Lieberman aborde une Europe hostile
leJDD.fr: Avigdor Lieberman débarque en Europe. Le sulfureux ministre israélien des Affaires étrangères, leader de l'extrême droite dans son pays, visitera Rome, Paris, Prague et Berlin pour conjurer l'isolement d'Israël. A priori, il inspire surtout la méfiance. Dans la capitale française, s'il sera reçu à l'Elysée, ce ne sera pas par Nicolas Sarkozy, mais par son bras droit, Claude Guéant.

Avigdor Lieberman risque de déchaîner les passions sur le Vieux continent. Photo grâce au JDD
Le voir ou pas? Mardi prochain, Avigdor Lieberman, ministre israélien des Affaires étrangères, sera reçu à l'Elysée... mais a priori par Claude Guéant, le secrétaire général, quand il avait demandé à rencontrer Nicolas Sarkozy! Le président français "passera une tête" dans le bureau, peut-être, dit-on à Paris, mais prendra sa décision au dernier moment, en fonction du comportement et des déclarations de Lieberman... "On aura une idée de l'état d'esprit de Lieberman avant son arrivée, puisqu'il passera d'abord par l'Italie, dit-on à l'Elysée. On avisera à ce moment-là."

La prudence témoigne de la méfiance qu'inspire Lieberman, ce populiste devenu chef de la diplomatie israélienne dans la coalition de Benjamin Netanyahou. Chef d'un parti ultranationaliste, Lieberman prône des rectifications de frontières qui placeraient en dehors d'Israël des zones habitées par la minorité arabe. Mais ce sont aussi les premières positions de tout le gouvernement israélien qui inquiètent un pouvoir français pourtant très attaché à l'Etat hébreu: le refus de Benyamin Netanyahou de souscrire aux principes de deux Etats - Israël et la Palestine - comme objectif d'un processus de paix a profondément irrité en Europe. >>> Par Claude ASKOLOVITCH (avec Christian BRUNEL en Israël), Le Journal du Dimanche | Dimanche 03 Mai 2009

The Rise and Rise of Russian Nationalism
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: Long tolerated by the authorities, right-wing groups are now being seen as a serious threat to national security. Shaun Walker reports from Moscow

Russian nationalists make Nazi-style salutes during a May Day rally in Moscow. Photo courtesy of The Independent on Sunday
There have been a number of threats to Russia's security in recent years, from Chechen terrorism to the country's worrying demographic decline. But according to sources close to the Russian security services, what the authorities fear most in these times of economic crisis is the very thing that many Russians see as the country's saviour – nationalism.

Amid a dizzying array of May Day marches, featuring various groups from across the political spectrum, all eyes were on the nationalists. They gathered around a metro station in north Moscow, as well as in other cities across the country, calling for all immigrants to be deported and a "Russia for the Russians". In the event, the Moscow meeting passed off peacefully; police arrested a few demonstrators for the possession of knives, and the rest dispersed without incident. But with a huge migrant population, poverty and unemployment among locals, and with the high oil prices that fuelled the economic boom of the past few years a fast-receding memory, many feel the time for Russia's nationalists to take the political initiative is coming soon.

Then there's Alexander Belov, Moscow's answer to the BNP's Nick Griffin. Dressed in a sharp black suit, the light of a Bluetooth receptor constantly winking over his left ear, he fingers a set of Orthodox Christian prayer beads and sips a freshly squeezed orange juice, looking like one of the thousands of well-to-do businessmen who have made decent money as Russia boomed over the past decade. But as well as being successful in the construction industry, Mr Belov is also Russia's most famous racist. He believes that the time for the nationalists to take the limelight is coming soon.

"What I want is very simple," he says, in a quiet and measured voice. "I don't want parts of Moscow to be ghettos. This city is already full of places where Russians aren't welcome, and it's unacceptable. This is a Russian city and should remain that way."

An erudite and self-assured man who heads a group of skinheads with a reputation for violence, he leads the Movement Against Illegal Immigration – the DPNI, as it's known by its Russian initials – one of Russia's largest far-right groups. One of its main policies is that Russia should introduce a visa regime for migrants from the former Soviet republics, sending most of the millions of Gastarbeiters (Russians use the German term to refer to guest-workers) back home. >>> Shaun Walker | Sunday, May 3, 2009

Iran Executes Woman for Alleged Murder Committed as a Juvenile
THE TELEGRAPH: Delara Darabi knew the end was close when she made a panic-filled call to her mother from prison to say that she could see the hangman's noose from her window.

Delara Darabi made a tearful call early on Friday to her parents. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
The Iranian artist was executed on Friday for a murder allegedly committed when she was a juvenile and for which she retracted her brief confession, claiming she was covering up for her boyfriend.

The prison authorities hung Miss Darabi, 23, even though the head of Iran's judiciary granted her a two-month stay of execution on April 19 amid international outrage over her case. They also did not give her lawyer the required 48 hours notice.

Horrific new details emerged yesterday of her last desperate plea for help from Rasht prison as jail guards came to lead her away.

Miss Darabi made a tearful call early on Friday to her parents to say she could see the gallows and noose, according to media reports from Tehran.

"Mother they are going to execute me, please save me," she pleaded. But a prison official then grabbed the phone and told her distraught mother: "We are going to execute your daughter and there's nothing you can do about it."

The execution of a young woman whose case has become an international cause célèbre is a further damaging blow to President Barack Obama's attempts to thaw US relations with the Islamic regime. Roxana Saberi, an American-Iranian journalist, is on hunger strike in a Tehran prison after being convicted of espionage in a show trial last month. >>> By Philip Sherwell | Saturday, May 2, 2009

Riot Police Working Overtime as Unions and Anarchists Link Arms for May Day
Police use tear gas against protesters during an outlawed May Day rally in central Istanbul. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: Protesters turned traditional May Day demonstrations into a rallying call against global capitalism as unrest spread through city streets across Europe yesterday.

Politicians in Germany and France had been warning that the financial crisis was about to spark social unrest. In some towns the words became reality, even if the skirmishes and petrol bombings felt choreographed.

“We want social disturbances, upheaval, and we will do everything towards that end,” said Markus Bernhardt, a spokesman for Class Struggle Bloc, which helped to steer the riots. “The system is violent and now violence is being met by violence.”

Unions estimated that 484,000 people took part in 400 protests across Germany. Riots in Berlin began on Thursday night when cars and rubbish containers were set alight. On May Day morning 700 anarchists blocked a railway station in an attempt to sabotage a neo-Nazi march.

A force of 5,000 German police officers found it difficult to contain the rioting. Officials said 48 officers were hurt and 57 people detained. “One can only advise drivers not to park their cars on the street,” Dieter Glietsch, the head of the Berlin police, said. >>> Roger Boyes in Berlin and Charles Bremner in Paris | Saturday, May 2, 2009

Prince Charles Rebuffed by Qatar Royal Family over Modern Flats
THE TELEGRAPH: The Prince of Wales has been rebuffed by the Qatar Royal Family in his battle to stop a £1 billion modern flats development in a historic part of London.

Sheikh Hamad bin Jaber Jasim al-Thani has been urged by the Prince to reconsider the Chelsea scheme . Photo of Prince Charles courtesy of The Telegraph
The Qataris, who had been reported to be on the verge of backing down in the face of the onslaught from the Prince, have instead reaffirmed their commitment to the luxury apartments development on the site of Chelsea Barracks.

The Prince had written to the Prime Minister of Qatar appealing to him to scrap the modern steel and glass development. He also asked to be involved in the discussions over the future of the site.

But the Prince's hopes that the scheme would be withdrawn are at an end after the Qatari Diar, the development arm of the country's royal family, issued a statement confirming it's commitment to the scheme.

The statement said: "The owner and developer of the Chelsea Barracks site is concerned that several recent reports in the media have either stated or implied that it is actively considering abandoning the scheme which it submitted for planning to Westminster City Council February 27, 2009. As a direct consequence of these reports, we have written to Westminster City Council confirming wholehearted commitment to the scheme." >>> By Andrew Pierce | Friday, May 1, 2009

Guest Voice Mansoor Ijaz: Pakistan's Zardari Goes to Washington
WASHINGTON POST: Pakistan has a split personality problem. Its citizens can rise up en masse on one day to depose a military dictator and reinstate honest judges, but the next day seem helpless to stop politicians from ceding strategic territory to enemies who publicly flog a 17-year old woman as a show of justice. Most American taxpayers, who are being asked to finance aid even as the country disintegrates, don't have the faintest idea how to decode what's really wrong there or where to begin to help. President Zardari could change that during his upcoming visit to Washington - but it would require his bold domestic leadership and a new direction for Pakistan and its relationship with the U.S.

Pakistan's central problem today is the systemic failure of its federal, provincial and local governments to provide for its citizens' basic needs, whether public safety, healthcare, education or employment. The Taliban is stepping in to fill that void. Hamas did the same in Palestinian enclaves throughout Israel when PLO leadership failed to offer disenfranchised Palestinians a structured way of life. You've heard it before: security is assured, albeit through intimidation and brutality. Basic daily staples like food and clothing come from Arab-financed hawala cash transfers. Education comes from Saudi-funded madrassa schools. Legal disputes are settled through harsh Islamic laws. Only geography makes the Pakistani case different from that of the Palestinians.

To make matters worse, America's visible role in Pakistan's internal affairs only helps the Taliban's cause. Pakistan's woefully inadequate leader, President Asif Ali Zardari, has been privately lectured and publicly admonished by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. Those lectures have made him look like an American stooge playing to the often conflicting ways in which Washington wants Islamabad to act.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials order more drone attacks on Taliban and al-Qaeda hideouts, knowing their exhortations are falling on deaf (or worse, impotent) ears. Unannounced U.S. military actions make Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, army chief of staff, appear weak in his anti-terror campaign when in fact he is simply waiting for the civilian government to order him to take action. Unannounced drone attacks also raise serious questions about Pakistan's sovereignty. Innocent civilian life lost in each strike creates more Pakistani anger and frustration, almost all of which is galvanized by Pakistan's political opposition and unleashed on the cowering Zardari. He then runs to Washington for more aid to shore up defenses designed to attack his people even more savagely and indiscriminately.

This is not what American taxpayers signed up for. We need a different approach. >>> By Mansoor Ijaz | Thursday, April 30, 2009

Pakistan Facing ‘Existential Question’: French Envoy
DAWN: NEW DELHI: The power grab by Taliban insurgents in Pakistan puts the nation’s future at a ‘crossroads,’ according to France’s new special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Makhdoon Shah Mahmood Quershi exchanging views with the French special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Poerre [sic] Lellouche during a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo courtesy of Dawn
With the Taliban having advanced to districts just 100 kilometres from the capital, Pakistan ‘has a fire inside its own house’ that it must extinguish, said lawmaker, lawyer and foreign policy expert Pierre Lellouche.

‘There is not a lot of time’ in light of ‘the gravity of the situation,’ he told reporters in New Delhi late Thursday after visiting Islamabad on a fact-finding mission.

Pakistan is at a ‘crossroads,’ he said, saying the country faced an ‘existential question’ about its future existence.

His remarks came as Pakistan’s army launched this week an offensive to reassert control in the northwest of the country.

They were the latest expression of international concern about the situation in Pakistan, led by the United States which last week accused Pakistan’s government of ‘abdicating’ to the Taliban by agreeing to the Sharia law in parts of the country. >>> | Friday, May 1, 2009

US Sends Confusing Signals to Pakistan
DAWN: WASHINGTON: A day after President Barack Obama dismissed the Pakistani government as incompetent, his administration informed Islamabad that they would give $1.5 billion of economic assistance to Pakistan in the next few days.

Diplomatic observers believes that President Obama has given ‘an F minus to the Pakistani leader’. Photo courtesy of Dawn
The money, to be deposited in the State Bank of Pakistan early this month, will include $500 million of emergency assistance and $1 billion of held-up reimbursements from the coalition support fund.

US officials also told the Pakistani government that a bill to triple US assistance will be moved in the US Senate on Monday. It will bring annual assistance of $1.5 billion for a period of five years.

But while the Pakistani diplomats were learning this good news from US officials, President Obama shared a candid and frank assessment of the current Pakistani rulers during a news conference on Wednesday night.

‘The civilian government there right now is very fragile and don’t seem to have the capacity to deliver basic services: schools, healthcare, rule of law, a judicial system that works for the majority of the people,’ he said.

‘As a consequence, it is very difficult for them to gain the support and the loyalty of their people,’ he said, summarily dismissing the government’s claim to a popular mandate.

But what President Obama’s top general for Pakistan and Afghanistan told an American television channel was even more damning.

Fox News reported on Thursday that Commander US Central Command Gen David Petraeus has told US officials the next two weeks were ‘critical to determining whether the Pakistani government will survive.’

Fox News also reported that Gen. Petraeus and senior administration officials believed the Pakistan Army was ‘superior’ to the civilian government.

The two statements and private assurances of support to the Pakistani government have contributed to the confusion and uncertainty that already overshadow US-Pakistan relations. >>> By Anwar Iqbal | Saturday, April 2, 2009

Pakistan, Libya Agree to Strengthen Bilateral Ties
DAWN: TRIPOLI – President Asif Ali Zardari and Libyan Leader Moammar Al Qaddafi resolved to further strengthen their multifaceted ties and agreed on adopting practical measures to boost economic cooperation.

The two leaders agreed on continuing mutual cooperation in diverse fields besides exploring avenues for increased two-way trade, collaboration to explore energy resources and exchange of skilled manpower. Photo courtesy of Dawn
President Zardari, who is on his first official visit to Libya, held detailed discussions with Moammar Qadaffi, hours after his arrival to the north-African country.

The talks late in the night covered a broad spectrum of issues including ways to boost trade, initiate joint ventures and investment besides covering regional and issues of mutual interest.

The two leaders agreed on continuing mutual cooperation in diverse fields besides exploring avenues for increased two-way trade, collaboration to explore energy resources and exchange of skilled manpower.

President Zardari in his talks with Moammar Qaddafi said there was vast scope for investment between the two countries in several areas including infrastructure development, railways, housing, oil and gas besides export of skilled and unskilled manpower in information technology, engineering, telecom and medicine.

The Libyan leader said the two countries can launch an ambitious and gigantic programme of economic cooperation, to bring the two countries further close. He also sought assistance from Pakistan on sharing expertise for improvement of banking sector and training facilities for students, teachers and experts in different areas.

President Zardari also briefed the Libyan leader about Pakistan’s efforts to curb terrorism and extremism and the role it was playing in maintaining peace and harmony in the region.

The two leaders also talked about the security situation in the region, Afghanistan, Iraq and the Palestine issue. >>> | Friday, May 1, 2009

India Is In Peril. Obama Is Making It Worse
THE SPECTATOR: Brahma Chellaney says that India is indeed ‘the sponge that protects us all’ from terrorism emanating from Pakistan. The new President’s strategy is compounding the Af-Pak problem

New Delhi

One of the most striking things about the larger Asian strategic landscape is that India is wedged in an arc of failing or troubled states. This harsh reality is India’s most glaring weakness; its neighbourhood is so combustible as to impose a tyranny of geography. Today, Pakistan’s rapid Talebanisation tops India’s concerns. After all, the brunt of escalating terrorism from Pakistan will be borne by India, which already has become, in the words of ex-US official Ashley Tellis, ‘the sponge that protects us all’.

As Pakistan has begun to sink, top US intelligence and security officials have made a beeline to India for discussions, including the new CIA director Leon Panetta (who came to New Delhi on his first overseas visit), the FBI director Robert Mueller, the joint US chiefs of staff chairman Mike Mullen and the administration’s special envoy Richard Holbrooke. The fact that President Obama, in his first 100 days, has helped put together $15.7 billion in international aid for Islamabad shows that the United States will not allow Pakistan to become a failed state.

The real threat is of an Islamist takeover of Pakistan. Yet Obama’s strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan (or ‘Af-Pak’ in Washingtonese) inspires little confidence. Throwing more money at Pakistan and keeping up the pretence that the badly splintered and weakened al-Qa’eda poses the main terrorist threat risks failure.

The Af-Pak problem won’t go away without a fundamental break from the American policies that helped create this terrifying muddle. The US military can never win in Afghanistan, or even secure a ticket out of that country as Obama wants, without first dismantling the Pakistani military’s sanctuaries and sustenance infrastructure for the Taleban and other state-reared terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (the group who carried out the Mumbai atrocities) and Jaish-e-Muhammad. As Bush’s national security adviser Stephen Hadley pointed out just before leaving office in January, ‘You can’t really solve Afghanistan without solving Pakistan.’ >>> Brahma Chellaney | Wednesday, April 29, 2009

One Huge Bloody Mess!
THE TELEGRAPH: Bankers have been accused of making an "astonishing mess" of the financial system, in a report by Treasury Select Committee.

There had been a "comprehensive failure of the banking system at all levels", said chairman John McFall In the committee's second report on the banking crisis published on Friday.

He added that senior executives in banks, non-executive directors, governments and regulators were all partly to blame.

The MPs said it was "deplorable" that banks, which have been propped up with billions of pounds of taxpayers' money, are not extending new loans to customers. MPs Blame Bankers for 'Astonishing Mess' >>> By Katherine Griffiths, Financial Services Editor | Friday, May 1, 2009

L'armée pakistanaise reprend une ville clé aux talibans
L'armée pakistanaise aux alentours de Rustam, près du district de Buner. Photo grâce au Figaro
LE FIGARO: Islamabad a repris l'initiative militaire en traquant les insurgés islamistes installés dans la vallée de Buner, à une centaine de kilomètres de la capitale.

La reprise des hostilités était inéluctable. Pressé par la ­communauté internationale, les Américains en tête, de déloger les talibans du district de Buner où ils étaient entrés la semaine ­dernière, le gouvernement d'Islamabad a fait donner l'assaut mardi soir.

Dans une semaine, le président pakistanais, Asif Ali Zardari, rencontrera à Washington Barack Obama et son homologue afghan, Hamid Karzaï. Il ne ­pouvait pas arriver les mains vides à ce mini-sommet «Af-Pak», qui doit durer deux jours. Zardari sait qu'il lui sera notamment demandé des comptes sur la manière dont le Pakistan entend utiliser l'aide promise par les États-Unis, actuellement en débat au Congrès américain. Outre les 7,5 milliards de dollars sur cinq ans prévus, le Congrès délibère sur une aide d'urgence comprise entre 200 et 400 millions de dollars.

Mercredi, le porte-parole de l'armée pakistanaise, le général Athar Abbas, a annoncé une première victoire. «Des troupes héliportées sont parvenues à sécuriser Daggar, le chef-lieu du district de Buner, et ses environs», a-t-il déclaré. Cinquante rebelles auraient été tués. «Nous avons vu un hélicoptère larguer des soldats sur les collines, tôt le matin. Il a effectué six ou sept rotations», a confirmé un commerçant du marché central à Daggar. Depuis mardi, des avions de chasse et des hélicoptères de combat ­couvrent l'avancée des troupes au sol. Mais, a expliqué le général Abbas, «nous sommes ralentis par le fait que les insurgés ­retiennent une partie de la population en otage. Nous faisons de notre mieux pour qu'il y ait le moins de pertes humaines possible et le minimum de civils forcés de fuir». >>> Marie-France Calle, correspondanteà New Delhi | Jeudi 30 Avril 2009

Olli Rehn Talks through His Pine End!
DAILY TELEGRAPH: The European Union's enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn has accused Britain of having an irrational and backward looking view on the EU's eastwards expansion and foreign workers.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn . Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
He launched the extraordinary attack as the EU marked the fifth anniversary of the 2004 enlargement, when 10 mainly Central and East European countries joined.

He likened "scepticism" about expansion, especially in "established" countries such Britain, Germany and France, to sentimentality for the 1960s.

The 47-year old Finn insisted the negative reaction was a product of "popular psychology" and backward looking sentiment for a bygone age.

"I cannot see any rational reasons," he told The Daily Telegraph. "In the established member states there has been the feeling that it is a cosy club, by the fireside, where we can take decisions that concern all of us, who are very similar.

"There is plenty of sweet nostalgia. It is like Beatle records or George Best's performances at Man United. That belongs to a different era." EU Commissioner Accuses Britain of Having Irrational View of Europe >>> By Bruno Waterfield in Prague | Friday, May 1, 2009

Video: UAE Torture Recording Threatens to Derail Nuclear Deal with United States
UAE Sheikh Issa tortures an Afghan businessman in Abu Dhabi
TIMESONLINE: A videotape showing a member of the United Arab Emirates Royal Family torturing a man is threatening a multibillion-dollar nuclear power deal between the US and the Gulf kingdom.

The 45-minute tape shows a man that the Government of Abu Dhabi has acknowledged is Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan — one of 22 royal brothers of the UAE President and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince — mercilessly and repeatedly beating a man with a cattle prod and a nailed board, burning his genitals and driving his Mercedes over him several times. He is assisted by a uniformed policeman.

The fallout from the film — which was smuggled out of the UAE by a former business associate of the sheikh — has reached all the way to the Oval Office, where the civilian nuclear deal, awaiting the signature of President Obama, remains unsigned. A senior US official has said that the Administration is holding off certifying the treaty as a direct result of the film.

The deal was sealed on January 15 during President Bush’s last week in office, but needs to be recertified by the new Administration. Under its terms, the US agrees to provide technology and equipment to help the UAE to develop civilian nuclear power plants. In return, the UAE pledges to abide by the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and not to reprocess its spent nuclear fuel.

Jim McGovern, the Democratic co-chairman of the congressional Human Rights Commission, viewed the tape last week and told The Times that it was “one of the most horrific things I have ever seen in my life”. In the tape the sheikh is seen torturing an Afghan grain salesman he claims has cheated him.

Mr McGovern has written to Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, expressing his “outrage, horror and revulsion” about the tape and demanding that all sales and transfers of technology to the UAE, “including nuclear”, be suspended. He calls on Mrs Clinton to take a lead role in the investigation. He also told The Times that he would hold congressional hearings into the issue. “If the UAE think this is going to blow over, they are wrong,” he said. The case will be a further test of the Obama Administration’s commitment to human rights. >>> Tim Reid in Washington | Friday, May 1, 2009

Margaret Thatcher's Distress at BBC Treatment of Carol over 'Golliwog' Comment
THE TELEGRAPH: Baroness Thatcher is distressed by the BBC's treatment of her daughter Carol who was sacked from her reporter's job after likening a black tennis player to a "golliwog".

Baroness Thatcher and her daughter Carol in the Royal Box at The Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, London. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph can disclose that the former Prime Minister believes the furore over her daughter's remarks in a BBC Green Room is a form of political correctness gone mad.

The BBC, which has received 2,250 messages of support for Thatcher and only 60 against, refused yesterday to reinstate her in her roving reporter's role on the One Show after she referred to a tennis player as a "golliwog" during a backstage discussion about the Australian Open.

With many critics accusing the BBC of a vendetta against Thatcher, 55, because of her mother, a close friend of the former Prime Minister said: "Lady Thatcher feels sad for Carole who has been hurt by all the accusations against her. But she thinks the whole row is a load of nonsense." >>> By Andrew Pierce | Thursday, April 30, 2009

Iran 'Leading Terrorism Sponsor'
BBC: Iran remains the "most active state sponsor of terrorism" in the world, a report by the US state department says.

It says Iran's role in the planning and financing of terror-related activities in the Middle East and Afghanistan threatens efforts to promote peace.

Al-Qaeda, however, remains the biggest danger to the US and the West, the annual report states.

It says that while the number of terror attack around the world is dropping, they are on the increase in Pakistan.

'Existential threat'

The new US administration may be trying to engage Tehran, but, just like last year, Iran is still described as the most active state sponsor of terrorism. >>> By Kim Ghattas | Thursday, April 30, 2009

Kabul's New Elite Live High on West's Largesse
THE INDEPENDENT: 'Gilded cage' lifestyle reveals the ugly truth about foreign aid in Afghanistan

Kabul City shopping centre, which opened in 2005. Photo courtesy of The Independent
Vast sums of money are being lavished by Western aid agencies on their own officials in Afghanistan at a time when extreme poverty is driving young Afghans to fight for the Taliban. The going rate paid by the Taliban for an attack on a police checkpoint in the west of the country is $4, but foreign consultants in Kabul, who are paid out of overseas aids budgets, can command salaries of $250,000 to $500,000 a year.

The high expenditure on paying, protecting and accommodating Western aid officials in palatial style helps to explain why Afghanistan ranks 174th out of 178th on a UN ranking of countries' wealth. This is despite a vigorous international aid effort with the US alone spending $31bn since 2002 up to the end of last year.

The high degree of wastage of aid money in Afghanistan has long been an open secret. In 2006, Jean Mazurelle, the then country director of the World Bank, calculated that between 35 per cent and 40 per cent of aid was "badly spent". "The wastage of aid is sky-high," he said. "There is real looting going on, mainly by private enterprises. It is a scandal." >>> By Patrick Cockburn in Kabul | Friday, May 1, 2009

O'Reilly Supports Charges in Quran Vandalism Case (July 2007)

GOP Women's Group Tells It Like It Is about Islam

CAIR Challenges Anti-Islam Radio Station in Florida