January 31st Morning Readbook

An Afghan farmer watches on as US Marines patrol near a military base near Marjah, central Helmand. For US Marines deployed to the battlefields of southern Afghanistan, the war is changing with a major offensive on the Taliban urban stronghold of Marjah where the militants are offering stiff resistance. (AFP/File/Christophe Simon)


4 Afghan Soldiers Are Killed by a Mistaken Airstrike
In a confusing nighttime firefight, an American-Afghan force called in an airstrike on an Afghan Army checkpoint on Saturday, killing four Afghan soldiers and prompting a denunciation from the country’s Defense Ministry.


Pakistan Taliban chief likely targeted by drone
Pakistan's Taliban leader may have been targeted in a drone strike on Jan. 17 after surviving a similar attack days earlier near the Afghan border, Pakistani intelligence officials said on Sunday.


Afghan president to launch peace council for dialogue with Taliban
Afghan President Hamid Karzai Sunday announced a plan to form a peace council, aimed at accelerating the reconciliation process with Taliban militants.


Iraq signs 10th oil deal, polls loom
Iraq signed a contract on Sunday with Russia's Lukoil and Norway's Statoil to develop one of the world's biggest oilfields, sealing the last of 10 deals that could turn the war-shattered country into a top oil producer. 


U.S. citizen in CIA's cross hairs
The agency builds a case for putting Anwar al Awlaki, linked to the Ft. Hood shootings and Christmas bomb attempt, on its hit list. The complications involved are a window into a secretive process.


The latest news from Al Jazeera 

The Strategic Genius and Failure of Bin Laden's "Green" Statement

 

(AFP/HO/File)

As the media continues to crack "green" jokes over Bin Laden's climate change audio statement, two  key points are overlooked.


Strategic Failure:

By releasing two audio tapes directly to Al Jazeera, Bin Laden has wittingly or unwittingly told the world he is currently isolated from the al Qaeda leadership that frequently appears in as Sahab media. Were his security situation allowing communication with his media wing, the audio tapes would have been released through as Sahab. Hopefully those that are currently on the man-hunt have pieced this together.


Strategic Genius:

The raison d'etre of terrorism is for the intended target to be divided by its leaders' reaction. This is true for both terrorist attacks and propaganda. Bin Laden failed to do this with his audio statement commending the failed Christmas attack as the global media widely portrayed  the tape as Bin Laden's attempt to remain relevant.

The "green" statement on the other hand, was successful in polarizing the two sides of the climate change debate. The Green advocates acknowledged Bin Laden has a point, while the climate change skeptics noted the world's most wanted terrorist is a like-minded ally of climate change advocates. Bin Laden has not had this level of propaganda success in the United States since his October 29, 2004 statement had U.S. pundits comparing his views to Michael Moore's and other U.S. liberals.

January 30th Morning Readbook

Anbar province chieftain Ahmed Abu Risha cast doubt on whether Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki would keep his job after the March 7 vote. (Khalid Mohammed - AP)


Sheik threatens voter boycott over ballot purge
A prominent sheik and U.S. ally is weighing whether to urge fellow Sunnis to boycott upcoming elections in protest of the government's ballot purge of hundreds of candidates suspected of links to Saddam Hussein's regime. Such a call by Ahmed Abu Risha risks derailing Obama administration hopes that the March 7 parliamentary elections will bring stronger reconciliation between Iraq's majority Shiites and minority Sunnis who want to reclaim more political power.


Taliban deny meeting UN envoy to talk peace in Afghanistan
The Taliban denied Saturday that leaders of the Islamist group fighting to overthrow the Afghan government had met with UN representatives to discuss bringing peace to Afghanistan.


Afghan ex-minister confirms Taliban talks




India softens stand on negotiating with Taliban
India is willing to back efforts to seek peace with Taliban to stabilise Afghanistan, foreign minister S.M. Krishna said, indicating a softening of stand towards a group known to be close to rival Pakistan.


Deaths in Pakistan 'drone' attack 
At least nine people have been killed in a suspected US drone attack in northwestern Pakistan, intelligence officials say.


Qaeda would face pressure from Afghan deal-making
Bringing the Taliban into reconciliation talks with the U.S.-backed Afghan government would strain the insurgents' ties to al Qaeda and lift Western hopes of denying Osama bin Laden the refuge his hosts provide.


Skyrocketing costs may have doomed NYC trial plan
The letter written by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to Washington earlier this month set a whopping $200-million-a-year price tag to secure the city during the trial - more than double the original estimate. The speech by Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly detailed a planned lockdown of lower Manhattan certain to set new standards for gridlock.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

Iraq Video Flashback: Accountability and Justice Law & the Surge

“In the eight months since President Bush’s announced the surge, we have spent tens of billions of dollars, over 700 American service men and women have sacrificed their lives, and nearly 4,400 have been wounded—all to provide breathing space for the Iraqi Government to engage in political reconciliation.  And what has the Iraqi Government done with this breathing space?”  - Senator Chris Dodd  September 2007

“Iraqis will gain confidence in their leaders, and the government will have the breathing space it needs to make progress in other critical areas.” - President George W. Bush  January 2007


Iraq Baath party law labeled a 'trap' - 03 feb 08

A new law in Iraq, which was supposed to usher in a new era of reconciliation, is now viewed with fear and suspicion. Former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party say moves to re-integrate them are a sinister trap.




Iraq: Law Passed Allowing Ba'athists To Regain Government Jobs  February 04, 2008
Iraq's Presidency Council has issued a controversial law that should allow tens of thousands of former lower-ranking Ba'ath Party members to regain their jobs in the government bureaucracy and public services. The passage in December of the Accountability and Justice Law by the Iraqi parliament cleared the way for the signing by the Presidency Council in Baghdad on February 3. All that remains now is for the measure to be published in the official government gazette for it to become law.

January 29th Morning Readbook

US citizens detained in Iraq




Officials in Iraq Confirm Death of Key Terrorist
Officials in Iraq have positively identified a terrorist killed Jan. 22 after he attacked a security-team member acting on a warrant against him. Multiple tests, including fingerprint matches, confirmed the identity of Saad Uwayyd Ubayd Mujil al-Shammari, also known as Abu Khalaf. Shammari was name in a court-issued warrant as a key al-Qaida in Iraq member wanted for facilitating the entry of hundreds of foreign terrorists from Syria into Iraq since 2006.


Afghanistan Conference Agrees on Exit Timetable




Afghan president plans meeting on reintegrating, reconciling with insurgents
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Thursday that he will convene a nationwide meeting of tribal, religious and political leaders in the next few weeks to discuss reintegrating and reconciling with insurgents. Afghan government officials said Taliban members would also be welcome to attend.


Taliban talks plans gather pace as London summit held
Plans to engage the Taliban in talks have gathered pace, with Afghanistan inviting members to a peace council and reports of a secret UN meeting.


Bin Laden's son: No "love" among Qaeda-Taliban
Al Qaeda and the Taliban are only allies of convenience and "do not love one another," according to a son of Osama bin Laden, who grew up partly in a group of al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan.


Read between bin Laden’s lies
NOBODY IN his right mind would expect any truth-telling from Osama bin Laden’s latest audiotape, a one-minute burst of bravado broadcast on Al Jazeera TV. Still, it is important to spot the particular deceptions bin Laden is peddling, because they reveal how badly Al Qaeda has alienated Muslim audiences around the world.


The resurgence of al-Qaeda
ONLY a few months ago, intelligence experts were saying that al-Qaeda and its allies were in decline, both militarily and ideologically. But two bombs less than a week apart, one failed and the other successful, have put an end to such optimism.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera Must See TV

US-backed Taliban payout could prove unpopular




Summit backs Afghan security transition




Afghan villages form local militias




Riz Khan - UK universities and radical Islam




Empire - 'War on terror' through Muslim eyes

January 28th Morning Readbook

Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers walk during an operation in Guzara district of Herat on January 26. UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday appointed Swedish diplomat Staffan de Mistura as his new envoy to Afghanistan, shortly before departing for a crucial London conference on the war-wracked country's future. (AFP/File/Aref Karimi)


Restraint the new tactic for UK troops in Afghanistan
As the conflict rages in Afghanistan, a shift in emphasis towards protecting civilians has seen British troops employ a new strategy dubbed "courageous restraint".


Strategy For Afghanistan, Pakistan 
The United States has elevated the role of diplomacy and development alongside defense in its national security strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.  "Our civilian engagement in Afghanistan and Pakistan," said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, "will endure long after our combat troops come home."


London meeting to launch decisive year in Afghan war
Facing a make-or-break year in Afghanistan, ministers from some 60 countries meet on Thursday to hammer out a strategy to try to bring an end to the war.


Afghan Tribe Vows to Fight Taliban, for U.S. Aid
The leaders of one of the largest Pashtun tribes in a Taliban stronghold said Wednesday that they had agreed to support the American-backed government, battle insurgents and burn down the home of any Afghan who harbored Taliban guerrillas.


Islamic State of Iraq claims responsibility in bombings targeting Baghdad hotels
The umbrella organization that includes al-Qaeda in Iraq has taken responsibility for three powerful bombings that targeted prominent hotels in Baghdad on Monday, calling them "legitimate targets."


U.S. gives Yemen key intelligence to strike al Qaeda
U.S. military and intelligence agencies have been sharing satellite and surveillance imagery, intercepted communications and other sensitive information to help Yemen pinpoint strikes against al Qaeda targets, officials said on Wednesday.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

Basics of COIN Part 5: Revolutions

 REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman


The final phase of a revolution consists of guerrillas transitioning to conventional forces and political operatives becoming government officials. Determining whether you are combating an insurgency or supporting a revolution is absolutely critical to formulating a successful strategy. FM 3-24 describes the difficulty in defining an insurgency.

1-2. Insurgency and its tactics are as old as warfare itself. Joint doctrine defines an insurgency as an organized movement aimed at the overthrow of a constituted government through the use of subversion and armed conflict (JP 1-02). Stated another way, an insurgency is an organized, protracted politico-military struggle designed to weaken the control and legitimacy of an established government, occupying power, or other political authority while increasing insurgent control. Counterinsurgency is military, paramilitary, political, economic, psychological, and civic actions taken by a government to defeat insurgency (JP 1-02). These definitions are a good starting point, but they do not properly highlight a key paradox: though insurgency and COIN are two sides of a phenomenon that has been called revolutionary war or internal war, they are distinctly different types of operations. In addition, insurgency and COIN are included within a broad category of conflict known as irregular warfare.

This second-to-last sentence is decisive in determining the best course of action. If you are facilitating the final phase of a revolution, there will be aspects of the conflict that will not fit an insurgency template as you are instead facing counterrevolutionary warfare.


The less popular the government, the more ad hoc support for militants: Traditional revolutionary warfare consists of winning popular support, forming shadow governments, and eventually create liberated areas. Revolutionary governments brought to power by foreign forces have never made this connection with the population. Opposition to this revolutionary government will be a social movement of like-minded individuals and social networks, not a coordinated insurrection seeking to overthrow the newly constituted government.

Capitalism absent of the rule of law defines corruption: People crying out for justice do not want modernization. The quality of life should remain the same or rise. This is not to be confused with the standard of living, a common capitalist bias measuring income. In democratic revolutions supported by the United States, bags of money are typically exchanged for the passage of laws in line with Western philosophies on economics, governance, and human rights. In spite of this fact, American leaders are still shocked when they discover corruption in their new partner governments. "Clear-hold-build" will only serve to pay off locals temporarily willing to cooperate. A more accurate slogan to execute would be "clear-hold-govern."

Counterrevolutionaries are not insurgents: COIN principles applied to counterrevolutionaries can only bring about temporary improvements in security after fighting militants unwilling or unable to retreat. Counterinsurgency theory requires the isolation of insurgents in order to rejoin the population with the government. What if the government isolates itself from the people?

Measure the presence of government, not a decline in violence: Today dramatic drops in violence are cited as evidence that U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine works yet the political failings remain apparent. If there are no visible or measurable signs of the existence of a national government outside of the capital, that is not a success. Declaring victory by highlighting that violence is now limited to a few buildings destroyed every two months is akin to failing an exam but bragging about not receiving the lowest grade.

Albert Einstein said it best. "Peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of justice, of law, of order--in short, of government." This is the essence of revolutionary warfare and the template for defeating counterrevolutionaries.

Gen McChrystal: "You're Fired"

(AFP/File/Manan Vatsyayana)

General McChrystal fired a battalion commander and command sergeant major today. It is still unclear whether the relief of duty was due to poor performance on the battlefield or failure to place Afghan lives above Americans.

An investigation found their "actions were of poor judgment which fostered a command climate that was not consistent with our Army values," the spokesman, Lt. Col. Clarence Counts, wrote in an e-mail from Afghanistan in a response to questions. "We are a values-based and professional organization committed to Army values, and this change reflects a continuous commitment to adhere to the highest standards of excellence while maintaining good order and discipline."

The full article can be read here.

January 25th Morning Readbook

US Marines left the Sunni-dominated western province of Anbar on Saturday after almost seven years of operations in what was once Iraq's epicentre of Al-Qaeda activity and insurgent violence. (AFP/US Marine Corps/File/Tyler W. Hill)



Analysis: Marines leave Iraq again _ for good?
It is easily lost in the hopefulness of the Marines' departure from Iraq - hailed in ceremonies as "the final chapter" - that this is not the first time they left in the expectation of never returning. Will it be the last?  In September 2003 the Marines completed a pullout from Iraq - leaving to the Army the task of winding down the war - only to be called back in March 2004 amid a fast-boil insurgency centered in the western province of Anbar. The war, of course, was far from over, but few foresaw the scope of killing and chaos to come.


Britons feared dead in Ethiopian Airlines plane crash
Two Britons are feared dead after an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed shortly after take-off from the Lebanese capital Beirut.


Christmas Bombing Try Is Hailed by bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, spoke publicly for the first time about the botched Christmas Day airliner bombing, praising the attempt — but not explicitly taking responsibility for it — in an audiotape broadcast Sunday that was aimed personally at President Obama.


Official: Suspected drone down in Pakistan
The unmanned aircraft went down about 8 p.m. (10 a.m. ET) Sunday night near the village of Hamzoni in North Waziristan, the official said. Hamzoni is about 5 km (3 miles) west of Miran Shah, a town well-known for Taliban and al Qaeda activity.


 McChrystal hopes for Taliban deal 
An increase in the number of foreign troops in Afghanistan could lead to a negotiated peace with the Taliban, the commander of Nato forces in the country has said.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

Bin Laden Commending Failure

AFP/Getty Images

Osama bin Laden's decision to praise a botched attack by a franchise chapter is his attempt to remain relevant. Most headlines state that bin Laden claimed responsibility for the attack but after reviewing the one minute audio bin Laden simply praises the attack attempt. What is interesting with the short audio is that it comes out 30 days after the attack attempt giving us a window into bin Laden's information flow and hiding posture. Bin Laden links the attack attempt to US support for Israel over Gaza and promises President Obama more attacks should the US continue to support Israel.

Peter Beinart of the New America Foundation previous wrote an article that places al Qaeda's current capabilities into context.

Here's a fact about the underwear attack that you might have missed in the media shoutfest: it failed. It failed, first of all, because Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was just one terrorist. Once upon a time, al-Qaeda's modus operandi was to launch multiple, simultaneous attacks. That way, even if one attack failed, the entire operation wouldn't. On 9/11, the network deployed 19 hijackers on four planes; on 12/25, by contrast, it managed only one. Second, the underwear attack failed because Abdulmutallab wasn't particularly well trained. The 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were personally selected by Osama bin Laden from the tens of thousands of potential killers who went through al-Qaeda's Afghan training camps in the 1990s. The ringleaders got extensive training on the design of airplanes and the behavior of aircraft crews, even before they enrolled in U.S. flight schools. The grunts were made to slit the throats of camels and sheep to overcome their inhibitions about murder. Abdulmutallab, by contrast, reportedly used a syringe to try to detonate a notoriously hard-to-detonate explosive called PETN. "To make this stuff work," says Van Romero, an explosives expert at New Mexico Tech, "you have to know what you're doing." Abdulmutallab, it appears, did not.

You can read the full article here.


Final word goes to Al Jazeera's coverage of the new bin Laden audiotape.

In the latest Osama Bin Laden tape on Sunday, the al-Qaeda leader warned Barack Obama, the US president, that there will be more attacks on the US if it continues to support Israel.

January 24th Morning Readbook

Bin Laden claims plane bombing bid




Report: New bin Laden tape emerges
A new audio tape allegedly from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden claims responsibility for an attempt to blow up a plane en route to Michigan on Christmas Day and warns the United States of more attacks.


Afghanistan postpones parliamentary election until fall
Afghanistan said Sunday it will postpone parliamentary elections from May until September. The election commission cited several reasons for its decision: security concerns, logistical challenges and a budget shortfall.


Taliban kill seven in Pakistan for being "U.S. spies"
Taliban militants killed seven Pakistani tribesmen in the volatile North Waziristan region on the Afghan border who they suspected of spying for the United States, security officials said on Sunday.


Gates Sees Fallout From Troubled Ties With Pakistan
Nobody else in the Obama administration has been mired in Pakistan for as long as Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. So on a trip here this past week to try to soothe the country’s growing rancor toward the United States, he served as a punching bag tested over a quarter-century.


Iraq's PM orders probe on bomb detectors
An Iraqi official says the country's prime minister has ordered a probe into the use of bomb-detection devices Iraq bought from a British company. Nouri al-Maliki's order on Sunday came one day after Britain banned the export of the hand-held machine ADE651 following media reports challenging its effectiveness.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

Iraq's Election Dilemma

Is the United States making a bigger deal over the importance of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Iraq? Certainly there is concern that a failure in the election process would delay the withdrawal time line. For the Iraqi politicians' perspective (not the average Iraqi) Al Jazeera's "Inside Iraq" asks what the ramifications will be of the decision to ban some candidates from participating in the upcoming election. 




  

January 23rd Morning Readbook

Biden in Iraq to Help Ease Election Tensions




US Marines End Role in Iraq; Biden in Baghdad
The U.S. Marine Corps wrapped up nearly seven years in Iraq on Saturday, handing over duties to the Army and signaling the beginning of an accelerated withdrawal of American troops as the U.S. turns its focus away from the waning Iraqi war to a growing one in Afghanistan.


Car bomb attack kills four in NW Pakistan
A suicide car bomb attack near a police station in troubled northwest Pakistan killed at least four people on Saturday, police said. The attack took place in Gomal, 25 kilometres (15 miles) south of the city of Tank, neighbouring the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan where Pakistani troops are battling Islamist militants.


Gates: Path open to Taliban legitimacy
The Taliban may be part of Afghanistan's "political fabric" but they must reform to attain legitimacy, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says.


Pakistan says reaches out to Afghan Taliban
U.S. ally Pakistan is reaching out to "all levels" of the Afghan Taliban in a bid to encourage reconciliation in its war-torn neighbor, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

Weekend Reading

Here's the light reading for the weekend. I have been eyeing this RAND publication by Seth Jones for a while. Here is a brief overview.

All terrorist groups eventually end. But how do they end? The evidence since 1968 indicates that most groups have ended because (1) they joined the political process (43 percent) or (2) local police and intelligence agencies arrested or killed key members (40 percent). Military force has rarely been the primary reason for the end of terrorist groups, and few groups within this time frame have achieved victory. This has significant implications for dealing with al Qa'ida and suggests fundamentally rethinking post-9/11 U.S. counterterrorism strategy: Policymakers need to understand where to prioritize their efforts with limited resources and attention. The authors report that religious terrorist groups take longer to eliminate than other groups and rarely achieve their objectives. The largest groups achieve their goals more often and last longer than the smallest ones do. Finally, groups from upper-income countries are more likely to be left-wing or nationalist and less likely to have religion as their motivation. The authors conclude that policing and intelligence, rather than military force, should form the backbone of U.S. efforts against al Qa'ida. And U.S. policymakers should end the use of the phrase “war on terrorism” since there is no battlefield solution to defeating al Qa'ida.

If you are interested, you can download a PDF summary or the full publication directly from RAND here.

Alerts Raised in the UK and India

(AFP/Getty Images/File/Stephen Lovekin)

India and the United Kingdom have raised their threat levels today. No details have emerged for the UK but India announced their reaction was in response to a possible hijacking plot. Whether the two actions were related is unknown at this time.

Terrorist threat level raised to 'severe'
Britain's terrorist threat level was raised tonight from “substantial” to “severe” - meaning that counter-terrorism agencies believe an attack is “highly likely”. The measure was approved at a meeting of the Government’s Cobra emergency committee and announced by Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary. The Times understands that the decision to raise the threat level is connected to the conference on Afghanistan taking place at Lancaster Gate, London, next Thursday.


India Issues Terror Alert Over Hijack Plot
Indian airports are on high alert today after officials issued a terror warning of a possible airline hijacking. Security has been increased at all airports, passengers are being subjected to tougher screening and more air marshals will be deployed on flights in India, the Indian home ministry said this morning. Local reports suggest that Air India flights within all of South Asia are being targeted. The alert comes days after U.S. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates met with Indian officials in New Delhi and said that a "syndicate of terror groups" affiliated with al-Qaeda are potentially trying to destabilize the entire region.

Views on Foreign Terrorists...

In one of the previous threads I was asked to clarify some of my views.

First, I believe that U.S. citizens that are members of a foreign terrorist network should receive different treatment than non-U.S. citizens. The DoD interrogation manual is very weak and its techniques are appropriate for U.S. citizens awaiting trial. Placing foreign terrorists under protection of our legal framework feeds will feed into propaganda just the same as Gitmo. How we should handle this is in my second point.

Second, I believe in fighting extremism by, with, and through popular moderate channels. Al Qaeda and their franchises are a death cult based off of Islam; they are not Muslims. Similar to the Cold War era NATO and Warsaw Pact formations, we need to create an international shura council and shari'a court to advise military actions and provide a legal basis for military actions within a true Islamic framework.

For my views on confirmed, convicted foreign death cult terrorists attempting to attack the U.S., the last word goes to Samuel Jackson.

January 22th Morning Readbook

A man holds up a poster of Sunni Muslim MP Dhafer al-Aanie with a red 'X' painted across it during an anti-Baathist protest in central Baghdad. The row over a ban on election candidates with alleged links to Saddam Hussein has escalated after Iraq's president questioned the ruling's legality and thousands of Shiites held street protests. (AFP/Ali al-Saadi)

Iraq president challenges ban on 511 candidates
President Jalal Talabani asks Iraq's Supreme Court to rule on the legality of the exclusion of mostly secular candidates, possibly offering a way out of a dispute that threatens to derail the vote.


Biden going to Iraq due to concerns about candidates barred from elections
Alarmed that the disqualification of hundreds of candidates from upcoming parliamentary elections threatens to derail Iraq's fledgling democracy, the Obama administration is dispatching Vice President Biden in hopes of defusing the looming political crisis.


Sunnis and Iraq’s Election
We had hoped that the March 7 parliamentary elections would prove the growing maturity of Iraq’s fragile democracy and set the country on a stable path as American combat troops get ready for this summer’s planned withdrawal. Instead, the process unfolding is disgracefully unfair and roiling dangerous sectarian tensions.


Turkey Detains 120 Al Qaeda Suspects In Raids
Police detained 120 suspected members of al Qaeda in Turkey possibly including senior members, the state Anatolian news agency reported Friday.


U.S. to couple military, civilian aid for Yemen
The Obama administration plans to couple expanded military support for Yemen to fight al Qaeda with an economic assistance program aimed at curbing the appeal of Islamists, officials said.


Yemen's battle with al-Qaeda




Gates strives to build trust with Pakistan military
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates sought to build bridges with the next generation of Pakistan's military leaders on Friday and end a "trust deficit" that he said has hampered cooperation against Islamist militancy.


U.S. Supports Afghanistan Outreach to Taliban
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday the Taliban were part of Afghanistan's "political fabric," one of the clearest indications to date of the Obama administration's willingness to accept the Islamist group playing a potentially central role in Afghanistan's future.


U.S. ambassador puts brakes on plan to utilize Afghan militias against Taliban
The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and senior Afghan officials have resisted moving forward with a bold and potentially risky initiative to support local militias in Afghanistan that are willing to defend their villages against insurgents, according to U.S. officials.


Taliban Won’t Give Up Until Karzai Gets Upper Hand, Gates Says
Senior Afghan Taliban leaders aren’t likely to agree to give up their insurgency until they see the momentum shift in favor of the government and international forces, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

January 21th Morning Readbook

A Pakistani soldier standing on a hill in Ladha town, which was the stronghold of Taliban militants in troubled South Waziristan. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned Thursday that Taliban safe havens along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border must be tackled or both nations would suffer "more lethal and more brazen" attacks. (AFP/File/Aamir Qureshi)

Gates Says Pakistan Must Root Out Extremists
efense Secretary Robert M. Gates said on Thursday that he expects to tell Pakistani military officials that they must root out all of the extremist groups on their border with Afghanistan and that ignoring “one part of this cancer” threatens their country’s stability.


Gates in Pakistan to Discuss Extending Army’s Taliban Offensive
Defense Secretary Robert Gates will meet Pakistan’s leaders today to discuss reports the government may strike Taliban militants who stage attacks on U.S. troops in neighboring Afghanistan.


Zardari Re-emerges, but Effect on Pakistan Is Unclear
For the first time in months, President Asif Ali Zardari is doing what presidents normally do — giving rousing speeches, traveling around the country and asserting himself publicly as the country’s chief official.


How an Inflammatory Term, Baathist, Bars Candidates in Iraq
Seven years after the United States-led invasion, and three years after the leader it overthrew was executed, a question in Iraq remains unanswered: Who is a Baathist?


Yemen halts entry visas at airports over Qaeda threat
Yemen announced on Thursday that it would stop granting entry visas to travellers at the country's international airports in order to "halt terrorist infiltration," the Saba state news agency reported.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

Obama and the DNI II

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC. Blair held meetings with Pakistani-Americans as the United States expands its drone attacks on militants in the South Asian nation, his office said Wednesday. (AFP/Getty Images/Mark Wilson)

We previously blogged about a DNI press release where he referred to suicide bombings as "new tactics." Today's testimony topped that gaf when he recommended to senators that the AQAP Christmas airline bomber should have been interrogated by a unit that has yet to form as opposed to the FBI.


Intel Chief Dennis Blair’s Embarrassing Walk-Back
“My remarks today before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs have been misconstrued,” Blair said in a statement just emailed to reporters. “The FBI interrogated Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab when they took him into custody. They received important intelligence at that time, drawing on the FBI’s expertise in interrogation that will be available in the HIG once it is fully operational.”


 Intel Chief's Comments Infuriate Obama Officials
Obama administration officials were flabbergasted Wednesday when Director of National Intelligence Adm. Dennis Blair testified that an alleged Qaeda operative who tried to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day should have been questioned by a special interrogation unit that doesn't exist, rather than the FBI.


Intelligence Chief Slams Handling of Christmas-Bomb Case
The nation's intelligence chief said the man accused of trying to blow up an airliner on Christmas Day should have been questioned by a special interrogation team instead of being handled as an ordinary criminal suspect.


U.S. team should have questioned Nigerian: spy chief
The top U.S. intelligence officer said on Wednesday that a group set up to interrogate terrorism suspects should have been used when a Nigerian man was arrested in Detroit on suspicion of trying to blow up a U.S. airliner.


More cluelessness in the Obama administration?
Not only did Blair, Napolitano and Leiter go AWOL on civilian prosecution, they turn out apparently to be under-informed about the status of the HIG. It's not yet operational and couldn't have been called in, even if that had been a good idea. Blair issued a retraction.


Intel chief concedes errors in Christmas bomb case
The nation's intelligence chief on Wednesday conceded missteps in the government's handling of the Christmas Day airline bombing attempt, but his comments about the failure to use a special federal interrogation team may have amounted to a misstep of his own.


Right now, it is a very close race between Napolitano and Blair as to which one will resign first.

January 20th Evening Readbook

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, seen here meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi, promised that Washington will not abandon Afghanistan despite a timeline for the withdrawal of US troops, officials said. (AFP/Raveendran)


Handover of security duties, funds for reconciliation to top Afghanistan conference agenda
An international conference on Afghanistan next week will aim to set a tentative timetable to switch security duties from foreign troops to local forces, and seek to spur efforts to reconcile Taliban fighters with the government, Britain's ambassador to Kabul said Wednesday.


Afghan Taliban sceptical of peace talks - ex-envoy
A former top diplomat for the Taliban said a new government plan to persuade insurgents to lay down their arms in exchange for jobs or money was corrupt and would only hinder efforts to reach a peace deal.


Iraq list of excluded candidates has more Shi'ites
More Shi'ite candidates than Sunnis have been barred from Iraq's election because of links to Saddam Hussein's Baath party, politicians said on Wednesday, potentially defusing a row that threatened to reopen sectarian wounds.


Gates: Al-Qaeda has assembled a 'syndicate' of terror groups
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Wednesday that al-Qaeda was using proxy terrorist groups to orchestrate attacks in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan as part of a broader strategy to destabilize the region.


Gates Says Al Qaeda Seeks to Trigger India-Pakistan War
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said al Qaeda is working with an array of local militant groups to destabilize South Asia and trigger a war between India and Pakistan, an indication of growing U.S. fears about new terror attacks throughout the volatile region.


The latest news from Al Jazeera 

The Man Wrecking Iraqi Reconciliation II

Iraqi politician Saleh al-Mutlak gives a press conference in Baghdad on January 8. A parliamentary official told MPs that all 511 candidates banned from running in Iraq's general election had links to ousted dictator Saddam Hussein's political and military infrastructure. (AFP/File/Sabah Arar)

The Brookings Institution has an excellent article on Iraq's pre-election political crisis.  "Iraq's Ban On Democracy" profiles the destructive role Bush administration sweetheart Ahmed Chalabi has played in this latest round of sectarian exclusion. We have previously profiled Chalabi's lackey, Leagues of the Righteous supporter, and former detainee Ali Faisal al Lami here.

It's true that many of the disqualified politicians were once Baathists. But Iraq needs reconciliation, not payback. Any bans must be careful, selective and well-explained. They should not disqualify people like the defense minister — a former Baathist, but one who turned against the party in the 1990s and was imprisoned and tortured by the regime. Moreover, in recent years he has served the new Iraqi government loyally.

Before the surge of American troops in 2007 and the so-called Anbar Awakening, many Iraqi Sunnis boycotted Iraq's elections in the belief that the system was rigged against them. This created a self-fulfilling prophecy when the elections took place without them and the resulting government was dominated by Shiite and Kurdish groups. This vicious cycle helped fuel civil war.

Civil war is a very real prospect for Iraq. Unfortunately, USF-I insists on pointing out how violence today is far lower than its peak in 2007; a fact continually becoming irrelevant in the wake of this political crisis. I am by no means suggesting that the sky is falling, but rather noting the fact that it is sliding in that direction yet again.

January 19th Morning Readbook

An Afghan policeman keeps watch in front of a shopping centre, burnt after a Taliban attack, in Kabul January 19, 2010. Taliban gunmen launched a brazen assault on the center of Kabul on Monday, with suicide bombers blowing themselves up at several locations and militants battling security forces from inside a shopping center engulfed in flames. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood


Taliban Leaders Unlikely to Accept Offer, Gates Says
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that there could be a surge of Taliban followers willing to reintegrate with the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai, but that for now an Afghan government reconciliation with the Taliban leadership was unlikely.


Taliban Strike Heart of Afghan Capital
The Taliban launched a coordinated attack on the Afghan capital Monday, paralyzing the city for most of the day as militants set off explosions, took over buildings and attempted to disrupt the swearing-in of new cabinet ministers.


Gates: US seeks stability between India, Pakistan
The United States would like to help India and Pakistan focus less on each other and more on the terrorism threat, but the two countries prefer to settle their differences themselves, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday


Could a Ban on Sunni Candidates Imperil Iraq's Election?
Like the knee-jerk decision to dismantle the Iraqi army, the U.S. decision in 2003 to ban members of the former ruling Baath Party from joining the new Iraqi government was one of the biggest blunders of the early American occupation of post-Saddam Iraq. It instantly alienated an entire spectrum of civil servants and politicians, many of whom didn't have much loyalty to the old regime and could have been enlisted in the construction of a new government. And because many of them were Sunni, it helped widen the sectarian split in Iraqi society that eventually led to civil war.


Saddam's Cousin 'Chemical Ali' Sentenced to Death




Pakistani 'Al Qaeda' scientist trial begins in NY
The trial of a Pakistani neuroscientist educated in the United States and accused of trying to kill US personnel in Afghanistan was due to start Tuesday in New York. US authorities say Aafia Siddiqui, 37, is an Al Qaeda-linked, would-be terrorist who tried to murder American officers on July 18, 2008, after she was detained by security services in Afghanistan.


Five Americans in Pakistan Allege Torture
Five young Americans arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of trying to join militant Islamist groups allege they are being tortured in custody.


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Nat Geo: Afghanistan Revealed

Originally aired January 2001.

Go deep inside Afghanistan to glimpse a vivid portrait of a tumultuous country and its people.

January 18th Morning Readbook

Taliban attacks target Afghan government




Kabul "under control" after brazen Taliban assault
Taliban gunmen launched a brazen assault on targets in the center of Kabul on Monday, with suicide bombers blowing themselves up at several locations and heavily armed militants fighting a pitched battle in a shopping center.


Pak should take more steps to tackle Taliban: Holbrooke
 U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke on Monday said he expects “more action” from Pakistan in tackling Taliban and other issues.


'Chemical Ali' to be hanged within days
One of Saddam Hussein's most loathed henchman, Ali Hassan al-Majid, otherwise known as Chemical Ali, will be hanged within days, a senior official said tonight, setting the scene for Iraq's highest profile execution since Saddam himself was put to death more than three years ago.


Shell signs Iraq oil field deal
Oil giant Shell and Malaysia's state-run Petronas oil company finalised a contract on Sunday to develop Iraq's giant Majnoon oil field.


Qaeda says fighters alive, Yemen vows more strikes
The Yemen-based wing of al Qaeda said on Monday its fighters had survived an air strike last week that Yemeni officials said killed six leaders of the militant group.


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Major Gant in the Spotlight

Photo courtesy of http://blog.stevenpressfield.com

During the two month Presidential deliberation on whether or not to provide General McChrystal with the troops he requested, an after action report lit up the blogosphere. Steven Pressfield's "One Tribe at a Time" series has been cited numerous times on this blog and others. The centerpiece of the series was an after-action report written by Major Jim Gant. Today, Major Gant and his assessment were featured in the Washington Post.

It was the spring of 2003, and Capt. Jim Gant and his Special Forces team had just fought their way out of an insurgent ambush in Afghanistan's Konar province when they heard there was trouble in the nearby village of Mangwel. There, Gant had a conversation with a tribal chief -- a chance encounter that would redefine his mission in Afghanistan and that, more than six years later, could help salvage the faltering U.S. war effort.

The article continues...

A decorated war veteran and Pashto speaker with multiple tours in Afghanistan, Gant had been assigned by the Army to deploy to Iraq in November. But with senior military and civilian leaders -- including Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates; Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan; and Gen. David Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command -- expressing support for Gant's views, he was ordered instead to return to Afghanistan later this year to work on tribal issues.

"Maj. Jim Gant's paper is very impressive -- so impressive, in fact, that I shared it widely," Petraeus said, while McChrystal distributed it to all commanders in Afghanistan. One senior military official went so far as to call Gant "Lawrence of Afghanistan."

For me, this is proof-positive of how important the blogosphere is in current COIN operations. Through "official" channels, it is highly unlikely that any aspects of Major Gant's assessments or experience would have been taken seriously or even read at all. But by releasing his views through Pressfield, public political pressures have forced leaders, decision makers, and their staffs to take his perspective and experiences into consideration. Furthermore, this public release generated the debate and discussion critical to formulating a functional strategy capable of defining and achieving victory.

You can read Major Gant's "One Tribe at a Time" here. His paper is a perfect example how if you understand the culture the strategy writes itself.

January 19th Morning Readbook

Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, right, stands next to a television display showing Ali al-Azzawi, a senior leader of a militant group linked to al-Qaida, following his arrest in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010. Al-Moussawi identified al-Azzawi as a high-level commander in the Islamic State of Iraq who supervised numerous attacks, including the 2003 bombing of the United Nations' headquarters in Iraq. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Iraq arrests Qaeda chief tied to 2003 blast at UN HQ
The Iraqi army said on Saturday it had detained a suspected Al-Qaeda leader implicated in the 2003 bombing of the UN's Baghdad headquarters which killed 22 people. Ali Hussein Alwan al-Azawi, nicknamed Abu Imad, suspected of being a top commander in Al-Qaeda front organisation the Islamic State in Iraq, was captured in an operation in the capital, Baghdad military command spokesman Qassem Atta told a news conference.


Iraq's "Chemical Ali" gets 4th death sentence
An Iraqi court sentenced Ali Hassan al-Majeed, the Saddam Hussein henchman widely known as "Chemical Ali," on Sunday to death by hanging for a 1988 gas attack that killed about 5,000 Kurds, a court official said.


'Saddam' ban threatens Sunni stake in Iraq elections
The decision to ban Iraqi election candidates accused of links with the Baath party of executed dictator Saddam Hussein could exclude Sunnis from the political arena and usher in new sectarian tensions.


Inside Iraq - Iraq's general election




US drone strike 'kills 20 militants in NW Pakistan'
A US drone attack on Sunday killed 20 militants in an area of Pakistan's northwest tribal belt where local Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud reportedly escaped death days ago, officials said.


Poor schooling slows anti-terrorism effort in Pakistan
With a curriculum that glorifies violence in the name of Islam and ignores basic history, science and math, Pakistan's public education system has become a major barrier to U.S. efforts to defeat extremist groups here, U.S. and Pakistani officials say.


Tribal armies an ally for Pakistan in battle against Taliban




NATO troops shoot Afghan in area that saw unrest
NATO-led troops shot dead an Afghan civilian whose vehicle approached a convoy on Sunday in an area that has seen violent civil unrest over the past week in Afghanistan, the alliance said.


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January 16th Morning Readbook

The U.S. Department of State and FBI have released this "age progressed" photograph of Osama Bin Laden (Usama bin Ladin) as a part of newly enhanced photos of terrorist suspects on their most wanted lists in Washington, January 15, 2010. The digitally enhanced pictures of Osama bin Laden shows how the al Qaeda leader might look now. REUTERS/U.S. State Department

Trilateral meeting on Afghanistan today
Foreign ministers of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan are meeting here on Saturday for consultations on the London Conference to be held later this month to reinforce political process in the war-torn country.


US releases names of prisoners at Bagram, Afghanistan
US authorities have released the names of 645 prisoners held at Bagram air base in Afghanistan in response to a freedom of information lawsuit.


U.S.-funded Pashto radio a new weapon in war against Taliban
When Taliban fighters vowed to cut his throat to muffle his songs of peace, love and the futility of war, Haroon Bacha, a famous Pashtun singer, fled his home in Peshawar, leaving his wife and two children behind. But yesterday Mr. Bacha fought back: He sang to the Taliban, he sang to his family and to anyone else from his homeland who happened to tune in to a slick new radio program aimed at countering militant broadcasting in the insurgent heartland bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan.


Nato short of military instructors in Afghanistan




Pakistani Taliban: Voice on tape is injured leader
The Taliban in Pakistan says a new audiotape contains the voice of their leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, who was wounded in a suspected drone strike this week.


Sunni candidates ban threatens Iraq election
Leading Sunni politicians tonight warned that Iraq was sliding towards a "dark unknown" in the wake of a decision to ban more than 400 Sunni candidates from contesting the upcoming general election. The move is increasingly being seen as a test of the poll's legitimacy and a direct threat to the Shia-led government's attempts at reconciling the country's warring militant and political factions.


Former Iraq PM unveils alliance to fight election
Iraq's former pro-Western prime minister Iyad Allawi on Saturday unveiled a broad secular alliance of candidates to contest the country's general election on March 7. Allawi, a Shiite politician who in exile mounted an opposition movement against Saddam Hussein, was provisionally appointed by Washington as Iraq's first premier after the dictator's ouster in the US-led invasion of 2003.


Yemen confirms killing of six Qaeda leaders
emen's interior ministry confirmed on Saturday the death of Al-Qaeda's military chief in the country, Qassem al-Rimi, and that of five of his lieutenants in an air strike a day earlier.


Osama bin Laden's photo digitally updated to account for age, facial hair
The State Department has updated its 1998 file photo of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, digitally altering it to account for a decade of age and possible changes in his facial hair.


Al-Qaeda threat: Britain worst in western world
Al-Qaeda has successfully restructured its global network and now has the capability to carry out a wide range of terror attacks against Western targets, according to a detailed U.S. intelligence assessment that has been conducted in the wake of the failed Christmas Day Detroit bomb plot.


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January 15th Morning Readbook

An Iraqi policeman reads an electoral committee information billboard urging people to update their voting record in Baghdad, in 2009. Iraq's election organisers on Thursday barred nearly 500 politicians and parties from contesting the country's upcoming national poll, including many linked to Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party. (AFP/File/Sabah Arar)


Iraqi Commission Bars Nearly 500 Candidates
Iraq’s independent electoral commission on Thursday barred about 500 candidates from running in parliamentary elections in March, among them an influential Sunni Muslim politician, in a decision that could stoke sectarian tensions here and deprive the vote of crucial legitimacy in the eyes of part of the electorate.


3 explosions rock holy Shiite city in Iraq
Three explosions ripped through the city of Najaf on Thursday, just hundreds of yards from one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam.


Iraq Buys Gasoline at $13 Premium for Delivery Through June
raq, holder of the world’s third- largest crude reserves, signed four contracts to buy a total of about 1 million barrels of gasoline a month until June, an oil ministry official said.


Ex-CIA official talks about US wars abroad




Q+A-Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan tops $1 trillion
The cost to U.S. taxpayers of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 has topped $1 trillion, and President Barack Obama is expected to request another $33 billion to fund more troops this year.


Pakistan Taliban says leader injured in attack
Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan, has been injured in a suspected U.S. drone strike, intelligence and Taliban sources told CNN Friday.


Aafia Siddiqui demands no Jewish jurors at attempted murder trial
A Pakistani scientist who is the only woman accused of working with the al-Qaeda leadership has demanded that Jews should be excluded from the jury at her trial in New York.


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January 14th Morning Readbook

An Afghan boy stands near a public water pump in Kabul January 13, 2010. Nearly half way through the Afghan winter, unusually warm and dry weather is raising fears of a drought that could cause food shortages, undermine efforts to slash poppy growing and worsen security problems. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood


Afghan civilian deaths in 2009 were most since invasion, U.N. says
There were more than 2,400 noncombatant deaths in 2009, the highest toll in eight years. But the proportion attributed to Western and Afghan security forces fell sharply under new engagement rules.


Suicide bomber hits Afghanistan market
A suicide bomber blew himself up in a busy market district in central Afghanistan today, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than a dozen, provincial officials said.


Pakistani Taliban leader 'escapes US strike'
Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud was in the area of northwest Pakistan where a US drone strike killed 10 people Thursday but left before the missiles hit, a militant spokesman said.


Iraq sentences 11 men to death over Baghdad bombings
An Iraqi court Thursday sentenced to death 11 men, including Al-Qaeda militants, over devastating truck bombs in Baghdad that killed more than 100 people in August and dealt a harsh blow to the government. Those convicted included Salim Abed Jassim who confessed that he received funding for the attacks from Brigadier General Nabil Abdul Rahman, a senior army officer during the rule of Saddam Hussein now living in Syria.


Iraqis on Iraq - Falluja and Tikrit
As international attention increasingly shifts from Iraq to Afghanistan — we asked Iraqi journalists working for The New York Times to give a personal view of daily life in the areas where they live. Here, we offer views from Falluja and Tikrit as our colleagues Mohammed Hussein and Timothy Williams report on the escalation of violence in recent weeks and a suicide bombing in Anbar Province Wednesday morning. The names of the Iraqi journalists are withheld because of the continuing threat to their lives.


Yemen warns citizens against hiding al-Qaeda members
Yemen's authorities have warned citizens against hiding al-Qaeda militants and urged them to co-operate with security forces, state media say.


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