One cannot generally choose one's nieghbors; one can choose a neighborhood.
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Originally Posted by
KingJaja
...The atmosphere that has existed since the second Bush presidency makes it impossible for the US to be seen as an honest broker in the Middle East peace process.
It's been impossible since 1967.
Don't pay too much attention to what you see or read in US Media -- most here do not...
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Obama gave a wonderful speech in Cairo in 2009 and Netanyahu (and the Republicans) did their best to frustrate his efforts.
Good politicians always give wonderful speeches. They rarely follow through on them as reality intrudes.
Just as Obama stated American interests as he saw them, Netanyahu has Israeli interests as he sees them to consider. That's not going to be reconciled.
The Republicans are far less concerned with Israel or the ME than they are with just being obstacles to anything Obama wants to do in the US (primarily and elsewhere secondarily...). :rolleyes:
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A successful exit from Afghanistan means leaving behind an Afghanistan in which the Taliban will be accommodated in power and in which a resurgence of Al Qaeda is impossible.
That was never a possibility even though many in the rather inept US foreign policy elite thought it could be done.
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India, Iran and the US have a mutual dislike of the Taliban. Somehow the US believes ...there's ten years of experience to prove that assertion wrong. Yet nobody seems to be listening ... ]On the other hand ... Alternatively, the US could just pack its bags and leave Afghanistan and let Pakistan, Iran, India, China and the Russians deal with them - it's their problem.
Yes. That about sums it up. See my comment just above. We were never going to change that dynamic. Can't change the neighborhood if you don't live there
And that applies whether one is American, Chinese, Indian, African, etc. etc. ... :wry:
Nigerian mob protests army killing of Kano motorcyclist
There is real anger about the heavy handedness of the Nigerian Military. Let's pray it doesn't transform into something else.
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KANO, Nigeria — An irate mob lit bonfires and marched through the Nigerian city of Kano to protest the alleged shooting to death of a motorcyclist on Sunday by troops deployed to counter Boko Haram Islamists.
Mustapha Sani, 25, was shot in the head and chest by soldiers at a checkpoint outside a bus terminus, witnesses said.
Around 100 protesters took over the Silver Jubilee roundabout in the centre of the northern city and marched through the streets, burning tyres and pelting soldiers with stones, an AFP reporter saw.
They called for the dismantling of military checkpoints in the city.
The soldiers made no attempt to stop the protesters.
"This lawlessness is getting out of hand, we are tired of soldiers and policemen killing and molesting innocent residents they are deployed to protect," a protester who gave his name as Haruna said.
"We live between the fear of Boko Haram attack and military and police bullets, it is unbearable," said Laminu Zakari, another protester.
The soldiers manning the checkpoints drove off in two military vans to avoid clashes.
Residents have complained of harassment and extortion by security personnel at checkpoints that dot the city following the January 20 coordinated Boko Haram bomb and gun attacks that killed 185 people.
Military authorities in Kano were not available for comment as the spokesman of the special military unit in the city did not respond to inquiries by reporters.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...8142c07d80.221
Boko Haram: JAMB may cancel UTME exams in affected Northern States
These are the entrance exams into Nigerian universities - the impact of a lack of security. If Boko Haram persists, the impact on the education of kids in North East Nigeria will be felt for years.
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JAMB Registrar, Prof Dibu Ojerinde, while speaking at the 58th National Council on Education (NEC) meeting on Friday in Abuja announced that there will be no Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in the volatile states in northern Nigeria.
Prof. Ojerinde stated that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) will be forced to cancel the examination if the Boko Haram attack on primary and secondary schools in Borno State continues.
“When we reviewed the situation in volatile states, for instance Borno, we realised that some of the schools are being bombed but our investigations showed that only primary schools are affected and not secondary schools.
“The board will be left with no option than to tell the candidates to go elsewhere to write the exams if schools which serve as centres are attacked,’’ The JAMB Registrar said.
The registrar regretted that the development could be quite unfortunate for the students.
Prof. Ojerinde disclosed that the board had increased the number of examination towns from 328 to 379 while the number of centres also increased from 2,872 to 3,052.
He said that the teething problem that greeted the use of biometric data machines in 2011 had been addressed, adding that the biometric machines would take only 30 to 40 minutes to verify the entire 540 candidates registered for a centre.
Boko Haram had on Feb. 28, attacked four primary schools in Maiduguri, setting the Gomari Costain Primary School and a section of the Maiduguri Experimental School, Kawanar on fire.
They also set ablaze Budum Kulo Gomna Primiary Schools and Abba Ganaram Primary School also in Maiduguri.
http://www.informationnigeria.org/20...rn-states.html
US to open consulate in Kano
This again points to the cognitive dissonance that governs much of America's foreign policy.
The US is unquestionably pro-Israeli and has a record of supporting the worst of Arab dictators. Opening consulates and embassies in Muslim heartlands will not magically change that animosity.
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U.S. Under-Secretary for Political Affairs, Amb. Wendy Sherman, says the US will open a consulate in Kano to further strengthen bilateral relations with Nigeria.
Sherman announced this on Monday in an interview with newsmen after a brief meeting in Abuja with the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Prof. Voila Onwulere. ``I am absolutely delighted to be here in Nigeria; the real focus of our deliberation is on the strength of our bilateral relations, as the U.S. and Nigeria are partners on Bi-National Commission (BNC). ``The Minister and I have discussed what we will do to ensure security, peace and democracy in Africa,’’ she said.
The embassy has an office in Lagos and also operates American Corner, a nationwide information service centre. Sherman said the additional consulate which would be opened in partnership with Nigeria, would further buttress the strength of bilateral relations between both nations.
According to her, the U.S. will continue to assist Nigeria to deal with its security challenges and support Nigeria in any way possible to deal with any threat. In her remark, Onwulere said the regular visits of top U.S. officials to the country in recent times were evidences of the cordial relations both nations enjoyed. ``There hasn’t been a time that our bilateral relations are stronger than this; it takes countries with similar ideas to come together for a common cause. ``This visit underscores the strength of those relations, and we also exchanged messages from our presidents. ``We talked about key position of Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda, so these visits signal greater things to come not just in Nigeria but globally,’’ Onwulere said. The BNC was established in 2010 to among other things promote good governance, regional security and tackle corruption.
http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/...-in-kano-envoy
Why we attacked schools - Boko Haram
Interesting.
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The recent Boko Haram onslaught on schools in Borno State is a reprisal against the continued attacks on Tsangaya (Islamiyya) schools and the arrest of clerics by security agents, the group’s spokesperson, Abul-Qaqa, has said.
Qaqa, in an E-mailed response to questions from newsmen in Maiduguri, said, “We warned that security agents must stop attacking and arresting clerics in Tsangaya (Islamiyya) schools but nobody took our warning seriously.
“They continued arresting Islamic teachers and that is why we resolve to continue attacking public schools. Certainly, if Qur’anic education will not be allowed to continue, then secular and western education will not continue also,” he said, noting that Islamic scholars were arrested at Bulabulin and Jajeri in Maiduguri metropolis.
And when told that thousands of children were now missing classes because of the assault, Qaqa said, “We are not worried because what goes around comes around. Governments at all levels were not concerned with the fact that thousands of Muslim children have been forced to stop learning Qur’anic education in Tsangaya schools.
On the attacks on places of worship especially churches, he said that the recent arrest of Christians while attempting to bomb a church in Bauchi State was a clear indication of the plot by security operatives to instigate violence. He alleged that the church would-be-bombers were planted by security operatives in order to create false alarm.
“There is grand conspiracy in respect of the Christians that have been arrested while trying to detonate bombs in some churches. This is a script crafted by the state security service (SSS) in other to confuse people and convince other Muslims not to believe in what we are doing.
“Agents of the SSS have been doing this for a very long time. They want the world to believe that we are attacking everybody but they would not succeed, by the grace of Allah,” he said.
“We are attacking churches on retaliatory mission because Christians have burnt countless mosques in this country,” Qaqa said.
Qaqa also debunked claims that his group was not waging a Jihad, but working for some individuals that wanted to dismember Nigeria.
Asked when the group will seize fire, Qaqa said, “We have warned severally that we would continue launching attacks until our members are released. Unfortunately however, the trend of the arrest has been extended to our wives and children. We would soon start kidnapping the wives and children of all the people that have hands in the arrest of our wives and children.”
http://dailytrust.com.ng/index.php?o...:news&Itemid=2
Northern city of Sokoto in the "limelight"
A bout of UK and I expect Italian media attention after a failed hostage rescue in Sokoto, which aimed to release two civil engineers:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...escue-bid.html
Amidst the official briefings it remains unclear whether the Nigerians were the "hard edge" or whether the British SBS (part of UK Special Forces) were alongside them.