Taliban deny attack on Indian consulate in Afghanistan

Three suicide attackers killed at least nine civilians, most of them children, in a botched attack Saturday on the Indian consulate in Afghanistan. Were the attackers from Pakistan?

By Associated Press / August 3, 2013

Afghan policemen walk near a crater at the site of a suicide attack at the Indian consulate in Jalalabad province August 3, 2013.

REUTERS/Parwiz

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Three suicide attackers killed at least nine civilians, most of them children, in a botched attack Saturday on the Indian consulate in an eastern Afghan city near the border with Pakistan, security officials said.

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Authorities also reported that 22 police officers and over 70 Taliban fighters died in two days of fighting earlier in the week in the same province touched off by a feud between militants and villagers. Officials regularly announce high militant death tolls that are impossible to independently confirm.

Militants, mostly smaller groups based in Pakistan, have targeted Indian diplomatic interests multiple times in recent years. Afghanistan's main insurgent group, the Taliban, denied in a text message that it had carried out the attack.

Militant groups known for attacking Indian interests include Lashkar-e-Taiba, blamed for the 2008 attack on the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people. LeT has been active in Afghanistan in recent years, often teaming up with insurgent groups operating in the eastern part of the country near the frontier with Pakistan. Last year the U.S.-led military coalition arrested a senior LeT leader in eastern Afghanistan.

India has been frustrated by Pakistan's failure to crack down on Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has strong historical links with Pakistani intelligence. Pakistan has always viewed India as a potential rival in Afghanistan, which it considers its strategic backyard.

"Such coward attacks will not deter India from providing reconstruction and developmental assistance to our true friend, Afghanistan," the Indian Embassy Tweeted in reaction to the consulate bombing.

In the latest attack, police fired on the militants as they approached a checkpoint outside the consulate in Jalalabad, prompting one of them to set off their explosives-laden car, said Masum Khan Hashimi, the deputy police chief of Nangarhar province.

The blast killed nine bystanders, and wounded another 24 people including a policeman. Six of the dead and three of the wounded were children, said Jalalabad hospital director Dr. Humayun Zahir. He did not give their specific ages.

All three attackers also died, although it was not clear how many were killed by police fire and how many by the explosion.

In New Delhi, India's External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said that all Indian officials in the consulate were safe.

Hashimi said the Jalalabad attack began when three men in a car approached the checkpoint. Two of the men got out of the car wearing vests rigged with explosives and a police guard immediately opened fire on them, Hashimi said. He added that the third man then detonated a large bomb located inside the car.

In 2010, two Kabul guest houses popular among Indians were attacked, killing more than six Indians. India blamed that attack on LeT.

The Indian Embassy was bombed in 2008 and again in 2009, leaving 75 people dead in the two attacks.

The attack came as the U.S. planned to close its embassies in the Muslim world for the weekend due to an al-Qaida threat.

In other violence in the same province, 22 police officers and 76 Taliban were killed in the Sherzad district of Nangarhar in two days of battles with insurgents that broke out when militants shot a tribal elder, officials and police said.

The militant death toll could not be checked independently, but four separate officials confirmed the police death toll.

Fighting has intensified in eastern and southern parts of Afghanistan in recent months, especially since the mid-June handover of security responsibilities from the U.S.-led international military coalition to the Afghan national security forces. The Taliban have been fighting to regain ground they lost in the past three years to foreign forces, and violence is expected to spike again after the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

So far this year, a total of 613 Afghan and 470 Afghan soldiers have been killed in fighting.

The battles in the Sherzad district began on Wednesday when Taliban fighters shot and killed a tribal elder for allegedly cooperating with the government of President Hamid Karzai, sparking retaliation from the family and other villagers, residents said.

According to Ahmad Mushtaq, a villager, that initial gun battle resulted in the deaths of a number of Taliban. The militants retaliated by kidnapping 12 members of a family, who were rescued when Afghan police rushed to the scene and, backed by reinforcements from Jalalabad, mounted a rescue operation.

A number of Taliban again were killed and wounded during this rescue operation, Sherzad district chief Shukrullah Durani said. But when the reinforcements were on their way back to Jalalabad they were attacked by big number of Taliban.

The Taliban, who numbered about two hundred, were fleeing an Afghan army operation in a neighboring province when they ran into the police convoy on Thursday.

In a battle which lasted hours, 22 police officers were killed along with scores of Taliban fighters, Durani and three other officials said. The three spoke anonymously as they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Durani said the police requested air support from NATO, but none came. "This is why 22 police... were killed," he said. "If we had received air support we would not have lost such a big number of police and at the same time all Taliban in the area would have been killed and would not have escaped this time."

It was unclear why the police did not receive air support. Coalition forces do provide such assistance when requested and if the fighting is not in an inhabited area.

___

Associated Press writer Amir Shah contributed from Kabul.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/dxzQoB4AWrE/Taliban-deny-attack-on-Indian-consulate-in-Afghanistan

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Attack on Indian mission in Afghanistan raises specter of regional struggle

By Rafiq Shirzad

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Insurgents attacked the Indian consulate in Afghanistan's eastern capital on Saturday, killing nine people and reinforcing fears that a bloody regional power struggle will be played out in the country once most foreign troops leave.

Twenty-three people were wounded when checkpoint guards stopped three attackers in a car as they approached the consulate in Jalalbabad city, the office of the governor of Nangarhar province, Gul Agha Sherzai, said in a statement.

Two attackers leapt from the car and a gunfight broke out, while the third detonated explosives. No Indian officials were killed, though the blast badly damaged a mosque and dozens of homes and small shops nearby.

India condemned the attack and, without naming any country or group, blamed outside forces.

"This attack has once again highlighted that the main threat to Afghanistan's security and stability stems from terrorism and the terror machine that continues to operate from beyond its borders," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan have long vied for power and influence in Afghanistan. Many see their struggle intensifying after the departure of most international forces by the end of next year.

Afghans fear the void left by the NATO-led foreign forces could lead to yet another round of bloody external interference in the impoverished and violence-racked country.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is seen as close to India and strongly opposed to the Taliban, who some say is supported by elements of the Pakistani state, in particular its powerful intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The Taliban, which spearheads armed opposition to Karzai's Western-backed government, denied responsibility for Saturday's attack on the Indian mission close to Pakistan's border.

Attacks on the Indian embassy in Kabul - there were two during 2008 and 2009 that together killed more than 50 people - led to accusations by Karzai that Pakistan was attempting to compromise India-Afghanistan relations. He gave no evidence for his assertion, and Pakistan denied it was true.

Earlier on Saturday, India's Mail Today reported that New Delhi's ambassador to Kabul was recently warned that the ISI had paid the Haqqani insurgent network - which is allied with the Taliban - to assassinate him.

"It was a specific alert. A team of security officials was sent to Afghanistan for a security review and it has made some recommendations. Clearly the aim is to pin down our top diplomat so we back off from our work," a senior official told the daily.

Indian foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin declined to comment on the report, which was sourced to Indian officials who had seen communication intercepts.

A Pakistani security official dubbed the report "nonsense". "Why would we do such a thing when we are trying to improve economic ties with India?" he said.

(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi, by John Chalmers in NEW DELHI and by Katharine Houreld in ISLAMABAD; Writing by Jessica Donati and Dylan Welch; Editing by Ron Popeski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/suspected-suicide-bombing-near-indian-consulate-eastern-afghanistan-062337631.html

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Dems hit GOP on immigration in top critics home

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AMES, Iowa (AP) ? Kicking off an August of likely intense debate over immigration, the Senate?s second-ranking Democrat traveled to Iowa Friday to rebuke House Republicans who oppose major changes embraced by the Senate.

Sen. Richard Durbin?s strategically targeted visit was a fairly small and calm foretaste of planned demonstrations by opponents and supporters of the proposed immigration changes during Congress? summer recess. The Senate measure would heighten border security and provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants living here illegally.

Durbin, of Illinois, joined Iowa Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin at a forum in a college town represented in Congress by Republican Rep. Steve King. King is among Congress? fiercest opponents of granting citizenship to immigrants now here illegally. Republican leaders have denounced King?s most inflammatory remarks, but some Democrats depict him as a symbol of widespread GOP resistance.

Harkin said Iowans ?are compassionate, caring people and we don?t characterize people with hateful, spiteful, degrading language.?

King said in a July interview that some Hispanics brought to the country illegally as children become high school valedictorians. But for each of those, he said, ?there?s another 100 out there who weigh 130 pounds, and they?ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they?re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.?

Durbin focused on the so-called DREAM Act, which would offer eventual citizenship to some immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children.

?If we can fix this immigration system, we can build the American economy and we can do the right thing,? Durbin told the Ames gathering. ?To suggest these are petty criminals or drug smugglers just doesn?t square with the reality of the DREAM Act.?

The forum featured potential DREAM Act beneficiaries.

Hector Salamanca, 20, came from Mexico as a child with his parents, who stayed in the United States after their tourist visas expired. His undocumented status made him ineligible to attend a state university or receive government-sponsored grants or loans, he told the audience of about 200.

Salamanca said he earned an associate degree at a community college and will attend Drake University. He said he tells Hispanic youths, ?Don?t let your undocumented status prevent you from achieving your goals.?

Some House Republicans have expressed interest in a version of the DREAM Act, although King calls it ?backdoor amnesty.?

The Obama administration and many activist groups have said they will not settle for the DREAM Act alone. They are pressing the GOP-controlled House to embrace something similar to the Senate bill.

Many House Republicans resist the idea. They point to GOP primary voters in their districts who oppose ?amnesty? for people here illegally, and who say a Democratic administration can?t be trusted to keep promises to tighten the border with Mexico.

Durbin noted that President Barack Obama won re-election with strong backing from Hispanic and Asian-American voters. Many Republican strategists say their party must improve its relationship with these groups, and backing broad immigration changes could help.

?If Republicans in the House don?t respond honestly and in a comprehensive way, this will continue to overshadow any other political issue among certain groups of Americans,? Durbin said.

Opponents of the Senate bill say they will use the August recess to stiffen House resistance. About 100 individuals and groups, led by the Tea Party Patriots, sent a letter this week to all House members expressing opposition to any legislation ?that bears any resemblance to ... the Senate amnesty bill.?

Meanwhile the pro-immigration-reform group America?s Voice said its activists ?are on the move with hundreds of grassroots events planned from coast to coast? this summer.

Demonstrators, who support legalization for millions now here illegally, blocked a major street outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, and some were arrested.

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said such protesters do their cause more harm than good.

?People just see it as a campaign,? Nunes said in an interview Friday. ?People get their feet set in cement when they see campaigns going on.?

King, meanwhile, said he was mourning the death of a Vietnam War hero on Friday rather than responding to Durbin?s and Harkin?s visit to his district.

???
Babington reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Erica Werner in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.dailytribune.com/article/20130802/NEWS04/130809913/dems-hit-gop-on-immigration-in-top-critic-s-home

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John McCain is worried about the GOP

The Fine Print

Sen. John McCain has a strong warning for Republicans: Falter on immigration reform and the party will lose in 2016.

?If we fail on immigration reform, it won't matter who our nominee is because of the polarization of the Hispanic vote,? McCain, R-Ariz., tells ?The Fine Print.? ?Now that's not why I'm for immigration reform but it certainly is one of the consequences of a failure.?

McCain, who has simultaneously emerged as a friend to the White House and a critic of some of the new GOP firebrands on Capitol Hill, says he?s hopeful that the August congressional recess will bring lawmakers back to Washington ?with at least a willingness to move forward? on a course to overhaul the nation's immigration system.

?Members are back interacting with their constituents,? McCain says of the upcoming recess. ?And we see a coalition of Evangelicals, of the Catholic Church, of business, of labor, of small business, high tech, across the board, support the likes of which we, I've never seen for one specific part of legislation.?

As for Republican newcomers, such as Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., who have been bucking establishment Republican positions on immigration and other issues, McCain advises that they read up on their history.

?The people who are pushing this Obamacare vs. government shutdown, none of them that I know were here the last time we saw that movie,? he says.

While freshman senators do bring a positive ?infusion? of new ideas, he says, it?s also important to maintain the Senate?s ?corporate memory.?

Asked about their 2016 presidential aspirations, McCain isn't very charitable, calling them only "viable."

On the topic of his partnership with Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, a key Democratic leader, McCain laughed off the criticism voiced by some Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

?Sen. Schumer is a person who is as good as his word,? McCain says. ?His word is good, and he reminds me, in a way, of the work that I used to do with Ted Kennedy.?

McCain says his bipartisan partnership with Schumer remains strong and has been solidified through months of negotiations on tough issues like immigration reform, potential filibusters and the fiscal cliff.

To hear more of the interview with McCain, including what he hopes to accomplish when he travels to Egypt next week at the request of the White House, check out this episode of ?The Fine Print.?

ABC's Robin Gradison, Betsy Klein, Michael Conte, Brian Haefeli, and Vicki Vennell contributed to this episode.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/power-players-abc-news/straight-talk-express-back-mccain-fears-future-gop-094426030.html

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Hundreds of gallons of oil spilled in Marshall County http://bit.ly/1bQy1vb

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/channel12/posts/10151756283959814

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Seattle city gov't bans the words "citizen" and "brown bag," for ...

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Oh, they?re not obvious to you? That figures, teabagger?

Fox News (booooooo!) reports:

Government workers in the city of Seattle have been advised that the terms ?citizen? and ?brown bag? are potentially offensive and may no longer be used in official documents and discussions?

?Luckily, we?ve got options,? Elliott Bronstein of the Office for Civil Rights wrote in the memo obtained by the station. ?For ?citizens,? how about ?residents???

In an interview with Seattle?s KIRO Radio, Bronstein said the term ?brown bag? has been used historically as a way to judge skin color.

?For a lot of particularly African-American community members, the phrase brown bag does bring up associations with the past when a brown bag was actually used, I understand, to determine if people?s skin color was light enough to allow admission to an event or to come into a party that was being held in a private home,? Bronstein said.

Incidentally, a brown bag can also be used to hold food that will be eaten later in the day. But this is no longer to be mentioned by employees of Seattle city government.

I was unfamiliar with this ?brown bag? practice, being a white person and therefore a racist. But if we?re to trust Wikipedia (and why shouldn?t we?), this is an actual thing that happens in real life:

Brown paper bag test

The phrase ?brown paper bag test? has traditionally been used by African Americans throughout the twentieth and twenty-first century with reference to a ritual once practiced by certain African-American sororities and fraternities who would not let anyone into the group whose skin tone was darker than a paper bag. Also known as a paper bag party, these lighter-skinned social circles reflected an idea of exclusion and exclusiveness. The notion of the ?paper bag? has carried a complex and obscure meaning in black communities for many decades. The reason for the usage of the ?paper bag? is because the color of the paper bag is considered to be the ?center? marker of blackness that distinguishes ?light skin? from ?dark skin? on a continuum stretching infinitely from black to white. Also, the brown paper bag is believed to act as a benchmark for certain levels of acceptance and inclusion. Spike Lee?s film School Daze satirized this practice at historically black colleges and universities. Along with the ?paper bag test,? guidelines for acceptance among the lighter ranks included the ?comb test? and ?pencil test,? which tested the coarseness of one?s hair, and the ?flashlight test,? which tested a person?s profile to make sure their features measured up or were close enough to those of the Caucasian race.

So, some black people are racist against other black people, therefore nobody gets to use the phrase ?brown bag.? That makes perfect sense.

Are they going to ban ?comb,? ?pencil,? and ?flashlight? next? I?d suggest ?hair modification device,? ?non-ink-based writing implement,? and ?portable illumination thingie.? Still, even those terms might injure the feelings of people who happen to be bald, blind, and/or handless. It?s so easy to forget how much words can hurt.

Come to think of it, shouldn?t all references to all colors be banned? Aren?t they all really the same, deep down? Better safe than sorry.

BTW, the word ?citizen? is to be avoided because not all Seattle residents are citizens. You may scoff, but I know how pissed off I?d be if I lived in a country where I wasn?t a citizen and somebody called me a citizen anyway. That?s offensive!!!

I understand now, Kurt Cobain.

Source: http://dailycaller.com/2013/08/02/seattle-city-govt-bans-the-words-citizen-and-brown-bag-for-obvious-reasons/

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