January 8th - 10th Weekend Readbook

Mehsud's death sparked CIA attack



Bomber's betrayal shows spy challenge for West
The killing of CIA employees in Afghanistan by a suicide bomber lauded online as a militant James Bond suggests al Qaeda's south Asian allies have developed an unprecedented capacity to disrupt the West's spy efforts.


Tributes to British war reporter killed working with US troops in Afghanistan
A British journalist has been killed in an explosion while covering the war in Afghanistan. Rupert Hamer, 39, the defence correspondent of the Sunday Mirror newspaper, was with the US Marines in Helmand province when he was killed by a roadside bomb.


Afghans Losing Hope After 8 Years of War
In Kabul, even a traffic jam can provoke a comment on this Islamic nation's dismal state, which most people here believe is at its bleakest since the U.S. invaded to topple the Taliban in 2001. It's a striking sentiment when you consider it comes after eight years of international intervention, $60 billion in foreign aid and the lives of thousands of foreign troops and Afghan civilians.


US drone war delivers results, but at what price?
The US drone war in Pakistan has made gains in annihilating Taliban and Al-Qaeda commanders, but the reliance on the unmanned, remotely controlled aircraft risks fanning Islamist violence.


Yemen sends message to al-Qaeda




Corruption-plagued Iraq joins oil transparency group
Iraq joined a global transparency initiative Sunday in a bid to heal its reputation as a nation plagued by corruption and misuse of its vast oil wealth.


Fate of 15 Iraqi political parties in balance
Iraq's electoral commission will decide within days whether to ban 15 political parties from running in March polls because their leaders allegedly have links to former dictator Saddam Hussein, a spokesman said Saturday.


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