Peace Like A River » Cables, dispatches and memoranda

Cables, dispatches and memoranda

September 22, 2008 (12:38 am) | Daily Roundup | By: Jeff Kouba

Cables, Dispatches and Memoranda
A brief world news roundup for 22 September 2008.

United States & the Americas

US House – Foreign Assistance in the Americas; Hearing before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
IRNA – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a telephone conversation with his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez on Sunday morning called for expansion of cooperation between the two countries in various fields. “Fortunately, the morale of imperialism has weakened in the world and this calls for collective cooperation of countries such as Iran and Venezuela to create conditions for development coupled with strength,” he said.
AFP – Venezuela will buy combat and training aircraft from China this week, leftist Venezuela President Hugo Chavez confirmed in a television broadcast Sunday. The purchases will be made as part of a six-country tour, Chavez said in his broadcast of the “Alo President” television program from the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, hours before leaving on a “strategic interest” trip to Cuba, China, Russia, Belarus, France and Portugal.
San Diego Union Tribune – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said in an interview broadcast Sunday that Latin America needs strong friendship with Russia to help reduce U.S. influence and keep peace in the region. The interview aired as a Russian Navy squadron prepared to sail to Venezuela. Venezuela recently hosted a pair of Russian strategic bombers and is preparing to conduct a joint naval exercise with Russia. Russian media say Chavez plans to visit Moscow Friday, his second trip in just over two months.
Newsweek – Q&A: An ousted U.S. diplomat says that Bolivia and other Latin American countries are distancing themselves from the direction that the rest of the world is taking.

Russia, Caucasus & Central Asia

BBC – Russia will not consult Western nations or Georgia when deciding how many troops to post in the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the decision was down to Russia and the “states” involved.
Human Rights Watch – The torture and ill-treatment of Georgian detainees is abhorrent and can’t be justified, even during armed conflict,” said Rachel Denber, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Russia had effective control in South Ossetia while these abuses took place and it has the duty to hold the perpetrators to account for these horrific crimes.” In interviews with former Georgian military detainees, Human Rights Watch has documented at least one extrajudicial execution of a Georgian soldier in detention, as well as severe torture of at least four Georgian soldiers by Ossetian militia and other Ossetian forces.
Russia Today – The President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, says it’s only a matter of time before the newly-independent states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia win widespread recognition.

Iraqi police and U.S. Soldiers with Personal Security Detachment, 4-64 Armor, 3rd Infantry Division, provide security for a pool opening in Risalah, Baghdad, on Sept. 18, 2008. (photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Joan Kretschmer)

Middle East

AFPS – Coalition forces apprehended five suspected members of an Iranian-backed terrorist group today during two separate operations in New Baghdad, and captured seven wanted men and 18 additional suspects in operations yesterday and today throughout Iraq, military officials reported. Acting on intelligence information, coalition forces targeted suspected key members of the Khataib Hezbollah network in two separate locations today. The network allegedly funnels weapons and materiel into Iraq from Iran, which is then used to conduct attacks against coalition and Iraqi forces, officials said.
Asharq Al Awsat – Iraqi officials say an interior ministry brigadier has been killed in a drive-by shooting in western Baghdad. A police officer and an interior ministry official say gunmen killed Brig. Adel Abbas and his driver as they drove to work Sunday morning.
MNF Iraq – The first of 13 local police stations opened its doors during an Iraqi Police station validation ceremony in Salah ad Din province Sept. 16. The al Answar station is the first to be validated by Coalition forces and join the fight to secure Iraq’s streets with 13 more stations in the province scheduled for validation in the next several months.
Jerusalem Post – Thirty-three months after dramatically filling in for a stroke-stricken Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert – facing a number of corruption allegations – formally tendered his resignation to President Shimon Peres on Sunday evening.
Haaretz – United Nations investigators believe Syria may have buried traces of a suspected covert nuclear reactor under concrete, diplomats said Sunday. The diplomats said Syria has rebuffed IAEA requests to revisit al-Kibar and examine three military sites seen as interlinked, on the grounds that doing so would breach the country’s national security.
Reuters – Yemen has arrested six members of an Islamic militant group which claimed an attack on the U.S. embassy that killed 19 people, a state-run website said on Sunday. Abu al-Ghaith al-Yamani, who signed the Islamic Jihad group’s statements and was thought to be its leader, was among the six arrested, it said.

Iran

Fars News – Addressing a military parade marking the Sacred Defense Week (the start of Iran’s resistance against the 8-year-long Iraqi invasion in 1980), Ahmadinejad said, “If anyone allows himself to commit even a tiny offense against Iran’s legitimate interests, borders and sacred land, our armed forces will break his hand before he pulls the trigger.”
IRNA – Referring to the IRGC’s deterrent power, the commander of the IRGC’s ground forces said, “Enemies are completely aware of how the IRGC forces are determined to give a crushing response to any possible attack.”
IRNA – Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said on Sunday that threats of domestic and foreign enemies against Iran stem from their fear of the the Iranian nation’s power.
IRNA – Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Air Force Brigadier General Hossein Salami on Sunday said Iran is powerful enough to foil enemy’s possible attack. He added that Iran’s air defense system has over recent years made great and acceptable progress.
Payvand – A senior Iranian military advisor warned that any US military action against Iran will seriously endanger thousands of American soldiers deployed in the region. “If the US officials make a strategic mistake, 200,000 American soldiers will be seriously imperiled in the (Middle East) region,” Major General Yahya Safavi, the senior military advisor to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei told IRNA.
Press TV – The Iranian armed forces have staged a huge military parade displaying their latest defense capabilities, missiles and rocket launchers. During the parade, elite units of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and the voluntary Basij force staged marches. The country’s latest domestically-manufactured military arms, naval weapons and air force equipment were also showcased, including the Shahab-3 missile with the ability to hit targets within a range of 2,000 kilometers.
Iran Human Rights – Under the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, basic human rights protection in Iran has deteriorated to new lows, Human Rights Watch and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said in a briefing paper released today. The report also notes the skyrocketing number of total executions under Ahmadinejad. In July 2008, 29 men were hanged on a single day, but the authorities announced the names of only 10 of them. The number of executions has nearly quadrupled under Ahmadinejad’s presidency, rising from 86 cases in 2005 to 317 cases in 2007 – almost a 300-percent increase.

Southeast Asia

The News – A dozen policemen and two militants were killed in a rebel attack and subsequent siege in western Afghanistan, a district governor said on Sunday. The policemen, responsible for the security of a hydroelectric dam being reconstructed by Indian engineers, were on patrol when they came under attack from dozens of rebels in western Herat province Saturday.
AFPS – Coalition forces killed a militant and detained seven suspected militants during operations targeting the Haqqani terrorist network in Afghanistan’s Khowst province, military officials reported.
AP – The U.N. said guns fell silent across much of Afghanistan on Sunday for an international peace day that saw pledges by the U.S., NATO, the Afghan government and the Taliban to halt attacks.
The Australian – The Australian Defence Force will embark on a major revamp of its command arrangements and logistical bases in the Middle East next year as the military winds down its involvement in Iraq and gears up for a long campaign in Afghanistan. The 70-strong headquarters of Australia’s Middle East command known as Joint Task Force 633 (JTF633) is expected to move from Baghdad to the Arabian Gulf, leaving the 110-strong security detachment as the core military presence in the Iraqi capital.
Daily Star – Pakistan on Sunday blamed Al-Qaeda-linked Taliban militants for a massive suicide truck bombing at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad that killed at least 53 people and wounded more than 260. Dramatic footage of Saturday night’s attack showed the carnage could have been far worse, but the attacker failed to get through a secondary barrier after he crashed his explosives-laden truck into the hotel’s security gates.
CentCom – Two DOD service members, assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, died from wounds received during a terrorist attack on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan on Sept. 20.
CBC – Rescuers pulled more bodies from the shell of the truck-bombed Marriott Hotel in Pakistan’s capital Sunday, pushing the number of people killed to 53, including the Czech ambassador to Pakistan. Ambassador Ivo Zdarek was among at least 21 foreigners who died. Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said two Americans were confirmed dead as well as one Vietnamese national. Officials in Pakistan said other foreigners in the group included people from Britain, Germany and the Middle East. There are no known Canadian casualties.
BBC – A bomb exploded Friday at an Islamic religious school in south-western Pakistan, killing five people and wounding at least eight. The explosion, near the city of Quetta, caused a gaping hole in the madrassa’s external wall, TV footage showed.
Michael Scheuer – Pakistan’s low-intensity war against India which, while long ongoing, has been effectively broadened since the United States-led invasion of Afghanistan and India’s expanding presence there. Pakistani covert operations alone would never have posed a threat to Indian security and stability, but rising anti-Hindu sentiments among India’s 150-million-strong Muslim community have complemented Pakistani operations and enhanced the threat posed to India’s communal harmony and economy, a result that likewise increases the chances of an unintended India-Pakistan war.
Khaleej Times – An anti-India strike called by Muslim separatists shut shops, schools and offices in revolt-hit Kashmir on Saturday in the latest protest to hit the scenic region.
AKI – Two more churches were damaged in Karnataka on Friday, as the government put the state on alert after 20 such attacks since last Sunday. Mangalore has been the epicentre of the attacks against churches and clergymen in Karnataka, where Hindu radicals have gone on the rampage, claiming that their brethren are being illegally converted to Christianity in the area.
Scotsman – Sri Lankan police yesterday started a census of thousands of people, nearly all ethnic Tamils, who have fled the war-torn north for the capital Colombo. All those who arrived in the city in the past five years were ordered to attend special registration centres. The government says rebel Tamil Tigers are hiding among the people to infiltrate the city and plant bombs.
Colombo Page – Fighting raged in the battlefronts of northern Sri Lanka yesterday killing at least 27 Tiger rebels and four soldiers, while the Air Force carried out multiple attacks today on LTTE locations, the military said. Another 24 LTTE cadres and 11 soldiers have been injured in the skirmishes. Fierce fighting in Kilinochchi killed 9 Tigers in separate incidents. Three Army soldiers were killed and five others were wounded due to LTTE mortar attacks in Vannerikulam area while another soldier was killed in a confrontation in Panneikandamadu area. Troops captured an LTTE bunker and a trench line in the Vavuniya area killing nine Tigers including two female cadres.

Far East & Pacific

AFP – China said nearly 13,000 children were in hospital Sunday after drinking toxic milk powder in a dramatic escalation of Beijing’s latest safety scandal. As the World Health Organization questioned Beijing’s handling of the crisis, premier Wen Jiabao appeared on state television promising to head off further incidents.
Xinhua – The Thai government and Muslim insurgents on Sunday agreed to address a four-year bloody conflict in southern part of the country through talks and to resume halted ceasefire, Indonesian state spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said here. The agreement was reached after a two-day talks brokered by Indonesia, which has experience in terminating rebellions in Aceh and dealing with insurgency in Papua, said the spokesman.
Pacific Magazine – The U.S. says the military buildup of Guam over the next 10 years will cost $15 billion, the Pacific Daily News reports. The report, from the investigative agency of the U.S. Congress, says additional costs are due to: the cost of using high-speed vessels to move Marines to and from Guam; training-related costs in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; relocation costs for personnel, equipment and material to Guam; costs of facility furnishings, such as furniture and office equipment; and, real estate costs if additional land is required on Guam or the Northern Marianas.
CTB – After a falling out with the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (which he previously headed), militant Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba’asyir formally inaugurated a new hard-line organization in Bekasi, West Java, on 19 September. The new organization is called Jamaah Anshorud Tauhid (JAT), which roughly translates as “Savior Community.” The paramilitary Islamic Defender’s Front sent several busloads of members from its chapters in Jakarta, Solo, and Indramayu to attend this inaugural ceremony.

Europe

Iran Press Service – Germany’s Biggest Mosque To Be Built In Koln; Works of the edifice, to become the biggest of the 150 mosques already existing in Germany, is to start on 2010, but an extremist right-wing movement, named “Pro Koln”, under the pretext of “saving Germany from Muslim invasion”, is staunchly opposing the project and to attract people’s support, prepared a meeting for Saturday and Sunday.
Gates of Vienna – AMDG was in Cologne yesterday, and has posted an extensive and detailed account of what he witnessed. He has included dozens of excellent photographs, and, since I haven’t borrowed any of them, I recommend that you visit his blog to get the sense of what happened at the aborted Pro-Köln conference.
Daily Spain – Suspected Basque separatists threw petrol bombs at a police station in Ondorroa in northeast Spain to lure officers outside before detonating a car bomb, which injured 10 people, police said Sunday.
Washington Times – Slovenia’s opposition Social Democrats held a razor-thin lead over the ruling center-right party of Premier Janez Jansa in parliamentary elections Sunday, nearly complete results showed. But the vote was too close to predict the outcome with certainty.

Africa

Press TV – Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zanawi says that his country’s troops will continue to stay in Somalia until their objectives are met. It is also noteworthy that the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and Al-Shabab fighters have gained control of roughly 95% of the Horn of Africa country.
Vanguard – The military Joint Task Force (JTF) in Rivers State is not sucked in by yesterday’s unilateral ceasefire declared by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in its “oil war”, and said it would treat the group’s move with caution. However, some of the militant groups involved in the violence in the Niger Delta are said to be dispatching delegations to Abuja today to present a common position to the Federal Government on the condition for laying down their arms and paving the way for the smooth take-off of the newly created Ministry of Niger Delta.
Dawn – The decapitated bodies of 12 Mauritanians, missing since an ambush on a patrol last week in the north of the country, have been found in the desert, the defence ministry said Saturday. The defence ministry said the attack was launched by an Al-Qaeda linked outfit called the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which has renamed itself Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb.
Monitor – Fears of a renewed offensive by the LRA, following the rebel group’s attacks in South Sudan and eastern DR Congo, have emerged and are likely to turn the spotlight on northern Uganda’s stalled peace process and the failure of Uganda, DR Congo and South Sudan to see through a regional military programme to flush out the rebels.
UN – The United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has called for an immediate ceasefire between the Government and rebels, as new clashes broke out today in North Kivu, leading to further displacement in the troubled region.
BBC – Miners in Lesotho have discovered a huge gem stone which may become the largest ever polished diamond. The stone weighs 478 carats and is the 20th largest rough diamond ever found, said Gem Diamonds. The diamond, which is as yet unnamed, has the potential to yield a 150 carat cut stone.
J. Peter Pham – In just two weeks, the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), after operating for a year under the aegis of the European Command (EUCOM), will achieve independent unified status as America’s newest regionally-focused military headquarters. What, then, are the key strategic interests which drive American foreign policy in Africa which AFRICOM’s engagements will be expected to support?

Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, stand at attention for the final roll call for two fallen heroes, Spc. Marques Knight and Pvt. Michael Dinterman, on September 15, at a combat outpost in northeastern Afghanistan. (photo by Staff Sgt. David Hopkins)