IRAQ

Iraq: US-Iran Talks Impossible Amid Tensions - Tina Susman, Los Angeles Times
Iraq Urges Iran and US to Talk - Reuters
Ex-Guantanamo Detainee Joined Suicide Attack - Josh White, Washington Post
Bomber in Iraq Tied to Gitmo - Bill Gertz, Washington Times
'Guantanamo Man' in Iraq Bombing - BBC News
Iraq, US Move to Avert Baghdad Water Shortage - Reuters
Kurdistan Busy Building 'Dream City' - Sam Dagher, Christian Science Monitor
Alleged Sex Abuse at the British Embassy - Haynes and Verma, London Times
Scandal in Baghdad - London Times editorial
Iran's Bloody Hands - Washington Times editorial
Iraq Status Report - Iraq Status Report
White House Responds to Key Myths - Steve Schippert, The Tank
Awakening to New Dangers - Dr. iRack, Abu Muqawama
Saddam and Bin Laden - Richard Fernandez, The Belmont Club
Bombs, Bullets and... Barns - Steve Schippert, The Tank

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

US and NATO Battle on Uneven Afghan Patchwork - Reuters
Police say 6 Taliban Killed in Clash with Officers - Associated Press
Pakistan, Taliban and Politics of Peace Accords! - Animesh Roul, Counterterrorism
Ex-prince wants Taliban Brought into Afghan Government - Reuters

IRAN

Iranian Exiles Aren’t Terrorist Group - John Burns, New York Times
Iran Arrests Group for Mosque Blast, Blames West - Reuters

THE LONG WAR

Sublimation of the Primal Soul - Michael Innes, Complex Terrain Laboratory
The Disembodied Insurgent - Michael Innes, Complex Terrain Laboratory
Insurgency, Media... - Will Hartley, Insurgency Research Group
Highlighting al-Qaeda's Bankrupt Ideology - Matthew Levitt, Counterterrorism
Assess the Counter-terrorist Financing Effort - Andrew Cochran, Counterterrorism
Cambridge University of Saud - Abe Greenwald, Contentions

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

US Deploys More than 43,000 Unfit for Combat - Gregg Zoroya, USA Today
Pentagon Pundit Project and the NYT - Noah Shachtman, Danger Room
DoD Outreach: Minerva Project Update - DoD Bloggers Roundtable
DoD Minerva Consortia - David Betz, Kings of War
Pentagon's Academic Outreach - Sharon Weinberger, Danger Room
ONR Phase II T-Craft Contracts Issued - Galrahn, Information Dissemination

AFRICA

Post-Election Violence Worsens in Zimbabwe - Craig Timberg, Washington Post
Violence in Zimbabwe Disrupts Schools and Aid - Celia Dugger, New York Times
Zimbabwe MDC Supporters Beaten - Robyn Dixon, Los Angeles Times
Mass Challenge over Zimbabwe Poll - BBC News
Niger Delta Push for US Mediator - BBC News
Congo Factions Still Recruiting Child Fighters - Reuters
Roadside Bomb Kills 8 Troops in Somalia - Reuters
Burundi Army Says Killed 50 Rebels in Clashes - Reuters
Fueling Liberia's Future with Hope - Tristan McConnell, Christian Science Monitor

AMERICAS

Colombian Commander Extradited to US - Juan Forero, Washington Post
Colombia Extradites First Paramilitary Boss to US - Reuters
Colombia Extradites Militia Head to US - BBC News
Mexican Rebel Group Rejects Proposal for Talks - Associated Press
Bush Criticizes Cuban Changes as Falling Short - Reuters
Latin America's Bad Habits - Carlos Sabino, Washington Times opinion

ASIA PACIFIC

Scant Aid Reaching Burma's Delta - Kazmin and Lynch, Washington Post
Burma Faces Pressure to Allow Major Aid Effort - Seth Mydans, New York Times
Victims of Cyclone Plead for Food and Money - Kenneth Denby, London Times
Cyclone toll feared above 100,000 - Betsy Pisik, Washington Times
Aid Begins to Trickle in to Burma - Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times
Disaster May Loosen Junta's Grip - David Montero, Christian Science Monitor
Aid Arriving in Cyclone-hit Burma - BBC News
Restoration a Challenge in Rangoon - Amy Kazmin, Washington Post
Keeping a Lid on Burma's Chaos - Paul Danahar, BBC News
A Changed Landscape in Burma - London Daily Telegraph editorial
Abetting Burma - Joseph Loconte, Weekly Standard opinion
US Embassy Helps Americans in Burma! - James Joyner, Outside the Beltway
US Envoy Returns to N. Korea to Extract Nuclear List - Reuters
3 killed, 10 Wounded by Bomb in Southern Philippines - Associated Press

EUROPE

Medvedev Takes Russian Presidential Oath of Office - Peter Finn, Washington Post
Medvedev Takes Oath in Russia - C.J. Chivers, New York Times
Medvedev Becomes Russia's Leader - BBC News
Mr. Medvedev's Rule - Washington Post editorial
US Urges Russia to Back Down in Georgia Clash - Reuters
Russian Military Threatens to Boost Georgia Force - Reuters
Georgia Seeks EU Police for Breakaway Region - Reuters
Serbia's Choice - Vladimir Gligorov, Wall Street Journal opinion
Turkey Goes Shopping For the Big Ship - Galrahn, Information Dissemination

MIDDLE EAST

White House: Time Not Right for Three-way Mideast Meeting - Associated Press
Spectre of War Returns to Haunt Lebanon - Nicholas Blanford, London Times
Violence Flares in Beirut Amid Protests - Alia Ibrahim, Washington Post
Clashes in General Strike in Lebanon - Nada Bakri, New York Times
Beirut Clashes Amid Strike - Rafei and Daragahi, Los Angeles Times
Clashes as Strike Grips Lebanon - BBC News
Lebanon Political Conflict Turns Violent - Reuters
Clashes Erupt in Lebanon as Hezbollah Stages Labor Strike - Associated Press
Hezbollah Piles Pressure on Lebanese Government - Reuters
Beirut on the Brink - Noah Pollak, Contentions
Condi, George Marshall and Israel - Washingtron Times editorial
Hitting the Streets in Jenin (and Nablus) - Noah Pollak, Contentions

SOUTH ASIA

Pakistan Test-fires Nuclear-capable Cruise Missile - Associated Press
Police Fight Gangsters in Karachi - BBC News
Nepal King 'to Meet Top Maoist' - Rabindra Mishra, BBC News

WORLD

From Riches to Rags - Arnaud de Borchgrave, Washington Times opinion
Advice for the Nuclear Abolitionists - Sokolski and Schmitt, Weekly Standard opinon

RECOMMENDED READING

Strategic Sea Basing - Galrahn, Information Dissemination
Recommended Reading - Mark Safranski, ZenPundit
Iraq Status Report - Iraq Status Report
Professional Reading List Discussion Guides - Marine Corps Gazette
UK CT & COIN Features - Will Hartley, Insurgency Research Group

EVENTS OF INTEREST

13 May 2008 - After the Iraqi Offensive: An Address by Colonel H. R. McMaster (Public Event). Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute. The government of Iraq has made great strides both militarily and politically over the past year and a half. After dramatically reducing al Qaeda in Iraq’s operational capability, the Iraqi Security Forces have successfully undertaken operations to reclaim segments of Basra and Sadr City from Shiite extremist elements. Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al Maliki has won increasing support from the major Sunni, Kurdish, and Shiite blocs due to his leadership in this offensive. Moreover, in a sign of bottom-up reconciliation, nearly 90 percent of Sunnis polled declared their intention to participate in the October provincial elections. How will Iraqi political dynamics evolve as operations against Shiite extremists continue? How will the security situation in Iraq evolve as the July drawdown in U.S. forces approaches? How have recent events in Iraq influenced our understanding of nation-building strategy? Having recently returned from working with Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus in Iraq, Colonel H. R. McMaster will address these and other questions at AEI on May 13. Following his address, Michèle Flournoy of the Center for a New American Security and AEI’s Thomas Donnelly will join Colonel McMaster for a discussion of these issues.

15 May 2008 - Ground Truth: The Future of U.S. Land Power (Public Event). Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute. In Ground Truth: The Future of U.S. Land Power (AEI Press, May 2008), AEI scholars Thomas Donnelly and Frederick W. Kagan pose a series of urgent questions for policymakers: What is the strategic role of American ground forces? What missions will these forces undertake in the future? What is the nature of land warfare in the twenty-first century? What qualities are necessary to succeed on the battlefields of the Long War? What is the ideal size and configuration of the force--and how much will it cost? On Thursday, May 15, Donnelly, Kagan, and Kathleen Hicks of the Center for Strategic and International Studies will discuss these and other questions about the size, shape, and costs of the land forces the United States will require in the years ahead.

17-19 June 208 - 3rd Annual North American Security Colloquium: Wars Without Borders (Public Event). Kingston, Ontario. Sponsored by the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, Queen's Centre for International Relations, and Defence Management Studies at Queen's University, and the Canadian 'Forces' Land Doctrine and Training System. The conflicts today in Iraq and in Afghanistan are examples of what some leading scholars and many commanders have termed “continuous wars among the people.” This type of conflict is developing or occurring in other regions of the world, in Africa and in Latin America for example. In many of these situations traditional and legal borders no longer define or contain the conflict, nor do obvious sovereign entities control belligerents. International commitments to control these conflicts necessarily demand complex, multi-dimensional diplomatic, military, police, and humanitarian responses. What has been learned about such conflicts from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan may to some degree be transferable to conflicts in other regions. Assuming that the international community may well face future operations characterized by regional, borderless “wars among the people”, the centres at Queen’s University and their partners propose convening a distinguished group of approximately 200 experts from academic, military, governmental, and international institutions to examine how best to prepare commanders, military units and governments to plan for and conduct complex, multi-dimensional stability campaigns in this new environment.

16-18 September 2008 - The U.S. Army and the Interagency Process: A Historical Perspective (Public Event - Conference / Call for Papers). Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Sponsored by the U.S. Army Combat Studies Institute. The symposium will include a variety of guest speakers, panel sessions, and general discussions. This symposium will explore the partnership between the U.S. Army and government agencies in attaining national goals and objectives in peace and war within a historical context. Separate international topics may be presented. The symposium will also examine current issues, dilemmas, problems, trends, and practices associated with U.S. Army operations requiring close interagency cooperation.