[DAWN] The United States has said that after Jan 2, US forces in Afghanistan will not target Mullah Omar and other Taliban leaders unless they posed a direct threat to the US.
"Being a member of the Taliban doesn't mean that the United States is going to prosecute operations against you for that reason alone," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told a recent news briefing in Washington.
But he also drew a line between combatant and non-combatant Taliban, saying that those who continued to fight would not be spared.
"We've also concurred that a member of the Taliban who undertakes missions against us or our Afghan partners — by that act alone, renders himself vulnerable and liable to US action," Rear Admiral Kirby said.
"Being a member of the Taliban doesn't mean that the United States is going to prosecute operations against you for that reason alone"
In his year-end news conference on Friday, President Barack Obama assured the American nation that he would fulfil his pledge to end the US-led war in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
"And in less than two weeks, after more than 13 years, our combat mission in Afghanistan will be over," he said.
President Obama, however, has authorised this force to fight the militants if they posed a direct threat to them or caused a major threat to official Afghan forces.
At the Pentagon briefing, journalists asked Mr Kirby to further explain the policy and also asked him if US forces would continue to pursue Taliban leader Mullah Omar after 2014 as well, as they did in the past.
Mullah Omar was Afghanistan's head of state from 1996 until the US forced him from power in 2001. He has been on the State Department's Rewards for Justice programme since Oct 2001, for harbouring Osama bin Laden and other terrorists. The reward for his capture is $10 million.
"Is Mullah and the other people on this list, are they no longer liable for their past acts in Afghanistan?" a journalist asked.
"I don't know if I can answer that question. As the recognised leader of the Taliban to the degree the Taliban still poses a threat or poses a threat to us or to our allies, they will continue to be prosecuted by US military operations," Admiral Kirby said. "I can't really make it any more simpler than that."
The Pentagon spokesman explained that from January 2nd, the US policy in Afghanistan would change.
But "what changes fundamentally, though, is (that) … on January 2nd, just by being a member of the Taliban doesn't make you an automatic target," he explained.
"So, beginning January 2nd, it will be up to the Afghans to go after someone like a Mullah Omar?" asked a journalist.
"That's correct, unless there is a direct threat that's posed," Mr Kirby said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#4
After the last election, where the dems were routed, normalization with America's foes has been Obama's policy November 4, six weeks ago. Slash and burn per the man/boy.
[HOSTED.AP.ORG] President Barack Obama I inhaled. That was the point... is "recklessly" spreading rumors of a Pyongyang-orchestrated cyberattack of Sony Pictures, North Korea says, as it warns of strikes against the White House, Pentagon and "the whole U.S. mainland, that cesspool of terrorism."
So they hack us, we accuse them of hacking us, and now they threaten to strike us because we pointed out that they hacked us. Oooookkkkaaaayyyy...
Such rhetoric is routine from North Korea's massive propaganda machine during times of high tension with Washington. But a long statement from the powerful National Defense Commission late Sunday also underscores Pyongyang's sensitivity at a movie whose plot focuses on the liquidation of its leader Kim Pudge Jong-un ...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished... , who is the beneficiary of a decades-long cult of personality built around his family dynasty.
The U.S. blames North Korea for the cyberattack that escalated to threats of terror attacks against U.S. movie theaters and caused Sony to cancel "The Interview's" release.
Obama, who promised to respond "proportionately" to the attack, told CNN's "State of the Union" in an interview broadcast Sunday that Washington is reviewing whether to put North Korea back on its list of state sponsors of terrorism
Why do we have to respond proportionately? Why not respond disproportionately and thus remind the world not to screw with us?
The National Defense Commission, led by Kim, warned that its 1.2 million-member army is ready to use all types of warfare against the U.S.
"Our toughest counteraction will be boldly taken against the White House, the Pentagon and the whole U.S. mainland, the cesspool of terrorism, by far surpassing the `symmetric counteraction' declared by Obama," said the commission's Policy Department in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea has said it knows how to prove it had nothing to do with the hacking and proposed a joint investigation with the U.S.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Champ wants to be the guy who eliminated all wars; when you take any hard position in negotiations, it's easy for your opponent to back you into a corner.
It's amazing how many corners he can be backed into at the same time.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
12/23/2014 7:23 Comments ||
Top||
#2
"backed into a corner?"
That POS has a round room just to avoid such confrontations.....
The fans of his handiwork clamored:
Of which tool is H. most enamored?
For posting on-screen, his
Ball-peen purple pen is,
By which Moslem nails are all hammered.
[DAWN] Hafiz Mohammad Naseer, a resident of street 189, Sector G-7/3, and Habibullah of Gilgit-Baltistan, were involved in the Shah-e-Najaf case and convicted by the ATC on December 9, 2004.
Umer Adeel, who belonged to Faisalabad ...formerly known as Lyallpur, the third largest metropolis in Pakistain, the second largest in Punjab after Lahore. It is named after some Arab because the Paks didn't have anybody notable of their own to name it after... with a temporary address in Sector I-9/4, Islamabad, was awarded death sentence on March 14, 2011.
He was involved in the attack on the mosque in Parade Lane on September 4, 2007. He was shifted to the jail on July 2, 2008.
Hameedullah, a resident of Wazoo, was involved in the attack on Pakistain Ordnance Factories Wah on August 21, 2008.
He was sentenced to death on January 29, 2011, and shifted to Adiala Jail on September 19, 2008.
Mumtaz Qadri, a Rawalpindi Elite Force personnel, was sentenced to death on October 1, 2011, for assassinating former Punjab governor Salman Taseer.
He is a resident of Moslem Town, Sadiqabad, Rawalpindi.
Mohammad Aslam, a resident of Mohallah Sathiwal, Jhang district, was handed down death sentence on six counts for the liquidation of a member of the provincial assembly.
He was shifted to Adiala jail from Lahore on October 27, 2013.
Similarly, Zulfiqar Ali, a resident of Naval Colony, Hub Road, Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , is another convicted prisoner languishing in the jail.
He was awarded death sentence for the terrorist attack on the US consulate in Karachi on February 28, 2003. He was shifted to the jail on November 3, 2014.
Mercy appeals of the eight civilians facing the death sentence are lying with the president.
Despite repeated attempts, the jail authorities were not available for comments on the executions.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
[DAWN] In an apparent attempt to shed its generally-perceived pro-Taliban image, the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) "condemned the TTP and all other terror groups" on Sunday and extended its "total support" to the armed forces and law-enforcement agencies combating terrorism.
"The PTI condemns the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) and all other terror groups that have unleashed their brutality on the people of Pakistain," the party's information secretary Dr Shireen Mazari told news hounds after a meeting of its core committee.
According to sources, PTI chairman Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... expressed his satisfaction over the progress made in the talks with the government on the issue of alleged rigging in last year's general elections and gave a go-ahead to members of the negotiating team to strike a deal after settling some minor and technical issues.
The PTI committee also endorsed a 20-point draft of recommendations to be presented by the party to a committee preparing a national action plan to deal with terrorism.
Dr Mazari said the party had expressed deep grief over the brutal killing of children and staff of the Army Public School 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. on Dec 16.
"In conveying its heartfelt condolence to the bereaved families, it notes that this barbaric act was unprecedented in Pakistain's history and will live forever in our memory as a day of infamy. There can be absolutely no justification for this brutal act," she said.
The party, she said, had expressed "its total support to the armed forces of Pakistain and other law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) for their endeavours to eliminate the scourge of terrorism from our land".
She said the party leadership had also discussed in detail the issue of repatriation of Afghan refugees.
Replying to a question, she said the issue of withdrawing resignations of PTI's politicians and returning to the assemblies was not discussed.
She expressed the hope that the issue of formation of a judicial commission to investigate alleged rigging in the elections would soon be resolved and said that only one or two points needed to be sorted out by the negotiating teams.
Dr Mazari said her party would have no objection if the commission was formed through a presidential ordinance and expressed the hope that the court would not reject it.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
the common perception in Pakistan that the afghan Taliban is supported by the people army and govt whilst the pak Taliban is supported by raw/cia and mossad.
Posted by: paul ||
12/23/2014 17:07 Comments ||
Top||
[DAWN] A day after they surprised the city by jointly condemning the 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. carnage, the liberal and religious elements returned to their old confrontation centered on Lal Masjid ...literally the Red Mosque, located in Islamabad and frequented by all sorts of high govt officials. The proprietors, Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi, unleashed their Islamic storm troopers on the city, shutting down whorehouses and beating people up who weren't devout enough. The Musharraf govt put an end to the nonsense by besieging the place. Abdul Aziz Ghazi was nabbed while he was trying to escape dressed up like a girl. BBC reported that the corpse count at 173, but other claims, usually hysterical, say there were up to 1000 titzup. Among their number was Abdul Rashid Ghazi. Everyone then said tut-tut and what a nice guy he had been... and its chief holy man, Maulana Abdul Aziz ...nutball holy man who runs the Lal Masjid in the heart of Pakistain's capital. After instigating a rebellion against the state in 2007, he was caught trying to sneak away dressed in a burka. He rejects democracy as un-Islamic, which it probably is... on Sunday.
There appeared little let up in their narratives, though the civil society elements decided to take to a legal course.
"We have to adopt some legal way along with our peaceful protest to remove the maulana," said Jibran Nasir speaking for the campaigners. He demanded that sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act be added to the FIR registered against the chief holy man of Lal Masjid for inciting sectarian hatred and violence.
"It is a defining moment and the movement can change the fate of Pakistain," he said, appealing to the people to gather in number at Aabpara cop shoppe on Monday at 5pm for that purpose.
An advocate and human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... activist from Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , Nasir was in Islamabad when Maulana Aziz's remark that he did not consider the 142 schoolchildren killed by the Taliban in Peshawar "deaders" caused great resentment in the public.
Nasir said the civil society protest would be extended to Lahore and Karachi if the maulana was not charged under the anti-terrorism law.
On the other hand, the Jamaat Ahle Sunnat (JAS), an organization of the heads of mosques of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, held a rally in support of Maulana Aziz in front of the National Press Club on Sunday.
Most of the faces in the rally were the same seen in the meeting that the Wafaqul Madaris Arabia (WMA), the managing board of the seminaries in the country, had organised outside Lal Masjid on Saturday and mingled with the protesting liberals.
On Sunday, the bonhomie was missing and the JAS crowd swore they would not allow any action against the Lal Masjid.
They also condemned the critical remarks of MQM chief Altaf Hussain regarding Lal Masjid.
Spokesman for WMA Maulana Abdul Quddus told Dawn that WMA displayed a positive gesture by holding a protest side by side the civil society against the Peshawar carnage.
"But the statement of MQM chief that Lal Masjid should be demolished is totally unacceptable," he said, advising the MQM leader to "reconsider" his statement.
Qazi Abdul Rasheed, head of the JAS Supreme Council, told the rally that the religious segment of the society grieved the Peshawar carnage as it did the seminary students killed in Bajaur in a drone attack.
"Both were children of Pakistain," he said.
"We will not tolerate any conspiracy against the seminaries because they are the ideological garrisons the same way the army garrisons are for the defence of the country," he said, reminding that former military president "Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... tried to take action against the seminaries but he failed." When Musharraf came to power, he recalled, there were 4,500 seminaries in the country. When he left they had grown to 14,500 seminaries.
"Today there are 20,000 registered seminaries in the country," declared Maulana Rasheed triumphantly.
Like him, President WMA Islamabad, Maulana Zahoor Ahmad Alvi, who is also General Secretary of JAS, also condemned the Peshawar killings with the warning that "any action" against the mosques would be unacceptable.
Maulana Nazir Farooqi of Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...the political wing of the Pak Taliban... accused the MQM chief of conspiring against the Lal Masjid establishment.
Naib Khateeb of Lal Masjid Maulana Amir Siddique added to the charge that "a Brit (Altaf Hussain) has been doing politics on the blood of schoolchildren."
"Instead of Lal Masjid management, action should be taken against Pervez Musharraf, who killed innocent people," he said and warned, "We will protect the mosque at any cost."
Other speakers at the rally condemned the registration of an FIR against Maulana Aziz in Karachi.
Workers of the Pakistain Awami Tehrik also held a protest rally at Aabpara Chowk against the massacre of students and teachers in Peshawar.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under:
[DAWN] Lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir, one of the main organisers behind the Lal Masjid ...literally the Red Mosque, located in Islamabad and frequented by all sorts of high govt officials. The proprietors, Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi, unleashed their Islamic storm troopers on the city, shutting down whorehouses and beating people up who weren't devout enough. The Musharraf govt put an end to the nonsense by besieging the place. Abdul Aziz Ghazi was nabbed while he was trying to escape dressed up like a girl. BBC reported that the corpse count at 173, but other claims, usually hysterical, say there were up to 1000 titzup. Among their number was Abdul Rashid Ghazi. Everyone then said tut-tut and what a nice guy he had been... protests in Islamabad, on Monday received a threatening phone call from an individual claiming to be Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain Jamaatul Ahrar ...A Pak Taliban splinter group that split off from the Mullah Fazlullah faction because it wasn't violent enough... 's front man.
A man claiming to be Ehsanullah Ehsan ...formerly the front man for the Pak Taliban, now the lips and tongue of the Jamaatul Ahrar splinter group in Mohmand Agency... asked Nasir to end the protests, or "be ready for consequences".
Nasir however remained defiant and determined to continue the protest, despite the threat.
"We've told him we are standing firm," the activist said on social media.
Nasir shared a recording of the telephone conversation with local daily The Express Tribune, which was made accessible online. According to the audio recording, a man claiming to be Ehsanullah Ehsan told Jibran Nasir that by continuing with the protests against Lal Masjid, both Nasir and the demonstrators were putting themselves in danger. The caller further said that Jamaatul Ahrar should not be considered weak/unable to act.
Jibran Nasir maintained that until and unless the mosque begins to spread the message of peace he would continue to stand against Lal Masjid's administration.
While speaking to Dawn.com, Jibran Nasir reiterated: "We will not call off the protest".
The first protest against the Lal Masjid administration took place on Thursday evening when a large number of civil society activists, politicians and students arrived at the mosque chanting slogans against its chief holy manMaulana Abdul Aziz ...nutball holy man who runs the Lal Masjid in the heart of Pakistain's capital. After instigating a rebellion against the state in 2007, he was caught trying to sneak away dressed in a burka. He rejects democracy as un-Islamic, which it probably is... and lighting candles as part of a vigil for the victims of the siege of 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. 's Army Public School.
The activists had come out in response to a statement by Maulana Aziz in which he had refused to condemn the massacre of students and teachers in Peshawar.
However, nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits... when the protests did not stop for a third day, to ease the pressure on the mosque's administration, the deputy khateeb of Lal Masjid along with representatives of the federation of seminaries joined the civil society activists to condemn the massacre.
Maulana Aziz had however threatened the protesters with dire consequences on the second day of the demonstrations, following which, the police had registered cases against both sides.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
[DAWN] State prosecutor Azhar Chaudhry said Monday he had been forced to delay his appeal against a court order which grants bail to Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged criminal mastermind of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.
A judge in Islamabad's anti-terror court last week had granted bail to Lakhvi, accused for the siege in India's commercial capital that left 166 people dead and was blamed on the banned Pakistain-based murderous Moslem group Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... (LT).
The bail decision had triggered a furious response from New Delhi and Pak prosecutors had swiftly announced they would appeal against it.
The challenge was due to be filed on Monday but state prosecutor Mohammad Azhar Chaudhry told AFP he had been unable to proceed.
"I have not yet received a copy of the court (bail) order, which is essential to complete legal formalities," he told AFP.
Chaudhry said he would challenge the bail order after examining it.
Relations between Pakistain and India had worsened dramatically after the Mumbai carnage, in which 10 gunnies attacked luxury hotels, a popular cafe, a train station and a Jewish centre.
Lakhvi remains in jug in the high-security Adiala prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi after the authorities ordered his detention, following the court's bail decision, under public order laws.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told politicians last week that the bail order came "as a shock to all those who believe in humanity the world over".
It took the authorities three days to regain full control of Mumbai after the carnage started and New Delhi has long said it has evidence that "official agencies" in Pakistain were involved in plotting the attack. Islamabad denies the charge.
After the attack, seven Pak suspects were charged with its planning and financing but the failure to advance their trials has been a major obstacle to improved ties between Pakistain and India.
Delhi accuses Islamabad of prevaricating over the trials, while Pakistain has claimed that India failed to hand over crucial evidence.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
[DAWN] Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems... has called upon the federal government to equip the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... (KP) police with tools to gather intelligence in order to effectively counter terrorism.
The Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) chairman was addressing a presser in the lovely provincial capital of 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. on Monday. Terming terrorism as Pakistain's national issue, Imran said KP was on the frontline in combating the scourge.
The PTI chairman demanded the Nawaz-led government at the centre to deploy Frontier Constabulary (FC) forces in the province. "We demand the government to ensure FC deployment on its original positions -- which were to protect the KP province from unrest in the tribal areas," Imran told news hounds.
Though the PTI chairman commended the efforts of the police, he said it was not the job of the police to combat terrorism.
"Police are not trained for this," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
These boys are so off the reservation that they can't see it from where they are; tooling them up for more violent stuff is a dan-dan-dandy idea.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
12/23/2014 7:25 Comments ||
Top||
[DAWN] Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... on Monday chaired a high-level meeting on counter-terrorism which decided to crush rising terrorism in the country with full force.
The meeting reviewed all existing anti-terror laws and decided to bring necessary amendments in order to toughen these laws.
PM's Special Assistant Khawaja Zaheer and Law Secretary Barrister Zafarullah briefed the meeting with regards to the existing anti-terror laws and pending cases before various courts.
The meeting also considered a proposal relating to establishment of special military courts for conducting speedy trials of terrorists.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under:
[IsraelTimes] Haider Ali Motar was convicted of terrorism charges about a month ago for helping to carry out a string of Baghdad boom-mobileings on behalf of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... holy warrior group. Now, the 21-year old is a reluctant cast member in a popular reality TV show.
?In the Grip of the Law? brings convicted Death Eaters face-to-face with victims in surreal encounters and celebrates the country?s beleaguered security forces. The show, produced by state-run Iraqiyya TV, is among dozens of programs, cartoons and musical public service announcements aimed at shoring up support for the troops after their humiliating defeat last summer at the hands of the Islamic State group, which now controls about a third of the country.
On a chilly, overcast day last week, the crew arrived at the scene of one of the attacks for which Motar was convicted, with a heavily armed escort in eight military pick-up trucks and Humvees. Passing cars clogged the road to watch the drama unfold, but were quickly shooed away by soldiers.
After being pulled from an armored vehicle, a shackled Motar found himself face-to-face with the seething relatives of the victims of the attack. ?Give him to me ? I?ll tear him to pieces,? one of the relatives roared from behind a barbed wire barrier.
A cameraman pinned a microphone on Motar?s bright yellow prison jumpsuit as he stood alongside a busy Baghdad highway looking bewildered by his surroundings.
?Say something,? the cameraman said to him.
?What am I supposed to say?? a visibly panicked Motar asked.
?It?s a mic check! Just count: 1,2,3,4??
Once the cameras were rolling, the show?s host Ahmed Hassan quizzed the still-shackled prisoner. When Motar was confronted by one of the victims, a young man in a wheelchair who lost his father in one of the attacks, the convict began weeping, as the cameras rolled.
Iraq has seen near-daily boom-mobiles and other attacks for more than a decade, both before and after the withdrawal of US-led troops at the end of 2011. But the central message of the show, the filming of which began last year, is that the security forces will bring perpetrators to justice.
?We wanted to produce a program that offers clear and conclusive evidence, with the complete story, presented and shown to Iraqi audiences,? Hassan told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named. ?Through surveillance videos, we show how the accused parked the car, how he blew it up, how he carries out an liquidation.?
The episodes often detail the trail of evidence that led security forces to make the arrest. Police allow the camera crew to film the evidence ? boom belts, bomb-making equipment or fingerprints and other DNA samples.
?We show our audiences the pictures, along with hard evidence, to leave no doubts that this person is a criminal and paying for his crimes,? Hassan said.
All of the alleged Death Eaters are shown confessing to their crimes in one-on-one interviews. Hassan said the episodes are only filmed after the men have confessed to a judge, insisting it is ?impossible? that any of them are innocent.
?The court first takes a preliminary testimony and then they require a legal confession in front of a judge,? Hassan explained. ?After obtaining the security and legal permission, we are then allowed to film those terrorists.?
Human rights groups have long expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... over the airing of confessions by prisoners, many of whom have been held incommunicado in secret facilities.
?The justice system is so flawed and the rights of detainees, especially those accused of terrorism (but not only) are so routinely violated that it is virtually impossible to be confident that they would be able to speak freely,? Donatella Rovera, of Amnesia Amnesty International, said in an email.
?In recent months, which I have spent in Iraq, virtually every family I have met who has a relative detained has complained that they do not have access to them, and the same is true for lawyers.?
In a September statement, Amnesty cited longstanding concerns about the Iraqi justice system, ?where many accused of terrorism have been convicted and sentenced to long prison terms and even to death on the basis of ?confessions? extracted under torture.?
Such concerns are rarely if ever aired on Iraqi TV, where wall-to-wall programming exalts the security forces. Singers embedded with the troops sing nationalist songs during commercial breaks. In another popular program, called ?The Quick Response,? a traveling correspondent interviews soldiers, aiming to put a human face on the struggle against the holy warriors.
Iraqi forces backed by Shiite and Kurdish militias, as well as US-led coalition Arclight airstrikes, have clawed back some territory following the army?s route last summer, when commanders disappeared, calls for reinforcements went unanswered and many soldiers stripped off their uniforms and fled. But around a third of the country ? including its second largest city, djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... ? remains under the firm control of holy warriors, and nearly every day brings new bombings in and around the capital.
Back at the makeshift barricade set up for ?In the Grip of the Law,? security officials insist they are nevertheless sending a message of deterrence.
?Many of these Death Eaters feel a lot of remorse when they see the victims,? said the senior intelligence officer overseeing the shoot, who declined to be named since he often works undercover. ?When people see that, it makes them think twice about crossing the law.?
[Ynet] Paleostinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki said that 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... tried to persuade the Paleostinians to hold back with their UN Security Council proposal last week, which attempts to set a timeline for Israeli disengagement of territory for a future Paleostinian state.
According to Al-Maliki, Kerry said that this type of decision would have an impact on the upcoming Israeli elections but Al-Maliki said that the Paleostinians refused to accept the request.
[Ynet] Several rockets were launched from northern Gazoo towards the Mediterranean Sea, part of Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,' ongoing rocket trials.
Continuous improvement of the manufacturing process...
[IsraelTimes] Some 6,000 Paleostinian workers did not go to work inside Israel on Sunday in protest over worsening conditions at a crossing point in the central West Bank.
Okay. Stay home. A fair number of people on Israeli buses will breathe a tad easier today...
The strike at the Sha?ar Efraim checkpoint west of Tulkarem came days after an Israeli report on conditions at another checkpoint south of Jerusalem showed hundreds of Paleostinians forced to wait for hours while being funneled through a narrow passageway.
Israel allows nearly 38,000 Paleostinian workers to enter Israel for work daily via a number of crossing points. The number was upped by 5,000 in September, to the highest level since before the Second Intifada nearly 15 years ago, but efforts to keep pace with infrastructure improvements to accommodate the increase have reportedly lagged.
Israel has been working on building a new terminal for pedestrians at the Sha?ar Efraim checkpoint to deal with the influx, but Paleostinian laborers who use the checkpoint to enter Israel say the work has progressed slowly, leading to overcrowding and what they call daily humiliations, the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported Monday.
?When I reach the checkpoint ? for me this is like entering hell itself,? Sabri, a Tulkarem resident who has been using the checkpoint for years, told the newspaper. ?People are squeezed together like cattle in a narrow passage. Some people start pushing and in many cases it ends with people getting injured and then taken by ambulance to a hospital in Tulkarem.?
On Sunday, in an unusual step, a group of workers spontaneously decided not to go to work until conditions are improved. ?The matter was passed by word of mouth within minutes. I haven?t seen even one person object. We turned back and went home,? one laborer said, according to the daily.
Sabri said the Sha?ar Ephraim checkpoint has 16 biometric checking terminals but ?usually only four or five work and the rest are closed.?
He also accused the Paleostinian Authority of failing to manage the checkpoint on its side, not sending officials who will direct pedestrian traffic to prevent pushing and chaos.
In a segment on Checkpoint 300 near Bethlehem aired last week on Israel?s Channel 1, workers spoke of leaving their homes at 2 or 3 a.m. just to get to enter Israel in time for work at 7 or 8 in the morning.
?Thank God, we don?t mind waiting here for hours on end,? one of the people waiting in an open-air corridor with hundreds of other laborers said ironically.
Another man, speaking directly to the camera, said: ?Let the Israelis see how we live? we build their state and they screw with our lives, that?s how it is.?
The Civil Administration and the Land Checkpoint Authority at the Defense Ministry said that construction of the new terminal at the Sha?ar Ephraim checkpoint was intended to improve the conditions of passage to Israel.
?We are aware of the temporary inconvenience caused by the construction work which is currently at its peak and is expected to end in the coming months,? the two offices said in a statement.
[Ynet] The Al-Akhbar newspaper, which is associated with Hezbollah, reported Monday that Russian weapons, and weapons from other sources, were delivered to the Syrian police and are likely to impact the course of the civil war in Syria. According to the report the weapons "were not revealed in order to prevent Israel or other sources from discovering them."
The report also claimed that Russia and Iran had opened a new credit line to Syria worth 6.4 billion dollars. Tehran has opened a credit line of 4.5 billion dollars and Russia opened a credit line of a billion dollars, in addition to 500 million intended for food and 400 million intended for flour.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/23/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
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.
[DAWN] The United States has said that after Jan 2, US forces in Afghanistan will not target Mullah Omar and other Taliban leaders unless they posed a direct threat to the US.
[HOSTED.AP.ORG] President 
Wazoo
Pervez 
[DAWN] Lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir, one of the main organisers behind the 
[DAWN] State prosecutor Azhar Chaudhry said Monday he had been forced to delay his appeal against a court order which grants bail to Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged 
[Ynet] Paleostinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki said that US Secretary of State 
