IRAQ

Civilian Court Tries Case From the Fog of War - Nicholas Casey, WSJ

Jose Luis Nazario was a Marine Corps sergeant in Iraq in November 2004, when he found himself leading a squad through three weeks of house-to-house fighting in the city of Fallujah. At one point, members of his team say, they entered a house and found unarmed men hiding under a staircase. Those men, according to testimony of some in Mr. Nazario's squad, didn't leave the house alive. Two of Mr. Nazario's squad now await a military court-martial for allegedly killing unarmed men there. Mr. Nazario, however, left the Marines in 2005 with an honorable discharge and a medal of valor. By exiting the Marines, he also left the jurisdiction of military prosecutors. Yet, in a trial scheduled to begin Tuesday, Mr. Nazario will nonetheless face manslaughter charges for allegedly participating in the Fallujah killings. The charges have been filed not by the military, but by civilian prosecutors in a federal court in Riverside, Calif. They are invoking a little-known law that allows US courts to pursue overseas combat crimes that were traditionally beyond their grasp.

Kurdish Control of Kirkuk Creates Powder Keg - Richard Oppel Jr., NY Times

Of all the political problems facing Iraq today, perhaps none is so intractable as the fate of Kirkuk, a city of 900,000 that Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens all claim as their own. The explosive quarrel over the city is one major barrier to creating stable political structures in the rest of Iraq. eyond that, it demonstrates that despite a recent decline in violence, Iraq’s unsettled ethnic and regional discord could still upend directives emanating from Baghdad and destabilize large swaths of the country -or even set off a civil war. This month, legislation in the national Parliament to set the groundwork for crucial provincial elections collapsed in a bitter dispute over Kirkuk, as Arabs and Turkmens demanded that the Kurds be forced to cede some of their power here. But with the Kurds having already consolidated their authority in Kirkuk, there seemed little chance - short of a military intervention - of that happening.

Blackwater Guards Face Prosecution - James Bone, The Times

Six Blackwater Worldwide security guards have been notified that they could face prosecution in America for shooting dead 17 civilians in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square in an infamous incident that provoked fury in Iraq. The Blackwater employees have reportedly been sent “target letters” by US prosecutors telling them that they could face charges for opening fire at the crowded intersection on September 16 last year. The move was welcomed by human rights activists, who have long complained about US private security in Iraq. The shootings sparked a crisis in relations between the US and the Iraqi Government, which threatened to expel Blackwater. In negotiations on a new bilateral security agreement, the Iraqis have pressed for all foreign personnel to be subject to Iraqi law. Washington has agreed to place contractors under Iraqi jurisdiction, but is still refusing to allow Iraq to put US troops or officials on trial. Blackwater, based in North Carolina, has announced that it is moving out of private security and will concentrate on training, aviation and logistics.

Violence Down, Stability Up Across Iraq, US General Says - AFPS

From Mosul in the north to Basra in the south, insurgent-committed violence in Iraq continues to decrease as stability visibly increases, a senior US military officer posted in Iraq said today. “For 10 of the last 11 weeks, we’ve sustained less than 200 attacks per week nationwide,” Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, told Pentagon reporters during a satellite-carried news conference from his Baghdad headquarters. Attacks in Iraq had once reached more than 1,500 a week a few years ago during the zenith of insurgent-committed violence. “It is undeniable that Iraq is in a much better place than it was several months ago,” said Austin, who also commands 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, NC. He took command of Multinational Corps Iraq on Feb. 14. Austin credited the fall in violence to “an increasingly effective Iraqi security force, one that is growing in capability and in confidence,” Austin said. “And, as a result, we have seen signs of hope and prosperity return to many parts of the country that were once previously threatened by criminals and terrorists and others who don’t want Iraq to achieve its full potential.”

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

Blast Kills 12 at US Base on a Holiday for Afghans - Rahimi and Gall, NY Times

A suicide bomber drove a car into a crowd of workers at the gates of a United States military base in eastern Afghanistan on Monday morning, killing 12 workers and wounding 22 others, Afghan officials said. The bomber failed to penetrate the base, and no American military personnel were wounded in the explosion, the military said. Another suicide bomber in a car soon followed. His attempt was thwarted but he escaped. Early Tuesday, militants wearing vests packed with explosives tried to storm the base, Camp Salerno in the city of Khost, The Associated Press reported, quoting Arsala Jamal, the governor of Khost Province. Mr. Jamal said the suicide team was repelled, and coalition troops used airstrikes against the assailants.

SAS to be Used to Tackle Taliban - Chris Irvine, Daily Telegraph

Britain's special forces are to spearhead a new offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan amid plans to increase troop numbers in the country. Troops from the SAS and SBS will be used in the Army's "decapitation" strategy designed to knock out the insurgent's leadership. Their operations will be part of an overall surge of troops in the increasingly unstable country, as more British forces are pulled out of Iraq. Yesterday a British soldier was killed while taking part in a joint British-Afghan patrol in Helmand province - becoming the 116th British military death in Afghanistan since November 2001. The current UK force of more than 8,000 is already almost double the size deployed to Helmand in 2006 and commanders believe the problem of overstretch will not disappear even with withdrawal from Iraq.

Afghan Militant Threat Shuts Down Public Ceremony - Associated Press

Afghan leaders celebrated Independence Day on Monday with a small ceremony inside a fortified military compound, in marked contrast to the parade and public festivities a year ago and another sign that Taliban militants are bearing down on the government. The top US general in the country issued a rare public warning that militants planned to attack civilian, military and government targets. Only hours earlier, a suicide bomber killed 10 Afghans outside a US base. The unusual warning by Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser said "credible intelligence" indicated militants planned to launch attacks during Monday's celebrations, which were held both in the capital Kabul and around the country.

PAKISTAN

In Musharraf’s Wake, US Faces Political Disarray - Jane Perlez, New York Times

Facing imminent impeachment charges, President Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation on Monday, after months of belated recognition by American officials that he had become a waning asset in the campaign against terror. The decision removes from Pakistan’s political stage the leader who for nearly nine years served as one of the United States’ most important - and ultimately unreliable - allies. And it now leaves American officials to deal with a new, elected coalition that has so far proved itself to be unwilling or unable to confront an expanding Taliban insurgency determined to topple the government. The question of who will succeed Mr. Musharraf is certain to unleash intense wrangling between the rival political parties that form the governing coalition and to add a new layer of turbulence to an already unstable nuclear-armed nation of 165 million people.

Musharraf Exits, but Uncertainty Remains - Candace Rondeaux, Washington Post

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's resignation Monday signaled the beginning of a new round of political uncertainty as the country's civilian government tries to reshape the legacy of nearly nine years of military rule. Politicians began marathon meetings about possible replacements for Musharraf, with early reports suggesting a woman might be chosen. As word of the resignation spread, Musharraf's opponents celebrated with cakes in some places, gunfire in others. Financial markets rebounded. But with the country's economy at an all-time low and a radical Islamist insurgency based in the country's tribal areas gaining in strength, the civilian coalition faces challenges that will not be easily or quickly sorted out, analysts here said.

Musharraf Leaves Doubts - Sara Carter, Washington Times

The long-anticipated resignation of President Pervez Musharraf on Monday may not hurt the US war on terror because the Pakistani leader had not done a particularly good job of confronting al Qaeda and the Taliban, US counterterrorism officials and Pakistan analysts said. However, Mr. Musharraf's civilian successors may have an even more difficult time containing the terrorism menace, the analysts said. Mr. Musharraf "was never the indispensable man that George Bush saw him as and he never delivered on many of the promises he made to Bush," said Bruce Riedel, a former senior official on the White House National Security Council and author of an upcoming book, "The Search for al Qaeda: Its Leadership, Ideology and Future."

Pakistan Government Faces Big Challenges - Laura King, Los Angeles Times

The resignation of President Pervez Musharraf will force Pakistan's untested new civilian government to confront a dizzying array of problems, chief among them an intensifying battle against Islamic insurgents in the nation's long-lawless tribal areas. Musharraf's departure Monday, greeted with near-delirious rejoicing in the streets of Pakistani cities, also opens the door to a potentially debilitating power struggle within the country's fragile ruling coalition, which was bound together mainly by its anti-Musharraf stance. Nuclear-armed Pakistan, perhaps the most important yet most troubled US ally in the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, enters an uncertain new era with the departure of Musharraf, who stepped down hours before a parliamentary session that was to have been a prelude to impeachment proceedings over his alleged constitutional violations.

Musharraf's Exit Poses Challenge for Pakistan - Associated Press

Pervez Musharraf resigned Monday as the president of Pakistan, avoiding a power struggle with rivals vowing to impeach him that would have deepened the country's political crisis. His exit, announced in an emotional televised address, leaves the politicians who pushed out the stalwart US ally to face the Islamic militants and economic problems gnawing at this nuclear-armed nation. Musharraf's departure after nearly nine divisive years in power was widely expected after months of rising pressure for him to leave, culminating in the threat to bring impeachment charges to Parliament this week.

Nukes Unlikely to be Affected by Musharraf Leaving - Associated Press

Pervez Musharraf's departure from the presidency is unlikely to have a significant impact on how Pakistan's nuclear weapons are controlled. Experts say a 10-member committee, and not just the president, makes decisions on how to use them and only a complete meltdown in governance - still a distant prospect in Pakistan - could put the atomic bomb in the hands of extremists.

US Vows Continued Support for Pakistan - David Gollust, Voice of America

The United States expressed gratitude Monday for the commitment of former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to the war against terrorism. US officials say his resignation is an internal Pakistani matter, and that the Bush administration looks forward to continued cooperation with the Islamabad government. Mr. Musharraf had been described by senior Bush administration officials as an indispensable ally in the war against terrorism. But they say his resignation, under threat of impeachment, need not affect US-Pakistani cooperation in curbing regional extremism and on other issues.

US Officials Urge Stability in Pakistan - Abramowitz and Kessler, Washington Post

With the resignation today of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, the country's fledgling democratic government now must assume the full burden of fixing the economy and waging a more effective counterterrorism campaign or risk instability in a key US ally, according to US officials and South Asia experts. "We'll see if they can turn their attention to governance and get a handle on their problems," said former deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage. "They have been using the Musharraf thing as an excuse for non-governance." Speaking from Islamabad, Stephen Cohen, the Brookings Institution's South Asia expert, said: "This is really the moment of truth for Pakistan. If this fails, it is unclear what will happen."

Resignation a Victory for Democracy - Bruce Loudon, The Australian

President Pervez Musharraf's resignation represents a much-needed victory for Pakistan's embattled coalition Government, elected amid such high hopes last February but accused by critics of having done little since then. The Government, when it set about seeking Mr Musharraf's impeachment, did so, it said, because he had set himself up as an alternative centre of power to the elected administration, launching conspiracies against it and seeking to subvert it. Most analysts believe there was something in this: when, for example, the Government set about fulfilling its key election promise, the restoration of the judges sacked by Mr Musharraf, it was unable to do so because of opposition from the president.

Counter-terrorism Officials Express Relief - Greg Miller, Los Angeles Times

Whether it was the hunt for Osama bin Laden or secret airstrikes on Taliban forces in the badlands of Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, much of the Bush administration's war on terrorism has hinged on its relationship with general-turned-president Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf was arguably the administration's most important ally in the fight against Islamic extremists. But when he resigned the presidency Monday, senior counter-terrorism officials in the US government said there was more relief than anxiety rippling through their ranks that the drama over Musharraf's fate had ended. Even at the height of his powers, the man who long commanded Pakistan's army had produced uneven results in countering the militant threat based in his country's northwest, said U.S. intelligence officials, all of whom requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the relationship.

Dictator Shot Himself in the Foot - Bruce Loudon, The Australian

Highly regarded as a military officer, Pervez Musharraf, in the end, was shown to be no politician. For it was a monumental political miscalculation on March 9 last year - what even his supporters now admit was a foolish attempt to fire the country's chief justice - that set in train the events that led to the tough former commando's ignominious departure from office last night. He and chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry were at loggerheads over a range of issues. The then General Musharraf saw the judge as a threat to his position. He dressed in his military uniform, summoned Chaudhry to his office, and told he him he had been fired. Chaudhry resisted. The nation was appalled. And what began was a movement, led by the country's lawyers, that resulted in Musharraf being forced to shed his uniform, then to a general election in February and, finally, to being driven from office last night.

Failed Dictator Was Our Imaginary Friend - Greg Sheridan, The Australian

Will Pervez Musharraf's resignation make Pakistan more or less stable? Who, now, will control the army? And the semi-rogue Inter-Services Intelligence? Is this the beginning of a Pakistan government recovery, or a lurch into a fatal crisis? And how secure are Pakistan's nuclear weapons? These are among the questions thrown up by the departure of the West's most disappointing ally in the war on terror. Let's be clear about this: Musharraf was a catastrophic failure for Pakistan. He claimed to have turned the country around and to have turned it against the Taliban terrorists it had created and succoured in Afghanistan. In fact, he did nothing of the kind. Or rather, at the same time as he did a bit of that, his military continued to co-operate with the Taliban, which is being battled by, among others, Australian troops in Afghanistan. But the endless cycle of Pakistani politics contains only a couple of variations. One is for a civilian government to fail amid corruption and incompetence and be replaced by a military dictator, who is at first welcomed for his effectiveness.

Pakistan Without Musharraf - New York Times editorial

In the end, President Pervez Musharraf went, if not quietly, with remarkably little strife. Pakistan’s top civilian and military leaders, who worked together to orchestrate his long-delayed resignation, must continue that responsible cooperation in the months ahead. Pakistan’s plight is far too desperate for any more destructive personal and institutional vendettas. The first challenge is to choose a new civilian president, free from any taint of corruption or complicity with past dictatorships. The presidency must also be stripped of the special dictatorial powers that Mr. Musharraf seized for himself, including the power to suspend civil liberties and rule by decree.

After Musharraf - Wall Street Journal editorial

Pervez Musharraf stepped down yesterday as President of Pakistan, after nearly nine years leading the Muslim world's only nuclear-armed state and one of its most precarious. His resignation is an act of statesmanship that spares Pakistan weeks or months of political turmoil. We only wish the coalition government that will now have to govern showed any sign that it is up to the job. For all his faults, Mr. Musharraf tried both to modernize his country and was largely a friend of the US. Confronted after 9/11 in a famous meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell, he aligned himself with the antiterror cause against the Taliban and other Islamic militants. Like other military men who take power in coups, however, he was a clumsy politician. He struck a deal in 2006 with tribal chiefs in the frontier bordering Afghanistan, creating a sanctuary for the Taliban, which is now resurgent and threatening both countries. And he turned a blind eye to the madrassas that are breeding grounds for jihadists.

Pakistan: A Vacuum in Islamabad - The Times editorial

President Musharraf's resignation yesterday, forced on him by the threat of imminent impeachment, leaves Pakistan leaderless at a critical moment. In the tribal areas separatists, Islamist extremists and Taleban supporters are in open revolt against the central government. Kashmiri militants are preparing new cross-border attacks against India. Arms are pouring into Afghanistan to fight Nato troops, while al-Qaeda leaders plot terrorism from their border hideouts. The shadowy Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) agency, intent on a proxy war with India, is moving away from government control. The economy is stalling, with inflation running at 25 per cent and trade and fiscal deficits widening. And in Islamabad politicians bicker over whether to prosecute Mr Musharraf or allow him to retire with dignity.

Musharraf's Resignation - Washington Times editorial

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's resignation signals the reinvigoration of Pakistani democracy. However, the ruling coalition government will have a long and difficult road ahead in addressing the economic crisis and in curbing Islamic militants that threaten the nation's stability. "The biggest hurdle in the way of democracy is gone,'' said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with his father, Asif Ali. Mr. Zardari and his father assumed control of the PPP following the December assassination of his mother, Benazir Bhutto. "Now the coalition government can move on and solve the problems of the people,'' said Mr. Zardari. The PPP shares power with the Pakistan Muslim League led by Shahbaz Sharif. The United States has a keen national-security interest in the affairs of Pakistan due to its nuclear arsenal and the fact that it borders India - which is also a nuclear power. India and Pakistan have been embroiled in a long-standing dispute over Kashmir, a predominantly Muslim region within India's borders that seeks to join Pakistan.

Pakistan after Musharraf - Boston Globe editorial

Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, survived four assassination attempts, only to be removed from office by his own overweening attachment to power. His complicated relationship with the United States, indeed with modernity itself, was not enough to balance his ambition. Musharraf announced yesterday that he would resign rather than face impeachment charges he said he would beat, but which would distract the country from its very real economic and security problems. His own fate - a quiet slipping into exile or a criminal trial - is less important than bringing stability to Pakistan, an unsteady nuclear power in a volatile region. Musharraf took office in a military coup in 1999, then made a risky strategic decision after the Sept. 11 attacks to join the United States in its war against the Taliban. Musharraf's alliance with the Bush administration was unpopular with the Pakistan "street," but resulted in billions in aid.

After Musharraf, a New US Role - Christian Science Monitor editorial

In the seven years since Sept. 11, President Bush has relied heavily on dictators in Muslim nations to keep a lid on Al Qaeda. It was a quick and easy way to prevent another attack on his watch. But with Monday's resignation of Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf, Mr. Bush must now deal with an angry democracy in a land that still harbors Al Qaeda. Mr. Musharraf, a former Army chief of staff, tried not to be too dictatorial after overthrowing an elected leader in 1999 and arranging for himself to be president. But even though he built a thriving economy and was never seen as corrupt, he was forced to legitimize his rule by increasingly harsh measures. His mistakes created a backlash leading to parliamentary elections in February, then a threat of impeachment from a new anti-Musharaff government, and finally his forced resignation. It was the best way for this US ally to go.

Beyond Musharraf - Ahmed Rashid, Washington Post opinion

The resignation of President Pervez Musharraf yesterday after nine years in office is a major victory for Pakistan's long-battered and still fragile democratic forces. But particularly given the meltdown the country has endured in recent weeks, there are still many obstacles to effective civilian governance. Although the United States will expect things to change in a hurry, they are unlikely to do so right away. Three of Pakistan's past four military rulers have been driven from power by popular movements, but the politicians who followed the military all failed to take advantage of the people's desire for democracy and economic development and were eventually forced out by the military on charges of corruption and incompetence. The most pressing issues today involve the long-standing tension of Pakistan's politics and the relationship between the civilian government and the military.

Another Chance at Democracy - Mary Kissel, Wall Street Journal opinion

President Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation yesterday, to the relief of Pakistanis and the country's allies alike. The move brings to an end the former general's almost nine years atop Pakistani politics. The question now is whether the young civilian government can consolidate a wobbly democracy. Pakistan's political cycle has always ebbed and flowed: A civilian government takes control and mismanages the economy; the military steps in and rules for a while. Eventually the constitution is revised, the civilians retake control, and the cycle starts all over again. Pakistan has had three significantly reworked constitutions and four military coups since independence from Britain in 1947. The latest coup, in 1999, led to Mr. Musharraf's ascent to power.

IRAN

Washington Fears Iran's Nuclear Ambitions After Launch - Agence France-Presse

Iran has sent a rocket carrying a dummy satellite into space, triggering concerns the technology could be used for ballistic missiles. The launch is likely to further exacerbate tensions with the West over its nuclear drive, which Iran's arch-foe Washington and its allies claim is a cover for atomic weapons ambitions. "The Safir (Ambassador) rocket was successfully launched. All its systems... are Iranian-made," Reza Taghipour, head of Iran's space agency, told state television, adding that a "test satellite was put into orbit". "We have paved the way for placing a satellite in space in future," state television said, showing images of the pre-dawn rocket launch which was attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Western governments, already concerned over Iran's nuclear activities, have warned that the technology used in the Islamic republic's space program could be diverted to military use, claims denied by Tehran.

The Russo-Iranian Axis - Daniel Schwammenthal, Wall Street Journal opinion

Russia's rape of Georgia requires more than just a rethinking of how the West can protect other former Soviet states from a resurgent Kremlin. Every international crisis with a Russian component now takes on a new dimension. In the case of Iran's nuclear program, this means the European Union's insistence on UN-approved sanctions against Tehran may no longer be just naive but willfully negligent. The EU's faith in UN-brokered conflict resolutions rests in large part on the assumption that following the fall of communism, Russia, a veto-wielding Security Council member, shares the West's basic values and interests. As looting Russian soldiers are demonstrating in Georgia, this was a misconception. If Russia cannot be trusted in its "near abroad," there is little reason to believe it can be trusted any more in the Middle East.

Turkey Bows to the Dark Side - Soner Cagaptay, Los Angeles Times opinion

Praying in Istanbul's Blue Mosque on Friday, I witnessed firsthand Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's international publicity coup. Ahmadinejad's visit produced little in terms of substantive policy; the signing of a multibillion-dollar natural gas pipeline deal was put off. But Ahmadinejad got something just as valuable: a chance to spin his own image, court popularity and bash the United States and Israel. I've long been fond of the Blue Mosque because it is where, many years ago, I attended my first Friday prayers. Last Friday, though, I felt uncomfortable in the prayer hall, where I found myself in front of God but next to Ahmadinejad, who turned the ritual into a political show.

THE LONG WAR

For Terrorists, a War on Aid Groups - Samantha Power, NY Times opinion

Al Qaeda and other groups have said that the United Nations is a priority target. In November 2001, Osama bin Laden declared, “Under no circumstances should any Muslim or sane person resort to the United Nations. The United Nations is nothing but a tool of crime.” Last year, Al Qaeda specifically denounced the humanitarian agencies of the United Nations as “direct enemies aiming to change the fabric of Muslim society.” United Nations officials have recently received specific threats in Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia and Sudan. In December, a Qaeda suicide strike in Algeria killed 17 United Nations workers and injured another 40. The after-action report on the Algeria attack sounded helpless: “The UN is under an extremist threat. The threat could be carried out anywhere at any time. There is no UN capacity to predict attacks.”

COMPLEX OPERATIONS

Irregular Warfare Capabilities Remain Priority for DoD - AFPS

Diminishing the threat from violent extremism is the US military’s top priority, but not its only priority, a top Defense Department policy official said Aug. 15. The 2008 National Defense Strategy outlines a balanced set of policy objectives for the military, but does place a clear emphasis on keeping up the fight against extremism, Dr. Thomas Mahnken, deputy assistant secretary of defense for policy planning, said during a call with military bloggers. The strategy document, released publicly by the Department of Defense on July 31, outlines how DoD supports the president’s National Security Strategy and informs the National Military Strategy and other subordinate strategy documents. It builds on lessons learned and insights from previous operations and strategic reviews. This is the first update since March 2005. “Secretary Gates has said on any number of occasions that [the war against extremism] is the war that we are fighting now, and that whatever else we plan for and whatever else we do, we need to succeed in the war that we're fighting now,” Mahnken said.

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

FBI Elaborates on Anthrax Case - Johnson and Joby Warrick, Washington Post

FBI officials attempted to bolster their case against researcher Bruce E. Ivins yesterday by presenting experts who said that a lone scientist working for three to seven days with readily available equipment could have produced the lethal spores used in the 2001 anthrax mailings. Investigators reverse-engineered the deadly material sent to Senate offices and media organizations and concluded that a single person could have manufactured and dried it, said James P. Burans, director of the National Bioforensics Analysis Center. Yet bureau officials and scientific experts acknowledged that they have not resolved all the intricacies of the bacterial powder that killed five people, sickened 17 and set off a national panic after it showed up in the US mail at various locations along the East Coast after the Sept. 11 attacks.

FBI Presents Anthrax Details - Lichtblau and Ware, New York Times

Federal Bureau of Investigation officials on Monday laid out their most detailed scientific case to date against Bruce E. Ivins, the military scientist accused of being the anthrax killer, but they acknowledged that the many mysteries of the case meant an air of uncertainty would always surround it. “I don’t think we’re ever going to put the suspicions to bed,” said Vahid Majidi, head of the FBI’s weapons of mass destruction division. “There’s always going to be a spore on a grassy knoll.” At a two-hour briefing for reporters, Dr. Majidi was joined by seven other leading scientists from inside and outside the bureau. They discussed in intricate detail the halting scientific path that led them from two main samples of anthrax used in the 2001 attacks, to four genetic mutations unique to the samples, to 100 scientists in the United States who had access to that particular strain, and ultimately to Dr. Ivins.

Navy to Seek Third Stealth Destroyer - Associated Press

The Navy has reversed course and decided to push for construction of a third stealth destroyer, Sen. Susan Collins said Monday. It had said last month that it would scrap the Zumwalt destroyer program after the first two were built. The DDG-1000 warship has massive firepower but is costly. The Navy said then that it will build more of the current-generation DDG-51, or Arleigh Burke, destroyers.

AFRICA

World Food Program Worker Killed in Somalia - Associated Press

A Somali staff member of the UN's World Food Program has been abducted and killed in southern Somalia, the food agency said Monday. The Rome-based agency said Abdulkadir Diad Mohamed, 33, was abducted Friday by unidentified men in the southern town of Dinsor and killed after trying to escape. The driver of the vehicle Mohamed was traveling in was also believed to have been killed, the agency said, adding the driver was not a staff member. A cousin of the driver told The Associated Press on Sunday that he was abducted along with Mohamed and the driver, but managed to escape.

AMERICAS

US Extraditions Raise Concerns in Colombia - Juan Forero, Washington Post

In a small courtroom here, Ever Veloza has over the past year confessed to nearly 1,000 slayings in Colombia's conflict and recounted how the death squads he helped run were supported by army officers and prominent politicians. Veloza, 41, has been among two dozen top commanders to have participated in what is known here as the "Justice and Peace" process, special judicial proceedings designed to unravel the origins of Colombia's paramilitary movement. His testimony has helped authorities uncover crimes and open investigations to ferret out collaborators. Now, Veloza may be extradited to the United States - not for the war crimes to which he has confessed but to face cocaine-trafficking charges in New York federal court. Perhaps more than anyone else, he knows what that would mean for investigators who have been working for years to understand the intricacies of a coalition of paramilitary groups known as the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia.

Interview With Colombian Paramilitary Commander - Washington Post

Ever Veloza, a paramilitary commander in the now-defunct United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, spoke to The Washington Post on July 26 in his cellblock at Itagui prison, just outside of Medellin, Colombia. Once the commander of two powerful militias, Veloza is now participating in special judicial proceedings in which he has confessed to hundreds of murders and outlined the role of military officers and prominent politicians in the paramilitary terror campaign that shook Colombia for a generation.

ASIA PACIFIC

Islamist Rebels Kill 28 in Philippines - Carlos Conde, New York Times

Islamic separatists attacked several towns and villages on Monday in the troubled southern Philippine region of Mindanao in a rampage that killed at least 28 people, mostly civilians, officials said. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the military and the police “to defend every inch of Philippine territory” against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the main Islamic separatist group operating in Mindanao. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has fought for an Islamic state in Mindanao for several decades. It has also been involved in tenuous peace negotiations with the Philippine government for more than a decade. The attacks came as tens of thousands of villagers in other areas of Mindanao were returning to their homes after battles last week between government troops and the Muslim rebels.

26 Dead as Philippine Troops Flush Out Rebels - Associated Press

Philippine troops on Monday retook several southern towns where Muslim rebels killed at least 26 people earlier in the day in what the guerrillas said was an outburst of frustration with an uncertain peace process. The retreating Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels took dozens of civilians hostage in Kolambugan town, said Brig. Gen. Antonio Supnet, head of an army brigade that drove away the rebels. Officials said 23 civilians were killed in Kauswagan and in neighboring Kolambugan. At least three soldiers were killed, army commanders said.

Would-Be Protesters Detained in China - Andrew Jacobs, New York Times

When Gao Chuancai slipped into the capital last week hoping to stage a one-man rally against corruption in his village in northeast China, he knew his chances of success were slim. During his decade-long crusade, Mr. Gao, a 45-year-old farmer from Heilongjiang Province, had been jailed a dozen times. Two beatings by the police left him with broken bones and shattered his teeth, he said, but did little to temper his drive. The government’s recent announcement that preapproved protests would be allowed at three sites during the Olympic Games gave him a wisp of hope. Two weeks ago he mailed in his application, and last week he came to Beijing to follow up. During a visit to the Public Security Bureau on Wednesday, the police interviewed him for an hour and then told him to return in five days for his answer. “They’ll probably arrest me when I go back,” he said afterward. Mr. Gao did not have to wait very long. A few hours later, he was picked up by the authorities and escorted back to Heilongjiang.

North Korean Collapse? - Richard Halloran, Washington Times opinion

An array of intelligence analysts, Asian and American scholars, specialists in think tanks, and workers in relief organizations have renewed speculation that the North Korean regime of Kim Jong-il is in danger of collapsing because that nation is on the brink of mass starvation and mounting isolation. No one will even guess when this might happen - within a year, more likely within five years, and almost surely within 10 years? Will the collapse be a "soft landing" in which Mr. Kim's regime gradually falls apart with the pieces picked up by the South Koreans, or will it be a "hard landing" in which Mr. Kim's regime implodes and chaos sweeps the land? The consequences of a regime change in Pyongyang could be staggering. Immediately, US, South Korean and Chinese troops could charge into North Korea to secure its nuclear facilities - and confront each other. Midterm, reviving North Korea could cost South Korea, Japan, China and the United States enormous sums. Long term, a reunited Korea would change the power balance of East Asia - but unpredictably.

EUROPE / THE CAUCUSES

No Sign of Russian Departure in Georgia - Bahrampour and Finer, Washington Post

Russian troops remained camped out Monday in a Georgian military base in this western city and in a nearby house said to be the Georgian president's vacation retreat, showing no sign of leaving on what Moscow called Day One of a pullout from Georgia. A field down the road toward the town of Senaki was filled with Russian tanks, artillery and nervous-looking soldiers who cocked their automatic weapons as reporters approached. In the central city of Gori, meanwhile, Russian troops snapped souvenir photos of each other. Russian armored vehicles moved eastward from the town to a point about 30 miles from the capital, Tbilisi, and plowed aside Georgian police vehicles at a checkpoint.

Russia Hunkering Down in Georgia - Andrew Kramer, New York Times

Russia claimed that it had begun withdrawing its troops from Georgia on Monday, but there was little evidence of it on the ground: Russian soldiers continued digging in to positions along the highway approaching the capital, Tbilisi, showing no sign of pulling back from the severest confrontation between Russia and the West since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Along one major road, four Russian armored personnel carriers rattled a few miles closer to the capital, then plowed through parked police cars blocking the way as Georgian police officers stood by in helpless dismay. Russia’s president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, said his nation’s forces would begin a withdrawal on Monday to comply with a six-point peace accord signed by both sides over the weekend. Mr. Medvedev did not specify the pace or scope of the withdrawal, saying only that troops would withdraw to South Ossetia and a so-called security zone on its periphery.

Russia Defies the West and Ceasefire - Halpin and Bremner, The Times

The Russian Army continued to occupy Georgia in defiance of the West yesterday as NATO leaders gathered to hammer out a united response to the new military threat from Moscow. There was no sign of a withdrawal from Georgian soil despite a declaration from Moscow that a pullout had begun. The Georgian Government in Tbilisi countered that Russian forces were still trying to take more territory. NATO foreign ministers will meet in Brussels today to try to overcome deep-seated divisions on the best way to confront the first Russian invasion of a neighbour since the end of the Cold War. The United States, Britain and many Eastern European states are pressing for a tough stance but France, Germany and others are reluctant to alienate Moscow.

Rice Warns of New Iron Curtain - Kelly Hearn, Washington Times

Despite harsh warnings by US officials, Western nations have a slim range of options for punishing Russia for invading Georgia without damaging international institutions and their own interests, former US officials and analysts say. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday that Washington and its NATO allies would not let Moscow destabilize Europe or split the Continent with a new Iron Curtain. "We have to deny Russian strategic objectives, which are clearly to undermine Georgia's democracy, to use its military capability to damage and in some cases destroy Georgian infrastructure and to try and weaken the Georgian state," she told reporters on her way to a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.

War Reveals Russia's Military Might and Weakness - Associated Press

Russia's lightning war against Georgia looks like a military triumph: An armada of Russian tanks easily crushed Georgia's modest army in a show of muscle intended to punish its US-allied neighbor, scare others and reaffirm Moscow's influence on its former Soviet turf. But the conflict also revealed crucial weaknesses in Moscow's military preparedness - including faulty intelligence, a shortage of modern equipment and poor coordination. The swift Russian victory presented a stark contrast to the war in Chechnya in the 1990s, where Russian troops were bogged down for years, suffering a string of humiliating losses at the hands of lightly armed rebels.

Russia-Georgia Analysis - Christian Science Monitor

As Russia's flash war with Georgia winds down, two distinct – and contradictory – stories about what happened and why are taking shape. The Moscow press paints a one-sided picture of a beleaguered Russia forced to respond to naked aggression by a pro-Western adventurer, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, in order to save Russian citizens from "genocide." In the West, some depict the war as a replay of the USSR's invasions of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Afghanistan, and warning that a resurgent, oil-rich Russia is returning to Soviet-style domination of its neighbors with brute force. But close examination reveals a more complex picture - one that suggests each side also has some valid points in its defense. Correspondent Fred Weir gives an overview from his longtime perch in Moscow.

US Trainers Say Georgian Troops Weren't Ready - Associated Press

US military trainers - the only American boots on the ground - say the Georgian soldiers they knew who were sent to battle the Russians had fighting spirit but were not ready for war. The Georgians were "beginning to walk, but by no means were they running," said Army Capt. Jeff Barta, who helped train a Georgian brigade for peacekeeping service in Iraq. "If that was a US brigade it would not have gone into combat." Now on standby at the Sheraton Hotel, unarmed and in civilian clothes, six of the American trainers offered a glimpse at the 5-year-old US mission and at the performance of the outnumbered and outgunned Georgian military in its defeat by Russia.

Rice: NATO Won't Let Russia Succeed in Georgia - Associated Press

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday that Russia is playing a "very dangerous game" with the US and its allies and warned that NATO would not allow Moscow to win in Georgia, destabilize Europe or draw a new Iron Curtain through the continent. But with no sign of Russia withdrawing its troops from Georgia despite a pledge to do so and indications it has moved short-range ballistic missiles into the disputed area of South Ossetia, it was unclear how the alliance would make good on Rice's vow. On her way to an emergency NATO foreign ministers meeting on the crisis, Rice said the alliance would punish Russia for its invasion of Georgia and deny its ambitions by rebuilding and fully backing Georgia and other Eastern European democracies.

Russia Trains its Missiles on Tbilisi - Agence France-Presse

Russia has deployed several tactical missile launchers and supply vehicles to South Ossetia, putting the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, within their striking range, The New York Times reported on its website yesterday. Georgia last night accused Russia of sending troops deeper into its territory, despite a pledge on Sunday to start bringing its forces out amid growing international criticism of Moscow's military action. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev vowed a "shattering" blow against any foreign power that threatened Russian citizens in his latest comment on the conflict with Georgia. Before Russian deputy chief of staff Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn claimed the withdrawal of Russian forces from Georgia had began last night, The New York Times cited US officials familiar with intelligence reports as saying the launching positions were located north of Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital.

Georgian Officials Deny Russian Claims of Troop Withdrawal - Voice of America

Russian military leaders said today that their troops began retreating from areas they occupied in Georgia, in keeping with a pledge made Sunday and repeated on Monday by President Dmitri Medvedev. Georgian officials said that they could see no signs of the troop withdrawal, which the two countries agreed to in a French-brokered peace agreement. It seemed earlier in the day that Russia was bolstering its position in Gori, the Georgian city that has been one of the focal points in the conflict. But a Russian army commander said that Russian forces have started to leave the city. Georgian officials, however, say Russian troops remain in key positions inside their country beyond the breakaway region of South Ossetia. General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, the deputy head of Russia's general staff, said in his now-daily news conference, that Russian troops were heading back to South Ossetia.

Eastern Europe Gets Jittery Over Russia - Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times

Signing a missile-defense deal with its good friend the United States has earned Poland nothing less than the threat of nuclear attack from Russia - a threat that might not sound so empty these days, given Moscow's bloody battle with Georgia. That conflict has plunged Europe into crisis, sending waves of jitters through Poland and other eastern nations, once-occupied parts of a Soviet empire that some fear Russia may want to reconstruct. Moscow's actions have also succeeded in driving deeper the wedge between Europe's East and West.

$2 Million Humanitarian Mission in Georgia to Continue - AFPS

The US military has delivered $2 million worth of humanitarian aid to Georgia in an ongoing effort to relieve the war-torn former Soviet republic that came under Russian attack 10 days ago. In addition to 130 tons of airlifted cargo, US European Command has granted the Georgian government in Tblisi access to a $1.2 million stockpile of disaster relief and medical supplies stored in Georgia. “We are going to continue to flow in assistance,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said today. “We have been over the weekend, and we will continue this week.” More than 700 pallets sent by the US have consisted of thousands of blankets, sheets, sleeping bags, and hundreds of cots. Another 40 pallets have contained medical supplies like sutures, needles, syringes, catheters and gauze, Whitman said. But despite the steady flow of supplies, there remains a shortage of food, bedding, tents and other supplies in Georgia, where an estimated 80,000 people are displaced, according to US Agency for International Development figures.

In Battered Villages, Georgians Speak, if They Dare - C.J. Chivers, NY Times

It is a military zone sealed off by Russian military checkpoints, a land broken by roaming bands of looters that operated behind the Russian Army and made eerily empty by depopulation caused by flight. The Kremlin has allowed only official tours for journalists, accompanied by government minders, of the region, which Georgia has claimed endured organized intimidation and ethnic cleansing. The tens of thousands of refugees who staggered out to Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, took with them accounts of mass looting, of arson and, on what thus far seems a smaller scale, of killing on ethnic lines. The Ossetians, in their capital, have claimed in turn to have been subject to Georgian efforts at ethnic cleansing, and accused President Mikheil Saakashvili of war crimes. But the war on the ground, after setbacks the first day, surged in their favor with Russian help, and Ossetian civilians flowed southward into Georgia proper, as Georgians fled.

Withdrawal Syndrome - Washington Post editorial

"Europe can be proud of this success," French President Nicolas Sarkozy wrote in our newspaper yesterday, referring to his negotiation of a cease-fire between Russia and Georgia. The congratulations may have been premature. Yesterday, in a by-now depressingly familiar pattern, Russian officials, up to and including the president, announced the withdrawal of forces from Georgia, while in Georgia itself there was no sign of withdrawal. On the contrary, Russian forces continued to dig in and loot as they occupied a large swath of Georgian territory. They remained in control of the central city of Gori and the western city of Senaki. They moved tanks into Igoeti, 22 miles from the capital of Tbilisi. They have wrecked the rails on a bridge of the main east-west railroad and taken control of the main east-west highway, essentially cutting off most trade and transport in Georgia. They have seized the Inguri power plant, which provides 78 percent of Georgia's electricity. Meanwhile, as disturbing reports of rapes and murders of civilians continue to seep out of Russian-controlled South Ossetia, the Russians blocked a visit to the region by the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Moscow's Challenge - The Australian editorial

The dust has yet to settle in the Caucasus, but the smoke screen of propaganda is beginning to lift. Though Russian military might has prevailed over Georgia's army, Moscow has lost political and moral ground. While much has been said about how Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili miscalculated by sending troops into South Ossetia, Russia must draw its own lessons from this conflict. For all its self-righteousness, the only country to openly support its invasion has been Cuba. So blatant has been Moscow's violation of international norms of behaviour that even loyal allies such as Belarus and Venezuela have kept their mouths shut. It may be impossible for Georgia to reclaim South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but Russia's aim of regime change has backfired. Georgians have rallied to Mr Saakashvili's side, and his enthusiasm for joining NATO is undiminished. Moscow's justification for the war - that it moved in to protect its nationals after Georgian forces had committed acts of "genocide" and reduced most of South Ossetia's capital, Tskhinvali, to rubble - does not bear up to scrutiny.

Putin Overplays a Strong Hand - National Review editorial

In the middle of last week the Georgia crisis seemed destined to end in a clear victory for Russia. It had subdued its fractious, independent neighbor. All but one of the energy pipelines between Central Asia and Western Europe were under its direct control - and the single exception was but a few hours away by tank. A stern lesson had been sent to former Soviet possessions, inside and outside the Commonwealth of Independent States, that they live in Russia’s zone of influence and must conform to Russian foreign policy. The European Union had forsworn any criticism of Moscow’s open aggression to protect its own status as a “mediator.” The US had failed to offer any real succor to Georgia. Thousands of “peace” demonstrators unaccountably had failed to appear in the streets to protest Russian aggression. And the world was moving on. Then Russia overplayed a very strong hand.

Russia Is Still a Hungry Empire - Matthew Kaminski, WSJ opinion

The sight of Russian tanks rolling through Georgia was shocking yet familiar. Images flash back of Chechnya in 1994 and '99, Vilnius '91, Afghanistan '79, Prague '68, Hungary '56. Before that the Soviet invasions, courtesy of the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, of Poland and the Baltics in '39 and '40. Kazaks, Azeris, Tajiks, Ukrainians remember - from family stories and national lore - their own subjugation to Russian rule. Other empires such as Britain and France adjusted, not without difficulty, to the fall of their distant domains. Far more of Russia's essence is tied up in the Imperium, and it barely tried to find a new identity after the Soviet Union fell. The war in Georgia marks an easy return to territorial expansion (here Moscow has taken chunks of Georgia for itself) and attempted regional dominance.

Is Ossetia Essential? - Richard Cohen, Washington Post opinion

Now I, too, would like to become a realist -- if just for a day. I'd like to ask who among us is willing to fight to bring South Ossetia back into the Georgian fold? How about Abkhazia? These are the ethnic enclaves that Georgia claims and Russia -- not to put too fine a point on it -- supports. They are the immediate reasons for the recent war. I ask my nasty little questions because it has been the policy of the current Bush administration to have Georgia as well as Ukraine admitted to NATO. This would mean that if either country got into a dust-up with its neighbor Russia, we would scramble the jets, stoke up the usual talk radio personalities and sally into yet another lovely war. Before this happens, can we at least debate whether this is a good idea? Cynic that I am, I have my doubts.

Russia's Flashback To 1968 - Anne Applebaum, Washington Post opinion

True, Russia is no longer Soviet. But its ruling clique, led by former president and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, remains steeped in the paranoid, highly controlled, conspiracy-obsessed culture of the old KGB. Putin and his entourage are not communists, but neither do they believe in free markets or free societies. Instead, all important decisions must be made in Moscow, by a small, unelected group of people who know how to resist sabotage organized from abroad. Events cannot be allowed to just happen; they must be controlled and manipulated. Elections cannot just take place; their outcomes must be determined in advance. The Russian state's open hostility toward not only Georgia but also Ukraine and the Baltic states is, in this sense, partly ideological. Genuine elections have taken place in those countries; people who have not been preselected by a ruling oligarchy do sometimes gain wealth or power. Georgia's Rose Revolution and Ukraine's Orange Revolution even involved street demonstrations that helped unseat more oligarchic regimes. Thus it is not pure nationalism, or mere traditional great-power arrogance, that makes the Russian leadership disdainful of Georgia and Ukraine: It is also, at some level, fear that similar voter revolutions could someday challenge Russia's leaders, too.

No Benefit from Russian Aggression - David Miliband, The Times opinion

You don't need to be a student of the crushing of the Prague Spring in 1968 to find the sight of Russian tanks rolling into a neighbouring country chilling. The Georgian crisis is about more than vital issues of humanitarian need and rule of law over rule of force. It raises a fundamental issue of whether, and if so how, Russia can play a full and legitimate part in a rules-based international political system, exercising its rights but respecting those of others. The immediate issues are clear. The ceasefire must be fully implemented. We need to see evidence that Moscow has now ordered Russian forces to withdraw to pre-August 7 positions and that this is happening. Russian mind games on withdrawal do them no credit. The quick deployment of international monitors is also vital (the UK will play its full part in this). Humanitarian aid needs to be delivered quickly - again the UK is already committed in this area.

Caucasus Burning - Thomas De Wall, Wall Street Journal opinion

So much has been left in ruins in the Caucasus in the past week. What chance is there of a salvage operation? The landscape is littered with wreckage. First South Ossetia was ravaged; now Georgia is experiencing a great tragedy. Amid the wider carnage, the greatest losers are the 25,000 or so ethnic Georgians of South Ossetia. Only a month ago Ossetians and Georgians were buying and selling from one another in South Ossetia by day even as armed men in their villages exchanged fire at night. Now those Georgians face total dispossession, their homes burned by South Ossetian irregular fighters. Around 50,000 Georgians in Abkhazia are still in their homes, but they face a precarious future. These people have the greatest moral right to pass judgment on a long list of culprits. Russia's guilt is of course the most blatant. The Russian army has unleashed atavistic violence and allowed Ossetians and North Caucasians to follow in its wake, reinflaming interethnic hatreds that had begun to fade after the wars of the 1990s.

SOUTH ASIA

Eyeing Kashmir, India Is Wary About Resignation - Emily Wax, Washington Post

For India, Pervez Musharraf's resignation as the president of Pakistan leaves a power vacuum during an increasingly tense time between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. Musharraf's legacy in India is mixed, but many Indians credit him with helping bring about relative peace in Kashmir, a disputed Himalayan region claimed by both countries. "He was India's best bet in Pakistan. We will miss Musharraf," said A.G. Noorani, a constitutional lawyer and Kashmir expert. "If he had not fired his judges and gotten bogged down in domestic dramas, I believe we would have been able to make a significant breakthrough in a peace deal in Kashmir today."

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.