A new audio message released by a former Guantanamo Bay detainee calls for the uprisings in the Middle East to continue until Islamic states are established.
The 10-minute audio message, newly released on the web but recorded after the Tunisian government fell in January, is the first major communiqué from al Qaeda recorded after the tumult in the Middle East began, and has been seen by some analysts as the terror group's attempt to stay relevant.
While this is not a link I frequent, it can hardly be classified as "single source reporting." You may draw your own conclusions with regard to veracity and timing, which happens to coincide with recent administration "secret negociations with the Taliban."
Michael Corleone: Don't ask me about my business, Kay.
Michael Corleone: Is it true?
Michael Corleone: Don't ask me about my business...
Kay Adams: No...
Michael Corleone: [slams the desk] ENOUGH!
This story pops up periodically, but it's been going on since we started supplying troops through Pakistan. Unfortunately, so long as the government those running Pakistan have pet jihadis and, even if they didn't, so long as the powers-that-be cannot establish control over Pakistan's outlying territories even if they wanted to, this mafia-style blackmail will continue.
#2
Afghanistan is a place where everybody lies, all the time, about everything. And everybody assumes that everybody else is lying as well.
Beyond that, everyone is a free agent. In this case, working for the Taliban one day, and NATO the next, and someone else the next. Usually money trumps, but after it's paid, loyalty evaporates. They will betray their family, their tribe, and just about everything else, including Islam.
There is no redemption in such a place, only survival for that day. It is truly post-apocalyptic.
#5
ION FARSINEWS > AFGHAN ANALYSTS: US PERMANENT BASE THREATENS PEACE, as it is believed such Bases may be used by the US-NATO as a SPRINGBOARD FOR [ssshhhh,ccccc, IMPERIALIST] US OR US-LED ATTACKS AGZ IRAN, CENTRAL ASIA, + CENTRAL ASIA, ETC.
[Al Arabiya] Kenyan and Ethiopian troops could attack Somali rebel group al-Shabaab ... Hrakat ash-Shabaab al-Mujahidin aka the Mujahideen Youth Movement. It was originally the youth movement of the Islamic Courts, now pretty much all of what's left of it. They are aligned with al-Qaeda but operate more like the Afghan or Pakistani Taliban. The organization's current leader is Ibrahim Haji Jama Mee'aad, also known as Ibrahim al-Afghan. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a Kenyan al-Qaeda member, is considered the group's military leader... inside the Horn of Africa nation following the rebel's latest threat to strike at Kenya, security sources said on Monday.
The al-Shabaab group, which claims ties to al-Qaeda and has been waging a four-year insurgency against Somalia's government, said on Sunday it would strike at neighboring Kenya for training Somali government forces and allowing Ethiopian troops to operate from its towns.
"Kenya has long been working to undermine the existence of the Islamic sharia in Somalia," al-Shabaab front man Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage said.
"We shall no longer tolerate the constant aggression and ill acts of Kenya against our Mohammedan society. Kenya will bear responsibility for the consequences of the continuing aggression," he added.
Tens of thousands of Kenyans have been fleeing a border town after shells fired during fighting on the Somali side of the frontier landed near a hospital and a cop shoppe on the Kenyan side. An official with a group representing aid organizations said one Kenyan had died and 20 had been maimed.
The al Shabaab militia has been stung after Somali forces backed by government-friendly militia struck at the bad turbans' strongholds in the capital Mogadishu and in southern Somalia, where the rebels control the border town of Balad Hawa, a stone's throw away from the Kenyan town of Mandera and Ethiopia.
Somali troop numbers have been bolstered by the deployment of hundreds of new recruits trained in Kenya and Ethiopia.
The new government offensive has seen Somali forces claw back parts of Mogadishu.
Fleeing residents said Mandera resembled a military camp.
"We expect a major offensive any moment from tonight," said a Kenya military officer at the frontier with Somalia.
"The plan to enter Somalia and confront al-Shaabab is the only way to protect our territory. Kenya has no option it must fight this group right inside Somalia," the source added.
Security sources said a convoy of Somali soldiers trained in Kenya backed by Kenyan troops had arrived at the border on Sunday night where they were camping, ready for the incursion.
However, The infamous However... Kenya's government front man said the country's troops would not launch strikes inside Somalia.
"There is no such plan (to attack inside Somalia). We have police and security forces there to ensure the fighting does not spill over into Kenya," Alfred Mutua told Rooters in Nairobi.
A Kenyan Treasury official said on Monday the country was seeking parliament's approval for extra spending on security along Kenya's frontier with Somalia.
Residents flee
The al-Shabaab has said in the past that it would attack Kenya but so far has yet to do so. Last year, the group bombed Uganda in twin attacks that killed nearly 80 people in retaliation for Kampala providing peacekeeping troops that have helped Somalia's government stay in power.
Al-Qaeda has already hit Kenya in two major attacks, in 1998 and 2002.
Kenyan Police Commissioner Matthew Iteere urged Kenyans to be more vigilant, and called for tighter security at shopping malls, hotels and in public transport vehicles.
"We are not taking this threat lightly," he said.
The fighting in Somalia's Balad Hawa has paralysed activities across the border in Mandera and forced residents to seek refuge in towns away from the porous frontier.
Issack Dualle of the Mandera NGO Forum, representing non-governmental organizations, said aid agencies had closed their operations and moved to other towns for fear of attacks, paralyzing relief operations.
"It's a total disaster, almost half of Mandera town residents, about 40,000 people, have moved from the border," Dualle told Rooters.
"The fear is real, a number of houses have been damaged, at least 20 people have been injured, one Kenyan killed, all schools, banks and government offices have been closed."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Emirates 24/7] Somali pirates seized a Greek-owned bulk carrier in the North Arabian sea on Monday, taking the 23-strong crew hostage, the European Union's anti-piracy taskforce said.
EU Navfor said the MV Dover was hijacked about 260 nautical miles north east of Salalah in Oman. Communication with the vessel had been lost, it said.
"The Panamanian flagged, Greek owned vessel was on its way to Saleef (Yemen) from Port Quasim (Pakistain) when it was attacked," EU Navfor said in a statement.
The crew include three Romanian citizens, one Russian and 19 Filipinos.
Somalia has been mired in violence and awash with weapons since the overthrow of a dictator two decades ago, allowing piracy to flourish off the lawless nation's shores.
Preying on merchant vessels and pleasure boats, the pirates rake in tens of millions of dollars a year in ransoms.
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#4
Libya's armed forces has histor always been considered more a DEFENSIVE FORCE, NOT OFFENSIVE, espec given Libya's large land area relative to its population. Although Libya was a member of the Arab League, its armed forces per se were never much of serious mil threat to Israel during the Cold War - when it tried, Israel + later Reagan cleaned their clocks.
Prolly more correct to say that Libya's military is akin to being BORDER GUARDS, or a PARAMIL POLICE-SECURITY FORCE WID NATIONAL DEFENSE RESPONSIBILITIES.
Since the assassination of EGYPT'S ANWAR SADAT, Muammar had made extensive efforts to improve the quality of the Libyan military TO PROTECT HIS REGIME, i.e. TO SERVE + PROTECT GHADDAFY.
STILL MORE THAN A MATCH FOR THE REBELS - unless more Mil Units + internal Security per se defect, in the absence of any foreign mil assistance/intervention in their favor the Libyuhn Rebs will likely have a very hard time trying to force Muammar from Tripol or from political power.
* PROPOSED "NO FLY ZONE" > indics or infers that the US-NATO/Allies are expecting Muammar to hold on to ruling power for a while.
[Ennahar] A general in eastern Libya who has mutinied against Muammar Qadaffy rule said his forces stood ready to help rebels fighting in Tripoli if called on to do so, but he rejected any need for foreign assistance.
The Libyan leader lost control on the east swiftly after the eruption of protests against his rule on February 15. Rebels in the eastern city of Benghazi have created a national council and have pledged to support those still fighting Qadaffy's rule.
"Our brothers in Tripoli say: "We are fine so far, we do not need help'. If they ask for help we are ready to move," said General Ahmed el-Gatrani, one of most senior figures in the army in Benghazi which no longer swears allegiance to Qadaffy.
Residents of Benghazi say that hundreds of people from the city have already headed to Tripoli to support the effort to seize control of the capital from Qadaffy. Gatrani indicated the army would only move if called on by rebel commanders there.
The extent to which rebel army units engage with hardline Qadaffy loyalists is a key factor in how long conflict may last.
"TRIPOLI HOSTAGE"
"In Tripoli they (Qadaffy loyalists) still control one unit but it will be with the people soon," he told Rooters, without giving a source for his information. "All orders he gives to the air force, they are refusing his instructions.
"He only has a couple of units in the areas he still controls and the rest are with us. Tripoli is being held hostage," he said, adding that Sirte, Qadaffy's home town which lies roughly between Benghazi and Tripoli, was also falling.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another John Foster Dulles ... said on Sunday the United States was "reaching out" to Libyan opposition groups seeking to oust Qadaffy. Although not responding directly to Clinton's remarks, the general said: "We don't need foreign help as we moved on our own, on orders from no one outside."
"We've seen how you treat your friends."
The east has been largely calm since it shook off Qadaffy's rule, despite some looting and a collapse of law and order in the initial aftermath. Libyans in the region have organised committees to help restore order and run basic services.
Gatrani said there was still the odd incident of violence in the east but these were not very significant. He blamed them on "mercenaries and foreigners fighting the people" in areas such al-Bayda, north of Benghazi.
He also said his forces would aim to protect key oil areas, such as el-Brega and Ras Lanuf where there are crude and product terminals, as fighting continued closer to Tripoli and in the capital itself. Libya relies on oil exports for its earnings.
"The areas of Ras Lanuf and Brega are safe areas for oil. Any fighting would be dangerous there. We aim to ensure that, when Tripoli falls, the situation is going to be fine in these areas," he said. "We try to avoid any festivities in these areas."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
As per NET, the Rebels' forces have thus far been variously labeled collec as the LIBYAN PEOPLE'S ARMY, PEOPLE'S LIBYAN ARMY, + REVOLUTIONARY LIBYAN ARMY.
[Arab News] The West moved to send its first concrete aid to Libya's rebellion in the east of the country, hoping to give it the momentum to oust the Libyan leader. But the Libyan leader's regime clamped down in its stronghold in the capital, quashing an attempt Friday to hold new protests as residents reported skyrocketing food prices from the crisis.
The two sides in Libya's crisis appeared entrenched in their positions, and the direction the uprising takes next could depend on which can hold out longest. Qadaffy's opponents, including mutinous army units, hold nearly the entire eastern half of the country, much of the oil infrastructure and some cities in the West. Qadaffy is dug in in Tripoli and nearby cities, backed by security forces and Death Eaters who are generally better armed than the military.
In the two opposition-held cities closest to Tripoli -- Zawiya and Misrata -- rebel forces were locked into standoffs with Qadaffy loyalists.
In Zawiya, some 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli, residents said they were anticipating a possible attack by pro-regime troops to try to retake the city. "Our people are waiting for them to come and, God willing, we will defeat them," said on resident who only wanted to be quoted by his first name, Alaa.
In Misrata, Libya's third largest city 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of Tripoli, skirmishes took place overnight between rebel forces controlling the city and troops loyal to Qadaffy, according to residents. Each side controls part of a sprawling air base on the outskirts of the city, and neither was able to make any gains in the latest sporadic fighting, they said.
Qadaffy opponents have moved to consolidate their hold in the east, centered on Benghazi -- Libya's second largest city, where the uprising began. Politicians there on Sunday set up their first leadership council to manage day-to-day affairs, taking a step toward forming what could be an alternative to Qadaffy's regime.
The opposition is backed by numerous units of the military in the east that joined the uprising, and they hold several bases and Benghazi's airport. But so far, the units do not appear to have melded into a unified fighting force.
Qadaffy long kept the military weak, fearing a challenge to his rule, so many units are plagued by shortages of supplies and ammunition.
In the capital, several hundred protesters started a march in the eastern district of Tajoura, which has been the scene of frequent festivities. After the burial of a person killed in gunfire last week, mourners began to march down a main street, chanting against the Libyan leader and waving the flag of Libya's pre-Qadaffy monarchy, which has become a symbol of the uprising, a witness said.
But they quickly dispersed once a brigade of pro-Qadaffy fighters rushed to the scene, scattering before the gunnies could fire a shot, the witness said. He and other residents in the capital spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
There were attempts to restore aspects of normality in the capital, residents said. Many stores downtown reopened, and traffic in the streets increased.
Tripoli was in turmoil on Friday, when residents said gunnies opened fire indiscriminately on protesters holding new marches. But since then, the capital has been quiet -- especially since foreign journalists invited by Qadaffy's regime to view the situation arrived Friday.
Long lines formed outside banks in the capital by Libyans wanting to receive the equivalent of $400 per family that Qadaffy pledged in a bid to shore up public loyalty.
One resident said pro-Qadaffy security forces man checkpoints around the city of 2 million and prowl the city for any sign of unrest. She told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that the price of rice, a main staple, has gone up 500 percent amid the crisis, reaching the equivalent of $40 for a five-kilogram (10-pound) bag.
Bakeries are limited to selling five loaves of bread per family, and most butcher shops are closed, she said.
Some schools reopened, but only for a half day and attendance was low. "My kids are too afraid to leave home and they even sleep next to me at night," said Sidiq Al-Damjah, 41 and father of three. "I feel like I'm living a nightmare." Qadaffy has launched by far the bloodiest crackdown in a wave of anti-government uprisings sweeping the Arab world, the most serious challenge to his four decades in power.
The United States, Britain and the UN Security Council all slapped sanctions on Libya this weekend.
In Gay Paree, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Monday that La Belle France was sending two planes with humanitarian aid to Benghazi, the opposition stronghold in eastern Libya. The planes would leave "in a few hours" for Benghazi with doctors, nurses, medicines and medical equipment.
"It will be the beginning of a massive operation of humanitarian support for the populations of liberated territories," he said on RTL radio. He said Gay Paree was studying "all solutions" -- including military options -- so that "Qadaffy understands that he should go, that he should leave power." In Geneva, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was meeting Monday with foreign ministers from Britain, La Belle France, Germany and Italy, pressing for tough sanctions on the Libyan government. A day earlier, Clinton kept up pressure for Qadaffy to step down and "call off the mercenaries" and other troops that remain loyal to him.
"We've been reaching out to many different Libyans who are attempting to organize in the east and as the revolution moves westward there as well," Clinton said.
"I think it's way too soon to tell how this is going to play out, but we're going to be ready and prepared to offer any kind of assistance that anyone wishes to have from the United States." Two US senators said Washington should recognize and arm a provisional government in rebel-held areas of eastern Libya and impose a no-fly zone over the area -- enforced by US warplanes -- to stop attacks by the regime. But Fillon said a no-fly zone needed UN support "which is far from being obtained today."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
An interesting bit of trivia:
The people of Benghazi renamed Chavez Stadium to Febuary 17th Martyrs Stadium.
Poor Hugo!
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/01/2011 13:57 Comments ||
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#2
Death eaters? wouls that be mercs?
Posted by: chris ||
03/01/2011 18:08 Comments ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Rebels downed a military aircraft on Monday as they fought a government bid to take back Libya's third city, Misrata, a witness said, while foreign ministers discussed how to help them oust Muammar Qadaffy.
Qadaffy's forces have been trying for days to push back a revolt that has won over large parts of the military, ended his control over eastern Libya and is holding the government at bay in western cities near the capital Tripoli.
In both Libya's third city, Misrata, 200 km (125 miles) to the east, and Zawiyah, a strategic refinery town 50 km (30 miles) to the west, rebels with military backing were holding the town centers against repeated government attacks.
"An aircraft was shot down this morning while it was firing on the local radio station. Protesters captured its crew," the witness, Mohamed, told Rooters by telephone.
"Fighting to control the military air base started last night and is still going on. Qadaffy's forces control only a small part of the base. Protesters control a large part of this base where there is ammunition."
Foreign governments are increasing the pressure on Qadaffy to leave in the hope of ending fighting that has claimed at least 1,000 lives and restoring order to a country that accounts for 2 percent of the world's oil production.
SANCTIONS
The UN Security Council has slapped sanctions on Qadaffy and other Libyan authorities, imposed an arms embargo and frozen Libyan assets, while making clear that those who used violence against civilians would face international justice.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Dean Acheson ... , Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and others were holding bilateral talks at a human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... conference in Geneva to coordinate further action.
European powers including erstwhile ally Italy said it was time for Qadaffy to quit and Clinton said the United States was "reaching out" to opposition groups.
A US official in Geneva said a central aim of sanctions was to "send a message not only to Qadaffy ... but to the people around Qadaffy, who are the ones we're really seeking to influence."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Jerusalem Post Front Page] US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Dean Rusk ... said on Monday Muammar Qadaffy was using "mercenaries and thugs" to suppress his own people and said the Libyan leader must step down immediately.
"Qadaffy and those around him must be held accountable for these acts, which violate international legal obligations and common decency," Clinton said in an address to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, saying nothing was off the table as the international community considers its next steps and as long as the Qadaffy government threatens and kills its civilians. "It is time for Qadaffy to go, now, without further violence or delay," she added.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... the US military was repositioning naval and air forces around Libya, a Pentagon official said on Monday, as the international demands intensify for an end to Qadaffy's decades-long rule.
"We have planners working and various contingency plans and I think it's safe to say as part of that we're repositioning forces to be able to provide for that flexibility once decisions are made ... to be able to provide options and flexibility," said Colonel David Lapan, a Pentagon front man.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday also commented on events in Libya, calling on the fringes of the Qadaffy government to desert. Cameron added that he has not yet ruled out the use of "military assets," and has asked defense chiefs to work on no-fly zone.
Back in Geneva, Clinton also commented on Iran, saying that Iranian authorities have targeted students, professors, bloggers, and activists. She added that she was proud the US was working with the UN Rights Council together with Sweden and other members to perform investigations on Iranian abuses.
She also said that Iranian human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... activists have pushed for such action to reign in international pressure on the Iranian government.
Clinton also stressed that the popular reforms and revolutions taking place in the Middle East are spreading.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#3
we're repositioning forces to be able to provide for that flexibility once decisions are made
Interesting turn of phrase. I think he's saying: "Just like we have contingency plans for an airborne assault on Liechtenstein, we also have contingency plans for the president growing a pair."
And I'd say the Liechtenstein plans are more likely to be used.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/01/2011 13:53 Comments ||
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[Al Jazeera] Muammar Qadaffy has reportedly appointed the head of Libya's foreign intelligence service to speak to the leadership of the anti-government protesters in the east of the country, while a minister said the government will attempt dialogue before using military force.
The appointment of Bouzaid Dordah on Monday comes as the opposition is expanding its grip of the country, holding several cities near the capital, Tripoli.
Asked if Libya could use military force to retake cities, deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim said: "We will wait until all other attempts are exhausted.
"If all attempts and efforts for dialogue ... are exhausted, a very well guided force will be used in accordance with international rules."
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... video footage has emerged on the internet, showing Qadaffy's son Saif al-Islam exhorting people to fight for his father and pledging to give them weapons.
Representatives of the opposition, based in Libya's second biggest city, Benghazi, have formed a "national council" to keep the uprisings in different cities under an umbrella organisation.
A front man for the council said on Sunday that he saw no room for negotiation with the regime.
"We will help liberate other Libyan cities, in particular Tripoli through our national army, our armed forces, of which part have announced their support for the people," Hafiz Ghoga, front man for the new National Libyan Council, said.
A prominent figure in the opposition movement is former justice minister Mustafa Mohamed Abdel Jalil, who resigned a week ago in protest against the killing of protesters.
Qadaffy remained defiant on Monday, refusing to acknowledge the protests which have spread across the country, with hundreds holding a brief rally in Tripoli.
In an interview with ABC television, he said all Libyans loved him.
"During my conversation with Qadaffy, he told me, 'All my people love me. They would die to protect me,'" the news hound Christiane Amanpour, conducting the interview, said in a Twitter message.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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The U.S. military is moving ships closer to Libya, a Pentagon official said on Monday, as the B.O. regime stepped up calls for Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy to step down.
"We are moving ships closer to Libya in case they are needed," said Colonel David Lapan, a Pentagon front man
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another John Marshall ... said "nothing is off the table" so long as Qadaffy threatens, kills civilians, adding that he has to leave "now without further violence or delay."
Clinton added that Muammar Qadaffy was using "mercenaries and thugs" to suppress his own people and said the Libyan leader must step down immediately.
"Qadaffy and those around him must be held accountable for these acts, which violate international legal obligations and common decency," Clinton said in an address to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, saying nothing was off the table as the international community considers its next steps.
"It is time for Qadaffy to go, now, without further violence or delay," she added.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... going into exile would be one option for Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy in meeting international demands that he leave power, White House front man Jay Carney said on Monday.
Carney, asked by news hounds whether the United States would help facilitate exile for Qadaffy, said this was a bit of speculation that he would not discuss.
Carney also said the United States and its allies are in talks on whether to create a no-fly zone over Libya.
Qadaffy himself seemed to be in denial about the strength of the uprising against his 41-year rule that has ended his control over eastern Libya and is closing in on the capital Tripoli.
"All my people love me. They would die to protect me," ABC's Ace newshound Christiane Amanpour quoted him as telling her in an interview with the U.S. network on Monday.
Qadaffy also said he felt betrayed by the United States and accused Western countries of abandoning his government in its fight against "terrorists".
"I'm surprised that we have an alliance with the West to fight al Qaeda, and now that we are fighting hard boyz they have abandoned us," Qadaffy said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya] Prime Minister David Cameron ... British PM Cameron describes himself as a modern compassionate conservative and has spoken of a need for a new style of politics that doesn't involve disagreeing with people. He has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's probably not. He has also claimed to be a liberal Conservative, and a very tall short person. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has urged politicians to concentrate on improving people's happiness and general well-being, instead of focusing solely on financial wealth, which is easy for a stockbroker's kid to say. Ask him to loan you ten quid and see how that works out. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... said on Monday that Britain would work with allies on plans to enforce a no-fly zone in Libya to protect its people from military attacks by Muammar Qadaffy's government.
Speaking to parliament, Cameron urged Qadaffy to step down and said that all measures would be considered to increase pressure on him to go.
"We do not in any way rule out the use of military assets," Cameron said.
"We must not tolerate this regime using military force against its own people. In that context I have asked the Ministry of Defense and the Chief of the Defense Staff to work with our allies on plans for a military no-fly zone."
Separately, the U.S. military is repositioning naval and air forces around Libya, a Pentagon official said on Monday.
"We have planners working and various contingency plans and I think it's safe to say as part of that we're repositioning forces to be able to provide for that flexibility once decisions are made ... to be able to provide options and flexibility," said Colonel David Lapan, a Pentagon front man.
United States and European officials had discussed plans to impose a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent further killings of civilians by troops loyal Qadaffy, The New York Times reported on Monday.
The newspaper cited an unnamed senior administration official as saying that no decision had been made.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Sunday that a key friendship treaty signed between Italy and Libya in 2008 was "de facto suspended."
"When the head of a regime shoots his own people the international community has to react and it has reacted," he said after the approval of U.N. sanctions.
Asked about the possibility of imposing a no-fly zone in Libya, Frattini said: "It's an option that would constitute a real escalation of a military-type intervention. We need time to reflect on it."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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"NO-FLY ZONE" > IOW, the US-Allies expect Muammar to fight + hold on to power for a while to come.
Unlike SADDAM, I doubt Muammar will want to be be found hiding + unkept in an underground hole on US, Worldwide TV.
In fact, had to odd thought last night Quedaffy may have made threats to use gas etc. on rebels if there is any interference, essentially holding the rebels hostage, and the news cycle.
And of course Libya, being a rather large place, It may be difficult to provide a total CAP from Malta without Air Refueling and/or Carrier?
David Cameron and other Western leaders are on the brink of ordering military action against Col Muammar Gaddafi amid fears that the Libyan dictator could use chemical weapons against his own people.
The Prime Minister disclosed that he would not rule out the use of military assets as Britain must not tolerate this regime using military forces against its own people. Britain and America are also thought to be considering arming rebel forces in Libya.
Adding to growing concern about the crumbling regimes ability to commit last desperate acts of mass murder, British sources have disclosed that Libya still has stocks of mustard gas chemicals.
Mr Cameron told MPs that Britain and its allies were considering using fighter jets to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, patrolling and shooting down Libyan aircraft ordered to attack protesters.
The Pentagon announced that the Americans had begun repositioning forces around Libya to provide flexibility.
Good, since the carrier in the Sixth Fleet is in the Red Sea right now.
The French also announced that they would back a possible military intervention with Nato partners.
Despite a promise in 2003 to give up weapons of mass destruction, Gaddafi is thought to have retained as much as 14 tons of the chemicals required to create mustard gas. The stocks are said to be stored in secret secure facilities in the Libyan desert. The chemicals would need to be mixed and loaded into shells before they could be used as weapons, but are still a concern, said a senior British government source. We want to make sure theyre destroyed.
The SAS has been busy 'rescuing British nationals' in the desert lately. I'm beginning to wonder if that was a cover story.
The disclosure came after a Gaddafi spokesman was said to have warned that there would be a sea of fire hundreds of thousands of deaths if the country descended into full-blown civil war.
If the no-fly zone is agreed, experts believe that western governments may launch bombing raids on Gaddafi forces if he continues to attack protesters.
Good luck with that. The Brits would need to base aircraft in Malta and Cyprus to be effective, though Cyprus is a little far away. Typhoons and Tornadoes could indeed lead such a strike mission, and I suppose Cameron is strong enough to go for it, but right now I think it's for show. Sarkozy? Ditto; it's not like the Chicken of the Sea Charles DeGaulle will leave port. The U.S.? We need a carrier in the Med, or else we need to move a big strike package with tanker support to Aviano. I don't see Obama ordering that. The Italians? They won't bomb their former colony. The Germans? They won't leave home. The Spanish? Not a chance.
Libyan opponents of Gaddafi are calling for Nato air strikes, amid growing fears that they are too weak to overwhelm his still-powerful military on their own or defend liberated cities from attack.
Mustapha Gheriani, a spokesman for an organising committee of lawyers, judges and professionals in Benghazi, the leading city of the revolution, said: We cant protect ourselves at the moment from tanks and aircraft, let alone organise a march on Tripoli to topple Gaddafi.
If there are just a few air strikes, his loyalists will leave him and his time will be numbered in hours. Otherwise he could survive for a long time and there could be terrible bloodshed.
Mr Cameron said: If Col Gaddafi uses military force against his own people, the world cannot stand by. That is why we should be looking at a no-fly zone. Gen Sir David Richards, the Chief of the Defence Staff, has been asked to draw up options for British military operations in Libya.
Any British involvement in a no-fly operation could see Tornados and Typhoons flying from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. The Libyan air force is equipped with French-built Mirage fighter-bombers, but British planners are more concerned about the regimes military helicopters, which include Soviet-made Mil Mi-24 gunships.
The Chadians demonstrated back in the 1980s that the Libyans had a hollow military. Qadaddy never trusted them and they have the usual in'shallah maintenance. The Libyans pilots, furthermore, likely do not have a death wish.
Sources said Gen Richards military options paper will also look at British ground operations. Those were likely to be contingency plans to deal with the extraction of RAF pilots in the event of planes crashing or being shot down.
Another option would be giving weapons and other support to groups inside Libya. Mr Cameron said Gaddafis departure was Britains highest priority, adding: If helping the opposition would somehow bring that about, it is certainly something we should be considering.
Since the Libyan crisis began, the Coalition has faced repeated criticism over the decision last year to decommission HMS Ark Royal and the Royal Navys Harrier jets, leaving Britain without a functioning aircraft carrier.
Dr Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, insisted that such criticism was a red herring because the base in Cyprus meant Britain could still operate jets over Libya if required. He said: There has been no need for us to have a carrier, there has been no need for us to use fast jets, but we have the ability to use them if required.
The Pentagon is believed to be considering moving a US aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise, from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean to take up a position off Libya. The USS Kearsage, an amphibious assault ship, could also be redeployed. Were repositioning forces to provide for flexibility once decisions are made, said a Pentagon spokesman.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
It is not the only country that is in turmolt. At this point, it is making sure American Citizens are safe in the region as well as that of NATO. Prefer as usual a JDAM to watching our troops get shot at again or watch them have to watch people get wasted outside the no-fly zone. Presence is expensive, but it sure beats a Ferry.
#2
Mr Cameron said: "If Col Gaddafi uses military force against his own people, the world cannot stand by.
And in other news of days gone by: At Phnom Penh, two million inhabitants were evacuated on foot into the countryside at gunpoint. As many as 20000 died along ... Ex-soldiers were killed along with their wives and children .... but of course those poor buggers owned no oil fields.
#3
You ever see a monkey wave a stick in the air and hoot and bob his head?
What part of EUroweenie dont you inderstand?
And Obama? Tell me Obama is EVER going to punch anybody in the face. Come here, honey, and bend over.
The United States isnt going to spend a dime and isnt going to do anything to Daffy except call him on the phone...maybe.
HIS OWN PEOPLE are the ones who are going to have to handle Daffy's guts.
They hate him enough. And they know he is in Tripoli and cant run. And what do we really care what the casualties are in Libya? Shed a tear. They are all Moslems.
Coca Cola can move in after its all over and we can open a Wal-Mart. Hey, McDonalds is gonna conquer the world and rock and Roll and Rap are already writing the theme songs for the Arabs.
#5
The leaders in the "West" have all tolerated totalitarian regimes in the middle east because we are dependent upon them for oil.
If all of us have reliable oil reserves of our own, we could have taken tougher stances with all of these tin hat dictators. We ignored them for a variety of reasons, mostly because it was inconvenient to deal with them in a substantial way.
Secondly, our own internal silliness and self serving politics allowed the nastiness of radical islam to become more pervasive in the region. If we had bombed Iran into the stone age at the first inkling of a nuclear program we would have stopped a lot of this crap.
We've been too weak and too self serving with our politics and our foreign policy for too long. The lefties and the prima donnas in the State Department for too long have taken a soft conciliatory tone with these nuts.
I say we drill for oil, if not for production, then for negotiating clout. I say we actively work in the shadows to curtail radical islam and I say we actively work in the light to criticize and condemn these potentates and oddballs that rule the middle east.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/01/2011 10:01 Comments ||
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#6
Be careful of interfering in someone's civil war least others be encouraged by precedent to interfere in your future civil war.
They'll do it if they want to no matter what we do or don't do.
#9
The SAS has been busy 'rescuing British nationals' in the desert lately.
They werent just British Steve , but American , French , German and various other nationalities
In total , 95 Britons and 270 foreign nationals were airlifted from areas around Libya on Saturday and Sunday
The small arms fire that hit the last c-130 was by rebels and theyve apologized , mistaking the plane for Gaddafi goon squad .
Posted by: Oscar ||
03/01/2011 13:28 Comments ||
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#10
arm them that's fine, but no troops or advisors.Let them take care of their own shit so no onn e can say we are sticking our noses in it. This would also be great payback for Lockerbie.
Posted by: chris ||
03/01/2011 18:16 Comments ||
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#11
First off, the Euros should be in the forefront of any major Diplomatic, Military, + Media effort in Libyuh, NOT the US, since North Africa + other Continental regions were once part of their old Empires. Given the well-repor, on-going Euro + Global econ trubles, its also a good opportunity for NATO-EU to test the viability of their new Multi-State
"DEFENSE/SECURITY-SHARING" CONCEPT.
The above being said, once again IMO iff the US-West/Allies fear the LT covert usurpation by Radical Islam = Iran? of the various "Jasmine" pro-democracy protest agendums, THEN IT IS THEIR INTEREST TO KEEP GADDAFI AROUND AS A "HEDGE" AGZ RADICAL ISLAM + IRAN.
Since he unilater gave up Libya's Nucprogs under EX-POTUS DUBYA = GLOBAL WARMING, however imperfect he has been "OUR MAN IN NORTH AFRICA/SAHARA", or one of them.
GADDAFI'S LEGACY IS THE MODERNIZATION OF BACKWARD LIBYA - IMO he has a vested interest in ensuring that Radical Islam doesn't rollback the modernist progress Libyuh has enjoyed under his tenure. His character = personal profile is such that even iff he unilater resigned today or tomorrow from holding Political Office, HE WILL LIKELY STILL TRY TO REMAIN AN INDISPENSABLE MAJOR POWERBROKER IN POST-JASMINE LIBYAN + REGIONAL POLITICS. The Man may not like the US or Israel, but IMO he's NOT going to stand for anyone rolling Libya back towards the 19th Century or Middle Ages, MUSLIM OR NOT.
THE MAN IS NOT THE COLD WAR, PRO-US-WEST SHAH OF IRAN, BUT HE "COULD BE" FROM NOW ON IFF THE US-WEST/ALLIES PLAY THIER CARDS RIGHT.
"JASMINE" + POST-JASMINE", THE US PRIORITY RIGHT NOW IS PRESERVATION OF ME = ARAB-MUSLIM DEMOCRACY, + DETERRING OR PREVENTING COVERT USURPATION BY NUKE-HAPPY, TERROR-HAPPY, ANTI-DEMOCRATIC/PROGRESSIVE RADICAL ISLAM.
[Ennahar] Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa said on Monday that calm had returned to the kingdom and that the conditions were met to begin negotiations with the opposition.
"The initiatives taken in recent days have calmed the situation and helped bring back life to normal in Bahrain in preparation for the dialogue," he said in remarks quoted by the official news agency BNA.
The crown prince, whom the King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa has appointed to negotiate with the opposition calling for a reform of the monarchy, however, denounced those who refuse to participate in the dialogue, including the Shiite opposition in seeking the prior government's resignation.
"Despite the calm that prevails, some continue to want to block reform. Such actions can only harm the interests of Bahrain," he added.
Monday, several hundred people marched to Parliament in Manama, including members of the Shiite al-Wefaq have resigned to protest the violence that marked the beginning of the protest movement in Bahrain two weeks ago.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Protesters demanding jobs and reform remained on the streets of Oman Monday, a day after police potted at least one as the turmoil rocking the Arab world reached the normally calm Gulf sultanate.
The mostly unemployed demonstrators manned roadblocks in the key industrial area of Sohar, northwest of Muscat, despite the announcement of new benefits for the jobless and more powers for an elected advisory council.
The protesters have been keeping a vigil at Earth Roundabout, a key intersection on the main road to the capital, for three straight days, defying police efforts to remove them.
Security forces were nowhere to be seen on Monday after the previous day's deadly violence.
A government front man cited by the state news agency ONA said Monday only one person was killed in the weekend confrontations between police and protesters.
In an interview with the pan-Arab television channel Al-Jazeera, Omani Health Minister Ahmed al-Saeedi later insisted only one person had been killed.
The minister added a second person had survived despite suffering a bullet wound to the stomach.
A security official had told AFP on Sunday police potted two people and maimed about five others when they fired rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators attacking a cop shoppe near the roundabout.
The protesters gave a higher corpse count.
"I saw five killed at the cop shoppe yesterday," said one of them, 25-year-old Abdullah al-Meqbali.
ONA news agency said rioting had begun at dawn on Saturday and continued on Sunday. It said several government and privately owned cars had been torched.
"Police and anti-riot squads confronted this group of wreckers in a bid to protect people and their property," it reported on Sunday.
The protesters also set fire to the governor's house in Sohar, more than 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the capital, and an AFP correspondent said a shopping mall had also been torched.
Oman is the latest country to be hit by a wave of protests in the Arab world that has already swept the veteran leaders of Tunisia and Egypt from power. Mass demonstrations also threaten the regimes of Bahrain, Libya and Yemen.
The Omani protesters insist they are not challenging the rule of Sultan Qaboos, who has been in power since 1970, but are merely calling for jobs and reform.
On Monday, two military helicopters hovered over Earth Roundabout, provoking demonstrators who began chanting "Allah is Greater".
Mohammed Mohammed, who said his brother Abdullah Mohammed, 36, was killed on Sunday by police, told AFP the family would not bury his brother until the killers are put on trial.
"We will not take the body (from the morgue). We want to know the killer, and the reasons behind the killing... and we want him to be punished according to law," he told AFP.
Mohammed said his brother was killed by live fire and not rubber bullets.
Angry protesters on Monday raised calls to attack the port of Sohar, but holy mans trying to calm demonstrators urged them to resort to vandalism.
In a move towards addressing their grievances, Qaboos announced 50,000 new jobs would be provided for Omani citizens and benefits provided for the unemployed.
A royal decree carried by ONA on Sunday said a monthly allowance of 150 riyals (390 dollars) would be given to each registered job seeker.
Qaboos also ordered the formation of a ministerial committee, headed by palace affairs minister Sayed Ali bin Hmud al-Busaidi, to put together proposals to meet calls for more powers for Oman's elected consultative council.
For decades Oman was an isolated country living on the margins of the modern world, but the 2010 UN Human Development Report released in November said it had made the most improvement since 1970 out of 135 countries.
It is a non-OPEC oil producer.
The sultanate lies on the strategic Strait of Hormuz and adjoining Gulf of Oman, through which much of the world's oil supplies pass, and is a key Western ally in the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] Residents in the northeastern Omani city of Sohar have reportedly looted a supermarket damaged in protests, as demonstrations over economic woes carried on into a third day.
Security forces sealed off main roads to the city on Monday and hundreds of protesters reportedly stormed a cop shoppe, while protests spread throughout the city.
Sohar, a city about 200km northwest of the capital of Muscat, was the scene of protests over the weekend, as demonstrators demanded higher salaries, jobs for the unemployed and the removal of some government ministers.
But police did not respond to Monday's protests, witnesses said, and appeared to have withdrawn from the scene of the looting.
"It's a free for all," said one man who watched while people grabbed food and other goods, piling their hauls into stolen trolleys and heading away from the burnt Lulu Hypermarket, according to a report from the Rooters news agency.
"There's no security ... I want to live," said a 28-year-old Omani, who identified himself as Youssef, walking away with 10 bottles of juice.
One woman was seen stacking up slightly burned cartons of eggs, powdered milk, orange juice and cream cheese on her trolley and calmly leaving the supermarket.
Industrial area blocked
Elsewhere, hundreds of protesters blocked access to an industrial area that includes the port, a refinery and aluminium factory.
A port spokeswoman said exports of refined oil products that typically amount to 160,000 barrels per day from the port were unaffected.
"We want to see the benefit of our oil wealth distributed evenly to the population," one protester yelled over a loudhailer near the port.
"We want to see a scale-down of expatriates in Oman so more jobs can be created for Omanis."
As many as six people are said to have died in the Omani protests, according to hospital officials, a figure that contradicts official reports.
Omar al-Abri, an official at the state-run Oman News Agency, said only one person had died in the protests, while state hospital officials on Sunday said that two people had died.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] Eyewitnesses told the Yemen Post that dozens of armored vehicles, tanks, and hundreds of soldiers were sent to Aden province.
Military reinforcements have been deployed to Aden's districts in order to stop protesters from holding anti-government demonstrations.
This move came after the opposition parties the Joint Meeting Parties, JMP, called for the day of rage to be held in all Yemen's provinces on Tuesday.
Lately, Yemen's southern port of Aden has witnessed anti-government protests in which at least 12 protesters were killed and several others maimed after festivities were erupted between protesters and security forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
ION TOPIX > SAUDI ARABIA SENDS TANKS [30 ea.] TO RIOT-HIT BAHRAIN.
"IRAN WARSHIPS/SUEZ CANAL II"?, or at least the Saudi equivalent as per fear of post-Jasmine domination by Iran of the PERSIAN GULF + ARABIAN SEA???
[Yemen Post] Some 13 politicians on Monday suspended their parliamentary memberships in protest against carnage, bullying and harassment against the protesters in south Yemen.
The MPs, all southerners within different parties, said their memberships will be suspended until all political prisoners are released, the blockades on Aden and Radfan, Lahj, are lifted, those responsible for illegal acts in the south are brought to justice and the victim families are compensated for physical and other damages.
They issued a statement condemning all oppressive measures and bloodshed by the regime against the protesters including activists demanding the ouster of the regime.
"The reaction of the regime to the protests in Aden including the use of excessive force to break up demonstrations, declaring a state of emergency, imposing a military siege round the city, preventing the people from moving among its districts and cutting the road linking Aden with other cities, was strange," the statement said.
These measures came a day after President-for-Life Saleh ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... ordered to protect the anti-government protesters, as if Saleh wanted to deceive activists and drag them to death, it added.
This month about 9 MPs resigned from the ruling party in protest against measures the regime has taken to crackdown the protests demanding the departure of Saleh.
Some of them joined the youth and popular protests and sit-ins, saying Saleh should respond to the calls urging him to step down.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] The ruling General People Congress party, GPC, called its supporters in all Yemen's provinces to hold huge rallies in Yemen's provinces tomorrow against the opposition parties.
The ruling party's move came to stop the opposition coalition parties from holding the day of rage in which the Joint Meeting Parties called their followers in Yemen's provinces to protest against President-for-Life Saleh's regime.
According to analysts, tomorrow's protests will probably witness festivities between the pro and anti-protesters in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] The Yemeni opposition coalition, the Joint Meeting Parties, JMP, rejected calls from President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ... of forming a national unity government. They said President-for-Life Saleh ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... should listen to the voices of protesters and step down.
Mohammed Al-Qubati, front man for the Joint Meetings Parties, told media outlets that "We will not join a national unity government and we support demands of the people who went to the streets to demanded the president to leave.''
"He should respond to the demands of the people and leave power peacefully,'' he added.
Earlier today, President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh announced in a meeting held with Yemen's scholars that he is ready to form a unity government with the opposition within hours if they submit names for ministerial posts.
Yemen's opposition called for rallies, the Day of Rage, to be held on Tuesday across Yemen's provinces to mark the deaths of demonstrators.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh, ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ... Yemen's president, is to announce a government of national unity "within the next 24 hours", government sources have told Al Jizz.
The move comes as thousands more protesters joined demonstrations against Saleh's 32-year rule on Monday.
Hashem Ahelbarra, Al Jizz's correspondent in Yemen, said: "It's a last ditch effort to try and appease the mounting tension here in the capital and across the country.
"Al Jizz understands that President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh has had a crucial meeting with the holy mans of Yemen in the presidential palace and he told them that within 24 hours from now he will announce a national unity government.
"He reportedly said that even if the opposition decides not to join him in this government, he will contact independent personalities and invite them to join this national unity government that would lay down the groundwork for dramatic constitutional reforms."
The opposition appeared likely to reject any offer from Saleh.
"The opposition decided to stand with the people's demand for the fall of the regime, and there is no going back from that," Mohammed al-Sabry, a front man for Yemen's umbrella opposition coalition, was reported by the Rooters news agency as saying.
'Stalemate'
Protests against Saleh, a US ally in its fight against al-Qaeda, have spread across the impoverished Arabian Peninsula in the last month.
In the northern cities of Ibb and Hudeida on Monday, thousands of protesters gathered, while at least 10,000 erupted into the streets in Taiz, 200km south of the capital.
Shadi Hamid, from the Brookings Doha Centre, told Al Jizz that Yemen was a "powder keg", and that Saleh's stalled response to the protesters' demands had done little to help the situation.
"It really seems that the protesters have the momentum. This is the problem - when regimes wait, and they don't really initiate real democratic reform, the demands of the protesters become more and more," he said.
"Now we're really at a stalemate. The protesters are very clear, they want Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign, [and] Ali Abdullah Saleh does not want to resign."
The developments in Yemen came as violence spiked against security forces in the south of the country.
Local officials said gunnies killed two soldiers in successive attacks, and a prison riot killed one inmate and maimed two guards as four prisoners beat feet.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Islami Bank Bangladesh is spending eight percent of its profit to spread militancy in the country, State Minister for Home Shamsul Huq Tuku has said.
The bank is spending the money through the Islami Bank Foundation, he said at a meeting at the secretariat yesterday.
According to the statement on its website, the bank had a net profit of Tk 352,80,68,100 as on September 30, 2010.
The home ministry has asked the bank authorities to submit a report before April 7 on where the bank spent its profit, Tuku said at the 9th meeting on ways to combat militancy at his office.
Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikdar, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Hassan Mahmood Khandker and Rapid Action Battalion Director General Mukhlesur Rahman also attended the meeting.
The home ministry has intelligence report that the bank is spending certain amount of its profit to fund the jihad boys, a meeting source told The Daily Star.
The Bangladesh Bank (BB) in November last year assigned its General Manager SM Moniruzzaman to identify any suspicious transaction by Islami Bank Bangladesh and its foundation.
Prior to that on November 8, the BB imposed a ban on giving funds to the foundation for its alleged lack of transparency in the transaction, and for violation of Islamic Sharia.
A BB official said the general manager is assigned with overseeing the overall activities of the bank and monitoring of its fund transfer to the foundation.
Islami Bank's Public Relations Officer Mohammad Abdul Mannan, however, denied the bank's involvement in funding jihad boys.
"If we fund gunnies then why the authority concerned does not halt our banking?" he told The Daily Star.
"Sgt. Belal, I think I found the idiot you wanted."
"Well done, lad. Get the report from him, and then we can act."
Tuku said the ministry asked the intelligence agencies to prepare a report on how the bank spends its "Jakat" (donation to the poor) before the next meeting on April 7.
He added that he has information that the bank spent its Jakat fund in 16 phases though it is permitted to spend it in eight phases.
The state minister instructed the IGP to use community police to uproot militancy from the society and to stop recruiting members for jihad boy groups from academic institutions.
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03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] A listed criminal was killed in a 'shootout' between his accomplices and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Companyganj upazila of the district early yesterday, police said. 'Company ganj' maybe? Perhaps the Great Wall of Ganj Company? Acme Company, Ganj Division?
The dead, Kamrul Hasan Tipu, 40, was accused in 12 systems cases, including several for murder. So his mother didn't love him.
Police said Tipu was a listed criminal and the leader of a gang named 'Tipu Bahini.' But was he an 'A-list' criminal?
Acting on a tip-off, Boy, that Mahmoud the Weasel sure has been a busy fellow...
a team of Rab-11 went to Dakshin Misapur village at about 3:00am Right after they plugged him and loaded his body in the truck...
where Tipu and his cohorts were preparing to rob a house. So they say... Sensing their presence, My spider sense! It's tingling again! To arms! Aux barricades! the criminals shot up the elite force members, prompting them to retaliate. [BANG! BANG! BANGETY BANG!]
Tipu was caught in the line of fire and was struck down in his prime though his cohorts managed to flee the scene. ... as though they had never been... said police.
Rab recovered three firearms and some bullets from the spot. No shutter gun for Tipu...
Two Rab members Havilder Shafiqul Islam and Havilder Dilip Barua - were also slightly injured during the 'shootout' and received primary treatment from the local upazila health complex. A hernia and a bruised ego...
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#2
How can you say that? There was no shutter gun!
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/01/2011 7:32 Comments ||
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As far as I can tell from a quick google search, the various Bahinis are the remnants of the Bangladeshi guerrilla forces trained by India to fight in the 1971 revolt against Pakistan. Presumably by now they are straightforward criminal gangs like the various Maoist ones.
For a map click here, For a map of Nuevo Leon, click here. For a map of Monterrey, click here
Eight individuals were killed in several separate incidents in and around Monterrey, Nuevo Leon Sunday and Monday, according to Mexican press accounts. The dead include two Allende municipal police officers shot to death while providing security for a birthday party.
One youth was killed and three others were wounded in a shooting in Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon, Sunday night. Reports say armed suspects aboard three vehicles rolled up at a location next to the park near the intersection of calles Barbadillo and Galeana in the Polanco colony at about 2000 hrs and started firing on the four young men. Arturo Gonzalez, 17, was pronounced on arrival at a local clinic, while Jorge Alejandro Delgado Gonzalez, 14, Diego Armando Rodriguez Reyna, 16 and Jesus Eliseo Campos Napoles, 16, were identified as the wounded.
Three unidentified armed suspects were killed in a firefight with a detachment of the Mexican Army in Santa Catarina, Nuevo Leon Sunday night. The army unit encountered a Dodge Avenger sedan with several armed men aboard near the corner of avenidas Central and Perimetral Norte and initiated a chase. The suspects fired on the army unit. The driver of the sedan crashed his vehicle near the intersection of calles Villa Olimpica and Villa San Marino in the Villas del Mirado colony. One suspect was killed by army gunfire as he abandoned the car to seek refuge, while an unknown number of others escaped. Two other suspects were found dead in the vehicle. Some nearby residences were damaged by rifle fire. Five rifles, one handgun, one grenade, magazines and ammunition were found at the scene of the crash.
Two Allende municipal police officers were shot to death in Allende late Saturday night. Jose Luis Marroquin Rodriguez, 56, and Javier Ortiz Barajas, 35, were shot by armed suspects who were aboard two vehicles at the Nevaria Villalon Social Center near the intersection of calles Altamirano and Carranza. The officers were apparently providing security for a quinceaños party when they were shot.
An unidentified armed suspect was killed and two others were arrested in a gunfight against a Mexican Army unit in Cadereyta, Nuevo Leon Sunday. Reports say the suspects were aboard a vehicle with state police markings when they were signalled to stop. The ensuing chase included an exchange of gunfire.
One unidentified man was shot to death in Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon Monday evening. The victim was aboard his Dodge Ram pickup truck when he was intercepted by armed suspects near the intersection of avenidas Ruiz Cortines and Gran Bretaña in the Pedregal de Lindavista colony, where he was shot. Reports say the suspects then drove the truck to a location near the corner of calles Rincon de Guadalupe between Rincon de la Niebla and Rincon del Tepeyac and set the vehicle afire. When firefighters arrived and doused the flames, they discovered the victim inside.
A total of 32 individuals were killed in drug and gang related violence in northern Mexico including two Sonora state police agents ambushed by armed suspects in Hermosillo, Sonora Monday. For a map, click here
A former municipal police officer was found shot to death in Parral, Chihuahua early Saturday morning. Cesar Alvarez, 36, was found on Norberto Dominguez Extrnesion in Parral shot in the chest and back. Alvarez was a police officer in Parral and Villa Matamoros.
Five unidentified individuals were shot to death at a bar in Juarez early Sunday morning. The victims were drinking at the La Brecha bar on carretera Casas Grandes in the Villa Esperanza colony when they were shot. Armed suspects entered the bar at just past midnight.
A man and a woman were found shot to death early Sunday morning in Chihuahua, Chihuahua. Alfredo Norvea Parra, and Nancy Ivette Martinez were found lying face down next to a bridge on boulevard Juan Pablo II. Reports say the couple were kidnapped from a residence on calle Sexta in the Villa Juärez colony the night before.
An unidentified man was shot to death Sunday in Juarez. The victim was at his residence near the intersection of calles Paraguay and Chihuahua in the Melchor Ocampo colony when an armed suspect came to the door and shot him.
A man was shot to death and another man was wounded in a shooting in Juarez Sunday. Carlos Santos, 30, and Luis Alonso Chavez, 31, were aboard a Dodge Stratus near the corner of calles Centeno and Tecnologico when armed suspects shot them. The victims managed to call for assistance on a local police officer guarding a First Cash Pawn Shop at the intersection of calles Cordillera de los Andes and Tecnologico when Carlos Santos died.
An unidentified man was shot to death in Juarez Sunday. The victim was near the intersection of calles Guadiana and Rumania in the Azteca colony when he was shot. Reports say he was shot 12 times with rifle fire.
Five individuals were shot to death at a bar in Parral, Chihuahua late Sunday night. The victims were found at the Mi Ranchito bar on calles Del Rayo. One of the victim was reportedly a police agent with the Chihuahua state attorney general's office, who officed in nearby Guachochi, although the information was not confirmed. Several spent .38 caliber casings were found at the scene.
Two men were shot to death in Chihuahua, Chihuahua Sunday night. The victims were near the intersection of calles Paracaidistas and Pascual Orozco in the Villa Nueva colony when they were shot by armed suspects using AK-47 assault rifles. One victim was tentatively identified as Jose Angel Esparza Castruita, 29, while the other was unidentified.
Four unidentified individuals were shot to death in an ambush in Juarez Monday. The shooting took place near the intersection of Avenida Ejercito Nacional and Calle Plutarco in front of the Soriana shopping center where the victims were aboard a Ford Taurus. Armed suspects rolled up on the Ford and fired into the vehicle. Reports say the gunfire was so intense one victim, a 10 year old child, was almost decapitated.
An alleged thief was shot to death near a technical school in Juarez Monday afternoon. The victim was crossing calle Caridad Bravo Adams near calle Ponciano in the Revolucion Mexicana colony when he was shot at around 1600 hrs. Reports say the victim was known thief of auto batteries in the area.
Two Sonora state Policia Estatal Investigadora (PEI) agents were shot to death by armed suspects in an ambush in Hermosillo, Sonora. Manuel Angel Lopez Roman and Ramon Enrique Huerta Castillo were responding to a kidnapping call in the Urbi Villa del Cedro colony when they attempted to stop suspects aboard a vehicle near the intersection of calles Rio San Pedro and Paseo del Cedro. Apparently other armed suspects were aboard another vehicle the police agents did not notice, which then moved to box the agents in prior to opening fire. Reports say AK-47 and AR-15 assault rifles were used against the agents.
Two men were shot to death and a couple was wounded in two separate shootings in Tijuana, Baja California Sunday, according to the Mexican news website Frontera.info.
Jose Arturo Castro Renteria, 17, was found in a residence on Calle Nardo in the Las Delicias colony shot in the chest. Reports were an unidentified couple was wounded in the same attack, and that they were taken to a local clinic for medical attention. Prior to finding Castro Rentaria, police on the scene found 13 .45 caliber spent shell casings.
Andres Excalibur Niebla Escobar, 19, died at Hospital Angeles in Zona Rio from gunshot wounds he suffered earlier in the morning. Reports say the victim was at a bar near the intersection of calle Sonoita and calle Sonora in the exclusive Chapultepec colony when he was shot.
Five individuals were shot to death in a bar in Torreon, Coahuila over the weekend. The shooting took place at the Virreyes bar near the intersection of Avenida Presidente Carranza and Calle Idelfonso Fuentes. Four of the victims were identified as Jorge Juarez Mendez, 55, Lino Rivera Sanchez, 68, Clemente Caro Balderas, 56 and Heriberto Gallegos Chavez, 72. The fifth victim, a man in his 30s, was not identified.
Eleven of the convicted in the Godhra train burning case have received the death penalty by a special court on Tuesday. Twenty others were given life sentences. The court also punished them under various other sections, which will be concurrent with their life terms.
Defense lawyer I M Munshi said the convicted will definitely appeal against their punishments.
"It (the punishment) is very difficult to swallow. Till we get the copy of the judgement, we cannot comment much," he said.
"We will definitely appeal against the verdict in the high court. Till the high court confirms the judgement, it cannot be implemented," Munshi said.
JERUSALEM Protesters burned tyres and tried to block a main Jerusalem traffic artery on Monday in solidarity with West Bank settlers who clashed with police earlier in the day.
About 50 people tried to block the main road at the entrance to Jerusalem, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP. They set fire to a number of tyres, seven people were arrested...they have been dispersed.
Early on Monday morning police and settlers scuffled at the West Bank settlement outpost of Havat Gilad over the demolition of a cabin there.
The incident began when employees of the (military) administration came to dismantle illegal constructions and were met with stone-throwing by the residents of Havat Gilad, Rosenfeld said.
He said eight settlers were arrested by police protecting officials trying to demolish the cabin and the foundations of several other illegal buildings. Five settlers were arrested for possession of knives and spikes they used to puncture the tyres of security forces, Rosenfeld said.
Settlers at Havat Gilad told AFP that five of them were injured by rubber bullets, but the police denied using such weapons during the confrontation.
Havat Gilad is home to about 20 settler families and yeshiva (religious schools) students.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Although if I went to Israel I seriously doubt if any Jew would invite me for dinner....I still know a winning strategy when I see one. The settlements can destroy the Palestinians utterly. If the Jewish State wants to win they should encourage settlements in every way shape and form.
Somebody has to win. And somebody has to lose. They are NEVER going to live together. The Palestinians danced when we in the US got 911. The Jews actually ARE a Democracy and they can fight and unlike the Palestinians they dont crap in their shoes to keep their feet warm.
If somebody has to win...let it be the Jews. I dont care HOW they do it. Somebody has to win. Somebody else has to lose.
I never did like Arafat....he was the kind of guy who would be squealing through his big nose like a hyena while one of his pretty boy bodyguards was on his rump. And the Palestinians are about the same.
[Al Jizz] Two prominent Iranian opposition figures, who fiercely criticised the government and called for protests, are said to have been moved to "safe houses" outside the capital Tehran, after being held under house arrest for almost two weeks.
According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHR), Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi were moved, but it is not known exactly when.
An "informed source" also told the ICHR that Mousavi and Karroubi's detention location is not a prison.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... the head of the Iranian parliament's National Security Commission has said that Mousavi and Karroubi were "escorted" by security forces.
Alaeddin Boroujerdi also denied they were under house arrest, and told Italian newspaper Il Manifesto that "they also committed certain illegal acts such as organising protests without a permit, and for this they may become subject to prosecution".
The two men had been reportedly nabbed secretly without being summoned or charged, and their contact with the outside world was effectively cut.
The ICHR added they received reports that the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guard was responsible for their transfer.
Mousavi and Karroubi's reported detention comes after the country's former reformist president called on the authorities to release them.
Mohammad Khatami posed the question on his website on Saturday, as to why "people like Mr Mousavi and Mr Karroubi, and their wives, who have had a glorious past in the revolution and the Islamic republic, and who are loyal to the revolution and the Islamic republic, be sent to his room?"
"Such action pushes people who are against the regime and who don't care for Iran ... to manipulate the feelings of our youths."
He also told the country's holy mans and university professors that he "hopes that with the start of the Iranian New Year [March 20] we will see the end of the house arrest, the end of restrictions, the release of the prisoners and the creation of a safe and free climate ... in which the people's vote will be decisive".
'No longer present'
It was the first time Khatami had called for the release of Mousavi and Karroubi.
Karroubi, Mousavi and their wives were under house arrest and living in complete isolation, their homes under surveillance and cut off from the outside world, according to their websites.
However, The infamous However... one of Karroubi's neighbours told the ICHR that security forces were no longer present on his street, further cementing the speculation that he was moved to another location.
"I am certain that they are no longer inside their home. All the windows are broken and nobody is home," the neighbour said.
Khatami's comments came after the websites of Mousavi and Karroubi, who are steadfastly opposed to Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad, the president, had posted calls for new protests on Tuesday to demand their release.
The call to demonstrate was posted on Kaleme.com and Sahamnews.org and issued by the Co-ordination Council of the Green Path of Hope, an umbrella group backing the two leaders.
"We invite everyone to protest on Tuesday... against the continued restrictions and house arrest imposed on the movement's leaders," the group said in a statement posted online.
It also said the protests would be held in key squares and streets of Tehran and provincial cities.
Clashes between demonstrators and security forces killed at least two people on February 14.
'Anti-revolutionary'
But a massive deployment of security forces thwarted another protest in Tehran on February 20.
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president who had indirectly backed Mousavi in the 2009 elections, condemned the February 14 protests, state media reported on Saturday.
The protests, the first to be held since February last year, angered the authorities who accused Mousavi and Karroubi of treason, according to opposition websites.
Officials have also branded anyone who supports the two men as "anti-revolutionary".
Mousavi and Karroubi led a string of protests in Iran after Ahmadinejad's controversial re-election in June 2009, which they claim was rigged.
Khatami, once a prominent figure of Iran's holy manal government, who served two terms in office between 1997 and 2005, has turned into a vocal critic since Ahmadinejad's re-election.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... stated on Monday that the possession of arms between various Lebanese parties should be addressed, "but the main weapons to defend Leb against any Israeli assault should remain."
He told La Belle France 24: "These arms are Leb's defense and fortification ... Leb should either side with the western Israeli front or the Arab Islamic one."
He added that he had made an assessment of the developments in Leb starting from the events of March 7, 2008, and "gradually I returned to the roots of the PSP and Jumblat family in defending Leb."
Addressing the developments in the Arab world, the MP said that the area is being "born again".
"We are standing before an Arab world that wants to actively take part in rule ... I hope a revolution led by the Lebanese youth would take place in Leb away from the influence of politicians for the aim of overthrowing the sectarian system," he added.
Earlier on Monday, Jumblat had said that the time has come to eliminate the "dark" sectarian system in Leb that "has infiltrated every aspect of our political, economic, social, and educational life."
He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: "The sectarian system is widening the national divide instead of bridging the gap."
"Sectarianism should be eliminated as soon as possible because it leaves generations of Lebanese prisoners of discrimination between citizens," he continued.
He cited the Taif Accord that presented a mechanism to end sectarianism through forming a national body headed by the president of the republic.
"The persistence of the current failed political system will create future political crises as we have witnessed for decades and decades," the MP added.
Furthermore, Jumblat commended Sunday's youth anti-confessionalism rally, which he said may pose a suitable mechanism to create a new reality on the ground, similar to the youth movements in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen that have or started to create change to the system of rule.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
"but the main weapons to defend Leb against any Israeli assault should remain."
Fine. Then let them remain, but let them be in the hands of the Lebanese Army, not Hezbollah.
[Ma'an] Al-Qaeda's Egyptian-born number two Ayman Az-Zawahiri ... Second in command of al-Qaeda, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. ... has said the United States is installing sympathetic new regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, demanding Mohammedans rise up against "whippers" and "invaders."
The SITE monitoring service said Monday that Az-Zawahiri had released the third of a series of audio messages on uprisings in the Arab world, recorded between the fall of Tunisia's regime and Hosni Mubarak's government in Egypt.
Railing against Washington, Az-Zawahiri also said Tunisians should resist "the French occupier" and establish "a rule that will be a role model of counseling and justice for your brothers."
The United States had abandoned Tunisia's long-time president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in mid-January when it became clear that he had become a liability, the runaway deputy to Al-Qaeda supremo Osama bin Laden said.
"However, The infamous However... the reins of the affairs remain with America's men, its agents and their soldiers..." Az-Zawahiri said.
The same thing was happening in Egypt, he said in the message, recorded before Mubarak was ousted by the military on February 11 following more than two weeks of mass protests.
Az-Zawahiri said a "secular alternative" was emerging in the shape of Mohamed ElBaradei, the former Vienna-based UN atomic chief.
"I don't know where will be the headquarters of this transitional government -- in Cairo or in Vienna or in New York?" he asked.
"He is an alternative that is in harmony with the international system, fulfilling its interests and giving the poor and weak some freedoms and some liberty," his message said.
"But Egypt will remain a base for the Crusader campaign and a primary partner in America's war on Islam under the name of war on terror, and protector of the southern border for the Zionist Entity (Israel)."
Addressing the "free, honorable ones" in Egypt, Tunisia, and all Mohammedan nations, Zawahiri said: "Know that the road is still long in order to free our Ummah (Islamic community) from its whippers and its invaders."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Bumpy says,"I may not live to see it, but I have a dream..."
It must hurt his turbaned nads like hell to see the Egyptians dont give a fart for his form of govt. What the young Egyptians want is cell phones and access to the Internet and blue jeans.
What the young Egyptians HAVE , of course , is a Nicaraugua style Military Junta at present which will look after its own interests( indefinitely). Any politicians in Egypt who do get "elected" will be at the sufferance of El Jeffe down at the Barracks.
But if everybody gets that cell phone and a DSL connection to a "slightly" censored Computer....hey, they can do their hair in the latest styles.
Of course the economy is still gonna smell like Islam, but that's their problem. Manana, elPedro.
PS..the Egyptians still dont make their own fighter aircraft or build their own Tanks. They buy their military and all its manuals and spare parts from people like us.....they gave up on Russian crapola fifty years ago. Of course they could buy EUroweenie crapola.....that should amuse us.
At any rate Bumpy is gonna be eatin' cold beans in a cave until he dies of pneumonia. And we will manage somehow.
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.
al-Shabaab
Somali pirates
Hillary Clinton
[Al Jazeera] Muammar Qadaffy has reportedly appointed the head of Libya's foreign intelligence service to speak to the leadership of the anti-government protesters in the east of the country, while a minister said the government will attempt dialogue before using military force.
David Cameron
President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
JERUSALEM Protesters burned tyres and tried to block a main Jerusalem traffic artery on Monday in solidarity with West Bank settlers who clashed with police earlier in the day.
Mahmoud 
Walid 
Zawahiri
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