February 18th Morning Readbook

Obstacles in path to Afghan peace

Afghan and international forces are reported to be planning for a major military assault against the Taliban in Kunduz, a northern province, along the lines of Operation Moshtarak under way in Helmand.




Marines still looking over shoulder for Taliban
It's only been six days since NATO launched a major assault against the Taliban and some Afghans are already asking Marines when they can reopen their shops.


Taliban town residents skeptical of NATO promises
The Taliban's white flag no longer flies over villages across this militant stronghold. Afghan and NATO troops have replaced it with Afghanistan's official green-and-red banner, which they promise heralds new schools and clinics and good governance.


Insurgents put up resistance in Taliban town
U.S. Marines pummeled insurgents with mortars, sniper fire and missiles as fighting intensified Thursday in two areas of the Taliban southern stronghold of Marjah, where U.S. and Afghan forces are facing stubborn resistance in an operation now in its sixth day.


Pakistan arrests 2 senior Afghan Taliban: official
Pakistan has captured two "shadow governors" belonging to Afghanistan's Taliban movement, an Afghan official said on Thursday.


Suicide bomber kills 11 in Iraq's Anbar province
A suicide bomber killed at least 11 people and wounded 21 others on Thursday in Iraq's increasingly turbulent western Anbar province, a senior Iraqi army official and police said.


Iran Continues to Subvert Iraq, Officials Say
As national elections in Iraq loom on the horizon, Iran continues to subvert its western neighbor’s security and political infrastructure, top American military officials said. Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the top American commander in Iraq, said Iran aims to foment violence in Iraq and to play diplomatic and other nonmilitary roles that call into question Iran’s respect for Iraqi sovereignty.


U.N. officials criticize U.S. restrictions on aid to Somalia
U.N. officials on Wednesday ratcheted up their criticism of U.S. policy in Somalia, declaring that recent restrictions intended to prevent al-Qaeda-linked Somali Islamists from gaining strength are holding up humanitarian aid to some of the world's most desperate people.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

February 14th Morning Readbook

Forces 'positive' on Afghan assault

In a series of airborne assaults, more than two thousand US and British troops have flooded into Taliban-controlled territory in southern Afghanistan, supporting Afghan forces in the largest military offensive in the country since the 2001 US-led invasion.




Nato aims to add to Afghan gains
Thousands of US, UK and Afghan troops are trying to consolidate gains on the second day of a major offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.


Pakistan court order raises new instability fears
A decision by Pakistan's Supreme Court to strike down a presidential order appointing two top judges triggered warnings Sunday of a new conflict between the judiciary and the government that could lead to broader political instability.


India says investigating local, foreign leads to blast
India's government said it had little idea who was behind a bomb in a tourist eatery in western India that killed nine people, with sources saying they were looking at the possible involvement of Islamist militants.


Under Obama, more targeted killings than captures in counterterrorism efforts
When a window of opportunity opened to strike the leader of al-Qaeda in East Africa last September, U.S. Special Operations forces prepared several options. They could obliterate his vehicle with an airstrike as he drove through southern Somalia. Or they could fire from helicopters that could land at the scene to confirm the kill. Or they could try to take him alive.


Iraq secular bloc suspends campaign
The Iraqi National Movement, a coalition of Sunni Arabs and secularists, halts election campaigning to protest the upholding of a ban on some candidates. It hints at a ballot boycott.


String of Iraq bomb attacks target poll candidates
A string of bombings targeted groups taking part in Iraq's March election late on Saturday, wounding seven people, an Interior Ministry official said.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

February 13th Morning Readbook

Iraq's political wrangling
What happened to national reconciliation? Is Saddam in his grave stronger than Maliki's government? And is Maliki upholding the law or playing with fire? 




Saddam shadow darkens Iraq elections
The legacy of Saddam Hussein continues to divide Iraq. Preparations for the country's parliamentary election have been thrown into chaos by a row over a decision to ban hundreds of candidates because of alleged links to the former president's now outlawed Baath Party.


Iraqi politics in disarray as US pullback nears
With elections looming and the U.S. withdrawal of combat troops less than seven months away, political disarray is threatening Iraq's future as well its past. A parliamentary logjam is holding up legislation touching everything from prison staff, border crossings and counterterrorism troops to an archaeological excavation in dire need of tourists.


Anti-Baath campaign a spur to Iraq Shiite voters
But some experts call claims that the former Baath Party of Saddam Hussein is resurgent an election ploy. They say the two main Shiite blocs feared a public swing away from sectarian politics.


Marines meet with Afghans to explain offensive, seek support
Hundreds of Afghan men walked for miles over dusty roads Saturday morning to get to an open-air meeting to hear the Marines explain those angry sounds of war coming from the Taliban stronghold of Marja.


Helicopter armada heralds Afghanistan surge
An armada of helicopters lifted a vast force against Taliban strongholds today in the biggest operation ever mounted in Afghanistan.


Pakistan's president backs better ties with India
Good relations between Pakistan and India are vital for fighting Islamist militancy, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said on Saturday, as the old rivals prepare for their first official talks since the Mumbai attack.


Yemen rebels 'implementing truce terms'
Shiite rebels in Yemen said on Saturday they had pulled out of an occupied airport in the north and were arranging to free their Saudi prisoners, in line with a truce agreed with Sanaa.


Thousands flee Somalia fighting, says UN refugee agency
Thousands of people have fled Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, since Wednesday, the UN refugee agency has said.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

February 10th Morning Readbook

Expatriate Iraqis look at a candidates list at a polling station in Amman in 2005. At least 10 polling stations are to open in Jordan for Iraqi expatriates to take part in their country's March 7 election, as part of worldwide out-of-country voting, Iraq's ambassador said on Tuesday. (AFP/File/Khalil Mazraawi)


Iraq poll candidate ban appeals wrongly presented  
Almost all the candidates who contested their ban from Iraq's upcoming parliamentary election did not submit their cases properly and may have lost the chance to appeal, an Iraqi legal body said on Tuesday. Nearly 500 candidates for Iraq's March 7 vote were disqualified from standing in the election by the Justice and Accountability Commission for alleged links to Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party, sparking political uproar.


Security developments in Iraq, Feb 10
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol killed two policemen and wounded four others on the western outskirts of Baghdad, police said.

MOSUL - A roadside bomb wounded three people including a district official in eastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

MOSUL - A sticky bomb attached to the car of an Iraqi soldier wounded him in eastern Mosul, police said.

MOSUL - A roadside bomb killed a civilian and wounded six others on Tuesday in eastern Mosul, police said.


Iraq Kurdistan oil exports to resume in coming days
Iraq expects to announce the resumption of oil exports from its northern Kurdistan region in the "coming days", Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told reporters on Wednesday.


Pakistani officials: Taliban chief is dead
Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud has died, the country's top civilian security official told The Associated Press Wednesday, giving the government's first categorical confirmation of the death of the feared militant leader.


Marines plan joint mission to eject insurgents from last Helmand stronghold
In the late 1950s, scores of U.S. engineers transformed a swath of uninhabited desert in southern Afghanistan into verdant farmland by constructing a network of irrigation canals fed by the Helmand River. The Afghan government filled the area, which it called Marja, with Pashtun nomads and told them to grow wheat.


Toll Mounts in Afghan Avalanche
High in the Hindu Kush mountain range, Basir Salangi, a senior provincial official, surveyed a vista of tragedy on Wednesday after avalanches buried hundreds of cars and severed Kabul’s heavily traveled link to northern Afghanistan. The death toll seemed far higher, he said, than initially feared.


Yemen getting tougher with Somalis on Qaeda fears
Somalis fleeing war have long found refuge in Yemen, seen as a way station to Saudi Arabia, but fear of al Qaeda infiltration has cooled their welcome.


Opposing view: 'We need no lectures' By John Brennan
Politics should never get in the way of national security. But too many in Washington are now misrepresenting the facts to score political points, instead of coming together to keep us safe.


Brennan: Political 'fear-mongering' serves 'the goals of al-Qaeda'
President Obama's top counter-terrorism adviser asserted Tuesday that "too many in Washington are now misrepresenting the facts to score political points" regarding the administration's handling of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the alleged Christmas Day bomber.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

February 2nd Morning Readbook

Female Suicide Bomber Hits Iraqi Pilgrims




Blast kills 54 in Iraq, shaking faith in security forces
A woman who veiled her explosives in a black robe struck a column of Shi’ite pilgrims on the outskirts of Baghdad yesterday in a suicide attack that Iraqi officials had predicted but could not stop.


Cohn: Afghanistan: Unhappy ending to a very Canadian mission
The mission to remake Afghanistan is at a turning point – a U-turn, in fact. Seventy foreign ministers came to London the other day to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai for lunch. After tea, they served up a new survival strategy aimed as much at saving face as saving lives.


Taliban: Terrorist or not? Not always easy to say
Once considered so entwined that they were twin targets of a U.S. invasion, al-Qaida and elements of Afghanistan's Taliban are now being surgically separated - one careful stitch at a time.


Evidence mounts that Pakistani Taliban leader was killed
Evidence mounted yesterday that the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, an extremist Islamic militia with close links to Al Qaeda and a record of major suicide bombings, has died of burns and other injuries he received during a recent US missile strike in Pakistan’s northwest tribal region.


Somalia's Al Shabaab to Ally With Al Qaeda
The militant group al Shabaab said it would ally with al Qaeda in a drive to establish an Islamic state in Somalia and fight for Muslims across East Africa, offering a fresh test for U.S.-backed African peacekeepers struggling to defend a weak Somali government.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

January 12th Morning Readbook

An Afghan man on a motorbike passes U.S. Marines from India Company, 3rd Battalion 4th Marines, as they patrol in the small town of Delaram in Nimroz province, southern Afghanistan January 10, 2010. REUTERS/Marko Djurica


 US Afghan buildup 'showing success' 
The top US commander in Afghanistan says he believes a recent US troop buildup in the country has started to turn the tide against the Taliban. In an interview with ABC television on Monday, General Stanley McChrystal said the decision by Barack Obama, the US president, to increase American troop numbers in the country has "changed the way we operate in Afghanistan".


U.S. general: Taliban beaten in Helmand province
U.S. forces have driven the Taliban from most towns and villages in the strategic Helmand province of Afghanistan, leaving incoming troops with the mission of holding key areas and rebuilding the economy, Marine commanders say. "They've taken on the Taliban, the insurgency, right in the heartland and they've defeated them," said Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Mills in an interview with USA TODAY.


Pakistan suffers record number of deaths due to militant violence
A record number of Pakistani civilians and security forces died in militant violence last year as the country reeled from an onslaught of Taliban suicide bombings that propelled it into the ranks of the world's most perilous places.


Report: 20 percent of released detainees returning to terrorism
A classified report by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) says that one in five former detainees returned or are suspected to have returned to terrorist activity after leaving the U.S. prison facility. That is an increase from 14 percent from a similar report by the DIA released in April, according to the official familiar with the new report.


2 Navy SEAL cases moved to Iraq
Two of three Navy SEALs accused in the alleged assault of an Iraqi suspected of orchestrating the 2004 killing and mutilation of four U.S. contractors in Falluja will have their cases heard in Iraq, a judge ruled Monday.


Security an issue for post-election Iraq
The next government of Iraq must create divisions between politics and national security mechanisms, a deputy prime minister said in Baghdad. Iraqis head to the polls in March to pick a new government. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is expected to ride on a national security platform in a bid to secure a second term in office.


Somalis fleeing to Yemen prompt new worries in fight against al-Qaeda
Thousands of Somali boys and teenagers fleeing war and chaos at home are sailing to Yemen, where officials who have long welcomed Somali refugees now worry that the new arrivals could become the next generation of al-Qaeda fighters.


The latest news from Al Jazeera 

January 3rd Morning Readbook

(AFP/File/Khaled Fazaa)

UK and US close Yemen embassies amid terror threat
The US and Britain have shut their Yemen embassies after threats from an al-Qaeda offshoot linked to an alleged failed US plane bomb plot.


Obama aide says al Qaeda may plan Yemen attack
The United States has indications al Qaeda is planning an attack against a target in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, a senior aide to President Barack Obama said on Sunday.


The Point: Wartime challenges of the new year
One of the consequences of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's failed attempt to kill himself and everyone else aboard Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas has been to alert Americans to the growing fight against al-Qaeda in the obscure nation of Yemen.


Petraeus Visits Yemen as U.S. Beefs Up Counter-Terror Ops
The U.S. has put the Arab state of Yemen at the center of renewed counter-terrorism efforts in the aftermath of the attempted bombing of a U.S.-bound jet, dispatching a top U.S. general to the region and embarking on cooperative efforts with Britain.


Somalia's Al Shabaab Ready to Send Reinforcements to Al Qaeda in Yemen




Taliban: CIA Attack Was Retaliation for Drone Strikes
A senior commander connected to the Afghan Taliban and involved with the attack against the CIA that left eight people dead said Saturday that the bombing was retaliation for U.S. drone strikes in the Afghan-Pakistan border region.


Afghanistan and Pakistan face decisive year
Guest columnist Ahmed Rashid says 2010 looks like presenting Afghanistan and Pakistan with their most difficult set of challenges since the end of the Cold War.


In-depth / The mysterious deal between Washington and Tehran
 Mystery and speculation continue to surround the release of British computer consultant Peter Moore from captivity in Iraq. The 36-year-old was taken hostage with four British bodyguards assigned to him while he was working as an IT consultant in Baghdad for a U.S. firm. He arrived in the U.K. on Friday night.


Iraq's Maliki calls for end to Kurd oil deal row
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called for an end to a bitter row over oil contracts brokered by Iraqi Kurdistan, which has fuelled investor questions about the risks of doing business in war-torn Iraq.


The latest news from Al Jazeera

When Insurgents are Right

(AFP/File/Abdurashid Abikar)

Would we listen? What if they were tied to al Qaeda? In Africa, donated food can destroy struggling local economies since farmers cannot compete with free goods. Fearing for their livelihood, disenfranchised farmers may explore other options typically involving violence.

Islamist insurgents in Somalia have told the United Nations' World Food Program to stop importing food aid into the country.

The group al-Shabab said in a statement Wednesday that the massive importing of food is ruining Somalia's agriculture sector.

The rebels said the WFP must start buying food from local farmers for distribution to the needy.

Al-Shabab warned Somali businesses to stop working with the U.N. agency by January 1, and said the WFP must empty its warehouses of food aid by that date.

You can read the full article here.

Al Shabab released a video in late September this year proclaiming their allegiance to Osama bin Laden. Unfortunately this legitimate issue of foreign aid ravaging local economies cannot be addressed since it now will be viewed as a concession to terrorists.

This is a perfect example demonstrating a self-sustaining cycle of political violence. The political issue (food aid) cannot be remedied since the opposition group is a terrorist faction. Governments and other authoritative bodies cannot negotiate with terrorists and terrorists cannot recognize the legitimacy of governments and other authoritative bodies. If this were to occur both lose political credibility while the population potentially benefits...or suffers more.

October 2nd Morning Readbook

Al-Maliki assembles coalition for Iraq run

Odierno: May not be possible to declare victory in Iraq

Iran's aid to Iraq insurgents less broad-based -US

The top 15 terrorist groups in Afghanistan & Pakistan

U.S. Delays Somalia Aid, Fearing It Is Feeding Terrorists

White House Eyeing Narrower War Effort

Iran Agrees to Send Enriched Uranium to Russia

Pakistan amends anti-terror laws

McChrystal defends military goals in Afghanistan