Five Islamists accused of killing a US diplomat and his driver in the Sudanese capital on New Year's Day told police they had wanted to "kill Americans", a court heard on Thursday.
John Granville, 33, who worked for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and his 40-year-old Sudanese driver Abdel Rahman Abbas were shot dead in their car before dawn in Khartoum on January 1.
Abdulrahim Ahmed Abdulrahim, the police officer who led the murder investigation, told a packed courtroom in Khartoum that the five men had initially wanted to fight in Somalia but changed their plans.
"The five men told me they wanted to kill Americans," said Abdulrahim. "There were two options: the first to go to Somalia to fight jihad (holy war), the other to start the work here in Sudan. They said they decided to stay in Sudan," he told the hearing amid heavy police presence.
Four of the defendants said their witness statements were taken under pressure, with one calling the police officer a "devil".
"The evidence was taken by force," one of them told the judge.
The accused, who sat behind bars in a side gallery of the courtroom, have yet to make a formal plea.
Another defendant, who is accused of plotting the attack but not carrying out the actual killing, said the evidence given by the police was correct.
Police rejected claims that force was used in interviewing the defendants, saying video footage of them giving statements in the presence of a judge were made.
The murder sent shockwaves through the sizeable Western community in Khartoum, a city usually considered one of the safest in Africa.
The prosecution case is due to continue on September 21. The men risk hanging if found guilty.
#1
The five men told me they wanted to kill Americans," said Abdulrahim. "There were two options: the first to go to Somalia to fight jihad (holy war), the other to start the work here in Sudan. They said they decided to stay in Sudan," he told the hearing amid heavy police presence.
Let's see...allan told them it was better to kill unarmed, innocent Americans than to risk their lives for him as real jihadis in Somalia. Yup same voice most here.
Muslim hate fanatics plan to take over Britain by having more babies and forcing a population explosion, it has been revealed. The swollen Muslim population would be enough to conquer Britain from inside, they claim.
Fanatics told a meeting of young Muslims on the anniversary of the 9/11 atrocity, that it would then be easy to impose Sharia law on the population, the Sun newspaper reported.
Speaking at a meeting in London, Anjem Choudary, right-hand man of exiled preacher Omar Bakri Mohammed, said: "It may be by pure conversion that Britain will become an Islamic state. We may never need to conquer it from the outside."
He added: "We do not integrate into Christianity. We will ensure that one day you will integrate into the Sharia Islamic law."
His comments were made as voice of hate Bakri warned that the next 9/11 would take place in the UK. Speaking via video link the exiled cleric said Osama bin Laden had taught the Americans a 'lesson' seven years ago, but the 'crusaders' had not learned.
One speaker at the meeting, held on the anniversary of the attacks in America, told the assembled crowd that the West should "listen to the warnings." We have been. That's why we've been killing turbans, lo, these seven years.
The meeting, in front of a 100-strong crowd at a community centre on the Lea Bridge Road in Walthamstow, east London, A hundred people? Wow. That's prob'ly as many as you'd get for a theater showing of the original Cannonball Run.
was also addressed by the exiled preacher Omar Bakri Mohammed via video link from the Lebanon. To whence he bravely decamped when he thought the Brits must surely do the Guy Fawkes thing on him and his kind. They didn't, of course, but they wouldn't let him back in.
His appearance was greeted by cheers of "faith" and "Holy Shit! god is great" as he claimed to have foiled a bomb plot against him by agents of the British Government, Suuuuuure you did.
although much of his speech was inaudible due to technical difficulties. Note to self: When making speeches by Net Meeting from Beirut, don't hire Arabs to do the tech setup.
Walthamstow was home to two of the three members of a gang found guilty of conspiracy to murder. They face a retrial over allegations they were targeting trans-Atlantic flights. "Murder" has such an Islamic ring to it.
Among the speakers were a number of former members of the banned group al-Muhajiroun, once led by Bakri from his council home in Edmonton, North London. The most incendiary speech was delivered by Saiful Islam, from Luton, Bedfordshire, who praised Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda for their "courage" in retaliating against the "dictatorship and oppression" of the West. He said: "The blame of 9/11 belongs to no one but the American government. They are the terrorists. Sheikh Osama warned America numerous times, it was because of their own arrogance, because they thought they are a superpower and nobody could match them, that Sheikh Osama taught them a lesson -- a lesson they still haven't learned."
Mr Islam ... is not the same thing as "Miss America"...
warned that unless British and American troops were withdrawn from "Muslim lands" they would be to blame for the consequences, saying the West would "never achieve security until our own lands achieve security".
"Wake up. Withdraw. Listen to the warnings. Muslims will stand side to side, not just al Qaeda. The actions of the British and Americans have given prominence to al Qaeda. All of us have a part to play in stopping the violence or the next 9/11 will take place in Britain, the next 7/7 could take place locally," he added.
The meeting was led by the lawyer Anjem Choudary under the name of a group called the Association for Islamic Research. He was the last to speak to the group of largely young Muslim men and criticised the Government for persecuting "innocent Muslims" including Syrian--born Bakri who was banned from re-entering the country in the wake of the July 7 attacks.
He also talked of the defendants in the airliner trial along with the jailed preachers Abu Hamza and Omar Brooks, another of Bakri's followers, as well as Abu Qatada, recently released on bail. "They [the Government] say they are civilized but they don't act very civilized," Mr Choudary said.
Mr Choudary talked about the black "flag of Sharia" flying over Downing Street by 2020, saying 500 people a day were converting to Islam.
"They jailed Sheikh Abu Qatada in Belmarsh prison. Is that the way you treat your guests?" He spoke against mainstream bodies like the Muslim Council of Britain, who condemned the September 11 and July 7 attacks, accusing them of "selling their souls to the devil".
Mr Choudary talked about the black "flag of Sharia" flying over Downing Street by 2020, saying 500 people a day were converting to Islam. He laughed that Muslim families in places like Whitechapel and Bethnal Green in east London were having "10 or 12 children each".
#4
Careful, careful, let's see how this plays out... Pathetic.
Posted by: regular joe ||
09/13/2008 9:20 Comments ||
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#5
unless British and American troops were withdrawn from "Muslim lands" they would be to blame for the consequences
Hokay, Mr Islam. (Rather interesting last name you have there, BTW.) Let's make a deal! We will withdraw from the holy lands of Islam if you and yours will withdraw from my holy lands (ie. the rest of the earth). Deal?
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
09/13/2008 10:21 Comments ||
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#7
Can we make them "Dead Wrong"? ohpleaseohpleaseohplease)
Posted by: Craick Oppressor of the Danes3222 ||
09/13/2008 12:54 Comments ||
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#8
b>Pappy
Thank G-d you're not in charge. You'd get me and my Marines killed just as easily due to your anger and stupidity and blindness as any it's-our-fault-leftist would.
I already suggested to you if you don't like it here, go elsewhere.
Now I'm telling you.
Posted by Pappy 2008-09-11 23:20
I am callin you out, cowboy.
I just read you didn't like my view on the promoting of Islam on 9/11 here at Rantburg by an over seas "bloke". This is a sacred day to honor our martyrs, both civilian and military and many, many other days to post promotional material for the Islamite.
What are "your"(?) marines going to do about jihad in Britain, in Spain, in France, in Belgium.
With innumerable imams like this one in Britain, around the world demanding death to our freedoms, the marines can't do a damn thing in so many places. And thank God the Marine command and the President is smart enough to know that and not you so don't try to imply YOU are in charge.
I appreciate your service but this has to be recognized. This is a ideological/theological war more than it is military war at this time. That is the root of the sinister and vicious evil force in our midst.
"Now run off" is not in my job description, chump.
Posted by: Grins Oppressor of the Pixies4430 ||
09/13/2008 17:31 Comments ||
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#9
Yes. Foaming at the mouth is always to rationality.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/13/2008 18:39 Comments ||
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#10
Grins: I'm one of the moderators here.
This is your only warning: calm down and be respectful of others here, particularly regular posters, even more particularly moderators, or you'll be banned.
We don't have tolerance for juvenile name-calling, especially by newbies.
AoS
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/13/2008 18:39 Comments ||
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And he's going to smell just awful if his control weakens, lemme tell ya ...
Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's grip on power may be weakened by ill health and the communist regime will go through a period of ``transition'' as he recovers over the coming months, a South Korean government official said.
It will take three to five months to be quite sure how stable his condition may be, in terms of ruling his country, according to a South Korean government official who declined to be identified, because of the sensitivity of the issue. Kim's hold over North Korea may not ``be what it used to be,'' even with a full recovery, he said.
Blotting half your brain in a stroke does make it a tad more difficult to order people's executions ...
Kim, who has led the impoverished nation of 23 million people since his father Kim Il Sung died in 1994, failed to attend 60th anniversary celebrations of North Korea's founding on Sept. 9, fueling speculation about his health. A U.S. intelligence official, who declined to be identified, said earlier this week the communist leader may have suffered a stroke in the past month.
"Nurse! He's doing it again!"
North Korean officials deny their 66-year-old leader is sick.
He's just pining for the fjords ...
The South Korean official said the government in Seoul has intelligence that Kim suffered a ``serious health setback.''
``We believe that he may have undergone serious surgery in the last three weeks,'' he added.
South Korea has received some intelligence that Kim is recovering, Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho Nyoun said yesterday. ``Various agencies are trying to verify the information, and we are keeping a close eye on developments,'' he told reporters.
That's why they're intelligence agents, you know ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
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#1
NORK, You will take orders from the US State department.
#3
27 years active and reserve. Son is an active duty Marine just back from Iraq. I passionately detest Murtha...deeply. Not for being donk. But, for being a sleazy, lying scumbag. I donated and I live in Alaska.
The United States has surpassed its goal of admitting 12,000 Iraqi refugees this year and expects more, perhaps tens of thousands, next year, the State Department said on Friday. The United States expects to admit a minimum of 17,000 Iraqi refugees in fiscal 2009, which begins October 1, the department's senior coordinator for refugees said. Thousands more Iraqis and their family members could arrive through a special visa program for people who worked for the United States or its contractors.
"I think you'll see the U.S. government admitting over the course of fiscal 2009 tens of thousands of Iraqis into the United States," coordinator James Foley told reporters. Up to 3,000 could come from Baghdad, where the United States began interviews this year, he said.
So far this year, 12,118 Iraqi refugees have arrived and 1,000 more are booked to travel to the United States by the end of this month, when the U.S. fiscal year ends, he said. That marks a huge leap from just 1,600 Iraqis admitted in the previous year. That number drew widespread criticism from refugee groups that said Washington should do more to help millions of Iraqis who have fled instability and violence since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
The number is still lower than what some other countries have taken. Sweden, a country of 9 million people, has admitted over 40,000 Iraqis since 2003.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees estimates 2 million Iraqis are living abroad, mostly in neighboring Jordan and Syria. Some 2.5 million are internally displaced.
One refugee advocacy group, Human Rights First, said it welcomed the news Washington had met its target for Iraqi arrivals in 2008 but that the "low" goal of resettling 17,000 refugees in fiscal 2009 should be raised to at least 30,000. "The number of Iraqi refugees we have welcomed to our shores is still just a fraction of those in need," said Amelia Templeton of the New York-based group. She said the U.N. refugee agency estimated that 85,000 Iraqi refugees from the most vulnerable groups would need resettlement next year.
Foley called on the government of oil-rich Iraq to do more to help Iraqi refugees abroad as well as plan for returning Iraqis by addressing their needs for security, social services and property compensation. So far, he said, Iraq had spent only about $25 million to help its refugees abroad, and provided about $200 million for an initiative to help returning refugees. The latter amount was "rather small," considering the number of Iraqi refugees and the improving security situation inside Iraq, Foley said.
"One cannot rule out in these situations the possibility that the refugees in large numbers themselves will decide it's time to go back, but will the Iraqi government be ready for that? That's what we have to prepare for I think," Foley said.
The United States spent over $318 million in humanitarian aid for Iraqi refugees this year, Foley said. Washington sought support from other donors, "particularly in the region, not to mention, the government of Iraq itself."
Foley said he was grateful that Syria, a country with which the United States has strained relations, had agreed to a new facility for refugee processing, which would enable Washington to handle larger numbers of refugees.
Posted by: ed ||
09/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
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#1
85,000 Iraqi refugees from the most vulnerable groups would need resettlement here next year.
1). 4-FOUR wives for Muslim Male
2). 8-to-16 chillreens for each wife
3). De anchor chillreens allow wife to bring
over all of her relatives over.
4). These chillreens are gonna be Muslims
of course of course of course, needing
Mosques of course of course of course.
Food, Cloths,HealthCare,School,Police,
Fire,ETC.
5). Because of their refugee status You
and I get to pay for everything!
YOU LUCKY DAWG!
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/13/2008 2:45 Comments ||
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#3
WTF indeed! They should be staying there to rebuild their own country
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/13/2008 6:14 Comments ||
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#4
Most of Iraq's 3,500,000 refugees are Sunni militants who were chased away by the Shiite government in Baghdad. Bush chose to reignite the 1400 year civil war so his supporters are honor bound to pay for policing tens of thousands of potential jihadis in their own backyards, and making sure their welfare is taken care of, at all costs. The Sunni hijra mob will all appreciate the right to bear arms.
Posted by: Open Arms ||
09/13/2008 6:59 Comments ||
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#6
Maybe it's just my small world view but I wouldn't consider moving a few hundred km to a neighbouring country as moving abroad - that's more like moving interstate. To my mind changing continents would fit the 'abroad' bill. However, I live in a state where the capital city is 1800 km away.
#7
OA - troll for the morning. As to the right to bear arms. Iraqis get to keep their AKs in their own country, something the citizens of the likes of Chicago and Washington DC don't [regardless of SCOTUS].
#11
Lotp, as usual, nails it. These aren't people who are going to cause trouble, these are (mostly) the people who have been working with us.
And I would hope that the move to the U.S. would be temporary for most of them -- as Iraq continues to improve, more of them will decide to return to the old country.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/13/2008 12:34 Comments ||
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#12
Nice hope, Steve, but I doubt it. They've burned too many bridges and when they get over here, the kids become anchors. It's just too hard to take them back.
I hired a Bulgarian who still had extended family in the old country. He swore he was going back. Two years after the first kid was born, he applied for permanent citizenship.
That's part of why we're such a threat to Osama & Islam in general. While it has lots of problems, people prefer modernity and western civilization. Sort of like why people left the family farm. It's romantic from the city, but a hard life up close.
#13
I've only met a handful of Iraqis who've been working with us but if they are the kinds of people being admitted, I say let 'em come. It's a shame Iraq will lose them, but they have a much better chance of contributing here and raising productive kids here than there, unfortunately.
Some of the women I've met are incredibly brave, hardworking and smart - and they aren't all Kurds, either. Just the kind of people whose kids and grandkids have made real contributions to America over the years.
#14
We take clean running water, 24-hour-a-day electricity, sanitary sewers, mass transportation, medical care, and 40,000-item supermarkets for granted. They don't. They're not going back, so welcome them for the allies that they are.
#15
We have helped resettle several Assyrian Christian families - and they are good people whose sons are still over there assisting US forces, which had made them targets. One has started a "middle eastern" small grocery and is hiring family and friends, the others are working in their trades (carpenter, ironic they are replacing illegal mexicnas with legal refugess), one is a civill engineer and is driving a taxi while he gets his professional certifications done.
Now you idiots who are slamming them, I dare you to come here and call these folks the things you do here. I'll beat your ass silly. I dont put up with the KKK nor do I put up with KKK types like you.
#16
Sorry I have buyers remorse. These fine folks were promised asylum when things were going badly --now things are going better, so they can stay. Are we breaking a deal? Too bad. Will this hurt us in future "nation building?" Too bad. Looking ahead we're not going to do any nation building next time. Next time we will fight to destroy our enemies --not to bring them civilization.
Posted by: regular joe ||
09/13/2008 14:34 Comments ||
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#17
I stand by my comment OS. They are better for Iraq if they stay and improve their own country
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/13/2008 14:53 Comments ||
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#18
Too bad. Looking ahead we're not going to do any nation building next time. Next time we will fight to destroy our enemies --not to bring them civilization.
You're fighting now that we should sell out the people who sided with us.
Dude, I hate to tell ya, but that's the reason we lost the Vietnam war. You're trying to put a look-at-me, I'm-a-tough-guy spin on a Jane Fonda strategy of stabbing your allies in the back.
#19
Assuming they can, Frank. But winding down the insurgencies doesn't automatically bring with it an end to revenge killings. In the case of one Iraqi translator I know, her father, mother and 2 of her 4 sisters were murdered because of her work with our troops. And not in a single incident, either - her youngest was shot in front of her elderly parents as a warning to her to stop 'collaborating'. She has more than earned the right to build a life here IMO.
#22
And just to flesh that out a little more - the specific woman I'm describing was 23 when she volunteered to translate for the first US units in northern Iraq. She's tri-lingual. When she started there were no forward operating bases she or her family could move onto for safety. We think our soldiers are brave - she did this without body armor, without much in the way of anybody on overwatch as she went to and from patrols ... The other sister, one year older, was shot up on the street by insurgents who mistook her for the translator. Then they blew up her family's home killing her parents but not realizing she was elsewhere ...
She is an ally, not a charity case, and deserves a place here.
#24
I'll concede there are some noble allies in their midst -- but 10000? Let's wait to hear from the good people of St Paul, MN and Greely, CO about those noble Somali refugees before we fling open our doors.
Posted by: regular joe ||
09/13/2008 15:22 Comments ||
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#25
Ah, so we should judge all the people who lost family members for siding with us (and, what's more, hurt the country to boot) because you don't like Somalis?
#26
You are missing the point. The State Dept was fast-tracking the Saudis who did 9/11. It's not that I dislike Somalis or Saudis -- I dislike a blyth and incompetent State Dept importing the fifth column
Posted by: regular joe ||
09/13/2008 15:49 Comments ||
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#27
What does DoS BS have to do with assisting DoD contributors. No doubt it's 80/20. For now I have little problem believing there are 8,000 Iraqi's who helped us and deserve our protection. If 2,000 freeloaders come along, I can live with it.
And you never know how these folks might help 5-10 years down the road. Or how they can hurt us if we stab them in the back as we all too often do to the natives who put their necks on the line for us.
#28
You are missing the point. The State Dept was fast-tracking the Saudis who did 9/11. It's not that I dislike Somalis or Saudis -- I dislike a blyth and incompetent State Dept importing the fifth column
These people are neither Saudis or Somalis. And saying you want something without bothering about knowing the details is just giving the state department another weapon to use against us.
#29
OS, Nimble, Darrell et al make a good point: some of the Iraqis who come over will indeed stay. I do wonder how many will, since these are exactly the kinds of people who are most loyal to the ideal of an Iraq, and are ones I would think would want to go back when they can. But I dunno.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/13/2008 17:00 Comments ||
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#30
I know an Iraqi Kurd who came here 8-10 years ago, fine fellow, and just discovered another engineer on the project is from Baghdad, but after 20 years in Canada and ten here, I doubt he's going back.
On the other hand, an Afghan engineer I know went back to Afghanistan for a year, to help out his country. Brave guy, huh?
They're not all Osama bin Laden.
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/13/2008 18:15 Comments ||
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#31
The traslator that worked with my brother in Iraq came here. He was planning on going to Dearborn, but never made it farther than VA. When asked why he didn't go to MI, he said, "I'm sick of Arabs".
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/13/2008 18:23 Comments ||
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Dr Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani scientist charged with trying to kill United States soldiers and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, has been diagnosed as suffering from severe depression. A warden at the federal prison in Brooklyn notified a judge on Thursday of Aafia's diagnosis. Warden Cameron Lindsay says a prison psychologist visited Aafia twice this month.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
AAFIA - why be depressed/glum?
* TOPIX > WHAT [Islamist]DEFEAT? THE ISLAMIST JIHAD AND STRATEGY IS SUCCESSFULLY PROCEEDING ACCORDING TO PLAN!
* IRNA [paraph] > IRAN IS THE BEST GUARANTOR/
PROTECTOR FOR REGIONAL NATIONS' SECURITY [Freedom, Democracy + anti-US/Zionist Imperialism].
* COLLECTIVELY, LOCAL + GLOBAL MILPOL CONDITIONS COULDN'T BE BETTER FOR ANY ISLAMIST HIDDEN IMAM-MAHDI TO APPEAR.
* ISLAMIST WAR FOR ASIA/ASIA-PACIFIC.
* IRAN + PAN-ISLAMIST NUCLEARIZATION
OSAMA BIN LADEN just needs his fav MTV Babe = Bae of the Apocalypse WHITNEY HUSTON to make a GOOD NEW ALBUM!
(AKI) - The International Committee of the Red Cross has appealed for an extra 3.7 million dollars in emergency aid to help refugees affected by conflict in Pakistan. This represents a 25 percent increase over the initial 2008 budget of 14.6 million dollars.
The ICRC is working to provide aid for 60,000 people affected by the armed conflict involving government forces and armed opposition groups in two volatile border regions - the North West Frontier Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. "The situation is evolving rapidly and remains unpredictable. In order to address the needs of the people who fled the fighting, we need to be able to move quickly and be flexible," said Pascal Cuttat, head of the ICRC delegation in Pakistan. "We are expanding our support for hospitals dealing with large influxes of war-wounded people. But we have to be ready to do more."
"The ICRC reminds all parties to the conflict of their obligation to comply with international humanitarian law. The parties must respect and protect persons not, or no longer, taking part in hostilities, civilians and the wounded, sick or detained."
The extra funding will mainly be used to deliver relief to people who have been displaced or cut off by the conflict.
The ICRC has already distributed essential items such as tarpaulins, blankets, hygiene items and cooking pots to people arriving in improvised camps or staying with host families in Lower Dir and Mardan in the NWFP,
It is now distributing food to the displaced but warns that large numbers of people living in makeshift camps and public buildings are under constant threat of waterborne disease. The ICRC has therefore made it a priority to provide water and sanitation services. "The ICRC reminds all parties to the conflict of their obligation to comply with international humanitarian law," said Cuttat. ''In particular, the parties must respect and protect persons not, or no longer, taking part in hostilities, civilians and the wounded, sick or detained."
The ICRC has been working in Pakistan since 1981 and currently employs 427 staff in the country, including 46 international staff.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/13/2008 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
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#1
We have about 350,000 "internally displaced people" at the moment, due to Ike. Is the Red thingyCross helping them? I'm far more willing to donate to OUR people than that bunch of terrorist-producing, head-banging morons in Phakestan.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/13/2008 14:36 Comments ||
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(AKI) - Pakistan's leaders have expressed fresh hope of resolving the long-running dispute with India over Kashmir as thousands of Muslim protesters staged an independence rally there on Friday.
Tens of thousands of Muslim protesters reportedly gathered in Kashmir's biggest city, Srinigar, for a rally calling for Indian authorities to leave the disputed Himalayan region.
A prominent separatist leader, Mohammed Yasin Malik, was injured in the protest after police swung batons and fired tear gas at the crowd, said Altaf Khan, a spokesman for Malik's group, the Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front. Police were reported to have used batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd that poured into the city's main square after Friday prayers.
The protests were led by several prominent separatist leaders, including Malik, who has led angry demonstrations that were among the biggest anti-India protests in decades.
Meanwhile, Pakistan' s Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani on Friday stressed the need for Pakistan and India to narrow down their differences over Kashmir and stressed that Kashmiris must be included in any dialogue. "We strongly believe that Kashmiris should be an integral component of the ongoing peace process, as they are the primary stakeholders," the prime minister said.
Gillani said the current peace process between Pakistan and India had raised peoples' expectations, and should become a symbol of peace, tranquillity and fraternity in South Asia. He mentioned frequent meetings of the Pakistani leadership with Kashmiri leaders, that reflected the government's approach on Kashmiris' involvement in peace process.
On Thursday, President Asif Ali Zardari, said he hoped an atmosphere of trust could be created in which India and Pakistan could achieve a breakthrough on Kashmir. In an interview published by Pakistan's GeoNews, Zardari said his government would not depend on secret diplomacy. "All the possible solutions on Kashmir will be discussed first in a parliamentary committee on Kashmir and then the final approval will be given by the parliament," he said.
This article starring:
Mohammed Yasin Malik
Posted by: Fred ||
09/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[12 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Pakistan's army vowed Friday to safeguard the country's territorial integrity under the leadership of its new democratic government, an official statement said.
Not that they'd close the border or do anything about the Talibunnies. They have .. other .. ways of safeguarding the territorial integrity of their country. Ask them.
The statement came at the end of a two-day meeting of army commanders, amid nationwide anger over a raid by U.S. ground troops last week and repeated missile attacks in the troubled tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.
It coincided with a pre-dawn missile strike by a suspected US drone Friday in which 12 people were killed in a Pakistani tribal area where U.S. forces have been aggressively targeting Al-Qaeda militants, fuelling further anger from Washington's key "war on terror" ally. Missile strikes targeting militants in Pakistan in recent weeks have been blamed on U.S.-led coalition forces or CIA drones based in Afghanistan. Pakistan does not have missile-equipped drones.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani hit out at the strike, saying that only Pakistani forces have the right to act on its territory. "We strongly condemn this attack and the government will raise this issue at diplomatic level," he told reporters.
As well as missile strikes, Pakistan last week for the first time accused Afghanistan-based troops of carrying out a direct attack on its territory, a raid in the South Waziristan tribal zone that left 15 people dead.
U.S. and Afghan officials say Pakistan's tribal areas are a safe haven for Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants who sneaked into the rugged region after the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001. Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, are widely believed to be hiding in the mountainous region.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/13/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
'anticipatory self-defense.', the so called Bush Doctrine (according to Charlie Gibson), is still in effect, since the last time I checked George W Bush is still the President of the United States (POTUS).
As summarized by Charles Krauthammer in another article today: Then came 9/11, and that notion was immediately superseded by the advent of the war on terror. In his address to the joint session of Congress nine days after 9/11, President Bush declared: "Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime." This "with us or against us" policy regarding terror -- first deployed against Pakistan when Secretary of State Colin Powell gave President Musharraf that seven-point ultimatum to end support for the Taliban and support our attack on Afghanistan -- became the essence of the Bush doctrine.
Everyone who heard President Bush state this 'with us or against us' 'anticipatory strike' doctrine at the post 9/11 congressional address cheered.
George Bush is still sticking to his "guns" on this policy even though all the liberals may have lapsed back to their pre 9/11 politics of promoting legal rights for their extremist friends and supporters.
As VP I will urge President John McCain to continue the Bush Doctrine of 'anticipatory self defense'.
In my own words, as a 'big stick' hockey mom, to the Pakistani powers at be and their little extremist friends, "I feel your anger,
but this is your ultimatum clue:
'Your pigs need a little lip stick,
and I will make it red lip stick.'"
I am hockey mom Sarah Palin, and I approve this message.
Posted by: Sarah Palin ||
09/13/2008 2:48 Comments ||
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#3
Y'know with a bit of work I could make some real "Lipstick loads" wouldn't hurt anyone (Throw in some rock salt for sting), but use the right color and you could scare the shit out of the target(Whoever) also mark them good for the cops to catch.
(Yes officer Friendly, find the running man with the bloodstained shirt and trailing shit as he runs, he went that way) should be an easy catch.
Same idea as paintball ammo, just a bit more painfull)
I'd load two, then the real stuff.(Maybe add a needle penetrator last for those thugs wearing armor)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/13/2008 20:00 Comments ||
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#4
Let me know when you work that out & I'll order a dozen or two in .357 magnum or .45 Redneck Jim. Make that two dozen - Mr. Lotp would get a kick out of having some as well.
The United States decision to mount a ground strike inside Pakistan last week reflected fears that terrorists were winning the war against the US-led forces.
They still haven't caught on: we're not going to lose. If necessary, we'll do more and do it more ruthlessly. They won't like us when we're ruthless. come to think of it, they don't like us now, do they?
A quieter Iraq and a power shift in Islamabad also helped open the way for more US strikes in the mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan, home to Taliban terrorists and Al Qaeda leaders believed to be plotting new attacks against the West.
We played that game along the Viet-Cambodian and Viet-Lao borders. We didn't like the way it worked. We're not going to play it again. We've been trying to be polite, and the Paks have been misinterpreting.
"There is no doubt the US patience with Pakistan is running short," said Andrew McGregor, terrorism editor at the Jamestown Foundation security think tank.
Our patience running out doesn't mean we're going to leave in frustration.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen said this week, "I'm not convinced we are winning it in Afghanistan. I am convinced we can."
He'd better be convinced we're going to win. Otherwise Bush can find somebody to replace him easily enough.
"Frankly, we're running out of time," he told a congressional committee.
Which means the Paks are running out of time.
Sponsors: A senior US official said that the US military had the right to go after sponsors of cross-border attacks, while a senior Pakistani official suggested the US military had misinterpreted complex rules. "What you're seeing is an increased activity (by) our troops taking our rules of engagement to them (terrorists in Afghanistan)," the US official said on Tuesday.
That's the Hague Convention, if I recall correctly. The precedent goes back to before the Napoleonic Wars. Neutrals are under strict rules as to how long and in what manner they can shelter belligerents. Our Pak "allies" should read up on that, since it's not all that complex. See Hague Convention V, Chapter I, Articles 2, 3, and 4, each of which is a single short paragraph.
However, the Pakistani official said, "There are certain circumstances in which a special operation might be required to go arrest someone, but that can't easily be done in the Tribal Areas."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"the Pakistani official said, 'There are certain circumstances in which a special operation might be required to go kill arrest someone, but that can't easily be done in the Tribal Areas.'"
Not by YOU, maybe....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/13/2008 0:11 Comments ||
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#2
Apparently we are afraid that unless we systematically exterminate every cockroach in the nest, we will get more cockroaches.
And at the high rate we are taking them out, they will be lucky if they have a poop-stained prayer rug between them by the time we leave.
#6
From what I understand a big part of our enemy is criminal enterprise. I think a good cunk of that is based around the opium and we should go after it and destroy it and cut off their cash flow.
#8
Its not as easy as just spreading a fungus. The Afghan government then has that many more people with no money and nothing to farm.
What they need is a viable alternative that's at least somewhere near as profitable. A law putting these growers in jail wouldn't hurt either - as long as they have something else to grow.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/13/2008 3:44 Comments ||
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#9
Recalling my US/New York State history , Fenian Irish of the 1860's who attempted attacks on British forces in Upper Canada were usually turned over to the Brits for proper disposal.
Not always as promptly as Canada would've prefered but even then it was understood a real nation-state doesn't harbor scum unless they want a fight.
#10
I don't buy that Mike. Sure, the Afghan farmer feels that his best bet to feed his family is to grow poppies. However, his product hurts people, and the profits help fund a long chain of criminal enterprises.
There are always alternatives they can grow. If poppies will grow, then other crops will as well. They will just be less profitable.
If I started growing poppies at my place, then said I wouldn't stop until I was given an equally profitable alternative, then my local law enforcement community would, I expect, tell me to "Go directly to jail, do not pass go, and definitely don't collect $200".
If I every got out of jail, I would need to find a less profitable, and less damaging way to feed the family.
So why should the Afghans get a moral pass to grow poppies?
Ima want to talk to you about that double barrel shotgun you sold to your government. Next time please holler at me. It broker my heart to read your post yesterday.
#12
If you want to cripple the drug trade, legalize it. Let the profit potential disappear. Then it won't be a problem.
If we can't keep the drugs out of our prisons, we sure can't keep them out our neighborhoods. And we haven't. There's too much money. I can't begrudge the dirt poor farmer in Afghanistan his cut when my neighbor is getting his just because of our stupid laws.
#13
Will keep it in mind .5MT. It was a nice shotgun, but it wasn't in working order. The firing pins had been removed (back in the 1940s) out of concern that the barrel was weakened, although there were no visible dents or splits. It was used as a farm gun prior to that.
I must admit, we did not sell that one to the government. We gave it to them. It was donated to an army armourer apprentice school as a training aid.
#14
In his address to the joint session of Congress nine days after 9/11, President Bush declared: Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.
#15
I'm sure a 20-ship ARCLIGHT strike down through the middle of Rawalpindi/Islamabad would help Phakestan to make up its mind about allowing us to chase Talibunnies on their territory. Send the BUFFS with an F-22 escort. I'm sure the message will be received loud and clear. Do it the day after the elections, if we need to wait that long, but don't delay it any later. Phakestan needs a wake-up call - loud and clear.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/13/2008 15:26 Comments ||
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#2
I might add that our military is training the Iraqis to be a world class military. Not only to defend against Iran, but actually able to force project throughout the Muslim world.
Right now, the mixed Iraqi military could stabilize Lebanon, disarm Hezbollah, etc. They can actually field more active armies than Turkey, and their soldiers are experienced, trained in division and Corps operations.
Once they get their full complement of weaponry, Iraq will be a world power.
#6
Moose and newc both. Iraq will have an army that can maintain order at home, and in doing so inspire its people by its decency and even-handedness.
It will have an army that can deter Iran handily -- it doesn't have to march to Teheran, it just has to make clear that Iran will never march to the Shatt al-Arab.
It will have an army that can serve as peacekeeping, and if necessary, peacemaking, forces in the Arab world.
And it will have an army that graduates officers and men who, in returning to civilian life, will serve as a rock for the people.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/13/2008 13:36 Comments ||
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#7
And, it will have a senior military command that knows how quickly that can all be lost if the government loses the confidence of its American allies. As the Turkish military loses control of its Muslims lords, the Iraqis may gain it. Let's hope they can help the Turks stay in the fold.
Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin on Thursday said the United States shouldn't "second guess" steps taken by Israel to secure itself, adding that a nuclear weapon in the hands of Iran is dangerous and the United States must "put the pressure" on the Islamic Republic. Palin statements came during an interview Thursday with Charlie Gibson of ABC, her first major interview given since she accepted the vice presidential nomination in late August.
Palin did stumble when asked if she supported the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive attacks on states that threaten the United States, seeming at first unsure of what Charlie Gibson was referring to, then saying "I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hell bent on destroying our nation," before adding "there have been mistakes made."
Palin also said "If there is legitimate and enough intelligence that tells us that a strike is imminent against American people, we have every right to defend our country. In fact, the president has the obligation, the duty to defend," in response to Gibson's questions on whether the United States should go after terrorist hideouts in Pakistan without securing the country's permission first.
Another correct citation of the Hague Convention ...
Palin has been beset by criticism that she is not ready to be president should something happen to McCain, with the majority of criticism falling on her lack of foreign policy experience. The Alaska governor and former mayor of the small town of Wasilla acknowledged the criticisms during the interview saying the fact that she hadn't traveled abroad much and had never met a foreign head of state only illustrated the fact that she is not a long time Washington insider.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/13/2008 00:00 ||
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(AKI) - An Indonesian human rights group has condemned remarks made by a top Indonesian military official defending violence committed by the military against alleged insurgents in 1989. In February 1989, TNI soldiers raided houses in the Talangsari village located in the Lampung province allegedly killing about 246 people. Houses were reportedly burned and there were allegations of torture, demolition and widespread killings.
Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono defended the military's action after a meeting with Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "The comments made by the Defence Minister, Juwono Sudarsono, have no logic or legal basis and it's a step back in creating a judicial mechanism that protects the people," said Usman Hamid, lawyer and representative of rights group Kontras in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI).
Sudarsono defended the actions of the military, or TNI, saying that armed men had attacked and killed police and military personnel at the time, thus justifying military retaliation. "In that context, it was normal and valid to conduct such military action," said the minister at a media conference.
But Hamid rejected Sudarsono's remarks. "Where is the proof that the villagers were armed? And what can the minister say about the women and the children found dead and burnt in the village after the raid?" Hamid told AKI.
Last week, the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights or Komnas HAM called the actions by the military a gross violation of human rights.
The motive for the attack by the military was to capture 'Warsidi', a religious teacher accused of having guided a movement that aimed to create an Islamic state and was against the rule of former Indonesian dictator Soeharto.
Hamid also said he supported the formation of a special tribunal to judge military personnel involved in the alleged killings.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/13/2008 00:00 ||
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The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the car bombing that left a Lebanese Druze politician dead near Beirut and urged rival parties to show restraint. "I condemn yesterday's car bombing and urge restraint," the U.N. boss told a press conference. "This violence only underscores how important it is for dialogue and reconciliation to move forward."
The Security Council also joined Ki-moon in condemning the car bombing in Beirut. The UN Security Council also "condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack" which killed Saleh Aridi, a member of Lebanon's opposition Democratic Party, and injured six others in a car bomb blast in his hometown of Baysur, southeast of Beirut.
In a statement read by Burkina Faso's U.N. Ambassador Michel Kafando, who chairs the 15-member body this month, council members underlined the need to bring the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of the bombing to justice.
The EU's French presidency also condemned the murder of Aridi and stressed the bloc's readiness to help bring to justice those carrying out terrorist acts. The EU presidency "very strongly condemns the attack which cost the life of Mr Saleh Aridi," said a statement, issued by the foreign ministry of France, which holds the EU's rotating presidency. The EU "reaffirms its engagement alongside Lebanon in the fight to bring the authors and commanders of terrorist acts to justice," it added.
The EU presidency urged all parties involved to continue the process initiated by the Doha accord, which was struck on May 21 between Lebanon's rival political factions to end the protracted political crisis in Lebanon.
Aridi's violent death came as Lebanon's political parties prepared for a national dialogue next week aimed at reconciling their differences, which in May brought the country close to civil war. The national dialogue due to begin next Tuesday is set to focus on forming a "national defense strategy" in which the relationship between militias and the army in defending the country is to be defined.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/13/2008 00:00 ||
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A top Russian official says Moscow will veto any US attempt in the UN Security Council to impose a new round of sanctions against Iran. In a telephone interview with Press TV on Friday, Russian Duma Deputy Sergei Markov said Moscow adheres to the strategy of providing Tehran with security insurance rather than threatening the country over its nuclear program.
"The major threat to the security of Iran is coming from the United States," Markov added.
Sure as hell isn't coming from Europe ...
He was referring to the carrot-and-stick policy adopted by the Bush administration toward Iran. The US, claiming to be committed to a diplomatic solution to the standoff, has sought to persuade Iran to abandon uranium enrichment through the imposition of sanctions, offers of incentives, and threats of launching strikes against nuclear installations in the country.
Markov's remarks come shortly after the US envoy to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, urged members of the Security Council on Thursday to approve new financial sanctions against Iran.
Russia's envoy to the council responded to Khalilzad's plea by saying that Moscow could decide for itself how to be vigilant about Iranian financial transactions. Markov added that US threats against Iran would not resolve the issue; but instead, Washington risks encouraging Tehran to seek nuclear weapons in order to ensure its security.
The usual "it's all your fault" meme ...
US President George W. Bush has repeatedly threatened Iran with war under the pretext that Tehran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), seeks nuclear weaponry.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Do not make me SPAR with you over Persia, MAGOG.
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.
One speaker at the meeting, held on the anniversary of the attacks in America, told the assembled crowd that the West should "listen to the warnings." 
Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda for their "courage" in retaliating against the "dictatorship and oppression" of the West. He said: "The blame of 9/11 belongs to no one but the American government. They are the terrorists. Sheikh Osama warned America numerous times, it was because of their own arrogance, because they thought they are a superpower and nobody could match them, that Sheikh Osama taught them a lesson -- a lesson they still haven't learned." 
Dr Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani scientist charged with trying to kill United States soldiers and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, has been diagnosed as suffering from severe depression. A warden at the federal prison in Brooklyn notified a judge on Thursday of Aafia's diagnosis. Warden Cameron Lindsay says a prison psychologist visited Aafia twice this month.
(AKI) - The International Committee of the Red Cross has appealed for an extra 3.7 million dollars in emergency aid to help refugees affected by conflict in Pakistan. This represents a 25 percent increase over the initial 2008 budget of 14.6 million dollars. 
