OFF THE WIRE :

• UN plans to end DR Congo peacekeeping mission
   [BBC, 04 Mar 10]
• Iraq suicide bombers target city of Baquba
   [BBC, 03 Mar 10]
• Arab states back indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks
   [Reuters, 03 Mar 10]
• Former British spy arrested for selling secrets
   [AP, 03 Mar 10]
• Somali Pirates Hijack Saudi Tanker
   [AP, 03 Mar 10]
• Afghan intelligence ties Pakistani group Lashkar-i-Taiba to recent Kabul attack
   [Washington Post, 03 Mar 10]
• Zimbabwe: Obama Administration Extends Sanctions by Another Year
   [AllAfrica.com, 02 Mar 10]
• Nigeria: We Refuse to Be Distracted, Says Army Chief
   [AllAfrica.com, 02 Mar 10]
• Afghan Gov't Tightens Coverage of Taliban Attacks
   [AP, 02 Mar 10]
• Pakistan Lays Out Terror Charges for 5 Americans
   [AP, 02 Mar 10]
• Radovan Karadzic denies genocide charges at war crimes tribunal
   [Christian Science Monitor, 02 Mar 10]
• Turkey ex-generals charged over 'plot'
   [BBC, 27 Feb 10]
• Twitter and Facebook access for US troops
   [BBC, 27 Feb 10]
• U.N. presses for more investigations into Israel-Gaza war
   [CNN, 27 Feb 10]
• Clinton Sees Encouraging Signs For Korea Nuclear Talks
   [VOA, 27 Feb 10]
• US 'plans to oust Taliban from Kandahar'
   [BBC, 26 Feb 10]
• Israeli Troops Clash With Palestinians in Biblical Hebron
   [VOA, 26 Feb 10]
• UN deplores Gaddafi call for anti-Swiss 'jihad'
   [BBC, 26 Feb 10]

AFGHANISTAN & PAKISTAN :

The Times (London), 03 Mar 10, by Zahid Hussain
Pakistan's Army takes control of al-Qaeda cave network on Afghan border
'Pakistani forces have taken control of a warren of caves that served until recently as the nerve centre of the Taleban and al-Qaeda and sheltered Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second-in-command to Osama bin Laden.'

Washington Post, 03 Mar 10, by Karen DeYoung and Joshua Partlow
In Afghanistan, Karzai's invitation to Taliban creates discord and confusion
'... the Obama administration has argued that substantive talks should wait until the military balance has shifted more sharply in favor of the coalition.'

Christian Science Monitor, 02 Mar 10, by Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy Newspapers
After the Taliban, what do Marjah residents want?
'Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal and President Hamid Karzai's deputy walked the streets of Marjah Monday. With US-led forces now in control of the former Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan, US and Afghan officials told Marjah residents that the Taliban were gone - and life would improve.'

New York Times, 02 Mar 10, by Alissa J. Rubin and Abdul Waheed Wafa
Afghanistan Aims to Ban Live Coverage of Attacks
'The government says live coverage is a security risk because attackers can see how the security forces are responding and send guidance to operatives.'

New York Times, 01 Mar 10, by Robert Mackey
Don’t Mention the Insurgency, Afghanistan Tells Reporters
'Afghanistan’s intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security, summoned reporters on Monday to tell them that they will no longer be allowed to report on attacks by Taliban insurgents while they are in progress ...'

Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb 10, by Mark Magnier and Aimal Yaqubi
Attack in Kabul points to shifting Taliban tactics
'Coordinated bombings that kill 16 in a rich residential district come early Friday as the Afghan weekend begins, helping the assailants set up the attack, while cutting the risk of civilian deaths.'

PBS NewsHour, 26 Feb 10, with Judy Woodruff
Army Sees Marjah Offensive as a Model for Afghan Military Strategy
'After Friday's deadly suicide bombing in Kabul, Judy Woodruff spoke with Gen. Ben Hodges in Kandahar about coalition strategies in the region.'

New York Times, 28 Feb 10, by C. J. Chivers
After Push in Marja, Marines Try to Win Trust
'After the declaration this weekend that the battle for the Taliban enclave of Marja had been won, for the Marines standing behind sandbags and walking patrols, the more complicated work has begun. With it will be a test of the strategy selected by President Obama and the generals now running the Afghan war.'

[ recent stories from Afghanistan and Pakistan ]

ASIA & THE PACIFIC :

Christian Science Monitor, 02 Mar 10, by Peter Ford
Japan stymied on US base in Okinawa as deadline nears
'Japan may try again to relocate the Futenma US base in Okinawa to the fishing village of Henoko, ahead of a May deadline to resolve the issue. But both antibase activists and the US have voiced objections to that plan.'

Christian Science Monitor, 02 Mar 10, by Peter Ford
Why some in Japan support US bases in Okinawa
'Japan is host to more than a dozen US bases in Okinawa. Some residents of the island's small port of Henoko, where the US wants to build a controversial military base, say they could use the boost to business.'

Christian Science Monitor, 01 Mar 10, by Simon Montlake
Why Thailand still uses discredited bomb detectors
'The governments of Thailand and Britain have deemed the GT200 bomb detector unreliable, but the Thai military continues to use it to make arrests in the Muslim south.'

[ recent stories from Asia and the Pacific ]

COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS :

Haaretz, 03 Mar 10, by Amira Hass
How will the next Palestinian uprising look?
'Judging from articles written by both Israelis and Palestinians, the next intifada is already in the air. They are predicting it is on the way and the most punctilious know it will be "popular."'

Christian Science Monitor, 01 Mar 10, by John Prendergast and Omer Ismail
Genocide in Darfur: How Sudan covers it up
'Genocide in Darfur may be a debated legal question, but there's no denying that Sudan is working to cover up its crimes against human rights there.'

New York Times 'Opinionator', 01 Mar 10, by Maurice Decaul
Home Fires: Writing and Rewriting Iraq
'This is the first in a five-part series, “Retelling the War,” in which veterans discuss how books, movies and other tales of combat shaped their perceptions of themselves and of war.'

Christian Science Monitor, 26 Feb 10, by editorial board
Obama and India-Pakistan talks: US can be a better go-between
'The Feb. 25 India-Pakistan talks, while welcome, did not go well. The US must intervene in this South Asian rivalry to keep it from affecting the Afghanistan war.'

Christian Science Monitor, 24 Feb 10, by Daniel A. Bell
China’s alternative to Communism and democracy
'In China, Communism has lost the capacity to inspire. Enter Confucianism.'

Christian Science Monitor, 16 Feb 10, by Martin Jacques
US vs. China: a dangerous phase has begun
'China is a formidable adversary whose ultimate strength is not its military hardware but its economic prowess, and whose diplomatic weapon is not saber rattling but great patience.'

[ recent commentary and analysis ]

IRAN :

Christian Science Monitor, 01 Mar 10, by Scott Peterson
IAEA says it can't confirm Iran nuclear program is peaceful
'The IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog, said Monday that it can't guarantee the Iran nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes, citing insufficient cooperation from the Islamic Republic.'

Haaretz, 27 Feb 10, by Yossi Melman
Is Iran 'inviting' Israel to strike its nuclear facility?
'Is Iran goading Israel to strike one of its nuclear facilities? That is one explanation that international nuclear inspectors and analysts have come up with to explain why Iran moved recently moved nearly its entire stockpile of low-enriched nuclear fuel to above-ground plants, according to a report published Friday in the New York Times.'

[ recent stories from Iran ]

IRAQ :

New York Times, 02 Mar 10, by James Risen
Interference Seen in Blackwater Inquiry
'An official at the United States Embassy in Iraq has told federal prosecutors that he believes that State Department officials sought to block any serious investigation of the 2007 shooting episode in which Blackwater Worldwide security guards were accused of murdering 17 Iraqi civilians, according to court testimony made public on Tuesday.'

[ recent stories from Iraq ]

THE MIDDLE EAST, TURKEY & NORTH AFRICA :

New York Times, 01 Mar 10, by Sabrina Tavernise
Army Ebbs, and Power Realigns in Turkey
'The detention of top military officers in Turkey last week was nothing less than a quiet piece of history. The military, long considered untouchable in Turkey, was pushed from its political pedestal with startling finality.'

PBS NewsHour, 25 Feb 10, with Margaret Warner
Turkish Military Leaders Released in Coup Probe
Turkey's Islamic leaders met with the chiefs of its secular armed forces Thursday to address Monday's arrest of more than 50 senior military officers on allegations that they planned to overthrow the government.'

[ recent stories from the Middle East ]

THE AMERICAS :

Washington Post, 02 Mar 10, by John Pomfret
White House wary of growing military ties between Burma, N. Korea
'The Obama administration is concerned that Burma is expanding its military relationship with North Korea and has launched an aggressive campaign to convince Burma's junta to stop buying North Korean military technology, U.S. officials said.'

Washington Post, 03 Mar 10, by John Pomfret
U.S. floats plan to lift ban on training Indonesia's Kopassus unit
'As President Obama prepares to travel to Indonesia, his administration is seeking to reverse a 12-year-old ban on training an elite unit of the Indonesian military whose members have been convicted of beatings, kidnappings and other abuses.'

[ recent stories from the Americas ]

US MILITARY, THE PENTAGON, &
INTELLIGENCE :

New York Times 'At War', 26 Feb 10, by James Dao
Military Announces New Social Media Policy
'Many months behind schedule, the Department of Defense on Friday issued a new policy that, on the surface, seems likely to expand access to popular social networking sites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter by troops using military computers.'

[ recent stories about the US military,
the Pentagon and intelligence ]

WAR & THE MEDIA :

New York Times 'Lens', 01 Mar 10, by Michael Kamber
Essay: How Not to Depict a War
'After years photographing in Iraq, Michael Kamber saw “The Hurt Locker.” He barely recognized the war that unfolded on screen.'

Christian Science Monitor, 22 Feb 10, by Randy Dotinga
'The Aftermath Project': Photographers go back after the war
'The effects of war linger past the fighting, as Sara Terry found out herself when she documented a mass grave being dug up in Bosnia.'

[ recent stories on war and the media ]