The Australian Defence Force (ADF) says Taliban forces in Afghanistan have adopted a new tactic of falsely accusing Coalition troops of mistreating detainees.
An inquiry has cleared Australian troops of any wrongdoing in a battle in Afghanistan last year, which resulted in the deaths of two Afghan women, a baby and Australian soldier Luke Worsley.
A separate investigation is continuing into claims Taliban detainees were mistreated, after the death last month of Australian soldier Jason Marks.
The Vice Chief of the Defence Force, Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie, says he has noticed a trend emerging. "The trend is also not necessarily to complain to the nation involved," he said. "The trend would be rather to complain to the Dutch that Australians had mistreated detainees before they were handed over, or complain to the Australians that the Dutch had mistreated. That happens throughout the country."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
...adopted a new tactic...
Not new, just a variation on a very tired theme...
#2
If we just applied the Geneva Conventions strictly, this would not be a problem.
Why? Because after we captured one of these bastards, we would give them a quick court in the field, convict them of being illegal combatants, and then execute them.
Let's see them complain about mistreatment after that.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
05/13/2008 13:01 Comments ||
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#3
I've heard that several times Rambler, Is it true, anyone read it themselves?
Cause it would delight me to no end if it were.
Afghanistans top civilian counter-terrorism official and Kabuls police chief are among eight security officials who have been suspended from their posts following a recent assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai, authorities said Monday.
The attorney generals office will question the officials, who were considered responsible for security during the April 27 attack, said Hayatullah Hayat, a spokesman for the office. Karzai escaped unhurt from the gunfire during a military parade in Kabul that was also attended by foreign ambassadors. Three other people, including a lawmaker, were killed.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attempt on Karzais life. But officials have also blamed Al Qaida linked militants and have arrested two Afghan government employees for alleged involvement in the plot.
Hayat did not specify why the eight officials - among them Abdul Manan Farahi, the Interior Ministry official in charge of counter- terrorism - were suspended. He said their fate, including whether they could face criminal charges, will be determined after questioning, but did not say if they were considered suspects or whether they were removed because of negligence.
The attack was at least the fourth attempt to kill Karzai since he came to power six years ago.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Afghanistans top civilian counter-terrorism official and Kabuls police chief are among eight security officials who have been suspended from their posts
The spring offensive is well launched by NATO. Or, put another way, pre-emptively provoked by the U.S. Marines Expeditionary Force.
If the best defence is a good offence, American troops recently arrived in the southern provinces have wasted no time taking the battle to the Taliban, putting an entirely different complexion on combat tactics in the heartland of the insurgency.
Joining forces with British troops who have responsibility for NATO operations in Helmand province, these battle-hardened Marines many of them veterans of fierce combat in the Iraqi city of Ramadi two years ago hurled themselves into the insurgency cauldron last week, with the objective of dislodging Taliban fighters from strongholds north of the border with Pakistan.
Although the British have a base in the town of Garmser, NATO's most southerly outpost, and have battled strenuously to maintain it against encroachment, the vast surrounding district, much of it inhospitable desert, has been essentially free movement territory for the neo-Taliban.
Garmser is a main assembly and staging point for jihadists as they enter Afghan soil. It is also a key transit route for smuggling in arms and smuggling out opium the vascular network that pumps blood into the insurgency.
The claims and counterclaims success versus failure have been fast and furious. While American authorities claimed on the weekend to have killed nine militants, Taliban spokesperson Qari Yosuf asserted it was the insurgents who had killed nine Americans.
There have been no official reports of U.S. casualties from the fighting. But provincial government sources, along with aid workers in the region, accuse the Marines of conducting aggressive door-to-door searches, rousting civilians from their homes, arresting innocents and forcing upward of 15,000 Afghans to flee into the hot desert for safety.
None of these claims has been confirmed. However, the U.S. propensity for using air strikes and artillery and mortar barrages in support of their ground troops has much of the domestic media here caterwauling about a suddenly "Americanized war" in Afghanistan.
NATO had begged for these reinforcements 2,300 Marines started arriving seven weeks ago and clearly will not criticize their performance now, particularly since it appears to have achieved the initial goal in Helmand, clawing back turf and pushing back Taliban elements in one of the few regions with a clearly defined front line.
"Several reports tried to overshadow the success of the Marines, accusing them of excessive use of force resulting in civilian casualties and excessive damage to civilian infrastructure," Brig.-Gen. Carlos Branco, chief spokesperson for International Security Assistance Force, told reporters yesterday. "These allegations are very far from the truth. The United States Marines forces have responded to all hostile acts and intents with proportional force, strictly in accordance with the law of armed combat."
Yet Branco couldn't say if American troops are bound by the same rules of engagement never specifically spelled out for public dissemination as their NATO colleagues. "I don't actually know the answer to that question," Branco told the Toronto Star.
Civilian casualties are the primary cause of embitterment towards foreign troops, even among the majority of Afghans who support NATO's presence. As propaganda fodder, dead innocents have been heavily exploited by the Taliban, though their fighters routinely take cover among civilians and shred Afghan bodies in suicide attacks.
"We do everything we can to avoid civilian casualties,'' Branco said, reaching for a clutch of statistics: Of more than 16,000 aircraft sorties in 2007, only 0.1 per cent resulted in civilian deaths. "But 100 per cent of suicide bombing events resulted in civilian casualties."
So far this year, insurgents have killed six times as many civilians compared to the same period in 2007, Branco said. Yet only 1 per cent of deaths caused by suicide bombers have been ISAF personnel. "The facts coincide with our words,'' said Branco. "They are the ones who don't have any consideration for the value of human life."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
provincial government sources, along with aid workers in the region, accuse the Marines of conducting aggressive door-to-door searches, rousting civilians from their homes, arresting innocents and forcing upward of 15,000 Afghans to flee into the hot desert for safety
Right. Where they will eat sand for the next six weeks. Show me all the recently empty homes.
And if NATO ROEs are restrictive, it doesn't make sense to me that that US troops would want to be hobbled by them.
Family members of Hassan al-Turabi, an opposition Sudanese politician, say he has been freed 12 hours after questioning following his arrest for alleged links to an attack on a suburb of the capital Khartoum. "He's at home," his daughter told the Reuters news agency on Monday.
The government imposed a curfew in Khartoum in response to the assault by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a Darfur-based anti-government group, that began on Saturday. Low-intensity clashes have continued in Omdurman, on the western bank of the Nile opposite Khartoum. About 65 people are thought to have been killed so far.
It is the first time that the conflict has reached Khartoum in decades of conflict between the country's Arab-dominated rulers and fighters from far-flung regions. Al-Turabi denies that he has any links to JEM.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Darfur rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim said on Monday he would launch more attacks on Sudans capital Khartoum until the government fell. This is just the start of a process and the end is the termination of this regime, Ibrahim, whose Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) attacked Khartoum at the weekend, said in a satellite phone call. Dont expect just one more attack.
Ibrahim said he was speaking from Omdurman, the western Khartoum suburb where the attack occurred - just across the Nile river from the heart of the capital.
But there was no independent verification of Ibrahims whereabouts but authorities said they were reimposing an indefinite curfew in Omdurman while security forces searched for rebels in the area. The weekend attack was the first time fighting had reached the capital in decades of conflict between the traditionally Arab-dominated central government and rebels from far-flung regions in the oil-producing nation - Africas biggest country. Sudan said neighbouring Chad was backing the rebel attack, in which about 65 people were believed to have been killed.
Security forces cordoned off an area of Khartoum central on Monday, chasing a small group of suspected rebels into a building, witnesses said. Theres gun fire but its one way. Theres no exchange of fire, said one witness. President Omar Hassan al-Bashirs government also arrested Islamist opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi and at least four other top members of his party on Monday, aides said. JEM has an Islamist agenda and some of its leaders were allies of Turabi in the past, but he denies backing the rebels.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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JEFFREY GOLDBERG: Im curious to hear you talk about the Zionist idea. Do you believe that it has justice on its side?
BARACK OBAMA: You know, when I think about the Zionist idea, I think about how my feelings about Israel were shaped as a young man -- as a child, in fact. I had a camp counselor when I was in sixth grade who was Jewish-American but who had spent time in Israel, and during the course of this two-week camp he shared with me the idea of returning to a homeland and what that meant for people who had suffered from the Holocaust, and he talked about the idea of preserving a culture when a people had been uprooted with the view of eventually returning home. There was something so powerful and compelling for me, maybe because I was a kid who never entirely felt like he was rooted. That was part of my upbringing, to be traveling and always having a sense of values and culture but wanting a place. It's all about MEEEEEE!!!
So that is my first memory of thinking about Israel.
And then that mixed with a great affinity for the idea of social justice that was embodied in the early Zionist movement and the kibbutz, and the notion that not only do you find a place but you also have this opportunity to start over and to repair the breaches of the past. I found this very appealing.
JG: Youve talked about the role of Jews in the development of your thinking
BO: I always joke that my intellectual formation was through Jewish scholars and writers, even though I didnt know it at the time. Whether it was theologians or Philip Roth who helped shape my sensibility, or some of the more popular writers like Leon Uris. So when I became more politically conscious, my starting point when I think about the Middle East is this enormous emotional attachment and sympathy for Israel, mindful of its history, mindful of the hardship and pain and suffering that the Jewish people have undergone, but also mindful of the incredible opportunity that is presented when people finally return to a land and are able to try to excavate their best traditions and their best selves. And obviously its something that has great resonance with the African-American experience. See? I am just like you, you damn cracker.
One of the things that is frustrating about the recent conversations on Israel is the loss of what I think is the natural affinity between the African-American community and the Jewish community, one that was deeply understood by Jewish and black leaders in the early civil-rights movement but has been estranged for a whole host of reasons that you and I dont need to elaborate.
JG: Why do you think Ahmed Yousef of Hamas said what he said about you?
BO: My position on Hamas is indistinguishable from the position of Hillary Clinton or John McCain. I said they are a terrorist organization and Ive repeatedly condemned them. Ive repeatedly said, and I mean what I say: since they are a terrorist organization, we should not be dealing with them until they recognize Israel, renounce terrorism, and abide by previous agreements. Boy, that is a back-peddle. I still don't believe you.
JG: Do you think that Israel is a drag on Americas reputation overseas?
BO: No, no, no. But what I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy. The lack of a resolution to this problem provides an excuse for anti-American militant jihadists to engage in inexcusable actions, and so we have a national-security interest in solving this, and I also believe that Israel has a security interest in solving this because I believe that the status quo is unsustainable. I am absolutely convinced of that, and some of the tensions that might arise between me and some of the more hawkish elements in the Jewish community in the United States might stem from the fact that Im not going to blindly adhere to whatever the most hawkish position is just because thats the safest ground politically. Rest of the back-peddling, all about me statements and vapid stupidity at link.
#1
"My position on Hamas is indistinguishable from the position of Hillary Clinton or John McCain."
Excellent Senator. Excellent.
Now Senator, I note in todays Washington Post, Mr Richard Cohen, columnist, says that the policy of isolating Hamas has failed. He seems to think that is a reason to oppose Senator McCain, even as he notes in the very same column that you oppose recognizing Hamas. Senator, what do you think is behind Mr. Cohen's thinking? Do you think your many supporters who oppose the isolation of Hamas are mistaken? Assuming you do, do you plan to use your eloquent powers of persuasion to explain to them the rationale for the policy of isolation, and how you see it working out?
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Marine Corps far surpassed its recruiting goal last month and could eventually be more than a year ahead of schedule in its plan to grow the force to 202,000 members. All military services met or exceeded their monthly recruiting goals in April, with the Marine Corps signing 142 percent of the number it was looking for, the Pentagon said.
The Army signed 101 percent of its goal, recruiting 5,681 against a goal of 5,650. The Navy and Air Force met their goals - 2,905 sailors and 2,435 airmen. The Marine Corps enlisted 2,233 recruits against a goal of 1,577.
"The Marine Corps, if they continue to achieve the kind of success they have had, could meet their growth figures more than a year early," Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told Pentagon reporters. That would mean by around the end of 2009.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Well, yeah, but they're probably all felons or medically unqualified, or just stupid or something. Obviously, with the economy worse than its ever been since before the depression, these are people who have no other options.
/democrats
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
05/13/2008 1:36 Comments ||
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#2
Think of all those ivy league PhDs and MBAs and MSWs out there racking up huge debt and doing community organizing and living in Chicago mansions.
#3
The MSM can't really make a case that we are losing anymore. Everyone likes a winner, nobody wants to join a losing team. These numbers make sense to me.
The media tried their damnest, and came close to blowing the whole show over there, I'm glad we, as a country, didn't fall for it.
#8
the Marines that enlisted via the recruitment center by Code Pink should get special kudos.
;)
Posted by: Jan ||
05/13/2008 16:37 Comments ||
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#9
Code Pink is going to have no other choice than to go topless like Breasts Not Bombs. On that day I shall gaze upon the AP photos, and claw my eyes out.
WASHINGTON -- The number of Americans being secretly wiretapped or having their financial and other records reviewed by the government has continued to increase as officials aggressively use powers approved after the Sept. 11 attacks. But the number of terrorism prosecutions ending up in court -- one measure of the effectiveness of such sleuthing -- has continued to decline, in some cases precipitously.
The trends, visible in new government data and a private analysis of Justice Department records, are worrisome to civil liberties groups and some legal scholars. They say it is further evidence that the government has compromised the privacy rights of ordinary citizens without much to show for it.
Said another way, it's a big success: we're getting the information we need to go after the terrorists without the need for messy, ambigious prosecutions.
The emphasis on spy programs also is starting to give pause to some members of Congress who fear the government is investing too much in anti-terrorism programs at the expense of traditional crime-fighting. Other lawmakers are raising questions about how well the FBI is performing its counter-terrorism mission. The Senate Intelligence Committee last week concluded that the bureau was far behind in making internal changes to keep the nation safe from terrorist threats. Lawmakers urged that the FBI set specific benchmarks to measure its progress and make more regular reports to Congress.
These concerns come as the Bush administration has been seeking to expand its ability to gather intelligence without prior court approval. It has asked Congress for amendments to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to make it clear that eavesdropping on foreign telecommunications signals routed through the U.S. does not require a warrant.
Which is the key point: most traffic touches the U.S. in some way. Require a warrant and you gut the surveillance program. It's a useful, reliable way to see which politicans are serious about national security: if they demand warrants, they aren't serious.
Law enforcement officials say the additional surveillance powers have been critically important in ways the public does not always see. Threats can be mitigated, they say, by deporting suspicious people or letting them know that authorities are watching them. "The fact that the prosecutions are down doesn't mean that the utility of these investigations is down. It suggests that these investigations may be leading to other forms of prevention and protection," said Thomas Newcomb, a former Bush White House national security aide. He said there were half a dozen actions outside of the criminal courts that the government could take to snuff out potential threats, including using diplomatic or military channels.
Although legal experts say they would not necessarily expect the number of prosecutions to rise along with the stepped-up surveillance, there are few other good ways to measure how well the government is progressing in keeping the country safe. "How does one measure the success? The short answer is we aren't in a great position to know," said Daniel Richman, a former federal prosecutor. With prosecutions declining, he said, the public is left with imperfect and possibly misleading ways to gauge progress in the Bush administration's war on terrorism -- such as the number of secret warrants the government issues or the number of agents it assigns to terrorism cases.
"These are the only tracks in the snow left by terrorism investigations, if there are no more counter-terrorism prosecutions," Richman said. "This is why, more than ever, there is a pressing need for congressional oversight, for accountability at the top of the [Justice] department, and for public confidence in the department."
We have oversight: the Senate and House joint intel committee. If Congress is unhappy with oversight, let them change their committees.
A recent study showed that the number of terrorism and national security cases initiated by the Justice Department in 2007 was more than 50% below 2002 levels. The nonprofit Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University, which obtained the data under the Freedom of Information Act, found that the number of cases brought declined 19% in the last year alone, dropping to 505 in 2007 from 624 in 2006.
Again, this isn't a problem: what it really suggests is that our intel people are getting better at using the various screening tools they have so that they can sharpen their focus on what's important.
By contrast, the Justice Department reported last month that the nation's spy court had granted 2,370 warrant requests by the department to search or eavesdrop on suspected terrorists and spies in the U.S. last year -- 9% more than in 2006. The number of such warrants approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has more than doubled since the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Because before 2001 our intel services were drowsy. Now they're alert. That means more warrants and more surveillance.
The department also reported a sharp rise in the use of national security letters by the FBI -- from 9,254 in 2005 to 12,583 in 2006, the latest data available. The letters seek customer information from banks, Internet providers and phone companies. They have caused a stir because consumers do not have a right to know that their information is being disclosed and the letters are issued without court oversight.
But Dean Boyd, a Justice Department spokesman, said statistics on court-approved FISA applications and statistics on criminal prosecution were "apples and oranges." "There are a variety of factors that may account for the increase in court-approved FISA applications since 9/11," he said. Boyd said he could not comment on those factors, but said, "It is important to remember that surveillance under FISA is authorized by an independent court and used carefully and judiciously to protect the country from national security threats."
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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REDDIT Op-Ed > AMERICA IS A SOCIALIST COUNTRY NOW, thanks to Dubya???
#2
The number of Americans being secretly wiretapped or having their financial and other records reviewed by the government has continued to increase as officials aggressively use powers approved after the Sept. 11 attacks. But the number of terrorism prosecutions ending up in court -- one measure of the effectiveness of such sleuthing -- has continued to decline, in some cases precipitously.
Just take out terrorism and substitute any other conventional crime and the description works just as well. Focus law enforcement resources and direction and after hammering a number of miscreants, the crime rate drops. The author probably doesn't grasp the cause>effect relationship between higher incarceration rates and drops in crime either.
#3
This moron conflates monitoring of communications with BOTH terminals outside the US whcih happen to pass through a US property as "domestic" spying.
And then goes on to say there aren't "enough" prosecutions?
Well f'ing DUH! Probably the result of these intercepts is TARGETING, as in "Hello Mr Hellfire Missile", overseas.
#4
And then goes on to say there aren't "enough" prosecutions?
Probably the result of these intercepts is TARGETING, as in "Hello Mr Hellfire Missile", overseas.
A much preferable result, I think, instead of having liberal lawyers and judges muck up the works.
#5
Actually, they may have a point. Terrorist problems are few and far between in the US, and few police authorities have anything to do with them in their job description. This means that most police will immediately want to apply new law enforcement rules to non-terrorism related criminal investigations.
In routine police business, there is no reason for a warrantless search unless the police hear screaming or gunfire and must react immediately.
Even in the middle of the WoT, does not give the police the right to throw out the Bill of Rights for the other 99.99999% of what they do.
#6
Moose, I agree with that, but the conflation of "domestic" with communications that have no terminal point in the US was a major error by the courts in interpreting FISA and the ability of the NSA and other intelligence agencies to work, and a major error for the Bush administration for not challenging it to get that poor and possibly unconstitutional decision revoked.
What troubles me even more are the over-use of SWAT and military tactics on violent midnight raids based off of "tips" for drug crimes. It seems there isnt a week that goes by without someone innocent being terrorized and possibly shot by the police in the US on one fo these stupid violent "raids" that is mistargeted, whether due to police errors or simply a lying informant.
Twenty two Nobel laureates have called for the release of India's best-known "barefoot doctor" from jail, where he has languished for almost a year on terrorism charges. If convicted he faces the death sentence.
Binayak Sen, 58, an award-winning paediatrician who shot to prominence a quarter of a century ago by treating tribal communities for free in the forest region of India's Chhattisgarh state, was arrested last May charged with carrying notes from a member of a Naxalite Maoist rebel movement, who was his patient in prison.
Sen, a human-rights activist who frequently visited jails to treat inmates, protests his innocence. He is now accused of being a member of a terrorist organisation and conspiring to wage war against the government. He has been denied bail and his trial began last month.
Sen is famous for drawing up one of the most successful community-based primary healthcare schemes in India, based on the Mitanin, the local barefoot health worker who gives the rural poor invaluable advice on preventative health.
His incarceration has alarmed many prominent intellectuals but this latest appeal, signed by some of the world's most illustrious names in economics, physics, chemistry and medicine, goes further by questioning the grounds on which he was taken into custody.
The 22 academics called for his release in time to accept an international health and human rights award in Washington this month. In their letter to India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, the 22 expressed "grave concern that Dr Sen appears to be incarcerated solely for peacefully exercising his fundamental rights". They also said the two internal security laws under which he had been charged, "do not comport with international human rights standards".
I thought passing notes from terrorists also didn't comport with international standards. Silly me ...
Sen's wife, Ilina, said: "The state has found 85 witnesses. By the end of June we may have heard eight. The trial could last years."
Chhattisgarh is the epicentre of the Naxalite rebel revolt that seeks to overthrow the Indian government. It is an armed movement which has been gaining ground across a swath of the country's mineral-rich forest belt. Governments in states such as Chhattisgarh have launched crackdowns on villages suspected of supporting the Naxalites, using local militias to flush out "leftwing rebels". The security sweeps have emptied many districts which sit above valuable mining lands, prompting human-rights activists to complain that the displacement of 100,000 villagers in Chhattisgarh has aided the state's drive to exploit its mineral wealth.
Sen was a vocal critic of the state's push for "resource-centred development", which he said trampled on the rights of the poor. The state government defended its decision to arrest him. "We have documentary proof of wrongdoing. We are sure of the case," said Shivraj Singh, Chhattisgarh's top civil servant.
The Nobel laureates who signed the letter include Kenneth Arrow and Finn Kydland (economics); Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and Charles Townes (physics); Peter Agree, Robert Curl, Johann Deisenhofer, Harold Kroto, Yuan Lee, John Polanyi, F Sherwood Rowland, Jens Skou and John Walker (chemistry); Paul Greengard, Roger Guillemin, François Jacob, Eric Kandel, Craig Mello, Richard Roberts, Phillip Sharp, Harold Varmus and Torsten Wiesel (physiology or medicine).
Posted by: john frum ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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The evidence the Police presented was enough to convince the Indian Supreme Court to deny him bail.
No matter, Noam Chomsky has asked for his release...
And he is still receiving awards ...
The Award was given at a function chaired by Dr. B N Mungekar, Member, Planning Commission, and Chairperson of the Indian Academy of Social Sciences, and received by his wife, Dr. Ilina Sen, on his behalf who also made the acceptance speech.
According to the citation, "His work offers fresh and radical interpretation of Gandhiji's core concerns, and his present personal predicament is a poser to all who profess and practice similar ideals."
Posted by: john frum ||
05/13/2008 7:05 Comments ||
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#2
being a doctor does not mean he has no terrorists leanings. I think a number of top guys in Al Queda were Drs. Seems that educated or not makes little difference in the Jihadi ranks.
#4
Last year the Indian IB (Intelligence Bureau) arrested a husband and wife, both PhDs, who worked at the BARC facility in Mumbai. They were both Naxals (Maoists).
BARC is where Indian nuclear weapons are designed.
Posted by: john frum ||
05/13/2008 17:44 Comments ||
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Pakistan Mazdoor Kisan Party Central President and member of the Pak-Afghan Joint Peace Jirga Afzal Khamosh has said that foreign troops must leave Afghanistan to help succeed the peace efforts.
According to a statement issued here on Monday, Khamosh was addressing a reception ceremony hosted by an Afghan legislator in his honour in Kabul. Speaking on the occasion, Khamosh said Afghans had been facing hardships for the last three years. The biggest problem faced by the Afghans is the presence of foreign troops, he added. He said restoration of peace in Afghanistan was a must for bringing peace to NWFP and the rest of Pakistan. He stressed the need for people-to-people contacts to ensure peace in the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Does he mean foreigners as in non-Afghans (that is Europeans, Americans, Pakistani and Saudi) or as in non-Muslims. I suspect the later.
The rulers of Pakistan cannot go against the wishes of 160 million people, who are hoping for the restoration of the superior judiciary to the pre-November 3 status, said Jamaat-e-Islami Naib Amir Liaqat Baloch while addressing members of the Karachi Bar Association on Monday. The judiciary, lawyers and people of Pakistan will not accept any constitutional package, resolution or backdoor solution, he said, also rejecting Nawaz Sharifs readiness to accept the PCO judges.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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No agreement has been reached between the NWFP government and militants in Swat, as there is only a ceasefire between the two sides, NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour said on Monday. He told the media that talks between a committee, formed by the NWFP government, and militants were in progress.He said supporters of militant commander Mullah Fazlullah had presented eight demands. He said the government had its reservations over two demands, but he did not elaborate these demands. He said the militants had their reservations over educating their women but the government persuaded them in this regard. He said the next round of talks with the militants would start soon.
This article starring:
Bashir Ahmad Bilour
Mullah Fazlullah
TNSM
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I think it's time to start "losing" some large napalm weapons over the NWFP. I'm sure we have some pilots skilled in flip-toss maneuvers. Maybe the next time they attack a fuel convoy...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/13/2008 19:01 Comments ||
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BAGHDAD - Iraqi authorities lifted a curfew Monday in northern Nineveh, allowing people to leave their homes three days after a military offensive was launched in the province. The curfew has been in force since Friday evening.
Driving is still prohibited but the curfew on vehicles will be gradually lifted, the Nineveh operations command said in a statement carried by the Voices of Iraq news agency. "People can open their shops and do their business and move around on foot," the statement said.
The Iraqi government has deployed an armoured brigade of army troops, launching an offensive codenamed Lion's Roar against al-Qaeda militants in Mosul, the provincial capital of Nineveh. More troops are to move into the area backed by thousands of local Sunni tribesmen, who are taking part in the onslaught on the terrorist network. Many of these tribesmen were once allies with al-Qaeda but turned the terrorist network and joined forces with the government.
Insurgents loyal to the al-Qaeda in Iraq group have over the last year lost their foothold in Baghdad and Anbar province in the west of the country and have been regrouping in Mosul, 400 kilometres north of Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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It seems to me that some wit could have a lot of fun with some true believer like this. Their fragile little egos would flip with any number of rebuttals.
"Yes, I agree. A reformed Sharia Law, devoid of all its primitive and archaic barbarity, could well supplant modern law in some the more backwards and ignorant islands of the world. Maybe it could be applied to animals instead of people. Dogs and pigs cutting off each other's body parts."
Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday Iranian-backed Hezbollah's routing of the Western-backed government's supporters in Lebanon would affect the Islamic Republic's ties with Arab countries."Of course, for Iran to back the coup that happened in Lebanon and support it will have an impact on its relations with all Arab countries," Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said at a news conference.
Words, particularly Arabic words, are cheap.
Prince Saud said his country, a Sunni Muslim power and strong backer of the Lebanese government, was gravely concerned about what he called the "coup" that had taken place in Lebanon. In an apparent reference to Iran and Syria, he called on regional players not to interfere in Lebanon's political affairs and undermine its sovereignty.
"The kingdom expresses its grave concern over the continuing armed confrontations in Lebanon and their spread to many Lebanese areas and cities and its strong regret over Lebanese arms being turned inwards against the Lebanese, the nation and its institutions," he said.
'Grave concern' is diplo-speak for "we're really mad and ready to do something about it".
"The kingdom renews its calls to all regional sides to respect the sovereignty and independence of Lebanon and to desist from interfering in its internal affairs and provoking sectarian strife..."
Faisal warned against a continuation of the violence and backed an Arab League call for the withdrawal of armed elements from the streets of Lebanon. "We call on all Lebanese sides to respond to the honest efforts of the Arab League ... to resolve the Lebanese crisis according to the Arab initiative that aims to launch Lebanese political dialogue rather than rockets and bullets between Lebanese," he said.
#2
And the Saudis have a whole lot more cash to try to fix it with.
It's about time they put their money where their mouth is instead of talking about how bad they think the situation is.
Abdominal Snowman, are you referring to the Sunni Nuke Program?
Because the Hezzbies have prevailed in Lebanon they have inadvertently applied lots more pressure on the Saudis and Egyptians to counter their Bomb program by building one of their own.
#4
I'd also suggest they send people to help fight, but the people they've sent into the conflict (i.e. Al Qaeda) haven't been worth a warm bucket of spit.
#8
See also DEBKA > ANALYSIS: LEBANESE ARMY WILL NOT STEP IN UNTIL HIZBULLAH FIGHTS PRO-GOVERNMENT FORCES TO THE FINISH; + OUTGOING ISRAELI AF COMMANDER: ISRAEL FACES UNPARALLED THREAT/THREATENED LIKE NEVER BEFORE; + SYRIA'S ASSAD WITHDRAWS PEACE BID/FEELERS WITH ISRAEL.
Lebanon's army said it will use force from Tuesday to stop fighting in the country between pro- and anti-government forces that has recalled the 1975-90 civil war. "Army units will halt violations... in accordance with the law, even if that leads to the use of force," a military statement said on Monday. The order would be implemented from 6 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Tuesday.
In the northern city of Tripoli, pro-government Sunni Muslim gunmen and militiamen allied to Hezbollah guerrillas fought on Monday in violence that has overturned the balance of power.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
TOPIX > ISRAEL: HIZBULLAH IS PUSHING LEBANON TOWARDS A KHOMEINI-STYLE STATE/REGIME. Islamist Lebanon??? + OLMERT: I AM WILLING TO GIVE UP LARGE PARTS OF JUDAEA AND SAMARIA FOR PEACE. + IRAN: ISRAEL IS MOVING TOWARDS [self?]EXTINCTION.
*BIGNEWSNETWORK > ABSORPTION OF IMMIGRANTS IS THE KEY TO ISRAEL + HAMAS ACTIVIST:US IS LOSING TO ISLAMIST MILITANT GROUPS.
#2
IRAN-DAILY > LEBANON'S GOVERNMENT TO REVOKE ANTI-RESISTANCE MOVES. Lebanon was wrong to make the Hizb Hezb Huzb so angry by taking away their stuff.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday postponed a parliamentary session to elect Lebanon's president scheduled on Tuesday till June 10, the official National News Agency reported. The Parliamentary session for electing a new president scheduled on May 13 was previously postponed from April 22, the report quoted a statement from Berri as saying. It is the 19th postponement since Sept. 25 last year.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Hezbollah's takeover of Beirut lasted only two days but it could take years to repair the damage the show of force has done to relations between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims in the capital. "Things will never be the same again," said Ahmed, describing how gunmen held a rifle to his brother's head during the takeover by Hezbollah and Amal -- Shi'ite factions whose fighters swept through the capital on Thursday and Friday.
Their main targets were offices of the Future group -- the political faction of governing coalition leader Saad al-Hariri, who draws most of his support from the Sunni community.
Ahmed, a Sunni, had been visiting a friend when gunmen stormed the building and destroyed his car, parked below. His brother had been at home when the gunmen threatened him. "I've never supported any politician. I always cursed them all," said Ahmed, who lives in one of many Beirut districts where residents fear that years of Sunni-Shi'ite coexistence has been undermined.
Some of the gunmen were from the same area, he said, showing pictures he had taken on a mobile phone of his car, its windows smashed, and other vandalised vehicles. Like other Lebanese interviewed since the violence began, he did not want to be identified for fear the gunmen might return. Acts of revenge were a certainty. "Not by me, but I know a lot of guys who will seek revenge," he said, describing how the gunmen had shouted sectarian abuse during their attack.
The prospect of Sunni-Shi'ite strife was one reason Hezbollah had been hesitant to turn its powerful arsenal against Lebanese political foes who it has accused of conspiring with the United States and Israel.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iranian-backed group, has accused the U.S.-backed governing coalition of presenting the power struggle in Lebanon in sectarian terms to rally support among Sunnis at home and in the Arab world.
Nasrallah, a cleric, stated confidently that such a conflict would not happen in a speech that appeared to be the signal for fighters to take control of the mainly Muslim western half of Beirut. "There will not be sectarian Sunni-Shi'ite strife in Lebanon," he said.
Hezbollah leads an opposition coalition that includes Christians, Druze and Sunni figures who have sought to defend the group from attacks by clerics who support Hariri, including the state mufti. "The Sunni Muslims are fed up with the violations," Sheikh Mohammad Rachid Kabbani said, accusing Hezbollah of trying to dominate Lebanon and "abducting" Beirut.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
TOPIX > MORT KONDRACKE > IN ISRAEL, BUSH/US CAN AVOID WAR WITH IRAN [Israeli role in GMD-TMD]; + FOUR DAYS WHICH CHANGED THE WAR ON TERROR + ISRAEL FEARS LEBANON WILL BE CONTROLLED BY IRAN + NEW ISLAMIST TERROR SURGE FEARED ACROSS MIDEAST AND AFRICA.
Gotta respect OSAMA + ZAWI, etc. for their STRATEGERY vv CENTRAL ASIA - I could, of course, be wrong about CENASIA + RADICAL ISLAM-IRAN SEEKING STRATEGIC MIL CAPABILITIES, but I don't think I am.
#2
Hezbollah's takeover of Beirut lasted only two days but it could take years to repair the damage the show of force has done to relations between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims in the capital.
Actually, genius, these people always hated each other with a passion---and always will. The closest they come to what you consider a normal interhuman relations is when they act in concert against "infidel".
#3
NEWSVINE > IRAN claims to have proof of US, BRITISH COLLUSION + SUPPORT for INTERNAL ANTI-GOVT. MILITANT GROUP deemed responsible for mosque bombing.
the word is that hezbollah (sometimes locally nicknamed Hezbassad because they are doing Syria's bidding) didn't do too well in the Druze areas.
Keeping track of who's who is beyond me but the biggest losers here seem to be the few token Hez allies among the druze, maronite, orthodox and sunni sects who now have the status of being lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut.
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Afghanistans top civilian counter-terrorism official and Kabuls police chief are among eight security officials who have been suspended from their posts following a recent assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai, authorities said Monday. 
The spring offensive is well launched by NATO. Or, put another way, pre-emptively provoked by the U.S. Marines Expeditionary Force.
Family members of Hassan al-Turabi, an opposition Sudanese politician, say he has been freed 12 hours after questioning following his arrest for alleged links to an attack on a suburb of the capital Khartoum. "He's at home," his daughter told the Reuters news agency on Monday.
Darfur rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim said on Monday he would launch more attacks on Sudans capital Khartoum until the government fell. This is just the start of a process and the end is the termination of this regime, Ibrahim, whose Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) attacked Khartoum at the weekend, said in a satellite phone call. Dont expect just one more attack. 
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Marine Corps far surpassed its recruiting goal last month and could eventually be more than a year ahead of schedule in its plan to grow the force to 202,000 members. All military services met or exceeded their monthly recruiting goals in April, with the Marine Corps signing 142 percent of the number it was looking for, the Pentagon said.
WASHINGTON -- The number of Americans being secretly wiretapped or having their financial and other records reviewed by the government has continued to increase as officials aggressively use powers approved after the Sept. 11 attacks. But the number of terrorism prosecutions ending up in court -- one measure of the effectiveness of such sleuthing -- has continued to decline, in some cases precipitously.
The rulers of Pakistan cannot go against the wishes of 160 million people, who are hoping for the restoration of the superior judiciary to the pre-November 3 status, said Jamaat-e-Islami Naib Amir Liaqat Baloch while addressing members of the Karachi Bar Association on Monday. The judiciary, lawyers and people of Pakistan will not accept any constitutional package, resolution or backdoor solution, he said, also rejecting Nawaz Sharifs readiness to accept the PCO judges.
No agreement has been reached between the NWFP government and militants in Swat, as there is only a ceasefire between the two sides, NWFP Senior Minister 
Hezbollah's takeover of Beirut lasted only two days but it could take years to repair the damage the show of force has done to relations between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims in the capital. "Things will never be the same again," said Ahmed, describing how gunmen held a rifle to his brother's head during the takeover by Hezbollah and Amal -- Shi'ite factions whose fighters swept through the capital on Thursday and Friday.
