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KABUL Leaders of Afghanistans three major ethnic minority political parties, all of whom hold senior positions in the government, announced from Turkey Saturday that they have formed a coalition to save Afghanistan from chaos, issued a list of demands for reforms by President Ashraf Ghani, and vowed to hold mass protests unless they are met.

The stunning development followed weeks of gathering political turmoil and public unrest after a devastating terrorist bombing in the capital on May31. It brought together a group of powerful ex-militia leaders, once rivals in a civil war, in an extraordinary alliance that could present Ghani and his shaky government with its most serious challenge since taking office in 2014.

The groups statement was issued from Ankara, where Abdurrashid Dostom, an ethnic Uzbek strongman who is still technically first vice president in the Ghani government, moved recently on grounds of ill health despite being under investigation in Kabul for sexual assault against an elderly political rival. Dostoms aides circulated the statement on social media.

The other leaders Mohammed Atta Noor, an ethnic Tajik and provincial governor; Mohammed Mohaqeq, an ethnic Hazara leader and deputy to the governments chief executive; and Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, a member of Noors Jamaat-e-Islami party have been visiting Dostom in the past week for a family wedding in the lavish home where he has often lived in periods of exile.

[The West is indifferent to Afghanistan and Iraqs world of terror]

The group, calling itself the Coalition for the Salvation of Afghanistan, said their aim was to prevent the collapse of the government, avoid chaos and restore public trust. They demanded that Ghani devolve power to cabinet ministries and provinces, stop overreaching his authority for personal motives, schedule long-promised elections, and obey the constitution and the law. It also called for Dostoms full authority to be restored and a government attack against him to be investigated.

Ghanis office responded coolly and calmly to the provocative salvo. Presidential spokesman Shahhussain Murtazawi told news outlets that the government welcomes any move that contributes to national interests, but he noted that the individuals leading the coalition are involved in the government and thus also accountable for its shortcomings. If the group has any alternative plans for overcoming the current situation, he said, they should share them.

There was no comment from the office of Abdullah Abdullah, the chief executive officer who has been estranged from Ghanifor many months. Abdullah, from the Jamaat-e-Islami party, has disappointed party figures such as Noor for making too many concessions to Ghani in an effort to keep the struggling government afloat.

A variety of political figures and observers reacted skeptically to the news, suggesting that the ethnic minority leaders, all of whom have had differences with Ghani while in office, may be less interested in government reforms than in using a period of public anger and unhappiness to press for political advantage. They also noted that Ghani, an ethnic Pashtun, has been criticized for concentrating power in the hands of his ethnic and tribal allies and marginalizing other ethnic groups.

A spokesman for Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the Pashtun former fugitive warlord who returned to Kabul recently in a peace deal with Ghani, said the new coalition seemed suspicious and might be more interested in personal demands than public ones. Why have they been silent for so long? asked the spokesman, Kareem Amin. You cant be inside the system and criticize it too.

Hekmatyar, in a separate statement Saturday, called on all Afghans to unite and support the Ghani government at a time of crisis. The country is suffering from high unemployment and a protracted insurgent conflict. The May31 bombing was a major blow to the nations confidence in its rulers.

It was unclear whether the ethnic opposition leaders, who have called for city-wide demonstrations starting Monday, would be able to draw much support from the protesters that filled the streets of Kabul for most of June after the huge bombing and several subsequent violent incidents.

[In Kabul, anger against Afghan government touches off deadly street clashes]

The groupserected tent colonies on major streets where speakers demanded change night after night. The tents were dismantled by security forces on June20, but protest groups vowed to return to the streets in force after Ramadan and Eid, the Muslim fasting month and holiday that ended this week.

But although many of the protesters demands were similar to those listed by the ethnic leaders, the composition and tone of their impromptu movement, called Uprising for Change, was completely different. A mix of students, academics, liberal activists and womens groups, as well as families of bomb victims, they called mainly for justice, security and more responsive governance.

The most strident voice in the new coalition has been that of Noor, a wealthy northern governor who until recently was negotiating with Ghani to obtain a greater share of power. During the fraud-plagued 2014 elections, which both Abdullah and Ghani claimed to have won, Noor threatened to create violent unrest if Ghani was declared the winner.

Last week, delivering a message to a large crowd at the end of Ramadan in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, Noor warned that if Ghani did not meet the groups demands, we will come by the thousands and thousands to Kabul. Sources in the security community said the group planned to gather its forces in several suburban locations and march to the presidential palace.

Walid Sharif contributed to this report.

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Political storm brews in Afghanistan as officials from ethnic minorities break with president, call for reforms and ... - Washington Post

Six teenage girls from Afghanistan have been denied visas to travel to the US for an international robotics competition, but they will be permitted to send their ball-sorting contraption to competewithout them.

The aspiring inventors wept when they heard they couldn't escort their machine to Washington DC for the First Global Challenge, an annual contest for high school students from across the world.

Team Afghanistan work on their project (FIRST Global Media)

They had twice trekked around 500 miles from Herat, a western city in Afghanistan, to the American embassy in Kabul to apply for the one-week travel visas.

But their efforts proved to be in vain as US officials rejected their applications following a series of interviews.

Afghanistan's first female tech boss Roya Mahboob, who founded software firm Citadel, organised the all-girl team and said they were "crying all day" after they were turned down.

She told Forbes: It's a very important message for our people. Robotics is very, very new in Afghanistan.

The girls are still working on a ball-sorting robot which they will send to compete against 163 other machines at the Firstchallenge in July, and they will appear at the event via video link from Herat.

Graduate students from Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania helped the students to programme their robot, but the team had to wait for months while customs officials inspected the raw materials of their contraption amid fears that Isis could use robots to wage terror across the region.

Team Afghanistan's robot now has permission to travel.

One of the team members, Fatemah, 14, told Forbes: "We want to show the world we can do it, we just need a chance."

First Global President Joe Sestak said the girls were extraordinarily brave young women and told Forbes he was disappointed they weren't allowed to travel to the US.

Only the teams from Afghanistan and Gambia have been denied travel visas, while students from Iran, Iraq, and Sudan are able to attend.

US State Department records state that just 32 business travel visas were granted for Afghans in April, far fewer than the 138 issued to Iraqis or the 1,492 applications accepted in Pakistan during the same month.

Jonathan Blanks, a media commentator and researcher at the Cato Institute, tweeted: "I feel safer now that we've denied a once in a lifetime opportunity to a group of girls whose country we've been bombing since their birth."

Verizon's former vice president of communications Anthony Citrano called the decision "infuriating".

The State Department has not commented on the visa denials because they are confidential records.

Read more:
Afghanistan's all-girl robotics team banned from entering US - but their robot will be allowed in - The Independent

The net effect of Donald Trumps sycophantic support of Riyadh is that it absolves the Saudis of any of their own responsibility for terror.

The Saudi attempt to pin all the blame on Iran, and point to Qatar as its supposed chief subcontractor, flies in the face of whats really going on in the world.

Iran is anything but blameless, far from it. And Qatar is to blame as well. But if we look at Saudi money paths and Wahhabi indoctrination, it is clear that Saudi-sponsored terrorism is more virulent than ever before.

Simply put, the threat of Iranian-sponsored terrorism is so . . . 1980s. In contrast, what is very 21st century is Salafist terrorism.

And although Qatar sponsors or assists its share of that in Libya, the Sahara and Syria, the principal source of support, financial and ideological, that Salafist terrorists use has Saudi Arabia written all over it. It is Saudi-inspired and -educated machinations of deviousness that keep hitting Western targets.

Where does it end?

Thus, in the most charitable interpretation, what Trumps laissez faire translates into is that, instead of acknowledging Saudi terror sponsorship a key step if Trump really wanted to fight global terror he has given them not just a pass, but his blessing.

That is not just completely idiotic, but dangerous.

Whatever Irans faults, and they are plenty, unlike in Saudi Arabia, the Iranian regimes religious superstructure and hardline military are not representative of its people.

As we know from opinion polling and elections yes, Iran has those two-thirds of society, broadly speaking, embraces the universal notions of Western freedoms. If the number were to surpass 10-15% among Saudis, it would be astonishing.

Time to open our eyes

It is high time for the entire West to understand that Saudi Arabia is the far less favorable mirror image of Iran. Below the very thin veneer of an extremely cynical, U.S.-friendly royal regime, the Saudi population is deeply hostile and explosively reactionary.

That is so because those same Saudi rulers see to it that, in its mosques, as in as many mosques of the world as possible, the United States (and the rest of the West) is seen as the fountain of all evil.

For that reason, the United States, under Trump, has not just aligned itself one-sidedly, but if a choice were to be made also on the wrong side of the equation.

But at least the rest of the Western world should not close its eyes before all that limitless acid the Saudis are ready to spew.

In Trumps defense?

Perhaps the most stunning fact in all this is that Trump probably hasnt realized any of this. His mind works on a much planer level.

One part of the explanation is that Trump, forever craving for affirmation, thoroughly enjoys playing Americas meddler-in-chief. That is why he loved playing big man during his recent visit to Saudi Arabia, where his hosts played him like a fiddle. They even pumped up his needy ego with huge banners of his face.

The other part is the U.S. President probably just wanted to do the Saudis, a longtime U.S. ally and excellent customer for U.S. military goods, a favor.

In Trumps world, that is an entirely rational act: The customer is always right (provided he also pleases Trump).

No wonder then that, after his return and in view of the looming Saudi blockade of Qatar, Trump dutifully took to the tweet waves to sanctify the Saudi action.

Meddler in Chief

What is indisputable is that, with Trump in the Oval Office, a dangerous amateur gets to play games the real meaning of which he does not comprehend.

The sad news is that Donald Trump, the veteran pitchman for whoever will put his name and face on their product or service for a ludicrously high fee, has now effectively made himself the chief Saudi lobbyist not just in the United States, but the world at large.

Amazingly, for that to happen, he did not even have to be hijacked or taken hostage. He volunteered for the job.

Quid pro quo?

One wonders why. Donald Trump doesnt have a lot of good sense, but he aint stupid. It is hard to imagine that he acted out of conviction.

As far as we know, Mr. Trump does not currently receive any compensation from the Saudis for that pivotal role (other than the proceeds from some hotel bookings in Washington, D.C.).

But as he knows full well, that is not what matters. As commercially-minded and transactional as both he and the Saudis are, one can rest assured that there will likely be some big condo deals for the Trump Organization throughout the Gulf as well as other niceties.

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Iran and the Saudi deflection campaign - Salon

LE BOURGET, France Thousands of supporters of a dissident Iranian opposition group rallied here Saturday for the overthrow of Irans theocratic government at an event that featured speeches by several Trump administration allies including Newt Gingrich and Rudolph Giuliani as well as the former head of Saudi intelligence.

The boisterous event, held annually in this town just north of Paris, was organized by the controversial National Council of Resistance of Iran, a France-based group of Iranian exiles that brings dozens of current and former U.S., European and Middle Eastern officials together to speak out in support of regime change in Tehran.

While the Trump administrations posture on the issue is elusive, Mr. Giuliani drew large cheers here by asserting that the new U.S. presidents view is far different from that of his predecessor, who led world powers to dramatically ease sanctions on the Islamic republic with the 2014 Iranian nuclear accord.

Mr. Trump is laser focused on the danger of Iran to the freedom of the world, said Mr. Giuliani, who was perceived by many at Saturdays rally to be an emissary for Mr. Trump, despite holding no formal cabinet position in the administration.

Unlike the Obama administration, the former New York City mayor said, Mr. Trump is not in a state of denial on Iran.

Iran must be free! added Mr. Gingrich, a Republican former House speaker, who rallied the crowd by condemning Tehrans record of human rights abuses.

The two, who both were close advisors to Mr. Trumps presidential campaign, headed a U.S. delegation at Saturdays rally that included several former Democrat lawmakers, as well as three active Republican Congressmen: Reps. Ted Poe of Texas, Thomas Garrett of Virginia and Robert Pittenger of North Carolina.

But it was an appearance by Prince Turki bin Faisal Al-Saud, the former longtime Saudi intelligence chief, that may have been the most significant part of Saturdays rally.

I salute you, said the prince, who was in attendance for the second year in a row, and whose presence suggested that Saudi Arabias Sunni Muslim monarchy openly supports regime change in Iran the Mideasts Shiite powerhouse and Riyadhs main rival.

Prince Faisals appearance prompted speculation that the Saudis may even have helped finance Saturdays rally, although organizers flatly denied that, asserting instead that funding for the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) comes entirely in the form of donations from Iranians disgusted with the government in Tehran.

Controversial group

Saturdays rally was a marathon of speeches and musical performances. But it drew only limited mention in most mainstream Western media, presumably because of the turbulent history that the NCRI has with the European Union and Washington.

There were more than a dozen current and former officials in attendance from EU nations, including former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. But, in what could be read as sign of the current French leaderships feelings toward the NCRI, newly-elected President Emmanuel Macron steered clear of the event.

Alternatively, French officials hosted Irans foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Paris on Thursday and Iranian state media claimed Mr. Macron was among those hed met. Frances foreign ministry offered no verification of the meeting, but acknowledged talks between Mr. Zarif and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Political uneasiness toward the NCRI, meanwhile, stems partly from the organizations most influential faction, the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or MEK an outfit the EU and Washington listed for years as a terrorist group.

The MEK first appeared on the scene during the late 1970s, when it engaged in a power struggle against leaders of Irans Islamic Revolution. The group was later known to have carried out terrorist attacks against Iranian government targets during the 1980s. While U.S. officials say it also participated in attacks on Americans, MEK representatives have long argued that the terrorist listing was never driven by legitimate U.S. national security concerns.

After an exhaustive campaign that saw MEK supporters spend millions lobbying and cozying up to current and former U.S. officials, the group was removed from EU and U.S. terror lists in 2009 and 2012, respectively.

While media scrutiny of the MEK has lingered, the bigger NCRI political wing of the organization has come to be known during more recent years as perhaps the only dissent group on the planet with enough money and juice to rally tens of thousands of supporters in the heart of Europe each June behind a collective call for the overthrow of Irans government.

Saturdays rally went off without a hitch. Confetti was blasted over a crowd that organizers claimed was more than 10,000 strong inside a vast convention hall here that pulsed with notably more upbeat energy than past years a reality that some attendees credited to the rise in Washington of a Trump government seen as eager to take action against Iran.

The most aggressive speech came from NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi, who condemned the religious dictatorship of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and asserted that the regime is run by executioners, whove imprisoned or killed tens of thousands of opposition figures since coming to power in 1979.

Mrs. Rajavi called Irans recent election a sham and accused President Hassan Rouhani of complicity in all of the regimes crimes against the Iranian people.

Overthrow is possible and within reach, she said. Iranian society is simmering with discontent and the international community is finally getting closer to the reality that appeasing the ruling theocracy is misguided.

The only solution is regime change, said Mrs. Rajavi, whos the NCRI since its founder her husband, Massoud Rajavi went into hiding in 2003.

In an email interview with The Washington Times last year, she claimed the organization represent[s] the voice of millions of Iranians who are being oppressed in their country and who seek regime change and the establishment of a democratic, pluralist and non-nuclear government based on the separation of religion and state.

But critic question the NCRIs tactics and the extent of its reach inside Iran.

Ariana M. Tabatabai, an Iranian-American who teaches security studies at Georgetown University, told The Times last week that the NCRI is a cult-like organization and said people inside Iran dont see it as a viable alternative to the Islamic republic.

That doesnt mean that the Islamic republic is widely popular, but it is more popular than the MEK and NCRI, and the reason is that this is a group that was known for its terrorist activities against the Iranian state during the Iran-Iraq war [of the 1980s], Ms. Tabatabai said.

Seeking regime change

NCRI supporters say their organization is the most influential on the Iranian opposition landscape.

No one in the Iranian opposition stands out the way the NCRI stands out in terms of their day to day engagement with the Iranian public, says Ramesh Sepehrrad, a long-time Iranian-American womens rights activist, who works with George Mason Universitys School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution.

Ms. Sepehrrad told a panel ahead of the rally here that its difficult to measure the NCRIs popularity inside Iran because the regime has made the price very, very high for the Iranian people to express their support for the movement. Thousands of their supporters and their family members have been executed and imprisoned by the regime, she said.

Shahin Gobadi, a member of the NCRIs foreign affairs committee, claims the group has become more active inside Iran over the past year. People are realizing more and more, especially young people, that regime change is the only answer, Mr. Gobadi told The Times.

But whether the Trump administration stands behind regime change remains unclear.

Jack Keane, a retired four star U.S. Army general with the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, says the president is crafting a far more aggressive policy than his predecessor.

What I dont know, said Mr. Keane, who also spoke on a panel ahead the rally, is if they would make a strategic move to undermine the regime to the point that it would be overthrown.

Here is the original post:
Iranian dissidents rally in France for the overthrow of Iran's theocracy - Washington Times

Well, we now know that the United States is better than Iran at basketball.

Like, a lot better.

The U.S. Under-19 squad had absolutely no problem today in its World Cup opener against Iran. The U.S. rolled to an easy 108-48 win over the Iranians and was hardly challenged in the process. Our own Carsen Edwards played a solid game as well. He was the second leading scorer with 15 points on an efficient 5 of 6 shooting from the field. He connected on three of his four 3-point attempts and three assists and a rebound.

If youre into plus/minus, Carsen had an impressive +32 in the 22:10 he played. He came off the bench for this one, but could earn a starting spot before all is said and done.

Sorry I got this wrap up late, but I am on the road this weekend in northwest Indiana. Carsen and team USA play again on Sunday morning against Angola at 12:15pm. Once again, The livestream will be carried here.

Originally posted here:
Carsen Edwards Shines in US 108-48 win over Iran - Hammer and Rails