Afghanistan news of the day.....
Though it may not sound like a lot in the grand scheme of things, with the Pentagon spending hundreds of billions of dollars on the occupation annually, $7 billion is an enormous amount of money to spend just on leaving the country.
Leaving Afghanistan to Cost US $7 Billion
Ongoing Fighting to Increase Costs
by Jason Ditz, May 13, 2013
The US military never does anything cheap, and that includes withdrawing troops. Officials had been reporting vaguely about the costs of Afghan withdrawal rising, and analysts now say it could cost in excess of $7 billion.
Though it may not sound like a lot in the grand scheme of things, with the Pentagon spending hundreds of billions of dollars on the occupation annually, $7 billion is an enormous amount of money to spend just on leaving the country.
Analysts say the cost is a function not just of the enormous amount of equipment sent to Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion, but also of the ongoing combat in the nation. The Taliban may want the US out, but they don’t care if they make it cheap.
The high costs have previously been talked up by Army officials as a possible reason to stay, warning that with sequestration they “can’t afford” to leave. Given the continued war still costs far, far more than pullout this excuse is unlikely to fly with too many people, however.
Drone Wars push back........
http://themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=37671
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Civilian Casualties Increase Anti-American Sentiment
SANA'A – "Mrs. Michele Obama: Tell us can your husband sleep after so many innocent people were killed by his drones?" read a banner held by a Yemeni activist at a recent rally to protest increasing American drone strikes in Yemen.
The rally reflected the growing anti-American feeling among Yemenis, who strongly oppose increasing drone strikes that sometimes result in the killing of innocent civilians, including women and children.
So while American forces are succeeding in hitting gunmen in Al-Qa'ida, the drone strikes have also fueled anger against the US, especially in areas regularly vulnerable to the attacks.
"The negative aspects of drones greatly outweigh their gains," Saeed Obaid, a Yemeni analyst and expert on anti-terrorism and chairman of the Al-Jahmi Center for Studies, told The Media Line.
The 2011 political deadlock eventually resulting in then President Ali Abdullah Saleh's resignation caused Saleh's government to cut back on its anti-terrorism cooperation with the US. Washington therefore began using an increasing number of drones to contain Yemen's local franchise of Al-Qa'ida, which exploited the unrest and took control of large portions of south and southeastern Yemen.
Based in Yemen's mountainous areas, Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is considered by Washington to be the most dangerous cell of the global terror network.
Government officials say they have no figures on the number of US drone attacks, but human rights organizations, the press, and other observers agree drone strikes hit a record high last year.
There is disagreement, however, over the exact number of attacks, with The Associated Press (AP) claiming 40 strikes in 2012 but Yemen's National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms (HOOD) recording 81 last year. AP reported nine so far this year.
"The Long War Journal", a Web site that reports on the battle against international terror, reported that in 2012 alone it had confirmed 228 deaths from drone attacks, including 35 civilians. However, the Yemen-based civil rights group Maonah Association for Human Rights and Immigration put the dead at over 300 people, mostly civilians.
Those living in areas frequently targeted by the unmanned planes say their lives have been significantly affected by the drones.
"The American strikes have had a huge psychological impact on the citizens as we don't know when and where the next American drone is going to strike," Khaled Alabd, a Yemeni reporter and activist based in his home town of Lawdar – an Al-Qa'ida stronghold -- told The Media Line. "Indeed, the sound of these drones that keep roaming our sky instills fear into our hearts. Many civilians were killed, and we never knew when we might be hit by a missile.
"With every American drone attack resulting in civilian deaths, anti-American sentiments increase against Washington as well as against the government which endorses these attacks," he said.
The protests against the drones have been stepped-up recently. Last week, dozens of Yemeni human rights activists held a rally in front of the US embassy here to denounce the drone strikes and demand an immediate halt to what they called "extrajudicial killings."
They also sent a letter to US President Barack Obama expressing their anger over the drone policy and continuous American violation of Yemen's sovereignty.
"We sent this message to Obama as Yemeni citizens whose country has been pounded by American predators ever since he came to power…All Yemenis stand against terrorism but they also stand against the illegal and immoral use of drones in the war against terrorism," Mohammed Abdu Al-Absi, a well-known journalist and a leading figure at the protest, told The Media Line.
"Extrajudicial killings by the American predators are crimes against humanity," he said, adding, "We respect American laws, so they have to respect ours and help us do the same, not violate the laws themselves by infringing on our sovereignty and killing people without a trial.
"Killing a civilian or a terrorist by American predators is like gunning down people who participate in peaceful protests, with the only difference in the identity of the predator," he continued.
Other activists agreed.
"We are against terrorists, but we are also against this illegal American way of killing people. Everyone has the right to a fair trial and the drones take this right away as they kill people without convictions," Mohammed Alaw, head of the Maonah Association, told The Media Line. "This strategy ignores the well-known principle that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty."
The rally came just days after a Yemeni activist whose village was struck by an American drone a week earlier delivered moving testimony on the ill effects of drones before a meeting of the American Senate Judiciary Committee
Farea Al-Muslimi, 22, of the Yemeni village of Wessab explained how his village had been mostly pro-American, largely because of his descriptions of the wonderful year of high school he spent in the US. A drone strike in Wessab against a man whom Muslimi insisted could easily have simply been arrested changed all that.
"What the violent militants have previously failed to achieve, one drone strike accomplished in an instant. There is now an intense anger against America in Wessab. This is not an isolated incident – the drone strikes are the face of America to many Yemenis," he said in his testimony.
"I believe in America and I deeply believe that when Americans truly know about how much pain and suffering the US airstrikes have caused and how much they are harming the hearts and minds of the Yemeni people, they will reject this devastating targeted killing program."
While the drones have also helped the Yemeni government retake areas taken over by Al-Qa'ida-affiliated fighters in 2011, Yemeni analysts agree with Al-Muslimi that they do more harm than good in fighting terrorism.
Obaid of the al-Jahmi Center told The Media Line, "No one can deny the gains of the drones in the war against terrorism, but no one can deny their ill effects, either."
"Actually the drones have helped America get rid of high-ranking Al-Qa'ida leaders, but simultaneously they helped the terror group garner more supporters and sympathizers," he said.
"With every civilian casualty, Al-Qaida garners a thousand new supporters ranging from fighters to sympathizers. Such attacks also adversely affect the liberal forces, as people tend to support extremist groups out of sympathy," journalist Al-Absi said.
Abdusalam Mohammed, Chairman of the Abaad Studies and Research Center, a non-profit Yemeni organization, said he believes that the biggest negative aspect of the American drones is the lack of transparency.
"The American use of drones is surrounded by ambiguity: Their technology and techniques are kept secret and so are their goals and strategies," he told The Media Line.
"Unfortunately, the United States is only looking out for its short term gains in eliminating such terrorists, when it should also consider the interests of the country on whose soil its drones strike," he said.
Underscoring his point, Mohammed cited the killing of the American-born Yemeni cleric Anwar Al-Awiaki in 2011 as an example.
The US considered killing Al-Awiaki a victory in the war against terror, but in fact this has had huge adverse effects on the ground, Mohammed said, adding: "That attack cost Yemen millions of dollars to the retaliatory sabotage attacks on oil pipelines in the region and helped Al-Qa'ida gain more popularity and garner wide public support."
Obaid and Mohammed agreed that civilian casualties significantly decreased after the regime changed, attributing this to President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi's being a more reliable partner in the war against terrorism than his predecessor.
Mohammed concluded, however, "To avoid ever-increasing wide public anger, Sana'a and Washington have to reassess their strategy in their cooperation on the war in a way that helps both countries fight terrorism without infringing on Yemen's sovereignty and which promises no killing of civilians."
and.....
Sharif: US Must Take Pakistan’s Opposition to Drones SeriouslyDrones 'Challenge' Pakistan's Sovereignty
by Jason Ditz, May 13, 2013
Fresh off a decisive victory in this weekend’s election, Pakistan’s incoming leader Nawaz Sharif has quickly set the stage for a battle with the US over ongoing drone strikes against the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
 “This is a very important issue and our concern must be understood properly,” Sharif said, warning that the drone strikes are a “challenge to our sovereignty” and one that Pakistan was not going to simply sit by and ignore.
Sharif campaigned on a promise to end the strikes, saying he would “reconsider” relations with the US if they did not stop launching such strikes. Between his clear victory and the ruling by Pakistan’shigh court last week that the strikes are a violation of international law, there is much momentum behind ending them.
Sharif is moving quickly to form his new government, announcing his intention to make Ishaq Dar his finance minister. Counting still isn’t over in the election, so it still isn’t clear how much of a majority he’ll end up with.
Libya news of the day.....
Government moves quickly on GNC’s Benghazi security resolution: Shuwail
By Ahmed Elumami
Interior Minister Ashour Shuwail
Tripoli, 14 May 2013:
As part of its response to the Benghazi bombing, the GNC has instructed the army to spearhead a drive to remove from the city, all illegal militias and formations that do not work under the ministries of Defence and the Interior.
In Resolution 47 the General National Congress has empowered the army to join the police in checking foreigners and deporting those whose papers are not in order. The security forces have also been given the green light to remove illegal dwellings, crack down on drugs and alcohol and to stop all vehicles that have blacked-out windows and no registration plates.
The measures, which Congress said were designed to enhance security in Benghazi, will be imposed via a new Joint Security Room which will oversee cooperation between the police and the army.
Interior Minister Ashour Shuwail, who was sent to Benghazi last night by Prime Minister Ali Zaidan, said at a press conference in the city this afternoon, that the government was acting on the GNC resolution immediately.
The Joint Security Room is being headed by a high-ranking officer from the Libyan General Staff, working with senior personnel from the Interior Ministry, the General Intelligence Service, the police and the army.
The GNC has asked the Interior Ministry and the General Staff to furnish technology for the new operations room, as well as providing security forces with all the weapons, ammunition and other equipment needed to carry out the security tasks Congressmen have set out in Resolution 47.
http://www.tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=1&i=10214
Ministry of Defence Mines and Explosives Department – the full report on Benghazi explosion
Tripoli, 14 May 2013:
The full forensic report by the Mines and Explosives Department in the Ministry of Defence has been released and is reproduced below in full:
To the Chief of Staff:
We would like to inform you that following close examination of the explosion site, near Jalaa Hospital on Monday, 13 May 2013, the following facts were determined;
1- The vehicle which was carrying the explosives was a grey Toyota, the said vehicle was totally destroyed with exception of a small engine part which was used to determine the car type and another tiny part from which the colour of the vehicle was determined.
2- The vehicle was carrying explosives and was not booby-trapped, the vehicle was carrying between 15 to 20 kilograms of explosives.
3- The explosives type that were carried were, “terylene”, the type used in anti-tank shells, this fact was based on the total destruction to the vehicle and on the damage caused to near-by cars, because this type of explosives is the only one that can reach a temperature of over 2000 degrees.
4- It was also determined that the vehicle was on the move at the time of the explosion.
5- The explosion proximity reached more than 300 meters, this fact was determined when a car parked approximately this distance away from the explosion got damaged and its owner was killed.
6- The explosion was initiated from inside the vehicle, when a car passenger was tampering with an old piece of explosives which caused the rest to ignite and hence resulted in a huge explosion.
7- Human casualties and material damage were caused.
Mines and Explosives Expert
Ministry of Defence
Iraq news of the day....
Cleric and Councilman Among 14 Killed in Iraq
Monday: 14 Killed, 23 Wounded
by Margaret Griffis, May 13, 2013
A suicide car bomber killed three soldiers and wounded seven others at a Ramadicheckpoint.
Gunmen in Tarmiya killed three Sahwa members at a checkpoint.
A Riyadh councilmember was killed in a drive-by shooting, and a second one was wounded.
A prominent cleric was assassinated in Basra.
An I.E.D. killed one policeman and wounded three others in Nisfaltell.
In Qayara, a bomb killed two policemen and their driver, and it also wounded one more policeman.
Gunmen in Balad killed one policeman and wounded three more.
A bomb wounded a policeman outside his Dijla home.
An attack on a checkpoint near Qaim left four soldiers with injuries.
Three civilians were wounded in a blast in Abu Saida.
and.....
Iraqiya List leader and former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said that the protests in the Iraq provinces that are home to a Sunni majority won’t stop unless Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government resigns, thus paving a way for a reduced government to be formed to organize early general elections in which its members cannot participate.
About This Article
During a meeting with a number of Iraqi journalists at his house in the upscale neighborhood of Harthiya in Baghdad, Allawi said, “Maliki did not listen to our advice concerning the need to heed the demands of the demonstrators and attempt to implement as many as possible.” He pointed out that Maliki “went in the opposite direction and described the protesters as terrorists and Baathists.”
Allawi, a secular politician of Shiite roots, heads a list led by mostly Sunni politicians. In 2004, he served as head of the government in the framework of an agreement sponsored by the United States.
“Maliki told us that he has to listen to and contain demonstrators, but instead he described them as terrorists and Baathists, and he even attacked the demonstration squares with arms,” Allawi said.
Allawi believes that the demonstrations will not stop “as long as Maliki is in power.” He said, "The government should resign in order to form a reduced government that can oversee early elections without allowing its members to participate in these elections,” adding, “The second track of the solution may be the return to the Erbil Agreement and the achievement of a prompt partnership."
The leaders of the various Iraqi factions had held a series of meetings in Erbil in 2010, resulting in a power-sharing agreement whereby Maliki became prime minister and the Kurdish veteran politician Jalal Talabani became president. For his part, Allawi headed the council that was supposed to coordinate the process of making important decisions in the country. Allawi said Maliki disregarded this agreement, however, as soon as he received the support of the parliament for a second term.
Allawi firmly believes that Iran — the Shiite eastern neighbor of Iraq — objected to him being placed at the head of the government again. “Iran is determined to confiscate Iraq’s political decision,” said Allawi, who added that he visited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2010 during negotiations to form the Iraqi government. “Assad literally told me: ‘Iran will not allow you to take over as prime minister in Iraq; and, if you want that, you need to go to Tehran and speak to the officials there.’ I absolutely refused to go to Iran, because I do not want [to hold] a position in Iraq that is given to me by another state.”
Allawi denied that his Iraqiya List allies objected to him holding the post of president of the republic during negotiations to form a government in 2010. “All Iraqiya leaders told me that they do not mind if I take over this post, but I refused, because this will provoke our brothers, the Kurds,” he said.
Asked by Al-Monitor about the news reporting that Maliki proposed that he [Allawi] holds the post of president, with the powers of the commander in chief of the armed forces, he replied, “When we went to Erbil to sign the US-sponsored agreement to form a government led by Maliki, we worked on achieving a true partnership in managing the country.
“Maliki, Massoud Barzani and I signed a document that includes pledges to bring about this partnership; the US ambassador in Iraq was a witness on that." He added, “Once we got to parliament to bring this document into reality, the partners turned against us.”
He wondered “what kind of partnership is it, [when] Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi is accused of terrorism, Finance Minister Rafi al-Issawi is being prosecuted and thousands of the Iraqiya List’s supporters are subjected to de-Baathification [laws] or remain in prison on unfounded charges.”
Allawi said he had suggested to his Sunni partners that they work as the opposition in parliament, and do not take part in the Maliki government. Yet, he said, “they were not convinced, because their masses want to be represented in the government.”
Allawi said that he has information showing that Maliki intends to pressure the [Independent High] Electoral Commission to postpone the legislative elections, scheduled in March 2014, for six months, to address the damage — which was revealed in the recent local elections — inflicted to his popularity.
Allawi believes that the recent local election results are a clear message to the State of Law Coalition, led by Maliki, expressing “popular anger with his performance.”
The Iraqiya leader believes that the next stage will produce new political alliances. He praised the performance of the movement led by cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and the progress made by the Islamic Supreme Council, led by Ammar al-Hakim, in local elections.
On the US decision to invade Iraq, Allawi said that from the beginning, he was not with this decision, and he tried to convince Washington of the need to adopt a different policy — one based on communication with Iraqi army officers and local politicians — to achieve change in Iraq.
“We told them that even if you decide to invade, you need to prune and preserve the state institutions," he said. "Yet, they dismissed the military and allowed the de-Baathification [to happen].”
Ali Abel Sadah is a Baghdad-based writer for both Iraqi and Arab media. He has been a managing editor for local newspapers as well as a political and cultural reporter for more than 10 years.
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