[Daily Nation (Kenya)] The Shabaab Islamist myrmidon group warned Ethiopia Sunday that any military intervention in Somalia will result in "heavy" losses for its neighbour.
Ethiopian troops, who ended a three-year incursion in Somalia in 2009, were reported to have once again crossed the border last week as part of an offensive against the Shabaab, a claim denied by the government in Addis Ababa.
"This intervention will not be different than that of yesterday and will lead to heavy loss of your soldiers' lives, and be assured that ahead of you is painful death and ruthless imprisonment which will impact on the good living standards you wished for," the Shabaab statement said.
"We warn Ethiopia against another military intervention into Somalia," it said.
"The path you are taking today is the same that led you yesterday to taste death, the pain of bullets and the hardships of war," it read.
East African leaders urged Ethiopia Friday to support Kenyan, African Union and Somali troops battling Shabaab rebels in the war-torn Horn of Africa state.
Kenya deployed forces in October to fight the Al-Qaeda-linked beturbanned goons in southern Somalia, while the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is based in Mogadishu where it protects the weak Somali government from the rebels.
Ethiopia's Foreign Affairs front man Dina Mufti said his country's contribution "will be worked out soon."
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Egypt's military ruler on Saturday held separate talks with presidential hopefuls Mohamed ElBaradei and Amr Mussa, the official MENA news agency said. Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi met with both men, whose names had been touted by protesters camped out in Cairo's Tahrir Square demanding the end of military rule, as part of a national salvation government.
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Kuwait's cabinet has resigned after protesters and opposition deputies demanded that the prime minister step down over allegations of corruption, state-run television has reported.
"The prime minister [Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah] has submitted his resignation to the emir," Kuwait TV said, without specifying whether it had been accepted.
Earlier, opposition member Khaled al-Sultan said the cabinets's resignation was accepted amid a bitter political dispute between the prime minister and opposition MPs.
"We are waiting for the appointment of a new prime minister before parliament is dissolved in order to be assured of fair elections," the Sultan told reporters outside parliament.
Parliament speaker Jassem al-Khorafi said he had not been informed about a dissolution of parliament.
If it is confirmed that Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, the emir of Kuwait, has accepted the resignations, he may then also dissolve parliament before setting a date for new elections.
Several opposition MPs welcomed the resignation.
"I hope that the emir will please the Kuwaiti people by dissolving parliament ... and forming a transitional cabinet to supervise the elections," opposition MP Falah al-Sawwagh told reporters.
The announcement of the resignations came after the emir chaired an emergency meeting of the cabinet headed by the prime minister to discuss the political crisis.
Sheikh Nasser, 71, had been due to be questioned in parliament by three opposition MPs on allegations of fraud, including charges that he transferred public funds into his overseas accounts. The government has denied the charges.
The move also came ahead of a planned mass rally later on Monday by the opposition to press demands for the premier's ousting.
Sheikh Nasser, a nephew of the emir, was appointed to the post in February 2006 and has since now resigned seven times because of political turmoil.
Parliament has been dissolved three times over the same period.
The public prosecutor in September launched an unprecedented probe into the bank accounts of around 15 pro-government MPs who were accused of accepting bribes totalling $350m. Opposition MPs have claimed the deposits were bribes by the government to win votes on crucial issues. Some of the concerned MPs have denied any wrongdoing.
Nahaj, an alliance of opposition groups and youth organisations, insisted in a statement that the prime minister be replaced and parliament dissolved. They also called for opposition detainees to be released. Twenty-four opposition activists are serving a three-week detention pending trial after parliament was stormed on November 16.
Kuwait, which sits on about 10 percent of global crude oil, has amassed more than $300 billion in surpluses over the past decade, but projects and development have been stalled by political wrangling.
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[Yemen Post] President-for-Life Saleh ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... announced on Sunday a general amnesty against all those who committed errors during the crisis while meeting with loyalists.
In the meeting, Saleh condemned those who were involved in the presidential palace bombing and that the amnesty excludes those those who were involved in the presidential palace bombing last June, whether they be parties, groups or individuals.
"There must be dialogue sponsored by Abdu Rabu Mansoor Hadi, the vice president, and those who he seeks to stand next to him," Saleh said.
Saleh thanks all factions that worked for the sake of the country and did not follow personal agendas.
He also called on all factions to work together in making the recently signed power transfer proposal a success for the country.
In the proposal, Saleh was given complete immunity against prosecution.
It was the first official meeting Saleh had since arriving back from the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Friday.
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KUWAIT CITY, Nov. 26: The Public Prosecution is requesting the National Assembly to lift the parliamentary immunity of eight lawmakers charged with storming the parliament on Nov. 16.
The official request is expected to reach the Legal and Legislative Committee this week against MPs Jamaan Al-Harbash, Faisal Al-Muslim, Musallam Al-Barrak, Falah Al-Sawwagh, Mubarak Al-Walaan, Waleed Al-Tabtabaei, Khaled Tahous and Mohammed Al-Mutair. The committee decision, however, must be approved by the assembly for it to pass.
Earlier last week, the legal committee approved the lifting of parliamentary immunity of MPs Al-Tabtabaei, Al-Harbash, Al-Muslim and Mohammed Hayef on charges of defamatory remarks against the prime minister.
The Opposition Bloc had warned "cabinet MPs" on Thursday against supporting the government to lift parliamentary immunity of a number of opposition MPs. The opposition claims the government plans to detain lawmakers before the no-confidence session against the HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and decrease the number of voters needed to remove him, which is 25.
The standoff between the government and the opposition resumes this week as opposition lawmakers and activists are staging a massive rally at Al-Erada Square on Monday to demand the release of activists and that the prime minister face his grilling on the multi-million deposit scandal.
Opposition MPs further claim that their lives are being threatened and have filed complaints requesting protection. MP Salem A-Namlaan filed a complaint at Al-Subahiya police station on Saturday as other opposition MPs announced the same.
The prosecution, meanwhile, continues to detain and interrogate 31 activists who are charged with 13 offenses, including breaking into the parliament on Nov. 16, assaulting security officers and theft of public funds. Supporters of the activists have stated that some of the detainees are on hunger-strike to protest the detention and alleged maltreatment.
Further arrests have been made in the case as around 47 suspects were on a warrant issued by the prosecution earlier last week. The detainees face prison sentences between 6 months to life, according to lawyers of the opposition defense team.
The Opposition Bloc insists that the parliament invaders were invited in to the premises by MPs to escape brutality by security forces and prevent further clashes. They claim that charges of damage to Abdullah Al-Salem Hall were fabricated by the National Assembly.
This Tuesday's parliament session is scheduled to discuss a grilling request by MPs Musallam Al-Barrak, Faisal Al-Muslim and Abdulrahman Al-Anjari against Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah. The grilling is on the multimillion deposit scandal and the money transfers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the premier's personal accounts.
The Opposition Bloc, of 20 lawmakers, accuses the PM of failing to take the appropriate measures to uncover the truth behind the multimillion deposit scam, in which 16 lawmakers - most of whom are supporters of the government, have been implicated. The MPs are alleged to have received $350 million in bribes to sell their votes on crucial issues.
The bloc further claims the prime minister has deliberately neglected calls for drafting a general policy on combating corruption, in addition to failure to personally monitor the activities of various ministries as stipulated in the Constitution.
The grilling also alleges that the PM ordered the transfer of millions of dollars from public funds into private accounts held by him abroad. The government adamantly denies all charges.
If the grilling is debated on Tuesday, the opposition seems to have the required votes (25) to oust the prime minister. Along with the 20-member Opposition Bloc, the 5-member National Action Bloc (NAB) has affirmed they will vote against Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah. It is within the government's rights, however, to request the postponement of the grilling, refer it to the Legal and Legislative Committee or Constitutional Court to assert its legality.
The parliament break-in on Nov. 16 followed the removal of a grilling request against the PM off the agenda. The grilling was submitted by MPs Ahmed Al-Saadoun and Al-Anjari in the previous legislative round but was referred to the Constitutional Court, which ruled in October that the PM should not be questioned on violations committed by the ministers as he is in charge of the general policy of the state.
Meanwhile, the NAB plans to submit another grilling request against Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah to question him on the government's refusal to form a committee comprised of MPs Hassan Jowhar and Adel Al-Sarawwy to investigate and examine the suspicious MPs' bank accounts and measures the Central Bank of Kuwait has taken in that regard. The request was rejected by the government and most of the pro-government MPs on Nov. 15.
Furthermore, the Opposition Bloc plans to grill the Minister of Interior, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, on the detention of activists and abuse by security forces.
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For a map, click here.
The Mexican Navy intercepted a cargo container with several hundred different firearms at a port in western Mexico Sunday evening.
The container was to be transferred at the Michoacan state port city of Lazaro Cardenas and delivered to Puerto Corinto, Nicaragua. Inside the container were 910 firearms including one 7.55mm pistol, 158 9mm pistols and 756 12 gage shotguns.
The container's country of origination was Turkey. The seizure is said to be Mexico's largest in modern history.
CHINA has not approached East Timor about establishing a military base in answer to the US troop build-up in Darwin, a Timorese member of parliament has said.
Speculation arose last week after the Jakarta Post reported China was said to have proposed establishing a military base in East Timor.
"While Timor Leste has yet to approve the proposal, China has continued to assist it by supporting the development of Timor Leste's state offices and public facilities," the Post said.
But Jose Teixeira, a member of East Timor's main parliamentary party, Fretilin, and a member of the Defence, Security and Foreign Affairs Committee, told the NT News that no such intent had been expressed.
"I am certain the Chinese did not and will not ask," he said. MOre at the NT News link -- Darwin, Australia is getting 2500 US Marines -- and its a HUGE deal for the city. The people are so excited. They went nuts for Obama's visit like a rock star. They love the US, and never forget many US armed forces died protecting them in WWII. BUT it is changing the regional balance of power. Indonesia and China do not like it one bit. Perhaps the U.S. should also have a facility in East Timor. It would help preserve their independence from Indonesia, provide needed income and work for the East Timorese, and cheese off the Chinese no end. Win-win-win.
#1
I worked with an Indonesian Chinese. He was bitter about the ethnic massacres of the mid sixties, which were carried out by Islamic militias (Chomskyites falsely blame off duty military). According to him, Indos settled debts with Chinos by labelling them "Communists," and bringing in the Islamos.
There is growing diaspora thinking in China under "Han power" lines. And they would be aware that the 6% of Indonesia that is ethnic Chinese, controls 60% of the economy, burdened by carpet-hitting primitives. China would like a presence in the area.
#2
GREAT Idea lets put a US base in Timor too!! You'd have to get them to agree though... might be easier to get a NATO base through, badged Portugal but driven by the US due to historic ties with Portugal.
SOrry for posting link twice i didn't see it so i posted again
#3
Base or no base, Beijing's + PLA's priority will remain JAPAN-OKINAWA-TAIWAN, i.e. NE Asia, espec TAIWAN since its right in the middle or near-middle of the "First Island Chain".
Second priority will likely be the NORTHERN PHILIPPINES, i.e. SUBIC + MANILA BAY + LARGE AIRPORTS.
FYI MVGUAM [Marianas Variety Guam] > POSSIBLE TEN-YEAR DELAY [2014 = now 2024?], per the reloc the US Marines from Okinawa to Guam in the view of Nippon Lady MP due to the current political situation in Asia, e.g. post-Fukeshima poor Japanese econ + Rising China, PLAN.
In case of de facto war agz the tech-superior US, China's strategy is to deter or defeat US Milfors long before the bulk of the latter arrive in-theater, which is why China has been sending its Subs far out to GUAM + HAWAII.
ANKARA: For a quarter century, defeating the Kurdish insurgency has been a pillar of Turkish state policy. Now, thats being called into question as the government takes stock of the fights cost and its role in hampering Turkeys ambitions for regional leadership.
The struggle against the Kurdish guerrilla organization, marking the 33rd anniversary of its foundation Sunday, has claimed tens of thousands of lives and cost Turkey hundreds of billions of dollars.
Turkey has superior firepower and now US-supplied drones to fight the rebels, but theres no clear path to victory. The government recently left the door open for future dialogue with the rebels while vowing to fight to maintain its military drive until they lay down arms.
We say it very clearly: We will struggle against terrorism until the end, but we will also negotiate with those who prefer politics, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said late September. Those who prefer politics can talk to us, others cant.
Analysts said the two-pronged message appeared aimed at keeping pressure on the Kurds while encouraging them to reach a political solution to the conflict.
In another gesture, Erdogan apologized Wednesday for the first time for the killings of nearly 14,000 people in a bombing and strafing campaign to crush a Kurdish rebellion in the southeastern town of Dersim now known as Tunceli between 1936 and 1939. While the apology was less a policy shift than a political tactic to tarnish the reputation of the opposition party, which was in power at that time, it still signaled a softening of lines toward the Kurds.
Turkeys Islam-based government, praised for apparent economic stability since coming to power 2002, believes a solution to the Kurdish conflict would enable the country to transfer its energy and resources to development, and eventually make it a more powerful actor in the Middle East.
God willing, Turkey will fly when we solve this terrorism problem and traitors actions that we see as the biggest obstacle blocking Turkey path are ended, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said Friday.
The government has recently admitted to holding secret talks with the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK last year but it was not clear whether the sides were again conferring amid an intensified fight that has killed dozens of rebels and Turkish soldiers since this summer.
Erdogan said this week that he fully supports the arrests of hundreds of alleged PKK supporters, including more than 40 Kurdish lawyers who are accused of relaying orders from imprisoned rebel chief Abdullah Ocalan and running their own courts in a separate power structure.
Kurdish lawmakers said the government was waging a campaign of intimidation.
The rebels and the countrys Kurdish political movement insist on autonomy and Kurdish education in schools, which Turkey fears could divide the country along ethnic lines.
The conflict has forced Turkey to acquire drones from Israel and the United States and develop armored personnel carriers that can withstand roadside bomb attacks by the rebels, who also resort to suicide and car bombings. The drones have enabled the military to stage pinpoint attacks against the elusive rebels, who often vanish into the mountains of the southeast or return to their bases across the border in Iraq.
Henri J. Barkey, a Turkey expert at Lehigh University in the United States, said that Erdogans political and military strategy was aimed at putting pressure on the PKK and the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party to return to official talks.
This is possibly what he is trying to do in order to restart negotiations, Barkey said in an e-mail. Similarly, the PKK has been flexing its muscle to show that it can hurt the government.
The government has moved quite far by having secret talks with the PKK, there cannot be a return from this, he said.
But he cautioned that the current government strategy is a delicate one and can go awry.
A miscalculation could undermine everything because you are using violence and negotiations at the same time, said Barkey. Very tricky.
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China has lent diplomatic support to Pakistan, saying it is "deeply shocked" over the deaths of the Pakistani soldiers bombarded by Nato helicopters.
I don't see what's so 'shocking' about it. The Taliban kills Pak soldiers all the time, and no one fusses about it other than the dead guys' mothers...
Beijing's support came as Afghan officials again claimed the air strikes were called in after they were first targeted from the Pakistani side of the border.
Warning of "serious consequences", the Pakistan military said the "unprovoked" attack on a border checkpoint in the Mohmand part of the tribal area on Saturday continued even after it contacted Nato to plead for the firing to stop. The military has not accepted Nato's explanation for what the coalition has called a "tragic incident". Afghan and Nato officials have insisted that they came under fire first.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [ABC = Australia] PAKISTAN THREATENS TO CUT US TIES.
* SAME > ZARDARI REJECTS UAE REQUEST TO LET US USE SHAMSI AIRBASE.
* SAME > ISRAEL DEMANDS ACTION AGZ 26/11 [Mumbai] PERPETRATORS.
* INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > PAKISTANI FM SAYS NATO STRIKE NEGATES PROGESS. Pak FM Rina Khar to US SecState Hillary.
* DEFENCE FORUM INDIA > PAKISTAN HASN'T, CAN'T [won't?] DELIVER ON TERRORISM: CHIDAMBARAM.
Many Analysts are not worried somuch about a new US-PAK diplomatic row as an ANTI-US, THIRD-PARTY WAR OCCURRING BETWEEN DIVERSION-HAPPY, TROUBLED CHINA ALLY PAKISTAN VERSUS INDIA ALLY AFGHANISTAN WHICH WILL MAY DRAG CHINA, INDIA INTO OPPOSING CONFLICT, + ULTIMATELY THE US, NATO + OTHER MAJOR OR NUCLEAR POWERS.
[Dawn] Pakistain's ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi joined forces with cricketer-politician Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer... Sunday, becoming the most high-profile defector to his growing campaign to win the next general election.
Qureshi made the announcement at a rally led by Khan in the southern town of Ghotki, part of the broad hinterland in the southern province of Sindh and central province of Punjab where the former minister is considered powerful.
"I announce I am joining a movement, which is struggling to win justice for people," Qureshi said of Khan's Tehrik-e-Insaaf (Movement for Justice) which is fast emerging as a powerful player in the run-up to elections due early 2013.
Qureshi lost his position as cabinet minister in a February reshuffle. He was offered another portfolio, which he refused, and this month resigned as politician representing the main ruling Pakistain People's Party (PPP).
"Winds of change have now begun," Qureshi told the rally attended by several thousand supporters 420 kilometres (260 miles) north of Bloody Karachi, Pakistain's port city used by the US to ship supplies to landlocked Afghanistan.
"I am embarking on a new journey and from today onwards, Shah Mehmood is part of your team," he told Khan to thunderous applause.
Qureshi fell out with President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... around the time of the reshuffle and says he withstood pressure to approve diplomatic immunity for a CIA contractor who killed two Paks in Lahore in January.
He used the rally to criticise Zardari, whose five-year mandate expires in 2013, a day after Pakistain was plunged into fresh crisis with the US over accusations that NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... air strikes killed 24 Pak soldiers on the Afghan border.
"They have indulged in loot and plunder," he said. "The time has come to seek a fresh mandate from the people," Qureshi added.
Khan, a staunch critic of the US alliance, condemned the NATO strike and demanded that Pakistain order all CIA agents to leave in protest.
"We should raise the issue at the UN Security Council because it was an attack on our country and soldiers," he said.
"We need not bow before any one. The time has come to build a new Pakistain by introducing a new system reflecting will of the people."
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[Dawn] Pakistain on Sunday buried 24 troops killed in a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... cross-border air raid that has pushed a crisis in relations with the United States towards rupture. NATO helicopters and fighter jets attacked two Pakistain military outposts on Saturday, killing the soldiers in what Pakistain said was an unprovoked assault.
Islamabad retaliated by closing the border crossings used by the international coalition to supply its troops in neighboring Afghanistan. NATO and US officials expressed regret about the deaths of the Pak soldiers, but the exact circumstances of the attack were unclear.
So it was a provoked assault, after all.
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[Dawn] Senior politicians suggested Sunday that the US take a harder line with Pakistain, after Islamabad retaliated for NATO's ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... deadly misfire by closing parts of its border with Afghanistan and demanding the US vacate a drone base.
The comments by Sens. Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican, and Dick Durbin, ...Senator-for-Life from Illinois and Democratic Party Whip. In April 2006, Time magazine identified Durbin as one of America's 10 Best Senators, so what's that tell you? He was the first United States Senator to support the presidential candidacy of Barack The campaign's over, John Obama, then the junior senator from Illinois.... an Illinois Democrat, show how strained Pakistain's relationship with the US, and Congress specifically, has become in recent months.
Lawmakers approve billions of dollars in military and civilian aid for Pakistain with the expectation that its government will help target al-Qaeda operatives and push Afghan gunnies toward peace talks
.
"There's a lot of diplomacy that has to occur and it has to be tough diplomacy in the sense that they need to understand that our support for them financially is dependent upon their cooperation with us," said Kyl, the Senate's No. 2 Republican.
Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, said Pakistain's latest move is further evidence that the US must end its military involvement in the region and bring troops home.
"As difficult as it is to fight our way thru this diplomatic morass between the incompetence and maybe corruption of Afghanistan and the complicity in parts of Pakistain, our soldiers are caught right in the middle of this at a time they are trying to bring peace to the region," Durbin said.
NATO says it is investigating its likely involvement in Saturday's attack, which killed 24 Pak troops along the Afghan border. Afghan officials say their soldiers called for help after being fired upon from the direction of Pak border posts.
Outraged by the attacks and claiming they were unprovoked, Islamabad swiftly closed its border to trucks delivering supplies to coalition troops in Afghanistan and demanded the US vacate within 15 days a base used by American drones.
The blockade is guaranteed to frustrate Congress, already incensed that Pakistain never tipped off the US to the late Osama bin Laden ... who has won the race to that place where we all eventually end up... 's hideout within its borders.
While calling for tougher diplomacy with Pakistain, Kyl said he would stop short of cutting off US aid entirely to Pakistain. He said that severing ties in the past has only led to an increased influence of Islamic gunnies among Pakistain's military ranks.
"It's very important to maintain the relationship for the long haul," he said, without offering more specifics on how that might be done.
Durbin suggested the U.S. back out from the region from a military standpoint.
"We've got to leave it to Afghan forces," he said. Kyl and Durbin spoke on "Fox News Sunday."
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[Dawn] NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Sunday he had written to Pakistain premier Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... to express regret over the "tragic, unintended" deaths of 24 Pak soldiers in an Arclight airstrike.
"I have written to the Prime Minister of Pakistain to make it clear that the deaths of Pak personnel are as unacceptable and deplorable as the deaths of Afghan and international personnel," he said in a statement. "This was a tragic unintended incident."
"I offer my deepest condolences and sympathy to the families of the Pak officers and soldiers who bit the dust or were maimed, and to the government and people of Pakistain, following the regrettable incident along the Afghan-Pak border," Rasmussen added.
Pakistain says two border posts were fired upon "unprovoked" in the early hours of Saturday in Pakistain's tribal Mohmand ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... district.
An investigation of the incident is likely to ask whether Afghan and American troops on the Afghan side of the border were fired upon first -- whether by Orcs and similar vermin or Pak military.
According to a report in the New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... , A NATO front man, Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson, offered details suggesting that allied and Afghan troops operating near the border came under fire from unknown enemies and summoned coalition warplanes for help.
The NY Times report stated that: "In the early night hours of this morning, a force consisting of Afghan forces and coalition forces, in the eastern border area where the Durand Line is not always 100 per cent clear, got involved in a firefight," General Jacobson said, according to a transcript of his statements on NATO TV that the alliance provided American officials on Saturday.
Pakistain on Sunday conveyed its "rage" to the United States over cross-border NATO air strikes and ordered a full-scale review of its frosty alliance with Washington and the military bloc.
Pakistain represents a vital life-line to supply 130,000 foreign troops fighting in landlocked Afghanistan, and Rasmussen joined US efforts in a scramble to salvage the alliance.
"I fully support the ISAF investigation which is currently underway," he said of the International Security Assistance Force fighting the war and which includes non-NATO allies.
"We will determine what happened, and draw the right lessons," Rasmussen added.
"NATO remains strongly committed to work with Pakistain to improve cooperation to avoid such tragedies in the future."
Earlier Sunday, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar telephoned US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as The Liberatress of Libya and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Timothy Pickering ... and conveyed a "deep sense of rage" as the military organised a joint funeral for the 24 troops who died.
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[Dawn] Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Sunday telephoned her US counterpart Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Charles Evans Hughes ... to convey Pakistain's "deep sense of rage" over cross-border NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... air strikes, the foreign office said.
Khar said that attacks like Saturday's strike on military outposts that left at least 25 Pak soldiers dead were "totally unacceptable" as they contravened international law and violated Pak illusory sovereignty.
The Pak minister spoke to Clinton in the early hours of Sunday to inform her of decisions made by the Defence Committee of the Cabinet including blocking NATO supply routes, the foreign office said in a statement.
"The foreign minister conveyed to the secretary of state, the deep sense of rage felt across Pakistain at the senseless loss of 24 soldiers due to the NATO/ISAF attack on the Pak post," it said.
Khar said "such attacks are totally unacceptable. They demonstrate complete disregard for international law and human life, and are in stark violation of Pak illusory sovereignty".
"This negates the progress made by the two countries on improving relations and forces Pakistain to revisit the terms of engagement," Khar added.
The statement said that Clinton offered her condolences over the loss of life, said she was deeply saddened by the event, and conveyed the US government's intention to work with Pakistain to resolve the issue.
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[Dawn] The leaders of various political parties on Saturday widely condemned the killing of Pak troops in an attack by NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... forces in Mohmand ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... Agency and urged the government to dissociate itself from the US-led alliance at the earliest.
Pakistain Tehrik-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems... said, in a statement issued here, that the attack on checkpost by the NATO forces was not pardonable act. He termed it an insane and immoral brutality.
Mr Khan said that such attacks reflected the hollowness and counter-productivity of country's involvement in the aimless war against terrorism. "Already, Pakistain has sacrificed 40,000 people and an equal number of people have been maimed.
Pakistain has also incurred a loss of over $75 billion in the bargain, yet it is being incessantly targeted by the forces of its so-called ally," he said.
MNA Khawaja Mohammad Khan Hoti also condemned attack by NATO forces on the checkpost. "It is a direct attack on the illusory sovereignty and integrity of the country" he added.
Talking to political activists at his residence in Hayatabad, he said that government should not remain silent on this tragic incident. The US should not consider Pakistain as Afghanistan or Iraq, he said.
He said that parliament and all parities conference had unanimously passed resolutions against the war against terrorism but the government was yet to implement them.
He asked all political parties to take firm stance against US drone attacks inside Pakistain.
He called for immediate implementation of resolution unanimously adopted by the parliament.
Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... deputy chief Sirajul Haq also condemned the killing of troops by NATO forces and urged the government to take serious notice of the bloody incident.
Awami National Party provincial chief Senator Afrasiab Khattak termed the attack terrorism by NATO forces. He paid rich tributes to the troops, who sacrificed their lives for the protection of the country and condemned the US-led NATO forces for the attack.
Pakistain People's Party-Sherpao chief Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and Senior Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour also condemned the attack.
Meanwhile, ...back at the sandwich shop, Caroline was experimenting with ingredients of increasing volatility... Kohat chapter of ANP will stage a protest rally against the NATO attack on Sunday. ANP local leader Syed Saeed Shah Bokhari said that the violation of the illusory sovereignty of Pakistain had become habit of the NATO and Afghan forces that could not be tolerated.
He said that they would start from Martyrs Square at 11am and culminate at Shah Faisal Gate. He appealed to people to participate in the rally.
The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl has also strongly condemned the attack.
JUI front man Abdul Jalil Jan said that his party, during a meeting, expressed grave concern over the frequent attacks by NATO forces. Meanwhile, ...back at the pound, Zebulon finally found just the friend he'd been looking for... the rustics in North Wazoo Agency held a rally against the attack and strongly condemned the killing of Paks by NATO forces. They asked the government to stop NATO supplies to Afghanistan and take action against the drone attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/28/2011 00:00 ||
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There was a shocking story on BBC Radio 4 this morning about Wikileaks and the last remaining Jews of Baghdad (you can listen to it here). Some more background here :
BAGHDAD -- An Anglican priest here says he's working with the U.S. Embassy to persuade the handful of Jews who still live in Baghdad to leave because their names have appeared in cables published last month by WikiLeaks. The Rev. Canon Andrew White said he first approached members of the Jewish community about what he felt was the danger they faced after a news story was published last month that made reference to the cables.
What has Wikileaks to say about it all ? Well according to this, one of the 215,287 unredacted cables published by WikiLeaks (The site says it only published the cables after an encryption code for the complete archive was leaked by a journalist from the Guardian) provides biographical sketches of the 9 remaining Jews in Baghdad. In total, only 35 Jews remain of a community that dates back to 721 B.C.
Yes its all the fault of the Guardian! That would be the same Guardian that was allegedly part of a "Jewish conspiracy" to discredit Wikileaks.
#3
Federal Marshals are patient men. And a half second after Assange trods on anything owned by the US:
An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,
An' make fun of ever' one, an' all her blood-an'-kin;
An' wunst, when they was "company," an' ole folks wuz there,
She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!
An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,
They wuz two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,
An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'for she knowed what she's about!
An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!
In a darkened room on the second floor of a government building, 100 young Iraqis conspired to revolutionize their country. School curricula should employ interactive Internet games to stimulate learning, said a 28-year-old Web developer.
April 1 should be a cultural holiday to promote Iraq's bygone status as a cradle of intellectualism, said a 23-year-old government employee. Women should harness social media to bridge the gender gap, said a 22-year-old activist. Gender gap? In the Arab world? Maybe there is hope.
And on it went, a parade of young people auditioning for a prestigious conference. Each shared hopeful but vague ideas that envisioned a rosy future beyond Iraq's turbulent present. The unspoken challenge, though, was turning dreams into plans, and notions into demands.
"We are free, and this could not have happened without the U.S. But now we are fighting to grow," said civil engineer Abdul Ghany, 27, a volunteer organizer. "Not many young people know what they want, exactly." Civil engineers: trained to think logically!
They do know what they feel. Their country was turned upside down by the American-led invasion in 2003, and now Iraq's young -- their worldview indelibly shaped by a U.S. military presence that ends next month -- are preparing to inherit a nation that still struggles to right itself.
Some young Iraqis say they are glad to be rid of Saddam Hussein but feel less safe -- and therefore less free -- than before 2003, a sentiment reflected in dozens of interviews in eight provinces. There are some positive views expressed, but this is the Washington Post.
They view their government as a pseudo-regime that deprives them of basic rights, and they worry that their peers are being lured into the ethnic, sectarian and partisan traps of their elders. They think the world is fixating on revolutions in other Arab countries while ignoring a rotting democracy in Baghdad and their generation's struggle to live the freedom that was promised to them 8-1/2 years ago. Not unlike the situation in many places, the U.S., for one.
About half of Iraq's 33 million people are 19 or younger, and no Iraqi born since Saddam came to power in 1979 has known the country to be without war or dictatorship. When Iraqis talk about the fate of the younger generation, they use expressions similar to "crossroads" and "tipping point."
"We are at a very critical period, with the deterioration of security and the elevation of corruption," activist Hanaa Edwar said at a September peace festival in Baghdad's Zawra Park. "Elections are not enough. We need active participation from young people. They are not yet polluted by politicians. They need more than hope. They need to be empowered." Polluted by politicians. Has a certain ring to it.
Related interesting sidebars of individual stories - activist, blogger, musician, day-laborer, Kurdish lawyer, uniter.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/28/2011 07:27 ||
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A top Iranian Navy commander has announced that three domestically-built Ghadir submarines have joined Iran's naval fleet. Iran's Navy Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Gholam Reza Khadem-Bigham said that the submarines are capable of launching torpedoes and operate in shallow waters as well as precision targeting.
On Saturday, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari stated that the country's naval forces will stage a massive military exercise, code-named "Velayat 90," in the international waters in the near future.
Sayyari added that the drill will extend over a large area, from the Sea of Oman to the northern Indian Ocean. And every time an enemy power launches a submarine, another MK-48 torpedo is born. Or gets its wings. Something.
Allah was not pleased with this military base. The only logical recourse would be to rebuild it and try again, hoping that he will be pleased at the particular moment when they try again.
New satellite imagery shows the extent of damage to the Iranian military compound that blew up earlier this month, was extensively damaged, the Institute for Science and International Security said after an analysis of new satellite imagery.
ISIS compared a November 22 image from DigitalGlobe to one from September.
"Some buildings appear to have been completely destroyed. Some of the destruction seen in the image may have also resulted from subsequent controlled demolition of buildings and removal of debris. There do not appear to be many pieces of heavy equipment such as cranes or dump trucks on the site, and a considerable amount of debris is still present," according to the analysis posted on ISIS website.
Senior defense officials told Barbara Starr on November 17th that the U.S. believes the Iranians were mixing volatile fuel for a rocket motor for a large ballistic missile when the accident occurred.
ISIS concluded the same thing. "Iran was apparently performing a volatile procedure involving a missile engine at the site when the blast occurred," the ISIS analysis noted.
At least 17 people, including a general, died as a result of an explosion on the military base near Tehran, Iranian state media reported at the time of the explosion.
Lawmaker Hossein Garousi told state media the blast happened when a munitions depot accidentally caught fire at the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) military base in Bidgeneh village, located on the outskirts of Shahriar city and about 35 kilometers (21 miles) west of Tehran.
The semi-official Fars news agency reported that Maj. Gen. Hassan Tehrani-Moqadam, in charge of IRGC's Office of Self sufficiency, was killed as a result of the explosion.
#3
Allah does seem to be mighty crossed at Short Round and the Mad Mullahs. Perhaps if they were to leave the jinns inside yellowcake alone...
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/28/2011 15:47 Comments ||
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#4
We (and others) have speculated a fair bit these last few months about how one might go after the Iranian nuclear military-industrial complex. We've talked about whether it would be the U.S. or Israel, whether it would be airstrikes or cruise missiles, which facilities, the timing, etc, etc, etc.
The recent news, however, does seem to suggest that there's another way -- a small group of sneaky shits making things go kaboom under mysterious circumstances.
It does make the target list smaller in case someone has to call an airstrike.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/28/2011 16:03 Comments ||
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#5
Some of the destruction seen in the image may have also resulted from subsequent controlled demolition of buildings and removal of debris.
There seems to be an absence of cranes and dump trucks on the site. There is not much of a debris field and the damage seems to be contained within the buildings. It almost looks more like the results of a fire that spread from building to building.
#7
As per the NEDELIN EVENT, IIRC from vintage film it appears that many of the Soviets = Russians in observance were too close to the rocket pads to begin with - presuming that the R-16 rocket didn't explode + worked as intended, MANY MAY HAD BEEN KILLED OR SERIOUSLY INJURED ANYWAY JUST FROM THE ROCKET'S NORMAL TAKE-OFF.
OOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPSSSSS ....
GOOD NEWS COMRADE, OUR ENGINEERS' DESIGN WAS ABSOLUTELY/GLORIOUSLY SUCCESSFUL - THE BAD NEWS IS THAT OUR CROWD CONTROL WAS NOT!
A explosion rocked the western Iranian city of Isfahan on Monday, the semi-official Fars news agency reported, adding that the blast was heard in several parts of the city.
The Revolutionary Guard said the accidental explosion occurred while military personnel were transporting munitions.
The deputy governor of Iran's Isfahan province on Monday said however he had no reports of an explosion in his region. "So far no report of a major explosion has been heard from any government body in Isfahan," he was quoted as saying by the semi-official Mehr news agency.
It should be noted that Iran operates a uranium conversion plant near Isfahan, one with an important function in the chain of Iran's nuclear program.
Earlier Monday, a top Israeli security official said that the recent explosion that rocked an Iranian missile base near Tehran could delay or stop further Iranian surface-to-surface missile development.
#13
There are so many ways to foul up a supply chain without anyone knowing it. Just one little invisible daub of a catalyst in the right place. A flea sized detonator. Then add just a smooch of STUXNET and shake very, very vigorously.
Russia is said to have sent warships to deliver an advanced air defense system to Syria.
Arab diplomatic sources said the Russian Navy arrived in the Syrian port of Tartous in late November and brought weapons and supplies to the regime of President Bashar Assad.
"We see this as a demonstration of Russian support for Assad, but more important it is a signal that Moscow will never leave the area, even if Assad goes," a diplomat said.
The London-based Al Quds Al Arabi daily reported that the Russian Navy vessels transported the S-300PMU1 air defense system to Syria. The newspaper said the S-300, ordered by Assad but whose delivery was delayed because of U.S. pressure, arrived with dozens of Russian military advisers.
In a report on Nov. 24, Al Quds said the S-300, designed to track up to 100 targets simultaneously, was meant to help Assad repel any attack on Syria amid the revolt against his regime. More than 3,700 people are said to have been killed in the revolt, which began in March and is supported by Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
The S-300 isn't going to put down a revolution, and it isn't going to stop the Israelis from bombing the Nork-built nuclear plant outside of Homs.
China and Russia have blocked United Nations Security Council
resolutions to stop the killing in Syria. Al Quds asserted that the Russian military has been installing advanced radar systems around all key Syrian military and industrial sites to prevent air strikes.
In September 2010, the Kremlin canceled a nearly $1 billion S-300 project with Iran. At the time, Moscow said the S-300 would violate Security Council sanctions on the Teheran regime, meant to hamper its uranium enrichment program.
Israeli sources reported that Israel received PAC-3 interceptors from the United States. They said a shipment of Patriot missiles arrived in the Ashdod port earlier this month.
#5
FYI GILANI > repor arguing that things will "NO LONGER BE BUSINESS AS USUAL" BETWEEN THE PAKISTAN + US.
As for Russia, it is mulling following Pakistan's lead in shutting down NATO supply routes into Afghanistan - presuming that neither it nor Pakistan relents + reopens the routes, IMO it means that POTUS Bammer may have to give serious consideration to launching unilateral war agz IRAN in order to ensure Afghanistan's security.
AND IRAN KNOWS IT.
> RUSSIA blocks China from the Kurils + Sea of Kamchatka, effectively forcing China + PLA to move southward agz US-ROK-JAPAN, + UNCOM + ASEAN.
> Ditto as per the US = US-NATO, Allied agz Iran, wid IRAN = also read, CHINA???
[An Nahar] Arab foreign ministers agreed a list of sweeping sanctions Sunday designed to cripple the Syrian regime which has defied pressure to halt a bloody crackdown on protests.
The 22-member 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... agreed to ban Syrian officials from visiting any Arab country, to freeze government assets, suspend flights and halt any transactions with the Syrian government and central bank.
The sanctions, announced by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani after a meeting in Cairo, are the first time the organization has taken such economic measures against another country in the region.
"We hope that (the Syrian regime) puts an end to the massacres so that this resolution (authorizing sanctions) is not put into force," said Sheikh Hamad, but he added that "the signs are not positive."
He also called for "an end to the massacres, the freeing of prisoners and the withdrawal of tanks" from Syrian cities.
Syrian state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said in a terse statement that the decision to impose sanctions on a member state was "an unprecedented measure" while several hundred Syrians gathered in a central Damascus ...Home to a staggering array of terrorist organizations... square to denounce the move.
Long seen as a weak institution dominated by the region's autocrats, the vaporous Arab League has taken on an increasingly activist role during the pro-democracy Arab Spring demonstrations of the past 12 months.
Nineteen of the Arab League's 22 members voted for the sanctions, but Iraq abstained and said it would refuse to implement them, while Leb "disassociated itself," Sheikh Hamad said.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, whose country has close economic ties with Syria and a large refugee community in its western neighbor, had said beforehand that it was "not possible" to impose sanctions on Assad's regime.
Even without Iraq's participation, the impact is expected to be crippling on a country already facing a raft of EU and U.S. sanctions, and which depends on its Arab neighbors for half of its exports and a quarter of its imports.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has also said his government will harmonize measures with those of the Arab League, saying that Ankara's former ally had missed its "last chance" by failing to heed the Arab ultimatum.
Damascus has defied an ultimatum to accept observers under an Arab League peace plan and put an end to the eight-month crackdown which the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... says has killed more than 3,500 people.
Syrian Economy Minister Mohammed Nidal al-Shaar told Agence La Belle France Presse before the decision that sanctions would be "very unfortunate because the damage will be to all sides."
In a letter to the Arab League on Saturday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem accused the organization of seeking to "internationalize" the crisis in his country.
The violence showed no sign of abating, however, with Syrian security forces accused of killing at least 15 civilians on Sunday, six of them in the flashpoint region of Homs that has been under siege for several weeks.
Iraq also abstained from a vote earlier this month that saw the Arab League decide to suspend Syria's membership and threaten sanctions, while Leb joined Yemen and Syria itself in opposing the resolution.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/28/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Phalange Party The Kataeb (Phalange) party was founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936, who modeled the party after Spanish and Italian Fascist parties he had observed as an Olympic athlete during the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, then Nazi Germany. The movement's uniforms originally included brown shirts and members used the Nazi salute. Despite the party's uniform, its strong sense of nationalism and dedication to a single charismatic leader, the Lebanese Kataeb was not and never became a fascist party nor did it espouse a totalitarian ideology. leader Amin Gemayel on Sunday accused the Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... of obstructing the functioning of state institutions, noting that the opposition March 14 Those are the good guys, insofar as Leb has good guys... camp was only interested in seeing the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Leb being funded by Premier Najib Miqati's government.
In an interview with Al-Jadeed television, Gemayel warned that "we don't have time to enter a power impasse because the international community, the (U.N.) Security Council and the (Special) Tribunal (for Leb) will not wait for us."
"I don't believe that there is a tribunal as upright and credible as the STL, and it is highly unlikely that the court is politicized, as it comprises judges who hail from all the countries and the trials are being held in public," he added.
Separately, Gemayel also stressed that "the approach of resistance has fallen."
"The Resistance's weapons destroyed the country in 2006, so how can we describe that as a victory? We labeled everything that took place before 2000 as an occupation and appreciated Hizbullah's brave stance, but after that years several U.N. resolutions were issued, such as (Security Council Resolution) 1701, and the resistance became useless and approach of resistance ended."
"Resistance against whom? The UNIFIL (United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... Interim Force in Leb)? We have transited from the approach of resistance to the approach of defense, and the approach of defense should be entrusted to the Lebanese army, not to Hizbullah," Gemayel added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/28/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Hizbullah, Israel, Iran, and Turkey are all gearing up for an escalation in the developments in the region over the crisis in Syria, a diplomat told the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah daily in remarks published on Sunday.
He said Hizbullah is preparing for the confrontation by removing its rockets from its hideouts, noting that last week's Siddiqin kaboom took place when the party hastily set up the rockets.
In addition, he said that the Turkish army has prepared three brigades to take part in the logistical implementation of possible 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... sanctions on Syria.
He stated that La Belle France's suggestion to set up humanitarian corridors in Syria mat be a precursor to Turkish intervention that may pave way to NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... 's interference.
Israel has also deployed regiments along its border with Leb and the Golan Heights, revealed the diplomat.
He spoke of European intelligence reports in Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... and Beirut on Wednesday that said 150 Iranian experts, who are part of the Revolutionary Guard, had arrived at a Syrian military airport south of the capital as a precursor to sending them to Hizbullah in Leb.
The diplomat interpreted the development as a sign that Tehran and Hizbullah are awaiting "dramatic" developments by Turkey and Israel against Syria, Hizbullah, and the Lebanese army and state in order to take the necessary retaliation.
He predicted that the Syrian regime and Hizbullah are nearing their end, as is Iran's role in the region.
This will consequently lead to the toppling of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government, which will fail to fund the Special Tribunal for Leb, he remarked.
An kaboom rocked the southern town of Siddiqin last week.
Media reports said that it took place at a Hizbullah arms depot.
The party denied the allegations. No, no! Certainly not! while the Lebanese army said that the kaboom may have been caused by a mine or cluster bomb left over from Israeli assaults against Leb.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/28/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Latest ....
WORLD NEWS > [Top Iran Cleric warning]IRAN THREATENS TO DESTABILIZE SAUDI ARABIA:AL-SAUD [Ruling Dynasty] SHOULD GIVE UP POWER. or face fates vee Arab Spring uprisings similar to that of the now-former or dead leaders of Egypt, Libya, + Tunisia.
* SAME > IRGC: MILITARY ACTION AGZ IRAN LEAVES UNPREDICTABLE CONSEQUENCES.
* SAME > IRAN QUDS FORCE CHIEF DEFIES US, SAYS READY TO DIE [martrydom].
[Jerusalem Post] Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said that the Islamic Theocratic Republic has up to 150,000 missiles pointed at Israel, according to the semi-official Iranian FARS news agency.
According to the report, Vahidi questioned threats against the Islamic Theocratic Republic from Jerusalem, asking "How many missiles have they prepared themselves for? 10,000? 20,000? 50,000? 100,000, 150,000 or more?"
On Saturday, Tehran made a rare threat against Turkey, saying it could target the recently installed NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... anti-missile shield in any future conflict.
The chain of military warnings from the Islamic Theocratic Republic intensified after the release of a damning ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency report, which claimed that Iran has continued to covertly develop nuclear-weapons technology.
That report was followed by increased sanctions from the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada on Iran's energy and financial sectors last week.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/28/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
if the Russians still have a TSAR bomb... that ought to be big enough for 1 to sink the mullahoracy.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
11/28/2011 1:24 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Or is it 150,000 mistletoes?
After all, 'tis the season!
Posted by: no mo uro ||
11/28/2011 7:56 Comments ||
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#3
They may have 150,000 POINTED towards Israel - not saying any could actually go that far.
#7
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and anyone else in the area may not be so happy about having half of those rockets flying over their heads. I figure half of however many rockets there really are are probably based in Lebanon and Syria.
Syria built a secret missile assembly line with the help of North Korea and Iran, German daily Die Welt claimed last Friday. The daily said North Korea provided the technology to manufacture maraging steel, which is a restricted material under the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Missile Technology Control Regime. It can be used for missile skins and centrifuges critical in uranium enrichment.
Citing unspecified "Western security sources," the daily also claimed Syria is attempting to provide militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon with M-600 missiles with range of 250-300 km after reinforcing their warheads and combustion tubes with maraging steel. It said this would be in violation of UN Security Council resolutions 1718 and 1874 banning the North from arms exports.
According to the Times of London, the plant is near the Syrian city of Homs
And dialed in by the Israeli Air Force...
under the supervision of the Syrian Scientific Research Center, and Iran bore some expenses for building it. In addition to the maraging steel technology, the North also provided construction equipment. Die Welt said North Korean engineers will also help the Syrians with production processes, wastes management and quality control.
Materials for the facilities were delivered in 2009, the sources said, and a significant portion has now been completed. The sources predicted that this plant will start operation within a year and a half.
The paper speculated that Israel will come within range of Scud-D missiles if maraging steel is used.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/28/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
little kimmy needs somehow to pay for all that Hennessy.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
11/28/2011 1:25 Comments ||
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TEHRAN: Iranian state TV says the country has added three more domestically-built submarines to its naval fleet.
The Sunday report said the vessels were delivered to the Iranian navy in southern port of Bandar Abbas. It said the submarines were from the Ghadir class, of which Iran already has four. This class of submarine can fire missiles and torpedoes and operate in the Gulfs shallow waters.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/28/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
I really have to question going under the sea in a transport built by a 3rd world theocracy. It just doesn't sound safe.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
11/28/2011 1:27 Comments ||
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#2
But did they remember the screen doors to let the water out?
#5
Propaganda value only?. Gulfs shallow waters?. Could this be Latin America. They have pushed in this area of the world. Is there a market with the drug cartels. Perhaps a willing country to promote terrorism. They did threaten to put a few of their ships off our coast.
#6
Could this be Latin America. They have pushed in this area of the world. Is there a market with the drug cartels.
No. My semi-educated opinion is that they don't have enough of them for their assymetric warfare strategy and can't produce them fast enough, never mind building them for export.
Basically a North Korean design, possibly improved with Chinese assistance. Designed for littoral warfare and special ops. Meaning they can be used to lay mines, fire torpedoes (merchant s being the most likely target) or launching commandos. As I said, Iran wants them primarily to counter Western naval influence in the Gulf and its straits, with a secondary purpose of expanding a war to other Gulf states.
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.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] The Shabaab Islamist
Egypt's military ruler on Saturday held separate talks with presidential hopefuls Mohamed ElBaradei and Amr Mussa, the official MENA news agency said. Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi met with both men, whose names had been touted by protesters camped out in Cairo's Tahrir Square demanding the end of military rule, as part of a national salvation government.
Kuwait's cabinet has resigned after protesters and opposition deputies demanded that the prime minister step down over allegations of corruption, state-run television has reported.
[Yemen Post] 
KUWAIT CITY, Nov. 26: The Public Prosecution is requesting the National Assembly to lift the parliamentary immunity of eight lawmakers charged with storming the parliament on Nov. 16.
Mehmood 
Asif Ali 
[Dawn] Pakistain on Sunday buried 24 troops killed in a 
The comments by Sens. Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican, and 
[Dawn] 
Mohmand
Hillary Clinton
Khar said that attacks like Saturday's strike on military outposts that left at least 25 Pak soldiers dead were "totally unacceptable" as they contravened international law and violated Pak 
Pakistain People's Party-Sherpao chief Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and Senior Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour also condemned the attack.
[An Nahar] Arab foreign ministers agreed a list of sweeping sanctions Sunday designed to cripple the Syrian regime which has defied pressure to halt a bloody crackdown on protests.
Najib Miqati
[An Nahar] Hizbullah, Israel, Iran, and Turkey are all gearing up for an escalation in the developments in the region over the crisis in Syria, a diplomat told the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah daily in remarks published on Sunday.
TEHRAN: Iranian state TV says the country has added three more domestically-built submarines to its naval fleet.
