Egypt - the return of the military strongman ?
http://www.debka.com/article/23166/Egypt%E2%80%99s-military-strongman-Gen-El-Sisi-will-run-for-president
This dry communiqué omitted to reflect the attempts by Hagel and Ashton to twist the Egyptian general’s arm intor releasing Morsi from detention and re-integrating the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt’s national politics.
The administration can’t do much with Gen. El-Sisi. He addresses Washington and European officials with courtesy but then goes off and does the exact opposite of what they ask of him.
His actions present Washington and its European allies with unpalatable facts:
“We have been very clear about that. We are not withdrawing,” Kerry insisted.He didn’t provide any specifics on how long the US intends to remain in Afghanistan, but President Obama has signed a deal to potentially stay through 2024.
The UN’s death toll for May was 1,045, meaning July was slightly ahead. The death tolls since late April have been dramatically higher than the past several years, and rival those of summer 2007, the tail end of the worst phase of the US occupation.
http://www.debka.com/article/23166/Egypt%E2%80%99s-military-strongman-Gen-El-Sisi-will-run-for-president
Egypt’s Defense Minister and coup leader Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will run for president – possibly before the end of the year, DEBKAfile’s Exclusive sources report. He is deep in preparations for launching his election campaign Thursday August 15 and plans to keep it short. Untroubled by criticism from the United States and Europe, he plans to restore the Egyptian army to political center stage in Cairo and keep the democratic process under control. Like former presidents Gemal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak, the defense minister will repress the Muslim Brotherhood he unseated on July 3 before cutting a deal with its leaders to permit them a restricted measure of political activity.
Tuesday July 30, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel phoned Gen. El-Sisi and, according to the official statement issued in Washington, talked about this week’s visit to Cairo by European Union Foreign Policy Coordinator Catherine Ashton and her two-hour conversation with deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi.
This dry communiqué omitted to reflect the attempts by Hagel and Ashton to twist the Egyptian general’s arm intor releasing Morsi from detention and re-integrating the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt’s national politics.
Hagel specifically pressed him to bring Muslim Brotherhood members into the interim government and give them free rein to run candidates for parliament in early 2014.
El-Sisi told Hagel and Ashton that it was up to the Muslim Brotherhood to subscribe to his roadmap for the caretaker administration which is ruling the country until elections are held. He then floored the US defense secretary by announcing he was launching a lightning campaign for his own run for the presidency in an early election. German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, who arrived in Cairo Thursday, was also taken aback.
Wednesday, the US Senate voted 86-13 in favor of a motion to block a bill calling for the suspension of US military aid to Egypt. This bill was tabled by the Obama administration to signal its displeasure with and objections to the military coup.
Nonetheless, President Obama has chosen to send to Cairo some time in August, two senior Republican Senators, John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, to try and smooth over the rough passage between Cairo and Washington.
The administration can’t do much with Gen. El-Sisi. He addresses Washington and European officials with courtesy but then goes off and does the exact opposite of what they ask of him.
His actions present Washington and its European allies with unpalatable facts:
1. The defense minister is determined to restore the Egyptian army to center stage of Egypt’s political scene – as in the days of his predecessors.
2. Egypt is reverting to the Mubarak era when the army decided who would be president.
3. The democratic process in Egypt will be controlled and overseen by the army.
4. Again like all former presidents Gemal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak, El-Sisi is bent on repressing the Muslim Brotherhood which he unseated last month until he can cut a deal with its leaders permitting them to be politically active within pre-set confines. The Brothers will be allowed to seat a small number of representatives in parliament.
5. Should the Americans or Europeans punish the military strongman by halting or cutting back on economic and military aid to Egypt, he is confident that Saudi Arabia and some oil emirates will make up the shortfall.
DEBKAfile’s Washington sources report that the administration responded Thursday by naming Robert Ford, US ambassador to Syria, as the new envoy to Cairo. Ford made a name for his unconventional methods and for reaching groups opposed to the Assad regime at the outset of the Syrian uprising.
DEBKAfile’s Washington sources report that the administration responded Thursday by naming Robert Ford, US ambassador to Syria, as the new envoy to Cairo. Ford made a name for his unconventional methods and for reaching groups opposed to the Assad regime at the outset of the Syrian uprising.
Our sources report that while the West is focusing on restoring the Muslim Brotherhood to the political center, the defense minister is wholly wrapped up in his drive for two goals: Breaking up the constant pro-Morsi Brotherhood sit-in in central Cairo, even by military force if need be; and getting his election campaign underway. He has hired Khalaf al-Adawi, a relatively unknown politician, as national campaign manager and a slogan is in the works: It will call on the general to run for president and “Finish his good work!”
His campaign managers have been set the goal of collecting 30 million signatures for his candidacy. That way, he can run on the ticket of the people’s candidate - not the army’s.
Afghanistan " President Kerry " declares US isn't leaving, What does Secretary of State Obama think ?
Kerry: US Not Withdrawing From Afghanistan
Insists US Committed to Stay Beyond 2014
by Jason Ditz, August 01, 2013
Secretary of State John Kerry was the latest in the Obama Administration to undercut claims that a “zero option” was being seriously considered, insisting today that the US was absolutely not going to leave by the end of 2014.
“We have been very clear about that. We are not withdrawing,” Kerry insisted.He didn’t provide any specifics on how long the US intends to remain in Afghanistan, but President Obama has signed a deal to potentially stay through 2024.
Kerry’s comments echoed similar statements from the Pentagon, which insisted that they didn’t even consider leaving a real option. This is in contrast to official claims from the White House that the “zero option” is real.
Many analysts believe that the “zero option” is simply a ploy to try to coax better terms out of the Karzai government, though since Karzai’s term in office ends in early 2014, he may not be willing to budge on key issues.
Libya - allegations of gun running at Benghazi ? And about Benghazi being a phony scandal.......
BREAKING>>> GOP Rep: Obama WH Is Hiding Benghazi Survivors AND CHANGING THEIR NAMES (Video)
Posted by Jim Hoft on Thursday, August 1, 2013, 9:40 PM
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) was on with Greta Van Susteren tonight to discuss the Obama scandals.
This came after Jake Tapper at CNN broke the news today that there were “dozens” of CIA operatives on the ground in Benghazi on 9-11 when the consulate came under attack and the agency is going to great lengths to make sure whatever it was doing, remains a secret.
Gowdy told Greta the Obama Administration is hiding the survivors, dispersing them around the country, AND changing their names.
“Including changing names, creating aliases. Stop and think what things are most calculated to get at the truth? Talk to people with first-hand knowledge. What creates the appearance and perhaps the reality of a cover-up? Not letting us talk with people who have the most amount of information, dispersing them around the country and changing their names.”
And, at the same time Obama is hiding the survivors around the country he’s calling Benghazi a ‘phony’ scandal.
Via Greta Van Susteren:
Via Greta Van Susteren:
This sounds a bit like criminal behavior, huh?
Exclusive: Dozens of CIA operatives on the ground during Benghazi attack
CNN has uncovered exclusive new information about what is allegedly happening at the CIA, in the wake of the deadly Benghazi terror attack.
Four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, were killed in the assault by armed militants last September 11 in eastern Libya.
Sources now tell CNN dozens of people working for the CIA were on the ground that night, and that the agency is going to great lengths to make sure whatever it was doing, remains a secret.
CNN has learned the CIA is involved in what one source calls an unprecedented attempt to keep the spy agency's Benghazi secrets from ever leaking out.
Read: Analysis: CIA role in Benghazi underreported
Read: Analysis: CIA role in Benghazi underreported
Since January, some CIA operatives involved in the agency's missions in Libya, have been subjected to frequent, even monthly polygraph examinations, according to a source with deep inside knowledge of the agency's workings.
The goal of the questioning, according to sources, is to find out if anyone is talking to the media or Congress.
It is being described as pure intimidation, with the threat that any unauthorized CIA employee who leaks information could face the end of his or her career.
In exclusive communications obtained by CNN, one insider writes, "You don't jeopardize yourself, you jeopardize your family as well."
Another says, "You have no idea the amount of pressure being brought to bear on anyone with knowledge of this operation."
"Agency employees typically are polygraphed every three to four years. Never more than that," said former CIA operative and CNN analyst Robert Baer.
In other words, the rate of the kind of polygraphs alleged by sources is rare.
"If somebody is being polygraphed every month, or every two months it's called an issue polygraph, and that means that the polygraph division suspects something, or they're looking for something, or they're on a fishing expedition. But it's absolutely not routine at all to be polygraphed monthly, or bi-monthly," said Baer.
CIA spokesman Dean Boyd asserted in a statement that the agency has been open with Congress.
"The CIA has worked closely with its oversight committees to provide them with an extraordinary amount of information related to the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi," the statement said.
"CIA employees are always free to speak to Congress if they want," the statement continued. "The CIA enabled all officers involved in Benghazi the opportunity to meet with Congress. We are not aware of any CIA employee who has experienced retaliation, including any non-routine security procedures, or who has been prevented from sharing a concern with Congress about the Benghazi incident."
Among the many secrets still yet to be told about the Benghazi mission, is just how many Americans were there the night of the attack.
A source now tells CNN that number was 35, with as many as seven wounded, some seriously.
While it is still not known how many of them were CIA, a source tells CNN that 21 Americans were working in the building known as the annex, believed to be run by the agency.
The lack of information and pressure to silence CIA operatives is disturbing to U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, whose district includes CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
"I think it is a form of a cover-up, and I think it's an attempt to push it under the rug, and I think the American people are feeling the same way," said the Republican.
"We should have the people who were on the scene come in, testify under oath, do it publicly, and lay it out. And there really isn't any national security issue involved with regards to that," he said.
Wolf has repeatedly gone to the House floor, asking for a select committee to be set-up, a Watergate-style probe involving several intelligence committee investigators assigned to get to the bottom of the failures that took place in Benghazi, and find out just what the State Department and CIA were doing there.
More than 150 fellow Republican members of Congress have signed his request, and just this week eight Republicans sent a letter to the new head of the FBI, James Comey, asking that he brief Congress within 30 days.
In the aftermath of the attack, Wolf said he was contacted by people closely tied with CIA operatives and contractors who wanted to talk.
Then suddenly, there was silence.
"Initially they were not afraid to come forward. They wanted the opportunity, and they wanted to be subpoenaed, because if you're subpoenaed, it sort of protects you, you're forced to come before Congress. Now that's all changed," said Wolf.
Lawmakers also want to about know the weapons in Libya, and what happened to them.
Speculation on Capitol Hill has included the possibility the U.S. agencies operating in Benghazi were secretly helping to move surface-to-air missiles out of Libya, through Turkey, and into the hands of Syrian rebels.
It is clear that two U.S. agencies were operating in Benghazi, one was the State Department, and the other was the CIA.
The State Department told CNN in an e-mail that it was only helping the new Libyan government destroy weapons deemed "damaged, aged or too unsafe retain," and that it was not involved in any transfer of weapons to other countries.
But the State Department also clearly told CNN, they "can't speak for any other agencies."
The CIA would not comment on whether it was involved in the transfer of any weapons.
http://www.libyaherald.com/2013/08/02/tensions-between-security-forces-difference-of-opinions-on-benghazi-security/
Benghazi security forces in row with Interior Ministry
By Ahmed Elumami.
Benghazi, 1 August 2013:
A bitter row over security failures in Benghazi has broken out between the city’s security forces and the Ministry of Interior, in which the minister has been described as “inefficient” and “clinically dead”.
The dispute erupted after a government spokesman insisted that despite the assassinations and bombings targeting members of the security forces in Benghazi, the overall level of security was at a “good level” thanks to the ministry’s own planning.
Interior Ministry spokesman Rami Kaal told the Libya Herald that during his inspection tour of eastern Libya earlier this week, interior minister Mohamed Sheikh had been encouraged by the way in which members of the security forces had increased their vigilance and were ready to deal with any incident.
However, a Libya Herald reporter did not see any security men when he took pictures after the Court House explosion last Monday. Instead the scene of the attack was surrounded by residents of the Sooq El-Hoot neighbourhood. They were trying to organise the traffic and prevent people from approaching the scene of the blast.
Kaal went on to explain that the Interior Ministry had produced a security plan that was supposed to be carried out by the Benghazi Security Directorate. He added that any short-comings in the execution of this plan should be addressed by Sadeq Muftah Ellawati, since this May, Benghazi’s police chief.
Kaal’s comments have drawn an angry response from the Benghazi Joint Security Room, where spokesman Mohamed Hejazi told this newspaper: “In my own opinion, the so-called the interior minister Mohamed Sheikh is clinically dead, because he does not run the ministry efficiently or maybe there is a factor that controls him.”
Hejazi added that Joint Security Room personnel were disappointed that they had not been given either the numbers or the equipment with which to secure Benghazi. No support he said, had been received from the government or the Congress. What the local security teams have been achieving, he said, was due entirely to their own efforts and determination. However they simply could not respond to the level of violent incidents that were taking place within a 24 hour period.
Libya Herald reporters have however seen that even after last Saturday’s mass-breakout of 1,200 inmates from Kuafiya prison, the east and western gates of the city were for some time unguarded by any security personnel.
For his part the head of the National Security Committee of the Congress, Abu Baker Rujbani told the Libya Herald that his members were still receiving reports from the Interior Ministry, asserting that the security situation in Benghazi has been controlled very well and there were immediate responses to incidents.
“Personally, “ said Rujbani, “I believe that Mohamed Sheikh is not qualified enough to be Interior Minister and/or he is controlled by unknown groups to destabilise security in Libya.”
Recent unrest must be addressed by government with action and accountability – LFJL
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Libya oil production down 70 percent – Arusi
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Iraq death dealing hits a high in July.......
UN: Over 1,000 Iraqis Kill in July, Highest Toll in Years
2013 Already Tops Entire Year of 2012
by Jason Ditz, August 01, 2013
The UN mission to Iraq has released its official figures for violence in the month of July today, putting the toll at 1,057 dead and 2,326 wounded. This is almost exactly in line with the death toll for May, and the highest toll since 2007.
The UN’s death toll for May was 1,045, meaning July was slightly ahead. The death tolls since late April have been dramatically higher than the past several years, and rival those of summer 2007, the tail end of the worst phase of the US occupation.
July brings the annual death toll of 2013 to 4,137, putting it already ahead of the entire year of 2012, which was itself the highest toll since 2008. 2013 seems set to top 2008 within a few months, if the trend continues.
Violence in Iraq surged starting in late April, with a violent government crackdown on Sunni protesters. Anger at the crackdown, along with spillover violence from neighbouring Syria, has brought Iraq to the brink of another civil war.
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