A battalion commander has been shot in the leg during an operation in Afghanistan, becoming the most senior British officer injured in action in the country.
Lieutenant Colonel David Richmond, Commanding Officer of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland, was leading an operation near Musa Qaleh in Helmand Province on Thursday when he was hit by a Taliban bullet. It is understood that the 41-year-old was caught "out in the open" during an engagement with enemy forces. He was airlfted straight to a field hospital.
The Ministry of Defence refused to comment on how serious his injury is.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Shot in the leg? I thought that was a Palestinian thing.
Arab and Western nations called on Eritrea yesterday to withdraw its troops from the border with Djibouti following clashes that killed at least six Djiboutian soldiers and wounded over 50 others.
Officials said the first fighting for a decade between the Horn of Africa neighbours, two of the continent's smallest states, stopped late on Wednesday. Troops from both sides had exchanged fire since Tuesday along a part of their frontier that overlooks strategic shipping lanes in the Red Sea.
Djibouti hosts French and U.S. military bases and is the main route to the sea for Eritrea's arch-foe and Washington's top regional ally, Ethiopia. France said its military was providing logistical support to Djibouti.
Africa's youngest nation, Eritrea has fractious ties with the West, which accuses it of backing Somali insurgents and expelling U.N. peacekeepers on its border with Ethiopia.
The Arab League called on Eritrea to withdraw its forces immediately from the border area, stressing the need to respect Djibouti's sovereignty, Egypt's state news agency MENA said. It said the League took the decision during an emergency session to discuss with the crisis.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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A senior US counterterrorism official urged Yemen's president on Thursday to hand over two Al Qaeda suspects convicted in Yemen but wanted by Washington, said a US Embassy official.
Kenneth Wainstein, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, also told Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh that he should undertake serious measures to combat terrorism, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. "We need strong and serious measures to be carried out in Yemeni courts to try the terrorists and to hold them accountable," the official quoted Wainstein as saying.
Thursday's meeting came only three days after Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu-Bakr Al Qirbi said the country's constitution bars it from handing over Jaber Elbaneh, a Yemeni-American convicted of planning attacks on oil installations in Yemen, and Jamal Al Badawi, convicted of masterminding the 2000 Al Qaeda bombing of the USS Cole.
The issue has strained relations between the two countries.
Washington has indicted Al Badawi and wants to try him for the Cole bombing in the US, but it is seeking Elbaneh's extradition on different charges.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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A second batch of secret government files have been found on a train, just days after intelligence on Al-Qaeda and Iraq were misplaced, according to a newspaper report to be published Sunday. The Independent on Sunday said it was handed papers covering British policy on fighting global terrorist funding, drug trafficking and money laundering after they were left on a train bound for London's Waterloo station Wednesday. ...
Posted by: ed ||
06/14/2008 16:51 ||
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Someone is clearly trying to leave information for someone on those trains.
Old article from a muslim website.
Muslims serving jail sentences in Spanish jails will now be allowed to say their prayers in congregation, provided at least ten of them expressed their wish to do so. The aim of the new ruling is to bring about equality of treatment between Muslim prisoners and Catholic interns in their religious rights.
The largest Islamic organization in the country, the Islamic Committee of Spain, has welcomed this initiative, taking into account that 70 percent of those in Spanish jails are Muslims, who number around 54,000.
Last Ramadhan a number of Spanish jails changed their meal times to conform to the Ramadhan meal times of their Muslim inmates, and provided them with prayer areas within the prisons. But in those prisoners where such arrangements were not made, there were protests.
Spain with its 40-million population, which is 94 percent Catholic, has a Muslim community of around 600,000. 1 out of 12 or so being in jail, compared to 1 out of 167 or so according to my junior high school mathematical abilities, nice.
#1
Muslim immigrants - or pollutants - in the West end up in jail because: they possess pathological anger for our laws and liberties. Even the ones who appear civil, are often financial supporters of jihad fronts like CAIR, AMC, MSA and ISNA. Their vulgar koran tells them that "jihad is prescribed to you," and that they cannot "take Jews and Christians as friends."
(Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush arrived here on Friday to deliver a keynote speech at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and have dinner and a meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy.
In his speech, Bush urged "powerful and purposeful" Europe to stand with the United States on Afghanistan and Iraq. He said Europe must do more to help Afghanistan and Iraq overcome ongoing deadly violence, the same way the U.S. helped the continent rebirth from the ashes of World War II and the early Cold War years.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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And hardly anyone showed up to protest. How things change!
Al-Qaeda is planning to carry out attacks on Danish soil, the head of the Scandinavian country's PET intelligence service warned in a newspaper interview ON Friday. "We see now ... al-Qaeda behind a targeted training and planning of terror attacks on Danish soil," PET chief Jakob Scharf said in an interview with free daily Nyhedsavisen. "Al-Qaeda has had, and still has, a strong wish to hurt Denmark and Danish interests," he added.
The terror network claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on the Danish embassy in Islamabad last week that killed six people, including two Pakistanis working at the mission and one Dane of Pakistani origin.
In an internet statement signed by one of al-Qaeda's leaders, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, the group said it had carried out the attack "in revenge" for Danish caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.
Danish newspapers first published the controversial cartoons in 2005, sparking violent protests across the Muslim world. Several Danish dailies reprinted one of the sketches in February this year following the discovery of a plot to assassinate the cartoonist. "We are keeping an eye on people and networks in Denmark who constitute a concrete threat and who have the will and the ability to carry out an attack," Scharf said, adding that PET was working to counter the threat.
In Sweden, the head of the Saepo intelligence service's counter-terrorism unit, Mats Paulsson, meanwhile told the TT news agency Friday that the agency was monitoring a number of people in the country suspected of travelling abroad for "terrorist training."
While these people were not believed to pose a great threat to their country of residence, they could quite possibly be planning attacks against neighbouring Denmark, Paulsson said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
Nope. After the cartoons were published, an Egyptian newspaper re-published them - in full - in an article that criticized the Danes. There were ZERO protests until prominent Danish Muslims travelled to Saudi Arabia, to call for a boycott of Danish goods. (Note: one report found that 60% of European imans were on state welfare). The issue exploded when the Saudis announced a boycott.
Lesson: allow Muslims to immigrate to your countries, and they will work against said country. Zero Muslims protest against persecution of Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, etc in Muslim tyrannies.
#3
Most civilized and sane people wouldn't think that "cartoons" would lead to violent protests, plans to assassinate the cartoonist, suicide attacks on embassies and plans to carry out terrorism on your home soil.
John McCain on Friday described the decision by the Supreme Court to allow Guantánamo Bay prisoners to challenge their detention in US courts as one of the worst decisions in the history of this country. The Republican presidential candidate said he agreed with the four dissenting justices on the nine-member court that foreign fighters held at the detention camp were not entitled to the rights of US citizens.
He criticised Barack Obama, his Democratic opponent, for supporting the decision and said it highlighted the importance of nominating conservative judges to the Supreme Court. His remarks represented a hardening of his position from his more moderate initial response to the ruling on Thursday, signalling a strategic decision by the McCain campaign to make it an election issue.
Mr McCains stance appeared designed to demonstrate his toughness on national security, while casting Mr Obama as soft on terrorists. It also looked calculated to spark debate on the future of the Supreme Court one of the most important election issues for many conservative voters.
Mr McCain, who spent five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, had previously sought to distance himself from Mr Bush on the treatment of detainees, arguing for Guantánamo to be closed and torture to be banned. He said he stood by those positions on Friday but insisted the Supreme Court ruling would weaken national security. These are enemy combatants, these are people who are not citizens, they are not and never have been given the rights that the citizens of this country have, he said. Our first obligation is the safety and security of this nation and the men and women who defend it. This decision will harm our ability to do that.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Good. Now if he has to work within that crap precedent, reverse onus laws - viz habeas corpus/release - can be strengthened. Isn't it strange that this junk is dumped on the public, at Summer recess? Reminder: Saudi Arabia pays legal fees for 100% of their citizens who are in foreign custody.
#2
A fair number of these prisoners who have been released have shown up on the battlefield again trying to kill Americans and allies. You have to wonder about the Supremes.
#3
This will no doubt fix in his mind the kind of judge he will nominate to the Supreme Court to replace the retirees, a very good thing. Three terms of war-mongering Republican presidents will have definitely changed the course of this country for the better part of a generation.
TAMPA -- Former University of South Florida student Ahmed Mohamed has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of providing material support to terrorists, according to an agreement filed in Tampa federal court today. Mohamed, 26, faces up to 15 years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set.
"This plea agreement was at the request of our client after a very long and agonizing decision by both him and his family, and it was his decision to resolve this matter through this plea," said Linda Moreno, one of Mohamed's defense attorneys.
Got him cold, did they?
Mohamed was arrested Aug. 4 near Goose Creek, S.C., with Youssef Megahed, 22, another former USF student. A sheriff's deputy stopped the men for speeding and searched their car when he became suspicious. He found what prosecutors said were low-grade explosives in the trunk.
A federal grand jury in Tampa indicted both men for illegally transporting explosive material across state lines. Mohamed faced additional, more serious, charges that included accusations of violating his student visa by possessing a firearm, demonstrating how to make an explosive device through a YouTube video and providing material support to terrorists. Moreno said the plea agreement calls for those charges to be dismissed at the time of sentencing.
Mohamed has been in custody since his arrest.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
So sorry, Youssef. It wasn't a bluff that time.
Mohamed, congratulations on your deal. Now you move on to the Federal round, Name Your Boss, unless Youssef has drawn a clue.
Hyderabad, June 13: Andhra Pradesh was on Friday dropped as a Maoist focus state. Only Khammam district has been identified as a focus area because it borders Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar and Jharkhand were identified as focus States at a meeting of police officers from Maoist-affected states in New Delhi that was convened by the Union ministry of home affairs.
Maoist-affected states including Andhra Pradesh and Khammam district will get infrastructure to strengthen police stations and procuring mine-proof vehicles. At least 33 districts in eight states are affected by Maoists. Sources in the state police said that this was an introductory meeting and state governments were asked to send proposals on the requirements of security forces dealing with Maoists.
State police will get updated equipment including satellite phones for reliable communications. It is suspected that Maoist leaders also use satellite phones. It was suggested that communication towers should be set up within the police station premises to protect them from Maoist attacks. The special infrastructure also includes non-convention sources of electric supply as a back-up in case Maoists destroy power lines.
In Hyderabad, meanwhile, the state government hiked cash rewards on Maoists. This will benefit informants whose inputs led to the killing or capture of the Maoists. It will also benefit Maoists who surrendered to the police. The government sanctioned Rs 50.9 lakh to enhance cash rewards following a representation made by the director-general of police on April 29 this year. The amount covers 58 Maoists who were killed in encounters or captured and those who surrendered.
Informants whose tip-offs are useful in tracking down Maoists, and police personnel on the anti-extremist operation share the rewards. Maoists who surrender get the money as part of their rehabilitation package. The reward is around Rs 12 lakh on Maoists leaders like Jampanna of North Telangana special zonal committee, Shakamuri Appa Rao.
Posted by: john frum ||
06/14/2008 14:42 ||
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#1
Hunt them down and destroy them. Of course, this won't really accomplish anything as long as the grinding poverty and disgusting corruption in India still exists. It will motivate people to do something, ANYTHING, to change their situation even if it is a ideology that has been discredited for decades.
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif stepped up his attack on President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday, suggesting he could be hanged while addressing thousands of protesters outside the presidency.
"We asked you to quit with honor after the election but you didn't," Sharif told the crowd, referring to U.S. ally Musharraf, who overthrew him in a 1999 coup.
"Now people have given a new judgment for you ... they want you to be held accountable," he said in the early hours of Saturday.
The crowd, officially estimated at up to 20,000, chanted "hang Musharraf" as it listened to the two time former prime minister's fiery speech.
"Is hanging only for politicians?" asked Sharif, referring to former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, hanged by a military dictator in 1979.
"These blood-sucking dictators must be held accountable."
The demonstration, a few hundred meters from the presidency and parliament buildings, marked the climax of an almost week-long rolling protest across the country led by lawyers, though by the end they were easily outnumbered by Sharif party activists.
The United States and other Western allies fear prolonged political instability in the turbulent nuclear-armed Muslim nation will play into the hands of Islamist militants and undermine the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism.
Posted by: john frum ||
06/14/2008 11:22 ||
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...who overthrew him in a 1999 coup.
Demonstating, once again, why you really shouldn't leave your enemies alive after a coup...
#2
Sharif is making some pretty powerful enemies, especially in the military. He'd better learn to keep his mouth shut, or his life expectancy will drop to zero. The military may not OPENLY run things in Pakistan, but they're still the power brokers. Perv is one of them, not one of Sharif's followers.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/14/2008 18:19 Comments ||
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The tribesmen of the Pewar Kharoti village of Kurram Agency will vacate trenches and hand them over to the law-enforcement agencies by Sunday, Kurram Agency Political Agent Muhammad Azam Khan said on Friday.
Talking to a jirga of Pewar Kharoti tribesmen, the political agent said that the move would end a month-long unrest in the agency. He said that tribesmen should utilise their energies for the establishment of durable peace in the agency. He said that tribesmen were a peace-loving people and that they had rendered sacrifices for Pakistan during the Independence Movement in 1947. The tribesmen should remain vigilant and keep close watch on their surroundings to foil the nefarious designs of anti-state elements, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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Former Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif told tens of thousands of supporters of the country's deposed chief justice Friday that President Pervez Musharraf would be forced to "pay for his crimes."
Around 30,000 lawyers and political activists chanting "Go, Musharraf, Go!" swarmed into Islamabad at the climax of a cross-country "long march" to demand the reinstatement of dozens of judges sacked by Musharraf last year.
"Musharraf will have to pay for his crimes, he will not be given a safe passage now," said Sharif, waving his fists in the air in a hard-hitting speech aimed at his arch-foe, who ousted him in a bloodless military coup in 1999.
Lawyers have led opposition to Musharraf since he fired judges, including chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, under emergency rule in November, and vow to stage a sit-in outside parliament until the government restores him.
"I can see in you the dawn of a new sun. Your passion will restore the supremacy of the law, restore the judges and punish this dictator," Sharif told the flag-waving crowd, which answered with cries of "Hang Musharraf!"
Friday's rally, which was held amid tight security, came after a caravan comprising hundreds of vehicles completed a 24-hour journey from the eastern city of Lahore on the final leg of a nationwide protest.
Police said around 30,000 people had gathered, including protesters outside the parliament building in the capital as well as those in the cavalcade. Protest organisers said the figure was 50,000.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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The United States and Pakistani armed forces have agreed to conduct a joint investigation into an American airstrike that killed 11 Pakistani soldiers in the Mohmand Agency this week, US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said on Friday.
There is an understanding between the militaries that they will conduct a joint investigation and the foreign ministers agreed that this was the right way to go, Reuters quoted him as telling reporters after a meeting between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of a conference on Afghanistan.
Regret: The secretary [Rice] expressed our regrets for the death of Pakistani soldiers, in particular knowing that they are our allies in the war on terror, Boucher said, adding that Washington did not acknowledge responsibility for the deaths, nor did it admit to an error.
War: A Foreign Office press release said that Rice and Qureshi had agreed to continue Pak-US co-operation in the joint fight against terrorism during their meeting. It said that both leaders had agreed that it was important to find a joint solution to problems faced by both sides.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Release more videos. Time to remove the kid gloves.
#2
Time to have ANOTHER strike - this time down through the middle of Islamabad by 30 or more US bombers, loaded to the gills with iron bombs. It might get the Pakistanis' attention that we're pretty tired of the patty-cake they're playing with our avowed enemies.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/14/2008 18:21 Comments ||
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The government will continue its dialogue with militants in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) despite enormous international pressure, NWFP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani said on Friday. The NWFP governments peace agreement with militants in Swat is yielding positive results and that is why the federal government is going to make a peace deal with FATA militants, he told reporters.
Concerning US and Afghanistan worries on Pakistani peace talks with militants, Ghani said peace in FATA could not be restored within days, adding that peace deals required some time in order to yield positive results. He said the government had conveyed its strong reaction to the US regarding the airstrike on a Pakistani checkpost.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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QUETTA: Nawab Khair Baksh Marri has said he would be willing to represent only the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and not other Baloch forces, in talks with the government.
Daily Times recently asked Nawab Marri if he would agree to talk to the government if nominated by all Baloch forces, including the BLA, as their chief negotiator. Marri answered by pointing his thumbs down.
But he added that if the BLA asked him to talk to Islamabad, as an elder of the Baloch nation, he would present his terms and conditions: the Punjabis must vacate Balochistan.
The other issues are all domestic and could be discussed later on ... I can co-exist with a pig but not with a Punjabi, he said at his Karachi residence.
When Marri was asked how he would respond to the impression that he was the real force behind Balochistans armed movement, he retorted with loud laughter: Why are you asking me to confess my guilt at this old age? If I were younger, I would not be giving you an interview. I have always said that the real fighters are the ones who are doing it with weapons. I wish I were younger so that I could go straight to the hills and fight for the Baloch cause.
He said he was pleased with the BLA and did not regard Mengals Balochistan National Party (BNP) as a nationalist force as it did not factor in the Baloch of Iran and Afghanistan.
The BNP does not have a majority on the mountains. God knows, it is not the BNP giving arms, shoes, support and money to those fighting in the mountains, Marri said.
Posted by: john frum ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I can co-exist with a pig but not with a Punjabi
That should go down well in Rawalpindi cantonment
Posted by: john frum ||
06/14/2008 7:35 Comments ||
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New Delhi, June 12: Maoists and Muslim fundamentalists they may seem to be the most unlikely partners. But in a move which is rife with much internal contradictions and political ramifications, the two are coming together to forge a national platform to combat state terror.
Calling themselves the victims of state terror, the two improbable partners had sat together for the first time and called for resistance against all kinds of terror unleashed by the State and Central governments against Maoists and Muslims. The meeting was held in Kerala last month.
The main forces behind the move are Porattom, a Maoist group having base in South India, Minority Watch, a human rights organisation suspected of having close links with the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and National Democratic Front (NDF), a radical Muslim group accused of having similar links with the banned Islamic Sevak Sangh (ISS).
Maoists and Muslims share the similar plight of being the victims of the state terror. The best way to eliminate anyone who raises his voice against the wrong doings of the State is to brand him as a Naxalite. Similar is the plight of Muslim brethren. Whenever and wherever there is a terrorist attack, the community as a whole is brought under the eye of suspicion. Every Muslim is being treated as a potential terrorist. It is in this background that we have decided to join hands to combat this state sponsored terrorism, said Ravunni, general convener of Porattom.
Nazaruddeen Elamarom of the NDF also echoed similar views. The Maoists and the Muslims are the worst affected victims of state terror. We are the favourite whipping boys of the Government as we are clubbed together as anti-nationals. And this is the common thread that connects the two, he said. According to him, it is for the first time that the Naxalites and Muslim groups are coming together for espousing a similar cause.
Nazarudden maintained that the fight would be against the upper caste ruling elite forces of Hindutva and imperialism who have the agenda of hunting down Maoists and Muslims. This is for upholding human rights and to stop the fascists, he added.
The agenda of the Maoist-Muslim joint platform group includes withdrawal of ban on SIMI and a total full stop to encounter killings. They also want the Naxalites to be given the treatment of war prisoners.
According to Ravunni, they are in touch with many other Maoist and Muslim groups across the country. We are planning to hold our next meetings in Bangalore and Calcutta. We would be deciding upon the nature and structure of the joint platform in those meetings and it would have a pan Indian nature, he said. Ravunni said that the meeting has brought together two victim groups together and the rest of the fight would be fought together.
Acknowledging that it was an unlikely alliance, Ravunni said: A lot of complexities are involved in this coming together. But we would unite to fight against the common enemy putting aside differences in their ideologies, he added.
The meeting was also attended by some civil society movements including Confederation of Human Rights Organisation (CHRO) and Peoples Union Civil Liberty (PUCL) working against encounter killings and anti-terror laws.
Posted by: john frum ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Given the historical Commie love of "scientific intellectualism/realism", and as per the looming Islamist threat to CENTRAL ASIA = PROTO-ISLAMIST NUKLAR ASIA, I'm inclined to think the Commie Maoists desire to subvert local Radical Islam from within???
MISSED THE MAP-READING CLASSES/DRILLS AT MILITARY CAMP, DIDN'T WE???
#3
OK, since Maoism is in essence an ideology of explicit state terror, does that mean that these guys are pledging suicide, or are we just talking about the mother of all projection complexes here?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
06/14/2008 11:14 Comments ||
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#4
I show you mine if you show me yours?
Posted by: Ali AbuTseTung3829 ||
06/14/2008 16:13 Comments ||
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Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki raised the possibility that his country won't sign a status of forces agreement with the United States and will ask U.S. troops to go home when their U.N. mandate to be in Iraq expires at the end of the year.
Maliki made the comment after weeks of complaints from Shiite Muslim lawmakers that U.S. proposals that would govern a continued troop presence in Iraq would infringe on Iraq's sovereignty.
"Iraq has another option that it may use," Maliki said during a visit to Amman, Jordan. "The Iraqi government, if it wants, has the right to demand that the U.N. terminate the presence of international forces on Iraqi sovereign soil."
Earlier, Maliki acknowledged that talks with the U.S. on a status of forces agreement "reached an impasse" after the American negotiators presented a draft that would have given the U.S. access to 58 military bases, control of Iraqi airspace and immunity from prosecution for both U.S. soldiers and private contractors.
The Iraqis rejected those demands, and U.S. diplomats have submitted a second draft, which Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih told McClatchy included several major concessions. Among those would be allowing Iraq to prosecute private contractors for violations of Iraqi law and requiring U.S. forces to turn over to Iraqi authorities Iraqis that the Americans detain.
Salih stressed that the Iraqi government wants to reach an agreement with the United States. But he said the Iraqi government wouldn't be pressured into accepting terms that compromised Iraq's rights as a sovereign state.
"Our American allies need to understand and realize that this agreement must be respectful of Iraqi sovereignty," Salih said. "We need them here for a while longer, and they know they have to remain here for a while."
American negotiators have hoped the talks would be finished by the end of July, but Maliki's latest remarks as well as those by influential members of parliament make that deadline seem unrealistic. More at link
Posted by: ed ||
06/14/2008 17:22 ||
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#1
Good for the Iraqis...if this isn't Iranian stooges speaking. This is the beginnings of pan-Iraqi nationalism. If uniting against the big bad USA is what they need, then so be it.
#5
No real problem with that - besides even such a request would take time to implement. Truly, when they're good to go, we're good to go.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
06/14/2008 19:42 Comments ||
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#6
important to separate the actual "internal consumption" hardass language from the real position. I'd think the Kurds might decide separate agreements with the US could be in order should Maliki go all Tehran-tool. The Sunnis might want a separate agreement as well. Two sides can play divide and conquer ;-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/14/2008 20:17 Comments ||
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#7
my 2¢
If we were able to pulled out of Iraq this week, by the end of the year Nouri al Maliki and his coalition would be fucked, try as they might, Iraq would disintegrate right under their feet.
The Rivals, the so called "Insurgents" and the Terrorists, etc. would all come back with a vengeance and KILL till the land of Two Rivers ran RED with BLOOD!!
No way can one group of Iraqis keep a National Army unified as yet.
Or even keep Iraq's oil refined and distributed to all partz of Iraq.
Same for the generation of electricity; Can Maliki keep all the equiptmnent running and distribute juice across the electrical grid?
Can Maliki do all that across every "invisible" hurdle?
Persuade every Big Shot special interest to let electricity pass over his territory to his old enemies grid?
Who is going to keep Iraq's entire Pack of Tribes Unified?...
Iraq's Races Unified?....
Iraq's Religious Sects unified as a National group?
Realistically Iraq needs our help now and for at least 5 more years!
#8
Some sovereign country. Last week Maliki took counsel from Iran's parasitic Ayatollah class. In any case, SOFA is stillborn. It is all a set up for joint Sunni-Shiite war against US troops. That will commence mid August and continue until McCain is sandbagged. You can trust an Arab Muslim as far as you can spit against a hurricane.
#9
Makes me wonder if Tater isn't leading Maliki around by the nosering a bit.
And if they push too hard, just leave. Iraq can pay for any operations required to bring Coalition troops back. And I doubt there would be any country participating but the USA.
WaPo's actual front-page headline was, "Key Iraqi Leaders Deliver Setbacks to U.S."
The Bush administration's Iraq policy suffered two major setbacks Friday when Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki publicly rejected key U.S. terms for an ongoing military presence and anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for a new militia offensive against U.S. forces.
During a visit to Jordan, Maliki said negotiations over initial U.S. proposals for bilateral political and military agreements had "reached a dead end." While he said talks would continue, his comments fueled doubts that the pacts could be reached this year, before the Dec. 31 expiration of a United Nations mandate sanctioning the U.S. role in Iraq.
The moves by two of Iraq's most powerful Shiite leaders underscore how the presence of U.S. troops has become a central issue for Iraqi politicians as they position themselves for provincial elections later this year. Iraqis across the political spectrum have grown intolerant of the U.S. presence, but the dominant Shiite parties -- including Maliki's Dawa party -- are especially fearful of an electoral challenge from new, grass-roots groups.
"All the politicians are trying to prove that they care more about Iraqis than they do about Americans -- otherwise they know the people and the voters will not support them," said Ala Maaki, a senior lawmaker with Iraqi's largest Sunni political party. "I think we could see al-Maliki and Moqtada Sadr trying to one-up the other today and see who can take the strongest stand against the Americans." With democracy, comes politics.
Maliki's comments came as Sadr called for a new armed wing of his Mahdi Army militia to fight U.S. troops. Sadr had ordered the militia to cease carrying weapons last August -- a leading factor in the recent decline in violence -- although U.S. military officials have asserted that renegade militia units have continued the fight under instructions from Iran.
Sadr aides, some of whom appeared surprised by the cleric's announcement, said he wanted to issue the order now to avoid seeming as if he was responding to a U.S.-Iraqi agreement if one is reached by the July deadline.
Salah al-Obaidi, Sadr's chief spokesman, said the order was essentially a full-scale reorganization of the Mahdi Army, transforming it from a militia into a permanent peaceful organization with a small armed wing of several hundred or so members. He said the cease-fire for the rest of the movement would remain in force.
The new group, Sadr's statement said, would operate in "total secrecy" and attack only American forces. "The resistance will be restricted to a group authorized by a written letter from us soon," it said. "Arms will be restricted to them and they may only point them towards the occupier." You're welcome, Mookie.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/14/2008 10:10 ||
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#1
OK, lemme make sure I understand the WAPO's new standard for victory or defeat: we lose if the other side calls for us to lose. Let's try that concept out in a different historical context:
"The Roosevelt administration's plan for the invasion of Europe suffered a major setback when Joseph Goebbels called for its repulse."
No, that just doesn't sound right. I'm obviously too dumb to read the WAPO, so I won't.
Posted by: Matt ||
06/14/2008 11:16 Comments ||
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#2
"The resistance will be restricted to a group authorized by a written letter from us soon,"
That would be form BR549-19-B rev. 766. Triplicate unless you're dealing with Jooooooooos, then countersign with your Abu only.
Posted by: George Smiley ||
06/14/2008 13:43 Comments ||
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#3
SOFA Sandbag Denial = Holocaust Denial
Whatever happened to: honesty is the best policy. Maliki and Kharzai are 2 dirtbags who need to sleep with the fishes.
(Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki wrapped up a two-day official visit to Jordan on Friday. Al-Maliki held talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II and Prime Minister Nadir Dhahabi on a series of issues including Iraqi political process and means to enhance bilateral relations, especially economic links. Both King Abdullah and Dhahabi reaffirmed Jordan's keenness to build strong relations with Iraq, offering all needed political support to enable it to preserve security and stability and ensure the unity of the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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Federal judges cannot block US military officials from turning over two Americans held in Iraq to local authorities who want to prosecute them for involvement in the insurgency or criminal activity, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday.
The Supremes actually turned down an opportunity to extend their reach? I'm surprised ...
The high court's decision was a defeat for two Americans who say they are innocent and who are being held by US soldiers at Camp Cropper near Baghdad International Airport. Chief Justice John Roberts said in the court's opinion that the two lawsuits should have been promptly dismissed.
Their lawyers say the two men might be tortured or even killed if they are transferred to Iraqi custody and that they should have access to US courts to challenge their detention and to stop their transfer to Iraqi authorities.
One case involved Mohammad Munaf, an Iraqi-American with dual citizenship. He was convicted in Iraq and sentenced to death for his suspected role in the 2005 kidnapping of three Romanian journalists. His conviction was later overturned by an Iraqi court and his case sent back for further investigation.
The other case involved Shawqi Omar, an American-Jordanian citizen who is accused of being a senior associate of the late insurgent leader Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. A federal judge in Washington DC, and then a US appeals court blocked Omar's transfer to Iraqi custody.
The Bush administration has argued that US courts have no jurisdiction over the cases, partly because the two men are being held under the auspices of multinational forces in Iraq, of which US troops are only a part.
The court rejected the administration's arguments that the two men have no rights whatsoever to habeas corpus-the right to challenge their imprisonment. Roberts said the right extends to American citizens held overseas by American forces operating subject to an American chain of command. But he held that US courts do not have the power to block their transfer to a foreign country for criminal prosecution.
Roberts said the two men's claim that they would be tortured if transferred to Iraqi custody was a serious concern. But he said the issue had to be addressed the political branches of government, not the judiciary.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The Supremes actually turned down an opportunity to extend their reach? I'm surprised ...
Kennedy predicated his grab for power on the parties being held under de jure or de facto American sovereignty. Well, at least that was his excuse. He chose to 'forget' that Yamashita challenged the authority of the military tribunal to which he was subject, Yamashita vs Styer, and was held in the Philippines in '45 which was a territory of the United States at the time and under our control till their independence, previously scheduled, and granted July 4, 1946. The court can make these things up rationalize anyway they want, when they want.
#2
This is totally consistent with lefty tranzy doctrine which holds that while the laws of the other countries supersede and can be used to nullify the will of the American people inside the US; the opposite does not hold true when outside our borders.
Posted by: Scott R ||
06/14/2008 7:55 Comments ||
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#3
Seems like these guys with dual citizenship should give up their American citizenship when they take up arms against America. These two yardbirds are not stellar upstanding citizens of any country.
#4
Seems like The US should take the oath of citizenship
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;
, seriously and stop granting "dual citizenship." This concept is Anti-American. It would stop a lot of problems and sort out who's on which side.
#6
The State Department officially looks the other way when confronted with dual passports. The Oath of Citizenship is just an empty gesture, a US passport is viewed by many as a convenience rather than a nationality. I know some Chinese people to whom their US passport is just that, a passport - it's purely for ease of travel and nothing else.
Hamas Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades confirmed Friday that the operatives who died in Thursday's explosion in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya were making last-minute preparations for a special mission, a Hamas codename for a high-quality attack.
According to the statement, the dead were operatives of a special Hamas unit. The organization promised that its people will continue following in the path of those killed.
One woman wounded as Palestinians bombard Gaza-vicinity communities with dozens of mortars, rockets in response to explosion in Beit Lahiya, though IDF continues to maintain Israel wasn't involved
A Hamas gunman who was wounded in Thursday's died Friday morning. Hamas announcement does not refer to the blast's circumstances even though the group's media has begun using the term explosion and not just attack, the term repeatedly used on Thursday.
Hamas was quick to blame Israel and reacted with a heavy rocket fire on the western Negev. Recent statements, however, have omitted placing the blame on Israel.
On Thursday, Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida said that as a result of the IDF denying it's involvement, the military wing will conduct an investigation into the blast and make its results public immediately.
Hamas announcement confirmed Ynet reports saying that Ahmed Randur, commander of the Izz el-Din al-Qassam Brigades in north Gaza was present at the time of the explosion and lightly injured as a result.
Additional senior Hamas officials were present at the scene including Beit Lahiya Hamas Area Commander Ahmed Hamouda, whose house is the one which exploded. His daughter was killed in the blast. Hassan Abu Shakfa and Ashraf Mushtaha, both senior officials in Hamas military wing were killed as well.
A neighbor who lives adjacent to the exploded house said that the presence of Hamas senior officials at the scene of the incident and at the hospital immediately after it occurred, proves that those present at the blast were very high-ranking. The fast arrival of the civilian leadership and of the firefighters proves that extreme pressure was felt due to the identity of those injured.
Meanwhile, at a visit at the military prep school at Kibbutz Shoval in the Negev on Friday, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) criticized the political security cabinets decision to hold negotiations with the Palestinians.
According to Mofaz, the cabinets decision is problematic and unfavorable for Israel. We needed to change our policies regarding the Gaza Strip a year ago when the Hamas rose to power. Today, we are a year late and we still have not reached the right decision.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Fail.
Truce is working real well. Good thing Olmert and Kadima ruled out an operation in Gaza.
Rememeber our first Muslim Congessman? He's talking, and apparently to the Iranian press. Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison has criticized the policies of the US President George W. Bush in dealing with Iranian issues. George W. Bush has adopted wrong policies on Iran--a country that plays an important role in the Middle East and the world, Ellison said.
Calling the preconditions for talks with Iran irrational, the Congressman said the Bush administration is not able to take practical steps to resolve the problems between the two countries and added that the only option is to wait for the next US president.
Ellison pointed out that he always votes "nay" to sanctions against Iran in the US Congress. He maintains that the sanctions are fruitless and only worsen the situation. Going further, he condemned Bush's policies on Iraq. Ellison emphasized that the only way to resolve the crisis in Iraq is to withdraw US forces from the war-torn country and ask Islamic countries, especially Iran, to help reconstruct the country.
Ellison was also critical of the US and Western mass media, which generally offer a prejudgmental image of Iran and a negative view of Islam. About Us
Press TV takes revolutionary steps as the first Iranian international news network, broadcasting in English on a round-the-clock basis.
Our global Tehran-based headquarters is staffed with outstanding Iranian and foreign media professionals.
Press TV is extensively networked with bureaus located in the world's most strategic cities.">
The U.S. Embassy in Madrid says suspected Syrian arms dealer Monzer al-Kassar is being extradited to the United States. Embassy spokesman William Ostick says al-Kassar boarded a flight bound for New York on Friday. Ostick says al-Kassar was accompanied by agents of the DEA. Al-Kassar is a long-time resident of Spain. A Spanish police official also says al-Kassar was on the flight.
Al-Kassar was arrested in Spain in June 2007 as part of a U.S. sting operation. The United States said he had plotted to buy weapons for leftist rebels in Colombia. Spain's government approved the extradition last week.
Posted by: ed ||
06/14/2008 17:11 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
John McCain on Friday described the decision by the Supreme Court to allow Guantánamo Bay prisoners to challenge their detention in US courts as one of the worst decisions in the history of this country. The Republican presidential candidate said he agreed with the four dissenting justices on the nine-member court that foreign fighters held at the detention camp were not entitled to the rights of US citizens.
