CIA Acknowledges “Missteps” led to officers’ Deaths

WASHINGTON: The CIA on Tuesday acknowledged “missteps” and “shortcomings” that allowed a would-be informant to enter a U.S. base in Afghanistan and blow himself up on December 30, killing seven CIA officers.

The mistakes included failing to act on warnings about the assailant, a double-agent from Jordanian intelligence, or take security precautions that may have prevented the second most deadly attack in agency history, according to an internal investigation.

Suicide bomber Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi tricked the CIA into believing he could be a useful tool in the battle against al Qaeda, and was invited inside a well-fortified U.S. compound in Khost province in southeast Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan.

“He had confirmed access within extremist circles, making a covert relationship with him — if he was acting in good faith — potentially very productive,” CIA Director Leon Panetta said in note to agency employees. “But he had not rejected his terrorist roots. He was, in fact, a brutal murderer.”

Panetta cited mistakes by the agency revealed in the investigation, notably the CIA’s failure to properly vet Balawi, who made a suicide video released after his death calling on militants to launch more attacks.

But they also included critical security lapses and communication breakdowns.

One of the biggest mistakes may have been the failure of a CIA officer in Jordan to pass along concerns raised by Jordanian intelligence about Balawi’s ties to al Qaeda.

“The Jordanians raised concerns about Balawi,” said a U.S. intelligence official.

“Those concerns were weighed against the information he had already provided, and his potential to lead us to the most senior figures in al Qaeda.”

Immediately after the bombing, Panetta defended the agency against accusations of a security blunder.

In a column written for The Washington Post in January, he said the bomber detonated his explosives just before security guards were about to search him. He said no one ignored the hazards, and it “was not a question of trusting a potential intelligence asset.”

On Tuesday, Panetta suggested the shortcomings within the agency were too broad to isolate blame.

“These missteps occurred because of shortcomings across several agency components in areas including communications, documentation and management oversight,” Panetta said.

“Responsibility cannot be assigned to any particular individual or group.”

Michael Hussey seals miracle win

Aus 197/7 in 19.5 Overs
Pak 191/5 in 20 Overs
Australia won the match by 3 wickets against Pakistan in the second semi final of T20 World Cup in St Lucia.Michael Hussey sealed miracle win with unbeaten 60 runs at 24 balls.
Cameron White also played pivotal role in the win with 43 runs.
Earlier, blazing half-centuries from Kamran Akmal and younger brother Umar ripped Australia apart as Pakistan stormed to a massive total of 192 runs.
Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt had taken Pakistan off to a solid start against a strong Australian attack. Mitchell Johnson has struck. It took a sensational catch by David Warner to see off a rampaging Kamran Akmal, who had stunned the Australian attack into submission with an aggressive fifty. Salman Butt scored 32 runs and Shahid Afridi made 9 runs. Then, Umar Akmal shined with unbeatable 56 runs. Khalid Lateef contributed 13 runs.
Earlier, Australia won the toss and decided to bowl first in their semi-final clash against Pakistan in a rain-delayed start.
Lineups:
Australia: Michael Clarke (captain), David Warner, Shane Watson, David Hussey, Cameron White, Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait, Dirk Nannes.
Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (captain), Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Khalid Latif, Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Mohammad Aamer.

Gilani rules out clash between executive and judiciary

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has assured that clash between executive and judiciary would not happen since the role of all the institutions has been determined in the constitution. He said the government is pursuing policies consistently even in the most trying circumstances.
During an informal meeting with a group of journalists after the postponement of scheduled visit to Hunza due to the inclement weather, the Prime Minister said his optimism about the materialization of the Charter of Democracy and passage of the 18th Amendment was even contested by some senior political leaders. However, he assured them that it would be implemented and now it had happened in practical terms, he added.
The Prime Minister said the top priority of his government is good governance. In this context, he said the anomalies of the constitution have been removed and now a clear-cut roadmap determining role of all institutions has been enacted.
Regarding a question about criticism of media, he smilingly responded that he himself was a student of journalism and took criticism in a positive manner. He further said that it is the duty of the media to point out the shortcomings of government. He asked the media to focus mainly on the real issues of the common man.
He mentioned that on a number of occasions when everybody was expecting a showdown, he resolved the issue. He also mentioned the signing of the National Finance Commission Award and the unanimous adoption of the 18th Amendment as an outcome of reconciliation.

I can’t bring team on winning track overnight: Junaid

KARACHI: Pakistan hockey team coach Khwaja Junaid said that he cannot bring the team on winning track overnight. His first target is to make the national team one unit so that it can play united for full 70 minutes.

Talking with Geo News in Karachi, Jhwaja Junaid said that coaching the national team is a big task for him after its disappointing performance in the World Cup. He accepted this responsibility as a challenge.

He said that he deeply reviewed the performance of the players during the World Cup and would try to remove their shortcomings in the training camp for the Azlan Shah Cup.

I can’t bring team on winning track overnight: Junaid

KARACHI: Pakistan hockey team coach Khwaja Junaid said that he cannot bring the team on winning track overnight. His first target is to make the national team one unit so that it can play united for full 70 minutes.

Talking with Geo News in Karachi, Jhwaja Junaid said that coaching the national team is a big task for him after its disappointing performance in the World Cup. He accepted this responsibility as a challenge.

He said that he deeply reviewed the performance of the players during the World Cup and would try to remove their shortcomings in the training camp for the Azlan Shah Cup.

Verizon Cell Phones

Verizon Cell Phones, There is much at stake in the droid. Motorola needs a hit more than any wireless company in the market right now (which Palm around late 2008) and Verizon phone is still looking super. This may seem less than ideal circumstances to come up with a great device, but time is pretty good. Not only the Droid ship as the first phone with version 2.0 of the Android operating system maturing quickly but comes at a time when consumers know that the iPhone is not a perfect device. And it is even clearer in these days that AT & T is not the perfect company.

If you’ve seen any of the iDon’t “” commercial, then you would think that the droid was designed to be the anti-iPhone. More realistic that was designed for the buyer, the iPhone, specifically address the shortcomings of the iPhone. Looking for a hardware keyboard? The Droid has. Removable battery? He gets it. MicroUSB the load? Check. Five-megapixel camera with a flash? That too. Tactile feedback? Of course. And if that were not enough, it’s the thinnest QWERTY slider today, has a ridiculously nice 854 × 480 screen, and runs the latest version of Android, Google Maps with navigation.

Before you begin, do not miss our initial impressions of the droids or gallery. These should get you up to speed.

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Verizon Cell Phones was first posted on November 13, 2009 at 6:26 pm.