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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Pakistan's new ambassador to France

Vous avez fait supérieur travail

The first time I heard about Jehanzeb Khan was in 2006 in Paris. I had a businessman friend who worked with French companies, he took me to a dinner party. It was a gathering of Paris's Businessmen , which was being attended by the Chief Executives, Directors and General Managers of big French companies. During the dinner, a French businessman revealed that he went to Karachi a few months ago on a tour, during which, his opinion about Pakistan and Pakistanis changed. I asked him "In what connection did you visit Pakistan?" He told me "I was taken to Pakistan by Jehanzeb Khan". After the Dinner I asked Makhdoom Abbas "Who is this Jehanzeb Khan?" Makhdoom looked at me and In turn asked me "Don't you know Jehanzeb Khan?" I nodded my head to show my ignorance. Makhdoom then told me "Jehanzeb Khan is the Commercial councilor In Pakistan Embassy in Paris and is extremely reknowned in French Buisness and Social circles."
I had a plan to meet Jehanzeb Khan with Mr Makdoom, but unfortunately, I could not meet him that year. Next year when I again went to Paris, I learned that Jehanzeb Khan has been posted back to Pakistan and that people miss him here in Paris.

Jehanzeb Khan's story was very interesting. Mr Khan is a DMG (Disticts Management Groups) officer. He served as Assistant Commissioner and then Deputy Commissioner in various Tehsils and Districts of Pakistan. After working in various ministries and appointments, he was appointed as Commercial Councilor in Paris in 2002. There were elections in Pakistan and in the new government Mr Humayun Akhtar was appointed as minister for Commerce and after a few months, his cousin, Mr Jehangir Tareen was appointed as Minister for Trade & Commerce. Both these men were fully aware of the importance of Buisness and Foreign investment and therefore decided to activate the commercial councilor. Meanwhile, they met with Mr Jehanzeb Khan, who had learned French by that time and was able to converse fluently in it.

The financial standing of Pakistan was better in those days while the French economy was going through a lean period. Jehanzeb Khan decided to take advantage of this situation. He first contacted with the French Cotton Industry. Mr Guillaume Sarkozy was the president of the Cotton Industry at that time. Mr Jehanzeb asked him "Your surname coincides with that of the Interior Minister, are you from the same family." Guillaume Sarkozy revealed that he was the big brother of Nicolas Sarkozy. During the meeting, they became friends. Around a thousand companies were affiliated with the giant French Cotton Industry. Meanwhile, Mr Jehanzeb took Mr Sarkozy and his wife to Karachi for a week, where he was shown the cotton and garments factories. He observed life in Karachi and liked Pakistan and Pakistani people. On his return to Paris, he invited Jehanzeb Khan to his home, where his mother was also present. He himself cooked food for Jehanzeb and a new friendship started.

Pakistan was considered a high risk state for investment and in 2005 it reached the dangerous Level-7 and was labeled with a red circle on the world map. In 2005 and 2006, when the then premier, Mr Shoukat Aziz went to USA to buy aero planes for the national carrier, PIA, the banks offered the loan at a very high rate. Pakistan Embassy in france was also tasked to improve the credit rating of Pakistan. Mr Jehanzeb khan was given this task as well. At this time, due to the enormous help in Mr Guillaume Sarkozy, Pakistan's credit rating improved from Level-7 to Level-6, as the result of which, the international bank reduced their interest on loans and also attracted international investors.

Expo 2005 was held in 2005 in Karachi. The biggest group of businessmen came from France which included representatives of 30 big companies, brought to the Expo by Mr Jehanzeb Khan. In this expo, French automaker Renault announced establishment of a car manufacturing plant in Pakistan. The cars produced in this plant would be Rs 150,000 to 200,000 cheaper that their counterparts in Pakistan and the firm also agreed for technology transfer. An agreement was reached between Pakistan and France, but work on it was stopped in 2007. In expo 2005, world famous Cash & Carry chain CarreFour also decided to establish their network in Pakistan. Their first store is operative in Fortress Stadium, Lahore, while work is in progress on other branches. In his 5 years term, Mr Jehanzeb Khan linked up Lahore School of Fashion Designing with leading fashion designers of France. These designers trained Pakistani designers and work on the first Pakistani Fashion University is underway in its place. Mr Jehanzeb Khan also brought French construction giant Vinci to Pakistan, which wanted to work on a big hydel project, but unfortunately could not succeed in the bidding. Nevertheless, it announced to support the engineering university in Pakistan. He also brought Paris Chamber of Commerce to Pakistan and helped in securing an agreement with Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This was the first ever visit and agreement by any French chamber of commerce in Pakistan. Paris chamber of commerce is the oldest in Europe. In its 100 years of existence, it has done only 11 agreements. There are two mango experts in the world, one of them being French. The French were not aware of Pakistani mangoes, whereas, we produce the best mangoes in the world. Mr Jehanzeb Khan brought the expert to Pakistan, where he was amazed to taste the Pakistani Mango.

Mr Jehanzeb Khan is one of those individuals who are an institution in themselves and can deliver wonders if allowed to work on their full potential. I was in paris when I came to know that the Government of Pakistan ahd appointed Mr Jehanzeb Khan as its Ambassador to France. This appointment was rejoiced in French business circles, but back in Pakistan, it drew a controversy. Some threw the decision in Prime Minster's court while the other in the president's. Who made this decision, we would not go into this detail, but it is a good decision as relations between Pakistan and France are entering into a new era. French president Nicolas Sarkozy is visiting Pakistan shortly, where he would announce technological support for Pakistan's for it's war against terrorism and would also offer a civil nuclear plant. Therefore, in this time, a person like Mr Jehanzeb Khan is best suited for the post, having fluency in French language, is friend's with the Sarkozy family and is known in the French business and social circles. At this delicate time, the Pakistani Embassy in France , instead of being in the hands of a Babu from the foreign office, should be in the hands of a person like Mr Jehanzeb Khan, who could transform the Pakistani Embassy into the hearts and minds of French businessmen, investors and politicians.

Such decesions are termed as " vous avez fait supérieur travail" in French, meaning that you have made a big and wise decision. While criticizing the government's bad decesions, we should also praise its good decesions and I applaud the government on this decision. If this wise decision is not reversed as is been happening in many cases, I am sure that it would bear good results.

ZERO POINT By Jawaid Chaudhry

Translated from the original version in Urdu.

Published in the editorial section of the Daily Express Newspaper.


Related Artricles

DMG-FSP controversy fails to die down

Envoy to France: DMG gatecrashing case likely to go to court

Tongues wagging over envoy choice for France

Pakistan's Ambassador to france, Jehanzeb Khan's Controversy




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DMG-FSP controversy fails to die down

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

By Ansar Abbasi


 

ISLAMABAD: The appointment of a grade 20 district management group (DMG) officer as Pakistan's ambassador to France has sparked inter-service rivalry between the two top groups of the civil bureaucracy with the Foreign Service of Pakistan (FSP) determined not to swallow this appointment while the DMG has started questioning the performance of the FSP, terming it "white elephant".

In a rejoinder to a series of articles that have appeared in the print media criticising the appointment of Jehanzeb Khan as ambassador to France, a group of young DMG officers lamented that the FSP officers have launched a vicious media campaign against a competent DMG officer.

E-mailed to The News by a DMG officer, the rejoinder bemoaned that the media too has gone one-sided without crosschecking the facts about the officer, who is in the middle of the storm. The officer, who has requested anonymity, wondered what the foreign service baboos have done for the country since 1947 and alleged that it has bitterly failed to sensitize even friendly countries about the Kashmir issue, nuclear programme, fanaticism and terrorism in the guise of Talibanisation and Pakistan's losses in war against terror. "Do we need a service which has become a virtual white elephant on the national exchequer and our embassies are also providing no service or respite to the hapless expatriate Pakistanis?" the DMG officer asked, saying the FSP officers have done nothing for the projection of Pakistan.

Targeting the retired ambassadors, who too have voiced their opposition to Jehanzeb's appointment, the DMG officer said before rising in support of fellow FSP officers, the retired ambassadors' brigade should first answer the nation about their own performance.

"Did they develop any accountability mechanism for their service to improve our image abroad?" the officer asked, believing they did not have any other agenda except securing a lucrative foreign posting for themselves and their children.

The DMG officer said the Foreign Office didn't resist the induction of corrupt elements by former dictator Pervez Musharraf. It is because of them that today Pakistan has become an international pariah in the comity of nations.

The DMG officer said Pakistan needs the most capable and competent officers to win its case in the world fora and it has been a long drawn out tradition of the civil service that the most competent and iconic officers, having distinguished careers, are given important foreign postings to efficiently safeguard our national interests. And FSP baboos should also remember that it is the sole prerogative of the federal government to choose its best officers for important positions abroad. According to the Civil Service Act rules and regulations, he said, non-FSP officers can be appointed on any federal or provincial post.

"The appointment of Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan, who enjoys an excellent track record in service, should not be made controversial by the media as he has already served as Pakistan's commercial consular in France for 5 long years, to say the least. His past exposure of France will certainly benefit Pakistan in more than one ways; as ambassador, he will be quite nifty to boost bilateral economic ties with his proactive economic diplomacy, besides better handling of preferential tariff regime, which affords customs privileges in return for respecting certain principles in the areas of workers' rights and the environment, with the European Union to help increase textile quota for Pakistan," the rejoinder read, adding, "This shows that France is an important diplomatic destination and therefore, the issue of grade should be a less important point when compared with the national interest."

It added that this posting is not "Politicisation of bureaucracy" but a policy decision of the federal government to appoint best officers to promote its foreign policy agenda. Appointing best CSP officers and leading personalities as ambassadors is not a fresh occurrence as ambassadorship is not a career assignment. In the past, before the appointment of Abdul Sattar as foreign secretary, many iconic diplomats were from CSP who toiled all their lives to bring good name for the country and left traditions of their dedicated hard work in the FSP.

The officer argued that as many as 17 ambassadors in the Foreign Service of Pakistan are working in grade-20 but added in the same breath that the issue of grade's compatibility should be ignored in case of the most suitable candidate. "It is also pointed out that the FSP is a minority community in embassies' hierarchy which is mostly represented by Defence Attaches, Press Attaches, Trade Consulars, Labour and Community Welfare Attaches and like that."

The e-mail claimed that Jehanzeb Khan has always served well wherever he worked. Presently working as Secretary Livestock Punjab, it is said, he is a distinguished officer of the DMG who has a penchant for learning and hard work. His selection for an elevated assignment is of vital importance because France is a leading world power and a G8 member with strong role in EU affairs. Being a Pashtoon, it will be much easier for Jehanzeb to define the Taliban dimension well.

"These hard facts clearly belie the FSP's claim of limiting ambassador's posts within the domain of FSP as it is mere a cliche and they should, instead of running a malicious campaign against a high profile government officer, give priority to their own duties and strengthen the cause of foreign policy at a time when we need it most," concluded the officer, insisting that the rejoinder represents the feelings of a group of young and mid-career DMG officers.

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Tongues wagging over envoy choice for France

Monday, June 29, 2009

By Mariana Baabar


 

ISLAMABAD: Institutional rumblings against the appointment of a junior Grade 20 DMG officer Jehanzeb Khan as Pakistan's ambassador to France threatens to snowball into a full blown controversy and blow up in the government's face, unless remedial measures are taken by the prime minister's office, sources in the Foreign Office (FO) claimed.

The appointment of a junior official in one of the most important capitals was deemed bad enough by FO top honchos but the issue assumed altogether new and unacceptable proportions, as per FO sources, with Jehanzeb's appointment being made in place of the distinguished career officer Jalil Jillani, who is now reportedly being accommodated as Ambassador to Brussels.

Tongues are already wagging about the 'real undeclared reasons' for this appointment and why the government, despite the open opposition by FO top hierarchy, is insistent upon the imposition of a Grade 20 officer presently working as secretary livestock in the Punjab Government as Pakistan's next ambassador to France.

According to a highly reliable source, deputy head of mission in Paris, Rafiuzzaman Siddiqui approached Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir on Friday and requested his repatriation to Headquarters in Islamabad as he let it be known that he would not serve under a junior DMG officer.

On Saturday, Ambassador Sher Afgan Khan, President of Association of Former Ambassadors (AFA) wrote to Prime Minister Gilani, drawing his attention to the fact that the AFA had been heartened by his statement that all appointments would be made on the basis of merit and competence alone. The AFA in this regard asked the prime minister to reconsider Jehanzeb Khan's appointment to Paris.

In this regard the AFA reminded the prime minister that France is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Paris one of the most important world capitals. Pakistan's interests there are multi-dimensional and cover diverse areas, such as political matters, security, defence, UN Security Council affairs and Pakistan-European ties, in addition to purely economic and commercial interests. The AFA asked how France would react to a junior non-career official, which many in the diplomatic world interpret as a "down gradation" of ties.

In fact the AFA goes further to ask the prime minister to start phasing out the 'out dated' quota reserved for non-career ambassadors, a move which would put Pakistan closer to world practices where only a handful of such nominees are made and those too in very exceptional cases.

Interestingly in a rare instance, a member of the AFA and former Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmad writing an op-ed piece in a national daily says, "Never have we sent an officer of Grade 20 rank to a capital of this high importance and profile. It is beyond reason and imagination that our government which claims to be setting the standards of 'good governance' and which is also beating Marco Polo records with its leaders travelling overseas endlessly in search of "friends of Pakistan" should be naive enough to insult an important country which genuinely is a friend of Pakistan." He says that the planned appointment is a demeaning gesture to France, one of the P-5s and Pakistan's leading EU partner.

Some in the FO are even talking about reported government plans to sell the historic chateau, Pakistan House in Paris. To date, the government has not rebutted the published report in this regard.

Then there is a generous move by the French government to enter into a dialogue with Pakistan on civil nuclear energy for which the first round of talks starts in July. Added to this are reports from Paris where members of the French opposition are asking the government there to look into allegations that the killing of 11 French engineers in Karachi was a result of foul play regarding the non-payment of commissions and was not a terrorist attack as portrayed earlier.

That the FO is vehemently opposed to this appointment is open knowledge, and while officially the appointment has been made by the government of Pakistan through its chief executive, questions are being asked about the 'real decision maker' in this case. According to knowledgeable insiders of FO, fingers are being pointed in the direction of the Presidency as well. While the jury is still out on who is behind the man, what is clear is that FO is not, and that is hardly a promising start for our diplomatic initiative in France.


 


 

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Pakistan's Ambassador to france, Jehanzeb Khan's Controversy

Pakistan ambassador to France, Mr Jehanzeb Khan, is under the spot light of media for being the first ever DMG officer to be made Ambassador of Pakistan to France. The Foreign Office group is opposing this appointment since they consider it a DMG takeover of Foreign Services department. While the DMG side thinks that they are the perfect lot who are more competent then their colleagues in Foreign Services and hence the best officers should be assigned to the role instead of the people serving in the Foreign Services.

For the convenience of our readers, i will highlight that DMG and Foreign Services are two different fields chosen by the candidates while applying for CSS exam. DMG is involved with the management of districts while the Foreign Services personnel are involved with managing our foreign relations and hence both are two totally different fields and have nothing in common.

Today two different stories emergedin The News, one by the DMG officer which was published by Ansar Abbassi and the other story is published by Marianna Babar about the possible mutiny in Foreign Services group agaisnt the appointment of Jehanzeb Khan. I will first look into the statement of DMG officers as narrated by Ansar Abbassi. You can find the full story by clicking here.

In the article the DMG officer which came in defence of the appointment of Jehanzeb Khan presented his case on the basis of merit. According to him, Jehanzeb Khan is more competent then any person in the whole Foreign Services Group of Pakistan and this is one big reason that Jehanzeb Khan, a DMG officer, should lead the Pakistan Embassy in France. He further challenges the achievements of the Foreign Services Group for the last 60 years. Not only this, he take the liberty of presenting another argument that Jehanzeb Khan is a Pashtun (I am also Pashtun) and that is one strong credential that he can explain the War on Terror in a better manner to the French people and their government.

Now here is what i think as a layman!

DMG Officers don't believe in specializations and hence they believe a person managing a district can manage country foreign policy and defend the policies of its government in Foreign capitals. I wonder if that is the case, DMG officers will surely go to a Cardiologist when they find their eye sight weak and they go to Dentists when they have pain in their leg because a competent doctor is all that matters and not his area of specilization. Coming to second point about the achievements of Foreign Services Group for the past 60 years? I wonder how the DMG group will narrate their own achievements? Siding with the establishment and looting the very public which they are suppose to help? Pakistan cities are the worst example of management. You don't see any sign of management at all. In sixty years of existence, they have not yet gone over their mental slavery. DMG officers are famous for being the most corrupt lot in Pakistan since they control the most vital spheres of country life. Can they present one single achievement of this group to us (the people of Pakistan?). In fact DMG group is the white elephant and a burden on the economy of Pakistan with not a single achievement except for increasing their personnel wealth and status. They are the people who have made sure that the British system remain intact and that our people are kept slaves in one form or another. Coming to the last point of Jehanzeb Khan being a Pashtun, i wonder if that is how we choose our ambassadors? Or is that the people who are from other Provinces of Pakistan have never heard of Taliban or the crises through which NWFP is passing through? I must mention here that one of the finest police officer of NWFP was from Lahore, Punjab and he knew the province and its people far better then any other Pashtun Police Officer. So this stupid argument stands no ground at all. The very argument make it crystal clear to our readers about the possible mental calibre of our DMG officers.

I am lucky i abandoned the idea of applying to CSS exam. I would have preferred to resign rather then working between such corrupt and incompetent baboos of British System of Slavery dubbed as DMG Officers.

The other article presented by Marianna Babar touches upon the possible signs of mutiny in the Foreign Services Group officers, who have decided not to handle any single official communication with their French embassy, if Jehanzeb Khan was given the top slot. They have also shared few insider stories of huge scams and corruptions done by some influential Pakistanis in France. The News claims that they are verifying the story before sharing it with the readers. We will be eagerly looking forward to it. In the mean while, our readers should keep in mind the recent accusations that have emerged in France by the French Opposition leaders that the 11 French engineers killed in Karachi might be the possible victims of a kick backs taken by both Pakistani and French leaders. The story has yet to be investigated and hence Pakistan Embassy in France would require a person who can handle the case in the desired manner. The possible people involved in Pakistan will try their best to appoint their own favourites to help them in clearing the matter. Therefore, the appointment of Jehanzeb Khan has also turned many eyes as they viewed him a pawn of influential people sitting in Islamabad.

Lets see how things turn out!

Posted on Pro-Pakistan Weblog

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Envoy to France: DMG gatecrashing case likely to go to court

Monday, June 29, 2009

By Qudssia Akhlaque, The News Daily


ISLAMABAD: A large number of officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have petitioned that the prime minister revisits government decision allowing a serving District Management Group (DMG) officer to gatecrash into the elite Foreign Service and grab the prized ambassadorial post in Paris.

Serving career Foreign Service officers have taken a tough stand against the unprecedented move by the PPP-led government to appoint a Grade-20 DMG officer, Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan, currently serving as Secretary Livestock & Dairy Development, Punjab, as ambassador to France. Several senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed a petition seeking review of the decision by the prime minister and handed it to the offices of the Foreign Minister and the Foreign Secretary for submission to the Prime Minister's Secretariat.

Indications are that if the prime minister does not intervene to stop the controversial posting of the Livestock and Dairy Development Secretary, it is likely to be challenged by a group of affected officials in a court of law.

According to informed sources, officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are seriously weighing out the available options of moving Islamabad High Court or the Federal Services Tribunal in the event the decision is not reversed. However, there are more chances of the aggrieved officers moving the High Court as the dominant view is that going to the Services Tribunal would not afford an efficacious remedy given its jurisdictional and procedural limitations.

"I am quite certain that if a writ petition is filed in the High Court it will be admitted right away as the affected officers have a very strong case," former foreign secretary Riaz Khokhar said when his attention was drawn to this issue. According to legal experts the High Court has the power to provide immediate relief by way of a 'stay order' resulting in withholding the posting orders in question.

Khokhar, who like many other former Pakistani diplomats is baffled by the government's ill-conceived move, sees it as "another horrible example" of incompetence and poor governance. "It devalues Pak-French relations and more importantly it is an insult to a great country," the former foreign secretary noted as he criticised the government's decision to appoint a DMG officer of Jehanzeb Khan's calibre as ambassador to France. "They have no respect for government institutions. This government seems to specialise in cronyism, nepotism and wheeling-dealing," he added.

The papers of Jehanzeb Khan have already been dispatched by the government to Paris for the Agreema but according to some diplomatic sources, the French may not give the green light any time soon and are likely to sleep over it.

"They will consider it an insult that such a junior officer is being sent as ambassador to their country," remarked one diplomat. Another view is that given the controversy this appointment has created and with a strong possibility of litigation against it, the French government may just want to 'wait and watch' and put the matter on hold.

Understandably the move is being greatly resented by career diplomats who feel extremely demoralised by this decision as it undermines their career path. Apparently, the move was opposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which obviously does not have the last word on such matters. This is evident from credible reports that nomination papers of senior diplomat Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani named by the Foreign Office for the ambassadorial assignment in France were withdrawn to accommodate Jehanzeb Khan.

Most Foreign Ministry officials are mindful of the fact that ambassadorial postings are the sole prerogative of the government of the day and say they have no objection to political appointees who are competent, exceptionally outstanding professionals and accomplished individuals like Jamshed Marker or Dr Maleeha Lodhi. However, they are strongly opposed to officers from outside the Foreign Service and other service groups like the DMG gatecrashing into the top diplomatic slots of the Foreign Service after having made a clear choice of their career paths at the outset of their service.

"It is highly unfair that after opting for a certain career path an individual suddenly crosses over to another service to have the best of both the worlds," protested a senior officer at the Foreign Ministry.

Notably this is the first instance that a government in Islamabad has set a precedent of appointing a serving DMG officer, who was promoted to Grade 20 less than a year back, as ambassador to France. Traditionally very senior grade 22 career diplomats have been appointed to this position including the outgoing ambassador Asma Anisa and other top diplomats like Jamshed Marker and Ahmed Kamal. At least five former foreign secretaries served as ambassadors in Paris prior to their promotion to the top bureaucratic slot in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Among these were Shaharyar Khan, Gen Raza, Saeedullah Khan Dehlvi.

In past there have been instances when some retired DMG officers were posted as ambassadors. One recent example was appointment of Qamar Beg as ambassador to Italy in 2003 through the courtesy of former President Pervez Musharraf.

The frustration of career diplomats whose morale seems to be at the lowest ebb can be gauged by the fact that under this government most of the key ambassadorial assignments have gone to non-career diplomats. Among the political appointees are envoys to the US, Britain, UN Headquarters in New York, Iran, UAE, Libya and now to France.

It is unfathomable why at a time when the President and the foreign minister have been talking about the supposed French offer of civilian nuclear technology to Pakistan should a secretary livestock be sent to Paris as ambassador. When the services of plenty of very competent career officers trained for the job and well versed in diplomacy are available, why political appointments are made.

According to sources currently there are about 53 career officers at the Foreign Ministry and 20 are awaiting ambassadorial appointments. With negotiations on an important Pakistan-France bilateral framework agreement to begin next month in the run up to the planned visit of the French President this fall, it is pertinent to post the best career officer as envoy to Paris, which is politically and strategically an important world capital for Pakistan.

Please read also: Pakistan's new ambassador to France

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U.S.-built bridge is windfall — for illegal Afghan drug trade


NIZHNY PANJ, Tajikistan — In August 2007, the presidents of Afghanistan and Tajikistan walked side by side with the U.S. commerce secretary across a new $37 million concrete bridge that the Army Corps of Engineers designed to link two of Central Asia's poorest countries.

Dressed in a gray suit with an American flag pin in his lapel, then-Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said the modest two-lane span that U.S. taxpayers paid for would be "a critical transit route for trade and commerce" between Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

Today, the bridge across the muddy waters of the Panj River is carrying much more than vegetables and timber: It's paved the way for drug traffickers to transport larger loads of Afghan heroin and opium to Central Asia and beyond to Russia and Western Europe.

Standing near his truck in a dusty patch on the Afghan side of the river, Yar Mohammed said it was easy to drive drugs past the Afghan and Tajik border guards.

"It's an issue of money," Mohammed said, to the nods and grins of the small group of truckers gathered around him near the bridge at Nizhny Panj. "If you give them money, you can do whatever you want."

The roots of the global drug trade are often a murky tangle of poverty, addiction, violence and corruption. However, it's clear why the dirt-poor former Soviet Central Asian republic of Tajikistan is on the verge of becoming a narco-state.

After the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the United States and other Western powers looked the other way as opium and heroin production surged to record levels, making Afghanistan by far the world's biggest producer.

Much of the ballooning supply of drugs shipped across Afghanistan's northern border, up to one-fifth of the country's output, has traveled to and through Tajikistan. The opium and heroin funded rampant corruption in Tajikistan and turned the country, still hobbled by five years of civil war in the 1990s, into what at times seems like one big drug-trafficking organization.

Every day last year — extrapolating from United Nations estimates — an average of more than 4 metric tons of opium, which can be made into some 1,320 pounds of heroin, moved on the northern route. Put another way, the equivalent of nearly 6 million doses of pure heroin — at 100 milligrams each — is carried across the northern Afghan border each day.

After it's cut with other substances and sold on the street corners and in the apartment stairwells of Russia and Western Europe, the main retail markets for Central Asian heroin, that could produce at least 12 million doses.

Nevertheless, it's clear even to a casual visitor at the bridge that neither the Afghan or the Tajik border guards have much interest in curbing, or even inspecting, the exports that pass in front of them.

In fact, as the Afghan drug supply has grown, Tajik seizures have fallen. In 2004, Afghanistan produced 4,200 metric tons of opium, and some 5 metric tons of heroin or its equivalent in opium were seized in Tajikistan, according to U.N. figures. Last year, with Afghan cultivation rising to 7,700 metric tons of opium, Tajik authorities seized less than 2 metric tons of heroin.

Although the United States wields enormous influence in both countries, their drug problems have taken a back seat to the war against the Taliban. Until the past year, Afghanistan's growing drug production was at best a midlevel priority for Washington, and the U.S. hasn't pressed Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to rein in his country's drug trafficking, Western officials said. Nor, they said, has any other Western government with troops in Afghanistan.

All along the Afghan-Tajik border, smugglers for years have thrown sacks of heroin over the Panj River, waded across when the water is low, set up flotillas of car tires and used small ferries or footbridges.

The U.S.-financed bridge has made drug trafficking even easier, truck driver Mohammed said with a toothy smile: "You load the truck with drugs."

The ferry that used to operate at Nizhny Panj carried about 40 trucks a day. The bridge can carry 1,000 vehicles daily.

Organized crime groups now are focusing on using official checkpoints to move their drugs, a senior official at the Tajik State Committee for National Security said, speaking to a recent meeting of Central Asian counter-narcotics officers.

"Especially through the Tajik-Afghan bridge on the Panj River," Davlat Zarifov said.

Zarifov apparently didn't know that a reporter was present, and he declined further comment and quickly walked away.

To try to get the Tajik government's side of the story, a McClatchy reporter approached Sherali Mirzo, the official in charge of the country's border guards, a man with a full mustache and medals across his uniformed chest. Mirzo said he didn't talk to the media.

Rustam Nazarov, the director of the country's drug control agency, said in a brief interview that the declining heroin and opium seizures suggested that there was less trafficking of those drugs through Tajikistan, an analysis that the facts on the ground would seem to contradict.

Nazarov, however, did allow that, "There is corruption in Tajikistan; no one denies that. Unfortunately, we have some civil servants who are corrupt."

A few days later at the Afghan-Tajik border, as the sun began to dip below a horizon framed by jagged mountains, Mohammed Zahir, an Afghan truck driver, gave a simple explanation for how drugs get across the bridge.

"People involved with the drug business know the guards," Zahir said. "Before sending their drugs across, they pay them money."

A second driver, Qand Agha, chimed in: "If high officials on the border weren't involved, then people like me couldn't take drugs into their country."

Down the road, a line of trucks was crossing the bridge.

'DENGI, DENGI'

Sitting in a $40,000 SUV with soft leather seats and a dark orange paint job, a man named Negmatullo hitched up his shirtsleeve to show the sore on his arm from the heroin he'd been shooting up. He fiddled with his designer sunglasses, absentmindedly brushed his hair and said in a junkie's mumble that, "If you pay someone at the border, you can bring drugs up."

Negmatullo, a thin man with dirty blond hair, had just come out of a drug treatment clinic in the town of Kurgan-Tyube, a halfway point between the border and the Tajik capital of Dushanbe. He asked that his last name not be used for his own security.

When Negmatullo was asked why guards and other Tajik law-enforcement officials would be susceptible to corruption, he rubbed his fingers together and muttered "dengi, dengi," Russian for "money, money."

The car's license plate flashed by as Negmatullo pulled away; it was number 7777, a calling card of those connected to the president's inner circle.

The spoils of the drug trade are as obvious as the shiny new BMWs speeding down the dusty roads that cut from south to north across the steppes of Tajikistan, passing hunched old men who tend the cotton fields with hoes. It's an ancient setting: Alexander the Great and his men conquered parts of the territory in the fourth century B.C, and they're said to have crossed the Panj River by floating on leather hides.

These days, in a nation where some 50 percent of the population makes less than $41 a month, there's a steady stream of new Mercedes and Lexus sedans, not only in Dushanbe, but also in the hamlets that dot the way to the Afghan border.

Locals say the cars often are given in trade for loads of heroin shipped north to the Russian border. The stuff is easy to get.

"You can just take two bags over your back, walk across the Panj and bring them back filled with heroin. It's no problem," said Vazir, a Tajik who was released from a Russian prison last February after he was caught trying to take 600 grams of heroin through a Moscow airport. During an interview in Dushanbe, he asked that his last name not be used because he feared retribution.

Vazir continued: "You can give your bag of heroin to one of the guards, and he will carry it across for you."

'A CULTURE OF IMPUNITY'

The supply chain appears to reach far beyond hustlers such as Vazir. Many Western officials and Tajik observers suspect that the Rahmon government controls the drug trade.

"I don't know if the president is involved personally, but he gives the percentages to different groups for what they can do," said one Western diplomat in Dushanbe, who like others spoke only on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of criticizing the regime. "Just go to the airport. There are bags of heroin going through unchecked. . . . People are pretty open about it. There's more and more a culture of impunity."

After the Soviet Union fell in 1991, Russian troops continued to patrol the Tajik border. They withdrew from the area in 2005 after the Tajik government demanded that they leave — though it allowed them to stay in other parts of the country — asserting that as a sovereign nation Tajikistan was capable of securing its own frontiers.

An assortment of local conscripts replaced the relatively professional Russian contingent, which trained and financed the Tajik officer corps.

"You have conscripts earning maybe $3 a month stretched out over 1,344 kilometers of border" — 835 miles — said another Western diplomat in Dushanbe, discussing the problem of drug dealers paying border guards to look the other way. "It's obvious that if you need to eat, corruption is an option."

Some Russian and Western officials said privately that the Tajik government wanted the Russians out of the way to ensure a larger supply of opium and heroin.

It was a move designed to gain "hold of a bigger part of the drug trade," one Western diplomat in Dushanbe said.

"Frankly speaking, there were forces in the government of Tajikistan who wanted to replace the Russian troops with Tajik troops to allow more holes in the border," said a Russian official in Moscow who travels regularly to Tajikistan and has high-level contact with the Tajik government. "It was to make the penetration of drugs easier."

The State Committee for National Security, Tajikistan's version of the KGB, took control of border enforcement in 2007 and almost immediately barred the country's Interior Ministry and drug control agency from access to the border region.

'THERE IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A TRADEOFF'

When a McClatchy reporter drove to the border at Nizhny Panj to do interviews, troops turned him back because he didn't have official permission. A border guard supervisor in plainclothes pulled the reporter's driver aside and suggested in a menacing tone that the driver was a spy. The Tajik government later denied McClatchy permission to visit the southern border.

The reporter resorted to crossing the bridge into Afghanistan with a routine visa, and he saw no evidence that Afghan or Tajik officials were inspecting trucks for contraband.

Despite the public nature of the drug trade and related corruption in Tajikistan, however, the West has done relatively little to pressure President Rahmon.

Some Western officials acknowledge that it's the result of a political tradeoff: No one wants to risk alienating Rahmon on the issue of drug corruption because his authoritarian regime's cooperation is important for preventing Islamic militants from using the Tajik-Afghan border as a sanctuary.

"The Americans want to have a logistics base here, so do you think they're going to pressure the government about corruption?" said William Lawrence, a chief adviser for a U.N. Afghan border-management program based in Dushanbe. "The answer is no."

The U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe declined to comment, but a State Department official said that such balancing acts were common.

"There is always going to be a tradeoff based on different foreign-policy objectives, different security objectives, the tolerance for different types of corruption, different levels of corruption," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of diplomatic protocol. "I don't think the situation in Tajikistan, frankly, is that much different than the rest of Central Asia in terms of these types of tradeoffs."

A second Western diplomat in Dushanbe was more blunt about Western governments ignoring reports on Tajikistan's official complicity in drug corruption.

"We send reports every month to our capitals, very negative, but they don't (care)," said the diplomat, whose country has troops in Afghanistan. "Because it's a so-called stable country leading to Afghanistan, we accept it."

The diplomat said that his country had funded projects to help train and equip the Tajiks to deal with the drug problem. The United States and other Western nations have done the same.

This month, for example, the U.S. ambassador to Tajikistan broke ground on a $2.5 million project to overhaul the border guard training academy in Dushanbe. The American Embassy said in a recent news release that it had implemented more than $37.5 million of initiatives to help Tajik law enforcement since 1992.

However, the second Western diplomat said, there isn't much arm-twisting to make sure the Tajik government cracks down.

"We don't dare to say to the president, 'We give you money for anti-corruption but the first thing you see on the streets is these police taking bribes,' " the diplomat said. "Nobody says, 'We'll give you money for border security, but in three years we want to see a reduction in drugs.' "

MORE FROM MCCLATCHY

Afghan drug trade thrives with help, and neglect, of officials

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Nano-Thermite and 9/11

Danish Scientist on TV: Nano-thermite Behind Collapse of WTC Buildings on 9/11, Not Planes

Clare Swinney
Uncensored Magazine
April 13, 2009

On the morning of April the 6th, Professor Niels Harrit of Copenhagen University in Denmark, who is an expert in nano-chemistry, was interviewed for an entire 10 minutes during a news program on the topic of the nano-thermite found in the dust from the World Trade Centre, (WTC).



During this news report, Harrit, who is one of the nine scientists primarily responsible for the pivotal paper entitled: 'Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe', talks about how their research, which was conducted over 18 months, led to the conclusion that planes did not cause the collapse of the three buildings at the WTC on 9/11.

He says that they found such large quantities of nano-thermite in the dust from the WTC, that he believes that this compound, which has the ability to melt metal, must have been brought into the WTC site in tonnes, on pallets. Consequently, he suggests that we need to address this matter with those who were in charge of the security at the World Trade Centre on 9/11.

Harrit, like Dr Steven Jones who also played a major role in this ground-breaking research, refers to their findings as "the loaded gun" and suggests that military personnel might be able to enlighten us more on the little-known topic of nano-thermite, which differs from regular thermite in a number of significant ways, including that its ignition temperature is far lower than that of the conventional kind, [1].

The above screen shot is from IndyBay.org.

Related:


[1]. Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophy by Niels Harrit et al., 2009

The Seventh Tower by Niels Harrit, 2006

Nanothermites and WTC dust by Kevin Ryan, 27/12/08

Truth & Deception: An Interview with Kevin Ryan on 9/11, 14/2/09

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Monday, June 29, 2009

The King of Pop's legacy

 

By Eduan Maggo, Copy editor
Published: June 27, 2009, 22:43

In four decades, Michael Jackson changed the face of popular culture forever, lending his eccentricity to his art.

"And now everyone's a fan."

This status update on Facebook captures the feeling of many Michael Jackson fans. Let's face it, the man the world has come to know as the King of Pop hadn't been so popular in the autumn of his years. The question we must now ask is, will he be remembered for his famous eccentricities, the life that, on the whole, was miserable - or for the undeniable impact he has had on almost every realm of popular culture?

Born Michael Joseph Jackson on August 29, 1958 the Gloved One was an entertainer for almost his whole life. The man now understood to be a troubled genius had his skill and talent honed by a father who relentlessly pushed his offspring to excel.

A musical prodigy, Jackson became an instant star at age 11. Then a fresh-faced pre-teen, Jackson quickly emerged as the leading talent in a uniquely gifted family. His destinctive voice and delivery on songs like ABC and I'll Be There catapulted the band of brothers to stardom and The Jackson 5 achieved the unprecedented feat of four consecutive No 1 singles.

The Jackson children were driven hard; rehearsals and recording sessions got brutal. Physical and mental abuse was not unusual, as was name-calling, Jackson often stated.

The price the brothers paid was heavy; the impact they, a group of teenagers, had on the musical and social scene of the 1970s was tremendous. Never before had a group consisting of black male musicians had such crossover appeal: their first four singles all went to No 1 in the mainstream charts. The Jacksons paved the way for black groups singing R&B-derived tunes to be accepted by the industry as major players, not niche talents. Jackson himself would later score firsts in opening up the mainstream of music to a solo black artist.

This early success had a profound effect on the man who would go on to give the world the Moonwalk. For insight into his tortured soul, one needn't look too far, since the singer-songwriter had penned it himself.

Every artist can be defined by one song. Michael Jackson's is the lesser-known Childhood. Fittingly off the album HIStory, the song is in part biographical and references Jackson's difficult years growing up: "Have you seen my Childhood?/ I'm searching for the world that I come from/ 'Cause I've been looking around/ In the lost and found of my heart.../ No one understands me/ They view it as such strange eccentricities.../ 'Cause I keep kidding around/ Like a child, but pardon me..."

Wacko Jacko, as he's been labelled, went on to write: "People say I'm not okay/ 'Cause I love such elementary things.../ It's been my fate to compensate/ for the Childhood/ I've never known..."

Jackson was always destined for solo success, and he was intent on taking the world with him. He evolved and the world adapted; Jackson changed his face, and the face of music along with it.

Jackson infused soul and R&B with hip-hop and rock, creating a sound that crossed the colour barrier. Music on television exposed artists to a wider audience, and Jackson as an artist attracted fans from all walks.

Even before his physical transformation, his music was neither black nor white.

Jackson's solo career burst coincided with the rise of music videos. Jackson was on the cusp of this new genre, which he exploited fully.

Popular culture had switched on to the idea of watching the radio, and he gave people something to watch - music as a short film. Jackson explored this idea with groundbreaking videos like Thriller, expressing himself both musically and through film.

By pushing this genre, he became the first true superstar, as he could show off his singing, dancing and acting talent.

The downside to his newfound fame was that his social life followed his career into the stratosphere. He had attuned the public to watching him, and watch they did, even as his personal life spiralled out of control. Every day we could tune in to watch Jackson's train derail as his position floundered in the '90s.

Yet he remained popular, if infamously so. The masses remained tuned in to see what new heights he would reach, if not artistically, then in personal lows.

A whole generation had grown up seeing him first on television, then on computer screens on the internet and now on their mobile phones and Twitter.

So the King of Pop may have given the music industry its first Royal Family when he married Lisa Marie Presley, the Princess of Rock 'n' Roll, but all we saw and wanted to see was a recluse who had completely lost it. Wacko Jacko may have brought the final frontier a little closer with the Moonwalk, but he was essentially portrayed as a freak of nature. The child star had risen throughout the '80s, the '90s saw a man increasingly seeming out of touch with reality and by the Noughties he'd reached the apex of eccentricity.

If video killed the radio star, then Jackson with his short films was its executioner. But this fact was often conveniently locked up in a closet of the past; forgotten, along with his single white glove and black loafers.

With 13 No 1 singles behind his name, Jackson was a cultural icon, albeit a tainted one. Yes, he may have sold an estimated 750 million records worldwide and became one of only a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But he slowly turned from talented young man into a social outcast.

The Guinness Book of World Records recognised Jackson as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time, and his ground-breaking Thriller as the Biggest Selling Album of All Time. Yet Jackson became a victim of his success.

Jackson may have won 13 Grammy Awards and received the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award. His sound, style and dance moves may have inspired subsequent generations of pop, soul, R&B and hip-hop artists, yet he was and will remain a fallen hero - even an anti-hero, some would say.

In recent years, Jackson toured abroad and attended to his charitable foundation, Heal the World. Then, last year, after years out of the spotlight, he announced a series of concerts as his curtain call - This is It. It sold 75,000 tickets in four hours.

Never gonna' happen, the naysayers said. And everyone agreed, because we'd gotten used to seeing Michael Jackson as nothing but a failure.

Then the man-child died. "Before you judge me, try hard to love me/ The painful youth I've had," again on Childhood. Jackson's success came at a price. A price his legacy will bear forever, despite the burgeoning load on the MJ fanwagon.

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Mall sharks get entertained in Dubai

Dubai: Strapping on a mask, flippers and peering into a giant tank where more than 40 sharks are minding their own business - you might take a second to wonder before jumping in to join them - will they eat me?

Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo has just launched its shark dive in the world's biggest suspended tank, at Dubai Mall.



"Suspended" because there is another floor below it so 10 million litres of water are held up by columns that distribute the load into the building's foundations.

But the answer is no, the sharks -sand tigers, grey reef, tawny nurse, leopard, blacktip or zebra sharks - will not eat you because they get fed everyday at 4pm.

Their predatory instincts have been conditioned out of them through regular feeds and training.

"People would not believe that you can train sharks," said Paul Hamilton, head curator of Dubai Aquarium, "but you can train them to feed on a particular type of food at a particular time of day."

It took about two months to train the sand tiger sharks, considered the top of the food chain of this recreated aquatic habitat, to associate only certain fish as food.

"So now, if I take herring or squid into the tank I would get zero response from sharks. We did that by creating zero-success. Sharks never get any opportunity to eat herring or squid so the scent doesn't create feeding motivation," said Hamilton.

"They eat mackerel, tuna and milkfish so we make sure there is zero success with those fish for other species - as soon as the sharks smell it they know it's their food. Once you get a routine set up and trust built up, the animals know that they get fed at certain times and they lose all predation."

The stingrays eat at 2pm. A clicker used by the divers alerts them that it's dinner time. Half of the tank's entire food intake is distributed by the public through broadcast feeding, or thrown pellets from a viewing platform in the Underwater Zoo.

"You are limited by what can coexist. Some fish are too easy targets. There is some science in species selection and what goes together&A lot of larger animals do have to be targeted [at feed times] because when we throw food to the sharks we don't know who gets what," said Hamilton.

The sharks are microchipped which helps to identify them if markings do not give them away first. Divers "stick-feed" by holding out a stick with food on the end to particular sharks.

"You do have to be quite calculated in your approach to feed the animals because they form their hierarchies - I eat first, you eat last. With schooling fish it can't be done. They know how to work these things out because that's how they do it in the wild."

The first sign of an unwell shark or fish is the lack of motivation to feed. Hamilton's team is made up mainly of marine biologists, supported by a veterinary clinic, outsourced and brought in when needed.

"We can segregate fish but if we are ever concerned about an individual, we would take it out and quarantine it. We do it all the time. It's part of managing a tank this size."

Jim Reilly, exhibit supervisor, oversees food preparation on a daily basis. Fish are gutted and prepared every morning after having been removed from the freezer well in advance.

It is a truly cosmopolitan diet with mackerel from the UK, krill from Japan and herring from Scandinavia. Talapia and clams come from the UAE.

"We source locally where we can, but generally the food comes in globally. The sharks get mackerel which doesn't occur where they come from, but they love it. We put vitamins and antioxidants in their food to make sure they are getting everything they need."

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Plans finalised for Dubai Metro and Waterway Link-Up


By Ashfaq Ahmed, Chief Reporter
Published: June 14, 2009, 00:04

Dubai: The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has finalised plans to integrate water transport with the Dubai Metro and public buses, a senior official has said.

"We will link water transport including water buses, ferries and traditional abras at four locations providing a smooth link for commuters to switch from one mode of transport to another suiting their journey plan," said Dr Khalid Al Zahed, Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the RTA's Marine Agency.

The Marine Agency is responsible for developing water transport strategies in line with Dubai's plans to encourage more people to use public transport.

He told Gulf News in an exclusive interview that at least four metro stations on both sides of the Dubai Creek would be linked with water transport through air-conditioned walkways.

Al Gubaiba marine transport station will be the major one to be linked withAl Gubaiba metro station and public bus station in Bur Dubai along the Dubai Creek. The Union Square metro ttation in Deira will be linked through an underground air-conditioned tunnel with the Bani Yas marine ttation near Dubai Municipality headquarters.

The City Centre metro station on the Red Line will be linked to the marine station near the Floating Bridge and the Gold Souk marine station will be linked to the metro station and bus station in Al Ras, Deira.

The Red Line on the Dubai Metro, linking Al Rashidiya with Jebel Ali passing through Airport, Deira, Bur Dubai Karama and Shaikh Zayed Road, is scheduled to start operation on September 9.

Do you know?


Interiors of the stations are uniquely designed by adopting themes based on one of the four elements of nature: water, air, fire and earth.

There will be a total of 12 earth-themed stations, 13 water-themed stations, 11 air-themed stations and 11 fire-themed stations.

Would this encourage you to use the metro? Would you be using the water transport and metro regularly? How else can public transport be made easier for commuters?

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How Western media backs green revolution in Iran

The European Union has rejected Irans accusations that the Western media helped engineer post-election unrest as protests in Tehran continue.

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Israel, India Fomenting Trouble In Pakistan’s Tribal Region

Roznama Express
June 24, 2009

Pakistan's mass-circulation Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Jang quotes senior Pakistani military officials as saying that Israel and India are fomenting trouble in Pakistan's Baluchistan and Waziristan region.

According to the report, senior military and national security officials have submitted to the Pakistani government "irrefutable evidence" of the involvement of Indian and Israeli secret agencies in Baluchistan and the tribal region of Waziristan and Malakand.

The Urdu daily did not disclose the names of the Pakistani officials, but added that there is irrefutable evidence that Indian and Israeli agencies are providing financial aid and modern weapons to the militants in the tribal region.

According to Roznama Jang, the military leadership has urged the civilian government to take up the issue at diplomatic levels with the nations whose secret agencies are supporting Taliban commanders Baitullah Mehsud and Maulana Fazlullah.

The agents of India's external intelligence agency Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) are operating from the Indian consulates in many Afghan cities and militants in Pakistan are being supplied with weapons from there, the report added.

According to a similar report carried by the Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Express, "The majority of the staff in the Indian consulates in Afghan cities including Kandahar and Herat belongs to RAW. They are not only supplying weapons to extremists from there but the RAW agents are also visiting training centers of terrorism."

Evidences of Taliban commanders Maulana Fazlullah and Baitullah Mehsud's meetings with RAW agents have also be ascertained, the report said, adding: "It is being stressed that either India should close these consulates or it should be stopped for using them against Pakistan."

"The security officials have also confirmed that the weapons seized [from militants recently] were Russian, Indian and U.S.-made, while Israel provided them modern technology. Evidences have also been secured regarding the use of such technology in the installation of FM Radio by Maulana Fazlullah," it concluded.

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Sunday, June 28, 2009

Enclosing balconies

By Gideon Levy


I remember the image from my childhood: the amputee salesman knocking on our doors in the evening and offering his forlorn-looking wares - floor rags and razor blades from a wooden suitcase. He would arouse a mixture of terror and compassion in us, but no one wanted his merchandise. I was reminded of him last week when I saw pictures of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knocking on the doors of the leaders of Italy and France, among the last friends of Israel.

From capital to capital, our Benjamin Netanyahu went around suggesting that the open balconies in the settlements be enclosed. Everywhere he went, he heard the same thing. The doors were slammed in the face of the salesman, and Netanyahu for his part persevered, suggesting an arrangement maybe like the Italian hill town of San Gimignano, with its houses built upwards, trying in vain to continue juggling. Even Silvio Berlusconi, whose pro-Israel positions are sometimes ridiculous and embarrassing, slammed the door in his face.

But lest we do injustice to the amputee salesman of our childhood: He tried to make an honest living. Netanyahu, however, is trying to deceive. They'll enclose balconies and build another 100 houses, too.

  
 

This grotesqueness would be funny if it didn't involve such a fateful matter. In 100 days, Netanyahu has managed to turn the whole world against him, including his last remaining friends. Washington sent his envoy, Isaac Molho, who had also tried to ply the balcony solution, home in disgrace. The meeting with U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell was canceled, and Netanyahu made himself a laughing stock in Paris and Rome. And all over a balcony - another desperate Israeli prank designed to deceive the world.

Netanyahu was left stark naked. A prime minister without an agenda is the worst possible news for Israel. "Mr. Terror" without terrorism, "Mr. Iran" without Iran. Even a Thatcherite without Thatcherism, which has breathed its last breath. All the fears that he had generated, and upon which he built his career, were dissipated or dismissed in one fell swoop. Netanyahu was left with nothing. He has nothing to offer. His suitcase is empty. You can no longer scare the world with Palestinian terrorism, because - what to do? - there hasn't been any for a long time, touch wood.

Netanyahu's second career, as "Mr. Iran," has been indefinitely postponed as irrelevant. When the Iranian regime has been split in the face of such impressive and courageous popular protest, and with U.S. President Barack Obama trying to change course, can Netanyahu continue to wag his tail over the danger of the bomb, as he again tried to do in such a ridiculous way on his European tour?

It's a case of beating on an empty vessel. There are no buyers for Netanyahu's Iranian goods. Bomb or no bomb, we've been left with enclosing balconies.

What a pathetic sight: An Israeli prime minister, who was just elected with new promise, travels around the world with such moldy wares. While Obama talks big, Netanyahu talks about the smallest of the small. While Obama is portrayed as the harbinger of historic change, Netanyahu is seen as dealing in trivialities, a petty merchant trying to sell defective trinkets that no one wants.

Thanks to Obama, we have returned to the fateful, fundamental question: Will the Israeli occupation last another 40 years, or has the world become totally fed up with it, having decided to put an end to it? Obama is sending signals that he has chosen the second option. The controversy over freezing the settlements is therefore indeed a "waste of time," as Netanyahu declared in Europe. The time has come to get to the heart of the matter: evacuating them. Netanyahu's words at Bar-Ilan University are therefore also seen as futile. Two states don't begin with enclosing balconies, but with evacuating them.

To Netanyahu all that is left, sooner than expected, is survival - in the face of the United States and the Habayit Hayehudi party. In March 2007, I wrote the following: "The prime minister, what does he have in life? He rises in the morning, but the morning doesn't arise in him. He gets into bed at night and what does he think? That he again managed to satisfy the American administration and reject Syrian signals? What will the prime minister say to himself at the end of his first year in office? And the second? What does he think he will leave behind other than surviving?"

I was writing about Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert. A year and a half later, Olmert is finished, leaving behind only battlefield remains from two unnecessary wars. But my words, to my great sorrow and shame, apply twofold to Olmert's successor.



 

Israeli newspaper, haaretz

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2nd IDF Soldier REFUSES to serve over violence towards Palestinians

By Anshel Pfeffer,

Haaretz Newspaper, Israel


A second IDF soldier has refused to continue following orders unless his complaints of violence toward Palestinians are investigated, Haaretz has learned. As with another infantry man from the same brigade - who was sentenced to 30 days in military prison last week after refusing to participate in his unit's operations in the territories - the second soldier, who can only be identified as A., came to his decision following a raid by the brigade's Haruv battalion in the village of Kifl Hares in the West Bank on March 26.

A. told his friends that soldiers from the platoon acted with unusual violence toward the residents of the village. "We were sent to look for firearms, but didn't find any weapons," the soldier said. "So we confiscated kitchen knives. But what I was most shocked about was the looting. One soldier took 20 shekels. Soldiers went into homes and looked for stuff to steal."

A. also told of an assault on a mentally handicapped civilian. "He was just shouting at soldiers but then one soldier decided to attack him, so they beat the hell out of him - riffle butt to the head".

  
 

A. informed his commanders he will no longer participate in battalion activities, after which he was not court-martialed, but was transferred to guard and kitchen duty. A. then left for home - to be arrested and so to attract greater attention to his claims. He was sentenced to 17 days of detention for absenteeism by battalion commander Lt. Col. Ilan Dikstein, and upon completing the sentence was reassigned to maintenance works in a rear base of the brigade.

The battalion is already being investigated by the Military Police following earlier reports in the media about its conduct.

The IDF spokesman's office said in a statement that according to its information, "The soldier had been convicted of absenteeism, and after completing his sentence met with the battalion commander and informed him he wished to resign from combatant duty on conscientious grounds. The commander relocated him to administrative work at the battalion headquarters."

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