NATO countries are not giving the international force securing Afghanistan enough support and there are worrying signs that the Taliban are growing stronger, a detailed study by Britains parliament has found. The report, by the House of Commons Defence Committee, highlighted a series of concerns, from a lack of training for Afghan police and armed forces to an unclear policy on eradicating the countrys vast opium poppy fields. But the chief preoccupation was a lack of support from other NATO countries to provide more troops to the 36,000-strong ISAF mission and evidence that violence, including Iraq-style suicide bombings, was growing as Taliban and Al Qaeda-linked insurgents expand their sphere of influence outwards from the south.
Britain, which leads NATO forces in the restive Helmand province in the southern Afghanistan, is one of the largest contributors to the mission, with 7,100 troops. We remain deeply concerned that the reluctance of GermanyFranceItalySpainBelgium some NATO countries to provide troops for the ISAF mission in Afghanistan is undermining NATOs credibility and also ISAF operations, the bi-partisan committee concluded in its 65-page report.
While praising Britains commitment to the overall mission, the reports authors added, The Ministry of Defence asserts that the Taliban insurgency does not pose a strategic threat to Afghanistan (but) violence seems to be increasing and spreading to the previously more peaceful provinces in the north and west ... and the capital. Moreover, civilian casualties undermine support for ISAF and the government of Afghanistan and fuel the insurgency, further endangering our troops.
Britain Defence Minister Des Browne called the report balanced and said he also wanted more NATO help. He denied that the situation in Afghanistan had worsened significantly or that British air assets were overstretched. We have overmatched them every time theyve faced up to us, he said of the Taliban, adding that Afghanistan was a long-term commitment for foreign forces. Suggesting we should back off and leave it alone is not the answer.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
Can't see how the Taliban are going to get stronger now that Wazi-land will be focused on Musharraf and Pakistani soldiers.
#4
Sounds to me like the British Parliament wants to pull a DNC and pull out of Afghanistan. This may be the opening salvo of such a move. The last thing the West needs to do is pull out of Afghanistan OR Iraq. Let's hope it's not, but keep an eye open in case it is a call for a bug-out.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/19/2007 14:40 Comments ||
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(SomaliNet) With just a month to go before the end of the African Union mandate in Somalia, the Uganda army is seeking for a United Nations mandate to maintain a reasonable presence in Somalia, APA reports.
The People's Defense Forces (UPDF) spokesman, Major Felix Kulayigye said on Tuesday that discussions between the African Union and the United Nations to extend the UPDF mandate in Somalia are at an advanced stage. The UPDF contingent of 1,500 soldiers was deployed on March 1 and has been trying to keep peace in the war-torn country.
And not doing so well at it.
Kulayigye said there is still need for a peacekeeping force to help Somalia gain stability. He said that since arriving in Mogadishu, UPDF have secured the main airport and sea port and provided security and protection for the transitional federal government. The troops have also provided security for the president and his palace as well as for the national peace and reconciliation conference in Mogadishu.
Average Somalis, however, haven't had as much security.
He said other countries like Malawi, Burundi, Ghana and Nigeria are still expected to send in their troops but under a new mandate. The African Union mission needs a total of 8,000 soldiers.
How about the mighty Uruguayans?
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Another round for our friends from Uganda. Better them then us.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/19/2007 0:56 Comments ||
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Scotland yard is to take the first steps toward a possible criminal investigation against George Galloway, who faces an 18-day suspension from the Commons over his financial links to Saddam Hussein's regime, The Daily Telegraph can disclose today.
Detectives are to seek documents from the Serious Fraud Office, which carried out a previous investigation, to establish whether there are grounds to prosecute Mr Galloway. The police may seek his bank accounts after a report by Sir Philip Mawer, the Parliamentary Standards Commisioner, concluded yesterday that Mr Galloway's Mariam Appeal charity received large sums from Saddam's manipulation of the United Nations oil-for-food programme.
Sir Philip said: "Mr Galloway has consistently denied, prevaricated and fudged in relation to the now undeniable evidence that the Mariam Appeal, and he indirectly through it, received money derived, via the Oil for Food programme, from the Iraqi regime."
He added: "Mr Galloway through his controlling position in the appeal, benefited from those monies, in terms of furtherance of his political objectives." He went on: "He [Mr Galloway] had received such support at least recklessly or negligently, and probably knowingly." But Sir Philip said there was no evidence that Mr Galloway had benefited personally from the programme or that any funds had entered his personal bank account.
The 181-page report said that the Respect MP had "consistently failed to live up to the expectation of openness and straightforwardness".
The investigation was triggered by The Daily Telegraph in April 2003 when David Blair, a foreign correspondent, discovered documents purporting to be about Mr Galloway in the Iraqi foreign ministry in Baghdad shortly after Saddam's overthrow. The papers claimed to show that he received funds from Saddam's regime for the Mariam Appeal. The committee report demands that Mr Galloway apologise to David Blair, who he accused of perjury, and to the Commons. In December 2004 The Daily Telegraph lost a libel action brought by Mr Galloway who was paid £150,000 in damages.
Detectives are studying the section of the report where Sir Philip referred to Mr Galloway's bank accounts which he had not seen. The report said: "I have not pressed for access to bank accounts . . . primarily because I believe that embarking on such action could take me into matters more properly within the jurisdiction of other agencies."
Posted by: lotp ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Iraqi Baath Party
#1
More welcome news. It is difficult not to connect the events with the new Prime Minister. Is it remotely possible we are going to pull the thumb out?
Still, another one who should have been subject to summary trial, convicted and hanged years ago.
#2
Um, that's a bad idea. A really, really bad idea.
Posted by: The Doctor ||
07/19/2007 16:42 Comments ||
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#3
Seeing as sharia prohibits charging interest, you'd wonder how a bank could make money at it.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/19/2007 16:48 Comments ||
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#4
They'll have to elbow London ot of the way...Brown sez he wants UK to lead the way.
In related news and FYI, the White House staffers get their coffee from Caribou Coffee across the steet from the WH. CC is owned by (the Kuwaitis or Bahrainis) and is Sharia-compliant.
#6
Thanks for the heads up on Caribou Coffee, Seafarious. One opened recently near me, and I had been thinking of poking my head in to see how their tea compares to the other fancy coffee shops in the area.
#1
The Dutch did not move to the right, nor did they re-embrace the good old grand schemes of the pioneers of the liberal welfare state. Fortuyn sensed the discontent and the need for change but none of the larger parties was intellectually equipped to grasp his inheritance and convert the feelings of fear and change into a cohesive and electorally compelling set of ideas.
That seem similar to what we are going through here in the US. It seems to me that this is how the amoeba of progress slowly evolves - saving what is good and discarding that which is not. Rarely do we just grow a new tail overnight.
Posted by: AT ||
07/19/2007 12:12 Comments ||
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#2
A new tail isn't what's needed, AT - it's testicles. Not only in the Netherlands, but all of Europe, and many places in the US. They also have to come in brass, to keep the left from trying to neuter the recipients - again.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/19/2007 14:49 Comments ||
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The Pentagon told Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton that her questions about how the U.S. plans to eventually withdraw from Iraq boosts enemy propaganda.
In a stinging rebuke to a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman responded to questions Clinton raised in May in which she urged the Pentagon to start planning now for the withdrawal of American forces. A copy of Edelman's response, dated July 16, was obtained Thursday by The Associated Press. "Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq, much as we are perceived to have done in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia," Edelman wrote.
He added that "such talk understandably unnerves the very same Iraqi allies we are asking to assume enormous personal risks."
Edelman is the Undersecretary of defense for policy. He is also a former U.S. ambassador and one-time aide to Vice President Dick Cheney.
Senate Republicans on Wednesday scuttled a Democratic proposal ordering US troop withdrawals from Iraq in a showdown that capped an all-night debate on the war. The 52-47 vote fell short of the 60 votes needed to cut off debate under Senate rules. It was a sound defeat for Democrats who say the US military campaign, in its fifth year and requiring 158,000 troops, cannot tame the sectarian violence in Iraq.
"We have to get us out of a middle of a civil war" said Sen. Joseph Biden, a Democrat, who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee. A political solution must be found "so when we leave Iraq, we don't just send our children home, we don't have to send our grandchildren back."
As members cast their votes, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hurried between private meetings with lawmakers in their offices to make the administration's case for the war.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
#1
A better title would be: US Senate Fails to Vote For US Iraq-withdrawal Bill
Boden wants us out of Iraq so that our grandchildren can fight the kooks in the streets of San Fransisco instead of in Baquba. He wants a shorter commute for our progeny. It will save on gas and reduce the carbon footprint of future generations as long as trees aren't sucesptable to RPG fire.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/19/2007 1:11 Comments ||
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#2
so that our grandchildren can fight the kooks in the streets of San Fransisco
"Take off and nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
Posted by: Steve ||
07/19/2007 7:39 Comments ||
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#3
Jebus, does this incessant crap in Washington never stop? The Democrats keep picking, picking, picking against Bush and the war. How about getting on board with the same effort to defeat the enemy?
#5
so that our grandchildren can fight the kooks in the streets of San Fransisco
heh,heh. Did you mean Jihadists? :-)
Posted by: AT ||
07/19/2007 12:26 Comments ||
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#6
Good catch, AT! I was about to ask, "How can you tell the difference, with maybe the exception of smell?"
Posted by: BA ||
07/19/2007 12:34 Comments ||
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#7
Yeah. The jihadis at least bathe and do ritual cleansings once in a while.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/19/2007 12:40 Comments ||
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#8
Interestingly enough, CNN and other media outlets are touting that 4 republican senators have distanced themselves from the president and voted with the socialists movement. Now the numbers just dont add up, 52 votes minus the 4 republicans means that 48 Dimmocrates voted for it. Would that not meen that at least a couple of the dimmo's sided with the President -- Gee wiz golly the media never mentioned that.
The Bush administration said on Wednesday it will insist on a tougher approach to fighting Al Qaeda in Pakistan, acknowledging that a strategy pushed by Musharraf had not worked. Theres no doubt that more aggressive steps need to be taken, White House spokesman Tony Snow said. President Musharraf attempted to engage in...carrot diplomacy with tribal leaders in the tribal areas and it didnt work, Snow said. So what you have to do when something doesnt work is you have to fix it, and thats whats going on now. The strategy had created an opportunity for Qaeda to find safe haven, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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[10 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
A US intelligence report that Al Qaeda is regrouping in Pakistan is unsubstantiated, Pakistan said on Wednesday. We would firmly act to eliminate any Al Qaeda hideout on the basis of specific intelligence or information. It does not help simply to make assertions... What is needed is concrete and actionable information and intelligence sharing, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Pakistan is determined not to allow Al Qaeda or any other terrorist entity to establish a safe haven on its territory, it added. It also reiterated that no foreign forces would be allowed to pursue militants on its territory.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
The PPP has blamed remnants of former military dictator General Zia ul Haqs rule for the Islamabad blast that took 17 lives on Tuesday. The mastermind behind the blasts and suicide attacks wants to create an impression across the world showing that an Islamist movement runs in Pakistan, former federal ministers Khursheed Shah, Yousuf Talpur and Prof. N D Khan and former Senator Taj Haider said in a joint statement.
Present and former legislators belonging to the PPP said that the mastermind of the suicide attacks used heroin-addicts and psychopaths for these activities.
The statement was issued Wednesday from Bilawal Houses media cell. They requested the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take suo moto notice of the suicide attacks on the PPPs CJP reception camp in Islamabad. Present and former legislators belonging to the PPP said that the mastermind of the suicide attacks used heroin-addicts and psychopaths for these activities.
They recalled that innocent workers of the PPP were also targeted during the Pakistan National Alliance movement which raised slogans to enforce Islamic laws in Pakistan. They said that those who are now criticising PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto have been paid in dollars to go against Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos legitimately elected government. Mr Bhuttos pro-Islamic credentials are known to every political worker in Pakistan and abroad, they added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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[25 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
The Kurdish regional government is to station thousands of its militiamen on the outskirts of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, according to regions deputy prime minister, Kusart Koran. Koran said the Kurdish government, which controls three provinces in the north, will deploy nearly 6,000 Peshmerga.
The move comes following devastating car bomb attacks in the city, most of them targeting offices of the two main Kurdish factions ruling the region. Koran said Kurdish militias will not be stationed inside the strife-torn city but will try to guard areas surrounding it. He said the militias main task will be the protection of power pylons and oil pipelines which are scenes of repeated acts of sabotage.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
#1
Good for them. If Turks had any brains, they'd help establish independent Kurdistan in Iraq---then "persuaded" most of their own Kurds to emigrate there.
Azzaman. Hundreds of Saudis who sneaked into Iraq to carry out suicide bombing now languish in Iraqi jails, said Iraqi National Security Adviser Mufaq al-Rubaai. He said 160 of them have already been sentenced and the rest are awaiting trial. He did not specify the type of punishment, but Iraqi courts usually pass death sentences with regard to cases involving violence and resistance of U.S. and Iraqi troops.
Saudi Arabia is constructing a massive fence along its borders with Iraq to prevent its national crossing into the country. Rabaai said many more Saudis who were used as suicide bombers have died in Iraq.
Analysts say the Saudis make up the core of foreign fighters in Iraq and carry out most of the suicide bombings targeting U.S. troops and government forces.
I wonder sometimes if we should have withdrawn most of our forces in Iraq in early 2004 -- through Saoodi-controlled Arabia. Preferably the eastern quarter.
Rabaai said Iraq and Saudi Arabia were coordinating efforts on how to check the flow of Saudi fighters into Iraq. When these people receive their training in Iraq it is very likely that they will return to the (Saudi) Kingdom. Therefore we both are fighting them together, he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
#1
Where do they get all their ideology/hatred from -The religious Establishment in Saudi funded by their corrupt Govt!!!!!!
Friends of the Bush family why???????
Posted by: Paul ||
07/19/2007 7:15 Comments ||
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#2
The Onion once suggested the simple plan: "We'll just go through Iran."
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
07/19/2007 8:02 Comments ||
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#3
Paul, I never met an opressive dictator who didn't have some redeeming qualities. Wouldn't be prudent.
Posted by: Bush 41 ||
07/19/2007 9:50 Comments ||
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#4
These young men must be depressed if they are so willing to commit suicide. I wonder if it's just from having to live in Soddieland. Must be a helluva place.
Over 25 American labor union heads have signed a letter condemning their British counterparts for singling out Israel for a boycott on Wednesday.
"We view with increasing concern the phenomenon of trade unions in a number of countries, including, most recently, the United Kingdom, issuing resolutions that either directly or indirectly call for divestment from and boycotts of Israel," the letter stated, adding: "With the large number of local, regional and international conflicts, with the diverse range of oppressive regimes around the world about which there is almost universal silence, we have to question the motives of these resolutions that single out one country in one conflict."
Virtually all of these resolutions focus solely on objections to actions or policies of the Israeli government, and never on actions or policies of Palestinian or other Arab governments, parties or movements
"We note with increasing concern that virtually all of these resolutions focus solely on objections to actions or policies of the Israeli government, and never on actions or policies of Palestinian or other Arab governments, parties or movements," the statement continued.
"We notice with increasing concern that characterization of the Palestinians as victims and Israel as victimizer is a staple of such resolutions. That there are victims and victimizers on all sides, and that many if not most of the victims of violence and repression on all sides are civilians, are essential items often not mentioned in these resolutions," it said.
The letter was signed by, among others, the presidents of the American Postal Union, the Communication Workers of America, the International Union of bricklayers and Allied Craft workers, and the American Federation of Government Employees.
The statement was composed by the Jewish Labor Committee (JLC), whose President, Stuart Applebaum, described the UK boycott resolution as having "no purpose other than demonizing Israel."
American union leaders "understand that resolutions calling for boycotts of Israel undermine the goal of winning a lasting peace in the Middle East
American union leaders "understand that resolutions calling for boycotts of Israel undermine the goal of winning a lasting peace in the Middle East," Applebaum said, adding: "It's obvious that the motivation behind these one-sided boycotts is less an authentic concern for human rights than it is a desire to bash Israel."
Last May, Britain's University and College Union (UCU) passed a resolution which called on its "members to consider the moral implications of existing and proposed links with Israeli academic institutions."
#1
No matter what ideology Europe professes---from Christianity to Transnational Positivism, through Fascism and/or Communism---one thing remains constant.
#2
No matter what ideology Europe professes---from Christianity to Transnational Positivism, through Fascism and/or Communism---one thing remains constant.
#5
5089 - I think he's saying that anti-semitism is the one constant.
This act of sanity came from the heads of our trade unions? I think this deserves the bunny jaw dropper!
Posted by: AT ||
07/19/2007 12:18 Comments ||
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#6
American Federation of Government Employees
Well paint me pink, and call me Sally! I would've never guessed these guys would back Israel!
Of course, the big picture is (wait for this one)...it may very well be a good thing. By that, I mean, as Israel's economy goes, so goes the Paleos! With news that the Paleo's "economy" is in shatters because of Israel closing the border crossings for just 1 month (remember, most Paleos who do real work, work in Israel) and 70% of their "factories" in Paleo land closing up shop soon, this may be one of those good "unintended consequences" thingies. Of course, you'd then have to seal off all the world "aid" money that goes to fund the paleos too!
They truly do never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity, don't they?
Posted by: BA ||
07/19/2007 12:49 Comments ||
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#7
No matter what the left plasters as "McCarthyism", which by the way is the politics of destruction by innuendo and association done daily in Donk hearings on the Hill, the anti-communist movement in the early 50s was also carried out with cooperation by America's labor unions. Those purges mean that, unlike Britain were unions are all too often the last destructive remnants of Marxism and the class warfare dialectic, the American unions believe in power through buying Senators and Representatives [and the occasional President] like any other special interest group within the political process. The left is upset with McCarthyism not because of the methods as much with whom it targeted, them.
Mc Cathism: two executions (the Rosenbergs), a dozen jail sentencers, around 150 federal employees were fired. Also after teh failed attempt for communist control of movie industry (involving physical violence and death threats) a couple hundreds of actors and scenarists lost their jobs.
In the meantime in Soviet Union (that is in the society those people were promoting:
#9
We need a new McCarthyism.
But we won't go there. Our civility will allow the traitors to hide among us while we will proceed directly to the revolution state and drop them without trials or evidence. The possibility that they will go completely underground before that day cometh also exists. It all depends on how badly the left loses the 2008 elections, which depends on how the patriots show up in massive numbers in support of all trunks. The next election is about America of the people or of the elite.
Ineffectual Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced Wednesday that he was working toward holding early parliamentary and presidential elections and said there would be no dialogue with Hamas until the Islamist movement ended its violent "coup" in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking to reporters in Ramallah after meeting with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Abbas said the PLO central council was expected to endorse the idea during its meeting over the next 24 hours. Abbas did not say when the elections would be held, but some PA officials in Ramallah said the vote could be held before the end of the year.
Abbas's announcement came amid growing tensions between Fatah and Hamas in the West Bank. On Wednesday, PA policemen used force to disperse demonstrators in Nablus who were protesting against the arrest of Hamas supporters and activists in the city by Abbas's security forces. "When the PLO central council takes a decision regarding early elections, I will have the authority to issue a decree calling for holding new elections," Abbas said.
Even if Abbas calls early elections, it's unlikely that the vote will also be held in the Gaza Strip. Hamas officials have made it clear that they won't accept early elections under the current circumstances.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
Nearly one in every five Palestinian prisoners who has been released returns to terror activities, a senior Justice Ministry official said Wednesday.
That few?
The remarks by Pardons Department head Emmy Palmor came just two days before Israel is scheduled to free more than 250 Palestinian prisoners in a confidence-building measure aimed at bolstering Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
About 85 percent of the Palestinian prisoners slated for release on Friday morning were from Fatah, and the rest from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Judaea Palestine and the Popular Front for the Liberation of JudaeaPalestine, Palmor said. None of the prisoners were from Hamas, she noted.
Palmor said that about 17% of Palestinian prisoners convicted on terror-related offensives who had been freed by Israel later returned to terror activities. "I cannot tell you that none of the 250 prisoners who will be released on Friday will return to terror," Palmor said in a press briefing.
So you're going to release them anyways. Brilliant, simply brilliant.
The Almagor Terror Victims Association, which has petitioned the High Court of Justice to delay the release, said Wednesday that 179 Israelis have been killed over the last seven years by Palestinians freed in previous deals. "From an initial inspection of the list, there are already some names of terrorists whose release is unreasonable," wrote Almagor head Meir Eindor.
As in, all of them.
By law, the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed must be published 48 hours before their scheduled release to allow for petitions to the Supreme Court. But Israel's highest court has never blocked a prisoner release in the past, deferring to the government's jurisdiction on the issue, Palmor said.
The Justice Ministry, which carefully selects the prisoners to be released, in consultation with security officials, does not expect any delays in this week's release either, she said. None of the prisoners scheduled for release had "blood on their hands," meaning they had not killed Israelis, and had at least one year left until the end of their original incarceration period, Palmor said. An earlier list of prisoners was nixed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert because many of the prisoners did not have one year left on their sentence, she noted.
Palmor also said that the Israeli legal term of "no blood on their hands" was morally ambiguous because it included convicted Palestinian prisoners who had tried to carry out mass murder but had failed in their attempts to kill or injure Israelis. There are 7,000 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails, she said. The figure does not include those who are being held without trial in administrative detention.
Among those slated for release Friday is Abdel Rahim Malouh, 61, second in command of the PFLP. The group orchestrated the 2001 assassination of tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi. Palmor said Malouh was not involved in the killing.
According to official statistics, fourteen of the prisoners to be released were due to complete their terms next year. The sentence of 70 others ended in 2008, 85 more in 2009, 46 in 2010, 32 in 2011, 6 in 2012, 2 in 2013 and 1 each in 2014 and 2015.
Palmor concurred that there were security risks inherent in the early release of Palestinian prisoners, but stressed that the release was a political decision taken by the government. "I have a 15-year-old son taking the bus right now in Jerusalem. Nothing can be more personal," Palmor said. During her briefing, Palmor also revealed that at least one Palestinian prisoner preferred to stay behind bars to continue receiving free arthritic medication.
This article starring:
Abdel Rahim Malouh
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
#1
but probably 1-2% become intel assets for the IDF
and the knowledge that some of the released are IDF assets diminishes the value of the enthusiastic terrorist releasees
Gaza's economy could collapse within weeks unless Israel reopens crucial commercial trade crossings, UN officials and Gazan businessmen warned Wednesday.
Those'd be the ones Hamas has threatened to shoot up, huh?
More than 68,000 workers have lost their jobs since Gaza's borders were closed in mid-June, following fierce factional battles in which Hamas expelled the forces of the rival Fatah faction, said Nasser el-Helu, a prominent Gaza businessman.
My heart bleeds. [Urp!]
The closings added to the already high unemployment rate in the narrow coastal strip. Israeli officials say they cannot open the main commercial crossing point at Karni, citing security concerns, though they have promised to maintain the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
In recent weeks, some border points were opened to transfer humanitarian supplies. But no industrial material has entered Gaza, bringing construction activity and manufacturing to a halt, including $93 million (67.5 million) worth of UN-funded projects employing 121,000 people, according to the United Nations. More than 70 percent of Gaza's factories have stopped production, says Gisha, an Israeli human rights group.
The appeal came a day before the so-called Quartet of Mideast mediators, the US, the UN, the European Union and Russia, meet in Portugal with their newly appointed emissary, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "We are asking them (the Quartet) to take consideration of what is happening here. They must take political decisions to open all the crossings, and then the operational solutions will be found," said John Ging, director of the United Nations Relief Works Agency in Gaza.
The UN provides food aid to 80% of Gaza's 1.4 million people.
The UN provides food aid to 80% of Gaza's 1.4 million people.
Let them eat ethanol.
"Please lift the siege of Gaza," el-Helu said. "Mr. Blair, the siege is destroying our economy, our community."
El-Helu said Israeli business partners had begun canceling contracts because Palestinian factories were unable to meet deadlines. He said if the borders remained closed, Gaza's economy would collapse "in one or two weeks maximum."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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[9 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#18
More than 70 percent of Gaza's factories have stopped production, says Gisha, an Israeli human rights group.
It's been a while since I took statistics, but 70% of zero is still zero, right? Or do the Paleos count bomb-making places as "factories"? I mean, some assembly is required, ya know!
Now, if only the U.N. would get a huge dose of this cause-meets-effect thingy, we'd be all set!
Posted by: BA ||
07/19/2007 12:41 Comments ||
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#19
I must admit, I'm surprised.
I thought it had collapsed long ago.
Posted by: The Doctor ||
07/19/2007 13:47 Comments ||
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#20
I must admit, I'm surprised.
I thought it had collapsed long ago.
Posted by: The Doctor ||
07/19/2007 13:47 Comments ||
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#21
I've never heard of a pile of rubble collapsing. Does this phenomenon only happen in Gaza?
Posted by: Bob ||
07/19/2007 15:36 Comments ||
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#22
It amazes me that these Palestinian parasites claim to want to be an independent state yet cannot function without UN(US) and Israeli aid. As for construction ceasing, who is it that packs explosives into water heaters, weapons into pipe, and missiles in loads of cement?
Israels latest inquiry into last years Lebanon war on Wednesday blasted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for intolerable failures in protecting civilians during the conflict, dealing yet another blow to the beleaguered premier. In a scathing report, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss said Olmert, along with government and army top brass failed severely in the decision-making process, their assessment and their treatment of the home front during the Lebanon war. The severe failures, unfortunately, reached intolerable levels.
Olmerts office slammed the remarks as unfounded personal views by the government watchdog. Aside from Olmert, Lindenstrauss pointed the finger of blame at former defence minister Amir Peretz, former army chief Dan Halutz and home front commander Yitzhak Gershon. The leaders of the country invested most of their time in the war efforts, and not in treating the homefront which was exposed to extensive attack from the outset of the war, said the 582-page report, which Lindenstrauss presented to the speaker of parliament.
In Israel, both the government and army are responsible for providing services to civilians in time of war, from maintenance of public shelters, to rescue, medical and basic administrative services.
This article starring:
former army chief Dan Halutz
former defence minister Amir Peretz
home front commander Yitzhak Gershon
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
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Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Thursday the reconciliation approach will finally resolve the violence in the three southern border provinces. Speaking at the opening ceremony of a seminar on "The Role of Muslims in Proximity of Religions" hosted by the Iranian Embassy in Bangkok,the prime minister said that "Thailand is tolerant of every religion and Thais have the right to choose their own religion. There is no religious discrimination here. "There are 3,600 mosques in Thailand," the prime minister said. "The government also supports Muslim Thais to join the Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia."
The unrest in the three southern border provinces is not caused by religious conflict, Gen. Surayud said, but it affects both Buddhists and Muslims in the south.
The government has adopted His Majesty the King's suggested principle of "Understanding, Access, and Development" to be the guideline in continuing reconciliation and peaceful approaches to end the unrest, he added.
Islamic experts from Iran exchanged information, experience and academic opinions with Thai Islamic experts and other religious experts during the seminar. This is in line with the government's method to support and promote good relations between all religions, Gen. Surayud said.
Dr. Abdullah bin Abdul Mohsin Al-Turki Secretary-General of the Muslim World League visited Thailand last month and advised the Muslim community to adhere to true Islam which did not accept the use of violence.He praised the Thai government for its adoption of reconciliation measures aimed at solving the unrest.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Damascus on Thursday evening, according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA.
Ahmadinejad said during the meeting that "the Lebanese nation can thwart any plot through unity, solidarity and resistance."
He congratulated Nasrallah for the anniversary of Hizbullah's "victory" in the Second Lebanon War, saying that "thanks to the victory, while the Zionist regime is becoming weaker every day, Lebanon is enjoying internal serenity."
And then his lips fell off
In his meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Iranian president said that "Iran and Syria are allies and will remain allies."
According to Ahmadinejad, Iran and Syria "are united against the enemies of the two countries and the region."
Asked about the possibility of another war breaking out in the region, the Iranian president replied, "We hope the summer will bring victories to the region's nations and failures to their enemies." He refused to elaborate.
The Syrian president said during the press conference that the leaders discussed the developments in the Palestinian arena and ways to bring the Palestinian factions back to the negotiations table. They also discussed the situation in Iraq and Lebanon.
The Iranian prisoner was the first leader to congratulate his Syrian counterpart over his reelection. Before leaving for Damascus, Ahmadinejad said that "the relations between Iran and Syria have a great and important influence on the region and on the entire world."
Earlier Thursday, Ahmadinejad met in Damascus with Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ramadan Shallah and stressed the need for unity between the Palestinian factions.
The Iranian president called on the region's states to be alert in the face of Israel's attempts to rehabilitate itself after what he defined as its "failure" in the Second Lebanon War.
Ahmadinejad warned that Israel may take action in order to compensate itself for those failures.
"The Zionist regime has lost its ideology of existence and will therefore try to compensate for its failures," Ahmadinejad told Sallah. "This issue should lead to a state of high alert among the region's nations, particularly among the Palestinians and Lebanese."
You might want to hope that's not true, Ahmie. You might find that the Israelis figure the country's lost and go kamikazi on your skinny ass.
The IRNA news agency reported that the Iranian president said his country's role in the region was "to support the Palestinian people's armed struggle."
Jus' humble helpers, 'ats all we are.
Ahmadinejad called on the Palestinian factions to unite, saying that "in order to win we dont need many people, but rather unity and solidarity."
#3
Sure does sound like he's counting on AQ's threats of an American Hiroshima to succeed this summer, leaving Israel without any allies. Any Israeli kamikaze missions should make sure they take out all the viper's in the nest.
Israel and Syria have been in contact through third parties for "some time," but the mediators have been unable to get the two sides to resume peace talks, an Israeli official said Wednesday.
In a speech Tuesday, Syrian President Bashar Assad said a third country recently offered to serve as a mediator with Israel. The country, which he did not identify, has mediated in the past, "but there was nothing serious and clear," he said. Israeli media speculated Assad was referring to Turkey. "In recent weeks this side and this country stepped up its contacts on the same subject," he said. Assad said he would be willing to send someone to the country, but would not hold direct talks with Israelis. "They might ask for an Israeli person to be in another hotel. This is the maximum we are willing to do," he said.
In Damascus on Wednesday, Syrian lawmaker Mohammad Habash said negotiations could not take place until the Israelis commit to leave the Golan Heights, a condition also posed by Assad during his speech. Israel captured the strategic plateau in the Six Day War. "When the Israelis say they are ready to give up the Golan, only then peace talks could be resumed," Habash told The Associated Press, adding that Assad was "flexible" about accepting assurances through a third party.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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Syria rejects President George W. Bush's proposal for an international conference on the Israeli- Palestinian conflict because it wouldn't seek a comprehensive Middle East peace agreement, Syria's United Nations envoy said. " We do not need a new framework," Syrian Ambassador Bashar Jaafari said. "Just one minute before he talked about it, he attacked Syria and Iran, which means he is excluding them and that his approach would not be comprehensive."
Bush yesterday said he would convene an international meeting this fall among the Palestinians, Israel and countries in the region that support his plan for establishing a democratic Palestinian state peacefully existing side-by-side with Israel. David Welch, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, said it had yet to be determined when the meeting would take place, who would take part, or what could be achieved.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
The Syrians seem to be against the conference because they don't like the proposed agenda .... that hasn't been proposed yet. Must be the same guy who is formulatign their position on the proposed talks concerning the Golan Heights.
Will anyway I agree with the Syrians. Screw Peace. Let's all Make a Quilt.
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#2
Asshat may need some encouragement. Couple of 500 lb blivets in glide-bomb configuration, lobbed from Iraq at his summer home in the mountains, well that ought to do the trick.
The Lebanese army will end the standoff with the Fatah Al-Islam group in a Palestinian refugee camp within the next 72 hours, a Lebanese military official told the London-based A-Sharq Al-Awsat. The army advanced into Nahr Al-Barid camp on Saturday and has managed to confine the fighting to a very small area within the camp, not exceeding 500 square meters. Members of Fatah Al-Islam, said to be inspired by Al-Qaeda, have been holed up in the camp since May 20. More than 106 Lebanese soldiers have been killed since the fighting began. Four soldiers were killed on Monday.
At least 80 Islamist fighters (excluding those found in mass graves awaiting identification) and 20 civilians have been killed in the standoff, which has been described as the worst internal violence since the civil war, which ended in 1990.
During the armys investigation of senior Fatah Al-Islam member Ahmad Muri, he admitted to liaising with Syrian intelligence services, A-Sharq Al-Awsat quoted "informed sources, as saying. The Syrian security services knew about Fatah Al-Islams plans to attack high-profile targets in Lebanon, he said. The Syrians helped members of the group enter Lebanon from Syria through illegal crossings, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/19/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
So what was the latest on the "No S***, Sherlock" graphic?
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.
Scotland yard is to take the first steps toward a possible criminal investigation against George Galloway, who faces an 18-day suspension from the Commons over his financial links to Saddam Hussein's regime, The Daily Telegraph can disclose today.
A US intelligence report that Al Qaeda is regrouping in Pakistan is unsubstantiated, Pakistan said on Wednesday. We would firmly act to eliminate any Al Qaeda hideout on the basis of specific intelligence or information. It does not help simply to make assertions... What is needed is concrete and actionable information and intelligence sharing, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Pakistan is determined not to allow Al Qaeda or any other terrorist entity to establish a safe haven on its territory, it added. It also reiterated that no foreign forces would be allowed to pursue militants on its territory.
The Kurdish regional government is to station thousands of its militiamen on the outskirts of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, according to regions deputy prime minister, Kusart Koran. Koran said the Kurdish government, which controls three provinces in the north, will deploy nearly 6,000 Peshmerga.
Azzaman. Hundreds of Saudis who sneaked into Iraq to carry out suicide bombing now languish in Iraqi jails, said Iraqi National Security Adviser Mufaq al-Rubaai. He said 160 of them have already been sentenced and the rest are awaiting trial. He did not specify the type of punishment, but Iraqi courts usually pass death sentences with regard to cases involving violence and resistance of U.S. and Iraqi troops.
Nearly one in every five Palestinian prisoners who has been released returns to terror activities, a senior Justice Ministry official said Wednesday. 
Gaza's economy could collapse within weeks unless Israel reopens crucial commercial trade crossings, UN officials and Gazan businessmen warned Wednesday. 
Israels latest inquiry into last years Lebanon war on Wednesday blasted 
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Thursday the reconciliation approach will finally resolve the violence in the three southern border provinces. Speaking at the opening ceremony of a seminar on "The Role of Muslims in Proximity of Religions" hosted by the Iranian Embassy in Bangkok,the prime minister said that "Thailand is tolerant of every religion and Thais have the right to choose their own religion. There is no religious discrimination here. "There are 3,600 mosques in Thailand," the prime minister said. "The government also supports Muslim Thais to join the Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia."
Israel and Syria have been in contact through third parties for "some time," but the mediators have been unable to get the two sides to resume peace talks, an Israeli official said Wednesday. 
The Lebanese army will end the standoff with the Fatah Al-Islam group in a Palestinian refugee camp within the next 72 hours, a Lebanese military official told the London-based A-Sharq Al-Awsat. The army advanced into Nahr Al-Barid camp on Saturday and has managed to confine the fighting to a very small area within the camp, not exceeding 500 square meters. Members of Fatah Al-Islam, said to be inspired by Al-Qaeda, have been holed up in the camp since May 20. More than 106 Lebanese soldiers have been killed since the fighting began. Four soldiers were killed on Monday.
