Hi there, !
Today Sat 05/21/2011 Fri 05/20/2011 Thu 05/19/2011 Wed 05/18/2011 Tue 05/17/2011 Mon 05/16/2011 Sun 05/15/2011 Archives
Rantburg
533705 articles and 1862019 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 69 articles and 175 comments as of 10:50.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Over 70 militants attack Pakistani security post, 17 dead
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 2: WoT Background
8 00:00 JosephMendiola [4] 
6 00:00 JosephMendiola [9] 
1 00:00 Deacon Blues [7] 
0 [2] 
13 00:00 CrazyFool [7] 
2 00:00 The Other Beldar [3] 
2 00:00 Old Patriot [5] 
2 00:00 Besoeker [2] 
3 00:00 JosephMendiola [3] 
5 00:00 trailing wife [13] 
3 00:00 Zebulon Thranter9685 [6] 
7 00:00 JosephMendiola [7] 
5 00:00 regular joe [7] 
0 [4] 
0 [4] 
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [11] 
0 [6] 
0 [2] 
1 00:00 Rhodesiafever [1] 
0 [7] 
2 00:00 JosephMendiola [1] 
1 00:00 Anonymoose [3] 
4 00:00 Anonymoose [6] 
3 00:00 JosephMendiola [8] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
4 00:00 trailing wife [12]
3 00:00 Tholumble Panda4671 [5]
2 00:00 Procopius2k [2]
0 [6]
2 00:00 Old Patriot [3]
9 00:00 Beavis [6]
0 [6]
0 [5]
0 [2]
0 [8]
2 00:00 Old Patriot [2]
1 00:00 Tholumble Panda4671 [7]
0 [5]
0 [7]
1 00:00 Tholumble Panda4671 [6]
3 00:00 JosephMendiola [8]
0 [6]
0 [13]
0 [5]
0 [5]
1 00:00 anon1 [3]
0 [4]
0 [6]
0 []
Page 3: Non-WoT
5 00:00 Elmerert de Medici1697 [4]
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [7]
0 [3]
22 00:00 Secret Master [4]
1 00:00 Bobby [2]
0 [1]
2 00:00 Redneck Jim [3]
0 [2]
2 00:00 Old Patriot [5]
4 00:00 Zebulon Thranter9685 [2]
Page 4: Opinion
0 [3]
6 00:00 Old Patriot [2]
0 [1]
0 [2]
2 00:00 Ebbang Uluque6305 [4]
13 00:00 OldSpook [6]
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [8]
7 00:00 Zebulon Thranter9685 [2]
Page 6: Politix
2 00:00 JosephMendiola [3]
10 00:00 JohnQC [2]
0 [1]
Africa North
Mubarak to ask Egyptians for forgiveness
[Iran Press TV] A media report says Egypt's ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
is expected to apologize to the Egyptians for any offense caused to the nation.
"I'm so deeply sorry! Please don't chop my head off!"
Mubarak would soon address the Egyptian people to ask for forgiveness for himself and his family, al-Shoroukdaily said in a report on Tuesday.

He is also expected to announce his readiness to relinquish his assets and plead for amnesty.

Mubarak and his wife are under arrest in a hospital in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

They reportedly suffered heart attacks during questioning over corruption charges.

Both are charged with abuse of power.

Egyptians are opposed to granting amnesty to Mubarak as they say he ordered the killing of scores of protesters.

He was toppled in February following weeks of anti-government protests. At least 846 people were killed during the uprising which led to his eventual fall.

Egypt's judicial sources say Mubarak could face the death penalty if found guilty of killing anti-regime protesters during the revolution.
Posted by: Fred || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Mubarak's wife returns millions to state
[Al Jazeera] Suzanne Mubarak, the wife of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak,
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
has returned some of her assets to the state, after anti-graft officials ordered her detention.
"How much will it take to get me outta here?"
"How much you got?"

The former first lady returned a villa in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and transferred the power of attorney on Monday for authorities to withdraw up to $3.4m held in two of her bank accounts, Egyptian state news agency MENA said.
"Here! Take it all! Just don't chop my head off!"
The handover came after the state's anti-corruption agency ordered that Suzanne Mubarak be jugged for 15 days for further investigation into charges that she abused her husband's power for unlawful personal gain.

Judicial sources had previously said that her defence team was expected to sign documents ceding her assets in an apparent attempt to avoid detention.

Hosni Mubarak was deposed on February 11 after 30 years of rule, in a popular uprising that began a month earlier.

The military council which has been in power since has vowed to bring to justice all those accused of abuse and has launched a sweeping probe into corruption.

Mubarak, his wife, and their two sons, Alaa and Gamal, and wives have been banned from travel and had their assets ordered frozen by the general prosecutor, Abdel Magid Mahmud.

The two sons, along with dozens of officials and businessmen associated with the former regime, are being jugged in Cairo's Tora prison which housed political dissidents during the Mubarak era.

The illicit gains department said Mubarak and his wife would also be questioned about properties belonging to their two sons.

The Mubarak family wealth is reported to total billions of dollars, including a villa in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, estimated to be worth over $36m.
Posted by: Fred || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm sure they worked really hard to be rewarded with such wealth, ha! are these billions used in the calculation of the average wage in Egypt?
Posted by: Rhodesiafever || 05/18/2011 12:54 Comments || Top||


'ICC tool of Western imperialism'
[Iran Press TV] The International Criminal Court
... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ...
(ICC) is a puppet institution which serves the imperialistic interests of the Western powers, a political observer says.

"The ICC is a tool of Western imperialism ... What it is doing is very clear and that is continuing the US and Europe's imperialistic character," Lizzie Cocker told Press TV.
Even Google doesn't seem to have any idea what special qualifications Lizzie Cocker might have to speak on the subject -- she appears to be a standard issue lefty loon of no particular pedigree...
The political observer was elaborating on the ICC's recent decision to formally issue arrest warrants for Libyan ruler Muammar Qadaffy, his son Seif al-Islam and the regime's spy chief Abdullah al-Senussi.

However,
The punctuational However...
bigwigs in Tripoli have denounced the ICC action, saying the court is a Western creation for prosecuting African leaders.

Since the revolution against Qadaffy's regime began in mid-February, tens of thousands have been killed and injured in festivities between Libyan revolutionaries and pro-Qadaffy forces.

"The ICC has no power to enforce its powers because it is not recognized widely across the world including by half the African continent and by the US itself for different reasons," Cocker said.

She pointed to the fact that the main agenda of ICC, since its creation seven years ago, has been focusing on African countries, and the recent case against Libya is a part of that plan.

Cocker criticized the court for turning a blind eye on other cases of human rights
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
violations in other parts of the world, including Israel's crimes against the Paleostinian population.
This article starring:
Lizzie Cocker
Posted by: Fred || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  FYI: The Rapture(tm) projected for this May 21st, has been put on indefinite hold. Likewise, Armageddon and the Last Judgment originally scheduled for October are also suspended until further notice.

On the plus side, the Church of the SubGenius is expected to hold yet another end of the world celebration as usual, this coming July 5th, at 7am.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 05/18/2011 20:11 Comments || Top||


Britain
Britain To Give Legal Backing To Armed Guards On Vessels
Posted by: Fleash Uleating7195 || 05/18/2011 00:29 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Won't be holding my breath.






Posted by: Rhodesiafever || 05/18/2011 13:01 Comments || Top||

#2  This is stupid. The only "law" that needs to be enacted can be summed up in these words:

"Anything done by the crew of a vessel in international waters, against anyone making an armed attempt to capture or steal from any vessel is considered acceptable behavior by this nation. This law applies to all XXXXXXXX-flagged ships operating in international waters, or any ships operating in the territorial waters of XXXXXXXXX."

Fill in XXXXXXXXX with your nation of choice.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 05/18/2011 20:33 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
'Die Welt': Iran building rocket bases in Venezuela
Posted by: Fleash Uleating7195 || 05/18/2011 00:35 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  WISCONSIN'S FAVORITE "BOOTS-N-RED BERET" + VENEZUELA

versus

* WAFF > CANADA BORDER A BIGGER THREAT [than US-Mexico Borders = Cartel violence]: US OFFICIAL, in terms of the Terror threat.

OOOOPPSIES, forgot to say "EH"!

and

* RENSE > [LiveLeak Video] RUSSIA SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE THREATENS TO DESTROY WORLD USING SECRET "TSUNAMI-WMD". The World only has FOUR RULING CAPITALS, i.e. the US, UK, Russia, + China, of which three save for Russia [Moscow} are on the verge of collapse, JAPAN HAS BETTER WATCH WHAT IT SAYS OR DOES AGZ RUSSIA OER THE SOUTH KURILES LEST RUSSIA USE ITS SUPERWEAPONS TO KILL 120.0MILYUHN JAPANESE.

Iff one is wondering [again] why Japan covertly wants its own Nucweaps + US Milfors to stay for a while on Okinawa + GMD-TMD, etc. WELL WONDER NO MORE [again]!



and

* SAME > CHECHNYA MILITANTS COMMENCE HOLY WAR AGZ PAKISTAN | [GeoTV]FIVE CHECHENS KILLED IN QUETTA BLAST.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 2:30 Comments || Top||

#2  The Monroe Doctrine as exercised by Kennedy against Soviet Missile in Cuba, apparently has been abandoned by Obama.
Posted by: The Other Beldar || 05/18/2011 9:05 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Muslims sue Japan govt. over police surveillance
[Iran Press TV] There are few nations on earth that take the rights to privacy more seriously than Japan. It is considered a basic principle of social organization that people should endeavor not to attract too much attention to themselves and that have the right to remain anonymous.

However,
The ever-popular However...
documents leaked last year demonstrated that almost the entire 100,000-strong Mohammedan community of Japan was under tight police surveillance, and that highly personal information-including passport numbers and bank account information-had been secretly collected about many of them.

Now, fourteen Mohammedans, including Japanese nationals, have filed a lawsuit against the government contending that that these police investigations violated their freedom of religion and damaged their reputations.

One of the fourteen plaintiffs agreed to talk to Press TV on condition of anonymity. He told us that he first learned from visiting journalists that his family's private information had been leaked onto the internet by an unknown whistleblower.

We learned that one of the plaintiffs was dismissed from his job as a result of the police investigation, and one independent businessman watched helplessly as most of his Japanese customers disappeared when they discovered he was a so-called terrorism suspect.

To learn more about this case, we've come to this neighborhood in central Tokyo to speak to the lead lawyer.

Kazuyuki Azusawa is the man who is taking on the Japanese government on behalf of the Mohammedans.

Both Mohammedans as well as those concerned with civil liberties in Japan will be watching the progress of this case very closely.
Posted by: Fred || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Both Mohammedans as well as those concerned with civil liberties in Japan will be watching the progress of this case (church burnings through out Muslim nations around the world) very closely."
Posted by: Whesing B. Hayes4890 || 05/18/2011 1:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Tokyyuu almost had a heart attack when it was learned that Islamist Militants were trying to sneakily sneak into South Korea.

GWCC so-called "MEGAQUAKES" + LAND-SEA CHANGES, RADIATION, NORTH KOREA, CHINA,+ ISLAMISTS.

* WORLD NEWS > JAPAN RISKS NUCLEAR DISASTER FOR CONSUMER CONVENIENCE.

"Back to the Future" of Japan's pro-high growth econ, national policies the 1960's-1980's.

DARE AMERICA = AMERIKA OF 2011 FORGET ITS RIGHTEOUS FEAR OF JAPAN'S 1980's "JUST-IN-TIME" PRODUCTION METHODS???

* SAME > UN: NORTH KOREA COULD ENRICH URANIUM "RELATIVELY QUICKLY" FOR WEAPONS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 2:08 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Pakistan Rushes to Finish Construction of Fourth Nuclear Reactor
Recent satellite images obtained by Fox News from the aerial imagery company GEOEYE show an expanding nuclear facility at the Khushab facility about 100 miles south of Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad. The pictures were taken on April 20 and indicate Pakistan is building a fourth nuclear reactor to produce plutonium.

Pakistan already has 100 nuclear weapons. Experts, such as Brannon, say that the new reactors could give Pakistan enough fissile material to build somewhere between eight and 20 more nuclear weapons per year.
Posted by: Zebulon Thranter9685 || 05/18/2011 09:31 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  What on earth does Pakistain need 100 nuclear weapons?

Where are they getting the money for this fourth reactor?

Finally, my acute conspiracy theorist tendencies tell me there is more to this than just India. Perchance Pakistain's nuke program is being funded by OBL and the other terrorist networks? Is it possible ISI and the Pak nuclear agency is working hand in glove with AQ to develop weaponry for a nuclear attack on several western countries?

This is very strange and the worst case scenario is very disturbing to US national security.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 05/18/2011 13:00 Comments || Top||

#2  What on earth does Pakistain need 100 nuclear weapons?

Where are they getting the money for this fourth reactor?

Finally, my acute conspiracy theorist tendencies tell me there is more to this than just India. Perchance Pakistain's nuke program is being funded by OBL and the other terrorist networks? Is it possible ISI and the Pak nuclear agency is working hand in glove with AQ to develop weaponry for a nuclear attack on several western countries?

This is very strange and the worst case scenario is very disturbing to US national security.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 05/18/2011 13:02 Comments || Top||

#3  Dang double post!!

I apologize for my ineptitude.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 05/18/2011 13:03 Comments || Top||

#4  They need a 100 bombs for the same reason we needed 14,000 warheads back in the day.

Just to ensure that one could bounce the rubble an impressive number of times.

More seriously, to ensure that an adversary understands that even if they stopped MOST of Pakistain's bombs from being delivered, the ones that got through would still devastate said adversary.

100, I think, is about the threshold for the Indian (ooops, fictional adversary) anti-air and anti-ballistic missile defense systems at present. The Indians have made impressive strides but they won't stop a concerted attempt to deliver 100 warheads. That's the point. If the Indians demonstrate over the next few years that they CAN stop the delivery of all/almost all of 100 warheads, the Paks will build 300.

And so on.
Posted by: Steve White || 05/18/2011 13:12 Comments || Top||

#5  Go ahead, boys, rush that reactor to completion. Hire more workers. Work more shifts. Buy more concrete and rebar. Fly in more Chinese copies of Russian-designed reactor control panels.

What could possibly go wrong? Insh'allan, baby.
Posted by: Steve White || 05/18/2011 13:16 Comments || Top||

#6  VARIOUS > PAKISTAN BUILDS LOW-YIELD NUCLEAR [Weapons]CAPABILITY.

POSTERS = argue that by Year 2050, already nukulaar Pakistan will be the World's most potent Muslim State in terms of population + geopol power. PAKISTAN HAS ALWAYS DESIRED TO BE A LEADING CENTER OF ISLAMIC THOUGHT + INFLUENCE, MORESO BECAUSE OF THE HISTORICAL FAILURE OF [post-Mogul/Moghul = "Golden Age"]ISLAMIC IDEOS TO DOMINATE HINDU-CONTROLLED INDIA.

As curren illustrated by the ongoing post-Mubarak, Sunni-Saudi-Arabia-vs-Shia-Iran brouhaha, the GWOT IS AS MUCH AN INTER-MUSLIM/ISLAMIC COMPETITION OR STRUGGLE FOR POWER + DOMINANCE, ETC. AS ANY OTHER PREMISE.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 19:58 Comments || Top||


John F. Kerry: Stealth Chopper Tail Headed for U.S.
Posted by: Zebulon Thranter9685 || 05/18/2011 09:29 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Apparently Hillary is really pissed at Jawn. And Jimmuh Cahtuh.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 05/18/2011 12:04 Comments || Top||


CIA flew stealth drones into Pakistan to monitor bin Laden house
The CIA employed sophisticated new stealth drone aircraft to fly dozens of secret missions deep into Pakistani airspace and monitor the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed, current and former U.S. officials said.

Using unmanned planes designed to evade radar detection and operate at high altitudes, the agency conducted clandestine flights over the compound for months before the May 2 assault in an effort to capture high-resolution video that satellites could not provide.

The aircraft allowed the CIA to glide undetected beyond the boundaries that Pakistan has long imposed on other U.S. drones, including the Predators and Reapers that routinely carry out strikes against militants near the border with Afghanistan.

The agency turned to the new stealth aircraft “because they needed to see more about what was going on” than other surveillance platforms allowed, said a former U.S. official familiar with the details of the operation. “It’s not like you can just park a Predator overhead — the Pakistanis would know,” added the former official, who, like others interviewed, spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the program.

The monitoring effort also involved satellites, eavesdropping equipment and CIA operatives based at a safe house in Abbottabad, the city where bin Laden was found. The agency declined to comment for this article.
Posted by: tipper || 05/18/2011 01:46 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  More secrets revealed. The NY Slimes must be envious! Scooped by the WaPo!
Posted by: Bobby || 05/18/2011 5:42 Comments || Top||

#2  So did the drones reveal any interesting faces coming to visit? Soldiers? Generals? Jane Fonda? John Kerry?
Posted by: Bobby || 05/18/2011 5:57 Comments || Top||

#3  Psyops, I think. Don't we have satellites that can overwatch without detection as described in this piece? I believe we do. But why bring that up when you can create stories about mysterious "stealth DRONES" (scary!).
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 05/18/2011 7:33 Comments || Top||

#4  The agency turned to the new stealth aircraft "because they needed to see more about what was going on" than other surveillance platforms allowed

Yep, and with thermal-imaging and backscatter tech and all sorts of interesting gadjets that allow us to watch Dinnerjacket shower and where Daffy sleeps and how many Paleos can cram into ambulances!!!! We're coming for you... ;)
Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck5091 || 05/18/2011 8:31 Comments || Top||

#5  We got stealth drones flyin' all over the world, peeking into everything. None of our enemies are safe, anywhere.

But don't tell nobody, okay? They're secret.
Posted by: Fred || 05/18/2011 11:09 Comments || Top||

#6  Just make sure your underwear is clean and your be ok.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 05/18/2011 11:20 Comments || Top||

#7  These are not the drones you are looking for
Posted by: European Conservative || 05/18/2011 11:21 Comments || Top||

#8  Just don't let on about the other secret tech we have ok?
Posted by: Haliburton Secret Cloaking Device Division || 05/18/2011 11:33 Comments || Top||

#9  Yes, EC, 'The Force can have a strong influence on the weak-minded.'
Posted by: Procopius2k || 05/18/2011 12:18 Comments || Top||

#10  Nearly as important as the spy squirrels; large enough to hold the tech, small enough to not be noticed, solves problems.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 05/18/2011 15:33 Comments || Top||

#11  i kinda thought so because satellite tech is burdened by night, shadows, clouds and angles. for those who are unaware, assault teams plan for error correction. one report said that a risk assessment on landing within the walls, found that a chopper created up-draft could cause an accident. hence the deployment of explosives for destroying technology that could be reverse-engineered. also, explosives had to be used on one heavily reinforced inner door. couldn't see that on satellite.
Posted by: Tholumble Panda4671 || 05/18/2011 16:11 Comments || Top||

#12  ION NOT-BLADERUNNER, TOPIX/PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUM > US DRONES: COMING TO AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER NEAR CHINA?

and

* SAME > [UCLASS Project]UCAVS ON AICRAFT CARRIERS BY 2018, SAYS USN CHIEF [CNO ADM. Gary Roughead].

* SAME > NEW UAV ROLE IN USDOD 30-YEAR AIR PLAN [Year 2040], UAVS numbers to steadily expand oer time ala replacement of LR manned recce, fighter-strike aircraft, etc. for all of the US Armed Forces, e.g. USAF E-3 AWACS + RC-135 RIVET JOINTS aircrafts.

Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 23:19 Comments || Top||

#13  Don't forget the Replicants being produced down in Gitmo to replicate detainees.

oops - I probably shouldn't have mentioned that. Please disregard.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 05/18/2011 23:44 Comments || Top||


ISI has Urged Mullah Omar to Leave Pakistan
[Tolo News] An Afghan security official on Tuesday told TOLOnews that Pakistain's spy organisation has asked Mullah Mohammad Omar to leave Pakistain for a period.

The Afghan security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told TOLOnews that ISI has conveyed its message to the Taliban leader in Quetta through former Pak spy chief Gen. Hamid Gul.
The nutty former head of Pakistain's ISI, now Godfather to Mullah Omar's Talibs and good buddy and consultant to al-Qaeda's high command...

Mullah Omar has been asked to leave Quetta for some time and move to Afghanistan or Iran.

"The Taliban leader, in the message, has been promised that ISI will facilitate his move to Helmand in Afghanistan or somehere in Iran," the official said.

The source said Pakistain's spy organisation wants to move Mullah Omar out and then report his location to the US forces.

Then if the Taliban leader is killed on Afghan soil, Pakistain will use it as a propaganda tool to show that terrorist leaders are also hiding in Afghanistan, the source said.

Meanwhile,
...back at the secret hideout, Scarface Al sneeringly put his proposition to little Nell...
Commander of Isaf Joint Command Lt Gen. David Rodriguez said on Monday that there were still around 100 al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan.

"We still think that there are just less than a 100 al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan, but again what they do is a cadre type organisation that helps out to bring both resources as well as technical skills to the rest of the Taliban fighting here," Gen. Rodriguez said at a presser in Kabul.

US ambassador in Kabul, Karl Eikenberry, had previously said senior bully boy leaders were outside Afghanistan.

"The senior leadership of the organisations ... al-Qaeda, Taliban, Haqqani, they do not live in your country," he said. "They have sanctuary outside of Afghanistan and now that we assume that their significant leaders that are found that are in Pakistain," Mr Eikenberry had said in Kabul on May 5.

He had said the United States was determined to kill or detain anyone that threatened the US national security anywhere in the world.

Afghan political expert, Noor-ul-Haq Olumi, believes that al-Qaeda structure has not been damaged and it is still functiong even after its leader has been killed.

"ISI is the organisation that trains, funds and harbours such terrorist organisation, and I think the region will suffer until no action is taken against the real terrorist training centre in the region," Mr Olumi said.

NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants...
has said the late Osama bin Laden's
... who abandoned all hope when he entered there...
death will not affect the Afghan mission and that they would stay in Afghanistan until necessary.

It comes as the United States has reportedly decided to speed up direct talks with the Taliban.

A US representative has attended at least three meetings in Qatar and Germany and the most recent has taken place around nine months ago, the Washington Post reports.

State Department front man Michael A. Hammer has said on Monday that the US has been having a "broad range of contacts across Afghanistan and the region, at many levels.

The talks with the Taliban have proceeded on several tracks, including through non-governmental intermediaries and Arab and European governments, US officials have said.

The Taliban have always rebuffed Afghan government calls for peace talks and pre-conditioned withdrawal of all foreign forces from the country before any talks can be held.

There have even been reports in the past that the Taliban group was willing to engage in direct talks with the US rather than with the Afghan government.
Posted by: Fred || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [13 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Al-Qaeda #2 Ayman Zawahiri???

Dawood Ibrahim [Kaskar] has allegedly already skedaddled wid Family from Pakistan.

* ION TOPIX/WORLD NEWS > INDIA: NO END TO GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR UNLESS TERROR HAVENS ELIMINATED | OSAMA'S DEATH WILL NOT END TERRORISM.

* SAME > [Daily Mail.UK] DEATH OF OSAMA BIN LADEN MAKES MEXICO DRUG BARON WORLD'S [new] MOST WANTED ( + HE MAY BE LINKED TO MORE KILLINGS THAN 9-11 MASTERMIND).

Followed by the abovesame Dawood as World #2.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 0:36 Comments || Top||

#2  ISI is the organisation that trains, funds and harbours such terrorist organisation, and I think the region will suffer until no action is taken against the real terrorist training centre in the region," Mr Olumi said

Bingo.Islamists from General Gul downwards must be targeted to win War on Terror!
Posted by: Black Bart Phuling7750 || 05/18/2011 11:06 Comments || Top||

#3  #2 ISI is the organisation that trains, funds and harbours such terrorist organisation, and I think the region will suffer until no action is taken against the real terrorist training centre in the region," Mr Olumi said

If you believe anything about the tconflict in Afghanistan, believe the stateme above.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/18/2011 11:51 Comments || Top||

#4  Tolo News is out of Afghanistan, as I recall.

Separately, where would Mullah Omar go? The old gentleman is I'll prepared for the life of a refugee, dragging his few bits and bobs and wives and children from pillar to post, never at ease among strangers, with only his bindle on which to rest his weary head...

/the horror, the horror!
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/18/2011 23:17 Comments || Top||

#5  Tolo News is out of Afghanistan, as I recall.

Separately, where would Mullah Omar go? The old gentleman is I'll prepared for the life of a refugee, dragging his few bits and bobs and wives and children from pillar to post, never at ease among strangers, with only his bindle on which to rest his weary head...

/the horror, the horror!
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/18/2011 23:17 Comments || Top||


US assured of action against 'sanctuaries'
[Dawn] A flurry of activity of Monday provided hope that the Pak-US marriage of convenience was not over despite the recent bellowing and booming of the Pak leadership.

By the end of Senator John I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry's
Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, the Senate's current foreign policy expert, filling the vacated wingtips of Joe Biden...
day-long stay in Islamabad it appeared that the US had convinced Pakistain to undertake several steps for proving its commitment to the fight against terrorism. These included returning the wreckage of the helicopter which had malfunctioned during the May 2 raid in Abbotabad and eliminating terrorist sanctuaries in tribal areas.

In exchange Washington has committed itself to a process, which if successful, will lead to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's
... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Elihu Root ...
visit to Islamabad for reviving the strategic dialogue which has been stalled since the arrest of CIA operative Raymond Davis and subsequent events such as drone attacks and the unilateral US operation killing Al Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden.
... who abandoned all hope when he entered there...

John Kerry, who heads the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, extracted these promises from the Pak leadership; he warned them that "if the relationship is to fall apart .... US will always reserve the right to protect its national security".

Senator Kerry's tough love message was reinforced, Dawn has learnt, by the telephone calls Secretary Clinton made to President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari
... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ...
and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Ms Clinton rang up Mr Gilani when he, the president and Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI...
were meeting Senator Kerry. The call is reported to have lasted about 20 minutes.

The secretary of state had called Mr Zardari on Sunday.

"I think we made serious progress. Pakistain has agreed to do a number of things immediately to demonstrate its further seriousness of purpose and we agreed to have several officials from the US to come here in the middle of the week or sometime soon to carry on this discussion and prepare the ground for Secretary Clinton," a visibly fatigued Kerry told a selected group of journalists after his meetings with Pak civil and military leaders.

Having met the army chief on Sunday night, Mr Kerry spent most of Monday in meetings. As he noted: "We worked harder today to talk about ways in which we can be better partners, work cooperatively and open doors to joint cooperation to fight terrorism."

Senator Kerry met President Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani and Army Chief Gen Kayani, individually and collectively, before a joint declaration was issued by the two sides expressing the willingness to carry on with their relationship.

"In furtherance of its existing commitment to fight terrorism, Pakistain has agreed to take several immediate steps to underscore its seriousness in renewing the full cooperative effort with the United States," the joint communiqué said.

Senator Kerry avoided divulging details of the steps agreed upon, but vaguely described it as including cooperation on counter-terrorism, intelligence sharing and targeting terrorist sanctuaries. The latter is hardly surprising; having been high on the American wish list for a long time, action against the havens in tribal areas was one of the major demands Mr Kerry brought to Islamabad.

He said: "We need Pakistain's cooperation, we need Pakistain's help against sanctuaries in this country from where people are destabilising Afghanistan and frankly killing ... all of (those who) are trying to provide for a stable Afghanistan."

However,
The punctuational However...
he stopped of claiming that Pak leaders had agreed to go after the Haqqani network, one of the core contentious issues in the rocky bilateral ties. He was only willing to say cryptically that both countries had agreed to target "some entity, which is engaged in terrorism ... the entity that needs to be taken on one way or the other".

He also said that other measures to be taken by Pakistain included returning the tail of the helicopter which was left behind by the Navy Seals during the Abbotabad raid.

After it malfunctioned, the Americans went kaboom! the helicopter before they left; this was done, it was reported, to prevent the stealth technology from falling into Pak, and possibly other, hands.

However,
The didactic However...
distrust is still not a thing of the past. Despite Pakistain's new commitments, which Mr Kerry himself described as "more detailed, more precise and clarified", he made it clear that Washington was no longer going to be satisfied by mere promises.

"This road ahead will not be defined by words. It will be defined by actions," he told journalists.

This is why Washington is going to follow a step-by-step approach before confirming that Secretary Clinton will be taking a flight to Islamabad.

Two US officials -- Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistain Marc Grossman and CIA Deputy Director Mark Morrel -- will visit Islamabad to follow up on Mr Kerry's talks and discuss the agreed measures in details and possibly gauge progress on the commitments made to the senator.

Secretary Clinton's visit remains contingent on the outcome of Grossman's discussions. "First a meeting will take place to try to lay the groundwork for that (Clinton's meeting) and coming out of that meeting the secretary would set the date," Senator Kerry said. However,
The emphatic However...
in the midst of all the tough talk and the conditions he set, Mr Kerry also made an effort to soothe ruffled feathers, "we are committed to working together with Pakistain -- not unilaterally, but together in joint efforts" -- contingent once again on Pak cooperation.

"But, if we are cooperating and working together there is no reason (for acting unilaterally)," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Sounds like they played ol' Jawnny like a fiddle...
Posted by: tu3031 || 05/18/2011 2:11 Comments || Top||

#2  Where's Jim Baker and the mystery briefcase when you need it?
Posted by: Raj || 05/18/2011 8:51 Comments || Top||

#3  Sounds like they played ol' Jawnny like a fiddle...

The fiddle wanted to be played.
Posted by: Zebulon Thranter9685 || 05/18/2011 9:04 Comments || Top||


Pakistan PM makes nice with China, razzes U.S.
[Dawn] Pakistain's prime minister declared China his country's best friend in an apparent slap at Washington as he was to begin a visit to China on Tuesday with US ties tested over the late Osama bin Laden's
... Maybe his Mom misses him...
killing.

Yusuf Raza Gilani
... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ...
's trip follows the killing of the al Qaeda leader by US special forces on Pak soil, in a raid that has cast a pall over US Pakistain ties and was widely expected to push Islamabad closer to Beijing.

"We appreciate that in all difficult circumstances, China stood with Pakistain.

Therefore we call China a true friend and a time-tested and all-weather friend," Gilani told China's official Xinhua news agency.

"We are proud to have China as our best and most trusted friend, and China will always find Pakistain standing beside it at all times," he said in an interview released Tuesday.

Gilani's comments appeared to underscore tensions with Washington following the May 2 US raid on a compound in northern Pakistain, which left the country's civilian and military leaders angry and embarrassed.

On Monday, US Senator John I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry
Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, the Senate's current foreign policy expert, filling the vacated wingtips of Joe Biden...
demanded Pakistain make progress against terrorism through "actions, not by words" in a visit to the country.

The fact that the terrorist criminal mastermind had been hiding out in Pakistain, possibly for years, has raised accusations the country's powerful security establishment was either incompetent or complicit in bid Laden finding a haven.

Gilani was to arrive in Shanghai on Tuesday and speak on Wednesday at a cultural forum in the eastern city of Suzhou, Pak officials said.

He will then travel to Beijing, where he will meet with Chinese leaders including President Hu Jintao
...Hu has been involved in the Communist party bureaucracy for most of his adult life, meaning his viewpoint has a lot more theory than it does practice. He espouses a Harmonious Society approach, suggesting everybody should play nice or they'll be shot...
and Premier Wen Jiabao.

The two sides are expected to sign a series of cooperation agreements and discuss how they can better combat extremism.

China is the main arms supplier to Pakistain, which sees Beijing as an important counter-balance to Pakistain's traditional rival India. India has recently improved its ties with the United States, causing worry in Islamabad.

China has voiced firm support for Pakistain since the bin Laden episode and the two were expected to reaffirm their "all-weather" friendship during Gilani's stay.

By contrast, Kerry stressed that US politicians were demanding a review of billions of dollars in aid money to Pakistain.

"Ultimately, the Pak people will decide what kind of country Pakistain becomes, whether it is a haven for Islamic fascisti or the tolerant democracy that (Pak founder) Muhammad Ali Jinnah envisioned 64 years ago," said Kerry, chair of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Posted by: Fred || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  MILBLOGGERS > Potential SINO-PAK MUTUAL DEFENSE PACT [read, agz US-NATO] could have the opposite effect + induce China to not milpol intervene in any US,NATO-PAK RIFT AND ESPEC MIL CONFLICT???

* OTOH DEFENCE FORUM INDIA > CORNERED PAKISTAN MAY STRIKE INDIA TO SALVAGE LOST PRIDE.

* INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM [old]> PAKISTAN MAY SEND MORE MILITANTS INTO INDIA [espec J & K] AFTER OSAMA'S DEATH: ARMY. India Northern Command Chief LTG Parnaik.

SAME > EVEN WIDOUT OSAMA, PAKISTAN MILITANTS STRIKE FEAR.

* DEFENCE FORUM INDIA > "GAME BACK ON" FOR US DRONE HITS [inside Pakistan] AFTER OSAMA BIN LADEN DEATH.

* SAME > [Does]AL QUEDA INTEND TO NUKE THE HEART OUT OF CHRISTIANITY - THE VATICAN?, i.e. the "Roman Dogs" as hinted in Wikileaks Cables as per alleged pre-planted AQ Nucbomb "somewhere in Europe", among other interpretations???

US + UK [NATO-EU] have repor already begun prelimin search operations throughout Europe - WASHINGTON, DC OR ANOTHER LARGE, HIGH-PROFILE = KEY US CITY SHOULD NOT BE DISCOUNTED.

* SAME > BRITAIN TO CONTROL AERIAL DRONES OVER AFGHANISTAN FROM MILITARY BASE IN NORTHERN ENGLAND.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 1:08 Comments || Top||

#2  That should help improve OUR relationship with India.....
Posted by: Glenmore || 05/18/2011 8:20 Comments || Top||

#3 
Posted by: Zebulon Thranter9685 || 05/18/2011 8:59 Comments || Top||

#4  They deserve each other.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 05/18/2011 11:34 Comments || Top||

#5  Since when has the Chinese loved Islam/any religion?
Posted by: Unump Bonaparte8194 || 05/18/2011 16:34 Comments || Top||

#6  PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUM > RUSSIA [to] BUILD A HIGH WALL + CLOSE THE GATEWAY TO CHINA FOR ARCTIC RESOURCES, to start as per the US-Russia-Nordic "Agreement on Cooperation in Aviation, Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic".

IMO aka once again as Russia's formal declaration of the SOUTH KURILS = former Japanese "Northern Territories" as prizes of war now sovereign Russian territory.

* Also from SAME/TOPIX > [South Korea]US FORCES MAY BE STATIONED IN BAEGNYEONG, offshore isle near the DPRK-ROK borders.

-------------

* ION WAFF > TURKEY TO CLAIM 150 AEGEAN ISLETS, EXPERTS SAY TWO PROFESSORS ARE TRYING TO PROVE THAT TURKEY HAS A [rightful] HISTORICAL CLAIM TO 150 ISLANDS CURRENTLY CLAIMED BY GREECE.

Islands, islands, everywhere = flashpoint(s) for OWG-NWO, + "Regionalism"???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 23:33 Comments || Top||

#7  CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > INDIA HAS MAXIMUM DEMOGRAPHIC ADVANTAGE WIDIN BRIC, Group of Nations followed by fellow BRIC member BRAZIL, according to Deutche Bank Research.

Both Indjuh + Brazil have young adult populations wid satisfactory replacement ratios likley to last decades as compared to increasingly geriatric Rising China + geriatric Dying Russia.

* SAME > [Hindu Defense blog] "DEMOGRAPHIC AGGRESSION" OF ISLAM IN INDIA | INDIA IS BEING STEADILY DE-HINDU-IZED, widin the context of India's rising Muslim population + national econ, political influences vee both India's Hindu majority as well as its Non-Hindu andor non-Muslim minorities, NEW DELHI GOVT. = CENTRE INTENTIONALLY HIDING OR CONCEALING THE FACTS FROM HINDUS???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 23:49 Comments || Top||


John F. Kerry: ties with Pakistan at crossroads
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee says the US-Pakistan relationship is at a critical juncture and both countries need to get it right.
"Defecate or decommode!"
Sen. John Kerry, a Democrat, spoke Tuesday after returning from a trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan. He said the United States has vital national security interests in the region.

The discovery of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan angered American lawmakers who have suggested cutting American aid to Islamabad.

Kerry says the US has to get the policy right with Pakistan in the aftermath of the raid May 2 in which US commandos apprehended and killed bin Laden on an estate near a Pakistani military training academy.

On Afghanistan, Kerry says he sees no purely military solution but he is optimistic about the overall outlook.
Posted by: Fred || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  "Kerry says the US has to get the policy right with Pakistan in the aftermath of the raid May 2 in which US commandos apprehended and killed bin Laden on an estate near a protected by the Pakistani military training academy."
Posted by: Harry Cheremble8914 || 05/18/2011 0:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Kerry says the US has to get the policy right with Pakistan...

How about "You (Pak) guys are our bitch now"? Jeez, is the game really that tough, Jawny?
Posted by: Raj || 05/18/2011 8:55 Comments || Top||

#3  ya ever notice you never see pics of John visiting Easter Island or any of America's horse tracks?
Posted by: Frank G || 05/18/2011 9:48 Comments || Top||

#4  Hillary is really pissed that Jawn issued a joint statement with the Pakistanis. He was free-lancing.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 05/18/2011 12:07 Comments || Top||

#5  "Peace is at hand."
Posted by: regular joe || 05/18/2011 15:14 Comments || Top||


Pakistan lodges 'strong protest' over Nato violation
[Dawn] A NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants...
helicopter from Afghanistan intruded into Pakistain's North Wazoo region on Tuesday, wounding two troops, local intelligence officials said, adding to tensions between Islamabad and the West.

"It happened early morning," a Pak intelligence official in the region, who declined to be identified, told Rooters. "The helicopter hit a Pak check post on the border in the Datta Khel area."

Another intelligence official said several Pak helicopters took off from Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, towards the site of the attack. The purpose of the Pak mobilisation was unclear.

The Pakistain army lodged a "strong protest" with NATO in Afghanistan over what it said was a violation of Pak air space by two helicopters, a military statement said.

The military condemned the violation and has requested for a flag meeting with NATO officials, DawnNews quoted ISPR front man Athar Abbas as saying.

Lieutenant-Commander Colette Murphy, a spokeswoman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), said in Kabul that the coalition was aware of the reports and looking into them, but had no immediate comment.

North Waziristan is the base of the Haqqani network blamed for the insurgency in eastern Afghanistan. US-led drone aircraft have repeatedly targeted the area over the past year.

Many jihad boys, including imported muscle loyal to al Qaeda, are based in Datta Khel. It is a stronghold of fighters loyal to Hafiz Gul Bahadur and has been a frequent target of US drone strikes.

Pakistain's private news channel said the checkpost targeted in the latest attack was located right on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistain.

It quoted officials as saying that the helicopters were just about to intrude into Pak territory when aerial gunshots were fired. They subsequently moved back but fired a retaliatory shot due to which rubble fell from the nearby mountains and maimed the security personnel.

The reported incursion came a day after unmanned US drone aircraft fired missiles in Datta Khel killing 12 jihad boys, Pak officials said.

An intelligence official said that one of the dead jihad boys, an Arab, was the son of an al Qaeda operative identified as Abu Kashif. There was no way to verify the corpse count. Militants often dispute official accounts of drone attacks.
Posted by: Fred || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


US, Pakistan sparred over military billing
[Dawn] The United States and Pakistain have been sparring over Islamabad's claims for financial compensation for military operations against thugs, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
They wanted 28 percent baksheesh and we only wanted to pay 21 percent.
The report comes as relations between the two anti-terror allies have frayed following the killing of al Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden
... who can now be reached at RFD Boneyard...
in Pakistain in a US commando operation launched without Islamabad's knowledge.

The newspaper, citing internal Pentagon documents, said Washington has quietly rejected more than 40 per cent of over $3.2 billion in claims submitted by Pakistain for military gear, food, water, troop housing and other expenses.

The claims in question were filed from January 2009 through June 2010.

Citing the documents and US officials, the Journal said Pakistain had submitted dubious claims or sought funding for actions that Washington did not see as related to the so-called War on Terror.

In one case, the Mighty Pak Army sought $50 million for "hygiene and chemical expenses," of which Washington agreed to pay just $8 million, the Journal said.

In another case, the United States paid millions to refurbish four helicopters to help Pakistain transport troops to the rugged mountains along the Afghanistan border where it is battling Taliban and al Qaeda thugs.

But Pakistain diverted three of the aircraft to peacekeeping duties in Sudan, operations funded by the United Nations,
...an international organization whose stated aims of facilitating interational security involve making sure that nobody with live ammo is offended unless it's a civilized country...
the Journal said, citing US officials.

The newspaper said US denial rates have climbed from a low of 1.6 per cent in 2005 to 38 per cent in 2008 and 44 per cent in 2009.

Pak officials deny they are trying to bilk the United States and insist that the increased US scrutiny has offended Islamabad, the Journal said.

"People have to give a receipt for every cup of tea they drink or every kilometer they drive," it quoted a Pak official as saying.

Cash-strapped Pakistain has relied on $18 billion from the United States since the September 11, 2001 attacks, when Pakistain officially ended support for Afghanistan's Taliban and agreed to work with Washington.

In 2009, Congress also authorised $7.5 billion to help bolster the weak civilian government by building schools, roads and democratic institutions.
Posted by: Fred || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Nawaz urges nation to stop treating India as 'biggest enemy'
[Dawn] Pakistain Mohammedan League-N chief Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Müslim League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
has said the nation must stop treating India as the country's biggest enemy, calling for a reappraisal of ties with New Delhi "if we want to go forward and progress."

He said if the government cut down all expenditures by 50 per cent, a handsome amount could be set aside for debt servicing.

Nawaz Sharif, who arrived in the city on Monday for the first time after returning home from London, was talking to journalists at a hotel. Syed Ghaus Ali Shah, Mamnoon Hussain, Salim Zia, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra and Khwaja Saad Rafique, all leaders of PML-N, were also present.

The PML-M chief said the army budget and that of the ISI be placed before parliament for scrutiny in line with the practice in democracies.

Mr Sharif described the decision to set up an independent commission to investigate the Abbottabad fiasco as a first step to making parliament sovereign.

"We need structural changes and this inquiry has provided an opportunity to move forward and put the country on the right track, correct its direction by putting our house in order, establish the rule of law and bring all institutions under civilian control," Mr Sharif observed.

The PML-N chief said if the government fixed responsibility for the Abbottabad incident and punished those found guilty, a message would go out to the world on the lam that the people of Pakistain would not brook another Abbottabad-like embarrassment.

In reply to a question, he said he was unaware if intelligence agencies had brought about the Pakistain People's Party-Q League alliance.

Asked whether he would get in touch with MQM during his stay in Bloody Karachi, he said rhetorically: "What for. They are now part of the government. And May 12 should not be forgotten because if we forget the tragedy, similar incidents will continue to happen." Mr Sharif was alluding to the bloodshed in Bloody Karachi on May 12, 2007 -- the day Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was unable to come out of the city's airport.

"I don't want to say anything lest I be misconstrued. However,
The emphatic However...
an inquiry should be instituted into the May 12 happenings and the guilty brought to justice," Mr Sharif said.

He said the practice of dismissing elected governments midway through their terms should be stopped.

Earlier Nawaz Sharif offered Fateha at the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam, where he went straight from the airport.
Posted by: Fred || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [11 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  And a wily mighty "wicked web" it is ...

To wit,

PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUM > PAKISTAN'S FOURTH NUCLEAR REACTOR HAS INDIA WORRIED | PAKISTAN BUILDS LOW-YIELD NUCLEAR WEAPONS CAPABILITY TO BLUNT INDIA'S LIGHTNING STRIKE, at Indo-Pak borders vee India's post-Mumbai/26-11 "Cold Start" Doctrine.

Personally I'm more concerned about the implications for a possible "American Dunkirk" scenario in case of de facto US-Iran War, espec
given ...

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > US EXPLORES [post-Osama/Abbottabad]PAKISTAN SUPPLY ROUTE ALTERNATIVES.

US MILOG nodes in the Persian Gulf vee Bahrain + US-Base-Too-Far Qatar.

* DAILY TIMES.PK > KUWAITI SHIA + SUNNI MP'S IN PARLIAMENTARY FISTFIGHT, oer US-held Kuwaiti Citizen detainees at Gitmo whom the Shia MP's accuse as being "Al-Qaeda Militants" + oppose any Kuwaiti Govt attempt to get released.

AND

* NHK WORLD/TOPIX/WORLD NEWS > UN: NORTH KOREA CAN SOON PRODUCE WEAPONS-GRADE URANIUM.

Techs transfers = proliferation to IRAN,vee NORTH KOREA vee alleged covert third-party Iran-DPRK broker + Pakis BFF, "Big Brother" CHINA???

FYI CHINA is formally denying being such a broker between Iran + the DPRK.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 22:30 Comments || Top||


ATC given 4 months to try `militants`
[Dawn] The Beautiful Downtown Peshawar High Court on Monday directed the anti-terrorism court in Swat
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
to conclude trial of 60 suspected faceless myrmidons within four months.
Otherwise they're gonna walk. Guess how it's gonna turn out?
A single bench comprising Chief Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan directed that in case their trial could not be concluded within four months, they should be released on bail on condition of furnishing two sureties of Rs500,000.

These suspects had surrendered to the security forces over two years ago and since then they had been behind the bars without conclusion of their trial.

The bench was hearing a bail petition filed by 31 of these suspects including Kifayatullah and others.

Advocate Astaghfirullah Khan appeared for the petitioners and contended that around 60 suspects, belonging to Koza Bandae and Bara Bandae areas of Swat, had surrendered to the security forces on July 20, 2009. Later, he stated, they were handed over to the local police and an FIR was registered against them under section 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act and section 13 of the Arms Ordinance.

The counsel stated that on Dec 11, 2009, the high court had issued directives in their case that their trial should be completed within three months failing which they should be released on bail. He stated that the said deadline expired on March 12, 2010, but despite the passage of over 14 months the trial had still been in initial stages. He stated that the suspects also included some minors.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
advocate general, Sadaullah Khan Chamkani, contended that the suspects were faceless myrmidons and had surrendered to the security forces. He added that three of the suspects were would-be jacket wallahs and their rehabilitation and de-radicalisation was underway.
Posted by: Fred || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Harry Reid Says We Should Pay Jizya
When asked if the United States should consider cutting foreign aid to Pakistan, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said America needs a "good relationship" with the country, which has nuclear weapons, and now "isn't the time to start flexing our muscles." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) agreed.
So, our Senate leaders think we should continue to give Taxpayer money to keep them from hurting us? Listen, guys, they aren't our allies. Bugwits.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The aid was originally to encourage Pakistan to help us in the war on terror. But they wanted to keep the gravy train rolling as long as they could by keeping Osama alive and well, don't ya know. So stop the gravy train, demand a refund would be a wise move, too.
Posted by: Harry Cheremble8914 || 05/18/2011 0:23 Comments || Top||

#2  McConnell is a pantywaist RINO
Posted by: The Other Beldar || 05/18/2011 9:06 Comments || Top||

#3  Air deliver the jizya in the form of nitrates.
Posted by: Zebulon Thranter9685 || 05/18/2011 9:21 Comments || Top||

#4  Oddly enough, probably the best resolution of the situation would be if Pakistan were to nuke a city in India, and then, after Indian retaliation took out the rest of Pakistan's nukes, the Indian army marched in a punitive expedition, killing every adult male they could catch. Then to set up a female puppet government.

Basically wiping out 2/3rds of Pakistan's population and ending every trace of Islam in the place.

Insanely harsh, with zero US involvement. A totally Asian deal in "the Asian way".

Alternatives to this are likely a whole lot less nice, and involve a lot of Americans being killed as well.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 05/18/2011 9:34 Comments || Top||


More Details on OBL Raid
From Daily Mail - UK version of Debka so salt to taste
  • Obama did not ask who shot Bin Laden after meeting SEAL Team Six
  • 23 SEALs raided compound, wile others waited outside for Pakistani forces
  • Weight of men and gear on Stealth Blackhawks measured to within an ounce
  • Interpreter and search dog called Cairo part of raiding team
  • 'Two dozen' more SEALS waited in back up Chinooks
  • Element of surprise ruined after Blackhawk crashed in front yard
  • I told Bin Laden he couldn't marry my daughter (but then I relented): Terror chief's father-in-law gives extraordinary interview
  • Pakistan's leaders ignored warning four years ago from security official that Bin Laden was in the country
Posted by: Mercutio || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Whoa, USDOD search dogs are also enemy "interpreters" - who knew?

May explain why the Pups are carrying all that "Star Wars" gear nowadays.

OOOOOOOOO, you just know that one day in future it will be us Humans wearing the leashes + told to go fetch.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 0:47 Comments || Top||

#2  ION DEFENCE FORUM INDIA > FATIMA BHUTTO: PAKISTAN GAVE US THE RIGHT TO KILL BIN LADEN.

ARTIC > FATIMA = PAKISTAN'S PROB IS THAT ITS PAKISTAN. When it comes to Big $$$ andor high stakes, NO PAKIS SHOULD TRUST ANY OTHER PAKIS BE IT THE ISLAMABAD NATIONAL GOVT OR EVEN FAMILY MEMBERS, e.g. BENAZIR whom may have had a hand in planning + carrying out the murder of one of her own close political relations.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 1:42 Comments || Top||

#3  BHARAT RAKSHAK > [LA Times]WHY DID OBAMA'S OSAMA BIN LADEN [ratings]BOOST GET BURIED AT SEA SO QUICKLY.

Its called the struggling US Economy + effects therefrom.

POTUS BAMMER'S still got 540 days left, come Solar Storm, Asteroid, or revenge-for-Osama new 9-11, to change things around.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 1:48 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Sisters Dorin and Gitit assigned to Intelligence and K9 units.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/18/2011 06:33 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


PA: Palestine may join Gulf Cooperation Council
[Ma'an] Palestine may join the Gulf Cooperation Council when it establishes its statehood, a Paleostinian Authority official said Monday.
Why not? It's closer to the Persian Gulf than Morocco. For that matter, they just call it the "Gulf" Cooperation Council, so maybe it's not specific to any particular gulf.
PA cabinet chief Naim Abul Huomos said joining the council was important on political, economic and geographic levels.

Jordan's decision to join the GCC encouraged officials to seriously consider the move, he added.

Years of Paleostinian presence in the Gulf had built strong economic, political and social ties between the countries, Abu Huomos said, underlined by the Gulf's support for the Paleostinian cause.

He added that Paleostinians had experience, expertise, a labor force and good capital in Arab states in the Gulf.

The GCC was formed in 1981. On May 10 the council said it may admit Jordan and Morocco into the six-member group.
Posted by: Fred || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  ION PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUM > ARAB REVOLTS WILL BE WASHINGTON, DC'S DOWNFALL.

ARTIC = The US cannot simply "sub-contract" its foreign policies to various Muslim countries, "Moderate" or pro-Radical, in the Middle East or elsewhere; a SUNNI-SHIA MIL CONFLICT will be the bloodiest war the ME will ever see i.e. worse than anything seen or experienced in the Cold War Arab-Israeli Conflict.

MORE BLUNTLY, ME JASMINE UPRISINGS = SUDDEN OR UNEXPECTED, "LEGAL" RISE OF OWG/ISLAMIST CALIPHATE [Nuclear?] due to Radical Islamism's possible formal electoral takeover of a number of regional Muslim Govts-States + espec their Nucprogs???

Internally, Radical Islam's prob then devols towards WHAT ISLAMIC/ISLAMIST -ISM(S) WILL DE FACTO CONTROL OR DOMINATE SAID SAME CALIPHATE.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 1:30 Comments || Top||

#2  PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > SAUDI NEWSPAPER: IRAN ASSASSINATED SAUDI DIPLOMAT IN PAKISTAN, aka a SSSSSHHHHHHHH "Act of War" + "Violation of State-Diplomatic Sovereignty" under Internat Law???

Iff true, then perhaps the Paleos will get to see how the GCC will protect sovereign Paleo State interests in a serious crisis???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 22:56 Comments || Top||

#3  OOOPPSIES, forgot PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > FORMER BAHRAIN LEGISLATOR [Nasser al-Fadhala]WARNS IRAN FLOTILLA WOULD BE AN ACT OF WAR, iff the vessels ever reached Bahrain.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 23:07 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Cleric suggests int'l Islamic court
[Iran Press TV] A senior Iranian religious figure has proposed setting up an international Islamic court to handle cases pertaining to Mohammedans and look into their complaints fairly.

"Islamic countries should [act] in unison and in coordination with one another to set up an international Islamic court to look into the situation of Mohammedans," Ayatollah Hossein Nouri-Hamedani was quoted by Fars News Agency as saying.

He said the Bahraini people have lodged a complaint with the International Criminal Court
... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ...
(ICC) at The Hague against the Al Khalifa dynasty but the ICC has supported the Bahraini monarchy.

Nouri-Hamedani touched upon the recent events in Bahrain and Libya as well as other Islamic countries, and said Islam negates any form of monarchy and approves popular governments.

The senior holy man underlined that the West has a grudge against Islam and Mohammedans, adding, "We must know the enemy and be resilient against it."

Nouri-Hamedani underlined Al Khalifa, Al Saud and Al Nahyan dynasties are the puppets of the US and Perfidious Albion.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the senior holy man described Israel as a "fabricated" regime brought to power by Perfidious Albion.

He said Perfidious Albion brought Zionists from all across the world together and made up the Holocaust story before forming the illegitimate regime of Israel.

Nouri-Hamedani warned that the enemy is seeking to install puppets in Islamic countries.
Posted by: Fred || 05/18/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Terror Networks
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: THE SICK PERVERTED WORLD OF OSAMA BIN LADEN
National Enquirer - proven to be more accurate than the MSM.
In a bombshell world exclusive the ENQUIRER reports OSAMA BIN LADEN's ex-wife -- and his mistress -- reveal the terror kingpin's sick, diseased maniacal world of sexual perversion and hard-core drugs.

Now, for the first time, a true picture of the demented terrorist is emerging -- a child abuser, sexual pervert and gravely ill bully who treated his own family like dogs.

Here, in an ENQUIRER world exclusive, is a behind-the-scenes look at the late terror mastermind through the eyes of the women closest to him.
Posted by: Zebulon Thranter9685 || 05/18/2011 11:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  a child abuser, sexual pervert These are Christian terms. According to current Islamic practices this is acceptable and normal.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 05/18/2011 12:03 Comments || Top||

#2  Wow,

Sounds like a normal day in Hollywood with the stars and their entourages.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 05/18/2011 12:55 Comments || Top||

#3  For domestic US stories, the Enquirer is notorious for fact checking, out of fear of libel suits. In fact, their system is regarded as the gold standard of newspapers, and is only beaten by some of the more prestigious academic journals.

But, with international stories, it is a different playbook entirely. This is less for tabloid reasons than for the wildly different libel standards. For example, England's nonsensical libel standard based on offense, not truth; and in other Euro states that have put politicians off limits for criticism, such as Germany.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 05/18/2011 13:02 Comments || Top||

#4  Two words: Kola Boof.
Posted by: Chris W. || 05/18/2011 13:12 Comments || Top||

#5  He refused to wear wrist­watches because he was so paranoid about the United States using spy sat­ellites to track him. In his addled state, he thought watches might somehow be used to track him.

You gotta love those American/Zionist jinns!
Posted by: Frozen Al || 05/18/2011 15:54 Comments || Top||

#6  most paranoids think those threads in bank notes, are tracking devices. actually i kinda like to have them think that. it feeds the insanity.

hey paranoid: do you really know what you are drinking when you pour that glass of water?
Posted by: Tholumble Panda4671 || 05/18/2011 16:04 Comments || Top||

#7  Four wives and a cup.

(not mine, but I wish it were)
Posted by: swksvolFF || 05/18/2011 17:09 Comments || Top||

#8  FORT APACHE'S Henry Fonda remembers NOT-A-KAYYY-DET KOLA BOOF.

Just sayin.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/18/2011 22:33 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Wounded Warrior SFC Greg Stube precluded from speaking at "Faith-Based Event."
Posted by: Fleash Uleating7195 || 05/18/2011 00:03 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Snopes says the story is false.
Posted by: Penguin || 05/18/2011 1:02 Comments || Top||

#2  MODS please delete.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/18/2011 1:05 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
47[untagged]
8Govt of Pakistan
3TTP
2al-Qaeda in Pakistan
2al-Qaeda
1al-Qaeda in Arabia
1Govt of Sudan
1Govt of Syria
1Narcos
1Palestinian Authority
1Taliban
1Govt of Iran

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2011-05-18
  Over 70 militants attack Pakistani security post, 17 dead
Tue 2011-05-17
  Frontier Shootout between Pak Army & NATO Helicopter
Mon 2011-05-16
  29 Murdered In Northern Guatemala, Most Decapitated
Sun 2011-05-15
  Pakistan's parliament condemns US bin Laden raid
Sat 2011-05-14
  US charges six with aiding Pakistani Taliban
Fri 2011-05-13
  Dronezap kills several in Pakistan
Thu 2011-05-12
  ISI Confirms Mullah Omar in Pakistain
Wed 2011-05-11
  Qadaffy forces tossed from Misrata. Again.
Tue 2011-05-10
  U.N. Team Blocked from Syria's Daraa as Regime Arrests 'Thousands' in Banias
Mon 2011-05-09
  Syrian troops, tanks enter Homs, Tafas
Sun 2011-05-08
  Gunfire disrupts pro-Osama rally
Sat 2011-05-07
  Drones kill 17 in North Waziristan
Fri 2011-05-06
  Fidel, Meshaal criticise way Osama was killed
Thu 2011-05-05
  Pakistan warns US not to stage more raids
Wed 2011-05-04
  No release of Bin Laden death pic


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.
3.141.31.209
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (24)    Non-WoT (10)    Opinion (8)    (0)    Politix (3)