[Tolo News] President Hamid 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... Wednesday reached an agreement with the US that their special forces will remain in most of Maidan Wardak province, signaling a shift from his previous demand for them to leave the province by March 11.
...which was ten days ago. Nurse, fetch the smelling salts and a little green pill. He's doing that thing again!
Gen. Joseph Dunford, the top US and Isaf Commander in Afghanistan, met with Karzai at the palace Wednesday morning to finalise the details, according to an Isaf statement.
Under the agreement, the Afghan National Security Forces will move into Wardak's Nerkh district, which is currently secured by Afghan Local Police aided by US forces. The timeline for this transition will be determined by the Afghan government, Isaf said.
"The remainder of the province will transition over time," Isaf added, without stating a time frame.
The decision is a clear change from Karzai's original order for the US to completely withdraw from the province by March 11.
The US Special Forces were ordered by Karzai on February 24 to leave the province in a fortnight after reports of abuse of Afghan civilians by the ALP which were subordinate to the US. However, a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package... the decision was criticised by other Afghan leaders as hasty and dangerous.
"I am pleased to announce that following a very constructive series of talks with the President and the leadership of the MOD and MOI, we have come to agreement on a plan for Wardak that continues the transition of this critical province and meets the security needs of the people and the requirements of our mission," Dunford was quoted saying in the Isaf statement Wednesday.
"I want to thank President Karzai for his leadership. This plan meets the President's intent and leverages the growing capacity and capability of the Afghan cops to meet the security needs of this country. This solution is what success looks like as we continue the transition to overall Afghan security lead," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
something needs to happen to his relative's opium caravans.
Maybe say some accidental emptying of some magazines on an AC-130?
Posted by: Water Modem ||
03/21/2013 0:34 Comments ||
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[Tolo News] Afghan politicians Wednesday criticised presidential front man Aimal Faizi for calling the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... mission in Afghanistan "illogical and aimless", warning that such comments threaten the stability of the country.
The politicians said that the views coming from President Hamid 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... 's representative should be clarified as a personal idea of Karzai and not the views of the Afghan people.
"Such speeches will cause chaos in the country," MP Mohammad Naeem Lalai Ahmadzai said in Wednesday's parliamentary session. "The president is trying to remain in power by such statements. It is his personal idea, not the people's."
Fatima Aziz, an MP from northern Kunduz province, suggested the statement was too late considering NATO had been in Afghanistan more than a decade.
"Why didn't the government say ten years ago that the NATO mission is illogical and aimless? The NATO mission was not a secret," she said. "The comment will damage Afghanistan."
Lawmakers said they believed that Afghanistan needed the cooperation of the US and the presence of the foreign forces.
"Afghanistan's war is being planned by neighboring countries especially in Pakistain. And the country [Afghanistan] has serious need for international cooperation and the presence of foreign forces because the war has not ended in the country," member of the parliamentary international committee Noor Akbari said.
MPs said that main cause of war in Afghanistan is the intervention of the regional countries especially Pakistain where gunnies are being funded and equipped to be bad boys, creating more security challenges and thereby the need for foreign forces to assist until the Afghan forces can defend the country.
Faizi said Tuesday that the NATO-led military operation was "illogical and aimless", the latest public criticism of the foreign forces after Karzai's recent broadsides against the US.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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Egypt is seeking to swap four members of Muammar Gaddafi's regime arrested in Cairo with a group of Egyptians detained in Libya, two Egyptian judicial sources said on Wednesday.
A source at the Libyan justice ministry said the idea had been raised in talks on judicial cooperation between Libyan officials and the assistant Egyptian prosecutor general, Hassan Yasine, who has been on an official visit to Tripoli this week. Among those arrested in Egypt on Tuesday was Gaddaf Alddam, one of Gaddafi's cousins. Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has called for the immediate handover of the wanted men.
The Egyptian judicial sources said the Libyans were among 36 members of the late dictator's administration whom the new Libyan government believe to be living in Egypt.
State-run Al-Ahram newspaper said Libya had asked for other measures including that Cairo stop anti-revolution Libyan TV stations from being broadcast via an Egyptian satellite. An official from Libya's culture ministry said that letters had been sent to Egyptian satellite channels asking for this.
So Egypt and Libya are making faces at each other? Some things never change...
Egypt wants Libya to hand over a group of Egyptian Christians accused of proselytising, the Egyptian sources said.
"Nobody gets to pick on our dhimmis but us. Now give them back!"
Libya's small Christian community has expressed fears over Islamist extremism as the government struggles to impose its authority over armed groups which have refused to lay down their weapons since the 2011 war that ousted Gaddafi.
Al-Ahram said that Yasine had discussed the results of a Libyan inquiry into an attack on an Egyptian church in Benghazi last week. Unknown assailants set fire to the church, the second attack on the building in weeks. Attacks against Egyptian Christians in Libya triggered protests outside the Libyan embassy in Cairo last week that resulted in a brief suspension of work there.
Two Egyptian men were killed in December by an explosion at a building belonging to a Coptic church in Dafniya, close to the western city of Misrata.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] A grave reportedly containing six bodies has been found in Nufaliyah, between Ras Lanuf and Sirte.
The bodies, discovered close to the main road on Tuesday by members of the Libya Shield Battalion, Second Force, in cooperation with the Libya Shield of Ajdabiya, are thought to be those of revolutionaries.
The Assistant Commander of the Libya Shield, Second Force, Mohamed Hamad Aribi, was reorted by the Libyan news agency LANA as saying that the bodies were discovered with the legs tied and that they may have been buried alive.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] Egypt has arrested Qaddafi's cousin and leading aide, Ahmed Qaddaf Al-Dam, as well as at least two other Qaddafi regime figures wanted by Libya. Reports were circulating in Tripoli for much of the late morning, Tuesday, but were confirmed this evening by Prime Minister Ali Zeidan.
Speaking at a press conference this evening he said that former director of Libyan Radio and member of Qaddafi's inner circle Ali al-Kilani as well as former Libyan ambassador Ali Marya had also been arrested.
Egyptian officials reported that Qaddaf Al-Dam was arrested this morning following a pre-dawn siege at his home in the fashionable Cairo district of Zamalek, not far from the Libyan embassy. He is said to have surrendered after a short gunfight in which three policemen were reportedly wounded.
According to the Egyptian news agency, he will be held for 30 days during which time Libya can file extradition charges. Officials said Qaddaf al-Dam may face further prosecution by Egyptian authorities for resisting arrest.
In addition to Qaddaf Al-Dam and Ali Marya, they said that another Qaddafi figure, Mohamed Ibrahim Ali, had also been detained. There may, however, have been some confusion over the name, and they may have been referring to Kilani.
Qaddaf Al-Dam had good connections in Egypt; he was coordinator of the Egyptian-Libyan relations under Qaddafi and this appears to have protected him until now.
Exactly a year ago, following a visit to Cairo by Libyan Attorney General Abdulaziz Al-Hasadi to demand that it hand over number of former Qaddafi officials, including Ahmed Qaddaf-Adam, Egypt said it was considering doing so.
Although the Egyptians have long known where he lived, nothing then happened until earlier this year. At the beginning of February, Egypt placed a travel ban on six Qaddafi regime figures in the country, preventing them from leaving. Qaddaf Al-Dam was said to be one of them, as was Mohamed Ibrahim Ali.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] Interior Minister Ashour Shuwail and Chief of the Armed Forces Yousef Mangoush, meet in Tripoli on Sunday, 17 March, to visit the premises of the newly formed joint security force, between the Ministry of Interior and Defense.
Speaking to the infantry of the joint force, Shuwail said Libya was entering the most difficult period of its development, that of building a new state based on the rule of law, freedom, human rights and democracy. The state's authority and legitimacy had to be recognised. He added that Libya was a prosperous and strategically located nation and, to move forward, order and stability had to be restored.
The joint security force represented a commitment to achieve the goals of the revolution, and everyone, including members of the force, had to partake in the rebuilding process, said Shuwail.
The primary objective of the joint force is to secure Tripoli and Benghazi by disbanding militias that remain outside the state's control and who continue to resist the central government's orders to cease arbitrary detention, torture and occupation of government and private property.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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[MAGHAREBIA] Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) issued a new statement on Sunday (March 17th), urging North African youths to fight secularists at home and wage jihad in Mali.
The message from the terror network was the first since the international military intervention in northern Mali dislodged the terror network from major cities and reportedly killed several big shots, including Abdelhamid Abou Zeid.
"The front of the Islamic Maghreb today is in direst need of the support of the sons of Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, and Mauritania, to thwart the attack of Crusader La Belle France and defeat its agents in the region, and empower the Islamic project and Jihad," AFP quoted the statement as saying.
However, it's easy to be generous with someone else's money... the statement addressed moderate political Islamic movements in the Maghreb when it urged them to support jihadists and not leave the stage to the secularists, in a clear reference to liberal political parties as well as leftists and nationalists in North Africa.
"Mohammedan youth in Tunisia and elsewhere must not let secularist and other Westernisers run amok. Mohammedan youth should stay and fight the enemy of God and their enemy as well with arguments, proofs and evidence," the terrorist network said.
In another paragraph, AQIM said that "jihad" has become easy by virtue of the revolutions that "gave significant room for the call to God. It also gave Mohammedans a full scope to practice their religion, promote virtue and prevent vice. In fact the biggest beneficiaries are the proponents of the Islamic project."
According to observers, the new statement stands out for the appeal to moderate Islamist factions that had previously distanced themselves from the cut-thoat salafist groups. Previously, al-Qaeda had described the centrists as hypocrites.
This shift in al-Qaeda's discourse with moderate Islamists reflects their dire need for a helping hand, according to analyst Abdul Hamid Ansari. He added that AQIM may have been encouraged by the positions of some Islamist parties that opposed the war against jihadists in northern Mali.
However, ars longa, vita brevis... Ansari said that the position of Islamist parties rejecting the war on cut-throats would not be followed by other supporting steps. He said that the statements issued by those parties were only a moral stand.
Others however believe that AQIM is seeking to exploit the tense situation prevailing in some Maghreb countries between Islamist movements and their opponents, particularly as is the case in Tunisia between Ennahda and secular groups or in Egypt.
"Al-Qaeda resorts to every possible method to sow discord and differences between peoples in order to gain support," analyst Mohamed Ag Hamadou told Magharebia. "It is seeking to plant dissent in the internal front of Maghreb countries in order to win more support."
But he added that he did not think the plot would succeed, saying, "Today, Maghreb youth want jobs rather than retreat into a mountain and die for free."
Although most Maghreb youths are more concerned with local problems according to the analyst, some may still heed that call, such as the Frenchie Djamel Touiter. He was incarcerated ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... few weeks ago in northern Mali fighting alongside al-Qaeda.
The newspaper Le Gay Pareeien quoted his sister Sonia as saying that her brother's actions were a disgrace.
"He has betrayed La Belle France. He has betrayed his family. And he has also betrayed the French public. His actions go against the services that La Belle France gave him. He deserves punishment," his sister said.
The newspaper added that the 37-year-old Frenchie of Algerian origin was previously a member of La Belle France's police force and held several other jobs before joining jihadists in northern Mali, leaving behind three children and his ex-wife.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
leaving behind three children and his ex-wife.
A pillar of society. One can just imagine obooboo snarling "Whaddya mean I can't pardon someone imprisoned in another country?"
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/21/2013 9:49 Comments ||
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[LEADERSHIP.NG] The leader of the Boko Haram sect, Ibn Abubakar Shekau, has threatened to deal with the spokesman of the JTF in Borno State, Lt Col Sagir Musa, and journalists for telling lies against the islamist sect, an online medium has reported.
The group also named Abu Zinnira as its new spokesman, just as it insisted they will not release the seven French hostages in their custody, until their wives and children being detained in Cameroon by French and Cameroonian authorities are set free.
Here is an excerpt of the broadcast:
"Anybody that is found standing against our religion should know that it is not a difficult task for us to die defending it. That is the pronouncement from me in my capacity as leader.
"We have a mission of establishing Sharia in this country and the rest of the world. We are the ones holding hostage the seven French nationals. We are holding them in custody because the leaders of Cameroon and Nigeria have also detained our brethren with women and children under dehumanising condition. It is against every rules of engagement to hold women and children as prisoners of war.
"Our message to the world is that these seven French will not be released until when we see our detained brethren released."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
it is not a difficult task for us to die defending it.
Well, damn it Abu-boo, get started then. Die like dogs in the dirt.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Osborne warned that the country is facing the most complex terror threat in its history.
He said the threat is constantly changing with al-Qaeda inspired Islamic extremists now plotting in smaller, harder to detect groups.
The danger is coming from an increasing number of hot spots around the world and there is also a growing threat from republican groups in Northern Ireland, who would attack mainland Britain if they could.
Mr Osborne, who is the senior national coordinator for counter terrorism, said: On average we've probably had about one potential attack planned with an intent to create something similar to July 7 every year.
"The UK threat as we stand today remains at substantial, which means that a terrorist attack remains a strong possibility and could occur without warning."
Last month, three men were convicted of planning to kill hundreds of people in the UK with up to eight suicide bombers after concluding the 7/7 attacks had not done enough damage.
And in 2006 a plot to blow up passenger jets with bombs disguised as soft drinks was foiled but led to tighter restrictions for carry on luggage.
Mr Osborne, who is senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism, said he fears that terror cells could either team up with organised crime gangs or mirror their practices, bringing a new kind of threat to the UK.
He also echoed concerns that an increasing number of Britons are exploiting unrest abroad to receive terror training before returning home.
Syria is the biggest destination now and the fear is those taking part will form small independent cells once back rather than become part of a major plot.
Mr Osborne said: "Some who have been trained actually are becoming quite self-motivated, they are beginning to plan in small groups which are hard to detect.
"There is no doubt that the big sophisticated 9/11 or 7/7 type plots are much harder to organise, they did need a lot of overseas direction, and some of the al Qaida leadership have said that's good if you can do it, but if not any attack whatever you can do at whatever size is useful.
China is making tentative moves in the direction of curbing the illegal activities of North Korean banks, North Korean sources in Beijing said on Tuesday. According to the sources, Chinese authorities put the brakes on illegal operations by the representative offices of Tanchon Commercial Bank, Korea Daesong Bank and Korea Kwangson Banking Corp. in Beijing and Dandong.
These representative offices are not licensed to engage in business operations such as currency exchange and remittances of money in China because they are not full branches. But in fact they have engaged in money laundering by making payments for trade transactions on North Korean traders' behalf through borrowed-name bank accounts in China, or by receiving payments on traders' behalf and asking their headquarters in North Korea to pay the traders.
No North Korean bank has a formal branch in China.
Chinese authorities are apparently trying a little harder than in the past to enforce UN sanctions against North Korea.
A diplomatic source in Beijing said, "This doesn't mean that China has taken a new initiative on its own to enforce sanctions on the North, but rather that it is treating North Korea-related transactions by the book."
Until recently China has turned a blind eye to such violations.
None of this means that the Chinese are curbing their dog. Sure, they're closing a few accounts. What accounts did they leave open? And what new accounts? When we see the North Koreans start to bellow we'll know that the Chinese are doing something significant. Right now I think this is eyewash for gullible Western diplomats and media.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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The SOB can get a lot of gold for a nuke... no banks involved.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
03/21/2013 0:35 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un oversaw a live fire military drill using drones and cruise missile interceptors, state media said Wednesday, amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula.
The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim had personally guided the exercise that involved training attacks by "super-precision drone planes."
It did not specify the timing or location of the drill, which came a week after Kim presided over a live-fire artillery exercise near the disputed sea border with South Korea.
Military tensions on the Korean peninsula are at their highest level for years, with North Korea -- angered by U.N. sanctions imposed after its nuclear test last month -- threatening a second Korean War backed by nuclear weapons.
Pyongyang has also denounced ongoing joint South Korea-U.S. military maeuvers, involving nuclear-capable B-52 bombers, calling them a provocative rehearsal for invasion.
The North Korean drones used in the exercise were assigned flight paths and timings "with targets in South Korea in mind," KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
North Korea has no confirmed drone capability, although South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported last year that it was developing unmanned strike aircraft using old U.S. target drones imported from the Middle East.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
DPRK Drones over Guam??
* FREEREPUBLIC > NORTH KOREA THREATENS US MILITARY BASES IN JAPAN, GUAM.
North Korea warned of "strong military counter-action" if the U.S. again flies B-52 bombers over the Korean peninsula, with two flights this month after the totalitarian regime threatened preemptive nuclear strikes.
The U.S. Pacific Air Forces Command successfully carried out the latest training flight, 7th Air Force spokeswoman Maj. Richelle Dowdell said in an e-mail yesterday without giving further details. A B-52 can carry nuclear warheads and air-to- ground missiles with a range of 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles).
The U.S. is increasing its defense capability in the region after Kim Jong Un's regime this month threatened to use atomic weapons in response to tougher United Nations sanctions. Tensions on the peninsula are the highest since at least 2010, with China also indirectly criticizing U.S. plans to bolster a regional anti-missile shield.
Missile defense? Didn't the Democrats assure us that ballistic missile defense would never work?
Yesterday's sortie is an "unpardonable" provocation, introducing a mechanism to deliver a strategic nuclear strike to the Korean Peninsula "at a time when its situation is inching close to the brink of war," an unidentified North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said today in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The North is closely watching the situation and "the hostile forces will never escape its strong military counter- action" if the B-52s fly sorties over the the peninsula again, according to the KCNA statement.
The first B-52 flight came on March 8 as part of joint U.S.-South Korea military drills, Defense Department spokesman George Little said in a March 18 statement. He said such flights are routine. The bomber was flown out of Andersen Air Force Base in Guam in the first week of the annual two-month Foal Eagle exercise which ends April 30.
"We are drawing attention to the fact we have extended deterrence capabilities that we believe are important to demonstrate in the wake of recent North Korean rhetoric," Little said. "We are in the midst right now of sending a very strong signal that we have a firm commitment to the alliance with our Republic of Korea allies."
"Absent that, we still like watching the North Koreans foam at the mouth," he added.
Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on March 18 announced during his visit to South Korea that a second flight would take place the next day. He traveled to Seoul to reaffirm the commitment to deter North Korea at a time the U.S. faces multi-billion dollar defense budget cuts.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
The B-52 is a strategic bomber thus any NOKOR action agz same is by definition a CHINESE action.
* BIG NEWS NETWORK > [MSNBC = KCNA] KIM JONG-UN THREATENS TO ATTACK US BASES IN THE PACIFIC [+ BTW also South Korea while he's at it].
Reminds of me of an old dream/vision = "ITS CALLED THE OSCAR-CLASS [Oscar II] SUBMARINE".
Motherly Commie/PLA Airborne coming to Guam-CNMI???
D *** NG IT, I KNOW FOR A FACT FROM "RED DAWN II" THAT YOU BOYZ WERE SUPPOSED TO ATTACK WASHINGTON + OREGON, NOT GUAM'S COCOS ISLAND!
* SAME > NORTH KOREA ISSUES RED ALERT, ORDERS MILITARY TO "STAND BY", for possible immediate counter-attack = "immediate counter-response" like Iran.
* YONHAP > KCNA: NORTH KOREA ARMY IS READY FOR COMBAT.
IIRC RELATED SAME > VIDEO: NORTH KOREAN SOLDIER: WE WIL REMOVE THE US FROM THE EARTH.
* SAME > EDITORIAL: NORTH KOREA STANDS AT A CROSSROADS.
YUUUUPPPP.
See also RELATED TOPIX [old] > NORTH KOREA THROWS DOWN THE GAUNTLET.
> Famine/Econ-led Collapse = Chinese takeover.
> Sino-DPRK FTAS = Chinese takeover.
> DPRK War agz US-ROK-Japan-UNCOM = Chinese takeover.
* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > RUSSIAN RADIO MEDIA: CHINESE DRAGON + RUSSIAN BEAR JOIN FORCES IN ASIA-PACIFIC TO CUT OFF THE AMERICAN EAGLE [+ US Allies]. DEBT-RIDDEN USA NEEDS TIME TO DEPLOY TROOPS FROM CONUS FOR THE DEFENSE OF SOUTH KOREA, JAPAN, + HAWAII - CHINA + PLA CAN EASILY USE THIS TIME TO LEAVE, ENTER THE SEA OF JAPAN IN FORCE, WHILE RUSSIA CAN SEND 36 TU-22M3 LR STRATEGIC BOMBERS TO ATTACK + DESTROY THE US BASE ON GUAM.
* SAME > NEW US SECDEF CHUCK HAGEL CALLS ON PENTAGON TO REVISE US MILITARY STRATEGIES TO FIT WID DESIRED USDOD BUDGET REDUCTIONS OF UP TO US$1.0TRILYUHN. US NO LONGER DESIRES TO ACT LIKE A "GLOBAL" POWER, BUT NOW AS A "REGIONAL" POWER. US GROUND FORCES TO BE REDUCED IN MATCHING SCALE TO LOWER THE PROBABILITY OF THE US ENGAGING IN UNILATERAL MILITARY ACTIONS.
* SAME > BEIJING EXPERT: US DOES NOT WANT NORTH KOREA CRISIS TO TAKE DOWN CHINA; PENINSULA SHOULD GIVE UP ONE-SIDED DENUCLEARIZATION BID.
IIUC, this Pert is saying that off the DPRK refuses to denuclearize, the ROK should unilaterally nuclearize in response, + that both the US + China should approve.
* GLOBAL TIMES > OPED: US CAN'T PIVOT TO ASIA-PACIFIC WID ITS FEET BOGGED DOWN IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
Yuuuppp.
ADVANTAGE - CHINA + PLA, IRAN + IRAN NAVY [IRGC?], NUKE-ARMED PAKISTAN + POST-2014 NOT-THE-MUSLIM-BROTHERHOOD TALIBAN GOVT.
#3
Lest we fergit, CHINA = claims Guam-CNMI as Chinese territory, albeit US controlled, due to the Marianas being on a sub-shelf of the UW continental shelf extending from the coasts of mainland China.
#9
I'm not in the habit of running away from enemies.
IMO the key advantage of Guam + US-Allies is that the DPRK, SSSSHHHH ... CCCCCC aka CHINA + PLA, desire to have China rival Nippon + also ROK, etc. ASEAN under their wing, NOT the US ; + also desire to keep Russia neutral AMAP ALAP in any mil conflict which does occurs - ditto as per Russia for US-Allies.
Hopefully the above will induce China to wage either a wholly Conventional war, or in the alternate a Limited NucWar using select Tacnuke strikes agz high-value targets in Nippon, ROK, Taiwan, + possibly Philippines WHERE THESE COUNTRIES WILL BE DAMAGED, BUT NOT DESTROYED.
Iff China does decide on conventional war, then IMO the real threat to Guam may be via Airborne Forces, PLAAF LR strategic bomber attack, + PLAN Submarine Ops, + COMMANDO/SPECOPS.
GUAM'S PROB = MOST OF OUR GUAM NATIONAL GUARD IS NOW OVER IN AFGHANISTAN AS PER 2014. GUAM HAS [three?] USN SSNS BUT LITTLE OR NOTHING TO SERIOUSLY DEFEND AGZ PLAAF STRATEGIC BOMBERS + CHIN AIRBORNE FORCES/PARATROOPERS, LET ALONE BALLISTIC MISSLE DEFENSE AGZ PLA 2nd ARTY.
Lastly, I believe the CCCC/CPC, CMC + PLA are well aware of their own internal defects ala the PLA - as per WORLD MIL FORUM, CHINESE ANALYSTS ARE WORRIED THAT PLA TROOPS MAY HAD BECOME "EFFEMINATE" DUE TO NOT BEING MILITARILY ACTIVE OVERSEAS IN SUPPORT OF CHINA'S FOREIGN POLICY OVER THE PAST 30 YEARS-PLUS.
Iff the WMF Artics are correct, then Guam + US-Allies will likely have the added advantage of the PLA Officer, Senior NCO Corps being overly "rusty" or incompetent/defective in all things Local + Campaign MilOps, at least during the initial phases or periods of a US-China-Japan, etal. military conflict. OVER TIME, HOWEVER, AS THE MIL CONFLICT GOES ON CHINA + PLA WILL REMOVE = "PROMOTE"? PROBLEMATIC MILITARY LEADERS + REPLACE SAME WID TRULY CAPABLE OR PROFICIENT LEADERS.
Again, iff China backs down vee the US + Japan, its NOT GODD for anti-US Globalists + aligned whom desire to see the US permanently suborned under OWG + NAU 2015, ETC. where the US is weak + no longer the World's #1 Superpower. WILL POTUS BAMMER FIGHT, OR WILL HE "KEEP THE US OUT OF [Nuclear?]WAR" BY CLAIMING THE SEQUESTRATION + EXCESSIVELY DEBT-RIDDEN USA CANNOT AFFORD TO ECON INTERVENE, HENCE CANNOT MILITARILY INTERVENE, ON BEHALF OF JAPAN OR ANY OF ITS OVERSEAS ALLIES ANYMORE???
* GLOBAL TIMES > US FED [Federal Reserve] CONTINUES MONETARY EASING MOVES TO STIMULATE [Economic] GROWTH.
The US has to keep buy Buy BUY B-U-Y BBBUUUYYYING
US$85.0BILYUHN PER MONTH ON THE BOND MARKET to support itself.
US $85.0BILYUHN PER MONTH FOR 12 MONTHS = Read, CHINA.
* REAL CLEAR POLITICS ARTIC = denotes that the Bammer is NOT interested in a PAR/BALANCED BUDGET, ONLY A "FISCALLY SUSTAINABLE" ONE.
Read, WHERE INCOMING REVENUES ARE SUCH THAT THE ALREADY MASSIVE US WELFARE-NANNY STATE + DEFICIT SPENDING IS MAINTAINED IFF NOT EXPANDED, I.E. "STAYS IN THE DEEP RED"; + ECON, BUDGET, + NATIONAL COLLAPSE IS ROUTINELY AVOIDABLE.
Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan ordered his fighters on Thursday to cease fire and withdraw from Turkish soil as a step to ending a conflict that has killed 40,000 people, riven the country and battered its economy.
Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, gathered in the regional center of Diyarbakir, cheered and waved banners bearing Ocalan's mustachioed image when a letter from the rebel leader, held since 1999 on a prison island in the Marmara Sea, was read out by a pro-Kurdish politician.
"Let guns be silenced and politics dominate," he said to a sea of red-yellow-green Kurdish flags. "The stage has been reached where our armed forces should withdraw beyond the borders ... It's not the end. It's the start of a new era."
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has taken considerable risks since he was elected in 2002, breaking taboos deeply rooted in a conservative establishment, not least in the military, by extending cultural and language rights to Kurds.
He must now carry a skeptical conservative establishment with him, just as Ocalan from his prison island must marshal and keep the obedience of fighters in the hills of northern Iraq. The road must be a rough one with suspicions on both sides.
[An Nahar] A Turkish minister said Wednesday that twin attacks in Ankara may have been the work of the same radical Marxist group which claimed a suicide bombing against the U.S. embassy in February.
One person was slightly wounded in simultaneous grenade and rocket attacks late Tuesday against the justice ministry and the headquarters of the ruling ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
"The choice of targets... could suggest it is an act by the DHKP-C," Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said at a press conference, referring to the fiercely anti-U.S. and anti-government Revolutionary People's Liberation Front.
"There is still no certainty, but clues, traces were found yesterday which suggest that this terrorist organisation could have carried this out," he added.
Arinc said the DHKP-C had suffered a setback in recent weeks with the arrest of hundreds of alleged militants in large police operations across Turkey.
"We want to get across the message: We are still standing," Arinc added.
Arinc also said the attacks could be an attempt to derail peace talks aimed at ending the 29-year armed Kurdish insurgency in Turkey.
The outlawed DHKP-C, which has waged a string of attacks over the past few decades that have left dozens of people dead, claimed the February 1 bombing on the US embassy in Ankara.
It also claimed a suicide bombing that killed a police officer in Istanbul in September.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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The DHKP/C (Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front) is a Marxist, anti-Western splinter group of the Turkish terrorist group Devrimci Sol (Dev Sol)... While the group's activities are focused in Turkey, their funding comes from Western Europe, where much of the leadership is currently located. The group reportedly finances most of its operations through armed robberies and extortion.
James Holmes, the gunman behind the Dark Knight massacre in Colorado last July, has reportedly turned Muslim and prays five times a day.
The killer showed off a lengthy, thick beard during a court appearance earlier this month, and a prison source has claimed it is a symbol of his new-found faith.
The source said Holmes has turned to Islam as a way of justifying his horrific murder spree in an Aurora, Colorado cinema on July 20 which left 12 people dead and 58 people wounded.
He has brainwashed himself into believing he was on his own personal jihad and that his victims were infidels,' a prison source told the National Enquirer.
He now prays five times a day, sticks to a strict Muslim diet and spends hours each day studying the Qur'an, the source said. But his new routine has upset Muslim inmates.
#8
He now prays five times a day, sticks to a strict Muslim diet and spends hours each day studying the Qur'an, the source said.
All that and free board and lodgings. Sure beats having to spend time in a Madras to get brainwashed where they force you to work for your keep and trash you if you don't learn fast enough.
#9
perhaps like a real Madrassa student he is occasionally the victim of sexual assault
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/21/2013 20:22 Comments ||
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#10
All this praying, dietary restrictions and acts of piety, SHOULD NOT change the penalty, death.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/21/2013 22:07 Comments ||
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#11
As we speak. Gov. Hickenlooper is thinking of ending the death penalty in CO. In this case I believe "Death By A Thousand Cuts" would be correct punishment.
A Department of Homeland Security program intended to give "trusted traveler" status to low-risk airline passengers soon will be extended to Saudi travelers, opening the program to criticism for accommodating the country that produced 15 of the 19 hijackers behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
And if you can't trust a Saudi man on an airplane, just who can you trust?
Sources voiced concern about the decision to the Investigative Project on Terrorism, which issued a report Wednesday on the under-the-radar announcement -- which was first made by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano after meeting in January with her Saudi counterpart. According to the IPT, this would be the first time the Saudi government has been given such a direct role in fast-tracking people for entry into the United States.
"I think you have radical Wahhabism in certain elements in Saudi Arabia, and I think to be more lenient there than in other places would be a mistake," Rep. Frank Wolf told the Investigative Project on Terrorism. "There were 15 [hijackers] from that country, and there is a lot taking place in that region."
Only an exclusive handful of countries enjoy inclusion in the Global Entry program -- Canada, Mexico, South Korea and the Netherlands. According to the IPT, some officials are questioning why Saudi Arabia gets to reap the benefits of the program, when key U.S. allies like Germany and France are not enrolled; Israel has reached a deal with the U.S., but that partnership has not yet been implemented.
Any Saudi travelers cleared through the program will be able to bypass the normal customs line after providing passports and fingerprints. The status lasts for five years.
The decision is a turnaround, the IPT notes, from when Saudi Arabia was briefly placed on a list of countries whose U.S.-bound travelers would face higher scrutiny, in the wake of the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt in 2009.
But Napolitano spoke highly of "the bond between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" when she announced the change in January.
Wonder if she has a job lined up as a 'consultant' or 'lobbyist' after her time at DHS...
"By enhancing collaboration with the government of Saudi Arabia, we reaffirm our commitment to more effectively secure our two countries against evolving threats while facilitating legitimate trade and travel," Napolitano said.
The Global Entry program was launched in 2008 to expedite pre-approved passengers through the airport customs and security process when they arrive in the U.S. The program is designed to weed out low-risk passengers and enable authorities to zero in on those who may be more likely to pose a threat.
But the program has sparked controversy in the past. Critics objected in late 2010 when Mexican citizens were included in the program, raising concerns that drug cartels would quickly learn how to exploit loopholes in the plan. DHS officials, however, insisted at the time that people who attain trusted traveler status don't get a free pass and are still subject to random searches.
The program allows travelers who have undergone a thorough vetting process -- fingerprinting, background checks, interviews with customs agents, etc.-- to attain a low-risk status that allows them to skip the line at customs and complete their entry process at an automatic kiosk.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2013 13:15 ||
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#1
Sure. Just strap a small "Termination Charge" (remotely detonated, of course) to their necks so we can cleave their 5th cervical vertebrae in the event of them pulling out a pen-knife.
The judge in the court-martial of an Army psychiatrist charged in a deadly shooting spree on a Texas military base rejected options presented by his lawyers under which he would plead guilty and ordered the trial to begin in May.
Maj. Nidal Hasan is charged with killing 13 people at Fort Hood in November 2009, called the worst incident of its kind on a military base.
Col. Tara Osborn on Wednesday ruled that pre-trial publicity around the case would not unfairly prejudice a jury and set the start of jury selection for May 29. Testimony is scheduled to begin July 1.
Hasan's lawyers filed motions indicating that he was willing to plead guilty under three potential scenarios. Details of the proposals, including the counts involved, were not immediately clear.
But Osborn turned them down, saying it would be tantamount to admitting guilt to a capital offense, which is not permitted under military law.
Hasan, who was paralyzed from the waist down in an exchange of gunfire with police, appeared bearded and thinner when he arrived for the pretrial hearing in a wheelchair.
The attack that resulted in murder and attempted murder charges against him occurred at the post's processing center, where soldiers were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Obama administration is preparing to transfer the CIAs lethal drone program to the Defense Department, a senior White House official confirmed Wednesday to Fox News.
The White House and CIA Director John Brennan would like the bulk of the lethal targeting program to revert to the Defense Department and for the CIA to return to its primary role of intelligence collection and analysis, as reported first by The Daily Beast.
Though the Defense Department would resume most drone operations, those over Pakistan likely would remain under CIA control in the short term due to sensitivities in the region, the official told Fox News. In addition, the CIA is expected to continue to provide intelligence for targeting attacks, despite no longer operating the unmanned aircraft.
The change appears to be an effort to improve the programs accountability and transparency at a time when Americans appear increasingly concerned about the largely secretive operations.
Much of the public concern has focused on news that President Obama had hand-picked the human targets -- one victim was Anwar al-Awlaki, a prominent Al Qaeda figure and U.S. citizen -- and secret Justice Department legal opinions authorizing such strikes.
There is no definite time frame for the transition, but it is expected to occur in Obamas second term.
#6
Will they start enforcing those crazy crap ROE on drone strikes?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/21/2013 10:15 Comments ||
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#7
I thought the entire purpose of putting it in the CIA was to provide a fig leaf of no military involvement.
Pakistan and other countries get their panties in a knot if the US military conducts operations on their territory, but don't mind if a "civilian" agency conducts the same operations.
This policy is either a short term response to domestic pressure, or simply hasn't been thought through.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/21/2013 10:32 Comments ||
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#8
Um, Al? Those two positions are not mutually exclusive.
This crew of half-wits does nothing EXCEPT as a short term reaction to domestic pressure AND they never think through anything.
LAHORE: The cheques distributed among victims of the Joseph Colony attack by the Punjab government bounced, Express News reported Thursday.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had announced Rs0.5 million in compensation for each of those affected in the mob attack. However, the 265 cheques distributed by the government have bounced.
According to reports, the finance ministry had issued the amount promised. When the cheques bounced, the victims started protesting.
On March 9, an over 3,000-strong mob had set ablaze more than 150 houses of Christians in the Joseph Colony over alleged blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by Sawan Masih, a 28-year-old Christian sanitation worker.
NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt will have to undergo a jail term of three years and six months after the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case which it said was organised by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and others with the involvement of Pakistan's ISI.
However, the apex court reduced to five years the six year jail term awarded to him by a designated TADA court in 2006, ruling out his release on probation because the "nature" of his offence was "serious".
53-year-old Dutt, son of the late Sunil Dutt and Nargis, has already spent one and half years in jail and was out on bail. Sunil Dutt was a long standing Congressman and was a Union minister.
Dutt was convicted by the TADA court for illegal possession of a 9 mm pistol and a AK-56 rifle which was part of the consignment of weapons and explosives brought to India for the coordinated serial blasts that killed 257 people and injured over 700.
Bringing to a closure the appeals by the convicts and the state in the case, a bench of justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan upheld the death sentence of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, brother of one of the absconding main conspirators Tiger Memon and life sentences of 16 of the 18 convicts.
The death sentence of 10 others was commuted to life sentence by the court which directed that they will remain in prison till death.
The life sentence of one Ashrafur Rehman Azimulla was reduced to 10 years while Imtiyaz Yunusmiya Ghavte was set free by reducing the sentence to jail term already undergone.
"The circumstances and the nature of the offence is so serious that we are of the view that he (Sanjay Dutt) cannot take the benefit of provisions of the Probation of Offenders Act to release him on probation," the bench said.
"We reduce the punishment of six years to minimum of five years under the Arms Act," the bench said and directed him to surrender within four weeks.
Sanjay Dutt's lawyer Satish Maneshinde said he has spoken to the actor who told him that he was strong enough to go through whatever the court has asked him to undergo.
"He has accepted the judgement, he said adding "he will go through the verdict and will consider all the legal recourses available to him".
The apex court concurred with the conclusion arrived at by the designated TADA court saying that it had adopted the "correct procedure" while awarding the sentence to Dutt.
"We are in agreement with conclusion arrived at by the designated TADA court that had rejected the arguments of the appellant Sanjay Dutt," the bench said.
"We are of the view that the trial court adopted the correct procedure and the decision arrived at by it was correct," it said and directed Dutt to surrender within four weeks from today.
According to the CBI, RDX had come from Pakistan in boats and had landed in Dighy and Shekhadi coasts in Raigad district in January and February 1993. Besides, weapons had also landed and were collected by Tiger's men. One of the weapons was given to actor Sanjay Dutt by Bollywood filmmakers Samir Hingora and Hanif Kadawala.
The apex court modified the nine year jail term awarded by TADA court to Hingora to the jail term already undergone.
Hingora had supplied AK-56 rifles, magazines, cartridges and hand grenades, which were part of the illegal consignment to be used in the blasts, at Dutt's Pali Hill residence and has spent six and half years in jail.
Kadawala was shot dead in February 2001 by two unindentified men during the trial of the case.
The apex court upheld the five-year jail term awarded to Zaibunnisa Anwar Kazi, who also was found guilty of storing AK-56 rifles and hand grenades.
The court also upheld the conviction and five-year sentence of Yusuf Mohsin Nulwalla, a close friend of Dutt, who was held guilty of destroying the weapons which were kept at Dutt's house.
The punishment of two-year jail term of Kersi Bapuji Adjania, who was also sentenced for destroying weapons in Dutt's possession, was also upheld.
According to CBI, Nulwalla had picked up the weapons from Dutt's house and took them to Adjania and then destroyed them.
The court, however, dismissed Maharashtra government's appeal against the acquittal of Ajai Yash Prakash Marwah who was charged by the probe agency of keeping the pistol recovered from Dutt's residence while other weapons were destroyed by convicts Nulwalla and Hingora.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/21/2013 07:28 ||
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#1
Involved in a terrorist bombing? Is there a reason why the Indian government and courts didn't just shoot him? At the very least, life in prison?
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2013 8:51 Comments ||
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Ah, yes, the legal precedent of the Lindsay Lohan Effect has reached Bollywood carrying it to new venues of jurisprudence.
[Dawn] Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani on Tuesday constituted a judicial inquiry into the alleged involvement of 11 children in acts of terrorism.
"The judge of the BHC will conduct judicial inquiry into the issue of alleged involvement of 11 children in bomb blasts and other terrorism-related activities," Mr Raisani said.
The Quetta Police had arrested 11 children alleging their involvement in bomb blasts and incidents of terrorism. Parents of the arrested children staged a demonstration on Monday and the chief minister taking notice of the protest issued orders for a judicial inquiry into the matter.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The top military brass resolved on Tuesday to continue the fight against terrorism.
The meeting, chaired by Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne, was attended by Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... , Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Asif Sandila, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Defence Secretary Lt Gen (retd) Asif Yasin Malik, Chief of General Staff, Director General Joint Staff, Director General of Inter Services Intelligence, Director General of Strategic Plans Division and other senior military officers from the three services.
"It was reiterated in unequivocal terms that comprehensive strategy will be followed by armed forces to combat terrorist threat being faced by the country," a military front man said after a quarterly meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, which is the principal military advisory body.
The policy statement on continuing the fight against terrorism came a day after the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain withdrew its peace talks offer on the pretext of what it (TTP) called the "non-serious attitude of security forces and the government".
This was probably the first official response from the military since the TTP offered talks in December last year.
The offer for talks was renewed by the TTP on Feb 3 and it named PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... , JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... and Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... Amir Munawar Hassan as guarantors they would like to have in any peace deal with the government.Two multi-party conferences -- one hosted by the Awami National Party and the other by JUI-F -- had endorsed a grinding of the peace processor with Taliban except for that the communiqué issued by the conference organised by the ANP called for dialogue within the confines of the Constitution, while the JUI-F meeting wanted unconditional talks.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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The new Syrian opposition prime minister Ghassan al-Hitto "is more Texan than Muslim Brotherhood," Washington's envoy to Syria Robert Ford told U.S. lawmakers Wednesday.
More Texan? Obama must really hate the guy...
Dismissing concerns at a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ford insisted that Hitto, narrowly elected this week by the Syrian National Coalition as interim premier, was "not a religious extremist -- far from it."
"I've met him twice... and he struck me as more Texan than Muslim Brotherhood, frankly," Ford said of Hitto, a former IT executive who has lived in the southwestern U.S. state of Texas for decades.
"I don't know what his political affiliations are. But I do know that he also has a tolerant vision of Syrian society," Ford stressed. "He has, at some self-sacrifice, gone over to help with the humanitarian crisis in Syria. He did not have to do that."
Hitto is expected to name a technocratic government that plans to operate inside Syria, attempting to bring rule of law and basic services to large swathes of rebel-held territory.
His election has exposed rifts in the fractured Syrian opposition, with at least 12 key members saying Wednesday they had suspended their membership.
"The Coalition is a non-elected body, and as such it does not have a right to choose a prime minister on a majority vote. There should have been consensus," dissenting member Kamal Labwani told AFP in Istanbul.
Jordan has set up a security cordon around a sprawling Syrian refugee camp in the countrys north in an effort to curb rising crime and lawlessness among its residents, a Jordanian official said on Wednesday.
The cordon around the Zaatari camp, which is now home to over 100,000 Syrians who fled the civil war in their country, will be enforced by members of Jordans desert patrol force, said Anmar Hmoud.
You'd think the refugees would be grateful for have a bit of security and safety...
Hmoud, a government spokesman for Syrian refugee affairs, said it will prevent refugees from leaving Zaatari or Jordanians from entering the camp without authorization.
The move follows reports from the camp, which is near the Jordan-Syria border, that its often-impoverished refugees are increasingly engaging in drug trafficking, prostitution and other crimes.
The desert patrol, known as the Badia force, is recruited from Bedouin tribes that live in the area, said Hmoud. He did not elaborate on what arms the force would carry, the details of their duties or how they would enforce the security cordon
Hmoud said the figure of Syrian refugees at Zaatari has reached 137,595 almost a third of more than 450,000 Syrian refugees who have found shelter in Jordan. The remainder live among relatives and on their own means in nearby Jordanian towns.
The overcrowded Zaatari has stretched Jordans resources. Conditions in the wind-swept desert camp have also deteriorated since it opened last July and there have been several incidents of rioting in the camp and clashes with Jordanian police.
Last week, U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said his agency was working with Jordan to bolster security at the camp. The camp has also had several fires break out in recent months, including a blaze that killed a Syrian man.
Hmoud confirmed that another fire erupted at Zaatari on Wednesday, destroying 15 tents. He said there were no injuries or fatalities in the latest blaze, which was caused by illegal extension of high tension wires to the tents in the camp.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Russia backtracked Wednesday over claims that Syrian rebels had used chemical weapons, saying the information still had to be checked.
The foreign ministry said on Tuesday it had information from Damascus the rebels had used chemical weapons in an attack that day in Aleppo province that Syria claimed killed 16 people.
But Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov, Russia's pointman on the Middle East, said there was no clear evidence proving the use of weapons of mass destruction.
"The story concerning the use of chemical weapons in Syria must be meticulously investigated," Gatilov wrote on his Twitter account.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] At least 12 key members of Syria's National Coalition said Wednesday they had suspended their membership in the main opposition body amid a row over the deeply divisive election of the first rebel prime minister.
The group of 12 included the Coalition's deputy Soheir Atassi and spokesman Walid al-Bunni.
Their decision came amid bitter disagreement over the election of Ghassan al-Hitto as the first opposition premier.
Other members who said they had "frozen" their membership in the Coalition included Kamal Labwani, Marwan Hajj Rifai, Yehia al-Kurdi and Ahmad al-Assi Jarba, with sources saying more such announcements were expected.
Though the dissenting members said they had different reasons for their decisions, some expressed their opposition to Hitto's election, and the process by which he was chosen.
"The Coalition is a non-elected body, and as such it does not have a right to choose a prime minister on a majority vote. There should have been consensus," Labwani told Agence France Presse.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Not long in coming, division among the dividers.
The State Department has put a multimillion-dollar bounty on the heads of two Americans who the United States claims belong to an al Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, CNN has learned.
Posters and matchbooks in Somali and English emblazoned with the names and pictures of Omar Shafik Hammami and Jehad Serwan Mostafa tout rewards up to $5 million each for information leading to their arrest or conviction.
How much if you finger them for a drone-zap?
Both men are on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists List.
The rewards are being offered through the State Department's Rewards for Justice Program.
Hammami and Mostafa are members of Al-Shabaab, the al Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, and "have made significant contributions to this terrorist organization's media and military activities," according to a State Department statement on the rewards, obtained by CNN. They are both are believed to be in Somalia and speak English, Arabic and Somali.
A senior FBI official said the United States has information that both men "had a persistent interest in targeting U.S. interests" and are "believed to be involved in planning attacks on U.S. persons or property." But it is unclear what specific attacks against Americans, even ones that have been thwarted, these men have taken part in. Officials said that information is classified.
Hammami, a 29-year-old Alabama native, moved to Somalia in 2006. The State Department claims he joined Al-Shabaab there and received training from Islamic militants, rising through the organization's ranks to command a contingent of foreign fighters. Officials say he was also a "propagandist" for the group, helping to recruit English-speaking youth through writings, rap songs and video statements.
An Alabama court indicted him in 2009 on charges of providing support to a terrorist group.
In July 2011, the Treasury Department placed him on a blacklist prohibiting Americans from doing business with individuals and groups threatening stability in Somalia.
Hammami has been engaged in a public rift with Al-Shabaab over the past year. Last March, he first expressed concern about his safety in an extraordinary Web video. He has since criticized the group's leaders for corruption and living extravagant lifestyles with money fighters collect from Somali residents, and for fighting only in Somalia while ignoring global jihad.
Hammami's family has said they fear for his life.
Especially with a $5 million reward on his head...
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.
[Libya Herald] A grave reportedly containing six bodies has been found in Nufaliyah, between Ras Lanuf and Sirte.
[Libya Herald] Egypt has arrested Qaddafi's cousin and leading aide, Ahmed Qaddaf Al-Dam, as well as at least two other Qaddafi regime figures wanted by Libya. Reports were circulating in Tripoli for much of the late morning, Tuesday, but were confirmed this evening by Prime Minister Ali Zeidan.
[LEADERSHIP.NG] The leader of the Boko Haram sect, Ibn Abubakar Shekau, has threatened to deal with the spokesman of the JTF in Borno State, Lt Col Sagir Musa, and journalists for telling lies against the islamist sect, an online medium has reported.
North Korea
North Korea warned of "strong military counter-action" if the U.S. again flies B-52 bombers over the Korean peninsula, with two flights this month after the totalitarian regime threatened preemptive nuclear strikes.
[Dawn] The top military brass resolved on Tuesday to continue the fight against terrorism.
Nawaz Sharif
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
