AN Afghan court has sentenced an ex-journalist and a mullah to 20 years in prison each for publishing a translation of the Koran alleged to contain errors, friends and media rights groups said today. Afghan and international media rights organisations condemned the sentences handed down yesterday and called on President Hamid Karzai to intervene.
Former journalist Ahmed Ghous Zalmai was arrested in November trying to escape into Pakistan as religious clerics and parliament were in an uproar about a Dari-language version of the Muslim holy book he had published. Mullah Qari Mushtaq, who was sentenced with him, had approved the version which other clerics and parliamentarians claimed contained errors and misunderstandings about issues such as homosexuality and adultery.
Critics also complained the book did not include the original Arabic text as required by Islamic law.
"We appeal to the President's spirit of tolerance and ask him to intercede on behalf of two men who have been given extremely severe sentences," said Paris-based Reporters Without Borders and Article 19, another rights watchdog. "Their aim was not to violate Islamic law, but only to promote the Koran among the Persian-speaking peoples," they said in a statement.
Afghanistan's judicial system is based on Islamic Sharia law which forbids criticism of Islam and rules that the death penalty should be applied in cases of blasphemy.
Afghan media unions have also called on Mr Karzai to intervene, said Hafiz Barakzai from the National Union of Journalists. "This is an academic issue .... (Islamic) scholars should sit and discuss it," he told AFP.
Two brothers of Zalmai who had been arrested with him on charges of trying to help him flee the country were freed yesterday after being held in jail for seven-and-a-half months, a friend said, labelling the detentions illegal.
Zalmai, expected to appeal, had been a fairly outspoken TV journalist in the 1980s, Reporters Without Borders said. At the time of his arrest, he was a spokesman in the office of the attorney-general.
Another journalist is appealing a death sentence handed down by a primary provincial court in January for distributing an article downloaded from the internet which questions the Koran, particularly its views on women. Perwiz Kambakhsh, 23, has been in jail for nearly a year.
Afghanistan's judicial system is based on Islamic Sharia law which forbids criticism of Islam and rules that the death penalty should be applied in cases of blasphemy.
(AKI) - The Taliban are trying to induce American forces to kill civilians, including women and children, in Afghanistan, a senior US government official said on Thursday.
James Glassman, the US State Department's under secretary for public diplomacy, was speaking in response to the controversial air strike carried out by American forces that allegedly killed at least 90 civilians in western Afghanistan in August. "The problem of civilian casualties is a big one," he said in a television interview broadcast on the BBC.
Referring to the attack in Azizabad village in the province of Herat on 22 August, he said the issue was being investigated. "We don't really know how many people were killed. But there is no doubt that some civilians were killed in a strike against military targets."
But Glassman also used the TV interview to condemn the Taliban and accused militants of deliberately provoking attacks that targeted civilians. "Let me tell you the difference between the United States and its allies, including Britain and including NATO, and the Taliban," he said. "The difference is when we kill civilians we do it by mistake. We don't want to kill civilians, absolutely not.
"They kill civilians on purpose. Not only that, they try and lead us to kill civilians because then they can use that in their propaganda war against us."
He said that it was time to clarify the difference between the American approach and that of the militants. "They try to get us to kill civilians," he said. "They try to induce us to shoot at targets that include women and children who are completely innocent."
"But the Taliban on the other hand are trying to kill people. They are trying to kill civilians."
He said it was important to remember that Afghanistan wanted to be free and wanted to democracy after living under a vicious Taliban regime. But he recognised that the deaths of civilians hurt the US cause there. "I think we are doing the right thing. The fact that civilians are dying hurts our cause," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Were the REALLY civilians? They live with the Taliwackers. The whole thing didn't really resonate with me at all. If the taliban come to your house to flop for the night, your best bet is to sleep at a friends house.
#2
"They kill civilians on purpose. Not only that, they try and lead us to kill civilians because then they can use that in their propaganda war against us."
Of which the media and the tranzis are willing accomplices.
#3
They also hide in the Civilian population and shoot from within crowds of civilians. This is against the Geneva Convention and makes them illegal combatants.
All of which makes them _responsible_ for any civilian deaths.
#1
Not surprised the NYTs refers to bin Laden as "Mr. bin Laden." They appear to be respectful and reverent. Personally, I think he is one of the most evil men in modern history. He is a stone cold killer of men, women, and children.
An extremist group which murdered a US diplomat earlier this year originally had plans to kill a British one, a Sudanese police officer said today.
Sudanese Islamists accused of killing a US diplomat and his driver attend their trial in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on August 31, 2008 (AFP) John Granville, 33, who worked for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and his 40-year-old Sudanese driver Abdel-Rahman Abbas were hit in their car by a hail of bullets before dawn on New Years Day. There are five suspects currently standing trial for allegedly carrying out the assassination.
Police General Abdel-Rahim Ahmed Abdel-Rahim told the judges today that the suspects planned to kill an unidentified British diplomat to revenge for a British schoolteachers Gillian Gibbons decision to let her young students to name a toy bear Muhammad. Gibbons received a jail sentence of 15 days but was pardoned by Al-Bashir. The suspects failed to corner the British diplomat to shoot him, the police officer said.
In the preliminary hearing on August 31st the Sudanese prosecutor Mohamed Al-Mustafa Musa said that the group came from the town of Atbara, north of the capital Khartoum, with the intention of striking Western targets on New Years Eve.
Among those in the dock was a 23-year-old son of the head of Ansar al-Sunna, a pacifist Muslim sect in Sudan that has no political affiliations but has links to the orthodox Wahhabi sect dominant in Saudi Arabia. The others were listed as an engineering student, a merchant and a former security officer from Khartoum and a driver from Atbara, in northern Sudan. The suspects were part of a cell that is believed to have been formed last year after Sudans president, Omer Al-Bashir, vehemently rejected the idea of a United Nations peacekeeping mission to Darfur.
Sudanese police said that the suspects received 5,000 Saudi riyals ($9,300) to travel to Somalia and launch Jihad (Islamic holy war) there. However the group members changed their minds for unknown reasons. But the defendants told the judge that the police extracted confessions from them by force. The group members could face the death sentence if found guilty. The hearing has been adjourned until September 21st.
Oh. Yeah. That oughta work. Shoulda thought about that before. (AKI) - The top United Nations relief official has voiced deep concern about reports of fresh violence in the north of the war-torn Darfur region of western Sudan amid further attacks on aid workers by armed groups. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes called for all sides in the Darfur conflict, which has pitted rebels against government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen since 2003, to cease hostilities immediately and engage in meaningful talks towards a lasting settlement.
His comments follow reports from rebels and internally displaced persons that Sudanese government forces launched sustained aerial bomb attacks over the past week near the villages of Birmaza and Disa in North Darfur.
Sudanese military sources told the hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping mission to Darfur that no offensive against rebel positions was taking place. But the mission has observed the movement of heavily armed men, vehicles and material, and an increase in aircraft traffic, particularly attack helicopters.
UNAMID -- which has not yet established a presence in the area because of security reasons -- said that while it could not confirm that fighting was occurring between the government and rebels, its observations indicated that intense military activity was taking place.
Holmes, who is also Emergency Relief Coordinator for the UN, reminded the parties to the conflict of their responsibilities under international humanitarian law to protect civilians, differentiate between civilian and military targets and ensure unimpeded access for aid workers.
Birmaza and Disa serve as important medical, water and commercial hubs for tens of thousands of people, and the reported military bombardments and the attacks on aid workers by armed groups have relief officials worried.
UN spokeswoman Michele Montas told reporters that cuts in aid were compromising the health and well-being of numerous towns and villages and affecting up to 450,000 people.
The UN estimates about 300,000 people are estimated to have been killed, either through direct combat or as a result of disease, malnutrition or reduced life expectancy, since the Darfur conflict began five years ago. More than 2.7 million others have been displaced from their homes.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Again?
They must not have gotten the last 200 voicemails.
An Arab League-sponsored initiative, aimed at bringing peace to the war-ravaged western Sudanese region of Darfur was dismissed by Darfur rebel groups on Thursday. They said the move came five years too late.
Arab League foreign ministers decided on Monday to establish a committee headed by Qatar and including Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Syria, Libya and Egypt to sponsor peace talks between rebels and Khartoum. The committee will work alongside the United Nations and African Union, which are charged with mediating the stalled peace talks aimed at ending the five-year conflict.
There you go. A committee. That'll do it.
However, the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) dismissed the committee, saying it would rather see Arab condemnation of Khartoum's "atrocities" in Darfur.
"We welcome any honest attempt at a peace process, but we don't want the Arab League to be exploiting the differences in Darfur," said JEM spokesman Ahmed Hussain. "We are waiting for the Arab League to condemn the atrocities happening on the ground, such as what the government did in Kalma," Hussain said, referring to an attack last month by government forces on a displaced persons' camp that left more than 30 dead.
The Sudan Liberation Army also rejected the League's initiative, claiming it was timed to support Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir in efforts to delay potential charges from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and genocide in Darfur. "It's just a desperate attempt to save the Sudanese president from international justice," said Mahgoub Hussein, a London-based spokesman of the SLA-Unity faction.
"It is five years too late; where have they been until now?" he told reporters. "There cannot be talk of peace deals when the government is attacking civilians."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Not just a committee, but a committee stuffed with Muslims charged with arbitrating between a muslim state and non-muslim rebels.
(SomaliNet) Kenyan President Kibaki on Wednesday appealed to the international community to send peacekeepers to Somalia to save the country from plunging into anarchy.
How about you sending some troops first?
The Kenyan leader expressed concern at recent developments in the strife-torn Horn of Africa country in which several people have been killed.
The Head of State urged the Transition Government in Mogadishu and all the parties involved in the conflict to embrace dialogue so as to guarantee the people of Somalia peace and security. "We must all act to ensure that the pledges for resources made by the international community are fulfilled," he said.
The President spoke when he opened the Association of Military Christian Fellowship Africa Golden Jubilee Conference at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi. He praised the role the military had played in peacekeeping programmes.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
How about Operation Hammer-II President Kibaki? Don't count on the following KAR elements however: 1st and 2nd (Nyasaland) Battalions, 3rd (Kenya) Battalion, 4th (Uganda) Battalion, 5th (Uganda) Battalion, 6th (British Somaliland). Have a splendid day in Somaliland.
South Korea said on Thursday it was cooperating with other countries to secure the release of 21 sailors on a South Korean ship hijacked by pirates off Somalia this week.The Foreign Ministry said there had been no contact so far with the pirates as the hijacked ship was still on the move.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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Libya did not get nuclear warhead documents from China but from Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan's supplier network, Washington Times reported on Thursday, quoting a United States State Department official on condition of anonymity.
China gave Pakistan nuclear weapons technology and equipment in the 1980s as part of a strategic effort to counter India's nuclear weapons. Dr Khan then took the Chinese documents and supplied them to Libya as part of a package provided by his private nuclear supplier network. Iran and North Korea, also Dr Khan's customers, the official was quoted as saying.
The documents are now stored in a secret vault at the Energy Department's Oak Ridge, Tennessee, facility along with other nuclear equipment given up by the Libyans.
The documents were described as large blueprints that technically are considered primitive and are incomplete but explain how to develop a nuclear device small enough to fit on the tip of a missile. If the Libyans had tried to detonate a nuclear device based on the design, they likely would have caused a serious accident, US officials told Washington Times.
Chinese embassy spokesman Wang Baodong said the issue of the documents was "delicate" but that he had no knowledge of whether the matter was investigated by the Chinese government.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said in 2004 that the government was concerned about reports of the documents found in Libya and was trying to learn more.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I read this somewhere couple months back. Humm... Cargo Cult News maybe?
The discharge of a jury who convicted a Muslim man of writing a terrorist manual but failed to reach a verdict on a second terrorism charge has urged Australia's Muslim leaders to call for a review of anti-terrorism laws.
Belal Saadallah Khazaal, 38, was convicted on Wednesday of assisting terrorism, but the jury was discharged on Thursday after failing to decide on whether he tried to incite a terrorist act. The prosecutor will now decide whether to seek a re-trial.
The guilty verdict shocked Islamic leaders, who warned anti-terrorism laws were making all Muslims potential targets for arrest and called for a review of security laws. The Forum on Australia's Islamic Relations said the conviction of Khazaal, 38, for writing a 110-page guide to terrorism failed to prove he had the intention or capability to carry out a terrorist act.
"These terror laws have specifically made every Muslim a potential target for arrest by police," Forum executive director Kuranda Seyit said in a statement. "There have been many people who have had their homes raided and their passports confiscated and this is simply unconstitutional. These laws are not keeping Australia safe but in fact terrorizing Australian Muslims."
Khazaal was convicted of knowingly making a document connected with assistance in a terrorist act. The book described methods of assassination, including shooting down aircraft and booby trapping rooms.
The prosecutor told the jury during the trial that Khazaal's book was urging others to commit a terrorist act, but his defense lawyer said Khazaal was a journalist who compiled the book from material publicly available on the internet.
Australia has gradually tightened its anti-terrorism laws since the Sept. 11, 2001 airliner attacks on the United States. New laws allow police to detain and question a suspect without charge for extended periods. Many in Australia's Muslim population, which numbers around 280,000, say they have felt under siege in recent years due to tougher security laws, several terrorism cases and a community backlash against Islam.
A judge has told jurors in a trial now under way not to let prejudice cloud their judgment when deciding whether 12 Muslims were guilty of planning an attack in Melbourne.
The New South Wales state Council for Civil Liberties also called for a review of anti-terrorism laws, saying they had circumvented criminal law safeguards that ensured evidence was rigorously tested before a person was arrested and charged. "These terrorism laws allow police extreme powers to detain, question and gather evidence ... and the problem with that is you are removing the accountability measures and safeguards that are in ordinary criminal law," said council president Cameron Murphy. "The problem with the anti-terrorism powers, apart from the impact on people's human rights, is that they allow sloppy policing to occur, which means you will capture, in my view, a number of people who have done nothing wrong," he told reporters.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
You need a review of your immigration laws is what you need. Quit letting people in who want to kill you. We could use a little of the same.
#2
Australia afraid of terrorists? That's too bad. Loosen a few silly gun laws, and let folks in the Outback defend themselves, and everybody goes home happy. Nothing worse than a bar full of angry Aussies coming at you, unless those Aussies are packin' heat after you said you wise to convert them. (Source: The Road Warrior)
Stuff like this is why they pay experts such big bucks. (AKI) - Osama Bin Laden is still alive but Al-Qaeda has lost the capacity to organise large-scale attacks, according to Italy's leading anti-terrorism expert, Stefano Dambruoso.
Nevetheless, Dambruoso told Adnkronos on the anniversary of the 11 September attacks in the United States that Al-Qaeda was still a dangerous and widespread phenomenon that we would have to face for many years.
"Since then we have learned a lot, we have far more experience and capacity to better monitor sources of risk from this phenomenon with which we live, but we must remain on high alert," he said. "Italy, like many European countries, is certainly more secure because it has increased the capacity of the security forces to prevent organised attacks.
"However, it should be said, without generating alarm, that security forces would find it difficult to prevent a single Al-Qaeda member or small groups, that are not directly linked to a central terror group."
If the risk of destructive attacks like 11 September has fallen in the West, the phenomenon of 'Al-Qaeda franchising' is developing due to the widespread use of the internet. "Analysts believe today while Al-Qaeda has less capacity to organise events like 11 September, Al-Qaeda has grown so much that many have never met Bin Laden, been to a training camp in Pakistan or Afghanistan.
"Instead, thanks to proselytism they continue to feed themselves via the internet, decide to become martyrs, make individual Jihad and cause hundreds of deaths like what happened in Madrid."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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SRINAGAR: Israel's Army chief, Major General Avi Mizrahi has arrived in Kashmir on an unscheduled visit, reports said.
However authorities here are tightlipped about the visit and they neither confirm nor deny the reports.
Maj Gen Avi Mizrahi, the chief of the Israeli ground forces, arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday on a three-day visit. He met the chiefs of India's army, navy and air force and discussed matters of mutual concern, including joint military training and exercises for the two armed forces.
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09/12/2008 16:22 ||
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The Pakistani Army has been given orders to retaliate against any unilateral strike by the Afghanistan-based US troops inside the country. Army Spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas confirmed the orders in a brief interview with Geo News on late Thursday night.
The decision was made on the first day of the two-day meeting of Pakistan's top military commanders to discuss the US coalition's ground and air assault in Waziristan region which killed dozens of civilians.
Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani chaired the meeting which began in Rawalpindi on Thursday at the Army General Headquarters. Pakistan's military commanders expressed their determination to defend the country's borders without allowing any external forces to conduct operations inside the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, sources said.
A senior official said the military commanders also discussed the implications of the American attacks inside Pakistan and took stock of the public feeling. "In his statement, Genral Kayani has represented the feeling of the entire nation, as random attacks inside Pakistan have angered each and every Pakistani," he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kayani rebuffed the American policy of including Pakistani territory in their operations against the al-Qaeda and Taliban linked militants hiding in the areas near Afghan border.
Also, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani noted that Kayani's remarks on country's defense were true reflection of the government policy.
The army decision followed bloody incursions by the US ground troops into tribal belt as well as a string of missile strikes by CIA-operated drone aircraft. The reaction also comes after US President George W. Bush approved US military raids on militants inside Pakistan without Islamabad's agreement.
The development also brought into the open the increasing mistrust between the Americans and the Pakistanis over how to handle the Taliban and al-Qaeda linked militants in Pakistan's tribal areas. Some political expert predict the break out of an all-out war between the United States troops and Pakistani army following the Bush administration's approval of ground and air assaults inside the country.
Wonder if anyone in the Pak leadership knows the concept of the 'kill switch' ...
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
09/12/2008 09:01 ||
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#1
If the Paki's put enough army in the tribal areas to be noticeable by US forces they can stop the incursions into Afghanistan them selves.
In fact, they'll have to because they've just lost plausible deniability of Taliban/al Queda activity in that area.
#2
This is a full-blown propaganda war being waged inside Pakistan. They already toppled Musharraf.
While we are not ignorant of the fact that the propaganda is fake, Pakistanis absorb it as truth. Turning the tables on Pak/US relations is AQ strategy.
#4
First they have to find us inside Pakistan. Then they have to be willing to actually attack us. Then they have to survive the return fire to be able to tell about it.
My view: if they would fire on us, they're essentially Taliban too.
And I agree, it's time to turn off the $$$ pipeline.
#5
I sure hope we don't end up invading and occupying Pakistan; that would require a draft. The right strategy would be to destroy Pakistan's military, carve out a supply route to Afghanistan, and designated the rest of Pakistan a free-fire zone.
#12
Reminds me of the old Cheech & Chong bit about Kamikazi's:
"You will fly HIGH up in the sky. You find American carrier and dive down, killing yourself and all aboard!"
"Honorable Captain!"
"Yes, you in the back."
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?"
#13
I'm soooo glad Little Georgie allowed the transfer of 'sniper pods' for F-16's to Pakistan earlier this year. Dumbass.
Actually, that's the best thing he could have done. If there's one thing we can do with few losses, it's knock enemy planes out of the sky. The money they spent on an F-16 would have bought 100,000 AK's or millions of mines.
It's not clear to me why India would invade Pakistan and risk Chinese intervention, when it can just sit back and wait for Uncle Sam to act. Remember - if it had been up to Gandhi, India would have sat out WWII.
#15
But ZF - on who's side would China intervene? They want to upset the applecart they've built around Nepal, Burma, the Stans? They want to drive Vietnam and India into a strategic partnership?
Besides, how would they even achieve force projection? How do they get any troops anywhere, over any distance?
They'll be busy enough, soon enough on the Korean peninsula, that they won't even be bothered with any action to their west.
#17
But ZF - on who's side would China intervene? They want to upset the applecart they've built around Nepal, Burma, the Stans? They want to drive Vietnam and India into a strategic partnership?
I don't think they have to worry about India or Vietnam allying with anyone. The last time *any* Asian alliance has seen action was when the Chinese sent 100,000 troops to North Vietnam during the Vietnam War to deter an American invasion. In recent history, India and Vietnam have not been known for getting involved in anyone else's wars - India's philosophy, in particular, seems to be to let other countries duke it out while criticizing whichever country leans West. In fact, China's relationship with Burma, Nepal and so on would be bolstered by a Chinese intervention against India over Pakistan - it would reinforce the idea that China takes care of its allies. Note that this would be the third time in the last 100 years that China has sent troops in defense of an ally/buffer state (the first two times were in North Korea and North Vietnam).
#20
But ZF - maybe here's another angle to my point - China seems to finally have figured out the peace and prosperity thing, even though they need to work on the government transparency and rule of law aspects.
Given their past 100 years, and relations with neighbors, I wonder if they're all that interested in the buffer state concept anymore. Japan doesn't seem to be a threat, nor Korea, and given the skirmish/campaigns into Vietnam and India, what do they gain there?
The strategic resources are in Siberia, and the cultural interests don't seem anywhere near Pakistan.
Perhaps they have naval interests in south asian sea lanes, for oil and commerce, but again, Pakistan doesn't figure in that.
Unless they're going for overland pipeline/transport through the stans, it seems their interests are more global and oceanic, than local and military.
#25
DRUDGEREPORT > RUSSIA must Must MUST M-U-S-T STAKE A FORMAL CLAIM TO ARTIC RESOURCES.
VARIOUS NET POSTERS > broadly argue that iff Russ needs to make war agz anyone, it'll likely be agz CANADA + DENMARK over the ARCTIC RESOURCES, and agz CHINA + IRAN oer SPREADING NUCLEAR ISLAMISM, CENTRAL ASIA, + RUSS FAR EAST, NOT AGZ THE US-NATO/EU over US GMD = US-NATO EXPANSION INTO ASIA.
SAME > RUSSIA FEARS ASIA-WIDE CHINESE, JAPANESE, + INDIAN MIL REACTION, espec CHINESE, agz the spread of ISLAMIST DESTABILIZ, MILITANCY, + NUCLEARIZATION.
#27
Unless they're going for overland pipeline/transport through the stans, it seems their interests are more global and oceanic, than local and military.
Pakistan gives them a port in the Indian Ocean, and a straight shot to the Persian Gulf without having to deal with the South China Sea or the Straits of Malacca.
Pakistans low-intensity war against India which, while long ongoing, has been effectively broadened since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and Indias expanding presence there. Pakistani covert operations alone would never have posed a threat to Indian security and stability, but rising anti-Hindu sentiments among Indias 150-million-strong Muslim community have complemented Pakistani operations and enhanced the threat posed to Indias communal harmony and economy, a result that likewise increases the chances of an unintended India-Pakistan war. Since Pakistans independence in 1947, a central goal of Pakistani governments has been bringing an end to New Delhis political control of the Muslim-dominated Kashmir region of Indias Jammu and Kashmir state (J&K).
#1
Notice the efforts of whitewash Mulims respnaibility in the increasingly tense situation. "Muslims have been treatas second class citizens in India" (that is depsite they can vote and that teh President is a Mauslim. In the meayime Hindus in Pakistan have diasppeared. But that the article doesn't tell about it.
Kamran accused the US of inciting civil war in Pakistan. The tribal people were patriotic and had never ever indulged in terrorist activities.
The people of tribal areas will fight along with the armed forces if the United States (US) forces enter Pakistan in pursuit of attacking Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, said Kamran Khan, a tribal parliamentarian, here on Thursday. Addressing a press conference, Kamran accused the US of inciting civil war in Pakistan. He said patriotic tribal people would foil every bid of the US to incite civil war in the country. Kamran said US was taking the war to Pakistan to cover its own failures in Afghanistan. The tribal people, he added, were patriotic and had never ever indulged in terrorist activities. He hoped the government would soon compensate the people affected by military operation in tribal areas.
This article starring:
Kamran Khan, a tribal parliamentarian
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
a tribal parliamentarian and patriotic tribal people?
There you have Pa-ki-stan in all its miserable glory.
Are you tribal or parliamentary? And he accuses us of bringing civil war to the neighborhood. Light in day, dark at night logic at work there.
#9
I thought Afghanistan was going to be the "GRAVEYARD OF THE AMERICANS". Now its Wakiland? I wish they'd make up their minds where they are going to annihilate us.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Swat said on Thursday that no shariah law of the NWFP government would be acceptable unless Sufi Muhammad, chief of the banned Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi, approved it. Talking to reporters, TTP spokesman Muslim Khan said that the NWFP government must first take Muhammad's approval for imposing the shariah in Malakand division under the Shari Nazam-e-Adle Act 1999, otherwise they would not accept it.
The statement came after an announcement by the NWFP government that it will enforce shariah law in Malakand division during the month of Ramazan. He said the Taliban's aim was to implement the law in letter and spirit in Malakand and all issues will be resolved with the implementation of the Islamic system in the region. Khan said that the TTP was still investigating the charge that the NWFP government had accepted a bounty of Rs 20 million on their members' heads from the United States, adding that they would show 'no leniency' if the allegation proved correct.
This article starring:
MUSLIM KHAN
Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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(AKI) - President Bush secretly approved orders in July to allow US forces to carry out ground assaults inside Pakistan without the approval of the Pakistani government, according to senior American officials.
US officials told The New York Times newspaper that they will notify Pakistan when they conduct limited ground attacks like the Special Operations raid last Wednesday in a Pakistani village near the Afghanistan border, but that they will not ask for its permission. It is considered a major policy change after nearly seven years of cooperation with Pakistan to combat the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in the country's volatile tribal areas.
"The situation in the tribal areas is not tolerable," said a senior US official who spoke on condition of anonymity . "We have to be more assertive. Orders have been issued."
The new orders reflect concern about safe havens for Al- Qaeda and the Taliban inside Pakistan, as well as American concern that Pakistan lacks the will and ability to combat militants.
The Times reports there is also a "lingering distrust" of the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies and a belief that some American operations had been compromised when Pakistanis were advised of the details.
The Central Intelligence Agency has for several years fired missiles at militants inside Pakistan from remotely piloted Predator aircraft. But the new orders for the military's Special Operations forces relaxed firm restrictions on conducting raids on the soil of an important ally without its permission.
Pakistan's top army officer said Wednesday that his forces would not tolerate American incursions like the one that took place last week and the Pakistani government lodged a strong protest with the US Ambassador in Islamabad. Last week's raid also presents a major test for Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, who supports more aggressive action by his army but faces increasing opposition internally to autonomous US military action.
The Times reported more than 25 Al-Qaeda suspects were killed in the pre-planned ground attack that was conducted on 3 September.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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Islmabad President Asif Zardaris hint at some good news about Kashmir has triggered speculations in diplomatic and political circles here about the nature of the upcoming initiative between Pakistan and India. In his maiden news conference after being sworn in President of Pakistan on Tuesday Zardari referred to back-channel dialogue between the two countries and promised some good news before the term of the ruling Congress Party in India expires (in May 2009). He said he has talked to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif and also taken into confidence other mainstream leaders on the issue.
While Indias External Affairs Ministry expressed surprise and lack of knowledge on Zardaris promise, Pakistans Foreign Office was equally taken off-guard and could not make any comment.
The president spent about two hours at the Foreign Office on Thursday to receive briefings on major issues but had little to offer to explain his remarks at the news conference.
The officials later tried to lower the expectations raised by the presidents statement. There is not going to be any major breakthrough on the Kashmir issue in coming months, a senior Pakistani diplomat said. The composite dialogue process initiated by former Indian premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee and ex-president Pervez Musharraf would continue under the new government, with greater vigour and much better atmospherics, he said.
"Never mind him, he's just a rookie!"
Informed sources say Zardari was referring to a possible progress in talks on augmenting bilateral trade not only along international borders but the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir as well. Zardari has suggested that this question be taken up with a sense of urgency because of continued blockade of trade by extremists in Jammu between Indiah-held Kashmir and the rest of the country. The Indian government has also responded positively.
Both governments are reportedly working on a plan to launch flow of goods trucks between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, capital of Azad Kashmir. Perishable fruits and vegetables, besides furniture and other goods could be moved between the two points. Both sides are also actively considering the proposal for exchange of visits by members of chambers of commerce and industry of Indian- and Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
The Azad Kashmir chamber has already sent to the Indian government the list of members of its delegation who want to visit Srinagar.
The new Pakistani President is also on record that he wants to give pre-eminence to expanding bilateral trade and economic cooperation hoping that it would help foster progress on the more intractable issues like Kashmir.
Nawaz Sharif also supports improved ties with India while Zardaris other coalition partners including ANP, the JUI and MQM are equally enthusiastic about augmenting the peace talks. The liberal media has extended full support to this thinking. Now is the time to push for real progress in the long-running but wobbly peace process, daily Dawn said while editorially commenting on Zardaris news conference.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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Japan is considering withdrawing its air force from missions in Iraq, where they have been flying supplies in support of U.S.-led forces, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said on Thursday.
Japan's air force has airlifted materials and armed troops since 2006 between Kuwait and locations in Iraq, including Baghdad, in support of U.S.-led forces. Japanese troops, however, have not engaged in combat. The mission, based in Kuwait and involving about 210 air force personnel, may finish by the end of the year.
"The purpose, which was to rehabilitate Iraq, is about to be achieved, and the security situation is getting better," Komura told reporters in Tokyo.
A non-binding Japanese court ruling said in April the mission was a breach of the country's pacifist constitution, but the ruling was dismissed by government and military officials.
An end to the mission comes as Tokyo faces difficulty renewing a law authorizing a marine refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan. Japan's opposition, which has been making gains, is staunchly against both missions in Iraq and the Indian Ocean. It briefly forced a halt to the Indian Ocean deployment last year, saying Japan should not be part of "American wars."
Komura said the government came to the decision also because U.N. Security Council resolution 1790, which allows foreign troops to stay in Iraq, will expire at the end of December.
Ending the Iraq operation, launched in 2003, may irritate the United States, Japan's biggest ally, which has urged Japan to continue both the missions.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
They did their part of it. Send em home, the thing is winding down now, we don't need any more Kamikazes.
BAGHDAD - Sunni Arab neighbourhood patrols have been vital to cutting violence in Iraq. But how the Shi'ite-led government handles their future could foster sectarian reconciliation or start a new round of bloodshed. The U.S. military will start handing control of the units to the government from Oct. 1, when Baghdad will begin paying tens of thousands of guards operating in and around the Iraqi capital. At the moment, the U.S. military pays the guards.
But some government officials eye the unofficial forces, which the U.S. military says number 100,000 men across Iraq and include former Sunni Arab insurgents, with suspicion. The government has set limits on how many can be incorporated into the security forces, and some guards fear they may be arrested because of their past as insurgents.
To address those fears, officials have held several meetings with Awakening members, including one on Thursday with the commander of Iraqi security forces in Baghdad and the head of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's reconciliation committee. The government has promised to incorporate 20 percent of the units into the security forces and give the rest civilian jobs or training. That is not good enough, some Sunni leaders say.
"Sahwas sacrificed their lives to impose security and expel armed groups, and they succeeded. If this is not respected, no one knows what will happen," said Aws Mohammed, an Awakening group leader in Baghdad's Adhamiya district.
Both the U.S. military, which has paid guards about $300 a month, and Sunni tribal leaders say al Qaeda's most fertile recruiting grounds are among Iraq's many jobless men.
At Thursday's meeting, Sahwa leaders urged Lieutenant General Abboud Qanbar, head of security in Baghdad, to raise the percentage of those to be incorporated into the security forces. Muhammad Salman, head of the reconciliation committee, later told Reuters the guards should not fear for their future. "This issue has been discussed with the prime minister. Our Sahwa brothers should be at ease, they will not be pursued unless there is a judicial order which is the same for any other ordinary person, not only Sahwas," Salman said.
He also said the number of guards could be less than stated by the U.S. military. He said the total may be closer to 60,000 once errors such as repeated and fake names were removed.
A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Awakening integration would be a test of whether the government could create inclusive institutions or would remain hostage to sectarian interests. But he also expressed distaste for some members of the predominantly Sunni Arab Awakening movement, an aversion shared by some other officials. "There is no doubt Sahwas have had a lot to do with the security gains in Iraq but some of these guys are unsavoury characters. I would not invite them to my home for dinner. But I have to talk to my enemies," he said.
Ali al-Dabbagh, Iraq's government spokesman, praised the Awakening groups in a recent television interview, adding the state would "not let them down".
But he said members would be interviewed to weed out those who conducted "killings and suspicious actions" before jobs could be awarded. Given that many Awakening group members are former insurgents, screening is likely to be hotly disputed.
The United States will closely watch the transition of the Awakening programme, a U.S. embassy official said. It was confident Iraq recognised the achievements of men the U.S. military calls "Sons of Iraq". "Maliki has personally committed to me he will look after the Sons of Iraq," the U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, was quoted as saying in the Philadelphia Inquirer. "They know if they don't look after the SOIs they could have an insurrection on their hands."
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#3
I can't imagine that serious and binding negotiations with the current Israeli government are possible. Olmert can't guarantee any agreements he makes and the US certainly can't force an agreement on the soon to be new Israeli government.
#4
To guarantee the Palestinian State is like trying to promise an extended warranty for a car hit by flooding and salt water bath from a coastal hurricane. STUPID!
Of coarse if the car is shipped inland for sale as is .....
The United States has turned down an Israeli request for "bunker buster" bombs and mid-air refueling planes for fear they could be used to attack Iran, according to the Israeli Haaretz newspaper.
The U.S. administration also refused to give permission for Israeli fighter jets to fly over Iraq -- the quickest route to Iran, it said.
Military experts believe the GBU-28 "bunker busters" Israel had requested could be effective against Iran's underground uranium enrichment facility at Natanz in central Iran. The GBU-28 is a 2.2-ton, laser-guided, conventional munition equipped with a powerful warhead that can burrow through more than six meters (20 feet) of concrete and up to 30.5 meters (100 feet) of hard ground.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month that the United States "do not want, for the time being, any (military) action against Iran" but that Israel kept all options open.
While denying the requests for "bunker-buster" bombs and refueling planes, the U.S. administration has agreed to help reinforce Israel's defenses. An advanced U.S. radar system is to be stationed in Israel which would double the 2,000-kilometer (1,250-mile) detection range of missiles launched from Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Nope, you can't have any. And don't be taking any when we go to lunch in 15 minutes. And put that hand cart back when you're done with it.
So, given that we have Al Arabiya, the Israeli Defense Minister and the US State Dept all together here, is the story they are presenting true, false or maskirova and how do you tell? They are quite specific about the capabilities of the GBU-28 and it's (published) penetration depth.
#4
Yea the legs of the merlot reflect off the stealth cants and drive you thirsty AS HELL BY DESIGN.... I sTHINK Anyways!
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/12/2008 3:33 Comments ||
Top||
#5
SOBER AS A JUDGE:
WE MUST GIVE THE ISRAELIS ALL THE "STUFF" THEY NEED FOR SUCCESSFUL RAIDS ON IRAN.
The failure to do so will lead directly to a Holocaust AGAIN!
NEVER AGAIN!!
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/12/2008 3:42 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Maybe Israel should consider buying that stuff from Russia, or China, or France. We interfere with Israeli politics too much, and not just on this issue. That damned middle east peace "road map" will be the death of them all.
#7
I thought we sold Israel bunker busters following that little excitement in Lebanon, back when we didn't realize what a limp noodle Prime Minister Olmert really was.
#8
This is just propaganda for the middle east. To think that Israelie intel can not get their hands on the build spec and produce them is foolish. But then probably put the specs in the official denial letter.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
09/12/2008 8:35 Comments ||
Top||
#9
United States has turned down an Israeli request for "bunker buster" bombs and mid-air refueling planes
Wasn't Israel already working on developing mid-air refueling platforms? I think we already gave them a few KC-10s???, and were just working on training them.
This has 'plausible deniability' written all over it.
#10
This is ridiculous. At least two years ago we gave them a butt-load of bunker busters, and I think it is highly unlikely that they converted them into attractive and useful flowerpots.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/12/2008 22:04 Comments ||
Top||
#18
Mercutio,
You obviously haven't been here long. TW is the soul of decorum, tact and politesse...until a commenter goes too far. Go read Kipling's "The Female of the Species" for some insight here. I've never actually seen anyone make a garrote from a tea cozy. With TW however, I wouldn't put it past that lady a bit should she deem such an action necessary. She doesn't go off very often but when she does it's a clinic on how to do verbal vivisection. The regular posters here just stand back and watch with great respect. The trolls who are on the receiving end...well, we don't usually ever see them again.
(AKI) - Sixteen intellectuals from Azerbaijan were arrested in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Wednesday night as they met to celebrate Ramadan at the end of the day.
Among them were journalists, poets and writers, including Ali Reza Sarrafi, editor of the weekly Dilmaj, which was withdrawn from publication after a court order several months ago.
After their arrest, all members of the group were transferred to Evin prison.
In Brussels on Wednesday, 100 Iranian Azerbaijanis protested outside the European Commission against the arrest, detention and heavy sentences given to members of ethnic minorities in Iran and calling for intervention by public institutions.
"The arrests last night in Tehran send a direct warning to European institutions, in order to convince them non to intervene in defending the rights of ethnic minorities in the Islamic republic," said a spokesman for Iranian Azerbaijanis in exile.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
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Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said in a recent interview that as long as Israel exists, there will be no peace in the Middle East. "The region will not see the light of peace or any stability because of Israel's aggressiveness and militant nature," Nasrallah said.
Despite hiding out in a bunker since 2006's Second Lebanon War, Nasrallah recently spoke to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting radio station, Army Radio reported. The Hezbollah leader went on to say that his Lebanon-based guerilla group is stronger than ever and is prepared for its next confrontation with Israel. "Any Israeli attack on Lebanon, Iran, Syria or Gaza will be met with a fierce response," Nasrallah said.
He added that Hezbollah has grown logistically and militarily stronger, claiming that all of Lebanon has united against a common enemy - Israel.
One subject Nasrallah did not broach in the interview is the assassination last February of the group's second-in-command, Imad Mughniyeh. Nasrallah did not discuss how or when his group would avenge the killing. Recent Israeli intelligence reports, however, have suggested that Hezbollah is planning to abduct Israelis abroad as revenge for Mughniyeh's assassination.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
Nasrallah: "No peace in Middle East as long as Israel exists"
And a hearty Fuck You! You Fat ASS Shit Bucket!
_____________________________________________ 9/11
Heaped haphazardly into twin cardboard boxes, the hundreds of audiocassette tapes looked more like a baby boomer's teenage detritus than a historical link to Osama bin Laden. Flagg Miller knew their value. The tapes were the UC Davis Arabic scholar's portal into the early years of the Al Qaeda leader behind the Sept. 11 attacks who became the world's most wanted terrorist.
On the seventh anniversary of 9/11, Miller has pulled back the curtain on the more than 1,500 tapes retrieved after Bin Laden fled U.S. troops advancing on his residential compound in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. They feature Bin Laden talking off the cuff at weddings, delivering cajoling recruitment pitches, extolling true believers and dishing up poetry. Taken together, Miller says, the tapes show the evolution of history's most infamous terrorist -- his metamorphosis from the black sheep of a wealthy Saudi family to a "freedom fighter" during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s to his exile in Sudan and ultimately to becoming the leader of Al Qaeda. Miller calls it the most complete audio library of Bin Laden's past. Compared to the stiff, taped pronouncements the terrorist leader delivers these days from hiding, "it is all far less formal and official -- and in that way is very valuable," said Miller, an assistant religious studies professor.
But these tapes took a slow and somewhat miraculous route to Miller's hands. After Bin Laden fled his walled Kandahar compound in December 2001, locals looted the residence. When they were done, all that was left were a few boxes brimming with audio and video tapes. In the weeks that followed, CNN procured the tapes and aired the videos. But the cable network turned over the hundreds of audiocassettes to U.S. intelligence agents. Then, after the FBI determined them free of "any smoking guns" that would indicate future security threats, the tapes found their way to the Williams Afghan Media Project at Williams College in Massachusetts. Experts there called in Miller.
He flew east, bleary from insomnia born of scholarly anticipation. In a spare room on campus, he opened the shipping boxes to lay eyes on the tapes, still bearing the dust of Afghanistan. Many were battered, in need of repair. He gently laid them out on tables, sorting and cataloging. In the coming days, the lanky academician would fold himself into a chair for hours, hungry to listen and transcribe. "It was daunting," he recalled. And it would go on, in session after session, for another five years.
The collection included tapes from more than 200 speakers from a dozen countries. A few of them dated as far back as the late 1960s. Identified on the labels, the speakers included Islamic scholars and some of the men who would become Al Qaeda's operational leaders. Miller waded through sermons, political speeches, lectures, telephone conversations, radio broadcasts, Islamic anthems, even recordings of live battles. Bin Laden, in fact, is featured on just 20 of the tapes, a dozen of them never before published in any language. Miller said they offer unprecedented insight into the wrangling going on among Bin Laden's allies and critics in the five years before 9/11. They also show his development from a relatively unpolished Muslim orator and jihad recruiter to a leader.
The earliest Bin Laden recordings are from the late 1980s, when he was fresh from battling the Soviets in Afghanistan. In sometimes gory detail, he recounted the battlefield death of a close comrade, but noted how at peace the man seemed near the end and how such bravery can be a lesson. In each recording, "he remains very even-keeled, very measured," Miller said. "But he's a militant above all. This is what comes across. And he's a very good recruiter."
Even a poet. Bin Laden's poems are "embedded" into his speeches at times, offering sometimes macabre insights into battle and death, Miller said: "He coaches his audiences through their fears about dying in a violent way. He coaches them to consider such an end as noble and potentially beneficial to a larger purpose."
Miller's first research paper from the tapes will appear in the October issue of the journal Language & Communication. The tapes, meanwhile, have been moved to Yale University, where they are being cleaned and digitally rerecorded, a process that will take several years to complete.
#1
It was previously known that Obama tapes circulated in Saudi Arabia as early as 1980. In the years that followed he sent tapes from Pakistan and during his visits to Saudi Arabia was taped giving lectures at mosques and in informal meetings. According to Saudis the number of tapes increased in 1988, at a time when Bin Laden was considering the creation of his own charity, the Lanat al-Birr (Benevolence). It has been argued by some (including yours truly) that there were enough tapes outstanding to create new tapes from thin air in the post 9/11 period. Meanwhile, the CIA was loathe to share information with analysts and historians regarding the existance of an OBL tape and audio library it might have created. For those who have argued that OBL is dead (including yours truly) these "abandoned" tapes just might eventually help prove the point. It is a shame that they have not been copied and placed on the web.
(AKI) - Penetrating Al-Qaeda is the key challenge for American and other western intelligence services, according to author and commentator Abdel Bari Atwan. Atwan is the Palestinian-born editor of London-based daily al-Quds al-Arabi and author of a successful book on the terror network.
"The United States is well prepared against an Al-Qaeda attack in terms of security at airports and other sensitive sites," Atwan told Adnkronos International (AKI). "But intelligence remains a real problem - penetrating Al-Qaeda is extremely difficult, because of geography, loyalty and ideology," Atwan stated.
No, reeeeeally? I would never have thought of that without expert advice ...
Al-Qaeda has returned to its origins in Afghanistan, and since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 its leadership enjoys greater freedom of movement, he noted.
Like the Italian Mafia, Al-Qaeda relies on "one-to-one communication", conversations and verbal and handwritten messages, which make it difficult for intelligence services to eavesdrop, Atwan said. "Al-Qaeda's field commanders are under the direct supervision of its leadership. So it could go back to outside attacks," said Atwan. "It is now more capable of carrying out similar attacks (to the 9/11 attacks on US cities), but with different means.
"Dirty bombs, chemical or biological weapons - these are easier than hijacking aeroplanes," he said.
Atwan said since Al-Qaeda returned to its "safe haven" in Afghanistan, it has enjoyed support from local tribes and from the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban. "Before 9/11 most Taliban were against Al-Qaeda and wanted to surrender Osama Bin Laden to the US, because they wanted to keep control of Afghanistan and gain international recognition."
Only the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, and those close to him objected to handing over Bin Laden and pressured him not to use Afghanistan as a springboard for his attacks, Atwan stated. "Now there is a common enemy - the US and its allies," he said. "Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Omar are still on the run: the US has never managed to capture them. It has had recent successes against the second tier of leadership but the first tier is still at large," Atwan stated.
He said Afghanistan, which is surrounded by seven countries, is "the belly-button of Asia".
Besides freedom of movement, the country's geographical position gives Al-Qaeda's leadership access to the outside world, and allows it to bring in new recruits to be trained and indoctrinated, Atwan pointed out. "This gives the new recruits experience of warfare, of making chemical and other types of bombs, including car bombs," Atwan said.
Before Al-Qaeda's 9/11 attacks on the United States, suicide bomb attacks were unheard of in Afghanistan. Now, the terror network is importing lethal suicide bombings from Iraq, where over 900 have been carried out, he claimed. "This makes it very dangerous. There have been many suicide attacks, both by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, coordinated between the two groups," he said.
Pakistan's new President, Asif Ali Zardari, is "too weak" to have a major role in the the US-led fight against militants believed to be hiding out in the region bordering Afghanistan. "I predict the army will turn against him. He is in danger, and in the end, the army will take over the country," Atwan concluded.
Atwan is the author of The Secret History of Al-Qaeda, which has been translated into 15 languages. He also interviewed Bin Laden in November 1996.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Freedom of movement? On a donkey maybe. This guy is giving them way too much credit. They hide in a cave, that's how they have stayed alive. Not really that inspiring of a tale to be honest.
Seven years after the attacks on the United States on September 11 that left nearly 3,000 dead many people do not believe that al-Qaeda was responsible or do not know who to blame, according to a survey released Wednesday. This crap passes for thought in Arab countries. I find it insulting, especially on September 11th. But that's the whole idea, natch.
The global public opinion survey found that majorities in eight out of the 17 nations polled did not believe al-Qaeda was behind the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.
Nor was there any consensus on another possible perpetrator, although significant minorities in many countries blamed the U.S. government itself, and in a few Israel. In the Arab and Muslim countries polled majorities attributed the attacks to the U.S. government, Israel, or simply had no answer.
43 percent of Egyptians and 31 percent of Jordanians blame Israel.
Jordan and Israel had the smallest percentage of people who believed al-Qaeda was "behind the 9/11 attacks" as the question was phrased, with 43 percent of Egyptians and 31 percent of Jordanians blaming Israel.
Kenya and Nigeria, the only African countries surveyed, expressed the greatest belief, 77 and 71 percent respectively, that Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization was behind the attacks. "The level of confidence that people have in the U.S. is an indicator of how acceptable they are to American narrative, the way of framing it," Steven Kull, director of WorldOpinion.org, told AlArabiya.net. He found the strongest correlation between feelings toward the U.S and belief that al-Qaeda perpetrated the attacks, and therefore that belief is highest in countries friendlier towards the U.S. "But it is striking that even among our allies it was not overwhelming," said Kull.
Kull noted that in the Middle East, where he has done focus groups with Muslim groups, people have difficulty accepting the idea that an ostensibly Islamic group could carry out such violence. "It's very hard for people in Muslim countries to accept the idea that a Muslim could do such a thing, the strongest factor is that killing civilians is contrary to islam -- that's the key factor," he said.
Yet on average one in four people do not know who to hold responsible for the attacks. An average of 46 percent cited al-Qaeda, 15 percent the U.S. government, with the Israeli government or some other perpetrator tied at seven percent.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Isn't Bin Laden boasting about the attack on video enough to convince ANYBODY?
Not being able to see this is some sort of mental illness I think.
#5
It's all CIA-CGI just like Toy Story. So is "Osama" and his so-called video claiming responsbility. Folks this is where our FIAT money is going, to fund anti Islamic propaganda for the Bilderburgers and the CFR who forced thru the Federal Reserve (privately owned by Martians) System and inflicted Wonder Bread and the Milwaukee Brewers up America.
#6
"It's very hard for people in Muslim countries to accept the idea that a Muslim could do such a thing, the strongest factor is that killing civilians is contrary to islam -- that's the key factor," he said.
Yeah, really. We see so much evidence of that. Every day.
#7
This really shows how far Al Queda has fallen that nobody, not even Muslims believe they could have pulled it off. Only the US government (got people on the moon) or Mossad (can control lightening and dreams) could possibly have pulled this off.
It's sad but this is probably a good thing for Muslims to believe.
#8
the strongest factor is that killing civilians is contrary to Islam
ROTFLMAO!
Oh, wait. You mean he was serious?
I guess blowing up a group of civilians in a crowded plaza in the middle of Baghdad, ramming planes full of civilians into buildings in the middle of Manhattan, driving a gasoline tanker into a synagogue in Morocco, shooting down a civilian aircraft in Kenya, blowing up an embassy in Kenya, blowing up a civilian aircraft over Scotland, and a thousand other examples don't count, huh?
This statement should have been "the strongest factor is that the killing of civilians is one of the strongest and most fundamental concepts of Islam"
#9
Sadly it's not just muslim countries. My son told me about his history class yesterday in high school where the teacher was discussing 9/11. When he asked who caused 9/11 a sizeable majority of the students said it was our own government (read: that eeevil Bush) who either did it directly or deliberately allowed it to happen.* Kudos to his teacher who has a policy of allowing debate, but insists that any opinion must be backed up by facts. My son said his piece, complete with supporting facts, but wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry.
* Granted these are students in deep-blue Mass., but such widespread pervasive idiocy doesn't bode well for our republic.
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.
(AKI) - The Taliban are trying to induce American forces to kill civilians, including women and children, in Afghanistan, a senior US government official said on Thursday.
(AKI) - The top United Nations relief official has voiced deep concern about reports of fresh violence in the north of the war-torn Darfur region of western Sudan amid further attacks on aid workers by armed groups. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes called for all sides in the Darfur conflict, which has pitted rebels against government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen since 2003, to cease hostilities immediately and engage in meaningful talks towards a lasting settlement. 
Libya did not get nuclear warhead documents from China but from Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan's supplier network, Washington Times reported on Thursday, quoting a United States State Department official on condition of anonymity.
The discharge of a jury who convicted a Muslim man of writing a terrorist manual but failed to reach a verdict on a second terrorism charge has urged Australia's Muslim leaders to call for a review of anti-terrorism laws.
(AKI) - Osama Bin Laden is still alive but Al-Qaeda has lost the capacity to organise large-scale attacks, according to Italy's leading anti-terrorism expert, Stefano Dambruoso.
The Pakistani Army has been given orders to retaliate against any unilateral strike by the Afghanistan-based US troops inside the country. Army Spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas confirmed the orders in a brief interview with Geo News on late Thursday night.
Islmabad President Asif Zardaris hint at some good news about Kashmir has triggered speculations in diplomatic and political circles here about the nature of the upcoming initiative between Pakistan and India. In his maiden news conference after being sworn in President of Pakistan on Tuesday Zardari referred to back-channel dialogue between the two countries and promised some good news before the term of the ruling Congress Party in India expires (in May 2009). He said he has talked to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif and also taken into confidence other mainstream leaders on the issue.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said in a recent interview that as long as Israel exists, there will be no peace in the Middle East. "The region will not see the light of peace or any stability because of Israel's aggressiveness and militant nature," Nasrallah said. 
Heaped haphazardly into twin cardboard boxes, the hundreds of audiocassette tapes looked more like a baby boomer's teenage detritus than a historical link to Osama bin Laden. Flagg Miller knew their value. The tapes were the UC Davis Arabic scholar's portal into the early years of the Al Qaeda leader behind the Sept. 11 attacks who became the world's most wanted terrorist.
