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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
President Obama Relieves Gen. Stanley McChrystal of Afghan Command
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
Afghan president strongly endorses Gen. McChrystal
Afghanistan's president believes that U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal is the "best commander" of the nearly 9-year-old war and hopes that President Barack Obama doesn't decide to replace him, the Afghan leader's spokesman said Tuesday.

McChrystal, who has publicly apologized for using "poor judgment" in an interview in Rolling Stone magazine, has been ordered to attend the monthly White House meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan in person Wednesday rather than via a secure videolink, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

He'll be expected to explain his comments to Obama and top Pentagon officials, the officials said.

President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, Waheed Omar, said the Afghan leader thinks McChrystal "is a person of great integrity," who has a very good understanding of the Afghan people and the Afghan culture.

"The president believes that Gen. McChrystal is the best commander that NATO and coalition forces have had in Afghanistan over the past nine years," Omar said, adding that McChrystal has worked very closely with Karzai since he arrived and that "lots of things have improved."
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  McChrystal is compromised. Time to come home.

Posted by: Dogsbody || 06/23/2010 2:30 Comments || Top||

#2  What's next? The cover of Sports Illustrated?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 06/23/2010 7:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Yep, he's compromised. That means Barrack is torn between ideology and appearances.
Posted by: gorb || 06/23/2010 9:26 Comments || Top||

#4  For once, I agree with Hamid Karzai.
Posted by: Flapper Scourge of the Algonquins4926 || 06/23/2010 15:22 Comments || Top||

#5  me tooo flapper
Posted by: chris || 06/23/2010 21:52 Comments || Top||


Britain
Islamist Denounce UK Prison Insistence on Inmates Wife Removing Niqab
[Asharq al-Aswat] A number of London-based Islamists have expressed their anger at the insistence of British prison that the wife of leading fundamentalist Omar Mahmoud Abu-Omar, alias Abu-Qatada, who is known as Bin Laden's ambassador, and the spiritual guide of the Al-Qaeda Organization in Europe, remove her Niqab before being allowed to visit him, despite the existence of fatwas that say it is Islamically permissible to do so.

A statement by Abu-Qatada's family, which Asharq Al-Awsat received via the Islamic Observatory in London, which is a London-based human-rights organization concerned with the news of Islamists around the world, said: "The administration of Long Lartin Prison in Northern England demanded that the wife of the leading fundamentalist removes her Niqab in front of the camera before getting in to visit him."

The statement went on to say: "The wardens and inspectors of Long Lartin Prison deliberately force Muslim women to uncover their hair in front of the prison cameras to allow them to enter for visits. After we refused, they provoked us and said that women are allowed to uncover their hair, and that we were obliged to acquiesce to their order because some Muslim ulema have issued fatwas allowing this."

The statement adds: According to their laws, which they legislated, women have the right to refuse to uncover their hair and have the right to have a barrier to prevent the exposure of the head; however, their racism made them force us to go back, and they prevented us from carrying out the visit after we spent three hours traveling, and waited for hours in Long Lartin Prison.

Abu-Qatada's family says: "These have been their practices from the beginning, and we have suffered from them for a long time; however, these practices are getting fiercer everyday against our faith. They are restricting us, and take revenge on us by all means through false behavior and pretexts, such as canceling and delaying the visits, and by deliberately making the dogs touch us."

The Islamic Observatory denounced the practices and measures adopted by the British Home Office against the Muslims detained in British prisons. In a telephone interview with Asharq A-Awsat, Egyptian Islamist Yasir al-Sirri [director of the Islamic Observatory] said: "What took place was a violation of personal freedom and sanctities." Al-Sirri points out that there is no objection to a British policewoman seeing the faces of the Muslim women visitors - as used to happen before - i.e. the wives of the Islamists detained in British prisons would uncover their faces in front of a British policewoman in a room dedicated for this, but not in front of cameras that could be monitored by men. Al-Sirri says that Abu-Qatada is detained in the British prison without charge or trial, and he is waiting for the decision by the European Court for Human Rights on deporting him to Jordan. Al-Sirri also says: It seems that the political practices do not change with the change of ruling parties. He also expresses his fear that Britain would turn into a graveyard for human rights.

A number of Islamists are detained in Long Lartin Prison. They include Khalid al-Fawwaz (Saudi) and Adil Abdul-Majid Abdul-Bari (who is believed to be a member of the Egyptian Jihad Organization). Both detainees are waiting for a decision of the application to extradite them to the United States on the basis of claims of involvement in the blowing up of the two US Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1988.

The European Court for Human Rights has asked Britain to delay the deportation of Abu-Qatada until the appeal he filed is decided. The British Home Office signed an order to deport Abu-Qatada after the Home Office won a previous appeal; however, it is expected that the Home Office will accept to suspend the deportation until his appeal to the Strasbourg Court is decided [despite the fact that it has said that] Abu-Qatada "ought to be deported to Jordan to wait for the court to look into the case carefully."

Abu-Qatada is trying to cancel the order to deport him, and send him back to Jordan, where he faces the possibility of exposure to torture after charging him with terrorism. Abu-Qatada was tried twice - in 1998 and 2000 - by the State Security Court in Jordan, and he was sentenced to 15 years hard labor imprisonment for terrorist activities and links to Al-Qaeda.

The British House of Lords, the highest judicial court in Britain, rejected an appeal filed by Abu-Qatada, and said that he could be deported. The appeal filed by Abu-Qatada at the European Court for Human Rights is considered his last opportunity to avoid deportation. The European Court has awarded Abu-Qatada 2,800 euros as compensation for what it considered to be random detention in Britain after the September 2001 attacks; this decision angered Britain, and was described by former British Home Secretary Jackie Smith as "disappointing."
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  They should be strip searched considering the nature of their husbands crimes.
Posted by: Kofi Uni || 06/23/2010 18:15 Comments || Top||

#2  strip-searched in front of the husbands.
Posted by: Percy Clinert3308 || 06/23/2010 20:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Then don't visit, bitch.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/23/2010 20:48 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Kimmie Tops List of 'World's Worst Dictators'
U.S. magazine Foreign Policy in its latest edition ranks North Korean leader Kim Jong-il at the top of a list of "The World's 23 Worst Dictators."
Can't argue with a single pick ...
The magazine describes Kim as a megalomanic pervert thug sociopath dwarf "personality-cult-cultivating isolationist" who enjoys fine French cognac, and claims he has spent most of his nation's few resources in developing its nuclear weapons program, while his people have suffered from severe poverty and hunger during his 16 years in power.

It also adds that the communist leader has thrown as many as 200,000 people in prison camps.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled the African country for 30 years, ranks second. The article says Mugabe, once a liberation hero, has transformed into a murderous despot, arresting and torturing opposition party members and devastating the Zimbabwean economy.

Myanmar's Than Shwe, Sudan's Omar Hassan al-Bashir and Turkmenistan's Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov round out the top five.
And we know them all!
The magazine also released its latest Failed States Index in which North Korea ranks 19th along with Niger. The annual report, put forth since 2005 in collaboration with the Fund for Peace, examines 177 countries and measures the degree of instability in 12 sectors including politics, society, economy and security to determine the most troubled and vulnerable nations.
Posted by: Steve White || 06/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Mugabe, once a liberation hero, has transformed into a murderous despot, arresting and torturing opposition party members

Transformed?

He did all those things and worse when he was a 'liberation hero'.
Posted by: phil_b || 06/23/2010 5:34 Comments || Top||

#2  Somewhere along the 'transformation' Liberals revoked Mugabe's FFIC.

Freedom Fighter Immunity Card.
Posted by: Skunky Glins**** || 06/23/2010 7:18 Comments || Top||

#3  I wonder what will be happening to his soccer team upon return after allowing NK TV to air their 0-7 rout by Portugal live? Does Kimmie have his own version of Uday Hussein running the soccer program?
Posted by: Dar || 06/23/2010 12:59 Comments || Top||

#4  At one point I believe Winnie Mandela was a front runner for that position considering her qualifications and futbol club coaching experience.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 06/23/2010 15:45 Comments || Top||


Europe
Dutch police use 'decoy Jews' to deter Judenhaß
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 06/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Helen Thomas might label this entrapment.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/23/2010 2:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Last night I had a dream..... and in my dream I was a "Decoy Jew"..... I woke up screaming.

Question : Does a Decoy Jew have to observe all the Mitzva's when not on duty ?
after all, Practice makes Perfect
Posted by: Elder of Zion || 06/23/2010 3:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Question : Does a Decoy Jew have to observe all the Mitzva's when not on duty ?
after all, Practice makes Perfect


I wonder if they have in order to improve their cover they have to undergo Jewish "baptism" ?
Posted by: JFM || 06/23/2010 7:17 Comments || Top||

#4  Do ten adult male decoy Jews form a decoy minyan?
Posted by: Eric Jablow || 06/23/2010 8:09 Comments || Top||

#5  JFM,
No, unless they go to work naked.
In this case they should not be called undercover agents by "uncovered agents".
Posted by: Elder of Zion || 06/23/2010 10:12 Comments || Top||

#6  Eric,
Tough question - we may need to ask a Decoy Posek Halachah (DPH).
Posted by: Elder of Zion || 06/23/2010 10:14 Comments || Top||

#7  With a smattering of heavily-armed "Q-Jews", just to keep the kiddies on their toes.
Posted by: mojo || 06/23/2010 12:39 Comments || Top||

#8  "Decoy Jew". Sounds like a Quinn Martin production...
Posted by: tu3031 || 06/23/2010 21:41 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Illinois state police revoke Muslim chaplain appointee
The Illinois State Police has revoked the appointment of a prominent Chicago-area cleric to be its first Muslim chaplain after questions about his connection to a charity with ties to the militant Palestinian group Hamas. In a statement, state police officials said Sheikh Kifah Mustapha, the associate director of the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, could not serve as a volunteer chaplain "due to information revealed during the background investigation." State police declined to be more specific.

In December, Mustapha was one of seven religious leaders trained in Springfield to become volunteer state police chaplains. State police said they discovered after all seven volunteers completed the training that detailed background checks had not been done. Shortly after Mustapha's appointment, Steve Emerson, executive director of the Washington-based Investigative Project on Terrorism, criticized Illinois law enforcement for ignoring Mustapha's history as an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the case against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, once the nation's largest Muslim charity.

The foundation's two founding members were sentenced last year to 65 years in prison each for funneling millions of dollars to Hamas, which the U.S. has labeled as a terrorist organization. Mustapha helped raise money for the group in Chicago but was never charged with any crime.

On Wednesday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations will hold a news conference to protest the revocation of Mustapha's appointment.
This article starring:
Sheikh Kifah Mustapha
Posted by: ryuge || 06/23/2010 02:17 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hat tip to Steve Emerson. Had he not shed light on this vermin, I can assure you the Illinois State Police would have done NOTHING. I refuse to believe they knew nothing of this fellows past or connections. The Illinois State Police have been a bastian of affirmative action and political correctness going back to the mid-1970's
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/23/2010 18:12 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
McChrystal to resign today?
It's a CNN blog so who knows, but they apparently have their sources ...
Posted by: Steve White || 06/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  NO.
Posted by: newc || 06/23/2010 0:23 Comments || Top||

#2  He has already resigned, when will TheWan accept, is the question.
Posted by: tipper || 06/23/2010 1:46 Comments || Top||

#3  #19 Thiswas deliberate. I do love the irony. Rolling stone, the most liberal of all rags in America, The general calls out the prez on his home turf! I do love it. If zero fires him he will be cleared hot to tell all about Zero and his mismanagement of the war. More popcorn please!!! Posted by 49 Pan (frm yesterday)

Suggested McChrystal book title: 'Rules of Disengagement - The Road to Defeat'
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/23/2010 2:04 Comments || Top||

#4  This may not be popular but IMHO McChrystal should resign and deservedly so. The military does not make policy and Generals DO NOT outrank Presidents. If the general wants to criticize the President, he should do it in civilian clothes. It was wrong for MacArthur and its wrong for McChrystal.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 06/23/2010 8:50 Comments || Top||

#5 
Best Outcome for Everyone: McChrystal submits resignation, 0bama publicly refuses to accept it.
Posted by: Parabellum || 06/23/2010 10:11 Comments || Top||

#6  Agree with Cyber Sarge. If he has such a problem with his boss the honorable thing to do is resign and then start talking instead of talking first and waiting for the boss to fire him. Nonetheless, it's fun to watch people tell OBummer to Take This Job and Shove It.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 06/23/2010 11:56 Comments || Top||

#7  If Barry doesn't have the kiwis to do it maybe he can outsource it to the Sec. of State.

The McC resignation question is a matter of honor. Barry doesn't do honor very well he's more into ego. The administration will denigrate McC but let him stay.
Posted by: Victor Emmanuel Whong3584 || 06/23/2010 13:02 Comments || Top||

#8  I read the whole article. McC only directly refers to problems w/Holbrooke & Biden. I prolly wouldn't have done the same but can't say as I blame him - both those guys are clowns.

The majority of the negative remarks abt WH admin comes from His *un-named* staff members who insinuate issues & opinions he has of Eikenberry, Kerry & McCain. McC never openly disparages Obama - all comments of their initial meeting are made by un-named advisors or officials. Also, I found a lot of the verbage attributed to his advisors totally antithetical & far below what I've ever heard field or flag grade officers ever utter - (f-bombs every other sentence?) especially in front of a civilian reporter? - not to mention one from Rolling Stone(d). However, if all this is true then it's very un-professional & just plain stupid - I know the way I was raised in the USMC - I would never discuss gray issues like this in front of a reporter. These guys had to know the likely outcome - they were fucking themselves and Gen McC -- which makes it seem even more bizarre to me. If he saw this before it went to print and blessed off on it then Methinx McC knew the shit storm this would create and was pre-staging himself to get out of the job. I bet this was also an attempt to embarass the WH into action - either pullout or kick up the heat.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 06/23/2010 13:31 Comments || Top||

#9  BTW - to clariy - I'm not condoning any of the remarks these guys made - if any of them had an issue w/the political direction of the war then they should've manned up and did the adult thing - resign. By sniping at the political clowns above them they seem to me pretty sophomoric.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 06/23/2010 13:35 Comments || Top||

#10  Sophomoric or not, it serves a purpose.
Posted by: gorb || 06/23/2010 13:56 Comments || Top||

#11  The only reason I can think of for doing this Rolling Stones piece was that perhaps they didn't think they could bring enough they didn't speak until after they resigned. That would allow the lefty press to ignore them as quitters yadda yadda and therefore their opinion is unqualified for mainstream exposure.
Posted by: Mike N. || 06/23/2010 14:23 Comments || Top||

#12  I would fresign before taking orders from the idiot POTUS we have now. Then make the thousands on the speaking tours.
Posted by: chris || 06/23/2010 21:51 Comments || Top||

#13  Obama didn't accept his resignation from teh Army - just as Commander, US Forces Afghanistan.
Posted by: Pappy || 06/23/2010 23:02 Comments || Top||


Jimmy Carter Worries Court Ruling May Affect His Interaction With Terror Groups
(CNSNews.com) -- Former President Jimmy Carter has voiced concern that Monday's Supreme Court ruling on "material support" to terrorist groups may criminalize his "work to promote peace and freedom."
Unless the ruling can be thought of as calling a spade a spade...
Carter, whose advocacy has entailed contact with groups designated by the U.S. government as "foreign terrorist organizations" (FTOs) -- notably Hamas and Hezbollah -- said he was disappointed by the court decision.
Normally we're disappointed when court rulings don't go our way...
The high court, in a 6-3 decision, upheld a federal law that forbids providing "material support" to an FTO, ruling that it can be applied to U.S. organizations whose engagement with terrorists involves promoting non-violent solutions to conflicts.
So much of "material support" is fungible...
The law, part of the post-9/11 USA Patriot Act, forbids the provision of any aid, defined as including "service," "training" or "expert advice or assistance," to a designated FTO.
Telling Hamas how best to subvert Washington, for instance...
Although the free speech challenge derived from organizations wanting to work with terrorist groups in and around Turkey and in Sri Lanka -- the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Tamil Tigers (LTTE) -- the ramifications may be most evident in 2010 in the Middle East, amid growing calls for Western governments to recognize and engage with groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Tigers appear to be dead now, once Lanka ceased observing Norwegian-brokered ceasefires and went after them in earnest.
Arguing that there can be no peace in the region without those groups' participation, Carter has reached out to Hamas and Hezbollah, rejecting criticism that doing so could be viewed as legitimizing their violent activities. Since the 1980s both groups have killed hundreds of people in suicide bombings and other terror attacks, most of them Israelis and Americans.
And peace somehow hasn't been achieved despite millions of words uttered and printed. If you've been working on a problem since 1948 and you look at the calendar and discover it's 62 years later you're probably not doing it right.
The administration's argument, presented by Solicitor General Elena Kagan (now a Supreme Court nominee) earlier this year, was in part that the intent of Congress was to block all assistance to terrorists, recognizing that any form of support -- even imparting peaceful skills -- might benefit and strengthen the organization. Six of the justices concurred.
Making Hamas prosperous and strong doesn't do much to make the Hamas problem go away, does it?
"At bottom, plaintiffs simply disagree with the considered judgment of Congress and the Executive that providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization -- even seemingly benign support -- bolsters the terrorist activities of that organization," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority.
Oh. Well. If you don't agree then you don't have to do it, right?
In a statement reacting to the decision, Carter said, "We are disappointed that the Supreme Court has upheld a law that inhibits the work of human rights and conflict resolution groups."
Take a deep breath, Jimmy. Now name a conflict you've resolved... We're waiting.
"The 'material support law' -- which is aimed at putting an end to terrorism -- actually threatens our work and the work of many other peacemaking organizations that must interact directly with groups that have engaged in violence," he said.
We're still waiting...
"The vague language of the law leaves us wondering if we will be prosecuted for our work to promote peace and freedom."
There are many of us who think that'd be a ducky idea. Unfortunately we realize you'd probably get off with a warning.
Carter's statement was released through the American Civil Liberties Union, which earlier filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the Carter Center and other organizations involved in human rights and peace-promotion advocacy.
"In the course of resolving or preventing conflicts, Carter Center staff will meet
with violent actors -- some of whom may be or may in the future be designated as FTOs -- to persuade them to cease violent activity and discuss specific paths to peace," it said.
But what have you resolved? What have you prevented?
Meetings with such groups may include discussions about "peace-facilitating strategies" or advice on their "obligations under international law."
But more likely advice on which lobbying firm can pick up the best congressmen cheapest.
Some of the groups the center had been engaged with in this capacity included FTOs Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as other group not currently designated as such -- the PLO, Fatah, the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, Maoists in Nepal and Sudanese rebels. "The intent, of course, is to further peace, not terrorism," the brief said.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Jimmy boy.. your too old to be messing with bad folk. Go back to your old folks home.
Posted by: 3dc || 06/23/2010 1:02 Comments || Top||

#2  Please someone, make the ruling RETROACTIVE and jail Carter NOW!
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/23/2010 2:22 Comments || Top||

#3  Jimmi should change his name to Dhimmi.
What a Wako
Posted by: Elder of Zion || 06/23/2010 3:42 Comments || Top||

#4  There is such a thing as proprietorial discretion. This should protect Carter's precious hob nobs with terror groups.

Notwithstanding this, he does have a point. The law ought to be amended to specifically exempt contact with terror groups which has the explicit intent of persuading them to stop committing terror. Possibly other exemptions would be appropriate as well.

This is not to say that I feel such efforts are worthwhile. I simply think they ought to be legal.
Posted by: lord garth || 06/23/2010 7:20 Comments || Top||

#5  The law, part of the post-9/11 USA Patriot Act, forbids the provision of any aid, defined as including "service," "training" or "expert advice or assistance," to a designated FTO.
This law was actually passed during Clinton's administration. It was encorporated into the Patriot Act. Even NPR got that part right.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 06/23/2010 7:45 Comments || Top||

#6  Only reason he should worry is he knows in his heart that the people he's dealing with ARE terrorists. Asshole...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 06/23/2010 7:48 Comments || Top||

#7  He has truly earned his surname, Jimmy "That Assh*le" Carter.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 06/23/2010 9:20 Comments || Top||

#8  The law ought to be amended to specifically exempt contact with terror groups which has the explicit intent of persuading them to stop committing terror.

There is no evidence that is Carter's intention. On the contrary, the more violent the group, the more admiration he appears to have for them.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 06/23/2010 9:59 Comments || Top||

#9  If the law is changed just so Jimmah can frolick with his beloved terrorists I intend to stop eating American peanut butter since I suspect some of Jimmah's peanuts may have ended in the specific Jar I may buy.
too bad, I really liked Skippy chunky PB
Posted by: Elder of Zion || 06/23/2010 10:07 Comments || Top||

#10  lder, worry not. The peanuts grown in Jimmuh's neck of the woods are used for making peanut oil. I'm not so certain he even has a peanut business any more.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 06/23/2010 10:26 Comments || Top||

#11  So why would Carter want to do this anyway? Consorting with our enemies? Senile old futzer.
Posted by: JohnQC || 06/23/2010 10:33 Comments || Top||

#12  Senile old futzer.

Bingo.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 06/23/2010 11:46 Comments || Top||

#13  Don't worry, Jimmy. No matter what happens, in my heart you will always be Worst President Ever.
Posted by: SteveS || 06/23/2010 11:57 Comments || Top||

#14  Jimmy Carter in handcuffs, being frog-marched by the FBI after his arrest . . .

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.
Posted by: Mike || 06/23/2010 14:48 Comments || Top||

#15  As long as the law doesn't effect his paycheck from the Saudi's he should be OK.
Posted by: DMFD || 06/23/2010 15:40 Comments || Top||

#16  some ppl just will not die
Posted by: chris || 06/23/2010 21:53 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
No need for operation in South Punjab: IG Punjab
[Geo News] spector General of Police Punjab Tariq Saleem Dogar said there was no need for conducting operation in South Punjab and there was no ""no go"" area. He was holding an open kutchery here. He was of the view that no seminary in South Punjab was providing training to the militants and if someone has concrete evidences he should provide us. Terrorism was a universal problem and should not be associated with any particular area, he said. About Benazir Bhutto assassination he said UN probe report and FIA report were closer to each other.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Pakistan Taliban must be blacklisted: US lawmakers
[Dawn] A group of US lawmakers is seeking to force the Obama administration to blacklist the Pakistani Taliban and hit the group with sanctions.

The move comes a day after the failed Times Square bomber pleaded guilty to the attempted attack and admitted to getting money and training from the group.

The four senators from New York and New Jersey said Tuesday they would introduce a bill requiring the State Department to designate the Pakistani Taliban a foreign terrorist organization.

The department has said it is reviewing the move but has not yet made a decisions. Listing the group would impose travel and financial sanctions on its members.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  why aren't they already? did obama forget to kiss their ass and nopw they are mad or did they forget they are a terror gorup too. When are we gonna blacklist obama?
Posted by: chris || 06/23/2010 0:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Fine. Paks will blacklist them. We will be happy in our ignorance of takiya. Who are the real fools here?
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Reykjavik, Iceland || 06/23/2010 4:36 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Allawi Accuses Iraqi Government of Facilitating Assassination Plot
[Asharq al-Aswat] The Iraqi government has confirmed that the security of all Iraqi politicians is the responsibility of the security apparatus, and that Iraqi politicians should support the security services, not make accusations against it. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's media adviser, Ali al-Moussawi described Iraqiya bloc leader Iyad Allawi's accusation, that the Iraqi government has paved the way for his assassination, as being "dangerous" and politically motivated.

This came in response to comments made by Iraqiya bloc leader, Iyad Allawi that suggested that the Iraqi government, which is led by his election rival Nuri al-Maliki, paved the way for the assassination plot against Allawi.

In an interview with Britain's Times newspaper, Allawi revealed that he had received warnings of a plot to assassinate him, which caused him to seek increased security protection from the Americans who increased the security barriers around his home.

Allawi said that he asked the Iraqi government to increase the security around his home, but security officials refused to do so, which resulted in him turning to the Americans for help. Allawi also told Agence France-Presse that, "I got a letter from the Americans saying that there is a plot against me." He added that, "some other friends in high positions also told me the same thing. These are evil people's designs."

In response to a question about who was plotting to assassinate him, Allawi said, "I don't know." Although, he did suggest that the outgoing government of his election rival Nuri al-Maliki, might be aiding the work of those who are targeting him.

This comes against the backdrop of two members of Allawi's Iraqiya bloc being shot to death in recent weeks in the city of Mosul.

For his part, al-Maliki's media adviser, Ali al-Moussawi described Allawi's suggestion of the Iraqi government possibly playing a part in the assassination plot against him as being "dangerous," stressing to Asharq Al-Awsat "the necessity of evidence being provided to prove this." Al-Moussawi added that, "the leader of the Iraqiya bloc confirmed in a press conference that the [Iraqi] Minister of Defense was one of those who warned him of an assassination plot, so how can the government be paving the way for his assassination?"

Al-Moussawi also told Asharq Al-Awsat that, "all Iraqi officials and politicians are subject to being targeted, especially with the intensification of the political debate over what is happening in the country, and the Al Qaeda organization and the Baathists who support it, exploit these periods to target politicians and officials in order to stir up trouble."

Al-Moussawi also stressed that "parties within the Iraqiya bloc have insinuated, more than once, that the focus on these cases has been exaggerated." Although, he also pointed out that "it is the duty of the security apparatus to provide protection to all officials and politicians, even if they are government opponents, however at the same time, it is up to the politicians to support the [security] apparatus and not make accusations against them."

Allawi had accused the Iraqi government of failing to provide him with the required protection, as well as preventing his private airplane from using the Al Muthanna military air base at Baghdad International airport. Sources previously informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the purpose of preventing Allawi from landing at the military airbase was to force him to use the civilian airport, where a plot was "ready to be implemented," to assassinate him using a "sniper armed with a silenced rifle."

Allawi previously said that he and six other Iraqi officials, or former officials, had been granted special privileges to use this military air base. The sources revealed these figures as being the Iraqi president, the [two] vice presidents, the Prime Minister, the parliamentary speaker, the former Prime Minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, and Allawi.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
YouTube: When we die as martyrs - Palestinian Children
Posted by: tipper || 06/23/2010 15:38 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As you wish.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/23/2010 15:48 Comments || Top||

#2  OTOH WAFF > WND Artic [07/2002] > THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE DO NOT EXIST, save as an INTENTIONAL, HEIRARCHICAL/PHASED MUSLIM-ARAB SCHEMA to defeat or destroy ISRAEL. JUDAISM + ZIONISM???

and

* YNET NEWS > [Knesset debate]NETANYAHU: STATE'S LEGITIMACY [Existence] ATTACKED. ANTI-ISRAELI RADIC ISLAM is in "UN-SACRED" = UNHOLY ALLIANCE wid the RADICAL LEFT???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 06/23/2010 23:42 Comments || Top||


Israel launches spy satellite to watch Iran
Posted by: || 06/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ANd ISRAEL's "NORTH KOREA", aka LEBANON???

CHEONAN = IRAN-SENT AID SHIP???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 06/23/2010 18:41 Comments || Top||

#2  Hey Ahmadinejad! Wanna by some pictures of your wife's ankle?
Posted by: junkiron || 06/23/2010 23:11 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Tehran declaration created new front
[Iran Press TV Latest] President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the Tehran declaration on a proposed nuclear fuel swap deal has created a new front against "arrogant" powers of the world.

"In fact, the Tehran declaration created a new front against the arrogant [powers] in the world and undoubtedly Iran and Syria will be the nucleus of the front," IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying in a meeting with visiting Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa in Tehran on Tuesday.

Foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey, and Brazil signed the declaration in the Iranian capital on May 17, according to which Iran would ship 1200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey to be exchanged for 120 kilograms of 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel rods to power the Tehran research reactor, which produces radioisotopes for cancer treatment.

Ahmadinejad also noted that the unity between Iran and Syria has foiled all "plots" hatched by arrogant powers.

Al-Sharaa, for his part, highlighted the importance of "strategic" ties between Iran and Syria, saying that "the goals and plans that the two countries are pursuing will benefit the nations of the [Middle East] region and the world."

The Syrian vice president also condemned the "unjust" measures taken by the UN Security Council against Iran, including its latest sanctions resolution against the Islamic Republic.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [13 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Thus, to wit..

WAFF > [Debka] IRAN ON WAR ALERRT OVER "US AND ISRAELI CONENTRATIONS" in AZERBAIJAN. Alleged US-Israeli mil buildup or staging area for Iran milstrike???

versus

* PRAVDA > KYRGYZSTAN PREPARES FOR A COUP D'ETAT.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 06/23/2010 23:55 Comments || Top||


Iran warns against cargo inspections
In response to a US-sponsored sanctions resolution imposed by the UN Security Council against Iran, Tehran threatens to retaliate if its cargo ships come under inspection.

"Our naval forces will respond in the same way if our cargo ships are inspected," Head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iran's Majlis Alaeddin Boroujerdi said in a meeting with Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari on Monday.

According to IRNA, the top lawmaker said that the unilateral inspection of Iranian cargo ships run counter to the country's sovereignty, criticizing the presence of arrogant powers in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.

The recent UN sanction imposed against the Islamic Republic authorizes more stop and search operations of Iranian cargo ships as part of punitive measures against the country's nuclear program.

"The presence of foreign forces in our seas is out of the question and we will not allow arrogant powers to weaken the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic," Boroujerdi continued.

He also reiterated the importance of reinforcing Iranian navy forces in the Persian Gulf.

Tehran has repeatedly rejected Western claims that it is seeking to build nuclear weapons, arguing that the International Atomic Energy Agency has in numerous reports asserted that its inspectors and surveillance equipment at Iran's nuclear facilities have found no evidence of diversion in the country's declared nuclear material.

Earlier, in similar remarks, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani had warned of taking tough actions against Western ships in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  ISRAEL'S IDF CHIEF is repor warning that GAZA
cannot be allowed to become an IRANIAN NAVAL PORT.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 06/23/2010 0:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Iran warns against cargo inspections

How about sinking them instead?
Posted by: gorb || 06/23/2010 1:43 Comments || Top||

#3  The fuze is getting shorter and shorter.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/23/2010 2:11 Comments || Top||

#4  Just seen a report in a local news channel that Israeli warplanes and equipment have landed in Tabuk airport in saudi Arabia - and at the same time Debka is reporting that the Iranians are bolstering their troops in the north allegedly due to concentrations of US and Israeli forces on the azerbaijan iranian border
somthing must be cooking there
Posted by: Elder of Zion || 06/23/2010 9:57 Comments || Top||

#5  Showdown coming soon?
Posted by: JohnQC || 06/23/2010 10:19 Comments || Top||

#6  "Ignorance and arrogance in the same statement. How efficient."
Posted by: mojo || 06/23/2010 12:37 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2010-06-23
  President Obama Relieves Gen. Stanley McChrystal of Afghan Command
Tue 2010-06-22
  Guilty Plea to all Counts in Times Square Bomb Plot
Mon 2010-06-21
  Iran hangs top Sunni rebel Rigi: Report
Sun 2010-06-20
  Gunmen Raid Aden Police HQ, Free Prisoners
Sat 2010-06-19
  Pakistani officials: Suspected US strike kills 13
Fri 2010-06-18
  Malaysia: Terror bombing plot foiled
Thu 2010-06-17
  Uptick in Violence Forces Closing of Parkland Along Mexico Border to Americans
Wed 2010-06-16
  Taliban 'reappear' in Bajaur Agency
Tue 2010-06-15
  Yemen says thwarts al-Qaeda plot in oil province
Mon 2010-06-14
  4 cops killed in Algeria suicide kaboom
Sun 2010-06-13
  Son of Al Qaeda mentor Issam Abu Mohammed al-Maqdessi 'killed in Iraq'
Sat 2010-06-12
  US missiles kill 15 Taliban in N Waziristan
Fri 2010-06-11
  Iran snarls at China over UNSC sanctions
Thu 2010-06-10
  UN slaps fourth set of sanctions on Iran
Wed 2010-06-09
  Pak: 50 NATO trucks torched on Motorway, 4 people dead


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