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“The unique thing about this individual was that he had been working for the Taliban for well over a decade,” former CIA officer Bruce Riedel tells CBS News

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Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was arrested around 10 days ago in a joint operation by CIA and Pakistani security forces in the southern port city of Karachi, 경기도출장샵 U.S. and Pakistani officials said on condition of anonymity Tuesday. The army on Wednesday gave the first public confirmation of the arrest.

“At the conclusion of detailed identification procedures, it has been confirmed that one of the persons arrested happens to be Mullah Baradar,” chief army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said in a written message to reporters. “The place of arrest and operational details cannot be released due to security reasons.”

Baradar was the second in command behind Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar and was said to be in charge of the day-to-day running of the organization’s leadership council, which is believed based in Pakistan. He was a founding member of the Taliban and is the most important figure of the hardline Islamist movement to be arrested since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

The White House has declined to confirm Baradar’s capture. Spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters the fight against extremists involves sensitive intelligence matters and he believes it’s best to collect that information without talking about it.

Baradar, who also functioned as the link between Mullah Omar and field commanders, has been in detention for more than 10 days and was talking to interrogators, two Pakistani intelligence officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

One said Baradar had provided “useful information” to them and that Pakistan had shared it with their U.S. counterparts. A third official said Wednesday that Baradar was being held at an office of Pakistan’s most powerful spy agency, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, in Karachi.

CBS News chief national security correspondent David Martin reports that, between whatever laptops and cell phones he had at the time of his arrest, and what he knows, Baradar is a potential goldmine of intelligence.

“The unique thing about this individual was that he had been working for the Taliban for well over a decade,” former CIA officer Bruce Riedel tells CBS News. “He knew the inside and outside of how the Taliban operates.”

Officials call Baradar the linchpin of Taliban strategy in Afghanistan, and as Martin reports, his capture comes just as the U.S. and its allies have launched a major new offensive in Helmand province.

The Pakistani military officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Baradar’s arrest suggests the Pakistani intelligence services are ready to deny Afghan militant leaders a safe haven in Pakistan – something critics have long accused them of doing.

Haroun Mir, a leading Afghan expert on the Taliban, tells CBS News Baradar’s arrest is “the most important event in the war against the Taliban and the war on terrorism in years.”

“The real significance is the change in the Pakistani policy,” explains Mir.

U.S. and Afghan leaders “have been criticizing Pakistan for years for allowing the Taliban to move freely between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and now, by arresting Mullah Baradar, they have demonstrated in the strongest way a change in policy.”

Read More Analysis from Haroun Mir in World Watch

The arrest may also push other insurgent leaders thought to be sheltering in Pakistan toward reconciliation talks with the Afghan government – a development increasingly seen as key to ending the eight-year war.

The arrest came shortly before U.S., Afghan and NATO troops launched a major offensive against militants in the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in the southern province of Helmand, one of the regions that Baradar was believed to control. It is the largest operation in Afghanistan since President Barack Obama ordered a “surge” of 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

Washington has pressed Islamabad to crack down on Afghan Taliban believed to be staying in Pakistan, and to go after Pakistani Taliban groups who have strongholds in the country’s northwest regions bordering Afghanistan. The CIA also has stepped up a campaign of missile strikes from unmanned planes that have killed dozens of suspected militants in recent months.

The latest strike came Wednesday, when a suspected U.S. drone aircraft fired two missiles at a home in the northwestern village of Tabbi Tool Khel in the North Waziristan tribal region, killing at least three people and wounding some others, two intelligence officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.

Afghan police chosen for the task in Marjah were selected from other regions of the country instead of Helmand province, Marine officials said, in order to avoid handing over day-to-day security to officers who may have tribal or friendship ties to the Taliban

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About 15,000 NATO and Afghan troops are taking part in the offensive around Marjah, which has an estimated 80,000 inhabitants and was the largest town in southern Helmand province under Taliban control. NATO hopes to rush in aid and public services as soon as the town is secured to try to win the loyalty of the population.

With the assault in its fifth day, insurgents are firing at Afghan troops from inside or next to compounds where women and children appear to have been ordered to stand on a roof or in a window, said Gen. Mohiudin Ghori, the brigade commander for Afghan troops in Marjah.

“Especially in the south of Marjah, the enemy is fighting from compounds where soldiers can very clearly see women or children on the roof or in a second-floor or third-floor window,” Ghori said. “They are trying to get us to fire on them and kill the civilians.”

The Marjah offensive is the biggest joint operation since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and is a major test of a retooled NATO strategy to focus on protecting civilians, rather than killing insurgents.

Ghori said troops have made choices either not to fire at the insurgents with civilians nearby or they have had to target and advance much more slowly in order to distinguish between militants and civilians as they go.

Even with such caution on both the NATO and Afghan side, civilians have been killed. NATO has confirmed 15 civilian deaths in the operation. Afghan rights groups say at least 19 have been killed.

In northern Marjah on Wednesday, U.S. Marines fanned out through poppy fields, dirt roads and side alleys to take control of a broader stretch of area from insurgents as machine gun fire rattled in the distance.

Special Report: Afghanistan

The Marines found several compounds that had primitive drawings on their walls depicting insurgents blowing up tanks or helicopters, a sign that Afghan troops say revealed strong Taliban support in the neighborhood.

Lt. Col. Brian Christmas, commander of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, said security has improved enough in northern Marjah for Afghan police to step in. Other Marine units have taken control over main locations in the center of town.

“Bringing in the Afghan police frees up my forces to clear more insurgent zones,” Christmas said.

Combat engineers were building a fortified base at the entrance of town for the police, who are expected to arrive Thursday.

Afghan police chosen for the task in Marjah were selected from other regions of the country instead of Helmand province, Marine officials said, in order to avoid handing over day-to-day security to officers who may have tribal or friendship ties to the Taliban.

A day earlier, Marines and Afghan forces moving by land from the north had succeeded in linking up with U.S. units that have faced nearly constant Taliban attack in the four days since they were dropped by helicopter into this insurgent stronghold.

The linkup between the two Marine rifle companies and their Afghan army partners will enable the U.S. to expand its control in Marjah, about 380 miles (610 kilometers) southwest of Kabul.

A top Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Razaq Akhund, dismissed the offensive as NATO propaganda and said on the group’s Web site that Marjah was militarily insignificant.

Four NATO service members have been killed in the Marjah operation. An American and a Briton were killed on Saturday, while two others whose nationalities were not identified were killed Tuesday. One Afghan soldier also died Tuesday, Afghan officials said.

The Marines and Afghan troops “saw sustained but less frequent insurgent activity” in Marjah on Wednesday, 부산중구출장샵 limited mostly to small-scale attacks, NATO said in a statement.

Marine officials have said that Taliban resistance has started to seem more disorganized than in the first few days of the assault, when small teams of insurgents swarmed around Marine and Afghan army positions firing rifles, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

Troops are encountering less fire from mortars and RPGs than at the start of the assault, suggesting that the insurgents may have depleted some of their reserves or that the heavier weapons have been hit, Ghori said.

Nevertheless, Taliban have not given up. Insurgent snipers hiding in haystacks in poppy fields have exchanged fire with Marines and Afghan troops in recent days as they swept south.

Insurgents tried but failed to shoot down an Osprey aircraft with rocket-propelled grenades as Cobra attack helicopters fired missiles at Taliban positions, including a machine gun bunker.

NATO said it has reinstated use of a high-tech rocket system that it suspended after two rockets hit a house on the outskirts of Marjah on Sunday, killing 12 people, including at least five children.

The military coalition originally said the missiles went hundreds of yards (meters) off target but said Tuesday that it determined that the rockets hit the intended target.

Afghan officials said three Taliban fighters were in the house at the time.

Violence and NATO strikes have continued elsewhere in the country.

In neighboring Kandahar province, four Afghan policemen were killed and four others were wounded when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb on Tuesday, the Afghan Interior Ministry said.

And in the east, NATO said it killed more than a dozen insurgents in an airstrike near the Pakistani border.

His lingering anger comes in part from the humiliation he suffered at the hands of police officers in 1959

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So John Crawford, 70, wants his criminal record cleaned up for good, so that he doesn’t have to disclose his conviction when he seeks volunteer work, and because of a deeply held belief that he should not be punished for his sexual orientation.

“I came into this world without a criminal record and I’d like to leave this world without one,” said Crawford, a retired butler. “The police beat me and beat me and forced me to confess to being gay, but I know in my heart I did nothing wrong.”

Crawford’s bid to clean up his record is backed by gay organizations looking to help others who were convicted under Britain’s once draconian anti-homosexuality laws, which began to be eased in 1967 as social values changed and sex acts between consenting adults began to be decriminalized.

“These laws were homophobic in the first place, that’s why they were rescinded, but the laws are still penalizing people,” said Deborah Gold, director of Galop, a gay rights group that has helped Crawford. “We’ve always had a regular trickle of people asking about it, how to get their records cleaned up.”

She said Crawford suffered horrific treatment from the police and should not have to disclose his criminal conviction when seeking employment or volunteer work.

His lawyers wrote to Justice Secretary Jack Straw last week asking that the law be changed so that Crawford and others in his position would not have to disclose their convictions during the job interview process.

If no action is taken by March 12, attorneys will seek a formal judicial review because the policy is not compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, said lawyer Anna Mazzola.

“John Crawford wants to do it, to change the law for other people,” she said. “Others are in exactly the same position. The justice secretary has the power to do this, without going through Parliament.”

Mazzola’s firm has also filed a freedom of information request for data about the number of people convicted of consensual sexual offenses that would now be legal.

“I think there are quite a lot,” she said.

Crawford’s legal campaign has already been productive. In response to a letter from his lawyers, police have removed the record of his conviction from the criminal database, meaning it will not turn up during a computerized criminal records search.

“We are very sympathetic to Mr. Crawford’s concerns,” said a Hampshire police spokesman, who asked not to be identified under department policy. “We recognize that this is an exceptional case and have acted quickly to resolve it.”

The spokesman said the conviction is no longer relevant and has been taken out of the Police National Computer database. The special ruling applies only to Crawford, however, not to other gay or bisexual men with similar offenses in their past.

This welcome decision removes one substantial obstacle Crawford faces in his retirement as he pursues voluntary positions, such as hospital work where he would be helping to feed ill people.

He is not satisfied, however, because he is still legally required to reveal the 1959 episode when asked if he has ever been convicted of any criminal offense. This happens frequently on questionnaires when applying for volunteer work with vulnerable persons.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” Crawford said.

His lingering anger comes in part from the humiliation he suffered at the hands of police officers in 1959. He said they abused him physically and harassed him with vulgar taunts, 부산중구출장샵 then coerced him into pleading guilty by threatening to continue beating him if he did not cooperate.

As a result of that plea, he said he was saddled with a conviction that would not have been possible otherwise, especially since he was not accused of having sex in public.

“I wanted to plead not guilty, and the case would have been thrown out and I wouldn’t be talking about it now,” Crawford said. “Until the police drop it completely, I won’t be happy. I’ve got to be able to put my hand on my heart and say to the world, I haven’t got a criminal record, and I can’t say that now.”

And some of it is not just a reflection of reality,” he told the magazine

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In a profile for the 14th anniversary issue of the music and lifestyle glossy, the Democratic presidential candidate clarifies his views on rap. Though he had a high-profile meeting with rap star Ludacris last fall, he was also quoted by The Associated Press in April as saying that rappers were “degrading their sisters. That doesn’t inspire me.”

Obama told Vibe that he was misquoted — he was talking about the culture as a whole, not rappers in particular.

“I stand by exactly what I said, which was that the degrading comments about women that (radio host Don) Imus said is language that we hear not just on the radio, not just in music. We ourselves perpetuate that, and we all have to take responsibility for that.”

But the Illinois senator 부산중구출장샵 also didn’t let rappers off the hook.

“There’s no doubt that hip-hop culture moves our young people powerfully. And some of it is not just a reflection of reality,” he told the magazine. “It also creates reality. I think that if all our kids see is a glorification of materialism and bling and casual sex and kids are never seeing themselves reflected as hitting the books and being responsible and delaying gratification, then they are getting an unrealistic picture of what the world is like.”

So why put a politician on the cover of a magazine that had 50 Cent fronting last month’s issue?

“Because for the first time since Vibe was launched in 1993, a political figure has burst on the scene and fired up young people in a major way,” Vibe editor in chief Danyel Smith said by e-mail. “Because regardless of who wins the election, the senator will have inspired many new voters to the polls. Because Obama is frank, brilliant, vibrant, and not cynical — all things that make him a perfect Vibe cover.”

Her father – the president of Viradouro – then took her by the hand and presented her to the crowd

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But the sprite of a samba dancer did her best to brush away the tears, and after a few minutes of holding her mom’s hand and resting in the arms of a doting official from her Viradouro samba group, she returned in front of the crowd to dance early Monday.

<img src="http://image.baidu.com/search/http:%5C/%5C/m.h6715.cn%5C/images%5C/1589ahr0cdovl7ltzy6%5C/oyw6ndw%5C/86b4uub4jnl7rhdgevc7nlbmljl4u%5C/xmzywnzm3nja4lmpwzw==.jpg" alt="韩国游-济州-景点-城山日出峰·1011314916″ style=”max-width:400px;float:left;padding:10px 10px 10px 0px;border:0px;”>The samba parades – which pit 12 top-tier groups against one another in a competition that is closely watched by millions throughout the country – began Sunday evening and didn’t stop until the sun rose Monday after six groups paraded.

On Monday evening, the final six will go before the cheering crowds of 80,000 in a specially designed stadium.

Dressed in a sequined halter top and 부산중구출장샵 a miniskirt made of purple feathers, young Julia tentatively stepped through the first 50 yards (meters) of the parade. Her father – the president of Viradouro – then took her by the hand and presented her to the crowd.

She smiled big for the photographers and adoring fans.

But 10 minutes into the group’s presentation and surrounded by dozens of photographers and television cameramen, the youngster broke down in tears and was immediately scooped into the arms of her unofficial handler, the group’s spokeswoman Joice Hurtado, and taken away from the attention.

After a five-minute cooldown, Julia returned to her place in front of the group’s massive drum line, but was quickly whisked through the parade grounds by her father and out of the media’s eye.

“She just got scared after having all those cameras thrust in her face,” Hurtado said after the parade. “After we got her into her mother’s arms, she quickly calmed down and put on a great show.”

While Julia bounced back and began to samba at the helm of the parade, television coverage steered clear of showing any more shots of her.

Some in the audience thought she was not ready for the spotlight.

“She is too young to be a drum corps queen,” said Marister Deniz, 60, who was watching from the stands. “A girl that size shouldn’t be thrust in such a role.”

But Jorge Elias Souza, a member of the Viradouro drum corps, said he was proud of the girl regardless.

“She is the embodiment of all the love in our school. Normally a famous person is the drum corps queen, but her father is our president and she is the center of our family,” he said.

Putting Julia in the Carnival role drew the ire of child welfare advocates who were against a young girl taking on a role normally reserved for sultry models and actresses.

Carlos Nicodemos, director of the Rio de Janeiro state Council for the Defense of Children and Adolescents, two weeks ago asked a judge to keep Julia from dancing, arguing that “what we can’t allow is putting a 7-year-old girl in a role that traditionally for Carnival has a very sexual focus.”

A judge ruled last week that the girl could join the parade, and the overwhelming response in Brazil was a shrug and acceptance.

Before Julia took to the parade ground, Rio’s reigning Carnival Queen Shayene Cesario Vieira, 24, said she thought “it’s cool” that the girl would participate.

“I don’t remember hearing of a drum corps queen being so young,” she said. “But her dad is the president of the group and if he thinks it’s OK, it’s OK.”

In the two weeks leading up to the Carnival parade, Marco Lira said repeatedly that he and his wife would be with Julia at all times – which they were – and they would carefully watch to make sure she doesn’t get too tired during the parade.

Viradouro has a history of controversial themes. A 2008 float portrayed Hitler amid a sea of naked mannequins representing Holocaust victims. A judge banned that float from the parade.

Nicodemos has also suggested that the samba group put Julia into her role to get extra attention – a charge strongly denied by her father.

As the samba parades hit high gear, massive street parties continued to erupt across the city.

Tourism officials said almost 730,000 visitors arrived in Rio this year for the big party – a 5 percent increase over last year.

It’s the first Carnival since Rio was named as host to the 2016 Olympics, and officials have been working hard to show that the city, known for the drug-gang violence that pervades its slums, can safely host major events.

There have been few reports of violence during the party so far, though on Friday a Dutch tourist was shot while being robbed.

Hospital officials said the man underwent surgery and was in stable condition on Sunday.