February 24th Morning Readbook

Interview: US Commander in Helmand




Battle starts to win over Helmand locals and wean them off poppy growing
Afghan civilians will today begin to pour into the district cleared by British troops in a pivotal phase of the operation to banish the Taleban.


Taliban Capture Raises Hopes of Pakistan Shift
The capture of a second high-level leader of the Afghan Taliban by Pakistani authorities has raised the prospect that Pakistan's powerful intelligence agency, long accused by the U.S. of ties with Islamist extremists, has begun to turn on an organization it once cultivated.


India Says Fired At By Pakistan Guards Ahead Of Talks
Indian border guards said their troops came under fire from Pakistan on Wednesday, a day before the two nuclear-armed neighbours are set for the first official talks since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.


Insurgency Rises in Northern Ireland
The car bomb that exploded in the Northern Ireland city of Newry Monday night highlights the resurgence in activity of Irish Republican splinter groups determined to wreck the province's fragile peace process with an increasingly sophisticated use of explosives.


Top Yemen al Qaeda leader threatens U.S. attacks
An article under the name of a senior member of al Qaeda's Yemen wing that the Yemeni government said it had killed has appeared on an Internet forum, threatening to carry out attacks in the United States.


Iraq Election Preview
Iraq will soon hold national elections -– a step critical to strengthening its democracy.  These elections said, Commander of U.S. Forces in Iraq General Ray Odierno, "are important to everyone in the region, they are important to the people of Iraq, and they're important to people outside the region because of the impact it could have on stability not only in Iraq but in the Middle East as a whole."


Extending Our Stay in Iraq
IRAQ’S March 7 national election, and the formation of a new government that will follow, carry huge implications for both Iraqis and American policy. It appears now that the results are unlikely to resolve key political struggles that could return the country to sectarianism and violence.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera 

February 15th Morning Readbook

US marines take aim during a battle against the Taliban in Marjah on February 12. Thousands of US-led troops backed by helicopters stormed a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan in the first major test of President Barack Obama's new surge policy. (AFP/File/Patrick Baz)


The Marines move on Marja: A perilous slog against Afghanistan's Taliban
For the Marines of Charlie Company's 3rd Platoon, Sunday's mission was simple enough: Head west for a little more than a mile to link up with Alpha Company in preparation for a mission to secure the few ramshackle government buildings in this farming community.


Afghanistan offensive is key test of Obama's strategy
The largest military offensive of the eight-year war in Afghanistan, launched this weekend in southwestern Helmand province, is a crucial test for President Obama's strategy of more troops, more civilians and more money.


Sir Jock Stirrup says UK troops 'must win Afghan trust'
The head of the UK's armed forces, Sir Jock Stirrup, has said the killing of 12 civilians during Operation Moshtarak in Afghanistan was a "serious setback".


Suspected U.S. Drone Strike Kills 3 in Pakistan
This is the second drone attack in 2 days. On Sunday, officials say seven militants were killed when two missiles, fired from a drone, struck a militant training compound in the town of Mir Ali


Pakistan lawyers rally against president
Hundreds of lawyers joined rallies across Pakistan on Monday denouncing President Asif Ali Zardari after he clashed with the Supreme Court in a fresh crisis for the insurgency-hit nation.


Yemen Houthis free Saudi captive 
Yemen's Houthi rebels have handed over one of five captured Saudi Arabian soldiers to committee overseeing the group's ceasefire with the government.


Iraqi lawmaker: Sunni boycott won't solve standoff
A top Sunni Arab leader, banned from running in next month's elections, said Monday that a Sunni boycott won't solve a standoff over who can run in Iraq's next parliament — though he stopped short of urging his supporters to vote.


Anti-Saddam purge both woos and worries Iraq voters
Government rhetoric against Saddam Hussein's Baath party will woo some Iraqi Shi'ite voters ahead of an election, but many people feel uneasy about a return to the sectarian politics that has spilled so much blood.


ANALYSIS - Iraqi PM Maliki weakened ahead of national vote
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki came out of local polls last year as Iraq's dominant leader, but a string of bombings and alliances among rivals have weakened him ahead of a March national vote.


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 12th Morning Readbook

An Iraqi Kurd looks at election campaign posters of Kurdish candidates plastered on a concrete wall protecting a checkpoint in Kirkuk. Official campaigning for Iraq's March 7 general election has started in a tense atmosphere overshadowed by angry demands from provincial leaders that workers linked to Saddam Hussein be fired. (AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)


Iraq 'upholds' poll ban on two MPs 
A panel of Iraqi judges has reportedly upheld the decision to bar two prominent Sunni members of parliament from contesting in general elections scheduled for March 7.


Iraq election campaign begins
Official campaigning for Iraq's March 7 general election started on Friday in a tense atmosphere overshadowed by angry demands from provincial leaders that workers linked to Saddam Hussein be fired.


How the Taliban pressed bin Laden 
Evidence now available from various sources, including recently declassified United States State Department documents, shows that the Taliban regime led by Mullah Mohammad Omar imposed strict isolation on Osama bin Laden after 1998 to prevent him from carrying out any plots against the United States.


US and Afghan troops ring Taliban stronghold
U.S. and Afghan forces ringed the Taliban stronghold of Marjah on Thursday, sealing off escape routes and setting the stage for what is being described as the biggest offensive of the nine-year war.


Five Americans wounded in suicide attack at US base in Afghanistan
An Afghan official says a suicide attacker wearing a police uniform blew himself up at a US base in eastern Afghanistan, wounding five  Americans. The spokesman for Paktia province, Roullah Samoun, says the attack occurred tonight in the Dand aw Patan district near the Pakistan border about 70 kilometres east of Gardez.


Pakistan and India to Resume Talks on Feb. 25 in New Delhi
Talks between Pakistan and India halted by the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks will resume on Feb. 25 as the two countries’ foreign secretaries meet in New Delhi, Pakistan’s government said in a statement.


Yemen government and rebels call ceasefire
Hopes that truce will bring an end to six-year conflict which has diverted resources from fighting al-Qaida in the country


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

February 11th Morning Readbook

Opposition on Iran's anniversary




Joe Biden update: Iraq one of Obama's 'great achievements'
    I am very optimistic about -- about Iraq. I mean, this could be one of the great achievements of this administration. You're going to see 90,000 American troops come marching home by the end of the summer. You're going to see a stable government in Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government.


Biden: Qaeda moving to small, frightening attacks
Vice President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that al Qaeda was moving in the direction of smaller but "devastatingly frightening" attacks and he viewed the chance of another September 11-style mass assault as unlikely.


Iraq Oil Line Bombed; Output Drops
Attackers bombed a frequently attacked oil pipeline north of Baghdad, slowing production at a refinery in the capital by half, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said Wednesday.


Afghan campaign seeks to avoid Iraq mistakes
Chances of success for a NATO offensive in the last big Taliban bastion in Afghanistan's Helmand province may depend on ensuring the operation doesn't repeat the destruction of Fallujah in Iraq in 2004.


Taliban, Marines exchange fire as battle looms
U.S. Marines and Taliban insurgents exchanged gunfire Thursday on the outskirts of Marjah, a southern militant stronghold where American and Afghan forces are expected to launch a major attack in the coming days.


Iran opposes Taliban reintegration
Tehran rejected plans to make peace with moderate Taliban members as part of a broad reconciliation effort unveiled by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.


Qaeda threats should be taken seriously: Yemen FM
Yemen's foreign minister has warned that Al-Qaeda threats should be taken seriously, after a top militant said the network's local branch aims to seize control of a strategic international waterway.


The latest news from 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 9th Morning Readbook

Iraq's former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi gestures while answering questions during an interview with Reuters in Baghdad February 8, 2010. A ban on election candidates accused of links with Saddam Hussein's Baath party threatens to drag Iraq into civil war, a former prime minister and head of a group seen as a strong contender in the polls said on Monday. (REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen)


Most banned Iraqi poll candidates' appeals rejected
Almost all the candidates who contested their ban from Iraq's upcoming parliamentary election did not submit their cases properly and lost the chance to appeal, an Iraqi legal body said on Tuesday.


Ba'ath ban sparks fears
A ban on election candidates accused of links to Saddam Hussein's Sunni-led Ba'ath party is threatening to drag Iraq into civil war, a former prime minister said yesterday.


In Northern Iraq, a Vote Seems Likely to Split
There was a hope, not long ago, that democracy would mean peace and stability for Nineveh, a place where cultures and armies have clashed since biblical times. Instead, democracy is hardening divisions — of people, of resources, of land — in ways that threaten the future of Iraq itself.


Taliban claim to debut new bomb 'Omar'
The Taliban claimed Tuesday to have developed a new bomb nicknamed Omar after their fugitive leader and which they say is impossible Western mine sweepers to detect.


Pakistani Military Retakes Key Town in Tribal Belt From Taliban
The Pakistani military has retaken the key town of Damadola, in the Bajaur area of the tribal belt, where the army has been fighting Taliban militants for more than a year, military and local officials said Monday.


Yemen: Qaeda Affiliate Urges Joint Blockade of Red Sea
The Yemen-based wing of Al Qaeda called Monday for a regional holy war and a blockade of the Red Sea to cut off shipments to Israel. In an audio recording posted on a jihadist Web site, the group’s deputy leader, Said Ali al-Shihri, called on the Somali insurgent group Shabab to help block the strait that separates Yemen from the Horn of Africa. The Shabab does not control the African side of the strait.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

February 7th Morning Readbook

Militant Video Shows Abducted American in Iraq




Iraq militant group says it's holding American hostage
In a video, a man believed to be Issa Salomi calls for Iraqi prisoners to be released. The Defense Department says Salomi, a civilian contractor, has been unaccounted for since Jan. 23.


Iranian-backed Shia terror group kidnaps US civilian in Baghdad
An Iranian-backed Shia terror group that claims it seeks reconciliation with the Iraqi government has kidnapped a US civilian in Baghdad. The US recently released the top leader of the group under the guise of a reconciliation program, but the release actually was related to a hostage exchange.


Iraq Shi'ite leaders vow Baath purge as furor grows
Iraq's Shi'ite parties held emotional demonstrations on Sunday and vowed to purge loyalists of Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party as tensions over a list of candidates banned from a March election soared.


Planned Afghan assault to send 'strong signal': McChrystal
Dubbed Operation Mushtarak, the operation will "send a strong signal that the Afghan government is expanding its security control," said US General Stanley McChrystal, who commands 113,000 US and NATO forces fighting the militants.


Karachi violence blow to Pakistan economy
A wave of political and sectarian violence sweeping Karachi threatens heavy financial losses in the country's economic hub, where analysts fear Islamists are bent on fanning maximum instability.


Pakistan says seizes Taliban base on Afghan border
Pakistani forces have captured a stronghold of al Qaeda-backed militants near the Afghan border after days of clashes in which 60 militants were killed, the military said.


Yemen arrests embassy bomb threat suspect
Yemen has arrested a man suspected of threatening to bomb foreign embassies in the capital Sanaa and to assassinate Yemeni political and military leaders, state media reported on Sunday.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

February 6th Morning Readbook

The family of Saleema Hussein, who was killed Friday by a bombing, carry her coffin for burial in the Shiite city of Najaf.(AP Photo/Alaa al-Marjani)


Iraq’s elections could be a turning point — backwards
Iraq’s elections next month are a major fork in the road of the country’s post-election development. One way leads towards increasing stability and political freedom; the other marks the route back to sectarianism and violence.


Law, tolerance needed to resolve Iraq's candidate ban row
Top Iraqi leaders are expected to meet on Saturday to discuss a row over an appeals panel's decision to allow some 500 barred candidates to run in the March 7 parliamentary election, which is seen as a crucial test for the war and violence-shattered country's national reconciliation and political process.


Deadly blasts hit Iraq Karbala city 
At least 40 people have been killed and more than 140 others wounded in two explosions that rocked the Iraqi city of Karbala as hundreds of thousands of Shia pilgrims observed a major religious rite.


Iraq election triggers US-Iran power struggle
Preparations for the Iraqi parliamentary elections have been thrown into chaos by a row over whether or not to uphold a ban on hundreds of candidates, because of alleged links to Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath Party.


Q&A - Iraq's Baath party furore - what's it all about?
Iraqi politics is in turmoil over a list of nearly 500 candidates barred from an election because of alleged links to Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party. The furore at first pitted once dominant Sunnis against the Shi'ite-led majority. Sunnis, who dominated Iraq under Saddam and whose resentment at their fall from power helped fuel a powerful insurgency, suspected the ban unfairly targeted them.


Afghan police kill seven civilians 'by mistake'
Afghan police have shot dead seven villagers near the Pakistani border after mistaking them for insurgents, police officials said.


Taliban prepare defences against US and UK offensive
A wall of booby-trapped mines has been laid by the Taliban to protect their last strongholds in central Helmand as they prepare to hold off a major allied assault, British commanders have disclosed.


Pakistan tense as mourners bury bomb victims
Pakistan's commercial capital Karachi was tense Saturday a day after two bombs killed 31 people, raising further questions about the effectiveness of security crackdowns on al Qaeda-linked militants.


Yemeni American cleric Aulaqi confirms contact with Nigerian suspect
Yemeni American cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi said he taught and corresponded with the suspect in the attempted Dec. 25 airliner bombing but did not order the attack, according to an interview published this week.


The main headlines on Al Jazeera

Al Qaeda Presence in Yemen is Not New

Suspected al-Qaeda members sit behind bars at the state security court in Sanaa. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah


Yemen cautious on battle against al-Qaeda - 23 January 2002

FBI Director Robert Mueller was in Yemen on Monday as part of a Middle East tour designed to bolster Arab support and capability in the war against al-Qaeda and other militant groups.

The United States has begun to look beyond Afghanistan in the fight against al-Qaeda and much of the attention is being focused on countries like Yemen - a poor, mountainous nation on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula where militants have been able to hide.

The Yemeni Government says it has arrested two al-Qaeda militants named by the US, but that another three men on Washington's wanted list remain at large.

It has not been easy for Yemen to make arrests because the suspects enjoy the protection of powerful tribes who are armed and rarely take much notice of government orders.


Yemeni al-Qaeda terrorist on wanted list: report - November 25 2002

A senior al-Qaeda operative from Yemen is one of three "critical" suspects being hunted by authorities over the Bali bombing, Time magazine reported today.

In their latest edition, Time identified the Yemeni as Syafullah, whose activities included the 1996 bombing of a US military barracks in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 servicemen.

Time said one of the other two "top tier" suspects was an Indonesian militant named Syawal, who was an instructor at an al-Qaeda-linked training camp near Poso on the island of Sulawesi.

The other man police are hunting is a Malaysian, Zubair, who reportedly fought in Afghanistan in the late 1980s and is suspected of leading the surveillance and mapping team for the October 12 Bali attack.

If proved, Syafullah could be the first member of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organisation, which carried out last year's September 11 attacks on the United States, to be directly linked to the Bali bombings.


Al-Qaeda ties sought in Yemen killings - January 1 2003

Yemeni interrogators suspect the man accused of killing three American missionaries at a Baptist hospital may have ties to al-Qaeda, officials said Tuesday, and U.S. investigators joined the search for those behind the murders.

Two of the slain Americans were buried Tuesday in the southern Yemeni town of Jibla, where each had worked for more than two decades and where the attack took place. The third was to be flown to the United States.


CFR - Terrorism Havens: Yemen   December 2005

Is Yemen a haven for terrorism?

Yes. Yemen, located at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is a poor Muslim country with a weak central government, armed tribal groups in outlying areas, and porous borders, which makes it fertile ground for terrorists. Its government has tried to help the United States after September 11, and the State Department calls Yemen “an important partner in the campaign against terrorism, providing assistance in the military, diplomatic, and financial arenas.” But experts say that terrorists live in Yemen, sometimes with government approval; Yemen-based corporations are thought to help fund Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist network; and Yemenis affiliated with al-Qaeda have targeted U.S. interests in Yemen, including the October 2000 bombing of the navy destroyer U.S.S. Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden .

Since the bombing of the Cole, has al-Qaeda planned other attacks against targets in Yemen?

Yes. In June 2001, local authorities in Yemen arrested eight Yemeni veterans of the 1979-89 Afghan war against the Soviets in connection with a plot to blow up the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen ’s capital. In July 2002, an accidental explosion that killed two al-Qaeda operatives led to the seizure of 650 pounds of plastic explosives from a Sanaa warehouse. A Kuwaiti citizen suspected of ties to al-Qaeda was arrested in Kuwait and admitted to plotting the October 2002 bombing of a French oil tanker off the Yemeni coast. Three American missionaries were killed in December 2002 in a southern Yemeni village, but it is unclear if the alleged killer, a local Islamist militant, had any links to al-Qaeda.

How big an al-Qaeda presence is there in Yemen?

It’s impossible to say precisely, but dozens of al-Qaeda operatives, including senior officials, may be at large in Yeme , experts say. Yemen was second only to Saudi Arabia in being the source of soldiers for the international Islamist brigade that fought against Soviet forces in Afghanistan and that gave birth to al-Qaeda. Thousands—perhaps tens of thousands—of Yemenis fought in Afghanistan or trained in al-Qaeda’s camps there. Yemeni officials say that not every Yemeni veteran of the war in Afghanistan is an al-Qaeda member; nevertheless, Yemeni prisoners make up one of the largest national contingents of detainees at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba .


Al-Qaeda and Yemen - December 31, 2009

Al-Qaeda has used Yemen as a base to launch attacks against U.S. interests since the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. Some major events:

Oct. 12, 2000

USS Cole attack

Al-Qaeda militants ram the USS Cole with an explosives-packed speedboat off the southern city of Aden, killing 17 U.S. sailors.

Nov. 3, 2002

Al-Qaeda figure killed

Abu Ali al-Harithi, reputed head of the group al-Qaeda in Yemen, is killed in eastern Yemen by a missile fired at his car by a Predator drone. Harithi was a suspect in the attack on the USS Cole.

Early 2006

Jailbreak in Sanaa

Twenty-three people, at least 13 of them convicted al-Qaeda fighters, escape from a prison in Sanaa, Yemen's capital, through a 140-yard-long tunnel. Jamal Badawi, who had been convicted of plotting, preparing and helping to carry out the Cole bombing, was among the fugitives. U.S. and Yemeni officials said the prisoners were aided by Yemeni intelligence officials sympathetic to al-Qaeda.

February 4th Morning Readbook

REUTERS


Iraqi court lifts mass ban on candidates, cutting risk of Sunni election boycott
An Iraqi appeals court on Wednesday overturned an effort to bar hundreds of candidates from Iraq's upcoming national elections, reducing the risk of a Sunni boycott that could render the entire process illegitimate.


Iraq bombing kills at least 20 as pilgrims converge on Karbala
At least 20 people were killed and 117 were wounded Wednesday in an explosion just outside the southern Iraqi city of Karbala, despite increased security measures put in place during religious ceremonies this week.


With fewer allies this time, Iraq's Maliki faces tough reelection campaign
Almost four years after his accidental rise to power, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is trying to retain his job without the allies who made him Iraq's ruler the first time around.


Obama's Iraq policy must be focused on more than withdrawal
In a 71-minute State of the Union address, President Obama managed no more than 101 perfunctory words about Iraq. Throughout its term, the administration has recoiled from discussing Iraq's geostrategic significance and especially America's relation to it.


Experts: Al Qaeda in Yemen may send American jihadis, recruited by Anwar al-Awlaki, to attack U.S.
Counterterror chiefs fear Al Qaeda in Yemen may soon be sending American jihadis recruited by a radical cleric to attack the U.S., the Daily News has learned.


NYC conviction doesn't silence Pakistani scientist
True to form, Aafia Siddiqui did not go quietly. Throughout a federal trial that featured compelling testimony about a perplexing case, the Pakistani scientist-turned-attempted murder defendant offered a running, combative commentary that sometimes got her kicked out of the courtroom.


Pakistan Arrests 35 in U.S. Soldiers’ Deaths
Pakistani officials said Thursday they have arrested 35 suspects as part of their investigation into a bombing that killed three American soldiers and four Pakistanis on Wednesday in northwest Pakistan.


Military Officials Say Afghan Fight Is Coming
NATO and the Afghan military are about to launch their biggest joint offensive of the war, and they appear to be making sure the Taliban know they are coming.


The latest news from Al Jazeera

February 3rd Morning Readbook

Americans allege Pakistan torture




U.S. Drones Kill at Least 10 With Missiles in Northwest Pakistan
A barrage of missiles from U.S. drone aircraft ripped into an area of northwest Pakistan where the Taliban and al Qaeda dominate, killing at least 10 people hours after the Pakistani Taliban again denied rumors of its leader's demise.


Can Saudi Arabia help with Taliban peace talks?
Riding a wave of international support for talking with the Taliban, Afghan President Hamid Karzai flew to Saudi Arabia Tuesday to seek help from one of the few governments that hold any potential sway over the insurgent group.


US Denies Speaking to Iran About Prisoner Swap
The United States has denied speaking to Iran about a prisoner exchange after Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tehran has held discussions about such a swap.


Iran: US missile system to sow Gulf division
Iran on Tuesday warned its Arab neighbors in the Persian Gulf that the U.S. is trying to drive a wedge between them by ramping up its missile defense systems in the region.


Intelligence officials say al-Qaeda will try to attack U.S. in next 6 monthswarn of looming al-Qaeda risk
The Obama administration's top intelligence officials on Tuesday described it as "certain" that al-Qaeda or its allies will try to attack the United States in the next six months, and they called for new flexibility in how U.S. officials detain and question terrorist suspects.


Christmas Day bomb suspect Abdulmutallab providing intelligence, sources say
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the man accused of trying to blow up a jet airplane on Christmas Day, has been providing FBI interrogators with useful intelligence about his training and contacts since last week, Obama administration sources said Tuesday.


The latest news from Al Jazeera 

February 1st Morning Readbook

The Pakistani army said Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010 it was investigating reports that Mehsud died from injuries sustained in a U.S. drone missile strike in mid-January. (AP Photo/Ishtiaq Mehsud, File)


Pakistani troops kill 15 Taliban in Bajaur clashes
Pakistani forces backed by helicopter gunships have killed 15 Taliban in clashes that erupted after militants attacked a military post and convoy in the northwest of the country, an official said on Monday.


Pakistani Taliban Leader Is Reported Dead
Pakistani and American officials said Sunday that they were increasingly convinced that the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, Pakistan’s chief domestic enemy and the man behind the suicide attack on a C.I.A. base in Afghanistan in December, had died from wounds sustained in a drone strike.


Karzai urges Taliban talks before U.S. pullout
Taliban fighters should drop their demand that U.S. and NATO forces withdraw from Afghanistan before peace talks can be held, President Hamid Karzai said on Sunday, saying talks would make it easier for troops to leave.


Afghanistan's hospitals ravaged by constant war




Afghan, Iraq wars shape Pentagon budget, US strategy
The Obama administration plans to unveil a defense budget on Monday that pours billions into drones, helicopters and special forces, reflecting a focus on fighting Islamist extremists rather than conventional armies.


Incremental Steps in Iraq to Let Kurdistan Oil Flow
The semiautonomous region of Kurdistan is the one place in battered Iraq that promised economic boom times, but some of the foreign oil companies that rushed in over the past few years are becoming increasingly restless.


Yemen Seems to Reject Cease-Fire With Rebels
Yemen on Sunday appeared to reject a cease-fire offer from the leader of the Houthi rebels, raising fresh questions about a festering conflict that has diluted the government’s ability to deal with a growing insurgency by Al Qaeda.


Dubai police say Mossad may have killed Hamas chief
Dubai's police chief said Sunday that Israel's spy agency, Mossad, could be behind the murder of a top Hamas leader in a Dubai hotel room.


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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 

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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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.


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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.


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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.


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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.


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