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Money matters: Taliban strapped for cash as funding routes blocked “The Taliban have seriously run out of funds…they have hardly any money anymore,” at least three associates of the group said amid a surprising halt in their activities – suicide bombings and terror attacks across Pakistan and in parts of Afghanistan – in recent months. ISLAMABAD: The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is facing a serious financial crisis since its slain founding leader Baitullah Mehsud combined several scattered groups from all over the tribal belt to form the most feared terror network of homegrown militants back in 2007. “The Taliban have seriously run out of funds…they have hardly any money anymore,” at least three associates of the group said amid a surprising halt in their activities – suicide bombings and terror attacks across Pakistan and in parts of Afghanistan – in recent months. Also mysteriously silent are long-cannoned guns from the artillery of Pakistani military that is involved in an oper...

Don't miss a great opportunity! Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is taking your questions. Ask about the drawdown in Iraq, or the war in Afghanistan, 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' implementation, Tricare cost increases... no subject is off limits. To participate, submit your question right here on FB, tweet him @thejointstaff on twitter or check out the blog.

Fatherless children are at a dramatically greater risk of drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, suicide, poor educational performance, teen pregnancy, and criminality.

‎"Zenga Zenga", un clip israélien remixé sur un des discours du dictateur libyen, Mouammar Khadafi, fait "un tabac" sur Youtube après près d'un demi million de visionnages dimanche après midi. "Zenga, Zenga", c'est le nettoyage "allée par allée" que Kadhafi a promis aux manifestants libyens. Le clip est un remix du discours mis en musique, avec des danseuses orientales discrètement incrustées dans les images, réalisé par Noy Aloshe, du groupe "Hovevei Tzion" (connu pour son titre Rotsé Banot). "J'ai reçu énormément de soutien de gens du monde arabe qui ignoraient mon identité et m'ont affirmé que ce mixage était devenu une sorte d'hymne de ralliement des contestataires", a affirmé le musicien à l'AFP. "Un internaute a même écrit que quand Kadhafi tomberait, ils danseraient sur mon mixage dans les rues de Tripoli, ce qui serait vraiment génial", a-t-il ajouté.

How the Taliban Lost Its Swagger - Newsweek At a dark, unheated village Madrassa near Peshawar, Pakistan, Mullah Yahya spends his days studying the Quran and begging God’s forgiveness for the horrors in which he once took part. Until a few months ago, he belonged to a Taliban unit operating in and around the Afghan town of Marja, led by a commander whose ruthlessness had earned him the nickname “Saddam.” read the full article here: How the Taliban Lost Its Swagger - Newsweek

The revolutions and US euphoria If the Western world carries on with the "instant democracy" illusion, what occurred in Egypt will bring about the fall of more moderate regimes. Since the first days of the revolution in Egypt the American media have been celebrating “the victory of democracy.” Commentators and academics alike explain in well-written articles why we should not fear the processes that are unfolding. Terrorism scholar Scott Atran in his New York Times article “Egypt’s bumbling Brotherhood,” mentions that the Muslim Brotherhood counts only 100,000 adherents, and that throughout its 83 years, it has failed to revive Islamic power in Egypt. Atran predicts that with political freedom, the movement’s importance will soon disappear. To this we can add soothing explanations from the US intelligence establishment’s top brass: The statement by CIA Director Leon Panetta, who told the Senate that it was difficult to label the Muslim Brotherhood an extremist organization be...

As mass unrest continues to shake authoritarian states in North Africa and the Middle East, the siloviki are pushing for the registration of social network users and waiting to pounce on anyone posting an extremist message and the Kremlin is funding pro-government bloggers. Kremlin's Plan to Prevent a Facebook Revolution Recent events in the Arab world have sparked renewed optimism with online social networks. Many in the West are now convinced that Internet technology can create something previously impossible under authoritarian states — a strong opposition that can seize power through either elections or street demonstrations.

‘Revolution Movement’: Youths protest against US presence LAHORE: Two demonstrations by young people protesting various aspects of the American presence in Pakistan were staged in the city on Sunday. The organisers of both protests vowed to hold much larger rallies next month. Members of the Pakistan Revolution Movement hold a demonstration in Lahore on February 27, 2011. PHOTO: NNI Around 250 people gathered at Liberty roundabout under the banner of a group called the Pakistan Future Forum to protest at the Raymond Davis killings. They gave speeches condemning American policies and expressing sympathy with Davis’ alleged victims. Some emphasised that they condemned American policies but were not trying to incite anti-Americanism. Advocate Adnan Ahsan Khan, a member of the forum, said that this was the third meeting of the group, organised via Facebook and Twitter, and each meeting had been larger than the previous ones. “Today’s meeting was to let the members of the forum rais...

The ex-Soviet leader argues the US must take some blame for fanning Islamic fundamentalism Mikhail Gorbachev photo :VALERI NISTRATOV Mikhail Gorbachev, the former president of the Soviet Union, has called for fundamental change to world politics against the background of uprisings across North Africa, saying that the will of the people can no longer be ignored. In a wide-ranging interview with The Independent on Sunday, marking his 80th birthday on Wednesday, Mr Gorbachev also calls on David Cameron to withdraw British troops from Afghanistan. And, in comments that risk provoking outrage in the US, he portrays the war against Islam as a conflict partly of the US's own making. "It's called the historical and political boomerang," he says, referring to the US's secret funding of Islamic extremists during the 1980s, when the Americans were fighting communism. "[The Americans] were working in secret with those forces with whom they are now fighting. The...

Spy vs. spy vs. spy - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News A decades-old Mossad document reveals that Egypt may have been tipped off about the Israeli attack in June 1967 by a high-ranking IDF officer. Who he was is still an enigma. Why nobody tried to find out is another question. He had a close relationship to the top brass, was trusted by all. He knew when the army would attack. In fact, he was a spy. He worked for the enemy. He handed over critical information. Years later, when his cover was blown, some claimed he was a double agent. This is the story of Ashraf Marwan, the Egyptian who alerted Israel that Anwar Sadat would attack Israel on Yom Kippur, October 6, 1973. Could he have had an Israeli "double" - a senior army officer who spied for Egypt and who, in June 1967, let his handlers there know when the event that eventually became known as the Six-Day War would begin? An Egyptian plane that was hit by Israel on the first day of the Six-Day War. Photo by: ...

The Real Egyptian Revolution Will Not Be Brought to You by CNN There are two Egyptian revolutions. The one marketed for Western consumption by Egyptian bloggers and the American media– and the real revolution. The rape of Lara Logan brought that second revolution out of the shadows for the first time. This was certainly not the first sexual assault arising out of the Jan 25 protests. It won’t be the last either. The Western educated Egyptians promoting the protests have always managed to sell the press on the story that all the violence, from the looting of the Egyptian museum, the attacks on reporters, the prison breaks and the mass rapes and robberies were all the work of pro-Mubarak forces. But when Logan was attacked, she was among a crowd celebrating the fall of Mubarak. These were the very people that she and her colleagues had come to Egypt to support. Egypt The actual Jan 25 revolution was wildly different from the one depicted in news reports. Behind the veil of English...

Labour Party Pakistan announces the following actions for Tuesday 1st March across Pakistan. There are three main demands that LPP is putting forward for the day. Release the four arrested labour leaders of power looms Labour Qaumi Movement arrested on 21st July during a workers strike for wage increase. They are Rana Mohammed Riaz, Fazal Ilahi, Akbar Kamboh and Babar Randhawa. Reinstate the suspended and terminated workers leaders of Pakistan Telecommunication (PTCL) immediately. There is a reign of terror for the workers in PTCL after it is been privatized in 2005. When, last year workers protested for wage increase, 600 were suspended from jobs and there are still 100 workers leaders who are not back to their job. This is unacceptable. Increase the minimum wages to Rupees 15000 from the present 7000 a month. This is because of the unprecedented price hike during the last three years by PPP and its alliance government. All the main parties including PMLN are united in im...

Jihadists View Upheaval in Egypt as Opportunity, Call for Military Organization in Sinai The upheaval in the Arab world, especially the events in Tunisia and Egypt, both of which resulted in the resignations of these countries' leaders, is being followed closely by jihadi operatives, ideologues, and online supporters. The jihadists welcomed the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak, whom they considered a tyrant and apostate, and responded by discussing the role they are to play in Egypt's future. Their responses can be divided into two main categories: political-ideological and operational. The following report will address the operational opportunities the jihadists see in the new situation in Egypt. Some in the global jihad movement consider the upheaval in Egypt an opportunity to promote global jihad and to elevate the war against the Arab regimes to a new level. Specifically, they consider the anarchy in Egypt to be a chance for jihad groups to establish a presence there,...

'Convoluted' Raymond Davis case appears to be based on smoke and mirrors: US legal expert The case of double-murder accused American official Raymond Davis is very convoluted, and no matter what the US government says, this is not an open-and-shut case, former State Department lawyer Ron Mlotek insists. A storm of media speculation has enveloped the case of CIA official Davis, who is currently under detention in Pakistan on murder charges, as officials from both countries seek to shape public opinion in an increasingly fraught diplomatic and legal standoff. "The American case is very convoluted and appears to be based on smoke and mirrors," The Guardian quoted Mlotek, who retired two years ago after 25 years of service in the State Department examining such cases, as saying. He argued that even if the US could prove that Davis is a diplomat, Pakistan could challenge immunity on the basis that he was carrying an illegal weapon, worked from a ‘spy agency saf...

Policymakers and pundits have looked around the world at previous revolutions--in Iran, Russia, Turkey, and more--to gauge the possibilities and pitfalls ahead as Egyptians overturn their political order. The White House, however, has paid particular attention to the experience of one: Indonesia. From the early days of the Egypt protests, the White House quietly reached out to a number of Indonesia experts, including this author, to better understand the story of Indonesia's democratic transformation. President Barack Obama's own experience--having lived in Indonesia during some of his formative childhood years--undoubtedly helps explain this impulse. But there are good reasons beyond nostalgia why Indonesia's success might provide inspiration, and lessons, for Egypt. Hosni Mubarak's Egypt and Suharto's Indonesia had an inordinate amount in common. Indonesia is home to the world's largest Muslim population; Egypt is the most populous Arab nation. Both are M...

This is what is happening in Tripoli Libya Info: Mustafa Abdel Galil, who resigned three days ago from his post as the country's justice minister, spoke to Al Jazeera. He warned that Gaddafi has biological and chemical weapons, and will not hesitate to use them. 'We call on the international community and the UN to prevent Gaddafi from going on with his plans in Tripoli,' he said. 'At the end when he’s really pressured, he can do anything. I think Gaddafi will burn everything left behind him.' Libyans say they risk arrest or even death for talking to the foreign media because the authorities are desperate to stop information about their violent crackdown reaching the outside world.

Russia and NATO: Moving towards a collision on missile defense? | Russia Beyond The Headlines by Eugene Ivanov While U.S.-Russian relations may stagnate after the passage of New START, Russia's partnership with NATO could have an interesting year. Source: Reuters/Vostock photo By all accounts, the last year was a successful one for Russian diplomacy, with the signing and ratification of the U.S.-Russia nuclear reduction treaty commonly known as New START, being evidently the most recognizable achievement. Yet, there is a growing consensus among the analysts that New START was the only “low-hanging fruit” yielded by the policy of “reset” between the two countries. More complicated issues still lie ahead, and given the Obama administration’s preoccupation with domestic affairs and the rapidly changing situation in the Middle East, there is little reason to expect any serious improvements, much less breakthroughs, in the bilateral relationship coming to life this year. However...