President Hamid Karzai was warned of a weekend assassination plot against him, Afghanistan's intelligence chief said Tuesday, while admitting that failings by the security services allowed militants to launch the attack.
Amrullah Saleh told Parliament the plot to kill Karzai was hatched last month and the gunmen had rented the hotel room they opened fire from 45 days before the attack.Karzai and other dignitaries escaped unharmed from Sunday's assault during a ceremony in Kabul marking Afghanistan's victory over the Soviet occupation of the country in the 1980s. Three other people, including a lawmaker, died.
Three of the attackers were also killed in a gunbattle with security forces after the assault, Karzai's government said, but the Taliban said three other insurgents got away.
"We had technical information ... that this work would happen," Saleh told a National Assembly session broadcast live on national television. "We passed this information to the national security (adviser) and to the president of Afghanistan." Despite stringent measures by security services to protect the event, "the result is that we failed," Saleh said.
Posted by: ed ||
04/29/2008 08:42 ||
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Four countries introduced a draft resolution at the U.N. Security Council on Monday that urges maritime powers to fight piracy off Somalia's coast and authorizes them to arrest pirates in Somali waters. The resolution is aimed at combating a surge in ship hijackings for ransom in the waters off the coast of lawless Somalia that have made them one of the world's most dangerous shipping zones.
The draft resolution, obtained by Reuters, urges states that seek to use commercial sea routes off the Horn of Africa state "to increase their coordination to deter acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea."
It was formally introduced at a closed Security Council session by the United States, Britain and France as well as Panama, under whose flag many merchant vessels sail.
Wonder where the Panamanian Navy has been with all of this ...
The resolution would authorize countries to enter Somali territorial waters and use "all necessary means to identify, deter, prevent and repress acts of piracy and armed robbery" by boarding, searching and seizing suspect vessels and arresting the pirates.
A condition is that states taking such action should be cooperating with Somalia's embattled interim government and should have notified U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Diplomats declined to say when the resolution would be passed, saying there were complex legal issues involved.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The resolution would authorize countries to enter Somali territorial waters and use "all necessary means to identify, deter, prevent and repress acts of piracy and armed robbery" by boarding, searching and seizing suspect vessels and arresting the pirates granting the pirates asylum.
Why, it's almost as if the Han are imperialists ...
In China's far west, the Muslim ethnic group finds itself relegated to menial jobs. Chinese officials also restrict religious practice and use of their language in schools.
KUCHA, CHINA - King Daoud Mehsut of Kucha, 12th in his royal line and the last man still alive in China to have sat on a monarch's throne, is a man of noble bearing and proud visage.
The old man's fate, however, is dispiriting. Once a leader of his Uighur people the Muslim ethnic group that predominates in this far western province of Xinjiang King Daoud is now wheeled out by two young Chinese female assistants presenting him as a tourist attraction to visitors prepared to buy a 200 RMB ($28.60) ticket. "I get a cut," he says simply.
King Daoud's humiliation, say some Uighurs (prounced WEE-gur), is a sign of what is in store for their culture as a whole in the face of the Chinese government's relentless drive to settle more and more ethnic Han Chinese in traditionally Uighur territory, rich in oil and minerals.
"We feel like foreigners in our own land," complains one Uighur teacher in the provincial capital of Urumqi, who offers only a nickname, Batur, for fear of angering the authorities. "We are like the Indians in America." Or Tibetans in Tibet. "Most Uighurs sympathize with the Tibetans," says Batur. "We feel we are all under the same sort of rule."
Though Xinjiang's 8 million Uighurs have shown only a few signs of the sort of unrest that shook Tibet recently, the Chinese government is just as nervous about "splittism" here among the country's fifth-largest ethnic minority, afraid that beneath the surface calm, resentment is bubbling.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Well, let's everyone feel sorry for the Uighurs. They take it out on the rest of China by migrating there and stealing bicycles and pickpocketing for a living. To prosecute a thief, you have to ship him back to Xinjiang (at your expense) and have him tried there.
My friend who lived among the Uighurs for 5 years described a lot of these same problems. The Han aren't quite as racist as the Arabs, but they come close. The Han really have displaced a lot of the Uighurs,They really do have almost all the good jobs and good land, they really do treat the Uighurs like dirt. Mao et al really did settle a lot of Han in other ethnic areas to impose control, and the Han cadres really do screw the ethnic groups over.
The Uighur brand of Islam was simple folk Islam, mixed in with a lot of superstition (as opposed to the fanatic versions) until recently; now the crooked Imams are exploiting the situation.
James Taranto, "Best of the Web" from the Wall Street Journal
Some left-liberal commentators are now belatedly denouncing Jeremiah Wright:
Joan Walsh, Salon: "I regret that I hedged my observation about Wright's narcissism. . . . His Sunday night talk to the NAACP was mostly silly, from the questionable science behind his insistence that black children are right-brained (creative) while white children are left-brained (logical and analytical) to his mocking the way white people talk, dance, clap, worship and sing. I understand and agree with Wright's notion that "different is not deficient," but mocking white people, including JFK and LBJ, doesn't seem like the best way to get his point across."
Eugene Robinson, Washington Post: "I'm sorry, but I've had it with Wright. . . . This media tour he's conducting is doing a disservice that goes beyond any impact it might have on Obama's presidential campaign. . . . Historically and theologically, he was inflating his importance in a pride-goeth-before-the-fall kind of way. Politically, by surfacing now, he was throwing Barack Obama under the bus. Sadly, it's time for Obama to return the favor."
Bob Herbert, New York Times: "For Senator Obama, the re-emergence of Rev. Wright has been devastating. The senator has been trying desperately to bolster his standing with skeptical and even hostile white working-class voters. When the story line of the campaign shifts almost entirely to the race-in-your-face antics of someone like Mr. Wright, Mr. Obama's chances can only suffer. . . . Mr. Obama seems more and more like someone buffeted by events, rather than in charge of them. Very little has changed in the superdelegate count, but a number of those delegates have expressed concern in private over Mr. Obama's inability to do better among white working-class voters and Catholics. Rev. Wright is absolutely the wrong medicine for those concerns."
Wright seems utterly sincere to me. He strikes me as having a true spiritual calling. When he says, "America's chickens have come home to roost," I can't fault his logic. Haven't we been squandering hard earned taxpayer money on overseas adventures while we starve poor children? Haven't we been supporting dictators while prating of democracy? Haven't we been enriching profiteers at the expense of health care and education? You betcha.
A week ago I told my audience in Rome that in the last several years, I've been ashamed to be an American.
If you agree with Jong, our guess is you'll be voting for Obama. . . . and you've probably got the Dixie Chicks' Greatest Hits on your iPod.
If you disagree with Jong, how certain are you that Obama is on your side rather than hers?
Mike - this is the second article today I've had to move because you've put it in the wrong category. These are not Page One (WoT Ops) article. Start checking where you're posting - or they'll be deleted.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/29/2008 17:02 ||
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#1
Lotta knives in wielding! Obama, stuck in the back by Wright. Wright stuck in the back by Barbara Reynolds, who'll eventually be stuck in the back by Hillary (disassociation and denial)!
#3
Jay Leno figured it out He said that Rev Wright would retire and stay home, but Hillary is paying too well to turn down.
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
04/29/2008 18:10 Comments ||
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#4
IMO the snippets of Wright as already seen previously on TV are more controversial that his speech to the NAACP > FOR ME, THESE ARE JUST LEFTIES DOING FOR OBAMA IN LIEU OF OBAMA WHAT THE DEMS WANTED AS PER WRIGHT.
#4
The entire segment of those soldiers shows something the DNC wants people to know. The scene is at least 2 years old.
The IED is discovered and reported. The soldiers corden off the area. Two soldiers move up towards the IED to inspect it using the palm tree as cover. A terrorist detonated the IED remotely and it does not injure the soldiers, they walk away from the area after the explosion. It was a job well done by the soldiers, but the DNC wants you to think the terrorists won that day and our guys got hurt.
GHALANAI: If the government does not remove all military checkposts from Mohmand Agency within three days, the Taliban will not accept any peace agreement with the government, spokesman Dr Asad warned on Monday. He told Daily Times by telephone that if the government did not remove the checkposts, the Taliban would destroy them themselves. He also warned all criminals, including murderers, proclaimed offenders and robbers, to immediately leave the agency or be prepared to face judgement in accordance with Islamic laws. To a question, he said that the government had failed to tackle crime in the area, alleging that some government officials were backing the criminals.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Now just why would the Taliban care if there were checkposts or not?
(Xinhua) -- Pakistani Taliban said Monday they had suspended peace talks with the government as "the government has refused to accept their demand of troops withdrawal from the tribal regions."
The News Network International news agency quoted Taliban spokesman Maulvi Umar as saying that the dialogue process had been deadlocked as "the government has refused to accept key demands."
The army spokesman did not comment over the Taliban statement.
Maulvi Umar said Taliban representatives who were holding talks with the tribal elders, mediating between the two sides, had quit the talks due to the government's attitude.
Maulvi Umar said that Taliban wanted troops be withdrawn from the tribal regions and the Swat valley before a formal agreement but the government did not agree to the proposal.
He said Taliban had attached expectations to the new government but now "we have realized that the statements of goodwill from the government side were hollow slogans".
Maulvi Umar claimed that the government was not sincere and serious in the talks. He warned that the government would be responsible if the militants took any action. He also said that some government institutions do not want success of Taliban-government dialogue process.
The Pakistani Taliban, led by Baitullah Mehsood, declared a ceasefire with the government and entered into dialogue with the government to end violence.
The new government announced to hold talks with the militants who would lay down arms.
Taliban presented four demands to the government including withdrawal of army from South Waziristan tribal region and Swat valley, exchange of prisoners, compensation to the affected people in Waziristan and Swat and free movement of Taliban activists.
Tribal elders have been mediating between the Taliban and the government to broker a peace deal and to end violence in the tribal regions and the restive Swat valley in the country's northwest.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Sunni Arab supporters of Saddam Hussein marked the anniversary of the executed Iraqi dictators birth on Monday with poems and songs of praise by his grave in his native village of Awja. A few dozen Saddam relatives and loyalists participated in a small ceremony by his grave in a hall in the village near the central city of Tikrit, capital of Salaheddin province. Several poets gave recitals in praise of Saddam, while a group of children carrying pictures of the dictator and roses joined in the singing.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
A few dozen Saddam relatives and loyalists losers
"we were the big cheese, back in the golden age..."
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/29/2008 7:51 Comments ||
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#2
Those were the days my fiend.
Posted by: George Smiley ||
04/29/2008 8:50 Comments ||
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#3
Do they know he's dead?
Yeah, dead, not coming back.
Ever.
Representatives of rival factions in Iraq said on Monday that they had agreed to renounce violence at talks in Finland facilitated by former peace negotiators in Northern Ireland and South Africa.
The meeting brought together 36 participants, including senior Sunni, Shia and Kurdish politicians, for three days of talks at a secret location in Finland. The talks were co-chaired by Martin McGuinness, a former IRA commander, who helped find a solution to the violence in Northern Ireland in 1998, and Cyril Ramaphosa, who assisted in bringing an end to apartheid in South Africa in 1993.
All sides are now convinced that they should participate together in bringing stability to their country and agreed on renouncing armed struggle, Osama al-Tikriti from the Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni political group, told reporters at Helsinki Airport. We have made steps, great steps forward, he said.
Reconciliation efforts between politicians from Iraqs religious and ethnic communities have moved forward in recent weeks. In one of the most significant developments, Sunni political parties look set to rejoin the Shia-dominated government after walking out nine months ago to protest what they said was the governments bias against Sunnis.
Violence continues, however, much of the result of a crackdown on Shia militias by Iraqi government forces and US troops. Participants in the talks in Finland said all parties agreed that foreign troops must leave Iraq, but only when Iraqi forces are ready to assume responsibility for security. We need efficient, trained and qualified (Iraqi) security forces who are able to operate so that it would make it unnecessary to have foreign forces in Iraq, said Humam Hammoudi, the Shia chairman of the parliaments Constitutional Review Committee.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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CBS News journalist Richard Butler said he believes he was kidnapped in Iraq by policemen with sympathies toward the Hezbollah but isn't entirely sure who held him captive for two months or why.
Butler, a British journalist kidnapped with his interpreter on Feb. 10, was rescued by Iraqi troops on April 14 when he was found with a sack over his head in a house in Basra. He was taken from a hotel room in Basra, where he was on a trip to meet the chief of staff for anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, Butler told CBS News' Allen Pizzey. Portions of the interview were being shown on the "CBS Evening News" on Monday.
Men wearing police fatigue uniforms and armed with AK-47's hustled him out of the room and into a car. He was first taken to a police station in Basra and then was held in different places including three nights where he was sealed into a small room between two walls, he said.
He said he tried not to be belligerent and make a human connection with his captors. "Straight away you assess the situation," he said. "I am standing there, in front of these eight guys with AK-47s, and I am in a pair of underpants and a T-shirt. The odds are not in my favor. so there is no point in trying to do anything heroic or stupid."
While he was held, he heard a lot of Hezbollah propaganda video and Hezbollah ringtønes on mobile phones, but he can't be sure his captors were affiliated with the organization.
As time went on, his captors treated him better, but he was still held with a sack over his head and arm restraints. He eventually got the sense that his captors didn't intend to kill him, and had backed themselves into a corner.
There were points that he thought he was going to die, the first when he was taken from the police station, Butler said. "I was aware that we were driving out into a quieter area," he said. "I couldn't tell exactly where we were going, but I was aware that there were no more streetlights, for instance, and there were no more dogs barking. You didn't hear any cars. So I thought we were being taken out into the desert and, you know, we were just being shot in the desert."
Butler said he felt it was better to be kidnapped in Iraq then taken into custody by Americans in Afghanistan. "I was pleased I wasn't being mortarboarded in Guantanamo or being held for six and a half years like an Al-Jazeera cameraman, for instance," he said.
What an ass. Hezbollah can have him back.
Butler said he lost about 42 pounds and during the last 12 days of his captivity, ate one tangerine and four boiled eggs.
On the day he was found, he heard voices outside where he was staying that escalated into a gunfight. The door to his room was kicked in. A soldier aimed a gun at his head, but when the Iraqi army realized Butler was a Westerner he was taken away to a superior officer. The Iraqi army wasn't out specifically looking for him, Butler said. They were looking for an arms cache.
After continuing to recover at his house in France, Butler said he wants to go back to reporting in the world's danger spots. He doesn't plan to go back to Basra anytime soon, however.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
#1
"Mortarboarded"? Not only an ass, but stupid too.
#4
He was probably terrified that if he was sent to Gitmo he would have gobbled down so much food that he would have ruined his girlish figure and turned into an untrendy bloat pig.
#5
#1 "Mortarboarded"? Not only an ass, but stupid too.
Posted by: Woozle Chomort4689 2008-04-29 07:03
Yup, Mortarboarded! A Master's Degree from a prestigious lefty University with a specialty in Geography. Betcha he knows where Moronica is!
#10
"Butler said he felt it was better to be kidnapped in Iraq then taken into custody by Americans in Afghanistan. "I was pleased I wasn't being mortarboarded in Guantanamo..."
Like he knows. Unless he has the official " I was mortarboarded by the evil Americans" T-shirt, he is in no position to compare. another CBS Dork.
#11
I saw portions of the interview with Butler. He mentioned that at the point the rescuing Iraqi troops realized he had been a prisoner, one of them wrapped his arms around him to shield him & side by side they ran out to a waiting vehicle amid gunfire. He made the Iraqi troops sound very professional.
The Sunni Arab sheikh smiled happily as a torch in a darkened room lit up a water tank teeming with pin-sized larvae. Now that the Al-Qaeda big fish have fled, the carp small fry are thriving.
"Last year Al-Qaeda prevented us from doing any fish farming," said Sheikh Jaffar Hussein al-Massudi whose village of Khidr, about 60 kilometres (36 miles) south of Baghdad, is slap-bang in the middle of the so-called Triangle of Death near the major town of Iskandiriyah in Babil province. "Now they're gone the ponds are being restored, the pumps serviced and the breeding programmes started again," said the sheikh after visiting hatcheries where eggs milked from females are fertilised, hatched into fry, reared to fingerlings and then stocked in dams fed by the Euphrates.
Once again, what most Iraqis really want to do is make money. We've seen this more and more in the news, and had we recognized it in 2003, 04, and 05, and used it to our advantage, things might be different today.
With the season short, the fish farmers of Khidr are scrambling to get their dams restored and restocked with common, grass and silver carp as quickly as possible.
The illuminated fry now dancing in the torchlight represent a good first step in a delicate three-month process that it is hoped will end with fat fish landing on dinner tables in Baghdad.
Carp has been a major part of the Iraqi diet for centuries -- especially when grilled or smoked on an open fire to produce a delicacy known as Masguf. During the former regime, many fish farms, because they are lucrative, were taken over by the state and given to members of Saddam Hussein's family.
With Saddam's ouster in the 2003 US-led invasion, the farms fell back into the hands of private farmers. In Khidr, however, the freedom was short-lived.
"Al-Qaeda took over the farmlands around November 2006," said Sheikh Jaffar. "They not only stole and sold all the fish but they smashed the water pumps, causing the water to stagnate and remaining fish stocks to die."
He said that among those who took up residence in Khidr, with its lush green fields, date palms, fish ponds and fruit orchards, was Omar al-Baghdadi, a top leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq who the US military says is a mere "cyber-creation" designed to give the group an Iraqi face.
But Sheikh Jaffar, a gently spoken man in his forties with a bushy moustache, insists Baghdadi was among senior jihadists who set up in Khidr and launched attacks that earned the Sunni area its "Triangle of Death" notoriety. "For some time he used the farms here as his headquarters," said the sheikh, adding that all but one or two families in Khidr fled the area when the Al-Qaeda fighters began a killing spree. He too had whisked his family away.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"Al-Qaeda took over the farmlands around November 2006," said Sheikh Jaffar. "They not only stole and sold all the fish but they smashed the water pumps, causing the water to stagnate and remaining fish stocks to die."
#2
Fish are unislamic?
Posted by: gorb 2008-04-29 01:02
Yes, very un-Islamic. The only animal allowed by Allah (phu!) is the goat. You must eat goat, you must sleep with goat, you give goat to your bride's daddy as wedding bootie. Next to leetle boys and girls, Mohammed (phu! phu!) loved leetle goats.
"If The Siege Is Not Lifted... We Will Explode In The Face Of Everybody"
Khaled Mash'al: "Our only real motive for seeking tahdiah ['calm'] and for our willingness to deal with the Egyptian efforts, which were generated in order to achieve a tahdiah, with full knowledge of the Americans, of Rice, and David Welch, and through the efforts Egypt has exerted vis-à-vis the Israeli side, is to put an end to the aggression against our people in Gaza and the West Bank, and to get the siege lifted and the border crossings opened.
"Let me tell you that without all this, all options will be available for us. When the [Egyptian] minister Omar Sleiman comes, he will meet with the other factions, in order to develop a general Palestinian position. Then he will move on to the Israeli occupation, and if they accept [the tahdiah], we are ready, but if the Israelis reject it, then it was not us who offered them this tahdiah to begin with, and the Israeli rejection will be vis-à-vis Egypt.
"Egypt bears the responsibility, and no one in the world will be able to blame us when we take two measures: We will defend our people and our land in the face of the Israeli aggression, and we [will carry out] the explosion in Gaza, of which we have warned. Yes, if the siege is not lifted, the Gaza Strip will explode in the face of all those besieging it."
Interviewer: "Including the Egyptians?"
Khaled Mash'al: "No, we don't blame the Egyptian for this. We will explode in the face of everybody. By 'explosion,' I mean that the Palestinian people will choose its own options." [...]
"The Tahdiah is a Tactical Means; It Is a Step Within the Resistance, And Is Not Detached From It"
"People should not assume that in the management of this conflict, we are moving from a phase of Resistance and battles to a phase of calm. No. According to our concept of the management of this conflict, the tahdiah is a tactical means. It is a step within the Resistance and is not detached from it.
"It is only natural for any Resistance movement, which cares about the interests of its people, to bear in mind the general Palestinian condition. At times, it generates an escalation, and at times, it withdraws a little. It is a process of ebb and flow, going up and down. This is how you run a battle. Hamas is renowned for this.
"In 2003, we began a tahdiah, and later renewed the operations. The same thing happened following 2005. Hamas conducted Resistance from within the government, as well as when it was not in the government. This is a method of conflict management.
[...]
"My brother Muhammad, if a tahdiah is achieved - the Gaza Strip was, is, and will continue to be part of this homeland. People in Gaza would be able to recover, and the siege would be over. This would be an accomplishment.
[...]
"They are worried that Hamas and the other Resistance factions will use the tahdiah to grow stronger, both in terms of weapons and training, and that the people will recover and prepare for the next round of Resistance, because we are talking about a tactical tahdiah, within the constraints I have mentioned. But the Resistance, in principle, is not directed against the aggression only. In principle, the Resistance is directed against the occupation. As long as there is occupation, there must be Resistance."
"In The Face Of Resistance, In The Battlefield, Israel Will Be Forced To [Withdraw]"
Interviewer: "Israel is not so naïve that it would give you what you want, just like that, so that you can recover, and prepare for the next round. What would make Israel do this, notwithstanding all the important things you just said?"
Khaled Mash'al: "Herein lies the important paradox, my brother Muhammad. At the negotiating table, since Israel holds all, or most, of the cards, Israel will not give us anything. It is not naïve, and will not give anything out of generosity. But in the face of Resistance, in the battlefield, Israel will be forced to do so. Otherwise, what made Israel reach the April '96 understanding with Hizbullah? What made it leave South Lebanon? What made it leave Gaza? It did not withdraw as a result of any understandings. The balance of power on the ground forces Israel to do so."
[...]
Interviewer: "Carter stated on your behalf - and later you clarified this - that you agree that if President Mahmoud Abbas reaches a settlement, a referendum would be held on it following a national reconciliation. You agree to accept the results of the referendum, even if they do not reflect your views. This was considered a sign of openness and moderation on the part of Hamas.
"However, shortly afterwards, Sami Abu Zuhri said, 'We are not obliged to accept the results of this referendum.' There were contradictory statements within Hamas. We would like a clarification.
"If Mahmoud Abbas reaches a settlement, which he himself accepts, and it is preceded by a national reconciliation, and a referendum is held over it among the Palestinian people - will you accept the results, yes or no?"
"[A] Referendum [Over A Settlement Reached By Abbas] Must Include All Our People, At Home And Abroad - Not Just Within [Palestine]"
Khaled Mash'al: "Look, brother Muhammad, everything you said represents different angles of the same issue, and not different positions within Hamas. First of all, negotiations must be held on the basis of the Palestinian Rights. Eventually presenting the results for ratification is not enough. From the very beginning, the Palestinian negotiator must adhere to the [2006] National Agreement Document, and must negotiate on the basis of the Rights listed in it. Ignoring these Rights is tantamount to violating the documents. This document is a complete package deal, and one cannot deal with only parts of it.
"Secondly, as you have said, this must take place following a reconciliation. Today, the negotiations are held in the shadow of division. Moreover, while all the doors are open for negotiations [with Israel], all the doors for [Palestinian] reconciliation are closed. You saw what happened following the San'a Declaration. When the U.S. and Israel threatened the Palestinian president, the [Fatah] withdrew from what they had signed in San'a.
[...]
"Thirdly, the referendum must include all our people, home and abroad - not just within [Palestine]."
Interviewer: "Or else there should be new election for the Palestinian National Council."
Khaled Mash'al: "Yes. When all these terms are met, nobody in Hamas - or any Palestinian leader - will have any concern. We will have confidence in the choices of the Palestinian people."
Interviewer: "Even if you disagree with them?"
Khaled Mash'al: "Yes. Brother Muhammad, I will accept the will of the Palestinian people, as reflected in free elections to the Palestinian National Council, according to terms on which we will agree, or in a free referendum, home and abroad. I respect and accept the rules of the democratic game."
[...]
Interviewer: "You say: We are ready to accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, within a certain settlement, but we will not recognize Israel. To tell you the truth, it is difficult to accept such a formula. Israel is not likely to give you - whether to Hamas or to the Palestinian leadership, since this is the situation right now - a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with Jerusalem at its capital, and allow the return of the refugees, while you say to Israel: Bye-bye, I won't recognize you.
"Why should Israel do this? After all, it is not a charity association. Why should Israel give you all this, and I say 'give you,' because this is the situation right now..."
"The Formula Of Recognizing Israel In Advance, Which Was Adopted By Some Palestinians And Arabs - What Results Did It Yield?"
Khaled Mash'al: "This is a logical question in these difficult times, when things are confused. Brother Muhammad, all the formulas are difficult. The formula of recognizing Israel in advance, which was adopted by some Palestinians and Arabs - what results did it yield? Some people recognized Israel, and discussed normalization of relations, coexistence, and so on. What was the result when we turned to this formula, which seems easier? Did it unravel the secrets of the conflict? Did it drive Israel to respect the Palestinian and Arab will? Did Israel give Yasser Arafat a state, or did it kill him? They killed Yasser Arafat just because he maneuvered between the negotiations game and the game of the Intifada and resistance.
"Now, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas is proceeding along a single highway - negotiations. He recognized Israel and everything, but what was the result? Nothing."
Former US President Jimmy Carter says that following his meetings with Hamas leaders the group offered a truce in Gaza but Israel rejected the offer. During an interview with NBC, Carter also blamed Israel for denying the citizens of Gaza basic supplies such as water and food. "I think it was productive, because all the things that we asked Hamas to do, they basically agreed to do," Carter said, referring to his recent trip. "One was to have a total ceasefire just in Gaza alone, where before they had said it must be Gaza and the West Bank as well. So they preferred to have a ceasefire, and announced it publicly after we left. Israel unfortunately rejected the ceasefire from Hamas."
"There's no way to have peace in the Middle East without bringing the Palestinians back together if Hamas represents at least half of the Palestinian people," Carter added, citing the 2006 elections the United States insisted be held. "Hamas won the election fair and square. They got a majority of seats in the Parliament."
"But then the United States and Israel declared that there wouldn't be a Palestinian united government, so they declared that Hamas was a terrorist organization. They refused to negotiate with them. They refused to give food and water and electricity and other supplies to people under Hamas' leadership in Gaza, and that broke the whole situation down," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"But then the United States and Israel declared that there wouldn't be a Palestinian united government, so they declared that Hamas was a terrorist organization. They refused to negotiate with them. They refused to give food and water and electricity and other supplies to people under Hamas' leadership in Gaza, and that broke the whole situation down," he said.
Looks like the grinner forgot to insert "after more Hamas terrorist behavior" after each phrase.
While Palestinian organizations blamed Israel Monday for the killing of five Gaza family members, Defense Minister Ehud Barak maintained that it was Hamas that is responsible for their deaths.
An IDF shell hit a house in the town of Beit Hanoun Monday morning, killing five members of the Abu Meatak family. A 15-year-old boy was also killed in the strike while making his way to school. Nine people were reportedly injured, three of them sustaining serious to critical wounds. "We hold Hamas responsible for anything that goes on inside Gaza and for all the strikes," Barak said during a tour of an Israel Military Industries facility in central Israel. "Hamas, which operates from inside population concentrations and keeps explosive devices in civilian areas, is also responsible for some of the civilian casualties in these operations," he stated.
Meanwhile, Meretz Chairman Chaim Oron said Monday that while Israel must target those who threaten its security, "The high number of dead children and civilians obligates the army to reconsider its methods of operation. Israel is effectively undermining any possibility for a ceasefire and calm, without offering any alternative solution. Egypt's detailed proposals, which have been jointly drafted with Hamas, must constitute a basis for truce."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Just for a moment the headline gave me hope. Then spelling memory intruded upon my new found reverie.
Posted by: George Smiley ||
04/29/2008 10:04 Comments ||
Top||
...The family died when two Palestinians carrying arms and large bags of explosives were hit near the familys home in Beit Hanoun by an Israeli air attack shortly before they launched themselves against Israeli troops. The family was killed when the explosives blew up.
US Air Force chief Michael Wynne expects the bid to replace 50% of its domestic fuel needs with synthetic alternatives by 2016 will be supported by lengthy contracts for alternative fuel producers.
Speaking at this year's Aviation & Environment Summit, the secretary of USAF explained how it is now actively looking to host coal-to-liquid fuel plants on its own air bases as it works to diversify available energy sources. Good to know at least some in gov are planning for the future. Now to build nukes on base as well builing nukes and synfuels plants at the western states mega coal mines.
Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
FREEREPUBLIC/NOSI/TOPIX > Article on the conversion of GLOBAL HAWK UAVS into BAMS UAV + dev for LONG-RANGE, ULTRA-ENDURANCE, and wid PAYLOAD.
And now you know, Virginia, AGAIN, why the USDOD-USAF may give/transfer gas-guzzling B52's to China in the future. GLOBAL COOLING = GLOBAL FOG??? D *** NGED DELICIOUS LONDON BRIDGE FISH-N-CHIPS!
#2
"Lengthy alternative fuels producers" > KOMMERSANT artic says GOLDMAN SACHS says RUSSIA is likely to be the World's biggest Per-Capita Energy Producer-Innovator bwtn now thru Yarn 2017 [2018?]. I"M GUESSING THEN TWIS MEANS AMERIKA WILL PAY RUSSIA = RUSSMERICA???
#6
There's a real large solar power facility at Nellis AFB too. Of course, Nevada would be a good place for that.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
04/29/2008 6:22 Comments ||
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#7
Joe, two things. First, the only way America will give China anything from a B-52 will be through the bomb bays. Second, America has huge reserves of coal in politically important states. Don't know about Russia, but coal is quintessentially American.
Posted by: George Smiley ||
04/29/2008 10:06 Comments ||
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#9
ION RUMORMILLNEWS > WND - ABOUT THE NEW CONSTITUTION FOR THE AMERICAS' UNION; + PRISONPLANET - TED TURNER REPEATS CALL FOR POPULATION CURB/REDUCTION.
*COASTTOCOASTAM > TRENDSRESEARCH Guest - claims "demise of Empire America" will begin in 8 years [circa 2016]???
Freed former Moro National Liberation Front chief Nur Misuari will begin touring Muslim communities in the Philippines to campaign for peace, as his supporters in Sulu province began preparing a big welcome party for Misuari, who is accused of rebellion after his forces attacked a major military base in Jolo town in 2001 in an effort to stop the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, of which he was governor.
We are waiting for our one and only leader and we will give him a big welcome in Sulu, said Abdul Sahalul, one of Misuaris loyal backers. Misuari was granted a P50,000 bail by a court last week after spending more than five years under house arrest in Manila. He said he would not run for governor again in the autonomous region, whose system he branded as dirty and ran by Malacañang.
I dont want to be part of a system which is dirty, said Misuari, who also ran as governor in Sulu province twice and but lost. Misuari maintained the ARMM was created as part of a peace deal between the MNLF with Manila in September 1996.
Zaldy Ampatuan, a former town mayor in Maguindanao province, is the current governor of the Muslim autonomous region after he won against Parouk Hussin. Hussin, a senior MNLF leader, was one of those that made up the so-called Council of 15 that deposed Misuari as chairman of the organization that was once the largest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines.
Ampatuan, as governor of the Muslim autonomous region, has introduced reforms and fought corruption in government. He also prioritized development projects in areas where there are MNLF communities in support to the peace agreement.
Just this month, the MNLF Central Committee named Muslimin Sema, the groups secretary-general, as its new chairman, but Misuari does not recognize Sema as the legitimate MNLF head.
Misuari has been criticized for his refusal to abide by the MNLF decision that catapulted Sema to power. Sema, who originally belonged to the Council of 15, said Misuari should stop bickering and work for peace and unity in the southern Philippines.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- The number of foreign terror suspects operating in the Philippines has dropped from 28 last December to 25 this year, the local television network GMA News reported on Sunday.
The TV report quoted the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr as saying that two Jordanians and an Indonesian terror suspects were arrested in February.
The Jordanians were arrested in Manila and have been linked to planned bombings of foreign embassies in Metro Manila. Both were deported by the Bureau of Immigration for being illegal aliens, he said.
Indonesian Mohamad Baehaqi was arrested by military operatives in a safe house and was charged before a court for possessing illegally explosives.
Esperon also said continuous anti-terrorism efforts by the government have weakened Abu Sayyaf, a rebel group operating in southern Philippines. "On the Abu Sayyaf, we have reduced their strength by six percent or a total of 23 from their 2007 year-end strength of 383," the report quoted Esperon as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
BIGNEWSNETWORK > PHILIPPINE MUSLIM REBELS WARN CEASEFIRE MAY COLLAPSE IF MALAYSIAN PEACEKEEPERS LEAVE. New attacks may begin again in Southern Philippines.
Why is the leadership in Tehran anxious to give Russia the right to land troops in Iran?
The question is not fanciful. The Islamic Republic is conducting a devious campaign to prepare public opinion for that eventuality.
The message is relayed through deliberately vague terms that diplomats understand immediately while the general public does not.
The device is to revive two treaties that most students of Iranian history thought were dead and buried long ago.
The first is the 1921 Treaty that the government of Sayyed Ziauddin Tabatabai, soon after coming to power in a putsch, signed with Vladimir Lenins Bolshevik regime.
At the time the Bolsheviks had some troops in the Iranian province of Gilan on the Caspian Sea, supporting a rebellion led by a leftist mullah known as Mirza Kuchak Khan of the Jungle. At the same time, the British were using Iranian territory to ferry troops and materiel to anti-Bolshevik nationalist forces in Transcaucasia.
Under the treaty, Lenin agreed to cancel the debts Iran had accumulated towards the Tsarist Empire. He also undertook to withdraw his troops from Gilan. The treaty revised relations in the Caspian Sea, granting Iran greater rights of fishing and navigation. That amounted to a generous gesture towards Tabatabais new government that, still fragile, needed all the good news it could get in relations with the major powers.
Nevertheless, as always when a weak nation makes a pact with a much larger neighbour, the treaty had a sting in its tail. It gave the Russians the right to land troops in Iran when and if troops of any other foreign power arrived in Iran. At the time it was Britain that Lenin had in mind. For his part, Tabatabai wanted to use the threat of Russian military intervention as a means of forcing the British to end their military presence in Iran.
However, in one of those twists of history, the treaty was never used for its original purpose. The British soon abandoned their anti-Bolshevik allies whom they found too weak to defeat Lenins new empire. Lenin, for his part, believing he could add Iran to his empire through ideological agitation rather than conquest, abandoned the Mullah of the Jungle and withdrew the Soviet troops.
In 1941, however, Soviet troops, this time under Stalin, invaded Iran.
The legal pretext was the 1921 treaty. Soviet propaganda claimed that the presence of a few German military experts and, possibly, spies, in Tehran amounted to a foreign hostile force on Iranian soil. Reza Shah, the Iranian monarch, had refused to kick the Germans out, possibly in the hope that Hitler would defeat Russia and Britain, Irans two principal enemies for 150 years.
Within days of the Soviet invasion, backed by a British invasion of Iranian territory from Iraq, Reza Shah was forced into exile.
The new Iranian government, under Prime Minister Muhammad-Ali Forughi, had to accept the legality of the invasion under the 1921 Treaty.
Nevertheless, both sides felt that a new treaty was needed to determine the status of Soviet troops in Iran. Negotiations were railroaded at top speed, with the British supporting the Soviets in the name of their alliance against Nazi Germany.
The Iranian side, weak and disorganised in a country under foreign occupation, protested. But, with Soviet and British guns pointed at its head, it ended up signing the 1941 Treaty.
The new treaty, recalling that of 1921, reaffirmed the right of the USSR to send troops to Iran if and when Moscow felt it was threatened by a third powers presence in Iran.
The two treaties entered Irans diplomatic memory as black moments in history. Abbas-Ali Khalatbari, Irans Foreign Minister between 1971 and 1978, described them as two bleeding wounds in our heart.
In 1946, as Stalins troops were forced to leave, the Shah declared the two treaties dead and buried. But, facing a strong Soviet-backed Communist Party and its allies, he was too weak to ask the parliament to formally cancel the treaties.
In 1963, the Soviets launched a campaign to revive the treaties.
They claimed that the arrival in Iran of American military instructors, invited to help build the new Iranian air force, amounted to a foreign hostile presence under the terms of the treaties.
The Iranians ignored the Soviet campaign and, on a number of occasions, announced a unilateral cancellation of the treaties.
The most significant official move to cancel the treaties came after the fall of the Shah.
In 1980, Ibrahim Yazdi, a US citizen of Iranian origin serving as Khomeinis Foreign Minister, solemnly announced that the newly created Islamic Republic did not recognise the treaties.
A diplomatic seesaw battle ensued in which the Iranian side stood by Yazdis declaration.
The matter rested in limbo, with most experts agreeing that the treaties were dead, until the fall of the Soviet Empire in 1991. After that neither side mentioned the treaties, presumably because both agreed that accords between two fallen regimes could not apply in radically changed circumstances.
So, one can imagine the surprise caused by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads decision to suddenly start speaking of the two treaties as if they were still valid.
He and his aides, including Foreign Minister Manuchehr Motakki, have mentioned the treaties with regard to the status of the Caspian Sea and the application by the Islamic Republic to join Russia and China in the Shanghai Group, an informal framework for security cooperation.
Motakki has gone further by suggesting that Iran abandon the Persian name for the Caspian Sea, that is to say the Sea of Mazandaran, and adopt the Russian name mentioned in the treaties. To sweeten Russia further, Motakki has also hinted at abandoning Irans demand for a 20 per cent share in the Caspians resources, settling, instead, for just over 11 per cent.
Why is an administration that pretends it has a mission from the Hidden Imam to liberate the whole world keen to give Russia a licence to land troops in Iran?
Obviously, only Ahmadinejad and his associates know the full answer. However, one could speculate that the Khomeinist president has decided that a war with the United States is inevitable. In such a war, the Americans may well seize Irans oilfields, an easy target for a surprise attack and a difficult asset for defenders to protect. Once that happens Russia could land troops in northern Iran and then go to the United Nations to ask for a generalised ceasefire and the fixing of a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from all Iranian territory. The US would come under global pressure to cooperate with Russia in ending the conflict and paving the way for the departure of foreign troops and the restoration of Iranian sovereignty.
If that is how Ahmadinejad thinks, he has just returned to 1921 and Sayyed Ziauddin Tabatabai in an Iran as weak and as vulnerable. And that, for a man whose ambition is to lead mankind on a new path away from that fixed by American Arrogance, is not something to be proud of.
#3
I don't think Russia would want to get that involved. If they are counting on the US to chase its tail by pouring treasure and blood into stopping something that must be stopped, I don't think they will accept.
#4
JPOST OP-ED > ANALYZE THIS: ITS TIME TO THINK, AND SPEAK, THE UNTHINKABLE ABOUT TEHRAN. Israel has every right to defend its national interests and survival vv AN ATTACK AGZ IRAN'S NUCPROGRAMS, and to INCLUDE DEV OF A SECOND- STRIKE [or more?] NUCLEAR RETALIATORY CAPABILITY espec given the very realistic likelihood of Iran going nuclear and sparking a region-wide Nuke Arms Race???
WASHINGTON - CIA Director Michael Hayden said Monday that the alleged Syrian nuclear reactor destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in September would have produced enough plutonium for one or two bombs within a year of becoming operational.
U.S. intelligence and administration officials publicly disclosed last week their assessment that Syria was building a covert nuclear reactor with North Korean assistance. They said it was modeled on the shuttered North Korean reactor at Yongbyon, which produced a small amount of plutonium. The Syrian site, they said, was within weeks or months of being operational.
"In the course of a year after they got full up they would have produced enough plutonium for one or two weapons," Hayden told reporters after a speech at Georgetown University.
Neither the United States nor Israel told the International Atomic Energy Agency about the Syrian site until last week, about a year after they obtained what they considered to be decisive intelligence: dozens of photographs from a handheld camera that showed both the interior and exterior of the mysterious compound in Syria's eastern desert.
From the CIA's perspective, that intelligence was not the United States' to share with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Hayden said. "We've made it clear we did not have complete control over the totality of the information because obviously it was the result of a team effort," he said. "One has to respect the origin of the information in terms of how it is used."
A senior administration official told reporters last week that the United States kept the information secret after the Israeli strike because it feared revealing it might provoke Syria to strike back at Israel.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Thank you, Israel.
(Since the "international community" won't say it)
#2
Syrian nuclear reactor destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in September would have produced enough plutonium for one or two bombs within a year of becoming operational
According to Debka, it's "dirty bombs"---not nukes.
#3
SAVING THE JIHAD 2008-2012/13 > IMO, this will NOT be achieved wid "dirty bombs" albeit such will likely become a part of the Islamist arsenal anyway. I do not believe that any detonation of one or more WEAK/LIGHT "DIRTY BOMBS", whether in US-Iran conflict andor ME Terror attack agz US-Allies, will INDUCE THE USA TO DROP ENTRENCHMENT AND LEAVE THE ME = SEVERELY REDUX TO IMPOTENT LOCAL MILFOR LEVELS.
The ISLAMIST GLOBAL JIHAD may not survive after 2010 or 2012 unless somethings change in how Radicla Islam is milpol fighting it. "TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE" AS PER GLOBAL JIHAD > ergo, a STRONGER BOMB = STRONGER HIGH-PROFILE ATTACKS = DETERRENCE EFECTS AGZ ANY AND ALL NON-MUSLIM/ISLAMIST WORLD POWERS. Also bear in mind, a CHEAP DIRTY BOMB = "RADIOLOGICAL" [CBR/CBRN] OD DUBIOUS MAGNITUDE-YIELD infers potentially LONGER LEAD TIME FOR JIHAD WHICH THE ISLAMISTS DON'T HAVE, unless the latter are willing to drop "GLOBAL" for "LOCAL/SECTARIAN" for one or more decades - read, US-ALLIES + OTHER NON-MUSLIM/ISLAMIST GOVTS-POWERS WILL STILL BE AROUND. GOOD FOR GOING " BAC TO THE FUTURE" AS PER GLOBAL WARMING AND ANTIQUITOUS LOCAL CARAVAN RAIDING BUT NOT FOR DECISIVELY WINNING 21st CENTURY "ISLAMIST OWG"!
By any measure, Radical Islam + IRAN need PLUTONIUM ANDOR URANIUM BOMBS AMAP ASAP. GEOPOL GEOMIL GEOSTRATEGIC "PARITY" is the IMMEDIATE/SHORT-TERM GOAL of the Islamists right now 2008-2012/13, AND TAINT HAVE SAID "PARITY" AGZ THERMONUCLEAR+ WORLD STATES WID DUBIOUS CHEAP DIRTY BOMBS-TECHS.
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad of Iran is to visit Sri Lanka for two days from April 28, 2008, in response to an invitation from President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had visited Iran in November, 2007. His engagements will include the inauguration of the construction of the Iranian-funded (US $ 450 million) Uma Oya hydroelectricity project at Wellawaya in the Monaragala district. When completed, the project is expected to produce 100 megawatts of electricity. The visit is also expected to result in the finalisation of an agreement for Iranian financial and technical assistance for enabling the Sapugaskanda oil refinery to handle Irans light crude. This project is expected to result in a further Iranian investment of US $ one billion.
In this connection, quoting Sri Lankan media, the "Teheran Times" of April 20, 2008, reported as follows: "Iran will increase its investment in the expansion project of an oil refinery in Sri Lanka up to US$ one billion, Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development Minister A.H.M. Fowzie said. According to the IRNA office in Tokyo, Fowzie in an interview with Kyodo on Wednesday said: "Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has allocated this amount which would cover 70 per cent of the required investment for the refinery's expansion, in the form of a 10 year loan, with a five year exemption period from payment of the loan's instalments." Fowzie added: "Iran had earlier too provided the oil we need free from interest for four months." According to the report, Iran is the largest provider of crude oil to Sri Lanka. According to the Kyodo report, Managing Director Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Ashantha De Mel has said that the pilot study for increasing the production of Sri Lanka's only refinery from 50,000 to 100,000 barrels per day has been completed by Iranian oil engineers. De Mel added: "Iran would make the major part of the required investment for expansion of this oil refinery (70 per cent) and the CPC would cover the rest (30 per cent)." Fowzie said the project would yield noticeable benefits for its investors. He said: "From the economic point of view my affiliated ministry too is interested in making investments there." According to Kyodo, De Mel who visited Iran in early April 2008, expects the project's executive phase to begin within the next three to four months. Oil experts predict that Sri Lanka's oil refinery would increase its production after the Iranian oil engineers would end their work within the next two to three years."
Iran has also agreed to provide low-interest credit to Sri Lanka to enable it to purchase military equipment from Pakistan and China and to train a small group of Sri Lankan Army and intelligence officers in Iran. A team of about 10 officers has already proceeded to Iran for training after a clandestine visit to Sri Lanka by Brigadier Gen. Qassem Suleimani, the Director-General of Irans Quds Force, or the Jerusalem Brigade, which is, inter alia, responsible for covert actions against Israel and for liaison with friendly foreign intelligence agencies. He is expected to come again as a member of the entourage of the Iranian President for further discussions on intelligence co-operation between the two countries.
According to reliable sources, Israel is reported to have expressed to Colombo its concern over the developing relations between Sri Lanka and Iran and warned that this could come in the way of supply and sale of Israeli military equipment to Sri Lanka in future. It has been reported by these sources that Sri Lanka has already shared with the Iranian intelligence copies of the instructions, training and maintenance manuals of the Israeli equipment purchased by it in the past and allowed some officers of the Quds Force to inspect the Israeli equipment.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
WTF? I thought Sri Lanka hated terrorists? Iran is the last place they want to go to get anything. Are the Syrians trying to use this card to "negotiate" a better deal from someone? Why would they even consider Iran? There are a bunch of better players out there. Even the Russians or Chinese would be way better. Why ride bareback with this ho?
#2
According to my Sri Lankan friends, there is still some undistributed Tsunami Aid that is rotting away in Pier Warehouses and/or under tarps on port storage docks.
Post Tsunami, The Sri Lankan Gubmint basically had their Cronies 'hi-grade' the lions share of the good stuff, generators, pumps, tools, fork lifts, front-end loaders, bulldozers, etc. and the well packaged Foodstuffs, Clothes and Credit!
Could be our government and fate if Americans continue to slouch into socialism.
In late Dec. 2004 and early 2005, How much Tsunami Aid did Iran give Sri Lanka?
Compared to Iran.. it wouldn't suprise me if we, US Citizens gave more privately than the nation of Iran.
The Iran Government has sent $1.2 million worth food items to the victims of the tsunami in the country, the Consulate General of Islamic Republic of Iran in India, Hossein Ravesh, said here on Monday.
"The relief, including clothes, water cooling kits and blankets will be handed over to the Indian Red Cross Society shortly by the Red Crescent of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
**********
Insult to injury: Now we have the f'n Iranians training Sri Lankan State Intel and training the Sri Lankan Army.
Iran is showing more interest in expanding its sphere of influence every day.
A team of about 10 officers has already proceeded to Iran for training after a clandestine visit to Sri Lanka by Brigadier Gen. Qassem Suleimani,the Director-General of Irans Quds Force, or the Jerusalem Brigade, which is, inter alia, responsible for covert actions against Israel and for liaison with friendly foreign intelligence agencies, . He is expected to come again as a member of the entourage of the Iranian President for further discussions on intelligence co-operation between the two countries.
#3
Compare wid ASIA TIMES > IRAN STEPS INTO ENEMY TERRITORY [Moud in South Asia], + SRI LANKA SHUNS WEST, LOOKS EAST FOR AID [China, Iran], + INDIA IS DRAWN DEEPER INTO AFGHANISTAN - Risk of Indian-Taliban Conflict = Talib expansion towards India???
Ten North Koreans could have been killed when Israel launched an air strike last year to destroy Syrias alleged nuclear reactor, Japans public broadcaster NHK reported on Monday. Quoting unidentified South Korean intelligence sources, NHK said they were part of a North Korean team accused of helping Syria secretly build a nuclear reactor. They included agents of the military production bureau of the communist states ruling Workers Party as well as soldiers who had taken part in the construction of nuclear facilities back in North Korea, the network added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2008 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
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By Hannah Allam, Jonathan S. Landay and Warren P. Strobel, McClatchy Newspapers
Leila Fadel contributed. Allam reported from Baghdad ; Landay and Strobel reported from Washington
Do the Arab-sounding names give this article any credibility? :-)
One of the most powerful men in Iraq isn't an Iraqi government official, a militia leader, a senior cleric or a top U.S. military commander or diplomat,
He's an Iranian general, and at times he's more influential than all of them.
Brig. Gen. Qassem Suleimani commands the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, an elite paramilitary and espionage organization whose mission is to expand Iran's influence in the Middle East .
As Tehran's point man on Iraq , he funnels military and financial support to various Iraqi factions, frustrating U.S. attempts to build a pro-Western democracy on the rubble of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship.
According to Iraqi and American officials, Suleimani has ensured the elections of pro-Iranian politicians, met frequently with senior Iraqi leaders and backed Shiite elements in the Iraqi security forces that are accused of torturing and killing minority Sunni Muslims.
Continued on Page 49
#3
Yes, it does seem as though the glaring light of reality is finally being shone upon the swine in Iran. The rhetoric is being ratcheted up, but not in a threatening way, more in a evidence-presenting manner. The more it is made clear that Iran is directly responsible for obstructing peace in Iraq and killing our soldiers (I'm putting those in the order the dem's prioritize them) then the more likely (hopefully) we will hit some military targets in Iran.
#4
That's kind of reassuring. Since the propaganda line is "Quds Force stopped the fighting", that means that they aren't claiming to have started the fighting, which was what I had begun to suspect. That means that the sudden onset of the Basra operation was an indigenous Shia brainstorm, not a Persian plot. It also suggests that Sadr wasn't thrown under the bus by the Iranians, which has been the recent line of analysis. That is, assuming McClatchy aren't asking a bunch of ignorant fucknuts with flan for brains.
But either way, if the Iranians are claiming to have saved Sadr, that still tends to eliminate the possibility that they deliberately knifed him in favor of Dawa and SIIC. More like Dawa and SIIC started picking on the weak, fat kid & the recess teacher came storming over to break it up.
But I'll note that the late March truce didn't exactly hold from the Mahdi point of view. If the mean kids want to make the geek's life miserable, he's gonna be miserable. They know where to get extra lunch-money now.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
04/29/2008 13:55 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Four countries introduced a draft resolution at the U.N. Security Council on Monday that urges maritime powers to fight piracy off Somalia's coast and authorizes them to arrest pirates in Somali waters. The resolution is aimed at combating a surge in ship hijackings for ransom in the waters off the coast of lawless Somalia that have made them one of the world's most dangerous shipping zones.
(Xinhua) -- Pakistani Taliban said Monday they had suspended peace talks with the government as "the government has refused to accept their demand of troops withdrawal from the tribal regions." 
Sunni Arab supporters of Saddam Hussein marked the anniversary of the executed Iraqi dictators birth on Monday with poems and songs of praise by his grave in his native village of Awja. A few dozen Saddam relatives and loyalists participated in a small ceremony by his grave in a hall in the village near the central city of Tikrit, capital of Salaheddin province. Several poets gave recitals in praise of Saddam, while a group of children carrying pictures of the dictator and roses joined in the singing.
CBS News journalist Richard Butler said he believes he was kidnapped in Iraq by policemen with sympathies toward the Hezbollah but isn't entirely sure who held him captive for two months or why.
Following is an interview with Hamas leader Khaled Mash'al, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on April 25, 2008: 
Former US President Jimmy Carter says that following his meetings with Hamas leaders the group offered a truce in Gaza but Israel rejected the offer. During an interview with NBC, Carter also blamed Israel for denying the citizens of Gaza basic supplies such as water and food. "I think it was productive, because all the things that we asked Hamas to do, they basically agreed to do," Carter said, referring to his recent trip. "One was to have a total ceasefire just in Gaza alone, where before they had said it must be Gaza and the West Bank as well. So they preferred to have a ceasefire, and announced it publicly after we left. Israel unfortunately rejected the ceasefire from Hamas." 
WASHINGTON - CIA Director Michael Hayden said Monday that the alleged Syrian nuclear reactor destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in September would have produced enough plutonium for one or two bombs within a year of becoming operational.
