Headlines:

• Egypt Shocked over Exclusion from US-Africa Summit
• Brahimi Speaks of Geneva II "Bad Blood" Ahead of Regime-Opposition Talks
• US Considers Options for Troops in Afghanistan
• Lawmakers Tie Pakistani Aid to Release of Hero Doctor

Details:

Egypt Shocked over Exclusion from US-Africa Summit

Egypt slammed on Wednesday a US decision to exclude it from a summit for African leaders to be held in Washington in August. "This decision is wrong and short-sighted," Xinhua reported citing Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson Badr Abdel Aatty in a statement. Egypt is surprised by the US move especially as the summit is not taking place within the framework of the African Union (AU), he added. The AU is currently suspending Egypt's membership. On Tuesday, a statement from the White House said that US will host the first US-African Leaders Summit in Washington in August. US President Barack Obama will send invitations to 47 African nations that are currently in good standing with the US and are not suspended from the AU - therefore, there will be no place for states like Egypt, Zimbabwe and Sudan, the statement added. The US-Egyptian relations have been tense since the ouster of former Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi in July, 2013, after nationwide protests calling for his removal. Egypt's membership in the African Union was suspended following Mursi's removal. [Source: Khaleej Times]

It is odd to find Egypt complaining, given that Obama refuses to call Mursi's ouster a coup and has not terminated the military aid that keeps Egypt's armed forced well equipped to shed more blood in a bid to defend American and Israeli interests. In fact it can be said that America has worked very hard to shield Sisi from his crimes against the Egyptian people. But if Aatty were to admit this in public, then this would expose the co-operation between his government and their master.

Brahimi Speaks of Geneva II "Bad Blood" Ahead of Regime-Opposition Talks

Syrian regime and opposition bad blood runs so deep it may be hard to talk seriously, Lakhdar Brahimi said, pledging to meet with each side separately Thursday. "Statements from both sides confirmed there's a big divide," Brahimi, the special U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, told reporters in Montreux, Switzerland, at the end of an acrimonious first day of ministerial speeches before talks aimed at ending Syria's nearly 3-year-old civil war start Friday. "We will be meeting with them [Thursday], separately, and we will discuss what the next steps will be," the veteran Algerian diplomat who is mediating between the sides said after Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem defiantly called Syrian insurgents evil and ignored U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's appeal to avoid epithets. Muallem refused to yield the floor when Ban signalled he exceeded his allotted 8 minutes. "You live in New York, I live in Syria," Muallem snapped. "I have the right to give the Syrian version here in this forum. After three years of suffering, this is my right." "Let me finish my speech," he said angrily. Ban let him go on. Muallem's remarks lasted more than 30 minutes. Brahimi told reporters he might need more time to discuss the terms of Friday's talks before bringing the two sides into the same room. Those direct negotiations, planned for nearby Geneva, would be the first direct talks between the regime of President Bashar Assad and opposition forces since Syrian unrest began March 15, 2011. The official objective of the peace talks, known as Geneva II, is to establish a process to create a transitional government with full executive powers. [Source: Albawaba]

The evil of the so called friends of Syria is clear for all to see. How could they allow the butchers of Syria and the opposition that at best represents No One inside Syria to talk about a peace process? And the reality truly manifested itself as the people America bought together to salvage a political solution squabbled with each other that led the American agent Brahimi to call for separate meetings Where he  will most likely remind them what they are supposed to say and do.

US Considers Options for Troops in Afghanistan

US military leaders have proposed two options for Afghanistan after 2014 - leave 10,000 American troops there when the combat mission is over, or pull all of them out. A source tells VOA the proposal has been discussed at length for some time now. But several news organizations, including The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, say the commander of the NATO-led force in Afghanistan, General Joseph Dunford, presented the option to the White House last week. About 37,500 US troops are on the ground in Afghanistan, along with 19,000 forces from other countries in the NATO-led coalition. Haji Saleh Muhammad Saleh sits on the defence committee in Afghanistan's Lower House. He tells VOA Afghan Service's Ashna TV that if a complete pull-out is seriously considered, then the US should help strengthen Afghan security forces. "It [the plan] should include extensive civilian aid programs and to back the Afghan government.  The amount of assistance should be increased so that Afghanistan can stand on its feet," said Saleh. Some reports also say that if 10,000 troops are left after 2014, they should all be withdrawn by early 2017, when President Barack Obama leaves office. The Afghan government has not yet signed a Bilateral Security Agreement that would determine the number of American troops to stay in Afghanistan by the end of this year. The Obama administration says if the agreement is not signed soon, the US may have to pull out its troops because there won't be time to plan for a continued presence. Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the winner of that country's presidential election in April should sign the agreement.

Whatever plan the US comes up with the writing is on the wall- America failed in Afghanistan, just as it failed in Vietnam, Somalia, Iraq, Libya and other countries it invaded. This should spur the Afghans in government not to sign the security agreement, as America whether it stays or not, will not be able to protect them. The only solace for the Afghan government is to work with the Afghan resistance to give a devastating blow to the crusader forces, and add America to the graveyard of empires.

Lawmakers Tie Pakistani Aid to Release of Hero Doctor

Lawmakers are attaching some strings to $33 million in aid to Pakistan, making the funds contingent on freeing the doctor who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden. The GOP-controlled House Appropriations Committee inserted language that appears to withhold the foreign aid unless the State Department certifies Dr. Shakil Afridi is released from prison, where he's serving a 33-year sentence on a dubious conspiracy conviction. The condition left Pakistani officials fuming. "Any linkage of US assistance to this case is not in keeping with the spirit of cooperation between the two countries," said Pakistan Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam. President Obama signed the bill on Jan. 17. As so-called omnibus legislation, it includes appropriations for all federal agencies, including the State Department. While the overall foreign aid appropriation would be left to the State Department to dole out, the Pakistan portion can be made conditional on a determination by Secretary of State John Kerry that Afridi has been released and cleared of all charges. The State Department has repeatedly decried Pakistan's treatment of Afridi, but officials did not say if Kerry is prepared to withhold the funding. "We have seen the language in the bill; we are reviewing it, and will comply with the law," said State Department spokesperson Peter Velasco. "Our overall position on Dr. Afridi has long been clear," Velasco added. "We believe his treatment is both unjust and unwarranted. We regret that he was convicted and the severity of his sentence. The prosecution and conviction of Dr. Afridi sends exactly the wrong message about the importance of our shared interest in bringing Osama Bin Laden to justice." Aslam insisted that Afridi, a Pakistani citizen who has said he helped the US in the hunt for Bin Laden out of love for America, is a criminal. Pakistan, which was deeply embarrassed when a May, 2011, Navy SEAL raid showed the Al Qaeda leader had been living in a compound in Abbottabad, claims Afridi's immunization ruse to try to obtain the terrorist's DNA discouraged people from getting immunized for polio. [Source: Fox News]

First of all, the real criminals in Pakistan are the top brass of the Pakistani army which colluded with America in her war against Islam, undermined Pakistan's sovereignty and made life difficult for the masses. Musharraf, Kayani, Pasha and others do not need to be tried for their crime of high treason just punished. Second, people like Dr. Afridi may have had a hand in the Abbotabad raid, but is hard to believe that the raid could have happened without the consent and knowledge of the Kayani and Pasha-the real culprits. Third, when is the Pakistani government going to take a tough stand against the incarceration of our sister Aafia Siddiqui and other Pakistani who have stood valiantly against America's war on Islam?