US General Henry Obering is “very concerned” this week as Polish lawmakers still haven’t ratified August’s deal to host a US interceptor missile base in Northern Poland. The base, ostensibly aimed at preventing Iranian missile strikes but being built well outside of the range of Iran’s missile arsenal, will not see its first interceptor missile [...]
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani once again warned NATO that the unilateral air strikes into Pakistani territory were “counter-productive” today as the United States launched two drone strikes, in North and South Waziristan Agency, respectively, killing a total of 32 people.
The attack in North Waziristan is said to have targeted a “mid-level al-Qaeda leader” [...]
The New York Times is reporting that the Bush Administration held a secret meeting two weeks ago to brief advisers from the campaigns of both Republican Presidential nominee John McCain and his Democratic Party counterpart Barack Obama on the ever-deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. Though the details of the meeting were not classified, the participants agreed [...]
Updated 10/31 7:40 PM EST
US drones launched two separate attacks in the North and South Waziristan Agencies of Pakistan today, killing 32 people.
The primary target in North Waziristan appears to be a “mid level al-Qaeda leader” known as Abu Akash al-Iraqi. One Pakistani intelligence official said that he was believed to have been killed in [...]
Kurdish Regional Government President Massoud Barzani, visiting Washington DC as part of a delegation aiming to rescue the faltering Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the United States and Iraq, has dropped something of a bombshell as the Washington Times reports that he told them he would be happy to host the US forces if [...]
Massoud Barzani, the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, said yesterday that he believes it is “doubtful” that the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the United States and Iraq will be approved by Iraq’s cabinet and parliament by the end of the year, when the present United Nations mandate expires.
In fact, it [...]
Updated 10/31 12:00 PM EST
At least 11 and possibly as many as 18 bombs were detonated in rapid succession in and around Guwahati, in the Indian state of Assam, killing at least 77 people and wounding at least 470 others. The bombs were largely hidden on motorcycles in crowded markets.
Local officials were quick to blame [...]
As promised earlier this week by Pakistani Senate leader Raza Rabbani, the Pakistani government has summoned US Ambassador Anne Patterson today to lodge a “strong protest” against the continued US drone strikes inside Pakistani territory. The government statement cautioned that the US strikes “undermine public support for the government’s counterterrorism policies.”
The most recent air strike [...]
Tensions continue to rise in the wake of Sunday’s US strike inside Syria, who today demanded a formal apology from the US and compensation. Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad also called for a “pledge not to repeat” the attack, which he described as “cowardly.” They have also warned that they may stop cooperating with [...]
The Bush Administration has received and is reviewing the latest proposed amendments to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) for Iraq. Though the exact terms of the amendments have no yet been released, one of the revisions is an explicit ban on US forces using Iraqi territory to strike neighboring countries. Another is that the [...]
