Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East--And Now, The Withdrawal From Afghanistan (M.E.T.)

[visionary]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/leading-libyan-activist-who-helped-start-anti-gadhafi-protests-killed-in-drive-by-shooting/2013/07/26/687f4c90-f624-11e2-81fa-8e83b3864c36_story.html

Leading Libyan activist, who helped start anti-Gadhafi protests, killed in drive-by shooting

 

A leading Libyan lawyer and activist who was a vocal critic of the country’s Islamists was killed Friday in a drive-by shooting in the city of Benghazi, a security official said.

 

Abdul-Salam al-Musmari was driving home after Friday prayers when a gray sedan intercepted his car and a gunman emerged, shooting him at close range, Benghazi security official Mohammed al-Hegazi said.

 

Al-Hegazi said an investigation into the motives behind the attack and who committed the killing is underway.

 

Al-Musmari was a leading lawyer who headed the Feb. 17 Coalition, a group credited with launching the 2011 protests against the country’s longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Al-Musmari publicly criticized the country’s Muslim Brotherhood group, which wields significant political and financial clout in post-Gadhafi politics.

 

He also campaigned recently against a sweeping law that bans anyone who served as a senior official under Gadhafi from working in government. The law was widely supported by many of Libya’s militias who pushed for its passage, besieging government buildings in a show of force.

Protests across Libya now against militias and the Muslim Brotherhood, who a lot of people think are behind them.

 

 

https://twitter.com/LibyanBentBladi

Crowds gather in front of house of slain Benghazi activist pic.twitter.com/jVmVe0LOjW
12:55 AM

 

 

https://twitter.com/alisalamat

Pictures taken only a few minutes ago from MartyrsSquare Tripoli (via AbdulMoez Banoon) Jul26 1/2 pic.twitter.com/QlWO3ZQHwj
12:34 AM

Edited July 27, 2013 by visionary

[visionary]

Seems protests are getting a bit out of hand.  Muslim Brotherhood and National Forces Alliance (main secular coalition party) headquarters in Tripoli, Libya have been trashed. 

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/28/us-kuwait-election-idUSBRE96Q04320130728?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

Liberals, smaller tribes win seats in Kuwait vote after opposition boycott

 

Liberals and candidates from some of Kuwait's more marginalized tribes have won seats in a parliament which may prove more cooperative with ruling family members after opposition Islamists and populists boycotted the election.

 

Saturday's election was the sixth since 2006 in the major oil producer where political upheaval and bureaucracy have held up the vast majority of initiatives in a 30-billion-dinar ($105-billion) economic development plan announced in 2010.

 

Kuwait has the most open political system in the Gulf Arab region but parliaments have been repeatedly dissolved over procedural disputes or for challenging the government in which members of the ruling Al-Sabah family hold top posts.

 

The U.S. ally has seen street protests in the past two years, including over changes to the voting procedures, but its generous welfare system and relative tolerance of dissent have helped to shield it from more serious Arab Spring-style unrest.

 

Shi'ites - estimated at 20-30 percent of the population - won just 7 seats in the 50-member parliament compared to 17 in the last election in December, local media said.

 

[visionary]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/06/world/middleeast/qaeda-chiefs-order-to-yemen-affiliate-said-to-prompt-alert.html?_r=0

Qaeda Leader’s Edict to Yemen Affiliate Is Said to Prompt Alert

 

The Obama administration’s decision last week to close nearly two dozen diplomatic missions and issue a worldwide travel alert resulted from intercepted electronic communications in which the head of Al Qaeda in Pakistan ordered the leader of its affiliate in Yemen, the terrorist organization’s most lethal branch, to carry out an attack as early as this past Sunday, according to American officials.

 

The intercepted conversations last week between Ayman al-Zawahri, who succeeded Osama bin Laden as the head of the global terrorist group, and Nasser al-Wuhayshi, the head of the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, revealed one of the most serious plots against American and other Western interests since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, American intelligence officials and lawmakers have said.

 

It is highly unusual for senior Qaeda leaders in Pakistan to discuss operational matters with the group’s affiliates, so when the intercepts between the two senior Qaeda leaders were collected and analyzed last week, senior officials at the C.I.A., the State Department and the White House immediately seized on their significance. Members of Congress were quickly provided classified briefings on the matter, American officials said.

 

“This was significant because it was the big guys talking, and talking about very specific timing for an attack or attacks,” said one American official who had been briefed on the intelligence reports in recent days.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/al-qaeda-threat-officials-fear-ingenious-liquid-explosive/story?id=19871892

Al Qaeda Threat: Officials Fear 'Ingenious' Liquid Explosive

 

There are growing concerns that an al Qaeda affiliate could use a new generation of liquid explosive, currently undetectable, in a potential attack, according to two senior U.S. government officials briefed on the terror threat that has prompted the closing of nearly two dozen U.S. embassies.

 

Though the Transportation Security Administration has long been concerned about liquid explosives being used in potential devices -- as it was during the failed Christmas Day bombing in 2009 -- the new tactic allows terrorists to dip ordinary clothing into the liquid to make the clothes themselves into explosives once dry.

 

"It's ingenious," one of the officials said.

 

Another senior official said that the tactic would not be detected by current security measures.

 

The officials said the new technique is believed to have been developed by the Yemen-based al Qaeda affiliate al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), home to notorious alleged bomb maker Ibrahim al-Asiri. Al-Asiri is suspected of being the mastermind behind several devious explosive devices including the underwear bomb and surgically implanted body bombs.

 

Last month Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole revealed details about a new and improved version of the underwear bomb, also thought to be al-Asiri's work, that he said would "possibly" have been discovered by TSA screening. That bomb was given to a double-agent last year, who gave it to western intelligence services.

 

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/AJELive

US drone kills four Al Qaeda suspects in Yemen, tribal sources say.
1:20 AM

 

https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak

U.S. State Department urges U.S. citizens living in Yemen to leave immediately due to "high security threat level"
4:15 AM

[visionary]

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/08/06/no_al_qaeda_is_not_about_to_blow_up_your_blouse_terrorism

No, Al Qaeda Is Not About to Blow Up Your Blouse

 

The panic over an alleged al Qaeda plot went into overdrive Monday night, when ABC News reported that terrorists in Yemen were experimenting with a new and virtually undetectable bomb-making technique: dipping their clothes into liquid explosive that then dries and can be ignited.

 

The cries of doom began almost immediately after the story went online. But people shouldn't have been so quick to scream. A clothing bomb would almost certainly never work, explosive experts tell Foreign Policy.

 

From bombs in underwear to the derriere, the explosive-device masters in al Qaeda's Yemen branch have been sowing fear and panic for several years now. But their dastardly techniques, while technically impressive, have not been shown to consistently have their desired effect: killing lots of people.

 

It's not clear from the report that this latest alleged device, which one anonymous official called "ingenious," is directly linked to the recent terror threat that led to the closure of more than 20 U.S. embassies and diplomatic posts. But the use of sophisticated explosives fashioned into hard-to-detect devices fits a pattern of Yemen's bombmaker craftsmen, and one in particular.

Edited August 6, 2013 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/19/politics/cia-iran-1953-coup/index.html?sr=sharebar_facebook

In declassified document, CIA acknowledges role in '53 Iran coup

 

Sixty years after the overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, a declassified CIA document acknowledges that the agency was involved in the 1953 coup.

 

The independent National Security Archive research institute, which published the document Monday, says the declassification is believed to mark the CIA's first formal acknowledgment of its involvement.

 

The documents, declassified in 2011 and given to George Washington University research group under the Freedom of Information Act, come from the CIA's internal history of Iran from the mid-1970s and paint a detailed picture of how the CIA worked to oust Mossadegh.

 

In a key line pointed out by Malcom Byrne, the editor who worked through the documents, the CIA spells out its involvement in the coup. "The military coup that overthrew Mossadeq and his National Front cabinet was carried out under CIA direction as an act of U.S. foreign policy, conceived and approved at the highest levels of government," the document says, using a variation of the spelling of Mossadegh's name.

 

While this might be the CIA's first formal nod, the U.S. role has long been known.

 

President Barack Obama acknowledged the United States' involvement in the coup during a 2009 speech in Cairo.

 

[visionary]

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/08/25/secret_cia_files_prove_america_helped_saddam_as_he_gassed_iran

Exclusive: CIA Files Prove America Helped Saddam as He Gassed Iran

 

In 1988, during the waning days of Iraq's war with Iran, the United States learned through satellite imagery that Iran was about to gain a major strategic advantage by exploiting a hole in Iraqi defenses. U.S. intelligence officials conveyed the location of the Iranian troops to Iraq, fully aware that Hussein's military would attack with chemical weapons, including sarin, a lethal nerve agent.

 

The intelligence included imagery and maps about Iranian troop movements, as well as the locations of Iranian logistics facilities and details about Iranian air defenses. The Iraqis used mustard gas and sarin prior to four major offensives in early 1988 that relied on U.S. satellite imagery, maps, and other intelligence. These attacks helped to tilt the war in Iraq's favor and bring Iran to the negotiating table, and they ensured that the Reagan administration's long-standing policy of securing an Iraqi victory would succeed. But they were also the last in a series of chemical strikes stretching back several years that the Reagan administration knew about and didn't disclose.

 

U.S. officials have long denied acquiescing to Iraqi chemical attacks, insisting that Hussein's government never announced he was going to use the weapons. But retired Air Force Col. Rick Francona, who was a military attaché in Baghdad during the 1988 strikes, paints a different picture.

"The Iraqis never told us that they intended to use nerve gas. They didn't have to. We already knew," he told Foreign Policy.

 

 

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=60909

Iraq court unblocks what parliament blocked: Path clear for Maliki third term

 

Iraq's highest court on Monday overturned controversial term limits on senior posts, clearing the way for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to chase a third term in elections next year.

 

The decision, confirmed by multiple MPs and officials, comes with parliament considering a new election law ahead of legislative polls due to be held in April, Iraq's first general election since 2010.

 

The federal supreme court ruled that because the law passed by MPs in January originated in parliament, it was unconstitutional, based on previous judicial rulings that have argued laws must be first proposed by Iraq's cabinet.

 

"This should have come from the cabinet or the presidency only, not from parliament," said Ali Shlah, an MP from Maliki's State of Law alliance.

 

[visionary]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24413127#TWEET911548

Tunisia: Ennahda and opposition agree on power transfer

 

Tunisia's governing Islamist Ennahda party and the opposition have agreed on the appointment of a caretaker government within three weeks.

 

Under the deal signed after talks in Tunis, a cabinet of independent figures will be in power until fresh elections.

 

Last month Ennahda agreed in principle to relinquish power, in an effort to end Tunisia's political deadlock.

 

The crisis was triggered by the assassinations of two opposition leaders earlier this year.

 

https://twitter.com/Tunisia_Live

Major opposition parties and two of the three parties in the Tunisia governing coalition have signed the roadmap agreement.

10:33 AM

 

UGTT head Abbassi says parties that have not signed the roadmap agreement today can do so later - today or tomorrow.

10:36 AM 

 

[visionary]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24451180

Libyan PM Ali Zeidan calls for foreign help on militancy

 

Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has called on Western powers to help stop the spread of militancy in his country.

 

In an interview with BBC Newsnight he said Libya was being used as a base to export weapons throughout the region.

 

"The movement of these weapons endangers neighbouring countries too, so there must be international co-operation to stop it," Mr Zeidan said.

 

On Monday Libya questioned the US ambassador over the capture of a suspected al-Qaeda leader in Tripoli.

 

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/13/us-centralafrican-france-idUSBRE99C0AB20131013?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=992637

France to increase troops in Central African Republic

 

France will boost its troop presence in the Central African Republic by the end of the year end under a forthcoming U.N. resolution to help prevent the country from spiraling out of control, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Sunday.

 

Fabius and the European Union aid chief, Kristalina Georgieva, are in the country to drum up support and international interest for a largely forgotten crisis.

 

The Central African Republic has descended into chaos since mostly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted President Francois Bozize in March, the latest coup in the country that remains one of the world's poorest despite resources ranging from gold to uranium.

 

Geographically at the center of what some strategists have called an "arc of insecurity" involving Islamist fighters from Kenya and Somalia in east Africa to Mauritania in the west, a power vacuum could pave the way for militants to seize control.

 

France has urged world and regional powers not to ignore the conflict that has already seen more than 400,000 people driven from their homes by acts of violence such as murder and rape.

 

However, Paris is reluctant to be left to deal with another African hotspot after it felt allies such as the United States were hesitant to help it halt a rebel advance by al Qaeda-linked insurgents in Mali earlier this year.

 

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/08/us-libya-security-idUSBRE9A70X820131108

Libyan army launches push for order in troubled Benghazi

 

Libyan's army moved into Benghazi in eastern Libya on Friday, a show of force aimed at restoring order in the country's second largest city, rocked by almost daily bombings and assassinations.

 

Security in the port city, an important part of Libya's oil infrastructure, has deteriorated in the past few months with armed militants and radical Islamists roaming unchallenged, highlighting the anarchy in the OPEC producer two years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.

 

Most countries have closed their consulates in Benghazi after a series of attacks and some foreign airlines have stopped flying there. The U.S. ambassador was killed in September 2012 during an Islamist assault on the consulate.

 

Stability in the region is key for oil supplies as around 60 percent of oil production comes from the country's eastern half.

 

Hundreds of armored troop carriers and army trucks mounted with guns drove through the old city near the Corniche after Friday prayers, cheered by residents tired of violence, witnesses said.

 

"We stand by the people," Wanis Bukhmada, commander of special forces in Benghazi, told a crowd. "We won't allow anyone to mess around with security anymore."

 

Some 500 people took to the streets, welcoming the army, which has been accused by critics of keeping largely to barracks in recent months.

 

[visionary]

http://transitions.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/11/15/a_bloodbath_in_the_streets_of_tripoli#.UofTWhrKz2c.twitter

A Bloodbath in the Streets of Tripoli

 

The Libyan capital is enduring some of its worst days since its liberation in August 2011. Today, the people of Tripoli took to the streets to call for an end to rule by militia in the city -- only to be shot at and, in some cases, killed by the same armed militias that helped liberate the capital from Qaddafi's forces.

 

On Nov. 15, hundreds of Tripoli residents answered calls for peaceful demonstrations issued by the city's council, the Grand Mufti, and civil society organizations to protest against the presence of armed militias in the city. The protesters carried white flags as a sign of peace. However, when the crowds marched to the Gharghour area of Tripoli -- home to one of the most notorious militias in the city -- the protesters were fired upon with live ammunition, including anti-aircraft guns and even rockets. At least 32 people have been killed and at least 391 injured. The casualties included women and children, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Health.

 

Tensions in Tripoli have been rising since a member of a Tripoli militia murdered a commander of a rival militia a few days ago. The killing prompted retaliation by the members of the dead man's militia last week. Tripoli's residents were caught in the middle of two warring militias, who have effectively been holding the capital, its people, and the authorities at their mercy. Due to the presence of rival militias, Tripoli has become a place where revenge killings, robberies, forced disappearance, and illegal detention and torture take place on a daily basis.

 

One of the militias involved in today's bloodletting hails from Misrata. Soon after the shooting, the Misrata militia and its sympathizers took to Libyan TV channels to claim that today's demonstrators unfairly targeted them over other militias. They suggested that the protesters were advocating an anti-Misrata agenda in an attempt to weaken the city's position in Tripoli, while allowing other militias to operate as usual.

 

http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/11/kerry-condemns-libya-violence-177672.html

Kerry condemns Libya violence

 

Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday condemned recent violence in Libya that left at least 31 protesters dead and more than 200 wounded.

 

“Libyans did not risk their lives in their 2011 revolution for this violence to continue,” Kerry said in a statement. “If a free people are going to succeed in forging a peaceful, secure, and prosperous country with a government based on the rule of law and respect for human rights, then there can be no place for this kind of violence in the new Libya.”

 

The attacks were carried out Friday by Libyan militias in Tripoli, as people took to the streets demanding an end to the armed groups, according to the Associated Press.

 

Kerry promised the United States would work with Libyan authorities to bring security and good governance to the North African nation, which ousted dictator Muammar Qadhafi in 2011.

 

The State Department has been quietly offering rewards of up to $10 million for information on the 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

 

[visionary]

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2013/11/18/2940251/amid-chaos-sectarian-violence-rises-in-central-african-republic/

Amid Chaos, ‘Seeds Of Genocide’ Take Root In Central African Republic

 

In late 1991, Somalia was well on its way to archetype for a so-called failed state, a status that it is still struggling to shed. More than two decades later and over two thousand miles away, nestled in the middle of the continent, the Central African Republic is rapidly becoming more like the Somalia of the early 1990s, as thousands are displaced and the state is well under way towards collapsing entirely. The danger that comes with failed state status, however, is combined in the CAR with the potential for the deadly violence seen in Rwanda that took the lives of hundreds of thousands.

 

In the eight months since President Francois Bozizé fled as rebels approached the capital city, violence has been widespread with the government becoming practically non-existent. The ragtag collection of rebel groups that swept into Bangui — known as Seleka, a word that means “alliance” in the Sango language — have terrorized the countryside, raping and looting, sending hundreds of thousands fleeing into the bush. More worrying, the violence has taken on a more sectarian tone the longer the crisis has gone on.

 

“We are seeing armed groups killing people under the guise of their religion and my feeling is that this will end with Christian communities, Muslim communities killing each other,” U.N. special advisor on the prevention of genocide Adama Dieng told reporters after an informal U.N. Security Council meeting on the crisis in late October. “If we don’t act now and decisively I will not exclude the possibility of a genocide occurring in the Central African Republic.”

 

Actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow recently visited the Central African Republic, briefing the United Nations in Geneva on her way back to the United States. She spoke with ThinkProgress on Monday about what she saw there, agreeing that the “seeds of genocide” could be seen within the country. When she first visited in 2007, Farrow recalled, people were referring to the situation on the ground in the Central African Republic as the “Forgotten Crisis,” a name that she rejects. “It implies that it was ever remembered,” Farrow said. “I came away thinking ‘these are the most abandoned people on Earth.’”

 

[visionary]

https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/international/521932-libya-militias-say-they-have-left-Tripoli

Libya militias say they have left Tripoli

 

TRIPOLI - Libyan militias including two groups from the western city of Zintan have withdrawn from the capital in response to public pressure nearly a week after deadly violence, they said Thursday.

 

The Al-Qaaqa Brigade said it had handed back to the authorities a site it had occupied and pulled out of the city with its weapons and vehicles, including tanks.

 

Brigade commander Othman Mligta, a civilian, told AFP members of the group include military-registered border guards.

 

"They are leaving from here and will head for their posts on the southern frontier," he said.

 

Another Zintan-based group, the Sawaek Brigade, which is one of the most heavily armed units that battled dictator Moamer Kadhafi, also said it was pulling out.

 

It said it was leaving the premises of a Kadhafi-founded organisation that it had occupied since rebels advanced into the capital in August 2011.

 

On Tuesday, the government announced plans to remove militias from Tripoli and eventually integrate them into the security forces, after a weekend of deadly clashes between militiamen and residents.

 

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/libyanproud

Residents of Benghazi are being asked to stay indoor. Heavy clashes ongoing between the Army and Ansar Shariaa and other groups

12:21 AM

 

Some tweeps reporting from Benghazi in English  @Bilalhb @Ben_Mussa @Love4Libya @HaithamMogherbi

12:48 AM

 

Unconfirmed reports that the army has some AS commanders surrounded in Rass Abayada district .

12:56 AM

 

Residents are providing the Army with ammo and supplies, Benghazinos FTW

12:58 AM

 

Smoke rising from Ansar Shariaa HQ . Benghazi pic.twitter.com/uFQNp0ViHv

1:13 AM

 

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/25/us-libya-security-idUSBRE9AO04O20131125?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

Libyan army clashes with Islamist militants, three killed

 

Clashes between Libyan troops and militants in the eastern city of Benghazi on Monday killed at least three people and wounded a dozen more during a military operation, security and medical officials said.

 

Still in training, Libya's new military is struggling to curb Islamist militants and militias who fought in the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi but refuse to disarm and control parts of the country.

 

Gunfire and explosions could be heard in Benghazi and thick smoke rose from the Ras Obeida area. The army ordered residents to stay off the city streets, witnesses said.

 

Fighting broke out when an army special forces unit pursued a suspect into an area where Islamist militant group Ansar al-Sharia operates its own checkpoints, Benghazi city security officials said.

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/libyanproud

Ansar Shariaa is using mortars in small districts of Benghazi, civilians need to stay away from windows

2:20 AM

 

https://twitter.com/Bilalhb

The Special Forces have taken over the western gate of the city which was hold by Ansar Sharia for months now Benghazi

2:57 AM

 

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/libyanproud

3 Dec

Derna protests continue despite the GNC attempt: demands replace GNC reps, replace local council, police and army and no ansar shariaa  

12:33 PM

 

3 Dec      

Derna protesters heading towards Ansar Shariaa HQ in Derna

12:42 PM

 

3 Dec      

Protesters in Derna being shot and reports of casualties  

12:50 PM

 

22h      

Protesters have stormed Ansar Shariaa HQ in Derna via Libya Ahrar TV  

2:32 PM

 

22h      

Different protests in Derna : Huge one in main square Sahabaa Square,Sayida Khadija district  

2:39 PM

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/libyanproud

12h      

Civilians have managed to storm and vacate 4 Ansar Shariaa and Islamic Army HQs in Derna yesterday.  

12:44 AM

 

12h      

Derna Protesters answering with rocks against heavy gunfire from within Ansar Shariaa HQ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=663434700368102  

12:50 AM

 

9h      

Passport/Immigration office Hatem alAraybi has been assasinated in Benghazi.  

4:14 AM

 

2h

GNC issue a statement every week to appease one group or another, the one today was for Ansar Shariaa to shut up.    

10:56 AM

 

1h 

Dear @Reuters uve been misinformed on: Reserves story and Shariaa article which is "pr statement" not "law" as u stated. Sincerly a Libyan  

12:03 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[visionary]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/middleeast/american-in-benghazi-killed.html?smid=tw-nytimesworld

Gunmen Kill American Teacher in Benghazi

 

Gunmen on Thursday shot and killed a United States citizen who had been working as a teacher in an English-language school here, according to Libyan security officials and residents of the neighborhood where the attack took place.

 

The administrator at the International School in Benghazi, where the victim had taught chemistry, identified him as Ronnie Smith, 33, from Texas, and said he had been living in the city for 13 months with his wife and young son.

Residents said he had been out jogging in the upscale Fuwayhat neighborhood when he was attacked. One person who claimed to have witnessed the shooting said the gunmen had been driving a black jeep.

 

A security official, speaking on Libyan television after the shooting, said the authorities had not determined the motive behind the attack. “The assassination of the American teacher is a continuation of a series of assassinations that the city is going through,” the official said.

 

 

      

https://twitter.com/ILPADRINO0

An exceptionally bloody day in Benghazi ,a number of assassinations took place this morning, the latest targeted an American teacher.  

7:26 AM

      

https://twitter.com/ShababLibya

Ronnie was living and teaching in Benghazi on his own accord, he told friends "If I were to be killed, I will die for Education."

8:56 AM

 

https://twitter.com/yzentani

im not gonna say things happen for a reason or everything's gonna be okay because this is not okay we lost an amazing teacher and friend (1) 

8:06 AM

      

he was special and he always will be. we all considered him as one of our closest friends and his death has affected us greatly (2)  

8:08 AM

      

my thoughts & prayers are with those affected by his death & most importantly anita & little hosea. hard to believe he's gone, RIP Ronnie♡

8:13 AM 

 

#ThankYouSmith for everything, for risking your life everyday by being here. your presence in school will be missed.   

8:21 AM

      

the fact that he was going back to america next week for the first time in years to see his family really breaks my heart  

8:34 AM

 

https://twitter.com/MarquardtA

Students of slain American teacher in Benghazi, Ronnie Smith, are tweeting about him with #ThankYouSmith

9:46 AM

 

https://twitter.com/ChemistRunner

Beyond words, beyond anger, beyond despair. 1st they killed an Ambassador who wanted to help then a teacher who wanted to educate.

11:29 AM

 

who kills a teacher??!! stupid ****s.  

11:35 AM

 

Edited December 5, 2013 by visionary

[visionary]

https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/mena/528114-iraq-militants-free-prisoners-burn-police-stations

Iraq militants free prisoners, burn police stations

 

RAMADI - Militants freed more than 100 prisoners, clashed with security forces and burned police stations in cities west of the Iraqi capital on Wednesday, police and an AFP journalist said.

 

Gunmen attacked the headquarters in the city of Fallujah but gave the police a chance to leave, which they took, officers said, after which the militants freed 101 prisoners and stole weapons.

 

In Ramadi, farther west, security forces clashed sporadically with militants, who burned four police stations in the city, an AFP journalist said.

 

The journalist saw four torched police stations in Ramadi, one of which was still on fire, and said two military vehicles had also been burned.

 

Clashes erupted in the Ramadi area on Monday as security forces dismantled the country's main Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp, which was located on a nearby highway.

 

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Tuesday that troops would pull out of cities in Anbar province, of which Ramadi is the capital, in a move apparently aimed at defusing tensions in the wake of the camp's closure.

 

The AFP journalist said that soldiers had moved to an area west of Ramadi on Wednesday.

 

The withdrawal was one of the demands that 44 MPs made on Monday at a news conference during which they announced they had submitted their resignations.

 

In another move apparently aimed at placating Anbar residents, the cabinet decided on Tuesday to provide aid to the province.

 

The oil, trade and health ministries were to provide food, fuel and medical items, and other ministries would also give "support and necessary services to Anbar province", the cabinet said.

Edited January 1, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/mena/528126-iraq-pm-to-send-reinforcements-to-restive-anbar

Iraq PM to send reinforcements to restive Anbar

 

BAGHDAD - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday reversed a decision to withdraw troops from tense cities in Anbar province, and will instead deploy reinforcements, state television reported.

 

"We will not withdraw the army" and "we will send additional forces," it quoted Maliki as saying in response to requests from residents and the government of the province west of Baghdad.

[visionary]

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/malikis-war-on-al-qaeda-is-tainted-by-sectarian-politics

Maliki’s war on Al Qaeda is tainted by sectarian politics

 

In a lot of ways, Iraq today resembles Iraq in 2005. Many Sunni tribal and religious leaders are standing side by side with the federal government to fight Al Qaeda in the province of Anbar. But, just like the period that followed that momentum, Baghdad and Washington are set to miss a historic opportunity that will eventually play into the hands of Al Qaeda.

 

There are competing narratives for what has happened in Anbar since Nouri Al Maliki, the prime minister, announced the military offensive on December 25. Some maintain that various Sunni leaders support the military campaign to expel the Al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis). Others say that the Sunni tribes are facing down Mr Al Maliki’s sectarian forces. The reality is more nuanced, and that is where the opportunity lies.

 

“We don’t like Isis, but we also don’t like to be treated like second-class citizens,” said Falah Al Aissawi, the deputy head of the Anbar provincial council. The reality is that many Sunnis are as opposed to Al Qaeda as everyone else in Iraq. Though they have been alienated by Mr Al Maliki for years, they view him as the lesser of two evils, which is why many prominent Sunni leaders have supported the campaign.

 

But the way Mr Al Maliki has conducted the campaign seems likely to backfire. The first of his blunders was the speech in which he announced the campaign. He described the campaign as “a fierce confrontation between the supporters of Hussain and the supporters of Yazid” – referring to the killing of the Prophet’s grandson, Hussain (a Shia symbol of martyrdom), by the army of the second Ummayad caliph, Yazid bin Muawia, in Karbala. Then, footage emerging from the campaign showed security forces raising Shia religious banners and slogans.

 

http://www.france24.com/en/20140107-usa-speeds-arms-sales-iraq-resurgence-qaeda-isil-islamic-state/

US speeds up arms sales to Iraq amid jihadist resurgence

 

The United States will speed up its deliveries of missiles and surveillance drones to Iraq as the country battles a resurgence of al Qaeda-linked militants in Anbar province, Washington said on Monday.

 

The move comes after militants from the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) retook control of the city of Fallujah and part of Anbar’s provincial capital Ramadi last week.

 

The Pentagon said the US would accelerate the delivery of 100 more Hellfire missiles, which were due to be sent to Iraq in the next few months. Some 75 Hellfire missiles, which can be fired from helicopters and warplanes, were delivered to Baghdad in mid-December, US officials confirmed.

 

Colonel Steven Warren said an additional 10 ScanEagle surveillance drones, a three-metre aircraft capable of flying for 24 hours, would also be delivered.

 

The deliveries correspond to contracts already signed with Iraq.

 

Edited January 7, 2014 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/13/congress-to-give-egypt-1-5-billion-in-aid.html

Congress to Give Egypt $1.5 Billion in Aid

 

New legislation dropping on Monday will free the Obama administration to send money to Cairo after last year’s military coup put a freeze on the cash.

Congress is preparing to allow the Obama administration to give more than $1 billion dollars to the Egyptian government and military, despite the fact the generals perpetrated a coup last summer and are suppressing opposition ahead of a nation-wide constitutional referendum.

 

The House and Senate are set to unveil a year-long spending bill that will loosen restrictions on U.S. aid to Egypt and negate the law that prevents the U.S. from funding a foreign military that has conducted a coup against a democratically elected government. The Obama administration has been lobbying Congress for permission to give the aid to the Egyptian government. Several senior senators had been working to make sure that aid was conditioned on the Egyptian government pursing a path toward democracy and respect for the rule of law.

 

But now, with the Egyptians speeding toward a Constitutional referendum that will cement the rule of the military-led regime and with the Egyptian government’s crackdown on the opposition ongoing, most of those conditions could be lifted by Congress or waived by the Obama administration.

 

For experts and congressional officials who have followed the Obama administration’s clumsy and often incoherent policy on Egypt, the potential easing of restrictions on aid represents only the latest unfortunate twist in a failed effort to preserve U.S. influence in the Arab world’s most populous country.

 

 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/14/iraqi-deputy-pm-asks-obama-for-election-monitors.html

Iraqi Deputy PM Asks Obama for Election Monitors

 

Iraq’s second-highest ranking Sunni Arab politician is in D.C. to ask Obama to send election monitors. He believes that free and fair elections will save Iraq from civil war.

 

Saleh al-Mutlaq, a deputy prime minister of Iraq, arrived in Washington this week with a modest request for a president he says prematurely withdrew American forces from his country at the end of 2011. He is asking President Obama to provide observers for the national elections in Iraq scheduled for the end of April.

 

As far is it goes, election monitors are not a big ask for Iraqi politicians. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has asked for the United States to send advanced aircraft, attack helicopters and other munitions for his military. He is getting some hellfire missiles and surveillance drones now that al Qaeda has claimed dominion over the western Iraqi city of Fallujah.

 

But Mutlaq—who is his country’s second highest ranking Sunni Arab politician after Usama al-Nujayfi, the speaker of Iraq’s parliament—would like the United States to try to save Iraq’s fraying political system before strengthening its army. “There is no single Iraqi who refuses to have a strong army,” he told the Daily Beast Monday. “But the strength of the army is not only measured by the weapons they carry. The strength of the army is also measured by its national unity.”

 

 

[visionary]

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/1/23/dozens-executed-iniraqthisweek.html

Dozens executed in Iraq this week

 

The Iraqi government has executed more people it claims were convicted of terrorism, bringing the total number of prisoner hangings since Sunday to 37.

 

Justice Ministry spokesman Haider al-Saadi reported to Reuters in a text message that all those executed were Iraqi nationals.

 

The Iraqi government's steady acceleration of executions has come under repeated criticism from the United Nations. Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay said in 2012 that she was "stunned" at the number of offenses – 48 – under Iraqi law that are eligible for the death penalty.

 

There is also evidence that many of the convictions were based on confessions coerced from defendants.

 

Iraq hanged at least 151 people in 2013, up from 129 in 2012 and 68 in 2011, New York-based Human Rights Watch said in its annual world report published on Tuesday.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/24/us-southsudan-unrest-idUSBREA0M1GX20140124?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

South Sudan government and rebels sign ceasefire deal

 

South Sudan's government and rebels signed a ceasefire on Thursday to end more than five weeks of fighting that divided Africa's newest nation and brought it to the brink of civil war.

 

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the U.N. Security Council welcomed the news, but several diplomatic sources in New York said they were worried the killing could continue.

 

Fighting between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and those backing the vice president he sacked in July, Riek Machar, erupted in mid-December.

 

Thousands of people have been killed and more than half a million people have fled their homes, prompting the regional grouping of nations, IGAD, to initiate peace talks. More than 70,000 people have sought refuge at U.N. bases around the country after peacekeepers, in an unusual move, opened their gates to them.

 

The pact is expected to be implemented within 24 hours of the signing, mediators said.

 

But making the ceasefire hold could test Machar, whose forces include loyalists as well as more autonomous groups battling the centrally controlled government forces.

 

"The crisis that gripped South Sudan is a mere manifestation of the challenges that face the young and fledgling state," Seyoum Mesfin, IGAD's chief mediator, told the signing ceremony.

"I believe that the postwar challenges will be greater than the war itself. The process will be ... unpredictable and delicate."

 

 

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140123/tough-woman-mediator-at-central-africas-helm

At least 15 dead in Central African Republic clashes as new president takes reins

 

BANGUI, Central African Republic – At least 15 people were killed in intercommunal violence in Central African Republic's capital Bangui on Thursday, the head of the local Red Cross said, as the beleaguered country swore in a new leader determined to end waves of killing.

 

"There has been a lot of violence with machetes. There's a large number of dead...We are sure of 15 dead. But this is still only a partial death toll," Antoine Mbao Bogo told Reuters.

 

Catherine Samba Panza, who was sworn in Thursday as interim president of the crisis-wracked Central African Republic, has both a reputation for toughness and experience of bringing foes together through dialogue.

 

Among eight candidates, the transitional parliament voted decisively for the 59-year-old mayor of Bangui to take charge of a nation that has plunged into inter-religious strife that touched off a major humanitarian crisis.

 

Samba Panza, the first woman leader of the poor, landlocked nation of 4.6 million people, has looked on appalled as her country plunged into murderous chaos and its state machinery collapsed.

 

The slaughter began after her predecessor, Michel Djotodia, seized power in a coup last March backed by the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels, who launched attacks on the majority Christian community prompting the formation of vigilante groups to fight back.

 

Regional African leaders forced Djotodia to quit on January 10 because of his inability to halt fighting and atrocities by both sides, which have displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

 

Both at city hall and after her election Monday, the businesswoman-turned-politician urged Seleka fighters and Christian vigilantes to talk, receiving delegations from both sides.

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25866350

Burma mobs 'kill 30 Rohingyas'

 

More than 30 Rohingya Muslims were killed in attacks by Buddhists last week in Burma's Rakhine state, the BBC has been told.

 

Two international aid officials who were granted access to the area in the far west of the country said they had found evidence of a mass killing.

 

Human rights group Fortify Rights claims a series of attacks took place over five days last week.

 

The government and local officials have strongly denied claims of a massacre.

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25853329

Ukraine protests: Crisis talks after day of bloodshed

 

Ukrainian opposition leaders are due to meet President Viktor Yanukovych, a day after the first deaths in protests that have gripped Kiev for two months.

 

A fragile truce is being observed but opposition leader Vitali Klitschko said he would lead pro-EU protesters "on the attack" if elections were not called.

 

Mr Yanukovych has asked the speaker of parliament to hold an emergency session next week to discuss the crisis.

 

Two activists were killed in clashes with police in Kiev on Wednesday.

 

Prosecutors confirmed they had died from gunshot wounds. They were the first fatalities since the anti-government protests flared up in late November over Mr Yanukovych's decision to pull out of a landmark treaty with the EU.

 

A third activist, Yuriy Verbytsky, has been found dead in a forest outside Kiev, after reportedly being abducted along with fellow activist Ihor Lutsenko earlier this week. His body is said to bear signs of torture.

 

The centre of the capital remains extremely tense, the BBC's Daniel Sandford reports.

 

Ukrainian media now say that protesters have taken over the regional state administration buildings in the western cities of Lviv and Rivne, and that the governor of the Lviv region, Oleg Salo, has been forced to resign.

 

 

[visionary]

Some updates on the situation in Libya

 

 

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/16/us-libya-violence-idUSBREA4F0QE20140516?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

Libyan militia clashes with Islamists in Benghazi, 19 killed

Fri May 16, 2014 6:28pm EDT

 

Libyan irregular forces backed by helicopters clashed with Islamist militias in Benghazi on Friday in fighting that left at least 19 people dead and posed a new test to the fragile government.

 

Members of the self-declared Libyan National Army, led by retired General Khalifa Haftar, shelled bases belonging to Ansar al-Sharia and another Islamist militant group in Benghazi, said Mohamed Al-Hejazi, a spokesman for Haftar's forces.

 

The violence prompted Libya's prime minister to order the regular military to control any armed groups - including Haftar's forces - in the eastern city, where militants often clash with the army, and assassinations and bombings are common.

 

Authorities closed the city's Benina airport in the evening because of the clashes.

 

Since the 2011 civil war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi after 42 years of one-man rule, Libya has been unable to impose authority over brigades of former rebels who refuse to disarm and have carved out regional fiefdoms.

 

Highlighting the instability, Algeria sent a team of special forces to evacuate its ambassador and embassy staff from Libya in a military plane after a militant threat to its embassy, officials and a security source said on Friday.

 

Benghazi, the cradle of the NATO-backed uprising against Gaddafi, in particular has struggled to curb violence and stem attacks blamed on Ansar al-Sharia, which often operates openly despite being designated a terrorist organization by Washington.

 

Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni told reporters: "We have given orders ... to intercept any force trying to enter Benghazi because they don't have legitimacy from the state."

Haftar, a leading figure in the anti-Gaddafi revolt, in February stirred rumors of a coup by appearing in military uniform to call for a presidential committee to be formed to govern until new elections.

 

It was not clear how much support he commands, but it seems likely his forces are drawn from the country's nascent army, which is still in training. Tripoli's government said in February he had no authority and threatened legal action.

 

Hejazi dismissed the government's rejection on Friday of the legitimacy of Haftar's forces and said they were forcing militants from their bases into the city because the government had failed to help Benghazi.

 

"We're telling them we have the legitimacy from the civilians who suffer on a daily basis from the killings targeting the police and military," he said. "We are fighting militias who threaten stability."

 

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/131019

Libya Army Declares No Fly Zone over Restive Benghazi, Denounce 'Coup' Bid

2 days ago

 

Libya's government accused an "outlaw" retired general and his irregular forces Saturday of trying to carry out a coup as they fight to crush Islamist militants in the restive eastern city of Benghazi.

 

Khalifa Haftar, who lead ground forces in the 2011 uprising that toppled Moammar Gadhafi, used warplanes and helicopters Friday to support an offensive in pitched battles that killed 37 people.

 

In response to his vow to continue his campaign until Benghazi is "purged of terrorists," the army announced a no-fly zone over the port city and vowed to shoot down any aircraft that defies the ban.

 

The government, parliament and army charged that Haftar's operation was tantamount to a coup against the central authorities.

 

It is "an action outside state legitimacy and a coup d'etat," they said in a joint statement read on state television by Nuri Abu Sahmein, the head of the General National Congress.

 

"All those who took part in this coup bid will be prosecuted," said Abu Sahmein, who was flanked by recently appointed Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani and armed forces chief of staff Abdessalam Jadallah al-Salihin.

 

Haftar threat to purge Benghazi was an affront to the authorities, who have struggled to stomp out lawlessness in the North African nation, which is awash with weapons and effectively ruled by a patchwork of former rebels.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/18/us-libya-violence-idUSBREA4G04A20140518?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

Heavy gunfire in Libya's capital, target unclear

 

Sun May 18, 2014 11:05am EDT

 

Heavy gunfire from anti-aircraft weapons and rocket-propelled grenades could be heard near the parliament in Libya's capital Tripoli on Sunday, residents said.

 

The target of the gunfire was not immediately clear. Local television station al-Nabaa said clashes had erupted in the south of the capital, without giving details.

 

One resident said clashes were taking places near the General National Congress assembly though it was unclear who was opening fire.

 

"Shops in the area are closing are people are frightened," he said.

 

The gunfire in Tripoli broke out after more than 70 people were killed on Friday in clashes between irregular army forces and Islamist militants in Benghazi, the main city in the volatile east.

 

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/05/gunfire-erupts-outside-libyan-parliament-2014518141318644382.html

Gunfire erupts outside Libyan parliament

 

Heavy gunfire has erupted outside the Libyan parliament in the capital, Tripoli, and a large force of vehicles is assembling outside.

 

Al Jazeera's Omar al-Saleh, reporting from Tripoli, said the city had "turned into somewhat a battlefield".

 

"From where I am, we started hearing heavy weapons used, machine guns, like machine guns," Saleh said.

 

"It's very heavy. The situation is very tense."

 

Saleh quoted eyewitnesses as saying that a large force of vehicles with anti-machine guns had stormed the front gate of the General National Congress (GNC).

 

"There was a session that ended about two hours ago. We understand that MPs have left the building, but there were some staffers inside that building," Saleh reported.

 

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/libya-death-toll-benghazi-rises-70

ROGUE LIBYAN GENERAL'S TROOPS ATTACK PARLIAMENT

 

Forces loyal to a rogue Libyan general attacked the country's parliament Sunday, forcing lawmakers to flee an assault his spokesman said targeted Islamists there who protect the extremist militias now plaguing the nation.

 

The attack was met with resistance from other troops, Mohammed al-Hegazi, a spokesman for Gen. Khalifa Hifter, told Libya's al-Ahrar television station.

 

Gunfire near parliament could be heard for kilometers (miles) around.

 

A security official said the attackers also shelled a nearby military base controlled by an Islamist militia. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief journalists.

 

Hifter is carrying out an offensive against Islamist militias in Benghazi, the country's second-largest city in the east. He says the central government and parliament have no mandate and vowed to press on with his operation after authorities called it a coup.

 

Al-Hegazi called the parliament the "heart of the crisis" in Libya.

 

"This parliament is what supports these extremist Islamist entities," al-Hegazi told the station. "The aim was to arrest these Islamist bodies who wear the cloak of politics."

 

 

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/05/18/libya-violence-parliament-idUKL6N0O40PQ20140518

Gunmen storm Libyan parliament, raid offices of lawmakers - MP

 

Gunmen stormed the Libyan parliament on Sunday and raided lawmakers' offices, a deputy said.

 

Lawmaker Omar Bushah told Reuters gunmen had entered the General National Congress (GNC) and set the building on fire.

 

 

https://twitter.com/libyatv

Breaking: 8 members of the GNC, including GNC president Nuri Abusahmen abducted in Tripoli. Names and details to follow.

11:11 AM

 

Al Nabba TV channel reports that US ambassador to Libya, @SafiraDeborah (Deborah Jones) has left the capital, Tripoli.

11:51 AM

 

Breaking: Nuri Abusahmin denies being detained in call to aljazeera.

 

11:57 AM

Edited May 18, 2014 by visionary