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Journal
of South Asian Nonproliferation January, 2009 Editorial Staff |
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SASSI‘s Journal
of South Asian Nonproliferation is an online compendium of security related
publications.
It is a periodic compilation of news, official statements, and expert analyses
related to South Asian security issues.
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Supporting
worldwide understanding of South Asian security, non-proliferation, arms
control and disarmament issues. A Product of the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute
(SASSI) CONTENTS
NUCLEAR After a 34 year ban, Canada pushes ahead with
nuclear sales to India After 34-year ban, Canada pushes ahead with nuclear sales to India U.S. Proliferation
Panel: WMD Threat 'Growing, Not Shrinking' Ukraine, Russia on brink of striking nuclear deal Khan Network Suspect Claims To Be CIA Informer North
Korean Mouthpiece Urges Quick Action by Obama on Nuclear Standoff U.S.
Readies New Uranium Casting Technology We have a great opportunity in clean nuclear energy in India Russian
Strategic Bombers Complete Patrols MISSILES China can't stop
India's missile system India and the US talk missile defense U.S. Navy seeks Raytheon SSDS protection from cruise missiles N. Korea developed nuclear weapons, missile delivery systems: report OPINION / EDITORIAL Mumbai time for joint investigation National Commission for Counter-Terrorism OIC should convene UN meeting on Gaza CENTRAL ASIA MIDDLE EAST FEDERALLY ADMINISTERED TRIBAL AREAS (FATA) INDIA KASHMIR ENERGY / CLIMATE
After 34-year ban, Canada pushes ahead with
nuclear sales to India OTTAWA — AFP - 22nd January 2009
- Trade Minister Stockwell Day says Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. has already
signed a memorandum of understanding in India as the two countries close in
on a formal nuclear co-operation deal. It's a watershed moment for Canada,
which angrily stopped nuclear co-operation with India in 1974 after the
Indian government used plutonium from a Canadian reactor to build and test an
atomic bomb. The international community agreed last fall to lift a
three-decade ban on nuclear transfers to India, sparking a global sales rush
to the rising economic power. Day, speaking from Mumbai, said Indian
officials want to build 25 or 30 new reactors and are very interested in
buying Canadian components, uranium and hazardous waste treatment systems. U.S. Proliferation Panel: WMD Threat 'Growing,
Not Shrinking' Defense News- 22 January, 2009- The U.S. margin
of safety against terrorist use of destructive weapons "is growing, not
shrinking," leaders of a commission created by Congress to study the
proliferation of the world's most lethal weapons told lawmakers. In a report
released at the start of a Jan. 22 House Armed Services Committee hearing,
the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation
and Terrorism issues a list of recommendations for dealing with the nuclear
ambitions of hostile states and reorganizing the U.S. government to better
handle WMD-related policy issues. NTI org- Jan. 22 -
The
group has led the U.N. Security Council to issue three sets sanctions
resolutions in recent years aimed at pressuring Iran to halt nuclear work
that could support nuclear weapons development. Iran has insisted its nuclear
program is strictly peaceful. "Political directors are scheduled to meet
at the beginning of February in Berlin. That will be the first meeting this
year. They will brainstorm the opportunities of further action with regard to
this issue," said Yuri Fedotov, Russia's ambassador to the United
Kingdom. Along with Germany and Russia, the participating nations include
China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. Former chief U.N.
weapons inspector in Iraq Hans Blix said Tuesday that the prospects for
resolving the Iranian nuclear standoff would improve under U.S. President
Barack Obama, Swiss info reported. "The biggest difference with Obama
coming to power is that he will be more ready to enter into direct talks. We
should get a much more creative and positive attitude," Blix said. Obama is likely to pursue "a
strategy of bigger sticks and bigger carrots" although he "has
realized that no carrot will be as big as uranium enrichment for Iran,"
the editorial states. Ukraine, Russia on brink of striking nuclear deal RBC news-22.01.2009- Ukraine's national nuclear
power generation company Energoatom plans to sign nuclear fuel contracts with
Russia's TVEL in January-February 2009, the Ukrainian company's President
Yury Nedashkovsky told journalists today. He added that the parties had fully
agreed upon four documents out of five, and upon around 90 percent of the
fifth document. Nedashkovsky declined to provide any details of the
agreements before the contracts were signed, however. As reported earlier,
the deal involves a long-term contract for the delivery of Russia's nuclear
fuel to Ukrainian nuclear power plants after 2010, the supplies of Ukrainian
uranium to Russia, and the creation of a nuclear fuel production facility in
Ukraine, among other things. NTI org- Jan.
22, 2009- New U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday received the briefcase
that would allow him to order a nuclear strike from any location, the New
York Post reported (see GSN, Jan. 21). (Jan. 22) - A U.S. military aide
carries the president’s nuclear arsenal command briefcase in his left hand in
2005 (Mark Wilson/Getty Images).
A military aide carrying the 45-pound metal "football"
positioned himself near Obama immediately after he was sworn into office. It
will remain in the president's vicinity on a continuous basis. Obama that
morning had been briefed on the functioning of the device, receiving the personal
identification number needed to confirm his identity and details on calling
down a nuclear strike. Khan Network Suspect Claims To Be CIA Informer NTI org Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009- A Swiss engineer
who allegedly aided a nuclear smuggling network has said he provided the CIA
with information used to crack down on the group, the Associated Press
reported today. A Swiss engineer has said he helped sabotage a nuclear
proliferation network once run by Abdul Qadeer Khan, shown above. Urs Tinner,
43, said in a Swiss documentary to be televised today that he informed U.S.
intelligence officials about a shipment of uranium enrichment centrifuge
components that was headed to Libya in 2003. North Korean Mouthpiece Urges Quick Action by
Obama on Nuclear Standoff NTI org, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009- New U.S.
President Barack Obama should break with the policy of his predecessor and
take quick action to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis, a Japanese
newspaper friendly to the regime in Pyongyang said today. "The old U.S.
policy set up an order of confrontation on the Korean peninsula and
threatened peace," according to the Choson Sinbo newspaper. U.S. Readies New Uranium Casting Technology NTI org- Thursday,
Jan. 22, 2009- The United States could begin using new microwave technology
within two years to help cast highly enriched uranium into the proper shapes
for nuclear weapons, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported Monday. Currently,
the Energy Department's Y-12 facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., uses induction
furnaces to melt uranium before casting the material, but that technique
could begin to be replaced before 2011. "The technology involves the use
of microwave energy, special microwave-susceptible materials, and uniquely designed
crucibles and molds in order to melt and cast metal in a microwave chamber,”
said a statement from plant operators Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services.
“The biggest advantage of microwave technology is it consumes less energy,
but it also requires significantly less floor space of the equipment,” added
Darrel Kohlhorst, B&W president and general manager. We have a great opportunity in clean nuclear
energy in India Live Mint- Thu, Jan 22 2009- India has indicated
they want to develop as many as 25 or 30 more facilities, there is great
opportunity for Canada which is a leader in the area of efficient nuclear
energy, said Canada’s minister for international trade Stockwell DayAsit
Ranjan Mishra New Delhi: Canadian companies have traditionally been reliant
on the US, their next-door neighbour, for business. With the US battling
turmoil in its financial industry that has given way to recession, Canada is
looking for new trade frontiers. Russian Strategic Bombers Complete Patrols NTI org- Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009- Russia sent
four nuclear-capable strategic bombers on patrol missions over the Arctic and
Atlantic oceans yesterday, RIA Novosti reported ."Two Tu-160 strategic
bombers carried out on Wednesday a regular patrol flight over the Norwegian
Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The crews honed their instrumental flight skills
and accomplished several other tasks," said Russian air force official
Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik. "On the same day, two Tu-95MS bombers carried
out similar patrols over the Arctic Ocean and near the Aleutian
Islands."
China can't stop India's missile system Asian Times- 14th January, 2009 India considers its emerging
anti-missile system an absolute necessity. As each day passes, the signs of
instability in Pakistan become more troubling and the drum beat grows louder
from Pakistan's Swat Valley, where a militant culture is taking root which is
neither tolerant nor passive in nature.
Beijing cannot be happy about India's anti-missile plans and what this
might mean for China's long-term strategic interests in the region. More than
anything else, it is the uncertainty of the outcome that is causing it such
discomfort. The US seems determined to surround China with US-built
anti-missile systems. India and the US talk missile defense Asian
Times- Siddharth Srivastava -14th January, 2009- NEW DELHI -
Concerned about the threats emerging from Pakistan in the wake of the
November terror attack in Mumbai and the predominant position of China,
official sources told Asia Times Online that there had been considerable
acceleration in India-US efforts to jointly build a ballistic missile defense
(BMD) system. The pressure is being applied by the Indian armed forces, with
New Delhi willing to play along, given it sees "non-state players and
other loose cannons increasingly gaining ground in Pakistan". U.S. Navy seeks Raytheon SSDS protection from
cruise missiles UPI
Com- Martin Sieff- January. 14, 2009 - WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Raytheon
Co. (NYSE:RTN) announced Tuesday it has won a $23 million U.S. Navy contract
that would involve providing a defense system against anti-ship cruise
missiles that could be fired at major Navy surface vessels, including nuclear-powered
aircraft carriers. The threat is escalating with the proliferation of
Russia's advanced anti-ship cruise missiles that can fly at 1,700 mph at sea.
They have been sold to China and Iran. Under the contract, Raytheon
Integrated Defense Systems will become the platform systems engineering agent
for the Ship Self-Defense System. N.
Korea developed nuclear weapons, missile delivery systems: report January
13, 2009- Enews Mcot Net- North Korea has developed both nuclear weapons and
missile delivery systems a U.S. defense report said Monday, expressing
concerns about the possible proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in
Northeast Asia. "North
Korea, India and Pakistan have acquired both nuclear weapons and missile
delivery systems, while Iran is apparently headed down the same road,"
said the report of the Pentagon's task force on nuclear weapons management
led by former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger
Mumbai time for joint investigation Daily
times- 02-01-09- In a telephonic conversation with President George W Bush, President
Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said that the
three countries would “cooperate with each other on the Mumbai attack
investigation as well as on counter-terrorism in general”. President Zardari
has reiterated Pakistan’s determination not to let “any non-state actors use
its territory for launching attacks on other countries”. By all accounts the moment of tension between
India and Pakistan has abated. So it’s time now to get to the nitty-gritty of
finding out what happened. The two sides have versions of the event that
differ, with Pakistan demanding that evidence gathered by India be produced
to allow it to act in its jurisdiction. This means there is no way the two
positions can be reconciled except with the undertaking of a joint
investigation. And this effort will succeed only if both governments show
sympathy for each other’s position and take the probe forward in all
sincerity. The joint effort is all the more necessary
because of a number of “unofficial” stories flying around. If investigators from
India and Pakistan don’t get together in a joint commission and share
information, these stories are going to dominate the scene and highlight the
two irreconcilable assessments of a single event. This is how conflict is
born and is nurtured by states at odds with each other. The Indian and
Pakistani publics will be the consumers of these clashing narratives and this
will damage the prospects of normalisation so essential in these economically
difficult times. National Commission for Counter-Terrorism Daily
times- 03-01-09- Whether or not the report of a TV channel is authentic, the news
that the PPP government is thinking of setting up a National Commission for
Counter-Terrorism (NCCT) should arouse a lot of curiosity, if not relief. The
Commission will “coordinate efforts in countering the threat posed by the
Taliban” and serve as an “umbrella” organization. The reference to the
Taliban is reinforced by the observation that Intelligence Bureau (IB),
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) are
all doing the same job of counter-terrorism without enough coordination. The
Commission — presumably requiring an act of parliament — will be
a “constitutional body”. There is no doubt that coordination is needed
among our intelligence agencies. And this is not a problem peculiar to
Pakistan. The most advanced nations have felt the need to create an
“umbrella” structure to oversee and coordinate the work of their spooks after
suffering serious damage from agents hugging their secrets in jealous “turf
wars”. The most recent example is India where important intelligence was
ignored because no one at the top of the intelligence pyramid was able to
analyze the available information and then have the authority to demand
counter-action. Pakistan is no exception to the incidence of this fault in
its intelligence system. Dawn:
05-01-09- ATTACKS
by militants in Balochistan continued even after the September 2008 ceasefire
announced by three nationalist outfits. But the frequency of bomb blasts and
rocket attacks did decrease post-September and there was less loss of life
over the last four months of a particularly violent year. Earlier, in a
gesture of goodwill by the new government, military operations in Balochistan
were scaled down and some security checkpoints dismantled. The PPP’s February
2008 public apology for the “the atrocities and injustices committed” in
Balochistan was also a welcome development. Clearly, some gains were made in
the troubled province but there is a danger now that these could be reversed
in the absence of a lasting political solution. The Baloch Republican Army,
which along with the Balochistan Liberation Army and the Baloch Liberation
Front was a party to the temporary truce, has reportedly pulled out of the
ceasefire announced unilaterally by the three outlawed organizations. On
Friday it claimed responsibility for an attack on a Quetta-bound train that
left more than a dozen injured. Other incidents of violence also took place
in the province the same day. OIC
should convene UN meeting on Gaza
pakobserver.net-200901/05-
AS Israeli aggression against
Palestinians entered into the second week and its tanks rolled into the Gaza
strip in signs of a ground offensive, the representative body of the Muslim
world – the OIC- which had a ministerial level meeting in Jeddah on
Saturday confined itself to condemnation of the aggression and making calls
for ceasefire and humanitarian supplies to the victims of Israeli barbarism. The
situation in Gaza is grim where over five hundred Palestinians have so far
been killed and thousands more wounded in ruthless aerial attacks by Tel
Aviv. During the last one week, Israel carried out on the average one hundred
bombing missions daily and according to reports of the Western media Israeli
jets were now finding no target and are attacking vacated buildings and
infrastructure. What is more alarming is that Israel is indulging in
extremely intolerable action of destruction of mosques. This belies claims of
the Jewish State that only Hamas strong holds are the targets. In this
backdrop, there was urgent need on the part of the OIC to have come out with
a concrete action plan to make Israel stop its aggression but unfortunately
it has resorted to rhetoric alone. Next
steps after evidence from India Daily
times-07-01-09- The Indian Foreign Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, said in a
statement on Monday that India had handed over a dossier to Pakistan,
claiming it incriminates “elements” from Pakistan in the Mumbai terror
attacks, and has asked Islamabad to extradite those involved to face Indian
justice. The Indian foreign secretary, Mr Shiv Shankar Menon, said the same
day that under a SAARC convention, Pakistan “was obliged to hand over Mumbai
attackers to India”. Mr Menon has further “interpreted” the SAARC convention
thus: “[Pakistan can now] share the results with us and extend to us legal
assistance so that we can bring the perpetrators to Indian justice. The
assistance from Pakistan extends up to and includes extradition”. This
assumes that Pakistan has now got to extradite to India persons that India’s
interpretation of evidence flags as suspects. It also underlines an Indian
understanding of the said SAARC convention which must be revisited for
confirmation. Next
steps after evidence from India Daily times-07-01-09- The Indian Foreign
Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, said in a statement on Monday that India had
handed over a dossier to Pakistan, claiming it incriminates “elements” from
Pakistan in the Mumbai terror attacks, and has asked Islamabad to extradite
those involved to face Indian justice. The Indian foreign secretary, Mr Shiv
Shankar Menon, said the same day that under a SAARC convention, Pakistan “was
obliged to hand over Mumbai attackers to India”. Mr Menon has further
“interpreted” the SAARC convention thus: “[Pakistan can now] share the
results with us and extend to us legal assistance so that we can bring the
perpetrators to Indian justice. The assistance from Pakistan extends up to
and includes extradition”. This assumes that Pakistan has now got to
extradite to India persons that India’s interpretation of evidence flags as
suspects. It also underlines an Indian understanding of the said SAARC
convention which must be revisited for confirmation. The
dawn-10-01-09- MAKING a mountain out of every molehill appears to be the
federal government’s speciality. The confirmation that Ajmal Kasab is
Pakistani should not have created a controversy; Kasab’s nationality was an
open secret and as early as Dec 12 this paper published a detailed account of
a meeting with an elderly man in Faridkot who claimed to be Kasab’s father.
But the bungled announcement, subsequent denials and then confirmations, and
the sacking of National Security Adviser Mehmud Durrani shone a spotlight on
the disarray at the apex of decision-making. What can be gleaned from the
news thus far is this: the intelligence agencies confirmed to the government
that Kasab is a Pakistani; the decision about when and how to announce
Kasab’s nationality was left to the government; and the government was
preparing to make an announcement when Dawn News broke the story of official
confirmation of Kasab’s nationality. What happened next is a classic tale of
bumbling officialdom, culminating in Prime Minister Gilani summarily firing
Gen (retd) Durrani. THE
Security Council has finally acted — and that hardly deserves three
cheers. With the US, that under the circumstances deserves to be called
Israel’s patron saint, abstaining, the world body’s executive arm passed on
Thursday a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. This came 13 days
after Israel launched its blitz. By the time the vote was taken, the number
of dead, mostly Palestinian civilians, had climbed to 800, with over 3,000
wounded. Calling for a “full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza”, the
resolution took note of the humanitarian disaster in the Strip and called for
the opening of all border crossings. At the time of writing, neither Hamas
nor Tel Aviv had accepted it. The US helped draft the resolution, and
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice explained why her country had abstained,
saying it was waiting to see the outcome of Egyptian mediation. The diplomats
at the UN council were disappointed because the American abstention meant
less pressure on Israel to heed the call. It is interesting to note that Rice
talked to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert four to five times, and
diplomatic circles say President Bush changed his mind at the last minute and
decided to abstain. The
dawn-11-01-09 - SENATOR Biden came to Pakistan as chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee but his real significance is that he will soon be
sworn in as vice president of the United States. The visit threw up the usual
platitudes about democracy and development, and Pakistan reciprocated by
handing out a pro forma medal. Yet, the thrust of American diplomacy is
clear: the key to the stability and security of Afghanistan lies in
Pakistan’s border areas, and Pakistan needs to do more to help the Americans.
Atrocities
of Gaza and Kashmir The daily times-12-01-09 : Prime Minister Yousaf
Raza Gilani on Saturday condemned the Mumbai attacks but deplored “the
silence of the international community on the atrocities being committed in
Kashmir and Gaza”. On Kashmir, he said people were being subjected to the
worst kinds of oppression and suppression because they too demanded the right
to self-determination. These days Palestine is on the boil because of
Israel’s attack on Gaza, systematically killing civilians as punishment for
Hamas’s firing of 40km-range Qassam rockets into the nearby Israeli
settlements. The cruelty of the Israeli action is so glaring and so graphic
on the electronic media that the entire world is protesting against it, and a
UN Security Council resolution demanding a ceasefire has been issued in
parallel to the peace efforts being made by the Arab states in Cairo. Avi
Shlaim, an Oxford professor, condemned the Israeli action in The Guardian in
the following words: “I write as someone who served loyally in the Israeli
army in the mid-1960s and who has never questioned the legitimacy of the
state of Israel within its pre-1967 borders. What I utterly reject is the
Zionist colonial project beyond the Green Line. The Israeli occupation of the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the June 1967 war had very
little to do with security and everything to do with territorial
expansionism. The aim was to establish Greater Israel through permanent
political, economic and military control over the Palestinian territories.
And the result has been one of the most prolonged and brutal military
occupations of modern times.” The dawn-2009/01/12 : AFTER blowing hot and cold
in the weeks following the Mumbai disaster, Pakistan has expressed regret at
the Indian decision to freeze the composite dialogue process. The Indian
foreign minister had earlier termed the suspension of the dialogue as a
“pause”. One hopes that these signify at best differences of a semantic
nature and both sides understand the importance of sustaining the composite
dialogue they had launched in 2004. It is, therefore, encouraging that Prime
Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has now declared his government’s “unwavering
commitment to the dialogue process”. But in the same breath he has resorted
to finger-pointing to hold India responsible for bringing the two countries
to square one in terms of confidence-building measures. Given the vitriolic
exchanges between the two governments in recent weeks, the need of the hour
is for them to moderate their tone to improve the political climate in South
Asia if the peace process is to be revived. The Moral and Military Meltdown of Israel Palestine chronicle- Writing under circumstances
when on a daily basis Palestinian women and children are slaughtered by the
Israeli army in Gaza is an exceedingly difficult, for it seems utterly
futile, task. But writing one must. Writing by someone who has young children
and who is watching pictures of the maimed and murdered bodies of Palestinian
children paraded in world media (never in the US) is doubly difficult, for
you see your own children, as you have and hold and care for them, in those
lifeless little bodies, wasted at the bloom of their birth. But writing one
must. The Christmas massacre of
Palestinians in Gaza in 2008/2009 is a turning point in a long and arduous
history of struggles against the European colonial settlement in their
homeland—and the victory that they have just scored with their bare
hands and with the corpse of their children against one of the deadliest
military machineries in human history marks a turning point in their long and
noble struggles. Delimiting
responses in South Asia The daily times-01-16-09 : The British Foreign
Secretary, Mr David Miliband, urged the world community on Wednesday to “help
Pakistan fight the war on terror”. Britain is next to the United States in
tracing its incidents of terrorism to Pakistani soil. Its intelligence about
the spread of international terrorism inside Pakistan is perhaps as good as
that of the United States, if not better. Yet, the UK’s policy is that of
getting Pakistan to “cooperate”, not to threaten it with war. This is why
some of Pakistan’s premier counter-terrorism agencies are working closely
with the UK. As if addressing India,
Mr Miliband says Pakistan has to “bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror
attacks to justice”, but there is no obligation on it to extradite the
suspects arrested in Pakistan to India. He explains there is no extradition
treaty “between the South Asian rivals allowing suspects to be handed over
for prosecution in India”. Clearly, the statement is telling India that its
policy on the Mumbai attack is flawed and will lead to more conflict. It also
describes the limits of Pakistani response to India’s current policy of
pressure-building. Dawn-2009/01/16
: AS the
clock winds down on the Bush administration, allies have begun to publicly
speak about deficiencies in the US campaign to fight the rise of terrorism
and militancy. The latest critique has come from David Miliband, the UK
foreign secretary, who has written in the Guardian that, “The idea of a ‘war
on terror’ gave the impression of a unified, transnational enemy, embodied in
the figure of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. The reality is that the
motivations and identities of terrorist groups are disparate.” But not only
has the West wrongly identified the enemy, it has also got the strategy to
fight it wrong so far. Quoting Gen Petraeus, Mr Miliband argues that those fighting
terror cannot “kill their way out of the problems”. We could not agree more.
Nowhere is the failure more evident than in this part of the world. Whatever
the deficiencies of the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan, the country
is on the edge of a precipice because of the failure of the promised
nation-building process. Blaming Pakistan for not doing more to help cannot
hide the fact that the original error was not of our making. Daily
times-18-01-09: After a year of
military operations in Swat, the territory controlled by the terrorists has
reportedly increased from 25 percent to 75 percent. On Friday, the army
killed 12 Taliban in different parts, but could not prevent the demolition by
them of a rest house owned by the ANP’s late leader, Mr Abdul Wali Khan. The
party that rules in Peshawar has been systematically decimated in Swat as its
allies walk in fear and no longer criticise the Taliban in public, accusing
only the army of being “indiscriminate”. Swat had voted last year for ANP as
a liberal alternative to the now defunct MMA because they wanted their home
territory to be made safe against the vandalism of the Taliban. But what they
have got is the systematic destruction of the female educational
infrastructure in Swat by the Taliban and loss of protection by the state.
The terrorists had warned last month that if any girls’ schools opened after
January 15, they would be bombed. Consequently, after the expiry of the
deadline, none of the 400 plus schools has reopened, causing 80,000 girls to
go without education for the foreseeable future. Along with them, 8,000
female teachers will be rendered jobless in state sector and private
institutions. American
drones and Taliban terrorism Mahmud Sipra- 22-01-09: An important visit by the chief of US
Central Command (CENTCOM), General David Petraeus, on Tuesday ended on a note
of disagreement in Islamabad. President Asif Ali Zardari “expressed concern”
over the US drone attacks on Al Qaeda and Taliban targets in Pakistan’s
Tribal Areas in his meeting with him. But to no avail apparently. While
General Petraeus tried to sound upbeat about Pakistan’s efforts to fight
terrorism by calling them “sacrifices”, Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff
Committee Chairman General Tariq Majid called on “outside powers” to stop
demanding Pakistan do more: “Repetitive rhetoric by some of the external
players asking Pakistan to do more and prove sincerity... Such unhelpful
statements must stop”. One
Pakistani “sacrifice” that the US has decided to do without exclusively is
the supply route of the NATO-ISAF forces going through Pakistan. General
Petraeus said in Islamabad that he had visited Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan,
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and reached agreements with them about an
alternative route, and that this includes the support of Russia. The decision
to find an alternative route was taken after a series of attacks near
Peshawar destroyed convoys of large carrier trucks, resulting in theft of
equipment by the Taliban. Some thought that the attacks were a reaction to
America’s refusal to accede to Pakistan’s request to stop drone attacks
inside the Pakistani territory. But this doesn’t stand to reason because the
theft of equipment has led directly to the beefing up of the Taliban
resistance to the Pakistan’s military efforts to regain lost territory in the
Tribal Areas.
For US, '08 deadliest year in Afghanistan Associated Press- Jason
Straziuso -January 1, 2009: KABUL, Afghanistan - A record 151 American forces
died in Afghanistan in 2008, compared with 111 the previous year. It was the
deadliest year yet in a seven-year war that military officials say is likely
to get even bloodier this year, as thousands more American troops pour into
the country. AP Jan
2nd, 2008: KANDAHAR, Afghanistan— Afghanistan's southern rim, the
Taliban's spiritual birthplace and the country's most violent region, has for
the last two years been the domain of British, Canadian and Dutch soldiers.
That's about to change. In what amounts to an Afghan version of the surge in
Iraq, the U.S. is preparing to pour at least 20,000 extra troops into the
south, augmenting 12,500 NATO soldiers who have proved too few to cope with a
Taliban insurgency that is fiercer than NATO leaders expected. Taliban shift efforts to Bombings, sniper attacks
in Afghanistan
McClatchy Newspapers; Jan. 02, 2009- KANDAHAR, Afghanistan
| Taliban fighters increasingly are deploying precision marksmen to fire on
U.S. troops at greater distances throughout southern Afghanistan, military
officials say. It marks the latest Taliban shift to asymmetrical warfare and
away from confronting U.S. troops in conventional fights, according to the
top two commanders for the southern region. Series of questionable deaths in Afghanistan
Canada,
David Pugliese- January 02, 2009: The decision Friday to charge an officer
for the alleged killing of an unarmed man in Helmand province is the first
such case for the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan but one of several ongoing
legal actions in the past year involving controversial deaths and coalition
troops. Pakistan seizes Taliban spokesman BBC News; 3
January 2009: A former spokesman for fugitive Taleban leader Mullah Omar has
been arrested in north-west Pakistan, officials say. Ustad Yasar
was detained in the city of Peshawar after a tip-off, they said, without
giving further details. Mr Yasar
was arrested in Pakistan in 2005 and handed over to Afghanistan, where he was
released in exchange for a kidnapped Italian reporter in 2007. Emerging
Union of Pak-Iran and Afghanistan Gen Mirza
Aslam Beg- Jan 4th, 2009: In 1989, Soviet Union had retreated from
Afghanistan. Iran had emerged stronger after the eight years of brutal war with
Iraq and democracy had returned to Pakistan, after eleven years of military
rule. The dawn of freedom, thus gravitated the three countries to come
together, as the bastion of power, to defeat and deter the common enemies.
The idea of unity between the states was floated to achieve the essential
element of ‘Strategic Depth’. Our enemies were unhappy with the idea and
resolved to defame and defeat it. They succeeded in causing civil war in
Afghanistan, which created dissensions between Pakistan and Iran. As if this
was not enough, Afghanistan was invaded and occupied in 2001. The occupation
led to hatching dangerous conspiracy by the Indo-US-Israel nexus ‘to
establish Indian hegemony in this region’ and extend power and influence even
beyond. The Mumbai contrived incident of 26 November is the first step, in
this direction. The Boston Globe; January 5, 2009: PRESIDENT-ELECT Barack
Obama has said he intends to expand the military effort to defeat the Taliban
in Afghanistan. The reality that Obama must soon confront, however, is that
Afghanistan cannot be saved from the Taliban by military means alone.
Ultimately, Afghan stability will require cooperation among many parties.
This need for cooperation is illuminated by current American and NATO efforts
to arrange for supplies to be transported into Afghanistan from Central Asian
states to the north. These include Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and
Kyrgyzstan, where the US military already has use of an airfield. Hundreds in Afghanistan protest Gaza incursion CNN; January 5, 2009- KABUL,
Afghanistan-- Hundreds of people in southern
Afghanistan have burned Israeli flags and shouted anti-Israel and
anti-American slogans to protest Israel's military action in Gaza, according
to eyewitness accounts from a CNN stringer. Council leaders in the provincial
capital of Kandahar bellowed over loudspeakers on Monday to an angry crowd of
about 700 protesters, calling for an end to the ongoing hostilities in Gaza. The business of bombs in
Afghanistan Strategy page-January
5, 2009: As in Iraq, the roadside bomb is becoming major industry in some
areas of Afghanistan. In 2007, about a thousand of these bombs were built and
placed. That doubled to 2,000 in 2008. The building, placing and detonating
of these bombs is subcontracted to dozens of teams that specialize in
those tasks. The chief proponent of the roadside bomb are the Taliban and al
Qaeda groups. Bosnia-Herzegovina decides to send peacekeepers to Afghanistan BELGRADE, Xinhua; 2009-01-06: Bosnia-Herzegovina's
three-member presidency on Monday decided to send a small number of
peacekeepers to Afghanistan later this year. The 10 Bosnian army officers
will perform operative, administrative and other tasks with the German and
Danish contingent as members of the NATO-led International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, a presidency statement said. The
decision, which has to be approved by the Bosnian parliament, is "one
more step on the road towards (the country's) integration into Euro-Atlantic
institutions," the presidency statement said. Gates Urges $69.7 Billion
More in 2009 for Iraq War Bloomberg;
Tony Capaccio, Jan 6, 2009, The Pentagon needs at least $69.7 billion more to
cover war costs in Iraq through the end of this fiscal year, according to
Defense Secretary Robert Gates. That amount
includes $600 million to buy four additional Lockheed Martin
Corp. F-22 fighters, Gates wrote Dec. 31
to Representative John Murtha, chairman of a House appropriations subcommittee on
military spending. “This estimate would fund operations through” Sept. 30,
“replace combat loses, worn out or stressed equipment and replenish
supplies,” Gates stated in a letter he labeled a personal assessment that
didn’t speak for either the Bush administration or the incoming Obama
administration. Army apologizes for error in letters L.A Times
;January 8, 2009: Washington -- The Army issued a formal apology to the
families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan after it sent them
letters with the salutation "Dear John Doe." In December, the Army
sent out 7,000 letters to the families of most of the 3,544 soldiers killed
in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 containing information about services or
gifts for which they might be eligible. Although the envelopes were properly
addressed, a software problem resulted in an error that printed the
salutation "Dear John Doe" at the top of the letters, which were
printed by a private contractor. Major
Push Is Needed to Save Afghanistan, General Says New York Times, January 8, 2009: WASHINGTON — The
top American commander responsible for Afghanistan, Gen. David H. Petraeus, said
Thursday that the country would require a “sustained, substantial” commitment
from the United States and other nations to stop a downward spiral of
violence and a resurgence of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Nevada to deploy largest amount of soldiers to Afghanistan since WWII krnv.com - Jan 9, 2009: Army
Guard's Cavalry squadron of about 600 Nevadans is set to deploy this spring
for Afghanistan. It will be the largest international deployment of American
soldiers since WWII. The soldiers will provide security for a provincial reconstruction
team that is rebuilding the country and will also conduct combat and infantry
missions in Laghman Province to ensure civil order in the region. Attack by CIA Killed Two Leaders of Al-Qaeda Washington Post ;
Joby Warrick, January 9, 2009: A New Year's Day CIA strike in northern Pakistan
killed two top al-Qaeda
members long sought by the United States, including the man believed to be
behind September's deadly suicide bombing at a Marriott
hotel in the Pakistani capital, U.S. counterterrorism officials
confirmed yesterday. U.S, Iran share interest in
Afghanistan: Petraeus WASHINGTON,
Andrew Gray, Reuters; Jan 9, 2009) - The United States and its allies share
some interests with Iran when it comes to stabilizing Afghanistan, Army Gen.
David Petraeus, head of the U.S. military's Central Command, said on
Thursday. Petraeus stopped short of advocating increased cooperation with
Iran on Afghanistan, saying it would be up to policymakers to weigh the
common interests there against major disputes between Washington and Tehran
on other issues Biden
meets leaders in Afghanistan
KABUL, (Reuters; 10, 2009- U.S. Vice President-elect Joe
Biden met Afghan President Hamid Karzai and military leaders on Saturday in
Afghanistan, which will become a top foreign policy priority of the new
administration. Al-Qaida chief killed in Pakistan, US
claims The Guardian, Saeed Shah and Harroon Siddique, 10 January 2009: The head of
al-Qaida's operations in Pakistan has been killed by a US air
strike in South Waziristan, close to the Pakistani border with Afghanistan, a
US counter-terrorism official has said. Usama al-Kini was believed to be
responsible for attacks including the bombing of a Marriott hotel in
Islamabad that killed 55 people in September, and an unsuccessful attempt to
kill the former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was later
assassinated, the official added. US hails its anti-terror technology
2012
target for Afghanistan troop withdrawal
January 11, 2009: The Australian
Defence Force has devised a plan to suppress the Taliban and bring about
reconstruction and development in Oruzgan province so that Afghan government
forces can take full security responsibility by 2012. Called Operations Plan
2012, this for the first time sets a target for Australian withdrawal.
However, the commander of Australian forces in the Middle East, Major General
Michael Hindmarsh, who launched development of this plan early last year,
acknowledges the 2012 target is probably too ambitious. PTSD and the
Purple Heart New York
Times; January 11, 2009: The Pentagon’s recent decision not to award the
Purple Heart to soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder
strikes us as reasonable and well considered. This is not to say that the
result was uncomplicated or unlikely to cause understandable sadness and
pain. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/12/opinion/12mon2.html Cheney: Qaeda out of
Afghanistan, into Pak Press
TV;11 Jan 2009: Outgoing US Vice
President Dick Cheney says US forces have driven al-Qaeda out of Afghanistan
but insurgents have found a safe haven in Pakistan. "Al-Qaeda, I believe for the most
part, has been driven out of Afghanistan. What they have done now is found a
safe haven, a refuge... in Pakistan," Cheney told CNN in an interview telecast on
Sunday. US intelligence sources maintain that the US-led invasion of
Afghanistan in 2001 forced Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders to seek
refuge in tribal areas on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Afghan
rebels strike Pakistan military camp Assault shows Taliban allied
across border Laura King (Los Angeles Times / January 12,
2009) ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -
Hundreds of militants crossed over from Afghanistan to attack a Pakistani
military outpost yesterday, officials said, in an illustration of the merging
of the Taliban insurgency on the two sides of the border. The attack pointed
up the growing boldness of militants operating in the lawless tribal areas
abutting Afghanistan at a time when the Pakistan government has diverted some
forces to the frontier with India. U.S.
Construction in Afghanistan Sign of Long Commitment Walter Pincus (Washington
Post ; January 13, 2009) The Army is building $1.1 billion worth of military
bases and other facilities in Afghanistan
and is planning to start an additional $1.3 billion in projects this year,
according to Col. Thomas E. O'Donovan, commander of the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers Afghanistan District. Massive construction of
barracks, training areas, headquarters, warehouses and airfields for use by
U.S. and Afghan security forces -- which could reach $4 billion -- signals a
long-term U.S.
military commitment at a time when the incoming Obama
administration's policy for the Afghan Obama
Team to View Afghanistan Conflict: Paper (Reuters Jan 13,
2009 ) WASHINGTON - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama intends
to sign off on Pentagon plans to send up to 30,000 more U.S. troops to
Afghanistan to help buy time for the new administration to reappraise the war
effort, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. The incoming administration
does not anticipate that the new deployment would significantly change the
direction of the conflict, the newspaper said. At
Gallery, History Is Rewritten Bush
Portrait Caption Had Linked Iraq to 9/11 Jacqueline Trescott (Washington Post; January
14, 2009) The National Portrait Gallery has taken the unusual step of
amending a caption for a portrait of President George
W. Bush at the request of a U.S. senator. The caption describes the
Bush administration and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In a letter to the gallery, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) objected to the language that said
"the attacks on September 11, 2001, that led to wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq . . ." Pakistan, Afghanistan will be Obama’s
priority: Hillary Anwar Iqbal (Dawn;January 14, 2009) WASHINGTON,
US Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton told her confirmation
hearing on Tuesday that fighting terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan would
be the highest priority of the Obama administration.“It is imperative that we
work with our friends in both Pakistan and Afghanistan” to defeat terrorists
in that region, she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.“The
democratically elected government in Pakistan seems to be much more aware
(than the previous government) of how this is their fight, not just ours,”
she added. Both President-elect Barack Obama and Senator Clinton believe that
the United States should make a more focussed commitment to stabilising
Afghanistan and to pushing Pakistan to eliminate the so-called terrorist
havens in Fata POLITICS
IN BRIEF: Afghanistan visitors report January 15, 2009 Vice
President-elect Joe Biden and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) gave
President-elect Barack Obama a frank assessment in an initial report
Wednesday on their just-ended fact-finding trip to Kuwait, Pakistan,
Afghanistan and Iraq. Biden said “things are going to get tougher in
Afghanistan” before they improve, and Graham agreed, predicting that
“casualties are likely to increase” as the number of U.S. troops there goes
up this year. But Graham, a confidant of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), whom
Obama defeated in November, had encouraging words as well. He said Obama has
earned enormous global goodwill and “a moment in time” to re-engage other
nations with the United States. Qaeda Feels Unsafe Near Pakistan Border: CIA
Chief Jan 15, 2009 (Reuters; Randall Mikkelsen) WASHINGTON - Al Qaeda
leaders no longer feel safe in Afghan-Pakistan border areas, where they face
heavy U.S. and Pakistani pressure and their local welcome has worn out, CIA
chief Michael Hayden said on Thursday. Hayden's comments to reporters as he
prepares to leave his post underscored a growing Bush administration
confidence that al Qaeda's leadership has been crippled, partly by a military
campaign that Washington does not acknowledge. Resistance
to U.S. Plan for Afghanistan Troop
Boost Complicated by Growing Taliban Influence, Anger Over Airstrikes and
Civilian Deaths Constable,
Washington Post Foreign Service;
January 16, 2009 KABUL -- The
planned U.S.
military and counterinsurgency drive in Afghanistan
is meeting public and official resistance that could delay and possibly
undermine a costly, belated effort that American officials here acknowledge
has a limited window of time to succeed. The
officials say they are optimistic that the planned addition of up to 30,000
troops, combined with a new strategy to support local governance and
development aimed at weaning villagers away from Taliban
influence, will show significant results within the year. They say improved
cooperation from the army in neighboring Pakistan
and better performance by the Afghan national army are bolstering this
optimism (Associated
Press: January 16, 2009) Kabul --Vice
President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. on a surprise visit to Afghanistan
as pledging continued U.S. support for Afghanistan's fight against terrorism,
drugs and corruption. The Jan. 12 Post devoted a full page to two
articles on that subject. The first, "Inexplicable
Wealth of Afghan Elite Sows Bitterness," cited the widening gulf
in Kabul between "haves and have-nots" as evident each day in
"VIPs in speeding SUVs and garbage scavengers riding donkey
carts." The second article,
"U.S.-Funded
Intelligence Center Struggles in Khyber Region," described a $3
million, U.S.-funded intelligence center near the Khyber Pass as the first of
several planned along the Pakistani-Afghan border to strengthen allied
cooperation against the movement of terrorists RAY BONNER (NewYork Times: January 16, 2009 ) One lesson
from Vietnam was that the United States should not go to war without broad
public support. One lesson from Iraq might be that we should not go to war
without a vigorous public debate in which an administration’s claims are
carefully examined and challenged. Yet we are on the verge of significantly
expanding the war in Afghanistan, which will inevitably affect Pakistan as well. Unfortunately, there has been little or
no debate about President-elect Barack Obama’s plan to send in more troops Afghanistan held back by weak leadership: NATO (Reuters; Jan 18, 2009 ) WASHINGTON - NATO's top official took
issue on Sunday with Afghanistan's sluggish forward progress, placing blame
more on the country's weak leadership than on the Taliban-led insurgency
"Afghan leadership is not some distant aspiration -- it's something that
we need as soon as possible and on which we must insist," NATO Secretary-General
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer wrote in an opinion piece published in Sunday's
Washington Post. Supplies
for Afghan forces disrupted in Pakistan (Reuters :Jan 19, 2009) LANDIKOTAL, Pakistan, - Western military
supplies to Afghanistan were suspended through Pakistan's Khyber Pass on
Monday after militants attacked an army camp, killing a paramilitary soldier
and wounding 10, an official said. Pakistani supply routes from the port of Karachi
to land-locked Afghanistan are vital for Western forces battling a resurgent
Taliban. They are likely to become even more important as the United States
builds up its Afghanistan force, perhaps doubling it to 60,000 soldiers, this
year. Taliban Must Stop Attacks on Schools, Harming
Children, UN Says Michael
Heath (Bloomberg Jan. 20, 2009) -- Taliban gunmen must stop attacks on
schools and students in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the United Nations said
after militants yesterday staged a series of bombings in Pakistan’s
northwest. The rise in child
victims of attacks on schools is cause for “grave concern,” UN envoy for
children and armed conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy said in a statement. The Taliban must stop harming
children by using them as perpetrators of suicide bombings, she said. Kyrgyz
talks on future of US base (BBC News :19 January 2009) The top US military commander for the Middle East and Central Asia has
held talks in Kyrgyzstan about the future of a prized US air base there. Gen David Petraeus said he wanted to ensure that Kyrgyzstan
derived greater benefits from hosting the facility. Unnamed Kyrgyz officials have been quoted in reports as
saying the base may be closed, amid pressure and offers of loans and
investment from Russia. NATO chief urges European allies to match
new U.S. efforts in Afghanistan (Xinhua; 2009-01-20) BRUSSELS, -- NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer on Monday urged European allies to commit troops, or at least
civilian assistance to NATO's operations in Afghanistan, in response to
pledges by incoming U.S. President Barack Obama to send in more U.S.
soldiers. "(The year) 2009,
as you know, will see an infusion of United States forces in this operation.
I strongly hope that we also see the other allies step up with more forces
and, when that's not possible, with more civilian aid, development
cooperation, reconstruction aid," de Hoop Scheffer told a New Year
reception. Europe opposes more troops for Afghanistan: poll (Reuters; Jan 20, 2009 ) European countries believe their
governments should resist any request by incoming U.S. President Barack Obama to send
more troops to Afghanistan, according to an opinion poll published on
Tuesday. The Harris poll for the Financial Times showed "clear
majorities" in Britain, France, Italy and Germany believed their governments
must not send more forces to Afghanistan if Obama asked them to do so, the
newspaper said. Obama
looks for regional allies to stabilize Afghanistan (AFP; Jan 21, 2009) WASHINGTON— President Barack
Obama appears set to pursue a regional diplomatic strategy as much as a
military one to prevent Afghanistan and Pakistan from turning into new havens
for anti-US militants. Despite his plans to send tens of thousands more
troops to Afghanistan to boost stability, the Obama administration seems to
be heeding expert advice that no military solution is possible over the long
term. Hillary Clinton, Obama's pick for secretary of state, last week omitted
mention of the idea of a military victory. U.S.
to Be Allowed New Routes To Supply Troops in Afghanistan Karen DeYoung (Washington Post :January 21, 2009 ) Army Gen.
David H. Petraeus said yesterday that the United States had reached
agreements to open "additional logistical routes into Afghanistan"
through its Central Asian neighbors to the north, reducing dependence on Pakistan
as the main transit route for supplies to U.S. and NATO
troops. Petraeus, the head of
the U.S.
Central Command, spoke to reporters in Pakistan before heading to
Afghanistan, his last stop on a six-nation tour of the region. He is due in
Washington today to attend a national security meeting this afternoon with President
Obama. Obama
to Meet on Afghanistan, Iraq Moves , January 21, 2009 President
Barack Obama is meeting today on his first full day in office with Secretary
of Defense Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs chair Adm. Mike Mullen and Central
Command head Gen. David Petraeus to discuss how to expedite the withdrawal of
140,000 U.S. troops from Iraq and send more troops to Afghanistan. Obama senior advisor David Axelrod
confirmed in inaugural day interviews that Obama is committed to something
approaching the 16 month withdrawal timeline he campaigned on, although, in
the weeks since his election, Obama has demonstrated a pragmatic flexibility
and a willingness to change course on campaign pledges. Obama gets started on new Afghanistan strategy Pakistan: Suspect in ’05 Attack Arrested REUTERS; January 21, 2009 A Saudi man linked to Al Qaeda and suspected of being the mastermind of the
2005 bombings of London’s transit system was arrested Wednesday in Pakistan, Pakistani intelligence officials said. The man,
identified as Zabi ul-Taifi, was one of seven men arrested in a predawn raid
on a house in Bara Qadeem, a village on the outskirts of Peshawar. The
officials said that other arrested men included Arabs and Afghans and that
they were believed to have planned attacks on trucks taking supplies to
Western forces in Afghanistan. In the July 7, 2005, bombings, four British
Islamist militants killed 52 people and wounded hundreds when they carried
out suicide bombings on three underground trains and a bus in central London.
NATO
Calls for More Cooperation With Pakistan to Combat Taliban Michael Heath (Bloomberg; Jan. 23, 2009) -- NATO
Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called for greater cooperation
between the alliance and Pakistan to combat Taliban militants in Afghanistan,
saying extra U.S. troops alone won’t defeat the insurgency. The NATO-led force of about 50,000
soldiers in Afghanistan is battling militants trying to topple the Afghan
government. The U.S. plans to deploy as many as 30,000 additional soldiers to
try to turn the tide of the insurgency. Afghanistan,
India unveil strategic road Jan 23, 2009 (Reuters; Jonathon Burch) KABUL -
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and India's foreign minister opened a new road
on Thursday that will help link Afghanistan with a port in Iran and challenge
Pakistani dominance of trade routes into the landlocked country. The 220-km
(135-mile) road in the southwest Afghan province of Nimroz is the centrepiece
of a $1.1 billion Indian reconstruction effort in Afghanistan. It has drawn
sniping from Pakistan, worried about its rival's growing influence there.
India, denied access through Pakistan, hopes to be able to deliver goods to
Afghanistan through the Iranian port of Chahbahar, and this has triggered
fears in Pakistan it is being encircled. MoD
defends hospital treatment for Taliban Jo Adetunji ; The Guardian;Friday 23 January 2009 Ministry of Defence officials last night defended the
decision to treat wounded Taliban fighters alongside UK troops in hospital
wards in Afghanistan, after complaints from British soldiers. In emails sent to the BBC,
soldiers objected to being treated on the same wards as militants at a field
hospital in Camp Bastion, in Helmand province. One soldier said he was
appalled that wounded troops were waking up in the same place as the people who
may have injured them or their friends. Obama's
Guantanamo decision has repercussions in Afghanistan, Pakistan Laura King; January 24,
2009 Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan -- President Obama's decision to
close the much-reviled detention center at Guantanamo Bay has drawn uneasy
attention, both in Pakistan and in Afghanistan, to government entanglement in
the Bush administration's harsh treatment of terrorism suspects. Obama's executive orders to shutter Guantanamo and conduct a sweeping review of U.S.
detention and interrogation practices were welcomed Friday by leaders in
Islamabad and Kabul, as well as rights groups and former detainees. Interview: Obama May Face 'Rebuff' from Europe on
Military Step-Up in Afghanistan
ROBERT E. HUNTER AND BERNARD
GWERTZMAN; January 23, 2009 :Robert E. Hunter, U.S.
ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) during the Clinton administration, says despite U.S. calls
for a stepped-up military role by European NATO members in Afghanistan, he
thinks there will only be a "token response." He pointed to opinion
surveys showing "there's not a single European country that wants to see
more of its troops go to Afghanistan." The issue will be raised early by
the Obama administration, Hunter says, "and if the United States pushes
too hard on asking for new forces, it will lead to a rebuff, and at the
beginning of an administration you don't want to be rebuffed." 2 U.S. Air strikes Offer
a Concrete Sign of Obama's Pakistan Policy R. Jeffrey Smith, Candace Rondeaux and Joby Warrick; Washington Post Staff Writers ; January 24, 2009:Two remote U.S.
missile strikes that killed at least 20 people at suspected terrorist
hideouts in northwestern Pakistan
yesterday offered the first tangible sign of President Obama's commitment to
sustained military pressure on the terrorist groups there, even though
Pakistanis broadly oppose such unilateral U.S. actions. Pakistan and Afghanistan claim U.S. strikes killed
civilians Tribune news services ; January 25, 2009 :ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan
urged President Barack Obama to halt U.S. missile strikes on Al
Qaeda strongholds near the Afghan border, saying Saturday that civilians were
killed the previous day in the first attacks since Obama's inauguration. Pakistani security
officials said eight suspected foreign militants, including an Egyptian Al
Qaeda operative, were among 22 people killed in Friday's twin strikes in the
Waziristan region. But the Foreign Ministry said the attacks by unmanned
aircraft also killed an unspecified number of civilians and it had informed
U.S. officials of its "great concern."
Ukraine faces
gas cutoff over $2.1b debt
January 12, 2009
Moscow—Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev
sternly urged Ukraine on Wednesday to fully pay its $2.1 billion debt for
Russian natural gas supplies or face sanctions, as a Jan. 1 deadline for
payment loomed. Medvedev’s statement was the strongest indication
to date that Ukraine may face a repeat of January 2006 cutoff of Russian gas
shipments which led to a reduction of supplies in Europe. It will likely
raise worries in the European Union, which depends on Russia for 40 percent
of its gas imports. Nato seeking airspace
deal with Russia BRUSSELS (AFP) - Nato is seeking to seal an agreement with Moscow to
allow the military alliance to fly equipment over Russian airspace to
Afghanistan, an official said Wednesday. “Both sides are already aware of the
fact that an air agreement would be desirable,” the Nato official told
AFP.The talks “at many levels” are able to take place now following the end
of a four-month freeze the alliance imposed after Moscow sent troops into
Georgia. US signs protocol boosting nuclear
monitoring CRAWFORD:
President George W Bush Tuesday signed a document allowing measures to boost
international monitoring of nuclear activities to come into force in the
United States, US officials said. Bush
signed the “instrument of ratification of the protocol additional to the
agreement between the United States of America and the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA)” to implement such nuclear safeguards, a White House
statement said. The protocol was signed by the United States and the IAEA on
June 12, 1998 and approved by the Senate on March 31, 2004. Ukraine gas cut signals tough Russian foreign
stance By Nick Coleman MOSCOW: Paying no heed
to the supposed season of goodwill, Russia’s decision to cut gas supplies to
Ukraine is a clear warning Moscow will continue playing hardball with
recalcitrant neighbours in 2009. Russia restricts jury trials for treason, terror MOSCOW: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has
signed a bill ending jury trials on charges of terrorism and treason, a move
critics say marks a retreat from democratic reform. The law strips defendants
of the right to a jury trial in cases involving treason, terror, armed
revolt, sabotage and riots. Instead, defendants must face three judges. The
law’s supporters say juries have acquitted many suspects despite strong
incriminating evidence. Critics say the law marks the erosion of a key
post-Soviet reform. The Kremlin announced late on Wednesday that Medvedev
signed it. Russia’s
Gazprom cuts gas to Ukraine after talks fail
Moscow—Russia halted gas deliveries to
Ukraine Thursday for the second time in three years, raising the threat of a
disruption to natural-gas shipments to Europe. Negotiations broke down shortly before midnight
after Ukraine rejected an offer from OAO Gazprom, Russia’s state gas
exporter, to sell it the fuel this year at $250 per 1,000 cubic meters, and
insisted that Russia also pay higher transit fees. Ukraine said Thursday it
is seeking a price of $201. Ukraine
stealing gas, says Russia: Kiev denies charges MOSCOW, Jan 2: Russia
on Friday accused Ukraine of ‘stealing’ gas bound for European customers and
called for an emergency session of the European parliament to make its case
in the latest energy crisis. Russia reassures Europe over gas LAHORE:
Russian gas giant Gazprom said it had increased the volume of gas flowing to
the EU via the Ukrainian pipe network, according to BBC News. Ukraine
has also guaranteed the transit of supplies to the West, BBC News reported,
adding pipes across Ukraine carry about a fifth of the EU’s gas needs.
Ukraine insists it has paid off its debts to Gazprom, but Russia contests
this. Russia blames
Ukraine in gas row
Prague—The Russian gas monopoly Gazprom
Saturday said Ukraine is boycotting any negotiations over a contract dispute
that led to the supply reductions to several European countries. Gazprom
Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev said Ukraine is siphoning some of Russia’s
natural gas shipments from the export pipeline and also underground storages.
He said the company is using alternate routes but they do not have enough
capacity to bring supplies to normal levels. Russia-Ukraine gas row disrupts supplies to EU KIEV/MOSCOW:
Russia and Ukraine looked no closer to compromise on Sunday over a gas row
that has disrupted supplies to at least four European Union countries as they
face freezing winter temperatures. Russia, France and EU launch efforts for truce MOSCOW, Jan 4: Russia,
France and the European Union have launched separate initiatives for
ceasefire in Gaza. Moscow on Sunday called for lifting the blockade
and stopping civilian bloodshed on both sides in Gaza and dispatched a
special envoy to help secure a mutual ceasefire and France’s President
Nikolas Sarkozy called key players in the Middle East to muster support for
the French peace initiative.
Russia-Ukraine gas dispute cuts supplies to Croatia MOSCOW/KIEV:
Russian gas flows to Croatia have fallen by 7 percent because of the deepening
row between Moscow and Kiev that has placed more strain on natural gas
supplies to Europe, Croatia’s pipeline operator said on Monday. Russia
cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on January 1 in a dispute over debts and
pricing that has again placed Russia’s reputation as a reliable gas supplier
under scrutiny. Supplies to several European countries have already fallen as
a result. Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom said Ukraine had shut down a
station supplying gas to the Balkans. Chief Executive Alexei Miller will meet
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin later on Monday for talks on the dispute, a
government spokeswoman said. Russian gas flow to Europe suspended completely MOSCOW/KIEV:
Russian gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine shut down completely on
Wednesday, leaving growing numbers of European Union member states without
Russian fuel in freezing mid-winter temperatures. The
shutdown, triggered by a price dispute between Moscow and Kiev, halted flows
to a dozen countries and disrupted supplies to big economies including
Germany, France and Italy. “Russia, which supplies 80 percent of its gas to
Europe through Ukraine, has left Europe without gas. There is zero transit,”
said Valentin Zemlyansky, a spokesman for Ukrainian state energy firm
Naftogaz. Six countries lose Russian gas KIEV:
Six countries reported a complete shutoff of Russian gas shipped via Ukraine
on Tuesday, in a sharp escalation of a struggle over energy that threatens
Europe as winter sets in. Bulgaria,
Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia and Turkey all reported a halt in gas
shipments from Russia through Ukraine. Croatia said it was temporarily
reducing supplies to industrial customers and Bulgaria said it had enough gas
for only “for a few days.” The European Union in Brussels called the sudden
cutoff to some of its member countries “completely unacceptable.” Ukraine
Naftogaz sees gas deal with Russia soon
Kiev— The head of Ukrainian state energy
firm Naftogaz is in Moscow for gas talks and a deal may be signed within days
if not hours, his deputy said on Saturday. “I am sure that in the coming
days, and maybe within hours, a contract will be signed for gas supplies and
transit through Ukraine,” Naftogaz Deputy Chief Volodymyr Trikolych told a
news briefing. “There is progress,” he added. (Reporting by Yuri Kulikov, writing by
Sabina Zawadzki, Editing by Dmitry Zhdannikov) Russia signs accord with EU to monitor gas
shipments MOSCOW, Jan 10: Russia
and the European Union signed an accord on Saturday to monitor Russian gas
shipments to Europe, piling pressure on transit country Ukraine to accept the
deal that would resume supply to gas-starved countries. The agreement was
signed after Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, representing the EU, held
a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and said afterwards that
getting Kiev to sign “shouldn’t be a problem.” Ukraine signs gas monitoring deal January 12,
2009 KIEV: Russia's gas
company Gazprom says Ukraine signed a deal to allow independent monitors to
track natural gas supplies from Russia to Europe with no additional
conditions. Gazprom said Ukraine
signed the deal Monday morning during talks in Kiev. The agreement could open
the way for a resumption of gas shipments to Europe through pipelines that
cross Ukraine. Ukraine accedes to Russia’s demand for monitors MOSCOW/KIEV:
Ukraine has removed conditions that had threatened a gas deal to resume
Russian supplies to Europe, Russia’s gas export monopoly Gazprom said on
Monday. The
removal of the additions, which Moscow described as a “mockery of common
sense”, offers the rival former Soviet republics a second chance of securing
agreement to deploy monitors to check gas flows across Ukraine to Europe.
Supplies to Europe have been cut off for nearly a week in freezing
temperatures after Russia accused Ukraine of siphoning off gas to make up for
losses it has suffered since Moscow turned off the tap on January 1 in a
dispute over gas prices. Russia blames
Ukraine for gas crisis
Moscow—Russia Monday vowed to fully restore
the flow of gas to the European Union as quickly as possible, and blamed
Ukraine for the crisis. The two countries have signed a new agreement after a
last-minute hitch Sunday, according to the Russian prime minister’s office. Spot
gas prices in Britain fell on the news, trading down 5.5p to 61.75p per
therm. However, forward prices rose on worries that another cold spell this
winter could leave the system short, market traders said. Russia halts gas flow to Europe after resuming supply MOSCOW:
Russia’s natural gas supplies bound for a freezing Europe were halted on
Tuesday only a few hours after starting again as an EU-brokered accord
between Russia and transit state Ukraine broke down. Ukraine
state gas company Naftogaz said it was blocking transit of the gas through
its territory because Russian energy giant Gazprom was imposing “unacceptable”
conditions for the transit. Gazprom’s deputy chief Alexander Medvedev was
quoted by Russian news agencies as saying: “In these circumstances, we
physically can’t carry out transit of gas through Ukraine’s territory.” “The
Ukrainian side cynically informed us that the gas transport system had been
reoriented to domestic consumers,” he added. Kyrgyzstan plans to close US airbase BISHKEK:
Kyrgyzstan plans to shut a US military airbase, a source close to President
Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s administration said on Tuesday. Washington
established the airbase in Kyrgyzstan in 2001 to support operations in its
war in nearby Afghanistan. Russian media said this week Bakiyev would
announce the closure of the base before his visit to Moscow later this month.
“This is true,” the source told Reuters. “A statement (on the closure of the
air base) is being prepared.” Ukraine refuses
to accept gas intended for Europe
Moscow— For a second day Ukraine refused to
accept Russian gas due to be transited to Europe, Russia’s gas monopoly
Gazprom said on Wednesday. Gazprom said it submitted another application with
Naftogaz on Wednesday for the transit of 98.8 million cubic meters of gas,
including 13.9 million intended for Moldova, 62.7 billion for the Balkan
states, and 22.2 million for Slovakia. EU threatens legal action over Russian gas cut MOSCOW/KIEV:
Russia and Ukraine wrangled over gas supplies again on Wednesday and two
European Union states, cut off by the row for a freezing week, launched
missions to plead for Russian gas flow to be restored. European
Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso called the crisis “unacceptable and
incredible” and warned the EU executive would advise the bloc’s firms to sue
Russian and Ukrainian energy companies unless gas supplies were restored
quickly. Russia began pumping gas meant for Europe via Ukraine on Tuesday,
but the EU said little or none was flowing yet to countries downstream
suffering urgent energy shortages. Kyrgyzstan may shut key
US airbase LONDON (Agencies) - The main US airbase supplying troops in
Afghanistan could be closed down by the government of Kyrgyzstan in return
for billions of dollars of Russian investment, says a report in “The Daily
Telegraph.” According to the report, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev is said to be
preparing to announce the closure of Manas airbase, which acts as the main
air hub for military supplies and troops travelling into Afghanistan. Russia closes probe into Tsar murder: report MOSCOW, Jan 15:
Investigators have closed an investigation into the shooting by Bolshevik
revolutionaries of Russia’s last Tsar Nicholas II and his family in 1918,
Itar-Tass news agency reported on Thursday.
Russia plans navy bases in Libya, Syria and Yemen MOSCOW:
Russia has decided to establish naval bases in Libya, Syria and Yemen within
a few years, Itar-Tass news agency quoted military officials as saying on
Friday, in a sign of Moscow’s growing foreign policy ambitions. “It is
difficult to say how much time it will take to create the bases for our fleet
in these countries, but within a few years this will be done without
question,” a military official was quoted as saying. “The political decision
on this question has been taken,” the official said. A spokesman for the
Russian navy could not immediately be reached for comment. A senior general
said it was too early to name any foreign ports that could host Russian
bases. Russia, Ukraine
have ‘last chance’ for deal
Berlin —The European Union piled pressure
on Russia and Ukraine on Friday to resolve a dispute cutting gas supplies to
Europe in mid-winter and Germany said Russia must honour energy contracts. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who began
a visit to Germany on Friday, is to meet Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia
Tymoshenko in Moscow on Saturday on the gas price dispute and the EU
Commission said such meetings provided a “last chance.” Moscow nearing gas deal: Putin BERLIN, Jan 16: Russian
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Moscow was nearing a deal
to deliver gas to European customers after a contract dispute with Ukraine
that has cut supplies since the start of the year. “We are approaching
interesting agreements which could lead to a solution,” Putin said at a joint
news briefing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He was referring to a
deal with a consortium of European energy companies to provide ‘technical
gas’, which is needed to pump supplies through the Ukrainian pipeline
network. Russia and Ukraine PMs reach gas deal MOSCOW: The
prime ministers (PMs) of Ukraine and Russia said on Sunday they had reached
an outline deal to restore gas supplies to European consumers after marathon
talks which dragged on into the small hours of the morning. “Gas transit, the
Ukrainian side assured us, will be restored very soon,” Russian state channel
Vesti-24 showed Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin saying in a brief
statement after the drawn-out talks. By NAUMAN ASGHAR The most fundamental conflict in the study of politics is that between
the 'power' interpretations and 'ideological' interpretations of world
events. The former trend of thought asserts that the struggle for supremacy
and its maintenance by those who profess it is the guiding theme of world
politics. This explanation has received much support from the recent
international events which have given serious blows to idealists' hopes of a
just international order. Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine in a
contract dispute on January 1 and raised concerns among the European
countries feeling uncertainty amid freezing mid-winter temperatures. Russia, Ukraine sign 10-year gas supply deal MOSCOW:
Russia and Ukraine on Monday announced they had resolved the gas dispute that
had cut supplies to a swathe of European countries, saying gas deliveries
would resume soon. But
the European Union (EU) demanded to know exactly when natural gas would begin
to flow again after a crisis that left millions of people in eastern and
central Europe without heating in the middle of winter. Russia keen to help cement Afghan defence: Kabul KABUL, Jan 19: Russia
is willing to help strengthen Afghanistan’s defence sector, according to a
letter released on Monday by the office of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Although the details
were vague, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in the letter – in
response to a request from Karzai in November 2008 – that “Russia is
ready to help Afghanistan in its defence institutions.” A Russian message to
Washington, by way of Kabul AFGHAN President Hamid Karzai’s office released a letter Monday revealing
Russia’s readiness to provide “broad” military assistance to Afghanistan. The
letter, written by Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, was Moscow’s response
to a request for aid that Karzai had reportedly made in November 2008 Medvedev’s letter was intentionally vague, simply stating that defence
cooperation between Moscow and Kabul would be “effective for both countries”
and “for establishing peace in the region”. The letter also calls for Moscow
and Kabul to specify the grounds for cooperation moving forward. Though the
letter itself didn’t say much, the timing of its release is absolutely
critical.
Eight
killed as militant dens pounded in Jamrud
The News, January 01, 2009: Curfew remained clamped on many towns of
the Peshawar district on Tuesday as the security forces, backed by gunship
helicopters, tanks and artillery, launched an operation against the militants
in Jamrud subdivision of Khyber Agency to secure the main supply route for
the Nato forces in Afghanistan.
Pakistan suspends Nato
supplies to tackle militants Dawn, January 02, 2009: Pakistan on Tuesday cut off supplies to Nato and US forces in
Afghanistan via the Khyber Pass as security forces launched a major operation
against militants there, an official said.The operation comes after a series
of spectacular raids by suspected Taliban militants on foreign military
supply depots in northwest Pakistan earlier this month in which hundreds of
Nato and US-led coalition vehicles were destroyed.Pakistani security forces
sent tanks, helicopter gunships and artillery units into the lawless Khyber
tribal region on the Afghan border before dawn, the area's administrator
Tariq Hayat told reporters in Peshawar.
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KASHMIR |
Resolve
Kashmir through India-Pakistan talks, says Omar Abdullah
Daily Times, 01-01-09: Indian National Conference
President Omar Abdullah said that the Kashmir issue should be resolved
through dialogue between Pakistan and India. He said while addressing a
gathering of supporters in Srinagar after his return from New Delhi “If
Kashmir is to be resolved and relations between India and Pakistan improved,
it will be through dialogue only. I appeal to the two countries not to allow
bitterness to creep into their relations.” He said that “Nothing can be
achieved through war and guns cannot solve any problem,” asking both the
countries “to avoid taking threatening postures as the relations between
India and Pakistan directly affect the people of our state, whether the
relations are good or bad”, he said. Abdullah said his government in Srinagar
would make efforts to improve ties between India and Pakistan, adding New
Delhi needed to take a “fresh look at peace efforts with Pakistan” and ensure
that “misunderstandings are removed as quickly as possible”. Abdullah further
added that “A stable relation with the neighbouring country (Pakistan) will
be highly beneficial for the country (India).”
Omar
Abdullah sworn in as IHK chief minister
Daily times, 06-01-09 : On Monday Omar Abdullah
was sworn in as the ‘youngest’ chief minister of Indian-held Kashmir (IHK)
amid tight security. Omar’s National Conference, which backs greater autonomy
but rejects calls for independence, emerged as the single biggest party in
elections that ended in December. “I swear to uphold the sovereignty and
integrity of India.” Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chief of the All Parties Hurriyat
Conference said that “(Omar)
cannot ignore the massive freedom demonstrations. If he is sincere he should
help address the aspirations of Kashmiris.”
IHK
chief minister cautions on implementing anti-terror laws:
Daily times, 07-01-09 : Newly-elected Indian-held
Kashmir (IHK) Chief Minister Omar Abdullah joined the opposition and Left
Front-ruled Indian states in their stance against implementation of recently
passed anti-terror legislations. Addressing a conference on internal security
convened by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Omar stressed caution while
implementing the recently-amended Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
He opposed blanket powers to the newly set up National Investigating Agency
(NIA) by keeping state governments out of the loop while investigating
terror-related crimes.
Kashmiris
torch effigy of Israeli PM
The Daily Times, 16-01-09: MUZAFFARABAD:
Witnesses said that about 1,000 people rallied in Azad Jammu and Kashmir
(AJK) on Thursday against Israel's ongoing campaign in Gaza, and torched an
effigy of the Israeli prime minister. The protesters marched along a main
road in Muzaffarabad, ending up in front of a local press club. One of the
protestor leader Aziz Ghazali said,
"Death to Israel, America and the United Nations," the
protesters shouted as they torched an effigy of Ehud Olmert.
Pak
terror handlers listed in dossier were active in IHK
In Lahore,
The Indian Express on Thursday reported that three names appearing in
New Delhi’s dossier on the Mumbai terror attack have a strong link to
Indian-held Kashmir (IHK). The paper quoted sources in IHK police as saying
that Saad, Wasi and Fahud — alleged Pakistan-based handlers of
terrorists who figure in the dossier — had operated in Kashmir for
years and “there is every likelihood that they may sneak into Jammu and
Kashmir again”.
LT to support democratic struggle to liberate
Indian-held Kashmir:
Daily times. 01-19-09 :The
outlawed Laskhar-e-Tayyaba (LT) announced on Sunday it would support a
peaceful and democratic struggle to liberate Kashmir. In a statement, LT
spokesman Dr Abdullah Gaznavi said his group took up arms when the world did
not respond to the Kashmiris’ peaceful struggle for more than four decades. He further said, “If the world listens
to our cries and plays its role in resolving the Kashmir issue, there is no
point in continuing fighting.” The group also endorsed British Foreign
Secretary David Milliband’s comment that the LT’s cause was in Kashmir.
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MIDDLE EAST |
Obama,
Iran and the nuclearization of the Middle East
The
Future of Nuclear (Counter-) Proliferation (Maybe)
The
Washington Independent, Spencer
Ackerman January 8, 2009: Outgoing Undersecretary of Defense for Policy
Eric Edelman says that counter-proliferation is “becoming a bipartisan
consensus,” with a special urgency on countries like Iran, and that vigorous
negotiations are necessary to stop emerging nuclear capabilities. He
reiterates that Iran is on the rise in the Middle East — how’d that happen?
— and rejects the idea that a more-nuclear Middle East would be a
rebalanced and stable Middle East. (Do people really argue otherwise?)
“Diplomacy is possible,” he said, but “it will require us to rivet the
attention of the international community more efficiently.” Edelman nods his
head toward Wendy Sherman, his co-panelist, as a likely new administration
official, to what passes for laughter at big foreign-policy conferences.
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Haaretz.com, Amir
Oren, January 11, 2009 : Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the amiable
and effective Dutch politician-diplomat, is stepping down as NATO's
Secretary-General this summer after almost five years on the job. While in
Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Sunday and Monday, Scheffer will meet with the political
and military leadership for talks on the Middle East, NATO and Israel's role
in both. On the eve of his arrival, he laid out his views in an exclusive
interview with Haaretz.
Don't expect Obama to get tough with Israel
Times Online,January
2, 2009 : As the new year begins to the depressingly familiar noise of war in
the Middle East, a pregnant silence is all that can be heard from Barack
Obama. This is, of course, only proper. The President-elect has political
decorum and the prerogatives of diplomacy on his side. Every day his
spokesman patiently reminds reporters clamouring for a hint of direction that
there is only one President and that he is, if only now for the next 18 days,
George W. Bush.
The
Gaza Conflict: Towards a Miracle in the Middle East
Belief Net, Marianne Williamson January 3, 2009: Today is a day to cry for Israel.
Today is a day to cry for the Palestinians. Today is a day to cry for all of
us.Today is a day of war.War anywhere, at this point in our history, is an
action that threatens peace everywhere. Particularly when it comes to the Middle East. From its spiritual
significance to its political significance, it is humanity's hot spot. It
always has been and probably always will be. It's where all the rivers
of human perspective meet, to become either a cauldron of hatred or an ocean
of love.
Source:
Mideast
not only tinderbox that could cause a flare-up
Vindy.com
January 3, 2009: While all eyes are on the Middle East where Israel has
responded with deadly force to rocket attacks from Gaza by the ruling
extremist group Hamas, there’s another region of the world that is just as
dangerous — if not more so. While no shots have been fired between India
and Pakistan, tensions are running high and troops are amassing on the border
between the two countries.
Why Iran Seeks Nuclear Weapons
8 January
2009,
Yale Global
Online: PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL: Expert observers of Iran hang on the latest
reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency of how many centrifuges
are running, how far the country must go to build a bomb, the latest
inflammatory remarks from President Ahmedinejad, speculation about a
lame-duck Bush administration military strike, or the same from Olmert’s
Israel.
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ENERGY / CLIMATE |
Poverty, Climate Change … and Recession - New York - January 29,
2009, Policies aimed at curbing climate
change and those designed to alleviate the suffering of the world’s poorest
are becoming increasingly linked. Poverty campaigners are concerned by
climate issues because global warming and rising seas are likely to disrupt
agriculture and displace people in areas where poverty already is widespread.
Climate activists are concerned about poverty because many nations are too
poor to invest in cleaner energy systems, or to curb deforestation, which
releases greenhouse gases. Under the existing Kyoto climate treaty, which
expires in 2012, poorer nations are under no obligation to contribute to
efforts to control emissions. But the European Union and the United States
say any successor treaty must also involve efforts by poorer nations.
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