[An Nahar] Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... said Saturday Afghanistan will not sign a strategic partnership deal with the U.S. until NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... -led night raids and house searches stop.
The president's remarks came after he heard back from a government-appointed delegation assigned to look into civilian casualties sustained during recent NATO Arclight airstrikes and night time raids.
"The president stressed that the strategic partnership document will not be signed until the night raids and house searches stop," his office said in a statement.
"After hearing the report by the delegation, the president said that the arbitrary operations and house searches by NATO have become a serious problem between Afghanistan and NATO forces and that this has been one of the main obstacles on signing the strategic partnership deal with the United States."
The strategic partnership document being negotiated with Washington will govern the relationship between American troops and the Afghan government after the scheduled withdrawal of combat troops in 2014.
Night raids have been a persistent sticking point, but Karzai's refusal to sign until the operations end is his bluntest yet.
NATO has defended the operations as the safest way of targeting bully boy leaders, insisting they will continue but with the increasing involvement of Afghan Special Forces.
It insists that in 85 percent of night raids no shot is fired and they cause less than one percent of civilian casualties.
But Karzai has led public criticism of the controversial raids, saying they endanger lives and harass local communities, and repeatedly called on U.S.-led international forces to stop entering Afghan homes.
The delegation appointed by Karzai investigated NATO Arclight airstrikes in Kandahar and Kapisa provinces in which several civilians died, and also a raid in Paktia in which the pregnant wife of the provincial anti-drugs chief was killed.
Lead investigator Mohammad Tahir Safi said: "We want civilian casualties to stop. We cannot tolerate any more.
"NATO-led ISAF forces have killed Afghan civilians for no reason."
According to the United Nations ...what started out as a a diplomatic initiative, now trying to edge its way into legislative, judicial, and executive areas... , the number of civilians killed in violence in Afghanistan rose by 15 percent in the first six months of this year to 1,462, with snuffies blamed for 80 percent of the killings.
There are around 140,000 international troops in Afghanistan fighting a decade-long Taliban insurgency alongside Afghan government forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Hey, this article is a repeat! I've seen it about ten times already...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/25/2011 0:57 Comments ||
Top||
#3
As I understand it, night raids have been pretty much stopped for a while - except for those run as joint Afghan-US ops. And such raids are done precisely because they result in less collateral damage.
Zero should have followed W's lead of 'declaring victory and leaving.' Get our guys out of there - nobody and nothing there worth getting them killed for.
Anyone want to wager on Karzai's life expectancy once we leave-
#4
once we leave, Pakistan and their proxies will take over again!
Afghanistan and Iraq were never the problem.Pakistan,Iran and Saudi was and is STILL the problem re Jihadi conquering ideology!
Posted by: Paul ||
12/25/2011 3:37 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Pakistan,Iran and Saudi was and is STILL the problem re Jihadi conquering ideology! Unfortunately, the interest held by the US electorate in conquering, occupying, and/or converting such nations to civilization is at an all-time low.
#6
Typically, an effective way of handling such problematic types is division. In this case, a north/south division of Afghanistan.
Most of the problems are caused by the Pushtun, so carve them off, along with Kabul, as South Afghanistan. If Pakistan wants to consume South Afghanistan for itself, that is okay as well. Probably even better. Not our problem.
Then take all the northern peoples as North Afghanistan, in a confederation with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. No Pushtun allowed. Importantly, the north has a lot of unexploited resources, so in just a few years of no longer being tormented by the Pushtun, they could live in much greater prosperity and peace.
Plus, the US would be more than happy to keep its base in Mazar-a-Sharif.
#7
That idiot Joe Biden repeatedly called for the division of Iraq. One could make a much stronger case for dividing Afghanistan. Where's Joe when we need his one idiot idea?
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/25/2011 10:12 Comments ||
Top||
#8
"the interest held by the US electorate in conquering, occupying, and/or converting such nations to civilization is at an all-time low"
There are other options, AH - particularly for those places that will never allow themselves to be converted to civilization.
But I'll leave those options to your imagination, since I don't want to be sink-trapped so early on a Christmas morning. :-(
Posted by: Barbara ||
12/25/2011 10:54 Comments ||
Top||
Egypt's ultra-conservative Islamist party Al-Nour shifted gears on the Israel-Egypt peace treaty on Sunday, saying they will "stand firmly against normalization between the two countries in all forms, and are against ties with any entity that wants to harm the Egyptian identity."
The statement came after the Salafist Al-Nour's spokesman Dr. Yusari Hamad gave an interview last week to Israel Army Radio in which he stated that all Al-Nour supports peace with Israel. The interview caused an uproar in the Egyptian press and prompted the party to clarify their position. The party will work to change clauses in the treaty "in a legitimate manner," according to the statement on Sunday.
Hamad told Israel Army Radio that there had been a "smear campaign" waged against Al-Nour, which surprised the world when in the first two of three rounds of parliamentary elections won more than 30 percent of the vote. Al-Nour is currently in second place after the more moderate Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party which earned around 40% of the votes.
[An Nahar] The surviving children of Libya's dead dictator Muammar Qadaffy ...whose instability was an inspiration to dictators everywhere, but whose end couldn't possibly happen to them... are determined to destabilize the country, National Transitional Council chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil said on Saturday.
This illustrates why, in the old days, when you deposed the king you also rounded up all his family out to the fifth cousins thrice removed and killed them as well, just to keep such things from happening...
"It is true that Muammar Qadaffy and his children will no longer have a place in the future Libya, but they are still determined to destabilize it and cause many concerns," he said without elaborating.
He was speaking to members of the government and Libyan personalities on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the country's independence, which Libya is celebrating for the first time in 40 years.
Three of the sons of Qadaffy, who was killed on October 20, are also dead. Only one is in the country -- Seif al-Islam, the despot's long-assumed successor, who was captured last month and is being held in Zintan.
Qadaffy's second wife Safiya, daughter Aisha and her brothers Mohammed and Hannibal have been in Algeria since the end of August along with several other family members, while another son, Saadi, has found refuge in Niger.
At the end of November, Aisha Qadaffy called for the new Libyan government to be tossed, in an audio message broadcast by the Syria-based television channel Arrai.
In September she had called the new Libyan authorities traitors, prompting a rebuke from Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci who called her comment "unacceptable."
After Qadaffy's downfall, Libya's new rulers organized ceremonies to commemorate December 24, 1951, when the country gained independence under former king Idris from the French and British, who had administered the territory following Italia's defeat in the Second World War.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
[AFP] Egypt's main Islamist parties won 65% of votes for party lists in the second round of a historic election for a new parliament after Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... 's ouster, the electoral committee said on Saturday.
The Freedom and Justice Party
They're the Muslim Brotherhood
won 36.5% of the vote for party lists, with 4,058 498 out of 11,173,818 votes, according to figures provided by the electoral committee for the second round which was held on December 14.
Al-Nur
The Salafists
won 28.78%, with 3,216,430 votes.
In Egypt's complex electoral system, voters cast ballots for party list candidates who will make up two thirds of parliament, and direct votes for individual candidates for the remaining third.
The elections were scheduled over three rounds, with run-offs for individual candidates after each round.
Protests
At a news conference on Saturday, electoral chief Abdel Moez Ibrahim announced the winners for the individual vote, but not their affiliations. The official Al-Ahram newspaper reported that the FJP won 40 seats and Al-Nur 13.
The Islamists' liberal rivals fared badly again in the second round, with Al-Wafd - the country's oldest party - winning 9.6% of the party list vote and the Egyptian Bloc, the main liberal coalition, just 7%.
After winning almost 65% of seats in the first round of the vote, Islamists are poised to dominate the next lower house which will convene on January 23.
The third round of the election will start on January 3, followed by another three-round poll for the senate.
The FJP has said it would have the right to form the next government, but the ruling military and the prime minister it appointed have said parliament could not appoint ministers.
The military, which has faced down days of deadly protests in November and this month, says it will transfer power to civilians after a presidential election is held by the end of June 2012.
Debka sez:
President Demetris Christofias has warned Turkey to stop its warships shelling the strip of water dividing the Cypriot and Israeli gas exploration zones in the eastern Mediterranean.
Dec. 21, Turkish warships began turning their guns on the strip dividing Israel's Leviathan gas field from Block 12 of Cyprus's Exclusive Economic Zone-EEZ, where a large gas field was recently discovered.
It was the Cypriot president who broke the silence Friday, Dec. 23 with a warning: "If Turkey does not change its gunboat diplomacy and stop playing the part of regional police officer, there will be consequences which, for sure, will not be good - either for the whole region or the Turkish people and first and foremost for Turkish Cypriots," he said.
On Dec. 22, Israel canceled the $90 million sale to the Turkish Air Force of Elbit's hi-tech LOROP-Long Range Oblique Photography military surveillance system. Israeli defense sources said the transaction was cancelled lest SAR radar or LOROP technology find their way into the hands of Israel's enemies, such as Iran.
Former Cricket hero Imran Khan Niazi led a humongo rally in Lahore promising to end corruption and bring hope and change to Pakistan. He hopes to be elected President soon.
Khan made a name for himself in 2005 denouncing Pakistan officials for allowing the US to flush Korans down the toilet at Gitmo notwithstanding evidence that such flushing is physically impossible. He has ostentatiously founded some charities in Pakistan. He favors a 'non corrupt welfare state'.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
12/25/2011 21:14 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
[Dawn] Veteran political leader of Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N) Makhdoom Javed Hashmi announced his decision to join the Pakistain Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) on Saturday, DawnNews reported.
The announcement, which came as Hashmi left for Multan airport to head towards Bloody Karachi, was not received well by PML-N workers, who encircled Hashmi's residence to show their disappointment.
However, Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... the veteran leader said he had joined the PTI due to the party's ideology, which was similar to his.
Pacifying the disappointed PML-N workers, he said the doors of his house will always remain open for them.
Press conference in Bloody Karachi
Hashmi was received by PTI Chief Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who isn't your heaviest-duty thinker, maybe not even among the top five... upon his arrival from Multan, following which the two leaders held a joint presser, which also included PTI vice president Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi.
Speaking at the presser, Hashmi said he had not made the decision to join Imran Khan's party overnight. "I have waited four years to join Imran Khan."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[Dawn] The Opposition Leader in National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday said the whole nation including Pakistain Mohammedan League-Nawaz (PML-N) will oppose the dismissal of army chief or DG ISI over memogate issue, DawnNews reported.
Speaking at a presser, the PML-N leader said that the prime minster should reconsider his statement regarding the late Osama bin Laden. ... who went shovel-ready... Nisar said that Gilani's statement about bin Laden presence in the country was irresponsible. "Chief executive should not issue statements against security agencies of the country," he added.
"And anyway, he was never there. I can prove it, because nobody found the body after the Americans said they killed him."
Answering a question regarding Javed Hashmi, he showed grief over his decision to leave the party.
"I will not say that he (Hashmi) left the party on the establishment's behest, however I would say that the establishment was supporting Tehrik-i-Insaf," said Nisar.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
IF this wasn't so sad, it would make a great story line for a Three Stooges Movie Short.
As it is, it is just down right scary that these Beauzeauxs have nukes...kinda send that old shiver down your leg there Chrissie?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
12/25/2011 3:28 Comments ||
Top||
[Dawn] Elementary and secondary education minister Sardar Hussain Babak told Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Assembly on Friday that military authorities were responsible for demolition of the buildings of around 200 Mansehra schools, which remained intact in the October 2005 earthquake.
Responding to a point of order of Pakistain Mohammedan League-Nawaz MPA Javid Abbasi, the minister told the House that army engineers had authorised contractors to dismantle about 200 schools which were earlier declared safe.
An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale had struck the country`s northern areas and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in October 2005, killing over 70,000 people and hundreds of thousands of buildings, including houses, were flattened.
Mr Babak said military authorities had awarded contract for demolition of 200 schools in Mansehra district after the earthquake though these buildings were declare safe. He said each of the schools in question was auctioned at Rs125,000 and that there was no need to demolish their buildings.
He said the provincial government was holding talks with foreign donors to provide assistance or grants for reconstruction of schools in Mansehra and other affected districts.
Speaking on the point of order, MPA Javid Abbasi said thousands of children had been studying in the open in harsh weather in the district.
He said the government didn`t provide shelter to children from chilly weather and demanded early reconstruction of the damaged buildings of schools.
The MPA said reconstruction authorities of the federal and provincial levels had failed to deliver and that funds allocated for reconstruction of schools in the earthquake-hit areas had been diverted to other provinces on the federal government orders.He said damaged infrastructure, including schools and roads, in the earthquake-affected areas required Rs9 billion for repair, adding that donors had provided assistance for reconstruction the infrastructure in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, not for construction of new projects in Multan, the prime minister`s hometown.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[An Nahar] Iraq's President Jalal Talabani said Saturday that the country's Sunni vice president, who stands accused of running a death squad, would stand trial only if promises were made regarding its fairness.
His remarks come with the country mired in a political row, with an arrest warrant out for Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, and Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party.... calling for the sacking of his Sunni deputy after the latter called him a dictator "worse than Saddam Hussein."
Iraqiya, the mostly Sunni-backed political bloc of Hashemi and deputy premier Saleh al-Mutlak, has boycotted parliament and the cabinet in protest at Maliki's alleged centralization of power.
"Mr. Tareq al-Hashemi is in the hospitality of the president of the republic," a statement from Talabani's office said.
"Hashemi will appear in front of justice at anytime and anywhere in the country where there will be reassurances regarding the processes of justice, investigation and trial."
The statement did not specify what specific reassurances would be required.
Iraq's political crisis, coupled with a spate of attacks on Thursday in Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... which killed 60 people, has heightened sectarian tensions in the country less than a week after U.S. troops completed their withdrawal.
Hashemi, who has disputed the charges, meanwhile, blamed collusion within the government and security forces for Thursday's violence, the deadliest in more than four months.
"This style of terrorist attack, it's well beyond even al-Qaeda to do it," he told the BBC's Persian Service in comments published on Saturday.
"What has been done is well-organized, the people who plant all these explosives. They went freely, without any obstacles, regardless of many checkpoints that we do have, and simultaneously all these car booms and explosives went off in one time."
He continued: "Those who were behind all these kabooms and incidents (were a) part in the security of the government. I'm sure about that."
On Friday, Hashemi blamed Maliki for starting "a national crisis, and it's not easy to control" and likened the premier's behavior to that of now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein.
Earlier on Saturday, anti-U.S. Shiite holy manMoqtada Tater al-Sadr ... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah... launched an "honor convention" which called for national unity and peace in Iraq following the U.S. withdrawal.
The pact was signed by numerous politicians, academics and tribal leaders.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
He will trust the reassurances? That says something positive about his own trust in the post-Saddam system, doesn't it?
Posted by: American Delight ||
12/25/2011 18:43 Comments ||
Top||
[Reuters] Thanks to hundreds of tunnels in the sandy soil of the border zone, a construction boom has buoyed Gaza's otherwise crippled economy, according to a United Nations report.
Israel only allows construction materials into Gaza for the use of international relief agencies, including the building of houses and schools. It has recently permitted the import of limited quantities to rebuild some factories destroyed in its largest military offensive in Gaza, in 2009.
The UN report said that in an economy severely depressed for most of the past decade developments in the first half of 2011 provided some marginal relief. "Employment jumped by more than 47,000 jobs in first-half 2011, or 24.7 percent, to an estimated 237,475. The broad unemployment rate declined to 32.9 percent from 45.2 percent in second-half 2010," the report said.
Gazans say the tunnels have enabled them to bring in all of their needs "from the needle to the rocket."
The underground business continues to flourish, undeterred by dozens of deaths from Israeli air strikes or cave-ins, and now far outstrips overland imports from Israel that enter Gaza via carefully supervised official crossing points.
Nevertheless, construction seems to be going on in every street. New roads have been paved, others are under construction and modest shopping malls
Actually, extravagant edifices with marble-cased walls, brass, and glass...come to think of it, by Gulf Arab standards the shopping malls are no doubt quite modest indeed.
have been inaugurated using private and Hamas money.
Nb: Reuter's unnecessarily loaded language stricken throughout.
[Reuters] Thanks to hundreds of tunnels in the sandy soil of the border zone, a construction boom has buoyed Gazoo's otherwise crippled economy, according to a United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... report.
A construction boom in Gaza may be a literal interpretation of events...
Israel only allows construction materials into Gazoo for the use of international relief agencies, including the building of houses and schools. It has recently permitted the import of limited quantities to rebuild some factories destroyed in its largest military offensive in Gazoo, in 2009.
Israel allows in other things as well, in increasingly greater quantities. However, the above is not actually false, except in what it suggests. In the old days this kind of thing was called propaganda, but we are much more sophisticated now.
The UN report said that in an economy severely depressed for most of the past decade developments in the first half of 2011 provided some marginal relief. "Employment jumped by more than 47,000 jobs in first-half 2011, or 24.7 percent, to an estimated 237,475. The broad unemployment rate declined to 32.9 percent from 45.2 percent in second-half 2010," the report said.
Those changes are significant, not marginal. But it isn't fair to expect UN report writers to understand basic statistics.
Gazooks say the tunnels have enabled them to bring in all of their needs "from the needle to the rocket."
And things not needed, like potato chips and donkeys, as well.
The underground business continues to flourish, undeterred by dozens of deaths from Israeli air strikes or cave-ins, and now far outstrips overland imports from Israel that enter Gazoo via carefully supervised official crossing points.
Construction seems to be going on in every street. New roads have been paved, others are under construction and modest shopping malls
Actually, extravagant edifices with marble-cased walls, brass, and glass...come to think of it, by Gulf Arab standards the shopping malls are no doubt quite modest indeed.
have been inaugurated using private and Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, money.
Islamists demand scrapping of two-state solution, Oslo Accords; senior Hamas official: "Anyone who thinks Hamas has changed its positions is living in an illusion."
Hamas is joining the PLO not as a result of a change in its ideology but because it wants the PLO to stick to its original platform -- liberating Paleostine and achieving the "right of return" for Paleostinian refugees, Hamas leaders explained over the weekend.
The Hamas leaders' clarifications came in response to claims that Hamas's decision to join the PLO was a sign the Islamist movement was moving toward moderation and would abandon its radical ideology.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the liquidation of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... and other radical Paleostinian groups agreed on Thursday to join a provisional leadership of the PLO that would look into ways of "activating and reconstructing" the Fatah-dominated organization.
The decision was announced following a meeting of representatives of several Paleostinian groups in Cairo.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad are demanding the PLO reconsider its political strategy by scrapping the Oslo Accords and its recognition of the two-state solution.
Hamas's "foreign minister" Osama Hamdan, said the decision to join the temporary PLO leadership did not mean Hamas would become part of the grinding of the peace processor with Israel.
"Anyone who thinks Hamas has changed its positions and now accepts the PLO's defeatist political program is living in an illusion," Hamdan stressed. "Hamas cannot make the mistake of joining a process that has proved to be a failed one over the past 20 years."
He was quoted by the Quds Press news agency as saying Hamas's decision to be part of a provisional PLO leadership was aimed at "reconstructing the organization and reconsidering its political program."
Hamdan emphasized that Hamas remains committed to fulfilling the aspirations of Paleostinians, "first and foremost the liberation of our lands from the sea to the river and achieving the right of return."
The Hamas leader said those who believe the Paleostinians could continue to pursue the PLO's "failed" political program over the past two decades are deluding themselves.
By seeking reconciliation with Fatah, Hamas hopes to achieve the Paleostinians' goal of liberating all their lands and securing the return of the refugees to their original homes inside Israel, Hamdan said.
He said the reconciliation process with Fatah was moving slowly and facing many obstacles, such as continued security coordination between the Paleostinian Authority and Israel in the West Bank.
Hamdan also denied that his movement had left Syria.
"The Hamas offices and headquarters are still in Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... ," he said.
Another Hamas leader, Khalil Abu Leila, said his movement would not join the PLO under the latter's current political program.
One of the main tasks of the provisional PLO leadership was to "bring the PLO back to its correct path and the goal for which it was established, namely the liberation of Paleostine," he said.
Abu Leila said Hamas had long been demanding the PLO be "reactivated" and reconsider all agreements signed by the organization. His remark was seen as a reference to the Oslo Accords, which were signed between the PLO and Israel in 1993.
"All peoples are entitled to reconsider agreements signed by their governments," Abu Leila said. "This is what just happened with Turkey, which decided to cancel many agreements with La Belle France over the Armenian issue."
He also cautioned against "excessive optimism" regarding the prospects of ending the dispute between Hamas and Fatah, saying one should first wait to see tangible results on the ground.
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said "activating and reconstructing" the PLO meant electing new bodies for the organization, such as the Paleostine National Council, the parliament-in-exile, and the Executive Committee. After the elections, the newly elected PLO leaders would begin discussions on the organization's political program, he added.
"This is not about one party joining another," Mashaal said. "We are working toward unifying the institutions of the Paleostinian Authority and ending the division on the ground and in the political arena. This is what the reconciliation pact [that was reached in Cairo last May] calls for.
"It also envisages reforming and activating the PLO by holding new elections for the Paleostine national Council and Executive Committee."
Mashaal said that from now on no Paleostinian party would have a monopoly over the political decision- making process or managing the PA and PLO institutions.
Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ramadan Shallah also denied the decision to join the provisional PLO leadership was an indication his group would abandon its ideology.
"We still haven't joined the PLO," he said. "In future discussions with other factions, we will talk about incorporating Islamic Jihad into the PLO. Thursday's meeting was just the beginning of this process."
Shallah told London-based Al- Hayat newspaper it has already been made clear no organization would be asked to abandon its program as a condition for joining the PLO.
On the other hand, he added, no group has been asked to accept the PLO's political platform as a condition for joining the organization.
"In principle, there is a Paleostinian consensus that the PLO is an address for all Paleostinians," Shallah said. "We are seeking to make this an appropriate address."
He said that during last week's discussions in Cairo, PLO and PA leader the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... made it clear the Paleostinians would still preserve the right to "armed resistance" against Israel, despite the talk about the need for a "popular uprising."
"No one has the right to say armed resistance is illegitimate and the Paleostinians cannot resort to it," Shallah said.
Islamists demand scrapping of two-state solution, Oslo Accords; senior Hamas official: "Anyone who thinks Hamas has changed its positions is living in an illusion."
Hamas is joining the PLO not as a result of a change in its ideology but because it wants the PLO to stick to its original platform liberating Palestine and achieving the right of return for Palestinian refugees, Hamas leaders explained over the weekend.
The Hamas leaders clarifications came in response to claims that Hamass decision to join the PLO was a sign the Islamist movement was moving toward moderation and would abandon its radical ideology.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other radical Palestinian groups agreed on Thursday to join a provisional leadership of the PLO that would look into ways of activating and reconstructing the Fatah-dominated organization.
The decision was announced following a meeting of representatives of several Palestinian groups in Cairo.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad are demanding the PLO reconsider its political strategy by scrapping the Oslo Accords and its recognition of the two-state solution.
Hamass foreign minister Osama Hamdan, said the decision to join the temporary PLO leadership did not mean Hamas would become part of the peace process with Israel.
Anyone who thinks Hamas has changed its positions and now accepts the PLOs defeatist political program is living in an illusion, Hamdan stressed. Hamas cannot make the mistake of joining a process that has proved to be a failed one over the past 20 years.
He was quoted by the Quds Press news agency as saying Hamass decision to be part of a provisional PLO leadership was aimed at reconstructing the organization and reconsidering its political program.
Hamdan emphasized that Hamas remains committed to fulfilling the aspirations of Palestinians, first and foremost the liberation of our lands from the sea to the river and achieving the right of return.
The Hamas leader said those who believe the Palestinians could continue to pursue the PLOs failed political program over the past two decades are deluding themselves.
By seeking reconciliation with Fatah, Hamas hopes to achieve the Palestinians goal of liberating all their lands and securing the return of the refugees to their original homes inside Israel, Hamdan said.
He said the reconciliation process with Fatah was moving slowly and facing many obstacles, such as continued security coordination between the Palestinian Authority and Israel in the West Bank.
Hamdan also denied that his movement had left Syria.
The Hamas offices and headquarters are still in Damascus, he said.
Another Hamas leader, Khalil Abu Leila, said his movement would not join the PLO under the latters current political program.
One of the main tasks of the provisional PLO leadership was to bring the PLO back to its correct path and the goal for which it was established, namely the liberation of Palestine, he said.
Abu Leila said Hamas had long been demanding the PLO be reactivated and reconsider all agreements signed by the organization. His remark was seen as a reference to the Oslo Accords, which were signed between the PLO and Israel in 1993.
All peoples are entitled to reconsider agreements signed by their governments, Abu Leila said. This is what just happened with Turkey, which decided to cancel many agreements with France over the Armenian issue.
He also cautioned against excessive optimism regarding the prospects of ending the dispute between Hamas and Fatah, saying one should first wait to see tangible results on the ground.
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said activating and reconstructing the PLO meant electing new bodies for the organization, such as the Palestine National Council, the parliament-in-exile, and the Executive Committee. After the elections, the newly elected PLO leaders would begin discussions on the organizations political program, he added.
Hamas is joining the PLO not as a result of a change in its ideology but because it wants the PLO to stick to its original platform liberating Palestine and achieving the right of return for Palestinian refugees, Hamas leaders explained over the weekend.
The Hamas leaders clarifications came in response to claims that Hamass decision to join the PLO was a sign the Islamist movement was moving toward moderation and would abandon its radical ideology.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other radical Palestinian groups agreed on Thursday to join a provisional leadership of the PLO that would look into ways of activating and reconstructing the Fatah-dominated organization.
The decision was announced following a meeting of representatives of several Palestinian groups in Cairo.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad are demanding the PLO reconsider its political strategy by scrapping the Oslo Accords and its recognition of the two-state solution.
Hamass foreign minister Osama Hamdan, said the decision to join the temporary PLO leadership did not mean Hamas would become part of the peace process with Israel.
Anyone who thinks Hamas has changed its positions and now accepts the PLOs defeatist political program is living in an illusion, Hamdan stressed. Hamas cannot make the mistake of joining a process that has proved to be a failed one over the past 20 years.
He was quoted by the Quds Press news agency as saying Hamass decision to be part of a provisional PLO leadership was aimed at reconstructing the organization and reconsidering its political program.
Hamdan emphasized that Hamas remains committed to fulfilling the aspirations of Palestinians, first and foremost the liberation of our lands from the sea to the river and achieving the right of return.
The Hamas leader said those who believe the Palestinians could continue to pursue the PLOs failed political program over the past two decades are deluding themselves.
By seeking reconciliation with Fatah, Hamas hopes to achieve the Palestinians goal of liberating all their lands and securing the return of the refugees to their original homes inside Israel, Hamdan said.
He said the reconciliation process with Fatah was moving slowly and facing many obstacles, such as continued security coordination between the Palestinian Authority and Israel in the West Bank.
Hamdan also denied that his movement had left Syria.
The Hamas offices and headquarters are still in Damascus, he said.
Another Hamas leader, Khalil Abu Leila, said his movement would not join the PLO under the latters current political program.
One of the main tasks of the provisional PLO leadership was to bring the PLO back to its correct path and the goal for which it was established, namely the liberation of Palestine, he said.
Abu Leila said Hamas had long been demanding the PLO be reactivated and reconsider all agreements signed by the organization. His remark was seen as a reference to the Oslo Accords, which were signed between the PLO and Israel in 1993.
All peoples are entitled to reconsider agreements signed by their governments, Abu Leila said. This is what just happened with Turkey, which decided to cancel many agreements with France over the Armenian issue.
He also cautioned against excessive optimism regarding the prospects of ending the dispute between Hamas and Fatah, saying one should first wait to see tangible results on the ground.
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said activating and reconstructing the PLO meant electing new bodies for the organization, such as the Palestine National Council, the parliament-in-exile, and the Executive Committee. After the elections, the newly elected PLO leaders would begin discussions on the organizations political program, he added.
This is not about one party joining another, Mashaal said. We are working toward unifying the institutions of the Palestinian Authority and ending the division on the ground and in the political arena. This is what the reconciliation pact [that was reached in Cairo last May] calls for.
It also envisages reforming and activating the PLO by holding new elections for the Palestine national Council and Executive Committee.
Mashaal said that from now on no Palestinian party would have a monopoly over the political decision- making process or managing the PA and PLO institutions.
Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ramadan Shallah also denied the decision to join the provisional PLO leadership was an indication his group would abandon its ideology.
We still havent joined the PLO, he said. In future discussions with other factions, we will talk about incorporating Islamic Jihad into the PLO. Thursdays meeting was just the beginning of this process.
Shallah told London-based Al- Hayat newspaper it has already been made clear no organization would be asked to abandon its program as a condition for joining the PLO.
On the other hand, he added, no group has been asked to accept the PLOs political platform as a condition for joining the organization.
In principle, there is a Palestinian consensus that the PLO is an address for all Palestinians, Shallah said. We are seeking to make this an appropriate address.
He said that during last weeks discussions in Cairo, PLO and PA leader Mahmoud Abbas made it clear the Palestinians would still preserve the right to armed resistance against Israel, despite the talk about the need for a popular uprising.
No one has the right to say armed resistance is illegitimate and the Palestinians cannot resort to it, Shallah said.
[An Nahar] Syria's principal ally, Iran, on Saturday said it "strongly condemned" attacks by jacket wallahs in Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... on Friday that reportedly killed more than 40 people.
The Iranian foreign ministry issued a statement, quoted by the state IRNA news agency, condemning the blasts and offering condolences to the victims' families.
The statement added: "Doubtless instability and threats to Syria's national security, which is what its enemies are after, will not only pose a threat to Syrians but also other nations in the region."
Friday's attacks in Damascus hit two bases belonging to the Syrian security service, which has been cracking down on pro-democracy protesters since March.
Syrian state media blamed the attacks on al-Qaeda. But the opposition said they were staged by the regime to show it was threatened by external forces, not by a popular uprising.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Iranians are always willing to fight to the last Arab.
[An Nahar] Candidates started registering Saturday to stand in Iran's March legislative elections in a process vetted by the Guardian's Council, the Islamic republic's electoral watchdog.
"We recommend to candidates to come forward to serve the people and to keep the success of the Islamic revolution in mind," the ministry's website quoted Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar as saying.
Registration was to continue to December 30, but the interior ministry urged would-be candidates to not wait until the last day.
The Guardians Council, made up of holy mans and jurists, determines which applicants can be candidates in the election for the 290-seat parliament. It is also responsible for endorsing the final results of the March 2, 2012 poll.
Candidates are required to be Iranian citizens aged 30-75 who are loyal to the constitution, including its recognition of the absolute authority of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamanei.
Iran's current legislature is dominated by conservatives, with only around 60 reformists in the house.
The parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, has repeatedly criticized the policies of President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad, especially on the economy.
The March poll will be the first since the 2009 presidential election which saw Ahmadinejad announced the winner over opposition claims the vote was rigged, triggering widespread mass protests.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
War? They think too much of themselves. Hizb'allah can't stand up to Israel when she gets serious, and they think themselves equals in an exchange with the U.S.? Laughable.
[An Nahar] A war of words is heating up between Hizbullah and Washington, with allegations and counter-allegations flying between the two foes as the crisis in Syria takes its toll on the Shiite group.
The cold war between Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hizbullah and the United States runs back decades.
But with political upheaval in the Arab world at a peak, tensions between the two are skyrocketing.
"This year was not the first time Hizbullah has exposed intelligence networks, whether working for the United States or others, and the United States criminal case against Hizbullah goes back months," said Paul Salem, head of the Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East Center.
"But there's no doubt that, given what's happening in Syria along with the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq ... we're in a phase of high tension in which everyone's raising the pressure on their opponent."
The feud began to deepen earlier this year, when Hizbullah leader His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... accused the Central Intelligence Agency of planting spies within his party's ranks.
Nasrallah's announcement in June, which the party hailed as a "victory" over the United States, marked the first acknowledgment of infiltration by the movement founded in 1982.
The United States filed a criminal lawsuit against a string of Lebanese financial institutions with alleged ties to Hizbullah on the grounds they were complicit in a massive scheme to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars.
U.S. federal authorities say the companies were part of a scheme to launder hundreds of millions of dollars in profits from narcotics dealing and other criminal activities in order to fund Hizbullah's activities.
But Hizbullah has staunchly denied the charges, with the group's second in command, Sheikh Naim Qassem ... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies... , accusing Washington this week of waging a smear campaign against a Shiite Moslem group which, he said, would never follow a path "prohibited by religion."
Hizbullah upped the stakes by accusing the "terrorist" United States of being behind twin bombings in the Syrian capital on Friday which left 44 dead, according to officials.
"These bombings which resulted in the death and injury of dozens of people, mainly women and kiddies, are the specialty of the United States, the mother of terrorism," read a statement released by the movement Friday.
It said the timing of the bombings, which destroyed two security service offices in the Syrian capital, clearly signaled they were a "cowardly, bloody act of Dire Revenge" over the U.S. "defeat" in Iraq.
Analysts say the crisis in Syria has dealt a blow to Hizbullah which must now face the possibility of a future without a key regional ally.
And as power structures shift in the Middle East, experts say Western pressure on the Lebanese movement will continue to mount as the group risks losing the support provided by the regime of embattled Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... "The latest U.S. accusations against Hizbullah are ... part of a wider campaign against the Syria-Iran-Hizbullah axis," said Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, author of the forthcoming "The Iran Connection: Understanding the Alliance with Syria, Hizbullah and Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,."
"We're only going to see more of these accusations," Saad-Ghorayeb told Agence La Belle France Presse
"The United States is aware that ... Hizbullah has already lost some support in the region because of Syria, so now's the time to tarnish its reputation, to move from labeling the group as terrorist to actually criminalizing it."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[An Nahar] The Lebanese government remained tight-lipped on Saturday on Syrian claims that Leb had warned Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... about the infiltration of al-Qaeda members into Syria from its territories.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour was only quoted as saying that "Leb hasn't officially notified the Syrian foreign ministry about the infiltration of al-Qaeda members to Syria."
But he stressed that Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn had made such remarks about the issue. Ghosn said on Tuesday that al-Qaeda members were active in the border area near the Lebanese eastern town of Arsal.
Mansour's statement came a day after jacket wallahs hit two security service bases in Damascus, killing at least 40 people, in attacks the regime blamed on al-Qaeda.
"The Lebanese authorities warned us two days ago that an al-Qaeda group infiltrated to Syria from Arsal," Syria's foreign ministry front man said.
But informed sources told An Nahar daily on Saturday that al-Qaeda began fading after the killing of its chief the late Osama bin Laden ... who had a brief but splitting headache... in May and other leaders in the network.
The sources said the Syrian claims that were backed by statements made by Ghosn were similar to the behavior of slain Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy ... who is now napping peacefully in the dirt... . They did not elaborate.
Western diplomatic sources also warned Lebanese authorities against "covering up and legitimizing the claims about al-Qaeda's presence in Leb" for fears that such allegations would reflect negatively on the country's stability.
In remarks to al-Joumhouria newspaper, the sources expressed fear that Leb would be shoved into the Syrian crisis under the pretext of security over the alleged presence of al-Qaeda in its territories.
They urged the government to deny the Syrian claims particularly that the international community is closely monitoring the "services" provided by the Lebanese authorities to the Assad regime by arresting dissidents or by allegedly facilitating financial transactions of Syrians targeted by sanctions.
President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... telephoned Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... on Friday to condemn the bombings, saying they were aimed at scuttling Arab efforts to end the Syrian crisis.
Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, a member of AMAL, a not very subtle Hizbullah sock puppet... also cabled him condemning the "terrorist" blasts and extending his condolences over the victims.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
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.
The surviving children of Libya's dead dictator 
[Dawn] Veteran political leader of Pakistain 
The Opposition Leader in National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday said the whole nation including Pakistain 
[Dawn] Elementary and secondary education minister Sardar Hussain Babak told 
Nouri al-Maliki
Moqtada 
Islamists demand scrapping of two-state solution, Oslo Accords; senior Hamas official: "Anyone who thinks Hamas has changed its positions is living in an illusion."
Hamas's "foreign minister" Osama Hamdan, said the decision to join the temporary PLO leadership did not mean Hamas would become part of the 
Mahmoud 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
