[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The First Vice President Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum ...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier... strongly rejected allegations of genocide during the operations led by him in northern parts of the country.
Gen. Dostum said those who accuse him of genocide are speaking on behalf of the regional spy agencies directly involved in the ongoing violence across the country.
He said such remarks are made by those who organized funerals for the former Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.
Gen. Dostum is currently in northern Faryab province of Afghanistan to coordinate military operations against the anti-government armed Death Eater groups amid deteriorating security situation in this province.
He joined the Afghan security institutions and top government officials for blaming Pakistain's military intelligence for the ongoing violence in the country.
In his remarks following a series of deadly attacks in capital Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... , Gen. Dostum said the Pak military generals and the country's powerful military intelligence -- Inter service Intelligence (ISI) are plotting and coordinating attacks across Afghanistan, under the name of al Qaeda, 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.... affiliates and Talibs.
According to Gen. Dostum, the ongoing violence in Afghanistan could end only if Pakistain's military and ISI truly cooperate with the Afghan government.
In the meantime, he warned that the issue will be shared with the National Security Council upon his return to Kabul and those who accuse him of genocide would face prosecution for the irresponsible remarks.
Gen. Dostum insisted that he is leading counter-terrorism operations to bring peace and stability in northern parts of the country and emphasized that his presence in these operations is not aimed at killing the residents of these provinces.
His remarks were followed after he was accused of genocide against Pashtuns by certain activists and analysts during television and media debates.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2015 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum ...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier... on Tuesday met with three would-be jacket wallahs who had planned to attack him in Faryab.
The three faceless myrmidons with boom jackets strapped to their bodies were tossed in the calaboose Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! on Monday before reaching their target -- Dostum.
Dostum has spent almost four weeks in battle-weary Faryab where he has led an operation to clear the province of the Taliban.
While interrogating the bombers, in the presence of army officers and his guards, Dostum asked them about their motive and other factors behind the plot.
The faceless myrmidons confessed that they had planned to attack Dostum inside a military base in Qaisar district in Faryab.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2015 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] A number of MPs and analysts on Tuesday called on government to recognize so-called double agents working in government and take legal action against them -- instead of only ever speaking out against them.
They accused the government of not paying any attention to this problem, saying these so-called spies -- who are found on all levels of government - are working against the national interests of the country.
Some say they believe there is a 'fifth pillar' inside the government -- on all levels -- and are powerful enough for people not to name them.
"We know that the [network] is powerful and has infiltrated into all pillars," Nahid Farid, an MP from Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... told TOLOnews.
"The people of Afghanistan should raise their voices, if they have the right to make a decision. They should not allow the 'fifth pillar' to launch a bloodbath here and decide in favor of the enemy," she added.
Jawed Kohistan ...a backwoods district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa distinguished by being even more rustic than is the norm among the local Pashtuns.... i, an analyst in military affairs, told TOLOnews that by the 'fifth pillar' they mean there are Iran and Pakistain agents as well as others.
"The target of those who speak out about the 'fifth pillar' will be Pakistain and Iran, but we have British, Russian and Americans pillars that are more active in this regard compared to other countries," Kohistani added.
"A big part of the government should be eliminated if the 'fifth pillar' issue is taken into account, seriously," he said.
Recently, the Chief Executive 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... and the First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum ...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier... spoke out about the presence of a number of agents in government ranks and cooperation of some insiders with turbans.
Abdullah in one of sessions of the Council of Ministers this month said the presence of enemy spies within Afghan government ranks is part of the new government's inheritance and has led to the current situation. "To purge the government of such elements ought to be a priority for the National Unity Government," he said.
"There are traitors in this nation who are living in the situation which has been created for them by the Afghan cops. People of Afghanistan are living here and are defending crimes in this country," he said adding that we have to act against them.
However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... the government has not introduced such 'agents' so far.
Recently, former Jihadi leader Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf spoke out about so-called agents of neighboring countries inside the Afghan government.
Sayyaf referred to the Taliban's late leader Mullah Omar ... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality... and his death two years ago and said: "I told you once that money comes in from abroad and is distributed here as salaries. No one should ask me where it comes from, nor what it is for. I also said that gunnies are transferred from Mohammad Agha area of Pashtun-infested Logar, from Pul-e-Surkh of Maidan Wardak and from Khak Jabar district by tinted-glass vehicles."
However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... the question still remains that why the so-called agents are not recognized?
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08/26/2015 00:00 ||
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[ALMANAR.LB] French President Francois Hollande ...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist... offered Tuesday to organize an international meeting on tackling the Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed... 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 has killed thousands in Nigeria.
"In several days, I will receive the new Nigerian President (Muhammadu) Buhari and I will confirm to him that La Belle France is ready to unite all the actors in the fight against Boko Haram," Hollande said during a speech to diplomats on Tuesday.
Boko Haram has stepped up attacks in three Nigerian states in its northeastern heartland since Buhari, who has vowed to crush the group, came to power on May 29.
The gunnies have also carried out bushwhackes across Nigeria's borders and in recent weeks jacket wallahs, many of them women, have staged several attacks in Cameroon ...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there... and Chad.
Chad, Cameroon and Niger, which has also suffered from attacks by Boko Haram, launched a regional force earlier this year to end a conflict that has claimed more than 15,000 lives since 2009.
But the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which also includes Benin and is expected to number some 8,700 troops and police, has yet to go into action.
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08/26/2015 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami ... a Pakistani catspaw remaining active in Bangla politix, loosely affiliated with the Pak religious party of the same name and closely affiliated with most of the terror organizations in Bangla. A member of the BNP's four party governing coalition.... 's leadership says it is content to bide its time, claiming that the party continues to run a robust operation in the shadows.
The country's oldest Islamist party, notorious for opposing independence in 1971, says it is unconcerned that its central offices have been under lock and key since September 19, 2011.
Even with many of its top leaders convicted of war crimes by the International Crimes Tribunal and thousands of its leaders and activists either behind bars or on the run from the law, the right-wing political party's leaders strike a pose of serene detachment.
Jamaat's leadership has indicated that it regards this hiatus from active political engagement as a strategic interlude.
They say they are happy to buy some time to see what happens next.
The party denies it has been driven underground, surviving like other parties only by issuing blurbs and social media updates.
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From Strategy Page. A lot has been reported, but this gathers the separate things going on with our buddy Putin and Co.
August 24, 2015: Ukrainian military intelligence has been warning of another offensive in eastern Ukraine (Donbas) and it was supposed to start today, which is the Ukrainian Independence Day. While there were recent major movements of Russian armored vehicles and artillery into Donbas and an increase in ceasefire violations by pro-Russian forces there, the offensive has not happened. At the same time Ukraine is trying to get its constitution changed to offer Donbas a special status that might satisfy Russia and stop the war there. If the Ukrainian president can get the constitutional amendment enacted an offer can be made to Russia to call off their undeclared invasion in return for an autonomous Donbas and a lifting of sanctions. This is a long shot but Ukrainian leaders see the alternative as years (or decades) of this state of war, which has been very expensive for Russia and Ukraine. But the Russian leadership appears split on the idea of any sort of compromise. The Russians have justified this war by convincing the Russian people that NATO attacked Russia first by scheming to take control of Ukraine and make it part of NATO, as was already done in Poland and the Baltic States. Westerners are appalled at the absurdity of this idea but Russia's East European neighbors have heard it many times in the past as it is the traditional Russia excuse for invading its neighbors. All in the name of self-defense of course. Most Western leaders and news editors don't know enough about Russian history to appreciate what is going on here. The new NATO members in East Europe are trying very hard to educate their Western friends but it is slow going because this Russian attitude seems so unbelievable. Many aspects of Russian history and culture seem absurd to Westerners, but these things are very real and very dangerous.
Ukraine believes over 6,800 have died since the Russian aggression in Donbas began in April 2014. In addition to the violence Ukrainian intelligence officials have found evidence of Russia funding Ukrainian opposition parties (which tend to be leftist one, including current or former communists) in order to gain more influence on the government.
Meanwhile Russia has found other ways to fight back against NATO. For the first seven months of 2015 NATO warplanes had to go up 250 times to intercept Russian aircraft flying too close to NATO air space. That was a rate of Russian air activity not seen since the Cold War ended in 1991. Nearly half those interceptions were over the Baltic Sea where Russia insists NATO is making preparations for war. All this activity appears to be for domestic consumption because the pro-Russian "rebellion" in eastern Ukraine is stalled but the Western counterattack (sanctions, plunging oil prices and growing anti-Russian sentiment in the West) is not. As a practical matter these flights give aircrew valuable training the military could not afford before. On the down side there are growing complaints that many of these Russian military aircraft are turning off their transponders (which air traffic control systems use to identify and precisely locate aircraft in commercial air space) and not filing flight plans and then flying into controlled (by the air traffic control system) air space. Russia is ignoring these complaints, apparently allowing their aircrews to use their eyes and onboard radar to avoid collisions. This is also good combat training but not the sort of thing you would openly acknowledge.
Russian Eleron-3SV UAVs have shown up in Syria. One of these UAVs was recently shot down by Syrian al Nusra rebels. Russia long supported the beleaguered Syrian government and sending some Eleron-3SV UAVs was not unusual. It's unknown whether the Eleron-3SV UAVs were operated by Syrian or Russian personnel, as Russia has kept technical, military and intelligence personnel in Syria before, both for its own ends, and as direct support to the Syrian government, which had problems with providing enough highly educated, well trained technical specialists to its military forces even before the civil war. The $55,000 Eleron-3SV is a battery powered, 4.3 kg (7.49 pounds) UAV travelling at speeds of from 70 to 130 kilometers an hour. Flight endurance of up to 2 hours, and maximum altitude of 5,000 meters (16,000 feet). It is launched by throwing it and can land by flying close to the ground and shutting its engine off.
August 23, 2015: Relations with Japan are going nowhere because the Japanese believe Russia is seeking a huge (more that Japan will pay) "ransom" for the disputed Kuril Islands and an official end to World War II. In 2013 Russian and Japanese negotiators quit trying to agree on terms of a long delayed treaty to end the state of war existing between the two countries since 1945. The talks are also about the territorial dispute. In 2010 Russia renounced a 1956 deal to return two of the four Japanese Kuril islands. Japan had been pressuring Russia to make good on the 1956 promise (made at the time Japan and the Soviet Union resumed diplomatic relations). But Russia reneged, claiming Japan was plotting to get the other two islands back as well. The Japanese have been pressuring the Russians to return the Kurile Islands (off northern Japan) for decades, and this has caused a lot of tension recently. These four islands were seized at the end of World War II, and the Russians kept them. The Kurils had been occupied by Japanese for centuries, but when Russia reached the Pacific coast in the 17th century, they began to send ships down to the Kurils. In 1875, Japan and Russia signed a treaty settling claims in the area. Japan acknowledged Russia's claim to the larger Shakalin Island to the north while Russia acknowledged that the Kurils belonged to Japan. After World War II, Russia expelled the 17,000 Japanese inhabitants of the four Kuril Islands. Russians were brought in, and about 15,000 of them (including many Ukrainians, Koreans and so on) currently inhabit the islands. There's not much economic value to the Kurils, except for the good fishing. But it's believed there are oil and gas deposits off shore, and valuable mineral deposits on land. Meanwhile, the Russians are still hacked off at losing a war to Japan in 1905, and to Japanese soldiers occupying parts of eastern Russia after World War I. Japan and Russia had a non-aggression treaty for most of World War II. But Russia declared war on Japan on August 15th, 1945, and promptly invaded Japanese occupied northern China (Manchuria). Japanese surrendered to the United States a month later. You could say that Japan and Russia have a lot of unresolved issues.
The sanctions and persistent low oil prices have caused Russian GDP to contract for over a year and this led to a sharp fall in the value of the ruble against foreign currencies. In the past year the dollar has become twice as expensive to buy with rubles. This has had an impact on the value of the ruble against other currencies. This is not good for the economy and it is why Chinese investment (encouraged by both countries) in Russia is down 20 percent so far this year (versus 2014). China currently has investments in Russia worth about $4 billion. Russian GDP shrank 2.2 percent during the first three months of 2015 and 4.6 percent in the second quarter. This shrinkage shows no signs of slowing down. The government tries to mask the economic damage with positive propaganda but Russians closely involved with the military, the space program and major government projects know better. Budgets are being quietly cut and managers warned that government promises of future funding is subject to "special circumstances" (the sanctions and the price of oil).
August 21, 2015: Russia denied that six Mig-31M fighters had been delivered to an airbase outside Damascus, Syria on the 16th. Russia has lied about arms deliveries before, according to the Israelis who keep close tabs on Russian weapons deliveries to Syria and have bombed the more advanced stuff. Russia sold these MiG-31Ms to Syria back in 2007 thus Russia considers delivery legal. Russia has shipped over a billion dollars' worth of weapons to Syria since the civil war there began in 2011. Russia insists that this is not in violation of arms embargoes against Syria and are simply deliveries of weapons ordered before 2011. Syria delivers cash to Russian banks to keep these weapons coming and their warranties operational. These purchases are being paid for by Iran, which flies in the cash to a Syrian financial operation in Moscow. The cash is then delivered to Russian government accounts via a Moscow bank. The Syrian Moscow operation is run by an uncle of Syrian dictator Basher Assad. While Russia has ideological and political reasons for supporting the Assads, there's also the money angle. These Russian shipments are not challenged by the international community because they are, technically, defensive weapons and cannot be used to attack the rebels (the MiG-31s are used as interceptors and recon aircraft). Meanwhile Russian cargo ships continue to arrive and unload in Syria, plus numerous air freight flights. Russia quietly approved new shipments of small arms and electronic equipment, which is forbidden but can be flown in and join similar weapons Syria had before 2011. Russia appears to believe that no one will challenge this either.
August 17, 2015: Ukrainian troops near Mariupol clashed with pro-Russian rebels who opened fire and seemed ready to advance. This resulted in the worst fighting in over a month which left ten soldiers and civilians dead in Donbas as the result of 127 different attacks by pro-Russian forces. This was the highest one day death toll since June. The fierce Ukrainian resistance persuaded the rebels to back off in places where they seemed ready to move forward. The rebels appear to be bringing in more troops and weapons in preparation for another effort to take Mariupol. This is in violation of the truce and is nothing new as far as the Russians and rebels are concerned. Pro-Russian forces have been threatening the port city of Mariupol since early 2014.
August 14, 2015: Russia insisted that a July 24th visit by Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani to Moscow did not happen. Soleimani was said to have met with Russian defense officials and left two days later. Since 2007 Soleimani has been under numerous sanctions, including ones that are not being lifted by the July 14th deal. Soleimani was not supposed to be able to travel to Russia and Russia knows it. But Russia and Iran deny the visit actually happened, the same way Iran denies that Soleimani has spent time in Iraq supervising the creation and use of pro-Iran Shia militias.
August 13, 2015: Ukrainian troops near Mariupol suffered four casualties when pro-Russian rebels opened fire. Movements by rebel forces in the area give the appearance that the pro-Russian forces are preparing for another attempt to take the port city.
August 12, 2015: Ukraine allowed journalists to talk to a Russian officer (a major) they captured July 26th in Donbas. This happened when a truck loaded with Russian ammunition took a wrong turn and was seized by Ukrainian troops. The two men in the truck were identified as a Ukrainian rebel and the Russian officer. Both men wore uniforms with no insignia and carried no ID. The Russian admitted he was a supply officer in a Russian artillery unit and was in charge of delivering the 200 cases of ammo on the truck. Russia denied everything. The major has now admitted that about 2,000 Russian troops were in Donbas as of July and most were not volunteers. Their superiors would encourage career troops to "volunteer" while conscripts were usually tricked into going and not allowed to leave once they realized they were in a combat zone. There is evidence of this in official (public) records of a Russian military court (tribunal) showing that there were 62 prosecutions of soldiers for refusing to serve in a combat zone (in this case Ukraine) in the last year compared with 35 cases for the previous five years (2010 to 2014). Before Russia went into Ukraine in early 2014 most prosecutions of soldiers for not going to a combat zone involved service in the Caucasus. That is still a dangerous place, but now largely handled by locals or paramilitary units of Interior Ministry. The Russian Army is largely responsible for keeping the undeclared war in Donbas going and a growing number of Russian troops refuse to cooperate.
August 10, 2015: Another bad day in Donbas with pro-Russian rebels opening fire in several areas and leaving seven dead and eleven wounded. Ukraine has moved artillery back into Donbas. This violates the February ceasefire but Ukraine justifies it because of the many and continuing ceasefire violations by the pro-Russian rebels, often using artillery.
August 9, 2015: Because of its undeclared war with Ukraine Russia has been forced to halt manufacture of its new An-140 twin turboprop military transports. This is because essential components are made in Ukraine and now, because of the war, unavailable. In 2012 Russia ordered twenty more military versions of the An-140, to be built in Russia using a lot of Ukrainian made components. In 2011 the Russian Air Force ordered seven An-140s from Ukraine and liked what they got. Russia bought An-140s, in part, to improve diplomatic and economic relations with Ukraine. Since Russia went to war with Ukraine in early 2014 a growing number of Russian manufacturing operations have had to shut down because they can no longer import components from Ukraine. This is an aftereffect of the 70 years of communist rule in Russia and Ukraine. During this time the economies of Ukraine and Russia became closely intertwined. Russia seized control of Ukraine in the 17th century and Ukrainians considered that conquest, not a merger.
August 8, 2015: In the south (Chechnya) a Russian patrol searching a wooded area were hit by a remote controlled Islamic terrorist bomb which killed one soldier and wounded two. This is a rare case of Islamic terrorist activity in Chechnya and the constant Russian patrols (and cooperative local security forces) keeps it that way.
August 6, 2015: American Department of Defense officials believe that a major hacker attack on their military email systems in July came from Russia. This attack apparently got to at least 4,000 email accounts. While small, Department of Defense Internet security experts were impressed with the skill and resources of the hackers.
August 5, 2015: Iran announced that it is preparing a new peace proposal for Syria. This will apparently incorporate Russian suggestions that the Assads be eased out (and into comfortable exile) and the growing anti-ISIL forces in Syria unite, if only temporarily, to deal with the common threat of ISIL. This will be a hard sell because many rebel factions in Syria hate Iran in particular and Shia in general. At the same time the U.S. announced that it generally agreed with the Russo-Iranian plan and welcomes an opportunity to end the violence in Syria.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/26/2015 17:07 ||
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FYI Russian Deputy PM DIMITRY MEDEVEDEV is being heavily criticized in JAPAN for saying, as far as the probability of Nippon getting back the now Russia-annexed Kuriles, that Japan should just go ahead and "kill themselves", i.e. COMMIT "RITUAL HARA-KIRI".
So now Japan is accusing Russia of insulting the Japanese people.
[Rudaw] Washington and Ankara have finalized a deal that would fully integrate The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... into the coalition air campaign against 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.... (ISIS), US military officials announced Tuesday.
"[The agreement is] an important development in the fight against ISIL," said Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook. "The United States and Turkey have finalized technical details for Turkey's full inclusion in the counter-ISIL coalition operations."
Cook explained at a press briefing that the deal would bring the Turkish air force into "the coalition's air tasking order" and coordination on all air operations.
The new deal did not make any reference to a safe zone inside Syria, which Turkey has been pursuing for almost two years.
The US announcement came a day after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that a deal had been reached between the two countries.
In recent months Washington has pressed Turkey to play a more active role in the war against ISIS by controlling its borders with Syria and increasing its bombing missions against the Death Eater group.
"With respect to Turkey, we do want Turkey to do more in the fight against ISIS," said US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter last week.
"We need them also as a neighbor to this conflict zone as a long time NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... ally and a responsible member of anti ISIL coalition to control the border. The long border they have with both Syria and Iraq," he added.
Kurdish leaders are concerned that Turkey is seeking a safe zone in Syria to undermine their gains against ISIS northeast of the country known as Rojava, but the US State Department dismissed such fears, saying there is no plan for a safe zone.
"We're not talking about preparations or plans for a zone of any kind," said State Dept. Spokesperson John Kirby. "What we said is where ISIL goes, the coalition's going to go. And right now, they tend to be up in that stretch along the northern border of Syria, southern border of Turkey, roughly west of the Euphrates."
[Ynet] A US district judge in New York City has ordered Paleostinian authorities to pay $10 million in cash to secure hundreds of millions awarded to Americans killed in terrorist attacks.
Judge George B. Daniels also said Monday that the Paleostinian Liberation Organization and the Paleostinian Authority must pay $1 million each month while the case is on appeal. Their attorney declined to comment.
A jury awarded $218.5 million in damages this year in a lawsuit brought by victims and survivors of attacks that killed 33 people and injured hundreds more. That amount was then automatically tripled by the US Anti-Terrorism Act.
This is the case that the US government intervened in, arguing that forcing the Palestinians to pay damages would bankrupt their government.
[DAWN] KARACHI: Two coppers were placed in durance vile You have the right to remain silent... after a suspected hard boy in their custody beat feet from the heavily guarded antiterrorism courts (ATCs) on Monday.
Tanveer alias Jumbo was facing trial in an explosive substances case.
He was apprehended by the Special Investigation Unit of police in the Ibrahim Haideri area in September last year.
The jail authorities produced the undertrial before an ATC as his case was fixed for evidence. After the hearing, he somehow managed to unlock his handcuffs and fled the ATCs, housed in four barracks of the Sindh Secretariat.
Thereafter, ATC-IX judge Farman Ali Kanasro summoned the senior superintendent of police (security) and the Preedy SHO and directed them to arrest the accused and take action against the coppers responsible for the UTP's escape.
The UTP was booked under Section 4/5 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 at the SIU cop shoppe.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, Bart was wondering if fisticuffs would be appropriate at this point... the police arrested assistant sub-inspector Raziuddin and constable Zahid Ali, who were escorting the UTP, and a case was registered against them and the absconder at the Preedy cop shoppe on behalf of the state under Sections 223 (escape from custody negligently suffered by public servant), 224 (resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension), 225-A (omission to apprehend or sufferance of escape on part of public servant, in case not otherwise provided for) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistain Penal Code.
Earlier in July 2013, three undertrial prisoners, Arsalan, Ammar and Mohammad Zubair, facing trial in kidnapping for ransom and murder cases, had beat feet from the ATCs premises.
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[DAWN] Nine days after the Attock bombing, the 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.... government has determined that the incident took place due to negligence of the head of local police and removed him from his post on Monday.
The Punjab Home Department previously removed the head of the Rawalpindi Special Branch, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rana Shahid from his post immediately after the attack, for not passing on proper intelligence to local authorities regarding the threat to the home minister.
However, Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... Attock District Police Officer Nadeem Hussain was not removed for more than week, despite the fact that local authorities had clearly failed to adopt adequate security measures for the minister.
Authorities failed to install walk-through gates or surveillance cameras at the home minister's dera.
Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada and 18 others were killed when a jacket wallah detonated explosives close to the minister.
The outgoing DPO has been directed to report to the Establishment Division, as his replacement has yet to be announced by the provincial government.
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[DAWN] MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmire (AJK) Legislative Assembly condemned the "incessant and unprovoked" ceasefire violations by Indian troops across the Line of Control (LoC) this Monday.
The assembly called upon the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... (UN) and the international community to pressure India to respect international law and mutual agreements, and to halt the bloodshed along the de facto border.
It also urged the Pak government to raise the issue at the relevant international forums as soon as possible.
The demands were made through several resolutions tabled by members from both sides of the divide.
The session, chaired by deputy speaker Shaheen Kousar Dar, was convened at the requisition of the combined opposition, made up of 12 members of the Pakistain Moslems League-Nawaz (PML-N) and five members of the Moslem Conference (MC).
The members said that Indian troops have been targeting civilians, particularly in Nakyal, Madarpur and Neza Pir, and have caused casualties and property damage.
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[DAWN] The 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. High Court (PHC) on Tuesday suspended the execution of a death-row prisoner, who was sentenced to death by a military court after he was found to be involved in terrorism.
Haider Ali, now 21 years old, was tossed in the slammer Book 'im, Mahmoud! by security forces in 2009, when he was 14 years old and a 10th grade student at the Malakand Public High School, Swat.
"The Peshawar High Court has ordered the military court to halt the execution of my client Haider Ali, who was awarded the death sentence by a military court on August 13," Ajmal Khan, lawyer of the death row convict told AFP.
Ali's hanging was suspended after his parents filed a petition in PHC, challenging his death sentence.
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[DAWN] Pakistain Peoples Party on Tuesday decided to form an alliance with the Awami National Party founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism.... (ANP) and the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...a pak religious party. It is usually part of the govt, never part of the solution... -- F (JUI-F) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... to cobble local district governments in the province.
The party has also decided to hold phase-wise intra-party elections in the province.
The decisions were taken after a marathon meeting of the party's provincial leadership headed by party chairman Bilawal Baby Bhutto Zardari ...Pak dynastic politician, son of Benazir Bhutto and grandon of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. As far as is known, Bilawal has no particular talents other than being pretty and being able to memorize political slogans, but he had the good luck to be born into the right family and he hasn't been assassinated yet... at the Zardari House Tuesday night.
Bilawal is currently spearheading a campaign to meet district and tehsil level party workers 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.... and KP in order to resolve party differences and stabilise organizational matters.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on Tuesday approved an increase in the number of military courts for Karachi to handle outstanding terror cases. General Sharif took the decision while chairing the security briefing at Corps V Headquarters. He was also briefed on the current security situation of the city.
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08/26/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] 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.... Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Tuesday that "not a single madressah (seminary) in Pakistain's most populous province was reported to have any links with militancy."
Addressing a presser at Punjab Assembly Cafeteria on Tuesday, Sanaullah said "geo-tagging of 13,787 seminaries had been completed" where about a million students were acquiring religious education.
The provincial law minister and Pakistain Moslem League -- N stalwart went on to say that law enforcement agencies had completed search operations in hostels and universities, following a "zero tolerance policy against terrorism."
The announcement by the senior provincial minister comes just a day after Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali in a presser conceded that the government needed to expedite efforts as far as cleansing seminaries was concerned -- identifying it as one of the areas in the National Action Plan requiring further attention.
But Nisar had gone on to say "not all seminaries were breeding grounds for terrorism," adding that most seminaries in the country were "patriotic and had been targets themselves."
While laying out an elaborate progress report on the National Action Plan (NAP), Nisar had said terrorism in the country came down by 70 per cent and that fighting and cracking down religious, sectarian terrorist outfits would be a top priority in the next few months, with special focus on targeting those who "glorify terrorists."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Just stick to teaching the Koran as it truly is and what could go wrong? It IS the Religion of Peace as we all know.
"about a million students" and some 13 to 14 THOUSAND Seminaries? Yeah, no problem. Piece of cake.
Posted by: Bill Glusoger2456 ||
08/26/2015 7:42 Comments ||
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[DAWN] 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.... Chairman Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... on Tuesday slammed Pakistain Moslem League -- N for 'pressurising' and 'threatening' election tribunal judges after PML-N stalwart and senior minister of the 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.... government, Rana Sanaullah, on Tuesday said NA-122 election tribunal member Justice (retd) Kazim Ali Malik's son was refused a PML-N ticket -- an allegation the retired justice refuted immediately on local media.
Sanaullah's allegation was understood to have been a veiled reference at why the tribunal judge gave a verdict against former National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who was stripped off his NA membership following the NA-122 verdict on Saturday.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2015 00:00 ||
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h/t Instapundit
The Pentagon's inspector general is investigating allegations that military officials have skewed intelligence assessments about the United States-led campaign in Iraq against the Islamic State to provide a more optimistic account of progress, according to several officials familiar with the inquiry. Yea, well, the desired result---amnesty for Iran, has been achieved. So, it's a success
#1
"...retired Gen. John Allen — who is Mr. Obama’s top envoy working with other nations to fight the Islamic State — told the Aspen Security Forum that the terror group’s momentum had been “checked strategically, operationally, and by and large, tactically.”
#2
It's typical for a president to run off all the non kool-aid drinkers.
What is disappointing is how many of the retired don't speak up. Lends this civilian to think the top brass are more liberal than I thought.
#3
Also when most of the government agencies have gone completely over to the dark side, little wonder it turns into a giant echo chamber filled with slime.
#6
Clearly what we need are some body count reports
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/26/2015 13:17 Comments ||
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#7
"body count reports" are passe. You need drone strike counts.
Posted by: James ||
08/26/2015 19:02 Comments ||
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#8
ISIS has not yet been defeated, and may not be without intervention. Prsodent Obama's strategy has not worked -- a scapegoat must be found. What better than those military types Democrats enjoy despising? The question is, who made those allegations the insoector general is so busily investigating?
[Rudaw] Peshermga’s 630-strong force from religious minority holds line against ISIS.
Another obscure faith to be found in the region, of which Wikipedia says, "The Yarsan or Ahl-e Haqq ("People of Truth"), is a syncretic religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran.[3] The total number of members is estimated at around 1,000,000,[4] primarily found in western Iran and eastern Iraq, mostly ethnic Goran Kurds,[5][6][7] though there are also smaller groups of Persian, Lori, Azeri and Arab adherents.[8] Some Yarsanis in Iraq are called Kaka'i. Yarsanis are also found in some rural communities in southeastern Turkey.[9]" A great deal more can be learnt here, all of it more or less interesting.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] London-based pan-Arabian newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat has announced the decision to stop publishing its edition in Iraq, after repeated violations by Ahl Al-Haq group militia, which they say is "close to Iran and to the former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki."
The newspaper reported on Tuesday that the militia group had raided their buildings where the paper is printed in the capital Baghdad.
It added that armed militia were breaching the law, and censoring content by 'deleting or amending articles and the reports in the newspaper' that criticized Iranian policy in the region.
Asharq Al-Awsat said in the most recent incident, the bully boy group even changed their first page headline. The headline in question was "Iraq demonstrations anticipate the interference of Iran by destroying (Ayatollah) Khamenei's photos."
"The militia replaced the two pictures of the main page by another one from inside which caused a distortion in the pages, and the main page being printed without a headline," according to the media outlet.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2015 00:00 ||
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Russia intends to provide Iran with the civil aircraft in the near future, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told RIA Novosti as part of MAKS-2015 August 25. A representative delegation led by Sorena Sattari, Iranian Vice-President for Science and Technology, has recently arrived in Moscow.
Russian aircraft and Inshallah maintenance. What could go wrong?
"We do not exclude the possibility that Iran may become one of our partners in the procurement of Russian civil aircraft," Rogozin said.
He said that Iran and Russia are developing the cooperation in nuclear energy.
"This cooperation can be expanded due to aviation, shipbuilding, space industry, the use of space-based services," Rogozin said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/26/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Any bets on whether any of the released funds will be used to buy American (except American pols, of course).
#2
.....The accord nevertheless opens the door for some U.S. companies to expand their business with the Islamic republic and lays the groundwork for more trade and investment in future years.
A separate clause in the agreement allows for the sale of commercial aircraft and parts to Iran, which wants to buy at least 400 new planes over the next decade from both Boeing and Airbus.
[ALMANAR.LB] Ministers of Hezbollah, the Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... and the Tashnag party stormed out of the cabinet session on Tuesday over the lack of respect for the principle of partnership and because of making decisions and signing decrees without the approval of ministers from Hezbollah and the FPM, Al-Manar correspondent said.
The session, which was intended to discuss the issue of waste disposal, witnessed debates about approving a large number of decrees with the absence of political blocks.
The cabinet's emergency session continued with the rest of ministers who discussed the issue of tenders which was not approved and therefore were canceled.
Information Minister Ramzi Joreige, who read out the Cabinet's official statement after the session, said the decision to reject the bids was based on the recommendation of Environment Minister Mohammad Machnouk. The ministerial committee responsible for handling the crisis was tasked with restarting the process with a new bid document and call for tenders.
Industry Minister Hussein Hajj Hasan said as he walked out of the meeting that the decision to leave was made because political rivals would not "listen to calls for true partnership," noting that the Cabinet recently passed 70 decrees without unanimous approval.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2015 00:00 ||
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[ALMANAR.LB] Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... stressed that the most real important tool in the aggression against Syria are the terrorist groups operating in the country, noting that if we want to face the Israeli entity, we have first to confront its agents inside Syria.
During an interview with Al-Manar TV which will be broadcast Tuesday evening, President Assad asserted that what the bandidosbandidos krazed killers are committing is much more dangerous than what the Zionist enemy is doing.
Wise.
Assad also pointed out that the Syrian experience is similar to the Lebanese experience, regarding certain Syrian groups that accept to collaborate with enemies.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2015 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Tuesday it had treated a Syrian family with symptoms of exposure to chemical agents from an area where 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.... of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters have been battling other rebels.
Two adults, a three-year-old girl and a five-day-old baby girl were treated at an MSF-run hospital in Aleppo province, northern Syria, last Friday, the charity said in a statement.
They arrived at MSF's hospital an hour after the attack, suffering from breathing difficulties, inflamed skin, red eyes and conjunctivitis. Within three hours they developed blisters and their breathing difficulties worsened, the statement said.
MSF staff treated them and gave them oxygen before transferring them to another hospital for specialized treatment.
The family came from the town of Marea, north of Aleppo, where ISIS recently launched a new offensive against other Syrian rebels.
The town, 20 kilometers south of the border with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , had been under intense bombardment by mortars and artillery for a week, MSF said.
"If it was a chemical attack, it is impossible for us to ascertain who was responsible," Pablo Marco, MSF's program manager in Syria, told Rooters.
The family said a mortar shell hit their home last Friday evening, MSF said. After the kaboom, a yellow gas filled their living room.
"MSF has no laboratory evidence to confirm the cause of these symptoms," Marco said in the statement. "However, a clean conscience makes a soft pillow... the patients' clinical symptoms, the way these symptoms changed over time, and the patients' testimony about the circumstances of the poisoning all point to exposure to a chemical agent."
ISIS used poison gas in attacks against Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria in late June, a Syrian Kurdish militia and a group monitoring the Syrian conflict said in July.
A U.S. general said last Friday that fragments from mortars fired by ISIS holy warriors at Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq earlier this month tested positive in a U.S. military field analysis for sulfur mustard, a chemical weapons agent.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2015 00:00 ||
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[Rudaw] A Kurdish military expert said on Monday that 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 (ISIS) has transferred mustard gas and other chemical weapons from Syria in a bid to use it against the Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga forces.
"ISIS has seized chemical weapons including the mustard and toxic gas in Syria and they transferred them to their controlled areas in Iraq, where they are in close proximity to Peshmerga frontlines, especially in the group's stronghold of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , to use them in fights against the Peshmerga," Ahmed Shawqi, a Kurdish military expert, told Rudaw.
He believes that "due to failures against the Peshmerga, ISIS has turned to using chemical weapons to advance into Peshmerga territories, but they have never been successful in doing so."
Internationally, such weapons are prohibited. But "they (ISIS) never respect the international norms and laws," Shawqi said.
After a suspected chemical weapons attack by ISIS on the Peshmerga earlier this month, tests proved that ISIS had used mustard gas against the Kurdish forces on the Gwer- Makhmour front, wounding several Peshmerga soldiers.
Brigadier General Sirwan Barzani, commanding officer of the infantry division in the area, said Friday that the mustard gas had come in a mortar barrage of a kind the Kurds had not seen before in ISIS attacks.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/26/2015 00:00 ||
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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] First Vice President Abdul Rashid 
[Dhaka Tribune] The 
[DAWN] KARACHI: Two 
[DAWN]
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
