IRAQ

Iraqi Cleric Vows to End Attacks - Amit Paley, Washington Post

Anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr will end all his movement's attacks on US troops if the United States agrees to a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, his chief spokesman said Friday. The spokesman, Salah al-Obaidi, said Sadr's paramilitary cells have already been ordered to stop fighting as US and Iraqi officials negotiate an agreement over the presence of American forces in Iraq. He said the cells will be disbanded as soon as the United States agrees to a deadline for leaving the country.

Al-Sadr: Mahdi Army to Halt Violence - Haynes and Ali, The Times

The leader of the main Shia militia in Iraq yesterday ordered most of his followers to disarm and focus on social work, leaving an elite contingent to continue the fight against US forces if a clear timetable for their withdrawal is drawn up. Hojatoleslam Moqtada al-Sadr, the charismatic Shia cleric, had his message delivered to large crowds of worshippers after Friday prayers in the Baghdad Shia slum of Sadr City, a stronghold of the notorious Mahdi Army. An American flag was burnt as protesters shouted: “No, no to America! No, no to occupation!”

Iraqi Officials: Deal Close on US Troop Withdrawal Timeline - Voice of America

Iraqi officials say Baghdad and Washington are close to a deal for US combat troops to leave Iraq by October 2010. They say the proposed timeline sets an initial target for US troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities and remain on their bases by June 30, 2009. The schedule could be amended depending on security conditions. But US officials say they have not agreed to any withdrawal dates. They say there has been progress in security talks, but some issues remain in dispute.

US: Troop Withdrawal Not a Deal Yet - Kelly Hearn, Washington Times

A deal that would establish a timeline for US combat troops to withdraw from Iraq is not as close as recent reports would indicate, a senior U.S. official said Friday. "We don't have a deal yet," the official from the US Embassy in Baghdad said. "Every time it looks like it's in shape, it takes another twist and turn," the official said on the condition of anonymity because the discussions are ongoing. "We've been making a lot of progress lately, and we're hopeful we'll come to a complete agreement soon. We certainly aren't there yet." The official said both sides are eager to strike a deal, but the talks are in "constant flux."

In Iraq, Fault Lines Run Deep over Kirkuk's Future - Reuters

The failure of Iraqi politicians to resolve competing ethnic claims for the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk is storing up explosive problems for the country's future. After months of debate, parliament shut for a summer break without agreement on a new law paving the way for the first provincial elections since 2005 -- and it was divisions over how to hold the vote in Kirkuk that scuppered a deal.

Shiite Militia to Become Religious, Cultural Body - Associated Press

Anti-US Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr ordered most of his militiamen Friday to lay down their arms, and his spokesman said the young cleric might call off all resistance if the Americans accept a timetable to leave Iraq. In the north, a car bomb exploded Friday evening in a crowded market in the city of Tal Afar, killing at least 21 people and wounding dozens, police and US officials said. Tensions have been rising among ethnic groups throughout the north because of a dispute over control of the oil-rich area around Kirkuk - claimed by Arabs, Turkomen and Kurds.

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

Bush Urged to Let Troops Go into Pakistan - Hess and Lee, Associated Press

Top Bush administration officials are pressing the president to direct US troops in Afghanistan to be more aggressive in pursuing militants into Pakistan on foot as part of a proposed radical shift in regional counterterrorism strategy, the Associated Press has learned. Senior intelligence and military aides want President Bush to give American soldiers greater flexibility to operate against al Qaeda and Taliban fighters who cross the border from Pakistan's lawless tribal border area to conduct attacks inside Afghanistan, officials say. The plan could include sending US Special Forces teams, temporarily assigned to the CIA, into the tribal areas to hit high-value targets, according to an intelligence official with direct knowledge of the proposal.

Small But Still Big Enough - Greg Sheridan, The Australian

The Australian offer to militarily assist Pakistan in its counterinsurgent efforts on its border with Afghanistan follows a request from the US for Canberra to get involved. Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon outlined the potential Australian commitment in a speech to the National Press Club last week. He stressed that it was a very limited commitment, that it would not involve "force protection", that it was not about deploying Australian soldiers in substantial numbers in the tribal areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, that it might consist only of some military advisers and counterinsurgency experts working in Islamabad. Nonetheless, it is an important and potentially constructive deepening of Australia's involvement in the Afghanistan-Pakistan imbroglio. Australia has nearly 1000 troops in Afghanistan, battling the Taliban and trying to rebuild the country. They and their NATO, chiefly US, allies cannot win definitively as long as the Taliban can flow back and forth at will across the border to safe havens in the tribal areas of Pakistan. Moreover, Western policymakers fear an increasing process of Talibanisation within Pakistan. Its highly unstable civilian Government is weak and cannot establish its authority over its own military.

Pakistan Army Targets Militants in Northwest - Associated Press

At least 30 militants and seven Pakistani paramilitary troops died in clashes near the Afghan border, where helicopter gunships and mortars pounded insurgent hide-outs Friday, officials and residents said. The offensive in the tribal region of Bajur came in the wake of a militant assault Wednesday on an outpost manned by security forces. Officials said those initial clashes killed 25 militants and two troops. Details of the renewed fighting on Friday were scarce.

Afghan Official Says 20 Militants Killed in West - Associated Press

About 20 Taliban fighters were killed in a battle with Afghan and US-led forces near a key military supply route in western Afghanistan, a provincial official said Saturday. Younus Rasouli, deputy governor of Farah province, said police attacked a village in Bala Buluk district Friday after being informed that Taliban militants had ordered residents out and taken it over to use as a base. The police called in air support from the US-led coalition during the gun battle, Rasouli said.

Pentagon Proposes Change to US Command Structure in Afghanistan - AFPS

The Pentagon has proposed to make Army Gen. David D. McKiernan overall commander of both NATO and US troops in Afghanistan, a senior Pentagon spokesman told reporters here today. “We are looking at options and ways that we can streamline the command-and-control arrangements for US forces in Afghanistan,” spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters. The proposed change, he said, is viewed as a method to make management of US forces in Afghanistan “more efficient and effective.” “This is not a finished action; this is not a done deal by any means,” Whitman emphasized. Senior defense officials are consulting with US allies in Afghanistan, notably members of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, he said. McKiernan commands ISAF, which consists of about 45,000 troops, including around 15,000 US troops. Another 19,000 or so US troops are assigned to Combined Joint Task Force 101, which is part of Operation Enduring Freedom and commanded by Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser. Regional Security Command East, which handles security and reconstruction duties in eastern Afghanistan, falls under Schloesser’s purview. The mission of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, commanded by US Army Maj. Gen. Robert W. Cone, is to partner with the Afghan government and the international community to train Afghan security forces. ISAF is engaged in combating Taliban and al-Qaida extremists and performing reconstruction projects in the southern and southeastern parts of Afghanistan.

Pentagon to Back New Military Plan for Afghanistan - Reuters

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to unify the military command for US troops in Afghanistan and has endorsed a multibillion-dollar plan to nearly double the size of the Afghan army, officials said on Friday. The changes are part of the Pentagon's latest response to a growing challenge from the Taliban insurgency, particularly in eastern Afghanistan, where officials say US and NATO forces are battling militants trained at safe havens in neighboring Pakistan.

Afghan Government Seeks Large Increase for National Army - AFPS

The government of Afghanistan has proposed to nearly double the size of its army over the next five years, senior Pentagon officials said here today. If the Afghan proposal is realized, the Afghan National Army would increase its ranks from about 65,000 soldiers presently to about 120,000 troops over the next five years, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters. “This new Afghan plan, we think, has merit,” Whitman said. “But, it also will have some costs associated with it, too.” The Afghan army is slated to grow to about 80,000 soldiers sometime next year, Whitman said. A final decision on the new Afghan army expansion proposal, he said, has not been made. Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters the cost of the proposed Afghan National Army expansion is estimated to be about $17 billion. Besides funding the proposed expansion of the Afghan National Army, the $17 billion also would be used to finance Afghan army operations over the five-year period and furnish money for investment in the Afghan Air Corps, Morrell said. US Central Command planners are crunching the numbers to determine how many additional trainers would be required to expand the Afghan National Army to 120,000 soldiers over five years, Morrell said.

Plan Seeks to Add 50,000 New Troops - Associated Press

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has endorsed a new five-year, $17 billion plan to increase the size of the Afghan army by about 50,000 troops. The move follows a proposal from the Afghanistan government, and the price tag includes the costs for routine Afghan army combat operations and upgrading the air corps, beginning in 2010, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Friday. He said it generally costs about $1 billion a year to increase forces by 10,000, and another $100,000 to sustain them. Officials are currently looking at ways to finance it. Options include seeking money from NATO allies.

IRAN

EU Begins Enforcement of New Iran Sanctions - Voice of America

The European Union imposed new trade sanctions against Iran Friday, as Tehran continues to hold out against international demands that it freeze its nuclear enrichment program. In a statement published Friday by the bloc's current president France, the European Union announced it had begun to apply new measures against Tehran, including closely scrutinizing financial groups doing business with Iranian banks, and holding back on loans for companies trading with Iran. The EU's 27 members will also inspect airplanes and ships traveling to and from Iran to insure they are not carrying illegal materials. The sanctions make good an agreement by EU ambassadors last month and go further than existing United Nations trade sanctions. But they do not impose sanctions on Iran's oil and gas trade.

Western Powers Study More Iran Sanctions - Reuters

Britain, France, Germany and the United States are considering imposing additional sanctions on Iran over its nuclear work, possibly in the energy, reinsurance or financial sectors, a senior British official said on Friday. These are beyond measures already taken by the United Nations Security Council and beyond steps likely to be considered in a possible next round of UN sanctions, the official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said.

Chinese, Russian Stall Tactics on Iran - Joshua Gleis, Boston Globe opinion

Talks with Iran have reached another impasse. The Islamic regime recently rejected yet another package of incentives that the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France, and Germany put together in an effort to coax Tehran from ending its nuclear enrichment program. Intelligence agencies fear the Iranians will soon reach the critical "point of no return" when they will have the technological know-how to develop a nuclear weapon. That apprehension has set off a flurry of rumors that Israel or the United States will attack Iran before it is able to reach that threshold. In this environment, one would think that the international community would be doing everything in its power to press Iran into accepting a compromise. And the developed world is rightly ratcheting up the pressure on the Iranian government.

THE LONG WAR

Guantanamo Defendants Mostly Low-level Figures - Associated Press

Osama bin Laden's driver, who received only a five-year sentence, is not so different from the majority of the 265 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay: a low-level player without a proven record of terrorism. The next cases on tap go after other seemingly minor players. At most, they are accused of throwing grenades at US soldiers in Afghanistan - not acts such as genocide or the slaughter of civilians that most people associate with war crimes.

The Hamdan Validation - Wall Street Journal editorial

On Thursday, a war crimes tribunal sentenced Salim Hamdan to a mere five and a half years in prison, which, with credit for time served, means that Osama bin Laden's bodyguard and driver could be released as early as January. To borrow the obligatory media idiom, this "raises questions" about the process - namely one: Could anything happen at Guantanamo that isn't "a stunning rebuke" or "an embarrassing blow" to the Bush Administration? The sentence came down a day after Hamdan was absolved of the more serious of the two charges leveled against him. The prior political narrative was that the commissions amounted to a new Inquisition. But never mind. Some eminences claimed that Hamdan's partial acquittal really meant he had been found "guilty as ordered." Now a panel of senior military officers has rejected the 30-year sentence prosecutors requested - and we are told that also counts as a strike against military commissions.

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

More Intel, Surveillance, Recon Assets Set for Central Command - AFPS

Congressional defense committees have approved a request to reprogram $1.2 billion so the Defense Department can beef up intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in US Central Command, DoD officials said. The reprogramming comes from fiscal 2008 funds and will buy 21 manned ISR aircraft and improve unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities in the theater, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said yesterday. “It will assist our efforts to grow the UAV capability in platforms such as Shadow, Predator, Reaper, Raven and Hunter,” Whitman said. “It will allow us to buy additional Scan Eagle detachments.” The reprogramming comes from recommendations of a task force set up at the direction of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to ensure the department was doing everything it could to deploy additional ISR capabilities to forces in combat. As operations in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to evolve, battlefield commanders have said the need for pervasive ISR has never been higher. About 80 percent of the US military’s ISR assets already are deployed to the US Central Command area of operations, most in Iraq and Afghanistan.

AFRICA

Five Accused of US Diplomat Murder to Begin Trial - Reuters

Five suspects will stand trial in Khartoum on August 17 accused of murdering U.S. diplomat John Granville and his driver, state media said on Friday. Granville, 33, and Abdelrahman Abbas Rahama, 39, were shot dead on New Year's Day in Khartoum in a rare attack on foreign nationals in Sudan. The Sudanese Media Centre quoted legal sources as saying the trial would begin on August 17.

Islamists Seize Provincial Capital Near Ethiopian Border - Voice of America

Witnesses in Somalia say Islamist insurgents have seized control of Hudur, the capital of the Bakool region. The insurgent group al-Shabab says on its Web site that its fighters entered Hudur early Friday after government-allied soldiers fled the town late Thursday. The governor of Bakool confirmed in a phone interview with VOA's Somali service that he and other officials have left the town. The Bakool region borders Ethiopia, which has thousands of troops in Somalia supporting the country's UN-backed administration led by President Abdullahi Yusuf. Anti-government insurgents have captured other provincial towns in recent months but have usually withdrawn after a short time.

Defiant Junta to Form new Mauritanian Government - Reuters

Mauritania's coup leaders have announced they will appoint a government to run the country until new elections, defying international demands to reinstate the first democratically elected president. Soldiers in the northwest African country overthrew Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi on Wednesday after he tried to sack senior officers. Abdallahi is being held at a secret location. His daughter, released from house arrest with the rest of his family late on Thursday, said he needed medical attention.

Junta Expected to Target Islamists - Reuters

Mauritania's new military rulers are expected to take a harder line on both al Qaeda militants and more moderate Islamist politicians than their civilian predecessors who were ousted in a coup this week, analysts say. The army had been unhappy with the softer stance taken by the African nation's first freely elected president, who was deposed Wednesday. By hunting down militants in a country hit by several Islamist attacks in the past year, the analysts say, the junta could also try to ease global criticism of the takeover, particularly from the United States. Washington already has cut military aid in protest.

AMERICAS

Mexico Anti-drug General Ousted - Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times

In Mexico's drug war, Gen. Sergio Aponte Polito racked up crime-fighting credentials worthy of the Dark Knight, making record seizures of drugs and weapons and forcing out top Baja California law enforcement officials he accused of corruption and of having links to organized crime. But in a surprise move Thursday, the general was relieved of his command, abruptly ending his controversial 20-month stint as the leader of President Felipe Calderon's army-led battle against organized crime in the northern states of Baja California and Sonora.

Outspoken Mexican General Loses his Tijuana Post - Associated Press

An outspoken general who urged residents to call the Army when they witnessed a murder or drug deal in this crime-stricken border city was ousted Friday after repeatedly chastising police for being corrupt. As the army's top officer in northwest Mexico, Gen. Sergio Aponte Polito publicized a phone number to field the public's pleas for help, and on Sunday he gave the news media his latest 5,700-word bombshell letter complaining about bad cops. Such public provocations are extremely out of character for military leaders in Mexico - and may have cost the popular Aponte his job.

Vote That May Strengthen Bolivian Leader - Simon Romero, New York Times

Faced with calls in a rebellious province for a military coup and with spreading protests that have kept him from landing his plane in parts of the country, President Evo Morales is pressing ahead with plans for a national referendum on Sunday intended to determine whether he and his top regional rivals should remain in office. But analysts here expect the vote to heighten political tension in Bolivia, often described as South America’s poorest country, instead of relieving it. If Mr. Morales prevails in the referendum, his political opponents in relatively prosperous lowland provinces have vowed not to recognize the results, describing the president’s stifling of judicial criticism of the vote as illegal.

Chavez's Way - Los Angeles Times editorial

It is tempting to describethe most recent attack on democracy by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as a sneaky, underhanded move by a tyrant insistent upon concentrating power in his hands. But that would not be accurate. Chavez is nothing if not forthcoming and transparent. When he used his sweeping decree powers this week to quietly enact a set of laws that further his socialist agenda, he was merely following through on a promise. Last year, Venezuelans narrowly rejected the 69 constitutional amendments the president had sought, including one that would have ended presidential term limits. At that time, Chavez vowed to pursue his agenda through other channels. "Here there will be no steps back, no retreats," he said. "At this point, I'm thinking of presenting a new formula, to expand and launch a new perspective, to raise the speed of the process."

ASIA PACIFIC

Spectacular Opening - Cody, Fan and Drew, Washington Post

After seven years of meticulous preparation, the Chinese opened the 2008 Summer Olympics, celebrating 5,000 years of history and exulting in their newly recovered status as a world power. They did it with a smoothly choreographed extravaganza of fireworks and pageantry, performed before 91,000 carefully screened spectators and a worldwide television audience estimated at as many as 4 billion. Beijing's summer heat and humidity were oppressive, but its pollution was bearable, and the show was not rained out. There were no attacks, but there were threats. Draconian security deployments kept protesters at bay, and more than 80 government leaders from around the world showed up to pay their respects.

US Hints Monday Deadline for North Korea will Lapse - Reuters

The United States said on Friday North Korea had to make "substantial progress" on a verification plan for its nuclear weapons before being taken off a US list of state sponsors of terrorism. Washington promised North Korea it could be removed from the list as early as August 11 -- Monday -- if a robust verification plan was in place, but US officials have made clear this was a "minimum timeline" rather than a fixed date.

Burma: Activists Protesting Crackdown Jailed - Reuters

Burma's junta arrested 48 activists Friday for a protest march marking 20 years since the army crushed an "8-8-88" democracy uprising with the loss of an estimated 3,000 lives, an opposition official said. The group of mainly young men in T-shirts bearing the numbers 8-8-88 - a reference to the Aug. 8, 1988, nationwide revolt - staged a silent walk through the northwestern town of Taunggok before being stopped by a police barricade.

EUROPE

Flash Point: South Ossetia - Small Wars Journal

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

French Police Defuse 3 Bombs in Basque Region - Associated Press

Bomb squads defused three explosive devices planted Friday at tourist areas in France's southwest Basque region on the Atlantic coast, officials said. Rescue services received an anonymous phone call before dawn, warning that bombs had been left at five tourist sites in the Basque region near France's border with Spain, the prefecture in the southwestern Pyrenees Atlantiques region said.

Kurdish Rebels Threaten More Attacks in Turkey - Associated Press

Kurdish rebels threatened on Friday to stage more attacks on economic targets in Turkey, days after claiming responsibility for a fire at a key oil pipeline, a pro-Kurdish news agency said. Turkish authorities have not confirmed the pipeline fire was sabotage, as claimed by the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a militant group that seeks autonomy for in the Kurdish region of southeastern Turkey.

SOUTH ASIA

Coalitions Unite Against Musharraf - Candace Rondeaux, Washington Post

Uncertainty about Pakistan's stability mounted Friday, a day after the ruling coalition said it would move to impeach President Pervez Musharraf. Politicians across the country appeared to be repositioning themselves as the crisis over the beleaguered country's leadership continued. One of the coalition partners, Pakistan Muslim League-N, said four of its top members would return to their cabinet posts after a three-month hiatus.

Musharraf Has No Plans to Resign - Jane Perlez, New York Times

President Pervez Musharraf will stage a spirited defense against impeachment charges that the governing coalition is pursuing against him, and has no intention of resigning under pressure, his key allies said Friday. Mr. Musharraf, who has been president for nearly nine years, faces the first impeachment proceedings in Pakistani history, after the leaders of the two major political parties in the coalition announced Thursday that they would seek to remove him.

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