Wars And Rumors Of Wars

[Soldier4Christ]

Bin Laden tape urges war on Israel, taunts Bush
In recording, al-Qaida leader says Obama receiving 'heavy inheritance'

Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden urged Muslims to launch a jihad against Israel and condemned Arab governments as allies of the Jewish state in a new message aimed at harnessing anger in the Mideast over the Gaza offensive.

Bin Laden spoke in an audiotape posted Wednesday on Islamic militant Web sites where al-Qaida usually issues its messages. It was his first tape since May and came nearly three weeks after Israel started its campaign against Gaza's militant Hamas rulers.

The al-Qaida leader also vowed that the terror network would open "new fronts" against the United States and its allies beyond Iraq and Afghanistan.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here

He said President-elect Barack Obama has received a "heavy inheritance" from George W. Bush — two wars and "the collapse of the economy," which he said will render the United States unable to sustain a long fight against the mujahedeen, or holy warriors.

"There is only one strong way to bring the return of Al-Aqsa and Palestine, and that is jihad in the path of God," bin Laden said in the 22-minute audiotape, referring to the revered Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. "The duty is to urge people to jihad and to enlist the youth into jihad brigades."

"Islamic nation, you are capable of defeating the Zionist entity with your popular capabilities and your great hidden strength — without the support of (Arab) leaders and despite the fact that most of (the leaders) stand in the barracks of the Crusader-Zionist alliance," bin Laden said.

Voice resembles previous messages
The authenticity of the tape could not be independently confirmed, but the voice resembled that of bin Laden in previous messages.

The tape, entitled "a call for jihad to stop the aggression on Gaza," was played over a still picture of bin Laden and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City, one of Islam's holiest sites. But there were no English subtitles and flashy production graphics that usually accompany such messages.

That suggested the message had been hastily put together and issued to best exploit anger in the region over the Gaza offensive, which Palestinian medical officials say has killed more than 940 Palestinians, half of them civilians. Israel said the offensive aims to halt rocket fire from Gaza against Israeli towns.

Bin Laden accused Arab leaders of "avoiding their responsibility" to liberate Palestine.

"If you are not convinced to fight, then open the way to those who are convinced," he said.

Bin Laden and his lieutenants frequently use the Palestinian issue to try to rally support for al-Qaida and often call for holy war to free Jerusalem. But there has been little sign that the terror group has carried out attacks in Israel. Bin Laden made no direct reference to Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007. Al-Qaida leaders have frequently criticized the Palestinian militant group for participating in elections and failing to seriously pursue jihad against Israel.

Cites world economic problems
The al-Qaida leader also said the world economic crisis was a sign that the United States' power was falling apart, boasting that "the Islamic nation's jihad is one of the main causes of these destructive results for our enemies."

Pointing to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, bin Laden said al-Qaida was prepared to fight "for seven more years, and seven more after that, then seven more."

"We are on the way to opening new fronts," he said, urging Muslims to "join hands with the mujahedeen to continue the jihad against the enemy, to continue bleeding them on these two fronts and on the others that are open to you."

"The question is, can America continue the war against us for several more decades? The reports and signs show us otherwise," he said. He said Bush had left his successor "with a heavy inheritance," forcing Obama to choose between withdrawing from the wars or continuing.

"If he withdraws from the war, it is a military defeat. If he continues, he drowns in economic crisis," bin Laden said.

It was the first time bin Laden have spoken of Obama, though he did not mention him by name. Bin Laden's top deputy Ayman al-Zawahri has previously spoken against Obama, warning Muslims he will not bring major change in U.S. policies.

[Soldier4Christ]

'Partial war' looming between China, India?
Military suggests border dispute is 'threat' to Beijing

A border dispute could become the spark that launches China and India into a military conflict, with Chinese strategists resurrecting the concept of a "partial war" to recover what they call "Southern Tibet," the region India calls "Arunachal Pradesh," according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

The area in northeast India has a 650-mile unfenced border with China, which lays claim to the region and refers to it as Southern Tibet.

Some of the threats are emanating from Chinese publications that reflect the opinion of the Chinese leadership without making official comments.

For example, the China Institute of International Strategic Studies, or IISS, has said it visualizes "two crises" for the People's Liberation Army in the immediate future. One was the succession in the North Korean leadership should Kim Jong-Il die.

The other was India's continued presence in territory China claims as its own.

India regards Arunachal Pradesh as the 24th state in the Indian Union. Yet China still claims much of it as part of the Tibet Autonomous Region and may be prepared to launch an action to regain it.

Ironically, the veiled threat comes at a time when China looks upon its relationship with India as being in the "best period" of their joint history.

Called the "land of the rising sun," Arunachal Pradesh means "land of the dawn lit mountains," since it is in the Himalayas.

The Burma Road, known to have helped supply China during World War II, passes through the region. Burma, or Myanmar, borders on the East.

The 650-mile Chinese-Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh is separated by the so-called McMahon Line, also known as the Line of Actual Control.

The dispute dates back to the time India was ruled by Britain, whose officials in 1914 held a conference over the boundary. In 1962, China and India fought a serious border war, with Chinese troops advancing well into Arunachal Pradesh but later withdrawing. The region flared up again in 1986.

Now, the region is becoming a focal point again.

A Chinese military website that reflects official positions observed that the border issue may be symbolic of how India looks upon China as the "greatest obstacle" to its rise.

The website suggested that the border dispute over Southern Tibet constitutes a security threat to China and that Beijing may need to adopt a strategy to weaken control of the Indian central government.

[Shammu]

A border dispute could become the spark that launches China and India into a military conflict, with Chinese strategists resurrecting the concept of a "partial war" to recover what they call "Southern Tibet," the region India calls "Arunachal Pradesh".

I was wondering when we would see something more, from one of the kings of the east.

[nChrist]

It does appear that the major players of the Tribulation Period are falling into position for Bible Prophecy to be fulfilled. GOD'S Appointed time may be soon. Frankly, I hope that GOD'S Appointed time is soon. Mankind's mockery and disobedience of GOD is getting worse by the day. We know that GOD'S Patience does have a limit. The irony is that the ways of evil always result in suffering and destruction. This evil and dying world isn't going to have any peace until the SECOND COMING OF CHRIST! Surely, this evil world is ripe for the RIGHTEOUS AND HOLY WRATH OF ALMIGHTY GOD - OUR CREATOR! HE has been denied, rejected, disobeyed, and mocked for thousands of years - even after JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF died on the CROSS - providing a way for man to be rescued from the curse of sin and death. There is NO GREATER LOVE that GOD can show us - but most still reject HIM.

The time will come when GOD will take what is HIS, and all will be brought under subjection. Mankind has failed miserably - countless times! The facts are that most of mankind has chosen evil over good, and the devil is the master - NOT GOD! GOD will NOT be denied when HIS patience runs out. The devil and evil will be crushed - reserved for final judgment in the fires of hell. The depravity of man has a appetite for more evil - not less - and that appetite will be fulfilled completely in the Tribulation Period. Mankind will experience evil unrestrained, and ONLY GOD HIMSELF will be able to end it.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Luke 21:20-28 NASB  "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. "Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. "Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. "There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. "Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory. "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

[Shammu]

Will North Korea launch a war?

Tuesday, February 3 04:58 am
Reuters Jack Kim

North Korea appears to be preparing to test-launch its longest range ballistic missile, media reports said on Tuesday, just days after Pyongyang warned that the Korean peninsula was on the brink of war.

Analysts say the possibility that North Korea would start an all-out war with the South is low because Pyongyang knows its underfunded military is no match for the U.S.-backed modern military of its Southern neighbour.

But the following scenarios could unfold:

A NAVAL SKIRMISH

The North has threatened military action over a disputed sea border off the west coast and it previously triggered clashes in 1999 and 2002 that killed or wounded dozens of sailors on both sides. The 1999 battle was orchestrated by the North's military with its leader Kim Jong-il's close involvement and caught the South by surprise, according to intelligence sources.

The North may be hesitant to spark another battle after its navy was badly outgunned by a superior South Korean force in the last firefight in 2002. Since then, the North's Soviet-era navy has become more obsolete while the South's has increased its firepower and technology.

What has changed is the North's deployment of more short-range missiles. The North could raise tension by firing missiles into waters claimed by the South or at one of its ships.

BORDER GUNFIGHT

A shootout along the Demilitarised Zone border could easily ignite a broader gunfight involving many of the more than 1 million troops who are deployed on both sides of the buffer zone that has divided the peninsula since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire and not a peace treaty.

But a land battle is unlikely because of the chance it could trigger a bigger conflict. A more likely scenario is for the North to conduct massive military training manoeuvres or send aircraft just close enough to the border so that the South has no choice but to respond.

A MISSILE LAUNCH

The North could raise regional tension by testing its ballistic missiles, which have the range to hit all of South Korea and most of Japan. It could go ahead and fire its long-range Taepodong-2 missile. South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted an unnamed South Korean government source as saying the North had a newly constructed launch pad on its west coast.

The last time North Korea launched a Taepodong-2 in 2006, the missile fizzled less than a minute into flight and destructed.

A successful test would boost support at home for North Korea's leaders and raise alarm in Japan and the United States because it increases the chances that the two countries could be targets of North Korean missiles.

SECOND NUCLEAR TEST

The North could set off a nuclear device again. The first test in October 2006 was considered by South Korea and the United States as only a partial success, which indicted flaws in the North's weapon design or materials. The North needs a second test to see if it has fixed those problems, experts say.

But a second test carries major risks to the isolated state because it is certain to strain ties with its biggest benefactor China and lead to a new round of international trade sanctions.

NUCLEAR PLANT

North Korea might feel it can win more over the long term from new U.S. President Barack Obama if it ups the stakes. In order to increase its leverage, the North could begin to restore operations at its Soviet-era Yongbyon nuclear plant and reverse disablement steps called for in an international deal that were designed, in total, to put the facility out of business for at least a year.

The North's most likely priority would be restoring its facility that separates plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. Experts say the North could have it up and running again in a few months. There are discharged, irradiated fuel rods cooling at Yongbyon that the North could use to produce what experts say would be enough plutonium for one more nuclear weapon.

ALL-OUT WAR

U.S. military commanders in South Korea have said U.S. and South Korean forces would be able to quickly defeat the North, even though the North would still be able to quickly fire off thousands of artillery shells as well as launch missiles that could hit South Korea and Japan. Analysts say an all-out war would bring the end of Kim Jong-il's government, cause enormous destruction on the peninsula, and perhaps Japan. It could also plunge the regional economy, and even the global economy, into a tailspin.

South Korea has 670,000 soldiers backed by 28,000 U.S. troops. North Korea has a military of 1.2 million personnel.

Will North Korea launch a war?

[Shammu]

NKorea may be set for long-range missile launch

55 mins ago
AFP

North Korea seems to be preparing to test-fire its longest-range missile, reports said Tuesday, a move that would heighten tensions amid stalled disarmament talks and icy relations with South Korea. Skip related content

A source quoted by Seoul's Yonhap news agency said US and South Korean intelligence agencies have recently spotted a train carrying a long cylindrical object believed to be a Taepodong-2 missile.

Launch preparations are likely to be completed in a month or two at a new west coast site, the source said. The defence ministry and National Intelligence Service refused to comment.

Japan's Sankei Shimbun newspaper said spy satellites had detected a large container capable of housing a missile being delivered to the site at Tongchang, about 40 km (25 miles) south of the border with China.

The paper said frequent truck movements had been spotted at the site and launch preparations could be completed in one or two months for what could be a remodelled version of the Taepodong-2.

The missile has a maximum range of 6,700 kilometres (4,150 miles), meaning it could theoretically target Alaska.

Analysts said the North is trying to push the new US administration back to the negotiating table and to strengthen its bargaining position.

Nuclear disarmament talks with the North, involving the US and four regional powers, are deadlocked over how the communist state's atomic disclosures should be verified.

Reports of the planned launch also come amid rising tensions with Seoul. The North announced Friday it is cancelling all peace accords with its neighbour and on Sunday warned of a possible military conflict.

Ryoo Kihl-Jae, of the University of North Korean Studies, told Yonhap Pyongyang is angling for quicker dialogue with Washington amid frayed ties with Seoul.

Baek Seung-Joo of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses said there would be a significant time gap between preparations and any launch.

"North Koreans seek warmer ties with the Obama administration, not strained relations, at the beginning," he told AFP.

Baek said the North wants to get the attention of the US administration and gain the upper hand in upcoming negotiations with it.

North Korea staged an atomic test in 2006 and is thought to have enough plutonium for six or so bombs. Experts differ on whether it has miniaturised a bomb that could fit on a missile.

"I don't think the North Koreans are yet capable of producing a sophisticated nuclear warhead device to fit on a long-range missile," Baek said.

North Korea sparked regional alarm in 1998 by launching a shorter-range Taepodong-1 missile over Japan from its east coast launch site at Musudan-ri.

In July 2006 it launched a Taepodong-2 missile from there but US officials said it failed after about 40 seconds.

Daniel Pinkston, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group think-tank, said the launch site being built at Tongchang could be completed by the end of this year and a launch could be held even before then.

He said any long-range missile launch "would get the attention of the Obama administration. There are so many things on Obama's plate, but this would force everyone to take notice."

Pinkston said any launch might put a satellite in orbit.

Whatever the motive, such an achievement would earn leader Kim Jong-Il "tremendous domestic political benefit" -- especially if it preceded South Korea's first domestic satellite launch planned for June.

NKorea may be set for long-range missile launch

[Shammu]

Commander confirms Netanyahu war plans
Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:36:18 GMT

Israel is preparing for all-out war on multiple fronts that include Iran, Syria and Lebanon, a senior military commander claims.

Israeli army Home Front Command Major General Yair Golan said Sunday that Tel Aviv is preparing for "all possible scenarios", indicating that one such scenario would be to fight a simultaneous war against Iran, Syria and Lebanon.

The confirmation comes as US President Barack Obama seeks "new beginnings" with its arch-rival Iran. The US offer has been met with world praise but with fury in Tel Aviv.

Israeli media outlets late on Sunday began propagating wild scenarios that Iran is using the Lebanese Hezbollah to recruit Palestinian fighters to carry out terror attacks on Israel.

Citing anonymous sources, the reports began to surface after Tel Aviv countered an alleged bombing attempt outside a shopping mall in the northern city of Haifa.

"We are treating the attempted attack in Haifa with great gravity. A huge disaster was prevented by a miracle," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told a weekly cabinet meeting after the bomb was defused on Sunday.

Israel has long accused Iran of arming Hezbollah and Palestinian groups via Syria, in an attempt to demonize the two Muslim countries.

Tel Aviv also accuses Tehran of developing nuclear weaponry -- a charge denied by the UN nuclear watchdog.

At a conference held in Tel Aviv, Golan also confirmed the likeliness of Israel staging another military confrontation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Although Israel does not consider rocket attacks from Gaza as a serious threat, there is the possibility of "dangerous" missile attacks by other countries, he said.

He failed to elaborate how such missile attacks would relate to Gaza.

His remarks came as reports claim that the soon-to-be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has plans for "a major military conflict in the coming months."

The commander also revealed that Tel Aviv will install new warning systems across Israel in preparation for its war plans.

The last Israeli-waged war on the Gaza Strip, which began on December 27, killed at least 1,350 Palestinians and wounded more than 5,450 others in the densely-populated sliver.

The aggression was the last in a series of operations carried out by the Israeli forces against the natives of the land since occupying Palestine in 1948.

Commander confirms Netanyahu war plans 

[HisDaughter]

US, SKorea militaries gird for NKorean provocation

apnews/myway.com

The U.S. and South Korea put their military forces on high alert Thursday after North Korea renounced the truce keeping the peace between the two Koreas since 1953. The North also accused the U.S. of preparing to attack the isolated communist country in the wake of its second nuclear bomb test, and warned it would retaliate to any hostility with "merciless" and dangerous ferocity.

Seoul moved a 3,500-ton destroyer into waters near the Koreas' disputed western maritime border while smaller, high-speed vessels were keeping guard at the front line, South Korean news reports said. The defense ministry said the U.S. and South Korean militaries would increase surveillance activities.

Pyongyang, meanwhile, positioned artillery guns along the west coast on its side of the border, the Yonhap news agency said. The Joint Chiefs of Staffs in Seoul refused to confirm the reports.

The show of force along the heavily fortified border dividing the two Koreas comes three days after North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test and fired a series of short-range missiles.

The test drew immediate condemnation from world leaders and the U.N. Security Council, where ambassadors were discussing a new resolution to punish Pyongyang. President Barack Obama called it a "blatant violation" of international law.

In response, South Korea said it would join more than 90 nations that have agreed to stop and inspect vessels suspected of transporting weapons of mass destruction.

North Korea called South Korea's participation in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative a prelude to a naval blockade and a violation of the truce signed to end the three-year war that broke out in Korea in 1950.

On Wednesday Pyongyang renounced the 1953 armistice and the following day warned U.S. forces against advancing into its territory.

"The northward invasion scheme by the U.S. and the South Korean puppet regime has exceeded the alarming level," the North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. "A minor accidental skirmish can lead to a nuclear war."

The U.S., which has 28,500 troops in South Korea and another 50,000 in Japan, has denied it is planning military action. But U.S. and South Korean troops were placed on their highest alert level for more than two years.

The South Korea-U.S. combined forces command rates its surveillance alert on a scale to 5, with 1 being the highest level. On Thursday, the level was raised from 3 to 2, the second-highest level, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae said. He said the last time the alert level was that high was in 2006, when the North conducted its first nuclear test.

Won said both militaries were raising their surveillance activities, although he would not explain what that meant. South Korean media reported that the higher alert would involve increased monitoring of North Korea using satellites and navy ships.

The U.N. Command on Korea said it would continue to observe the armistice, saying it "remains in force and is binding on all signatories, including North Korea."

North Korea has repudiated the armistice several times before, most recently in 2003 and 2006.

South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young accused the North of "seriously distorting" the decision to join in the initiative.

Seoul has said its military would "respond sternly" to any North Korean provocation, and that it would be able to contain the North with the help of U.S. troops.

The South Korean military has dispatched "personnel and equipment deployment" along its land and sea borders, a Joint Chiefs of Staff officer said. He spoke on condition of anonymity citing department policy.

He said there has been no particular movement of North Korean troops in border areas.

The two Koreas technically remain at war because they signed a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953. However, North disputes the U.N.-drawn maritime border off their west coast, and used that dispute to provoke deadly naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.

South Korea's mass-circulation JoongAng Ilbo newspaper said more anti-air missiles and artillery were dispatched to military bases on islands near the disputed western sea border with North Korea.

Yonhap said the destroyer has artillery guns, anti-ship guided missiles, ship-to-air missiles and torpedoes. Air force fighters are were on standby, the report said.

North Korea's West Sea fleet has 13 submarines and more than 360 vessels, Yonhap said.

The recent flurry of belligerence could reflect an effort by 67-year-old leader Kim Jong Il to boost his standing among his impoverished people.

It was also seen as a test of Obama's new administration, and came as two Americans, journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling, remained in custody in Pyongyang accused of illegal entry and "hostile acts." They face trial in Pyongyang next week.

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said any new Security Council resolution must be stronger than the one issued after the North's first atomic test in October 2006, and contain sanctions.

A Russian Foreign Ministry official said Moscow did not want to see Pyongyang further isolated. Andrei Nesterenko said Russia opposed sanctions but did not object to a U.N. resolution.

Hong Hyun-ik, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute security think tank, said sanctions would not be effective unless China - North Korea's traditional ally - implemented them.

"Kim Jong Il must be scoffing" at the talk of sanctions, he said. "He knows the world will forget about any sanctions in the end."

[HisDaughter]

Middle East conflicts reveal media bias
onenewsnow

A conservative media watchdog says mainstream television networks have shown a blatant double standard when it comes to the coverage of two major incursions under different presidents.

When President George W. Bush made the decision to invade Iraq in 2003, many in the media chastised him, even though he had prior congressional approval to authorize force based on reports that Saddam Hussein possessed "weapons of mass destruction."
 
However, when President Barack Obama recently ordered air strikes on Libya without congressional approval, the same media failed to challenge him, even reporting it was the right thing to do. Since the operations began last week, the consensus appears to be that Libya does not pose any national security risks for the U.S.
 
Rich Noyes, director of research at the Media Research Center, says about the Libya situation: "When you listen to liberal reporters, they seem more excited about the fact that the United States is spending its treasure and risking the blood of its sons in something that has no national security implications for United States -- and yet this seems to be where liberals get most excited. They don't like it when we actually do have a security interest."
 
Noyes says even if the decision is based on purely humanitarian concerns, not U.S. security interests, there is still a double standard.
 
"If Moammar Gadhafi, his attack on his own people is a humanitarian crisis that requires U.S. intervention, Saddam Hussein was a 30-year long humanitarian crisis," states the director. "His body count is tremendously high. He ranks up with some of the worse mass murderers in history."
 
Noyes says the media lambasted Bush when no WMDs were found in Iraq, while WMDs are not even an issue in Libya.

[HisDaughter]

France to step up strikes in Libya
AP  4/20/2011

PARIS – France vowed Wednesday to step up airstrikes on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces and acknowledged that it has military officers already working with Libyan rebels on the ground.

France and Italy joined Britain in announcing their commitment of military officers to help the rebels, who have failed to rout Moammar Gadhafi's forces despite weeks of NATO-led airstrikes.

Both France and Italy remained firm against sending ground troops into Libya, a dangerous and politically risky step. However NATO, which is leading the U.N.-sanctioned international military operation to protect civilians, is now acknowledging that airstrikes alone cannot stop the heavy shelling of cities by Gadhafi's forces.

Gadhafi's forces attacked a mountain town and a besieged coastal city Wednesday, part of a drive to crush pockets of resistance in the western part of the country that is largely under the Libyan leader's control.

"France has placed alongside our special envoy in Benghazi a small number of liaison officers," French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Christine Fages said in an online briefing Wednesday.

The officers are working on technical, logistical, and organizational help, she said. She did not indicate how long they have been there.

French government spokesman Francois Baroin suggested less than 10 officers were involved and insisted the move conforms to the U.N. resolution authorizing the international military campaign in Libya. France sent a diplomatic envoy to Benghazi earlier this month.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy met Wednesday with visiting Libyan opposition leader Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who said he asked France "to intensify the support accorded to the Libyan revolution."

"We will intensify the strikes," Sarkozy responded, according to a presidential aide. The aide was not authorized to be publicly named according to presidential policy.

"We will help you," Sarkozy promised his Libyan visitor. He gave no details.

A NATO official said there has been no pressure from France to increase allied strikes, but that France might increase its own contribution. The official was not authorized to be publicly named.

In Rome, Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa said 10 military instructors will be going to Libya to help the rebels, but again ruled out sending Italian ground troops.

Britain said Tuesday it was sending up to 20 military advisers to help Libya's rebel forces. The military personnel, including officers with logistical and intelligence expertise, will work with the National Transitional Council, the political wing of the rebel movement.

While France helped lead the push for international intervention in Libya, it appeared wary of lobbying for a ground campaign.

"We do not envisage deploying ground troops in any way," Baroin said.

French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet said the U.N. Security Council should weigh whether to send ground troops. "It's a real question that merits international reflection," he said after a Cabinet meeting Wednesday.

But Baroin said France would not request another U.N. resolution on the subject.

Abdel-Jalil insisted that the ragtag Libyan rebel force and fledgling opposition governing council would respect international norms if they emerge victorious in the battle with Gadhafi.

"We promise to the international community that we will work to build a democratic state where the chief of state arrives in power not on a tank, but by a ballot box," he said. "We are also committed to working to fight terrorism and stop illegal immigration."

Tensions over waves of illegal migrants from North Africa entering Europe in recent weeks have strained relations among European neighbors and clouded the international campaign in Libya.

NATO's top military commander, U.S. Navy Adm. James Stavridis was in Prague for talks with Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg on Wednesday and Defense Minister Alexandr Vondra on Thursday. Stavridis' visit comes as NATO is seeking to get military contributions from member states that have not participated in the campaign in Libya.

The Czech government has said earlier it was not planning to contribute troops for the NATO mission in Libya, partly because it has not been asked to do so.

[david749]

Thanks for the nice post.


Complete destabilization of the middle east is now underway. 

[nChrist]

Thanks for the nice post.


Complete destabilization of the middle east is now underway. 

Yes, and I would say that things could blow up at any moment into something BIG.

[HisDaughter]

Border Clash Resumes Between Thailand, Cambodia
AP

Renewed fighting between Thai and Cambodian troops on the countries' disputed border has killed at least 10 soldiers and kept thousands of civilians out of their homes.

Officials from both countries said fighting that lasted several hours Friday resumed Saturday, and at least 10 soldiers had died over the two days. The fighting continued most of the morning and involved mostly long-distance shelling but also use of small arms.

Cambodia also accused the Thai Army of firing shells with poison gas, an allegation which could not be independently verified and was rejected by Thailand.

The fighting springs from decades-old competing claims over small swaths of land along the border, with nationalistic politics fueling tensions. Clashes have erupted several times since 2008, when Cambodia's 11th century Preah Vihear temple on the border was given U.N. World Heritage status over Thai objections.

Friday's fighting was the first reported since four days of fighting in February, when eight soldiers and civilians were killed near the Preah Vihear temple, about 100 miles east of the new flare-up.

Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said fighting resumed at about 6 a.m. Saturday at the same three locations where troops from both countries battled for several hours the previous day with artillery and small arms.

Wachira Kitphan, an official in Thailand's Phanom Dong Rak district, said both sides engaged in an artillery duel until about 8 a.m. Saturday.

Cambodian officials said that in addition to skirmishes Friday near the ancient temples of Ta Krabey and Ta Moan and a third point, artillery fell on villages and other areas as far as 13 miles inside its territory.

Each side blamed the other for the resumption of fighting.

Thai army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Siriya Khuangsirikul said three Thai soldiers were killed Friday and 13 were wounded, one critically. Cambodian defense spokesman Lt. Gen. Chhum Socheat said three Cambodian soldiers were killed and six wounded.

No reports of casualties from Saturday's clash were immediately available.

Cambodia's Bayon TV, which has close links to the government, showed footage Friday night of damaged houses and civilians being evacuated by farm vehicles to schools and Buddhist pagodas 30 miles from the front lines.

A statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Thailand said the country had "exercised its inherent right of self-defense on the basis of necessity, proportionality and strictly directed at military targets from where the attacks were launched by Cambodian troops."

Indonesia, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, called Friday for an immediate cease-fire and further efforts to resolve the border dispute. Fighting stopped by early Friday afternoon, but no cease-fire was reached, Cambodian officials said.

Tensions between the neighbors have been exacerbated in recent months in part by pressure from influential Thai nationalist groups that have protested in Bangkok, urging the government to take back disputed border territory. Hardcore nationalists insist a 1962 World Court ruling awarding the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia was unfair.

The flare-up comes as the Thai military raises its profile in domestic politics ahead of a general election expected to be held by early July. The army had previously effectively vetoed an agreed-on plan to station Indonesian observers to monitor the border situation, flexing its muscles in the foreign policy field.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong sent a note to the president of the U.N. Security Council accusing Thailand of refusing to accept the Indonesian monitors so it could carry out "this deliberate act of aggression."

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva called for a meeting of one of the bilateral committees the two countries have set up to discuss border issues.

Reiterating Thailand's stance on its dispute with Cambodia, Abhisit said it was not necessary for ASEAN or other multinational bodies to take up the matter, because then "it will be harder to solve."

Cambodia insists bilateral talks are unproductive and that a third party's participation would be useful.

[HisDaughter]

Syrian Security Forces Open Fire at Funeral Procession, Witness Reports
foxnews.com

A witness reports that Syrian security forces killed at least six people when they opened fire on thousands at funeral processions Saturday.

Two witnesses say forces fired at crowds heading to the southern village of Izraa, killing two. Another witness says forces killed four people outside the capital of Damascus.

The crackdown comes one day after security forces killed at least 75 people in the deadliest day of monthlong protests against authoritarian President Bashar Assad.

The witness accounts could not be independently verified and they spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

In Washington, President Barack Obama condemned Friday’s use of force by Syria against anti-government demonstrators and said the regime's "outrageous" use of violence against the protesters must "end now."

In a statement, Obama said Syria's moves to repeal a decades-old emergency law and allow peaceful demonstrations were not serious in light of Friday's events.

He called on Assad to change course and obey the will of his people by giving them what they seek -- freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly and the ability to choose their leaders.

Among the dead Friday were a 70-year-old man and two boys ages 7 and 10, Amnesty International said. In the southern town of Izraa, a man ran carrying the body of a young boy, whose hair was matted with blood from a gaping wound on his head, as another child wept and shouted, "My brother!" Footage of the scene was posted on the protest movement's main Facebook pace.

In other towns, protesters scattered for cover from sniper bullets, then dragged corpses through the streets. Mobile phone images showed the bodies lined up on the floor inside buildings.

The rallies, most marching out from mosques after Friday's noon Muslim prayers, erupted in towns and cities stretching along the breadth of the country, including in at least two suburbs of the capital, Damascus.

The death toll was likely to rise, as Ammar Qurabi, head of Syria's National Organization for Human Rights, said another 20 people were missing.

Friday's toll was double that of the previous deadliest day of the uprising, on April 8, when 37 were killed around the country. The heavier crackdown came after Assad warned a week ago that any further unrest would be considered "sabotage" after he made the gesture of lifting long hated emergency laws, a step he ratified on Thursday.

It was a clear sign that regime was prepared to escalate an already bloody response, with nearly 300 already dead in more than five weeks. Previously, Assad has mixed the crackdown with gestures of reform in a failed attempt to deflate the protests.

The bloodshed so far has only served to invigorate protesters whose demands have snowballed from modest reforms to the downfall of the 40-year Assad family dynasty. Each Friday, growing numbers of people in multiple cities have taken to the streets despite the near certainty that they would come under swift attack from security forces and shadowy pro-government gunmen known as "shabiha."

"Bullets started flying over our heads like heavy rain," said one witness in Izraa, where police opened fire on protesters marching in front of the mayor's office. The town is located in southern Daraa province where the uprising kicked off in mid-March.

Tens of thousands marched Friday in the Damascus suburbs of Douma and Hajar Aswad, the central cities of Hama and Homs, Latakia and Banias on the coast, the northern cities of Raqqa and Idlib, the northeastern Kurdish region, and in Daraa, witnesses said.

It was certainly one of the most robust gatherings to date, but it was difficult to gauge whether turnout was larger than heavy demonstrations a week ago. Because the protests were so quickly and violently dispersed Friday, it appeared that many gatherings were broken up before the masses hit the streets.

Amnesty International put the day's death toll at 75, mirroring reports from witnesses to The Associated Press.

Friday's witness accounts could not be independently confirmed because Syria has expelled journalists and restricted access to trouble spots. Witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

As it has stepped up its response, Assad's regime has seemed little affected by mounting international concern over the violence.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the U.S. calls on the Syrian government "to cease and desist from the use of violence against peaceful protesters" and to "follow through on its promises and take action toward the kind of concrete reform that they've promised."

[HisDaughter]

He called on Assad to change course and obey the will of his people by giving them what they seek -- freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly and the ability to choose their leaders.

Gee Barak, we'd like to have that too!