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U.S. resetting its relationship with Karzai

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Rajiv Chandrasekaran - Nov. 20 (News Report) - When a team of senior U.S. officials led by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton entered the presidential palace in Kabul on Wednesday for a dinner meeting, they had little indication of what Afghan President Hamid Karzai planned to discuss, or whether questions about corruption and governance...

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Court rejects David Miliband bid to suppress CIA evidence

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Richard Norton-Taylor - Nov. 20 (News) - • Sixth damning ruling in Binyam Mohamed case • Foreign secretary?s claims of security risk dismissed The high court today flatly rejected claims by David Miliband, the foreign secretary, that releasing evidence of the CIA?s inhuman and unlawful treatment of UK resident Binyam Mohamed would harm Britain?s relations with the US by giving away intelligence secrets. Evidence that the foreign secretary also wants to suppress is believed to reveal what British intelligence officers knew about Mohamed?s treatment. Mohamed, 31, an Ethiopian, says he was tortured in Pakistan, Morocco, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay. In the sixth in a string of damning rulings, the high court accused Miliband of wanting to suppress information about CIA activities even though details had already been disclosed by the Obama administration. Dismissing Miliband?s claims, Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones insisted they were not trying to give away "American secrets". They said: "Of itself, the treatment ...

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In Obama's China trip, stark contrast with past

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Andrew Higgins, Anne E. Kornblut - Nov. 18 (News Analysis) - The changes reflect not so much a policy shift by a new administration in Washington as a dramatic and much bigger change in the power dynamic, particularly in economics, over the past decade -- a change that has been the central undercurrent of Obama's swing through China this week.

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Green groups split on Danish idea

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Politico - By Eamon Javers - Nov. 17 (News Report) - U.S. environmental groups are split over how to respond to the Obama administration’s decision to go along with a Danish proposal not to push for a binding global climate agreement at a United Nations conference in Copenhagen next month. The global environmental group Greenpeace blasted the move, calling it a sop to President Barack Obama’s political vulnerability. “Danish Prime Minister [Lars Lokke] Rasmussen has become complicit in a U.S. so-called deal which would put Obama’s political difficulties ahead of the survival of the world’s most vulnerable countries,” said Kaisa Kosonen, climate policy adviser for Greenpeace International.

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Toxic munitions 'may be cause' of baby deaths and deformities in Fallujah

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Independent - By David Randall - Nov. 16 (News Report) - Evidence was growing this weekend that babies born in the Iraqi city of Fallujah – scene in 2004 of one of the few set-piece battles of the invasion – are exhibiting high rates of mortality and birth defects.

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Missing the Gain But Joining the Pain

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Miller-McCune - By Sam Kornell - Nov. 15 (News Analysis) - Since the industrial revolution, profits from the exploitation of fossil energy — coal, oil and natural gas — have not been equally distributed. America, Europe and Japan got rich off of oil and coal; now China, India and much of the rest of the developing world are attempting to do the same thing. If they succeed, climate scientists say, it will mean environmental catastrophe. This progression has created a situation in which any solution to climate change is, to a greater or lesser extent, going to be unfair — a fact many negotiators openly acknowledge. The Danish environmental minister hosting the Copenhagen conference, Connie Hedegaard, has reportedly been "extraordinarily blunt" in insisting that China, India and the rest of the developing world shoulder a large share of the climate load.

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CIA says it gets its money's worth from Pakistani spy agency

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Los Angeles Times - By Greg Miller - Nov. 15 (News Report) - The CIA has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to Pakistan's intelligence service since the Sept. 11 attacks, accounting for as much as one-third of the foreign spy agency's annual budget, current and former U.S. officials say.

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Russian Deal on Afghan Supply Route Not Done Yet

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Peter Baker - Nov. 14 (News Report) - When he met President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia in April, President Obama sought to open an important new supply corridor for Afghanistan by flying American troops and weapons through Russian airspace. Visiting Moscow in July, he sealed a deal for as many as 4,500 flights a year, in what he called a “substantial contribution” to the war and a sign of improving relations with Russia.

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How the US Funds the Taliban

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Nation - By Aram Roston - Nov. 12 (Special Report) - With Pentagon cash, contractors bribe insurgents not to attack supply lines for US troops

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Mahmoud Abbas Threatens to Step Down in Light of Ongoing Israeli Colonization of West Bank

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Informed Comment - By Juan Cole - Nov. 06 (News Analysis) - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says he wants to stand down and he declines to run in the upcoming Palestine Authority elections. The decision came in the wake of the US failure to convince the Israelis to halt colonization of the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem. It also followed a series of embarrassing flip-flops by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who praised hard line right wing PM Netanyahu for his efforts in favor of the peace process. Even for a diplomatic statement, this tack is is a little embarrassing in its obsequiousness toward Netanyahu, who has undermined the peace process at every turn and rejects out of hand the US demand that he freeze settlements. Reactions of Arab allies of the US were sharp.

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Britain rules out climate treaty at summit

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Independent - By Michael McCarthy - Nov. 06 (News Report) - Although there are various stumbling blocks, there is no doubt that the continued lack of a serious American offer on cutting its greenhouse gas emissions and providing climate finance for the developing nations – the bill which might provide them is stuck in the US Senate – is the principle obstacle to progress. "Copenhagen is one of the most important meetings in human history. But the politicians seem determined to blow it," said Joss Garman, climate campaigner for Greenpeace.

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We broke the law, admits CIA agent convicted of rendition

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Independent - By David Usborne - Nov. 06 (News Report) - In an interview earlier this year with an Italian newspaper, Mr Lady was candid about the seizure of the cleric. "Of course it was an illegal operation," the newspaper quoted him. "But that's our job. We're at war against terrorism".

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The St. Petersburg Times - News - Gorbachev, Bush, Kohl Remember Cold War

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

sptimes.ru - By Agence France Presse - Nov. 03 (News Report) - Helmut Kohl, George Bush, and Mikhail Gorbachev hailed their excellent relations at a Berlin cabaret on Saturday, 20 years after the Cold War leaders watched over the Wall’s fall.

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Karzai win complicates White House strategy for Afghanistan

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Scott Wilson - Nov. 02 (News Analysis) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai's election by default Monday confirms at least a week earlier than expected that the Obama administration will continue for the foreseeable future to have the same mercurial partner in Afghanistan.

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Karzai Declared President As Election Runoff Canceled

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Time - By Aryn Baker - Nov. 02 (News Analysis) - If the Obama Administration had hoped that pressuring President Hamid Karzai into accepting a runoff election would strengthen the legitimacy of the resulting Afghan government, those hopes have now been dashed. Karzai has been declared the elected President of Afghanistan by election-poll officials, after they scrapped the planned second round of the vote. Independent Election Commission chairman Azizullah Lodin announced that Karzai was the victor during a news conference in Kabul on Monday. "We declare Hamid Karzai, which got the majority of votes in the first round and is the only candidate for the second round of the election in Afghanistan in 2009 ... is the elected President of Afghanistan," said Lodin. He went on to explain that the second round on Nov. 7 had been canceled to save money, for security reasons and to prevent further delays which could damage Afghanistan both politically and economically.

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Afghanistan election: Karzai win spurs plans to improve governance

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Christian Science Monitor - By Ben Arnoldy - Nov. 02 (News Report) - The Afghan elections have officially ended, and President Hamid Karzai will hold on to his office for five more years, the election commission declared Monday after rival Abdullah Abdullah dropped out of the race. The fraud-ridden saga has diminished the stature of both Mr. Karzai and the international community in Kabul, and the result brings no mandate but instead raises further proposals for forcing more government accountability.

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Karzai declared Afghan president, run-off scrapped

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Reuters - By Golnar Motevalli - Nov. 02 (News Report) - Afghanistan's election commission declared Hamid Karzai elected as president on Monday after it called off a runoff following the withdrawal of his only rival. The run-off, called after the first round in August was marred by widespread fraud, was to have been held on November 7.

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Karzai's Challenger Drops Out Of Afghan Runoff

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0700

All Things Considered - By Jacki Lyden, Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson - Nov. 01 (News) - The challenger to Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the upcoming runoff in Afghanistan has announced he will not take part in the race. That leaves next Saturday's election in jeopardy, as well as a vacuum in Afghan leadership that President Obama can ill afford as he decides whether to send more troops to the war-torn country. Guest host Jacki Lyden speaks with NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson about Dr. Abdullah Abdullah's withdrawal.

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Abdullah pulls out of Afghan vote

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0700

BBC News - Nov. 01 (News) - President Hamid Karzai's rival in the second round of the Afghan presidential election says he will not take part in the poll.

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Afghan officials unveil plans for runoff

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By Alexandra Zavis - Oct. 30 (News Report) - Afghan election officials said Thursday that they would increase the number of voting centers for next week's presidential runoff election, disregarding U.N. advice to open fewer sites to prevent the rampant fraud that characterized the first round of balloting.

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Iran Delivers Response to U.N. Nuclear Watchdog

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By David Sanger, Steven Erlanger, Robert F. Worth - Oct. 29 (News Report) - Iran will not retreat “one iota” on its nuclear rights, but is ready to cooperate on issues regarding atomic fuel, power plants and technology, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday.

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Pakistan at War

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Global Pulse - By Erin Coker - Oct. 28 (News Analysis) - It has been a bloody month for Pakistan. The army has launched an offensive in South Waziristan aided by US drones, and the Taliban are fighting back with suicide bombs in major cities. With hundreds dying, what do the Pakistani people think?

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Karzai Brother on CIA Payroll

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

CBS News - By Bill Plante - Oct. 28 (News Report) - The New York Times reports that the brother of Afghanistan's President Karzai, an alleged opium smuggler and war profiteer, has been taking money from the CIA.

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Official resigns over Afghan war

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Karen DeYoung - Oct. 27 (Special Report) - A former Marine Corps captain with combat experience in Iraq, Hoh had also served in uniform at the Pentagon, and as a civilian in Iraq and at the State Department. By July, he was the senior U.S. civilian in Zabul province, a Taliban hotbed. But last

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Church of Scientology Convicted of Fraud in France

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - Oct. 27 (News Report) - The court convicted the Church of Scientology's French office, its library and six of its leaders of organized fraud. Investigators said the group pressured members into paying large sums of money for questionable financial gain and used ''commercial harassment'' against recruits.

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