[ARABNEWS] President Barack Obama I inhaled. That was the point... welcomed Afghanistan's new president to the White House on Tuesday.
Afghanistan's Caped PresidentAshraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. represents Obama's last, best hope to make good on his promise to end America's longest war by the time he leaves office, keeping just a thousand or so troops at the embassy to coordinate security.
Ghani predecessor 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 relationship with the White House was increasingly dysfunctional, and if the dealings with Ghani don't turn out better, Obama risks leaving Afghanistan still vulnerable to the kinds of violent Lion of Islam groups that operated with impunity until 14 years ago, when the US attacked after 9/11.
Ghani came to the White House aiming to prove he's a reliable partner worthy of US support, despite his fractured government and a litany of problems still rampant in Afghanistan's military -- illiteracy, drug abuse and desertions, to name a few.
Most critically, Ghani asked the president to keep more US troops in his country for longer, as Afghan forces brace for a tough spring fighting season and contend with Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... fighters looking to recruit on their soil.
"We do not now ask what the United States can do for us," Ghani said, invoking John F. Kennedy as he opened his US visit on Monday. "We want to say what Afghanistan will do for itself and for the world."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2015 00:00 ||
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Ghani's display of leadership upstages the Champ. He [Ghani] will soon be betrayed. Champ will spoil the deck prior to leaving office.
#3
* See WORLD MILITARY FORUM > RUSSIAN MEDIAS: RUSSIA AND CENTRAL ASIA TO BE THREATENED IFF 5000 ISLAMIC STATE MILITANTS ALLEGEDLY CURRENTLY HIDING IN AGHANISTAN STRIKE INTO TURKMENISTAN. QATAR REPLACES SAUDIS AND SYRIA'S ASSAD AS FUNDING SOURCE FOR THE ISIS.
and
* TOPIX > SIGNS THAT THE TALIBAN ARE MULLING/WEIGHING SWEARING ALLEGIANCE TO THE ISLAMIC STATE [ISIS/ISIL/Daesh] - REPORT.
[ARABNEWS] Egypt's forensics authority has dismissed its front man, a doctor who said last weekend that a female protester killed by police in January died because she did not have enough fat on her body to protect against shotgun pellets.
The Tuesday statement by authority head Mahmoud Ahmed Ali also said that all doctors and officials at the authority are banned from making comments to the media or providing them with any information about their work.
An official in the authority also said that the former front man, Hisham Abdel-Hamid, is under investigation by the Justice Ministry for statements made on a program without permission from the agency as required.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2015 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Protesters have staged rallies worldwide to condemn the death sentence handed down by a Saudi court to prominent Shia holy man, Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, and voice solidarity with the dissident Saudi religious scholar.
On Tuesday, dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the Saudi embassies and key government buildings in a number of countries, including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium, Britannia, La Belle France, Iraq, Sudan and the United States, and denounced the Saudi government for issuing the verdict against Nimr. They also called for the immediate release of the holy man, Arabic-language al-Alam satellite TV network reported.
The demonstrations came on the same day as tens of people staged a similar protest rally in the village of Awamiyah, located 389 kilometers (241 miles) northeast of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, demanding Nimr's release.
On October 15, 2014, Nimr was sentenced to death at the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh. In reaction to the sentence, people took to streets in the city of Qatif in Eastern Province to condemn the move.
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03/25/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Uruguay, the only South American country to take in detainees from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo, said Monday it will not accept any more.
That's going to make things a bit more challenging for those who promised to empty the dregs of Gitmo...
"No more Guantanamo prisoners are going to come. That's final," Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa told journalists.
Uruguay resettled six Guantanamo inmates as refugees in December in a bid to help U.S. President Barack Obama We're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us... fulfill his long-delayed promise to close the offshore prison set up to hold terror suspects in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
But former Uruguayan president Jose Mujica left office on March 1 and his successor, Tabare Vazquez, has voiced reservations about the controversial decision.
The former prisoners -- four Syrians, a Paleostinian and a Tunisian -- arrived in Uruguay on December 6 after more than a decade in detention.
They were never charged or tried, and the United States had cleared them for release.
Since arriving in Uruguay, which promised they would have the same rights as any other resident, they have been taking Spanish classes and living in hotel rooms and a house provided by a local labor union.
But officials, including Mujica, have expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... that they are having trouble adapting.
Currently, 122 inmates remain at Guantanamo, of whom half have been cleared for release.
With the U.S. Congress opposed to transferring them to the United States, the B.O. regime must find third-party countries willing to take those who cannot be sent home.
Under Mujica, a colorful iconoclast known for legalizing marijuana and shunning the presidential mansion for his humble farmhouse, Uruguay also took in five families of Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict in their country.
It had promised to take in more, but Nin Novoa said that policy was also on hold.
Uruguay has "cultural and infrastructure shortcomings" that make it difficult to resettle the refugees, the foreign minister said, adding further resettlements had been postponed until "towards the end of the year."
Mujica and Vazquez both hail from the left-wing Broad Front (FA), but have clashed at times within the party.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/25/2015 0:32 Comments ||
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They are just mooching. But what did they expect?
Posted by: chris ||
03/25/2015 0:52 Comments ||
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The former prisoners -- four Syrians, a Paleostinian and a Tunisian -- arrived in Uruguay on December 6 after more than a decade in detention. They were never charged or tried, and the United States had cleared them for release.
POWs seldom are charge or tried, but are kept for the duration. In other times POWs were 'paroled' during a conflict usually on the promise never to take an active part in the conflict again. However, when belligerents started to use paroled soldiers to simply replace other personnel in non-conflict areas thus allowing the replaced manpower to enter into the fight, the program usually ended.
#4
they are having trouble adapting.
Won't eat pork.
Wear silly hats.
Rape the local girls/boys.
Claim status of pious ideology.
Reverse the charges on their collect calls.
[Iran Press TV] Moscow has warned Washington against plans to deploy a ballistic missile system in South Korea, saying it may further complicate the situation of the volatile Korean Peninsula.
On Tuesday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the US plan to dispatch THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) interceptor systems and long-range radars to South Korea will prompt the regional countries into "an arms race."
"In a region where the situation is already extremely complicated in terms of security, this could serve as another push toward an arms race in northeast Asia and further complicate any resolution of the nuclear issues on the Korean peninsula," read the statement.
Moscow further voiced concern over the plan's detrimental impact on the international security.
"Such a development cannot but cause concern about the destructive influence of the United States' global missile defense on international security," the statement added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2015 00:00 ||
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"Such a development cannot but cause concern about the destructive influence of the United States' global missile defense on international security," the statement added.
Such a statement would only make sense to a paranoid, schizophrenic Russian.
Soon after the U.S. and other major powers entered negotiations last year to curtail Iran's nuclear program, senior White House officials learned Israel was spying on the closed-door talks.
The spying operation was part of a broader campaign by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to penetrate the negotiations and then help build a case against the emerging terms of the deal, current and former U.S. officials said. In addition to eavesdropping, Israel acquired information from confidential U.S. briefings, informants and diplomatic contacts in Europe, the officials said.
The espionage didn't upset the White House as much as Israel's sharing of inside information with U.S. lawmakers and others to drain support from a high-stakes deal intended to limit Iran's nuclear program, current and former officials said.
"It is one thing for the U.S. and Israel to spy on each other. It is another thing for Israel to steal U.S. secrets and play them back to U.S. legislators to undermine U.S. diplomacy," said a senior U.S. official briefed on the matter.
The U.S. and Israel, longtime allies who routinely swap information on security threats, sometimes operate behind the scenes like spy-versus-spy rivals. The White House has largely tolerated Israeli snooping on U.S. policy makers--a posture Israel takes when the tables are turned.
The White House discovered the operation, in fact, when U.S. intelligence agencies spying on Israel intercepted communications among Israeli officials that carried details the U.S. believed could have come only from access to the confidential talks, officials briefed on the matter said.
#2
Spot on Mystic! As Krauthammer said last evening: "France is part is part of the negotiations and does not like the Obama sell-out either. The Israeli's could have been tipped off by the French, or they could have discovered the details from their own Iranian monitoring or source network." [paraphrasing the Hammer only slightly] I personally suspect multiple intelligence sources were used to procure and confirm the data.
And exactly HOW did the U.S. discover the evil Joooos knew about the particulars of te deal? We were 'in turn' monitoring THEM !
Please! Give me a break. What was going on in those 'secret' negotiations [to which Israel was conveniently NOT invited] would most certainly have been a priority intelligence requirement for Tel Aviv.
It's a tragedy the Congress of the United States must get their intelligence reporting from a foreign source the [Mossad] vs the 'most transparent administration in history.'
#7
A couple of key take-aways regarding this very significant event:
1. Champ knew Bibi was coming weeks in advance and made absolutely no effort examine the potential what if's, come clean, brief the Congress, and defuse the situation.
2. Champ and Klingon Director Brennan underestimated the most advanced intelligence service in the middle east, it's collection capabilities, and resolve.
3. An obvious reduction or termination of intelligence sharing has taken place between the Klingons and the Intelligence services of Israel.
4. The Champ regime, in an effort to unseat Bibi through nefarious means, allowed Bibi to stick it up Champ's arse by briefing Congress thus guaranteeing the favour of the Israeli people leading to an election victory.
#11
Poor old Champ got schooled. ValJar can't fix the leaks, Holder doesn't have jurisdiction and Bibi won't just lay down and die like the Champ wants him to do. Oh well, at least he has the MSM to cover it all up for him. How can you expect him to understand when he's always been in a position where he can screw up all he wants and someone else was always there who would clean it up and cover it up for him? He wouldn't last very long if he had to play for keeps like Bibi does.
[ARABNEWS] A Pakistain court officials said on Tuesday that Saulat Mirza, a former MQM activist, would now be hanged on April 1. Mirza was sentenced to death for murdering the then-managing director of the city's state-owned electricity company in 1997.
The execution was postponed for three days last Thursday after a video of Mirza emerged, claiming that Altaf Hussain ...think of the head of the Barzini clan, only in Urdu... -- the chief of his 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... (MQM) -- had ordered him to carry out killings.
The MQM maintains a strong grip on power in 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... under the leadership of Hussain, who has been in self-imposed exile in London since 1992.
Also on Tuesday, Pakistain hanged a murderer as the interior minister confirmed a 30-day stay of execution for another man apparently condemned to death as a teenager.
Muhammad Nasrullah, who killed a man over a family dispute in 1994, was executed at a jail in the city of Multan in Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... province, taking the number of executions to 55 since their resumption in December.
The hanging came hours before Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan ...Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz Uncle Fester Sharif. He is noted for his vocal anti-American railing in the National Assembly. However (comma) Khan told the U.S. ambassador that he was in fact pro-American but he and the PML-N would have to be critical of US actions in order to remain publicly credible. Khan cited his wife and children's US citizenship as proof, which means he's lying to one side or the other and probably both. He wears a wig, but you probably guessed that. since hair doesn't grow naturally in that shape or texture... confirmed the execution of Shafqat Hussain would be delayed by 30 days.
Hussain's case has attracted international attention as his lawyers and family claim he was only 15 at the time of the killing.
Khan said a committee would be set up to try to determine Hussain's true age.
"We have not received any proof from anybody about his age, all the fuss is being made in the media," Khan told news hounds.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] PESHAWAR: When doctor Mehmood Jafri gets ready for work in the morning, the first thing he does is put his AK-47 in the car. Then, after briefing the armed guards at his home, he sets off for the hospital where he works in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. with his most trusted relative beside him as an escort.
After surviving one murder attempt and one kidnap bid, Jafri takes no chances with his personal safety. He is one of hundreds of Peshawar doctors living with the daily threat of being killed or kidnapped for ransom by Talibs or criminal gangs.
The doctors' association in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... province estimate that in the past three years around a dozen doctors have been killed and more than 30 kidnapped, while up to 3,000 have fled in search of a peaceful life elsewhere.
Guns have become as important as stethoscopes at clinics and guards watch over doctors' homes.
Doctors are seen as relatively easy targets in Pakistain. They are well paid, but often lack the protection of influential connections that wealthy businessmen might enjoy.
"I was lucky that I survived two attempts because I sensed the threats moments before they tried to attack me and I escaped," Jafri told AFP as he finished surgery at Peshawar's main hospital.
"Many other colleagues were not so lucky and they were either rubbed out or kidnapped."
Provincial health minister Shehram Khan Tarakai confirmed the kidnapping of 30 doctors and the killing of "a couple".
The problem is not confined to the northwest -- the medics' association in 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... says 20 doctors have been killed in targeted attempts in the past 14 months while 10 have been kidnapped in two years.
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[DAWN] Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan said on Monday that the operation against bandidosDeath Eaters was successfully underway in the tribal region as the gunnies were on the run and had no place to hide.
Talking to newsmen here on Monday, he said that cracks had emerged in the ranks of the terrorists, and added that the government would not rest till the time all the gunnies were flushed out from the country.
The government acknowledged the bravery and valour shown by the rustics in defending the country's borders, he added.
Mahtab Ahmad said that due to tight security arrangements at the border, it had become difficult for the bandidosDeath Eaters to infiltrate into Pakistain. The situation at the border was now improving, he added.
The nation stood behind the armed forces in the war against terrorism, he said and added that the government, civil society and the armed forces were on the same page against terrorism.
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#1
Whack-A-Mole? Meanwhile, the Islamic State (ISIS) is expanding its franchise into Afghanistan.
[DAWN] 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... Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... chief Professor Mohammad Ibrahim on Monday declared the rulers the main hurdle to the introduction of Islamic system in the country and urged the people to find new leadership for the purpose.
"The ruling class fears Islamic system will hurt its interests and therefore, it is creating hurdles to this system's introduction in the country," he told a public meeting in Khaishgi area here.
Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Mirajuddin and Anwarul Islam also spoke on the occasion.
Professor Ibrahim said the people could change the country's politicianship if they really wanted resolution of their problems.
He said children should be given modern education along with Islamic education so that they could help the country meet internal and external challenges.
The JI leader said children were the country's future as they would become doctors, engineers, professors and politicians in future.
He said it was the duty of teachers to train children in such a way that they contributed to national progress well.
"Now-a-days, the world is led by the West due to the wrong polices of Islamic world. The Moslem rulers should correct their polices for the benefit of Moslems in the world," he said.
Professor Ibrahim said his party was striving to bring about an 'Islamic revolution' in the country.
He said there were 60 Moslem countries but they lacked unity. "Moslems need to unite to lead the world again," he said.
The JI leader said the country could prosper by introducing Islamic system of governance.
"Our rulers come to power by securing people's votes but they later forget election promises and begin plundering the national wealth," he said.
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#1
"Our rulers come to power by securing people's votes but they later forget election promises and begin plundering the national wealth," he said.
Has a familiar ring to it. De ja vu all over again.
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama would not count out backing U.N. recognition of Palestine as part of his reevaluation of the Israel-Palestinian peace process.
He's going to force Israel to his will...
Obama at a news conference on Tuesday said his reevaluation was based on how best to preserve hope for Palestinian statehood.
“The question is, do you create a process and a framework that gives the Palestinians hope, the possibility, that down the road they have a secure state of their own, standing side by side with a secure, fully recognized Jewish state of Israel,” Obama answered. “And I think — it’s not just my estimation — I think it’s hard to envision how that happens based on the prime minister’s statements.”
Obama framed the problem as how to preserve the expectation of two states given Netanyahu’s opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state.
“The issue is not a matter of relations between leaders,” he said. “The issue is a very clear, substantive challenge.
“We believe that two states is the best path forward for Israel’s security, for Palestinian aspirations and for regional stability. That’s our view, and that continues to be our view. And Prime Minister Netanyahu has a different approach. And so this can’t be reduced to a matter of somehow let’s all hold hands and sing ‘Kumbaya.’ This is a matter of figuring out how do we get through a real knotty policy difference that has great consequences for both countries and for the region.”
Obama said he would resume consultations with Israel once Netanyahu has his new government in place. Asked specifically about whether he would back recognition of Palestinian statehood at the United Nations, the president said he would not count it out.
“We’re going to do that evaluation — we’re going to partly wait for an actual Israeli government to form,” he said.
Who do you negotiate with on the Paleo side -- Abbas? Mahmoud knows that if he agrees to a "two-state" solution that he's a dead man.
Obama stressed that he was not “reassessing” relations with Israel, as some reporting has characterized the shift.
“When I said that we have to now do an evaluation of where we are, it’s not in reference to our commitment to Israel’s military edge in the region, Israel’s security, our intelligence cooperation, our military cooperation,” he said. “That continues unabated.”
Sure, we can all see Champ's substantial commitment to Israel's existence...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2015 10:51 ||
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[ARABNEWS] Arab politicians in Israel on Tuesday rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's apology for comments he made in last week's national elections that offended members of the Arab community and said his words made him unsuitable to return for a third consecutive term on the job.
The spat has touched on longstanding claims of discrimination by Israel's Arab minority, which makes up 20 percent of the Jewish state, and signaled that the rift will not be healed anytime soon. An Arab advocacy center in Israel said the country's national elections brought an "unprecedented level of racist incitement" against the minority community.
In the heat of a close race last week, Netanyahu posted a video on his Facebook page where he implored his hard-line supporters to head to the polls, saying that "left-wing organizations" were bussing Arabs to the polls "in droves." The comments drew accusations of racism from Arab voters and a White House rebuke.
Netanyahu told a gathering of Arab dignitaries Monday, "I know that what I said a few days ago offended some of Israel's citizens, offended Israeli Arabs. I had no intention of doing so. I am sorry for this."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2015 00:00 ||
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Get over it, Netanyahu won. You weren't going to vote for him anyway.
[Iran Press TV] Following reports of Israel's espionage against US-Iran nuclear talks, it is time for the B.O. regime to "declare Israel a nuclear state", says Jim W. Dean, a columnist and political commentator based in Atlanta.
Current and former American officials told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday the spying operation was part of a campaign by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "penetrate the negotiations and then help build a case against the emerging terms of the deal."
Dean told Press TV in a phone interview that "this comes as no surprise," as Tel Aviv has been engaged in spy activities in the United States in other different areas including "industrial espionage to steal trade secrets".
"Israel is a kind of parasite on the West. They have the right to just steal and take anything possible."
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Jim Dean, brother of Howard Dean, and based in Burlington, VT - shocker!
[Guardian] According to the report, the US has long been aware that Israel is among the shortlist of countries with the most aggressive intelligence operations targeting interesting word choice
America, alongside Russia, China and France. but not the UK, of course
It said American diplomats attending the talks in Austria and Switzerland were briefed by US counterintelligence officials about the threat of Israeli eavesdropping. It also raised the possibility that Israel gathered intelligence about the US position by spying on other participants in the negotiations, from western Europe, Russia, China or Iran. US intelligence had previously provided help to the Israelis to spy on the Iranians, the report said.
The US also conducts intelligence operations against Israel so there
and learned of the Israeli spying operation when it intercepted communication between Israeli officials exchanging classified information that US intelligence believed could only have been acquired by espionage.
However, what appears to have upset administration officials more than the spying is the use of the classified intelligence acquired to brief members of the US Congress and to persuade them to torpedo the talks. After Netanyahu addressed Congress this month, 47 Republican senators wrote an open letter to the Iranian leadership, warning it that a successor to Obama could refuse to honour any agreement reached. seeing the words "honour" and "Obama" in the same sentence kind of gives me the willies
"It is one thing for the US and Israel to spy on each other. It is another thing for Israel to steal US secrets So, it went from "spy" to "steal." Interesting.
and play them back to US legislators to inform them what their betters are doing to
undermine US National interests
US diplomacy," the Wall Street Journal quoted a senior US official as saying.
#1
what appears to have upset administration officials more than the spying is the use of the classified intelligence acquired to brief members of the US Congress
The real enemy?
Anyways, re spying, it's a lot easier to let Chinese and Russians to gather raw data, process it, and then hack their computers.
#2
After Champ disallowed Israel's participation or knowledge regarding the Iranian negotiations, it would have been completely negligent of Israel not to make collection on this process a Priority Intelligence Requirement (PIR).
We're dealing with rank amateurs and ideologues in Washington.
[AnNahar] The Nusra Front, Syria's al-Qaeda affiliate, is consolidating power in territory stretching from the Turkish border to central and southern Syria, crushing moderate opponents and forcibly converting minorities using tactics akin to its ultraconservative rival, the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group.
But while the Islamic State group gets most of the attention largely because its penchant for gruesome propaganda, the Nusra Front quietly has become one of the key players in the four-year civil war, compromising other rebel groups the West may try to work with while increasingly enforcing its own brutal version of Islamic law.
Its scope of influence now abuts the Golan Heights bordering Israel, and its membership largely composed of Syrian nationals refuse any negotiations with the government of embattled Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... , further complicating the brutal conflict.
"The Nusra Front will most likely outlast ISIS in Syria, and will represent a severe and existential threat to the aspirations of the Syrian people in terms of a pluralistic, democratic society," said Fawaz A. Gerges, director of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics, using an alternate acronym for the holy warrior group.
The Islamic State group helped create the Nusra Front, providing financing, manpower and military hardware in 2012. But the group and its patron eventually had a falling out in 2013 for ideological as well as strategic reasons. The Nusra Front, while loyal to al-Qaeda, has cooperated with other Syrian rebel factions in the fight to oust Assad.
In recent months, the group has overrun rebel strongholds in Syria's Idlib province, trouncing two prominent, U.S.-backed rebel factions, Harakat Hazm and the Syria Revolutionaries Front. Following the deadly festivities, SRF leader Jamal Maarouf fled to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and Hazm announced it was dissolving.
A Middle East-based Western diplomat said the Nusra Front began its attacks on moderate, U.S.-backed rebel factions after the American-led coalition began Arclight airstrikes in September targeting both the Islamic State group and the Khorasan group, which Washington says is a special cell within Nusra plotting attacks against Western interests. U.S. officials last week said Arclight airstrikes have hit as many as 17 separate targets connected to the Khorasan group.
The Nusra Front responded with a series of spectacular attacks targeting moderate rebel groups and forces loyal to Assad in northwestern Syria, the diplomat said.
It "has now created coherent control of a strategic area between Idlib and Hama (provinces) in northwestern and central Syria," said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to brief journalists.
At the same time, the group has become increasingly aggressive toward local populations. In January, members of the group reportedly shot a woman dead in front of a crowd in Idlib after they accused her of being a hooker. The group also has carried out public lashings, crucifixions and kidnappings -- though it has not publicized the atrocities like the Islamic State group.
Activists in southern Syria say the Nusra Front was behind the January bombing that destroyed the shrine of a 13th century Moslem scholar. The Nusra Front issued a statement denying it was involved but activists say its members were seen placing the bombs.
"They're trying to come across as rational, moderate, more dynamic," Gerges said. "They don't celebrate savagery in the same way like the Islamic State group."
Residents say among the group's most worrisome action so far is forcing members of the minority Druze sect living in Idlib's Jabal al-Summaq region to convert to Sunni Islam.
The Druze, a 10th century offshoot of Shiite Islam, made up about 5 percent of Syria's pre-war population of 23 million people. In addition to Syria, Leb and Israel have large Druze communities.
"The Druze in Idlib are being subjected today to religious persecution. The Nusra Front carried out shameful acts. They have dug graves and damaged shrines," said former Lebanese Cabinet minister Wiam Wahhab, a Druze politician with close ties to the community in Syria.
Activists estimate several hundred Druze have been forced to convert. A purported Nusra Front document, posted online and dated Feb. 1, outlined an agreement that saw Druze in 14 villages in Idlib convert. Under the deal, the Druze will implement Islamic laws, destroy tombs, impose Islamic dress on women and stop having mixed-sex schools. Idlib-based activist Asaad Kanjo said many Druze there have fled.
"You are likely to see this sort of behavior from Nusra in Idlib province because they are increasingly the dominant party in this part of Syria, and are in the midst of a concerted effort to eliminate rivals there," said Faysal Itani, a resident fellow at the Atlantic Council. "Nusra ultimately wants to rule Syria."
An opposition activist in Kafranbel, a town in Idlib, said the group has established an elaborate network of social services and Shariah courts and rules uncontested. Remaining rebel groups in the province operate only with Nusra's approval, he said.
However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... the group's increasingly belligerent approach toward other rebel groups is starting to alienate former allies, said the activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
The main Western-backed Syrian group, the Syrian National Coalition, which in the past has been wary not to criticize Nusra, has changed its tune.
"We are concerned over Al Nusra's latest actions and abuses against civilians and (Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... ) fighters," said front man Salem al-Meslet, adding that the abuses were akin to the Islamic State group and Syrian government forces' "criminal behavior."
The criticism has led the Nusra Front to issue a rare statement defending itself, saying its target are only those proven to have committed "crimes" against Moslems and fighters.
"It was not our intention on any day to spread influence and expand and control the worshippers and the country," the statement from its Al-Manara Al-Bayda media arm said. "Rather, our goal and aim is to lift injustice from the oppressed, and push away every enemy that attacks the honor, religion, and sanctities of the Moslems."
#6
Where do I submit my application to be recalled from retirement to serve on his court martial?
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/25/2015 16:07 Comments ||
Top||
#7
What we should have done is when the Taliban brought him to the helicopter, we thank them, put Bergdahl on his knees, shoot him execution style and leave his body as the specops guys get back in the chopper and leave.
#9
I'm with Pappy. Champ and ValJar want this problem to go away quietly. Take a plea, a less than honorable discharge, a suspended sentence and a directorship from ACORN.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2015 16:51 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Even if he is convicted, O will just pardon him.
Don't bet on it. Champ doesn't give a fig for Bergie and a pardon makes it look like his admin made a mistake. O's mouthpiece will simply say that it's an army matter now..
#11
It's been a while since I've looked at the UCMJ, but I am pretty sure that desertion in the face of the enemy is a capital offense. I can't see O letting Bergdahl actually face a firing squad.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/25/2015 16:56 Comments ||
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#12
me either Rambler but we haven't executed anybody for combat desertion since '45 anyway...
As per #2, I can see Bergdahl being given sympathy by Lefties as a de facto or living victim of the confusion and angst wrought by the Bushite GWOT on the USDOD + Amerika including the invasion of Iraq + Afghanistan.
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