The justification for suicide bombings comes from the days of Prophet Muhammad (PTUI), according to Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for Mullah Omar.
"They sacrificed some people, friends of Muhammad, for the sake of Islam. This is part of the jihad and part of the fighting. We will fight them and we will target them," he told CNN.
Mujahid said the Afghan Taliban wanted the enforcement of sharia and Islamic government and to remove foreign forces from the country. "This is our country; we have to govern it," he said.
He said the Taliban were against the coming Afghan elections, as they were going to be 'selections' from White House. "We want to disturb this election," he said, reiterating that Afghan parliamentary members and government officials would be targeted.
Talking about the Taliban in Pakistan, he said, "We do not want to interfere in the Pakistan Taliban affairs," adding that there were 'sympathies between the two sides'. Referring to a rocket attack on German Chancellor Angela Merkel on her visit to Kunduz, Mujahid insisted, "I will tell you we will win; we have the support of Muslim nations and this is what we believe."
He denied that there had been any talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government in Saudi Arabia.
Describing the relationship between the Taliban and Al Qaeda, Mujahid said the two were separate. "They are global we are just in the region," he said. He said the Taliban welcome some Al Qaeda fighters who came to Afghanistan, "but we don't fight under their instruction".
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
So, Zabby, when will you be stepping up to the plate?
[Geo News] US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that ŽŽbreakthroughŽŽ US meetings with the presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan were producing ŽŽvery promising early signs.ŽŽ In an unscheduled appearance in the White House briefing room, Clinton gave a positive readout of her talks with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, before the leaders met President Barack Obama. ŽŽThis process is producing some very promising early signs,ŽŽ Clinton said, describing her talks with both leaders earlier as a ŽŽvery significant meeting, in some ways a breakthrough meeting.ŽŽ
ŽŽI am very optimistic that this process is making a difference,ŽŽ Clinton said, though she added that she was aware that a few meetings could not on their own solve the myriad of issues confronting the two nations. Obama called the three-way meetings as he pushes for a combined drive between Pakistan and Afghanistan to crush the Taliban and Al-Qaeda; Zardari seeks US military aid and a political prop-up while Karzai hopes for a purge on Taliban havens in Pakistan. The talks come amid fresh waves of deadly clashes in PakistanŽŽs Swat valley in which the military said it had killed more than 60 militants in an upsurge of fighting on Wednesday that caused tens of thousands of civilians to flee. ŽŽBoth presidents spoke very movingly about the threat and dangers of terrorism,ŽŽ Clinton said, adding she was ŽŽextremely impressedŽŽ by the candor evidenced between the two leaders and their delegations in the talks.
Obama was set to hold one-on-one talks with Zardari and Karzai before hosting a trilateral summit involving both of them. Follow-on talks with cabinet officials from all three sides were planned for Thursday. Clinton said on Wednesday she was impressed with recent efforts by Pakistan to fight extremism, following her recent harsh criticisms of its conduct.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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#2
"Very Promising" that I'll get my name in the news prominently. (Remember me in 2012 I'll be a presidential candidate, and every bit of "Face Time" helps my image.)
Progress, well that depends on the meaning of "Is', is.
Posted by: Refneck Jim ||
05/07/2009 12:41 Comments ||
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#4
Yup. my name vanishes daily, sometimes twice daily, if I log out and back in, Fred says it's my machine, so maybe the battery that maintains memory is going bad, but I have no other problems with my computer, so I dunno.
Just a typo by an ancient, poor sighted Hunt and peck typist.
How are Yall doing?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/07/2009 13:33 Comments ||
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#5
RJ, your browser setting has "accept cookies for this is session or until brower is closed". You can set it to preserve cookies for a longer time.
Posted by: ed ||
05/07/2009 15:07 Comments ||
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#6
mmmmm cookies
/Homer
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/07/2009 18:28 Comments ||
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#7
We're doing well at the moment, Redneck Jim. Mama is coming to visit for the first time since trailing daughter #1 was born, and we've persuaded her she can't bear to stay for less than a month. :-)
[Al Arabiya Latest] The United Nations nuclear watchdog is investigating the discovery of traces of highly enriched uranium at a nuclear research site in Egypt, according to a restricted International Atomic Energy Agency report obtained by Reuters.
It did not specify whether the particles were weapons-grade, enriched to a level high enough for use as fuel for an atom bomb, as opposed to fuel for some nuclear reactors. An IAEA official reached by Reuters said this was being checked.
The report, which described global IAEA work in 2008 to verify compliance with non-proliferation rules, said the highly enriched uranium (HEU) traces turned up in environmental swipe samples taken at the Inshas nuclear research site in 2007-08.
The HEU was discovered alongside particles of low-enriched uranium (LEU), the type used for nuclear power plant fuel.
Egypt had explained to the IAEA that it believed the HEU "could have been brought into the country through contaminated radio-isotope transport containers", the May 5 report said.
The U.N. watchdog's inspectors had not yet verified the source of the particles, it said, but there were no indications that Egypt's clarification was not correct.
The IAEA is sensitive to possible nuclear proliferation in the Middle East because of inquiries into allegations of secret weapons-oriented nuclear activity in Iran and Syria, which both countries deny, and the 2003 exposure of a covert atomic bomb program in Libya, since scrapped.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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[Kyodo: Korea] A U.S. team led by Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, left Wednesday for Asia and Russia to discuss ways to bring Pyongyang back to the six-way nuclear negotiations. The interagency team, also including special envoy for six-way talks Sung Kim, will visit China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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[Associated Press of Pakistan] Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan has described Taliban as threat not only to his country but to mankind as well and said they need to be eliminated.
He was speaking at a discussion organised by the member of British Parliament Lord Nazir Ahmed in the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday on the situation in Pakistan, the Sharia law, the Taliban and terrorism.
The High Commissioner said that in view of the dangers facing Pakistan, every citizen of the country must rise to the occasion and challenge this scourge of Taliban.
He said there was a need to distinguish between Taliban and Islam, and Taliban do not deserve to call themselves Muslims as they are killing the members of their own religion.
He paid tributes to Pakistan Army in its endeavour to establish the writ of the government in the troubled areas of Swat, Buner and Lower Dir and said the country has suffered immensely in terms of men and material in this conflict.
The High Commissioner called for inquiry by the UN into the funding of the Taliban, acquisition of sophisticated weapons and heavy duty vehicles.
Noted British journalist and member of the Respect Party Yvonne Ridley said the West must stop demonising Pakistan whose people are moderate and peace loving.
Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Asif Durrani stressed on solving the Middle East issue as Al-Qaeda's global threat was related to that region. He brushed aside claims that Taliban pose danger to Islamabad.
Lord Ahmed spoke of the historical links between Pakistan and Britain and the said British Pakistani Diaspora has the moral responsibility to assist their land of origin in its hour of need.
A number of councillors of Pakistani origin including Mushtaq Lasharie, Hamza Malik, Riaz Mirza, Pervez Chaudhry and Sikander Lodhi also spoke on the occasion and called for removing the misperception about Pakistan while making efforts to promote and strengthen democracy.
The meeting also passed a resolution calling on Maulana Sufi Mohammad, Maulana Fazalullah, HajI Muslim and other leaders of the Tehrik-e-Taliban to lay down their arms and co-operate with the State authorities to provide good governance, justice and development in the region.
The British elected councillors of Pakistani origin also called upon the NGOs to help rebuild villages that have been destroyed in the drone attacks and by the Taliban.
The resolution called on the British Government to exercise influence on American government to stop drone attacks on Pakistan and the Tribal leaders in the FATA region to drive out foreign fighters who are using Pakistani soil to launch attacks inside Afghanistan.
The document further called on Pakistan Government to establish a national peace, dialogue and reconciliation centre in Islamabad and in FATA and Baluchistan to promote peace and harmony.
The resolution urged the British Pakistani and Kashmiri communities to help in rebuilding peace and stability in Baluchistan, FATA and Malakand regions by providing financial and logistic support.
It requested all the political leaders to unite for the supreme national cause of unity in Pakistan and refrain from playing politics at this critical juncture.
The British councillors strongly condemned the attacks on women and girls in schools by extremists as well as those on the police, law enforcing agencies while recognising the suffering of the civilians in FATA areas.
The UN was urged to address the issue of three million Afghan refugees in Pakistan and assist their return home.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] Military operations against Taliban militants in Buner will last several more weeks, Defence Minister Chaudry Ahmed Mukhtar said Wednesday. "How many weeks?"
"'Bout 7,000 might do it."
"The Buner operation will finish within two to three weeks," the minister said after talks in Berlin with German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung. "We have to ensure that these guerrillas are defeated," Mukhtar told a press conference with Jung. "We have to eliminate Al-Qaeda."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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[Associated Press of Pakistan] NWFP Minister for Information, Mian Iftikhar Hussain Wednesday said that Taliban neither want Islam nor enforcement of Shariah laws, but their agenda is to create insurgency and spread terror in the society. Addressing a ceremony here at Peshawar Law College, Mian Iftikhar Hussain said government was sincere in restoring peace in restive Swat valley and fulfilled its commitment of enforcing Nizam-e-Adl Regulation despite facing much opposition.
Whereas, the Taliban, he went on to say, did not comply with the commitments they made in agreement with the government and not surrendered arms after enforcement of Nizam-e-Adl Regulations.
The militants have outrightly rejected the peace offer of the government, security forces and the people of the area, he added.
Information Minister said Islam does not allow abduction of people for ransom and killing those who resist the attempt.
Similarly, he added, does it is allowed in Islam to damage public property, force people to adhere to Islamic norms, create terror in society by displaying lethal arms and take government's affairs into hands.
"We were left with no other option except to take action against the miscreants because government can not allow anyone to take law into his hands and create law and order situation," Iftikhar observed.
He said while talks between government and TNSM were in progress, the Taliban martyred DPO Dir, Ex. Nazim and security personnel besides advancing to Buner district and occupying Shal Bandai, Pir Baba shrine and other areas in the district.
Mian Iftikhar said Taliban have proved that they does not want Islam and their agenda is to create anarchy in the country. They (Taliban) have exposed their agenda and now have only one option of surrendering arms or face action.
Mian Iftikhar Hussain also disclosed that the TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Mohammad wanted the government to yield to the agenda of militants and not willing to acknowledge people's aspirations.
He again rejected the claim of TNSM leader Maulana Sufi Muhammad that he was not consulted over the setting of the Daraul Qaza and appointment of Qazis.
Government waited for several days to contact Sufi Muhammad before announcing setting up of Daraul Qaza, but the TNSM chief was not available.
Maulana Sufi Muhammad, he added, had in fact stalled talk process when he demanded halting of the operation in Lower Dir and Buner district and release of arrested persons.
He said the commitment of provincial government for restoring peace and implementation of Nizam-e-Adl Regulations in Malakand were acknowledged by TNSM chief, but the militants create such a situation that compelled the government to take action against them.
Mian Iftikhar again held out olive branch to Taliban to lay down arms and there will be no operations if they honored government's writ and lived a peaceful life.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] President Asif Ali Zardari is holding meet with US President Barack Obama here at White House on Wednesday, Geo news reported. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Member National Assembly Farah Naz Isfahani, Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief General Ahmed Shujah Pasha and Pakistan ambassador to US Husain Haqqani are accompanying the President Zardari during the meeting. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is coordinating President Obama on the occasion. According to sources during the meeting, Pakistan will take up the details on the hardships it is facing amid war on terror besides issues relating to Pakistan, India and Afghanistan will be discussed.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
fire up the printing presses and chop down some trees. We are going to need to send them some pretty paper.
[Geo News] Chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman Wednesday called upon the people to unite and foil all the conspiracies aimed at destabilizing the country. He said this while talking to Pakistanis here after offering Umrah. Fazl-ur-Rehman said conspiracies against the country are at their peak and it is the foremost desire of the anti-state elements to undermine stability of Pakistan. Â"Pakistan's atomic program is pricking them like a thorn but we will counter every threat against our nuclear aspirations,Â" he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Wednesday said the Taliban intended to take over Punjab in a manner similar to their advance in the NWFP, a private TV channel reported.
Addressing district office-bearers of the MQM in Punjab over telephone from London, Altaf said he would not allow the Taliban to take over Punjab as long as he was alive. He said the Taliban were in control of major cities in the NWFP and had also entered Punjab. He urged the MQM members in Punjab to play their role in saving the province from the Taliban.
The MQM chief also criticised Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi chief Sufi Muhammad for brandishing his version of Islam. He said Pakistan did not need sharia of a single man, adding that his party would fight such a sharia tooth and nail.
Altaf said women faced antagonistic circumstances in Swat and Malakand division.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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Pakistan is bracing for its biggest ever displacement of people, as many as 800,000, as a military offensive against Taliban in Swat appears imminent. Convoys of military vehicles carrying troops and artillery were seen heading towards Swat as authorities in Mardan set up camps for the displaced. Meanwhile, the influx of displaced persons continued in Rawalpindi and Islamabad with no official policy announced so far by the administration to deal with the situation.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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Battling for the removal of the controversial army chief, Gen Rookmangud Katawal, and his defender, President Ram Baran Yadav, Nepal's Maoist party walked into an ambush when an embarrassing video tape showed Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda boasting his guerrilla troops' number had been five-fold inflated during a UN count.
In the same video, aired by Nepal's gleeful public television stations on Tuesday night, he was also shown as making scathing remarks about "reactionary" India and the US, saying that if they scented the constituent assembly election would lead to a Maoist victory, they would never allow it to be held.
But on Wednesday, after the footage created a public outcry, the former revolutionary was forced to try pour oil over troubled waters, acknowledging India's contribution to Nepal's peace process and saying his taped claim about the strength of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) had been taken "mechanically".
On the tape, Prachanda had said that though the PLA numbered only between 7-8,000 combatants, its strength was given as 35,000 during a UN verification so that even after some members being disqualified, their final headcount remained over 19,000.
He also said the decision to sign the peace pact and take part in the election was part of the "revolutionary counter-attack strategy" to capture power. The money that the Maoists had forced the government to disburse as salary to the PLA fighters would partly be used to continue buying arms and prepare for a new battle, he had indicated.
As the opposition Nepali Congress party on Wednesday flayed him for the remarks and the communists asked for a clarification, Prachanda called a press conference to say that the tape was made one and a half years ago and was no longer relevant.
"I have made innumerable such speeches and given such training in the past," he said. "We were once a revolutionary party with a price on our heads. Also, at that time we feared there was a conspiracy to derail the election. Things have changed since then. Airing the tape now is a ploy to divert attention from the president's unconstitutional step."
The PLA, he claimed, actually had over 100,000 fighters. "I was only talking about the regular central army," he said. "In addition, we also have the regular regional army and the Maoist militia. Together, they number over 100,000."
He also said that he had not mentioned India by name when he had talked about foreign intervention while announcing his resignation.
"We are in favour of having good relations with our neighbours," Prachanda said. "The 12-point agreement (between the Maoists and the major Nepal parties) was signed in New Delhi and India took the initiative. India also helped to hold the constituent assembly election."
But during the battle to sack the army chief and his subsequent reinstatement by the president, there were fears that India's support had waned, Prachanda said. However, he indicated that he had taken note of the statement in New Delhi by Indian minister of state for external affairs Anand Sharma that India has not interfered and has no intention of interfering in Nepal's internal affairs.
"We hope our ties with India would improve and progress in future," Prachanda said.
Posted by: john frum ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Does this tie in with yesterday's statement that VIDEOS WERE UNISLAMIC?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/07/2009 13:36 Comments ||
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#2
Yeah, these little outbreaks of truth are always funny, they seem to be a particularly Communist thing.
[Al Arabiya Latest] United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday gave in to pressure from Israel by rejecting a U.N. report that accused Israel of "gross negligence and recklessness" in its 22-day assault of the Gaza strip, even as he said the U.N. would seek compensation for damages.
Ban, who appointed the four-person inquiry board in February, rejected the reports' recommendations for further investigations into whether Israel had breached international law, including its use of deadly white phosphorus bombs, and said he would only seek compensation for the more than $11 million of damage to U.N. property.
The report criticized the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) for causing civilian deaths as well as attacking and even destroying U.N. facilities.
Ban said the full 184-page report was being kept secret because information in it could prejudice U.N. security, but sent a 27-page summary to members of the U.N. Security Council and Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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#2
The report criticized Jews the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) for breathing causing civilian deaths as well as attacking and even destroying terrorist bases U.N. facilities.
#4
Then the UN will recompense Israel for costs incurred in Lebanon attempting to rescue Israeli soldiers kidnapped from border territory supposedly secured by UN troops a few years ago?
#5
Strange, there's no mention of Hamass firing mortars from schools or shooting political rivals...
That falls under the heading of Indigenous Brown-skinned People Engaging In Their Native Customs. It is protected behaviour under the Geneva Conventions On Multi-culturalism.
[Al Arabiya Latest] American President Barack Obama met Israel's President Shimon Peres at the White House late on Tuesday amid signs of divisions between the two allies on Middle East peace talks and how to deal with Iran.
Peres, whose post is mostly ceremonial and who is the top Israeli to meet Obama since his inauguration in January, called at the White House several weeks before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due in Washington.
He said Netanyahu had signed up to the commitments of the U.S.-backed "road-map" when asked by reporters about the new Israeli administration's failure to so far endorse a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm surprised President Peres is still on the approved list after his little outburst in at Davos, not so long ago.
[Haaretz Defense] Senior defense officials met on Wednesday to discuss a United Nations proposal for Israel's withdrawal from the northern part of the village of Ghajar, which straddles the Israeli-Lebanese border.
An Israeli defense official said after the meeting that Israel has no territorial claims to Ghajar and was holding discussions with the UN's international force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on how to carry out a pullout without compromising security.
Israel, which occupied the northern half of Ghajar following the Second Lebanon War in 2006, has pledged to withdraw from as part of a cease-fire that ended the fighting, but has never given a timeline.
Senior army officers from Lebanon, Israel and the United Nations will meet in two weeks to coordinate the withdrawal.
The meeting at the Rosh Hanikra border crossing will be held on May 18. Representatives at the meeting will include Alan Le Roy, head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations; Major-General Claudio Graziono, commander of the UN peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) in Lebanon; officers from Israel Defense Forces Northern Command and their Lebanese counterparts.
The meeting is scheduled prior to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's departure for Washington, where he is slated to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama.
UN official Le Roy is expected to meet with Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon Wednesday for talks about the UNIFIL's operations in southern Lebanon and the planned Ghajar withdrawal. The security cabinet is also expected to convene soon to approve the IDF's pullout from the northern part of Ghajar over the next few weeks, and discuss ways of strengthening moderate politicians in Lebanon ahead of the elections scheduled for June.
Ghajar is split by the international border between Lebanon and the Israeli-held Golan Heights, which was part of Syria before the Six-Day War. Its residents are Alawis, a Shiite sect of Islam to which the majority of Syria's ruling elite belong, who also have Israeli identity cards.
Since Israel's withdrawal from its self-proclaimed security zone in southern Lebanon in 2000, Jerusalem has been in talks with the UN to find a way to transfer its control over the northern part of the village back to Lebanon.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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[Jerusalem Post Middle East] The Palestinian Authority and Hamas on Tuesday rejected statements made by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to the annual meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, in which he failed to refer to a two-state solution.
The Palestinians also rejected Netanyahu's demand in his Monday night speech that they accept Israel's right to be a Jewish state. "We want peace with the Arab world. We also want peace with the Palestinians," Netanyahu declared. "We are prepared to resume peace negotiations without any delay, without any preconditions," he said. "The sooner the better."
The prime minister, who addressed the thousands of congressmen, diplomats and pro-Israel activists by satellite from Israel, was speaking ahead of his own visit to Washington.
Since entering office, Netanyahu's largely rightwing government has struck a different tone from America on the Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic process, leading some to conclude that the US and Israel are on a collision course on the issue. Notably, Netanyahu has declined to publicly support a Palestinian state, which is a major goal of the Obama administration.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Political heavyweights in Washington say they no longer seek a "regime change" in Iran, urging the country to begin engagement with the US in earnest.
Two days after former US House speaker, Newt Gingrich, openly advocated regime change in Iran in an address to the 2009 AIPAC policy conference, Senator John Kerry, a Democrat, said that Washington is not in a 'regime change mode'.
"Our efforts must be reciprocated by the other side: Just as we abandon calls for regime change in Tehran and recognize a legitimate Iranian role in the region, Iran's leaders must moderate their behavior and that of their proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas," said Kerry, who currently chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Kerry said his panel would release a report this week on Iran's nuclear issue, which would underline the need for diplomacy backed by the threat of tougher sanctions.
Former top US negotiator, Nicholas Burns, backed Kerry's remarks, saying that decades-long attempts to isolate Iran and topple the Tehran government had "not worked".
"I think it would be helpful if the American administration was to say overtly and clearly that [regime change] is not our policy," said Burns, who served as the number three official in the US State Department under the Bush administration.
He, however, warned that Iran should expect harsher sanctions, if it goes on with its uranium enrichment activities.
Israel and its Western allies accuse Tehran of developing nuclear weapons -- a charge rejected by Iran.
Burns rejected the notion of a military attack on Iran, saying that Washington has learned the hard way that war has "unintended consequences".
"We learned in Iraq that sometimes when you start a war you don't know where it's going to end, and that's certainly the case with Iran," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I wonder who would be supplying Iranian militants with things like EFPs if the US went in for round 2.
#3
Burns is showing his true colors. I wonder if Manhattan DA Morgenthau's testimony to Congress yesterday will get their attention. He has uncovered a "stripping" scheme for Iranian banks to hide transactions using British and US banks and told them they have seriously underestimated Iran's "deadly serious" threat to the US. Also indicted a Chinese businessman for supplying dual use tech for their nuclear program. He has jurisdiction because as long as the dollar remains the standard currency, all transactions pass through NY. Probably why they all want to move to a global currency, btw.
#4
"We're going to stop fighting you, so you have to stop fighting us! Ow! Quit hitting us! Ow! Ow! Can't you see I'm not fighting...Ow! Cut it out! Ow! Hey, no fair! Ow! Stop doing that...Ow! Hey, we're offering to stop...Ow! C'mon, pretty please? Ow! Ow! Ow!," etc., ad nauseum.
#5
Our government has gone French. Next thing will be a white flag over the capitol...
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
05/07/2009 12:33 Comments ||
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#6
Burns rejected the notion of a military attack on Iran, saying that Washington has learned the hard way that war has "unintended consequences".
Instapundit now advises Israel to go rogue, as under President Obama the U.S. is more generous to enemies than allies. Others now suggest Israel inform of decisions being acted upon, rather than ask permission.
#9
As Pakistan army is the main problem/obstacle in South Asian peace likewise the Iran Mullahs/Govt are the main problem/obstacle in Middle East peace!!!
[Beirut Daily Star: Region] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad slammed Zionism as "occupation" and "aggression" Tuesday as he delivered his latest diatribe against Israel on a visit to key Middle East ally Syria. "The Zionist occupiers are destructive microbes, because Zionism itself is occupation, aggression, the use of assassination and annihilation," he told a joint news conference with President Bashar Assad in the Syrian capital.
"Zionism was created to threaten us. To support the Palestinian resistance is a humanitarian and popular obligation," Ahmadinejad said in remarks in Farsi that were translated into Arabic.
"Syria and Iran are united in supporting the Palestinian resistance," Ahmaadinejad said.
Ahmadinejad asked why it is the Islamist Hamas movement which controls Gaza that is blacklisted by the European Union and the United States, and not Israel after its devastating war on the territory at the turn of the year.
"They've attacked Gaza, killing people in their own land and massacring women and children ... and yet it's the Palestinians they accuse of terrorism," he complained.
Ahmadinejad also hit out at the continuing US military presence on Iran's borders.
"They weren't invited in. They're unwelcome visitors who should leave Afghanistan and the borders of Pakistan," the Iranian president said. "We don't want honey from bees that sting us. Efforts must be made to rid the region of the presence of foreigners ... and to reform the unjust global political and economic system."
Ahmadinejad said that Iran and Syria were standing together to "resist foreign intervention and the major powers trying to impose their hegemony over the region."
The United States "has put pressure on Syria and Iran, but it needs us and wants to develop relations," he said. "Circumstances are changing rapidly in our favor. We are on the road to victory."
Assad in turn hailed what he called the "natural" strategic alliance between Syria and Iran, which he said was "built on shared principles and interests."
"We agreed to support reconciliation in Iraq and look forward to the departure of the last foreign soldier," he added.
The United States and its key regional ally Israel have long sought to sour the three-decade-old alliance between Iran and Syria, which are the main foreign backers of the Lebanese group Hizbullah as well as Hamas.
The Obama administration has stepped up US contacts with Damascus and the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs Jeffrey Feltman is due to leave for the Syrian capital on Wednesday on his second visit this year. In March, he made the first high-level US trip to Syria since 2005.
But on Monday, Washington baulked at calls by the Syrian president for it to open talks with Hamas and Hizbullah, saying the two groups had to renounce violence first.
"We would like to see Syria change the behavior of these two groups," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.
Ahmadinejad was also due to meet exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal during his Damascus visit.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2009 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.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Wednesday said the Taliban intended to take over Punjab in a manner similar to their advance in the NWFP, a private TV channel reported. 
