Peace Like A River » Cables, dispatches and memoranda

Cables, dispatches and memoranda

November 23, 2009 (12:49 am) | Daily Roundup | By: Jeff Kouba

Cables, Dispatches and Memoranda A brief world news roundup for 23 November 2009.

United States & the Americas

Times of India – US and India will sign a pact on intelligence sharing and counter-terrorism during the Prime Minister’s visit, one of nearly a dozen agreements to be inked during the visit. Details of the pact are not being disclosed yet, but such was the importance of the agreement that CIA Director Leon Panetta flew down to New Delhi last week to discuss details with his Indian counterparts before the fine print could be drawn up.
Pentagon – Media Availability with Secretary Gates and Canadian Minister of Defense Peter MacKay
Washington Times – A Potomac, Md., Islamic center maintains links to Iran despite its claims that it is independent of a foundation that is being sued by the U.S. government on charges of funneling money to the Islamic republic.
Star Telegram – Work on the F-35 joint strike fighter program is far behind schedule and over budget despite the completion of a milestone test flight. Problems cited in the documents, obtained by the Star-Telegram under the Freedom of Information Act, support a recent Pentagon assessment that F-35 development will require two more years and billions of additional dollars.
National Post – International political and military officials agreed no exit strategy should be set for troops in Afghanistan, while the United States urged Iran to engage the West at a new security forum in Halifax that wrapped up Sunday.
NY Times - Canada’s top military officer said Sunday that on more than one occasion, Canada did not turn over Afghan prisoners to the Afghan government, fearing for their safety. The acknowledgment by the officer, Gen. Walter Natynczyk, the chief of the defense staff, appeared inconsistent with Canada’s assertions that such prisoners had not been tortured.
Fars – Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is slated to inaugurate a hospital built by the Iranian Red Crescent Society in Bolivia during his several-nation tour of Africa and South America.
Xinhua – China’s top political advisor Jia Qinglin arrived in Lima on Sunday, kicking off his official good-will visit to this South American country
VOA – At least 40,000 anti-government demonstrators march against what they called Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s attempt to set up a dictatorship
AP – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is inviting his mentor Fidel Castro to visit Venezuela during the coming months.
Miami Herald – President Hugo Chavez is hailing the forthcoming arrival of 300 Russian-made tanks and armored vehicles, and urging civilians to join government-organized militias to be ready to defend Venezuela from a foreign invasion.
AFP – Nearly 50 years after a botched US-directed invasion of Cuba, the communist nation said Saturday it is holding a military exercise next week to boost preparedness against any future US attack.
Columbia Reports – The Organization of American States (OAS) on Sunday condemned the rebel attack on a bus that killed six, including two children in the southern Colombian Nariño department.

Russia, Caucasus & Central Asia

RFERL – A Russian submarine broke off a mission in the Black Sea on November 21 and headed back to base, apparently because of engine trouble
Russia Today – Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin delivered speeches on Saturday at a congress of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, which took place in St Petersburg. The party can achieve changes for the better only if changes itself, according to the president
Herald Sun – The Australian Government has less than a week to decide whether to freeze $420,000 in Melbourne Cup prizemoney due to be sent to Chechen leader and alleged tyrant Ramzan Kadyrov.
RIA Novosti – Police killed a militant who tried to plant a roadside bomb in the Republic of Dagestan in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus region, the regional interior department said on Sunday
RIA Novosti – Police have freed the abducted son of the mayor of the town of Buinaksk in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Sunday
euronews – On Sunday, Ukrainians marked the fifth anniversary of the Orange Revolution, a popular protest that led to the annulment of the 2004 presidential election result.
Eugene Huskey – Foreign Policy in a Vulnerable State: Kyrgyzstan as Military Entrepot Between the Great Powers
Telegraph – Azerbaijan and Armenia held a presidential summit amid warnings that war was brewing between the countries over a festering territorial dispute. Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, said the negotiations in Munich were a final attempt to avert a military confrontation.
Hurriyet – The Azerbaijani president’s threat to use military force to wrest control of a disputed Azeri enclave from Armenia overshadowed Sunday’s peace talks with his Armenian counterpart.

Middle East

MNF Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) arrested five suspected members of the al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and the Islamic State of Iraq (ISoI) terrorist groups, Nov. 20. All arrests were made during three combined security operations conducted with U.S. advisers in the Iraqi cities of Ramadi, Tikrit and Kirkuk, military officials reported.
Telegraph – Iraq report: Secret papers reveal blunders and concealment; The “appalling” errors that contributed to Britain’s failure in Iraq are disclosed in the most detailed and damning set of leaks to emerge on the conflict.
Al Sumaria – Sheikh Abdul Mehdi Al Karbalai said Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani is concerned about delaying elections due in January. In his Friday’s sermon, Al Karbalai affirmed that Al Sistani fears regression due to lack of time as the Independent High Electoral Commission might not have enough time to prepare for elections on schedule
Al Manar – The president of Iraq’s Kurdish north, Massud Barzani, intends to create a unified army in the autonomous region, a statement from his office said on Sunday. “After (July) parliamentary elections and an agreement between the two parties, Kurdistan has decided to establish a unified army whose nucleus is composed of Peshmerga,” or Kurdish fighters, Barzani said.
Voices of Iraq – Unidentified gunmen assassinated the official of the Turkmen Front Party, in front of his house in eastern Mosul city on Sunday, a police source in Ninewa said.
DID – On Nov 19/09, the US DSCA announced a formal request from the Iraqi government to buy up to 27 light and medium utility helicopters, in a deal whose possible value is set at $1.2 billion.
Haaretz – Hamas announced Saturday evening that it has reached an agreement with other militant groups in Gaza to stop firing rockets at southern Israeli towns to prevent retaliatory attacks
NOW Lebanon – A source from the Egyptian court told United Press International (UPI) on Sunday that the Emergency Supreme State Security Court (ESSSC) decided to adjourn the case of 26 individuals accused of forming a terrorist group belonging to Hezbollah, also known in the media as the “Hezbollah cell,” until December 26
NOW Lebanon – NOW’s correspondent in South Lebanon reported on Sunday that Israeli warplanes have been flying over areas in the south since 10:00 a.m., conducting fake air raids, breaking the sound barrier and throwing thermal balloons.
Press TV – Lebanese anti-aircraft guns open fire on an Israeli drone that violated Lebanese airspace over the south of the country.
The National – Construction on the world’s longest causeway that will link Qatar with Bahrain is expected to start by the first quarter of next year after spending a decade in the planning stage. The 40km road and rail crossing first unveiled in 1999 will eventually connect to the planned GCC rail network.
Asharq Al Awsat - Information made available to Asharq al-Awsat from sources in Sa’dah has indicated that the naval blockade imposed by the Saudi navy on northern Yemen’s Red Sea coasts is tantamount to a lethal blow to many of the infiltrators’ dreams and plans. It indicated that these plans concern the weapons supplied from abroad through the Red Sea in addition to the insurgents’ desire to have a sea outlet during their battles with the Yemeni army
Xinhua – Yemen’s navy forces have repelled attacks by Shiite Houthi rebels on a seaport in northwest Red Sea coast bordering Saudi Arabia, a naval official said on Sunday.
Saba – Iranian soldiers who were onboard an Iranian cargo ship sailing off Yemen have harassed Yemeni fishermen and checked out their boats, the Interior Ministry reported on Sunday
Press TV – Three Saudi soldiers have been killed and an unidentified number of others wounded in an attack by Houthi fighters in the border area of Jebel Rumayh. Houthi resistance fighters in Yemen say the casualties were inflicted on the Saudi forces in an operation following a heavy overnight air raid by Saudi aircrafts
AFP – The governor of Yemen’s Sanaa province on Sunday denied tribal claims that Al-Qaeda has taken charge of a Japanese engineer kidnapped near the capital a week ago.
UN Committee Against Torture – Among serious concerns about Yemen were reports of grave violations of the Convention committed in the context of the fight against terrorism, such as extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, indefinite detention without charge or trial, torture and ill-treatment, and deportation of non-citizens to countries where they were in danger of being subjected to torture or ill-treatment.

Iran

Haaretz – Iran began large-scale drills on Sunday to help protect its nuclear facilities, state TV said, after a senior Iranian cleric warned on Saturday that the Islamic Republic strike Tel Aviv if attacked.
Jerusalem Post – A top Iranian diplomat has said his nation needs enriched uranium to power some 200 hospitals and insisted “guarantees” were needed before they could consider a storage deal with Turkey. Ali Asghar Soltanieh, chief Iranian delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in an interview with Der Spiegel released Saturday that Iran desperately needed more uranium to produce isotopes for medical purposes.
ITIC – Strong reactions in Iran to Russia’s announcement about yet another delay in the completion of the Bushehr nuclear reactor
Mehr – Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Sunday that Iran is asking Russia to fulfill its commitments in delivering S-300 air defense missiles to Iran.
ISNA – Iran’s ambassador to Iraq Hassan Kazemi Qomi said the issue of Iraq’s mediation on the three US nationals who are imprisoned in Iran has not been discussed during his meetings with Iraqi officials.
Al Jazeera – A former Iranian vice-president has been sentenced to six years in jail after being accused of inciting unrest following the country’s presidential elections in June. Mohammad Ali Abtahi now has three weeks to submit his appeal, and has been released after paying a $700,000 bail.
MEMRI – Majlis National Security Committee member Mohammad Karim Abedi said that, if the Pakistani government fails to suppress Jundallah’s activity within its borders, Iran will operate inside Pakistan, up to a distance of 230 km from the border
Payvand – Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi and Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah met in Tehran on Sunday to discuss energy ties focusing on the development of Arash joint gas field
ynet – Iranian foreign minister offered Oceania nation $200,000, technological aid, in exchange for end to support of Israel in UN, report obtained by Foreign Ministry says. Following offer, Solomon Islands changed attitude towards Israel, even voted in favor of adopting Goldstone Report
Press TV – Iran has dismissed reports that money has been stolen from the country’s embassy in France. “Some hackers sought to steal money from one of the bank accounts of the Iranian Embassy in Paris through certain illegal electronic activities,” the embassy said in a statement issued on Saturday.
Payvand – Photos: Kandovan, A Village Carved Inside Rocks

South Asia

Xinhua – Taliban militants attacked a patrol team of German forces in Kunduz province north of Afghanistan Sunday, officials said.
WSJ – Taliban-led insurgents marked the first days of President Hamid Karzai’s second term with a series of deadly attacks across Afghanistan, including suicide strikes that targeted key government officials and a rocket attack on a Kabul luxury hotel that hosted senior Afghan and Pakistani ministers.
LA Times – Authorities on Friday were investigating whether a blast that hit a crowded marketplace in western Afghanistan was aimed at a provincial governor considered friendly to the United States. A suicide bomber rode a motorcycle into a crowded marketplace in the city of Farah, capital of Farah province, and set off his explosives, killing 16 other people and injuring about two dozen others.
Free Range International – In my last post I mentioned Chief Ajmal Khan Zaizi who has been featured oin a series of blog posts by Steven Pressfield. As I said in that post I know Ajmal – The Boss and I have been planning some cash for work projects in direct support of his efforts. We had worked out the logistics of going into the Jaji valley which is surrounded by areas under Taliban control and sent out a query to the local US Army COP about using their LZ to fly ourselves in. Here is the response we received
MEMRI – An Afghan source in Kabul reports that U.S. Ambassador in Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry is holding secret talks with Taliban elements headed by the movement’s foreign minister, Ahmad Mutawakil, at a secret location in Kabul. According to the source, the U.S. has offered the Taliban control of the Kandahar, Helmand, Oruzgan, Kunar and Nuristan provinces in return for a halt to the Taliban missile attacks on U.S. bases
CNN – All day long Sabar takes items back and forth between two of the most dangerous countries in the world, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Normally she smuggles flour from the Pakistan side where she is from. Pakistan has a ban on exporting food items to Afghanistan because of a spike in food prices, so flour is a hot commodity right now.
Dawn – Thirteen militants and a security person were killed in fierce gun battle in Shahu Khel area in Hangu district on Sunday. Security forces destroyed a communication tower, FM radio station and a training camp of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in Kasha and Darha Darh Mamozai areas in Upper Orakzai Agency on Sunday.
Dawn – Gunship helicopters targeted various areas of lower Kurram. It is beleived that the hideouts belong to militants linked to banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Residents of central Kurram have started migrating to safer areas.
The News – A person was killed in a bomb blast while militants fired several rockets at security forces’ camp in the Mamad Gat area of Safi Tehsil in Mohmand Agency on Saturday. Security forces, the sources added, also continued targeting suspected hideouts of the militants with artillery guns from Bhai Dag and Mamad Gat camps
Geo – At least three alleged extremists who fled after dumping weapons near Assembly Hostel in Muzaffarabad, blew themselves up in a detached area near Sarar on Saturday.
The Diplomat – Despite most of them not being able to read, these Baloch guerrillas are fluent in both Baloch and Urdu, and many of them also count Pashtun and Brahui as part of their linguistic repertoire. One of these polyglots is Girok (Lightning), though his command of four languages has so far proved of little help to him. After his village was destroyed by the Pakistani army, he and his family were forced to exchange the loneliness of the Baloch desert plain for the garbage heaps of the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan´s largest city with a population of over 20 million. Around 80,000 Baloch families have suffered the same fate over the past three years.
Deccan Herald – Seven people were killed and 54 others injured in two back to back blasts suspected to have been triggered by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) on Sunday, the second time in a week and five days ahead of the militant outfit’s raising day. The bombs, which exploded near a police station here, were strapped to bicycles, Nalbari Police Superintendent Jitmol Doley said. They exploded within a few minutes of each other and about 50 metres apart, he said.
Times of India – Two CRPF personnel were killed and seven others injured when suspected Maoists triggered a landmine blast in Jharkhand’s Gumla
Colombo Page – An Indian company has expressed its willingness to assist Sri Lanka to reconstruct the Northern rail track from Omanthai to Pallai in the Jaffna peninsula, the government said. A Chinese company has agreed to assist the Railway Department to construct the rail track from Pallai to Kankasanthurai (KKS). The LTTE has completely destroyed the train track and the stations along the track during their occupation of the region.

Far East & Pacific

Xinhua – Japan’s Foreign Ministry will admit that a secret pact between Japan and the United States, which allows nuclear-laden U.S. military vessels and aircraft to stopover in Japanese territory, does exist according to a statement made by the ministry on Saturday.
Yonhap – Top military officials of North Korea and China pledged to further strengthen their countries’ alliance that was “sealed in blood” during the Korean War, Pyongyang’s media said Monday.
RFA – North Korea is pulling back from Chinese mining investments in an effort to independently develop its industry and use the profits to create a self-reliant economy, according to a well-informed North Korean defector.
Xinhua – By Sunday morning, death toll from NE China coalmine blast has risen to a staggering 87, while more than 240 rescuers in 19 group have been sent into the shaft to look for the missing.
UPI – Thai and Cambodian military leaders will meet next week amid growing tensions over Phnom Penh’s appointment of a fugitive former Thai premier as an adviser.

Europe

Irish Times – A massive 400lb car bomb failed to explode outside the Policing Board headquarters in Belfast this morning, according to the PSNI. The car carrying the device broke through a barrier into Clarendon Dock, close to the Policing Board headquarters, before the back of the vehicle went on fire. Two men were seen escaping from the car. PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott said it appeared an explosive device in the vehicle had only partially detonated.
BBC – Four men have been arrested following a gun attack on police officers in Garrison, County Fermanagh. Dissident republicans are also thought to have been behind this attack. Officers returned fire during the incident on Saturday night. There were no reports of injuries.
JTA – Two Pakistanis suspected of helping facilitate the November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai were arrested. The men, a father and son, were arrested Saturday in the northern Italian city of Brescia.
France24 – Exit polls indicate that incumbent President Traian Basescu (right) narrowly won the first round of Romania’s presidential election on Sunday but will face leftist challenger Mircea Geoana in a December 6 runoff.
LA Times – Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall signaled the end of Soviet dominance in Hungary, Russia’s ghosts linger in a fledgling political system, and its oil and gas muscle spooks the Hungarian government. Russia exists today as an anxiety; to a rising generation, an abstraction. And yet, to some — an opportunity
UPI – Estonian officials said that if Russia buys a French amphibious assault ship, Estonia should consider taking security measures.
Estonia MFA – Foreign Minister Urmas Paet opened the Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in Tel Aviv, Israel. Israel was represented at the opening of the embassy by Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch.

Africa

Shabelle – the Islamist fighters of Jubba regions under the management of Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen have taken over the control of Af-madow town in Lower Jubba region in southern Somalia, just as there is no fighting continuing there in southern Somalia, officials told Shabelle radio on Sunday.
Garowe – The leader of Somalia’s Hizbul Islam, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys has secretly held talks with some top Al-Shabaab officials to discuss the brewing row between the two groups. Confidential sources told Garowe Online that the meeting was tense with Al-Shabaab officials asking Sheikh Aweys to join them.
Mareeg – At least three civilians have killed and ten others have been wounded in clashes between Islamist rebels and government soldiers backed by African Union troops in Mogadishu, witnesses say.
Al Arabiya – Two men who had been held for seven years in the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay on suspicion of belonging to an extremist group were acquitted in an Algerian court on Sunday, state media reported.
Washington Post - In recent months, the Ethiopian government began marketing abroad one of the hottest commodities in an increasingly crowded and hungry world: farmland.
New Vision – LRA leader Joseph Kony has instructed his troops to move into Darfur and report to the first detachment of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) seeking protection and logistical support. This was revealed by the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) director of operations, ‘Lt. Col.’ Charles Arop, who surrendered earlier this month and was flown to Kampala last week.
Sudan Tribune – The Ugandan security forces in Central Africa Republic have killed a senior LRA rebels Commander near Obo town in CAR, an Army spokesperson has confirmed.
Javno – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Gambia on Sunday for a 24-hour working visit aimed at fostering relations between the Islamic republic and the West African nation.
Times – Heritage Oil, the FTSE 250 group run by Tony Buckingham, has agreed to sell its prized Uganda fields for $1.5 billion (£909m) to Eni of Italy in a deal that will bring an £80m windfall for the ex-mercenary.