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.


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