[Iran Press TV Latest] Washington is using its political clout to influence the outcome of the upcoming presidential elections in Afghanistan, a report says.
The US embassy in Kabul has urged Afghanistan's leading presidential hopefuls to withdraw from the race in favor of Ali Ahmad Jalali -- a candidate that is more preferred by Washington, reported Pakistan's Ummat daily.
In return, US official have promised to guarantee key positions for the three candidates -- which include finance minister Ashraf Ghani, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and political activist Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi -- in the next Afghan government.
The move received instant condemnation as flagrant US interference in Afghan politics and internal affairs.
Jalali -- who is viewed the main rival of President Hamed Karzai in the August presidential elections -- is a US citizen and former Afghan minister of the interior.
His candidacy is seen as a direct violation of the Chapter Three, Article Sixty Two of Afghanistan Constitution, which states that only an Afghan citizen has the right to run for president - which means that Jalali would have apply for Afghanistan citizenship first.
Zalmay Khalilzad and Ashraf Ghani, two other candidates vying for presidency, also hold US citizenship.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Didn't Arafat kill that urge?
We pick the worst Bastards wherever we pick.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/14/2009 12:01 Comments ||
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He's also vowing to confront Kimmie, the Chinese, excessive spending and government corruption ...
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama made a fresh vow to confront piracy on Monday, hours after a Somali pirate chief warned of revenge against Americans following the dramatic rescue of a US sea captain.
Obama said the United States was resolved to hold those who prey on merchant shipping accountable, following the freeing of Captain Richard Phillips in a daring maritime rescue which saw three pirates shot dead by US snipers. We are going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks, Obama said. We have to continue to be prepared to confront them when they arise and we have to ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes, Obama said.
Obamas comments upped the ante in the struggle against piracy in the lawless shipping lanes off Somalia, hours after a pirate chief threatened to target Americans in revenge for the loss of his men.
The American liars have killed our friends after they agreed to free the hostage without ransom... this matter will lead to retaliation and we will hunt down particularly American citizens travelling our waters, chief Abdi Garad told AFP by phone from the pirate lair of Eyl. We will intensify our attacks even reaching very far away from Somalia waters, and next time we get American citizens... they (should) expect no mercy from us.
If Bambi wishes to confront the pirates, he can start by cleaning out the pirate lair at Eyl ...
Obama kept largely silent during the five-day standoff but when Phillips was freed, he issued a written statement paying tribute to the skippers courage and the expertise of US navy rescuers, similar in content to his on-camera comments on Monday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Explain in a thousand word thesis of how our Pirates help us Mr President.
Bibliography is important.
Ohhhh, and the last time someone said "America is not a Christian nation", it was John Adams in negotiation to Tripoli.......
#2
hey rantyes, such a crying bitches you all sound. you fags are the shit of America did you have your ass kick in your youth that now cluster together in this imbeciles blog
All of you are just conservative crying frustrated bitches
#3
So, hqhqhqh, tell us what you want us to do and say? In the immortal words of the Great Mucky, "Ima cnfusr." Or something like that.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/14/2009 2:40 Comments ||
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hqhqhqh I agree So F@#%ing Much they will hate OBAMA no matter
what.As said before WoW is this the Glenn Beck Crying army regiment or what? Some well most ppl need to really understand this.
I know the truth just f@#$ing HURTS dont it get over it Pu$$ies
#6
Moderators, Crying baby above, please diaper and remove.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/14/2009 4:47 Comments ||
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#7
Jim leave him. A clear example of how the LLL Mo0nb@t5 have no facts within the argument. Barry is required by law to defend Amercians no matter where they are. This is not a change in policy, unless we put boots on the ground and clean out the safe havens.
#17
He's also vowing to confront Kimmie, the Chinese, excessive spending and government corruption ...
As a first step, RESIGN.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/14/2009 11:48 Comments ||
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#18
As a first step, RESIGN.
God, no, RJ! Then we'd be stuck with old Foot in Mouth Joe as president. Barry just needs to pick a couple of adults as advisors. I'd suggest Zalmay Khalizad as foreign service advisor, Thomas Sowell as economic advisor, John Bolton as Khalizad's deputy, Tom Tancredo as Border control advisor, and a few dozen others. He might actually get something done, and done right, with those.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/14/2009 14:07 Comments ||
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#19
Vows to confront privates? Geez, hope that isn't on the Sunday morning informercials.
#21
Besoeker dear, I shall bake you a special melktaart on Thursday, after the end of Passover. Chocolate chip cookies for you, Dr. Steve. As for the two semi-verbal Trainables (clearly they have reached an intellectual age of 10-12, but not higher), perhaps they are a symptom of what I believe now is termed Shattered Personality Disorder, rather than what we used to call split personality... or sock puppetry.
It hasn't taken long at all for the 'concerns' from all the right groups to be made public ...
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. officials, in deciding how to handle the lone surviving pirate from the hostage-taking of an American ship captain, must weigh the violence of the suspect's actions against his surprisingly young age.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday the four pirates were between 17 and 19 years old. Authorities had previously put the surviving Somali suspect's age at somewhere from 16 to 20. He surrendered Sunday, leaving a covered lifeboat where he and three other pirates had been holding merchant Capt. Richard Phillips hostage. Shortly after his surrender, the three others were killed by snipers. Phillips was rescued unharmed.
"Untrained teenagers with heavy weapons," Gates told a group of students and faculty at the Marine Corps War College. "Everybody in the room knows the consequences of that."
U.S. officials are now considering whether to bring the unidentified suspect to the United States or possibly turn him over to Kenya. If he is brought to the U.S., he'd most likely be put on trial in New York or Washington. Both piracy and hostage-taking carry life prison sentences under U.S. law.
Federal judges don't see many defendants younger than 18, said New Orleans-based lawyer Sandra Jenkins, who has handled such cases. "It's very rare," said Jenkins. "And usually, it's juveniles with adults involved, meaning a juvenile is charged with an adult or a group of adults."
Much hand-wringing commences forthwith:
In deciding when to charge a minor in federal court, the law requires officials to consider "the age and social background of the juvenile," as well as the nature of the offense.
Verifying the background of this particular teenager may be difficult to impossible. Somalia has suffered nearly 20 years of anarchy, ruled chaotically by rival clans employing pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns.
Asked how the suspect's age might factor into the decision whether to prosecute him in the United States, Justice Dept. spokesman Dean Boyd said only that they were considering "the evidence and other issues" in the case.
Jo Becker, a D.C.-based advocate for Human Rights Watch, said if the pirate suspect is in fact 16 or 17 years old, "he would certainly be entitled to protections under international law that allow for lower culpability of juveniles involved in crimes."
Then again, he was perfectly capable of pulling the trigger of the weapon that would have killed Captain Phillips.
Becker says international law recognizes that people under 18 are "less developed, less mature, and more easily manipulated by adults."
Ideally, Becker said, an underage suspect would be tried in a juvenile court, with special protections given his age. "He would need to have access to family members. Throughout the whole process, there needs to be a special view to his rehabilitation," she added.
There you go, we're going to rehab the lil' dickens ...
Kenneth Randall, dean of the University of Alabama School of Law, said the suspect's age may not affect where or how he is charged, but is likely to impact his eventual sentence. "When it comes to international attention, they do have to be mindful of the mitigating circumstances of his age," said Randall.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Ummm, The US Supreme court sems to have forgotten the US part of their title.
YOU HAVE NO JURISDICTION TO PIRATES ON THE HIGH SEAS
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/14/2009 4:50 Comments ||
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Redneck, the "alleged piracy incident" occurred on a vessel with US registry. We do have jurisdiction (for now, until some judge in Europe decides we are being unreasonably harsh on the poor yute and goes after a random official in the DOJ).
#5
The obvious solution is to turn him over to Kenya where they won't tie themselves into knots over the 'conundrums.' If the US legal system gets involved, millions of dollars will be wasted.
#6
"Untrained teenagers with heavy weapons," Gates told a group of students and faculty at the Marine Corps War College. "Everybody in the room knows the consequences of that."
perhaps the poor "Yoot" can be induced to commit suicide in his cell. Used his dinner spoon, he did.
Shoved it right down his airway while he was eating. Choked to death. There was nothing we could do.
Presto. Buried him at sea, the refrigerator was too small, no autopsy. More tea?
#9
"He would need to have access to family members. Throughout the whole process, there needs to be a special view to his rehabilitation," she added.
Geez, honey. It's not like he lit up a bag of dogshit and rang a doorbell. Why don't you adopt him?
So...Kenya or the US? Which do you think our young swashbuckler might pick?
#10
You trying to tell me that 4 joyriding youths were bored, drove by a pirate cove, rented a vessel and satellite phone, closed on and boarded a ship in big water, fought for control and took hostages, issued a pirate in distress call, were untrained?!
Maybe the training is not to Marine Corp War College standards but I would guess that, with an employer's market, the pirates would field a crew who at least had basic rifle handling skills, especially so from Somalia, as well as ocean navigation and boarding techniques.
#11
He needs to "escape" by diving into the sea with both achilles tendons cut and a couple of bleeding wounds. He can swim to Somalia - it's only about 250 miles from where they are. Some piece of him might make shore...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/14/2009 14:11 Comments ||
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C'mon, you guys. He's really a nice kid once you get to know him.
#13
I do not know what they will do with this pirate kid, but he was stabbed in the hand with an ice pick, beaten up by sailors, tied up for 12 hours, was bleeding all over the ship, and spent 5 days in an oven in a row boat. At a minimum, he is no good at piracy, he needs to take up another line of work. I am not sure the sailors will be safer, but the kid pirate will be safer.
Here it is! The Liberals ammunition for deriding the US and the Navy.
McClatchy Newspapers, MALINDI, Kenya -- A relative of one of the pirates, who said he spoke with the men by satellite phone at about 3 p.m. -- four hours before the Navy opened fire -- said they "were getting scared" and trying to persuade the Americans to let them go in return for the captain's release. Consequences of one's actions are tough when the actions are stoopid.
"They were trying to save their own lives," said the relative, Hassan Mohammed Farah, speaking by phone from Haradheere, a coastal town in central Somalia where pirates are known to operate. "The only thing they could bargain with was the captain, but the Americans would not accept." If they hadn't taken him in the first place and had stuck to their agreement to trade the Captain for the other pirate they wouldn't be dead, either. Lie to me once and I won't belive you again.
The pirates had appealed by satellite phone to other pirate groups to sail captive ships and hostages to the scene of the standoff, to put some pressure on the U.S. forces. But Guled Farah, who belongs to another pirate group that had hijacked a German ship last week, said that the presence of the U.S. vessels scared them off.
"Their little boat was surrounded," Farah said by phone from Haradheere. "We couldn't go to help them, and for that we are sorry." Poor little Pirates. My heart bleeds. Then again, it's probably just the Chili.
The rescue marked a dramatic conclusion to a saga that began Wednesday, when the pirates attempted to hijack an American-owned container ship, the Maersk Alabama, which was delivering food aid to Africa. It was another in a surge of pirate attacks this year off the coast of Somalia, Africa's most anarchic nation, with a coastline the length of California and no military force to police it.
The ship's unarmed, 20-man crew banded together to beat back the pirates, who escaped in one of the Alabama's lifeboats with Phillips, the captain. The Alabama arrived Saturday in the Kenyan port of Mombasa, its original destination, where crew members described Phillips as a hero. One said that Phillips "jumped" on one of the pirates after the pirate was led into the ship's engine room.
On Sunday, crew members, who've not been permitted formal interviews with reporters, shouted to journalists from the ship that the pirates had never taken control of the vessel. They said that as soon as the pirates entered the ship's bridge, Captain Phillips passed control of the vessel to the ship's engine room and disabled the steering mechanism on the bridge. Out of Ammo? What the hell, did they use up shooting at seagulls? Cry me a frickin' river.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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The pirates had appealed by satellite phone to other pirate groups
Yeah. That must be why they took potshots at the warship.
Posted by: ed ||
04/14/2009 7:54 Comments ||
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#3
Isn't that funny that the hijacked ship was initially carrying FOOD AID to some african countries, INCLUDING somalia? So, yeah, those guys have the right to be fed by the furriners, then kidnap them for ransom, and whine and threaten and seethe after said furriners defend themselves against the kidnap thingy.
Not that I don't understand the bind in which those coastal villagers are (I think it was Gromky??? who pointed out the looting and depletion of the local fish ressources by asian navies), but whatever their "root causes" may be, you still got to love the sheer craziness of the situation.
#4
The idea that we cannot stop and only hope to contain these dirtbags certainly is not supported by this article. It will be a good thing if the SEALs marksmanship emboldened the West to deal with this problem. If so, we should be able to deal with these guys on shore.
#5
We neeed a new water sport combining boating and hunting. Boats go out into the waters and when the pirates show up shoot them. The shooter with the most kills gets the trophy.
Posted by: cantwealljustget along ||
04/14/2009 9:58 Comments ||
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#7
Let's not forget it was the crew's initial bravery and defense (they had ammo then), then the captain's honor (which was not returned), which set the SEAL trick shooting.
#8
The military can handle the pirate situation. What Obama needs to focus on is the movement by Texas to become independent because of Obama's failed policies. Is this the Alamo II? Watch the govenor of TX speak:
Posted by: Andy Thrineting8191 ||
04/14/2009 11:41 Comments ||
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#9
Yeah. That must be why they took potshots at the warship.
Of all the stupid, idioic things to do, what they gonna do? Scratch the paint?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/14/2009 11:47 Comments ||
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#10
We neeed a new water sport combining boating and hunting. Boats go out into the waters and when the pirates show up shoot them. The shooter with the most kills gets the trophy.
Sorry out of outboard range from Alabama.
Even with extra gas jugs, and the Beer would give out as well.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/14/2009 12:06 Comments ||
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#11
Left wing "damage" control. They can't let people start getting the idea that all we have to do is shoot the pirates.
#12
But Guled Farah, who belongs to another pirate group that had hijacked a German ship last week, said that the presence of the U.S. vessels scared them off. "Their little boat was surrounded," Farah said by phone from Haradheere. "We couldn't go to help them, and for that we are sorry."
Hung the boys out to dry didya, Guled? Wonder if your band of merry men took notice of that?
#13
If true (and I seriously doubt it), the pirates are even dumber than I gave them credit for. The world should be happy we gave them 3 Darwin awards.
#14
"We neeed a new water sport combining boating and hunting. Boats go out into the waters and when the pirates show up shoot them. The shooter with the most kills gets the trophy."
Surf Skeeting USA! Shotguns, surfboards, sunshine and somalis!
#16
"We neeed a new water sport combining boating and hunting."
Put someone on skis behind the boat and we can call it summer biathlon.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
04/14/2009 19:32 Comments ||
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#17
Ummm... Either the Navy or the FBI has the weapons in question. Bullshit should be easy to call if they weren't out of ammo. Ima say we wait a few days and give them a chance to bitchslap McClatchy.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/14/2009 21:23 Comments ||
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A Dutch couple kidnapped by Yemeni tribesmen two weeks ago were released from captivity on Monday, local sources said. Tribal intermediaries were instrumental in the release of the Dutch hostages who worked at a water project in the province of Taez in the southern part of the country.
The intermediaries had negotiated an agreement with the kidnappers to release the couple who returned to Sanaa today from Taez where the kidnappers had asked for ransom money from the government as compensation for the injury one of them had sustained during an armed confrontation with security forces in the province of Maareb, east of Yemen, last year.
This is the third kidnapping incident involving foreigners this year and the second perpetrated by members of the Dhabian tribe who roam rugged mountain territories east of the capital city.
[Bangla Daily Star] Bangladesh-born British citizen Faisal Mostafa, now detained in Dhaka, has close links with banned Islamist outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, said investigators.
He had met executed JMB supremo Shaekh Abdur Rahman several times, and kept in contact with Saidur Rahman, now-on-the-run boss of the militant organisation. On quite a few occasions, Saidur visited Faisal's Green Crescent madrasa-cum-orphanage at Ramkeshob village in Borhanuddin upazila of Bhola, where the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) discovered a mini-munitions factory and seized a huge cache of arms, ammunition and explosives on March 26.
Former ameer of Habiganj district Jamaat-e-Islami, Saidur took up the JMB baton after its six top leaders including Rahman and his deputy Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai were executed in March 2007.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
Faisal Mostafa
Shaekh Abdur Rahma
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Lacking evidence needed to prosecute most of the Pakistani men arrested last week on suspicion of a terrorist plot, Britain has started seeking assurances that they would be treated humanely if they are returned to Pakistan. "The British wanted to be reassured that if some of these men were deported they would not face torture," a Pakistani official told The Times newspaper.
Torture? The Paks will throw a parade ...
Senior counter-terrorism sources in Britain told the paper most of them would be deported rather than charged. One of the 12 has already been freed from anti-terrorist detention and is in the custody of immigration officials.
Investigators have not found firm evidence linking the men to terrorist attack plans. "There is already talk of coming up empty-handed and there is terrible infighting between the different forces involved," an official said.
Mere deportations will embarrass the prime minister who announced police were dealing with "a very big terrorist plot".
Meanwhile anti-terrorist agencies in Pakistan are holding a British convert to Islam. James McLintock, 44, was arrested in Peshawar and is being questioned about helping British Muslim militants to make contacts in Pakistan.
Pakistani as well as British officials have said that the arrest is not linked to the continuing terrorism investigation in Britain. The last time McLintock came to the attention of the British authorities was in late 2003 when he was questioned by anti-terrorism police in Manchester.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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[Kyodo: Korea] North Korean leader Kim Jong Il appeared thin during a recent visit to a factory, according to the newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, in its Sunday edition. The Rodong Sinmun said some workers at the factory were seen in tears after realizing Kim appeared to have lost considerable acreagebulk weight. I guess they'll have to stow the song about Dear Leader's gravitational field.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Hmm. 'Twould appear that they may be laying the groundwork to prepare the masses for Dear Leader's demise. We could be close to "raven pic time" for Kimmie.
The mother of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai terror attack case, is coming to India to meet him, as the stage is set for the start of the trial of the Pakistani national in Mumbai tomorrow.
Any chance she's coming to disown him?
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee referred to the visit of Kasab's mother while stressing that Pakistan should not delay investigations on the pretext of clarifications, a day after Islamabad sought more specific information from New Delhi on its probe into the Mumbai attacks.
And the information provided will never be specific enough ...
Kasab is currently lodged in a high security central prison in Arthur road in Mumbai.
Mukherjee told reporters in Jangipur in West Bengal it was a reality that many people were killed in the Mumbai attacks, one terrorist had been arrested and that he had made certain confessions. His mother was also coming to Mumbai to meet him, he said.
"These are the realities. These are the facts. If somebody wants to evade and avoid these facts, what can we do?" he asked. "The matter should not be delayed on this or that issue, or on this or that clarification. We are prepared to give them any information that they want, provided we have the information," Mukherjee said.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/14/2009 13:28 ||
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Washington will not put any conditions on its aid to Islamabad, but will recommend tools to measure its effectiveness, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry said on Monday.
Addressing a press conference with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi after a series of important meetings with top Pakistani officials, Kerry promised that his countrys long-term ties with Pakistan would not be defined by response to extremism militancy, but by its focus on the welfare of Pakistani people.
He said he would introduce the bill for $1.5 billion annual aid to Pakistan over the next 10 years in the Senate after he returns to the US.
The focus of the bill is to make it clear to the people of Pakistan that they are at the centre of our policy, he said. It means that we want to build schools, roads, health clinics and create jobs, he said. It is a clear signal that US values its relationship with Pakistan and seeks long-term relationships not with a single government but with the people.
Kerry said the collateral damage in the US drone attacks was unacceptable. He pledged to report Pakistani concerns to the relevant quarters in the US on his return.
I am confident that people will review it carefully, he said, but also added that terrorism did not begin after the drone attacks.
Kerry said he had an excellent meeting with ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha. He and your government are making enormous efforts to guarantee absolute cooperation and accountability of intelligence efforts in this country, he said.
Qureshi said any differences between the two governments would be resolved through consultations.
Earlier, John Kerry met President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. Zardari stressed the need to expedite the establishment of Reconstruction Opportunity Zones in the Tribal Areas. Gilani said there was a need to work on the trust deficit between Washington and Islamabad.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/14/2009 11:27 ||
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Kerry, Stupidity Unlimited.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/14/2009 12:10 Comments ||
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Kerry said he had an excellent meeting with ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha. He and your government are making enormous efforts to guarantee absolute cooperation and accountability of intelligence efforts in this country, he said.
Jawnny, there's "stupid" and "dangerous stupid".
And you just moved up in class...
#4
Let's see if Obama has any balls, because Kerry just kicked him in the crotch.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
04/14/2009 16:56 Comments ||
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#5
The esteemed Senator Traitor does not seem to understand that money is fungible - if we give Pakistain $1.5 billion/year to build schools, roads, etc. Pakistan can spend another $1.5 billion from its budget on whatever it wants - weapons, terrorism, etc.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/14/2009 18:49 Comments ||
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Pakistan's pro-U.S. president signed a regulation late Monday to put a northwestern district under Islamic law as part of a peace deal with the Taliban, going along after coming under intense pressure from members of his own party and other lawmakers.
Asif Ali Zardari's signature was a boon for Islamic militants who have brutalized the Swat Valley for nearly two years in demanding a new justice system. It was sure to further anger human rights activists and feed fears among the U.S. and other Western allies that the valley will turn into a sanctuary for militants close to Afghanistan.
Whatever criticism may come, Zardari can claim some political cover the National Assembly voted unanimously Monday to adopt a resolution urging his signature, although at least one party boycotted. Earlier, a Taliban spokesman had warned lawmakers against opposing the deal. I.e. Islamabad surrenders to islam. Pic w/ Lurch at link is appropriate. Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] National Security Committee of Parliament has recommended reviewing of the country's foreign policy. The report of National Security Committee which was submitted to the National Assembly, recommended that the foreign policy of the country be reviewed on the wishes of the people. It said a comprehensive police framework be devised for developing strong ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The report said all the stakeholders be informed about the sacrifices rendered by the country in the war against terrorism.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) spokesman Amir Izzat Khan has welcomed the passing of Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 by the Parliament. He termed the parliament's decision as Islam and Pakistan friendly, thanking all members of the parliament for their support in approving the Bill. He said National Assembly has given a historic decision for the first time following the creation of Pakistan. He regretted the MQM's decision to abstain from the voting.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] President Asif Ali Zardari says that the government is ready to hold a judicial inquiry into killing of Baloch nationalist leaders. He called upon Baloch people to calm down, saying the government would take steps in line with their wishes. Balochistan National Party (BNP) leader and Postal Services Minister Israrullah Zehri called on President Zardari at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. On this occasion, the president said that assassins of the Baloch leaders would be brought to the justice. He said some miscreants' elements wanted to weaken the federation by creating unrest in Balochistan. Â"We will not allow this to happen,Â" he said. PPP central leader Senator Raza Rabbani and Interior Adviser Rehman Malik were also present in the meeting.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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[ADN Kronos] By Syed Saleem Shahzad - The Taliban reasserted its power in the north and south of Pakistan on Monday, seizing control of a new district of Buner in the country's North West Frontier Province, torching NATO supplies in Peshawar and positioning militants for terror attacks in the southern port city of Karachi.
Pakistani police arrested a close associate of Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in Karachi, police said on Monday.
Badshah din Mehsud, an associate of Baitullah Mehsud, was arrested in the Sachal Goth area of the city and linked to a new plot for targeting the financial capital of the country.
Police declined to comment on the arrest in regard to the new wave of terror that has struck Pakistan but at the same time showed the aggressive designs of the militants especially as they flooded the district of Buner.
The local union council elected administrator confirmed on Monday that despite an agreement between the tribal council and the Taliban, armed members of the Taliban have flooded the district and practically seized control.
Three guards were wounded on Sunday in an attack on a supply depot serving US and NATO-led troops in Afghanistan, police said.
The depot in Peshawar was attacked by more than 150 militants using rocket launchers and gasoline bombs, a police spokesman Warid Khan told the media.
The attack occurred in the capital of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province, where militants armed with rockets and automatic weapons attacked the transport terminal along a key supply route used by US and NATO troops. Eight trucks were also torched in the attack.
On Monday private schools in Islamabad were reopened after security agencies gave them a safety clearance. The schools in Islamabad were closed for three days after militants warned the local administration that they would carry out attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has said his party does not accept Taliban's "forced sharia", a private TV channel reported on Monday. In his telephonic address to a protest rally in London, Altaf said the time had arrived to come forward and save Pakistan. He said he was not against the Pashtuns or Punjabis, but against Talibanisation, adding that religious extremists were defaming Pakistan. The MQM has declined to prop up the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009, he said. Speaking at the floor of the House, MQM leader Farooq Sattar said the MQM would not speak in favour of the Swat deal.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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The information provided by Indian authorities regarding last year's Mumbai terrorist attacks is incomplete and Islamabad has asked New Delhi to provide the missing information for the successful prosecution of the culprits, Interior Adviser Rehman Malik said on Monday.
"We had sent 32 questions to India on the Mumbai attacks and India sent its response on March 13... We sent it to the investigation team for evaluation. Based on the reservations shown by the Pakistani investigators, we have written to the Indian high commissioner and gave him a briefing on what is missing and what is not provided," Malik told a press conference.
"Pakistan has asked India to provide an attested copy of the judicial statement of Ajmal Kasab," he said. "We have sought a copy of statement of ATS chief investigator Karkre on the Samjotha Express incident, we have asked Indian authorities to provide details of the SIM cards, the GPRS system, the credentials of those Indian arrested in connection with the attacks, the report on Kasab's DNA and a copy of charge sheet against the culprits," Malik said.
It's stonewalling, says India
The information India has provided to Pakistan regarding last year's Mumbai terrorist attacks is "adequate for them to take tangible action", Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma told the CNN-IBN TV news channel in New Delhi. But action from Pakistan "has not come so far", Sharma said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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A man was thrown off the flight to his wedding in Lahore this week after his best man allegedly joked to airport staff: "Don't let him on -- he's a terrorist!" Hassan Shah, 25, was due to take an Emirates flight to Pakistan on Thursday with brother Musa, 21, and cousin Amar, 23. They were allowed to board the crowded flight -- but later hauled off by armed police who told them they were considered a security threat and barred from travelling. Shah recalled: "All these police officers appeared and told us we would have to get off immediately. I saw at least two officers with guns and there were another 10 in suits. I asked one what was going on and he said, 'You cannot fly because Emirates have deemed you a security risk'." After missing the 10am flight, Shah had to reschedule his wedding to fashion designer Sehrish Rubab, 23. Emirates Airlines said: "All three passengers were deemed a security risk. As a result of this incident, the passengers in question will not be allowed to travel on another Emirates flight."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Thus learning the hard way that airport security has no sensayuma whatsoever.
My son Abid Naseer has no link with any jihadi or religious organisation. His only crime is that he is a Pakistani Muslim, Nasrullah Jan Khattak, father of a Pakistani student arrested by the British police, said on Monday.
"My son prays five times a day and his only fault is that he wears a beard," said Khattak while talking to reporters at his Hayatabad residence. The British officials arrested 12 men on April 8 of which 11 are Pakistanis. Abid hails from Yaghi Ghulam Khel, a village in Takht-e-Nusrati tehsil in southern district of Karak. Abid went to Britain on a student visa around two-and-a-half years ago and his visa expires in September this year. Abid is doing master's in information technology at Bradford Professional Study College, Manchester.
Nasrullah, a government contractor, said the Pakistan government had not taken any measures for the release of the students. He requested the British government not to deport his son, who he insisted was innocent.
"This is all about his prayers and his beard. I am his father and I know him. He is not involved in any mysterious plot. We have done nothing wrong. We have nothing to hide," he told the Guardian in an interview in Pakistan. He denied media reports that his family had come from the Tribal Areas, where Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud holds sway and said they hail from Karak. "This is a great offence," Nasrullah said. "We are from an old district, with educated people. Not the tribal belt."
Meanwhile, the uncle of another suspect, told the Guardian that he and other relatives had regularly sent their nephew between £800 to £3,000 to help pay for his studies.
"He was too ambitious about his life and his studies. He was not up to any mischief. So I say to the UK government, please don't spoil his future," he said. Rahimullah Yousafzai, a veteran journalist, said: "Maybe some careless conversation or act has landed them in trouble. A few of them may be involved in this case, but I don't think it's a real terrorist plot."
Intelligence: A Pakistani intelligence official said the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had no involvement in the case prior to last week's raids. He dismissed reports linking the arrests to Rashid Rauf, a British-Pakistani implicated in a previous alleged plot and believed killed in an American drone strike. Muhammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramazan Foundation, a Muslim youth organisation in Manchester, appealed for the local community to stay calm.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
His only crime is that he is a Pakistani Muslim,
GUILTY
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/14/2009 4:44 Comments ||
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#2
Muhammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramazan Foundation, a Muslim youth organisation in Manchester, appealed for the local community to stay calm.
You just got to love that last bit; one of the gogs of the network of - "community organizing" - orgs meant to massify and in last analysis weaponize the muslims living in kufr lands is BOTH giving a very subtle threat and placing himself as a "necessary" middle point between the unbelievers authorities and the "out of control" Youths... he's also hinting at the supposed resentment of said Youths, thus playing very the victim card of the "unfairly targeted" muslim community. And, he's right, too. If I were a Youth, I too would be very upset if one of my Master Race brethen were arrested just because he planned on blowing up a few infidels! Clearly, islamophobia at its worst.
Pakistani agencies have detained a Scottish charity worker, who converted to Islam more than two decades ago and was once called the "Tartan Taliban".
James McLintock, who goes by his Muslim name, Yaqoob, in Pakistan, was picked up from Peshawar at least two weeks ago. News of his detention surfaced amid a public spat between the British and Pakistani governments after arrest of 11 Pakistani students in England. McLintock, the son of a Dundee chemistry lecturer, studied zoology and botany at university before embracing Islam in the 1980s. On Christmas Eve 2001 he was arrested in the tribal belt while crossing from Afghanistan as US forces were hunting Osama Bin Laden. Initial reports suggested he was a radical extremist, but after interrogation by British intelligence it emerged he was working for a charity, and he was freed.
"The fact that he's managed to stay here illegally since 2004 doesn't speak well for our law enforcement agencies."
Three years later, talking to the Scotsman newspaper, he mocked his nickname. "I'm not that bothered. Under the circumstances, a white middle-class gentleman accused of being a terrorist -- it must have been a shock to the system."
McLintock said he fought alongside the mujahideen battling Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan in the 1980s, and in Bosnia in 1994. He was detained by British police in Manchester in 2003 but released shortly afterwards. A year later he said he was going to set up a news agency to counter "one-sided" reporting. His Pakistani wife said they had met in England in the 1990s and ran a charity building religious schools in Azad Kashmir.
A Pakistani intelligence official told the Guardian newspaper: "The fact that he's managed to stay here illegally since 2004 doesn't speak well for our law enforcement agencies."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
The Tartan sellout needs the book thrown at him for turning traitor and should be tried in Scotland.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
04/14/2009 6:42 Comments ||
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ISLAMABAD: The upcoming Tokyo Donors' Conference might pledge $4 billion to Pakistan over the next two years, Japan's Special Representative for Assistance to Pakistan and Afghanistan Motohide Yoshikawa said on Monday.
Big chunk of change for President Ten-Percent ...
Talking to reporters at the Japanese embassy, he said Tokyo had been advocating for assistance to Pakistan and had raised the issue at the G-20 group meeting. He said Pakistan's stability and prosperity was in the interest of the world.
"Nice world you got here. Be a shame if anything happened to it ..."
The special representative said that the international community would demand broad political support in the fight against terrorism and a plan of action for economic reforms and eradication of poverty.
None of which the Paks have but they still have their mitts out ...
He said more than 30 countries and organisations would participate in the conference.
Yoshikawa said a bilateral meeting would be held during President Asif Zardari's visit to Japan and during the meeting the Japanese prime minister would announce assistance to Pakistan in the shape of a soft loan.
"How soft?"
"Real soft!"
Zardari said he hoped the international community would support Pakistan in the upcoming Friends of Pakistan meeting.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Why don't any of those "Donor Conferences" donate to America, We could use it just as others do, either feed the people and by weapons wih the savings, or consficate it outright, sell it and use the moneu to buy weapons.
Same end either way.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/14/2009 11:37 Comments ||
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KARACHI: With the arrest of ex-army majors who are activists of Harkatul Mujahideen, has resolved various high profile cases including the mysterious murder of Major General (Retd) Ameer Faisal Alvi, the former General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the elite Special Services Group of (SSG), Pakistan Army, sources privy to matter told Daily Times.
The arrest of Major (Retd) Haroon Rasheed by the Rawalpindi Motorway police took place when he was transferring a kidnapped local trader to Waziristan. During the course of investigation, Rasheed revealed that his brother, Captain Khurram, left the forces to join a militant organisation and was killed by international security forces in Afghanistan. He further confessed that he had kidnapped four people, including prominent filmmaker Satish Anand, from Karachi in order to get ransom money to support the militant organisation.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Justice Sharif was born on 9th December 1948 in Lahore. He belongs to a well-established and well-known religious family (Khawaja Family). His did his masters in Political Science and got a degree in LLB too. He also passed Diplomas in Taxation Law and Labour Law.
LAHORE - Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif has become the 38th Chief Justice of the 125 years old Lahore High Court (LHC0 and is likely to take oath of his office today. Justice Sharif is the senior most judge of the LHC and had he not been sacked through the PCO on November 3,2007, he would have become the CJ on January 1st of the last year in the light of Al-Jihad Trust Case 1996 (popularly known as the Judges Case) after the retirement of then Chief Justice Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry. He would retire on December 8, 2010 at the age of 62.
Justice Sharif was restored on March 17 along with Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and others, but he was not made the CJ immediately and he started judicial work as a judge under the outgoing CJ Justice Syed Zahid Hussain, now elevated to the Supreme Court. CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry during his speeches to different bars while he was sacked always called Justice Sharif as the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court.
Justice Sharif remained staunch supporter of the lawyers movement and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and never accepted the governments offers to take fresh oath as some of his deposed colleagues did last year.
Justice Sharif was born on 9th December 1948 in Lahore. He belongs to a well-established and well-known religious family (Khawaja Family). His did his masters in Political Science and got a degree in LLB too. He also passed Diplomas in Taxation Law and Labour Law.
Also Monday, visiting U.S. Sen. John Kerry met with Pakistan's president, prime minister and other top officials, including Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha, head of Pakistan's most powerful spy service, Inter-Services Intelligence.
Don't miss the picture at the link.
Pakistan's pro-U.S. president signed a regulation late Monday to put a northwestern district under Islamic law as part of a peace deal with the Taliban, going along after coming under intense pressure from members of his own party and other lawmakers.
Asif Ali Zardari's signature was a boon for Islamic militants who have brutalized the Swat Valley for nearly two years in demanding a new justice system. It was sure to further anger human rights activists and feed fears among the U.S. and other Western allies that the valley will turn into a sanctuary for militants close to Afghanistan.
Whatever criticism may come, Zardari can claim some political cover the National Assembly voted unanimously Monday to adopt a resolution urging his signature, although at least one party boycotted. Earlier, a Taliban spokesman had warned lawmakers against opposing the deal.
Zardari's spokeswoman, Farahnaz Ispahani, confirmed the president signed the regulation Monday night.
His signing implemented a deal agreed to in February by provincial officials to impose Islamic law in the Swat Valley and surrounding areas in exchange for a cease-fire between security forces and the local Taliban.
Zardari had put off signing the agreement, saying he wouldn't until peace was restored in Swat but never defining what that meant. The delay led a hard-line Muslim cleric mediating the agreement to leave Swat in anger last week and upset lawmakers from the region.
As pressure mounted, the federal government said over the weekend that Zardari wanted parliament first to debate the accord to implement an Islamic legal system, as long demanded by some residents disenchanted with inefficient regular courts.
Lawmakers made clear they believed the deal should go ahead, saying it would bring calm to the area after months of bloodshed that killed hundreds of people and displaced up to one-third of the valley's 1.5 million residents.
"The whole nation is united in its support of the Swat regulation and wants the president to approve it," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said at the start of parliamentary debate Monday.
Even without the president's approval, judges trained in Islamic law had begun hearing cases in Swat, and witnesses say Taliban fighters are in effective control of much of the region. The provincial government also agreed to other measures under the peace deal, such as cracking down on prostitution and sales of movies deemed "obscene."
Supporters say the changes in the legal system will speed up justice, not lead to harsh punishments or restrict the rights of women. Critics say the agreement is a surrender to extremists whose tactics include beheading opponents and burning girls' schools.
The events Monday "strengthened the militants," said Mahmood Shah, an analyst and former top security official in northwest Pakistan.
Shah noted Taliban fighters in Swat recently staged a violent foray into the neighboring Buner district, possibly to put the heat on lawmakers and Zardari to support the deal. "They have really forced the government to do that," he said.
Those brokering the deal have given few specifics about conditions placed on the Taliban in Swat, including whether they have to give up their weapons. But the Swat Taliban's spokesman, Muslim Khan, suggested after the parliament vote that disarming was at least an option.
"We had picked up weapons for the sake of a justice system, and we will put them down for the sake of a justice system," he said.
Lawmakers from the Muttahida Quami Movement, a party based in the southern city of Karachi that has a strong anti-Taliban stance, walked out of the parliament session before the vote on the resolution. "We can't accept Islamic law at gunpoint," said Farooq Sattar, a top party leader.
Muslim Khan would not say if the Taliban would target legislators who opposed the deal, saying only that a militant council would discuss the matter. The Taliban warned before the vote that lawmakers against the deal were guilty of apostasy, or abandoning Islam, which carries the death penalty in some parts of the Muslim world.
Elsewhere, Pakistani authorities announced the arrest of another suspect in the deadly terrorist assault on the Indian city of Mumbai, which killed 164 people as well as nine of the 10 gunmen. Pakistan has acknowledged that the November attack was partly planned on its soil.
The Interior Ministry chief, Rehman Malik, said Shahid Jamil Riaz was arrested in Karachi on charges of maintaining financial accounts and helping plan the attack. Authorities now have five suspects in custody, he said.
Also Monday, visiting U.S. Sen. John Kerry met with Pakistan's president, prime minister and other top officials, including Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha, head of Pakistan's most powerful spy service, Inter-Services Intelligence.
Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is spearheading a bill to increase nonmilitary aid to Pakistan, with the goal of helping it improve economic, educational and other sectors as a way to lessen the allure of Islamic extremism.
In a statement after the meeting, Gilani urged the U.S. not to attach conditions to aid funds, saying "strings attached would fail to generate the desired goodwill and results in Pakistan."
During a news conference, Kerry took a friendly stance when asked about U.S. allegations that elements within Pakistan's spy agencies are assisting militant groups, saying he had a good meeting with Pasha.
"I think that he and your government are making enormous efforts to guarantee the absolute cooperation and accountability of the intelligence efforts in this country," Kerry said.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A picture speaks louder than a thousands words, says a U.K. peace campaigner trapped in Gaza for helping its children express the horrors they experienced in the latest Israeli offensive through artistic drawings that he plans to take global as evidence of war crimes through children's eyes.
For 63-year-old peace campaigner Rod Cox, what started as a small project to collect samples of children's drawings depicting Israeli war crimes in Gaza has ballooned into a cultural and artistic exchange project linking Palestinian school children with their British counterparts.
Dramatic new evidence of Israeli attacks on the people of Gaza emerged when Cox handed children in Gaza paper, pencils and crayons and asked them to express themselves and speak their minds.
Rod Cox is set to present these portraits among others as evidence of war crimes committed against Gaza civilians to the International Criminal Court, which in a ground-breaking move in the case of Darfur, used children's art as credible proof to start proceedings against Sudanese government officials accused of committing war crimes. "Children's witness statements and explanations of what they went through is a significant and important source in a case like Gaza," said Cox.
A change in plan
Initially entering Gaza to collect a few samples and head back to Europe, Cox ended up staying in the Strip for over a month and is turning his modest project into a fully fledged artistic exchange program. "The plan at first was to compile a few drawings as samples of war crimes through children's art. But as I remained stuck in Gaza over border crossing issues the project has spiralled into a traveling exhibition," Cox told AlArabiya.net.
The project's "hook" is a large green van covered with children's graffiti expressing their feelings about living under war and occupation. "Palestinian children come up to me and ask why I am driving a green van. I tell them about the art project and give them markers to draw their mind on the van," said Cox. He is set on bringing the traveling exhibition to the U.K. and Europe.
He rolled into Gaza with a plain green van along with the Viva Palestina aid convoy on March 9. But when he set to leave a few days later, Egyptian authorities refused to let him take the van back through Rafah border because only medical vehicles and equipment can use it. "It was either I go out and leave the van behind or I stay here until the British Consul figures out a way to let me get out with my belongings," Cox explained adding that he decided to wait it out since the van is part of the project of personalizing post-war Gaza for western audiences. Forfeiting it would be "a betrayal of the many Gaza children who count on me to break their isolation and take their voices beyond Gaza," he explained.
Gaza's Ministry of Social Affairs said that 437 children were killed and 1,872 wounded during the 22-day war.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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[Jerusalem Post Front Page] An unmanned Palestinian fishing boat loaded with hundreds of kilograms of explosives was remotely detonated as it approached an Israel Navy ship off the coast of the Gaza Strip on Monday.
The vessel was spotted by the navy as it quickly approached Israeli patrol boats, and after confirming the ship was unmanned, the navy maintained a safe distance.
Several seconds later the fishing boat exploded. No one was injured.
The ship had entered an area that is off limits to Palestinian fishermen, raising the navy's suspicions. Palestinian fishermen are allowed to fish within three kilometers of the Gaza coast.
In the past, the Palestinians have tried to detonate explosives-laden ships next to Israel Navy vessels. In 2002, four sailors were wounded when Palestinians detonated a fishing boat next to a navy patrol off northern Gaza. In October 2000, a small ship exploded next to the USS Cole in Yemen, killing 17 American sailors. "We are aware of the threats at sea and along the coast," a senior navy officer said on Monday. "That is why we are on such a high level of alert when patrolling off the Gaza coast."
IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi on Monday commended the naval forces for following procedures that led to the explosion of the bomb boat before it reached the navy ships.
The senior navy officer said it was possible the explosives were rigged with a timer and that the Palestinians had mistakenly calculated the time it would take to sail to the area near the Israel Navy ships.
Ashkenazi also said Hamas had been deterred from firing Kassam rockets into Israel since Operation Cast Lead in January.
"It is not coincidental that there is no [Kassam] rocket fire from Gaza, but we know that terrorism or attacks along the border fence, by sea or from the Gaza Strip into the Sinai Peninsula, are still on the agenda and we are therefore preparing with all the necessary measures," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Bless you IDF. Remember how they always ramp these up for pounders in other nations?
Well, thats just it. Think rocket falls on their own population from now on.
The juice were the proximate cause of the premature explodulation:
Israel's Navy halted Monday a Palestinian attempt to attack its shores using a booby trapped boat a few hundred meters off the borders with the Gaza Strip, an Israel military spokesman stated. Israeli gunboats fired at a Palestinian fishing boat 300 hundred meters off the Israeli-Gaza borders which resulted in a huge explosion, the Israeli spokesman told Radio Israel, adding that the boat was obviously loaded with explosives.
Israelis fired at the boat as it was so close to the Israeli waters of Ashkelon and of which Palestinian boats are banned from sailing at, he said. He added that no one was spotted on the boat and that Israelis are investigating the incident.
No Palestinian group has claimed responsibility yet.
Israeli settlers stormed the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday, Jerusalem's old city.
I am quite sure whatever incident occurred did not happen as reported here. I am equally certain it will be listed in the Grievances when they are formally read to the Nations United Against Israel or the gullible Western media...
Palestinian witnesses in Jerusalem said the settlers, led by radical leaders, stormed the place while protected by the Israeli police, when Palestinian worshipers tried to stop them police officers attacked them and arrested one Palestinian man.
It's the violence inherent in the System.
Palestinians say police also harrassed other worshipers who were performing their midday prayers at the Mosque.
Palestinian sources said Israeli police did little to stop them, adding that the groups made three attempts to get in. Witnesses said the extremists were disguised as Palestinians.
Since last week, the Al-Quds committee of the Arab League announced that local activists and youths were present around the clock at the gates of the mosque to prevent such intrusions which tend to happen during Jewish holiday periods such as this weekend's Passover festival. This is not the first such attack as last Thursday Israeli right-wing extremist groups attempted to enter the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's old city.
WASHINGTON - US special envoy George Mitchell was on his way Monday to Morocco ahead of his return to the Middle East later in the week, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.
But Wood, speaking to reporters, gave no details about his Middle East stops beyond what he gave last week about his plans to meet officials from Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt, the Gulf and North Africa.
It will be Mitchell's first visit to the region since Israel's right-leaning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office.
"I believe Senator Mitchell is en route to Morocco and will be having discussions, obviously, with the Moroccan authorities," Wood told the State Department daily news briefing. "He's going to advance the goal of the two-state solution in the Middle East. But when we have some more details with regard to his travel... we'll be happy to get them to you," he added.
Wood said on April 6 that the former US senator and architect of Northern Ireland's peace agreement aims to "advance the goal of the two-state solution and comprehensive peace in the region.
[He] arrived here Monday on a two-day state visit, the first leg of a tour to the Mideast region. Mitchell is due to meet senior Moroccan officials including foreign minister Taieb Fassi Fihri. Mitchell, accompanied by deputy assistant secretary for near east David Hale, will be meeting top officials in Israel, Palestinian territories, Egypt and the Gulf during his week-long trip.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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CHENNAI: The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi chief, Thol Thirumavalavan, who had been opposing the Centres stand on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue till he was accommodated in the DMK-Congress alliance, was a much mellowed man on Wednesday when he made a plea to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to press for a ceasefire in the island nation.
Releasing the VCK manifesto and announcing the party candidates for the polls, Thirumavalavan said Sonia was the last hope for the Sri Lankan Tamils who were facing elimination.
He said, Sonia Gandhi should immediately intervene. She has the power to press Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for a ceasefire. If she intervenes, the war will be stopped within 24 hours.
However, when asked about his earlier anti-Congress stand on the issue, he said his party still maintained the position towards the Congress. Asked if his party would jointly campaign with Congress, he said, We wont work against the Congress.
He expressed confidence that the DMK-led alliance in the State would win all the 40 seats.
He denied that he had expressed regret over the attack on the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee office by VCK cadre. We do not have any reason to express regret as we did not commit any mistake, he said.
However, TNCC president K V Thangkabalu had earlier told reporters that the VCK leader had expressed regret over his remarks against the Congress in the past and also for the violent incidents at Sathyamurthy Bhavan.
Thangkabalu made the assertion while responding to questions on his partys change of heart in accommodating VCK in its alliance after opposing it for some time.
Setting aside differences, Thirumavalavan said VCK would join the Thamizhar Perani organised by DMK-led alliance to press for the safety of Lankan Tamils.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/14/2009 15:06 ||
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He said, "Sonia Gandhi should immediately intervene. She has the power to press Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for a ceasefire. If she intervenes, the war will be stopped within 24 hours."
Perhaps.
Maybe the LTTE should not have killed her husband.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/14/2009 15:10 Comments ||
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Sri Lankan rebels say ready for truce, peace talks
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels said Tuesday they were ready to negotiate a ceasefire with government forces and restart peace talks to halt decades of ethnic bloodshed.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), cornered in a narrow strip of jungle in the northeast and vastly outnumbered, said they wanted a long-term truce supervised by the international community. "Such a ceasefire should also contain a base for political negotiations," the rebels said in a statement.
But Sri Lanka's government quickly rejected the offer and told the guerrillas to first lay down their arms before any negotiations could be held. "They can't talk about a political settlement to buy time to regroup," said government spokesman Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena. "We can finish off the Tigers in two hours if not for the thousands of civilians they are using as a human shield," he added.
President Mahinda Rajapakse, who has called a two-day truce only to coincide with the traditional New Year on Monday and Tuesday, also said his troops were on the verge of total victory. "The people of the north will in this New Year see signs of a new freedom and prosperity," Rajapakse said in a holiday message.
His army chief Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka said the Tigers had lost over 18,000 cadres since security forces stepped up attacks against them in the past three years. "Those who are still under LTTE detention will see their freedom soon," Fonseka said in a statement.
Posted by: ed ||
04/14/2009 08:42 ||
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#1
By, By, Morons, the quiet of the grave awaits you, You can call it a "Permanent Truce" if you desire.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/14/2009 11:59 Comments ||
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#2
Proof that terrorism can be fought kinetically is right in the above pudding.
Not that the left will take any notice.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/14/2009 14:53 Comments ||
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An American journalist jailed in Iran and charged with espionage stood trial behind closed doors and a verdict is expected within weeks, the country's judiciary spokesman said Tuesday.
Roxana Saberi, a 31-year-old dual American-Iranian citizen, was arrested in late January and initially accused of working without press credentials. But an Iranian judge leveled a far more serious allegation against her last week, charging her with spying for the United States.
"Yesterday, the first trial session was held. She presented her final defense," judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi told reporters. "The court will issue its verdict within the next two to three weeks."
The U.S. government has been pressing for Saberi's release and the charges against her and news of her swift trial were a setback especially at a time when President Barack Obama has expressed a willingness to talk with Iran after many years of rocky relations under the former Bush administration.
It was unclear why the trial was moving at such a fast pace especially because the charges leveled against Saberi were so serious.
Saberi's lawyer and her parents, who traveled to Iran in a bid to help win their daughter's release, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Saberi, who grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, has been living in Iran for the last six years, working as a freelance reporter for organizations including National Public Radio and the British Broadcasting Corp.
An Iranian investigative judge involved in the case has alleged Saberi passed classified information to U.S. intelligence services but did not provide further details.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said last week the United States was "deeply concerned" about the espionage charges, which the department described as "baseless."
Jamshidi criticized the U.S. on Tuesday for saying Saberi was innocent and calling for her release.
"That a government expresses an opinion without seeing the indictment is laughable," he told a news conference.
Saberi's parents, who live in Fargo, visited their daughter last week in Evin prison, a facility north of Tehran that is well-known for holding political prisoners. The couple met Saberi for 30 minutes the first time they had spoken to her since she called them on Feb. 10 to say she had been arrested.
Her father, Iranian-born Reza Saberi, said he would stay in Iran until his daughter was freed. He has said his daughter was finishing a book on Iran and had planned to return to the United States this year.
Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized Iran for arresting journalists and suppressing freedom of speech. The government has arrested several Iranian-Americans in the past few years, citing alleged attempts to overthrow its Islamic government through what it calls a "soft revolution."
In a separate case, an Iranian appeals court upheld a three-year prison sentence for an Iranian woman of Armenian descent who worked in Iran for the Washington-based International Research & Exchanges Board, Jamshidi said Tuesday.
Silva Harotonian was arrested in June and sentenced in January. The United States had called on Iran to release Harotonian and says her conviction on charges of trying to overthrow the Iranian government are also "baseless." Her employer and family say she is an administrative assistant, not a political activist. I believe Ms Saberi is of Persian and Japanese descent.
Posted by: ed ||
04/14/2009 08:01 ||
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The Obama administration and its European allies are considering dropping a long-standing U.S. demand that Iran immediately shut down its nuclear facilities if it enters talks over its atomic program, The New York Times reported on Monday on its website.
The proposal would also allow Tehran to continue enriching uranium for some period during the talks and would be a sharp break from the Bush administration, which had demanded that Iran halt its enrichment activities, the report said. The proposals, still under discussion, were aimed at drawing Iran into nuclear talks that it has so far shunned, the newspaper said, citing officials involved in the strategy sessions.
A senior Obama administration official cautioned that "we are still at the brainstorming level" and said the terms of an opening proposal to Iran were still being debated, the newspaper said.
"Yass, yass, it's still in debate. No decisions have been taken as yet, certainement. As you can see by three obvious facts: 1. My off-the-record *cough* interview with 2. the New York Times, and 3. my lips are currently floundering over there on the floor by the coffee dispenser!"
The six major powers dealing with Iran, including the United States, met in London last week and invited Tehran to a new round of talks about its nuclear program.
The New York Times cited European officials as saying that in talks during Obama's visit to Europe there was agreement that Iran would not accept the immediate shutdown of its facilities that the Bush administration had demanded.
Obama administration officials declined to discuss details of their deliberations, but said any new American policy would ultimately require Iran to cease enrichment, the newspaper said. "Our goal remains exactly what it has been in the U.N. resolutions: suspension," one senior administration official told the newspaper.
And Iran's goal also remains exactly what it has been, M. le Senior Administration Official.
[Jerusalem Post Front Page] State news agency IRNA confirms Iranian president will be present at ŽDurban IIŽ conference, which US, Israel, Canada, Italy all plan to boycott.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says the Bush administration's "ignorance and arrogance" has led to today's "nuclear Iran". Somehow I always knew it waas our fault.
In an interview with the New York Times, Mohamed ElBaradei said the previous US administration failed to seize countless diplomatic opportunities to engage Iran over its controversial nuclear program.
ElBaradei blamed the Bush administration for the fact that "Iran now has close to 5,500 centrifuges, and they have 1,000 kilos of low enriched uranium, and they have the know-how."
The IAEA chief criticized US policies the Bush era for only consisting of two mantras -- "Iran should not have the knowledge and should not spin one single centrifuge. They kept saying, wait, Iran is not North Korea, it will buckle. That was absolutely a mistake."
Elbaradei described former US vice president Dick Cheney as Star Wars character Darth Vader and said "We got Darth Vader and company saying Iran was in the axis of evil and we have to change this regime."
The director-general of the Vienna-based UN body went on to rule out the contention that Iran's nuclear activities pose an immediate threat to the world and said the notion that the country "could go to a weapon tomorrow" is "hype."
Referring to President Barack Obama's pledge to soften the Bush administration's line against talking to Iran, ElBaradei said at least two years of US-Iranian talks is needed, given the degree of mistrust, with "every grievance on the table."
ElBaradei also embraced the proposal put forward by President Obama for a nuclear-free world.
"You can't have nine countries telling the likes of Iran, nuclear weapons are dangerous for you, but we need to go on refining our arsenals," he argued.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Yeah, yet no one says a word when Pakistan and India get them.
The concern was about more than military or structure.
I inderstand a bafflement from Iran about them not being in the elite club that all their idiot brothers are in seeing how easy the US was to accept their "nuclear prowess".
Blantant on the mullah table daily.
Everyone wants an arms race or not, it does not matter here.
#9
Mohamed ElBaradei said the previous US administration failed to seize countless diplomatic opportunities to engage Iran over its controversial nuclear program.
The first rule of thumb for Trans-nationalist diplomats has always been lack of success doesnt equate to failure. Which explains why they seem content with the mere appearance of the status quo. The second is that any public criticism of others for their diplomatic deficiencies is vulgar and therefore should be avoided. (The glass house rule) For ElBaradei to repeatedly break these fundamental protocols and vociferously denounce the Bush administration proves he was never an impartial arbiter. With the specter of the worlds foremost state sponsor of terror obtaining nuclear weapons one must wonder what agenda drives ElBaradei and his ilk.
#14
Exactly. Iran buys nuclear knowledge and equipment from several countries, none of which are the US, and it's Americas fault. I clearly see the logic here.
/wtf?
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/14/2009 16:38 Comments ||
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Egypt's security service is conspiring against Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, a prominent Egyptian political analyst says.
In an article published by the Qatar-based daily Ash-Sharq, Fahmi Huwaidi said the reports circulated against Hezbollah in recent days were so 'contradictory' that one could easily rule them out as 'unfounded'.
He accused Egypt's security service of launching a scheme to demonize the Lebanese resistance movement.
In February 12, the daily ad-Dastur wrote that Egyptian security forces had arrested a group of youths including Sami Shahab, a Lebanese, on November 19, 2008 over supporting Hamas.
However, later Egyptian press reported that the group was also plotting to stage terrorist attacks across Egypt to stir insecurity in the country.
According to Huwaidi the Egyptian state-run daily al-Ahram reported that those arrested were planning to launch their "terrorist attacks" after Hezbollah Leader, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah's speech on December 28, 2008.
The Egyptian analyst added that the group was arrested 40 days before Nasrallah's speech, an indication that Egypt's accusation against Hezbollah was baseless.
Egypt has recently stepped up its rhetoric against the Lebanese movement and accused the group of seeking to destabilize the country.
The allegations came after Hezbollah criticized Cairo for its performance during the 22-day Israeli war against the Gaza Strip.
Egypt kept Rafah border-crossing -- Gaza's only border that bypasses Israel -- closed during the war which claimed at least 1,350 Palestinian lives.
Cairo alleged that under an agreement with Tel Aviv it was bound to keep the crossing closed, although Palestinians in Gaza were in dire need of medical and humanitarian supplies.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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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.
A Dutch couple kidnapped by Yemeni tribesmen two weeks ago were released from captivity on Monday, local sources said. Tribal intermediaries were instrumental in the release of the Dutch hostages who worked at a water project in the province of Taez in the southern part of the country.
[Geo News] Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) spokesman Amir Izzat Khan has welcomed the passing of Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 by the Parliament. He termed the parliament's decision as Islam and Pakistan friendly, thanking all members of the parliament for their support in approving the Bill. He said National Assembly has given a historic decision for the first time following the creation of Pakistan. He regretted the MQM's decision to abstain from the voting.
[ADN Kronos] By Syed Saleem Shahzad - The Taliban reasserted its power in the north and south of Pakistan on Monday, seizing control of a new district of Buner in the country's North West Frontier Province, torching NATO supplies in Peshawar and positioning militants for terror attacks in the southern port city of Karachi.
ISLAMABAD: The upcoming Tokyo Donors' Conference might pledge $4 billion to Pakistan over the next two years, Japan's Special Representative for Assistance to Pakistan and Afghanistan Motohide Yoshikawa said on Monday.
WASHINGTON - US special envoy George Mitchell was on his way Monday to Morocco ahead of his return to the Middle East later in the week, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.
[Jerusalem Post Front Page] State news agency IRNA confirms Iranian president will be present at ŽDurban IIŽ conference, which US, Israel, Canada, Italy all plan to boycott.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says the Bush administration's "ignorance and arrogance" has led to today's "nuclear Iran". 
