"Morning Papers" - Its Origins

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

Trail set in Pakistan for Mumbai suspects

...Interior Minister Rehman Malik said investigations were complete for these suspects and named another 12 men still wanted in connection with the case.
The charges show Pakistan is serious in pursuing suspects in the case despite Indian claims to the contrary, he said.
More than 170 people died in the attacks, including nine gunmen.
India has accused Pakistan-based fighters from the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba of carrying out the attacks.
Pakistan has admitted they were partly planned on its soil and the two countries have suffered seriously strained relations....

FACTBOX - U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan (click here)
Sat Jul 11, 2009 3:03am EDT

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A pilotless U.S. drone fired two missiles into a Taliban communication center in an ethnic Pashtun tribal region on the Afghan border, killing five militants, intelligence officials said Saturday.
The attack on the center run by Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistani Taliban chief and an al Qaeda ally, took place late Friday in the South Waziristan region.
Here are some facts about the U.S. missile attacks, the controversy they have caused, and a list of some of the more prominent militants killed, according to Pakistani officials....

...January 28, 2008 - A senior al Qaeda member, Abu Laith al-Libi, was killed in a strike in North Waziristan.

July 28 - An al Qaeda chemical and biological weapons expert, Abu Khabab al-Masri, was killed in South Waziristan.

November 22 - Rashid Rauf, a Briton with al Qaeda links and the suspected ringleader of a 2006 plot to blow up airliners over the Atlantic, was killed in an attack in North Waziristan. An Egyptian named as Abu Zubair al-Masri was said to be among the dead in the same attack.

January 1, 2009 - A U.S. drone killed three foreign fighters in South Waziristan, Pakistani agents said. A week later, a U.S. counter-terrorism official said al Qaeda's operational chief Usama al-Kini and an aide had been killed in South Waziristan. The U.S. official declined to say how or when they died....

Tribal region poses harsh test for Pakistan army (click here)
By NAHAL TOOSI – 4 hours ago
ISLAMABAD (AP) — After relative success against Islamic extremists elsewhere, Pakistan's military faces its toughest test yet — a surgical operation against the country's most dangerous militant in a region of harsh terrain and fierce tribal rivalries.
The target of the air and ground offensive now in its early phases is Baitullah Mehsud, the top commander of Pakistan's Taliban who has ties to al-Qaida. Mehsud is believed responsible for scores of suicide attacks — possibly including the December 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Pakistan considers Mehsud its greatest domestic threat. The U.S. views him as a danger to its war effort in Afghanistan because his base in South Waziristan harbors militants fleeing across the border.
The Obama administration fears that a destabilized, nuclear-armed Pakistan could endanger the entire region. In recent months, U.S. missile strikes have increasingly focused on Mehsud-linked targets....

Pakistan declares victory in Swat Valley offensive (click here)
Thursday, 9 July 2009

The Pakistani Government is claiming victory in its war against Taliban militants based in the Swat Valley.
The army launched an offensive against the militants earlier this year after they began taking control of more areas outside the valley in breach of a peace agreement with the Government.
Two million civilians fled the fighting and have spent the last two months living in makeshift refugee camps.
The Government now says they can begin to return to their homes next week as the Swat region is now secure.
It claims 1,500 militants have been killed in the offensive and nearly all of the valley has now been cleared of rebels.

Pakistani refugees begin returning home (click here)
By RYAN LUCAS – 1 day ago
SULTANWAS, Pakistan (AP) — Crammed into rickety vans with electric fans and sacks of flour roped to the roof, the first of Pakistan's 2 million refugees have begun returning to their homes after the army said it expelled Taliban militants from some northern strongholds.
Their return is unlikely to end Pakistan's refugee crisis. The military is preparing for a major offensive in a neighboring region, ensuring that other Pakistanis will be displaced.
The refugees have spent the past two months in crowded camps and squeezed into houses with relatives and friends south of the war zone, and are eager to restart their lives. The government must now quickly restore electricity and water — and prevent the militants from coming back.
If the government fails, it could lose the goodwill it won among the public by confronting the Taliban during last spring's offensive. The military operation began after militants poured out of bases in the Swat Valley into the neighboring district of Buner and moved within 60 miles of the capital, Islamabad....

I have stated over and over and over again, Iraq will split into ethnic provinces and there isn't a darn thing anyone is going to do to stop it.

The sooner USA Forces are out of there the better. Allies need support in Afghanistan. That is if there is to be a defeat of al Qaeda. I guarantee you, Europe does not see it any other way.

Kurds lay claim to land and oil, defying Iraq's central government (click title to entry - thank you)

12:00 AM CDT on Saturday, July 11, 2009

By REESE ERLICH / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News Reese Erlich is a freelance journalist based in Oakland, Calif.

TAK TAK OIL FIELD, Iraq – With the passage of a controversial new constitution, the Kurdish regional parliament has added fuel to an already raging fire between Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq and Iraq's central government.
The constitution, which still must be ratified in a popular vote, asserts Kurdish sovereignty over Kirkuk and other disputed areas, including oil fields. The constitution would require Baghdad to get Kurdish government approval of any international treaty signed by Baghdad that affects several disputed provinces with sizable Kurdish populations.
Officials in the central government strongly oppose the constitution, saying it's an illegal grab for power.
Behind the legal and political dispute, however, lies a fierce struggle for control of the country's oil....

They can keep their oil. I strongly suggest Detroit 'get busy' with producing the Electric Car. And I believe the Obama Administration is opening up 13 NEW High Speed Rail Systems across the country. Well. I suggest we get on with it !

The Iraqi Central Government is trying to gain 'confidence' of the people and the international community by attempting to bring International Soccer to Baghdad.

Right.

Iraq team at home in Baghdad hope to prove a point (click here)
By Shamal Aqrawi

Reuters

Saturday, July 11, 2009; 1:57 PM

ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq hopes to convince FIFA the country is safe enough to host official soccer matches again when the national team plays Palestine on Monday in their first international in Baghdad since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
The country hosted its first match since the war late on Friday, with Iraq beating Palestine 3-0 in front of jubilant supporters in the northern Kurdish city of Arbil....

Oh, this is beautiful. How often, Mike, have we heard, "They are paranoid conspiracy theorists?" How often was it all said !

They are such intricate liars, aren't they?

How many people have died at the hand of greed in this country?

I've had enough !