War hasn't worked yet !!!!
And who is competent enough to achieve peace, a fine balance between strength and diplomacy?
(At title to entry, in a temper tantrum after Abbas's propaganda regarding al Qaeda didn't provide enough impetus for Israel to annihilate Hamas in Gaza, he withdrew from peace talks.)
A Simeulue islander passes by a jumble of houses and shops brought down by a massive earthquake in Sinabong, the island's capital in this April 2, 2005 file photo. The fault line that spawned the 2004 Asian tsunami has ruptured nearly 20 times this month, with three strong quakes in the last 24 hours alone. The activity shows the stress the seam is under and could be a harbinger of worse to come, scientists warn. (AP Photo/Ed Wray, File)
Strong earthquake rocks Indonesia (click here)
Police investigate deadly attack on ex-rebels in Aceh (click here)
The Associated Press , Jakarta Mon, 03/03/2008 8:04 PM National
Former rebels in Aceh warned of fresh conflict Monday after a 100-strong mob torched one of their offices, killing six people and underscoring tensions in the region since a 2005 peace deal.
It was unclear whether the attackers burned the victims alive or hacked them to death before setting the building alight, officials said.
The attack happened early Sunday in Aceh's central highlands.
Ibrahim Syamsuddin, a spokesman for the former rebels, said the incident was related to a dispute between the ex-fighters and a local union over control of revenues from a local bus station.
Syamsuddin also alleged some of the attackers were former members of a pro-Jakarta militia blamed for attacks on separatists and civilian sympathizers during the conflict. Their relationship with the union members was not immediately clear.
Many ex-rebels and militia members turned to gang warfare since the war ended. Bus stations and other transport hubs in Indonesia are often targeted by criminal gangs seeking illegal levies....
General criticises Afghanistan troop restrictions (click here)
By David Blair in Kabul
Last Updated: 2:24am GMT 03/03/2008
Nato's commander in Afghanistan voiced his "frustration" with the restrictions imposed on the Alliance's forces yesterday and said these "national caveats" were hindering the fight against the Taliban.
General Dan McNeill, leader of Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), called for more troops to be sent to Afghanistan and gave the Daily Telegraph a vivid description of the difficulties he faces.
Some of the 40 nations who have contributed troops to his command, including France and Germany, have imposed limits on what their soldiers can do.
"I would like the force to be resourced to a level which I think is appropriate for the task in hand and within the force I would like the caveats to be eliminated," said Gen McNeill....
Thriving Taliban Drugs Show Afghan Woes (click here)
By ANNE GEARAN – 2 days ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Taliban have built a huge and profitable drug operation in Afghanistan while provincial governors look the other way, the latest grim sign of backsliding in a country the U.S. has spent six years and billions of dollars trying to salvage.
A report Friday on drugs — it said Afghanistan now produces 93 percent of the world's opium poppy — comes hand in hand with the resurgence of Taliban militants despite U.S. anti-insurgent efforts. Also on the rise: terrorist violence such as roadside bombs, suicide bombings, and attacks on police....
NATO chief disputes US intelligence assessment on Afghanistan (click here)
WASHINGTON: NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer took issue with the U.S. intelligence chief's recent estimate that the Afghan government controlled only about 30 percent of the country.
In a speech Friday, de Hoop Scheffer also chided U.S. officials for publicly criticizing the contribution of other NATO members to the alliance's mission in Afghanistan.
Earlier, speaking after a White House meeting with President George W. Bush, de Hoop Scheffer stressed the importance of the Afghan mission. He said that besides supporting Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Afghan people, "We're also there because we are fighting terrorism, and we cannot afford to lose. We are not losing; we are prevailing."...
Canadian soldier among over 20 killed in Afghanistan - Summary (click here)
Kabul - A Canadian soldier was killed in a roadside bomb blast in southern Afghanistan, while Afghan and international forces killed or wounded more than 20 Taliban in separate operations, officials said Monday. Michael Yuki Hayakaze, a Canadian soldier serving under the banner of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), was killed when his patrolling vehicle was struck by a roadside mine in the Panjwayi district of southern Kandahar province on Sunday, the Canadian Defence Ministry said in a statement posted on its website.
"This cowardly attack will not deter us from carrying out this important and much needed mission with our NATO partners," Canadian Defence Minister Peter Gordon MacKay was quoted in the statement as saying.
Hayakaze is the 79th Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan since 2002, and a Canadian diplomat was killed there in 2006.
The majority of Canada's 2,500 soldiers in Afghanistan are deployed in Kandahar province, but their involvement in the conflict has caused political controversy in the North American
nation....
Six injured in Nandigram violence (click here)
Special Correspondent
KOLKATA: Violence erupted in Nandigram area of West Bengal’s Purbo Medinipur district on Sunday when activists of the Trinamool Congress-led Bhoomi Ucched Pratirodh Committee clashed with Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers.
Six persons were injured in the incident , according to the district police. Rapid Action Force personnel have been deployed in the area.
State Congress president Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said here that Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, his administration and the CPI(M) were responsible for the violence in Nandigram on March 14, 2007 in which 14 persons were killed in police firing. The CPI(M)’s other partners in the Left Front could not be blamed for the violence, he said.
Witnesses: Missiles Hit Somali Town (Click here)
By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN – 1 hour ago
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Planes fired three missiles at a Somali town held by Islamic extremists early Monday, destroying a home and seriously injuring eight people, including four children, residents and police said.
The missiles that struck Dobley, some four miles from the Kenyan border, were from military aircraft, but it was not clear from which country they originated, witnesses said. Remnants of an Islamic force that had once ruled much of southern Somalia took over Dobley last week.
Last year, the U.S. shelled suspected al-Qaida targets in Somalia, one of the most lawless and violent countries in the world. Neither U.S. Africa Command nor U.S. Central Command said it was aware of Monday's missile strike. A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, whose mandate covers Somalia, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
"We woke up with a loud and big bang and when we came out we found our neighbor's house completely obliterated as if no house existed here," a resident of the town, Fatuma Abdullahi, told The Associated Press. "We are taking shelter under trees. Three planes were flying over our heads."
A police officer who gave only his first name, Siyad, because he was not authorized to speak to the media said the eight wounded were hit by shrapnel. He also said the planes were military aircraft.
An aid worker in Dobley said up to six people were still trapped in the rubble at midday. It was not clear if these victims were included in the police officer's tally.
"A minimum of two bombs were dropped," the aid worker, who asked that his name not be used because he is not authorized to speak to the media, told the AP by telephone. "Between four and six people are in the rubble."
Clan elder Ahmed Nur Dalab said a senior Islamic official, Hassan Turki, was in town Sunday to mediate between his fighters and a militia loyal to the government. Turki's forces took over Dobley last week.
In early 2007, Somali troops and their Ethiopian allies drove out a radical Islamic group to which Turki is allied that had taken over much of southern Somalia. The Islamic forces have fought to regain power.
Somalia has been mired in chaos since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other.
Suicide bomb kills 40 in Pakistan (click here)
By Isambard Wilkinson in Islamabad
Last Updated: 2:24am GMT 03/03/2008
A suicide bomber targeted an assembly of tribal elders yesterday killing more than 40 people in Pakistan's troubled North West Frontier Province.
More than 100 people were injured in the attack in Darra Adam Khel tribal district which has become one of the province's flashpoints in recent months....
Sher Zaman, 32, one of five men in custody in the Bhutto assassination.
(Special To The Washington Post)
Extremist Accused in Bhutto Killing (click here)
By ZARAR KHAN – 2 days ago
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police on Saturday formally accused the top Taliban leader in the country and four others of planning the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
Police filed preliminary charges in court against Baitullah Mehsud, who had been named by the Pakistani government in the Dec. 27 killing of Bhutto in a suicide and gun-attack during a public rally. Mehsud, alleged to have al-Qaida connections, is underground and it is not clear if the police are anywhere close to catching him.
"Police submitted preliminary charges in the Bhutto case before an anti-terrorism court, and the judge issued non-bailable warrants of arrest against Baitullah Mehsud and four other accused" persons, said Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, the chief investigator in the case.
Mehsud was named by President Pervez Musharraf within days of the assassination, but the filing of the preliminary charges Saturday completes a legal formality. It is the first legal step before an arrest can be made.
Mehsud is the commander of Tehrik-e-Taliban, an umbrella group of Islamic militant groups linked to al-Qaida. Mehsud is believed to be based in the volatile South Waziristan province at the border with Afghanistan, and has been blamed for a series of suicide attacks across Pakistan....
Israeli ground troops pull out of Gaza (click here)
JERUSALEM, March 3 (UPI) -- Israeli troops Monday pulled out of Gaza, prompting Hamas to declare victory in the recent cross-border fighting in which more than 100 people died.
The withdrawal from Hamas-controlled Gaza is a reversal of Sunday's recommendations by Israeli military leaders to keep up pressure, Haaretz reported.
Even though ground troops left, a government spokesman said, "We will continue with our defensive actions against those who fire lethal rockets at our civilians."
Hamas spokesman Taher a-Nunu told the Jerusalem Post Hamas leadership asked several Arab countries to intervene in in reaching a cease-fire with Israel. He said Hamas had invited Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa to visit the Gaza Strip as a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
He said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II were the only Arab leaders who were actively working toward reaching a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel.
A dozen Palestinians died in the Gaza Strip Sunday, some in clashes that day with Israeli soldiers and other from injuries sustained in skirmishes Saturday, Haaretz said.
Annan peace deal: the crucial steps ahead (click here)
By LUCAS BARASA and KENNETH OGOSIA
Last updated: Mon, Mar 03, 2008 00:26 AM (EAT)
...Following the deal signed on Thursday, it will no longer matter where MPs sit in Parliament following the power-sharing deal between ODM and PNU. The two parties will now form a coalition. “What matters is what they do and say”, Mr Kilonzo told Nation by phone Sunday....
The NEW Border War is no longer Iran-Iraq, it's Iraq/Iran versus Turkey !
Kurd-Arab Kirkuk Clash Is `Ticking Time Bomb,' UN Mediator Says
By Bill Varner
Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The struggle between Kurds and Arabs for control of the city of Kirkuk and its oil amounts to a ``ticking time bomb'' in northern Iraq, according to the new United Nations envoy trying to broker a settlement.
Mediator Staffan de Mistura said in an interview that he has about four months left to solve ``the mother of all crises'' in Iraq. ``If that takes place, we will have contributed substantially to avoiding a new conflict at the worst possible time,'' he said.
Turkey's military incursion into Iraq last week to fight Kurdish rebels may remind Iraqi Kurds that their designs on more territory and oil have limits. Turkey is concerned that the Kurdish regional government would use Kirkuk and its oil to seek independence, displace minorities in the city and embolden breakaway Kurds on Turkish soil....
Iraq: Iran's President Pays Landmark Visit To Baghdad (click here)
Growing Influence
Ahmadinejad's two-day trip -- which comes amid a major Shi'ite religious event in the holy city of Karbala attended by hundreds of thousands of Iranian pilgrims -- appears intended to drive home the message that Tehran is a major regional power able to play a positive, or negative, role in the neighboring Arab state. It is a message aimed in particular at Washington, which accuses Iran of arming and supporting Iraqi Shi'ite militias behind a number of attacks, including on U.S. forces.Ahmadinejad's visit to Baghdad is also seen as a show of Iranian support for the Shi'ite-led government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. In another twist of irony, that same government's chief ally and security guarantor is the United States. Ahmadinejad is scheduled to hold talks with al-Maliki and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani....
Kosovo is Sui Generis Case: Heads of UN and OSCE Missions in Kosovo (click here)
