[ToloNews] Donald Trump ...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!... , former US president,
…and current US president, a thought that ought to give such as the Taliban pause…
once again emphasized the significance of Bagram Airbase for the United States, stating that the strategic airbase in Afghanistan is now under China's control.
Trump highlighted that Bagram's proximity to China makes it crucial for the US. He stated: "I was getting out, but I was going to keep Bagram. Right now, China has Bagram. I was going to keep one of the biggest airbases in the world, they left it."
This is not the first time Trump has stressed the importance of Bagram Airbase for the US. Previously, during his election campaigns, he had criticized the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and pledged that if re-elected, he would reclaim the base.
However,
it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... US policy towards Afghanistan and its future relationship with the interim government remain uncertain.
Mohammad Ameen Karim, a political analyst, told TOLOnews: "Their priority is the release of three American citizens from Afghanistan, but reclaiming Bagram Airbase is nothing more than a dream, an illusion, and madness. It will never happen again."
The Islamic Emirate has not commented on Trump's recent remarks. However,
it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... in an exclusive interview with TOLOnews, the acting foreign minister had previously rejected any possibility of handing over Bagram Airbase to the US.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister, had stated: "Even if they recognize us and rebuild all of Afghanistan, not just Bagram, we will not give them even a meter of land. This is the stance of the Emirate and the people."
Sayed Qareebullah Sadat, another political analyst, said: "The Americans think only of their own interests. We, the people of Afghanistan, should also focus on our national interests and how we can meet the needs of our own people."
Bagram Airbase, located in Parwan province in northern Afghanistan, was the largest US military base in the country during its two-decade-long military presence.
#6
Sarah Adams says that there is at least one of our bases in each province that AQ is using to train foriegn fighters in large numbers for simultaneous attacks against unknown American and European interests. Osama’s oldest son married one of Mullah Omar’s daughters merging AQ with the Taliban. The Biden Admin set up weekly deliveries of between $40M-80M to the AQ-Taliban leadership for antiterrorist activities. Hate the Biden’s more now?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/02/2025 14:39 Comments ||
Top||
#7
maybe we could trade them several thousand PRIDE flags in exchange for the air base
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
02/02/2025 17:13 Comments ||
Top||
#8
From what I understand, forcing PRIDE into the local population poisoned the population against the, um, nation building effort.
Saw a video of some advanced students, learned American English and everything, receiving a lecture about 'Western Art and Philosophy' from the PRIDE viewpoint, all stereotypes confirmed, and the all women class was rolling their eyes harder than a game of Risk.
Could see them in real time reject the message as if you hate yourself so much, why should we follow you? And you know what, I hate Duchamp too.
[Garowe] The federal state of Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... shall extend the crackdown against the IS-Somalia murderous Moslems by targeting their sympathizers, regional leader Said Abdullahi Deni said while recognizing the sacrifices by the military teams engaging the fighters.
Deni, who ordered for activation of Operation Lightning, said the military teams on the frontlines had made significant progress in pursuing the IS-Somalia bully boys, adding that most strategic towns are now in the custody of local forces.
"After defeating ISIS, we will hunt down its sympathizers who hold misguided beliefs and are hiding in the cities," said Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni, speaking at the passing out parade of army recruits in Bosaso.
However,
the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits... Deni, who visited the Bari region, the epicenter of the bully boys, called on the people not to harm those seeking a better life in Puntland and directed security agencies to take responsible and effective action against bandidosbully boyz hiding among foreign nationals arriving and residing in Puntland.
Locals have been working closely with the regional troops, frogmarching those believed to be associates of the ISIS bully boys. At least 300 people have been arrested for further interrogation, the majority of them believed to be foreigners.
He praised the troops for their bravery in fighting ISIS, specifically highlighting their successful operations in the Cal-Miskaad mountain caves where they defeated the group in a short period.
The operations saw the local forces intercept at least 12 drones used by the IS-Somalia bully boys, with the military killing at least 15 murderous Moslems who are suspected to have been coordinating attacks against innocent civilians in the northern state of Somalia.
Puntland has made this milestone without support from the federal government, which has, however, lauded the forces for their successes. Puntland is one of the most stable states in Somalia but has lately been battling infiltration of the violent mostly peaceful krazed killer groups in the region.
[ShabelleMedia] In an effort to secure its military operations against Islamic State (ISIS) strongholds in the Al-Miskat mountains, Puntland has prohibited media outlets from communicating with the group, the region’s Information Minister Mahmoud Aydiid Dirir announced on Saturday.
The decision aims to safeguard operational secrecy and ensure that journalists adhere to official guidelines during this critical phase of the campaign, according to a statement.
Key points of the media restrictions include:
No access to conflict zones without explicit permission.
Information on military activities must be sourced exclusively from government channels.
Travel to battlefronts is off-limits without clearance from the Information Ministry.
Dirir underscored the importance of these measures in protecting the lives of reporters and maintaining the confidentiality of military strategies as Puntland’s forces strive to dismantle ISIS enclaves.
[Zero] The development comes after Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office to designate "cartels and other organizations as foreign terrorist organizations."
The order stated that "The Cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs."
Hegseth urged "We’re finally securing our border. We’ve been securing other people’s border for a very long time. The military is orienting, shifting toward an understanding of homeland defense on our sovereign territorial border."
"That is something we will do and do robustly. So we’re already doing it," Hegseth continued, adding "Should there be other options necessary to prevent the cartels from continuing to pour people gangs and drugs and violence into our country — we will take that on."
"So the president will make that call. I’ll work with him in that decision making process. Ultimately, we will hold nothing back to secure the American people," he emphasized.
While campaigning, Trump repeatedly vowed to use the military against the cartels, suggesting that special forces could be deployed in Mexican territory.
[KhaamaPress] Foreign media reports have revealed that the government of Kyrgyzstan has recently imposed a ban on wearing the Arab-style veil (niqab) in the country. The government has also introduced fines for individuals who wear this clothing in public spaces.
According to Radio Free Europe, Kyrgyzstan, a predominantly Moslem country in Central Asia, has now joined the ranks of other nations in the region by prohibiting the wearing of the niqab, a long garment that covers the body, hair, and face except for the eyes. This ban went into effect on February 1st, with a fine of 20,000 som (about $230) imposed on women who wear the veil in public.
Kyrgyz politicians have argued that the ban is necessary for security reasons, as it allows people’s faces to be visible and helps with identification. However,
if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... opponents of the ban argue that it strips women of their freedom to choose their attire, viewing it as a limitation of personal rights.
Previously, Kyrgyzstan was the only country in Central Asia that allowed the niqab in schools and government institutions. However,
if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... with the new legislation, the country has followed in the footsteps of its regional neighbors, such as Tajikistan, which also passed a similar law last year that prohibited the niqab in public spaces, labeling it as foreign attire.
In recent years, Central Asian countries have been focusing more on reviving their indigenous cultures and traditions, particularly in clothing and cultural celebrations. These nations have taken steps to limit the influence of foreign cultures, such as the Arab-style clothing, in favor of promoting local customs and heritage.
The ban on the Arab-style veil in Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian nations reflects broader efforts to preserve cultural identity and regulate foreign influences. While governments argue that such measures are necessary for security and social cohesion, they also raise debates about individual freedoms and the role of tradition in shaping modern society.
[Breitbart] President Donald Trump’s deputies have frozen an expanding federal bureaucracy used by elite-run groups to import migrant workers via a private door in the nation’s borders.
The shutdown comes just before the private migration groups were to be aided by a $5 billion migration fund created by Congress in 2024 for additional migration inflows in 2025.
Trump’s deputies froze the bureaucracy by delaying the approval of paperwork needed by migrants to get into the United States. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency announced it is “pausing acceptance of Form I-134A, Online Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support until we review all categorical parole processes as required,” the agency announced on January 28.
The form is critical to get migrants through the border doorway operated by the elite-backed, private-sector migration group Welcome.US.
The group claims to have already welcomed “200,000+ newcomers.” since it was approved in 2023 by President Joe Biden’s pro-migration, pro-investor border chief Alejandro Mayorkas.
The “Honorary Co-Chairs” of Welcome.US include Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush,
…clearly thrilled to get to sit with the kewl kids, no longer tarred as the Hitler of his time..
and Bill Clinton.
Three former presidents pushing this thing. Oy.
The group also boasts of a “Welcome Council” with many CEOs, Walmart’s PR chief, several journalists including NBC’s news chief, business lobbyists, many migration advocates, multiple Muslim leaders, and even former governor Jeb Bush.
Why Muslims? But Jeb Bush makes sense — he needs something to do, since he doesn’t get to be an ex-president like Papa and Bro Bush.
The Welcome.US group also served as the PR face of President Joe Biden’s Welcome Corps government program. The program merged government and private efforts to further inflate the U.S. economy and stock market with an enlarged inflow of foreign workers, renters, and consumers.
The group’s migrants flood Americans’ workplaces, communities, housing markets, schools, and civic support agencies. That inflow lowers wages, raises rents, crowds schools, and jams waiting rooms — but also spikes stock prices for Wall Street investors.
Under Biden, this merger of government and private advocacy helped support roughly 100,000 people via the formal refugee programs. It was also expected to import 125,000 more refugees in 2025 — plus hundreds of thousands of additional picked migrants in the next few years,
Saved by the bell. Whew!
But this expanded migration program damages the moral claim that justifies the refugee programs, said Nayla Rush, a migration expert at the Center for Immigration Studies.
Refugee programs are supposedly all about saving unfortunate people from poverty, crime, and war,
But the Welcome Corps program allows migrants to help pick the next wave of migrants, said Rush. For example, the program allows new migrants to provide refugee status — and then citizenship — to their siblings and cousins even when they face no dangers, or to grant that status to people eager to pay for green cards and U.S. citizenship, according to Rush.
“A program meant to ‘save [refugee] lives‘ had been turned into one that resettled people who [know]… somebody [who] made it to the United States and gotten a green card,” Rush wrote on January 24. She added:
By launching the “Welcome Corps”, a private sponsorship program within the [refugee program], the former administration chose not to resettle the most vulnerable, but rather to privilege those who happen to have friends or family who made it here before them. It opened the door to non-refugees to be picked for resettlement by non-citizens based in the United States.
Sponsored individuals did not need to actually be [endangered] refugees according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Refugee Status Determination, let alone in that subset of refugees determined by the UN to be in “need of resettlement”. And the sponsors could themselves be earlier refugees or other newcomers.
The “Welcome Corps” was further expanded to include the “Welcome Corps on Campus”, bringing “refugees” straight to U.S. campuses; the “Welcome Corps at Work”, bringing them straight to [employers and] U.S. jobs; and the “Welcome Corps for Afghans” allowing U.S.-based non-citizens to sponsor Afghan nationals through USRAP. Another branch, the “Welcome Corps for Refugees in Latin America”, offered individuals of any nationality who are in Latin America “a path to permanent legal status in the United States.”
The “Welcome Corps at Work” program recreates President George W. Bush’s “Any Willing Worker” program because it allows U.S. employers to hire cheap, subordinate, and government-funded migrants, regardless of the damage to Americans’ right to a fair labor market.
The Welcome Corps site said:
The Welcome Corps enables U.S. employers to recruit from a diverse, qualified pool of refugee candidates abroad. As an employer participant in Welcome Corps at Work, you will be able to review resumes from our pool of refugee candidates abroad, interview candidates, and offer employment to the refugee candidates directly. Welcome Corps at Work then helps those refugees navigate the process of being considered for resettlement in the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) …
Federal spending to import more people multiplied fivefold under Biden, Rush wrote:
Under the Biden-Harris administration, the estimated “Funding for Refugee Processing and Resettlement” totaled $2.8 billion in FY 2024 and were set to amount to $5.1 in FY 2025. For comparison, the estimated cost was $2.2 billion in FY 2023, $1.4 billion in FY 2022, $967 million in FY 2021, $932 million in FY 2020, and $976 million in FY 2019.
Much of the funding was intended to accelerate the inflow of migrants through the Department of State’s refugee programs and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). In 2024, Biden’s deputies described their plan to spend the 2025 funds on the parole programs that were pulling many Haitians and Cubans into the United States:
In addition to refugee arrivals through the USRAP, ORR is projecting to serve 531,500 other arrivals in FY 2025, the majority of whom are expected to arrive as Cuban and Haitian Entrants through [supposedly] lawful pathways.
The ORR program has long been used by government agencies and cartels as a convenient waystation for delivering left-behind foreign children to their illegal migrant parents in the United States.
Congress also expanded the ORR rules to allow funding for job-seeking migrants from Cuba and Haiti, including the Haitian migrants who crowded into Springfield, Ohio.
The 2025 money would also have supported the “Labor Neighbors” program that was intended to import cheap workers from South America for jobs that otherwise would have gone to better-paid Americans.
The 2025 spending plan statement also described plans to import more diverse and expensive groups of people into Americans’ society:
Innovations and efficiencies made over the last three years have provided new hope and opportunities to refugee applicants in the USRAP, including longstanding refugee populations from Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Syria, as well as Rohingya refugees who are facing increased threats and dwindling assistance, among many others. In FY 2025, the United States will remain focused on these populations while continuing to expand the resettlement of other key populations of concern, including vulnerable people from Latin America and the Caribbean; Afghan allies; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) individuals; and individuals persecuted for their religious beliefs.
Biden’s deputies were “changing the meaning of resettlement, which was to save lives… [to allow] somebody, a friend or a neighbor or something, say ‘Hey, we want that person,'” Rush told Breitbart News. “It’s a good thing that [Trump is] just shutting down the whole system,” she added.
[BREITBART] Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday issued guidance to the entire Department of Defense to end the practice of celebrating months tied to racial or gender identities using official resources.
He said in his guidance: ''Our unity and purpose are instrumental to meeting the Department's warfighting mission. Efforts to divide the force — to put one group ahead of another — erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution.''
He added:
Going forward, DoD Components and Military Departments will not use official resources, to include man-hours, to host celebrations or events related to cultural awareness months, including National African American/Black History Month, Women's History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and National American Indian Heritage Month. Service members and civilians remain permitted to attend these events in an unofficial capacity outside of duty hours.
He said that military installations, units, and offices are still encouraged to ''celebrate the valor and success of military heroes of all races, genders, and backgrounds as we restore our warrior culture and ethos.''
''We are proud of our warriors and their history, but we will focus on the character of their service instead of their immutable characteristics,'' he said, concluding, ''This guidance is effectively immediately.''
The move follows a memo he issued earlier in the week implementing President Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... 's executive order banning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the military.
#1
Now let loose with height and weight standards and follow up with appropriate PT standards*. As for support personnel, don't ever forget the 507th. There is no rear area.
* banged up but ambulatory are good to relieve the 3 Rs (Reserve, ROTC, Recruiting) releasing healthy and recyclables.
[NYPOST] For four years, I've reported about how a large, organized constellation of United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... agencies partnered with hundreds of private nonprofit groups to direct billions of mostly US-taxpayer dollars into supporting historic illegal southern border crossing levels during President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. Sleazy Dem machine politician, paterfamilias of the Biden Crime Family... 's term in office.
Even for the new Trump administration, this conglomerate of 15 UN agencies and 230 NGOs was proposing to spend yet another $1.4 billion on the migration trail in 2025, $1.2 billion more for 2026.
That's in addition to the more than $6 billion from 2020-2024 during the greatest mass migration event in American history.
Separately, hundreds of millions more went through NGOs to migrants colonists arriving on the US side for their soft landing resettlements.
But now it looks like little to none of that funding will come from US taxpayers going forward.
New Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday issued an ''exclusive announcement'' to Fox News' Will Cain that Trump has turned off that firehose.
''We have stopped all grant funding that's being abused by NGOs to facilitate illegal immigration into this country,'' Noem said. ''I've taken action to stop those funds, to re-evaluate them, and to make sure that we're actually using taxpayer dollars in a way that strengthens this country, to keep people safe.
#4
And the brazen behavior of the Reconquista attitude is on full display-here in Oregon they boldly confront the police, who retreat instead of confront. https://x.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1886034020875600250
#6
^^My bad Argentinian flags, and my son just returned from a rugby tour to the Argies, beat their Navy side by 50 now you know why they lost the Falklands
[BREITBART] Dr. Sebastian Gorka, a Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council in the White House, told Breitbart News exclusively that the White House intends to release the video of the successful operation conducted on Saturday morning to eliminate a top Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... terrorist in northern Somalia.
''We are working diligently right now—the White House Situation Room, so WHSR, the Counterterrorism Directorate of the National Security Council, and the Defense Department—are working right now as we speak to scrub the actual footage of the munitions detonating and destroying the cave complex,'' Gorka told Breitbart News in a phone interview on Saturday after the operation. ''We're working right now to scrub that and make it available in an unclassified form so it can be briefed from the press briefing room so National Security Adviser Waltz and the president can share that.''
''To see it in real time, look, let me say this—it's as if you're in a movie but it's so much more important because it isn't a movie. It's not special effects,'' he explained. ''It's real, and American lives are being saved 11 days into the Trump administration.''
There are multiple reasons why the White House intends to release the footage publicly at a press briefing next week, Gorka said, including showing those who voted for Trump in November that their president and his administration are committed to acting quickly to keep them safe.
''We are working right now on converting the footage of the operation, of the neutralization, into a format that allows us to share it with America and the world,'' Gorka said. ''I will leave that to DOD and the White House Situation Room and the whole team responsible for that. We want the 77 million Americans [who voted for Trump] and everyone else who cares about defeating global jihadism to see what is possible in less than two weeks of a new Trump administration.''
But perhaps more importantly than that, Gorka said, the White House hopes releasing the footage will act as a deterrence to potential future hard boyz and discourage possible recruits from joining ISIS down the road.
''You can think you're safe and you can try and build a safe haven in an ungoverned part of the world like northern Somalia, but our capabilities—it's like the president said,'' Gorka said. ''You can run but you'll only die tired. We will find you, but unlike the Biden administration, we're not going to watch you around the clock for four years. We are going to kill you if you threaten American lives and that is what the president just proved this morning at 9:50 with his incredible leadership.''
Early Saturday afternoon, the president announced on social media that he had ordered a successful strike on the ''Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other hard boyz he recruited and led in Somalia.''
[Breitbart] South Africa and eight other nations, including totalitarian Cuba, formed the so-called “Hague Group” on Friday with the explicit aim of opposing Israel, and denying it the mean to defend itself against Palestinian terrorist attacks.
The “joint inaugural statement,” signed by Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal, and South Africa, does not include a single Arab state or any nation actually located in the Middle East.
It cites “our obligations to end the Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine [sic] and support the realisation of the inalienable right of the Palestinian People to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine.” It does not mention Hamas, or terror, at all; the only mention of civilians refers to Palestinian civilians.
South Africa has long led the charge against Israel, most recently by filing claims of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice. In that sense, post-apartheid South Africa resembles apartheid South Africa, which also clashed, at least initially, with Israel in diplomatic forums. Post-apartheid South Africa has also, like its apartheid predecessor, sided with rogue states outside the international consensus, exchanging right-wing states for left-wing dictatorships.
President Donald Trump has taken a firm stance opposing the abuse of international legal institutions against the democratic nations of the world, restoring an executive order applying sanctions to members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) if they attempt to investigate U.S. soldiers or military personnel from U.S.-aligned countries.
Democrats, however, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), are blocking broader sanctions against the ICC.
[IsraelTimes] Derided by Israelis as a ‘glorified taxi service’ for failure to help hostages in captivity, the ICRC insists it has little power beyond what belligerent parties afford it
The Red Cross'>Red Thingy, accused of not doing enough to help hostages in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , has defended itself in a rare statement outlining the limits of its role.
Insisting on its neutrality, the International Committee of the Red Thingy said the escalation of violence in Israel and the Paleostinian territories has triggered "a proliferation of dehumanizing language and of false and misleading information about the ICRC and our work in the current conflict."
The organization, dedicated to aiding victims of war, including by visiting prisoners and detainees, has faced heavy criticism in Israel since October 7, 2023, for its failure to secure any meaningful aid for the 251 hostages taken by hard boyz that day — whether by monitoring their conditions or providing them with basic humanitarian assistance, including medicine.
For its limited role in facilitating the transfer of freed hostages from Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... to Israeli forces — both during the November 2023 ceasefire and the current one — many Israelis have come to derisively refer to the ICRC as little more than a glorified taxi service.
Meanwhile,
...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the space pirate fleet to attack Zemblonia... in response to Hamas’s refusal to allow ICRC visits to its hostages, Israel has blocked the agency’s visits to Paleostinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, leading to criticism on that front as well.
The ICRC faced fresh Israeli anger as Thursday’s hostage transfer in Khan Younis descended into chaos, with masked terror operatives from Hamas and Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... struggling to hold back a surging crowd and Red Thingy workers seeming powerless to protect hostages Gadi Mozes and Arbel Yehoud.
ICRC officials "did nothing to interfere with this intimidating display of indignity and public humiliation," Gerald Steinberg, president of the Israeli organization NGO Monitor, wrote in the Australian-based online magazine Quillette.
The ICRC said: "Ensuring the safety and security of the handover operations is the responsibility of the parties to the agreement."
Furthermore, it asserted, "interfering with armed security personnel could compromise the safety of ICRC staff, and more importantly that of the hostages."
The Geneva-based organization said it had not given permission for "people carrying Hamas flags to get on top of our buses in Ramallah" during the release of Paleostinian detainees, but "nor did we have the capacity to prevent people from doing so."
In late 2023, Israel’s then-foreign minister Eli Cohen said the Red Thingy had "no right to exist" if it did not visit the hostages in Gaza.
The organization insists it relies on the belligerents’ goodwill.
"From day one, we have called for the immediate release of all the hostages, and for access to them," it said in a statement.
In World War II, the ICRC visited prisoners of war, but its mandate did not explicitly extend to civilians unless governments allowed it.
The ICRC acknowledges that during World War II, it "failed to speak out and more importantly act on behalf of the millions of people who suffered and perished in the death camps, especially the Jewish people targeted, persecuted and murdered under the Nazi regime."
In its statement, the ICRC reaffirmed that this was the "greatest failure" in the organization’s history, and said it unequivocally rejects antisemitism in all its forms.
At the same time, the ICRC has been accused by pro-Paleostinian activists, particularly on social media, of not putting pressure on Israel to secure visits to Paleostinian detainees since October 7, 2023, and also of not doing enough to help the maimed in the Gaza Strip.
The humanitarian organization says it has been actively engaging with the Israeli authorities "to allow for the resumption of ICRC visits and family contacts for these detainees."
As for the maimed in Gaza, the ICRC said it had received requests to evacuate hospitals in the north, but could not regularly safely access the area due to the "extremely difficult security situation — together with roads blocked and unreliable communications."
Following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that came into effect on January 19, the ICRC, which already had 130 staff in Gaza, is deploying more personnel, including doctors.
In 1968, Leopold Boissier, a former ICRC president, noted that the criticism most frequently leveled at the organization "is the silence with which it surrounds some of its activities."
Nearly 60 years later, the ICRC is facing similar accusations, not only regarding the Israel-Hamas war but also since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Founded in Geneva in 1863, the organization, which has more than 18,000 staff in over 90 countries, denies being "complicit" and says it establishes trust through "confidential dialogue with all parties to the conflict."
"Our neutrality and impartiality are critical to our ability to operate in any context."
[IsraelTimes] Thirty-seven patients were transferred from Gaza to Egypt on Saturday via the Rafah border crossing after it reopened for the first time since May 2024, the director-general of the World Health Organization says.
The patients, 34 children and three adults, were transferred to Egypt for continued medical treatment, says Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X.
“We are grateful to the government of Egypt for their continued support and for providing specialised care to patients from Gaza,” he adds, calling for medical evacuations “to be expedited through all possible routes.”
#5
So when are they coming back for the rest of them?
Let them escape with their caretakers — it’s what something like 75% of the population has wanted to do for years, and it’s what President Trump is pushing. The more who leave now, the fewer for Hamas to hold hostage later.
[IsraelTimes] The IDF acknowledges that it did not kill the commander of Hamas’s Shati Battalion in December 2023, after Palestinian media reported that Haitham Hawajri was among those who handed over hostage Keith Siegel to the Red Cross today.
In a statement, the IDF says that after Hawajri was targeted on December 3, 2023, “it was determined with a high level of probability by the IDF and Shin Bet that he had been eliminated, following which an IDF spokesperson statement on the subject was issued.”
“After further examination, it emerged that the intelligence finding on which the Intelligence Directorate and Shin Bet relied was not correct and the terrorist was not eliminated in this strike,” the military says.
Last month, the IDF acknowledged that it did not kill the commander of Hamas’s Beit Hanoun Battalion as it had previously announced.
In October, the IDF said that a previous announcement on the elimination of the commander of Hamas’s Tel Sultan Battalion was incorrect, but he was killed in a separate strike.
Rat bastards. Get as many hostages home as possible, Bibi, then make them pay.
[IsraelTimes] Reports say Bibas, Ofer Calderon were beaten, held in cages during early days of captivity; Keith Siegel says food was scarce, had to eat meat to survive despite being vegetarian
Released hostage Yarden Bibas was taunted by his Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... captors about the fate of his wife and children during his nearly 16 months in captivity, Hebrew media outlets reported Saturday upon his return to Israel on the 14th day of the ceasefire-hostage deal.
Bibas, 35, was released by Hamas on Saturday morning along with Ofer Calderon, 54, in a handover in southern Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... ’s Khan Younis. American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, 65, was released almost two hours later at the Gaza City port.
Bibas was maimed and kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and massacre in southern Israel.
His wife Shiri and their two sons were taken separately. At the time, Kfir was 10 months old and Ariel was 4.
Hours after their abduction, a video circulated of Shiri, holding both boys in her arms, a look of terror on her face as she was surrounded by terrorists. The footage became a symbol of the cruelty of the Hamas-led onslaught.
Hamas claimed last year that Shiri and the two children had been killed in captivity, and while Israel has not confirmed the claim, it has expressed "grave concern" for their fate and last week reportedly demanded that the terror group clarify their condition, to no avail.
Upon Bibas’s return to Israel on Saturday, the Kan public broadcaster reported that he had been subjected to grave psychological abuse throughout his captivity, including an incident in which he was compelled to film a video after his captors told him that his wife and young children had been killed in an IDF Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... The Hamas operatives would talk to him incessantly about his family, Kan reported, adding that he was now "clinging to hope" about their fate.
Freed hostage Nili Margalit, who spent nearly 50 days in Hamas captivity, revealed in December 2023 that she was with Bibas when Hamas gunnies told him his wife and two young children had been killed and ordered him to film a video in which he accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of refusing to return their bodies to Israel. It was branded a "propaganda video" by the IDF, and was not published by Israeli media.
Bibas spent the early days of his captivity held alongside Calderon, and learned Arabic. Over the course of the 484 days he spent in captivity, he was transferred from place to place in Khan Younis, moving between homes and tunnels, the report said.
Both men were subjected to physical and mental abuse, the report said. They were beaten by terrorists, and held in cages. They have said, however, that they watched coverage of the campaign in Israel for the release of the hostages, and were able to draw strength and hope from it.
Following Bibas’s release, his cousin Oriah told Channel 12 that he had lost weight, and that his family hoped to one day see him smile again.
Calderon, a dual French-Israeli national, was treated by his captors like an IDF reserve soldier, Kan reported. This treatment was evident upon Calderon’s release, as he appeared dressed in military-style clothing, similar to the outfits worn by the five female IDF soldiers released in recent days.
Calderon was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with two of his four children, Erez and Sahar, who were later released during a week-long truce in November 2023.
Upon Calderon’s release, his mother Kochi told Channel 12 that he looked "more or less okay," even if "a little thin and pale."
Kan said that Calderon had asked the IDF soldiers accompanying him back to Israel for a beer, but was advised not to do so until his health improved.
While Bibas and Calderon were held in southern Gaza, American-Israeli citizen Siegel was held in Gaza City along with other hostages, Kan reported.
He was mostly moved from house to house, but spent some time in the terror group’s underground tunnel network, the report said. His captors kept him out of sight by locking him in a room. He spent many months in captivity uncertain as to whether his son Shai had survived the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Eventually, however, he heard him speaking on the radio.
According to the report, Siegel has said that food was extremely scarce. His captors would occasionally give him meat, which he ate despite being a vegetarian, as he knew he needed it to survive.
The report said that he was last given food some 24 hours before his release.
The families of the freed hostages have recounted that their loved ones were frequently told they were "going home tomorrow," and that their captors would give them food and then take it away again while laughing at them.
The constant taunting meant that when the hostages were finally informed that they were going to be released as part of the ceasefire deal, they didn’t believe their captors were telling the truth up until the last minute, Channel 12 reported.
Similar testimony was said to have been shared by the five Thai hostages released on Thursday outside of the framework of the ceasefire deal. They also asserted that their captors would give them false hope by telling them from time to time that their release was imminent.
Some of the freed hostages were subject to heavy violence, Channel 12 said, and were handcuffed for long periods. Some were put into cages for "opposing the terrorists," and others were held in humid tunnels with little air for long periods.
The news outlet also reported on Saturday that one of the female hostages released earlier in the ongoing ceasefire-hostage deal had assessed that Hamas did not seem to have been badly hurt by the war with Israel.
The freed hostage said that she and the other captives were transferred smoothly from house to house; there was only one mess-up when she saw another hostage in the street. All in all, she said she had the sense that Hamas was being run professionally.
So far, 13 Israelis have been released as part of the ceasefire-hostage release deal, which mandates the release of 33 so-called "humanitarian hostages" during its first 42-day phase.
As those hostages are gradually released, Israel is to release some 1,904 Paleostinian security prisoners, including more than 100 serving life sentences for deadly terror attacks. Ninety security prisoners were to be freed Saturday, nine of them believed to be gunnies serving life terms.
The three-phase deal’s later stages are subject to negotiations with the stated goal of reaching a "sustainable calm" in the enclave, alongside the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, the release of more Paleostinian security prisoners and an Israeli withdrawal from the Strip.
The second stage of the three-part deal is supposed to result in the release of all remaining living hostages not included in the first stage — mainly men of fighting age — but the sides must still hash out the number and identities of Paleostinian prisoners to be let go as part of the deal.
The talks on the next stage are slated to begin no later than February 3, or 16 days after the deal went into effect. Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... are scheduled to meet in the White House on February 4.
The freed hostages are among 251 Israelis and foreigners kidnapped on October 7, 2023, when some 3,000 Hamas-led gunnies burst into Israel, killing some 1,200 people, amid rampant acts of brutality and overt targeting of civilians.
[IsraelTimes] Hamas-run authorities say sick, wounded children and carers evacuated through gateway; reports say injured Hamas fighters also set to cross under terms of hostage-ceasefire deal
The Rafah Border Crossing reopened on Saturday, the first opening of the gateway to Egypt since Israel captured the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... side nearly nine months ago.
Officials familiar with the discussions said the crossing was to be run by Paleostinian Authority representatives alongside monitors from the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... . A Channel 12 report indicated that some US observers were also involved.
A group of sick and maimed Paleostinian children began crossing to Egypt on Saturday, according to officials from the Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... -run health ministry in the Gaza Strip.
According to Hebrew-language media reports, maimed Hamas button men were also set to cross to Egypt, as agreed to under the terms of the hostage and ceasefire agreement.
Egyptian television showed Paleostinian Red Thingy ambulances pulling up to the crossing gate, and children were brought out on stretchers and transferred to ambulances on the Egyptian side. Gaza’s health ministry said around 60 family members were accompanying the children.
The children were the first in what are meant to be regular evacuations of Paleostinians through the crossing for treatment abroad.
Over the past 15 months, the war in Gaza sparked by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has decimated the Strip’s health sector, leaving most of its hospitals out of operation.
Mohammed Zaqout, the director of hospitals in Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, said more than 6,000 patients were ready to be evacuated abroad, and more than 12,000 patients were in urgent need of treatment.
He said the small numbers set to be evacuated will not cover the need, "and we hope the number will increase."
The Rafah Crossing with Egypt was one of the main entry points into the Gaza Strip and a vital conduit for aid, but the border has been closed since Israeli forces seized it in May last year, largely due to Egyptian refusal to keep the passage open so long as Israeli forces held it.
It took some diplomatic gymnastics to reopen the crossing and overcome security disputes between Israeli, Egyptian and Paleostinian officials. Hamas had overseen the border since 2007, when it seized control of Gaza from its rival, the Paleostinian Authority.
Management of the crossing is a sensitive issue — Israel has long accused Hamas of using its control of the border to smuggle weapons.
Israel has also refused to allow the Paleostinian Authority to officially take over management of the crossing.
Instead, the crossing will be staffed by Paleostinians from Gaza who previously served as border officers with the PA, but they will not be allowed to wear official PA insignia, a European diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered... because the official was not authorized to brief the media.
Israel has screened the officers to ensure they have no affiliation with Hamas, the European diplomat added.
European Union monitors will also be present, as they were before 2007.
[IsraelTimes] 150 sent to Gaza, 32 released to West Bank and one sent to Egypt; among those freed is a Gaza aid worker jailed for funding Hamas
Israel freed 183 Paleostinian prisoners on Saturday, shortly after three Israeli hostages taken by Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... on October 7 were released by the terror group in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip.
According to Paleostinian authorities, 18 of the prisoners were serving life sentences. Over 100 were from the Gaza Strip, arrested after October 7, 2023, and were being held without trial.
Thirty prisoners, including three serving life sentences, were released for each of the hostages Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon, and 12 prisoners serving life sentences were released for Yarden Bibas.
In addition to the specified number of Paleostinian prisoners to be freed per released hostage, Israel has also agreed to release over 1,000 Gazook detainees over the course of the agreement’s implementation.
On Saturday, Israel freed 111 detainees who were detained by troops in the Gaza Strip but were not involved in the October 7 onslaught.
Of the 183 released in total, 150 were sent back to or deported to the Gaza Strip, 32 were released to the West Bank, and one was sent to Egypt.
Inmates being sent to the West Bank were released from Ofer Prison near Ramallah, the Israel Prison Service said, while other prisoners were freed from Ktzi’ot Prison in southern Israel and brought to the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Gaza, near the Egyptian border.
"Prison Service troops are acting to release Death Eaters in line with the diplomatic deal for the return of the hostages, in full coordination with all security services," the IPS said in a statement.
According to the Ynet news site, those released included Egyptian national Fareeq Barikat, tossed in the clink Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! for his role in a deadly suicide kaboom at an Eilat bakery in 2007, and Salim Awad, a Fatah member involved in the planning of a 2002 attack on the West Bank settlement of Homesh in which three Israelis were killed.
One of the most prominent Paleostinians released was Gaza aid worker Mohammed el-Halabi, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for funding the Hamas terror group in a high-profile case that drew criticism from rights groups.
El-Halabi had worked as the Paleostinian manager of the Gaza branch of World Vision, a major Christian aid organization.
He was arrested in 2016 and accused of diverting tens of millions of dollars to Hamas. Both el-Halabi, 47, and World Vision vigorously denied the allegations. No, no! Certainly not! Also among those released on Saturday was Shadi Amouri, a Fatah operative who was convicted of involvement in a June 2002 suicide kaboom on a bus near Megiddo in northern Israel which killed 17 Israelis, including 13 IDF soldiers, and injured over 40.
Amouri was sentenced to 17 life terms for his role in the attack.
Another Fatah operative released on Saturday was Ashraf Abu Srour, who was involved in the 2000 killing of IDF Sgt. Shahar Vekret. Abu Srour was at the time a member of the Paleostinian Authority security services.
Saturday’s releases take the number of Paleostinian prisoners set free under the ceasefire and hostage deal to 583.
’INDESCRIBABLE JOY’
Three buses carrying Paleostinian prisoners arrived to a cheerful crowd in the territory’s southern city of Khan Yunis on Saturday.
The prisoners, many wearing grey prison uniforms, were greeted by hundreds of Gazooks who gathered around the buses as they approached the city’s European Hospital, an AFP journalist reported.
Rabi al-Kharoubi, 40, who came to see their arrival said he felt "indescribable joy" at seeing them freed. "We are proud of them."
"I saw the shock in their eyes as they looked at Rafah and Khan Younis, destroyed, with piles of rubble and streets completely ruined," he added.
The prisoners were to undergo medical checks at the hospital before heading to their homes.
"In blood and spirit, we shall redeem you, prisoner!" chanted some in the crowd as the men left the buses one by one.
According to the Paleostinian Prisoners’ Club in Ramallah, 150 of the 183 detainees released on Saturday as part of the truce between Israel and Hamas were to be transferred to Gaza.
"This is a new day of victory for our people. Today, a new group of our heroes is being released, seeing freedom despite the occupation’s will," a Hamas official who did not wish to be identified told AFP.
’THESE CHILDREN ARE THE AMBASSADORS OF FREEDOM’
Stepping off a bus in Ramallah with two dozen other released prisoners on Saturday after 23 years imprisonment, Ata Abdelghani had more than his freedom to look forward to.
The 55-year-old was also to meet his twin sons, Zain and Zaid, for the first time.
The encounter was made possible by his release in an ongoing hostage-prisoner exchange as part of a January ceasefire deal for the Gaza Strip agreed by Israel and Hamas.
The twins, now 10 years old, were conceived while Abdelghani was incarcerated after his sperm was smuggled out of his prison.
He had been serving a life sentence on a number of counts including murder, according to a list released by the Paleostinian Prisoners’ Club in Ramallah.
"These children are the ambassadors of freedom, the future generation," Abdelghani said as he hugged the boys tightly.
"It’s hard to describe in words," Abdelghani said.
"My thoughts are scattered. I need a great deal of composure to control myself, to steady my nerves, to absorb this overwhelming moment."
He added that the situation in prison had been "difficult, tragic".
[IsraelTimes] Iran test-fired an anti-warship cruise missile with a range of 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) capable of reaching US Navy ships in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, Iranian state TV reports.
“This is a Ghadr-380 mile type L. It has over 1,000 kilometers range. It has anti-jamming capability,” said Gen. Ali Reza Tangsiri, the head of the navy of the Revolutionary Guard, in a report that shows an underground missile facility on the southern coast of Iran.
The report elaborates neither on the warhead that the missile carried, nor the time of the test.
Tangsiri said the facility is “only one part of the missile systems of the Guard,” adding that the missiles can create “a hell for the enemy’s warships.”
The report says the new weapon was a “sophisticated missile,” without elaborating, which could be launched from the underground facility. The missile was launched from central Iran into the Sea of Oman, it says.
It claims the missile can be made ready and launched by one member of personnel in less than five minutes.
Since 2011 Iran has occasionally announced the inauguration of underground missile facilities along with missile tests. It has boasted of underground facilities across the country as well as along the southern coast near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Iran claims to have missiles that can travel 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles), placing much of the Middle East, including Israel, within range.
#5
Gotta have spotters or GPS directional over that range.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/02/2025 16:23 Comments ||
Top||
#6
It interesting to see Grenell in the Armitage role of designated threatener.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/02/2025 17:20 Comments ||
Top||
#7
How to Speak Persians
It has over 1,000 kilometers range
It goes really far but has a CEP the size of North Africa. We will be lucky to hit the ocean.
It has anti-jamming capability
In the sense of having nothing to jam because the missile has no guidance. It flies to its target by the Will of Alan(bees pee upon him).
the new weapon was a “sophisticated missile
We finally got it working, praise be to Alan(more bees).
the missile can be made ready and launched by one member of personnel in less than five minutes
It is a solid fuel missle which means it is ready to go. There is only one button so it can be launched by any monkey with a thumb.
[IsraelTimes] State TV says base holds ‘hundreds of cruise missiles,’ which IRCG chief Salami asserts can ‘create hell for enemy vessels’
The naval arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unveiled a new underground missile facility on the south coast in footage aired by state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
Saturday, two weeks after unveiling an underground naval base.
"Hundreds of cruise missiles capable of countering enemy destroyers’ electronic warfare are stationed in these underground cities," the station said in its report.
"The systems are being kept hundreds of meters underground and can be operational in a very short time," it said, without giving an exact location of the base.
"These systems and missiles can be armed and fired from hundreds of kilometers away and can hit targets far out at sea."
IRGC chief General Hossein Salami toured the base with naval arm commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri.
The report also unveiled a new model of cruise missile dubbed Ghadr-380 which Tangsiri said had "anti-jamming capabilities" and a range of more than 1,000 kilometers (over 600 miles).
He said the new missiles could "create hell for enemy vessels."
Last month, the Guards unveiled an underground naval base for assault boats operating in Iran’s southern waters, which include the Gulf and the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
In early January, Iran’s armed forces began a series of exercises, dubbed Eqtedar (Might in Farsi), which are set to continue until mid-March.
The drills have included naval maneuvers that saw the unveiling of an advanced reconnaissance ship as well as exercises on safeguarding Iran’s nuclear facilities from attack by Israel or the United States.
The military exercises come as Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... waits to see what policy US President Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... will follow in his second term.
During his first term that ended in 2021, Trump pursued a policy of "maximum pressure" against Iran, withdrawing the United States from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and major powers, and reimposing biting sanctions.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/02/2025 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!...
...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party...
...46th president of the U.S. Sleazy Dem machine politician, paterfamilias of the Biden Crime Family...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
[Breitbart] 
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
..always the voice of sweet reason...
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
