Egyptian police on Monday arrested 43 members of the country's largest opposition movement, the banned Muslim Brotherhood, police officials and the group's Web site said Monday.
The dawn arrests in six provinces were the latest in an ongoing crackdown on the Brotherhood and came five days after 25 other members were arrested in sweeps elsewhere in Egypt, the Brotherhood's official web site said.
A police official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, confirmed Monday's arrests. The new arrests were believed by the movement to be targeting potential candidates or people related to the upcoming local council elections set for April 8.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Wonder if any of them were working in Obama's office. Sarc.
AROUND 150 Muslims voted with the leader of the radical Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir that taking part in the political process is a waste of time. A packed audience at a controversial debate at the London Muslim Centre in Whitechapel on Tuesday night was overwhelmingly persuaded by Dr Abdul Wahid's argument to reject democracy. But Tower Hamlets council is now considering cutting off all £38,000 funding to the Cordoba Foundation, the event organisers, because they allowed Dr Wahid to speak.
The leader of the British wing of Hizb ut-Tahrir was applauded as he called on Muslims to work outside the political system and concentrate on grass roots initiatives such as building madrassas and mosques. He also attacked Muslim MPs including Sadiq Khan for voting for gay rights and failing to defend Muslim Sharia laws.
Mr Javaid told the meeting: "I think that we have lost our way, that we've been mesmerised by this society. We need to return to our roots. Our vision is to change the world, not join silly little parties. What could be better than that when it's rooted in Islam?"
Muslims who joined mainstream political parties were "selling out" their morals and principles, he insisted, adding that only Islam was the solution to a moral crisis in Britain. He cited binge-drinking, even among 'Muslim youths', when he urged the audience: "Why don't we establish those Islamic values in our country as an example for people to look up to?" He added, to cheers: "Let's reclaim Islam."
He would rather have adherence to religion than freedom of speech, he said.
You don't say.
Others speaking at the debate included Labour peer Lord Nazir Ahmed, Scottish nationalist Osama Saeed and radical lawyer Makbool Javaid. Mr Javaid told the meeting: "I think that we have lost our way, that we've been mesmerised by this society. We need to return to our roots. Our vision is to change the world, not join silly little parties. What could be better than that when it's rooted in Islam?"
But Lord Ahmed angrily rejected those arguments. He told the audience: "Britain is a great place. There's no other place in the world that gives Muslims more rights than the UK. Don't isolate yourselves just because you think you are superior." Muslims wanted the same things as everyone else, he added, such as good transport, health, education and no crime.
Even the prophet Mohammed engaged in dialogue with non-Muslims, he pointed out. "Muslims have been here in numbers only in the last 50 or 60 years.
"But it wasn't until 30 years ago that we thought it was our country. So in 30 years we haven't done that bad."
He added: "There are 8,000 Muslims in prisons in Britain because they've committed crime.
"We should be doing more to rehabilitate them rather than do nothing and be isolated."
But he was jeered when he criticised those who had clapped other speakers. "You have done nothing for society apart from give us a bad name," he told them.
A vote at the end of the debate showed 78 per cent of the audience agreed that political participation had 'failed Muslims.'
Lord Ahmed told the East London Advertiser as he left at the end: "They just packed the room with their own supporters."
The only Tower Hamlets councillor to make a brief appearance at the debate was Labour's Alibor Choudhury.
#1
But Tower Hamlets council is now considering cutting off all £38,000 funding to the Cordoba Foundation, the event organisers, because they allowed Dr Wahid to speak.
Hey, why not? Like they said, it's not like they're gonna vote against you if you pull the money. None of that infidel shit for them...
Harvard University has banned men from one of its gyms for a few hours a week, a move to accomodate Muslim women who, for religious and cultural reasons, cannot exercise comfortably in their presence. Spineless worms.
The policy is already unpopular with many on campus, however, including some women who consider it sexist. "I think that it's incorrect in a college setting to institute a policy in which half of the campus gets wronged or denied a resource that's supposed to be for everyone," said student Lucy Caldwell, who also wrote a column in The Harvard Crimson newspaper critical of the new hours.
Student Ola Aljawhary, who is Muslim and works out elsewhere on campus but is not one of the women who requested the change, rejected that argument. "The majority should be willing to compromise," she said. "I think that's just basic courtesy. We must show tolerance and respect for all others." The "compromise" is you get a membership in a private womens only gym. Then other women can point and make laugh at you without the presence of men.
The trial policy went into effect Feb. 4, about a month after a group of six Muslim women, with the support of the Harvard College Women's Center, asked the university for the special hours, spokesman Robert Mitchell said. "We get special requests from religious groups all the time and we try to honor them whenever possible," he said, noting that the school has designated spaces for Muslim and Hindu students to pray.
No men are allowed in the gym between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Mondays, and between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Even the staff during those times is all women. Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
03/04/2008 16:40 ||
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#3
i think that is a good way to show "muslim countries" how the united states allows people of all different religion to still express their believes and that it is trully a free country.
Posted by: paul from boston ||
03/04/2008 18:57 Comments ||
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#4
paul "from boston": nobody stops the wymyns of Islam from joining a private workout center for wymyns. In America, we don't segregate facilities and times due to religious requirements on publicly attended facilities. Harvard, having accepted public funds, are accountable to the same standards. Or perhaps, as a Catholic, I should request all meat, Halal or Haram, not be dispensed during Lent? Same stoopid idea.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/04/2008 19:37 Comments ||
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#5
How stupid. If they feel they must give these women a couple of hours without men present, how about at 3 to 5 in the morning? Why does it have to be during prime time? 6 women?
Hey maybe I could use that ploy so I could exercise in a less crowded gym ;)
My kids while on the swim team had to practice at odd times so as not to be filling the pool during open hour swim times.
Posted by: Jan ||
03/04/2008 19:50 Comments ||
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#6
The trial policy went into effect Feb. 4, about a month after a group of six Muslim women...
They cave over SIX friggin broads?
"The majority should be willing to compromise," she said. "I think that's just basic courtesy. We must show tolerance and respect for all others."
Yeah, kinda like folks in those far off lands deal with "cartoons"...
#8
Cpmpare wid RENSE > ISLAM BRINGS POLYGAMY WITH IT [UK-Europe]. ALternate title - TAKE MY WIVES, PLEASE - ISLAM'S POLYGAMY MOVES WEST. See also article on penetration of ISLAMIC SHARIA LAW everywhere in Great Britain.
A former University of South Florida professor is being subpoenaed for a third time in a case investigating Muslim charities and businesses. That's according to his lawyer, Jonathan Turley, who wrote about the development on his blog. Turley says the subpoena puts Sami al-Arian at risk for another contempt of court sanction that threatens to extend his jail time yet again.
Prosecutors alleged that al-Arian was a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. But his 2005 trial ended in an acquittal on some counts and a hung jury on others. He eventually pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Since then, prosecutors in Alexandria have sought his testimony for a related investigation. But al-Arian has for nearly two years refused to testify despite a grant of immunity. His prison time would have already expired if not for the contempt of court violations.
US President George W. Bush is said to have approved a covert initiative to overthrow the Hamas government shortly after Hamas won the January 2006 parliamentary election, according to confidential documents obtained by Vanity Fair magazine. The documents, which have been corroborated by sources at the US State Department and Palestinian officials, reveal that the plan was supposed to be implemented by the State Department.
The report confirms allegations by Hamas and other Palestinians that the US has been supplying Fatah with weapons and money so that its forces could bring down the Hamas government. Some senior Fatah officials have also accused the US of "meddling" in Palestinian affairs by encouraging Fatah to work toward toppling the Hamas government.
The magazine said that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams were entrusted with provoking a Palestinian civil war, in which forces led by Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan - fortified with new weapons supplied at America's behest - would remove the democratically elected, Hamas-led government. The State Department, according to Vanity Fair, declined to comment. The magazine quoted a former US intelligence official with experience in covert plans that said the plan was "close to the margins" with regards to its legality. But, he added, "it probably wasn't illegal."
The report said that instead of driving its enemies out of power, the US-backed Fatah fighters inadvertently provoked Hamas to seize total control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. David Wurmser, who resigned as Vice President Dick Cheney's chief Middle East adviser a month after the Hamas takeover, said he believed that Hamas had no intention of taking over the Gaza Strip until Fatah forced its hand. "It looks to me that what happened wasn't so much a coup by Hamas but an attempted coup by Fatah that was preempted before it could happen," he was quoted as saying. Wurmser said that the Bush administration engaged in a "dirty war in an effort to provide a corrupt dictatorship [led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] with victory."
Wurmser said he was especially galled by the Bush administration's hypocrisy. "There is a stunning disconnect between the president's call for Middle East democracy and this policy," he said. "It directly contradicts it."
Neocon critics of the administration told the magazine that the old State Department vice of rushing to anoint a strongman rather than solving problems directly had led to the terrible missteps in the Gaza Strip. To rely on proxies such as Dahlan, former UN ambassador John Bolton said, was "an institutional failure, a failure of strategy." Bolton blamed Rice, saying Rice, "like others in the dying days of this administration, is looking for a legacy. Having failed to heed the warning not to hold the elections, they tried to avoid the result through Dayton." Lieutenant General Keith Dayton was the US security coordinator for the Palestinians, who reached a secret agreement with Dahlan to strengthen Fatah's forces.
According to three US officials, Bush referred to Dahlan as "our guy," a sentiment that was shared by Rice and Assistant Secretary David Welch, the man in charge of Middle East policy at the State Department.
The report uncovers three different confidential memos that describe the covert plan: One, prepared by US Consul-General in Jerusalem Jake Walles, states how the Bush Administration intended for him to tell Abbas in Ramallah in 2006 to dissolve the Hamas government if it would not recognize Israel, promising the US would back him if he did. "We believe that the time has come for you to move quickly and decisively," the text reads. "If Hamas does not agree within the prescribed time, you should make clear your intention to declare a state of emergency and form an emergency government explicitly committed to that platform. If you act along these lines we will support you both materially and politically... We will be there to support you."
The second memo, drawn up by the State Department, asserts that means had to be found to produce an "endgame" by the end of 2007 for Abbas to remove Hamas from power by collapsing the government, and that he must be given the means to strengthen his forces. According to the Vanity Fair report, the third memo, described as a US "action plan" for the PA president, set out a plan by which Abbas would fire his own Fatah-Hamas "unity" government and rely on a security deal between Dahlan and Dayton to strengthen Fatah's forces.
Meanwhile, the magazine said, US officials led by Rice had spent several months begging Arab governments for money in order to supply Fatah's forces with new weapons from Egypt under a previously undisclosed covert US program - a scheme described by some sources as "Iran-Contra 2."
Dahlan goes on the record about these events for the first time, saying that despite pleas from Fatah that they were unprepared for elections, Bush pushed ahead. "Everyone was against the elections," Dahlan is quoted as saying. "Everyone except Bush. Bush decided, "I need an election. I want elections in the Palestinian Authority." Following Hamas's victory, "everyone blamed everyone else," the report quotes an official with the Department of Defense as saying. "We sat there in the Pentagon and said, "Who the f*** recommended this?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/04/2008 6:15 Comments ||
Top||
#2
LOL. Only VF and PA would believe W would approve a plan for the DoS to overthrow a government. They are the only part of the government less capable of doing so than the CIA.
#4
" Bolton blamed Rice, saying Rice, "like others in the dying days of this administration, is looking for a legacy. Having failed to heed the warning not to hold the elections, they tried to avoid the result through Dayton."Â….. Bush pushed ahead. "Everyone was against the elections," Dahlan is quoted as saying. "Everyone except Bush.
The Decider screwed again by Rice. Wonder if he thinks it was a mistake to dismiss Colin Powell now ?
#5
interesting that folks who never believe Bolton on anything, are taking his word as gospel now.
I suspect a lot of inside baseball happening here, folks. Im not necessarily taking what Bolton says on face value. This could also be a simplification of stuff thats much more subtle.
#6
Of course Bush pushed for the election, and he was right to do so.
And he was right to respond to the winners of the election in the way he did.
An election is a choice. The Gazooks elected a bunch of bloodthirsty, nasty terrorists to 'represent' them. How clarifying; we sorta knew where they stood before, but now there was no doubt.
Even Bolton misunderestimates GWB. The election made clear to all where the Paleos are with their beliefs, their rhetoric and their lives. They had a chance to elect a government that would start working to rebuild their land, or a government that would wage jihad and pass the hat for the Widows Ammunition Fund. They chose the latter, and now they're getting what they asked for.
How clarifying.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/04/2008 16:24 Comments ||
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The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has confirmed it will be a part of a coalition government at the Centre and in Balochistan, Aaj TV reported on Monday. The channel quoted JUI-F Secretary General Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidari as saying that his party would not sit in the opposition with the PML-Q.
This article starring:
MAULANA ABDUL GHAFUR HAIDARI
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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Tribesmen on Monday buried the last of the 43 people killed in a suicide bomb attack at a jirga discussing how to tackle Al Qaeda and Taliban militants. The political agent of Darra Adam Khel ordered a probe into the suicide attack, and announced a three-day mourning period.
Shut down: District Coordination Officer Kamram Zeb, who co-governs the region, shut down all educational institutions for an indefinite period due to the uncertain situation in the area. “There has never been such a tragedy in the history of Darra Adam Khel. We had to bury some without hands or legs, or in some cases there were only pieces of flesh and bones,” local schoolteacher Tahir Khan told AFP.
Clerics used mosque loudspeakers to announce one funeral after another and burials continued late into the night after the blast, residents said. People with spades and pickaxes were seen filing to the local cemetery for the final funerals on Monday, they added.
Residents said that of the five major ethnic Pashtun tribes that had gathered for Sunday’s ill-fated ‘peace meeting,’ not one was left without casualties to mourn. Based on information from relatives, the death toll had risen to 43, local administration official Saleem Gandapur told AFP, adding: “There is a possibility that the final death toll may be higher as we are still compiling the data from the affected families.” Hospital and security officials earlier put the toll at 35 dead and dozens wounded.
Forensic tests: The remains of the suspected bomber including his severed head and legs have been sent to a hospital in the nearby city of Kohat for forensic tests, Gandapur said. He said the bomber appeared to be 18 years old. Officials said he approached the meeting of hundreds of tribesmen on foot and blew himself up. Darra Qaumi Tehreek President Wazir Afridi, meanwhile, vowed that the areaÂ’s elders would convene another jirga once the situation normalised to bring peace to the region. This would identify the root cause of lawlessness in the region, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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The ‘kula’ (a traditional Pashtun cap made of straw) means everything to Malik Waris Khan Afridi, and the front-page photo of a ‘kula’ lying in the dirt in the Monday editions of several national dailies has shaken him.
The photo shows the ‘kula’ - a symbol of respect for Pashtuns – lying on the ground while tribesmen look on after a suicide attack on a jirga in Darra Adam Khel on Sunday. Many of the dead tribal elders were wearing the ‘kula’ when the attack happened.
The cap, which is worn by tribes in Mohmand, Bajaur, Kurram, Orakzai and Khyber agencies, is seen as a symbol of the Pashtun institution of jirga.
On Sunday, the leading elders of fives tribes in Darra Adam Khel were to draft a ‘peace treaty’ when a young suicide bomber stepped in and killed 40 people. The attack came two days after a suicide bombing at the funeral of a slain police officer, which left more than 50 dead.
Threatened: “The jirga and the mosque are two institutions of Pashtun society and both are under attack,” Afridi told Daily Times. He said the attack “is a conspiracy to destroy peace”. “Peace will never return to Pashtun areas if jirgas are abolished,” Afridi said, adding, “The jirga and mosque represent peace in Pashtun society and their absence will endanger the very concept of peace.” He said he did not think the Taliban were behind the attacks.
Syed Wazir of the Qaumi Tehreek in Darra Adam Khel said that the attack had left “the Pashtun nation wounded, its leadership martyred and its people senseless”. He said the delay in acting against militants in the region had shown negligence on the part of the tribal people.
Total humiliation: Tribal elder Muhammad Ali Halimzai of Mohmand Agency expressed concern at the deteriorating security situation in Pashtun areas. However, he said he had high hopes that the Awami National Party would save the Pashtun institutions from “total humiliation”. “I think it is ANP’s responsibility to come to the rescue of the Pashtun nation at a time when the ‘Great Game’ is being played on our soil,” he said by phone from Mohmand Agency’s Ghalanai.
However, a senior researcher at the Area Study Centre of the University of Peshawar said Sunday’s attack would not undermine the institution of the jirga. “The Pashtuns cannot be bogged down by attacks such as the one on Sunday,” said Azmat Hayat, director of the centre. He said the mastermind behind the attacks needed to be found, as this was an “organised (wave of) attacks”.
Caretaker Federal Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said in a TV interview that the perception that the US, India and Afghanistan were “involved in suicide attacks in Pakistan was fast gaining momentum in the country”.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
No mention of AQ?
Sounds like the Reichstag fire...
All this fuss for a straw hat? There has never been peace in the Pashtun areas to be returned to. This is the land where the millenium-long feud is a way of life, hats and all.
A spate of suicide attacks by militants could spark a War of Revenge™ among ethnic Pashtun tribesmen in the NWFP just as moderate, secular political parties appear poised for power, analysts say.
The militants want to destabilise President Pervez Musharraf, and convince Pakistanis his alliance with the United States is the Root Cause™ of conflict in the area. For their part, Pakistan’s Western allies want its new prime minister and government, once they emerge from the hung parliament, to provide the democratic legitimacy for the war on terrorism that Musharraf has been unable to engender. “You may not question Musharraf’s policy on terrorism, you may say it’s all right but the point is nobody is ready to own this policy,” said Talat Masood, a former general and security analyst. “The greatest advantage of the civilian government will be that the policy will be owned by the people of Pakistan.”
The remote Waziristan region has seen the worst of the violence over the past few years, in recent months hitherto dormant tribal areas have erupted in violence. At least 40 people were killed on Friday in a suicide attack in Swat during the funeral of a policeman hours after he was killed in a roadside attack.
On Sunday, another 40 people died and scores were wounded when a young bomber blew himself up as hundreds of tribesmen left a jirga, that had discussed how to restore peace in Darra Adam Kheil. The army has been fighting militants in Swat since October, and just last week had claimed it had cleared all but a few pockets of resistance. But attacks like a roadside bomb that killed 13 members of a wedding party, including the bride, on February 22, again in Swat, demonstrated the insecurity ordinary families are encountering.
Analysts noted a “Dangerous Trend™” towards attacks that struck at the heart of Pashtun society. “These are direct attacks on Pashtun society,” said Mahmood Shah, a former security chief for the Tribal Areas.
Institutions: “All institutions, which represent Pashtun society, the mosque, a wedding, a funeral or a jirga, they have all been targeted. They want to bomb the entire Pashtun society into submission.”
Pashtuns, whose lands straddle both sides of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, live to a Code of Honour™, commonly known as Pashtunwali, that calls on men to take Revenge™ if a family member is killed. The attacks on the funeral and the jirga could trigger inter-tribal feuds, in a region where guns are commonly referred to as “Pashtun manhood jewellery”.
Enmities: “This situation could ignite tribal enmities. This will create a very explosive and dangerous situation for the government,” said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a newspaper editor and an expert on Pashtun affairs. A moderate Pashtun party, the Awami National Party, won the most seats in the NWFP by trouncing religious parties and is likely to lead the provincial government in a coalition with the PPP, but if they fail to quell the violence voters will soon become Disenchanted™, analysts said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
War of revenge? How will anyone be able to differentiate versus the last several thousand years of normal life in that part of the world>
When thirty-year-old Zarbad Khan, who was suffering from an eye disease, went to a public hospital for cure, the doctors refused to help him, saying that an operation was the only cure, but that they could not operate upon his eye because of his high blood pressure.
Hah! Doctors trained in infidel ways! Ptui! Whadda they know?
Khan found the solution to his dilemma at a private hospital, where his eye was operated upon.
"Hey, Doc! Will yez operate on my eye?"
"Yeah, sure. Lemme finish lunch, okay?"
"Okay, but wash your hands first."
"What? That ain't Islamic!"
However, his suffering was far from over, as his eye did not stop bleeding for days and he eventually lost his eyesight.
Whoa! Good thing he didn't listen to the infidel-trained docs, huh? He coulda kept his eyesight or something.
Surrounded by longhaired ‘Mujahidins’, Khan narrates his tragic story while sitting at a ‘court of justice’ set up by the Lashkar-e-Islami. He said, “The government doctors refused to operate upon my eye because of my high blood pressure, and they prescribed a medicine. However, when I felt severe pain in my eye, I went to the nearby Al-Noor Hospital, where doctors, after checking my medical tests, said that I did not have a high blood pressure and that my eye could be operated upon.”
"What's his blood pressure, nurse?"
"I ain't sure, Doc! I dunno how to work this thing!"
"You sure it goes around the neck like that?"
However, after having the operation, KhanÂ’s eye kept bleeding for days and he lost his eyesight.
Which is the tragedy? He lost his eyesight? Or he's stoopid?
70 people: He is one of 70 people, who have sued the administration of Al-Noor Hospital, which is a private hospital operating in Bara, in Lashkar’s court for exploiting their ignorance and maltreating them. He said, “The doctors did what they did to us to earn extra money. They should be brought to justice for their wrong deeds.”
Sounds like An-Noor Hospital & Dry Goods, Inc, is getting a bad reputation. Too bad nobody wants to go to the gummint hospital because they adhere to medical norms, and all the NGOs are run out of town for being infidels.
According to the applications submitted at LashkarÂ’s court, two doctors working at the Al-Noor Hospital were conducting operations on patients without having any specialisation in the field, creating severe physical, mental, and economic problems for the victims.
"Hey, Doc! Y'wanna try your hand at a laparectomy?"
"I don't even know what that is!"
"There's a coupla grand in it!"
"Well, okay. I'll give it a shot."
The victims claimed that the doctors did many major operations without even bothering to investigate the real problems. “When my leg was fractured, I went to Al-Noor Hospital for treatment, where they told me that my bone had been broken and that for treatment an iron rod would have to be fixed in my foot,” 24-year-old Ayub Khan told Daily Times. “After having had an operation on my leg, I felt pain for many days. When the pain did not stop, I consulted senior doctors in Peshawar, who told me that two of my leg muscles had been damaged during the operation.”
"Goddamit, nurse! That rod's a foot too short!"
"Sorry, Doc! They sent the wrong size. Can we make do with this?"
"I guess. Take the shade off and unscrew the bulb, though."
Ayub has filed an appeal in the LashkarÂ’s court. He also looks to Mangal Bagh, the de-facto ruler of the Khyber Agency, for justice. Bagh has raised his own armed force, called Lashkar-e-Islami, and is ruling the Agency. He has set up his own courts in the Agency.
I was gonna do that, but Mangal beat me to it. I'll have to settle for ruling Cleveland with an iron hand.
Doctors admonished: According to Bagh, the doctors at Al-Noor Hospital had acted unprofessionally and maltreated the patients.
"Aaaaiiieeee! It hurts! It hurts!"
"Shuddup. Slap him, nurse!"
“They performed major surgeries without having any expertise,” he said. He claimed that Lashkar’s doctors were investigating the matter, and that if the hospital’s doctors were found guilty, they would be punished.
"Hrarrrr!"
"What the hell are you?"
"I'm a Lashkar doctor!"
"Cheeze. They told us in medical school not to bring rocket launchers into the operating room!"
"Hrarrr! Prob'ly one o' them infidel medical schools!"
The Al-Noor Hospital administration, however, denied the charges.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
“We are human beings and we cannot mistreat other human beings,” said Dr Nusrat, who rejected the allegations levelled at him. Dr Abdul Rauf, the acting director of the health section of the FATA Secretariat, said that he was unaware of the story. He said that he had not received any such complaint. “We could not take any legal action against the hospital, even if we had received any complaints, since the drugs laws does not apply to FATA hospitals,” he added. “We have provided a hospital with specialist surgeons to the residents of Bara Tehsil. They should go there,” the doctor said.
This article starring:
MANGAL BAGH
Lashkar-e-Islami
Lashkar-e-Islami
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
John Edwards is on the way! He has cleared his calendar of this election garbage and is available for legal consultation (and commission).
#2
The young are the most disillusioned with Islam. A little bit of fanning and the flame of disenchantment will erupt into full rebellion. Can't happen soon enough.
#3
Until they find a leader for their 'Protestant' revolution, its not going to change. Even then, if history is any benchmark, it's not going to be pretty either. Deus vult*
#4
Stop dreaming about the Protestant revolution. Protestantism was a rebellion against a Church who was supposed to have strayed away from the Christ.
But Muhammad's message is aboutr Jihad, opression of women, of dhimmis, of a Kim il Sungian personality cult (telling five times a day that Muhammad is the best, ever telling "God bless him" every time they utter their name). We donb't want eople trying to be more faithful to his message (BTW Islam has already had its protestnbat revolution: it is called wahabism) means more jihad.
What they need to find is aleader for hanging mullahs.
#5
I read a great interview yesterday at Frontpage with a young guy named Hossain Salahuddin. Worth checking out if you're interested in reading the story of a young man who became disillusioned with islam once the words of the koran were translated into his native tongue. By the age of 12 he was able to recite the koran by memory, but didn't know what he was reading. By age 14 he had read translations of the koran into his native language. Once he was aware of what he was being taught he broke away. Highly recommend the interview for your reading pleasure.
#7
One of the lesser known aspects of the islam cult, is the fact that the "prophet" tried to convert to Judaism, as the "prophet" of the Jews. That occurred after he left Mecca in order to prepare to attack it. When Jews rejected his claims he turned on them, exterminating male members of several tribes while turning women into sex booty. The only name used by Muhammad to describe his cult was "din." That has been erroneously translated to mean: generic religion. Islam isn't a religion; it is a political ideology to which the indoctrinated must believe is the absolute inalterable truth, and which prescribes a complete order within which all human conduct is framed. As an ideology it is an aspect of power dynamics, wherein authority rests on extreme and brutal force. The motto for the Arab murder cult should be: believe it, or believers will kill you. Islam is the worst form of tyranny ever concocted.
#8
JFM: The one way out of the hole for Muslims is a reformation. Right now, for the first time, Turkey is sponsoring a major re-write of their religion to, bluntly, ignore the bad parts as doctrine and emphasize the less obnoxious parts.
It *is* hypocritical. Amazingly so. And yet it can work. And it all boils down to one thing:
"What Mohammed meant when he said that, was..."
So if Mohammed said to kill, what he meant was not to kill, but to be a good person...
So if Mohammed said to amputate and behead, what he meant was not to actually do that, but to be a good person...
Yes, if done properly, it is utterly shameless. But it works. It gives the vast, non-violent majority an excuse both to remain non-violent, and to condemn the minority that act like animals.
Just yesterday, I noted how Iraqi Shiites in Syria were whacking themselves on their heads until they bled. But the urbane Syrian Shiites found this to be primitive and uncultured. Same religion, but a different approach.
#9
Turkey is sponsoring a major re-write of their religion to, bluntly, ignore the bad parts as doctrine and emphasize the less obnoxious parts.
No. Turkey Classifying Not Revising Hadith Eighty scholars from 23 Turkish universities are working on a major project to classify and translate the Hadith (the collection of sayings of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him).
"Make no mistake, we are not after modifying or revising the Hadith," Mehmet Gormez, deputy director of the religious affairs authority Diyanet and supervisor of the project, told IslamOnline.net in a phone interview. "What we are actually doing is re-classifying, re-categorizing the Hadith and translating it into Turkish, no more no less."
Posted by: ed ||
03/04/2008 17:26 Comments ||
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#10
Stop dreaming about the Protestant revolution.
One needs to only read their Holy Bible to see.
Coming to YOUR future.
Psalm 83 (coalition of islamic nations come against Israel in end times, written 1,600 years Before islam)
Isaiah 17 Destruction of Damascus, Judea (west bank0, Moab,(Jorden) written 1,200 years before islam.
Ezeikel 38-39 (coalition of islamic nations headed by Russia come against Israel in end times written 1,000 years before islam)
islam cannot be reformed. Why?
It was born of satan in defiance to Gods will.
Rockets continued to hit Ashkelon and the western Negev after the IDF ground operations in the Gaza Strip were concluded early Monday morning. As the defense establishment began to analyze the recent days of fighting, intelligence officers pointed an accusatory finger toward Teheran.
Iranian technology and intelligence was used by Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip in the recent round of violence, said a senior official in Military Intelligence during a Monday meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. "Iran's influence and effect is very clear," said the official.
Terrorists fired at least 20 Iranian-assembled Grad-type rockets, which are significantly more damaging than the Kassam rockets that have been fired at Sderot and the western Negev for the past seven years, said the official.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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Operation Hot Winter was not a "one-off," said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the Knesset Monday. "Everything is possible, aerial and ground raids, special operations and other operations - everything is up for discussion. What we do, how we do it, and the extent to which we attack, all of it will be felt by Hamas," Olmert said at the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. "We will not be revealing what we are considering, or when, because we don't want to give our enemies the chance to prepare."
Olmert has come under attack from the diplomatic community, coalition and opposition legislators, for his handling of the ongoing rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. IDF forces withdrew from Gaza on Monday, ending a three-day offensive that left more than 100 Palestinians dead. Hamas officials declared a victory, and continued to launch rockets into Gaza-periphery communities and Ashkelon.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Israel needs to lease an AC-130 and just have it looping about Gaza waiting for launches...
#3
#1 Israel needs to lease an AC-130 and just have it looping about Gaza waiting for launches....... firing the 105 off the ramp and 40mm's indiscriminately as a learning tool.
#4
Does Israel really need an AC-130 when they've got such lovely drones?
I can't comment about PM Olmert, lest I start thinking about Secretary of State Rice, to whom I sent a critical email last night (via the State Dept. website, so she likely won't see it, I know). I think I'll take a nap, instead.
#6
They do need the AC-130 firing platforms to sustain the 105 firing reactions. No drone can support the cannon fire and remain stable. Nothing will get the mad dogs attention like Spooky followed by a little application of napalm juice afterward to seal the deal. Guaranteed no more rocket launching from that sector after a little of the "special attention."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
to be fair, in this case theres no equivalent of South beirut to run to. Its much more concievable for them to get the entire leadership (other than the guys in Damascus, which isnt the same) And the politics is different - its conceivable a Pal in Gaza fed up with this shit could turn from Hamas to Fatah - its not really conceivable a south Leb shiite is gonna turn into a fan of the sunni, druze, and Maronite pols.
Though I share your skepticism, on general principle. The Israeli govt isnt talking as much about destroying Hamas now as they were about Hezb in 2006. Im hearing alot more "weaken"
#2
It's not a matter of what Hamas does. It's a matter of what Olmert does. His pattern is to make fearsome threats, to take decisive action, then to lose his nerve and back out before the going even gets tough.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 14:06 Comments ||
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According to Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip, most of the gunmen who have been fighting the IDF over the past few days are members of Hamas's armed wing, Izaddin Kassam. "At least 2,000 Hamas gunmen have been deployed in the northern Gaza Strip to take part in the fighting," the sources told The Jerusalem Post.
The sources estimated that Izaddin Kassam has at least 15,000 members divided into four brigades in the Gaza Strip. They added that the Hamas gunmen were using many American-made arms seized from the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority security forces in June. Hamas says it captured thousands of M-16 and Kalashnikov rifles, and large supplies of ammunition during its weeklong conquest of Gaza. Hamas is also believed to have acquired weapons capable of penetrating armor and stockpiles of rocket-propelled grenades.
A senior Hamas official said Sunday that his movement had smuggled hundreds of rockets and mortars and tons of explosives into the Gaza Strip from Egypt in the past few months.
The Hamas-dominated police force in the Gaza Strip, which has around 15,000 members, has not been involved in the fighting, although the IDF has targeted some of its bases. Hamas has been careful not to send the police force to the battlefield so as to avoid a total breakdown of its official institutions. The policemen are needed by Hamas to maintain law and order and to thwart any attempt by rival groups such as Fatah from taking advantage of the security deterioration to topple the Hamas government.
Other groups that are involved in the fighting include Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees and some splinter factions belonging to Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades. These three groups, which according to Palestinian sources are operating in coordination with Hamas, have also been behind many of the rocket attacks on Israel in the past few days. Altogether, the three groups have fewer than 1,500 gunmen in Gaza.
But Hamas has sought to play down the role of the other armed groups in the fighting in the hope that it will score points on the "Palestinian street" as the major force that fought "courageously" against Israel. Hamas is hoping that once the fighting is over, it will be able to declare "victory, as Hizbullah did after the war in 2006."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#3
I think some of the Hamas weapons are of US govt. origin and taken from the Fatah forces. However, these weapons aren't crucial. The most important thing the gunmen do is provide cover for the specialists who fire the RPGs, place mines, fire rockets, etc. and these weapons are not of US govt origin (some are, however, US made).
#8
Hamas has been careful not to send the police force to the battlefield so as to avoid a total breakdown of its official institutions.
Now that sounds very strange, either they can't trust the "Police" or they're afraid of the people when there are no cops around to back them up? Or is it that they don't dare show just how Piss Poor the cops really are?
Odd.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/04/2008 23:20 Comments ||
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Palestinians say they know when an Israeli drone is in the air: Cell phones stop working, TV reception falters and they can hear a distant buzzing. They also know what's likely to come next — a devastating explosion on the ground.
Palestinians say Israel's pilotless planes have been a major weapon in its latest offensive in Gaza, which has killed nearly 120 people since last week. "Our experience is that the drone missile is successful in hitting its targets, and it's deadly," said Dr. Mahmoud Assali, a Palestinian physician who works in the emergency room of a northern Gaza Strip hospital that has often treated Palestinian gunmen hit by Israeli drones. "The drone has a zone of around 15 meters (50 feet) where it decimates everything. It targets people and leaves them in pieces," Assali said.
Israel is at the forefront of the drone technology that is increasingly being used in hotspots around the world. The unmanned craft provide a deadly and cost-effective alternative for armies to target enemies, without risking their own pilots' lives and reducing civilian casualties in heavily populated areas.
The use of drones is shrouded in secrecy, and Israeli defense officials refuse to comment publicly on whether they are being used in airstrikes in Gaza. However, Israeli officers in private conversations have confirmed use of the weapons.
Wary Gaza militants using binoculars are on constant lookout for drones. When one is sighted overhead, the militants report via walkie-talkie to their comrades, warning them to turn off their cell phones and remove the batteries for fear the Israeli technology will trace their whereabouts.
A militant from the southern Gaza Strip who belongs to the Islamic Jihad group said drones were mostly used to target individuals, and not structures. He said they often hovered at much higher altitudes than manned aircraft and their missiles were frequently more destructive, leaving deep gashes where they landed. The militant said the drones usually targeted slow-moving targets, like people walking, or cars slowing down to avoid potholes in a road. "It looks like it makes small circles in the sky, but before it's about to fire a missile, it slows down," the militant said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared being identified by Israel. "It's not like any other plane. You don't see the missile leaving, it's very quiet."
Damian Kemp, an aviation desk editor at Jane's Defence Weekly, said Israel is probably the first country in the world to use unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, for both surveillance and to fire missiles. Israel is a world leader in the field and "capable of doing everything from the very small to the very large," he said. He said drones were likely more accurate, cost-effective and safer than manned F-16 fighter jets and Apache helicopters. "The key thing in a UAV is it does missions that are dull, dirty and dangerous," Kemp said. "They can be up there for a long time and in areas where you don't need to put a pilot at risk."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
and remove the batteries
after posting in Rantburg?
Are they shorting the internal caps too?
(pouring iron or copper fillings in the phone would do a good job of that!}
#2
Yep, Chuting, if your phone is capable of 'remembering' your address book, etc. then the JOOOOS can find you. To be safe, they should get rid of cell phones altogether and go back to using runners and flags to communicate.
#3
Wary Gaza militants using binoculars are on constant lookout for drones. When one is sighted overhead, the militants report via walkie-talkie to their comrades, warning them to turn off their cell phones and remove the batteries for fear the Israeli technology will trace their whereabouts.
Good thing nobody has told these fools about tinfoil. That stuff blocks out the scanning waves 100%.
#12
CF they aren't really used too their weapoms being deadly. I have seen roman candles with more accuracy than their rockets and i don't believe they can aim a gun
Beleaguered Hamas leaders on Sunday signaled their willingness to reach a cease-fire with Israel, sources close to Hamas said.
"Mahmoud, run up the 'ceasefire' signal, if you please!"
"Aye aye, Your Enormity!"
The sources said Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh sent urgent messages to the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia urging them to work toward ending the IDF military operations in the Gaza Strip. The sources told The Jerusalem Post that Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders also appealed to Turkey to intervene and convince Israel to halt its offensive.
Hamas's apparent readiness to reach a cease-fire with Israel is seen by some Palestinians as evidence of the Islamist movement's concern that it may lose control over the Gaza Strip should the military operations continue. "Hamas is nervous," remarked a senior Palestinian Authority official in Ramallah. "All their leaders have gone underground. They didn't expect such a massive attack from Israel."
Other Palestinians, however, said Hamas's call for a cease-fire at this stage of the fighting was aimed at showing that Israel had failed in achieving its primary goal of toppling the Hamas regime.
Taher a-Nunu, a spokesman for the Hamas government, confirmed that the Hamas leadership had sought the intervention of a number of Arab countries in reaching a cease-fire with Israel.
He said Hamas had also invited Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa to visit the Gaza Strip in solidarity with the Palestinians. "Hamas wants to end the genocide and holocaust in the Gaza Strip," the spokesman said. "We have urged a number of Arab and Muslim leaders to exert pressure on the Americans and Europeans to save the Palestinians."
He also accused Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of providing Israel with an excuse to attack the Gaza Strip by declaring that al-Qaida had established bases there. "Some of the leaders of the Mukata [presidential compound] in Ramallah gave Israel a green light to launch its aggression on the Gaza Strip," he added. "The Americans have also given their blessing to the attack."
Hamas leaders and spokesmen expressed deep concern over the failure of the Arab and Islamic governments to put pressure on Israel and the US to stop the IDF operations. "The Arabs and Muslims are not only sleeping," said a Hamas official. "They are actually partners to the Israeli aggression."
He said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II were the only Arab leaders who were actively working toward reaching a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel.
The Egyptians and Jordanians are clearly worried that the violence in the Gaza Strip would trigger unrest in their countries. Over the weekend, thousands of Palestinians, Jordanians and Egyptians demonstrated in protest against the IDF raids and the "continued silence" of the Arab leaders.
Mubarak on Sunday decided to reopen the Rafah border crossing to allow Palestinians to be brought into Egypt for medical treatment. Some 200 Palestinians were transferred immediately from the Gaza Strip to different hospitals in Egypt. Jordan also decided to open its hospitals to Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, PA officials in Ramallah voiced concern over growing protests in the West Bank in the aftermath of the IDF military operations. The officials warned that the ongoing offensive and the growing number of casualties in the Gaza Strip could spark a "new intifada" in the West Bank.
According to a PA official, Palestinian policemen refused Sunday to confront demonstrators in many West Bank cities out of fear of being branded "collaborators" with Israel. "The Israeli military escalation is weakening the Palestinian Authority," the official warned. "Israel is rallying more and more Palestinians behind Hamas."
Abbas, who has been facing heavy criticism from Hamas and many Arabs, on Sunday succumbed to pressure to halt peace talks with Israel. His decision also received the backing of the Fatah and PLO leadership.
Nabil Abu Rudaineh, a spokesman for Abbas, said the PA president decided to suspend negotiations and "all forms of contacts on all levels [with Israel] because it has become meaningless in the wake of the continued Israeli aggression."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
So Hamas needs to replenish is arsenal again? Already?
Fromer Balad chairman Azmi Bishara met with Syrian President Basah Assad in Damascus on Monday. During their meeting the two reportedly discussed the "tragic situation" in the Gaza Strip and the "ongoing Israeli acts of massacre against the Palestinian people."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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Israeli troops pulled out of the Gaza Strip on Monday after a US appeal to end days of fighting that killed more than 100 Palestinians, and rescue peace talks.
The Hamas militants who control the coastal enclave declared ‘victory’ and vowed to continue firing rockets into Israel, launching one into the city of Ashkelon shortly after the troops withdrew.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted by an official as telling a parliamentary panel, “We are in the midst of a combat action. What happened in recent days was not a one-time event.”
And a senior Israeli official said there would be a “two-day interval” for a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In Gaza City, several thousand Hamas supporters took to the streets in celebration of the withdrawal and took festive photographs with gunmen. Israel’s security cabinet plans to meet on Wednesday to consider the government’s next move. “This very limited operation was intended to show Hamas what could happen,” the senior Israeli official said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"Yar! Wait'll you see 'total victory™'! We'll have thousands of us dead!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/04/2008 6:23 Comments ||
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#2
Memo to Condi: Go home, have a drink, relax. Stay the f*ck out of the ME.
#5
Let's have the "Ultimate Supreme Victory" where there's none of y'all left to celebrate.
Soon please.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/04/2008 15:38 Comments ||
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#6
Olmert: What happened in recent days was not a one-time event.
The Marines have a policy of not taking the same ground twice. Suggest Olmert learn from the best.
Posted by: ed ||
03/04/2008 15:48 Comments ||
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#7
Are the lights off yet? Is food still getting in? Can they still drink the water? Is there a car in Gaza still capable of running?
If any of this is still occuring, then the Israeli's are fools.
After a protracted 30-year insurgency which has seen up to 150,000 people killed, Muslim rebels are facing an uncertain future as peace finally looks near in the southern Philippines. With talks due to resume this month between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) many young Muslims in this sprawling rebel camp in Mindanao are trying to come to terms with the prospect of peace.
Government negotiators and the MILF leadership are optimistic the final hurdles to peace can be overcome by granting limited autonomy to the Muslim minority in this predominant Roman Catholic Southeast Asian nation. For many of the 12,000 MILF rebels, especially the young, peace is likely to bring an uncertain future.
MILF chief Murad Ibrahim, in a rare interview with AFP, said he was worried for their future, especially for those born into war and the many whose parents and older relatives have died as "martyrs". At 58, Ibrahim is seen by many as more pragmatic and moderate than his predecessor Salamat Hashim, the Egypt-trained MILF founder who espoused continued jihad for a Muslim homeland. Salamat died of a heart attack in 2003.
"We cannot fail in this struggle for peace," said Murad, who long ago traded his military fatigues and combat boots for grey safari suits and loafers. "If we fail, we will be in a far worse situation."
Murad said it was too early to talk about disarming his men as "we still have to reach a political settlement that will be beneficial to everyone". With a ceasefire and peace talks now entering their fifth year Murad says the longer the talks drag on "we run the risk of spoilers entering the picture". The spoilers he refers to are the Indonesian-based Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and Abu Sayyaf -- both of which have links with Al-Qaeda.
Moro fighter Abdullah, who uses one name, says he is concerned about the future. A young man in his early 20s clutching a rusty M-60 machine gun, he is a veteran of many jungle battles and is ready, he says, to die for the cause. "I have not been to a battle since last year," Abdullah says, perspiration trickling down his brow. He is wearing mismatched fatigues that bears a striking resemblance to those used by Sri Lakan Tamil insurgents.
"I have had many adventures with this gun, I sleep with it and never go anywhere without it," he says. "I cannot part with my weapon." Abdullah says he is not prepared to lay down his weapon even if a final peace deal is signed. "It's not in my blood to be a farmer," he said.
Abdullah's sentiments are shared by many MILF guerrillas, notably the second and third generation fighters whose elders formed the core of the first mujaheeds who fought the insurgency in the 1970s. Security analysts say the biggest problem faced by the government is disarming the rebels, with younger MILF fighters opposed to the peace deal seen as highly susceptible to more radicalization by groups such as the JI and the Abu Sayyaf.
"With the history of the Mindanao conflict, these groups are always there to exploit the situation," says Julkipli Wadi, an Islamic studies professor at the University of the Philippines who has closely followed the insurgency. "The JI and the Abu Sayyaf could form strategic alliances with these young fighters who may not want to part with their firearms," Wadi said.
Yusuph Abisakir, the mild-mannered administrator at the sprawling Camp Darapanan that spans several towns in central Mindanao, says he hopes that the rigid command structure of the MILF's Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) would keep cadres in line once a peace deal is signed.
"I have not seen any open resentment" to the talks, Abisakir said, adding that many of the fighters want to see peace achieved in their lifetimes. "But of course no one will agree to give up their firearms," said Abisakir, whose job is to give spiritual and military guidance to the more than 1,000 regular MILF fighters in the camp.
Government and the MILF are mulling the possibility of transforming the rebels into a "territorial force" to guard areas to be covered under a final peace deal. They would not be disarmed, rather than slowly integrated into government forces. Another idea is for government to buy the guns outright and offer jobs to the rebels.
For MILF field commander Toks Guiwan, whose two young sons are are also fighters, such talk of disarmament only upsets his men. "It's dangerous talk, my men have known no other job than to fight," he says.
Nearby, Abdullah polishes his old M-60 and with a smile boasts that he can live without his wife for a long time, but not without his firearm. "This has saved me many times," he says. "My wife, she gets mad when I caress my machine gun, but she understands."
#4
One of the big problems with really long term insurgencies is you have fighters who have never known anything else. Some IRA members simply became criminals because they have no other application for their skillset once they are forbidden from slaughtering civilians.
I imagine MILF will end up in Thailand or somehwere nearby where they can continue their merry brand of murder, if peace prevails which is doubtful.
The U.S. Navy has replaced two ships it sent off the coast of Lebanon last week amid political deadlock there to send a signal to Syria, officials said on Tuesday.
The cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the destroyer USS Ross replaced the destroyer USS Cole and a refueling ship over the past day, U.S. Navy officials said.
Another refueling ship remained in place, meaning the United States continued to have three warships in the area, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The ships are not visible from the Lebanese coast but their presence is intended as a signal to Syria and other countries in the Middle East of U.S. commitment to the region, U.S. officials have said.
Washington has blamed Damascus for a 16-month-old power struggle between Lebanon's Western-backed government and the Syrian and Iranian-backed opposition that has left the country without a president since November.
Lebanon's pro-Iranian Hezbollah group accused the United States last week of endangering regional stability by deploying the USS Cole.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, also speaking last week, said his government had not asked Washington to send warships and none of them were in Lebanese territorial waters.
At the time of the USS Cole's deployment, U.S. officials indicated it was likely to be there for a short time before being replaced by other warships.
A senior U.S. defense official said American warships would maintain a presence off the coast until Lebanon's presidential election.
The U.N. Security Council imposed another round of sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, but Iran defiantly vowed Monday to continue its nuclear program despite the nearly unanimous censuring vote.
The resolution authorized a third set of sanctions targeting individuals, companies and equipment that could be used in Iran's nuclear program. It was adopted on a vote of 14-0, with Indonesia abstaining.
Two previous sanctions resolution were adopted unanimously, but diplomats said this vote still sent a strong message to the Tehran government that there is global concern that Iran is trying to produce nuclear weapons. Iran insists the program is aimed only at generating power.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
No hurry, you got till the end of the year at least.
#2
The sanctions also require maritime interdiction to ensure compliance. T'would explain why the Euro navies had increased forces in place prior to the vote...
Indonesia was the sole hold out among the council's 15 members. Ambassador Marty Natalegawa told his colleagues that his country is not convinced that more sanctions are the most sensible way to go and would therefore abstain from voting. "Essentially, we are not convinced that more sanctions, however incremental, well-targeted and reversible will move us forward in resolving the question of Iran's nuclear program or whether it would only give a potentially negative impact at a time when progress is being made," said Ambassador Natalegawa.
Resolution co-sponsors France and Britain had hoped for complete consensus among the council, but said the near unanimous vote still sent a clear signal to Iran. Britain's U.N. Ambassador John Sawers: "Its adoption sends a clear message to the government and the people of Iran," said Ambassador Sawers. "It underlines yet again that the international community is profoundly concerned that Iran might be intending to use its nuclear program for military purposes."
The United States welcomed the passage of resolution 1803. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters it is up to Iran to change course, if not, the international community would have to increase its pressure. But he noted that the United States supports a diplomatic resolution to the issue.
The resolution passed Monday tightens some existing sanctions and imposes additional travel and financial sanctions on Iranian individuals and companies. Ahead of the vote, Iran's envoy said any new sanctions would be illegal and he warned that Tehran would never give up its legitimate right to pursue peaceful nuclear energy.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on an unprecedented visit to Iraq, was aiming to build ties with officials from a once-hated neighbor and to accuse the United States of spreading terrorism. The two-day visit was thick with symbolism as both the US and Iran seek to influence Iraq's future.
Ahmadinejad said talks Sunday with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd who told the Iranian leader to call him "Uncle Jalal," were "brotherly." Then Ahmadinejad cut through the US-controlled Green Zone to visit Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a fellow Shi'ite, at his Cabinet offices.
The sprawling Green Zone contains the core of the US diplomatic mission to Iraq - including a massive new embassy - and is heavily protected against occasional rocket attacks, which American officials have blamed on Iranian-backed Shi'ite extremists.
Ahmadinejad denied the charges at least twice during news conferences throughout Sunday. "Six years ago, there were no terrorists in our region. As soon as the others landed in this country and the region, we witnessed their arrival and presence," he said Sunday night after meeting Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of Iraq's largest Shi'ite political bloc.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Yep > FOX NEWS segment - MOUD has also reportedly called for the withdrawal of all foreign powers + forces from Iraq [Afghanistan?].
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.
A former University of South Florida professor is being subpoenaed for a third time in a case investigating Muslim charities and businesses. That's according to his lawyer, Jonathan Turley, who wrote about the development on his blog. Turley says the subpoena puts Sami al-Arian at risk for another contempt of court sanction that threatens to extend his jail time yet again.
Tribesmen on Monday buried the last of the 43 people killed in a suicide bomb attack at a jirga discussing how to tackle Al Qaeda and Taliban militants. The political agent of Darra Adam Khel ordered a probe into the suicide attack, and announced a three-day mourning period.
When thirty-year-old Zarbad Khan, who was suffering from an eye disease, went to a public hospital for cure, the doctors refused to help him, saying that an operation was the only cure, but that they could not operate upon his eye because of his high blood pressure.
Palestinians say they know when an Israeli drone is in the air: Cell phones stop working, TV reception falters and they can hear a distant buzzing. They also know what's likely to come next — a devastating explosion on the ground.
Beleaguered Hamas leaders on Sunday signaled their willingness to reach a cease-fire with Israel, sources close to Hamas said. 
Indonesia was the sole hold out among the council's 15 members. Ambassador Marty Natalegawa told his colleagues that his country is not convinced that more sanctions are the most sensible way to go and would therefore abstain from voting. "Essentially, we are not convinced that more sanctions, however incremental, well-targeted and reversible will move us forward in resolving the question of Iran's nuclear program or whether it would only give a potentially negative impact at a time when progress is being made," said Ambassador Natalegawa.
