Taliban sources have told Al Jazeera they are holding one of the two US servicemen who went missing in eastern Afghanistan's Logar province, and say the other is dead. The two servicemen went missing after they departed their compound in Kabul City on Friday afternoon and did not return, prompting a massive seach operation, Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said on Saturday. "The unit dispatched vehicles and rotary-winged assets to search for them and their vehicle, and the search is ongoing," Isaf said in a statement. Isaf did not specify the nationality of the missing soldiers, but US officials told the Associated Press news agency (AP) that they are American.
Taliban sources have told Al Jazeera they are holding one of the two US servicemen who went missing in eastern Afghanistan's Logar province, and say the other is dead.
The two servicemen went missing after they departed their compound in Kabul City on Friday afternoon and did not return, prompting a massive seach operation, Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said on Saturday.
"The unit dispatched vehicles and rotary-winged assets to search for them and their vehicle, and the search is ongoing," Isaf said in a statement.
Isaf did not specify the nationality of the missing soldiers, but US officials told the Associated Press news agency (AP) that they are American.
The Taliban have offered to exchange the body of a US navy member they say was killed in an ambush two days ago in exchange for insurgent prisoners, an Afghan official said today.US and Nato officials confirmed that two US navy personnel went missing on Friday in the eastern province of Logar after an armoured sports utility vehicle was seen driving into a Taliban-held area. Afghan officials believe one was killed and the other captured when they apparently took a wrong turn into a dangerous area.Abdul Wali, the head of the provincial governing council, said the Taliban had made the offer through intermediaries. Local authories had responded, he said, by saying: "Let's talk about the one who is still alive." The insurgents said they would have to talk to their superiors before making any deal.Local media in Logar reported the Taliban as claiming responsibility for the attack on the two Americans. However, a Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said he had no information about US sailors in Taliban hands. He said he was looking into the reports and, for the moment, the Taliban was not claiming responsiblity.
The Taliban have offered to exchange the body of a US navy member they say was killed in an ambush two days ago in exchange for insurgent prisoners, an Afghan official said today.
US and Nato officials confirmed that two US navy personnel went missing on Friday in the eastern province of Logar after an armoured sports utility vehicle was seen driving into a Taliban-held area. Afghan officials believe one was killed and the other captured when they apparently took a wrong turn into a dangerous area.
Abdul Wali, the head of the provincial governing council, said the Taliban had made the offer through intermediaries. Local authories had responded, he said, by saying: "Let's talk about the one who is still alive." The insurgents said they would have to talk to their superiors before making any deal.
Local media in Logar reported the Taliban as claiming responsibility for the attack on the two Americans. However, a Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said he had no information about US sailors in Taliban hands. He said he was looking into the reports and, for the moment, the Taliban was not claiming responsiblity.
Taliban holds missing US soldier invader/occupier
Get it straight! In the end, might makes right. Nothing has changed since the caveman.
The African Union president has criticised International Criminal Court indictments against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, saying they were "undermining African solidarity and African peace and security". "To subject a sovereign head of state to a warrant of arrest is undermining African solidarity and African peace and security that we fought for for so many years," Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika, current head of the pan-African organisation. Mutharika told African leaders at the opening session of AU summit in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, to look for ways of resolving the conflict in Sudan without the need to arrest Bashir.
The African Union president has criticised International Criminal Court indictments against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, saying they were "undermining African solidarity and African peace and security".
"To subject a sovereign head of state to a warrant of arrest is undermining African solidarity and African peace and security that we fought for for so many years," Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika, current head of the pan-African organisation.
Mutharika told African leaders at the opening session of AU summit in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, to look for ways of resolving the conflict in Sudan without the need to arrest Bashir.
MEXICO CITY -- The number of bodies pulled from mass graves in a rocky field outside the northern city of Monterrey rose to 50 Saturday, authorities said, marking one of the largest dumping grounds ever found for casualties of Mexico's drug war. Forensic experts used earthmoving machinery to dig up several new graves beyond the nine pits already excavated.Unnamed military sources told the semi-official Notimex news agency that workers uncovered 12 new bodies early in the day, bringing to 50 the bodies dug up in a landfill in the township of Benito Juarez east of Monterrey. Some of the bodies appeared to have been incinerated, while others had bullet wounds, the Milenio news network reported on its website. It said the victims appeared to have been killed within the past two weeks."The majority (of the victims) are men between 20 and 50 years old, and most of them have tattoos," said Nuevo Leon State Attorney General Alejandro Garza y Garza, adding that forensic experts would conduct genetic tests to identify the victims.
MEXICO CITY -- The number of bodies pulled from mass graves in a rocky field outside the northern city of Monterrey rose to 50 Saturday, authorities said, marking one of the largest dumping grounds ever found for casualties of Mexico's drug war.
Forensic experts used earthmoving machinery to dig up several new graves beyond the nine pits already excavated.
Unnamed military sources told the semi-official Notimex news agency that workers uncovered 12 new bodies early in the day, bringing to 50 the bodies dug up in a landfill in the township of Benito Juarez east of Monterrey.
Some of the bodies appeared to have been incinerated, while others had bullet wounds, the Milenio news network reported on its website. It said the victims appeared to have been killed within the past two weeks.
"The majority (of the victims) are men between 20 and 50 years old, and most of them have tattoos," said Nuevo Leon State Attorney General Alejandro Garza y Garza, adding that forensic experts would conduct genetic tests to identify the victims.
CULIACAN, Mexico -- As narcotics addiction soars in Mexico, drug rehabilitation centers have become killing zones and recruitment centers in the country's escalating drug war. Clinics have become incubators for crime. In central Mexico, a cartel given to religious fanaticism is thought to run its own drug centers, weaning addicts off narcotics only to convert them into killers.Hired guns from cartels also have taken to using rehab clinics as hideouts after committing brutal crimes, making the centers targets of revenge for rivals. Almost every month, heavily armed squads break into a rehab center somewhere in Mexico and gun down those who are thought to be rivals from competing narcotics syndicates, along with innocent patients. In one of the grisliest cases, assailants with AK-47 automatic rifles broke into the Faith and Life clinic in Chihuahua City, a desert hub about 220 miles from El Paso, Texas, lined up 19 people and executed them. The killers left a banner after the June 10 attack: "This is what happens to rapists, robbers, scum and pigs."About a dozen violent attacks on drug treatment centers have occurred in the past year in Durango and Chihuahua states
CULIACAN, Mexico -- As narcotics addiction soars in Mexico, drug rehabilitation centers have become killing zones and recruitment centers in the country's escalating drug war.
Clinics have become incubators for crime. In central Mexico, a cartel given to religious fanaticism is thought to run its own drug centers, weaning addicts off narcotics only to convert them into killers.
Hired guns from cartels also have taken to using rehab clinics as hideouts after committing brutal crimes, making the centers targets of revenge for rivals. Almost every month, heavily armed squads break into a rehab center somewhere in Mexico and gun down those who are thought to be rivals from competing narcotics syndicates, along with innocent patients.
In one of the grisliest cases, assailants with AK-47 automatic rifles broke into the Faith and Life clinic in Chihuahua City, a desert hub about 220 miles from El Paso, Texas, lined up 19 people and executed them. The killers left a banner after the June 10 attack: "This is what happens to rapists, robbers, scum and pigs."
About a dozen violent attacks on drug treatment centers have occurred in the past year in Durango and Chihuahua states
LHASA, Tibet -- They come by new high-altitude trains, four a day, cruising 1,200 miles past snow-capped mountains. And they come by military truck convoy, lumbering across the roof of the world. After the violence that ravaged this region in 2008, China's aim is to make Tibet wealthier -- and more Chinese. Chinese leaders see development, along with an enhanced security presence, as the key to pacifying the Buddhist region. The central government invested $3 billion in the Tibet Autonomous Region last year, a 31 percent increase over 2008. Tibet's gross domestic product is growing at a 12 percent annual rate, faster than the robust Chinese national average. [...]. But if the influx of money and people has brought new prosperity, it has also deepened the resentment among many Tibetans. Migrant Han entrepreneurs elbow out Tibetan rivals, then return home for the winter after reaping profits. Large Han-owned companies dominate the main industries, from mining to construction to tourism.
LHASA, Tibet -- They come by new high-altitude trains, four a day, cruising 1,200 miles past snow-capped mountains. And they come by military truck convoy, lumbering across the roof of the world. After the violence that ravaged this region in 2008, China's aim is to make Tibet wealthier -- and more Chinese.
Chinese leaders see development, along with an enhanced security presence, as the key to pacifying the Buddhist region. The central government invested $3 billion in the Tibet Autonomous Region last year, a 31 percent increase over 2008. Tibet's gross domestic product is growing at a 12 percent annual rate, faster than the robust Chinese national average.
[...].
But if the influx of money and people has brought new prosperity, it has also deepened the resentment among many Tibetans. Migrant Han entrepreneurs elbow out Tibetan rivals, then return home for the winter after reaping profits. Large Han-owned companies dominate the main industries, from mining to construction to tourism.
A huge cache of secret US military files today provides a devastating portrait of the failing war in Afghanistan, revealing how coalition forces have killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents, Taliban attacks have soared and Nato commanders fear neighbouring Pakistan and Iran are fuelling the insurgency.The disclosures come from more than 90,000 records of incidents and intelligence reports about the conflict obtained by the whistleblowers' website Wikileaks in one of the biggest leaks in US military history. The files, which were made available to the Guardian, the New York Times and the German weekly Der Spiegel, give a blow-by-blow account of the fighting over the last six years, which has so far cost the lives of more than 320 British and over 1,000 US troops.
A huge cache of secret US military files today provides a devastating portrait of the failing war in Afghanistan, revealing how coalition forces have killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents, Taliban attacks have soared and Nato commanders fear neighbouring Pakistan and Iran are fuelling the insurgency.
The disclosures come from more than 90,000 records of incidents and intelligence reports about the conflict obtained by the whistleblowers' website Wikileaks in one of the biggest leaks in US military history. The files, which were made available to the Guardian, the New York Times and the German weekly Der Spiegel, give a blow-by-blow account of the fighting over the last six years, which has so far cost the lives of more than 320 British and over 1,000 US troops.
In an unprecedented development, close to 92,000 classified documents pertaining to the war in Afghanistan have been leaked. SPIEGEL, the New York Times and the Guardian have analyzed the raft of mostly classified documents. They expose the true scale of the Western military deployment -- and the problems beleaguering Germany's Bundeswehr in the Hindu Kush. A total of 91,731 reports from United States military databanks relating to the war in Afghanistan are to be made publicly available on the Internet. Never before has it been possible to compare the reality on the battlefield in such a detailed manner with what the US Army propaganda machinery is propagating. WikiLeaks plans to post the documents, most of which are classified, on its website. Britain's Guardian newspaper, the New York Times and SPIEGEL have all vetted the material and compared the data with independent reports. All three media have concluded that the documents are authentic and provide an unvarnished image of the war in Afghanistan -- from the perspective of the soldiers who are fighting it.
In an unprecedented development, close to 92,000 classified documents pertaining to the war in Afghanistan have been leaked. SPIEGEL, the New York Times and the Guardian have analyzed the raft of mostly classified documents. They expose the true scale of the Western military deployment -- and the problems beleaguering Germany's Bundeswehr in the Hindu Kush.
A total of 91,731 reports from United States military databanks relating to the war in Afghanistan are to be made publicly available on the Internet. Never before has it been possible to compare the reality on the battlefield in such a detailed manner with what the US Army propaganda machinery is propagating. WikiLeaks plans to post the documents, most of which are classified, on its website.
Britain's Guardian newspaper, the New York Times and SPIEGEL have all vetted the material and compared the data with independent reports. All three media have concluded that the documents are authentic and provide an unvarnished image of the war in Afghanistan -- from the perspective of the soldiers who are fighting it.
An archive of classified military documents offers an unvarnished view of the war in Afghanistan
The At War blog will be providing coverage of the reaction to the release of an archive of classified military documents described below that paints a grim portrait of the war in Afghanistan. The New York Times had access to the documents and published a series of reports that are gathered here. A note to readers describes The Times's process of reviewing the documents and deciding what to publish. Editors and reporters who worked on the articles will be answering questions about the material. E-mail your questions to askthetimes@nytimes.com and post a comment below.
The White House's response to Wikileaks' release of 92,000 classified military documents covering operations in Afghanistan from 2004 until 2009 has been to say the accounts are unreliable, irrelevant and cover a period preceding the announcement of President Obama's new strategy.
WikiLeaks today released over 75,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan. The Afghan War Diaries an extraordinary secret compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. The reports describe the majority of lethal military actions involving the United States military. They include the number of persons internally stated to be killed, wounded, or detained during each action, together with the precise geographical location of each event, and the military units involved and major weapon systems used. The Afghan War Diaries is the most significant archive about the reality of war to have ever been released during the course of a war. The deaths of tens of thousands is normally only a statistic but this archive reveals locations and key events behind each of these individual deaths. We hope the impact will lead to a comprehensive understanding of the war in Afghanistan and modern warfare in general. These reports have been primarily written by soldiers and intelligence officers listening to reports radioed in from front line deployments. However the reports also contain related information from Marines intelligence, US Embassies, and reports about corruption and development activity across Afghanistan.
WikiLeaks today released over 75,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan.
The Afghan War Diaries an extraordinary secret compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. The reports describe the majority of lethal military actions involving the United States military. They include the number of persons internally stated to be killed, wounded, or detained during each action, together with the precise geographical location of each event, and the military units involved and major weapon systems used.
The Afghan War Diaries is the most significant archive about the reality of war to have ever been released during the course of a war. The deaths of tens of thousands is normally only a statistic but this archive reveals locations and key events behind each of these individual deaths. We hope the impact will lead to a comprehensive understanding of the war in Afghanistan and modern warfare in general.
These reports have been primarily written by soldiers and intelligence officers listening to reports radioed in from front line deployments. However the reports also contain related information from Marines intelligence, US Embassies, and reports about corruption and development activity across Afghanistan.
"Obama should get off his Kentucky Fried Chicken Ass ..." and he got cut off. LOL In the end, might makes right. Nothing has changed since the caveman.
"In media history up to now, the press is free to report on what the powerful wish to keep secret because the laws of a given nation protect it. But Wikileaks is able to report on what the powerful wish to keep secret because the logic of the Internet permits it. This is new."
Or shorter Guardian : we feared being gagged keep to the Fen Causeway
Scottish officials say US memo giving grudging support to freeing Abdelbaset al-Megrahi undermines president's criticismsBarack Obama is under growing pressure to release a letter that reveals the US grudgingly supported freeing the Lockerbie bomber on compassionate grounds.The letter was sent to Scottish ministers by a senior diplomat at the US embassy in London last August, eight days before Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was released from prison because he was dying from inoperable prostate cancer.Obama's administration has refused to allow publication of the letter, in which the US says allowing Megrahi to live at home in Scotland would be "far preferable" to sending him back to Libya under the prisoner transfer deal brokered by former prime minister Tony Blair in 2007.
Barack Obama is under growing pressure to release a letter that reveals the US grudgingly supported freeing the Lockerbie bomber on compassionate grounds.
The letter was sent to Scottish ministers by a senior diplomat at the US embassy in London last August, eight days before Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was released from prison because he was dying from inoperable prostate cancer.
Obama's administration has refused to allow publication of the letter, in which the US says allowing Megrahi to live at home in Scotland would be "far preferable" to sending him back to Libya under the prisoner transfer deal brokered by former prime minister Tony Blair in 2007.
Foreign ministers of South America will meet on Thursday in Ecuador to discuss the rupture of relations between Colombia and Venezuela. The meeting was called days after Colombia accused Venezuela before the Organization of American States (OAS) of being the home of 87 bases of guerrilla groups FARC and ELN. Venezuela denies this and accuses Colombia of trying to create the conditions for a U.S. military intervention in the oil-rich socialist nation.
Caracas- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned that he would suspend oil shipments to the United States if Venezuela were to fall victim of a military attack from Colombia. "If there were to be an armed aggression against Venezuela... impulsed by Yankee imperialism... we would suspend oil shipments to the United States of America", he affirmed. "We would not send a single drop more".
Washington- Venezuela's Ambassador before the Organization of American States, Roy Chaderton, assured on Friday that his country's territory has been used by irregular armed groups from Colombia on various occasions, adding that there have been clashes between these and Venezuelan armed forces.
Táchira.- The governor of the Venezuelan state of Táchira, César Pérez Vivas, stated that the Government had applied "incorrect politics" with regard to Colombia and added that he would not be intimidated by the warning emitted by Venezuelan President this Sunday. Leader Hugo Chávez had stated that he or Pablo Pérez, governor of Zulia, cooperate with with paramilitary groups and would be considered traitor to the Fatherland and jailed.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday called on Colombian guerrilla groups FARC and ELN to "reconsider their armed strategy" against the State. According to the leftist leader, the United States is using the guerrillas as an "excuse" to "penetrate" Colombia. Chavez, who broke ties with Colombia this week following allegations that Venezuelan authorities neglect to act on guerrilla presence on their territory, made the remarks at a forum of labor unionists in Caracas.
A report quietly submitted by IDF Military Advocate General Avichai Mandelblit to the United Nations two weeks ago regarding Israel's conduct during Operation Cast Lead confirms the key findings of the Goldstone Report. The report (full version here), which documents 150 ongoing investigations, has outraged the Israeli Army. "It looks as though they were frightened by Goldstone," remarked an IDF officer. Another military official expressed anger that after a previous IDF report asserting the legality of shelling civilian areas with white phosphorous, a chemical weapon, the Mandelblit report has issued recommendations limiting the munition's use. "It looks like tying your own hands behind your back. Why should a weapon with which there is no problem be limited?" the official asked.
Toxic legacy of US assault on Fallujah 'worse than Hiroshima': Dramatic increases in infant mortality, cancer and leukaemia in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, which was bombarded by US Marines in 2004, exceed those reported by survivors of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, according to a new study. Iraqi doctors in Fallujah have complained since 2005 of being overwhelmed by the number of babies with serious birth defects, ranging from a girl born with two heads to paralysis of the lower limbs. They said they were also seeing far more cancers than they did before the battle for Fallujah between US troops and insurgents.
Iraqi doctors in Fallujah have complained since 2005 of being overwhelmed by the number of babies with serious birth defects, ranging from a girl born with two heads to paralysis of the lower limbs. They said they were also seeing far more cancers than they did before the battle for Fallujah between US troops and insurgents.
