WAR 08-01-2015-to-08-07-2015_____****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

[Housecarl]

(174) 07-11-2015-to-07-17-2015_____****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...17-2015_____****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

(175) 07-18-2015-to-07-24-2015_____****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...24-2015_____****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

(176) 07-25-2015-to-07-31-2015_____****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...31-2015_____****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150801/turkey-kurds-ba5ff91da5.html

Iraqi Kurds ask Kurdish Workers Party to 'withdraw'

Aug 1, 8:31 AM (ET)
By VIVIAN SALAMA and BASSEM MROUE

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's Kurdish regional government called on the Kurdish Worker's Party to "withdraw" from Iraq's Kurdish territory Saturday to prevent civilian deaths amid a campaign of Turkish airstrikes targeting the group.

A statement from the office of Kurdish President Massoud Barzani said the Kurdish Workers' Party, known as the PKK, "should withdraw its fighters from the Kurdish region so to ensure the civilians of Kurdistan don't become victim of that fighting and conflict."

The statement also condemned Turkey for bombing civilians, following reports that civilian homes were damaged in airstrikes in northwestern Iraq. The statement calls on both sides to resume peace talks.

"We condemn the bombing, which led to the martyrdom of the citizens of the Kurdish region, and we call on Turkey to not to repeat the bombing of civilians," the statement added, and called upon both sides to resume a Kurdish peace process.

Sedar Sitar, an Iraq-based PKK activist, told The Associated Press that Turkish strikes destroyed at least six homes in the town of Zargel early Saturday, killing at least eight civilians and wounding 12.

Turkey launched airstrikes on Kurdish rebel camps in northern Iraq last week, its first such strikes since a peace process with the Kurds was launched in 2012. The airstrikes began as the U.S. and Turkey announced the outlines of a deal to help push the Islamic State group back from a strip of territory it controls along the Syrian-Turkish border, replacing it with more-moderate rebels backed by Washington and Ankara.

On Friday, the Kurdish regional government accused the PKK of attacking an oil pipeline in northern Iraq. The Kurdish government had been selling oil directly to Turkey in a move that sparked tensions between the regional government in Irbil and the federal government in Baghdad. Those sales were stopped as part of a deal with Baghdad earlier this year, though the Kurdish government has threatened to resume sales to the international market in recent weeks.

Tensions between Barzani's Kurdish Democratic Party and the PKK of Abdullah Ocalan in Turkey date back decades. The two groups were opponents in a 1990s civil war, which ended in an accord that allowed PKK fighters to remain in Iraqi Kurdish territory. The U.S. State Department regards the PKK as a terrorist organization because of its history of violence in Turkey.

In recent months, the PKK joined an uneasy alliance with Iraqi Kurdish fighters, known as the peshmerga, and the main Syrian Kurdish militia against the Islamic State group in northern Iraq and Syria.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said Saturday that as many as 28 F-16 jets raided 65 PKK targets in northern Iraq, including shelters and ammunition depots on Friday. A day earlier, as many as 80 jets hit more than 100 targets, the agency said.

Anadolu claimed some 260 PKK rebels were killed and 400 were wounded since the start of the raids. The PKK has not reported on its casualties.

A statement Wednesday by the Iraqi Council of Ministers called the Turkish airstrikes "a dangerous escalation and a violation of Iraq's sovereignty." The statement also stressed the council's "commitment not to allow any attack on Turkey from Iraqi territory."

In Syria, meanwhile, the Kurdish militia there said the Turkish military has targeted them four times since July 24, calling such attacks "provocative."

The People's Protection Units, or YPG, which have been spearheading battles against the Islamic State group, called on the U.S.-led coalition to clarify their stance regarding the Turkish strikes. The coalition has been providing Kurds air cover in the Islamic State fight.

The YPG said that despite the fact that it has nothing to do with Turkey's fighting against the PKK, "the Turkish military monitors and targets our units." It said the Turkish acts "will have negative consequences if they continue, and Turkey's government will be held accountable for the results."

---

Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Salar Salim in Irbil, Iraq, contributed to this report.

 

[Housecarl]

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150801/as--afghanistan-taliban-de692c02a7.html

New Afghan Taliban leader promises to continue insurgency

Aug 1, 9:47 AM (ET)
By RAHIM FAIEZ

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The new leader of the Afghan Taliban vowed to continue his group's bloody, nearly 14-year insurgency in an audio message released Saturday, urging his fighters to remain unified after the death of their longtime leader.

The audio message purportedly from Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor also included comments about the Taliban's nascent peace talks with the Afghan government, though it wasn't immediately clear whether he supported them or not.

Mansoor took over the Taliban after the group on Thursday confirmed that former leader Mullah Mohammad Omar had died and said they elected Mansoor as his successor. The Afghan government announced Wednesday that the reclusive mullah had been dead since April 2013; the Taliban has remained vague on exactly when Mullah Omar died.

"We should keep our unity, we must be united, our enemy will be happy in our separation," Mansoor purportedly said in the message. "This is a big responsibility for us. This is not the work of one, two or three people. This is all our responsibility to carry on jihad until we establish the Islamic state."

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid sent the audio to journalists and others Saturday. The Associated Press could not independently verify the identity of the man speaking in the roughly 30-minute audio clip, though Mujahid is in charge of all communications for the group.

Mullah Omar was the one-eyed, secretive head of the Taliban, who hosted Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaida in the years leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He had not been seen in public since fleeing over the border into Pakistan after the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that ousted the Taliban from power.

The new leader of the Taliban is seen as close to Pakistan, which is believed to have sheltered and supported the insurgents through the war. He is believed to support the peace process initiated by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and which Pakistan has taken the lead on sponsoring.

The future of the peace talks — postponed indefinitely by Pakistan after the Taliban pulled out of a second round scheduled for Friday — is now in the balance as the Taliban leadership appears to be fracturing amid disagreement over who should inherit Mullah Omar's mantle.

The new Taliban leader's call for unity comes a day after one of Mullah Omar's sons, Yacoob, said he opposed Mansoor's election, which was held in the Pakistani city of Quetta. He said the vote took place among a small clique of Mansoor's supporters and demanded a re-election that includes all Taliban commanders, including those fighting in Afghanistan.

Mansoor has effectively been commanding the Taliban as Mullah Omar's deputy for the last three years, and has called on loyal commanders to intensify the war against the Afghan government in recent months. Local security forces increasingly find themselves under attack as NATO and U.S. troops ended their combat mission in the country at the end of last year.

The audio message was clearly aimed at calming dissident, as the split seemed to cleave those who support talks to end the war from hardliners who oppose negotiations with the Afghan government. The man purported to be Mansoor calls for patience, asks the Taliban rank and file to ignore media reports about the peace process and rely on the leadership to make decisions. His words seemed carefully chosen to avoid either supporting or rejecting peace talks.

"We have to continue our jihad, we shouldn't be suspicious of each other. We should accept each other. Whatever happens must comply with Sharia law, whether that be jihad, or talks, or an invitation to either. Our decisions all must be based on Sharia law," he said.

He said the aim of the movement remained the establishment of an Islamic state in Afghanistan. "The jihad will continue until we establish the Islamic government in our country," he said.

While the insurgents have spread their footprint across the northern provinces, the traditional battlegrounds of the south and east bordering Pakistan remain vulnerable to large-scale Taliban attacks that seem designed to destroy the morale of the Afghan forces as insurgents continue to overrun districts, if only temporarily.

Officials said on Saturday that Taliban gunmen had surrounded a police station in southern Uruzgan province and were holding 70 police officers hostage. The head of the police in Khas Uruzgan district said that five police officers had been killed and four wounded in fighting so far.

"If we don't get support then all 70 police will be either dead or captured," he said.

In a separate statement on Saturday, the Taliban reacted to media reports quoting unnamed sources that the leader of the Haqqani Network, Jalaluddin Haqqani, had died in eastern Afghanistan a year ago.

"These claims have no basis," the statement said. It said the leader of one of the most brutal insurgent groups, based in Pakistan's tribal belt with links to al-Qaeda, "has been blessed with good health for a long time now and has no troubles currently."

Like Mullah Omar, Haqqani has been reported dead on a number of occasions, but the reports have not been independently verified.

Jalaluddin's son Sirajuddin was elected as the Taliban's deputy to Mansoor — a move possibly aimed at ensuring a cash flow from the Haqqanis' wealthy backers and appeasing hardliners, luring back Taliban fighters who had defected to rival organizations such as the Islamic State group.

---

Associated Press writer Lynne O'Donnell contributed to this report.

 

[Housecarl]

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150801/as--afghanistan-taliban-analysis-2a8421fd42.html

Analysis: Afghan govt hopes to divide and conquer Taliban

Jul 31, 9:16 PM (ET)
By LYNNE O'DONNELL

(AP) In this Thursday, July 30, 2015. file photo, an Afghan shop clerk shows a...
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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The new leader of the Afghan Taliban faces the twin challenges of bringing together an insurgency that he ran for years under another man's name and uniting a fractured movement that has seen fighters desert for more extreme groups such as the Islamic State. Meanwhile, the Afghan government believes it can seize on the Taliban leadership crisis it has created by announcing that Mullah Mohammad Omar has been dead for more than two years to further weaken the insurgency.

As Afghan officials quietly expressed optimism that peace will eventually prevail, the first fissures began appearing Friday in the Taliban's veneer, when Mullah Omar's son Yacoob said that he and other senior leaders rejected the manner and the result of the election for a new leader.

"The Afghan government is hoping that in dispelling the myth that Mullah Omar has been making the decisions all these years, that the Taliban will turn in on itself, eat its young and become an irrelevance," said a diplomat in Kabul.

Without Mullah Omar at the helm, officials and analysts said, the Taliban has lost its ability to compel members into obedience with the religious legitimacy he wielded as "Commander of the Faithful," who wore a cloak said to have belonged to the Prophet Muhammad.

"The Taliban movement is based on religious, Islamic principles, not on tribal and ethnic principles and as such the decisions of the ruling shuras (councils) should be accepted by all members" as religious edicts, said Wakil Ahmed Muttawhakil, who served as foreign minister in the Taliban's 1996-2001 administration.

For the past three years, the man just elected to replace Mullah Omar, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, has purported to be speaking and acting in his name. He has entered into a peace process with Kabul, but he has also ordered battlefield commanders to intensify their war, now nearing its 14th year with the deaths of U.S. and other international forces and Afghan civilians in the tens of thousands. Taliban gunmen have believed themselves to be righteously fighting a jihad, or holy war.

"When Mullah Omar became the emir, there was a huge gathering in Kandahar, significantly inside Afghanistan, that gave him legitimacy in his claim to be the leader," said an Afghan official. "The leadership of the Afghan Taliban must be inside Afghanistan if they are to have the legitimacy of leadership. How can they claim to be the opposition to the Afghan government and to represent all factions of the organization when they are outside the country?"

Like the diplomat, he spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media on the subject.

Not all within the insurgency's ranks believed the man not seen in public since 2001 was still running the show, and when the dissatisfaction surfaced, the Afghan leadership decided to finally kill the myth. That decision is likely to shake the foundations of the Afghan political landscape, officials, diplomats and analysts said.

But an equally divided Afghan government needs to take a unified approach to turn the opportunities now available to its advantage, said political analyst Haroun Mir. "The national unity government is fragmented. The Taliban has been shown to be in the same situation. So now who should talk to whom," he said.

"This is an opportunity for the Afghan government to review its negotiating strategy, to reactivate the High Peace Council with a new structure, making it more independent, with new people and the authority to negotiate on behalf of all Afghans," Mir said, referring to the body charged with bringing the Taliban into a dialogue aimed at ending the war.

The White House said Friday that the demise of Mullah Omar represents a chance for yet more progress for a stable Afghanistan. It noted last year's elections and the first peaceful, democratic transfer of power as well as the end of U.S. combat mission.

Still, "Afghanistan remains a dangerous place, and the Afghan people still suffer from a brutal insurgency that continues to take innocent lives and hinder Afghanistan's prospects for peace," the White House statement said. "At this time of transition, the Taliban can choose to continue to fight their own people and destabilize their own country, or they can choose peace. We encourage the Taliban to heed President (Ashraf) Ghani's call for reconciliation and make genuine peace with the Afghan government."

Others said Kabul could also take control of a peace process that has been largely in the hands of the Pakistani authorities, widely believed to support the Afghan Taliban and to have pressured its leaders to deal with Ghani's government, which has made peace a priority. It is widely believed that Mansoor is close to Pakistan and that his actions have reflected the bidding of Islamabad.

The nascent peace process is now on hold, after the Taliban pulled out of a second round of official, face-to-face talks due to have taken place in Pakistan on Friday.

The fissures in the insurgency that have become evident in recent days hint at a growing influence of hardliners who might believe their own propaganda that this year's battlefield gains signal victory is close. The election of Sirajuddin Haqqani, a leader of the brutal Haqqani Network who carries a $10 million bounty on his head, as a deputy leader may be designed to lure back disaffected commanders who have declared allegiance to the Islamic State group — which already controls about a third of Iraq and Syria and has been trying to establish a presence in Afghanistan.

It could also be an attempt to ensure money continues to flow to the Taliban, as the Haqqani Network has wealthy backers at a time of fierce competition for funding among insurgent groups. One Taliban commander who refused to be named because he has no authority to speak publicly for the movement, said the appointment of Mansoor would "help IS recruitment and I'm sure they will do their best to use this situation to the maximum."

High Peace Council officials said ahead of the slated second round of talks that the Afghan government would be calling for a ceasefire as a show of sincerity from the Taliban. That hope has been shot down, at least for now.

But as the insurgency publicly fractures, hopes are growing that Kabul's divide-and-conquer strategy will yield a long-term peace dividend.

"We are optimistic," said the government official.

---

Associated Press writer Humayoon Babur contributed to this report.

 

[Housecarl]

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150731/lt-mexico-violence-cfac4fa3bc.html

Mexican judge orders 4 soldiers to stand trial in 7 deaths

Jul 31, 6:12 PM (ET)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A federal judge in Mexico has ordered that four soldiers be held for trial on charges including forced disappearance and murder related to the deaths of seven people.

The federal judiciary council said Friday in a statement that a judge in the central state of Zacatecas called for the four soldiers of the 97th Infantry Battalion to stand trial.

Seven civilians disappeared in the Zacatecas town of Calera on July 7. The following week, seven bodies were found elsewhere in the state. On July 19, the military announced that its investigation found indications that soldiers were involved in the disappearances.

The military's investigation started after residents of Calera filed complaints and mounted a public campaign blaming soldiers.

 

[Housecarl]

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150801/lt-venezuela-deadly-looting-385f66a709.html

Venezuela governor: 1 killed during supermarket looting

Jul 31, 8:35 PM (ET)

(AP) Government supporters holds a poster of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, and the late...
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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A man was killed and dozens were arrested Friday as a mob looted a supermarket and other shops in an industrial Venezuelan city, Bolivar state authorities said.

In announcing the looting, Gov. Francisco Rangel pushed back against opponents of Venezuela's socialist government who attributed the unrest to widespread scarcities of basic goods across the oil-rich nation.

He said more than two dozen people were arrested in connection with the looting in the southeastern city of Ciudad Guyana and added that there was no excuse for the behavior. "No one is starving," he said.

Rangel also suggested to the television station Globovision that the looting might have been driven by people with "political motives." Tensions are running high in Venezuela as the country gears up for December legislative elections.

(AP) A man walks by a sign on a wall that reads "Not to the expropriation, We are all...
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Local newspaper Correo del Caroni said the commotion, which centered on four stroes, caused merchants to temporarily shutter nearby businesses in fear they might be attacked, too.

Venezuela has been grappling with worsening shortages of basic goods like cooking oil and flour. The administration has adopted a variety of measures to address the situation and discourage hoarding, including fingerprinting shoppers who buy food at subsidized prices at supermarkets. Officials also limit the days that people can buy certain products.

Few items are produced locally, and rigid currency controls and a scarcity of U.S. dollars have made it increasingly difficult for Venezuelans to find imported products. Price controls don't help either, with producers complaining that some goods are priced too low to make a profit and justify production.

The administration blames the shortages both on companies speculating with an eye toward future profits and on black market vendors who buy groceries at subsidized prices and illegally resell them for several times the amount.

The looting came a day after Venezuela's largest food distributor, Polar, protested a government seizure of one of its warehouses in Caracas and warned that any takeovers could exacerbate supply problems.

The opposition immediately seized on the looting incident as a demonstration of how bad things have gotten under the current administration.

Henrique Capriles, a former presidential candidate who lost a close race with President Nicolas Maduro in the last presidential election, said the looting shows that shortages have become dire in Venezuela.

"The farther you get from the capital, the worse the economic situation is," he said.

 

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http://ajw.asahi.com/article/asia/china/AJ201507310030

Xi strengthens control after former top military officer detained

July 31, 2015
By NOZOMU HAYASHI/ Correspondent

BEIJING--A former officer known as the “don of the military’s northwestern faction” was detained July 30 on suspicion of bribery, a move seen as tightening Chinese President Xi Jinping’s grip over the armed forces.

Guo Boxiong, 73, was stripped of his Communist Party membership and accused of major disciplinary violations in addition to taking bribes, according to the Central Committee Politburo’s decision.

His case was sent to military prosecutors.

Guo served as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission when Hu Jintao was president. The other vice chairman of that time, Xu Caihou, was detained in 2014 on suspicion of corruption, but he died before an indictment could be handed down.

The latest decision means the two top military officers under Xi’s predecessor have been taken into custody.

According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, Guo is suspected of accepting bribes in exchange for promoting his subordinates. The Politburo decision was described as “an expression of the resolute political resolve to strictly govern the military by law.”

Although the monetary amount or scale of the bribes were not given, a statement released by the Politburo said Guo’s crimes were grave and had a “vile impact.”

Guo was a key member of the Hu administration after being appointed vice chairman of the Central Military Commission in 2002.

He was said to be politically close to Jiang Zemin, Hu’s predecessor as president, as well as being critical of the military reform measures being pushed by the Xi administration.

While Xu was mainly in charge of administrative and political education in the military when he served as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, Guo was in charge of actual military operations.

“With his long experience of working at the front lines, Guo was a leader who had a much deeper network of personnel ties than Xu,” a party source said.

For that reason, the detention of Guo has sent shock waves through the Chinese military.

However, the move demonstrates once again Xi’s determination to use an anti-corruption campaign to gain greater control over the military.

At a 2011 Central Military Commission, Liu Yuan, who has close ties to Xi, accused Gu Junshan, the deputy director of the military’s General Logistics Department, of accepting bribes, according to a party source who has a relative in a Cabinet-level position.

Liu was a political commissioner for the General Logistics Department. However, both Guo and Xu prevented Gu’s detention at that time. Gu was later indicted on graft charges.

In June 2015, Liu contributed a piece to the political theory journal Qiushi, an organ of the Communist Party Central Committee, in which he criticized Xu and his associates as “tainted by corruption.”

Liu also wrote that the arbitrary actions taken by Xu and others prevented able officers from gaining proper promotion.

By NOZOMU HAYASHI/ Correspondent

 

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http://thediplomat.com/2015/08/for-...ea-code-of-conduct-ninth-time-isnt-the-charm/

For the ASEAN-China South China Sea Code of Conduct, Ninth Time Isn't the Charm

After consultations in Tianjin, Chinese and ASEAN leaders appear to be no closer to a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea.

By Ankit Panda
August 01, 2015

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Senior officials from China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met in Tianjin, China to discuss the implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and to advance progress toward a more binding Code of Conduct for the South China Sea. The meeting comes as tensions between ASEAN claimants, including the Philippines and Vietnam, and China remain high in the South China Sea, where China has spent the last 18 months carrying out an unprecedented level of artificial island-building and construction on features it occupies in the Spratly Islands. China agreed to begin discussing the Code of Conduct with ASEAN in 2013.

The Tianjin meetings, formally the Ninth Senior Officials’ Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, had little to offer in the way of deliverables. Leaders did walk away with a new mechanism that could help prevent military escalation in the South China Sea: they agreed to implement a foreign ministers’ hotline specifically to handle any emergencies in the South China Sea. According to Reuters, which reported on the hotline, the mechanism will be formally announced in a joint statement after next week’s meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers.

ASEAN diplomats had varying assessments of the Tianjin talks. Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman noted that the meeting included “important progress with regard to the CoC.” “While we proceed with the implementation of the DoC and work expeditiously towards the establishment of the CoC, recent developments have raised tension and eroded trust and confidence among parties,” he added. Thai Deputy Foreign Minister Noppadon Theppitak noted that the states agreed to “maintain stability” in the South China Sea by “implementing several points achieved as a result of this meeting.” His comments likely refer to the working plan for the implementation of the Declaration on Conduct for next year.

For China, which has historically dragged its feet on the Code of Conduct issue, this meeting was an important forum to build confidence with ASEAN states. Mistrust of China has grown in recent months with regard to its island-building in the Spratlys. Additionally, with the Philippines’ ongoing arbitration against China at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the South China Sea issue has grown increasingly controversial within ASEAN, where there are multiple states who want to de-emphasize the South China Sea issue to maintain their positive rapports with China. It’s notable that in a press conference ahead of the Tianjin talks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang lays out the agenda as follows:

Senior diplomats from ASEAN countries will join Vice Chinese Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin at the meeting to discuss how to fully and effectively implement the DOC, press ahead with pragmatic maritime cooperation and advance the consultation on a code of conduct in the South China Sea (COC) under the framework of implementing the DOC.

For China, discussions for a Code of Conduct are a low priority. China recognizes the internal divisions within ASEAN over the issue: indeed, just four of ASEAN’s ten members are claimants in the South China Sea. For Beijing, meetings like the one in Tianjin are an important way to build trust and demonstrate that it continues to hold a stake – however small – in the continued consultations toward a Code of Conduct. Indeed, most reporting from the Chinese state press regarding this meeting emphasized how China and ASEAN had vowed to maintain peace in the South China Sea and how the consultations were “friendly and candid.”

Even after this meeting, it seems we are no closer to seeing even a new draft of the Code of Conduct for what could still be years. Before China acquiesced to the process in 2013, ASEAN had managed to arrive at a draft Code of Conduct. When China joined the talks, whatever preliminary progress had been attained with the draft had to be revised, now with China’s input. This meant that provisions like the complete banning of military exercises in the South China Sea had to be reevaluated.

For Beijing, joining the Code of Conduct consultation process has proven strategically advantageous. For example, over the course of the last 8 ministerial meetings on the Declaration of Conduct and Code of Conduct, China has continued to assert its sovereignty over disputed waters with impunity. Its participation in the talks has prevented any real progress, allowing Beijing to continue its activities in the contested Paracel and Spratly Islands without contest from any mutually agreed-upon framework (except the non-binding 2002 declaration).

Stalling on the Code of Conduct, thus, grants Beijing time to seal in its advantages in the South China Sea, with new man-made islands and facilities that can easily be converted or operationalized for military use. Once China is satisfied with its position in the South China, we may begin to see real progress on the Code of Conduct. Unfortunately, that may be years from now.

 

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http://thediplomat.com/2015/07/the-other-claimants-vietnam-and-philippines-in-the-south-china-sea/

The Other Claimants: Vietnam and Philippines in the South China Sea

Capitals across the region are trying to secure their interests in the South China Sea without kicking off a conflict.

By Bill Hayton
July 31, 2015

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For decades what happened in the Spratly Islands was easy to keep secret. Unless one of the countries occupying the coral specks – or the United States – decided to go public, everything was kept safely “over the horizon.” Commercial satellite imagery has changed all that. These days you can’t move a cement mixer in the Spratlys without someone noticing.

But the claimants don’t need satellites to see what their rivals are up to. Some of the occupied reefs and islands are so close that a pair of binoculars will suffice. China’s garrison on Johnson Reef is just 6 km (3.7 miles) from Vietnamese forces on Collins Reef and Beijing’s base on Subi Reef is only 26 km (16.1 miles) from the Philippine forces on Thitu Island. The Vietnamese and Philippine governments must therefore have been aware of China’s massive island-building operations within days of them starting. Asia’s largest dredging vessel, the German-designed Tian Jing Hao, began operations at Cuarteron Reef on September 9, 2013. Vietnam has a base on East London Reef just 30 km (18.6 miles) away, yet it was not until May 2014 that either Hanoi or Manila made any public reaction. What explains the silence?

Vietnam’s quietude was probably the result of two considerations: firstly its long-standing desire to settle controversial matters with its brother communists privately – and away from the gaze of angry nationalists. A probable second motive was that Vietnam’s criticism would have been blunted by its own record of land creation. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), since 2010 Vietnam had doubled the size of its (natural) island base at Sand Cay and, since August 2012, created 65,000 square meters of artificial land at West London Reef.

The Philippines had other concerns. According to a former security adviser to the Philippines government, Manila’s reluctance to go public derived from an embarrassing incident in early 2013 when the Philippines accused China of building on Scarborough Shoal only to discover that the structures were actually parts of a lighthouse that the Philippine Coast Guard had built in the early 1990s!

 

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http://www.voanews.com/content/secr...-for-talks-on-security-terrorism/2892906.html

Kerry in Egypt for Talks on Security, Terrorism

Pamela Dockins
August 01, 2015 1:16 PM

CAIRO— U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Cairo late Saturday for talks about security issues and regional terrorism, including the threat posed by Islamic State extremists.

Kerry arrived in the Egyptian capital, his first stop on a five-nation tour of the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Kerry has no formal meetings scheduled Saturday night. He is expected to meet Sunday morning with Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

Security issues will be a focal point throughout Kerry's trip, according to State Department officials.

In particular, the United States is “deeply concerned” about unrest in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, where militants affiliated with the Islamic State group have claimed responsibility for a series of recent deadly attacks.

A senior State Department official who discussed the situation in the Sinai before Kerry arrived said the U.S. needs to support Egypt's efforts to achieve stability.

“The real challenge for Secretary Kerry in his meetings in Egypt is how to discuss ... the regional fight against terrorism and the domestic situation in Egypt, and how the two fit together,” said Michele Dunne, a prominent American analyst of Middle East developments.

Dunne, who has particular expertise on Egyptian affairs, is a senioir associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

U.S. and Egyptian officials will also discuss political, human rights and economic issues.

Warplanes sale

Separately, the United States announced it is delivering eight F-16 fighter jets to Egypt.

“The F-16s provide a valuable capability that is needed during these times of regional instability,” said Major General Charles Hooper, a senior defense official at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. defense official.

The senior U.S. official who briefed reporters on Kerry's missin in the Middle East and Southeast Asia said there was no correlation between the secretary's visit and the warplanes deal.

In March, President Barack Obama announced the United States was lifting a hold on U.S. military aid to Egypt that had been ordered two years ago, after the country's longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak was toppled by nationwide protests.

The U.S. gives Egypt about $1.3 billion in annual military assistance.

Despite the resumption of aid, U.S. officials have continued to voice concerns about Egypt’s repression of supporters of former President Mohamed Morsi, who was elected to succeed Mubarak but who was in turn forced to step down under military pressure.

Iran nuclear concerns

From Egypt, Kerry travels to Qatar, where he will meet on Monday with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.

GCC members have raised concerns about the deal between Iran and six major powers including the United States.

Those six Arab states, all situated close to Iran, have worried that the nuclear agreement with Tehran could have a destabilizing effect on the region.

Some Gulf ministers fear that sanctions relief for Iran, which is part of the nuclear agreement, could enable Tehran to widen its influence in the region and broaden its material support for militant groups.

Both Obama and Defense Secretary Ash Carter have discussed the Iran nuclear deal with Saudi Foreign Minister Abel al-Jubeir in July.

After returning to Riyadh during the past week, the foreign minister said he has concluded it does appear that the agreement will limit Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons.

The Gulf Cooperation Council consists of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates – all monarchies.

Daniel Serwer, a scholar at the Middle East Institute in the United States, said he is uncertain whether Kerry will be able to ease all of the GCC’s concerns about the Iran deal. However, he also points out the nuclear agreement carries many potential benefits.

“It seems to me," Serwer said, that "if I lived in the Gulf, I would feel a lot more comfortable with Iran backed off from nuclear weapons and not being able to pursue them for 10 or 15 years, than I would without a deal.”

The U.S.-GCC meeting in Doha also will be a good opportunity to discuss broader strategic issues such as the unrest in Syria and Yemen, a senior State Department official said.

Talks on Ukraine

While in Doha, Kerry also will discuss security issues with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Their talks are expected to include efforts to combat Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, U.S. officials said, as well as the situation in Ukraine.

From Qatar, Kerry travels to Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam – three nations who have been involved in talks on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership to cut tariffs and trade barriers – and will also attend an forum in Kuala Lumpur organized by ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

While in Hanoi, Kerry will take part in an event marking the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam following U.S.involvement in the Vietnam War.

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Iran Deal Backers Urged to Lobby Congress

 

[Housecarl]

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Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/01/us-kurds-turkey-idUSKCN0Q632X20150801

World | Sat Aug 1, 2015 4:49pm EDT
Related: World, Turkey, Syria

Kurdish militia in Syria accuses Turkey of 'provocative' attacks

BEIRUT/ISTANBUL | By Sylvia Westall and Humeyra Pamuk

Kurdish militia fighting Islamic State in Syria accused Turkey on Saturday of targeting it at least four times in the past week, calling the attacks provocative and hostile.

Turkey began a campaign of air strikes on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) camps in northern Iraq and Islamic State fighters in Syria last Friday, in what Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has called a "synchronized fight against terror".

The campaign has raised suspicions among Kurds that Ankara's real agenda is checking Kurdish territorial ambitions rather than fighting Islamic State.

The president of Iraq's Kurdistan region on Saturday condemned Turkey's bombardment of Zargala, a village there which he said had killed civilians, and called for a return to the peace process between Ankara and the PKK.

Turkey's foreign ministry said the allegations would be investigated in a joint inquiry with the government of Iraq's Kurdistan.

"It is known that there are no civilians in the Zargala terrorist camp but senior PKK members were present during the air strikes," the ministry said in a statement.

"Meanwhile it is a fact that the terrorist organization unfortunately uses civilians as human shields," it said.

The Syrian Kurdish YPG said in a statement on its website that it came under cross-border fire on four occasions in the past week and described sightings of Turkish jets over northern Syria.

The militia, which regularly coordinates with U.S.-led air forces bombing Islamic State, said it had nothing to do with conflict between the PKK and Turkey.


Related Coverage
› Iraq's Barzani condemns Turkish bombing he says killed civilians

"We consider recent movements of the Turkish military as provocative and hostile actions," the statement said.

"We ask our partners in the U.S.-led international coalition against ISIS to clarify their approach towards these actions of the Turkish military."

Turkey made a turnaround last week by granting U.S.-led forces fighting Islamic State access to its air bases.

Pentagon spokeswoman Laura Seal said they had seen reports of the attacks on the YPG.

"We note that the Government of Turkey has clarified that its military action is directed solely at ISIL inside Syria, and, in response to PKK attacks in Turkey, against PKK encampments in Northern Iraq," she said in a statement.

Seal said the United States supports various groups fighting Islamic State "while also encouraging them to respect the multi-ethnic makeup of areas they have cleared from ISIL."


ANKARA DENIAL

A senior Turkish official on Saturday repeated Ankara's previous stance that the recent military campaign does not target YPG but the military reserves the right to fire back within rules of engagement.

"Turkey is not attacking the Kurdish people. It only has a problem with the PKK," the official said. "We have good relations with the Kurdistan Regional Government and we are not targeting YPG, even though it is affiliated with the PKK."

Turkish tanks bombarded a position used by YPG and a Syrian rebel group in Zor Maghar village west of Kobani on July 24, wounding four rebels and a number of civilians, the group said.

The senior Turkish official said YPG has not been targeted but the army would respond to any attacks. "If they fire at us, we fire back. We are not in a position to ask for identification in such a situation," the official said.

YPG said in another incident the Turkish army fired on a YPG vehicle in Tel Fender village, west of Tal Abyad, a town close to one of the border crossings.

In Syria, the YPG is an important force for the U.S.-led alliance against Islamic State because it has been the only notable partner so far on the ground working with the coalition.

But the group has links to the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States, creating an uneasy compromise between Washington and Ankara.

Ankara is concerned that advances by the YPG could stoke separatist sentiment among its own Kurds and embolden the PKK.


(Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Tom Heneghan and Raissa Kasolowsky)

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Conflict News ‏@rConflictNews 4h4 hours ago

Russian Foreign Ministry: Lavrov, Kerry & Al-Jubair to hold joint meeting in #Qatar, discuss political settlement in #Syria - @HasanSari7

 

[Housecarl]

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150802/lt--mexico-journalist-slain-317ab92584.html

Mexico news photographer found slain in capital

Aug 1, 10:56 PM (ET)
By KATHERINE CORCORAN

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A photographer for the Mexican investigative magazine Proceso, who had fled his home state after being harassed, was among five people found slain early Saturday in an apartment in Mexico City, according to the magazine.

The body of Ruben Espinosa, who collaborated with Proceso and other media, was identified by a family member at the morgue Saturday afternoon, Proceso reported, adding that he had two gunshot wounds.

Espinosa had recently gone into self-exile from the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, where he felt under threat, according to Proceso. His family had lost contact with him on Friday and by Saturday the free speech advocacy group Article 19 had called on Mexican authorities to activate the protocols for locating a missing journalist.

He was found dead with four women, three of whom lived in the apartment in the middle-class Narvarte neighborhood near the center of the city, according to the Mexico City prosecutor's office. The fourth woman was a domestic employee, the prosecutor's statement said. It said identifications and cause of death were still being verified.

Veracruz has been a dangerous state for reporters. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 11 journalists have been killed there since 2010, all under Gov. Javier Duarte, the most recent just a month ago. Two others, including Espinosa, were Veracruz journalists found dead outside of the state.

Article 19 on Saturday called the killing of Espinosa a new level of violence against journalists in Mexico, as he was first to be killed while in exile in Mexico City. Many reporters under threat in their home states have taken refuge in the capital, where the federal government has set up an agency to help such journalists.

The advocacy group said in an article that the killing occurred "without authorities charged with protecting journalists lifting a finger to help Espinosa."

Article 19 said it published an alert about Espinosa June 15 after he reported unknown people following him, taking his photograph and harassing him outside his home in Xalapa, the capital of Veracruz.

 

[Housecarl]

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Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150802/lt-peru-shining-path-rescue-294d6bf717.html

Peru government reports Shining Path captives rescued

Aug 2, 1:24 AM (ET)
By FRANK BAJAK

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peruvian security forces rescued 54 adults and children, mostly members of the Ashaninka indigenous group, who had been held by Shining Path rebels in a remote jungle region, government officials said.

Anti-terrorism police chief Gen. Jose Baella said some of the adults were kidnapped between 20 and 30 years ago from Puerto Ocopa and nearby towns back when the rebel movement was still strong.

Baella said the women were used to produce child soldiers for the guerrillas and grow crops for them. The oldest of the 34 children was 14, he said Saturday.

Independent security expert Pedro Yaranga said the rescue was not a serious blow to the drug-trafficking Shining Path remnant that operates in the area, but does show how weak it has become.

"These children and the captive mass had been abandoned and were on their own, very far from the place where the columns and the camps of the rebels and their children are located," he said.

The group was rescued by a special forces unit comprised of soldiers and police in helicopter-borne missions on Friday and Monday, said Baella. Members of the group have been reunited with relatives they had not seen for decades, he added.

Baella said none were being immediately presented to the media. They were receiving medical treatment and being interviewed by prosecutors at the counternarcotics police base in Mazamari.

The rescued group was living in a various camps in thick jungle with a 50-meter (150-foot) canopy in a place called Sector V in the Satipo province of Junin state, officials said.

Two young Shining Path deserters who were raised in the camps had led authorities to them, and a total of 70 people have been rescued from such camps in the past year, said Baella.

Analysts estimate the Shining Path's strength at no more than 200 fighters.

It has been seriously weakened in recent years with the capture of top commander "Artemio" in 2012, and the killings of two top cadres the following year in a security force ambush.

Its last refuge borders Peru's main cocaine-producing region, the Apurimac, Ene and Mantaro river valley.

Last year, the group's two top leaders — brothers Victor and Jorge Quispe Palomino — were indicted in the United States on charges including conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism.

---

This story corrects the year "Artemio" was captured and the province where Sector V is located.

 

[brudog]

Thanks for the updates Housecarl....

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150802/eu-turkey-kurds-ff94238a22.html

2 soldiers dead, 24 wounded in suicide attack in Turkey

Aug 2, 4:19 AM (ET)
By SUZAN FRASER

(AP) A relative cries over the Turkish flag-draped coffin of Turkish soldier Kagan...
Full Image

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Kurdish rebels on Sunday detonated an explosives-laden agricultural vehicle at a military police station in eastern Turkey, killing two soldiers and wounding 24 others, authorities said, amid a sharp escalation of violence between the government forces and the autonomy-seeking insurgents.

Militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, used two tons of explosives to attack the station on a highway near the town of Dogubayazit in Agri province, close to Turkey's border with Iran, causing extensive damage to the building, the regional governor's office said in a statement. The wounded soldiers were hospitalized but there was no word on their conditions.

In a separate attack, one soldier was killed and four others were injured when their military vehicle hit a land mine believed to have been laid by the rebels in the southeastern Mardin province, the local governor's office said Sunday.

Violence has flared in Turkey in the past 10 days, shattering a fragile peace process launched in 2012 with the Kurds. The government has conducted almost daily airstrikes at PKK bases in northern Iraq while the rebels have attacked Turkey's security forces. The airstrikes began as the U.S. and Turkey announced the outlines of a deal to help push the Islamic State group back from a strip of territory it controls along the Syrian-Turkish border, replacing it with more-moderate rebels backed by Washington and Ankara.

(AP) Turkish Air Force fighter planes land at Incirlik Air Base, on the outskirts of the...
Full Image

At least 24 people have been killed in the renewed violence in Turkey, most of them soldiers.

Turkey's allies have supported Turkey's fight against the PKK, which they consider a terror organization. But they have also urged Turkey to exercise restraint and to return to the peace process. Turkey's campaign against the PKK is complicating the U.S. war on IS militants, which has relied heavily on Syrian Kurdish fighters affiliated with Turkey's Kurdish rebels.

Government critics and Kurdish activists accuse the government of reigniting the conflict in a bid to win nationalist votes and erode support for the country's pro-Kurdish party in possible new elections in the fall.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency has claimed that some 260 rebels were killed in the air raids against PKK targets in northern Iraq. The PKK has not reported on its casualties. Kurdish activists said, however, that the Turkish airstrikes had destroyed at least six homes in the town of Zargel on Saturday, killing at least eight civilians and wounding 12.

Iraq's Kurdish regional government called on the PKK to withdraw from Iraq's Kurdish territory to prevent civilian deaths amid the Turkish airstrikes, while condemning Turkey for bombing civilians. The regional government also called on both sides to resume peace talks.

Turkey said Saturday it had launched an investigation into the reported civilian deaths. It insisted that targets were attacked only after the military was fully satisfied that the areas were free of civilians. It also said the PKK at times uses civilians as human shields.

 

[Housecarl]

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Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150802/eu--france-migrant_protest-2dee5fe0ac.html

French riot police disperse migrants at Channel Tunnel

Aug 2, 6:49 AM (ET)
By ANDREW DRAKE

COQUELLES, France (AP) — French riot police have sprayed migrants with a chemical irritant as they tried to storm the Channel Tunnel, and the British and French interior ministers said the nightly attempts to reach Britain are part of a "global migration crisis" that needs an international solution.

The migrants, who broke down several security fences late Saturday, were forced to retreat by riot police as they attempted to breach the final fence near the entrance of the 50-kilometer (30-mile) tunnel under the English Channel.

The migrants, estimated to number around 200 by an Associated Press journalist, faced off for close to an hour with security forces, chanting slogans including: "Open the border" and "We are not animals."

Thousands of migrants have been scaling fences near the tunnel, often referred to as the Chunnel, in recent weeks, trying to hop on freight trains or trucks destined for Britain. One man was fatally crushed by a truck.

Most of the migrants have fled war, dictatorship and poverty in Africa and the Middle East, entering Europe Greece or Italy before heading north. Many think Britain offers the best prospects, because of the English language, welfare benefits and the perceived ease of getting a job.

The migrant activity at the Chunnel — combined with a series of strikes by French ferry workers — have disrupted freight and passenger traffic, and spurred both governments to promise higher fences, more surveillance cameras and extra security guards.

In an article published in Britain's Sunday Telegraph and France's Journal du Dimanche, British Home Secretary Theresa May and French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said stopping the flow of migrants was "the top priority" for both governments.

But they added that the entire European Union must "address this problem at root."

They said many migrants saw the streets of Europe as "paved with gold" and "we must break the link between crossing the Mediterranean and achieving settlement in Europe for economic reasons."

The governments are keen to show a united front on this issue, but many British politicians have criticized France for supposedly lax security at the tunnel.

---

Thomas Adamson in Paris and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

 

[vestige]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150802/eu--france-migrant_protest-2dee5fe0ac.html

French riot police disperse migrants at Channel Tunnel

Aug 2, 6:49 AM (ET)
By ANDREW DRAKE

COQUELLES, France (AP) — French riot police have sprayed migrants with a chemical irritant as they tried to storm the Channel Tunnel, and the British and French interior ministers said the nightly attempts to reach Britain are part of a "global migration crisis" that needs an international solution.

The migrants, who broke down several security fences late Saturday, were forced to retreat by riot police as they attempted to breach the final fence near the entrance of the 50-kilometer (30-mile) tunnel under the English Channel.

The migrants, estimated to number around 200 by an Associated Press journalist, faced off for close to an hour with security forces, chanting slogans including: "Open the border" and "We are not animals."

Thousands of migrants have been scaling fences near the tunnel, often referred to as the Chunnel, in recent weeks, trying to hop on freight trains or trucks destined for Britain. One man was fatally crushed by a truck.

Most of the migrants have fled war, dictatorship and poverty in Africa and the Middle East, entering Europe Greece or Italy before heading north. Many think Britain offers the best prospects, because of the English language, welfare benefits and the perceived ease of getting a job.

The migrant activity at the Chunnel — combined with a series of strikes by French ferry workers — have disrupted freight and passenger traffic, and spurred both governments to promise higher fences, more surveillance cameras and extra security guards.

In an article published in Britain's Sunday Telegraph and France's Journal du Dimanche, British Home Secretary Theresa May and French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said stopping the flow of migrants was "the top priority" for both governments.

But they added that the entire European Union must "address this problem at root."

They said many migrants saw the streets of Europe as "paved with gold" and "we must break the link between crossing the Mediterranean and achieving settlement in Europe for economic reasons."

The governments are keen to show a united front on this issue, but many British politicians have criticized France for supposedly lax security at the tunnel.

---

Thomas Adamson in Paris and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

The existence of this tunnel and the recent problems with people "flooding" it to get to England are not known by the general U.S. public. People told me on the two way last night they did not know of the problem. These are newshound types. Amazed me.

 

[Housecarl]

The existence of this tunnel and the recent problems with people "flooding" it to get to England are not known by the general U.S. public. People told me on the two way last night they did not know of the problem. These are newshound types. Amazed me.

As I've noted quite often, there's an awful lot going on and there's no way any one person can keep up with all of it, myself included.

 

[Housecarl]

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Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150802/ml--mideast-kerry-6d507f303f.html

US, Egypt resume formal security talks with Kerry visit

Aug 2, 8:17 AM (ET)
By MATTHEW LEE

(AP) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, speaks with Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh...
Full Image

CAIRO (AP) — The United States and Egypt on Sunday resumed formal security talks that were last held six years ago and kept on hiatus until now amid the political unrest that swept the country in the wake of the Arab Spring.

Two days after the U.S. delivered eight F-16 warplanes to Egypt as part of a military support package, Secretary of State John Kerry restarted the dialogue with Egyptian officials in Cairo.

Kerry, on the first stop of a Mideast trip aimed at assuaging Arab concerns over the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, began his day in talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. He later will see President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi before leaving for Qatar, where he will hold discussions with Gulf Arab foreign ministers on the Iran deal and its implications for the region.

Despite ongoing human rights concerns in Egypt, the Obama administration is increasing military assistance to the country as it confronts growing threats from extremists, particularly in the Sinai Peninsula. That aid had been on hold until earlier this year due to human rights and democracy concerns in the wake of the military overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2013.

(AP) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center, arrives for the opening of a US-Egypt...
Full Image

"We are absolutely clear that terrorists who kill civilians and attack Egyptian security forces have to be brought to justice, and we stand with Egypt in that effort. But it is equally important ... to distinguish between those who use violence to achieve their ends and others who seek peacefully to participate in a political dialogue, even if what they say sometimes may make people uncomfortable," Kerry said at a news conference with Shoukry.

Earlier he told Shoukry that the U.S. would "continue to provide robust training to the Egyptian military, as the military seeks it and desires it, in an effort to build capacity, and also to meet the highest expectations of your military for its professionalism." He noted that in addition to the F-16s, the U.S. had provided Egypt with Apache helicopters, attack boats, armored vehicles and other weapons systems this year.

But Kerry said that fighting extremism requires more than military might and called on Egypt to adopt a broad strategy that would both improve the economy and accept dissent to prevent young people from embracing radical ideologies. "Otherwise, no matter how many terrorists we bring to justice, those groups will replenish their ranks and we will not be safer. We will be involved in a round robin, circular, repetitive process," Kerry said.

"The success of our fight depends on building trust between the authorities and the public," he said. "If that possibility does not exist, more misguided people will be driven to violence and there will be more attacks."

U.S. lawmakers and advocacy groups had urged Kerry to raise human rights issues, including the arrests of dissidents and journalists and mass trials, and his trip came as a verdict was again postponed in the trial of three Al-Jazeera English journalists, whose arrests have sparked widespread condemnation. Shoukry said no journalists have been detained in Egypt for doing their jobs, only for terrorism and other offenses, and he rejected criticism that detainees were being denied due process.

(AP) Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry arrives for an open dialogue between the US...
Full Image

Kerry acknowledged stress in the U.S.-Egypt relationship over human rights. "Obviously, there has been a little bit of tension over certain issues," he said.

But he said he had stressed the importance of respecting people's rights to free speech and expression, especially ahead of parliamentary elections later this year.

Kerry said he and Shoukry had agreed "on the importance of ensuring free, fair, and transparent parliamentary elections in Egypt this year that are open to all peaceful political actors." He added that they had also discussed the need for comprehensive police and judicial reforms."

Shoukry said Egypt is committed to improving its human rights conditions but noted that all countries, even mature democracies, have imperfect rights records.

In advance of his trip, Kerry met Thursday in Washington with Egyptian-American Mohammed Soltan, who had been sentenced to life in prison in Egypt for financing an anti-government sit-in and spreading "false news." One of thousands imprisoned after Morsi's overthrow, Soltan had been on a hunger strike for more than a year before being freed in May after repeated U.S. requests. He is the son of a prominent member of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

Broadening U.S.-Egyptian trade and economic ties also was also on the table during Kerry's visit, which comes just days before Egypt inaugurates a second, parallel waterway to allow two-way traffic on the Suez Canal. Egyptian officials are hoping the opening will boost a flagging economy. Kerry congratulated Egypt on the "major" Suez project ahead of its opening on Thursday, and he announced that U.S.-Egypt trade and investment consultations will resume in the fall.

On Iran, Kerry said he would be traveling to Doha to make the case to members of the Gulf Cooperation Council that the Iran nuclear agreement will make the Middle East more secure. The Gulf Arab states have publicly welcomed the deal reached last month in Vienna but many have expressed private reservations.

"There can be absolutely no question that the Vienna plan, if fully implemented, will make Egypt and all the countries of this region safer than they otherwise would be or were," he said.

Saudi Arabia is the largest and most influential member of the council and has been publicly supportive of the Iran deal, albeit with reservations. Just this week, the State Department authorized the sale to Saudi Arabia of $5.4 billion in Patriot missiles and related equipment along with $500 million in ammunition.

Kerry is not going to Israel, which is vehemently opposed to the accord, on this trip.

 

[Housecarl]

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150802/eu--ukraine-124130c255.html

Rebels in eastern Ukraine say radioactive waste cache safe

Aug 2, 9:06 AM (ET)

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine have sought to assuage concerns that a cache of radioactive waste at a local chemical factory could pose a threat.

Andrei Purgin, a rebel leader in Donetsk, said Sunday, according to Russian news reports, that the rebel leadership would welcome monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to check the site's condition.

Rebel military spokesman Eduard Basurin said that the storage has remained safely sealed, Interfax reported.

Purgin said that the depot contains radioactive instruments and clothing from a nuclear facility and doesn't hold "any critically dangerous nuclear waste." He accused the Ukrainian military of shelling the area with heavy missiles, leaving deep craters near the storage site.

Hostilities have abated after February's peace agreement, but the truce has been frequently violated.

 

[Housecarl]

Hummm.....

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150802/af--burundi-general_killed-171e6005e9.html

Official: Top Burundi general assassinated in the capital

Aug 2, 9:09 AM (ET)
By GERARD NZOHABONA

http://www.stmichaelschurch.net/wp-content/uploads/geography-of-burundi0.gif

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — A Burundi general who was a key security ally of President Pierre Nkurunziza was killed Sunday in a drive-by shooting in the capital, Bujumbura, a presidential spokesman said.

Gen. Adolphe Nshimirimana, the president's senior adviser on security matters, was killed when men in a car shot at him and his bodyguards in the Kamenge neighborhood, Willy Nyamitwe told The Associated Press Sunday.

The attackers also lobbed a grenade into Nshimirimana's vehicle, he said. The general was taken from the car and later died from his wounds, said Nyamitwe.

The killing is likely to stoke tensions in Burundi, which has been wracked by violence since April when Nkurunziza sought a third term in office. Nkurunziza's bid to extend his time in power sparked frequent street protests in Bujumbura that were violently repressed by authorities. More than 100 people died in the unrest, and more than 100,000 people have fled the country fearing further violence.

Nshimirimana, a feared military officer who at different times served as army chief of staff and the country's intelligence chief, was widely seen as a key member of Nkurunziza's security team who helped put down an attempted coup in May.

There was no claim of responsibility for Nshimirimana's assassination and police did not comment.

Nkurunziza won the July 21 presidential polls with 69 percent of the vote.

The international community condemned the elections as not credible because of violence, intimidation, media restrictions and questions over the legitimacy of a third term for Nkurunziza.

Many fear that Nkurunziza's determination to stay in power will trigger increased violence in the poor central African country of 10 million that has a history of civil strife.

Last month the Burundi government said the army put down a rebellion in the country's north, killing 31 insurgents and arresting 171 others.

 

[Housecarl]

Hummm.........

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http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/israel-must-figure-out-the-true-cost-of-occupation#full

Israel must figure out the true cost of occupation

Hussein Ibish
August 1, 2015 Updated: August 1, 2015 05:32 PM

As expected, the Iran nuclear deal is reshaping the strategic landscape of the Middle East. Some of these new developments ¨C such as Saudi Arabia¡¯s reported outreach to Hamas and other Muslim Brotherhood organisations ¨C are innovative but hardly unthinkable. But when it comes to Israel¡¯s relationship with Gulf Arab states, shared concerns can only go so far.

Last week, Dore Gold, the director general of Israel¡¯s foreign ministry, raised eyebrows across the political world when he remarked of Iran: ¡°What we have is a regime on a roll that is trying to conquer the Middle East, and it¡¯s not Israel talking, that is our Sunni Arab neighbours ¨C and you know what? I¡¯ll use another expression ¨C that is our Sunni Arab allies talking.¡±

Mr Gold is hardly the exemplar of Israeli enthusiasm for the Arab world. Indeed, the author of the 2003 book Hatred¡¯s Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism would have to be listed among those Israeli right-wing hardliners whose rhetoric can border on Islamophobic.

Mr Gold is not alone in thinking along these lines. Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Arab states against ¡°talking with Israel and even negotiating with it¡±. This may have ¡°disastrous results¡±, he blustered.

______________________________________________________________

Ali Dawabsheh's killing "should provoke the same widespread revulsion in Israel as it has around the world":

¡ö The horrific death of a small boy

______________________________________________________________

Some might note that Mr Nasrallah ¨C whose militia is squandering the better part of its manpower, treasury and Lebanese political capital in an all-out intervention designed to shore up the brutal regime of Bashar Al Assad in Syria ¨C is in no position to lecture anyone about disastrous results or dire consequences. Or that his reckless adventure serves the interests of Iran, not Lebanon or any other part of the Arab world. But Mr Nasrallah¡¯s outburst demonstrates how concerned Iran and its proxies have become about the potential for Israel and the Arab states to unite to thwart the rise of an Iranian-led axis.

They needn¡¯t fret so much. Mr Gold¡¯s comments may be based on a shared opinion about the rise of Iran between Israel and some Arab states. But, in fact, this is an instance of wishful thinking.

Israel is misreading the Arab world in several unfortunate respects. It does not recognise the diversity of strategic thinking and policies among the Gulf states, and treats them as if they had a single, homogeneous perspective and set of interests. And, even more importantly, it does not seem to understand that its conduct in the occupied Palestinian territories remains an insurmountable obstacle to close or open cooperation, even though that might otherwise make some strategic sense.

Since the overthrow of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, Israelis have been deluding themselves that, because Arab societies face a series of profound immediate challenges, somehow the issue of Palestine has been forgotten or permanently relegated to the back burner. But the occupation remains absolutely unacceptable to the Arab world, and, while the Arab Peace Initiative commits the entire Arab League to a two-state solution involving the recognition and normalisation of relations with Israel, this depends on ending the occupation and allowing the creation of a state of Palestine.

Mr Gold¡¯s comments amply illustrate the extraordinary opportunity Israel has for creating a completely new relationship with much of the Arab world based on shared interests. Unfortunately, it is precisely the occupation and settlement policies that Mr Gold and his allies strongly support that will preclude Israel from taking advantage of this unprecedented strategic opening.

Israel cannot have diplomatic progress, let alone anything approaching an alliance, with the Arab world as long as millions of Palestinians remain non-citizens in their own land, with no realistic prospect for freedom. In particular, Israel cannot successfully engage with the Arab states while it is conducting an aggressive settlement project, gobbling up Palestinian land in violation of black-letter international law.

Jordan and Egypt made peace with Israel in their own interests, and those agreements are rock-solid. But Arab states in the Gulf region don¡¯t share the same imperatives. Limited progress might be possible in specific areas. Israel might be able to cooperate with Qatar on reconstruction in Gaza, or with Saudi Arabia on Palestinian national reconciliation and relations between Hamas and Fatah. But despite the diversity in their policies none of the Gulf states will be prepared to enter into anything remotely resembling an alliance with Israel, despite the threat of Iranian hegemony, as long as the occupation continues with no end in sight.

Israelis often debate the cost of the occupation. The fact that it precludes them from building strong working relationships with Arab states with whom they share powerful strategic concerns needs to be factored in as a very high cost indeed.

Imagine a reality in which Mr Gold was completely accurate in referring to Israel¡¯s ¡°Sunni Arab allies¡±, and what that would mean for Israel¡¯s regional interests and long-term security. And now return to today¡¯s diplomatic reality, in which no matter how much Israel and many of the Arab states agree on the threat posed by Iran¡¯s and the urgent need to counter it, there is a strict limit to how far they can coordinate, largely because of Israel¡¯s own indefensible policies towards the Palestinians. The cost is clear, and prohibitive.

Hussein Ibish is a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington

On Twitter: @ibishblog

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/07/31...war-terrorism-alqaeda-cia-mullahomar-haqqani/

The Taliban’s New Number 2 Is a ‘Mix of Tony Soprano and Che Guevara’

Sirajuddin Haqqani has killed hundreds of Americans and thousands of Afghans and could ensure that his country’s future is even bloodier than its past.

By Yochi Dreazen
July 31, 2015
yochi.dreazen
@yochidreazen

The new head of the Taliban supports peace talks with Afghanistan’s fragile central government. Unfortunately for both Washington and Kabul, Mullah Akhtar Mansour’s deputy commands the country’s deadliest militia — and has given little indication that he would be prepared to order his men to lay down their weapons anytime soon.

Sirajuddin Haqqani, who will now serve as the Taliban’s second in command, runs the Haqqani network, an al Qaeda-linked group that U.S. military commanders describe as their most dangerous battlefield foe. The Haqqani network was the first to regularly use suicide bombings in Afghanistan and has carried out many of the bloodiest attacks of the long war there, including a high-profile 2009 bombing at a CIA outpost in eastern Afghanistan that killed seven American intelligence personnel and was one of the most lethal strikes against the spy agency in decades.

All told, U.S. officials believe the group is responsible for killing hundreds of American troops and thousands of Afghan soldiers. The State Department, which calls the Haqqani network “the most lethal insurgent group targeting coalition and Afghan forces in Afghanistan,” classifies Sirajuddin Haqqani as a “specially designated global terrorist.” It is offering a $7 million reward for information leading to his killing or arrest.

Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who commanded all U.S. troops in Afghanistan until 2010, said the Haqqanis were “a disciplined, focused group” driven as much by a desire to control a large swath of eastern Afghanistan as by religious or political ideology.

“To describe it as business-oriented probably sells them a bit short, but they were practical, focused, and ruthless,” McChrystal told Foreign Policy. “I felt they were, in many ways, the most serious threat to the ability of the government of Afghanistan to achieve stability in contested areas the Haqqanis operated in.”

The militia was established by Sirajuddin’s father, Jalaluddin, a legendary tribal fighter who had received enormous amounts of money and weaponry from the CIA in the 1980s as part of the successful American-backed effort to drive the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan. The elder Haqqani had long been battling serious health issues, and there were unconfirmed reports Friday that he had died at least one year ago and had been buried in his native Afghanistan.

The younger Haqqani’s elevation within the Taliban poses a difficult strategic question for both Washington and Kabul: either continue to seek talks with the armed group in the hope that Haqqani will be sidelined in favor of militia leaders willing to discuss laying down their weapons, or continue — and perhaps even intensify — the ongoing effort to kill Taliban and Haqqani fighters and disrupt their supply lines from neighboring Pakistan.

The militant’s new prominence also offers an unsettling reminder that the next generation of Taliban leaders could be more violent and ruthless than the ones they’re replacing. Mullah Mohammed Omar, whose 2013 death was confirmed just this week, sheltered Osama bin Laden and launched a guerrilla war that continues to rage nearly 14 years after American troops first swept into the country. Sirajuddin Haqqani, nominally now in command of more fighters than ever before, could ensure that Afghanistan’s future is even bloodier than its recent past.

Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States, described Sirajuddin Haqqani as a “mix of Tony Soprano and Che Guevara,” an ideologue who is willing to engage in criminal acts like drug trafficking and kidnapping for ransom in order to raise money to fund his military operations.

“His criminality feeds his ideology, and his ideology feeds his criminality,” Haqqani, who is unrelated to the fighter, said in an interview. “He would say, ‘If we’re selling heroin, that will be used in the West? That will help destroy the enemy at home. And if we kidnap civilians? That helps buy weapons.’ He’s not like his father, who was a great Islamist warrior. He’s been running a criminal network as well.”

The Haqqanis hadn’t always been so devoted to killing Americans. In fact, the family and its fighters had for a time been among Washington’s closest allies in Afghanistan. In 1987, Rep. Charlie Wilson made his way to eastern Afghanistan and spent four days hunkered down with Jalaluddin Haqqani and his fighters. At one point, the elder Haqqani helped the American lawmaker — who would later be played by Tom Hanks in the movie Charlie Wilson’s War — fire rockets at a nearby Soviet base. The two men even posed for a picture together.

The elder Haqqani also enjoyed exceptionally close ties to the CIA, which shipped him both money and weaponry, including the shoulder-fired Stinger missiles that would ultimately down enormous numbers of Soviet aircraft. When Haqqani was shot in the knee during a firefight, the CIA shipped him a portable X-ray machine that helped find the bullet. Milton Bearden, who was running the CIA’s covert program in Afghanistan at the time, later recalled that Haqqani refused to take medication during the subsequent operation because it was Ramadan and he wouldn’t break the fast. “Instead, he put a stick between his teeth and told his medic to go after the bullet with a knife,” Bearden wrote years after the incident.

The Haqqanis also forged close ties with Pakistan’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency, which provided them with weapons, training, and money. The group also maintained safe havens within Pakistan that gave the fighters space to plan attacks and then cross over into neighboring Afghanistan to carry them out.

Some U.S., Pakistani, and Afghan officials believe that the family’s current campaign against U.S. and Afghan troops could have been avoided. In the fall of 2002, representatives of the elder Haqqani — including his brother, Ibrahim — met with CIA personnel in the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. The reason for the talks: a potential agreement that would have given Jalaluddin Haqqani a senior position in the government of newly appointed Afghan President Hamid Karzai in exchange for his fighters laying down their guns, according to a retired CIA official familiar with the matter.

The two sides couldn’t come to a deal, and any prospect of a peaceful agreement evaporated after U.S. troops arrested Ibrahim Haqqani and mounted an airstrike against a family compound that killed at least a dozen women and children. The Haqqanis have not engaged in substantive peace talks with Washington or Kabul since the two incidents, in part because American officials believe Sirajuddin Haqqani is simply uninterested in a deal.

The younger Haqqani has long been seen as far more of an ideological extremist than his father. He has forged close ties with Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based terrorist group that carried out a deadly attack in Mumbai in 2008, and embraced both the use of suicide bombs and sophisticated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) powerful enough to destroy heavily armored American vehicles.

Sirajuddin Haqqani has shown little compunction about hitting civilian targets. Among the strikes linked to the group: a massive car bombing in July 2008 outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul that killed 41 people, a June 2011 assault at Kabul’s best-known and most heavily fortified hotel that left 12 dead, and a suicide bombing at a volleyball match in eastern Afghanistan late last year than killed 57 people. The group also tried to kill Karzai.

The group’s IEDs and other bombs, meanwhile, have killed or maimed thousands of American and Afghan troops. The Taliban used crude pressure plates that exploded when a vehicle passed; the Haqqani network built more sophisticated ones that could be triggered remotely.

The United States, for its part, has tried — and failed — to kill Sirajuddin Haqqani, including mounting a November 2013 drone strike that killed a handful of other senior Haqqani network commanders. Sirajuddin’s younger brother Nasiruddin was killed earlier that month in a drive-by shooting near Islamabad.

It’s not entirely clear what the younger Haqqani’s elevation to the top rungs of the Taliban hierarchy will mean that for the on-again, off-again peace talks between the armed group and the Afghan central government. U.S. officials see no signs that Sirajuddin Haqqani is open to a negotiated deal and believe he will keep fighting until all Western troops depart the country and the Taliban, or a group that shares his hard-line Islamist views, retakes control of Afghanistan.

At the same time, the Haqqani network for years has functioned as a de facto arm of the Pakistani intelligence services, and Islamabad could potentially use its long-standing ties with the younger Haqqani — and its influence over the group — to persuade them to come to the negotiating table. Unconfirmed press reports from the region said at least one Haqqani representative took part in a recent round of peace talks in Islamabad in mid-July.

Husain Haqqani, the former Pakistani ambassador, isn’t optimistic.

“The only reason he would engage in peace talks would be because he was told to do so by the Pakistani intelligence services,” Haqqani said. “But most of his objectives can only be served by a state of permanent war. What could they offer him that would be enough to make him stop fighting?”

 

[Housecarl]

Hummm.........

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/02/us-china-corruption-idUSKCN0Q704I20150802

World | Sun Aug 2, 2015 3:57am EDT
Related: World

Chinese military paper warns a corrupt army does not win wars

BEIJING

The Chinese military's official newspaper warned on Sunday that a corrupt army would not win wars, three days after the government announced a former senior officer would be prosecuted for graft.

Serving and retired Chinese military officers as well as state media have questioned whether China's armed forces are too corrupt to fight and win a war.

President Xi Jinping has made weeding out corruption in the armed forces a top goal and several senior officers have been felled, including two of China's most senior former military officers, Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong.

The government said on Thursday that it would prosecute Guo for corruption. Xu died of cancer in March.

"If we allow the growth and spread of corruption, the guns will rust, the pillars will collapse," the People's Liberation Army Daily said in a front-page editorial.

"History has repeatedly proven that if corruption is not eliminated, we will defeat ourselves even before a war."

High-ranking officers such as Xu and Guo affected the morale of the people and had a severe impact on the soldiers' beliefs and convictions, the paper said.

State media had previously focused on how corruption was a key reason for China's defeat to Japan in the waning years of the Qing dynasty.

China stepped up a crackdown on corruption in the military in the late 1990s, banning the People's Liberation Army from engaging in business.

However, analysts have said the military has been involved in commercial dealings in recent years due to a lack of checks and balances.

The buying and selling of senior jobs in the military, an open secret, has worried reformers who say it leads to those with talent being cast aside and damages morale.

Xi's graft crackdown has coincided with increased efforts to modernize forces that are projecting power across the disputed waters of the East and South China Seas, although it has not fought a war in decades.


(Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

 

[Housecarl]

With everything else going on I missed this one......

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1101&MainCatID=11&id=20150729000038

Argentina chooses Israel over China for fighter jet purchase

Staff Reporter 2015-07-29 10:36 (GMT+8)

Argentina has decided not to purchase the FC-1 Xiaolong, a multirole fighter jointly developed by China and Pakistan also known as the JF-17 Thunder, reports the Shanghai-based Guancha Syndicate.

Argentina has gone opted for Israel Aircraft Industries' Kfir Block 60 as its next-generation multirole fighter. Though the Xiaolong's lower price had been attractive, China refused to provide anti-ship missiles under diplomatic pressure from the UK, according to the Moscow-based Military Parade.

The price of the Xiaolong would not have been too much of a bargain in the end, since Argentina had insisted that China install avionics and weapons systems purchased from Israel as part of the deal.

Israel Aircraft Industries has declined to comment.

Internet users from Pakistan mocked Argentina's choice, saying the Kfir is an obsolete military aircraft introduced in the 1980s. It currently serves with the Israli Air Force in a ground attack role instead of aerial combat. Additionally, Argentina will be buying previously used planes.

____________

A key point also is that these Kfirs will have US engines so Argentina is put back into the US logistical sphere and some control over its air operations, as opposed to what's trending in other countries in Central and South America.

 

[Housecarl]

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http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/boko-haram-nigerian-army-frees-178-hostages-held-by-islamists-borno-1513764

Boko Haram: Nigerian army frees 178 hostages held by Islamists in Borno

VASUDEVAN-SRIDHARAN
By Vasudevan Sridharan August 3, 2015 04:01 BST


The Nigerian army has freed 178 people held hostage by the Islamist group Boko Haram in Borno state, the nucleus of the armed insurgency.

More than 100 of the rescued hostages were children, said an email statement issued by army spokesperson Colonel Tukur Gusau.

Scores of militant camps were also cleared in the town of Bama as part of the offensive against Boko Haram.

The spokesperson added: "In addition, one Boko Haram terrorist commander was captured alive and is presently undergoing investigation."

"Also, three Boko Haram flags were recovered while five motorcycles were burnt by the troops. The troops' morale remains high as they are determined to consolidate on the success achieved so far under Operation LAFIYA DOLE."

The army did not say whether any of the freed captives belonged to the group of Chibok students kidnapped in April 2014.

Airstrikes provided cover to the ground forces during the operation.

Boko Haram, meaning "Western education is prohibited", has been engaged in an armed insurgency against the African nation for the past six years with an aim to carve out a separate Islamic state under harsh Shariah law. Since 2012, more than 15,000 people are estimated to have been killed in bloody attacks with nearly a million people forced to flee.

Nigeria's fresh drive against Boko Haram has come at a time when African nations are bracing to step up their offensive against the militants.

Over the weekend, Benin, Nigeria's neighbour, pledged to dispatch 800 troops to join the African regional force drafted in by Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon to combat Boko Haram militancy.

"This is an opportunity for Benin to express solidarity with countries on the front line against the Islamic sect, Boko Haram. This solidarity will result in the sending of 800 men from Benin's army," the country's President Thomas Boni Yayi said in a statement.

More about Boko Haram atrocities

Nigeria Boko Haram: Families look for loved ones in debris after bomb attack on Maiduguri market
Boko Haram: President Buhari appoints General Iliya Abba as head of new antiterrorism task force
Nigeria: Child suicide bomber kills 19 in suspected Boko Haram attack
Boko Haram Islamists burn students and villagers alive in Cameroon attack

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/03/us-egypt-usa-idUSKCN0Q706H20150803

World | Sun Aug 2, 2015 11:11pm EDT
Related: World, Egypt

Kerry says United States, Egypt return to 'stronger base' in ties

CAIRO | By David Brunnstrom


The United States and Egypt are returning to a "stronger base" in bilateral ties despite tensions and human rights concerns, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday after talks with his Egyptian counterpart.

"Egypt remains vital ... to engagement and stability in the region as a whole," said Kerry, who held the first bilateral strategic dialogue since 2009.

"There are obviously circumstances where we have found reason to have grave concern and we have expressed it very publicly," he said at a news conference with Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri. "But we have multiple issues that we need to work on simultaneously."

U.S.-Egyptian relations cooled after Islamist president Mohamed Mursi was ousted in 2013 by the military amid mass protests against his rule.

Cairo remains one of Washington's closest allies in the Middle East, an increasingly crucial role in a region beset by turmoil in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya.

Kerry also lobbied for last month's nuclear deal between world powers and Iran, which has been met with scepticism by Washington's Arab allies.

"There can be absolutely no question that the Vienna plan, if implemented, will make Egypt and all the countries of this region safer than they otherwise would be," he said.

Kerry said Iran's role as the "number one state sponsor of terror in the world" made the deal even more important. "If Iran is destabilizing, it is far, far better to have an Iran that doesn’t have a nuclear weapon than one that does," he said.


Related Coverage
› Kerry says Iran deal will make Egypt, region, safer


"NO MAJOR DISAGREEMENTS"

Shukri said Cairo had no major disagreements with Washington, only "differences in points of view over some issues, which is natural".

Washington supports former general Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led Mursi's overthrow and was elected to succeed him, but has cautiously criticized Egypt's human rights record.

Following Mursi's ouster, Cairo cracked down on the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Security forces killed hundreds of Brotherhood supporters and jailed thousands more, and later pursued liberal activists.

Egypt says the Brotherhood is a terrorist group. The Interior Ministry denies allegations of widespread human rights abuses.

Kerry later met Sisi and a senior State Department official said he stressed "the importance of press freedom and the protection of peaceful dissent, stressing that free participation in the political process is essential to help stem the growth of violent extremism".

In one such rights case, a Cairo court on Sunday postponed its verdict in the retrial of Al Jazeera television journalists accused of aiding a terrorist organization, a reference to the Brotherhood.


Related Coverage
› Egypt president signs elections law: official gazette

Shukri said no journalists in Egypt were in jail over their reporting. The Committee to Protect Journalists said a prison census it conducted on June 1 found at least 18 Egyptian journalists were in jail for their reporting.

Cairo and Washington have been exploring ways to expand their security relationship. In late March, U.S. President Barack Obama lifted a hold on supplying arms to Cairo, authorizing deliveries valued at over $1.3 billion.

The United States delivered eight F-16 fighter jets last week to Egypt, which is battling insurgents in the Sinai Peninsula who have killed hundreds of soldiers and police since Mursi's removal. The most active group there is an affiliate of Islamic State.

Also on Sunday, demonstrators in central Cairo burned American and Israeli flags in protest against the death of a Palestinian toddler who died in a suspected Jewish extremist arson attack on his home in the occupied West Bank on Friday.

Kerry will travel on to Qatar to discuss the fight against Islamic State with other Arab leaders and seek to reassure them about the Iran nuclear deal.


(Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy; Writing by Yara Bayoumy and Shadi Bushra; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

 

[Housecarl]

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150803/ml--yemen-8f3e36096c.html

Troop reinforcements head to key rebel-held base in Yemen

Aug 3, 9:55 AM (ET)
By AHMED AL-HAJ

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni military officials say hundreds of troops and dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers are pushing north toward the al-Anad military base in Yemen, as Saudi-led coalition airstrikes clear the path for their advance.

The officials said allied fighters have gained control of the western gate of the key base.

Houthi officials say the base remains under rebel control amid fierce fighting and continuous Saudi-led coalition airstrikes.

Al-Anad, once the site of U.S. intelligence operations against al-Qaida's powerful Yemeni affiliate, is the main rebel encampment in the country's south.

Military officials said soldiers and allied pro-government forces are also reinforcing the front in the strategic southern city of Zanjibar, west of Aden.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

 

[Housecarl]

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150803/as--india-peace_deal-c760bddef6.html

Indian government, key northeast rebel group sign peace deal

Aug 3, 10:35 AM (ET)

NEW DELHI (AP) — India's government has signed a historic peace treaty with the leader of a key rebel group in India's insurgency-wracked northeast.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed the accord in New Delhi on Monday with Thuingaleng Muivah, the leader of the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland. It ends a rebellion that festered in India's Nagaland and Manipur states for more than six decades.

The two leaders gave no specific details about the accord.

The rebel group was fighting for an independent homeland for the Naga tribes. It is the oldest and strongest of the nearly 30-odd rebel armies operating in the northeast since India's independence in 1947.

The group entered a cease-fire in 1997 but in nearly 18 years no formal peace deal could be agreed upon.

 

[Housecarl]

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Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150803/af--burundi-political_tensions-d33be9ffca.html

Burundi tense amid gunfire after killing of a general

Aug 3, 10:39 AM (ET)
By GERARD NZOHABONA

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — Gunfire rang out in Burundi's capital Sunday night following the killing of a military general who was a close ally of President Pierre Nkurunziza.

Nkurunziza, who was re-elected last month, said in a televised address that he has ordered the police to find Lt. Gen. Adolphe Nshimirimana's killers within 10 days.

Nshimirimana was killed in a drive-by shooting early Sunday in the capital, Bujumbura. The killing of Nshimirimana — who was the senior presidential adviser for internal security — could spark revenge killings and fuel further violence that stemmed from Nkurunziza's controversial bid or a third term.

Violence persists in some parts of Bujumbura. Three policemen were injured by a grenade in Cibitoke, and a civilian was injured by a bullet in Jabe in a disarmament operation Sunday night in Bujumbura, said police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye. He gave no more details.

Nshimirimana was "one of the key hardliners around the president" and became more influential as Nkurunziza faced regular street protests by civilians who wanted Nkurunziza to retire after serving two terms, said Carina Tertsakian, researcher for Burundi for Human Rights Watch.

"Despite or perhaps because of his brutal reputation, Adolphe was generally seen as untouchable, with no one in a position of power daring, or even suggesting, holding him to account," she said.

Human Rights Watch has received frequent allegations that he was behind many incidents of killing, torture, arrests of suspected opponents and other abuses over the past several years, she said.

Nshimirimana, a former army chief of staff and head of the intelligence services, is believed to have helped to defeat an attempted coup against Nkurunziza in May.

Nkurunziza won the July 21 presidential polls with 69 percent of the vote.

---

Associated Press reporter Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda, contributed to this report.

 

[Housecarl]

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Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150803/af--mali-violence-4aa269f3b6.html

Mali: 10 soldiers killed in attack on army camp in north

Aug 3, 8:12 AM (ET)
By BABA AHMED

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Armed men staged an attack on an army post in a northern Mali village early Monday, killing at least 10 soldiers, a resident said.

The attackers came on motorcycles around 5 a.m. into Gourma-Rharouss, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of of the northern city of Timbuktu, said resident Moussa Cisse.

"They killed 10 soldiers, including a lieutenant. They burned two Malian army vehicles before leaving the village," he said.

A soldier said the men cried out "Allahu Akbar" as they left. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to the press.

Defense Ministry adviser Lt. Col. Diarran Kone confirmed the attack without giving a death toll.

The attack comes two days after two Malian soldiers were killed and five were injured in the south during an ambush on their convoy. The ambush occurred roughly 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of the capital, Bamako.

Attacks by Islamic extremists have moved into Mali's south this year.

Mali's north fell under the control of Islamic extremists following a military coup in 2012. A French-led military intervention in 2013 scattered the extremists, though the region remains insecure despite the presence of U.N. peacekeepers.

Mali's government signed a peace deal with Tuareg separatist rebels earlier this year.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
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http://thediplomat.com/2015/08/the-india-pakistan-gunfire-exchange-in-poonch/

India-Pakistan Clashes in Kashmir

The two countries struggle to make diplomatic progress amid ongoing clashes.

By Muhammad Akbar Notezai
August 02, 2015

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July was a busy month for India-Pakistan relations. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Ufa, Russia, with the two agreeing that their respective national security advisors would meet to discuss ways to combat terrorism.

But just a week or so after this diplomacy, the two countries once again exchanged gunfire across their disputed frontier in Kashmir. According to reports, a heavy exchange between the Indian and Pakistani troopers took place along the line of control (LoC) in Jammu’s Poonch district. As usual, each side blamed the other for the incident. An unnamed Indian defense spokesman was reported as accusing Pakistani troops of opening fire on several posts along the Line of Control that divides Kashmir. He was quoted as saying that Indian forces responded with their own barrage to the “unprovoked firing” by Pakistani forces. In contrast, Pakistani officials had earlier said in a statement that Indian troops used heavy weapons on July 18, when Muslims were celebrating the Eid-ul-Fitr (marking the end of the holy month of Ramazan), to pound Nezapir in Kashmir.

Over the past week more clashes were reported, including one in which an Indian soldier was reportedly killed by a Pakistani sniper. It was in fact the third sniper attack this month, and the 18th ceasefire violation in a month that has four people killed and 14 wounded. The exchanges have continued into this weekend.

Meanwhile, a single attack in Gurdaspur, Punjab on Monday left seven dead. India has blamed Pakistani terrorists for the attack, an accusation Pakistan has vehemently denied.

The incidents have raised concerns that the planned meeting of the national security advisors would be derailed, although for now, the talks – tentatively scheduled for late August – look to be going ahead.

A History of Trouble

Hari Singh, the last ruling Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, wanted to be independent but under pressure from both India and Pakistan, in 1947 elected to accede to India. That led to the first war between India and Pakistan in 1947-48. Since then, the Kashmir region has been a flashpoint between the two countries.

Since it was created in 1949, the United Nations Military Observer Group in Indian and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has been supervising the ceasefire in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region. Pakistani army officials say they have informed the UNMOGIP about alleged recent ceasefire violations by India and asked the monitors to investigate the incidents. Subsequently, a team visited Sialkot Working Boundary, and inspected the areas targeted by recent firing by the India Border Security Force. According to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations, the UNMOGIP officers visited the Sullehpor, Chaprar, and Milanay sectors of the Line of Control. Pakistan also summoned the Indian ambassador after a “spy drone” was downed in disputed Kashmir.

Meanwhile, New Delhi has lodged its own complaint with the UNMOGIP, when one of its civilians was killed during gunfire on the border.

The U.S., China and Russia have for years been trying to push India and Pakistan to repair relations. The antipathy between the two countries is a factor in regional conflicts, notably in Afghanistan.

In 2003, India and Pakistan did agree to a ceasefire along the Line of Control in Kashmir, and subsequently began peace talks. That process was suspended in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

Amit Ranjan, a Delhi-based scholar, pointed out to The Diplomat that incidents regularly occur just as India and Pakistan are about to enter negotiations. According to Ranja, the blame can be laid at the feet of institutions that do not approve of talks, and which seek to derail the process. Take, for instance, the bonhomie created between the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers at Lahore in 1999, which quickly gave way to the Kargil War. Then, in 2007-08, when the two countries were looking for a breakthrough on the Kashmir issue, the devastating attacks on Mumbai occurred. There are more examples, all suggesting that those who have profited from conflict are reluctant to give peace a chance.

Now, Ranja notes, “Despite the meeting of the two prime ministers at Ufa, gunfire [has been exchanged] on the India-Pakistan international border, even on the eve of Eid, when the two sides used to exchange sweets. Who started firing is like a chicken and egg puzzle which one cannot resolve; both sides accuse the other.”

Ranja concludes that unless these institutions agree to permit a breakthrough, their machinations will always defeat the goodwill gestures of the political leaderships of India and Pakistan, scuttling any chance of peace between the two countries.

The author is a columnist at the Daily Times. Visit his blog or follow him on Twitter @Akbar_notezai. He can be reached at akbar.notezai@gmail.com.

 

[Housecarl]

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Posted for fair use.....
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/08/the_taliban_is_nervous_about_t.html

The Taliban is nervous about the rise of the Islamic State: Bloomberg View

By Syndicated columns
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on August 03, 2015 at 10:00 AM, updated August 03, 2015 at 10:02 AM
By Noah Feldman
Comments

The Taliban's smooth and rapid transition after their acknowledgment of Mullah Muhammad Omar's death sends a strong message: They are afraid of the potential rise of Islamic State in Afghanistan if they fail to project unity. That reality should be useful to the U.S. government as it tries to negotiate a transition deal with the Afghan government and the Taliban. It's still true that the Taliban can demand something close to de facto control as part of the deal. But now, the Taliban have an incentive to talk that didn't exist before the rise of Islamic State. They have something to lose if the country devolves into congeries of competing warlord-controlled territories.

The man who will replace Omar, Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, was Omar's deputy and has been effectively leading the Taliban since Omar's death, and perhaps before that. His selection seems to suggest that the Haqqani Network, a faction that has gradually become powerful enough to rival the Quetta Shura within the Taliban, was willing to compromise on leadership, rather than pressing for Omar's son, whom the Haqqanis were rumored to favor.

The two deputies to Mansour, however, are one of the leaders of the Haqqani Network and a former Taliban judge who is said to be close to the Haqqanis. That signals a kind of grand compromise between the Quetta Shura and the Haqqanis, who've struggled for dominance over the years.

The most logical conclusion is that both the Quetta Shura and the Haqqanis have concluded that, at this moment, projecting Taliban unity is much more important than their squabbling. Further underscoring this interpretation is that the announcement seems to have been made in haste, to follow immediately on the public acknowledgment of Omar's death. Not all the Taliban leaders were present when the decision was made, another indicator of time pressure.

What explains the unity and dispatch among the famously factious and patient Taliban? The answer is almost certainly the recognition that lapses in Taliban authority could have major consequences now. What's changed for the Taliban is the rise of Islamic State.

To be sure, the Islamic State players in its Syrian-Iraqi heartland are both geographically far from Afghanistan and politically disconnected from Pashtun alliances at the heart of the Taliban's complex structure. But Islamic State has presented itself as the symbolic alternative for any organizational entrepreneur who might want to form a new, competing, alternative to the Taliban.

In Libya, also far away from Islamic State territory, similar organizational entrepreneurs have taken advantage of the power vacuum and labeled themselves as belonging to the group. The name alone carries a program of eventual unification, and a now-familiar strategy of expanding to take over territory within ungoverned space. (It hasn't been said enough that Islamic State follows a version of the "build and hold" or "inkblot" strategy advocated by the U.S. military's counterinsurgency manual.)

In Afghanistan, an Islamic State alternative is the only plausible option to displace the Taliban. There can be no doubt that some Afghans would share the objectives of the Sunni militant group.

And Islamic State aspires, as a definitional and existential matter, to rule the entire Islamic world. The Taliban calls itself an "emirate," and Mansour is its new emir, or prince. Islamic State claims a caliphate -- and under classical Islamic constitutional thought, an emir owes formal allegiance to a legitimate caliph. In the construct of Islamic State ideology, it trumps the Taliban.

The potential Islamic State threat to the Taliban is a boon to the U.S. -- a small glimmer of a silver lining in the gathering cloud of the Islamic State threat. Until now, the structural problem with peace talks between President Ashraf Ghani's government and the Taliban has been that the Taliban have little incentive to give up the fight. The Afghan government can't ultimately control much territory without U.S. support -- and that support has appeared to be of limited duration. The right tactical move for the Taliban has therefore been to keep fighting at a moderate level and wait patiently for the U.S. to pull back and Ghani's government to collapse.

Now the Taliban can see a potential cost associated with the slow collapse of the government and the country. Gradualism begets disorder, a power vacuum and internal Taliban strife. In other words, the longer it takes for the Ghani government to fall, the greater the chances for Islamic State to undermine the Taliban. The Taliban want to avoid a situation in which, having won their long war against the U.S. and its Afghan puppet regime, they have to fight another civil war against an Islamic State offshoot.

The Taliban therefore should favor a deal with the Afghan government that lets them consolidate de facto power before Islamic State can make further inroads. Because the true U.S. goal is now to see transition in Afghanistan without mass revenge killings and the immediate, absolute suppression of women throughout the country, it should seize the moment.

Admittedly, this result of a more rapid transition to the Taliban is so modest that it might seem horrific. But this is Afghan politics, which means it's a game of worst-case scenarios. And in the end, more civil war in Afghanistan followed by the possibility of Islamic State moving in is worse for the U.S. than a de facto Taliban regime. And the Taliban know it.

(c) 2015, Bloomberg View

Noah Feldman, a Bloomberg View columnist, is a professor of constitutional and international law at Harvard and the author of six books, most recently "Cool War: The Future of Global Competition."

 

[Housecarl]

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http://www.hindustantimes.com/world...launch-parallel-council/article1-1376160.aspx

Taliban dissidents launch parallel council

PTI, Islamabad | Updated: Aug 04, 2015 00:01 IST

Amid a widening rift over succession following Mullah Omar’s death, senior Taliban leaders opposed to Mullah Akhtar Mansour’s nomination as the group’s supremo have launched a parallel council, according to media reports.

The senior Taliban members, launched their parallel ‘Shura’ or council and declared themselves as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

“A few people announced Mullah Akhtar Mansour as the new leader at a meeting where neither majority of the Shura members nor Ulema were invited,” the council said in a statement.

“They imposed Mullah Mansour’s leadership on the Islamic Emirate for vested interests,” it added.

Mutasim Agha Jan, the former finance minister and a close confidant of Mullah Omar, has also refused to submit to the leadership of Mullah Mansour.

Similarly, Mansoor Dadullah, who leads the Dadullah Front, has also refused to endorse Mansour’s election. Earlier, Mullah Omar’s family too refused to pledge allegiance to him.

A clash broke out between the Taliban militants for the first time since the confirmation of Mullah Omar’s death.

The incident reportedly took place in western Herat province of Afghanistan today following a verbal clash between the militants regarding the appointment of the group’s new supreme leader. At least nine Taliban insurgents, including a senior commander, were killed during the infighting, a report said.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s government has addressed the growing leadership crisis in the Taliban for the first time, saying that it won’t deal with the militant group separately from other “armed opposition” in the country.

 

[Housecarl]

This mess is making the Vietnam War, including Laos and Cambodia, look positively straightforward.....

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33762448

Syria crisis: US "support fire" targets non-IS fighters

14 minutes ago
From the section Middle East

President Assad defends actions
Assad's BBC interview: Key excerpts

Syria: Mapping the conflict

US air power has been used in Syria for the first time to attack forces other than Islamic State (IS), a Pentagon spokesman has confirmed.

Capt Jeff Davis said "defensive support fire" was provided last Friday.

This was during clashes between the Free Syrian Army, fighting alongside US-trained members of the New Syria Force, and suspected al-Nusra fighters.

Capt Davis said the US would provide defensive fire support to the NSF "no matter whom they came up against".

Many will see this as "mission creep" as the administration of President Barack Obama has always insisted that the battle inside Syria is against IS alone, the BBC's Gary O'Donoghue at the Pentagon reports.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described as "counter-productive" US comments that Washington could take extra measures to defend the US-trained Syrian rebels.

Speaking at a news conference in Qatar, Mr Lavrov said this "could complicate the task of fighting terrorism" in Syria.

Russia is a key ally of Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad.

Rebel warning

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Capt Davis said about 50 fighters had attacked members of the FSA who were co-located with forces from the NSF.

He said the US had provided fire support against the opponents who looked "an awful lot like al-Nusra". However, he added that US officials could not be certain.

A map showing Azaz in northern Syria
He did not provide further details about where the clashes took place.

Capt Davis also said the US would provide defensive fire support to the NSF against "broader threats". He did not deny that this could mean US forces could come in to contact with fighters loyal to President Assad.

At the same time, the spokesman insisted that America's "offensive operations in Syria are limited to anti-ISIL (Islamic State)."

Al-Nusra Front - Syria's al-Qaeda affiliate - is one of the most powerful insurgent groups in Syria.

Last week, it claimed to have captured a number of rebel fighters who were trained by the US.

A statement from the militant group warned others against taking part in "the American project".

Reports said the leader of the so-called Division 30 and other members had been taken - but this has been denied by the Pentagon.

Al-Nusra Front also attacked Division 30's base in northern Syria on Friday.

Five of the group's fighters were killed and several more wounded in the clashes, Division 30 said in a statement.

Al-Nusra said some of its fighters were killed in US air strikes against their positions near the city of Aleppo.

Its statement did not say how many Division 30 fighters had been captured, or when they were taken.

Division 30 were trained under a US-led programme to build a moderate force to fight the Islamic State group.

The Syrian conflict began as an uprising against the government, but that has since splintered, pitting rebel groups fighting President Assad's forces against one another.

 

[Housecarl]

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http://news.yahoo.com/loyalists-launch-offensive-retake-yemens-biggest-air-002633882.html

Yemen loyalists battle rebels for key airbase

AFP
By Fawaz al-Haidari
1 hour ago

Aden (AFP) - Loyalist forces began a major offensive Monday aimed at retaking Yemen's largest airbase which is held by rebels, as troops from the Saudi-led coalition entered recaptured second city Aden.

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3. Yemen rebel fire kills civilians as Aden battle rages AFP
4. Exiled Yemen PM makes symbolic Aden visit to lead restoration AFP
5. Coalition jets hit pro-govt Yemen forces in error: military AFP

The pro-government troops deployed heavy armour supplied by their backers in the assault on Al-Anad base, some 60 kilometres (35 miles) north of Aden, military sources said.

"The battle to retake Al-Anad base has begun," a military source told AFP.

Hundreds of troops and militia equipped with tanks and armoured vehicles supplied by the coalition deployed around the base before Monday's attack, their commander Fadhl Hassan said.

Another source said Saudi-led warplanes were providing air cover for the loyalist forces, who launched the offensive from a mountainous region west of the base.

Al-Anad, in southern Lahj province, housed US troops overseeing a drone war against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula until shortly before Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels overran it in March.

.. View gallery
Members of a coalition of fighters made up of local …
Members of a coalition of fighters made up of local tribes, Popular Resistance Committees and suppor …

An officer taking part in the offensive told AFP the troops had reached the western entrance of Al-Anad by mid-afternoon on Monday.

But an attempt to break into the base from the south failed and loyalist forces met "stiff resistance" from the rebels, added the officer who asked not to be named.

Fierce fighting was under way outside the base and "several" people were killed on both sides, he said.

Another officer said that coalition warplanes helped loyalists on the ground by launching new raids, destroying two rebel tanks and four vehicles and killing those inside, he said.

Retaking Al-Anad would help bolster security in Aden, whose liberation the government of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi announced in mid-July.

.. View gallery
Fighters loyal to exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour …
Fighters loyal to exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi man a checkpoint in Aden on July 29, 2015 …

It would also open the way to loyalist forces to push further north against the Huthis, who have enjoyed strong support on the ground from fighters close to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

- '1,500 troops enter Aden' -

The rebel advance in Yemen, which took them all the way into the port city of Aden, Hadi's last refuge before going into exile with his government in Saudi Arabia, came after they captured Sanaa last year.

On Sunday, hundreds of Gulf Arab troops from the coalition entered Aden using tanks and other armour "to help secure" it, a military source told AFP.

The Saudi-owned Al-Hayat newspaper said 1,500 troops, most of them from the United Arab Emirates, had reached Aden.

.. View gallery
Armed militiamen loyal to Yemen's fugitive President …
Armed militiamen loyal to Yemen's fugitive President Abderabbo Mansour Hadi stand at the entranc …

The UAE is a member of the coalition which has carried out more than four months of air strikes targeting the rebels and their allies.

Military sources spoke of further progress by loyalist forces who they said had recaptured Houta, the provincial capital of Lahj, and seized Al-Ribat highway north of Aden.

Aden has been devastated by four months of coalition air strikes and fighting on the ground.

The city is badly scarred, with gutted buildings and broken sewerage pipes, and is deprived of water and electricity supplies.

- Residents desperate for supplies -

.. View gallery
Yemeni fighters stand on the tarmac as a Qatari plane …
Yemeni fighters stand on the tarmac as a Qatari plane carrying relief aid arrives at Aden's inte …

Aid relief has trickled in since pro-government forces forced the rebels out, and distribution of desperately needed supplies for Aden's embattled residents has begun.

The airport reopened on July 22, allowing planes to land with supplies from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

The United Nations says the war has killed nearly 4,000 people, half of them civilians, while 80 percent of the 21-million population of the impoverished Arabian Peninsula nation needs aid and protection.

The Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti across the Gulf of Aden appealed on Monday for aid after a new influx of refugees from the Yemen conflict.

Almost 10,000 Yemenis -- many of them wounded -- have arrived in the small state since late March, according to UN refugee agency the UNHCR.

Despite losing Aden, the rebels in Yemen remain in control of large swathes of Yemen.

Late Sunday, rebel chief Abdulmalik al-Huthi said a political settlement was "still possible" with the exiled government, after the failure of UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva in June.

"We would welcome any (mediation) effort by a neutral party -- Arab or international," he said in a speech broadcast by the rebels' Al-Masira television station.

He also downplayed Aden's recapture, saying the loyalist advance "will collapse".

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[Housecarl]

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http://www.realclearworld.com/blog/2015/08/the_caliphate_inches_closer_to_jordan.html

The Caliphate Inches Closer to Jordan

Posted by Kevin Sullivan on August 3, 2015

Rumors have been circulating in recent days that the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade -- a Syrian rebel group that gained notoriety in March 2013 when it kidnapped, and subsequently released, 21 Filipino UN workers -- is readying to declare its own emirate, or wilayat, in the Syrian city of Daraa, one of the group's strongholds.

The word emirate evokes all kinds of images and assumptions, but the motivations behind Yarmouk's potential push for autonomy may be rooted in very terrestrial and parochial interests. Although the Yarmouk Brigade has been rumored as having ties with the Islamic State group, the militant separatists have repeatedly denied such charges. Compounding the confusion is the fact that these accusations have been levied by Jaish al-Fatah, a Syrian rebel alliance with ties to al-Qaeda. The two factions have fought each other on the field of battle and in the court of law, and their disagreements are largely over matters of jurisprudence, affiliation, and religious interpretation.

None of this is likely to comfort to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. At times a darling of the Western world, U.S. ally Jordan already shares one volatile border with western Iraq, and the kingdom continues to reel from a video released by ISIS earlier this year depicting the immolation of a Jordanian pilot who had been taken captive by the jihadist group.

Touring the region in late July, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter pledged American support for Jordan, and described the enemy its wary Arab allies face as barbarians at the proverbial gate.

"The enemy has to be defeated," said Carter, adding "t will be, because the barbarians are always defeated by civilization, a few by the many."

But the Yarmouk Brigade is a good example of just how layered and complicated the war against the Islamic State group truly is. The militant group claims that it seized the 21 UN staffers back in 2013 because the relief workers were providing water to forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, and ultimately released those it detained once international pressure was applied. Moreover, the Yarmouk Brigade's origins stem from seemingly localized gripes and grievances, and their rhetoric lacks the millenarian flare often found in ISIS's missives.

All of this suggests that the Yarmouk Brigade might be, dare I say, rational. This is an enemy that can be negotiated with and quite possibly cleaved off from the Islamic State. That isn't quite as satisfying as vanquishing barbarians at the gate, but it may be a better alternative to Washington's current -- and at times incoherent -- strategy in Syria.

Kevin B. Sullivan is a senior editor for RealClearPolitics. Reach him on Twitter @kevinbsullivan.

 

[Housecarl]

http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?472807-Population-Centric-Military-Strategy

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http://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2015/08/03/population-centric_military_strategy_108319.html

August 3, 2015

Population-Centric Military Strategy

By Ajit Maan

Ongoing conflicts across the globe are creating catastrophic social, economic and political consequences that are not often realized and underpin a growing cycle of insecurity. A 2014 United Nations (UN) report puts the number of people displaced by war, conflict or persecution at a record high of nearly 60 million around the world. Additionally, the 2015 Global Peace Index estimates that in 2014 global conflicts killed 180,000 people and cost $14.3 trillion dollars, which is equivalent to 13.4% of the world’s GDP. And global security trends continue to worsen. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of local and regional conflicts in the past five years. Fifteen conflicts have erupted or reignited, including eight in Africa and three in the Middle East. If not addressed, the number of conflicts will continue to escalate and cause greater demands for resources, which is not sustainable.

“The World is a Mess” and “It’s no longer possible to clean up the mess. We have no capacities to pick up the pieces.” — UN refugee agency head Antonio Guterres

Impacts of Conflict

One of the most severe but often over-looked consequences of these conflicts are the psychological effects. Fear, distrust, and hatred generated by continual conflict are immeasurable, influence various segments of societies and often times buttress existing negative beliefs. But the greatest psychological threats will be experienced in the next generation, namely by children. Entire generations of children world-wide are growing up experiencing the destructive effects of war. Of the 19.5 million refugees in 2014, more than 50% were children. In extreme cases, children in conflict areas are often conscripted to fight and indoctrinated into radical ideologies, which shape their beliefs and those of future generations. For example, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission documented the recruitment of 996 children over a 20-month period in 2012–2013. Negative psychological effects of war erode the moral fiber of individuals, intensify sectarian divides and amplify existing social tensions in areas where conflicts occur. This creates challenges that will be experienced locally, regionally and internationally for generations.

In addition to the psychological effects, these conflicts have real, immediate, negative impacts on the economies and the political stability of countries worldwide. The cost to support approximately 50 million internally displaced persons (IDP) and refugees worldwide has risen 267% since 2008 to $128bn. Millions of people have been displaced as a result of the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, with thousands more fleeing unstable regions each day. Refugees seek asylum and economic opportunities in Jordan, Turkey, and the European Union while those countries struggle with the economic and social stresses associated with these large-scale migrations. Jordan has approximately 629,000 registered IDPs from Syria alone with estimates reaching over 1 million total IDPs from other regional conflicts.

Animosity towards refugees is growing in countries that boarder conflicts as well as within many Western countries. In the first quarter of 2015, Germany had the highest number of first-time applicants for asylum in Europe at 73,100 according to United Nations High Commission on Refugees. In response to the growing number of refugees, the Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West (PEGIDA) movement held demonstrations against increasing immigration levels and what they see as the growing influence of Islam. At the same time, immigrants attempt to integrate into Western communities and societies where they feel marginalized and discriminated against. As distrust and resentment on both sides grows the fear narrative is strengthened, which leads to radicalization and creates a continuous cycle of insecurity. This cycle of insecurity creates deep fissures along religious and ethnic lines and builds both physical and psychological barriers within communities and societies.

Autocratic leaders have responded to growing conflicts by continuing to employ strategies to maintain their grip on power through a variety of repressive means. Meanwhile, democratic societies implement security measures that sometimes curtail individual rights and freedoms to safeguard against radical extremism. Political movements, activist networks and social groups seek greater representation — a voice in their future — and the benefits of globalization. Compounding these opposing forces are economic inequalities, social tensions, religious dogmas and ethnic discord that drive social unrest causing deep-seeded tensions to manifest into conflict. The forces that underpin conflicts are increasing in magnitude, becoming more frequent, and their impacts have significant, immediate and long-term consequences.

For decades the United Nations, World Bank, governments, and NGOs have spent trillions of dollars on peace building initiatives and development projects to create stability in conflict and non-conflict environments. Their efforts typically focus on introducing some form of democracy, protecting human rights, delivering the benefits of globalization, and introducing free market economies to populations. These organizations typically implement large-scale, top-down programs, and direct funding through authoritative governments that are often viewed as illegitimate by the people they are intended to assist. The activities of these organizations have failed to stem the spread of violence, have not delivered enduring peace or stability to any region and have added to the cycle of insecurity.

Population-Centric Paradigm Shift

The solution exists within the non-combatant populations in areas where conflicts occur. There has been a gradual shift by some organizations to support grass-roots initiatives that focus on delivering benefits to individuals and local communities. These programs counter top-down approaches that attempt to build government capacity in the hope that resources will trickle down to the population. This concept has also been adopted by militaries that employ counterinsurgency techniques. An example of this is the U.S. military’s efforts to recruit Sunni tribes in Iraq to fight against ISIS. This paradigm shift is based on the notion that to develop enduring stability, one must engender popular support. Unfortunately, these initiatives are the exception rather than the rule and have not been wholly embraced by organizations or integrated into their strategic plans and activities.

To realize the full potential of this paradigm shift, efforts must be undertaken to design and implement population-centric strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of conflict and break the cycle of insecurity. A population-centric strategy is a road map for governments, militaries and even private companies to apply in any geopolitical, socioeconomic or ethnocentric environment to shape the outcome of conflicts and ensure future stability. Adopting a population-centric strategy enables organizations to avoid growing tensions before they turn to conflict, break the cycle of insecurity, reverse the growing trends associated with today’s conflicts and most importantly saves lives and money.

From Theory to Strategy: Putting Population-Centric Approach to Action

A population-centric strategy centers around fulfilling people’s basic needs while addressing grievances related to governance, security and improved economic opportunity simultaneously. It begins by identifying the basic needs of individuals and communities as a critical first step that requires systematic examination. This process is often overlooked by most development organizations because identifying basic needs is complex and varies depending on physical and social conditions that include, but are not limited to: geography, infrastructure, and availability of natural resources. Moreover, basic needs are also influenced by a population’s cultural norms and world views, which are seldom understood or incorporated into planning of activities.

“We give families the basics they need to survive — food, clean water and shelter — we must also tackle the root causes of poverty and instability, in particular economic development.” -UK International Development Secretary Justine Greening

Once the basic needs are identified, tailored development initiatives are planned to deliver goods and services to satisfy individual and community needs. Successful development initiatives are designed to provide an immediate impact, are sustainable and create linkages between communities, organizations and local governance bodies. Large scale development projects seldom satisfy the basic needs, take years to implement and create disparities among communities, tribes, and clans that can create resentment and distrust feeding the cycle of insecurity.

As of December 2014, the U.S. government alone had spent approximately $7.5 million per day on air strikes in Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State. Compared to military operations, large scale development projects, or humanitarian relief efforts, investments in small-scale development initiatives, designed to meet basic needs, are low-cost and provide a greater return on investment. An example of a successful tailored development initiative is a biomass fuel briquette project that delivers an alternative fuel source to communities in areas where deforestation is prevalent. The cost to start a biomass briquette system is around $1,500 and once the program is up and running it generates revenue for participants. However, the real value of the program is the stability it delivers to the community through employment for individuals, delivery of a needed commodity — an alternative fuel source for cooking and heating — and the direct linkages and dependencies it creates between the project’s owner, the community and the local government.

The next step is to identify existing formal and informal governance structures that support civil society and empower them through the delivery of goods and services that fulfill basic needs requirements. This requires “local” stakeholders, partners, or NGOs to facilitate the distribution of goods and services. A natural choice and logical partner are local police units. Local police units are familiar with the areas where they operate, are typically trusted by community members and have a mandate to “protect and serve.” At the same time, small investments in uniforms and equipment like radios enables them to better serve communities and effectively distribute resources. Additionally, empowering local police units avoids the pitfalls of training national military forces that cost millions and are often dissociated with the people.

With the appropriate stakeholders identified and in place, local distribution efforts and development initiatives are linked to regional and national efforts as part of the population-centric strategy. Programs and initiatives are supported by a comprehensive communications plan that disseminates targeted messages. Local networks and sources, regional and national news outlets, social media and international broadcasts illustrate the impact and benefits of the strategy. Doing so provides a direct counter to negative narratives such as “Islam is under attack from the West.” Moreover, it creates a “core narrative” and demonstrates through actions that free societies around the globe are there to help. Accompanying the messages should be a symbol or visual key that transcends race religion or ethnicity. Combined core narratives and symbols provide an effective way to shape perceptions and influence the outcomes of conflicts.

Conclusion

The contemporary situation is one of global chaos and yet the path to stability is simple and direct. Strategic results will be accomplished with the tactical implementation of programs designed and implemented at the community level, with a regional approach aligned national strategy. The key is to engage and collaborate with non-combatants on the ground in kinetic environments to create enclaves that are inhospitable to extremist elements.

With over 13% of worldwide GDP lost to conflicts, the global community needs a new, effective approach to resolve conflicts. While historically the level of conflict is low, there has been an upturn in recent years, and the trend does not seem to be near its end. With the increasingly easy and cheap access to communications tools, information such as news and propaganda, and access to dangerous material and weapons, the level of conflict could continue to rise. To achieve a more peaceful future, we need a new approach that focuses on populations, specifically on more effective strategies and approaches to engage the local communities and populations.


This article originally appeared at The Strategy Bridge

 

[Housecarl]

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150804/eu--russia-arctic-ea0448a1ad.html

Russia bids for vast Arctic territories at UN

Aug 4, 12:01 PM (ET)
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV

(AP) In this Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007 file made available by the Association of...
Full Image

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has submitted its bid for vast territories in the Arctic to the United Nations, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

The ministry said in a statement that Russia is claiming 1.2 million square kilometers (over 463,000 square miles) of Artic sea shelf extending more than 350 nautical miles (about 650 kilometers) from the shore.

Russia, the U.S., Canada, Denmark and Norway have all been trying to assert jurisdiction over parts of the Arctic, which is believed to hold up to a quarter of the planet's undiscovered oil and gas. Rivalry for Arctic resources has intensified as shrinking polar ice is opening new opportunities for exploration.

Russia was the first to submit its claim in 2002, but the U.N. sent it back for lack of evidence.

(AP) In this Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011 file photo, the Prirazlomnaya platform is...
Full Image

The ministry said that the resubmitted bid contains new arguments. "Ample scientific data collected in years of Arctic research are used to back the Russian claim," it said.

Greenpeace responded by warning of the environmental risks.

"The melting of the Arctic ice is uncovering a new and vulnerable sea, but countries like Russia and Norway want to turn it into the next Saudi Arabia," Greenpeace Russia Arctic campaigner Vladimir Chuprov said in a statement. "Unless we act together, this region could be dotted with oil wells and fishing fleets within our lifetimes."

He urged countries seeking jurisdiction over the Arctic to work together to create a protected sanctuary around the North Pole.

Russia expects the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to start looking at its bid in the fall, the ministry said.

In 2007, Moscow staked a symbolic claim to the Arctic seabed by dropping a canister containing the Russian flag on the ocean floor from a submarine at the North Pole.

The Kremlin also has moved to beef up Russian military forces in the Arctic. The effort has included the restoration of a Soviet-era military base on the New Siberian Islands and other military outposts in the Arctic. Earlier this year, the military conducted sweeping maneuvers in the Arctic that involved 38,000 servicemen, more than 50 surface ships and submarines and 110 aircraft. As part of the drills, the military demonstrated its capability to quickly beef up its forces on the Arctic Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land archipelagos.

 

[Housecarl]

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150804/eu--russia-sanctions-c29e0f0dd6.html

Russia eyes action against non-EU nations joining sanctions

Aug 4, 12:46 PM (ET)

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's prime minister has ordered preparation of retaliatory measures against several non-EU European nations that have joined the European Union's sanctions against Russia.

Dmitry Medvedev instructed officials Tuesday to consider counter-sanctions against the countries, which he didn't identify.

Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine joined the EU sanctions last week.

The U.S. and the EU imposed sanctions in response to Moscow's annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine. The sanctions have cut Russia's access to capital markets and banned transfers of military and energy technologies.

A year ago, Moscow retaliated by banning many Western agricultural products. Last month, the Kremlin extended the ban following the EU's decision to extend its sanctions through January.

On Tuesday, Russia tightened controls on imports of cut flowers from the Netherlands, an EU member.

National veterinary agency Rosselkhoznadzor said checks have repeatedly found Dutch flowers infested with pests. Starting Monday, imports of Dutch flowers will be allowed only after passing lab tests.

Russia has been accused of using sanitary issues as a pretext for politically driven bans.