(I hear those German lefty chicks can suck-start a MiG-29)
KARLSRUHE, Germany -- Germany has been very good to Spec. André L. Shepherd since he deserted the U.S. Army. The 31-year-old former mechanic of the 601st Aviation Support Battalion is enjoying perks that eluded him back home in Ohio: a bed, a bank account, a cellphone and friends.
Best of all from his standpoint, he isn't back in Iraq. "I'm having the time of my life," says Mr. Shepherd, the only American bunking at a refugee-processing center in southern Germany.
The U.S. deserter enters uncharted legal territory on Wednesday, when Germany begins weighing his request for political asylum. The case will put to the test a 2004 European Union directive requiring member countries to grant asylum to soldiers protesting unlawful wars.
He walked away from the military for his convictions. Now, U.S. Army deserter Andre Shepherd seeks political asylum in Germany. WSJ's Mike Esterl reports.
Mr. Shepherd could wind up in a U.S. jail if his application is rejected, but a favorable ruling could open a new escape hatch for Americans stationed in Germany who want to avoid combat duty in Iraq. About 38,000 American soldiers are stationed in Germany, a key logistical hub for the U.S. Army.
Mr. Shepherd has no shortage of supporters. Punk rockers gave him shelter after he decamped from a military base near Nuremberg in 2007 and went into hiding. Dozens of peace organizations have championed his cause since he turned himself in to German authorities late last year and applied for asylum. "He's our poster boy," says Tim Huber of the Military Counseling Network, part of the German Mennonite Peace Committee, a nongovernmental organization helping finance Mr. Shepherd's legal campaign.
The U.S. Army says 71 soldiers deserted from its European bases last year, a mere sliver of the roughly 3,500 soldiers who deserted world-wide over the past year. It says it doesn't actively pursue most deserters, who make up less than 1% of the enlisted force in any given year.
A spokesman for the U.S. Army in Europe said the military is aware of the asylum case but that it is "completely in German hands." If Mr. Shepherd is returned to U.S. custody, though, he could face up to five years in prison under military laws.
Mr. Shepherd was raised in a tough Cleveland neighborhood before moving as a teenager to the suburb of Lakewood. He eventually studied computer science at Kent State University but says he left without a degree in 2000 after running out of money. He worked several low-paying jobs and says he lived in a 1994 Dodge Intrepid for several months in 2001 because he couldn't afford rent.
Mr. Shepherd was again living in a car -- a 1995 Pontiac Grand Am -- in December 2003 when he walked into an Army recruitment center in Lakewood and signed up. The new recruit was deployed to Camp Speicher in northern Iraq in September 2004, where he helped repair Apache helicopters. He didn't see action but had some contact with Iraqis who worked on the base. "None of them looked like they were happy to see their liberators," he says. Didn't cross his mind that they might be racist toward blacks, as many Arabs are.
#1
The sad truth is that instead of the rest of the Americas, for decades now, the place to run for criminals of all types has been Europe. However, Americans that do this had better bring money, as the Europeans are stingy with work permits.
Most of those who run to Europe have warrants out for them for serious drug felonies, but it goes all the way up to Mark Rich.
As far as the US military is concerned, they are probably glad that they will no longer have to pay for this guy in any way, if the Euros accept him. Had he been smart, he would have faked a disability. Anti-American anarchists don't have much of a pension plan.
The Euros will let him live there, just no citizenship, and no money. Have a nice day.
#2
Mr. Shepherd could not find a halfway decent job despite some years of training as a programmer? Back in 2003 even many the McDonald's restaurants couldn't find enough staff at $7-9/hour, and I'm sure many managers would have been happy to let him park his home in the back of the lot in exchange for 60 hours/week of work.
Let Germany have him, if they really want to decrease the quality of their genetic pool.
#3
He walked away from the military for his convictions.
What convictions are those? Can't be he didn't wanna kill anybody because it says he saw no action. Maybe he's averse to...work?
Let him leech off of the German anti war movement until his application for asylum gets bounced. Then he can get sent back here and learn about a new "conviction"...
#6
he didn't have any convictions about killing anyone he was repairing apaches. And he had a some college too his credit anfd still couldn't find a job?
he's full of shit they should really go after him since he wants too do news interviews and put his ass in jail then ship him back too germany after stripping his citizenship
#7
Methinks there oughta be serious consequences for Germany if they pull this s**t (i.e. grant him "asylum"). It's already taking the already incredibly rich level of Euro arrogance and idiocy to new levels - the pathetic, do-nothing beneficiaries of US courage and commitment sitting in proxy judgement of their benefactors' continued sacrifices for sanity and civilization.
Germans oughta take some of that vaunted national shame complex and apply some of it to their current, inexcusable, contemptible behavior and attitudes. The Morgenthau Plan looks better all the time .....
#9
Nah. They don't want to keep the clown around to deal with him or have to bother upkeep at USDB at Fort Leavenworth. Court martial yes [cause it's a federal felony conviction], bad paper to kill any VA bennies yes, and then the road. Now try getting a 'good' job in the next decade with bad paper.
#10
If shipped stateside, IMHO on top of his dishonorable, it might not be that surprising to see him locked up (to set example) and then let out early for good behavior after only serving a fraction of his total time.
in sentencing him, the length of his incarceration (anywhere from overnight pre-trial confinement up to five years) to some degree will depend on whether he gets charged with just dessertion, or dessertion plus awol, and maybe even missed movement.
what charges stick will really depend on the judge and panel. the judge will take into consideration factors like how many days and months he remains gone, and his outrageous contempt shown by involving the media. all this will play into it.
he, being so vocal about his dessertion, would be a poster boy to make an example out of. If they go that route, officials can give him a stiff prison sentence with media coverage in the Army times as the cherry on top, and as a deterrant.
What is for certain (if germany doesnt keep him) is he will get bad paper as you say. ofcourse this is all assuming he isnt granted the asylum he sought.
#11
If Germany grants his asylum request, we should immediately restrict all military personnel in Germany to US bases. (Yeah, I know some people live off base. You do what you can.) This will have a noticeable input on the local German economy.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/29/2009 17:38 Comments ||
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Somali lawmakers have voted to extend by two years the term of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) which was due to expire in August.
The TFG was formed in Kenya in 2004 in a bid to restore stability in war-torn Somalia. It has however been unable to exert authority across the country.
"We wanted the term of the TFG to be extended until August 2011 so that we can facilitate free and fair elections. We cannot continue with this huge parliament for more than two years," Parliament Speaker Aden Mohamed Nur said.
The lawmakers are currently meeting in Djibouti, due to insecurity in Somalia, to elect a new president to replace Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed who resigned last month.
Clan bickering and violence have scuppered numerous efforts to restore normalcy in Somalia. The Horn of African state has not had a functioning national government since the 1991 ouster of former president Mohamed Siad Barre.
In recent years, ensuing instability, coupled with drought, high food prices as well as the collapse of the local currency have significantly worsened the dire humanitarian situation in Somalia.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- The Somali presidential election may be held this week and the proposed constitutional amendment to extend the one-month deadline is foregone after pressure from the international community, officials from the Somali transitional government and a major opposition faction who are now attending the on-going talks in Djibouti, said on Tuesday.
Diplomats from African and western countries at the power-sharing talks in Djibouti has insisted that the Somali presidential election be held within the timeframe set in the Somali Transitional Federal Charter, Mohamed Omar Dalha, deputy speaker of Somali parliament told local Shabelle radio in Mogadishu by phone from Djibouti.
The thirty-day deadline for the election of a president expires on Wednesday as former president Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed stepped down on Dec. 29.
The Somali Transitional Federal Government and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) agreed last October on the outline of enlarging Somalia's Transitional Federal Parliament and forming Government of National Unity.
On Monday, the Somali lawmakers approved the expansion of the parliament to include members of the opposition faction, the ARS, who will be sworn in on Tuesday.
The enlarged parliament is expected to chose a speaker and a president for Somalia in time for the African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Abba early in February, Abdurrahman Abdishakur Warsame, a senior member of ARS told the local Horn Afrik radio.
"We are expected to swear in the newly elected president for Somalia next Saturday and then the president could get down to work to save the country as soon as possible," said Warsame, one of the newly nominated opposition MPs.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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Japan has ordered its navy to prepare for a mission to guard against pirates off the coast of Somalia and plans to draw up legislation in the next two months to clear the way for its warships legally to combat modern-day buccaneers.
Tokyo's belated decision to join the more than a dozen nations that have already deployed naval vessels to the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean highlights the sensitivity surrounding the use of military forces by a nation that has been officially pacifist since its defeat in the second world war.
The decision follows months of debate. Many politicians in the ruling Liberal Democratic party have long sought to allow a wider role for the military - officially known as its self-defence forces since the postwar constitution renounced the maintenance of an army, air force or navy - as part of a drive to make the nation a "normal country".
However, Tokyo has struggled to navigate the legal waters surrounding despatch of maritime self-defence force vessels, even though a mission against the marauders who have attacked scores of vessels off Somalia over the past year is relatively uncontroversial. The government has concluded that under current legislation, MSDF warships can only act in the defence of Japanese vessels or those carrying Japanese nationals or cargo.
Officials say that navies are legally free to take on high seas pirates at any time, but the MSDF does not have the status of a navy and any action must have a separate legal basis.
In spite of such problems, Yasukazu Hamada, defence minister, yesterday ordered the MSDF to begin preparations for a mission to the waters near Somalia, saying the threat posed by pirates there required "urgent action".
Taro Aso, the prime minister, would also prepare legislation for the Diet by March that would allow the MSDF to protect the ships of other nations from pirate attacks, a spokesman for Mr Aso said yesterday.
It is unclear how quickly any new law might be passed by the Diet. The parliament's less powerful upper house is dominated by the opposition Democratic party, which has delayed a number of government bills in recent months.
Tokyo had accelerated efforts to establish a legal basis for the mission after China last month sent three naval vessels to waters off Somalia last month, the first such mission by the People's Liberation Army navy.
Beijing's relatively prompt action has accentuated fears among Tokyo officials and policymakers that Japan risks being eclipsed by China's growing international influence.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
as long as they actually are there to 'fight' and not just 'have a presence' in the area.
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
01/29/2009 0:33 Comments ||
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#6
Meanwhile, back in NOKOR, TOPIX > VARIOUS - NORTH KOREA DECLARES ALL ACCORDS AND TREATIES WITH SOUTH KOREA AS "DEAD" - WARNS THAT SOUTH KOREA IS PUSHING TO THE BRINK OF WAR!?; + NORTH KOREA DEMANDS A NEW SEA BORDER WITH SOUTH KOREA [Land-Sea DMZ = Borders now NULL + VOID] + REPORT: US FACING WAR, ECONOMIC CATASTROPHE WITH NORTH KOREAN COLLAPSE.
Perhaps GODZILLA + SCALEY BOYZ [monsters] should turn back from the GULF OF ADEN???
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said her government would not hesitate to take the stringent measures to curb militancy in the country. "I have already directed all ministries and the authorities concerned to find out the militants' patrons, financers and sources of illegal arms and ammunitions to root out militancy," Hasina, also the leader of the House, said in her first question-answer session in the ninth parliament.
It was the previous Awami League government that introduced the prime minister's question-answer session in the seventh parliament amending the rules of procedure.
Terming militancy a major problem in the country, the premier said she has already asked the authorities concerned to take necessary steps to form 'South Asian Anti-terrorism Taskforce' in line with her party's election manifesto for curbing cross-border terrorism. It will help track down militants and bring them to justice. It will also strengthen cooperation between the police forces and courts of the South Asian nations.
The lawmakers of the ruling AL-led alliance welcomed the premier's replies thumping desks amid boycott by the BNP-led opposition lawmakers who walked out of the House before the proceedings began.
Replying to a query from a lawmaker, the prime minister said she would not hesitate to take actions against any bank or other institutions involved in funding militants. In a written answer to a query on steps for curbing militancy, Hasina said she has already directed the authorities of religious educational institutions to keep their institutions free from extremism and also asked the intelligence agencies to remain alert against militants.
"Whenever action is taken against militants, it is described as an attack on Islam. But it is not right. The militants have no religion and operate beyond boundaries," she said. "Tough actions must be taken against militants as they act against humanity and religion," Hasina said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Thought prez zero said the war on terror was over...
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
01/29/2009 0:48 Comments ||
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#2
Look at their sponsors ie Pak ISI and Saudi funds!!!
#3
Here's a clue, PM: it ain't the Jews, or the Lutherans, Catholics, or Buddhists that are causing the problems. I can't rule out the Episcopalians or Hindus, but the primary culprit seems to be the "Religion we cannot name". Good luck with your fight. Religious fatwa against you in 5, 4, 3...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/29/2009 11:20 Comments ||
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A Spanish judge on Thursday launched a probe of seven current or former Israeli officials over a 2002 bombing in Gaza that killed a Hamas terrorist and 14 other people, including nine children.
The people named in the suit include Dan Halutz, who commanded Israel's air force at the time, and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, then defense minister and currently national infrastructures minister.
Judge Fernando Andreu said the attack against Salah Shehadeh in a densely populated civilian area might constitute a crime against humanity.
The judge was acting under a doctrine that allows prosecution in Spain of such an offense or crimes like terrorism or genocide even if they are alleged to have been committed in another country.
Will they apply that retroactively to the Socialists and Communists who killed so many in their Civil War? To the Spaniards who wiped out the Aztecs, Incans and Mayans? How about to all the slaves they brought to Central and South America?
No?
Andreu announced the probe in a writ issued Thursday.
#4
Rough translation of JFM's linked article, with a little help from the dictionary:
Fernando Andreu stated this decision in a writ concerning an accusation by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, namely a one-ton bomb dropped by an Israeli fighter plane on the home of Salah Shehade, a Hamas Terrorist, in the Daraj neighborhood.
The Judge also (called?) on a Palestinian board of inquirey to take the depositions of witnesses of this attack; and also sent a writ to the Israeli Government to notify the accused, even though court records show that they had already asked an Israeli board of inquiry if they had investigated. (The Spanish court did not) receive a response. "In such a concrete case," Andreu indicated in his writ, "we find a directed armed attack following (other matters related to the dispute?) to end the life of a person presumably connected with a terrorist organization, known as Hamas."
(The next paragraph lists the Israeli officials indicted).
I couldn't piece out the comments very well, but one of them was something like, "These courts are part of the problem, not the solution."
Turkey's prime minister had a message Thursday for US President Barack Obama: redefine terror and terrorism in the Middle East and use it as the basis for a new American policy.
i.e., Hamas = not terrorist; Hezbollah = not terrorist; IDF defending itself = terrorist
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country which is held up as a model of moderation
has played a key role in trying to mediate among Israel and Syria and the Palestinians, said Obama's new Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, will be in Turkey for talks Sunday.
"President Obama must redefine terror and terrorist organizations in the Middle East, and based on this new definition, a new American policy must be deployed in the Middle East," Erdogan told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
#1
Whenever the Arabs used to cut up rough under the rule of the Turks, the Turks would invade the troublesome Arab area and indiscriminately slaughter a few thousand of 'em. This worked and soothed the Arabs for while.
So would this be a new definition of terrorism, or would it be what the Arabs were doing?
#3
He's already on it! The term GWOT is no longer used by the administration. I'm sure there's more to follow; Mooslim sensitivity training, Mooslim presidential advisor, Mooslim Congressional Caucus, mandetory arab language training in schools, etc.
This is the sinister face of Osama bin Laden's German Al-Qaeda terrorist -- who is threatening to launch bomb attacks in Germany.
Bekkay Harrach (31), dubbed the 'Bonn Bomber', is considered a specialist in remote-controlled bombs, and made his alarming threats in an intenet terror video. With his face covered in a black turban and with his index finger raised, "Abu Talha the German" promises in the video to launch an attack in Germany before this year's Bundestag elections. Speaking in perfect German, the terrorist sent a chilling message: "Our atom bomb is the car bomb."
The Al-Qaeda video was intended to spread fear around the world, and the German BKA federal police agency has talked about a "new quality". Now BILD can tear away the veil from German-Moroccan Bekkay Harrach.
He looks like a slight young man with brown eyes, full lips and prominent ears. The picture was taken when he was about 20, when he went to a night school in Bonn. From 2002-2004, he studied laser technology and business mathematics in Koblenz. He was already noticeable then to the authorities, who were aware of his radical Islamist views.
In 2007, Harrach travelled to the tribal area on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. After secret training, he rose to become Al-Qaeda's chief planner of attacks abroad. Harrach, a Morrocan who became a nationalised German in 1997, is now at the top of American most wanted lists.
They believe that he and his German wife Elisabeth (29), a convert to Islam, and their son Hamsa (2) are hiding in the inaccessible mountains in the lawless Pakistani region of Waziristan. But Osama bin Laden's friend is threatened with the same fate which met a former Al-Qaaeda planning boss, Abu Ubaida -- the Egyptian was killed a year ago by a rocket fired from an unmanned US drone.
The biggest fear held by German security forces is that Harrach could secretly return to Germany in order to bring his attack plans to fruition. In the 30-minute terror video, he brandishes a bazooka and waves it around, demanding the withdrawal of German soldiers from Afghanistan. The BKA warned in an internal document: "The possibility of suicide attacks must also be taken into account."
Russia has dropped plans to install missiles near Poland after the Obama administration signalled a change in US attitude to the region, a Moscow military official has reportedly said.
Obama got rolled. Over the next few months that will be as common as 'dog bites man'.
'Rolled' suggests he doesn't understand or accept the consequences. I'm not sure I believe that.
I'm not completely sure either, but he is rather clueless about a lot of stuff ...
The official suggested that Mr Obama's White House had made clear it would not prioritise executing the Bush administration's plan to install a missile defence shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Thus undercutting the Poles and Czechs who stuck their necks out for us. And sending a signal to any other country around the world that trusted the word of the U.S. prior to January 20th. This takes us back to the old Carter days when we actively undercut countries that formerly had been our allies, all to gain the approval of the Euro-left.
An unnamed official in the Russian military's general staff said: "The implementation of these plans has been halted in connection with the fact that the new US administration is not rushing through plans to deploy" elements of its missile defence shield in eastern Europe, according to the Interfax news agency.
'Not rushing' in this case is a prelude to deleting the funding for the project in next year's defense budget.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister, had warned that the US shield - which the Bush White House said was necessary to defend against potential attacks from the Middle East - would be interpreted by Moscow as a direct provocation.
Carrying water for the Iranians, since he knows the missiles aren't aimed at him. The only other explanation is that the Russian offensive missile capacity isn't nearly as good as the West thinks: that while we think they could overwhelm our defensive shield with sheer numbers, perhaps -- after the incompetence, lack of maintenance, and lack of upgrades -- they really can't.
Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian President, announced in November that in response, Moscow would place short-range Iskander missiles in the western enclave of Kaliningrad.
Which used to be called 'Prussia'. The Iskanders are offensive and clearly would threaten NATO. And Obama is going to cave.
Washington had previously obtained agreements with Poland and the Czech Republic for the installation of the shield, which it said would plug a gap in its global missile defence system.
More importantly, it would shield eastern and central Europe from whatever long-range missiles Iran could produce in the next couple of decades. Obama is making clear, with this act and with his letter to Iran, that he simply doesn't consider them to be a threat. And that isn't what he said in the campaign.
It said the shield was necessary to guard against long-range missiles that Iran was working to develop. The proposed system had received Nato-wide backing.
Because the Euros understood the threat and they also understood that Uncle Sam had the only counter. Now that's going to go away. The only defense the Euros will have against an Iranian threat of a long-range, nuclear-tipped missile will be 'talk'. And we already know how well that works.
Plans for the system were accelerated after the conflict between Russia and Georgia last year.
Because we saw the need to make clear to Putin that his actions had consequences. Now Putin will be emboldened to try more stunts.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
another dark day for eastern europe... can the iron curtain II be far behind?
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
01/29/2009 0:50 Comments ||
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#2
The Russkies only have nukes to rely upon. I suspect that the Poles could make any conventional military act by Moscow give the Georgian adventure the appearance of a parade through Red Square. This time they don't have to worry about the [once effective military] Germans invading from the west at the same time.
#3
While it sucks to leave the Poles and Czechs out on a limb, I never understood why we wanted to defend the EUroweenies in the first place. If they want to be defended, then they should do it themselves. If they don't care about being defended, that's their problem. It's high time we stopped paying to help people who despise us.
#6
Not surprising - when B.O. was getting taken to the woodshed by McCain during the debates about East Europe background and policy B.O. rambled a bit then started talking about houses in California (McCain fell for that one hard) effectively changing the subject (moderator didn't get back on task either).
I believe Europe is full of good people and bad government - a government which acts like a spoiled rich kid hooked on drugs. Talks about how cool he is, how everything is bad except peace man, then goes and withdraws a bunch of money from his inhieratence to buy more smack. Takes his friends over to the parents and doesn't care when they break and steal things. Then suddenly, one day, he's broke homeless and hooked.
Don't know about Iron Curtain or Fortress Europe II, but Russia is putting itself in a position to force its will, ie make Europe till the earth for them and fill the coffers of Moscow, and the only peoples of Europe who seem interested in physically fighting are these East Europe countries - because they have been there and don't want to go back.
And this isn't even saber rattling - President Obama is getting spooked by a guy across the street shaking a can full of pebbles.
#7
Let the European Union protect Europe. While I'm not an Obama supporter I agree with him on this. I thought Bush was make a poor decision pushing this. There was nothing to gain from doing this. I'm tired of the US being the hero for those who do not want help.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
01/29/2009 12:25 Comments ||
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#8
And its just going to get worse, the anti-us sentiment as a generation raised on being weary of the USA begins to mature. Was over at a colleagues house in Liepzig having dinner and his kids came to the table like, "Holy crap, real Americans in my house? Where are their horns and scales?"
The USA has done more than its fair share for Europe. They want an EU, they should have it with all the responsibilities of a nation. That includes its own defense. Perhaps if the euro elites and hollywood protected their own riviera houses they would begin to understand sometimes things are worth fighting for. However, if the plan is to leave do it right; and that is not by flinching like a over caffinated 12 year old.
#9
I always felt that this was another example of Putin's political theater. He never intended to go through with his threat, and Obama's inaugeration just provides him with an excuse to pull back without losing any face.
All of this is for domestic and Euro-lefty consumption. Kind of like Hugo's recurring invasion scares. The difference is that Hugo actually believes his own dementia and Putin does not.
Expect Rusia's beligerency to disappear until the economy (and oil prices) turn up again.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
01/29/2009 15:14 Comments ||
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#10
Most of the US sites being discussed are early warning radar to protect the US from middle east missiles. They are misplaced to defend us from Russian missiles that would go over the North Pole and they are useless for protecting Europe becuase the intercept time is so short.
The Russians have been playing a shell game all along to continue their missile sales and be a pain. Now they can always play that missile car again now that they've pulled it back.
#11
ION RUSSIA, WAFF > WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: RUSSIA [Putin], CHINA [Wen Jiabao] BLAMES CAPITALISTS; + MILYUUUHNS OF CHINESE TO LOSE/FACE JOB LOSSES AFTER END OF NEW TEAR'S CELEBRATIONS [Approxi 20-30%(+) of China's 130Milyuhn PROVINCIAL CHINESE LOOKING FOR DOMESTIC URBAN-CITY WORK], + CCP OFFICIAL: 2009 WILL BE A DANGEROUS YEAR FOR CHINA AND WORLD ECONOMY???
SECURITY for the 2010 Winter Olympics in westernmost Canada is forecast to cost just under one billion dollars Canadian ($1.2 billion), five times more than originally budgeted, media reported today.
The Globe and Mail newspaper, citing unnamed officials, said the estimate for the 17-day event has become a "very sensitive" issue in the midst of a recession and financial troubles to build an athletes village.
The original cost for what has been described as the largest peacetime security operation in Canada's history was $C175 million ($216.7 million) when Vancouver won the right in 2003 to host the games.
More than 12,000 police, private security personnel and Canadian soldiers are to be deployed to keep the games safe from terrorist attack and other disruptions.
#2
Whenever I hear "President Obama" I have an urge to roll around the floor laughing. I get the same feeling from "Prime Minister Kevin Rudd". Both clueless and useless. The magnitude of the disaster the Australian and US voters have inflicted on their countries will become apparent over the next few years. Yep they voted for "change" in both countries.
Posted by: Aussie Mike ||
01/29/2009 16:31 Comments ||
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#3
Why do these nuts only talk about global warming during ice storms or during blizzards?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate confirmed retired Admiral Dennis Blair to be the country's top intelligence official on Wednesday. As director of national intelligence, Blair will oversee all 16 U.S. spy agencies, including the CIA. He will also be responsible for delivering the president's daily intelligence briefing.
During his confirmation hearing last week, Blair, declined to call waterboarding torture. His cautious response reflected a public debate over whether to prosecute CIA employees who used the simulated drowning technique.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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A MILITARY judge at Guantanamo Bay today rejected President Barack Obama's request to suspend the trial of a Saudi accused in the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, the Pentagon said.
"Judge James Pohl denied the motion" put forward by the prosecution at Mr Obama's request to suspend the trial for 120 days, said Defence Department spokesman J.D. Gordon, confirming a report by The Washington Post. The Post said that Judge Pohl had found the government's argument "unpersuasive".
Are we being set up for Bambi's team to throw in the towel and refuse to prosecute anyone? After all, the bad mean judge won't cooperate with them.
The paper said the decision threw into disarray the administration's plan to buy time to review the cases against some 245 prisoners still held in the Guantanamo Bay camp in southern Cuba.
In his first full day in office last week, Mr Obama ordered the closure of the controversial detention centre within a year. But no decision has yet been made on what to do with the detainees still held at Guantanamo, most of them without charge, and many of whom cannot be returned to their home countries for various reasons.
Saudi defendant Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, 43, was due to say whether he pleads guilty or not at a hearing set before the Guantanamo military commission for February 9. Born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, he allegedly conspired to help two Islamic extremists who steered an explosives-laden barge alongside the Cole, which was docked at the port of Aden, Yemen. The attackers then detonated themselves and their load.
Remember the USS Cole? Even if you don't like Iraq and find Afghanistan difficult, the whole Cole incident is easy. Terrorists blew a hole in the ship. We got their helper. He needs to be jugged for life.
Nashiri was arrested in 2002, and held in a secret CIA prison for almost four years before being transferred to the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, southern Cuba. In February, former CIA director general Michael Hayden confirmed that US interrogators had secretly used the waterboard torture technique on Nashiri (and two other detainees) while he was in the spy agency's custody.
Following Judge Pohl's decision, the new administration will now have to decide whether to withdraw the charges against Nashiri or not. He is one of six detainees who could face the death penalty if the charges are proven against him. "It's somewhat of a shock," Stephen Reyes, Nashiri's military defence attorney, told the Post of today's decision.
I'm shocked too, I figured the judge would stay everything until Bambi made the oceans recede ...
On the evening of his January 20 inauguration, Mr Obama's administration asked prosecutors to stay upcoming hearings of Guantanamo detainees for 120 days to allow time for a thorough review of the controversial military commissions. The following day, two military judges, including one trying the cases of five men accused of organising the September 11, 2001 agreed to the request.
Federal judges in the US District Court in Washington are also currently presiding over hundreds of cases brought by Guantanamo detainees challenging their detention, arguing they have the right to know the charges and evidence against them. In June, the Supreme Court granted these so-called "habeas corpus" rights to all detainees held at Guantanamo Bay.
#1
I believe the gauntlet being place is "do I obey the law or do I obey Caesar"? Congress passed the law IAW their authority under Article I, Section 8.
Careful Bambi, its a trap. If you tell them to disregard the law, what's your defense when they do [and not just the laws you pick and choose].
#3
Cutting CAIR off is only a first step. From the article:
Last autumn, FBI field offices began notifying state CAIR chapters that bureau officials could no longer meet with them until CAIR's national leadership in Washington had addressed issues raised by the HLF trial, according to people with knowledge of the notifications.
In one letter obtained by IPT News, James E. Finch, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Oklahoma City field office, canceled a meeting of the local Muslim Community Outreach Program, a state-federal program designed to enlist Muslims in terrorism prevention and investigate reports of civil liberties violations.
"Regrettably, due to circumstances beyond my control, the meeting will be postponed until further notice as a result of the planned participation by the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations," Finch's Oct. 8, 2008 letter to Muslim groups in the Oklahoma outreach program said.
Finch made clear the Oklahoma office valued its relationship with local Muslims. He said the stumbling block to further outreach was CAIR's national leadership.
There is no way that CAIR officials can explain the interweaving of their organization with Hamas that would satisfy the FBI that they are not closely connected to a designated terror group. Now that the FBI is on record, I look forward to seeing what slight CAIR will have to endure next.
#4
This won't last long. The Bureau will be 'nudged' by the new "inclusive" administration to acquiesce to these leeches (and offer sincere apologies for the 'misunderstanding'). As a token gesture of sincerity, a new minaret will be built atop 935 Pennsylvania Avenue in DC.
Then heads will roll............
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
01/29/2009 14:36 Comments ||
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You tell me -
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama was working with Arab intermediaries to establish an unofficial dialogue with Al Qaida long before his election as the 44th U.S. president, according to a report in the upcoming weekly edition of Geostrategy-Direct.com.
Al Qaida has offered what has been described as a truce in exchange for a U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to the report.
Only they didn't use the word, 'truce' ...
Obama has deemed the U.S. reconciliation with the Muslim world, including Iran, as his main foreign policy goal, sources quoted in the report said. The president has been aided by several Persian Gulf Arab Muslims with ties to Al Qaida's leadership in Pakistan, they said.
On his first day in office, Obama ordered the shutdown of the U.S. Navy prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which where 245 suspected Al Qaida members are detained.
Subsequently, in his first television interview as president, with the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya satellite channel on Jan. 26, Obama spoke about his own ties to the Muslim world: "Now, my job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world, that the language we use has to be a language of respect," Obama said. "I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries."
That would be news to many since the MSM didn't bother to tell us about it during the election.
"My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy -- we sometimes make mistakes -- we have not been perfect," Obama said.
That's irrelevant. The issue isn't perfect: the issue is what type of life to lead. Al-Qaeda has chosen war, and they aren't going to be mollified by smooth words.
The two presidential actions have already prompted calls for reconciliation by a range of leading Muslims. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi called on the United States to launch a dialogue with Al Qaida chief Osama Bin Laden while the Al Qaida-aligned Gamiat Islamiya urged an immediate four-month ceasefire.
Only they didn't use the word, 'ceasefire' ...
At this point, according to the report, Al Qaida appears divided over Obama.
"Addressing the Islamic world, Obama said we are in need of a new direction," a statement by Gamiat leaders said. "So he is calling for adopting a new approach that differs to the blocked and irrational path that [former U.S. President George] Bush followed."
The report also says Obama's initiative has been endorsed by much of the U.S. intelligence community.
"The United States has imposed attrition on Al Qaida, disrupting its command, control and communications and isolating it," George Friedman, a leading U.S. strategist and director of Stratfor, said in a Stratfor.com report. "To avoid penetration by hostile intelligence services, Al Qaida has not recruited new cadres for its primary unit. This makes it very difficult to develop intelligence on Al Qaida, but it also makes it impossible for Al Qaida to replace its losses."
That's an endorsement?
Still, Saudi Arabia' royalty fears any reconciliation between Al Qaida and the United States. The sources said Saudi King Abdullah worries that Obama's effort would legitimize Al Qaida and bolster its status in the Gulf Arab kingdom.
If the above report is true he is GUILTY of treason.
18 U.S.C. Section 953
953. Private correspondence with foreign governments
Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply, himself or his agent, to any foreign government or the agents thereof for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.
#5
Months before the Madrid bombings while officially supporting Azanr policy of zero contacts with ETA and political isolation of its supporters, Zapatero was having vontacts with ETA. Then came the Madrid bombings and in addition of handling Al Quaida a major political victory ("see how weak are the Crusaders and how easy it is to make them flee"), he also made major concessions to ETA.
#9
Rantburg warned of this months ago, as it has this recent business with Hamas and Zimbabwe. US State,the Agency, and POTUS HAD to know this was going on. Why did "W" not BUST him and his little ballet dancer when he had the chance?
"One President at a Time." President-elect Barak Obama
#10
For the same reason that he didn't pursue the doubts about Obama's birthplace or his doubious connections: because given MSM-made BUSH's impopularity it would have been presnted as he using dirty tricks to tild the election. And given that Obama was sort-of Black it would have been presented as a trick to keep Blacks down. In other words he had hhis hands tied. All he could do was hope McCain would win. Unfortunalitely McCain did only one thing well in his whole campaign and was laughable for about everything else (eg when he told he would skip the debate and ended assisting).
953. Private correspondence with foreign governments
I have some questions about this?
1) Is Al-Qaida a foreign govt? I dont believe so.
2) Obama was on foreign relations committee, does it matter?
3) Is brokering peace talks as a senator through intermediaries treason?
#14
Obama was on foreign relations committee, does it matter?
Spot on Clineth Gonque1423. Not that Obama actually did anything in that committee but his buddy Senator Feingold has been dancing with the Algerians for years. Its not a huge leap to assume the Arabs read the tea leaves and in traditional fashion played both sides of the fence.
#15
People really should have taken the fact that Obama REFUSED to produce an authentic US birth certificate, REFUSED to produce his recent (and previous) passports, and REFUSED to produce his college records ALOT MORE SERIOUSLY. Instead, via the Saul Alinsky "vision" anyone questioning these things was passed off as a nutjob. Without a doubt the production of those documents would have been quite revealing. Too late now . . . Obama the Traitor is in command.
#16
Ex-lib, and JFM -- you can't argue that Obama isn't an American citizen AND that he's a traitor. If he isn't a American citizen, then by definition he can't have committed treason against America. By calling him a traitor, you're accepting his citizenship.
#17
Very well, Snakes; we call him an imposter, a mole, and a snake in the grass.
Posted by: mom (who is more than usually cranky today) ||
01/29/2009 21:59 Comments ||
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#18
"The United States has imposed attrition on Al Qaida, disrupting its command, control and communications and isolating it," George Friedman, a leading U.S. strategist and director of Stratfor, said in a Stratfor.com report. "To avoid penetration by hostile intelligence services, Al Qaida has not recruited new cadres for its primary unit. This makes it very difficult to develop intelligence on Al Qaida, but it also makes it impossible for Al Qaida to replace its losses."
If Mr. Friedman is correct and we have AQ up against the ropes, why in heaven's name would we now seek a truce? These people are not interested in honest negotiation or compromise. This is only kicking the can down the road. So sad.
The NWFP government has proposed setting up Federal Appellate Shariat Courts in Malakand whose verdict would be considered final, provincial Law Minister Barrister Arshad Abdullah said on Wednesday.
The proposal -- sent to the federal government to be made part of the proposed Shari Nizam-e-Adl Regulation of 2008 -- will end the jurisdiction of the high court and the Supreme Court in the area, and has come on the demand of the defuct Tehreek Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) led by Sufi Muhammad, the minister said.
"The provincial government has proposed the Federal Appellate Court, whose verdict will be final. Let's see the federal government's response to this proposed amendment," the law minister said in a brief talk with reporters after a seminar. The Awami National Party-led provincial government had accepted "almost all the demands" of the TNSM chief, he said. There were "some technical and legal complications" in incorporating Sufi Muhammad's demands which the minister said would also be acceptable to rebel cleric Mullah Fazlullah. But the NWFP government had proposed including them in the Shari Nizam-e-Adl Regulation "for the sake of peace", he said.
Barristar Abdullah said the TNSM chief and the people of Swat wanted the government to repeal the the jurisdiction of the high court and Supreme Court in Swat.
The move would require an amendment to the Tribal Areas Act of 1973 because there is no provision in the constitution to withdraw jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and high courts, the law minister said. The caretaker NWFP government before the February 18 elections had made a similar proposal in which decisions of the Qazi courts could only be challenged in the Federal Shariat Court.
The ANP-led government had initially amended the draft and deleted the withdrawal of Supreme Court and Peshawar High Court jurisdiction from the proposal, saying it would deprive the people of their constitutional rights.
But the NWFP government has been compelled by the TNSM chief not only to withdraw their earlier decision, but also to propose the establishment of a Federal Appellate Court in the Malakand Division whose verdict would be considered final.
After being released from prison as part of an agreement with the government, Sufi Muhammad had announced he would lead a peaceful movement in Dir district demanding the government implement sharia law in the division.
Rebel cleric Fazlullah, the son-in-law of Sufi Muhammad and the leader of the Swat Taliban, had announced support for the proposals Sufi had made. But earlier this week, he summoned politicians and elders of Swat -- including former and current legislators and federal and provincial ministers -- to Taliban courts where he said they would be punished in line with the sharia for opposing the Taliban.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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Waziristan has become a hotbed for militants after the Bajaur operation, and the situation would worsen if suitable action was not taken, a private TV channel quoted Frontier Corps (FC) Inspector General (IG) Major General Tariq Khan as saying on Wednesday. According to the channel, the FC IG said the border areas of Kohat and Peshawar had been evacuated, adding that another 7,000 officials would be recruited in the FC. He said the salaries of FC personnel were less than those of army officials, and "the funds for the operation allowance of the FC officials has not been released so far".
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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India's Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday called on Pakistan to take 'strong action' against those behind the Mumbai attacks, saying no normalcy in bilateral relations could be achieved until Pakistan punished those involved, Al Jazeera reported.
"Every country is responsible to ... ensure that their territory is not misused to cause trouble in the neighbouring countries."
In an interview with the channel, Mukherjee said Pakistan had to fulfil its commitments 'at the highest level' to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice. He said Pakistan had to work on "three major things -- dismantle the infrastructure facilities, take strong action against the perpetrators of terror attacks and look for the fugitives of the Indian law who have committed crime here and have taken shelter there".
"Every country is responsible to ... ensure that their territory is not misused to cause trouble in the neighbouring countries," the Al Jazeera website quoted the Indian minister as saying. He said the possibility of a conflict with Pakistan did not concern India. "The issue is how to tackle the problem of terrorism emanating from Pakistan," he told the channel.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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Pakistani investigators have completed the initial investigation of information regarding the Mumbai attacks, provided by India in a dossier on January 5, and found the attacks were not planned in Pakistan, a private TV channel reported on Wednesday.
The channel quoted its sources as saying that investigators had submitted the initial inquiry report to the Interior Ministry.
According to the report, the Mumbai attacks were planned outside Pakistan, the channel said, without elaborating if the probe had been able to determine where the attacks had been planned.
The Interior Ministry would review the inquiry report in a high-level meeting today (Thursday) and the findings are likely to be publicised on January 31, the channel reported.
Release: Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Pakistan would release the details of the investigation into the Mumbai attacks 'very soon'.
"If there is anything substantive, we will certainly share (it) with the world," he told Reuters in an interview in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, where business and political leaders are attending the four-day World Economic Forum.
"Very soon, whatever the findings, will come to the world," he said, adding that he first hoped for more cooperation from India.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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President Asif Ali Zardari says Pakistan will disclose findings of its investigations into the terror on India's financial hub within days. "A report on the preliminary investigation would be forwarded to India in two to three days," the Dawn newspaper quoted Zardari as saying during a Tuesday dinner with foreign diplomats in Islamabad.
Zardari said Pakistan was 'seriously conducting the probe' and urged the diplomats to play their role in defusing tensions 'for the sake of peace' in the troubled region.
On January 5, India provided Pakistan with data from satellite phones used by the attackers as well as what it describes as the 'confession of a surviving gunman'.
Pakistani Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, however, said the evidence provided by India on the Mumbai attacks constituted 'information' and not legally binding evidence.
Pakistan's Interior Ministry Chief Rehman Malik announced on January 17 that the dossier was being seriously examined and the initial probe would be completed within 10 days, a deadline that has passed.
Malik, however, held a meeting on Tuesday to review the investigation's progress. Following the meeting the deadline was extended by two days.
Washington, New Delhi, and London hold Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan-based militant group responsible for the Mumbai attacks that killed at least 179 people, including the nine militants conducting the assault.
Zardari has rejected the involvement of his government in the attacks saying that 'non-state actors' were involved in the incident.
Pakistan has cracked down on LeT and its charity front, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, arresting several militants leaders and closing down its offices and camps across the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
These self investigations are always so predictible in their results.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
01/29/2009 10:27 Comments ||
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#2
ION PAKISTAN, PAKISTANO DEFENCE FORUMS > PAKISTAN FRETS OVER REDRAWN SOUTH ASIA MAP [US strategic intentions in PAKI = South Asia], + INDIAN TALIBAN MAY HURT BJP.
WAFF > PAKISTAN HAS ONLY SIX DAYS OF PETROL RESERVES LEFT [+ Nine days for FURNACE OIL]: GOVT. OWES RS$30.0BILYUHN [Islamabad hard-pressed? to $$$ pay three major Oil-POL Supply Corporations]???
Pakistan Army has the 'will and resolve' to defeat terrorists, restore peace and establish the writ of the state in violence-hit areas, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani told troops during his visit to Swat on Wednesday.
The visit comes a day after the third phase of Operation Rah-e-Haq against the Fazlullah-led Taliban began on Tuesday.
Gen Kayani also lauded the morale of troops. A statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations directorate said the COAS "took stock of the situation" in Swat during the visit.
Military commanders briefed him on the security situation in Swat and Peshawar Corps Commander Lt Gen Masood Aslam briefed him on operational plans, it said.
Gen Kayani gave fresh directions for the operation. The COAS also met notables of Swat and the civil administration.
A private TV channel said he also met Pashtun leader Afzal Lala and lauded his stance against the Taliban. Lala said political leaders would not be able to stay in Swat if they were not protected. He called for more government and media attention to Swat.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Kayani has visited the restive Swat valley to oversee a military operation against the Taliban militants
During his visit Kayani met with senior officers and soldiers engaged in the military operation on Wednesday.
The army chief was also briefed about the latest development by operation commanders and reviewed the progress.
The visit comes two days after Pakistani lawmakers warned the government that the insurgency was spilling from restive Swat valley over to the settled areas in the country and would "reach Islamabad sooner than Lahore."
The 900-square-km (3,500-square-mile) Swat Valley lies less than 160 km (100 miles) from the capital, Islamabad.
Taliban has demolished more than 300 schools in the valley which was once considered a tourist destination. The valley has been the scene of some of the worst fighting between Pakistani forces and Taliban-linked militants in recent months.
Kayani's visit came days after Maulana Fazlullah, a Pro-Taliban cleric, in a radio address, called on 45 people including political leaders, ministers, lawmakers and prominent personalities to appear before Taliban courts.
Fazlullah has threatened that if the summoned officials did not appear in courts they would face dangerous consequences.
The militants have set up a parallel administration with courts, taxes, patrols and checkpoints in the troubled region.
About 1,500 Pakistani soldiers have been killed in fighting against militants in Pakistan since 2002.
The spread of violence from Afghanistan to Pakistan comes seven years after US-led forces, under former president George W Bush's war on terror doctrine, invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to eradicate insurgency and terrorism.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
900-square-km equals 3500-square-mile? Is this new math or what?
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
01/29/2009 10:25 Comments ||
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#2
probably flip-flopped the units. 900 sq mi is about 3500 sq km
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
01/29/2009 22:01 Comments ||
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TURKISH Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan today stormed out of an angry debate at the Davos forum on the Gaza war with Israel's President Shimon Peres.
"I do not think I will be coming back to Davos after this because you do not let me speak," the Islamist-rooted prime minister shouted before marching off the stage in front of Mr Peres, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and an elite audience of ministers and international officials at the World Economic Forum.
Mr Erdogan criticized the audience for applauding Mr Peres' emotional defense of Israel's war in Gaza, before the moderator, Washington Post journalist David Ignatius, insisted that the debate had gone over time. He said Israel had carried out "barbarian" actions in Gaza.
Mr Peres had told the audience that Israel had been forced into the offensive against Hamas by thousands of rockets and mortars fired into Israel. "The tragedy of Gaza is not Israel, it is Hamas," said Mr Peres. "They created a dictatorship. A very dangerous one."
Mr Ban, Mr Erdogan, and Arab League secretary general Amr Mussa and Peres all gave long impassioned statements on the conflict which left more than 1300 Palestinians dead and widespread destruction in Gaza.
#1
The journalist at the Telegraph is having a little fun. 'Rooted' in Australian slang means completely f**ked up and irretreviably broken. So 'Islamist-rooted' means completely f**ked up by Islam.
BAGHDAD -- Iraq will not allow Blackwater Worldwide to continue providing security protection for U.S. diplomats in Iraq, Iraqi and U.S. officials said Thursday.
Blackwater's image in Iraq was irrevocably tarnished by the September 2007 killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in Nisoor Square. Five former Blackwater guards pleaded not guilty Jan. 6 in federal court in Washington to manslaughter and gun charges in that shooting.
The decision not to issue Blackwater an operating license was due to "improper conduct and excessive use of force," said Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf. Blackwater employees who have not been implicated in the shooting have the right to work with a different employer.
"We sent our decision to the U.S. Embassy last Friday," Khalaf told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "They have to find a new security company."
A U.S. Embassy official confirmed it received the government's decision, saying that U.S. officials were working with the Iraqi government and its contractors to address the "implications of this decision."
Neither Khalaf nor the U.S. official gave a date for Blackwater personnel to leave the country and neither said whether they would be allowed to continue guarding U.S. diplomats during the interim.
A U.S.-Iraqi security agreement approved in November gives the Iraqis the authority to determine which Western security companies operate in Iraq.
In the 2007 shooting, Blackwater maintains its guards opened fire after coming under attack after a car in a State Department convoy broke down. The Iraqi government has labeled the guards "criminals" and is closely watching the case.
#2
Actually, RW, the Marines are usually posted to guard embassies. The problem with hiring Blackwater to guard INSIDE the compound is that they can't LEAVE the compound under this new rule. You need to have someone that can travel with the diplomats wherever they go. Since things are winding down in Iraq, there isn't much need for the Blackwater people. I see this as more or less an exercise of sovereignty more than anything else.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/29/2009 11:37 Comments ||
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#6
Despite the name, Marines don't "guard" embassies in the way most people think. They are the final line of defense and have a very specific mission. They do not stand at the front gate and screen visitors. Nor do they perform PSD-type jobs as bodyguards for ambassadors. The need for PSDs will not go away but looks like BW in Iraq will.
Posted by: Bnagkok Billy ||
01/29/2009 13:17 Comments ||
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#7
I'm curious about the security for the massive new embassy complex, which I watched being built but never set foot in. One side fronts the river, the other side presumably will have the road well blocked and regulated.
Blackwater's contract with Dip. Security is worldwide, I believe (sort of like the global contract that KBR has for LOGCAP). But I'd think DS could just hire Aegis or DynCorp or some other similar outfit for Baghdad. During 2005/2006 Blackwater was not used for security inside DOS areas - that went to Global and other companies. So this shouldn't be a big deal.
Aswat al-Iraq: The office of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) in Diala's Mandali district has allegedly prevented more than 40 employees in the customs department from casting their votes today, according to the department's head.
"The main office of the commission's office in Mandali district, Khanaqin (155 km north of Baaquba) has prevented over 40 voters from participating in the electoral process," Col. Salah al-Anbaki told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "Those employees were barred from voting on the pretext of not having the province's ration cards," Anbaki explained.
Meanwhile, the director of the IHEC's office in the province, Aamer Lateef, denied receiving any complaints in this regard. "We have heard of violations in some electoral centers, but these are inaccurate accusations as no official complaints have been made to the commission," Lateef said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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Thousands of Iraqi soldiers, police officers, hospital patients and prisoners have cast their ballots as provincial elections begin. About 617,000 Iraqis went to polls on Wednesday, three days before the main polling day.
Government officials say early voting aims at avoiding problems that the country faced in the last national elections held in 2005 as well as ensuring that security forces would be on duty to protect polling stations on Saturday.
"I'm happy to confirm there has not been any violations or irregularities whatsoever and the turnout was huge", chairman of the Independent High Electoral Commission Faraj al-Haydari told reporters after the polls closed.
Over 14,000 candidates are competing for 440 seats on provincial councils in 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces. The election will be delayed in Kirkuk and the three Kurdistan provinces. The local councils, which function much like state legislatures, have significant regional powers and are responsible for selecting governors and provincial police chiefs.
Iraq is tightening security ahead of Saturday voting. Airports and borders will be closed on the eve of the poll as transport bans and night-time curfews will be imposed.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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WASHINGTON -- As President Obama moves to redefine the nation's mission in Iraq, he faces a difficult choice: Is he willing to abandon a campaign promise or risk a rupture with the military? Or can he finesse the difference?
Since taking office last week, Mr. Obama has recommitted to ending the war in Iraq but not to his specific campaign pledge to pull out roughly one combat brigade a month for the first 16 months of his presidency. His top commander in Iraq has proposed a slower start to the withdrawal, warning of the dangers of drawing down too quickly.
On Wednesday, Mr. Obama visited the Pentagon for the first time since becoming president, and he seemed to be looking for an option that would let him stay true to his campaign promise, at least in theory, without alienating the generals. The White House indicated that Mr. Obama was open to alternatives to his 16-month time frame and emphasized that security was an important factor in his decision.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
", they're entitled to their opinion, but that shouldn't be our policy."
So of course Medea Asshole Benjamin and the idiot left think she knows more about military ops and stability than the military?
#4
Others said the timetable was less important than the goal.
More and more bypocrosity. The timeline means nothing, nothing at all. Obama is simply conducting a Kabuki dance with the left and the MSM in order to give them time to adjust their focus and story-line rhetoric. As you may recall under the Bush Adiministration there was very little in the MSM about the character of the GITMO detainees. It was "Close GITMO" morning and night. Now that Obama is the decision maker, the GITMO detainees are all of a sudden portrayed by the MSM as the most dastardly of murderers and scoundrels who have unacceptable recidivism rates and bear the closest of watching.
#5
Someone mentioned to the One that unless he was willing to abandon billions [trillions after he and the Donks inflate the currancy] of dollars of equipment and supplies that just the physical and lift ability to move all the material and gear out of country and redeployed is going to take a lot of time?
#7
The "goal" (withdrawal) is an outrageous, dangerous, inexcusable strategic catastrophe that also pours waste on the graves and hospital wards of those who have (successfully) sacrificed to achieve our REAL goals.
As several acquaintances still in uniform have told me for some time, they carefully avoid awareness of most domestic political developments in order to maintain their morale.
#8
"If there are some military people who feel we should stay there, they're entitled to their opinion, but that shouldn't be our policy."
"If" ??? He's been BRIEFED by senior military leaders regarding the dangers of a premature turnover and withdrawl. He never misses an opportunity to disrespect or attempt to disenfranchise the military.
Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to transfer the Arab neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem to Palestinian sovereignty and evacuate some 60,000 Jewish settlers from the West Bank, an Israeli newspaper reported Thursday.
Yediot Ahronot said Olmert detailed the concessions he offered to Abbas to US President Barack Obama's newly appointed envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell.
Mitchell, due to meet Abbas in Ramallah Thursday, is on his first trip to the region since his appointment last week and met Olmert over lunch Wednesday.
The daily said Olmert also offered Abbas to withdraw from most of the occupied territories along the lines of before the 1967 Arab- Israeli war, in which Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt.
Some changes would be made to those lines that would allow Israel to annex its main Jewish settlement blocks in the West Bank.
But Israel would compensate for the lost land by handing over territory in the south of the country to Palestinian sovereignty on a one-on-one basis, Yediot said.
Asked why these offers failed to materialize into a peace agreement during the past year of negotiations, Olmert blamed Abbas and Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia, saying they froze contact as soon as it became clear Israel was heading to elections and refused to sign a document inking what had been agreed thus far.
The daily gave no source and the article appeared to be based on a leak from a participant in the Olmert-Mitchell meeting of Wednesday.
Olmert's spokesman, Mark Regev, would neither confirm nor deny the report.
'I can only refer you to the speech the prime minister gave publicly at the (late prime minister Yitzhak) Rabin commemoration,' he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
In that November speech, Olmert called for concessions similar to the ones which according to the Yediot report he in fact made to Abbas.
'The prime minister has been flexible and creative' since Abbas and Olmert revived long-stalled peace negotiations at a summit in Annapolis, Maryland, in November 2007
#2
In a way it's clever. Olmert shows the west that he's going the extra mile for peace, knowing all the while that Abbas can't accept the proposal and live for another ten minutes, since it wipes out the 'right of return'.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/29/2009 11:50 Comments ||
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#3
I don't give Olmert that much credit for thinking that much outside the box.
Asharq Al-Awsat - Turkey has called on Hamas to choose between becoming a political movement that pursues negotiation in order to achieve its national goals working within the framework of the Palestinian political system, or remaining an armed group, making it clear that Turkey does not support some of Hamas's activities, and that the movement has made mistakes.
Burak Ozugergin, an adviser to Turkish Foreign Minster Ali Babacan informed Asharq Al-Awsat via telephone that "Ankara believes that Hamas is at a crossroads and must choose between carrying arms or engaging in the political process." He added "Turkey is not giving advice to Hamas, but Hamas must take all steps that it deems necessary."
The Turkish official made these comments after Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said "Hamas should make a decision. Do they want to be an armed organization or a political movement?"
He added "Our suggestion is that they work within the framework of the political system. The party supported by Hamas got 44 percent of the votes in the last elections. It is impossible to ignore this base".
Turkey, a predominantly Muslim but secular country that historically has had good ties with Israel and the Arab world, played a role in helping broker an end to the offensive this month, particularly by lobbying Hamas to declare a unilateral ceasefire.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called Israel's operations, launched with the aim of ending Hamas's cross-border rocket attacks, "a crime against humanity," deploring what he saw as excessive force, and he suggested Israel be barred from the United Nations.
The government has come under criticism for the strong rhetoric it used against Israel during the offensive in the Gaza strip. Turkish opposition parties, ex-diplomats and columnists have accused the government of taking a pro-Hamas stance.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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A Hamas official said on Wednesday that it has rejected Israeli conditions for a tahadiyeh (cease-fire), which include freeing kidnapped St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told US Middle East envoy George Mitchell on Wednesday that while the Gaza crossings were open that day for humanitarian aid, their full, routine, permanent functioning would require a solution to the Schalit issue.
Olmert has reportedly offered to gradually open the border crossings in exchange for Schalit, who was kidnapped near Gaza in June 2006.
Olmert has reportedly offered to gradually open the border crossings in exchange for Schalit, who was kidnapped near Gaza in June 2006. A spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office would not confirm the report.
Salah el-Bardawil, a member of the Hamas delegation currently in Cairo, reiterated on Wednesday that it was not possible to link the truce to the release of Schalit, and said that if Israel wanted him it had to pay the appropriate price. "We said clearly that we have our vision and a list that we presented to Egypt, and the ball is in the Israeli court," Bardawil told Al-Jazeera from Cairo. "If they want to release Schalit, they have to pay a price in return... the 11,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails waiting to be released."
Since the end of Operation Cast Lead, Hamas has refused to connect the Schalit issue with reopening the crossing points and reaching a truce.
Hamas has restated this position with the Egyptians at every meeting, saying that Schalit's release depended on the release of a list of security prisoners it submitted to Ofer Dekel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's former coordinator on the Schalit issue, some time ago.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Hey, why not? Not like they caught a lotta incoming up in Damascus.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the favorite to win the upcoming Israeli election, says al Qaeda terrorists will destroy Jesus Christ's burial site.
Netanyahu, who claims he had predicted an Islamic extremists attack on the World Trade Center six years before the actual attack, said terrorists will target Church of the Holy Sepulchre also known as the Church of the Resurrection - Christianity's holiest site.
The church located in Jerusalem (al-Quds) -- which according to the New Testament is the site of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus -- attracts tens of thousands of pilgrims every year and is considered a spiritual focal point.
"Radical Islam is willing and will want to attack the symbolic heart of the Christian religion," said the former Israeli prime minister.
"This will incur a chain reaction we can't even envision. We will witness an escalation of religious conflict above and beyond the regional conflict we have now," Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying.
The Right-wing Likud leader said he had warned in a 1995 book -- six years before the September 11 attacks -- that "Islamist terrorists" would detonate a nuclear device in the World Trade Centre in New York.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I hate to break it to them, but unlike the heathen Muzzies, Christianity is tied to the heart and individual soul and choice to open up to God and keep him with you.
Its not tied to a block of rock in a single place, like Mecca.
But if they want to start playing that game...
It makes one wonder how their false religion of the false paedophile prophet would survive the destruction of that piece of rock at Mecca...
#4
I'm guessing OS doesn't have much experience with Christians in the developing world. In general Christians in the developing world are MUCH more fundamentalist. I could definitely see Christians in South America and Africa going medieval on their Muslim neighbors.
#5
if it would bring about the destruction of islam then it may be worth it, but since most christian preachers teach turn the other cheek it won't so just bomb their damn rock and isn't there a cave in Israel that is supposed too be a xvery "muslim holy site too it could be filled with cement
#6
Spike Uniter, if I understand certain prophecies correctly, they are successful, too. I think one of OBL's videos portrayed him as sitting on a throne much like St. Peter's chair, with a halo effect, but maybe I'm just confusing it with one of Fred's photos.
Smugglers were back at work in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Wednesday repairing tunnels running under the border with Egypt only hours after Israeli aircraft bombed the underground network. "They dropped two or three bombs. But look, everybody is still working," said a 30-year-old digger who gave only his nickname, Abu Ali.
The Israel Air Force bombed the tunnels heavily during the 22-day offensive it launched on December 27 with the declared aim of halting Hamas rocket attacks on its southern communities. The Israel Defense Forces fears Hamas can rearm through tunnels and targeted them again after a bomb detonated by Palestinian militants on Tuesday killed an Israeli soldier on the Gaza frontier, 10 days into a ceasefire.
There was nothing clandestine about the bulky, bright yellow diggers and bulldozers grinding around the dusty area known as the Philadelphi corridor that divides the Gaza Strip from Egypt's Sinai peninsula. The work was carried out in open view of Egyptian border guards 50 meters to the south.
"I'm scared but I have to work. What else can I do? It's the only job," said a 17-year-old, who gave his name only as Mohammed. He said he would use the tunnel to bring in clothes.
For the 1.5 million people in the Gaza Strip, the tunnels have become a main source of goods, including fuel, since Israel tightened its embargo following Hamas' seizure of control in 2007 from the forces of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Egypt, which has kept its Rafah border crossing with the territory largely closed, has agreed to help stop the tunnel smuggling, with international technical assistance. But no firm plan is yet in place as Israel and Hamas argue through mediators in Cairo about installing a longer term cease-fire that would meet Israel's demands for shutting off the arms supply and Hamas' demands for an easing of the blockade.
Many tunnels have sophisticated systems and seem to have survived weeks of Israeli bombardment. Scores of white plastic tents and cement structures line the border, where workers removed sand from tunnel entry shafts. One worker splashed muddy water on his plastic tent as makeshift camouflage, but his neighbors did not bother.
Bombs had severed several tunnels. Mechanical diggers gouged out the craters further, then workers came in with prefabricated wooden walls and roofing to patch the shafts. Once that was done, they bulldozed earth back over to conceal the tunnel.
One of the bombs dropped by Israel overnight hit a tunnel used for smuggling diesel fuel. It left a crater about 2 meters deep and destroyed a squat cement structure. It had sent the diesel storage tank flying. The steel tank lay twisted on its side, pitted with shrapnel.
"It doesn't scare us," said 30-year-old Abu al-Majd, one of the owners of the diesel tunnel that was bombed. "I'm going to rebuild. We have the cable for electricity and we're going to start to fix it again right now," he said over the rattle of an electric generator in the background.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I think the Israelis need a light penetration weapon that will bury itself deeply underground, then explode in such a way as to fracture rock in a large area around it.
It is the explosive expert miner's trick to plant charges in such as way as to maximize rock fracture, by creating a microsecond wave pattern to explosions.
#2
"I'm scared but I have to work. What else can I do? It's the only job," said a 17-year-old, who gave his name only as Mohammed.
Ahhh yes another juvenile subterranean slave forced to do the dirty work for their brave masters. Its not just a job there Mohammed its your chance at martyrdom! And if he gets blowed up in the process he can be exploited as a civilian death. Sounds like a Paleo twofer.
George Mitchell, Barack Obama's old new envoy to the Middle East, is to hold talks with Palestinian leaders amid continuing violence in the Gaza Strip. He is due to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but not officials from Hamas, which controls Gaza.
Earlier, he met Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and said it was vital to extend the ceasefires declared last week after Israel's 22-day offensive.
Why?
Mr Mitchell has already visited Cairo and Jerusalem during a week-long tour. Mr Mitchell has said his visit, which comes less than a week into a new US presidency, showed the American commitment to peace, but shortly after he arrived Gaza militants fired a rocket into Israel and Israeli jets pounded a metal factory in southern Gaza.
The US envoy has stressed Washington's commitment to pursuing a two-state solution in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Mitchell was an officer in a law firm that represented Dubai (providing defense consulting) in a child slavery lawsuit. So this may be another exception to the very strict Obama lobbying rule.
(Xinhua) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said his country is willing to conduct dialogue with the United States without any preconditions, the official SANA news agency reported Tuesday.
Assad made the remarks in an interview with Lebanon's al-Manar TV, the mouthpiece of the Shiite Hezbollah movement.
"If there are preconditions, there won't be dialogue, they know this thing," Assad was quoted as saying, adding that "but I think dialogue has started many weeks ago seriously through figures close to the U.S. administration."
"As for dialogue, we have no preconditions, but in regards to reaching an approach through this dialogue, the only provision is to consider the Syrian interests," said the Syrian leader.
Syria was under continuous isolation during the Bush administration, which demanded Damascus to stop support for Palestinian militant groups and the Lebanese Hezbollah, sever its ties with Iran, control its borders with Iraq and stem anti-U.S. infiltrations from crossing into Iraq.
Assad also expressed cautious hope that U.S. President Barack Obama could bring peace settlement to the region instead of wars.
"We hope for settlements, not wars after the departure of an administration which adopted primitive war as a policy," said Assad, noting that the Obama administration rejects this principle and talks about its inclination to peace which he said "are more positive."
As for the indirect peace talks with Israel, the president said there was no prospects for an immediate resumption of such talks, which were suspended after Israel launched military offensive against the Gaza Strip late last month.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
See also TOPIX > ISRAEL: IRAN AND SYRIA DESIRE TO TAKE PLACE PLO WITH PALESTINIANS.
Also on TOPIX > IRAN'S AHMADINEJAD WILL NOT TALK WITH OBAMA UNLESS US FIRST APOLOGIZES.
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.
Somali lawmakers have voted to extend by two years the term of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) which was due to expire in August. 
Russia has dropped plans to install missiles near Poland after the Obama administration signalled a change in US attitude to the region, a Moscow military official has reportedly said.
BAGHDAD -- Iraq will not allow Blackwater Worldwide to continue providing security protection for U.S. diplomats in Iraq, Iraqi and U.S. officials said Thursday.
Thousands of Iraqi soldiers, police officers, hospital patients and prisoners have cast their ballots as provincial elections begin. About 617,000 Iraqis went to polls on Wednesday, three days before the main polling day. 
Smugglers were back at work in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Wednesday repairing tunnels running under the border with Egypt only hours after Israeli aircraft bombed the underground network. "They dropped two or three bombs. But look, everybody is still working," said a 30-year-old digger who gave only his nickname, Abu Ali. 
