Peace Like A River » Cables, dispatches and memoranda

Cables, dispatches and memoranda

September 23, 2008 (12:37 am) | Daily Roundup | By: Jeff Kouba

Cables, Dispatches and Memoranda
A brief world news roundup for 23 September 2008.

United States & the Americas

CSM – Detainees’ rights subverted at Guantánamo, their lawyers say; A federal judge asks for statements from two guards accused of threatening a detainee.
NY Times – When he heads to the United Nations, President Felipe Calderon of Mexico will for the first time be able to use his presidential jet without having to ask permission from Congress.
Washington Times – Police say hooded gunmen have killed 15 people on an alleged drug trafficker’s ranch in southern Brazil.
NEFA Foundation – This paper is a follow-up to two previous NEFA Foundation reports on the state of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-FARC), Latin America’s oldest and largest insurgency. The purpose of this paper is to examine the FARC’s little-known international support network , which spans Latin America and Europe. This network is comprised of an unusual mixture of state actors (Venezuela and Nicaragua, particularly) and non-state actors, often under the guise of non-governmental organizations.

Russia, Caucasus & Central Asia

Russia Today – For the first time in modern history, a Russian naval squadron is making its way towards Latin America. The nuclear-powered cruiser ‘Peter the Great’, an anti-submarine ship and two support vessels will sail from the Arctic to the Caribbean to take part in joint manoeuvres with Venezuela. After covering 15,000 nautical miles, in November the ships will perform several combat training tasks, including missile and artillery exercises.
Kommersant – Egypt, Russia, Qatar, Algeria and Iran are willing to host a secretariat office of Gas Exporting Countries’ Forum (GECF), but only three of them – Egypt, Algeria and Iran – have officially applied for it, Iran’s envoy to OPEC Mohammad-Ali Khatibi told Shana Agency. The GECF states will deliberate on the issue when they meet in Caracas, Venezuela.
RIA Novosti – Kazakhstan will increase oil production by 12 million metric tons in 2009 and is interested in pumping it via Russia, the Kazakh president said Monday. “It is very important that Kazakh oil should pass through Russia. We expect oil production to increase next year. It will grow by 12 million tons during the year,” Nursultan Nazarbayev said at the end of a Russian-Kazakh border region forum.
CRN – This year, the Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) “Russian Railways” (RRWs) plans to invest 180 million US dollars into Armenian railways. Journalists were told about it by President of RRWs Vladimir Yakunin. According to Mr Yakunin, so far, the volume of investments into Armenian railways made 80 million US dollars. In the long term, the OJSC RRWs plans to invest 572 million US dollars (of which 220 million US dollars in the nearest five years) into development of Armenian railways.
Kavkaz Center – Ingushetiya.Ru has published the results of an investigation into the killing of the site’s owner, Magomed Yevloyev. According to the results of the investigation, Yevloyev was killed on the orders of the President of Ingushetia, Murat Zyazikov.

U.S. Soldiers empty a bag of leaflets out the door of a UH-60 Black Hawk over a predesignated point over the Sadr City District of Baghdad, on Sept. 21, 2008. The U.S. Soldiers are members of the 312th Psychological Operation Company, 4th Infantry Division, 4th Infantry Division. (photo by Sgt. Manuel Martinez)

Middle East

Asharq Al Awsat – Forced off Iraq’s streets and with diminished political clout, what anti-American Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his Mehdi Army militia do next will be crucial if they are to remain relevant.
AFPS – Coalition forces targeting al-Qaida in Iraq courier networks captured one wanted man and three additional suspects today, further degrading the terrorist organization’s ability to communicate, military officials reported. Forces operating near Tarmiyah, about 20 miles north of Baghdad, captured a suspected terrorist who admitted to being a letter courier for a long-time al-Qaida operator. He also is believed to have connections with multiple al-Qaida operatives throughout the area.
Press TV – Five Iraqi children have been killed and two other people wounded after a bomb hidden in a street stall exploded, according to police. The incident happened in the northern city of Mosul.
Al Jazeera – About 15 people have been hurt at a busy Jerusalem intersection after a driver steered his car into a group of pedestrians, Israeli rescue services said. Describing the incident as a “terrorist attack”, police said the driver was shot and killed after the incident late on Monday.
ITIC – Hamas security forces exerted massive military power to confront the Dugmush clan and operatives of the Army of Islam, a network affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
Al Arabiya – All 19 hostages seized on a safari in a remote desert border area of Egypt have been released and are safe, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said on Monday. The captives were released near the Libyan-Sudanese-Egyptian border, he added.
NOW Lebanon – The head of the Israeli Military Intelligence Research Center General Yousi Paydats told the Israeli cabinet during his weekly report on Sunday that Hezbollah was using the current period of calm to strengthen itself militarily for a war with Israel. Paydats also said that Syria was transporting large loads of weapons to Lebanon, strengthening its relations with Iran, arming itself with advanced missiles to use against Israeli planes, and trying to use the events in former Soviet Georgia to obtain weapons from Russia.
Daily Star – Thousands of Syrian troops have amassed along the Lebanese border in what Damascus says is an effort to combat smuggling, Lebanese military sources said on Monday, stoking speculation and concern in Lebanon. A source in the Lebanese Army confirmed that Syrian forces had deployed in the northern region of Abbudiya, but he told The Daily Star, “There is no need to worry.”

Iran

Payvand – Speaking to reporters upon arrival in John F. Kennedy to attend the 63rd UN General Assembly meeting for the fourth year since 2005 when he assumed presidential post, President Ahmadinejad said that throughout history, especially in the past three years, the ill-wishers have been trying hard to obstruct Iranian nation’s progress under different pretexts but to no avail.
Caitlin Talmadge – Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz tops the list of global energy security nightmares. Roughly 90 percent of all Persian Gulf oil leaves the region on tankers that must pass through this narrow waterway opposite the Iranian coast, and land pipelines do not provide sufficient alternative export routes. Extended closure of the strait would remove roughly a quarter of the world’s oil from the market, causing a supply shock of the type not seen since the glory days of OPEC.
Gordon Chang – Mohamed ElBaradei, in unusually blunt terms, warned that Tehran might be hiding elements of a covert nuclear weapons program. “Iran needs to give the agency substantive information,” the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency told his governing board. At the same time, David Albright, a nuclear weapons analyst, said Iran had made substantial improvements in its centrifuges, which enrich uranium. These complicated devices “now appear to be running at approximately 85 percent of the stated target capacity, a significant increase over previous rates.” Based on this, he has concluded that the mullahs might be just six months from being able to build a bomb.

Southeast Asia

Dawn – A shadowy group calling itself ‘Fedayeen of Islam’ has claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing of Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel in a telephone call to al Arabiya television, the channel said on Monday. The Dubai-based station’s correspondent in Islamabad said he received a text message on his mobile phone showing a telephone number, which he called and then heard a recording in which the group admitted launching Saturday’s attack. The speaker on the recording, who identified himself as Ahmad Shah Abdali, spoke in English ‘with a South Asian accent,’ he said.
Walid Phares – Hence, the logic of the Mariott attack. It was chiefly to strike at the forthcoming ideological advance against the Jihadists. In short this was a preemptive blow against a Government which may not hesitate in engaging a battle of ideas against the medieval forces in Waziristan and against the circles of Jihadophiles in Islamabad. From their hideouts, Bin Laden, Zawahiri and Mullah Umar have urged their Pakistani brethren to smite the head of the secular establishment in the country.
Daily Times – Unidentified gunmen abducted Afghanistan’s consul general in Peshawar and killed his driver in a brazen ambush on Monday. Six attackers in a black car chased the vehicle of Abdul Khaliq Farahi in Phase III of Hayatabad, forced it to pull over and shot his driver in the head, witnesses and police said.
Press TV – Pakistani troops have repelled a suspected US ariel attack by shooting on intruding helicopters and forcing them back into Afghanistan. The helicopters flew into the tribal North Waziristan region from Afghanistan’s Khost province at around midnight, the local media reported Monday.
ABC – The U.S. denied the report. The helicopters did not return fire and re-entered Afghan airspace without landing, the officials said.
The News – The police force Monday claimed to have killed 10 Taliban fighters and arresting six others in clashes at Pir Qala area in Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda district on Monday.
The Hindu – A suicide bomber on Monday rammed his explosive-laden car into a security check post in Pakistan’s restive north-western Swat valley, killing at least nine security personnel and injuring several others.
DoD – The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Sept. 20 in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.
Stars and Stripes – Afghanistan’s defense minister estimates there are between 10,000 and 15,000 full-time insurgents in his country, including an increase of foreign fighters and al-Qaida terrorists coming into the country through Pakistan.
Newsday – Militants stopped three buses carrying Afghan laborers through western Afghanistan and kidnapped everyone on board — around 155 people, officials said Monday. The laborers were working on a military base for the Afghan army in the city of Farah, said Gov. Younis Rasouli.
Michael Yon – Living with British troops of 2 Para at FOB Gibraltar and watching them fight, I witnessed one of the great paradoxes of Afghanistan. The troops are fighting hard and killing the enemy. They are professional and extremely competent. Their morale is high. They are doing a great job. And we are losing the war.
Colombo Page – Heavy battles raged in Sri Lanka’s northern war zone yesterday as government soldiers pushed ahead with the plan to capture Tamil Tiger rebel’s de-facto capital of Kilinochchi. The military said 59 Tigers and 7 soldiers were killed and another 15 Tigers and 25 soldiers were injured in the day-long battles.

Far East & Pacific

Taiwan News – North Korea has asked the U.N. atomic watchdog to remove seals and surveillance equipment from its Yongbyon nuclear plant, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said. “This morning, the DPRK (North Korea) authorities asked the Agency’s inspectors to remove seals and surveillance equipment to enable them to carry out tests at the reprocessing plant, which they say will not involve nuclear material,” ElBaradei told the IAEA’s 35-member board of governors here.
Japan Times – The U.S. Army is increasing its operational capability in Japan to levels not seen since the postwar Occupation to expedite troop deployment, according to the new U.S. Army commander in the country.
ICG – Street protests are threatening to bring down the government led by the People Power Party (PPP) just nine months after it won a decisive victory in general elections. Clashes between pro- and anti-government protesters have left one dead and 42 people injured. Mass action is hurting the economy, including the lucrative – and usually sacrosanct – tourism industry.
AP – Taro Aso, who was elected Monday to head Japan’s ruling party and stood on the brink of becoming prime minister, has a reputation for being just about everything his predecessor wasn’t.
BBC – A hearing has begun in a Bangkok court to determine if alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout should be extradited to the United States.
Radio Australia – New Zealand says it will begin free trade talks with the United States. It’s been seeking a trade deal with America for several years and it’s estimated it could be worth as much as $US1 billion a year.
news.com.au – Sixteen Papua New Guineans are dead after a jilted lover sparked a running tribal fight in the Highlands region.

Europe

Military.com – Both houses of France’s Parliament authorized the government Monday to continue its military commitment in Afghanistan, and the prime minister pledged 100 extra troops following a deadly ambush there last month.
AKI – A leader of the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb has threatened France and Spain in an audio message broadcast on jihadist Internet forums on Monday. “To those that are involved in the war against Islam and have betrayed the Islamic nation, we say to them: Repent before God punishes you with his hands and with ours,” said Abdel Malik Droukedel, who uses the name Abu Musab Abdel Wudud.
Atlas Shrugs – Anti-Islamisation Rally: “Really dark night for Germany”
GAO – NATO Enlargement: Reports on Albania and Croatia Respond to Senate Requirements, but Analysis of Financial Burdens Is Incomplete
CNN – A car bomb exploded early Monday in northern Spain, killing an army soldier and wounding 10 others in an attack authorities blamed on the Basque separatist group ETA. It was the third car bombing in 24 hours blamed on ETA.
RFERL – When the year began, Tomislav Nikolic appeared poised to take the Serbian presidency. Now, the future of the ex-Radical Party leader appears in doubt — and with it, the role of the nationalists in Serbia’s highly fluid political arena

Africa

Al Arabiya – Islamist insurgents pounded Mogadishu on Monday in attacks that brought the death toll in the last 24 hours to at least 30 people, witnesses said. The Somali rebels attacked two bases of African Union (AU) peacekeepers, shelled the city’s main airport and also struck government targets in the bustling Bakara market area.
US Navy – Since the inception of the Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA), Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 has helped deter more than a dozen attacks in the Gulf of Aden. However, criminals have still successfully targeted several vessels in the region. The Maritime Security Patrol Area was established Aug. 22 in support of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) call for international assistance to discourage attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Gulf of Aden.
Reuters – Weeks of heavy fighting between the army and Tutsi rebels in eastern Congo’s North Kivu province has forced 100,000 people from their homes, the United Nations said on Monday. Congolese forces and rebels led by renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda started their latest bout of fighting in late August when a January peace deal aimed at ending more than a decade of violence collapsed.
IRIN – Two men were killed and a third injured after a bomb exploded on 21 September close to King Mswati III’s Lozitha palace, 25kms east of the Swazi capital, Mbabane. Police suspect that the bomb exploded prematurely as it was placed at a road bridge by the perpetrators.
This Day – 19 persons including a policeman were shot dead and over 40 others wounded at the weekend in Ganye town in Adamawa state, when trans-border armed robbers attacked the Ganye cattle market situated near the border with the Republic of Cameroun, carting away millions of naira from the traders.

The amphibious assault ship USS Essex is pulled by tugs from her berth as she departs for a scheduled deployment. Essex is the lead ship of the only forward-deployed U.S. Expeditionary Strike Group and serves as the flagship for Combined Task Force 76, the Navy's only permanently forward-deployed amphibious force commander. (photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Wahl)

The Global War

Carnegie – The increasing use of unconventional, “soft” measures to combat violent extremism in Saudi Arabia is bearing positive results, leading others in the region, including the United States in Iraq, to adopt a similar approach. Understanding the successes of the Saudi strategy—composed of prevention, rehabilitation, and aftercare programs—will be important in the fight against radical Islamist extremism, says Christopher Boucek in a new Carnegie Paper.
NY Sun – The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to extend the NATO-led force in Afghanistan but was critical of the growing number of civilian casualties, and urged its troops and American-led forces to make major efforts to minimize civilian deaths.
DefenseNews – Pakistani military forces flew repeated helicopter missions into Afghanistan to resupply the Taliban during a fierce battle in June 2007, according to a U.S. Marine lieutenant colonel, who says his information is based on multiple U.S. and Afghan intelligence reports.
Nosint – If proof of that is needed, it is abundant in the new Virginia-class submarines. Gone are the Cold War days when the Navy planned to fight a Soviet enemy. Here are the days of a global war on terrorism, when stealth and covert sea and land operations take precedence. The Navy plans to build 30 Virginia-class subs. The fifth to be built was the New Hampshire, which will be commissioned into the fleet at a ceremony at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Oct. 25.

Sights & Sounds

Covert Radio Show – Today on Covert Radio we visit with Aaron Mannes from the Terror Wonk Blog and Eli Lake from the NY Sun Newspaper. Aaron gives us his take on the Pakistan bombing in Islamabad this weekend. Eli, has the latest on Intelligence Fears about Al Qaeda hits during October