IRAQ

Maliki Suggests US Troop Timetable - Raghavan and DeYoung, Washington Post

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has for the first time suggested establishing a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, a step that the Bush administration has long opposed. Maliki raised the idea Monday during a visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he spoke with Arab ambassadors about a security pact being negotiated to determine the future US military role in Iraq.

Iraqi Favors Short Security Pact With US - Sabrina Tavernese, New York Times

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki publicly confirmed Monday that his government was leaning toward concluding a short-term security pact with the United States instead of a broader agreement that would last for years. The legal authority for American troops in Iraq is now provided by a United Nations mandate that expires at the end of the year. Iraq and the United States have been negotiating details of a broad new agreement that would formalize the security relationship, but with elections nearing in both countries and opposition likely from the Iraqi Parliament, Iraqi leaders seemed to be opting for a narrower and short-term pact.

PM Advocates Withdrawal Timetable - Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times

Bolstered by recent Iraqi military successes, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki proposed Monday that negotiators include a timetable for the departure of US troops in any agreement to continue the American presence in Iraq beyond the end of the year. The suggestion, made during an official visit to the United Arab Emirates, appeared aimed at easing domestic fears that the deal would impinge on Iraqi sovereignty and clear the way for permanent American bases. The Iraqi leader also recognizes that American opinion has turned against the war and believes his country should not wait for a decision to be made in Washington to pull out troops, according to lawmakers from his Islamic Dawa Party.

Iraq Demands Timetable - James Hider, The Times

Iraq said for the first time yesterday that it wanted to set a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from its territory. President Bush has long resisted a schedule for pulling his 145,000 soldiers out, arguing that it would play into the hands of insurgents. Nouri al-Maliki, the Shia Prime Minister, who boasted last week that he had crushed terrorism in the country, suggested that it was time to start setting time-lines.

Gains in Iraq May Lead to Pullouts - Jim Michaels, USA Today

Security in Iraq continues to improve even after the withdrawal of nearly 25% of US combat brigades, increasing the prospects of further cuts in American forces. Although US commanders are cautious about predicting further withdrawals, interviews with military experts and recent official statements indicate growing optimism about the potential to pull out more forces. "I believe the momentum we have is not reversible," said Jack Keane, a retired Army vice chief of staff who helped develop the Iraq strategy adopted by President Bush in January 2007.

US Not Fixing Date for Iraq Withdrawal - AFP

The White House said today it was not negotiating a "hard date" for a US withdrawal from Iraq despite Baghdad's call for a timetable, but did not rule out "time-frames" discussions with the Iraqi government. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said for the first time today that Iraq was seeking such a timetable as part of its negotiations with Washington on the status of US forces in Iraq beyond 2008. But White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said the talks were aimed at reaching agreement on a framework for future US-Iraqi relations and on the arrangements that will govern the US military presence.

Mr. Obama on Iraq - Washington Post editorial

Barack Obama has taken a small but important step toward adjusting his outdated position on Iraq to the military and strategic realities of the war he may inherit. Sadly, he seems to be finding that the strident and rigid posture he struck during the primary campaign -- during which he promised to withdraw all combat forces in 16 months -- is inhibiting what looks like a worthy, necessary attempt to create the room for maneuver he will need to capably manage the war if he becomes president. Mr. Obama's shift came when he was asked last week about his withdrawal plan, which he first proposed in late 2006, a time when Iraq appeared to be sliding into a sectarian civil war. Since then, a new U.S. counterinsurgency strategy has helped bring about a dramatic drop in violence, and the Iraqi government has gained control over most of the country.

The Wrong Partnership for Iraq - Delahunt and DeLauro, Washington Post opinion

The June 15 editorial " A Partnership With Iraq" criticized Democrats in Congress for opposing the proposed long-term military agreement between the United States and Iraq that would replace the UN mandate under which US forces are fighting. The editorial called the agreement a way of "countering Iran's attempt to dominate the Middle East." We have examined this issue for many months and believe that The Post's position is badly misguided. First, the editorial failed to recognize congressional obligations, imposed by the Constitution, on governing the use of our armed forces. The Post argued that barring a "formal commitment to defend Iraq from external aggression," congressional approval of the agreement is not required. Yet constitutional scholars testifying before the oversight subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee have stated that "the authority to fight" that the administration seeks from Iraq does indeed require congressional approval. Requiring international legal approval of combat is what makes this agreement anything but what the administration incorrectly calls it: a "status of forces agreement."

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

Blast Kills 41 in Afghan Capital - Wafa and Cowell, New York Times

A huge blast from a suicide car bomb at the gates of the Indian Embassy in Kabul killed 41 people and wounded more than 130 on Monday in the latest sign of a sharp deterioration in Afghanistan, where combat deaths have surpassed Iraq’s in the past two months. It was the deadliest suicide car bombing in Kabul since the American-led invasion of Afghanistan ousted the Taliban in 2001. It comes as Afghan and Western officials have noted with alarm both the weakness of the government of President Hamid Karzai and the growing strength of Pakistani militants in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

Suicide Bombing Leaves 40 Dead - Hamdard and Candace Rondeaux, Washington Post

At least 40 people were killed and 141 injured Monday in a powerful suicide blast near the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan's capital, Afghan officials said. The explosion ripped through a crowd of people waiting in line for visas at the Indian Embassy in the center of Kabul, said Ali Shah Paktiwal, chief of the Interior Ministry's criminal investigations division. Authorities initially feared that the blast had struck the nearby ministry headquarters, but as the smoke and pandemonium began to dissipate, the grisly scene in front of the embassy indicated that the Indian diplomatic mission had been targeted.

Kabul Bomb Kills Indian Military Attaché - Tom Coghlan, The Times

India's Defence Attaché to Afghanistan was among those killed yesterday morning as a huge car bomb attack on the country's embassy in Kabul left 41 dead and 139 injured. It was the worst attack in the Afghan capital since 2001. The blast, at 8.30am local time, rocked the Afghan capital and shattered shop windows within a radius of several hundred metres leaving the Indian Embassy, which lies just a few hundred metres from the Afghan Interior Ministry in one of Kabul's busiest streets, badly damaged.

Afghanistan Hints at Foreign Role - Faiez and King, Los Angeles Times

The massive car bomb that killed more than 40 people outside the Indian Embassy here Monday has stoked regional tensions and threatened to erode already diminishing confidence in the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Afghanistan's Interior Ministry indirectly blamed Pakistan for the suicide attack, the deadliest in Kabul since the fall of the Taliban movement in 2001. Nearly 150 people were injured in the bombing, an audacious strike in what had previously been considered a well-secured area of the capital.

Kabul Blast Deepens Tension - Graeme Clark, Globe and Mail

Kabul's worst bombing since the start of the insurgency was aimed at the heart of a tense relationship between countries in the region, deepening the intrigue between Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Even before crews had cleaned up the blood, shattered glass and tangled metal in the streets outside India's damaged embassy yesterday, the Afghan Interior Ministry issued a statement blaming the attack on “an active intelligence service in the region,” a clear reference to Pakistani agents.

Reports Warn of More Strikes in Kabul - Sarah Carter, Washington Times

Afghan authorities are on the lookout for suicide bombers in cars, burqas and other disguises after a massive attack on the Indian Embassy on Monday - the biggest attack in the capital since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. A series of US and Afghan intelligence reports obtained by The Washington Times hours after the attack warned of more to come.

Rivalries Could Reignite Explosive Conflict - Richard Beeston, The Times

The bomb attack in Kabul was more than just another act of violence by the Taleban in their campaign to destabilise Afghanistan and Pakistan. For the first time in years a significant Indian target was attacked by Islamic militants. Both Afghans and Indians suspect that the bombing was carried out with the connivance of Pakistan’s notorious intelligence service, which is seeking to undermine India’s growing influence in Afghanistan and its support for the Government of President Karzai.

Afghan War Finally Grabs US Attention - Tim Harper, Toronto Star

The war in which Canadians are dying in disproportionate numbers has long been America's "forgotten war." Until now. Pushed by a spike in American fatalities and a series of grim intelligence assessments, Afghanistan is now on the agenda in the US presidential election, with the urgency of the situation driven home by a massive suicide bombing yesterday in Kabul that killed 41 people. With the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan finally emerging on the American radar, the Bush administration has extended the tour of 2,200 US Marines in the volatile south for 30 days.

US Military: Taliban Skews News of Deaths - USA Today

US commanders said Sunday that the Taliban is making up stories of accidental killings of civilians in Afghanistan to discredit the NATO effort to defeat Islamist militants. Army Gen. David McKiernan, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, told the Associated Press that two allegations of civilian deaths in battle were being investigated, but he and other US officials said Taliban militants often hide among civilians and press them to make false claims. "Whenever we do an airstrike, the first thing they're going to cry is 'Airstrike killed civilians,' when the missile actually struck militant extremists we were targeting," said a US spokesman, 1st Lt. Nathan Perry. "We don't believe we've harmed anyone except for the combatants."

The Taleban: A Proxy War - The Times editorial

The suicide bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul is the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since the US forces toppled the Taleban Government in 2001. It is also a vicious warning not only of the growing strength of the insurgency but also of the undeclared struggle for influence over their northern neighbour by both India and Pakistan. For centuries, India has been preoccupied with security on its northwest frontier - the route by which so many invasions came. The British, too, spent money and blood guarding this strategic gateway. After independence, both Pakistan and India saw strategic advantage in denying each other control of Afghanistan, and each has long regarded influence in Kabul as a matter of vital national importance. Their proxy war has contributed to instability of the region. It has been costly to themselves: the lawlessness of Pakistan's frontier provinces has been encouraged by the free movement of warlords and religious extremists across the border; and India lost four embassy staff, including its defence attaché, among the 41 victims of yesterday's blast.

Afghanistan: From Bad to Worse - Miami Herald editorial

When President Bush said last week that June had been a ''tough month'' in Afghanistan, where more US and NATO troops died during the past two months than in Iraq, he was pointing to a growing problem in this country's military commitments overseas. The problem consists of having too many soldiers pinned down in one place -- Iraq -- and not enough devoted to fighting an increasingly difficult struggle in another -- Afghanistan. It's unlikely that Mr. Bush can do anything in his remaining months in office to keep the problem from getting worse.

IRAN

'West Tried to X-ray Ahmadinejad to Death' - David Byers, The Times

Iran's ambassador to Italy has claimed that Western agents attempted to assassinate his country's President using radiation poisoning during a trip to Rome. Abolfazl Zohrehvand was quoted by the Iranian state news agency as saying that the plot to take Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's life would have involved inflicting him with extreme radiation poisoning at the place where he stayed during the UN World Food Summit.

THE LONG WAR

Hearings, Rulings on Gitmo Cases to Start - Tom Ramstack, Washington Times

The US District Court for the District of Columbia will hold its first hearing Tuesday on cases of detainees at the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to comply with a Supreme Court ruling that granted the terrorism suspects access to federal courts. During Tuesday's hearing, federal judges plan to rule on issues common to all of the Guantanamo detainee cases to be brought before the court and to set schedules for future hearings.

Compromising the Constitution - New York Times editorial

Congress has been far too compliant as President Bush undermined the Bill of Rights and the balance of powers. It now has a chance to undo some of that damage - if it has the courage and good sense to stand up to the White House and for the Constitution. The Senate should reject a bill this week that would needlessly expand the government’s ability to spy on Americans and ensure that the country never learns the full extent of President Bush’s unlawful wiretapping. The bill dangerously weakens the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. Adopted after the abuses of the Watergate and Vietnam eras.

War Powers Where They Belong - Baker and Christopher, New York Times opinion

The most agonizing decision we make as a nation is whether to go to war. Our Constitution ambiguously divides war powers between the president (who is the commander in chief) and Congress (which has the power of the purse and the power to declare war). The founders hoped that the executive and legislative branches would work together, but in practice the two branches don’t always consult. And even when they do, they often dispute their respective powers. A bipartisan group that we led, the National War Powers Commission, has unanimously concluded after a year of study that the law purporting to govern the decision to engage in war - the 1973 War Powers Resolution - should be replaced by a new law that would, except for emergencies, require the president and Congressional leaders to discuss the matter before going to war.

The Prescient 'Clash of Civilizations' - H.D.S. Greenway, Boston Globe opinion

Fifteen years have passed since Foreign Affairs published Samuel Huntington's "The Clash of Civilizations?" in its summer issue. It has subsequently become the most sought after article for reprints in the magazine's history. It, and the book by the same title minus the question mark, caused a storm among political scientists, many of whom simply refused to believe that, after the end of the Cold War, future conflicts would be over something so old fashioned. Only George Kennan's article on how to contain the USSR after World War II, bylined X, can compete with Huntington's in terms of influence. "The dominant source of conflict will be cultural," Huntington famously predicted, and "fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future."

Islamists' Catch-22 - Frank Gaffney Jr., Washington Times opinion

Try a little thought experiment. What would have happened in this country during the Cold War if the Soviet Union successfully neutralized anti-communists opposed to the Kremlin's plans for world domination? Of course, Moscow strove to discredit those in America and elsewhere who opposed its totalitarian agenda - especially after Sen. Joseph McCarthy's excesses made it fashionable to vilify patriots by accusing them of believing communists were "under every bed." But what if the USSR and its ideological soul-mates in places like China, North Korea, Cuba, Eastern Europe and parts of Africa had been able to criminalize efforts to oppose their quest for the triumph of world communism? What if it had been an internationally prosecutable offense even to talk about the dangers inherent in communist rule and the need to resist it?

Suspect Excesses? - Bruce Fein, Washington Times opinion

President Bush's post-Sept. 11, 2001, excesses are alarmingly reminiscent of Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse-tung. On July 2, 2008, the New York Times reported that interrogation methods employed by the military in 2002 at Guantanamo Bay and by the Central Intelligence Agency were copied from Chinese communist coercive techniques used during the Koran War to extract false confessions from American prisoners, for example, complicity in germ warfare or sister abominations. The techniques included prolonged standing in extreme cold (described as one form of torture); semi-starvation; exploitation of wounds; and, filthy, infested surroundings. Mr. Bush aped Chairman Mao's tactics fashioned to obtain lies. And imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. In Mr. Bush's "Alice in Wonderland" defense, in contrast to Mao, he may have told the CIA to believe only the false confessions are true and to disregard the remainder.

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

US Must Pay for Rocket-test Cleanup - Jim McElhatton, Washington Times

One of the nation's largest federal defense contractors says the US government should pay the cleanup costs - likely in the tens of millions of dollars or more - from pollutants leaked during the production and testing of US military and space rockets. Federal policies at one former Lockheed Propulsion Co. rocket plant in California allowed for burning toxic chemical waste in open, unlined dirt pits during the 1970s, according to a lawsuit that Lockheed Martin Corp. filed against the US government. The practice has been linked to pollution in groundwater and soil.

AUSTRALIA DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

Call to Submerge Our Naval Force - Patrick Walters, The Australian

Australia needs a larger and more potent submarine fleet armed with land-strike missiles and should consider a historic shift away from big surface warships. In a new study, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute argues that the emerging build-up of navies throughout the region, which includes growing numbers of submarines and the deployment of supersonic sea-skimming missiles by Russia, China and India, is making surface ships more vulnerable. ASPI's Andrew Davies says that rapidly evolving technologies are calling into question the survivability of warships such as the navy's $8billion air warfare destroyers, which will enter service from 2014.

AFRICA

Africa Will Suffer if Mugabe Stays in Power - Webster and Parry, The Times

World leaders are expected to threaten tougher sanctions against Zimbabwe today unless African nations take a stronger role in negotiations to remove President Mugabe. The G8 told seven African leaders yesterday that unless they acted to deal with the “illegitimate” President, trade and investment on the continent could be hit, officials disclosed. President Mbeki of South Africa had an uncomfortable time during the session as several leaders, including President Bush, expressed dissatisfaction at his failure to bring Mr Mugabe to book. Mr Bush called last month’s election a sham and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, said that she would back more sanctions.

Bush Pushes Hard Line on Zimbabwe - Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times

As world leaders convened in this resort town in northern Japan on Monday for three days of talks on issues including climate change and rising food and energy prices, the agenda quickly shifted to the political crisis in Zimbabwe, exposing a split between Western and African leaders. The leaders of seven African countries and eight industrialized nations emerged divided after three hours of closed-door meetings dominated by the crisis in Zimbabwe, where Robert Mugabe was sworn in last month for a sixth term as president. He was re-elected in a one-candidate runoff that leaders around the world called a sham after weeks of violence against his opposition.

Rebuffs On Key Issues at G-8 - Michael Abramowitz, Washington Post

President Bush has worked hard over the past few years to cultivate good relations with many world leaders, but as a summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations got underway Monday, he was once again discovering the limitations of those efforts. Bush is pushing here for a new round of sanctions against Zimbabwe and a strong statement from fellow G-8 leaders slamming President Robert Mugabe for his thuggish actions in the recent election -- but he encountered public resistance from a friend attending the gathering, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.

G8 Heads Urge African Leaders to Oust Mugabe - Campbell Clark, Globe and Mail

Group of Eight leaders yesterday pushed the heads of African nations to take strong steps toward forcing Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe out of power, exposing divisions between major developed countries and Africans, who raised fears that tougher action might tip the volatile country into civil war. In two sessions at a summit in Japan, G8 leaders - including Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper - grilled representatives of seven African nations on what they view as failed diplomatic efforts to bring stability to Zimbabwe, warning that the West opposes Africa's tolerance of Mr. Mugabe's regime and that the continent's economy and development could suffer as a result of that tolerance.

PM Blocks Progress at Summit - Les Whittington, Toronto Star

Canada is being accused by humanitarian groups here of acting as a barrier to progress on such major issues as the world food shortage, climate change and aid to Africa. Oxfam International, the charity and advocacy group, accused Stephen Harper's Conservative government of trying in the closed-door talks to weaken a major effort by G8 leaders meeting here to step up support for health programs in Africa. Rather than a firm G8 recommitment to spend $60 billion over several years to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases in Africa, Canada is trying to ensure that the G8's final communiqué refers to these measures only as a recommendation, according to Oxfam spokesperson Max Lawson and other activists here.

Masked Gangs Attack Zimbabwe Refugees - Jan Raath, The Times

Two camps housing refugees from the political violence in Zimbabwe came under armed attack in the early hours of yesterday only days after their occupants were removed from foreign embassies with government guarantees for their safety. Up to 20 masked men, armed with shotguns and knives, burst into the Ruwa rehabilitation centre east of Harare, clubbing men, women and children with gun butts as they slept in the squash courts of the old military base. At the same time, another armed gang invaded a camp at Gokwe, north of Harare, where other families targeted in the state-sponsored violence had been sheltering.

Mugabe Thugs Raid Refugee Camp - Thornycroft and Berger, Daily Telegraph

Zanu-PF militiamen have raided a refugee camp housing hundreds of opposition supporters supposedly under the protection of the Red Cross and United Nations agencies, in an indication of Robert Mugabe's disregard for international opinion. The 400-strong group at Ruwa rehabilitation centre sought refuge at a car park outside the South African embassy in Harare three weeks ago, before Zimbabwe's one-candidate presidential run-off.

Stiff Sentence for Failed African Coup - Reuters

British mercenary Simon Mann has been jailed for 34 years by a court in Equatorial Guinea for a failed 2004 coup plot. Mann, 56, an Eton-educated former army special forces officer, conspired to topple President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in the small, oil-producing West African state.

Africa Shrugs Off Warning From G8 - Toronto Star editorial

Remember the old Soviet-era factory floor joke? We pretend to work. And they pretend to pay us. The Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido suffered from the same corrosive cynicism yesterday as Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other G8 leaders tried, without success, to persuade African leaders to get tough with Robert Mugabe's lawless regime. The G8 leaders served notice that "the image of Africa was suffering" due to the continent's failure to confront Mugabe, who reinstalled himself as president of Zimbabwe after a bogus election. They pointed out, none too gently, that Africa needs not just the $25 billion more the G8 has promised in aid but also investment and trade. All will be in short supply unless the continent delivers better government.

Betraying African Dreams - Clarence Page, Washington Times opinion

If you've been following the sad news in Zimbabwe, you will hear the irony in the name of its capital city, Harare. In the language of the Shona people. It means "One who does not sleep." When I slipped into Zimbabwe a few years ago as a board member of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, I slept restlessly in fear of arrest. President Robert Mugabe had shut the door on visas to outside journalists. Attacks have since increased against the press and anyone else who does not toe Mr. Mugabe's political party line.

The Aid Africa Can't Afford - Luttwak and Tupy, Los Angeles Times opinion

African development is high on the list of topics for the leaders of the Group of 8 countries meeting in Hokkaido, Japan. The host country has already pledged to double its aid to Africa from the current $6.9 billion over the next five years. President Bush, arriving in Japan on Sunday, made it clear he planned to push other G-8 nations to meet their 2005 promises to increase African aid. Representatives of rich countries seem united in their belief that Africa would benefit from more international assistance and oblivious to the harm that aid has already inadvertently caused to African populations by propping up Africa's most dysfunctional states.

AMERICAS

Chávez Distances Himself From FARC - Juan Forero, Washington Post

At a May presidential summit in Brazil, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela sought out his Colombian counterpart and regional rival, Álvaro Uribe. The two had not spoken in months. But Chávez got right to the point, telling Uribe: "We haven't been giving money to the FARC," referring to the rebel group that has operated in Colombia since the 1960s. It was a step toward reconciliation. Now, after last week's daring Colombian military operation that rescued 15 high-profile hostages from those rebels, the next step will occur when Uribe and Chávez meet Friday in Caracas. Often tense over the years, their relationship broke badly after Uribe accused Chávez in March of aiding the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, as the peasant-based rebels are formally known.

Fear for Hostages Still in Jungle - Simon Romero, New York Times

The nation is euphoric after intelligence agents rescued 15 hostages from the clutches of guerrillas last week, but for Magdalena Rivas, the outlook is not so bright. Her son, Lt. Elkin Hernández Rivas, was a young police officer when FARC rebels snatched him a decade ago. “They rescued the trophy hostages, but what about those still in captivity?” a despondent Ms. Rivas, 59, said in an interview. She fears that his chances of coming home soon have been diminished by the spectacular ruse to trick the rebels and the resulting celebration of the hostage rescue.

Rescued Hostages Express Gratitude - William Branigin, Washington Post

Three American defense contractors expressed public gratitude yesterday for their rescue from rebels in Colombia last week and urged Americans not to forget hundreds of Colombians still held hostage in punishing conditions. One of the former captives, Marc Gonsalves, 36, of Bristol, Conn., called the rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, "terrorists with a capital T" and described abusive conditions that he said have caused even some of the organization's own guerrillas to kill themselves. Addressing the FARC, Gonsalves said: "Don't tell us you are not terrorists. Show us that you're not terrorists. Let those other hostages come home."

FARC Following '08 Race - Steve Salisbury, Washington Times

Marxist guerrillas of the FARC say they would be delighted to meet with both presumptive US presidential candidates, Sen. John McCain, the Republican, and his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama. "There's not much difference between McCain and Obama in the sense that they're both serving the big capitalist establishment," said a FARC political-military commissar in late June in the Sumapaz region of the Andean mountains, about 50 miles south of Bogota. "But we would be open to talk with McCain, Obama, the United States government and many others, in an environment of friendliness and being respected, to clear away misconceptions and misunderstandings and to look to solve problems."

Rebel Against the Rebels - USA Today editorial

Colombia's armed forces had tried to rescue hostages before, but when guerrillas holding them heard military helicopters coming, they typically shot their captives dead and melted into the jungle. Last week, though, helicopters were part of an elaborate ruse in which commandos in disguise tricked the guerrillas into handing over their highest profile hostages - three Americans and onetime Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt - without firing a shot. The plot will make a movie someday. The commandos took acting lessons, a government agent imitated the voice of a key guerilla commander to order the hostage transfer and, in a final bit of trickery, fake rebels ordered the hostages to don handcuffs before boarding the rescue helicopter.

11 Bodies Found in Tijuana Over 3 Days - Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times

Police discovered the tortured and burned bodies of six men in an empty lot Monday morning, ending a period of relative calm in this border city beset by drug war violence. Eleven bodies have been discovered since Saturday in violence believed to be drug-related, including the corpse of a woman found in a barrel, state and federal authorities said. The weekend tally pushed the city's death toll this year to more than 260, compared with about 152 homicides at this time last year, and underscored authorities' difficulties curbing organized crime.

ASIA PACIFIC

China Puts Conflict on Hold - Jill Drew, Washington Post

Two weekends ago, provincial party officials were told in a conference call to solve problems at home and stop the flow of petitioners into the city, lest they disrupt the harmonious atmosphere the government is attempting to maintain in preparation for the Olympic Games. The crackdown is part of a broad effort to squelch any signs of conflict. The campaign includes the stepped-up surveillance and detention of dissidents, and the denial of visas for thousands of foreigners who might be troublemakers.

Challenge for Mongolia’s Democracy - Edward Wong, New York Times

Following cries of fraud in parliamentary elections - accusations that were disputed by international election observers - hundreds of rioters, many of them drunk, attacked the headquarters of the dominant political party and the neighboring national art gallery on July 1. Fires were started. Five people were killed. More than 1,000 pieces of artwork were destroyed, damaged or looted. “Poverty and corruption are eating away at our democracy,” said Tsedevdamba Oyungerel, a Stanford-educated politician who ran for Parliament but lost (though she did receive 10 male horses as gifts while campaigning in the countryside.) To Oyungerel, who like many Mongolians goes by her given name, just as shocking as the violence was the government’s reaction - it declared a four-day state of emergency, sent soldiers into the streets and shut down television and radio stations.

Thaksin Corruption Trial Begins - AFP

Almost two years after he was deposed by a military coup, former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra went on trial today on corruption charges in the first of many cases against his family and aides. When royalist generals toppled his government in September 2006, they accused Thaksin of widespread corruption, undermining the nation's democracy and insulting Thailand's revered king. But the case actually before the Supreme Court is far less sweeping. Thaksin is accused of using his political influence to help his wife Pojaman buy a plot of prime Bangkok real estate from the central bank at one-third of its estimated value.

Covering the Olympics - Wall Street Journal editorial

In 2001, China's Communist leaders promised the International Olympic Committee that it would allow free media access to both the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the country as a whole. So far signs aren't good that Beijing will honor its word. Witness the case of Norman Choy, a senior reporter with Hong Kong's Apple Daily, who was turned away at the Beijing airport on July 1. Mr. Choy intended to cover events related to the Games; he is one of more than 20,000 journalists expected to report on China in relation to the Olympics over the next six weeks. Yet upon landing in Beijing, immigration officials questioned him about his travel plans. They then confiscated Mr. Choy's "home return" travel permit – which allows Hong Kong Chinese visa-free access to the mainland – citing national security law, and put him on the next flight home.

Tibet's Conundrum - Jonathan Mirsky, Wall Street Journal book review

"China's Tibet?" is an admirable, if discouraging, book. Admirable because it lays out in jargon-free language the political and cultural nature of the China-Tibet relationship. Author Warren Smith, who writes for Radio Free Asia's Tibetan Service, is also scrupulously fair, including complete policy statements from Beijing and the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile. The conflicting issues -- of China's claims on Tibet, and the Tibetans' wishes for more autonomy -- are plain. But "China's Tibet?" will depress those who believe that the Dalai Lama's abandonment of Tibetan independence in exchange for a measure of internal autonomy will persuade Beijing to change its tack.

EUROPE

Brown Summit with Medvedev Fails - Webster and Parry, The Times

Relations between Britain and Russia remained in the deep freeze last night after Gordon Brown appeared to have made little headway in his first meeting with President Medvedev. At an hour-long meeting, the Prime Minister protested at the treatment by the Russian authorities of BP, the closure of British Council posts and the refusal to extradite the suspected murderer of the dissident former spy Alexander Litvinenko. Although there was no stand-up row between the two, neither claimed any breakthrough in relations. At least half of the meeting was taken up with Mr Brown’s complaints.

Russia Talks are Cold Comfort for PM - Bronwen Maddox, The Times

Gordon Brown got nowhere yesterday in trying to resolve the three worst disputes between Britain and Russia. But nor did the rows get worse in the first meeting with Dmitri Medvedev, Russia's new President, which is something, since relations are at their worst since the Cold War. The British strategy, really a kind of wishful thinking, is that these conflicts can be kept to one side while the nations work harmoniously on other problems. That looks as fragile a plan as ever but, astonishingly, it is still intact. Brown came away with some scraps of comfort: that Russia would continue to be helpful on trying to nudge Iran down from its nuclear ambitions, and on Zimbabwe.

Poland Tries to Save Missile-defense Deal - Nicholas Kralev, Washington Times

Poland urgently sent its chief diplomat to Washington on Monday for talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to salvage an elusive missile-defense deal, just hours before she flew to Prague to sign a similar agreement with the Czech Republic. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski also planned to discuss the latest US proposal for basing 10 interceptors in Poland - which his government rejected Friday - with the presumptive Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain, respectively.

Medvedev Warns Bush on Missile Shield - The Australian

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told George W. Bush yesterday that putting US missile defence bases in neighbouring Lithuania was "absolutely unacceptable", a Russian official said. The meeting of the two leaders ahead of the Group of Eight summit in northern Japan was the first time the pair have met since Mr Medvedev was sworn in as president in May. Former Russian president Vladimir Putin still wields enormous influence as prime minister. "The Russian President openly expressed his serious concern about the media reports of talks between the US and Lithuania on the possible installation of anti-missile bases," Mr Medvedev's diplomatic adviser, Sergei Prikhodko said yesterday.

Serbs Set Up Government That Favors the West - Dan Bilefsky, New York Times

The Serbian Parliament on Monday approved a new pro-Western government that aims to banish the virulent nationalism of the past and bring Serbia into the European Union. The government is the product of an unlikely alliance between the Socialist Party, once led by Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian strongman, and the Democratic Party of President Boris Tadic. Some liberals in the West and in Serbia have expressed alarm about the political marriage between the pro-Western Democrats and former staunch nationalists who helped plunge the Balkans into a decade of war. But Mr. Tadic has called the union a political necessity that will lead to national reconciliation.

Blast in Georgian Rebel Region Kills 4 - Michael Schwirtz, New York Times

An explosion in a cafe in a separatist region of the former Soviet republic of Georgia killed four people Sunday night, including a security service official from the rebel government. Six people were wounded. The explosion was the latest of at least a half dozen bombings in less than a week in the region, Abkhazia, and the first to cause fatalities. Although no suspects have been identified, leaders of the separatist government blamed Georgia for the bombing, which they accused of inflaming a 15-year conflict that has become increasingly violent in recent months. The government in Georgia, which claims Abkhazia as part of its territory, denied responsibility.

Finding Common Ground - Henry Kissinger, Washington Post opinion

President Bush's meeting with Dmitry Medvedev in Hokkaido yesterday provides an opportunity to review American relations with the new Russian leadership. Conventional wisdom treated Medvedev's inauguration as president of the Russian Federation as a continuation of President Vladimir Putin's two terms of Kremlin dominance and assertive foreign policy. But after recently visiting Moscow, where I met with leading political personalities as well as those in business and intellectual circles, I am convinced that this judgment is premature.

Turkey Versus Turkey - Soner Cagaptay, Wall Street Journal opinion

The jailing of two retired Turkish generals over the weekend has heightened tensions between the government in Ankara and its critics. The generals are among 21 people whom police have detained over the past week, including a senior industrialist and a prominent journalist, on suspicion of plotting a coup against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. Interestingly, the interrogations occurred as the chief prosecutor appeared before the constitutional court to make his case that the AKP be shut down for violating the state's official secularism. While this showdown immediately revived the cliché of the "real Turks" of the AKP fighting off the "secular elites," this is not a case of the pious, popular masses versus an irreligious intelligentsia.

MIDDLE EAST

An End to Conflict - Andrea Barron, Washington Times opinion

There was Ehud Olmert, prime minister of Israel, promising to freeze all Jewish settlements in the West Bank and remove 300 roadblocks to make it easier for Palestinians to get to work, attend school and farm their land. Then Mr. Olmert said he would dismantle over 100 settlements and unauthorized outposts to show Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Israel was serious about concluding a peace agreement before the end of the year. Mr. Abbas took advantage of this opportunity to launch a major program to revitalize education and create the economic infrastructure for a future Palestinian state, including establishing an extensive microcredit program like the one Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus started in Bangladesh. And on the Gaza front, not only did Israel and Hamas sign a ceasefire but Israel agreed to gradually lift the blockade around Gaza if Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh ended the anti-Semitic rhetoric coming from some Hamas ministers and mosques. Could this really be happening in the Middle East? Not quite yet. This "Ehud Olmert" was really Rahool Patel, an Indian-American from Rutgers University in New Jersey. "Mahmoud Abbas" was Dez Clodfelter from Furman University in South Carolina and "Ismail Haniyeh" was Barbie Arroyo, a Puerto Rican student studying counterterrorism at Point Park University in Pittsburgh.

Clamp Down on Expansionism - Heywood-Smith and Dally, The Australian opinion

In November 2005, ambassadors representing 25 European countries with missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah submitted a joint report warning that urgent intervention was needed to salvage hopes of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Specifically, the report noted, the ongoing expansion of Jewish settlements in and around East Jerusalem and the construction of a "separation barrier" to physically separate "greater Jerusalem" from the rest of the West Bank would "complete the isolation of East Jerusalem, the political, commercial and infrastructural centre of Palestinian life".

SOUTH ASIA

37 Wounded by Series of Blasts in Pakistan - Associated Press

A string of small explosions, apparently from bombs, wounded at least 37 people on Monday in Karachi, rattling Pakistan a day after a deadly suicide attack in Islamabad, the capital, officials said. The six explosions occurred over the span of about an hour, striking residential and commercial spots in Karachi, a teeming southern port city, where political and militant-related violence is common.

Nuclear Pact Near Completion - Somini Sengupta, New York Times

India’s prime minister went to the Group of 8 summit meeting in Japan on Monday with his government intact and enough political strength to complete a landmark nuclear agreement with the United States, ending months of speculation that either his government or the agreement, on which he has staked his reputation, would collapse. The prime minister, Manmohan Singh, told reporters traveling with him to the summit meeting that his administration would “soon” complete an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, though he did not offer a date, his spokesman, Sanjaya Baru, said here. Mr. Baru added that the text of an agreement was near completion, and that India could swiftly finish it and go on to secure approval from the 45 member nations of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Only after those two steps have been completed can the United States Congress vote on the final agreement.

The Pakistan Problem - The Australian editorial

Normally the testimony of a self-confessed nuclear arms smuggler who did more damage to the non-proliferation regime than any other individual, wouldn't count for much. But the latest allegations by rogue scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan that Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf was directly involved in the transfer of centrifuges to North Korea have a depressing ring of credibility about them. While we haven't heard the last word on Dr Khan's proliferation network, the fact is that Pakistan's nuclear technology was being sold to the highest bidder while Mr Musharraf held the reins of the state, the military and the intelligence apparatus. Despite uncertainty over whether the Khan network extended to al-Qa'ida or other terrorist groups, Mr Musharraf refused to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to question Dr Khan about his activities. Though Pakistan government claims to have evidence to the contrary, it is hard to believe that centrifuges could have been loaded on a plane for Pyongyang without the knowledge of the military's top brass. The Khan caper is not the only fallout of the Musharraf era that is haunting Pakistan and the region today. Suicide attacks are on the increase, with 25 people killed in the latest blast in the capital Islamabad on Sunday. The rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas is also largely of Mr Musharraf's own making.

WORLD

Nuclear Fuel Expansion Raises Fear - United Press International

A report from a State Department advisory panel warns of proliferation threats as global nuclear energy generation expands, and it recommends that the United States embrace the trend to ensure that fuel-supplying nations adopt safeguards to manage the risks. Critics of the report say the expansion of nuclear power is not inevitable and should be resisted. A task force of the International Security Advisory Board chaired by former Pentagon and World Bank official Paul Wolfowitz produced the report, titled "Proliferation Implications of the Global Expansion of Civil Nuclear Power," in response to a request from Robert Joseph, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security.

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.