IRAQ

al-Qaida Fighters Now `Furtive Terrorists' - John Burns, Associated Press

It's quiet around here in farm country, south of Baghdad where al-Qaida once held sway. Just months ago US foot patrols through the wheat fields nearby would regularly draw fire - if the soldiers managed first to elude al-Qaida-planted roadside bombs. "The difference is night and day," says Capt. George Morris, 26. He and his soldiers in Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division walked the area this week to visit a handful of farm families five miles east of the town of Latifiyah, not far from the Tigris River. And it's not just here. Throughout the country, al-Qaida in Iraq, an insurgent organization thought to be affiliated with the global terrorist network but comprised mainly of Iraqis, has lost so much clout it is close to becoming irrelevant to the outcome of the war. The group has not been eliminated, however, leaving open the possibility of resurgence if the Iraqi government fails to follow up the military gains with civilian services like the irrigation that's badly needed here.

Kuwait Names First Ambassador Since 1990 - Deborah Haynes, The Times

Kuwait today named its first ambassador to Iraq since Saddam Hussein invaded his tiny neighbour in 1990, a move that sparked the first Gulf War involving the United States and Britain the following year. The announcement marks a key step in mending ties between the two Arab states. It also offers further evidence of a desire among regional Sunni Arab countries to work more closely with Baghdad, something Washington has been urging. The official Kuwaiti news agency quoted the country's foreign minister as saying that retired Lieutenant General Ali al-Momen, a former military chief of staff, will take the ambassadorial post.

Electrical Risks at Bases - James Risen, New York Times

Shoddy electrical work by private contractors on United States military bases in Iraq is widespread and dangerous, causing more deaths and injuries from fires and shocks than the Pentagon has acknowledged, according to internal Army documents. During just one six-month period - August 2006 through January 2007 - at least 283 electrical fires destroyed or damaged American military facilities in Iraq, including the military’s largest dining hall in the country, documents obtained by The New York Times show. Two soldiers died in an electrical fire at their base near Tikrit in 2006, the records note, while another was injured while jumping from a burning guard tower in May 2007.

Baghdad Embassy Has Its Hands Full - Karen DeYoung, Washington Post

When it comes to hosting congressional delegations, the US Embassy in Baghdad likes to think of itself as the eHarmony of Iraq -- lawmakers outline what they're looking for, and officials try to set up the perfect date. Choices include visits with home-state troops, bull sessions with Iraqi parliamentarians, tours of urban markets or military training facilities, and briefings from senior US and Iraqi officials. A trip to the shrinking front lines -- Mosul is the summer's preferred destination -- can still be arranged for what the embassy calls "tip-of-the-spear groupies.

Losing Anbar - Erik Swabb, National Review opinion

As the American people ask themselves which presidential candidate has the best plan for Iraq, they should consider the transformation of Anbar province. Few areas in Iraq better illustrate both the immense potential of continued US engagement and the importance of tailoring that involvement to events on the ground. With relatively low-cost US support, Anbar could emerge as a bulwark against the creation of an al-Qaeda safe haven in Iraq. However, only a long-term commitment that reflects the complex situation in Anbar has any chance of success. Anbar’s importance lies in its population and location, which make it the best place for Sunni-dominated al-Qaeda to establish a sanctuary in Iraq. Anbar is the former heart of the Sunni insurgency, accounting for about one-third of US deaths in Iraq until last year despite having only about four percent of the total population. Home to military officers from Saddam’s regime, Anbar has a ready pool of proficient fighters. Smuggling routes from Syria can bring in arms, money, and foreign terrorists. The overwhelming Sunni Arab composition of Anbar and its remoteness from Shiite areas allow al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) to train and plan attacks instead of constantly combating hostile Shiites. Unsurprisingly, AQI declared Ramadi in Anbar the capital of its “Islamic State of Iraq” in 2006.

More Iraqi Ironies - Victor Davis Hanson, National Review opinion

There is by now only one constant in the entire sad Iraqi saga since the brilliant three-week victory of 2003, and the subsequent violent reconstruction that followed. In our collective exasperation almost all the bad news from the front is due to someone else’s stupidity; any good reports are always the result of one’s own insight and sobriety. The result is irony, but also amnesia about what was written and said in the recent past. Consider the paradoxes we’ve witnessed.

Vote on Provincial Elections Postponed - Marc Lynch, Abu Aardvark

It appears that the long-anticipated Iraqi Parliament vote on a law governing the provincial elections scheduled for the beginning of October has been postponed until Thursday and probably longer. Parliamentary Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani postponed discussions after the Kurds walked out in protest over the treatment of Kirkuk; leaders from the Shia UIA were reportedly huddling with their Kurdish partners in the governing coalition, trying to reach an agreement on how to proceed. This isn't a great shock: the government had submitted a multiple-choice draft for the Parliament to debate, leaving the most contentious issues unresolved. It didn't seem likely that the divided and contentious Parliament would quickly arrive at a consensus which eluded Maliki's relatively tight ruling Shia-Kurd coalition. It isn't clear yet whether this will mean the postponement of the provincial elections, as the UN facilitators have warned. But hopefully it will: the consequences of these elections will be enormous, and it would be foolhardy to rush into them with half-baked, politically controversial rules simply to meet an artificial deadline.

SOFA’s Demise Probably Exaggerated - Westhawk, Westhawk

Today’s Washington Post reported that the US and Iraqi governments have given up on reaching a long-term agreement on the rules governing the US military’s presence and operations in Iraq. According to the story, the two governments will instead attempt to work out a “bridge” short-term agreement, and leave the negotiation of a long-term agreement to the next US administration. Last month, I predicted that reaching a long-term agreement with the Americans this year would be too much for Iraq’s political system to bear. So in this sense, today’s Washington Post story is not a surprise. However, my guess is that this suspension of talks, if that is what has happened, is more of a cooling-off period, rather than a permanent walk-away.

What Maliki Said... And What it Means - Dr, iRack, Abu Muqawama

So, to repeat something Dr. iRack has long argued, we should be negotiating a security framework within the context of setting a time horizon for our draw down and transition to a support role while also conditioning residual support (including, critically, support to the ISF) on political accommodation. The administration may or may not be doing the former, but they are most definitely not doing the latter. They don't believe in strategic conditionality. And, as a consequence, we are giving up what little leverage we have left to push the Iraqis toward the kind of political compromises--on SoI integration, fair elections to co-opt moderate Sadrists and avoid alienating Sunni tribes, etc.--that are necessary to lock-in security gains from the surge.

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

Surge in Afghan Troops Imminent - Bruce Loudon, The Australian

Pentagon leaders yesterday signalled a surge in US forces in Afghanistan "sooner rather than later", a shift that could send some units there within weeks, as officials prepared to cut troop levels in Iraq. Faced with an increasingly sophisticated insurgency, particularly along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday that sending more troops would have a significant impact on the violence. "I think that we are clearly working very hard to see if there are opportunities to send additional forces sooner rather than later," Mr Gates told Pentagon reporters. But, he added, no final decisions or recommendations had been made. His comments suggested an acceleration in what had been plans to shift forces there early next year and followed undertakings this week by both Republican presidential nominee John McCain and his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, to boost troop numbers in Afghanistan.

Pakistan Must Do More to Police Tribal Zone - Jim Garamone, AFPS

Pakistan must do more on its side of the border with Afghanistan to combat terrorist extremists, US defense leaders said here today. "We're seeing a greater number of insurgents and foreign fighters flowing across the border with Pakistan, unmolested and unhindered,” Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a news conference. “This movement needs to stop.” Mullen, who recently returned from a trip to Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, said all involved with operations on the border must do a better job of policing the region and eliminating the extremists’ safe havens in Pakistan’s federally administered tribal areas that are launching pads for attacks on coalition forces. The most recent example was an attack on a coalition and Afghan military outpost in Wanat, in which nine soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team were killed.

Islamabad Seeks Strategy - Khudayar Khan, Washington Times

Leaders of Pakistan's four-party governing coalition will meet next week to develop a strategy to deal with foreign extremists in the tribal areas where, Prime Minister Yousaf Reza Gilani said, their numbers are increasing by the day. Mr. Gilani told reporters that the militants could precipitate a Sept. 11-type attack again unless strong action is taken against them. "When there is interference in the [tribal areas] from people who [do] not belong to your country and they are coming from Chechnya, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan and they are militants disturbing the peace of the country, naturally [the United States] object because they don't want ... another [incident] of the same nature as 9/11 [to] take place," the Press Trust of India quoted Mr. Gilani as saying. The leaders of the four-party coalition, he said, would attempt to work out a strategy to curb terrorism and suicide bombings in the country, but ruled out allowing US troops to operate inside Pakistan's borders.

Al-Qaida Draws More Foreign Recruits to Afghan War - Associated Press

Afghanistan has been drawing a fresh influx of jihadi fighters from Turkey, Central Asia, Chechnya and the Middle East, one more sign that al-Qaida is regrouping on what is fast becoming the most active front of the war on terror groups. More foreigners are infiltrating Afghanistan because of a recruitment drive by al-Qaida as well as a burgeoning insurgency that has made movement easier across the border from Pakistan, US officials, militants and experts say. For the past two months, Afghanistan has overtaken Iraq in deaths of U.S. and allied troops, and nine American soldiers were killed at a remote base in Kunar province Sunday in the deadliest attack in years. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned during a visit to Kabul this month about an increase in foreign fighters crossing into Afghanistan from Pakistan, where a new government is trying to negotiate with militants.

Officials Seek More MRAPs for Afghanistan - Jim Garamone, AFPS

Commanders in Afghanistan have asked for more of the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles the military calls “MRAPs,” the Pentagon’s press secretary said today. There are roughly 800 MRAPs in Afghanistan. “It’s safe to say that commanders are interested” in more of the vehicles, Geoff Morrell told reporters. Though the request is unofficial so far, it was relayed by Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser, commander of Combined Task Force 101 at Bagram Airfield to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Navy Adm. Mike Mullen during the chairman’s recent visit to Afghanistan. Part of the request may be tied to the normal planning that always goes on, another senior Pentagon spokesman said. If the number of U.S. troops goes up in Afghanistan – which President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates would like to see happen – then the number of MRAPs in the country will have to grow also, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman explained.

Afghan Militants Killed in Airstrikes - Carlotta Gall, New York Times

American and Afghan special forces killed two influential tribal leaders and a number of their followers in western Afghanistan in a joint airborne operation Wednesday night amid more accusations of causing civilian casualties, military officials said Thursday. Both NATO and the Afghan Ministry of Defense declared the tribal leaders were high-priority Taliban targets and the operation against them successful. There was no evidence of civilian casualties, a statement issued by the NATO press office in Kabul said.

15 Insurgents Killed in Air Strikes on Cell - Associated Press

US Special Forces and Afghan troops called in air strikes during a raid on a militant cell in western Afghanistan on Thursday, killing 15 insurgents while freeing 15 hostages, officials said. NATO, meanwhile, said its troops in the south have killed a senior Taliban commander, while the US-led coalition reported its forces along with Afghan security forces killed "several militants" in the same region. Also Thursday, the US military reported that eight civilians were killed in an air strike in the western province of Farah during a Tuesday raid against suspected militants, Reuters news agency reported.

Canada Betting on Education in Kandahar - Alexander Panetta, Toronto Star

The number of burned-out or vacant schools in Kandahar province exceeds the number of schools that are actually open, according to statistics compiled by the Afghan government. But in some parts of the province, children are eagerly flocking to classrooms, parents are desperate to get their kids into school, and the waiting lists are growing. With this dichotomy in mind, Canada is embarking on an ambitious school-building project in the province – and being careful to build them in the right places.

The Calm Before the Strategic Storm - Galrahn, Information Dissemination

As folks disconnected from the Army, well read in military history and military strategy, and always willing to take a back seat to more knowledgeable people on the subject, Afghanistan represents theater and study for us, but rarely something we analyze here on the blog. We do not claim to be experts, rather admirers of the experts and the analysis they give. With the exception of closely observing the 24th MEU, we have not spent much time discussing Afghanistan in the context of the materials usually discussed on the blog, but tonight our thoughts shift towards this theater of war. The 24th MEU, that single Marine battalion "surged" to Afghanistan has had excellent success on the battlefield in Helmand Province, but the capitalization of the gains made has been less than originally hoped for. The British Provincial Reconstruction Team's are struggling to overcome the challenges of the theater, and while both the Marines and the British do not lose battles, they are losing the war. The security situation, or lack of sustained security in Helmand Province, contributes to the problem. Helmand is one region with a unique set of challenges, in a theater of war with many regions each with many challenges all their own. The challenges are immense, complex, and still not fully understood. In Helmand Province, the Taliban was able to provide more power to the population than the British have been able to. If that remains constant in the future, we will not win Helmand Province. The current strategy is not working, and the reasons are many. NATO as a unified force is not living up to expectations, and something have to change.

US to Reinforce a Bad Strategy in Afghanistan - Westhawk, Westhawk

There is little doubt now that the US will soon begin a significant transfer of military resources from Iraq to Afghanistan. Remarks this week from senior Pentagon leaders indicate that by September, the US command in Iraq will announce the withdrawal of more brigade combat teams from that theater. Meanwhile, the US government has already announced its intention to add in 2009 up to three brigades to the Afghan theater. The hope is that reinforcements to Afghanistan, paid for by withdrawals from Iraq, will be enough to ward off another summer of deterioration in Afghanistan’s security. Unfortunately, Afghanistan needs more than simply more American soldiers in 2009. Without fundamental changes inside Pakistan, eastern and southern Afghanistan will always be under siege.

Troop Surge for Afghanistan? - Herschel Smith, The Captain's Journal

Similar to the opposition to the surge in Iraq, the chorus of voices calling for a military stand-down in Afghanistan are growing. There is the classical “we can’t win” approach, analogous to the “insurgencies cannot be beaten” meme (regardless of the fact that the insurgency has essentially been beaten in Iraq). Then there is the “we must educate the extremists out of there extremism” approach. In this version of the problem, the root of the extremism becomes disenfranchisement, poverty, and valid grievances which require redress (regardless of the example of Bangladesh, which is 90% Muslim and one of the poorest nations on earth, but without the violent extremism). There are other stupid arguments for a draw-down of troops (or leaving a very small military footprint) over which we won’t waste our time.

Afghanistan: Not Enough Troops - David Wood, Military Watch

Tragically, that's the lesson of the battle Sunday during which insurgents overran a joint US-Afghan base and killed nine Americans, among others. US troops are spread out thinly across eastern Afghanistan, in accordance with the counterinsurgency doctrine espoused by Gen. David Petraeus, the current U.S. commander in Iraq who will become chief of all U.S. forces in the region this fall. That approach, along with other factors, has helped quell the violence in Iraq. But it is risky, as the attack on Sunday shows. And it requires many, many more boots on the ground.

Securing Pakistan’s Tribal Belt - Will Hartley, Insurgency Research Group

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has released a special report written by Daniel Markey - CFR’s senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia - entitled Securing Pakistan’s Tribal Belt [PDF].

Studying Soviets Won’t Ensure Success - Westhawk, Westhawk

Is it a sign of despair if NATO leaders are again re-reading histories of the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan? If NATO and American politicians and field commanders are despairing, it would be hard to blame them. Nearly seven years have elapsed since the start of Afghanistan’s latest war yet no one seriously foresees any significant reduction in seasonal violence after another seven years of campaigning. Even more haunting are some of the similarities between the Soviet experience and the current NATO-American effort. These apparent similarities were enough to cause the Canadian government to commission a formal study of the Soviet campaign in order to avoid a repetition of their errors.

Force Consolidation Offensive or Defensive? - Steve Schippert, Threats Watch

Following the Taliban-al-Qaeda overrunning of a US FOB in Wanat (now abandoned), one of the latest in a significant increase in Taliban-al-Qaeda attacks, US forces returned fire on the Taliban inside Pakistan in response to another recent shelling. Also being reported is a buildup of US forces along the Pakistani border. The question is one of intent. Pakistanis suggest that the US is preparing for an ground incursion.

Pakistani Army Launches Operation - Bill Roggio, The Long War Journal

The Pakistani Army has launched a military operation against the Taliban in the settled district of Hangu in the Northwest Frontier Province. The military took over security in Hangu from the Frontier Corps on July 16 after imposing a curfew and warning the residents to leave the area and not to shelter the Taliban. "People who fail to move to relief camps will be considered to be anti-government," a pamphlet distributed by the district administration warned.

Decapitation Campaign - Matt Dupee, The Long War Journal

Recent insurgent activity, including several spectacular al Qaeda styled terrorist attacks, has thrust Afghanistan into a quandary unseen since the US-led Coalition invaded the country seven years ago. Attacks are up throughout the country, including the once secure capital of Kabul, as NATO led forces attempt to thwart further insurgent gains on a multitude of fronts. Coalition forces have surged into three separate areas on the volatile border with Pakistan’s Taliban infested tribal states bringing regional tensions with Afghanistan’s neighbors at an all time high. Meanwhile, US, Canadian and British troops have unleashed a salvo of decapitation strikes against the Taliban’s southern zone leadership elements, eliminating several senior Taliban commanders in Helmand, Herat and Kandahar provinces.

IRAN

Iran Briefs Ally Syria on Standoff with West - Associated Press

Iran's foreign minister briefed Syria's president Thursday on the international standoff over his country's nuclear program. The meeting in Damascus signaled Syria's willingness to act on a request by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to try to help resolve the crisis by pushing Iran to cooperate with the international community. Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, welcomed a Syrian role in trying to ease the tension, Syria's official SANA news agency reported. Speaking at a news conference, he added that Iran has always kept the Syrians informed of developments in the standoff with the United States and its European allies.

A Seat at the Table - New York Times editorial

We welcome the news that President Bush has decided to send one of his top diplomats to talks on Iran’s nuclear program. That is quite a change from just a few months ago when Mr. Bush denounced as appeasement any effort to talk to “terrorists and radicals.” It is very late in the game, but we hope this means that Mr. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are learning the lessons of seven years of failed foreign policies built almost completely on isolating (or attacking) America’s adversaries. There is little chance of solving major international problems so long as this country refuses even to have a seat at the table.

What 'Bomb Iran' Really Takes - Ralph Peters, New York Post opinion

My greatest worry on Iran's nuclear threat to civilization isn't the military option. It's trying that option on the cheap. If there's any way to block Tehran's pursuit of nukes short of warfare, I'm all for it. Maybe yesterday's dispatch of the No. 3 US diplomat to observe the European Union's talks with the mullahs about their nukes will work a miracle (don't hold your breath). Military strikes must be the last resort. Even a successful attack would panic oil markets, interrupt supplies to an unknown degree and make enemies of the Iranian people for another generation. But the fanatics in Tehran may leave us no peaceful alternative. In that case, the most disastrous thing we could do would be to launch an economy-model attack.

Using Bombs to Stave Off War - Benny Morris, New York Times opinion

Israel will almost surely attack Iran’s nuclear sites in the next four to seven months — and the leaders in Washington and even Tehran should hope that the attack will be successful enough to cause at least a significant delay in the Iranian production schedule, if not complete destruction, of that country’s nuclear program. Because if the attack fails, the Middle East will almost certainly face a nuclear war - either through a subsequent pre-emptive Israeli nuclear strike or a nuclear exchange shortly after Iran gets the bomb. It is in the interest of neither Iran nor the United States (nor, for that matter, the rest of the world) that Iran be savaged by a nuclear strike, or that both Israel and Iran suffer such a fate. We know what would ensue: a traumatic destabilization of the Middle East with resounding political and military consequences around the globe, serious injury to the West’s oil supply and radioactive pollution of the earth’s atmosphere and water.

Mullahs vs. Workers - Amir Taheri, New York Post opinion

A year ago last Saturday, Ali Khamenei ordered the abduction of trade-union leader Mansour Osanloo. In so doing, Iran's top ruling mullah hoped to kill in infancy the independent trade-union movement that Osanloo had launched in '05 with the help of colleagues among bus drivers and conductors in Tehran. A year later, Osanloo is still in prison, sentenced to five years on a charge of "undermining the security of the Islamic Republic." Yet the free-union movement that he inspired has spread like wildfire.

COMPLEX OPERATIONS

Best Practices in the "Comprehensive Approach" - Kip, Abu Muqawama

The Europeans don't like the term counterinsurgency. For the French, it is associated with torture in Algeria. For others, it is a question of definition. Any effort against an insurgency is inherently a counter-insurgency, so does the term denote any effort against an insurgency (as it would seem on its face) or is it a set of principles and a way of doing business as US doctrine seems to suggest. They therefore utilize the term "Comprehensive Approach" to denote the set of practices across the political, military, economic, social, and information spheres required to defeat an entrenched insurgent enemy.

The Perils of Mechanized Thought - Marc Tyrrell, In Harmonium

I’ve been engaged in an interesting thread on the Small Wars Council entitled Revising FM 3-24: What needs to change? While the thread is interesting in and of itself, at least if one is interested in Counter-Insurgency (COIN) doctrine, it is also interesting for another reason - the unspoken assumptions that underly both the doctrine and the thoughts of some of its opponents. I’ll admit that my thinking about those underlying assumptions was prompted by two factors. First, a totally unrelated post on the Selil Blog by Sam called The Socratic Compass: Giving students directions not answers (definitely a worthwhile read) and second, I am preparing to teach DIST 3901 again for the Fall; a course on theory and methodology in Interdisciplinary Studies at Carleton University that I teach as if it were a graduate seminar in Applied Epistemology.

A Framework for Anthropology - Marc Tyrrell, In Harmonium

In a recent blog post, Max Forte dissected the Human Terrain System’s (HTS) Top Misconceptions page. Now, in general, I have not been very kind about most of the attacks on the HTS and Max’s post is definitely an attack. It is, however, qualitatively different, in my opinion, from the majority of other attacks for one simple reason: Max is trying to actually look at the record of the HTS, at least the publicly available one, and use that record as the basis for his critique. This is not to say that I believe he is neutral in his examination - he isn’t, as his choice to use such terms as “imperialist”, “occupation”, “US aggression” shows. Moreover, he is quite open about his political stance.

THE LONG WAR

Al Qaeda: Winning or Losing? - The Economist special report

Al-Qaeda has made terrorism truly global, to deadly effect. But it may yet prove to be its own worst enemy. These days in Peshawar, where al-Qaeda was founded 20 years ago, the only glimpse of Osama bin Laden comes on little green packets of safety matches strewn around town by American officials. They bear the portrait of the world’s most wanted man, along with the promise that America will pay up to $5 million for information leading to his capture. It is an appropriate image. Like one of these matches, Mr bin Laden caused a flash with the September 11th attacks on America in 2001, then vanished into smoke, leaving a burning trail of militancy stretching from Indonesia to Afghanistan, Iraq, north Africa and Europe. And despite the reward offered for his capture, now $25m, nobody has yet betrayed the whereabouts of “the Sheikh”, who periodically emerges on the internet to deliver some doom-laden warning to the West.

Judge Refuses to Postpone Trial - Shane and Glaberson, New York Times

A federal judge on Thursday refused to postpone the first military trial set for next week at the Guantánamo Bay detention center, rebuffing a last-minute plea from lawyers for Salim Hamdan, an accused member of Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden’s former driver. Judge James Robertson, of the district court in Washington, ruled that Mr. Hamdan’s claims that the military commission he faces is unconstitutional can be appealed to a civilian court only after his military trial is completed. The ruling clears the way for the start of the first trial of a detainee at the prison complex in Cuba, opened in 2002 to hold prisoners captured in the campaign against terrorism. The trials have been delayed for years, in part by courts that found legal fault with the commissions created to try people designated by the government as “unlawful enemy combatants.”

Judge Refuses to Halt Trial - Wilber and Jerry Markon, Washington Post

A federal judge today refused to halt Monday's scheduled military trial for Osama bin Laden's alleged driver, ruling that he could not intervene in the military justice process established by Congress. US District Judge James Robertson ruled from the bench in a motion brought by lawyers for Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who were seeking a preliminary injunction to halt Hamdan's upcoming military commission in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They are seeking time to contest both his detention and the legality of the military trial in a federal court. Referring to a recent appeals court decision in the case of another detainee, Robertson said Hamdan's legal issues should be raised in the federal court system after the military commission process has concluded. He said Congress and the president had determined in a 2006 law on the detainees that such an approach was the best way to handle these matters.

Hamdan Military Trial to Go Forward - Warren Richey, Christian Science Monitor

A federal judge in Washington has refused to halt the war crimes trial of Osama bin Laden's former driver. The action clears the way for what is expected to become the first trial of a terror suspect via military commission at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Monday. Lawyers for Salim Ahmed Hamden had asked US District Judge James Robertson to delay the start of the war crimes trial, saying the legal foundations of the tribunal process had been undermined by a recent US Supreme Court decision.

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Terrorism Funds May Let Brass Fly in Style - R. Jeffrey Smith, Washington Post

The Air Force's top leadership sought for three years to spend counterterrorism funds on "comfort capsules" to be installed on military planes that ferry senior officers and civilian leaders around the world, with at least four top generals involved in design details such as the color of the capsules' carpet and leather chairs, according to internal e-mails and budget documents. Production of the first capsule -- consisting of two sealed rooms that can fit into the fuselage of a large military aircraft -- has already begun. Air Force officials say the government needs the new capsules to ensure that leaders can talk, work and rest comfortably in the air. But the top brass's preoccupation with creating new luxury in wartime has alienated lower-ranking Air Force officers familiar with the effort, as well as congressional staff members and a nonprofit group that calls the program a waste of money.

We Need the Freedom Legion - Max Boot, Contentions

Are we Americans too chauvinistic to learn a thing or two from the French? I hope not, because in 1831 France had a great idea. It’s called the Foreign Legion, and, as Molly Moore reports in the Washington Post, it is still going strong. Today the Legion has 7,655 members, making it about the size of two US army brigades. Its personnel come from 136 countries. The ability to recruit so widely is a direct result of the Internet. “Once an almost exclusively European force,” Moore writes, “the Legion now counts Asians and Latin Americans among its fastest-growing cadres of soldiers. Although French law forbids the Legion to actively recruit beyond French borders, the Internet has rendered the law almost meaningless.” Why is this an example to learn from? Because, as I’ve argued in the past, we should be setting up our own Foreign Legion, which I’ve suggested should be called the Freedom Legion. Given the recruiting difficulties suffered in recent years by the army this would seem like a no-brainer. Why not hire gung-ho recruits from around the world? If the French can do it, we certainly could, and our task would be easier because a lot more potential recruits speak English than speak French.

UK MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

Taking Stock of the British Army - David Betz, Kings of War

Here are two articles that I meant to comment on earlier but have been distracted by the writing of a research grant bid (from which I am now skiving). For some time now I (and no doubt many others) have been of the opinion that Britain when it comes to strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan, in general in fact, Britain has no one in the driver’s seat. The magnificent bravery, dedication , sacrifice, and professional skill of the Army is not in question. But other things decidedly are. For instance, what is the long-term plan for Afghanistan? What are the troops there to do exactly? Deny sanctuary to Al Qaeda there? Done. They’ve moved to Pakistan. ‘Stabilize’ and ‘democratize’ the place, build a viable economy there based on something other than narcotics? OK… but if so have we the patience and resources to take on this multi-decades effort? Not at present and it doesn’t look to me as though the government is seriously considering the imbalance between its declared aims and its existing means. Is it worth it? One thing which is becoming clear in the UK is the tension between the expeditionary campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan and the domestic campaign to stem the rising tide of radicalization of Muslim youth which the Home Office thus far has made a hash of.

US DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Peace Corps with a Punch - Uncle Jimbo, Blackfive

Grim noted the Sec Def and other senior military leaders have been talking about mission creep and the fact that many jobs have been shunted to the military because, well the State Department sucks Hoover. Now that is unfair to the people doing good work there, but I would find it hard to listen to anyone talk about it as an effective organization. We do need a robust America-promoting, civilian-based effort to go alongside military COIN efforts. Grim rightly points out that many of the missions in COIN that the military should be doing ought to be part of a larger effort headmanned by the State Dept.

Glassman Reaches Out to Bloggers - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner

Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Jim Glassman is on a mission to let people know that American public diplomacy, as well as his office, is changing. This is the message he’s been refining since his Wall Street Journal opinion piece after being sworn in as Under Secretary. He updated it in the CFR briefing a week later, and again at the Washington Institute. However, only the initial WSJ article received much attention by the media, if only because it was in the WSJ. Even what Karen Hughes wore on her head received more attention by “traditional” media and by the blogosphere. Under Secretary Jim Glassman is pushing an aggressive public diplomacy that’s reminiscent of the information, cultural, and educational activities of the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s (a vision I’ve pushed for on this blog) and creating distance from the “neutered beauty contest” (my phrase not his) style of the last decade and more. My read is he’s pushing for a return to the struggle for minds and wills and away from the phrase “winning the hearts and minds”.

US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Obama's 'Judgment' - Wall Street Journal editorial

Barack Obama departs for Iraq as early as this weekend, with a media entourage as large as some of his rallies. He'll no doubt learn a lot, in addition to getting a good photo op. What we'll be waiting to hear is whether the would-be Commander in Chief absorbs enough to admit he was wrong about the troop surge in Iraq. Mr. Obama has made a central basis of his candidacy the "judgment" he showed in opposing the Iraq war in 2002, even if it was a risk-free position to take as an Illinois state senator. The claim helped him win the Democratic primaries. But the 2007 surge debate is the single most important strategic judgment he has had to make on the more serious stage as a Presidential candidate. He vocally opposed the surge, and events have since vindicated Mr. Bush. Without the surge and a new counterinsurgency strategy, the US would have suffered a humiliating defeat in Iraq. Yet Mr. Obama now wants to ignore that judgment, and earlier this week his campaign erased from its Web site all traces of his surge opposition.

Obama's Iraq Timetable - Philadelphia Inquirer editorial

Barack Obama's new position on Iraq, which turns out to be the same as his old position, is disappointing. It's too confining, leaving too little room to adjust to changing conditions. Early last year, when the war was at its worst, Obama said he would withdraw US troops within 16 months of becoming president. The Democrat set this timetable partly because, he said, the American military could not referee a civil war between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Since then, President Bush ordered more troops to Iraq. This "surge," coupled with a strategy of turning Sunnis against foreign al-Qaeda fighters, has succeeded in reducing violence. It's too soon to tell if this relative stability is temporary or the permanent foundation for a healthy society. Civilian leaders have not yet seized this opportunity to strengthen their young central government, nor is the Iraqi military fully capable of standing on its own. But the surge of US troops at least has created conditions that make these goals more possible.

Boxing in Obama on Iraq - Morris and McGann, New York Post opinion

The shadow of the Iraq War still hovers over the 2008 presidential race. In deed, though it's the issue that made Barack Obama (giving him his running room to Hillary Clinton's left), it may now become his chief vulnerability. Weak on national-security issues, untried, inexperienced and (perhaps) naive, Obama can find the Iraq issue hard to handle - if John McCain plays it right. Obama has long since won the issue of Iraq-past - opposing the war before anyone and voting continuously and solidly against it when others waffled. Yet McCain is winning Iraq-present: A majority of Americans believe that the surge is working. Casualties are down so far that the pessimistic left has shifted its doom-and-gloom to Afghanistan. But McCain's key opportunity is to exploit the issue of Iraq-future.

McCain Unloads on Obama Over Iraq - Tom Bevan, Real Clear Politics

The McCain campaign has released seven-and-half-minute long web video called "The Obama Iraq Documentary: Whatever the Politics Demand." It is, as the title suggests, a fairly thorough and effective critique of Obama's various statements and contradictions on Iraq over the last few years.

The Obama Iraq Documentary: Whatever the Politics Demand

Going Jaw to Jaw with our Enemies - Ted Sorensen, Boston Globe opinion

Senator John McCain has apparently decided to focus not on the sagging economy under the disastrous Bush economic and fiscal policies, which McCain would continue, but on Senator Barack Obama's willingness to communicate with hostile foreign leaders, such as those in Iran, North Korea, and Syria. In a recent New York Times op-ed, authors Nathan Thrall and Jesse James Wilkin attempted to support McCain's thesis by defaming a dead president. They stretched a common misperception about the 1961 Kennedy-Khrushchev summit meeting in Vienna to absurd length, claiming that President Kennedy was "weak," "pummeled," and "no match as a sparring partner," which led to US foreign policy setbacks. Having studied the transcript of those talks, and having been briefed by the president on our return flight from Vienna, I accept Sergei Khrushchev's account that his father was impressed with Kennedy as a worthy and forcefully articulate opponent.

The Obama Road Show - John Dickerson, Slate opinion

Barack Obama has found a great new way to help voters imagine him as an occupant of the office he doesn't have yet. He's dropped the widely mocked faux presidential seal, but when he heads overseas Sunday, he'll take an accessory with real power: three television network anchors. The anchors are a big coup for Obama as he heads to Europe, the Middle East, Iraq, and Afghanistan. They confer instant legitimacy. McCain, like Hillary Clinton before him, is arguing that Obama isn't qualified to be commander in chief, but the networks are treating him like he's already got the job. Each one will get an interview on a different night, which means Obama stands to control at least three days of news coverage in a campaign in which candidates are lucky if they can shape a few hours. The rest of the press hoard following Obama and the expected adoring crowds of cheering Europeans will only enhance the presidential tableau.

Barack Obama Starts World Tour - Gerard Baker, The Times opinion

It's easy to be cynical about the global hysteria for the Democratic presidential candidate, as I fear I may have just demonstrated. To wizened hacks, next week's roadshow (which starts in the Middle East) will offer mostly another opportunity to marvel at the perennial victory of the public's hope over experience. It's already the new consensus, in fact, that Mr Obama is not quite the messiah he was once thought to be. The diplomatic substance of the trip will surely underscore this. He will be sure, for starters, not to offer direct public criticism of President Bush. The unprecedented foreign campaign swing is already generating enough criticism in the US that to breach the longstanding protocol that you don't attack your country while you're overseas will be especially carefully adhered to.

How Tough Would Obama be with Iran? - Uri Dromi, Miami Herald opinion

Sen. Barack Obama is gearing up to his Middle East trip, meant to bolster the presidential candidate's foreign policy credentials. If I had the luck to corner one of his senior aides, and -- maybe with the help of a drink or two -- push him or her into a talkative mood, I guess I would hear something like this...

The Elephant in the Room - Rick Santorum, Philadelphia Inquirer opinion

Over the past weeks much has been made of Barack Obama's hard right turn toward the center of the political spectrum. There's been no greater about-face than his embrace of the Bush Doctrine on the next likely foreign policy crisis - Iran. The Bush Doctrine refers to the strategy of preemptive warfare that President Bush set forth in 2002. It's the idea that the United States will not wait for menacing enemies to attack us; we will attack preemptively in certain cases. But how, you might ask, can the candidate of MoveOn.org and the antiwar-forever crowd be aligned with Bush on preemptive strikes against Iran? Here's how: Last month, Obama declared, "I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon - everything." When a would-be commander in chief says "everything" three times in one sentence - and says so publicly - he is not just talking about continued diplomacy and sanctions. He's saying that he has not taken the military option off the table. With that statement, Obama, the definitive antiwar candidate, ended any serious debate over preemption in the post-9/11 world.

Obama's Greatest Admirer - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post opinion

Barack Obama wants to speak at the Brandenburg Gate. He figures it would be a nice backdrop. The supporting cast -- a cheering audience and a few fainting frauleins -- would be a picturesque way to bolster his foreign policy credentials. What Obama does not seem to understand is that the Brandenburg Gate is something you earn. President Ronald Reagan earned the right to speak there because his relentless pressure had brought the Soviet empire to its knees and he was demanding its final "tear down this wall" liquidation. When President John F. Kennedy visited the Brandenburg Gate on the day of his "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech, he was representing a country that was prepared to go to the brink of nuclear war to defend West Berlin.

Obama, McCain Plans Need Pakistan - Ken Fireman, Bloomberg opinion

Barack Obama and John McCain, in a rare note of harmony on national security, both want a surge of troops into Afghanistan. Experts say adding forces won't help much in combating insurgents unless Pakistan joins the fight. Afghanistan will remain vulnerable to attacks as long as Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters have safe havens in neighboring Pakistan, and a bigger US force won't force the Pakistanis to eradicate the sanctuaries, the experts say. A buildup also won't address obstacles to progress such as mistrust between villagers and Afghan security forces or tribal elders' reluctance to resist the insurgents.

John McCain on Afghanistan - Richard Fernandez, The Belmont Club

John McCain laid out his strategic thinking in the War on Terror in an integrated way, examining in particular the link between the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. In describing the situation McCain extends the logic of the Iraq counterinsurgency effort and employs the framework of the “lessons learned” to the global campaign against Islamic extremism. One of the lessons of the Surge has been the need to create lasting security in one place before haring off in pursuit of mobile enemy forces. This was sometimes referred to in the media as the “ink spot” theory of counterinsurgency. McCain, in addressing overall strategy, warns that Obama’s plan to evacuate in Iraq in order to “get” Osama Bin Laden is precisely a repetition of the cardinal mistake of leaving an operation half-finished in order to begin a new one.

UNITED NATIONS

Scandal Central - Claudia Rosett, New York Post opinion

The United Nations likes to sell itself as a mentor of good governance. But the recent deep-sixing of a damning in-house report suggests it might more honestly advertise itself as an example of how to foster bad governance - and get away with it. The report in question, labeled "strictly confidential," centers on alleged transgressions by longtime UN staffer Guido Bertucci, the director of - what else? - the UN good-governance office, the Division of Public Administration and Development Management. In the 91-page document, dated May 13, the UN's anti-corruption task force accuses Bertucci of nepotism, favoritism, falsifying documents and diverting money in mismanaging a $2.8 million trust fund that was bankrolled by the Greek government. Worse yet, the money was intended to enhance integrity in public service.

AFRICA

US Africa Aid Is Increasingly Military - Stephanie McCrummen, Washington Post

US aid to Africa is becoming increasingly militarized, resulting in skewed priorities and less attention to longer-term development projects that could lead to greater stability across the continent, according to a report released Thursday by the advocacy group Refugees International. The report warns that the planned US Africa Command, designed to boost America's image and prevent terrorism, is allowing the Defense Department to usurp funds traditionally directed by the State Department and US aid agencies. A Pentagon spokesman did not return a call requesting comment. But Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned this week against the risk of a "creeping militarization" of US foreign policy and said the State Department should lead US engagement with other countries.

Relief Group Criticizes New U.S. Africa Command - Reuters

The new US military command for Africa is unlikely to foster the security required to bring badly needed development to the impoverished continent, according to a study released on Thursday. A report by the Washington-based relief agency Refugees International said US Africa Command, or AFRICOM, lacks the funding necessary to address the continent's need for competent policing and criminal justice operations. "AFRICOM's current meager budget for bilateral security cooperation falls far short of what is needed to have true credibility and impact," the 48-page report said. But Africa Command spokesman Vince Crawley said the command would play only a supportive role in helping countries upgrade police and other law enforcement agencies, and that most of the effort would be funded and led by the State Department.

Attack Hits Nigeria's Crude Production - Mike Pflanz, Daily Telegraph

Attacks on an oil pipeline cost Nigeria another 50,000 barrels a day of production, threatening a further rise in global crude prices. The explosion, which damaged a pipe owned by a subsidiary of Eni, an Italian firm, came a day after militants in speedboats attacked a Nigerian navy vessel, killing five people. Violence in the Niger Delta, where most of Nigeria's 36 billion barrels of proven oil reserves are found, has cut the country's daily crude output – which should total 2.5 million barrels – by at least 25 per cent. In the last week, gunmen have killed a soldier and kidnapped two German construction workers by using dynamite to blow their armoured car off the road. The largest militant group, styling itself the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), has ended a ceasefire.

A Darfur Dead End - San Francisco Chronicle editorial

In charging Sudan's leader with genocide, the prosecutor for a United Nations-backed international court is taking a huge risk. The case may either bring a murderous autocrat to account - or unhinge him and disrupt chances for peace. This prediction is no argument for ignoring Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir, who has directed a five-year campaign of rape, murder and forced flight in his country's Darfur province. The charges bring a legal edge to a worldwide campaign to end a war that's left 300,000 dead and 2.7 million displaced. But will it work? The court is powerless to arrest him. UN peacekeepers in Sudan, seven of whom were killed last week, may be targeted for payback. China, eager for Sudan's oil, opposes the legal move, as does Russia. The African Union and Arab League are also critical and even Bashir's domestic rivals have rallied to his side.

Darfur's J'Accuse? - Austin Bay, Washington Times opinion

This week, a senior International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor decided to seek an arrest warrant for Sudan's noxious leader, Omar Hassan al-Bashir. The prosecutor accuses Mr. al-Bashir of committing genocide and other crimes against humanity in Sudan's Darfur region. No one who has been following the savage conflict can doubt the validity of the charges against Mr. al-Bashir or the other senior leaders in his despicable regime. The prosecutor's press release lacks Zola's art, but as official statements go it packs power. "Evidence shows that al-Bashir masterminded and implemented a plan to destroy in substantial part the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa groups, on account of their ethnicity. ... Al-Bashir failed to defeat the armed movements, so he went after the people. ... His intent was genocide." The Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa, Darfur's predominant ethnic groups, rebelled against what they called "favoritism towards Arabs" by Mr. al-Bashir's government. Mr. al-Bashir claims neighboring Chad supports the rebellion, and to a degree it does. The United Nations estimates 300,000 people have died, and most of the dead are Darfuri civilians. The fighting has created 2 million refugees.

AMERICAS

Nicaragua's FARC Offer Rebuffed - BBC News

An offer by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to hold talks with Colombia's FARC guerrillas has been rejected by the government in Bogota. Earlier this week the leftist rebels issued a statement inviting Mr Ortega to meet them. He replied that he was prepared to talk to his "brothers". Colombian ministers responded angrily, saying they would not authorise contact between Mr Ortega and the rebels. The FARC have fought to overthrow the government for decades. But their strength is thought to be severely depleted following a number of recent setbacks.

Venezuela, US May Renew Drug Cooperation - Associated Press

The United States and Venezuela may renew anti-drug cooperation that has been stalled for three years amid deteriorating relations, top officials from both nations said Thursday. Venezuela's foreign minister said the country is willing to work with Washington against drug trafficking as long as US officials express the mutual respect necessary for bilateral relations. "We will advance when that is understood by the US government," Nicolas Maduro told reporters. "Meanwhile, conversations will continue." The Bush administration is eager to resume those joint counter-narcotics efforts, said Thomas Shannon, the top US diplomat for Latin America.

New Drug Challenge: Mini-submarines - Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times

The capture was worthy of an action thriller: elite Mexican troops rappelling from a helicopter onto the deck of a mysterious submarine. The 33-foot vessel turned out to be crammed with parcels apparently containing cocaine, possibly tons of it. The disheveled crew of four had emerged in stocking feet and baggy shorts, claiming to have shipped out from Colombia a week earlier under threat of death. Mexico's military confirmed Thursday that the men were Colombian, but it offered little new information on the capture of the mini-sub off the southern coast a day earlier. Capt. Jose Luis Vergara, a spokesman for the Mexican navy, said authorities were hauling the "very well-constructed" vessel to shore and had yet to weigh the contraband, which he said probably amounted to tons.

Cubans Heading to US, via Mexico - Carol Williams, Los Angeles Times

In the face of a US crackdown on illegal immigration in the waters between Cuba and Florida, Mexican authorities have reported a surge in detentions of Cubans as quick-moving smugglers shift their routes westward. Under a 1995 proviso of US immigration law known as the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, Cubans who reach US territory are entitled to legal residency. With the Florida Straits under the gun, much of the traffic has been rerouted to bring migrants to Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and then guide them overland to the US border -- where they are detained on illegal entry charges for just a few days.

ASIA PACIFIC

China Moves to Quell Violence - Rowan Callick, The Australian

Responding to a new wave of unrest ahead of the Olympics, China's communist leadership has told local leaders to address public grievances in order to head off protests that threaten the country's social stability. The exhortation yesterday was the most recent in a series of calls reflecting the Government's concern over rising social inequality, rampant corruption and the weak legal system. The urgent appeal, made on the eve of the Beijing Games, follows a succession of incidents over officials' apparent high-handedness that have triggered either unrest involving hundreds of people or murderous outbursts by lone mavericks.

Officials Defend Tibet Policy - David Sands, Washington Times

A delegation of top Chinese officials and scholars on Tibet on Thursday defended Beijing's handling of anti-government riots earlier this year and denied charges by followers of the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader, that talks to end the crisis have broken down. Global protests over the March violence, including multiple disruptions of the Olympic torch relay in Europe and the United States, have proven a public relations headache for China's leaders as they prepare for the showcase summer Olympic Games next month in Beijing. China put the death toll from the clashes at 21, but Tibetan activists say the real number is nearly ten times higher.

Olympic Countdown - Washington Post editorial

With three weeks remaining until the opening of the Olympic Games, China's Communist leadership is relentlessly pursuing a strategy doomed to failure. Through censorship, visa restrictions, intimidation and brute repression, China's leadership is trying to prevent any public expression by Chinese citizens or foreign visitors that conflicts with the image it wishes to project to the world -- that of a "harmonious" society. In pursuit of this goal, China is blatantly violating the promises it made when it was awarded the Games, including that it would allow unrestricted media coverage. And it is setting itself up for a political and public relations disaster when -- as seems inevitable -- a dissident message evades its censors and security thugs.

China's Olympic Muddle - Christian Science Monitor editorial

Like a marathoner at the finish line, China seems whipped. It struggled two decades to host the Olympics that open in three weeks. It has spent about $50 billion, pumped up its athletes, spiffed up Beijing, and fended off calls for a boycott. Now it may wonder if the effort will be worth it. The Games themselves will, of course, be the world's main focus for two weeks after the Aug. 8 opening ceremonies. And thousands of athletes will fulfill once again the purpose of the modern Olympics, as stated by founder Pierre de Coubertin: "to bring together in a radiant union all the qualities which guide mankind to perfection." But these Olympics also came with two political expectations, both of which are not even close to earning a medal. One is human rights in China.

Philippines Muslim Area to Expand - BBC News

The Philippine government and a separatist rebel group have agreed to expand an autonomous Muslim region in the south of the country. The agreement envisages the extension of the present region in Mindanao to include a further 712 villages. The proposed homeland will also be entitled to a large share of the resources in the area. But the deal - agreed in secret talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) - remains subject to approval. Formal talks began in 2003 after MILF, which is thought to have around 11,000 members, signed a fragile truce with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's government. It is the largest of several Muslim separatist groups battling the government in the predominantly Catholic country.

Bali Bombers Face Execution - The Australian

Indonesia's Supreme Court has dismissed the final legal challenge by the death row Bali bombers, clearing the way for their execution. Islamic militants - Amrozi, his brother Mukhlas and Imam Samudra - had attempted to apply for a third judicial review of their cases in Indonesia's Supreme Court. But it is understood the Supreme Court has rejected the request. The Supreme Court sent its decision on the case to Bali's Denpasar District Court yesterday. Denpasar District Court head Nyoman Gede Wirya said a press conference would be held on the case tomorrow.

Appeal of Convicted Bali Bombers Dismissed - Chad Bouchard, VOA

Indonesia has denied final appeals for three men on death row convicted for deadly bombings on the island of Bali in October, 2002. The Indonesian Supreme Court rejected appeals from the three Islamic militants, and sent their decision to a district court in Bali. The decision means Ali Ghufron, Imam Samudra and Amrozi Nurhasyim are one step closer to the firing squad. The men were convicted in 2003 for their part in deadly nightclub bombings, which killed 202 people on the resort island. Court officials say their most recent appeal, which was filed in May, was declared invalid. Their last option is to appeal for clemency from Indonesia's president, but the men have repeatedly stated they would not do so because they are unwilling to admit wrongdoing.

Cambodia, Thailand Deploy More Troops - Associated Press

Cambodia and Thailand sent more troops Thursday to their disputed border region surrounding an 11th century temple - despite agreeing to hold talks next week to avoid military action. The standoff - now in its third day - is the latest escalation in a long-standing conflict over land that surrounds Preah Vihear temple, which is similar in style to the more famous Angkor Wat in northeastern Cambodia.

Opposition Figure’s Arrest Increases Tensions - Seth Mydans, New York Times

The leading Malaysian opposition figure, Anwar Ibrahim, said Thursday that his arrest on suspicion of sodomy might have set back one of the strongest challenges in the country’s history to the dominance of the longtime governing party. Mr. Anwar, 61, denied the accusation, which was made last month by a 23-year-old male aide. A decade ago, when Mr. Anwar was the deputy prime minister, he was convicted of sodomy and corruption and served six years in prison before a court overturned the convictions. Mr. Anwar has not been charged in the current case, but his arrest and detention threatened to add to political tensions that have grown since the governing party suffered the biggest losses in its history in an election in March.

Arming Taiwan - Ed Ross, Wall Street Journal opinion

Among the many challenges facing the United States in an election year is the issue of arms sales to Taiwan. Before he leaves office, President Bush must decide whether or not to approve various major sales to the island, including 60 additional F-16s, Patriot PAC III missiles and Apache and Blackhawk helicopters. At present, the Department of State and the National Security Council are holding up these sales. This is an issue which deserves President Bush's immediate attention. A little history helps illuminate what's going on. In 2001, shortly after President Bush took office, he approved in principle several billion dollars in new arms sales to Taiwan. This decision reflected the President's concern for China's military build-up and a continuing US commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act, which obligates the US to provide the island with weapons to defend itself.

EUROPE

Four Cleared over Madrid Terror Blasts - Thomas Catan, The Times

Four men have had their convictions for participating in the 2004 Madrid train bombings quashed by Spain's top appeals court - bringing to 11 the number of people acquitted in connection with one of Europe's worst terrorist massacres. Three Arab men were cleared yesterday of belonging to the radical Islamist cell that carried out the March 11 bombings, killing 191 people and injuring 1,800. A Spanish man was also cleared of trafficking explosives. In a further blow for the Spanish prosecutor, the court upheld the acquittal of a man known as “Mohammed the Egyptian” , one of the alleged masterminds of the atrocity.

4 Cleared in Madrid Train Bombing - Dale Fuchs, New York Times

A Spanish court overturned the convictions of four men and upheld the acquittal of a fifth on Thursday in the convoluted legal proceedings relating to the 2004 Madrid commuter train bombings that killed 191 people in the deadliest attacks by Islamic militants on European soil. The rulings followed appeals of some of the 21 convictions by a lower court after a five-month trial that ended in October. Seven other people were acquitted at that time. The court on Thursday upheld the acquittal of one of the men suspected of being an architect of the bombing, Rabei Osman, an Egyptian, who was found guilty in 2006 in Italy of belonging to a terrorist organization.

Bid to End Deadlock in Georgia Conflict - Olivia Ward, Toronto Star

Ever since the Soviet Union crumbled, Russia and its former Soviet republic, Georgia, have been locked in a power struggle. Lately, tensions are running so high that international efforts have been launched to avert a dangerous regional conflict. Yesterday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili before travelling to the breakaway region of Abkhazia, and holding talks in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Steinmeier came with a three-stage plan for defusing the crisis, proposing a negotiated settlement for Abkhazia, where Russia has stationed 3,000 peacekeeping troops. But he warned that the going will be rough.

UN's Ban Pushing Ahead with Kosovo Handoff to EU - Reuters

Despite Russian objections, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report made public on Thursday he was pushing ahead with a plan to hand over policing functions in Kosovo to the European Union. The United Nations has run the former Serbian province since 1999, when NATO bombing drove out Serb forces engaged in a ruthless counterinsurgency against Albanian guerrillas. But a declaration of independence in February by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority left the UN mission in limbo. The Security Council has been split on how to proceed because Western states have recognized Kosovo while veto-holding Russia follows its ally Serbia in opposing independence.

France Closes Ranks Against Burka - Emma-Kate Symons, The Australian

France has taken a united stand against the burka and the veil with a leading Muslim minister in Nicolas Sarkozy's Government condemning head-to-toe Islamic dress as "a prison and a straitjacket". Following a landmark appeal court ruling denying French citizenship to a Moroccan woman who wore a burka at the behest of her French husband, Urban Affairs Minister Fadela Amara said all Islamic coverings for women, including the popular head and shoulder veil or hijab were "symbols of oppression". "The burka is a prison; it's a straitjacket," she told Le Parisien. "It is not a religious insignia but the insignia of a totalitarian political project that advocates inequality between the sexes and which is totally devoid of democracy." The words burka and niqab are used interchangeably in France, although burka normally refers to the head-to-toe covering including a screen over the eyes that is popular in parts of Afghanistan. The niqab generally leaves a small slit for the eyes.

The Battle for Turkey - The Times editorial

“I cover my head, not my brain,” the Turkish First Lady tells The Times, her head swathed in white silk. But Harunisa Gül does not believe headscarves should be forced on women, and it would be hard to find anyone in Istanbul who disagreed with her - at least in public. Ever since Mustafa Kemal Atatürk tranformed the remnants of the Ottoman Empire into a unitary state, compulsion in matters of dress has existed precisely to suppress signs of religion: Atatürk banned fezzes as well as veils. But 85 years on, headscarves are back, worn by perhaps 60 per cent of women. As in France, where a Muslim minister has denied a Muslim woman citizenship for wearing a niqab, they arouse the primal suspicions of an avowedly secular state. But in Turkey the headscarf means more. It has become the most potent symbol of a battle for the soul of the country that will determine its place in Europe and the Islamic world.

Turkey's Turmoil - Marcus and Apostolou, Washington Post opinion

Turkey's political crisis has taken a turn for the worse. The chief prosecutor, who has accused the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of anti-secular statements and actions, has presented his argument to the Constitutional Court. The court is expected soon to bar Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan from politics and disband his party. The only result this struggle can produce is political instability in an important US ally. Yet the US government has been curiously quiet about this assault on Turkey's democracy. While it once actively promoted Turkey as a democratic "model" for the Muslim world, US officials now hesitate to publicly condemn this legal farce. The United States refuses to say aloud what many Turks think: that the chief prosecutor is engineering a military-backed judicial coup. If he succeeds, this will be the fifth time in as many decades that the army has pushed out a democratically elected government.

MIDDLE EAST

A Nation Mourns - Ilene Prusher, Christian Science Monitor

For Israelis, their Second Lebanon War, fought in summer 2006, came to a close only on Thursday, when the two soldiers whose capture became the cause for launching the conflict were laid to rest before their families and the eyes of a solemn nation. But even in their return – which transpired a day earlier as part of a swap with Hezbollah, who traded the men's bodies for the remains of some 200 Lebanese plus five Lebanese prisoners – there is still unease about the lopsided trade-off and questions about balancing the interests of affected families against those of the state. Under a sweltering July sky at the Nahariya military cemetery, which overlooks the same Mediterranean that hugs the Beirut coastline where Hezbollah continued victory celebrations Thursday, many family members and friends who eulogized "Udi" – Ehud Goldwasser – seemed to want to shift the sentiment that Israel had somehow lost to Hezbollah.

Funerals in Israel for Two Soldiers - Noveck and Bowley, New York Times

With solemn speeches and military salutes, thousands of mourners on Thursday buried the two Israeli soldiers whose remains were returned in a long-awaited exchange with the Lebanese militia Hezbollah on Wednesday. The funeral of Sgt. First Class Ehud Goldwasser took place in Nahariya, the soldier’s hometown on the northern coast, within view of the Lebanese border crossing where the exchange took place. Later in the afternoon, the remains of the second soldier, Staff Sgt. Eldad Regev, were interred at the military cemetery in Haifa. Mourners gathered in the morning heat for the Goldwasser funeral, with the soldier’s family and others taking shelter from the sun under a broad cloth canopy.

A Strange Kind of Hero - Boston Globe editorial

When Israel swapped prisoners and corpses this week with the Lebanese Shi'ite movement Hezbollah, a flood of propaganda immediately followed. Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, depicted the return of five prisoners and the remains of 199 Lebanese killed in the 2006 war with Israel as a way of achieving Hezbollah's original goal when it kidnapped two Israeli soldiers - an act that ignited the war. Hezbollah's triumphalism serves a political purpose. It enhances the group's prestige within Lebanon and across the Mideast. In Israel, the exchange of five prisoners for the bodies of the two dead Israeli soldiers was treated as a controversial affirmation of national values. Defense Minister Ehud Barak spoke of Israel's readiness to "pay the highest price" to retrieve its captured soldiers. Intelligence chiefs warned that Israel was inviting its enemies to kidnap new hostages to be traded for more prisoners.

A Shameful Exchange - New York Post editorial

Lebanon declared a state holiday as six bloodstained terrorists - newly freed from Israeli prisons - got a red-carpet hero's welcome. In Israel, however, Wednesday was a time for mourning and bitterness - as the corpses of two young military reservists, kidnapped in 2006 and at some later point murdered, were handed over by Iran's Lebanese surrogate, Hezbollah. The shameful exchange ended the two-year nightmare for the parents of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, who until the coffins were delivered didn't know for certain whether their sons were alive or dead. It also underscored Israel's deeply felt imperative never to abandon soldiers in the field. But many may be asking whether it was worth the price.

Talks Signal Mideast Shift - Michael Slackman, New York Times

After years of escalating tensions and bloodshed, the talk in the Middle East is suddenly about talking. The shift is still relatively subtle, but hints of a new approach in the waning months of the Bush administration are fueling hopes of at least short-term stability for the first time since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Much is happening, adding up not to any great diplomatic breakthrough, but to a distinct change in direction. Syria is being welcomed out of isolation by Europe and is holding indirect talks with Israel. Lebanon has formed a new government. Israel has cut deals with Hamas (a cease-fire) and Hezbollah (a prisoner exchange).

US Plans Peace Talks with Israelis, Palestinians - Reuters

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to host peace talks in Washington with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on July 30, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Thursday. Rice met a Palestinian delegation in Washington on Wednesday and offered to host the three-way meeting between herself, chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurie and his Israeli partner, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Erekat said. The top US diplomat is mediating efforts to reach a peace agreement this year between the Palestinians and the Israelis, in the waning months of Bush administration, which ends in January 2009.

Unease Over West Bank Raids - Griff Witte, Washington Post

With a fragile truce holding in Gaza, Israel has turned its attention to undercutting Hamas's charity work in the West Bank. The effort is needed there, Israel contends, to keep the group from seizing power from the more pragmatic Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, much as it did in Gaza last year. But the raids have also sown resentment and have put the Palestinian Authority in an awkward spot: Although Hamas is seen by Fatah leaders as a mortal threat, it also provides valuable services that the Palestinian Authority can't easily replicate. Every time Israel cracks down and closes a school or a medical center, it leaves a void that makes people more dissatisfied with the Authority.

New Yorker Affirms Cash Gifts to Olmert - Griff Witte, Washington Post

Attorneys for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sought Thursday to poke holes in the testimony of a New York businessman at the center of a probe that threatens to bring down Olmert's government. In a full day of cross-examination, the lawyers repeatedly tried to undermine Morris Talansky's credibility by pointing to inconsistencies in his statements. Talansky, 75, was adamant that his testimony has been truthful. "I never gave a false answer," he said. Talansky has said he gave Olmert more than $150,000 over a nearly 15-year period, much of it in the form of cash stuffed into envelopes. He has also said that while the money was intended to help fund Olmert's political campaigns, he believes that much of it went to support the Israeli politician's lavish lifestyle, including a family vacation to Italy, fine cigars and a three-night stay at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Washington.

SOUTH ASIA

Warships Guard Indian PM - Bruce Loudon, The Australian

Indian warships, including two frontline guided-missile destroyers, were being deployed to waters off Sri Lanka last night as part of a massive security operation aimed at protecting Manmohan Singh when he arrives in Colombo to attend a key regional summit. The operation, which reportedly involves Indian air force helicopter gunships patrolling the skies of the Sri Lankan capital, comes amid fears that Tamil Tiger terrorists are planning an attack on the Indian Prime Minister while he is at the summit of the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation. The talks bring together association members India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan in what will be the most high-profile international meeting to be held in Sri Lanka for many years. The unprecedented deployment of warships and an airstrike capacity follows a visit to Sri Lanka by India's National Security Adviser, MK Narayanan, to assess the the threat potential at the summit.

Fighting in Sri Lanka Kills 25, Military Says - Associated Press

A wave of battles along the front lines of the civil war in northern Sri Lanka killed 20 ethnic Tamil rebels and five soldiers, the military said Friday. Meanwhile, air force jets bombed a rebel storage facility Friday morning and attacked and destroyed three rebel boats, the military said. The violence came amid a sharp increase in fighting in recent months, with the government vowing to crush the rebels and seize control of their de facto state in the north.

India’s Government Accused of Buying Votes - Jeremy Page, The Times

The Indian Government, on the brink of a crucial no-confidence motion that is regarded as a turning point in the world’s biggest democracy, has been accused of buying votes on an epic scale. In the run-up to Tuesday’s vote, Delhi has been gripped by a frenzy of mud-slinging, back-slapping and deal-making as the Congress Party and its main rivals try to make up the numbers. An MP said this week that the Government was offering to pay as much as 250 million rupees (£3 million) for each vote in parliament. The Government secured three votes yesterday by naming an airport in Lucknow after the father of Ajit Singh, the leader of a small regional party. It is even planning to free six jailed MPs for the vote, five of whom are allies and four of whom are convicted murderers.

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.