October 16th Morning Readbook

Turkey detains 32 al Qaeda suspects in raids-agency
Turkish security forces detained 32 suspected members of the militant group al Qaeda believed to have been planning attacks on NATO, U.S. and Israeli targets, state-run news agency Anatolian reported on Thursday.


India and China in a tit-for-tat spat
New Delhi is objecting to Chinese projects in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir after Beijing protested a visit by India's premier to Arunachal Pradesh state, portions of which China claims.


India's War at Home


Pakistan attacks militant hideouts
Official calls strikes part of a strategy to "soften up targets" before ground offensive


Without fanfare, Obama signs Pakistan aid bill
U.S. President Barack Obama quietly signed a $7.5 billion aid bill for Pakistan on Thursday that drew criticism in the nuclear-armed South Asian country because of conditions linked to the assistance.


Afghan War Debate Endangers U.S. Troops: Veterans
U.S. veterans criticized President Barack Obama's lengthy review of Afghan war strategy, saying on Thursday the drawn-out debate in Washington was a direct threat to troops and the nation's defense.


Our Coming Afghanistan Defeat
he other night I watched “Obama’s War,” a Frontline piece on PBS. It has some real front-line footage in it, including a Marine who’s just been fatally shot, and footage of a verbally pushy Marine trying to talk to Afghan villagers in English. The message to the villagers was: We’re here now, come back to your fields, come back to your markets, let us protect you. The Afghans were skeptical. Wary. Suspicious. The Taliban had threatened that anyone who cooperated with the foreign devils would be killed. The Marine says, in effect, Don’t believe them. Believe us.


Italians bribed the Taleban all over Afghanistan, say officials
A Taleban commander and two senior Afghan officials confirmed yesterday that Italian forces paid protection money to prevent attacks on their troops.