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Al Jazeera English - Focus - 'US repeating Soviet mistakes' : "For the first time since the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1989, and the subsequent fall of the Najibullah government in 1996, Russia says it is ready to play a greater political and economic role in the country it formerly occupied. It has co-operated with Nato and other western deployments, opening up transit routes for international forces and initiating bilateral co-operation with Kabul. Andrey Avetisyan, the Russian ambassador to Afghanistan, says Moscow supports the continuing presence of international troops in Afghanistan. However he worries that the international community, especially the US, are committing the same mistakes made during the Soviet occupation. Al Jazeera interviewed the Russian envoy at his country's new embassy in Kabul. Al Jazeera: Russia has maintained a low-key presence in Afghanistan for the past few years. Is it preparing to change that approach and move towa...

Al Jazeera English - Middle East - Palestinian man hit in car attack : "News Middle East Palestinian man hit in car attack Violence erupted in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday when a Palestinian man entered a petrol station at the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba in the occupied West Bank and stabbed two settlers. But that was not the end of the story. According to the Israeli army, the Palestinian was then shot by a soldier, after which a car, apparently driven by a settler, ran over the wounded Palestinian, twice, with Israeli soldiers all around. Jacky Rowland reports. *Viewers may find some of the images disturbing."

كونا : Saudi forces arrest 145 Somalis, Ethiopians on borders with Yemen - الدفاع والأمن - 29/11/2009 : "RIYADH, Nov 29 (KUNA) -- Around 145 Somali and Ethiopian nationals were arrested by the Saudi forces during operations on the Saudi-Yemeni borders, said an official on Sunday. Undersecretary for the Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdelaziz told the press that the Saudi forces were on alert and would not allow anyone to infiltrate the Saudi borders. Meanwhile, the official denied that the Saudi forces had received five of its soldiers from the Yemeni Army but affirmed that there were nine soldiers still missing in action within Yemen. (end) od.gta KUNA 290933 Nov 09NNNN"

How dare you criticize wasteful defense spending! - Salon.com : "# The 2010 Pentagon budget means 'every man, woman and child in the United States will spend more than $2,700 on (defense) programs and agencies next year,' reports the Cato Institute. 'By way of comparison, the average Japanese spends less than $330; the average German about $520; China's per capita spending is less than $100.' # '(The Pentagon budget) dwarfs the combined defense budgets of U.S. allies and potential U.S. enemies alike,' reports Hearst Newspapers. # 'President (Obama) is on track to spend more on defense, in real dollars, than any other president has in one term of office since World War II,' reports National Journal's Government Executive magazine. # In 2000, the Pentagon admitted it has lost -- yes, lost -- $2.3 trillion. In 2003, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a subsequent Department of Defense study said it was only $1 trillion. To put such numbe...

Al Jazeera English - Europe - German army chief quits over raid : "General Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Germany's highest-ranking officer, has resigned after accusations that the army withheld information about an air raid in Afghanistan in which several civilians died. Speaking in parliament on Thursday, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, Germany's defence minister, said Schneiderhan had submitted his resignation."

US in Back-channel Talks with Afghan Taliban : Information Clearing House - ICH : "ISLAMABAD: After fighting a bloody war in Afghanistan for more than eight years, the United States appears to have undertaken a re-think of its policy and has started engaging the Taliban in negotiations through Saudi and Pakistani intelligence agencies, highly-placed sources told Dawn here on Monday. ‘We have started ‘engagement’ with the Afghan Taliban and are hopeful that our efforts will bear fruit,’ a source involved in secret negotiations told this correspondent. He said that four ‘major neutral players’ were engaged with the Afghan Taliban on behalf of the Saudi leadership and the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) of Saudi Arabia and the Pakistani leadership and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI)."

53% Of Israeli's Favor Ethnic Cleansing : Information Clearing House - ICH : "Transfer of Arabs from the Palestinian Authority to actual Arab countries was the most popular solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, according to a poll this week by Israel National News. Of the more than 6,400 people surveyed, 53.2 said 'Transfer of Palestinians to another Arab country' when asked, 'What's the best solution for the Arab-Israeli conflict?'"