Will Dostumistan Be Established Near Afghanistans Border With Uzbekistan?
In January 2014, the chairman of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan party, General Abdul Rashid Dostum, a well-known politician and leader of ethnic Uzbeks in Afghanistan, made unofficial visits to Uzbekistans capital of Tashkent, the Kazakhstani capital of Astana, and AlmatyKazakhstans largest city. According to most analysts, General Dostum was visiting these Central Asian countries in order to negotiate potential military and technical assistance. According to Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Dostum was also planning to visit the Kyrgyz Republics capital of Bishkek and Turkmenistans capital of Ashgabat, but his plans changed for unknown reasons and he quickly left Central Asia for India (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, on January 31).
According to Aleksei Malashenko, an expert at the Carnegie Center in Moscow, Abdul Rashid Dostums January 2014 visit to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan was to remind these countries about himself. Nobody knows how the events will unfold following the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan [by late 2014], Malashenko said, adding, Apparently, Dostum wants to remain in politics [in Afghanistan] and to play an important role using the Central Asia factor [that is, his links in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and beyond]. He does not want to be written-off; his activism stems from this (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, on January 31).
Alexander Knyazev, an Almaty-based coordinator of the Central Asia and Caucasus program at the Russian Institute of Oriental Studies, argues that General Dostum wants to establish close relations with the Kazakhstani authorities, starting with the security ministries, while also maintaining his ties to the authorities in Tashkent. Knyazev believes that during Dostums January visit to Astana, the Afghan general may have met with the chairman of Kazakhstans committee on national security, Nurtai Abikaev (Authors interview, February 10).
Much as they did in the 1990s, the Uzbekistani authorities recognize the possible value a buffer state in the ethnically Uzbek region of Afghanistanshould one again be established there. Dostum is one of the most secular politicians in Afghanistan and his policy is convenient for the Central Asia authorities. Nobody wants to see the Taliban near their borders, said pro-government Uzbek political scientist Rafik Saifulin (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, on January 31).
After the withdrawal of US troops, the probability of Afghanistan disintegrating into a few ethnic-based states is high, the Russian Oriental Studies Institutes Knyazev told Jamestown. It is possible that Dostum discussed with Uzbek and Kazakh authorities the option of recreating a de-facto independent state in the Uzbek part of Afghanistan, Knyazev posited (Authors interview, February 10).
Dostums growing influence is advantageous not only for Central Asian authorities, but also possibly for the Kremlin. Considering his roots in the Soviet military establishment, Dostum could serve as a useful tool for Moscow to reinforce its own political position in Afghanistan. However, the feasibility of all these sides strategies will likely not become fully apparent until after the Afghan presidential elections of April 2014 and the Wests complete military exit from the country.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/16/2014 19:08 Comments ||
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#2
Wonder if he hails shipping containers ready?
Posted by: John Frum ||
03/16/2014 19:28 Comments ||
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#3
If Afghanistan ends up splintered into a bunch of ethnic nation-states composed of related tribes, then thats fine by me - let them fight each other, as long as they stay over there and at least a few of them beat the hell out of the Talib and affiliates. Just ship them ammo periodically.
[Tolo News] Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim was one of the most prominent members of the 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... Afghanistan Party (JIP) - Islamic Society Party - and in the wake of his death JIP leadership has begun the search for a replacement.
Although little time remains before the April election yields a new team for the Presidential Palace, efforts are already underway to replace the recently deceased Marshal Fahim. According to JIP members, the Party will be entrusted with nominating a new member of its camp to fill Fahim's shoes.
"Marshal Fahim was one the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, so we are trying to find his successor from the Jamaat-e-Islami Party," party member Adbul Hafiz Masour said. "The one who wins the most votes in the party will be the successor."
However, you can observe a lot just by watching... President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... is legally obligated to nominate Fahim's replacement to Parliament for approval before the new Vice President can be sworn in.
Officials in the Palace have confirmed that Karzai was already engaged in discussions with his advisors and expected to make a decision by the end of the week. Whether or not those discussions are being coordinated with JIP, and if so, to what degree, remains unclear.
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03/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] At the start of the fourth session of Parliament on Saturday, President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... delivered a broad-sweeping speech that touched on foreign interfernce in the upcoming elections, relations with Pakistain and the Taliban as well as security pact negotiations with the United States.
With only weeks before the presidential vote on April 5, Karzai's time in office is near over and Saturday's speech could mark one of his final public addresses focused on policy issues.
"I warn you: don't try to interfere in our elections - it's in your interests," Karzai said as if speaking directly to the foreign powers he had in mind.
In attendance at the gathering were government officials, MPs, presidential candidates and Adib Fahim, the son of recently deceased First Vice President Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim.
The Afghanistan's Caped President assured the crowd that there would be free and fair elections and said that the security forces were entirely ready to ensure the safety and integrity of the process.
"The government will use all its power to ensure the coming presidential and provincial council elections are free, fair and transparent," Karzai said. "The Afghan national security forces will provide a secure environment for Afghans to take part in the process."
He assured that the "electoral bodies are independent and free of government influence."
Some have accused Karzai of meddling in the election process and favoring certain candidates, especially after his brother Qayoum Karzai folded his presidential campaign in favor of competitor Zalmai Rassoul ... former foreign minister and a very close confidant of Hamid Karzai. Before serving as foreign minister Rassoul also spent seven years laboring as a national security adviser to the president. An ethnic Pashtun born in Kabul, Rassoul was the valedictorian of his class at the illustrious Franco-American school in Kabul, Lycee Istiqal. He has an MD from the Paris Medical School in France..... two weeks ago.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
well....bye
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/16/2014 9:00 Comments ||
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[Libya Herald] Members of the Moslem Brüderbund in Libya will be able to go to 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... to perform Haj and Umrah despite the fact that the Saudi authorities have classified it as a terrorist organization.
The Saudi authorities announced the decision this week. However, there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly... if there are instructions about specific individuals, they would be prevented from going, the head of the Saudi Passport Department, has said.
"Those who are banned from entering the kingdom may be allowed to come for Haj and Umrah, if there are no specific instructions to prevent some individuals from entering the country," said Lieutenant-Colonel Ahmed Al-Laheedan on Wednesday.
He said that the names of those deemed undesirable would be put on a database, to prevent them entering the kingdom. Those who managed to get though would be locked away Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! on arrival, he added.
Saudi Arabia normally takes the view that those going to Mecca for Haj and Umrah are "Guests of God" and should not be prevented from carrying out their religious duty despite political issues.
The Libyan Brotherhood does not disclose its members. However, a clean conscience makes a soft pillow... two years ago, when the Justice and Construction Party (J&C) was launched largely by members of the organization, a senior Brotherhood member said that it (the Brotherhood) had 4,000 members across Libya.
The J&C party now play down links with the organization, saying that it includes those who are not members of it. However, death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate... the widespread perception in Libya is that it is the Brotherhood's political wing.
The Saudis are thought to take that view as well.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[Egypt Independent] Six soldiers died on Saturday at 5am when a group of armed assailants shot at a military police checkpoint, according to Military Spokesman Ahmed Mohammed Ali.
The group that officials say was affiliated to the Moslem Brüderbund opened fire on the soldiers as they prayed at the checkpoint in Musturud at the beginning of the Cairo-Ismailia Road.
Ali said the assailants also planted bombs next to the checkpoint to target any troops that would come to the point.
On Facebook, Ali said that three bombs were found by the civil protection forces and military engineers. They were then defused.
"Armed forces offer condolences to families of the deaders," he added vowing that such "coward terrorist operations will increase our determination to resume war against terrorism and follow the criminal elements," he added.
In related news, Major General Mohammed Ibrahim, interior minister, said the incident is a swift response from hard boy groups toward following the terrorist elements as well as murder of Tawfiq Mohammed Fereig, known as Abu Abdulla, and Mohammed al-Sayyed Mansour al-Toukhy, known as Abu Obaida.
Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis ...Supporters of Jerusalem, the current pen name of al-Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula... earlier announced killing of Abu Abdullah on Tuesday in a road accident, after which a bomb he was holding went kaboom! leading to his murder.
Ibrahim added that police will continue its operations against criminals who intimidate Egyptians.
The minister also offered condolences over the deaths and vowed quick retaliation, indicating that a ministry team collaborates with armed forces to reach the criminals.
Meanwhile, ...back at the dirigible, the pilot and the copilot had both hit the silk. Jack! Cynthia exclaimed. Do you know how top drive one of these things?
Jack wiped some of the blood from his knuckles. No, he said. Do you?... Islamist groups condemned the attack, which comes two days after Salafi Preacher Mohammed Abdel Maqsoud issued an edict allowing murder of police and military personnel as well as burning their houses.
The Salafi-oriented Nour Party called for enacting the initiative to stop the violence rather than depending on security solution to combat extremism.
However, Switzerland makes more than cheese... the Moslem Brüderbund cleared itself from the attack saying in a statement that the military spokesperson's remarks accusing the group of committing the crime is a tradition by the 'coup regime' which accuses the group of every accident without investigation.
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03/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[Breitbart] The latest issue of Al-Qaeda's Inspire magazine contains an article about using boom-mobiles in U.S. cities as well as abroad during election seasons, both presidential and congressional, as well as on Christmas and New Years Eve.
The cities and areas listed in the piece include Washington, D.C., New York, Northern Virginia, reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown ... home of Al Capone, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel,... , and Los Angeles.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/16/2014 12:45 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] The Taliban negotiators said on Friday the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) leadership was ready to hold direct talks with the government and condemned Friday's terrorist attacks in Quetta and Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. , calling them a conspiracy to derail the grinding of the peace processor, media reports said.
At least 19 people were killed and more than 80 others injured in two separate incidents of terrorism in the capitals of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... earlier Friday. An increasingly active Taliban splinter group Ahrarul Hind or "Liberators of India" -- a name referring to the whole of the subcontinent -- grabbed credit for the attacks. "We claim both Peshawar and Quetta attacks," their chief, Umar Qasmi, told Rooters. "We don't abide by these talks and will continue to stage attacks."
The leadership of the Pak Taliban immediately distanced itself from the Friday attacks. "The TTP strongly condemns the Peshawar and Quetta blasts," said TTP front man Shahidullah Shahid. "We have no connection to these attacks because we are observing a ceasefire." Following a meeting of two members of the Taliban's negotiating committee with Taliban Shura, Maulana Samiul Haq ...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time... , head of the committee nominated by the TTP, expressed hope for full restoration of peace in the country.
The meeting took place in Miranshah ... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas... , the main town of troubled North Wazoo tribal agency bordering Afghanistan. It was attended by Sheikh Khalid Haqqani, Qari Shakeel, Azam Tariq, Shahidullah Shahid, Sajid Mohmand and Ahsanullah Ahsan. Maulana Yousuf Shah and Professor Ibrahim represented Taliban committee. It was decided to hold the direct talks in Azad Mandi area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Bannu district. However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... the Taliban leadership apprised their nominated negotiators of their reservations.
Responding to Maulana Samiul Haq's request of further extending the month-long ceasefire, Taliban leaders told the negotiators that a final decision in this regard would be made after a formal meeting of the Shura in coming days. Speaking to media representatives in Akora Khattak, Haq said both members of the Taliban talks committee came back satisfied after the meeting. "The meeting (direct talks) is expected in a couple of days with the newly formed government committee," he said.
"We will facilitate the direct talks ... and results will be presented before parliament also." The chief of his own faction of Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...the political wing of the Pak Taliban... (JUI-S), who is also known as "Father of Taliban" in the West, said their first priority will be to get freed imprisoned children and women as demanded by the Taliban leadership. He showed optimism regarding positive outcome of the direct talks saying members of the new government committee are experienced with regards to the tribal areas.
"Today's incidents in Quetta and Peshawar are part of a conspiracy being hatched to derail the grinding of the peace processor," said the JUI-S chief. He said surgical operations conducted by the country's armed forces had failed to obtain desired results in the past and only ended up in spreading havoc in the tribal areas. The TTP's position has spurred speculation that the central command is not fully in control of the many splinter groups operating under it, and reaching a peace deal with one of them would not stop the violence.
Ahrarul Hind, which splintered from the Pak Taliban just a month ago, had previously grabbed credit for an attack in central Islamabad earlier this month when jacket wallahs and gunnies killed 11 people including an additional district and sessions judge. Pak Sherlocks believe that Qasmi, the leader of the group, is capable of drawing support from other hard boy outfits, including several linked to al Qaeda that have wreaked bloody havoc in the country over the last decade.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Leaders of rival groups in Lyari, Uzair Jan Baloch and Baba Ladla, have endorsed a peace declaration to restore peace in the violence-hit area of Karachi, Qaumi Awami Tehreek (QAT) president Ayaz Latif Palijo announced Saturday.
Speaking to journalists at a press conference here attended by respresentatives from both groups, the QAT chief said Uzair Baloch and Baba Ladla endorsed the ceasefire agreement over telephone.
Respresentatives, who Palijo refered to as 'elders' of the groups, included MPA Sania Naz Baloch, Adnan Baloch, Arif Bulaidi Baloch and Liaquat Askani Baloch. Maulana Abdul Majeed Sarbazi, Mama Nisar Baloch, Mama Umeed Ali Baloch, Abdul Rasheed Baloch and Rais Ghulam Qadir represented the Baba Ladla group. The delegations reached Palijo House from Karachi and participated in a long discussion in favour of peace in Lyari.
Palijo said that after a detailed discussions among committee leaders of both Lyari groups, it was decided to cease fire immediately.
"I talked to both leaders Uzair and Ladla on phone in detail and they assured me of their full cooperation in restoring peace in Lyari . They have also given powers to me to make all decisions about peace," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[NY Times] A Pak official reduced by 10 years the 33-year sentence of a Pak medical doctor who had helped the C.I.A. track down the late Osama bin Laden ... who used to be alive but now he's not... , local news media reported Saturday.
They were holding him ransom for U.S. aid funding. Did we cough up?
The doctor, Shakil Afridi, was tossed in the clink Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! in 2011 after members of an American Navy SEAL unit killed Bin Laden in his Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... compound. The raid caused the tumultuous relationship between United States and Pakistain to plummet to a new low as Pakistain called it a violation of the country's territorial illusory sovereignty.
In 2012, Dr. Afridi was convicted of treason and sentenced to 33 years in prison. On Saturday, the judicial official, Munir Azam, the commissioner of Frontier Crimes Regulation in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. , reduced Dr. Afridi's sentence to 23 years. Dr. Afridi earned the wrath of Pak officials after he helped pin down Bin Laden's location under the cover of a vaccination campaign in Abbottabad. But the charges against him in a tribal court accused him of aiding a banned bad boy group. Dr. Afridi denies the charges.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Pakistain's top aviation official on Saturday dismissed Western media reports that missing Malaysian airliner might be hidden somewhere in the country. Have they checked in Dera Ismail Khan?
"It's wrong, plane never came towards Pakistain," Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Aviation Shujaat Azeem told Dawn.com. Hijacking a plane full of people is pretty evil. When I think "evil" the word "Pakistain" pops right into my mind. Right after "North Korea" pops into my mind...
His attention was drawn on the reports which said the disappeared plane could have potentially reached as far as Pakistain. "Pakistain's civil aviation radars never spotted this jet," he said.
Azeem said the plane disappeared far away from Pak air space and was not visible on its radars, "so how it could be hidden somewhere in Pakistain."
However, there's more than one way to skin a cat... he said that his division was on alert and following all developments related to the incident.
"At present there are 95 ships of various countries are in the Indian Ocean on search mission," said Azeem. "No one among those who are on search mission has contacted us to seek information on this tragedy."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
there are many radar installations in Pakistan and one would have likely seen a blip if a 777 was transiting airspace
of course, it maybe that somebody saw something and either didn't report it or was told not to report it
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/16/2014 1:04 Comments ||
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#3
The 'who done it' on this one is a bit disconcerting when you consider we've had nuclear missiles pointed at each other for decades. How is we are to discover the source of a missile fired at a homeland?
In an age when orbiting collection assets abound, something that large, with a Chinese mainland destination, flies around, changes course, gains altitude, loses altitude..... and no one takes much notice? No one concerned about discovery? No one rolls the imagery or signals backward?
#7
Please bury your links, ladies and gentlemen, so as not to break the 'Burg. Type a few words to describe the link, highlight them, then click on the little icon in the box below that looks like an Earth sitting on two chain links, and paste the URL into the box that appears.
#1
The Sentinelese (also Sentineli, Senteneli, Sentenelese, North Sentinel Islanders) are an indigenous people of the Andaman Islands, in the Bay of Bengal. They inhabit North Sentinel Island, which lies westward off the southern tip of the Great Andaman archipelago. They are noted for resisting attempts at contact by outsiders. The Sentinelese maintain an essentially hunter-gatherer society subsisting through hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plants. There is no evidence of either agricultural practices or methods of producing fire.[1] Their language remains unclassified.
Posted by: John Frum ||
03/16/2014 19:55 Comments ||
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In 2006, Sentinelese archers killed two fishermen who were fishing illegally within range of the island. The archers later drove off, with a hail of arrows, the helicopter that was sent to retrieve the bodies.[12]
Posted by: John Frum ||
03/16/2014 19:56 Comments ||
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The small tribe on North Sentinel Island continues to resist all contact with the outside world just as they have for the past 60,000 years. They drive off fishermen, journalists, anthropologists and government officials with their spears and arrows. Their low-lying island, heavily forested and protected by a barrier of coral reefs, is roughly the size of Manhattan.
The tsunami warning on Wednesday was a false alarm. In 2004, however, it was initially feared that North Sentinel had been swamped by the killer tsunami that devastated the nearby Andaman and Nicobar Islands. When the Indian Coast Guard sent a helicopter to check on the Sentinelese, a single naked bowman emerged from the forest and fired arrows to drive the chopper away.
The Sentinelese had survived.
Posted by: John Frum ||
03/16/2014 19:57 Comments ||
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Iran-funded Islamic Jihad is feeling feisty as Muslim Brotherhood-connected Hamas reels under the anger of the Egyptian Army.
The escalation in cross-border fire reflects a power struggle going on in Gazoo between the governing Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, terror organization and other groups, such as the PIJ and other miltias associated with Al Qaeda. Hamas is on the verge of bankruptcy, sources said. The finances of the terrorist state have been decimated since the change of power in Egypt last year that saw General Abdel Fatah el-Sisi take power from the Moslem Brüderbunds Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator....
[An Nahar] The Gazoo Strip's only power plant shut down Saturday due to a lack of fuel from Israel, which closed a goods crossing after myrmidon rocket attacks, a Paleostinian official said. Whoa! Mala suerte!
An Israeli official denied the claim, however, saying the lack of fuel was due to infighting between the Islamist Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, movement ruling Gazoo and the Western-backed Paleostinian Authority in the West Bank.
On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon ordered the closure of the Kerem Shalom crossing and the Erez pedestrian crossing "until further security assessments."
In response, the energy authority cut the plant's operation from only 12 hours a day to six until the fuel ran out.
"The plant has completely ceased to function due to a lack of fuel caused by (Israel's) closure of the Kerem Shalom crossing," said Fathi al-Sheikh Khalil, deputy director of the energy authority in the Paleostinian territory.
An Israeli official denied that the Jewish state was to blame.
The shortage of fuel "is the result of an internal conflict between the Hamas government (which controls Gazoo) and the Paleostinian Authority in Ramallah," said the source, on condition of anonymity and without elaborating.
"Kerem Shalom is always closed on Fridays and Saturdays, so it was only closed for an entire day on Thursday," he said.
The PA helps facilitate the delivery of fuel to Gazoo via Israel, which Hamas does not recognize.
The facility, which supplies some 30 percent of Gazoo's electricity needs, has been forced to shut down several times, most recently in December.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
..a real contender for the hysterical historical failed state sweepstakes. Oh well, back to dung candles..
[An Nahar] Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Saturday the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... was "not a partner for a final peace deal" as the Paleostinian leader prepared to meet U.S. President Barack Obama They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them...
Abbas "is a partner for receiving, not giving," Yaalon told Israel's Channel 2 television in an interview.
"He is not a partner for a final agreement that would include the recognition of Israel as the national state of the Jewish people and that would end the conflict and all claims."
Abbas is due to meet Obama in Washington on Monday to discuss the stalled direct peace talks brokered by U.S. 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...
Paleostinian and Israeli leaders have been locked in talks launched last July after a three-year hiatus, but the negotiations have faltered.
"He (Abbas) says it very clearly but no one seems to listen... I'm sorry to come to this conclusion, but this (deal) will not happen in my time," said Yaalon who is considered to be one of the most rightwing ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government.
The Abbas-Obama talks are likely to focus on a U.S.-proposed framework to guide final status negotiations, before the impending deadline for the current round of talks on April 29.
Last week Netanyahu meet Obama, who urged him to take "tough decisions" and warned that Israel would be exposed to further international isolation should the talks fail.
Yaalon also criticized Kerry in veiled terms on the issue of the release of Paleostinian prisoners that Israel is engaged to do under the current talks.
"We are committed to the release of prisoners held since before the Oslo Accords, not the release of Israeli Arab prisoners," he said.
He was referring to the fourth and final phased release of long-serving prisoners scheduled for March 29 -- a commitment Israeli ministers have hinted may not be met.
"What happened happened in Kerry's mediation," Yaalon said.
"I don't want to go into details, it is between him and us. He knows we are not committed to the release of Israeli Arabs," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2014 00:00 ||
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SEPANG(Malaysia): The radar blip that was Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 did a wide U-turn over the Gulf of Thailand and then began moving inexorably past at least three military radar arrays as it traversed northern Malaysia, even flying high over one of the country's biggest cities before heading out over the Strait of Malacca.
Yet inside a Malaysian Air Force control room on the country's west coast, where American-made F-18s and F-5 fighters stood at a high level of readiness for emergencies exactly like the one unfolding in the early morning of March 8, a four-person air defense radar crew did nothing about the unauthorized flight. "The watch team never noticed the blip," said a person with detailed knowledge of the investigation into Flight 370. "It was as though the airspace was his." Kermit Tyler is probably turning over in his grave, but he did a better job than that.
It was not the first and certainly not the last in a long series of errors by the Malaysian government that has made the geographically vast and technologically complex task of finding the $50 million Malaysia Airlines jet far more difficult.
... The mistakes have accumulated at a remarkable pace.
"The fact that it flew straight over Malaysia, without the Malaysian military identifying it, is just plain weird -- not just weird, but also very damning and tragic," said David Learmount, the operations and safety editor for Flightglobal, a news and data service for the aviation sector.
Senior Malaysian military officers became aware within hours of the radar data once word spread that a civilian airliner had vanished. The Malaysian government nonetheless organized and oversaw an expensive and complex international search effort in the Gulf of Thailand that lasted for a full week. Only on Saturday morning did Prime Minister Najib Razak finally shut it down.
The Malaysian air force base at the former RAF air base Butterworth sits on the mainland across from the island of Penang at the northern reaches of the Strait of Malacca. There, in the early morning hours of March 8, the four-person crew watching for intrusions into the country's airspace either did not notice or failed to report a blip on their defensive radar and air traffic radar that was moving steadily across the country from east to west, heading right toward them, said the person with knowledge of the matter.
Neither that team nor the crews at two other radar installations at Kota Bharu, closer to where the airliner last had contact with the ground, designated the blip as an unknown intruder warranting attention, the person said. The aircraft proceeded to fly across the country and out to sea without anyone on watch telling a superior and alerting the national defense command near Kuala Lumpur, even though the radar contact's flight path did not correspond to any filed flight plan.
As a result, combat aircraft never scrambled to investigate. The plane, identified at the time by Mr. Najib as Flight 370, passed directly over Penang, a largely urban state with more than 1.6 million people, then turned and headed out over the Strait of Malacca.
The existence of the radar contact was discovered only when military officials began reviewing tapes later in the morning on March 8, after the passenger jet failed to arrive in Beijing.
With so much uncertainty about the flight, it is not yet possible to know whether any actions by the Malaysian government or military could have altered its fate. Is it just me, or would an intercept by a Malaysian military jet investigating an unknown blip flying over their country be considered a substantial alteration of "fate"?
For a week after the plane's disappearance, Malaysian law enforcement authorities said that their investigation did not include searching the home of the pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah.
On Saturday afternoon, the police were seen entering the gated community where Mr. Zaharie was said to have lived, and Malaysian news media reported that they had searched his home. The police declined to comment, and it is not known whether the authorities made any effort to secure Mr. Zaharie's home and prevent any destruction of evidence over the past week. For discussion: what would happen in the USA if a flight departing JFK for Europe turned off its transponder & disappeared from radar 300 miles (or so) offshore?
#6
To answer the question about trans-Atlantic flight, the technology does not yet exist for tracking the flights beyond (I think) 200 miles. Limitations of radar and not having a satellite system for tracking keeps air control in the dark about flights until the radar can detect them.
#7
JFK to Europe; Assuming the aircraft are ETOPS certified (most are) they would never be more that 180 minutes out of range of a landing field, so if an aircraft 'went dark,' somewhere within that time it's absence would be noted. Also suspect the traffic density JFK to EU is more that the MH370 routing so a better chance of others being able to report, or at least observe.
#12
The Indian Navy maintained continuous liaison with the Operations Centres of the Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysian Air Force so as to coordinate the ongoing search effort involving over 14 countries, 45 ships and 60 aircraft, he said.
Erratic inputs
The former Navy Chief, Admiral (retd.) Arun Prakash, criticised the effort as sheer waste of resources. Are the Malaysians covering up something or telling lies? he asked, referring to the vastly varying and contradicting accounts of the missing flight given by the Malaysian government over the seven days of its loss. First they said its last contact point was somewhere over the South China Sea. Then they said it took a south-westerly course, only to change it later to westerly course and now, a north-westerly course towards Central Asia. The inputs have been glaringly erratic. No search is worth anything if it is conducted on the basis of grossly-erring information. We shouldve got the info corroborated before embarking on the search, he told The Hindu.
Posted by: John Frum ||
03/16/2014 19:33 Comments ||
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[The Peninsula] About 200 people rescued by police from a human trafficking camp in southern Thailand are suspected Uighur Mohammedans from China's troubled far-western region of Xinjiang, Thai police sources said yesterday.
The discovery is further evidence that human smugglers in southern Thailand - already a notorious trafficking hub for Rohingya boat people from Myanmar - are exploiting well-oiled networks to transport other nationalities in large numbers, despite an ongoing crackdown.
"The human smugglers are expanding their product range," said Police Major General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, a US-educated commander who has launched a series of raids on trafficking camps in southern Thailand, including the 200 suspected Uighurs rescued on Wednesday.
Two police raids in January freed a total of 636 people. At least 200 of them were Bangladeshis - an "unprecedented" number, said Thatchai.
The rest were Rohingya, mostly stateless Mohammedans from western Myanmar, where deadly festivities with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in 2012 killed at least 192 people and left 140,000 homeless. Since then, tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled from Myanmar by boat, many of them coming ashore in southwest Thailand.
On December 5, a report stated that Rohingya were held hostage in illegal camps hidden near the border with Malaysia until relatives paid ransoms to release them. Some were beaten and killed. The investigation also found that Thai authorities had adopted a covert policy to push Rohingya detainees out to sea - and back into the hands of human traffickers - because police immigration detention camps were overwhelmed with new arrivals.
The suspected Uighurs were discovered on Wednesday night in a hilly rubber plantation in an area where the report identified at least three camps used by Rohingya smugglers last year. The camp guards fled as police approached, Thatchai said.
Those rescued included at least 100 children, most of them toddlers or still breast-feeding, and a pregnant woman. They now sit on plastic mats in a parking lot at the regional immigration headquarters - the nearest police detention centre is too full of Rohingya and Bangladeshis to accommodate them. Police say the group claims they are Turkish, although they have no documents to prove that.
The group in Hat Yai shows strong similarities to Turkic-speaking Uighur asylum-seekers who have been detained in Bangkok, police sources say.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAILYMAIL.CO.UK] Investigators say the missing Malaysia Airlines jet was hijacked, steered off-course and could have reached Pakistain.
A Malaysian government official said people with significant flying experience could have turned off the flight's communication devices.
The representative said that hijacking theory was now 'conclusive', and, as a result, police have raided the luxury homes of both the captain and the co-pilot.
Zahari Ahmad Shah, 53, the pilot, and Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, are now being investigated as police in Kuala Lumpur search for signs of foul play.
The search operation has now been focused on two 'corridors', one which extends from north west from Thailand to the Kazakstan-Turkmenistan border and the other which opens out into the southern Indian Ocean.
That certainly narrows it down...
Countries in the plane's potential flightpath have now joined a huge diplomatic effort to locate the missing passengers, but China described the revelation as 'painfully belated'.
While Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak refused to confirm that flight MH370 was taken over, he admitted 'deliberate action' on board the plane resulted in it changing course and losing connection with ground crews.
The plane's communication system was switched off as it headed west over the Malaysian seaboard and could have flown for another seven hours on its fuel reserves.
It is not yet clear where the plane could have been taken, however Mr Razak said the most recent satellite data suggests the plane could have headed to one of two possible flight corridors.
Countries in the plane's potential flightpath have now joined a huge diplomatic effort to locate the missing passengers, but China described the revelation as 'painfully belated'.
While Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak refused to confirm that flight MH370 was taken over, he admitted 'deliberate action' on board the plane resulted in it changing course and losing connection with ground crews.
The plane's communication system was switched off as it headed west over the Malaysian seaboard and could have flown for another seven hours on its fuel reserves.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Logically,
1) The Moslum Brotherhood 1980's work, "The Project," has within its major goals to "destroy the West from within," in sync with AL-Queda's goal of destroying western economies and culture (rallying around a kill Israeli platform, of course). Our president has surrounded himself with these miscreants.
2) Fly to 45000 ft, asphyxiate the passengers.
3) Fly erratically for several hours, then ditch - this will help with their goal - an impossible, expensive endeavor to find the plane
4) the 27 year old co-pilot would be more susceptible to commit terrorism (threats to family/friends is always a good idea)
#2
Countries in the plane's potential flightpath have now joined a huge diplomatic effort to locate the missing passengers, but China described the revelation as 'painfully belated'.
"Painfully belated." .... Not at all unlike the Chinese reluctance to curb the actions of it's neighboring North Korean mutts.
#4
I would not be surprised if the plan was to make Pakistan with their history of hijacking.
Posted by: Paul D ||
03/16/2014 5:36 Comments ||
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#5
2) Fly to 45000 ft, asphyxiate the passengers.
It isn't necessary to fly to 45,000 feet to asphyxiate the passengers. All that it is needed us to slowly dial back the pressurization. Cockpit crew have their own independent oxygen source.
I'm leaning towards the plane being taken, to be used later. Either Pakistain or Iran have it. I'd go with Iran. It had the fuel to get there.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
03/16/2014 6:06 Comments ||
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#6
But would Pakistan or Iran wish to risk Chinese ire that way?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/16/2014 15:47 Comments ||
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#7
Not that I would complain too much about whatever form of revenge the Chinese choose.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/16/2014 15:48 Comments ||
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#8
Coming to a major city near you, a Boeing 777 packed to the gills with explosives.
Apparently part of this exercise was to determine how effective they could be in avoiding military radar and how effectively they could avoid detection on said military radar.
The pilot built himself a flight simulator in his house probably to practice the route, tactics and test different detection avoidance scenarios.
The end game is the aircraft will be used in a terrorist act and the Chinese passengers will be ransomed for some fanatic leader held by the PRC government.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/16/2014 16:58 Comments ||
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#9
..would not want to be aboard the next 777 with total comm failure at night..
[An Nahar] Syrian opposition chief Ahmed Jarba called Saturday for backers of the rebellion to provide it with the "means to fight" the regime, as the conflict entered its fourth year. Good idea. Send some money to al-Nusra and ISIL and those guys.
In a speech delivered in Istanbul and articles published in the French and U.S. media, Jarba renewed a call for weapons as the rebels take on both Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... 's regime and jihadists.
"Our fighters are not only facing regime forces and their allied gangs," he said in the speech.
"They are also facing myrmidon gangs and are cleaning our house of terrorist mercenaries, particularly the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... (ISIL) and others, who sneak up behind the revolutionaries to stab them in the back in the service of the regime."
He said the opposition had agreed to attend peace talks in Geneva earlier this year, but was still waiting for its backers to deliver weapons they pledged before and during the talks.
"We renew our request to the friends of the Syrian people to immediately keep their promises that were made before and during Geneva to do with qualitative weapons," he said.
"We remind them that the time they are trying to buy today will tomorrow be a sword on the neck of the region and peace and security in the world."
He said the rebels were fighting "mercenaries" from Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... , as well as Iraqi and Iranian Shiite fighters.
Hizbullah has acknowledged sending fighters to bolster Assad's troops against the uprising.
In an article attributed to Jarba on the website of French newspaper Le Monde, he said Assad had "failed to crush the revolution" and "would never succeed".
But he also urged the international community to finally provide the military backing to oust the regime.
"The time has come for the free world to help the Syrians to escape their isolation. They should provide the means to fight Bashir al-Assad, and the jihadists that he has done so much to attract."
An English-language version of the article released the previous day made no direct request for military support, a possible reflection of La Belle France's greater willingness to engage in military operations in recent years.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Hey Ahmed, they've tried---what do you think the whole thing with Ukraine was about?
Several cases of industrial sabotage have been neutralised in the past few months before achieving the intended damage, says security head at the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran.
"We'll get them next time, Moshe."
"Damned straight, David."
Iranian authorities have prevented attempted sabotage at the country's heavy water nuclear reactor, a senior official said on Saturday without giving specifics as to the nature of the attempted disruption or its suspected initiator.
Asghar Zarean, who heads security at the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, said domestic intelligence agencies were instrumental in uncovering the plot, which has not been the first attempt to disrupt the contentious nuclear programme.
"Several cases of industrial sabotage have been neutralised in the past few months before achieving the intended damage, including sabotage at a part of the IR-40 facility at Arak," he said in a statement issued by his organisation on Saturday.
In the past, computer viruses have attacked Iranian nuclear facilities. While Zarean did not say whether that was the case this time, his comments coincided with the opening of a specialised lab Tehran says will fight industrial sabotage and neutralise cyber attacks.
"This specialised lab has been launched to identify, prevent and fight threats including modern software viruses," Zarean said.
In 2010, the so-called Stuxnet virus temporarily disrupted operation of thousands of centrifuges, key components in nuclear fuel production, at Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility. Iran says it and other computer virus attacks are part of a concerted effort by Israel, the US and their allies to undermine its nuclear programme through covert operations.
Some Iranian officials have also suggested in the past that specific European companies may have sold faulty equipment to Iran with the knowledge of American intelligence agencies and their own governments, since the sales would have harmed, rather than helped, the country's nuclear programme.
Since then, Iran has also said that it discovered tiny timed explosives planted on centrifuges but disabled them before they could go off. Authorities now claim the Islamic Republic is immune to cyber attacks.
Sure, just like we are...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2014 00:00 ||
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Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan says the indigenous Fateh (Conqueror) submarine will join the Navy in May, Press TV reported.
Dehqan said on Saturday that the submarine has undergone necessary tests and its faults have been corrected. He said the submarine will probably join the Navy on May 24 which marks the anniversary of the liberation of Khorramshahr city during the eight-year imposed war with Iraq.
Fateh weighs nearly 500 tons and it is Iran's newest semi-heavy submarine.
"Semi-heavy"?
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2014 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.
[Tolo News] Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim was one of the most prominent members of the 
on Saturday, President 
Wazoo
SEPANG(Malaysia): The radar blip that was Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 did a wide U-turn over the Gulf of Thailand and then began moving inexorably past at least three military radar arrays as it traversed northern Malaysia, even flying high over one of the country's biggest cities before heading out over the Strait of Malacca.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Several cases of industrial sabotage have been neutralised in the past few months before achieving the intended damage, says security head at the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran. 
