The campaign to drive the Taleban out of Kandahar province has until the end of the year to succeed if it is to capitalise on maximum troop numbers and political unity, Nato commanders and Western diplomats told The Times.
Our mission is to show irreversible momentum by the end of 2010 that's the clock I'm using,' Brigadier-General Frederick Hodges, the US Director of Operations in southern Afghanistan, said. We'll never have more capacity than we have by late summer 2010. We 'll never have it any better.'
The joint Nato-Afghan campaign codenamed Hamkari, which is the Dari word for co-operation will use the biggest number of troops and police in the country yet. Thousands of Afghan National Army soldiers and paramilitaries are to combine with the existing coalition force in Kandahar as well as additional units from among the 13,000 troops being sent in the second phase of the US surge.
The first phase of Hamkari began a fortnight ago and the strategy will include measures such as registering weapons, vehicles, hotels, madrassas and seminaries. Western officials are keen to have a broader range of village and tribal representation in the shuras, or councils, which communicate with officials. They are also keen to bolster the authority of Tooryalai Wesa, the Governor, at the expense of the city's current strongman, Ahmad Wali Karzai, the half-brother of the President.
Nato commanders estimate that up to 75 per cent of Taleban fighters in Kandahar province, most of whom are concentrated in the three districts targeted by the military campaign, are locals who may reintegrate if they are offered the right incentives. The commanders are also encouraged by the absence of foreign fighters. We've seen no hardcore al-Qaeda links here,' a senior Nato intelligence officer told The Times. Zero al-Qaeda.'
Yet Nato officers know that they have a tough deadline. By the end of the year troop numbers will decline and Dutch forces will withdraw. In November political attention in Washington will be focused on the midterm elections and critics of the war will remind President Obama of his pledge to start pulling out combat troops in 2011.
Posted by: ed ||
05/11/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Moronic. If you're going to put a deadline on the duration of offensive operations, in a war you've kept at deadlock for years as it is, you might as well just quit immediately. What's Obama's contingency plan for a resurgent Taleban?
Japan plans to establish a $40 million strategic naval base in the Horn of Africa state of Djibouti, where U.S. and French forces are deployed to combat al-Qaida jihadists.
The facility, intended to boost the fight against Somali pirates preying on vital shipping lanes, will be Japan's first foreign military base since World War II.
"This will be the only Japanese base outside our country and the first in Africa," said Japanese navy Capt. Keizo Kitagawa, commander of the Japanese flotilla deployed with the international anti-piracy task force in the Gulf of Aden. He will oversee establishment of the base.
"We're deploying here to fight piracy and for our self-defense. Japan is a maritime nation and the increase in piracy in the Gulf of Aden is worrying," Kitagawa said.
Setting up a Japanese base in Africa would have been unthinkable a few years ago under Japan's 1947 Peace Constitution, which forbade military deployments abroad. So the emphasis of the new venture is fighting crime -- the pirates -- rather than on military operations, even though Japanese troops have been deployed overseas since the early 1990s on U.N. peacekeeping missions.
Several Japanese vessels have been attacked by the Somalia pirates over the last couple of years and pressure from the country's shipping industry was apparently put on the government to step up anti-piracy operations.
The 150,000-ton oil tanker Takayama was hit by rocket-propelled grenades in a 2008 assault but was rescued by a German warship. In 2007, the chemical tanker Golden Mori was hijacked and released after six weeks, apparently after ransom was paid to the sea bandits.
Japanese officials say 90 percent of Japan's exports are shipped through the Gulf of Aden north into the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.
The new base is expected to be completed in 2011 and will include an airfield for Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft of Japan's military and a permanent port facility.
Japanese personnel are currently housed in accommodations rented from the U.S. base at Camp Lemmonier, a former French Foreign Legion installation near Djibouti's airport.
The camp, the only U.S. military base in Africa, is occupied by the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, a counter-terrorism force deployed there after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
China, which also has several warships attached to the international fleet, has also expressed interest in establish a naval base in the Gulf of Aden.
As with the Japanese, resupply and maintenance is difficult because of the vast distances between the region and their ships' home ports.
Japanese naval units, including missile destroyers and maritime patrol planes have been operating in the Gulf of Aden since 2009.
The Japanese contingent includes teams from the Special Boarding Unit, modeled on Britain's Special Boat Service.
#1
The Obama administration is scrambling to add the Pakistani Taliban to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), a register that already has other Pakistani terrorist organizations such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-eMohammed, and Harkat-ul-Mujahiddin.
US lawmakers led by New York Senator Charles Schumer are pressing the State Department to update its 45-strong FTO list that does not appear to have kept pace with the rapidly evolving face of terrorism in Pakistan where various terrorist outfits are now believed to coordinate their activities closely and often morph into new organizations.
I guess the meanings of the words rapidly evolving and suddenly realized can be confusing at times.
And I don't know if scrambling is the right word so much as digging up the prepared paperwork might be.
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] The government is considering setting up of another high-powered Fact Finding Committee, this time with the objective to give a clean chit to Interior Minister Senator Rehman Malik and Law Minister Senator Babar Awan, both of whom are incidentally closest to the president.
According to some sources, this new FFC is being constituted to ensure a clean chit not only to these two ministers but all those who were riding the same Mercedes Benz car, which was stated to be the back-up car and which sped away from the scene of the tragedy moments before the killing of Benazir Bhutto on December 27, 2007.
The News has learnt on authority that the composition of the second high-powered FFC is under serious consideration. According to sources, a former judge is likely to be nominated to head this second FFC and some top bureaucrats and a senior officer from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) would be its members.
This new FFC is likely to be given two weeks' time to submit the report. It will have the same one-point mandate -- to inquire into the escape of the back-up car and intention of its riders, who fled from the scene of the suicide attack, leaving Ms Bhutto's vehicle at the mercy of the terrorists. As was the procedure followed by the first FFC, headed by the Cabinet Secretary Abdur Rauf Chaudhry, the second FFC would also record the statements of individuals who were in the car at the time.
They include Rehman Malik, Babar Awan, presidential spokesperson Mr Farhatullah Babar, Lt. Gen. (retd) Tauqir Zia and driver Khizar in addition to some eyewitnesses. Repeated efforts were made to contact Farhatullah Babar for his comments and views as to what necessitated the formation of this second FFC. However, he remained unavailable for some inexplicable reasons.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2010 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that some people in its government are aware of the whereabouts of elusive Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Omar.
The Obama Administration meanwhile for the first time accused Taliban of being behind the botched Times Square bombing plot.
"Some Pakistani officials were more informed about Al-Qaeda and Taliban than they let on", Clinton told a foreign news channel in an interview.
"I'm not saying that they're at the highest levels but I believe that somewhere in this government are people who know where Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda is, where Mullah Omar and the leadership of the Afghan Taliban is and we expect more cooperation to help us bring to justice, capture or kill, those who attacked us on 9/11," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
DOH!
Alas, The Taliban was a Pakistan invention. You just learned this?
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday accused nuclear power North Korea of supplying Syria with weapons of mass destruction.
Lieberman's office quoted him as telling Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama at a meeting in Tokyo that such activity threatened to destabilise east Asia as well as the Middle East.
"The cooperation between Syria and North Korea is not focused on economic development and growth but rather on weapons of mass destruction" Lieberman said.
In evidence he cited the December 2009 seizure at Bangkok airport of an illicit North Korean arms shipment which US intelligence said was bound for an unnamed Middle East country.
Lieberman said Syria intended to pass the weapons on to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and to the Islamic Hamas movement, which rules Gaza and has its political headquarters in Damascus.
"This cooperation endangers stability in both southeast Asia and also in the Middle East and is against all the accepted norms in the international arena," Lieberman was quoted as telling Hatoyama.
Thai officials at the time said that acting on a tipoff from Washington they confiscated about 30 tonnes of missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons when the North Korean plane landed for refuelling in Bangkok.
Israel has accused North Korea in the past of transferring nuclear technology to Syria, which is technically in a state of war with the neighbouring Jewish state, although the two last fought openly in 1973.
Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported in 2007 that Israel seized North Korean nuclear material in a commando raid on a secret military site in Syria and then destroyed the site in an air attack.
Syria denied the report.
The communist regime in North Korea has denied collaborating on nuclear activity with Syria, while Israel has maintained an official silence on the reported September 2007 raid and strike.
[Ma'an] A Palestinian resistance fighter deported to Ireland in 2002 following Israel's siege of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem marked eight years in exile in April.
Speaking to Ma'an, Jihda Ja'ara appeared more optimistic about the situation following Palestinian Authority intervention. Ja'ara, the spokesman for the 13 Palestinians deported to Europe, said deportees faced dire circumstances throughout their eight years in exile, but a recent PA decision to provide them with living accommodation has helped.
The eighth anniversary, he said, was more poignant than the past, following the recent death of fellow deportee Abdullah Dawood. "We hoped he could return to his family in Palestine by foot, but he returned in a coffin. We believe this is part of our destiny as Palestinian fighters who struggle for our people's freedom."
Dawood, who died in Algeria, was repatriated to his family for burial in Nablus in March.
Ja'ara applauded the PA's efforts in attempting to secure their return, thanking President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat. "They telephone deportees regularly and the PA never abandoned us," he said, adding that they have been promised that their case will be brought up during talks with Israel.
"Dr Erekat telephones us all the time assuring that our case is a top priority. However, the main obstacle is the Israeli occupation who refuses to give the Palestinian people their rights and their freedom," he said.
Fellow deportees, he said, have adapted to life in Europe, learning the languages of their host countries.
In April 2002, 26 Palestinians were exiled to Gaza while 13 were deported to European countries following the siege of Bethlehem's Nativity Church during Operation Defensive Shield, undertaken by Israel to seek out Palestinians deemed "wanted." Many took refuge in the church, before negotiations ended in their deportation.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2010 00:00 ||
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"We hoped he could return to his family in Palestine by foot, but he returned in a coffin. We believe this is part of our destiny as Palestinian fighters who struggle for our people's freedom."
[Ma'an] An Israeli military court postponed the trial of a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for the 71st time, delaying the hearing until Wednesday, family members said Monday.
Jamal Tirawi's most recent hearing was held at the Salem detention center, family members said, adding that Tirawi refused to recognize the military tribunal's legality.
Tirawi was detained on 29 May 2007 at his home in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus. He was the first Fatah-affiliated lawmaker to be detained following the 2006 Palestinian general elections.
On 16 August 2007, an Israeli public prosecutor issued 17 indictments against Tirawi, who was then deputy speaker of Fatah's PLC bloc in the West Bank, which charged him with causing death and possessing weapons and explosives.
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"In order to launch Russian-Syrian relations to a qualitatively new level, it is going to take a lot of work. First of all, you need to strengthen the multi-faceted political dialogue. We are united by the idea of building a just world order based on the rule of international law, equality of all nations, large and small, and their interaction in global problems, including the new threats and challenges of the XXI century. With regards to this, of special importance are regular Russian-Syrian meetings at all levels, and the effective use of new as well as existing mechanisms of interaction "
The Presidents of Russia and Syria, Dmitry Medvedev and Bashar Assad began talks in the palace complex of Quasr al-Shaab. Their working day will finish on Monday with lunch in the palace complex of Damascus. On Tuesday, Dmitry Medvedev will hold talks with Bashar Assad on a narrow as well as wide range of topics. The parties will discuss the situation in Iraq, the prospects for the Russian proposal to convene a conference in Moscow on the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian settlement conflict will be touched upon. Following the talks, it is expected that the sides will sign several documents, calling for increased cooperation in various fields. The visit is to conclude with the Russian President's meeting with the Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius the fourth. President Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian leader to visit Syria on an official visit. On Tuesday evening he is to head for Turkey. And just in case your blood hasn't run cold enough, read on:
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev believes that in regards to relations with Syria, it is important not only to multiply the number of achievements, but also to consistently go forward."In order to launch Russian-Syrian relations to a qualitatively new level, it is going to take a lot of work. First of all, you need to strengthen the multi-faceted political dialogue. We are united by the idea of building a just world order based on the rule of international law, equality of all nations, large and small, and their interaction in global problems, including the new threats and challenges of the XXI century. With regards to this, of special importance are regular Russian-Syrian meetings at all levels, and the effective use of new as well as existing mechanisms of interaction "- said the Russian leader in an article published in the Syrian newspaper Al- Vatan, Interfax reported. President Dmitry Medvedev believes it is important to intensify efforts to expand cooperation in the economic sphere, trade, investment, energy, science, technology, transportation, culture, humanitarian and other areas. In his view, the two countries have a lot of opportunities. The Russian leader believes that the need to move forward by using "innovative, intelligent approaches." "In addition to traditional areas of business interaction it is extremely important to develop high-tech components for trade and economic ties. There are joint projects in the sphere of communications and information technology, implementing systems for navigation, and studying the usage of outer space."Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also emphasizes that Moscow will contribute to a "restart" of the Arab-Israeli dialogue, and encourages the peace process in the Middle East. The Russian head of state is to visit Damascus on 10-11 May. There are planned talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
#1
ION DRUDGEREPORT > IRAN COULD FIRE NUCLEAR MISSLE WITHIN TWO YEARS???
HMMMM, HMMMMM, iff it comes to pass it will be just in time for CHINA'S 2014-AT-THE-EARLIEST "WAR AGZ THE US NOT ONLY POSSIBLE BUT DESIRED" [RUSSIA broadly likes 2018 for same].
#2
Nothing is ever straightforward with Russians. Often they seem to work at cross-purposes with the West, but they intend the same goals, with them getting something out of the deal, of course.
For example, while the West wanted to prevent Iran from processing uranium, Russia knew that this was impossible, so instead proposed giving Iran uranium, on condition that Russia got to reprocess it, taking out the U-238 and Plutonium, which could be used for bombs.
#3
We are united by the idea of building a just world order based on the rule of international law, equality of all nations, large and small, and their interaction in global problems, including the new threats and challenges of the XXI century.
That doesn't sound much lick the Russia that I know.
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.
