The Council of Senior Ulema, the highest body of Muslim clerics in Saudi Arabia, has issued a important religious ruling (fatwa) against terrorism, saying that committing terrorist acts, and even funding them, was against Islamic law.
The fatwa defines terrorism as "a crime aiming at destabilizing security" by attacking people or property, public or private. The document lists examples such as "blowing up of dwellings, schools, hospitals, factories, bridges, airplanes (including hijacking), oil and pipelines."
The council said that it "regards the financing of such terrorist acts as a form of complicity to those actsÂ…to bring a conduit for sustaining and spreading of such evil acts."
"The Council rules that the financing of terrorism, the inception, help or attempt to commit a terrorist act of whatever kind or dimension, is forbidden by Islamic Sharia and constitutes a punishable crime thereby; this includes gathering or providing of finance for that end." The fatwa exempts "legitimate charity to help the poor" from this ban.
The fatwa, dated 12 April but issued in May, was approved unanimously by the 19 members of the council. To implement it, the Saudi Shura Council is drafting a counterterrorism finance law, the ‘Washington Post' reports.
Saudi sources told the newspaper that King Abdullah initiated the process that led to the fatwa, by asking for a ruling on terrorist financing.
[Bangla Daily Star] An angry mob vandalised a makeshift tin-shed mosque of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat and the house of an Ahmadiyya believer at Ghatail upazila in Tangail Thursday.
They also damaged the construction materials for a mosque of the community in Chandtara village around 4:00pm putting about 40 Ahmadiyya families into grave panic.
Before the attack on Mokaddes Ali Akanda's house, several thousand local Muslims led by Imam Mufti Nasiruddin of Ghatail Upazila Parishad Mosque brought out a procession under the banner of Imam Parishad after Zohr prayer. They marched four kilometres to Chandtara village and held a rally at a local school.
Terming the community "anti-Islam", speakers at the rally demanded that the government immediately declares Ahmadiyyas non-Muslim.
They also submitted a memorandum to the Ghatail Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) urging the local administration to stop the construction of the mosque. Besides, they threatened of a tougher programme if the construction work is not stopped by June 24.
Imam Mufti Nasiruddin and Maulana Rezaul Karim, local leader of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, spoke at the rally, among others.
After the rally, a group of people rushed to the mosque construction site at Akandapara in the village and destroyed construction materials and launched an attack on Mokaddes' house.
The attackers left the place when Ghatail police reached there, said locals and police.
Officer-in-charge of Ghatail Police Station Mominur Rahman said police arrested three youths from the spot but released them later as they were not involved in the violence.
Police had been deployed in the village to avert further violence in the area.
"I have not filed any case in this connection considering safety of my family and the community," said Mokaddes Ali.
Abu Taher Akanda, another Ahmadiyya, alleged that although the demonstration had been announced over loudspeaker for two days, the local administration did not take any preventive measures.
Ghatail UNO Mohammad Nurul Alam told The Daily Star that he did not give any permission to hold a rally. He, however, said that the protestors including the Imam assured him of not going past the Chandtara School.
After the rally, Mufti Nasiruddin told The Daily Star that the local administration had assured them of not allowing any Ahmadiyya mosque in the village and that the construction materials for the mosque would be removed immediately.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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Babelfish
Two different Sinaloa political campaign offices were attacked within minutes of one another early Friday morning, say Mexican news accounts.
The two attacks represent the second and third such attacks in a week. Last week a Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) office building in Culican was hit with a Molotov cocktail with minor damage to the building.
At about 0315 hrs in Mochis the building housing the political campaign of Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) candidate Zamora Gastelum was hit with a beer bottle filled with gasoline. The damage was limited to the front door of the facility.
Meanwhile in Culican offices of the Partido de la Revolución Democrätica (PRD) on calle "ngel Flores was hit with two Molotov cocktails when two youths broke in. The attack damaged furniture and documents. PRD members were forced to break through a door to contain the damage.
State leader of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), Cenovio Ruiz Zazueta, that suggested th both the PRD and PAN are attempting to draw attention to themselves and to gain sympathy.
PRI is odds on favorite to retain the governorship. Elections take place July 4th.
PRD and PAN have joined forces is some races to attempt to offset PRI's advantage.
A member of the PRD's national executive committee, Juan Guerra Ochoa, suggested that the three bombings may be an attempt to instill fear and to suppress voter turnout.
#1
Historical irony abounds in the potential political combo of PAN and PRD:
PRD = socialistic to the core.
PAN (Partido Accion Nacional) had very strong fascist ties in its early years. The word "accion" (action) was prominent in the names of fascist parties worldwide during the '30s and '40s.
Perhaps the old politcal science theory of left and right forming a circle is not wholly untrue...
[Kyodo: Korea] North Korea warned Friday it will rain ""merciless blows"" on South Korea, the United States and Japan if they lead the U.N. Security Council to sanctions or other punitive measures on the North over the sinking of a South Korean warship Seoul has blamed on Pyongyang. Choe Thae Bok, a secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers" Party of Korea, issued the warning at a national meeting in Pyongyang to mark the 46th anniversary of leader Kim Jong Il"s start of work at the party"s Central Committee, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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SEOUL, June 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea welcomed the appointment of the U.N.'s new envoy on North Korean human rights, saying Saturday it will work closely with him to help improve the rights situations in the communist nation.
The U.N. Human Rights Council appointed Marzuki Darusman of Indonesia as its new special rapporteur on the North's human rights in Geneva Friday (local time). Darusman, 65, will succeed Vitit Muntarbhorn who has served in the job since its creation in 2004. The new envoy, a former attorney-general who also served as chairman of Indonesia's national human rights commission and a legislator, has been a co-chairman of the Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism. ASEAN refers to the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
"Rapporteur Darusman is expected to perform his duties excellently in light of various activities he has engaged in to promote human rights not only in Indonesia, but also in Asia," the ministry said.
"Our government welcomes his appointment and plans to cooperate actively for his activities," it said. "We also hope that he would talk smoothly and cooperate closely with North Korea to contribute to substantially promoting human rights situations in North Korea."
The outgoing envoy, Muntarbhorn, never visited the North as Pyongyang refused to receive him. North Korea has long been labeled one of the worst human rights violators in the world.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Give the people guns, ammo and rice. They will take care of themselves.
#2
How does one go about becoming a "Rapporteur"?. I reckon one has to get some kind of degree in Rapporteuring.
" Hey mom, when I grow up I wanna be a Rapporteur".
Mom: "I'm so proud of my son, he's a Rapporteur, you know"
Posted by: Mr. Bill ||
06/19/2010 21:09 Comments ||
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TEMBISA, South Africa, June 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's World Cup team on Friday held a practice session with its full roster, following a media report that some of its players may have fled the team to seek asylum from their communist home country.
In its group opener with Brazil on Tuesday, which it lost 1-2, four players -- forward An Chol-Hyok, goalkeeper Kim Myong-won, midfielder Kim Kyong-il and defender Pak Sung-hyok -- were listed as absent on the official roster provided by FIFA, which sparked speculation by some South Korean media that they had tried to seek asylum.
North Korea initially submitted the full list of its 23-man squad as available for the game but the number was revised to 19 on match day. At a practice session held at the Makhulong stadium in Tembisa, near Johannesburg, however, all 23 players of the North Korean team, including the four in question, were seen taking part in the team drills.
"The report appears to be based on a rumor that began by a clerical error at the North Korea-Brazil match," Gordon Watson, a FIFA media officer, told Yonhap News Agency. "Apparently the four players were with the team's technical group by the bench."
"There are no dramatic events here and it was a genuine human error," Watson said when asked whether the players may have sought asylum through foreign embassies here.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
They are probably all wearing exploding collars or something like that.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Around 5,000 people protested in Kosovo on Friday against a government decision to ban pupils from wearing Muslim headscarves (hijab) in public schools.
Around 90 percent of Kosovo's population are Muslims but the former Serbian province, which declared independence in 2008, remains a largely secular country.
Protesters, who came to the capital from all over the country, urged the government to withdraw its decision and not to "discriminate against Muslims."
Did Saudi charity pay for the busses to bring them in?
"We will continue the protests until they will allow our daughters to go to school with headscarves," said organizer Halil Kastrati.
Angry protesters with banners that read "Don't use our state against us" and "Communism is over" marched to the ministry of education, which had approved the ban.
"This is not a uniform but my religious obligation. I respect my religion but I also want to go to my faculty," said student Fitore Abazi.
Kosovo has so far been recognized by 69 countries, mainly in Western Europe, the United States and a few Muslim countries, but has not become a member of the United Nations. Serbia opposes its independence and has filed a suit to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
"We will continue the protests until they will allow us to force our daughters to go to school with headscarves," said organizer Halil Kastrati.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/19/2010 14:09 Comments ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] The leader of the National Democratic Party (NDP) of Germany in Saxony has urged the termination of all ties with Israel and the imposition of economic sanctions on the regime.
"Stop cooperation with the...Jewish scoundrels, don't give in to the thriving Holocaust industry!"
"Stop cooperation with the...Jewish scoundrels, don't give in to the thriving Holocaust industry," Holger Apfel said in his Thursday speech that provoked a storm in the parliament.
During his speech titled "no to cooperation with scoundrel countries - and end cooperation between Saxony and Israel", Apfel also called for economic sanctions against Israel.
Apfel, a neo-Nazi legislator, refused to leave the podium even after his time was up, forcing the chairman to turn off his microphone and ask security officers to escort him outside.
Even then, he continued to denounce the "Jewish terror," the World Jewish Congress reported.
The report said Apfel has been suspended until December.
Apfel had previously expressed his opinion about the Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla, saying that the "attack demonstrates a new 'characteristic' of 'state terror' employed by Israel."
"Since the establishment of the state in 1948 and the expulsion of millions of Palestinians -- the history of Israel has been accompanied by bloodshed."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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In a turnabout from the Cold War, when the CIA gave Stinger missiles to Afghan rebels to shoot down Soviet helicopters, the Pentagon has spent $648 million to buy or refurbish 31 Russian Mi-17 transport helicopters for the Afghan National Army Air Corps. The Defense Department is seeking to buy 10 more of the Mi-17s next year, and had planned to buy dozens more over the next decade.
The spectacle of using U.S. taxpayer dollars to buy Russian military products is proving a difficult sell in Congress. Some legislators say that the Pentagon never considered alternatives to the Mi-17, an aircraft it purchased for use in Iraq and Pakistan, and that a lack of competition has enabled Russian defense contractors to gouge on prices.
"The Mi-17 program either has uncoordinated oversight or simply none at all," said Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), who along with Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) has pushed the Pentagon to reconsider its purchase plans. "The results have led to massive waste, cost overruns, schedule delays, safety concerns and major delivery problems."
U.S. and Afghan military officials who favor the Mi-17, which was designed for use in Afghanistan, acknowledge that it might seem odd for the Pentagon to invest in Russian military products. But they said that changing helicopter models would throw a wrench into the effort to train Afghan pilots, none of whom can fly U.S.-built choppers.
Because Afghan airmen had historically trained on Russian choppers, the Pentagon decided to make the Mi-17s the backbone of Afghanistan's fleet. The Soviet Union specifically designed the Mi-17 for use in Afghanistan. U.S. officials say it is well-suited for navigating the altitudes of the Hindu Kush mountains, as well as Afghanistan's desert terrain.
Gen. Mohammed Dawran, chief of the Afghan air corps, said most of those pilots are in their 40s and set in their ways. Requiring them to start fresh on U.S. copters would be an uphill battle.
"They learned the previous system and different ideas," he said in an interview. Most of the veterans also don't know how to fly at night or in poor visibility, when a pilot must rely on an aircraft's instrument panel to navigate.
The Russian choppers are far more basic birds than U.S. models such as the UH-60 Black Hawk or the CH-47 Chinook. The Mi-17 is steered with a stick and rudder and usually lacks such amenities as Global Positioning System navigation. Afghan maintenance crews, accustomed to making do with whatever materials are handy, are skilled in making repairs with used soda cans and other makeshift parts.
In addition, the U.S. Special Operations Command would like to buy a few Mi-17s of its own, so that special forces carrying out clandestine missions could cloak the fact that they are American.
"We would like to have some to blend in and do things," said a senior U.S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the clandestine program. "But the Russians know this. Russia has a small monopoly on Mi-17s. They are now exorbitantly priced."
#1
I suspect there is much more to this 'buy Russian' initiative that is found in this article. As long as I don't have to ride on one, I have no problem with it.
#3
Couldn't the Bell division of Boeing whip up a Mi-17 clone? Or is that asking too much of our gold-plated defense industry?
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/19/2010 15:12 Comments ||
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#4
Most of the Mi-17s that the US is buying are actually from former Warsaw Pact countries that are now NATO; the choppers are refurbed and shipped to Afghanistan. 2 birds with one stone : support the Afghanis and the new NATO members make money and change out equipment.
#5
Or is that asking too much of our gold-plated defense industry?
Russian stuff is designed with a different mindset. It needs to be field serviced under rough conditions by mechanics who are...unsophisticated. Same goes for the operators.
M-16 vs Kalashnikov is a good example. One needs to be scrupulously cleaned, the other works if you shake the sand out of the mechanism.
#6
The MI-17 is just a better aircraft for the mission over there than anything we make. It can nearly carry the internal load of a CH-47. It can operate at higher altitudes and with greater gross weights than a UH-60M, it can cross Kandahar pass fully loaded. It is 1/4 the cost of a UH-60M, and significantly easier to maintain. With over 15,000 of these aircraft currently in service, MI-17 and the MI-172/172 models, the logistics for the aircraft is already in place. The aircraft is easier to maintain and built to take a beating, it has been around since the early 1950's. Simply put, without the bullshit oversight of the congress our US military went out and bought the best performing aircraft at the lowest price, and are getting the mods done by US companies. And for the GPS comment, they do have them and this is an amature comment directed at the people ignorant of aviation.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
06/19/2010 17:44 Comments ||
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#7
Steve: Bell is separate from the Boeing Company. You may be thinking to the legacy Boeing Vertol Company, which was formed after the purchase of the Piasecki Helicopter Company many years ago. TPHC invented the tandem rotor configuration that is used in the H-46 and H-47s
[Dawn] Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Friday reiterated that the country would be cleansed from terrorism and said that he was not afraid of Taliban.
Talking to the media in Islamabad, Malik said that the nation was ready to deal with terrorists and that the new generation should be provided with pens and not weapons.
The interior minister said that he was not afraid of terrorists even if they continued to threaten him.
Malik said that terrorists were the enemy of Islam and Pakistan and he wants to get rid of this menace and for that everybody needs to work collectively.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Punjab Governor Salman Taseer in an interview with BBC Urdu said that Punjabi Taliban are present in the province but the government is not ready to acknowledge this reality.
During the interview, Taseer told BBC Urdu that Punjabi men belonging to Rahim Yaar Khan and Muzaffar Garh were involved in the recent attacks on Ahmedis.
Taseer also criticized the PLM - N government, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Law Minister Rana Sanaullah on the Sasti Roti scheme. According to the report, he said that the scheme was a publicity stunt and billions of rupees were poured in it to gain popularity.
He also blamed the chief minister of Punjab for building seven camp offices, apart from his Raiwind 'Palace' and several homes in model town. According to the report, Shahbaz Sharif spent Rs.18 billion on the building of the Raiwind road.
When asked by BBC about ordering Rs.2.5 million Mercedes, Taseer said that he already owns a Mercedes and is the owner of companies worth billions of dollars. He said he didn't need a car on government expenses but had ordered one for the Governor House where head of states often visited and needed to be taken around.
BBC also asked Taseer why he was so active compared to the governors of other provinces and why he had taken up such a political role. Taseer said that he wants to strengthen the government and not do a shameful job like pervious governors.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] Amir Jamat-e-Islami Syed Munawar Hassan Friday ruled out the possibility of restoration of Muttahida Majlis-e-Ammal (MMA) in the near future. Addressing a congregation of Namaz-e-Juma here at Mansoora, the JI Amir said the policies being pursued by the government are pushing the country towards anarchy. He said: Â"Qadyanis are in denial mode over accepting themselves as minority,Â" calling upon the government to take notice of the situation or Â'Khatm-e-Nabuwat movement will be launched'. Munawar Hassan said that his party went on record to condemn the attack on Qadyani's worship places but they (Qadyanis) are taking completely undue benefit of the sympathies. Â"Karachi is sitting on a pile of arms and explosives,Â" he maintained, adding, killers are visible to all but the rulers. He stressed upon resolution of issues through Jirga meetings because places where restoration has been claimed are still facing lawlessness and curfews.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has completed its inquiry into the assassination of former prime minister and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairperson Benazir Bhutto, which blames Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud for orchestrating the attack.
According to the text of the 39-page report obtained by Daily Times, the attack was planned in Akora Khatak by former students of Madrassa Darul-Uloom Haqqania.
One of the prime suspects in the case, Hassnain Gull, has told investigators that Benazir was targeted due to her stance over the Lal Masjid operation.
In the report, an ISI official confirmed that he had recorded a telephonic conversation in which Baitullah Mehsud himself issued instructions to some of the arrested terrorists to assassinate the PPP leader.
A joint investigation team (JIT) of the FIA alleged that Inspector Kashif Riaz who was then the station house officer (SHO) of City Police Station Rawalpindi, "intentionally" did not complete the post-mortems of 24 people who were killed in the incident along with Benazir.
The team further alleged that Superintendent of Police (SP) Ashfaq Ahmed who had been deputed at Liaquat Bagh on security duty that day went on a highway patrol instead along with other police personnel and later tampered with the case records.
The FIA team has also alleged that Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Khuram Ishtiaq attempted to destroy the circumstantial evidences when he ordered police to hose down the crime scene.
Darul-Uloom Haqqania: The report revealed that in May, 2010 a special team of the FIA had visited Darul-Uloom Haqqania in Akora Khatak.
The in-charge of the seminary confirmed that accused Abdullah alias Sadam, Nadir alias Qari Ismael, Rashid Ahmed alias Rahim Tarabi and Fiaz Muhammad alias Kiskat were former students of that madrassa.
Assassination: According to phone records, Saeed alias Bilal, Akramullah and Qari Ismael reached Rawalpindi on December 26, 2007 at about 9:00 pm.
They were picked up by accused Rafaqat and Hassnain and taken to Rafaqat's house in Quaid-e-Azam Colony at 12am.
The next day, the terrorists visited the Liaquat Bagh, and the planned route of Benazir Bhutto's convoy.
They then went to Hassnain's house in Shah Jayyona Colony and obtained suicide jackets and weapons.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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Lawmakers continued their discussion on the 2010-11 budget on Friday in the National Assembly, where some members called for the abolition of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and the Federal Shariat Court.
During the debate, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) MNA Riaz Hussain Pirzada termed the recent suicides in the country due to poverty "God's will". "Those who come to this world must have to leave it one day, and this is God's will," he said.
Referring to reports that Maulana Sherani has been appointed as the head of CII, Pirzada said that "a representative of terrorists" was being appointed as the new head of the ideology council.
He said CII and Shariat Court should be abolished, as "these institutions had never issued a decree against the killing of non-Muslims".
"They have contributed nothing to the interpretation of Islamic principles and in delivering verdicts according to Islamic injunctions," he said. He further stated that it was not the duty of the court to "paralyse the government".
Bushra Gohar of the Awami National Party (ANP) also supported Pirzada's stance on the CII, saying Maulana Sherani should not be appointed to head the council.
During the discussion, when Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Information Secretary Fouzia Wahab tried to speak without permission of the deputy speaker, her microphone was switched off.
However, she managed to continue her speech and urged the US and international monetary institutions to write-off Pakistan's loans as an acknowledgement of Pakistan's role in the war against terror.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
recent suicides in the country due to poverty "God's will"
It also must be God's will that you steal your nation blind into poverty. Convenient, huh? No wonder many of your subjects (not citizens) would rather choose a path that will end in the utter destruction of Pakistan and themselves.
Posted by: ed ||
06/19/2010 7:30 Comments ||
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BAGHDAD - Iraq's two main contenders to head a new government remained at odds Friday, denting US hopes that a top envoy had advanced the prospects of a deal and drawing a warning from the top Shiite cleric.
The persistent political vacuum three and a half months after a general election which gave no bloc the necessary majority to form a new administration has caused mounting concern in Washington as it prepares to withdraw 38,000 of its remaining 88,000 troops by the end of August.
The bickering also drew an ultimatum from the spiritual leader of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority community, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, to intervene if the politicians did not forge a deal quickly.
Former prime minister Iyad al-Allawi, whose list won the largest number of seats in the March 7 election, dismissed as simplistic suggestions he forgo what he sees as his constitutional right to have first go at forming a government in the interests of breaking the deadlock.
Incumbent Nuri al-Maliki, whose bloc came second, in turn rejected proposals that he surrender some of the powers of the premiership as part of a national unity deal, warning that a feeble government would be a recipe for civil war.
Allawi and Maliki held their first head-to-head talks last Saturday which they described as "cordial," but in separate interviews released on Friday they remained poles apart.
In an interview with The Times of London, Maliki rejected any compromise involving a collegiate premiership with a prime minister and deputy prime ministers sharing powers. "Some people want a traffic cop for this job, one whom nobody obeys," Maliki told the daily.
"A state cannot be run like that," said the incumbent premier who has made his political reputation out of taking a strong hand to both Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias. "A feeble government would take Iraq back into sectarian war."
But asked by CNN whether he was prepared to step aside to pave the way for a deal with Maliki, Allawi said: "The issue is much more complex than this. It is very unfortunate that people are trying to simplify things."
In a rare direct intervention on the political scene, the reclusive Shiite spiritual leader called on the squabbling rivals to set aside their differences and reach a deal quickly in the interests of the nation. Sistani's spokesman Hamed al-Khaffaf said the top cleric was not seeking to promote any one candidate for the premiership and stressed that he was not seeking to favour the religious Maliki over the secular Allawi, whose Iraqiya list drew many of his votes from Sunni Arabs.
"The authority (Sistani) hopes an efficient government able to solve the country's problems will be formed in the shortest time possible to avoid the sort of large political problem that requires the intervention of the authority," Khaffaf told reporters in the Shiite shrine city of Najaf.
"The authority will not support any of the candidates for the premiership nor will it reject any of them," the spokesman said.
"Sistani confirmed to all his political visitors, including Iraqiya with which he had a very good meeting, that the formation of the government is subject to dialogue between political blocs according to the mechanism set by the constitution," he added.
The spokesman rejected reports that Sistani had had a hand in the formation of an alliance between Maliki's Shiite-led State of Law list and the main Shiite religious bloc that has given it more seats in parliament than Allawi's grouping.
"The religious authority did not have any role in this alliance, and never spoke about this issue," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said in an interview with CNN that Iraq needs a lot of support to get out of its bottleneck, adding Iraq is powerless to respond to foreign military strikes, such as those by Turkey and Iran, because Iraq has no army, no air force, and no clear foreign policy.
Allawi said there is a political vacuum in Iraq and that it is important to expedite the formation of a new government. But, he said, “I think we are still far away from this.'
The Turkish military said this week it sent three commando divisions and a special forces brigade two or three kilometers into Iraqi territory in pursuit of Kurdish rebels. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Thursday that troops have now completely withdrawn.
Neighboring Iran has staged a series of military strikes against Iraq's Kurds, targeting rebels it says are attacking Iran. When asked about Iran's recent bombings of the town of Ali Rash, near the Iran-Iraq border, Allawi suggested holding negotiations with Tehran “to try to find a solution to the problem.'
While clashes continue in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region in the north, lawmakers are battling for power farther south, in Baghdad. Allawi's Iraqiya political bloc won 91 seats in the March 7 elections, two seats more than the State of Law coalition led by current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. There has been political deadlock ever since, with both blocs claiming the right to form the new government.
When asked why he did not step aside to break the political stalemate, Allawi responded: “The issue is much more complex than this. It is very unfortunate that people are trying to simplify things.'
Meanwhile, the U.S. combat mission in Iraq is scheduled to end Aug. 31. Allawi told CNN that the departure of American troops would cause a further deterioration of security in Iraq.
Allawi said that Iraq “needs a lot of support to get out of this bottleneck and to secure its borders, to secure its stability, and to form a government.'
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Meanwhile, the U.S. combat mission in Iraq is scheduled to end Aug. 31. Allawi told CNN that the departure of American troops would cause a further deterioration of security in Iraq.
The Left may yet achieve the failure they so dearly want in Iraq.
More than twelve United States Naval warships and at least one Israeli ship crossed the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea on Friday, British Arabic Language newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported Saturday.
According to the report, thousands of Egyptian soldiers were deployed along the Suez Canal guarding the ships' passage, which included a U.S. aircraft carrier.
The Suez Canal is a strategic Egyptian waterway which connects between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
According to eyewitnesses, the U.S. battleships were the largest to have crossed the Canal in many years, Al-Quds reported.
Egyptian opposition members have criticized the government for cooperating with the U.S. and Israeli forces and allowing the ships' passage through Egyptian territorial waters.
They said they viewed the event as Egyptian participation in an international scandal, and added that the opposition would not sit with its arms crossed while the country allowed a fleet of U.S. and Israeli military ships to cross.
#5
Escorting the Israely ship are we? Nutjob rattled sabres, we have brought hell on earth his way. I highly reccommend nutjob call kadaffi for advice right about now.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
06/19/2010 17:48 Comments ||
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Ay-Pee . . .
Next month's municipal balloting in the West Bank should have handed an easy victory to the Western-backed Fatah movement since its bitter competitor, the Islamic militant Hamas, decided to sit out the race. However, with strong signs that independents were poised to win in key towns, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah's leader, called off the election at the last minute.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran's top security body has riled against the latest U.N. sanctions imposed over Tehran's controversial nuclear program, saying they were illegal and show that world powers are applying a double standard.
The Supreme National Security Council says the U.S. and other nuclear-armed powers have punished Iran even though it doesn't have nuclear weapons, while at the same time they support Israel, which is widely believed to have a sizable nuclear arsenal.
The council, which coordinates national defense and security policy, said: "The entrance of the United Nations Security Council in the Islamic Republic of Iran's peaceful nuclear activities is illegal and invalid."
The sanctions, passed by the U.N. Security Council on June 10, and swiftly followed by tougher measures by the European Union and the United States, broke an article in the U.N. charter as well as the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the statement said.
"(The U.N. Security) Council should swiftly take corrective action and correct its past mistakes," it said.
The sanctions are aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear enrichment which Tehran says is peaceful but which the West fears could lead it to make nuclear weapons.
The U.N. sanctions target Iranian banks suspected of connections with nuclear or missile programs. They also expand an arms embargo and call for a cargo inspection regime.
Iran's leaders have dismissed the likely effectiveness of such measures, but tougher action by Washington and Brussels, which could have greater impact on the OPEC member's crucial energy sector, might have more bite, analysts say.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has censured unilateral US and European sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, warning the move might worsen the situation.
In an interview with American daily The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, he said that unilateral sanctions against Iran would inflict damage on talks with Tehran and hurt the Iranian people.
In addition to the fourth round of the UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions on Iran, approved on June 9, the US and the EU have imposed tougher measures on Tehran.
The new EU sanctions, which could come into effect within weeks, target the financial, transport, and banking sectors as well as investments in or sale of equipment to Iranian oil and gas companies.
The EU measures come after the US imposed unilateral sanctions against Iran on Wednesday. The US sanctions include blacklisting a state bank and a group of companies, and seek to freeze any assets Iranian companies may have under US jurisdiction.
Medvedev urged world powers to "act collectively" on Iran in order to solve its nuclear issue.
"We didn't agree to this when we discussed the joint resolution at the UN," he told the newspaper. "We should act collectively. If we do, we will have the desired result."
On Thursday, Russia called the US and EU unilateral sanctions against Iran disappointing, saying such moves could undermine future cooperation on Iran.
"We are extremely disappointed that neither the United States nor the European Union heed our calls to refrain from such moves," Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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Tehran, Jun. 18 - More than 12 million Iranians have been organised into the paramilitary Bassij, according to the force's acting commander. With a population estimated at 72,000,000 that means one sixth of the entire population is Bassijis.
"70 million people share the ideal of Bassijis and are steadfast in their defence of the Imam's [Khomeini] ideals as well as Islamic and revolutionary values", claimed Brig. Gen. Ali Fazli. His remarks were carried by the Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). "We are planning to organise a 20-million Bassij army and have mobilised 12 million people so far", Fazli added. 20 million would be approximately 28 percent of the population...
The Bassij commander described 2009 as a year full of dangers and challenges which were overcome by public vigilance. The presence of two million Bassijis during Khomeini's death anniversary was a "stern warning" to the "leaders of the conspiracy", he claimed. That's an awful lot of goose-stepping brownshirts, but it's not 28 percent of the population...
Fazli also expressed concern over the role played by young activists during the year-long anti-government protests, which he attributed to the "enemy's soft war". He warned that the "enemy has targeted the mind and thinking of the younger generation, for which reason we need to launch a serious effort and activity in order to safeguard the blood of the martyrs and the ideals of the revolution". Sound a little worried, do they? Eventually older generations die off and younger generations take over, don't they?
Many observers discount official claims of the size of the Bassij as far too exaggerated.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
A massive armed militia only weakly under the control of the central government. What could possibly go wrong?
#5
that means one sixth of the entire population is Bassijis
Not necessarily. Previous intel sez there are significant numbers of non-native Iranians (Palis, Chechens, various denizens of the Balkans and the 'Stans, etc.).
But the numbers likely are inflated, even with high unemployment and and some mission realignment.
A massive armed militia only weakly under the control of the central government
It does give the IRGC and, by extension, Ahmadinejad some plausible cover as well.
Tensions are high at the University of California-Irvine after the school recommended suspending a Muslim student group for its role in the disruption of an Israeli ambassador's speech earlier this year. Students at the university say Jews and Muslims have been accusing each other of discrimination and harassment, as both sides have embraced campus speakers seen as hostile to Israel or Islam. Now the proposed suspension of the Muslim Student Union for at least a year has made an already hostile situation worse.
The school revealed this week that it had recommended suspending the Muslim group after 11 students were arrested in February for repeatedly disrupting a speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, who was repeatedly interrupted and called "murderer" and "war criminal" by pro-Palestinian students as he gave a talk on the Middle East peace process.
The Muslim group is appealing the recommendation -- a process that is expected to be completed before the next school year begins. The appeal comes after more than 60 faculty members at UC Irvine signed an open letter last month condemning what they said was an anti-Semitic atmosphere at the school.
"We...are deeply disturbed about activities on campus that foment hatred against Jews and Israelis," the letter read, citing incidents over the past few years that included "the painting of swastikas in university buildings and the Star of David depicted as akin to a swastika."
"Some community members, students, and faculty indeed feel intimidated, and at times even unsafe," the letter read.
But a lawyer for the Muslim Student Union said any tensions on campus derive from a Jewish organization that is not connected to the college: the Jewish Federation Orange County. "A lot of the tension and friction is not on the campus," attorney and activist Reem Salahi said.
Sixty of the university's professors say it is on campus, and against faculty as well as students.
"It's not divided between Jewish and Muslim organizations. There's more tension between Muslim students and these Jewish organizations pressuring the university."
If Jews had banded together to shout down Muslim speakers on campus, even attacked groups of Muslim students, the news would have been reported nationally and internationally, and the tapes replayed endlessly on YouTube. Since that hasn't happened, the claim is not believable.
She said Muslim students have been intimidated and harassed and have even received death threats in which they've been called "every type of superlative imagined."
Prove it. Because again, you'd have trumpeted each incident from the rooftops, and that has not happened.
The university on Monday released a letter from a student affairs disciplinary committee to a Muslim Student Union leader saying the group was found guilty of disorderly conduct, obstructing university activities and other violations of campus policy. The committee recommended suspending the group for one year, placing it on disciplinary probation for an additional year and requiring the student organization to collectively complete 50 hours of community service,
If there are fifty members, that's an entire hour each. If there are one hundred, that's half an hour -- a serious punishment, to be sure.
a move that would prevent the group from conducting organized campus events until at least the fall of 2011.
University spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon said the committee's decision will be a binding recommendation to the campus' office of student affairs if the group's appeal does not succeed. Lawhon said all the focus and attention paid to tensions between Jewish and Muslim students "has largely been generated by the outside community."
"Damn those Jews and Conservatives!" she added under her breath.
"There's been a lot of attention on us by outsider groups for whatever reason for things that go on at every UC campus around the state," she said, adding that controversial speakers usually go to all the UC schools in the state. "The only time you hear about it is when they're at UC Irvine."
The Jewish Federation Orange County, which compelled the school to release the letter after filing a Freedom of Information Act, praised the school for its decision. "While we would have liked for the administration to have come to this conclusion more quickly, we are please that after due process, the MSU has finally been sanctioned," Shalom Elcott, president of the group, said in a written statement.
Elcott told FoxNews.com that the MSU has been largely responsible for creating an anti-Semitic atmosphere on the campus by inviting speakers who equate Jews to Nazis and rally support for jihad, or holy war. "The MSU has been looking for a battle for a long time," he said, adding that his group is only trying to help bridge the differences between the two sides.
Salahi declined to say whether legal action is being planned in the event of an unsuccessful appeal. But she said students were "outraged" and "disappointed" with the university's decision. "It's unprecedented a university would ever do this," she said,
True, when it comes to the MSU.
adding that the suspension would "create a really dangerous precedent for shutting down dissent."
For a given definition of dissent that means creating a hostile environment through soft jihad, that statement is true.
#1
You have the right to protest peacefully outside the venue, honey, not to decide who speaks and who doesn't.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/19/2010 8:35 Comments ||
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#2
But they re the religion of peace! The letter with the evidence is pretty damning and IMHO warrants expulsion of the group and not a simple suspension.
#6
A young lady friend of my daughter goes to UC Irvine. She happens to be Shia Muslim.
She told us how these Wahabbi Muslim terrorist students hassled her for being Shia and not cooperating with their protests and intimidation of Jewish students on campus.
She feels totally like they are terrorists or terrorist sympathizers.
These guys throw bricks through car windows of suspected Jewish students and she herself has witnessed them doing these things.
Needless to say she is hopeful that their actions will stop now that the campus authorities have finally cracked down.
A gang of about 100 Muslim students (and their off campus sympathizers) have been able to intimidate a whole campus for the last 5 years. Something had to give.
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
06/19/2010 21:02 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
TEMBISA, South Africa, June 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's World Cup team on Friday held a practice session with its full roster, following a media report that some of its players may have fled the team to seek asylum from their communist home country.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has completed its inquiry into the assassination of former prime minister and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairperson Benazir Bhutto, which blames Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud for orchestrating the attack.
