IRAQ

US and Iraq Near a 'Bridge' Deal - Sam Dagher, Christian Science Monitor

By the end of July, US and Iraqi officials hope to finalize a deal that would map out the role and length of stay for US troops in the country. But this is likely to be a temporary "bridge" agreement, including specific goals for terms of US withdrawal from major cities, followed by further talks on a long-term status of forces agreement (SOFA), says a senior US administration official involved in the talks here. The US shift to a short-term deal follows comments last week by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki suggesting for the first time that a timetable be set for the departure of US troops.

Iraqi Election Law Still Incomplete - Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times

With time running out to organize provincial balloting slated for the fall, representatives of Iraq's main political blocs agreed Sunday to submit a draft election law for a vote this week with key questions left undecided. Among the issues in contention are whether to allow voting in the disputed city of Kirkuk, which ethnic Kurds hope to include in their semiautonomous region to the north, and whether to permit the use of religious images in campaigning. Parliament will be asked to choose between several provisions when it votes Tuesday on the bill setting out procedures for the election, said Kareem Yaqoubi, a Shiite Muslim member of the legislature's Regions and Provinces Committee. But even if a law is approved, UN officials have warned that it may be too late to hold the polls by the scheduled date of Oct. 1.

Troops Face Switch from Iraq to Afghanistan - Michael Evans, The Times

Both the United States and Britain are hoping to reduce their military commitment in Iraq to focus on Afghanistan. The US is considering cutting American troop numbers to below 120,000, compared with 170,000 last year. Up to three combat brigades could be withdrawn in September. Britain is also looking to cut troop numbers by almost a half in Iraq, from 4,000 to about 2,500, although not until next year. This would give the Government the option of deploying more units to Helmand province, where the Taleban has intensified its operations, using suicide attacks, roadside bombs and mines. More American and British troops are now dying in Afghanistan than in Iraq, and with both countries committed to supporting the Kabul Government, the availability of additional troops to fight the Taleban is becoming an increasingly pressing issue.

Britain Plans to Downsize Iraq Force - Associated Press

Britain plans to substantially scale back its troop numbers in Iraq during 2009, the head of the country's armed forces said Sunday. Air Chief Marshal Jock Stirrup said Britain would withdraw soldiers to help ease major strains on its military, which has been stretched by deployments in both Afghanistan and southern Iraq. Britain had planned to cut its troops in Iraq from 4,000 to 2,500 earlier this year, but postponed the withdrawal in March amid an increase in militia violence.

Iraq Ready to Oust US From Green Zone - Marie Colvin, The Times

The green zone of Baghdad, a highly fortified slice of American suburbia on the banks of the Tigris river, may soon be handed over to Iraqi control if the increasingly assertive government of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, gets its way. A senior Iraqi government official said this weekend the enclave should revert to Iraqi control by the end of the year. “We think that by the end of 2008 all the zones in Baghdad should be integrated into the city,” said Ali Dabbagh, the government’s spokesman. “The American soldiers should be based in agreed camps outside the cities and population areas.

Electricity-starved Capital Goes Solar - Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times

In a city with constant electricity shortages but no lack of sunshine, the new buzz is solar energy. Teams of engineers have appeared along major Baghdad roadways, bolting panels and bulbs to rows of towering steel poles to make solar-powered streetlights. The workers who turned up recently in the upscale Karada district approached the task with near-religious fervor. "We are lighting up the city with solar power," Sajad Hussein declared when queried by curious residents. "People say it is a gift from God."

Desperate for Army Aid in Baghdad - Andrea Bruce, Washington Post

As the armored truck rounds the street corner, nurse Lamyia Hussein Mohammed paces the crayon-scribbled hallways of a Sadr City elementary school with an army-issued rifle over her shoulder. From inside the building, now a temporary patrol base for the US Army, she can hear the truck bouncing and jerking, full of food, cooking oil and Iraqi soldiers preparing to face a crowd of locals. The American soldiers didn't know the Iraqi army was coming today to bring food and help with medical care. Army Capt. Logan Veath drops his arms in frustration. The visit was planned at the last minute, and the Iraqis failed to arrange for a female soldier to carry out full-body bomb searches of women entering the clinic set up in the school. Lamyia, a medical volunteer waiting at the makeshift clinic, hands off her rifle and makes some calls.

Bush's Just War - Washington Times editorial

President Bush was right to invade Iraq. His 2003 decision to topple Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein will go down in history as one of the most courageous acts of statesmanship of the early 21st century. Contrary to the claims of antiwar critics, Mr. Bush did not manipulate the intelligence to justify the Iraq invasion, nor has he waged the "wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time." It was longstanding US policy throughout the 1990s to champion regime change in Iraq. The Clinton administration - backed by Congress - supported the Iraq Liberation Act, which authorized the overthrow of Saddam. The United States was convinced the Iraqi strongman possessed chemical and biological weapons, as well as an advanced nuclear program. Saddam had used chemical weapons in the 1980s during his war with Iran. He also used them against Iraq´s Kurds, killing thousands. Despite countless United Nations resolutions insisting Saddam completely dismantle and verifiably dispose his weapons of mass destruction, the Butcher of Baghdad embarked upon a deliberate policy of deceit and obfuscation. Thumbing his nose at the international community, he effectively kicked out UN weapons inspectors.

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

9 Americans Die in Afghan Attack - Carlotta Gall, New York Times

Taliban insurgents carried out a bold assault on a remote base near the border with Pakistan on Sunday, NATO reported, and a senior American military official said nine American soldiers were killed. The attack, the worst against Americans in Afghanistan in three years, illustrated the growing threat of Taliban militants and their associates, who in recent months have made Afghanistan a far deadlier war zone for American-led forces than Iraq.

Nine U.S. Soldiers Killed in Firefight - Candace Rondeaux, Washington Post

Nine US soldiers were killed in heavy fighting Sunday at a military base in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, according to a Western official. The attack was the deadliest against US forces in the country since 2005. The clash began when insurgents in a nearby village attacked a joint Afghan and American military outpost in Konar province early Sunday morning, NATO said in a statement. The insurgents fired on the base with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades for several hours, injuring 19 Afghan and NATO troops. NATO said in a statement that the fighters used "homes, shops and the mosque in the village of Wanat for cover" and said the insurgents "suffered heavy casualties" in return fire.

Nine US Soldiers Killed - Tom Coghlan, The Times

Western forces in Afghanistan suffered their biggest losses in a single battle since 2001 yesterday when Taleban forces stormed a remote American base, killing nine US soldiers. NATO said that the small American “combat outpost” in the Dara-I-Pech district of Kunar province came under heavy fire at about 4.30am. US forces called in mortars, artillery, Apache helicopters and fighter jets. NATO confirmed the nine deaths in its ranks and said that 15 US soldiers and four Afghan soldiers had been injured. It also claimed that the Taleban had sustained “very heavy losses”.

Aussies 'Accept' Afghan Casualties - David Nason, The Australian

Australians have a "quite robust" tolerance for battlefield casualties in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said yesterday as the body of our latest casualty was flown out of the war zone for home. Mr Fitzgibbon said Australians understood the national interest was under direct threat in Afghanistan, and accepted the risks facing the Diggers. "Australians have a long history of involvement in conflict and know the risks involved and understand the risks involved," he said. But Mr Fitzgibbon, who is in the US for meetings with defence suppliers, senior officials of the Bush administration and members of Congress, said he did not spend any time dwelling on the possibility of Australia incurring "mass casualties" at the hands of the Taliban.

Natynczyk Says Violence Holding Steady - Alexander Panetta, Toronto Star

The new head of Canada's military has completed a five-day visit to Afghanistan and offered a uniquely cheerful assessment of the security situation that contrasts sharply with the grim data. The upbeat prognosis from Canada's new chief of defence staff that the violence is holding steady in Kandahar province this year flies in the face of independent analysis documenting a 77 per cent surge in Taliban attacks. That increased violence was underscored Sunday in a pair of devastating insurgent strikes.

Pakistan Marble Helps Taliban - Shah and Perlez, New York Times

The mountain of white marble shines with such brilliance in the sun it looks like snow. For four years, the quarry beneath it lay dormant, its riches captive to tribal squabbles and government ineptitude in this corner of Pakistan’s tribal areas. But in April, the Taliban appeared and imposed a firm hand. They settled the feud between the tribes, demanded a fat fee up front and a tax on every truck that ferried the treasure from the quarry. Since then, Mir Zaman, a contractor from the Masaud subtribe, which was picked by the Taliban to run the quarry, has watched contentedly as his trucks roll out of the quarry with colossal boulders bound for refining in nearby towns.

Peace, Stability Sought - Betsy Pisik, Washington Times interview

Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi visited Washington and New York last week. Here are excerpts from an interview with Washington Times UN correspondent Betsy Pisik at the United Nations.

IRAN

Escape From Iran - Wall Street Journal editorial

Seldom does news about Iran give cause for rejoicing, but all who value human rights and democracy can celebrate the recent escape to freedom of dissident Ahmad Batebi. In July 1999, Mr. Batebi was one of thousands of Iranian students who took to the streets to protest the "reformist" government's disregard for press freedom and other basic liberties. During six days of demonstrations, the government killed multiple protesters, injured hundreds and imprisoned more than a thousand. Mr. Batebi's "crime" was to be photographed holding up the bloodstained shirt of fellow student Ezzat Ebrahim-Najad, who had been beaten and killed by plainclothes government paramilitaries. When the photograph appeared on the cover of The Economist magazine under the headline "Iran's second revolution?" it became iconic - and Mr. Batebi's death warrant.

Our Man in Iran? - James Rubin, New York Times opinion

Iran's latest missile tests occurred just as there have been glimmers of progress in nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the Western powers. Whether or not those talks succeed, it’s time for Washington to open a diplomatic post in Tehran. A high-level official has told me that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is seeking President Bush’s approval to establish a United States Interests Section in the Iranian capital. This is a smart idea that Democrats and Republicans should support. Iran is an anomaly in the Middle East. In Iran, unlike in the Arab world, America is seen as an adversary primarily by the government while most of the Iranian people see it as a country of freedom and moderation.

What the Mullahs Should Mull - Mona Charen, Washington Times opinion

"I warn you to abandon the filthy Zionist entity, which has reached the end of the line." That, from earlier this year, was but one of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hysterical verbal assaults on a fellow member of the United Nations. If there is a regime anywhere on the globe whose leader regularly and volubly looks forward to the "destruction" of another nation, I'm not familiar with it. (Mr. Ahmadinejad actually anticipates the annihilation of two nations, since he has also spoken of a world without the United States.) In recent days, Iran has punctuated its threats against Israel and others with a display of missile might, firing intermediate-range ballistic missiles that can reach the entire Middle East and parts of Europe.

Iran's Blood-drenched Mullahs - Boms and Arya, Washington Times opinion

As a sign of the troubled relations between Tehran and the West, Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno just renamed the street next to the Iranian embassy "July 9th St." - after the date symbolizing the 1999 student pro-democracy demonstrations in Tehran. Iran responded angrily, but at the same time released a statement by its foreign minister about possible progress in negotiations over its nuclear program. While the diplomatic rhetoric may appear ambivalent, Tehran's domestic actions appear much more clear and defiant. Last Tuesday, Iran hanged another teenager, 19-year-old Hamid Reza, who was convicted of murder. The country's parliament is also considering a bill that could result in the death penalty being used for those deemed to be promoting corruption, prostitution and apostasy on the Internet.

THE LONG WAR

Our Free Speech - Specter and Lieberman, Wall Street Journal opinion

Under American law, a libel plaintiff must prove that defamatory material is false. In England, the burden is reversed. Disputed statements are presumed to be false unless proven otherwise. And the loser in the case must pay the winner's legal fees. Consequently, English courts have become a popular destination for libel suits against American authors. In 2003, US scholar Rachel Ehrenfeld asserted in her book, "Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed and How to Stop It," that Saudi banker Khalid Bin Mahfouz helped fund Osama bin Laden. The book was published in the US by a US company. But 23 copies were bought online by English residents, so English courts permitted the Saudi to file a libel suit there. Ms. Ehrenfeld did not appear in court, so Mr. Bin Mahfouz won a $250,000 default judgment against her. He has filed or threatened to file at least 30 other suits in England.

Durban II: Trashing Human Rights - Ed Royce, Washington Times

Seven years ago, the United Nations held a conference on racism in Durban, South Africa to address what some saw as growing trends in hate speech and discrimination. Lofty ideals aside, the conference quickly collapsed into an anti-American, anti-Israeli spectacle. As then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat delivered rants on the conspiratorial and racist goals of Israel, others handed out flyers celebrating Adolf Hitler. Having had enough, the United States rightly walked out in protest. Today, the United Nations is gearing up for a Durban follow-up set for 2009. Like the first conference, "Durban II" would be funded through the regular UN budget, 22 percent of which comes from the American taxpayer. In a symbolic gesture, the United States withheld equivalent funds from the UN budget, and voted against its final passage.

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Witnessing the War Dead, From Afar - New York Times editorial

There’s a propaganda edge to waging every war, and a sad hallmark of the Bush administration’s approach has been to deny the nation the candid sight of flag-draped coffins of sacrificed soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. A nation at war should confront the reality of war. The muting of bad war news, which started at the Pentagon, is now an issue as well at Arlington National Cemetery. A public affairs director at the cemetery was recently fired after complaining that rules were tightened to isolate the media 50 yards away - well beyond the point at which news organizations could hear, never mind photograph or videotape, burial ceremonies.

Seeking Asylum in Canada - Los Angeles Times editorial

Because of the sympathetic reception that Canada gave US conscientious objectors and deserters during the Vietnam War, Americans may assume that our gentle northern neighbor will grant refuge to the perhaps 200 Iraq war deserters who have fled to Canada and thus spare us the agony of prosecuting them. But times and Canadian laws have changed. Although Canada declined to help the US invade Iraq and its public largely opposes the continuing US operations there, its courts have consistently ruled that U.S. deserters have no right to asylum. The courts have sensibly concluded that Americans who volunteer for military service cannot claim to be conscientious objectors merely because they oppose the war in Iraq, and that soldiers who wish to challenge the conduct of the war can do so through established legal procedures at home without fear of persecution.

'I'm Joining the Military' - Colleen Reiss, Christian Science Monitor opinion

Imagine standing on the sidelines of a summer league lacrosse match in an upper-middle-class suburb somewhere in the Northeast, chatting with parents about upcoming vacation plans, their children's struggles finding summer jobs, and which teachers to avoid. Want to bring the conversation to an awkward silence? Just ask if any of their teens have considered serving in the military. Military service has become a taboo subject in many corners of America; supported in principle by the ubiquitous yellow ribbon car magnets, yet silently considered to be outside the realm of "enlightened options" for an educated young person. This sentiment is reinforced by college administrators who block ROTC programs from campuses, while asserting that their institution, "has the utmost respect for the men and women who serve our country in the military."

UK MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

Commanders Earmarked to Head Armed Forces - Michael Evans, The Times

Two senior army commanders with unrivalled experience in Iraq and Afghanistan have been identified as the top candidates to become the next head of the Armed Forces. The choice of General Sir David Richards, who commanded NATO troops in Afghanistan, and Lieutenant-General Sir Nick Houghton, who was deputy commander of the US-led Multinational Force in Iraq, means that the next generation of top army officers are deemed by ministers to be more suitable to take on the role of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) than any of the present Service chiefs. The decision amounts to a revolution within the Ministry of Defence, with a deliberate move to bypass the ones who would, traditionally, be the most eligible candidates — the heads of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF - and to wait for the new breed of commanders to take the top spot.

UK MI6

British Spy Service Seeks New Hires - Paisley Dodds, Associated Press

Britain's secret spy agency, home to the very white and very male 007, is hunting for women and minorities to tackle global terrorism. More than 20,000 people have applied since MI6 began its open-recruiting campaign about a year ago, in a drive that has all but replaced the famous shoulder tap used to recruit author Graham Greene and others in World War II. MI6's Web site encourages mothers to apply and assures women they won't be used as "honey pots," or seductresses. Disabled applicants are welcome, and a special search is directed at minorities who speak Mandarin, Arabic, Persian and the Afghan languages of Dari and Pashto.

US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Obama: Troops in Afghanistan Need Help - Jef Zelney, New York Times

Senator Barack Obama is proposing that the United States deploy about 10,000 more troops to battle resurgent forces in Afghanistan, a plan intended to shift the American military focus from the Iraq war to the marked rise in violence from the Taliban. “As president, I would pursue a new strategy, and begin by providing at least two additional combat brigades to support our effort in Afghanistan,” Mr. Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, wrote in an Op-Ed article published on Monday in The New York Times. “We need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and more nonmilitary assistance to accomplish the mission there.”

My Plan for Iraq - Barack Obama, New York Times opinion

The call by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki for a timetable for the removal of American troops from Iraq presents an enormous opportunity. We should seize this moment to begin the phased redeployment of combat troops that I have long advocated, and that is needed for long-term success in Iraq and the security interests of the United States. The differences on Iraq in this campaign are deep. Unlike Senator John McCain, I opposed the war in Iraq before it began, and would end it as president. I believed it was a grave mistake to allow ourselves to be distracted from the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban by invading a country that posed no imminent threat and had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Since then, more than 4,000 Americans have died and we have spent nearly $1 trillion. Our military is overstretched. Nearly every threat we face - from Afghanistan to Al Qaeda to Iran - has grown.

Timetable Dilemma - Gary Jarmin, Washington Times opinion

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki threw Sen. John McCain a political curve ball recently when he demanded that the United States accept a timetable for the withdrawal of our troops as a condition for a new security agreement with Washington to replace the United Nations mandate for the presence of U.S. forces that expires on Dec. 31. Mr. Maliki's announcement has radically undermined Mr. McCain's attacks against Sen. Barack Obama's advocating a withdrawal timetable - "fine tuned" or not -and, worse, Mr. McCain flubbed a great opportunity to use Mr. Maliki's call for a "timetable" to his advantage.

Terms of (Dis)Engagement - Jackson Diehl, Washington Post opinion

Barack Obama has been teetering between two imperatives on Iraq. He needs to adjust his withdrawal plan, drawn up more than 18 months ago, to the dramatic changes on the ground during the past year -- so that he will have the political mandate to pursue a sensible policy if he becomes commander in chief. But he also needs to keep his antiwar base happy and not blur what looks like a big contrast between his strategy and that of John McCain. This month he learned that his dilemma can't be easily finessed. When he tried hinting that he would "refine" his policy based on "more information" from "commanders on the ground," the blowback was so fierce he had to hold a second news conference the same day denying that he had altered his scheme to withdraw all US combat forces within 16 months of taking office.

Slouching Toward the Center - Linda Chavez, Washington Times opinion

The Senate finally passed the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), 69-28, after months of dithering, but one vote among the yeas came as quite a surprise. Sen. Barack Obama, who just a few months ago threatened to filibuster the bill, had a change of heart - or was it just a change in campaign strategy? The legislation authorizes continued warrantless wiretaps of suspected terrorists' overseas communications, so long as they are not US citizens, and gives retroactive legal immunity against lawsuits to telecommunications companies that assisted the government in earlier warrantless searches.

AFRICA

China's £4.5 Billion Scramble for Africa - Mike Pflanz, Daily Telegraph

China's modern-day "Scramble for Africa" to buy up the continent's mineral wealth enters a new phase this week. Full scale work by the Chinese begins to rebuild 2,050 miles of roads in the Democratic Republic of Congo, left to rot in the rainforest after the Belgian colonialists pulled out 48 years ago and further shattered by seven years of war. As well as the roads, Beijing has promised to repair 2,000 miles of largely defunct railways, build 32 hospitals and 145 health centres, install two electricity distribution networks, construct two hydropower dams and two new airports. In return, China has won the rights to five copper and cobalt mines in Congo's southern minerals belt which boasts some of the world's richest ore deposits.

Sudanese Protest War Crimes Case - Lydia Polgreen, New York Times

Thousands of people took to the streets of Sudan’s tense capital on Sunday in a carefully choreographed protest against the expected request by the International Criminal Court to arrest President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on war crimes charges. Students and members of the ruling National Congress Party were bused to the center of the capital, Khartoum, where they waved banners denouncing the international court and the United Nations.

Warning of More Violence and Blood - Jonathan Clayton, The Times

Thousands of demonstrators flocked to the streets of the Sudanese capital Khartoum yesterday in support of President al-Bashir, who is expected today to become the first head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes. The protesters, many waving anti-Western placards, gathered outside an office where Mr al-Bashir was chairing an emergency meeting. The ICC's prosecution will present evidence in The Hague today of his alleged complicity in atrocities in Darfur, Sudan's rebellious western province. Sudan does not recognise the ICC, and has given warning that the case could stall peace talks.

Sudan: Darfur Violence May Increase - Associated Press

Sudan's ruling party issued a statement Sunday predicting "more violence and blood" in Darfur if the country's president is indicted for crimes against humanity and genocide, state media reported. A prosecutor at the International Criminal Court is expected to seek an arrest warrant Monday charging President Omar al-Bashir with orchestrating violence in Darfur that has left hundreds of thousands of people dead since 2003. The statement from Mr. Bashir's National Congress Party called the case against the Sudanese leader "irresponsible cheap political blackmail" that has no legal basis.

Darfur Doctor: ‘I was Raped and Taunted' - Halima Bashir, The Times

My name is Halima. I come from a warlike black African tribe, the Zaghawa, who inhabit the southern Darfur region of Sudan. But I live as a refugee in London, and it is the horrors of the war in Darfur that drove me from my homeland, scattering my family to the four corners of the Earth. In the year of my birth, 1979, my father named me Halima, after the medicine woman of our village. It was a prophetic naming. My father was a rich man and determined that I be educated. He believed that it was the only way that we black African Sudanese would break free of the Arab domination of our country. My fierce grandmother, Sumah, was a traditionalist. No good Muslim girl should be educated, she believed. But I became the star pupil at school and won a place at university in Khartoum. I was the first from my desert village to go to university, and the first in our sub-tribe, the Coube, to qualify as a medical doctor.

Lack of Paper Threatens Zimbabwe Economy - Los Angeles Times

It has come to this: Zimbabwe is about to run out of the paper to print money on. Fidelity Printers & Refiners, the state-owned company that tirelessly churns out bank notes for the Robert Mugabe regime, was thrown into a crisis early this month after a German company stopped supplying bank note paper because of concerns over Zimbabwe's recent violent presidential election, widely seen as fraudulent by international observers. The printing operation drastically slowed. Two-thirds of the 1,000-strong workforce was ordered to go on leave, and two of the three money-printing shifts were canceled. The result on the streets was an immediate cash crunch.

The UN and Comrade Bob - Wall Street Journal editorial

As with Darfur and Burma, the depredations of Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe have become a target of the world's moral outrage. Also like those two countries, the chances of anyone doing something about Zimbabwe are falling into the diplomatic abyss that is the United Nations. The Bush Administration has been prodding the Security Council to impose an arms embargo and pass financial and travel sanctions that would pressure the Mugabe regime to sponsor honest elections and stop killing democratic opponents. The US persuaded Burkina Faso, currently an African representative on the Council, to sign on. But at the moment of truth on Friday, Russia and China vetoed the sanctions on grounds that they amounted to interference in Zimbabwe's internal affairs. Libya and Vietnam joined Russia and China, no doubt as fellow dictatorships that don't want outside attention on their domestic practices.

More about Africa's Hitler - Nat Hentoff, Washington Times opipnion

When the summit meeting of African Union leaders assembled, the world's question was on how it would deal with Robert Mugabe's relentless, brutal re-election as Zimbabwe's President. As the summit began, the UN's deputy secretary-general, Asha Rosa Mgivo, said: "This is a moment of truth for regional leaders." Mr. Mugabe, she continued, has created "the single greatest challenge to regional stability in southern Africa." A few African heads of states agreed with her, notably Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who said of his reigning colleagues: "They should suspend (Mugabe) and send peace forces to Zimbabwe to ensure free and fair elections." This heretic was ignored, and the unscathed Mr. Mugabe, "Africa's Hitler," was asked only to consider forming a power-sharing unity government with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. And the United States, as of this writing, is pushing the UN Security Council to impose garden-variety sanctions on Mr. Mugabe's swashbuckling government.

AMERICAS

Venezuela's Chávez Softens Stance - Sara Miller Llana, Christian Science Monitor

For their first face-to-face encounter since a diplomatic crisis erupted in late 2007, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez chose to host Colombian President Álvaro Uribe in this oil refining town in Venezuela, home to the largest refining complex of its kind in the world. If the setting was intended as a display of power, however, it worked only insofar as oil wealth goes. Since their relationship deteriorated into insults and accusations - after Mr. Chávez in March sent tanks to the Colombian-Venezuelan border in protest of a Colombian air raid in Ecuador and after Colombia charged Chávez with aiding Colombian leftist rebels - the tides have shifted for these two South American neighbors.

Colombia Delayed Telling US of Plan - Kraul and McDonnell, Los Angeles Times

Although the US government was supposed to have final authority on any plan to rescue three American contractors held by guerrillas, it was kept in the dark by the Colombian military until a week before the July 2 operation to lessen the chances the Bush administration would veto the effort, said a top official close to the operation. "They wanted to wait long enough to make it difficult to say no," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was forbidden to discuss the topic for attribution.

Cuba Revives Private Farms - Carol Williams, Los Angeles Times

President Raul Castro spurred the planting of idle lands around cities with a series of reforms in recent months aimed at improving self-sufficiency. The moves included making land available free to those willing to till it and easing a strangling national bureaucracy that once controlled a farmer's every step, from seed procurement to sales price. Castro has unleashed an ambitious effort to lift output of high-ticket items, raising prices paid to meat and milk producers and freeing growers from obligations to sell their food to the state. He has made seeds, tools and fertilizers available through a new network of country stores and challenged a population that is 80% urban to grow what it eats.

ASIA PACIFIC

Olympic Games Security Crackdown in Beijing - Martin Fletcher, The Times

Authorities are determined that nothing should disrupt China's great coming-out party - certainly not troublesome foreigners. Since April they have virtually stopped giving multiple-entry visas, or the six-month “investor” visas used by teachers, artists and freelance writers. They have made it far harder for businessmen and tourists to secure 30-day single-entry visas by demanding letters of invitation, proof of hotel bookings and return tickets. Foreigners already living in China have been subjected to spot checks at home or in the streets. Thousands - especially students - have been forced to leave the country after being denied extensions to their residence or work permits. The Olympic organisers have even issued a nine-page book of rules warning foreigners against “illegal gatherings, parades and protests”, “shouting or displaying of political or religious slogans at events” and the import of materials “harmful to China's politics, economics, culture and morals”.

China Plans to Crush Tibetan 'Terror' - Michael Sheridan, The Australian

Internal Communist Party documents have revealed China is planning a program of political repression in Tibet despite a public show of moderation to win over world opinion before the Olympic Games next month. A campaign of re-education has been outlined in confidential speeches by Zhang Qingli, the hardline party secretary of Tibet, to meetings of Communist Party members. Meanwhile, China yesterday vowed to step up security for the Olympics, warning of an unprecedented terrorist threat. Recent armed battles between police and "terrorist groups" in Xinjiang were evidence of real threats to sabotage the Games, the People's Daily said.

Malaysian Police Close off Parliament - Associated Press

Malaysian police locked down Parliament with roadblocks and massive security Monday to prevent opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and his supporters from attending a key debate. Malaysia was thrown into political turmoil in March when the ruling coalition suffered a severe electoral setback. The situation has been aggravated in recent weeks by accusations of sodomy against Anwar.

EUROPE

Sarkozy Hails New Regional Union - Elizabeth Bryant, Washington Times

The guest list alone made French President Nicolas Sarkozy's first big event as leader of the European Union a splashy affair. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sat at the same table with Syrian President Bashar Assad, albeit at opposite ends of a rather large table - big enough to accommodate 40 leaders who announced a new political group called "Union for the Mediterranean." Mr. Olmert and Mr. Assad were too distant to shake hands in the Paris venue and the awkwardness of the guest list helped persuade leaders to forgo the trophy for events of this sort: the group photograph. Nevertheless, Mr. Sarkozy proclaimed the effort a success.

Taking On Russia's Ubiquitous Bribery - Peter Finn, Washington Post

From birth to death, corruption courses through the lives of Russians -- a phenomenon that newly elected President Dmitry Medvedev recently said has become "a way of life for a huge number of people." Medvedev has pledged to introduce new anti-corruption legislation by October as part of a broad campaign to reduce bribery. In the early weeks of his presidency, he made the centerpiece of his administration the establishment of the rule of law and the ending of what he calls "legal nihilism," or the wholesale flouting of the law.

Back in the USSR? - Leon Aron, Washington Post opinion

Vladimir Putin's appointment this spring as prime minister of the symbolic "union" of Russia and Belarus was yet another example of the troubling similarities between today's Russia and the other most stable and prosperous Russian regime of the past 80 years: Leonid Brezhnev's Soviet Union in the 1970s. That economy, too, was fueled by then-record oil prices. And while there are clear differences between the two Russias, if these tendencies go unchecked, the increasingly authoritarian and economically statist country may soon face crises of the kind that became apparent under Brezhnev and contributed to the Soviet Union's demise.

Man Arrested After Attack in Istanbul Is Charged - Sebnem Arsu, New York TImes

One of the suspects detained in connection with the armed attack on the United States Consulate in Istanbul last week was formally charged with membership in an illegal organization, the semiofficial Anatolian News Agency reported on Sunday. The agency did not identify the organization. Membership in an illegal organization can bring a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Scandinavia's Scarred Mr. Dialogue - Roger Cohen, New York Times opinion

Scandinavia does reasonableness well, even when faced with unreason. The Oslo Accords of 1993 were as close as Israelis and Palestinians have come to looking each other in the eye, admitting neither side is going away, and jettisoning a bitter past for a better future. The mediation habit stayed with Norway, despite Oslo’s collapse. Jonas Gahr Store, the Norwegian foreign minister, is a battle-hardened Mr. Dialogue. He took a personal terrorism course earlier this year while on a diplomatic mission to Afghanistan.

MIDDLE EAST

Sarkozy Helps Syria Out of Isolation - Erlanger and Benhold, New York Times

Leaders of 43 nations with nearly 800 million inhabitants inaugurated a “Union for the Mediterranean” on Sunday, meant to bring the northern and southern countries that ring the sea closer together through practical projects dealing with the environment, climate, transportation, immigration and policing. But the meeting was also an opportunity for President Nicolas Sarkozy of France to exercise some highly public Middle East diplomacy by bringing President Bashar al-Assad of Syria out of isolation for an Élysée Palace meeting and by playing host to a session between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.

Prisoner Swap Set with Hezbollah - Josef Federman, Associated Press

The Israeli government said it will swap prisoners with the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah on Wednesday, closing a chapter between the enemies two years after they fought an inconclusive war. The prison service said Sunday Israel would free five Lebanese, including the perpetrator of one of the most notorious attacks in Israeli history. In exchange, Hezbollah will return two soldiers it captured in a cross-border raid that sparked the 2006 war. Israel thinks the soldiers are dead.

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.