IRAQ

Iraqi Raid Threatens to Inflame Tensions - Robertson and Mohammed, NY Times

Iraq’s prime minister ordered an investigation on Tuesday into a violent government raid in Diyala Province earlier in the day that left one provincial official dead and another under arrest. His rapid response reflected fears that the raid, reminiscent of the sectarian attacks once carried out regularly by Shiite-dominated security forces, could inflame sectarian tensions in the fragile province. In the raid, Iraqi security forces burst into the Diyala provincial headquarters to arrest a Sunni member of the provincial council but ended up firing at a federal lawmaker and later engaging in a 30-minute gun battle with the local police on the streets of Baquba. The secretary of the provincial governor was killed at the headquarters. It is still unclear who ordered the raid. Some witnesses, both Sunni and Shiite Muslim, said that some of the troops told witnesses during the operation that they were “the dirty division” and were acting on behalf of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who leads a Shiite-dominated government. Several security officials identified them as a special antiterrorism force.

Iraqi Forces Arrest Sunni Arab Politician's Son - Reuters

Iraqi security forces raided the office of a provincial governor and arrested the son of a leading Sunni Arab politician in separate incidents on Tuesday that could stoke sectarian and political tension. In the early morning, an unidentified Iraqi security forces unit raided the office of the governor of Diyala province north of Baghdad, killing the governor's secretary and provoking clashes in which four people were wounded. Separately, the head of the country's biggest Sunni Arab political bloc said Iraqi forces had arrested his son at their house in Baghdad and accused him of terrorism.

Iraq Poised to Revive Oil Contract With China - Campbell Robertson, NY Times

Iraq is on the verge of reviving an 11-year-old contract with China worth $1.2 billion, its largest oil deal since the invasion in 2003, an Oil Ministry official said Tuesday. The deal sets new terms for an agreement reached between China and Iraq under Saddam Hussein in 1997. Unlike that agreement, which included production-sharing rights, the new one is a service contract, under which China would be paid for its work at the Ahdab oil field southeast of Baghdad but would not be a partner in the profits.

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

Taliban Escalate Afghan Fighting - Gall and Rahimi, NY Times

Taliban insurgents mounted their most serious attacks in six years of fighting, one a complex attack with multiple suicide bombers on an American military base on Monday night, and another by some 100 insurgents on French forces in a district east of the capital, killing 10 French soldiers and wounding 21 others, military officials said Tuesday. Three American soldiers were wounded and six members of the Afghan special forces in the attack on the base in the eastern province of Khost, bordering Pakistan, the Afghan military spokesman, Gen. Zaher Azimi, said. The battle lasted all night, 10 suicide bombers were killed or blew themselves up, and the insurgents were repulsed without entering the base, he said. The heavy fighting in the two places is a sharp escalation in insurgent operations in what is already Afghanistan’s deadliest year since the American invasion in 2001. Insurgents have increased their use of roadside bombs and suicide bombs but have also shown a growing sophistication with several well-organized, complex operations employing multiple attackers and different types of weapons systems, NATO officials say.

Deadly Taliban Trend Emerges - Faiez and King, Los Angeles Times

In the worst loss of life for Western troops in ground combat with Taliban forces in Afghanistan, insurgents ambushed and killed 10 French soldiers and wounded 21 in a sustained assault outside the capital, military officials said Tuesday. Separately, militants made an hours-long attempt to overrun a major US base in southeastern Afghanistan, employing an unnerving new tactic: multiple suicide bombers, three of whom blew themselves up in succession and three others who were shot by the base's defenders, according to a military official. Taken together, the attacks against the French and American forces were a graphic demonstration of the growing reach and power of the Taliban and other Islamic militants in Afghanistan, where this year is fast becoming the most lethal for combatants and civilians alike since the fall of the Taliban to US-led forces in 2001.

10 French Paratroopers Killed - Candace Rondeaux, Washington Post

In unusually large and well-coordinated operations in eastern Afghanistan Monday, Taliban fighters killed 10 French soldiers and at least six suicide bombers attacked a base of NATO alliance troops, NATO and Afghan officials said Tuesday. The fighting with the French began late Monday afternoon when dozens of insurgents ambushed a French-led patrol near the town of Sarobi about 40 miles east of Kabul, according to NATO officials. Shortly after the ambush, a quick reaction force of NATO and Afghan soldiers and air support was sent to reinforce the French patrol. Gen. Mohammed Zaher Azimi, chief spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, said at least 13 insurgents were killed and 14 were injured in that fighting. Azimi said heavy fighting continued well into Tuesday morning, but that NATO and Afghan soldiers were close to clearing the area of insurgents by late afternoon.

Bloody New Strategy for Resurgent Taleban - Page and Bremmer, The Times

The Taleban have staged two of their most spectacular operations in Afghanistan, killing ten French troops in a battle just outside Kabul and launching a frontal assault on a big US base near the Pakistani border. The attacks, which began on Monday and continued yesterday, are the latest in a series of dramatic raids by the militant group, including a prison break in Kandahar and the bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, suggesting a tactical shift from multiple skirmishes to bold offensives. They have also raised fears that the Taleban are expanding their operations in eastern Afghanistan as part of a new strategy to cut off supply routes to Kabul, the capital. The attack on the French, of whom 21 were also injured, was one of the deadliest on foreign troops in Afghanistan since the start of the US-led war in 2001, which originally ousted the Taleban from Kabul. It was the heaviest loss of life suffered by the French since 1983 and increased pressure on President Sarkozy to withdraw from Afghanistan.

Taliban Kill 10 French Paratroopers - Peter Allen, Daily Telegraph

France suffered its biggest loss of life on the battlefield in 25 years when 10 paratroopers were killed in an ambush in Afghanistan. Another 21 soldiers were injured and 13 Taliban fighters killed during the ensuing battle in the Sarobi district, 30 miles east of Kabul, which began on Monday afternoon. The France, which has more than 1,500 personnel in the country and has promised 700 more later this year. The scale of the casualities prompted President Nicolas Sarkozy to fly to Afghanistan immediately to visit the wounded and speak to military commanders. "In its fight against terrorism, France has been dealt a harsh blow," said Mr Sarkozy as he prepared to board a plane to Kabul from Paris. "I acknowledge with respect and emotion the courage of these men, who fulfilled their duty to the point of the supreme sacrifice. "My determination is intact. France is determined to pursue the struggle against terrorism, for democracy, and freedom."

Afghan Militants Kill 10 French, Strike at US Base - Associated Press

Insurgents mounted two of the biggest attacks in years on Western forces in Afghanistan, killing 10 French soldiers in a mountain ambush and then sending a squad of suicide bombers in a failed assault early Tuesday on a US base near the Pakistan border. The audacious strikes suggested a bolder insurgency is now willing to launch frontal assaults on US and NATO troops. Only months ago, militants shied away from large-scale attacks because of the heavy losses they could incur when jet fighters appeared overhead, NATO and US officials said.

10 French Killed in Taliban Ambush - Agence France-Presse

Ten French troops were killed yesterday in fighting with Taliban militants near the Afghan capital-the deadliest clash for international soldiers in post-Taliban Afghanistan and the worst for France in 25 years. The ambush and ensuing three-hour gun battle in an area known as a militant redoubt came as troops thwarted a mass Taliban suicide attack on a major US military base, the second such attack in as many days. President Nicolas Sarkozy said last night the soldiers were killed and 21 others wounded in a Taliban ambush while on patrol with the Afghan army in Sarobi district, 50km east of Kabul. "In its struggle against terrorism, France has just been hit hard," Mr Sarkozy said in a statement. "My determination remains intact. France is resolved to pursue the fight against terrorism, for democracy and liberty. The cause is just, it is the honour of France and its armies to defend it." Mr Sarkozy flew immediately to Afghanistan to show the 1900-strong French contingent "that France is at their sides".

10 French Troops Killed in Afghanistan - Voice of America

At least 10 French soldiers have been killed in a battle with Taliban insurgents east of the Afghan capital. Officials say 21 other French soldiers were wounded in the clash about 50 kilometers east of Kabul. The officials say the fighting began when insurgents attacked NATO's International Security Assistance Force on Monday. French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he will travel to Afghanistan to honor the troops. He says France is committed to continuing the fight against terrorism. Taliban fighters also attacked a US military base in eastern Afghanistan Tuesday. Afghan officials say six Taliban suicide bombers backed by gunmen detonated explosives outside Camp Salerno near the city of Khost.

Sarkozy Resolute on Afghanistan - Robert Marquand, Christian Science Monitor

The 10 French paratroopers killed and 21 wounded in Afghanistan – nearly an entire platoon and the highest French casualties since 1983 in Lebanon - were from a battalion that took control of Kabul only two weeks ago. The event hit Paris hard enough to cause French President Nicolas Sarkozy, fresh from negotiating the Georgian dispute in Moscow, to leave for Afghanistan Tuesday evening to visit the troops. Both Mr. Sarkozy and the clearly angry French minister of defense, Hervé Morin issued tough statements in support of the French Afghan mission - a mission Sarkozy has steadily supported as a matter of world security and NATO responsibility, in contrast with the Iraq war.

Bomb Blast in Pakistan Kills at Least 23 - Ayaz Gul, Voice of America

A suicide bomb blast in northwestern Pakistan has killed at least 23 people and wounded many others. No one has claimed responsibility, but police are blaming religious extremists for the deadly attack. The violence comes as security forces say they have killed up to 25 Taliban militants in fresh attacks in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan. Police and witnesses say the bomb went off outside a hospital in the town of Dera Ismail Khan, where a group of Shi'ite Muslims had gathered to protest the murder of a local leader earlier in the day. Most of the deaths from the bombing occurred instantly, and doctors said the condition of some of those wounded was critical.

Afghan President Says He Will Run For Office Again - Associated Press

Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced in an interview Tuesday he will seek re-election next year, saying he has yet to finish the job he began four years ago as Afghanistan's first freely elected president after nearly 30 years of war. "I have a job to do, a job to complete. In that sense, yes, I would like to run," a relaxed Karzai told The Associated Press in the grand presidential palace in the center of Afghanistan's heavily fortified capital. Admitting that his record is a patchwork of successes and failures, Karzai reflected on his aspirations for Afghanistan, which is still struggling to recover from poverty and war seven years after the rigidly religious Taliban regime was driven from Kabul.

PAKISTAN

Pakistani Parties Clash Over Reinstating Judge - Jane Perlez, NY Times

Political order in Pakistan frayed further on Tuesday, the day after President Pervez Musharraf resigned, raising questions about who in the deeply divided civilian government would be in charge and for how long. The instant deterioration in relations within the government became evident when Nawaz Sharif, the leader of one of the two major parties in the governing coalition, the Pakistan Muslim League-N, walked out of a meeting here over the restoration of the chief justice of the Supreme Court, who had been dismissed by Mr. Musharraf. He then headed back to his home in Lahore, a four-hour drive away.

Pakistan Violence Flares After Musharraf Resigns - Associated Press

Leaders of Pakistan's ruling coalition discussed Tuesday how to replace former President Pervez Musharraf and what to do with the man who ruled for nine years, while militant violence underscored the challenges facing the country. Another potentially divisive issue on the agenda is how to restore judges Musharraf fired in a desperate attempt to cling to power. The meeting ended abruptly and no progress was announced. The retired army general resigned Monday in the face of impeachment threats from the fragile ruling coalition, which is packed with his foes. He is believed to be in his army-guarded residence near the capital, Islamabad.

Bid to Bring Murder Charge Against Musharraf - Bruce Loudon, The Australian

An application to launch a murder charge against ousted president Pervez Musharraf was mounted yesterday over the killing two years ago of a revered tribal leader in the province of Balochistan. The bringing of criminal charges against Mr Musharraf would complicate what is widely believed to be a secret immunity deal - guaranteed by Britain, the US and Saudi Arabia - that led him to agree to resign ahead of impeachment by parliament on Monday. It could also end his hopes of being able to remain in Pakistan, possibly entering politics and seeking to exploit what he is believed to see as growing disaffection towards the coalition Government.

An Unstable Nation - The Australian editorial

For the first time in Pakistan's history, a military leader has willingly given way to a democratically elected government. President Pervez Musharraf's resignation clears the way for Pakistan's civilian leadership to deal with the urgent issues facing their country such as rescuing an economy in free fall and prosecuting the war on terror. But the outlook is grim. Mr Musharraf's disregard for democracy has left in its wake what Foreign Minister Stephen Smith accurately labelled "the current hotbed of international terrorism". The frontline forces meant to tackle this threat, the Pakistani army and the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, are riddled with Islamic sympathisers. Al-Qa'ida has been allowed to regroup, home-grown militants have formed a Pakistani offshoot of the Taliban that has left a nationwide trail of bloodshed, including the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League, has shown little desire to work with the same military that overthrew his government in 1999. The hostility between the army and the other wing of the coalition Government, the Pakistan People's Party, is even stronger, making the chances of formulating a joint strategy to combat terrorism slim.

Goodbye to Pakistan's Musharraf - Los Angeles Times editorial

Democracy has not been a roaring success in Pakistan. When Pervez Musharraf seized power from a democratically elected government in a 1999 military coup, there was nearly as much celebration in the streets as there was on Monday when he announced his resignation as president, so corrupt and unpopular were the kleptocrats he unseated. Yet for all the worries that the country's new democratic leaders will fail as spectacularly as the old ones did, Pakistan and the world have ample reason to cheer Monday's events. Military dictators don't often voluntarily cede power to civilian authorities. And, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, although democracy in Pakistan has proved to be a particularly messy form of government, it still beats all the others that have been tried.

Decline of Pakistan - John Thomson, Washington Times opinion

The decline and fall of Pakistan continues apace. Should it become a failed state, locked in an extremist embrace, Pakistan's crucial geographical position and nuclear arsenal would pose grave dangers to peace in Central and South Asia, and throughout the Muslim world. President Pervez Musharraf's imminent passing from the scene brings sighs of relief and may possibly end military rule. However, the immediate future will most surely see the continuation - in fact, accentuation - of distinctly troubled times for Pakistan and, prospectively, the region. The country's history has been far from rosy since gaining independence from Britain and separation from India in 1947. Muslims from India swarmed to the bifurcated Pakistan, located to the northwest and east of the Indian Subcontinent, as Hindus fled from the newly created nation, to join their respective coreligionists. At least 1 million souls perished and perhaps 40 million were more made homeless in the massive, panic-driven migration.

IRAN

Iran Satellite Launch a Failure, US Officials Say - Reuters

Iran's attempted satellite launch was a failure that fell far short of claimed successes, US security officials said on Tuesday, but an analyst said the test still marked progress toward a potential weapon. "The attempted launch failed," a US intelligence official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The vehicle failed shortly after liftoff and in no way reached its intended position," the official said. "It could be characterized as a dramatic failure." A US defense official gave a similar characterization of the test as unsuccessful.

Iran to Build More Nuclear Power Plants - Associated Press

Iran's official news agency says the country is preparing to build more nuclear power plants. Tuesday's IRNA report quotes Ahmad Fayyazbakhsh, the head of a state-owned nuclear energy production company. He says his company signed agreements with other domestic firms to find locations to build new nuclear power plants. He says the process could take about 13 months.

THE LONG WAR

Legal Logjam May Be Ahead - Del Quentin Wilber, Washington Post

Lawyers representing many of the 265 detainees at Guantanamo Bay say they are heading for a unexpected logjam that could delay federal court hearings: a shortage of interpreters. After the Supreme Court ruled that terrorism suspects held at the military prison in Cuba have a right to seek their release in federal court, lawyers are gearing up for what they expect to be an avalanche of legal briefs and new evidence filed by the Justice Department. Lawyers say they are trying to rush to meet with their clients in advance of cases that judges may want to hear quickly.

Citizens' US Border Crossings Tracked - Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post

The federal government has been using its system of border checkpoints to greatly expand a database on travelers entering the country by collecting information on all US citizens crossing by land, compiling data that will be stored for 15 years and may be used in criminal and intelligence investigations. Officials say the Border Crossing Information system, disclosed last month by the Department of Homeland Security in a Federal Register notice, is part of a broader effort to guard against terrorist threats. It also reflects the growing number of government systems containing personal information on Americans that can be shared for a broad range of law enforcement and intelligence purposes, some of which are exempt from some Privacy Act protections.

BBC Charity Funded 7/7 Terrorists - Hope and Gardham, Daily Telegraph

Thousands of pounds raised by Britons for the BBC’s Children in Need charity could have been used to recruit and train the homegrown terrorists involved in the 7/7 terror attacks on London. Some of the cash could also have been used to fund the propaganda activities of the suicide bombers who killed 52 people in July 2005, according to an investigation by BBC 2’s Newsnight. The programme reported that £20,000 from Children in Need was handed over to the Leeds Community School, in Beeston, Yorkshire between 1999 and 2002. The school, which also received large sums from other public bodies, was run from premises behind the Iqra Islamic bookshop which the gang used as a meeting place and an opportunity to radicalise others.

AFRICA

New Bombings Reported in Algeria - Reuters

A double car bombing in Algeria killed at least 11 people on Wednesday a day after an attack that killed 43 people at a military academy, the Algerian press agency APS said quoting the Interior Ministry. It was the bloodiest week in nearly a year in the OPEC member state, a major oil and gas supplier to Europe which is emerging from more than a decade of conflict with Islamist rebels. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings on Wednesday at Bouira, 150 km (90 miles) east of Algiers, but they follow a spate of attacks by al Qaeda's north African wing.

Algerian Bombing Kills 43 - Caroline Brothers, New York Times

A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-filled car into a police academy about 35 miles east of Algiers early Tuesday, killing at least 43 people, mostly civilians and young people who had been waiting to take an entrance exam. The Algerian Interior Ministry said in a statement that the death toll from the explosion, which took place at 7 a.m., was a “preliminary estimate.” Forty-five people were wounded in the attack in Issers, a town in northern Algeria, it said. The Algerian government has strived in recent years to convince the outside world that its crackdown against insurgents was working and that the threat from terrorism inside Algeria had diminished.

Suicide Car Bomber Kills 43 in Algeria - Craig Whitlock, Washington Post

A suicide bomber drove an explosives-packed car into an Algerian police academy early Tuesday, killing 43 people in the latest mass-casualty attack in the North African country. There was no immediate assertion of responsibility. But analysts said the bombing was probably sponsored by an al-Qaeda affiliate that has rekindled a long-running civil conflict between the military-backed government and radical Islamist forces. According to the Algerian Interior Ministry, the bomber targeted a police training school in the city of Issers, about 35 miles east of the capital, Algiers.

Islamist Bombing Kills 43 in Algeria - Adam Sage, The Times

The spectre of terrorism returned to haunt Algeria today as at least 43 people were killed and 38 injured when a car packed with explosives rammed into a police academy where university graduates were lining up to take an entrance exam. The suicide attack was a brutal reminder of Islamic violence which plunged the country into civil war and cost between 150,000 and 200,000 lives in the 1990s. In what appeared the latest sign of a terrorist resurgence in North Africa, a suicide bomber smashed into the entrance of the Issers police academy east of Algiers as candidates waited to be called inside.

Bombing Kills Dozens in Algeria - BBC News

A bomb at a police college east of the Algerian capital, Algiers, has killed 43 people and injured a further 38, the interior ministry says. The bombing targeted a paramilitary police training school at Issers, near Boumerdes, about 60km (40 miles) east of Algiers. An attacker drove a car full of explosives into the school's entrance, witnesses told the AFP news agency. Algeria has suffered regular attacks blamed on militants linked to al-Qaeda.

Turkey's Gul Urges Sudan Leader to End Suffering - Associated Press

Turkey's president urged Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir during talks Tuesday to act responsibly and to end the suffering in the devasted Darfur region. Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court accuse al-Bashir of genocide by unleashing militias on ethnic African groups in Darfur that rebelled against his government. Some 300,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million displaced since 2003.

Mugabe's Party Defies July 21 Agreement - Peta Thornycroft, Voice of America

Nearly four weeks after President Robert Mugabe signed a memorandum of understanding on negotiations with his political opponents, his ZANU-PF party is accused of violating the crucial clause requiring that he lift the ban on non-governmental organizations delivering food aid. In June, Welfare Minister Nicholas Goche banned humanitarian agencies from distributing food because, he said, they had campaigned on behalf of the MDC ahead of the March 29 elections. The food agencies denied Goche's accusation.

Mugabe Has No Intention of Sharing Power - James Kirchick, WSJ opinion

Negotiations held under the auspices of the Southern African Development Community have thus failed to achieve a "power-sharing" agreement between Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. According to some reports, the proposed accord, drafted by South African President Thabo Mbeki, would split executive powers between Mugabe and Mr. Tsvangirai, grant immunity to regime officials guilty of human-rights abuses, and give control over the military and Reserve Bank to Mugabe's ZANU-PF party. Some in the West might welcome such an accord as a reprieve from months of turbulence, but history shows that sharing power just isn't something Mugabe does. Following his March 29 defeat to Mr. Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Mugabe unleashed the full force of the state against his opponents, killing over 100 people and torturing and displacing untold more. In June, he suspended outside humanitarian aid to his starving subjects.

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa dies at 59 - Associated Press

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, who broke the African tradition of silence and solidarity among leaders to denounce neighboring Zimbabwe's economic ruin, died in a French military hospital Tuesday. He was 59. Mwanawasa had suffered a stroke and collapsed at an African Union summit in Egypt in June, which cost Zimbabweans the voice of one of their few champions on the continent. French President Nicolas Sarkozy called Mwanawasa's death "a great loss for the African continent" and for democracy.

Uganda Rejects More Rebel Talks - BBC News

Uganda's government has welcomed the fact that Lord's Resistance Army rebel leader Joseph Kony has approached a UN envoy about the failed peace process. But Interior Minister Ruhaka Rugunda told the BBC that more talks were not an option as negotiations had ended. In April, Mr Kony refused to sign a deal agreed to by his representatives after nearly two years of talks. On Monday, UN special envoy Joachim Chissano said Mr Kony had asked for a chance to hold further discussions.

UN Condemns, Ambassador Defends Mauritania Coup - Reuters

The UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned the overthrow of Mauritania's democratically elected president but the country's ambassador said the public supported the military action. Soldiers seized President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi at his palace on August 6 after he sacked senior army officers during a political crisis. The northwest African Islamic state straddles black and Arab Africa and is one of the continent's newest oil producers.

Democracy's Misfire in Mauritania - Caroline Baxter, CS Monitor opinion

In March 2005, President Bush exhorted all free nations to "stand with the forces of democracy and justice that have begun to transform the Middle East." Having committed itself to an increasingly difficult war in Iraq, the administration searched for those forces in Baghdad – and missed them by nearly 4,000 miles. These forces were at work in the North African country of Mauritania. Some six months after the Bush speech, a group of officers overthrew Mauritania's long-reigning despot, President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, and launched an ambitious 19-month plan for democracy that began with a constitutional referendum and ended with a presidential election. Because the 2005 coup was condemned by both Western and African governments, the task of shepherding Mauritania's transition fell to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). This was how I found myself in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott. Working for an NGO (for safety reasons, I can't name it) that specializes in global democracy promotion, I helped manage an international mission to monitor the presidential elections. On March 24 and 25, 2007, Mauritania held its first truly free and fair democratic elections, and on April 19, 2007, swore in its first democratically elected president, President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi. Here was an example of the transformation that the US said it was championing. Because of its preoccupation with the war in Iraq, however, the Bush administration did virtually nothing either to encourage or to nurture the new Mauritanian government.

Ethiopia - Another Avoidable Disaster - Rosemary Righter, The Times opinion

What the world saw back then they are seeing again: heart-rending photographs of wide-eyed famished Ethiopian children. What the world did not hear much about then was the criminal exploitation of suffering. What the world will not see clearly, even now, is that disasters like drought can cause crops to fail, but should never, in a half-decently run country, lead to mass deaths from malnutrition. Famines in this day and age are man-made, if not by the sins of commission perpetrated by the thuggish Mengistu regime (and by North Korea's) then by culpable omission coupled with lousy policies. Mengistu was overthrown in 1991, fleeing Addis Ababa to retire in the congenial climate of Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe. Because Meles Zenawi, the Tigrayan rebel leader who ousted him, shed some of his Albanian-model Stalinist baggage, he was fêted by Westerners as a moderniser and showered with development aid. A spot of election-rigging in 2005, followed by the shooting of up to 200 pro-democracy demonstrators, caused some temporary tut-tutting, after which aid quietly resumed and, in Britain's case, doubled. Not so quietly, the Ethiopian Army is again cracking heads in the Ogaden, burning villages and, according to Human Rights Watch, torturing and publicly executing not only rebels of the resurgent Ogaden National Liberation Front but also civilians sympathising with them. In the Ogaden, famine looms.

AMERICAS

Mexican Drug Gang Clashes Leave 43 Dead - Agence France-Presse

At least 43 people died in violent attacks in the past three days in the northern Mexico state of Chihuahua, the scene of unending drug-gang turf wars, police said yesterday. Thirteen males, aged 18 to 41, died in separate attacks yesterday, mostly in the flashpoint city of Ciudad Juarez on the US border, local police said. Assassins killed nine people on Sunday night in the city, following the slaying of 21 the previous night, including 14 in a massacre at a family gathering in the western Chihuahua town of Creel. Violence has escalated since President Felipe Calderon, who took office at the end of 2006, launched a military crackdown on drug trafficking.

Violence Mars Bolivian Protests - BBC News

Anti-government protesters in Bolivia have clashed with supporters of leftist President Evo Morales, during a general strike against his policies. Hundreds of police officers took to the streets of the city of Santa Cruz to break up violent confrontations. Activists in five of Bolivia's nine regions went on strike, protesting over Mr Morales's plans to share natural gas revenues with poorer provinces. Some provinces have recently campaigned for greater autonomy from La Paz.

ASIA PACIFIC

Thais Demand ex-PM's Extradition - BBC News

Thousands of demonstrators have marched to the British embassy in Bangkok to demand the extradition of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Mr Thaksin and his wife fled to Britain last week to avoid facing a series of corruption charges. The Thai Supreme Court has issued an arrest warrant, and prosecutors are considering whether to start the long process of requesting his extradition. Mr Thaksin was overthrown in a military coup in September 2006.

The Real China Threat - Robert Samuelson, Washington Post opinion

Obsessed with rankings, Americans are bound to see the Beijing Olympics as a metaphor for a larger and more troubling question. Will China overtake the United States as the world's biggest economy? Well, stop worrying. It almost certainly will. China's economy is now only a fourth the size of the $14 trillion U.S. economy, but given plausible growth rates in both countries, China's output will exceed America's in the 2020s, Goldman Sachs forecasts. But this is the wrong worry. By itself, a richer China does not make America poorer. Indeed, because there are so many more Chinese than Americans, average Chinese living standards may lag behind ours indefinitely. By Goldman's projections, average American incomes will still be twice Chinese incomes in 2050.

EUROPE / THE CAUCUSES

NATO Urges Russia To Withdraw - Karen DeYoung, Washington Post

NATO allies said Tuesday there would be no "business as usual" with Moscow until Russian troops withdraw from all parts of Georgia, but members of the Western alliance disagreed on the extent to which Moscow should be more permanently isolated. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, meanwhile, pledged to withdraw an unspecified number of Russian troops from Georgia by Friday and accepted the presence of European observers. In a telephone conversation with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Medvedev said that "part of the Russian peacekeeping contingent will withdraw" to a temporary buffer zone around Georgia's breakaway province of South Ossetia by Friday "after completing construction of checkpoints and cantonments," according to a statement issued by the Kremlin.

NATO Ministers Warn No ‘Business as Usual’ - Helene Cooper, New York Times

NATO foreign ministers strengthened their ties to Georgia and called for Russia to observe a ceasefire and to immediately withdraw its troops, vowing that until it does the alliance “won’t continue with business as usual” in its relations with Moscow. But the NATO ministers, at a rare, emergency meeting, failed to agree on any specific punitive measures, despite pressure from the United States to at least threaten Russia with unspecified “consequences” and pleas from the Czech Republic, Poland and NATO’s Baltic members to take a tough stand. Instead, NATO issued a tepid response, promising to establish a “NATO-Georgia council” to strengthen ties; a far cry from Georgia’s goal of full NATO membership. And it ignored pleas from nervous Eastern European members for a strong, “don’t-even-think-about-it” warning against a military intervention there. All of which raised a critical question: What, exactly, is membership in the historic 60-year old alliance worth today?

Russia Dismisses NATO's 'Empty Words' on Georgia - Michael Evans, The Times

NATO united in the face of Russia’s failure to withdraw from Georgia yesterday, freezing regular contacts with Moscow and declaring that there could be “no business as usual under present circumstances”. However, there will be no NATO troops rushing to Tbilisi to put military muscle behind the tough statement, which was issued at an emergency meeting of the 26 foreign ministers of the alliance in Brussels. Military assistance will be restricted to training exercises and talks about prospective membership of the alliance. When David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, met President Saakashvili of Georgia in Tbilisi, he emphasised that he was talking politically when he said that “NATO will defend the territorial integrity of Georgia”. He said that he was referring to the defence of international law.

NATO Divided on Dealing with Russia - Adrian Blomfield, Daily Telegraph

Major divisions opened up between Nato members as European countries rejected an American proposal to suspend ties with Russia over its actions in Georgia. The differences at an emergency summit in Brussels offered scant comfort for Georgia, which had hoped that its bid for Nato membership would be expedited. While the alliance agreed to create a Nato-Georgia Commission which will support the country's economic recovery, there was no mention of speeding up the membership process. The summit was expected to present a united front against what Western countries say has been an act of unconscionable aggression against an important ally.

Russians Begin to Withdraw Tanks - The Australian

A small column of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles last night left the strategic Georgian city of Gori, in the first sign of a Russian pullback of troops from the pro-Western former Soviet republic. The pullback to Russian territory through the breakaway province of South Ossetia followed the exchange yesterday of prisoners between Georgia and Russia. Fifteen Georgians were exchanged for five Russians at a checkpoint 30km from Tbilisi. The Georgians, two of them wounded, had earlier emerged from Russian helicopters that landed near the site. In the key Black Sea port of Poti, Russian soldiers held about 20 blindfolded Georgian servicemen at gunpoint on top of military vehicles and commandeered US Humvees. The four American Humvees had been at the port awaiting shipment back to the US after earlier US-Georgian military exercises. The Russian column outside Gori, which also apparently included a mobile rocket-launcher, passed the village of Ruisi on the road to South Ossetia.

Pentagon Sees No Significant Russian Movement - Al Pessin, VOA

Officials at the Pentagon have seen no indication that Russian forces are making any significant moves to withdraw from Georgia, as Russia's leaders promised when they signed a cease-fire agreement on Saturday. The White House says it should not take Russia any longer to withdraw its troops than it took to send them in. Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman says Defense Department experts "don't see much change" in the deployment of Russian forces in Georgia. "The Russian forces that were not there prior to August 6, that were part of the peacekeeping mission, the agreement calls for them to be withdrawn out of Georgia. So far, we have not seen any significant movement," said Whitman. Whitman says NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels made clear that European countries will re-evaluate their ties with Russia as a result of its invasion of Georgia. US officials have said the consequences Russia will face will depend partly on whether it abides by the cease-fire agreement and withdraws its forces.

Russian Troops Slow to Leave Georgia - Paul Rimple, Christian Science Monitor

Two days after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced that his country's troops would begin withdrawing from Georgia, there's little evidence of a pullout, with Georgians in occupied territory struggling to stay safe and get food. A few hundred meters north of Georgia's ransacked Army base in the central Georgian city of Gori, Russian troops on Monday were digging trenches to fortify an artillery battery. The troops also have detained Georgian policemen and continue to block the only highway linking west to east Georgia. And Russia's presence in Georgia is not limited to its military. Russian broadcasts have replaced Georgian TV in Russian-occupied cities such as Gori.

Russia Sends Mixed Signs - Schwirtz and Barry, New York Times

Russia showed small signs of moving a few troops away from Georgia on Tuesday. But Russia retained its grip on the country, and Russian forces bound and blindfolded 21 Georgian soldiers at the Black Sea port of Poti, parading them with five seized Humvees belonging to Georgia’s backers - the United States. Two days after President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia promised that the pullout would begin, there were signs of movement, however minor. A platoon of armored infantry moved away from Georgia through the narrow mountain passes on the Russian side of the border. Near the central city of Gori, Russia and Georgia exchanged prisoners, including two Russian pilots who had been shot down by Georgian forces.

Russia Moves Toward Pullback But Shows Strength - Associated Press

Russia took the first steps toward a troop pullback from Georgia on Tuesday but at the same time paraded blindfolded and bound Georgian prisoners on armored vehicles and seized four US Humvees. The mixed signals came as NATO allies met in emergency session in Belgium and demanded Russia fulfill its promise to withdraw its forces from the small former Soviet republic. A small Russian column including three tanks, three trucks, five armored personnel carriers and a rocket-launcher left Gori, the central city that straddles a vital east-west highway. A Russian officer said they were headed for South Ossetia, the disputed province at the heart of the conflict, then home to Russia.

NATO: Cooperation with Russia Tied to Troops Vow - Associated Press

NATO allies warned Russia on Tuesday that the alliance's cooperation with Moscow will depend on the pullout of troops from Georgia. They insisted the tiny Caucasus nation remains on track to join NATO despite Moscow's opposition. "There can be no business as usual under present circumstances," said NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. "The future of our relations will depend on the concrete actions Russia will take to honor the words of President (Dimitry) Medvedev to abide by the six-point peace plan, which is not happening at the moment."

Russia Hits Back at NATO Warning - BBC News

Russia has dismissed a warning by Nato that normal relations are impossible while its troops remain inside Georgia. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Nato of bias and of trying to save the "criminal regime" in Tbilisi. He insisted Moscow was not occupying Georgia and had no plans to annex the separatist region of South Ossetia. Earlier, Nato demanded that Russia pull out its troops from Georgia as agreed in an EU-brokered ceasefire plan signed by both parties at the weekend. Russian President Dmitri Medvedev told his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy in a phone call that the pull-out would be complete by 21-22 August, with the exception of some 500 troops, who will be installed in peacekeeping posts on either side of South Ossetia's border.

Russian Intentions Unclear - Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post

Russian troops returned to the Georgian port city of Poti on Tuesday, taking 20 Georgian soldiers prisoner, towing away several American Humvees and blowing up a missile ship, reporters and Georgian officials said. A column of Russian armored vehicles was seen leaving the area of Gori in the direction of South Ossetia, the pro-Russian separatist zone, a day after Russian officials said that a general withdrawal had begun. Reporters in Gori said the departure made no discernible difference in the Russian presence in the town and that Russian troops remained camped in fields north of it. In a rare sign of cooperation, the two sides exchanged prisoners: 15 Georgians for five Russians. The Georgians, appearing on local television, said they had been tortured; several had broken arms or fingers. They said at least two Georgian soldiers were still being held in South Ossetia.

Toll of the War in Georgia's North - Jonathan Finer, Washington Post

This region near Georgia's northern border has suffered greatly from the conflict ignited 11 days ago, when Georgian troops moved into the disputed territory of South Ossetia and Russian forces then pushed them back. But a trip here by reporters, who were accompanying the first humanitarian aid convoy to reach outlying areas, also undermined some of the most incendiary allegations advanced by Georgian officials. Mereti, site of the alleged abductions, is the same village where government officials had recently said three local women were raped and murdered. At least eight residents said Tuesday that no such attacks had occurred. Georgians living in several of the villages said the Russians occupying their land had treated them well, done nothing to encourage them to leave and offered the only protection available from the South Ossetian militias they feared most.

Survivors in Georgia Tell of Ethnic Killings - Sabrina Tavernese, New York Times

Ethnic cleansing has haunted the borderlands of the old Soviet bloc. It is a weapon that was wielded with devastating force in Bosnia and Kosovo. But a dozen interviews with those who fled the fighting, and a trip through seven Georgian villages just south of the fighting, indicated the killing this month was not that systematic, nor on that scale - based on what is known so far. Georgia’s military campaign ripped through a city just north of here last week, prompting Russia to strike back and opening a way for South Ossetians to sweep into Georgian villages for revenge. Still, the victims seemed marked by their ethnicity in a vicious, if short, war — itself fought over competing claims to the same patches of ground by different groups. Villages had been burned and houses broken; unburied bodies lay rotting; fresh graves were dug in gardens and basements. Much remains unknown.

Russian Soldiers Take Prisoners in Georgia Port - Associated Press

Russian soldiers took about 20 Georgian troops prisoner at a key Black Sea port in western Georgia on Tuesday, blindfolding them and holding them at gunpoint, and commandeered American Humvees awaiting shipment back to the United States. The move came as a small column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles left the strategic Georgian city of Gori in the first sign of a Russian pullback of troops from Georgia after a cease-fire intended to end fighting that reignited Cold War tensions. The two countries on Tuesday also exchanged prisoners captured during their brief war.

Russia Warns Ukraine Not to Interfere at Navy Base - Associated Press

Russia's foreign minister warned Ukrainian leaders Tuesday against trying to restrict the Kremlin's use of a Crimean naval base it leases from Ukraine, adding to tensions that have heated up since Russian troops invaded Georgia. Ukraine's pro-Western president, Victor Yushchenko, has sided with Georgia and moved last week to restrict Russian warships at the leased military base at the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, saying the vessels' movements were subject to Ukrainian approval. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed that argument in a sharply worded barb Tuesday, saying Russia's ships don't need any permission to use the port.

NATO's 'Empty Words' - Wall Street Journal editorial

"Empty words." That's how Moscow glibly dismissed NATO's criticism yesterday of Russia's continued occupation of Georgia. The Russians may be bullies, but like all bullies they know weakness when they see it. The most NATO ministers could muster at their meeting in Brussels was a statement that they "cannot continue with business as usual" with Russia. There was no move to fast-track Georgia's bid to join NATO, nor a pledge to help the battered democracy rebuild its defenses. Asked about NATO reconstruction aid, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer pointedly said, twice, that it would go for "civilian infrastructure." So here we have a military alliance going out of its way to stress that it will not be providing any military aid. The alliance didn't even cancel any cooperative programs with Russia, though Mr. de Hoop Scheffer said "one can presume" that "this issue will have to be taken into view." That must have the Kremlin shaking.

Georgia: The Reckoning - The Times editorial

As NATO confronts defiance in the Caucasus and casualties in Afghanistan, it must find the confidence to match its words with actions. “Force cannot be the basis for the demarcation of new lines around Russia.” The German Foreign Minister offered this precise summary of the challenge facing NATO in Georgia as he arrived for yesterday's emergency summit in Brussels. Almost simultaneously, seven Russian armoured vehicles drove west out of Gori. A withdrawal of sorts had begun. It offered some consolation on a bleak day for NATO commanders, informed yesterday morning of the deaths of ten French troops in a clash with Taleban forces in Afghanistan. President Sarkozy promptly vowed to fly there, and affirmed that “the cause is just”. The same can be said of NATO's task of containing Russia in the Caucasus. For all the alliance's hesitancy in recent days, this task is also achiev-able: the crisis there may have left relations between Russia and the West chillier than at any point since the Cold War, but, as yesterday's troop movements showed, Western diplomacy and Russian manoeuvring have seldom been so tightly linked.

NATO Must Not Shrink From its Biggest Challenge - Daily Telegraph editorial

The response of NATO's foreign ministers to Russia's illegal incursion into Georgia may have been rhetorically colourful but in practical terms it amounted to little. While David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said that Russia had "violated international law as well as the rules of the international game", the alliance stopped short of taking any serious punitive action against Moscow. Despite the urging of the United States, NATO decided not even to suspend its biannual ministerial meetings with Russia on the grounds that it would be counterproductive to sever channels of communication with Moscow. Such a tepid response to Russia's bullying hardly augurs well for the ambitions of both Georgia and Ukraine to join the alliance. But even as yesterday's emergency meeting of the North Atlantic Council was getting under way in Brussels, news was breaking that underscored another - and in many ways more direct - challenge to the credibility of the alliance. The death of 10 French soldiers and the wounding of 21 more in an ambush just 30 miles from Kabul is a bloody reminder that the Taliban - far from being on the run, as allied commanders proclaimed earlier this summer - are resurgent. They are proving particularly lethal in the area close to the capital, as Monday's attack on the French shows.

America Must Choose - Sergey Lavrov, Wall Street Journal opinion

In some Western nations an utterly one-sided picture has been painted of the recent crisis in the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict. The statements of American officials would lead one to conclude that the crisis began when Russia sent in its troops to support its peacekeepers there. Meticulously avoided in those statements: The decision of Tbilisi to use crude military force against South Ossetia in the early hours of Aug. 8. The Georgian army used multiple rocket launchers, artillery and air force to attack the sleeping city of Tskhinvali. Some honest independent observers acknowledge that a surprised Russia didn't respond immediately. We started moving our troops in support of peacekeepers only on the second day of Georgia's ruthless military assault. Yes, our military struck sites outside of South Ossetia. When the positions of your peacekeepers and the civilian population they have been mandated to protect are shelled, the sources of such attacks are legitimate targets.

Russia Never Wanted a War - Mikhail Gorbachev, New York Times opinion

The acute phase of the crisis provoked by the Georgian forces’ assault on Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, is now behind us. But how can one erase from memory the horrifying scenes of the nighttime rocket attack on a peaceful town, the razing of entire city blocks, the deaths of people taking cover in basements, the destruction of ancient monuments and ancestral graves? Russia did not want this crisis. The Russian leadership is in a strong enough position domestically; it did not need a little victorious war. Russia was dragged into the fray by the recklessness of the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili. He would not have dared to attack without outside support. Once he did, Russia could not afford inaction.

What Did We Expect? - Thomas Friedman, New York Times opinion

If the conflict in Georgia were an Olympic event, the gold medal for brutish stupidity would go to the Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin. The silver medal for bone-headed recklessness would go to Georgia’s president, Mikheil Saakashvili, and the bronze medal for rank short-sightedness would go to the Clinton and Bush foreign policy teams. Let’s start with us. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, I was among the group - led by George Kennan, the father of “containment” theory, Senator Sam Nunn and the foreign policy expert Michael Mandelbaum - that argued against expanding NATO, at that time.

Schooling the Bully - Michael Gerson, Washington Post opinion

The nation of Georgia is a place of inspiration and danger. I saw both in a single hour. I was in Tbilisi's Freedom Square during President Bush's visit in May 2005, along with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried. During the Georgian national anthem, the speaker system broke down and tens of thousands of Georgians movingly sang that song without music -- a song that had been illegal to sing under Soviet occupation. It is shocking to imagine those joyful people now bombed, fearful and occupied. At the same event, an assassination attempt was made against President Bush. A man threw a grenade wrapped in a handkerchief. Bush was behind a bulletproof shield but within the blast radius of the weapon. The grenade was live but did not explode -- or maybe the explosion in Georgia was just delayed.

NATO Confronts the Bear - Yonah Alexander, Washington Times opinion

The Russian-Georgian crisis, the latest tug-of-war for regional dominance, and the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan have once again underscored NATO's old-new challenge in the 21st century. After all, NATO was initially created to confront the "Russian Bear" as a strategic alliance that guaranteed its members military support in the case of aggression by a third country. Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, the traditional NATO mission is now more relevant than ever. The Russian armed attack against Georgia, a candidate for joining the 26-nation Atlantic alliance, also opened a serious rift between the Alliance and Moscow, threatening security concerns in Europe and beyond.

Polish Government Approves Missile Deal - Associated Press

Poland's government gave formal approval to a missile defense deal with the US on Tuesday before a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the deputy prime minister said. Grzegorz Schetyna said Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Cabinet signed off on the deal for Poland to host 10 missile interceptors at its regular weekly meeting. It was the first of several steps required after negotiators last week reached an agreement following about 1 1/2 years of talks. The deal still needs parliamentary and presidential approval.

Karadzic Wants UN Judge Replaced - BBC News

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has asked the UN war crimes tribunal to replace the judge in charge of the preparatory stage of his trial. In a letter to The Hague tribunal, he said presiding judge Alphons Orie had a "personal" interest in convicting him. Mr Karadzic said the Dutch judge would convict him to reinforce rulings in his earlier cases against Bosnian Serbs. Mr Karadzic is indicted on 11 counts of war crimes in connection with the 1990s Bosnian war, including genocide.

MIDDLE EAST

Israel Agrees to Free Two Killers - BBC News

Two Palestinians jailed for their involvement in deadly attacks against Israelis are among 199 prisoners to be released by the Israeli authorities. Said al-Attaba and Mohammed Ibrahim Abu Ali, imprisoned for more than 25 years, will be freed as a goodwill gesture to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Israel rarely releases those it convicts of killing its citizens. Several senior Israeli politicians have criticised the move, saying Israel had received nothing in return.

SOUTH ASIA

Indian Kashmir Protests Called Off for 3 Days - Associated Press

After weeks of massive separatist protests in Indian Kashmir that virtually shut down the region, Muslim leaders called Tuesday for three days of calm, allowing schools and businesses to reopen. Huge crowds thronged to markets to buy food and cooking gas after two months of sustained protests in Srinagar, the biggest city in India's only Muslim-majority state. Masarat Aalam, a prominent separatist leader, said the public needed a break to sustain the intensity of the protests, and the leaders needed time to map out future action. The unrest had crippled life in the city, with most schools and businesses complying with protest leaders' call for them to close.

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.