Jocelyn Mccallister

The comments by Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, Pakistan's army chief, however, were also a reflection of growing self confidence within the military, which increasingly recognizes its pivotal role in Mr. Obama's plan to stabilize Afghanistan. In the past week, U.S. officials, before and クイーンカジノ after the international conference on Afghanistan which was held in London, spoke of the beginning of a period of rehabilitation of Taliban militants who are prepared to lay down their arms in Afghanistan.

The move by the United Nations last week to remove five former Taliban members from its official sanctions list reflects a growing belief by U.S. and international officials that some less-active leaders of the Afghan Taliban are no longer tightly linked to the al Qaeda network they sheltered before the terror attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. The decision anchors an Obama administration policy shift that would transform the Afghanistan war from a broad international conflict into an internal political struggle largely handled by the Afghans themselves. Key to that change would be an effort to negotiate with and buy out midlevel Taliban figures willing to renounce violence and abandon their fight. But in paring back some of the Taliban's connections to al Qaeda, the move risks running up against the American public's ingrained perception that the Afghan faction remains a national enemy and that there is no ideological daylight between the two groups. A few other Taliban figures have been dropped from the target list in recent years, but the latest round signals a more comprehensive approach. Any large-scale tinkering with the U.N. target list would have a tangible impact on American counterterror moves: The U.S. typically has a strong behind-the-scenes role in the U.N.'s decision and the U.N. list is often used by the U.S. to identify its own targets for diplomatic and economic punishments. U.S. officials are quick to say that the decoupling is limited and proceeding carefully. Some Taliban leaders, they say, may never come off the list - such as Mullah Mohammed Omar or the leaders of the Haqqani network, which directs the fight against U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan from the Waziristan tribal region in Pakistan. Worldwatch: A Conference Won't Fix Afghanistan Even Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has endorsed the reconciliation plan as essential to success in the Afghanistan war, warns of the complexities involved in separating the two militant groups. Gates ticked off "a syndicate of terrorist groups" on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border, including al Qaeda, Afghan and Pakistan Taliban and a number of Pakistani groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba. "So you can't say one's good and one's not good," he said recently. "They're all insidious, and safe havens for all of them need to be eliminated." The U.N. Security Council first imposed sanctions against the Taliban in November 1999 for refusing to send Osama bin Laden to stand trial on terrorism charges in connection with two 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa. Those sanctions - a travel ban, arms embargo and assets freeze - were later extended to al Qaeda, and in January 2001, the U.N. assembled its first target list of 10 al Qaeda leaders and 74 top Taliban officials. The list has grown to 268 al Qaeda and 137 Taliban figures - and is largely replicated in a similar list used by the State and Treasury Departments to pinpoint terror targets. The U.N. decision - approved by all 15 members of the Security Council - came last week after Russia dropped an objection. The driving concern of those opposing the move focuses on what would happen if the Taliban are allowed to regain any power in Afghanistan. Opponents fear that al Qaeda, including its leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, who are believed hiding along the Pakistan border, would be welcomed back. Richard Barrett, the head of a U.N. group that monitors the threat posed by al Qaeda and the Taliban and among those who back the decision to start removing Taliban leaders from the list, said that "in areas that have been under Taliban control for some time - there aren't al Qaeda there." Other terrorism analysts are more cautious, warning that it will be difficult to determine who is no longer a threat, and that removing names may undercut the credibility of the list. "The lines are blurred between the tribal affiliations of the Taliban on both sides of the border and al Qaeda," said Juan Zarate, a top counterterrorism official in the Bush administration who is now senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It becomes a very difficult chess game and you need astute Afghans to help guide this. You don't want to make a deal with the wrong set of actors, you don't want to make a deal with the devil," he said. U.S. officials see a similar move as a key turning point in the Iraq conflict, says a senior Obama administration official who requested anonymity to discuss the rationale behind the strategy. U.S. forces teamed up with former Sunni insurgents to fight against al Qaeda and began an effort to absorb them into national security and other civilian jobs. Removing the names of former Taliban leaders from the sanctions list would provide them with significant benefits. The sanctions bar their travel to other countries and freezes their financial assets, making it impossible for them to conduct business overseas. Lifting financial sanctions on Taliban leaders "may well serve as a conduit for acquisition of funds, economic resources and weapons for the Taliban," warned retired U.S. diplomat Victor Comras, who was one of five international monitors who oversaw the implementation of U.S. Security Council terrorism financing measures in 2002. Several of the Taliban members dropped from the list last week were senior leaders. Among them were Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, a former foreign minister and Mullah Omar confidant who has recently been involved in helping negotiations, and Abdul Hakim Monib, クイーンカジノ a former deputy minister of frontier affairs who later renounced the Taliban and became a provincial governor.

The move by the United Nations last week to remove five former Taliban members from its official sanctions list reflects a growing belief by U.S. and international officials that some less-active leaders of the Afghan Taliban are no longer tightly linked to the al Qaeda network they sheltered before the terror attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. The decision anchors an Obama administration policy shift that would transform the Afghanistan war from a broad international conflict into an internal political struggle largely handled by the Afghans themselves. Key to that change would be an effort to negotiate with and buy out midlevel Taliban figures willing to renounce violence and abandon their fight. But in paring back some of the Taliban's connections to al Qaeda, the move risks running up against the American public's ingrained perception that the Afghan faction remains a national enemy and that there is no ideological daylight between the two groups. A few other Taliban figures have been dropped from the target list in recent years, but the latest round signals a more comprehensive approach. Any large-scale tinkering with the U.N. target list would have a tangible impact on American counterterror moves: The U.S. typically has a strong behind-the-scenes role in the U.N.'s decision and the U.N. list is often used by the U.S. to identify its own targets for diplomatic and economic punishments. U.S. officials are quick to say that the decoupling is limited and proceeding carefully. Some Taliban leaders, they say, may never come off the list - such as Mullah Mohammed Omar or the leaders of the Haqqani network, which directs the fight against U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan from the Waziristan tribal region in Pakistan. Worldwatch: A Conference Won't Fix Afghanistan Even Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has endorsed the reconciliation plan as essential to success in the Afghanistan war, warns of the complexities involved in separating the two militant groups. Gates ticked off "a syndicate of terrorist groups" on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border, including al Qaeda, Afghan and Pakistan Taliban and a number of Pakistani groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba. "So you can't say one's good and one's not good," he said recently. "They're all insidious, and safe havens for all of them need to be eliminated." The U.N. Security Council first imposed sanctions against the Taliban in November 1999 for refusing to send Osama bin Laden to stand trial on terrorism charges in connection with two 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa. Those sanctions - a travel ban, arms embargo and assets freeze - were later extended to al Qaeda, and in January 2001, the U.N. assembled its first target list of 10 al Qaeda leaders and クイーンカジノ 74 top Taliban officials. The list has grown to 268 al Qaeda and 137 Taliban figures - and is largely replicated in a similar list used by the State and Treasury Departments to pinpoint terror targets. The U.N. decision - approved by all 15 members of the Security Council - came last week after Russia dropped an objection. The driving concern of those opposing the move focuses on what would happen if the Taliban are allowed to regain any power in Afghanistan. Opponents fear that al Qaeda, including its leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, who are believed hiding along the Pakistan border, would be welcomed back. Richard Barrett, the head of a U.N. group that monitors the threat posed by al Qaeda and the Taliban and among those who back the decision to start removing Taliban leaders from the list, said that "in areas that have been under Taliban control for some time - there aren't al Qaeda there." Other terrorism analysts are more cautious, warning that it will be difficult to determine who is no longer a threat, and that removing names may undercut the credibility of the list. "The lines are blurred between the tribal affiliations of the Taliban on both sides of the border and al Qaeda," said Juan Zarate, a top counterterrorism official in the Bush administration who is now senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It becomes a very difficult chess game and you need astute Afghans to help guide this. You don't want to make a deal with the wrong set of actors, you don't want to make a deal with the devil," he said. U.S. officials see a similar move as a key turning point in the Iraq conflict, says a senior Obama administration official who requested anonymity to discuss the rationale behind the strategy. U.S. forces teamed up with former Sunni insurgents to fight against al Qaeda and began an effort to absorb them into national security and other civilian jobs. Removing the names of former Taliban leaders from the sanctions list would provide them with significant benefits. The sanctions bar their travel to other countries and freezes their financial assets, making it impossible for them to conduct business overseas. Lifting financial sanctions on Taliban leaders "may well serve as a conduit for acquisition of funds, economic resources and weapons for the Taliban," warned retired U.S. diplomat Victor Comras, who was one of five international monitors who oversaw the implementation of U.S. Security Council terrorism financing measures in 2002. Several of the Taliban members dropped from the list last week were senior leaders. Among them were Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, a former foreign minister and Mullah Omar confidant who has recently been involved in helping negotiations, and Abdul Hakim Monib, a former deputy minister of frontier affairs who later renounced the Taliban and became a provincial governor.

On the show, Lavigne explained that after landing her first record deal at the age of 15, she was more than happy to leave high school behind. "I remember talking to my friends on the phone and they're getting ready for exams, and I was like, 'ha, ha, ha.'" I was supposed to do home schooling and I was supposed to read books, ベラジョンカジノ but I didn't do it. Basically I'm a high school dropout." Lavigne, whose third album "The Best Damn Thing" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart, chats with host Lynn Hoffman and performs her single "Girlfriend," her first-ever hit "Complicated," and several other songs from her new album. Artists scheduled to appear on future episodes include The Goo Goo Dolls on July 29, country music star Toby Keith on Aug. 5, blues-rock band Blues Traveler on Aug/ 12 and rocker Meat Loaf on Aug. 19. Nine additional episodes are planned for production in 2007. "Private Sessions" premieres on A&E on July 22 t 9:00 a.m. ET

The comments by Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, Pakistan's army chief, however, ルーレット were also a reflection of growing self confidence within the military, which increasingly recognizes its pivotal role in Mr. Obama's plan to stabilize Afghanistan. In the past week, U.S. officials, before and after the international conference on Afghanistan which was held in London, spoke of the beginning of a period of rehabilitation of Taliban militants who are prepared to lay down their arms in Afghanistan.

Conjoined twins survived a marathon surgery and became two little girls early Wednesday morning, CBS Sacramento reports. Since birth, 2-year-old Erika and Eva Sandoval shared much of their lower body. Their mother Aida said doctors told her early on in her pregnancy that the twins might not make it. She was told her own life could be at risk, too. But after they all beat the odds, Aida made the decision to embark on separating Eva and バカラ Erika. The family started their journey at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, in Palo Alto, California. It took a team of 50 doctors, nurses, and operating staff 17 hours to complete the separation. The twins came through in good shape. "They did very well," lead surgeon Gary Hartman, MD, a clinical professor of surgery at the School of Medicine, said in a statement. "I’m very pleased with the outcome." Now each girl has a portion of their vital organs. Each has only one leg. "It’s amazing how strong these girls are and it’s amazing what their team performed," the twins’ mom said. "Seeing them now in the ICU, you look at them and think ‘You’re missing your other half,’ but we know that this is the right path for them: to be independent, have the chance to succeed and explore on their own everything the world has to offer." While the girls are recovering, a world of support surrounding them is bursting with heartfelt messages from family, friends and even complete strangers. Their aunt posted to Facebook "They made it! #survivors" THEY MADE IT????❤️???? they are officially separated..., we couldn't stop crying from happiness. My nieces have beat every... But the two toddlers still have quite the journey ahead. At least for the next two weeks they’ll be monitored in intensive care. Their physicians anticipate that they will spend an additional two weeks in the hospital before going home. They are sharing a hospital room, but are staying in separate beds. The family says they are so thankful for everyone’s support.

Conjoined twins survived a marathon surgery and became two little girls early Wednesday morning, CBS Sacramento reports. Since birth, 2-year-old Erika and Eva Sandoval shared much of their lower body. Their mother Aida said doctors told her early on in her pregnancy that the twins might not make it. She was told her own life could be at risk, too. But after they all beat the odds, Aida made the decision to embark on separating Eva and Erika. The family started their journey at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, in Palo Alto, California. It took a team of 50 doctors, nurses, and operating staff 17 hours to complete the separation. The twins came through in good shape. "They did very well," lead surgeon Gary Hartman, MD, a clinical professor of surgery at the School of Medicine, said in a statement. "I’m very pleased with the outcome." Now each girl has a portion of their vital organs. Each has only one leg. "It’s amazing how strong these girls are and it’s amazing what their team performed," the twins’ mom said. "Seeing them now in the ICU, you look at them and think ‘You’re missing your other half,’ but we know that this is the right path for them: to be independent, have the chance to succeed and explore on their own everything the world has to offer." While the girls are recovering, a world of support surrounding them is bursting with heartfelt messages from family, friends and even complete strangers. Their aunt posted to Facebook "They made it! #survivors" THEY MADE IT????❤️???? they are officially separated..., we couldn't stop crying from happiness. My nieces have beat every... But the two toddlers still have quite the journey ahead. At least for the next two weeks they’ll be monitored in intensive care. Their physicians anticipate that they will spend an additional two weeks in the hospital before going home. They are sharing a hospital room, but are staying in separate beds. The family says they are so thankful for everyone’s support.

Mexico has racked up its fair share of menacingly named outlaws in a three-year drug war: the Zetas, Aztecas and even a band of female assassins called the Panthers. Now, if the government gets its way, another name will also make the wanted list: los Twitteros. That's right. Twitter users are fast becoming public enemy No. 1, at least in Mexico City, where they have angered authorities by warning one another of roadside "alcoholimetro" - or Breathalyzer - checkpoints set up by the police. But the case against the Twitteros is about more than alcohol. Mexico is, after all, a country at war - at least according to President Felipe Calderon, who launched the crackdown on drug cartels shortly after taking office. Three years later, the streets of border cities like Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana remain full of soldiers. In many ways, the government is still playing catch-up to the nation's criminals. In this context, the issue of the Twitteros has quickly expanded into an argument over whether public safety takes priority over free speech in a country struggling to contain serious social ills. Fearing that kidnappers and drug cartels use Twitter, Facebook or MySpace to communicate, the Mexican government is considering a bill to restrict social networking websites and to set up a police force to monitor them. The Twitter feed in question, Anti Alcoholimetro, doesn't hide its intent. On any given night, a dozen people write in listing the time and location where they saw a police checkpoint, helping others to avoid it. The government's response has been erratic. At first, city officials said tweeting the location of police checkpoints was a crime, akin to helping someone break the law, and vowed to find a way to prosecute Twitteros. But after a media frenzy, they quickly backed down. "We're not taking any action against the Twitteros," said Othon Sanchez, director of preventative programs for Mexico City's public safety office. "I don't think it's a crime to say, 'Hey, I just passed Reforma Avenue and there's an alcoholimetro,'" he said. "But it is an irresponsible act because here in Mexico drunk driving is a serious problem. We see it on a daily basis." In fact, Sanchez said the Twitteros had been a blessing in disguise: their tweets have helped publicize the alcoholimetros and spurred his office to launch its own Twitter campaign in support of the program. Yet the right to tweet is far from guaranteed, even in the relatively liberal capital of Mexico City. Article 320 of the city's penal code prescribes prison terms of up to five years for those who "in any way help a delinquent avoid investigation by the authorities or escape their actions." If that seems vague, it is. But federal lawmakers are quickly working on specific legislation to track down and punish Twitteros who break the law or help others escape it. "We have to regulate these websites to make sure there aren't people breaking the law, making death threats or committing crimes via electronic means," said Nazario Norberto, a federal representative and member of the leftist Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD). Although Twitter asks users to abide by local laws, it and other social networking websites are currently completely unregulated and un-policed in Mexico, ‎クイーンカジノ according to Norberto. He says his bill is still in the works, but is modeled in part after a controversial Spanish bill that would allow judges to shut down websites that, according to the government, help people break copyrights and other laws. The Spanish bill has already drawn fierce criticism from civil liberties groups. But Norberto denies his bill would restrict free speech. Instead, he argues, it would keep Twitteros from sharing private government data about the location of alcoholimetros. "This isn't public information because the federal police and public safety officials set up these roadblocks without telling anyone where they'll be," he insisted. "That's the whole point." If passed, the bill would do much more than prevent Twitterers from revealing Breathalyzer checkpoints. It would also create a "cybernetic police force" to scour the web for crime, including kidnappings and drug activity, Norberto said. His bill reflects a growing fear in Mexico that kidnapping rings and drug cartels are using social networking sites like Twitter to do business. "It's a way for drug cartels to locate targets," said Ghaleb Krame, a security expert at Alliant International University in Mexico City. "Facebook and Twitter have lots of weaknesses," he said. "For instance, criminals can find out who are the family members of someone who has a high rank in the police. Perhaps they don't have an account on Twitter or Facebook, but their children and close family probably do." Indeed, a recent string of killings suggest drug cartels are more web-savvy than the police. In December, a marine was killed during an operation to capture one of Mexico's most wanted drug lords, Arturo Beltran Leyva, who also died in the shootout. Less than a week later, gunmen attacked the marine's home, killing his mother and three relatives. "How did they know where his parents lived?" Krame asked, suggesting that the cartel could have used websites like Facebook to track down the family. "Drug traffickers have an intelligence network and, as far as I know, at this moment in time it's more effective than ours." While he seconds Rep. Norberto's call for police to mine Twitter and Facebook for data, Krame said any attempt to restrict social networking websites would be a mistake. "We have to play within the rules of the game," Krame said. "These are open sources. If we try to regulate them we're just going to end up like China battling Google." "We can't go down that path," he added. "It would be absolutely anti-democratic." More stories from GlobalPost:The Front Lines of Mexico's Drug WarDrug Cartels to Businesses: Pay UpJournalist Murders in Mexico Hit Record

Mexico has racked up its fair share of menacingly named outlaws in a three-year drug war: the Zetas, Aztecas and even a band of female assassins called the Panthers. Now, if the government gets its way, another name will also make the wanted list: los Twitteros. That's right. Twitter users are fast becoming public enemy No. 1, at least in Mexico City, where they have angered authorities by warning one another of roadside "alcoholimetro" - or Breathalyzer - checkpoints set up by the police. But the case against the Twitteros is about more than alcohol. Mexico is, after all, a country at war - at least according to President Felipe Calderon, who launched the crackdown on drug cartels shortly after taking office. Three years later, the streets of border cities like Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana remain full of soldiers. In many ways, the government is still playing catch-up to the nation's criminals. In this context, the issue of the Twitteros has quickly expanded into an argument over whether public safety takes priority over free speech in a country struggling to contain serious social ills. Fearing that kidnappers and drug cartels use Twitter, Facebook or MySpace to communicate, the Mexican government is considering a bill to restrict social networking websites and to set up a police force to monitor them. The Twitter feed in question, Anti Alcoholimetro, doesn't hide its intent. On any given night, a dozen people write in listing the time and location where they saw a police checkpoint, helping others to avoid it. The government's response has been erratic. At first, city officials said tweeting the location of police checkpoints was a crime, akin to helping someone break the law, and vowed to find a way to prosecute Twitteros. But after a media frenzy, they quickly backed down. "We're not taking any action against the Twitteros," said Othon Sanchez, director of preventative programs for Mexico City's public safety office. "I don't think it's a crime to say, 'Hey, I just passed Reforma Avenue and there's an alcoholimetro,'" he said. "But it is an irresponsible act because here in Mexico drunk driving is a serious problem. We see it on a daily basis." In fact, Sanchez said the Twitteros had been a blessing in disguise: their tweets have helped publicize the alcoholimetros and spurred his office to launch its own Twitter campaign in support of the program. Yet the right to tweet is far from guaranteed, even in the relatively liberal capital of Mexico City. Article 320 of the city's penal code prescribes prison terms of up to five years for those who "in any way help a delinquent avoid investigation by the authorities or escape their actions." If that seems vague, it is. But federal lawmakers are quickly working on specific legislation to track down and punish Twitteros who break the law or help others escape it. "We have to regulate these websites to make sure there aren't people breaking the law, making death threats or committing crimes via electronic means," said Nazario Norberto, a federal representative and member of the leftist Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD). Although Twitter asks users to abide by local laws, it and other social networking websites are currently completely unregulated and un-policed in Mexico, according to Norberto. He says his bill is still in the works, but is modeled in part after a controversial Spanish bill that would allow judges to shut down websites that, according to the government, help people break copyrights and other laws. The Spanish bill has already drawn fierce criticism from civil liberties groups. But Norberto denies his bill would restrict free speech. Instead, he argues, it would keep Twitteros from sharing private government data about the location of alcoholimetros. "This isn't public information because the federal police and public safety officials set up these roadblocks without telling anyone where they'll be," he insisted. "That's the whole point." If passed, the bill would do much more than prevent Twitterers from revealing Breathalyzer checkpoints. It would also create a "cybernetic police force" to scour the web for crime, including kidnappings and drug activity, Norberto said. His bill reflects a growing fear in Mexico that kidnapping rings and ‎クイーンカジノ drug cartels are using social networking sites like Twitter to do business. "It's a way for drug cartels to locate targets," said Ghaleb Krame, a security expert at Alliant International University in Mexico City. "Facebook and Twitter have lots of weaknesses," he said. "For instance, criminals can find out who are the family members of someone who has a high rank in the police. Perhaps they don't have an account on Twitter or Facebook, but their children and close family probably do." Indeed, a recent string of killings suggest drug cartels are more web-savvy than the police. In December, a marine was killed during an operation to capture one of Mexico's most wanted drug lords, Arturo Beltran Leyva, who also died in the shootout. Less than a week later, gunmen attacked the marine's home, killing his mother and three relatives. "How did they know where his parents lived?" Krame asked, suggesting that the cartel could have used websites like Facebook to track down the family. "Drug traffickers have an intelligence network and, as far as I know, at this moment in time it's more effective than ours." While he seconds Rep. Norberto's call for police to mine Twitter and Facebook for data, Krame said any attempt to restrict social networking websites would be a mistake. "We have to play within the rules of the game," Krame said. "These are open sources. If we try to regulate them we're just going to end up like China battling Google." "We can't go down that path," he added. "It would be absolutely anti-democratic." More stories from GlobalPost:The Front Lines of Mexico's Drug WarDrug Cartels to Businesses: Pay UpJournalist Murders in Mexico Hit Record