IRAQ

My Philosophy on War - Damien McElroy, Daily Telegraph of London

David Petraeus, the top US general in Iraq, has moved to cement his reputation as a thinking soldier by issuing a 23-point list of lessons learned from salvaging America's 'lost war.' Gen Petraeus, who leaves his post soon to become overlord of Central Command, has complied a set of essential fighting points for Iraq. The perils of false confidence are highlighted, a hard legacy from the deaths of more than 4,100 US soldiers while conflict raged beyond US control for almost four years. Soldiers tempted to dress-up the situation are told: "Avoid spin and let facts speak for themselves" and more earthily, "you can't put lipstick on a pig". Lessons from Sir Gerald Templer, the British commander during the Malayan Emergency, who Gen Petreaus openly emulates, rank highly. Most important is that war must be waged in alliance with the Iraqi population. Troops of a nation notoriously wedded to creature comforts are told to embrace the unfamiliar. "Stop by, don't drive by," he said, adding: "You can't commute to this fight."

US Soldiers, Civilians Killed in Baghdad - Londoño and al-Izzi, Washington Post

Two US soldiers and two American civilians working for the US government were killed in an explosion Tuesday morning in Sadr City, a vast Shiite slum where security had improved dramatically in recent weeks, US officials said. The blast occurred at about 9:20 a.m. inside a government building. One of the civilians worked for the State Department and was later identified by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as Steven L. Farley of Guthrie, Okla., the Associated Press reported from Berlin, where Rice is attending a conference. Rice said he came to the State Department last year after serving on the staff of the US Seventh Fleet and was working with a provincial reconstruction team of military members and civilians. The other civilian worked for the Defense Department, the US Embassy in Baghdad said in a statement. That person and the two soldiers have not yet been identified.

Baghdad Blast Kills Four Americans - Rubin and Bowley, New York Times

An explosion apparently caused by a bomb inside a district council building in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad on Tuesday killed two American soldiers and three civilians working for the United States military, the American command said. Six Iraqis also died in the blast, The Associated Press reported. Ryan Crocker, the United States ambassador to Iraq, identified one of the victims as Steven Farley, an employee of the State Department who was working with a provincial reconstruction team. Mr. Crocker said the explosion also killed two Army soldiers and two civilian employees of the Department of Defense.

Violence Figures Decline in Iraq - David Wood, Baltimore Sun

In a new report on the Iraq war, the Pentagon said yesterday that violence is down by as much as 80 percent from January last year, but the improved security gains remain "fragile, reversible and uneven." More than 100,000 armed Iraqi civilians are taking part in US-financed local security organizations, and the Iraqi army and police continue to grow in numbers and capability, with almost 500,000 trained personnel, the report said. But Iran has stepped up "large-scale" shipments of weapons, ammunition, explosives and trained fighters into Iraq, according to the Pentagon. It directly accused "the government of Iran" of continuing to "fund, train, arm and guide numerous networks that conduct wide-scale insurgency operations" inside Iraq.

Iraqi Refugees Languish in US - Pamela Constable. Washington Post

Firas Safar, 31, is a jobless refugee in Takoma Park, part of a new wave of professional Iraqis who have received special immigration privileges because, in many cases, their work for US authorities or organizations resulted in threats or violence back home. For many such as Safar, it has meant trading economic security in Iraq for personal security here. Safar has gotten further than many. According to US groups who advocate for their cause, thousands of Iraqis eligible to immigrate have not yet reached this country. They remain either stranded in Iraq, vulnerable to retaliation from anti-US groups, or elsewhere in the Middle East, waiting out the long and cumbersome approval process.

Progress? So What? - Washington Times editorial

There is a reason progress in Iraq is not receiving more attention. It isn't that Americans are "bored" or "tired" or have "moved on" or "don't care" or "have already made up their minds that the war was a colossal mistake." All of these are variations on themes articulated by certain liberals, Bush-haters, Barack Obama supporters (but I repeat myself) inside and outside the big media. The main reason progress in Iraq is not receiving more attention is that the progress is considerable and the big media are not paying attention because they don't like the new storyline. They prefer "America defeated," not "America victorious" because defeat increases the likelihood of a Democratic electoral blowout in the fall.

Taking Ownership of Iraq? - Thomas Friedman, New York Times opinion

One of the first things I realized when visiting Iraq after the U.S. invasion was that the very fact that Iraqis did not liberate themselves, but had to be liberated by Americans, was a source of humiliation to them. It’s one reason they never threw flowers. When someone else has to liberate you in your own home, that is humiliating - and humiliation, I believe, is the single-most underestimated force in international relations, especially in the Middle East. That also helps explain why Iraqis initially never took ownership of their governing institutions, like the Coalition Provisional Authority, or CPA They never fought for it. It was handed to them. People have to fight and win their own freedom, and that’s what gives their institutions legitimacy. What seems to have happened in Iraq in the last few months is that the Iraqi mainstream has finally done some liberating of itself.

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

Strategy Targets Pakistan Ties - Sara Carter, Washington Times

The new US military commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. David D. McKiernan, said he will visit Pakistan in the next few weeks to coordinate strategy amid a deteriorating relationship between the two US allies. As a NATO command, the mandate for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) "does not extend across the border to Pakistan," Gen. McKiernan told The Washington Times in an exclusive interview. "So we do have a right to self-defense, but we do not have any ISAF military operations in the sovereign territory of Pakistan."

Afghanistan Attacks up 40% in East - Spiegel and Barnes, Los Angeles Times

Insurgent activity is increasing sharply in Afghanistan and has spread into once stable areas, with attacks up almost 40% in the eastern provinces alone, according to new American military data that have prompted alarm among senior Pentagon officials. Rising attacks against Afghan and NATO troops in the east represent the latest in a series of troubling developments that have led to markedly higher US casualties and have prompted the military's top leadership to order a review of its strategy in Afghanistan, including how to make do with limited numbers of American troops. Any significant troop increase in Afghanistan would be dependent on future force drawdowns in Iraq.

More German Troops to Afghanistan - Dempsey and Cowell, New York Times

Under pressure from NATO, Germany announced Tuesday that it would increase the number of soldiers available for duty in Afghanistan by almost one-third to 4,500, but that it would maintain its policy of keeping the bulk of them away from the relatively violent southern provinces. Franz Josef Jung, the German defense minister, said the government wanted to increase the number of troops it could send to Afghanistan by 1,000, after a parliamentary limit of 3,500 expires in October. The increase is subject to the approval of the lower house of Parliament, the Bundestag. Germany has resisted calls from several NATO allies to send its soldiers to southern Afghanistan.

Germany to Send More Troops - Craig Whitlock, Washington Post

Germany pledged Tuesday to contribute up to 1,000 more troops to the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, responding to months of pleas from the United States and other allies to bulk up its peacekeeping force. Like most of the 3,500 German troops already in Afghanistan, however, the additional forces will be limited to duties in the country's northern provinces, where the level of violence and conflict is relatively low. Canada and Britain, which make up NATO contingents in the more volatile southern part of Afghanistan, have been asking for reinforcements for months.

Warlords Stockpiling Opium - Michael Evans, Times of London

The Taleban is believed to be stockpiling vast quantities of opium after a bumper crop last year sent the price of the drug spiralling downwards. The Taleban, which relies on sales of the drug for arms purchases, is hoping to hold onto its stock for long enough for the value to rise again, officials in Kabul said today. A Western counter-narcotics official said opium from the harvested poppy crops was currently valued “as low as $50 a kilo”.

US-led Coalition: Afghan Airstrike Kills 22 - Washington Times

The US-led coalition in Afghanistan says its warplanes have killed more than 22 militants in the country's troubled east. A coalition statement says Afghan police called for help when gunmen attacked government offices in the Sarobi and Gomal districts of Paktika province Tuesday night. It says an estimated 22 militants were "positively identified and killed" after its warplanes arrived.

Fears Over Afghan Border - Kimberly Kweder, Washington Times

For Pakistani-Americans, developments in the war on terrorism are never far away, especially when they involve the 1,500-mile Pakistani-Afghan border. The topic dominated the 16th annual Friendship Day hosted last week by the Pakistani American Congress in Washington.

Fissures on Afghanistan - Washington Times editorial

The current anti-terrorist offensive that NATO is waging in Afghanistan should be a wake-up call for two US allies in the war against al Qaeda and the Taliban. The first is the government of Pakistan, which has received upward of $10 billion in US assistance since September 11, but is under intense domestic pressure not to move against the jihadists. The second is NATO, where the overwhelming majority of the organization's 26 members are failing to pull their weight in fighting the terrorists in Afghanistan. NATO forces have scored a number of recent victories near Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city. These include retaking a number of local villages that had been captured by Taliban who escaped from prison earlier this month. The Afghan government charges that the Taliban wreaking havoc near Kandahar were approximately 20 mid-level commanders from neighboring Pakistan, and that they were key strategists involved in planning suicide attacks. Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on June 15 declared that Afghanistan has the right to send troops across the border into Pakistan to hunt down the Taliban leadership. Increasingly, US and NATO forces have launched cross-border military strikes targeting Taliban forces in Pakistan.

THE LONG WAR

Another Rebuke on Guantánamo - New York Times editorial

One of Guantánamo’s many horrors is just how long people have been held there in a cruel legal limbo. Huzaifa Parhat has been detained for six long years, despite his insistence that he was an innocent swept up in the chaos in Afghanistan. It is welcome news that a federal appeals court has now ruled - in the first decision of its kind - that Mr. Parhat was improperly labeled an “enemy combatant.”

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Top Engineers Shun Military - Philip Taubman, New York Times

When Paul G. Kaminski completed his graduate work in 1971 with degrees from M.I.T. and Stanford, he started building advanced airplanes for the Air Force. By the time he stopped several decades later, he had played a pivotal role in producing a flock of new weapons, including radar-evading stealth aircraft. Over the last decade, even as spending on new military projects has reached its highest level since the Reagan years, the Pentagon has increasingly been losing the people most skilled at managing them. That brain drain, military experts like Mr. Kaminski say, is a big factor in a breakdown in engineering management that has made huge cost overruns and long delays the maddening norm.

Army Awarded Contract, Unaware of Dealer’s Past - Eric Schmitt, New York Times

When the Army last year awarded a contract worth up to nearly $300 million to a tiny Miami Beach munitions dealer to supply ammunition to Afghanistan’s security forces, it overlooked a very checkered past. A Congressional committee revealed Tuesday that by the time the Army awarded the bid, State and Defense Department officials had canceled or delayed at least six earlier contracts with the company, AEY Inc., for poor quality or late deliveries. But that record, including a botched $5.6 million order for 10,000 Beretta pistols for Iraq’s security forces, was either ignored or omitted from databases that American military contracting officials have used to weed out companies suspected of involvement in suspect arms deals.

2 Plead Guilty to Army Bribery Scheme - Dana Hedgpeth, Washington Post

An Army contracting officer has pleaded guilty to involvement in a $9 million procurement scandal in which his wife was accused of carrying shopping bags full of cash to banks in the Middle East. Investigators say it is the largest bribery case out of the war in Iraq. Maj. John Cockerham, 43, of San Antonio, pleaded guilty to bribery, conspiracy and money laundering. Cockerham's wife, Melissa Cockerham, 41, also pleaded guilty to money laundering. His sister Carolyn Blake, 45, of Sunnyvale, Tex., who was also allegedly involved in the scheme, is scheduled for trial in October on charges of money-laundering and conspiracy.

Using Troops to Block Medicaid Reform - Washington Times editorial

What does Medicaid have to do with funding our troops? Nothing, of course. So why have congressional leaders taken the latest defense spending bill and attached a moratorium on seven Bush administration rules to curb funding abuses in the program? Perhaps they're hoping to avoid an honest debate about the way Medicaid is being abused.

The Tanker Dogfight - Wall Street Journal editorial

The Air Force has fumbled the bidding for new aerial refueling tankers for seven years now, and suddenly it's John McCain's fault. That's election-year politics for you. The Democratic National Committee claims it was Senator McCain who steered the $35 billion tanker contract away from Boeing and toward Northrop Grumman and the European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., or EADS. Democrats say the Arizona Senator was acting on orders from EADS lobbyists who later worked on his campaign staff. The real story is that there was intense lobbying by Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle during this bid .

UK MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

Forces Too Stretched - Elliott and Quinn, Times of London

Britain’s Armed Forces are stretched beyond their capabilities and cannot continue fighting two simultaneous wars, the Chief of the Defence Staff said yesterday. Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup gave a blunt warning of the challenge presented by sustaining operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq. “We are not structured or resourced to do two of these things on this scale on an enduring basis but we have been doing it on an enduring basis for years,” Sir Jock said. “Until we get to the stage when one of them comes down to small scale, we will be stretched beyond the capabilities we have.”

AUSTRALIA DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

Approval for $1.1bn Defence Projects - The Australian

More than $1.1 billion will be spent on new defence facilities during the next three years. Parliament today approved seven projects, at a total cost of $1.117 billion. The biggest is a $623 million Hardened and Networked Army development at the Edinburgh base on the outskirts of Adelaide. Parliamentary secretary Mike Kelly said HNA would greatly strengthen the army's protection, mobility, firepower and communications in more complex, dangerous and uncertain environments.

US FOREIGN DIPLOMACY

Feed to Lead - Los Angeles Times editorial series

The Times' editorial series on food diplomacy explores the possibility that the United States could improve its global image and enhance national security by launching "a high-profile food diplomacy initiative planned, funded and executed for the purpose of improving national security through humanitarian means." So far the series has examined the political need for more effective food aid, the history of food diplomacy and the potential consequences of inaction.

UNITED NATIONS

UN Security Chief Resigns - Colum Lynch. Washington Post

The United Nations' top security official, David Veness of Britain, resigned Tuesday after a UN panel criticized his department's handling of staff security in Algeria, where suicide bombers blew up two UN offices in December, killing 17 staffers and injuring 40 more. The panel, headed by a top UN troubleshooter, Lakhdar Brahimi, concluded that UN officials ignored credible threats from extremist groups in the year preceding the attack. The panel's report found "ample evidence that several staff members up and down the hierarchy may have failed to respond adequately to the Algiers attack both before and after the tragedy," wrote Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister. The United Nations, he said, has "been found wanting."

Making a Difference in Darfur - Roldolphe Adada, Wall Street Journal opinion

A delegation from the United Nations Security Council recently witnessed the challenges facing the African Union/UN operation in Darfur (UNAMID). We are missing forces and the equipment needed to sustain them. Our mandated strength is 26,000, yet six months into our deployment we stand at less than 10,000. We are working to build the infrastructure needed to cope with our increasing troop strength. Our plan is ambitious: We aim to have deployed 80% of our forces by the end of the year. We are not sitting on our hands waiting for the troops and material to arrive. I am proud of my peacekeeping forces who risk their lives daily to fulfill our mandate to protect civilians, improve security, facilitate humanitarian aid, and engage the parties to this conflict.

AFRICA

African Leaders Press Mugabe - Washington Post

Influential leaders in South Africa and Senegal on Tuesday joined the global condemnation of Zimbabwe's lethal political violence and called on President Robert Mugabe to cancel Friday's election on grounds it would not reflect the free will of voters. At campaign stops Tuesday, Mugabe vowed to go forward with the runoff vote even though his only rival, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, has dropped out of the race at the demand of supporters terrorized by months of killings, beatings, arrests, torture and kidnappings.

ANC Rejects Outside Pressure - Alan Cowell, New York Times

Despite an increasingly thunderous chorus of complaints that Zimbabwe’s presidential runoff will be neither free nor fair, the African National Congress, South Africa’s ruling party, rejected any outside diplomatic intervention in the matter on Tuesday, arguing that “any attempts by outside players to impose regime change will merely deepen the crisis.” The ANC warned against international intervention a day after the United Nations Security Council took its first action on the electoral crisis in Zimbabwe, issuing a unanimous statement condemning the widespread campaign of violence in the country and calling on the government there to free political prisoners and allow the opposition to rally its supporters.

Mugabe Backers Threaten Voters - Los Angeles Times

At meetings across the nation, officials of Zimbabwe's ruling party have warned voters how they will know who casts ballots against longtime President Robert Mugabe in Friday's scheduled runoff election: serial numbers. The officials tell people that the ballot number will allow the ruling party to identify who has voted for the opposition so that they can be killed later, according to people who attended meetings in three neighborhoods around Harare, the capital.

Mob Rule Swells the Crowds - Catherine Philp, Times of London

The chant from the mob rose in the air as they marched behind their flag through the dusty streets of Epworth in search of defiant voters in need of re-education. Down the road at the entrance to an open field, pro-Mugabe militants dressed in party regalia proclaiming their allegiance to Zanu (PF) waited to receive their newest victims for an all-day orgy of chanting, beatings, and indoctrination. In this dirt-poor township south of Harare, scene of some of the worst atrocities of the past six weeks, the shock troops of the party were still waging their campaign of intimidation yesterday, oblivious to the withdrawal of their opposition challenger and the effective end of the presidential election contest.

The Tactics of Robert Mugabe - Jan Raath, Times of London

President Mugabe began murdering his opponents less than three years after he came to power in 1980, declaring that his rule would mark “the age of love” and reconciliation with the Rhodesian whites against whom he had fought. A low-level insurgency that began in 1982 with disaffected former guerrillas of the Ndebele-based Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (Zipra), who had fought alongside Mr Mugabe in the civil war, received a savage response. Led by soldiers of the 5 Brigade of the Zimbabwe National Army, who were trained in North Korea, a campaign of systematic massacre was carried out against the rural people of Matabeleland, whom Mr Mugabe regarded as providing shelter, food and intelligence for the ex-Zipra “dissidents”. Soldiers, covert operations police and intelligence agents wiped out entire villages, by bullet or bayonet, or carted them off to camps where they were murdered, usually after being tortured.

Police Raid Zimbabwe Opposition Headquarters - Associated Press

Zimbabwe's opposition leader took refuge in the Dutch Embassy after pulling out of the presidential runoff, and the UN Security Council condemned a "campaign of violence" in the African nation that has made a fair election impossible. After Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew from the vote - reportedly fearing for his safety - police raided his Harare headquarters and hustled away dozens of his supporters.

Zimbabwe Oppression - Baltimore Sun editorial

Mr. Mugabe's reign of terror has forced Morgan Tsvangirai, his would-be opponent in a runoff election for the Zimbabwean presidency, to withdraw and seek refuge in the Dutch Embassy. A defiant Mr. Mugabe says he plans to go forward with the election, regardless of the international outrage over his behavior. If the election is held, the results should be rejected in the strongest possible terms and the international community should take steps to isolate Zimbabwe politically and economically in ways that will force the country's military leaders and other Mugabe supporters to personally feel the pain and agree to fair elections. One troubling aspect of the current crisis is that while the African National Congress - the ruling party in South Africa, Zimbabwe's powerful neighbor - yesterday condemned Mr. Mugabe for "riding roughshod over the hard-won democratic rights" of its people, it also rejected the idea of outside diplomatic intervention.

Target Mugabe's Lawless Regime - Toronto Star editorial

Robert Mugabe may pronounce himself president of Zimbabwe again after Friday's sham election. But he will be an illegitimate figure presiding over a lawless regime, now that his thuggish supporters have hounded opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai out of the race. In recent days Mugabe, 84, has declared that "only God," not the voters, can remove him. And his Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front partisans have launched a campaign of violence. Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change says 86 supporters have been killed and thousands hurt.

How to Put the Heat on Mugabe - Paul Wolfowitz, Wall Street Journal opinion

Until now, the attitude of African leaders has been an obstacle to peaceful change. Despite everything, some still look to Mugabe's leadership in the historic fight against white supremacy. Most significant among them is President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa. But breaks in this silence are starting to appear. The leaders of Botswana and Zambia have now criticized Mugabe strongly and publicly. Forty African civil society leaders, including 14 former presidents, issued a call for Zimbabwean authorities to allow a free and fair election.

Courage to Save Zimbabwe? - Robert Rotberg, Boston Globe opinion

Presidential contender Morgan Tsvangirai's courageous decision to boycott Zimbabwe's runoff election on Friday - after Mugabe's thugs broke up yet another opposition rally by swinging iron bars and sticks at potential Tsvangirai voters - compels the African Union, the UN Security Council, and major powers finally to act. Tsvangirai said that he and his supporters were facing war, not an election, and they would "not be part of that war." Serious UN sanctions are a first step.

Envoy Sees Little Darfur Hope Now - Maggie Farley, Los Angeles Times

When Jan Eliasson agreed to be a UN envoy to Darfur, he believed peace for the beleaguered region of Sudan was within reach. But after 18 months of shuttle diplomacy, rebel groups are more fractured and violent than ever and the Sudanese government is again engaged in brutal attacks on villages, he told the Security Council on Tuesday. The chance for peace has slipped away for now, he told the council "with much regret," and the focus must revert to restoring security. He scolded all parties in the conflict, including the Security Council and himself, for not doing more to halt the violence. More than 2 million people have been displaced, and most estimates of the death toll since 2003 exceed 200,000.

ASIA PACIFIC

Vietnamese Premier Meets With Bush, Gates - Dan Eggen, Washington Post

President Bush met with the prime minister of Vietnam yesterday to discuss closer ties on trade and greater religious freedom, signifying another step forward in the slow warming of relations between the United States and its communist former enemy. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also made an unusual trek across the Potomac River to the Pentagon, where he met with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to discuss closer military cooperation between the nations.

US Navy to Help in Typhoon Recovery - William Branigin, Washington Post

President Bush today told the visiting Philippine president that the United States is sending an aircraft carrier and other Navy vessels to help respond to the devastating typhoon that struck the Southeast Asian nation over the weekend. After a meeting at the White House with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Bush expressed "our deep condolences to those who suffered" as a result of Typhoon Fengshen, which has left more than 1,000 people dead or missing and caused damage estimated at more than $96 million.

Japanese Warship Visits Chinese Port - Howard French, New York Times

A Japanese destroyer docked at a heavily guarded naval base in Guangdong Province on Tuesday for a five-day port call, the first by a warship from Japan in China since World War II. The visit by the 4,650-ton destroyer Sazanami, officially an earthquake relief mission, is seen by many military and diplomatic analysts as part of a broad and gradual reconciliation between the countries, which has quickened since President Hu Jintao of China visited Japan in May.

Japan and China's Gunboat Diplomacy - Times of London editorial

Like two feuding branches of a family that fell out badly a few generations ago, but which now sense that the time has long passed to bury the hatchet, Japan and China are again straining to be friends. Relations between Asia's two giants blow hot and cold, whatever Hu Jintao, China's President, might say about Sino-Japanese ties now entering an “everlasting warm spring”. The latest test of this new diplomatic warmth came yesterday afternoon when the first Japanese warship to visit China since the Second World War docked in a southern Chinese port, laden with relief supplies for victims of last month's Sichuan earthquake. And also a band, which will perform “friendship” concerts during the destroyer's five-day stay.

EUROPE

Belarus Cracks Down on Internet News - Associated Press

Belarussian lawmakers gave final approval on Tuesday to a crackdown on Internet journalism. The new measures require that all Internet sites originating in the country be registered with the government. Many independent newspapers that the authorities closed now have a presence on the Internet.

MIDDLE EAST

Strains in the Truce Between Israel and Hamas - Isabel Kershner, New York Times

Three Qassam rockets fired from Gaza on Tuesday struck the Israeli border town of Sderot and its environs, causing no injuries but constituting the first serious breach of a five-day-old truce between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic group that controls Gaza. The crack in the calm came on the eve of a looming political crisis in Israel: barring last minute maneuvers and backroom deals, a preliminary reading of a bill for the dissolution of the Israeli Parliament scheduled for Wednesday was slated to garner a majority of votes in the legislature, and threatened to prompt a breakup of the country’s governing coalition.

Gazan Rockets Threaten Truce - Witte and Sockol, Washington Post

Palestinian fighters lobbed rockets into southern Israel on Tuesday, jeopardizing a six-day-old truce in and around the Gaza Strip. The armed Palestinian group Islamic Jihad said the rockets were in response to an Israeli army operation in the northern West Bank city of Nablus early Tuesday.

Olmert's Leadership Faces Final Hours - Sheera Frenkel, Times of London

Ehud Olmert was flying back from negotiations in Egypt yesterday when news broke that the ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip had been violated after less than five days. The embattled Israeli Prime Minister, who has sought to detract from his problems at home by starting a series of spectacular diplomatic initiatives, could now see his hold on power crumble swiftly.

Israeli Police Officer Kills Himself at Airport - Associated Press

An Israeli police officer fatally shot himself Tuesday at an airport departure ceremony for French President Nicolas Sarkozy, sparking fear of an assassination attempt and prompting bodyguards to whisk away Sarkozy and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, officials said. Dark-suited men quickly ushered Sarkozy and his wife up the stairs of their plane. At the same time, security guards with guns drawn rushed Olmert and Israeli President Shimon Peres toward their cars.

A Surprise From Syria And Israel? - David Ignatius, Washington Post opinion

What's going on between Syria and Israel? Are the indirect peace negotiations through Turkish mediators that were announced last month for real? I've been talking with sources on all sides, and they present an upbeat view of a peace process that has taken many people (including top Bush administration officials) by surprise. As with any secret diplomatic initiative, this one is surrounded by mysteries and riddles. So I'll examine the Syria-Israel dialogue as a series of puzzles and offer my best guesses about what's happening.

SOUTH ASIA

US Funding to Pakistan Plagued With Problems - Robin Wright, Washington Post

The Bush administration has paid Pakistan more than $2 billion without adequate proof that the Pakistani government used the funds for their intended purpose of supporting US counterterrorism efforts, congressional auditors reported yesterday. Their report concluded that more than a third of US funds provided Pakistan since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were subject to accounting problems, including duplication and possible fraud.

US Aid to Pakistan Questioned - Greg Miller, Los Angeles Times

The United States has paid more than $5 billion to reimburse Pakistan for counter-terrorism expenses that have often been exaggerated, if not fabricated, according to a government audit released Tuesday that blasts the Pentagon for poor management of the program. The report concluded that the Pentagon could not properly account for as much as $2 billion in payments to Pakistan over a three-year period from 2004 to 2007.

Pakistan Party Sees Musharraf Behind Sharif Poll Bar - Reuters

The party of former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday blamed President Pervez Musharraf for Sharif's disqualification from a by-election for a National Assembly seat. Sharif, the prime minister that army chief at the time Musharraf ousted in a 1999 coup, had been expected to return to parliament in a by-election this week, but on Monday a high court in the eastern city of Lahore barred him from running. The disqualification compounds political uncertainty that has helped undermine confidence in Pakistani stocks, but the main index rose more than 4 percent on Tuesday after authorities acted to slow a fall in a market that touched its lowest level in more than 15 months the previous day.

Can India Say Yes? - Washington Post editorial

India is clearly destined for a greater role on the world stage, and there are sound reasons to hope that it will increasingly find itself in sync with the United States as its influence grows. India, a culturally diverse and economically booming democracy of more than 1 billion people, and America share political values and strategic priorities - such as blunting Chinese military power and resisting Islamist terrorism. These considerations led the Bush administration to pursue a "strategic partnership," the heart of which is a far-reaching nuclear cooperation agreement. It would permit a resumption of US sales of nuclear fuel and technology to India for nonmilitary uses, despite India's development of nuclear weapons outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

WORLD

China, India Hasten Arms Race in Space - David Sands, Washington Times

On the planet's final frontier, more and more countries are beefing up their border guards. India became the latest country to boost its defense presence in space, announcing last week plans to develop a military space program to counter the fast-growing space defense efforts of neighboring China. India, which has an extensive civilian space satellite program, must "optimize space applications for military purposes," army Chief of Staff Gen. Deepak Kapoor said at a defense conference in New Delhi. "The Chinese space program is expanding at an exponentially rapid pace in both offensive and defensive content."

Oil Prices Steady as Market Eyes Nigeria - Associated Press

Oil prices steadied near $137 a barrel Tuesday, supported by concerns over supply disruptions out of Nigeria and new European Union sanctions against Iran. Investors are closely watching developments in Nigeria, but are not convinced that lost oil production in Africa's largest oil producer will resume anytime soon, analysts say.

Wrong Way to Kick An Oil Habit - Michael Gerson, Washington Post opinion

It is typical of a tired economic liberalism to look at the global energy crisis and see American companies as the problem -- even if punishing them leads to greater dependence on foreign oil. But it is also naive to believe this dependence will be addressed by the normal working of energy markets. Those markets are producing what one economist calls the "greatest wealth transfer the world has ever known." In a single year, the revenue of oil- and natural gas-producing Persian Gulf states have nearly doubled - giving nations in the region hundreds of billions of surplus dollars to play with. Recent Saudi promises to increase oil production may help ease prices. It is also the profitable accommodation of an addiction.

EVENTS OF INTEREST

11-15 August - Counterinsurgency Leaders Workshop (Official Event - Workshop). Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The US Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency (COIN) Center is hosting a five-day program for prospective counterinsurgency leaders, 11-15 August 2008, at the Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The program is focused on equipping leaders with an understanding of the insurgency and counterinsurgency environments, as well as close consideration of the kinds of persons and organizations that usually emerge from insurgencies in contrast to those of conventional conflicts. This event will be held at the Battle Command Training Center (BCTC) Training Facility on Fort Leavenworth. Seating is limited. However, registration is open to any person who serves in any official capacity with regard to dealing with insurgencies, with priority is given to those applying from invited organizations. Other applicants will be reviewed for eligibility on a space-available, case-by-case basis. The duty is uniform/business casual. Application must completed on-line at the link above. The deadline for application is 1 August 2008. For more information, contact the COIN Center at 913-684-5196.

11-12 September - DNI Open Source Conferece 2008 (Public Event - Conference). Washington, DC. Sponsored by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The Office of the DNI is pleased to announce the "DNI Open Source Conference 2008" to be held on Thursday, 11 September and Friday, 12 September, 2008 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington DC. The conference is free; however, all who wish to attend must register online in advance (deadline 31 July). The two-day conference will explore a wide range of open source issues and open source best practices for the Intelligence Community and its partners. We invite participants from the broader open source community of interest including academia, think tanks, private industry, federal, state, local and tribal entities, international partners, and the media to attend. The conference will include speakers from across the broader open source community participating in panel discussions and focus group sessions. Information about the agenda and break-out sessions is now available. The DNI Open Source Conference 2007 was held 16-17 July 2007 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. More than 900 registered participants and speakers attended. Presentations made at the conference break-out sessions are available on the DNI Open Source Conference 2007 website.

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.