(SomaliNet) Somalia transitional parliament speaker Sheik Aden Mohamed Nour Madobe on Tuesday gave a strong warning to some of the legislators who were known to come in parliamentary sessions armed with with pistols. Sheik Madobe said the parliament was aware of the MPs that hold handguns in the hall of sessions and these acts will not be toleated anymore. The speaker neither mentioned what step should be taken against pistol holders nor the names of those who enter the parliament house with weapons.
After all, they're armed.
The warning came when the security guards at the parliament building informed the speaker that they had seen pistols on some of the lawmakers mainly Senator Jim Webb former warlords during a routine inspections.
Sometimes the members in the parliament have heated debates on specific issues that might bring them to fight one another as it happened on 17 March, 2004 when some of the MPs fought with fists and chairs. However, the Baidoa based parliament continues for the fifth day to hearing the briefs by the ministries on their activities for the past six months.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/16/2007 00:00 ||
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KHARTOUM - Washington has asked Khartoum for guarantees that detained Al Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Haj will not leave Sudan before it tosses releases him from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, his brother Asim al-Haj said on Wednesday.
Haj, who grew up in Sudan but is based in Qatar for his work with the television channel, was arrested and turned over to U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2001. He was transferred to the U.S. prison in Cuba accused of involvement in terrorist activity.
The U.S. administration wants to release Sami al-Haj, Asim al-Haj told Reuters after meeting Sudanese Foreign Ministry officials. But they want guarantees from the Sudanese government ... that if they release him he will not leave Sudan, he said.
Hajs mouthpiece lawyer in London, Clive Stafford Smith, said any decision needed to be made quickly as Haj had been on hunger strike for more than 200 days.
200 days? How much weight did he gain?
The U.S. embassy in Khartoum had no immediate comment on the report.
Asim al-Haj said his brother could be released by the end of the month. The family are of course very happy to hear this news, he said, adding they would deal with the conditions of release once his brother returned to Sudan. This is a personal decision. His work is in Qatar. If he wants to return to work there then we will decide what to do.
And then we will decide what to do.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Hajs lawyer in London, Clive Stafford Smith, said any decision needed to be made quickly as Haj had been on hunger strike for more than 200 days.
Bobby Sands hunger strike lasted 66 days and he died at the end of it.
Working on this premise, I would have to say that Clive Stafford Smith is a lying bag of shit...
#2
tu, there are hunger strikes and there are hunger strikes. IIRC, Bobby Sands committed suicide by refusing any nourishment at all.
Cindy Sheehan went on a hunger strike that included Jamba juice smoothies. You could live a long time on that.
Guantanamo officials said most of the tube-fed prisoners cooperate with the "involuntary feedings" but refused to eat regular meals because they want to be counted as hunger strikers."Frankly I do not believe that the men that are participating in the hunger strike indeed wish to do any long-term physical damage to their own health," said Army Maj. Gen. Jay Hood, who oversees the prison operation. He said several tube-fed prisoners had told the doctors, "I know as long as you are here that I will not die."
Geez, ya think Clive knows this? Or would he be shocked, shocked to find this out?
#5
so let him cross that line in the sand and then waste his sorry arse. something that should ahve been done in 2001 and saved all those many days of hunger striking....
A proposed contract between Russia and Venezuela that could transfer thousands of sniper rifles to Venezuela has raised concern in the United States about the potential use or regional distribution of the weapons by the socialist-inspired government of President Hugo Chávez. The rifle in question is the latest variant of the Dragunov, a long-barreled, semi-automatic design with an optical sight. It is derived in part from the much more widely circulated Kalashnikov assault rifle. First manufactured in 1963 for use by militaries and intelligence agencies in the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact, the Dragunov and its clones have become one of the most lethal and effective weapons against American troops and their allies in Iraq.
First manufactured in 1963 for use by militaries and intelligence agencies in the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact, the Dragunov and its clones have become one of the most lethal and effective weapons against American troops and their allies in Iraq.
Venezuela is negotiating a contract with Rosoboronexport, the Kremlin-controlled arms export agency, to purchase about 5,000 modernized Dragunov rifles, according to officials at Izhmash, the rifle's manufacturer. Venezuela has about 34,000 soldiers in its army and 23,000 in its national guard, according to estimates by Jane's Information Group, which analyzes military forces and regional risks. Because sniper rifles are specialized infantry weapons and not typically issued to large numbers of soldiers, diplomats and military officers and analysts said, a purchase of several thousand Dragunovs would not seem to have a conventional military use for Venezuela's armed forces.
No, they are for his Islamicist and leftist buddies.
"Sales like this, and other sales of military equipment and arms to Venezuela, don't seem consistent with Venezuela's needs," David Kramer, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said by telephone. "It does raise questions about their ultimate use," he added. "We're not sure what their purpose would be."
Mark Joyce, the Americas editor for Jane's Country Risk, part of Jane's Information Group, said that a purchase of thousands of sniper rifles would fit with the ongoing defense reorganization in Venezuela under Chávez. "Obviously, what he has in mind is some sort of urban, guerrilla war against an invading force, and the model for that is Iraq," Joyce said.
Continued on Page 49
#3
Thousands of rifles require thousands of trained snipers, they're for resale.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/16/2007 6:05 Comments ||
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#4
I researched the Draganov for a novel I never finished. It's not a true sniper rifle. Range is 300 to 400 meters with a smaller calibre than US .50 sniper rifles (and less range). It's more an accurate infantry weapon.
#7
No, it isn't a real sniper rifle. It used to be chambered in 7.62x54mm with a crappy semiauto reciever. I've shot a friends chinese Dragonov several times. It's typical commie crap, like the old AK's. The scope is a 4X if I remember right, and not very impressive optics. It is supposed to function well for what it was designed for; extending the range of an infantry unit.
INDIAN doctor Mohammed Asif Ali will fly out of Australia tonight after his passport was returned by the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
Dr Ali, who was recruited to Queensland from the UK, was last month questioned by the AFP over his links to former terror suspect Dr Mohamed Haneef. Dr Ali is currently being investigated by Queensland Health after he admitted to lying on his resume.
Should be an automatic free pass to home.
His lawyer Simone Healy told reporters in Brisbane today that Dr Ali wanted to return to India to see his controller family in Bangalore. But she said he wanted to return to his job at the Gold Coast Hospital.
She said the AFP had returned his passport today and he had decided to vamoosego on the lam head home on a midnight flight tonight.
Brisbane Acting director-general of Queensland Health Dr Andrew Wilson said Dr Ali would continue to be investigated. He said if Dr Ali chose to resign he could be required to serve out up to four weeks' notice. "We would require him to serve notice until the report into matters about his resume was finalised,'' Dr Wilson said. "Queensland Health has no power to prevent Dr Ali from leaving Australia if he should choose to do so.''
Dr Ali is currently suspended and will not be given any other form of leave while the investigation is ongoing, Dr Wilson said.
Milan, 16 August (AKI) - (by Hamza Boccolini) - Italian anti-terrorist police in Milan are investigating whether six attacks on Muslim targets in northern Italy over the past five months are linked - a concern expressed by some of the country's main Muslim representatives.
In the latest attack on Wednesday night, two petrol bombs exploded near a mosque in the northern industrial city of Brescia, where many immigrants including Muslims, live and work. No one was hurt in the attack which was similar to an incident on 7 August when two petrol bombs were hurled at an Islamic centre in Segrate near Milan. No one was injured in the attack but a car owned by a prayer leader and part of the building housing the centre were damaged.
"We're living in a climate of hate which has been unleashed by continuous claims that mosques are the dens of terrorists", Segrate's chief iman, Ali Abu Shweima said referring to the attack.
Innocent people do eventually get upset when terrorists continue to attack them. And if the terrorists had names like Sven and Erik the people in Italian would begin to look suspiciously at herring-eaters.
The first incident this year involving a Muslim target occurred on 15 April when several petrol bombs were thrown at the Milan office of the British-based Islamic Relief charity. It is also the only attack to date for which someone has claimed responsibility with authorities receiving a telephone from a man claiming to represent a previously unknown "Fighting Christian Front". The man who did not identify himself said that an "Christian tribunal" had "sentenced to death" the centre's director, Paolo Gonzaga. No-one was injured in the attack.
So the 'Fighting Christian Front' -- which I suspect is three guys with petrol bombs -- needs to be found and shut down with long prison sentences. They can share cells with Mahmoud and Achmed.
Several weeks before the attack, Gonzaga and his group had organised a series of debates in Milan and in the northern towns of Bologna and Sassuolo in which several foreign based Islamic television preachers were invited to make speeches.
On 3 May petrol bombs were again used in an attack on the offices of an organisation mainly representing Italian converts to Islam, the Italian Islamic religious Community (COREIS) in Milan. "It is the first serious attack against us. Until then we had never received threats or any sort of intimidation", COREIS deputy president, Yahya Pallavicini, said.
On 10 August two petrol bombs exploded at another Islamic centre this time in Abbiategrasso near Milan. As in the other attacks nobody was injured but the building housing the centre was damaged. Officials at the centre said a similar attack, previously unreported had taken place on 20 July. The attacks in 2007 mark a sharp increase compared to previous years. In 2006 the only reported strike against a Muslim target was an act of vandalism on a construction site for a mosque near Siena.
Islamic officials and clerics say the upsurge in attacks has been accompanied by an increase in threats made against Muslims. "We've handed over to the police all the letters we received full of insults and threats. Most of them were sent to us in the last few months. Some of them contained death threats" Shweima said. "Not to mention all the vulgar graffiti we are forced to wipe off the walls of our centres every month" he added. Cry me a river.
Skopje, 16 August (AKI) An ethnic Albanian movement in Macedonia, known as Ilyrida, has called for the country to be federalised and has appealed to all ethnic Albanian deputies to quit the Macedonian parliament and to form their own.
This is not a new issue. Almost from the moment Macedonia gained its independence, the ethnic Albanians have been agitating for a separate state. They've come to blows a couple times but each time a political compromise was achieved that was supposed to settle the issue once and for all. Worked well, huh?
Ethnic Albanians make about one-quarter of Macedonias two million population and have 29 MPs in the 120-seat parliament. But in a statement carried by Macedonian media on Thursday, Ilyrida demanded that the country be divided into two equal federal entities one Macedonian and the other Albanian.
Ilyrida recalled that 99 percent of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia voted at a referendum in 1992 for the creation of an autonomous Ilyrida in the western part of the country.
The movement's statement called on ethnic Albanian MPs to proclaim the Republic of Ilyrida in the western city of Tetovo and to quit Macedonian institutions. But Ilyrida president Nevzat Halili told the media he saw nothing new in the statement which has been sent in our name, and distanced himself from it.
Commenting on the controversy, government spokesman Ivica Bocevski said tersely that the state institutions keenly follow the situation in Macedonia." Meanwhile, police refused to comment on Ilyridas claim that its armed members controlled a part of Macedonian territory.
Ethnic Albanians rebelled in 2001, demanding more rights and regional autonomy, but the dispute was ended by the Ohrid peace accord, which met most of ethnic Albanian demands.
As I said, it was supposed to, but didn't, because the ethnic Albanians never intended it to. This is the kinder, gentler form of hudna.
Ohrid granted more rights and local self-rule to the Albanians, providing for the redrawing of electoral boundaries in some municipalities to give ethnic Albanians a majority in these areas. And what did that buy for Macedonia? Answer: More demands, backed by violent threats.
Noticed that, didya?
The accord also made Albanian the second official language in several cities, including the capital, Skopje. Acknowledgement of ethnic-Albanian rights was formalised in amendments to the Macedonian constitution approved by parliament in late 2001.
While historians differ on the origin and historic role of Ilyrians, it is generally believed they inhabited the western Balkans around 1,000 B.C. Present day Albanians claim to be their descendants, which would make them one of the oldest people in the area.
Of course, they're also Muslims, which you'd think would make any other ancestral claim irrelevant.
The Ilyrian movement was a strong unifying force in the Balkans in 19th century when South Slavs, who have inhabited the area since the fifth century, strived for liberation from Austro-Hungarian and Turkish occupation. But the movement has died away with the creation of the kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1918.
With the breakup of the former of Yugoslavia during the 1990s Balkan wars, the Ilyrian movement continued to symbolise the striving for unification of ethnic Albanians in several Balkan countries.
There's the key graf: what the Albanians want is a 'Greater Albania' consisting of Albania, Kosovo, western Macedonia and parts of Bosnia.
It has gained strength since Serbias breakaway Kosovo province - with a 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority - started to drift towards independence in 1999. Belgrade, which opposes independence, has repeatedly warned it would have a domino effect on Macedonia, Montenegro and northern Greece, which have sizeable ethnic Albanian populations. Warnings. Kosovo, the gift that keeps on giving.
#1
There is a mass-grave on the southern tip of my island that makes me seethe too.
Seriously, this is no different than the police researching gang colors and attire to try to curb illicit activity- IT'S WHAT COPS ARE SUPPOSED TO DO.
In the words of one of the great groups of American wisdom and prophecy: If you don't like the effect, don't produce the cause.
#1
It isn't "stereotyping" if the vast majority of this world's terrorists are Muslim. They are, and that forces the West to profile based upon appearance and culture. Only and end to terrorism will justify a halt to profiling.
Instead of mosques, those places were more likely to be "cafes, cab driver hangouts, flop houses, prisons, student associations, non-governmental organizations, hookah bars, butcher shops and bookstores," the report says.
Considering how mosques actually are indoctrination centers as well, the foregoing pretty much assesses all Muslim gathering places as terrorist foci.
A criminal investigations report says several U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employees are accused of aiding Islamic extremists with identification fraud and of exploiting the visa system for personal gain.
Posted by: gromgoru ||
08/16/2007 08:19 ||
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#2
When is America finally going to begin leveling treason charges against these scum? Capital punishment should apply to those who voluntarily and knowingly abet terrorism.
#3
15 years with INS taught me fraud was rampant without and within. I've watched employee after employee prosecuted or suffer some type of penalty (which also included promotions if you had the juice). I did one of our own officers (he went to prison). I felt good, he shouldn't have sworn allegiance to the United States.
Bush made a mistake by separating INS into CBP, ICE and CIS. Now CIS has no curious criminal investigators and the fox is loose in the henhouse.
To: Sen. Reid
CC: Speaker Pelosi
From: Research staff
Subject: We've got problems!
See article below:
Despite rising criticism from some quarters, Gen. David Petraeus appears to command considerable respect from the average American, a new Gallup poll reveals, booosting the chances that his much-publicized September report on the "surge" will be treated as credible by most.
The poll of 1,012 adults, taken earlier this month, found that 47% give him a favorable rating, and only 21% unfavorable. The rest had not heard of him or had no opinion. . . .
"Americans viewed Petraeus as a much more reliable source than any of the other 16 leaders listed in the poll, including President Bush, members of the Bush administration, and leading Republican and Democratic presidential candidates," Gallup reports today.
"These results help explain why a majority of Americans, 56%, say Congress should not develop a new policy on Iraq until September when Petraeus reports on the progress of the U.S. troop surge." . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
08/16/2007 06:11 ||
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Er, which quarters? Or is this like "Some experts say..."?
"Americans viewed Petraeus as a much more reliable source than any of the other 16 leaders listed in the poll"
That makes sense--after all Petraeus has actually been in Iraq.
This article also has the usual gratuitous "last word" slap that always seems to accompany reports of good news:
Critics have charged tha(sic-from a publication called Editor & Publisher, no less) Petraeus has been a strong booster of the war since the beginning, has been proven wrong in some of his earlier projections, and made up his mind long ago that the "surge" deserved to keep moving forward.
#6
In April, however, Gallup asked about the reliability of various leaders as "a source of accurate information about current conditions in Iraq."
Ouch...the so-called "some quarters folks" ain't gonna stand for that bit of info. And no way will they accept even a semi-positive report from Petraeus. Expect a preemptive propaganda strike to be launced very soon. Predictable talking points comming to your editorial section soon:
The fix is in. Blah Blah. No matter what Petraeus actually believes he will tow the President's line...Blah...Blah Furthermore, his report will be manipulated...blah...blah...blah. By the way we support the troops...blah...blah Bush is Evil...blah...blah.
And I didn't even need my Magic 8-ball for that prediction.
#4
Most people dont understand what an unindicted co-conspirator is, said Parvez Ahmed, CAIRs board chairman, adding that the release of the list prompted death threats and hate mail against the council. They think that being related to a terrorism case means we are terrorists.
People are such lousy bastards, eh, Parvez? Of course you're not terrorists, you're merely terrorist supporters. Folks should really cut you some slack...
#6
Doc beat me to it. I'd further add, move them to the convicted list as soon as possible and then to the imprisoned list from there...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/16/2007 8:46 Comments ||
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#7
The letter, also signed by the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, said the overreaching list of more than 300 organizations and individuals would further cripple charitable donations to Muslim organizations and could ratchet up the discrimination faced by American Muslims since the Sept. 11 attacks.
...
The brief, a copy of which was released yesterday, says the list furthers a pattern of the demonization of all things Muslim that has unrolled in the United States since 2001.
I'm a victim! Its Islamophobia!
No asshole - its demonizing those who support terrorism. Are you saying that 'all things muslim' support terrorists?
Note that they are not seeking removal on the grounds that they are not co-consirators, but simply because it taints 'all things muslim' - which they claim to represent.
#8
And I want terrorists to stop blowing up innocent civilians over their ugly religious obsessions without us having to send our best and brightest into every shithole in the Middle East. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all got what we wanted in this world?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/16/2007 9:18 Comments ||
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#9
Don't forget your pony, Mitch. Or, in CAIRs case, their camels and goats.
Posted by: BA ||
08/16/2007 10:19 Comments ||
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#10
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...
No.
In fact, you need to be investigated now and charges filed.
#12
CAIR is nothing but a terrorist organization. If you support terrorists, then you ARE a terrorist. They should get nice visits at night from spec-war operators who shoot first and mulch the bodies.
Israel should do the same thing. Oh, you're a member of Hamas? *BANG* Proceed to next name on the membership list. Make the cost of joining such an organization very real and very fatal. It'll stop being the 'cool' thing.
Since its opening in 1957, the Islamic Center of Washington has been the citys most prominent mosquea center of worship for thousands of area Muslims, including many members of the capitals diplomatic corps. President Bush even made a speech at the mosque earlier this summer.
But now the Islamic Center has become immersed in a nasty court battle marked by charges of embezzlement, abuse of women and an alleged attempt to spread radical messages of hate.
The fireworks began earlier this year when federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against the recently ousted business manager of the mosque, Farzad Darui. A later five-count indictment charged that Durui, an Iranian native who formerly served as the mosques security chief, embezzled more than $430,000 in five yearsin part by altering checks and diverting mosque funds to corporate entities he controlled.
This week, Darui returned fire. He claimed in papers filed in federal court in the District of Columbia that the charges against him had been manufactured by unnamed Saudi government officials as part of a scheme to oust him from his post. Their goal, Darui maintains, was to claim control over the mosque after Darui resisted Saudi efforts to have radical Wahhabi figures deliver messages of intolerance there.
Because Darui barred Islamic radicals, from the [Islamic] Center, the Saudis, via the Center, have falsely accused him of embezzlement, Daruis filing claims. He seeks to have all charges against him dismissed. The filing was prepared by his lawyer, Washington attorney Victoria Toensing.
Daruis filing also takes aim at the mosques longtime director, Abduallah M. Khouj, a Saudi national and former official of the Saudi-funded Muslim World League. Darui claimed in the court filing that the funds he was accused of embezzling were in fact received as repayment of debts that he incurred for the housing and feeding of Khoujs wives, or mistresses. In one case, Darui claims in the filing, he made payments on behalf of Khouj to a woman who said she had been held against her will in Khoujs house.
A woman who answered the phone at the Islamic Center today and identified herself as the office manager said neither Khouj nor anybody on his behalf would comment on the allegations in Daruis court papers. We dont have anything to say about that matter, said the woman, who said her name was Fatima Goodwin. Repeated phone calls to the Saudi Embassy and a lawyer for the mosque were not returned. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys office in the District of Columbia, which brought the criminal case against Darui, said prosecutors would respond to the allegations in Daruis filing in court.
The charges and countercharges involving the Islamic Center come at an awkward time for the mosque. Only two months ago, President Bush used a visit to the mosque to announce that his administration planned to appoint the first-ever U.S. envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Bush had also made a highly publicized trip to the Islamic Center after the September 11 attacks.
But Daruis court filing depicts the Islamic Center as a center of intrigue and conflict over competing views of its role and message. The filing said that Darui had worked for the mosque since 1984 and has been dedicated to preventing radical fundamentalists from taking it over. But his efforts, he alleges, brought him into repeated conflicts with Khoujwho as mosque administrator received $600,000 a year in Saudi Embassy funds, his filing says. Darui had to deal with security issues caused by the Saudi Embassy, particularly the Religious Section, the filing states. He had to bar from the Center individuals who adhered to a radical form of Wahhabism and whom he considered a serious threat. They were invited to preach by Khouj, but did so at the bidding of the Religious Section. When these radicals preached, it was a message of hate and discrimination against anyone who disagreed.
The two specific examples cited in the court filing involve Ali Al-Timimi, an Islamic scholar who has since been convicted in federal court on charges involving incitement to terrorism and Osama Basnan, a Saudi who was deported in 2002 after federal officials concluded he was a dedicated jihadi who had expressed sympathy for the 9/11 hijackers.
The conflicts between Darui and Khouj came to a head three years ago when, according to Daruis court filing, he learned that Khouj was planning to leave and the Saudis intended to replace him with a former director of the Institute for Islamic and Arab Sciences, an organization that has been investigated by U.S. officials for possible links to terrorism. (No charges have been filed against the group.) After Darui sought to thwart the move by calling a rare board meeting, the Religious Section of the Saudi Embassy began spreading the rumor that Darui was embezzling funds.
Posted by: Seafarious ||
08/16/2007 02:49 ||
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#1
NewsWeak has betrayed our Nation & more importantly, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS FIGHTING OVERSEAS far to long for me to give them any credit now for singling out this moskkke incident in DC.
*SPIT* on both their Houses
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/16/2007 3:18 Comments ||
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#2
Allegations of embezzlement, abuse and hate speech roil a DC mosque
And this is different from what goes on down the street at the Capital, How?
One's a domestic enemy and the other a foreign one.
Posted by: BA ||
08/16/2007 10:16 Comments ||
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#4
This is indeed unfortunate. The Saudis now have the Justice Department at their beck and call? This really sucks. It sounds like this Darui guy is one of those incredibly rare moderate Muslims.
#6
You missed the point: this is the first time the Saudis will have their wahabbists asses dragged up in a court.
This should hopefully put out that the Saudis being our firends is a lie, and that they are what is behind much of the islamism that is driving terrorism around the world.
#9
abuse of women and an alleged attempt to spread radical messages of hate.
And this differs exactly how from 90% of this world's mosques? I wouldn't bet a plug nickel that the Saudis won't have State hush this up before there's even a peep about Wahabbist jihad-preaching imams being bankrolled by Riyadh.
Two key congressional defense committees recommended cutting funds for an effort at the Defense Department to implement what officials call strategic communication. The idea is to advance national interests and objectives through the use of coordinated information, themes, plans, programs and actions synchronized with other elements of national power. The militarys vision of strategic communication grew from the findings of the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review. The review concluded that DOD must develop more effective communication strategies to counter anti-American sentiments capable of turning people into terrorists.
The Senate committee said the components of strategic communication -- public diplomacy, public affairs and information operations -- should be practiced separately. According to a definition in [Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon] Englands guidance document, strategic communication includes aspects of information operations -- in particular, the subordinate field of psychological operations. The military uses psychological operations against U.S. enemies to lower their morale and to cause dissidence and disaffection within their ranks. During such operations, the military conveys "selected information and indicators" to foreign audiences in an attempt to influence their behavior, the doctrine states.
Daniel Kuehl, director of the National Defense Universitys Information Strategies Concentration Program, said many military public affairs officers are reluctant to adopt the principle of strategic communication because information operations are explicitly a part of it. But, Kuehl said, erecting a firewall between the two fields makes little sense, because both disciplines are merely a different means to achieve the same outcome -- influencing target audiences. And that influence, he added, doesnt need to be malicious.
Kuehl called the notion that psychological operations involve lying a common misconception. In those operations, 99.9 percent is truth, he said. This, he added, is in contrast to another craft U.S. forces practice -- military deception.
Steven Aftergood, who directs the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists, said the idea of strategic communication -- as envisioned by DOD -- bears some risks. Foreign audiences could conceive the effort as propaganda, he said.
#1
PRAVDA > artiiickle claims Russian military has PSYCHOTRONIC WEAPONS that can turn people into ZOMBIES??? As for the USDOD - D *** ng it, whats the Penn State Sub Shop and Professor Khalid up to now!?
Jurors began deliberations after three months of testimony in the trial of Jose Padilla and two co-defendants on charges of operating a support cell for Islamic terrorists, including al-Qaida. Padilla, a US citizen, was held for three and a half years as an enemy combatant following his May 2002 arrest as authorities initially claimed he was part of an al-Qaida plot to set off a radioactive "dirty bomb" in a US city. He was added in late 2005 to an existing terrorism support indictment amid a legal battle over US President George W. Bush's authority to continue detaining him without charge.
The "dirty bomb" allegations disappeared and are not included in the trial, in part because Padilla was never provided a lawyer or read his legal rights
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2007 00:00 ||
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Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri has said that a solution to Kashmir will not be ideal for any of the concerned parties.
In an interview with the BBC's HARDtalk programme, Mr Kasuri said that "reciprocal concessions" would have to be made by all sides. Mr Kasuri was speaking to the programme to coincide with the 60th anniversary of India and Pakistan's independence. India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir in the past 60 years.
"Ultimately a solution to Kashmir will be one that is not the best perceived either by a majority of Indians, a majority of Pakistanis or a majority of Kashmiris," he said. "That is the short answer. It will be the best under the circumstances. It will not be ideal for either Pakistan, India or Kashmir and if it is not that, there'll be no solution to Kashmir.
"There has to be reciprocal concessions, there has to be reciprocal movement. There will be no unilateral concessions by Pakistan." Indian-administered Kashmir has been the scene of a violent 17-year insurgency against Delhi's rule.
Separatist groups on Wednesday called a general strike to co-incide with independence day, describing the anniversary as a "black day" and calling the celebrations "meaningless" until Kashmir gets "freedom". Correspondents say ordinary life was disrupted in the run-up to the anniversary by a security crackdown, with unpopular "cordon and search" operations and frisking of civilians stepped up.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/16/2007 14:42 ||
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#1
Meanwhile...
Indian army soldiers keep guard inside a jungle in Ganthmulla, 65 km (40 miles) west of Srinagar
Posted by: john frum ||
08/16/2007 14:48 Comments ||
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#2
Elsewhere on the LOC..
An Indian army soldier looks through a Colimeter used to point the enemy targets in Drass, about 160 km (99 miles) east of Srinagar.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/16/2007 14:51 Comments ||
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#3
And in Norfolk, Virginia...
Commissioning Ceremony of INS Jalashwa, the first ever Indian Amphibious transport dock of Indian Navy, at Norfolk, Virginia
Posted by: john frum ||
08/16/2007 14:54 Comments ||
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#4
Looks like the boys in your first grouping had a successful hunting trip...
#5
India has a moral obligation not to permit Kashmir's transfer into Islamic hands. Yes, this is a voluntary obligation but it is tremendously important to bar all further expansion of Muslim controlled lands.
Members of the Indian army relief and rescue team visit flood affected areas in the Gorakhpur district of the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh
Posted by: john frum ||
08/16/2007 15:16 Comments ||
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#7
In Waddington (UK), the Indian Air Force has wargames with the RAF
Posted by: john frum ||
08/16/2007 15:31 Comments ||
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#8
John, your picture of the Sikh crewman standing in front of the cargo plane (IL-78?) reminded me of something that has bothered me for a while:
Are there any Sikh fighter pilots, since they are supposed to wear a turban, and keep their hair long?
#9
Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri has said that a solution to Kashmir will not be ideal for any of the concerned parties.
Or, as we say in the legal profession:
"A good settlement leaves all parties equally unhappy."
Posted by: Mike ||
08/16/2007 16:00 Comments ||
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#10
Yep.. Sihks are about 1/5th of the Indian Air Force pilots. They wear a "patka" under their helmets
This is Arjan Singh.. a fighter pilot (squadron leader) who flew against the Japanese in Burma and was awarded the DFC.
Note the Field Marshal's baton in his hand, topped with the Lion Capital of the Emperor Ashoka (273-232BC)
Now Marshall of the Indian Air Force (highest rank ever awarded)
Posted by: john frum ||
08/16/2007 17:29 Comments ||
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#11
The IL-78 is the refuelling tanker version of the IL-76 transport.
The "MKI" (the SU-30 Flankers are also MKI) is Russian for Modernizirovannyi Kommercheskiy Indiski
(Modernized (Western, Indian and Israeli Avionics), Commercial (export version), India)
Posted by: john frum ||
08/16/2007 17:40 Comments ||
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#12
The Flankers the Chinese fly are designated MKK ("Kitai" is Russian for China).
They lack the Western avionics, the thrust vector engines and the canards
Posted by: john frum ||
08/16/2007 17:44 Comments ||
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#13
20 percent of the Indian Army's top brass are Sikh, including the Army Chief .. JJ Singh..
Posted by: john frum ||
08/16/2007 17:54 Comments ||
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#14
There is also a Patka ballistic helmet.. designed to accomodate the turbans of Sikh soldiers
Posted by: john frum ||
08/16/2007 18:02 Comments ||
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#15
I always understood the oldest male child got some sort of exemption from wearing the turban.
Anyway India should do what Israel did. Build a wall that turns the reality on the ground into realty. Don't let the Pakistani's cross the border and start to resign yourself that half of Kashmir is forever gone.
Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said on Wednesday that Pakistan was doing enough to counter terrorism and had lost 700 soldiers while playing its role in the "war on terror," and complained that the Western media was not portraying Pakistan's role or sacrifices fairly.
In an interview on BBC's 'Hard Talk' programme, Kasuri said: "I completely and emphatically reject that Pakistan has 'safe heavens' for Al Qaeda." Pakistan is facing problems but these problems have to be viewed in the right context. "The problem we have in the tribal areas goes back to its origin in the 80s when the West glorified jihad. We are reaping the consequences of that."
"We should see what happened to the intelligence estimates regarding the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," said Kasuri, adding that The Washington Post itself had said those estimates were doctored. The situation in Afghanistan deteriorated after the West shifted its focus from Afghanistan to Iraq, the minister said. It is inappropriate to hold Pakistan responsible for the poor law and order situation in Afghanistan. He said those who make such allegations are not taking account of the actual situation on the ground.
Kasuri said statements such as the one calling for attacks on Mecca and Medina had immense potential to damage Pak-US relations and he asked the US leadership to be careful in this regard. "We value our relations with the US but our people think the US dictates terms to us, but we will not take any dictation." He said he faced tremendous difficulty in wrapping up the debate as a foreign minister on this issue in the National Assembly.
Responding to a question, the minister said no foreign elements could warn President Musharraf. "It's totally rubbish that the US secretary of state warned him against imposing emergency."
Kasuri said a false impression has been created that the events of the last few months with reference to the chief justice case had made the Supreme Court hostile to the government. "I don't think that is the case at all. We are happy that the judiciary is independent, as is the press, and I don't see why it should be considered that two pillars of the state?the executive and the judiciary?should be considered hostile to each other."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2007 00:00 ||
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Pakistani delegates to the Pak-Afghan jirga were more than satisfied with the warm welcome they received in Kabul, with every luxury provided to them by the hosts. The delegates praised the Afghan government's arrangements and delegation leader Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told the hosts during his speech on the last day of the jirga that their hospitality "is so warm that it makes one want to stay here for good".
Security for the delegates was extremely tight and none were allowed out without a guard. Many streets and roads were closed to traffic in order to ensure safe movement of jirga members. Muhammad Nasir Sabawoon, who supervised catering, repeatedly asked delegates whether they needed anything else, and said that he wanted the delegates to make the jirga a success. "You make the jirga successful and I will serve you forever," he said.
At the jirga venue, all facilities were aplenty. One corner of a tent where the working committee meetings took place was devoted to refreshments including coffee, green and black tea, soft drinks and juices, without restrictions.
Special arrangements were made for naswar for the delegates, and luxury transport was at their disposal throughout their stay. Afghan sources said that around some $6 million was approved for the jirga, but did not say who provided the money. Former Mujahideen leaders Abdur Rab Rasool Sayyaf and Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani said that Pakistan and Afghanistan should make arrangements between themselves similar to European Union countries, which had abolished visas and adopted one currency.
Former NWFP chief secretary Khalid Aziz said, "To their credit, all opposition leaders acted as a team and we felt proud. No matter what our internal differences, when it came to defending the state, all stood as one. There may be a lesson in all this for our leaders."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
Former Mujahideen leaders Abdur Rab Rasool Sayyaf and Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani said that Pakistan and Afghanistan should make arrangements between themselves similar to European Union countries, which had abolished visas and adopted one currency.
Australia's decision to grant asylum to three former Iraqi diplomats and their families would not create a precedent for other Iraqis who want to flee their embattled homeland, the foreign minister said Thursday.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said that the three, who were attached to the Iraqi embassy in Canberra before they were recalled in December last year, were granted asylum on humanitarian grounds. While Downer did not detail the reasons, he said the decision did not mean that all Iraqis who do not want to return to their homeland could successfully apply for asylum. "It's not a generic decision; it's a decision that relates to the circumstances of those three individual people," Downer told reporters, adding that Baghdad
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2007 00:00 ||
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CAIRO - The Arab League on Wednesday condemned devastating suicide truck bombings that killed more than 200 people in northern Iraq and appealed for national reconciliation. The Arab League firmly condemns the explosions which on Tuesday killed hundreds of Yazidis, the 22-nation body said in a statement after the blasts late Tuesday in two villages inhabited by members of the Yazidi minority.
Thanks for noticing. Guess this was too much for even you to ignore.
More than 200 people were confirmed killed in the attack on the villages of Al-Qataniyah and Al-Adnaniyah in the bloodiest coordinated attacks of Iraqs four-year war.
The League offered its condolences to Iraqis who continue to suffer from terrorist acts that killed hundreds of innocent people every day. National reconciliation is the best way of escaping from the spiral of violence that Iraq is going through, it said.
Because war is bad for fluffy bunnies and other living creatures ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Yeah, you have appeals and fatwas, but the blood still calls out the name of your "Brother".
#3
#2 Gee, what a decisive act on their part.
Other than that, they can't agree on the color of shit.
Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-08-16 09:34
#1 Yeah, you have appeals and fatwas, but the blood still calls out the name of your "Brother".
Posted by: newc 2007-08-16 00:52
what my Rantburg colleagues said!
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/16/2007 18:10 Comments ||
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#4
This condemnation of terrorism is only because Muslims are getting killed. Had the bomb gone off in any Western nation the Arab League's silence would have been deafening. Somebody remind me, way back in late 2001 did the Arab League immediately leap into action and condemn the 9-11 atrocities?
US Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani said he opposes creation of a Palestinian state at this time and would take a tough stand with Iran, including destroying its nuclear infrastructure "should all else fail."
Outlining his foreign policy views in the September/October issue of Foreign Affairs magazine, Giuliani said "too much emphasis" has been placed on brokering negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians - an apparent swipe at President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who have been pushing both sides for final status negotiations despite Hamas's takeover of Gaza in June.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I wonder how many people in the world believe there is a "Palestinian State".
#2
Muslims have shown that they will chose Islamofascist and terrorist political parties. Where is it written that we have to support the democratic choices made by savage peoples?
Good luck to Guiliani, but I can't help thinking about George Bush's attack on Clintonist "nation building," during the 2000 campaign. It is important to put US security interests over destabilizing deference to Muslim electoral choice. Let's kill terrorists, first.
#3
This is a genuine whiff of fresh air. Much like Tancredo's introducing the notion of retaliatory attacks against Islamic shrines, so is it also important to begin deconstructing the Quartet's road map.
The Palestinians have done nothing at all to merit an independent state. They have reneged on all agreements, purposefully employed deceit at every turn and voluntarily elected terrorists to govern them. If this constant malignance is not sufficient in causing their goals to be forfeit then nothing is.
Like him or not, Giuliani certainly deserves credit for being one of the first leading presidential candidates to inject this concept into the national dialogue. The sooner more people begin to consider this as a genuinely acceptable measure, the more quickly Israel will finally enjoy a modicum of well deserved peace.
#4
This may be an unpopular opinion, however I've been discussing this same thing all night, so....The Palestinians behave in the only way they know. The Refugee camps breed anger, and hatred and make it pretty damn hard to move forward when you live surrounded by a bunch of angry old people who lost homes. It fits into group psych, if everyone you know is pissed off, you will probably behave in the same manner, "Milgram's" anyone?
Not saying they're right, but maybe Israel should give a little ground. Or at least consider doing away with the camps and not bulldozing any more of the Palestinian areas.
Posted by: NOLA ||
08/16/2007 6:52 Comments ||
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#6
All night, NOLA dear? You'll think better if you get some sleep, surely. The Palestinian camps were established by the United Nations in 1948 in what are now the Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon; they are still maintained and funded entirely by the U.N., and the countries and PA territories where they are sited do not -- by law -- permit the original residents or their descendants to purchase property, or even live, outside the original boundaries. There really isn't much Israel can do about that... and the Arab Israelis live wherever they choose throughout their country.
As for Israel giving a little ground: they vacated the entire Gaza Strip at the behest of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. As a result the Gazans have been sending a daily barrage of rockets into Israel, and attempting daily to send in armed murderers and suicide bombers. As Israel has already literally given ground, wouldn't someone who'd gotten enough sleep think it was the Palestinians' turn to, as you so succinctly phrase it, give a little ground? Modifying the school curricula to put Israel on the maps would be nice, or perhaps removing references to killing all the Jews and the joys of violent jihad, both currently sprinkled so lavishly throughout the textbooks at each level and for such disparate courses as mathematics and grammar. The academics at MEMRI spent no little amount of time translating the textbooks used in Palestinian and other Middle Eastern schools. You might find a perusal of their site useful in your all night discussions.
#8
The Palestinian camps were established by the United Nations in 1948
One thing that always bugged me about the 'refugee camps' is they seem to consist of multi-storey cinderblock buildings with streets and sewers. When I think of refugee camps, it means tents and porta-johns and aid workers handing out MREs. How the *bleep* can you have a 'refugee camp' for 50 years?
And no, I'm not going to touch the 'give a little ground' meme. It's just too funny all by itself.
#9
NOLA, kindly google Nafoul the Killer Bee from "Tomorrow's Pioneers", and then get back to us. Of course they're behaving the only way they know how -- they're fed this stuff in their baby bottles.
(now if you'll excuse me, i'm off to kibitz on Phil B's Cryptic Brain-Yoga Crossword)
#10
Nafoul the Killer Bee from "Tomorrow's Pioneers"
And yes it was my bedtime...love the graveyard fun. The kid's shows are awful, I agree with you, but Israel has similar programs. It's really a never ending feud. I just don't think denying a 2 state solution is gonna work. Israel doesn't want to keep them either.
It seems fairly f**ked to me, but I'd love to hear what y'all think will solve the issue. If you care to humor me.
Posted by: NOLA ||
08/16/2007 23:46 Comments ||
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Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas issued a decree on Wednesday that effectively excludes the rival Hamas movement ruling Gaza from future elections, further widening the gaping Palestinian divide. Abbas's office, however, denied that it had published a decree that made changes to the current Palestinian electoral law.
"No, no! Certainly not! Maybe some other government?"
The Islamists immediately slammed the move as illegal and said an election cannot take place without the participation of their movement, which had swept to power after the last legislative poll a year and a half ago. Abbas's decree makes several changes to electoral law, including requiring candidates in presidential and legislative elections "to respect the political programme of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO)," according to the text of the signed decree. It also requires candidates to respect all previous agreements signed by the Palestinian Authority.
The Western-shunned Hamas does not respect the political programme of the PLO, which recognises Israel, as the Islamists' charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. Abbas's decree also says that all parliament candidates will be chosen according to party lists. Previously, half of those standing for the legislature were chosen in single constituencies. He has also vowed to call early general elections.
On Wednesday he repeated his demand for "Hamas to correct their mistakes and change their positions to reunite the Palestinian people and give them hope for the future". Abbas insisted on the "unity of the Palestinian territories, as this division cannot be but temporary. The Palestinian people reject this division and want a unified state."
But Hamas quickly lashed out at Abbas, saying the changes to the electoral law were illegal. "The Palestinian president has no right to make changes to Palestinian law. Only parliament can do so," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said. "We are not concerned by this move as it goes against the law," he said. "There is no chance that elections can be successful if Hamas rejects them. What we must do first is return to dialogue and national agreement."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2007 00:00 ||
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Background: MindaNews is sympathetic to if not the mouthpiece of Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, so put on your Salafi-colored glasses while reading this report...
The Bangkok-based Focus on the Global South which has been monitoring US military presence in the Philippines today warned that US troops spotted in Mindanao are not only involved in the ongoing war against terrorism but have also established a new kind of US base in the south. In a press statement, Focus on the Global South said US troops spotted by the Agence France Press belong to the Joint Special Operations Task Force- Philippines (JSOTF-P), a unit that has been indefinitely stationed in southern Mindanao since 2002.
Contrary to previous efforts by the US and Philippine governments to portray the troops as participating only in temporary training exercises called the Balikatan, it has since been revealed that this unit has stayed on and maintained its presence in the country for the last six years, it said.
Agence France Press reported that US troops were aboard a Humvee armored jeep as two US soldiers manned a vehicle-top mounted machine-gun in Sulu. The US soldiers' helmets bore miniature US flags.
Not miniature U.S. flags! Quick, Ethel! My pills!
The report said the US troops were part of a convoy of Philippine Marines on the hunt for members of the Abu Sayyaf. The same report quoted Lee McClenny, US embassy spokesperson, as saying US troops are not involved in any combat roles but will fire back if fired upon." Our role is to advise and assist the Philippine military. This is the main focus of our anti-terror campaign, McClenny said.
The sighting of US troops came just as President Arroyo ordered the offensive in Sulu.
Focus on the Global South early this year published its research on the JSOTF-P, titled, Unconventional Warfare: Are US Special Forces Engaged in an Offensive War in the Philippines? (http://www.focusweb.org/index.php/). It said it had gathered pronouncements by US troops themselves who have gone on record to say that their mission in (Mindanao) is unconventional warfare a US military term that encompasses combat operations.
With the Philippine government not giving a definite exit date, and with US officials stating that this unit composed of between 100 to 500 troops depending on the season will stay on as long as they are allowed by the government, it is presumed that it will continue to be based in the Philippines for an indefinite period, the statement read. Beyond being involved in the war, Focus draws attention to this unit having effectively established a new kind of basing in the Philippines, it said.
The JSOTF-Ps stationing in Mindanao is a prototype of the new kind of overseas basing that the US has introduced as part of its ongoing effort to realign its global basing structure, it said.
Global Focus on the South reported that since 2001, the US which has more than 700 bases and installations in over 100 countries around the world had embarked on the most radical realignment of its overseas basing network since World War II. Part of the changes is the move away from large permanent bases such as the ones in Subic and Clark in favor of smaller, more austere, more low profile bases such as the JSOTF-Ps presence in Zamboanga and in other places in southern Mindanao.
In terms of profile and mission, Focus noted that JSOTF-P is very similar to the Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa which was established in Djibouti in western Africa in 2003 and which has been described as a sample of the US austere basing template and the model for future US military operations.
Global Focus on the South said it believes that the Philippines is one of the nodes for special operations forces that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld himself revealed the Pentagon would establish as part of its changes in Asia.
It pointed to how US troops themselves refer to their base in Jolo as Advance Operating Base-920.
Renato Reyes, Jr., BAYAN secretary-general, asked in a press statement why are US troops involved in actual combat missions in Sulu? The sight of fully armed US troops traveling in the Philippine military convoy is a clear indication that the Americans are there for actual combat and military intervention.
KMP chair Rafael Mariano said the participation of US troops in combat is a clear violation of Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and a slap on the face of the Filipino people. If the Macapagal-Arroyo regime does not do anything about it then its servility to the Bush administration is further proven. At the very least a probe is in order and the immediate pull out of US troops in the area. The junking of the Visiting Forces Agreement is also not far off, because of this.
Anakpawis Rep. Beltran said the participation of US troops in the war operations were in clear violation of the VFA and more importantly, provisions of the Philippine Constitution on internal security and sovereignty. He said that the onset, the AFP should issue an official statement on the involvement of the US troops and divulge how many US troops are actually participating and in which areas they are being deployed. He said it was also illegal for US troops to be conducting covert operations on Philippine soil.
Last week in Davao City, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said they keep tab of the US troops in Mindanao but did not answer the question on how many American soldiers are presently in Mindanao. Esperon told a press conference August 10 that the US soldiers in Mindanao or in the other parts of the country are here as mutually agreed upon for activities such as Balikatan and Kapit Bisig. He said some American soldiers are also giving lectures on subjects of their expertise. When a reporter cited the presence of US troops in the aftermath of bombings in Mindanao, Esperon said theyre likely providing technical assistance or are giving technical briefings about some materials.
When American troops landed in Zamboanga City for Balikatan 02-1 in January 2002, the first time after the US military bases in the country were ousted in 1991, they were supposed to stay only until July that year but some stayed behind to do civil works, to finish construction and do some humanitarian programs in the city and in neighboring Basilan. Since January 2002, there had always been a batch of American soldiers in Mindanao but how many they are, US and Philippine military officials are not saying. Asked about the seemingly continuous US military presence since 2002, then US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone told MindaNews in an interview in February 2005 that we established a semi-continuous, not permanent, but semi-continuous (military presence), that is to say, some number of our personnel, rotate, at the pleasure of the command, your command Its a high-priced consultancy, only were doing it for free. And the second your command says its not useful, we leave.
Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said here Wednesday that undoubtedly, Europe owes its scientific development to Muslims scientists especially Iranians. Yeah, muslim ivented practically *everything*, except the internet. Gore invented that.
He gonna covert?
"Unfortunately, the world of Islam is today in need of western science. The Islamic Revolution is determined to return that glorious era to the world of Islam. This is why enemies of Islam are hurling obstacles on the way under different pretexts," said Rafsanjani in an address to a group of the short-term students of the World Center of Islamic Sciences.
Rafsanjani said two scientific centers, i.e. Imam Khomeini International University in Qazvin and the World Center of Islamic Sciences in Qom, were established in the early years of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in order to foster unity in the world of Islam.
He added that knowledge about different aspects of religion and its teaching to the public is a scientific duty for those who are capable of learning and teaching. According to the EC Chairman, real science would always bring unity and affection while division would always deepens under the shadow of ignorance.
#3
Omar Khayyám, a Persian, is one of the great scholars in history, particularly in the area of mathematics. But his contribution has little in common with the thugs and lunatics who run modern Iran...
Hezbollah and Amal supporters, rejoicing over a speech by Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah marking the anniversary of the end of last summer's war with Israel, fought pro-government supporters with fists and stones in Beirut. Media reports said Hezbollah and Amal supporters drove across the streets of the capital and the southern suburbs, or Dahiyeh, at the end of Nasrallah's speech shortly before midnight Tuesday, waving flags , blowing horns and shooting in the air which antagonized the residents of Beirut, that don't share Hezbollah's claim of 'divine victory'
They said one convoy of cars and motorcycles clashed with supporters of MP Saad Hariri's Al-Mustaqbal Movement near Abdul Nasser Mosque on the main Corniche Mazraa street. The two sides traded insults and hurled stones and rocks at each other. Lebanese army troops quickly cordoned off the area and dispersed the antagonists.
In his Tuesday evening address, the third in a series of speeches he has made in recent weeks to mark the August 14 anniversary, Nasrallah promised Israel a "big surprise" if it tired to attack Lebanon. "You Zionists. If you think of launching an aggression against Lebanon, I won't promise you surprises like those that have happened, but I promise you the grand surprise that could change the course of war and the destiny of the region, God willing," Nasrallah said.
He was addressing a rally of supporters and representatives of allied forces at a soccer stadium in south Beirut marking the first anniversary of Hezbollah's self-declared "divine victory" against Israel in the 34-day war which was halted on Aug. 14, 2006 by U.N. Security Council resolution 1701.
Nasrallah appeared on jumbo screens erected at the stadium where tens of thousands of supporters waved Hezbollah flags and chanted for victory and their leader. Nasrallah has been hiding , for security reasons ever since the war ended. Nasrallah said he was personally ready along with Hezbollah's Islamic Resistance to "shoulder responsibility of this promise."
"I warn them (Israelis) and advise them. Here in Lebanon they face a resistance, an army and a nation that reject humiliation ? A nation that fights and is ready for sacrifices and will achieve the historic victory, God willing," Nasrallah said as the crowds chanted "Death to Israel" and "death to America." He added that "any new war on Lebanon will have a high price ? I am not looking for war, but I am working on preventing a war," he added.
The summer which Hezbollah is calling a divine victory devastated Lebanon. Over 1280 Lebanese were killed , mostly civilians , over 5000 were wounded , also mostly civilians , over a million Lebanese were made homeless, mostly Shiite Muslims and over 110,000 homes were destroyed. The infrastructure of Lebanon was totally destroyed and all the bridges were leveled. The cost to Lebanon according to the UN exceeds $15 billion, excluding lost revenue.
Hezbollah promised to rebuild the country with 'Halal' Iranian funds, but these funds never made it to Lebanon, and the people of Lebanon had to assume more debt to pay for rebuilding the country. Lebanon is the most indebted nation on per capita basis. Following the end of the summer war, Hezbollah along with all the pro-Syrian allies , including General Michel Aoun, turned their attention from Israel to the Lebanese people, by occupying the downtown center of Beirut, which devastated the economy and resulted in the closure of the majority of the downtown businesses.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I thought the Clash broke up?...
Posted by: Ebbomoth Protector of the Antelope7500 ||
08/16/2007 2:07 Comments ||
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#2
lets see it's 2007 and the gurus and experts have been saying for 18 years that Israel cannot reach Iran with enough conventional munitions to disable their offensive capability against Israel itself.
Boeing 707 are cheap and plentiful. They can be chopped and channeled and made into bombers easily by Israeli engineers.
They would be deadly Especially with the stand off and accurate weapons that the USA makes, and I'm sure the Israelis can make.
Israel already has tremendous fighters and FUEL tankers, and I'm sure they could find a way to fly there!
So
Nasrallah has been hiding , for security reasons ever since the war ended. Nasrallah said he was personally ready along with Hezbollah's Islamic Resistance to "shoulder responsibility of this promise."
Well ____________________________________________________!
/and no ima not looking for anyone to agree with me.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/16/2007 3:43 Comments ||
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#3
Fascist gangsters claim 30,000 missiles? There can be no happy ending to this suicide pact Lebanon has made with the devil...
#5
Hezbollah and Amal supporters drove across the streets of the capital and the southern suburbs, or Dahiyeh, at the end of Nasrallah's speech shortly before midnight Tuesday, waving flags , blowing horns and shooting in the air which antagonized the residents of Beirut, that don't share Hezbollah's claim of 'divine victory'.
"Cuz antagonizing is what we Muslims do best!"
Nasrallah has been hiding , for security reasons ever since the war ended.
Sounds like his victory wasnt all that divine then.
Nasrallah said he was personally ready along with Hezbollah's Islamic Resistance to "shoulder responsibility of this promise."
But only from a safe distance.
The summer which Hezbollah is calling a divine victory devastated Lebanon. Over 1280 Lebanese were killed , mostly civilians , over 5000 were wounded , also mostly civilians , over a million Lebanese were made homeless, mostly Shiite Muslims and over 110,000 homes were destroyed. The infrastructure of Lebanon was totally destroyed and all the bridges were leveled. The cost to Lebanon according to the UN exceeds $15 billion, excluding lost revenue.
Another divine victory or two like that one and nobody will have to worry about Lebanon anymore. This is what happens when you let Muslims play with your toys.
Hezbollah promised to rebuild the country with 'Halal' Iranian funds, but these funds never made it to Lebanon, and the people of Lebanon had to assume more debt to pay for rebuilding the country.
Did the funds ever even make it out of Iran? If they did, does anyone want to bet they were diverted towards arms purchases? The real corker is that Shiites suffered the most from Nasrallah's folly. One would think they'd have capped Nasrallah's terrorist ass but nooooooooooooo! I guess that killin' them Jews warrants any amount of senseless suffering and deprivation. So be it.
Former Sydney man Omar al-Hadba faces the death penalty in Lebanon after prosecutors sent his case to the nation's highest court, accusing him of playing a key role in a 13-week-long al-Qaeda revolt. The case against Mr Hadba, arrested in early July along with four other Australians, has been transferred to the Council of Justice, which deals with crimes against the state. He is expected to be charged with either treason or sedition, both of which carry the death sentence.
The case against Mr Hadba, arrested in early July along with four other Australians, has been transferred to the Council of Justice, which deals with crimes against the state. He is expected to be charged with either treason or sedition, both of which carry the death sentence.
The dual Australian-Lebanese national is accused of supplying weapons to leaders of the revolt at the Nahr al-Barad Palestinian refugee camp, 15km north of Tripoli. A Jihadi group emulating al-Qaeda, known as Fatah al-Islam, launched the revolt in mid-May.
In the operation to arrest the Australians, the army seized about 500kg of weapons from Mr Hadba's workshop in Tripoli. The swoop netted two other Australians, who are also under arrest, former Sydney financial planner Ibrahim Sabbough and Sydney businessman Hussein Elomar. Two further Australians - Mr Elomar's Australian boxing champion nephew, Ahmed Elomar, and Mohammed Bassel - were freed without charge after being detained for more than a week.
The Council of Justice is also expected to hear the cases of Mr Sabbough and Mr Elomar, but the investigating judge in the case and military intelligence officers are known to view Mr Hadba as a more significant security threat. Army officers say enough weapons were found in his workshop to supply almost a company of regular soldiers.
Mr Hadba, who drove a taxi in Tripoli, has been repeatedly pressed about the origin of the weapons, which include Kalashnikov and M-16 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, mines, sniper rifles, machine guns and hand grenades. However, Lebanese authorities have been unsatisfied with the answers he has given them.
Mr Hadba, who drove a taxi in Tripoli, has been repeatedly pressed about the origin of the weapons, which include Kalashnikov and M-16 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, mines, sniper rifles, machine guns and hand grenades. However, Lebanese authorities have been unsatisfied with the answers he has given them. Lebanon claims to have 64 Fatah al-Islam members in custody and to have 50 more surrounded in Nahr al-Barad. The remaining militants are holed up in a 1.5kmsq area at the centre of the camp, where they continue to mount attacks from a tunnel network underneath the ruins. Snipers, booby traps and weeks of heavy combat have killed 137 Lebanese soldiers and an estimated 90 militants, the bulk of whom are believed to have fought with the Iraqi insurgency, before arriving in Lebanon to take part in the revolt.
Fatah al-Islam has said it aims to overthrow the Government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and to help introduce an Islamic caliphate across the Arab world. Identity papers found on fighters captured or killed during the campaign reveal the insurgency has been fuelled by men from across Arabia and Europe, with at least one Danish national under arrest.
Rogue elements of Syria's intelligence apparatus are suspected of facilitating the fighting, with a view to toppling the Siniora Government and reasserting Syrian hegemony in Lebanon. The Syrian army was forced to pull out of Lebanon more than two years ago in the furor following the assassination on the Beirut waterfront of former prime minister Rafik Hariri. Syria continually denies any involvement in the murder.
Australian authorities are yet to be given access to the three detained nationals. However, Australian Federal Police and ASIO officers are closely monitoring developments. The Australian embassy has repeatedly warned Lebanese military intelligence chiefs not to torture Australians to gain confessions. After his release, Ahmed Elomar displayed bruises and abrasions on his torso, which he said were caused by torture during his interrogation.
This article starring:
AHMED ELOMAR
Fatah al-Islam
HUSEIN ELOMAR
Fatah al-Islam
IBRAHIM SABUGH
Fatah al-Islam
MOHAMED BASEL
Fatah al-Islam
OMAR AL HADBA
Fatah al-Islam
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora
Fatah al-Islam
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2007 00:00 ||
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Hizbollah is buying up large tracts of land owned by Christians and other non-Shias in southern Lebanon as the militant group rebuilds its defenses in preparation for a new war with Israel. The land grab is thought to be driven by the Iranian-backed guerrillas' efforts to rearm themselves and fortify the strategically important ravines north of the Litani River, just north of the front line in last year's 34-day conflict with its Jewish neighbor.
Here, Hizbollah has been free to press forward without harassment from the 13,000 United Nations peacekeepers and 20,000 Lebanese army troops who were deployed south of the Litani as part of the ceasefire agreement that ended the conflict.
Just south of the Litani, the UN is conducting hundreds of patrols each day in a bid to keep Hizbollah weapons out of the area, but the peacekeepers' mandate ends at the river. The Lebanese army, meanwhile, is about 50 per cent Shia and seems to be turning a blind eye to Hizbollah activities north of the river.
In these rugged gorges, the group appears to be readying for round two with Israel, and many fear it is not far off after the inconclusive end to last year's war and reports of -Hizbollah rearming. The area's forested wadis, or valleys, make ideal terrain for Hizbollah's brand of guerrilla warfare and, just 10 miles from the border, are within rocket range of Israeli cities.
The Shia encroachment into a mixed area of Christians, Shias and Druze threatens to disrupt Lebanon's delicate sectarian balance, which is already teetering after three years of political tumult. "Christians and Druze are selling land and moving out, while the Shia are moving in. There is an extraordinary demo-graphic shift taking place," said Edmund Rizk, a Christian MP for the area until 1992.
On a scenic, sparsely populated ridge, the farming village of Chbail was once Christian. Today, the land belongs to a wealthy Shia businessman with alleged ties to Hizbollah. Its new residents are recent Shia transplants from the Hizbollah-controlled south. Entry to the village is forbidden to outsiders - not by the Lebanese army that technically holds sway here, but by the chabab, the plain-clothed, bearded youths who act as look-outs in Hizbollah territory. "The village is closed for security reasons," said a youth who had recently moved from a Hizbollah-controlled area near the regional capital, Tyre.
Like many neighboring hamlets, Chbail has steadily decayed ever since civil war broke out in 1975. Fleeing first Palestinian guerrillas, then invading Israeli soldiers, and finally Hizbollah, villagers steadily migrated to seek better lives in Beirut or overseas.
While The Sunday Telegraph was at Chbail's outskirts, a rust-coloured Volvo station wagon rolled in, piled high with wooden building beams. A dozen or so other young men with dirt-caked fingernails came and went freely. On the wadis' western edge, a metal sign strung across an unmarked dirt track erased any doubt about what, or rather who, now lies beyond. "Entry forbidden. Hizbollah area," the sign read in Arabic. The closure was manned by a pair of teenage gunmen in olive green fatigues, armed with walkie-talkies and AK47s.
The buy-up of land in Chbail and half a dozen Druze and Christian villages is said to be the work of a wealthy Shia businessman, Ali Tajeddine, who made his fortune trading diamonds in Sierra Leone before returning to Lebanon and starting a successful construction company.
Squat and bearded, Mr Tajeddine keeps a Hizbollah charity box in the waiting room of his Tyre office. He is believed to be a major player in Hizbollah's massive reconstruction program called Jihad al Bina, or the Building Jihad. During an interview, Mr Tajeddine fidgeted nervously as he denied any connection with Hizbollah. He said his projects at Chbail represent just a fraction of the dozens of developments he is building throughou
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Really, no kidding?
An abomination that causes desolation taking over fruitful lives. You don't say.
Name a corner on this earth where this is not happening?
#2
WORLDTRIBUNE > Syrian Missle buildup continues, Israel labeling situation as "tense"; + FREEREPUBLIC/LUCIANNE > Syrian General claims Syria wants/needs a war wid Israel for both nations to go back to negotiation tables, + DEBKA > Iranian RG Cdr claims Iran's missles are now remote-controllable hence are harder to destroy by air attack, while RG + aligned units now possess Anti-tank missles capable of defeating the armor of IDF Merkavas and US M1 Abrams.
#3
The 2-state majority in Congress should explain why nothing was done after Muslims started their push of 2,000,000 Christians out of their Holy Lands.
#5
So I guess the Israeli's can just consider the strategically important ravines north of the Litani River as free fire zones the next time they head up?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
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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.
(SomaliNet) Somalia transitional parliament speaker Sheik Aden Mohamed Nour Madobe on Tuesday gave a strong warning to some of the legislators who were known to come in parliamentary sessions armed with with pistols. Sheik Madobe said the parliament was aware of the MPs that hold handguns in the hall of sessions and these acts will not be toleated anymore. The speaker neither mentioned what step should be taken against pistol holders nor the names of those who enter the parliament house with weapons. 
A proposed contract between Russia and Venezuela that could transfer thousands of sniper rifles to Venezuela has raised concern in the United States about the potential use or regional distribution of the weapons by the socialist-inspired government of President Hugo Chávez. The rifle in question is the latest variant of the Dragunov, a long-barreled, semi-automatic design with an optical sight. It is derived in part from the much more widely circulated Kalashnikov assault rifle. First manufactured in 1963 for use by militaries and intelligence agencies in the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact, the Dragunov and its clones have become one of the most lethal and effective weapons against American troops and their allies in Iraq.
INDIAN doctor 
Since its opening in 1957, the Islamic Center of Washington has been the citys most prominent mosquea center of worship for thousands of area Muslims, including many members of the capitals diplomatic corps. President Bush even made a speech at the mosque earlier this summer.
Jurors began deliberations after three months of testimony in the trial of Jose Padilla and two co-defendants on charges of operating a support cell for Islamic terrorists, including al-Qaida. Padilla, a US citizen, was held for three and a half years as an enemy combatant following his May 2002 arrest as authorities initially claimed he was part of an al-Qaida plot to set off a radioactive "dirty bomb" in a US city. He was added in late 2005 to an existing terrorism support indictment amid a legal battle over US President George W. Bush's authority to continue detaining him without charge. 
Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said on Wednesday that Pakistan was doing enough to counter terrorism and had lost 700 soldiers while playing its role in the "war on terror," and complained that the Western media was not portraying Pakistan's role or sacrifices fairly.
Pakistani delegates to the Pak-Afghan jirga were more than satisfied with the warm welcome they received in Kabul, with every luxury provided to them by the hosts. The delegates praised the Afghan government's arrangements and delegation leader Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told the hosts during his speech on the last day of the jirga that their hospitality "is so warm that it makes one want to stay here for good". 
CAIRO - The Arab League on Wednesday condemned devastating suicide truck bombings that killed more than 200 people in northern Iraq and appealed for national reconciliation. The Arab League firmly condemns the explosions which on Tuesday killed hundreds of Yazidis, the 22-nation body said in a statement after the blasts late Tuesday in two villages inhabited by members of the Yazidi minority.
US Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani said he opposes creation of a Palestinian state at this time and would take a tough stand with Iran, including destroying its nuclear infrastructure "should all else fail." 
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas issued a decree on Wednesday that effectively excludes the rival Hamas movement ruling Gaza from future elections, further widening the gaping Palestinian divide. Abbas's office, however, denied that it had published a decree that made changes to the current Palestinian electoral law.
Agence France Press reported that US troops were aboard a Humvee armored jeep as two US soldiers manned a vehicle-top mounted machine-gun in Sulu. The US soldiers' helmets bore miniature US flags. 
With the Philippine government not giving a definite exit date, and with US officials stating that this unit composed of between 100 to 500 troops depending on the season will stay on as long as they are allowed by the government, it is presumed that it will continue to be based in the Philippines for an indefinite period, the statement read. Beyond being involved in the war, Focus draws attention to this unit having effectively established a new kind of basing in the Philippines, it said.
Global Focus on the South reported that since 2001, the US which has more than 700 bases and installations in over 100 countries around the world had embarked on the most radical realignment of its overseas basing network since World War II. Part of the changes is the move away from large permanent bases such as the ones in Subic and Clark in favor of smaller, more austere, more low profile bases such as the JSOTF-Ps presence in Zamboanga and in other places in southern Mindanao.
Renato Reyes, Jr., BAYAN secretary-general, asked in a press statement why are US troops involved in actual combat missions in Sulu? The sight of fully armed US troops traveling in the Philippine military convoy is a clear indication that the Americans are there for actual combat and military intervention.
Anakpawis Rep. Beltran said the participation of US troops in the war operations were in clear violation of the VFA and more importantly, provisions of the Philippine Constitution on internal security and sovereignty. He said that the onset, the AFP should issue an official statement on the involvement of the US troops and divulge how many US troops are actually participating and in which areas they are being deployed. He said it was also illegal for US troops to be conducting covert operations on Philippine soil. 
When American troops landed in Zamboanga City for Balikatan 02-1 in January 2002, the first time after the US military bases in the country were ousted in 1991, they were supposed to stay only until July that year but some stayed behind to do civil works, to finish construction and do some humanitarian programs in the city and in neighboring Basilan. Since January 2002, there had always been a batch of American soldiers in Mindanao but how many they are, US and Philippine military officials are not saying. Asked about the seemingly continuous US military presence since 2002, then US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone told MindaNews in an interview in February 2005 that we established a semi-continuous, not permanent, but semi-continuous (military presence), that is to say, some number of our personnel, rotate, at the pleasure of the command, your command
Its a high-priced consultancy, only were doing it for free. And the second your command says its not useful, we leave.
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Hezbollah and Amal supporters, rejoicing over a speech by Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah marking the anniversary of the end of last summer's war with Israel, fought pro-government supporters with fists and stones in Beirut. Media reports said Hezbollah and Amal supporters drove across the streets of the capital and the southern suburbs, or Dahiyeh, at the end of Nasrallah's speech shortly before midnight Tuesday, waving flags , blowing horns and shooting in the air which antagonized the residents of Beirut, that don't share Hezbollah's claim of 'divine victory' 
Former Sydney man 
Hizbollah is buying up large tracts of land owned by Christians and other non-Shias in southern Lebanon as the militant group rebuilds its defenses in preparation for a new war with Israel. The land grab is thought to be driven by the Iranian-backed guerrillas' efforts to rearm themselves and fortify the strategically important ravines north of the Litani River, just north of the front line in last year's 34-day conflict with its Jewish neighbor.
