[Tolo News] Security transition to Afghan forces should be postponed, Afghan senators said on Sunday.
Afghanistan is currently experiencing troubled times and international community should find the roots of the challenges in the country, the Afghan Senate said.
The Senate expressed grave concern over the present situation in Afghanistan and stressed that the region and the world will face a crisis if the Afghan cops are not well-trained and fully-equipped to find the necessary potentials.
Meanwhile, ...back at the palazzo... some Afghan senators said that the security transition to Afghans should be postponed.
The senate says it is important to eventually hand over security responsibilities to Afghan forces, but adds that Afghanistan will go to civil war again if international forces abandon Afghanistan in 2014.
"The Afghan issue has both national and international aspects, so the countries in the region and in the world should stick to their commitments on Afghanistan," Mohammad Alam Izedyar, deputy head of Senate, said.
Khaleq Balaghai, an Afghan senator, expressed scepticism about the efforts of the High Peace Council.
"The other side is one day our brother and turns into an enemy and a jacket wallah the other day. I am suspicious that the Peace Council itself may suddenly bring its head out of the Taliban's collar, said Mr Balaghi.
The senators said security challenges have increased highly and that the intenational community should not repeat its mistakes of the past, but they did not elaborate further.
The senate has decided to summon Afghan security officials to make Afghan government's stance clear about withdrawal of foreign troops.
Nato's Chief, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said on Friday that Afghan forces were ready to take gradual security responsibility.
The first phase of foreign troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan is expected to start in July this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] Afghan experts warned on Saturday that the country will plunge into crisis if Nato military operations are stopped.
Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid 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... called on US and Nato troops to stop their operations in Afghanistan.
The President made the call on Saturday during a speech in eastern Kunar while visiting families of the nine young boys mistakenly killed in a Nato air strike.
Experts warned that President Karzai's comment will cause the Taliban to grow stronger.
President Karzai made the Kunar visit after Commander of Coalition forces Gen. David Petraeus and US Defence Secretary Robert Gates expressed apologies for the incident.
"I respectfully and humbly, and not arrogantly, ask the US and Nato forces to stop their operations in our land," President Karzai said yesterday at a gathering in Kunar province. ... which is right down the road from Binny's house in Chitral...
Supporting President Karzai's call on foreign forces to take the war beyond Afghan borders, experts emphasised that it is also important that Nato continues its counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan.
General Abdul Hadi Khalid, a former deputy to the Afghan Ministry of Interior is one of those supporting continuation of Nato operation in the country.
"To call on foreign forces to stop their operations means to leave the battleground for the Taliban, and the Taliban would easily be able to retake highways and many districts," Mr Khalid said.
Lack of a clear strategy and proper coordination on the war against terrorism has created some challenges in Afghanistan, experts believe.
"Afghan government has dual policies for its own survival, but only the Taliban will benefit from such policies and the Afghan people will be the ones to suffer," Gen. Amanullah Aman, an Afghan military expert, told TOLOnews.
Afghanistan's Caped President Hamid Karzai has also repeatedly urged foreign forces to stop their night raids.
But Afghan and foreign military officials have said the night raids have been efficient in breaking the Taliban's momentum.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] Afghan eastern border forces accuse Pakistain's military of supporting gunnies and narcos.
Pak border forces do not prevent infiltration of cut-throats and smugglers into Afghanistan, and they have even targeted Afghan border police check posts, said Afghan border forces.
It is said that smugglers use animals to traffick drugs through the Afghan-Pakistain border.
"Pak border forces often target our check posts from the other side of the border using light and heavy weapons," Gen. Aminullah Amarkhil, Commander of Afghan eastern border forces, told TOLOnews.
Meanwhile, ...back at the abandoned silver mine... Nangarhar Police Chief Alishah Paktiawal accuses 'some circles' within Pakistain government of fueling insurgency in Afghanistan and supporting narcos.
"It is one hundred percent sure that they [Paks] train and fund cut-thoats," said Mr Paktiawal.
Insurgent sanctuaries and hideouts are believe to be based in the border areas between Pakistain and Afghanistan.
Pakistain and Afghanistan military officials have in the past accused each other of not preventing cut-throats movement's between the two countries, sometimes leading to tensions between Kabul and Islamabad.
However, The punctuational However... it is said that the two countries have now pledged to work together to resolve this challenge.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] A south Sudanese official accused the north of planning a Darfur-style genocide against the south, in an escalation of rhetoric less than four months ahead of the secession of his oil-producing region.
Pagan Amum's accusation came a day after he said his party had suspended talks about preparations for southern independence with the north's National Congress Party, which he said was plotting to overthrow the south's semi-autonomous government. Southerners overwhelmingly voted to declare independence in a January referendum that was promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war with the north. The separation is due to take place on July 9. Amum, secretary general of the south's ruling SPLM, told journalists in Khartoum the north was arming and training militias to try and topple the southern government before secession.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2011 00:00 ||
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A top Libyan al Qaeda commander has urged his countrymen to overthrow Col. Moammar Gadhafis regime and establish Islamic rule, expanding the terror networks attempts to capitalize on the wave of unrest sweeping the region.
Abu Yahia al-Libi, al Qaedas Afghanistan commander, said in a video posted on a militant website that after the fall of the regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, it is now Col. Gadhafis turn, as rebel fighters there press a nearly month long campaign to oust him.
Those nations autocratic governments enemies of Islamic militants practiced the worst kind of oppression with the backing of the West and failed to heed the lessons of history, he said.
Now it is the turn of Gadhafi after he made the people of Libya suffer for more than 40 years, he said, adding that it would bring shame to the Libyan people if the strongman were allowed to die a peaceful death.
#5
...cause we already nuked them twice and they can play and do play the victim card on that. He should be able to identify victim politics are run on something that's many generations pasts.
#7
I don't see or hear of anyone in Japan playing the victim card right now.
I see a lot of ordinary Japanese citizens rolling up their sleeves and getting to work to fix the damage and help their countrymen.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/14/2011 9:28 Comments ||
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#8
Every August they run out ceremonies on Hiroshima [of course nothing is covered in their history books about Nanking or Manila]. And somehow over the last 50 years the death count seems to have grow from 80k to 150k to mark the event. State finally showed up at the event last year, part of the Smarter Diplomacy(tm).
#10
poor babys', when you live by the sword, as Japan did for its entire history, well.......um eventually someone will hand you your ass, as was demonstrated by the US and our eminently superior culture.
#11
Interesting is that in Tunisia, 3 new islamic parties registrations have been iced (plus two other parties, not sure if they were pastafarians or what). Tunisian constitution forbids parties based on religion, gender, or ethnic lines.
#13
I, too, am a believer that, though destructive, the atomic bombings saved the Japanese from oblivion. It must be remembered that both the Soviets and the Chinese had a bone to pick, neither known for their nicey-nice treatment of enemies, plus the red tide rolling post-WWII. No US in Japan, Korea falls quick, Korea being the key to who controls Japan/East China. More so if the US maintained its ally vs. axis obligations and provided air cover and bombing.
People who suffered the effects of both bombings are known as nijû hibakusha in Japan.
On March 24, 2009, the Japanese government officially recognized Tsutomu Yamaguchi (19162010) as a double hibakusha. Tsutomu Yamaguchi was confirmed to be 3 kilometers from ground zero in Hiroshima on a business trip when the bomb was detonated. He was seriously burnt on his left side and spent the night in Hiroshima. He got back to his home city of Nagasaki on August 8, a day before the bomb in Nagasaki was dropped, and he was exposed to residual radiation while searching for his relatives. He was the first officially recognised survivor of both bombings. Tsutomu Yamaguchi died at the age of 93 on January 4, 2010 of stomach cancer.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/14/2011 15:11 Comments ||
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#16
link to hibakusha at Wikipedia. Seems they are discriminated against; their children too. Go figure.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/14/2011 15:17 Comments ||
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#17
On ME, like reading Homer Lea with a quarter turn to the west.
#18
The people of Japan see the bomb in many ways. We beat them and I'm sure the loss still stings, just ask the South about the war of Northern aggression. The war over 60 years ago and none of it has anything to do with this earthquake and the ten of thousands lost. We are Americans and help the unfortunate, wherever they are.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/14/2011 15:51 Comments ||
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#19
Yes, Pan, we are and we will.
The point of the original snark if you scroll back was that Obama would assist because its another group that could play the old victim hood game rather than follow the growing pattern of ignoring a long and trusted ally.
It is interesting to note that stomach cancer is very common in Japan, in large part due to widespread radioactive fallout. After the war many people were starving and ate anything they could, and much of the food supply was contaminated and somewhat radioactive - for many decades after. Stomach cancer rates are still many times higher for Japanese that for other people elsewhere. One of my closest friends in Japan is a Stomach cancer survivor.
#23
It is interesting to note that stomach cancer is very common in Japan, in large part due to widespread radioactive fallout. After the war many people were starving and ate anything they could, and much of the food supply was contaminated and somewhat radioactive - for many decades after. Stomach cancer rates are still many times higher for Japanese that for other people elsewhere. One of my closest friends in Japan is a Stomach cancer survivor.
I think it's a diet/genetic thing:
Japanese-Americans have high rates of colorectal, stomach, prostate and breast cancer compared with other groups, the researchers found. Obesity may play a role, they said, noting that 52.5 percent of Japanese men and 28.3 percent of women are overweight, and many say they are relatively inactive.
Koreans also have a high rate of stomach cancer. I have to wonder if it's related to miso, which is something both societies have in common.
#3
If they are for an islamic state, I prefer that they stand and die.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/14/2011 15:12 Comments ||
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#4
If they are for an islamic state, I prefer that they stand and die. The rebels themselves probably don't know what they are working for. Neither does the rest of the world.
#5
"The rebels themselves probably don't know what they are working for."
Truly a recipe for success.
/sarc
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/14/2011 16:09 Comments ||
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#6
So, which side is practicing the fundamentals better?
Mass: Concentrate combat power at the decisive place and time
Objective: Direct every military operation towards a clearly defined, decisive, and attainable objective
Offensive: Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative
Surprise: Strike the enemy at a time, at a place, or in a manner for which he is unprepared
Economy of force: Allocate minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts
Maneuver: Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the flexible application of combat power
Unity of command: For every objective, ensure unity of effort under one responsible commander
Security: Never permit the enemy to acquire an unexpected advantage
Simplicity: Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and clear, concise orders to ensure thorough understanding
Pretty close all in all. This isn't the first time opposing forces have driven each other back and forth along the Libyan coastline. The upcoming battles could easily be won by either side. Whoever wins two out of three should prevail.
The missing element in your fundamentals list is Pursuit - Action against a retreating enemy. We tend to neglect it, because high-tech combat is so lethal that the losing soldiers surrender. That won't happen with either of the low-tech Libyan forces. One battle won, and punctuated with meaningful pursuit would end the war.
#9
ION DRUDGEREPORT AM > [Guardian.UK] LIBYAN REBELS PLEAD WID WEST TO ASSASSINATE GADDAFI [demand NFZ + Western mil air = tacstrikes agz pro-Gaddafi Military-Loyalist forces, key assets].
ARTIC > LRNC warns that WESTERN FAILURE TO SUPPORT ANTI-GADDAFI REBELS COULD INDUCE ORDINARY LIBYANS TO DETRIMENTALLY PERCEIVE THE WEST AS BEING UNRELIABLE + UNCARING, + TURN THEM TOWARDS RADICAL/RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM [e.g. anti-West Radical Islam, Govt. Hardline].
* EARTH TIMES > LIBYAN REBELS HOLD ON TO THEIR LAST STRONGHOLD IN WEST LIBYA.
* SAME > [Ex-Libyan Army General MOHAMMED ABDELRAHIM] ANTI-GADDAFI REBEL LEADER APPEALS TO WORLD FOR WEAPONS.
* IRNA > UN RESOLUTION NOT NEEDED FOR LIBYA NO-FLY-ZONE, SAYS HAGUE [UK Foreign Secretary WILLIAM HAGUE].
ARTIC > UK ForSec HAGUE = argued that
"overwhelming humanitarian need" allows the International Community to independently act under auspices of International Law widout requiring an absolute = de facto UN mandate. THE FUTURE FOR THE LIBYAN PEOPLE WILL BE BLEAK IFF THE GADDAFI REGIME MANAGES TO SURVIVE + PROPAGATE RULING POWER - A LONG NIGHTMARE FOR THE LIBYAN PEOPLE WILL BEGIN AS THEIR COUNTRY DEVOLS INTO BECOMING A "PARIAH STATE" [Cold War-era "Rogue State" = Terror Sponsor?] ONCE AGAIN???
[Maghrebia] Mauritanian labour unions CNTM, CGTM and CLTM held marches in Nouakchott, Nouadhibou, Aleg, Zouérate and other cities on Friday (March 11th) to demand that the government open a social dialogue with workers. Also Friday, security forces used tear gas on Friday (March 11th) to disperse a Nouakchott youth protest.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] US state department front man PJ Crowley has resigned from his post following controversial comments involving the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.
The news on Sunday came three days after Crowley was reported to have criticised the Pentagon's treatment of jugged US soldier Bradley Manning.
Crowley said the defence department's handling of Manning, who is accused of leaking thousands of confidential US documents to WikiLeaks, was "stupid" and "counterproductive".
He was speaking at a private event, after being asked about claims that Manning is being harshly treated in US military custody. The state department said the comments were his personal opinion.
But in a resignation statement on Sunday, Crowley said he took full responsibility for the "impact" of his remarks.
"The unauthorised disclosure of classified information is a serious crime under US law," he said.
"My recent comments regarding the conditions of the pre-trial detention of Private First Class Bradley Manning were intended to highlight the broader, even strategic impact of discreet actions undertaken by national security agencies every day and their impact on our global standing and leadership.
"The exercise of power in today's challenging times and relentless media environment must be prudent and consistent with our laws and values.
"Given the impact of my remarks, for which I take full responsibility, I have submitted my resignation as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Spokesman for the Department of State."
'Served with distinction' Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Daniel Webster ... , the US secretary of state, said she had accepted Crowley's resignation with "regret".
"PJ has served our nation with distinction for more than three decades, in uniform and as a civilian," she said in a statement.
"His service to country is motivated by a deep devotion to public policy and public diplomacy, and I wish him the very best."
Clinton named principal deputy assistant secretary Michael Hammer to replace Crowley temporarily.
Allegations of torture
Bradley Manning is facing life in prison if found guilty of more than 22 charges, which include aiding the enemy.
Manning is accused of leaking US secrets [EPA]
Manning allegedly downloaded and distributed more than 250,000 confidential state department cables as well as
a deluge of Iraq and Afghanistan war logs. Thousands of the documents have been published on the WikiLeaks website.
While thousands of the cables have been released, the bulk of those downloaded have not been made public.
The army has not ruled out charging others in the case, pending results of a continuing review. Army leaders have suggested that there may have been supervisory lapses that allowed the breach to occur.
Trial proceedings against Manning have been on hold since July, pending the results of a medical inquiry into Manning's mental capacity and responsibility.
Manning is being held in maximum custody at the Marine Corps base in Virginia. His supporters say his solitary confinement amounts to torture, and are calling on the UN to investigate.
Treatment appropriate Barack B.O. Obama, the US president, said on Friday that he had been assured by the Pentagon that its treatment of Manning was appropriate.
Asked at a news conference about Crowley's remarks, Obama said Manning's treatment reflects the department of defence's concerns about the young soldier's safety.
Al Jizz's Rosiland Jordan, reporting from the White House, said the administration has been trying to deal with the problem of leaks.
"In this case, we're talking about a president who has said that the US government does not engage in anything resembling torture."
But she said the detention of Manning has raised questions about whether the administration is actually keeping its word.
"Certainly the other message that is being sent to other members of the government with the resignation of PJ Crowley is that if think that you might be privy to information that we don't want out in the general public, you need to keep your mouth shut."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Crowley was the perfect Clinton spokeshole. He used his AF credentials (as a PAO) to disguise the fact he's a grade A Asshat.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2011 7:48 Comments ||
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[Geo News] Interior Minister Rehman Malik Pak politician, current Interior Minister under the Gilani administration. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. He later joined the Pak Peoples Party and was chief security officer to Bhutto. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Näwaz Shärif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. here on Sunday called on Mutthida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain and discussed the political situation of the country.
Muhammad Anwar, Anis Advocate, Tariq Mir and Qasim Ali Raza were present on the occasion.
During the meeting that continued for two hours, the two leaders had and exchange of views on the challenges the country is currently faced with.
Later, Rehman Malik left for the return journey to Pakistain.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] Federal Law Minister Babar Awan Sunday accusing the Opposition Leader in Nationa Assembly Chaudhry Nisar of being a parliamentary secretary of Zia cabinet and Musharraf's 'special agent', alleged that Ch Nisar intended to topple democracy and send Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Müslim League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... back to Jeddah, Geo News reported.
Reacting to the Opposition Leader's presser in Islamabad, Babar Awan said Chaudhry Nisar will get the letter relating to the appointment of Chairman NAB when he reaches home after getting done with the 'Throne's conspiring acts' and special assignments.
"Chaudhry Nisar has insulted the Sindhi culture," the Law Minister observed.
He said it was Chaudhry Nisar with whose efforts General Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
Damning with faint praise, indeed. Don't lets forget how fond he was of the ISI's pet terror groups.
was elevated to the position of army chief. "He (Nisar) had the apologies signed and had Mian Brothers exiled to Jeddah," Babar Awan alleged, adding that later Chaudhry Nisar, silently, kept on serving the dictatorship during Musharraf's regime.
Babar Awan accused Chaudhry Nisar of being the criminal mastermind of the attack on Supreme Court.
People's Party, he said, learned through experience the politics of reconciliation but the dwellers of Raiwind only knew how to cook 'Arab paya'.
He said Nisar also hurled personal attacks on him but he would not react to it.
Babar Awan said President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... is all set to address the parliament for the fourth time and some people were finding it hard to digest this.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2011 00:00 ||
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The barbaric attack by a Palestinian Muslim on a Jewish family living in the West Bank settlement of Itamar on Saturday has been widely reported (see here--Atlas Shrugs has photos here). Five innocent people--two parents and three of their children--were savagely stabbed to death in their sleep. On the English section of the website of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, there was only the following short statement, denying any responsibility on the part of Hamas for the attack:
Palestinian National Movement Hamas official Ezzat Al-Rashak said that the movement is not responsible for the murder of the five family members from the Itamar settlement.
Al-Rashak confirmed that harming children is not part of Hamas' policy, nor is it the policy of the resistance factions. He also confirmed that the possibility that the incident was carried out by settlers for criminal motives should not be ruled out.
But on the Arabic section of the website, an article was published praising the attacker as a 'mujahid' and deriding the slain Jews as "Zionist usurpers." What's worse, at the time I checked there were 34 comments on the article posted by readers, all praising the attack and the attacker (I translated the first 17 or so). Curiously, while the Hamas statement in the English article raised the possibility of the act being carried out by settlers, in the Arabic article there's no doubt that the attacker was a Palestinian 'mujahid'.
[Ma'an] Leaders of an armed faction calling itself "Imad Mughniyya Group" on Sunday denied involvement in the killing of five Israelis from the same family in Itamar settlement overnight Friday.
West Bank affiliates of the group issued a statement Saturday claiming responsibility for the attack. But the faction's leadership in Gazoo said it the group was not responsible, and that the brigade's struggle was for "freedom and dignity not killing and bloodshed."
The resistance had abandoned many attacks in the past due to the presence of children, the group said in a statement Sunday.
Israeli authorities have dismissed statements from the group in the past, as it has grabbed credit for other operations that may have been the work of others. It is believed to be linked to Fatah.
So far, no other faction has claimed the attack, and the perpetrators remain unidentified.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
"Ululululu!
Of course it wasn't us.
Candy?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2011 7:54 Comments ||
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[Ma'an] Paleostinians may not be responsible for killing a family of five Israelis in Itamar settlement overnight Friday, the Gazoo government said Sunday.
Israeli authorities immediately blamed Paleostinians for the attack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Paleostinian Authority of "daily incitement" against Israel in his response to the killings.
However, The well-oiled However... Gazoo government front man Taher An-Nunu said the Israeli government should not rule out the possibility that the attack was perpetrated by Israeli criminals.
Now there's a surprise. I thought they were going to blame it on Saudi infiltrators or Somali pirates.
Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, has denied any involvement in the attack.
A shadowy faction calling itself the "Imad Mughniyya Group" grabbed credit for the attack but Israeli authorities have dismissed the group's claims in the past. It has grabbed credit for other operations in the past that may have been the work of others.
So far, no other faction has claimed involvement.
An-Nunu warned Israel against using the killings to justify an escalation in violence against the Gazoo Strip.
He said that relocating Israel's domestic crises toward incitement against Paleostinians was "unacceptable political blackmail."
Within 24 hours of the attack, Israeli ministers met and decided to approve a huge expansion in Jewish-only settlements in the West Bank.
Settlers have launched a series of attacks on Paleostinians across the West Bank, storming villages, harassing residents in their homes, smashing shops and throwing rocks at Paleostinian cars.
The international community recognizes that building Jewish-only housing on occupied Paleostinian land is illegal according to international law and the Geneva Convention, and has repeatedly called on Israel to halt construction.
Israel's refusal led to the collapse of the last round of negotiations in September.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
May be Israeli, may be Pali. But I'd bet dollars to doughnuts they're Muslim.
[Ma'an] Israeli analysts have speculated that Saturday's brutal attack in a Nablus settlement was carried out by fighters affiliated to Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,.
Early Saturday morning, a three-month old baby girl, two children aged three and 11, and their parents were stabbed to death in their home in Itamar settlement.
Interviewed on Israeli TV, military experts said Hamas was likely to be involved in the attack. The Islamist group regarded Nablus as one of its bases, and had active cells in the northern West Bank city, the analysts said.
Hebrew news sites said private Israeli security companies hired to protect the settlement had neglected their duties. According to reports, the alarm on the electric fence surrounding the settlement was activated several times. When the guards did not see any infiltrators in the area, they assumed there was a technical malfunction and turned off the alarm system, news reports said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the secret hideout... an Israeli police correspondent told Israel's Channel 2 that police have raised the alert level in all Israeli cities fearing further attacks, particularly in Jerusalem. Concerns were heightened by the upcoming Jewish festival of Purim, due to begin Friday, as well as reports of Paleostinian protests calling for national unity over the next week, the correspondent said.
He said Israeli police have deployed large forces on the streets of most Israeli cities.
Channel 2's military correspondent Ronny Daniel said the army continued to raid villages around Itamar settlement and that 20 Paleostinians had been tossed in the clink.
The report showed images of drones hovering over the area.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would "act vigorously to defend the Israeli population and to punish the murderers,"
President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas telephoned Netanyahu to express his regret over the murders. The Israeli premier accused the Paleostinian Authority of incitement against Israel, according to a statement from Netanyahu's office
"I expect you to stop the incitement in schools, textbooks and mosques and for you to educate your children for peace as we are doing. Murdering children in their sleep is murder for its own sake," he told Abbas.
Abbas denounced "all violence against civilians, whatever the motive" in a statement.
"I am against acts of vengeance. Violence begets violence," the president added.
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said his government rejected violence without exception.
"An infant, two children and their parents were the victims, and as we have always rejected violence against our people, we reject it against others and we condemn it."
On Saturday evening, Netanyahu demanded a stronger condemnation of the attack from the PA.
"I am disappointed by the weak and mumbled statements. This is not how one condemns terrorism. This is not how one fights terrorism," he said.
He again accused the PA of "daily incitement" in schools, mosques and the media.
"The time has come to stop this double-talk in which the Paleostinian Authority outwardly talks peace, and allows -- and sometimes leads -- incitement at home."
The only group to claim the attack has been an armed faction calling itself the "Imad Mughniyya Group."
However, The all-purpose However... Israeli authorities have dismissed statements from the group in the past, as it has grabbed credit for other operations that may have been the work of others. It is believed to be linked to Fatah.
Hamas' armed wing the Al-Qassam Brigades reported the attack on its website, but while the group noted that resistance factions had the right to resist occupation under international law, it did not claim responsibility.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Jerusalem Post Front Page] The director of Israel's Government Press Office sent a letter to CNN's Jerusalem Bureau Chief Sunday demanding an apology for a story on CNN's website that put "terror attack" in quotations in the headline of its story on Friday night's atrocity in Itamar.
Responding to the story headlined "Israeli Family of 5 Killed in 'Terror Attack,' Military Says," Oren Helman wrote Kevin Flower that he was "dumbfounded and astonished" to read that the slaughter of the Fogel family is "what the Israeli army calls a 'terrorist attack'."
"Your remarks sound as if we are talking about an IDF 'claim' that this was 'a terrorist attack' and that this is not necessarily the case," he wrote. "If this is not a terrorist attack, then what is?"
Helman, saying that "there is a limit to the extent of objectivity regarding such a horrific deed," wrote that an apology from CNN was in order.
CNN International, in response, said that it does not respond in public to private correspondence. The news organization did issue a statement saying, however, that it was "standard journalistic practice for news
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Here in ME we've an expression kul kalb baji yomo (every dog has its day [when it gets what's comming to it]).
In an interview with the defense reporter from the Iranian regime-run Fars News Agency, Mohsen Rafiqdoost, the former minister of the Revolutionary Guards, discussed the Islamic uprisings in the Middle East and Irans corresponding role: When people gain awareness and rise up, they become victorious. It is this populist support, as well as the support offered by the Iranian government to these protests, that is enough; we do not need to directly meddle.
Rafiqdoost, in reference to the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, stated: Our revolution, in comparison to the movements that people in the region have undertaken, was much greater. Our people rose up against the fifth largest non-nuclear army in the world and won.
He continued:
We fought for a full year on the streets and then we found ourselves climbing up the tanks; but the Egyptians climbed the tanks too soon in their movement. I hope they do not get fooled and are not diverted from their path and mission .The fact that our people and our government support these protests emboldens the citizens of those countries and will make them victorious.
Rafiqdoost added: We must publicize the issue of a possible U.S. military attack on Libya and announce that anytime the U.S. militarys presence is felt, it should be turned into their graveyard. We must give a directive to the people of the various regions that they should, without hesitation, kill the first American who steps foot on their land. I had openly said this during the imposed war (Iran-Iraq) as well, and it is for that reason that I cannot travel abroad.
As a side note: Mohsen Rafiqdoost, as the minister of the Revolutionary Guards, was personally responsible for establishing ties with various terrorist groups around the world, as well as funding and arming them. Also, four years after the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, Mohsen Rafiqdoost boasted that both the TNT and the ideology, which in one blast sent to hell 400 officers, NCOs, and soldiers at the Marines headquarters, were provided by Iran.
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Compare wid IRNA > {British Author JOHN REES]WEST IS SERIOUSLY PLANNING TO AVERT DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENTS IN ME, NORTH AFRICA, including by but not limited to DIRECT MIL INTERVENTION, in order to protect the Political-econ Postion of imperiaist = colonialist Western Powers.
ARTIC > REES = warns that any direct Western mil interference or intervention agz Gaddafi risks turning the Libyan mainstream agz the West in favor of Gaddafi, + ultimately converting Libyuh into another Iraq or Afghanistan.
Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... leader Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... has accused the March 14 Those are the good guys, insofar as Leb has good guys... forces of luring Hizbullah to use its arms against the coalition and its supporters.
"We hope this doesn't take place. But if so, then they would have deserved it," Aoun said during a dinner held by the FPM.
He said March 14 officials were resorting to inciting rhetoric to instigate Hizbullah into recreating another May 7 (2008) when the party's fighters seized control of large swaths of Beirut's Mohammedan sector.
Aoun reiterated that March 14 was using the Special Tribunal for Leb to achieve political gains.
"We will fight the tribunal because it is being used for political gains," the MP said.
"Those supporting it today are the same ones who were with Israel in its war against Leb," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2011 00:00 ||
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Al-Qaeda has launched a women's magazine that mixes beauty and fashion tips with advice on suicide bombings. Dubbed 'Jihad Cosmo', the glossy magazine's front cover features the barrel of a sub-machine gun next to a picture a woman in a veil.
There are exclusive interviews with martyrs' wives, who praise their husbands' decisions to die in suicide attacks.
The slick, 31-page Al-Shamikha magazine - meaning The Majestic Woman - has advice for singletons on 'marrying a mujahideen'.
Readers are told it is their duty to raise children to be mujahideen ready for jihad.
And the 'beauty column' instructs women to stay indoors with their faces covered to keep a 'clear complexion'.
They should 'not go out except when necessary' and wear a niqab for 'rewards by complying with the command of Allah Almighty'.
A woman called Umm Muhanad hails her husband for his bravery after his suicide bombing in Afghanistan.
And another article urges readers to give their lives for the Islamist cause. It advises: 'From martyrdom, the believer will gain security, safety and happiness.'
More traditional content for a women's magazine includes features on the merits of honey facemasks, etiquette, first aid and why readers should avoid 'towelling too forcibly'.
A trailer for the next issue promises tips on skin care - and how to wage electronic jihad.
The first issue's editorial explains that the magazine's goal is to educate women and involve them in the war against the enemies of Islam. It says: Because women constitute half of the population - and one might even say that they are the population since they give birth to the next generation - the enemies of Islam are bent on preventing the Muslim woman from knowing the truth about her religion and her role, since they know all too well what would happen if women entered the field of jihad.
'The nation of Islam needs women who know the truth about their religion and about the battle and its dimensions and know what is expected of them.'
The publication is being distributed online by the same Al-Qaeda media wing behind Inspire, a similarly slick magazine that encourages young Muslims in the West to commit terrorist atrocities.
James Brandon at anti-extremism think tank Quilliam, said: 'Al-Qaeda see how effective magazines are at pushing the ideals of western culture and want to try the same thing. As a result they have come up with a jihadist's version of Cosmopolitan magazine.'
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/14/2011 00:00 ||
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"Does this suicide vest make my ass look big?"
2011 summer fashions feature new slimline vests
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2011 7:57 Comments ||
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LOL Frank G. I suppose once the vest is exploded that is the least of their concerns. So what do women suicide bombers get when they become a martyr for Allen? Not 72 virgins? Maybe the appeal of martyrdom is that they get rid of their husbands.
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.
Hamid 
Hillary Clinton
Rehman Malik
Nawaz Sharif
Pervez 
Asif Ali 
Michel Aoun
