March 15th Morning Readbook

US-Israel ties at risk? 




A week on, Maliki pulls ahead in Iraq race
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pulled ahead on Sunday in early results of an election Iraqis hoped would end years of sectarian strife, but a divided vote suggested long and fraught talks to form a government are ahead.


Iraq's Nouri al-Maliki already wooing allies to try to form governing coalition
Buoyed by preliminary results from last week's parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is courting allies in hopes of forming a new governing coalition that will allow him to keep his job.


Car bomb in Iraq's Falluja kills 7, wounds 20: police
A car bomb in Iraq's western Anbar province killed seven civilians and wounded 20 others on Monday, as Iraq struggles to end years of sectarian violence after a pivotal national vote.


A Tale of Two Taliban Reveals U.S. Afghan Dilemma
Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul and Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef were both held by the U.S. at Guantanamo. Both were senior Taliban commanders, and both say they were subjected to solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, countless interrogations and beatings. But when they were released back home in their native Afghanistan, the two men's paths diverged radically.


Pakistan intelligence calls for Afghan border to be closed
Pakistan's intelligence agency has demanded tighter control of the Afghan border by Nato troops to stop Taliban fighters escaping its operations in the North West Frontier.


Yemen air raid kills two Al-Qaeda leaders: official
A Yemeni air raid against a "terrorist cell" in the southeast of the country has killed two senior Al-Qaeda members, the defence ministry said early Monday.


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