IRAQ

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

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

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

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

Iraq Clings to a Rickety Calm - Ned Parker, Los Angeles Times

The departure this month of the last of the 28,500 extra troops sent in a US military buildup leaves Iraq in a rickety calm, an in-between space that is not quite war and not quite peace where ethnic and sectarian tensions bubble beneath the surface. Politicians and US officials hail the remarkable turnaround from open civil war that left 3,700 Iraqis dead during the worst month in the fall of 2006, compared with June's toll of 490, according to Pentagon estimates. Signs abound that normal life is starting to return. Revelers can idle away the hours at several neighborhood joints in Baghdad where the tables are buried in beers and a man can bring a girlfriend dolled up in a nice dress. Despite the gains, the political horizon is clouded: Shiite Muslim parties are locked in dangerous rivalries across central and southern Iraq. Kurds and Arabs in the north compete for land with no resolution in sight. US-backed Sunni Arab fighters who turned on the group Al Qaeda in Iraq could return to the insurgency if the government does not deliver jobs and a chance to join the political process.

US Says 3 Killed Were Law-Abiding - Raghavan and Mizher, Washington Post

The US military acknowledged Sunday that American soldiers killed three "law abiding" Iraqi civilians last month as the Iraqis traveled to their jobs at the Baghdad airport. The military had initially said the soldiers acted in self-defense after being fired upon by "criminals." In fact, no weapons were found in the civilians' car, the military said, adding that an investigation concluded that neither the soldiers nor the civilians were to blame for the incident. "This was an extremely unfortunate and tragic incident," Army Col. Allen W. Batschelet, chief of staff for the 4th Infantry Division, said in an e-mailed statement. "Our deepest regrets of sympathy and condolences go out to the family."

US Military Says Soldiers Fired on Civilians - Richard Oppel Jr., New York Times

The American military admitted Sunday night that a platoon of soldiers raked a car of innocent Iraqi civilians with hundreds of rounds of gunfire and that the military then issued a news release larded with misstatements, asserting that the victims were criminals who had fired on the troops. The attack on June 25 killed three people, a man and two women, as they drove to work at a bank at Baghdad’s airport. The attack infuriated Iraqi officials and even prompted the Iraqi armed forces general command to call the shooting cold-blooded murder. It also bolstered calls from Iraqi politicians to pressure the American military to leave Iraq after this year, when a United Nations mandate expires, unless the United States agrees to permit its soldiers to be subject to criminal prosecution under Iraqi law for attacks on civilians.

Coalition, Iraqi Troops Keep Pressure on Terrorists - AFPS

Coalition and Iraqi forces continue to push terrorists and criminals in operations throughout Iraq. Coalition forces captured two suspected "Special Groups" leaders in Baghdad today. Special groups criminals are members of violent organizations, possibly trained and supported by Iran. These key leaders were taken in the Rusafa district of Baghdad. Coalition and Iraqi forces also conducted operations over the weekend discovering a number of arms caches, capturing al-Qaida terrorists, discovering roadside bombs and attacking terror and criminal networks. In Rusafa, coalition forces used intelligence information, to locate and capture an Iranian-trained senior leader of Special Groups criminals. The agent of Iran is responsible for attacks against Iraqi security and coalition forces as well as kidnappings and smuggling of weapons from Iran to Iraq. He was captured without incident. Coalition forces also captured another Special Groups criminal in a separate Rusafa district operation. He is a senior leader responsible for supplying weapons, money and logistical support to subordinate Special Groups commanders. He also provides fighters as reinforcements to areas in need making his role crucial for sustained operations by Special Groups in the area. He, also, was captured without incident. The Special Groups took another hit when Iraqi special operations forces detained two other criminals in Baghdad, July 24 and 25.

General Details Security Improvements in Iraq’s Northern Provinces - AFPS

The security situation in Iraq’s northern provinces has improved, but Iraqi and coalition troops will continue to pursue al-Qaida in Iraq and other criminal groups, the US commander in the region said during a briefing in Baghdad today. Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, the commander of Multinational Division – North, told reporters that the number of security incidents in his area of operations has dropped from more than 2,600 in June 2007 to 650 in June 2008. The numbers for July 2008 continue to show a reduction. Hertling said Iraqi commanders will launch a major offensive against al-Qaida and criminal gangs in Diyala province next month. US forces will launch a concurrent offensive - Operation Iron Pursuit - against al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists who are seeking sanctuary in the desert. The success of the surge in Baghdad forced al-Qaida in Iraq to move out of the city mostly to the northern provinces of Diyala, Ninewah and Salah ad Din. These areas became the main battlefield as coalition, and increasingly, Iraqi forces hunted down the terrorists and killed or captured them. The cities are now “reasonably secure,” Hertling said, and the Iraqi and coalition forces can shift focus to hunting down al-Qaida and its allies outside the cities. Other indicators also point to progress, Hertling said. The number of roadside bombs declined by 50 percent since February 2008 from 950 to 430.

Iraqi, Coalition Troops Kill 4 Al-Qaida Militants, Capture 58 - Voice of America

The US military says Iraqi and coalition troops have killed four al-Qaida militants and captured 58 others in a battle in northwestern Iraq. The military says Sunday's fighting in the province of Ninewah also killed four Iraqi soldiers. Six other Iraqi troops and a coalition soldier were wounded. Elsewhere, gunmen killed seven Shi'ite men in the town of Madain south of Baghdad Sunday as they walked to the capital for a religious festival. In another development, the US military has acknowledged that American soldiers killed three Iraqi civilians last month after firing on a speeding car near Baghdad's airport.

Bombs Kill 11 in Baghdad During Pilgrimage - Associated Press

Coordinated bombing attacks killed at least 11 people and wounded 33 others who were taking part in a massive Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad on Monday, police said. The blasts occurred in central Baghdad as Shiite worshippers streamed toward a shrine in an annual pilgrimage marking the death of an eighth-century saint. A roadside bomb and three suicide bombers struck in quick succession, police said. Police said they believed the suicide bombers were women.

Shi'ite Pilgrims Slain on March to Shrine - Associated Press

Gunmen hiding in reeds in a Sunni town south of Baghdad killed seven Shi'ite pilgrims Sunday as they marched to a shrine in the capital for a major holiday, officials said. Authorities in the area have boosted security to prepare for the Shi'ite holiday honoring al-Kazim. The young men were ambushed when the attackers opened fire in Madain, about 14 miles southeast of Baghdad, as they were on their way to the shrine in the Baghdad neighborhood of Kazimiyah, a police officer said.

Turkish Military Says Hit 12 PKK Targets in N. Iraq - Reuters

Turkey's military said on Sunday its fighter jets hit 12 Kurdish separatist targets in northern Iraq's Qandil region in an operation that started at midnight. The army general staff said in a statement on its website that all the planes had returned safely to their bases and that it was working to confirm "terrorist casualties." The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) uses north Iraq as a base from which to make attacks on Turkish territory. Turkey blames the PKK, which is fighting for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey, for the deaths of 40,000 people in the past 25 years.

Little Contractor Progress on Projects - Hedgpeth and Paley, Washington Post

The US government paid a California contractor $142 million to build prisons, fire stations and police facilities in Iraq that it never built or finished, according to audits by a watchdog office. The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) said Parsons of Pasadena, Calif., received the money, part of a total of $333 million but only completed about one-third of the projects, which also included courthouses and border control stations. The inspector general's office is expected to release two detailed audits today, evaluating Parsons's work on the contract, which is worth up to $900 million.

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

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

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

NATO Counter-Attack Kills Dozens of Insurgents - Voice of America

Afghan officials say up to 70 militants have been killed in a battle with NATO and government forces in eastern Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border. The governor of Khost Province, Arsallah Jamal, says Afghan and NATO forces mounted a counterattack early Sunday after nearly 100 militants overwhelmed guards at a government center in the Spera district and killed two police officers. The Afghan governor said troops on the ground called for air support, and heavy machine-gun fire from NATO's helicopter gunships killed scores of militants. Other insurgents fled toward the Pakistan border, about 15 kilometers away.

NATO Air Raid Kills Dozens of Taliban - Reuters

NATO killed dozens of Taliban insurgents in an air strike on Sunday in Afghanistan's southeastern province of Khost, the provincial governor said. Violence has escalated in Afghanistan over the past two years after the ousted Taliban regrouped and launched their insurgency against the government and the foreign troops backing it. The pre-dawn raid was summoned to fend off an attack by the insurgents in Spera district, which lies near the border with Pakistan, Arsala Jamal said.

Six Killed in Missile Strike in Pakistan - Reuters

At least six people, including three foreign Islamist militants, were killed in a suspected US missile strike on Monday in a Pakistani region known as a safe haven for al Qaeda, intelligence officials and residents said. The attack took place near Azam Warsak village in the South Waziristan tribal region, bordering Afghanistan.

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

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

Canada Eyes Beefing Up Troops - Alexander Panetta, Toronto Star

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

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

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

IRAN

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

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

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

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

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

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

Iran Executes 29 Convicts in One Day - Reuters

Iran executed 29 convicted drug smugglers and other criminals at dawn on Sunday in Evin prison in Tehran, state news media reported, as part of an expanded crackdown on crime. The execution of several people at the same time is often reported in Iran, but rarely do the authorities carry out death sentences against so many people simultaneously. Human rights advocates and Western governments often accuse Iran of rights abuses, but Iranian officials usually dismiss the criticism and accuse the West of hypocrisy.

THE LONG WAR

Avoiding ‘CSI Kandahar’ - Andrew McCarthy, National Review opinion

‘We don’t have to pass anything,” smirked Jerrold Nadler to Newsweek. “Let the courts deal with it.” The key House Democrat seems ever ready to lend a terrorist a helping hand. Just ask Susan Rosenberg, the Weather Underground bomber he helped convince Bill Clinton to commute her 60-year sentence. But now it’s our troops - who Democrats are forever saying they “support” - who need a helping hand. So here was Nadler, giving his usual thumbs-down to a Justice Department plea that Congress provide them, and the nation, with something other than the usual empty words. The plea came on Monday. Attorney General Michael Mukasey gave a major speech at the American Enterprise Institute. It was a thoughtful request that our lawmakers do their job in the wake of last month’s catastrophic Supreme Court ruling that granted alien enemy combatants a constitutional right to habeas corpus (i.e., to civilian federal court review of the military decision to detain them).

COMPLEX OPERATIONS

The Cricketer's Handbook - Spencer Ackerman, Washington Independent

After nearly seven years of costly strategic ignorance in the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a coming handbook written mostly by a former top aide to Gen. David H. Petraeus seeks to instruct senior civilian policy-makers about the complexities of counterinsurgency. Counterinsurgency: A Guide for Policy-Makers takes the lessons learned by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan and elevates them to the highest levels of national strategy. Counterinsurgency is defined in the text as "the politico-military techniques developed to neutralize... armed rebellion against constituted authority." The handbook is due to be published in November or December. A copy of its most recent draft was obtained by The Washington Independent. The handbook seeks to provide a framework for considering whether Washington should intervene in foreign countries' counterinsurgency operations, raising difficult questions about whether such nations deserve US support; under what conditions that support should occur, and whether success is possible at acceptable cost. No systematic approach to strategic-level questions in counterinsurgency currently exists for senior US government officials.

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

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

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Army Seeks Enhanced Body Armor - Rowan Scarborough, Washington Times

The Army has begun a search for the next generation of bulletproof body armor. Pentagon-supervised live-fire testing was recently completed at the Army's Aberdeen, Md., Proving Ground. Further tests are scheduled before the service chooses a successor to ESAPI, or Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert. It is a system of super-hard ceramic plates designed to stop armor-piercing rounds. ESAPI slides inside an Outer Tactical Vest, creating the Interceptor Body Armor System. A retired Army officer who has toured Iraq and Afghanistan to poll service members on their armor needs told The Washington Times that one theme stands out: the war fighters say that whatever new plates are chosen, they want the Interceptor to remain relatively lightweight at under 30 pounds. Added weight, they say, restricts mobility and thus increases the chance of being shot.

US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

McCain Assails Obama Over Foreign Tour - Brian Knowlton, New York Times

After returning from a seven-country foreign tour, Senator Barack Obama prepared Sunday to turn his attention to the biggest domestic issue facing American voters, an ailing economy. But Senator John McCain remained focused on foreign affairs, offering tough criticism of his rival for the presidency. Mr. McCain reiterated his opposition to Mr. Obama’s plans to pull American combat troops from Iraq in 16 months, and he assailed the Democratic candidate for failing to meet with American troops during his stay in Germany, asserting that Mr. Obama “doesn’t understand what is at stake here.” Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, seemed intent on limiting whatever benefit Mr. Obama might have gained from his trip, which the Democratic candidate hoped would strengthen his claim to the foreign policy and security expertise demanded of a president.

McCain Says Obama Plays Politics on Iraq - Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post

In his most direct challenge yet of his Democratic presidential rival's Iraq policy, Sen. John McCain suggested yesterday that Sen. Barack Obama had crafted a war strategy designed to further his own political advancement. McCain also intimated that Obama skipped a visit of wounded US troops in Germany last week because it would not generate sufficient publicity for his campaign, a charge that the Republican made the centerpiece of a new television ad.Obama's call for withdrawing US troops from Iraq, McCain said, "was political" and was made "in order to help him get the nomination of his party." In a different interview, McCain said that "Senator Obama just views this war as another political issue with which he can change positions."

How Obama's Foreign Tour Plays at Home - Linda Feldmann, CS Monitor

Now that Barack Obama is back on Terra Americana – after a whirlwind week of foreign travel and blanket news coverage – the probable Democratic presidential nominee knows he has to get back to the issue closest to voters' hearts: the US economy. The Illinois senator said as much to reporters in London just before he flew home, noting that his poll numbers might even dip in the immediate future. "We have been out of the country for a week," he said. "People are worried about gas prices and home foreclosures." And in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" broadcast Sunday, Senator Obama said he will meet with his top economic advisers on Monday, including investor Warren Buffett, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, and former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker. The agenda includes a second economic stimulus package and the high cost of energy. But there is little doubt that in taking the eight-nation tour, Obama has altered the calculus of the presidential race, even if any effect on voters may not be known for a while. By visiting Iraq (for the second time) and Afghanistan (for the first time), Obama has answered the charge of his Republican opponent, John McCain, that he had given these fronts in the war on terror short shrift. By appearing comfortable in the company of world leaders in both the Middle East and Europe, he has sought to counter the charge that he is too inexperienced to be commander in chief.

McCain Lashes Injured Troops Snub - The Australian

White House hopeful Barack Obama returned home yesterday from his adulation-soaked foreign tour but immediately faced a new assault from rival John McCain over his cancellation of a visit to wounded US troops in Germany. Before departing London the Democratic Party candidate played down the potential gains the trip might have for him in the presidential race. "I am not sure that there is going to be some immediate political impact," Senator Obama said in a solo press conference outside 10 Downing Street, the official residence of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. "I wouldn't even be surprised if that in some polls you saw a little bit of a dip as a consequence," he said, just over three months before the election. Senator Obama sailed through the biggest tests of his trip, in Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel, apparently gaffe-free, and captured an unprecedented photo-op for a presidential candidate, speaking before a staggering 200,000 people in Berlin. Republicans, however, branded his tour, also including Kuwait, France and Jordan, as a shallow political stunt. And Senator McCain's team yesterday sought to highlight Senator Obama's failure to visit wounded troops from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars at the Landstuhl US military hospital in Germany on Friday - probably the only real hiccup of the trip.

AFRICA

Sudan Rallies Behind Reviled Leader - Polgreen and Gettleman, New York Times

President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan has been accused by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court of genocide and vilified the world over as an incorrigible mass murderer bent on slaughtering his own people in Darfur. But inside Sudan, his grip on power seems, for the moment, to be surer than ever. In the past few weeks, one sworn political enemy after another has closed ranks behind him. The result has been a swift and radical reordering of the fractious political universe in Sudan, driven in part by national pride but also by deep-seated fears that the nation could tumble into Somalia-like chaos if Mr. Bashir were removed as president.

Zimbabwe Plans Changes to Currency - Angus Shaw, Associated Press

Zimbabwe's bank chief plans new steps to address currency problems - removing "more zeros" from the plummeting Zimbabwe dollar and raising the limit on cash withdrawals - to tackle the country's runaway inflation and cash shortages, state media reported Sunday. Previous currency revisions have failed to tame Zimbabwe's inflation - officially pegged at 2.2 million percent a year but estimated by independent analysts to be closer to 12.5 million percent. It has become nearly impossible to access cash as the country's economic collapse worsens. Authorities last week released a new $100 billion bank note. By Sunday it was not enough even to buy a scarce loaf of bread in what has become one of the world's most expensive - and impoverished - countries.

Nigerian Militants Say 2 More Pipelines Sabotaged - Associated Press

A top militant leader says that fighters have sabotaged two more oil pipelines in Nigeria. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta leader says Monday's attack on two pipelines owned by a unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC took place in Nigeria's southern Rivers State.

Seeds of Peace in Uganda - Washington Post multimedia

With a 2006 cease-fire holding, although peace talks between the government and the mysterious rebel leader Joseph Kony have stalled, many Ugandans are debating the question of justice: whether Kony and his top commanders, who still have a small army holding out in Congo, should be tried for war crimes at the International Criminal Court or in special Ugandan courts.

Morocco: Splits and Burdens - Ahmed Charai, Washington Times opinion

When, against a background of growing conservatism, notably religious Mohammed VI succeeded his father Hassan II as king of Morocco on July 23, 1999, he set his sights on democracy and modernity. Nine years later, it is worthy noting that this dichotomy between the old and the new still exists as the king breaks with the past. It is a tangible fact that the scope of liberties is broader. There is practically no taboo and the level of public debate surprises all who knew Morocco 10 years ago, let alone the Morocco of the 1970s. Moroccans, long deprived of free expression, now discuss everything. The king's powers, his decisions, his court are no longer off-limits. While such burgeoning is not without shortcomings, excesses and other negative reactions, it is fundamentally undeniable that Moroccan society has secured liberties that seldom prevail elsewhere in the Arab and Muslim world.

Rwanda's Women Leading the Way - Cindy McCAin, Wall Street Journal opinion

I have recently returned from Rwanda. I was last there in 1994, at the height of the genocide that claimed the lives of more than 800,000 Rwandans. The memories of what I saw haunt me still. I wasn't sure what to expect all these years later, but I found a country that has found in its deep scars the will to move on and rebuild a civil society. And the renaissance is being led by women. Women are at the forefront of the physical, emotional and spiritual healing that is moving Rwandan society forward.

AMERICAS

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

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

ASIA PACIFIC

Rights Issue Looms - Michael Abramowitz, Washington Post

With President Bush set to leave next week for the Olympics in Beijing, the White House is coming under increased pressure from lawmakers and advocacy groups to make a public statement of concern about the crackdown on human rights and freedom in China. White House aides said it is likely that Bush, who has focused considerable attention to the cause of Chinese religious freedom, will worship at a church in Beijing during his trip, but they say the rest of his schedule remains in flux. What the president will do or say in Beijing is the subject of considerable debate within the administration, several officials said, but they expressed doubt that Bush would do much to embarrass the Chinese leadership during an event it considers something of a coming-out party for China as a world power.

Citizen Army Goes on Patrol for Olympics - Chris O'Brien, Washington Times

A stroll through Beijing's maze of hutong alleyways these days reveals much about the Chinese government's obsession with security ahead of the Olympic Games and its unerring ability to rally its people around a common cause. These quiet lanes are now the barracks of many of the capital's 400,000 "public security volunteers," a citizen army of neighborhood committees acting as the extra eyes and ears to Beijing's Olympic security force, which already comprises 80,000 police officers, 100,000 counterterrorism troops and 300,000 surveillance cameras.

China's Olympic Cops - Wall Street Journal editorial

Beijing's struggle to deal with foreign journalists covering the Olympics reached a new low Friday. As 30,000 people queued for the last Olympics ticket sales, fist-fights broke out. Police and soldiers tried to keep journalists from recording the mayhem. A photojournalist for Hong Kong's South China Morning Post was detained for six hours. Two from Hong Kong's Now TV channel were detained, and the station reports that police asked them to delete their footage. All the journalists were from Hong Kong, suggesting police may have been particularly forceful with ethnically Chinese reporters.

Cambodia’s Premier Poised for Election Victory - Seth Mydans, New York Times

Prime Minister Hun Sen appeared headed for an expected election victory on Sunday after what experts said was the least violent political campaign in Cambodia’s recent history. His overpowering control of the country’s political machinery has been buoyed by economic growth and a sense of stability, as well as by a surge of patriotism as Cambodia faces off against Thailand for sovereignty over a temple on their border. Official results will be announced later in the week. A victory for the governing party would extend for five more years the 23-year tenure of Mr. Hun Sen who, at the age of 57, is already one of Asia’s longest-serving leaders.

Militants Target US Teacher in Indonesia - Associated Press

Ten alleged militants arrested this month planned to assassinate an American teacher in Indonesia and avenge the upcoming executions of the Bali nightclub bombers by attacking the Supreme Court, a top anti-terrorism official said. The official identified the teacher only by his first name, Samuel, and said he worked in the small town of Sekayu on Sumatra island. The US Embassy in Indonesia declined comment. The anti-terrorism officer spoke late Sunday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, saying that revealing his identity would jeopardize ongoing anti-terror operations,

EUROPE

Russia Calls for Broader Security Pact - Judy Dempsey, New York Times

Russia, which under Vladimir V. Putin has shown increasing hostility toward NATO and other post-World War II security organizations in Europe, has put together a set of proposals that essentially sidelines these groups in favor of a broader one. The proposals, to be presented to NATO on Monday in Brussels, clearly have no chance of being accepted by the United States and its allies in Europe. But they reflect the Kremlin’s latest efforts to reassert itself on the world stage and to challenge longstanding diplomatic practices. The Kremlin wants in particular to weaken the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which Russia is a member of, and NATO, which it is not. The Russian proposal would establish a broad security pact open to other countries, including possibly China and India.

In Russia, 'Legal Nihilism' as Usual - Jackson Diehl, Washington Post opinion

Though he had been handpicked by Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev's inauguration as Russia's president in early May inspired some in the West to hope for real change in the Kremlin. The expectations rested largely on Medvedev's background as a law professor who, unlike Putin, had no history with the Soviet KGB. There was also his surprisingly strong rhetoric about the "legal nihilism" that he said was holding back Russia's "modern development." "We must achieve true respect for the law," the 42-year-old president declared shortly after being sworn in. Nearly three months later Medvedev already has established a pretty strong track record on legal affairs both domestic and foreign. Unfortunately, it is precisely the opposite of what he led his would-be admirers to expect.

Bombs Kill 16 in Istanbul - Sebnem Arsu, New York Times

Two bombs exploded within minutes of each other late Sunday in a crowded pedestrian area of Istanbul, killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 150 in what the city’s governor called a terrorist attack. The double bombing appeared to be the worst case of terrorist violence in Turkey in nearly five years and seemed to take the Turkish authorities by surprise. There were no immediate claims of responsibility, although Kurdish separatist militants were initially suspected.

Bombs Explode in Istanbul Leaving 15 Dead - Suna Erdem, The Times

At least 15 people were killed and 154 injured in a double bomb attack late last night in a busy shopping street in Istanbul, hours before a court was due to decide the fate of Turkey’s ruling political party. The pedestrianised shopping area in the city’s working-class Gungoren district was a scene of devastation, with broken glass and human remains strewn across the bonnets of burnt-out cars. Casualties were dragged to ambulances while police cordoned off the area, a narrow street between apartment blocks.

16 Killed, 150 Hurt by Two Bombs in Istanbul - C. Onur Ant, Associated Press

Two bombs exploded minutes apart in a packed Istanbul square Sunday night, killing 16 and injuring more than 150 in the deadliest attack against civilians in Turkey in almost five years. The city's governor called it a "terror attack," but officials did not blame any specific group and no one immediately asserted responsibility. CNN-Turk television, citing security sources, said police suspect that Kurdish rebels might have been behind it because intelligence reports had suggested the rebels were planning a bombing campaign in Turkish cities. Many people were injured in the second blast after rushing to the scene of the first to help victims, witnesses said.

In Turkey, New Battle Over Old Schism - Laura King, Los Angeles Times

When Turkey's highest court convenes today to weigh whether the country's ruling party should be shut down, the dry and formal language of the courtroom will mask a struggle that has bedeviled this republic since its tumultuous founding nearly 85 years ago. In an overwhelmingly Muslim but avowedly secular state, the legal confrontation illuminates the deep divide between the devout and those who are determined to keep displays of piety from public life. In the most drastic outcome, the Constitutional Court could outlaw the ruling Justice and Development Party, known by its Turkish initials AKP, for anti-secular activity. It could also ban dozens of senior party leaders, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, from participating in politics for five years. Analysts say even lesser sanctions such as financial penalties could trigger months of political upheaval.

Radicals Threaten Serb Leader's Life - The Australian

Serbian President Boris Tadic has received death threats following the arrest last week of indicted Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic. The office of Serbia's state prosecutor said at the weekend it was looking into threats made by nationalist officials against the pro-Western Mr Tadic over the arrest of the war crimes suspect. Prosecutor Slobodan Radovanovic said in a statement that hehad asked local media to provide footage of a press conference by the extremist Serbian Radical Party. During the press conference, Radical leader Vjerica Radeta accused Mr Tadic of treason. She said he could meet the same fate as Zoran Djindjic, the former Serbian prime minister who was gunned down by the hardliners in 2003. "We remind Tadic that treason has never been forgiven in Serbia," Ms Radeta said. "Every traitor in Serbian history has met with damnation." The Radicals were outraged at the arrest by Serbia's pro-Western government of the former Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic, who is sought on genocide charges by the UN court in The Hague, Netherlands.

Karadzic's Fate Sealed as Nationalists Departed - David Charter, The Times

Radovan Karadzic's fate was sealed when influential Serb nationalists opposed to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague were replaced systematically in the security services by liberals loyal to the pro-EU President of Serbia, Boris Tadic. Mr Tadic was first elected President in 2004 and immediately began making key personnel changes to Serbia's powerful Army and police force, including the internal security service the BIA, the agency believed to have given Dr Karadzic his new identity in 1998. However, he had to wait until voters rejected the increasingly nationalistic Prime Minister, Vojislav Kostunica, in elections in May before completing his sweep. The rewards were instant: the fourth-most-wanted war crimes suspect, Stojan Zupljanin, was arrested on June 11 after 13 years on the run, and Dr Karadzic, one of the remaining three, was arrested last week.

Ministers Plot Against Brown - Oliver and Woolf, The Australian

Powerful British cabinet ministers who see themselves as potential successors to Gordon Brown are secretly plotting against him despite public protestations of loyalty. Even as Mr Brown met at No 10 Downing St with Barack Obama, the visiting US Democratic presidential candidate, the British Prime Minister was an increasingly isolated figure whose days in office are now being measured in weeks. Senior MPs are running a campaign on behalf of Justice Minister Jack Straw to collect names for a possible leadership bid. A backbencher has told how he was approached by George Howarth, the former Home Office minister, and a friend of Mr Straw. "George told me he was collecting names for Jack," said the MP. "He said Jack was ready to tell Gordon the game was up, if there was enough support." Other MPs have revealed how a "Lancashire mafia" of members allied to Mr Straw, who represents the Lancashire town of Blackburn, have met colleagues in the Commons tea room to ask if they would support him as a "save the party" leader. They have also been calling colleagues to prepare the ground for a possible coup in the northern autumn.

MIDDLE EAST

Israel Kills Top Hamas Militant - Robert Berger, Voice of America

Israel has settled scores with a Palestinian on its most-wanted list during a raid in the West Bank. Tensions are also running high between rival Palestinian factions. Israeli commandos killed 25-year-old Shihab al-Natsheh, a top commander of the Islamic militant group Hamas, in the West Bank town of Hebron. There was a shootout, and when he refused to surrender, troops bulldozed the house he was hiding in. The Israeli military said there were explosions inside the house during the exchange of fire, presumably from bombs stored inside. The army had been pursuing Natsheh for five months, since he allegedly masterminded a suicide bombing that killed a woman in southern Israel.

Palestinian Hostilities Flare - Mitnick and Frankel, Christian Science Monitor

In the worst outbreak of inter-Palestinian strife since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip last year, Hamas gunmen rounded up hundreds of Fatah activists in Gaza and threw up dozens of checkpoints over the weekend. The militant Islamist group accused militants from the rival Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah Party of a bombing that killed five Islamic activists and a young child last Friday. The attack and retaliation reopened recent wounds in the bitter rivalry just as the sides were mulling a new round of reconciliation talks. "There is no room now to speak about national reconciliation," says Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar, who accused Abbas of preferring to discuss US peace talks with Israel rather than the internal Palestinian talks. "[Abbas] is still meeting [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert and kissing him... His preference is the Israel-US side not the Palestinian side."

Hamas Launches Fresh Crackdown on Fatah - James Hider, The Times

Gunfights and mass-arrests swept the Palestinian territories over the weekend in the aftermath of a deadly bomb attack on Gaza’s Hamas rulers, which the Islamists blamed on their western-backed rival Fatah. A major Hamas security sweep in Gaza, in which hundreds of Fatah members were rounded up for interrogation and the movement’s offices shut down, triggered fighting involving another group, the Army of Islam, a radical, smaller movement with previous links to both factions and which kidnapped Alan Johnston, the BBC journalist. In the middle of the internal fighting, Israeli forces simultaneously launched a raid to arrest a senior Hamas fugitive in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, killing the man when he opened fire on the raiding party. The violence erupted on Friday evening when a bomb exploded at a Gaza beach café, killing five high-ranking Hamas officials and a five-year-old girl. Hamas quickly accused Fatah, which it has blamed for several bombings and assassination attempts since the secular group lost control of Gaza to the Islamists in battle last summer.

Fatah Members Rounded Up - Martin Chulov, The Australian

A Gaza car bomb that killed five Hamas operatives and a child has led to sweeping reprisals against arch-political foe, Fatah, in the deadliest fratricidal flare-up since the pro-western bloc was ousted from the strip 13 months ago. Close to 200 Fatah activists, militants and backers were rounded up and jailed over the weekend by the Hamas regime, which has sworn to avenge the deaths it blames on a traitorous element inside Gaza. The explosion early Saturday, outside the main Gaza city hospital, al-Shifa, rocked a tenuous month-long truce with Israel and has put Hamas's military wing on a war footing. However, the truce last night appeared to be holding, with the militant group's anger directed at those it labels collaborators with the Israeli military.

SOUTH ASIA

Multiple Bombings Kill 45 in India - Jeremy Page, The Times

India’s leaders placed the country on high alert and appealed for calm yesterday after multiple bombings in two main cities killed at least 45 people and injured almost 180 others. Police also detained at least 30 people amid fears that home-grown Islamic radicals had launched an unusually sophisticated bombing campaign targeting states run by a Hindu nationalist party. A series of 16 bombs aimed at markets, buses and hospitals left at least 45 people dead on Saturday in Ahmedabad, the capital of the western state of Gujarat and site of deadly Hindu-Muslim riots in 2002.

India in Lockdown as Terror Spreads - Bruce Loudon, The Australian

Major cities and strategic buildings across India were locked down last night after a weekend of Islamic terrorist violence plunged the country into its worst security crisis in years. Units of the Rapid Action Force were deployed in the city of Ahmedabad, capital of the western state of Gujarat, where more than 40 people were killed and 150 injured in a series of bomb blasts claimed by a fundamentalist Muslim group known as the Indian Mujahideen. Authorities announced that personnel from the Central Industrial Protection Force would be deployed to protect the country's $40 billion-a-year IT and outsourcing industry after nine bombs ripped through the southern city of Bangalore that is itshub. Two people died and scores were injured in the Bangalore attacks, which intelligence services believe are linked to the recruitment of as many as 25,000 supporters by al-Qa'ida. Reports yesterday suggested that the al-Qa'ida-linked groups accused of involvement in the bombings - notably the Students Islamic Movement of India - are targeting software "techies" working in the IT industry, seeking support. It is claimed they have established a potent network of backers in the key city, which is home to more than 1600 IT companies.

India Seeks Calm After Deadly Bombings - Steve Herman, Voice of America

High-level security officials met in India, following serial bomb blasts in two large cities. An estimated 25 explosions in Bangalore and Ahmedabad on Friday and Saturday killed more than 45 people and wounded about 100 others. India put its army on the streets of Ahmedabad. Troops rolled through the streets of western India's commercial and cultural hub in a show of force meant to prevent an outbreak of violence between Hindus and Muslims. A virtually unknown group, Indian Mujahedin, has claimed responsibility for the explosions in crowded markets and at a hospital where many of the victims had been taken. In an e-mail sent to television stations minutes before the first blast Saturday, the group said the attacks were in retaliation for the 2002 riots in the state. The violence left more than 1,000 people dead, mostly Muslims.

Bombings May Threaten India-Pakistan Relations - Mian Ridge, CS Monitor

Indian cities are on high alert after a series of explosions ripped through the western city of Ahmedabad on Saturday, killing at least 45 people and wounding 160. The blasts, which occurred a day after bombings in the southern city of Bangalore, are the latest in a string of attacks in India believed to be the work of Islamic terrorists. A little known group calling itself the "Indian Mujahideen" claimed responsibility for the Ahmedabad bombings, just as it had for an attack in Jaipur in May that killed 60 people. But security analysts and intelligence officials are doubtful about these claims and instead suspect that militant Islamic groups from Pakistan and Bangladesh are behind the attacks. "The way in which the attack in Ahmedabad took place – the multiplicity of the bombs and the way in which they were coordinated – suggests a level of expertise not yet associated with any Indian group," says Uday Bhaskar, a security analyst and former director of New Delhi's Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses. "It is reasonable to say this group has benefited from external involvement," he adds. Other observers say the "Indian Mujahideen" was coined to cover the involvement of Pakistani groups, although few here doubt that Indian Muslims are involved at some level.

Bombs in India - The Times editorial

After the series of bomb blasts that killed more than 45 people in two of India's main cities, the worry preoccupying all Indian politicians is whether Islamist extremism has finally taken root in India. Until now, India has been spared much of the extremist terrorism that has racked much of the Muslim world. Although it has one of the world's largest Muslim populations and has seen regular outbreaks of communal violence, India's Muslim minority has not been radicalised so far by the global jihadist movement. Despite three wars with Pakistan, terrorist infiltration and more than 60 years of tension, India's Muslims have not, on the whole, been seen as a fifth column under the sway of outside agitators. Al-Qaeda has no indigenous presence. India's secular constitution has been sufficiently robust to withstand assaults by religious extremists on all sides.

A Fresh Start With Pakistan - New York Times editorial

Pakistan’s new civilian prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, is in Washington this week for what we are sure will be a difficult set of meetings. Mr. Gilani’s constituents deeply resent the United States for propping up and enabling their former dictator, Pervez Musharraf. President Bush, who directed that enabling, must have his own serious doubts about Mr. Gilani’s willingness to fight Taliban and Qaeda forces that are using Pakistan as a safe haven. That is why Mr. Bush needs to use this visit to recast relations - making clear that he is committed to strengthening both Pakistan’s democracy and its ability to fight extremism. That will require a lot more economic assistance and more carefully monitored military aid.

EVENTS OF INTEREST

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

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

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