Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has said that the next Pak-Afghan peace jirga will be held in Pakistan after the general elections. He was talking to Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a meeting with him in Herat, Afghanistan on Saturday. Kasuri attended the ECO Council of Ministers conference in the Afghan western city. Both expressed satisfaction over the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Peace Jirga held in Kabul, which had not only reinforced the resolve of the two countries to fight against terrorism and extremism but also improved the atmosphere between them.
During the meeting they exchanged views on the follow-up steps to the decisions taken at the joint peace Jirga. President Karzai said that terrorism and extremism is the common enemy of the two countries and in the fight against it, Afghanistan can be the best asset and partner of Pakistan. He condemned the dastardly act of terrorism in Karachi on October 18 and spoke about his telephone conversation with President Pervez Musharraf. He condoled the loss of innocent lives in the blasts. The two also exchanged views on matters of bilateral interest.
Yeah. That's the word I was looking for. "Dastardly."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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The Lion speaks. I wish George Bush would talk like this.
Islamist extremism is similar to rising fascism in the 1920s and 1930s, Tony Blair said last night in his first major speech since leaving office.
At a prestigious charity dinner in New York, the former Prime Minister said that public figures who blamed the rise of fundamentalism on the policies of the West were "mistaken". He told the audience, which included New York governor Eliot Spitzer and mayor Michael Bloomberg, that Iran was the biggest exporter of the ideology, and that the Islamic republic was prepared to "back and finance terror" to support it.
Out there in the Middle East, weve seen... the ideology driving this extremism and terror is not exhausted. On the contrary it believes it can and will exhaust us first," he said. Analogies with the past are never properly accurate, and analogies especially with the rising fascism can be easily misleading but, in pure chronology, I sometimes wonder if were not in the 1920s or 1930s again.
This ideology now has a state, Iran, that is prepared to back and finance terror in the pursuit of destabilising countries whose people wish to live in peace.
He added: There is a tendency even now, even in some of our own circles, to believe that they are as they are because we have provoked them and if we left them alone they would leave us alone. I fear this is mistaken. They have no intention of leaving us alone. They have made their choice and leave us with only one to make - to be forced into retreat or to exhibit even greater determination and belief in standing up for our values than they do in standing up for theirs.
Mr Blair, who represents the Quartet of the US, Europe, Russia and the United Nations on the Middle East, was speaking at the 62nd annual Alfred E Smith Memorial Foundation dinner at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. Mr Blair went on: I said straight after the attack of September 2001 that this was not an attack on America but on all of us. That Britains duty was to be shoulder to shoulder with you in confronting it. I meant it then and I mean it now.
He added: America and Europe should not be divided, we should stand up together. The values we share are as vital and true and, above all, needed today as they have been at any time in the last 100 years.
Mr Blair received three standing ovations during the evening. Earlier, the former Prime Minister said: Out of this region the Middle East has been exported a deadly ideology based on a perversion of the proper faith of Islam but nonetheless articulated with demonic skill playing on the fears and grievances of Muslims everywhere.
It did not originate from the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians, of course, far from it. But this dispute is used to great effect as a means of dividing people, sowing seeds of hatred and sectarianism.
The impact of this global ideology is now no longer felt simply in the terrorism that afflicts Lebanon or Iran or Palestine. It is there also now in Pakistan, Afghanistan, in India, of course in Europe, in Madrid and London, and in the series of failed attempts to create terror across our continent. And here in New York you felt it in the thousands who died and who still mourn their lost ones.
Referring to the Middle East, Mr Blair said: The challenge is global, therefore our response must be global.
Either the argument will be as our enemies want it framed as Islam versus the west. Or it will be as we want it framed as moderates of whatever faith, colour or race against extremism however it manifests itself.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
I'd say that Tony has got it right, with one caveat. Many in his Labour Party and most 'RATs in America are itching to play the role of Neville Chamberlain.
#2
'...the former Prime Minister said that public figures who blamed the rise of fundamentalism on the policies of the West were self-loathing morons "mistaken".'
And actually the sitution we have today is in some ways trickier. Imperial Japan collaborated to advance their own interests, but they never truly shared the Nazi ideology.
Now we concurrently have to deal with millions of sympathizers spread throughout dozens of other countries, including our own.
And the Hollywood heavyweights and mainstream media eager to be used as a propaganda arm for our enemy.
#3
Any German speakers here? 'Kampf' translates as 'struggle', doesn't it?
How about Arabic speakers? 'Jihad' also translates as 'struggle'?
Coincidence?
#6
I would agree that the Japanese comparison is far more like Iran. The Brits should well remember that the fighting in Burma was hideous, an enormous and vicious campaign in which the Brits finally threw the Japanese out of SE Asia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma_Campaign
The parallels between Iran and pre-war Japan are pretty glaring.
#7
JAP: Remember when diving into the enemy to shout at the top of your lungs: "Hissatsu!" ("Sink without fail!") At that moment, all the cherry blossoms at Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo will smile brightly at you.
Musrat: At the top of your lungs scream continuously, Allah ak bar, Allah ak bar while grabbing your package (forgetting about the goats) and envisioning your heavenly rewards.
#8
There is a tendency even now, even in some of our own circles, to believe that they are as they are because we have provoked them and if we left them alone they would leave us alone. I fear this is mistaken. They have no intention of leaving us alone. They have made their choice and leave us with only one to make - to be forced into retreat or to exhibit even greater determination and belief in standing up for our values than they do in standing up for theirs.
Folks, like it or not, this is what we have in the way of a modern-day Winston Churchill. Blair deserves his three standing ovations for being one of the few to properly articulate the similarities of Islam to Nazism. Screw whatever analogies to WWII Japan, despite however more appropriate they might be. Nazism will forever convey all of the succinct and important nuances required to correctly demonize Islam.
Out of this region the Middle East has been exported a deadly ideology based on a perversion of the proper faith of Islam but nonetheless articulated with demonic skill playing on the fears and grievances of Muslims everywhere.
Please note how even Blair himself still sips some Kool-Aid from the Religion of Peace. [spit]
The similarities between Islam and Nazism are so profound that it is a huge mistake not to be highlighting them on a routine basis.
Little else of the lessons from WWII lingers in this world's collective memory like the Nazis and we'd damn well better begin making sure that this is what people perceive when they think of Islam.
#9
Yup, much as Blair has screwed up Britain domestically, he understands the challenge of Islam and is willing to speak out clearly on it more than any other politician of our time.
US President George W. Bush was listed as a potential target by people arrested in the anti-terror raids in New Zealand.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and Opposition Leader John Key were also listed as possible targets, the Sunday-Times, quoting intelligence sources, said.
President Bush and his wife, Laura, were expected to make a brief visit to New Zealand at the conclusion of APEC in September.
US Embassy spokeswoman Janine Burns would not comment on whether the potential threat to Mr Bush was a factor in his decision not to visit.
The police operation, which saw 17 people arrested, followed a 22-month investigation into alleged terrorist training camps in New Zealand. The operation has been treated with widespread scepticism by the public.
Police Association president Greg O'Connor said the public should not make judgements until the full facts of the case emerged.
He said the operation had been "triggered by credible intelligence of a serious threat to New Zealand's safety and security" and was a reality check for people who considered homegrown terrorism to be laughable.
But the Herald on Sunday said activist Jamie Lockett claimed incriminating text and phone messages had been deliberately sent to wind up police who had been bugging his phone.
During a bail hearing for Lockett last week, prosecutors said he had sent a series of text messages saying he intended to launch a war.
The messages, intercepted by police, were said to include "White men are going to die in this country" and "I'm declaring war on this country very soon."
During the raids, police seized several weapons, including AK-47s, and other military equipment.
Most of those arrested face firearms charges with police considering whether further charges will be laid under anti-terrorism laws.
INSTAPUNDIT'S ISTANBUL CORRESPONDENT, CLAIRE BERLINSKI, EMAILS: "For what it's worth, there have been jet fighters flying over the Bosphorus all night, rattling the windows and alarming my cats. Someone really wants to impress upon the citizens of Istanbul that they have a lot of loud, scary planes. I dare say it's not the Israelis dumping the odd fuel tank, either."
#1
I support Kurdish autonomy in Iraq, but last week's rally cries against Turks undermines the cause. Kurds should have dealt with the fact that people they harbor, murdered 15 Turk soldiers last week. The government is Islamofascist; the army is not. We cannot protect Kurds if they insist on jeopardizing themselves.
If the hapless carter were to get involved, the end result would be a denuded secular Turkish army replaced by a satanic horde bent on restoring the Caliphate and imposing its version of sharia throughout Asia Minor.
#4
Anyone else getting the feeling that no matter how pro-American any Muslim faction is they will still manage to make a dog's breakfast out of things for us and themselves as well? We are total idiots to be seeking any alliances with Muslim majority nations. They simply will not stop killing each other or making the odd swipe at us as well. It would be far better to simply crush these psychotic thugs and begin eradicating Islamic culture any way that we can. McZoid has it quite right in that this is not a strictly religious issue, it is a cultural problem and needs to be addressed on a much broader scale.
After investing $20 billion over 25 years and losing 30 lives in the development of the controversial V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft, known as the Osprey, the U.S. military might like to think that its long-awaited combat debut would go relatively smoothly. But even as 10 Marine V-22s have just arrived in Iraq, the Air Force which is buying V-22s for special operations missions has decided the gun on the marine's version isn't good enough for an aircraft expressly designed to ferry troops into hot landing zones.
The Marines now flying the $120 million aircraft have insisted that the small gun slung from the aircraft's opened rear ramp is adequate for war. That's a claim disputed by retired Marine general James Jones, who ordered a beefed-up, forward-firing gun for the V-22 when he was serving as the Corps' top officer from 1999 to 2003. The requirement evaporated after Jones stepped down as commandant, but the Air Force, which is buying 50 V-22s for the Special Ops command, seems to agree with Jones. Real Marines don't need all that fancy technology!
"It is critical that the CV-22 possess a self-defense capability that will provide maximum protection from threats in the vicinity of the landing zone," the Special Op Command says in a recent message to contractors seeking an improved gun. Its list of requirements shows that the gun now on the V-22s in Iraq falls far short of what it wants, including "maximum coverage of all quadrants" in other words, the ability to fire in the direction that the V-22 is going, not merely where it has been, as is the case with the current gun. The special-ops V-22 is slated to enter service in 2009. Makes it sound like it's a fixed weapon, but hey! It's Time magazine!
This dispute is just the latest chapter in a troubled program begun in 1981 to provide a troop transport for all four military services; the Army dropped out two years later for cost reasons, and then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, also citing cost, failed to kill it over objections from Congress and the Marines. The V-22, built by Bell Helicopter and the Boeing Co., was deemed ideal for carrying troops because it can take off and land like a helicopter, then tilt its engines and rotors forward to fly like a turboprop airplane. After three fatal crashes, numerous delays and compromises that some inside the military believe endanger those on board, the 10 V-22s are finally based at al Asad air base in western Iraq (the Marines have clamped down on all information about their operations, but expect a formal Iraqi unveiling of the V-22s soon).
At least one contractor agrees with the Air Force that the interim gun aboard the V-22 is wanting. BAE Systems has been investing in the development of a remotely-aimed gun that could be slung from the V-22's belly and installed starting in about a year, BAE officials say. The gun, which could range in size from 7.62 mm (the size of the current gun) to .50-cal. (the size Jones wanted) would protrude from the V-22's belly, just forward of the swiveling gun. A V-22 crew member located in the passenger compartment would fire the gun, based on the video images displayed, with a hand-held controller. A Pentagon official says this design, while perhaps adequate for special-ops V-22s, wouldn't replace the need for a final weapon for the Marine V-22 that would be integrated into the aircraft's internal electronic and computer systems. The Pentagon is seeking $82 million to develop a permanent gun, on top of the $45 million it already spent trying to meet Jones' requirement for one. How about a B-24 turrent, with twin-50's?
V-22 pilots like Marine Lieutenant Colonel Anthony "Buddy" Bianca know their aircraft is heading off to war with inadequate firepower. "It says right there in the ORD" -- the Operational Requirements Document specifying what the aircraft must be able to do -- that "the aircraft is supposed to have 360 degrees field of fire with a defensive weapon," says Bianca, who has spent 1,300 hours flying the V-22 over the past eight years. "I don't care if its a B-24 turret, you stick it out of a window or you patch it on with bubblegum, but we've got to find a way to do that." Bianca, 40, told TIME that the current rear gun is "not the answer," and that Marines are planning on installing a better gun eventually. He pauses when asked if he thinks the V-22 should be sent to Iraq with the small, ramp-mounted gun as its only weapon. "That question," he says, "is not mine to say."
But as has always been the case in war, the more junior the officer, the less concerned he is about the weapon he is bringing to the fight. The gun doesn't faze Captain Justin "Moon" McKinney from Albany, Georgia, who has spent nearly 200 hours flying the V-22 over the past year. McKinney, 30, and his fellow "Thunder Chickens" of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 from Jacksonville, N.C., are now in Iraq. "I think the weapon," he said as he readied for the deployment, "is very sufficient."
Bianca recalls why Jones' original scheme for a bigger gun was scrapped. "It was primarily cost, to be honest with you," he said. "I was in the room when (the contractors) were basically told that `this was our price-tag limits to develop this weapon' and they came back with a price tag and were told, `Well guys, you just designed yourself out of a weapons system.'" The gun's ultimate cost $1.5 million a copy ended up being too expensive in the Pentagon's eyes. That price barely more than 1% of the V-22's current cost ultimately doomed it, and sent the aircraft to Iraq sporting a weapon some Marines deride as a "peashooter." Anybody else out there got an opinion? 7.62 mm machine gun? 20 mm vulcan cannon? How about a CIWS?
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/21/2007 06:09 ||
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#1
Anybody else out there got an opinion? 7.62 mm machine gun? 20 mm vulcan cannon? How about a CIWS?
#6
There was a proposal for an anti-sub variant. Luckily potential enemy subs no longer exist.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
10/21/2007 9:02 Comments ||
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#7
Actually bigger guns on aircraft are always in demand. In WWII, some of our aircraft started out with very light weaponry and ended up just bristling with the heaviest guns it could manage sticking out every available hole.
#8
Works both ways. The B-29 ended up ditching everything but the tail gun.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
10/21/2007 9:18 Comments ||
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#9
Can't use a turret or other 360 degree coverage mount because of the huge props. You really don't want to hit one of them, and with all the other risks on that aircraft, you don't really want to trust a timing system that only shoots between the blades.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
10/21/2007 9:24 Comments ||
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#11
That was made tongue-in-cheek; anyway, from what I heard, isn't the main air-to-ground mean of attack of the Osprey crashing unwillingly unto its target, due to mechanical failure?
I sure hope they're ironed out the bugs.
#13
The TIME article allows the unwary to think that all transport aircraft capable of landing in hot areas already have 360 coverage. The implication is that the Osprey has less than is currently available.
If you want 360 coverage, you need a protruding emplacement, like a turret. Even then, you have problems. The tail provides a no-shoot area for the top turret, as do the wings and props. The ball turret has several shsdows, as well.
A small version of the Apache system might work, especially as the props should be rotated out of the way on landing.
The cost???
But, anyway, the TIME article also sllows the unwary to think other systems have come along just dan and finedy, with no problems.
But, hell, it's journalism. What can you expect?
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
10/21/2007 10:01 Comments ||
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#14
I'm a big fan of Gatlings on aircraft. Put out as much lead as fast as possible because it's a big, fat stationary target. Ideally a .50cal GAU-19 on a chin turret, though a 7.62mm GAU-2 will do.
The problem with the Osprey is that the door gunner is useless because the big engines get in the line of fire when landing vertically. Ideally, a remote turret would be placed under the chin for best field of fire, but that is precluded by the landing gear. Hard to believe, but no thought was put into arming this combat aircraft.
But the Marines will probably shoehorn a CROWS like remote turret firing 7.62 ($250K, I think). Due to the low ground clearance of the Osprey, I'm sure a few turrets will be crushed on operations.
Posted by: ed ||
10/21/2007 11:22 Comments ||
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#15
Question. How many troop carriers (helo) have anything more that minimum armament? None. Gunships lose most of their capacity to carry troops and sometimes their range due to the weight of their guns, rockets, guidance electronics, ect. Guns vs Troops & supplies. Perhaps that is why we use gunships for support and transports to transport.
#16
How about a B-24 turrent(Turret), with twin-50's?
Actualy a very good idea, make it unmanned, and belly-mount slightly forward of center, short enough to clear the groung when landed(Remember to level the barrels when landing, could be made to auto-level when wheels are deployed)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/21/2007 14:02 Comments ||
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#17
And can you imagine how that airframe would have to be beefed up to handle an effective gun system? That airframe was designed to handle "normal" airframe loads, not the recoil forces of a gun system. I suspect this would void the warranty.....
I would guess that designing a gun that would work, be effective and not take 15 years off of the service lif of the aircraft won't be cheap.
#18
I had the chance to see a V-22 a couple years back. Very impressive, but I don't see how you put a decent gun on this and have it perform its main mission -- moving people and material quickly.
So I'd suggest no gun at all. If you're going into an environment that's even mildly warm, have a F-16 or Harrier along to provide suppression.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/21/2007 14:50 Comments ||
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#19
The Osprey guys are looking at out latest remote weapon station which is extremely light at about 125lbs all in with M240 and 400 rounds of ammo. Probably put it in some kind of mount that can raise and lower as needed. Weight is a huge consideration so most traditional solutions are not going to work, but we (Precision Remotes, Inc.) are here to help!
#25
"Tis what NAPALM, WP, + Baby MOABS, etc, are for. While OSPREYS are around, traditional Helos [Hueys, Commanches, Kiowas, Blackhawks, Apaches]were suppos to be used for armed recon roles prior to the arrival of OSPREYS or heavier follow-on helos. As technology advances and heavier, more capable YTOL/VSTOL. etc. transports are introduced, the OSPREY [gunship -combo version]may take over the armed recon role completely from classic helos. FUTURE BATTLESPACE > Army + DARPA is still evaluating the combat utility of low-orbit armed dirigibles + "Static/floating", maglev/EM-powered multi-weaponed unmanned platforms. ONCE BATTLE GROUND -SPACE IS TAKEN BY THE ARMY-MARINES, ETC. IT STAYS "TAKEN", MAXIMALLY PROTECTED ONLY BY SUPER-DEADLY TECHNOLOGY, NOT BY LARGE NUMBERS OF HUMAN ARMED TROOPS.
#27
Send along an AC-130 for fire suppression, and you won't need a weapon aboard the V-22.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/21/2007 22:11 Comments ||
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#28
I'm with Steve and Old Patriot on this - send fire support along. Heck, that force element should be in the picture anyway.
Was talking to a vets group a few weeks ago, when the TIME cover story was the V-22, and amused them (and myself) recalling how many careers were made in journalism in the 1980s exposing the failure of the Maverick missile system, its cost over-runs, etc. I mentioned that it was unclear whether any Iraqi field commanders from 1991 could be found to confirm that in fact the system didn't work in combat, and also that it appeared the mysterious occurrence of flipped-over, killed Iraqi armor was the result of the Maverick achieving a kinetic kill, and the warhead detonating on the ground, turning the tanks over (naturally, this sorta kinda also validated the guidance system).
Sadly, journalism and scrutiny of many major defense programs haven't mixed well, even though there's a real potential value to it. Sort of the archetypal case of Beltway perfectionism failing in an imperfect yet adequate world. (Now I'm remembering how every Pershing II flight test failure was lovingly and excitedly reported by the press - as though ballistic missiles didn't work, or something. Ridiculous)
Over a dozen bystanders were injured in Lyari because of aerial firing from, according to the police, PPP activists protesting Thursdays attacks on PPPs welcome rally. Lyari Town SP Fayyaz Khan told Daily Times that the PPP Lyari activists, especially of the Shah Baig Lane, Chakiwara, rioted a lot. They were even trying to target the police, said Khan. However, no policemen were hurt and no one has been arrested yet, he added. They were taken to Civil Hospital Karachi. The CHK emergency in-charge told Daily Times that at least 12 injured had been brought in from Lyari and that most of the injuries were minor.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi Ameer Dr Merajul Huda Siddiqui has said that blasts Thursday night were an attempt to hold back the ongoing political process in country and the inquiry into this violence would yield nothing.
It was quite astonishing that despite the governments claims to have provided the latest jamming devices, the bombs went off, he said. He was of the opinion that the outcome of the inquiry into the blasts would be the same as that of the Nishtar Park bomb blasts, the May 12 mayhem, the mini bus G-7 target killings and the murder of JI activists during the bye-elections in May 2004.
If the people behind the May 12 mayhem had been exposed and punished, the PPP rally blasts might have not taken place, he told Daily Times. He expressed the hope that the government would expose the people behind the Oct 18 violence and that justice would be done. There are people who need the status quo in the country by halting the political progress with such violence but they should not forget that halting political progress is tantamount to a silent revolution, he opined, adding that the Sindh government should be ashamed of what had happened on Oct 18 and should quit.
Pakistan has reached the brink of a sea of blood and the law and order situation would be a main question during the forthcoming general elections. It is very sad that as the daughter of Z A Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto has joined hands with alien forces and it is on record that the US Secretary of State was directly involved in Benazir Bhuttos return, he said. We support suicide attacks in areas where Muslim are held slaves but in Pakistan where the doors of dialogues are open, the suicide attacks are condemnable. We want to finish them because we believe that the culprits should be dealt with under the existing law.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) General Secretary Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Saturday that his differences with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed have intensified, adding: I am extremely unhappy with Qazi. He was talking to media men at the wedding ceremony of JUI-F Kohat General Secretary Jamil Ahmed Parachas daughter. All component parties of the MMA are supporting the JUI-F and Qazi is alone in his mission, he said. Fazl said time had proven that the JUI-F decision not to resign from the NWFP assembly was right and the JI put us before the enemies by resigning from the assemblies, which is contrary to the Pukhtoon traditions.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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Militants contacted by The Associated Press in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province Friday called Thursday's suicide attack revenge for the Pakistani military operations in the area and the support Bhutto and Musharraf have offered the United States in its fight against terrorism.
Mahmoud Al Hasan, a leader of Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen, a militant group aligned to Pakistan's religious Jamaat-e-Islami party, condemned the bombing because of the civilians who were killed, but attacked both Bhutto and Musharraf as "slaves" of the United States.
He castigated Bhutto for her comments against extremism and her recent statement that she would accept U.S. assistance in targeting Osama bin Laden if he is found on Pakistani territory. "Benazir Bhutto was totally talking like an infidel. What should be the reaction of jihadis? They should definitely kill her. She is an enemy of Islam. She is an enemy of jihadis. She is an enemy of the country. This is the reaction," said Al Hasan. "If it had killed only Benazir Bhutto then it would have been OK."
A businessman in the northwestern city of Peshawar who finances militant groups said the attack against Bhutto was well-coordinated and planned. The man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being arrested by authorities, said there are hundreds of would-be bombers in Pakistan who are ready to blow themselves up in such attacks. He said they find sanctuary in the tribal regions along the Afghan border where like-minded tribesmen under the Taliban banner hold sway.
One of the warlords in this region, Baitullah Mehsud, threatened earlier this month to meet Bhutto's return to Pakistan with suicide attacks, according to local media reports. Mehsud, who has denied responsibility in Thursday's attack, has bragged of having 3,000 would-be suicide bombers. His suicide squads have taken credit for attacks against the military and police in northwestern Pakistan, as well as bombings at a hotel in the capital of Islamabad that killed a security guard and at the Islamabad international airport.
Mehsud, whose tribe of the same name is the most violent in South Waziristan province, signed a peace pact with the army in February 2005 promising to deny shelter to foreign al-Qaida fighters in exchange for an end to military operations in the region and compensation for tribesmen killed by the military. Then Mehsud's men kidnapped 250 Pakistani soldiers in August, who they are still holding. Three of the soldiers have been beheaded.
Similar deals in other parts of Pakistan's tribal region have been signed and broken. Although Musharraf's government has stepped up military operations against insurgents in the tribal regions in recent months, some militants claim to have support within government structures, including the army and intelligence agencies. Bhutto alluded to as much Friday, saying it was suspicious that streetlights failed after sunset Thursday when her convoy was inching its way through the streets of Karachi. She said the phones were down, making it difficult to have the lights restored.
This article starring:
Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen
Jamaat-e-Islami
Baitullah Mehsud
Taliban
Mahmoud Al Hasan
Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
The unity deal was still in the proposal stage; these moronic comments will seal it. The Waziris and Pashtos should prep for their 72 virgins (or whatever).
#3
He castigated Bhutto for her comments against extremism and her recent statement that she would accept U.S. assistance in targeting Osama bin Laden if he is found on Pakistani territory. "Benazir Bhutto was totally talking like an infidel. What should be the reaction of jihadis? They should definitely kill her. She is an enemy of Islam. She is an enemy of jihadis. She is an enemy of the country. This is the reaction," said Al Hasan. "If it had killed only Benazir Bhutto then it would have been OK."
Islam is the underlying problem sponsored by the Saudis!!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
10/21/2007 9:12 Comments ||
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#4
The Saudi's aren't as wacky as the people there in Paki. I'm starting to understand how messed up this place is. I looked up General Zia on wikipedia and learned a lot. It's the same families and groups involved in the cycle of violence.
#5
Pakistan is all the proof needed that giving people who support Islam a country is a bad idea. Why are we trying to compound the error by providing the paleostains a state? Rice needs to go back to teaching - something she might know something about.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/21/2007 22:16 Comments ||
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#6
Word, OP. We should be focused on contracting Islam, not expanding it.
The mug shots of the unclaimed dead are pasted on the morgue wall. People with careworn expressions peer at the black and white pictures, hoping yet fearing they will recognize one of the battered faces staring blankly back.
Two days after the homecoming of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was shattered by Pakistan's worst terrorist attack in years, at least 30 victims of the massive suicide bombing sit in cold storage, waiting for someone to bury them.
Naseem Akhtar, a 60-year old widow, last saw her two sons alive Thursday morning, when they jumped on a bus of flag-waving, jubilant Bhutto supporters, traveling from their village on the Arabian Sea coast outside the city. She caught sight of them again, for the final time, Saturday morning. She identified Mohammed Younus, 25, and Mohammed Yamin, 28, among the bodies wrapped in bloodied white shrouds and stacked on steel shelves inside the morgue of the Edhi Foundation. "Oh God! What happened to me," Akhtar cried afterward, sobbing uncontrollably into her pale blue headscarf. "I'm alone now. What can I do?"
"Benazir should not have come because she knew it was going to happen. She knew that people would try to kill her, but she came to Karachi. Now you see how many people have lost their life," Akhtar said, covering her face. Unable to pay for a funeral, or face the grief of a lonely ceremony, she told Edhi volunteers to give her sons a respectful burial and left, alone, in a motor rickshaw.
Some 122 of the 136 people killed in the midnight bombing -- that authorities suspect was the work of Taliban or al-Qaida-linked militants -- have been brought to the foundation from hospitals across the city to make it easier for relatives to locate missing loved ones. So far, at least 92 have been claimed by their families, but the rest remain to be viewed by the steady trickle of friends or relatives.
The face of each corpse has been photographed, and photocopies of the unclaimed dead are displayed on the exterior wall of the morgue with an instruction in Urdu language: "These bodies are available in the morgue in cold storage for identification."
Anxious people shuffle into the morgue, covering their noses and mouths from the smell of death and chemicals. They pass through an outer room where slabs of ice are stored in a couple of empty coffins, before entering into the windowless, refigerated mortuary lit by bare bulbs.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
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President General Pervez Musharraf would consult Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan Muslim League (PML) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for the formation of a caretaker government, Geo news quoted its sources as saying.
The channel said President Musharraf didnt want to include other political parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, in this process as it would be difficult to reach a consensus in the presence of too many parties.
It said the president wanted an impartial caretaker government and would consult Bhutto, Shujaat and Fazl about the names of the caretaker prime minister and cabinet members. The channel said the size of the caretaker cabinet would be smaller than the current cabinet.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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[8 views]
Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Ulema Islami
#1
Chandra Perve Boobs and Malice
/Write me CO 666 MADison Avenue.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
10/21/2007 9:07 Comments ||
Top||
KARACHI - Pakistani police released a photograph on Saturday of a suicide bomber who killed at least 139 people, as opposition leader Benazir Bhutto worked out her next step after the bloody start to her comeback campaign.
Newspapers carried photographs of the head of the suicide bomber propped on a white sheet. The dead eyes stared blankly out of a chubby, unshaven face. The age of the suspect is between 20 to 25 and he looks to be a Karachiite, said a security official, who declined to be identified.
That narrows it down to about, oh, two million suspects ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[13 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
There's a photo of his head at liveleak. You may need to use bugmenot to get a login - liveleak has a 'mature' filter.
Funny how their heads pop off when they go boom.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
10/21/2007 17:58 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Funny how their heads pop off when they go boom.
Wouldn't it be great if they made the same sound as a Champagne cork?
KARACHI - Pakistani police took three people in for questioning on Saturday over an attack on former premier Benazir Bhuttos homecoming procession that killed 139 people, an investigator said. The men were linked to a car from which an attacker threw a grenade in Karachi on Thursday night, seconds before a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people, he said.
Investigators also quizzed seven militants in jails in Karachi for possible information on the blasts, added the police investigator, who has experience in several other attacks in the city.
I'm guessing here, but I suspect that not a single one of these mooks are the droids we're looking for.
Police have taken three people from the south of Punjab province for questioning. They were taken to Karachi for questioning and it can be that they hold clues, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. They were picked up in connection with a suspect vehicle from which one of the attackers is believed to have thrown the grenade, he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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[9 views]
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#1
i bet hamid gul and his kind know who was behind it!!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
10/21/2007 9:22 Comments ||
Top||
#1
"Even before the Americans came, we believed Iraq was going to be divided between the Kurds, the Shiites and the Sunnis," said Akram Elias, a white-haired Assyan farmer.
"I agree," said Mr. Wahil. "I believe if we can become three parts, then everyone can live in peace."
#2
They are stronger as a federation, as is witnessed by the current Turkish incursion into Northern Iraq. They would be best if set up as three seperate poltical states that cooperate in commerce and national security. Here in the US, we are have also been divided between red, blue, (at one time) black and white and north and south, but we are stronger as a nation. Having opposing power structures keeps you honest like nothing else can.
Iraq's parliament on Saturday discussed a motion condemning Turkey for threatening an incursion to crack down on Kurdish rebels as Baghdad and Ankara were said to be considering a joint operation.
Lawmakers failed to agree on the wording of the motion that would condemn Turkey's parliament for authorising its military to cross the mountainous border to hunt down rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). "The Iraqi parliament did not reach a final formula for the draft statement presented by the parliament presidency committee," speaker Mahmud al-Mashhadani said.
This article starring:
Mahmud al-Mashhadani
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
And their condemnation of Iranian incursions into Baghad (covert), or into Northern Iraq (overt) are forthcoming? Oh yeah, I forgot for minute, Basrah is bought and paid for by Iranian interests (controlled by the JAM), and the Kurds are the wholly against Shi'a power. Thus making the growing power of the Sunni tribes in the West the true wild card. Two fold as to why we're backing the "Anbar Awakening" so heavy: 1) to kill and torture Al Qaida, and 2) to have a solid stake in the government.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani slammed his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad's support for a possible Turkish incursion into northern Iraq to tackle Kurdish rebels, a newspaper said on Saturday. "President Assad's remarks are dangerous and run contrary to the spirit of Arab solidarity," Talabani, himself a Kurd, was quoted as saying in an interview with the Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat. "Usually I would refrain from commenting on Syrian positions in order to preserve our historic ties, but this time I am unable to support this dangerous crossing of red lines."
On Wednesday Assad said he would support a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq against Turkish Kurdish rebels, calling such action Ankara's "legitimate right."
If it's a "legitimate right," then the question's not even open to discussion anymore.
"How can the president of an Arab state support military intervention against the Iraqi republic?" Talabani was quoted as asking. "This is a serious matter and damaging to relations between the two countries. The Syrian president should have commented as the Americans and Europeans did, saying they preferred a diplomatic solution, even if he understands the Turkish position."
On Wednesday the Turkish parliament authorised military strikes in Kurdish-held northern Iraq within a year against bases of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which uses the region as a springboard for attacks on Turkish targets across the border. "I have personally visited Syria, and our two countries have joint commissions working on current projects. I am really astounded at this unfriendly stance taken by Syria," Talabani told the daily.
This article starring:
Jalal Talabani
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
This was the first Palestinian attempt on the life of an Israeli prime minister. The Shin Bet director Yuval Diskin reported to the cabinet in Jerusalem Sun. Oct. 21, that Fatah-Al Aqsa terrorists planned to shoot up the Israeli convoy bringing prime minister for talks with the Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas as it entered the West Bank town of Jericho which is under full Palestinian security control. Israel caught two of the five would-be assassins and, acting on Shin Bet information, Palestinian officers arrested three.
Gaza Strip - In Akram Abu Ghaben's hole-in-the wall grocery, cigarettes are no longer sold by the pack. Skyrocketing prices -- a result of Israel's economic sanctions on Gaza following the Hamas takeover in June -- have pushed cigarettes out of the reach of many smokers.
In a tension-filled place where a pack of Marlboros is a badge of manliness and smoking is common, even in hospitals and elevators, many are now forced to face their addiction. Some have quit, while others are reluctantly cutting back, cursing Israel for keeping most cigarettes out and the Hamas government for clamping high taxes on whatever gets through.
Mahmoud Zahar, a stern Hamas ideologue and physician, said he's not moved by the smokers' complaints.
"We are very happy about their suffering," said Warty Nose, pointing to the obvious health and financial benefits of the cigarette shortage.
"We are very happy about their suffering," said Zahar, pointing to the obvious health and financial benefits of the cigarette shortage.
Tobacco Nazis seem to be the same regardless of country or culture, don't they?
Welcome to Gaza: "Where holier-than-thou just got 94.9% more holy!"
In the Shati refugee camp near Gaza City, supporters of Hamas' rival, the defeated Fatah movement, said such disregard for people's feelings is eroding support for the Islamic militants. But Hamas still appears firmly in control.
Whatever the politics, grocer Abu Ghaben and his customers are trying to adjust to the price hike, on some brands as much as 250 percent since June. A pack of Lucky Strikes has gone from $2.50 in June to $6.25. That's far more than what most Gazans can afford after 19 months of international sanctions against Hamas. About two-thirds of Gaza's 1.4 million people live on less than $2 a day.
Abu Ghaben's tobacco wares are displayed in a glass case protected by wire mesh outside his grocery. He said he is mostly selling individual cigarettes these days. The cheapest are those he rolls himself, using loose tobacco and a small hand-held machine. Young children buy for their dads, usually handing him a shekel (25 cents) for two cigarettes. One step up are the cheap Egyptian brands, which cost 40 cents a pair.
This article starring:
MAHMUD ZAHAR
Hamas
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Pall Gall. Wherever these peculiar people congregate
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
10/21/2007 6:53 Comments ||
Top||
#11
They smoke Loredo High Tars. Got the scoop from a Reliable Source.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/21/2007 18:07 Comments ||
Top||
#12
There's a crazy bush that grows wild in the south called a toke bush. The plant will grow as tall as 15 feet, and has huge leaves that kinda, sorta, look like tobacco. A couple of cousins of mine say they taste like sour-rum-soaked cow dung. Maybe we should export a few hundred pounds of seed to Gaza...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/21/2007 22:29 Comments ||
Top||
#13
Sure that's not "poke," OP?
I pull them out anytime I see them (including from the neighbor's yard).
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/21/2007 22:51 Comments ||
Top||
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's top nuclear negotiator resigned Saturday in a move seen as a victory for the hardline president that could push the country into an even more defiant position in its standoff with the West. Ali Larijani was viewed as more moderate than President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and the two often clashed over how to negotiate with the world on the nuclear issue.
'More moderate' as in, not wanting to nuke the world the instant Iran had the bomb.
His resignation and replacement by the little known deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs, Saeed Jalili, puts the nuclear portfolio firmly in the president's hands just days before a key meeting with European negotiators.
It was not clear whether Larijani left his post under pressure, but his departure was interpreted by many here as giving Ahmadinejad a free hand in dictating his views to the less experienced Jalili. Government spokesman Gholam Hussein Elham gave no specific reason for the resignation other than to say Larijani wanted to focus on "other political activities."
A little vague. Putsch? Maybe Larijani was getting a little frisky?
"Larijani had resigned repeatedly. Finally, the president accepted his resignation," Elham told reporters.
Iranian political analyst Jahanbakhsh Izadi said the intense rivalry between the president and Larijani, who answered directly to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was behind the resignation. "Larijani had become frustrated with Ahmadinejad's rhetoric. The two didn't share identical views on how to deal with the outside world," he said.
Larijani believed a political solution to the standoff was possible and worked closely with European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana. His efforts were often hindered by Ahmadinejad's fiery rhetoric, said Ismail Gerami Moghaddam, a reformist lawmaker. "Larijani's talks with Solana were promising and could have led to a political settlement but Ahmadinejad and his group are seeking adventurism and didn't want talks to succeed," he said.
The move also suggests that the nation's ultimate arbiter, Khamenei, has tilted toward Ahmedinejad and away from his former protege Larijani.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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[8 views]
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Israel obtained detailed photographs from inside an alleged Syrian nuclear facility prior to carrying out an air strike on September 6, ABC News reported Friday night. An unnamed senior source in the US told the news network that the Mossad had discovered in the summer that Syria was constructing a nuclear facility and proceeded to either place a mole inside the plant or convince one of the workers to supply Israel with intelligence.
Through the mole, the source said, Israel received detailed pictures from the ground that showed a large cylindrical structure, trucks, and a pumping station - all of which would be necessary components for a nuclear facility. Since the site was not yet operating, the official said, no evidence of fissionable material was found.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
If they did have one, he's on the lame or dead soon with this pronouncement. Hopefully, the widow can file claim against ABC News and their 'unnamed source'. The only thing that's appears to get corporations' attention is the big fat court settlement. Hate it when that happens, but that's the system we're stuck with now.
#2
Is this really a surpise? Israel, unlike the rank and file of the American Congress, is concerned with their own preservation, thus they take large steps (which are reported by the press as they are so large). The real question is, which won't be reported by ABC: How did the Syrians get the know how, and where did they get the material? The answer is pretty clear: N. Korean know how, and Iraqi material. Axis of Evil anyone?
#3
I forget the name, but Israel once placed an intellignce officer in the number 2 position in Syria. Unfortunately, he was eventually captured and executed (at least).
#4
Unfortunately, he was eventually captured and executed (at least).
Still, he's got that eternity of happiness thing going for him tho.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
10/21/2007 6:58 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Of course, we would say that we have a mole when we used other, more technical means to hide those technical means. Add in the fun of a red-on-red mole hunt and it is a two-fer.
It can be fun to tease paranoids!
Posted by: N guard ||
10/21/2007 8:37 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Man, those rascally Jooooos have their paws in everything and everywhere, don't they? (/channeling Daily Kook kids)
Posted by: BA ||
10/21/2007 12:38 Comments ||
Top||
#7
I hope Syria spades through their entire garden trying to dig up this mole.
Chairman of North Korea's parliament, Huey Thai-buk, arrived in Damascus on Friday evening for a four-day visit in Syria, Israel Radio reported. The lawmaker is scheduled to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad as well as the country's prime minister. According to Al Hayay, the officials are expected to discuss relations between the two countries.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[14 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
There is only one lawmaker in North Korea.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
10/21/2007 1:10 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I think they're gonna need another one of those reactors Huey.
#4
Chairman of North Korea's parliament, Huey Thai-buk, arrived in Damascus on Friday evening for a four-day visit and escort of body parts back to in Syria.
Parliamentary Majority leader Saad Hariri labeled Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri "leader of the opposition" and accused the Syrian regime of trying to topple Lebanon's democracy. In an interview with the Arabic-language edition of Newsweek, Hariri said "we should be extremely cautious in our discussions with leader of the opposition Nabih Berri."
"He was the sixth MP targeted by assassination. If this persists, the March 14 Movement would lose its majority in parliament," Hariri noted.
"To safeguard Lebanon's interest we need to engage in dialogue, the opposition is made up of Lebanese persons and the closer they are to us, the more they distance themselves from the Syrian regime" of President Bashar Asssad, Hariri noted.
The Assassination of MP Antoine Ghanem by a car bomb explosion on Sept. 19 was "the main topic of discussion" Hariri had with the White House, he said. "He was the sixth MP targeted by assassination. If this persists, the March 14 Movement would lose its majority in parliament," Hariri noted. "It is not mere coincidence that all the slain MPs belonged to the same (Anti-Syrian) political trend. The Syrians should understand that killing MPs would bear repercussions against them," he added.
This article starring:
Antoine Ghanem
Nabih Berri
Saad Hariri
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
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[9 views]
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Coming up on half-past never, I'd reckon. Or until someone booms the Phonoecia Hotel.
This is the only month they can put it off. Liver Lips' term is up next month. Likely he'll try and hand power to the military, which'll set up an antigovernment (maybe in Avignon?), which'll give Hezbollah something to "support."
BEIRUT - Lebanons parliament is likely to delay electing a president next week because no compromise candidate has been found by rival pro- and anti-Syrian groups, a political source said on Saturday. It would be the second postponement in electing a president, a hurdle to resolving an 11-month crisis pitting the anti-Syrian ruling majority against the opposition, led by pro-Syrian Hezbollah.
It is the worst crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war and there are concerns that if no president is elected before the term of pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud expires on Nov. 23, Lebanon may end up with two rival governments and bloodshed.
It is expected that the session will not be held on Tuesday, Oct. 23, in order to continue negotiations on a compromise candidate, the source told Reuters on Saturday.
Opposition MPs boycotted parliament on Sept. 25 to prevent a two-thirds quorum and thwart anti-Syrian factions, which have a razor-thin majority, from electing a new head of state. Prime Minister Fouad Sinioras backers, including the United States and Saudi Arabia, want to replace Lahoud with one of their own. Hezbollah and its allies in the opposition want to deny the presidency to their rivals, whom they regard as puppets of the United States.
The foreign ministers of France, Spain and Italy meet with Lebanese leaders on Saturday to press for a resolution to the crisis over choosing a president. After meeting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, leader of the opposition Shiite Amal group, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said they brought a message of unity and sovereignty of Lebanon and a message of the necessity of completing the Lebanese presidential election. The three ministers are due to meet Siniora and the influential Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/21/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
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.
Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has said that the next Pak-Afghan peace jirga will be held in Pakistan after the general elections. He was talking to Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a meeting with him in Herat, Afghanistan on Saturday. Kasuri attended the ECO Council of Ministers conference in the Afghan western city. Both expressed satisfaction over the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Peace Jirga held in Kabul, which had not only reinforced the resolve of the two countries to fight against terrorism and extremism but also improved the atmosphere between them. 
INSTAPUNDIT'S ISTANBUL CORRESPONDENT, CLAIRE BERLINSKI, EMAILS: "For what it's worth, there have been jet fighters flying over the Bosphorus all night, rattling the windows and alarming my cats. Someone really wants to impress upon the citizens of Istanbul that they have a lot of loud, scary planes. I dare say it's not the Israelis dumping the odd fuel tank, either."
After investing $20 billion over 25 years and losing 30 lives in the development of the controversial V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft, known as the Osprey, the U.S. military might like to think that its long-awaited combat debut would go relatively smoothly. But even as 10 Marine V-22s have just arrived in Iraq, the Air Force which is buying V-22s for special operations missions has decided the gun on the marine's version isn't good enough for an aircraft expressly designed to ferry troops into hot landing zones. 
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) General Secretary Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Saturday that his differences with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed have intensified, adding: I am extremely unhappy with Qazi. He was talking to media men at the wedding ceremony of JUI-F Kohat General Secretary Jamil Ahmed Parachas daughter. All component parties of the MMA are supporting the JUI-F and Qazi is alone in his mission, he said. Fazl said time had proven that the JUI-F decision not to resign from the NWFP assembly was right and the JI put us before the enemies by resigning from the assemblies, which is contrary to the Pukhtoon traditions.
Militants contacted by The Associated Press in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province Friday called Thursday's suicide attack revenge for the Pakistani military operations in the area and the support Bhutto and Musharraf have offered the United States in its fight against terrorism.
The mug shots of the unclaimed dead are pasted on the morgue wall. People with careworn expressions peer at the black and white pictures, hoping yet fearing they will recognize one of the battered faces staring blankly back. 
President General Pervez Musharraf would consult Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan Muslim League (PML) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for the formation of a caretaker government, Geo news quoted its sources as saying.
KARACHI - Pakistani police took three people in for questioning on Saturday over an attack on former premier Benazir Bhuttos homecoming procession that killed 139 people, an investigator said. The men were linked to a car from which an attacker threw a grenade in Karachi on Thursday night, seconds before a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people, he said.
Iraq's parliament on Saturday discussed a motion condemning Turkey for threatening an incursion to crack down on Kurdish rebels as Baghdad and Ankara were said to be considering a joint operation.
Iraqi President 
Gaza Strip - In Akram Abu Ghaben's hole-in-the wall grocery, cigarettes are no longer sold by the pack. Skyrocketing prices -- a result of Israel's economic sanctions on Gaza following the Hamas takeover in June -- have pushed cigarettes out of the reach of many smokers. 
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's top nuclear negotiator resigned Saturday in a move seen as a victory for the hardline president that could push the country into an even more defiant position in its standoff with the West. 
Israel obtained detailed photographs from inside an alleged Syrian nuclear facility prior to carrying out an air strike on September 6, ABC News reported Friday night. An unnamed senior source in the US told the news network that the Mossad had discovered in the summer that Syria was constructing a nuclear facility and proceeded to either place a mole inside the plant or convince one of the workers to supply Israel with intelligence. 
Chairman of North Korea's parliament, Huey Thai-buk, arrived in Damascus on Friday evening for a four-day visit in Syria, Israel Radio reported. The lawmaker is scheduled to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad as well as the country's prime minister. According to Al Hayay, the officials are expected to discuss relations between the two countries.
Parliamentary Majority leader 
