Headlines:

• NSA Pretends to Be Facebook to Spy on the World

• Chairman of Joint Chiefs: US Ready for "Military Response" in Ukraine

• Involved Since 2001, Canada Wraps Up Mission in Afghanistan • Government, Army See Taliban as Existential Threat: USGeneral

Details:

NSA Pretends to Be Facebook to Spy on the World

The latest Snowden leaks on the NSA reveal that the spy agency is masquerading as Facebook in order to infect millions of computers around the world with malware as part of its mass surveillance program. Glenn Greenwald reported the latest information today, noting that the practice has been in operation for over ten years with the help of British and Japanese intelligence. The NSA, according to the leaks, has been distributing malware "implants" which can siphon out data from computers around the globe. The agency reportedly used a fake Facebook server as a launching pad to grab information from hard drives. The malware has also been designed to covertly record audio from a computer's microphone and take snapshots with its webcam. [Source: Infowars]
America the harbinger of freedom and democracy is so afraid of both American citizens as well as foreigners that it has to resort to extensive spying through websites like Facebook. Clearly this casts a long shadow over the success of many American companies and raises the prospect that such companies are mere fronts for the likes of NSA and CIA. It also throws into doubt as to why would Facebook pay $19 billion for WhatsApp, an application renowned for privacy.

Chairman of Joint Chiefs: US Ready for "Military Response" in Ukraine

According to the web site of the Atlantic Council, Dempsey said that "he's been talking to his military counterparts in Russia, but he's also sending a clear message to Ukraine and members of NATO that the U.S. military will respond militarily if necessary." "We're trying to tell [Russia] not to escalate this thing further into Eastern Ukraine, and allow the conditions to be set for some kind of resolution in Crimea. We do have treaty obligations with our NATO allies. And I have assured them that if that treaty obligation is triggered [in Europe], we would respond," Dempsey said. According to the General, the incursion of Russian troops into the Crimea creates risks for all the countries of Europe and NATO allies. "If Russia is allowed to do this, which is to say move into a sovereign country under the guise of protecting ethnic Russians in Ukraine, it exposes Eastern Europe to some significant risk, because there are ethnic enclaves all over Eastern Europe and the Balkans," Dempsey said. [Source: Bloomberg]

While the risks for Europe from Russia's intervention in Crimea are clear for all to see, the question arises how far America and Europe will go towards military confrontation with Russia. There is ample evidence that alludes to Europe and America speaking in different tones. For instance, Germany is extremely careful about upsetting Russia. Helmut Kohl, Germany's former Chancellor said, "The mood of the revolt was not intelligently followed. Equally there was a lack of sensitivity in the dealings with our Russian neighbour, especially President Putin. We cannot forget: war is not a policy."

Involved Since 2001, Canada Wraps Up Mission in Afghanistan

Canada's military efforts in Afghanistan will end this month, with the withdrawal of the last 100 soldiers from Kabul, where they had been wrapping up training of Afghan National Security Forces. The five years of heavy combat cost the lives of 158 Canadian soldiers, two consultants, one diplomat and one journalist. With security deteriorating in many rural areas of Afghanistan, a number of foreigners have faced tighter security measures. As the country approaches the presidential elections next month, authorities expect to see more violence and instability. Against a backdrop of heightened security, the Canadian flag will be formally lowered on Wednesday and Canadian troops will leave Afghanistan by the end of the week. [Source: CTV News]
Humiliated and defeated another Western country leaves Afghanistan demoralised. The same fate awaits America the leader of the West. Allah says:

((إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُ‌وا يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ لِيَصُدُّوا عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ ۚ فَسَيُنفِقُونَهَا ثُمَّ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسْرَ‌ةً ثُمَّ يُغْلَبُونَ ۗ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُ‌وا إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ يُحْشَرُ‌ونَ))

"Verily, those who disbelieve spend their wealth to hinder (men) from the Path of Allah, and so will they continue to spend it; but in the end it will become an anguish for them. Then they will be overcomed. And those who disbelieve will be gathered unto Hell." [TMQ: Al-Anfal 8:36]

Government, Army See Taliban as Existential Threat: US General

The Pakistani government and the military both saw the Taliban as an existential threat to their state and were committed to dealing with it, the commander of US and international forces in Afghanistan informed Congress on Wednesday. Gen Joseph Dunford also told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was committed to talks with the Taliban but it's not clear if conditions were right for a constructive engagement with the Taleban. At a hearing on the current situation in Afghanistan, Gen Dunford said the US military could wait till August for a bilateral security agreement with Kabul after which it would start preparing for a withdrawal from that country, if a pact was not signed. During the hearing, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen asked the general to explain how the situation in Pakistan could affect what happens in Afghanistan. "I find it difficult to envision success in the region without cooperation of Pakistan and without an effective relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan," Gen Dunford said. "I believe that Pakistan also recognises the existential threat of extremism to their own security, and they also recognise that it's not in their best interest to have anything other than a stable, secure and unified Afghanistan." He noted that since August, Pakistani and Afghan rulers had met four times, indicating that Prime Minister Sharif had "come to a new resolve" to improve the relationship with the neighbouring country. This cooperation focused on two areas: to have a common definition of extremism and cooperate on dealing with it and to come up with a broader border management framework that would address the political, economic and security issues between the two countries, he added. "Our role is to work on developing a constructive military-to-military relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan." Gen Dunford said that recently he had met Pakistan's new Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif who "indicated a strong resolve to improve the relationship between the Afghan security forces and the Pakistani army as had his Afghan counterparts, and we'll spend a lot of time over the next several months doing that." [Source: Dawn News]

How ironic that both the government and the army refuse to acknowledge America as the only existential threat to Pakistan. The Pakistani Taleban, the decline in law and order situation, the dismal security of the countryand the weak economy only exist because of Pakistan's unstinting support for our arch enemy America.