President Hamid Karzai has offered the main responsibility for fighting narcotics industry to a sacked former interior minister, Zarar Ahmad Moqbel, who was widely accused of corruption and incompetence, Guardian reports.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2010 00:00 ||
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Is "Pecking" anything like "Picking" a minister?
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/12/2010 6:16 Comments ||
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Well that means that Moqbel can cover Karzi's brothers drug racket and Karzi will have the billions in aid covered. Should be rivers of gold flowing into the Karzi clan.
A recent seminar that convened Mauritania's top religious scholars in Nouakchott drew comment from as far afield as inmates serving time for extremist beliefs and acts.
The four-day seminar on "Islam and Dilemmas of Tolerance and Fanaticism in Understanding and Behaviour" wrapped up on January 8th with recommendations from participants that included "holding a dialogue with extremists and accepting the repentance of the repentant".
"We followed the seminar [lectures] on the radio," imprisoned Salafist leader Mohammed Sheikh Ould Mohammed said in a press statement issued after the event. "Out of concern for the affairs of Muslims, we decided that an event of such a size shouldn't pass by without us making a stop [for it] that matches the hugeness of the event".
The event "was enhanced by the distinguished presence of top scholars, imams and thinkers in order to deal with one of the most serious issues facing our nation today", said the inmate, who called discourse on moderation "interesting, especially given the clarity of sharia texts that show that [Islam] is based on moderation and tolerance in all matters".
Mohammed Ould Mustaf, who writes on Salafism in Mauritania, told Magharebia that the first-of-its-type event "was held at exactly the right time".
"I wasn't surprised to hear supporting voices from the Mauritanian Salafist movement from inside the prison," he said. "I've met with many of the young people who were influenced by the moderate religious discourse presented by the imams and thinkers who attended the seminar," added Mustaf, who expects ideological reviews from participants. "Those young men recorded the different lectures using their cell phones to keep them for future reference."
The seminar's closing report focuses on social and religious harm caused by extremism and fanaticism, including the "takfir of other Muslims based on personal ijtihad from people who don't possess the necessary qualifications for ijtihad ... mistrust of other people ... rejection of the 'other', challenging scholars, self-destruction ... and other damage".
The report, which cautions against embracing the fatwas of extremists, also says the "symptoms of fanaticism and extremism" tend to become "introversion and isolation, and then ... indignation and hatred against society, which soon turn into violent acts".
Mauritanian Prime Minister Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf, who attended the closing ceremony, thanked the participants for their efforts to "enlighten public opinion, explain the truth and expose lies".
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2010 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Yemen's most influential Islamic cleric, considered an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist by the United States, warned the government on Monday against allowing "foreign occupation" of the country in the growing cooperation with the U.S. against the terror group. Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani's comments reflected a deep mistrust among Yemenis of Washington's intentions as it ramps up counterterrorism aid and training for San'a to combat Al Qaeda's offshoot here.
Al-Zindani, a radical cleric who once associated with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, is highly influential among Yemenis and the government is careful to maintain at least his tacit support.
"We accept any cooperation in the framework of respect and joint interests, and we reject military occupation of our country. And we don't accept the return of colonialization," al-Zindani told reporters.
"Yemen's rulers and people must be careful before a (foreign) guardianship is imposed on them," he said. "The day parliament allows the occupation of Yemen, the people will rise up against it and bring it down."
President Barack Obama said he does not plan to send American combat forces to Yemen, and San'a has said it will not allow such a deployment.
"I have no intention of sending U.S. boots on the ground in these regions," Obama said in an interview with People magazine to be published Friday.
U.S. military personnel are helping train Yemeni counterterror forces and gave Yemeni forces intelligence and logistical help in heavy airstrikes last month against suspected Al Qaeda hideouts that Yemen says killed dozens of militants.
Al-Zindani is a controversial figure in Yemeni politics. The United States has labeled him a "global terrorist," alleging he helps fund and recruit for Al Qaeda and that students from Iman University, which he heads, were involved in past attacks. But Yemen's government courts his support. The deputy prime minister last week denied al-Zindani is a member of Al Qaeda.
Addressing a news conference held at his San'a home, al-Zindani denied U.S. accusations against him, saying "it's become well known among the people that a lot of lies come out of" Washington. He also denied any knowledge of Al Qaeda's activities in Yemen. He also denied he had any influence on an American-Yemeni radical preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, who is being hunted by Yemeni forces for alleged Al Qaeda links.
Al-Awlaki is a young cleric popular among extremists for his calls for jihad, or holy war, against the Americans.
Yemeni officials say he may have met with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in Yemen before the 23-year-old Nigerian allegedly tried to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day. Al Qaeda's offshoot in Yemen is accused of plotting that attack.
Al-Awlaki also had e-mail contact with the accused Fort Hood shooter before he allegedly opened fire at the military base in Texas, killing 13 people. Al-Awlaki later praised the attack, and he has also praised al-Zindani's writings in Internet speeches.
"I was never a direct teacher for Anwar al-Awlaki," al-Zindani said, his white beard dyed red with henna in the style of some Islamic hard-liners.
"I am general lecturer and a writer of books. If someone says they listened to my lectures or read my books, am I to blame if he then, say, divorces his wife, or if he attacks someone? If that's the case, then all teachers and professors should be accused," said al-Zindani, who also denied any connection to Abdulmutallab.
Al-Zindani, who often preaches in favor of holy war to defend the Muslim world, was careful not to directly criticize the Yemeni government's cooperation with the United States and avoided any comments that suggested a call for violence.
But he said San'a must regulate its counterterror partnership with Washington with written agreements approved by parliament. "The constitution says agreements must be put before parliament. I demand the implementation of the constitution," he said. He sharply criticized a U.S.-backed Yemeni airstrike against a suspected Al Qaeda hideout on Dec. 17 in which dozens of civilians were reported killed. "Is this right? What about a government that calls in any force to strike whoever it wants in this way, without any restrictions?" he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2010 00:00 ||
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A radical Islamist group that planned a march through Wootton Bassett will be banned under counter-terrorism laws, Home Secretary Alan Johnson has said. Whoa! How dramatic! About as dramatic as when they banned al-Muhajiroun, in fact...
Islam4UK had planned the protest at the Wiltshire town to honour Muslims killed in the Afghanistan conflict. The government had been considering outlawing the group - Islam4UK is also known as al-Muhajiroun. Ummm... It's already banned?
A spokesman for Islam4UK told the BBC it was an "ideological and political organisation", and not a violent one. "We only incite violence. We don't do it as an organization, only individually."
Mr Johnson said: "I have today laid an order which will proscribe al-Muhajiroun, Islam4UK, and a number of the other names the organisation goes by. It is already proscribed under two other names - al-Ghurabaa and The Saved Sect. Proscription is a tough but necessary power to tackle terrorism and is not a course we take lightly." Whoopdy doo. Next week there'll be a new Islamic organization making faces and issuing threats and generating demands. Coincidentally it'll be headed by Anjem Chaudry.
Posted by: Oscar ||
01/12/2010 03:46 ||
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Must be an election coming!LOL
All unemployed, usually Pakistani background please go to your much wanted Islamic state but hey you would have to work for a living there-Cant have that can we!
[Kyodo: Korea] North Korea on Monday proposed an ""early start"" of talks this year with countries involved in the 1950-1953 Korean War to replace the armistice that ended the conflict with a peace treaty. The proposed peace talks could be held within the framework of the six-party denuclearization talks if sanctions on Pyongyang were lifted, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2010 00:00 ||
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POTUS BAMMER > says NORTH KOREA = KIMMIE MUST GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS, as agreed upon.
#2
Given that the Korean War has been in Pause mode for half a century, it would be a shame to end it without bombing the crap out of them just a little bit. Adds a sense of urgency to the negotiations, don't you think?
#3
if kimmie is so 'ronry', maybe we can air-drop him a few 2000 lb iron friends.
maybe once is not so 'ronry and sadry arone', he can step down off his 'rittle throne' and negotiate in good faith... until then screw him. this is just another stunt to sucker the west out of some food aid so we can keep the 'dialog' kabuki on track
Posted by: abu do you love ||
01/12/2010 3:24 Comments ||
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for going on 60 years now we have seen this same tired dance by the Norks, but in the past 30 or so, it has become actually comical to watch. Now another cast of American political leaders will fall prey to the same, one trick dance. It is essentially "GIVE ME THINGS OR I WILL HOLD MY BREATH UTIL I TURN BLUE AND EXPLODE". And then when you do, a few weeks of apparent compromise, and then, more of the same, usually with "...running dog yankee imperialists" and "sea of fire" somewhere in the text.
Now watch the oh so wise Bambi crowd go down the same silly path. And display amazement when there is no prize at the end, just more demands.
Star witness describes plan hatched by accused in suburban restaurant to cash in on terror
It was after midnight in a Mississauga restaurant when Shareef Abdelhaleem had a eureka moment. Abdelhaleem and two other men one of them an undercover police agent had been discussing an audacious bomb plot that would target buildings in downtown Toronto and a military base off Highway 401.
Even though Abdelhaleem initially had challenged the "Islamic correctness" of a potentially deadly terrorist plot, he piped up in an excited voice and threw his keys on the table. Maybe money could be made on the stock market, said the computer engineer who earned a six-figure salary and drove a BMW. "He described it as people made money from the attacks on Sept. 11," recalled the police agent Shaher Elsohemy on Monday, testifying for the first time on the opening day of Abdelhaleem's trial.
The Crown's star witness in this case said Abdelhaleem went on to say that, had people known about the attacks on the U.S. earlier, they could have played the stock market and made money. "The rest of the discussion was about how to profit off an attack on the stock exchange," said Elsohemy, recounting their talk in the early hours of April 8, 2006.
Elsohemy, who came out of witness protection to testify against his former friend, told the Brampton court that Abdelhaleem also told him he planned to ask someone to act as an investor so he could buy stocks. Days later, when Abdelhaleem was in hospital recovering from heart surgery and on morphine, he told Elsohemy he was committed to the plot because "the Americans ... are killing a million children."
Abdelhaleem, the first adult to stand trial of the so-called Toronto 18 terror group busted in the summer of 2006, stared at Elsohemy as he entered the courtroom from a side door, flanked by officers. The 34-year-old accused Mississauga man squinted his eyes, lowering his glasses to the tip of his nose to get a better look at the witness. During his testimony, expected to last all week, Elsohemy kept his gaze on counsel and appeared to avoid looking at the prisoner box.
In addition to his testimony, court also heard electronic intercepts between Elsohemy, Abdelhaleem and the third man at the Mississauga restaurant Zakaria Amara, mastermind of the bomb plot many of them recorded at the Canadian Tire gas bar where Amara worked.
Abdelhaleem is alleged to have used Elsohemy to set up the purchase of three tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, destined for truck bombs targeting the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Front St. offices of Canada's spy agency and a military base off Highway 401. Abdelhaleem, expected to testify in his own defence, is charged with participating in a terrorist group and intending to cause an explosion. He pleaded not guilty to both counts.
Elsohemy testified he developed a "strong" friendship with Abdelhaleem and frequented an Islamic school in Mississauga. The two vacationed together, taking a trip to Morocco in 2005. But shortly after returning, they had an argument that strained their friendship.
In December 2005, he was approached by agents with Canada's spy agency about Abdelhaleem. Elsohemy co-operated with authorities and, as the bomb plot began to take shape, he started working for the RCMP, which paid him $4.1 million for his work. Abdelhaleem introduced Amara to Elsohemy, who had a degree in agricultural sciences. The agent also told Abdelhaleem that his uncle owned a huge chemical plant. It was a matter of time before Amara placed orders with Elsohemy for nitric acid and ammonium nitrate.
Outside court, Abdelhaleem's lawyer, William Naylor, told reporters he believes his client was entrapped, with Elsohemy paid handsomely for it. "A $4.1 million payoff is pretty steep. ... It's unprecedented in Canada," Naylor later told reporters, adding that's one of the problems with the case against his client. He suggested that Elsohemy was more concerned with getting money than searching for the truth.
Of the 18 people charged, four, including Amara, have pleaded guilty, a youth was convicted and seven have had their charges stayed. Five remaining accused are scheduled to begin trials in March. Abdelhaleem elected to be tried by a judge alone and not a jury.
[Dawn] The United States demanded that Pakistan must stop harassing American diplomats in the country and exchange notes with Foreign Office, DawnNews reported on Monday.
However, Foreign Office said US officials are not being harassed and nothing has been received from the US Embassy in this regard.
Talking to DawnNews, US Embassy Spokesman, Richard Snelsire said that they had raised the matter before Pakistani authorities and were working closely with Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to resolve the issue.
He said that the harassment incidents with US diplomats and local staff in Lahore, Islamabad and Gawadar are really disturbing.
He maintained that the embassy understands the security needs under the prevailing circumstances in Pakistan but checking beyond means is something else.
He added that they have reached to an agreement with Pakistani government but it is yet to be implemented.
On DawnNews' query, Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit categorically denied that they have received any request from US Embassy for special privileges at check points.
He added that US officials are not being harassed in Pakistan but there are some issues on which they were in touch with the US government and their embassy in Islamabad.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Prime Minister Gilani stressed upon the need to bridge the existing trust deficit between Pakistan and the United States in the interest of long term strategic partnership between the two countries. I feel more trusting already...
Gilani was talking to a US delegation led by Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, at the PM House in Islamabad on Monday. The US delegation brought up the issue of the alleged Afghan Taliban leadership's presence in North Waziristan and parts of Balochistan. Levin was talking about Mullah Omar's headquarters being in Quetta, when he's not bussed to Karachi to get him out of the line of fire, and about the Haqqani Network being headquartered in North Wazoo, where they're best friends with all sorts of Uzbeks and Chechens and Arabs. He probably didn't mention the fact that Binny's headquarters are in Pakistain and that the Pak religious parties are openly on the other side, whilst all the the former heads of ISI are in the habit of burping up vicious, barely coherent anti-American statements. If he had, that probably would have led to a discussion of whether the current head of ISI is a nutcase of the same dimension as Hamid Gul or Aslam Beg.
The PM refuted these allegations as misperceptions "No, no! Certainly not!"
and said that the so-called Quetta Shura did not exist and the Afghan Taliban leaders were not present in Pakistani territory. If you're gonna tell lies, you should make sure that there's not easily verifiable evidence to the contrary. When you lie out of habit, even when telling the truth would be to your advantage, you're simply destroying all that trust that's necessary to build for the time when you really need the other side to swallow a whopper whole.
He reiterated Pakistan's desire to fence its border with Afghanistan and asked the US to persuade the Afghan Government to do so. The fencing works so well along the Line of Control, after all.
Senator Carl Levin appreciated Pakistan's critical and vital role as the frontline state against terrorism and lauded the successes by the Pakistani armed forces in Malakand and South Waziristan.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2010 00:00 ||
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[Ma'an] The Islamic Jihad movement warned on Monday of a major Israeli incursion in the Gaza Strip after the recent escalation in Israeli air raids and artillery fire, in which three of the movement's operatives were killed on Sunday evening.
Senior Islamic Jihad leader Khalid Al-Batsh in a statement said the Israeli assault clearly indicated that Israel's was in preparation for a major military operation in the Strip by using political and media campaigns to foster international support for "such aggression."
Current political pressure to restart negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians "increases Israel's opportunity to cover up for its aggression," Al-Batsh said.
"It provides Israel with the chance to escape the toll they should pay for war crimes," he added, speaking of Israel's Operation Cast Lead last winter, following which South African jurist Richard Goldstone suggested that war crimes had been carried out during the offensive.
Al-Batsh called on all sides to stop "compromise illusions. If the Arab countries are unable to protect our people, let them at least let the Israelis suffer from isolation and let them pursue Israeli war criminals, instead of helping them out."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2010 00:00 ||
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#3
Senior Islamic Jihad leader Khalid Al-Bitsh in a statement said the Israeli assault clearly indicated that Israelâs was in preparation for a major military operation in the Strip by using political and media campaigns to foster international support for "such aggression."
Is the Muslim world really that stupid to believe that reacting to a barrage of mortar and rocket fire is aggressive? Answers at 10:00...
A nuclear physics professor who publicly backed Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi in the disputed June presidential election was killed Tuesday when a remote-controlled bomb rigged to a motorcycle blew up outside his home.
State media identified the victim as Masoud Ali Mohammadi, 50, a professor at Tehran University, which has been at the center of recent protests by student opposition supporters. Before the election, pro-reform Web sites published Ali Mohammadi's name among a list of 240 Tehran University teachers who supported Mousavi. How do you say deviationist wrecker in Farsi? "Infidel"
A spokesman for Iran's atomic agency, Ali Shirzadian, told The Associated Press that Ali Mohammadi had no link with the agency. "He was not involved in the country's nuclear program," Shirzadian said, adding that the professor was active only in the theoretical field at Tehran University.
Iran's Foreign Ministry accused Israel and the U.S. of involvement, according to the Web site of state TV. Of course.
Posted by: ed ||
01/12/2010 08:51 ||
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Iran's Foreign Ministry accused Israel and the U.S. of involvement
In all honesty, I've not seen any evidence that Washington and the current administration has done anything to PREVENT such an act.
Dr Ali-Mohammadi was an Iranian representative to a Middle East wide nuclear co-operation programme run under the auspices of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency.
The IAEA is the forum through which UN Security Council members are putting their demands to Iran to hand over the enriched uranium at the centre of the nuclear row.
So he had two strikes against him. He supported the protests and he worked with a group that was trying to get Iran to cooperate with their nuclear power. I say the Iranians killed him.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The chairman of Iran's Expediency Council said Monday the increasing frictions between political factions are the most important crisis in the country and should be resolved.
Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani said the root of the crisis must be identified to deal with the problem, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported.
He said in order to resolve the issue, officials should follow the guidance of the Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Ayatollah Khamenei said Saturday the Iranian nation should follow the rule of the law and avoid taking extrajudicial measures as not to obstruct the path of justice.
"If these two are obeyed, balance will return to the society and there will be no room left for frictions," Rafsanjani said in reference to the Leader's remarks. "Foreign enemies have clung to the current state of affairs in the country as it is apparent in their tone."
When asked if he had kept silent since protests erupted after the presidential election in June, Rafsanjani rejected the notion and said he was always trying to resolve the problems away from media hype.
On December 27, anti-government protesters took to the streets on the holy mourning ceremony of Ashura, damaging public property and clashing with security forces.
Tens of millions of Iranians, in response to what they called the violation of religious sanctities, staged demonstrations across the country, demanding that rioters be brought to justice.
Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered authorities to deal "firmly and quickly" with those guilty of breaking law on Ashura.
The top prosecutor, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, on Saturday said firm action must be taken against the people behind the street unrest.
Referring to a petition signed by clerics in Tehran Province, Mohseni-Ejei ordered the city's chief prosecutor, Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi, to honor their request.
It is expected that the demands "that those who were leading the post-election sedition are put on trial, are met," Mohseni-Ejei said in a statement released by ISNA.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani said the root of the crisis must be identified to deal with the problem, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported.
He said in order to resolve the issue, officials should follow the guidance of the Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
I dunno... I thought the students and others (some articles say that everyone in this politically challenged country are students) were simply protesting electoral fraud by the occupying regime, and the Leader of the Islamic Republic, Khamenei, is a primary party in the fraud.
[Iran Press TV Latest] An Iranian diplomat who was detained by the US military in Iraq and held for more than two years, says that he was tortured while in American custody.
Majid Qaemi-Heydari was among the five Iranian diplomats who were abducted by American forces in a raid on Iran's consulate in Arbil on January 11, 2007.
In an interview with Fars News Agency, Heydari said the behavior of his American captors was worse than the violence they showed against Iraqis.
"They had put covers on our heads, they cuffed our hands," he said adding that the soldiers were later criticized for not cuffing the diplomat's hands behind them.
He told Fars that the cuffing was so tight that the cuffs had cut through the skin on his wrists.
He said he had been beaten so badly that during the whole term of his imprisonment that doctors had to make sure he was ok.
Heydari, among the other four diplomats, was released on July 9, 2009.
The US said the release of the diplomats was required under a security agreement with the Iraqi government. Iran has said it will use legal measures to follow up on the case.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2010 00:00 ||
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#6
Can you imagine, they asked him questions! And they didn't respect him. That was torture.
/sarcasm
He got out alive. He wasn't tortured. When they torture people in Iranian prisons, they don't get out.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/12/2010 19:19 Comments ||
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#7
"He never told us any secrets. He was a loyal Iranian agent. Please restore him quickly to active status and give him lottsa state secrets. He's our worst enemy"
/Wink, CIA
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/12/2010 19:47 Comments ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi said Monday that he is ready to hold a debate with any representative from the establishment if the Iranian nation can be its audience.
In a statement released on his party's website, Karroubi said only such a debate could determine who is right and who is wrong.
Ever since protests erupted in the country following the presidential election in June 2009, Karroubi has been accused of fomenting the unrest and cooperating with foreign elements against the establishment.
The debate "could reveal who has set the revolution on the wrong path, and who and which groups are responsible for the cruelty against the people," the former Parliament speaker said, calling for government compensation for mistreating protesters.
He said he believes in religious jurisprudence and he is only after the revival of freedom. According to the defeated candidate, only reforms and non-violent campaigns can bring the train of the Islamic Revolution back onto the right track.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2010 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 recent seminar that convened Mauritania's top religious scholars in Nouakchott drew comment from as far afield as inmates serving time for extremist beliefs and acts.
[Asharq al-Aswat] Yemen's most influential Islamic cleric, considered an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist by the United States, warned the government on Monday against allowing "foreign occupation" of the country in the growing cooperation with the U.S. against the terror group. Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani's comments reflected a deep mistrust among Yemenis of Washington's intentions as it ramps up counterterrorism aid and training for San'a to combat Al Qaeda's offshoot here.
A radical Islamist group that planned a march through Wootton Bassett will be banned under counter-terrorism laws, Home Secretary Alan Johnson has said.
[Kyodo: Korea] North Korea on Monday proposed an ""early start"" of talks this year with countries involved in the 1950-1953 Korean War to replace the armistice that ended the conflict with a peace treaty. The proposed peace talks could be held within the framework of the six-party denuclearization talks if sanctions on Pyongyang were lifted, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
Star witness describes plan hatched by accused in suburban restaurant to cash in on terror
[Dawn] The United States demanded that Pakistan must stop harassing American diplomats in the country and exchange notes with Foreign Office, DawnNews reported on Monday.
[Dawn] Prime Minister Gilani stressed upon the need to bridge the existing trust deficit between Pakistan and the United States in the interest of long term strategic partnership between the two countries. 
[Ma'an] The Islamic Jihad movement warned on Monday of a major Israeli incursion in the Gaza Strip after the recent escalation in Israeli air raids and artillery fire, in which three of the movement's operatives were killed on Sunday evening. 
