KABUL, Afghanistan - The Netherlands became the first NATO country to end its combat mission in Afghanistan, drawing the curtain Sunday on a four-year operation that was deeply unpopular at home and even brought down a Dutch government.
The departure of the small force of nearly 1,900 Dutch troops is not expected to affect conditions on the ground. But it is politically significant because it comes at a time of rising casualties and growing doubts about the war in NATO capitals, even as allied troops are beginning what could be the decisive campaign of the war.
Canada has announced it will withdraw its 2,700 troops in 2011 and Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski has promised to pull out his countrys 2,600 soldiers the year after.
That is likely to put pressure on other European governments such as Germany and Britain to scale back their forces, adding to the burden shouldered by the United States, which expects to have 100,000 troops here by the end of next month.
If NATO doesn't want to be there, fine. But we'll need to draw forces from somewhere to make up for it. I suggest our remaining forces in Europe should be drawn down even further. We can keep the hospitals and airfields in Germany and the naval bases in Italy, but eventually Europe has to defend itself. If they don't want to do it in Afghanistan they can do it at home.
I don't say this in anger: the Euros helped out in Afghanistan, and we should acknowledge that. But there's still work to be done there, and if the Euros can't help us any more, then they have to pick up the slack elsewhere. Iraq is done. There's no large scale fighting elsewhere. The Euros don't have enough of a combined navy to do anything off Somalia. So they can defend the home front and we'll pull our forces. Seems like the best we can do for now.
The Dutch departure was sealed after Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenendes government collapsed earlier this year over disagreement among coalition members on whether to keep troops in Afghanistan longer. His Christian Democrat party suffered heavy losses at parliamentary elections in June.
Twenty-four Dutch soldiers have died in Afghanistan since the mission began in 2006. Most of the Dutch soldiers were based in the central province of Uruzgan, where they will be replaced by soldiers from the U.S., Australia, Slovakia and Singapore.
The Dutch pioneered a strategy they called 3D defense, diplomacy and development that involved fighting the Taliban while at the same time building close contacts with local tribal elders and setting up numerous development projects.
Dutch troops, some of them riding bicycles, mingled closely with the local population and often did not wear helmets while walking around towns and villages as a way of winning the trust of wary local tribes.
The international community and NATO are helping Afghanistan to stand on its own legs so the country can defend itself against extremists who want to use it as a breeding ground for global terrorism, Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said in a message to Dutch troops.
NATO spokesman Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz played down the significance of the Dutch move, saying it did not signal a weakening of coalition resolve.
The overall force posture of (NATO) and of the Afghan security forces is increasing, Blotz told reporters. He noted the surge of mostly U.S. forces that have recently taken control of key areas in Helmand and Kandahar provinces from British and Canadian forces.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2010 00:00 ||
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Yokay, I'll bite, NET > isn't diving up/surrendering early supposed to be FRANCE'S JOB!
#2
I've seen comments from people I know who are currently deployed there to the effect of, a lot of the European troops might as well not be there to begin with, because they absorb our logistics but don't have ROE that let them make a difference.
#3
The Dutch, on the other hand, worked hard in their little corner of the region. I've a girlfriend who is just back from over there for six months as a civilian contractor, and she was very proud of what they accomplished... and frustrated her projects will not be continued. It sounds like the troops didn't want to leave.
#4
...I've said this before, and it bears repeating: the 'Allies' - and now without even the qualified exception of the UK - shut down their militaries after '91 to the absolute minimum possible to avoid killing NATO. They have a few 'palace guard' units (although the UK still maintains some real military formations)but that's it. If we were to pull any more of our forces out and tell the Allies "Hey, you gotta defend Europe now," they would panic...because there's nothing there to do it with.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/02/2010 8:25 Comments ||
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#5
A propos European self-defence, it's interesting how the missile shield is being viewed. From the [Irish] Independent:
A US MISSILE shield to deter an Iranian strike on southern Europe is on course to be activated as soon as next year amid growing gloom over international efforts to halt Tehran's suspected nuclear weapons programme.
The United States is close to activating a missile shield over southern Europe as part of its effort to shore up regional defenses in the face of a missile threat from Iran.
WASHINGTON - The top U.S. military officer says the Pentagon is trying to protect Afghans who may be at risk from Taliban retaliation following the publication of tens of thousands of secret war documents.
Item one in the docket against PFC Manning ...
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says the U.S. is duty-bound to try to shield informants who were named in the documents.
Taliban spokesmen have said that their organization will use the material to try to hunt down people whove been cooperating with what the Taliban considers a foreign invader.
The website WikiLeaks posted nearly 77,000 secret documents a week ago, leading to wide condemnation from U.S. officials.
Mullen was interviewed on CBS televisions Face the Nation and NBCs Meet The Press.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Thank God.
I wonder who directed the Pentagon to do this, or if they took it upon themselves.
#2
I wonder what US troops who are currently working with Afghans & trying to secure their cooperation think of the Wikileaks disclosures. Think it affects their morale?
#3
Maybe the Aussie troops could be tasked with taking care of those whose identities were revealed. At the end of their stint in the military, I'm sure they'd be real happy to stop by Ass-hang's house and have a little chat with him.
#4
IIRC, something like this happened in South Vietnam, also, and several hundred people were rounded up and shot after the South fell. The donks are doing everything in their power to turn Afghanistan into another Vietnam. If Manning really did "leak" the documents "outing" those Afghanis that are helping us, he should be hung with a slow rope. I hope there's a hacker out there that will take on Wikileaks and ensure it never works again.
Some people think we have too much classified material - including me. That doesn't mean it should be deliberately spread across the world on the Internet. When you put the lives of others in jeopardy, you need to pay a stiff price. There were enough clues available about Manning to know he shouldn't have been trusted with classified material. The Army needs to look into that part of this fiasco, and tighten up their rules.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/02/2010 12:43 Comments ||
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OP, I don't think the North Vietnamese were very particular about who they rounded up and shot in the south.
When I was at Navy OCS in 1970, there were a group of Vietnamese office candidates. They had special classes to teach them how to run the river boats, etc. I sometimes wonder how many of them are alive today. I remember hearing stories about how the Communists were rounding up any officers - and their wives - and shooting them.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/02/2010 22:13 Comments ||
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A SNIPER in the British Army submitted a legal challenge to the Ministry of Defence over a "catastrophic error" that put him and his family at risk of being kidnapped by al Qaeda.
The soldier received huge media coverage when it was reported he had shot dead several Taliban fighters at a range of 1.5 miles during his tour of Afghanistan.
The publicity, which he says he never agreed to, meant that police feared he could be the victim of a reprisal attack by British-based Islamists and he was forced to leave the country with his family.
He has now posted a "letter of claim" with the ministry, accusing it of failing in its duty of care to him by allowing his identity to become public, Britain's Sunday Telegraph has reported
The soldier was interviewed during a parade at his regiment's barracks. His story was picked up around the world and received millions of hits on the internet.
The solider claims he was given an undertaking by officials that his personal details would not be made public but that no such guidelines were detailed by Ministry of Defence media representatives present during the interview.
The letter of claim states: "Following the reporting of the story and the publication of our client's photograph and personal details, he and his family suffered acute distress and anxiety. It was described to our client by the press liaison officer as a 'catastrophic error.' This was also accepted later by the Media Operations team within the MoD."
The linked article is well written and should e-rinsed through Google Translate. Rewriting a summary...
For a map, click here
Structural problems with the Mexican Federal, state and local police apparatus has led the government of Mexican president Felipe Calderon to press ahead with the unique solution of using private security firms to enhance government organized crime fighting operations, according to a published report.
An agreement between the Mexican Federal Secretaria de Seguridad Publica (SSP) and Consejo Nacional de Seguridad Privada (CNSP) will add 40,000 people to the fight against crime, including guards, security escorts, investigators and some of the most advanced forensic equipment available.
The decision to go this route addresses several problems with the Mexican law enforcement system: poor education and next to no training, low pay, lack of intelligence standards among the several agencies, and physical limitations of the officers currently employed by the governments in Mexico.
The SSP also reports of 783,000 municipalities, 410,000 have less than 100 police.
Additionally 62 percent of those police are paid less than $4,000 pesos a month, while 68 percent do not even have a primary education. Also, 42 percent of municipal police are performing tasks for which they are considered too old because they are between 36 and 55 years old.
Obesity is a factor as well. Many of the gummen hired by gangs are between 18 and 24 years old. When street police respond to a shooting call they are less likely to deal properly with the situation than a younger officer. For example, the Mexican Distrito federal police officer has a ratio of 62 percent of officers who were between eight and 25 kilograms overweight. Snacking is an issue with police as well as with the population.
One official quipped: "An offender may escape our officers, but never a taco."
According to one officials seven of ten officers are unable to run longer than 100 meters.
Google Translate from a variety of Mexican news sources. For a map, click here.
The story is that in April the 16 year old son of Sinaloa Drug Cartel leader Ignacio Villareal, Alejandro Coronel, was murdered by the Beltran-Leyva Cartel.
Villareal's response was to immediately order a hit on the shooters responsible, which was done over several days in Jalisco and Nayarit, murders which included incinerating the victims.
In May, Clara Helena Laborin Archuleta, wife of Beltron-Leyva cartel boss Hector Beltran Leyva, was kidnapped in Sonora on orders of Villareal, but she was released a few days later unharmed.
In Mexico, unless you are a wealthy individual, a kidnapping is virtually a death sentence. But instead a message was left:
We are going to teach you to be men and respect the family, child murderer. Here is your wife, which you refused to answer, you lay it safely so you can see and learn that we see the family is sacred
Whether the details of the story are true or not, Villareal was known as the "King of Crystal" by the FBI and a danger to both Mexico and the United State, and so his end at the hands of the Mexican Army was fitting. He had been indicted in Texas and a warrant issued in Spring, 2003 for trafficking in crystal meth.
At the time of his death he was 56 years old. He was born February 1st, 1954 in Canelas, Durango. He was originally with the Juarez drug cartel operating under Amado Carrillo Fuentes until his death in 1997. After Fuentes' death he joined the Sinaloa Cartel. He eventually became Number Three in the organization.
Look at that -- they have Number Threes in Mexico, too! No wonder he was killed, it's the natural order of things.
Villareal normally operated out of Zapopan, Jalisco, where he eventually died.
In Zapopan, Mexican authorities were constantly raiding the area in search of Villareal, but were always coming up short, despite high profile events such as one of Villareal's sons killing two at a bar, and an arrest sweep in 2006 which yielded the arrest of five of his associates, jewelry and about $2 million in cash, but no Villareal.
In Zapapoan, Villareal kept to himself, associating with no one else except for a single lieutenant, Iranian born Francisco Quinonez Gastelum.
Iranian born? That seems odd.
He owned two homes in the area he used as safe houses which were stocked with weapons and cash. He also had safe houses in the Yucatan and Morelia, and in Durango.
Without saying in so many words, Mexican military authorities called the intelligence operation which pinpointed Villareal's location as "precision" meaning electronic means were used to find his hideout.
And about bloody time, too! What took them so long?
When the end came, elements of the Mexican Army cordoned off the area around his location. Apparently Villareal himself shot two Mexican soldiers as they closed in, killing one. His bodyguard, Gastelum, was captured armed with an AK-47 assault rifle. Inside the home military authorities found the $7 million in cash, nine rifles, seven handguns, two hand grenades and more than a thousand rounds of ammunition, as well as Villareal's personal laptop and cellphones and documents.
Published reports say Villareal's death and the intelligence find will put a large dent of crystal meth manufacturing and trafficking in the Mexican republic.
Chechnya's guerrilla chief and self-proclaimed "Emir of the Caucasus" Doku Umarov announced he was stepping down in a video posted on YouTube. "We have unanimously decided that I shall leave my post today," said the bearded rebel fighter who claimed to be behind the Moscow suicide attacks in March.
The new head of Islamist group "Caucasus Emirate" will be Aslambek Vadalov, who Umarov said was "younger and more energetic." But Umarov, 46, stressed that "this does not mean that I will withdraw from the jihad" and promised to do "all I can, in words and deeds," to help his successor.
#1
Supposedly he resigned 'for health reasons', but the article behind the title was blocked by our corporate filter. I'd like him to resign for the same health reasons as the Hussein boys.
PHOENIX - He's been at the center of the discussions and controversies surrounding illegal immigration enforcement in Arizona for quite a while.
On the day parts of Arizona's immigration law, SB 1070, went into effect, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is in the news for another reason: there's a price on his head - allegedly offered by a Mexican drug cartel.
The audio message in Spanish is a bit garbled, but the text is clear.
"It's offering a million dollars for Sheriff Joe Arpaio's head and offering a thousand dollars for anyone who wants to join the Mexican cartel."
A man who wants to remain anonymous says his wife received the text message Tuesday evening. It also included an international phone number and instructions to pass the message along.
"She showed it to me..I was kind of disgusted..I reported it to the Sheriff's department yesterday..they said they were going to direct the threat squad on it."
Lisa Allen of the Sheriff's office says they believe the message originated in Mexico. Although the Sheriff has received numerous death threats in the past, they believe this threat is credible because of its timing.
"Arpaio gets threats pretty routinely, but obviously with this heightened awareness of his role in the immigration issue we've got to take this one a little bit more seriously with a million dollar contract out on him," said Allen.
But she says what really concerns investigators is how quickly the message may have been spread. "It's going so many different places that our folks are looking at it and thinking well at any given point in time it could land in front of some crazy person who thinks I can do that."
As for Arpaio's reaction to the threat, "It's a little bit like water off a duck's back for him, but you never know if it's that sense of false bravado with him..you just can't read it, I'm sure he's concerned, I'm sure he's concerned for his family more than anything else," said Allen.
The Sheriff's office says investigators are trying to trace exactly where the text message came from, but because it did originate from an international number, that will be difficult too.
Remember all the guff from the progressive Left about how Rush and other conservative commentators were 'inciting violence' because of what they say? Turn around is fair play -- given all the nasty things said about Sheriff Joe by the progressive community, if anything happens to him I'm laying the blame at the feet of Nancy Pelosi, Eric Holder, etc.
#2
Assuming someone took them up on that, how the hell would they claim their bounty? I mean, the cops can't find the cartel and would you agree to a "secret meeting" with them to claim your million bucks? They would just as likely shoot you to save the million bucks.
I don't think they will find a lot of takers for their bounty. It would be too hard to collect.
#3
Ironically as all get out, it would be far more effective to offer a smaller bounty, one that the typical pendejo could wrap his brain around. $5,000 actually sounds bigger to them than $1m. Another irony is that a lot of them are no longer motivated by gold, because they have no experience with it, and no idea of what to do with it.
#6
Cyber Sarge the iraqi and the afghan kick the pink asses of your boloni sandwich raised moron army think of what the mexican will do to your MTV little soldiers expecially the females one
Julian Assange, the Australian founder of Wikileaks, has said he has been warned by "inside sources in the White House" not to return to the US as he could be arrested.
That's one way of solving the problem ...
The 39 year-old told journalists at the Frontline Club last night that US government insiders had informed him about discussions to charge him as a co-conspirator to espionage. The discussions were later dropped.
US government insiders are talking with Assange? Who, exactly, and who authorized them to do so? Assange is putting the lives of Americans and our friends at risk. We shouldn't be talking with him, we should be hunting him down.
Mr Assange says despite this he still fears he is at risk of being forcefully detained by the US government as a material witness in the prosecution of US intelligence analyst Bradley Manning.
Mr Manning, 22, was arrested in Baghdad in May and charged earlier this month with multiple counts of mishandling and leaking classified data, after a computer hacker turned him in.
In the United States an authority has the right to detain and hold a material witness for an indefinite period to ensure they give their testimony in a criminal investigation.
The Wikileaks founder said: "Today the White House put out a private briefing to reporters about Wikileaks and me and it quoted a section from an interview with me in Der Spiegel saying that I enjoy crushing --------.
"Somehow the White House finds that offensive.
"In terms of returning to the United States I don't know. Our sources advise from inside the US government that there were thoughts of whether I could be charged as a co-conspirator to espionage, which is serious.
"That doesn't seem to be the thinking within the United States any more however there is the other possibility of being detained as a material witness and being kept either in confinement or not being allowed to leave the country until the Manning case is concluded."
Again, who in the US government is talking with him? Names, please.
He also claimed that Bradley Manning is being held in a secluded facility in Kuwait which he says is like "a second Guantanamo Bay".
Sucks to be a traitor, huh ...
He also accused the US government of doing this to "hide" Mr Manning from effective civil representation.
He's a soldier. He'll get a military trial.
If convicted Bradley Manning, who is also awaiting court martial, faces a maximum of 52 years in jail.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
If convicted Bradley Manning, who is also awaiting court martial, faces a maximum of 52 years in jail.
Can someone explain why this traitor isn't facing a firing squad?
He should worry about being Killed, he pissed off alot of folks who don't pay any attention to laws.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/02/2010 1:27 Comments ||
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#3
According to Wikipedia, Wikileaks has published a 'poison pill' On July 29, 2010 Wikileaks added a 1.4 GB "Insurance File" to the Afghan War Diary page. The file is AES encrypted and has been speculated to serve as insurance in case the WikiLeaks website or its founder Julian Assange are incapacitated, upon which the passphrase could be published.[142]
#8
Hello Glenmoore,
Going to be hot all week at Ft. Meade. 90's for most of the week and dry. Maybe a shower or two Monday or Tuesday. The air conditioning will be running hard there. Few trees for cover.
#9
there's a lot of negative press out there painting wikileaks as putting US forces in danger.
But there is much to like about wikileaks. It protects sources with encryption.
In this bureaucratised world where the government tries to choke off all independent sources of information and tries to control what you know with spin, wikileaks is one of the few ways we will find out about the bad shit going on
wikileaks is very important.
I just wish the Chinese whistleblowers would discover the site and start posting classified documents... and the Russians, Iranians and North Koreans
then we would be well on the way to knowing what is really going on in the world
i'll put it this way: in Australia the Federal Gov ernment wants to censor the internet. IT wants to block Wikileaks. A document listing proposed sites for banning was leaked to... wikileaks.
communications minister Stephen Conroy said he would call in the australian federal police to hunt down the leak.
that is totally against the idea of democracy and freedom of speech - and it's happening in AUstralia.
we need more freedom of speech and protection of whistleblowers, not less.
otherwise we can win the war but lose our own country
#10
I just wish the Chinese whistleblowers would discover the site and start posting classified documents... and the Russians, Iranians and North Koreans
oh please. Why don't you get back on the hippie bus, smoke another joint and wonder what would happen if we had a war and no one showed up. (answer: women and children get raped and wealth pillaged)
Would we really benefit if your wish came true? Would you really like Iran, Al Qaeda, mobsters and crazy nuts next door to you had easy access to the secrets of the brave people who allow us to sleep soundly in our beds?
The reason we have a word called "civilization" is because it acknowledges that not everyone is good and is going to share their last apple with you when they are hungry. Thus we belong to and participate in families, tribes and nation states, with the idea that these associations will protect us against the harm that others wish to inflict.
So what next, should we out all of the undercover agents and set them up for mahem too? If you are such a big fan of open secrets, why don't you post your credit report, social security, bank accounts and favorite porn sites online If everyone did it, what could be the harm?
Posted by: Martini ||
08/02/2010 9:48 Comments ||
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#11
Wasn't it Winston Churchill who said the truth is so important it must be protected with a body of lies?
#13
He can't be a traitor if he's not American. Still his actions are the equivalent of a spy. Spy's are often shot or locked up for decades until a prisoner swap can be arranged.
The problem with the idea that Iran and company will have whistleblowers is the West is less likely to punish whistleblowers so our secrets are much more likely to be exposed. The constant chipping away of these sort of thing weakens us.
"But there is much to like about wikileaks. It protects sources with encryption."
So, it's important and praiseworthy for wikileaks to keep its own secrets, but also importan and praiseworthy for national defence secrets to be distributed freely to murderous enemies? Are you really so dense that you didn't see the contradiction here?
Evidently you are:
"I just wish the Chinese whistleblowers would discover the site and start posting classified documents... and the Russians, Iranians and North Koreans"
If Assange were Russian, he would already be in jail. If he were Chinese, he would already have gotten the proverbial noodle. If he were North Korean, he would simply have disappeared.
In fact, even from the safety of Australia, Assange would probably be afraid to publish Chinese and Nork secrets even if he had them. The same, of course, is true of Hezbollah and Hamas, though it's unlikely Assange would want to do anything to damage their interests.
#15
He is a traitor rjschwarz. Australian troops, including SAS operators, are fighting in Iraq. They and the usual sources special operators develop locally are both in danger from these revelations. Besides the direct damage done by these documents, what are the betrayed sources likely to reveal under torture once the Taliban have them? That may not even be necessary in many cases. How many will spill their guts from simple outrage that a two bit media droid could sell them out with impunity?
On the one hand, Assange and his murderous crew of hackers and homicidal geeks can assassinate dozens or hundreds of allied soldiers and Afghan patriots and get away scot-free. Indeed, they are rewarded with effusive praise and status from the degenerate media culture for their actions. It's not hard to imagine that there might be otherwise hard-to-get sexual privileges as well.
Otoh, any American or Australian patriot who chose to assassinate the bastard would become the object of the greatest manhunt in history, tracked to the ends of the earth by the full resources of either federal government and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
#18
The funny part is that this weener doesn't realize that by US law, federal marshals can hunt him down and kidnap him in foreign countries, and have done so to other villains.
Suddenly he would find himself in the loving care of say, a federal judge in Oklahoma, with a nickname like "Hanging John".
#19
The Russian mafia and its business fronts also have good reason to hate and fear Assange and his media-sponsored espionage ring. So far, they have had little luck in shutting him down, legally or otherwise, but with western authorities equally pissed at him, now might be the time for the Russians to act. They might well see it that way in any case.
It should also be noted that wikileaks receives legal support from such media organizations as such as the Associated Press, The Los Angeles Times, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association. source
#20
Traitor to Australians yes. I was being a bit American-centric there. Interesting how an Aussie and an American-Britt are at the center of this. Anglosphere has it's share of scum.
#21
With the Russians mightily pissed at Assange themselves, and now much less worried about offending the west, Assange might finally get the point; say, of a radioactive umbrella.
#22
I'd like to point out that there is *nothing* 'whistleblower' about this. These weren't 'whistleblower' documents.
These were ongoing classified documents in a time of war - the release of which will probably mean that a number of people will be killed - and killed dead. Not just Afghans but Americans and Australians.
There is nothing 'heroic' about Assange just as there is nothing 'heroic' about script-kiddies who spread computer viruses. The media and hollywood types may depict him as some sort of 'folk hero hacker type' - but to me
And you won't see Chinese or Iranian or North Korean or Russian's 'whistleblow' to wikileaks because, unlike here in the USA there won't be a worshipful talk show tour or book deal involved - the E-X-E-C-U-T-E you. Game Over Man!
Is the WH supporting them in this? Sounds like it or some people in the WH - how high does it go?
#23
Hey crazyfool cocksucker if you dont like the WH policies go to Africa. astard like you in time of war are seditious bastards and have to be executed Real American are tankful to mister Assange for exposing your dear American military incompetence
#25
Assange isn't anti-war. He's anti-US. He says he's anti-"capitalism" but somehow he's failed to take note that the world's most ruthless and larcenous capitalists are now in Russia, an authoritarian state with a massive, completely unchecked military and security apparatus that has slaughtered over 100,000 innocent Chechen civilians in a war whose brutality makes any recent US engagement look like a stroll in the park.
AFP - An elite US cyber team that has stealthily tracked Internet villains for more that a decade pulled back its cloak of secrecy to recruit hackers at a notorious DefCon gathering here Sunday.
Vigilant was described by its chief Chet Uber as a sort of cyber "A-Team" taking on terrorists, drug cartels, mobsters and other enemies on the Internet.
"We do things the government can't," Uber said. "This was never supposed to have been a public thing."
Vigilant is an alliance of slightly more than 600 volunteers and its secret ranks reportedly include chiefs of technology at top firms and former high-ranking US cyber spies. The group scours Internet traffic for clues about online attacks, terrorists, cartels and other targets rated as priorities by members of the democratically run private organization.
"Intelligence is a by-product of what our research is," Uber said. "Our research is into attacks, why they happen and how we can prevent them."
Vigilant shares seemingly significant findings with US spy agencies, and is so respected by leading members of the hacker community that Uber was invited to DefCon to recruit new talent.
Uber said that Vigilant came up from underground after 14 years of operation in a drive to be at "full capacity" by adding 1,750 "vetted volunteers" by the year 2012.
"We are good people not out to hurt anybody," Uber said. "Our one oath is to defend the US Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic."
#1
Article from Threat Level about Chet Uber's relationship with Adrian Lamo, who blew the whistle on Bradley Manning's claims of pilfering classified documents.
Lamo has admitted Uber was a 'crucial mover' in this. Uber said Lamo told him that Manning had used steganography the science of cryptographically hiding content within another file to send him the documents, and that they were hidden in either a movie file or a music file. Uber says he doesnt remember some of the exact details clearly as a result of a mini-stroke he suffered in the past. Lamo told Uber the documents had markings indicating they were classified and that they were a threat to national security.
#3
ION WAFF > YOUTUBE VIDEO > [Sam Solomon] ISLAMIC/MUSLIM MOSQUES ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY SCHOOLS, MILITARY BASES, SEATS OF GOVERNMENT, AND COURTS.
VIDEO > SOLOMON argues that Islam is a [Totalitarian] TOTAL SYSTEM ... RELIGION + LIFE [God + Govt-Politics + Civilization + Ordinary Human Struggle, etc.] are NOT SEPARATE ... THERE IS NO CONCEPT OF PERSONAL FREEDOM ... PEOPLE LIVE BY PRESCIPTION [NOT by Personal or Individual Choice].
and
* SAME > ATLAS SHRUGGED > [Congressional Candidate Viljay Kalmer] MUSLIM MOSQUE: A STATE WITHIN A STATE.
Chairman of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (UCPN-M) Prachanda has claimed that the nation would get the new prime minister in the third round of election to be held today.
Alternative headline: China to complete conquest of Nepal Real-Soon-Now ...
"The UCPN-Maoist would form the next government by coordinating with other political parties, if the parliament fails to elect the new PM on Monday [today]," Prachanda told journalists on after meeting with chairman of the Constituent Assembly Subash Chandra Nemwang.
According to yesterday's The Rising Nepal daily, the ongoing peace and constitution making processes were discussed at the meeting in addition to other contemporary issues.
"I asked Prachanda to expedite the constitution making process by ending the ongoing political deadlock," Nemwang was quoted by the daily as saying.
The Legislature Parliament is holding the third round of election today after it failed to elect new prime minister twice. Prachanda and Nepali Congress Vice President Ram Chandra Paudel are contesting the election.
Prachanda will ensure that there's no need for a vote ever again ...
The Communist Party Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal withdrew his candidacy in the first round of election saying that he failed to muster support from the two-thirds majority of parliament members.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2010 00:00 ||
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WASHINGTON: A small part of Pakistan does not share Talibans ideology and it is working to contain the threat posed by the group, said Pakistans Ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani said on Sunday.
Speaking on CNNs programme GPS, Haqqani said, The Pakistani intelligence services are working effectively to contain all terrorists, including Taliban from Afghanistan and Pakistan. He brushed aside WikiLeaks reports which suggested a link between the Pakistani intelligence services and Afghan Taliban.
Haqqani said that the military field reports made online from 2004 to 2009 are not reflective of what is happening today. Over the last two years Pakistan and the US have entered into a special collaborative relationship, he said.
Yup, 2010 is different than 2007. You can see the difference in the way the mighty Pak army has retaken control and driven out the Taliban. The Taliban are extinct, a figment of our imaginations.
Its not important right now from our perspective to dwell on the history. But lets be very clear that Pakistan does not share or appreciate the Talibans vision for Afghanistan or for Pakistan, he said. We want to make sure that we enter the 21st century as a modern Muslim and democratic nation and we do not wish for Afghanistan what we do not wish for Pakistan, he added.
Pointing out that WikiLeaks documents are obsolete, the ambassador said that US President Barack Obama, top US military official Admiral Mike Mullen and White House National Security Adviser James Jones have all said that what is happening today is very different from the WikiLeaks reports.
Which is why no one cares about Wikileaks ...
In reply to a question about Pakistan going after Afghan Taliban thought to be hiding in North Waziristan, Haqqani said the country would not allow any Taliban to gather there. North Waziristan is a part of sovereign Pakistan. There is no way we will let terrorists of any view or persuasion, whether originating from Pakistan or from other parts of the world or from our neighbouring countries congregate there, he said.
Except for Binny when he decides to travel there ...
However, he said Pakistan would go after the Taliban
who are extinct after all
only when it feels it can succeed militarily. He also said all those responsible for terrorism will be dealt with and no exceptions will be made, whether it is the Pakistani Taliban or the Afghan Taliban.
The envoy drew attention to the fact that Pakistan has faced more terrorist attacks than any other country, losing civilians and security personnel including senior military officers. He said Pakistan has lost 74 ISI officials and more than 250 have been injured. The Taliban are very clear that we are the enemy. Why should we lack the clarity that they are all our enemy, he said.
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08/02/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Doc, they aren't extinct - they aren't even covered by the Wildlife Protection Act. Well, maybe by the Pakistani WPA but not ours. Yet.
#2
Haqqani said that the military field reports made online from 2004 to 2009 are "not reflective of what is happening today". "Over the last two years Pakistan and the US have entered into a special collaborative relationship," he said.
Admission from the Pak GOVT that the Perv Govt helped/train the Taliban?
Relations between Britain and Pakistan have been strained since Mr Cameron bluntly suggested during a visit to India that its Islamic neighbour was responsible for exporting terrorism. relations were strained before that, otherwise Cameron wouldn't have said what he did
About a dozen protesters from the Islamist group Shababe Milli yesterday burned an effigy of the Prime Minister outside the Karachi Press Club, chanting "Down with Cameron." One placard read: "Cameron -- the loose mouth."
In London, Qaman Zaman Kaira, the Pakistan information minister, said that President Asif Ali Zardari will raise the issue during his official visit to Britain this week.
The developments came after it emerged that Lieutenant General Ahmed Shujaa Pasha, head of Pakistan security agency Inter-Services Intelligence, called off a trip to London planned for next week when he had been due to discuss security co-operation with British intelligence.
Mr Cameron said during his India trip that Pakistan must not be allowed to "promote the export of terror whether to India, whether to Afghanistan or to anywhere else in the world." in some Pak neighborhoods in Britain they have openly operating terrorist recruitment centers and the only thing Cameron thinks he can do about it is give a speech
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/02/2010 00:00 ||
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US President Barack Obama said this morning he would keep his campaign promise to end the country's combat mission in Iraq by August 31 and added that “a grateful America must pay tribute to all who served there.”
Remember, our nation has had vigorous debates about the Iraq War, Mr Obama said in a speech at the Disabled American Veterans national convention in Atlanta.
There are patriots who supported going to war, and patriots who opposed it. But there has never been any daylight between us when it comes to supporting the more than one million Americans in uniform who have served in Iraq - far more than any conflict since Vietnam.
Obamas pledge to end the US combat mission in Iraq comes despite increased violence and political tension there.
According to official figures, 535 people died in Iraq in July the highest figure since May 2008, according to The Wall Street Journal.
US and Iraqi officials say insurgents are attempting to take advantage of a five-month impasse in forming a new Iraqi government.
But Obama struck an optimistic tone saying violence is near the lowest its been in years and praising Iraqi troops for taking the lead in security in many parts of the country.
The president also expressed a commitment to the war in Afghanistan, saying: We will continue to face huge challenges But its important that the American people know that we are making progress and we are focused on goals that are clear and achievable.
We will disrupt, we will dismantle and we will ultimately defeat al Qaeda, he added.
#1
The Left's cut-and-run attitude, which started as soon as bullets started flying when the troops hit the ground, will hurt America through out the Middle East. The Soviet Block did not callopse because America cut and ran in Europe. We stood ground. A major strategic victory for Al Qaeda.
#3
CNN + FOXNEWS AM > the majority of their Guest Perts respect POTUS Bammer's desire to keep his Electoral promise, but also admit the AFGHAN = AFPAK GOVTS ARE NOT READY TO ASSUME FULL SECURITY + LEADERSHIP ROLES FROM THE US-NATO/COALITION AS PER EFFEC RESISTING THE ISLAMIST INSURGENCIES.
IOW, the LOCAL GOVTS are still UNSTABLE + RADIC ISLAM will only bide its time + take over, VIOLENTLY ANDOR ELECTORALLY, at the proper time after the US pullout.
* Lest we fergit, ISLAMIST FOCUS ON MAINLAND CENTRAL + EAST ASIA > NEW MANPOWER + ESPEC "FREE NUKES".
#5
DAILY TIMES.PK > AGHAN WAR ENTERING ITS DECISIVE PHASE. US Troops in Afghanistan approaching 100,000 mark, + CONTROL OF KANDAHAR is key to the US effort.
US SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM = US will be trouble iff there is NO PROGRESS come DECEMBER 2010.
#6
ION BHARAT RAKSHAK > {Wired.com] WIKILEAKS DOCS:US BATTLING MILITANTS FROM TURKEY ITS NATO ALLY?
ARTIC > WIKILEAKS > US troops fought alleged "Turkish" fighters in Fall 2007; + also captured a CACHE OF ALLEGED TURKISH $$$ inside a Militant compound in NOVEMBER 2009.
ARTIC AUTHOR believes that above alleged
"Turkish" linkas is highly subjective or dubious as it is possible that US-Coalition forces confused AFGHAN MILITANTS OF PAST TURKIC DESCENT/ANCESTRY WID CURRENT TURKISH/TURKIC CITIZENS-RESIDENTS WHOM HAD RECEN MIGRATED OR INFILTRATED INTO AFGHAN + AFPAK TO WAGE JIHAD.
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stressed during a meeting with a U.S. White House delegation on Sunday that the decision to form a new government would be purely Iraqi away from any foreign interferences, according to a statement by his office.
Prime Minister Maliki received today (Aug. 1) a White House delegation and had talks over bilateral relations between the two countries and means to activate the strategic framework agreements, read the statement as received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The delegation expressed the United States readiness to back the efforts exerted by the Iraqi political blocs to form a government, it added.
The political chessboard in Iraq has been experiencing non-stop differences among the key blocs that won seats in the March 2010 legislative elections over the premiership and the government formation, namely between Malikis Dawlat al-Qanoon (State of Law) and former Premier Iyad Allawis al-Iraqiya bloc.
Several parliament sessions were postponed while the set constitutional deadline to election a new speaker and a president of a republic was breached.
The elections saw al-Iraqiya winning 91 seats, followed by Malikis State of Law with 89 seats, the Iraqi National Alliance (INA), which comprises Ammar al-Hakims Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), Muqtada al-Sadrs Movement and Fadila (Virtue) Party, with 70 seats and the Kurdistan Alliance (KA) with 57 seats.
The results prompt coalitions of several parties to guarantee a required majority at the 325-seat parliament in order to form a government.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2010 00:00 ||
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Israeli President Shimon Peres left for Cairo early on Sunday where he was to hold talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the Middle East peace process, Peress spokeswoman said.
During the visit, the two will discuss the advancement of the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians and different levels of cooperation between Israel and Egypt, his office said in a statement.
The meeting was initiated by the Egyptian leader, who invited Peres for talks followed by a working lunch, it said. The two men last met in November.
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JERUSALEM - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has expressed concern over Turkey's appointment of a new spy chief he called a "supporter" of the Jewish state's archfoe Iran, army radio reported Sunday.
NATO should be just as concerned: the new spy chief could give Iran all sorts of information, and not just about Israel.
"Turkey is a friendly country, a strategic ally, but the nomination in recent weeks of a new chief of the Turkish secret services who is a supporter of Iran worries us," he told a meeting of his centre-left Labour party.
Barak added that the appointment could result in "the Iranians having access to secret information," in a recording of his remarks broadcast by military radio.
The Turkish official, Hakan Fidan, 42, was appointed to head the National Intelligence Organisation, known by its Turkish acronym MIT, on May 27 after serving as undersecretary for foreign affairs to the prime minister and representing Turkey at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The latter position placed him at the forefront of Turkey's efforts to resolve the international standoff over Iran's nuclear programme, according to the Turkish press.
Israel has viewed Turkey's efforts with suspicion, especially a deal brokered with Iran and Brazil in May that would have seen Iran ship some of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for high-enriched uranium. The deal was promptly rejected by other world powers, which backed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran on June 9 over its refusal to halt its controversial uranium enrichment programme.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
On the one hand, if secret information were leaked by Turkey to Iran, which the rest of NATO will be watching for like hawks, then Islamic Turkey proves our lack of trust in it correct.
Turkey would fail to get brought into Europe (definitely) and would also get side lined by NATO (possibly). Quite a lot would be at stake.
On the other hand, Iran with nukes is a proper threat. When the Iranian religious dictators and the poodle Iranian government have too much pride in their throat (especially with talk of military action from the Pentagon and Israel coming out every other day) this appointment may be a precursor to Iran swallowing that pride and backing down gracefully.
Posted by: Bacon in the Mosque horror ||
08/02/2010 8:33 Comments ||
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They're also building a border fence. Apparently they know something about border security that we in the US do not ...
JERUSALEM - Israel on Sunday approved new residency criteria that could result in the deportations of hundreds of children of migrant workers. The decision by Israels Cabinet represented a small step by Israel to clear up the status of thousands of foreign workers in Israel.
Under the decision, children of migrants whose parents entered Israel legally may remain if they are enrolled in school, speak Hebrew and have been here longer than five years.
An Israeli advocacy group, the Hotline for Migrant Workers, estimates 700 of 1,200 school-age children are at risk of deportation, along with their parents.
About 200,000 migrant workers live in Israel, mostly from the Philippines, China and Africa. About half have overstayed their visas, thousands for many years. Many have children who were born in Israel and know no other home.
Some Israelis complain that illegal migrants are taking jobs away from citizens. Others worry that the non-Jewish workers could upset the Jewish nature of the society.
At the Sunday Cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed with the critics. This is a tangible threat to the Jewish and democratic character of the state of Israel, he said.
In another step to limit the influx of foreigners, Israel is building a fence along its rugged 130-mile (200-kilometer) border with Egypt. Thousands of asylum seekers and illegal migrants cross the Sinai desert border every year, many guided by Bedouin trackers who live in Sinai. Netanyahu said the border fence would be completed by 2013.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2010 00:00 ||
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We could take a cue from Israel if anyone had any cojones and was not pandering to the Hispanic vote.
A week old but we didn't take sufficient note of the story.
Burma is working on a nuclear weapons programme, experts have concluded, after its existence was exposed by leaked photographs. Intelligence monitoring of the country's arms purchases from North Korea has been intensified as a result.
Satellite tracking and electronic surveillance in particular have been stepped up. Concerns over the regime's attempts to develop a nuclear bomb prompted the US State Department to demand last week that the ruling junta disclose an inventory of its nuclear technology.
How exactly do we plan to back up our demand?The world has figured out that there is no penalty for opposing Barack Obama ...
Secret documents and hundreds of photographs smuggled out of the country by a defector indicated that it was intent on developing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. Jane's Intelligence Review published a separate batch of photographs showing similar activities in buildings and behind security fences near the capital, Naypyidaw.
Fears that Burma had joined a clandestine nuclear network linking North Korea, Iran, Pakistan and Syria have been growing for some time, but there has not been hard evidence until now.
More than just those four countries, as A. Q. Khan demonstrated. What are the Saoodis doing in this? How about Malaysia?
Is Libya interested in getting back into the game? President Bush isn't around to give them nightmares any more...
Sai Thein Win, the defector, is an army major who trained as a defence engineer and missile expert. He said he had access to two secret nuclear facilities including a "nuclear battalion" north of Mandalay, "charged with building up a nuclear weapons capability".
Robert Kelley, an American former senior weapons inspector with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the evidence was the most compelling yet.
The photographs, which were passed to the Democratic Voice of Burma, part of the Burmese opposition, showed components built with German machine tools imported through Singapore, which Mr Kelley believed indicated "nefarious purposes".
They included a fluidised bed reactor that is used to turn a powdered form of uranium into a gas that can then be enriched to weapons grade. "They are either trying to make reactor fuel which they could buy for nothing from another country, or they are trying to make a weapon clandestinely," said Mr Kelley.
"There is just not much point doing that unless it is for a bomb."
Intelligence agencies are seeking to provide the IAEA with proof of a clandestine programme in the hope of a formal inquiry. Regular shipments of rocket platforms and missile technology between North Korea and Burma, as well as other clandestine links, are under scrutiny.
"There are strong suspicions over the contents of shipments, including a delivery of rockets within the last month," said one international nuclear expert.
Washington has told Burma's ruling generals that "they have international obligations we expect them to heed", a State Department official said. He said the Burmese relationship with North Korea was "something that we watch very, very carefully".
Oh great, another 'strongly worded statement'. That'll show 'em ...
Burma, which its generals have renamed Myanmar, has made clear its nuclear ambitions by agreeing terms with Russia for the sale of a light-water research reactor. But the deal is on hold after the generals refused to update its "small quantities protocol" with the IAEA, which exempts it from regular inspections.
The Burmese government has dismissed the latest claims as "accusations based solely on the fabrications of deserters, fugitives and exiles".
Mr Kelley, a veteran of inspections in Libya, Iraq and South Africa, said that the machines photographed by Win were all prototypes.
"The quality of workmanship is extremely poor and their expertise is poor. I am not saying that this is a nuclear weapons programme that is about to scare us tomorrow," he said. "What I am saying is the intent to build nuclear weapons is much more clear now."
Burma has signed a memorandum of understanding with North Korea to build Scud missiles, a conventional medium-range weapon. North Korea has also offered assistance with underground facilities and to develop missiles with a range of 1,860 miles.
So they're going to develop a nuke program and missiles to deliver nukes. Nothing to see here, move along.
It's practically a turnkey operation, now. It was only a few years ago that Israel destroyed Syria's, with North Korean engineers and scientists included.
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PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > COMMUNISM RETURNS TO BANGLADESH?
The Pakistan Defence Forum is behind the times, JosephM. A great many stories of the Rab involve communist miscreants, each with a criminal record as long as your arm.
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.
Chechnya's guerrilla chief and self-proclaimed "Emir of the Caucasus" Doku Umarov announced he was stepping down in a video posted on YouTube. "We have unanimously decided that I shall leave my post today," said the bearded rebel fighter who claimed to be behind the Moscow suicide attacks in March.
AFP - An elite US cyber team that has stealthily tracked Internet villains for more that a decade pulled back its cloak of secrecy to recruit hackers at a notorious DefCon gathering here Sunday.
