IRAQ

Inching Toward a New Anbar - Smith and Rasheed, Los Angeles Times

As Iraqi officials and the US military haggle over when to let Anbar province take control of its own security, a row of broken-down Ford pickups in a Ramadi schoolyard offers a sobering picture of the readiness of the region's security forces. The US military gave the vehicles to the police officers stationed in a former school here, but the Iraqi government hasn't provided parts or a maintenance system to keep them running. The officers work on their own vehicles, picking parts from the junkers. A shaky connection with the Shiite-led government in Baghdad is just one of the problems confronting American efforts to disengage from the predominantly Sunni Arab province more than a year after the US military joined with local security forces, former insurgents and tribal warriors to take on Al Qaeda in Iraq here.

6 Die in Bombing, Third in 3 Days on Shiites - Stephen Farrell, New York Times

A suicide bomber killed six people and wounded 10 on Saturday in an attack near a bus pickup point for Shiite pilgrims heading to Karbala, Iraqi security officials said. The bombing near the Shaab neighborhood in northeast Baghdad was the third attack in three days aimed at Shiite worshipers heading to the holy city of Karbala to celebrate the birthday of Muhammad al-Mahdi, a ninth-century imam revered by Iraq’s majority Shiites. American forces put the toll at three dead and eight wounded, and talked of minor damage to nearby buildings.

Charges Against Contractors - Wilber and DeYoung, Washington Post

Federal prosecutors have sent target letters to six Blackwater Worldwide security guards involved in a September shooting that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead, indicating a high likelihood the Justice Department will seek to indict at least some of the men, according to three sources close to the case. The guards, all former US military personnel, were working as security contractors for the State Department, assigned to protect U.S. diplomats and other non-military officials in Iraq. The shooting occurred when their convoy arrived at a busy square in central Baghdad and guards tried to stop traffic. An Iraqi government investigation concluded that the security contractors fired without provocation. Blackwater has said its personnel acted in self-defense.

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

88 Die in Afghan Violence - Associated Press

Scores of police manned checkpoints around Afghanistan's capital Sunday after authorities ordered more than 7,000 officers to secure Kabul ahead of the country's Independence Day, an indication of how militants pose a growing threat to the capital. The rest of the country saw a surge in violence. Officials said several clashes in Afghanistan's south and east killed 73 Taliban fighters and five private security guards, while a roadside blast killed 10 policemen. The Interior Ministry said the beefed-up police force in the capital would search buildings as well as cars to "create an environment of trust and prevent any disruptive actions by the enemy." The security increase comes a day before the country celebrates the 89th anniversary of its independence from Britain. Any breach of security during the celebration would be an embarrassment for President Hamid Karzai's government.

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

This British-built fortress, perched on a plateau in southwestern Afghanistan, is well-named. Surrounded by miles of open desert, the citadel has its own concrete runway, water supply, sewage system, electricity, Level 3 Trauma Hospital, even fire mains - all constructed in the last 30 months. The heavily armed camp is home to British, Danish, Estonian and Czech troops of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). It is also home to Task Force 2/7 (T/F 2/7) - built around the legendary 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment out of Marine Corps Base 29 Palms, California - a good place to prepare for this austere terrain and oppressive heat. Camp Bastion is an outpost of sanity in an otherwise insane part of the world. Helmand Province is the heartland of the Taliban - the Islamic radicals who won a bloody civil war to rule Afghanistan in 1996. Once in power, the Taliban imposed strict Shariah law and brutalized the largely impoverished Afghan population. Taliban leaders also provided a haven for Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda to launch the Sept. 11, 2001, attack.

THE LONG WAR

Al Qaeda at 20 Dead or Alive? - Peter Bergen, Washington Post opinion

Two decades after al-Qaeda was founded in the Pakistani border city of Peshawar by Osama bin Laden and a handful of veterans of the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan, the group is more famous and feared than ever. But its grand project - to transform the Muslim world into a militant Islamist caliphate - has been, by any measure, a resounding failure. In large part, that's because Osama bin Laden's strategy for arriving at this Promised Land is a fantasy. Al-Qaeda's leader prides himself on being a big-think strategist, but for all his brains, leadership skills and charisma, he has fastened on an overall strategy that is self-defeating. Bin Laden's main goal is to bring about regime change in the Middle East and to replace the governments in Cairo and Riyadh with Taliban-style theocracies. He believes that the way to accomplish this is to attack the "far enemy" (the United States), then watch as the supposedly impious, US-backed Muslim regimes he calls the "near enemy" crumble.

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Deployments a Factor in Deficit of Majors - Ann Scott Tyson, Washington Post

The Army's growth plans and the demands of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are contributing to a shortfall of thousands of majors, critical mid-level officers whose ranks are not expected to be replenished for five years, according to Army data and a recent officers survey. Majors plan and direct day-to-day military operations for Army battalions, the units primarily responsible for waging the counterinsurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Throughout the Army, majors fill key roles as senior staff members, putting together war plans, managing personnel and coordinating logistics. The gap in majors represents about half of the Army's current shortage of more than 4,000 officers, and officials say there are no easy solutions to the deficit. "We need more officers, and we are pulling every lever we can," said Col. Paul Aswell, chief of the Army's personnel division for officers.

US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Response to 9/11 Offers Outline of McCain Doctrine - David Kirkpatrick, NY Times

Senator John McCain arrived late at his Senate office on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, just after the first plane hit the World Trade Center. “This is war,” he murmured to his aides. The sound of scrambling fighter planes rattled the windows, sending a tremor of panic through the room. Within hours, Mr. McCain, the Vietnam War hero and famed straight talker of the 2000 Republican primary, had taken on a new role: the leading advocate of taking the American retaliation against Al Qaeda far beyond Afghanistan. In a marathon of television and radio appearances, Mr. McCain recited a short list of other countries said to support terrorism, invariably including Iraq, Iran and Syria.

AFRICA

Opposition Head Insists on Real Power - Celia Dugger, New York Times

The leader of Zimbabwe’s opposition - in a feisty and jovial mood - said on Saturday in his first interview since he began power-sharing talks with President Robert Mugabe almost a month ago that he will not agree to any deal that does not give him the authority to effectively govern his economically ruined homeland. “It’s better not to have a deal than to have a bad deal,” said Morgan Tsvangirai, the former trade union leader who has been Mr. Mugabe’s nemesis for almost a decade. Mr. Tsvangirai was clearly sending a forceful message to both Mr. Mugabe and President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, the mediator of the talks, about the limits of his willingness to compromise.

Tsvangirai Says He'd Share Power - Donna Bryson, Associated Press

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai would accept the prime minister's post and concede the presidency to President Robert Mugabe to settle a political crisis in his country, according to a document obtained Saturday by the Associated Press. Tsvangirai outlined his proposal for resolving the contentious issue of who would lead any unity government in Zimbabwe in a speech Friday to regional cabinet ministers gathered for the Southern African Development Community summit.

Suspects in Massacre Seek US Asylum - Jerry Seper, Washington Times

Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff announced the March 2003 arrests with much fanfare: Three Rwandan rebels had confessed to brutally killing two American tourists on a safari vacation in a Ugandan national park four years earlier and would finally be brought to the United States to stand trial in the savage deaths. Francois Karake, Gregoire Nyaminani and Leonidas Bimenyimana, all members of the Liberation Army of Rwanda, had been indicted a week earlier by a federal grand jury in Washington, DC, on charges of murder and conspiracy in the killings of Robert Haubner, 48, and his wife, Susan Miller, 42, in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park on March 1, 1999.The American couple, who worked for Intel Corp. in Portland, Ore., where they also lived, had been kidnapped by more than 150 Rwandan rebels who scouted the rugged park in southwestern Uganda for several days, targeting for death more than a dozen English-speaking tourists.

ASIA PACIFIC

Protest Zones in Beijing Parks Empty - Chris O'Brien, Washington Times

Protesting during the Beijing Olympics should be easy. Before the games began, Beijing's Olympic Organizing Committee announced that people would have the right to protest in designated zones inside three public parks in Beijing - a surprise decision, given China's obsession with security and unyielding intolerance to open criticism. Yet not a grunt of discontent has been heard in any of the three parks. It's the classic Catch-22. You are free to protest, but you need a permit. The public security bureau is not issuing permits and is instead detaining some Chinese who dare to submit an application form until the end of the Olympics, seemingly reflecting critics' fears that the parks were merely political traps.

EUROPE

Flash Point: South Ossetia - Small Wars Journal

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

Belarus Frees Opposition Politician From Prison - Clifford Levy, New York Times

Belarus, a former Soviet republic that is considered to have one of the world’s most authoritarian governments, on Saturday released its most prominent opposition politician from prison, where he had been serving a lengthy sentence for leading antigovernment protests, officials said. The opposition figure, Aleksandr V. Kazulin, was freed after months of pressure from the United States and the European Union on Belarus’s president, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko. Relations between Belarus and the West have grown more strained as Washington has stepped up sanctions in an effort to compel Mr. Lukashenko to curb political repres.

MIDDLE EAST

Lebanon's Blended Border Zone - Alia Ibrahim, Washington Post

For years, residents of this Lebanese village have slipped in and out of Syria over a border that was never officially marked. Even after Syria set up sand barricades in 2006 to stop smuggling, they found ways to make the journey. Last week, after agreeing to establish diplomatic ties for the first time in their complex history, the leaders of Lebanon and Syria announced that they will resume work on officially demarcating the border. But the residents of Knaisseh say such talk means little to them. "They could build walls. We would still find a way to cross to the other side," said Fadlallah Khodr, a shepherd and father of 10 who lives in Knaisseh. "It is a matter of survival. Half of my family lives on the other side. I cross there on a daily basis, to see them and to shop."

Israel Approves Release of 200 Jailed Palestinians - Associated Press

Israel's Cabinet on Sunday approved the release of some 200 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to the government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Abbas he would free some of the 11,000 Palestinians held by Israel to help energize peace talks between the two sides. The prisoner issue is an emotional one for Palestinians, many of whom know somebody behind bars or have been imprisoned themselves. Palestinians see Israel's justice system as unfair and have elevated prisoners to hero status. Abbas, known as Abu Mazen, has repeatedly called for a large release to boost his public standing.

Veils Increase Harassment - Ellen Knickmeyer, Washington Post

Surprisingly, some Egyptian women say that their veils don't protect against harassment, as the lollipop ads argue, but fuel it. A survey released this summer supports the view. "These guys are animals. If they saw a female dog, they would harass it," Hind Sayed, a 20-year-old sidewalk vendor in Cairo's Mohandisseen district, said, staring coldly at a knot of male vendors who stood grinning a few feet from her. In accord with her interpretation of Islamic law, which says women should dress modestly, Sayed wore a flowing black robe and black veil. Together, they covered all but her hands and her pale face with its drawn-on, expressive eyebrows. Despite her attire, Sayed said, she daily endures suggestive comments from male customers and fellow vendors.

SOUTH ASIA

10 Suspected in July Blasts Arrested - Rama Lakshmi, Washington Post

Indian police officials said Saturday that they have arrested 10 suspects in the series of bomb blasts that killed 56 people in the city of Ahmedabad last month. Senior police officials in the western state of Gujarat, where Ahmedabad is located, said the accused are associated with a banned group, Students Islamic Movement of India. "Arrests have been made under the charges of waging war against the state and also for murder, both unbailable offenses," said P.C. Pande, director general of police in Gujarat. Pande said the Indian Mujahideen, a little-known group that earlier asserted responsibility for the attacks, is another name for the banned student group.

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.