Iraq: Stalled measures, killing of Maliki relative strain relations with US
Three US “benchmark” proposals — on opening the Iraqi petroleum industry to foreign investment and participation, holding provincial elections in Iraq, and a continued US military presence in the country — remain stalled in Iraq’s parliament.
Meanwhile, according to Iraqi area official Raed Shakir Jowdet, “faulty [...]
Afghan President Hamid Karzai threatened to invade Pakistan Sunday in response to cross-border attacks by Taliban-affiliated Pakistani militants.
Meanwhile, more than 1,100 prisoners — including hundreds of Taliban fighters — escaped from a Kandahar detention facility after an attack by suicide bombers and gunmen, and four US Marines died in a roadside bomb attack in Farah [...]
Citing terms that compromise his country’s sovereignty, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki proclaimed security talks with the US “stalled” on Saturday.
Nouri received support from the President Jalal Talabani and a unanimous Political Council on National Security for his position. Among the issues at stake: US authority to jail Iraqi citizens.
Some Pakistani officials, including provincial chief Haider Khan Hoti, are calling for “reconsideration” of US-Pakistani relations after an ill-fated US airstrike allegedly killed 11 Pakistani government troops. Meanwhile, US defense officials continue to straddle the fence – caught in the no man’s land between admission and denial of the allegations.
Collateral victim of the incident: National [...]
