IRAQ

Iraq Bombing Kills 15 - Parker and Hameed, Los Angeles Times

A suicide bomber killed 15 people Sunday night, including at least six US-backed Sunni Arab fighters, near a crowded outdoor market in east Baghdad, security officials and local leaders said. At least 30 people were wounded in the attack near the historic Abu Hanifa Mosque in the Sunni district of Adhamiya. Women and children were among the dead, said Abu Abed, the head of the US-funded Sons of Iraq neighborhood security group there. There were contradictory accounts of the incident. One police officer said the bomber was disguised as a woman and arrived on foot; another said the attacker was not disguised and arrived on a bike. Increasingly, militant groups have been using female suicide bombers to evade checkpoints and security checks because custom bars Iraqi men from frisking women.

Sunni Stronghold Tests Iraqi Army's Best - Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post

The offensive unfolding here in Diyala province, one of the most resilient strongholds of Sunni extremists, is proving to be one of the Iraqi army's biggest challenges. Muhammed, the bomb sweeper, is at the front lines of the conflict. He and other soldiers of the 1st Division, 3rd Battalion are examples of the army that US commanders hope will one day be able to stand on its own and allow American soldiers to leave Iraq. But these elite soldiers, among Iraq's best, believe that turning point is still many years away. And the crater in front of Muhammed helps explain why. In this conflict, insurgents, mostly members of the group al-Qaeda in Iraq, have fled villages but left behind large swaths of farmland and thoroughfares dotted with roadside bombs and booby-trapped houses. The road Muhammed stood on was among the deadliest. He'd learned quickly why local villagers dubbed it the Road of Hell. Before 10 a.m., he had unearthed and detonated 11 bombs.

US Drawdown Raises Security Fears in Tal Afar - Associated Press

A series of bombings in this small but strategic northwestern Iraqi city is stoking fears of a return to sectarian conflict here and raising questions about a strategy of handing urban security to Iraqi police. Since April, at least four major bombings have killed about 40 people and wounded nearly 150 on this city on the main route from Mosul to the east and the Syrian border 60 miles to the west. The deadliest was on Aug. 8, when a suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives in a vegetable market in a Shiite district, killing at least 20 people, police said. US officials blamed the attack on al-Qaida in Iraq. The city's mayor, Najim Abdullah, fears that the removal of American troops from his city and the deployment of Iraqi army soldiers to nearby Mosul have left his overwhelmingly Turkoman community vulnerable.

Suicide Bomber Kills 15 - Goode and Hameed, New York Times

The plaza in front of Baghdad’s famous Abu Hanifa mosque in the Adhamiya district has lately been a place of joyous celebration and worship. On Sunday evening it was a scene of terror, as a suicide bomber struck a crowded street in front of the mosque. The police and witnesses said the blast killed 15 people and wounded 29 others. Among the dead was Faruq Abdul Sattar, a deputy commander of Adhamiya’s Sunni Awakening council, the American-backed local force that guards the neighborhood, which is a Sunni stronghold. Witnesses said that the bomber, a man, may have been riding a motorcycle that was parked about 65 feet from a traffic light on the street.

Record Number of US Contractors - Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor

The American military has depended on private contractors since sutlers sold paper, bacon, sugar, and other small luxuries to Continental Army troops during the Revolutionary War. But the scale of the use of contractors in Iraq is unprecedented in US history, according to a new congressional report that may be the most thorough official account yet of the practice. As of early 2008, at least 190,000 private personnel were working on US-funded projects in the Iraq theater, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) survey found. That means that for each uniformed member of the US military in the region, there was also a contract employee – a ratio of 1 to 1. "It is ... exceptional the degree to which the military's currently relying on such contractors," said CBO director Peter Orszag at an Aug. 12 press conference. In the Korean conflict, the ratio was 2.5 uniformed personnel for each contractor. In Vietnam, the comparable figure was 5 to 1. The Balkans conflict of the 1990s provided a glimpse of the future, as it also featured a 1-to-1 military-to-civilian worker ratio. But in the Balkans, the overall deployment numbers "were of a much smaller scale than what we are seeing in Iraq," Mr. Orszag said. A number of factors are behind the Pentagon's growing dependence on contractors, says the CBO report. Reductions in the size of the post-cold war military mean that private firms now provide more and more of the logistical support needed to keep the armed services running, such as food supply and housekeeping services on bases. In general, all US agencies in recent decades have outsourced more and more functions judged not inherently governmental. In Iraq in particular, the ranks of contractors have been bolstered by the US decision to try to rebuild the country while hostilities were still under way.

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

7,000 Police Hit Streets of Kabul - Associated Press

The Afghan police ordered 7,000 officers onto the streets of Kabul to guard against attacks on senior leaders during Independence Day celebrations Monday, responding to signs of the Taliban's growing strength near the capital. Even the location of the celebration of Afghanistan's 89th anniversary of independence from Britain was kept secret and will be closed to the public to try to minimize the risk insurgents could again disrupt a national commemoration.

300,000 Flee as Jihadis Attacked - Bruce Loudon, The Australian

A human tide of more than 300,000 civilians has fled the al-Qa'ida badlands, amid indications that the fighting there has reached unprecedented levels, with the Pakistani army using massive firepower to attack jihadi militant strongholds. Helicopter gunships, fixed-wing strike aircraft, tanks and heavy artillery have been used in the onslaught that followed the visit last month by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to Washington, where he was berated for Pakistan's failure to wipe out the militants. The offensive runs counter to perceptions that Pakistan's new civilian Government is "soft" on Islamic extremism. This will reassure Washington, whose ally in the war in terror for the past nine years, President Pervez Musharraf, was given by the Coalition Government until midnight last night (4am today AEST) to resign or face impeachment proceedings beginning tonight in the National Assembly. Pakistani television showed thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire streaming out of the Bajaur, Mohmand and Kurrum agencies during the fighting estimated to have killed more than 500 militants. Tens of thousands of people are camping on the perimeter of Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province, and some have reached Rawalpindi, the garrison city adjoining Islamabad.

British Troops Kill Four Afghan Civilians - Rob Davies, Daily Telegraph

An investigation is under way after a rocket attack by British troops killed four civilians and injured three more in southern Afghanistan. The incident involving the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment saw three rockets fired into a compound hiding insurgents. A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the country said a patrol had intercepted a radio message from the compound calling on insurgents to carry out an attack in the Sangin district of Helmand province.

PAKISTAN

Musharraf Resigns as Pakistani President - Philippe Naughton, The Times

Pervez Musharraf announced today that he was resigning as a President of Pakistan to avoid an impeachment battle that would harm the nation’s interests. Mr Musharraf made the announcement during a lengthy and at times emotional televised address in which he said that he was leaving office knowing that whatever he has done "was for the people and for the country". "After consultations with legal advisers and close political supporters and on their advice, I’m taking the decision of resigning," the former general said. "My resignation will go to the speaker of the National Assembly today." Until he confirmed his resignation towards the end, however, much of his defiant speech was spent denying that any of the impeachment charges against him could stand and angrily defending his time in power.

Musharraf to Resign as President - Candace Rondeaux, Washington Post

Bowing to pressure from Pakistan's newly-elected civilian government, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, once a top US ally, said Monday that he will resign from office immediately, effectively ending nearly nine years of military rule in the country under his leadership. Musharraf announced his decision to step down in a nationally televised public address 10 days after leaders of Pakistan's two ruling coalition parties called for his impeachment. Demand for his resignation became increasingly vocal last week after Pakistan's four provincial assemblies voted overwhelmingly for his ouster. In the nearly hour-long address, Musharraf struck a defiant and emotional tone, saying that his political opponents had opted for the politics of confrontation over reconciliation. But he said that he is stepping down in the interest of maintaining stability in the country.

Musharraf Announces His Resignation - Jane Perlez, New York Times

Under pressure over impending impeachment charges, President Pervez Musharraf announced he would resign Monday, ending nearly nine years as the head of one of the United States’ most important allies in the campaign against terrorism. Speaking on television from his presidential office here at 1 p.m., Mr. Musharraf, dressed in a gray suit and tie, said that after consulting with his aides, “I have decided to resign today.” He said he was putting national interest above “personal bravado.” “Whether I win or lose the impeachment, the nation will lose,” he said, adding that he was not prepared to put the office of the presidency through the impeachment process. Mr. Musharraf said the governing coalition, which has pushed for impeachment, had tried to “turn lies into truths.”

Pakistani President Musharraf Resigns - Laura King, Los Angeles Times

President Pervez Musharraf, facing impeachment, resigned today, insisting on his innocence but saying he did not want to subject the country to a draining political battle. "I am announcing my resignation," a somber-looking Musharraf, clad in a dark suit and tie, said in a nationally televised address only hours before Parliament was set to convene in a prelude to taking up impeachment charges. "All my well-wishers should accept my decision... for the good of the nation." On the streets of the capital, the wild honking of car horns broke out in celebration. The Pakistani leader, who for most of his tenure was considered a crucial if problematic US ally, had been under intense pressure to step down since the country's ruling coalition announced Aug. 7 that it would seek to impeach him.

Pervez Musharraf Resigns - Jon Swaine, Daily Telegraph

Pervez Musharraf has announced his resignation as president of Pakistan. Speaking in the face of an impending impeachment attempt by the ruling coalition government, Mr Musharraf said he had sought "to save Pakistan and save it from crisis," but that it had become a "failed state." "After consultations with legal advisers and close political supporters and on their advice, I'm taking the decision of resigning," he said. "My resignation will go to the speaker of the National Assembly today. I leave Pakistan in the hands of my successors. Pakistan first has been my philosophy," Mr Musharraf said, adding that he had worked in "good faith" in the face of challenges such as militancy and economic troubles. "Unfortunately, some elements acting for vested interests levelled false allegations against me and deceived people.

Musharraf Announces His Resignation - Reuters

Nuclear-armed Pakistan's beleaguered President Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation on Monday in the face of an impending impeachment motion by the ruling coalition government. The former army chief and firm US ally has seen his popularity slide over the past 18 months and has been isolated since his allies lost a February election. "After consultations with legal advisers and close political supporters and on their advice, I'm taking the decision of resigning," Musharraf said a televised address. "My resignation will go to the speaker of the National Assembly today."

Pakistan Weak as Militancy Surges - Mian Ridge, Christian Science Monitor

Mian Azif has stood praying by his older brother's hospital bed every night since the father of four was wounded by a suicide bomber who killed eight people and injured 30. I don't know why this has happened," whispers Mr Azif. "I think the government's policies on the militants must be wrong or something." His view is not uncommon. Pakistan's mounting insurgency, centered in the north-western tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, has been exacerbated by a weak, four-month-old coalition government that lacks an effective antimili-tant strategy. Following the suicide bombing near a mosque in Lahore last Wednesday – just before the anniversary of Pakistan's independence – concern is growing that the insurgency is increasingly spilling into Pakistan's towns and cities. Lahore's blast occurred only days after 13 people were killed by a bus bombing in Peshawar, a frontier town near Afghanistan increasingly targeted by the Taliban and aligned militant groups. Exacerbating the problem is the government's preoccupation with its attempt to boot President Pervez Musharraf from power.

Musharraf Walked a Tightrope - Jane Perlez, New York Times

A commando at heart, and a man of often impetuous decisions, Pervez Musharraf reversed position after 9/11 and joined the United States, becoming one of Washington’s most crucial allies in the campaign against terrorism. It was a bold stroke that boosted the Bush administration in its immediate war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, and allowed the United States to work with Pakistani intelligence to arrest senior Qaeda operatives inside Pakistan. Mr. Musharraf also gave Washington permission to strike at Qaeda targets in his nation’s lawless tribal areas. But the assurances turned out to be less than promised, and though Mr. Musharraf forged a personal bond with President Bush, the Pakistani general proved to be a tough, frustrating customer for the United States. Pakistan’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency never severed ties with the Taliban.

IRAN

Iran Reports Test of Craft Able to Carry a Satellite - William Broad, New York Times

Iran test-fired a new rocket capable of carrying a satellite into orbit, the Iranian state news media reported Sunday. Western experts said the launching represented a potentially significant if much-delayed step in Iran’s efforts to join the international space club. The report of the test flight comes amid growing Western nervousness about Iran’s nuclear program and concerns that it could one day use its missile expertise to threaten enemies with annihilation by means of atomic warheads.

Iran Tests Rocket for Future Launch of Satellite - Associated Press

Iran has test launched a rocket it plans to use to carry a research satellite into orbit, state television reported Sunday. Saturday's test of the two-stage rocket, called the Safir-e Omid, or Ambassador of Peace, was successful, state TV said, broadcasting images of the nighttime launch. The rocket released equipment that beamed flight data back to ground control, said Reza Taghipoor, the head of Iran's Space Agency, in a live television interview. Iran has long held the goal of developing a space program. In 2005, it launched its first commercial satellite on a Russian rocket in a joint project with Moscow, which appears to be the main partner in transferring space technology to Iran.

THE LONG WAR

The Hamdan Verdict - Nat Hentoff, Washington Times opinion

In what seemed to be an unusual warning to the Bush administration, US District Judge James Robertson, declaring on July 17 that the war-crimes trial of Salim Hamdan could proceed, said: "The eyes of the world are on Guantanamo Bay. Justice must be done there and must be seen to be done there fairly and impartially." What the world found out from observers at the trial was the dismissal of many of our rules of law as specifically required by the commander in chief, President Bush, who all by himself issued a Nov. 13, 2001, military order in which he established military commissions: "Given the danger to the safety of the United States and the nature of international terrorism, and to the extent provided by and under this order, I find consistent with section 836 of title 10, United States Code, that it is not practicable to apply in military commissions under this order the principles of law and the rules of evidence generally recognized in the trial of criminal cases in the United States district courts." He didn't bother with judicial approval.

Going Global to Fight Gangs - Rocky Delgadillo, Los Angeles Times opinion

The two fastest-growing and most powerful gangs in the world are homegrown products of Los Angeles. The Mara Salvatrucha gang, or MS-13, and the 18th Street gang, known in Central America as Mara 18, sprang up in Pico-Union and the densely populated neighborhoods around MacArthur Park. But unlike many local street gangs, these two were entrepreneurial: They recruited Central American immigrants across the city and then expanded farther - throughout Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Conservative estimates put MS-13's ranks at 20,000 and 18th Street's at 30,000 worldwide. Stopping street gangs is no longer a local matter - a point driven home to me during a symposium in El Salvador. During the conference, two points of consensus emerged. First, MS-13 and 18th Street have become an international concern - indeed, even Interpol is now involved in the fight. Second, past strategies to handle these gangs have failed. In the 1990s, the US strategy centered on deportation: Undocumented gang members convicted of crimes were sent back to their country of origin after their prison sentences. But this only exacerbated the problem, spreading both gangs like a virus until they grew into transnational "super-gangs" with countless cliques in southern Mexico and Central America in addition to their presence in California, Nebraska, New York, Texas, Virginia, Oregon and even Canada.

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Army's 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 DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Critical Pick: Secretary of State - John Hughes, Christian Science Monitor opinion

As the party conventions draw near, there has been a flurry of media speculation about the McCain and Obama choices for vice president. Yet an arguably more important choice is the next secretary of State. For the most part, the vice presidency is a kind of understudy-in-waiting job, charged with a few ceremonial chores. To be sure, Dick Cheney has wielded considerable influence and power behind the scenes as VP. But it is doubtful whether either Senator McCain's or Senator Obama's No. 2 would exert the same kind of authority. Mr. McCain is a confident practitioner of politics and foreign policy. Mr. Obama is a superstar who keeps his advisers under tight control. Neither man will seek a VP likely to upstage him. The world the new president will confront is a restless one. India and China are ascendant. Russia, as we have seen recently in Georgia, seeks renewed territorial influence. Islamic lands simmer. Iran threatens. That's why the secretary of State - the individual who has the president's ear on foreign policy, and who implements it - is so important to the next administration.

US INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY

Offensive On Counterintelligence - Walter Pincus, Washington Post

The Defense Intelligence Agency's newly created Defense Counterintelligence and Human Intelligence Center is going to have an office authorized for the first time to carry out "strategic offensive counterintelligence operations," according to Mike Pick, who will direct the program. Such covert offensive operations are carried out at home and abroad against people known or suspected to be foreign intelligence officers or connected to foreign intelligence or international terrorist activities - but not against U.S. citizens, said Toby Sullivan, director of counterintelligence for James R. Clapper Jr., the undersecretary of defense for intelligence.

AFRICA

Tsvangirai Offers Army to Mugabe - Associated Press

Zimbabwe's opposition leader wants to be a powerful prime minister, but would leave the presidency - and command of the military - to Robert Mugabe to end his country's protracted political crisis. Morgan Tsvangirai outlined his proposal for resolving the contentious issue of who would lead any unity government in a speech to regional cabinet ministers on the eve of a Southern African Development Community summit. However, the summit in Johannesburg ended last night without a settlement between Mr Tsvangirai and Mugabe. "We're finished," said George Sibotshiwe, a spokesman for Mr Tsvangirai. Asked if there was an agreement, he said: "No, not at all." Mr Tsvangirai's proposal, which he said his Movement for Democratic Change had presented in deadlocked negotiations with Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, would mean a major curbing of the powers Mugabe has wielded since the country gained independence in 1980. But it also would leave Mr Tsvangirai working closely with a leader he has reviled as a brutal dictator.

AMERICAS

Banana Republic Behavior, Cont. - Wall Street Journal editorial

Last time we checked on Ecuador, the South American country was making itself notorious for a multibillion dollar legal shakedown of Chevron on bogus pollution charges. Now its President (and Hugo Chávez wannabe) Rafael Correa is lobbying the US to renew Ecuador's preferential trade treatment, which is set to expire at the end of the year. What's Quichua for chutzpah? We happen to support renewal of those preferences, granted under the 2002 Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act. Ecuador is not (yet) Venezuela, and to the extent that trade preferences promote free-market political forces, so much the better. Then again, Mr. Correa's own behavior is the biggest political threat to those preferences. Since coming to power last year, Mr. Correa has threatened to default on Ecuador's debt, harassed the press, ejected numerous opposition leaders from congress, and rewritten the constitution to concentrate power in his hands.

Mexico Pays the Price of Prohibition - Mary O'Grady, Wall Street Journal opinion

With the world fixated on Vladimir Putin's expansionist exploits in Georgia, a different sort of assault against a democracy south of the US border is getting scant attention. But it is equally alarming. Mexico is engaged in a life-or-death struggle against organized crime. Last week six more law enforcement officials were killed in the line of duty battling the country's drug cartels. This brings the death toll in President Felipe Calderón's blitz against organized crime to 4,909 since Dec. 1, 2006. A number of the dead have been gangsters but they also include journalists, politicians, judges, police and military, and civilians. For perspective on how violent Mexico has become, consider that the total number of Americans killed in Iraq since March 2003 is 4,142.

ASIA PACIFIC

4 Philippine Soldiers, 4 Militia Killed in Ambush - Associated Press

Muslim guerrillas killed four soldiers and four militiamen in an ambush of a military convoy Sunday in the volatile southern Philippines, officials said. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said Moro Islamic Liberation Front guerrillas attacked the four-vehicle army convoy near Mulondo township in Lanao del Sur province. Eight other soldiers and two pro-government militiamen were wounded and taken to hospitals by air force helicopters, he said. The soldiers, who were traveling aboard trucks with militiamen, fired back at the attackers, who fled into a nearby forest, dragging some wounded rebels. Police and troops sent as reinforcements were pursuing the guerrillas, Lanao del Sur police Chief Paniares Adap said. The soldiers were on their way to distribute funds to militiamen at a number of outposts when they came under attack from dozens of Muslim guerrillas, army officials said.

Philippines Rebels Attack Towns in South - Al Jacinto, Los Angeles Times

More than a dozen people were killed today as hundreds of Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels attacked several towns in the southern Philippines, the military and witnesses said. Gunmen in Lanao del Norte occupied the towns of Kolambugan, Maigo and Kauswagan, and were reportedly fighting in Tubod. Attacks also were reported in the neighboring provinces of Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat, where an unknown number of civilians were killed or wounded. One commuter bus was ambushed at a rebel checkpoint near Kolambugan town and at least 14 passengers were shot, witnesses said.

Begging Won't Save Burma - Boston Globe editorial

The United Nations can be an irreplaceable forum for diplomacy and a provider of humanitarian assistance. But this parliament of Nations has repeatedly failed to live up to its responsibility to protect populations from criminal regimes. Nowhere has that failure been more flagrant than in Burma, where a vicious military junta continues to deceive and defy the world body. The junta's disregard for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his special envoy for Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, will be at center stage this week, when Gambari visits that sad land. As in his previous visits, Gambari can be expected to implore the same generals who callously turned away offers of relief for cyclone victims last spring to release political prisoners and bring about a reconciliation with the National League for Democracy, the overwhelming winner of the last free elections held in Burma, in 1990.

EUROPE / THE CAUCUSES

Pledging to Leave, Russia Tightens Grip - Michael Gordon, New York Times

Even as Russia pledged to begin withdrawing its forces from neighboring Georgia on Monday, American officials said the Russian military had been moving launchers for short-range ballistic missiles into South Ossetia, a step that appeared intended to tighten its hold on the breakaway territory. The Russian military deployed several SS-21 missile launchers and supply vehicles to South Ossetia on Friday, according to American officials familiar with intelligence reports. From the new launching positions north of Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital, the missiles can reach much of Georgia, including Tbilisi, the capital.

Russia Vows Pullout as Troops Dig In - Jonathan Finer, Washington Post

Russia pledged Sunday to begin removing its troops from Georgia on Monday, but the streets of this occupied city reflected a broadening, not a waning, of Russia's military incursion. President Dmitry Medvedev vowed to "begin the withdrawal of the military contingent" starting Monday. Russian leaders have made contradictory and at times clearly false statements about their troops' plans and positions ever since the Georgia operation began. On Saturday, a top Russian general told reporters that his country had no troops in Gori. During a reporter's 24-hour stay in the city this weekend, Russian soldiers roamed the streets in armored personnel carriers and waved Kalashnikov rifles to prevent entry to a captured Georgian military base that is now the Russian headquarters. Russian soldiers dug fortified positions for tanks along highways east and west of Gori and trucked in television and radio equipment to begin broadcasting in their own language.

Russia Again Says Will Begin Withdrawal - Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times

The Kremlin said Sunday that Russia's military would begin withdrawing its forces from Georgia today, though it was not immediately clear how far or how fast the troops would move. Germany's leader, meanwhile, voiced strong support for this former Soviet republic's desire to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a goal that has fed Moscow's anger toward Georgia and the West. The Kremlin statement followed repeated US and European calls for Russia to honor a cease-fire agreement it signed Saturday and pull troops out of Georgia proper. But Russia made no mention of leaving the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where it has long stationed peacekeepers.

Moscow Promises to Withdraw Today - The Australian

Russian President Dimitry Medvedev last night promised to start withdrawing his forces from Georgia today after they built ramparts around tanks and posted sentries on a hill just outside the Georgian capital yesterday. Mr Medvedev made the promise after the US accused Moscow of breaking the French-brokered ceasefire he signed on Saturday. Mr Sarkozy warned Mr Medvedev that Russia's relations with the European Union would be seriously damaged if Moscow failed to fully implement the peace deal. However, the troops will leave behind a peacekeeping force of unspecified size that Georgian officials worry could turn into an open-ended Russian military presence. The US and France said earlier it appeared Russia was already defying the truce signed at the weekend. Russian troops still controlled Gori and Senaki as well as the key east-west highway between the two cities well outside the breakaway provinces where earlier fighting was focused. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said late last night Russia was defying the truce.

NATO Torn Between Threats and Caution - Michael Evans, The Times

Britain is pushing to suspend security co-operation with Russia as its aggressive actions in Georgia expose deep divisions within Nato as to how Moscow should be punished. NATO foreign ministers are meeting for a special session on Georgia in Brussels tomorrow. Already there is disagreement between the United States and Britain on one side, which want to take a tough approach, and Germany and France, which are urging a more cautious stance. They are likely to block attempts to send Nato military monitors into Georgia. “We don’t want to leave the Russians out in the cold but we want to make it clear to Moscow that it’s no longer going to be business as usual,” one British diplomatic source said.

Sarkozy Demands that Russia Comply with Cease Fire - Associated Press

French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned Russia's president Sunday of "serious consequences" in Moscow's relations with the European Union, if Russia does not comply with its cease-fire accord with Georgia. In a telephone call, Sarkozy told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that there must be a "withdrawal, without delay, of all the Russian military forces that entered Georgia since Aug. 7," Sarkozy's office said in a statement. Medvedev promised the troop pullout would start Monday around midday, the statement said. Sarkozy, whose country holds the presidency of the 27-nation EU, helped broker the cease-fire agreement.

No Signs of Russia Claim of Genocide - Megan Stack, Los Angeles Times

A visit to this war-strafed city Sunday turned up no proof of Russian claims that more than 2,000 people died here. Nor were there any ready signs of what Prime Minister Vladimir Putin referred to as "genocide." The downtown of Tskhinvali, the capital of Georgia's breakaway republic of South Ossetia, sustained heavy damage in a five-day barrage of rockets and missiles as Russian troops and their local allies battled Georgian forces, and dozens of deaths have been documented. There is still no running water in the city, and residents are tremulous and shellshocked. Tskhinvali Regional Hospital had confirmed the deaths of 40 people as of Sunday, though the number was expected to grow, said Tina Zakharova, an Ossetian doctor who showed The Times a log of deaths. That figure included both civilians and combatants: people who died at the hospital, whose bodies were brought to the hospital or whose families reported burying their dead in villages.

Abkhazia Wrests Gorge From Georgia - Michael Schwirtz, New York Times

A Georgian flag lies crumpled in the dirt. A wrinkled photograph of students at what appears to be this year’s graduation is close by. Both are outside a school where rebel soldiers now munch on Russian military-issued rations in this mountainous strip of territory that was briefly part of Georgia but has now been largely abandoned. The government of Abkhazia, a separatist Georgian enclave, now controls the Kodori Gorge region. With the Georgian military consumed last week by fighting about 120 miles away in South Ossetia, leaving Georgia’s west largely devoid of its presence, Abkhaz troops seized the Kodori Gorge almost without a fight. They were aided by a heavy aerial bombardment that Georgians assert was probably carried out by Russian jets.

US Watched as a Squabble Turned Into a Showdown - New York Times

Five months ago, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, long a darling of this city’s diplomatic dinner party circuit, came to town to push for America to muscle his tiny country of four million into NATO. On Capitol Hill, at the State Department and at the Pentagon, Mr. Saakashvili, brash and hyperkinetic, urged the West not to appease Russia by rejecting his country’s NATO ambitions. At the White House, President Bush bantered with the Georgian president about his prowess as a dancer. Laura Bush, the first lady, took Mr. Saakashvili’s wife to lunch. Mr. Bush promised him to push hard for Georgia’s acceptance into NATO. After the meeting, Mr. Saakashvili pronounced his visit “one of the most successful visits during my presidency,” and said he did not know of any other leader of a small country with the access to the administration that he had.

'New Europe' Urges West to Rethink Russian Ties - Robert Marquand, CS Monitor

They live in a historically battered region between West and East, the Rhine and the Volga, Berlin and Moscow. Now, as Russian tanks rumble in Georgia, the states of "new Europe" are urging the West to rethink its relationship with Russia and are pushing for new security and strong measures against an aggressive Moscow they say they know all too well. From Poland to Ukraine, the Czech Republic to Bulgaria, Russia's invasion of Georgia with tanks, troops, and planes is described as a test of Western resolve. The former Soviet states are vowing to thwart Russian aims – in deals with the European Union, in a missile-defense pact with the US, and in trade and diplomacy. Polish and Baltic officials, most of whom grew up under Soviet occupation, have long chafed at being described in Western Europe as too "Russia-phobic" in their oft-repeated warnings about Moscow's intentions. But now in this gritty capital, the refrain is, "We told you so."

Ukraine Ready to Join the Missile Shield - The Australian

Ukraine has offered to create a joint missile defence network with the West amid fears its port city of Sebastopol, home of the Russian Black Sea fleet, could become the next flashpoint between Russia and its former satellites. The proposal could see Ukraine added to Moscow's hit list. The Ukrainian offer means its Soviet-era early-warning radar stations could become part of the West's civil defence system. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said his country could ensure its sovereignty only through collective security. Last week, Kiev limited the freedom of movement of Russia's Black Sea fleet - announcing it would require the Russian fleet to seek permission whenever ships entered its territorial waters. The move came after several of the fleet's warships, based at Sebastopol in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, were deployed along the Georgian coastline. Moscow denounced the restrictions as anti-Russian, and said its military commanders would answer only to the Russian President himself.

Shevardnadze Faults Russia - Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post

In November 2003, Georgia's Rose Revolution toppled President Eduard Shevardnadze, and he retired to his gated residence in Tbilisi to watch his flashy successor take the country on a roller-coaster ride of reform, economic development and increasingly tense relations with Russia. On Sunday, 10 days after that tension spilled over into a war that has devastated Georgia's infrastructure, displaced 100,000 people and shaken the national psyche, Shevardnadze would not say whether he thought Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was wrong to send military forces into Tskhinvali, capital of the separatist region of South Ossetia. But Shevardnadze, known as the "Silver Fox," criticized the deterioration of Georgian-Russian relations under Saakashvili, especially in regard to the breakaway regions whose reintegration the current president has pushed for so vehemently.

What Future for NATO? - Gordon Lubold, Christian Science Monitor

The Russian Army's foray into Georgia this month has had enormous international impact. But the actions of its conventional forces served more to send a message to the West than to pose any significant military challenge much past its borders. The immediate crisis in Georgia appears to be over for now. But as the West assesses what is clearly a new geopolitical dynamic in Eurasia, there is recognition that while Russia's military may not be as formidable as it once was, NATO and other Western allies must adapt quickly to counter the threat it does pose to its immediate neighbors. That will undoubtedly lead to a broader debate about the future of NATO, its membership roster, and the resources it will need to create a viable impediment to Russia's military, whatever Moscow's ambitions may be. But for now, it seems obvious that Russia has used its forces to send a clear message that it won't be ignored.

Conflict a Blow to Bush Foreign Policy - Julian Barnes, Los Angeles Times

In the last week, two major pillars of President Bush's approach to foreign policy have crumbled, jeopardizing eight years of work and sending the administration scrambling for new strategies in the waning months of its term. From the earliest days of his presidency, Bush had said spreading democracy was a centerpiece of his foreign policy. At the same time, he sought to develop a more productive relationship with Russia, seeking Moscow's cooperation on issues such as terrorism, Iran's nuclear program and expansion of global energy supplies. And in pursuing both these major goals, Bush relied heavily on developing what he saw as strong personal relationships with foreign leaders. The recent setbacks to the president's approach were all the more unsettling because Georgia had appeared to be one of the few success stories in the administration's effort to nurture new democracies that could advance US interests.

News Analysis: Europe’s Putin Dilemma - Steven Erlanger, New York Times

As NATO foreign ministers gather Tuesday for an emergency meeting on the Georgian crisis, Europe is divided over how to balance its ties to Russia with concerns over the country’s new aggressiveness. The European dilemma is clear, said Clifford Kupchan, a director of the Eurasia Group, a consulting firm in Washington. “How do they square their increasing energy dependence on Russia with their increasing political discomfort with Putin?” he said, referring to Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin. “It’s a very hard circle to square.” As the United States looks for more than symbolic gestures on how to support Georgia and another former Soviet republic, Ukraine, there is a split between “old and new Europe” - roughly Western and Eastern Europe, Mr. Kupchan said. New Europe, backed by Britain and Scandinavia, is taking a harder line toward Russia, while old Europe “will only be reinforced in its view that Georgia and Ukraine are not ready for NATO.”

Debacle in Georgia - Washington Times editorial

Russia's invasion of Georgia is a damaging blow to the prestige and reputation of the US-led NATO alliance - a major cornerstone of US military security strategy in Europe since the end of World War II. The decision by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the government he dominates to attack Georgia serves a number of critical Russian strategic goals. First, it is a warning to other nations in Europe and the Caucasus that they put themselves in mortal danger if they seek to join NATO and align themselves with United States. Target number one is Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko - who like Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is the democratically elected leader of a formerly Soviet-occupied nation and has applied to join NATO. Second, it is a step toward seizing monopoly control of major energy pipelines supplying the West which run through Georgia: The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, opened two years ago, which transports oil from Baku, Azerbaijan, through Georgia to Ceyhan, Turkey, and the South Caucasus gas pipeline, which runs parallel to the BTC pipeline. Third, it is part of a longer-range effort to create a sphere of influence in the former Soviet Union and beyond. Fourth, it is part of a policy that emboldens Iran by intimidating neighboring states away from military cooperation with Washington.

The Future of NATO - The Times editorial

Russia's Ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, wrote last month that “with the demise of communism, reasons for the West and Russia to be in confrontation vanished”. He would be hard put to stand by his remark when NATO meets tomorrow for an emergency summit forced on its members by Russia's invasion of Georgia, especially given its troops' continued presence there despite two ceasefire deals, its extraordinary threat to Poland last Friday, and reports that it is considering arming its Baltic fleet with nuclear warheads for the first time since the Cold War. As it happens, Mr Rogozin was wrong. There have been myriad reasons for confrontation between the West and Russia since 1991. The implosion of a hollow ideology gave way to a series of more practical grounds for dispute, from Washington's passion for missile defence to Moscow's foot-dragging over Iranian uranium enrichment. But there has been no provocation quite so blatant as the flooding of South Ossetia and parts of Georgia with Russian tanks. NATO has so far floundered in response, but this does not make it irrelevant. The opposite is true.

Putting Out Fires in the Caucasus - Nicolas Sarkozy, Washington Post opinion

The time will come when the sequence of events and responsibilities can be established in an indisputable and impartial manner: several weeks of provocations and skirmishes along the lines separating South Ossetia from the rest of Georgia; the thoughtless Georgian military intervention in South Ossetia the night of Aug. 7-8; the brutal and disproportionate response of Russian troops, driving the small Georgian army from South Ossetia and dislodging it from Abkhazia -- the other separatist province, where it had regained a foothold in 2006 -- before occupying part of the rest of Georgian territory. As the world was confronted with this outburst of violence, there were more urgent matters. As soon as hostilities broke out, France and Europe engaged in a full-fledged diplomatic effort. The first priority was to obtain a cease-fire, end the suffering of populations and stop the destruction. For that, conditions had to be created ensuring that both the Russians and Georgians would accept the cease-fire. Against the advice of many, who assured us we would fail, I and my foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, traveled to Moscow and Tbilisi on Aug. 12, armed with proposals to convince the Russians that it was past time for them to lay down their weapons and to convince the Georgians that they had still more to lose by continuing to fight. My long conversations with Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin during the day and with Mikheil Saakashvili in Tbilisi during the night finally made it possible to gain the two parties' agreement to a six-point plan to end the crisis.

Bad News Bear - Peter Brookes, New York Post opinion

The Russian bear is back. Today's Kremlin is cocky, nationalistic, rich and bent on asserting Russia as a great power with distinct interests - not only in its neighborhood or "near abroad" - but across the globe. It entered 2008 in its strongest position since the fall of the Berlin Wall, continually reorienting its foreign policy to one that is independent, strikingly outspoken, and even anti-West. Russia is vying to lord over its traditional sphere of influence (like Imperialist Russia) and take its place on the world stage as a power-broker (like the Soviet Union). Quite simply: The Kremlin plans to reinstate Russia's superpower status.

Russia and the Future - Michael O'Hanlon, Washington Times opinion

Russia's bullying and brutal behavior toward Georgia this August has been inexcusable. But even for those of us who assign Russia at least 80 to 90 percent of the blame for the hostilities, it is important to ask if any Western actions or policies should be modified in the future to avoid worsening the problem. In doing so, we need to keep our national security priorities in mind. Many issues that have divided the United States from Russia of late, such as independence for Kosovo, are not first-tier matters for the United States. By contrast, securing Russia's cooperation in opposing Iran's march toward a nuclear weapon, pressuring North Korea to give up its nuclear arsenal, and trying to keep the peace in South and Central Asia are top-level priorities. We make a mistake by needlessly picking fights over secondary things if that harms our ability to cooperate on truly crucial matters.

NATO's Hour - Ronald Asmus, Wall Street Journal opinion

Russia's invasion of Georgia is a game changer. This war is part of a Russian strategy of roll-back and regime change on its borders. The more evidence that comes in, the clearer it is becoming that this is a conflict Moscow planned, prepared for and provoked - a trap Tbilisi unfortunately walked into. A core Western assumption since 1991 - that Moscow would never again invade its neighbors - has been shattered. As Moscow basks in its moment of nationalistic triumphalism, the West needs to take steps to prevent further Russian moves from spreading instability to others parts of Europe. If they want to contain this crisis, NATO foreign ministers meeting here tomorrow need to focus on two strategic imperatives. The Alliance must take steps to reassure those members fearing Russian pressure that NATO's mutual-defense commitments are credible and real. And ministers must consider speeding up enlargement plans to lock in stability in the Balkans and bring in Ukraine and the southern Caucasus.

Russia Cannot Afford to be Isolated - William Rees-Mogg, The Times opinion

I feel sure that a debate is going on between the hawks and doves in the Kremlin. I am confident of that because such debates always do exist. There must be equally patriotic Russians, in senior official positions, who see the Georgian campaign as part of Vladimir Putin's restoration of Russian self-respect or as dangerous adventurism. In times of crisis, decision-makers inevitably divide into hawks, regarded by critics as “reckless warmongers”, and doves, regarded as “cowardly appeasers”. Such divisions exist in the EU and in the US. In Russia, there is no doubt that the hawks are in the ascendant. The leading hawk is Mr Putin, the Prime Minister. One should remember that all politics is ultimately domestic. Mr Putin wants to impress Russia's neighbours with its power and armed might. But he also wants to impress the electorate.

The Bear is Back from Hibernation - Paul Dibb, The Australian opinion

Russia's attack on Georgia shows that it is back as a force to be reckoned with. It reflects Moscow's view that the US and NATO are not to be taken seriously when it comes to what it calls its "near abroad" blizhnoe zarubezhe'e. The message being sent to Ukraine and the Baltic countries is brutally clear: Russia is returning to great power status and that is being demonstrated to them by its military operations in Georgia. This is the first time Russia has used military force against another state since the USSR pulled out of Afghanistan. In the intervening two decades, the Soviet Union ceased to exist and Russia experienced a massive collapse of its economic and military power and a dramatic reduction in its importance in world affairs. Worse still, despite promises to the contrary by the US, NATO has expanded its presence to the very borders of Russia and occupied parts of the former Soviet strategic space in the Baltic countries and Eastern Europe. Now, the US wants Ukraine and Georgia to become members of the alliance. This has angered Moscow enormously. Russia rejects American criticism of its invasion of Georgia and responds that "the invaders and occupiers of Iraq" lack the moral authority to offer such criticism. It points to the evidence that Georgian aggression against South Ossetia was responsible for Russia's military response.

Who Made Russia Attack? - Fred Hiatt, Washington Post opinion

As Russian forces loot and occupy a neighboring state, conscripting Georgian civilians at gunpoint to sweep their city streets, it's not uncommon, in Moscow or in Washington, to find America at fault. Russia has gone over to the dark side - or, in the Moscow version, has finally stood up for itself - in understandable reaction to US disrespect, according to this view. And the next president should learn a lesson from this: that there are limits to how far Russia can or should be pushed. This narrative of American provocation cites a long list of grievances, but the principal and original sin is NATO expansion. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States encouraged the newly free nations of Central and Eastern Europe to join a military alliance whose founding purpose had been containment of the USSR. Russia hated the idea from the start, and the United States should have known that Moscow, once it recovered its strength, would exact retribution.

A Middle Road in Azerbaijan - Gregory Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times opinion

There's probably no country in the world watching the Russia-Georgia conflict more intently than this small, energy-rich nation to the south and east of the turmoil. It too leans toward the West. Its oil runs through the pipeline that crosses Georgia. And it too wants to know how far Russia will go to keep its former vassal states within its sphere of influence. Azerbaijan was one of the first Soviet republics to win independence. It's a rare secular Muslim nation with a tradition of religious tolerance - it enjoys friendly relations with Israel. It also signed on to the US-led war on terrorism, contributing troops to coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it has felt some heat from other Muslim nations because of it. But as friendly to the West as Azerbaijan is, it is under no illusions about its place in the world. It is betwixt and between superpowers and religious and ethnic groups in a volatile neighborhood. And unlike headstrong Georgia, which clearly miscalculated the extent to which the West would come to its aid, Azerbaijanis don't lean too far in any direction. They seem intent on pursuing a sometimes torturous process of diplomacy, compromise and caution.

MIDDLE EAST

UAE Cities at Odds Over Lifestyle, Ties to Iran - Associated Press

At first, the differences between the United Arab Emirates two leading cities were merely cultural. Abu Dhabi built world-class museums as fast as Dubai put up extravagant shopping malls - one with a ski slope inside. But the healthy competition that has helped transform them into two of the Middle East's most vibrant and bustling cities has soured as the tiny emirates grow increasingly divided over their relations with two other rivals - Iran and the United States. Dubai's skyscrapers, American-style theme parks and sprawling beaches clashed with the more prim sophistication of Abu Dhabi, which is building a symphony orchestra and branches of the Guggenheim and Louvre museums.

Perils of an Israeli Transition - New York Times editorial

History is unlikely to be kind to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel. He disastrously mismanaged the 2006 Lebanon war. And now, besmirched by financial scandals, he has announced plans to leave office as soon as a successor can be confirmed. Mr. Olmert does, however, understand that a two-state solution with the Palestinians is vital for Israel’s security. We hope that his successor does as well and brings a greater sense of urgency to the negotiations. There has always been a wide gap between what Mr. Olmert understands about the need for a peace settlement and what he has done about it. Merely meeting the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, for periodic talks is not enough.

SOUTH ASIA

Kashmir: Fears of Increasing Militancy - Emily Wax, Washington Post

On a recent four-month trek through hundreds of Kashmiri villages, separatist leader Yasin Malik called on people to adopt his new Gandhian philosophy of nonviolence. Malik, a secular Muslim, soon became an icon of peace to many youths in this turbulent region that India and Pakistan have fought over for decades. But Malik's commitment to nonviolence is now being tested amid a wave of unrest in Indian-administered Kashmir. Over the past six weeks, tensions between Muslims and Hindus have left 34 people dead, most of them unarmed protesters shot by Indian security forces. Like many leaders here, Malik worries that Kashmir's separatist movement is once again on the verge of becoming an armed struggle.

Sri Lankan Military Says it Captures Rebel Base - Associated Press

Sri Lankan troops captured a massive Tamil Tiger training base with underground bunkers, lecture halls and a cemetery as government forces pushed ahead with their offensive against the rebels, the military said Sunday. A series of raging battles across the northern war zone Saturday killed 27 Tamil Tiger fighters and seven government troops, the military said. Troops have broken through the rebels' defenses in recent weeks and seized a series of key towns and bases. Government officials say they hope to rout the Tamil Tigers by the end of the year and end the Indian Ocean island nation's 25-year-old civil war. On Saturday evening, soldiers took control of a rebel training base in Andankulam in the Welioya region after Tamil Tiger fighters fled the area, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.

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.