[Tolo News] At a gathering in Kabul on Tuesday, in front of a number of high-ranking officials and Afghan media representatives, leading presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... said a runoff round - required by law to determine the winner if no one gets an outright majority - would be a waste of time.
The ceremony was held in commemoration of the Mujahiddin (8 Sawr) who fought for Afghanistan's independence from the Soviet Union. However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... most of the day's discourse was focused around the presidential election, the outcome of which remains unclear despite the fact that Abdullah leads the preliminary results by a health margin.
"We are committed to defending Afghans' rights and safeguard their votes, and we are asking the electoral commissions to do their duties honestly and fairly," Abdullah said. "They should know that the people understand everything that going on."
Although he said it would be a waste of time, Abdullah and his team expressed confidence that if there was a second round, which would include the top two contenders from the first round, that they would triumph. Based on the preliminary results announced by election officials last weekend, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai would likely be the candidate to face off with Abdullah in the runoff.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Hell, why bother with an expensive election at all?
Posted by: ed in texas ||
04/30/2014 20:04 Comments ||
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The European Union's foreign policy chief said on Tuesday Egypt's sentencing of 683 people to death breached international law and urged Cairo authorities to ensure defendants' rights to a fair and timely trial. Will somebody do something about these people? Did the EU foreign policy chief comment on King Leopold's treatment of the people of the Congo?
[Iran Press TV] A big shot of Egypt's Moslem Brüderbund says mass death sentences against him and other members of the group will result in the downfall of military-backed authorities.
Mohammed Badie, who is among the 683 people receiving the death sentence, says the regime is on the brink of collapse.
He described the verdict as "the last nail in the coffin of those who ousted the country's first democratically-elected President, Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... ."
On Monday, a court in Minya handed death penalty to Brotherhood members on the charge of inciting violence after Morsi was tossed by the military.
The hasty verdict has been slammed by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, who says it is a clear violation of international law. Pillay has expressed regret in a statement, saying the case shows that justice in Egypt is increasingly trampled upon.
Also back in March, the same court handed death sentence to 529 other Brotherhood supporters.
The developments come as protests continue across Egypt against the presidential candidacy of former army chief, Abdel Fatah el-Sisi.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
"the last nail in the coffin" of somebody. I don't think he's all that correct on who
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/30/2014 7:49 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Egypt's military-installed leaders must prove they are serious about bringing democracy to the world's largest Arab nation, U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... insisted Tuesday.
He delivered the stern warning as he met with Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy -- the highest level visit to Washington by an Egyptian official since the army ousted elected Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... in July, throwing U.S. policy towards Cairo into disarray.
"We all know there have been disturbing decisions within the judicial process," Kerry said, highlighting recent mass death sentences against hundreds of alleged supporters of Morsi's Moslem Brüderbund.
"Clearly Egypt has been going through a very difficult transitional process," Kerry said at the start of the two men's talks in the State Department.
"We want the interim government to be successful. We are hopeful and look for a political process of inclusivity, a constitution implemented which brings people politically to the table and broadens the democratic base."
But he warned Fahmy he would raise the "serious challenges" posed by the court decisions "very candidly" to ensure the implementation of democracy and "Egypt's re-emergence's on the world stage."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Easiest method for Egypt to "prove" their desire for democracy would be to publicaly ban Kerry from entering the country.
#4
Senate Joint (means it passed both houses) Resolution 23, 2001 -
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This joint resolution may be cited as the `Authorization for Use of Military Force'.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.
(a) IN GENERAL- That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.
(b) War Powers Resolution Requirements-
(1) SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION- Consistent with section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers Resolution, the Congress declares that this section is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning of section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution.
(2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER REQUIREMENTS- Nothing in this resolution supercedes any requirement of the War Powers Resolution.
That little thingy in Article III of the Constitution -
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
[An Nahar] Nigerian parents lashed out on Tuesday at the government's failure to rescue scores of schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... Islamists two weeks ago, as families agonized over the uncertain fate of the hostages.
"May God curse every one of those who has failed to free our girls," said Enoch Mark, whose daughter and two nieces were among over 100 students kidnapped from the Government Girls Secondary School in the Chibok area of northeastern Borno state.
The government is "showing indifference to (a) monumental disaster," he charged.
The attack was one of the most shocking in Boko Haram's five-year Islamist uprising, which has claimed thousands of lives across northern and central Nigeria.
The outrage that followed the mass abduction has been compounded by disputes over figures and criticism of the military's search-and-rescue effort.
Borno officials have said that 129 girls were kidnapped when gunnies stormed the school after sundown on April 14 and forced the students -- who are between 12 and 17-years-old -- onto a convoy of trucks. Officials said 52 have since escaped.
Locals, including the school's principal, have rejected those numbers, insisting that 230 students were snatched and that 187 are still being held hostage.
Mark told Agence La Belle France Presse that his wife has hardly slept since the attack, lying awake at night "thinking about our daughter".
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] The sultanate of Brunei this week becomes the first East Asian country to introduce Islamic criminal law, the latest example of a deepening religious conservatism that has also taken root in parts of neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia.
Brunei, a tiny former British protectorate of about 400,000 nestled between two Malaysian states on Borneo island, relies on oil and gas exports for its prosperity, with annual per capita income of nearly $50,000. It is the first country in east Asia to adopt the criminal component of sharia at a national level.
Background on the massacre can be found here.
Spanish Language article which appeared in El Diario de Coahuila, can be found here.
The Coahuila state attorney reported yesterday an error in calculation of remains discovered in the "massive search" conducted in January. It was reported at that time that the human remains were of up to 500 people, but the actual number, according to the Coahuila state Ruben Moreira administration, is 2500.
Governor Moreira is the brother of the shamed former Coahuila governor and National PRI president Humberto Moreira. The former governor was named by Forbes as one of the most corrupt of 2013.
Though the results never proven, the highly touted January search was conducted in northern Coahuila in the Five Springs area and other cities such as Monclova, AcuĂąa and Piedras Negras, where locations of mass murder atrocities and narco fosas are known to exist.
At the time of the search, it was reported by the state that state of the art equipment and elite forces would be utilized, used to comb the 50 thousand square kilometers in 12 days. With what appeared to be cursory search team of soldiers.
An amazing miracle of accomplishment.
At the end of the 12 days, the state announced they would conduct DNA studies. Many questioned the integrity of that statement.
The state refrained from labeling the vast difference in number of remains discovered as a mistake of calculation. It just slipped the revised numbers sans explanation into the press release. The attorney general issued the statement in reference to "DNA" studies, saying the human remains totaling 2500 were collected and studied, but that nearly 89% of the remains were damaged due to incineration, and consequently too damaged to be tested.
In other words, there are 2000 remains more than 3 months ago.
Two years after his inconclusive polemic with Republic of Ingushetia head Yunus-Bek Yevkurov over their disputed border, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has fired the first round in a new quarrel.
Addressing Chechen Interior Ministry personnel on April 22, Kadyrov openly labeled Saygidpasha Umakhanov, longtime mayor of the Dagestani town of Khasavyurt just over the Chechen-Dagestan border, "a bandit". Kadyrov further alleged that Umakhanov's brother channels money to the Islamic insurgency. Umakhanov responded with a statement saying his religious and moral convictions do not permit him to engage in a polemic with Kadyrov in light of his profound respect for Kadyrov's late father Akhmad-hadji.
Kadyrov's grievances with the municipal leadership in Khasavyurt in general, and with the Umakhanov family in particular, center on their imputed connivance with the North Caucasus insurgency (of which, as Kadyrov noted, an Avar from Dagestan was recently elected to succeed Doku Umarov as leader) and the spillover into Chechnya.
[Ynet] An international rights organization has called on Bulgaria's government to stop forcefully reducing the number of asylum seekers in the country.
Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... says Bulgaria has been summarily pushing back Syrians, Afghans and others as they cross the border from Turkey. The New York-based group says Tuesday that people have been improperly forced back with no opportunity to lodge asylum claims.
[Ynet] In attempt to dissuade young Bosnian Moslems from joining jihad against Assad regime, Bosnian government introduces jail sentences.
Bosnia introduced jail terms of up to 10 years on Tuesday for any citizen who fights in or recruits for conflicts abroad, seeking to curb departure of young Bosnians to Syria who could return to pose a threat at home.
Analysts say some young Bosnians have become radicalized to fight for global causes under the influence of imported muscle or Mujahedeen who came to help Bosnian Moslems fight Bosnian Serbs and Croats during the Bosnian 1992-95 war.
"This trend is the direct legacy of Mujahedeen," said Vlado Azinovic, lecturer at the Sarajevo Faculty of Political Sciences and expert on terrorism.
Experts say that around 150 Bosnians were confirmed to have left for Syria over the past year, 15 of whom had been reported killed. Some took their wives and children with them, hoping to start a new life under strict Islamic rules.
Most Bosnian Moslems, known as Bosniaks, practice a moderate form of Islam. But some youths, particularly from rural areas, have in recent years adhered to the puritanical Sunni Moslem Wahhabi sect.
Governments estimate that several thousand Europeans have gone to Syria since the war against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... started three years ago. Britannia and La Belle France have announced measures to counter the phenomenon which has also raised concern in other European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... countries.
Militant Islamist groups have grown greatly in power and influence in the Syrian opposition in the last year, often clashing with other, non-sectarian groupings.
Bosnia's newly-approved penal law is designed to help prevent or decrease the number of young Bosnians going to fight in Syria.
"These people come back to Bosnia after certain time and engage in propaganda activities and encourage others to commit the same criminal acts," deputy Mirsad Djugum of the Party for Better Future (SBB) said while presenting his initiative in parliament.
He said the stricter penal code was not enough to tackle a complex issue of recruitment of imported muscle among young Bosnians and there was a need for the engagement of the whole society, including the Islamic community and social workers.
Mujahedeen influence
Under US pressure, most of the Mujahedeen who came from Iran and Arab states were forced to leave Bosnia in the late 1990s but some remained after marrying Bosnian women and settling in mainly rural areas.
Azinovic said that his research showed that most Bosnians who have become Islamic fighters have lived in areas where Mujahedeen settled during and after the war, such as the central town of Zenica.
Nobody knows the exact number of people who left Zenica for Syria but six men from the town were reported killed in fighting in the course of the past year.
A student from Zenica, who gave just his first name Amir, said he had learned from television news that his brother had left for Syria in April last year.
"We fear the worst, we are worried he might get killed," he said.
Amir said his brother was not a fighter and that he went to "help civilians attacked by Assad's forces".
"This penal code will not stop people going to Syria if they really want to," he told Rooters. "But it will influence them to think twice before they set off and will enable their parents to exert more influence on them."
[Ynet] Turkish prime minister tells Charlie Rose that Ankara and Jerusalem have agreed on compensation for Marmara victims' families, humanitarian aid to the Paleostinians.
Possibly this is true. Possibly it might even come to fruition before the prime minister has his next temper tantrum about the ebil juices. Possibly previous history is no indication of future developments as well.
[MetroNews] Canada's spy agency is warning Canadians not to shrug off the threat posed by radicalized Canadian terrorist sympathizers, saying that if they're not killed abroad, they may return as more hardened, potentially dangerous individuals.
In a report to Parliament tabled Monday, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) warns against a complacent attitude, saying: "A Canadian who travels to commit terrorism is still very much a Canadian 'problem.' "
"No country can become an unwitting exporter of terrorism without suffering damage to its international image and relations. Canada's legal obligations to promote global security need to be honoured, and that means assuming responsibility for our own," reads the report.
It raises the spectre that individuals may return to Canada "more deeply radicalized than when they left. Most troubling, if they participate in a foreign conflict or train with a terrorist group, they might return with certain operational skills that can be deployed themselves or taught to fellow Canadian myrmidons. Either way, this is a serious security threat to Canada."
The annual report, tabled Monday, breaks from its yearly survey and knits together events of the last two years, stressing that Al Qaeda and its affiliated groups continue to pose the biggest terrorism security risk.
It points to a group of men from London, Ont., tied to last year's Algerian gas plant attack, the investigation into an alleged Al Qaeda-linked plot to attack a VIA train last April, and to young Somali-Canadians who have travelled to join Al-Shabaab ... the personification of Somali state failure... "Make no mistake, Al-Shabaab doesn't just pose an isolated threat to security afar in its own geographic surroundings -- the threat to Canada and Canadian interests is very real."
It also highlighted several cybersecurity threats, including from "foreign state and non-state actors: foreign intelligence agencies, terrorists, 'hacktivists' or simply individuals acting alone."
Without providing specifics, it says there have been "a significant number of attacks" against agencies at the federal, provincial and even municipal level. In fact, the federal government sees "serious attempts to penetrate its networks on a daily basis."
And without naming China, which has been singled out by a past CSIS director, the report says CSIS "assesses that national security concerns related to foreign investments in Canada will continue to materialize."
CSIS identifies key private-sector targets: high-tech industries, telecommunications and the natural resources sector, "as well as universities involved in research and development."
The report says CSIS employs 3,200 and its annual operating costs for 2011-2012 totalled $540 million. For the first time, it has hired a proactive Aboriginal recruiter "whose main role is to reach out to Aboriginal, First Nation and Inuit communities throughout Canada."
And it, too, is undergoing cuts -- of nearly $40 million as a result of the Tories' deficit reduction efforts.
Overall, the glowing report paints a picture of the service as an active, diverse, even "progressive" agency, which it says is publicly accountable. In fact, it disputes Hollywood's depiction of the spy game.
"We are not a secret organization and have no desire to be one. While true that we deal in secrets -- or, better put, in classified information -- we recognize that Canadians expect transparency from their institutions."
It reveals that the minister of public safety approved four new unspecified foreign information-sharing arrangements in 2012-2013, and "continued to restrict contact" with 11 foreign entities "due to ongoing concerns over the reliability or human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... reputations of the agencies in question."
[DAWN] Prime Minister 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... on Tuesday said that stability of Pakistain would be protected and expressed the hope that the dialogue process with the Pak Taliban would yield positive results.
Speaking to media representatives after arriving here on a three-day official visit, he said the dialogue process was started with sincerity as it was good for the country's stability.
"If peace is established through talks and the lawlessness and carnage are controlled, then it is a good thing," said the prime minister.
The whole world, he added, adopted such mechanisms and referred to the UK's history by saying that the host country had also resolved its issues with Ireland.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] The Nonaligned Movement, representing over 100 developing countries, urged Secretary-General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... and the United States, Britannia and Russia on Monday to convene a long-delayed international conference to promote a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.
Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa made the appeal on behalf of NAM members of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty at the opening of the third and final preparatory conference for next year's review of the landmark 1970 agreement aimed at stopping the spread of nuclear arms.
He reiterated NAM's demand that Israel, the only country in the region that has not joined the NPT, "renounce possession of nuclear weapons" and join the treaty without delay.
[Iran Press TV] It is a mark of how upside-down Official Washington has become over facts and evidence that Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... , who has developed a reputation for making false and misleading statements about Syria and Russia, rushes to apologize when he speaks the truth about the danger from Israeli "apartheid."
After public disclosure that he had said in a closed-door meeting of the Trilateral Commission last week that Israel risked becoming an "apartheid state," Kerry hastily apologized for his transgression, expressing his undying support for Israel and engaging in self-flagellation over his word choice.
"For more than 30 years in the United States Senate, I didn't just speak words in support of Israel," Mr. Kerry said in his statement. "I walked the walk when it came time to vote and when it came time to fight."
He then sought to clarify his position on the A-word: "First, Israel is a vibrant democracy and I do not believe, nor have I ever stated, publicly or privately, that Israel is an apartheid state or that it intends to become one. Anyone who knows anything about me knows that without a shred of doubt."
Kerry added: "If I could rewind the tape, I would have chosen a different word to describe my firm belief that the only way in the long term to have a Jewish state and two nations and two peoples living side by side in peace and security is through a two state solution."
Kerry scurried to make this apology after his remark was reported by The Daily Beast and condemned by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which said: "Any suggestion that Israel is, or is at risk of becoming, an apartheid state is offensive and inappropriate."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
It's perfectly Ok to work toward destruction of Israel, but calling it names (in public) is a no no. Kinda reminds me of a story I've read once: an old time Nazi is sent to the Eastern front. His sin? He wasn't pretending with the Jews he was escorting to extermination camp.
#3
"First, Israel is a vibrant democracy and I do not believe, nor have I ever stated, publicly or privately, that Israel is an apartheid state or that it intends to become one. Anyone who knows anything about me knows that without a shred of doubt."
The end of a 'vibrant democracy' as well as apartheid in SA were actually parallel events. They now by and large enjoy a single-party system, the African National Congress [ANC]. Kerry, he just keeps digging.
[Ynet] Jordanian police tossed in the clink Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! about 16 youths suspected of involvement in armed attacks against government buildings in the poor southern town of Maan in protest against the killing of a man, security officials said on Monday.
The unrest broke out last week over the death of bystander Qusai al-Imami during a raid on what authorities described as bandidos and drug pushers in the tribal stronghold, which is known for its defiance of central authority.
[Ynet] Israeli security forces demolished eight Paleostinian structures in the Jordan Valley which were built without permit in a military zone for live fire.
The structures were demolished after the Paleostinians petitioned to the High Court of Justice and their petitions were stricken from the record as part of an agreement between the state and the petitioners.
The structures included three populated structures, a mosque, a toilets structure, a structure being used for storage and two goat pens.
#2
He held court in a mosque by a goatpen
With a couple of media pitchmen;
He ruled over his tribe
By decree and by bribe,
And his followers all hollered "Amen!"
#3
I will say "AMIN"
when Jews grow a spine and expel that paleo-simian sub human scum.
Currently, Malaysia is expelling three million Indonesian illegal immigrants...did you read anything about it in he media? Look it up, hard to find but it is there!
Debka, so salt to taste... Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' initiation of a unity pact with the Hamas extremists last week did not come out of the blue. It was prompted by the direct contacts the Obama administration has secretly established with the Lebanese Hizballah. Abbas reasoned that if Washington can start a dialogue with a terrorist organization, so too can his own PLO and Fatah.
debkafile's Washington sources report that the Obama administration appears to have carried over to Lebanon the doctrine set out by the late Richard Holbrooke for Afghanistan, whereby dialogue with Taliban should be made the centerpiece of Washington's strategy for US troop withdrawal. Holbrooke's influence on Secretary of State John Kerry dated back to his run for the presidency in 2004.
In Lebanese terms, Hizballah's Hassan Nasrallah has become the equivalent of Taliban's Mullah Mohammad. Hizballah has scored high in the Syrian war. Its military intervention on the side of Bashar Assad in the last year is credited with turning the Syrian army's fortunes around from near defeat in 2013 to partial triumph in key areas of Syria this year. Nasrallah is able to boast that his movement's commitment to the Syrian conflict is its central mission and will remain so until rebel and al Qaeda forces are finally vanquished. What the Hizballah leader is trying to put across, in terms of the Holbrooke doctrine, is that like Mullah Omar in Afghanistan, he, Nasrallah, holds the key to resolving the Syrian civil war.
The Obama administration bought this premise and decided to apply it to broadening the rapidly progressing dialogue with Tehran to related areas. The plan developed in Washington was to seize the momentum of the nuclear track and ride it to a broad US-Iranian understanding that embraces a comprehensive nuclear accord with Tehran as well as understandings for resolving the Syrian and Lebanese questions.
Administration officials figure that Nasrallah heeds no one but the ayatollahs in Tehran. He may talk big but he knows that his fate is in the hands of his Iranian masters. If Iran decides it is time for him to go, it will be curtains for him. His involvement in the Syrian war is considered to be contingent on the strategic decisions of Iran's leaders. (He was a lot less confident in the winter of 2013 when Hizballah's home bases were being smashed in lethal suicide bombings.) Iran also determines which weapons are supplied to the Hizballah units fighting in Syria, in which sectors they fight and how to respond to his pleas for reinforcements.
In Washington's view, Hizballah's involvement in the Syrian war has increased its leader's dependence on Tehran. He accordingly has little room for maneuver in contacts with US representatives and if he turns difficult, they are sure they can turn to Tehran to force him in line. It is also believed in administration circles that the secret Saudi exchanges with Tehran (first revealed by DEBKA Weekly) will eventually produce Riyadh's acceptance of Hizballah as a dominant factor in Syria and Lebanon.
However, many Middle East experts find the US take on Hizballah to be naĂŻve and simplistic and strongly doubt that the path it has chosen will bring Nasrallah or Tehran - around to serving America's will or purposes. They draw a parallel with the underlying US assumptions which ultimately led the Palestinians-Israeli talks off track.
But expectations of the Hizballah track are high and strongly guide the actions of President Obama, John Kerry, National Security Advisor Susan Rice and CIA Director John Brennan. And so, in early March, the first secret rendezvous took place in Cyprus between CIA officers and Hizballah intelligence and security operatives.
According to a number of Mid East intelligence sources, two such meetings have since been conducted and initial US-Hizballah understandings reached relating to the volatile situations in Syria and Lebanon. Our intelligence sources add that US Ambassador to Beirut David Hale has been in charge of preparing these meetings and implementing the understandings reached.
#1
But expectations of the Hizballah track are high and strongly guide the actions of President Obama, John Kerry, National Security Advisor Susan Rice and CIA Director John Brennan.
With the possible exception of Kerry, all old Benghazi hands. My personal "expectations" are actually quite low.
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.
[Tolo News] At a gathering in Kabul on Tuesday, in front of a number of high-ranking officials and Afghan media representatives, leading presidential candidate 
[An Nahar] Egypt's military-installed leaders must prove they are serious about bringing democracy to the world's largest Arab nation, U.S. Secretary of State 
Two years after his inconclusive polemic with Republic of Ingushetia head Yunus-Bek Yevkurov over their disputed border, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has fired the first round in a new quarrel.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
[Iran Press TV] It is a mark of how upside-down Official Washington has become over facts and evidence that Secretary of State 
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' initiation of a unity pact with the Hamas extremists last week did not come out of the blue. It was prompted by the direct contacts the Obama administration has secretly established with the Lebanese Hizballah. Abbas reasoned that if Washington can start a dialogue with a terrorist organization, so too can his own PLO and Fatah.
