GOP chairman Michael Steele was blasted by fellow Republicans recently for describing Afghanistan as “a war of Obama’s choosing,” and suggesting that the United States would fail there as had many other outside powers. Some critics berated Steele for his pessimism, others for getting his facts wrong, given that President George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan soon after 9/11. But Steele’s critics are the ones who are wrong: the RNC chair was more correct than not on the substance of his statement, if not the politics.
The war being waged by the United States in Afghanistan today is fundamentally different and more ambitious than anything carried out by the Bush administration. Afghanistan is very much Barack Obama’s war of choice, a point that the president underscored recently by picking Gen. David Petraeus to lead an intensified counterinsurgency effort there. After nearly nine years of war, however, continued or increased U.S. involvement in Afghanistan isn’t likely to yield lasting improvements that would be commensurate in any way with the investment of American blood and treasure. It is time to scale down our ambitions there and both reduce and redirect what we do.
Tim A Hetherington
View a gallery of the war in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley
At Outpost Restrepo
The first thing we need to recognize is that fighting this kind of war is in fact a choice, not a necessity. The United States went to war in October 2001 to oust the Taliban government, which had allowed Al Qaeda to operate freely out of Afghanistan and mount the 9/11 attacks. The Taliban were routed; members of Al Qaeda were captured or killed, or escaped to Pakistan. But that was a very different war, a necessary one carried out in self-defense. It was essential that Afghanistan not continue to be a sanctuary for terrorists who could again attack the American homeland or U.S. interests around the world.
The Bush administration was less clear on what to do next. Working in the State Department at the time, I was appointed by President Bush as the U.S. government’s coordinator for the future of Afghanistan. At a National Security Council meeting chaired by the president in October 2001, I was the one arguing that once the Taliban were removed from power there might be a short-lived opportunity to help establish a weak but functional Afghan state. There and at subsequent meetings I pressed for a U.S. military presence of some 25,000–30,000 troops (matched by an equal number from NATO countries) to be part of an international force that would help maintain order after the invasion and train Afghans until they could protect themselves.
Source - http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/18/we-re-not-winning-it-s-not-worth-it.html
Saturday, July 24, 2010
5 US troops die in blasts in southern Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan – Five American troops died Saturday in bombings in southern Afghanistan where international forces are stepping up the fight against the Taliban, officials said.
Four of the victims died in a single blast, NATO said in a statement without specifying nationalities nor providing further details. A fifth service member was killed in a separate attack in the south, NATO said.
U.S. officials confirmed all five were Americans. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under rules regarding casualty identification.
The latest deaths bring to 75 the number of international troops killed in Afghanistan this month, including 56 Americans.
The U.S.-led force is ramping up operations against the Taliban in their southern strongholds, hoping to enable the Afghan government to expand its control in the volatile region.
Rising casualty tolls, however, are eroding support for the war even as President Barack Obama has send thousands of reinforcements to try to turn back the Taliban.
On Tuesday, an international conference in Kabul endorsed President Hamid Karzai's plan for Afghan security forces to assume responsibility for protecting the country by the end of 2014. Obama has pledged to begin removing U.S. troops starting in July 2011, although he has linked the drawdown to security conditions on the ground.
Click image to see more photos of Afghanistan effort
AP
In the eastern province of Khost, a candidate in upcoming parliamentary elections died late Friday of wounds suffered when a bomb exploded earlier in the day in a mosque in the Mando Zayi district, according to local health director Dr. Amir Pacha.
The candidate, Maulvi Saydullah, was making a speech inside the mosque when the blast went off. His bodyguards and at least 15 other civilians were also hurt, officials said.
Afghanistan is due to hold national parliamentary elections Sept. 18 despite fears that they could provoke a surge in Taliban attacks.
Also Saturday, the Afghan Interior Ministry reported that five Afghan civilians were killed by a bomb in the Chora district of Uruzgan province. A total of seven militants died in clashes with Afghan and international forces since Friday night in the provinces of Khost, Uruzgan and Kunar, the ministry added without giving further details.
Four suspected insurgents were captured in two raids late Friday on Taliban hide-outs in Baghlan province of northern Afghanistan, NATO said.
Yahoo news - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100724/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan
Four of the victims died in a single blast, NATO said in a statement without specifying nationalities nor providing further details. A fifth service member was killed in a separate attack in the south, NATO said.
U.S. officials confirmed all five were Americans. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under rules regarding casualty identification.
The latest deaths bring to 75 the number of international troops killed in Afghanistan this month, including 56 Americans.
The U.S.-led force is ramping up operations against the Taliban in their southern strongholds, hoping to enable the Afghan government to expand its control in the volatile region.
Rising casualty tolls, however, are eroding support for the war even as President Barack Obama has send thousands of reinforcements to try to turn back the Taliban.
On Tuesday, an international conference in Kabul endorsed President Hamid Karzai's plan for Afghan security forces to assume responsibility for protecting the country by the end of 2014. Obama has pledged to begin removing U.S. troops starting in July 2011, although he has linked the drawdown to security conditions on the ground.
Click image to see more photos of Afghanistan effort
AP
In the eastern province of Khost, a candidate in upcoming parliamentary elections died late Friday of wounds suffered when a bomb exploded earlier in the day in a mosque in the Mando Zayi district, according to local health director Dr. Amir Pacha.
The candidate, Maulvi Saydullah, was making a speech inside the mosque when the blast went off. His bodyguards and at least 15 other civilians were also hurt, officials said.
Afghanistan is due to hold national parliamentary elections Sept. 18 despite fears that they could provoke a surge in Taliban attacks.
Also Saturday, the Afghan Interior Ministry reported that five Afghan civilians were killed by a bomb in the Chora district of Uruzgan province. A total of seven militants died in clashes with Afghan and international forces since Friday night in the provinces of Khost, Uruzgan and Kunar, the ministry added without giving further details.
Four suspected insurgents were captured in two raids late Friday on Taliban hide-outs in Baghlan province of northern Afghanistan, NATO said.
Yahoo news - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100724/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Report: “Israeli soldiers Killed 5 Palestinians In Gaza in June”
The al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, based in Gaza, issued a report on the Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip in June and stated that Israeli soldiers continued their attacks and killed five Palestinians in different part of the Gaza Strip.
The attacks targeted the residents and their property, while the soldiers killed five Palestinians in different parts of the Gaza Strip and wounded several other residents.
The center said that the army used excessive and deadly force against unarmed civilians in direct violation to the international law and the Fourth Geneva Conventions.
Israel is trying to create a "buffer zone" near the borders of Gaza and carried out nine invasion during which army bulldozers uprooted dozens of farmlands in order to create this zone. The lands are the only source of income to dozens of families.
The al-Mezan report also slammed the ongoing Israeli siege and the closure of border terminals. It added that the Israeli Navy continued its violations against Palestinian fishermen by opening fire at them and their boats, and by chasing them to the shore.
Israeli soldiers also targeted residents who collect stone and the rubble of bombarded buildings in areas near the northern and eastern borders of the Gaza Strip. The residents collect stones and rubble in an attempt to use them in rebuilding their bombarded homes due to the lack of construction materials. Several residents were wounded by military fire while trying to collect stones.
Furthermore, soldiers kidnapped a patient at the Eretz (Beit Hanoun) crossing as he was heading to an Eye Hospital in the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
Soldiers also kidnapped a paramedic who was on his way to attend a five-day training workshop at the Red Crescent headquarters in Ramallah. Source
The attacks targeted the residents and their property, while the soldiers killed five Palestinians in different parts of the Gaza Strip and wounded several other residents.
The center said that the army used excessive and deadly force against unarmed civilians in direct violation to the international law and the Fourth Geneva Conventions.
Israel is trying to create a "buffer zone" near the borders of Gaza and carried out nine invasion during which army bulldozers uprooted dozens of farmlands in order to create this zone. The lands are the only source of income to dozens of families.
The al-Mezan report also slammed the ongoing Israeli siege and the closure of border terminals. It added that the Israeli Navy continued its violations against Palestinian fishermen by opening fire at them and their boats, and by chasing them to the shore.
Israeli soldiers also targeted residents who collect stone and the rubble of bombarded buildings in areas near the northern and eastern borders of the Gaza Strip. The residents collect stones and rubble in an attempt to use them in rebuilding their bombarded homes due to the lack of construction materials. Several residents were wounded by military fire while trying to collect stones.
Furthermore, soldiers kidnapped a patient at the Eretz (Beit Hanoun) crossing as he was heading to an Eye Hospital in the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
Soldiers also kidnapped a paramedic who was on his way to attend a five-day training workshop at the Red Crescent headquarters in Ramallah. Source
Monday, July 19, 2010
Armed men shoot up Mexican party At least 50 people have been killed in Mexican drug violence this weekend alone
Suspected drug gang hitmen armed with machine guns stormed a private party in the northern Mexican city of Torreon, killing at least 17 people in one of the deadliest attacks in Mexico's drug war, police have said.
Five vehicles were driven up to the party in a walled patio and garden on the outskirts of the city in Coahuila state, before the armed men smashed down the door and opened fire on party-goers, the state prosecutors' office said.
A source with the state police department said witnesses reported hearing assailants shout "kill them all" before they opened fire on Sunday.
The prosecutors' office said 18 people were injured in the attack.
Authorities said they found more than 100 bullet casings fired from automatic weapons following the massacre.
'Shot everything that moved'
An official with the state prosecutor's office said the armed men "came in, opened fire and shot against everything that moved".
In depth
They escaped and no arrests have been made, the prosecutors office said in a statement.
Sunday's attack brings the number of shooting victims in Mexico over the weekend to at least 50.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for Sunday's attack, but the area is a key transit point for drugs heading into the US and the scene of a showdown between the Sinaloa cartel led by Joaquin 'shorty' Guzman, Mexico's most wanted man, and the Zetas gang from the country's northeast.
On Saturday, suspected cartels detonated a car bomb that killed at least four people, the first attack of its kind in Mexico's drug war, in Ciudad Juarez, another northern border city.
El Diario, a newspaper in Ciudad Juarez, said that officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other US agencies are investigating the bombing. US and Mexican officials would not comment on the allegations.
More than 26,000 people have been killed in drug violence in Mexico, mostly in the north, since Felipe Calderon, the president, took office and initiated a crackdown on drug cartels in 2006. Source
Mexico's new murder capital
Five vehicles were driven up to the party in a walled patio and garden on the outskirts of the city in Coahuila state, before the armed men smashed down the door and opened fire on party-goers, the state prosecutors' office said.
A source with the state police department said witnesses reported hearing assailants shout "kill them all" before they opened fire on Sunday.
The prosecutors' office said 18 people were injured in the attack.
Authorities said they found more than 100 bullet casings fired from automatic weapons following the massacre.
'Shot everything that moved'
An official with the state prosecutor's office said the armed men "came in, opened fire and shot against everything that moved".
In depth
They escaped and no arrests have been made, the prosecutors office said in a statement.
Sunday's attack brings the number of shooting victims in Mexico over the weekend to at least 50.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for Sunday's attack, but the area is a key transit point for drugs heading into the US and the scene of a showdown between the Sinaloa cartel led by Joaquin 'shorty' Guzman, Mexico's most wanted man, and the Zetas gang from the country's northeast.
On Saturday, suspected cartels detonated a car bomb that killed at least four people, the first attack of its kind in Mexico's drug war, in Ciudad Juarez, another northern border city.
El Diario, a newspaper in Ciudad Juarez, said that officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other US agencies are investigating the bombing. US and Mexican officials would not comment on the allegations.
More than 26,000 people have been killed in drug violence in Mexico, mostly in the north, since Felipe Calderon, the president, took office and initiated a crackdown on drug cartels in 2006. Source
Mexico's new murder capital
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Sucide bombings in Iraq kill 48, including security forces
The bombings were the deadliest in a series of attacks across Iraq Sunday that were aimed at the Sons of Iraq, a Sunni group also known as Sahwa that works with government forces to fight Al-Qaeda in Iraq. The attacks highlighted the stiff challenges the country faces as the US scales back its forces in Iraq, leaving their Iraqi counterparts in charge of security.
The first attack Sunday morning — the deadliest against Iraq's security forces in months — killed at least 45 people and wounded more than 40. It occurred at a checkpoint near a military base where Sahwa members were lined up to receive paychecks in the mostly Sunni district of Radwaniya southwest of Baghdad.
"There were more than 150 people sitting on the ground when the explosion took place. I ran, thinking that I was a dead man," said Uday Khamis, 24, who was sitting outside the Mahmoudiyah hospital where many of the wounded were taken. His left hand was bandaged and his clothes were stained with blood.
"There were more dead people than wounded," he added.
There were conflicting reports as to how many of the dead were Iraqi soldiers and whether civilians — accountants responsible for handing out money — were among them, but the vast majority of those killed and injured appeared to be Sahwa members.
A military official at the base said the explosion was the work of one suicide bomber wearing an explosives vest.
All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
In Baghdad, Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim Al-Moussawi said the bomber struck at 7 a.m. at a checkpoint near the military facility.
Some of those injured complained about what they perceived to be a lack of protection from the Iraqi military for the men lined up to receive their paychecks. Khamis said the men used to be searched but this time they were allowed to line up without any search being conducted.
Another man who was waiting at the hospital with his wounded nephew said this was the fifth day that the men had turned up at the base to collect their paychecks.
"Every time they went to receive their salary, they told them to come the next day and they did that for four days and now in the fifth day this explosion took place," said the man, Hassan Ali.
The area was immediately closed off, and Iraqi helicopters could be seen flying over the site.
In the second attack, a suspected militant stormed a local Sahwa headquarters in the Anbar province town of Qaim, near the Syrian border, and opened fire on those inside. Sahwa fighters returned fire, wounding the attacker, who then blew himself up as they gathered around him, killing three of the fighters and wounding six others, two police officials said, also speaking on condition of anonymity.
Qaim is a former insurgent stronghold.
While violence has dropped dramatically over the past two years in the country, Iraqi security forces remain a favorite target for insurgents bent on destabilizing the country and its Shiite-led government.
The Sahwa fighters have played a key role in the reduction of violence in Iraq since they first rose up against their former Al-Qaeda allies in late 2006, joining the US military and government forces in the fight against the terror group.
But their future role in the Shiite-majority country is contentious. The US used to pay the monthly salaries of about $300 to the nearly 100,000-strong Sahwa force. Last year, the Iraqi government took over paying their salaries and, after heavy pressure from the Americans, agreed to absorb up to 20 percent of the fighters into its security forces. Others were to be absorbed into government jobs.
But members of the Sons of Iraq have complained about late paychecks, and many say they have been given menial jobs.
One of the wounded Sunday, Khamis, said they were to receive two months' worth of salary on Sunday.
In another attack, roughly at the same time as that in Qaim, gunmen in a speeding car opened fire on a Sahwa checkpoint in Mahaweel, about 56 kilometers (35 miles) south of Baghdad, wounding one, according to Babil police spokesman Maj. Muthana Khalid.
Khalid said a roadside bomb went off about 30 minutes later, hitting a car driven by another Sahwa member in Haswa, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Baghdad. The Sahwa member was wounded in the attack.
More than four months after an inconclusive parliamentary election in March, Iraq has no government as politicians continue to bicker over who will lead it. The impasse has raised fears that militants will exploit the political vacuum to re-ignite sectarian violence that brought Iraq to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007.
The attacks against the security forces and the Sahwa are especially worrying because they come at a time when the number of US troops in Iraq is dropping and Iraq's nascent security forces are taking over security in the country. All US combat units are scheduled to leave Iraq by the end of next month and the last American soldier by the end of next year.
Insurgents have used an array of attacks to intimidate and kill security forces, such as drive-by shootings, bombs attached to the undercarriage of vehicles and bombing houses where security forces live. But Sunday's attack in Radwaniya was more reminiscent of the type insurgents used in the past to discourage people from joining the security forces.
Source
The first attack Sunday morning — the deadliest against Iraq's security forces in months — killed at least 45 people and wounded more than 40. It occurred at a checkpoint near a military base where Sahwa members were lined up to receive paychecks in the mostly Sunni district of Radwaniya southwest of Baghdad.
"There were more than 150 people sitting on the ground when the explosion took place. I ran, thinking that I was a dead man," said Uday Khamis, 24, who was sitting outside the Mahmoudiyah hospital where many of the wounded were taken. His left hand was bandaged and his clothes were stained with blood.
"There were more dead people than wounded," he added.
There were conflicting reports as to how many of the dead were Iraqi soldiers and whether civilians — accountants responsible for handing out money — were among them, but the vast majority of those killed and injured appeared to be Sahwa members.
A military official at the base said the explosion was the work of one suicide bomber wearing an explosives vest.
All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
In Baghdad, Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim Al-Moussawi said the bomber struck at 7 a.m. at a checkpoint near the military facility.
Some of those injured complained about what they perceived to be a lack of protection from the Iraqi military for the men lined up to receive their paychecks. Khamis said the men used to be searched but this time they were allowed to line up without any search being conducted.
Another man who was waiting at the hospital with his wounded nephew said this was the fifth day that the men had turned up at the base to collect their paychecks.
"Every time they went to receive their salary, they told them to come the next day and they did that for four days and now in the fifth day this explosion took place," said the man, Hassan Ali.
The area was immediately closed off, and Iraqi helicopters could be seen flying over the site.
In the second attack, a suspected militant stormed a local Sahwa headquarters in the Anbar province town of Qaim, near the Syrian border, and opened fire on those inside. Sahwa fighters returned fire, wounding the attacker, who then blew himself up as they gathered around him, killing three of the fighters and wounding six others, two police officials said, also speaking on condition of anonymity.
Qaim is a former insurgent stronghold.
While violence has dropped dramatically over the past two years in the country, Iraqi security forces remain a favorite target for insurgents bent on destabilizing the country and its Shiite-led government.
The Sahwa fighters have played a key role in the reduction of violence in Iraq since they first rose up against their former Al-Qaeda allies in late 2006, joining the US military and government forces in the fight against the terror group.
But their future role in the Shiite-majority country is contentious. The US used to pay the monthly salaries of about $300 to the nearly 100,000-strong Sahwa force. Last year, the Iraqi government took over paying their salaries and, after heavy pressure from the Americans, agreed to absorb up to 20 percent of the fighters into its security forces. Others were to be absorbed into government jobs.
But members of the Sons of Iraq have complained about late paychecks, and many say they have been given menial jobs.
One of the wounded Sunday, Khamis, said they were to receive two months' worth of salary on Sunday.
In another attack, roughly at the same time as that in Qaim, gunmen in a speeding car opened fire on a Sahwa checkpoint in Mahaweel, about 56 kilometers (35 miles) south of Baghdad, wounding one, according to Babil police spokesman Maj. Muthana Khalid.
Khalid said a roadside bomb went off about 30 minutes later, hitting a car driven by another Sahwa member in Haswa, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Baghdad. The Sahwa member was wounded in the attack.
More than four months after an inconclusive parliamentary election in March, Iraq has no government as politicians continue to bicker over who will lead it. The impasse has raised fears that militants will exploit the political vacuum to re-ignite sectarian violence that brought Iraq to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007.
The attacks against the security forces and the Sahwa are especially worrying because they come at a time when the number of US troops in Iraq is dropping and Iraq's nascent security forces are taking over security in the country. All US combat units are scheduled to leave Iraq by the end of next month and the last American soldier by the end of next year.
Insurgents have used an array of attacks to intimidate and kill security forces, such as drive-by shootings, bombs attached to the undercarriage of vehicles and bombing houses where security forces live. But Sunday's attack in Radwaniya was more reminiscent of the type insurgents used in the past to discourage people from joining the security forces.
Source
Friday, July 16, 2010
At least 21 people, including members of the elite Revolutionary Guards, were killed and 100 wounded in suicide attack at a Shiite mosque in the southeast Iranian city of Zahedan on Thursday
A late night broadcast by Al Arabiya television said the Sunni Muslim rebel group Jundollah claimed responsibility for the attack on the Zahedan's Grand Mosque.
The group said the attacks were in response to the execution by Iran of the group's leader Abdolmalek Rigi in June, the Dubai-based channel said.
In an e-mail to the station, the group said the bombings targeted a gathering of the Revolutionary Guards in the southeastern city of Zahedan, Arabiya said.
"In the two explosions in Zahedan more than 20 people were killed and over 100 were injured," Fariborz Rashedi, head of the emergency unit at Sistan-Baluchestan province told IRNA.
It later quoted Zahedan prosecutor Mohammad Marzieh as saying that 21 people had died.
Iran's deputy Interior Minister said "a number of Iran's Revolutionary Guards were killed and injured," the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Zahedan's MP Hoseinali Shahriari told Fars that he believed Sunni rebel group Jundollah was behind the explosions.
Iran hanged Jundollah's leader, Abdolmalek Rigi, last month for his involvement in earlier deadly attacks in Iran.
Predominantly Shiite Muslim Iran arrested Rigi in February, four months after his Jundollah group claimed a bombing which killed dozens of people, including 15 members of the Guards. It was the deadliest attack in Iran since the 1980s.
Zahedan is the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province which shares a border with Pakistan. The province faces serious security problems and there are frequent clashes between police and drug dealers and bandits.
In 2009, the group detonated a bomb in a Shiite mosque in Zahedan, killing 30 people and wounding more than 120.
Jundallah says it is fighting for the rights of the Sunni Baluch minority, and accuses Iran's Shiite-dominated government of persecution. Tehran claims Jundallah is behind an insurgency in its southeast that has destabilized the border region with Pakistan.
In June, Iran hanged the group's leader, Abdulhamid Rigi, in Zahedan after he was found guilty of carrying out attacks against civilians, armed robbery, and engaging in a disinformation campaign against Iran.
His younger brother, Abdulhamid, was executed in May in Iran after being captured in Pakistan in 2008 and extradited to Iran.
The group gained attention six years ago after it launched a campaign of sporadic kidnappings and bombings that killed dozens. The group claims minority Sunni tribes in southeastern Iran suffer discrimination at the hands of Iran's Shiite leadership.
Iran has accused the US and Britain of supporting Jundallah in an effort to weaken the Iranian government, a charge they deny. Iran also claims the group is linked to Al-Qaeda, but experts say no evidence of such a link has been found.
Source
The group said the attacks were in response to the execution by Iran of the group's leader Abdolmalek Rigi in June, the Dubai-based channel said.
In an e-mail to the station, the group said the bombings targeted a gathering of the Revolutionary Guards in the southeastern city of Zahedan, Arabiya said.
"In the two explosions in Zahedan more than 20 people were killed and over 100 were injured," Fariborz Rashedi, head of the emergency unit at Sistan-Baluchestan province told IRNA.
It later quoted Zahedan prosecutor Mohammad Marzieh as saying that 21 people had died.
Iran's deputy Interior Minister said "a number of Iran's Revolutionary Guards were killed and injured," the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Zahedan's MP Hoseinali Shahriari told Fars that he believed Sunni rebel group Jundollah was behind the explosions.
Iran hanged Jundollah's leader, Abdolmalek Rigi, last month for his involvement in earlier deadly attacks in Iran.
Predominantly Shiite Muslim Iran arrested Rigi in February, four months after his Jundollah group claimed a bombing which killed dozens of people, including 15 members of the Guards. It was the deadliest attack in Iran since the 1980s.
Zahedan is the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province which shares a border with Pakistan. The province faces serious security problems and there are frequent clashes between police and drug dealers and bandits.
In 2009, the group detonated a bomb in a Shiite mosque in Zahedan, killing 30 people and wounding more than 120.
Jundallah says it is fighting for the rights of the Sunni Baluch minority, and accuses Iran's Shiite-dominated government of persecution. Tehran claims Jundallah is behind an insurgency in its southeast that has destabilized the border region with Pakistan.
In June, Iran hanged the group's leader, Abdulhamid Rigi, in Zahedan after he was found guilty of carrying out attacks against civilians, armed robbery, and engaging in a disinformation campaign against Iran.
His younger brother, Abdulhamid, was executed in May in Iran after being captured in Pakistan in 2008 and extradited to Iran.
The group gained attention six years ago after it launched a campaign of sporadic kidnappings and bombings that killed dozens. The group claims minority Sunni tribes in southeastern Iran suffer discrimination at the hands of Iran's Shiite leadership.
Iran has accused the US and Britain of supporting Jundallah in an effort to weaken the Iranian government, a charge they deny. Iran also claims the group is linked to Al-Qaeda, but experts say no evidence of such a link has been found.
Source
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Israeli Bulldozers in Occupied East Jerusalem interupt peace process
Israeli bulldozers have destroyed six buildings in occupied East Jerusalem, resuming the demolition of Palestinian property after a halt aimed at encouraging peace talks, provoking Palestinian anger and US "concern".
Tuesday's demolitions were the first since a halt in October aimed at encouraging so-called peace talks, and Palestinians said they proved the Israeli government was not committed to the negotiations. The demolitions come just a week after Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, pledged to take "concrete steps that could be done now - in the coming days, in the coming weeks - to move the peace process further along in a very robust way" after meeting Barack Obama, the US president, at the White House.
Obama had called for direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians to be restarted before the partial suspension on the construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land expires in September.
"My hope is that once direct talks have begun, well before the moratorium [on settlements] has expired, that that will create a climate in which everybody feels a greater investment in success," Obama had said last Tuesday, adding that he hoped mutual confidence-building moves would pave the way to negotiations.
The White House meeting had come as Obama and Netanyahu tried to downplay recent tensions between their countries over Israel's continuing construction of settlements, which is illegal under international law.
US opposes 'unilateral actions'
But on Tuesday the latest demolitions threatened to turn ties frosty again, with the US joining the EU and UN in expressing concern over them.
PJ Crowley, a spokesman for the US state department, urged Israel to refrain from actions that could undermine negotiations with Palestinian leaders.
"Obviously we are concerned about reports today of a number of buildings in East Jerusalem being demolished," he said at a news briefing on Tuesday.
"The US has made it clear that it disagrees with some government of Israel actions in Jerusalem that affect Palestinians in areas such as housing, including home demolitions, and has urged all parties to avoid actions that could undermine trust.
"We continue to oppose and we will make clear to the government of Israel that we oppose unilateral actions that prejudge negotiations.
"The status of Jerusalem and all other permanent status issues must be resolved by the parties through negotiations," he said.
Volatile issue
Jerusalem demolitions are a volatile issue because of conflicting Israeli and Palestinian claims to the city's eastern sector.
Israel, which captured the sector in the 1967 Middle East war, sees it as part of its capital city, while Palestinians want it returned for the capital of their future state.
Israel says it is only enforcing the law against building violations, but Palestinians say discriminatory planning practices make it impossible for them to get permits, leaving them no choice but to build illegally and risk demolition.
About a third of Jerusalem's 750,000 residents are Palestinian. They have residency status in Jerusalem and receive Israeli social benefits, but do not hold Israeli citizenship.
Tuesday's bulldozing of the buildings was carried out by a court order, none of the structures razed were homes and all had been illegally built and uninhabited, the Jerusalem municipality said in a statement.
But Palestinians disputed those claims, saying three of the demolished structures were homes and one was a warehouse.
Two daybeds and bags crammed with children's clothing and kitchen utensils were strewn outside one of the buildings.
Basem Isawi, 48, an unemployed contractor, stood stony-faced amid the rubble of his unfinished home, forbidding his six children to come out of the nearby house where they currently live to see what had happened to it.
Isawi said he built the almost-finished home illegally for about $25,000 because he was convinced the municipality would deny him a permit.
He had been notified of the impending demolition but did not know when it was set to happen, he said. More Here
Tuesday's demolitions were the first since a halt in October aimed at encouraging so-called peace talks, and Palestinians said they proved the Israeli government was not committed to the negotiations. The demolitions come just a week after Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, pledged to take "concrete steps that could be done now - in the coming days, in the coming weeks - to move the peace process further along in a very robust way" after meeting Barack Obama, the US president, at the White House.
Obama had called for direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians to be restarted before the partial suspension on the construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land expires in September.
"My hope is that once direct talks have begun, well before the moratorium [on settlements] has expired, that that will create a climate in which everybody feels a greater investment in success," Obama had said last Tuesday, adding that he hoped mutual confidence-building moves would pave the way to negotiations.
The White House meeting had come as Obama and Netanyahu tried to downplay recent tensions between their countries over Israel's continuing construction of settlements, which is illegal under international law.
US opposes 'unilateral actions'
But on Tuesday the latest demolitions threatened to turn ties frosty again, with the US joining the EU and UN in expressing concern over them.
PJ Crowley, a spokesman for the US state department, urged Israel to refrain from actions that could undermine negotiations with Palestinian leaders.
"Obviously we are concerned about reports today of a number of buildings in East Jerusalem being demolished," he said at a news briefing on Tuesday.
"The US has made it clear that it disagrees with some government of Israel actions in Jerusalem that affect Palestinians in areas such as housing, including home demolitions, and has urged all parties to avoid actions that could undermine trust.
"We continue to oppose and we will make clear to the government of Israel that we oppose unilateral actions that prejudge negotiations.
"The status of Jerusalem and all other permanent status issues must be resolved by the parties through negotiations," he said.
Volatile issue
Jerusalem demolitions are a volatile issue because of conflicting Israeli and Palestinian claims to the city's eastern sector.
Israel, which captured the sector in the 1967 Middle East war, sees it as part of its capital city, while Palestinians want it returned for the capital of their future state.
Israel says it is only enforcing the law against building violations, but Palestinians say discriminatory planning practices make it impossible for them to get permits, leaving them no choice but to build illegally and risk demolition.
About a third of Jerusalem's 750,000 residents are Palestinian. They have residency status in Jerusalem and receive Israeli social benefits, but do not hold Israeli citizenship.
Tuesday's bulldozing of the buildings was carried out by a court order, none of the structures razed were homes and all had been illegally built and uninhabited, the Jerusalem municipality said in a statement.
But Palestinians disputed those claims, saying three of the demolished structures were homes and one was a warehouse.
Two daybeds and bags crammed with children's clothing and kitchen utensils were strewn outside one of the buildings.
Basem Isawi, 48, an unemployed contractor, stood stony-faced amid the rubble of his unfinished home, forbidding his six children to come out of the nearby house where they currently live to see what had happened to it.
Isawi said he built the almost-finished home illegally for about $25,000 because he was convinced the municipality would deny him a permit.
He had been notified of the impending demolition but did not know when it was set to happen, he said. More Here
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Eight American troops died in attacks in southern Afghanistan
KANDAHAR: Eight American troops died in attacks in southern Afghanistan, including a car bombing and gunfight outside a police compound in Kandahar, officials said Wednesday as the Taleban push back against a coalition effort to secure the volatile region.
In the southern city of Kandahar, a suicide attacker slammed a car bomb into the gate of the headquarters of the elite Afghan National Civil Order Police late Tuesday night, a NATO statement said. Minutes later, insurgents opened fire with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
Three US troops, an Afghan policeman and five civilians died in the attack, but NATO said the insurgents failed to enter the compound.
The special police unit, known as ANCOP, had only recently been dispatched to Kandahar to set up checkpoints along with international forces to try to secure the south’s largest city, the spiritual birthplace of the Taleban.
The dead civilians included three Afghan translators and two security guards, Kandahar provincial police chief Sardar Mohammad Zazai said.
Taleban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi telephoned reporters Wednesday to claim responsibility for the attack. The insurgents, however, claimed 13 international troops and eight Afghan security forces died in the raid.
Four more American troops were killed Wednesday by a roadside bomb in the south, while one more US service member died the same day of wounds from a gunbattle.
So far in July, 45 international troops have died in Afghanistan, 33 of them Americans.
Also Wednesday, a senior army officer identified the Afghan soldier who turned against his British allies and killed three of them as Talib Hussein, age 22 or 23, from the eastern province of Ghazni.
Hussein is a Hazara, a Shiite Muslim minority, said Gen. Ghulam Farook Parwani, the deputy corps commander for southern forces including those in Helmand.
The identity of the soldier deepened the mystery of his motive, since the Hazara were persecuted by the Taleban — who are made up mostly of ethnic Pashtun Sunnis. Very few Hazaras are known to have joined the Taleban insurgency.
Parwani said Hussein was recruited into the army only about eight or nine months ago and had spent most of his time posted in Helmand. He added that initial investigations indicate Hussein was a habitual hashish smoker.
In other attacks around the country, nine Afghan civilians died in the south when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the volatile district of Marjah in Helmand province, the Ministry of Interior said. Another homemade bomb killed two security guards traveling on a road in eastern Paktika province.
Source
In the southern city of Kandahar, a suicide attacker slammed a car bomb into the gate of the headquarters of the elite Afghan National Civil Order Police late Tuesday night, a NATO statement said. Minutes later, insurgents opened fire with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
Three US troops, an Afghan policeman and five civilians died in the attack, but NATO said the insurgents failed to enter the compound.
The special police unit, known as ANCOP, had only recently been dispatched to Kandahar to set up checkpoints along with international forces to try to secure the south’s largest city, the spiritual birthplace of the Taleban.
The dead civilians included three Afghan translators and two security guards, Kandahar provincial police chief Sardar Mohammad Zazai said.
Taleban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi telephoned reporters Wednesday to claim responsibility for the attack. The insurgents, however, claimed 13 international troops and eight Afghan security forces died in the raid.
Four more American troops were killed Wednesday by a roadside bomb in the south, while one more US service member died the same day of wounds from a gunbattle.
So far in July, 45 international troops have died in Afghanistan, 33 of them Americans.
Also Wednesday, a senior army officer identified the Afghan soldier who turned against his British allies and killed three of them as Talib Hussein, age 22 or 23, from the eastern province of Ghazni.
Hussein is a Hazara, a Shiite Muslim minority, said Gen. Ghulam Farook Parwani, the deputy corps commander for southern forces including those in Helmand.
The identity of the soldier deepened the mystery of his motive, since the Hazara were persecuted by the Taleban — who are made up mostly of ethnic Pashtun Sunnis. Very few Hazaras are known to have joined the Taleban insurgency.
Parwani said Hussein was recruited into the army only about eight or nine months ago and had spent most of his time posted in Helmand. He added that initial investigations indicate Hussein was a habitual hashish smoker.
In other attacks around the country, nine Afghan civilians died in the south when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the volatile district of Marjah in Helmand province, the Ministry of Interior said. Another homemade bomb killed two security guards traveling on a road in eastern Paktika province.
Source
India: ISI behind Mumbai attacks
A senior Indian official has accused Pakistani intelligence of orchestrating the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
G K Pillai, India's home secretary, said on Wednesday that the perpetrators of the attacks in which 166 people died were "clients and creations" of the Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] agency of the Pakistan army".
"They [ISI] were literally controlling and co-ordinating it from the beginning until the end," the Indian Express newspaper quoted Pillai as saying.
India has in the past blamed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group for the Mumbai attacks and alleged ISI involved, which Pakistan denies, but Pillai's comments were the most direct accusation India has made against the government agency.
Pillai said the evidence against the ISI emerged from the interrogation by Indian officials of David Headley, a US citizen, who pleaded guilty to working with Lashkar to plan the attacks.
The accusation comes on the eve of talks aimed at reviving a peace process between the two countries, which was broken off after the deadly assault.
Pakistan pressure
Prerna Suri, Al Jazeera's India correspondent, said that while it was not a new allegation, the timing of the statement was very significant.
"In his confessional statement, Headley named the ISI as being behind the co-ordination and logistical support of the Mumbai attacks," Suri said.
"New Delhi is sending a clear message to Pakistan that security will be the main concern during these talks.
"They [India] would like Pakistan to crack down on those groups, who they feel are operating against Indian interests, meaning LeT as well as individuals such as [its chief] Hafiz Muhammed Saeed, who many in India feel are being given patronage by various elements in Pakistan."
in depth
Inside Story: Sending a message to Pakistan?
Riz Khan: An exercise in futility
Interview: P Chidambaram
Videos:
Mumbai attacker convicted
Survivors await verdict
Mumbai suspect accuses Jamaat chief
Jamaat chief rejects Indian charges
S M Krishna, India's foreign minister, said he would press Pakistan on the progress of its probe into the Mumbai attacks as he arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday for the meeting, saying he was looking forward to receiving feedback from the Pakistanis on India's "core concern of terrorism".
He said the issue was discussed during last month's visit of P Chidambaram, India's home minister, to Pakistan and he would raise it again in talks with Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistan's foreign minister, on Thursday.
"We hope to discuss all issues of mutual interest and concerns that can contribute to restoring trust and building confidence in our bilateral relationship," Krishna said as he arrived in Islamabad.
"This is an important visit as it marks the new beginning of a journey in our effort to build a peaceful, friendly and co-operative relationship between our two countries."
Resuming dialogue between the countries is crucial not only for improving their ties but also the security outlook in Afghanistan where the two countries vie for influence.
India broke off a four-year-old peace process with Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks, saying reviving the dialogue would depend on action against Lashkar and Saeed, who India says masterminded the assault.
Pakistan has put seven people on trial for the Mumbai attacks but has maintained that India has not provided enough evidence to prosecute Saeed.
Pillai said Saaed's role in the Mumbai attacks was not "peripheral", but that "he knew everything".
G K Pillai, India's home secretary, said on Wednesday that the perpetrators of the attacks in which 166 people died were "clients and creations" of the Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] agency of the Pakistan army".
"They [ISI] were literally controlling and co-ordinating it from the beginning until the end," the Indian Express newspaper quoted Pillai as saying.
India has in the past blamed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group for the Mumbai attacks and alleged ISI involved, which Pakistan denies, but Pillai's comments were the most direct accusation India has made against the government agency.
Pillai said the evidence against the ISI emerged from the interrogation by Indian officials of David Headley, a US citizen, who pleaded guilty to working with Lashkar to plan the attacks.
The accusation comes on the eve of talks aimed at reviving a peace process between the two countries, which was broken off after the deadly assault.
Pakistan pressure
Prerna Suri, Al Jazeera's India correspondent, said that while it was not a new allegation, the timing of the statement was very significant.
"In his confessional statement, Headley named the ISI as being behind the co-ordination and logistical support of the Mumbai attacks," Suri said.
"New Delhi is sending a clear message to Pakistan that security will be the main concern during these talks.
"They [India] would like Pakistan to crack down on those groups, who they feel are operating against Indian interests, meaning LeT as well as individuals such as [its chief] Hafiz Muhammed Saeed, who many in India feel are being given patronage by various elements in Pakistan."
in depth
Inside Story: Sending a message to Pakistan?
Riz Khan: An exercise in futility
Interview: P Chidambaram
Videos:
Mumbai attacker convicted
Survivors await verdict
Mumbai suspect accuses Jamaat chief
Jamaat chief rejects Indian charges
S M Krishna, India's foreign minister, said he would press Pakistan on the progress of its probe into the Mumbai attacks as he arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday for the meeting, saying he was looking forward to receiving feedback from the Pakistanis on India's "core concern of terrorism".
He said the issue was discussed during last month's visit of P Chidambaram, India's home minister, to Pakistan and he would raise it again in talks with Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistan's foreign minister, on Thursday.
"We hope to discuss all issues of mutual interest and concerns that can contribute to restoring trust and building confidence in our bilateral relationship," Krishna said as he arrived in Islamabad.
"This is an important visit as it marks the new beginning of a journey in our effort to build a peaceful, friendly and co-operative relationship between our two countries."
Resuming dialogue between the countries is crucial not only for improving their ties but also the security outlook in Afghanistan where the two countries vie for influence.
India broke off a four-year-old peace process with Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks, saying reviving the dialogue would depend on action against Lashkar and Saeed, who India says masterminded the assault.
Pakistan has put seven people on trial for the Mumbai attacks but has maintained that India has not provided enough evidence to prosecute Saeed.
Pillai said Saaed's role in the Mumbai attacks was not "peripheral", but that "he knew everything".
Somalia’s forgotten war
Al-Shabab’s celebration of the Kampala attacks is bad news for Africa
Sunday's twin suicide blasts in Kampala, which killed more than 70 people mostly football fans, are a grim reminder of the festering conflict in Somalia. The radical Al-Shabab movement has claimed responsibility and threatened to carry out more attacks against Uganda and Burundi unless the two countries withdraw their forces from Amisom, the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia.
Somalia has been embroiled in a bloody civil war, which has left this once promising country in tatters, for more than 20 years. The tragedy of Somalia is compounded by the fact that no one really cares about what’s happening there. Its conflict has become invisible. But this is proving to be a costly mistake, as the terrible attacks in Kampala have shown. Somalia’s disintegration as a country has produced a number of anomalies such as pirates, but the biggest threat is the rise of extremist movements in the midst of total anarchy and their quest for control.
Baghdad and Kabul are like Scandinavian cities compared to Mogadishu, Somalia’s decrepit capital. The daily reality there is made of street wars, bombings, beheadings and tribal fighting. It’s a forgotten war that now threatens to bring to power a regime that is more ruthless than the Taleban. But what is worse is that if it succeeds then Al-Qaeda and other fanatics will have a base from which they can destabilize other countries in Africa.
But getting involved is costly. Those who did were eventually chased out. The US, under President Bill Clinton, intervened briefly but left in a hurry after suffering 19 Marine casualties in Mogadishu. The UN too sent two peacekeeping missions between 1992 and 1995 only to see its coalition forces attacked by power hungry warlords. It finally abandoned the country and few months later the government collapsed.
As Somalia became engulfed by civil war, its neighbors, primarily Ethiopia, stepped in. Addis Ababa had previously supported the armed insurgency that ended the long rule of the country’s dictator Mohammad Siad Barre. But that only led to Somalia’s partition with Somaliland, the northwestern part of the country, declaring independence in 1991. By then the various Somali parties and coalitions had declared war on each other and a long and brutal fighting ensued. The result was disastrous for civilians and famine claimed the life of no less than 300,000 people in the mid-1990s.
By the onset of the 21st century Somalia had been divided largely along tribal lines with Somaliland and Puntland autonomous regions in the north and in the Horn of Africa while the south slowly fell under the control of Hizbul Islam and Al-Shabab movements. The federal government, recognized as the legitimate power in Somalia, could barely keep hold of parts of the capital and nearby regions.
When the Islamic Courts Movement briefly took over in the south, including the capital, in 2006 and imposed Shariah law, Ethiopia and the African Union quickly responded. Ethiopia invaded the south dislodging the Islamic Courts, but that only led to the birth of more radical off-shoots including Al-Shabab.
Al-Shabab was able to regroup and become a considerable force. They defeated the Ethiopians in a number of battles and finally drove them out the country. Now they have managed to neutralize the interim federal government and wage war against fellow Islamist rivals, including Hizbul Islam and others. The small African Union force is what stands in their way.
Al-Shabab movement will almost certainly take over Mogadishu and overthrow the government in the coming weeks and months. It will impose a strict Shariah law and turn what is left of the country under their control into a closed society run by arbitrary laws and ironclad rules. But that should be the least of the world’s concern.
The collapse of Somalia will have catastrophic results on all of its neighbors and most of Africa. The Kampala attacks prove that Al-Qaeda-like tactics, adopted by Al-Shabab, can easily move across borders with lethal results. The fact that the African Union peacekeeping mission there is hapless and could soon abandon the country is frightening.
Somalia is an ancient civilization and a land that has played a key part in East African history. Like many of its neighbors it has a checkered past and a complicated tribal and ethnic make-up. Now major chunks of this country have been impregnated by extremist militants. Piracy is only one face of Somalia today. This Arab League and African Union member state has been abandoned by the world community. But leaving it to its fate will not be easy or free of cost.
Somalia could prove to be more dangerous to world stability than Afghanistan and Iraq put together. It is true that it is an impoverished land, with little strategic assets, but allowing a radical Islamist movement to take over will have severe consequences on Africa and the region.
Source
Sunday's twin suicide blasts in Kampala, which killed more than 70 people mostly football fans, are a grim reminder of the festering conflict in Somalia. The radical Al-Shabab movement has claimed responsibility and threatened to carry out more attacks against Uganda and Burundi unless the two countries withdraw their forces from Amisom, the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia.
Somalia has been embroiled in a bloody civil war, which has left this once promising country in tatters, for more than 20 years. The tragedy of Somalia is compounded by the fact that no one really cares about what’s happening there. Its conflict has become invisible. But this is proving to be a costly mistake, as the terrible attacks in Kampala have shown. Somalia’s disintegration as a country has produced a number of anomalies such as pirates, but the biggest threat is the rise of extremist movements in the midst of total anarchy and their quest for control.
Baghdad and Kabul are like Scandinavian cities compared to Mogadishu, Somalia’s decrepit capital. The daily reality there is made of street wars, bombings, beheadings and tribal fighting. It’s a forgotten war that now threatens to bring to power a regime that is more ruthless than the Taleban. But what is worse is that if it succeeds then Al-Qaeda and other fanatics will have a base from which they can destabilize other countries in Africa.
But getting involved is costly. Those who did were eventually chased out. The US, under President Bill Clinton, intervened briefly but left in a hurry after suffering 19 Marine casualties in Mogadishu. The UN too sent two peacekeeping missions between 1992 and 1995 only to see its coalition forces attacked by power hungry warlords. It finally abandoned the country and few months later the government collapsed.
As Somalia became engulfed by civil war, its neighbors, primarily Ethiopia, stepped in. Addis Ababa had previously supported the armed insurgency that ended the long rule of the country’s dictator Mohammad Siad Barre. But that only led to Somalia’s partition with Somaliland, the northwestern part of the country, declaring independence in 1991. By then the various Somali parties and coalitions had declared war on each other and a long and brutal fighting ensued. The result was disastrous for civilians and famine claimed the life of no less than 300,000 people in the mid-1990s.
By the onset of the 21st century Somalia had been divided largely along tribal lines with Somaliland and Puntland autonomous regions in the north and in the Horn of Africa while the south slowly fell under the control of Hizbul Islam and Al-Shabab movements. The federal government, recognized as the legitimate power in Somalia, could barely keep hold of parts of the capital and nearby regions.
When the Islamic Courts Movement briefly took over in the south, including the capital, in 2006 and imposed Shariah law, Ethiopia and the African Union quickly responded. Ethiopia invaded the south dislodging the Islamic Courts, but that only led to the birth of more radical off-shoots including Al-Shabab.
Al-Shabab was able to regroup and become a considerable force. They defeated the Ethiopians in a number of battles and finally drove them out the country. Now they have managed to neutralize the interim federal government and wage war against fellow Islamist rivals, including Hizbul Islam and others. The small African Union force is what stands in their way.
Al-Shabab movement will almost certainly take over Mogadishu and overthrow the government in the coming weeks and months. It will impose a strict Shariah law and turn what is left of the country under their control into a closed society run by arbitrary laws and ironclad rules. But that should be the least of the world’s concern.
The collapse of Somalia will have catastrophic results on all of its neighbors and most of Africa. The Kampala attacks prove that Al-Qaeda-like tactics, adopted by Al-Shabab, can easily move across borders with lethal results. The fact that the African Union peacekeeping mission there is hapless and could soon abandon the country is frightening.
Somalia is an ancient civilization and a land that has played a key part in East African history. Like many of its neighbors it has a checkered past and a complicated tribal and ethnic make-up. Now major chunks of this country have been impregnated by extremist militants. Piracy is only one face of Somalia today. This Arab League and African Union member state has been abandoned by the world community. But leaving it to its fate will not be easy or free of cost.
Somalia could prove to be more dangerous to world stability than Afghanistan and Iraq put together. It is true that it is an impoverished land, with little strategic assets, but allowing a radical Islamist movement to take over will have severe consequences on Africa and the region.
Source
Waging 'Spiritual Warfare' in Northern Iraq Evangelicals have established schools, radio stations and churches in northern Iraq -- all with the blessings of the Kurdistan government and assistance from U.S. taxpayers.
On a barren hillside outside Sulaymaniyah in southeast Iraqi Kurdistan sits a small compound of buildings clustered behind battered gray and ochre walls. Atop one wall is a large white sign glittering with gold and azure lettering that reads in English and Arabic: Classical School of the Medes. It is one of three new private schools in the region that teach a "Christian worldview," the handiwork of American evangelicals from Tennessee.
Since the US occupation took hold, American evangelicals have established not only schools, but printing presses, radio stations, women's centers, bookstores, medical and dental clinics, and churches in northern Iraq, all with the blessings and assistance of the Kurdistan government. Many of these efforts were funded in part by US taxpayer dollars, channeled through Department of Defense construction contracts and State Department grants.
In September 2003, just four months after US forces took down Saddam Hussein's regime, 350 evangelical pastors and church leaders assembled in Kirkuk, where they were warmly welcomed by Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government. At that gathering, George Grant, a leader of Servant Group International, the evangelical organization in Nashville that set up the chain of Christian schools, declared that "Jesus Christ is Lord over all things; He is Lord over every Mullah, every Ayatollah, every Imam, and every Mahdi pretender; He is Lord over the whole of the earth, even Iraq!"
CENTCOM documents show that between 2005 and 2007, DOD's Joint Contracting Command Iraq/Afghanistan paid the Kurdish company Daban Group at least $465,639 for the construction of Grant's School of the Medes. Two years earlier, tens of thousands of dollars from a State Department-funded program called Healthcare Partnerships in Northern Iraq also made their way into a variety of Servant Group evangelical and humanitarian projects.
In return for the Regional Government's support for this evangelical presence in Kurdistan, Doug Layton, another Tennessean and a Servant Group founder, served as a crucial liaison for the KRG in Washington during the Bush years. There, he ran Kurdish public relations efforts and recruited evangelical businessmen to invest in the region.
"Since the run up to the Iraq War, [Massoud] Barzani and the KRG played to the Bush administration and its right-wing evangelical Christian base," said Mike Amitay, a Middle East senior policy analyst at the Open Society Policy Center. "That's where they saw the power and the money. Barzani was going to let them set up schools and churches and get what he needed." But, Amitay adds, "given the rise of the Islamic parties in Kurdistan and Assyrian Christian resentment of American evangelical exceptionalism and proselytizing, they're playing with fire."
Tennessee Waltz
In the years since Saddam Hussein's 1988 assault on the Kurds that culminated in the chemical weapon attack on the village of Halabja, some 14,000 refugees from Kurdistan made their way to Nashville, now home to the largest Kurdish population in the United States. In 1992, a cadre of Nashville evangelicals from Servant Group International, including large numbers of Kurdish believers, trooped out of their base at Belmont Church, a megachurch occupying several blocks on Music Square, and made their way to the mountains of Kurdistan in northern Iraq, where they set up shop. They were packing Kurdish-language bibles, bags of cash, medical equipment and a long-range game plan to establish their "Father's Kingdom" between the Turkish border and Iran. Since arriving in northern Iraq some twenty years ago, Servant Group has widened its global presence, establishing offices, ministries and schools in Turkey, Central Asia, Indonesia, Germany, and Norway.
Source
Since the US occupation took hold, American evangelicals have established not only schools, but printing presses, radio stations, women's centers, bookstores, medical and dental clinics, and churches in northern Iraq, all with the blessings and assistance of the Kurdistan government. Many of these efforts were funded in part by US taxpayer dollars, channeled through Department of Defense construction contracts and State Department grants.
In September 2003, just four months after US forces took down Saddam Hussein's regime, 350 evangelical pastors and church leaders assembled in Kirkuk, where they were warmly welcomed by Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government. At that gathering, George Grant, a leader of Servant Group International, the evangelical organization in Nashville that set up the chain of Christian schools, declared that "Jesus Christ is Lord over all things; He is Lord over every Mullah, every Ayatollah, every Imam, and every Mahdi pretender; He is Lord over the whole of the earth, even Iraq!"
CENTCOM documents show that between 2005 and 2007, DOD's Joint Contracting Command Iraq/Afghanistan paid the Kurdish company Daban Group at least $465,639 for the construction of Grant's School of the Medes. Two years earlier, tens of thousands of dollars from a State Department-funded program called Healthcare Partnerships in Northern Iraq also made their way into a variety of Servant Group evangelical and humanitarian projects.
In return for the Regional Government's support for this evangelical presence in Kurdistan, Doug Layton, another Tennessean and a Servant Group founder, served as a crucial liaison for the KRG in Washington during the Bush years. There, he ran Kurdish public relations efforts and recruited evangelical businessmen to invest in the region.
"Since the run up to the Iraq War, [Massoud] Barzani and the KRG played to the Bush administration and its right-wing evangelical Christian base," said Mike Amitay, a Middle East senior policy analyst at the Open Society Policy Center. "That's where they saw the power and the money. Barzani was going to let them set up schools and churches and get what he needed." But, Amitay adds, "given the rise of the Islamic parties in Kurdistan and Assyrian Christian resentment of American evangelical exceptionalism and proselytizing, they're playing with fire."
Tennessee Waltz
In the years since Saddam Hussein's 1988 assault on the Kurds that culminated in the chemical weapon attack on the village of Halabja, some 14,000 refugees from Kurdistan made their way to Nashville, now home to the largest Kurdish population in the United States. In 1992, a cadre of Nashville evangelicals from Servant Group International, including large numbers of Kurdish believers, trooped out of their base at Belmont Church, a megachurch occupying several blocks on Music Square, and made their way to the mountains of Kurdistan in northern Iraq, where they set up shop. They were packing Kurdish-language bibles, bags of cash, medical equipment and a long-range game plan to establish their "Father's Kingdom" between the Turkish border and Iran. Since arriving in northern Iraq some twenty years ago, Servant Group has widened its global presence, establishing offices, ministries and schools in Turkey, Central Asia, Indonesia, Germany, and Norway.
Source
Arrests made over Uganda bombings
Ugandan authorities have made a number of arrests in connection with explosions at two sites in Kampala that left at least 74 people dead.
Kale Kayihura, the inspector-general of police, said on Tuesday that investigators had also found a unexploded suicide bomb belt at a third site, a discotheque, in the capital.
Somalia's al-Shabab group has said it carried out the attacks on Sunday.
"We have established that what was found at the discotheque was in fact a suicide vest, and it could also be used as an IED [improvised explosive device]," Kayihura said.
The vest, laden with explosives and fitted with a detonator, was found on Monday, packed in a laptop bag at a club in the southwestern Kampala district of Makindye.
"It's possible that the person who was supposed to do this was [a coward] because the system was intact," he said.
One blast hit an Ethiopian restaurant in the south of the city on Sunday, while the other occurred at a rugby sports club as people watched the World Cup final.
Al-Shabab statement
The near-simultaneous attacks on Sunday were the first time the group, which has carried out multiple suicide attacks inside Somalia, has struck outside of the country.
"Al-Shabab was behind the two blasts in Uganda," Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, the group's spokesperson, announced in Mogadishu.
"We thank the mujahideens that carried out the attack. We are sending a message to Uganda and Burundi, if they do not take out their Amisom [African Union Mission in Somalia] troops from Somalia, blasts will continue and it will happen."
interact
Were you at the scene of the Kampala attacks?
Send us your photos, video and personal accounts
Uganda and Burundi currently have peacekeepers in Somalia as part of a stabilisation mission supported by the African Union.
"[Al-Shabab's] strategy is to undermine getting troops into Somalia through attacks like this," Simmons said.
Hussein Mohammed Noor, a Somalia analyst, said the Ethiopian restaurant was likely targeted because of "Ethiopia's involvement in Somalia".
However, he told Al Jazeera that these attacks were unlikely to make African countries reconsider sending troops to Somalia.
Lieutenant-Colonel Felix Kulaigye, a Ugandan army spokesman, said: "Al-Shabab is the reason why we should stay in Somalia. We have to pacify Somalia."
Kayihura that the attacks, which took place amid large crowds at the two locations, could have been carried out by suicide bombers.
"These bombs were definitely targeting World Cup crowds," he said.
Severed head found
Investigators reportedly found the severed head of a Somali national at the scene of one of the blasts.
Officials said 60 Ugandans, nine Ethiopians or Eritreans, one Irish woman, and one Asian were also among those killed.
Two people could not be identified. At least 85 people were wounded.
Source
Kale Kayihura, the inspector-general of police, said on Tuesday that investigators had also found a unexploded suicide bomb belt at a third site, a discotheque, in the capital.
Somalia's al-Shabab group has said it carried out the attacks on Sunday.
"We have established that what was found at the discotheque was in fact a suicide vest, and it could also be used as an IED [improvised explosive device]," Kayihura said.
The vest, laden with explosives and fitted with a detonator, was found on Monday, packed in a laptop bag at a club in the southwestern Kampala district of Makindye.
"It's possible that the person who was supposed to do this was [a coward] because the system was intact," he said.
One blast hit an Ethiopian restaurant in the south of the city on Sunday, while the other occurred at a rugby sports club as people watched the World Cup final.
Al-Shabab statement
The near-simultaneous attacks on Sunday were the first time the group, which has carried out multiple suicide attacks inside Somalia, has struck outside of the country.
"Al-Shabab was behind the two blasts in Uganda," Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, the group's spokesperson, announced in Mogadishu.
"We thank the mujahideens that carried out the attack. We are sending a message to Uganda and Burundi, if they do not take out their Amisom [African Union Mission in Somalia] troops from Somalia, blasts will continue and it will happen."
interact
Were you at the scene of the Kampala attacks?
Send us your photos, video and personal accounts
Uganda and Burundi currently have peacekeepers in Somalia as part of a stabilisation mission supported by the African Union.
"[Al-Shabab's] strategy is to undermine getting troops into Somalia through attacks like this," Simmons said.
Hussein Mohammed Noor, a Somalia analyst, said the Ethiopian restaurant was likely targeted because of "Ethiopia's involvement in Somalia".
However, he told Al Jazeera that these attacks were unlikely to make African countries reconsider sending troops to Somalia.
Lieutenant-Colonel Felix Kulaigye, a Ugandan army spokesman, said: "Al-Shabab is the reason why we should stay in Somalia. We have to pacify Somalia."
Kayihura that the attacks, which took place amid large crowds at the two locations, could have been carried out by suicide bombers.
"These bombs were definitely targeting World Cup crowds," he said.
Severed head found
Investigators reportedly found the severed head of a Somali national at the scene of one of the blasts.
Officials said 60 Ugandans, nine Ethiopians or Eritreans, one Irish woman, and one Asian were also among those killed.
Two people could not be identified. At least 85 people were wounded.
Source
Violence flares in Northern Ireland
Shots have been fired at police in Northern Ireland during a third night of rioting in Irish-nationalist parts of Belfast.
Police said on Wednesday that a lone attacker armed with a handgun fired four to six shots overnight as riot police fought groups of masked protesters in Ardoyne, in the north of the city.
Demonstrators also hurled petrol bombs and a pipe bomb at police officers, who deployed water cannon in response.
Around 82 police officers have been injured during the three days of rioting, which began on Sunday night when three officers were hit with gun pellets.
The disturbances come at the height of Northern Ireland's marching season, a traditional flashpoint in the troubled province's history.
Unrest often flares as Protestant marchers, in favour of continued British rule of the province, pass through areas mainly populated by Catholics, who are generally opposed to rule from London.
'Outright thuggery'
In the most violent riots of the past few days on Monday, dissident republicans threw petrol bombs and concrete slabs at Protestant Orangemen and their police escort as they marched through Ardoyne.
Peter Robinson, Northern Ireland's first minister, and his deputy Martin McGuinness, who have appealed for calm, are to meet Northern Ireland's police chief later on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing tensions.
Both Robinson and McGuinness criticised the violence on Tuesday night, saying it was out of keeping with modern-day Northern Ireland.
"I am disgusted at the outright thuggery and vandalism that has taken place over the course of the last 48 hours," Robinson said.
"There is no excuse and no place for violence in civilised society ... We must keep our entire focus on defeating those who would seek through violence and destruction to drag us back."
Through dialogue
For his part, McGuinness said: "Our experience demonstrates that the way to deal with any disputes or contention is through dialogue and agreement."
Authorities are blaming a small group of troublemakers for the unrest.
Witnesses have also described children becoming involved.
"I was directly confronted by a nine-year-old last night," Father Gary Donegan, a local priest, told BBC radio, saying he had "physically pulled stones out of children's hands".
Despite the relative calm in Northern Ireland since the 1998 peace accords, violence frequently breaks out around July 12, which sees Protestants marking Prince William of Orange's victory over the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
Aljazeera Reports
Police said on Wednesday that a lone attacker armed with a handgun fired four to six shots overnight as riot police fought groups of masked protesters in Ardoyne, in the north of the city.
Demonstrators also hurled petrol bombs and a pipe bomb at police officers, who deployed water cannon in response.
Around 82 police officers have been injured during the three days of rioting, which began on Sunday night when three officers were hit with gun pellets.
The disturbances come at the height of Northern Ireland's marching season, a traditional flashpoint in the troubled province's history.
Unrest often flares as Protestant marchers, in favour of continued British rule of the province, pass through areas mainly populated by Catholics, who are generally opposed to rule from London.
'Outright thuggery'
In the most violent riots of the past few days on Monday, dissident republicans threw petrol bombs and concrete slabs at Protestant Orangemen and their police escort as they marched through Ardoyne.
Peter Robinson, Northern Ireland's first minister, and his deputy Martin McGuinness, who have appealed for calm, are to meet Northern Ireland's police chief later on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing tensions.
Both Robinson and McGuinness criticised the violence on Tuesday night, saying it was out of keeping with modern-day Northern Ireland.
"I am disgusted at the outright thuggery and vandalism that has taken place over the course of the last 48 hours," Robinson said.
"There is no excuse and no place for violence in civilised society ... We must keep our entire focus on defeating those who would seek through violence and destruction to drag us back."
Through dialogue
For his part, McGuinness said: "Our experience demonstrates that the way to deal with any disputes or contention is through dialogue and agreement."
Authorities are blaming a small group of troublemakers for the unrest.
Witnesses have also described children becoming involved.
"I was directly confronted by a nine-year-old last night," Father Gary Donegan, a local priest, told BBC radio, saying he had "physically pulled stones out of children's hands".
Despite the relative calm in Northern Ireland since the 1998 peace accords, violence frequently breaks out around July 12, which sees Protestants marking Prince William of Orange's victory over the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
Aljazeera Reports
Gaza aid ship 'diverted to Egypt'
The Amalthea is carrying 2,000 tonnes of supplies intended for the people of Gaza [Reuters]
A Libyan aid ship originally bound for the Gaza Strip has been diverted to a port in Egypt after the Israeli navy warned the vessel against trying to break an Israeli blockade on the Palestinian coastal territory.
Israeli warships were shadowing the Moldovan-flagged Amalthea, carrying 2,000 tonnes of food and medicine, to its diverted destination of El Arish port on the Egyptian Sinai coast.
"Eight Israeli warships are surrounding the Libyan aid ship for Gaza and preventing the continuation of its journey," Yousseuf Sawani, executive director of the Gaddafi Foundation which charteredthe vessel, said early on Wednesday.
Sawani said earlier that the warships were "threatening" the Amalthea, also known as Al Amal, which he said was still headed for Gaza. But he made it clear that those on board would not violently resist any efforts to stop them.
"First and foremost, we want to arrive to Gaza. If this is impossible, we don't want to subject anyone to danger," he told Al Jazeera.
Sawani said that communications with the boat had been jammed and the vessel was moving at a slow pace because of the Israeli warships that were trailing it.
An Egyptian official confirmed that the ship sought and received permissionto sail to El Arish, where authorities would unload its humanitarian aid cargo and transfer it by land to Gaza.
But he said that there was "no co-ordination at the moment with the ship and we do not know where its final destination is".
Possible disputes
An Israeli official hinted at possible disputes between the chartered crew and passengers over the destination.
"It's far from clear that there is agreement about where the ship is headed," said the official, who had been briefed on the navy's radio exchanges with the Amalthea since contact was made with it some 160km from Gaza Strip's shores.
Just before midnight, the ship's crew said they were stuck because of engine trouble.
In a recording played on Israel radio, a crew member said he did not know how long it would take to repair the main engine and resume the journey.
Amalthea was still around 90km from land but is not expected to dock for another day. It is carrying 12 crew members and at least nine passengers, including six Libyans and one each from Algeria, Morocco and Nigeria.
Overland convoy
A separate attempt to deliver aid relief and medical supplies to Gaza is also currently under way.
A convoy of 150 people, including "unionists, journalists and academics", is travelling overland in 25 vehicles from Jordan to the Egyptian Rafah crossing.
These challenges to the blockade come a day after Israel's military admitted mistakes in the May 31 attack on a flotilla of aid vessels trying to breach the blockade.
Nine pro-Palestinian activists, eight Turks and a dual US-Turkish citizen, were killed after Israeli soldiers boarded the lead ship Mavi Marmara.
Following an international outcry over the raid, Israel recently eased restrictions on the Gaza Strip, allowing some previously banned items into the territory.
A Libyan aid ship originally bound for the Gaza Strip has been diverted to a port in Egypt after the Israeli navy warned the vessel against trying to break an Israeli blockade on the Palestinian coastal territory.
Israeli warships were shadowing the Moldovan-flagged Amalthea, carrying 2,000 tonnes of food and medicine, to its diverted destination of El Arish port on the Egyptian Sinai coast.
"Eight Israeli warships are surrounding the Libyan aid ship for Gaza and preventing the continuation of its journey," Yousseuf Sawani, executive director of the Gaddafi Foundation which charteredthe vessel, said early on Wednesday.
Sawani said earlier that the warships were "threatening" the Amalthea, also known as Al Amal, which he said was still headed for Gaza. But he made it clear that those on board would not violently resist any efforts to stop them.
"First and foremost, we want to arrive to Gaza. If this is impossible, we don't want to subject anyone to danger," he told Al Jazeera.
Sawani said that communications with the boat had been jammed and the vessel was moving at a slow pace because of the Israeli warships that were trailing it.
An Egyptian official confirmed that the ship sought and received permissionto sail to El Arish, where authorities would unload its humanitarian aid cargo and transfer it by land to Gaza.
But he said that there was "no co-ordination at the moment with the ship and we do not know where its final destination is".
Possible disputes
An Israeli official hinted at possible disputes between the chartered crew and passengers over the destination.
"It's far from clear that there is agreement about where the ship is headed," said the official, who had been briefed on the navy's radio exchanges with the Amalthea since contact was made with it some 160km from Gaza Strip's shores.
Just before midnight, the ship's crew said they were stuck because of engine trouble.
In a recording played on Israel radio, a crew member said he did not know how long it would take to repair the main engine and resume the journey.
Amalthea was still around 90km from land but is not expected to dock for another day. It is carrying 12 crew members and at least nine passengers, including six Libyans and one each from Algeria, Morocco and Nigeria.
Overland convoy
A separate attempt to deliver aid relief and medical supplies to Gaza is also currently under way.
A convoy of 150 people, including "unionists, journalists and academics", is travelling overland in 25 vehicles from Jordan to the Egyptian Rafah crossing.
These challenges to the blockade come a day after Israel's military admitted mistakes in the May 31 attack on a flotilla of aid vessels trying to breach the blockade.
Nine pro-Palestinian activists, eight Turks and a dual US-Turkish citizen, were killed after Israeli soldiers boarded the lead ship Mavi Marmara.
Following an international outcry over the raid, Israel recently eased restrictions on the Gaza Strip, allowing some previously banned items into the territory.
Israel: Aid ship shooting justified - Video
| Israel: Aid ship shooting justified |
| The Israeli military has released its report into the deadly raid on the Gaza aid flotilla on May 31, which killed nine people. The 100-page document criticises the Israeli navy for "serious errors" in preparing and carrying out the assault at sea. But when it came to the conduct of Israeli soldiers during the raid, the report found no wrongdoing and instead, praised officers who took part in it. |
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