[Tolo News] A senior military official in Afghan Defence Ministry has said Afghan neighbours don't want Afghanistan to have a robust and strong army.
Deputy Defence Minister Inayatullah Nazari said neighbouring countries harm Afghan national army and refuse to let the forces grow strong enough to defend their country.
Mr Nazari said Afghan army has significantly increased in recent years.
Once again the hard boyz want Afghanistan to turn into a safe haven to terrorists, he said.
"There has always been efforts to stop the Afghan army develop a good capacity and strength," Mr Nazari said.
Around 142 cadets, including 22 women graduated from Kabul Military Training Centre and joined the Afghan army.
"Our respectful sisters and brothers voluntarily joined the Afghan army after completing their training period," the commander of Kabul Military Training Centre, Gen. Aminullah Patyani said.
The Afghan cops are expected to undertake full security responsibility by the end of 2014.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] President Karzai's National Security Advisor Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta, in an exclusive interview with TOLOnews, said the Taliban should be referred to as terrorists.
Karzai's National Security Advisor said that freedom of the media, women's rights and democracy that are the main gains of the Afghan government over a decade, should be seriously considered in peace talks with the Taliban.
The government's achievement over the past ten years should not be strained in the peace talks with the Taliban, Mr Spanta said.
The Afghan government is ready to hold peace talks with the Taliban, but the main achievements of the government including human rights ...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... , freedom of expression, parliamentary elections, presidential elections, freedom of the media and gender equality between men and women will be defended, he said.
Mr Spanta said the Taliban should accept the Afghan constitution as an initial precondition to peace talks.
"Based on the discussion I have had with the president, he also believes that the government achievements should not be harmed in the talks," he said.
The Taliban are snuffies and the Afghan media should also refer to them as snuffies rather than opposition or anti-government gang, he said.
"We are talking about terrorists, not opposition. And I want to say that it's dangerous that Afghan media replace their terminology with those used by foreign media sources," he said.
In response to a question about Pakistain's concern about Afghan-India strategic agreement, he said these relations would never endanger Pakistain's security and the Afghan government would never let any country, including India, to use Afghan soil against Pakistain's national interests.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2011 00:00 ||
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[Maghrebia] Dr Salwa Fawzi El-Deghali is a member of Libya's National Transitional Council (TNC), the body tasked with preparing a post-Qadaffy government. As chair of the Legal Advisory Committee, El-Deghali is intimately involved in the work of rebuilding a functioning government, re-establishing law and order and preparing for elections.
El-Deghali is also charged with documenting Muammar Qadaffy's ... Custodian of Wheelus AFB for 42 long years ... violent crackdown and alleged crimes against humanity and is preparing evidence on Qadaffy for the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... (ICC). Magharebia sat down with her in Benghazi to hear her side of the story.
Magharebia: What is your role in the National Transitional Council (NTC)?
Salwa El-Deghali: Our committee is in charge of putting together drafts for laws and rules regulating the transitional period. We are not writing a constitution. We have formed several sub-committees to discuss and solve the legal problems that are facing the council, due to the lack of political institutions.
Libya as a state suffered for 42 years from the lack of a constitution and political institutions. Thus when the regime collapsed in Benghazi, the council tried to regulate life and to face all the problems that resulted from the lack of such institutions.
Libya is not Tunisia or Egypt, which are different cases. After the victory of their revolutions they only need to change sections of the constitution, while we don't even have a constitution; it is the same with ministries and executive power. This phase is a period of transition awaiting the collapse of the regime and the rise of a new Libya. Then we will have to form a constituent assembly that will set the constitution, and after that we will create ministries according to that constitution.
Magharebia: What are the roles of the committees within the NTC?
Deghali: The legal committee, for instance, is in charge of documenting the statutory crimes, in order to press charges before the International Criminal Court later. In fact we work closely with the ICC and we will send to the court, very soon, all the evidence gathered by our committee that gives priority to documenting crimes committed by the regime for the period starting on February 17th. Then the committee will move to the second step of its work and will start documenting the crimes of the regime before that date. In this regard, we collaborate with foreign human rights ...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... organisations and institutions who documented Qadaffy's crimes before February 17th.
We also created another committee specialising in cases of prisoners and mercenaries. This committee is chaired by Judge Marwan Torshani and is making massive efforts. After all the work done in Benghazi, the members of the committee moved to Misrata and cities of the western mountains.
Magharebia: What are your plans for creating a Libyan constitution?
El-Deghali: After we liberate the whole country from the regime, we will form a national assembly. I personally hope we will resort to elections although the situation in the country will definitely be a problem. If the assembly can't be elected, we will put a number of skilled and expert people in charge of selecting the members of the assembly.
Magharebia: What about using Libya's former constitution?
El-Deghali: The former constitution was Libya's first and it contained some general rules shared by other constitutions, such as the laws regulating the rights and freedom of individuals. Therefore, we will keep working within the same general framework when writing the future constitution, nonetheless we will try to give Libya a modern shape and therefore the constitution will involve new rules and laws adequate to the new phase and the new state.
Magharebia: What are your thoughts on the blossoming of new political groups?
El-Deghali: Recognising the right of others to have their own opinion is a healthy sign, and diversity is a healthy atmosphere. Thus, we shouldn't just accept two, three, or just one opinion. Everyone has the right to have their own idea or inclination; what really matters is that this stays within the general rules of the state.
So far, no political parties were created; you can only find civil society institutions, which we really praise in opposition to the former regime that was rejecting those organisations using the highly unpopular law 19. We know that Libya is currently in the state of labour but we stay confident that Libyans will be able to get through this. We have trust in the youth and I personally imagine a wonderful Libya led by these young people.
Magharebia: Would you like to add anything?
El-Deghali: I hope that Libyans will be confident that they can go through this phase, which is definitely lasting too long, but Qadaffy bets on time and Libyans should understand that he is procrastinating in order to make the people in the liberated areas lose patience. This is an old lousy trick and Libyans should stay confident.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] UN Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon warns that the humanitarian crisis is worsening in Libya as attempts to secure a ceasefire in the North African state have failed. Didn't we intervene to prevent precisely that?
In an interview with AFP in New York on Thursday, Ban said the United Nations ...an international organization whose stated aims of facilitating interational security involve making sure that nobody with live ammo is offended unless it's a civilized country... ' special envoy to Libya Abdul Ilah al-Khatib has been "working very hard," but efforts to persuade Libyan ruler Muammar Qadaffy to declare an immediate and verifiable ceasefire were not making any progress.
"In view of the deteriorating humanitarian situation, the crisis is getting worse," the UN chief warned.
Ban also expressed concerns over the situation in Libya's besieged western city of Misratah, where hundreds have been reported killed.
"The situation is getting very bad," he said.
The remarks come as the United Nations is holding negotiations with the Libyan regime, the revolutionary forces and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants... to halt the fighting in the North African country and deliver humanitarian aid to civilians.
The UN humanitarian coordinator for Libya Panos Moumtzis said on Wednesday that he would hold talks with the Libyan regime on Friday, during which he would ask the Tripoli government to provide security for UN aid workers to access Misratah.
The humanitarian crisis has been aggravating in Misratah, as the lone way to dispatch food and medical supplies to residents through the city's port has been blocked by pro-Qadaffy forces.
The UN was forced to pull its international staff out of the Libyan capital city of Tripoli on May 1, when its offices came under attack by people outraged at the killing of Qadaffy's youngest son in one of NATO's air strikes.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2011 00:00 ||
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For critics of the Obama administration's decision to bypass Congress before taking military action in Libya, Friday is judgment day.
May 20 is the 60-day deadline for President Barack Obama to get congressional authorization under the War Powers Act, prompting outrage among a bipartisan group of lawmakers who believe that the president is breaking the law. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and five of his GOP colleagues sent a letter to Obama, demanding an answer.
"There is a law. It's on the books, and in plain reading of the War Powers Act, he appears to be in violation of the War Powers Act," Paul told CNN.
"To me it's the most important debate we'll ever have up here," Paul added. "If we're going to send someone, your son or my son to war, its important that it be done properly. And it's important that, if there are constitutional restraints, we obey them."
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) was just as emphatic, telling The Huffington Post, "[t]he War Powers Act is the law of the land, and it is clear. You must withdraw forces from hostilities after 60 days absent authorization from Congress. President Obama should seek authorization for the Libya operations and Congress should debate and vote. Our efforts to bring democracy to Libya should not undermine democracy and the rule of law in the United States.”
The president sat with his body tensed, one hand gripping the side of his chair, the other clutching his chin, like a stoic enduring punishment.
The most powerful politician in the world was being lectured by the Israeli prime minister in his own home, his own office.
Barack Obama's officials looked slightly sick as Benjamin Netanyahu quietly and deliberately unleashed a tour de force against the leader of the country that is Israel's best friend in the world.
He set out with utmost clarity his objections to the president's plans for peace and the obstacles to any deal.
Mr Obama hadn't even repeated, in front of the assembled media, his subtle shift of policy, in which he called on Thursday for a future Palestinian state to be based on the borders of 1967, before the Six Day War. He was bland, assuring friendship.
I was going to inline this one but Ace does a good job taking it apart, and the NRO has a superb analysis as to why this is bad for Israel, and the US.
I would love to see former presidential speechwriter Peggy Noonan tear into this, but her piece in the Wall Street Journal today contained only musings about Newt Gingrich, Doninique Strauss-Kahn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Perhaps she turned it in well ahead of deadline, and we'll get something from her about her erstwhile hero next week.
[Al Jazeera] Barack B.O. Obama, the US president, has laid out his vision for the Middle East and North Africa during a key speech in Washington.
On the issue of Paleostine, Obama said: "The borders of Israel and Paleostine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognised borders are established for both states.
"The Paleostinian people must have the right to govern themselves, and reach their potential, in a sovereign and contiguous state.
"As for security, every state has the right to self-defence, and Israel must be able to defend itself -- by itself -- against any threat."
Israeli reaction
Reacting to the address shortly afterwards, Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said a Paleostinian state should not be established at the "expense of Israeli existence". He appreciated the US president's address but rejected any withdrawal tp "indefensible" 1967 borders.
Al Jizz's Nisreen El-Shamayleh, reporting from Jerusalem, said: "In different parts of his speech Obama shifted from a view closer to the Israeli approach to negotiations and at other times closer to the Paleostinian approach.
"He supported the Paleostinian's idea of territorial contingency -- meaning that the Israelis would have to withdraw from some of the settlement blocks in order for the Paleostinian state to be viable and enjoy that contingency.
"He also talked about settlement construction had to stop. That is obviously another thing the Paleostinians would like to hear from Obama.
"Obama more importantly talked about the status quo and how it was unsustainable. That is bad news for [Binyamin] Netanyahu [the Israeli prime minister].
"On the other hand, Obama supported other approaches of the Israelis that they share in common.
"In that Jerusalem will be discussed later ... refugees will be discussed later ... the Paleostinian state has to be demilitarized ... Israel must enjoy security."
Obama's speech came a day ahead of a visit to Washington by Netanyahu.
On Thursday, the Israeli interior ministry requested and received the approval of Netanyahu's office ahead of his US visit to begin holding hearings on an additional 1,550 housing units in the settlements of Har Homa and Pisgat Ze'ev, both located beyond the 1967 borders.
Obama must take "concrete steps" not issue "slogans," the Paleostinian Hamas movement said on Thursday following the president's speech.
Hamas response
"What Obama needs to do is not to add slogans but to take concrete steps to protect the rights of the Paleostinian people and the Arab nation," said Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas front man.
During his address to the US state department on Thursday, Obama said Bashir al-Assad, the Syrian president, must either lead his country through a democratic transition or "get out of the way".
Obama said Syria's brutal crackdown on pro-reform activists was unacceptable.
He said Assad could no longer rule through repression and must change course if he wants international acceptance.
More than 850 people are believed to have been killed in two months of unrest in Syria.
Obama's speech came a day after he imposed sanctions on Assad and six other officials for human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... abuses during the crackdown.
The president said two leaders in the region had stepped down and that more may follow. The president also said the future of the US was bound to the region.
Iran 'meddling'
Turning to Bahrain and Yemen, Obama said: "We must acknowledge that our friends in the region have not all reacted to the demands for change consistent with the principles that I have outlined today.
"That is true in Yemen, where President [Ali Abdullah] Saleh needs to follow through on his commitment to transfer power. And that is true, today, in Bahrain.
"We have insisted publically and privately that mass arrests and brute force are at odds with the universal rights of Bahrain's citizens, and will not make legitimate calls for reform go away.
"The only way forward is for the government and opposition to engage in a dialogue, and you can't have a real dialogue when parts of the peaceful opposition are in jail.
"The government must create the conditions for dialogue, and the opposition must participate to forge a just future for all Bahrainis."
The president also said that Iran had "tried to take advantage of the turmoil there".
Al Jizz's Alan Fisher, reporting from Cairo, said the speech basically translated to "democracy good, repression bad".
"He slapped a few American allies, saying if people want change you can't stand in the way," Fisher said.
Economic investment
Addressing the death of the late Osama bin Laden ... who was potted in Pakistain... , the president said the al-Qaeda leader was a mass murderer, not a martyr, whose ideas were being rejected even before he was killed.
Turning to Libya, he said: "In Libya, we saw the prospect of imminent massacre, had a mandate for action, and heard the Libyan people's call for help.
"Had we not acted along with our NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants... allies and regional coalition partners, thousands would have been killed."
Obama also laid out a major economic initiative in the Middle East to encourage democratic change in the region, beginning with Tunisia and Libya.
The president said the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a US government agency, "will soon launch a $2bn facility to support private investment across the region".
"And we will work with allies to refocus the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development so that it provides the same support for democratic transitions and economic modernisation in the Middle East and North Africa as it has in Europe," he said,
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
What is the meaning of the "based on the 1967 lines?"
Is Obama calling for Egypt to return at least a significant part of Sinai to Israel?
#2
I think he means the day before the Six Day War, not the day after.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/20/2011 1:17 Comments ||
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#3
I think I forgot to add a /sarc tag.
On a serious note, this is a prepared speech concerning an extremely sensitive and contentious matter. There's no excuse for using imprecise language here.
/sarc
Maybe Netanyahu should officially declare that Israel has no intention to follow Obama's suggestion to reoccupy the Sinai peninsula.
/sarc
#5
That relationship may not last with me.
It is my decision.
Posted by newc
------------------------------------
Packing your bags should be your first decision....
"KICK ROCKS"
#6
Newc, you fought for the noble principles that the founders of this country stood for. You will vanquish the domestic enemies of those principles. Totally and completely.
#8
Obama's speech is getting zero resonance in the Arab world and the Moslem world.
This shouldn't come as a surprise to Obama since anything other than complete submission isn't good enough. But it will surprise him anyway.
Is it possible that Obama and his advisers will now become Rantburg-like Islamorealists. Possible but doubtful. They will probably start immediately working on Obama's third Moslem world speech and think about more ways to say 'we respect you', 'we love you' etc.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
05/20/2011 7:28 Comments ||
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#9
I would not be surprised if Zero is following the template of pretty much all world leaders since 1967 - sacrifice (or at least minimize support for) Israel so as to keep that Muslim oil flowing, as that oil is the only thing preventing total implosion of Western economies.
#10
Israel will do what it always does.
Smile, say "interesting idea" and wait for the next US president.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
05/20/2011 9:33 Comments ||
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#11
EC. Won't be that simple. Hussien has given the enemies of Israel the green light. That the only super power will be more in their corner. They will try in every way to capitalize on that initiative as much as possible before the next election. That is one of the key messages Hussien sent out to the enemies of Israel.
He opens the piece with I expect the president is going to be flabbergasted at the angry response to his speech today from friends of Israel. I think he thought he had given the most pro-Israel speech of his life.
Why? Because of this line: “Too many leaders in the region tried to direct their people’s grievances elsewhere. The West was blamed as the source of all ills, a half-century after the end of colonialism. Antagonism toward Israel became the only acceptable outlet for political expression.” This acknowledgment of the use of Israel as a two-minute-hate object for the Arab street by the region’s dictators was surprising and remarkable.
And closes with Given what he probably truly believes of Israel in his heart, his acknowledgment of its utility as a scapegoat, its security concerns, its right to determine its own future, and the problems raised by the Fatah-Hamas agreement surely seemed like the height of generous good feeling. And you should expect that interpretation any minute now from his Jewish apologists.
The president's Jewish apologists, not to mention his non-Jewish ones, seem very slow off the mark on this subject, other than the New York Times... but the NYT has moved into its own, extra-specially special category.
#13
Zenobia
I don't expect much from those so-called "Arab revolutions". The islamists will benefit in the end.
And the next President will have other priorities than stabbing the only democracy in the Middle East in the back.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
05/20/2011 10:42 Comments ||
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#14
@trailing wife
The dangerous backside of this argument is: Just remove the "scapegoats" and the Arab world will turn into a democratic wonderland.
It's not going to happen. Arab countries should thank Allah every day for the fact that Israel exists. Without Israel, they'd be at each others throat.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
05/20/2011 10:48 Comments ||
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#15
Tribes, EC.
I think Margaret Meade said something about civilization being the movement away from tribes.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/20/2011 12:45 Comments ||
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#16
LOL a Saudi troll calling for ACLU.. that's almost funny.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
05/20/2011 14:15 Comments ||
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#17
"Bambi really is completely stupid, or is deliberatly trying to destroy Israel."
No reason it can't be both, Darth. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/20/2011 17:23 Comments ||
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#18
1) I suppose Colonel West who stood up for Good over Obama's Evil is not an African American person? Or
2) JUSTINE is your typical ignorant leftist who 10 seconds into the facts start panicking and tries to use the old worn out race card.
#19
JUSTINE is your typical ignorant leftist who 10 seconds into the facts start panicking and tries to use the old worn out race card.
Even more exciting than that, Deadeye Shaiter9373. The lad is a genuine Saudi writing from the homeland itself. He visits Rantburg on his weekend, when he gets to stay up late because he doesn't have school the next day. This is the first time he's tried the race card -- yesterday he was all for converting us to Islam so we wouldn't be tormented in hell, but that wasn't as effective as he hoped.
#22
When Germany gets its 1936 borders back and millions of decedents of displaced Prussian and Silesian Germans get the 'right of return' to their lands and property. Losing wars have consequences.
If the Israeli's had *lost* the 1967 war - would the jews be granted the 'right of return'? How about return to the previous borders?
No - they would have been 'put to the sword' - men, women, and children. Its been done before - by Mo himself no less! So its practically a holy command from Allah.
It's real hard to grant the dead the right of return.
The whole reason of the Palieos (who did not exist before as a people) and the refugee camps and all the rest -- is to win for Syria and the others Islamic states what they could not win on the battlefield - the eventual destruction of Israel and the murder of all of her people.
No country wants to deal with the three widows and nine children of Osama bin Laden.
Right now they are in protective custody in Islamabad.
Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik had formally requested Saudi Arabia to accept Osama's family during a visit to Riyadh, according The Herald Tribune. The Saudis rejected this request, saying that Osama had been stripped of his Saudi citizenship more than 15 years ago.
"We don't want his kind round here, nor his kind of descendents, neither!"
Osama was born in Saudi Arabia and his extended family stand among the Kingdom's most powerful people.
Yemen also refused to accept custody of Amal Abdulfattah, one of the three widows of Bin Laden and her five children.
"We got problems of our own, got no room for an unlettered widow-woman and her passel of brats."
YOU go through life with the name, Abdulfattah, and see what it gets you...
#2
Was this posted by TW? I ask because of the headline.
Anyway, I believe this is rank hypocracy on the part of Pakistan. They were willing to shelter Bin Laden knowing he was guilty, but they want to pretend to be all righteous by punishing people for being related to him.
Lawrence forgot that Zia sponsored the formation of the Madrassahs that are the breeding ground for the nutjobs they and we fight.
Oh well, everywhere in the world, its our fault as usual. The international boogie man.
We should pull the plug on the whole danged thing. And remind Pakistain that if one nuclear weapon ever goes off in the US, we will nuke them into a vast glass lake and turn the whole thing over to India to use as a skating rink.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/20/2011 10:08 Comments ||
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#2
Looks like we chose the wrong country to invest in post WW2
[Iran Press TV] Soddy Arabia is set to close its key consulate in Pakistain's largest city of Bloody Karachi following an attack that left a Saudi diplomat dead earlier this week.
All the staff members, along with their families, would be sent back to their country amid ongoing threats, security officials told Press TV on Thursday.
The staffers of the consulate have been moved to a local hotel in the Pak city after unknown gunnies killed a Saudi diplomat on Monday.
The recent liquidation marks the second offensive on Saudi interests in the southwestern city in less than a week.
In another incident, the Saudi consulate came under a grenade attack on May 11, which left no damage or casualties.
Pak officials say the attack was a possible reaction to the US killing of al-Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden. ... who has won the race to that place where we all eventually end up... On May 1, US President Barack B.O. Obama announced that former al-Qaeda leader bin Laden was killed by US forces in at his hideout compound near Pak capital city of Islamabad.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
All that Saudi funding in Pakistan is coming back to bite them.
They have funded the Frankenstein they call Pakistan
[Dawn] A Pakistain provincial government on Thursday ordered an inquiry into the killing by security forces of five Chechens, including three women, after media said they had been unarmed.
The group was killed this week, with authorities saying they were al-Qaeda-linked jacket wallahs.
CCPO Quetta claimed on Thursday that the Chechens died due to an kaboom and not by gunfire, DawnNews reported.
Militants have stepped up attacks in Pakistain after the killing of al Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden ... who used to be but now ain't... by US special forces in the northwestern town of Abbottabad on May 2.
Last week, 80 people were killed in twin suicide kabooms at a paramilitary academy in the northwestern town of Charsadda.
On Tuesday, the paramilitary Frontier Corps and police bumped off five Chechens near a security checkpoint on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, saying explosives were strapped to their bodies and they were attempting to attack government forces.
But the media raised doubts over statements by security forces, with television footage showing a maimed woman waving her hand in the air before her death.
The daily Dawn on Thursday quoted witnesses as saying that the suspects were unarmed, had put up no resistance to the security forces and appeared to be about to surrender.
"The chief minister has ordered an inquiry after media reports raised doubts about the whole incident," a provincial government front man told Rooters, referring to the head of the province.
Two officials of a bomb disposal squad which searched the bodies after the shooting told Rooters that they found no explosives strapped to the bodies of the Chechens.
"They were unarmed and had no suicide jackets or explosives with them," one of the officials said.
"Five valid and two expired Russian passports were found in a ladies' handbag lying with the bodies," the second official said.
A witness earlier this week said the five had got out of a vehicle and were chased by police before they were shot.
Pakistain's commitment to fighting militancy has come under intense scrutiny after discovery of the al Qaeda chief near a military academy in the military town not far away from Islamabad.
Pakistain's tribal areas along the Afgfhan border has been described as a global hub for bad turbans, including Arabs and Chechens inspired by Al Qaeda.
A decade after federal forces drove separatists out of power in Chechnya in the second of two wars, the North Caucasus are plagued by near-daily violence, where rebels want to carve out a separate Islamic state with Sharia law.
While Chechnya now rests on a shaky peace, neighbouring regions are at the heart of a growing insurgency.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] UN Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon says leaders of Arab countries that faced uprisings should make concessions to their people who demand freedom.
Golly. Now that's a strong statement of principle, the kind of leadership so often lacking in previous senior executives of the United Nations.
"Why I have been troubled in the last several months is that leaders in the region have come out always too late, too little," Ban said in an interview with AFP.
...He speaks after those leaders have done their thing. Is Secretary General Ban trying to be a stereotype, or does it come naturally?
He referred to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Libya and hoped for an immediate and verifiable ceasefire in that country.
The UN chief said that his special envoy to Libya, Abdul Illah al-Khatib, has been "working very hard" but he has not succeeded in convincing Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy ... a proud Arab institution for 42 years ... to compromise.
Ban said he was very concerned about Misratah, under siege from Qadaffy forces for more than two months where hundreds have been killed.
"The situation is getting very bad," he said.
Leaders confronted by the Arab spring uprisings must make concessions to have any hope of "winning the hearts and minds of people," he said.
"If you look at all the situations happening across the Arab world and North Africa, there is one common desire: that is genuine freedom.
"People have been oppressed under authoritarian rule for the past three or four decades. Now they believe that it is high time for rights to be respected and their aspirations to be heard," Ban said.
Arab leaders must listen more closely to the "aspirations and challenges" of their own people, he said, adding that "they can resolve this, they can give greater freedom and liberty to these people."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2011 00:00 ||
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Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was quick on the draw Thursday in voicing clear displeasure with President Barack B.O. Obama's mideast policy speech.
"Israel appreciates President B.O.'s commitment to peace," the response began, curtly. "Israel believes that for peace to endure between Israelis and Paleostinians, the viability of a Paleostinian state cannot come at the expense of the viability of the one and only Jewish state."
"That is why Prime Minister Netanyahu expects to hear a reaffirmation from President B.O. of U.S. commitments made to Israel in 2004, which were overwhelmingly supported by both Houses of Congress."
"Among other things," Netanyahu reminded Obama, "those commitments relate to Israel not having to withdraw to the 1967 lines which are both indefensible and which would leave major Israeli population centers in Judea and Samaria beyond those lines."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: PLO
#1
"Israel Expects Obama to Take Back '1967 Lines' Demand"
#2
Zero's statement is not diplomatic in phrasing, but no different in principle from what has been said for years: the key words are "based on" - and the CURRENT borders are based on the 1967 borders. Israel gave back the Sinai, the chunk of Lebanon it captured, and granted quasi-autonomy to Gaza and most of the West Bank. What did they get in return? Rocket attacks, bus bombings, soldier kidnappings and non-stop verbal threats from almost the entire world.
What makes the statement especially ironic is that it comes from Pres. B. 'We Won' Obama - you'd think he'd understand victories (and defeats) have consequences.
#5
IIRC ISRAELI = LIKUD? MKS are calling on Benji + Govt. to formally annex Judaea + Samaria, or select towns therein, + this was before POTUS Bammer gave this new speech.
Lest we fergit, PALEOS = desire their own PA-CONTROLLED HIGHWAY CONNECTING THE WEST BANK + GAZA, + other "economic roads" to Jordan + Lebanon, which the IDF militantly opposes.
AFAIK the PA then, or now under HAMAS, has not abandoned that agendum, hence there is no reason for Tel Aviv to expect other under the Bammer's favored, back-to-the-future of "1967" schema.
Again, there is no reason for Israel to accept this "1967" schema unless it is the US intent to be wholly responible [guarantor]for both Israel + PA State, Econ security - THE FED + US TAXPAYERS CAN KISS ANY TWO-OR-MORE TRILYUHN INCREASE TO THE US DEBT CEILING GOODBYE JUST ON "1967" ALONE.
The Bammer Admin. + US Congresscritters will have to raise the US Debt Ceiling by $4.0Trilyuhn just to hope to par wid other non-Israel-PA $$$ obligations.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has accused Western countries of plotting to "cause drought" in Iran by using high tech equipment to drain the clouds of raindrops
Moments after the Iranian president made the startling claim at the inauguration of a dam in a central province, it started to rain.
"Western countries have designed plans to cause drought in certain areas of the world, including Iran," Mr Ahmadinejad said in the city of Arak in Markazi province.
"According to reports on climate, whose accuracy has been verified, European countries are using special equipment to force clouds to dump" their water on their continent, he said.
By doing so, "they prevent rain clouds from reaching regional countries, including Iran," Mr Ahmadinejad charged.
Iran has experienced several droughts in recent years.
Mr Ahmadinejad also recalled an article by "a Western politician," whom he did not identify, in which "droughts in some regions spanning from Turkey and Iran to east of Asia are predicted for the next 30 years."
"The regions (referred to in) the article ... include countries whose culture and civilisation frighten the West," Mr Ahmadinejad said in support of his argument.
#1
Yokay, I'm curious, is Moud trying hard not to say = confirm that the desertification affecting China + Central Asia is occurring in already arid Iran???
* PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUM > CHINA ADMITS TO DOWNSIDES OF THREE GORGES DAM PROJECT.
* VARIOUS BLOGGERS = [one of] effects of US Scalar SuperWeapon HAARP???
Asharq Al-Awsat- One of the neighbors of Dr Nasser Mari, who was accused by the Syrian authorities of declaring an Islamic emirate in the city of Tall Kalakh on 12 May, told Asharq Al-Awsat that "Mari himself was surprised by the news." The neighbor added: "I know the man as a neighbor, and he is a surgeon who was the manager of a hospital, and was tossed in the calaboose one and a half years ago and remained in jail for a long time and was tortured and kept away from the world for the charge of treating one of the smugglers. He was freed only a few days ago and was immediately accused that he declared an Islamic emirate, and under this pretext, an attack was launched on the city's residents and all the neighboring villages and the city was bombarded by artillery and tanks under the alleged pretext of "purging the city of the Salafists." ...Salafists espouse an austere form of Sunni Islam that seeks a return to practices that were common in the 7th century. Rather than doing that themselves and letting other people alone they insist everybody do as they say and they try to kill everybody who doesn't... The man who arrived in the area of Al-Buqayah, in Leb, after fleeing from Tall Kalakh along with his family said that he does not know what happened to Dr Mari whom he described as "a secular and unreligious man and does not have anything to do with Salafism or the Islamists, and does not even practice his religious duties." He added: "The man left prison sick and remained at home, and when the incidents started, we were no longer able to communicate with him, and it is inconceivable how he can within days do such action of such seriousness and to have ministers and a radio station."
Those who decamped from Tall Kalakh to northern Leb know Dr Mari, and it is clear that he is a well known man in the city and is described by the refugees as "a straight and respectable man." They say that his wife is a gynecologist, and he has a son who is a physician in La Belle France. The refugees are surprised by what is said about him that he is a across the border smuggler of diesel. More than one group of Tall Kalakh residents, with whom we spoke, emphasized that "Dr Mari was put in jail on false charges during a fierce campaign against the residents launched by the Syrian authorities in the city one and a half years ago, following which hundreds of residents were imprisoned, and 250 of them are still considered missing and their families do not know anything about them."
One of the refugees, who was surrounded by 20 Syrian citizens and who agreed with him, said: "There is an old vengeance between the authorities and the people of Tall Kalakh, which is a city that is just 1.5 kilometer away from Wadi Khalid, in Leb, and the goods have been moving across the border between the two countries in an illegitimate way for long years, and this is something that the residents do, as well as the regime's thugs and some of those who are protected [by the regime]. One and a half years ago, the authorities decided to punish the unprotected smugglers in order to leave this business for the influential persons alone. A broad arrest campaign was launched in the city, which included raids and manhunt, following which Tall Kalakh lived a state of strong tension, and since then the city was having a bad relationship with the authorities." The man added: "As for Dr Mari, all that he did was that he treated a 16 year old boy who works in the field of smuggling glass after he was hit by gunfire when he was being chased. Following this, Dr Mari was tossed in the calaboose and tortured, and remained in jail like the hundreds who were tossed in the calaboose at that time. We were then surprised by the talk we heard in the media about an Islamic emirate, which was said that he is its amir."
While touring the area of Wadi Khalid and saw hundreds of refugees, we noticed that there was not a single bearded man. Even the old men who are in their 80's are shaved, and this is something noteworthy that is different from what we see in Leb, and the refugees do not have any Islamic or Salafist features. As for women, no one of those whom we saw was wearing black clothes that cover her face , and all we saw were women whose faces are uncovered and were putting on clothes of Mohammedan farmer women with the head scarves that is known all over the Cham states.
Media reports quoted Syrian sources on 12 May as saying that "the man called Nasir Mari has announced an Islamic emirate in Tall Kalakh and has appointed defense and finance ministers for it, and established a radio station that speaks in his name." The sources said that the Syrian authorities are working to dismantle this emirate. Hours after broadcasting the report, the Syrian Army began to besiege the city and bombard it using tanks and artillery. This has come one day after the announcement that "President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... has made tough instructions banning the security forces from opening fire on the demonstrators."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] Syria has condemned the imposition of sanctions on its president by the United States as being "part of a regional scheme, aimed primarily at serving Israel's interests", state media reports.
The Syrian government said that the sanctions "have not and will not" affect any of its decisions, nor would it affect Syria's stand on regional and international politics, the SANA news agency reported on Thursday.
The United States imposed sanctions a day earlier on Bashir al-Assad, the Syrian president, and six bigwigs, citing alleged human rights ...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
abuses committed during a government crackdown on pro-democracy protests across the country.
Syria has termed the move an attempt to "prolong the crisis in Syria" on the part of the United States.
"The US measures are part of a series of sanctions imposed by successive US administrations against the Syrian people as part of a regional scheme, aimed primarily at serving Israel's interests," SANA said.
The White House announced the sanctions on Wednesday, a day before Barack B.O. Obama, the US president, was to deliver a major speech on the uprisings throughout the Arab world.
The sanctions are part of "an effort to increase pressure on the government of Syria to end its violence against its people and begin transitioning to a democratic system", a US official told the AFP news agency on the condition of anonymity.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Obama said he issued the new sanctions order as a response to the Syrian government's "continuous escalation of violence against the people of Syria".
Obama cited "attacks on protesters, arrests and harassment of protesters and political activists, and repression of democratic change, overseen and executed by numerous elements of the Syrian government".
The sanctions will freeze any assets Assad and the six Syrian government officials have in US jurisdiction and make it illegal for Americans to do business with them.
The six officials are: vice-president Faruq al-Shara, prime minister Adel Safar, interior minister Mohammed Ibrahim al-Shaar, defence minister Ali Habib Mahmud, military intelligence chief Abdul Fatah Qudsiya and director of the political security directorate, Mohammed Dib Zaitoun.
Syrian rights activists say at least 700 civilians have been killed in two months of festivities between government forces and protesters seeking an end to his 11-year rule.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2011 19:21 ||
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[An Nahar] MP Fadi al-Aawar, who is a member of Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... leader Michel Aoun's ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... bloc, said Thursday that the Change and Reform bloc was nearing a decision to withdraw the nomination of Premier-designate Najib Miqati.
Al-Aawar told Voice of Leb radio station (93.3) that the major reason behind the delay in the formation of the cabinet was that politicians were waiting for messages from abroad.
He did not specify to which country he was referring.
FPM leadership sources told As Safir daily in remarks published Thursday that Miqati was bringing consultations on the new cabinet back to square one.
Every time a deal is reached on a controversial topic, Miqati overcomes the agreement and delays the final decision on the issue, the sources said.
They said that the premier-designate was intentionally accusing Aoun of being behind the delay in the formation of the government.
"Hadn't Miqati hinted that the cabinet would be formed as soon as the interior ministry obstacle was solved?" the sources wondered. "Why didn't his calculations prove he was right?"
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has denounced efforts by foreign powers aimed at disturbing the Persian Gulf, urging regional states to improve collective cooperation.
"The Persian Gulf is an important region. There is no need that we allow others to create a disturbance to regional countries and find pretexts to cause misunderstanding," Salehi told IRNA at the end of his day-long official visit to Kuwait on Wednesday.
"In a (recent) tour of the Persian Gulf states, I noticed that all countries are interested in collective cooperation with the purpose of improving relations and promoting security and stability because it will serve the interests of all sides," he added.
Salehi pointed to the ongoing developments in Bahrain and noted that all regional countries have consensus on a swift solution to the crisis in the Persian Gulf country and are presently cooperating with each other in this regard.
The top Iranian diplomat expressed optimism about the future of the region and hoped woes in crisis-hit Bahrain would be resolved in the near future.
Earlier this month, Salehi made a tour of regional countries, including Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq to confer with high-ranking officials of the four countries.
The Iranian minister assessed as "successful" the outcome of his visit to Kuwait, saying, "In talks with senior Kuwaiti officials, we discussed mutual issues very clearly."
He noted that Iranian and Kuwaiti officials discussed and removed certain misunderstanding between the two countries.
In 2010, Kuwait claimed that a number of its military officers have been gathering intelligence about US military bases in Kuwait and passing it on to Iran.
Late in April, Iran's Foreign Ministry expressed "dismay" over the remarks made by Kuwaiti officials, and dismissed the allegations as "irresponsible."
The defendants accused of being members of an espionage ring allegedly linked to Iran denied the charges brought against them in a Kuwaiti court last week, saying their confessions were made under torture.
During his stay in Kuwaiti City, Salehi held talks with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber Al Sabah, National Assembly speaker Jassim al-Kharafi, Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad Al Sabah and Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammed Sabah al-Salem Al Sabah.
In his talks with Kuwaiti premier, the Iranian foreign minister stressed the importance of strengthening stability and peace in the strategic Persian Gulf.
He said Iran's principled policy is based on non-interference in internal affairs of other countries and hoped other states would respect this important principle.
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05/20/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] A senior Iranian politician has warned against Western countries' efforts to cause a rift between Iran's relations with regional countries, urging Arab states not to pursue policies of the US and its allies.
"Arab countries should be cautious not to play in the court of the US and extra regional powers," said a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Hossein Naqavi Hosseini on Thursday.
"Western countries, led by the United States, intend to sow discord in ties between Iran and Arab states in the Persian Gulf. They are pursuing the policy of Iranophobia to cause a split between Iran and its neighbors," he added, Majlis news agency (ICANA) reported.
The Iranian politician emphasized that regional issues "have nothing to do with extra regional powers" and called on Arab countries to show prudence in countering such plots.
"Neighboring countries should be cautious about such conspiracies which are aimed at causing tension in the region and avoid preparing the ground for their divisive measures," Naqavi Hosseini concluded.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Iran's President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad says that Western countries are plotting to generate drought in some areas of the world, including Iran.
"According to reports about climate, whose authenticity has been verified, the European countries have used certain equipment to discharge clouds and prevent rain-bearing clouds from reaching regional countries such as Iran," President Ahmadinejad said on Thursday.
He made the remarks in the inauguration ceremony of a domestically-built dam in the central Iranian province of Arak.
Ahmadinejad said the matter would be pursued by Iran's legal authorities, IRNA reported.
The Iranian president said such measures by European countries are aimed at creating tension and hostility in the maritime borders of regional countries.
"Just as it was said before, I believe that the war of the future will be the war over water."
On May 16, President Ahmadinejad inaugurated a 484-megawatt solar thermal combined cycle power plant in the Iranian province of Yazd.
The solar thermal combined cycle power plant is the world's first combined cycle plant that has used natural gas and solar energy.
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05/20/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Ya know, it must be terrible living in a country where your enemies control everything - even your weather.
The Iranian Legal System had better be able to produce rain, or they'll be declared Zionist Conspirators.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/20/2011 7:15 Comments ||
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#2
Has anyone seen the Halliburton Earthquake Division recently?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
05/20/2011 12:17 Comments ||
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#3
We could use a bit of rain out here in western kansas. Too late for the wheat but the grass (livestock) sure could use some help.
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.
International Criminal Court
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
Michel Aoun's
A senior Iranian 
Mahmoud 
