Afghan's loya jirga (National Assembly) security plan

The Taliban in Afghanistan say they have obtained a government security plan for the grand assembly of leaders, or loya jirga, which opens in Kabul this week.
Afghan security officials have denied that the document is genuine.
If the real security plan was in Taliban hands, it would be a huge embarrassment to the Afghan government. 

Attempting to embarrass the Afghan government ahead of a major national assembly, the Taliban on Sunday published what they called the government's secret security plan for the event, including details of troop deployments and cell phone numbers of security officials.
The Taliban emailed the plan - which appeared to carry the signatures of U.S. and Afghan military officials - to news organizations and published it on their website, saying they had obtained it from infiltrators in two government ministries. There is a rundown of security officials with their titles and specific responsibilities and what looks like a police map.
But Kabul's police chief, General Ayub, and a senior intelligence official told the electronic media this was not the government's plan.
It is a plot by those who want to derail the assembly, the general said.
If the security plan was in Taliban hands, it would be a major threat to the more than 2,000 people due to attend the loya jirga.
The Taliban have threatened to attack the assembly, branding it a "slave jirga".
There are two items on the agenda for the meeting - reconciliation with insurgents and Afghanistan's future relationship with the United States.
The plan also says that U.S.-led coalition aircraft would fly over Kabul "intermittently" Monday and Tuesday but would provide "constant" air surveillance on Wednesday, the opening day of the three-day event.
"The leaking of the security plan shows that important government officials are helping us," the Taliban said on their website. The group also claimed it was "a blow" to U.S. officials who have said the Taliban were unable to infiltrate the government of President Hamid Karzai.
"The Taliban are under the full pressure of Afghan national security forces," Sediqqi said. "That is why they lied again about the security plan. They will never succeed in disrupting the jirga."
Regardless, they are a sign of the information war between coalition forces and the insurgency, both of which regularly trade blows and accusations on social media.
: "The vigilant Mujahedeen of Islamic Emirate have acquired the security plans, maps and other documents related to the upcoming supposed loya jirga (National Assembly) by means of its personnel embedded inside the enemy ranks."
The document said the following could be "probable threats" posed by the Taliban:
-- "Suicide attacks with new and dangerous tactics in one or several places continuing for several hours";
-- "Rocket attacks from Kabul city sub-districts or districts outside";
-- "Infiltration of enemy into the lines of security forces."

Libyan qualified women military

Libyan women train for military, hope for equality

Moammar Gadhafi famously surrounded himself with a personal coterie of female bodyguards during the decades he ruled Libya. But it was more a sign of his eccentricities than a real commitment to equality for women in this conservative Islamic society.

Now the revolutionary forces that swept the longtime leader from power last month are offering military training to scores of women, some of them housewives, others high school teachers. On Sunday at a military compound in the eastern city of Benghazi, dozens of women with machine guns slung over their shoulders listened attentively to instructions in shooting and martial arts. They are the latest group of trainees as Libya's new leaders work to build a national army.
Women were at the forefront of the protests that launched the anti-Gadhafi uprising in February, demanding democracy for the country and justice for loved ones who had been killed. Many women now hope the revolution will herald full equality.
"We should be equal and we're fighting for the same goal, so why should the men have to carry the burdens of this fight while we sit and watch?" said Amal al-Obeidi, 35, who teaches business management at a high school in Benghazi.
"The least we can do is learn to protect ourselves so the men can focus on fighting Gadhafi on the front lines knowing that we have their back," added al-Obeidi, who wore a headscarf and was brimming with enthusiasm.
She said Islam doesn't forbid women from fighting alongside the men.
"The men have died on the front lines as they had to fight with no weapons and they sacrificed their lives to protect us ... while we were at home doing nothing to help like a piece of a valuable antique furniture," she said as she struggled to hold a heavy machine gun with two hands at the school.

At least 200 women have graduated from the program since it began at Benghazi's Technical Military Compound in late March. They are given the choice of joining the National Security Force, which operates like the U.S. National Guard and allows them to operate in their own cities. There's currently no talk of sending women to the front lines. 

Abdul-Basit Haron, a military commander in Benghazi, said all revolutionary fighters, including the women, would get a one-time fee of $5,000.
Col. Mohammed Garaboli, the commander of the compound where the training takes place, said women's involvement in the military is important for morale.
"Women feel like they are neglected and they came here to prove that they are equal to men in this society," he said. "They want to show the world what the Libyans are made of and how open-minded they are as well."
Female soldiers — a rare sight in most Arab countries — were a trademark of Gadhafi's regime, patrolling roadside checkpoints in khaki uniforms and Muslim headscarves and often sporting sunglasses and heavy makeup. One group of women even reportedly ran their own interrogation center for suspected female anti-Gadhafi activists.

Col. Sabriya Mohammed al-Shraidi, a Benghazi native who graduated from the military school in the city in 1986 and specialized in military intelligence, said eight officers were training 36 volunteers in the current class, which she said would be the fourth group to graduate.
"Most of these women are housewives and working ladies. They have no experience in the military and they don't know how to use guns so they come here to get the training in case they have to defend themselves and their children," she said. "You never know when you need these skills."
She said they're given training in all types of light arms and self-defense. Those who join the force will help provide security for demonstrations, banks and other institutions.
"Women have contributed to this revolution in many ways," she said. "But they are still neglected and isolated and we are trying to show ... it is not a shame to be a part of the army and the society unlike during the Gadhafi era when military women had a very bad reputation."

Bangladesh-India Relations: The other face of a friend

Bangladesh-India Relations: The other face of a friend

These prickly remarks irked many in Bangladesh. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to visit Bangladesh in Septem-ber 2011. Foreign Minister S M Krishna visited Bangladesh on July 6, 2011 by PM Singh’s remarks made at the meeting with Indian editors in the first week of July in New Delhi in which he said that 25% of Bangladeshi popula-tion was anti-India and in the clutches of the ISI.

During Mr Krishna’s visit the environment was further vitiated. Besides this when Bangladesh media raised the question about “killing of unarmed Bangla-deshi nationals by India’s trigger-happy Border Security Force (BSF).” According to Odhikar, a human rights organisation in Bangladesh, between January 1 and May10, 2011, 12 young unarmed Bangladeshi nationals were killed by the BSF.
In Bangladesh, India is viewed as a bully, throwing its weight around and threatening the sovereignty of its smaller neighbors. There are several issues between the two countries, These include water issue, land issue, fencing of border, Indian support to Chakma community, smuggling from India etc. India is continuously interfering into the internal affairs of Bangladesh. She is supporting the Chakma refugees of Bangladesh in order to create unrest in that country.

Human Rights Congress of Bangladeshi Minorities (HRCBM), a Hindu organiza-tion is creating communal violence in Bangladesh. It is facilitating the settlement of Hindus in border districts of the country in order to facilitate Indian annexation of border territory of Bangladesh.
Most important issue that mars bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh is water. Bangladesh, which shares 54 rivers with India as lower riparian, has serious differences with New Delhi regarding water sharing. a whole range of issues that continue to fuel political tension which, in turn, does not allow the resolution of differences over water.

Mumbai attack, promises support, USA

Mumbai attack, promises support, Obama condemns

US President Barack Obama saying

"India is a close friend and partner

of the United States".

India is a close friend and partner of the United States. Support to India's efforts to bring the perpetrators of these terrible crimes to justice. US president Barack Obama led a strong American condemnation of yet another terrorist attack on India's financial capital Mumbai.

In a White House statement Obama recalled "I saw firsthand the strength and resilience of the Indian people, and I have no doubt that the India will overcome these deplorable terrorist attacks." the triple blasts that killed more than 20 people.

"I strongly condemn the outrageous attacks in Mumbai, The US government continues to monitor the situation, including the safety and security of our citizens," Obama said.

 "It's far too early to speculate. The Indian government will no doubt begin an investigation of the incident, and we'll wait for their results,"

The Obama statement comes even as the Ahmed Shuja Pasha, chief of Pakistan's spy agency ISI, alleged to have masterminded the last major terrorist attack on Mumbai.

 
Toner said he was not aware of any connection or warning in the attack linking it to secretary of state Hillary Clinton's scheduled visit to India next week and saw no change in her schedule. Clinton is slated to visit New Delhi and Chennai; Mumbai is not on her schedule.

There was outrage also on the Hill, where there is growing disquiet about Pakistan's reluctance to act against terrorist networks it has fostered for long.

Syrian troops near Turkey border

Syrian troops near Turkey border

Syrian refugees walk as they enter the Turkish side of

the border at the border zone between Syria and Turkey,

near the Turkish village of Guvecci.

          Syrian troops massed near the Turkish border, witnesses said on Thursday, raising tensions with Ankara as the president, Bashar al-Assad, uses increasing military force against a popular revolt.

          Hundreds of terrified refugees crossed into Turkey to escape an army assault, witnesses said. Syrian troops stormed the village of Managh, in a rural region.

          ‘I was contacted by relatives from Managh (15 km south of the border). Armoured personnel carriers are firing their machineguns randomly

          Sunni Turkey has become increasingly critical of Assad, from Syria’s Alawite minority, an offshoot of Islam, after previously backing him in his drive to seek peace with Israel and improve relations with the United States.

          A Turkish Red Crescent official told reporters about 600 Syrians had crossed the border on Thursday morning.

                    He was referring to a scorched earth military campaign in the arable hill region southwest of Aleppo, during which rights groups say Syrian security forces have killed more than 130 civilians and arrested 2,000.

          The Syrian troops hauled down the Turkish flag and replaced it with a Syrian one. They stayed through the morning and then withdrew shortly before noon.

In 2 weeks of Yemen clashes ‘140 dead’

           At least 140 people have been killed in two weeks of clashes between Yemeni security forces and suspected Al Qaeda gunmen in the Southern city of Zinjibar, a military official said on Monday.

          “At least 80 security officials including soldiers have been killed and more than 200 wounded in clashes with Al Qaeda militants since Zinjibar fell under the (Al Qaeda) network’s grip” in late May, said the military official.

          Security officials say the militants are Al Qaeda fighters but the political Opposition accuses the government of embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh of inventing a jihadist threat to head off Western pressure on his 33-year rule.