The Obscenity of Humanitarian Warfare

“Humanitarian Bombs,” Anthony Freda Art

By: Peter Chamberlin

America and NATO have done a very bad thing, a perplexing thing–they have blurred the lines between war and peace, by turning “humanitarian intervention” into a tool of aggression.  It is now logical to view all American humanitarian aid, in  all of its forms, as the first stage of aggression, America’s foot in the door to meddle in the affairs of national government.  On a sliding scale, with national subversion (under the cover of humanitarian intervention) on one end, and full-scale superpower “blitzkrieg” on the other, we can see the outlines of the modern distortion of humanitarian aid into a tool of war-making  in a simple line, depicting levels of American military aggression.

All aspects of the graph are describing the same phenomenon, the process of hostile regime change, using the State Dept. and all the sub-organizations that it has spawned, as tools of subversion available to undermine those “rogue” governments who dare to oppose domination by the US military.   NATO uses the chain of NGOs under its control, with those State-controlled private organizations (non-governmental organizations), to undermine governments slowly, though noisily, as we have witnessed in all of the “Arab Spring” revolutions.  For those governments which represent tougher “nuts” to crack, like Pakistan and Iran, “limited warfare” is used, varying from low-level combat to intensive psychological operations.  For even tougher regimes than this, such as Yemen, Syria, or Libya, proxy forces are used underneath a Western air shield, to wage full-scale war, under guidance from NATO tacticians.

Overseeing it all is the international intelligence-gathering web of drone and satellite surveillance which is operated by the CIA and NSA, with full assistance from every Western intelligence agency, primarily for tracking and killing the “enemies” of the United States.   Most of those who have been designated as “enemies” or even “enemy non-combatants” have never taken-up arms against US or allied forces.  Their only offense has been to oppose American interventionary forces, or to represent some threat to the mission, with the mission being that of establishing US military dominance.

To those in charge of these too big to imagine operations, what would it matter if a few Russians had to be taken out of the way, to preserve the integrity of the mission, especially if they presented a serious threat of exposure?  The case can be made that the mysterious elimination of two prominent Russians have been steps in a covert intelligence war intended to unify the world behind the American war of aggression in the Middle East.  The unresolved deaths of Alexander Pikayev (the Russian strategic weapons expert) and Gen. Yuri Ivanov (head of GRU Russian military intelligence of the Caucasus region and Central Asia) were, in fact, both murders, committed by Western intelligence agents.  Other acts of violence may be written-off as Russian retaliation for the hits, or other counter-moves could have been intended to thwart US moves behind the scenes.

Something is very rotten in Malta, judging by the number of unsolved deaths on that island over the last couple of years, although no one seems to have noticed the smell.  The reason that no one has seemed to notice is the far greater stench from two “humanitarian wars” (advertised as “wars of liberation”), that has been rising-up and blanketing the entire eastern Mediterranean with an acrid smoke that lingers in the nostrils.  All of the conflicts that American forces have been engaged in have been advertised as wars of liberation from tyranny.   Everyone knows that the philanthropic Americans are only trying their best to bring “democracy” to the world, despite all the proof that these wars have caused even greater misery and subservience to new and different forms of oppression.

I have made the case for these strong accusations based on informed conjecture, but more upon a Mediterranean timeline which has come together while researching this paper.  The Google map which I have created and posted below pinpoints the many locations contained in the Mediterranean timeline.

The international significance of the string of murders compiled here comes primarily from two of the Russians killed, one a strategic nuclear analyst on the island of Malta, Alexander Pikayev, and the other a fishy smelling drowning case off the coast of Syria, of Russian Gen. Yuri Ivanov (chief of military intelligence for Caucasus), who allegedly died while swimming with comrades.  Reports that have come out on the investigation of Ivanov’s death are understandably limited by the Russian government, while similar reports on the Pikayev investigation have tended to blur with local reporting on a string of unsolved brutal murders that have been committed on Malta since Pikayev’s death, all of them near the site of his probable murder.   Another element of suspicion that has arisen comes from another unexplained murder at about the same time, that of of British spy Garland Williams, who, like Alexander Pikayev, was found naked and dead, on Aug. 23, 2010, both were locked inside their apartments, but the British spy was found stuffed inside a tote bag.

It is normal spook policy to cover-up their hits with torrid sex innuendo in the Western media, thereby tainting any hard facts which might arise, despite their attempts to enforce press blackouts (SEE:  MI6 dirty secrets.. why do sex games appear to feature in so many spy deaths?).  A majority of the unsolved murders that I have cited in this article have had a repulsive sexual taint attached to them–many of the victims were found naked, some were found covered in multiple “love bites,” others with puncture wounds on every part of their body, others, like the MI6 spy were found in the midst of incriminating by bondage and gay evidence left at the murder scene.  Often the press cites “experts” who have shown-up at the scene of the crime to add even juicier, nastier elements, such as the Malta case where the mother is the primary suspect, alleged to have had a sexual relationship with her daughter before smothering her.

All of the murders have received spotty reporting, as they have become even more obscured by the rising smoke from the horrible events around them, happening simultaneously in Syria and in Libya.  The twin conflicts have also helped to flush awareness of other big events, such as multiple pipeline explosions all over the region, massive ammo dump explosions, even the first terrorist attempt to sink an oil supertanker in the Persian Gulf.

These are eventful times that we live in.

In my opinion, if the truth about these events ever comes out, we will learn that both Russians were murdered by the same people, very likely for very similar reasons.  After Alexander Pikayev returned from Iran’s anti-nuclear summit in April, he represented a threat to the upcoming mission against Libya and Syria, perhaps not because of his Iran-friendly opposition to Imperial moves, but more likely simply because he lived on Malta, which was slated to serve in both pre-war and post-war operations.   Malta was a primary trans-shipment point, because of the massive cargo facilities across the island at Freeport.  Alexander lived in a location which might be considered as “ground zero” for these different phases of the wars on Libya and Syria.  His apartment was within ten miles of the pre-war staging area at Valletta and the maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) Centre (which had ran point, along with Italy, for NATO’s confrontation with Libya over responsibility for refugees).   Malta was such a vital link to the “humanitarian” support angle that Hillary Clinton even thanked the Prime Minister for the great supporting role that Malta had played as a primary shipping point and for serving on the front-line of the refugee problem.

“Malta’s unique geography, history and expertise will make it a valued partner in this work,” Clinton said.

The US and EU leaders would have considered having a staunch Russian  anti-American writer and lecturer in place to report on the extensive mobilization efforts as an unacceptable risk, especially when so much effort was being expended to give the appearance of a “spontaneous revolution.”   Alexander Pikayev would have been equated to an “enemy non-combatant,” subject to elimination under Obama’s new directives.  I believe that Pikayev was eliminated by assassins working under either US or NATO directives.

Alexander Pikayev had also just finished attending the Nuclear Energy for All, Nuclear Weapons for No One conference in Tehran from April 17 to 19.  Iran’s PressTV put videos of the conference round table discussion on YouTube, Pikayev’s excerpts are included below—

Three days later, on Apr 22, 2010, Carniegie Moscow Center  for Non-proliferation Studies (CNS), (which he co-directed) released a statement condemning the behavior of the Tehran Times for:

“misquoting Dr. Alexander Pikayev’s remarks, during the recent disarmament conference in Iran. The remarks attributed to him were taken out of context and edited so as to distort their intent and bear little correspondence to what he actually said. Dr. Pikayev and CNS deplore the unprofessional conduct of the Tehran Times and disavow the misleading publication.”

During this crucial time of building tensions between the EU and Libya, events would begin to unfold which could have given the Russian researcher plenty of incentive to start looking beneath the surface of the many apparently unrelated events, for some sort of linkage between calamitous events and signs of the great storm which was building in the middle of the Mediterranean.

During the build-up to war against Libya, a series of confrontations took place between the EU and Qaddafi, over refugee policy and security agreements, as a prelude to further binding economic agreements waiting to be signed with Qaddafi.  Through these confrontations/tests, the stage was being set to make a case at the UN for “humanitarian intervention” in Libya.  This gambit centered on the EU Frontex security agency and attempts to enforce previously signed treaties concerning the treatment of refugees and security arrangements for Europe’s southern border (SEE:  Frontex and Other EU Agencies to Coordinate Maritime Surveillance ).  If Muammar would just be a good boy for a little while and help to halt the flow of African refugees pouring out of Africa, heading for Europe, then European leaders were ready to normalize relations with  the rogue African-Arab leader and to accept Libya into the community of nations.

On March 29, 2010, it was reported that Malta would no longer plug this Mediterranean hole in Europe’s southern flank (SEE:  Malta Will Not Host Future Frontex Operations), because of the wording of the new charter, which was a binding agreeing that ships rescuing boat people must deliver them to that navy’s country of origin, instead of repatriating them.

On 29 APR 2010, Malta announced that it would not host the upcoming  Operation Chronos exercises in the Med, as planned, offering a more acceptable rationale for their decision:

“that the decision not to host Frontex is not because of the new guidelines, but is due to Malta’s view that there is no longer a need for Operation Chronos because of the success of the Italy-Libya migration agreement…following the introduction of joint patrols by Libya and Italy last year, the number of illegal immigrants reaching Malta has dropped significantly. We feel that, as long as this operation remains in place, there is no real need for another anti-migration mission on behalf of the EU.”

May 12, 2010, an Airliner crashes while landing in Libya; 104 people feared dead.  Did Libyan rebels or Western Special Forces units supporting them fire a hand-held SAM at the plane making a landing at the airport in Tripoli?

On June 6 and 7, European doubts about Qaddafi really came to a head, over the maritime surveillance/boat people issue, when a rubber dinghy showed-up inside Malta’s search-and-rescue zone, thereby testing the wills of both Italian and Maltese governments (as much as it did Qaddafi), over the fate of twenty African refugees, who were bouncing about on the high seas, for nearly two days, as Malta, Italy and Qaddafi squabbled over who would take responsibility and send a naval rescue vessel to Italy, in order to save the stranded Libyan boat people, in a manner which would allow Europe to “keep “the little buggers” out.   It mattered not to any of the contesting governments that there were three women and one 8 year old boy on that raft all night, for two nights and a day; all that really mattered was the precedent which was being set over ultimate responsibility for the unwanted “useless eaters.”

Refugees were sent back to Libya by Italy after they were rescued at sea in Malta’s search-and-rescue waters in (June 6, 7, 2010). Here, the exhausted refugees wait to hear their fate, in Tripoli (photo, M Alwash/UNHCR)—

On 8 June 2010, UNHCR says ordered to close office in Libya.

Recriminations began to flow from all sides, all of them comparable to the following UN disclaimer, meant to cover the asses of the UN bureaucrats in the ensuing diplomatic melee.–

“(UNHCR) and other bodies received distress calls on Sunday evening and information was passed along to Maltese and Italian maritime authorities, and it is unclear which of the two European nations were responsible in launching rescue operations.After holdups on both Sunday and Monday, the vessel – whose passengers included 3 women and an 8-year-old child – was only rescued late yesterday by Libyan ships.“While the boat in distress was in or near Malta’s search-and-rescue area and around 40 nautical miles only from Italy, it took some 24 hours for the rescue to take place,” said UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming.. ..UNHCR is concerned about the access of Eritreans fleeing their country to international protection in Libya, which has no domestic asylum system and has not signed on to the 1951 Refugee Convention.”

On June 16, 2010,   Alexander Pikayev (one of Russia’s foremost arms control experts) was found dead on the floor of the tenth level of his upscale apartment building on St. Paul’s Bay, on his 48th birthday (SEE: Top Russian Nuclear Weapons and Disarmament Expert Found Dead, Naked, Skull Crushed-In).   At first glance, this case might seem self-explanatory, since the door was locked from the inside.  But as the facts slowly rolled out, the strange aspects of the case soon became apparent– he was found lying in the floor naked, with a severe wound to his head, nothing was taken, even his computer was still there, opened to some technical pages.  Conjecture floated the theory that the dent in his skull matched a visible dent in the door jamb, but that analysis was later rejected since the two dents didn’t actually match.   How could it have been a homicide, when it was ten floors up and the door was bolted from the inside?  Judging from the following photo which I believe to be his building that was shown on YouTube from the MaltaStar report on the investigation, it might not be as hard as it would seem.

 

On July 28, 2010, the Japanese supertanker M. Star reported that a large explosion had occurred on the huge ship, while transiting the Persian Gulf.  One week later, on August 6, Major-General Yuri Yevgenyevich Ivanov disappeared  at Latakia Governorate, Syria, which was approximately 40 north of Tartus.

Two days later, a body alleged to be that of the general turned-up on the beach of Çevlik, Turkey, in the border province of Hatay, some forty miles north.  The general had last been seen visiting the building site for the new Russian military base in the Syrian coastal city Tartus. After his visit he supposedly left for a meeting with Syrian intelligence agents, but never showed-up.   One or two reports alleged that he had drowned while drunk, frollicking in the warm Mediterranean waters with some military spy types.  The fact that there are multiple versions of this event in both the Russian press and mainstream Western media is a clear sign that someone wishes to obscure the truth about the general’s death.  Usually, a sign that someone in authority is “leaking” false reports, is the extremity of the claims that are being made, in this case, there were no sexual overtones in the meager reporting that was done and most of the apparent anomalies in the reports might not be as extreme as they might seem.   A submerged man might drift 40 miles up the Mediterranean in just two days, and he might have been recovered still wearing the Russian cross necklace that he had on in the beginning.  Russians are quite famous for their love of vodka.

“The mean circulation map constructed with the drifter data (Fig. 2) shows a swift coastal current all the way around the Levantine Sea (from the Nile River delta to Crete) with mean velocities reaching 40 cm/s.”  (  Surface Circulation in the Northeastern Mediterranean (NEMED) Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale).

According to this conversion site, the value given converts to something less than one mile per hr.  By these measurements it might be possible that a body could drift more than forty miles in forty-eight hours.

It is a sign that Big Events are happening, whenever obvious whoppers are being dreamed-up and served to us on the nightly news, creating a smokescreen, covering-up the the truth about the Deep Events, while the news about them is still fresh.   This enables them to turn news reports of serious portents into leering peep shows, that have been especially tailored for the pulp fiction crowd.  Approximately one week after Gen. Ivanov died, on or about Aug.14, British analyst Gareth Williams disappeared, turning-up about one week later, on Aug. 20, when his decomposing body was found in the bathtub of his London apartment.  It was reported that he too was naked, perhaps dismembered, stuffed into a small tote bag in an apartment overflowing with gay bondage types of pornography and also allegedly a large woman’s wardrobe in his sizes in his closet.  These types of reports flooded the world from the British press, in a blatant attempt to preemptively discredit any intelligence which might have  been leaked about the secret exploits of their man, Mr. Williams.   On August 11 he had allegedly returned to London after finishing a six-week working visit to the NSA in the US.  He was there as part of a contingent of UK spies sent to a computer intelligence conference, known as the Black Hat.

In my mind, it is a real education seeing these spy agencies at each others’ throats.  I find it impossible to judge which is a worse omen, the suspicious death of Russia’s chief military intelligence officer (GRU) over all of Central Asia and the Caucasus region, or the vile murder and subsequent snow job given us over the British MI6 analyst, in a London apartment, which had  previously been used for spying on local Russian diplomats.

After these individuals were no longer on the scene, the militant interventionists managed to throw-off all restraints upon their ambitious plans for the Middle East and Africa.  Because the Americans and NATO were able to pull-off their deception of “humanitarian intervention” (which was actually just a massive psychological operation disguised as aid to refugee camps), they were able to pre-position the first wave of the invasion, behind Libyan front lines in the refugee camps.  Contingency plans were put into play there to open supply lines into the planned “humanitarian warfare” zones,  first in Libya, then in Syria and beyond.  An international refugee rescue network was brought together to service the international “rescue” efforts to wars that had not even begun yet.    World bodies are persuaded to support this effort that is allegedly for the purpose of saving the victims of tyrannical regimes, whether they be refugees adrift upon the high seas, or they are still barricaded within their own homes, cowering in fear of the dictators and their secret police who brutally deny them their God-given inalienable rights.  Make no mistakes, the humanitarian “war relief” preceded the actual wars in both Libya and Syria by as much as two years.  The supply pipelines being erected in 2009 -2010 could move military materiel just as easily as they could transport food or medical supplies.

In Qaddafi’s case, he was called upon to play a role in a war scenario played-out in peacetime, by accepting responsibility for marine rescues of all the refugees fleeing Libya and those who escape from other countries and transit through Libya.  If he had bought into the role that the European Imperialists had planned for him, he would have reaped untold economic and geo-strategic benefits, instead of tasting the deadly sting from a hail of 9mm bullets.  This scenario was made possible through the callous abuse of diplomatic double-speak to maneuver the Libyan government into a corner at the UN–in front of the UN Security Council, a  place where the use of international forces for war-making is authorized.  A crisis situation was brought about because of the wars raging south of Libya, in Somalia and Sudan, which produced a steady stream of desperate people set on a path pointing northward to southern Europe.  The dangers represented in this scenario were sufficient motivation for the people and the governments of Europe to move them to support a humanitarian war to liberate Libya and Syria, along with all of that luscious oil, while simultaneously solving Europe’s immigration problem.

On Nov. 14.  EPC 10 Kicks Off in Malta ( Eurasia Partnership Capstone 2010), PACEVILLE, Malta —

“’Armed Forces of Malta is happy to welcome such an opportunity as it fits in perfectly with the aims and objectives of our Maritime Safety and Security Training Center,” said Xeureb. “This island has served as the crossroads for numerous maritime forces and merchant men throughout history. I am confident that the wealth of knowledge our instructors have gained through advanced training and many years of operational duties will serve the participants well throughout the duration of this course.’

EPC 10 is sponsored by Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet, and is the first edition to take place in Malta.”

LUQA, Malta (Nov. 10, 2011) – Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III(center), commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, and Allied Joint Forces Command Naples, and Maltese Brig. Gen. Martin Xuereb (left), commander of the Armed Forces of Malta, speak with Vanessa Frazier (right), director of Defense Matters, at the Armed Forces of Malta headquarters while visiting Luqa. During the visit, Locklear met with Xuereb and Frazier.

(U.S. Navy photo by MC2 Stephen Oleksiak)

On November 19 and 20, 2010, the 2010 Lisbon summit was held.   This  get-together of the heads of state and heads of governments within NATO was held in Lisbon, Portugal.

On Dec. 15, 2010 SECNAV Ray Mabus began a seven-day, six-country trip with a first stop in Valletta, Malta.     The secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) concluded his tour on  Dec. 22,  after visiting the governments of Malta, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Italy and Algeria.  There is no way to know the topics of their discussions, but all of them, except for Afghanistan would soon be on the edge of the new war theaters, opening-up in the Med region.  Two days later, on the 17th of December,  the revolution really began to heat-up in Tunisia, with the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Sidi Bouzid.  Witnesses later reported the first wave of  rioting breaking-out in the Tunisian town.

By 14 January, 2011, the Tunisian Government was overthrown.   Public demonstrations across Syria began on 26 January 2011.  All those State Dept. internships in social agitation were beginning to pay-off, in a big way.

On January 31, 2011, a string of murders began in the general vicinity of Pikayev’s apartment building.  A Russian woman named Yulia Kalinina, was found dead under suspicious circumstances in her Xemxija apartment    She had allegedly been dead for three or four days.

 

 It was reported that the victim had an extraordinarily high blood alcohol level  and was covered with thirty or more bite marks.  To increase the creepiness factor of this case, it was also claimed that the victim’s mother was the killer and that she also was covered in strange bite marks (more than 50), both victims’ bite marks matched the other’s teeth imprints.  This unsolved murder mystery may have been totally unrelated to the Pikayev killing, but  they were both Russians, and the victims lived across St. Paul’s Bay from each other.

On 3 February, a “Day of Rage” was called for in Syria posted on social media sites Facebook and Twitter on February 4th or 5th.

Feb 15, 2011, the Libyan Working Group  issued a Call for Libyan Revolution on YouTube.

I-Go Aid was set up  in late February 2011 by the Libyan Working group, by a group of Libyan and Maltese nationals.  It was officially registered in Malta in March by the Libyan Working Group (LWG), which is part of the Ederfan* group, Inc.   Ederfan is a Ederfan is a pro Democracy, Human Rights not for profit organization and cultural advocacy group, based in the USA.

Feb 15/16, 2011 – A riot in Benghazi was triggered by the arrest of human rights activist Fethi Tarbel.

Feb. 17 – Activists designate an actual day of rage.

18 February, Active resistance to the government began in Benghazi after three days of protests turned violent. Security forces had killed fourteen protesters the previous day.

Feb. 24 – Anti-Libyan government militias, led by foreign Special Forces advisers took control of Misrata, after evicting forces loyal to Gaddafi.

Feb. 26 – The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Gaddafi and his family,

Mar 17, 2011 Security Council Approves a ‘No-Fly Zone’ over Libya as a measure to protect civilians, who were allegedly being “massacred” by Qaddafi’s forces.

Mar 18, 2011  two Libyan air force jets landed in Malta  and their pilots asked for political asylum.

10 April 2011, A 36-year-old man from Chad and resident of Marsa was found dead floating face down in St George’s Bay, St Julian’s, Malta.

April 29, 2011, another  floating corpse was found in Bugibba—-“The corpse is probably that of an Englishman.”

May 25, 2011, a massive explosion at Abadan oil refinery in Iran during a visit by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

June 4, 2011, a decomposing corpse was found in Bugibba, belonging to a Bulgarian woman, Irena  Bilyanova Abadzhieva.  The body had 40 stab wounds, which “covered almost every inch of the body”—she worked at St. Julians near Valletta harbor.   A Turkish national, is wanted for the fatal stabbing.

On July 7, a huge explosion takes place at an ammo dump explosion in Abadan, Turkmenistan.

Just four days later, on Jul 11, 2011, another  massive explosion rips through another  ammunition dump, this one is in Cyprus.

This stockpile of explosives and assorted weaponry detonated at Evangelos Florakis naval base, where it was being stored since it was seized from the Russian cargo ship Monchegorsk.

The blast killed 12 people, including the commander of the Greek Cypriot navy, along with the commander of the naval base.  The head of the Army resigned in protest, after the disaster.

RAF Conducts Its Libyan Operations from Cyprus, Twenty Miles From Base Explosion

Oct. 5, 2011 Russia China veto UN res against Syria.

October 13, 2011, Libya and Nato sign air corridors agreement in Malta

Oct 18, 2011 –Clinton thanked Malta for serving as a key staging area for relief and evacuation efforts in Libya and has taken in numerous Libyan refugees

20/04/2012   Dr Margaret Mifsud, lawyer found dead——A Libyan man – Dr Margaret Mifsud’s partner – has been arrested—- Margaret Mifsud found dead at Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, a small Maltese village situated between the limits near St. Paul’s Bay.

On April 27, 2012, just south of Tripoli, the Lebanese Navy intercepted a ship carrying weapons from Libya To Syrian terrorists

What does it all mean?  Think how much simpler it would have been to supply the Syrian rebel effort from Cyprus, instead of having to ship weapons all the way from Libya.  I think that the logic in this statement can be applied to the entire story that I have just laid-out for you–It would have been much easier to supply the insurgencies in both Libya and Syria from existing stockpiles of the types of Soviet-era weaponry that all sides were accustomed to, perhaps one in Cyprus, or even from one faraway in Turkmenistan.  It is possible that Gen. Ivanov was killed because he learned about the impending “humanitarian wars” about to be unleashed in the Mediterranean by first learning about weapons transfers being made.   It is also possible that he discovered what was happening in the neighboring Middle Eastern region through evidence uncovered in his own district.  What if he had discovered a booming trade in Turkmen weaponry on the black market, being conducted either by theft or the connivance of the Turkmen government?  Blowing-up the weapons dump at Abadan may have been a move to cover someone’s tracks, or perhaps it was a GRU move to put an end to surreptitious weapons transfers to Libya or Syria.  The same thing could be said for the cache of weapons sitting on Cyprus.

There is no real hard evidence that any of these crimes were committed, but they are all swimming in a sea of circumstantial evidence, hinting at multiple crimes perhaps committed by great powers.

peter.chamberlin@hotmail.com

Rumors Out of Uzbekistan About Prisoners Seizing A Train

Urgent! The prisoners rebelled in Tashkent, the carriage in a railway car, used guns, there are victims

Ferghana

May 4, 2012 on the outskirts of the capital of Uzbekistan in the escorting of prisoners in a railway train, there was an emergency, there are victims.

Details of what happened while not exactly known. As the “Fergana” an anonymous source in Tashkent, near the town of Yakkasaray Friday afternoon began shooting machine guns. To place immediately were brought to police units have cordoned off a fairly large area, just holding hands.

“Here – said” Fergana “witness the evening of the day – in front of the store” basket “(a reference point – the bridge to the airport), pass under the bridge railway. The shots lasted very long. Later, it was possible to see the body on a platform near the train, someone ran out, then again shooting the prisoners fell. Then he drove armored personnel carriers and began to shoot at cars. It is already dark. Cordon lifted. What is the prisoners, I can certainly be wrong, but they were in the same uniforms, almost everything. ”

According to unconfirmed reports received from anonymous sources in the power structures of the city, during the transport of prisoners attacked the guards and took the train and several cars. The revolt was severely depressed intelligence. The number of victims is unknown, but in the photograph provided to us by readers, can be seen at least three or four bodies lying on the platform.

Today, “Fergana” unable to confirm yesterday’s information from alternative sources. According to recent reports, is now a train, which transported, presumably prisoners and stands on the platform. Near the train a lot of police operative-investigative activities.

Official sources in Tashkent, as usual, kept silent about this emergency. “Fergana” asks readers to tell the editor if you know anything further about this incident. Write to us at ferghana@fergananews.com or via the contact form on this page .

The international news agency “Fergana”

Tajikistan has asked the EU to help strengthen the border with Afghanistan

[So far, Tajikistan has asked both the US and Russia (and now the EU) for help gaining control over its mountainous borders.  From the extreme nature of the task, it is little wonder that Rahmon’s government is searching high and low for answers.]

“Over the past 11 years, thanks to support from international donors, the efforts of law enforcement and special agencies of Tajikistan in the country seized 74 tonnes of drugs. Of this amount, 31 tons is a potent drug – heroin, “

Payrav Chorshanbiyev

Director of the Agency for Drug Control under the President of Tajikistan Rustam Nazarov, the European Union has asked the country to provide assistance in strengthening the Tajik-Afghan border.

“Tajikistan is a kind of shield for the transit of drugs from Afghanistan via the northern route to Russia and Europe. Today a lot of talk about the withdrawal of the 2014 anti-terrorism NATO forces from Afghanistan and the subsequent calls from that country. Therefore, we want European countries drew attention to it, to assist us in strengthening the border with Afghanistan, “- Nazarov said May 4 during the second took place in Dushanbe meeting of the European Union Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, and Tajikistan.

According to him, strengthening the Tajik-Afghan border – is, first of all, building new outposts in remote mountain districts of Khatlon region, as well as the equipping of these outposts of modern technical means.

Another important issue, said the head of the DCA is to provide technical resources for law enforcement agencies that lead the fight against drug trafficking, especially those tools that are used in carrying out search operations.

Finally, Nazarov said, it is a matter of training, in particular the issue of retraining existing law enforcement officers.

“We offer based on the Canine Training Center, which officially will earn at the end of this month, a training center for personnel departments of the republic, which counteract drug trafficking,” – said the head of the DCA.

He stressed that the assistance provided by the international community in Tajikistan, including the European Union, gives some results.

“Over the past 11 years, thanks to support from international donors, the efforts of law enforcement and special agencies of Tajikistan in the country seized 74 tonnes of drugs. Of this amount, 31 tons is a potent drug – heroin, “- he said.

Nazarov added that “if they have reached 31 tons up to consumer countries, it would be enough to make drug users to 40 million people.”

Europe will help resolve the Tajik-Uzbek dispute over Rogun

Payrav Chorshanbiyev

Europe is interested in the fact that the Tajik-Uzbek water-energy problem as soon as possible has been resolved. This was stated by Chairman of the Delegation of the European Parliament in Tajikistan Bertalotstsi Paulo on Friday, May 4, at a press conference in Dushanbe on the results of the second meeting of the Inter-parliamentary Cooperation Committee of the European Union and Tajikistan.

“The European Parliament thanks to the initiatives being taken in the course of our meetings will take all possible measures to attract as much attention to this issue – said Bertalotstsi. – We intend to inform the foreign ministers of the EU, has been determined that the political initiative in this matter. The initiative would be to convene a conference with the participation of all interested countries to consider and resolve the problem. ”

Head of Delegation of European Parliament considers that Europe in its political will and economic interest is interested in that issue was discussed, and was given the appropriate response.

Meanwhile, according to the first vice-speaker of the lower house of parliament RT co-Tajik side at the meeting Amirsho Miralieva, the Uzbek government always claims that the Vakhsh River, on which the Rogun, is a transboundary river, and the erection of any structures on it on the basis of international rules, it is necessary to agree with the neighbors.

“Although the river is a river inside Tajikistan, the republic’s leadership, so as not to heat up the conflict, has asked the World Bank to hold an international expert Rogun project”, – he said.

Miraliyev noted that after the release of Uzbekistan from the United Energy System, the state of power supply in Tajikistan has deteriorated and the country is now forced to build new capacity.

“Why Uzbeks do not want us to understand? Our nation wants to live with dignity as a human, no problems. We also want to develop their industry to create new jobs.From year to year an increasing number of our workers. Every year, hundreds come to us-200 cargo from other countries with the bodies of our citizens. Therefore, we appeal to the international community to help us in this matter, “- said Miraliyev.

He expressed the hope that the international community, including the European Union, will support the Republic of Tajikistan and will finish Rogun.

An American “Big Man” Playing With His Joystick, Fired Four Missiles Into a Houseful of Sleeping People

10 killed: Pakistan condemns N Waziristan drone strike

 

– The Express Tribune.

US drone fired two missiles on the house. PHOTO: AFP/FILE

NORTH WAZIRISTAN: The Foreign Office of Pakistan has strongly condemned the drone attack in North Waziristan which killed 10 people on Saturday.

In a statement, Foreign Office spokesperson Moazzam Ahmed Khan said, “Pakistan has consistently maintained that these illegal attacks are a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and are in contravention of international law. It is our considered view that the strategic disadvantages of such attacks far outweigh their tactical advantages, and are therefore, totally counterproductive.”

At least 10 people were killed while one was injured when an unmanned aerial drone attacked a house in Darr-e-Nishtar, North Waziristan, early on Saturday morning.

According to details the US drone fired four missiles on the house in the Shawal valley in a pre-dawn attack. The death toll is also expected to rise.

Rescue officials cited the presence of at least four drones in the skies overhead, fearing which rescue efforts had been delayed.

 

Unfortunately We Are To Witness A Revival of Europe’s Greatest Nightmare

[Europe’s nightmare soul is awakening.  And all of you thought that the scourge of Nazism had faded (SEE:THE CAMP OF THE SAINTS).]

Europe’s far-right in steady crawl toward power

AP 

France’s far right National Front political party leader Marine Le Pen reacts after delivering her speech in front of the Opera following the National Front’s annual May Day rally in Paris, May 1, 2012. — Photo by Reuters

PARIS: Marine Le Pen wants to bust the French political system — and people across Europe and beyond should take note.

Her stunning score in the first round of French presidential elections won her anti-immigrant National Front a place in the Europe-wide march of nationalist — sometimes extremist — parties toward seats of power.

Le Pen’s rage will be on millions of voters’ minds, both her critics and fans, as they elect a president Sunday.

The same day, Greek citizens, strapped by austerity measures in a nation crushed by debt, could vote in about a dozen lawmakers from the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn.

Bit by bit, far-right parties from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia are gaining momentum among the populace and a foothold in their nations’ power structures.

The European debt crisis has added a sharp edge to the mix.

More than two dozen parties around Europe denouncing immigrants — mainly Muslims — as invaders, and calling globalisation and the European Union devils in disguise, are gnawing at the political mainstream.

“Islamism is the totalitarianism of religions and globalisation is the totalitarianism of trade,” Le Pen, who won almost 18 per cent of the first round vote, said at a news conference this week. “The nation is the only structure capable” of vanquishing the evil.

The Dutch nationalist Freedom Party of Geert Wilders, the third-largest in the Netherlands’ parliament, brought down the minority government last week simply by withdrawing support — an inspiration to Le Pen who cites it as an example of what she and her party could do.

Le Pen’s strong third place showing in the first round caused conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy to blatantly borrow from her rhetoric in hopes of wooing her voters and saving his job when he faces a runoff Sunday with Socialist Francois Hollande.

Hungary’s populist centre-right government headed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban is worrying the European Union because of a repressive media law and other restrictive measures. But the country also counts extreme-right Jobbik as its largest opposition party, one with anti-Roma and anti-Semitic overtones.

No one reason can be cited for the rise of populism or the extreme right in a Europe with such varied political, economic and social landscapes and, for former Soviet satellites in central Europe, widely divergent histories.

“There is a need to react to the feeling of the decline of Europe…many people, the middle and lower middle classes, feel that their social status has escaped them,” said Erwan Lecoeur, a sociologist who studies the far right.

This perceived loss pushes them to reconstruct a new, redefined sense of honour — with the nation as its centre and outsiders, including the elite, as the enemy.

Lecoeur cites the term used by renowned turn-of-the-century sociologist Max Weber to refer to whites too poor to own slaves — “the syndrome of poor white trash” — as an apt description of the psychology underlying adhesion to populist parties.

But identifying the parties in question is itself confounding. Are they populist? Nationalist? Extreme right? That depends. They come in all shades.

Anders Behring Breivik, the fanatic extremist who killed 77 people in a July bombing and shooting rampage, was a member of the Progress Party in Norway for seven years, until 2006. The anti-immigration Progress is Norway’s biggest opposition party, with 41 of 169 parliamentary seats. Yet it is more moderate than many of its European counterparts and thinks of itself as conservative.

Few parties wish to be referred to as extreme right, which conjures up images of Hitler or the rabble of jack-booted neo-Nazis now being kept at a distance by parties like the National Front.

The varying degrees of extremism and the very nationalism these parties espouse have thus far prevented any meaningful alliances between Europe’s far-right groups.

Le Pen contends the neo-Nazi label doesn’t suit her and is used to discredit her party, although her National Front, founded in 1972 by her father Jean-Marie Le Pen — convicted numerous times of racism and anti-Semitism — has long been described that way. Experts say the party is deeply anchored in extreme-right ideology.

Le Pen prefers to describe her party as patriotic and nationalist and says she can live with the term “populist,” increasingly used to describe Europe’s far-right parties.

The National Front under Marine Le Pen, party leader since January 2011, embodies the new far-right, out to prove that immigrants are stealing jobs, multiculturalism is sapping national identities and Europe is severing nations from their souls.

Le Pen and Wilders of the Netherlands are the most visible symbols of the rise of the European far-right. Both are outspoken and charismatic in their bids to bring change.

Le Pen hopes to pierce France’s power structure, converting her first round score — a record for her party — into seats in parliament in June elections. Her short-term dream is to become the chief of the French opposition under a leftist president.

Wilders’ Freedom Party, which is anti-EU, anti-Muslim and pro-Israel, already has. It won 25 of 150 parliamentary seats in 2010 elections. This week, Wilders launched his English-language autobiography, “Marked for Death, Islam’s War Against the West and Me,” with a trip to the United States.

Another Freedom Party, this one in Austria, holds 34 of 183 parliamentary seats and polls second in opinion polls, just behind the Social Democrats, one of two parties in the governing coalition. Like France’s National Front, it has — under new leader Heinz-Christian Strache — pulled the curtains on its anti-Semitic bent to exploit fears of Islamist domination and the EU.

The Nordic countries each count populist parties opposed to immigration, and the Danish People’s Party, Denmark’s third largest, pushed the government to adopt some of Europe’s strictest immigration laws.

Europe’s debt crisis has been fodder for anti-EU parties. Marine Le Pen, like others blaming the euro currency for her country’s ills, says, “I knew it would take us into the abyss.” She wants a return to the franc.

There is real concern that Europe’s debt plight will further stoke dormant tensions.

The Council of Europe’s Commission Against Racism and Intolerance warned in its annual report issued Thursday of a rise in intolerance of immigrants and minority groups like the Roma, or Gypsies, due to scarce job opportunities and welfare cuts.

“Xenophobic rhetoric is now part of mainstream debate,” the body said after country visits last year. “Resistance to racism is essential to preserve Europe’s future,” said Jeno Kaltenbach, chairman of the commission.

Far-right parties often advance in small steps, pressuring governments to align laws to fit their populist ideology. Others trumpet their message inside parliament with hopes of finding a place in the mainstream right.

“There is a very strong possibility of contamination of the classic parliamentary right,” said Nicolas Lebourg, an expert on the extreme right at the University of Perpignan.

Le Pen herself has said she sees her role as undermining the traditional right so she can eventually embody it.

“You only need to be a spoiler to have an enormous weight,” she said. “This victory is inevitable, like that of others in Europe who defend the nation.”

Whether the far-right can win real power — for example, running a major European city — is far from certain. But a party need not be in power to do severe damage as it fans social tensions.

“Europe today is a dry prairie waiting for someone to light a match,” Lebourg said.

US intelligence, military at odds on Afghanistan: congressman | DAWN.COM

[Once again, Republican lawmakers demonstrate just how far out of touch with reality they are:

 “The Taliban have never won an engagement against the United States military, never, not one, zero,”

Surely the Congressman from Michigan understands that the nature of assymetrical warfare is that there few, if any, pitched battles between major forces–the odds are stacked against any insurgency because of this.  Considering the lopsided match-up in Afghanistan, the Taliban have won this war, hands down.]

 

US intelligence, military at odds on Afghanistan: congressman

| DAWN.COM.

Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. — Photo by AP

WASHINGTON: US military and intelligence officials are at odds about how the 11-year war in Afghanistan is faring as President Barack Obama presses ahead with a gradual withdrawal of US troops out of the country, a leading Republican lawmaker said Friday.

The US military is more optimistic about the state of the battle against Taliban insurgents than are intelligence officials on the ground in Afghanistan, said House intelligence committee Chairman Mike Rogers, who returned this week from a visit to the country.

“My biggest take away from the trip was the huge difference between what the military says…they believe the state of affairs is or our intelligence community believes the state of affairs is,” said Rogers, referring to officials he met during his visit to Afghanistan.

His comments came days after Obama made a surprise trip to Afghanistan to sign a strategic pact with Kabul and deliver an election-year message to Americans on the anniversary of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s death.

The partnership pact sets out a long-term role for the United States in Afghanistan beyond 2014, when most Nato combat troops are scheduled to leave. The war started in the month after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

But Rogers said Afghanistan’s fate after 2014 is far from clear.

“There is still a lot of uncertainty. There is no certain plan yet about what it looks like when the drawdown happens,” he said.

“Nobody knows…the military didn’t know, the intelligence folks didn’t know, nobody had a good feeling about what happens next,” he added.

Other US and counterterrorism officials have said that counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan have recently showed success in pacifying swaths of territory where American and allied troops maintain a significant presence.

But even optimistic officials fear that any stability that currently exists in those areas could well deteriorate rapidly after US and allied troops permanently withdraw.

The US military sees the current situation as one in which the Taliban lose every battle fought against US forces.

“The Taliban have never won an engagement against the United States military, never, not one, zero,” Rogers said. “The military’s perspective is ‘Hey, they have never won a fight with us yet.’ True they have not.”

Taliban: Stronger today

But intelligence officials see the Taliban adjusting to avoid casualties and having strong recruiting, so they believe “the Taliban are stronger today than they were even a couple of years ago,” Rogers said.

“The Taliban have a clear political aim: to run the country. They want back,” Rogers said.

Counterterrorism officials say that the prospects for a stable, credible, and non-corrupt civilian government in Afghanistan remain poor for the long-term, and there is little optimism about what might happen after scheduled large-scale US withdrawals.

For military planners, the key question is whether Afghan security forces are up to the task of fighting the Taliban and providing sufficient security after Nato troops leave.

Rogers said Afghan special forces “are good” but it will be different without Nato support.

“The concern is when we don’t have this big footprint to help them be successful can they do it on their own? The consensus I got when I walked out of there was probably not,” he said.

With the US troop drawdown coming, “what worries everybody is this notion that it’s just going to be a special forces fight. That’s not sustainable,” Rogers said.

“That’s like going to Brooklyn saying we’re taking all the cops off the street but we’re going to have the best SWAT team in there. That’s probably not going to work. That SWAT team will be awful damn busy,” he said.

Thousands march as Japan switches off last nuclear reactor

– USATODAY.com.

TOKYO (AP) – Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the last of this nation’s 50 nuclear reactors switching off Saturday, shaking banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol.

Japan will be without electricity from nuclear power for the first time in four decades when one of three reactors at Tomari nuclear plant in the northern island of Hokkaido goes offline for routine maintenance checks.

After last year’s March 11 quake and tsunami set off meltdowns at Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, no reactor stopped for checkups has restarted amid growing public worries about the safety of nuclear technology.

“Today is a historical day,” shouted Masashi Ishikawa to a crowd gathered at a Tokyo park, some holding traditional “Koinobori” carp-shaped banners for Children’s Day that have grown into a symbol of the anti-nuclear movement.

“There are so many nuclear plants, but not a single one will be up and running today, and that’s because of our efforts,” Ishikawa said.

The activists said that it was fitting that the day Japan will stop using nuclear power coincided with the nation’s annual Children’s Day, because of their concerns about protecting children from radiation, which Fukushima Dai-ichi is still spewing into the air and water.

The government has been eager to restart nuclear reactors, warning about blackouts and rising emissions as Japan is forced to turn to oil and gas for energy.

Japan now requires reactors to pass new tests to withstand quakes and tsunami and needs local residents’ approval to restart them.

The response from people living near the nuclear plants has been mixed, with some wanting them back in operation because of jobs, subsidies and other benefits to the local economy.

Major protests, like the one Saturday, have been generally limited to urban areas like Tokyo, which had gotten electricity from faraway nuclear plants, including Fukushima Dai-ichi.

Before the nuclear crisis, Japan relied on nuclear power for a third of its electricity needs.

The crowd at the anti-nuclear rally, estimated at 5,500 by organizers, shrugged off government warnings about a power shortage. If anything, they said, with all the reactors going offline one by one, it was clear the nation didn’t really need nuclear power.

Whether Japan will suffer a sharp power crunch is still unclear.

Electricity shortage is expected only at peak periods, such as the middle of the day in hot weather, and critics of nuclear power say the proponents are exaggerating the consequences to win public approval to restart reactors.

Hokkaido Electric Power Co. spokesman Kohei Ofusa said Saturday’s shutdown was going ahead as planned. Power generation is gradually being turned down from 5 p.m. with all operation ending at 11 p.m., he said.

Yoko Kataoka, a retired baker and grandmother, who was dancing to the music at the rally waving a small paper Koinobori, said she was happy the reactors were going off.

“Let’s leave an earth where our children and grandchildren can all play without worries,” she said, wearing a shirt that had, “No thank you, nukes,” handwritten in the back.