IRAQ

US: Troop Pullout From Iraq Considered - Karen DeYoung, Washington Post

US and Iraqi negotiators have agreed on most elements of a framework under which US combat troops would withdraw from Iraqi cities sometime next year, but dates have not yet been settled and Iraqi political approval of the draft accord remains uncertain, according to Bush administration officials. "What makes this complicated is that, until the whole package is done, it's not done," one official said, adding, "Yes, we have things on the table that we've agreed to," but they await high-level Iraq agreement that may be weeks away, if not longer.

US Military Blames al-Qaida in Iraq for Bombing - Associated Press

The US military blamed al-Qaida in Iraq Saturday for a suicide car bombing in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, while an Iraqi official said the death toll in the attack had risen to 25. An Iraqi security official, meanwhile, said the attacker was a Sunni Turkoman who had been detained by the US military but was released four months ago under an Iraqi amnesty law. The bomber may have avoided detection at a checkpoint leading to the busy market by having a man ride with him in the passenger seat, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The passenger got off soon after the car passed the checkpoint, he added, citing witness reports and forensic tests.

US-Iraqi Officials Seek to Ease Water Shortages - Associated Press

The tanks were full of enough clean drinking water for some 200,000 Iraqis at a new distribution station in eastern Baghdad, but local officials struggled Saturday to agree on where it should go. The dilemma was an example of the obstacles facing the Iraqis and their American backers as they try to rebuild the country. The Iraqi government is flush with oil money, but officials often lack the know-how and experience to dole out the cash efficiently. US soldiers and Iraqi officials began working on the water distribution site in the former Shiite militia stronghold of New Baghdad in April - part of a broader strategy to provide immediate relief in hopes of boosting confidence in the Iraqi government and preventing militants from regaining support.

How The Surge Worked - Peter Mansoor, Washington Post opinion

Given the divisive debate over the Iraq war, perhaps it was inevitable that the accomplishments of the recently concluded "surge" would become shrouded in the fog of 30-second sound bites. Too often we hear that the dramatic security improvement in Iraq is due not to the surge but to other, unrelated factors and that the positive developments of the past 18 months have been merely a coincidence. To realize how misleading these assertions are, one must understand that the "surge" was more than an infusion of reinforcements into Iraq. Of greater importance was the change in the way US forces were employed starting in February 2007, when Gen. David Petraeus ordered them to position themselves with Iraqi forces out in neighborhoods. This repositioning was based on newly published counterinsurgency doctrine that emphasized the protection of the population and recognized that the only way to secure people is to live among them.

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

Call for More Troops to Thwart Taliban Victory - Michael Smith, The Times

Senior British commanders are to warn ministers that unless thousands more troops are sent to Afghanistan the Taliban will win back control of the country. They are recommending a rapid reduction in the 4,000 troops in Iraq so that more can go to Afghanistan. American and British commanders in Afghanistan want an Iraq-style surge “within months” to fend off a Taliban victory before next year’s presidential election there. One senior officer said the Taliban were now operating in areas where they had not been since the allied invasion in 2001.

British Cash to Buy Off Taliban - Nick Meo, Daily Telegraph

A scheme to pay Taliban fighters to defect to the West has descended into chaos with money missing and payouts going to shepherds instead of soldiers, Foreign Office documents have shown. At one stage British taxpayers were pouring £2 million a year into the Programme Tahkim-e-Solh (PTS), which offers cash rewards to hard-core Taliban insurgents in key areas of Afghanistan who agree to lay down their arms or switch sides. Yet internal memos released under the Freedom of Information Act point to widespread concerns among British officials that money is going to the wrong people.

More than 20 Insurgents Killed in Afghanistan - Reuters

Afghan soldiers backed by international air support killed more than 20 Taliban insurgents in the east and west of the country on Friday, a provincial police chief and the U.S. military said on Saturday. Violence has risen in Afghanistan this year with about. 2,500 people, including 1,000 civilians, killed so far in fighting between insurgents and foreign and Afghan forces, aid agencies say.

Report From a Forgotten War - Oliver North, Washington Times opinion

To Americans of my generation and older, Korea is "The Forgotten War." For this generation, it's Afghanistan - or to be precise, Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). This seven-year long campaign against al Qaeda and the Taliban in the shadow of the Hindu Kush didn't start out as a "forgotten war." On Oct. 7, 2001, less than a month after the Sept. 11 attack, OEF began with a salvo of Tomahawk cruise missiles and raids by B-1s, B-2s, B-52s and waves of carrier-based aircraft. For the next month the entire world was riveted as Afghan "Northern Alliance" troops - bolstered by US Special Operations Forces and CIA teams - swept south toward Kabul.

IRAN

An Israeli Strike on Iran - Avishai and Aslan, Washington Post opinion

The Bush administration seems less and less likely to launch a parting strike on Iran's nuclear installations - but Israel isn't sounding nearly so tranquil. The talk from Jerusalem will almost certainly grow more strident as the competition to replace the country's scandal-plagued prime minister, Ehud Olmert, intensifies. Former Israeli defense minister Shaul Mofaz is running hard against the less hawkish Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to succeed Olmert as leader of the governing Kadima Party; he recently told Israel's dominant daily newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, that an attack on Iran was "unavoidable." And Binyamin Netanyahu, the right-wing opposition leader who might well beat either Livni or Mofaz in a general election, is also likely to think seriously about a preventive Israeli raid. Meanwhile, prominent Israeli military analysts, officials and writers are insisting that Iran constitutes a mounting "existential threat."

THE LONG WAR

Al-Qaida Said to Lose key WMD Operative - Associated Press

The killing of an al-Qaida chemical weapons expert in a missile strike two weeks ago on a Pakistani border village has dealt a heavy blow to the terrorist group's ambitions to build weapons of mass destruction, a former CIA case officer says. Abu Khabab al-Masri was dubbed by terrorism analysts as al-Qaida's "mad scientist." His most notorious work, recorded on videotape, showed dogs being killed in poison gas experiments in Afghanistan when the Taliban ruled.

The US v. the Driver - New York Times editorial

Last week was hardly the first time that we have found ourselves scratching our heads in anguished confusion about what, exactly, President Bush is trying to achieve by trashing the Constitution at Guantánamo Bay. But the sentencing of Osama bin Laden’s driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, to five and a half years in prison is a good moment to stop and reflect. The administration considered Mr. Hamdan such a priority that it took his case all the way to the Supreme Court, insisting Mr. Bush had the power to hold anyone he deemed an enemy combatant for as long as he wanted under any conditions he wanted. Mr. Hamdan’s trial was the first by a military commission in Guantánamo. We use the word “trial” loosely. The proceedings were marked by secret testimony by secret witnesses. The former chief prosecutor in Guantánamo testified that he quit after being told that these trials could not produce acquittals. In the end, Mr. Hamdan was found guilty only of providing material support to terrorists and was sentenced to five and half years - a term he might complete before year’s end. Still, in the twisted world of Mr. Bush’s prison camps, it is unclear if Mr. Hamdan will be released after serving his sentence.

Trial by Tribunal - Washington Post editorial

The first US military commission since World War II rendered a stunning verdict and sentence last week against Salim Ahmed Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's former driver. The commission's decision was remarkable not because it was the first of its era but because it appeared to be measured, thoughtful and fair -- or as fair as a hopelessly flawed system could hope to produce. A jury of six military officers acquitted Mr. Hamdan of the most serious charge of conspiracy and convicted him of providing material support to al-Qaeda. Mr. Hamdan was then sentenced to 66 months in detention, with credit for the 61 months he's already served. The bottom line: Mr. Hamdan could be - and should be - released before President Bush leaves office.

The Elections Are Coming. Is Al-Qaeda? - Bruce Riedel, Washington Post opinion

Four years ago, while working as a senior adviser in NATO's Brussels headquarters, I got an up-close look at the way al-Qaeda's best minds see Western elections. On March 11, 2004, Spain was rocked by perhaps the bloodiest terrorist attack in Europe since World War II, as bombs ripped apart commuter trains in Madrid, leaving nearly 2,000 Spaniards dead or injured - three days before the country went to the polls. The incumbent party was promptly hurled out of office, and in Brussels, my colleagues and I watched as the Spanish mission began receiving drastically different instructions from Madrid. Overnight, a US ally that had been an enthusiastic cheerleader for President Bush's Iraq policies became one of Bush's sharpest critics in the NATO alliance. A grieving Spanish electorate roundly rejected the war in Iraq, which it concluded had hurt Spain's security, not enhanced it.

COMPLEX OPERATIONS

Make Diplomacy, Not War - Nicholas Kristof, New York Times opinion

Iraq and Afghanistan are the messes getting attention today, but they are only symptoms of a much broader cancer in American foreign policy. In short, the United States is hugely overinvesting in military tools and underinvesting in diplomatic tools. The result is a lopsided foreign policy that antagonizes the rest of the world and is ineffective in tackling many modern problems. Incredibly, the most eloquent spokesman for more balance between “hard power” and “soft power” is Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Mr. Gates, who is superb in repairing the catastrophe left behind by Donald Rumsfeld, has given a series of astonishing speeches in which he calls for more resources for the State Department and aid agencies. “One of the most important lessons of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is that military success is not sufficient to win,” Mr. Gates said. He noted that the entire American diplomatic corps - about 6,500 people - is less than the staffing of a single aircraft carrier group, yet Congress isn’t interested in paying for a larger Foreign Service.

The Pentagon's New Strategy - William Hartung, Boston Globe opinion

At first glance, the new national defense strategy released by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently looks like a new start, with much talk of working with allies and - heaven forbid - even other US government agencies. Gates comes across as the "anti-Rumsfeld," replacing his predecessor's bluster with quiet diplomacy, and an overreliance on military force with a more pragmatic, balanced approach to security. The new strategy document reflects these differences. This is not the first time that Gates has embraced the themes set out in the new strategy document. In a speech this year at Kansas State University, he called for substantial increases in spending for the State Department, pointing out that there are fewer professional diplomats in the Foreign Service than there are personnel on an average aircraft carrier task force (of which the United States has 12). But lest his audience think he had truly gone wobbly, Gates also stressed that he did not want these new funds to come at the expense of growing Pentagon budgets. The defense secretary seems to want to have it both ways.

AFRICA

Darfur Withers as Sudan Sells Food - Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times

Even as it receives a billion pounds of free food from international donors, Sudan is growing and selling vast quantities of its own crops to other countries, capitalizing on high global food prices at a time when millions of people in its war-riddled region of Darfur barely have enough to eat. Here in the bone-dry desert, where desiccated donkey carcasses line the road, huge green fields suddenly materialize. Beans. Wheat. Sorghum. Melons. Peanuts. Pumpkins. Eggplant. It is all grown here, part of an ambitious government plan for Sudanese self-sufficiency, creating giant mechanized farms that rise out of the sand like mirages.

Zimbabwe Power-sharing Deal Possible Sunday - Reuters

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe could sign a power-sharing deal on Sunday that names opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister, a senior ruling party official said on Saturday. The official said Mugabe's ZANU-PF, after more than two weeks of talks seeking to end a post-election crisis, wants any unity government to last five years. Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Tsvangirai would be premier although his powers were still under discussion.

Mbeki Arrives in Harare for Talks - BBC News

South African President Thabo Mbeki has arrived in Harare for talks with his Zimbabwean counterpart, Robert Mugabe, and the opposition's Morgan Tsvangirai. Mr Mbeki has been mediating between the two sides which have been holding talks in South Africa for more than a week. Despite a news blackout imposed on the discussions, reports suggest a power-sharing deal may be close.

Zimbabwe Faction Leader Says Deal Close - Reuters

The leader of one of Zimbabwe's opposition factions said on Sunday they were close to a power-sharing deal with President Robert Mugabe's party to end a political crisis. Talks began last month in the aftermath of Mugabe's re-election unopposed in June in a poll condemned around the world and boycotted by Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition faction, because of attacks on its supporters. Zimbabweans and neighboring countries hope an agreement could end years of political turmoil and revive an economy whose collapse has spilled millions of people across Zimbabwe's borders.

African Union will Suspend Mauritania - Reuters

The African Union will suspend Mauritania until democracy is restored in the West African nation where soldiers overthrew the president this week, AU chair Tanzania said on Saturday. The continental body's move is the latest international condemnation of a coup that at home has received a mixture of support and muted criticism from various political camps but, by now, is largely being met with indifference by the population.

Algerian Radio Reports 8 Killed in Suicide Bombing - Associated Press

Explosives packed into a vehicle detonated outside a police station in northern Algeria, killing eight civilians and wounding eight others, the national radio said Sunday. An officer fired on the vehicle as it was approaching the police station in Zemmouri on Saturday night, causing the car to explode before it hit the building, the radio report said, citing security officials.

Uproar Over Loud Prayer Calls in Muslim Morocco - Associated Press

The muezzins' calls echo well before daybreak, summoning the Muslim faithful to daily prayers and reminding foreign tourists in the Moroccan capital how far they are from home. But the rising decibel level is deepening fault lines between a government drive to modernize and a wave of rigorous political Islam. Morocco, a country of 33 million people, gets more than 7 million tourists a year. And there are worries that some may be put off by the five heavily amplified calls a day, each lasting five minutes, to "hasten to the prayer, hasten to the prayer." Muslim purists counter that authorities are compromising religion to please Westerners and the country's liberal elite.

AMERICAS

US Guns Arm Mexican Drug Cartels - Richard Serrano, Los Angeles Times

High-powered automatic weapons and ammunition are flowing virtually unchecked from border states into Mexico, fueling a war among drug traffickers, the army and police that has left thousands dead, according to US and Mexican officials. The munitions are hidden under trucks and stashed in the trunks of cars, or concealed under the clothing of people who brazenly walk across the international bridges. They are showing up in seizures and in the aftermath of shootouts between the cartels and police in Mexico. More than 90% of guns seized at the border or after raids and shootings in Mexico have been traced to the United States, according to the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Last year, 2,455 weapons traces requested by Mexico showed that guns had been purchased in the United States, according to the ATF. Texas, Arizona and California accounted for 1,805 of those traced weapons.

Government Opponents Protest in Venezuela - Associated Press

About 3,000 opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez marched through the capital on Saturday to protest a package of laws that expand his power and accelerate his push toward socialism. Shouting chants and waving balloons reading "play fair," they complained that some of the laws resemble constitutional reforms sought by Chavez that voters rejected at the polls in December.

Bolivia's Morales Puts Agenda to Test - Patrick McDonnell, Los Angeles Times

President Evo Morales seeks a new mandate for his socialist agenda today in a nationwide referendum that reflects deep divisions in this troubled South American nation. Morales, his vice president and eight state governors face recall votes that could throw them all out of office. Polls indicate that Morales is likely to retain his job, though several governors who oppose his policies could lose theirs. A tense atmosphere prevails across the country. Violent anti-government demonstrations and airport blockades forced the cancellation of an energy summit with the presidents of Argentina and Venezuela. There have been threats to obstruct the vote and reports of gunfire directed at the vehicle of a Cabinet member.

Bolivia Coca Farmers Back Morales in Recall - Reuters

Coca farmers in the verdant Chapare region, where Bolivian President Evo Morales rose to prominence as a fiery union leader, are confident he will win a recall vote on Sunday. Morales and eight of the country's nine regional governors, some of whom are feuding with him over their demand for more autonomy for their regions, will have to step down if they lose. Polls indicate Morales, the country's first indigenous president and a former coca farmer, will survive the vote. But analysts say the political crisis gripping the impoverished country will continue whatever the outcome.

Soldiers Blamed for Rio Killings - Patrick McDonnell, Los Angeles Times

The twisting alleys and steep steps of Providence Hill ascend relentlessly to a tree-less plaza, a place of respite, however bleak, from the drug wars and blight that have made the Rio neighborhoods known as favelas global emblems of urban dysfunction. But these days the concrete park offers no peace, for it is here that three young men were snatched away -- not by the traffickers, but by the troops who had been deployed here to protect the people of Providence Hill. Eleven soldiers have been arrested and accused of detaining the men at the plaza in June and turning them over to thugs in the rival Mineira Hill favela, authorities say. The troops were trying to "scare" the unruly young men, according to subsequent testimony. Instead, the three turned up dead in a vast trash heap on the edge of town, shot dozens of times, their bodies badly disfigured.

ASIA PACIFIC

Police Kill Five in Clash in Western China - Jill Drew, Washington Post

Police shot and killed five people who hurled homemade bombs at government buildings in the restive Xinjiang region of far western China, where an attack last week left 16 border police dead, state media reported Sunday. The New China News Agency said two police officers and a security guard were wounded in the attacks on a police station and the office of industry and commerce in Kucha. The oasis city is on the northern rim of the Taklimakan Desert, about halfway between the region's capital of Urumqi and Kashgar, where last week's deadly attack occurred.

Police in Western China Kill 5 - Jim Yardley, New York Times

Five people were killed early Sunday morning after a violent confrontation in western China’s tense Xinjiang region in which the police fired on assailants who had attacked a police station with homemade bombs, state media reported. The violence, coinciding with the first weekend of the Beijing Olympics, comes amid a police crackdown in Xinjiang. The authorities say Uighur militants in the region pose a potential security threat to the Games. Last week the authorities said two Uighur militants attacked a police station in the Xinjiang city of Kashgar, killing 16 paramilitary police and wounding 16 others.

Bush Sharpens Public Critique - Abramowitz and Cody, Washington Post

President Bush is stepping up his public criticism of China's human rights practices, adopting a more confrontational posture than he suggested he might take in the weeks leading up to the Olympic Games. Bush said after a Sunday morning service at a government-authorized Protestant Church, "No state, man or woman should fear the influence of loving religion." It was a clear reference to his concerns over the restrictions the Chinese authorities place on worship at churches that are not officially sanctioned.

Beijing Curbs Religious Rights - Maureen Fan, Washington Post

China describes itself as a religiously tolerant society, one that allows its citizens to worship freely. This week, per Olympic tradition, it is extending that same freedom to athletes in the form of worship rooms in the Olympic Village, each dedicated for the world's major religions. Worshipers also have at their disposal dozens of foreign clerics; 10,000 English-Chinese Bibles emblazoned with the Olympics logo; and an electric organ, for Catholics. But religious freedom does not extend beyond the heavily secured perimeter fence of the Olympic Green.

Agony of Burma’s Dumped Children - Heather Mark, The Times

In a filthy destitute village, half an hour outside Rangoon, three-year-old Than Than Nues was dumped days after Cyclone Nargis had ravaged her home in Burma’s Irrawaddy delta and made her an orphan. The toddler, who lost both her parents when 12ft waves swept through their home in Bogalay, a coastal township, was carted off in a government lorry and handed over to strangers. Villagers, who struggled to feed their own families from their meagre rice paddies or from working in a factory on a daily wage of just 75p, were forced to provide for the extra mouths. Last week underfed children played in the mud-filled main street, still trying to forget the traumatic night in May when they saw their closest relatives swept to their deaths.

EUROPE

Flash Point: South Ossetia - Small Wars Journal

SWJ roundup of the conflict in Georgia. News, analysis, commentary, videos and background...

MIDDLE EAST

Slain Syrian Aide Supplied Missiles to Hezbollah - Uzi Mahnaimi, The Times

A key aide to the Syrian president who was assassinated last weekend in mysterious circumstances had been supplying Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, with advanced Syrian SA-8 anti-aircraft missiles, according to Middle Eastern sources. Once operative, the mobile missiles will threaten the dominance of the Israeli air force over Lebanon. The assassinated aide, Brigadier-General Muhammad Suleiman, 49, was “more important than anyone else”, wrote the London-based Saudi paper Al-Sharq al-Awsat last week: “He was senior even to the defence minister. He knew everything.”

Syria Bars Repeat Visit by UN Nuclear Experts - Associated Press

Syria said Saturday it would bar UN nuclear investigators from revisiting a site bombed by Israeli jets on suspicion it was a secretly built atomic reactor. The move dealt a blow to International Atomic Energy Agency efforts to follow up on intelligence indicating Syria was hiding a nuclear program that could be used to make weapons. Syria denies it has hidden nuclear facilities.

Syria Says Ready to Answer IAEA Questions - Reuters

Syria is willing to answer questions by the UN nuclear watchdog about an alleged nuclear complex but has not agreed with the agency to allow more visits to the site, a foreign ministry statement said on Saturday. In June, experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited the al-Kibar complex, which Israeli warplanes raided last year. Syria says the site is a military complex under construction and denies any nuclear activity.

SOUTH ASIA

Musharraf Won't Dismiss Hostile Assembly - Reuters

An old political ally of President Pervez Musharraf said on Saturday Pakistan's embattled former army chief will not use his powers to dissolve the National Assembly to pre-empt moves to impeach him. Facing what could be his final challenge, Musharraf called on his foes in the assembly to convene on Monday, knowing the country's four-month-old civilian coalition intends to force him into a confidence vote or impeach him. After meeting Musharraf on Saturday, senior politician Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain removed lingering fears he will undo the transition to democracy after nine years of military rule by dismissing the assembly.

Sri Lanka Soldiers Attack Rebels, 40 Killed - Associated Press

Sri Lankan soldiers launched a pre-dawn attack on Tamil separatists in the embattled north Sunday, killing 15 rebels, while other battles in the region left 24 rebels and one soldier dead, said the military. The civil war on the Indian Ocean island has escalated in recent months, with the military stepping up ground assaults and airstrikes after the government pledged to capture rebel-held territory and crush the insurgents. In the latest offensive, army troops pushed into the rebel territory across a defense line in the village of Kilali on the Jaffna peninsula early Sunday and attacked rebel bunkers, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.

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.