Somali government has reportedly ordered military to take back the transitional administration's final stronghold from opposition fighters.
The country's soldiers started advancing towards the central town of Baidoa on Monday, after the government officials held talks in the southern town of Huduur to discuss the details of the move, a Press TV correspondent reported. The town, which is the seat of the Somali parliament, recently fell into the clutches of Al-Shabaab fighters.
The gunmen have been opposing the country's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) on behalf of their superiors -- the Union of Islamic Courts. Following the fall of Baidoa Somali lawmakers, gathered in neighboring Djibouti in an attempt to shape a unity government in the Horn of Africa country under a UN-brokered plan.
Earlier in the day, the UIC voiced its opposition to the lawmakers' Saturday election of popular opposition leader Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed as the country's new president. The fighters "see the result of the conference of conspiracy in Djibouti as one that does not concern us and we do not recognize it," said Sheik Muse Abdi Arale, a top UIC official, Xinhua reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11135 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic Courts
#1
PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUMS/TOPIX > ISLAMIC COURTS LEADER [alleged Islamist "moderate']WINS SOMALI PRESIDENCY + ISLAMIST RADICAL LEADER IS ELECTED PRESIDENT OF SOMALIA.
Terror suspects being held under Britain's house arrest-style detention program are in contact with extremists and plan to carry out attacks in future, the lawyer responsible for overseeing the country's terror laws said Tuesday.
Britain's Home Office said 15 terror suspects are being held under the regime, which monitors suspects who are considered a risk to national security but have not been charged with a criminal offense. Suspects must observe strict curfews, wear an electronic tag and can be banned from using cell phones and the Internet.
Lord Alex Carlile, who oversees Britain's terrorism laws, said that though suspects can be banned from meeting certain individuals, some are still in touch with known extremists.
Some suspects are able to dodge checks and "manage to maintain some contact with terrorist associates ... and a determination to become operational in the future," Carlile said in an annual report published Tuesday. "For some people, these measures simply aren't doing the job, while for others, they violate the basic legal principle that we are innocent until proven guilty," Chris Huhne, a lawmaker with the opposition Liberal Democrat Party said.
Carlile said that the number of people held under the program had risen since last February, when around 12 suspects were being monitored. He said that since the program was introduced in 2005, a total of 38 people have been held — 23 of whom have been released or deported out of Britain.
Posted by: ed ||
02/03/2009 14:27 ||
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#1
PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM POSTERS > BRITAIN in time will prob become a MUSLIM-MAJORITY COUNTRY, WHILE INDIA WILL HAVE HUGE MUSLIM POPULATION OF 300-500MILYUHN???
#5
SPACEWAR > OFFICER: EUROPE COLD BE WITHIN IRANIAN BALLISTIC MISSLE RANGE[ditto for Southern Russia + West China = aka ISLAMIST MILIT-TERR contested areas]???
#6
The base adds $150M each year to the economy, including $60M rent. That's 3% of GDP (was 5% a few poorer years ago). To jeopardize that income stream, and possibilities of supplying increased forces in Afghanistan, for $150m, a loan and a Bear hug is penny wise, pound foolish.
Posted by: ed ||
02/03/2009 21:32 Comments ||
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North Korea says it would not dismantle its nuclear facilities unless South Korea's nuclear establishments and arms deals are inspected. A spokesman for the North's General Chief of Staff said Monday that "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula does not only mean Pyongyang's disarmament, but should also include verification of nuclear facilities in South Korea," the state's official KRT TV reported.
North Korea demanded inspectors probe the South to make sure it is not harboring US atomic arms and verify the alleged nuclear facilities, as Pyongyang claims Washington has armed the state with nuclear weapons after the 1950-53 Korean War.
After the war ended in a ceasefire rather that a peace treaty, he said the North and the South remained in a state of war and it was "a shameless act of imprudence," to believe that one side would willingly disarm. "As long as there is not any nuclear dismantlement in the South to clear nuclear threats from the United States, dismantlement to remove our nuclear arms won't materialize," the spokesman said amid stalled disarmament talks.
In 2003, the six-nation talks, involving North Korea, South Korea, Russia, Japan, China and the United States, were launched to persuade North Korea into giving up its controversial nuclear program. The six-nation deal signed in 2007, offered energy aid to North Korea in exchange for the dismantling of Pyongyang's nuclear plants and the handover of its nuclear weapons and material.
The talks, however, faced deadlock after North Korea refused to accept a system to verify its nuclear activities, arguing that the states should be given the chance to verify that US nuclear weapons have been withdrawn from South Korea.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[11132 views]
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#1
FREEREPUBLIC > REUTERS.UK - SCENARIOS: WILL NORTH KOREA LAUNCH A WAR [T-2 Ballistic missle lauunch]?
#2
I'm not sure that word 'Nuclear" means what you think it means. Long will you glow.
Posted by: Rednek Jim ||
02/03/2009 19:39 Comments ||
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#3
WORLD MIL FORUM [Chin = GOOGLE Chinglish translation] > IN POST-KIM COLLAPSE OF NORTH KOREA, US MUST SECURE NORTH KOREA'S BALLISTIC MISSLES, 6-8 NUCLEAR BOMBS/WEAPONS, NUCLEAR MATERIALS, AND APPROXIMATELY 4000 TONS OF CHEMICAL WARFARE, OTHER WMD STOCKS. THREE GENER PHASES FOR POST-KIM/COLLAPSE NOKOR NATIONAL STABILITY, RECOVERY, AND DEMOCRATIZATION - FAILURE OF ORDERLY SUCCESSION COULD LEAD TO NEW REGIONAL WAR AMONG COALITION MEMBER NATIONS, FOOD- AND LARGE-SCALE HUMANITARIAN CRISES.
* WORST-CASE SCENARIO FOR US > MAY REQUIRE UP TO 1.3MILYUHN US, US-ALLIED TROOPS, NOT 460,000 [3X more]???
The alleged computer handiwork of a Quebec man accused of disseminating terrorist propaganda and playing a part in an overseas bomb plot was put on display at the opening of his terrorism trial Monday. Said Namouh, 36, is facing four terrorism-related charges including conspiracy, participating in a terrorist act, facilitating such an act and committing extortion for a terrorist group.
The Crown contends that Namouh is a member of the Global Islamic Media Front, an organization involved in propaganda and jihad recruitment and described as a media tool for al-Qaida. They say Namouh put the final touches on some instructional and propaganda videos broadcast on the Internet.
An RCMP investigator itemizing hundreds of files found on Namouh's computer played three of the videos found on the hard drive. Mike Sforza, an RCMP computer-crimes specialist, played two instructional videos put together by Namouh detailing how to transfer files to a website and a how-to video using a Global Islamic Media Front program to encrypt messages. The program is called "Mujahedeen Secrets." The officer also displayed a video purportedly created by Namouh detailing the capture of three American soldiers in Iraq entitled "The Romans and Apostates Hell in Mesopotamia."
Crown prosecutor Dominique Dudemaine told court he will present a wide range of audio, video and chat transcripts from jihadist forums. There will also be records of money transfers Namouh allegedly received from a suspect in Austria and an inventory of Namouh's computer. Authorities claim the Moroccan native had ties to the Global Islamic Media Front, which was plotting terror attacks in Germany and Austria.
The Crown also alleges Namouh is responsible for publishing propaganda videos following the kidnapping of BBC journalist Alan Johnston in Gaza in March 2007 by a group known as the Army of Islam.
Dudemaine says his team will have to prove that both groups are terrorist organizations as neither appears on Canada's list of terrorist organizations -- but even so, there is a link between both groups and al-Qaida. "All of this constitutes terrorist activities to create propaganda and recruitment for the benefit of al-Qaida," Dudemaine said.
Namouh is accused of conspiring with an Austrian man, Mohammed Mahmoud, described as a leader of the Global Islamic Media Front. The initial charge against Namouh was to have conspired in 2007 "for the purpose of delivering, placing, discharging or detonating an explosive in a place outside Canada" with Mahmoud. The terrorism charges were subsequently added.
CENTCOM commander General David Petraeus, supported by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, tried to convince President Barack Obama that he had to back down from his campaign pledge to pullout all US combat troops from Iraq within 18 months at an Oval Office meeting on January 21, sources have said. But Obama informed Gates, Petraeus and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen that he wasn't convinced and wanted Gates and the military leaders to come back quickly with a detailed 16-month plan, according to two sources who have talked with participants in the meeting.
Obama's decision to override Petraeus' recommendation has not ended the conflict between the president and senior military officers over troop withdrawal, however. There are indications that Petraeus and his allies in the military and the Pentagon, including General Ray Odierno, now the top commander in Iraq, have already begun to try to pressure Obama to change his withdrawal policy.
A network of senior military officers is also reported to be preparing to support Petraeus and Odierno by mobilizing public opinion against Obama's decision.
Petraeus was visibly unhappy when he left the Oval Office, according to one of the sources. A White House staffer present at the meeting was quoted by the source as saying: "Petraeus made the mistake of thinking he was still dealing with George Bush instead of with Barack Obama."
Petraeus, Gates and Odierno had hoped to sell Obama on a plan that they formulated in the final months of the Bush administration that aimed at getting around a key provision of the US-Iraqi withdrawal agreement by re-categorizing large numbers of combat troops as support troops. That subterfuge was formulated by the United States last November while ostensibly allowing Obama to deliver on his campaign promise.
Gates and Mullen had discussed the relabeling scheme with Obama as part of the Petraeus-Odierno plan for withdrawal they had presented to him in mid-December, according to a December 18 New York Times story.
Obama decided against making any public reference to his order to the military to draft a detailed 16-month combat-troop withdrawal policy, apparently so that he can announce his decision only after consulting with his field commanders and the Pentagon.
The first clear indication of the intention of Petraeus, Odierno and their allies to try to get Obama to amend his decision came on January 29 when the New York Times published an interview with Odierno, ostensibly based on the premise that Obama had indicated that he was "open to alternatives."
The Times reported that Odierno had "developed a plan that would move slower than Mr. Obama's campaign timetable" and had suggested in an interview "it might take the rest of the year to determine exactly when United States forces could be drawn down significantly."
The opening argument by the Petraeus-Odierno faction against Obama's withdrawal policy was revealed the evening of the January 21 meeting when retired army General Jack Keane, one of the authors of the Bush troop-surge policy and a close political ally and mentor of Petraeus, appeared on the "Lehrer News Hour" to comment on Obama's pledge on Iraq combat troop withdrawal.
Keane, who had certainly been briefed by Petraeus on the outcome of the Oval Office meeting, argued that implementing such a withdrawal of combat troops would "increase the risk rather dramatically over the 16 months."
He asserted that it would jeopardize the "stable political situation in Iraq" and called that risk "not acceptable."
The assertion that Obama's withdrawal policy threatens the gains allegedly won by the Bush troop surge and Petraeus' strategy in Iraq will apparently be the theme of the campaign that military opponents are now planning.
Keane, the army vice chief of staff from 1999-03, has ties to a network of active and retired four-star army generals, and since Obama's January 21 order on the 16-month withdrawal plan, some of the retired four-star generals in that network have begun discussing a campaign to blame Obama's troop withdrawal from Iraq for the ultimate collapse of the political "stability" that they expect to follow the US withdrawal, according to a military source familiar with the network's plans.
The source says the network, which includes senior active-duty officers in the Pentagon, will begin making the argument to journalists covering the Pentagon that Obama's withdrawal policy risks an eventual collapse in Iraq. That would raise the political cost to Obama of sticking to his withdrawal policy.
If Obama does not change the policy, according to the source, they hope to have planted the seeds of a future political narrative blaming his withdrawal policy for the "collapse" they expect in an Iraq without US troops.
That line seems likely to appeal to reporters covering the Iraq troop-withdrawal issue. Ever since Obama's inauguration, media coverage of the issue has treated Obama's 16-month withdrawal proposal as a concession to anti-war sentiment which will have to be adjusted to the "realities" as defined by the advice to Obama from Gates, Petraeus and Odierno.
Ever since he began working on the troop surge, Keane has been the central figure manipulating policy in order to keep as many US troops in Iraq as possible. It was Keane who got Vice President Dick Cheney to push for Petraeus as top commander in Iraq in late 2006 when the existing commander, General George W. Casey, did not support the troop surge.
It was Keane who protected Petraeus' interests in ensuring the maximum number of troops in Iraq against the efforts by other military leaders to accelerate troop withdrawal in 2007 and 2008. As Bob Woodward reported in "The War Within," Keane persuaded Bush to override the concerns of the Joint Chiefs of Staff about the stress of prolonged US occupation of Iraq on the US Army and Marine Corps as well as its impact on the worsening situation in Afghanistan.
Bush agreed in September 2007 to guarantee that Petraeus would have as many troops as he needed for as long as wanted, according to Woodward's account.
Keane had also prevailed on Gates in April 2008 to make Petraeus the new commander of CENTCOM. Keane argued that keeping Petraeus in the field was the best insurance against a Democratic administration reversing the Bush policy toward Iraq.
Keane had operated on the assumption that a Democratic president would probably not take the political risk of rejecting Petraeus' recommendation on the pace of troop withdrawal from Iraq. Woodward quotes Keane as telling Gates: "Let's assume we have a Democratic administration and they want to pull this thing out quickly, and now they have to deal with General Petraeus and General Odierno. There will be a price to be paid to override them."
Obama told Petraeus in Baghdad last July that if elected, he would regard the overall health of the US Army and Marine Corps and the situation in Afghanistan as more important than Petraeus' obvious interest in maximizing US troop strength in Iraq, according to Time magazine's Joe Klein.
But judging from Petraeus' shock at Obama's January 21 decision, he had not taken Obama's previous rejection of his arguments seriously. That miscalculation suggests that Petraeus had begun to accept Keane's assertion that a newly elected Democratic president would not dare to override his policy recommendation on troops in Iraq.
#2
ION TOPIX > SOUTH KOREA: NORTH KOREA IS PREPARING TO [test]LAUNCH AN INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSLE [LR ICBM], one that is potens capable of effectively hitting the West Coast of CONUS-NORAM???
#4
A White House staffer present at the meeting was quoted by the source as saying: "Petraeus made the mistake of thinking he was still dealing with George Bush instead of with Barack Obama."
This sounds like leftist anti-military triumphalism.
Petreaus should publicly and noisily resign rather than act against the best interests of the nation and the military.
#5
"Petraeus made the mistake of thinking he was still dealing with George Bush instead of with Barack Obama."
Blustering, arrogant, leftest bastards. None of them would make a pimple on the general's backside. General Petraeus will not abide much of this I can assure you. We'll lose him over it.
#6
"PetraeusThe American people made the mistake of thinking he was still dealing with electing Barack ObamaGeorge Bush instead of Barack ObamaJohn McCain."
#7
PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUMS/TOPIX > US PENTAGON CHIEFS TELL POTUS OBAMA: US MUST ROOT OUT/DESTROY PAKISTANI MILITANT HAVENS.
* SAME > US-NATO SUPPLIES IS SHRINKING IN AFGHANISTAN [RUSSIA Access denial, Closure of US AirBase in Krgyzstan]
READ - IFF RUSSIA + IRAN, ETC. REFUSE TO ALLOW LOCAL TRANSIT FOR US-NATO RESUPPLY INTO AFGHAN-PAK, THE US-NATO WILL BE FORCED TO MIL ATTACK AND INVADE IRAN.
#8
I've a family member who spent a considerable amount of time working with the Good General in Iraq. He says the same as Besoeker. If Barry goes ahead with the premature withdrawal, the general will not be around for it.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
02/03/2009 22:16 Comments ||
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long report at the link. Among other recommendations: create a congressional intelligence appropriations committee & peel intel budget out of DOD. Focus hard on Pakistan, Iran, NorK. Strengthen IAEA and "forge an international consensus that no new states, including Iran and North Korea" be allowed to possess uranium - enrichment or plutonium - reprocessing programs. Notes the growing danger of chem and bio WMD.
conclusion: "Unless urgent preventative action is taken, a terrorist attack involving a WMD - nuclear, biological, chemical or radiological - is more likely than not to occur somewhere in the world in the next five years."
The Turkish immigrant who supplied the map of Fort Dix in a terror plot to attack the Army base wants to fire his attorney, saying his appointed counsel did not honor his requests to testify or accept a plea deal before trial. Serdar Tatar, formerly of Cherry Hill, wrote the letter dated Jan. 22 to U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler, who presided over the case of the Fort Dix Five late last year and is scheduled to sentence the men in April.
Tatar and his co-defendants were convicted Dec. 22 of conspiracy to kill members of the U.S. military after an eight-week federal trial. They were acquitted of attempted murder. All face life in prison.
The letter is one in a series of notes the men, all foreign-born Muslims who grew up in South Jersey, have sent to the judge since their May 2007 arrest. At least three of the convicted men have written to Kugler, all proclaiming their innocence, since the jury returned its verdict. Also, the judge has received letters in recent weeks from family members of the men.
In the most recent letter, Tatar raises an ineffective assistance of counsel argument and alleges that he was "unduly prejudiced" by the representation of attorney Richard Sparaco. Sparaco and four other prominent South Jersey attorneys were assigned to the case to represent the men in their more than $2-million, government-funded defense. The judge praised their work at the end of the trial.
Tatar, writing from the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, tells the judge he wanted to testify in his own defense, but couldn't because the attorney was unprepared. "I was absolutely prepared and testifying was something we discussed and the decision not to was made for many, many reasons I cannot discuss," Sparaco said Monday.
Tatar also said he would have accepted a plea deal in the case, but is quick not to admit guilt. "Although, I maintain my innocence and continue to maintain my innocence, I wanted to mitigate the risk of conviction by entering into a plea and proffer agreement with the government," he wrote.
Sparaco said there were plea discussions. "But, there was no real offer," he said. "It was plead guilty and face possible life in prison."
Tatar took a map from his father's former Cookstown pizzeria, which served Fort Dix, and gave it to a government informant who said he was looking to make the United States pay for something it did to him. He later told a Philadelphia police officer he thought the man was involved in a terrorism plot. When questioned by the FBI, Tatar, who already was under investigation, denied giving the informant the map.
Sparaco said Monday he will continue to represent Tatar until the judge tells him otherwise, saying the letter was "pretty routine from someone facing life in prison." Sparaco was the first of the five defense attorneys to ask the judge to overturn his client's conviction or schedule a new trial after the verdict. Those motions are pending.
#1
when your counsel is free and you are guilty you can't bitch too much but it seems these imported militants think our justice system is a catch and release system. wonder where they got that from
Jamaat-e-Islami NWFP chief Sirajul Haq has criticised President Asif Ali Zardari for not conducting an investigation into Benazir Bhutto murder case.
"The request to the United Nations for probe into Benazir Bhutto murder case shows mistrust in the national institutions," he told a public meeting in Nari Panoos area here Sunday. The Jamaat-e-Islami leader said the rulers should strengthen the country's own institutions instead of seeking help from others. He said some people were causing disunity among people by raising the issues of 'Sindhi, Balochi, Punjabi and Pathans' while some were promoting sectarianism by raising the slogans of Barelvi and Deobandi schools of thought.
Siraj also came down hard on the government for launching operation in Swat, saying that innocent people were being killed. "The PPP and ANP must quit power if they cannot protect people," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[11135 views]
Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
#1
Nothing to fear Siraj. All the evidence has been washed away and witnesses silenced.
Posted by: ed ||
02/03/2009 21:38 Comments ||
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Chief of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) Allama Ali Sher Hyderi was injured in a road accident here in Matyari on Sunday. He was on his way to Hyderabad from Khairpur when his double cabin vehicle turned turtle due to tyre burst. Hafiz Khalil Ahmed, Muhammad Ishaque, Abdul Samad, Ismail and Liaquat, who were accompanying him, also sustained injuries. They were rushed to a Hyderabad hospital where doctors described the condition of Hyderi as stable.
Meanwhile, a local Zamindar was kidnapped by six unidentified men from village Khuriri of Setharija town.
This article starring:
ABDUL SAMAD
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
ALLAMA ALI SHER HYDERI
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
HAFIZ KHALIL AHMED
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
MUHAMAD ISHAQUE
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[11127 views]
Top|| File under: Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Qazi Hussain Ahmed on Sunday gave a call for a shutter-down strike across the country on February 5 to express solidarity with people of Kashmir.
Addressing a news conference here at the residence of Mian Muhammad Aslam, Qazi said all the governments had failed on diplomatic fronts to highlight the Kashmir issue in its true spirit and to respond to India's propaganda in this connection.He thanked the successive governments for supporting the JI's stance of observing February 5 as the Kashmir Solidarity Day since 1990.
"I call upon the people all over the country to participate in the activities being organised to express solidarity with the Kashmiri people," he said. He said the government needed to review its Kashmir policy and give a befitting response to India for its worldwide
propaganda on the issue. He regretted that India had not moved an inch from its illegitimate stance while Pakistan had presented various options for the settlement of the dispute.
He said the Pakistan government should also explain the history of Kashmir to the world leaders and the youth. Qazi said the doors for any improvement in relations with India would open only once it accepted Kashmir as a disputed territory.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[11131 views]
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Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Sunday said Pakistan has completed investigation into the Mumbai attacks and would soon formally respond to the Indian dossier. Addressing a press conference here at the PM House, after returning from Davos where he represented Pakistan at the World Economic Forum, Gilani said there was tremendous pressure of the Indian public on its government causing bitterness in the ties between the two countries. He said Pakistan always desired better ties with India and pointed that it enjoys cordial ties with Iran and Afghanistan. Â"I assure the world, the media and the government and people of India that the dossier has been investigated and has been forwarded to ministry of law and justice and after their approval I will take you in confidence.Â" The Prime Minister when asked about the statement by PakistanÂ's ambassador to United Kingdom regarding the Mumbai probe, said Â"at times people are not performing their duties but are doing duties of others.Â" He said he has already instructed his ministers not to interfere in matters related to others amd maintained, he was very strict about it and said he sought an explanation from PakistanÂ's High Commissioner to UK Wajid Shamsul Hassan and was satisfied with his response.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[11130 views]
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Former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Hamid Gul says Islamabad should not hesitate to use nuclear weapons against New Delhi.
"It is the matter of country's defense and existence, therefore, Pakistan should never be hesitant to use its atomic capabilities if need arises," a Press TV correspondent quoted Gul as saying on Sunday.
The ex-ISI chief who was speaking at the "Defense of Pakistan" conference held in Islamabad added that Pakistan's inferior military might would trigger the need for the use of nuclear weapons.
Gul further hinted that India had deployed 26 intelligence officers in restive Swat Valley and Kurram Agency in northwestern Pakistan, disguised as Taliban militants.
"It will not be easy for US and India to launch an attack on Pakistan as they are bound to face various challenges," he said, arguing that Islamabad has several other options as well.
Regarding the deployment of 20,000 US troops in Afghanistan along Pakistan's border areas, Gull said that Pakistan should ask the US to set a timeframe for the troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Tension mounted between the two nuclear-armed neighbors after a series of ten coordinated terror attacks rocked India's largest city of Mumbai in late November.
India holds Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Taiba responsible for the attacks that left 170 people - including 22 foreigners - killed and 300 more injured.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[11126 views]
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#1
See also WAFF > HINDU LEADERS FOR "RELIGIOUS" INDIA [non-SECULARIST]; + INDIAN CATHOLIC GROUP ATTACKED BY HUNDREDS OF HINDU RADICALS ON ISLAND [going home from cross-river Parish/Church loc on MAJULI Island]. WARNED MAY BE HARMED OR KILLED UNLESS THEY STOP PROSELYTYZING/WORSHIPPING IN "LAND OF THE HINDU"???, + BANGLADESHI MILITANT GROUP IMPLICATED IN MUMBAI ATTACKS.
#2
ION "AEMRICAN TRAP", WORLD MIL FORUM > VIETNAM WAR-ERA US IMPERIALISM PROVED: DECLASSIFIED US NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY [NSA]INTEL DOCUMENTS REVEAL US HAD INDEED FAKED THE GULF OF TONKIN INCIDENT, AND THAT "VIETNAM PEOPLE's ARMY" NVA INTEL OPERATIVES [US Govt-Military Traitors]NOT ONLY SUCCESSFULLY PENETRATED AND COMPROMISED US MACV COMMAND-N-CONTROL NETWORK IN VIETNAM, BUT WERE ABLE TO ORDER USAF BOMBING ATTACKS AGZ NORTH VIETNAM OVER SEVERAL US STRATEGIC AIR CAMPAIGNS [anti-US Media-World PYWAR]???
#3
HMMMMMMM, by the above it infers that the NVA = Commies indir controlled the USAF's + SAC's [Guam's AAFB] "ARC LIGHT" + LINEBACKER, etc. AIROPS AGZ NORTH VIETNAM + VIETCONG [COSVN], NOT THE USDOAF, USDOD-Pentagon, nor even the NCA + US Congresscritters???
Posted by: ed ||
02/03/2009 13:21 Comments ||
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#9
India is developing a layered ABM system that can absorb just about everything Pakistan tosses it, and has the capability of turning most of Pakistan to that yukky green glass state, and Pakistan is rattling sabers. What is it about Islam that destroys all capability for critical thinking?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/03/2009 13:49 Comments ||
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Maj. Gen. Andy Salmon, the British commander of multinational forces in southeastern Iraq, said on Monday that his forces will end their missions by the end of May and will be ready to leave the country as of next July.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[11127 views]
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#1
funny, i thought they had withdrawn in all but name much earlier
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
02/03/2009 1:14 Comments ||
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#2
me too, no disrespect too any of their servicemen and women but more aimed at their politicos, you can go ahead and leave now thanks for all that you haven't done
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki appeared to strengthen his standing in several key areas of the country, while an Arab party edged toward control of a contested northern province, according to party officials reviewing preliminary results from Saturday's Iraq elections.
If Maliki's allies prevail, it would place his Dawa Party in a commanding position, strengthening it relative to other partners in the current government.
Leaders of the Sunni Arab al-Hadba-a party, meanwhile, said Monday the group had won roughly 60 percent of the vote in Nineveh Province, which is currently controlled by Kurds. Representatives of the Kurdish bloc acknowledged that preliminary results suggest they will get no more than a dozen of slots on the 37-seat provincial council.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Ihab Issa says he cannot take any more war in the aftermath of Israel's onslaught against the Gaza Strip and swears that he will not be voting in Israel's February 10 general election. The 28-year-old restaurant owner is one of 1.4 million Palestinian-Israelis Arab-Israelis living in Israel, caught between a Palestinian identity, a militarized Jewish state and calls from prominent politicians for their "transfer" - the Israeli term of art for transferring Arab villages to the Palestinian Territories for equal acreage of Israeli communities beyond the Green Line - an Israeli euphemism for ethnic cleansing - off ancestral lands.
Palestinian-Israelis Arab-Israelis, descendants of the 160,000 Palestinians who did not run away who were not ethnically cleansed from their lands by a Zionist terror campaign during the creation of Israel in 1948, now make up 20 percent of the population. But such a potentially powerful vote bank has been split by a proliferation of feuding parties.
For this election, however, Palestinian-Israeli Arab-Israeli politicians are daring to hope for the better, now that the supreme court has overturned a ban on their top two coalitions for allegedly failing to recognize Israel's right to exist. "We feel we are facing a real threat to our physical existence. In 30 years we might be 45-50 percent of the total population - a demographic time bomb for Israel," says Sheikh Ibrahim Sarsour, who heads the United Arab Party and the moderate Islamist movement in Israel, at his office in Kfar Qasem, a Palestinian-Israeli Arab-Israeli town overlooking Israel's coastal belt.
One leading proponent of ethnic cleansing is Avigdor Lieberman and his rising Yisrael Beitenu party, tipped to win up to 16 seats and possibly join the next coalition government. But even Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who heads the ruling Kadima party, has urged Palestinian-Israelis Arab-Israelis to join a future Palestinian state, sparking uproar in the community.
The Palestinian-Israeli Arab-Israeli turnout has dwindled from 90 percent in the 1950s to 62 percent in 2003 and 56 percent in 2006 - and some 30 percent of those voted for Zionist parties. Wait... what?!? 30% support the Zionists?!?!?!?
"We are all working hard to better that percentage," Sarsour says with an eye on 12 to 15 Palestinian-Israeli Arab-Israeli MPs, which would be a significant increase on the nine in today's 120-seat Knesset or Parliament. Despite the growing concern, efforts to unite the main blocs in a single list of Palestinian-Israeli Arab-Israeli candidates failed, largely over personality issues.
Worse still, the Sons of the Homeland (Abna al-Balad) party has joined the hard-line Islamist movement in calling for a boycott of the ballot - a potential loss of around 10 percent of the electorate.
High in the hills at Umm al-Fahm - the main center of hard-line Islam in Israel -Afo Egbarieh sees depression all around. The senior Hadash communist party figure says the election is being held "in the shadow of war." "You can see it everywhere. People are depressed ... indifferent," says Egbarieh, who is number four on the coalition called the Arab Democratic Front for Peace and Equality. The front is fighting under the slogan "Protect our existence, build our future," but the doctor says he is concerned that "people are dealing with war as a protest, by not voting."
#2
You know I've been reading Iliad & Odyssey to my son (children version---he's only 3) for a last couple of weeks (it's his favorite book at present) and suddenly it struck me that "Odysseus and the suitors" (Ithaca = Land of Israel) is a perfect allegory for the solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
#3
Wait... what?!? 30% support the Zionists?!?!?!?
I'd guess most of them Zionists™ are either Christians, or homosexuals, or any other cateogry of "not arab/muslim" enuff to live happily ever after in the paleo Califate...
#5
You know I've been reading Iliad & Odyssey to my son (children version---he's only 3) ...
He'll be 15 when you finish.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/03/2009 13:56 Comments ||
Top||
#6
You're gonna have a smart kid! My nephew is 3 years-old, and his mom shows him "Little Einstein"(tm) videos. It's awesome to hear the kid say things like "My favorite composer is Tchaikovsky!"
#9
You're gonna have a smart kid! My nephew is 3 years-old, and his mom shows him "Little Einstein"(tm) videos. It's awesome to hear the kid say things like "My favorite composer is Tchaikovsky!"
#10
Hummm... well, Ima remember one of my kidz did have a huge interest in houseflies at that age. I learned later he though they were raisins, thought the sticky paper was some sorta serving arrangement.
Turkey's role in mediating the Israeli-Arab conflict has been compromised by its leader's repeated censure of Israel's recent offensive in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli government official said Monday. "He won't mediate anything any more," the official said. "His stint as mediator between Israel and the Arabs is over, that's for sure. He won't be accepted as an honest broker by Israel at all."
The official said no official decision had to be taken, but that Israeli leaders spoke about Erdogan in such a way that made it clear they did not have faith in him as a mediator. Any Israel discontent is directed at Erdogan personally, and should not be misconstrued as a rupture with Turkey, whose cooperation Israel values, he added.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned the cabinet against deepening the schism with Turkey, a key Israeli ally. "[I'm] very concerned by [ministers'] behavior in public on the subject of Turkey," Olmert said. "Our relations with Turkey are important, and I recommend that we don't intensify our statements on the subject."
"We attach importance to our relations with Israel and we want to preserve those relations," Cemil Cicek, Turkey's deputy prime minister, told a news conference on Monday. "Turkey is not targeting Israel or its people. We have been expressing concern over the killing of civilians and human tragedy in Gaza."
The Turkish military, which suspects Erdogan's government wants to erode Turkish secularism, indicated that it, too, was interested in preserving the two countries' ties. "The rule is to act according to national interests in bilateral military relations with all countries," Brig. Gen. Metin Gurak, the military spokesman, said Friday when asked if military ties might be cut.
Meanwhile, Turkey's Jewish community yesterday denied a report that a local synagogue had been set ablaze by vandals. "The reports published in foreign media organs saying that a synagogue in the northwestern part of Turkey was set ablaze are not correct," the Turkish Jewish community said in a written statement delivered to the Web site of the Turkish paper Hurriyet.
Earlier yesterday, sources within the Turkish Jewish community had said that vandals set a synagogue in northwest Turkey ablaze on Sunday. No one was reported as wounded in the alleged attack, which supposedly took place in the city of Bursa. Nor were there any reports on the extent of property damage, if any.
The Bursa synagogue was shut to daily services after the city's Jewish community shrank over the past few decades. Sunday's attack, if it indeed occurred, was the first such incident to take place in Turkey following Israel's Operation Cast Lead.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
The Bursa synagogue was shut to daily services after the city's Jewish community shrank over the past few decades.
Where did they all go? I have some reading to do, I see.
#2
See also WAFF > TODAY'S ZAMAN OP-EDS > HOW LIKELY IS A [democratic-consensual]PARTITION OF TURKEY [post-KOSOVAR International recognition]?, + IS TURKEY PARTING WAYS WITH EUROPE?
Just over a week before Israel holds elections to choose a new government, the outcome of the war in the Gaza Strip has emerged as a central issue in the campaign, with the candidates sparring over whether the massive military operation went far enough.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
It's not war its a campaign in a war that started 1400 years ago.
A senior Israeli official says Tel Aviv is likely to reject an arms order by Ankara after the Turkish prime minister's Davos remarks.
An Israeli defense ministry official told The Jerusalem Post that several Turkish requests for purchasing advanced military platforms, which were recently submitted to the Defense Ministry will need to be reviewed due to the change in political ties.
"Just like we don't sell advanced military platforms to Jordan and Egypt, we may decide not to sell to Turkey," the official told the daily.
The official, however, did not reveal what new military platforms Turkey had requested.
The relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv began to strain after Turkish officials started criticizing Israel's 23-day war in the Gaza Strip. The tension between the two side reached its peak after Erdogan stormed out of the Davos forum in front of Israeli President Shimon Peres and UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
Before marching off the stage, Erdogan had said that Israel committed "barbarian" acts in Gaza, and had lashed out at the audience for applauding Peres's remarks made in defense of the war.
Turkey and Israel had a strong partnership in military equipment and arms deals. The trade volume between Ankara and Tel Aviv was at USD 2.6 billion in 2007 and some suggest that USD 1.8 billion of the sum was attributed to military equipment trade.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Alternatively, Turkish Army can deal with that muzzy mutt & his pals.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday proposed the construction of a 48-kilometer long tunnel that would connect the northern Gaza Strip with the southern West Bank, thus enabling freedom of movement between the two disjointed Palestinian territories.
While stumping on the campaign trail before students at Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva, Barak said it was possible to dig the tunnel, which would remain under Israeli sovereignty while the Palestinians would maintain authority over the corridor's traffic. The defense minister and Labor Party chairman said the project would cost between $2-3 billion, "a reasonable sum."
Barak devoted a significant portion of his statements to politics, criticizing his main rival in the upcoming parliamentary election Kadima. "What new politics is Kadima bringing us?" Barak said. "Kadima was unable to remake itself and so it will be unable to remake the entire country. The question is not who speaks more eloquently but who is capable of getting things done."
Barak also slammed Vice Premier Haim Ramon, "who was convicted in court of embarassing crimes and even asked during a cabinet meeting to establish a commission of inquiry to probe his investigators all the while they are investigating the prime minister."
Earlier, Barak laid into rival prime ministerial hopefuls Tzipi Livni and Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday over years of inaction in the face of Gaza rocket fire.
"All of these critics were in decision-making positions and Hamas never received such a blow as this. After eight years of [rocket] fire from the Strip, I arrived and gave the IDF an order to batter Hamas, with deeds and not words," said Barak, referring to Israel's recent offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
Livni, the foreign minister and Kadima party chairwoman, has been a senior cabinet member for much of the period mentioned by Barak. Netanyahu, the Likud chairman and current opposition leader, also held senior a senior position under former prime minister Ariel Sharon during the years of cross-border attacks.
Barak continued: "It's understood that we're in a period of elections, and every morning at the start of the cabinet meeting ministers wander around in front of the media, lashing out, rejoicing and announcing - [and] Hamas hears this as well."
His comments clashed with statements on Sunday by Livni who said that, if necessary, Israel would mount a new offensive in the Gaza Strip to choke off cross-border rocket fire.
"Those who need to plan the operations are the best people in the country, who understand better than a large number of the ministers - the members of the defense establishment and the IDF General Staff," the defense minister added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I had to look twice to make sure this wasn't from The Onion. I much prefer the idea of a canal from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea. But I suppose a tunnel that could be converted to big water pipe would work.
Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal on Monday praised Iran for playing a big role in helping Hamas during Israel's offensive in Gaza. Meshaal met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday during a visit to thank the country for its support. Mashaal told Ahmadinejad that Iran played a role in what he called the "victory of Gaza's people" in the war with Israel, according to Iran's state TV. Ahmadinejad warned Israel could be plotting to launch another invasion of Gaza. On Sunday, Israel threatened a harsh response to more rocket fire from Gaza.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#2
TOPIX/ISRAELFORUM > HAMAS OFFERS ISRAEL ONE-YEAR CEASEFIRE TRUCE [weirdly and mysteriously at same time as POTUS OBAMA may send home to CONUS bulk of US troops currently in Iraq]; + ISRAEL DEMANDS DEADLINES ON IRAN ANTI-NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS/TALKS [wid you-know-what-to-hit-the-fan OPEN-ENDED MILPOL OPTIONS AGZ IRAN IFF DIPLOMACY FAILS]???
Hamas reiterates that the resistance movement favors a truce deal that envisages the opening of all border-crossings into the Gaza Strip. Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesperson for Hamas, said on Monday that the movement would agree to a one-year truce in and around the Gaza Strip provided the territory's border-crossings are opened.
Where is Fawzi? Cowering in Damascus?
"We agree in principle with a one-year truce," Barhoum said adding that Hamas has not ruled out an 18-month truce proposed by the Egyptian mediators. "Whether one year or a year and a half, it must be linked to the opening of all crossing points, including Rafah, and the lifting of the (Israeli) blockade," he said.
A Hamas delegation was due to travel to Cairo on Monday to present its response to the Egyptian proposals, Barhoum said.
Ahead of the final round of talks, Sami Abu Zuhri, another spokesman of the movement said Hamas will base its final decision on the Cairo talks.
Even though a ceasefire has been announced, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has not efficiently improved due to the 19-month blockade Israel has imposed on the coastal strip. As a result of the siege the crossings into Gaza remain closed and humanitarian aid entering the besieged strip remains below the minimum necessary for survival.
This article starring:
Fawzi Barhoum
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Hamas political chief Khaled Mashaal says that the resistance of the Palestinians brought Israel to its knees in the Gaza Strip.
Israel failed to topple the democratically-elected government of Hamas and was unsuccessful in achieving any of its other objectives, Mashaal told students at the University of Tehran Monday. Israel was unable to impose on us any of the conditions it had set for a ceasefire and in the end the Israelis were forced to declare a unilateral ceasefire, he added. The world witnessed how Israel used conventional and unconventional weapons - including white phosphorous - to massacre innocents in Gaza, continued Mashaal, adding, "But Israeli atrocities did not scare Gazans into surrendering."
Mashaal went on to praise Iran for standing by the Palestinian nation, saying, "Gazans have always appreciated the political and spiritual support of the Iranian leaders and nation. Iran is a partner in our victory."
He called on the Iranian nation to continue supporting Gazans in their efforts to reconstruct the war-ravaged coastal strip.
Tel Aviv launched Operation Cast Lead against the Gaza Strip on December 27 to put an end to rocket attacks against southern Israeli towns.
At least 1,400 Palestinians died and 5,500 others were wounded during the 23-day offensive. Israel lost 10 soldiers in the fighting and three Israeli civilians were killed by Hamas rockets. Much more of that being brought to their knees stuff and the Paleos would be driven into the sea or something.
On January 18, Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire.
At least 16,000 residential buildings have been damaged and 5,000 others have been reduced to rubble in the Israeli attacks.
An 18-month Israeli blockade on Gaza resulted in a humanitarian crisis which has been intensified in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead. Gazans are in dire need of fuel, electricity, medicine and other basic needs.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#5
SO, they can BOTH be perpetual oppressed victims, AND, at the same time, victorious lions who defy all odds and come on top, because they're individually worth 7 sub-human infidels each?!
I like that, it's such a quaint insight into a non-western mindset... it might just work!
Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi: Allan™ Imposed Hitler On the Joooos to Punish Them – 'Allan™ Willing, the Next Time Will Be at the Hand of the Believers™'
Following are excerpts from speeches delivered by prominent Sunni scholar Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on January 28 and 30, 2009.
January 30, 2009: Hitler "Put The Jooooos In Their Place"
Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi: "Throughout history, Allan™ has imposed upon the [Joooos] people who would punish them for their corruption. The last punishment was carried out by Hitler. By means of all the things he did to them – even though they exaggerated this issue – he managed to put them in their place.
"This was divine punishment for them. Allan™ willing, the next time will be at the hand of the believers™." [...]
January 28, 2009: I Will Die As A Martyr Shooting Joooos
Al-Qaradhawi: "To conclude my speech, I'd like to say that the only thing I hope for is that as my life approaches its end, Allan™ will give me an opportunity to go to the land of Jihad™ and Resistance™, even if in a wheelchair.
"I will shoot Allan™'s enemies, the Joooooos, and they will throw a bomb at me, and thus, I will seal my life with martyrdom. "I'm a mouse, hear me roar!"
Praise be to Allan™, Lord of the Flies Worlds. Allan™'s mercy and blessings upon you." "Thankyouverymuch, I'm here all week; take the veal!"
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/03/2009 15:02 Comments ||
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#4
The Joos could have fun with this, by pointing out that while Allan might have been mad at them, he really hates the Muslims, having reduced them to ignorant swine that even Joos, Christians, pagans or even atheists can whip like dogs.
INDONESIAN Islamic hardliners have called for a ban on international organisations the Rotary Club and the Lions Club, saying they are part of a Zionist conspiracy, reports said today.
The People's Ulema Forum (FUU) said the clubs were "infidel" fronts for Freemasonry and the world Zionist movement and threatened Islam in the world's most populous Muslim country. "They gather funds and give them to America and the Israeli Zionists," FUU chairman Atian Ali Mohammad Da'i was quoted as saying in The Jakarta Globe daily. "We urge all Muslims to renounce membership in the Rotary Club and the Lions Club. Otherwise they can consider themselves infidels."
Indonesian Muslims are overwhelmingly moderate but a vocal hardline fringe regularly succeeds in influencing policy-makers despite opposition from secularists, civil society groups and religious minorities.
The FUU is an ultra-conservative group that has used force to stop Christian services and in 2002 issued a death fatwa (Islamic ruling) against a Muslim scholar who had criticised conservative Islam, the Globe reported.
#3
Rotary Club and the Lions Club, saying they are part of a Zionist conspiracy
IIRC, the hamas charter makes the same contention, and goes along the notion that joooos (excuse me, "zionists") are behind the french revolution, free-masonry, etc, etc... something that seems to escape the progressives. Not that I like free-masons much, but there's been at least one direct terror attack in turkey against a local lodge (turkish free-masonry being IIRC rather present & a force behind turkish ideology of secularism, just as it is in france).
Iran said it has launched its first home-built satellite into orbit, in a move likely to further alarm an international community already at odds with Tehran over its controversial nuclear drive.
"Dear Iranians, your children have put the first indigenous satellite into orbit," a jubilant President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in remarks broadcast on state television on Tuesday. "With this launch the Islamic Republic of Iran has officially achieved a presence in space."
The Omid (Hope) satellite was sent into space on Monday evening carried by the home-built Safir-2 space rocket, Iranian news agencies reported.
The launch -- which coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Islamic revolution -- comes with Iran still defiantly refusing UN Security Council demands to freeze sensitive nuclear work.
The West suspects Iran of secretly trying to build an atomic bomb and fears the technology used to launch a space rocket could be diverted into development of long-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Ahmadinejad said the satellite carried a message of "peace and brotherhood" to the world and dismissed suggestions that Iran's space programme had military goals, saying: "the world rejects such old talk."
"We have a divine view of technology unlike the dominating powers of the world who have Satanic views," he said. "The satellite and the rocket were made by Iranian scientists, and under the protection of the 12th Imam." Yet, left-dhimmis will reflexively yell "racism!" if we point out that this guy is batshit crazy.
Ahmadinejad has made scientific development one of the main themes of his presidency, asserting that Iran has reached a peak of progress despite international sanctions and no longer needs to depend on foreign states for help. "On the 30th anniversary of the Islamic revolution and with the order of the president, the national Omid satellite was launched," the Fars news agency declared. "This is the first satellite launched in the history of our nation and it was carried by the Safir-2 satellite carrier."
The state news agency IRNA said the satellite would take orbital measurements and would circle the Earth 15 times every 24 hours.
Iran sent its first Safir-2 into space in August. The rocket is about 22 metres (72 feet) long, with a diameter of 1.25 metres (a little over four feet) and weighs more than 26 tonnes. Iran's most powerful military missile, the Shahab-3, has a diameter of 1.30 metres and measures 17 metres in length. It has a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) -- putting archfoe Israel and US forces in the region within reach.
A year ago, Iran triggered concern in the West when it said it had sent a probe into space on the back of a rocket to prepare for a satellite launch, and announced the opening of its space station in a remote western desert. The launch of the probe, Kavoshgar (Explorer), was also timed during the anniversary of the Islamic revolution.
Iran has pursued a space programme for several years, and in October 2005 a Russian-made Iranian satellite named Sina-1 was put into orbit by a Russian rocket.
Reza Taghipour, head of Iranian space agency, said Iran would launch another satellite carrier by the end of the Iranian year on March 20, Fars said. Is this the "Sputnik from Hell?" That depends on what the media choose to make of it. Has Iran made a giant leap toward great power status, or have they pulled off a costly and irrelevant stunt by recycling ancient technology?
The rocket was named as "Safir" in today's announcement but is almost certainly the same as the "Shahab SLV" reported last year. This is a derivative of the North Korean No Dong IRBM, which is part of a huge family of rockets derived from the infamous "Scud" (R-17) which, in turn, can trace its own ancestry all the way back to the German V-2 of World War 2.
Fwiw, the first American satellite, Explorer, was launched just over 50 years ago on an American development of the V-2, the Jupiter C (aka Redstone MRBM)), and American Moon rockets were designed by none other than the V-2's creator, Wernher von Braun.
It might seem to be axiomatic that any rocket powerful enough to put a satellite into orbit around the Earth could also launch a warhead to the other side of the Earth, the required Delta/V being lower for the latter.
This is not really the case, however, especially for a relatively new program like Iran's.
Nuclear warheads have a certain minimum mass and a first generation weapon is likely to be quite heavy (the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs weighed on the order of 5 tons.) A satellite can be a great deal smaller. The aforementioned Explorer of 1958 weighed just 31 pounds and its ill-fated predecessor, Vanguard, was the size of a grapefruit and weighed just 3 pounds. With all the miniaturization of electronics since 1958, the Iranian satellite might be a glorified cellphone for all we know.
For the record, Encyclopedia Astronautica gives the Iranian rocket's LEO payload as 60 kg, but that is mostly a guess from the known characteristics of the various components. At that, it could carry a minimum size nuke (about twice the mass) to a target on the order of 6000 km away. It is highly unlikely that Iran can build a nuke that small or integrate it into a workable re-entry package.
Once the rocket works, however, the next step is to upgrade its capability and it isn't much of a leap from there to a real threat.
#3
"the Omid (Hope) satellite was sent into space on Monday...Iran would launch another satellite"
That would be called "Change" no doubt. These were prophesied by teh one.
spit
Posted by: Minister of funny walks ||
02/03/2009 9:37 Comments ||
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#4
I wonder if the EUros are rethinking their opposition to missle defense installations in eastern Europe? If they are, maybe we could sell them some. I wouldn't pay a plug nickel of US money for them, though. Time for EUrope to be weaned off the US taxpayers teat.
#10
Let us pose this to those who would ignore it:
We have a Christian view of technology unlike the axis of evil who have Satanic views," Bush said. "The satellite and the rocket were made by American scientists, and under the protection of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."
#13
The entire point of sputnik was to show America that Russia could lob a payload onto any place on the planet. And if one can launch an orbital payload, they can launch a suborbital ballistic payload. And if one can hit the target in space to place an object into a usable orbit, then they can hit the spot on a suborbital trajectory that will result in a ballistic path to the target. You just need to hit the correct point at the correct speed and trajectory and let gravity do the rest. It is just math and a Nintendo DS has more computing power than our original ICBMs had.
They might not be able to put one in a 100 meter circle but they could darned sure put one in a 100 mile circle and any point within 100 miles LA would be "good enough".
#14
A little small for an ICBM. But a good size for an MRBM to hit Europe. Too bad Europe's buddy, Obama, is going to gut the Euro missile defense project. Be careful what you wish for Gunter.
Posted by: ed ||
02/03/2009 21:56 Comments ||
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Iran could gain the capability to make a nuclear weapon in 2-5 years but there is ample time to deal with the concern, the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said in a televised interview.
Mohammad Al Baradei, director-general of the Vienna-based UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that after stockpiling enriched uranium, Iran would face further technical and political hurdles should it seek to build nuclear arms.
"There is a concern, but don't hype the concern," Al Baradei, alluding mainly to US and Israeli warnings, said in a CNN interview broadcast late on Sunday. "There is ample time to engage [Iran] and reverse the concern and to move into more engagement rather than more isolation."
Al Baradei said that for Iran to have weapons capacity, it would have to eject IAEA inspectors, leave the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), reconfigure production to refine uranium to the high degree needed for bomb fuel and fit the material into a warhead:
"Even if I go by the CIA and other US intelligence, the estimations [are] that even if they go through all these scenarios, we're still talking about two to five years from now."
Western powers believe Iran's declared programme to refine uranium to the low level required for civilian nuclear energy is a front for gaining the means to reprocess it into highly enriched material for bombs at short notice.
Iran insists its nuclear ambitions are for peaceful purposes.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Ample time to deal with Iran, IAEA chief says
Cause how long does it take "the west" to drop its pants and bend over?
#2
"There is ample time to engage [Iran] and reverse the concern and to move into more engagement rather than more isolation."
Hopefully Al Baradei will be in Tehran when Israel finally does "move into more engagement." Every director-general of the IAEA should witness at least one mushroom cloud.
#3
Mo's just doing his job - seeing to it that at least one Islamist-loving shit-hole middle eastern country ends up with nukes. Then, after they immediately use it to fry Tel Aviv, the West(TM) finally has the excuse we need to exterminate every last one of the goat-humpers.
Iran's leading Reformist presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi says he will join the upcoming elections with the campaign slogan of "Change."
Karroubi, who is among the several candidates officially registered to run in the June presidential election, said on Monday that he intends "to bring about change in Iran's Executive Body."
Karroubi's slogan, which brings to mind US President Barack Obama's campaign message of "Change you can believe in", comes at a time when there is wild talk of negotiations with the United States.
Regarding the issue of dialogue with the US, the former Iranian parliament speaker said he is in favor of talks.
Referring to a letter by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad congratulating President Obama for his victory in the American presidential race, Karroubi said, "the congratulatory message has broken the taboo of negotiations with the United States."
"The letter has cleared the way for the start of dialogue with Washington in the framework of foreign policy," he added.
President Obama has reportedly been mulling over a response to President Ahmadinejad's letter and has so far drawn up at least three drafts for his Iran message.
Washington-Tehran relations were severed in the aftermath of the US embassy takeover in Tehran in 1980.
The two countries broke a 27-year diplomatic freeze in May 2007 during the Iraq security talks and have so far held three rounds of negotiations on an ambassadorial level over the issue.
America's Obama has vowed to engage Iran in direct diplomacy in order to resolve the country's nuclear dispute.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Wasn't that Khomeini's tag line?
Posted by: ed ||
02/03/2009 13:48 Comments ||
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Iran's former president Mohammad Khatami gives ex-premier Mir-Hossein Mousavi a ten-day ultimatum to decide on his bid for presidency. "Or what?"
"Or... ummm... I'll give you another ten days."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Lebanon's only English-language daily is back on newsstands after it was forced to shut down for about two weeks due to a legal dispute with a creditor.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2009 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.
Somali government has reportedly ordered military to take back the transitional administration's final stronghold from opposition fighters. 
Former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Hamid Gul says Islamabad should not hesitate to use nuclear weapons against New Delhi. 
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki appeared to strengthen his standing in several key areas of the country, while an Arab party edged toward control of a contested northern province, according to party officials reviewing preliminary results from Saturday's Iraq elections.
Hamas political chief Khaled Mashaal says that the resistance of the Palestinians brought Israel to its knees in the Gaza Strip.
Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi: Allan™ Imposed Hitler On the Joooos to Punish Them – 'Allan™ Willing, the Next Time Will Be at the Hand of the Believers™'
Iran said it has launched its first home-built satellite into orbit, in a move likely to further alarm an international community already at odds with Tehran over its controversial nuclear drive.
