Hi there, !
Today Thu 09/19/2013 Wed 09/18/2013 Tue 09/17/2013 Mon 09/16/2013 Sun 09/15/2013 Sat 09/14/2013 Fri 09/13/2013 Archives
Rantburg
533272 articles and 1860597 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 62 articles and 153 comments as of 4:55.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
FLASH - BREAKING NEWS - Gunman opens fire at Navy Yard in Washington
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 2: WoT Background
2 01:54 g(r)omgoru [1] 
0 [4] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
0 [4] 
0 [2] 
2 23:57 JosephMendiola [6] 
0 [8] 
5 20:52 lord garth [6] 
0 [5] 
1 07:07 Threater Flusoper9823 [1] 
0 [6] 
0 [] 
7 12:19 M. Murcek [6] 
0 [4] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
2 13:32 trailing wife [5] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
52 23:12 trailing wife [6]
6 21:37 Alaska Paul [6]
1 09:17 Ptah [1]
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
0 [5]
0 [2]
0 [6]
0 [3]
1 11:17 Ebbang Uluque6305 [5]
0 [5]
0 [4]
1 09:12 Procopius2k [1]
1 11:53 Skidmark [1]
2 14:30 Pappy [9]
0 [2]
0 [7]
0 [7]
0 [2]
1 09:44 M. Murcek [11]
0 [1]
Page 3: Non-WoT
8 20:06 swksvolFF [8]
2 10:39 Besoeker [1]
1 20:31 Redneck Jim [3]
6 19:23 remoteman [1]
2 12:00 Skidmark [1]
4 20:31 JosephMendiola [5]
1 07:20 Threater Flusoper9823 [1]
3 18:40 swksvolFF [1]
0 [5]
3 13:00 Uncle Phester [1]
3 20:25 Redneck Jim [1]
Page 4: Opinion
0 [1]
1 12:04 Bobby [9]
7 14:27 Ebbang Uluque6305 [5]
Page 6: Politix
3 22:28 Frank G [5]
16 19:26 Airandee []
0 [2]
2 08:56 Procopius2k []
1 15:48 Elmearong Gurly-Brown5896 [2]
6 14:26 Alaska Paul []
Africa Horn
'Milestone' Talks Monday to Set Somalia on Road to Recovery
[An Nahar] The EU hosts a "milestone" international conference on Somalia on Monday aimed at underpinning economic and political recovery after two decades of bloody civil war.

Some 50 high-level delegations from Africa, Europe, the Gulf and elsewhere are expected for the "New Deal in Somalia" event, gathering President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, other Somali leaders, world aid groups and global finance institutions.

"We will not just be managing conflict, on Monday we will be signaling and kick-starting the consolidation of peace and stability in Somalia," said Alexander Rondos, the EU's Horn of Africa envoy.

Britannia's ambassador to Somalia Neil Wigan said the conference was "a major milestone" after the country's remarkable progress over the last year."

With diplomats hoping to see more than a billion euros in pledges, Wigan said "our combined efforts will maintain momentum and deliver the change that the people of Somalia desperately need."

In January, Mohamud won formal U.S. recognition of his government for the first time since the 1991 overthrow of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre that plunged the country into civil war.

For the past year it has seen a president, government and parliament function without interruption but the fragility of its institutions means it cannot yet be given loans and will have to accept grants.

At stake Monday will be the approval of a New Deal Compact setting out the federal government's political, security and economic priorities, agreeing a fund to support the program, and ways of monitoring international support in the future.

High on the current agenda is a Somali campaign to get one million children into school in a country that has one of the world's lowest enrollment rates -- with only four of every ten children in class.
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The EU? WHO?

Gonna get Somalia on its feet again? Really?

WHY?

Yeah? On its feet. And a million of the kiddies can go back to school. WHERE is my violin. Allah mist be informed at once.
Serious, on its feet.

A billion Euros...I think I smell a chance at dependence here. Or a Scam. What do you smell? Do you smell another EUroweenie bending over with a roll of brass coins in his fundament? For the goon with his AK and his hand out. Allah's poor babies.
Posted by: Threater Flusoper9823 || 09/16/2013 7:07 Comments || Top||


Puntland launches seventh round of polio vaccines
See, Pakistan? Even Somalia is able to vaccinate children against polio.
GAROWE, Somalia -– Puntland Ministry of Health has launched the seventh round of polio immunization campaign which is targeting children under the age of ten with oral polio vaccines on Sunday, Garowe Online reports.

Speaking to the media at health ministry headquarters in Puntland capital of Garowe, Puntland’s Deputy Minister of Health Zaynab Ugas Yasin encouraged the parents to make their children available for immunization, “two drops of polio vaccines would be given to every child to prevent wild polio virus from spreading,” said Yasin.

“Vaccinators will be dispatched to schools and other public places in an effort to improve outreach work aimed at children who are at risk of getting polio,” she added. “After specimens were collected from Bossaso, a child tested positive for wild polio virus marking first case to be reported across Puntland”.

Health ministry alongside WHO and UNICEF conducted mass vaccination that saw children below five years but officials say Somalia is not free of the polio virus as over 80 cases were reported from southern part of the country.

Meanwhile, on July 23 the Director of Beledweyne General Hospital Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Khalif confirmed to Garowe Online that polio outbreak claimed at killed at least 11 lives in Hiraan region.
Posted by: Steve White || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
Egypt: Army set for 'crucial' action in Sinai
[Ynet] An Egyptian military official told the Asharq Al Awsat paper that the Egyptian army is preparing for action defined as "crucial" against terror targets in Sinai. The source said there are nine terrorist targets left in Sinai with about 200 Death Eaters operating.

The Egyptian army continued its crackdown in Sinai Saturday. Officials said that army forces deactivated an bomb near the El Arish airport, and that three gunnies holding a stock of ammunition were apprehended.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Mature decisions for the security of Egyptians. Novel Nation State thing to do. Offers a host of less bad options right at the door. Proud of you, Egypt.
Posted by: newc || 09/16/2013 0:55 Comments || Top||

#2  You are edging perilously close to JM's territory, newc.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/16/2013 1:54 Comments || Top||


Egypt says militants booby trap border with Gaza
[Ynet] The Egyptian army has discovered a network of booby traps along its border with the Gazoo Strip, a military front man said Sunday, as he criticized the Paleostinian territory's Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, rulers for poorly controlling their side of the border and urged them to reign in Death Eater groups operating there.

The accusations, made in a news conference explaining the military's ongoing offensive in the volatile northern Sinai area, were a rare public criticism of the Paleostinian Death Eater group by the military since the July ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in a coup.
Not that rare since the July ouster, actually. The Egyptian military is exquisitely aware that Hamas is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Libya pursues Qadaffy kid's extradition
[MAGHAREBIA] Libya renewed its call for Niger to extradite Saadi Qadaffy, Libya Herald reported on Saturday (September 14th).

The demand was made during a visit to 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...
by Niger Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum.

Bazoum said his country was willing to reconsider the legal status of Moamer Qadaffy's son as a political refugee. He also assured Libyan officials that Saadi Qadaffy was not involved in any political or media activities from Niger's territory, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Egypt's interior ministry issues ultimatum over protest 'excesses'
[Al Ahram] Egypt's Ministry of Interior says security forces observed infringements and excesses that fall beyond the realm of peacefulness in Friday's protests, which were held by supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi and critics of the armed forces.

"Many crimes were committed ... blocking roads, disturbing traffic, assaulting several mosque preachers, abducting correspondents and stealing their equipment, and threatening the security of citizens," the ministry said in a statement published on its official Facebook page.

The interior ministry stressed that the police would "strictly face such practices" in the future in order to maintain security.

Security forces tossed in the calaboose
Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!
Friday a number of Moslem Brüderbund supporters in several Egyptian cities following festivities between the Islamist group's supporters and opponents, state news agency MENA reported.

The confrontations left two dead in Alexandria and Beni Suef.

In Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city, army vehicles were deployed in several districts after Brotherhood supporters were chased by local residents near Al-Qaed Ibrahim Mosque, which has been a flashpoint for demonstrations since the 2011 January uprising.

Clashes also erupted in Alexandria's Corniche seafront road, prompting police to fire tear gas. MENA said a number of "rioters" were arrested in the city shortly afterwards.

The agency also said "a large number" of Brotherhood supporters were apprehended in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura after festivities broke out between protestors and locals, which left several injured.

There were similar skirmishes in the northern province of Sharqiya, where ousted president Mohamed Morsi was born.

Protest marches were called by the Moslem Brüderbund for Friday and Saturday in Cairo and other cities to mark the one-month anniversary of the violent dispersal by the police of two pro-Morsi sit-ins at Rabaa Al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda squares that left 600 dead and more than 40 officers killed.
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


State of emergency restores Mubarak's regime: Brotherhood
[Al Ahram] The Muslim Brotherhood criticises the decision to extend the state of emergency in Egypt, saying it provides cover for the reconstitution of the regime the January 25 Revolution rose up to end
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Nour Party: Azhar to have final say on Islamic Sharia in constitution
[Al Ahram] In an abrupt change from its earlier radical position, the ultra-conservative Islamist Salafist Nour Party announced it would welcome the Sunni Islamic institute of Al-Azhar having the final say on whether "Islamic identity articles" are included in Egypt's post-30 June constitution or not.

By "identity articles," the Nour party means Islamic Sharia articles, drafted by the Islamist-dominated constituent assembly in 2012, including controversial article 219.

Article 219 states: "The principles of Islamic Sharia include its commonly accepted interpretations, its fundamental and jurisprudential rules and it's widely considered sources, as stated by the schools of Sunna and Gamaa." Critics of the article say it leaves the door open for discrimination against non-Sunni minorities.

The Nour party's chairman, Younis Makhioun, said he - and representatives of other political parties - attended Sunday's meeting with interim-President Adli Mansour to discuss Egypt's post-30 June political roadmap.

Ahead of the meeting, Makhioun said the Nour party is keen to see a settlement reached regarding disputed articles, through negotiations among all political forces and factions.

The Nour party's new position represents a shift from earlier statements, emphasising that "the party would not accept that article 219 -- and other Islamic identity articles -- be eliminated from the new constitution."

Representatives of Al-Azhar said they are against any articles aimed at turning Egypt into a religious state. Mohamed Abdel-Salam, chairman of the State and Foundational Principles Committee and legal advisor to the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, said "some imams in the last period have highly distorted the image of Islam and all should know that Islam rejects a religious state."
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Africa Subsaharan
Niger confronts Sahara smugglers
[MAGHAREBIA] Nigerien troops clashed with smugglers near the Libyan and Algerian borders last week, RFI reported.

The violent confrontation erupted in the region of Ténéré on September 3rd, with Nigerien soldiers battling it out with narcos in a dozen all-terrain vehicles overnight into the next day. The outcome of the skirmish was not revealed by the Nigerien army, according to RFI.

These groups not only smuggle drugs, but they are also active in human trafficking, as well as weapons, cigarette and currency smuggling, according to Nigerien journalist Omar Malinko.

Malinko told Magharebia that Niger's government was doing its utmost in co-ordination with Arab and Touareg residents of the north, as well as with border states, to curb the spread of those illegal activities.

"Despite all these efforts, the challenge remains strong and particularly the threat coming from Libya, which still lacks secure government institutions and protected southern borders. This is due to the security chaos prevailing in that country as well as the activity of al-Qaeda," the Nigerien journalist added.

During an interview with Magharebia, Hassan Ag Osa, a resident of northern Niger commented on these confrontations, saying the vast area was "a suitable place for movements of terrorist groups and their counterparts active in smuggling operations".

"Recently, however, several movements as well as activities by vehicles crossing the desert were reported. Yet, the vastness of the desert and its difficult terrain prevented the government from constantly monitoring the area," Ag Osa said.

The recent festivities with smuggling gangs could open a new front for the Sahel and Maghreb states, who share borders with Niger.

The situation prompted Interpol chief Mireille Ballestrazzi to say during a regional conference in Algeria on Tuesday that "the fight against drug trafficking requires more co-operation and exchange of information between Sahel countries".

According to experts, terrorist groups often co-ordinate with smuggling gangs across the region to secure routes and buy weapons. Analyst Islamo Ould Mostafa said that Islamist Death Eaters deal with drugs according to what they believe serves their interests the most.
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Narcos


Home Front: WoT
Judge orders trial in missing OK City bombing surveillance video
[Salt Lake City Deseret news] Appears some believe a second suspect [possibly an FBI informant] appears in the video exiting the rental van.
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Pakistan Taliban Set Preconditions for Peace Talks
[An Nahar] The Pak Taliban on Sunday announced preconditions for talks to end an insurgency that has killed thousands of people, demanding that troops withdraw from tribal areas and that prisoners are freed.

Shahidullah Shahid, front man for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), had earlier welcomed the new government's move to begin peace talks, but on Sunday listed the myrmidons' prior demands.

"First of all, troops in the entire tribal area should go back to barracks and then our prisoners should be released," Shahid told Agence La Belle France Presse.

"The Pakistain government must take steps which can develop an atmosphere of trust and can remove the doubts and suspicion."

"We cannot move forward unless the governments accepts these two demands," Shahid said.

He was speaking after the Taliban's shura or decision-making council held three days of talks about the government offer of dialogue.

Shura members from across the country took part in the meeting, Shahid said.
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency

#1  To show the TTP's good faith in negotiations...

* BHARAT RAKSHAK > [Pak Tribune] TTP HANDS OVER LIST OF [4,752 kept] PRISONERS TO GOVERNMENT, which they have not yet released or beheaded.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/16/2013 0:13 Comments || Top||

#2  * DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > PAKISTANI TALIBAN SET 10 CONDITIONS FOR PEACE TALKS.

Such demanded pre-conditions or pre-requisites which may ask the question why are there Govt-Militant peace talks taking place anyhoo???

As indic by ...

* RELATED SAME > PAKISTANI ARMY SAYS TALIBAN MUST NOT SET TERMS FOR TALKS.

* SAME > ISLAMABAD WILL NOT BE COERCED INTO ACCEPTING MILITANT TERMS FOR TALKS: ARMY CHIEF.

PAK Army CoS Kayani.

* SAME > TEHREEK-I-TALIBAN PAKISTAN TTP SAY THAT ISLAMABAD MUST RELEASE [any + all Mujahid] PRISONERS + WITHDRAW TROOPS FROM THE GROUP'S TRIBAL SANCTUARY AHEAD OF ANY SUSTANIABLE [successful] PEACE AGREEMENT.

* SAME > TTP COMEBACK: TALIBAN HAVE CREPT BACK INTO THEIR STRATEGIC FOOTHOLD, SAYS ANP.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/16/2013 23:57 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Hamas denies Egyptian army's accusations on Sinai
[Al Ahram] Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, denied Sunday accusations made by the Egyptian army's front man who said hand grenades bearing the stamp of the Paleostinian Islamist group's military wing were found in Sinai.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
In a statement published on the information office website of the Islamic resistance movement, the group described the claims as "lies and fabrications."

Earlier Sunday, the army's front man, Colonel Ahmed Ali, said that the military confiscated a number of munitions, including hand grenades bearing the stamp of the Ezzeddin Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military arm.

He also said in a presser there was "cooperation between armed and terrorist organizations and their counterpart in the Gazoo Strip."

The armed forces have launched a large-scale operation against hard boy groups who have stepped up their attacks against security forces in the northern Sinai Peninsula since Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the military 3 July.

Since then, Egypt has repeatedly accused Hamas, an ideological off-shoot of the Moslem Brüderbund, of interfering in its internal affairs to support Morsi and his Moslem Brüderbund.

In his presser, Colonel Ali also said there will be more military operations against "terrorist" strongholds in Sinai until the region is completely free of "factions threatening national security."
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Turkey warns against Syrian stalling tactics
[Al Ahram] Turkey on Sunday welcomed a US-Russian deal aimed at disarming Syria of its chemical weapons but warned that Damascus could be seeking to buy more time for its deadly military campaign.

"As a matter of principle, Turkey welcomes the disposal of weapons of mass destruction anywhere in the world, and particularly of chemical weapons in our region," a government statement said.

The United States and Russia reached an agreement Saturday in Geneva on a plan to remove and destroy Syria's vast chemical arsenal by mid-2014.

The Moscow-brokered initiative came after reports of a deadly chemical attack near Damascus in August prompted Washington and La Belle France to threaten military strikes against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Scourge of Qusayr...
's regime.

The agreement appears to stave off the prospect of Western military involvement but looks set to yield a long and complicated process, with Ankara warning of stalling tactics by Damascus.

The deal "should not be abused by the Syrian regime... to buy time in which to commit more massacres," the statement said.

The Anatolia news agency reported that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu would meet his US counterpart John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
in Gay Paree on Monday.
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Hizbullah Says It Asked State to Protect Dahieh before Taking Own Measures
[An Nahar] Hizbullah on Sunday noted that it had asked state authorities to protect its Dahieh stronghold and other areas following the deadly Rweiss blast, rejecting accusations that it was seeking "autonomous security."

"Hizbullah is not with autonomous security, but with all due honesty, we openly asked security forces and the highest-ranking officials to shoulder their responsibilities regrading security and no one responded," Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, head of Hizbullah's Juristic Committee, said.

"What do you want us to do while you are saying that there are booby-trapped cars? Have you ever learned of a state that abandons the security of its people?" Yazbek told mourners during a commemoration ceremony in the Bekaa town of Ansar.

Addressing "those who keep mentioning self-dissociation," the top Hizbullah official said: "Does self-dissociation involve turning Leb into a corridor for sending gunnies and arms to Syria?"

Meanwhile,
...back at the fist fight, Jake ducked another roundhouse, then parried with his left, then with his right, finally with his chin...
Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem
... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies...
said: "We believe that security is the responsibility of Lebanese security authorities and we also believe that the law is the responsibility of the Lebanese judiciary."

But Qassem revealed: "We communicated with the Lebanese security agencies and tasked a Hizbullah official to meet with the chiefs of security agencies, and we openly asked them to perform their duties and role."

"But they declared their impotence and said they could not provide the needed personnel or protect Dahieh and some other areas," Qassem added.

"We said that we do not accept such an answer and that authorities cannot say that they are powerless and that they must seek a solution. If the solution lies in increasing the number of personnel, then beef up the numbers. If the solution lies in boosting the budget, request the needed budget, and if the solution lies in a political decision, let us discuss how to take that political decision," Hizbullah's number two went on to say.

He stressed that security agencies "are exclusively responsible for people's security and they must find the solution."

"But until that happens, what should we do? Should we keep our regions vulnerable? Should we give a chance to criminals and Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed...
s to stage hostile acts against people?" Qassem asked rhetorically.

"To those saying that the state is the answer -- while it is admitting its incapacity -- we say: Should we keep the streets open to booby-trapped cars ... and allow them to cause casualties? What kind of logic is this?" he added.

Hizbullah had beefed up its security measures in and around Beirut's southern suburbs in the wake of kabooms that targeted the Bir al-Abed and Rweiss areas and left dozens of people dead and scores others maimed.
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Syria Opposition Demands Ban on Regime Air Power
[An Nahar] Syria's opposition demanded on Sunday that the international community impose a ban on the Damascus regime's use of its air power in urban areas, in addition to its chemical weapons.

"The Syrian National Coalition insists that the prohibition of chemical weapons, the use of which has left more than 1,400 civilians dead, be extended to the use of ballistic missiles and aircraft against urban areas," it said in a statement.

The bloc did not comment directly on a landmark U.S.-Russian deal reached Saturday on eliminating Syria's chemical weapons, which has been denounced by its military chief, General Selim Idriss.

But it said that Damascus' acceptance of the Russian initiative to dismantle its chemical stockpiles could be explained by "the fear of a military strike."

The National Coalition recognized the need to "seize this opportunity to halt the regime's campaign against residential areas and to end the suffering of the Syrian people."

In addition to banning the use of the regime's aerial threat, it called for the resurrection of a plan to move heavy weaponry away from populated areas and to ban their use against cities, towns and villages.

"We should not allow the Syrian regime to use its accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention as an excuse to continue killing Syrian people and escape punishment," said the statement.

"Securing the regime's chemical weapons must be accompanied by a search for justice with the perpetrators of the chemical weapons attacks brought before the International Criminal Court."
... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ...

The Coalition also asked its Arab and international supporters to strengthen the opposition's military capabilities.

This would enable it to "neutralize" the regime's air power and heavy armor and force Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
to end his military campaign and accept a political solution to guarantee a democratic transition, it added.
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Right, reduce their capabilities and enhance ours. It's only fair!

[Syrian Opposition]
Posted by: Bobby || 09/16/2013 6:30 Comments || Top||

#2  If the Islamist ( is there any other kind? ) rebels to the Assad Regime want ( listen to them "demand" ) the Assad AF off their targets ( turbans )...then it means they are hurting. If your enemy wants something, never let him have it,(even if you are doing fine) .
Our 'friends" in the opposition kill their prisoners? That's nice. Keep doing it. Dead Syrians is dead Syrians, can't be enough of that. WHO CARES if the Moslems gas each other? Would YOU be willing to die to stop them? Know anybody in the Platoon who would? Obama is a wimping weasel and he would be ready for you to get blown away as long as he isn't late for that golf appointment. I mean, what KIND of a man are we talking here? He ain't no Sgt. Rock. He's Sgt. Gaylord.
The anti-Assad people are Iranian puppets...uh....screw'em.
Russia ain't our friend, and they sure showed us what Obama is good for. He's solid Waffleman in a pink cape.
The "rebels" in Syria are going to wither on the vine eventually. So Syria descends into bleeding chaos? They have Allah, let Him make it up to them. Obama will be in the corner playing pocket pool for the next 2 yrs. Got a job yet?
Posted by: Threater Flusoper9823 || 09/16/2013 6:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Obama is a wimping weasel.

No need to malign the innocent weasel.
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/16/2013 8:27 Comments || Top||

#4  Our 'friends" in the opposition kill their prisoners? That's nice. Keep doing it. Dead Syrians is dead Syrians, can't be enough of that.

You do know that 10% of Syrians are Christian, yes? And that 16% of them are the kind of "Other Muslim" that includes such heretical groups as Alawites and Druze who aren't really muslim at all? Go read the CIA World Factbook for a bit, and learn something useful.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/16/2013 13:28 Comments || Top||

#5  syrian regome air power is only about 15% of what it was 2 years ago, in another six months it will likely be close to zero unless the russians find a way to replace parts of the kinds of relics that the regime still has
Posted by: lord garth || 09/16/2013 20:52 Comments || Top||


Hollande Says U.N. Vote on Syria Resolution May Occur by End of Next Week
[An Nahar] French President Francois Hollande
...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist...
warned Sunday that a deal to eradicate Syria's chemical arms was "not an end point" and kept the option of military strikes open, as he maintained pressure on Damascus.

Speaking live on TF1 television, Hollande stressed that the international community must prepare for the possibility of sanctions "in case of non-implementation of the accord" as part of a UN resolution that could be voted on within the next seven days.

He said the deal on Syria announced Saturday was "an important step" but was "not an end point", adding "the military option must remain, otherwise there will be no constraint".

La Belle France has been at the forefront of a drive to punish with military strikes the regime of Bashir al-Assad for a deadly poison gas attack on August 21 it blames on the Syrian government.

But it was not part of three-day negotiations in Geneva between US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that resulted in the ambitious deal to eradicate Syria's chemical arms arsenal.

Under the terms of the accord, Damascus has one week to put forward a full list of the chemical weapons it possesses and these must be taken away or destroyed by the end of the first semester of 2014.

The accord temporarily averts the threat of military strikes on Syria that La Belle France and the United States had initially touted as a way to punish Assad's regime for the gas attack -- which Damascus has always denied being responsible for.

Hollande said Gay Paree's determination to stick to a firm line had helped deliver the progress achieved in Geneva.

"Pressure exerted by La Belle France and the United States was strong enough to convince (Russian President) Vladimir Putin
...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
to take an initiative that allowed for an accord," he said. "Good!"

Hollande is due to meet with Kerry and US Foreign Secretary William Hague on Monday morning to discuss the plan, as fighting on the ground in Syria continues to rage.
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Damascus to comply with UN on arms plan: Syrian minister
[Al Ahram] Damascus will commit to a US-Russian plan to eradicate its chemical weapons once it has United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
approval, Syria's information minister told British television Sunday, adding that the regime had already begun preparing relevant documents.

"Syria is committing itself to whatever comes from the UN," Omran al-Zoubi told ITN. "We accept the Russian plan to get rid of our chemical weapons. In fact we've started preparing our list.

"We are already documenting our papers and we have started to do our job," he added. "We don't waste time."
Posted by: Fred || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Obama says he and Rohani swapped letters
Barack Obama says he and Iran’s new President Hasan Rohani have exchanged letters, and warned his reluctance to strike Syria had no bearing on US threats of force to thwart an Iranian nuclear bomb.

The US president, in an interview aired on ABC News on Sunday, confirmed the outreach to Rohani for the first time, and said he believed the Syria chemical arms drama showed that diplomacy could work if backed by threats of military action. Obama was asked on the ABC News “This Week” programme whether he had reached out to Rohani, a moderate conservative elected in June.

“I have. And he’s reached out to me. We haven’t spoken-- directly,” Obama said.

Asked by interviewer George Stephanopoulos whether the contact was via letters, Obama replied : “Yes.”

The president was careful to draw a distinction between US behaviour over Syria after freezing military action to negotiate a deal with Russia to secure the regime’s chemical arms, and Washington’s approach to Iran as a nuclear showdown reaches a critical point.

“I think what the Iranians understand is that-- the nuclear issue-- is a far larger issue for us than the chemical weapons issue,” Obama said. “The threat against ... Israel, that a nuclear Iran poses, is much closer to our core interests.

“A nuclear arms race in the region-- is something that would be profoundly destabilising. My suspicion is that the Iranians recognise they shouldn’t draw a lesson — that we haven’t struck (Syria) — to think we won’t strike Iran.”

Obama said that on the other hand, the lesson from the showdown over Syria’s chemical weapons, should show that “there is the potential of resolving these issues diplomatically.”
Just as long as Champ and the rest of us cave...
Posted by: Steve White || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  See also DAILY STAR LEBANON > OBAMA: SYRIA DEAL COULD OFFER LESSONS FOR IRAN.

versus

* WAPO > KERRY TELLS ISRAEL SYRIA ACCORD IS NO PRELUDE TO IRAN DEAL.

Clarity.

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > ISRAEL HAS 80 NUCLEAR WEAPONS, REPORT SAYS | TIMES OF ISRAEL.

N-O-T the 00's often or popularly repor in the MSM-Net???

versus

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Military Times] 75% OF US TROOPS OPPOSE STRIKE ON SYRIA - MILITARY TIMES
SURVEY.

Ditto US strike on IRAN???

* STARS-N-STRIPES > OPINION: SEQUESTRATION, SYRIA, AND SUPPLEMENTALS.

The Costs of proper OWG-NWO, Globalism-based "CO-SUPEROWER(S)" DEFEATORY???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/16/2013 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  "there is the potential of resolving these issues diplomatically."

What planet have you been on for the last ten+ years, Mr. President? Which has slowed Iranian progress to the bomb more, diplomacy or Stuxnet?
Posted by: Bobby || 09/16/2013 6:15 Comments || Top||

#3  Barack Obama says he and Iran's new President Hasan Rohani have exchanged letters
Is that like 'goin steady'?
Were they for the Debate Team?
Posted by: Big Untervehr9699 || 09/16/2013 7:18 Comments || Top||

#4  The editor for this piece must have dropped the word 'love'. As in 'love letters'...

That is fairly consistent for Obama's actions.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 09/16/2013 8:12 Comments || Top||

#5  I suppose letters are safer these days, with General Keith Alexander and NSA on the prowl and all.
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/16/2013 8:17 Comments || Top||

#6  "I gave him an 'O','K'. He gave me a 'F', 'U'"
Posted by: Frank G || 09/16/2013 9:22 Comments || Top||

#7  Now we know why it's a secret where obooboo was the night of the Benghazi attack: He was swapping spit with Rohani...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 09/16/2013 12:19 Comments || Top||


Damascus to comply with UN on arms plan
Damascus will commit to a US-Russian plan to eradicate its chemical weapons once it has United Nations approval, Syria’s information minister told British television on Sunday, adding that the regime had already begun preparing relevant documents.

“Syria is committing itself to whatever comes from the UN,” Omran Al Zoubi told ITN. “We accept the Russian plan to get rid of our chemical weapons. In fact we’ve started preparing our list.

“We are already documenting our papers and we have started to do our job,” he added. “We don’t waste time.”
He's a trained diplomat; he can say all that and keep his lips firmly attached to his face...
Syria will implement the US-Russian deal when it “turns into something more concrete” following a UN Security Council vote, Zoubi said.

“For 40 years Syria has always been trusted once it has committed itself.”
"And if you don't believe that, ask our friends the Israelis!"
Zoubi vowed that war-torn Syria would “absolutely” grant access to weapons inspectors, saying the country “respects and honours what it says.”

“We take this agreement very seriously,” the minister said.
Yew betcha...
Posted by: Steve White || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


With These Improvised Weapons, It's Incredible The Syrian Rebels Have Lasted So Long
A few clicks gets you to a series of photos. Interesting, humorous and pathetic all at the same time.
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 09/16/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I found a nice slide show about the Air Force first, but I'll keep looking for the weapons.
Posted by: Bobby || 09/16/2013 6:21 Comments || Top||

#2  What I found interesting was the number of photographed rebels with heavy beards, suggesting they were jihadis or one sort or another. Also how shiny the various metal barrel thingies were, suggesting professional machinests' hands at work.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/16/2013 13:32 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
35[untagged]
5Govt of Syria
5Arab Spring
2al-Qaeda in Sinai Peninsula
2Hezbollah
2Hamas
2Boko Haram
2al-Qaeda in Arabia
2al-Nusra
1Thai Insurgency
1al-Qaeda in Pakistan
1Govt of Pakistan
1Islamic State of Iraq
1Narcos

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2013-09-16
  FLASH - BREAKING NEWS - Gunman opens fire at Navy Yard in Washington
Sun 2013-09-15
  Qaida Confirms Drone Death of Yemen Leader
Sat 2013-09-14
  US and Russia strike agreement on Syria
Fri 2013-09-13
  US Consulate in Herat hit by car boom
Thu 2013-09-12
  American Islamic militant eats dirt in Somalia
Wed 2013-09-11
  Egypt bans unlicensed mosque preachers in crackdown on Islamists
Tue 2013-09-10
  Syria 'welcomes' proposal to hand over control of chemical weapons
Mon 2013-09-09
  Russia To Pencilneck: Give Up Chem Arsenal Or Face US Alone
Sun 2013-09-08
  Nigerian army says kills 50 Boko Haram Islamists
Sat 2013-09-07
  Drone strike killed senior Haqqani network commander
Fri 2013-09-06
  Reports: Egypt to dissolve Brotherhood as NGO
Thu 2013-09-05
  Egypt's Minister Mohammed Ibrahim survives bomb attack
Wed 2013-09-04
  Spain Arrests Suspected Jihadist Leader
Tue 2013-09-03
  Syria asks UN to 'prevent any aggression'
Mon 2013-09-02
  Taliban target U.S. army base in Nangarhar, attack ongoing


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.
18.191.176.66
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (22)    Non-WoT (11)    Opinion (3)    (0)    Politix (6)