[Libya Herald] A member of the House of Representatives has today confirmed to the Libya Herald that the parliament did send a request to the Zintani forces to withdraw from their position in the capital, including Tripoli International Airport
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[Libya Herald] An attempt by the former General National Congress to resurrect itself and take back power turned into farce today as it tried to "appoint" an emergency government.
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[Libya Herald] The Justice and Construction Party, the political wing of Libyaas Moslem Brotherhood, has denounced the House of Representatives' decision to label the Misratans and others those taking part in the Libya Dawn Operation in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... as terrorists.
In its Facebook page statement, the J&C claimed that the decision had created divisions within the HoR and widened the divide between the House and the public.
"The Justice and Construction party had previously warned of the consequences of wrong decisions that would inevitably result in the House losing public support at extraordinary at a time when it is in need," the party stated. "But the insistence of the House to ignore that advice has increased its isolation, as seen by the increasing popular rejection of it."
The J&C citied "mass demonstrations in major cities of the country" as evidence of the House's supposed waning popularity.
In its statement, the party did not point out that it was now supporting the restoration of the widely reviled General National Congress as opposed to of the recently elected House which, unlike Congress, it does not control.
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[Libya Herald] Zintani sources are claiming that Misratan forces took the airport and former Zintani bases in the capital because they welched on a ceasefire deal that would have seen the rival forces pull back out of the city.
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[Libya Herald] Nuri Abu Sahmain, the former president of the General National Congress, is just an ordinary citizen and Congress no longer exists or has any legitimacy, the head of the House of Representatives and the Prime Minister said this afternoon.
Speaking in a joint presser in Tobruk, Ageela Saleh and Abdullah Al-Thinni were responding to events earlier in the day when a handful of former Congress members turned up to meeting in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... convoked by Abu Sahmain and decided to appoint a new prime minister.
"The procedures and meetings that have been taken by Abu Sahmain are invalid," Thinni said, "He is now an ordinary citizen. . . The House of Representatives is the only legitimate body in Libya."
For his part Saleh denounced Abu Sahmain's announcement of a new government, declaring it unconstitutional. It was up to the HoR to decide on a new government, and it would do so in its own time.
As for those who were trying to physically prevent members of House returning to Tobruk, they were committing a "criminal offence", he said.
In wide ranging series of statements on Libya's present crisis, the two also condemned the Grand Mufti, Sheikh Sadik Al-Ghariani, who in recent days has repeatedly used his position to attack the House as well as support Operation Libya Dawn in Tripoli and the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shoura Council.
"The Grand-Mufti has issued illegitimate and incorrect fatwas", the Prime Minister said, condemning Ghariani for being ideologically motivated and issuing statements that were not job.
Saleh added that the House would now discuss Ghariani's position sooner rather than later.
Repeating that he had sacked Deputy Defence Minister Khalid Sharif, a member of the Moslem Brotherhood, because he had left the country without permission, Thinni pointed out that Tripoli was not safe for the government: "Most of the ministers have received threats, and the headquarters of Council of Ministers is not safe at all," he said.
Refering to the fact that many people's Tripoli homes, including his own, and had had been attacked and torched in the past 24 hours , he called those responsible "cowards". They were not real revolutionaries, he said, comparing them to, instead, to members of the Qadaffy regime who wanted to impose their own ideology by force. But Libya could not be ruled by force he warned; it was now impossible to impose ideology on the country.
It was not all doom and gloom, Thinni nonetheless noted. "Crude oil production now amounts about 600,000 barrels a day (b/d) ' a reassuring positive rate ' and revenues will be good," he said. Moreover, oil experts anticipated that exports would continue to grow, he added, with "normal rates" by the end of October.
Before the revolution, Libya exported 1.6 million b/d. The figure was around 1.5 million b/d before the eastern oil terminals were closed down by Cyrenaica federalists a year ago.
As to foreign help in confronting Libya's problems, Thinni said that his government was looking to the UN Security Council to approve measures to help the situation.
Saleh, who said that a law on terrorism would be passed soon, added that HoR members were visiting Egypt, La Belle France and US in search of support and that he himself was going to Egypt tomorrow to meet President Abdul-Fattah Al-Sisi.
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[Al Ahram] A senior Moslem Brotherhood official has been released over violence charges dating back to last summer's nationwide unrest, a judicial source told Ahram Online.
Helmy El-Gazzar, a big shot within the Brotherhood's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, was released late on Saturday on bail of LE100,000 (about $14,000) pending investigations into charges including murder, attempted murder and thuggery.
The allegations stem from violence on 2 July 2013 in the western Cairo district of Bin El-Sarayat, when festivities between security forces and supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi left almost two dozen killed and some 220 maimed.
The violence was part of days-long mass protests that summer that culminated with Morsi's overthrow by the army on 3 July.
Once Egypt's largest and most organised political movements, the Brotherhood has been hammered by a harsh state crackdown Morsi's ouster. The group was declared a terrorist organization in December 2013 and its political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), was dissolved earlier this month.
Also released alongside El-Gazzar over the same allegations were Mohammed El-Omda, former MP under Morsi, and Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maksoud, the Brotherhood's lawyer.
El-Omda was already out of prison late on Saturday and Abdel-Maksoud is expected to walk free on Sunday, a judicial source said.
Hundreds of other Islamists have been killed and thousands locked away You have the right to remain silent... since Morsi's overthrow.
Morsi himself and much of the group's upper echelons are embroiled in multiple court cases over charges including murder.
At the same time, holy warrior attacks by Sinai-based fighters have surged since Morsi was removed. The violence has killed over 500 police and soldiers, with civilian casualties reported as well.
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[Al Ahram] A Libyan jihadist group urged other Islamists to unite under its banner on Monday after parliament appointed a new army chief to tackle the unrest sweeping the North African nation.
Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... , which Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... and Washington have both branded a "terrorist" organization, made the call as Libya's foreign minister and his counterparts from neighbouring states met in Cairo to discuss the Islamist threat.
"Unite with the mujahedeen in Benghazi so together we can defend the same objective -- a total rejection of any Western plan" for Libya, Ansar al-Sharia said in an online message aimed at other militias in the violence-plagued country.
"Proclaim that your struggle is for sharia (Islamic law) and not democratic legitimacy, so the world unites under the same banner to bolster the forces of good against the forces of evil," it added.
Ansar al-Sharia urged other Islamists to beware what it dubbed Western plots aimed at "opposing the mujahedeen under the pretext that they are murderous Moslems".
Libya's new parliament, elected in June to replace an Islamist-dominated General National Congress transitional political body, is openly opposed by the jihadists.
On Sunday, MPs appointed a new chief of staff to replace General Abdessalam Jadallah al-Abidi, who was grilled by parliament on August 10 on the army's inability to restore law and order to Tripoli and Benghazi, the country's two largest cities where forces of Evil have run rampant.
"Colonel Abdel Razzak Nadhuri was chosen by 88 out of 124 MPs present and promoted to the rank of general," parliament front man Mohammed Toumi told AFP.
He added that Abidi had been sacked.
Parliament, which sits in Tobruk, 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) east of the capital, held Abidi responsible for the deteriorating security situation and blamed him for backing certain militias that in theory report to the army.
Overnight Saturday-Sunday, parliament stated its intention to fight back against the Islamists, using the regular armed forces.
"The groups acting under the names of Fajr Libya and Ansar al-Sharia are terrorist groups and outlaws that are rising up against the legitimate powers," parliament charged in a statement.
"These two groups are a legitimate target of the national army, which we strongly support in its war to force them to halt their killings and hand over their arms".
Fajr Libya is a coalition of Islamist militias, mainly from Misrata, east of Tripoli. Ansar al-Sharia controls around 80 percent of the eastern city of Benghazi.
Ansar al-Sharia's appeal for jihadist unity came after Islamist forces of Evil from Misrata said they had seized Tripoli international airport from the nationalist militia from Zintan in the west, who had controlled it previously.
Footage broadcast on Monday by a television station close to the Islamists showed the departures terminal ravaged by fire and around a dozen aircraft from Libyan companies bearing signs of damage caused by fighting.
The images appeared to confirm that the airport 30 kilometres (20 miles) south of Tripoli had fallen into Islamist hands.
The Islamist militias openly challenged parliament's legitimacy on Sunday after announcing their seizure of the airport, plunging Libya's rocky political transition into fresh crisis.
In Cairo, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri warned Monday that a spillover of lawlessness from Libya could prompt foreign intervention, saying this should be avoided.
"We have felt the effects of the escalating Libyan situation on the security of neighbouring countries through the presence of murderous Moslem and terrorist elements which extended to other countries through arms dealing and trafficking," he said.
"This affects the illusory sovereignty of neighbouring countries and threatens their stability. This could affect the interests of other countries outside the region and could lead to forms of intervention in Libyan affairs, which should be avoided."
Shoukri's Libyan counterpart, Mohammed Abdelaziz, said Tripoli awaited a UN Security Council resolution that would send a "strong message" to end the fighting in his country.
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[The Hindu] The Nigerian government on Monday refuted a claim by the Death Eater group 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... that it has set up an Islamic state in a town in the countryas north-east.
"The claim is empty," Nigeriaas Defence Ministry said on Twitter.
"The illusory sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Nigerian state [are] still intact."
The denial came after Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau announced in a video message that the group declared a caliphate in Gwoza in Borno State.
Security agencies were in the process of "analysing the content of the said new video and compare with the facts on the ground in Gwoza," Borno Governor Kashim Shettima said.
Boko Haram has been in control of Gwoza for several weeks. The military said its attempts to regain control of the town were "ongoing."
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The Inclusive Prosperity Act: Rep. Ellison introduced legislation that would raise billions to invest in our economy by taxing highly speculative financial transactions.
[DAWN] KARACHI: The killing of a 25-year-old man in Lyari ...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot.... triggered a protest on Monday by his relatives and other residents who termed it extrajudicial execution by the Rangers.
Junaid Azeem, a suspected member of the Abdul Jabbar alias Jhingo gang and wanted in over a dozen criminal cases, was rubbed out by personnel of the paramilitary force in an encounter in Saifi Lane late Sunday night, Baghdadi police said.
The area residents said the dear departed had no links with any gang and he was associated with a printing press.
Carrying Junaid's coffin, a large number of Lyari residents staged a protest demonstration outside the Baghdadi cop shoppe before marching on the Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... Press Club.
The protesters comprising mostly relatives of Junaid Azeem said that he was taken away by the law enforcement agencies from outside his home in Saifi Lane on Aug 14. They said he was brought and killed near his home on Sunday night.They said drug dens were being run by gangsters in the area with the connivance of law-enforcers. However, Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... innocent youngsters were taken away and later killed in 'fake encounters', he said.
They demanded that the authorities take notice of the extrajudicial killings in the old city areas.
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[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: Talks between the government and the Pakistain Awami Tehrik (PAT) could not resume on Monday, a day after the government appeared to be attempting to mollify the protesting party's chief, Dr Tahirul Qadri ...Pak politician, and would-be dictator, founder and head of Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran and Pakistain Awami Tehrik. He usually resides in Canada, but returns to Pakistain periodically to foam at the mouth and lead demonstrations. Depending on which way the wind's blowing, Qadri claims to be the author of Pak's blasphemy law. Other times he says it wasn't him... . This prompted the firebrand ...firebrands are noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments... holy man to issue 'an ultimate' 48-hour ultimatum to the government for meeting his demands.
"I give 48-hour ultimatum to the government. Dissolve assemblies, register FIR and hand yourself over to the law. I will not be responsible for what happens after that," Dr Qadri told his party workers, who have been camping outside the Parliament House for several days to press for their demands for 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... and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab... to step down.
He called for making public the report of the joint investigation team that had investigated the Model Town shooting incident in which 14 PAT workers were killed.
Dr Qadri, who along with his party workers marched into the Islamabad 'red zone' last Wednesday after the expiry of his earlier 'deadline', said he was giving the 'last ultimatum' to the government.
He, however, did not disclose what he intended to do if his demands were not met after the expiry of the new deadline.
Disillusioned with the government's response to his demands, Dr Qadri said: "There is no institution of the country that may listen to the grievances of the poor."
Giving an emotional touch to his speech, Dr Qadri waved a shroud that he said he had bought for himself and claimed to have "taken last bath of life with an intention of martyrdom while fighting for the rights of the oppressed and downtrodden people".
A member of the PAT's Inqilab march negotiating team told Dawn that their talks with the government were "practically deadlocked".
The visit by Federal Minister for Railways Saad Rafique to Dr Qadri's container on Sunday afternoon had led to speculations that the government wanted to strike a deal with the PAT chief.
The negotiator said that contrary to the perception that the government was offering a settlement the PAT had not been offered anything. "Nothing has been offered that could meet our basic demand for justice for those killed in the Model Town incident," he explained. On the reforms agenda proposed by the PAT, he said, the government had suggested setting up of a committee to discuss their details.
Dr Qadri's allies, meanwhile, consulted themselves after impasse with the government worsened and reiterated support for the PAT demands.
A delegation of Muttahida Qaumi MoveÂment met Dr Qadri. MQM leader Haider Abbas Rizvi later told the media that he feared deterioration in the situation if the government did not show flexibility.
Awami Moslem League leader Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who was contacted by PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari for interceding with PTI chief Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... and Dr Qadri, said he had told the former president that both leaders had gone too far.
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[DAWN] Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... chief Altaf Hussain said late on Monday night that he saw a martial law in the country under the umbrella of the Constitution and appealed to the public to remain indoors after 12 midnight, DawnNews reported.
The MQM chief, in an interview to a private news channel, said the need of the hour was the sacrifice of one's ego and added that stubbornness could not save Pakistain.
He said that he saw bloodshed in the country if the government and protestors did not budge from their positions.
Earlier today, Altaf Hussain had directed MQMâ™s senior members and parliamentarians to reach Islamabad and hold meeting meetings with political and religious parties on emergency basis.
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[The News (Pak)] Geo/Jang Group has sent a legal notice to Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) chief, Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer... for leveling baseless and false allegations against it.
The notice seeks apology from Imran Khan for embarking on an offensive campaign and hurling unfounded allegations against Geo/Jang Group. It claims Rs500 million in damages for defaming the Group.
The notice was sent to Imran Khan in the wake of his relentless diatribe and false accusations against the Group.
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[Breitbart] Princeton University Professor and world-renowned intellectual Dr. Robert P. George authored a petition calling upon President Obama and Congress to not stop, not contain, but destroy the Islamic State terror group. Dr. George has been called by The New York Times the most influential conservative Christian thinker in the United States.
The petition is available on IraqRescue.org and features the signatures of prominent intellectuals, academics, and subject matter experts -- individuals such as Dr. Russell Moore, President of the Ethics and Liberty Commission, and Benjamin Carson, M.D., Emeritus Professor of Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. The petition is a bipartisan document that features signatures from individuals with various political affiliations.
Dr. George recently said in the first part of a two-part exclusive interview with Breitbart News:
It is now clear that the Islamic State is serious about its intention to form a caliphate in the Middle East. IS has made clear in the most practical and vivid way that it will use any means necessary to do that. It will murder people; it will rape women; it will torture people; it will bury people alive; it will cut off people's heads; it will commit genocide against communities standing in its way -- Christian, Yazidi, Shia Muslim -- even those elements in the Sunni community in Iraq that do not go along with the ideology of IS.
The best thing we can do to dampen the appeal of IS is to defeat them. Just as success enhances the appeal, defeat diminishes the appeal. We have to make it clear that this movement is not one that is ordained by history or God, and it will be defeated. The Islamic State's ideology is, like Nazism and Communism, a form of totalitarianism that is destined for the dustbin of history. We must defeat them on the battlefield with the force of arms.
The petition concludes that no measure will suffice short of the Islamic State's destruction:
We call upon the United States and the international community to do everything necessary to empower local forces fighting ISIS/ISIL in Iraq to protect their people. No options that are consistent with the principles of just war doctrine should be off the table. We further believe that the United States' goal must be more comprehensive than simply clamping a short-term lid on the boiling violence that is threatening so many innocents in ISIS/ISIL's path. Nothing short of the destruction of ISIS/ISIL as a fighting force will provide long-term protection of victims.
#4
The time is NOW iff Western JudeoChristianity = Non-Islamic/Muslim World desire to preempt or prevent thr rise of the future US Convert to Islam known as the Islamic Mahdi/Hidden Imam.
The ISIS Caliphate M-U-S-T be absolutely or completely destroyed as an ORGANIZED POLITY = NATION-STATE + GEOPOL "GREAT POWER" WANNABE - WHERE THE FUTURE MAHDI OR IMAM IS CONCERNED, IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO JUST ISOLATE OR CONTAIN IT, I.E. RENDERING IT GEOPOL WEAK OR IMPOTENT WHILE STILL ALLOWING IT TO EXIST.
[Al Ahram] UN human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... chief Navi Pillay on Monday condemned the Islamic State jihadists for their campaign of "ethnic and religious cleansing" in Iraq.
"They are systematically targeting men, women and kiddies based on their ethnic, religious or sectarian affiliation and are ruthlessly carrying out widespread ethnic and religious cleansing in the areas under their control," Pillay said in a statement.
"Such persecution would amount to crimes against humanity," she added.
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[Al Ahram] There is no place for weapons or gangs outside Iraqi state control, premier-designate Haidar al-Abadi said Monday, after suspected Shiite Death Eaters killed 70 worshippers at a Sunni mosque.
"I confirm that weapons must remain in the hand of the state -- there is no place for any gang," Abadi told a news conference.
Abadi added that while he welcomes irregular forces fighting against bully boyz who have overrun swathes of the country, they "must all be inside the framework of the state, and under the direction of the state, under control of the military and security forces."
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WASHINGTON (AP) Four Blackwater security guards have rested their defense in the shootings that killed or wounded over 30 Iraqis seven years ago in Baghdad.
Closing arguments will be later this week in the prosecution of the four guards. Three are charged with voluntary manslaughter and attempted manslaughter Paul Slough, Dustin Heard and Evan Liberty. A fourth, Nicholas Slatten, is charged with first-degree murder.
The trial in Washington began more than two months ago and prosecutors concluded their case last week. Defense lawyers for the four who are charged called only a handful of witnesses.
The prosecution's case was based largely on the testimony of former Blackwater guards who were colleagues of the four men who were indicted. The defense team said the shootings were in self-defense.
#1
The prosecution's case was based largely on the testimony of former Blackwater guards
So hearsay and eye witness accounts with little hard evidence?
Tehran will “accelerate” arming Palestinians in retaliation for Israel deploying a spy drone over Iran, which was shot down, a military commander said on Monday.
By 'accelerate' they mean do more than they've been doing...
Iran, which does not recognise the existence of Israel, has confirmed it supplied Palestinian fighters from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad with the technology for the rockets being fired relentlessly into Israel from Gaza since July 8.
We will accelerate the arming of the West Bank and we reserve the right to give any response, said General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of aerial forces of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, in a statement on their official website sepahnews.com.
Last month, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the Islamic world to arm Palestinians to allow them to counter what he called Israel's “genocide” in Gaza. He also said Israel was acting like a rabid dog and a wild wolf, causing a human catastrophe that must be resisted.
Iran's warning on Monday came a day after the Revolutionary Guards said they had downed an Israeli Hermes stealth drone above the Natanz uranium enrichment site in the centre of the country. An Israeli spokesman said in Jerusalem on Sunday after the report that the drone had been shot down that the military does “not address foreign media reports”.
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[Al Ahram] Syria said Monday it was willing to work with the international community, including the United States, to tackle "terrorism" but that any strikes on its territory must be coordinated with Damascus.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem made the comments as jihadists from the Islamic State group advance in Syria and neighbouring Iraq, where Washington is already carrying out air strikes.
"Syria is ready for cooperation and coordination at the regional and international level to fight terrorism and implement UN Security Council resolution 2170," Muallem said.
The resolution, passed earlier this month, seeks to cut funds and the flow of imported muscle both to the Islamic State and to Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, Al-Nusra Front.
Muallem said Syria was willing to work within international or regional coalitions as well as in bilateral arrangements.
And he said Damascus was prepared to work with the United States and Britannia.
"They are welcome," he said.
But he said any military action inside Syrian territory must be carried out in coordination with the government and respect the country's illusory sovereignty.
"We must feel that the cooperation is serious and not double standards".
"Any violation of Syria's illusory sovereignty would be an act of aggression," he said.
Asked if Syria's air defences could shoot down US planes, he said "that could happen if there was not prior coordination."
"We are proposing international cooperation and coordination to prevent" such a scenario, he added.
There would be "no justification" for strikes on Syrian territory "except in coordination with us to fight terrorism."
Muallem's comments come amid rising concern in the international community about the growing power of IS, which has declared an Islamic "caliphate" in the large stretches of territory it holds in Syria and Iraq.
The United State began carrying out air strikes in Iraq on August 8, in bid to halt the group's advances close to the Kurdish regional capital Arbil.
But, in Syria, IS has continued to advance, taking territory from both armed opposition groups in northern Aleppo province, and from the Syrian army in northern Raqa province.
On Sunday, the group's fighters seized the Tabqa air base, the last post controlled by the Syrian army in Raqa.
The capture of the base puts the group in control of an entire province for the first time, including the thriving provincial capital which has become a stronghold for its jihadists.
Some 170 Syrian soldiers were killed in the fighting for the base on Sunday, with reports that the group had beheaded a number of them and displayed them in the Raqa thriving provincial capital.
IS has developed a reputation for extreme human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... violations and acts that have been described as war crimes, including decapitations, crucifixions and stoning people to death.
Last week, the group distributed a video showing one of its fighters beheading US journalist James Foley, who had been held hostage in Syria.
The group's advance prompted the UN Security Council to pass a rare unanimous resolution on August 15 intended to stem funding and the flow of imported muscle to IS and Al-Nusra Front.
Muallem welcomed the resolution in his comments on Monday, though he said it was "late" in coming.
Syria's government has long said that it is fighting "terrorists," a term it uses for all those seeking the ouster of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites...
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#1
Assad is a sponsor of terrorism too. Tell me is Assad better then ISIS?
[Al Ahram] The White House said Monday that President Barack Obama My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it... had so far made no decision on whether to launch air strikes on Islamic State Lions of Islam in Syria.
"The president has not made any decision to conduct military action in Syria," White House front man Josh Earnest said, amid rising expectations of US action following American attacks against the jihadist group in Iraq. He's waiting for the French to do it.
Earnest addressed reports that the Pentagon has been preparing options for US military action in Syria, saying it was the job of the US military headquarters to plan for all kinds of scenarios.
"The president has not made any decision to order military action in Syria," Earnest said, before the president was due to meet Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on issues including the situation in Iraq and the threat from IS.
Earnest did not directly respond to a comment by Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Horror of Homs... 's regime in Syria that it was willing to work with the United States to take on "terrorism" inside Syria, in a reference to IS forces opposed by both Washington and Damascus.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem was also quoted as saying that any US air strikes would require coordination with the government in Damascus or they would be considered a violation of its illusory sovereignty.
Washington has repeatedly demanded Assad leave power and accused him of gross violations of human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. in a civil war that has killed at least 190,000 people.
Earnest appeared to hint that if Obama were to decide to launch attacks on Syrian territory, he would not feel the need to inform the Damascus government.
"The president has already demonstrated a willingness, where necessary ... to use military force to protect the American people, regardless of borders.
"This is evident from the president ordering the mission to go and get the late Osama bin Laden ... who was laid out deader than a mackerel, right next to the mackerel... .
"The United States was not invited in by the Pak government. That was a decision that the president made to go and get Osama bin Laden."
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
BEIRUT (AP) -- Syria said Monday it was ready to help confront the rising threat from the Islamic State group, but warned the United States against carrying out airstrikes without Damascus' consent, saying any such attack would be considered an aggression.
In seeking to portray itself as a partner for the international community, Syria seemed intent on capitalizing on the growing clamor among some U.S. officials, including military leaders, to expand the current American air campaign against the Islamic extremists in Iraq and to hit them in Syria as well.
President Barack Obama has long been wary of getting dragged into the bloody and complex Syrian civil war that the United Nations says has killed more than 190,000 people. He has resisted intervening militarily in the conflict, even after a deadly chemical weapons attack a year ago that Washington blamed on President Bashar Assad's government.
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"Had there been prior coordination that operation would not have failed."
When you are the ONE, there is no need to consult, coordinate or negotiate with anyone else. Besides, there are 18 holes waiting. Shouldn't take too long since there is no need to putt--all holes-in-one.
[The Hindu] A Syrian rebel group closely linked to al-Qaeda has released a U.S. citizen, Peter Theo Curtis (45), after holding him for approximately 22 months, a move that came days after a different Death Eater outfit, Islamic State, beheaded American journalist James Foley and posted a gruesome video of the act on the Internet sparking worldwide condemnation.
Captured in 2012
The release of Mr. Curtis, who was captured in Syria in October 2012, by Jabhat al-Nusra was apparently made possible by the direct intervention of the government of Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... , which stepped in to negotiate with the hostage-takers after numerous other efforts by the U.S., United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... and others failed.
In a statement, the U.N. said that Mr. Curtis, who is a published author and freelance journalist writing under the name Theo Padnos, had been handed over to its peacekeepers in Al Rafid village, in the disputed Golan Heights region between Syria and Israel in the evening of August 24, 2014.
After he received a medical check-up and was found to be healthy, he was handed over to U.S. officials, the U.N. added.
Speaking after his release 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... said that after the "unspeakable tragedy," of Foleyas killing, there was relief about the fact that Mr. Curtis was coming home. His mother Nancy said, "We appeal to the captors of the remaining hostages to release them in the same humanitarian spirit that prompted Theo's release."
Currently at least three more Americans, including one woman, are said to be held hostage in the Syria-Iraq region, and one of them, journalist Steven Sotloff, was seen briefly in the video of Mr. Foley's beheading.
The masked executioner was seen warning U.S. President Barack Obama If you have a small business, you didn't build that... that unless Arclight airstrikes against IS stopped immediately, Mr. Sotloff would meet a similar fate.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: al-Nusra
WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs says investigators have found no proof that delays in care caused any deaths at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Phoenix.
And they won't find any, either...
Revelations that as many as 40 veterans died while awaiting care from the Phoenix VA rocked the agency last spring, exposing a system in which veterans waited months for care while VA employees falsified records to cover up the delays.
The VA's Office of Inspector General has been investigating the delays for months. Deputy VA Secretary Sloan Gibson said a draft of the inspector general's report says investigators could not "conclusively assert" that delays in care caused veterans to die at the Phoenix VA.
The final report has not yet been released. Gibson spoke in an interview with The Associated Press. What you would expect from corruptocrats.
#1
The Department of Veterans Affairs says investigators have found no proof that delays in care caused any deaths at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Phoenix.
...now that it's fallen off the radar....
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/26/2014 8:50 Comments ||
Top||
#2
The Department of Veterans Affairs says investigators have found no proof that delays in care caused any deaths at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Phoenix.
Well, everyone knows there's absolutely no correlation between early discovery, timely treatment, and survivability. WTF were they thinking ?
#7
Judging by the way the VA is handling my father-in-law (96, WWII vet, never got one thing from the VA)the VA plays a waiting game; waiting for old vets to die so they can repurpose the funds (to their bonuses).
Posted by: regular joe ||
08/26/2014 14:26 Comments ||
Top||
#8
AA, that's the venue for civil damages juries. Make the award pool all future bonus for those GS10 and above.
#9
So I sat through a good portion of Bambi's speech toady ( at the Seattle VA center, as it were), and I restrained myself from calling 'Bulllsh!t" at each of the lies and half-truths he spewed. The assembled vets that were lucky (sarc) enough to have actual seats at the conference saw through his crap also; very little applause, and most of it was of the 'polite' variety.
According to a new Sunday Times report by Toby Harden, "Pentagon sources said Foley and the others might well have been rescued but Obama, concerned about the ramifications of US troops being killed or captured in Syria, took too long to authorise the mission."
It's claimed that Obama was concerned about his administration being Carterized had the mission failed. Even with this revelation, the beheading of their own, liberal media will not call for impeachment. Never, ever, no matter how many people die, or how brutal the death, Dear Leader will Reign On. That is the debased, socialist gospel of the regime that rules this nation.
#2
but Obama, concerned about the ramifications of US troops being killed or captured in Syria, took too long to authorize the mission."
Unlike the UBL Abbottabad raid, the 'fix' was not in. Anything could have gone wrong. Target surveillance is extremely time sensitive. The longer you loiter, the higher the risk of discovery. Postponing the operation 30 days allowed ISIS time to get inside our OODA loop.
Fox News just announced Champ has approved aerial surveillance flights in Syria, probably tactical UAV. Syria has reportedly said "any surveillance flights must be coordinated." Ok, sounds reasonable enough, but it begs the question. Why were tactical UAV surveillance mission not coordinated with Syria prior to the attempted rescue of detained journalists? Looks like another strategic fail.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[The Hindu] The Nigerian government on Monday refuted a claim by the
[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: Talks between the government and the Pakistain Awami Tehrik (PAT) could not resume on Monday, a day after the government appeared to be attempting to mollify the protesting party's chief, Dr 
[Al Ahram] Syria said Monday it was willing to work with the international community, including the United States, to tackle "terrorism" but that any strikes on its territory must be coordinated with Damascus. 
Last week, the group distributed a video showing one of its fighters beheading US journalist James Foley, who had been held hostage in Syria. 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
