[WAPO] Declassified military documents released Friday detail not only how the United States mistakenly struck a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan last year but also frustrations among Special Operations troops.
The strike, which killed at least 30 people at the hospital, occurred in the city of Kunduz, which the Taliban had seized in previous days and U.S. Special Operations troops were working alongside Afghan forces to take back.
One officer, whose name, rank and unit were redacted from his witness statement, launched into a diatribe in which he blamed what happened on senior leaders. The officer wrote that he was going to provide unsolicited opinions, and that "these words may well be the greatest contribution of my career for one simple reason: the words I speak are the truth."
The officer wrote that the enemies of the Kunduz operation were "moral cowardice" and a "profound lack of strategy." Army Green Berets on the ground in the city at the time asked for guidance "no fewer than three times" during the multiday battle and heard nothing other than crickets -- "though those were hard to hear over the gunfire," he alleged.
"How have we as a force, as a group of officers, become so lost from the good lessons that our mentors taught us," the officer asked. "I will tell you how. It is a decrepit state that grows out of the expansion of moral cowardice, careerism and compromise devoid of principle, exchanged for cheap personal gain. We owe the man on the ground more than that, because for him, the decisions that he makes hopefully lands him somewhere between the judge's gavel and the enemy's bullet."
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] 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.... has reacted towards the visit by a delegation of Taliban group leaders to Pakistain shortly after the group announced the delegation will hold talks on refugees and border issues with the Pak authorities.
A statement by ARG Palace said the visit by Taliban delegation from Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... to Pakistain is totally vague since the terror groups are not allowed to visit nations.
The statement further added that the delegation recently visited Pakistain and called the purpose behind their visit to focus on refugees and border issues.
Kabul insisted that the majority of the Afghans have been forced to flee the country due to the crimes of the snuffies groups, specifically the Taliban group.
"The remarks by the Taliban group is mainly aimed at deviating the public thoughts from the crimes the group committed and is currently committing," the statement added.
Noting the visit by Afghan Minister of Refugees and Repatriations to Pakistain last week, Kabul insisted that the government has continuously worked with the government of Pakistain and international organizations to assess the situation of the refugees.
Kabul also insisted that only the governments are authorized to discuss the border issues, calling the Taliban group a vanguard for those who are establishing military installations on this side of Durand Line.
The statement added that the group will never have the authority to discuss the border issues considering the international laws and called on neighboring countries to maintain their relations with the government of Afghanistan and respect the national illusory sovereignty of the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Talibs group in Afghanistan has made a plea to international organizations including the international human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. and International Committee of Red Thingy to intervene as the Afghan government mulls hanging Lions of Islam convicted to terrorist related activities.
Warning that the hanging of Lions of Islam would have serious repercussions, the Taliban group said "The Islamic Emirate also calls upon international human right organizations, independent media outlets, ICRC and other free impartial committees to not remain indifferent in using their influence concerning matter of prisoner execution."
Noting the announcement by President Ghani regarding the implementation of judiciary institutions verdicts regarding the terrorists, the group said it "will respond with everything within its power to defend its oppressed nation."
Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, the SWAT team had finally arrived... President Ghani has reportedly received a list of Lions of Islam on death row, a day after deputy presidential front man Shah Hussain Murtazvi said the list will be provided to the President.
Murtazvi further added that the forces of Evil would be hanged to death once the cases have been reviewed in a bid to ensure fairness in the verdicts.
The decision to review and implement the judiciary institutions’ verdicts regarding the terror suspects was taken days after 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.... was hit by a deadly attack.
At least 64 people were killed and 347 others were maimed after a group of gunnies launched coordinated attack on VIP protection unit in Pul-e-Mahmood Khan area of the city on 19th April.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Hanging worked in Iraq. Zero recidivism rate. I vote that the Afghans give it a try.
[Dhaka Tribune] Claiming that the previous BNP government was the most experienced and successful in controlling militancy, party senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi yesterday said their party is ready to help the government eliminate destructive krazed killer activities.
"BNP is ready to help (government) control any anti-civilisation and destructive krazed killer activities with its previous experiences," he said.
The BNP leader came up with the remarks while speaking at a press briefing at the party's Nayapaltan central office.
Rizvi also urged the government to come up with united and all-out efforts creating a national consensus irrespective of party and opinion to eliminate life taking and anti-democratic krazed killer forces in a bid to ensure peace and security.
He observed that militancy has emerged with its ugly face in the country as the government remains busy eliminating opposition avoiding its other responsibilities.
The BNP leader alleged that the government and the ruling party leaders are trying to hide the real offenders by intentionally involving their party men with recent killings, including Kalabagan double murders.
Mentioning that Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu recently said 8,000 trained forces of Evil have returned to Bangladesh, Rizvi suggested the prime minister to ask the minister to know about whereabouts of the krazed killer without blaming BNP. "Because, he (Inu) knows their hideouts."
"Stop patronising the krazed killers...the remarks of your (PM’s) minsters and leader have demonstrated that you are pampering krazed killers," he added.
BNP does not do the politics of killing and terrorism, Rizvi said their party had rather broken the backbone of krazed killers. "There’ll be no use of giving BNP a bad name involving with militancy as people don’t believe it."
He urged the government to track down the gunnies involved in criminal activities and mete out exemplary punishment to them.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[DailyMail] The prime suspect in the the murder of a Rochdale imam 'has fled the UK' as three others remain in jug.
Jalal Uddin, 64, from Bangladesh, was found lying in a pool of his own blood with severe head injuries in a children's play area, in Greater Manchester, on February 18.
He was taken to hospital for treatment but died a short time later.
The religious leader, who attended mosque every day, was attacked as he left a friend’s house following evening prayers.
Detectives believe that his killing may have been organised by those seeking to stop his efforts to 'de-radicalise' young people in the area.
On Thursday police placed in durance vile Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! a 24-year-old man on suspicion of arranging funds for terrorism, and a 28-year-old man on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder.
A third man, 21, was also being further questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, after he answered bail.
While a 17-year-old boy previously arrested on suspicion of murder has been bailed until June pending further inquiries.
It has also emerged that the team investigating the murder has been extended to include anti-terrorism officers, reports the Guardian.
#1
"Your 'Case of the Rochdale Imam'
Had nothing to do with Islam!"
"What? Surely now, Sherlock--"
"No, Watson, the Pure talk
Of nothing all day but 'salaam.'"
[AnNahar] A Swedish suspect in the Brussels and Gay Paree attacks has told Sherlocks that he dumped the explosives that he carried onto the Belgian capital's metro system into the toilet, reports said Friday.
Not all the brave Lions of Islam are actually brave -- or at least they love life more than they expected.
Osama Krayem, 23, doused the home-made TATP explosive that he had carried into Maalbeek metro station with water before trying to dispose of it in the lavatory of the apartment where the attackers were based, La Libre Belgique newspaper said.
It said Sherlocks thought his claims were "credible" as TATP, the favored choice of 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 as it can be made from readily available chemicals, is in crystal form and dissolves in water.
Belgian TV station RTBF carried a similar report.
Belgian prosecutors declined to confirm or deny the reports when contacted by AFP and Krayem's lawyers were unavailable for comment.
Krayem, 23, was tossed in the calaboose Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! on April 8 and charged the next day with "terrorist murders" over last month's suicide kabooms at Brussels airport and Maalbeek station in which 32 people were killed and more than 300 injured.
He has also reportedly been charged with links to November's Gay Paree attacks which left 130 people dead.
Both attacks have been claimed by the Islamic State group and appear linked to the same cell of attackers.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/30/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Back in high school I learned that dumping metallic sodium in a toilet & flushing would likely cause an explosion a floor or two down.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s leaders on Friday celebrated the 100th anniversary of a famous victory by the Ottoman army in World War I against Allied forces in today’s Iraq, as the authorities place greater emphasis on the pre-Republican history of the country.
The surrender by a British-led force at the garrison in Kut al-Amara (Kut in modern Iraq) is seen as the last Ottoman victory of the war which ended in the defeat of the Empire and its German allies.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[NYTIMES] Mistakes by the crew flying an AC-130 gunship, compounded by equipment and procedural failures, led to the devastating attack on a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan last year, the Defense Department announced Friday, and 16 American military personnel, including a general officer, have been punished for their roles in the strike.
The punishments for the Oct. 3 attack, which killed 42 people, will be "administrative actions" only, and none of those being disciplined will face criminal charges because the attack was determined to be unintentional. The punishments include suspension and removal from command as well as letters of reprimand, which can seriously damage or end a career.
The new top officer of the military’s Central Command, Gen. Joseph L. Votel, made the announcement during a Pentagon news conference. He said the military had conducted "a thorough investigation," which was "painstaking" in seeking an "accurate account" of what had occurred.
Its conclusion is that neither the crew members of the gunship who fired on the hospital in the northern city of Kunduz nor the Special Forces on the ground who were directing the strike "knew they were striking a medical facility" and that the attack on the hospital was a result of human errors compounded by "process and equipment failures," he said.
"This was an extraordinarily intense combat situation," General Votel told news hounds. The troops on the ground, he added, "were doing a variety of actions at the same time: They were trying to support their Afghan partners, they were trying to execute resupply operations, and they were trying to protect themselves."
But General Votel was clear on one point: The hospital was a protected facility that was at no time being used by active Taliban fighters, though some maimedDeath Eaters had been treated there. His statement directly contradicted the claim by many senior Afghan officials that the hospital was being used by Taliban fighters and was therefore a legitimate target.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
The punishments include suspension and removal from command as well as letters of reprimand, which can seriously damage or end a career.
Total and absolute political bullshi*. A serious setback for what remains of elan and espirit de corps.
#3
I met a lst SOW pilot at the Club at Hurlburt Field years ago. He'd flown the sortie that hosed down a mental hospital in Grenada. He certainly wasn't proud of it, but there are no do-overs. War is a dirty business. There are no 'clean ends' to grasp, and perhaps that is as it should be.
#4
So General, if there were no Taliban in the facility, why did the troops on the ground and the guys in the air fire on the place?
You normally call in air support when you are taking fire from a particular location. Seems to me, the Taliban were in the compound firing on our guys and we responded.
Completer BS if you ask me. There were reasons for the incident and trying to blame it on a gak up of process and equipment failure...
I just hope the guys on the ground and the air crew were spared the administrative action. I hope the rear echelon drone and command second guessers got the brunt of this.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
04/30/2016 19:35 Comments ||
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[DAWN] While the government’s plan to streamline the registration and monitoring of religious seminaries appears to be a pipe dream, the number of madressahs in the country, as well as the number of students enrolled in them, has been on the rise.
Even though seminary boards offer different reasons for the growing number of students and institutions in the country, the administrators of all five mainstream seminary boards believe that a lack of a clear policy was augmenting negative growth as well.
"The government is not doing anything, but it wants the five boards and the seminaries registered with us to be as perfect as a polished shoe," said Sahibzada Abdul Mustafa Hazarvi, nazim
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... has said some elements are hatching conspiracies against his government, but he believes in prosperity and development of the country by launching mega projects.
"I was asked by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority to increase prices of petroleum products, but I refused to do so as prosperity and development of the country is dear to me.
"I will tackle those who are hatching conspiracies," the prime minister told a public gathering after inaugurating the second phase of the Hazara motorway from Havalian to Shinkiari at Hazara University’s ground on Thursday.
He also inaugurated a project of gas supply to Oghi, Shinkiari and other areas of the district.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The United States (US) administration is withholding funds earmarked for Pakistain's purchase of eight F-16 fighter jets, BBC Urdu reported, citing an unnamed senior US State Department official.
The State Department official told BBC Urdu on condition of anonymity that the B.O. regime is still willing to sell the fighter jets to Pakistain, but will not contribute US funds towards the deal.
The US administration took this step with directions from US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker because only Congress has the authority to dispense or withhold the funds, the official said.
As a result of this move, Pakistain may have to foot the bill of $700 million for the eight fighter jets.
As per the earlier arrangement, Pakistain would have paid $270 million while the US would grant the remaining $430 million for the purchase.
The $742 million earmarked for American military aid to Pakistain in the 2016-2017 budget has also been put on hold, but may be released if Congress changes its mind, the State Department official said, adding that the B.O. regime is working with Congress in this regard.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Abu Jassim can only afford to provide one meal a day for his seven-member family - usually a stew made of locally grown leafy green vegetables or rice with a small portion of flat bread.
"We are experiencing the agony of starvation for the first time in our life," said Abu Jassim, a 52-year-old grocer and resident of the besieged ISIS-held city of Fallujah.
In reality, nobody seems to be starving in Fallujah just yet. But medical officials say malnutrition is on the rise and vital medical supplies are running out.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
These residents depicted a bleak picture of conditions inside the city, with prices soaring for some basic staples while other items have completely run out.
"It's like living in Venezuela, but with mortar fire", said a resident who would only give his name as Mohammed.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden met Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other top officials in unannounced visits to Baghdad and Arbil on April 28 to show support for a government battling the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) amid political and economic crises.
It was the first visit for Biden, the White House’s point person on Iraq, since U.S. forces withdrew in 2011 after nearly nine years of occupation. He was the third and highest-level U.S. official to visit the country this month.
Biden’s trip, several months in the planning, is a sign of the progress Washington believes Iraqi forces have made in beating back the militants over the past year and its hope that the northern city of Mosul can be recaptured before U.S. President Barack Obama leaves office in January 2017.
Didn't have to be that way...
“This is a good indication of the United States’ continued support for Prime Minister Abadi’s efforts to unify the nation of Iraq to confront ISIL,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
His first stop on April 28 was Baghdad where he met Abadi and Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri to discuss “progress” in the fight against ISIL, including plans to retake Mosul.
Iraqi officials say they will retake Mosul this year but, in private, many question whether that is possible.
He later flew to Arbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), for a 90-minute working dinner with the region’s president, Massoud Barzani, to discuss the Mosul offensive in which Kurdish peshmerga forces are expected to have a critical role.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Last week’s Jerusalem bus bombing carried out by member of Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, shows the Islamist movement’s "determination" to continue resisting Israel, the head of the Paleostinian group in Gazoo said on Thursday.
Addressing thousands of supporters in the Gazoo Strip, Ismail Haniya praised the "heroic action" of Abdel Hamid Abu Sorur, who killed himself and maimed 20 people in the April 18 attack.
Haniya said the bombing "shows that Hamas and the sons of Hamas are committed to resistance and determined to pursue the intifada (uprising)".
"We say to the Zionist occupier that our people can no longer stand the blockade" which Israel imposed on Gazoo in 2006.
...and Egypt completed when President al Sisi took office in what was not quite a military coup.
"It is our right to have a port and an airport," in Gazoo, he said.
As it is my right to have the figure and energy I had at twenty-five.
Israeli police said that a Hamas holy warrior carried out the bus attack.
A wave of violence across Israel, the occupied West Bank, and Jerusalem has killed 203 Paleostinians and 28 Israelis since October.
The wave clearly prefers dead Muslims, many of who are Palestinians rather than Arab Israelis. But such is Allah's will.
Most of the Paleostinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, Israeli authorities say.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
"Killing Joooo civilians is our aim"
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/30/2016 18:58 Comments ||
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[Intl Bus Times] A military propaganda campaign in Iran is aimed at encouraging children to martyr themselves by going to fight in Syria.
The video, which was aired on Iran state television, shows children taking up arms and singing a song entitled 'Martyrs who defend the sacred shrine', which states that they are ready to give their lives, not just to free Iraq and Syria, but to 'reach Jerusalem'.
Produced by the Bassij Music House, from the Bassij branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards, which is responsible for pro-regime propaganda, the video appears to be an attempt to help prop up Bashar Al-Assad's regime in Syria using child soldiers to bolster the number of fighters.
The children in the video sing: "Let's rise up to save the sacred shrine. I have joined [Imam] Hossein's army division. I have a warrant from the [Imam Ali] to defend the sacred shrine. On my leader [Ali Khamenei's] orders I am ready to give my life.The goal is not just to free Iraq and Syria, My path is through the sacred shrine [in Syria], but my goal is to reach Jerusalem."
Posted by: Besoeker ||
04/30/2016 09:37 ||
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#1
Reports of a 'Bassij Music House' performance at the White House could not be confirmed.
[ARA News] AMUDE – Macer Gifford (29), a foreign volunteer from the United Kingdom has set up a Tactical Medical Unit with volunteers from all around the world to help Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria with medical aid.
“We came for a number of different reasons. Mainly because we couldn’t bear to sit at home and watch the world fail to confront ISIS. There has been a failure of leadership in the West and the current strategy to defeat ISIS is terribly flawed,” Gifford told ARA News.
“Not enough is being done to help the people that are the most effective on the ground [in reference to YPG]. I set up the Tactical Medical Unit because hundreds of Kurds were dying from preventable wounds,” he said.
“I knew I could get together a team of western medics to provide training and battlefield assistance to the YPG. We have trained 100 Kurds so far in battlefield medicine,” the British volunteer added.
In the end, the group aims to train 500 to 1000 fighters. “We have also created an all-westerner medical team that will be replaced by Kurds in the near future. We’re trying to create a legacy here that will endure for years to come,” he told ARA News.
Gifford joined the YPG in December 2014. “I was horrified by the British government’s inaction in the face of the sudden and brutal rise of the jihadists. The plight of the Yezidis and the heroic defence of Kobane by the YPG inspired me to come to Rojava [Syria’s Kurdish region] and join the resistance against ISIS,” he said.
“I’m particularly keen to share my experiences and raise awareness about the YPG. The Kurdish administration in Rojava should be a key part of the West’s strategy to defeat ISIS. We should support them with weapons, money and humanitarian aid,” he added.
Over 80 foreign fighters are now serving with the YPG and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in both the canton administrations of Kobane and Jazeera in northern Syria, Rojava.
Recently, foreign fighters have been facing difficulties returning back to their home countries due to the political problems between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the local canton administrations in Rojava.
They risk arrest while crossing the Syrian border into the Kurdistan region of Iraq by smuggling, since the KRG does not allow fighters to cross in officially. Last week, two Britons and one Irishman were released after spending more than one week in the prison of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region.
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.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] 
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Talibs group in Afghanistan has made a plea to international organizations including the international 
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] 
[DAWN] Prime Minister 
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Abu Jassim can only afford to provide one meal a day for his seven-member family - usually a stew made of locally grown leafy green vegetables or rice with a small portion of flat bread.
