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Posted by admin in BOOT THE SCOUNDRELS OR SHOWDAZ, ISLAM MESSAGE OF PEACE on September 13th, 2013
Upright Opinion
September 12, 2013
Terry Jones versus the World of Islam
By Saeed Qureshi
Terry Jones a throwback fanatic from the flock of the Middle Ages Christian crusaders does it again. But this time the local administration preempted his insidious attempt by arresting him. His hatred for the Muslims around the world knows no bounds. Burning 3000 copies of the holy book of Muslims would have satiated his leaping animus against the second largest segment of the humanity on this planet earth.
“In April 2013 Jones announced plans for a Qur’an burning event to be held on September 11, 2013. The Police arrested Jones on September 11, 2013, before he could burn 2,998 Korans soaked with kerosene at a park in Polk County, Florida. He was charged with unlawfully conveying fuel and openly carrying a firearm”
In such previous Quran burning event on March 21, 2011, Jones with the help of some aides, held a mock trial of the Qur’an and set a copy on fire as a “punishment” for “crimes against humanity.”
He repeated his despicable act on “April 28, 2012, by burning a copy of the Qur’an, to protest the imprisonment of an Iranian-American Pastor, Saeed Abidine in Iran. Jones was fined $271 by Gainesville Fire Rescue for burning books without authorization.”
That a single fanatic Christian is up to a vicious goal what the entire Christianity in the present times would not want to do and that is to traumatize the Islamic countries by audaciously defiling their holy book.
Three times, Terry Jones the pastor of the non-denominational Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida singlehandedly, has placed the United States government in the most embarrassing and awkward position and exposing the Americans all over the world and to grave dangers to their lives. He has symbolized himself as the vanguard of those extremist elements that detest other religions especially Islam and the Muslims living in the Pluralistic society of the United States.
It is unbelievable that in 21st century an odd, isolated, unknown clergy has so much audacity to defy the American constitution, spite the Islamic world, and go ahead with an action that was patently outrageous and provocative, un-Christian and un-American. After all Quran has been there all these centuries and yet what impelled a deranged pastor to rock the entire world with his insane obsession. The burning of Quran was aimed at expressing the hate and bigotry of the ultra- right Catholic Christians towards Islam.
During the previous Quran burning announcements by Terry Jones, the fervent imploring and the passionate requests and supplications of president Obama, the celebrated leaders of Jewish community and that of Christians, the serious concern of the Gen Petraeus and even the condemnation of Vatican Pope failed to convince Terry Jones to change his insidious plan. Should one call it an unbridled freedom of doing anything in the United States? However, Terry was not arrested on the charge of infringing the first amendment of the American constitution that guarantees freedom of practicing religions.
He was not pacified by any appeal until the secretary Defense called him and apprised him of the harmful ramifications to the American forces in Afghanistan. Robert Gates’ telephone call somehow persuaded the stubborn pastor to postpone his diabolic action on the condition that it was subject to the relocation of the Islamic center near ground zero to a new place. He has still kept the option of burning the holy book if that condition was not met.
I f this is not fanaticism or terrorism in board day light then how would someone define this most sinister act of an individual that would neither promote Christianity nor annihilate or erase the Muslims from the surface of the earth. Where do we draw a line between the most sought after terrorist Ben Laden and the present day lone Muslim basher? The American ethos and culture of religious freedom seems to be shredded by one individual who was deaf to the frantic calls of the entire world not to go ahead with his monstrous propensity. Muslims cannot respond by burning Bible because it is their sacred book also. Most of the substance especially pertaining to the ancient prophets is almost similar to what is presented in Quran.
The paramount question is: why this endemic and deep-seated hatred for Muslims in this country that is famed for its religious freedom and abounding tolerance. In the wake of this earth-shaking event, Terry has fired the first glaring salvo towards fomenting clash of religions. Would it be in order if the American government enacts such a law that would prohibit demonstration of such brazen bigotry about other religions? This is imperative because if someone denigrates or derides others’ religions then the law should move against such a person.
If tomorrow, some other individuals like Terry Jones also replay the same sordid episode then will it not foment the same crisis over and over again? What is going to happen to the sanctity of the American constitution and the American spirit of liberty, openness, and egalitarianism that the American society so grudgingly protects? This tendency of professing or demonstrating hatred against other faiths must be nipped in the bud, before it assumes endemic proportions. It would be a kind of poisonous proliferation posing a new threat every now and then for the minority communities in this America. It may also slight America as a bastion of human dignity and religious freedom.
The writer is a senior journalist, former editor of Diplomatic Times and a former diplomat
No army in the world wants to engage in fratricidal counter-insurgency operations; pitching its firepower against its misdirected countrymen who for whatever misconceived motivations may choose to turn their guns on their compatriots and the armed forces.
Before the Twin Towers in the Manhattan district of New York came crashing down in the early morning hours on September 11, the prospects of Pakistan Army entering the Fata and taking on an insurgent threat were nowhere on the horizon.
Arrival of the elements of al-Qaeda and foreign protégées of the Taliban flushed out by the US onslaught in Afghanistan in Oct 2001, blew away this lackadaisical, time tested milieu.
The TTP with its Pakistan specific terrorist agenda took shape in the early 2000s and ever since the threat scenario has been incrementally getting vicious, radiating pain and bloodshed in the farthest reaches of Pakistan.
An area that once served as the buffer on Pakistan’s western flank is now terrorists’ hornet nest calling upon Pak Army to undertake a challenging and pain intensive counter insurgency campaign to defeat the liberty of action desired by terrorists who want to implement their detestable agenda in Pakistan and elsewhere.
At such junctures of national upheaval, the unequivocal national support is the sheet anchor that lends moral and emotional strength to the soldiers who serve their nation to the peril of their lives.
There is no room for confusion. The resolve that drives the soldiers is the just and clear articulation of the national cause that justifies the ultimate sacrifice. In this context the recent publication of an article “Pakistan Army and its War on Terror” by Musa Khan Jalazai comes across as an uninformed and distorted reflection of facts that tends to underrate the national achievements in the ongoing counter insurgency campaign and takes vicious swipes on the army as an institution. He is entitled to his warped opinions but by propagating his unfounded views on mainstream media, he is only imparting further impetus to the forces of obscurantism which want to engulf Pakistan.
The author has tried to mitigate the Pakistan Army’s sterling achievements in the counter insurgency campaign, which on all accounts are undeniable. Swat once deemed to have been hopelessly lost to forces of terrorism, is now back to normalcy and bustling with normal economic and routine activities associated with an at-peace civil society. This winter the trout from the Swat’s once demolished farms was back on sale in supermarkets and the luscious peaches from its verdant fruit orchards are abundantly available, underscoring the return to normalcy to this once terrorism-ravaged heaven on earth.
A similar success story is reflected in the South Waziristan Agency, where after annihilating the TTP’s strongholds in Kotkai, Srarogha, Kunigram, Makeen, Shrangrawari and Ladha, the army is busy in bringing about a radical change in the lives of the locals who are thronging back to pick up the threads of their interrupted lives by setting up communication infrastructure as well as economic projects, including vocational schools, to generate economic activity and wean away locals from the clutches of terrorists.
Notwithstanding Musa’s jaundiced assertions, the army’s success against militancy couldn’t have been possible until its doctrine, strategy and training were not fine-tuned to resonate in step with the changed threat perception whereby the internal security has risen to the top of priority list. Jalazai’s misperception that Pak Army is ill equipped and untrained for low intensity conflict only shows his detachment from the ground situation. It is insightful to read what Brian Cloughley has written on this aspect in his book, “A History of Pakistan Army”. “The (Pakistan) Army had to retrain almost from scratch to meet the new challenge and it has done remarkably well in completely altering the training priority and emphasis in such a short period,” he says.
Likewise his observation that the US priorities were compelling the Pak Army to take on the TTP is spurious. There are no grounds to suggest that Pakistan’s fight against forces of obscurantism, extremism and terrorism is not our national fight and through no strand of logic can be dubbed as an American war, as the writer wishes it to portray. This aspect was recently emphatically explained by the COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani who articulated that operations against an enemy that defied the Constitution of Pakistan and the democratic process and considered all forms of bloodshed justified, could not be considered someone else’s war but our own. Nowhere else is Musa Khan manifestly more out of his depth, than while making observations on the mindset of the rank of file in the army.
His preposterous reference to the non-existent sectarian and ethnic rifts being visible in the army is only a poor reflection of his ill intent and reeks of malicious bent towards the armed forces. Despite his self-contrived authority on military matters, it is obvious that he has probably never worn the Khakis nor had the honor to lead men or to be in combat situations. He has simply not fathomed the espirit de corps and ethos of the fighting men of the Pakistan Army which is such an effective melting pot of all sectarian and ethnic identities creating deepest of respect for the personal beliefs yet turning these into irrelevant side distractions in execution of the assigned mission. Once the bullets closely whiz by and shrapnel begin to fly, there is no time for reflecting on such obnoxious divisive thoughts. What matters is to fight effectively, prevail and let the other guy across the sights bite the dust.
The Pakistan Army’s fight against terrorism is a campaign in progress. The objectives of this campaign are clear; foreign fighters have to leave, terrorists of all ilks, including the TTP have to forsake terrorism and lay down arms and the writ of the state has to be established. On all accounts we have done well.
Swat and South Waziristan are two major success stories, yet the fight for the soul of Pakistan is far from over. The nation and its armed forces have given a sacrifice of 50,000 casualties and the people of Pakistan are solidly behind the Pak Army.
At such a juncture articles like one written by Musa Khan hardly make a sense. These only serve to create confusion and sow seeds of division and acrimony. Notwithstanding his outlandish assertions, as a soldier would know; no fault lines exist within the Pak Army and there are no prospects for one to emerge and enlarge.
The writer is a retired brigadier of Pakistan Army
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Posted by admin in BOOT THE SCOUNDRELS OR SHOWDAZ on September 12th, 2013
Fla. pastor arrested before he could burn Qurans
TAMARA LUSH
MULBERRY, Fla. (AP) — A Florida pastor was arrested Wednesday as he drove a pickup truck towing a large barbecue-style grill filled with kerosene-soaked Qurans to a park, where the pastor had said he was planning to burn 2,998 of the Muslim holy books— one for every victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Sheriff’s deputies in Polk County, Fla., arrested Pastor Terry Jones, 61, and his associate pastor, Marvin Sapp Jr., 44, each on a felony charge of unlawful conveyance of fuel. Jones had said he was heading to a nearby park in Mulberry to burn the Qurans on Wednesday, the 12th anniversary of the attacks. Sheriff’s officials said that Jones was also charged with unlawful open-carry of a firearm, a misdemeanor, and that Sapp faces a charge of having no valid registration for the trailer.
Both were being booked Wednesday night into the Polk County jail, according to Sheriff Grady Judd.
Mulberry’s mayor, along with area elected officials, a sheriff’s deputy and several Polk County residents have talked about the need to express love and tolerance for all faiths on Sept. 11.
Jones is the pastor of a small evangelical Christian church. He first gained attention in 2010 when he planned to burn a Quran on the anniversary of 9/11, although he eventually called it off. His congregation did burn the Muslim holy book in March 2011 and last year he promoted an anti-Muslim film. All three incidents sparked violence in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
The most violent protest happened after the 2011 Quran burning as hundreds of protesters stormed a United Nations compound in Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, killing seven foreigners, including four Nepalese guards.
Jones has repeatedly ignored pleas from the U.S. military asking him not to stage his protests. Military officials say his actions put American and Western troops in Afghanistan and elsewhere in danger.
Mulberry is a town of about 3,000 between Orlando and Tampa and has no connection to Jones’ church, which recently moved out of its Gainesville building.
An Egyptian court convicted Jones, along with seven Egyptian Coptic Christians, in absentia, sentencing them to death on charges linked to the film. The ruling was seen as largely symbolic because Jones and the other defendants live outside of Egypt.
Just last week, a federal judge in Michigan issued a summary judgment in favor of Jones and his organization, Stand Up America Now, against the city of Dearborn for requiring Jones and his organization to sign a city-issued agreement in order to speak on public property in front of a Dearborn mosque in 2012.
Earlier Wednesday, about 75 people gathered In Mulberry for an interfaith prayer service to counter Jones’ actions.
Mike Ghouse, who has organized a 9/11 prayer service in his home state of Texas for nine years, brought his event to Mulberry because of Jones’ planned Quran burning. He initially had planned to hold the service in Texas but teamed with a group of Mulberry residents who had organized an anti-Jones Facebook page.
“Everyone has a right to believe what they believe,” said Ghouse, adding that it was Jones’ right as an American to express himself. Others said that while Jones was free to say or do whatever he wanted, the people of Mulberry didn’t want the world to think that the residents condone or agree with Jones’ views.
Said Polk County resident Butch Rahman: “We don’t buy what Jones is selling.”
Posted by admin in BOOT THE SCOUNDRELS OR SHOWDAZ, Pakistan's Hall of Shame on September 12th, 2013
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An Open Letter to Mubasher Lucman
US, Indian, Israeli, Control of News Media in Pakistan
 Pakistan had a single TV Station and some private channels.
In 2002-03 (?), persuading authorities that a free press would be necessary for a democracy to function, foreign ownership of news media was allowed.
The Independent Media Corporation was set up and the Jung/News Group was allowed to set up Geo TV. This later added the Channels, Express News, Samaa TV, AAG, and other channels.
Ownership of this media group includes Anil Ambani of India, an American group, and a part ownership of the Shakilur Rehman family.
GEO was allowed to conduct transmission of Pakistani news from Dubai and UAE. GEO personnel were trained in the US.
Mir Shakilur Rehman’s son, Mir Ibrahim Rehman, was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy award for public service at Harvard University. He is the first Muslim and only the second person from South Asia to receive this coveted award. The award was given for his work in getting Pakistan an independent judiciary and for working for peace between Pakistan and India—The Aman ki Asha programme.
His Paper covered the idea of changing the public narrative. The question is which public was Mir Ibrahim serving? American, Israeli or Pakistani?
Geo TV serves Indian agendas not those of Pakistan.
The fact that GEO conceals its ownership and secretly takes funding and direction from India is enough evidence of treason.
The Chief Justice was given the Medal of Honour by Harvard. Harvard must have a weird understanding of law and justice. Would they tolerate the criminality, the treason with which he has helped to destroy the system of justice and law in Pakistan? Why does no chief justice in America act the way he does?
These are the Mir Jaffars of Pakistan ánd they should be called by their name.
Quaid-e-Azam, Eidhi, no one else in Pakistan has been recognised by this university.
The Press and Information Department has knowledge of this foreign ownership but this knowledge is kept secret from the public. PEMRA has knowledge of foreign ownership but it is kept secret. Members of parliament have knowledge of this but do not debate it.
Secret operations are being conducted by external powers to wage war and sabotage in Pakistan, and their functioning is kept top secret.
In spite of public confusion and concerns at the anti Pakistan bias and propaganda, the knowledge that this is Indian/US/Israeli owned media is kept hidden by members of Parliament, by ISI, by IB, by Media and the people who brought this into being.
The last government as well as the current government, that was the opposition then, have knowledge of this. There is a war going on against Pakistan but our government and media and our lawyers and judiciary have given it their full support.
Members of the media including key presenters, earn fabulous sums of money to carry out this treason. They know that every word, image, attitude, and stance is directed from abroad. No presenter is allowed to take a personal position on any piece of news.
The International Herald Tribune (IHT),the international edition of The New York Times are owned by the Sulzberberger, Jewish Zionist Family of New York, and the Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune is in partnership with the IHT. They announce this partnership on the front page. We are given a copy of the IHT daily with The Express Tribune but people foolishly ask no questions! How can a newspaper of the quality of International Herald Tribune make, print and distribute the paper for Rs 19.00 all over Pakistan?
All those who are involved in this secret war against the integrity and existence of Pakistan are traitors and should be tried for treason.
The Murder of Karachi’s Citizens and Destruction of the City
Thousands of innocent people have been killed, maimed and robbed in the last 5 years in Karachi. The media calls it mafia, turf wars, bhatta wars.
Target killings, bomb blasts, fires, have taken place every day killing innocent people.
No steps have been taken to take suo motto notice, investigate, to arrest, to try, to punish the people or parties who are doing this. Newspapers report the deaths then forget about it as if it was a matter of course, or deaths by malaria.
The people of Karachi have been given no security. All police and security is given to government and party functionaries. Traffic jams are created daily on busy streets in order to rob passengers in stalled vehicles. There is no police, no security force, no Army or Rangers to keep peace in Karachi.
Musharraf is being tried for not providing security to Benazir Bhutto. Why is the Government not held responsible and TRIED for the killing of innocent people in Karachi, and for not providing security to its citizens?
Why are members of the political parties, MQM, ANP, PPP, not arrested for removing police from Karachi, for denying security and facilitating the murderers?
Arrest the top leadership of these party mafias and stop the killing.
Why has the Chief Justice and Asma Jehangir not taken notice of what has happened in Karachi, when they are so concerned about the missing persons of Baluchistan?
Thousands are missing in Karachi but no questions are asked. The Chief Justice makes the ISI the enemy, and targets their personnel and humiliates them, and has brought the army into disrepute in the world. Whose agent is he? Who will give him security from the very Indians who pay him?
Targeting the Army and ISI
In the last 6-8 years, the propaganda war and the media war has targeted the Pakistan Army and especially ISI and security agencies.
The image of the Army is constantly under attack by the media, by paid politicians, by lawyers, by the so called civil society.
In the last so many years, the words “CIA, Mossad, RAW” and other agencies have not appeared in our media coverage except for the one time when Raymond Davis was exposed. No questions are asked.
Why were Visas given in thousands to US, Indian and Afghan nationals to create turmoil in Pakistan, FATA and Baluchistan?
Why is ISI being targeted and not RAW? Not Mossad? Not CIA?
Why is this not discussed or questioned?
By: Zainab Ali, Washington DC.
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Posted by admin in Foreign Policy on September 11th, 2013
Even before he was caught playing poker on his iPhone at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had already sent a message: Anything less than an extensive aerial assault on the Syrian regime by American forces would be an unacceptable approach to the conflict in the Middle East. This was hardly surprising. Over the last two decades, McCain has rarely missed an opportunity to call for the escalation of an international conflict. Since themid-1990s, he’s pushed for regime change in more than a half-dozen countries—occasionally with disastrous consequences.
Here’s a quick review of McCain’s eagerness for military action and foreign entanglements.
Fighting words: “Providing military assistance to the Free Syrian Army and other opposition groups is necessary, but at this late hour, that alone will not be sufficient to stop the slaughter and save innocent lives. The only realistic way to do so is with foreign air power.”
What he wanted: Airstrikes, culminating in regime change.
What was it good for? TBD.
Angry McCains: Five
Fighting words: “Leaders always have choices, and history teaches that hard choices deferred—appeasing Hitler, choosing not to deter Saddam Hussein in 1990, failing to act sooner against Al Qaeda—often bring about the very circumstances we wished to avoid by deferring action, requiring us to react in freedom’s defense. America’s leaders today have a choice. It will determine whether our people live in fear behind walls that have already been breached, as our enemies plan our defeat in time we have given them to do it.”
What he wanted: Ground war culminating in regime change.
What was it good for? See above.
Angry McCains: Five
AFGHANISTAN
Fighting words: “We should make an immediate statement of our resolve that we no longer intend to tolerate sanction given to our enemies by any nation…Should the Taliban refuse our demand, then they must know that they will be treated as allies of our enemy, and, thus, are themselves our enemies, and will suffer much for their allegiance.”
What he wanted: Osama bin Laden’s head, at any cost.
What was it good for? Ground war culminating in regime change (ongoing).
Angry McCains: Five
Fighting words: “I would arm, train, equip, both from without and from within, forces that would eventually overthrow the governments and install free and democratically-elected governments” (2000). “[I]t does take time, as it did during the period of the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. But we were able to provide them with some weapons and wherewithal to cause the Russians to leave Afghanistan. So we can do it” (2012).
What he wanted: Regime change.
What was it good for? Regime change (12 years—and one ill-considered tweet) later.
Angry McCains: Five
Fighting words: “The best course for us, NATO, Kosovo, Russia and even Serbia is to begin fighting this war as if it were a war, with huge stakes involved, instead of some strange interlude between peace initiatives…To that end, we should commence today to mobilize infantry and armored divisions for a possible ground war in Kosovo.”
What he wanted: Ground war culminating in regime change.
What was it good for? Airstrikes.
Angry McCains: Four
IRAQ (PART I)
Fighting words: “It is clear to me that if we fail to act there will be inevitably a succession of dictators, of Saddam Husseins, of which around the globe there is an abundance.”
What he wanted: Ground war in Kuwait.
What was it good for? See above.
Angry McCains: Four
Fighting words: “If [Bosnians] were equipped,especially with TOW missiles, some heavy armor, some tanks, then I think that we could foresee a stable situation.”
What he wanted: Air strikes and military assistance.
What was it good for? See above.
Angry McCains: Three
NORTH KOREA
Fighting words: “I would arm, train, equip, both from without and from within, forces that would eventually overthrow the governments and install free and democratically-elected governments.”
What he wanted: Either regime change by aiding local opposition, or an outright military confrontation.
What was it good for? TBD
Angry McCains: Three
Fighting words: “It’s that old Beach Boys song, ‘Bomb Iran’? Bomb bomb bomb…”
What was it good for? Unspecified air strikes; unspecified support for dissident groups.
What he got: TBD.
Angry McCains: Three
Fighting words: “Today, we are all Georgians.”
What he wanted: Unspecified aggression toward Russia after invasion of Georgia.
What was it good for? Absolutely nothing.
Angry McCains: Two
RUSSIA
Fighting words: “Now is the time to fundamentally rethink our relationship with Putin’s Russia. We need to deal with the Russia that is, not the Russia we might wish for. We cannot allow today’s action by Putin to stand without serious repercussions…We should push for the completion of all phases of our missile defense programs in Europe, and move expeditiously on another round of NATO expansion.”
What he wanted: A new Cold War.
What was it good for? Absolutely nothing.
Angry McCains: Two
Fighting words: “NATO should immediately establish and enforce a no-fly zone over Darfur to ensure that Khartoum ends its offensive military flights and bombing raids, as the Security Council has already demanded…[T]he United States should intensify efforts to persuade UN members to commit troops and funds for the UN force in Darfur, and it should develop plans for US logistical support.”
What he wanted: UN troops.
What was it good for? UN troops.
Angry McCains: Two
Fighting words: “We need to have DOD assistance as much as feasible and necessary to prevent Mali from deteriorating further into a chaotic situation.”
What he wanted: Military assistance.
What was it good for? Military assistance.
Angry McCains: Two
Fighting words: “The Arab Spring is coming to China.”
What he wanted: Totally unclear.
What was it good for? Nothing.
Angry McCains: One
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