IRAQ

Curfew in Iraqi Province After Governor Attacked - Reuters

Iraqi authorities imposed a curfew on the capital of restive Diyala province on Tuesday after the governor survived a suicide attack that left the bomber's body parts scattered across the street. Two people were killed and seven wounded when the attacker detonated an explosive vest near the convoy of Diyala Governor Raad Rasheed in the provincial capital Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, police said. Rasheed was unharmed.

Congress Details Massive Use of Private Contractors - Michael Bowman, VOA

A new report says the United States has spent about $100 billion on private contractors to support operations in Iraq since the 2003 invasion to oust Saddam Hussein. At the height of last year's military surge in Iraq, the United States had roughly 168,000 troops deployed in the country. But America's armed forces have been outnumbered by what some see as a private army funded by the federal government: contractors that provide a wide array of services, from security operations to rebuilding projects to logistical support. Peter Orszag heads the Congressional Budget Office, which issued a report on the costs of private contractors in Iraq. "The federal government has awarded $85 billion in contracts for work in [the] Iraq theater through 2007. If you included this year, the total would exceed $100 billion: roughly one of every $5 for the cost of the war in Iraq," he said.

About That Iraq 'Surplus' - Wall Street Journal editorial

Among the antiwar faithful, every improvement in Iraq is still bad news, even if - or especially if - it's good news for the US. So it is with the political eruption over Iraq's budget surplus. According to the US Government Accountability Office, the Iraqi government generated some $96 billion in revenues since 2005, when Baghdad started managing its own budget, with about 94% coming from crude oil exports. Now Democrats and a few Republicans are complaining that Iraq is "pocketing huge profits" without spending enough on reconstruction. The GAO figures the surplus could run as high as $50 billion this year, though the real figure will be far lower once parliament resolves ongoing budget negotiations. Of course it is one more sign of progress that Iraq is immersed in ordinary budget disputes like every other democracy, and no one argues that these funds won't be spent in the future. The real news is that Iraq was unable to spend the money it budgeted during the war's darkest periods, largely due to violence, sectarian strife and corruption. Since General David Petraeus's surge, security has improved sufficiently for Iraq to finance its own development.

A Balanced Plan on Iraq - John Thomson, Washington Times opinion

An important article - perhaps the most significant of the post-Sept. 11, 2001, years - is forthcoming in the September-October issue of Foreign Affairs, the rightfully esteemed publication of the Council on Foreign Relations. Titled "Building on Progress in Iraq," the article represents the research, thought and recommendations of three certified students of the contentious, challenging conflict in Mesopotamia. It is not my habit to review or comment on the work of others, but the soon-to-be-published 6,600-word work of Stephen Biddle, a senior CFR fellow, with Michael O'Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack, who hold similar positions at the Brookings Institution, deserves careful consideration plus profound praise from those genuinely concerned about the War on Terrorism and the situation in Iraq. This is not a study based on armchair profundities, or opinions gathered after one or two days in Baghdad: The writers have spent considerable time over the last five years in Iraq - importantly including during May-June of this year - and have gained valuable insights as well as solid reputations for balanced analysis.

Up and Over the Palm Tree - Pete Hegseth, National Review opinion

In coordination with the up-and-coming Sons of Iraq (SOI) movement, “Safe Neighborhoods” has empowered the local population to expel insurgents without overtly putting their own lives at risk. With the heavy lifting - and trigger-squeezing - left to reinforced US forces and emboldened Iraqi Security Forces, Samarrans soon felt comfortable enough to help Al Qaeda’s encroachment here. Sounds simple enough, right? Think again. Block by block, I heard the relief in their voices, and the relaxation in their faces. Following months of sustained violence, in November 2007 “No Slack” set the conditions for a neighborhood-by-neighborhood operation by systematically sealing off the city from unauthorized vehicle traffic and beefing up checkpoints into the city. With substantial help from Iraqi Security Forces and the SOI, “No Slack” saturated the city with troops, fighting insurgents block-by-block, eventually pushing Al Qaeda outside the city limits.

Iraq is Getting Better - Christopher Hitchens, The Australian opinion

One day I will publish my entire collection of upside-down Iraq headlines, where the true purport of the story is the inverse of the intended one. (Top billing thus far would go to the greatest downer of them all: The tale of Iraq's unemployed gravediggers, their always-insecure standard of living newly imperilled by thefalling murder rate. You don't believe me? Wait for the forthcoming anthology.) While you wait, you may consider last week's astonishing report about the Iraqi budget surplus and the way in which the news was reported. Largely attributable to the bonanza in oil prices, to new discoveries of oil since the eviction of Saddam Hussein and to the increasing success of Iraqi exports via the pipelines to Turkey, this surplus could amount to as much as $79 billion by the end of this year. A good chunk of that money is sitting safely in a bank in New York. I would call this good news by any standard, though of course I understand the annoyance of Democratic senator Carl Levin, and others involved in the auditing of Iraq, who complain that all the unspent wealth is a bit much, given the heavy outlay from the US Treasury for the rebuilding of Mesopotamia.

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

13 Killed in Attack on Pakistani Air Force Bus - Jane Perlez, New York Times

A bomb targeting a Pakistani Air Force bus carrying personnel from a military base killed 13 people and wounded 11 others on Tuesday on a major road near the center of this city (Peshawar), the police said. Taliban forces reportedly took responsibility. The attack was seen as retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes in Bajaur, a militant stronghold near the border with Afghanistan, the inspector general of police, Malik Naveed Khan, said. Five of the dead were air force personnel and the eight others were bystanders, he said. In the past several days, the government has unleashed an offensive against militants in Bajaur, an area of Pakistan’s tribal region adjacent to Peshawar where the Taliban and Al Qaeda have forged particularly close ties on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border. The bomb appeared to have been placed on top of a bridge or near the bridge and triggered by remote control, Mr. Khan said.

Bombing in NW Pakistan Kills 14 - Candace Rondeaux, Washington Post

At least 14 people were killed on the outskirts of the northwest city of Peshawar on Tuesday by a powerful bomb blast that targeted Pakistani air force personnel and badly damaged a key bridge that links the city to Pakistan's volatile tribal areas. Rehman Malik, an adviser to the Pakistani prime minister, said evidence indicates that a roadside bomb caused the blast. Seven of the dead were air force officers, Malik said. Several other people were wounded. Malik said that no one had asserted responsibility for the bombing but that he suspects it was carried out by Pakistani Taliban forces in direct response to the recent launch of Pakistani army operations in the nearby tribal area of Bajaur.

Taliban: 'Open War' in Pakistan as Bomb Kills 14 - Associated Press

The Pakistani Taliban declared "open war" Tuesday in response to military offensives in the northwest, saying it staged a bombing that destroyed an air force truck and killed up to 14 people, including a child. Authorities, meanwhile, investigated whether an insurgent reported killed in one of the military operations was a senior al-Qaida commander. The offensive in the Bajur tribal area reportedly has killed 160 people and caused tens of thousands to flee to camps farther north. The blast in Peshawar, main city of the restive frontier with Afghanistan, escalated the conflict in a region where the new government is struggling to contain increasingly brazen militants.

Push for Diggers to Get Medivacs - Mark Dodd, The Australian

Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon will consider sending specialised medical helicopters to support Australian troops in Afghanistan after three wounded Diggers waited six hours on the battlefield before being taken to hospital. The Australian Defence Force is investigating an incident in south-central Oruzgan province on Monday that left two special forces soldiers wounded, one seriously, after their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. A third Australian soldier was injured after the crash of a rescue helicopter. A second helicopter was unable to take off due to bad weather, but a third rescue attempt was successful. The incident is the second botched helicopter rescue of Australian troops in as many months in Afghanistan.

IRAN

US Imposes Sanctions on 5 Iranian Companies - Associated Press

The Bush administration has imposed economic sanctions on five Iranian companies that it has accused of helping the country pursue its ambitions to develop a nuclear weapon. The Treasury Department announced Tuesday that it was freezing any assets the five companies might have in the United States and prohibiting American individuals and companies from having dealings with the firms. The five companies are the Nuclear Research Center for Agriculture and Medicine, the Esfahan Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center, Jabber Ibn Hayan, the Safety Procurement Company and Joza Industrial Company.

Subverting Iran Sanctions - Washington Times editorial

While the United States emphasizes the need to halt investment in Iran's energy sector, Russia and China continue to forge ahead with billions of dollars in new investments that will enable Iran to finance its military buildup and fund terrorist groups. During the past year, Washington has had some success in persuading European allies not to go forward with projects that would provide capital for Iranian weapons-of-mass-destruction programs and terror. US diplomatic pressure caused firms such as the French firm Total and Royal Dutch Shell to delay energy investment projects in Iran and has led European banks to withdraw financing for oil exploration there. The opposite appears to be the case with Russia, which is determined to expand its oil and gas investments in Iran.

THE LONG WAR

AQ More Secure and Potent in Pakistan - Mark Mazzetti, New York Times

Al Qaeda’s success in forging close ties to Pakistani militant groups has given it an increasingly secure haven in the mountainous tribal areas of Pakistan, the American government’s senior terrorism analyst said Tuesday. Al Qaeda is more capable of attacking inside the United States than it was last year, and its cadre of senior leaders has recruited and trained “dozens” of militants capable of blending into Western society to carry out attacks, the analyst said. The remarks Tuesday by the intelligence analyst, Ted Gistaro, were the most comprehensive assessment of the Qaeda threat by an American official since the National Intelligence Estimate issued last summer, which concluded that Al Qaeda had largely rebuilt its haven in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

Al-Qaeda Tightens Grip in Pakistan - Joby Warrick, Washington Post

Al-Qaeda has exploited recent political turmoil in Pakistan to strengthen its foothold along the country's border with Afghanistan, a top US counterterrorism official said yesterday in an assessment that also warned of a heightened risk of attack during the upcoming US election season. Despite the loss of key leaders to US strikes, Osama bin Laden continues to enjoy a haven in the border region and has managed to deepen alliances with a wide range of Islamist groups from South Asia to the Middle East, said Ted Gistaro, the national intelligence officer for transnational threats and an al-Qaeda expert. With the help of such allies, al-Qaeda is seeking to position terrorist operatives in the United States and other Western countries, Gistaro said.

Al Qaeda Adopting Defensive Tone - Shaun Watterman, United Press International

A senior Bush administration counterterrorism official said Tuesday that an analysis of public statements by al Qaeda in the past year shows that nearly half the verbiage is devoted to justifying the group's legitimacy. The terrorist group seems to be adopting a more defensive tone in its public pronouncements, indicating that its leaders may be concerned that criticism from former allies and the increasing civilian death toll from attacks are undermining support. Al Qaeda senior leaders this year "have devoted nearly half their airtime to defending the group's legitimacy," said senior US intelligence official Ted Gistaro. "This defensive tone continues a trend observed since at least last summer and reflects concern over allegations by militant leaders and religious scholars that al Qaeda and its affiliates have violated the Islamic laws of war, particularly in Iraq and North Africa."

COMPLEX OPERATIONS

Photography as a Weapon - Errol Morris, New York Times opinion

As almost everyone knows by now, various major daily newspaper published, on July 10, a photograph of four Iranian missiles streaking heavenward; then Little Green Footballs (significantly, a blog and not a daily newspaper) provided evidence that the photograph had been faked. Later, many of those same papers published a Whitman’s sampler of retractions and apologies. For me it raised a series of questions about images. Do they provide illustration of a text or an idea of evidence of some underlying reality or both? And if they are evidence, don’t we have to know that the evidence is reliable, that it can be trusted?

Civil Affairs Sailors Work to Improve Humanitarian Effort Outcomes - AFPS

The Navy’s budding civil affairs force will help sustain US military humanitarian efforts in developing countries, the force’s commander told online journalists and bloggers in an Aug. 8 teleconference. Many past humanitarian missions were completed with little thought to how the country would maintain the project, Navy Capt. Robert S. McKenna, commander of the Maritime Civil Affairs Group, explained. For example, he said, a school would be built without attention to who would attend the school, who would teach, or where the budget for maintenance and teaching materials would come from. “So now,” McKenna said, “instead of doing this in an ad hoc nature, we’re building a force that understands civil affairs and understands effects-based operations.” McKenna explained that the Maritime Civil Affairs Group, which was established in July 2006, spent the past two years creating a training program to develop civil affairs teams. Since the Navy never had a civil affairs force, he said, officials solicited the assistance of the Army to craft the six-month course.

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

'Stop the Slide,' Says New Air Force Chief - Josh White, Washington Post

Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, who began his tenure as the 19th Air Force chief of staff yesterday, has taken a frank view of the service's need to address recent failures concerning the security of the US nuclear arsenal and acquisitions practices, telling senior leaders in briefings that they need to "stop the slide." In two PowerPoint documents used in recent briefings, Schwartz emphasized the need for the Air Force to recapture "top-to-bottom excellence in the nuclear mission," restore "credibility on Capitol Hill one member (and staff) at a time," and instill "a compliance culture in key disciplines" such as nuclear, aircraft and missile maintenance and acquisition. Drafts of the internal documents were obtained by The Washington Post and were verified by the Air Force yesterday. Schwartz has set his sights on restoring the service's credibility after a series of security and corruption problems that have marred its reputation in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill.

New Air Force Leaders Pledge to ‘Reinvigorate’ Service - AFPS

Newly sworn-in Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz today pledged to “reinvigorate” his service’s acquisition woes and mishandling of nuclear weapons. Schwartz, who was sworn in as chief of staff earlier today, told reporters at a Pentagon news conference that the service is fundamentally sound. “It doesn't mean we're perfect,” he said. “And we certainly have work to do, things to fix, fences to mend.” But the Air Force being able to ship 2,000 Georgian soldiers from Baghdad home to Tbilisi this past weekend demonstrated that “we know how to operate, and we continue to support the joint team in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Precision and reliability are the Air Force standard regardless of job or specialty, Schwartz said. “We will return the vigor and the rigor to all the processes and missions … for which we have been entrusted,” he added. The general said the service will “work with a vengeance” to fix areas that are substandard. “And the United States Air Force will remain the finest air force on the planet,” he said. Schwartz shared the dais with Acting Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley. The secretary, who is in his second stint as acting secretary, said he and the general have several issues to address including the nuclear enterprise; care for wounded warriors; the service’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance posture; the acquisition process; and modernization and recapitalization. Still, the Air Force’s main priority, is “our continued support for the global war on terror,” he said.

UNITED NATIONS

UN Announces Program to Help Hunger Hot Spots - Associated Press

A UN agency rolled out a $214 million program Tuesday to help 16 needy places hit hard by high prices for food and oil, amid a crisis already making it hard for aid groups to provide enough food for the world's hungry. The World Food Program said almost 1 billion poor people around the world are struggling to survive amid the higher prices. The agency is trying to reach those in critical need of assistance in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. "Food prices are not abating, and the world's most vulnerable have exhausted their coping strategies," said Josette Sheeran, the agency's executive director. "Our action plan is targeted and customized to help the most vulnerable meet their urgent needs." The plan will provide assistance to groups such as pregnant women, undernourished children and people living in urban areas affected most by the food crisis.

AFRICA

Mugabe 'Strikes Deal to Exclude Tsvangirai' - Martin Fletcher, The Times

Robert Mugabe last night appeared to have ensured his political survival by splitting the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. A senior member of Mr Mugabe’s ruling Zanu (PF) party said that the 84-year-old dictator had agreed to set up a coalition government with Arthur Mutambara, the leader of a breakaway faction of the MDC with ten seats in Parliament. The terms of the deal were not clear, but it appeared to exclude Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the mainstream MDC who was denied victory in Zimbabwe’s recent presidential elections by vote-rigging, violence and intimidation.

Mugabe's Party Claims Zimbabwe Deal - Agence France-Presse

Robert Mugabe and a faction of Zimbabwe's opposition have reached a deal that would lead to the formation of a government, according to the President's party. “A deal has been reached between President Mugabe and MDC-Mutambara faction which has been signed in the presence of President Mbeki,” a ZANU-PF official said. “(Negotiators) are meeting right now trying to find the technical details of how the new government will be structured.” South African President Thabo Mbeki has been mediating power-sharing talks between Mugabe, opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, the head of a smaller MDC faction. While the three leaders left yesterday's talks earlier in the night, Mr Mbeki remained with negotiators for ZANU-PF and Mr Mutambara's faction.

US Envoy Hopeful of More Darfur Peacekeepers - Reuters

International peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region look set to receive substantial reinforcements after months of under-manning, the US envoy to Sudan said on Tuesday. Richard Williamson last month criticized both the United Nations and Sudan for the slow roll-out of the joint UN/African Union UNAMID peacekeeping force, which currently has only 9,900 of the 26,000 soldiers and police officers promised at the beginning of the year. But sounding a rare note of optimism on peace efforts in the war-torn region, Williamson said on Tuesday he had seen "specific plans" to increase troop numbers.

Peacekeepers May Have Committed Sex Abuse in Congo - Reuters

An internal UN investigation has found evidence that some Indian peacekeepers may have engaged in "sexual exploitation and abuse" in Congo, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday. In a statement issued by his spokeswoman's office, Ban said he was "deeply troubled" by the outcome of the UN investigation and said "disciplinary action to the maximum degree permitted by Indian law should be taken as soon as possible against those found to be involved." The Indians were previously stationed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of the United Nations' MONUC peacekeeping force, the statement said.

Mauritanian Coup Leaders Assume Presidential Powers - Nico Colombant, VOA

Coup leaders in Mauritania have given themselves new powers, despite international condemnation of the August 6 takeover. The military leaders also say they are in a better position to fight off possible terrorist threats than the civilian government they deposed. The military junta released what it called a constitutional ordinance, defining its new powers. It said the overall aim was to assume transitional authority until new presidential elections can be held, but no date for elections was set.

Al Qaeda Calls for Jihad in Mauritania - Reuters

Al Qaeda's North Africa wing has called for a holy war in Mauritania to establish Islamic rule after a military junta toppled the country's elected president. "Raise the banner of jihad and let us bleed and have our limbs severed until we bring back a caliphate styled along the lines of The Prophet's way," the leader of the al Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb, Abu Mus'ab Abd el-Wadoud, said in a statement posted on the Internet on Tuesday.

AMERICAS

Venezuela's Chavez Wins Friends in Peru Quake Zone - Reuters

When an 8.0 magnitude earthquake hit two coastal cities and destroyed 37,000 homes in Peru, President Alan Garcia promised a speedy reconstruction effort that would burnish the country's new image of dynamism. One year later, the cities of Chincha and Pisco still look devastated, Garcia's popularity has plummeted, and the only president who has won hearts and minds here is Venezuela's socialist leader, Hugo Chavez. Chavez, who has used his country's oil wealth to spread his influence throughout Latin America, has given away 100 new three-bedroom houses with green lawns in Chincha, and named the community after his hero, Simon Bolivar, the 19th century independence leader.

Cuban Rights Group Reports Small Drop in Prisoners - Associated Press

The number of political prisoners held in Cuba has dropped slightly but the overall rights situation remains "unfavorable" under President Raul Castro's government with more brief detentions of dissidents, the island's leading independent human rights group said Tuesday. The Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation said in its twice-yearly report that it documented 219 political prisoners held on the island as of July 20, down from 234 in early 2008.

Tijuana Police Try to Restore Public Trust - Associated Press

People have so little confidence in the police here that the army invited citizens to report crimes to soldiers instead. Officers are so mistrusted that federal authorities even took their guns away for a time last year. Now Tijuana is campaigning to regain that trust with an accountability campaign to break the officers' old, corrupt habits.

ASIA PACIFIC

Attack in West China Kills 3 Security Officers - Edward Wong, New York Times

Three security officers were killed and one was wounded in a stabbing attack on Tuesday at a road checkpoint near Kashgar, an ancient Silk Road oasis in the far west of China, according to Xinhua, the state news agency. The attack is the third in nine days against Chinese security forces in the autonomous region of Xinjiang, a vast area in western China that is home to the Uighurs, a Muslim Turkic ethnic minority. Many Uighurs resent being ruled by ethnic Han Chinese. The spate of violence is the largest in Xinjiang in years, and it coincides with the opening of the Olympics in Beijing, where China has stepped up security for fear of terrorist attacks. Xinhua did not provide any further details of the attack on Tuesday, and no group immediately claimed responsibility.

Philippine Rebels Flee After Fighting - Jim Gomez, Associated Press

Muslim guerrillas began withdrawing from several occupied southern Philippine villages Tuesday after fierce fighting with government troops that has displaced nearly 160,000 civilians during harvest time, officials said. Nearly 3,000 troops and police, backed by bomber aircraft, regained control of two occupied villages in North Cotabato province Monday. Army and police Tuesday found abandoned at least six of the remaining 13 predominantly Christian villages that had been occupied by hundreds of Moro Islamic Liberation rebels, police Chief Superintendent Felizardo Serapio said.

EUROPE

Flash Point: South Ossetia - Small Wars Journal

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

MIDDLE EAST

Olmert Plan Gives Palestinians 93% - Agence France-Presse

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has offered the Palestinians a peace plan giving them 93 per cent of the occupied West Bank, the Haaretz newspaper reported yesterday. The proposed border is at the heart of a broader plan that would compensate the Palestinians with the equivalent of 5.5 per cent of the West Bank adjacent to the Gaza Strip and a route connecting Gaza to the West Bank itself. But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would receive the land and the overland connection only once his forces retake Gaza from the Islamist Hamas movement, which seized power in the territory in June last year. The proposal has been offered in the context of US-backed peace talks relaunched in November with the goal of resolving the decades-old conflict by the end of the year. The proposed accord would be a "shelf agreement" to be implemented in the coming months and years, and would not immediately include the thorny issue of the future status of Jerusalem, Haaretz said.

Lebanon: Hezbollah Gains Veto Powers in New Cabinet - Associated Press

The Lebanese parliament overwhelmingly approved a national unity Cabinet on Tuesday that gives Iranian-backed Hezbollah a more powerful say in how the country is run. The Cabinet joins Hezbollah and its allies with supporters of Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Siniora. For nearly two years, Mr. Siniora's government had rejected the militant group's demands for veto power in the Cabinet, but compromised after a wave of violence between rival factions in May. Hezbollah and its allies have 11 out of 30 seats in the Cabinet - enabling them to have veto power over major decisions, keep their weapons and prevent the government from moving too close to the United States.

Bomb in Northern Lebanese City Kills at Least 6 - Associated Press

A bomb exploded near a bus carrying civilians and members of the military in the northern city of Tripoli early Wednesday, killing at least six people and wounding many others, security officials said. The officials said the bomb was planted on the roadside and went off when the bus passed by. They said the explosion took place as the streets were full of people heading to work, which contributed to the many injuries. Television footage showed a small public bus riddled with shrapnel from the blast. Shattered glass could be seen in the Banks Street in Tripoli's center.

SOUTH ASIA

Overwhelming Vote to Dump Musharraf - Bruce Loudon, The Australian

President Pervez Musharraf's support base was crumbling last night as Pakistan's four provincial parliaments lined up to vote overwhelmingly against his political survival. The powerful Punjab provincial assembly convincingly approved a no-confidence vote against Mr Musharraf 321-25, even drawing support from 35 members of the main pro-Musharraf party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Qaid). And MPs in the North West Frontier Province assembly in Peshawar last night voted 107-4 against Mr Musharraf. A similar trouncing for the besieged President was expected as parliamentarians gathered in Karachi, the violence-racked capital of Sindh. More grim news for Mr Musharraf awaited too from insurgent-hit Baluchistan. Although the provincial votes are non-binding under the constitution, they increase pressure on Mr Musharraf and lay the groundwork for the National Assembly to start impeachment proceedings against him, expected to take a month or so.

Musharraf Aides: No Impeachment - Isambard Wilkinson, Daily Telegraph

President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan has no intention of facing an impeachment vote, according to a member of his political party. The claim was made as Z.M. Zafar, a vice-president of the pro-Musharaff Pakistan Muslim-League-Q, became the most senior figure to suggest publicly that the president should step down. Mr Zafar, an adviser to the president, told The Daily Telegraph that he hoped for an "honourable exit" for the president. "If you ask will it not be good that if before impeachment an honourable exit should be worked out, my answer would be yes, it could be a good option," he said.

Pakistan Army Won't Support Musharraf - Reuters

Pakistan's ruling coalition said on Tuesday the army would not intervene to support embattled President Pervez Musharraf, whom the government says it will impeach for years of alleged misrule. Musharraf has been at the centre of a political crisis since early last year. The threat to his presidency has raised fears among the United States and its allies for the stability of the nuclear-armed Muslim country, which is also a hiding place for al Qaeda leaders. Speculation has been rife that former army chief Musharraf, a firm US ally, would quit, though his spokesman has said the ex-commando will not stand down.

12 Killed In Clash At Protest In Kashmir - Emily Wax, Washington Post

At least 12 people were killed and more than 100 were injured Tuesday when Indian security forces fired into crowds of protesters, the latest escalation of violence stemming from a land dispute in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir. Rising sectarian tensions between Kashmir's Muslim and Hindu populations have brought six weeks of street protests, blockades and renewed calls for independence for Kashmir, a Himalayan region wedged between India and Pakistan. The shootings came a day after at least four people, including a Kashmiri separatist leader, were gunned down by police trying to stop a convoy of Muslim traders and trucks loaded with produce from crossing the Line of Control, a de facto border between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled zones of Kashmir.

Shootings Raise Kashmir Toll to 19 - Jameel and Sengupta, New York Times

The death toll from violence in Indian-controlled Kashmir climbed to 19 on Tuesday, as security forces fired on protesters defying a curfew and were themselves pelted with stones. Nearly 300 security officers have been injured, the police said, since clashes broke out Monday. Six protesters died Monday when the police opened fire in an attempt to stop thousands of protesters from the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley from approaching the disputed border with Pakistan, the Kashmir state government said. The protesters were seeking an alternate route out of the valley, to break a blockade of the main highway south.

Fifteen Killed as Indian Kashmir Land Row Boils - Reuters

Police shot dead at least 13 people in Indian Kashmir on Tuesday as Muslim protests against what they termed an economic blockade by Hindus over a land row began to morph into independence calls, officials said. Violence swept up the neighboring Hindu-dominated Jammu region as well, where two people were killed and several injured when thousands of Hindu and Muslim protesters clashed with each other and with police. In Kashmir, at least 200 people, including 85 policemen, were hurt and 13 protesters killed in a dozen separate incidents of police firing a day after a separatist leader was killed by police while trying to lead Muslim traders into Pakistan.

EVENTS OF INTEREST

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.