Gordon Brown made a surprise visit to Afghanistan yesterday amid a marked surge in attacks by Taliban forces which have made this week one of the bloodiest for Nato since it began its campaign in the country in 2003. The prime minister flew into Kabul after visiting British troops at Camp Bastion in Helmand province, where he said soldiers were preventing terrorism from hitting the streets of Britain, and likened them to Olympic heroes.
The visit, the prime minister's second since he took office last year, came days after 10 French troops were killed in fierce fighting with the Taliban near Kabul. Three Polish troops were also killed this week, along with British Corporal Barry Dempsey from The Royal Highland Fusiliers. Yesterday it was confirmed a further three Canadian soldiers had been killed by a roadside bomb in Zhari district, west of the southern city of Kandahar.
Brown held a meeting with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, and announced Britain would be giving a further £64m in development assistance to the country. "We are utterly resolute in our determination to support this new democracy of Afghanistan," he said. "We won't relax our efforts to support and reconstruct Afghanistan because we understand that what happens in Afghanistan affects the rest of the world. We are determined to work with the government and coalition forces to defeat the forces of terrorism."
Earlier, Brown toured a field hospital at Camp Bastion, where he met six British soldiers who were receiving treatment after being hit by sniper fire.
The prime minister said he believed coalition forces were making "substantial advances" against the Taliban. "We have succeeded in winning back territory. The longer-term solution is that more power will be given to the Afghanistan people," he said.
Addressing around 300 troops who gathered in the 39C heat, he said: "You are the heroes of our country ... You are the frontline against the Taliban... What you are doing here prevents terrorism coming to the streets of Britain.
"This week we are celebrating the Olympics where we have had great success. People have been winning medals in areas where we have been breaking ground. But this week also I believe that our Olympic athletes and everybody else in our country will remember that you have showed exactly the same courage, professionalism and dedication. You make our country proud every day of the week, every week of the year."
During Brown's 90-minute visit, troops from 16 Air Assault Brigade, made up of 2nd and 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment, 5th Battalion Royal Regiment Scotland and the Royal Irish Regiment, seemed in good humour. Capt Phil Hobbs of 7 Armoured Company said the prime minister's visit did have a positive effect on the troops. "It shows we do have support for what we are doing. It gives us a sense of pride."
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Brown makes surprise trip to Afghanistan-Tries to surrender, but can't get his laptop to out the document over "that wacky wireless setup they have".
(SomaliNet) A day after Somalia's government signed a peace agreement with some opposition figures, the U.N. Security Council authorized on Tuesday an African Union force in Somalia for another six months. Meanwhile, a unanimous resolution also asked U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to work with the AU to strengthen U.N. logistical, political and technical support to help bring the African Union Mission in Somalia, or AMISOM, up to U.N. standards.
The peace agreement, which was initiated on June 9 in Djibouti and signed on Monday, has been rejected by hard-liners and done little to quell violence.
Last month the AU said it was incapable of stabilizing the situation in Somalia and urged the United Nations to take over peacekeeping operations. The world body has been cautious of stepping in before some kind of peace is established. AMISOM has authorized the deployment of 8,000 troops but has only 2,600 on the ground.
Nigeria said last week it would deploy a battalion of 850 officers and soldiers to Somalia in the next few weeks to join existing AMISOM forces. AMISOM is made up of soldiers from Uganda and Burundi. AMISOM was meant to replace Ethiopian troops whose presence inflamed the insurgency because they helped Somalia's government dislodge an Islamist movement at the start of 2007.
A shortage of funds and the violence raging in the capital Mogadishu have prompted several nations to reconsider their offers of troops.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2008 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir denies that his regime is orchestrating genocide in the troubled western region of Darfur.
In July, the International Criminal Court in The Hague indicted Omar al-Bashir on genocide and war crimes charges. Prosecutors say militias unleashed by his government have killed some 300,000 ethnic Africans. More than 2.5-million have been displaced. Al-Bashir says those numbers are inflated. "Genocide like the International Criminal Court claims is nonexistent."
He was speaking at a news conference in Istanbul, Turkey, during his first trip abroad since the indictment.
This article starring:
Omar al-Bashir
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
So what is most likely to happen?
1. He is indicted and goes on trial in front of the ICC.
2. This "goes away".
3. He dies of old age.
LYNCHBURG, Virginia - Democrat Barack Obama scolded Russia again on Wednesday for invading another country's sovereign territory while adding a new twist: the United States, he said, should set a better example on that front, too.
The Illinois senator's opposition to the Iraq war, which his comment clearly referenced, is well known. But this was the first time the Democratic presidential candidate has made a comparison between the U.S. invasion of Iraq and Russia's recent military activity in Georgia.
"We've got to send a clear message to Russia and unify our allies," Obama told a crowd of supporters in Virginia. "They can't charge into other countries. Of course it helps if we are leading by example on that point."
Foreign policy has become a dividing line in the race for the White House.
Obama favors a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq over 16 months, while John McCain, his Republican rival for president, opposes a timeline and says U.S. forces must stay to finish and win the war.
McCain, an Arizona senator, sought to highlight his foreign policy credentials during the Russia-Georgia crisis last week, giving a series of harsh statements directed at Moscow soon after the conflict began.
Obama, who was on vacation in Hawaii, followed suit with statements that became sharper over time.
WHAT?!?!
Posted by: Full Bosomed1072 ||
08/22/2008 01:20 ||
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#1
because they're morally equivalent in the Empty One's eyes. What a putz. He really is a a marxist Carter
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/22/2008 7:53 Comments ||
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#2
If only we could do smilers and pollz and such:
Vote for best Teefs:
Jimmuah
Skinny Guy
Vote now before you go to work, else your cats will vote for you.
#7
not a good strategy. Most middle americans who oppose the war, do so, I think, because they think it wasnt worth it for US. Not cause they think we commited aggression. Much like the middle american response to VN (im talking the response, not the strategic reality, so spare me a discussion of that). This wont play well with swing voters.
#8
How is it possible that this man can be considered electable by any serious person? Back when I was a Dem, even the most liberal mainstream candidates would at least try to look like they understood and appreciated traditional American interests, especially abroad. Am I idealizing the past when I say that?
If BO doesn't get trounced in this election, I am going to be seriously worried about the American electorate. Here's hoping that the debates between him and McCain will make more clear to non-political junkies what seems so glaringly obvious to me.
"So our "charging into" Iraq--with dozens of allies, supported by a U.N. resolution, as a last resort after six months of build-up and negotiations, to unseat one of the cruelest dictators of modern times who had twice invaded neighboring states, was in violation of more than a dozen U.N. resolutions and was responsible for the deaths of something like two million people, who was shooting at American aircraft and had tried to assassinate a former President of the United States, in Obama's childish mind, was just like Russia's "charging into" Georgia, which resembles Saddam's Iraq in no respect. And, of course, we invaded a horrifying charnel-house so as to establish a democracy, whereas Russia invaded a peaceful democracy that it wants to re-incorporate into its empire."
#12
How is it possible that this man can be considered electable by any serious person? Back when I was a Dem, even the most liberal mainstream candidates would at least try to look like they understood and appreciated traditional American interests, especially abroad. Am I idealizing the past when I say that?
evidently you dont remember 1972.
BO's best hope is to pick Biden, and defer all for pol questions to him.
#13
How is it possible that this man can be considered electable by any serious person? Back when I was a Dem, even the most liberal mainstream candidates would at least try to look like they understood and appreciated traditional American interests, especially abroad. Am I idealizing the past when I say that?
You did notice he's an African American didn't you? What else is there?
#14
My father was having a cocktail at the local bar where he lives in the Bay Area, CA , the other day and got into a conversation with a local newspaper editor. The guy basically told him that whoever has the biggest stash of money and spends the most on ads gets the press backing. Newspapers and TV stations are in business to make money and picking the right candidate can make or break a small local paper. This guy claims that it's ALL about money to most papers, they don't give a toss about politics, many of his employees are older guys who are conservative in their views and wouldn't normally support a dickweed like obama.
Sounds more like an easy rationalization by someone in the cracks of fault lines of a dying business. "See we're not bad we just are in the pay." So his self justification is the old punch line - we know what you are, we're just negotiating the price. Given around 90% of the media is registered to one political party, its not about money. If it were about money, the NYT, LAT, etc wouldn't have been pushing the crap they have for the last couple decades as their readership dropped like a lead balloon. The bottom line a long time ago would have adjusted their perspective.
#24
You did notice he's an African American didn't you? What else is there?
I don't care if he's green and purple with yellow polka-dots, he's still an empty suit that can't tie his own shoes without help. God Himself will have to help us if he gets elected. Even Tonga could pull a snow job on Obamaramadingdong.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/22/2008 13:39 Comments ||
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#25
A PSALM from the FIRST BOOK OF DEMOCRAT
Obama Is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want.
He Leadeth Me Beside Still Factories,
He Restoreth My Faith In The Republican Party,
He Guideth Me In The Paths Of Unemployment.
Yea, Though I Walk Through The Valley Of The Bread Line, I Shall Not Go Hungry.
Obama Has Anointed My Income With Taxes,
My Expenses Runneth Over My Income,
Surely, Poverty And Hard Living Will Follow Me All The Days Of My Life.
The Democrats And I Will Live Forever In a Rented Room.
But I Am Glad I Am an American,
I Am Glad That I Am Free.
But I Wish I Was a Dog,
and Obama Was a Tree.
The U.N. food agency has asked South Korea to provide emergency aid to North Korea to help avert a food crisis, an official said Thursday. The World Food Program earlier this week officially requested that Seoul give US$60 million to the agency for aid to the 6.2 million most vulnerable North Koreans, Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyeon told reporters at a daily briefing.
Kim said his country will not tie the issue to the North's nuclear programs, but said South Korean public opinion is a consideration in deciding whether to meet the request.
South Korea has been a key aid donor to its impoverished northern neighbor, but public sentiment has worsened following the shooting death last month of a South Korean tourist at a North Korean mountain resort.
North Korea had previously rejected South Korean offers of direct food aid in apparent anger toward the new South Korean government's harder line policy on the North.
The food agency warned last month that millions of North Koreans were at risk from hunger and the food shortage threatened to cause widespread malnutrition. North Korea has relied on aid to help feed its 23 million people since natural disasters and mismanagement devastated its economy in the mid-1990s. Famine is believed to have killed 2 million people.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2008 00:00 ||
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They arrive at Courtroom No. 37, emptying their pockets and taking off their shoes like the rest of the observers going through the security at Momin Khawaja's terrorism trial. The middle-aged couple sits in the centre section of the near-empty courtroom.
The tall, balding white-haired husband looks composed as lawyers pore over surveillance transcripts, electronic component diagrams and case law. His petite wife sits at his side, her hijab scarf framing a face lined with worry. Since the start of their son's trial in late June, Mahboob and Azra Khawaja have listened to prosecutors describe how their 29-year-old son allegedly built a remote-control detonator to help a terrorist group blow up landmarks in the United Kingdom. This week, they heard their son's lawyer explain that Momin isn't technically a terrorist since he wanted to wage jihad in Afghanistan, not the U.K., and use his so-called "Hi-Fi Digimonster" against Western soldiers, including Canadians.
While the guilt or innocence of the software designer will hinge on the definition of terrorism that Ontario Superior Court Justice Douglas Rutherford eventually makes in the precedent-setting case, Momin's father says his son doesn't harbour any hostility toward Canadians.
"He's not the guy who would have any hatred for anybody here in Canada," Mahboob told the Sun yesterday in his first interview since the start of the trial two months ago. "He's not the guy who'd have any hatred for anyone. That's not the way we brought up our children, living here and being born in Canada and seeing different parts of the world," said Mahboob, a college administrator who lived in Saudi Arabia with his wife and children when Momin was a child.
While the trial has heard the computer programmer explain in e-mails that he wanted to devote himself to "the J" -- violent jihad against the non-Muslim world -- Mahboob says it's simply the angry talk of a young man upset at the invasion of Afghanistan by U.S. and U.K. forces. "All kids are emotional at this stage of their life and they're going through developmental processes. They are changing, shifting on a weekly, monthly basis," said Mahboob of an e-mail where Momin tells his then-fiancee "the actions of 19 men on Sept. 11 are the most accurate, effective and honourable way of conducting economic J."
While defence lawyer Lawrence Greenspon says Momin wanted to fight with Islamic insurgents in Afghanistan, his father called Momin's interest in jihad "a hobby." "This could be considered a hobby but not a professional pursuit in any way I could imagine," said Mahboob, who views jihad as "a struggle" involving "self-development and making good changes for you and developing for the good of the society."
In one e-mail to his fiancee, Zeba Khan, in the fall of 2003, Momin said his mother wanted to make sure that his future wife was "down with the J, and knew of my involvement with it. I told her that I had explained myself to you in regards to the J, so I in trust (sic) Allah with all my affairs of life."
"It's news to me," said Mahboob of his wife's views. "I don't think my wife has any comment on jihad. It's just a general concept," he said. "I don't think we have any hatred. We have harmony, respect and consideration," he added.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/22/2008 7:55 Comments ||
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#2
This week, they heard their son's lawyer explain that Momin isn't technically a terrorist since he wanted to wage jihad in Afghanistan, not the U.K., and use his so-called "Hi-Fi Digimonster" against Western soldiers, including Canadians.
"He's not the guy who would have any hatred for anybody here in Canada," Mahboob told the Sun yesterday in his first interview since the start of the trial two months ago. "He's not the guy who'd have any hatred for anyone.
While defence lawyer Lawrence Greenspon says Momin wanted to fight with Islamic insurgents in Afghanistan, his father called Momin's interest in jihad "a hobby."
Sounds like pops and sonny boy's mouthpiece oughta get together and get their stories straight.
#3
The middle-aged couple sits in the centre section of the near-empty courtroom. The tall, balding white-haired husband looks composed as lawyers pore over surveillance transcripts, electronic component diagrams and case law. His petite wife sits at his side, her hijab scarf framing a face lined with worry.
Ahhhh... what is that music I hear? Is it the twang of heartstrings?
August 19, 2008: The U.S. Navy has angered many in the Coast Guard by aggressively recruiting Coast Guard personnel for the SEAL forces. The Coast Guard is particularly concerned that the SEAL recruiters will go after the Coast Guard rescue swimmers (who jump off ships or out of helicopters to rescue people). This is an elite force (half the candidates for the training flunk out). The Coast Guard has only 300-350 of these highly trained rescue swimmers, and doesn't like the navy poaching them.
For the last few years, the U.S. Navy has been spending a lot more effort in trying to recruit sailors into the elite SEALs, and expand the force from 2,400 to 2,800. The training is very tough, with over half of those accepted failing to complete the SEAL training. The navy refuses to ease up on these high standards. One reason is, if they did, there would be a major exodus of SEALs not willing to serve with those trained to a lower standard. The navy is already using re-enlistment bonuses of up to $150,000 to keep experienced SEALs in service.
The U.S. Navy has managed to lower the older attrition rate (75 percent) of candidates for SEAL training by establishing a "prep school" for recruits wanting to become SEALs. Noting that the major cause of failure is the inability of the candidates to handle the heavy physical demands of the training, the navy decided to help wannabe SEALs cope. The navy hired former SEALs, who are stationed around the country to show potential recruits how to prepare for the physical screening tests they have to pass to get into SEAL school, and what level of conditioning is required to complete the course. So far, the failure rate has been cut from 75 to 60 percent. The navy has also been recruiting civilians who are athletic and want to be SEALs, and the addition of the physical conditioning coaches has made SEAL school less intimidating.
The former SEALs also play a role in abolishing a lot of the myths about SEAL training. Yes, it's tough, but there's a lot of urban legends out there making it seem impossibly tough. The navy knows it has lost a lot of potential SEALs because of all the wild stories. The former SEALs, serving with the recruiters, get potential SEAL recruits into the right physical, and mental, shape to get into, and pass, SEAL school.
#2
rjs, the rescue swimmers and the air force equivalent are prime candidates for SOF. The fail rate would probably be much lower than most as they are basically pre-vetted through their training. I suspect the biggest thing would be the mental aptitude to be a shooter rather than a life saver.
MUMBAI: Dawood aide Karimullah Habib Khan is singing. A day after being arrested from Nalasopara, where he had assumed a new name and a new vocation, the man who shepherded the RDX consignment to their deadly end in March 1993 has spilled details of his boss' lifestyle in Pakistan.
Khan told the police that Dawood Ibrahim's palatial bungalow in the tony Clifton neighbourhood in Karachi is guarded by six retired officers from the Pakistan army. Khan, who was with the underworld don's brother Anees after he fled Mumbai in June 1993, said Dawood had also deployed 25 private security guards to protect himself and his family.
Going by Khan's statement to the police, in recent years, Dawood prefers to mostly remain indoors during the day. He stays with his wife and a son in the bungalow located on a two-acre plot. He moves around in a bullet-proof Land Cruiser and steps out mostly in the night, that too not without a convoy of 15 vehicles guarding him.
While Dawood and Anees stay in the Clifton area, his close aide Shakeel stays a kilometre away, according to Khan. Quoting Khan, a police officer said, "The bungalow is equipped with luxuries__a home theatre, servant quarters, a garden for children with high boundary walls, a pool centre and a swimming pool. There is everything that one can think of."
Dawood heavily relies on Chhota Shakeel although Anees is still part of his inner circle. All three stay separately in independent bungalows. Dawood runs his empire like a company and no one dares challenge his authority. Khan told the police that Dawood is only worried about his third brother Noora, who is mentally disturbed and picks up fights over petty issues.
Dawood's other brothers, Mustaqium and Humayun, who are based in Dubai, keep visiting him in Karachi and stay with him. Khan denied any knowledge about Dawood's extortion threats to Bollywood, but confirmed that Anees had ordered the killing of music magnate Gulshan.
Speaking about himself, Khan said that it was Ejaz Pathan who got him into the Dawood gang. He said that his father Habib used to work as a loader with the Bombay Port Trust in the late 1980s. Khan was operating as a petty scrap thief in the docks when he met Pathan, a silver smuggler.
Their trade skills so impressed absconding blast accused Tiger Memon that he assigned them the job of landing RDX on the Shekhadi coast. Khan said that immediately after the serial blasts, he fled to Dubai along with Anees and stayed there.
After the September 11, 2001 attack in the US, the Dubai government was under pressure following which the duo shifted to Pakistan.
Khan claimed that he used to do petty jobs and stayed in an outhouse in Anees's bungalow. "In 2004, they stopped paying Khan. They indicated that it was time for him to leave and he decided to move out. In 2006, he flew to Kathmandu and then sneaked into India using the land route," a police officer said.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/22/2008 17:29 ||
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The government was warned in the National Assembly against showing complacency in dealing with the issue of target killings of Shias in various parts of Pakistan.
The gory killing of over 30 people, mostly Shias in Dera Ismail Khan on Tuesday, also echoed in the house, as an opposition MNA pointed out that minorities in Punjab were being cornered and leaders of banned extremist groups being given official protocol.
Adviser on Interior Rehman Malik held out an assurance to the house that the government was alive to the situation and pointed out that neither Shias nor Sunnis, but a third party was involved in these acts of terrorism.
Law Minister Farooq H Naek assured the members that a resolution would be tabled on Thursday against the publication of blasphemous caricatures in an Indian daily and in support of Dr Aafia Siddiqui.
An opposition legislator, belonging to the PML-Q, Sheikh Waqas Akram, on a point of order, charged that on purpose 'leaders' of banned extremist outfits were being given a free hand and this could one day turn Punjab into another Wana.
Rashid Akbar Khan, a treasury lawmaker, who hails from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, raised the issue of target killings and the DI Khan attack and asked the government to either protect Shias or let them defend themselves against terrorism.
Rising on a point of order, a visibly disturbed PML-N legislator drew the attention of the house towards the DI Khan killings and said for the last six months, Shias were being targeted and the government and the security agencies were maintaining silence.
"The railway line is blocked and there is strike across the city. But no action was taken against the perpetrators who claimed the lives of six brothers in the DI Khan attack," Rashid Akbar lamented.
The lawmaker from Bhakkar cautioned that if the government did not protect Shias, they could rise to defend themselves. "The agencies are in the knowledge of a person who is in DI Khan and is behind these incidents of target-killing," he maintained. He said similarly Shias were being targeted in Parachinar.
Waqas Akram alleged the government and its security forces were obsessed with the borders and by design, those banned after 9/11 events, were free to carry arms and take along dozens of security guards with them in Jhang, which had been a hot-bed of terrorism.
"The government will be responsible if the Punjab one day became Wana. Then there will be no discrimination between Shias and Sunnis and even MNAs will be confined to the Parliament Lodges, as they will not be able to return to their constituencies," he warned.
Responding to these points of order, Rehman Malik said the government was focusing on its job and warned that those trying to challenge the government's writ would not be spared. He noted that certain elements on the border were also involved in terrorism. The adviser apprised the house of various measures taken so far to restore peace in Parachinar and elsewhere.
Rehman Malik said that a Jirga comprising Shia and Sunni religious leaders would meet within three to four days to work out a peace plan. Earlier, on a point of order, PML-N parliamentary leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan wanted the government to table a resolution, supporting Dr Aafia Siddiqui and proposed sending a team of legal experts to assist her.
He also suggested that a team of MNAs should also visit the Pakistani lady and report back to the house about the whole issue. Khurrum Dastagir of the PML-N said 54 hours had passed following the resignation of Musharraf but the deposed judges had not been so far restored and said democracy would be restored fully only after the reinstatement of the judges.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2008 00:00 ||
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The National Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed two resolutions demanding repatriation of Pakistani scientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui from the United States and condemning the publication of blasphemous caricatures in Indian press.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi moved the first resolution regarding Dr Aafia's detention in the US. The Lower House expressed concern at the arrest and detention of a Pakistani national in the US and media reports about her deteriorating health. Legislators said that information about Aafia's children should be made available. The House called upon the government to take up the matter with US authorities and said Aafia should be provided necessary medical assistance including hospitalisation and a female doctor for medical examination and treatment.
The parliament demanded that Aafia's religious beliefs should be respected and she should be provided consular and allowed regular family visits.
The National Assembly called upon the government to take up the matter with the US authorities to get immediate information about the whereabouts of her children. The children should be placed under the custody of Aafia's family or Pakistani authorities, the House demanded.
Afghan police arrested Aafia after becoming suspicious of her behaviour outside the provincial governor's compound in Ghazni on July 17, according to the US Department of Justice. Aafia had resurfaced after being declared missing for five years by human rights groups. Law Minister Farooq Naik moved the other resolution. It said that having been hurt over the publication of imaginary caricatures and pictures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his companions in an Indian newspaper, the House strongly condemned the blasphemous act on the part of the newspaper, The Hindustan Times.
The House demanded that the government lodge a strong protest with the Indian government and summon the Indian high commissioner to the Foreign Office to convey to him the resentment and sentiments of the Muslims in Pakistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Drop her out the back door of a C-17 from about 50,000 feet above the National Assembly building.
Pakistan has to take the war on terror to extremists' doorsteps because it cannot be won on defensive, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday. "We have to dig the faceless terrorist out of his hiding, disrupt his plans, and confront the worst threats before they emerge," Gilani said while addressing a ceremony to mark the graduation of policewomen in a crisis response course conducted by the Interior Ministry in collaboration with the United States.
He said the war on terror was Pakistan's own war, which it was fighting in an unprecedented way. "It is a dire need of the time to confront terror threats before they emerge," he said. "We are not being attacked by any [foreign] military or a known army. Our enemy lurks silently within our society. This is our own war," he said.
Gilani said there was a need to be vigilant all the time and try to recognise the enemy.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Geezle, Bush really lit a fire under this guy's ass. I don't know what he told him, but is certainly having an effect.
Posted by: ed ||
08/22/2008 13:29 Comments ||
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#4
#1 Geezle, Bush really lit a fire under this guy's ass. I don't know what he told him, but is certainly having an effect.
"You either take control of the Tribal Areas, or we're going to clean them out and give them to Afghanistan - along with Baluchistan, Punjab and half of Sindh. Capiche?"
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/22/2008 14:21 Comments ||
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The government will not pardon militants even if they lay down their arms now, NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Hoti said on Wednesday. In an interview to a private TV channel, Hoti said foreign Taliban present in the Tribal Areas have harmed the law and order in the region and were to be blamed for scrapping a peace agreement with the provincial government. He said that the government believed in non-violence, but that did not mean it would hand over the province to the Taliban. The chief minister said that the government preferred negotiations for attaining peace, but would not hesitate to use force where it deemed necessary. He said the attacks on security forces, government officials and establishments and the burning down of girls' schools had forced the government to deploy military in the area, adding that it would not be a silent spectator to the militant activities. Hoti said that the NWFP government had no differences with the governor and did not want him replaced.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Usually the express is "surrender or die!", instead, they're saying "surrender and die". I'm curious as to how well that will work for them.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
08/22/2008 10:42 Comments ||
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Defunct militant organisation Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) ameer Sufi Muhammad asked the NWFP government on Thursday to enforce shariah law in Malakand, as it had previously promised. Addressing a press conference, he said that the local residents would appreciate the implementation of shariah provincial government. He said it was impossible to attain peace in the area without shariah law.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the Wah attack and "directed the authorities to make efforts to expose the hidden hands behind the incident," the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan news agency said. Nobody's buying the Hideous Hidden Heathen Hindoo Hand routine. Rather than looking for Hidden Hands™, why not chase down the hands that are bragging about it?
"He expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of lives and said the perpetrators of such crime would be brought to justice," the press release said. In another press statement, Acting President Mohammadmian Soomro "expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of lives and said perpetrators of [the act] will be brought to justice".
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2008 00:00 ||
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BASRA -- The Bush administration's preliminary security pact with Iraq calls for withdrawing most American combat troops by 2011, a development that seemed almost unthinkable even a few months ago.
One reason they're thinking about it now: the new assertiveness of Iraqi soldiers such as Brig. Gen. Sabah Fadhil Motar al-Azawi. His brigade helped chase militants from Ramadi and wrest control of Basra from the once-feared Mahdi Army. Now, it's helping to push the U.S. out of Iraq.
Several factors have helped bring a withdrawal deal closer. Tribal leaders from the Sunni Muslim sect turned against the terrorist group al Qaeda in Iraq; the Mahdi Army called a cease-fire; and the U.S. began a new counterinsurgency strategy, deploying units to small outposts in Iraqi towns and neighborhoods.
But above all, the Iraqi army has needed to reverse a track record of high-profile failures. In earlier years, Iraqi forces often fled and left heavy fighting to the U.S. Now the Iraqis are mounting large-scale operations in restive areas like Diyala Province, a longtime stronghold of Sunni insurgents, and holding large swaths of territory -- 10 of Iraq's 18 provinces -- largely on their own.
"History is replete with armed forces having to get bloodied a little bit before they get better," says Maj. Gen. Michael Oates, who commands U.S. forces in central and southern Iraq. He says the Iraqi forces have improved from five years of fighting and from mentoring by U.S. military advisers. The recent surge in U.S. troop levels allowed senior commanders to deploy larger numbers of American trainers, accelerating the Iraqis' improvements, U.S. officials believe.
The U.S. gives Iraqi troops access to American air power and helps them resupply their forces, but many of the Iraqi units plan and conduct their operations independently. In many of the Iraq army's 10 provinces there are no U.S. troops at all, and where there are, U.S. troops coordinate their operations with the Iraqis. When the former Soviet country of Georgia unexpectedly recalled its 2,000-soldier contingent to fight the Russians, Iraqis, not Americans, were sent to replace them.
The Iraqi army's growing capabilities bolstered Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's insistence on setting at least a rough timetable for U.S. withdrawal. The preliminary security pact calls for the Iraqi army to take responsibility for all major cities next summer, with most U.S. combat forces withdrawing to the outskirts and then leaving the country altogether by 2011.
The pact still has to be formally approved by the Bush administration and several layers of Iraqi government. Some of its provisions -- including the target dates -- could still change before it's final, and the draft also allows for U.S. and Iraqi officials to jointly change the withdrawal goals later based on security conditions.
Senior American military officers in Baghdad say, however, that the final agreement is virtually certain to retain the U.S. commitment to gradually withdraw its combat forces and turn missions over to the Iraqis. "Everyone understands that the clock is ticking," one senior officer said. "We're not leaving tomorrow, but it's the beginning of the end."
The prospect of major U.S. withdrawals comes at a pivotal moment in the five-year-old war here. The recent numbers of U.S. and Iraqi casualties are down; the 13 American military personnel killed in July were the lowest monthly death toll since the 2003 invasion. Iraqi troop and civilian casualties also have been falling steadily for months, to a fraction of their peak about 18 months ago. The Iraqi economy is growing sharply because of soaring oil revenues, and Mr. Maliki's political standing is at an all-time high.
Many potential pitfalls, both military and political, remain. The Iraqi government has spent little of its oil windfall to improve basic services for its citizens. Most Iraqis only get roughly 12 hours of electricity per day, despite billions of dollars in U.S.-funded reconstruction projects. A long-sought law setting up provincial elections remains bottled up in Iraq's fractious Parliament. Corruption remains endemic.
There is no guarantee that Iraqi forces will continue to improve -- or even maintain their current levels of performance. Iraqi units in many parts of the country complain that they are chronically short of fuel, ammunition and spare parts for their vehicles. The army's performance can vary widely across the country, says Colin Kahl, a professor of security studies at Georgetown University who studies the Iraq war and visited Basra this summer.
"You have new units fresh from basic training that sometimes desert and then you have older units that have had years of American advising and fight quite well," he says. "There's no doubt they're a lot better than they used to be, but there's still tremendous variation from unit to unit."
Internal Tensions
Some U.S. officials warn that the army also is still vulnerable to internal sectarian tensions. Baghdad recently ordered a Kurdish brigade operating in Diyala to move elsewhere, but the Kurds refused, saying they would only take orders from the semi-independent Kurdish government in northern Iraq. Earlier this week, Mr. Maliki ordered a government probe into a bloody army raid in Diyala that left one provincial official dead and sparked fears of new sectarian violence there.
See continuing coverage of developments in Iraq, including an interactive map of day-to-day events in Iraq and a tally of military deaths.Iraq can't bomb insurgent targets or conduct aerial reconnaissance, so residual U.S. forces in Iraq will include a heavy air component from both the Air Force and Army.
Still, American commanders are increasingly confident they'll be able to withdraw tens of thousands of personnel next year, reducing the manpower strain on the armed forces and freeing up more troops for Afghanistan. The gains in Iraq are even reshaping the U.S. presidential campaign, with some Democratic strategists acknowledging that Iraq may no longer be as powerful a political issue for them because of perceptions of progress here.
Gen. Azawi, 46 years old and a veteran of Saddam Hussein's military, now commands one of the most decorated units of the new Iraqi army, the 26th Brigade of the Seventh Iraqi Army Division.
Gen. Azawi is a Shiite, part of the Iraqi majority who long were repressed by minority Sunnis like Mr. Hussein and his top aides. He was sent to the front lines of Mr. Hussein's bloody war with Iran in the 1980s and was wounded five times, he says, once by a sniper whose shot to the chest almost killed him. "We didn't care if Saddam was right or wrong," he says. "I was a military man, and I served the nation."
Gen. Azawi was serving in the northern city of Kirkuk when U.S. forces invaded Iraq in March 2003. He left his unit when Mr. Hussein was toppled and drove home to Baghdad, passing burning cars and charred bodies along the way, he says. He hoped to resume his military service when the fighting subsided that summer but was stunned when American administrator Paul Bremer issued a decree disbanding the army, effectively firing him and hundreds of thousands of other soldiers.
"We all hated America because of that decision," Gen. Azawi says, pounding his desk for emphasis. "It was a stupid mistake." He took a job selling cars and trucks in his family's auto dealership in the southern Iraqi city of Qut until the Iraqi government rescinded the decree in 2005.
The 26th Brigade
He returned to the military and one year later was given command of the 26th Brigade. At the time, it wasn't a job that he wanted. "I'd heard so much about its problems," he explains. "To be honest, the brigade had been a joke."
The roughly 2,000-soldier brigade was dominated by Shiites loyal to their tribes, not the Iraqi government. Many soldiers moonlighted as active members of the Mahdi Army, the militia controlled by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Senior officials at the Iraqi Ministry of Defense talked openly about disbanding the brigade and firing or arresting many of its members, according to Gen. Azawi and two U.S. officers who advised the unit at the time.
Gen. Azawi says he "renovated" the unit by firing or transferring 280 of its worst soldiers. He filled the brigade's officer ranks with other veterans of Mr. Hussein's army. He also opened a recruiting station in Ramadi to ensure that the unit had large numbers of Sunnis.
Its first test came last year in Ramadi, a violent city that was a stronghold of al Qaeda in Iraq. The unit helped American forces clear the city, say the two U.S. officials. They said they were surprised that the brigade didn't crumble when it started taking casualties: The unit had 85 fatalities, while 28 of its soldiers lost limbs in suicide bombings and other attacks. The unit also was able to quickly transition from combat to reconstruction and humanitarian work, the officials said.
Last year, Gen. Azawi became one of the first Iraqi officers to implement a version of Gen. David Petraeus's new counterinsurgency strategy, which focuses on clearing areas of militants and then immediately launching humanitarian projects there to win over local residents. His brigade used American money to purchase oil, sugar and rice, which the army distributed to families from areas where fighting had taken place, recalls one of the U.S. officials there at the time.
The Iraqi unit also helped to capture or kill 35 high-ranking militants in Ramadi. In intercepted radio traffic, insurgents began calling the unit the "Desert Scorpions," and the name stuck.
Today, Ramadi is one of the quietest places in Iraq. The downtown Qatana market, once the site of near-daily gunfights between U.S. forces and insurgents, is crowded with shoppers and merchants.
Gen. Azawi's brigade was ordered south in March when Mr. Maliki decided to launch his assault on Basra, taking American and British officers by surprise.
Basra looked like it would end in another humiliation. Mahdi Army militants prevented the Iraqi army from pushing into the main insurgent strongholds. Jubilant militants posed for pictures with burning Iraqi army vehicles. But out of roughly 18,000 Iraqi soldiers who took part in the assault, the only ones who fled were members of a brand-new unit rushed to the fighting straight from basic training, according to British officials here.
With the Iraqi troops persevering, the battle broke decisively in their favor when American and British attack helicopters and warplanes began striking insurgent positions across Basra. Gen. Azawi's 2,000-member unit, assigned to a former Mahdi stronghold that was long a no-go for U.K. or Iraqi forces, helped mop up any lingering Sadr influence by forging relationships with the tribal leaders in the area.
"The change since March is that it's the Iraqi security forces in the lead," says British Maj. Gen. Barney White-Spunner, the top U.K. commander here. "The difference now is that it's us supporting them and not the other way around. They are not going to let Basra slip back."
Rebuilding Basra
Basra now is beginning the hard task of rebuilding itself after years of fighting and militia domination. Roads are open and markets are crowded, but the city's infrastructure is a mess and many buildings lie in ruins. Gen. Azawi's forces are arrayed across Hayyaniyah, a sprawling Shiite slum that was once the Mahdi Army's stronghold.
Taking a page from Gen. Petraeus, the Iraqis live and work out of small outposts throughout the neighborhood. Hayyaniyah is one of the poorest areas of Basra, and local residents say that government services are basically nonexistent there. That leads many Basrawis to lobby Gen. Azawi and his men for food handouts, jobs and other forms of aid, which Gen. Azawi doles out after hearing individual pleas.
On a sweltering evening, an elderly woman in a long black chador that covered her entire body came to see Gen. Azawi in his office, furnished with overstuffed couches and a television, which that night was tuned to a boxing match. Dispensing with the typical pleasantries, she asked Gen. Azawi for money for food and medication. "Yes, yes," he said, impatiently.
Gen. Azawi pressed a buzzer on his desk, summoning an attendant. The younger officer returned a few minutes later and handed the woman a thick stack of Iraqi dinars bound up with a rubber band. The woman slipped the money into her tattered purse and began to cry. "Please, sir, something for my children," she whispered.
Gen. Azawi pressed the buzzer again and called for the unit's doctor. The physician handed over a foil-wrapped sheath of epilepsy medication.
A House on the Grounds
Gen. Azawi's office is in a Ministry of Agriculture building completed shortly before the 2003 invasion. He brought his wife and several of his six children to Basra and the family lives in a small house on the grounds. Gen. Azawi's 6-year-old son walks around the base in military fatigues, and the U.S. soldiers jokingly refer to him as "Mini-Me."
Lt. Col. Chris Degaray, who leads the advisory team that works with Gen. Azawi, lives in the same building. He said the U.S. helps Iraqis maintain their vehicles and provides them with money for small reconstruction projects. He has had a dispute with Gen. Azawi over the need to investigate the brigade's shooting of an unarmed man near a checkpoint, and has expressed concerns over the unit's handling of prisoners, some of whom he says were badly beaten. The general acknowledges some harsh treatment but says it is reserved for those who resist arrest.
But Col. Degaray says he's confident the Iraqis can basically operate independently. "If we picked up and left tomorrow, this brigade would be just fine," he says.
NAJAF, Iraq - Militant Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr plans to make a series of short visits to Iraq starting within weeks but has decided to make Iran his home base for years to come, a key aide says. The aide is close to the 35-year-old cleric and has accurately reported on the Sadrist movement for several years.
The aide would not say how long al-Sadr would stay in Iran, where he has lived since May 2007, but said it was "reasonable" to expect he would remain there for five or more years. That's the time al-Sadr needs to prepare to win acceptance as a "marjaa," joining Iraq's top Shiite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and three other grand ayatollahs as members of the highest Shiite religious authority.
Al-Sadr announced in March that he had moved to the Iranian holy city of Qom to focus on staying alive religious studies -- an essential credential for power in Iraq's majority Shiite community. The decision to extend his stay could indicate the cleric, whose Mahdi Army militia battled U.S. and Iraqi forces for years, has decided his future lies in politics, not violence.
Last month, al-Sadr announced he was transforming his militia into a social welfare body with a few guerrilla cells to attack U.S. troops if Washington doesn't agree to leave Iraq. The announcement followed setbacks in battles with the U.S.-supported Iraqi army in Baghdad, Basra and Amarah.
The decision to stay in Qom could also be part of a move by Iran to control Shiite resistance in Iraq. The U.S. military believes Iran arms and trains breakaway Mahdi Army cells, a claim the Iranians deny.
"He is the guest of the Iranian government who will control him ... until such time they have comfortably wrested control of the Mahdi Army away from him," said Vali Nasr, a U.S.-based expert on Shiite affairs. asr said talk of remaining in Iran for studies or other reasons may be "grandstanding and face-saving talk," suggesting that al-Sadr may not be free to leave.
But al-Sadr's aide said remaining in Iran would allow al-Sadr time to pursue his religious education beyond what he needs to become an ayatollah. Al-Sadr expects to reach that goal in 2010, the aide said.
Al-Sadr realizes it will take longer for him to win a place at the top of the Shiite clerical hierarchy in the holy city of Najaf -- the world's foremost seat of Shiite learning. Najaf's religious establishment is often hostile to newcomers, and money and political connections count nearly as much as scholarship and piety.
Al-Sadr's quest for clerical eminence is likely to rattle the Najaf religious establishment -- immersed in centuries-old traditions and unfamiliar with his mix of street politics, social outreach and violence. His ambitions may be unrealistic. Even the cleric's aide and a Sadrist lawmaker acknowledged that for al-Sadr to succeed, he must overcome a number of hurdles, including al-Sistani and rivals in the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council -- the country's most powerful Shiite party.
However, al-Sadr's quest may be backed by some in Iran's Shiite clerical hierarchy who are grooming him for leadership. Two clerics supervising his studies are key Iraqi-born figures in the Iranian clerical establishment -- Grand Ayatollah Kazim al-Haeri and Ayatollah Mahmoud al-Hashemi, the head of the Iranian judiciary.
Al-Sadr comes from one of Najaf's oldest religious families. His father, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, was gunned down by suspected agents of Saddam Hussein in 1999 along with two sons. Muqtada al-Sadr's wife is a daughter of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr, a distant relative of his father and one of Shiite Islam's most prominent theologians. He was tortured to death in 1980 by Saddam's agents.
But al-Sistani, who is 80 and is still an Iranian citizen more than a half century after settling in Iraq, dominates the religious establishment. He was at odds with al-Sadr's father and is said to consider the son an upstart whose actions are unbecoming for a cleric. Al-Sistani suffers from a heart condition for which he received treatment in London in 2004.
The leader of the Supreme Council, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, is an al-Sistani ally and an al-Sadr critic; he has been diagnosed with lung cancer.
Their departure would remove the toughest opponents to al-Sadr's recognition as a marjaa.
"If al-Sadr declares himself a marjaa too soon or under unsuitable circumstances, even a hint from al-Sistani that questions his credentials will stick to him for years," said the al-Sadr aide. "The conditions must be perfect and that's why al-Sadr decided to focus on his studies for many years."
#1
5+ years of playing Xbox in Iran. He's gonna be a frigging Jedi Knight when he gets out.
Posted by: ed ||
08/22/2008 14:04 Comments ||
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#2
Better Qom than Peoria. I recommend carpet weaving. You can sit on your arss and don't have to communicate or be bothered by anyone. Please don't let the tent flap hit you on your way out.
#6
2008-2012 [2016] Post Dubya Period > RISE OF THE USSA = USR/Global SSR = SOCIALISM IN AMERIKA, as voted in by Amer Voters + Electoral Process itself. SAVING THE JIHAD + NUCLEAR IRAN/ISLAMISM = POLITICS IS THE NAME OF THE GAME, besides keeping Iran in a LOW DIPLOM/MEDIA-CORRECT PROFILE AMAP ALAP.
Military successes in Iraq have nearly crippled al-Qaeda's ability to produce battlefield propaganda, hampering for now its ability to recruit fighters and raise money, the U.S. military and analysts say.
The number of Web statements and videos attributed to the main al-Qaeda group in Iraq fell to 12 in May, from more than 200 in May 2007, according to SITE Intelligence Group, an independent organization that tracks terrorist Web activity.
Air Force Col. Scott Maw, a U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, described al-Qaeda's propaganda operations in Iraq as "severely degraded."
Terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda have proved resourceful in the past and have quickly adapted to setbacks, however.
While publicity material linked to Iraq has been declining, the Taliban in Afghanistan has been increasing its presence on the Web in recent months.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
A fitting end for the men in the gray green flannel suits
An Israeli Arab from Tel Sheva has been indicted on suspicion of conspiring with an Al-Qaida agent to carry out terror attacks in Israel, security services announced Friday. According to the charges, 23-year-old Khaled Abu Karak, a former student of the Technological College in Beersheba, allegedly tried to set up a terror cell to perpetrate a suicide bombing.
According to the allegations, Abu Karak allegedly began becoming closer to Islam in 2002, and during his college studies, he started to surf Internet sites affiliated with terror organizations. During his Web surfing, Abu Karak allegedly made contact with an Al-Qaida operative in Gaza, named on the charge sheet as Abu Balal, and the two discussed carrying out terror attacks. Abu Karak also allegedly downloaded films documenting attacks perpetrated by global jihad elements.
According to the suspicions, in 2004, he decided to set up a terror cell in order to plan and carry out suicide attacks inside Israel and downloaded instruction videos on preparing bomb belts. At one stage, the 23-year-old allegedly asked a fellow student at the college if he wanted to join the terror cell and carry out a suicide bombing at the Beersheba Central Bus Station. The fellow student turned down the request. In 2006, Abu Karak allegedly planned to make a bomb and plant it east of Tel Sheva at a location frequented by IDF jeeps. His supposed plan was never carried out.
Abu Karak was arrested on July 29 this year in a joint Israel Police and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) operation. He was arrested along his cousin, who was eventually released without charges two days ago. The suspect's lawyer denied the charges against his client.
It emerged on Wednesday that the United States has refused to sell Jerusalem new refueling planes, fearing such a transaction could be interpreted as support for an Israeli attack on Iran.
Haaretz reported last week that the U.S. had rejected a request for military equipment that would improve Israel's ability to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. Jerusalem denied that report.
But new information released Wednesday revealed that the nature of the equipment refused would strengthen the Israel Air Force in one of its weakest areas. The IAF has in its possession only seven refueling planes, many of which are more than 40 years old. Israel had requested new Boeing 767 planes, necessary for refueling during long-distance operations.
The Americans rejected the request roughly three weeks ago during a visit to Washington by Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
The refusal stems from the fear Israel plans to deliver a blow to Iran's nuclear program before the end of the Bush Administration. Contrary to Iran's claims that the program is for peaceful purposes, much of the West suspects Tehran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#3
I don't get it. You can buy used 757s and 767s on the used market. You can get parts for those planes easily enough if they don't have to be certified Boeing. You can modify them to serve as tankers if you have an indigenous aircraft industry, which the Israelis certainly have.
The Israelis are resourceful enough. Something here doesn't add up.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/22/2008 0:26 Comments ||
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#4
even used 767 and 767 airliners would be subject to EAR scrutiny; and dual use would be considered. Israel would probably find it easier to obtain used Airbus jets and design their own IFR mod kits. I do not know if France / Spain / UK has anything on the books similiar to EAR / ITAR. Any of our European burgers have the answer?
#6
Actually, Israel already has the one aircraft it needs to build a tanker fleet : C-130s - you have to fly slower, lower, and put up with more turbulence; but it makes a damn good tanker.
so - either the obstacles others have raised are real, and the admin is really trying to stop an attack NOW (which doesnt mean attack NEVER, but its sticking with its strategy of working on sanctions, while deferring the question of what to do if that dont work to the next admin, for a variety of reasons)
OR - theres an alternative way to do this, and this is a smokescreen, as some are hinting
#11 - I'd be very surprised if that were the case. Really.
#16
737, has range, plentiful parts. take a cargo config, put fuel bladders and pumps in the duselage, pipes and drogue style refuel at the wingtips and maybe the tail (instead of boom).
#17
F-15s and F-16s use the US Air Force style refueling booms. The only manufacturers are the US and EADS and I believe EADS's boom is only in the demo phase.
Posted by: ed ||
08/22/2008 11:59 Comments ||
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#18
I thought F-15's and 16's sold to foreign buyers were capable of using probe/drogue refueling?
#21
USN,
I know Euros have a similar deal to ITAR. I believe it is can EMAR or some derivative of that. We have to deal with via our European operations.
#22
This may be just a disinformation smoke screen, but if State is involved, it could be true. State does weird and perverted reasoning, even now as we speak. That is all I can say now.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/22/2008 16:02 Comments ||
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#23
Sheesh, people. The Boeing 707s currently in the IDF inventory can go a long way toward the requirement and it should not be impossible to get some of the grounded 707s (there are at least 5) going again for a short-term operation.
As Steve White suggests, it is possible to convert commercially acquired aircraft and Israel has a long, long history of doing so. This started with ex-commercial Boeing 377s acquired in the late 50s and fitted with probe and drogue refueling equipment in the early 60s. Later, the US provided some of the KC-97 military versions, which had flying boom equipment for refueling IDF F-4s.
The existing 707 tanker conversions have flying boom equipment as well and the Israelis have a lot of experience with it.
This whole story has to be some kind of disinformation or diversion, anyway, since the new planes could not be delivered for a couple of years at the very least even if they were approved.
#24
.5MT, I guess it's not called a cockpit anymore. Must be the Box Office.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/22/2008 17:24 Comments ||
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#25
I think it's more of a CYA thing. "No, we have to let Iran get nukes, the US wouldn't sell us the refuelling aircraft last week." As if that's the sort of thing you'd do the month before the attack.
#26
...And of course, NO one has pointed out that even if we HAD authorized the purchase (a thoroughly pointless question in the first place - almost new 767 freighters can be found for far less money; and the Israelis certainly would be able to buy them quite anonymously on the world aviation market) it would be months - if not a year or more before the K767s were mission capable, much less ready to fly a demanding mission like a raid on Iran.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/22/2008 21:59 Comments ||
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Egypt has warned Hamas to beware of Israeli attempts to assassinate the group's leaders over their lack of progress in negotiations to free abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, the London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi daily reported on Thursday.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"It would be an aweful shame if you wonderful guys got killed by them nasty Joos cause you wont negotiate in good faith. Too bad we cant protect you. Really."
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have decided to reroute the West Bank separation fence in an area near Jerusalem, to enure that the barrier does not encroach on Palestinian land. The State Prosecutor on Thursday notified the High Court of the government's decision, which demands the fence near Ma'aleh Adumim be moved westward, to allow 4,000 dunams of Palestinian land to remain untouched.
The decision was made in response to two petitions against the planned fence route. A government statement said the new route represented a significant change in plans for the barrier to the east.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2008 00:00 ||
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[1 views]
Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
World Trade Center 7 Report Puts 9/11 Conspiracy Theory to Rest Oh, I doubt it...
Conspiracy theorists have long claimed that explosives downed World Trade Center 7, north of the Twin Towers. The long-awaited report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conclusively rebuts those claims. Fire alone brought down the building, the report concludes, pointing to thermal expansion of key structural members as the culprit. The report also raises concerns that other large buildings might be more vulnerable to fire-induced structural failure than previously thought.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released its long-awaited report on the collapse of World Trade 7 following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "Our take-home message today is that the reason for the collapse of World Trade Center 7 is no longer a mystery," NIST lead investigator Shyam Sunder told journalists at this morning's press conference in Gaithersburg, Md. "WTC 7 collapsed because of fires fueled by office furnishings. It did not collapse from explosives or from diesel fuel fires."
Conspiracy theorists have long pointed to the collapse of the 47-story structure as key evidence that the U.S. government orchestrated or abetted the 9/11 attacks. No planes struck the building, and the commonly available views of the exterior didn't show significant damage. Yet, at 5:20 pm, 7 hours after the collapse of the Twin Towers (WTC 1 and 2), WTC 7 rapidly fell in on itself. Since WTC 7 housed Secret Service and CIA offices, conspiracy theorists claimed that the building was destroyed in a controlled demolition in order to obliterate evidence of the U.S. government's complicity in the terrorist attacks. "It is impossible for a building to fall the way it fell without explosives being involved," stated actress and TV personality Rosie O'Donnell of ABC's The View in March 2007. "For the first time in history, steel was melted by fire. It is physically impossible," she said.
Critics like Mike Berger of the group 9/11 Truth said he wasn't buying the government's explanation."Their explanation simply isn't sufficient. We're being lied to," he said, arguing that there is other evidence suggesting explosives were used on the building.
#2
We all know that this won't put a thing to rest, no matter how precise and well-reasoned it is. 9/11 Trooferism is a religion, and you can't confuse a believer with facts, data, or logic.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
08/22/2008 10:26 Comments ||
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#3
The Troofers will add this to the list of conspiracies attempting to cover up the troof.
Fact is blacksmiths have been melting and working with steel for centuries. We don't just find girder shapes of steel in the ground.
#6
For the believer, no proof is necessary. For the unbeliever, no proof is sufficient.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
08/22/2008 12:25 Comments ||
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#7
I'm going with this guy's version...
No, the simplest explanation here is that a secret team of Halliburton demolition experts, probably under the cover of Nazi occult spells, snuck demolition charges into the buildings while posing as vending-machine repairmen. These charges were then detonated by the robotic hand of Dick Cheney from his Area 51 bunker as a pretext for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, thereby distracting everyone from the CIA quarantine camps being constructed on the outskirts of every major city, using proceeds from the sale of all the gold bullion that Israeli agents had been smuggling out of the WTC vaults over the previous few weeks.
DAMASCUS - Syria denied on Friday that it was considering hosting an advanced Russian missile system, a day after President Bashar al-Assad held talks with Russian officials about upgrading his country's military.
Syria's state news agency (SANA) said deployment of Iskander missiles, which Moscow says are capable of defying any missile defence, was not on the agenda of talks between Assad and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a Black Sea resort on Thursday. There is no truth to media reports that Syria had agreed to deploy Iskander missiles on its territory, SANA said.
"We're not buying them, and the Russians need to hurry the hell up with delivery," SANA added.
Russian media had quoted Assad as saying that Syria was ready to negotiate deployment of the surface-to-surface mid range missiles, which are also capable of reaching Israel.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Russia was prepared to sell Syria defensive weapons which are not breaking the regional balance of power. Lavrov was referring to Israel, which occupies the Golan Heights, has a superior military force and is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons.
Among hardware Syria is interested in are Russia's Pantsyr-S1 air defence missile system, the BUK-M1 surface-to-air medium-range missile system and aircraft, the Russian agency Interfax quoted a diplomat as saying.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/22/2008 21:15 ||
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A group of Israelis sued Bank of China in a US court on Thursday, saying it facilitated terrorism by transferring millions of dollars for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The 100-some plaintiffs are victims of "a series of terrorist attacks" carried out in Israel by the two Palestinian groups between May 2004 and January 2007, according to documents filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court.
"Defendant Bank of China Limited intentionally, recklessly and/or negligently provided extensive banking services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and to Hamas, which banking services caused, enabled and facilitated the terrorist attacks in which the plaintiffs and their decedents were harmed and killed," the lawsuit said.
Beginning in 2003, US branches of Bank of China executed dozens of wire transfers totaling several million dollars to an account at a BOC branch in Guanzhou, China owned by Said Al-Shurafa, "a senior operative and agent of the PIJ and Hamas," the lawsuit alleged. "At all times, BOC had actual knowledge that the wire transfers were being made by the PIJ and Hamas for the purpose of carrying out terrorist attacks," it said.
Israeli officials asked Bank of China to halt the wire transfers in April 2005, but the bank, with the approval of Chinese government officials, ignored the demand, the lawsuit said.
Such transactions are barred under US sanctions aimed at preventing groups the United States has designated as terrorist from operating. The sanctions regime is observed by most banks and financial institutions around the world, the lawsuit said.
#1
What can we expect from a Regime that sells human parts of political prisoners before they are executed? And this is only one of many others atrocities performed by Red China, our preferred business partner of sorts.
Posted by: lena ||
08/22/2008 9:52 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.
Gordon Brown made a surprise visit to Afghanistan yesterday amid a marked surge in attacks by Taliban forces which have made this week one of the bloodiest for Nato since it began its campaign in the country in 2003. The prime minister flew into Kabul after visiting British troops at Camp Bastion in Helmand province, where he said soldiers were preventing terrorism from hitting the streets of Britain, and likened them to Olympic heroes.
(SomaliNet) A day after Somalia's government signed a peace agreement with some opposition figures, the U.N. Security Council authorized on Tuesday an African Union force in Somalia for another six months. Meanwhile, a unanimous resolution also asked U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to work with the AU to strengthen U.N. logistical, political and technical support to help bring the African Union Mission in Somalia, or AMISOM, up to U.N. standards. 
(SomaliNet) Sudan's president 
LYNCHBURG, Virginia - Democrat Barack Obama scolded Russia again on Wednesday for invading another country's sovereign territory while adding a new twist: the United States, he said, should set a better example on that front, too.
The U.N. food agency has asked South Korea to provide emergency aid to North Korea to help avert a food crisis, an official said Thursday. The World Food Program earlier this week officially requested that Seoul give US$60 million to the agency for aid to the 6.2 million most vulnerable North Koreans, Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyeon told reporters at a daily briefing.
They arrive at Courtroom No. 37, emptying their pockets and taking off their shoes like the rest of the observers going through the security at Momin Khawaja's terrorism trial. The middle-aged couple sits in the centre section of the near-empty courtroom. 
The government was warned in the National Assembly against showing complacency in dealing with the issue of target killings of Shias in various parts of Pakistan.
The National Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed two resolutions demanding repatriation of Pakistani scientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui from the United States and condemning the publication of blasphemous caricatures in Indian press. 
One reason they're thinking about it now: the new assertiveness of Iraqi soldiers such as Brig. Gen. Sabah Fadhil Motar al-Azawi. His brigade helped chase militants from Ramadi and wrest control of Basra from the once-feared Mahdi Army. Now, it's helping to push the U.S. out of Iraq.
NAJAF, Iraq - Militant Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr plans to make a series of short visits to Iraq starting within weeks but has decided to make Iran his home base for years to come, a key aide says. The aide is close to the 35-year-old cleric and has accurately reported on the Sadrist movement for several years.
An Israeli Arab from Tel Sheva has been indicted on suspicion of conspiring with an Al-Qaida agent to carry out terror attacks in Israel, security services announced Friday. According to the charges, 23-year-old Khaled Abu Karak, a former student of the Technological College in Beersheba, allegedly tried to set up a terror cell to perpetrate a suicide bombing. 
A group of Israelis sued Bank of China in a US court on Thursday, saying it facilitated terrorism by transferring millions of dollars for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The 100-some plaintiffs are victims of "a series of terrorist attacks" carried out in Israel by the two Palestinian groups between May 2004 and January 2007, according to documents filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court.
