The international military mission in Afghanistan has delivered "much less than it promised" due to the lack of a realistic strategy, an influential committee of lawmakers said Sunday.
In a report, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said without a clear strategy stabilising Afghanistan had become "considerably more difficult than might otherwise have been the case."
Lawmakers criticised US policies in Afghanistan and Pakistan and warned the "considerable cultural insensitivity" of some coalition troops had caused serious damage to Afghans' perceptions that will be "difficult to undo".
"We conclude that the international effort in Afghanistan since 2001 has delivered much less than it promised and that its impact has been significantly diluted by the absence of a unified vision and strategy grounded in the realities of Afghanistan's history, culture and politics," the report said. "Although Afghanistan's current situation is not solely the legacy of the West's failures since 2001,
One would think Afghani and Pakistani failures would have something to do with it. But that would clearly be a refusal to accept that natives are by definition innocent of fault in any situation.
avoidable mistakes, including knee-jerk responses, policy fragmentation and overlap, now make the task of stabilising the country considerably more difficult than might otherwise have been the case."
(Stupid Yanks. It's their fault we haven't had our ticker tape parades.)
As for Britain's roughly 9,000 troops in Afghanistan -- who in July suffered their worst month since the 2001 invasion with 22 deaths -- the members of parliament (MPs) said their role has seen "significant mission creep". They were initially sent to counter international terrorism and are now working on areas like fighting the drugs trade and counter-insurgency,
Possibly because simply leaving after the Taliban and Al-Qaeda were driven out would be followed immediately by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda & Friends flowing back from Pakistan? And since you're there, you might as well do something about the opium trade that finances Al-Q's international terror war and the Taliban's local one?
it said, adding the military had not been given "clear direction".
"We conclude that the UK's mission in Afghanistan has taken on a significantly different and considerably expanded character since the first British troops were deployed there in 2001," the report said.
True.
"The UK deployment to Helmand (province) was undermined by unrealistic planning at senior levels,
No doubt.
poor coordination between Whitehall (government) departments
Visible from across the pond.
and crucially, a failure to provide the military with clear direction."
Not to mention adequate bullets, armored jeeps, helicopters, medical staff... oh, and did I mention bullets?
Britain's role as lead international partner on counter-narcotics was "a poisoned chalice", the report said, adding there was "little evidence" to suggest that cuts in poppy cultivation were down to deliberate strategy.
Despite reports in the press of calls from Afghanis for more seed grain, training, fertilizers, and alternate-crop project support. Do not seek and ye shall not find.
It called for British troops to focus on security alone.
Whose security? That of their own bases only, like they ended up doing in Iraq when the lacks listed above kneecapped their efforts there?
The "Global Security: Afghanistan and Pakistan" report also looked at problems caused by the use of air power, particularly by the United States.
"If we aren't doing it, it must be a bad idea."
Drone attacks by US forces in Pakistan have "damaged the US's reputation" while some of the blame for problems in the international mission in Afghanistan must be put on the Bush administration's early focus on military goals, it said.
The report also warned that the reputation of NATO -- in command of international troops in Afghanistan since 2003 -- could be "seriously damaged" without fairer burden-sharing between member states to ease the strain.
"So the rest of y'all pony up some troops, instead of leaving us to do most of the work."
Britain has long called for other NATO countries to contribute more to the military effort.
The U.S. has, too, but since by definition the Yanks are wrong, we just won't mention that, 'k?
The conditions of prisoners and detainees being held by the Afghan authorities were "a matter of considerable concern", it added, while also saying there had been "no tangible progress" on tackling corruption.
Please -- a little respect for the native culture!
Responding to the report, the Foreign Office said it would study its conclusions and submit an official response in the coming months.
Filed appropriately in the circular file, one hopes.
Posted by: regular joe ||
08/02/2009 8:00 Comments ||
Top||
#3
2009 British exit strategy.
That's how I read it. Gordo has to bring the troops home to get his own Labour base back behind him, and do it soon to have a chance in the upcoming general election.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2009 9:13 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Gordo has no chance at all. The only thing in Labours favour is "Dave" Cameron, who runs Blu-Labour.
#5
I remember the British saying that the Yank strategy in Iraq was all messed up, then it turned out that the British strategy wasn't really all that great and the Yanks adapted. Not saying the Yank strategy is right in this case but nit-picking other strategies is foolish.
[Bangla Daily Star] The authorities of Chittagong University's (CU) Suhrawardy Hall yesterday took control of two rooms being used illegally by the activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir for political purpose.
Sources said Shibir activists were using the rooms, previously used as library and students' union office, by hanging a signboard of "World Assembly of Muslim Youth Library" for long.
CU Assistant Proctor Chandan Kumar Poddar told The Daily Star that hall authorities took control of the rooms following a directive from the university authority to seal off all student union offices, as the union is not functioning in the university since 1989.
"When the authorities went to take control of the rooms, it was found that the ICS men had been using the rooms as library where a number of books were on political issues," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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The head of a British parliamentary counter-terrorism committee called on the government to clarify whether Al Qaeda operatives had tried to infiltrate the MI5 domestic security agency.
Patrick Mercer, an opposition Conservative and chairman of parliament's sub-committee on counter-terrorism, said on Saturday he had been told up to six Muslim recruits had been ejected from the spy agency because of concerns about their backgrounds.
Two of the men who had attempted to join MI5 after the July 7, 2005 London suicide bombings had attended training camps in Pakistan while the others had unexplained gaps in their curricula vitae, Mercer told the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
"I would be very, very surprised had our enemies not tried this but I would like some clarification from the government to see how successful we've been at detecting them," he told Sky News.
Vetting process: Mercer said he wanted British Home Secretary Alan Johnson to detail how far down the recruitment process the men had got before they were weeded out, and to ensure the vetting process was as tight as possible.
The Home Office made no comment about Mercer's allegations, however an unnamed senior security source told the Telegraph no one had been asked to leave the spy agency after starting work or training because they had been linked to extremists.
MI5 significantly increased in size after the 2005 bombings by four young British terrorists, a process Mercer said should have started much sooner after the September 11 US attacks. "Of course they (MI5) should be attracting recruits from all sorts of backgrounds," he told Sky. "The fact remains it is not without risk. A subversive organisation worth its salt will of course try to infiltrate."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Also its Parliment, the editorial staff of all major newspapers, and BBC.
#2
Translation: we were concerned when our new MI5 recruit Abu Bin Jihad refused to shake hands with women, shouted "Allah Ackbar!" when discussing the July 7th attacks, referred to his colleagues as "infidel dogs" and put a "Death to the Jews" bumper sticker on his car. But upon reflection we decided we were being culturally insensitive.
[Iran Press TV Latest] A former FBI translator has claimed that the US was on 'intimate' terms with the Taliban and al-Qaeda using the militants to further certain goals in central Asia. "With those groups, we had operations in Central Asia," said former Turkish language translator Sibel Edmonds on Friday speaking on the radio program, the Mike Malloy Show. Well, there's a pair you could rely on... AND PressTV Iran for the hat trick.
Washington used the gunmen 'as we did during the Afghan and Soviet conflict'; she added referring to the US military support for Afghan fighters against Russia during the 1979-89 Russian invasion.
Luke Ryland, a prolific investigator into the claims, says the tumultuous situation resulting from extremist operations would boost American arms sales in the region while forcing 'oil and gas concessions.' The "pipeline", Luke. Gotta mention the "pipeline". Gonna be built by Halliburton too.
Edmonds worked for the FBI until 2002 when she was fired on the charge of revealing sensitive information. The US government has twice barred Edmonds' testimony on some controversial issues. This, of course, makes her credible.
"These are the confirmed cases," she added stating that her claims were based on 'first-hand' information 'based on what I obtained.' "There are a lot of things that our government doesn't want us to know. It's not very difficult to put two and two together on this." Yeah. Sy Hersh told me.
This article starring:
Mike Malloy
Sibel Edmonds
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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[Kyodo: Korea] The United States is continuing to consider whether it should put North Korea back on its list of state sponsors of terrorism in view of Pyongyang's recent missile launches and nuclear test, the State Department said Frida ''We are always reviewing and evaluating the countries of concern and their performance when it comes to terrorism...We continue to evaluate North Korea in light of this provocative act,'' said department spokesman Philip Crowley.y.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#2
WMF > CHINA is willing to suppor certain serious UNO Sanctions agz NORTH KOREA iff the USA will suppor a PEACEFUL SOLUTION to the NOKOR Nuc Crisis. SOUTH KOREA > believes raise in HIGH-LEVEL DIPLOM EXHCANGES BWTN NOKOR + CHIN PROVES CHIN'S UNHAPPINESS = "ANNOYANCE" WID PYONGYANG, espec after NOKOR's 2ND NUCTEST???
ION SAME > US MEDIAS: US ASIA-PACIFIC FORWARD BASES [Okinawa = USAFFE Kadena AFB] are vulnerable to destruction by CHIN PLA MISSLE BARRAGE, eg DONGFENG-15 BMS. USAFFE = KADENA may lose up to 75% of its warplanes. YEAR 2016-2020 > the USAF, whilst likely still combat-dominant, will find it increasingly difficullt to keep or maintain AIR SUPREMACY IN EAST ASIA. US forced to retool various MILPOLECON INITIATIVES-AGENDAS wid VARIOUS REGIONAL COUNTRIES, + also "spread out/redistribute" or retrench its milfors in strategic fallback bases such as GUAM, + seek access to new + former milbases [Cold War] such as in the PHILIPPINES [Clark AFB, Subic NB], + even VIETNAM [Cam Ranh Bay].
From AP: Pakistaini authorities lodged a criminal case Sunday against cleric Sufi Muhammad, who helped negotiate a failed peace deal with the Swat Valley Taliban led by his son-in-law Maulana Fazlullah, suggesting the government is determined not to negotiate again with the hard boys. Sufi Muhammad is accused of aiding terrorism, sedition and conspiring against the government, Swat police Chief Sajid Mohmand said. The charges carry a minimum penalty of life imprisonment and a maximum of death. Police Chief Mohmand said seven of Muhammad's aides, including two already killed in a clash between hard boys and the army, were also named in the case.
Muhammad, who was arrested last Sunday near the northwestern city of Peshawar, must appear before a court within 15 days to be formally charged, Mohmand said, but noted there are still no functioning courts in Swat. Mohmand said authorities would seek a legal opinion to determine whether the case could be moved to Peshawar if no Swat court is up and running in time.
The charges stem from comments Muhammad made during an April speech in which he condemned democracy and elections and said Pakistain's constitution was un-Islamic. The speech revolted many people in Pakistain, leaving even some hard-line Islamist political party leaders silent, and it was considered to be an important factor in shifting public opinion against the Taliban.
#2
HMMMMM, HMMMMM, yokay-y-y, but as per SPACEWAR > US DRONES are being curr set up to go after the TALIBAN [read, MULLAH OMAR], + NOT AL QAEDA [ read, WHITNEY HUSTON-Fan OSAMA BIN LADEN].
[Iran Press TV Latest] India's Home Minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram, says that New Delhi has provided Pakistan with more evidence about the Mumbai attacks.
The Indian minister said all of Pakistan's previous questions about the investigation now have been answered, and that there is enough evidence for Pakistan to prosecute Hafiz Saeed, who is believed to be a central planner of the three-day terrorist siege in Mumbai.
Saeed heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa charity, a reported front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group, based in Pakistan, which is accused of carrying out the attacks on India. The bloodshed severely strained relations between India and Pakistan, and brought the two nuclear-armed neighbors' slow-moving peace process to a halt.
Pakistan put Saeed under house arrest in December, but he was released in June by a court that ruled there was insufficient evidence against him. He is one of 38 people, including Pakistani nationals, who India says were the key figures in planning the attacks on Mumbai.
India says all 10 gunmen involved in the assault on Mumbai were Pakistanis. Officials in Islamabad have accepted that the attacks were planned, in part on Pakistani territory, but they deny India's assertion that Pakistani government agents were involved.
The lone surviving Mumbai gunman, Pakistani national Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, testified in court that he was 'waging war' against India at the time.
Pakistan has filed police complaints against at least five suspects, and is searching for at least a dozen others in the case.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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[The News (Pak)] The banned outfit Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Mohmand Agency, Commander Omar Khalid said Saturday that the government had not extended him any offer for peace talks.
Talking to the local and foreign media by phone from an undisclosed location, the TTP local commander said the government should meet three demands before holding any talks with the TTP.
Setting conditions for negotiations with the government, he said all roadside checkpoints must be dismantled, the families that suffered in the military operation be compensated and arrested Taliban fighters released. He said Commander Umar Said alias Zarqawi had surrendered to the government under pressure from his family but had rejoined the Taliban ranks.
The Taliban commander, whose real name is Abdul Wali, said strict action would be taken against Taliban fighters who had surrendered to government if they did not contact the high command of the group within three days.
Omar Khalid alleged that the government was trying to pit local people against Taliban by forming lashkars, adding that Taliban did not want to fight the people.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: TTP
But what if they're incompetent dictators? What do ya do then? There's always new incompetent thugs ready to replace the old incompetent ones, just ask any South American banana republic ...
[Geo News] Chief of Pakistan Muslim League (Functional) Pir Pagara Saturday said the door for martial law is still open and that the dictators will keep coming if the countries (civilian) rulers remained ineffective. He said this while talking to newsmen here at Kingri House after his meeting with the Chief of Awami Muslim League Sheikh Rashid. Pri Pagara said Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) have their separate ways to go and it will happen as soon as they start talking openly. He said he can foretell the fate of Pervez Musharraf only after watching his hand. Sheikh Rashid on the occasion said now the Supreme Court should start trial of all cases from October 1999 to missing persons.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] Quaid Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain, deploring strongly the onslaught on a minority community in Gojra, a tehsil of Toba Tek Singh, which left many women and children injured and torched their houses, has asked government for the early arrest of the culprits involved in the offense. Through a statement released from London, he termed the incident as an instance of inhumanity and brutality adding that none who believes in welfare of people belonging to minority community can support such kind of menace.
Altaf Hussain urged upon President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani for assurance the safeguard of the lives and property of public.Quaid Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain, deploring strongly the onslaught on a minority community in Gojra, a tehsil of Toba Tek Singh, which left many women and children injured and torched their houses, has asked government for the early arrest of the culprits involved in the offense.
Through a statement released from London, he termed the incident as an instance of inhumanity and brutality adding that none who believes in welfare of people belonging to minority community can support such kind of menace. Altaf Hussain urged upon President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani for assurance the safeguard of the lives and property of public.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Iraqis said on Saturday they feared al Qaeda was trying to tip their country back into the sectarian strife that nearly tore it apart two years ago, after a spate of bombs outside five Shi'ite mosques killed 31 people.
The bomb blasts, which occurred within minutes of each other on Friday afternoon, apparently targeted the Shi'ite faithful as they gathered for prayers on the Muslim day of rest. At least 130 people were wounded in the attacks.
"Why target mosques? Because they want to divide Iraqis, to start a war between the two sects (Sunni and Shi'ite)," said Kafhim Ali, 54, as he shopped in a local vegetable market in Baghdad's upmarket Karrada district. "I will think again before going to Friday prayers."
No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Shi'ite religious gatherings have often been targets of al Qaeda, whose extreme brand of Sunni Islamism sees Shi'ites as heretics. Many Iraqis fear militants will try to exploit any security gap to try to restart violence.
"Qaeda has started to targeting people again because the U.S. forces left the cities. I don't think the security forces are doing well," said Hisham Sabah, 21, himself a policeman, as he stood at a checkpoint in Baghdad.
Violence has fallen sharply in the past 18 months, but militants have shown themselves deft at lying low and then springing devastating large-scale attacks.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Let the proxy war between Soodia & Iran commence!
[Al Arabiya Latest] The Islamist movement Hamas which rules Gaza said on Saturday it will take legal action against rival Fatah faction members who defied a ban on leaving the Palestinian enclave to attend a party congress.
Fatah members who defied the ban and travelled to the West Bank town of Bethlehem for Tuesday's congress will be prosecuted on their return to the Gaza Strip, the Hamas government's justice ministry said in a statement.
Then they'll be shot in the feet ...
According to sources close to Fatah, around 12 delegates from Gaza have managed to evade tight Hamas security checks to enter Israel and travel on to the West Bank through the Erez crossing. But several others have had their identity papers confiscated to ensure they cannot leave the territory.
Mahmud Zahar, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza, said earlier this week that the ban on taking part in the congress would be lifted if Fatah freed all Hamas prisoners in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The ban affects the more than 400 Fatah members who currently live in Gaza and are eligible to attend the congress, according to officials in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Fatah congress will be the mainstream faction's first such meeting in 20 years, with some 2,000 delegates expected to attend from around the world.
Fatah delegates living in Syria and Lebanon will be allowed to attend, an Israeli official said on Wednesday after talks in Jerusalem between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. National Security Advisor James Jones.
Hamas-Fatah tensions boiled over in June 2007 when the Islamists seized control of Gaza after a week of deadly street clashes, confining the writ of Palestinian president and Fatah leader Mahmud Abbas to the West Bank. Since then, each group has accused the other of persecuting its rivals in its respective area of control.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has threatened to boycott unity talks with Fatah unless members of his group currently detained in the West Bank are released, Reuters reported Friday.
During a sermon at a mosque in Rafah, Haniyeh said, "It is doubtful that this dialogue can succeed and it is doubtful that parties including Hamas would attend the coming round of dialogue in Cairo if we don't close the file on political arrests."
"We are not naive and we won't accept that dialogue takes place while arrests continue," he was quoted as saying.
The next round of reconciliation talks was set for August 25 in Cairo, where Egyptian mediators were hoping to encourage the two Palestinian factions to agree to a power-sharing arrangement ahead of elections set for January.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"We are not naive and we won't accept that dialogue takes place while arrests continue,"
I wonder how does he feels dialogue and terrorist attacks.
After Iran released "confessions" made by opposition political activists, the head of the minority Reformist bloc of parliament reacts by saying that the trial process has left everyone traumatized.
"The method used in the trials of those arrested in which they [the prisoners] do not have access to lawyers and neither the detainees nor their families are aware of the charges [they are facing] has left everyone in a state of shock," Mohammad-Reza Tabesh, head of the minority Reformist faction in the Iranian parliament said on Saturday.
Saturday's trial was held after nearly 3,000 people were arrested in Iran in the aftermath of the unrest that ensued Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election with the June 12 vote.
With Iran witnessing massive opposition rallies staged by supporters of defeated presidential candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi in the weeks following the vote, some protests turned violent, leaving at least 20 people dead and hundreds of others injured.
Later on, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution called for the administration of justice in the case of the country's post-vote detainees.
Addressing concerns over the treatment of those arrested in the course of the unrest, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei ordered the shutdown of a "non-standard" prison.
"Those arrested are in critical conditions and ... very worrying reports have been received about them from their families," Tabesh insisted.
Referring to the order, Tabesh said if Ayatollah Khamenei had been aware of the situation in other prisons, the treatment of the detainees and their families, and the violation of the law in dealing with them, he would -- in a similar command -- order "the administration of justice and fairness in putting to trial the detainees of the recent events".
"We cannot stop short of expressing our concern about the method used in the trial and hope that this tactic is not a complete version of a pre-planned scenario of which the prisoners have had no information," Tabesh added.
The remarks come in response to a Saturday court session in which opposition activists and protesters were charged with rioting, threatening national security and conspiring against the ruling system being read against those in the dock.
Reformist figure Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, accused of provoking and taking part in deadly riots after the recent presidential election in Iran, allegedly testified during the hearing that the vote was "clean" and that allegations of fraud in the presidential election were "a lie".
Tabesh quoted Abtahi's wife -- who was recently granted permission to visit her husband in prison -- as saying that the Reformist activist "had lost 10 kilos in 43 days" in detention.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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After a mass trial session against detained Iranian opposition figures and protesters, influential cleric and official Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani questions the legitimacy of confessions made in the courtroom.
The first court session for opposition activists and protesters convened in Tehran on Saturday to determine the fate of those charged with acting against national security and conspiring with foreign powers to stage a "Velvet Revolution".
A leading Reformist, Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, who served as a deputy under former president Mohammad Khatami, accused the influential figure of having taken an "oath" with opposition leaders.
Abtahi, who has been in custody since June 16, also charged that Ayatollah Rafsanjani sought to avenge his 2005 presidential defeat to the incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2009 election.
Ayatollah Rafsanjani, who heads both the top political arbitration body called the Expediency Council as well as the Assembly of Experts -- the top clerical body which appoints the Leader of the Islamic Revolution --, was quick to deny the charges.
In a statement issued by the Expediency Council on Saturday, the two-time former president rejected Abtahi's claims as a "lie".
Rafsanjani having "taken an oath with Mr. Khatami and Mousavi to protect each other is a sheer lie," the statement said, the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported.
Rafsanjani "did not endorse any presidential candidates and has not had any part in the post-election unrest," it added.
The cleric, who has been under fire from the ruling elite, moved to question the reliability of the confessions.
"It is unclear that under which conditions and considerations these confessions have been made," the statement added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] As Washington decides to extend sanctions on the Syrians charged with hampering Lebanese stability, Hezbollah accuses the Obama administration of 'interfering' in Beirut's affairs. "Hezbollah also sees the renewal of sanctions as a highly aggressive act and a continuation of the logic of imperial arrogance," the resistance movement said in a statement on Saturday.
The sanctions were first imposed on August 1, 2007 by former US president George W. Bush, who froze the assets of Syrian individuals accused of undermining Lebanon's sovereignty.
Hezbollah said the administration of the US President Barack Obama was following in the footsteps of its predecessors that provided a 'cover for the crimes of the Israeli enemy'. The movement further described the decision as a 'blatant interference in Lebanese affairs'.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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As the defiant Iranian opposition continues widespread street protests, influential cleric and official Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani comes under fire, allegedly for playing a role in the post-election developments.
In pre-election debates, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the heavyweight politician and his family of corruption as well as conspiring with former prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi against the incumbent. Ayatollah Rafsanjani, himself a two-time former president, urged Ahmadinejad to issue an official apology for the corruption charges to prevent "legal actions". Although the cleric did not endorse any candidate, some Principlists alleged that Rafsanjani and his family were financially supporting Mousavi.
On July 17, the influential cleric, in his first Friday prayers sermon since the June 12 election, urged officials to release opposition figures and those who protested the election result as a means to create national "unity". The ruling elite, however, attacked him for not condemning the street riots and the opposition's defiance.
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the head of the top legislative body, on Friday accused Rafsanjani of orchestrating the post-election events after he lost the 9th presidential election in 2005. "After defeat was inflicted on a certain figure four years ago, those who could not stand a young man in power colluded against him," Jannati was quoted by the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) as saying. "Since then, they have planned to avenge (their loss)."
Ahmadinejad defeated Rafsanjani by some 7 million votes in the run-off of the 2005 election.
On Saturday, as a mass trial against opposition figures and protesters opened in Tehran, Mohammad-Ali Abtahi -- a leading Reformist -- allegedly accused Rafsanjani of colluding against the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Abtahi, according to a report carried by Fars News Agency, claimed Mousavi, former president Mohammad Khatami and Rafsanjani had taken an "oath" not to abandon each other as they prepared to stage a "Velvet Revolution".
Abtahi echoed Jannati's remarks that Rafsanjani, who currently heads both the top political arbitration body and the clerical body, sought to avenge his 2005 presidential defeat to Ahmadinejad.
Although the accounts of confessions made in the court were challenged by Reformist lawmakers and figures, Tehran Majlis representative Hamid Rasayi said the trial paved the way for officials to prosecute the "real" riot leaders.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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Syrian President Bashar Assad said Saturday that the return of the Golan Heights from Israel was non-negotiable, and he expressed confidence that the strategic plateau captured four decades ago would be handed back.
You and whose army?
A year of indirect peace talks between the two countries ended in January, and the Syrian and Israeli leaders have laid out tough conditions for restarting talks.
Syria has said it is willing to resume the Turkish-mediated talks if they focus on a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Golan, captured in the 1967 Six-Day War. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is not willing to cede the territory Syria wants. "The return of all conqured occupied land ... is non-negotiable," Assad said in a speech marking Syria's Army Day. "The Syrian Arab Golan will remain Arab ... and will fully return to the nation."
"Occupation and peace are two contradictory matters," he said, adding that Syria seeks a just and comprehensive peace.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Assad further threatened to lose war after war until Syria gets what it wants.
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.
As the defiant Iranian opposition continues widespread street protests, influential cleric and official Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani comes under fire, allegedly for playing a role in the post-election developments. 
Syrian President Bashar Assad said Saturday that the return of the Golan Heights from Israel was non-negotiable, and he expressed confidence that the strategic plateau captured four decades ago would be handed back. 
