Posted by: ed ||
04/06/2010 10:15 ||
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I can kinda understand this. Especially if supplying the troops is difficult the last thing that the chain needs to add is "fluff".
However, a lot of these troops are on their 4-5th tours and increasing the hardship of a hardship tour is not conducive to keeping reenlistment rates up.
It is a fine line, but I get the impression that the PC brass are getting pressure from the PC political asshats on this and it will end up screwing over our troops. Hopefully I am wrong.
[Quqnoos] Afghan government is unable to track the international community's aid to Afghanistan, said the head of High Office of Oversight and Anti-corruption, Yasin Osmani.
Following the strong wave of corruption in the Afghan governmental bodies, the Senate summoned Yasin Osmani, the head of Afghanistan's High Office of Oversight and Anti-corruption.
"Out of 100% corruption in the Afghan government, 80% is done by our foreign friends in Afghanistan," said Osmani.
Osmani acknowledges the main factor of corruption in Afghanistan's government is in the aid that the international community gives to the country.
On the other hand, the Afghan parliamentary members are concerned about the lack of supervision and review of the international community's aid to Afghanistan. The Afghan parliamentarians also criticize the work of the High Office of Oversight and Anti-corruption, saying it hasn't been working effectively.
The remark comes after the surprise visit of President Obama to Afghanistan, during which he pressed President Karzai to clean up the pervasive corruption in his administration.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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Are they trying too take Africas place?
Posted by: chris ||
04/06/2010 18:12 Comments ||
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[Quqnoos] The governor of Kunar province has warned of the anti-government group's infiltration onto Afghan soil, reports say.
Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi, the governor of Kunar province, said in an interview with Quqnoos that most of the insurgents come from Pakistan's border in order to escalate the situation in Afghanistan.
"We are more vulnerable from the borders, and we are also threatened a lot from the outside borders. As I have heard from the insurgents' chatter, most of them are not from Afghanistan, they are from abroad," said Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi, the governor of Kunar province.
The governor of Kunar province further adds that most of these insurgents are Arab, Panjabi and other foreign nationalities.
The remark comes as the NATO senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, Mark Sedwill, acknowledges in a press conference that these comments are accurate and says that NATO has special plans on hand in order to block the ability of the Taliban to enter Afghan soil.
"We have significant plans on hand to train the Afghan border police to block these entrance points," said Mark Sedwill the NATO senior civilian representative in Afghanistan
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
is the governor of the Kunar province named Capt. fuckin obvious?
Posted by: chris ||
04/06/2010 11:11 Comments ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Iran has rejected accusations by the top US military commander that it is providing weapons to the militants in Afghanistan.
The US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen claimed in a Kabul news conference that Iran has shipped arms to Taliban militants in Kandahar.
In a statement released on Monday, the Iranian Embassy in Kabul rejected the charges as "recurring allegations" and a sort of "fabrication" by the US in order to justify its defeat in Afghanistan.
The statement added that Washington is attempting to "deceive the public opinion" by accusing other countries of sending weapons to militants in the war-torn country.
It urged the US to "find more logical ways to fight terrorism rather than accusing others" of providing arms to the militants.
"Iran always supports the nation and the government of Afghanistan," the embassy statement added.
The United States has frequently accused Iran of supplying aid to the Taliban militants in Afghanistan. Such claims come in face of the fact that the Taliban, which follow the radical Wahhabi sect, have opposed Iran since long ago and have murdered eight Iranian diplomats when they took over most of Afghanistan in the 1990's.
"Iran is working to increase its influence in the area. On the one hand, that's not surprising; she is a neighbor state, a neighbor country. On the other hand, the influence I see is all too often negative," Mullen told a news conference during a visit to Kabul on Wednesday.
"I was advised last night about a significant shipment of weapons from Iran into Kandahar, for example," Reuters quoted Mullen as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] President Hamid Karzai has threatened to step down and join the Taliban if outside pressure for reform continues, Afghan lawmakers say.
It was the second time in recent days that Karzai had threatened to quit and join the Taliban, three MPs stated.
"Karzai said that 'if I come under foreign pressure, I might join the Taliban,'" Farooq Marenai, who represents the eastern province of Nangarhar, said on Monday.
"He said that rebelling would change to resistance," Marenai added.
The Afghan president reiterated his threat at a closed-door meeting with selected parliamentarians at a time when diplomatic tension between Karzai and the United States is increasing -- just days after kicking up a diplomatic controversy with remarks alleging foreigners were behind the fraud in last year's disputed presidential election.
Karzai is facing trouble with his US and NATO allies stationed in Afghanistan. He has said he and his government are not sovereign in Afghanistan and exercise little control or influence over tactical military operations.
And indeed the situation is grim. The killing of civilians by the allies goes unacknowledged. US troops are operating a prison system in Afghanistan on their own, with no obvious connection to Afghanistan's law.
Lawmakers dismissed Karzai's latest comment as hyperbole.
Nevertheless, it is clear the Afghan president is growing increasingly erratic and unable to exert authority in the country.
Marenai said Karzai appeared nervous and repeatedly demanded to know why parliament had rejected legal reforms that would have strengthened the president's authority over the country's electoral institutions last week.
During a visit to Kandahar on Sunday, Karzai again distanced himself from his Western backers by telling tribal elders that government officials should not let foreigners meddle in their work and Afghans need to see their leaders are not puppets.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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Nevertheless, it is clear the Afghan president is growing increasingly erratic
Appears to happen to everyone who has a close encounter with Barry Soetoro.
Gaining fast on the pirates who had seized a German freighter, Dutch naval captain Col. Hans Lodder had no time to waste on bureaucracy. Sidestepping the command of the European Union's anti-piracy task force, he went instead to his own government for authorization to recapture the ship by force.
Lodder first ascertained that the Taipan's crew had locked itself in a bulletproof room. Then he launched his ship's Lynx helicopter with a team of six special forces marines. With troops providing cover fire from the helicopter, the marines rappelled onto the ship's deck of the MV Taipan to shoot it out, if need be, with the pirates. But they met no resistance. The 15-man crew was rescued, and 10 Somali pirates were captured.
"The pirates surrendered the moment they saw the marines," Lodder said in a telephone interview Tuesday from the Dutch frigate Tromp. No one was injured.
Monday's successful rescue showed that, when swift decisions are needed, it can be quicker to work around the European Union's command. Really? Do tell...
It was the first time a Dutch ship involved in the EU mission had used force to recapture a hijacked ship. An EU spokesman could not immediately recall any incident when troops under EU command had boarded a seized ship under the threat of fire. Lodder said he decided to seek permission from his own command for an "opposed boarding" one where pirates may resist rather than act under procedures laid down by Brussels. "We just told my force commander we would operate under national command until after the boarding," Lodder told The Associated Press. "We kept everyone in the EU informed of everything we did."
A spokesman for the EU mission acknowledged the Dutch action avoided a delay and was legitimate."For speed of reaction, if you're on the spot ... (and) dispatched at haste to react to something immediately, the best thing to do is to go under national command," said Cmdr. John Harbour, U.K.-based spokesman for the European Union Naval Force Somalia. "If we were about to conduct an operation with a bit more time on our hands then we may well have gone through the standard EU process with a view to consulting," he added. "That consultation just takes a bit longer."
Harbour also said the Taipan was sailing outside the zone covered by the EU mission when it was rescued, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of Somalia.
Dutch Defense Ministry spokesman Robin Middel said EU authorization was sidestepped to speed up the rescue. Hello. You have reached the EU Anti Piracy Hotline. For English, press one. For Italian, press two. For French, press three. For German, press four. For Spanish,.......For Serbo Croation, press one six. For Flemish, press one seven. For Macedonian, press one eight, For...
The Tromp may turn over the 10 captured Monday to German or Dutch prosecutors for what would be a rare European piracy trial. ...For Basque, press three three. For Alsatian, press three four. For...
Pottengal Mukundan, director of the Commercial Crimes Services of the International Maritime Bureau in London, which monitors pirate attacks, praised the Dutch rescue operation. "It is unusual and very welcome" that a navy recaptures a ship from pirates, he said. "That is absolutely the right thing to do. By denying the pirates their prize it does deter them from taking these actions." ...For Gaelic, press one zero three. For Frisian, press one zero four. For...
Harbour, of the EU naval force, said the Dutch mission highlighted not the EU's laborious decision-making processes, but rather its ability to navigate a way quickly through them. Yeah! Navigate! And quickly! That's the ticket!
SEOUL, April 6 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean navy destroyer has caught up with a hijacked supertanker under control of Somali pirates, an official at Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. The destroyer has tracked down the 300,000-ton tanker Samho Dream heading to Somali waters, the official told reporters.
"The destroyer, Chungmugong Yisunshin, arrived in waters near the Samho Dream at around 1:20 a.m. (Seoul time) and is now operating in its vicinity," he said.
The 4,500-ton destroyer was keeping a close watch over the hijacked vessel about 30 miles away, a defense ministry official said.
The South Korean-operated tanker, carrying five South Korean and 19 Filipino crew members, was seized by pirates in the Indian Ocean on Sunday on its way to the United States from Iraq. It sent a distress call to the South Korean destroyer saying three pirates had boarded it.
The destroyer, which had been operating in Somali waters as part of global efforts to fight piracy, was ordered to speed to the seized ship. Foreign ministry officials earlier said the destroyer will not attempt to intercept or board the hijacked vessel, as the move could put the ship's crew at a greater risk.
The tanker was believed to be headed toward Somali waters where 26 other commercial and private vessels and about 400 people of varying nationalities are held by pirates, the foreign ministry official said. The ship's South Korean operator, Samho Shipping Co., said the pirates have not yet made any contact to make demands for the release of the ship and its crew members.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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Egads! 300,000 tons!
Maybe the Koreans can follow them until they run out of gas.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Sudan's first multiparty elections in decades have been thrown into disarray by allegations of government violations and opposition threats of a boycott. The disputes wreck hopes of transforming a conflict-plagued nation and could instead end up fueling violence in Darfur and the south.
The election, set to begin April 11, had been billed as a chance to bring democracy to Sudan and start to heal a history of turmoil: 50 years of civil war between north and south that killed 2 million people, repeated military coups, and years of violence in the western Darfur region that the U.S. called the 21st century's first genocide and that brought international war crimes charges against the president, Omar al-Bashir.
The United States and other nations have invested heavily in the elections, which are required under a 2005 peace deal between north and south mediated by Washington.
Bashir is hoping for the vote to give his legitimacy a boost as he holds out against the war crimes indictment against him from the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court over atrocities in Darfur.
But experts say the elections are likely to be deeply flawed and won't resolve the deep mistrust between the multiple sides -- leaving the divisions that could once again re-ignite into violence.
Many in the south are already looking forward to a more crucial vote next year: a referendum on independence for their oil-rich region. But many fear the north will do anything to prevent the referendum from being held, which could bring the two sides again to the brink of war.
The mainly Christian and animist south fought for decades against rule by the mainly Muslim north. The separate conflict in the western region of Darfur erupted in 2003, when ethnic African tribes rose up complaining of discrimination by the Arab-led government in Khartoum.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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[Maghrebia] Maghreb television audiences have been following the saga of a Saudi housewife whose televised recitation of poems blasting extremist preachers and "evil" fatwas has brought her death threats.
Several militant Islamist sites have posted messages menacing Hissa Hilal, who has used her appearances on the popular televised competition "The Million's Poet" to deliver verses condemning clerics "who sit in the position of power".
The burkha-clad Hilal, a mother of four, has become a sensation in a region where poetry is revered. Her poetry has been well-received by both the judges and audiences of the show, which is broadcast on satellite television across the Arab world from Abu Dhabi.
Audiences have cheered Hilal's denunciations of those she says are "frightening" people with their fatwas and "preying like a wolf" on those seeking peace. And the 43-year-old, who was previously a poetry editor for a Saudi newspaper, has even won a place in the competition's April 7th final. The climactic showdown in Abu Dhabi will bring together five finalists from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, with the winner receiving 5 million UAE dirhams.
"The Million's Poet", launched in 2006 by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, is now in its fourth season, and has featured 48 contestants from 12 Arab countries in this series.
This year's public bout between a poet and fundamentalists is keeping Maghreb crowds spellbound.
"I've been following the programme since the first episode, and I really admire the talented and distinguished poet Hissa Hilal," a Nouakchott University art major, El Alia Mint Mohamed, told Magharebia this week. "Hissa Hilal is the voice of millions of women in the Islamic world who have been affected by narrow interpretations of religion."
Hilal's poetry is widely viewed as a reply to Sheik Abdul-Rahman Barrak, a high-profile Saudi cleric who recently issued a fatwa calling for the death penalty for those who advocate the mingling of men and women.
But according to Mint Mohamed, Hilal "has never, in any of her poems, deviated from the official position of her country, Saudi Arabia, which calls for deliberation on the issue of individual fatwas and for reviewing the concept of intermingling of [the sexes]".
Oum El Vadel Mint Sidi, a Mauritanian housewife, echoed many who spoke with Magharebia when she asked: "Why should the life of poor poet Hissa Hilal be threatened just because she expressed her convictions about the personal ijtihad of some clerics in our Muslim world? The woman has challenged neither the Holy Qur'an, nor the sunna, nor the consensuses of the nation. Why, then, all this harshness?"
Saudi women have made inroads in the public arena in recent years, Tunisian lawyer and feminist activist Saida Garrache told Magharebia in a statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] A prominent Saudi cleric announced on his television show that he will visit the occupied Jerusalem next week to support Muslim claims to the city, according to media reports on Monday. "I will shoot the next episode of 'Put your Fingerprint' show in Jerusalem," Sheik Mohammed al-Areefi said, adding that Muslims have an obligation to Jerusalem.
Sheikh Areefi promised through the Saudi-based Iqraa TV channel that the next episode of his show would introduce "surprises," including a visit to Jerusalem and reports that would "astonish" the viewers.
If Sheik Mohammed al-Areefi goes ahead with his plan, it would be an unprecedented trip for a prominent Saudi. Jerusalem is the third holiest site in Islam, but most Muslim countries--including Saudi Arabia--observe a boycott of Israel and ban travel there.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said while he was unfamiliar with the case, al-Areefi could apply for a visa from the consulate in Amman.
"And then we will process with typical Middle Eastern speed," Mr. Palmor said.
"Throughout the years many people from countries like Libya, Indonesia and other countries that don't have relations with Israel have visited Jerusalem," he said. "All these visits were naturally coordinated with Israeli authorities."
"The process begins when the prospective visitor goes in person to an Israeli embassy or consulate to fill out a visa application. No Saudis have yet been able to bring themselves to petition a Jew for permission, so this should prove an interesting exercise."
Al-Areefi is viewed as a comparative moderate among Saudi Arabia's conservative clergy.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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Only if the Saudis allow Israeli rabbis to reciprocate.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
04/06/2010 0:41 Comments ||
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Seems appropriate - after all Jews were in Mecca long, long, before Mo the Profit came along.
The main concern of the US government about a potential large sale of Russian arms to Venezuela is that the equipment may end up in third countries, US Department of State Spokesman Philip Crowley said on Monday.
"But our primary concern is that if Venezuela's going to increase its military hardware, we certainly don't want to see this hardware migrate into other parts of the hemisphere," Crowley said in a press conference.
Venezuela could make a request for Russian military equipment for more than USD 5 billion, Russian Premier Vladimir Putin said on Monday after his visit to Caracas, AFP reported.
The United States and its main Latin American ally, Colombia, have accused Venezuela several times of financial and logistic links with the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC). Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has stubbornly denied such links with the Marxist guerrillas.
"We can probably think of better things that could be invested on behalf of the Venezuelan people," Crowley said.
The spokesman insisted on saying that the United States does not mind any relationship between Caracas and Moscow. However, he immediately added: "We're hard-pressed to see what legitimate defense needs Venezuela has for the equipment."
According to the high-ranking officer, Venezuela has a responsibility for transparency in its acquisitions.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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You know, maybe we should allow Afghan poppy farmers to only sell their wares to Russian dealers.
#2
Bout bloody time you got concerned, Philip. Should have been reading the burg and you would have been concerned years ago.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/06/2010 1:36 Comments ||
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Unfortunately, Obama just sees this as more redistributive justice.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
04/06/2010 1:48 Comments ||
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The main concern of the US government about a potential large sale of Russian arms to Venezuela is that the equipment may end up in third countries,
#6
of greatest concern is the sale of 24 - SU30MK multi-role fighters
I borrow the words of the immortal Han Solo in responding to Oogo:
"But who's gonna fly 'em, kid, you?"
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/06/2010 9:49 Comments ||
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(quick rant)... WHY! in the hell are we letting all of this handwriting on the wall go unread and so ignored. We will have to deal with Chavez EVENTUALLY. We will have to deal with Iran EVENTUALLY. We will have to deal with Russia EVENTUALLY. Why not strike now while they are disorganized. Russia couldn't win a war with us right now. Their government is the weakest its ever been. Same with Iran and Venezuela but if allowed to beef up unchecked it could be very different in ten years. To hell with this downward slope the media says we're in. Let's restructure the world stage and reduce our enemies to RUBBLE!!! And replace the power positions our fallen adversaries hold now as gifts for our allies in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom so we can all truly LIVE IN PEACE AND PROSPERITY once more, for our children and great-great-grandchildren. (ok, done... thanks)
#9
Agreed with all that, Phimble the Grim8504 (Nice first rant, by the way!). But look at the abuse George W. Bush took for being proactive on Iraq. That pretty much guaranteed nobody with any less strength of character would take on the task until the bombs are in the air and minutes from landing in New York and Cincinnati.
A lawmaker has pointed out that one North Korean submarine was unaccounted for in the West Sea around the time when the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan sank on March 26. Kim Hak-song, the chairman of the National Assembly's Defense Committee, on Monday said, "Two North Korean Shark-class (325 t) submarines disappeared from our military surveillance between March 23 and 27, but the military authorities have still failed to find out where one of them was on March 26."
Kim was speaking to reporters after receiving a report on the sunken ship from the military.
"It was discovered that two Shark-class submarines left and returned to a North Korean base at Cape Bipagot [in South Hwanghae Province] six times on March 23, three times on March 24, but only once on March 26. But I heard that it's impossible to find out how far the submarines went underwater and what they did," he said. "On March 26, one submarine was found to have exchanged communications with the base at Cape Bipagot from a nearby area but the other was unaccounted for."
The defense minister in an emergency National Assembly session last Friday said two North Korean submarines were unaccounted for around that time.
The military has no evidence that the North Korean submarines infiltrated South Korean waters but believe it is possible that they carried out operations in waters near Baeknyeong Island 50 to 60 km off base, considering that they made only one move on March 26 although they had left and returned to the base several times the previous day.
Kim added the lower side of the Cheonan fell off along the welded seam but the upper side was torn off. "Military officers told me that such destruction is inevitably the result of a torpedo or mine attack."
Military officers told him that the iron plate was 11.8 mm thick when the ship was built and had worn down only 0.2 mm according to a periodic inspection in 2008.
Kim said it is more than 70 percent possible to detect torpedoes about 2 km away at a depth of 30 m, but it's difficult to detect new acoustic torpedoes that slowly chase a naval ship following the sound of the engine. "The military believes that North Korea also possesses such torpedoes," he added.
"As a result of analysis of satellite photos, no semi-submersibles made any movements" around the time of the sinking, he said. "It's difficult for light torpedoes with 50 kg TNT of destructive power carried by semi-submersibles to have torn the Cheonan in two."
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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ION KORIE WMF > KOREAN TENSIONS: CHINA TO DEPLOY LARGE NUMEBRS OF J-10 FIGHTERS NEAR BORDERS WID NORTH KOREA | STABILITY OF NORTH KOREAN IS MORE IMPORTANT TO CHINA THAN DISPUTED CHINA SEAS ISLANDS, TAIWAN, OR DPRK'S NUCLEAR PROGRAMS. CHINA WILL CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN READY HEAVY FORCES NEAR KOREAS.
Read, BUFFER-VASSAL STATE + WARM-WATER PACIFIC PORTS/NORPAC TRADE ROUTES; + "ASIA FOR ASIANS" + "CHINA FOR CHINIESE", etc.
"KORYEAS FOR CHINESE"???
** BHARAT RAKSHAK > RUSSIAN S-300'S TO PROTECT BEIJING AND SHANGHAI
A federal judge has dismissed more than 100 habeas corpus lawsuits filed by former Guantanamo captives, ruling that because the Bush and Obama administrations had transferred them elsewhere, the courts need not decide whether the Pentagon imprisoned them illegally.
The ruling dismayed attorneys for some of the detainees who'd hoped any favorable U.S. court findings would help clear their clients of the stigma, travel restrictions and, in some instances, perhaps more jail time that resulted from their stay at Guantanamo.
Posted by: ed ||
04/06/2010 09:47 ||
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Close, but no cigar. The judge should have ruled that the courts had no say over the matter as it fell squarely under the executive's power to wage war and implement treaty provisions. The failure to do that, since the outset, has shredded the constitution, abetted the ICRC and others in shredding the Conventions, and generally added to the insane judicial tyranny that exists today. Not that anyone would notice.
WASHINGTON -- President Obama said Monday that he was revamping American nuclear strategy to substantially narrow the conditions under which the United States would use nuclear weapons. But the president said in an interview that he was carving out an exception for "outliers like Iran and North Korea" that have violated or renounced the main treaty to halt nuclear proliferation. That exception has an expiration date, remember ...
Discussing his approach to nuclear security the day before formally releasing his new strategy, Mr. Obama described his policy as part of a broader effort to edge the world toward making nuclear weapons obsolete, and to create incentives for countries to give up any nuclear ambitions. To set an example, the new strategy renounces the development of any new nuclear weapons, overruling the initial position of his own defense secretary.
Mr. Obama's strategy is a sharp shift from those of his predecessors and seeks to revamp the nation's nuclear posture for a new age in which rogue states and terrorist organizations are greater threats than traditional powers like Russia and China. It's what he promised to do when he ran, according to what he said in 2007, so this shouldn't surprise anyone. It might be stupid, but it isn't surprising.
It eliminates much of the ambiguity that has deliberately existed in American nuclear policy since the opening days of the cold war. For the first time, the United States is explicitly committing not to use nuclear weapons against nonnuclear states that are in compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, even if they attacked the United States with biological or chemical weapons or launched a crippling cyberattack.
Those threats, Mr. Obama argued, could be deterred with "a series of graded options," a combination of old and new conventional weapons. "I'm going to preserve all the tools that are necessary in order to make sure that the American people are safe and secure," he said in the interview in the Oval Office. But you aren't. This is essentially a 'proportionate response' strategy. If some nation is considering a crippling attack on the US, the last thing you want to do is tell that nation that the US will pull its punches.
White House officials said the new strategy would include the option of reconsidering the use of nuclear retaliation against a biological attack, if the development of such weapons reached a level that made the United States vulnerable to a devastating strike. Again, proportionate. If the biological attack fails, we won't respond. That's idiotic, since the attacking nation then has time to figure out what to do next. Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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#2
It is about time for the Joint Chiefs to tell the leading Democrats that their Age of Aquarius/Fuzzy Bunny/Unicorn fantasies are full of crap, and that they will end up getting millions of people killed.
And while this will be met with incredulity, and the insistence that unicorns *do* *so* exist, the Joint Chiefs should make it abundantly clear to them that if they try and leave America helpless, and it is attacked, they will personally hunt each and every one of them down and torture them to death as painfully as possible. Or a hundred thousand soldiers just like them.
#3
In short this idiot actually believes that if we state we will never use nukes in certain situations - that Iran and North Korea would suddenly lose their interest in the ultimate terrorist weapon.
What the f-k is he smoking? I don't think its just tobacco...
Here's my policy - if you use any sort of weapon of mass destruction on the US or its territories (including biological and chemical) - weather delivered directly or via third parties (terrorists) all the cards - including nuclear strikes against nations will be on the table - we will determine the 'proportional response' at that time - most likely when we are really pissed off.
#4
Having stated this as official policy, Obama has disqualified himself as CiC. Time for the idiot to go. We can't wait for 2012 becuase our enemies won't either.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
04/06/2010 1:46 Comments ||
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#5
I'm trying to figure out the correct terminology - if such exists in English - for being constantly amazed and astonished, while at the same time being completely unsurprised and even unfazed by some phenomenon.
The subject of course is the idiocy (can't think of a better term here) that is now so commonplace in Washington. Sadly, I saw this - and these people, in some cases literally the people involved - up close for many many years, and that's where the unsurprised part comes in. They have no business being part of any serious undertaking, much less the national security of a formerly important nation. (One direct exposure to the farcical future president was sufficient)
Over a hundred meetings to do something obviously ill-advised, like clear up the ambiguity surrounding US retaliatory options? The terms "self-parody" and "unbelievable" have become meaningless in the last few years - for a reason.
But Dr. Steve, I was discussing the treaty ratification consent issue just the other day with someone else who worked even longer than I did in the Senate on these issues. I have so little confidence in the courage, intelligence, and integrity of almost the entire Senate, both parties, that I wonder if the next START POS is DOA as you say.
In a sane world - one that is actually fading in memory by now - of course there would be no chance of consent to ratification. But that was when 30% of the Dem contingent could be counted on to be thoughtful and responsive to overwhelming national sentiment on big issues - and most of the GOP squad even more so. Clearly, however, we are in a different universe today.
As to the above comment that the JCS should do this and that - perhaps I'm assuming too much, but my general impression is that the JCS and most of the senior brass (excepting a few CINCs) are proving to be just the sort of worthless pliable political types that spell catastrophe with the current preposterous "administration". Gates, pretty much the same (never thought he was much of an asset in any circumstance, going back to his quintessentially mediocre CIA days).
Perhaps a Dem holocaust in November - if an up-trending macro-economy doesn't suffice to beguile a pathetic US electorate - will magically create spine and character and good sense in a few Dem senators. I'm not counting on it.
As has been said, there's no fixing stupid, and thus there's not much hope of ever advancing beyond the state where we must constantly fight against the contemptible efforts of our countrymen to make the country less prosperous, free, and secure. If there were any other US in the world as a refuge, people would be amazed at how many would have already fled there .... alas there isn't, so we're sort of like Canadians in the position they'll be in if the destruction of the US medical system is permitted - nowhere else to go.
Your "assumptions" about the JCS and most of the senior brass are unfortunately quite valid.
General George Casey speaking about the Fort Hood shootings: "As horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that's worse." General Casey is not alone in his beliefs.
Your comment about "nowhere else to go" is also correct. History teaches us that a seperate confederation of states has already been attempted and failed, at a cost of 600,000 lives. Those who believe the military would not be used to control the citizenry are sadly mistaken. In order to keep their power, Obama and his cadre would never shirk from another domestic butcher's bill I assure you.
Let's pretend the Harry Truman never lived, but rather Barack Obama followed FDR instead. Would the Enola Gay have flown to Japan? Would millions of American soldiers died invading Japan? Would Israel be a nation, or would the bullying of Israel and the Obama Anti-Israel Jihad simply been an anti-Jewish Jihad?
#8
I thought that the ambiguity of use-of-nuclear-weapons was an important feature of the policy.
I guess it's too late for someone to tell Obama that 'sharp shifts in strategy' and his personal ordering of rewrites are NOT reassuring to a growing number of Americans?
#9
I thought that the ambiguity of use-of-nuclear-weapons was an important feature of the policy.
No. Ambiguity leads to Korea. The enemy must be convinced that we are crazy enough to use them (sort of like we are afraid of Ahmadsdinnerjacket). When, ah, there's the rub.
Oil on its way to $4 per gallon, long term (mortgage) rates headed up, housing prices further threatened, unemployment at permanent Euro levels, banks holding underwater commercial real estate construction loans that can't be converted to mortgages. Oh, and socialized medicine without a spooonful of sugar. What could go wrong, he's still got the race card?
#11
going for that unprecedented second consecutive Nobel Peace Prize
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/06/2010 8:44 Comments ||
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#12
It is foolish (at best) to tell potential enemies what you will or won't do, and to tie your own hands against unknown developments.
However, in the 'modern' world, where WMD of various kinds can be employed by stateless groups it is unlikely that we would employ nukes in retaliation. Who would we retaliate against if anthrax or such were effectively deployed against us by Al Quada? Nuking Mecca might feel good but it would (probably) not be effective. Still, we should not take the option off the table.
#13
Those who believe the military would not be used to control the citizenry are sadly mistaken.
I dunno, Besoeker...there might be plenty of spineless flag officers who'd want to follow Ogabe's orders in something like this, but I think they'd be opposed by a critical mass of company-grade and field-grade types.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
04/06/2010 9:13 Comments ||
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#14
Who would we retaliate against if anthrax or such were effectively deployed against us by Al Quada?
Riyadh, Islamabad, Damascus, Tehran, most of North Korea, Tripoli.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/06/2010 9:28 Comments ||
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#15
So this guy [BO] set about single handedly to destroy our health care system. Well he did it with the aid of a Donk Congress. He just about destroyed the economy because of a personal dislike for capitalism. Now he wants to destroy our nuclear deterrent. For a supposedly street smart community organizer he ain't too smart. By this reasoning, you should just rollover if carjacked, robbed or threatened with murder even though you were armed and could prevent it. This administration constantly astonishes me with its Kumbaya, naive, view of our enemies and its disdain for our allies and friends. What a friggin idiot.
Personally, I think the next time someone kills 3000 citizens that enemy should know they are going to be destroyed. Whoever finances them and supports them should also know they are at risk for massive retaliation. Anyone who attempts to use biological weapons or chemical weapons; the same. Religious shrines are on the table also. I'm about fed up with this feel good, touchy-feely, fluffy bunny approach to war, PC crap.
#16
Besoeker, seems there are so many appalling and (that old, devalued word again) "unbelievable" things happening the last 2 years that I lose track. Yes, Casey's comments after the Ft Hood massacre were - well, unbelievable. That such a public reaction was even possible, from the Army CoS, when the blood was still being wiped up, boggles the mind (though no more so than zillions of other actions and statements occurring on a daily basis).
Casey was a personable sort in the few dealings I had with him in Baghdad (he used to come down and smoke cigars in the courtyard off our office). But even though it's obviously not all his fault, his position as captain of the foundering ship that was MNF-I strategy in 05/06 should have led to retirement, not promotion to CoS. This was an early jaw-dropper - though in this case attributable to Bush's worst flaw, his personal bonding with subordinates who served him and the nation poorly (a tragic, but not ugly, fault). At the time, a few of us thought it was as though Fredendall had come back from North Africa to a promotion (rough analogy but it works).
Posted by: chris ||
04/06/2010 11:09 Comments ||
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#19
it seems BO is temporarily over stabbing Israel in the back as he is now busy on a new much more important task - The destroying of whats left of US role and cerdibility as a world superpower.
What he is doing now is practically saying to Korea, Iran and the like "look, buddies, you can use anthrax or Ebola at us and if you only kill a moderate number of Americans ( Say less than 200,000) we wont do anything.
What the fool does not understand is that the Mullah's will gladly sacrifice millions of innocent Iranians if they can destroy only a single large American city (in a "symbolic" Islamic victory). Same as Dear Leader has been starving millions of poor norks to death while playing a defiant pose to the US.
Stupidity always comes at a price, only BAMBI will not have to pay the price personally.
This man is outright dangerous because he has an unrealistic perception of the world.
THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
04/06/2010 11:23 Comments ||
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#20
Casey was a personable sort in the few dealings I had with him in Baghdad (he used to come down and smoke cigars in the courtyard off our office) Posted by: Verlaine
Have a "Mr. Bean Koffee" on me today Verlaine. Thank you for your service.
#21
This administration constantly astonishes me with its Kumbaya, naive, view of our enemies and its disdain for our allies and friends. What a friggin idiot.
Posted by: JohnQC 2010-04-06 09:37
This man is outright dangerous because he has an unrealistic perception of the world.THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL
Posted by: Elder of Zion 2010-04-06 11:23
There is nothing naive or unrealistic about this mans actions. He is doing exactly what he was intended to do by the forces that greased his election.
He is deliberately trying to cripple or destroy this country. This is undeniable.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
04/06/2010 12:50 Comments ||
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#22
I'm forced to agree with Secret Asian. The itch that I can't get scratched is Obamas deliberate waekening of the U.S. Based on conscious choice or a disturbed subconcious or both? What is driving his decisions? Evil? Self hatred? Black 'dignity'? Islamo-centrism? What are this asshats ego drivers that trump the others? A psychiatric eval of this guy for a good seven hours would tell me exactly what is needed to bring about his undoing. He definitely has anti social tendencies.
#23
#13,
Exactly. If the Pentagon ever sent the military into U.S. neighborhoods to "control the citizenry" they would have a considerably more difficult time than they had in 1860. I personally believe that would never happen. The majority of the military would go AWOL (or UA) overnight.
#24
I think we need to review the source of this man's thinking, ince increasingly (think the 17 minute asnwer) it appears he really just thinks he's smart, when actually he has a mediocre intellect and a really poor education in some fundamental areas like history, logic and math.
Soros, and his creatures at Center for American Progress, and the IWW Union Leaders, and the academic marxists. Sadly, I do agree with much of the above comment that this is more scripted than we feared, but not by this babbling narcissist, rather he is merely the front for a much darker group that is marked by the shadows in the background.
"Support and defend the Constitution, against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and that I will bear true faith and allegience to the same..."
#27
I think we need to review the source of this man's thinking, increasingly (think the 17 minute asnwer) it appears he really just thinks he's smart, when actually he has a mediocre intellect and a really poor education in some fundamental areas like history, logic and math.
Bingo. I've said since the man first appeared on the national political scene that he's a first-rate BS artist with no real expertise, or even depth, in anything.
A little perspective: Carter was a nuclear engineer. Clinton was said by friend and foe alike to be an exceptional student of any complex subject he (decided to) put his mind to, impressing auto executives and economists alike. When either of these flawed men decided to master a subject-- as Carter did wrt Israeli-Egyptian negotiations, for ex.-- they produced impressive results.
But Barry has mangled every initiative he's taken on, in large measure because the man is simply, obviously, pathetically OUT OF HIS DEPTH.
He is ignorant of history (cf his bizarre assertions that Zionism began with the holocaust, or that "a united world defeated communism"). He does not understand market economics or finance. He believes that American surgeons routinely amputate the limbs of diabetic patients in order to collect fees in the $50k range. He did not grasp the essential facts of either the stimulus fiasco or the health care botchjob that Harry & Nancy foisted on him and us.
And in the one area where he supposedly had some professional experience prior to entering politics-- teaching law-- his bizarre comments about high-profile criminal cases (Hasan, Skip Gates) show him to be ignorant to the point of foolishness.
The emperor has no clothes. Get rid of this man before he trashes this country.
"Any potential adversary should know that we will defend ourselves against the possibility of attack by unconventional arms. If such a strike does occur, as commander in chief, I will respond with overwhelming and devastating force,"
Candidate John Kerry in 2004
So the Obama administration's position is far to the left of even John Kerry...
What will this radical shift do to the conept of the "American Security Umbrella" covering other nations so that they won't have to go nuclear?
What about nuclear terrorism? Would there be a nuclear response against the usual suspects even if the culprit was not known with absolute certainty?
It looks like a massive attack on targets in Europe and/or North America now carries a calculable and relatively small risk, but can yield potentially huge benefits.
NEW DELHI: The government today ruled out use of air power in the fight against Naxalites and admitted obviously some element of failure in the operations led to the killing of 75 security personnel in Chhattisgarh today.
In a brief statement, the Home Secretary said that there were some element of failure in the operation.
"Preliminary reports indicate that the CPI(Maoists) had planted pressure bombs in surrounding areas where the security forces might take cover. As a result of this bulk of the casualties have taken place," he said.
Pillai said all the 82 personnel who had participated in the operation have been accounted for and none has been captured by the Maoists.
Elaborating on goverment stategy to take on the Naxals, the home secretary said, "I don't think we need to use air power at the moment (in the anti-naxal operation). We can manage with what we have. Our strategy is unfolding and we should be able to manage without air power," Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai told reporters here.
However, he made it clear that the air power will be used only for evacuation and for mobility of troops.
Pillai called the Maoists "murderers" and said the government's resolve was strengthened and it would continue to tackle the Maoist menace as planned.
The home secretary said the CRPF personnel returning to its base camp after two days of operations when the early hours of this morning it came under fire from hill features just about four kilometres from its base camp.
"As of now 74 CRPF personnel, including a Deputy Commandant and an Assistant Commandant and a Head Constable of state police force have died. Seven injured have been brought to Jagdalpur," he said.
He said those who have gone from the base camp -- to rescue the attacked team, also came under fire.
"One of the helicopter which has been dispatched to bring in the injured personnel also came under fire from the Maoists," he added.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/06/2010 11:54 ||
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#1
John, is this a failure of the Indian government / state governments to take the Maoists seriously enough, or a failure of strategy?
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/06/2010 12:25 Comments ||
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#2
Both.
Sections of the media/intelligentsia romanticize the Maoists. Last week the author Arundhati Roy wrote a series of articles from one of their camps very sympathetic to their cause. The newspaper columnist Praful Bidwai has just said that dozens of tribals die every week so 70 policemen dead is no big thing.
Photographs of the police patrols tell the sad story: pot-bellied cops with assault rifles wandering the forest. No bulletproof vests, no tactical radios, no backup of any kind.
The Indian government will not send in the army or airforce. The last time IAF aircraft bombed Indians was during British rule. They will not use airpower or heavy artillery.
KPS Gill (the badass Sikh policeman who crushed the Khalastanis) is very critical of the entire operation. They need someone like him in charge. Only local police, well trained and equipped, can deal with the maoists. Only they will have the local contacts and the sheer ruthlessness to eradicate the maoists and their aboveground supporters.
Gill was a real SOB in his time. When the terrorists abducted the families of his men, the families of the Sikh terrorists disappeared. Only police can fight this sort of dirty war.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/06/2010 12:56 Comments ||
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The Pakistani army has been accused of carrying out extra-judicial killings and torture in the country's northwestern Swat Valley.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch says it has mounting evidence of more than 200 unlawful executions in the past eight months.
The rights group says it believes the victims were supporters of militants in the area. Pakistan's army has rejected the allegations.
"Swat is open to journalists and you can conduct investigative reporting there," Pakistani Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told Reuters on Monday. Sure, c'mon up, guys. Feel free to look around. Unfortunately, my men are rather busy at the moment so we will not be able to provide you with security. Perhaps Blackwater Xe could provide that service for you...
The US says it has relayed its serious concerns over the allegations to the Pakistani government. Washington says it will monitor the situation closely.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
In other news... scientists discover water wet, fire hot
Posted by: john frum ||
04/06/2010 14:02 Comments ||
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#2
No! The official thugs of a corrupt middle eastern satrapy involved in extra-judicial killings?
[Dawn] The United States on Monday condemned an attack on the US consulate in Peshawar and expressed "great concern" after militants targeted the building in the provincial capital.
"We strongly condemn the violence," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
The United States said at least two Pakistani security guards employed by the consulate were killed and a number of others seriously wounded.
The attacks in quick succession were among the deadliest so far this year in the country.
Gibbs said Monday that the attacks had only succeeded in killing Pakistanis, something which in the past had merely served to strengthen Islamabad's determination to battle the militants.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
well since it's almost lunchtime and alot of ppl are at home since they have no job too go too it's about time for CNN too put the speech that Obama will undoubtedly give for a rambling 45 mins about this attack. And they will spend anther 30 mins or so sucking ass and showing what he just said in said speech about said attack and then replay a speech about healthcare.
Posted by: chris ||
04/06/2010 11:14 Comments ||
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A simmering dispute over collaboration between Amnesty International and a former Guantanamo Bay detainee with Taliban sympathies has heated up after a senior Amnesty official argued that defensive jihad' is not antithetical to human rights.
A trio of South Asian women's rights campaigners expressed dismay at the prospect that Amnesty International would not unequivocally condemn the defensive jihad' concept. If this is the official position of the world's leading human rights organization, this would gravely undermine the future of the human rights movement,' said Amrita Chhachhi, Sara Hossain and Sunila Abeysekera in a letter to Amnesty Secretary-General Claudio Cordone.
It is the argument of defensive jihad' that the Taliban uses to legitimize its anti-human rights actions such as the beheading of dissidents, including members of minority communities, and the public lashing of women,' they said.
Chhachhi is a senior lecturer in women's and gender studies at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Hossain is a Bangladesh Supreme Court advocate, and Abeysekera is a veteran Sri Lankan human rights campaigner. Their letter to Cordone is the latest development in a controversy, which erupted in February when Amnesty suspended a senior staffer, Gita Sahgal, after she publicly questioned the wisdom of the organization being associated with British Muslim radical, Moazzam Begg.
Begg was arrested in Pakistan in early 2002, and Pentagon officials said later he had undergone terrorist training in Afghanistan. He was held at Bagram air base and then at Guantanamo Bay, until President Bush ordered his release in 2005. Through his U.K.-based organization, Cageprisoners, Begg has become a prominent campaigner on behalf of war on terror detainees.
Sahgal has described him as Britain's most famous supporter of the Taliban,' and strongly opposed Amnesty's decision to share campaigning platforms with Cageprisoners. In February she went public with her criticism, telling London's Sunday Times, As a former Guantanamo detainee it was legitimate to hear [Begg's] experiences, but as a supporter of the Taliban it was absolutely wrong to legitimize him as a partner.'
(In a separate statement around the same time, she wrote, Amnesty has created the impression that Begg is not only a victim of human rights violations but a defender of human rights.')
Sahgal was quickly suspended by A.I., a move that prompted Chhachhi,, Hossain and Abeysekera to initiate a petition supporting her and challenging Amnesty's decision to work with Begg. The petition drew support from leading human and women's rights advocates around the world, many of whom would normally fall into the category of Amnesty allies and supporters.
In response, Cordone sent the petition drafters a letter defending Amnesty's decision to work with Cageprisoners. As one of the first released Guantanamo Bay detainees, he said, Begg speaks powerfully from personal experience about the abuses there.' Cordone then added, Now, Moazzam Begg and others in his group Cageprisoners also hold other views which they have clearly stated, for example on whether one should talk to the Taliban or on the role of jihad in self-defense. Are such views antithetical to human rights? Our answer is no, even if we may disagree with them '
Chhachhi, Hossain and Abeysekera called that assertion shocking.' The call for defensive jihad' is a thread running through many fundamentalist and specifically salafi-jihadi' texts. It is mentioned by Abdullah Azzam, mentor of Osama bin Laden, and founder of [Pakistani terror group] Lashkar-e-Toiba,' they said in their reply to him, a copy of which was made available late last week.
It has been shown that defensive jihad' results in indiscriminate attacks on civilians, attacks which are disproportionate and attacks which are targeted for the purpose of discrimination such as those on schools, shrines and religious processions.'
Iran's parliament speaker says new Israeli settlement building in Jerusalem al-Quds shows that Tel Aviv and its "godfather, Washington, are hatching a new plot."
"The expansion of Israeli settlements around the al-Aqsa Mosque, demolition of historic Islamic structures in [Jerusalem] al-Quds over the past month, and the silence of the heads of Arab and Islamic states have raised Israeli audacity to a new level," Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said in an address to parliament on Sunday.
"Israel has grown so audacious that it attacks the infrastructure of the Gaza Strip," he added.
Larijani made the remarks two days after Israeli night-time air raids on Gaza left three Palestinian children injured and several buildings destroyed. A dairy, a media production studio, and a metal workshop were among the targeted buildings.
"All things inside the factory have been completely destroyed. I believe Israel considers this factory part of Gaza's economic infrastructure and sees it as a symbol of the steadfastness of the people here," said Mo'atasem Dalloul, the owner of the dairy where the children were injured.
Last month, during US Vice President Joseph Biden's trip to Israel, Tel Aviv announced that it would soon begin the construction of 1600 units in the Ramat Shlomo housing development in East Jerusalem al-Quds.
Later on, the Israeli website Ynet announced that another East Jerusalem al-Quds building project was also underway, this time 20 units in the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
Following the announcements, the UN secretary general spoke out against the move and said that "all" Israeli settlement building in occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds is illegal.
"All settlement activity is illegal. But inserting settlers into Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem al-Quds is particularly troubling," Ban Ki-moon told the UN Security Council in New York.
"This leads to tensions and undermines prospects for addressing the final status of Jerusalem [al-Quds]," he said.
In his remarks on Sunday, Larijani called on Arab and Muslim countries, the United Nations, and UNESCO to take measures to prevent the destruction of Islamic sites in Jerusalem al-Quds.
"It is surprising how certain Arab states, which profess to be the leading defenders of Islam and Arabism, seek comprise (sic) plans that require greater retreat, when Islamic sites and the oppressed Arab people of Palestine are insulted," he said.
"All these audacities are the result of these meaningless comprise (sic) plans."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
'Israelisettlement plan is a new plot'
'www.presstv.com/ is "The Plot"'
fixed...
Via InstaPundit
As the world watches, Iran is in the final stages of transforming into a nuclear-armed state. Reza Aslan talks to a former Revolutionary Guard turned CIA agent about what's at stake.
Reza Kahlili is the pseudonym for a former member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard who worked as a CIA agent throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In his new book, A Time to Betray, Kahlili describes in vivid detail how his hopes that the 1979 revolution, which overthrew Iran's Western-backed dictator Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, would lead to a free and democratic Iran were dashed when he saw with his own eyes the unspeakable horrors that the new Islamic republic wrought on the Iranian people. After the regime executed his childhood friend, Kahlili had had enough. While on a visit to the United States, he reached out to the CIA and offered his services as a spy. He then spent the next decade providing detailed information to U.S. intelligence agencies about the inner workings of Iran's dreaded Revolutionary Guard, as well as the regime's race to build a nuclear weapon. As Kahlili claims in this exclusive interview with The Daily Beast's Reza Aslan, Iran will be a nuclear-armed state in the very near future. And, as far as Kahlili is concerned, the only way to stop that from happening may be to attack Iran now, before it gets a nuclear weapon.
Posted by: ed ||
04/06/2010 09:32 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Moscow still hopes that a diplomatic solution to the "standoff over Iran's nuclear program" will work, Russia's deputy foreign minister says.
"We still have not lost hope for a solution to the Iranian nuclear problem through dialogue with Iran," Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's pointman on Iran nuclear talks, told Interfax News Agency.
Moscow has been reluctant to agree to new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. However, two weeks ago, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that Russia might accede to a sanctions resolution on Iran.
The US and its Western allies allege that Tehran is covertly after atomic weapons. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors have found no diversions in Iran's atomic program.
Moreover, Tehran, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, insists that its nuclear program is only for civilian purposes.
Russia has said it will go ahead with the launch of Tehran's first nuclear power plant, which it has helped build in the southern city of Bushehr since the mid-1990s.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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The director of Hezbollah's office of international relations, Nawaf al-Moussawi, has ridiculed the idea of the enemy seeking to defeat the resistance through non-military means.
"After they failed in the July 2006 confrontation, they resorted to other means to target the resistance and infiltrate security agencies in Lebanon," the Naharnet news website quoted Moussawi as saying on Sunday.
It would be foolish to think that the enemy would be able to defeat the resistance through non-military means "after they failed to defeat it through military confrontation," he added.
Pointing to a security treaty signed by Washington and Beirut, the Hezbollah official said the agreement was meant to help the US with its efforts to "interfere in Lebanese internal security affairs anytime they want."
Moussawi called on Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri to fulfill his promise "by tackling the issue of the security treaty in a way that spares Lebanon the harm caused by the content of some of the treaty's articles."
"We are currently evaluating the circulars issued lately by the general director of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces, Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi. This means that the battle we fought to contain the threats of the security treaty is moving forward. The present era is of great significance since it will lead to the end of US hegemony in Lebanon. We will reach a moment at which the US administration can no longer decide anything in Lebanon," Moussawi said.
The Hezbollah official also stated that the resistance would reevaluate every treaty signed by Lebanon and the United States.
"Resistance takes the first priority for Hezbollah; therefore, those who try to contain its strength, are delusional because the resistance will not care about anything when the matter is related to its strength," Moussawi noted.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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Iran is to unveil a series of scientific achievements on the country's National Nuclear Technology Day -- to be held later this week.
"President [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] will have good news for the nation on Friday," the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, said on Monday.
Ahmadinejad has named April 9 as the National Nuclear Technology Day in which Iran celebrates its latest scientific achievements.
Salehi added that Iran's nuclear experts are working hard to counter the Western pressure which to prevent the Islamic Republic's progress.
His comments came two days after he said Iran would begin constructing new nuclear facilities within the next six months.
Iran's plans come amid stepped-up efforts by the United States and it allies to rally international support for imposing tougher sanctions against Tehran, which is accused by the West of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program.
Iran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), has denied the accusations, stressing that its nuclear program is directed at the civilian applications of the technology.
Russia has been reluctant to agree with new sanctions on Iran while China has reiterated that dialog is the only solution to Iran's nuclear issue.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2010 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Iran Press TV Latest] President Hamid Karzai has threatened to step down and join the Taliban if outside pressure for reform continues, Afghan lawmakers say. 
