IRAQ

US Winning War that Seemed Lost - Burns and Reid, Associated Press

The United States is now winning the war that two years ago seemed lost. Limited, sometimes sharp fighting and periodic terrorist bombings in Iraq are likely to continue, possibly for years. But the Iraqi government and the US now are able to shift focus from mainly combat to mainly building the fragile beginnings of peace - a transition that many found almost unthinkable as recently as one year ago. Despite the occasional bursts of violence, Iraq has reached the point where the insurgents, who once controlled whole cities, no longer have the clout to threaten the viability of the central government. That does not mean the war has ended or that US troops have no role in Iraq. It means the combat phase finally is ending, years past the time when President Bush optimistically declared it had. The new phase focuses on training the Iraqi army and police, restraining the flow of illicit weaponry from Iran, supporting closer links between Baghdad and local governments, pushing the integration of former insurgents into legitimate government jobs and assisting in rebuilding the economy. Scattered battles go on, especially against al-Qaida holdouts north of Baghdad. But organized resistance, with the steady drumbeat of bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and ambushes that once rocked the capital daily, has all but ceased.

Shiite Militia in Sees Its Power Ebb - Sabrina Tavernese, New York Times

The militia that was once the biggest defender of poor Shiites in Iraq, the Mahdi Army, has been profoundly weakened in a number of neighborhoods across Baghdad, in an important, if tentative, milestone for stability in Iraq. It is a remarkable change from years past, when the militia, led by the anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr, controlled a broad swath of Baghdad, including local governments and police forces. But its use of extortion and violence began alienating much of the Shiite population to the point that many quietly supported American military sweeps against the group. Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki struck another blow this spring, when he led a military operation against it in Baghdad and in several southern cities. The shift, if it holds, would solidify a transfer of power from Mr. Sadr, who had lorded his once broad political support over the government, to Mr. Maliki, who is increasingly seen as a true national leader.

Iraq Provincial Elections Law Deadline Nears - Associated Press

Iraqi politicians have 48 hours to offer changes to a draft provincial elections law that has left Kurdish leaders at odds with the central government and delayed local elections planned for this fall, officials said Saturday. The standoff is over how to allocate local council seats in the disputed region of Kirkuk, which Kurds claim as part of their historical homeland. Iraq's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish politicians are studying objections to the law and have two days to offer possible changes, said Khalid al-Attiyah, a Shiite deputy parliament speaker.

Hussein's Trial as a Turning Point - Nora Boustany, Washington Post

Saddam Hussein's survival instincts were not dulled by prison, according to one Iraqi judge who faced the former president in a courtroom and recalls his cunning and rhetorical posturing. "Are you an American or a foreign judge?" Raid Juhi Hamadi al-Saedi remembered Hussein quizzing him during a pretrial hearing in July 2004. The youthful judge was unfazed by the self-styled Sword of the Arabs. "You signed my assignment order," he told him. Then there was the moment when Hussein, playing for time and apparently angling for leverage, demanded, "What law are you using?" "Your law. The laws you passed during your time," responded Juhi, who was confirmed to the bench a year before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Hussein. "We don't have new laws." Thus was set in motion Hussein's year-long trial on charges of massive human rights abuses against his own people. Juhi, in his capacity as the Iraqi High Tribunal's chief investigative judge, indicted the former president and seven other men for crimes against humanity in the killing of 148 men and boys from the Shiite village of Dujail in 1982. He also indicted Hussein and his industrialization minister, known as Chemical Ali, for genocide in the slaughter of 182,000 mostly Kurdish Iraqis in the 1987-88 Anfal campaigns. The trial in the Dujail case opened in October 2005.

A History For Iraqis To Write - David Ignatius, Washington Post opinion

With characteristic self-absorption, Americans are looking at Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's recent statements about a timetable for withdrawal of US troops in terms of our 2008 presidential election. We should see this issue instead in terms of Iraqi history. Modern Iraq was founded on an abhorrence of foreign military occupation. The national self-image is of resistance to British colonialism. That's why Maliki and most other Iraqi politicians have balked at signing the status-of-forces agreement sought by the Bush administration and why the Iraqi prime minister is enthusiastic about a timetable for the departure of most US troops by the end of 2010.

USIP Future of US Forces in Iraq - Marc Lynch, Abu Aardvark

I sat (okay, stood outside the overflow room) through a two hour panel at the US Institute for Peace this morning, chaired by Daniel Serwer and featuring Kimberly Kagan, Charles Knight, Colin Kahl, and Rend al-Rahim, devoted to the future of US forces in Iraq. It was an unusually rich panel discussion, and all four panelists made useful and thoughtful contributions. To very briefly summarize, Kimberly Kagan laid out the familiar argument for the surge's success and the great progress being made, with more nuance and caveats than in some of her op-eds (but still drawing this from Colin Kahl: "I guess I see the glass half-empty, and Kim sees the glass as... overflowing"). Charles Knight gave a highly cogent presentation of the Commonwealth Institute's "Quickly, Carefully, Generously" report, arguing passionately that there will be no real political reconciliation until American military forces leave. Colin Kahl presented the Center for a New American Security's "Shaping the Iraqi Inheritance" report calling for "conditional engagement", arguing for the need to move away from 'Iraq centrism' (strategic interests actually exist beyond Iraq's borders, if you can believe it) and 'Iraq maximalism' (holding our policies hostage to outcomes manifestly beyond our capabilities to produce). Finally, Rend al-Rahim laid out a devastating depiction of Iraq's current situation, and - perhaps surprisingly - offered a wholehearted endorsement of Kahl's description of Iraq and policy recommendations.

Defining “Victory” in Iraq - Michael Totten, Contentions

As recently as the first half of 2007, the idea of an American victory in Iraq seemed like a fantasy to just about everyone, including me. General David Petraeus surged additional troops to Iraq, however, and he transformed the joint American-Iraqi counterinsurgency strategy into what nearly all observers now acknowledge is a remarkable and unexpected success. Few bothers to argue otherwise anymore. What remains ambiguous and contested is the definition of an American victory. It’s slightly tricky for a couple of reasons. Pinpointing the exact date when a counterinsurgency ends - not just in Iraq, but any counterinsurgency - is impossible. There are no final battles. There can’t be. And if we don’t know when the war is over, it can be difficult to figure out what over even means in the first place. So how will we know if we’ve won? Part of the problem here is that the war in Iraq is usually thought of as a single war in Iraq. But there have been at least three wars in Iraq since 2003 - the US-led war against Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party regime, the civil war between Sunni and Shia militias, and the insurgencies against government and international forces waged by a constellation of guerrilla and terrorist groups. All three wars are distinct from each other, and two of the three are already over.

The Swine of the IOC - Kip, Abu Muqawama

For a decade, the International Olympic Committee allowed Saddam Hussein's son Uday to imprison, torture, and kill Iraq's Olympic athletes without a word. Meanwhile, the IOC, much like it did Germany in 1936, gives China a free ride despite the imprisonment, torture, and execution of political prisoners and asks that nobody politicize the Olympics. It is fascinating then that the IOC decided that the current Iraqi Olympic committee has suffered political interference and therefore Iraqi athletes were banned from participating in the Beijing Olympics.

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

Canada to Send 200 More Soldiers to Afghanistan - Graeme Smith, Globe and Mail

Kandahar needs a significant increase in foreign troops, but Canada will contribute only 200 more soldiers later this year, Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson says. Mr. Emerson's whirlwind trip to Afghanistan over the last two days stood out from previous visits by Canadian dignitaries in that he avoided major gaffes; while his predecessors were mocked for flashy photo opportunities or upbeat statements that appeared out of touch with the reality of rising violence in Kandahar, Mr. Emerson took a more sober approach to his first experience in the war zone. His statement about increasing the number of troops in the Afghan mission to 2,700 from 2,500 was the only new information offered during the visit, but the increase has been widely expected after Canada announced it would be sending helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles to Afghanistan in the coming months. New equipment usually requires extra personnel.

Canada Eyes Beefing Up Troops - Alexander Panetta, Toronto Star

Canada may expand its troop commitment in Afghanistan by about 8 per cent to service the helicopters about to be deployed to the region, Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson indicated yesterday. Emerson told a Kabul news conference that while major troop additions are expected from other NATO countries, Canada will also be making a smaller contribution. He appeared to be referring to the six helicopters Canada expects to have in place by February 2009. Government officials have pointed out that those aircraft will require pilots, mechanics, and ground- and air-traffic support. But until now they haven't said how many extra staff are needed.

WOT Loses Ground in Pakistan - Greg Miller, Los Angeles Times

Although the "war on terrorism" remains a consuming focus of the US government, the Bush administration appears poised to leave behind a situation not unlike the one it inherited nearly eight years ago: a resurgent Al Qaeda ensconced in South Asia, training new recruits, plotting attacks against the West, and seemingly beyond the United States' reach. In dozens of interviews, senior US national security, intelligence and military officials described a counter-terrorism campaign in Pakistan that has lost momentum and is beset by frustration.

Pakistani PM Visits US - Barry Newhouse, Voice of America

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is expected to meet with top US officials in Washington this week, including President George Bush. His visit comes during new tensions among Afghan, Pakistani and US officials over how to counter a growing Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. Taliban fighters in Afghanistan launch new offensives each summer when warm weather eases travel and clears passes in the country's rugged mountains. But the summer of 2008 has been particularly violent, with a 40 percent increase in attacks in eastern Afghanistan over the previous year. Just across the border in Pakistan, Taliban militants have expanded their territory and now control large parts of the country's remote tribal areas. Officials in northwestern Pakistan say Taliban influence is spreading out from the tribal regions into larger towns.

Is Afghanistan a Narco-State? - Thomas Schweich, New York Times

I met Hamid Karzai for the first time. It was a clear, crisp day in Kabul. The Afghan president joined President and Mrs. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Ambassador Ronald Neumann to dedicate the new United States Embassy. He thanked the American people for all they had done for Afghanistan. I was a senior counternarcotics official recently arrived in a country that supplied 90 percent of the world’s heroin. I took to heart Karzai’s strong statements against the Afghan drug trade. That was my first mistake. Over the next two years I would discover how deeply the Afghan government was involved in protecting the opium trade - by shielding it from American-designed policies. While it is true that Karzai’s Taliban enemies finance themselves from the drug trade, so do many of his supporters. At the same time, some of our NATO allies have resisted the anti-opium offensive, as has our own Defense Department, which tends to see counternarcotics as other people’s business to be settled once the war-fighting is over. The trouble is that the fighting is unlikely to end as long as the Taliban can finance themselves through drugs - and as long as the Kabul government is dependent on opium to sustain its own hold on power.

Ally Or Parasite? OpEds And ROE - Steve Schippert, Threats Watch

Is it possible that some NATO allies commit limited troop deployment levels based on thinking on the part of its political leaders that is more parasitic than allied? Consider first that small numbers are contributed to the Coalition in Afghanistan, and are sent with rules of engagement (ROE’s) more akin to those of a risk-averse clandestine intelligence agency than professional soldiers. Then consider a revealing reaction to Senator Obama’s speech yesterday in Berlin, and the question of ‘Ally or Parasite’ - at least in the minds of some decision makers - is not as over the top as it first seems.

IRAN

Nuke Program Capability Increase - Daragahi and Mostaghim, Los Angeles Times

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday that his country had dramatically expanded the number of machines at its disposal producing enriched uranium, defying international demands for the country to halt the production of nuclear material. But the hard-line leader, quoted by official and semi-official media, also appeared to suggest that Iran might be willing to stop adding more centrifuges, a condition for preliminary talks to end the diplomatic standoff over Iran's nuclear program.

Iran Claims Expansion of Nuclear Programme - Philip Sherwell, Daily Telegraph

The announcement by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will anger the US and Europe as it comes just a week before the latest deadline for Iran to accept a package of incentives for freezing enrichment or face further United Nations sanctions. The timing of the declaration appears deliberately confrontational, according to a Western diplomat briefed on the negotiations. In typically defiant mood, Mr Ahmadinejad claimed that Western capitals had accepted the current levels of enrichment, state media reported. And in a jab at the Bush administration, he gloated that the presence of a senior US diplomat at talks last weekend was a "success" for Iran. Washington has previously refused to take part in any negotiations with Tehran, with whom it has no diplomatic relations.

Iran Now has Up to 6,000 Centrifuges - Voice of America

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his nation now has as many as 6,000 uranium enriching centrifuges, a significant increase from earlier in the year. Iranian state media Saturday, reported the president made the announcement to professors in the northeastern city of Mashhad. During his speech, Mr. Ahmadinejad asserted the US and other Western countries had retreated in their demands and had now accepted that Iran would continue its uranium enrichment with its current 6,000 centrifuges. Iran had been known to be operating 3500 uranium-enriching centrifuges at its main nuclear site in Natanz. In April, President Ahmadinejad announced plans to install 6,000 new centrifuges, which could significantly boost Iran's ability to enrich uranium. Highly enriched uranium can be used in nuclear weapons.

THE LONG WAR

Third of Muslim Students Back Killings - Abul Taher, The Times

Almost a third of British Muslim students believe killing in the name of Islam can be justified, according to a poll. The study also found that two in five Muslims at university support the incorporation of Islamic sharia codes into British law. The YouGov poll for the Centre for Social Cohesion (CSC) will raise concerns about the extent of campus radicalism. “Significant numbers appear to hold beliefs which contravene democratic values,” said Han-nah Stuart, one of the report’s authors. “These results are deeply embarrassing for those who have said there is no extremism in British universities.” The report was criticised by the country’s largest Muslim student body, Fosis, but Anthony Glees, professor of security and intelligence studies at Buckingham University, said: “The finding that a large number of students think it is okay to kill in the name of religion is alarming.

Mr. Mukasey’s Justice - New York Times editorial

We are, sadly, accustomed to hearing President Bush’s lawyers justify this administration’s ceaseless efforts to undermine the Constitution and the rule of law: intrusions on privacy, warrantless wiretapping, indefinite detention, torture. It was bad enough when Attorney General Alberto Gonzales helped write and defend these policies; he always made clear his loyalties were to Mr. Bush, not the nation. But it was appalling to hear his successor, Michael Mukasey - who was supposed to be better - demanding that Congress further expand Mr. Bush’s power to detain foreigners without charges or reliable evidence, and further evade judicial oversight.

Workable Terrorism Trials - Washington Post editorial

On the opposite page today, we publish the views of a federal judge who argues that terrorism cases can and should be handled within the traditional federal trial court system. Advocates of such an approach often point to successful prosecutions of those responsible for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York as evidence of the federal court's ability to process such cases in a fair and relatively smooth manner. They cite expansive laws, such as the material-support statute, that apply both to domestic and overseas acts and give law enforcement officers the ability to arrest someone who aids the enemy. We agree that those terrorism-related cases that can be brought in federal court should be brought in federal court. We also believe that US citizens must be tried in that venue and that enemies captured on the battlefield during conventional conflicts must be held under the terms of the Geneva Conventions.

Terrorist Watch List - Facts and Fiction - Jay Fraser, Threats Watch

The more time that passes, the more certain individuals insist that steps that our government has taken since September 11th to protect us, actually encroach on their rights. One area of “myth” exceeding truth and reality is the so-called Terrorist Watch list (or “No Fly” list). In response to the ACLU’s claims of abuse and inconvenience, the TSA is fighting back. Widely circulated in “certain circles” are the claims that the Watch List contains the names of over 1 million people (terrorists). Aside from the fact that the Terrorist Watch List is not a product of the TSA (TSA subscribes to the information through the F.B.I.’s Terrorist Screening Center. And with that in mind, the TSC has publicly stated that it has “only” 400,000 names on the list (actually less than), and that about 95% of them are not U.S. citizens and most are not in the United States. Further, the actual “No Fly” and “Selectee” lists contains the names of fewer than 50,000 people.

COMPLEX OPERATIONS

The Humble Car Bomb Changed the World - Robert Baer, The Times

It was a sunny afternoon on Beirut’s glamorous seafront in April 1983 and the world was about to change for ever. Old men stood fishing on the rocks opposite the American embassy. Women in high heels and sunglasses strolled along the boardwalk undeterred by the civil war and the honking traffic. Just before 1pm a green Mercedes carefully drove past the embassy, scouting the entrance, and 300 yards later flashed its lights at a waiting GMC flat-bed truck. The young man driving the Texas-built truck then slowly drove up to the embassy, accelerated the wrong way through the exit ramp, hit the entrance steps, bounced up into the lobby and exploded his bomb. It was a stunning assault using the deadliest weapon so far of the 21st century: the car bomb. It was also the first suicide car-bomb attack on a western target. What happened in that summer of 1983 in Beirut has come back to haunt us in Iraq and Afghanistan. In their decades of civil war, the Lebanese, an inventive people, refined the weapon and became the best car-bombers in the world. The bombs that go off every day in Baghdad, the very concept of the suicide driver, were developed on the streets of Beirut.

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Which Future Should We Prepare For? - Westhawk, Westhawk

How should the US defense and intelligence organizations prepare for the future? This is obviously an immense question that receives the daily attention of many thousands of experienced minds. Step one might be to forecast what future the US should anticipate. Needless to say, that is a nearly impossible task, as Mr. Bruce Berkowitz, a long-time US intelligence and defense analyst, reminds us in this essay he wrote for FPRI.

Sell The Strategy to Expand the Fleet - Galrahn, Information Dissemination

The world has changed quite a bit since the cold war when the DDG-51 was conceived, and quite a bit since the Gulf War when the DDG-1000 was conceived. When the Maritime Strategy was being produced, Mullen made it clear the Maritime Strategy would begin with Seapower 21 (PDF) and use the rapidly changing world resulting from globalization as context. In many ways, many not obvious until mentioned, the Navy has already evolved in the 21st century, but these things aren't self evident until discussed. The Navy is currently putting bombs on target in support of the Army and Marines, successfully fielding an Army of IAs and others to plug holes in Army force structure, gaining and assimilating experience in unconventional but non-SOF warfare through an aggressive NECC, recruiting sufficient recruits, retaining sufficient experienced officers (although there is work to be done here in regards to experienced Captains), supplying Admirals to top joint and other national leadership positions (CJCS, DNI, Combatant Commanders, etc.), and not unduly embarrassing the country with horrific scandals or with unseemly inter-service turf brawls. These are great reasons why the Nation has a lot to be proud of in regards to the Navy, but these positive trends are often lost in any discussion of the Navy.

US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Obama Wraps Up Foreign Tour in London - Sonja Pace, Voice of America

Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential candidate, held talks with British leaders in London on Saturday as he wound up a foreign tour that took him to Afghanistan, Iraq, other parts of the the Middle East and Europe. Barak Obama met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for nearly two hours at number 10 Downing Street and then stepped outside to talk to the press, about what he said had been a "terrific conversation." "The prime minister's emphasis, like mine, is how we can strengthen the trans-Atlantic relationship, solve problems that can't be solved by any single country individually, climate change, the issue of international terrorism, some of the issues surrounding financial markets," he said. He also thanked Britain for its contribution in Afghanistan.

Political War Folly - Washington Times editorial

Barack Obama's trip to the Middle East has revealed an interesting convergence of his views with those of the Bush administration. While President Bush would like the American people to believe that "time horizons" (the president's term) and "timetables" (Mr. Obama and other Democrats' term) are two different scenarios, they are not. White House press secretary Dana Perino had a difficult time explaining the difference last week. After rightly praising the surge in Iraq on Monday, she said, "It is precisely because we are succeeding in Iraq that we are able to have these conversations today to set aspirational goals for time horizons." She said the strategy would change from direct involvement to oversight and, "From there we'll be able to bring more troops home."

Obama's Homecoming - Baltimore Sun editorial

The pictures were beautiful, the words were elegantly cast and the reception inspiring. But watching Sen. Barack Obama's pilgrimage from terrorist-fraught Afghanistan to Iraq, Jerusalem, Berlin and Paris had an otherworldly quality for Americans back home wrestling with depressing economic problems, shoddy treatment of injured veterans, plunging home prices and iconic corporations suffering record losses. There is no doubt the Democratic presidential candidate signaled inspirational change for many Europeans, just as he has for many Americans. But voters in this country have seen this show before, and they are ready for more down-to-earth answers to the serious challenges they face. If the junior senator from Illinois doesn't supply them, he is liable to run into significant political head winds in the coming weeks and months. Signs of trouble ahead were already apparent in the midst of the senator's well-staged appearances.

What Did Obama Learn in Iraq? - John Dickerson, Slate opinion

Barack Obama's trip to Iraq was so presidential that at moments, he sounded like our current White House resident. When Karen Tumulty of Time asked Obama what he'd learned on his trip, he said, "It confirmed a lot of my beliefs." Lara Logan of CBS asked him if he was ever in doubt that he could lead the country in war as commander in chief, and he answered, "Never." After seven and a half years of George Bush, we should pause when a man auditioning for president says that the facts confirmed his beliefs and that he's never in doubt. As Obama himself has warned us at other moments, these are signs that a fearless leader may be letting ideology or rigidity steer him in the wrong direction. We know, of course, that Barack Obama, in fact, goes through life thinking in subtle, nuanced, and interesting ways. He's probably got lots of complex input from his visit to Iraq that he's dissecting and analyzing. But he's not sharing much. And what he has shared on the occasion of his big trip hasn't been very nourishing.

A Change Election Abroad, Too - Jim Hoagland, Washington Post opinion

John McCain's prisoner-of-war experience is a strong selling point for him in this American election. But it is a powerful drag on his popularity in Europe, where past U.S. involvement in Vietnam still generates intensely negative feelings. Barack Obama's flirtation with protectionism similarly divides opinion at home and abroad. His attacks on NAFTA helped him compete for the Democratic nomination. But they cause important foreign partners such as Mexico, China and Japan to wonder if an Obama presidency would be good for them. The world is very much with Americans in this thoroughly unorthodox year. Foreign leaders traditionally complain that they cannot vote in our presidential elections even though their nations' fortunes frequently depend on the outcome. This year they get a say of a sort in a campaign in which foreign policy is both urgent and important.

Maliki Doubletalks to Obama - Max Boot, Miami Herald opinion

There is some irony in the fact that Democrats, after years of deriding Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki as a hopeless bungler and conniving Shiite sectarian, are now treating as sacrosanct his suggestion that Iraq will be ready to assume responsibility for its own security by 2010. Naturally this is because his position seems to support that of Barack Obama. A little skepticism is in order here. The prime minister has political motives for what he's saying -- whatever that is. An anonymous Iraqi official told the state-owned Al-Sabah newspaper, ''Maliki thinks that Obama is most likely to win in the presidential election'' and that ''he's got to take preemptive steps before Obama gets to the White House.'' By smoothing Obama's maiden voyage abroad as the Democratic nominee, Maliki may figure that he will collect chits that he can call in later.

Obama the Irony Man - Walter Mead, Los Angeles Times opinion

The irony is we have a presidential contest between Obama, whose entire primary candidacy was driven by his unshakable position as the toughest and most pessimistic critic of the war, and John McCain, an unrepentant supporter of the war who called for the surge at a time when the rest of the establishment was running for cover. Yet during Obama's visit to Iraq last week, it was the presumptive Democratic nominee who was enjoying a love fest with embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, who told the world -- including US voters -- that Obama's timetable was on the right track and that the quicker US forces got out of Iraq, the better. The net result, ironically, is that the antiwar candidate who predicted failure is benefiting most from the war's success. Thanks to the surge he opposed, the policy Obama championed -- a relatively swift and steady withdrawal of US combat forces over 16 months, conditions permitting -- no longer looks dangerous, irresponsible or an invitation to defeat.

The GOP's Sisyphus - Joan Vennochi, Boston Globe opinion

Believing John McCain could beat Barack Obama now seems as ridiculous as believing the surge could work. Wait, the surge did work - at least to the extent that Obama, America's presumptive president, could travel to Iraq to promote his plan for phased withdrawal. Despite that inconvenient truth, it is still hard to imagine McCain stopping destiny's child. Like Sisyphus, the Republican is pushing a heavy boulder up a steep hill. It is weighted down by his own flubs and flaws, the unpopularity of George W. Bush, the price of gas, and the increasing aura of inevitability surrounding Obama. In terms of imagery, Obama's foreign trip was nothing but net.

Back to the Future - Joseph Galloway, Miami Herald opinion

The events of last week served to underline the fact that the war on terrorism was always really about Afghanistan and Pakistan and that President Bush's splendid little adventure in Iraq was always a sideshow, even though it siphoned off the biggest chunk of manpower and resources. The president and his would-be Republican successor, Sen. John McCain, had barely completed even one Iraq victory lap singing hosannas to the surge when they were obliged to begin thinking and talking about how they're going to shore up a failing policy in Afghanistan. They'd do well, as would McCain's opposite number, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, to give some serious thought to what's happening, or not happening, as the case may be, in neighboring Pakistan.

Obama's Excellent Adventure - Oliver North, Washington Times

"What's this guy running for, 'Emperor of the world?' " asked the sunburned fellow at the next table where we stopped for lunch. Mr. Sunburn was holding a copy of the Charleston Post and Courier and pointing to a headline, "Obama pledges to work for peace." The inquiry, addressed to those sitting beside him elicited only shrugs, so he answered his own question. "Just doesn't make any sense to me." The Obama Machine's, "Hope & Change World Tour" has left more than a few people perplexed. Some - like the gentleman beside us at the restaurant - are American voters who wonder why the presumptive Democrat nominee is campaigning in foreign countries for president of the United States. Others seem baffled by the places and people chosen for meetings and photo-ops with the candidate. Apparently, among the mystified are members of the media who should have been asking tough questions. A brief look at what actually took place during this 10-day soiree only adds to the confusion.

Media's Favoritism of Obama - Clarence Page, Baltimore Sun opinion

A respected group of media researchers has found that Sen. Barack Obama gets a lot more coverage than Sen. John McCain. I didn't need a think tank to tell me that. After all, Madonna gets more coverage than Mr. McCain does, too, even when she doesn't want it - although it is hard to imagine when she wouldn't. Mr. Obama gets more media attention than Mr. McCain because, as we have heard over and over again, he is the rock star of today's political scene. Mr. McCain, by contrast, is an attractive candidate and war hero who is less intriguing precisely because, in a political world where fresh and new have become the highest virtue, we know him so well.

MEDITERRANEAN UNION

The Mediterranean Union - Washington Times editorial

The newly established Union for the Mediterranean is not yet fully formed, but members have already announced rather lofty ambitions for the organization, such as ridding the Mideast of weapons of mass destruction. The union was praised by leaders from the start, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who hailed its grounding focus on "practical projects" - as compared to the previous union established in Barcelona in 1995. However, its nuclear proliferation goals are unrealistic. The revived Euro-Mediterranean vision began as a proposal during French President Nicholas Sarkozy's election campaign, and subsequently evolved from ambitions to generate dialogue between the 27 EU member-states, North Africa and Middle Eastern nations. The new Mediterranean organization calls for a North-South co-presidency and a permanent secretariat. In order to equally distribute power and representation, heads of state from each of the member nations will hold a summit every two years.

AFRICA

South Africa Tells Mugabe to Surrender - R W Johnson, The Times

The president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, has been warned by Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, that he faces prosecution for the crimes he has committed during his 28 years in office unless he signs a deal to give up all effective power. Mbeki, who has done all he can to shield and support Mugabe for the past eight years, has come under overwhelming western pressure and has had to tell Mugabe that he could no longer protect him and his key cronies from being charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The power-sharing talks between Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are shrouded in secrecy.

In Zimbabwe Talks, Who Will Get the Real Power? - Celia Dugger, New York Times

As negotiators for President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai began power-sharing talks on Thursday in South Africa, they confronted one seemingly unbridgeable divide: which man would have the real executive power in a unity government? Mr. Mugabe’s governing party, ZANU-PF, insisted that Mr. Mugabe, as the victor in a runoff that has been denounced internationally as a sham, would name any new government, The Herald, a state-owned newspaper, reported Friday. But the opposition says Mr. Tsvangirai, who outpolled Mr. Mugabe in March elections and dropped out of the runoff, citing murderous violence against supporters, must be in charge.

Mugabe's Power Play - Richard Dowden, The Guardian

It is clear what Robert Mugabe wants to see from the talks with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that began in South Africa on Thursday. On December 27 1987 he sat down with Joshua Nkomo, the leader of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (Zapu) and signed a unity accord. It followed seven years of sustained violence against Nkomo's party in which some 18,000 people died. The creation of a government of national unity made Nkomo vice-president. Three Zapu leaders were given cabinet posts. They might as well have been hamsters in a cage on Mugabe's desk. This is what Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the MDC, must remember as he sits down at the talks. Like Nkomo, his party has been battered, with many of his MPs dead, in hiding or facing charges, and more than 1,500 officials in prison. The mediator, Thabo Mbeki, and other African presidents would be happy with a deal similar to the 1987 accord. But will the MDC be able to arm-wrestle a deal that leads to Mugabe stepping down or to free and fair elections - or even a joint Mugabe/Tsvangirai control of the state and its security apparatus? The question, as Humpty Dumpty said, is: who is to be master?

Separatist Movement Seeks Support - Gus Constantine, Washington Times

The leader of a secessionist-minded movement from the western African nation of Cameroon is in Washington to drum up support for yet another state on the crowded continent. "I am here to seek the help of African ambassadors and others in a just cause," Fongum Gorji-Dinka said in a recent interview. He and Cameroonians who live in the United States have made the case for a new state of Ambazonia on moral and legal grounds. They argue that the inhabitants of the breakaway region, a German colony until Kaiser Wilhelm II's empire was defeated in World War I, became a British colony while the larger portion of the German territories went to France and became the current state of Cameroon.

Illegal Dumping and Fishing - Galrahn, Information Dissemination

One of the claims by pirates in Somalia is that they operate as the national coast guard. The claim is that Europeans and constantly dumping chemicals into the water, and they also legitimately protect the fishing off Somalia. Say what you want, but the fishing off Somalia is not trivial, a full boat can haul catches that run 50% to 150% more than fishing in other areas. There are no coast guards for failed states, and without a coast guard Somalia is an excellent example of the consequences.

AMERICAS

Cocaine Sustains War Despite Rebel Losses - Simon Romero, New York Times

Along with Colombia’s successes in fighting leftist rebels this year, cities like Medellín have staged remarkable recoveries. And in the upscale districts of Bogotá, the capital, it is almost possible to forget that the country remains mired in a devilishly complex four-decade-old war. But it is a different story in the mountains of the Nariño department. Here, and elsewhere in large parts of the countryside, the violence and fear remain unrelenting, underscoring the difficulty of ending a war fueled by a drug trade that is proving immune to American-financed efforts to stop it. Soaring coca cultivation, forced disappearances, assassinations, the displacement of families and the planting of land mines stubbornly persist, the hallmarks of a backlands conflict that threatens to drag on for years, even without the once spectacular actions of guerrillas in Colombia’s large cities.

R. Castro Warns of Tough Times Ahead - Marc Lacey, New York Times

President Raúl Castro used a speech Saturday on the 55th anniversary of the beginning of the Cuban revolution not to unveil any new changes but to call on everyday Cubans to prepare for tough times in the days ahead. Citing the global economic downturn and the rising cost of oil, Mr. Castro said Cuba and other countries in the developing world face severe challenges that would require belt-tightening and patience. “We must bear in mind that we are living in the midst of a true world crisis which is not only economic but also related with climate change, the irrational use of energy and a great number of other problems,” he said.

S. America Hit by Youth Protests - Hilary Stohs-Krause, Washington Times

The 1968 riots in Paris and the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing may be better known, but student movements have emerged most strongly in Latin America in recent years. Student activism is on the rise in Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Chile, Venezuela and Brazil, and has resulted in several substantial victories. Student movements "have historically played a very central role" in many South American countries, said Harley Shaiken, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley and chairman of the university's Center for Latin American Studies.

ASIA PACIFIC

Islamist Bombers Target Olympics - Michael Sheridan, The Times

A militant Islamic group has threatened to attack the Beijing Olympics with suicide bombers and biological weapons and has claimed responsibility for a string of fatal bombings and explosions in China over recent weeks. In a video released by IntelCenter, a terrorism monitoring group, a bearded man identified as “Commander Seyfullah” is seen reading a declaration of jihad against the Olympics and warns athletes and spectators, “especially Muslims”, to stay away. It was issued by a group calling itself the Turkestan Islamic party. The group may be allied with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement - designated a terrorist organisation by the US, China and several other countries - which seeks independence for the Muslim Uighur people of China’s far west province of Xinjiang, which Uighur separatists call East Turkestan.

A Long Wait at the Gate to Greatness - John Pomfret, Washington Post opinion

Nikita Khrushchev said the Soviet Union would bury us, but these days, everybody seems to think that China is the one wielding the shovel. The People's Republic is on the march -- economically, militarily, even ideologically. Economists expect its GDP to surpass America's by 2025; its submarine fleet is reportedly growing five times faster than Washington's; even its capitalist authoritarianism is called a real alternative to the West's liberal democracy. China, the drumbeat goes, is poised to become the 800-pound gorilla of the international system, ready to dominate the 21st century the way the United States dominated the 20th. Except that it's not.

Still in Love With the Past - Nicole Mones, Washington Post opinion

Been to China lately? There are a lot of new things to see. Avant-garde monoliths -- the China Central Television (CCTV) tower, the National Center for Performing Arts and the National Stadium, to name just three -- rise in Beijing. Shanghai's skyline looks like a fantasy straight out of "The Jetsons." Guangzhou has been transformed almost beyond recognition. China has spent the last 15 years rebuilding its cities to be aggressively, almost desperately, modern. As the Summer Olympics focus the world's attention on the Middle Kingdom, its new architecture is turning cartwheels to send the message: Look. We've arrived. But Americans and other tourists rarely bother with these monuments to the future. They seek out historical sites and those last few neighborhoods where an old way of life can still be glimpsed.

'Managed Democracy' in Cambodian - Olivia Ward, Toronto Star

He's not as heavy-handed as Burma's military rulers, nor as sophisticated as Singapore's premier. But Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen – once a card-carrying member of the genocidal Khmer Rouge – practises his own brand of "managed democracy" that has convinced most people that their battered country has at last achieved stability. His Cambodian People's Party is expected to win a smooth victory in parliamentary elections today, sprinting ahead of its rivals and consolidating Hun Sen's three-decade hold on power. The vote is being held during a crisis over contested land near an historic temple at the border with Thailand. Cambodia won a UN World Heritage Site designation for the temple, which is surrounded by land claimed by Thailand. Phnom Penh has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to help avert a military confrontation if talks between the two neighbours fail.

Cambodians Go to Polls Amid Thai Border Dispute - Associated Press

A dispute with neighboring Thailand over border land near an 11th century Hindu temple has sparked nationalist pride throughout Cambodia and strengthened the longtime prime minister's popularity ahead of parliamentary elections Sunday. Thailand sent troops to the border after Thai anti-government demonstrators assembled near the Preah Vihear temple earlier this month. Cambodia responded by sending its own troops and its government says the dispute has triggered "an imminent state of war." The temple has fueled nationalist sentiment in both countries on-and-off for decades, and the latest military confrontation between the two Southeast Asian neighbors has upstaged Sunday's election.

Rice Tells Fiji to Hold Elections on Time - Reuters

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pressed Fiji in a meeting of Pacific foreign ministers in Samoa on Saturday to ensure the country's military rulers held elections as promised in March 2009. Rice arrived in Samoa from Auckland for a three-hour stop-over where she joined more than a dozen ministers from the Pacific Forum to discuss Fiji, maritime security and climate change, among other issues, said a senior US official.

EUROPE

One Call and it Was Over for Karadzic - Colvin and Wander, The Times

As the long-haired, bearded man who had become known as the local eccentric walked out of the Leotar supermarket in a suburb of Belgrade nine days ago, he unexpectedly turned back to the checkout girls. “I want to say goodbye,” he said. “I’m going on vacation. I need a rest, I’ve been working a lot.” He could not know how prescient his words were. Radovan Karadzic, 63, wartime leader of the Bosnian Serbs and one of the most wanted men in the world, had only a few hours of freedom left after almost 13 years on the run.

Will Arrest Bring Serbia Back to Europe? - Doug Saunders, Globe and Mail

This week, those democratic-minded Serbs began paying off the last and most onerous of the war reparations thrust upon them. We don't officially call them that – war reparations are supposed to be a vestige of the past, something that went out of fashion after the First World War. Nowadays, we are supposed to help defeated countries get back on their feet, not punish them. But there is no disguising the debt being paid with Serbia's stunning arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who hid for years beneath a heavy beard and an alternative-medicine practice in the high-rise outskirts of this city, and will likely be delivered to a United Nations war-crimes tribunal in the Hague this weekend. For the families of the thousands killed in Europe's worst ethnic slaughters since the Holocaust, this was pure justice.

Genocide’s Epic Hero - Aleksandar Hemon, New York Times opinion

On Oct. 14, 1991, Radovan Karadzic spoke at a session of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Parliament, which had been debating a referendum on independence from the rump Yugoslavia. Mr. Karadzic was there to warn the Parliament members against following the Slovenes and Croats, who had broken away earlier that year, down “the highway of hell and suffering.” He thundered, “Do not think you will not lead Bosnia and Herzegovina into hell and the Muslim people into possible annihilation, as the Muslim people cannot defend themselves in case of war here.” Throughout his tirade, he clutched the lectern edges, as though about to hurl it at his audience, but then let go of it to stab the air with his forefinger at the word “annihilation.” The Bosnian president, Alija Izetbegovic, a Muslim, was visibly distressed. It was a spectacular, if blood-curdling, performance. Mr. Karadzic, who was arrested last week after 13 years in hiding, was then president of the hard-line nationalist Serbian Democratic Party, which already controlled the parts of Bosnia that had a Serbian majority, but he was not a member of the Parliament, nor did he hold any elective office.

Justice Delayed - Jeffrey Kuhner, Washington Times opinion

Europe's most notorious war-crimes fugitive has finally been captured. Radovan Karadzic, the former leader of Bosnia's Serbs, is in a Belgrade jail. He will be extradited to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague to face trial for crimes against humanity. His arrest on Monday by Serbian security services was akin to a scene from a Robert Ludlum spy thriller. Mr. Karadzic was on the run for more than 10 years. He hid in plain sight in Belgrade by sporting a long, flowing white beard and thick glasses. He posed as a doctor practicing alternative medicine. Serbia's pro-Western government has demonstrated it is serious about capturing indicted war criminals - including those still at large, such as Gen. Ratko Mladic, the ex-military commander of the Bosnian Serbs. Serbia is now closer to closing a dark, bloody chapter in its history - a chapter marked by a policy of genocide and ethnic cleansing.

MIDDLE EAST

Blasts in Gaza Stoke Tensions - Isabel Kershner, New York Times

Hamas police officers in Gaza on Saturday rounded up scores of supporters of Fatah, the rival Palestinian movement, and raided its offices after five Hamas militants and a girl were killed in a bomb blast late Friday, local residents said. The explosion and the Hamas reaction stoked internal tensions in Gaza to one of their highest levels since the Hamas takeover of the Palestinian territory in June 2007. Hamas, the Islamic militant organization, blamed the mainstream Fatah for the deadly blast that followed two smaller explosions in Gaza on Friday, issuing a statement accusing the Fatah leadership in the West Bank, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, of concealing “a conspiracy to kill and assassinate and terrorize” Hamas security forces. Fatah denied involvement; a spokesman for Mr. Abbas suggested the killings were a result of a conflict in Hamas and charged Hamas officials with trying to cover up divisions in their own organization.

Hamas Seizes Abbas-run Agency in Gaza Crackdown - Reuters

Hamas security forces stormed the office of a Palestinian news agency run by President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday and arrested dozens from his Fatah faction in their biggest crackdown since seizing Gaza, Fatah sources said. The sweep, in which 162 Fatah activists were arrested including two faction officials, came in response to an explosion on Friday that killed five members of the armed wing of the Gaza Strip's ruling Islamist Hamas group and a girl. The blast, the third of its kind in a day, marked one of the biggest flare-ups in internal Gaza violence since Hamas routed the forces of Abbas's more secular Fatah faction to seize control of the coastal territory a year ago. The sources said Hamas security men seized computers and files at the Gaza offices of the WAFA news agency, a Palestinian media outlet run by Abbas, and stormed 40 other Fatah offices.

Arab Aid Doesn't Fulfill Pledges - Glenn Kessler, Washington Post

In 2002, when oil prices were hovering around $21 a barrel, nearly two dozen Arab nations joined to pledge yearly contributions of $660 million to support the Palestinian Authority's annual budget. Now, even with oil prices more than six times higher and the Palestinian Authority bordering on financial ruin, only a handful of Arab countries are sending even a small portion of the money they promised, according to data examined by The Washington Post. Out of 22 Arab nations that made pledges, only three -- Algeria, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- have contributed funds this year, while oil-rich countries such as Libya, Kuwait and Qatar have sent nothing and still owe the Palestinian government more than $700 million in past-due pledges.

Saudis Face Soaring Blood-Money Sums - Faiza Saleh Ambah, Washington Post

Badr al-Hasnani was 18 when he got into a fight with a soccer rival and fatally stabbed him. He confessed and was sentenced to death by beheading, as prescribed by sharia, or Islamic law. For more than two years, Hasnani has been in a juvenile detention center awaiting execution while his family has tried to save him. The parents of the victim, Majid al-Mahmoudi, have three options under sharia: to demand punishment, to spare Hasnani's life to receive blessings from God, or to grant clemency in exchange for diyah, or blood money. The Mahmoudis agreed to accept diyah, setting the sum at $2 million in cash, much more than Hasnani's family can afford. Hasnani's case highlights the growing trend of exorbitant blood-money demands, which many say are fueled by greed and tribal rivalries. Last month, tribal leaders in the central city of Kharj demanded nearly $11 million to pardon a man who had killed a member of their tribe.

Soldier's Fate Linked to Israel's PM - Dow Malmur, Toronto Star opinion

Israel's asymmetrical deal with Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based terrorist organization, seems to have complicated negotiations with Hamas, which rules Gaza where Cpl. Gilad Shalit is held hostage. To get back the remains of two soldiers who were captured by Hezbollah some two years ago, Israel had to return not only a large number of their fallen but also several living terrorists, including Samir Kuntar, convicted of murdering a child. In view of the high price Israel was prepared to pay for two dead members of its armed forces, Hamas is now expecting massive concessions for the return of Shalit, who was captured around the same time and is said to be alive. Periodically we've been told that negotiations via a third party, apparently Egypt, will lead to his imminent release, but of late, new obstacles have been reported. Hamas may be making fresh demands. The situation prompts, first, the thought that if Shalit stays in captivity much longer, he may also come back in a coffin. This would be yet another national tragedy for Israel.

SOUTH ASIA

More Deadly Bomb Blasts Rock India - Steve Herman, Voice of America

A day after serial bombings in India's high-tech hub, Bangalore, there have been numerous blasts in Ahmedabad, western India's commercial and cultural capital. Authorities report at least 29 people are dead and more than 100 injured there following 16 separate explosions in and around the capital of the state of Gujarat. As investigators in Bangalore were seeking clues amid the debris from a series of low intensity explosions there, a similar group of blasts hit another Indian city Saturday evening. The latest target: the capital of the state of Gujarat. While only one person died in the Bangalore bombings, the number of dead and injured in Ahmedabad is much higher. Authorities say the explosive devices were placed in lunch canisters on bicycles which were parked at crowded markets. One bomb also exploded at a trauma center where some of the injured had been taken.

Deadly Bombs Strike India's West - Emily Wax, Washington Post

At least 29 people were killed and 88 injured when as many as 16 small blasts tore through the western city of Ahmedabad on Saturday evening. It was the second synchronized bomb attack in India in two days. The coordinated, low-intensity blasts occurred outside a diamond market, near a hospital, next to a railway station and inside a bus, a day after at least seven small explosions killed two people in the southern technology hub of Bangalore. There were no leads in the investigation in Bangalore, a cosmopolitan city known as India's Silicon Valley.

At Least 45 Killed in Explosions in India - Somini Sengupta, New York Times

For the second time in two days, small explosions rocked an Indian city, this time in Ahmedabad on Saturday evening, killing at least 45 people. The Indian government said cities across the country had been put on alert for similar attacks. At least 16 explosions went off shortly after 6:30 p.m. in several crowded neighborhoods in the western city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat State, the chief minister, Narendra Modi, told reporters late Saturday. Mr. Modi said 88 people were wounded. One of the targets was a public bus, which appeared to be badly damaged, according to televised reports. As crowded as those neighborhoods appeared, the casualties would have been far greater had more powerful explosives been used. Law enforcement authorities did not immediately say who might have been responsible.

Pakistan Hopes Visit Will Yield Funds - Karen DeYoung, Washington Post

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani has a clear agenda for his inaugural visit to Washington this week: He wants more aid, more patience and less pressure from the United States as his four-month-old coalition government develops a strategy to combat Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in the tribal areas along his country's border with Afghanistan. But while Gillani may leave town with more money -- targeted toward education, development and assistance to cope with skyrocketing food and fuel prices -- US patience is likely to be in short supply, with the Bush administration publicly chastising the new Pakistani leadership for its reluctance to move aggressively against terrorist redoubts inside its territory.

Pakistan and India Need to Normalize - Trudy Rubin, Philadelphia Inquirer opinion

Better relations with India "are a top priority," Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi told guests, emphatically, at a recent private dinner in Villanova, organized by the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia. Speaking the elegant English of a Cambridge University graduate, he insisted: "There is a large constituency on both sides that wants normalization. There may be hiccups, but we will forge ahead." This policy - if Pakistan's new civilian government really pursues it - is of crucial importance to the United States and the wider world.

Sri Lanka Fighting Kills 74, Mostly Rebels - Reuters

Sri Lankan troops continued their offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels in two days of fighting in the north that killed 66 Tigers and eight soldiers, the military said on Saturday. The fighting in the district of Jafna, Vavuiya Polonnaruwa, Mannar and Mullaitivu came three days after the government dismissed a declaration by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of a unilateral ceasefire from July 26 to August 4.

EVENTS OF INTEREST

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

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

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