IRAQ

Occupation Plan for Iraq Faulted in Army History - SWJ directory

US Ambassador Cites Positive Changes - Samantha Quigley, AFPS

Iraq is enjoying some substantial political, and economic progress in addition to better security, the US ambassador to Iraq said during an interview on CNN’s “Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer” today. “As security has improved, the environment has changed for the better,” Ryan C. Crocker from Baghdad. “That allows for compromises to emerge that simply were not possible before.” He pointed to better budget execution as one piece of evidence pointing toward Iraq’s changes for the better, and also noted provinclial elections are coming up. “Those elections, in the latter part of this year, will be a very significant step,” he said. Crocker acknowledged that the United States’ work in Iraq is not over when Candy Crowley, filling in for “Late Edition” host Wolf Blitzer, asked him about the increase in casualties in some areas since May. “Overall, we have seen an improvement in the security situation and a reduction in casualties, both Iraqi and American,” Crocker said. “We’re up against some resilient and determined enemies [who] have the capacity to hit back, and that’s what we’re seeing, both from al-Qaida and its allies and from Shiia militias.”

More Talks Possible With Iran on Iraq - Paula Wolfson, Voice of America

US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker says the door is open to further discussions with Iran on the situation in Iraq. Ambassador Crocker says he is willing to hold more talks with Iranian officials under certain conditions. "It is important to have talks for a purpose, not just for the sake of having another session," said Ambassador Crocker. "So we will need to choose the timing when we think it will improve the situation and actually make some progress."

US Advised Iraqi Ministry on Oil Deals - Andrew Kramer, New York Times

A group of American advisers led by a small State Department team played an integral part in drawing up contracts between the Iraqi government and five major Western oil companies to develop some of the largest fields in Iraq, American officials say. The disclosure, coming on the eve of the contracts’ announcement, is the first confirmation of direct involvement by the Bush administration in deals to open Iraq’s oil to commercial development and is likely to stoke criticism.

Iraq to Investigate 4 Shooting Deaths - Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times

Infuriated by the recent fatal shootings of four people by US soldiers, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has decided to appoint a judge to hear evidence in the cases, a close aide said Sunday. "There must be a hearing of some sort by an Iraqi judge," said Haider Abadi, a lawmaker with Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party and member of the prime minister's inner circle. The appointment of a judge to hear evidence against US soldiers would represent a significant encroachment on the rules laid down during the US occupation, which provide foreigners working in the country, both military and civilian contractors, immunity from the Iraqi judicial process.

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

Troops Take Control In Pakistan's North - Hussain and Ali, Washington Post

Pakistani paramilitary forces expanded their push into the northwestern city of Peshawar and a nearby tribal area Sunday, taking control of much of the troubled region a day after launching an attack on insurgent strongholds there. The operation began Friday when hundreds of paramilitary troops, soldiers and police swept into Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province, as Islamist insurgents massed near the city and a tribal area known as the Khyber Age.

Pakistan Launches Attack on Taliban - The Australian

The Pakistani military and police have launched a major offensive against the Taliban and other Islamist insurgents on the border with Afghanistan, the first major operation in the region since a new government was elected in Islamabad in February. The buildup of security forces in Peshawar, a provincial capital 50km from Afghanistan, signalled a shift in Pakistan's struggle to quell extremist activity. The operation was launched in the Khyber tribal district outside Peshawar in an apparent bid to counter Western concerns about Islamabad's peace talks with Taliban rebels, and fears Peshawar could fall under Taliban control. But many in the region fear a major clash between Pakistani security forces and the insurgents could spark a large-scale conflict that could engulf the entire North West Frontier Province.

Operation Raises Questions - Laura King, Los Angeles Times

When government troops pushed their way into a local warlord's stronghold just outside one of Pakistan's major cities over the weekend, what they found followed a familiar pattern. With plenty of warning from officials that troops were coming, Islamic insurgents in the mountainous Bara district outside Peshawar, the provincial capital, had simply melted away, disappearing into a remote valley to the north. Pakistani authorities declared Sunday that the district had been restored to their control. But residents said they expected the militants to return whenever it suited them.

Taliban Aims to Control Rural Phones - Sara Carter, Washington Times

Taliban forces have discovered a novel tactic to move undetected through strongholds at night - blow up cellular telephone towers unless local officials turn off the networks from dusk to dawn. The strategy has been used widely in rural areas of Kandahar and Helmand provinces in southern Afghanistan midwinter, said US officials, who estimate that at least 50 towers have been attacked in Helmand province alone.

IRAN

US to Expand Covert Operations in Iran - Joby Warrick, Washington Post

The Bush administration told Congress last year of a secret plan to dramatically expand covert operations inside Iran as part of a long-running effort to destabilize the country's ruling regime, according to a report published yesterday. The plan allowed up to $400 million in covert spending for activities ranging from spying on Iran's nuclear program to supporting rebel groups opposed to the country's ruling clerics, veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported in the New Yorker magazine.

Oil Cash May Prove A Shaky Crutch - Thomas Erdbrink, Washington Post

Faced with rapid inflation and growing international concern about his country's nuclear ambitions, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is relying on huge increases in oil and gas revenue to insulate his government from internal and external pressures. Some of the same Western countries taking steps to compel Iran to stop uranium enrichment are also the biggest consumers of its oil and gas. The European Union said last week that it would freeze the assets of Bank Melli, Iran's largest, in keeping with UN sanctions. The EU is also the leading global consumer of Iranian oil and gas.

Preparing the Iran Battlefield - Seymour Hersh, The New Yorker opinion

Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran’s suspected nuclear-weapons program. Clandestine operations against Iran are not new. United States Special Operations Forces have been conducting cross-border operations from southern Iraq, with Presidential authorization, since last year. These have included seizing members of Al Quds, the commando arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and taking them to Iraq for interrogation, and the pursuit of “high-value targets” in the President’s war on terror, who may be captured or killed. But the scale and the scope of the operations in Iran, which involve the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), have now been significantly expanded, according to the current and former officials. Many of these activities are not specified in the new Finding, and some congressional leaders have had serious questions about their nature.

Israel vs. Iran - Jeffrey Kuhner, Washington Times opinion

The winds of war are sweeping the Middle East. Recent press reports reveal Israeli military has been conducting secret exercises in preparation for possible air strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities. Former US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton predicts Israel will launch a devastating air campaign before the end of President Bush's term. Tehran poses an existential threat to Israel - and to the West. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has vowed to "wipe Israel off the map." He boasts that the end of the "Zionist regime" is "near." Mr. Ahmadinejad is a revolutionary Islamofascist, who believes Tehran is the strategic anchor for a global caliphate. He wishes to spread radical Shi'ite Islam across the Middle East - and eventually the world.

US-Israel Moment of Truth? - Arnaud de Borchgrave, Washington Times opinion

Israel's message to its only ally, the United States was quite clear. Either President Bush orders military action or Israel will have to strike on its own. It can't wait till a new US president is sworn in because the new White House tenant could well be Barack Obama. And Mr. Obama almost certainly would not approve an Israeli air strike without first going several extra miles on the UN and Western diplomatic track. This could even lead to the kind of rift in Israeli-US relations that occurred when President Eisenhower ordered French, British and Israeli forces out of Egypt in the 1956 Suez War.

THE LONG WAR

Al Qaeda Grows in Pakistan - Mazzetti and Rohde, New York Times

Late last year, top Bush administration officials decided to take a step they had long resisted. They drafted a secret plan to make it easer for the Pentagon’s Special Operations forces to launch missions into the snow-capped mountains of Pakistan to capture or kill top leaders of Al Qaeda. Intelligence reports for more than a year had been streaming in about Osama bin Laden’s terrorism network rebuilding in the Pakistani tribal areas, a problem that had been exacerbated by years of missteps in Washington and the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, sharp policy disagreements, and turf battles between American counterterrorism agencies.

Beyond Guantanamo - Washington Post editorial

The Supreme Court's recent decision to allow those held at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to challenge their detentions in federal court triggered the beginning of what could have been a welcome debate about terrorism policy between the presumptive presidential nominees. Too bad that the exchange quickly descended into name-calling and evasion, with surrogates for Republican John McCain calling Democrat Barack Obama "naive" for applauding the decision and Mr. Obama asserting that Republicans lacked the moral authority to criticize him because they had engineered the "distraction of the war in Iraq" instead of tracking down the culprits in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. There are few greater challenges for the next president than cleaning up the legal and political mess created by President Bush's misguided tactics in the war on terrorism. Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama have spoken clearly about some matters but have yet to articulate a coherent stance on others.

US DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Foreign Outreach Called Deficient - Nicholas Kralev, Washington Times

A congressionally mandated commission has issued a scathing criticism of the State Department's public diplomacy capabilities, saying that there is no US official anywhere in the world whose full-time responsibility is to engage with ordinary people. The report by the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, which looks at the human resources in the field for the first time, said that the "overseas staffing structure" has not changed since the US Information Agency (USIA) merged with the State Department in 1999. "Public-affairs officers view themselves, and are viewed by others, more as managers and administrators than as expert communicators," the commission said. They "are being asked to spend the overwhelming majority of their time on administration and management, not outreach."

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Pentagon Fights EPA On Pollution Cleanup - Lyndsey Layton, Washington Post

The Defense Department, the nation's biggest polluter, is resisting orders from the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up Fort Meade and two other military bases where the EPA says dumped chemicals pose "imminent and substantial" dangers to public health and the environment. The Pentagon has also declined to sign agreements required by law that cover 12 other military sites on the Superfund list of the most polluted places in the country. The contracts would spell out a remediation plan, set schedules, and allow the EPA to oversee the work and assess penalties if milestones are missed.

No Dumb Cowboy Colonels - Michael Gove, Times of London opinion

The American commander in Iraq has made history already. Which is why I'm in such a hurry to see him write it. On his watch, Iraq has turned a corner, with a dramatic decrease in violence, the pacification of provinces where al-Qaeda once held sway and the retreat of foreign-backed militias before a newly resurgent Iraqi national Army. Iraq is now on course to join Turkey and Israel as one of the Middle East's few functioning democracies. Petraeus is an intellectual in battledress, a standing rebuke to the caricature of the American military as dumb Cowboy Colonels and dumber Imperial Storm Troopers. There's a proud tradition of scholars in the British Army, from Basil Liddell Hart to Rupert Smith, distinguished authors both. But a tradition of condescension towards America has blinded many Britons to the intellectual quality of the US military.

Basing Rights in Marshall Islands - Albert Short, Washington Times opinion

Following election of a new government in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) earlier this year, an article in the Economist grossly oversimplified the question of whether the US Army will have continued use of its missile-defense-system testing facility at the RMI's Kwajalein Atoll after 2016. That is when the old lease dating back to the 1980s expires. The misleading article suggests that the United States can simply make a concession by increasing payments to satisfy demands of the landowners, thereby securing future base rights at Kwajalein. The Departments of Defense and State and the Congress carefully considered this issue in 2003, during negotiation and approval of an extended base rights agreement between the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. To secure base rights long into the future if needed, the United States agreed to increase payments as requested by the RMI, coming as close as was reasonable to meeting landowner demands. But American lawyers and lobbyists for the traditional chiefs of Kwajalein demanded still more.

US AFRICA COMMAND

AFRICOM to Rely on Local Knowledge - Charlie Coon, Stars and Stripes

AFRICOM was announced in February 2007. Its goal is to consolidate the US military programs being conducted on the continent, which various commands currently share. The original plan called for an AFRICOM headquarters to be built in Africa. A later idea envisioned regional offices. But opposition on the continent as well as other political complexities caused the headquarters plan to be shelved. As a result, the Stuttgart-based military center is relying more on Fisk and others who have been working in Africa for local knowledge. The Tunis office, for example, was taken over by AFRICOM on May 1 from the US European Command.

AFRICOM Open to Working with China - Charlie Coon, Stars and Stripes

Energy-hungry China and the United States, the world’s two greatest oil consumers, are jockeying for influence over Africa’s vast economic potential. But as the two rivals sink their business hooks into the continent, soldiers from the two nations have also rubbed elbows there. US troops and contractors in Liberia, a nation about the size of Virginia, are training that country’s army, while about 580 Chinese soldiers in Liberia are staffing the ongoing UN peacekeeping mission. Despite the US-China rivalry - and different approaches toward the continent - the new US Africa Command might see fit to eventually work there with China’s military, or anyone else’s, according to Gen. William E. "Kip" Ward, the AFRICOM commander.

Visits Designed to Change Perceptions - Charlie Coon, Stars and Stripes

Words sometimes backfire. "We will work closely with our African partners to determine an appropriate location for the new command in Africa," President Bush said on Feb. 6, 2007, in announcing the US Africa Command. It was big news in Africa, but also big news to Africa. The US military? Coming to the continent? The fallout - a storm of critical press and angst on the Internet - forced the military’s newest headquarters to back off its moving plans. Since he took over AFRICOM on Oct. 1, Gen. William E. "Kip" Ward and his deputies have been visiting dozens of African countries. Their mission is to explain what the United States really intends and, perhaps more importantly, to listen to advice.

AFRICA

Zimbabwe's Mugabe Officially Sworn In - Washington Post

President Robert Mugabe cemented his government's hold over Zimbabwe on Sunday with the announcement of his overwhelming election victory followed by an inauguration before the approving gazes of the military leaders who engineered his brutal political comeback. To the rat-a-tat-tat of snare drums and the roar of fighter jets overhead, an unsmiling Mugabe stood ramrod straight before Zimbabwe's newly unified ruling clique, which all but obliterated the opposition after his loss in the first round of voting in March.

Mugabe Sworn In After Discredited Vote - Dugger and Bearak, New York Times

Robert Mugabe, the runaway winner in a one-horse race, was quickly inaugurated Sunday as president of Zimbabwe after a runoff election on Friday. His opponent had already dropped out because state-sponsored enforcers were beating and killing his followers. “I, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, do swear that I will truly serve in the office of president, so help me God,” he said somberly as he stood before a white-wigged judge under a red-carpeted tent at his official residence in Harare. So began the 84-year-old Mr. Mugabe’s sixth term as president, the victor in an election many world leaders have denounced as illegitimate.

Mugabe Inaugurated in Zimbabwe - Los Angeles Times

As Robert Mugabe was inaugurated Sunday to a new five-year term as Zimbabwe's president, critics and analysts warned that his pattern of violent revenge against opponents could be repeated in coming months in an attempt to destroy his chief rival's party. The announcement of Mugabe's inauguration at the State House in Harare and the issuing of invitations were so hasty that both came several hours before the results of Friday's one-man presidential runoff were released.

400,000 Defy Mugabe - Weston and Thornycroft, Daily Telegraph

Almost 400,000 Zimbabweans defied the threat of violent retribution by Robert Mugabe's thugs to vote against him or spoil their ballot papers, according to official results released on Sunday. Announcing the inevitable outcome of Friday's second-round presidential poll, election officials claimed that Mr Mugabe had almost exactly doubled his tally from the first round in March, in which he was defeated by Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. According to the Zimbabwe Election Commission's figures the turnout of 42 per cent was almost exactly the same as the first round – although many polling stations were virtually deserted throughout election day.

Kidnap Marks Sixth Term - Jan Raath, Times of London

Scarcely an hour before Robert Mugabe was sworn in yesterday for his sixth term as President of Zimbabwe, his henchmen abducted Ben Freeth, a white farmer who documented the pre-election terror in an article for The Times last Monday. Mr Freeth and his inlaws, Michael and Angela Campbell, 75 and 70, were assaulted and taken from their homes in Chegutu, about 90 miles (150km) west of Harare. The Campbells’ son, Bruce, responded to an alarm from his parents’ house but the militias of the ruling Zanu (PF) party were already driving out with their three hostages by the time he reached the scene.

China Resists Bid for Sanctions - Matthew Lee, Washington Times

While China heaped praise on the United States for its help in recovering from a devastating earthquake, there was no sign Sunday its gratitude would extend to international matters. Despite unusually warm expressions of thanks for the quake aid, Chinese officials were cool at best to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's attempts to enlist Beijing's support to slap UN Security Council sanctions against Zimbabwe for a widely denounced election. China, an ally and trading partner of Zimbabwe, holds a veto in the Security Council and its backing, along with that of Russia, will be essential to any move in the body to penalize President Robert Mugabe and his top aides for allegedly instigating political violence.

Will Africa Take Action? - Scott Baldauf, Christian Science Monitor

President Robert Mugabe has long been able to count on African leaders to sympathize with his goals of ridding Zimbabwe of the vestiges of white colonial rule. But with his brutal tactics in what's widely seen as a sham runoff presidential election Friday, Mr. Mugabe may have squandered his last shred of credibility even in Africa. Monday, at a meeting of African leaders in Egypt, Mugabe faces a critical personal test. Will the African Union join the international community in pushing for new sanctions, even military intervention, in Zimbabwe?

Africa Needs to Act Over Zimbabwe - Daily Telegraph editorial

The abhorrent spectacle of Robert Mugabe being inaugurated as president after Friday's sham election has prompted widespread revulsion, nowhere more so than in Africa itself. The days when Mugabe could rely on the embarrassed silence of his neighbours as he trampled on the liberties of his countrymen are over. Kenya's prime minister, Raila Odinga, has called for African Union troops to be deployed to Zimbabwe, saying that the election was "a fake victory and we do not recognise it". Nelson Mandela's attack last week on Zimbabwe's "tragic failure of leadership" was an especially welcome intervention, as were the comments yesterday by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel peace prize winner, who called on African leaders to tell Mr Mugabe that "you are unwelcome any longer, you are illegitimate, and we will not recognise your administration in any shape or form".

AMERICAS

Drug Wars Next Door - Clarence Page, Real Clear Politics opinion

As if our military didn't have its hands full in Iraq and Afghanistan, the head of the Minuteman Project border security group seems to think they might also make good narcotics cops. Minuteman cofounder Jim Gilchrist suggested in recent radio interviews that the US give Mexico 12 months to corral its criminal drug cartels and rising violence, particularly in border towns like Juarez and Tijuana - or deploy the US Army to do the job. That's the Minutemen. Their remedies for the drug war next door sound simplistic, but at least they're paying attention.

Chavez Faces Political Crisis - David Blair, Daily Telegraph

President Hugo Chavez, the "socialist revolutionary" leading a global campaign against America's "empire", is facing a political crisis in Venezuela where crucial elections are approaching and old allies have turned against him. Mr Chavez, a devoted admirer of Fidel Castro, has forged an anti-American front with leaders ranging from President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. At home, however, Mr Chavez is in trouble. State elections are due in November and Venezuela's opposition, which now includes former followers of South America's standard-bearer for socialism, is expected to perform well.

The Rival Chávez Won't Permit - Jackson Diehl, Washington Post opinion

Defenders of Hugo Chávez like to argue that there is no alternative to the Venezuelan caudillo other than the feckless and unpopular politicians who preceded him in the 1990s. The simple refutation of that canard is Leopoldo López, the 37-year-old mayor of central Caracas, whose boyish good looks only underscore the fact that he represents a fresh generation. López, a hyperarticulate graduate of Kenyon College and Harvard, is a pragmatic center-leftist, like most of the presidents elected in South America since the turn of the century. He won his last election in the Caracas district of Chacao with 80 percent of the vote. An opinion poll taken this year showed his popularity rating at 65 percent in greater Caracas, compared with 39 percent for Chávez; nationally, he beat Chávez 42 percent to 41. In the upcoming election for mayor of the capital district -- the most important elected post in the country after the presidency -- López leads the Chávez-backed candidate by 30 points.

Farewell to the Revolution? - Jorge Castaneda, Miami Herald opinion

''The FARC are finished, no matter how many men and weapons they may still have.'' Former Salvadoran guerrilla leader Joaquín Villalobos' lapidary conclusion about the Colombian narco-guerrilla movement is worthy of consideration, given his unmatched insight into Latin America's armed, revolutionary left. So is the almost tearful acknowledgement by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's ideological guru, Heinz Dieterich, that ``Chávez's speech on the FARC (calling on it to abandon armed struggle and free its hostages) is the equivalent of unconditional surrender to Washington's hemispheric ambition.'' However hasty these judgments may end up being, it certainly seems that the region's oldest and last political-military organization is, at long last, on the brink of defeat. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's strategy of ''democratic security'' appears to have paid off, supported by the US-financed Plan Colombia, as well as by much plain good luck, such as finding thousands of incriminating computer files three months ago in an attack on a FARC camp in Ecuador.

ASIA PACIFIC

More Answers Needed From N. Korea - Kurt Achin, Voice of America

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says North Korean steps this week related to its nuclear weapons are positive - but that more cooperation is needed in the future. During Saturday's visit to the South Korean capital, she said documents Pyongyang has provided to the United States include some references to a suspected highly enriched uranium, or HEU, program. They also partially address North Korea's activities to help other countries develop nuclear technology. But Rice says what the North has provided is not enough.

UN Says US Food Aid Arrived in North Korea - Associated Press

A US ship carrying thousands of tons of food aid has arrived in North Korea, after the communist nation agreed to expanded international assistance for its impoverished people, the UN food agency said Monday. The World Food Program said the American ship that arrived Sunday carried 37,000 tons of wheat, the first installment of 500,000 tons in promised US aid that will be distributed by the United Nations. The aid was not directly related to the ongoing nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang, as the US says it does not use food as a means of diplomatic coercion. However, the shipment came just days after the North handed over its delayed atomic declaration and blew up the cooling tower at its main reactor site.

City Offers a Peek at Political Ferment - Edward Cody, Washington Post

When China decided to liberalize its economy back in the late 1970s, Shenzhen was chosen as the vanguard, the first "special economic zone" allowed to do business free of Communist-era restrictions. Three decades later, the city has set out to reprise its pioneer role, this time in the political arena. Local Communist Party leaders have drafted a reform plan that would soften key aspects of China's Leninist political system, authorizing expanded powers for the local legislature, direct elections for some local officials, a more independent judiciary, and greater openness and accountability within the party.

Big Money and the Genocide Olympics - Nat Hentoff, Washington Times opinion

With such global brands as Visa, Volkswagen, General Electric and Samsung aiming at profits from sponsoring the Beijing Olympics in August, the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee has firmly instructed visitors to the games on what they are not allowed to bring with them to the People's Republic of China. Forbidden is "anything detrimental to China's politics, economy, culture or moral standards - including printed material [like this column] film negatives, photos, records, movies, tape recordings, videotapes, optical discs and other items." A June 11 editorial in The Washington Times adds that "visitors with mental illnesses and sexually transmitted diseases will be barred from the country. Such mental illness presumably will include being a nut about freedom.

EUROPE

Judgment for Turkey's Ruling Party - Suna Erdem, Times of London

Turkey's top court will hear a case this week to shut down the ruling party for alleged Islamist activities, a fate that could halt its hard-won European Union membership process. The indictment against the Justice and Development Party (AK) rests heavily on government proposals to allow girls to wear the Muslim headscarf at university. A recent separate ruling scrapping that move increases the likelihood of the government party being shut down. AK party members are pessimistic and are said to be preparing for the worst.

Turks Court Disaster - Times of London editorial

Turkey's constitutional court opens a case today that will have momentous, and possibly disastrous, consequences not only for Turkey but also for much of the Muslim world. It is a case that could end Turkish hopes of joining the European Union for ever and transform one of the West's most vibrant strategic allies into a feuding and embittered society, torn between military repression and Islamic fervour. For what the court is attempting to decide is whether Islam is compatible with secular democracy. If it rules that the present Islamist Government has undermined Atatürk's constitution, it will declare the entire ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party illegal and order the dissolution of one of Turkey's most popular and successful governments. If that should happen, Islamist parties throughout the Muslim world may turn their backs on democracy, arguing that, since secularists will never accept them, they should ignore the democratic process and seize power.

17 Shot When Live Ammo Used in Military Display - AFP

Seventeen people were injured when soldiers fired live bullets instead of blanks during a military display in France's southwest. Fifteen civilians and two soldiers were injured in the incident, of which details remained unclear late Sunday, involving a demonstration by members of a marine parachute regiment of hostage liberation exercises, the regional authority said. Four of the 17 were seriously injured, with two described as critical following "incomprehensible" scenes at the barracks near Carcassone, in the country's southwest. According to local authorities, five children were among the injured.

France's Military About-Face - Christian Science Monitor editorial

He may not have de Gaulle's physical stature, but President Nicolas Sarkozy is standing up to Le Général's long-obeyed policy of military independence for France. The US and Europe need to welcome this historic shift. The kinetic French leader isn't talking about giving up control of the country's nukes (a legacy from President Charles de Gaulle). And he will still keep a firm grip on armed forces, which are Europe's largest (255,000 in active service). But as part of his campaign promise of "rupture" with status-quo policies, Mr. Sarkozy wants France to rejoin NATO's military command and planning structure, which de Gaulle quit in 1966.

MIDDLE EAST

Israel to Free Prisoners - Griff Witte, Washington Post

Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved a rare prisoner swap with the Shiite militia Hezbollah, agreeing to free a convicted murderer and others in exchange for two Israeli soldiers who are believed to be dead. The soldiers -- Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev -- were captured in a 2006 cross-border raid by Hezbollah. The abduction sparked a month-long war in which Israel bombarded Lebanon from the air and Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets into northern Israel. The fighting killed more than 1,000 Lebanese and 159 Israelis.

Israel Swaps Prisoners for Soldiers’ Bodies - Ethan Bronner, New York Times

Israel’s government voted Sunday to trade one of the most notorious convicts in its prisons, a Lebanese murderer, for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers whose cross-border capture led to and partly motivated its monthlong war with the Lebanese militia Hezbollah in summer 2006. After a wrenching national debate that drove hesitant officials, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, to accept the deal, the cabinet voted 22 to 3 to trade the prisoner, Samir Kuntar, along with four other Lebanese, for Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, the two Israeli soldiers.

Israel’s Diplomatic Offensive - New York TImes editorial

Few countries can afford the luxury of limiting their diplomacy to friendly countries and peace-loving parties. National security often requires negotiating with dangerous enemies. Fortunately, Israel’s prime minister, Ehud Olmert, is now displaying a clearer grasp of such realities than President Bush has mustered. Israel is increasingly willing to explore conversations with states and groups Washington would prefer to ignore and isolate. In recent weeks it has agreed to a limited, Egyptian-brokered cease-fire with the Hamas authorities in Gaza and is engaged in indirect peace talks with Syria, sponsored by Turkey. It is attempting to start similar discussions with the Lebanese government, despite - or more likely because of - Hezbollah’s growing political influence.

SOUTH ASIA

Blasts Heard Near Pakistan's Capital - Washington Times

Police were investigating two large explosions heard near the Pakistani capital on Monday, as the government was engaged in a military operation against militants in its northwestern tribal regions. The cause and location of the blasts, which were heard in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, about seven miles away, were not clear. "We have information of an explosion. We are still checking where is the site and what is the cause," said Rao Mohammed Iqbal, a senior Rawalpindi police officer. "All sensitive installations are clear."

EVENTS OF INTEREST

22 July - Counterinsurgency in Modern Warfare (Public Event). Washington, DC. The Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) is sponsoring a discussion on counterinsurgency on 22 July 2008, at the National Press Club (the Holeman Lounge), Washington, DC. Dr. John Nagl (Center for a New American Security), Dr. Daniel Marston (Australian National University), and Dr. Carter Malkasian (CNA) recently collaborated on Counterinsurgency in Modern Warfare (Osprey, 2008), an edited book that examines 13 of the most important counterinsurgency campaigns of the past 100 years, including the current Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Dr. David Kilcullen (U.S. State Department), the renowned counterinsurgency expert, will moderate the discussion and provide critical commentary. Lunch will be provided. Books will be available to purchase at a discounted rate. For more information, visit the first link above. RSVP at kattm@cna.org or 703.824.2436.

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.