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The Economist: Middle East and Africa
Iraq and Afghanistan: Petraeus's next war
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:11:45 -0000
After success in Iraq, can America’s favourite general win in Afghanistan?IN LESS than two years General David Petraeus has become the most admired American general of recent times. His success in overseeing America’s military surge in Iraq, reversing the country’s descent into a sectarian bloodbath, has earned him praise from both contenders in America’s presidential race. He is a “great general” in the view of John McCain, and has “done a brilliant job” according to Barack Obama. Given his intelligence, ambition and deft handling of the media, the general is talked of as a possible future president.First, though, he has some more soldiering to do. As he has left Iraq to take over Central Command later this month, presiding over operations from Egypt to Afghanistan, his views will do much to shape the course of the “war on terror” under the next president. He faces a persistent question: can his Iraqi success be replicated in Afghanistan? ...
Correction: Elephants in Congo
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:11:45 -0000
Last week, in our article on poaching elephants in Congo, we referred to that country's “independence in 1964”. It was in 1960. Sorry. ...
Somalia: The world's most utterly failed state
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:11:45 -0000
The spread of piracy just draws attention to the growing chaos on Somalia’s landTIPPED off by friends in ports from Odessa to Mombasa, Somali pirates captured a Ukrainian freighter, the MV Faina, in the Gulf of Aden and steered it to Somalia’s coast. At first they demanded $20m for the release of ship and crew. The captain died, apparently of “hypertension”, and several pirates may have then killed each other after a quarrel. This recent incident was only the latest in a long list of similar outrages and highlights the growing menace caused by the total failure of the state of Somalia, the ultimate cause of the virus of piracy in the region. The ship was carrying 33 T-72 Russian tanks, anti-aircraft guns and grenade launchers. Lighter weapons may have been offloaded on the Somali shore before an American warship arrived on the scene. Kenya claimed ownership of the cargo but the manifest suggests its destination was south Sudan, with Kenya’s co- operation in its delivery to be rewarded in the future with cheap south Sudanese oil. At midweek, a Russian warship was steaming to the scene to take responsibility for its citizens on the ship. ...
Yemen: Jangling nerves
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:11:45 -0000
Resurgent terrorist groups are just a symptom of broader troublesTHE wreckage of twin car bombs outside the American embassy in Yemen’s mountain capital, Sana’a, confirmed fears of a resurgent jihadist movement in a strategic country at the foot of the Red Sea, just across from chaotic Somalia. The attack in mid-September was the second on the American embassy in six months. A misfired mortar that hit a nearby girls’ school in March had prompted the evacuation of non-essential American staff.Jittery diplomats had been back at their desks for less than a month when six suicide-bombers blew themselves up outside the embassy compound’s gate. American staff promptly packed their bags once again. Yemen’s interior ministry rounded up dozens of suspects but is said to be refusing to adopt some of the State Department’s suggested extra security measures. ...
Syria and Lebanon: Jihadist blowback?
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:11:45 -0000
No one is sure who planted the latest bombs but speculation aboundsBLOWBACK is what happens when a policy rebounds against its perpetrator. A much-cited example is Afghanistan, where America backed mujahideen insurgents fighting the Soviet Union, only to find them later training their sights on New York. Something similar may be happening in Syria and Lebanon, where recent bombings look likely to be the work of jihadist groups that have turned against their former patrons. Yet the irony in this case is double, because shadowy manipulators in Lebanon and Syria each hoped to turn the jihadists against the other, and because more lately both countries’ leaders have been trying to make friends. As with much that happens in Syria, the details surrounding a car-bombing in Damascus, the capital, on September 27th are obscure. What is known is that a vehicle blew up in the early morning a few hundred metres from two buildings said to belong to Syrian intelligence. The blast killed 17 people, nearly all civilians. It was the most murderous attack in the tightly policed Baathist state since an uprising by Muslim Brothers was crushed in the 1980s. ...
South Africa: A new captain's new crew
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:11:45 -0000
A new and probably stopgap president picks some good new ministersA WEEK into the job, Kgalema Motlanthe, South Africa’s new president, made a good start. Right after his election by Parliament and after being sworn in, he filled the gaps left by several ministers who resigned after Thabo Mbeki, Mr Motlanthe’s predecessor, was ousted by the ruling African National Congress (ANC). His appointments have been welcomed. Now he probably has six months before a general election, expected in April, to heal the rift in the party and to show he can run a government better than Mr Mbeki did.Markets sighed with relief when Trevor Manuel, the trusty finance minister, was reappointed, though his deputy and heir-apparent, Jabu Moleketi, decided to leave for good. Mr Manuel has been the architect of South Africa’s good macroeconomic performance and fiscal discipline. So his reappointment goes some way to assuage fears that the new ANC leadership under Jacob Zuma, expected to become president after the election, may veer left. Mr Zuma has repeatedly tried to reassure business at home and abroad that economic policy would not change fundamentally, but his Communist and trade-union backers have other ideas. Most businessmen were happy to hear a few weeks ago that Tito Mboweni, the central-bank governor, would consider staying after his contract ends next year. ...
L.A. Times - Middle East
Emirates flexes its financial muscle
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
While Western economies lurch, sovereign funds in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, flush with oil gains, are snapping up property, companies and even English soccer teams. No, no, no, he assured one of the businessmen buying the ailing Manchester City soccer club. The price tag for the British team wasn't $4 billion, but a mere $400 million.
11 Iraqis die in Mosul suicide bombing
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
In Baghdad, Egypt's foreign minister announces his country will reopen its embassy. Eleven Iraqis, including six women and children, were killed Sunday when a suicide bomber set off explosives during a raid by American forces on a house in Mosul, the U.S. military said.
Marines return from Iraq; families are there waiting
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Spouses and children greet loved ones coming back to Camp Pendleton after a seven-month deployment. While other children nearby were playing and laughing, 4-year-old Jaden Williams was quietly focused on one thought:
Syria, Lebanon abuzz over report about militant's arrest
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
An intriguing item about the mysterious leader of a ferocious militant group floated around the Lebanese and Syrian media over the weekend.
Surf-loving priests lead interfaith worshipers in a 'blessing of the waves'
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Catholics, Jews and Muslims gather at the Huntington Beach Pier to offer brief prayers. After a bowl of holy water is poured into the ocean, some grab their boards and hit the waves. Even before the sun rose high enough to light the water Sunday morning, surfer Digger Green had paddled far into the Huntington Beach waves, taking a beating under the rough water.
World Briefing
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Mexico: 5 officers held / Kyrgyzstan: Quake kills more than 50 / Israel: Tzipi Livni says she'll pursue peace talks / Britain: Commander says Taliban can't be defeated / Sri Lanka: Troops, rebels clash 5 policemen held over deadly raid
NPR Topics: Middle East
NATO's Reach And Strength Put To The Test
Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:30:00 -0400
Embroiled in an escalating Afghanistan conflict and startled by disintegrating relations with Russia, NATO is facing troubling times. NATO's Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer discusses the evolving nature of the military alliance.
Ahmadinejad: 'Who Exactly Is The Provocateur?'
Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:41:00 -0400
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is visiting the United States and the United Nations — where he is expected to confront the U.S. over its policies. But in an interview with NPR, Ahmadinejad disputed that view — up to a point.
Al-Qaida, Pakistani Taliban Suspected In Bombing
Sun, 21 Sep 2008 09:32:00 -0400
A huge truck bomb destroyed the Marriott Hotel in the Pakistan capital, Islamabad, killing more than 50 people in a terrorist attack that has shaken the country's new administration. Among the dead are at least one American, a German and the Czech ambassador to Pakistan, reports NPR's Phillip Reeves, who says investigators suspect al-Qaida and the Pakistani Taliban in the blast.
Canadian Citizen Imprisoned By U.S. Speaks Out
Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:38:00 -0400
Maher Arar, a telecommunications engineer with dual Canadian and Syrian citizenship, was detained during a stop-over in JFK Airport in 2002 and deported to a Syrian prison, where he was locked up and beaten for almost a year.
Embassy Attack Puts New Focus On Yemen
Thu, 18 Sep 2008 07:26:00 -0400
Twisted metal, bits of human flesh and burned out cars littered the street outside the U.S. Embassy in San'a a day after attackers mounted a coordinated frontal assault on the heavily fortified compound. Sixteen people died, including four civilian bystanders.
Essay: Sick And Chugging Gatorade In Iraq
Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:35:00 -0400
Feeling under the weather is never enjoyable, but being sick in a combat zone is wretchedly miserable. Stuck with bronchitis, Capt. Nate Rawlings is reminded of why sometimes, when you can't be sure of the outcome, all you can look forward to is the end.
UN News Centre - Middle East
Ban deplores killing of Turkish soldiers by armed Kurdish group
Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the killing of 15 Turkish soldiers in the latest attack attributed to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an armed group operating out of northern Iraq.
Iraqi election law must provide for rights of minorities, says UN envoy
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The top United Nations official in Iraq has called on the country's legislature to reinstate a provision regarding the rights of minority communities into the provincial election law passed last week, stressing that protecting those rights is fundamental to a democratic Iraq.
Iraq: UN strongly condemns recent series of deadly bombings
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Voicing concern over the recent rash of bombings in Iraq that have killed dozens of civilians and wounded scores more, the top United Nations official in the country today called on all Iraqis to maintain their unity in foiling "those who want to push them back into the murderous cycle of sectarian violence."
Syria: UN appeals for $20 million to help up to 1 million drought victims
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The United Nations today launched an appeal for $20 million to help up to 1 millions Syrians, predominantly herders and subsistence farmers, hit by the country's worst drought in four decades.
At least 52 dead in latest Gulf of Aden smuggling incident, says UN agency
Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0500
At least 52 Somalis died when the boat smuggling them across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen broke down and they were left adrift with no food or water for 18 days, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported.
At UN, Jordan urges stronger international efforts to end Middle East conflict
Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The diplomatic Quartet guiding international efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must step up its pressure on the two sides to fulfil pledges they have made towards a possible comprehensive settlement, Jordan's Foreign Minister told the General Assembly's annual high-level debate today.
NYT > Middle East
11 Die as U.S. Force Raids House in Iraqi City and Man Detonates a Suicide Vest
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 03:06:30 -0000
The Americans said that after they entered the house in pursuit of a known insurgent, his companions opened fire and the insurgent detonated his vest.
2 U.S. Helicopters Crash; Poland Ends Its Iraq Role
Sun, 05 Oct 2008 07:29:52 -0000
Two American Black Hawk helicopters crashed Saturday evening in northern Baghdad, killing one Iraqi soldier. Earlier in the day, Poland ceremonially brought its military mission in Iraq to a close.
Lives: War on the Corner
Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:09:54 -0000
When Shiites fight Sunnis below your balcony in Beirut, the old routines come back to you.
Boomtown Feels Effects of a Global Crisis
Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:55:58 -0000
As recession looms in the West, cracks are appearing in the boom that has made Dubai a global byword for unfettered growth.
As Bombs Fall Silent, an Iraqi City Rebuilds
Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:01:57 -0000
The violence that once raged through Samarra has quieted, yet the costs of greater safety are also apparent.
Defying a Spate of Bombings, Baghdad Has a Party
Sun, 05 Oct 2008 03:12:00 -0000
Baghdad residents seemed determined not to be left out of the festivities of Id al-Fitr, an important holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.
