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Suspect in Justice Baqar case dies
Today's Headlines
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Africa North
Egypt risks civil war if Islamists are not included - AU
[Al Ahram] Egypt risks being engulfed in a civil war unless its newly installed interim government includes Islamists, the African Union warned on Thursday. The Addis Ababa-based bloc suspended Egypt this month after the military ousted President Mohamed Morsi on July 3 following huge street protests against his rule.
Posted by: Fred || 07/19/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Hollow threat. Civil war was already on the menu.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/19/2013 1:26 Comments || Top||

#2  Guess me an AU don't live in the same world. IMO, the only way to avoid Egyptian Civil war is for the army to go severely medieval on Islamists.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/19/2013 4:27 Comments || Top||

#3  "You sheep must include the wolves as part of your flock."
Posted by: Pappy || 07/19/2013 15:47 Comments || Top||

#4  8% minimum but strive to over represent for eons of sheep discrimination against Wolves.
Posted by: Shipman || 07/19/2013 16:18 Comments || Top||


Egypt's military warns against violence ahead of rival protests
[Al Ahram] Egypt's military has called on protesters planning to demonstrate on Friday to remain peaceful, warning against the use of violence.

In a statement military spokesman Ahmed Ali said on Thursday, "The armed forces warn not to deviate from peaceful means of expression or resort to violence or vandalism against military facilities...or disrupt public interests."

Whoever does not abide by peacefulness is only exposing his life to danger and will be dealt with according to the law, the statement added.

Rival pro- and anti-Morsi nationwide protests are scheduled to take place on Friday, coinciding with the anniversary of the 10th of Ramadan 1973 war with Israel.

The Rebel campaign, which directly contributed to the removal of Mohamed Morsi on 3 July, called on Egyptians to protest on Friday to ensure the continuation of the 30 June revolutionary wave and for the fulfilment of the aims of Egypt's January 25 Revolution.

Protests will take place at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo's Heliopolis district, Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo and in towns across Egypt, the Rebel group said.

The campaign also condemned what they described as "terrorism" from Morsi supporters, in reference to attacks that have killed at least 10 police officers in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula since Morsi's ouster.

The Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist allies will hold their own nationwide protests on Friday to mark the anniversary of the 10th of Ramadan war and to express solidarity with former president Mohamed Morsi, who they claim was deposed in a coup on 3 July led by army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.
Posted by: Fred || 07/19/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


ICC rejects Libya bid to suspend Gaddafi son handover
[Al Ahram] The International Criminal Court
... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ...
on Thursday rejected 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...
's request to suspend the handover of slain leader Moamer Qadaffy's son Seif al-Islam.

"The Appeals Chamber... rejected the Libyan authorities' request to suspend the surrender...," the Hague-based court's appeal judges said in a statement.

They added that Tripoli remained "obliged" to hand over Seif al-Islam, who served as the late Libyan strongman's de facto prime minister.

Tripoli's lawyers last month had asked the ICC, the world's only permanent court to try war crimes, to suspend an order to hand him over.

Tripoli and the ICC have been involved in a legal tug-of-war over where Seif al-Islam and Qadaffy's former spy chief Abdullah Senussi should face trial for their roles in trying to put down Libya's bloody revolt in 2011.
Posted by: Fred || 07/19/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Looks like "Sword of Islam" is likely to get it in the neck, eh? There's some irony in that.
Posted by: Muggsey Mussolini || 07/19/2013 10:32 Comments || Top||

#2  That's Dr. Sword of Islam to you, Muggsey M. He bought that doctorate from the London School of Economics fair and square.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/19/2013 14:29 Comments || Top||

#3  his crimes were principally against the people of Libya. Try him there first. Execute him and hand over his remains for the ICC to try. I'm sure the
ICC doesn't have a readily applied (if at all) death penalty
Posted by: Frank G || 07/19/2013 15:28 Comments || Top||

#4  I'm sure the ICC doesn't have a readily applied (if at all) death penalty

No, but the accused do seem to succumb from sleep disorders.
Posted by: Pappy || 07/19/2013 15:49 Comments || Top||


Cairo residents to protest against Morsi supporters sit-in
[Al Ahram] Residents of a northern Cairo district, where loyalists of Egypt's toppled Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi have maintained a sit-in since days before his ouster, are to take to the streets Thursday night to demonstrate against the damages caused by the protesters.

Enraged with a series of violations from encamped protesters, a group of local residents of Rabaa Al-Adawiya area in Cairo's populous Nasr City district, are to protest at 10pm against the alleged sufferings they have incurred from the thousand-strong protest that has been taking place for the 21st consecutive day, since 28 June.

The group has issued four statements via Facebook pleading to return to their normal lives and underlining infractions by protesters. These, according to earlier statements, include blocking main and side roads, sleeping at building entrances, examining residents, non-stop use of speakers and fireworks as well as reported rubbish heaps.

Loyalists of toppled president Mohamed Morsi have been encamped in Cairo and Giza demanding that their leader be reinstated after he was tossed by Egypt's army on 3 July amid mass street pressure calling for his removal.

Residents gave Morsi's supporters a deadline to end the blockade of the district by clearing side streets and taking the sit-in to main streets.

Otherwise, they vowed to gather Thursday night to raise their demand to relocate the sit-in and give authorities a time limit to intervene.

In earlier statements, residents demanded pro-Morsi protesters to clear side streets, stop the use of fireworks after midnight, lower the volume of sound systems throughout the day and turn them off after midnight, among others.

The residents made it clear that sit-in organisers have apologised, but to no avail, asserting that no action has been taken on the ground.

They also asserted they are not for or against the sit-in as long as it causes no harm in their daily lives.
Posted by: Fred || 07/19/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Morsi loyalists stage fresh round of mass protest
[Al Ahram] A newly formed coalition of Islamist parties has called for yet another round of mass protests on Friday against what they perceived as military coup following the army's overthrow of the country's Islamist leader.

The National Coalition for Supporting Legitimacy called upon supporters of toppled president Mohamed Morsi to mass on Friday, dubbed "breaking the coup," in major squares in Cairo and elsewhere.

The day will coincide with the 40th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war victory which falls on the 10th of the Muslim month of Ramadan.

In a Thursday statement, the Islamist umbrella group said the only way to end the current political deadlock is to 'reverse the coup and restore the legitimacy of the president, the constitution and the parliament.'
Posted by: Fred || 07/19/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


China-Japan-Koreas
North Korea demands ship return
[Dawn] North Korea urges the release of seized arms smuggling ship and crew as Panama calls in UN for further checks.
Posted by: Fred || 07/19/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  A fair request. Send us our old AGER-2 with a new coat of paint and all it's gear and we'll see what we can do.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/19/2013 1:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Besoeker is The man.
Posted by: Threater Flusoper9823 || 07/19/2013 4:22 Comments || Top||

#3  You're in NO position to "Demand" anything, Ask politely, and the answer's NO.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 07/19/2013 4:45 Comments || Top||

#4  Funny, as soon as I saw the headline, I had the same thought Besoeker did - assuming the Pueblo is the AGER-2 to which he refers.
Posted by: Bobby || 07/19/2013 6:35 Comments || Top||

#5  stamping his fat feet and shaking his tiny fists in rage is he? Good
Posted by: Frank G || 07/19/2013 8:41 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Erdogan refuses to speak to Egypt's ElBaradei
[Al Ahram] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to speak to Egypt's new Vice-President Mohamed ElBaradei
Egyptian law scholar and sometime Iranian catspaw. He was head of the IAEA from December 1997 to November 2009. At some point during his tenure he was purchased by the Iranians. ElBaradei and the IAEA were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for something in 2005. ElBaradei served on the Board of Trustees of the International Crisis Group, a lefty NGO that is bankrolled by the Carnegie Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as George Soros' Open Society Institute. After the fall of Mubarak he ran for president. He lost.
, the latest broadside in a spat that erupted after the military coup in the Arab world's most populous country.

Erdogan infuriated Egypt's interim leaders after he voiced support for ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

"How could I speak to you? You were not elected, you were appointed by the orchestrators of a coup," he said on Wednesday, addressing ElBaradei in remarks carried on CNN-Turk's website.

ElBaradei, a prominent liberal and former head of the UN nuclear watchdog, was sworn in on Sunday as part of a new cabinet appointed after the July 3 military overthrow of Morsi.

Erdogan, leader of the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP), had branded the coup as an "enemy of democracy" and said Morsi was the only legitimate president of Egypt.

He said he had received a letter from ElBaradei seeking a telephone conversation after his comments.

"They don't like what we are saying; they are uncomfortable with it," Erdogan said. "They said certain comments were made without full knowledge of the facts."

The interim government in Cairo on Tuesday voiced "strong resentment" at Erdogan's comments about the overthrow of Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president.

Relations between Turkey and Egypt had strengthened during Morsi's year in power.
Posted by: Fred || 07/19/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Islamists don't like liberals/seculars
Posted by: Paul D || 07/19/2013 10:27 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
May 2013 Issue of the West Point CTC Sentinel Available
Via the nice people at Small Wars Journal. Enjoy!
Posted by: || 07/19/2013 08:17 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Congressman: Benghazi Survivors Forced to Sign Non-Disclosure Agreements
Maybe they all went to a screening of the video that started the whole thing..... /sarc

HT: AoS
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 07/19/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Oh, you do not WISH to sign the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), no problem. Unfortunately, however, your declination may result in a derogatory finding by the investigating officer on your upcoming security clearance periodic re-investigation. Maintaining your security clearance is, as you know, a condition of employment.

Please give it some thought.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/19/2013 1:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Both the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) have personnel with the appropriate clearances and access necessary to hear any Benghazi testimony contained in an NDA. If for some reason they do not have access, they can be selectively "read on" to necessary programmatic elements.

The failure of the HPSCI and SSCI to gain the required access and information can only be attributed to two causes:

a. They don't want the information.
b. As lawmakers, they no longer have the power to enforce compliance.

After what we have seen in recent weeks with testimony concerning the NSA, I'm leaning toward "b".
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/19/2013 1:45 Comments || Top||

#3  You mean, that I could be thrown OUT If I don't sign (Breaks pencil in half) Where's the door.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 07/19/2013 4:58 Comments || Top||

#4  I go with (b). Congress is toothless and cowardly.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man || 07/19/2013 5:19 Comments || Top||

#5  I can't figure out how this is even remotely legal. NDAs do not, cannot, apply with the intent to, or effect of, obstructing a criminal or Congressional investigation.

I know, I know - we're in Ogabe's utopia now. But I'm surprised that so many seemed to have signed, and didn't testify anyway. Am I the only one who'd toss a worthless signature on a worthless document, and go about the business of being sure the truth is known anyway? Maybe that course of action has just seemed routine in my life.

Posted by: RandomJD || 07/19/2013 15:28 Comments || Top||

#6  You are entirely correct RDJ. It is absolutely not "legal" it is simple coercion under the usual cover of sensitive programs and national defense. Failure to comply could result in one's removal and a very long struggle to return. The survivors are caught between a rock and a hard place.

Power in this country now appears to rest in McLean, VA. not in the congress, but I drone on.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/19/2013 15:44 Comments || Top||

#7  Old days it was wet-work.

Now it's legal-work. Much more long-lasting and painful to the target.
Posted by: Pappy || 07/19/2013 15:52 Comments || Top||

#8  So sign the NDA to buy yourself some time, spill your guts to Issa, and find another job. Maybe file suit if you have the resources and you're feeling frisky. End of the day, it's just a job. I don't know how these people sleep at night.

Here's where I'm coming from. I walked away from a million or three because I wouldn't compromise my integrity or sell my soul. Not sayin it didn't hurt, but money is fungible. Sure, everyone has a price, and I'm not unreasonable. I decided my soul is worth 8 or 9 figures at least. The blackmailer in question couldn't deliver the goods. Oh well. Sucks to be him.

Just sayin, if people are going to survive this regime with their souls intact, they'd better expand their thinking and find their spines.
Posted by: RandomJD || 07/19/2013 16:08 Comments || Top||

#9  I agree RJD, and we wonder why we have Edward Snowdens.

Posted by: Besoeker || 07/19/2013 16:19 Comments || Top||

#10  What's the Spot Market on Souls these days?
Posted by: Shipman || 07/19/2013 16:20 Comments || Top||

#11  As I recall, our good Senator from SC, Lindsey Graham reportedly visited a few of these people in Bethesda and or Walter Reed. Has he signed an agency NDA as well, or has he just forgotten all about the visit(s) and moved on ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/19/2013 16:24 Comments || Top||

#12  Judging by the gutless weenies who signed NDAs and have kept mum, the average looks to be about, mm, $100k/yr, +/- $25k? Pathetic. I could sell my body for a lot more than that, and feel a lot less disgusted with myself.
Posted by: RandomJD || 07/19/2013 16:28 Comments || Top||

#13  Hard to actually say unless each situation is examined. Could have been some long-term disabilities, medical requirements [resulting from the Benghazi attack], not to mention pensions, etc. We don't even know who these people are, let alone their individual duties and responsibilities. Gov't or contractor, State Dept, US Citizen, Non-US Citizen, detainee......? We may never know.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/19/2013 16:42 Comments || Top||

#14  I disagree. The minute it became clear that this industrial age commie retread was just another corrupt, lawless, unaccountable, redistributionist tyrant cut from the same cloth that has ruined so many societies before, people needed to prepare themselves to never depend on the government for anything again. Not a paycheck, not a pension, nuthin. I say this as a federal employee with veteran's preference. I'm surfing the wave as long as I can, but I do not expect it to last.

I grant that the attacks were not even a year ago, and it takes time to shift gears. But the longer the NDA-signers take to speak up, the more I consider them complicit with the cover-up, and in the harm Ogabe is inflicting on this country. Their knowledge gives them power that Random Citizens don't have, and that gives them the obligation to do something with it. They wanted to serve their country? To live a meaningful life? Then now is the time. Now is their chance. Such opportunities are often foisted upon us, unwanted, at the worst possible time, and call upon us to do the previously unthinkable. I'd like to know WTF rock COL Bristol, in particular, has been hiding under.

Harsh, yes. But am I wrong?
Posted by: RandomJD || 07/19/2013 17:09 Comments || Top||

#15  No, I won't say you're wrong RJD. However, altruism is not a key motivating factor for most folks who take up this rather sordid line of work. It's a small community and once you go off the reservation, you're done. These people know who they are working for. They are also keenly aware they can be betrayed and instantly be stuffed under the bus.

The people who have the answers are folks like Petreaus, Brennen, Donilon, Rice, Panetta, and possibly Jarrett. These are the people who we should be putting the pressure on.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/19/2013 17:46 Comments || Top||

#16  Could have been some long-term disabilities, medical requirements [resulting from the Benghazi attack], not to mention pensions, etc.

and security clearances. Could also be a long and agonizing process through the legal system digestive track. Especially if there... issues that would not stand the light of day.
Posted by: Pappy || 07/19/2013 18:25 Comments || Top||

#17  I don't expect altruism to be the motivation, but rather principle. People can be blackmailed only when they are dependent on something, or can't detach from something they want. When they allow their desire for something material to be exploited. When their thinking is too rigid to consider a broader range of options.

Anyone in a "sordid line of work" should be able to ask themselves, "would the world come to an end if I no longer had [thing of material value I'd rather not lose]?" And be able to answer: no.

But fair enough, I'd rather see the cheeses in the hot seat. Wouldn't it be easier to make that happen, though, if rank-and-file, on-the-ground folks exposed incriminating details? Isn't burying such details the point of the NDAs?
Posted by: RandomJD || 07/19/2013 18:28 Comments || Top||

#18  I should add: I too was part of a small community, within which being betrayed and stuffed under the bus was a matter of when, not if. I knew very well that once I left the reservation, I'd be done.

I've never regretted it. So it's just hard for me to imagine how anyone would.
Posted by: RandomJD || 07/19/2013 18:40 Comments || Top||

#19  I don't look at it as being blackmailed. I look at it as having a choice. When option A permits lies and evil to prevail, unthinkable option B starts to seem thinkable.

Problem here is, even if someone could supply direct evidence of Ogabe's malfeasance, nothing would change. The MFM would bury it under "look, squirrel!" noise, and no one would be impeached. In which case, there's no point dying on that hill, and I'd in fact be quite forgiving.
Posted by: RandomJD || 07/19/2013 19:07 Comments || Top||


The Old Shell Game
When insurgents attacked the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, last fall, Col. George Bristol held a key post in the region. As commander of Joint Special Operations Task Force-Trans Sahara, he was in a position to know what options the U.S. had to protect Americans under fire.

U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans died in the Sept. 11 attacks, sparking national outcry and a congressional investigation examining the lack of protection. Several U.S. officials have testified before Congress since -- but not Bristol, a salty Marine whose task force was responsible for special operations in northern and western Africa.

Defense Department officials have told members of Congress that Bristol cannot be forced to testify because he retired after stepping down during a March change of command ceremony, according to several media reports. The Pentagon reinforced that point of view to Marine Corps Times on Tuesday.

"Col. Bristol was not invited by Congress to testify before he retired," said Air Force Maj. Robert Firman, a spokesman with the Office of the Secretary of Defense. "The DoD has cooperated fully with Congress and the Accountability Review Board since the beginning of this investigation, and we will continue to do so."

That isn't the case, however. While Bristol is preparing for retirement, he is on active duty through the end of July, said Maj. Shawn Haney, a Marine spokeswoman, on Wednesday. He will be placed on the inactive list on Aug. 1, she said. That contradicts statements that Pentagon officials have issued to both Congress and the media.
Why am I not surprised. Lying and obfuscation is this administration's modus operandi.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 07/19/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ever used a farm shovel to move a dead road kill dog off the highway in front of your property ( near the mailbox )? When you turn it over while moving it toward the ditch the underside is a positive revelation of natural "activity".

Sort of like watching this Administration being careful about Benghazi actual events...of which they are SO careful you don't become informed.

Look at Obama and take a deep breath. Your nose knows.
Posted by: Threater Flusoper9823 || 07/19/2013 4:38 Comments || Top||

#2  My. What a colorful, disgusting, and accurate metaphor.
Posted by: RandomJD || 07/19/2013 15:33 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Hamas urges new Egyptian rulers to keep tunnels open
[Al Ahram] The Islamist group Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, appealed to Egypt's new rulers on Thursday not to pursue its destruction of smuggling tunnels into the Gazoo Strip, warning they risked throttling the small Paleostinian territory.

Paleostinians say Egyptian forces have destroyed dozens of tunnels linking Gazoo to Egypt since the ousting of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi earlier this month, severely hindering the inflow of vital goods, including fuel.

Israel maintains a strict control of all imports into Gazoo to prevent arms reaching Hamas, which refuses to recognise the Jewish state's right to exist. Under international accords, goods cannot be imported via Egypt, making the hundreds of smuggling tunnels crucial for the Gazook economy.
Posted by: Fred || 07/19/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  Hamas urging should be the primary justification for tunnel closures.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/19/2013 1:28 Comments || Top||

#2  You're Kidding, allow thievery, Right?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 07/19/2013 4:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Smuggling RJ, not necessarily thievery, altho one most suspect that is a percentage of the traffic.
Posted by: Shipman || 07/19/2013 11:14 Comments || Top||

#4  Egypt wouldn't care if the tunnels were one way into Gazoo. They's not, the Sinai is getting arms and 'volunteers' and there lies the issue.
Posted by: Pappy || 07/19/2013 14:14 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Dempsey says US considering use of force in Syria
[Al Ahram] The nation's top military officer tells a Senate committee the B.O. regime is deliberating whether to use military power in Syria, where a civil war entering its third year has killed almost 93,000 people.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey says during congressional testimony Thursday that he has provided President Barack Obama
I am not a dictator!...
with options for the use of force in Syria.

Dempsey used the term "kinetic strikes," and added the "issue is under deliberation inside of our agencies of government."

But Dempsey did not provide additional details. He says the decision on whether to engage militarily is one for U.S. elected officials to make.

The Senate Armed Services Committee is considering Dempsey's nomination for a second term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Posted by: Fred || 07/19/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Bad move! Stay the fok out of it, unless you want to see SINO-FSU naval maneuvers off the coast of Japan and elsewhere turn very ugly. You are reading the traffic.... right ?

Posted by: Besoeker || 07/19/2013 1:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Learned nothing from Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/19/2013 2:49 Comments || Top||

#3  STU-PID move. They are killing EACH OTHER and you want to stop it?
BAD puppy, bad.
Posted by: Threater Flusoper9823 || 07/19/2013 4:25 Comments || Top||

#4  No. Hell no.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 07/19/2013 9:06 Comments || Top||

#5  I Really like the tag, Fred.

"that he has provided President Barack Obama
I am not a dictator!... "
Posted by: newc || 07/19/2013 9:08 Comments || Top||

#6  Unfortunately, the Bammer's foreign policy is being presently heavily criticized or summed up in the MSM-Net as "SEDUCTION-N-ABANDONMENT".

The Brits has repor also seemingly decided to abandon their plan to arm the Syrian rebels, although its NOt clear at this time iff this is due to Dempsey's remarks, or the on-going criticisms of the Bammer Admin as per "red line" wafflism.

* BHARAT RAKSHAK > [Big Story] UN ENVOY: IRAQ AND SYRIA CONFLICTS ARE MERGING.

POTUS Bammer "red lines" also "merging"???

FYI my bad vibes keeps going up, more so this AM given ...

* BIG NEWS NETWORK > [India Today] WHITE HOUSE ASSERTS WILL NEVER [e-v-a-r!] RULE ALL OF SYRIA EVER AGAIN.

IMO the key word is "ALL", directly inferring that the Bammer Admin = USA covertly desires some kind of formal partition or division of Syria???

[1/2 of ASIA-PACIFIC RIM here].

PCORRECT LEGALISM = the Bammer can't be impeached because HE'S PAYING OFF THE DEBILITATING EXCESSIVE US DEBT + REDUCING THE BUDGET DEFICIT; + HE ONLY TURNED OVER EAST ASIA + GUAM-CNMI-WESTPAC TO CHINA, NOT HAWAII + US WEST COAST SINCE THAT OF COURSE WOULD BE AGZ THE US CONSTITUTION [De Facto US States, NOT Not-A-State(s) US Territories].

* Also from BIG NEWS NETWORK > [USA = USDOD] MILITARY COMMUNITIES BRACE FOR HARDSHIP DUE TO [Sequester-led] BUDGET CUTS.

>[Pew Research Center] GLOBAL POLL INDICATES THAT CHINA WILL PASS US AS SUPERPOWER [Global Leader = "Top Cop/World Policeman"].
> RUSSIA TODAY = AL-QAEDA'S PLANNED EMIRATE IN SYRIA IS WEST'S OWN DOING.
> PHILIPPINE STAR = DFA: BEIJING'S SWEEPING CLAIMS ON ENTIRE SOUTH CHINA SEA IS THE PROBLEM.

* STARS-N-STRIPES > USDOD MULLS [more, new]POTENTIAL CUTBACKS IFF SEQUESTER PERSISTS.

RELATED SAME = KAIN: DEFENCE CUTS HURTING US BASES OVERSEAS.

* BHARAT RAKSHAK > [Asia Times] CHINA PLANNING STRATEGIC COUP IN THE PACIFIC. China prepping a direct, iff only subtle? [subtle-but-aggressive], MilPol challenge to to the international order established by the US in the Far East.

* MARIANAS VARIETY GUAM > CHINESE MEDIAS ACCUSE JAPANESE PM OF DANGEROUS POLITICS.

Both China + Japan NOT backing down, but ESCALATING - WILL THE BAMMER LOVE-EM-THEN-LEAVE-EM, in the name of "Globalism", OWG, Global Welfare-Nanny State, US National-vs-Global/World-Debt, + OWG "Multipolarity"???

OWG GLOBAL "CO-SUPERPOWER(S)" - you know, CHINA or NUCLEAR ISLAM/CALIPHATE, ETAL. to be the FUTURE WORLD #1???

Thank goodness thats settled.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 07/19/2013 22:22 Comments || Top||

#7  D *** NG IT, ITS FOR AMERIKA'S GLOBAL/WORLD = "STAR/SPACE DEBT"???

Because OWG "CO-SUPERPOWER(S)" means Amerika is spelled wid only one "k" [Amerika], N-O-T three "k"s [Amerikkka].

YEAH!

lol.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 07/19/2013 22:25 Comments || Top||


Iran, Iraq have 'exceptional' security role: Ahmadinejad
[Al Ahram] Iran's diminutive President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad said in Iraq on Thursday that Tehran and Storied Baghdad
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
have an "exceptional" role to play in the region's security.

"The role of the two countries in the security of the region is exceptional," Ahmadinejad told news hounds in Storied Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, but without elaborating.

"We carry a joint message, which is a message of progress and stability and security, and also a message of peace," Ahmadinejad said after talks with Iraqi Vice President Khudayr Al-Khuzaie.

Ahmadinejad, whose term ends early next month, arrived in Iraq to a red carpet welcome.

He also met Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, a statement on the premier's website said.

Maliki said at the meeting that "Iraq supports peaceful solutions for all the problems in the region," and told Ahmadinejad Iranian companies were welcome to take part in the reconstruction of Iraq, the statement said.

Ahmadinejad plans to visit the shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala and that of Imam Ali in Najaf, two of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam, Maliki's front man Ali Mussawi said.
Posted by: Fred || 07/19/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Merge Both Iran & Iraq : Akin 2 Capitals And Condominium - Eventual Statehood - Emergence One Country - With The Civil Rights & Equal Rights Advocated In Koran- And The Constitution As One - Allahu Akbar
Posted by: 5384 || 07/19/2013 20:02 Comments || Top||

#2  idiot
Posted by: Frank G || 07/19/2013 20:39 Comments || Top||


Syria's Assad may cling on, Britain will not arm rebels
[Al Ahram] Britannia has abandoned plans to arm Syrian rebels fighting to overthrow Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Scourge of Qusayr...
and believes he might survive in office for years, sources familiar with government thinking say.

The sources also told Rooters that a peace conference to try to end the conflict - now in its third year - might not happen until next year if at all.

"Britannia is clearly not going to arm the rebels in any way, shape or form," said one source, pointing to a parliamentary motion passed last week urging prior consultation of politicians.

The reasons for the shift were that British public opinion was largely opposed, and there were fears that any weapons Britannia supplied could fall into the hands of Islamist cannibals Death Eaters.

"It will train them, give them tactical advice and intelligence, teach them command and control. But public opinion, like it or not, is against intervention."

The British position amounted to one of the gloomiest assessments of the rebels' prospects yet.

It was Prime Minister David Cameron
... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ...
who led the charge earlier this year for the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
to drop an arms embargo on Syria, which London and Gay Paree had argued was one-sidedly penalising the anti-Assad opposition.

The involvement of Iran and Hezbollah had shifted the balance of power on the battlefield in Assad's favour, the sources said, giving him less incentive to negotiate, and the West had no strategy to end the conflict soon.

"The Western assessment has changed," said one source. "We thought Assad could only hold on for a few months. We now think he can last a few years."
Posted by: Fred || 07/19/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  left it too long and now the jihadis are in control
Posted by: Paul D || 07/19/2013 10:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Yep.
Posted by: Shipman || 07/19/2013 11:15 Comments || Top||

#3  And the Turk wimped out.
Posted by: Shipman || 07/19/2013 11:15 Comments || Top||

#4  And the Turk wimped out.

The Turk deliberately eviscerated his army, Shipman. He needs to stuff the rest of the intestines back in the hole, dust liberally with antibiotic powder, and sew a fine seam before the army is going to be useful for much more than parades.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/19/2013 13:18 Comments || Top||

#5  so we have several years ahead of us with Assad and Hezbollah and the Bajii fighting the FSA and Al Q allies and also the FSA fighting Al q allies

gee that's too bad
Posted by: lord garth || 07/19/2013 14:16 Comments || Top||


Champ still considering use of force in Syria
The Obama administration is deliberating whether to use military power in Syria, where a civil war entering its third year has killed almost 93,000 people, the nation’s top military officer told a Senate panel on Thursday.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, said during congressional testimony that he has provided President Barack Obama with options for the use of force in Syria. Speaking about what he termed “kinetic strikes,”
...which have never hurt anyone...
Dempsey added that the “issue is under deliberation inside of our agencies of government.”

But he declined to provide further details, as members of the Senate Armed Services Committee pressed him for greater clarity on the strategy for ending the war and removing Syrian President Bashar Assad from power.

“The decision on whether to use force is the decision of our elected officials,” Dempsey said. “It would be inappropriate for me to try to influence the decision with me rendering an opinion in public with what type of force we should use.”
Fair enough. Where's Mr. Hagel and Mr. Kerry?
The committee is considering Dempsey’s nomination for a second term as chairman and the nomination of Navy Adm. James Winnefeld for a second term as vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“There are a whole range of options that are out there,” Winnefeld said of planning for military action in Syria. “We are ready to act if we’re called on to act.”

Dempsey acknowledged in response to a question from Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, that Assad’s forces have the upper hand in Syria.

“Currently the tide seems to have shifted in his favor,” Dempsey said.

Leading senators, including Carl Levin, a Democrat and the committee chairman, and Sen. John McCain, a leading Republican, have been pressing Obama to take a more forceful approach to defeat Assad’s forces. While the Obama administration has authorised lethal aid to rebel forces battling Assad’s troops, it is not trying to enforce a no-fly zone in which Syria’s combat aircraft would be barred from flying, or otherwise intervene militarily to halt the war.

The Democratic-led Senate Armed Services Committee is all but certain to approve Dempsey’s and Winnefeld’s reappointments.

Dempsey’s first term as chairman has been a turbulent one with the military drawing down from lengthy wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the same time, he has had to grapple with billions of dollars in budget cuts that have threatened military readiness, the epidemic of sexual assaults in the ranks, and the crisis in Syria.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/19/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Consider" It as long as you wish, you won't do anything, You're ALL MOUTH. (And NO ASS)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 07/19/2013 5:06 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2013-07-19
  Suspect in Justice Baqar case dies
Thu 2013-07-18
  Kurds expel cannibals jihadists from flashpoint Syrian town
Wed 2013-07-17
  AQAP: Arabian Al Qaeda's Number Two Confirmed Dead
Tue 2013-07-16
  Egypt prosecutor orders arrest of Brotherhood figures
Mon 2013-07-15
  Former Jamaat-e-Islami chief found guilty of war crimes
Sun 2013-07-14
  B/Haram: Shekau denies ceasefire
Sat 2013-07-13
  Security operatives raid Boko Haram's den in Sokoto
Fri 2013-07-12
  Report: Al-Qaeda Killed Free Syrian Army Commander
Thu 2013-07-11
  Boko Haram Confirms Ceasefire Agreement
Wed 2013-07-10
  Boko Haram: Borno ANPP in disarray after JTF arrests chairman
Tue 2013-07-09
  Massive car bomb rocks Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut
Mon 2013-07-08
  51 dead, 435 hurt in clashes near pro-Morsi sit-in
Sun 2013-07-07
  Clashes resume outside Cairo, dozens of pro-Morsi protesters arrested
Sat 2013-07-06
  Thirty killed in alleged Boko Haram attack on Nigeria boarding school
Fri 2013-07-05
  Morsi Loyalists Clash With Soldiers in Cairo Protests

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