IRAQ

Iraq Hints at Delay in US Security Deal - Alissa Rubin, New York Times

Declaring that there will not be “another colonization of Iraq,” Iraq’s foreign minister raised the possibility on Wednesday that a full security agreement with the United States might not be reached this year, and that if one was, it would be a short-term pact. American officials, speaking anonymously because of the delicate state of negotiations, said they were no longer optimistic that a complete security agreement could be reached by the year’s end. At a news conference in Baghdad, the foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, told reporters that some headway had been made, but that negotiators were deadlocked over issues like the extent of Iraqi control over American military operations and the right of American soldiers to detain suspects without the approval of Iraqi authorities.

Progress Cited on US-Iraq Pacts - Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post

The United States and Iraq are making progress on complex political and security agreements that would allow US troops to operate in the country next year, Iraq's foreign minister said Wednesday. "We have reached a comfortable stage of negotiations, and the differences have been narrowed," Hoshyar Zebari told reporters. The comments came nearly three weeks after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared that negotiations had "reached a dead end." The talks have been bogged down by concerns over Iraq's sovereignty as well as growing fears of a possible long-term American presence.

Progress on US Security Pact - Smith and Salman, Los Angeles Times

Iraq's foreign minister said Wednesday that concessions by both sides had advanced the prospects for a new security agreement needed for U.S. forces to remain in the country beyond the end of the year. Seeking to dispel criticism that the agreement would infringe on Iraqi sovereignty, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the opposition was based on "misrepresentations, confusion and politicizing."

A 'Surge' Unit Sees Change - Sam Dagher, Christian Science Monitor

After almost 15 months of its longest, deadliest, and most unconventional deployment, the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment of the US Army is packing up to leave Iraq. When it goes home to Fort Stewart, Ga., this month, the unit will be among the last to return from the "surge," Washington's move to calm the sectarian bloodshed that had consumed Baghdad and much of Iraq. In many regards, the plan worked. Violence dropped as about 30,000 extra US soldiers moved into combat outposts around Iraq starting in February 2007. Last month, the number of Iraqis killed was 515; last June, that figure was 3,000. Still, while the 1/64 recognizes much progress during its tour, the majority of the more than dozen soldiers and officers interviewed question if their effort will have been worth it in the end. Many say their mission helped bring about only a lull in the sectarian killings and feel that neither the Iraqi government nor its forces are ready, capable, or even motivated to build on the successes of the surge.

Officials Condoned Regional Oil Deal - Steven Mufson, Washington Post

Bush administration officials told Hunt Oil last summer that they did not object to its efforts to reach an oil deal with the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, even while the State Department was publicly expressing concern that such contracts could undermine a national Iraqi petroleum law, according to documents obtained by a House committee. Last fall, after the deal was announced, the State Department said that it had tried to dissuade Hunt Oil from signing the contract with Kurdish regional authorities but that the company had proceeded "regardless of our advice."

Committee Questions State Dept. Role - Glanz and Oppel, New York Times

Bush administration officials knew that a Texas oil company with close ties to President Bush was planning to sign an oil deal with the regional Kurdistan government that ran counter to American policy and undercut Iraq’s central government, a Congressional committee has concluded. United States policy is to warn companies that they incur risks in signing contracts until Iraq passes an oil law and to strengthen Iraq’s central government. The Kurdistan deal, by ceding responsibility for writing contracts directly to a regional government, infuriated Iraqi officials. But State Department officials did nothing to discourage the deal and in some cases appeared to welcome it, the documents show.

Big Oil Chutzpah - National Review editorial

We’re surprised that Sen. Chuck Schumer can keep straight which foreign countries he’s haranguing to pump more oil and which he’s haranguing to stop pumping more oil. A few weeks ago the New York senator and aspiring global Petroleum Czar was threatening to block arms sales to Saudi Arabia if it didn’t produce more oil. Now, he’s outraged that the Iraqi government may give modest no-bid service contracts to Western oil companies as a first step toward more fully exploiting the country’s vast oil reserves. Perhaps Sen. Schumer would approve if the Saudis were to agree to pump the Iraq oil?

Foreign Guards May Lose Immunity - James Hider, The Times

Private security guards operating in Iraq will lose their immunity from prosecution under a new treaty being negotiated between Iraq and the United States, Iraq’s Foreign Minister said yesterday. The new accord, part of a hotly disputed Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that will govern the legal standing of US forces in Iraq after the current United Nations mandate expires in December, will affect tens of thousands of bodyguards — many of them British — working in the country. Hoshyar Zebari, the Foreign Minister, said the Americans had agreed to drop the immunity as part of their more “flexible” approach in talks that have sparked anger among many Iraqis, who see the security deal as an effort to extend US control over the country.

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

A Shortage Of Troops in Afghanistan - Josh White, Washington Post

The nation's top military officer said yesterday that more US troops are needed in Afghanistan to tamp down an increasingly violent insurgency, but that the Pentagon does not have sufficient forces to send because they are committed to the war in Iraq. Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said insurgent Taliban and extremist forces in Afghanistan have become "a very complex problem," one that is tied to the extensive drug trade, a faltering economy and the porous border with Pakistan. Violence in Afghanistan has increased markedly over recent weeks, with June the deadliest month for US troops since the war began in 2001.

Increased Violence Causes Concern - Jim Garamone, AFPS

Defense Department officials are very concerned about the situation in Afghanistan, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today. “Violence is up significantly from a year ago,” Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said during a Pentagon news conference. For the second month in a row, more coalition servicemembers died in Afghanistan than died in Iraq. Given the country’s harsh winters and unforgiving terrain, summer historically is the fighting season in Afghanistan, but the Taliban have become more organized and efficient, Mullen said. But part of the increase in violence is because there are more coalition and Afghan troops in the country. They are going into more areas, and the Taliban are responding, the admiral said.

Growing Afghan Police Force Needs More Help - Reeba Critser, AFPS

Absenteeism, corruption, low pay, lack of equipment and weapons, and a high casualty rate are just some reasons policemen show up at the Jalalabad Regional Training Center in Afghanistan. The goal for them is to avoid these situations. In most of the country’s districts, policemen are on the force because they were friends with the right people; however, most have undergone no police training and many are illiterate. Many policemen on the payroll receive a considerable paycheck, but never show up to work. Corruption still is high in Afghanistan, but the Afghan government and NATO forces are working to change that.

Offensive in Tribal Area Criticized - Candace Rondeaux, Washington Post

Several Pakistani politicians and local media outlets have started to sharply criticize the government's new offensive against Islamist insurgents, as paramilitary troops on Wednesday continued to press operations in the country's northwest. "The action is not very fast, not very effective and not very well-oriented," said Lateef Afridi, a top member of the Awami National Party, the dominant political party in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province. "People are complaining that such halfhearted measures won't work."

Pakistan's Pendulum Swings - Washington Times editorial

At least a few of the dividends of the Pakistani coalition government's new security strategy - and of continued American pressure - are on display this week. Under heightened scrutiny following its unprecedented Taliban negotiations and a surge of violence in Afghanistan, Pakistan ordered security forces to encircle Peshawar beginning Saturday. Targeted raids of militants in lawless corners of the nuclear-armed country are underway. On Monday, what may have been a US drone reduced the house of a leading terrorist in Khyber district to rubble. Militant chief Haji Namdar survived the attack, but, as Pakistani Ambassador Husain Haqqani put it to The Washington Times in an Editorial Board meeting this week, "there will be several actions in the next few days that will make it completely clear that Pakistan wants total cooperation with NATO forces." Time will tell.

Pakistan's Problem, and Ours - Boston Globe editorial

Over the weekend, hundreds of Pakistani paramilitary forces moved into the northwestern city of Peshawar and its outskirts to drive out Islamist militants who had been kidnapping local notables, taking over courts and jails, and imposing their own brand of Taliban-style justice. The fact that Pakistan's Frontier Corps was called on to conduct this operation implies that the coalition government elected in February is losing ground to extremists, and that its efforts to negotiate a truce agreement with Pakistani Taliban groups have failed to rein in, or even constrain, the various jihadist bands in the region. Because some of these bands have been crossing into Afghanistan with fighters of the Afghan Taliban, and because some are helping shelter Al Qaeda operatives in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, their mushrooming power threatens not only Pakistan but also the United States.

IRAN

Risk Seen if Israel Strikes Iran - Peter Spiegel, Los Angeles Times

The US military's top officer warned Wednesday that an Israeli airstrike against Iran would make the Middle East more unstable and could add to the stress on overworked American forces in the region. The comments by Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came days after he visited Israel and amid growing international concern that Jerusalem is actively considering such an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Iranian FM: 'New Atmosphere' in Nuke Talks - Margaret Besheer, VOA

Iran's foreign minister says there is a new atmosphere in talks centered on his country's controversial nuclear program. In remarks to reporters at the United Nations, Manouchehr Mottaki said there have been "positive and constructive" developments in talks with the six major powers, raising hopes a diplomatic solution could be on the horizon. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says his government is reviewing the latest package of trade and economic incentives presented last week by EU policy chief Javier Solana and representatives of five of the six major powers involved in the negotiations.

No Proxy War With Iran - Los Angeles Times editorial

Israel and the United States are starting to look like two anxious children trying to decide how to deal with a schoolyard bully, Iran. Each appears to be whispering encouragement to the other to go kick the bully in the shins, but each is so terrified of the consequences that neither wants to go first. President Bush telegraphed this dangerous diplomatic gambit to the media Wednesday when he was asked about the recent spate of reports that military action against Iran, by either Israel or the US and before the end of Bush's term, is under discussion.

Nuclear-armed Iran Changes World - Greg Sheridan, The Australian opinion

There is, I would guess, somewhere between a 30 and 40 per cent chance that the Bush administration will bomb Iran's nuclear facilities before the end of the year. This is, naturally, a personal judgment. It is based on two weeks of intense conversations I have had with American national security figures. Washington, all the capitals of Europe and Canberra are united in their determination to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran are obvious. Its leaders are theologically motivated and believe Israel should be wiped off the map. It is the chief global sponsor of terrorism through groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Middle East experts believe a nuclear-armed Iran would soon be followed by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and perhaps others as well.

THE LONG WAR

Gitmo Detainees: Shorter Wait? - Warren Richey, Christian Science Monitor

The Bush administration is facing a long, hot summer of fierce litigation over who is, and who isn't, an enemy combatant in the war on terror. Judges at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC, are gearing up for an anticipated influx of habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of terror suspects being held at the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, prison camp. The action was prompted by the US Supreme Court's June 12 ruling that foreign detainees at Guantánamo have the right to force the US government to prove the legality of their ongoing detention to a neutral judge.

FISA Follies - Washington Post editorial

The Contentious issue of whether telecommunications companies that participated in the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program should be granted retroactive immunity from being sued is a particularly disturbing example of the Internet tail wagging the legislative dog. The dispute snarled Senate passage of the latest rewrite of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before lawmakers left town for the July 4 recess. In the interim, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who indicated that he would support the compromise even with an immunity provision, is simultaneously being attacked as a flip-flopper -- he had previously vowed to filibuster any bill that shielded the companies -- and urged to flip again. An Internet petition drive is underway to pressure Mr. Obama to knuckle under. Mr. Obama should hold firm, along with other colleagues who support the underlying, painstakingly achieved bipartisan compromise.

Law Turns Terrorists into Martyrs - Tim Collins, Daily Telegraph opinion

Defeating terrorism means defeating it on all fronts - military, law enforcement, political and propaganda. The 19th-century Prussian General Carl von Clausewitz, famously wrote that "war is the continuation of politics by other means". Modern terrorists have learnt this lesson well. They want to provoke a political response, an authoritarian reaction that justifies their existence. The core tenet of the fight against terror - from Malaya to Northern Ireland - was always "defeat the ideology and not the insurgent". But how do we win "hearts and minds" in today's struggle with al-Qa'eda? In parliamentary democracies such as the UK, a system of checks and balances - including the protection of fundamental liberties - guarantees the rule of law and prevents the arbitrary abuse of power for political ends. This is a weapon in the propaganda war.

COMPLEX OPERATIONS

Air Force Adapts to 'Different Kind of War - Shaun Waterman, Washington Times

The new leadership of the Air Force faces the challenge of redefining the service's role in what many see as the kind of combat the US military will face in the immediate future, namely counterinsurgency. The problem, critics say, is that the Air Force priorities of establishing air supremacy and perfecting the timely and pinpoint delivery of high explosives tend to be less useful in conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan. In particular, critics have singled out a reliance on air strikes in Afghanistan as a barrier to the success of a "hearts-and-minds" strategy on the ground, given the inevitability of collateral damage, or the accidental killing of civilians.

US FOREIGN POLICY

He's No Decider, He's a Ditherer - Daniel Benjamin, Washington Post

Conventional wisdom holds that George W. Bush's foreign policy failed because the president -- who famously called himself "the decider" -- is too, well, decisive. Bush's reckless, impulsive decision to invade Iraq, the argument goes, opened the door for Iran's ascendancy, distracted the United States from pursuing al-Qaeda more effectively in Afghanistan and Pakistan, diverted Western attention from a worsening relationship with Russia and so on. There's a lot to this assessment. But you can't fully comprehend the Bush record without understanding another Bush problem: a chronic failure to reach decisions or implement those that are made.

PRIVATE MILITARY COMPANIES / CONTRACTORS

The Imprecise Meaning of War - New York Times editorial

Unless Congress closes a gaping hole in the law against war profiteering, companies ripping off taxpayers in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars may never be fully prosecuted. This is because the latest conflicts are not declared wars. The anti-fraud law dating to World War II allows prosecution of contractors up to three years after a war ends. But this statute of limitations was omitted from the resolutions authorizing military force in Iraq and Afghanistan, which carried no formal war declaration. Investigators say that current war fraud runs into untold billions, including faulty ammunition and vehicles and not-so-bullet-proof vests. Investigative officials and the inspector general for Iraq reconstruction have testified that they’re hampered by the ongoing conflicts and need more time to catch contract thieves after they end.

AFRICA

Bush Asks for Help, Abroad and at Home - Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times

Amid signs that his quest for more aid to Africa is in danger of unraveling, President Bush called Wednesday for Congress to renew his global AIDS initiative and urged other nations to live up to their own promises to fight poverty and disease on the continent. “We need people who not only make promises, but write checks, for the sake of human rights and human dignity, and for the sake of peace,” Mr. Bush said in the White House Rose Garden. “Accountability is really important when it comes to our work on the continent of Africa.” The White House regards aid to Africa, including the AIDS program, which focuses primarily on Africa, as one of Mr. Bush’s signature foreign policy achievements.

Mugabe Rival Sets Conditions For Talks - Washington Post

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said Wednesday that he would not consider joining a unity government as a junior partner to President Robert Mugabe, whom he has accused of beating, torturing and killing his way to reelection last week. The African Union on Tuesday urged the two sides to immediately begin negotiations with the goal of sharing power, and numerous news reports have said such talks have already begun.

Opposition Leader Won't Negotiate - Los Angeles Times

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said Wednesday that he would not negotiate with the ruling party of President Robert Mugabe on a government of national unity as long as violence continues against opposition activists. Tsvangirai also rejected participation in talks mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki and sharply criticized the African Union for not supporting the findings of African election observers that Friday's presidential runoff was not democratic. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change is angry over what it sees as assurances by South Africa to African leaders that a deal on a government of national unity is imminent, when talks on the issue have not begun.

Mbeki Faces Axe Over Failed Diplomacy - Bone and Clayton, The Times

Pressure was mounting last night for the key role of mediating an end to the crisis in Zimbabwe to be taken out of the hands of Thabo Mbeki, the President of South Africa, whose “softly softly” approach to Robert Mugabe has been condemned worldwide. The UN’s push for greater involvement came amid mounting frustration with the failure of current mediation efforts. The United States pushed for Mr Mugabe and other ring-leaders of election abuses in Zimbabwe to be slapped with a worldwide travel ban and the freezing of their assets. Diplomats said that the UN was considering a shortlist of leading African politicians, including the former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, to help negotiate a political settlement in the country.

Make Mugabe a Pariah - The Australian editorial

Despite the urgent need for regime change in Zimbabwe, the signs emerging from Africa are confusing and discouraging. On the one hand, reports in a credible South African newspaper, Business Day, suggest South African President Thabo Mbeki is on the verge of finalising a Kenyan-style power-sharing deal for Zimbabwe after mediating between the Mugabe regime and the opposition for more than a year. On the other hand, comments by President Robert Mugabe's spokesman suggest that hopes of such a pact are naively optimistic: "I don't know what power-sharing is," the spokesman said. "Kenya is Kenya, Zimbabwe is Zimbabwe." Yesterday, Mr Mbeki persisted with his strange, misguided tolerance of the brutal despot, rejecting the EU position that it would only accept a Zimbabwean government led by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. The outcome, Mr Mbeki said, "must be a result that is agreed by the Zimbabweans". Desperate for humane governance and reform, the people already elected Mr Tsvangirai as president in March, only to see him denied office by Mugabe.

Mbeki’s Shame - Roger Cohen, New York Times opinion

Sometimes stubbornness gets measured in blood, and sometimes the wounds of race are blinding. That’s the kindest verdict I can find for the listless mediation in a devastated Zimbabwe of Thabo Mbeki, the South African president. Faced by all the brutal expressions of his neighbor Robert Mugabe’s megalomania, Mbeki has prodded here and there, like a learned physician mildly intrigued by a corpse. As a once flourishing economy has imploded, as inflation has assumed Weimar proportions, as millions have fled to South Africa and as an octogenarian tyrant has dispatched goons to murder and ravage, Mbeki has gone on mumbling that the people of Zimbabwe must solve their own problems.

Congolese Warlord Ordered Freed - Nora Boustany, Washington Post

Judges at the International Criminal Court on Wednesday ordered the release of the court's first defendant, a Congolese warlord charged with the coercive recruitment of thousands of child soldiers, saying he could not receive a fair trial due to withheld evidence. The judges cited prosecutors' refusal to share certain documents that tended to exculpate the defendant, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. He will remain in custody pending a ruling on an appeal that prosecutors were expected to file.

Africa's Food Crisis Opportunity - Josh Ruxin, Washington Post opinion

Every time Americans buy groceries, we feel the crisis in food prices. But while inflation presents discomfort in the United States, it is causing dire hardship elsewhere. In many of the world's poorest communities, food prices have become an obstacle to survival. Yet rapidly rising prices -- which are hurting the 73 million people fed each day by the World Food Program and the hundreds of millions who work for low wages in cities -- may also create an opportunity: the first chance in years for the world's poorest farmers to climb out of poverty.

AMERICAS

15 Hostages Freed as FARC Fooled - Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times

Armed forces disguised as rebels Wednesday rescued former Colombia presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, three U.S. defense contractors and 11 other hostages held by leftist insurgents, in a daring operation that delivered the latest in a series of blows to the country's largest anti-government force. Colombian forces apparently infiltrated the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and duped them into grouping Betancourt and the other hostages in a remote jungle location about 200 miles southeast of Bogota and putting them aboard a helicopter, supposedly for a meeting with new FARC commander Alfonso Cano.

15 Hostages Rescued in Colombia - Juan Forero, Washington Post

Colombia's military yesterday rescued the most prominent of several hundred hostages held by Marxist rebels, a group of 15 that included the French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and three American Defense Department contractors who had been imprisoned in remote jungle camps since 2003. In what Colombian officials called an elaborate ruse, commandos deceived a rebel unit entrusted with the prized hostages into turning them over in a grassy field deep in southeastern Guaviare province. The prisoners, who included 11 Colombian soldiers, were then flown to freedom in what amounted to a powerful blow to a fast-waning insurgency.

Colombia Plucks Hostages From Rebels’ Grasp - Simon Romero, New York Times

Colombian commandos in disguise spirited 15 hostages to freedom on Wednesday, including Ingrid Betancourt, a French-Colombian politician held for six years, and three American military contractors. “I never expected to get out of there alive,” said Ms. Betancourt, 46, her voice sounding frail but charged with excitement, in comments broadcast on the radio. On Colombian television, Ms. Betancourt wept and smiled as she recounted a chain of events that seemed scripted for film, complete with Colombian agents infiltrating guerrilla camps and borrowing Israeli tracking technology to zero in on their target.

Betancourt, 3 Americans Freed - Steve Salisbury, Washington Times

Colombian forces scored a big victory in a 44-year war against Marxist insurgents Wednesday by infiltrating their enemy and rescuing former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, three American hostages and 11 Colombian troops without firing a shot. Mrs. Betancourt later embraced her mother and her husband on the tarmac of an airport in Bogota after six years in captivity, much of it spent moving from hide-out to hide-out in dense steamy jungles and towering mountains.

Mexico Drug War Rages - Reuters

The severed heads of four men were found dumped on a Mexican street on Wednesday with a message accusing a drug gang kingpin of treachery, police said. Neighbors in the northern city of Culiacan found the men's bodies wrapped in plastic sheets and a blanket, with their heads stuffed into white plastic bags. An obscenity-laden note scrawled onto a piece of cardboard invited Joaquin "El Chapo" (Shorty) Guzman -- the head of the Sinaloa drug cartel -- "to see what his stupid acts had caused." Guzman, who is considered Mexico's most-wanted man, is battling a rival gang led by his one-time ally Arturo Beltran Leyva, whose hitmen reportedly killed one of Guzman's sons in May.

ASIA PACIFIC

Mongolia Enforces Martial Law - Jim Yardley, New York Times

Armed soldiers enforced martial law on the streets of Mongolia’s capital on Wednesday, a day after five people were killed as hundreds angered by election results rioted, Mongolian state news media reported. President Nambaryn Enkhbayar responded to the unrest by declaring a national state of emergency late Tuesday.

Violence in Mongolia Leaves 5 Dead - Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times

The capital of Mongolia remained under a state of emergency Wednesday after five people were killed in postelection violence amid allegations of voter fraud. The crisis erupted late Tuesday when several thousand protesters associated with the opposition Democratic Party clashed with police in Ulan Bator and set fire to the headquarters of the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, according to news reports and witnesses.

Calm Returns to Mongolia, Still No Election Result - Reuters

Calm has returned to the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator after rioting in the wake of election fraud allegations left five dead, but there is still no official result from the weekend's parliamentary polls. The violence has dampened hopes for a period of stable government to develop the mining sector and tackle inflation in the vast but thinly populated country, strategically sandwiched between China and Russia.

Blast Kills 4 in Southern Philippines - Reuters

At least four men were killed and 11 others wounded when a grenade exploded on Thursday at a bakery in the southern Philippines, a military spokesman said, blaming Maoist-led rebels for the attack. Hours later, another group of communist New People's Army (NPA) guerrillas raided a town hall in a nearby province on the troubled southern island of Mindanao, wounding a police officer, and carted away three assault rifles and a handgun.

80 Burmese Rescued from Traffickers - The Australian

More than 80 women and child victims of Burma's recent cyclone have been rescued from human traffickers who were scheming to smuggle them to neighbouring countries, a media report said today. Border police caught the traffickers, who had taken victims of Cyclone Nargis from the Irrawaddy delta to frontier areas, between June 11 to 14, the well-regarded biweekly journal Eleven reported, quoting police. Police Lt Col Rahlyan Mone, from the force's human trafficking division, told the Rangoon-based journal that victims facing hardship were being enticed with job offers abroad by traffickers disguised as aid workers.

The Madness of Chris Hill - James Rosen, National Review opinion

‘You will be better advised,” John Mitchell once famously said, “to watch what we do instead of what we say.” This maxim, uttered by Richard Nixon’s pipe-smoking attorney general, has echoed through the ages, applauded and denounced for its frankness in acknowledging the occasional need for duplicity, or at least the odd sleight of hand, in the practice of government. Now, with the arrival of North Korea’s declaration of its nuclear programs - long overdue and woefully inadequate in its disclosure of key data - and with the enthusiastic reception afforded the document by the current White House and State Department, the Bush administration seems to have taken Mitchell’s maxim to heart.

EUROPE

US, Poland Reach Accord on Interceptors - Nicholas Kralev, Washington Times

US and Polish negotiators have finalized an agreement to base 10 missile interceptors on Polish soil as part of a US defense shield, and it is now up to the Warsaw government to formally approve the deal, officials from both countries said Wednesday. The Bush administration, ignoring vocal Russian opposition to the future shield, has already reached an accord with the Czech Republic on basing a tracking radar there, which Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to sign in Prague next week.

Britain to Sign Aircraft Carrier Deal - Graham Tibbetts, Daily Telegraph

A deal to build Britain's biggest ever aircraft carriers is expected to be sealed today. The Ministry of Defence is poised to sign contracts worth around £3 billion for two 65,000-ton ships. The Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales will be built at Govan in Glasgow and Rosyth in Fife, as well as Portsmouth and Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Measuring more than 300 yards in length, the ships will have a flight deck the size of three football pitches and space for 40 aeroplanes.

France’s Terrorism Strategy Faulted - Elaine Sciolino, New York Times

France’s much-praised system of using sweeping arrests and aggressive interrogations and prosecutions to combat terrorism prevents suspects from receiving a fair trial, according to a human rights report released Wednesday. France prides itself on having the most efficient counterterrorism strategy in Europe. French counterterrorism officials insist that the flexibility of French law and the French judicial system has been crucial in their ability to respond to the threat of international terrorism and has helped prevent attacks on French soil.

Sarkozy Lashes Out at Everyone - Charles Bremner, The Times

President Sarkozy's habit of picking fights landed him at war yesterday with three mighty institutions: the European Commission, the French armed forces and state television. Mr Sarkozy's slanging match with Peter Mandelson soured his second day of France's EU presidency after the British commissioner accused him of undermining Europe in world trade negotiations. The squabble, in which Mr Sarkozy cast Mr Mandelson as a bogeyman, was overshadowed at home by unrest among army generals and mutiny by the boss of France Télévisions.

Medvedev: No US Advice - Clifford Levy, New York Times

Russia’s new president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, less swaggering than his predecessor but as touchy about criticism from abroad, said in an interview that an America in “essentially a depression” was in no position to lecture other countries on how to conduct their affairs. With soaring oil revenues bolstering the Russian economy and Kremlin confidence, Mr. Medvedev brushed aside American criticism of his country’s record on democracy and human rights. He also said that a revived Russia had a right to assume a larger role in a world economic system that he suggested should no longer be dominated by the United States.

From Russia With Contempt - The Times editorial

Russia needs specialised foreign investment and knowhow more than it is prepared to admit. Its net oil output fell in the first half of this year for the first time in a decade, and its state-owned energy giants, for all their size, lack the resources to open up the new fields in eastern Siberia on which strong future output depends. Yet TNK-BP, and its expatriate staff in particular, have been hounded by the authorities more as intruders than valued investors. The situation is complicated by a furious power struggle within the company, but the essentials are clear - and they are depressingly reminiscent of past assaults on property rights that the Kremlin should be defending.

MIDDLE EAST

Hezbollah Leader Confirms Exchange Deal With Israel - Associated Press

Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, confirmed that the group would hand over two captured Israeli soldiers and information on Ron Arad, an Israeli airman missing for two decades, in exchange for five Lebanese prisoners in Israel. Israeli officials have said the two soldiers are dead, but Sheik Nasrallah said he had not given Israel any indication of their fate.

Palestinian Kills 3 With Construction Vehicle - Isabel Kershner, New York Times

The Palestinian driver of a large construction vehicle went on a deadly rampage along a central Jerusalem thoroughfare on Wednesday, crushing several cars and ramming into buses and pedestrians before an off-duty soldier and a police officer clambered up to the cabin and fatally shot him. At least three people were killed by the lurching vehicle, and more than 40 were wounded, Israeli officials said.

Three Killed in Jerusalem Rampage - Griff Witte, Washington Post

Hussam Edwyat, the Palestinian construction worker who killed three Israelis and injured dozens of others by crushing cars and ramming buses with an earthmover in downtown Jerusalem on Wednesday, had intimate ties with his Jewish neighbors. His deadly rampage started just before noon, when he plowed a yellow Caterpillar earthmover into lunchtime traffic on Jaffa Road, one of Jerusalem's main commercial thoroughfares. It ended only when an Israeli police officer jumped onto the vehicle's cab and fired two shots at close range. The earthmover came to rest atop a car whose fatally injured driver remained pinned inside. Behind it lay a 400-yard trail of mangled bodies and vehicles.

The Peace Test - Clifford May, National Review opinion

The anniversary passed with scarcely a mention. Six years ago, on June 24, 2002, President Bush turned American policy in the Middle East in a new direction. In a ground-breaking speech, he announced that the US would support the creation of a Palestinian state. His only condition was that Palestinians first choose “leaders not compromised by terror.” He asked also that they “confront corruption,” and “build a practicing democracy based on tolerance and liberty.” Bush was optimistic that this would come to pass, and that by the time he left the White House, a Palestinian state and a Jewish state would be living side by side in peace. In the years that followed, the stars appeared to be aligning.

SOUTH ASIA

Protests in Kashmir Herald Poll Tensions - Mian Ridge, Christian Science Monitor

Jubilant Kashmiris lit bonfires and set off fireworks in the streets on Wednesday to celebrate a rare triumph in their struggle against Indian rule. For nine days, Muslim leaders have staged the biggest protests seen in Jammu and Kashmir since the early 1990s against a government plan to transfer land to a Hindu shrine in India's only Muslim-majority state. Hundreds of people were wounded and at least four killed while protesting. On Tuesday, the government bowed to the pressure and voted to scrap the plan. But while some parts of the state saw rejoicing, the government's decision stoked tensions elsewhere.

Sri Lanka Fighting Kills 26, Military Says - Associated Press

The military says a series of battles between government forces and Tamil Tiger fighters on the front lines of the civil war killed 26 rebels. The fighting took place throughout the day Wednesday, killing two rebels in the Vavuniya area, 12 in Mannar and 12 in Welioya, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.

Turning From Musharraf - Robert Novak, Washington Post opinion

Yousaf Raza Gillani, prime minister of Pakistan, will lunch with George W. Bush in the White House on July 28. That will not be merely another of the president's routine meetings with foreign leaders. As Pakistan's democratically elected government and U.S. diplomats understand, the lunch symbolizes a turn away from Washington's attachment to military rule under the discredited Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Bush could be the last to appreciate the symbolism. On May 30, he stunned Pakistani political circles with a personal telephone call to Musharraf advocating "a continuing role" for him as president of Pakistan.

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.