Daily Archives: 28 May 2012

Afghans thwarting ‘insider’ plots to kill NATO forces, says top U.S. commander John Allen

open quoteHow badly are things going in Afghanistan? The top U.S. and NATO commander, Gen. John Allen, told reporters it was “good news” that Afghan authorities had arrested 160 people in the last few months for plotting so-called “green-on-blue” attacks by Afghan security forces on their NATO-led international partners.

Update, Tuesday May 22, 11:42 a.m.: A NATO International Security Assistance Force spokesman says Allen was talking about thwarted insurgent plots, not insider attacks.

Allen was describing how the alliance and the government in Kabul have responded to a spate of deadly insider attacks. He cited “an eight-step vetting process” to screen new members of the Afghan armed forces. close quote (Read more)

Pakistan seeks $5,000 transit fee for each NATO container

open quotePakistani negotiators have proposed a fee of about $5,000 for each NATO shipping container and tanker that transits its territory by land into and out of Afghanistan.

The amount is a key sticking point in discussions about the terms of a deal that would allow the traffic to resume, about six months after Pakistan closed its border crossings, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials.close quote (Read more)

“Across Italy police are cracking down on Ferrari and Lamborghini drivers [because they are rich]”

open quoteAcross Italy police are cracking down on Ferrari and Lamborghini drivers, but not because they are driving too fast. Italy, like so much of southern Europe, is drowning in debt, so police are pursuing drivers to make sure they are declaring – and therefore paying taxes on – earnings that would allow them to afford cars worth as much as half a million dollars.

The targeting is part of an ongoing war on tax cheats, an attempt to shore up $2.5 trillion of the country’s public debt and change a culture that has often prided itself on avoiding taxes. Tax authorities have long carried out much-publicized checks on owners of luxury cars, yachts, even nightclubs that don’t issue proper receipts. But since the unelected, technocratic government took power in November, it has made enforcing tax collections a priority. open quote (Read more)

Atlas will shrug.