IRAQ

Turks Visit, Regional Warming Trend - Tavernese and Robertson, New York Times

Turkey’s prime minister visited Baghdad on Thursday, only the second foreign head of a neighboring state to visit Iraq since the American invasion. The visit of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan came during a flurry of announcements from Arab countries - including Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait - pledging to refresh relations with Iraq by appointing ambassadors, after withdrawing them during the violence of past years. Mr. Erdogan’s visit, the first by a Turkish leader in 18 years, follows that of Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in March. King Abdullah of Jordan was expected to travel here this week, but the trip was postponed.

General Say Increasing Iraqi Capabilities Turning Tide - Jim Garamone, AFPS

The Iraqi security forces’ increasing capabilities have been making a world of difference in the country, a top coalition military commander said today. Army Maj. Gen. Michael Oates, commander of Multinational Division Center, briefed Pentagon reporters from Baghdad via teleconference along with Maj. Gen. Ali Salih Farhgood Oothman, commander of 8th Iraqi Army Division. Oates, who served in Iraq twice before, said he has noticed three distinct changes from his last assignment in the country in 2006.

Drought Threatens Iraq's Crops and Water Supply - Associated Press

It's been a year of drought and sand storms across Iraq - a dry spell that has devastated the country's crucial wheat crop and created new worries about the safety of drinking water. US officials warn that Iraq will need to increase wheat imports sharply this winter to make up for the lost crop - a sobering proposition with world food prices high and some internal refugees already struggling to afford basics.

Iraq’s Water Woes - Timothy Hsia, Small Wars Journal

News today in Iraq is centered on contracts currently being negotiated between the Government of Iraq and major oil companies. This has occupied much of the attention of America and the rest of the world as the price of oil continues to skyrocket. However, Iraqis for the vast majority are not only interested in the future of their oil but also concentrated on another pressing natural resource problem, the scarcity of water. Sandwiched between Baghdad and Mosul is the Diyala River Valley (DRV), and within the DRV is a region known as the Breadbasket of Iraq. Farmers have worked the land here since Biblical times. Baqubah, the capital of Diyala, is Arabic for Jacob’s house. The region historically has been so abundant agriculturally that the produce from this area has been able to not only sustain the local region but also vast parts of Iraq. Today however, the way of life of these farmers has become imperiled for one simple reason: there is simply not enough water for their crops. Drought like conditions now exist in many regions of the Diyala River Valley and potable water is scarce.

Suicide Car Bomber Kills 2 in Baghdad - Voice of America

Iraqi security officials say a suicide car bomber has killed at least two people and wounded at least four others in western Baghdad. Officials say the bomber rammed his explosives-filled car into an Iraqi army vehicle in the capital's Mansur district Thursday. Earlier, the US military announced it had detained 30 suspected militants during three days of operations targeting al-Qaida in Iraq. A military statement says coalition troops detained 10 people - including the alleged leader of a bombing network - in the Tigris River valley, north of Baghdad.

Bodies of 2 Missing US Soldiers Are Found in Iraq - Associated Press

The bodies of two U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq for more than a year have been found, their families said Thursday night. The military would not immediately confirm the report. The father of Army Sgt. Alex Jimenez, of Lawrence, Mass., said the remains of his son and another soldier, Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, of Waterford, Mich., had been identified in Iraq. Jimenez, 25, and Fouty, 19, were kidnapped along with a third member of the 2nd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division during an ambush in May 2007 in the volatile area south of Baghdad known as the ''triangle of death.''

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

Pakistan Strikes New Truce Deal With Militants - Barry Newhouse, VOA

Pakistan's government has reached a new peace agreement aimed at stopping a militant group from threatening the northwestern city Peshawar. This is the latest in a series of controversial agreements that critics say have mainly strengthened pro-Taliban fighters in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Government representatives released details of the agreement on Thursday, after tribal leaders agreed to guarantee that the local extremist group would leave a key town just outside the provincial capital Peshawar and stop hostilities against the government. Tribal elder Malik Hashim was a member of the delegation and spoke to VOA by telephone from Khyber agency, where the talks took place. He said the leader, Mangal Bagh, promised that his people will not attack official government offices or paramilitary forces in both the settled and rural areas of Khyber.

US Ready to Attack Pakistan Extremists - Bruce Loudon, The Australian

US commandos are reportedly poised to launch raids against al-Qa'ida and Taliban targets in Pakistan as Washington moves an aircraft carrier into the Arabian Sea. The redeployment of the Abraham Lincoln and its escort vessels from the Gulf yesterday came after US military intelligence officials recorded an increase in the number of foreign fighters travelling to Pakistan's tribal areas to join with militants. A US military spokesman told the The New York Times there had been a corresponding drop in the number of foreign fighters entering Iraq -- now less than 40 a month, compared with up to 110 a month one year ago -- and that "the flow may reflect a change that is making Pakistan, not Iraq, the preferred destination for some Sunni extremists from the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia seeking to take up arms against the West".

US, Afghan Forces Focus on Pakistani Border - Michael Carden, AFPS

The US military’s senior officer and the commander of international forces in Afghanistan met with reporters here today to discuss the situation and threats coalition and Afghan forces are facing. Insurgent activities and coalition casualties have increased throughout the past months, while June was the deadliest month for coalition troops in nearly seven years of conflict here. Twenty-eight servicemembers were killed. This is due partly to “coalition and Afghan troops taking the fight to the insurgency” and the rising number of insurgents crossing the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan, said Army Gen. David D. McKiernan, commander of the International Security Assistance Force here. The lack of ability for the new Pakistani government to successfully monitor their borders have allowed for militant and insurgent groups to find safe havens in the tribal areas there, McKiernan explained.

2 Taliban Killed by Group of Afghan Villagers - Associated Press

A group of villagers in northwestern Afghanistan used a machine gun, sticks and stones to kill two Taliban militants and chase 10 others away, a provincial police chief said Thursday. The militants had tried to abduct local aid workers who were building a well in the Qayar district of Faryab province on Wednesday, said the police chief, Khalil Andarabi. The villagers confronted the militants, and after a brief altercation, shot at them, killing two and forcing the rest to flee, he said.

The Taliban’s Rising Tide - New York Times editorial

The swelling forces of Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters in Pakistan’s border region pose a grave threat to American and NATO troops in Afghanistan. They also pose a grave threat to the Pakistani people. Pakistan’s Taliban militias, like their Afghan counterparts, are trying to impose their harsh medieval version of Islamic law. More than a thousand Pakistanis have been killed in terrorist attacks in the past year, mostly in the border areas where radical Islamic fighters are strongest. Pakistan’s new military and civilian leaders, caught up in their own power struggles, have been dangerously derelict in acknowledging and confronting the threat. Instead, they have deluded themselves that they can negotiate a separate peace with fanatic Taliban leaders. Bitter experience has proved that will not work.

IRAN

Rice Warns Iran That US Will Defend Allies - Shwirtz and Broad, New York Times

The confrontation between Tehran and Washington seemed to sharpen on Thursday as Iran said it tested missiles for a second day and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States would defend its allies and protect its interests against an attack. Ms. Rice was speaking in the former Soviet republic of Georgia at the end of a three-day tour of Eastern Europe. Shortly after she spoke, state-run media in Iran began reporting the new missile tests, which followed a warning from an Iranian official earlier this week that Tehran would strike Tel Aviv and United States interests if Washington attacked it first.

Iran Launches Another Test Missile - Washington Post

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today warned Iran that the United States would defend Israel or other allies in the region from any attack, while Iranian television reported a new round of missiles had been test-fired, which was disputed by a Pentagon official. Citing broadcasts on state-run Iranian television, the Associated Press reported out of Tehran that the country had continued an ongoing military exercise in the Persian Gulf with a second consecutive day of missile tests. The report said the overnight tests -- like those conducted with at least eight missiles yesterday -- included the use of long-range rockets capable of reaching Israel, as well as other devices with what state-controlled media referred to as "special capabilities." No further details were provided. However, a senior Pentagon official said news reports that there were two rounds of tests were incorrect, because all eight missiles were fired on the same day, within hours of one another.

Israel Threatens as Iranian Isolation Deepens - Charles Bremner, The Times

Tehran faced deeper isolation yesterday after a major Western energy company withdrew from a giant Iranian gas field project and international threats to attack the country’s nuclear facilities grew. Total, the French energy group, said that it was freezing its role in a $10 billion project to develop the South Pars fields in the Gulf, the world’s largest gas reserves. The decision was a big step in a US campaign to put pressure on Iran to stop enriching uranium. Iran’s decision to carry out missile tests - with a second round yesterday - also prompted Ehud Barak, the Israeli Defence Minister, to suggest that his country was ready to launch a pre-emptive strike if necessary. “Israel is the strongest country in the region and has proved in the past that it does not hesitate to act when its vital security interests are at stake,” Mr Barak said.

Iran Test Fires Second Round of Missiles - Sonja Pace, VOA

Iran has fired another round of long-range missiles, the second such test in the past two days. The latest test firing came just hours after a warning from the United States about such missile launches. Iran tested yet more missiles overnight. Iranian state television showed pictures of missiles streaking through the night sky. Iranian media said the test launch included medium and long-range missiles and torpedoes. Reports said the weapons were fired from ships in the Persian Gulf and from on the ground. This was the second such test within two days. On Wednesday Iran reported firing nine test missiles, including the long-range Shahab-3, which it says has a range of 2,000 kilometers and could reach Israel and other US allies in the Middle East and South Asia.

Amid Tests, Signs of Weakness - Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor

With Iran reporting a second day of missile tests this week, it appears to be intent upon signaling to its adversaries - primarily the United States and Israel - that it is prepared to meet and match both provocations and any eventual attack. But the show of force, which Thursday reportedly included missiles test-fired from ships in the strategically sensitive Persian Gulf, may also be part of an attempt to cover over Iran's weaknesses and to draw attention away from signs that the international community's efforts to curtail Iran's nuclear program are having an impact. Almost lost in an aggressive verbal exchange that continued Thursday - with a reminder to Tehran from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the US will defend its interests and allies - was an announcement by French energy corporation Total. It said it was canceling plans to invest in Iran's energy sector.

Iran's Conflicting Signals to the West - Glenn Kessler, Washington Post

Last week, various Iranian officials made positive comments about a new diplomatic outreach by the United States and its allies, suggesting negotiations on Iran's nuclear program might be possible. This week, Iran test-fired medium-range and long-range missiles, bluntly warning that thousands more were ready to be launched. The conflicting signals are typical of the opaque Islamic republic, with its many competing power centers and complex system of government. But demonstrating strength before negotiations also is a long-tested diplomatic formula, suggesting the missile launches and harsh rhetoric could be a sign that Iran is suddenly open to bargaining.

Israel Will Not Hesitate if Threatened - Spillius and Wheeler, Daily Telegraph

Israel's defence minister warned Iran his country was ready to act if threatened, as Tehran test fired another salvo of missiles capable of hitting the Jewish state. The comments came after Iran conducted military exercises, launching a second round of Shahab 3 ballistic missiles in as many days. With a range of 1,250 miles, the missiles can hit Israel. In response to Iran's war games, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned that America would not back down in the face of threats against Israel.

Barak Hints at Israel's Readiness to Strike Iran - Associated Press

Israel's defense minister hinted Thursday that Israel was ready to attack Iran's nuclear program, saying it didn't balk before "when its vital security interests" were at stake. Defense Minister Ehud Barak's allusion to Israel's 1981 airstrike on an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor came at a time of intensified tensions between Israel and its archenemy, Iran. Tehran launched war games and tests of a long-range missile this week after saying Tel Aviv would be "set on fire" if Israel were to attack Iran.

Israel 'Ready to Act' over Iran - BBC News

Israel's defence minister has warned of his country's readiness to act against Iran if it feels threatened. Ehud Barak, speaking in Tel Aviv, said Israel had "proved in the past that it won't hesitate to act when its vital security interests are at stake". He spoke as Iran's testing of missiles that could reach Israel stoked tensions between the two, and with the US. Israel has responded to the missile tests by putting on display one of its aircraft that it says can spy on Iran. The state-run Israel Aerospace Industries says it has equipped its Eitam aeroplane, unveiled a year ago, with sophisticated intelligence-gathering systems.

Ahmadinejad Revels in Iran's New Belligerence - David Blair, Daily Telegraph

Bombastic President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran terrifies the world... but his career hangs in the balance. Of all the leaders who have cast a chill over the world with threats and bravado, only Iran's bombastic president can boast a doctorate in traffic management. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the "over-promoted municipal politician" - as one former envoy in Tehran calls him - once fretted over the pitiful state of the capital's clogged and grimy streets when he served as mayor. Yet he will glory in his country's missile tests this week. Mr Ahmadinejad, revelling in his unofficial status as the world's leading firebrand, has previously claimed that Iran is the world's "number one power" and its very name means a "hard punch in the teeth" for America and her allies.

Playing Chicken - The Times editorial

Iran fired another round of missiles in the Gulf early yesterday, clearly riled that the West had reacted dismissively to its earlier volley of long-range and short-range missiles and angered that its latest warnings on Iranian military retaliation have provoked little more than contemptuous indifference. The United States reiterated its support for Israel and other allies in the region. But US officials made it clear that they did not see the missile tests as an immediate military challenge, nor did they believe that the escalation in tension would lead to war between America and Iran. Their reaction is astute. It gives Iran no excuse to portray itself as the victim of Western aggression. It undercuts the attempt by President Ahmadinejad and zealots in the Revolutionary Guards to provoke a fresh confrontation as a way of diverting domestic attention from their own failures. And it allows the West to focus on steadily increasing economic pressure to isolate the hardliners in Tehran and widen the split with pragmatists angered by their antics.

Tests Seen More as Theater - Mostaghim and Daragahi, Los Angeles Times

A two-day show of force by Iran through the launching of medium- and long-range test missiles was meant to strike fear in the hearts of the country's rivals. Instead, many officials and experts Thursday downplayed the Iranian war games near the Persian Gulf as more propaganda than peril. News reports emerged indicating that Tehran doctored a photo of the launches, and analysts questioned whether the tests revealed any new Iranian capability to strike Israel or other US allies and interests in the Middle East.

Iran's Dangerous Game - Daily Telegraph editorial

These are nerve-racking times in the Middle East. Last month, Israel carried out a major airborne exercise over the Mediterranean, which American officials interpreted as an apparent rehearsal for a strike on Iran's nuclear plants. Yesterday, Tehran continued with test-firing missiles as a warning to the world that any such attack would invite immediate retaliation. This sabre-rattling is taking place against a background of diplomatic manoeuvring in which Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council have proposed not to impose further sanctions in return for Iran's freezing its nuclear programme, as a prelude to negotiations. It may be that Tehran's verbal and military flourishes are aimed at strengthening its hand in any such talks.

Iran and Israel's Game of Bluff - Gerard Baker, The Times opinion

When governments undertake grand gestures in the full glare of public attention, the only thing you can be sure of is that they do not mean what they appear to mean. That's a useful rule of thumb to apply to any exercise in public diplomacy but it's especially helpful when trying to fathom the volatile politics of the Middle East. There has been a certain choreographed quality to events in the skies over the eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf in the last month. This week Iran fired a volley of medium-range missiles into the skies over the Gulf, demonstrating its capacity to hit targets in Israel. A month ago, Israeli warplanes carried out large and fearsome warplane exercises over the Mediterranean that looked like a practice run for a bombing raid on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Altered Missile Test Photo Makes Front Pages - Nizza and Witty, The Lede

As news spread across the world of Iran’s provocative missile tests, so did an image of four missiles heading skyward in unison. Unfortunately, it appeared to contain one too many missiles, a point that had not emerged before the photo was used on the front pages of The Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times, The Chicago Tribune and several other newspapers as well as on BBC News, MSNBC, Yahoo! News, NYTimes.com and many other major news Web sites.

THE LONG WAR

Gitmo Cases to be Tried Chronologically - Tom Ramstack, Washington Times

A federal judge said Tuesday that those Guantanamo detainees who have been held the longest likely will be the first to have their cases heard in U.S. District Court, depending on security concerns and their health. "It's logical to me to go on a first in, first out basis," Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan said during a hearing Tuesday. Still unresolved is whether any of roughly 200 detainees will be brought in person to the District of Columbia for the hearings to determine whether the military can continue to imprison them at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Detainees, as Lawyers, Test System - William Glaberson, New York Times

The military tribunal faced its latest perplexing challenge: how to handle detainees who are insisting on representing themselves, and keep them from turning the military commissions upside down. In a series of hearings for the defendants - including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the admitted chief plotter of the Sept. 11 attacks - the tribunal struggled to sort through fresh questions about how men under strict detention rules can work on their cases, how secret evidence will be handled and how much leeway they will be permitted. At times the hearings devolved into the kind of paradoxical debate that has become common as the troubled tribunal system has struggled to deal with lesser-known suspects. This case, however, involves men charged in the biggest terrorist attack in American history, and who have trumpeted their roles in the jihad.

9/11 Plotters Tell Judge of Legal Woes - Josh Meyer, Los Angeles Times

Facing the death penalty for their roles in the Sept. 11 attacks, self-described mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and an alleged accomplice told a judge Thursday that the military commission process was so dysfunctional that they could not file legal motions in their defense or have pretrial documents translated into their native languages. In separate hearings, Mohammed and Walid bin Attash and their legal advisors ticked off one example after another of a pretrial system they say is barely operating. "We are not in normal situation. We are in hell," Mohammed told the military judge, Marine Col. Ralph H. Kohlmann.

Abu Qatada Seen Shopping in London - Duncan Gardham, Daily Telegraph

Abu Qatada, the man once described as Osama bin Laden's right hand man in Europe, was pictured out walking the streets on the third anniversary of the 7/7 terror bombings. Qatada, 47, is allowed out of his house for two hours a day - one in the morning and one in the afternoon- under the strict terms of his bail. He was released from Long Lartin high security jail in Worcestershire jail last month after the Government failed to have him deported to Jordan where he is wanted for terrorism offences.

In Praise of Hard Power - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post opinion

On the day the Colombian military freed Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other long-held hostages, the Italian Parliament passed yet another resolution demanding her release. Europe had long ago adopted this French-Colombian politician as a cause celebre. France had made her an honorary citizen of Paris, passed numerous resolutions and held many vigils. Unfortunately, karma does not easily cross the Atlantic. Betancourt languished for six years in cruel captivity until freed in a brilliant operation conducted by the Colombian military, intelligence agencies and special forces -- an operation so well executed that the captors were overpowered without a shot being fired. This in foreign policy establishment circles is called "hard power." In the Bush years, hard power is terribly out of fashion, seen as a mere obsession of cowboys and neocons. Both in Europe and America, the sophisticates worship at the altar of "soft power" -- the use of diplomatic and moral resources to achieve one's ends.

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Senate Confirms Petraeus, Odierno - Jim Garamone, AFPS

The Senate has confirmed Army Gen. David H. Petraeus as commander of US Central Command and Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno to receive his fourth star and succeed Petraeus as commander of Multinational Force Iraq. The full Senate confirmed Petraeus by a vote of 95-2 and Odierno by a 96-1 margin. Odierno is the Army’s 3rd Corps commander and served as commander of Multinational Corps Iraq for 14 months. The changes put Petraeus - who implemented the U.S. surge into Iraq - in charge of US military forces in a dangerous part of the world. The command stretches from Pakistan to Egypt and from Kazakhstan to the Saudi Arabian peninsula. It includes the war in Afghanistan and, until Oct. 1, also includes control of Joint Task Force Horn of Africa based in Djibouti.

AWOL in Canada - Wall Street Journal editorial

If you want to desert from the US military, you will soon have to find a different refuge than Canada. Ottawa's government has decided to send American deserters back to the US for possible court martial and dishonorable discharge, and Americans should be grateful. The issue has come to a head over the agitation of Corey Glass, a 25-year-old sergeant in the California National Guard. He's lived in Canada since 2006 after serving in Iraq, and he was facing deportation after failing to leave Canada. Activists and veterans gathered Wednesday at 14 Canadian consulates in the US to protest Canada's decision to deport him, though in the end he was granted a stay of deportation pending a court hearing. ABC News has since reported that Mr. Glass was discharged after he went AWOL in 2006, and is not now considered to be a deserter. But in any case he clearly doesn't want to return to his native land.

UK MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

Britons Ponder: Stay In or Quit - Mary Jordan, Washington Post

Nearly half of the members of British armed forces regularly think of quitting, according to a major Defense Ministry survey that comes amid concerns that sustained war in Iraq and Afghanistan is hurting morale. In a survey of nearly 9,000 people in the army, air force and navy, the first of its kind, respondents cited the impact of overseas tours on personal life, pay and job opportunities outside the military as top reasons to leave. Excitement and pensions were listed as reasons to stay.

AUSTRALIA DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

Tanks Flawed, Army Admits - Mark Dodd, The Australian

Crewman operating the army's new Abrams battle tanks are unable to communicate properly with infantry forces because their radio systems are incompatible. The embarrassing revelation comes at a critical time - the army is considering whether to deploy the tanks to Afghanistan to bolster Australia's 1000-strong contingent in the event the Dutch withdraw heavy armour and artillery from Oruzgan province. Under questioning by defence sub-committee member and Queensland MP Stuart Robert, the army's director-general of preparation and plans, Brigadier Paul Symon, admitted compatibility problems with the Abrams communications system. In 2004, the Howard government authorised the $550 million replacement of Leopard1 armoured tanks with 59 refurbished M1A1 Abrams tanks. But the Abrams ability to provide protection for infantry forces now appears to be seriously compromised by problems in synchronising the US-made tank's radio system with those of troops on the ground. "We are seeking to resolve that particular issue as quickly as possible," Brigadier Symon said.

UNITED NATIONS

Court Upholds UN Immunity - Benjamin Cunningham, Christian Science Monitor

Is the United Nations responsible if its peacekeepers fail to prevent genocide? No, decided a Dutch court Thursday in a case likely to be appealed. At issue is Europe's only genocide since World War II: the killing of some 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica, Bosnia, 13 years ago this week. Last month, 6,000 plaintiffs filed a civil suit against the UN and the Dutch government in The Hague District Court. They argued that Dutch peacekeepers failed to protect their relatives in the 1995 massacre, which took place in a UN-declared safe zone. The Hague District Court said the UN's immunity - written into its founding charter - means it cannot be held liable in any country's national court.

UN Leaders Wrong on Rights - Ed Feulner, Washington Times opinion

You know you're doing a good job if you upset the right people - such as petty bureaucrats at the United Nations. Recently, an online publication reported that UN Television had purchased six high-definition video cameras, but couldn't use them because it had failed to purchase lenses for them. Worse, Inner City Press reported, the UN building isn't even wired for such cameras. When a reporter went to question the woman in charge of UN Television, she startled him with a question of her own: "Do you work for the Heritage Foundation?" Well, no. But those of us who do work at Heritage appreciate the back-handed compliment. It shows that the agency is well (if not painfully) aware of our work, which has exposed countless examples of waste, fraud and abuse at the UN over the years. Why do we do it? Because it's American tax dollars being squandered by UN mismanagement.

AFRICA

Zimbabwe's Political Parties Meet in S. Africa - Delia Robertson, VOA

Delegates from Zimbabwe's main political parties are meeting in Pretoria, South Africa to discuss future negotiations toward ending the crisis in Zimbabwe. Talks between representatives from the two factions of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Party, and President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF Party are under way in Pretoria, an African diplomat close to the mediation process told VOA. The delegates are talking about how to overcome stumbling blocks in the way of full negotiations about Zimbabwe's political future, according to an African diplomat close to situation.

Zimbabwe Rivals Tentatively Begin Talks - Barry Bearak, New York Times

Zimbabwe’s ruling party began preliminary discussions with the opposition on Thursday in an effort to settle a political crisis in which both sides have staked a claim to the nation’s presidency. But in a statement late in the day, Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, said the talks, in Pretoria, South Africa, could not lead to genuine negotiations until state-sponsored violence stopped and 1,500 of his supporters were freed from prison. He denounced efforts by President Robert Mugabe’s government to portray the meeting as a negotiation imminently leading to a settlement, saying the ruling party, ZANU-PF, was “being disingenuous and exploiting the plight of the Zimbabwean people for political gain.”

US Push for Sanctions Sees UN Opposition - Betsy Pisik, Washington Times

The United States and its allies ran into a wall of opposition Thursday in an effort to impose new sanctions against Zimbabwe, with Russia, China and South Africa objecting. A resolution sponsored by the United States and Britain would impose financial and travel restrictions against Zimbabwe's leadership in response to a flawed June 27 election in which President Robert Mugabe ran unopposed for a sixth term. Russia, China and South Africa said they opposed the measure, fearing it would derail the fragile discussions between the Mugabe government and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Russia Falters over Zimbabwe Agreement - The Times

The United States pushed for a swift vote to apply UN sanctions on Zimbabwe's leaders yesterday after Russia backed away from an apparent deal at the G8 summit. The US delegation asked initially for the UN Security Council to take a vote last night, even though Russia and China said they were not ready. Crisis talks in the UN corridors led to the vote being postponed until today because of the risk of a veto by Moscow or Beijing.

Bashir To Be Charged With Genocide - Lynch and Boustany, Washington Post

The chief prosecutor of the Internationals Criminal Court will seek an arrest warrant Monday for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, charging him with genocide and crimes against humanity in the orchestration of a campaign of violence that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians in the nation's Darfur region during the past five years, according to UN officials and diplomats. The action by the prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo of Argentina, will mark the first time that the tribunal in The Hague charges a sitting head of state with such crimes, and represents a major step by the court to implicate the highest levels of the Sudanese government for the atrocities in Darfur.

Sudan Condemns UN Darfur Attack - BBC News

Sudan has blamed rebel groups for an attack on the United Nations-African Union peace mission in Darfur, in which seven peacekeepers were killed. Sudan's foreign ministry condemned the attack, and urged Western governments to deal more firmly with Darfur rebels. UN officials have said they suspect the government-backed Janjaweed militia were responsible for the assault, which also left 22 troops wounded.

Peacekeepers in Sudan Consider Next Steps - Associated Press

The UN-African Union force in Sudan was grappling Thursday with what steps to take after an ambush by heavily armed fighters that killed seven peacekeepers and wounded 19 others on patrol in Darfur. Peacekeeping officials have said they don't know who was behind Tuesday's attack but said it took place in an area controlled by the janjaweed and that many of the fighters were on horseback, a hallmark of the government-backed Arab militia.

Nigeria's Main Militant Group Calls Off Cease-fire - Associated Press

Nigeria's main militant group said Thursday it would resume attacks in the country's oil-rich delta region because of Britain's pledge to support the government in the conflict there. A leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta told The Associated Press the group would abandon a two-week-old cease-fire as of midnight Saturday. He spoke anonymously to avoid identification and capture by authorities. The militant leader said the group was calling off the cease-fire because of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's promise at the G-8 summit in Japan to support the Nigerian government's efforts to end violence in the oil-producing region.

Somali Insurgents Attack Military Base Near Baidoa - Voice of America

Officials in Somalia say insurgents have killed two people and wounded two others in an attack on an army camp near Baidoa, the home of the transitional parliament. The Islamist insurgent group Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack on the Daynunay military base. Two days ago, Shabab insurgents fired mortars at the presidential palace and airport in Baidoa, killing at least two soldiers and wounding seven. Somali's government dismissed that attack as a publicity stunt for the insurgent group, and said that Baidoa is functioning and safe.

Not the Gandhi of South Africa - Alan Gold, The Australian opinion

On an overcast day in London's Hyde Park, dozens of the world's most famous glitterati recently came together to join with a crowd of 50,000 adoring fans to shower Nelson Mandela with their love and unquestioning devotion on his 90th birthday. There are very few international statesmen or women as famous as Mandela. Since his time in prison and his subsequent presidency of South Africa, he has superceded Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa and pope John Paul II as the moral conscience of the world. It's remarkable how time can ameliorate history. What the congregation rocking in Hyde Park probably didn't know was that long before most of them were born, Mandela was one of the leaders of the African National Congress, who created an armed wing called the Umkhonto we Sizwe or Spear of the Nation, which was dedicated to bombing civilian, industrial, military and government targets. South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission has accused it of torture and executions without due process.

AMERICAS

US, Colombia Choked Rebels' Communications Network - Associated Press

The stunning rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and three US military contractors owed its success not just to artful deception, but also to a five-year US-Colombian operation that choked their captors' ability to communicate. Known as "Alliance," it began with a satellite phone call in 2003, just weeks after the Americans' surveillance plane crashed in the southern Colombian jungle, according to US and Colombian investigators and court documents.

Betancourt Tells of Pain, Fear and Faith - Steven Erlanger, New York Times

Ingrid Betancourt fears the collapse she knows is coming. A week after her sudden rescue from more than six years of captivity in the deep Colombian jungle, Ms. Betancourt looks healthy, even elegant in a black pantsuit and white linen blouse, a gold Cartier watch on her wrist, setting off the crude rosary she made herself of buttons and the plastic lanyard the guerrillas used to make straps for their rifles. But she spoke of her fragility in an interview on Thursday, and of her deep Roman Catholic faith. And she knows how quickly her adrenaline is dropping.

Sustaining the Medellin Miracle - Anthony Faiola, Washington Post

This labyrinthine metropolis transformed over the course of a decade from a battlefield of drug lords, paramilitaries and leftist guerrillas into one of the safest, most dynamic cities in Latin America. Visionary inner-city renewal projects and a push to take back the lawless hillside slums by force deserve credit, but many here hail an unsung hero in Medellin's urban miracle -- globalization. Yet the renaissance of a city best known outside Colombia for years as the base of Pablo Escobar and the Medellin cartel is entering a period of uncertainty that illustrates just how fragile such gains can be.

Take a Little Trip - Jaime Daremblum, Weekly Standard opinion

Last week's daring rescue of French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages (including three Americans) by Colombian commandos is cause for rejoicing. As Colombian President Alvaro Uribe put it, the rescue mission was "an unbelievable military achievement." It marked yet another huge victory for Colombia in its war on terrorism and another embarrassing defeat for the country's main leftist guerrilla group--known by its Spanish acronym, FARC--which had been holding Betancourt since 2002. During the six years of her captivity, Colombia was transformed. Murders, kidnappings, and terrorist attacks have all plunged dramatically. The FARC has been devastated by combat deaths and desertions; its remaining forces inhabit remote camps deep in the Colombian jungle, far away from the urban areas. As a result, foreign investment is pouring into the biggest cities. The World Bank has lauded Colombia for its economic reforms, which helped GDP grow by 6.8 percent in 2006 and by more than 7 percent in 2007. When we consider the progress made under President Uribe (who was first elected in 2002), it is appalling that the US Congress has refused to approve a free trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia, ostensibly due to concerns over violence.

Mexico to Add Police to Take on Cartels - Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post

The Mexican government plans to nearly double the size of its federal police force in order to reduce the role of the military in combating drug trafficking, under a confidential anti-narcotics strategy that officials made available Thursday. The plan, known as the Comprehensive Strategy Against Drug Trafficking, also involves purging local police forces of corrupt officers and initiating social measures -- such as improving safety in public spaces -- designed to improve public confidence in government agencies tainted by corruption.

10 Dead in Northern Mexico Shootings - Associated Press

Gunmen killed nine people at an auto repair shop in the gang-plagued city of Culiacan, while a police investigator was found shot to death near the city's police headquarters, prosecutors said Thursday. Culiacan is the capital of northern Sinaloa state - home to the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel and site of an ongoing wave of drug-related violence.

ASIA PACIFIC

China Stops More Terrorists Targeting Olympics - Daniel Schearf, VOA

China says it has stopped five terrorist groups and arrested 82 suspected terrorists who were plotting to attack the Beijing Olympics. The announcement was made one day after police in northwestern China said they shot and killed five people during a raid on a terrorist-training hideout. China's official Xinhua news agency says police broke up the suspected terrorist groups in the first half of this year in northwest Xinjiang province. Xinhua quoted Chen Zhuangwei, the head of public security in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi, as saying the groups were separatists or extremists plotting to sabotage the Beijing Olympics.

Police Kill 5 Members of 'Chinese al-Qaeda' - Jane Macartney, The Times

With less than a month to go before the Olympics open in Beijing, Chinese police have shot dead five members of a Muslim ethnic minority they said were bent on waging holy war inspired by al-Qaeda and setting up an independent state. Several dozen police entered a residential building hunting for three men believed to have attacked an ethnic Han Chinese woman in a city hairdressing salon in late May but opened fire after an officer was wounded as they tried to enter an apartment to make an arrest, it was reported.

Verification Tops Agenda for N. Korea Nuclear Talks - Reuters

Nuclear negotiators began hammering out procedures to check North Korea's account of its nuclear programs on Thursday, with envoys describing the talks as helpful but far from conclusive. The six-party negotiations aimed at coaxing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions are the first in nine months, after Pyongyang last month produced a long-delayed declaration of its nuclear activities, one of the big steps pledged under a preliminary disarmament deal. US envoy Christopher Hill told reporters this fresh session marked a start in seeking agreement on rules to check through the secretive North's nuclear account and also to monitor aid and other commitments by other countries.

Courts Test Thailand’s New Government - Seth Mydans, New York Times

Thailand’s new try at democracy is being severely tested by street demonstrations and a barrage of court cases, just five months after a military junta handed back power through a parliamentary election. On Thursday, the foreign minister, Noppadon Pattama, was forced to resign amid nationalist furor over a dispute with Cambodia dating back centuries regarding ownership of a 900-year-old Hindu temple on their common border. In contemporary terms, the temple dispute was a vehicle for growing pressure on the government as the divisions that led to a coup in September 2006 resurface.

Militant Muslims Seek Ban on Ahmadi Sect - Associated Press

The vast majority of Indonesia's 235 million people are moderate Sunni Muslims. Most view the roughly 200,000 Ahmadis with suspicion, and the government's move to restrict the sect is widely seen as a bid by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to shore up support among voters for his run for a second term next year. "Our state is a weak state that doesn't dare to enforce the law if it goes against the religious feeling of the majority," said the Rev. Franz Magnis-Suseno, a Jesuit priest and prominent advocate of interfaith relations. "The state has no right to say you may or may not worship."

EUROPE

Four Detained After Deadly Istanbul Attack - Sebnem Arsu, New York Times

The Turkish police said Thursday they had detained four people in connection with an investigation into a shooting at the United States consulate in Istanbul a day earlier that left six people dead and two injured. Three gunmen and three police officers were killed in the gunfire that erupted at the consulate early Wednesday, while a fourth assailant escaped in a car. Two of the injured were police officers who remain hospitalized. The attack was the first on an embassy or consulate in Turkey in five years.

Saving Turkey's Democracy - Christian Science Monitor editorial

Think of Turkey and the lively Grand Bazaar of Istanbul comes to mind, or the massive dome of Hagia Sophia. But its political fame is as the world's longest-lived democracy in a Muslim country - an example that Islam and civil liberties can coexist. Now that democracy faces a severe test. Turkey's two most powerful political forces - Islamists, who head the government, and secularists, who run the military, courts, and bureaucracy - are engaged in a fierce battle for dominance in this NATO country. Their arena is the highly politicized legal system. A judicial duel may not sound very dangerous. But to the degree that this duel harms the very democratic principles that allow both groups to thrive in the first place, the consequences could be grave.

Rice Calls for Peaceful End to Russia-Georgia Standoff - Emma Stickgold, VOA

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has offered America's help in easing tensions between Russia and its southern neighbor Georgia, the latest stop on her diplomatic swing through Europe. Rice is using her talks in Georgia to try and quell the tensions over the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which have been the focus on increasing violence and heated rhetoric.

Russian Jets over Restive Region Anger Georgia - Associated Press

Georgian officials on Thursday denounced a flight by Russian fighter jets over a separatist region of this former Soviet republic and charged the mission was meant to disrupt a visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Tbilisi. Russia's government confirmed that four of its planes circled over South Ossetia late Wednesday for about 40 minutes, and said the mission was ordered to head off a possible "invasion" of the region by Georgian troops. South Ossetia and another region, Abkhazia, split off from Georgia during separatist wars in the 1990s and have been supported by the Kremlin. Cease-fires ended those fights, but tensions have risen in recent months amid fears on both sides the other is preparing for a new war.

Georgia Recalls Moscow Ambassador - BBC News

Georgia is to recall its ambassador from Russia after Moscow admitted its fighter jets had entered Georgian airspace earlier this week. Tbilisi accused Moscow of committing a "very grave act of aggression". Moscow said its jets were above Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia to "cool hot heads in Tbilisi". Tension has been rising over South Ossetia and another Georgian breakaway region, Abkhazia. Moscow supports separatist administrations in both.

US Pledges $400 Million to Help Kosovo - Associated Press

A top U.S. aid official says the United States will pledge around $400 million at Friday's international donor conference for Kosovo. Officials hope euro1.5 billion ($2.36 billion) will be raised to bolster democratic, law and order reforms and to help pay for infrastructure such as schools, roads and energy plants. Henrietta Holsman Fore, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, said Thursday that about $150 million (euro95.5 million) of the US pledge will go toward debt relief.

New Spy Row over British Diplomat - Tony Halpin, The Times

Russia triggered a new spying row with Britain last night when a senior diplomat in Moscow was accused of working for British Intelligence. The allegation against Chris Bowers, the British Embassy’s acting director of trade and investment, follows weeks of antagonism and growing tension between London and Moscow. Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed source within Russia’s intelligence services, who claimed that Mr Bowers was a high-ranking secret service officer who had also worked under cover in the 1990s as a BBC reporter in Uzbekistan.

MIDDLE EAST

Palestinians: Let Us Tame Wild Jenin - Ilene Prusher, Christian Science Monitor

Throughout most of the decade, Jenin has been synonymous with what Palestinians generally call fawda: a mix of chaos with the might of gun-toting militants trying to impose their own brand of law and order. Today, the Palestinian Authority (PA) police and paramilitary forces, recently returned from US-sponsored training in Jordan, have fanned out around Jenin as part of a new security campaign to regain control of West Bank cities such as this one, which have been in disarray since the start of the Al Aqsa intifada nearly eight years ago. But getting in their way, Palestinian officials charge, is an ongoing series of Israeli army raids here, in nearby Nablus, and elsewhere in the West Bank. While uniformed Palestinian police may look as if they're in control by day, when the clock strikes midnight, the Israeli army comes out to arrest and sometimes assassinate militants on its wanted list.

SOUTH ASIA

Pakistani Lawyer At Helm of Change - Nora Boustany, Washington Post

Leading a motorcade marathon from Islamabad to Lahore in May last year, lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan threaded his way gingerly through throngs of impassioned Pakistanis lining the road in the 110-degree heat. At the climax of his campaign to get the country's suspended Supreme Court chief justice reinstated, it wouldn't do to topple a supporter and risk stalling the building momentum of public fervor. During a visit to Washington last month, Ahsan warned American legislators that instability and uncertainty in Pakistan could not be remedied until judges removed from their jobs when President Pervez Musharraf imposed military rule last November were reinstated. Chaudhry himself had been returned to the bench last July following the massive spring protests.

Pakistani Lawyers Denounce Leader of Ruling Party - Associated Press

Pakistani lawyers on Thursday fiercely denounced the leader of the main ruling party, potentially heralding a new chapter in their months-long push for the restoration of judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf. Lawyers have held a series of protests to demand the reinstatement of the dozens of judges Musharraf sacked in November last year to avoid legal challenges to his rule. The protests have often demanded the president step aside, and this latest one did as well.

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.