THE AMERICAS :

Washington Post, 15 May 08, by Walter Pincus
U.S. Has Detained 2,500 Juveniles as Enemy Combatants
'The United States has detained approximately 2,500 people younger than 18 as illegal enemy combatants in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay since 2002, according to a report filed by the Bush administration with the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.'

Washington Post, 15 May 08, by Juan Forero
Venezuela Offered Aid to Colombian Rebels
'High-ranking officials in Venezuela offered to help Colombian guerrillas obtain surface-to-air missiles meant to change the balance of power in their war with the Colombian government, according to internal rebel documents.'

International Herald Tribune, 13 May 08, by Larry Rohter
Obama affirms pro-Israel stance
'Asked whether he thought Israel was a "drag on America's reputation overseas," he said it was not. But referring to tensions in the Middle East, he said that "what I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore does infect all of our foreign policy."'

International Herald Tribune, 07 May 08, by Judy Dempsey
U.S. could look beyond Poland for a missile-shield base
'In what is becoming a game of brinkmanship between the United States and one of its closest European allies, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday that Washington was prepared to seek a different location for part of its planned antiballistic missile shield if the Polish government could not agree on the terms.'

Washington Post, 01 May 08, by Joby Warrick
CIA Chief Sees Unrest Rising With Population
'Swelling populations and a global tide of immigration will present new security challenges for the United States by straining resources and stoking extremism and civil unrest in distant corners of the globe, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said in a speech yesterday. The population surge could undermine the stability of some of the world's most fragile states, especially in Africa ...'

International Herald Tribune, 30 Apr 08, by Steven Lee Myers
Bush says Syria nuclear disclosure intended to prod North Korea and Iran
'... last week's disclosure of what senior American officials called evidence of a nearly completed nuclear reactor in Syria was intended to warn North Korea and Iran about the dangers of spreading nuclear weapons. Bush also defended his administration's decision to keep that evidence secret for more than seven months after Israeli bombers destroyed the Syrian building on Sept. 6.'

BBC News, 30 Apr 08
Al-Qaeda 'greatest threat' to US
'Al-Qaeda is still the greatest terrorist threat to the US and its allies, according to a report from the US state department.'

Christian Science Monitor, 22 Apr 08, by Gail Russell Chaddock
Congress complicates war funding with new demands
'Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are signaling that the White House can expect a struggle over this year's $108 billion war-funding request. As ever, the bill that funds the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan sets up a test of whether lawmakers can rally enough votes to force a change of course. So far, all efforts to mandate a timetable to end the war have failed.'

New York Times, 22 Apr 08, by Simon Romero
Ecuador’s Leader Purges Military and Moves to Expel American Base
'Chafing at ties between American intelligence agencies and Ecuadorean military officials, President Rafael Correa is purging the armed forces of top commanders and pressing ahead with plans to cast out more than 100 members of the American military from an air base here in this coastal city.'

Washington Post, 10 Apr 08, by Michael Abramowitz and Karen DeYoung
Analysis: Next President Will Discover If U.S. Footprint Stabilizes Iraq
'In deciding to leave behind a large presence of U.S. forces in Iraq at the end of his term, President Bush has made clear that he believes he will be doing the next president a favor, with more troops boosting the chances that his successor will inherit a more stable country.'

International Herald Tribune/AP, 07 Apr 08, by Terence Hunt, AP
White House fights to spin missile defense talks as a success
'On paper, Putin said Russia appreciated U.S. efforts to address Moscow's concerns about Bush's plans to base an anti-missile shield for Europe in Poland and the Czech Republic.'

International Herald Tribune, 02 Apr 08, by Eric Lipton
U.S. struggles to keep exports from falling into wrong hands
'Roadside bombings of U.S. troops in Iraq were occurring with unnerving regularity when military investigators made a disturbing discovery: U.S.-made computer circuits sold to a trading company in the United Arab Emirates had turned up in the bomb detonators. ... Administration officials said aircraft parts, specialized metals and gas detectors that have a potential military use had also moved through Dubai, one of the emirates, to Iran, Syria or Pakistan.'

International Herald Tribune, 02 Apr 08, by Simon Romero
Gritty Dutch war games raise eyebrows in former colony
'The Dutch are not the only Europeans honing their fighting techniques in this part of South America. In neighboring French Guiana, where France once banished its worst convicts, the French Foreign Legion operates its own jungle warfare school. Until starting their course a few years ago, the Dutch even sent some of their soldiers there.'

Washington Post, 27 Mar 08, by Karen DeYoung
U.S. to Stop Green Card Denials for Dissidents
'The U.S. immigration service said yesterday that it will temporarily stop denying green cards to refugees and other legal immigrants tied to groups that sought to topple foreign dictatorships, placing their cases on hold while it determines more "logical, common-sense" rules for judging them.'

Washington Post, 27 Mar 08, by Peter Baker
After Recent Discord, Bush to Meet With Putin in Russia
'President Bush announced yesterday that he will make an unexpected trip to Russia after a NATO summit next week to meet with President Vladimir Putin in hopes of repairing relations that have grown strained over missile defense, Kosovo independence and NATO expansion.'

Washington Post, 22 Mar 08, by Juan Forero
Colombia's Rebels Face Possibility of Implosion
'The slaying this month of Manuel Jesús Muñoz, a member of the ruling directorate of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, was a dramatic signal that a rebel group known for its resilience is engulfed in an internal crisis that could lead to its implosion after four decades of armed struggle.'

International Herald Tribune, 18 Mar 08, by William J. Broad
A Cold War mission, deep in the Arctic
'A new book, "Unknown Waters," recounts the 1970 voyage of a submarine, the Queenfish, on a pioneering dive beneath the ice pack to map the Siberian continental shelf. The United States did so as part of a clandestine effort to prepare for Arctic submarine operations and to win any military showdown with the Soviet Union.'

Washington Post, 13 Mar 08, by Karen DeYoung
Public Is Less Aware of Iraq Casualties, Study Finds
'The survey, by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, found that public awareness of developments in the Iraq war has dropped precipitously since last summer, as the news media have paid less attention to the conflict.'

International Herald Tribune/AP, 12 Mar 08
White House denies dissent is punished
'The White House on Wednesday rejected charges that it quashes dissenting views in the military, an accusation brought to light by the resignation of Admiral William Fallon as commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East.'

International Herald Tribune, 12 Mar 08, by Richard Bernstein
Muddy waters in Iraq keep public protest at a murmur
'In key respects Iraq and Vietnam are quite different, and the differences go a long way toward explaining the apparent unwillingness of the public to go into outright opposition.'

International Herald Tribune, 11 Mar 08, by Sheryl Gay Stolberg
Bush invokes faith to defend war policy
'With the fifth anniversary of his invasion of Iraq coming next week, and a decision on troop cuts in Iraq on his plate, Bush used a 30-minute speech before an enthusiastic audience - the National Religious Broadcasters association - to make the case that liberty is on the march, so long as the United States does not lose its nerve.'

Washington Post, 06 Mar 08, by Karen DeYoung
No Need for Lawmakers' Approval of Iraq Pact, U.S. Reasserts
'The Bush administration yesterday advanced a new argument for why it does not require congressional approval to strike a long-term security agreement with Iraq, stating that Congress had already endorsed such an initiative through its 2002 resolution authorizing the use of force against Saddam Hussein.'

International Herald Tribune, 06 Mar 08, by Simon Romero
Regional bloc says Ecuador's sovereignty was violated
'The Organization of American States approved a resolution on Wednesday declaring the Colombian military raid into Ecuador a violation of sovereignty, in a move aimed at easing a diplomatic crisis in the Andes involving Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.'

Washington Post, 06 Mar 08, by Juan Forero
Diplomats Closer To Ending Crisis In Latin America
'Probe of Colombian strike authorized as neighbors dispatch troops.'

BBC News, 06 Mar 08
Colombia raid 'must be condemned'
'The leaders of Ecuador and Venezuela have called for clear international condemnation of Colombia for its raid against rebels inside Ecuador.'

Washington Post, 05 Mar 08, by Michael Abramowitz
Bush Attends to Foreign Policy Issues
'President Bush sought to cope with foreign policy crises on multiple fronts yesterday, reaching out to the president-elect of Russia for the first time and seizing on military tensions in Latin America to renew his quest for congressional approval of a free-trade pact with Colombia.'

Washington Post, 06 Mar 08, by Robert O'Harrow Jr. and Ellen Nakashima
National Dragnet Is a Click Away
'Several thousand law enforcement agencies are creating the foundation of a domestic intelligence system through computer networks that analyze vast amounts of police information to fight crime and root out terror plots.'

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