[Tolo News] The National Security Advisor for President Karzai remarked on Wednesday that the Afghan war will not come to an end without targeting militants' hide-outs in Pakistan
In an exclusive interview with TOLOnews, Karzai's National Security Advisor, Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta said the international community and Afghan government have sufficient documents that prove insurgency is backed and fueled by Pakistan.
"Based on the documents that the United States and our other allies have, the insurgents have sanctuaries, training centres and plenty of funding sources in Pakistan. They are trained there and attack our country," he said.
He slammed the western countries for looking both ways and said on the one hand they introduce Pakistan to the world as their ally fighting against terrorism and on the other hand their troops are killed by the insurgents who are fueled by Pakistan's spy organisation.
"It is not fair to introduce the backers of terrorism and those who train terrorists as our ally to the world. This double game policy is not acceptable, and Afghanistan must respond as a victim of this issue," he said.
Dr Spanta thinks one of the reasons behind the government's inability to enforce law is that the corrupt ones have not been sued.
The Afghans have run out of patience and the Afghan government should do its best to win people's support. And the government, in cooperation with the international community, must focus more on the roots of terrorism outside Afghan borders, he said.
Pakistan Tuesday rejected remarks made by Dr Spanta that Pakistan hosts terrorists.
Following WikiLeaks' disclosure of nearly 100,000 secret US military files on the Afghan war the flow of criticisms toward Pakistan intensified and even the UK's premier, David Cameron, commented "Pakistan must not be allowed to promote export of terror."
Pakistan rejects the remarks at a time that top US officials and International community have consistently blamed the country for fuelling an insurgency in Afghanistan that sacrifices scores of civilians and Afghan and foreign troops monthly.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
No cross-border safe haven? Gee, what a concept!
[UN News Service] Commending the efforts undertaken so far to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed that more can be done, as the Security Council debated legal options to help bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice.
"Over the past three years, the international community has made concerted efforts to combat the problem, including by establishing a Contact Group and deploying significant naval assets to the region," he told the Security Council as it met to discuss the issue.
"Nonetheless, we can do more," he added. "In particular, we need to implement the existing legal regime, so the fight against piracy in international waters is effective.
In a report released last week, Mr. Ban identified seven options for furthering the aim of prosecuting and imprisoning persons responsible for acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, which has been a growing problem in recent years.
In the past seven months there have been 139 piracy-related incidents off the coast of Somalia, he noted. Thirty ships have been hijacked, and 17 ships and 450 seafarers are being held for ransom.
The first option presented in the report is to enhance ongoing efforts to assist regional States to prosecute and imprison those responsible for acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea.
The second would involve locating a Somali court, applying Somali law, in a third State in the region.
The third and fourth options would involve assisting a regional State or States to establish special chambers, embedded in the State's national court structure, to conduct piracy trials.
Option five would require active engagement by the States of the region and the African Union to establish a regional tribunal to address the scourge of piracy.
Option six would be an international tribunal -- analogous to existing "hybrid" tribunals -- with national participation by a State in the region.
Option seven would be a full international tribunal, established by the Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the Charter.
Mr. Ban emphasized that achieving substantive results in combating piracy -- whether through a new or existing judicial mechanism -- will require political and financial commitment from Member States.
"We will need both to establish the mechanism and ensure that it has the capacity and resources to prosecute a large number of suspects, while ensuring due process," he stated. "Furthermore, in considering the establishment of such a mechanism, a host State will need to be identified.
"This, in turn, will require adequate arrangements for transferring those convicted to third States for their imprisonment. This is particularly relevant given the large number of suspects apprehended at sea."
To further explore these issues, the Secretary-General announced that he intends to appoint a Special Adviser on Legal Issues Related to Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
I thought the Russians handled the pirates they caught in the proper manner...
Just saying...
Posted by: Water Modem ||
08/26/2010 2:30 Comments ||
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#2
Nah. They learned their lesson since they got beat up real bad in the court of public opinion. Not.
#3
The lawyers screwed this up by muddling existing precedent and procedures to create a more 'kinder gentler' approach to dealing with miscreants to civilization. Now, people are paying attention they're finally realizing that if and when the fruits of their actions come into glaring light, they need to cover their asses. However, instead of just going back to what worked, they insist in being in charge and muddling it even more.
Piracy off Somalia could be solved in one month at a fraction of the cost of what has been spent so far in this circus.
All that needs to happen is for Comrad Ban Ki Moon et al to recognise the Government of Puntland under Dr Farole and give them some goddam money so they can finance their court system and pay for armed forces to raid the pirate bases.
That would also give them a strong bulkhead against the northern push of al-Shabaab in the south
But they are too stupid for that
they'd rather pay 500+ useless national MPs from the Transitional Federal Government who control about 2 blocks of Mogadishu and sit in Nairobi getting fat off aid money.
The US should cease all funding to the UN on this issue alone.
#6
Step one: Back to the old way: start hanging the bastards after a summary hearing. Feed the corpses to the sharks. If you catch a big player, take him to your country and hang him there.
#1
Crap like this continues, and the Saudis will let them off with a slap on the wrist, until male relatives of the maid travel on holiday to Saudi, catch up with the couple, and do something so horrible to them that it terrifies every other slaveholder in the country. Then the male relatives calmly fly home.
They might even make a regular service of it, hiring contractors to go to Saudi and do it for them. It wouldn't take many cases of that to change their evil ways.
#2
Only had to read seven comments on the Reuters site to get to a "Christians do bad things too" (during the Crusades) argument. Progressives are SO predictable.
Yemeni forces do not need foreign parties to take the lead in the crackdown on al-Qaeda, an official said on Thursday, responding to reports that the US may increase strikes on the militant group's Yemen wing. OK, we'll play along and tell everyone that you're in the lead.
The security official disputed statements from US officials that they may step up attacks and argued that Yemen is able to fight al Qaeda without outside intervention, state news agency Saba reported. "Yemeni forces, with support from friends and brothers, can bear complete responsibility for annihilating al Qaeda elements and whatever destructive elements assist them," he said. OK, we'll just help.
(KUNA) -- In a major policy speech here Wednesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned against the rising tide of terrorism in a number of areas, and cited the Arab Gulf region as vulnerable to the instability, in Yemen and Somalia in particular.
Speaking to France's ambassadors summoned to Paris for an annual meeting, the French leader vowed to continue his country's efforts to counter terrorism wherever it threatens French interests or nationals "from the Sahel to Afghanistan." Commenting on the situation in Yemen, Sarkozy said everything must be done to ensure stability there because "the stability of the whole Arab Peninsula is at stake." He also warned that Islamic radicals from the "al-Shebab" group in Somalia had designs that went beyond the frontiers of their country and that their links with the al-Qaeda organization made them a serious danger.
In Somalia, which is facing fierce fighting and a power grab by al-Shebab, Sarkozy warned "the challenge is essential and al-Shebab has aims beyond the Somali borders." He vowed that France would increase support for the Federal Transitional Government and the African Union peacekeeping force, in addition to the 500 troops it has already trained and the contribution to training another 2,000 Somali soldiers in Uganda. He also said that there were links between what was happening with terrorism in Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"Everyone should understand that these countries are all connected," he noted, also expressing "real concern" about the Sahel region.
Sarkozy warned that France would not stand idly by while its nationals or interest were threatened by terrorist groups.
He recalled that France had militarily-intervened jointly with Mauritanian troops to try to free a French hostage in Mali last month.
That intervention backfired and the hostage was murdered, but the French leader said that he would continue to intervene. Six militants were killed in the Franco-Mauritanian raid.
"It is time to stop paying ransom and freeing prisoners to terrorists," the French President said.
Sarkozy had been criticized for the Mali operation, while the kidnappers; from the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic Maghreb group, later released two Spaniards after negotiations and taunted Sarkozy for not having been able to negotiate with them.
Sarkozy labeled the Iranian regime "extremist, particularly for its policy of executing people and the plan to carry out a stoning execution." He was also vocal in attacking Iran's nuclear program, which he said was leading to proliferation and had become "the principal threat to security in the region." "Iran has the right to civil nuclear power," he affirmed. "That's why I welcomed the starting of the Bushehr plant." But he warned that if Iran is allowed to continue to pursue its nuclear program, this will lead either to "proliferation or military intervention and an absolutely major international crisis." He warned that everyone knows Israel's position on the Iranian nuclear developments.
But he said that France still wanted to find an agreement with Iran and that he was "anxious" to see how the Iranians will react at a meeting at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna in September. The main issue will be resupply of the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR), which is soon to run out of fuel.
On the Middle East peace process, Sarkozy claimed that it is not "the root cause" of all the problems in the region, but he noted that a lasting peace would certainly change the atmosphere.
He reiterated that a return "to the 1967 borders is a right for the Palestinians and is the best chance for Israel to live in security in line with the Arab peace plan." Similarly, he pointed out that peace between Israel and Syria "is as possible as peace between Palestinians and Israelis," and he noted France has appointed a new envoy to help push this issue forward.
Former Ambassador Jean-Claude Cousseran, who was a shuttle diplomat in the region, was appointed last month by the French leader to see how to get Syrians and Israelis talking again after timid, indirect contacts broke down when Israel attacked Gaza in December 2008.
On Lebanon, Sarkozy warned that it would be "unacceptable for Lebanon to sink into violence" and he renewed his commitment to that country and to the UN forces deployed there; 1,400 of whom are French.
On Afghanistan, where France has sent 3,750 troops to serve with the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF), Sarkozy said he would stay in course as long as it was the will of the Afghan people.
France lost another two soldiers this week in clashes with the Taliban, bringing to 47 the death toll since 2001.
"The reality is that the Taliban are strong in certain areas, while the rest of the country is free of violence," the president said.
Despite criticism at home, he repeated his "determination" to contribute to "an orderly handover" of power to the Afghans.
"I ask you imagine what the human cost would be if we weren't there," he stated.
He said the international community would strive to rid Afghanistan of its links with al-Qaeda and of widespread drug production.
The French head of state adamantly rejected any "artificial calendar" for a withdrawal from the conflict and said he would not be influenced by "media humor" on this issue.
He also praised Pakistan's "courageous" efforts to halt cross-border terrorism and help stabilize the situation in Afghanistan and he said there should be "no ambiguity" about Pakistan's role here.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Amnesty International said on Wednesday the United States appeared to have carried out or collaborated with Yemen in attacks that killed suspected al-Qaeda militants, violating international law.
Yemen's killings of al-Qaeda suspects, often in aerial bombings, are extrajudicial executions and are unlawful, the human rights watchdog said, and urged Washington to clarify the involvement of U.S. forces and drones in such attacks. How is the killing of terrorists who want you and yours dead a violation of international law?
U.S. officials say only that Washington plays a supporting role by helping Yemen track and pinpoint targets. But the United States has long been involved in fighting militants in Yemen.
"The USA appears to have carried out or collaborated in unlawful killings in Yemen and has closely cooperated with Yemeni security forces in situations that have failed to give due regard for human rights," Amnesty said in a report.
It urged Washington to "investigate the serious allegations of the use of drones by U.S. forces for targeted killings of individuals in Yemen and clarify the chain of command and rules governing the use of such drones."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
why in the hell shou;d we declare anything too amnesty international?wish we had a president with enough balls too tell them too fuck off
Posted by: chris ||
08/26/2010 8:32 Comments ||
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#2
Amnesty needs to 'clarify' a great deal about their activities, chains of command, etc.
The widow of a July 7 suicide bomber yesterday launched a High Court bid to be represented at the victims inquest - saying she had also suffered the loss of a loved one in the atrocity.
Hasina Patel, whose husband was terrorist mastermind Mohammad Sidique Khan, is seeking legal aid to challenge the coroners decision to exclude Khans death from the hearing for the 52 victims of the 2005 London bombings.
If the mother of ones application is granted, Octobers long-awaited inquest could be delayed by months of legal wrangling, to the distress of those who have waited more than five years for it to take place.
Lawyers for Miss Patel claim there should be no material distinction between her and the families of those killed, because she equally suffered the loss of a relative.
But the move will anger bereaved families, who do not want the deaths of the terrorists included in the same inquest as the 52 innocents whose lives they took.
Miss Patel hopes to overturn the decision made by Lady Justice Hallett in May to hold a separate hearing into the deaths of the four bombers - Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, Hasib Hussain, 18, and Jermaine Lindsay, 19.
The Government has already agreed to give legal aid to the families of the 52 victims. But Miss Patels request for equal funding was refused in May this year.
#1
The bathroom is the most dangerous room in the home. You could "slip and fall on a wet floor and bash your head in". You could be "electrocuted" while using an electrical device around water. You could "drown" in the tub. All kinds of "accidents" happen in the bathroom...
#3
This sounds as bad (or worse) than the case several years ago in California where two guys went on a rampage shooting cops etc. They were finally brought down even though they had body armor. Then the families sued the cops!!! The claim was that the police just let them bleed to death rather than getting an ambulance.
I don't know how the case turned out but the cops still had to defend themselves.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/26/2010 17:24 Comments ||
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#4
Miss Patel is a 'widow'? I thought widows had to have dead husbands.
[Al Arabiya] The president of mostly Muslim Tajikistan urged parents to withdraw their children from religious schools abroad, an appeal reflecting fears of radical Islam gaining ground in the Central Asian nation.
President Imomali Rakhmon, a former Soviet collective farm boss who has ruled the mountainous ex-Soviet state for nearly two decades, blasted Islamic religious schools for allegedly fostering terrorism.
"Many parents think that by sending their children to study in madrassas in Muslim countries they will be giving them a good financial position in the future," he said in remarks carried on state television.
"Unfortunately, most of them do not learn from mullahs, but from terrorists and extremists. They must all return home, otherwise they will become enemies and traitors," he added. Rakhmon did not name a particular country in the speech.
The government's religious affairs committee said two months ago that there were "dozens of Tajiks" studying at religious schools and universities abroad.
Analysts say deepening economic hardship and social problems are pushing Tajiks toward radical Islam, threatening stability in the otherwise secular nation of seven million.
Industrial output declined by 6.3 percent last year in Tajikistan, one of the poorest former Soviet republics.
Central Asia governments have been clamping down on what they see as growing religious extremism in the predominantly Muslim but secular former Soviet region, following a rise in clashes between security forces and armed gangs that local governments say could be linked to the Taliban.
Twenty-five militants whom the government alleges are members of the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) escaped from prison late Sunday, killing six guards and seizing weapons in a nighttime jaibreak.
Government officials said the militants were likely headed for the remote Rasht Valley region near the Afghan border, where many of them were arrested last year during a government clampdown on the restive area.
Guards along the rugged border with Afghanistan -- as well as neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and China -- were put on high alert to prevent the escaped militants from leaving the country.
The escapees include nationals of Afghanistan and six Russian citizens, all of them natives of the volatile North Caucasus region, where Russian authorities are battling an Islamist insurgency.
Human rights groups have accused Central Asian governments of using the Islamist threat as an excuse to crack down on political dissent in a region where, as in Soviet times, alternative views are often branded as extremist.
Tajik authorities frequently arrest and jail members of Muslim movements that are not endorsed by the government, describing them as extremists. The government has also sought to close down unregistered schools teaching Islam in Tajikistan.
Rakhmon said the government's religion committee would determine how many religious leaders the country needs and "send them to religious institutions that do not have extremist or terrorist aims".
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
He has realised that Madrassas=Terrorists/Radicals has Bambi?
(Xinhua) -- Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), met former U.S. president Jimmy Carter here Wednesday, the official KCNA news agency reported.
They had "a cordial talk," and Kim arranged a reception in honor for Carter, the KCNA said.
Carter arrived here Wednesday afternoon aboard a chartered civilian jet. His trip is reportedly aimed at securing the release of an imprisoned U.S. citizen.
Carter was greeted by DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan at the Pyongyang international airport.
Carter received a bouquet from a little girl, and blew a kiss to her with a smile.
Without any speech to reporters and the crowd at the airport, he swiftly got into a car and left.
Reporters present from the DPRK, China and Russia were provided with a temporary shelf to stand on but couldn't get close to Carter.
U.S. media has said Carter will visit Pyongyang to negotiate the release of Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who was detained by the DPRK on Jan. 25 for illegal entry into the country.
On April 6, Gomes, a 30-year-old former English teacher in South Korea, was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment and fined about 700,000 U.S. dollars.
Media reports said Carter might spend one night in Pyongyang and return with Gomes Thursday.
The Obama administration Tuesday refused to comment on the visit, saying Washington had no plan to send an envoy to Pyongyang and would continue to evaluate Gomes' situation through Swedish diplomats there and negotiate his release with Pyongyang.
Carter, a Nobel peace laureate, is said to be traveling as a private citizen, similar to that by former U.S. President Bill Clinton last August when he secured the release of two female U.S. journalists detained there for illegal entry.
Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who worked for Current TV, co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore, were arrested in March 2009, for illegally crossing the DPRK border from China and were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in June.
Following Clinton's visit, in which he met top DPRK leader Kim Jong Il, Pyongyang announced their release.
Carter, a Democrat, served as U.S. president from 1977 to 1981 and won the Nobel peace prize in 2002.
He made a historic trip to the DPRK in 1994 to help defuse a crisis over the country's nuclear program.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
He made a historic trip to the DPRK in 1994 to help defuse a crisis over the country's nuclear program.
SEOUL, South Korea On Day 2 of Jimmy Carters journey to North Korea, there was no sign Thursday that the former American president had succeeded in securing the release of a Boston man jailed in the country since January.
Carter was making a private humanitarian visit to negotiate the release of Aijalon Gomes, sentenced to eight years of hard labor in a North Korean prison and fined some $700,000 for entering the country illegally from China, U.S. officials said.
There was no indication Thursday that Gomes was free. Carter, originally slated to depart Thursday, appeared to have extended his trip by at least a day, South Koreas YTN television reported in Seoul.
[Iran Press] The Turkish government says it does not recognize the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as an interlocutor or a partner for political negotiation.
"We, as the government, will never sit at the table and have talks with a terrorist organization or its representatives. Such a thing has never happened," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying in a television interview late on Monday.
"If some contacts are required... the state will do that... These two must not be confused," Anatolia news agency quoted Erdogan as saying.
"The state, for instance, has an intelligence agency... to unlock, resolve certain issues. It does that (having contacts), but the government can never recognize (the PKK) as an interlocutor and sit at the table," the premier said.
The remarks follow a statement by the Kurdish militants, saying a recently declared truce was the result of dialogue between the PKK's leader in jail, Abdullah Ocalan, and "competent authorities acting in the name of the Turkish state with the knowledge of the government."
The truce -- from August 13 to September 20 encompassing the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and a referendum scheduled for September 12 -- was declared after an increase in PKK-fueled violence since late May.
The claim drew a volley of criticism against the government for horse-trading with the group listed by Ankara and most of the international community as a terrorist organization. Critics accused the government of bargaining in a bid to win Kurdish support in the upcoming referendum on constitutional amendments
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2010 00:00 ||
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[APP] New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg, speaking at an Iftar dinner he hosted Tuesday night, strongly defended the right of a Muslim group to build a mosque near "ground zero", the site of 9/11 terrorist attacks. Bloomberg received a standing ovation from some 100 Muslim-Americans for weighing in on the debate over the proposal to build an Islamic Centre mosque near the World Trade Center site."We must do what is right, not what is easy," said the mayor as he ruled out a compromised solution to the issue which has caused increasingly heated debate across the US.
Bloomberg said a "compromise", with the mosque built further away from ground zero, would undercut the values and principles that so many heroes died protecting. Property developer Sharif el-Gamal wants to construct a Muslim community centre, including a mosque and a 9/11 memorial two blocks from the site where 2,605 people were killed on September 11, 2001.
The plan has outraged some Americans, and provoked demonstrations and protests, with Republicans, including Sarah Palin, spearheading the campaign. Last night Bloomberg told the audience the handling of the mosque plan would be a litmus test for "American values".
The mayor said: "Let me declare that we in New York are Jews and Christians and Muslims, and we always have been. And above all of that, we are Americans, each with an equal right to worship and pray where we choose.
"There is nowhere in the five boroughs that is off limits to any religion." Some opponents of the scheme have asked for the mosque to be constructed further away from ground zero, but Bloomberg said that this would not end the debate. "The question will then become, how big should the 'no-mosque zone' around the World Trade Center be?" he asked.
"There is already a mosque four blocks away. Should it, too, be moved?" Said Bloomberg: "...If we say that a mosque or a community center should not be built near the perimeter of the World Trade Center site, we would compromise our commitment to fighting terror with freedom.
"We would undercut the values and principles that so many heroes died protecting. We would feed the false impressions that some Americans have about Muslims. We would send a signal around the world that Muslim Americans may be equal in the eyes of the law, but separate in the eyes of their countrymen. And we would hand a valuable propaganda tool to terrorist recruiters, who spread the fallacy that America is at war with Islam. "Islam did not attack the World Trade Center - Al-Qaeda did.
To implicate all of Islam for the actions of a few who twisted a great religion is unfair and un-American. Today we are not at war with Islam - we are at war with Al-Qaeda and other extremists who hate freedom."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
The folks pushing for this mosque are not being transparent whatsoever. Funding, supporters, and political representation. I say feed it back to them until they are more forthcoming. I'm sure the founding fathers would not have put up with this until they understood what was going on.
#2
Thomas Jefferson understood Islam very well. Very well indeed.
As I said before - the dedication date - exactly 10 years to the day after the murder of 3,000 people - tells me all I need to know about the purpose of the murder mosque.
#5
After reading both this article and the one here.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11091931
..I realised this man just doesn't get it. AT ALL.
What is he, eighth richest man in America?
Goes to show money and power doesn't stop your mind turning to shit.
#9
They are free to practice and worship anywhere else. This is not a free-of-faith issue at all. If folks don't realize this they are going to face a thrashing at the ballot box.
#10
Bloomberg's complete dismissal of a compromise makes no sense? Why would one reject a solution that would allow a fair settlement of the issue, with both sides compromising to the benefit of both?
Absolutely no compromise permitted sounds very, well, islamist. And it makes no sense whatsoever. None. And when an action is so illogical, there must be something behind it.
What kind of death threats is he receiving from the muslim side?
#11
"There is nowhere in the five boroughs that is off limits to any religion."
Mayor Bloomberg, what about the re-building of the Greek Orthodox church at Ground Zero? What about the impediments that they have encountered? And there is the Christian church that has been trying for 15 years to make use of the public school facilities on Sunday for their services; they have had untold problems trying to do this.
#13
IF there were de facto freedom of religion in NY, St. Nicholas's Church would have been rebuilt by now. Since it's not de jure restriction of religion, but simply the death of infinite papercuts, keeping it from being rebuilt, the bureaucracy can get away with this sort of thing.
The Imam who said the US was complicit in 9/11 and is pissing on the graves of those who died by building a spite mosque is a moderate who's traveling around on the hate-filled taxpayers' dime.
But we need to be more tolerant.
Posted by: regular joe ||
08/26/2010 11:16 Comments ||
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#15
It strikes me as odd as this is the spot where the dhimocrats are choosing to plant their flag and fight. This is an unpopular issue with the vast majority of Americans, yet the dhims continue to shove it down our throats. Are they that blind? That scared? That paid off? That stupid?
Whatever way it is, they will pay heavily for it in November.
"The members of our military are men and women at arms - battling for hearts and minds. And their greatest weapon in that fight is the strength of our American values, which have already inspired people around the world. If we do not practice here at home what we preach abroad - if we do not lead by example - we undermine our soldiers. We undermine our foreign policy objectives. And we undermine our national security.
So according to Bloomberg we, non-Muslims in the West, have to accommodate and appease Islam so that the Afghan people might show some good will and counterinsurgency can succeed.
In logical conclusion, the net effect of Western military response to 9/11 is that civilian life in Western countries is now subject to the dictate of the Afghan people's will?!?
I don't know of this has anything to do with Sparta, but most certainly this is madness!
#18
Call Bloomie's bluff. Let another mosque be built there, so long as it's
a) run by people who are TRULY moderate, ie have a long history of opposing islamist violence and fanaticism, including denouncing the 9/11 attackers with no qualifications about US policy as "complicit" or "an accessory"
b) designed as a small, humble, modest structure rather than a 13-story $100m+ triumphal monument
c) adorned with signage and perhaps an exhibit or two reinforcing the messages about moderation and humility, above
#19
I wonder if the other mosque that is 4 blocks away is one of those little store-front operations ie something no one cares about. Since that already exists, I think the freedom to worship issue is already addressed.
#20
Because there is no transparency on this mosque one should question the motives of the people who want it so badly. There is far to much murkiness and too many unanswered questions. There is way too much "push back" on this issue. There is no reasonable compromise or accommodation on the part of the imam and his wife. There is no concern for the families of nearly 3000 murder victims. There are far too many statements by the imam and his wife that fall in the category that "America is bad. 911 was somehow our fault." What kind of bridge building is this? There needs to be a good light shined on the entire effort to push the mosque.
Bloomberg seems to be a useful idiot for those pushing this mosque. He tends to be on the wrong side of many issues. He is quick to cite the First Amendment rights of the muslims regarding the 911 site. However, he doesn't mind trying to deny the rights of Americans, e.g. his stance on firearm rights guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment.
#2
Once again the Freudian Projection of the left hurling accusation of hate, bigotry and intolerance. They need to pump themselves up like this, just before they do something incredibly stupid and then they'll play the victim card when real blow back happens.
#3
To be fair, we don't know if the perp is a classic progressive lefty or just another mixed up kid.
Talking Points Memo, a major progressive website, did document the kid's history in their articles last night, and the website owner acknowledged that this wasn't a situation in which he could blame the Right, as much as he wanted to.
Other progressive websites, of course, were their usual selves. Progressives never need apologize for getting the facts wrong.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/26/2010 13:01 Comments ||
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#4
And I'm sure that at least some progressive sites took quick 30 second breaks from making long lists of things for conservatives to 'disavow' if they want to be taken seriously to note that this kid must have been very confused before moving on...
#5
TIPOVER makes the salient comment. If the muslim's dislike of the GZM location is the cause of the attack, that should be trumpted by every part of the blogosphere that can do so.
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/26/2010 17:56 Comments ||
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(PTI) Separatist outfit Jamaat-e-Islami today favoured tripartite talks for arriving at a lasting and just solution to the lingering Kashmir issue.
"We urge the Indian government to initiate tripartite talks involving New Delhi, Pakistan and real representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to find a lasting and fair solution to the Kashmir issue," it said.
The Jamaat, in a resolution adopted at a meeting of its Majlis-e-Shoora (Advisory Council) here, alleged the rigid attitude of the Central government was responsible for the prevailing situation in the state.
The resolution demanded revocation of all "stringent" laws in the state, Jamaat spokesman Zahid Ali said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2010 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Hezbollah has denied any knowledge that leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr might settle permanently in Lebanon. A Hezbollah source told Asharq Al-Awsat, "Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr or any of his close associates have not informed the Hezbollah leadership of his intention to move to Lebanon."
A Lebanese Foreign Ministry source also has affirmed, "The Foreign Ministry has not received any notice in this respect, neither from the Iraqi authorities nor from Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr, at least until now."
A leader in the Iraqi National Coalition had revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Iran is exerting "increasing pressures" on the leaders of the National Coalition, Ammar al-Hakim and Muqtada Al-Sadr, and that the latter threatened that he might have to leave Iran and settle in Lebanon because of these pressures.
Meanwhile, Nassar al-Rubaie, a Sadrist movement leader, has affirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Al-Sadr's departure from Iran was "up to him personally," adding, "We have no news that he might settle in Lebanon, but his return to Iraq is a natural matter and more feasible."
According to informed sources, Al-Sadr is currently in the "external research" stage in his studies to obtain the Ijtihad level under Iraqi Religious Authority Ayatollah Mahmud al-Hashimi. The external research stage is the final stage in the studies at the Shiite seminary. The student submits his research to the religious authority, who in turn, goes over the research carefully, and when the religious authority is satisfied with the work, he grants the student the level of Ijtihad.
Regarding the Iranian pressures on Al-Sadr to support the candidacy of Al-Maliki for a second term, the sources affirmed, "There is much pressure from two high-level Iranian sources on Al-Sadr. The first is the Iranian Government and the second from the Qom religious authorities. They are pressuring him to accept the candidacy of Al-Maliki. But Al-Sadr has strongly rejected these pressures, because he thinks that the decision should be made by the Iraqis and that all the Iraqi forces have agreed not to support Al-Maliki's candidacy for a second term." But the sources explained, "Iranian pressures on Al-Sadr could force him to leave Iran." The sources revealed, "Religious Authority Sayyid Kazim al-Hairi [Iraqi Shiite leader living in Iran] visited Al-Sadr several weeks ago to learn the reasons for his objection to Al-Maliki's candidacy for a second term," and that Al-Ha'iri "could not convince Al-Sadr to accept Al-Maliki's candidacy."
It should be noted that Al-Hairi became a source of emulation to the followers of the Sadrist movement after the departure of Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2010 00:00 ||
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[Gulf Times] Hamas leader Khalid Mishal said yesterday that peace talks between Palestinians and Israel next week could deal a fatal blow to the Palestinian cause.
Mishal said in a speech in Damascus that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was too weak to stand up to Israel and negotiate a just deal at the talks in Washington on September 2.
"If the talks succeed they will succeed to Israeli standards and liquidate the Palestinian cause. They'll give us parts of 1967 lands. They'll draw the borders as they want and they'll confiscate our sovereignty," said Mishal, who lives in exile in Syria, along with several Palestinian leaders.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abbas are set to meet with US President Barak Obama to restart direct talks after months of indirect negotiations.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan have also been invited to the summit.
Mishal, speaking at an Iftar, called on the two Arab leaders to turn down the invite.
"I appeal to President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah II not to back these negotiations which are rejected by the Palestinians," he said.
"The results of these negotiations will be catastrophic for the interests and the security of Jordan and Egypt," Mishal said.
He insisted that the talks are only "the fruit of an agreement" between Obama and Netanyahu.
Mishal said there was "no consensus on the negotiations" among the Palestinians and that Abbas was heading to the talks under duress from Washington.
He called the talks a "farce," saying the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) had not given its approval.
Abbas's negotiation strategy has long been condemned by the Hamas Islamist group which seized control of the Gaza Strip from him in 2007 and is deeply hostile to Israel.
Hamas does not rule out peace talks with Israel if they realise what it considers Palestinian rights.
Hamas has said it could live peacefully alongside Israel if Israel withdrew from all Palestinian land it occupied in the 1967 Middle East war. Hamas's 1988 founding charter, however, calls for the destruction of Israel and for restoration of all of British mandate Palestine.
"Our grievance, in a nutshell, is occupation. Our project is resistance," said Mishal.
Mishal asked Abbas and his Fatah faction to join Hamas in adopting a Palestinian strategy that does not drop diplomacy but concentrates on the "option on resistance and holding on to inalienable Palestinian rights."
He said Palestinian negotiators were not legitimate.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
He said Palestinian negotiators were not legitimate.
Obama: "then who is a legitimate Palestinian negotiator?"
Meshaal: "Nobody. If they were legitimate, they wouldn't negotiate. They would kill the Jooos"
Obama: "Hokay, well that's a starting point, a good one, thanks for giving some on that one. Mr. Netanyahu, what do you have to offer in exchange for this generous compromise?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/26/2010 19:31 Comments ||
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#2
Make Khalid move back to Gaza. You'd have peace next week.
(KUNA) -- Lebanese President Michel Suleiman called on Wednesday Lebanese rivals to avoid the use of weapons regardless of the reason, warning of the danger of security tension.
A press release issued by the presidency's media office said that Suleiman condemned the clashes that occurred Tuesday evening in Burj Abi Haidar area in Beirut, in which four people were killed.
He stressed that the safety of citizens was a priority, urging security forces to arrest those involved in the clashes, it noted.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army command stressed in a press release that it will chase those involved in the clashes between Hizbollah and the Sunni Al-Ahbash group.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
the Lebanese Army command stressed in a press release that it will chase those involved in the clashes between Hizbollah and the Sunni Al-Ahbash group
[An Nahar] The March 14 general-secretariat said Wednesday that the clashes of Borj Abi Haidar between Hizbullah and al-Ahbash gunmen are a new sign of the danger of militia arms. "It's time for the Lebanese state to take quick measures to announce Beirut a weapons and militia free city," the general-secretariat said in a statement following its weekly meeting.
It urged the government and its security, military and judicial agencies to arrest those who caused the deadly clashes and participated in them.
The statement also called on Lebanese authorities to protect stability and civil peace. "Protecting Lebanon from internal dangers is as important as protecting it from foreign dangers," the conferees said. "This requires a quick end to abnormal conditions such as the presence of security squares."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2010 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Defense Minister Ahmed Vahidi said on Wednesday that Iran is ready to offer military aid to Lebanon, after a call for Tehran's help from Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
"Lebanon is a friend and its army is our friend," General Vahidi told reporters after an Iranian cabinet meeting, state television reported on its website. "We are prepared to help them ... should there be a request."
On Tuesday, Nasrallah proposed the Lebanese government seek military aid from Iran.
"I vow that Hizbullah will work fervently and capitalize on its friendship with Iran to ensure it helps arm the Lebanese military in any way it can," Nasrallah said in a televised speech.
He insisted that if Lebanon made an official request, "Iran will not hold back in supporting the Lebanese army in any way it can."
Nasrallah made the call following a U.S. freeze in its military aid to Beirut in the wake of deadly border clashes between Lebanese and Israeli troops.
On August 10, U.S. Congressman Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced he had placed on hold 100 million dollars in aid to Lebanon's military.
Berman said he could not be sure the Lebanese armed forces were not working with Hizbullah.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2010 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] The most serious fighting in Beirut since 2008 appears to have been touched off by a traffic dispute that escalated into deadly, hours-long street battles between the Shiite Hezbollah group and a small Sunni faction, witnesses said Wednesday. From middle fingers do hours-long gunfights grow...
Security officials said three Hezbollah members and a follower of the conservative Sunni al-Ahbash group were killed Tuesday night in the Bourj Abu Haider district, just outside Beirut's downtown, in running battles with fighters wielding assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. That doesn't sound like an awful lot of casualties for an hours-long gun battle, certainly not one involving RPGs and assault rifles and similar weaponry...
The state news agency also said four people died, although the army put the death toll at three. "He's dead, Jim!"
"That makes three deaders, Bones!"
[Gasp!]...[Twitch!]...[Twitch!]...[Twitch!]...[Rattle!]
"He's dead again, Jim!"
"Let's call it four to be on the safe side."
It was not clear why the fighting intensified so dramatically, but tensions among the Sunni and Shiite communities have been running high recently amid reports that Hezbollah members will be indicted in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, once the country's top Sunni politician. "But reeeally it wudn't the Hezbullies, it wuz them Zionists! Everybody knows that!"
Abdul Qadir al-Fakhani, a front man for al-Ahbash, said his group was meeting with Hezbullies and the Lebanese army on Wednesday to ensure the situation does not flare up again. "What's three or four dead guys among friends anyway?"
Al-Fakhani and several other witnesses said there was a commotion outside the Bourj Abu Haider mosque about 20 minutes before the gunbattles began, with men fighting over a car. "Hey! What're you doin' on my car?"
"Your car?"
"They were shouting and yelling insults at each other," al-Fakhani told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named. "A curse on your scraggly-ass mustache!"
"Then a group of Hezbullies approached the mosque and they just kept coming. We were astonished," he said. "Hey, Rube!"
"Wholly spit! Hey Rube!"
Within some 20 minutes, both sides apparently gathered reinforcements and the street battles began. "Bring forth the Holy Hand Grenade!" Hezbullies did not comment beyond a joint statement issued by the two groups late Tuesday saying the incident resulted from a "personal dispute and has no political or sectarian background." "But we kicked their asses!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
On Wednesday morning, cleaning crews were sweeping the chunks of concrete that had been blown off the mosque by bullets and grenades. At least one gunman holding an AK-47 assault rifle had taken up position in a building across from the mosque. "Move aside, Pops!"
"Get outta here! This is an ice cream parlor, not a foxhole!"
Two other witnesses and a Lebanese soldier -- all of whom asked that their names not be used because of the sensitivity of the matter -- independently corroborated al-Fakhani's account of a traffic dispute preceding the violence. Local media also reported similar witness accounts. "Yup. Yup. That's what happened. I seen it."
The fighting was the worst clash in Beirut since May 2008, when Hezbulliesgunnies swept through Sunni neighborhoods after the pro-Western government tried to dismantle the group's telecommunications network. That was when they took off that silly patriotic mask and announced they were in charge, with Nasrallah as Lord High Satrap...
More than 80 people were killed in the 2008 violence, pushing the country to the brink of civil war. But officials insisted Tuesday's clash was not the same sectarian strife that has bedeviled Leb for decades. "No, no! Certainly not! This is entirely different sectarian strife!"
More than 1,500 people took part in funerals for the victims on Wednesday. In the southern quiet villageof Kfar Fila, some 1,000 people attended the burial of Hezbullies official Ali al-Jawad. Hezbullies members in black uniforms and red berets carried the coffin, wrapped in a yellow Hezbullies flag, on their shoulders. Did they goosestep? They like to goosestep and to Hitlergrüaut;ss. It makes them feel like Master Racists.
In Beirut, several hundred turned out to mourn Ahmad Jamal Omeirat, the al-Ahbash follower. Friends at the funeral said he was just 17 years old. [Snif!] "He was a mere tad!"
Al-Fakhani, the movement's front man, said Omeirat was a student who was killed by a gunshot to the chest. [BANG!] "Take that, y'brat!"
[Thud!]
"He's dead, Jim!"
"How many does that make?"
"I dunno. I lost count at two."
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman condemned the fighting and urged authorities to arrest those who were behind the shooting. Right. It could happen.
The emir of Qatar, who brokered the "Doha Agreement" that put an end to the May 2008 fighting, called Suleiman on Tuesday night to offer any assistance, the president's office said. "Anything we can do to help?"
"You got anybody who's good at counting?" Leb's government is an uneasy coalition of a Western-backed bloc and Hezbullies, which in just a few years has gained so much political power it now has a virtual veto over government decisions. I said that...
Al-Ahbash, or the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects, is a deeply conservative Mohammedan group and a rival to many other Sunni groups in the country, including the prime minister's Future movement. "Arrrr! We don't like nobody!"
"That may be why people shoot at you."
The group's name rose to prominence in the wake of the Hariri assassination. Two senior officials from the group were detained for about four years on suspicion of involvement in the killing, but were later released. "You two! Outta my jail! Now!"
Like Hezbullies, al-Ahbash is pro-Syrian. They have feuded in the past over theological differences but were political allies whose candidates ran on the same lists during the 2009 parliamentary elections.
This article starring:
Ali al-Jawad
Hezbollah
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
We could solve the whole Lebanon thing by just diddling with their traffic lights and making them all green at the same time, couldn't we?
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.
[UN News Service] Commending the efforts undertaken so far to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed that more can be done, as the Security Council debated legal options to help bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice.
(KUNA) -- In a major policy speech here Wednesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned against the rising tide of terrorism in a number of areas, and cited the Arab Gulf region as vulnerable to the instability, in Yemen and Somalia in particular.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Amnesty International said on Wednesday the United States appeared to have carried out or collaborated with Yemen in attacks that killed suspected al-Qaeda militants, violating international law.
(Xinhua) -- Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), met former U.S. president Jimmy Carter here Wednesday, the official KCNA news agency reported.
[Asharq al-Aswat] Hezbollah has denied any knowledge that leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr might settle permanently in Lebanon. A Hezbollah source told Asharq Al-Awsat, "Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr or any of his close associates have not informed the Hezbollah leadership of his intention to move to Lebanon."
