Wrath0fKhan

The time has come to post the last post. Perhaps you will consider looking forward to a better future. From my perspective it is good bye and good night.

5 years ago | [YT] | 10

Wrath0fKhan

US Defense Secretary: Saudi Arabia is a Strategic Partner (aawsat, Mar 7, 2021):

"US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sunday that Saudi Arabia is "a strategic partner in the region.”

“My focus is to defend this country and protect our interest,” Austin told ABC's "This Week" program.

"Saudi is from my perspective a strategic partner in the region. And certainly we have security commitments in that area.”

“It’s necessary to work together to make sure that we achieve our goals and objectives,” he added."

5 years ago | [YT] | 4

Wrath0fKhan

Syrians Struggle with Food, Fuel Shortages (aawsat, Mar 4, 2021):

"A decade after Syria's conflict began, families struggle more than ever to buy food while ambulances lack fuel to bring wounded and COVID-19 patients to hospital, Red Cross and Red Crescent officials said on Thursday.

"Syria is in a deadly spiral of warfare, economic downturn, pandemic and sanctions," International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Peter Maurer told a news conference.

"Close to three-quarters of the population now need humanitarian assistance, an increase of 20% compared to 12 months ago,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

Of Syria's current population of some 18 million, 13.4 million rely on aid, UN figures show.

Syria has seen a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections since mid-February but lockdown options remain limited due to the country's dire economic situation, a member of the country's coronavirus advisory committee said in Damascus on Thursday.

Khaled Hboubati, President of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, said Western sanctions on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad also hindered imports of medical equipment and medicines.

"The lack of fuel means that there are no ambulances to bring patients to hospital," said Francesco Rocca, President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. "Without power it is impossible to safely store blood or, one day, the vaccines."

Maurer said ICRC officials continue to visit people held in Syria's central prisons but had no access to unofficial detention centers on all sides.

Prisoner exchanges, clarifying the fate of tens of thousands of missing and identification of dead bodies were vital preconditions for meaningful talks to end the war, he said and needed to be done urgently."

5 years ago | [YT] | 3

Wrath0fKhan

More than 1,600 attacks on refugees in Germany in 2020 (aa, Mar 2, 2021):

"Germany registered 1,606 attacks on refugees and refugee shelters last year, authorities announced on Tuesday.

The Interior Ministry released the figures in response to a parliamentary question by the opposition Left Party.

Nearly 200 people were injured in the attacks, mostly committed by right-wing extremists, according to the ministry.

Far-right suspects also targeted 67 refugee organizations and volunteers helping asylum seekers.

More than 1,600 offenses recorded by the police last year included physical assaults targeting refugees, verbal slurs, threatening letters, damage to property, and arson attacks on refugee shelters.

Left Party lawmaker Ulla Jelpke said despite the coronavirus health crisis and lockdown measures that restricted public life for much of the year, far-right extremists continued their violent attacks on refugees.

“Racism in the country knows no lockdown. The number of attacks on refugees last year in Germany actually rose further,” she said in a written statement.

Germany is currently hosting nearly 1.7 million refugees, most of whom are Syrians who fled their country due to civil war and arrived in the country between 2014 and 2016.

The country witnessed growing xenophobia and anti-migrant hatred in recent years, fueled by the propaganda of neo-Nazi groups and the far-right Islamophobic Alternative for Germany (AfD) party."

5 years ago | [YT] | 5

Wrath0fKhan

Report: US wasted billions on cars, buildings in Afghanistan (abcnews, Mar 1, 2021):

"The United States wasted billions of dollars in war-torn Afghanistan on buildings and vehicles that were either abandoned or destroyed, according to a report released Monday by a U.S. government watchdog.

The agency said it reviewed $7.8 billion spent since 2008 on buildings and vehicles. Only $343.2 million worth of buildings and vehicles “were maintained in good condition,” said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, which oversees American taxpayer money spent on the protracted conflict.

The report said that just $1.2 billion of the $7.8 billion went to pay for buildings and vehicles that were used as intended.

“The fact that so many capital assets wound up not used, deteriorated or abandoned should have been a major cause of concern for the agencies financing these projects," John F. Sopko, the special inspector general, said in his report.

The U.S. public is weary of the nearly 20-year-old war and President Joe Biden is reviewing a peace deal his predecessor, Donald Trump, signed with the Taliban a year ago. He must decide whether to withdraw all troops by May 1, as promised in the deal, or stay and possibly prolong the war. Officials say no decision has been made.

Meanwhile, Taliban insurgents and the Afghan government have been holding on-again-off-again talks in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar but a deal that could bring peace to Afghanistan after 40 years of relentless war seems far off.

Analyst Bill Roggio of the Long War Journal said the findings by SIGAR are not surprising. The reasons for the financial losses include Taliban attacks, corruption and “throwing money at the problem without considering the implications,” he said.

“It is one thing to build a clinic and school, it is another to operate, maintain, and in many cases defend this infrastructure from Taliban attacks,” said Roggio. "Additionally, the West has wildly underestimated the impact of Afghan corruption and in many cases incompetence. It was always a recipe for failure.”

U.S. agencies responsible for construction didn't even ask the Afghans if they wanted or needed the buildings they ordered built, or if they had the technical ability to keep them running, Sopko said in his report.

The waste occurred in violation of “multiple laws stating that U.S. agencies should not construct or procure capital assets until they can show that the benefiting country has the financial and technical resources and capability to use and maintain those assets effectively,” he said.

Torek Farhadi, a former adviser to the Afghan government, said a "donor-knows-best” mentality often prevailed and it routinely meant little to no consultation with the Afghan government on projects.

He said a lack of coordination among the many international donors aided the wastefulness. For example, he said schools were on occasion built alongside other newly constructed schools financed by other donors. The construction went ahead because once the decision was made — contract awarded and money allocated — the school was built regardless of the need, said Farhadi.

The injection of billions of dollars, largely unmonitored, fueled runaway corruption among both Afghans and international contractors. But experts say that despite the waste, the need for assistance is real, given the Afghan governments heavy dependence on international money.

The worsening security situation in Afghanistan also greatly impeded the monitoring of projects, with shoddy construction going undetected, said Farhadi, the former Afghan government adviser.

“Consult with the locals about their needs and sustainability of the project once the project is complete,” he urged U.S. funding agencies looking to future projects. “Supervise, supervise, supervise project progress and implementation and audit every single layer of expenditure.”

Going forward, Roggio said smaller, more manageable projects should be the order of the day. To build big unmanageable projects that Afghanistan has neither the capacity nor technical expertise for after 40 years of relentless war “feeds into the Taliban narrative that the government is corrupt, incompetent, and incapable of providing for the Afghan people,” he said."

5 years ago | [YT] | 3

Wrath0fKhan

Al-Maliki: Iranian generals control Houthi militia (saudigzatte, Feb 28, 2021):

"Brig. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, stated that the Houthi militia is the only terrorist group in the world that possesses military capabilities because of the support of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

“Our defenses have so far intercepted 526 drones and 346 ballistic missiles, and no country in the world has been able to intercept such numbers of ballistic missiles and drones.

“The Houthi attacks are linked to the dictates of Iranian generals who control the militias in the occupied Sanaa,” Al-Arabiya.net reported quoting him as saying in a telephone conversation on Saturday.

Al-Maliki emphasized that the Coalition has the capabilities to deal with threats that target civilians, considering civilians a “red line in the event of any harm to them.”

“We have competence in monitoring ballistic missiles and drones upon their launch,” he said while noting that Houthis suffered more than 3,000 deaths in their attack on Marib.

It is noteworthy that the Saudi defense forces have foiled on Saturday six air threats from the Houthi militias within two hours."

5 years ago | [YT] | 4

Wrath0fKhan

UK Supreme Court Rules Schoolgirl Who Joined Daesh Should Not Be Allowed to Return to Britain (sputniknews, Feb 26, 2021):

"Shamima Begum was 15 when she travelled to Syria, with two other teenage friends, and ultimately married a member of Daesh. In 2019 the Home Secretary stripped her of her citizenship, a decision her lawyers have sought to challenge.

The UK Supreme Court (UKSC) has ruled that the schoolgirl who joined Daesh in Syria should not be allowed to return to Britain.

The unanimous ruling reversed findings by the Court of Appeal that Shamima Begum was denied the right of an effective appeal against the Home Secretary's decision to strip her of her citizenship, by refusing her entry into the country in order to challenge the decision.

"[T]he Court of Appeal misunderstood the scope of an appeal against a decision of the Secretary of State to refuse a person leave to enter the UK", the UKSC said, adding that, "Ms Begum’s appeal against the [decision to refuse her entry to the UK] could only be brought on the ground that the decision was unlawful under section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998. As Ms Begum did not advance that argument before the Court of Appeal", her appeal "should have been dismissed", they said.

Significantly, the UK's highest court also found that the Court of Appeal, "mistakenly believed that, when an individual’s right to have a fair hearing of an appeal came into conflict with the requirements of national security, her right to a fair hearing must prevail".

Instead, the justices found that, "the right to a fair hearing does not trump all other considerations, such as the safety of the public. If a vital public interest makes it impossible for a case to be fairly heard, then the courts cannot ordinarily hear it".

"The appropriate response to the problem in the present case is for the deprivation appeal to be stayed until Ms Begum is in a position to play an effective part in it without the safety of the public being compromised. That is not a perfect solution, as it is not known how long it may be before that is possible. But there is no perfect solution to a dilemma of the present kind", the UKSC determined.

The decision by the court may well impact the cases of at least 40 other people, currently stuck outside of the UK, and whose citizenship has been revoked or is at risk of being revoked. The Supreme Court was asked to determine whether Begum has been deprived of the right to an effective remedy when she was unable to return to the UK in order to challenge the Home Secretary's decision to strip her of her citizenship. The court did not make a final determination regarding whether the depravation of citizenship had been lawful..."

5 years ago | [YT] | 6

Wrath0fKhan

Houthis Form Specialized Taskforce for Tracking Fighters who Fled Battlegrounds (aawsat, Feb 24, 2021)

"Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi has ordered the formation of field teams tasked with tracking and capturing militants fleeing battlefields in Yemen, especially those raging in Marib governorate, well-informed sources said.

In Marib, Houthi ranks continued to sustain grave losses, triggering panic among remaining fighters from the Iran-backed group. Armed militants fled fierce clashes in the governorate in droves.

Hundreds of Houthis abandoning their posts in battlegrounds west and north of Marib has created a sharp shortage crisis for coup forces. Combatants bolted from fighting in the Sirwah, Hilan, al-Mukhadrah, al-Kasarah, Reghwan and Mudghal districts.

Some of the deserters secretly returned to their hometowns and villages without notifying Houthi leaders.

Aziz al-Jaradi, a senior Houthi commander who heads the group’s preventative security unit, was tasked with forming specialized teams for chasing down and capturing the deserters and detaining Houthi supervisors who are refusing to join the fight in Marib.

Some Houthi officers have declined to recruit more soldiers for battles in the governorate, leaving the group’s ranks depleted.

Following their leadership’s directives, Houthi intelligence agents tracked down deserters and raided their homes. Initial reports suggest that hundreds were apprehended by the group across seven different Houthi-run governorates.

According to local sources, Houthi agents warned the families of fighters who fled the battleground that they will be treated as traitors and will be subjected to harsh punishment.

Over the weekend, the newly formed tracking teams arrested around 45 escapee fighters in Dhamar governorate, locals told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Racial discrimination and extreme sectarianism were among the prime factors driving recruits to abandon Houthi ranks, locals explained.

Around 190 fighters were arrested in Sanaa and over 69 were detained in Ibb governorate, they affirmed.

Those arrested are being given an ultimatum: either return to fighting on battlefronts or face torture and imprisonment."

5 years ago | [YT] | 3

Wrath0fKhan

Police say militants kill 4 women instructors in NW Pakistan (abcnews, Feb 22, 2021):

"Suspected militants on motorcycles ambushed a vehicle carrying instructors from a private vocational school in northwest Pakistan on Monday, killing four women and wounding the driver before fleeing, police said.

The attack took place in the village of Epi in Mir Ali, a town in North Waziristan district in a former tribal region bordering Afghanistan, said Shafi Ullah Khan Gandapur, a district police chief.

Police said the slain women were sent to the village by private vocational school Bravo Institute of Technology, Peshawar under an agreement with the Sabawon Pakistan charity. They had planned to train 140 residents for skilled occupations that would allow them to open their own businesses..."

5 years ago | [YT] | 2

Wrath0fKhan

Biden's Arms Freeze on Saudi Arabia Rings Hollow as Lockheed Signs Deal With Kingdom (sputniknews, Feb 21, 2021):

"US President Joe Biden announced a halt to arms sales and operational support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen — which began when he was vice-president to Barack Obama in 2015 — earlier this month, followed by the removal of Yemen's Ansarallah movement from the US list of terrorist organisations.

US President Joe Biden's vaunted freeze on arms sales to Gulf Arab kingdoms has been belied by a deal between Lockheed Martin and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) announced a joint venture with the US aerospace and defence firm on Sunday to develop Riyadh's "domestic defence and security capabilities".

The new company will help build up the Saudi arms industry through "transfer of technology (ToT) and knowledge (ToK) and training of Saudi nationals to manufacture products and provide services to the Kingdom’s armed forces," a Sami statement read.

The agreement was signed by SAMI CEO Walid Abukhaled and Lockheed Martin International Senior Vice-President Timothy Cahill at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"SAMI has been exploring avenues to help build a sustainable, self-sufficient military industries sector in the Kingdom," said Abukhaled, "and our strong and enduring partnership with Lockheed Martin underpins our commitment."

Cahill called the deal a "major milestone in our strategic relationship with SAMI" in line with its strategy of "providing reliable defence and security solutions that will support security and prosperity for decades to come."

SAMI, a subsidiary of the Kingdom's Public Investment Fund (PIF), will have a 51 per cent stake in the venture while Lockheed Martin will control the remainder.

Early this month Biden said his was ending US operational support and arms supplies to Saudi Arabia for its six-year war on Yemen that has left at least 100,000 people dead and 80 per cent of the population in need of aid. That support began in 2015 when Biden was serving as vice-president to Barack Obama.

The White House later removed Yemen's Ansarallah movement — dominated by the Houthi clan — from its list of designated terrorist organisations and urged the force to call a ceasefire and enter talks with their Saudi opponents.

In late January his administration announced a temporary freeze on arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, pending a review. But that was viewed in the context of moves to pull out of the deal Biden's predecessor Donald Trump struck with the UAE to sell 50 Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth attack jets — seen as a quid pro quo for Emirati recognition of the state of Israel last year.

Only on Saturday US Congressman Ro Khanna, a member of Biden's Democratic Party and a long-time critic of the Yemen war, hailed the president's pronouncements on Yemen as a "profound and historic shift".

"We're being explicit and bold and open to the Saudis saying, 'no, this is not a war we support'," Khanna said. "Now I think that President Biden has made a clear statement that relationship is no longer what it once was.""

5 years ago | [YT] | 3