Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
A war over who deserves to be called a 'martyr'
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Media outlets affiliated with the "Axis of Resistance" have described Lebanese bully boy Samir Qantar as a "martyr" after he was killed in Syria in a suspected Israeli attack earlier this month. Many in the Arab world are quick to label those killed by Israel as a "martyr." But this description angered opponents of the Assad regime; how can someone who professed support to Assad's criminal regime and fought alongside it be called a martyr, even if "the enemy" Israel killed him?

Many took to social media to voice their anger about this, pointing to Qantar's "involvement in the killing of the Syrian people."

It seems we've begun to grant titles of "martyrdom" while overlooking the biographies of these “martyrs”
But again, it was only few days later that media outlets who oppose the Assad regime described leader of the Jaish al-Islam
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  May you all become martyrs.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/30/2015 6:11 Comments || Top||

#2  God will decide who gets to be a martyr. And if you misinterpret his desires, either through laziness or to justify some otherwise prohibited behavior, then I'm sure quite the opposite will happen . . . .
Posted by: gorb || 12/30/2015 15:44 Comments || Top||

#3  Some of these people have what equates to an elementary version of scruples and some of their protests and discussions seem to almost be moralistic. I think the Democrats should probably just stick with importing party members from Latin America where politics are conducted on a much lower level ethically. The Nation of Islam clowns are one thing, but real Muslims aren't going to prove to be as amenable as the DNC expects.
Posted by: Super Hose || 12/30/2015 20:34 Comments || Top||


Rouhani's call
[DAWN] THEY are strong words and all the stronger for the fact that they ring true. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has spoken with great conviction and frankness in acknowledging a deep malaise within the Muslim world. Be it online or in the real world, the narrative of Islam that is seemingly ascendant in the world is one propagated by bigoted and holy warrior elements in the Muslim world. Most "violence, terror and massacres, unfortunately, take place in the Islamic world", President Rouhani has been quoted as saying. There is a need to remove "Islam's negative image" in the world, the Iranian leader added. Unquestionably, Mr Rouhani has given voice to a feeling that is widespread among right-thinking and sensible individuals across the Muslim world. It is not enough to say that Islam is a religion of peace; societies that represent Islam have to search within and fight the hate and violence that appears to have washed over so much of the Muslim world.

Courageous as President Rouhani has been in acknowledging that a great deal of the responsibility for fixing Muslim societies afflicted by war, violence and militancy lies with the Muslim world itself, he fell short of stating the full truth. Are Muslim-majority states, particularly the ones that are explicitly Islamic, truly ready to stand up for a broad, inclusive, tolerant vision of Islam? Consider Iran itself. From its support for Hezbollah to its early attempts to prop up Bashir al-Assad when the Syrian people rose up against his dictatorial rule to possibly stoking sectarian tensions in Bahrain and Yemen, has Iran really played a positive role in the region? To many outsiders, it still appears that it is an article of faith of the Iranian leadership, especially its clergy, that the Iranian revolution must be exported. But Iran is surely not the only, or even worst, offender. The extraordinary brashness of the new Saudi leadership, almost certainly fuelled by the fear that the people-power phase of the Arab Spring could penetrate 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...
, has led to extraordinary violence in 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 Bahrain. In addition, Saudi leaders are encouraging pro-Saudi Sunni militias to counter groups like the holy warrior 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....
, a move that can only backfire and prove disastrous for the region. Mr Rouhani is on firmer ground when he advocates social development and education as a long-term response to the poison that has seeped into Muslim societies. Surely, without a change in state policies, the violence on the ground will not go away. But just as surely, Muslim societies will not be able to get rid of the hate within until the people themselves have better prospects: better education, better jobs, better amenities and more representative governments. For now though more Muslim leaders need to follow Mr Rouhani's example and speak frankly about the problems within their societies. For the truth to prevail, the hate must be challenged.
Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  A lot of food fighting approved of in that article.
Popcorn sill looks like a good investment.
Posted by: 3dc || 12/30/2015 1:21 Comments || Top||

#2  And again, they left out the part where Rouhani sez "The Joos! You're supposed to be killing the Joos, not each other".
Posted by: Pappy || 12/30/2015 9:02 Comments || Top||

#3  given voice to a feeling that is widespread among right-thinking and sensible individuals

Both of them?
Posted by: AlanC || 12/30/2015 10:07 Comments || Top||

#4  The life expectancy of an Iranian taking this fellows advice would be short. Oh, other Muslims in Sunni countries should speak up. Naw.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 12/30/2015 10:26 Comments || Top||

#5  Does Rouhani still chant "Death to America"??
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/30/2015 11:14 Comments || Top||

#6  "Does Rouhani still chant "Death to America"?"

Does a bear shit sleep in the woods? Does the sun rise in the East?
Posted by: Barbara || 12/30/2015 14:15 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
25[untagged]
14Islamic State
4Govt of Pakistan
3Govt of Iraq
3Govt of Iran
2TTP
2Govt of Saudi Arabia
2Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
2Taliban
1Hezbollah
1Houthis
1al-Shabaab
1al-Qaeda in Arabia
1Ansar al-Sharia
1Narcos
1Hamas

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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2015-12-30
  Blue on Blue: 38 Bad Guys die in bombing attack in Nangarhar
Tue 2015-12-29
  North African al-Qaeda says top figure killed in ambush
Mon 2015-12-28
  Iraqi airstrike kills ISIS Top Dawgs
Sun 2015-12-27
  Syrian Rebels Mourn Loss of Leader, Name Replacement
Sat 2015-12-26
  One Killed as Bomb Blast Rocks Ahmadi Mosque in Bangladesh
Fri 2015-12-25
  30 ISIS Bad Guys die in Fallujah
Thu 2015-12-24
  ISIS troops forced out of Ramadi
Wed 2015-12-23
  Driver Shouting 'Allahu Akbar!' Runs Down 11 French Pedestrians
Tue 2015-12-22
  Tunisia dismantles cell recruiting women for Islamist militant
Mon 2015-12-21
  Afghanistan: Taliban 'take centre of Helmand district'
Sun 2015-12-20
  Terrorist and Hezbollah commander Samir Kuntar... Tango Uniform
Sat 2015-12-19
  Yemen Government Forces Capture Capital of al-Jawf Province as Peace Talks Go on
Fri 2015-12-18
  Over 800 migrants try to storm Channel Tunnel in France: Official
Thu 2015-12-17
  30 Dead in Boko Haram Attack on Three Nigeria Villages
Wed 2015-12-16
  Top Saudi, UAE Commanders among 150 Forces Killed in Yemen Tochka Attack

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