With the coming of a new year, many nonprofits, think tanks, and other policy institutions are releasing their annual reports on the state of our world in 2010. Below is a brief “press roundup” of several of the most relevant findings on the nation of Iran. The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal just […]
The Pakistani Air Force and Army attack helicopters killed 13 Taliban fighters in Kurram and 10 more in Bajaur; six security personnel were wounded during the fighting. Twenty-seven additional Taliban fighters were captured during operations in Khyber, Bajaur, and Dir.
Damascus-based channels broadcast support for armed attacks in Iraq – Al-Maliki aide
An effective weapon in the war on terror: women
Lynn: New threats require new capabilities
Thirty-six Iraqis were killed in three car bomb attacks at hotels in central Baghdad. Insurgents killed two policemen in Kirkuk. Security forces detained six insurgents in Mosul, five al Qaeda fighters in Karbala and four more in Bayji, and two Promised Day Brigade fighters in Baghdad. Fifty-four candidates for parliament were crossed off the banned […]
The government claimed al Qaeda was responsible for the Jan. 24 attack at a checkpoint in Shabwa province. “Five tribal leaders in Shabwa are negotiating with al Qaeda members to give themselves up,” a security official said. The leader of the Shia Houthi rebels offered a truce to Saudi Arabia so it could withdraw its […]
Osama bin Laden’s latest tape, entitled “From Osama to Obama.” As reported in other media outlets, Osama bin Laden released a one-minute audio recording yesterday about Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound plane last month. Addressed “from Osama to Obama,” here is the complete Open Source Center translation of the statement: In […]
Three car bombs detonated 10 minutes apart outside the Sheraton, Al Hamraa, and Babylon hotels, killing 36 and wounding 71 more.
Shabaab fired a mortar shell into a hospital inside an African Union base in Mogadishu, killing a soldier and several Somali civilians. Insurgents attacked a second African Union base in Mogadishu with mortars and heavy machine guns.”
‘Remove Taliban commanders from UN wanted list™
The Taliban killed a British soldier in Helmand province and a Norwegian soldier in Faryab province. Police averted a deadly bomb attack in Saripul province and detained two Taliban fighters. The UN’s representative to Afghanistan asked for Taliban leaders to be removed from sanction lists.
According to ABC News, the US may have missed an opportunity to kill radical US-born cleric Anwar al Awlaki because those prosecuting the attack feared “the possibility of criminal prosecution without approval in advance from the White House.” White House lawyers are mulling the legality of proposed attempts to kill an American citizen, Anwar Awlaki, […]
Saudi-Western interests in Yemen not identical
Taliban intensifies Afghan PR campaign
On the trail of the Taliban in Quetta
Afghanistan will take longer to tackle than Iraq, General David Petraeus says
Pak will be held responsible if 26/11 recurs, says India
Interview transcript: Gen Stanley McChrystal
President Ahmadinejad said Iran will announce enrichment of uranium to 20 percent purity at the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution, which is next month. Opposition leader Mehdi Karoubi acknowledged Ahmadinejad as the country’s legitimate president. EU foreign ministers met to discuss new sanctions on Iran.
Recently published numbers indicating accelerated integration of the Sons of Iraq (SOI) were confirmed to me over the weekend by Major General Stephen Lanza, spokesman for United States Forces – Iraq. Specifically, Lanza listed the following statistics: ~ 76,000 Sons of Iraq remain on the payroll ~ 41,000 (53.9%) total Sons of Iraq have been […]
The Financial Times published an extensive interview with General Stanley McChrystal, the top military commander in Afghanistan. The interviewer presses McChrystal on the subject of reconciliation, but stops short of asking the general if he would accept Taliban Mullah Omar. Here is the exchange: FT: The implication seems to be that although it’s not your […]
10 Jordanians on trial over plots against military
The Taliban doesn™t seem ready to talk
Both the Yemeni and Saudi governments claimed the Shia Houthi rebels operating in the North are coordinating attacks with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Three soldiers were killed in an attack at a checkpoint in Ataq in Shabwa province, an al Qaeda stronghold.
India – Pak tunnels near border worry government
Gates sees fallout from troubled ties With Pakistan
The Taliban executed seven “US spies” in North Waziristan. The Taliban also claimed to have shot down a Predator aircraft in North Waziristan. The Lashar-e-Islam killed a Frontier Corps soldier in Khyber. A Taliban commander and three fighters, and a soldier were killed during clashes in Swat.
The Taliban killed three US soldiers and a British soldier, and captured 12 policemen after overrunning a police station in Herat province. The government postponed parliamentary elections until the fall.
Osama bin Laden released a new audiotape, entitled “From Osama to Obama,” which was played on Al Jazeera. Bin Laden praised the Christmas Eve bomber and said attacks would continue as long as the US supports Israel.