Archives for February 2010

As the Marjah campaign continued in Afghanistan, the LAT reports that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was captured in Karachi, Pakistan, in large part because of US electronic surveillance. It sounds as though the National Security Agency accidentally picked up a telephone call between him and someone else, and was able to triangulate his position. The […]

The USG Open Source Center analyzes the stances of the parties representing the Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazara Shiite minorities in Afghanistan and finds that they reject President Hamid Karzai’s plans for reconciliation with the Taliban or are lukewarm to it. Some Pashtun parties are enthusiatic about the idea. Although each ethnic group mentioned is a […]

The NYT broke the news that the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence, with the cooperation of US intelligence, captured Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar a few days ago. Baradar, the number 2 man in the Old Taliban led by Mulla Umar, is the equivalent of military chief of staff for the organization. Depending on how much he is […]

In the pincer move of British, US/ NATO and Afghan forces on Marjah in poppy-rich Helmand Province, the Taliban have behaved differently in each area. In the north, as the British approached Nad Ali, the Taliban faded away and there was very light resistance. Afghan authorities charged that 35 Pakistani Taliban were fighting alongside Afghan […]

A string of bombings on Sunday targeted political offices of those parties willing to contest the March 7 parliamentary elections, including secular Sunnis. The violence comes as one more worry in the course of Iraq’s most controversial election. Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that over a hundred (145) candidates for parliament were disqualified from running by […]

Link BBC News – Afghanistan Nato operation 'meets first objectives' BBC reporting British advance from north, met ‘minimum interference’ from Taliban. US Marines were brought into Marjah city by helicopter. Four small firefights going on Saturday evening but in the city, as well, resistance seems less than expected. Taliban are guerrillas who know they are […]

Link: Official Site of We Are The World 25 For Haiti Here is the official site of the new ‘We are the World’ video for Haiti. Proceeds go for relief efforts for the earthquake victims. You know what to do. End/ (Not Continued)

AFP reports that the joint NATO/ Afghanistan National Army assault force of 15,000 on Friday moved toward the Helmand city of Marjah, at the center of the poppy growing heartland of Helmand Province. The city of some 80,000 has been surrounded for weeks. On Friday the road east to the capital, Lashkar Gah, was crowded […]

Israel Violates Economic Sanctions Against Iran by Grant Smith — Antiwar.com Economic sanctions don’t produce regime change in and of themselves. They mainly hurt the little people in places like Cuba or Iraq. And, they create black markets for the unscrupulous. Obama Iran sanctions another buying opportunity for the Marc Riches of the world. End/ […]