Posts From The Saker
Press TV reports: Pakistan may pull out nearly 100,000 troops from its western borders with Afghanistan and will deploy them on the eastern border with India. Media reports quoted Pakistan’s defense ministry officials on Sunday that Islamabad had already stated the decision to the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. The officials added that Pakistan’s priority on the so-called ‘war on terror’ would shift and it would to take care
This was to be expected: Pakistani websites are blaming Mossad for the Mumbai attacks. Russians have a small aphorism which makes fun of pathological Jew-haters which see “the Jews” as always responsible for everything: If there is no water in the faucet – then the Jews must have drunk itIf there is water in the faucet – then the Jews must have peed in it (it rhymes in Russian) Seriously,
(Thanks to Shashank for sending me the link to this article. VS) by Saikat Datta for Outlook India By mid-September, Indian agencies knew that the attack would come from the sea, by mid-November, they knew that the Taj hotel would be targeted… And yet… and yet… A blow by blow account of how the plan to attack Mumbai by sea was hatched and executed: In mid-September this year, the CIA
From the Times Online: The Indian authorities yesterday claimed to have proof that the Mumbai terrorists were receiving instructions from Pakistan and discussing tactics with their handlers during the three days of attacks in which they killed at least 195 people. The claims threaten further to embitter relations between the two nuclear powers. Tensions have been high since confirmation that the only captured gunman was a 21-year-old Pakistani. It has
According to Press TV Pakistan has reversed a decision to send its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief to India to help in Mumbai terror attacks investigation. No explanation was given in a short statement issued by the premier’s office in Islamabad for the change of plan, Press TV correspondent said Saturday. Earlier Prime Minister Yourself Raze surprised many by announcing that the ISI Chief General Ahmed Shura Pasha would be sent
After 48 hours sporadic combat is still taking place in Mumbai so it is way too early to try to analyze what happened. Still, there are some questions which come to my mind which I would like to share with you and, if you have any clues as to what the answers to these questions might be, I ask you to share them with me. My questions are: a) how
This will appear in the next issue of Al-Ahram Weekly http://weekly.ahram.org.eg Disappointment follows disappointment with each ‘new’ face, bemoans Eric Walberg, but there is a sort of silver lining Yes, we mustn’t expect too much. We all know it is the establishment that comes first in United States politics. Obama’s presidency could easily be sabotaged by the powers that put him there. But still. He would never have made it
by James Petras for Venezuela Analysis The pro-Chavez United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won 72% of the governorships in the November 23, 2008 elections and 58% of the popular vote, dumbfounding the predictions of most of the pro-capitalist pollsters and the vast majority of the mass media who favored the opposition. PSUV candidates defeated incumbent opposition governors in three states (Guarico, Sucre, Aragua) and lost two states (Miranda and
Press TV reports that Iran’s Majlis (parliament) speaker says an Iraq-US security pact would have dire consequences for the Iraqi nation and regional states. Under the proposed security agreement, American troops will be able to legally stay in Iraq for three more years after a UN mandate allowing their military presence on Iraqi soil expires on December 31. The Iraqi parliament is scheduled to vote on the controversial treaty on
by Noam Chomsky for ZnetThe Election The word that immediately rolled off of every tongue after the presidential election was “historic.” And rightly so. A Black family in the White House is truly a momentous event. There were some surprises. One was that the election was not over after the Democratic convention. By usual indicators, the opposition party should have had a landslide victory during a severe economic crisis, after
By Grant F. Smith for “Dissident Voice” via Information Clearing House According to the Jerusalem Post, the US Department of Treasury’s new Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) unit is going after the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. TFI targeted the company and 18 affiliates for their alleged effort to “facilitate the transport of cargo for UN Designated proliferators.” TFI further charges it “falsifies documents and uses deceptive schemes to
Press TV reports: The main Sunni-Arab bloc in the Iraqi Parliament threatens to boycott a parliament session to vote on the Iraq-US security agreement. “The IAF would not enter the parliament if there was no popular referendum over the agreement or assurances from the US side,” Abdelkareem al-Samarraie, a leading lawmaker from the Iraqi Accord Front (IAF), told the Voices of Iraq on Tuesday. The lawmaker said parliament should postpone
from venezuelanalysis.comPresident Hugo Chavez’s governing party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) got mixed results in the regional and local elections today, winning stronghly in 17 out of 23 states, but losing the country’s two most populous states and the Capital District of Caracas, with two more states still to be decided. At midnight Venezuelan time, about eight hours after the first polls closed, the president of Venezuela’s National
Amazing article in Ha’aretz today. Check this one out (my comments added in blue): Defense establishment paper: Golan for Syria peace, plan for Iran strike By Barak Ravid A defense establishment paper recommends making contingency plans to attack Iran, reaching an agreement with Syria that includes leaving the Golan Heights and preventing new elections in the Palestinian Authority, even if this means a confrontation with the United States. The paper
Press TV reports: Nearly one thousand Palestinian children are imprisoned by the Israeli regime, a spokesman of Palestinian prisoners’ affairs ministry says.The spokesman said Israeli forces have detained at least eight thousands of Palestinian children since the start of the second Palestinian intifada (uprising) in 2000. About one thousand of them are still in Israeli detention facilities, he added. Marking World Children’s Day, hundreds of Palestinians children on Thursday rallied
Al-Manar TV reports that while the Iraqi parliament was likely to approve a “suspicious” pact with the US occupation forces allowing them to stay in the country for another three years, Hezbollah finally broke its silence on Thursday and denounced the pact as harmful and called on all Iraqi MPs to assume their responsibilities and reject it as soon as possible. In a statement it released, Hezbollah emphasized that the
By McClatchy Newspapers An Agreement between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America regarding the Withdrawal of the American Forces from Iraq and Regulating their Activities During their Temporary Presence in it PREFACE The United States of America and the Republic of Iraq – which will hereafter be referred to as the two parties – recognize the importance of strengthening their joint security and participating in global
First, let me point you to some other analyses about the SOFA: Juan Cole,Robert Dreyfuss, Stratfor and Pepe Escobar. Reading through these analyses I amazed that nobody seems to be very concerned about the fact that the final text has still not been leaked. It will, probably before the end of the week, but for the time being everybody is commenting mostly on the basis of what can only be
By Siv O’Neall, Axis of Logic Columnist The polarized world Do we need further proof that greed is not the solution for a sound economy? Do we need further proof that capitalism is foundering? Do we need further proof that ignoring the poor is not the way to make the world go round? That selfish accumulation of wealth is not the key to peace of mind and a life worth
