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In the Middle of a Civil War - Gian Gentile, Washington Post
In late February 2006, al-Qaeda destroyed the Askariya Shiite shrine in Samarra. During the previous two months that my cavalry squadron had been operating in Iraq, my main focus was the technical training of the Iraqi national police and combined operations with them against Sunni insurgents in west Baghdad. Before Samarra, it did not seem important which areas of Baghdad were Shiite or Sunni or that the police battalions I operated alongside were almost completely Shiite. Before Samarra, I assumed that Iraqi citizens saw the national police as the security arm of the elected, and thus legitimate, government and that the officers had the people's support against insurgents.
Those Missing Guns in Iraq – New York Times editorial
American taxpayers are rightly prepared to pay for all the equipment our soldiers need to defend themselves in Iraq. What is harder to accept is that because of the Pentagon’s scandalous mismanagement, they may have been paying to arm Iraqi insurgents who are shooting at American soldiers. The Government Accountability Office reports that more than 100,000 AK-47 assault rifles and another 80,000 pistols that Washington thought it was providing to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005 are now unaccounted for. More than 100,000 pieces of body armor and a similar number of helmets have also gone missing.
Pentagon's Missing Guns - Philadelphia Inquirer editorial
The lapses and loopy predictions that framed the Iraq invasion's early days might be historical notations by now if it weren't for one thing: The president's team keeps making the same mistakes. A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office provides the latest lesson on how not to run a war or rebuild a damaged society. Don't, for example, lose track of 190,000 small firearms when ending violence is a key task.
Do the Right Thing – London Times editorial
Interpreters working for the British Government and the British Army in Iraq risk their lives every day. Whether or not their duties put them in danger from bullets or roadside bombs, they are demonised and remorselessly hunted by extremist militias who accuse them of colluding with the enemy. Some have already been subjected to unspeakable torture and summary execution as a result, and the risk to interpreters and other Iraqi employees on British bases will only increase as the British role in Basra moves from one of active engagement to “overwatch”. If anyone has a compelling case for asylum, these people do, and it is further strengthened by the British Government’s responsibility towards them as an employer. Yet the Home Office has made no contingency plans for them and issued no special advice to immigration officers.
How Much Longer Can the Army Fight? - Allan Mallinson, London Daily Telegraph
We shall be in Afghanistan for as long as we were in Northern Ireland, said Brigadier John Lorimer, the Army commander in Helmand province, last week. He meant that, given the tactical progress and the difficulties of reconstruction, the Army must brace itself for a long haul (if the Government has the will to see it through). But the Chief of the General Staff, Sir Richard Dannatt, says the Army is at full stretch. Can it take the long haul, therefore?
Cut the Taliban's Lifeline – Washington Times editorial
Steadily increasing opium production is an impediment to Afghanistan's stability and security, and so it was important that President Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai addressed the issue at Camp David. The Taliban has become more effective at profiting from the Afghan poppy crop and is using the opium industry to fuel its resurgence. The challenge for both governments is to make sure that counternarcotics and security efforts reinforce — not undermine — one another.
Bush's Strategic Silence on Pakistan – Los Angeles Times editorial
Say what you like about George W. Bush's poor stewardship of U.S. foreign policy -- and we have -- the president got it exactly right Monday. After a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Bush was asked whether he would wait for permission from Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to send U.S. forces into Pakistan if he had actionable intelligence about the whereabouts of top Al Qaeda leaders, although waiting might mean missing an opportunity to strike at them. Bush artfully dodged the question. And although this page is not in the habit of praising evasions by public officials, in the case of Pakistan, smart foreign policy required what is known in diplomacy as "strategic ambiguity" -- in other words, a deliberate refusal to be pinned down.
Progress, of a Sort, that the Two Leaders are Talking – Bronwen Maddox, London Times
It is hard for President Bush to be friendly with the Afghan and Pakistani presidents at the same time, given the clash of interests between them. It will be much easier for him to fall out with both of them, as US frustration with their policies grows. Yesterday’s summit between the US leader and President Karzai of Afghanistan at Camp David was not one that Bush appeared to enjoy. With Iraq at the top of national attention, and with the Democrat-controlled Congress doing its best to keep it there, the last thing he can have wanted was to have been reminded of the other war that is going badly - one which, critics say, has suffered so much from his preoccupation with Saddam Hussein.
Kernel of Evil – Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal
It's hard to fault the logic of the sale, announced last week, of $20 billion in U.S. arms to Saudi Arabia, with trinkets going to the smaller Gulf states. The wisdom of the deal is another matter. The Wahhabi kingdom is not, as of yet, an outlaw state: It can buy large quantities of sophisticated weapons on the international arms market from whomever it chooses. If the U.S. does not sell the Saudis upgraded versions of Boeing's F-15 Eagle, the Europeans can sell additional numbers of EADS's Eurofighter Typhoon (the Saudis already have 72 of these wonderjets on order). If the U.S. doesn't sell the Saudis laser-guided "JDAM" bombs, again courtesy of Boeing, they can buy the PR-632, an equivalent munition produced by Ukraine.
Saudis, Arms and Terror – Robert Chamberlain, New York Post
Saudi Arabia is often touted as one of America's closest Middle Eastern allies. Indeed, the Bush administration is now negotiating a $20 billion arms deal providing the Saudis with America's best weaponry. The time, however, has come for the United States to challenge Saudi Arabia to act as an ally. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has found itself in the news lately; a recent article in The LA Times reported that Saudi citizens comprise 45 percent of the foreign fighters in Iraq. Half of the suicide bombings are carried out by Saudi citizens, and of the 135 foreign fighters in American detention facilities, half are Saudi. This should function as a red warning light to American officials.
U.N. Moves to End Violence in Darfur - Miami Herald editorial
The United Nations took a step last week toward stopping the bloodshed in Sudan's Darfur region. Yet the move comes late -- and may offer too little to stop the violence. The Security Council's vote authorized a peacekeeping mission with 26,000 troops for the troubled region. That's a notable improvement over the current African Union force of 7,000. Yet the new peacekeepers will be compromised by a weakened U.N. mandate and Sudan's untrustworthy government, which has been complicit in the slaughter.
Sudan at a Crossroads - Baltimore Sun editorial
The United Nations Security Council's decision last week to send 26,000 peacekeepers to Darfur could mean a turning point in the long and brutal conflict there, but not necessarily in a positive direction. In order to move toward peace and stability, the ruling regime in Khartoum must make good on its promises to allow the blue helmets into the country; rebel groups in Darfur must join together in a unified force to negotiate a comprehensive settlement; and the Sudanese government must live up to the terms of the north-south peace agreement reached two years ago, which appears to be unraveling.
In Africa, a Poisonous Standoff - Boston Globe editorial
The United States is expanding its military presence in the Horn of Africa in an attempt to counteract terrorist groups in the region. But military activity is not the way to achieve that goal. Instead, the United States needs to put more effort into solving the outstanding political dispute there: the border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. American forces have established a network of outposts in Ethiopia and Kenya centered on a base in Djibouti. The United States has created an Africa Command to coordinate military activities. In January, US gunships blasted away at suspected Islamic terrorists in southern Somalia. These forays have continued as an Ethiopian force occupies Mogadishu, the Somali capital, to bolster the provisional government there.
Zimbabwe's Ruined Economy Signals End for Mugabe – Ian Bremmer, Real Clear Politics
Robert Mugabe may finally be losing his grip on Zimbabwe's throat. The accelerated decline of what's left of Zimbabwe's economy might soon leave the embattled president without the cash to pay off those on whom his political survival will depend. As prices spike and waves of Zimbabweans flee the country in desperation, the inner circle of his ZANU-PF party may finally have little choice but to push him aside.
It’s Time to let Kosovo be Free – Muhamet Hamiti, New York Post
Kosovo, my country, is in suspended animation - a victim of grotesque power politics. A decade ago, the leadership of Serbia waged an ethnic-cleansing campaign against the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo - the vast majority of the population. It was a one-sided "contest," with half Kosovo's population deported violently out of their homes, close to 130,000 homes bombed or set afire and 12,000 Albanians killed outright.
Istanbul's 'Experiment'? - Tulin Daloglu, Washington Times
In Turkey, the secular Republican People's Party (CHP), which lost the election, announced that the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) won mainly because of backing by religious groups and U.S. support. Under this logic, Mr. Bush identifies strongly with the AKP, given his own ties to religious groups. And the same debate about — this time — mosque and state will occur when secular Turks worry about AKP-appointed judges. After September 11 and two wars on Muslim land — Afghanistan and Iraq — Mr. Bush may be simply trying to convey a message that he is not at war with Islam, but with those who use it to create a violent ideology. Yet, Turkey has an exceptional anti-Bush population at times focusing solely on differences in how one reaches his own God. Many AKP-oriented Turks also deny there is such thing as political Islam, but only religious people. If one buys that argument, there remains no reason to be fearful of the Islamists' rage in countries like Algeria, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and etc.
The More Muscular Japan - Richard Samuels, Boston Globe
While many nations are breathing a collective sigh of relief after North Korea's official commitment to move forward on disabling its nuclear facilities, one country is still holding its breath: Japan. After decades of North Korean military provocations, Kim Jong Il now has a big problem on his hands, as the Japan of old is transforming into an increasingly more muscular nation, one less hesitant to use force.
Propaganda Redux – Ion Mihai Pacepa, Wall Street Journal
As someone who escaped from communist Romania--with two death sentences on his head--in order to become a citizen of this great country, I have a hard time understanding why some of our top political leaders can dare in a time of war to call our commander in chief a "liar," a "deceiver" and a "fraud." spent decades scrutinizing the U.S. from Europe, and I learned that international respect for America is directly proportional to America's own respect for its president.
Left Blind to an Iranian Rebellion – Amir Taheri, The Australian
American leftists such as Michael Moore, Sean Penn and Noam Chomsky have persuaded themselves that anyone who shouts "Death to America!" is fighting for repressed humanity. The champagne-and-caviar socialists of Paris and London, meanwhile, claim that the only Iranians who oppose the mullahs are middle-class intellectuals who often have dual Iranian-US citizenship and, thus, deserve to be tortured in Tehran as hostages. In truth, however, the Islamic Republic, far from representing the poor masses of Iran, is an instrument of domination for a new class of rulers who control the national economy through oil revenues.
U.S. Abandons Colombia - Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami Herald
Colombia must prepare to stand starkly alone. It is very likely that military aid from the United States will vanish in the near future, as Republicans and Democrats do battle. President Alvaro Uribe may be winning the war in the Colombian jungles, but he's losing it in Washington. Nor should Colombians expect the slightest solidarity from their ''Latin American brothers.''
The Fear of Fear Itself – New York Times editorial
It was appalling to watch over the last few days as Congress — now led by Democrats — caved in to yet another unnecessary and dangerous expansion of President Bush’s powers, this time to spy on Americans in violation of basic constitutional rights. Many of the 16 Democrats in the Senate and 41 in the House who voted for the bill said that they had acted in the name of national security, but the only security at play was their job security.The Politics of Fear – Los Angeles Times editorial
You know something's wrong with this Congress when a Democratic champion of privacy rights feels compelled to vote for Republican legislation that compromises those rights. That's what California Sen. Dianne Feinstein did last week when she joined a stampede to approve a temporary "fix" sought by the Bush administration in a law governing electronic surveillance.
A Blank Check on Eavesdropping - Miami Herald editorial
The best thing to say about the secret eavesdropping law hastily passed by Congress over the weekend and immediately signed by the president is that it contains a six-month sunset provision. It has to win approval again at that time or it will expire. But even that isn't much relief. A bad law is a bad law, even if it's just temporary.
All Tapped Out on Civil Liberties? - Boston Globe editorial
In the past year, President Bush has twice persuaded Congress to grant him new powers to deal with suspected terrorists by demanding action in the last hours before lawmakers leave town. In October, Bush used this technique to win approval for a new law that stripped Guantánamo detainees of their right to challenge their imprisonment in court. The administration took the same tack last week and won Congress's support for broadened authority to wiretap without warrants.
Big Brother in the Big Apple – Bob Barr, Washington Times
Though the lion's share of publicity surrounding Tony Blair's recent departure as Britain's prime minister focused on his legacy as George W. Bush's top foreign cheerleader, a more lasting legacy for Mr. Blair's lengthy tenure as Britain's chief "decider" will be that he greatly accelerated Great Britain's ascendancy to the position of the "most surveilled" society in the world. Still, Michael Bloomberg, the Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent mayor of New York is giving Mr. Blair a run for the money as the most surveillance-hungry public official in the world.
Russia’s Race for the Artic – Ariel Cohen, Washington Times
By planting the Russian flag on the seabed under the North Pole and claiming a sector of the Continental Shelf the size of Western Europe, Moscow generated a new source of international tension, seemingly out of the blue. Geopolitics and geoeconomics are driving Moscow's latest moves. The potential profits are certainly compelling.
LOST at Seize - Frank Gaffney Jr., Washington Times
Last week, Vladimir Putin's Russia used a bit of undersea derring-do to remind us that chess is its national sport. Two deep-ocean submersibles were dispatched to the Arctic floor ostensibly for the purpose of laying claim to the Lomonosov Ridge — and, more importantly, to the potentially vast oil, gas and mineral resources that may lie within a zone 200 miles wide on either side of that underwater mountain range. This move may have been a grandmaster's feint, however, masking another purpose: blackmailing the United States into ratifying the defective Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST).
Polar Passions: Vying Nations Leave the U.S. Behind in the Arctic - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial
One outgrowth of global warming is increased international interest in previously inaccessible areas of the Arctic Ocean, including the North Pole and the Northwest Passage. So far, Russia and Canada have been the early birds poising themselves to grab the economic worm presented by these two targets. The two countries' actions do not give them a right to their respective zones, but the presumed distraction of the administration of President Bush with other issues, like the Iraq war, have meant that so far the United States has not been on the field in the early innings of this game.
Beauchamp Recants – Michael Goldfarb, Weekly Standard
The Weekly Standard has learned from a military source close to the investigation that Pvt. Scott Thomas Beauchamp--author of the much-disputed "Shock Troops" article in the New Republic's July 23 issue as well as two previous "Baghdad Diarist" columns--signed a sworn statement admitting that all three articles he published in the New Republic were exaggerations and falsehoods--fabrications containing only "a smidgen of truth," in the words of our source.
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