A deal that ended six months of fighting between Yemeni government forces and Shi'ite Muslim rebels last month is close to collapse amid disagreements over the handover of weapons and prisoners.
They really thought Mahmoud was going to hand over his shootin' irons?
Rebels loyal to Abdul Malik al-Houthi accepted a truce on June 16, halting clashes that have killed hundreds and displaced thousands in Yemen's northern province of Saada this year.
But members of a mediation committee comprised of Yemeni parliamentarians and three officers from Qatar, which helped broker the ceasefire, said the rebels had missed deadlines to hand over weapons and withdraw from some of their positions. "The Houthi followers are not serious and have not withdrawn from any position or handed over their weapons despite the fact that we gave them more than one chance to comply," committee spokesman Yaser al-Awadi told Reuters.
Can you say, "hudna"?
Houthi said in a statement late on Tuesday that his followers had withdrawn from 52 positions in Saada and that the mediators were "rushing". He accused the army of violating the truce by attacking his followers and said mediators had not taken action to stop it.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh told reporters last week that the rebels had until last Thursday to hand in their arms but the deadline was extended until the end of Tuesday.
The ceasefire agreement requires the rebels to give up their heavy weapons and rebel leaders to go into temporary exile in Qatar. It also commits the government to rebuilding Saada province, which the rebels say is neglected by authorities.
Sultan Hijam, another committee member, said the rebels had demanded the army leave the remote province before they leave their the mountain hideouts.
A source close to Houthi said the rebels had handed over 61 government soldiers and tribesmen captured during the clashes in a show of goodwill on Tuesday, but that more time was needed to build confidence as many rebels feared the army would attack as soon as they gave up their arms and came down from the hills. "Some are concerned they will face reprisals from tribesmen who support the government should they return home," said the source, who declined to give his name. "It also seems that the army is preparing for a new war so our members our concerned."
The conflict in Saada has been raging on and off since 2004. In 2006, Yemen freed over 600 rebels in an amnesty but the latest bout of fighting broke out in January when Houthi's supporters attacked government checkpoints they complained had been installed deep inside the province as a provocation.
Sunni Muslims make up the majority of Yemen's 19 million population, while most of the rest, including Houthi and his supporters, are from the Zaydi branch of Shi'ite Islam. Houthi's supporters oppose Yemen's alliance with the United States. Yemeni officials say they want to return to a form of clerical rule prevalent in the country until the 1960s. Western diplomats say the rebels may also want more autonomy.
This article starring:
Abdul Malik al-Houthi
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
Fat lady...???
The legendary leader of Latin America's largest guerrilla army may be dead, Colombia's defense minister said in an interview published Saturday.
Juan Manuel Santos told Semana magazine that Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda may have died on March 26, citing "a source who has never failed us."
Santos said the government was trying to corroborate the report. He said "the guerrillas say" Marulanda died of a heart attack, but noted that three bombing raids targeted Marulanda on that date. It was not clear whether "the guerrillas" included the source mentioned by Santos.
Asked by Semana whether the magazine could title its article "Sureshot is dead," Santos replied: "At your own risk."
Marulanda, whose real name is Pedro Antonio Marin, has led the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, for more than 40 years. Colombia's government has announced his death various times over the past 15 years, but each time proof that he was alive cropped up months later.
Marulanda, who is believed to be about 80, may have been replaced as FARC leader by a rebel ideologue known as Alfonso Cano, Santos said. The army has for months said it has Cano cornered in the southwest Colombian jungle and that his death or capture is imminent. FARC statements have denied Cano is in the area.
The FARC has suffered a number of blows this year, including the killing of its chief spokesman and a senior commander, and the defection of a female leader well regarded inside the rebel group.
Born to a poor peasant family, Marulanda was radicalized by the vicious civil wars that ravaged Colombia in the middle of the last century, pitting Liberals against Conservatives. He and other survivors of a 1964 army attack on a peasant community escaped to the mountains and formed the FARC, which grew over the decades to include a reputed 15,000 fighters. Marulanda's deadly aim in combat against the army earned him the name "Sureshot."
Notoriously reclusive, he is said to have never set foot in Colombia's capital, giving just a handful of interviews over the course of his life. Even senior commanders within the FARC speak of Marulanda with awe, and he is known to have the final word over any major decision taken by the FARC.
The guerrillas remain strong in many parts of Colombia, especially in the countryside, but many accuse them of having lost their Marxist ideology.
...the trouble continued, according to some AFIC members, who said that on Monday some of the new executive stormed the AFIC headquarters at Alexandria, in Sydney's inner south, drilling through the doors to gain access to the building, terrorising women staff and demanding electronic passwords of the bank accounts...
A takeover of the nation's peak Muslim organisation has sparked the appointment of a receiver-manager for the second time in two years to run the affairs of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.
Following a coup last week deposing Ikebal Patel and his executive team, the former AFIC president has taken legal action in the NSW Supreme Court seeking reinstatement, alleging the removal was unconstitutional. After a brief hearing on Thursday, the court appointed a receiver-manager to run the federation until the matter comes back to court in July.
It is the second time in two years that the organisation has been put under the control of a receiver and had its substantial accounts frozen.
AFIC's new interim president, Haset Sali, said yesterday he and his colleagues hoped to resolve the matter quickly and hold fresh elections as soon as possible to prevent "further legal bunfights".
The organisation has been racked by controversy over its financial dealings and by disputes over its April 2006 elections, when a group of Pakistanis took control of the organisation from a faction controlled by Fijian-Indians.
Trouble flared last weekend at the annual congress of AFIC, the umbrella organisation representing the key state Muslim bodies, with security guards attempting to prevent some AFIC members from entering the meeting. Guards were also called to remove Mr Patel from the meeting after a vote of no confidence in him and his executive team. Some members complained to The Weekend Australian they were subjected to "thuggery and strong-arm tactics". After the congress passed a vote of no confidence in Mr Patel and his executive, a new executive team was appointed for 180 days until fresh elections could beheld.
But the trouble continued, according to some AFIC members, who said that on Monday some of the new executive stormed the AFIC headquarters at Alexandria, in Sydney's inner south, drilling through the doors to gain access to the building, terrorising women staff and demanding electronic passwords of the bank accounts. Police were called, and escorted the women out of the building.
AFIC, which aims to uphold Islamic standards in Australia, derives most of its income from rent on land that houses Muslim schools across the country and the certification of halal food. It has an annual budget of about $20 million, bank accounts holding $6 million in cash, and assets worth about $50 million.
The organisation has been racked by controversy over its financial dealings and by disputes over its April 2006 elections, when a group of Pakistanis took control of the organisation from a faction controlled by Fijian-Indians. AFIC was previously forced into administration in September 2006 after months of internal brawling, and its bankers, Westpac, then froze the federation's accounts.
Posted by: Seafarious ||
05/24/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Global Jihad
Two Democratic senators have asked the Treasury Department to investigate allegations that Iraqi leaders have embezzled or misspent billions of U.S. tax dollars intended for the country's relief and reconstruction.
In a May 20 letter to Stuart Levey, the department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Sens. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island called the scope of corruption within the Iraqi government staggering. Levey's office, they said, should examine whether any Iraqi officials have set up bank accounts outside of Iraq "that might contain ill- gotten proceeds."
Citing recent congressional testimony from Arthur Brennan, a former State Department official, the senators said the inspector general of the Iraq's ministry of health had steered as much as $1 billion in medical supplies onto the black market and then pocketed the profits. According to Brennan, it's likely some of that money is financing insurgent groups such as the Mahdi army, the militia loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
"In our estimation, the theft, conversion or other misappropriation of U.S.-provided funds and supplies by Iraqi government officials severely undermines our troops' mission in Iraq," Dorgan and Whitehouse wrote. "It is even more outrageous when these resources are diverted to our enemies and help finance, arm and equip attacks against American soldiers."
John Rankin, a Treasury Department spokesman, said Levey's office had not yet seen the letter. "We'll consider it carefully when it arrives," he said.
Brennan headed the State Department's office of accountability and transparency at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. He held the job for less than a month before resigning in July 2007 due to his wife's health problems. Before taking the job, he was a New Hampshire superior court judge.
Brennan and James Mattil, who worked as the office's chief of staff for a year, testified May 12 before the Democratic Policy Committee, which Dorgan chairs. Brennan and Mattil told the policy committee their office was understaffed and its warnings and recommendations were ignored.
Brennan alleged that the State Department prevented a congressional aide visiting Baghdad from talking with staffers by insisting they were too busy. Office members actually were watching movies at the embassy and on their computers, he said. The staffers' workload had been cut dramatically because of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki's "evisceration" of Iraq's top anti-corruption office, he said.
In response to Brennan's allegations, the State Department said the administration takes the issue of corruption seriously. Spokesman Tom Casey pointed to the recent appointment of Lawrence Benedict as coordinator for anti-corruption initiatives at the embassy in Baghdad.
Benedict's appointment "is another demonstration that we are working at very senior levels to help the Iraqis deal with this issue," Casey said after Brennan's testimony. "Any assertion that we have not taken this issue seriously or given it the attention it deserves is simply untrue."
(Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Friday withdrew the cases against 200 suspects allegedly involved in the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto citing lack of evidence. "The chief minister of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) ordered the withdrawal of cases against 200 accused in Benazir Bhutto murder case," Pakistan's private Dawn TV channel reported. "The withdrawal of the cases is due to lack of evidence," the TV quoted official sources as saying.
Bhutto, also former leader of Pakistan People's Party (PPP), was killed in a gun and bomb attack last December while attending a political rally. The Pakistani government said on Thursday it was ready to submit a letter of request to secretary-general of the United Nations, asking for the U.N. investigation into the assassination of Bhutto.
President Pervez Musharraf invited a Scotland Yard team to join in the investigation after Bhutto was killed. But the PPP has been insisting on the U.N. probe into the murder. Law Minister Farooq Naek said on Thursday the Scotland Yard team was given "limited mandate" during their probe. "They were given the mandate to investigate whether it's a murder, but not to investigate who are the persons behind the hideous crime." Naek said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
Wait a few months and it goes out with a barely a whimper.
Pakistan on Friday tried to downplay concerns about peace talks with the militants linked to al Qaeda and Taliban, saying it was engaging only with those who renounce violence.
Authorities in the North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan Wednesday signed a peace deal on Wednesday with militants in the Swat valley, promising to pull out troops from the region in return for a commitment from the insurgents to cease attacks.
The government is also negotiating a peace deal through tribal elders with Baitullah Mehsud, the de facto leader of the Pakistani Taliban based in South Waziristan tribal region, which is regarded as a safe haven for al Qaeda militants.
The United States has expressed concerns over these talks by Pakistan's new government, led by the party of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, saying that deals with militants might allow them to plot attacks in Pakistan and abroad.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the government was committed to use force, whenever needed, but a military option alone could not end violence.
"We believe that military action alone will not be effective in permanently ending the phenomenon of terrorism," a foreign ministry statement quoted him as saying. Pakistan has a three-pronged strategy to deal with militancy and terrorism: political, socio-economic and military, he said.
Pakistan has cut peace deals in the past also, but critics including western allies, have complained that these resulted in militants regrouping and intensifying cross-border attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
The Kurram Agency jirga members demanded government officials to control the sectarian violence in the agency and open up roads leading to it, before they could reveal those responsible for April violence in the area, a jirga member who escaped police arrest, told Daily Times on Friday.
Syed Mohammad had escaped arrest on Tuesday as police detained members of a tribal jirga comprising 25 elders each from the Shia and Sunni sects of Kurram Agency, tasked with establishing who was behind violence between the two sects in April that killed more than 600 people and injured about 1500. We (jirga members) were demanding the officials to help stop the ongoing sectarian violence in the agency before government demands could be met, said Mohammad. A complete strike was observed in Kurram Agency on Friday against the detention of the jirga members in Peshawar.
Elders of Turi and Bangash tribe organised the strike. The Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) Grand Alliance has also protested over the detention of jirga members. The detained jirga members belong to Tori, Bangash, Mengal, Para Chamkani and Kharwai tribes.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Lashkar-e-Islami
A militant leader said on Friday his group would maintain a ceasefire with the new government, but would keep fighting foreign forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Faqir Muhammad made the declaration during an address to 5,000 tribesmen who had gathered for the funeral of a local journalist in Bajur Agency. Muhammad is a senior leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella organisation of militants holding peace talks with the government through tribal intermediaries.
Western officials fear a peace deal would let militants regroup and launch more cross-border attacks on North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and US forces in Afghanistan and even major terror strikes further afield.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban announced a ceasefire in tribal regions last month.
We are Muslims and the enemy of infidels. We will continue our jihad in Afghanistan as long as the foreign allied forces are there.
Ceasefire: Muhammad said on Friday the group would hold its fire as long as peace talks continue with the government. We will not attack government positions and whoever indulges in such an attack will be treated as an enemy, he said. But he said the Western troops in Afghanistan remained a legitimate target. We are Muslims and the enemy of infidels, he told the gathering. We will continue our jihad in Afghanistan as long as the foreign allied forces are there.
The government reiterated on Friday it would only negotiate with those who renounce militancy and violence. Political engagement was only possible with those who dont allow the use of our territory against any other country and do not help foreign terrorist elements to find hideouts in our territory, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in a statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday urged the global community to support Pakistans efforts in the war against terror.
Addressing the launch of the International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS) 2008, he reiterated the governments stance that feelings of injustice, deprivation and lack of opportunities spawned terrorism. The global community needs to pay more attention to eliminate these problems, he said, adding that Pakistan was dedicated to fighting terrorism and extremism in all its forms. We would like the international community to support our efforts as our government evolves a strategy that has better chances to bring peace, he added.
The first IDEAS exhibition was held in 2002 and attracted a large number of buyers from various countries. This years exhibition would be held at the Karachi Expo Centre from November 24 to November 28, and it expected to attract defence ministers, heads of armed forces, foreign exhibitors and trade visitors from various countries.
Frontline state: Gilani praised Pakistans progress towards developing indigenous capabilities for producing sophisticated weaponry. He also highlighted Pakistans geo-strategic location and said the country was a frontline state in the current global security environment. We are spearheading a collective struggle against a new threat to world peace, he said, referring to terrorism.
He said that while terrorism posed a serious threat to international peace, it was also detrimental to Pakistans national interest. War against terrorism is our own war. We have lost our great leader Benazir Bhutto. We have lost countless innocent children and youth, men and women, he said. He praised Pakistanis for supporting the government in its fight against terrorism and extremism.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Gen Tariq Majeed and the vice chief of Air Staff were also present at the launch ceremony.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
ION RIAN [paraph] > BELARUS: FUTURE OF THE CIS IS IN THE HANDS OF RUSSIA.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Violence in Iraq has fallen to its lowest level in more than four years, figures released by the U.S. military showed on Saturday, but officials said progress was still fragile and reversible. Less bad news is bad news for bad news organizations. So sad, too bad!
Iraqi security officials said an offensive against al Qaeda in the northern city of Mosul, which the U.S. military says is the Sunni Islamist group's last major urban stronghold, had wiped out most of the insurgent network.
Washington's envoy to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, declared that al Qaeda had never been closer to defeat. The United States says the group is the biggest threat to peace in Iraq and has blamed it for most of Iraq's deadliest suicide bombings. "You are not going to hear me say that al Qaeda is defeated, but they've never been closer to defeat than they are now," Crocker told reporters during a visit to the Shi'ite holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala in southern Iraq.
The U.S. military released slides showing that incidents of violence, including roadside bombs, shootings and mortar and rocket attacks, had fallen to their lowest level since the week of March 26, 2004.
The drop follows a surge in violence that threatened to unravel the security gains made over the past year. A government offensive against Shi'ite militias in the southern city of Basra in March sparked widespread violence in other towns and cities.
The figures are good news for U.S. President George W. Bush, who sent 30,000 extra troops to Iraq last year to halt a slide toward sectarian civil war and has rejected calls by Democrats for 155,000 troops to be withdrawn as soon as possible. Bush has argued that this would hand victory to al Qaeda, a position shared by Republican presidential candidate John McCain. The two Democratic candidates, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, have campaigned for troops to be brought home.
According to one of the unclassified slides made available to Reuters, the number of incidents in the week ending May 23 was around 300, down from a high of nearly 1,600 in mid-June 2007. "For security reasons we cannot give out exact figures, so this is a ballpark figure," U.S. military spokesman Major John Hall explained.
He attributed the fall in violence to the growth in the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces and their increased involvement in counter-insurgency operations, the formation of largely Sunni Arab neighborhood patrol units, and a ceasefire declared by anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. "There has been significant but uneven security progress in Iraq. The levels of violence and civilian deaths have been reduced substantially," he said, adding that the progress was "fragile and reversible." "Al Qaeda in Iraq and a number of other extremist elements have been dealt serious blows," he said.
The group, which has defied previous predictions of its demise, sought haven in Iraq's northern provinces after being pushed out of western Anbar province and Baghdad last year.
Interior Ministry spokesman Major-General Abdul-Karim Khalaf said Iraqi-led operations in Mosul, capital of Nineveh province, had destroyed "most of the insurgents' network." "We have arrested most of the wanted men and the operations are continuing. The are no longer big challenges in Mosul. There will always be sleeper cells, but that is not important because we will be able to deal with those cells," he said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched the offensive against al Qaeda in Mosul as part of a wider plan to stamp his government's authority over areas where armed groups hold sway.
Iraqi troops now patrol Basra after reaching a truce with Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Tens of thousands of troops moved unopposed this week into Sadr City, Sadr's Baghdad bastion, under a separate truce that ended nearly seven weeks of fighting with U.S. and Iraqi forces.
The fragile truces in Basra and Baghdad were tested on Friday when Iraqi security forces fired into the air to disperse worshippers loyal to Sadr who had gathered for the Friday Muslim prayers in an open square. At least six people were wounded. At about the same time, police raided Baghdad's Amil district, arresting about 400 people, many of whom had gathered at Sadr's office, which doubles as a mosque, for Friday prayers. "This aggression on our Friday prayers is a new escalation which could have grave consequences for the future," Salah al- Ubaidi, spokesman for Sadr, said on Saturday.
#2
I think the "locals" have already taken over DC, Darth.
That's why it's the shithole way it is.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/24/2008 18:50 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Barbara, it is the worst of all worlds, run by the locals under rules made by Congress. There is a reason why the one city for which Congress is directly responsible is such a self-indulgent cesspool.
#8
can we keep this about IRAQ please? DC etc are afflicted with street crime, which hasnt gone away in Iraq, but isnt all that relevant once its back to the levels it was at under Saddam.
this is a big achievement if it lasts, but one swallow doeth not a summer make, and we've been disappointed a lot in Iraq. '
OTOH it fits in well with what we've been seeing on several fronts in Iraq the last couple of months, and that in turn is a culmination of things building up steadly during the surge. There is MUCH reason to be hopeful, but also reason to keep ones fingers crossed.
And this doesnt really effect the MSM per se, theyve got plenty of other stuff to cover.
HT Gateway Pundit Sistani does not issue fatwa allowing armed resistance against foreign troops in Iraq-source
A close source to grand ayatollah Ali Sistanis office on Friday denied news agencies reports the Shiite cleric issued a fatwa permiting taking up weapons to drive the foreign occupation forces out of Iraq. This is the APreport to which this article refers.
The reports of issuing fatwa by the Shiite cleric Sistani permiting taking up arms to drive foreign troops out of Iraq were baseless.
International news agencies reported Sistani issued a fatwa, an edict, legalizing Iraqis to hold up arms to drive US troops out of Iraq.
The source, a cleric from Karbala associated with Sistani office,pointed out Sistanis stance is clear since toppling the former regime(of Saddam Hussein) by calling for sticking to civil resistance to drive foreign troops out of Iraq.
Ali Sistani, living in Najaf, is the top Shiite cleric and hold a strong sway over Shiites in Iraq and a number muslim countries. The main front in this war is the information front. And the key battlefield is the American living room. Petraeus could really help the war effort by investigating this story and if there is even the slightest hint of malice, removing AP's press credentials in Iraq. The MSM is the enemy.
c) converted into an article by reports that never met or saw the source
d) biased as hell editorial staff allowed the shaky story to run wihtout confirmation
4 for 4 on the BS Meter.
AP becoming a propaganda mouthpiece due to its reporters' bias (they beleive anything anti-US), and cowardcie (They refuse to get out there like Michal Yon or Totten, replying on "stringers" instead), topped by editorial bias and basic jounalistic malpractice.
The Lies
"BAGHDAD - Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has been quietly issuing religious edicts declaring that armed resistance against U.S.-led foreign troops is permissible a potentially significant shift by a key supporter of the Washington-backed government in Baghdad.
The edicts, or fatwas, by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani suggest he seeks to sharpen his long-held opposition to American troops and counter the populist appeal of his main rivals, firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia."
Right. I'm sure that he wishes the American troops weren't necessary, just as I do. But there was no other way to restore order short of annihilating the place.
Now you know what this "truth" looks like after you wrap it around a telephone pole a few times.
#7
given the general ignorance among americans on BOTH sides of the debate about Fatwas, sharia,etc, and APs complete reliance on unreliable local sources combined with cultural ignorance, its hardly surprising they get things like this wrong.
Maliki WAS concerned enough to seek an audience. Could be Sistani himself was floating a trial balloon, and Maliki ran and reassured Sistani on whatever bugs him, so he withdrew it.
Cause you know the main audience for the info war is still not the US (important though the info war here is) its in Iraq, and Afghanistan, and Lebanon and ........
See the story above, dug up by the Gateway Pundit (who does strong work and is a must-read for me every day), for more details.
Powerful Iraqi cleric flirting with Shiite militant message
BAGHDAD (AP) Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has been quietly issuing religious edicts declaring that armed resistance against U.S.-led foreign troops is permissible a potentially significant shift by a key supporter of the Washington-backed government in Baghdad. Most Iraqi Parliamentarians are empowered by al-Sistani's support. What if he orders them to support jihad against US soldiers?
Then he'll be living in Iran, and most of his supporters will be dead or in hiding. And I think they all know that ...
The edicts, or fatwas, by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani suggest he seeks to sharpen his long-held opposition to American troops and counter the populist appeal of his main rivals, firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia.
But unlike al-Sadr's anti-American broadsides the Iranian-born al-Sistani has displayed extreme caution with anything that could imperil the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The two met Thursday at the elderly cleric's base in the city of Najaf south of Baghdad.
So far, al-Sistani's fatwas have been limited to a handful of people. They also were issued verbally and in private rather than a blanket proclamation to the general Shiite population according to three prominent Shiite officials in regular contact with al-Sistani as well as two followers who received the edicts in Najaf.
All spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
They spoke anonymously because they don't know what they're talking about. This story doesn't pass the smell test for a simple reason: for his entire life, and certainly since Saddam was removed, Sistani has said that there is a civil sphere and a religious sphere: he's in the latter and won't be dragged into the former. He doesn't make or pronounce policy, he doesn't interfere with the government, and doesn't take sides in public. For him to issue a fatwa now would be completely out of character for him.
Al-Sistani who is believed to be 79 or 80 has not been seen in public since a brief appearance in August 2004, shortly after returning from London for medical treatment for an unspecified heart condition. But his mix of religious authority and political clout makes him more powerful than any of Iraq's elected leaders.
For American officials, he represents a key stabilizing force in Iraq for refusing to support a full-scale Shiite uprising against U.S.-led forces or Sunnis especially at the height of sectarian bloodletting after an important Shiite shrine was bombed in 2006.
It is impossible to determine whether those who received the edicts acted on them. Most attacks except some by al-Qaida in Iraq are carried out without claims of responsibility. It is also unknown whether al-Sistani intended the fatwas to inspire violence or simply as theological opinions on foreign occupiers. Al-Sadr who has a much lower clerical rank than al-Sistani recently has threatened "open war" on U.S.-led forces...
#1
So far, al-Sistani's fatwas have been limited to a handful of people. They also were issued verbally and in private rather than a blanket proclamation to the general Shiite population according to three prominent Shiite officials in regular contact with al-Sistani as well as two followers who received the edicts in Najaf.
Grounds for potential BS alert? Sounds like three prominent Shiite officials and two followers might be angling for greater political power.
#5
AP becoming a propaganda mouthpiece due to its reporters' bias (they beleive anythign anti-US), and cowrdcie (They refuse to get out there like Michal Yon or Totten, replying on "stringers" instead).
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did not propose a US naval blockade of Iran during talks with US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrats office said on Thursday. Responding to a report this week in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said the lawmaker and the US delegation she led met only once with Olmert during a May 16-20 visit to Israel and Iraq. During the luncheon meeting with Prime Minister Olmert, there was never any mention of a US naval blockade of Iranian ports, Elshami said in a statement. He declined to comment further.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2008 00:00 ||
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The vice president of the political wing of the Palestinian movement Hamas said Friday that the Israeli reply to the Egyptian proposal for a truce is not enough.
Moussa Abu Marzouq told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the reply sent through Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman does not meet the radical Islamic movement's demands, especially concerning opening the border. 'Opening the border should not be related to the proposed truce,' he told dpa. 'The border should be opened whether Israel accepts or refuses the truce,' Abu Marzouq said.
He denied that talks with Egypt did not succeed. 'We received the reply sent with Omar Suleiman. We have sent back some questions and are waiting for their answers,' the vice president said.
Israel has accepted in principle the Egyptian proposals for a truce with Hamas on Thursday.
Israel wants any truce deal to include the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants in June 2006, as part of an exchange of prisoners with the Palestinians.
The link between a ceasefire and the release of Shalit is not part of the Palestinian offer, a source of the Damascus-based group said earlier. Negotiations for Shalit's release, the source explained, involve international mediation, including British efforts. The negotiations have gone a long way, but constitute a separate track, the source said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
Although Israel is desperate for a weapon that will defend key targets from Palestinian rockets fired from Gaza, last year they turned down the one system known to work. That's because the system is foreign. It's a modified version of the U.S. Phalanx ship defense system. The Israeli government is still under tremendous pressure to do something, and they don't want to invade and take over Gaza.
There are already two Israeli anti-rocket systems in the works, but it will be several years before these are available for service. Meanwhile, Hamas has greatly increased the number of rockets and mortar shells fired into southern Israel. It's up to several hundred a month.
Two years ago, some Israelis noted that the American and British were already using an effective anti-rocket system; C RAM. This is a modified version of the U.S. Navy Phalanx system, which was originally designed to protect warships from anti-ship missiles. As originally designed, you turned Phalanx on whenever the ship was likely to have an anti-ship missile fired at it. The Phalanx radar can spot incoming missiles out to about 5,000 meters, and the 20mm cannon is effective out to about 2,000 meters. With incoming missiles moving a up to several hundred meters a second, you can see why Phalanx is set to automatic. There's not much time for human intervention, which is why the Phalanx has to be turned on and set to automatically detect and shoot at incoming missiles. But weapons engineers discovered that Phalanx could take out incoming 155mm artillery shells as well. This capability is what led to C-RAM. Now Israel is bringing one of these system to Israel, to see how well it performs in actually defending against Palestinian Kassasm rockets.
Since 2003, there have been two major Phalanx mods. In one, the Phalanx was adapted to use on land, to shoot down incoming rockets. This was done by using a larger artillery spotting radar, which directs Phalanx to fire at incoming mortar shells and rockets. Not all the incoming stuff is hit, but nearly 80 percent of it is, and every little bit helps. The second mod is for shipboard use, and changes the software so the Phalanx can be used against small boats, especially those of the suicide bomber variety.
Two years ago, Israel examined C RAM for possible use in defending northern Israel against another Hizbollah rocket attack. That's where Israelis apparently became aware of how C RAM could be used against Palestinian attacks using more primitive rockets. For defending northern Israel, C-RAM lacked the range to cover a long border against a variety of rocket types. But the home made Palestinian rockets fired from Gaza were another matter. Then, about a year ago, Britain bought a C RAM system to protect its air base in southern Iraq. A C-RAM Phalanx system, which can cover about four kilometers of border, costs $8 million.
C-RAM uses high explosive 20mm shells, that detonate near the target, spraying it with fragments. By the time these fragments reach the ground, they are generally too small to injure anyone. At least that's been the experience in Iraq. The original Phalanx used 20mm depleted uranium shells, to slice through incoming missiles. Phalanx fires shells at the rate of 75 per second. Another advantage of C-RAM, is that it makes a distinctive noise when firing, warning people nearby that a mortar or rocket attack is underway, giving people an opportunity to duck inside if they are out and about.
The first C-RAM was sent to Iraq in late 2006, to protect the Green Zone (the large area in Baghdad turned into an American base). It was found that C-RAM could knock down 70-80 percent of the rockets and mortar shells fired within range of its cannon. Not bad, since it only took about a year to develop C-RAM. Meanwhile, another version, using a high-powered laser, instead of the 20mm gun, is in development.
Israel has several small targets it wants to defend in southern Israel. The most frequent target is the town of Sderot. Since 2001, over 2,000 Kassam (homemade) Palestinian rockets have been fired at Sderot. Ten people have been killed, and over fifty injured. The Israeli army has developed a radar system that provides 10-15 seconds warning, which is enough time to duck into a shelter. But Sderot only has 80 bomb shelters, most of them built 20-30 years ago and in need of repair. If you want to reduce the casualties in Sderot (about one dead or wounded per 30-40 rockets fired), you need to reduce the number of rockets landing. One C RAM system can defend an area about four kilometers in diameter. This makes it possible to defend Sderot with one or two Phalanx guns, and one early warning radar. There's also a power plant and air force base in the south that could eventually be within range of larger Kassam rockets. One or two C RAM Phalanx guns at each would greatly reduce the risk of a Kassam doing any damage.
There are nearly 900 Phalanx systems in use, including some on Israeli warships. Most have not gotten these software mods, that enable the cannot to knock down rockets and shells, as well as incoming anti-ship missiles.
#1
I wonder if instead of 1 gun below the radar, putting 2 guns, one each side of the radar, might increase the effectiveness at low extra cost (I'm guessing most of the cost is the radar.
#3
Bright Pebbles, that would increase the mechanical unreliability. Doubling the number of moving parts and increasing the load on the moving platform would only lead to more beakdowns. Which as everyone knows happens at the most inopportune time. :)
#6
OldSpook: Yeah, "distinctive noise". I gather that standing on the deck of a ship while one of those sumbitches is firing is like being a grain of rice on a drumhead during a snare drum roll.
#8
I don't know about the C-RAM, but in 1972 my ship was the test bed for one the early Phalanxes. It does indeed have a distinctive noise, and it fills the air with lead depleted uranium.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
05/24/2008 14:57 Comments ||
Top||
#9
If it is anything like the Vulcan, it is spine chilling. On both sides. Gives ya a big 'ol stiffy when you are on the giving end and a pant full of poop on the receiving end.
A Lebanese by-election has set the stage for a new showdown between the anti-Syrian government and its opponents by laying bare a deep split among the country's once dominant Maronite Christians.
The competition for the Maronite seat in Metn district, northeast of Beirut, is part of a broader political conflict between Lebanon's governing coalition and the opposition, including Syria-allied Hezbollah.
The struggle for control of government has already caused Lebanon's worst civil strife since the 1975-1990 war. Many Christians expect Sunday's by-election to trigger more violence. "Most probably there will be problems," said Jean Kharrat, a shopkeeper from the Maronite village of Bikfaya, home to former President Amin Gemayel, who is one of the candidates.
Gemayel, leader of the Phalange Party, aims to fill the seat of his son, Pierre, who was assassinated in November.
Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement, part of the opposition, is contesting the seat, enraging Gemayel supporters. Gemayel and his allies accuse Syria of orchestrating the killing of Pierre Gemayel and other anti-Syrian figures including Walid Eido, a Sunni Muslim MP killed in June. A by-election for his seat will also be held on Sunday. Damascus denies involvement in the killings.
Christian tempers flared this week when rival activists clashed with sticks in scenes reminiscent of street battles between rival Christians in January.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
Sources close to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday said that he was unable to conceal his disappointment and surprise at the news of renewed Israeli-Syrian peace talks.
In an interview with the London-based newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, the sources said that Ahmadinejad characterized the reports as a violation by Damascus of the two countries' mutual responsibilities toward one another.
The sources added that the Iranian leader also received detailed information about the secret negotiations weeks before the Syrian foreign minister's recent visit to Tehran.
According to the newspaper, Iran's Supreme National Security Council is preparing a response to a letter from Syria that mentioned its contact with Israel.
An Iranian editor also revealed to al-Sharq al-Awsat that the council instructed Iranian communications outlets and official Web sites not to refer at all to the Israel-Syria talks until further notice.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/24/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Take Iran out and Syria will fall in line=ME peace!
#2
Or the converse, TD6961. Take out Syria and Iran falls in line. No Syria to be a proxy for Iran and the MMs lose their leverage against Leb, Israel.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/24/2008 19:35 Comments ||
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#3
Yeah, you need at least two moles to play "Mole Basher". But if Syria goes away, Iran would just develop Lebanon and continue down the same path after a brief pause.
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.
Two Democratic senators have asked the Treasury Department to investigate allegations that Iraqi leaders have embezzled or misspent billions of U.S. tax dollars intended for the country's relief and reconstruction. 
A militant leader said on Friday his group would maintain a ceasefire with the new government, but would keep fighting foreign forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday urged the global community to support Pakistans efforts in the war against terror.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Violence in Iraq has fallen to its lowest level in more than four years, figures released by the U.S. military showed on Saturday, but officials said progress was still fragile and reversible. 
The vice president of the political wing of the Palestinian movement Hamas said Friday that the Israeli reply to the Egyptian proposal for a truce is not enough. 
