[Iran Press TV] Cholera has killed 87 more lives in lawless Somalia, where cases of waterborne diseases have increased due to unhygienic living conditions, Press TV reported.
Medical sources told Press TV that the victims died within the past 24 hours in the war-ravaged capital Mogadishu and Afgooye town, which is located in the Shabeellaha Hoose region of southern Somalia and about 25 kilometers (16 miles) west of Mogadishu.
Somali doctors also warned that more than 1,479 people, mostly women and kiddies, are suffering from cholera and other waterborne diseases in Mogadishu and Afgooye town.
The International Committee of the Red Thingy (ICRC) warned on September 28 that the humanitarian situation remains "highly critical" in Somalia.
"The situation in Somalia remains highly critical. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis are still displaced from their homes in search of security and food," the ICRC said in a statement.
The Geneva-based humanitarian institution added, "Although humanitarian aid has started to reach the drought- and conflict-affected people, many are still struggling to survive."
"Much of the livestock has been decimated and there is no hope for an improvement in the situation until the next harvest in December," it added.
Cholera is confirmed in Banadir, Bay, Mudug and Lower Shabelle regions of Somalia, and the number of acute diarrhea cases has increased dramatically in the last few months.
Boilerplate follows...
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
Strategically located in the Horn of Africa, Somalia remains one of the countries generating the highest number of refugees and internally displaced persons in the world.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2011 00:00 ||
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" Somalia remains one of the countries generating the highest number of refugees and internally displaced persons in the world." ....And they are now exporting infectious diseases , because these Boko Bozos believe Western Vaccinations are evil .
#2
I will give credit to cholera. Since its cause and prevention are well known, it is an effective means to eliminate those who live in filth and stupidity. Quickly.
#3
Moose, children forced into refugee camps by other people's evil don't choose to live in filth and squalor, and they don't deserve cholera. Who died and made you God?
#4
Vaccinations only prevent against viral diseases, you fucking dumbass Preptile. Cholera is a bacterial infection. I hope you get cholera and die, you piece of shit excuse for a human being.
NAIROBI, Kenya: Eritrea's ambassador to Kenya said Friday that there is no proof to back allegations that Eritrea supplied three planeloads of weapons to Al-Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia being pursued by the Kenyan army. "Wudn't us." "Da witnesses is all dead!"
Beyene Russom told The Associated Press that it would be impossible for the small, East Africa country to supply weapons because it is under a UN arms embargo and is being monitored by the US government and the UN.
"We can't do that because it is a very complicated operation," Russom said. "We do not have the capacity to bring three planes in two days, crossing the airspace of Djibouti, crossing the Red Sea and entering the Indian Ocean and entering Somalia airspace, unloading and flying back in this highly militarized area." Remarkably detailed for something they couldn't possibly do...
The US also has a military base in Djibouti, he said.
Kenya sent hundreds of troops into Somalia last month to pursue Al-Shabab, the militants it blames for a string of kidnappings inside Kenya, which it says threaten the country's economy. Last week Kenya's foreign minister summoned Russom and raised concerns over the possibility that planes from Eritrea supplied militants with weapons.
Russom said the latest accusations fit into a pattern of misinformation against his country which he blames on Ethiopia -- Eritrea's longtime foe. Shortly after he arrived in Kenya in February, Russom said his office was accused of channeling funds to Al-Shabab and using the ambassador's official car to ferry weapons. He said the accusations have not been proven despite his willingness to waive diplomatic immunity to allow investigations.
The allegations were published in a report by a group of UN experts monitoring the arms embargoes on Eritrea and Somalia. The report also accused Eritrea of involvement in the July 2010 suicide attacks on people watching the World Cup final in Uganda's capital Kampala in which 76 people were killed, he said. Though, according to him, Uganda has never accused Eritrea of involvement.
He said Eritrea does not object to Kenya's pursuit of Al-Shabab militants in Somalia, but Eritrea is concerned about what will happen to Somalia after Kenya withdraws.
"Kenya has the opportunity to bring peace in Somalia, to bring all the Somalis together supported by the international community," he said. "Talking for two years is better than fighting for one day."
Russom said the accusations that Eritrea is supporting Al-Shabab started after the country objected to Ethiopia's military invasion of Somalia in 2006 to fight the Islamic Courts Union. Russom said Eritrea wanted Somalis to find peace through discussions and compromise and that was its reason for opposing Ethiopia's invasion. He said Ethiopia sees a united Somalia as a threat because it is afraid the country will support ethnic Somali rebels in the Ogaden region in Ethiopia's south.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/12/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Hussein O doesn't assist Christian majority nations. Bow to allah the camel breeders fake deity, if you want his respect and aid.
BRUSSELS: NATO may perform an internal legal review of some of its operations in Libya to assist any outside investigation into civilian casualties, diplomats accredited to the organization say. The review would likely include all incidents in which NATO airstrikes caused civilian casualties, the diplomats said.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, said this month that any allegations of crimes committed by NATO in Libya would be examined “impartially and independently.”
Thus keeping Ocampo and cronies fully employed...
Moreno-OcampoÂ’s statement does not necessarily mean he will open a formal investigation. Following findings of a UN Commission of Inquiry in Libya, due in March, he could decide there is no need for further investigation or ask judges for authorization to open a formal probe.
“We are not talking about any specific incident. We are saying, ‘Yes, if there are allegations of crimes we will review that,’” Moreno-Ocampo told The Associated Press.
NATO officials say they are confident the alliance’s actions complied with international law. “In the event we receive a request for information, NATO is prepared to assist in any way it can,” said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to NATO regulations.
Wonder if Ocampo and company will conduct an 'impartial and independent' review of Qaddafi's thug-boys...
Following a UN resolution authorizing the protection of civilians, NATO led a campaign of airstrikes against the regime of then-Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi from March through October. NATO leaders have hailed the precision with which the mission was carried out, citing the small number of civilian deaths caused by the bombing as evidence of its success.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/12/2011 00:00 ||
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But lawyers can let the likes of Jerry Sandusky roam free among us for 12 years.
[Tripoli Post] Libya's Islamists are forming a new party that will be run on the "moderate"Libyan holy man Dr Ali al-Sallabi announced during an interview carried in Thursday's British national daily newspaper, The Daily Telegraph.
Dr Al-Sallabi, who spent eight years in the former regime's most notorious prison Abu Salim, and described as the figurehead of Libya's Islamist movement, told the newspapr that a provisional manifesto had already won support from some of the country's most important political and religious leaders.
At the same time hedenied reports that he would stand for President himself but confirmed his long-predicted move into secular politics.
He said his movement supported basing Libya's constitution on Sharia law, but that it would be moderate and pursue democratic politics on the model of similar parties in Turkey and Tunisia.
The new party's provisional name - The National Gathering for Freedom, Justice and Development -- is a nod both to Turkey's ruling party, the Justice and Development Party, and that set up by the Moslem Brüderbund in neighbouring Egypt, the Freedom and Justice Party.
Like those parties, and the Islamist Ennahda which won Tunisia's first post-Arab Spring election, the party's traditionalist but all-embracing ideology hopes to win it mass support. "This is not an Islamist party but a nationalist party, but its political agenda respects the general principles of Islam and Libyan culture." Dr Sallabi told The Telegraph.
Until the revolution Dr Sallabi had been living in exile in Qatar. He is a close ally of Abdulhakim Belhaj, the leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group who was once extradited to Libya with MI6 support and who now heads the Tripoli Military Council.
Dr Sallabi said Mr Belhaj, along with other prominent Islamists such as Mohammed Busedra, once the country's best-known political prisoner, were among those endorsing the new party. It was also backed by tribal leaders and members of the National Transitional Council.
The newspaper said that the holy man attempted to reassure secular Libyans and the West about its future direction, saying Western intervention over Libya had changed its relations with the Moslem world.
"The attitude of America, Britannia, and La Belle France has made a significant impact on the majority of Moslems," he said. "In general towards the West there is now a good feeling rather than a bad feeling."
Dr Sallabi said he supported the lifting of the AL Qadaffy ...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland and was then murdered by his indignant subjects 42 years later... -era laws banning polygamy. But added that NTC chairman Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, had gone too far in announcing that non-Islamic finance would be banned in the new Libya.
"This is his opinion, nothing else," he said, adding he himself would defer to the opinion of bankers and economists. "We are part of international banking systems," he added.
The new party's manifesto has been drawn up with the help of Ali Abusedra, a lawyer based in London's Kensington Church Street while living in exile. Al Sallabi said it had not yet worked out detailed policy positions but was largely in line with secular principles.
"It's our life and we agree how to organise it - this is our understanding of what Islam says," Mr Abusedra said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Moderate Islamic is like "a little bit pregnant".
#2
In all fairness, different parts of the Ummah have different ideas about life and things. When Abu Hāmed Mohammad ibn Mohammad al-Ghazzālī (1058–1111), created his anti-intellectual, fundamentalist movement, effectively ending Muslim cultural evolution, it took a long time for it to radiate outwards from Persia.
Northern Africa was one of the last places it moved into, from East to West, which is why the last gasp of Islamic intellectualism was found in Tunisia-west, up into Spain. And just when it was being extinguished, the Christians laid hands on it, and revitalized the Christian world.
But this is why, even today, northern African Muslims, Egyptians, Libyans (Arabs and Berbers), Algerians, Tunisians and Moroccans, think of themselves as more sophisticated than other Arabs.
(Turks as well, but because they were the seat of the empire, at the crossroads of Europe and Asia.)
In any event, my suspicions are that the Libyans will be a lot more like Tunisia than Somalia. Their literacy and educational rate are sky high, something Qadaffi deserves credit for. And an educated people are far less inclined to embrace fundamentalism.
#4
Anonymoose: And an educated people are far less inclined to embrace fundamentalism.
Two words: Noam. Chomsky. If he isn't a fanatic believer in a Revealed Truth...
On a group level? When a faction controls the education/news system refuses to allow any other group a dissenting voice then education is only indoctrination. Palestine, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, etc.
#5
Secret Master: Iran had some problems Libya does not. Its upper classes were Zoroastrians, and its educated people were all city folk. The rest of the country was filled with non-Persian, lower educated peoples. Even Tehran is split in two, with the educated people on one side and the blue collar on the other. And the blue collar types are strong Mullah supporters.
Iran literacy: 77% School Life Expectancy: 13 years (high school).
Libya literacy: 83% School Life Expectancy: 17 years (college).
But in all fairness, in Libya, education was a big thing with Qaddafi. Right next door in Algeria, comparable with Libya in some ways, but more typically Arab, they are far more comparable with Iran as far as education goes.
And seriously, Noam Chomsky isn't particularly brilliant. He's a defective bulldada machine. His greatest accomplishment was to ruin the educational prospects of millions of black Americans with his "whole language" scheme. He has done more to "keep the black man down" than even Jefferson Davis.
[An Nahar] Libya's former Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi has applied for U.N. political refugee status to try to prevent his extradition from Tunisia, one of his lawyers said Friday.
"If the HCR (the UN High Commissioner for Refugees) grants Mr. Mahmoudi refugee status it will no longer be possible to extradite him," said the lawyer, Taufik Wanas.
A Tunisian appeals court this week gave the nod for Mahmoudi's extradition to Libya although rights groups have expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... for his safety if he is sent back.
"I am hopeful that the Tunisian people will not extradite a refugee," said Mahmoudi, who appeared at a separate Tunis court on Friday in connection with a fresh extradition request submitted by the authorities in Tripoli.
His lawyers also said they would also seek help with Mahmoudi's case from the Geneva-based U.N. Committee against Torture.
Mahmoudi, 70, was prime minister until the final days of the regime of Libyan strongman Moammar Qadaffy ...The late megalomaniac dictator of Libya, admired everywhere for his garish costumes, funny hats, harem of cutie bodyguards, and incoherent ravings. As far as is known, he is the only person who's ever declared jihad on Switzerland... , who was rubbed out after his capture by National Transitional Council fighters last month.
Mahmoudi was set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock on September 21 on Tunisia's southwestern border with Algeria and nabbed for illegal entry. He is being held in a prison near Tunis and failed on Wednesday in a court bid to secure his release.
Libya's interim leader Mustapha Abdul Jalil on Thursday pledged to ensure Mahmoudi's security if he is returned.
"First of all we will ensure a secure place for him, then we will guarantee a fair trial, despite the acts he has perpetrated against the Libyan people," Abdul Jalil, chairman of Libya's National Transitional Council, told AFP.
The new extradition request against Mahmudi concerns charges of inciting rape in the town of Zuwarah in northwest Libya, according to another of his lawyers, Mabrouk Kourchid.
Kourchid also said he had formally asked Tunisia's interim president Fouad Mebazaa not to sign and validate the extradition agreed to on Tuesday.
Amnesia Amnesty International last week urged Tunisia not to extradite Mahmoudi, saying he risked being subject to "serious human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... violations".
Kourchid has said that his client fears for his life as the sole holder of Libyan state secrets since the ousted Qadaffy was slain on October 20.
During the extradition hearing this week, dozens of Libyans rallied outside the building demanding the man they called the "third tyrant of Libya" -- after Qadaffy and his son Seif al-Islam -- be sent back to face justice.
Tunisia in August recognized the NTC as Libya's new authority and has committed itself to cooperation on security issues.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Activists in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar have accused the Doha-based Al-Jazeera news channel of serving Israeli interests in the region.
And President Obama is a centrist...
Posting photos showing the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and his prime minister shaking hands with Israeli officials, activists also criticized the government for its close ties with Tel Aviv.
It is widely believed that the Emir of Qatar has direct influence on the nature of programs broadcast by Al-Jazeera.
The news network has been repeatedly accused of uneven coverage of the events of the "Arab Spring."
Al-Jazeera is accused of blowing the opposition movement in Syria out of proportion while turning a blind eye to the Bahraini government's violent crackdown on peaceful anti-government protesters.
A number of well-known journalists, including Ghassan Ben Jeddo, have resigned from the TV in the past months over the channel's coverage of Middle East events.
A profile, titled "The Qatari Revolution Page" has recently appeared on Facebook. Qatar is a country where there are no government elections. It houses a huge US airbase used for military operations in Iraq.
Qatari activists claim that many citizens living in the Arab Emirate are unhappy with their ruler's policies.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
...like when they hosted and Televised Samir Kuntar's Birthday Party ? ( Oh wait , in the long view that worked well for ' Infidelity ' ). It identified the enemy .
#4
There's a difference between people fighting for freedom and people fighting to force their religion down everyone's throat.
Sometimes that is, indeed, true. But sometimes the freedom being fought for is the freedom to force one's religion - whether a certain branch of Islam or Communism or whatever it is that the Occupy Wall Streeters think they're on about -- down everyone's throat for their own good. The question on is, is freedom defined as being left alone to rule themselves, or becoming the top dog instead of the underdog? In both cases freedom from rule by others is the first step, but after that the differences between the American revolution and the French revolution is very stark -- not to mention the Iranian revolution...
Carried over to Saturday.
As Mexican President Felipe Calderon mourned the loss of his top minister in the nation's war against drug cartels, he pledged that the investigation into Friday's helicopter crash that killed the Cabinet member and all eight others aboard would be transparent and timely.
In a national address Friday, Calderon said authorities don't know the exact cause of the crash south of Mexico City that killed Interior Minister Jose Francisco Blake Mora, but he added that investigators will look at all possible angles.
The crash evoked comparisons to a 2008 plane crash that also killed the country's then-interior minister. That crash, in a luxurious Mexico City neighborhood, was later determined to be an accident caused by turbulence. The Learjet carrying the minister and others was following a commercial airliner too closely, authorities said.
On Friday, Calderon called Blake Mora "a great Mexican who deeply loved his country and served until the last moment of his life."
The helicopter went down in the Xochimilco area south of Mexico City on Friday, government spokeswoman Alejandra Sota said.
Also killed in the crash were Undersecretary for Legal Affairs and Human Rights Felipe Zamora and the ministry's press office chief, Jose Alfredo Garcia, she said. In all, nine people perished -- seven passengers and two crew members, she said.
In July 2010, Calderon appointed Blake Mora to the post that oversees security efforts against drug cartels in Mexico. That battle has cost thousands of lives.
"I grieve his loss" and those of the other victims, Calderon said in a national address, adding that Blake Mora, who was 45, leaves behind a wife and two children.
Authorities were investigating the cause of the accident. A photograph of the crash site depicts a relatively concentrated debris field. The French-manufactured THP06 Super Puma helicopter was made in 1987 and had logged 717 hours of flight, Mexican officials said.
Before becoming interior minister, Blake Mora was an attorney from Baja California state who was chief of staff to the state government from 2007 until July 2010. Previously, he was a councilman in Tijuana, as well as a state and federal congressman. Charged with leading the national effort against the cartels, Blake Mora was considered to be close to the president and, in fact, led his political campaign in Baja California.
The helicopter crashed while traveling between Mexico City and the Mexican state of Morelos south of the city, officials said.
At a news conference, Sota confirmed there were no survivors and said the president met with Blake Mora's widow. Also among those killed were Diana Ayton Miriam Sanchez, a technical secretary; Lt. Maj. Rene de Leon Sapien; and three members of the air force: Lt. Felipe Basio Cortes, Lt. Pedro Ramon Becerra Escobar and Sgt. Jorge Luis Juarez Gomez.
Ironically, Blake Mora's last writing in his Twitter account refers to the November 2008 accident that killed the prior interior minister.
"Today we remember Juan Camilo Mourino three years after his departure, a human being who worked on building a better Mexico," Blake Mora says in a tweet posted on November 4, the third anniversary of the accident.
Mourino died when his plane, returning to Mexico City after a tour of work in the state of San Luis Potosi, crashed near the intersection of the Mexico City's Periferico beltway and its grand boulevard, the Paseo de la Reforma.
There was no foul play suspected in that accident, officials said.
An investigation led by Gilberto Lopez Meyer, head of the nation's Airports and Auxiliary Services agency, determined that the Learjet 45 carrying the minister was too close to a Boeing 767 and the pilots lost control in the larger jet's wake.
The Learjet slammed into the capital's wealthy Lomas neighborhood, killing all eight people on board and six on the ground. At least 40 others on the ground were injured.
Former Interior Secretary Santiago Creel reacted to Friday's crash on Twitter by saying: "I'm sorry the accident. My prayers for Francis Blake and the other crew are found safe and sound."
When appointed interior minister in 2010, Blake Mora succeeded Fernando Gomez Mont, who resigned as Calderon reorganized his Cabinet. A senior presidential adviser, Patricia Flores Elizondo, also resigned.
[An Nahar] President Barack My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it Obama's key Middle East advisor Dennis Ross said Thursday he would resign after a period of turmoil in the Arab world and a difficult period in U.S. relations with Israel.
Ross, a veteran U.S. peace negotiator, said in a statement he had made a promise to his wife to return to private life after two years in the administration -- and had outstayed that promise by a year.
Ross said in a statement that he was returning to private life with "mixed feelings."
"It has been an honor to work in the Obama Administration and to serve this president, particularly during a period of unprecedented change in the broader Middle East.
"Obviously, there is still work to do but I promised my wife I would return to government for only two years and we both agreed it is time to act on my promise.
"I am grateful to President B.O. for having given me the opportunity once again to work on a wide array of Middle Eastern issues and challenges and to support his efforts to promote peace in the region."
White House front man Jay Carney said that Ross, a special assistant to the President, had played a key role at a "historic time in the Middle East and North Africa."
Ross played "a critical role in our efforts to apply unprecedented pressure" on the Iranian government and had also supported democratic transitions in the region, Carney said.
Carney said that Obama would continue to periodically draw on Ross's counsel going forward.
Ross is known as a longstanding and patient negotiator in the Middle East with deep ties with successive generations of Israeli leaders. His critics though have sometimes whispered that he is too close to Israel.
Ross, however, who also served president Bill Clinton, also spent long periods of time with Paleostinian leaders, through years of frustrated U.S.-brokered efforts to forge peace between Israel and the Paleostinians.
He leaves at another uncertain moment in the history of testy ties between the Obama White House and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and at a point where Israel-Paleostinian peace talks have shuddered to a halt.
At a G20 summit last week, Obama was party to a conversation in which French President Nicolas Sarkozy ...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit... called Netanyahu a "liar" and Obama appeared to also be frustrated with the Israeli leader.
"You may be sick of him, but me, I have to deal with him every day," Obama replied in comments that were translated into French and picked up an open microphone.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2011 00:00 ||
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Well, I thought it was going to be the Chief of Staff that resigned. This one is more significant.
[Dawn] Pakistain and Afghanistan on Friday agreed to further cooperate with each other to ensure peace, security and stability in the region.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... held an hour long meeting with Afghanistan's President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... here on the sidelines of 17th SAARC summit and discussed bilateral relations, situation in the region and SAARC affairs.
Talking to newsmen along with Mr Karzai, the prime minister said the democratic government in Pakistain had made unprecedented efforts to improve its relations with Afghanistan since 2008.
He said that Pakistain was prepared to work in a cooperative mode with Afghanistan and other international partners to promote the shared objectives of stability and peace in Afghanistan.
Mr Gilani termed the liquidation of former president of Afghanistan Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani ... the gentlemanly murdered legitimate president of Afghanistan... as a set back to the peace and reconciliation process, adding that Pakistain will extend full cooperation to the recently constituted joint investigation commission to probe the murder of Rabbani.
He said Rabbani was a sincere friend of Pakistain and his death was a great loss to Pakistain.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Yah, and the next day they warned Afghanistan on cross-border attacks.
Pakistan has always been a loser country in search of a win. When GWB tossed away the nation-destruction option after 9-11, that terror entity found a way to win, at the expense of US taxpayers. Monday morning quarterbacking? I posted that the US was "subsidizing jihad" in 2002.
Israel has refused to reassure President Barack Obama that it would warn him in advance of any pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear capabilities, raising fears that it may be planning a go-it-alone attack as early as next summer. See? That's why B.O. gets so frustrated having to deal with Netanyahu every day...
The US leader was rebuffed last month when he demanded private guarantees that no strike would go ahead without White House notification, suggesting Israel no longer plans to "seek Washington's permission", sources said. The disclosure, made by insiders briefed on a top-secret meeting between America's most senior defence chief and Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's hawkish prime minister, comes amid concerns that Iran's continuing progress towards nuclear weapons capability means the Jewish state has all but lost hope for a diplomatic solution.
On Tuesday, UN weapons inspectors released their most damning report to date into Iran's nuclear activities, saying for the first time that the Islamic republic appeared to be building a nuclear weapon. It was with that grave possiblity in mind that Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, flew into Israel last month on what was ostensibly a routine trip.
Officially, his brief was restricted to the Middle East peace process, but the most important part of his mission was a private meeting with Mr Netanyahu and the defence minister, Ehud Barak. Once all but a handful of trusted staff had left the room, Mr Panetta conveyed an urgent message from Barack Obama. The president, Mr Panetta said, wanted an unshakable guarantee that Israel would not carry out a unilateral military strike against Iran's nuclear installations without first seeking Washington's clearance.
#1
Don't tell O'bumble. He and his corrupt cronies would try to foul things up, which would result in a lot more dead Israelis.
Instead, make a few select phone calls to some US fleet admirals a few minutes before it goes down. "Oh, by the way, a large number of Iranian missiles may soon be coming your way."
Give one of our aircraft carrier groups fifteen minutes warning and they would be ready to face the devil himself. And any Iranian ship or boat within 200 miles would be toast.
#3
Hillary would let the Iranians know - in the interest of "stability"
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/12/2011 19:29 Comments ||
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#4
Israel has the means to fly through Jordan and Iran without anyone being any the wiser. Only in Iraqi airspace can the Americans detect or deter them. So to tell 0 that they are coming would be to doom those brave Israeli pilots as the U.S Air Force followed Presidential orders to defend Iraqi airspace.
No, far better to punch through, do the deed, egress rapidly, and then notify 0 and the world that Israeli ballistic missiles are on alert and will be launched at the first sign of any counter-strike.
Essentially, U.S. forces leaving Iraq, gives permission to Israel to attack Iran.
#5
This story is hokey on so many different levels. It doesn't pass a basic smell test.
Why would all but most trusted staff leave the room if the result of the meeting is simply going to be published in the newspaper anyway? Why are we reading the result of a "secret" meeting in the paper?
All this story does is gives Washington cover when all hell breaks loose after Israel attacks Iran. It just establishes that Israel won't have Washington's "clearance" when it engages in the attack. It basically keeps Russia from declaring war on the US as part of their mutual defense treaty with Iran.
#6
Israel has the means to fly through Jordan and Iran without anyone being any the wiser.
Jordan isn't a pushover. They fly MLUed F-16s and while most of GBAD is Soviet they also have US radars and some Patriots that would have to be avoided. Any challenge or low flying and the Israeli jets will run out of fuel on the return leg.
Without tacit permission of the Arabs, an Israeli fighter/bomber attack isn't really feasible. Sub, UAV or even an armed B707 tanker attack is another matter.
[An Nahar] Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, a member of AMAL, a not very subtle Hizbullah sock puppet... said that Leb is committed to disavow itself from any decision taken by the Arab Foreign Ministers in Cairo on Saturday over the Syrian turmoil.
"Leb supports implementing reforms (in Syria), the regime has to implement them and must be given the chance to do so to evade any negative repercussions," Berri told As Safir newspaper on Friday.
The Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... called for an emergency ministerial meeting on Saturday because of "the continuation of violence and because the Syrian government did not implement its commitments in the Arab plan to resolve the Syrian crisis."
The Arab roadmap called for an end to violence in Syria, the release of those jugged, the withdrawal of the army from urban areas and free movement for observers and the media, as well as talks between the regime and opposition.
Concerning the resumption of the national dialogue between Lebanese foes, the speaker said that President Michel Suleiman insists on reviving the all-party talks.
He revealed that Suleiman will continue his contacts and consultations with the Lebanese parties to move forward with the matter.
Berri has continuously urged officials to resume the national dialogue between the Lebanese parties to safeguard Leb amid the turmoil in the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Meant to say thanks, Pappy, for the book recommendations about Lebanon yesterday!
Posted by: American Delight ||
11/12/2011 10:54 Comments ||
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[Iran Press TV] A senior Iranian commander says arrogant powers like the US must reconsider their language of threat against Iran or await a change in Tehran's approach.
Deputy Head of Iran's Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri said on Friday that hegemonic and domineering powers believe that they can use the element of force to influence other governments.
"Despite the experiences arrogant regimes [have gained in dealing with] the Islamic Theocratic Republic and [despite knowing] that Iran will not be bullied by hegemonic regimes they still do not stop their aggressive efforts," Fars News Agency quoted him as saying.
Jazayeri warned that if arrogant regimes do not learn anything from their past encounters with Iran, Tehran "will have no choice but to adopt measures and respond in a way" that will teach the West to stop their wrongful behavior.
The Iranian commander's remarks come at a time when the US and Israel have stepped up their anti-Iran rhetoric, threatening Tehran with a military strike under the pretext that the country's nuclear program may have a covert military aspect.
On November 6, Israeli President Shimon Peres threatened that an attack against the Islamic Theocratic Republic is becoming "more and more likely."
Tehran has categorically refuted the West's allegations, saying as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Iranian officials have promised a crushing response to any military strike against the country, warning that any such measure could result in a war that would spread beyond the Middle East.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Whine, Whine.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/12/2011 0:51 Comments ||
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[Iran Press TV] A senior Iranian politician says the US has placed itself in the line of Iranian fire by deploying forces in the Middle East, hinting that confrontation with Iran could triple the price of oil.
"One can say that Iran is the pharynx of the US as most of the global oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz," Fars News Agency quoted Member of the Majlis (Parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Mohammad-Karim Abedi as saying on Friday.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Sea of Oman. Iran has repeatedly warned that it will not hesitate in closing the strategic oil passage, in the event of a military attack on the country.
Analysts believe that a possible closure of the waterway would have serious consequences for the world economy due to greatly reduced supplies of crude oil, petroleum supplies and liquefied natural gas.
Abedi went on describe the recent threats against Iran as a bluff, adding that threatening Iran is a crime.
On November 6, Israeli President Shimon Peres threatened that an attack on the Islamic Theocratic Republic is becoming "more and more likely."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have reportedly been lobbying to persuade the Israeli cabinet for a military strike on Iran.
Iranian officials have promised a crushing response to any military strike against the country.
This comes as the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused Iran of conducting activities related to developing nuclear weapons in its November 8 report.
Iran has rejected the report as "unbalanced, unprofessional and prepared with political motivation and under political pressure mostly by the United States."
Iran argues that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
US Operations has long adapted to similar declarations from that terrorist cess pool. Launch of warning has its pretext.
[Iran Press TV] Hezbullies Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah says any attack on Iran will start a full-scale war in the Middle East region.
The Lebanese official said that the Israel and the US want to weaken the 'Axis of Evil Resistance' by putting Tehran and Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... on the defensive.
"The [US] must understand that war on Iran and Syria will not remain [restricted] in these two countries but will spread to other countries in the region. We are not issuing any threats but this is the reality," he added on Friday.
Noting that Iran is not afraid of the US naval fleet, Nasrallah said that threats and naval fleets cannot weaken the determination of the Iranian people.
Addressing a crowd on 'Martyr's Day' event which is held on 11/11 every year, Nasrallah said that the United States has failed in Iraq and has been forced to withdraw its troops from the country.
As a result, he said, "it wants to punish the states that opposed its occupation of the region. The US wants to punish Iran and Syria and intends to keep them under pressure."
Turning to recent developments in the Middle East and North Africa, the Hezbullies secretary-general said that the regime changes in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt have not been in the interest of the US and Israel and this is another reason why they want to punish Syria and Iran.
"The era of weakness and [submission] to the US or Israel is over. We have entered the era of victories," he emphasized.
On November 11, 1982, Lebanese resistance fighter Ahmad Qassir attacked an Israeli military headquarters in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, killing scores of Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers.
Hezbullies honors the memory of martyred resistance fighters who sacrificed their lives for Leb every year.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
So we escalate. Smart Bomb war isn't the only option. Daisy Cutters don't nation-build.
#5
"The era of weakness and [submission] to the US or Israel is over. We have entered the era of victories,"
Nice rhetoric from Nasrallah.
He probably realises that if a widespread ME war is on the horizon, the situation of a Shiite militia armed with 40,000 Rockets within range of our main cities is a mistake allowed to happen which Israel cannot afford not to rectify.
As the Shiite Iranian cancer has now spread all over lebanon's body, this time I think a Full "corpectomy" is in order.
Therefore, the "era of victories" may be very short termed and very drastic surgical means are called for.
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
11/12/2011 7:10 Comments ||
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#7
Since anything that they do will cause a 'war in the Middle East', including doing nothing and simply dying, the Israelis ought to prepare for all-out war. And remind the Egyptians that the Samson Option will include Cairo and Alexandria, as well as a major strike on the Aswan Dam.
Ummm... That's just a wireless router. Everybody has 'em. It's not spy gear.
[An Nahar] Seven rights groups have demanded that an investigation be launched in allegations that suspected Israeli spy, Tareq al-Rabaa, had been subject to torture while in jug.
They said in a statement that Rabaa was tortured while he was at the Defense Ministry on July 12, 2010, where he was being held for investigation.
It explained that while he was at the ministry, he received a telephone call from a French number that the Lebanese military intelligence suspected to be from the Mossad Israeli intelligence.
Rabaa was consequently tortured, forced to take off his clothes, and locked away against his will.
He was tortured through electric shock and beaten on his ears, continued the statement.
The suspect was allowed to meet with his lawyer after 32 days of detention, it added.
The lawyer however found out that the number actually belonged to a company that cooperates with Leb's Alfa mobile phone services provider.
Rabaa was tortured for 108 days before being incarcerated in Roumieh prison, stressed the rights groups.
In addition, they revealed that the suspect refused to sign a confession presented to him by Lebanese intelligence.
This confession was the basis of the arrest warrant issued by the military judiciary in which Rabaa was accused of collaborating with Israel, the statement noted.
The suspect's trial commenced in February 7, 2011 during which the Defense presented all evidence proving his innocence and torture, but the military tribunal refused to take the reports into consideration, it explained.
The statement said: "Rabaa is a victim of torture and his ordeal is a dangerous violation of Leb's criminal trial law."
It demanded his immediate release and holding those responsible for his torture accountable for their actions.
"Military tribunals are violating internationally recognized laws on conducting fair trials," it stressed.
The statement was signed by the Lebanese Center for Human Rights, al-Karama organization, the World Organization against Torture, the Lebanese Association for Education and Training, the International Federation for Human Rights, Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l'Homme, and the Christian Movement to against Torture.
Observers attributed this unjust arrest to Hizbullah's efforts to prove that telecommunications evidence used by the Special Tribunal for Leb has been tampered with by Israel through its spies in Alfa.
They added that Rabaa probably paid the price of these efforts.
Last year, Lebanese authorities locked away a number of individuals working for Alfa on suspicion of collaborating with Israel.
The STL has accused four Hizbullah members of being involved in the liquidation of former Premier Rafik Hariri.
Hizbullah has slammed the accusations, deeming the tribunal an Israeli-American product aimed at destroying the party.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2011 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Iran Press TV] Cholera has killed 87 more lives in lawless Somalia, where cases of waterborne diseases have increased due to unhygienic living conditions, Press TV reported.
[Iran Press TV] 
