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FBI Raids Special Counsel, Seizes Data
2008-05-07 13:12:00
Federal agents raided the Office of Special Counsel, a government agency involved in several high-profile and politically sensitive investigations. The agents seized computer files and documents from its chief, Scott Bloch, and his staff. Mr. Bloch, who was appointed by President Bush, has been under investigation since 2005 by the Office of Personnel Management for employee claims that he abused his agency's authority, retaliated against its staff and dismissed whistleblower cases without adequate examination. Mr. Bloch couldn't be reached to comment. The Justice Department joined the case as the inquiry was widened last year to include possible obstruction of justice, which is a criminal offense. The Wall Street Journal reported Nov. 28 that in the midst of the inquiry Mr. Bloch used an agency credit card to hire a commercial firm, Geeks on Call, to erase data from his computer and those of former staff. [ ... ] The Office of Special Counsel, created in the 1970s in t...
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NY businessman linked to probe of Ehud Olmert
2008-05-07 13:05:00
A New York-area businessman and philanthropist has emerged as a key figure in an Israeli investigation into financial dealings of Ehud Olmert that have cast a new cloud over the embattled prime minister. Morris "Moshe" Talansky of Woodmere, Long Island, was questioned by police in Israel about reported payments he made to Olmert in the 1990s, when the prime minister served as Jerusalem's mayor, according to the New York Post, which first reported the story Tuesday. The investigation, which emerged last week, threatens to embarrass Olmert as the country marks its 60th anniversary of independence on Thursday. Dozens of world leaders, including President Bush, are scheduled to join celebrations next week. An Israeli court has barred publication of most details of the case. A court statement Tuesday said police and prosecutors have submitted a request "to take testimony from a foreign resident." It did not identify the witness. ~ more... ~  
More About: Ehud Olmert , Probe , Businessman

US Methodists call for justice for migrants
2008-05-07 12:13:00
The United Methodist Church is urging justice for migrants worldwide and reform of U.S. immigration laws. Delegates to the denomination's top legislative body, meeting from 23 April - 2 May 2, adopted resolutions covering both global migration and immigration issues in the United States - writes Andrew J Schliecher.The US domestic resolution calls for "full protection of all workers, which includes the opportunity to gain legal status for all migrants." It also urges US lawmakers to ensure that immigrant laws do not rip apart families."To refuse to welcome migrants to this country and to stand by in silence while families are separated, individual freedoms are ignored, and the migrant community in the United States is demonized by members of Congress and the media, is complicity to sin," it states.General Conference also added a new section on "Rights of Immigrants" to the denomination's Social Principles. It states in part, "We affirm the right of all persons to equal...
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Reflections on UN Declaration of Human Rights
2008-05-07 12:12:00
This year, 2008, is specially notable because it is the sixtieth anniversary of the adoption and Proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization on December 10th., 1948. [ ... ] Even before the formation of the United Nations Organization, and the promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in December 1948, the Institute of International Law, in its session held in New York on October 12th., 1929, adopted an International Declaration of the Rights of Man which is of particular interest today. The Declaration reads as follows:“The Institute of International Law, considering that the juridic conscience of the civilized world demands the recognition of the individual’s rights exempted from all infringement on the part of the State;That the Declaration of Rights inscribed in a great many constitutions and notably in the American and French constitutions of the end of the eighteenth century, e...
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Musical Innerlube: Ambi & L. Subramaniam Ensemble
2008-05-07 11:46:00
Also: Dr. L Subramaniam (Global Fusion)
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Quantum consciousness revisited
2008-05-07 11:38:00
Hope for the Blue Planet: A Conversation with Edgar Mitchell, Ph.D.VM: How can Social Healing contribute to environmental awareness? EM: One of the fundamental principles in my understanding confirms the mystical notion that we're all one; we're all interconnected and the universe is all connected in some way. The study of quantum physics brings this notion into play; when we start realizing that we're all part of the same pattern. The physical reality of our world and universe is that we are all interphysically connected, which is a part of the epiphany I had in space. Using this notion to help us understand our environment, we can answer the questions of who are we? Where are we going? How did we get here? What is this really all about? And it's about our relationship to the cosmos which helps us to try and understand how we must work together as a team to resolve the problems of a non-sustainable future. We happen to be at a place in the early 21st century that i...
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James Bond production halted amid fears of a curse
2008-05-07 11:16:00
After a week of mysterious mishaps, including the destruction of 007's Aston Martin, the rumours are starting to fly that the latest Bond film has been hit by a jinx. Shooting by Lake Garda, in northern Italy, of Quantum of Solace was suspended yesterday after a series of near-fatal accidents to a driver and two stuntmen. [ ... ] Mr Dunn Fraser said that he must have lost consciousness because the next thing he knew he was upside down, in the car, at the bottom of the lake. "I was shaken but not stirred," he wryly told the media, and said that he had been able to kick one of the doors open and swim to the surface. He was then taken to hospital. ~ more... ~  
More About: James Bond , Curse , Production , James

'We didn't elect them. We can't throw them out. And they're getting more po
2008-05-07 11:05:00
From: The deciders you don't elect Call them the superclass. Americans fixated on the political campaign may be missing a reality of the global era that may matter much more than their presidential choice: On an ever-growing list of issues, the big decisions are being made or profoundly influenced by a little-understood international network of business, financial, government, cultural and military leaders who are beyond the reach of American voters. In addition to top officials, these people include corporate executives, leading investors, top bankers, media moguls, heads of state, generals, religious leaders, heads of terrorist and criminal organizations and a handful of important cultural and scientific figures. Each of these roughly 6,000 individuals is set apart by his or her power and ability to regularly influence millions of lives across international borders. 'Convening power' Doubt it? Just look at the current financial crisis. As government regulators have...
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Will the Mideast Go Up in Flames this Summer?
2008-05-07 10:59:00
The truth would seem to be that Israel can neither wage a full-scale war against its opponents nor make peace with them. It is therefore condemned to continue to rely on its present policies of besieging Gaza, intimidating its opponents by long-distance air and commando strikes, and decapitating hostile resistance movements by assassination, says Patrick Seale. These are dangerously unsettled times in the Middle East. There are so many bitter scores to settle, so much violent dissension, such implacable hatreds, that it would take only a spark to set the whole region alight. Or so it would seem. Many observers predict a hot and bloody summer. What they have in mind is not only a continuation of the calamitous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the possible extension of the Afghan conflict to the tribal areas of Pakistan, but rather a major war in the Levant. The fear in the region is of another war breaking out between Israel and its neighbours, a war which would engul...
More About: Summer , In Flames , Mideast

'When your protest slogans essentially are, "We love torture" and "Murder r
2008-05-07 10:55:00
Actually, I had trekked to the University of Michigan to hear the Dalai Lama opine on our imploding planet. Pope Benedict XVI was doing much of the same on Sunday as he made a pilgrimage of sorts to Ground Zero in New York. But there was no time to meditate on spiritual serendipity as a scowling Chinese grad student almost knocked me over with his floppy, sloppily scrawled sign: "Dalai Lama - 50 years of CIA funding isn't enough for you." He was one of about 500 "dissidents" waiving Chinese flags outside the arena. Now I have to admit, I'm always a bit shocked to see demonstrations by non-lefties. The unions, the hippies, MoveOn.org - these guys are pros, coming armed with professionally printed placards, a killer sound system and even creepy lifelike puppets to make their point. They know how to set the mood of righteous indignation and usually throw a cool afterhours party to boot. [ ... ] Look, the idea of blasting a spiritual icon who won the Nobel Peace Prize is som...
More About: Murder , Love , Protest , Torture

'Police in the town of Amstetten arrested 13 photographers'
2008-05-07 10:51:00
Despite a plea for the family at the centre of the Austrian incest case to be left in peace, by yesterday police in the town of Amstetten had arrested 13 photographers attempting to get pictures. Ruses employed by the photographers looking to get access to the Fritzl family have included donning camouflage gear to climb trees, wearing fake police uniforms and posing as cleaning staff. The story of Elisabeth Fritzl, who was locked in a secret cellar dungeon and repeatedly raped by her father over 24 years, having seven children by him during that period, has resulted in hundreds of media organisations sending staff to Amstetten. ~ read on... ~  
More About: Arrested , Police , Photographers , Town , The Town

IntelliClear Selects Doctors Without Borders as Its 2007 Clarity Trust Reci
2008-05-07 10:49:00
IntelliClear announced the selection of Doctors Without Borders /Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) as the 2007 recipient of its annual Clarity Trust donation. Under the yearly program, IntelliClear contributes 1% of its corporate profits to an outstanding charitable organization as part of an on-going corporate commitment to supporting communities and charitable activities across the globe. "With another extraordinary year behind us we are honored to share our blessings and contribute to the selfless efforts of Doctors Without Borders who served hundreds of thousands of needy individuals across the globe in 2007," says Eric Shuster, President and CEO of IntelliClear. "We urge companies of all sizes to give whatever contributions they can to make a difference in the lives of those suffering in impoverished countries across the world," says Alex Kalamarides, Ph.D., Managing Director and General Partner of IntelliClear. Winner of the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize, MSF is an independe...
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Carter: Hamas ready to accept Israeli-Palestinian peace
2008-05-07 10:46:00
The Islamic Hamas movement would be willing to accept a peace treaty with Israel negotiated by President Mahmoud Abbas, if the deal was approved by Palestinians in a referendum, former US president Jimmy Carter said Monday. 'They said they would accept a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders if approved by the Palestinians and that they would accept the right to live as a neighbour next door in peace, provided the agreements negotiated by Prime Minister (Ehud) Olmert and President (Mahmoud) Abbas will be submitted to the Palestinians for their overall approval,' he told an audience in Jerusalem. The comments, and similar remarks by exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in a recent interview with a Palestinian daily, reflect a major change in the stance of Hamas, whose leaders have repeatedly said they will never recognise Israel, which they want replaced by an Islamic state in all of historic Palestine. Hamas has also said that Abbas, in his peace talks with Israel, does ...
More About: Peace , Ready , Israeli

Turkish schools offer Pakistan a gentler vision of Islam
2008-05-07 10:37:00
They prescribe a strong Western curriculum, with courses, taught in English, from math and science to English literature and Shakespeare. They do not teach religion beyond the one class in Islam ic studies that is required by the state. Unlike British-style private schools, however, they encourage Islam in their dormitories, where teachers set examples in lifestyle and prayer. "Whatever the West has of science, let our kids have it," said Erkam Aytav, a Turk who works in the new schools. "But let our kids have their religion as well." That approach appeals to parents in Pakistan , who want their children to be capable of competing with the West without losing their identities to it. Allahdad Niazi, a retired Urdu professor in Quetta, a frontier town near the Afghan border, took his son out of an elite military school, because it was too authoritarian and did not sufficiently encourage Islam, and put him in the Turkish school, called PakTurk. "Private schools can't make ou...
More About: Schools , Vision

Antichrist will fool many as the false prophet
2008-05-07 10:31:00
Daniel mentions that the Antichrist gets power from Satan, but John deals heavily with the symbiotic relationship between the Antichrist, Satan and the false prophet ? the Devil's version of the Holy Trinity.And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshipped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, 'Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?'" ? Revelation 13:1-4Here, John shows us the dragon (Satan) and the Antichrist's (beast) coming out party to the world. To a deceived publ...
More About: Prophet , Fool

NPC condemns Rev Fr Karunaratnam assassination
2008-05-07 10:25:00
The assassination of Rev. Father M X Karunaratnam, Chairman of the North East Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR), who succumbed to injuries sustained in a remote controlled claymore mine attack that had targeted him within the LTTE controlled territory where he lived and worked is a shocking and callous act. Fr Karunaratnam died in close proximity to his residential prayer and counseling centre which was a haven to those who suffered the travails of the ongoing war. As head of NESoHR which was set up in July 2004, as part of the 2002 Peace Process, Fr Karunaratnam worked tirelessly to strengthen the human rights protection mechanisms in the North East of Sri Lanka, the NPC said.   [ ... ]   As head of NESoHR which was set up in July 2004, as part of the 2002 Peace Process, Fr Karunaratnam worked tirelessly to strengthen the human rights protection mechanisms in the North East of Sri Lanka. He was active in highlighting recruitment of children by the LTTE and w...
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Conspiracy Of Silence
2008-05-07 10:10:00
The Franklin child abuse allegations refers to allegations of a child prostitution ring serving high level U.S. politicians. "Franklin" refers to the Franklin Community Federal Credit Union, a Nebraska financial institution. The relationship with Franklin was indirect via charges of involvement by a former Franklin officer, Lawrence E. King, in the alleged child sex ring. The allegations of the child sex ring made national news on June 29, 1989 when the front page of the Washington Times bore the headline Homosexual Prostitution Inquiry ensnares VIPs with Reagan, Bush. The Washington Times article by journalists Paul M. Rodriguez and George Archibald alleged that key officials of the Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations were connected to an elaborate Washington, D.C male prostitution ring, and reported that two of these prostitutes even entered the White House late at night. The allegations included, among other things, "abduction and use of minors for sexual perversi...
More About: Conspiracy , Silence

Isabelle Allende, writer's block and Ayahuasca
2008-05-07 09:50:00
From: Isabel Allende on fine spiritual form   Through all her spiritual ruminations Allende's mischievous sense of humour saves the book from excessive sentimentality. She dedicates whole chapters to the epic saga of her best friend Tabra's pneumatic breasts, which she had installed by a maverick cosmetic surgeon from Venezuela. But it's her perpetual war against creative drought that provides the most surprises. Following the advice of Celia, Isabel and her mother smoke marijuana all night in an attempt to awaken the spirits of creation. After nine spliffs and no discernible effect other than a lot of giggling, she decides soft drugs are not for her. Looking for something a little more inspirational she and her husband ingest a draught of ayahuasca - a shamanic potion used by Amazon Indians to induce visions. After a horrifying two days spent shivering in a corner of a room and vomiting a strange white liquid, Isabel emerges convinced that 'the material wor...
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Witchcraft 2008
2008-05-07 09:40:00
Psychics may face regulations that help tell which is witchPossibly they saw it coming, but after decades of lenient regulation, British mediums, psychics and healers will this month find themselves subject to tougher consumer protection laws. These laws leave them open to legal action if they don't provide a series of disclaimers before performing their services. Motivated by concerns that some spiritualists prey on the vulnerable, inducing or prolonging emotional suffering, Australian sceptics are calling for a similar toughening of legislation here. Seventy people have contacted Consumer Affairs Victoria over the past year seeking advice or lodging complaints about psychics, clairvoyants and fortune tellers.Lynne Kelly, Melbourne author of The Skeptics Guide to the Paranormal, says regulating spiritualists is difficult, but the damage they may do, intentionally or unwittingly, can be immense. Bell Witch Cave Becomes National Historic SiteCaves don't often make the ...
More About: Witchcraft , 2008

EU: The lobby against lobbyists
2008-05-07 08:53:00
In an effort to reduce the influence of lobbyists in the European Union, the European Parliament will vote on a report that would regulate their activities, a proposal that has picked up support from MEPS and alarm from the targets. "Today's rules for lobbying date back to a time when the only role of the European Parliament was to give opinions. We clearly need stricter rules now that Parliament has become a powerful legislator," MEP Satu Hassi of Finland, the vice-chairwoman of the parliament's Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee said after a seminar sponsored by the Greens/EFA party in Brussels. The parliament on May 8 will take up a report prepared by former MEP Alexander Stubb of Finland, who has just been appointed foreign minister of his country. Hassi said, "It is an essential part of democracy that various stakeholders can approach decision makers, but in the current system money buys lobbying power. If you have the finances, you can employ l...
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Interview: 'NATO sent the wrong signal to Russia'
2008-05-07 08:51:00
Russia is destabilising the breakaway region of Abkhazia because Moscow wants to divert Georgia from its NATO bid, Salome Samadashvili, the Georgian ambassador to NATO and the EU, told EurActiv in an interview. According to Samadashvili, who was a member of the Georgian Parliament before being appointed to Brussels in 2005, the current tensions and last week's increase of the Russian military presence in Abkhazia are direct results of the failure of the Bucharest NATO summit in April to open the door to Georgia and Ukraine by granting them 'Membership Action Plans'.  Noting that the EU itself was divided over the issue, with some countries insisting that Tbilisi should first solve the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Samadashvili urged the bloc not to link the two subjects. "Russia has made it a foreign policy priority to prevent Georgia and Ukraine from joining NATO," Ambassador Samadashvi...
More About: Interview , Russia , Nato , Wrong , Signal

Brown and Sarkozy seal 'Entente Formidable'
2008-05-07 08:48:00
Three months before France takes over the EU Presidency, President Nicolas Sarkozy used his state visit to Britain to revive the Franco-British alliance, seeking stronger cooperation on energy, climate change, immigration and defence. "It is not simply a matter of a one-night stand. I believe that we can go into the next day's breakfast as well," Sarkozy said during a joint press conference with Brown  following the bilateral summit, held at the Emirates Stadium home of Arsenal football club in North London.  In the tradition of the British-Franco "Entente Cordiale" dating from 1904, Brown offered France an "Entente Formidable", responding to Sarkozy's invitation of an "Entente Amicable" in his speech to both chambers of the UK Parliament on Wednesday (26 March).  In his speech, which was greeted with a standing ovation, Sarkozy urged both countries to "overcome our long-standing rivalries and build together a future t...
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NATO agrees common approach to cyber defence
2008-05-07 08:46:00
Leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation have endorsed a common policy on cyber defence at their summit in Bucharest, agreeing to set up a new authority that will coordinate NATO's "political and technical" reactions to cyber attacks. NATO leaders on Thursday (3 April) decided to develop the "structures and authorities" to carry out a new coordinated approach to cyber attacks. The new approach will aim to prevent and counter situations like the one seen in Estonia in summer 2007, when cyber terrorists crippled strategic network infrastructure, including banks. The new tasks will be carried out by the Cyber Defence Management Authority (CDMA), the launch of which was expected at the Bucharest Summit. However, the launch of the new authority was delayed due to "technical and bureaucratic problems" despite there already being "a substantial agreement on the concept," according to a NATO official who spoke to EurActiv in Buc...
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How 'smart growth' caused the housing bubble
2008-05-07 08:17:00
These policies, often referred to as "smart growth," create a scarcity of land, artificially raise the price of housing, and, again, have increased the exposure of the market to risky mortgage debt. When more liberal loan policies were implemented, metropolitan areas that had adopted these more restrictive policies lacked the resilient land markets that would have allowed the greater demand to be accommodated without inordinate increases in house prices.A few voices in the wilderness on both sides of the political spectrum have pointed to the role of excessive land use policies in driving up housing costs. For example: Liberal economist Paul Krugman of The New York Times put most of his conservative colleagues to shame in noting that the house price bubble has been limited to metropolitan areas with strong land use regulation. Conservative Thomas Sowell, no stranger to being a voice in the wilderness, has made similar points. More recently, Theo Eicher of ...
More About: Housing Bubble , Smart , Housing , Growth , Bubble

Capitalism at $4 a Gallon?
2008-05-07 07:48:00
If the Bush invasion of Iraq was a "war for oil," it has been a war for expensive not cheap oil. The crackpot assertions of Bush administration policy planners ? that war would "pay for itself" or the U.S. would take oil profits from the Iraqis as the price of their "liberation" ? aside, the price of a barrel of crude oil is today at an all time high. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has done absolutely nothing to advance alternative energy programs. Instead, the administration, which has a "special relationship" with the most reactionary sectors of the capitalist class in the U.S., that is, the energy companies and the large military contractors, has done everything in its power to sabotage international alternative energy programs, which has not only increased the price of oil but has also obstructed international environmental protection policies. Why is the administration doing this? Mainly, it is indifferent to the consequences to most working families of expensive oi...
More About: Capitalism

HAARP Transmissions may accidentally be jamming bees' homing ability
2008-05-06 11:20:00
The theory has been put forward that Cellular Phones are to blame as a number of studies in Germany showed that 70% of bees will not return to a hive if a cellular phone is close to the hive, the initial article reporting the cellular phone connection incorrectly reported the study which actually place base stations from cordless phone sets into the colonies, cellular phones were not used in this study. This small scale study indicated that the electromagnetics from the mobile transmitters are interfering with the bee's sensitive navigational ability. "Roughly a third of the U.S. diet is pollinated by honey bees, making their approximate economic value $15 billion in the U.S." A couple of problems with this cordless phone transmission / bee interference hypothesis: A) Why did this problem occur only within the past year as cordless phones have been used for many years. B) Why has the CCD problem only seriously affecting North America and Europe? The cordless phone b...
More About: Bees

Surviving 2012 and Planet X
2008-05-06 11:00:00
Part 1 of 5: The ThreatPart 1 of 5 shows how the approach of Planet X is already changing our world. Produced and hosted by Marshall Masters, a former CNN science feature field producer, this program offers a straightforward view of this coming human event. As the co-author and publisher of Planet X Forecast and 2012 Survival Guide, Marshall believes that 2012 will be a survivable, evolutionary event.~ more... ~

How Iraq helps the coalition economy
2008-05-06 10:46:00
From: Iraq Signs Deal For 30 Boeing 737s, Plans 787 Order   Iraq on Monday signed two deals worth $5 billion to buy 40 planes from Boeing and 10 planes from Canada's Bombardier to upgrade Iraqi Airways' aging fleet, the finance minister said. The deals were signed by Finance Minister Bayan Jabr in a ceremony attended by Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as well as U.S., British and Canadian diplomats. The first Boeing plane will be delivered in 2013, Jabr said, while the Canadian company will start delivering their aircraft later this year. "Today, the process of developing economy has started," al-Maliki said in a speech during the ceremony also attended by Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Carson. Boeing said in a statement Monday that it would deliver 30 Boeing 737-800 commercial airplanes and that Iraq has taken options for 10 additional 737s. Separately, Iraq and Boeing are finalizing an agreement for 10 Boeing 787s, w...
More About: Economy , Coalition

West Bank locked down for Israeli holiday
2008-05-06 10:42:00
The Israeli army has announced a three-day security lockdown on the occupied West Bank ahead of the Jewish state's 60th anniversary celebrations. On Wednesday Israel formally remembers soldiers killed in conflicts and a day later celebrates its 60th Independence Day. The Israeli army said in a statement that the closure would end midnight on Thursday in accordance with a security assessment. Israel regularly closes its crossings with Palestinian territories during national holidays, citing security concerns.   ~ source ~
More About: Holiday , Locked , West Bank

Pakistan's 'Gandhi' party takes on Taliban, Al Qaeda
2008-05-06 10:38:00
The ANP, for its part, wants to bring more accountability to negotiations by putting all the facts before the people. Past negotiations under the military-led government were never made public, says Sen. Zahid Khan of the ANP. So when agreements inevitably fell apart amid accusations and counteraccusations, no one knew who was right. "We'll make all the developments in the talks public so as the masses can judge who is backing out of his words," he says. "The party going against the agreement would have to take the ire of the masses." In this way, negotiations can serve a strategic purpose. Defense analyst Ikram Sehgal says there are many natural points of disagreement between Pashtun tribals and foreign terrorists, such as the tactic of suicide bombing. "Terrorist ideology is completely anathema to tribal ideology," he says. "The whole idea is to drive a wedge between the tribals and the terrorists." Yet Rashid and others say that to ultimately succeed, the government...
More About: Party , Taliban , Al Qaeda , Gandhi , Al-Qaeda