Military says the five soldiers responsible were “careless, but there was no ill will†…
- U.S. Probe of Koran Burning Finds 5 Troops Responsible, Officials Say; Afghans Demand Trial (Washington Post with Foreign Policy)
… but MP and mullah Qazi Nazir Ahmad Hanifi who and other members of the investigating team say that words written in the margins of the Qur’an and other books were merely “translations of difficult Arabic words into Pashto or Dari” and “had nothing to do with terrorism or criminal activitiesâ€:
Backed by religious leaders who say Afghani control would have prevented the Qur’an burnings, Karzai stands firm on transfer of prison control and opposition to night raids:
- Afghan Clerics Call on US to Turn over Prisons to the Afghan Government, End Night Raids (AP / Washington Post with Foreign Policy)
- US-Afghanistan deal in danger as Hamid Karzai holds firm on demands (Guardian)
“Even before the campaign was launched, there was already pushback from two groups, the American Freedom Defense Initiative and Stop the Islamization of Nations, both categorized as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center”:
“Until now the military council cannot understand that there was a revolution and continues the same policies of answering to Washington,†– MB spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan:
- Egyptians Outraged Over the Departure of Americans, Accusing Military of Bowing to US Pressure (AP / Washington Post with Foreign Policy)
An unintended consequence of military threats to Iran? “If true, the 64.6 percent [election turnout] figure is several points above the last parliamentary election, in 2008 – and is meant by Iran’s conservative leaders to remove the stain of the 2009 presidential race and its violent aftermath”:
- Iran Election Draws Conservatives: ‘God, Please Accept This Vote from Me’Â (Christian Science Monitor)
“Political analysts say Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood is likely to emerge as the most organized political force and a leading player in the oil-exporting country where Islamists, like all dissidents, were harshly suppressed for 42 yearsâ€:
- Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood Sets Up Political Party (Reuters / Chicago Tribune)
The government’s excuse is that it wants recent reform “measures to be in place before Mendez’s visit, ‘so he can assess the progress that Bahrain has made to date’”:
- Bahrain Delays UN Investigator Visit (Al-Jazeera)
“Syrian forces bombarded parts of the shattered city of Homs anew on Saturday and blocked the first Red Cross aid meant for civilians stranded for weeks without food and fuel in the former rebel stronghold, activists and aid workers said”:
- Syrian Forces Pound Homs Anew (Reuters)
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