UPI International Intelligence articles from July 2008

UPI International Intelligence archives from July 2008

Analysis: Bush reforms security clearances.
July 1, 2008... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, July 1 (UPI) -- President Bush signed an executive order Monday streamlining the background checks undergone by federal employees, including those who need security clearances to access secret...

Analysis: New U.S. Embassy in Berlin.
July 1, 2008... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, July 1 (UPI) -- The new $143 million U.S. Embassy in the heart of Berlin opens on Independence Day. Its architects have set themselves with the Herculean task of designing it to represent freedom while...

India to raise elite force against Maoists.
July 1, 2008... NEW DELHI, July 1 (UPI) -- India says it will raise a specialized force trained in guerrilla warfare to counter Maoist violence in the country. The federal Interior Ministry would raise a specialized 10,000-strong force, trained in jungle...

India asks ULFA to give up violence.
July 1, 2008... NEW DELHI, July 1 (UPI) -- India has asked the chief of a top insurgent group active in the northeastern region to give up violence and come out for peace talks. The chief minister of insurgency-hit Assam state, Tarun Gogoi, has asked...

Iraq Press Roundup.
July 1, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD The Al-Ittihad newspaper of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan said Tuesday that the al-Qaida organization was first known to the United States when its leader, Osama bin Laden, announced the names of the Sept. 11, 2001,...

Sunni bloc set for return to government.
July 1, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 1 (UPI) -- The main Sunni block, the Iraqi Accordance Front, is set to return to the Iraq central government after a near yearlong boycott, officials said Tuesday. The IAF withdrew from the unity government of Iraqi Prime...

U.S. denies supporting PKK rebels.
July 1, 2008... ANKARA, Turkey, July 1 (UPI) -- U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson denied media claims U.S. covert operation agencies worked with a Kurdish separatist group. Seymour Hersh wrote in the latest edition of The New Yorker magazine that the...

Zebari briefs Iraqi lawmakers on SOFA.
July 1, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 1 (UPI) -- Iraqi Foreign Affairs Minister Hoshyar Zebari briefed the Iraqi Parliament Tuesday on the progress of the status of forces agreement with the United States. The Iraqi Parliament in a statement to Voices of Iraq said...

Turkey to open economic talks with Iraq.
July 1, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 1 (UPI) -- Turkey plans to open an industrial zone in the southern port city of Basra and broker a free-trade agreement with Iraq, officials said Tuesday. Turkish Minister of Foreign Trade Kursad Tuzmen and a delegation of...

Talabani speaks out against Hezbollah.
July 1, 2008... ATHENS, Greece, July 1 (UPI) -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani Tuesday condemned Lebanese Hezbollah for speaking out against the situation in Iraq. Talabani criticized statements from Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah calling...

U.K. takes on role in EU Battle Groups.
July 1, 2008... LONDON, July 1 (UPI) -- The U.K. Joint Force Headquarters began a yearlong assignment Tuesday as one of the rapid response units for the EU Battle Group. JFHQ became the main component, as mandated under the Treaty of the EU, in responding...

Italian police conduct raid on mafia.
July 1, 2008... CASERTA, Italy, July 1 (UPI) -- Italian police conducted a massive raid Tuesday, arresting 30 alleged members of mafia gangs connected to crimes including attempted murder and extortion. The arrests were of the Camorra, the Neapolitan...

U.N., AU name Darfur mediator.
July 1, 2008... UNITED NATIONS, July 1 (UPI) -- The United Nations and the African Union have selected a mediator to bring together warring sides and end the violent conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and officials...

U.N. Taliban and al-Qaida mandate extended.
July 1, 2008... UNITED NATIONS, July 1 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council unanimously voted on Monday in New York to extend sanctions against the Taliban and al-Qaida terrorist networks. The 18-month extension continues the Taliban and al-Qaida monitoring...

Kyrgyzstan to intensify security efforts.
July 1, 2008... BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, July 1 (UPI) -- OSCE officials were in Kyrgyzstan Tuesday to intensify efforts with the country to enhance regional stability. The chairman-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Finnish...

Walker's World: France has nowhere to go.
July 2, 2008... Byline: MARTIN WALKER PARIS, July 2 (UPI) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy has a terrible sense of timing. He was elected last year, full of bold promises for sweeping reform of France's bloated pensions and public service and its...

Iraq spawns renewed diplomatic interest.
July 2, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 2 (UPI) -- The improved security and political environment in Iraq spawned renewed diplomatic interest from its neighbors, the foreign minister said in Baghdad Wednesday. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on the...

Iraq Press Roundup.
July 2, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD The Al-Sabaah newspaper of the Iraqi government said Wednesday that those who oppose the true meaning of democracy do so because they think the concept loses its meaning if it is forced upon the people. Those who...

Sunni return to government bridges divides.
July 2, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 2 (UPI) -- The return to the Iraqi government by the main Sunni political bloc signals a move toward further political reconciliation, officials said. Members of the Sunni Iraq Accordance Front Tuesday announced it would...

Medhi Army retooling, commander says.
July 2, 2008... NASIRIYAH, Iraq, July 2 (UPI) -- An elite unit of the Mehdi Army, the force loyal to Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, will organize to oppose the U.S. "occupiers," a rebel leader said. In an interview with United Arab Emirates newspaper...

Sunni group warns Assyrians in Mosul.
July 2, 2008... MOSUL, Iraq, July 2 (UPI) -- An alleged affiliate of al-Qaida in Iraq addressed a letter to the Assyrian community in Mosul warning them against cooperating with the United States. A group calling itself "The Battalion of Just Punishment,...

U.S. denies PKK relationship -- again.
July 2, 2008... WASHINGTON, July 2 (UPI) -- The United States is not involved in any relationship with the Kurdistan Workers' Party or its affiliates, a U.S. State Department spokesman said. The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and the Party for a Free...

Analysis: Feds use cell phones to track us.
July 2, 2008... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, July 2 (UPI) -- The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Department of Justice to get details about how federal authorities are using their ability to monitor people's movements through their cell...

Syria returns Iraqi antiquities.
July 3, 2008... DAMASCUS, Syria, July 3 (UPI) -- Syrian officials returned an Assyrian artifact to the Iraqi Ministry of Tourism and Archeology after it was confiscated from smugglers, authorities said. Syrian Culture Minister Riadh Naasan Agha returned a...

Iraq report highlights religious abuse.
July 3, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 3 (UPI) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights in its latest report highlighted the prevalence of religious persecution in the country following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The July report says the Shabak people in the northern...

Jordan, Iraq consider prisoner swap.
July 3, 2008... AMMAN, Jordan, July 3 (UPI) -- Jordanian and Iraqi authorities spoke in Amman about the possibilities of exchanging prisoners not linked to terrorism, an envoy said. Iraqi Ambassador to Jordan Saad Hayyani said the two sides have been in...

Planning minister blocking Sunni return.
July 3, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 3 (UPI) -- The fate of the Iraqi planning minister is unknown as top officials sidestep issues seen delaying the return of the main Sunni bloc to the government. A spokesman for the Iraqi Accordance Front, the main Sunni...

Top U.S. general talks PKK with Ankara.
July 3, 2008... ANKARA, Turkey, July 3 (UPI) -- A top U.S. military general met in Ankara with Turkish military officials Thursday to discuss military matters concerning the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen....

Atlantic Eye: Defending Gen. Wesley Clark.
July 3, 2008... Byline: MARC S. ELLENBOGEN OXFORD, England, July 3 (UPI) -- Gen. Wesley Clark has served the United States with honor for 45 years -- 38 of them in the military. He was valedictorian of his class at West Point. He was supreme allied...

Iraq Press Roundup.
July 3, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD The Al-Basaer newspaper of the Association of Muslim Scholars in its Thursday editorial said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is in one of the most troublesome tight spots he has been in since coming to power. ...

Urgent reforms needed in Guinea-Bissau.
July 3, 2008... BRUSSELS, July 3 (UPI) -- Without support from the international community Guinea-Bissau could become a haven for terrorism, a report from the International Crisis Group says. The report, released Wednesday by the independent...

New president of OSCE Parliament elected.
July 3, 2008... ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 3 (UPI) -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe elected a new president of the Parliamentary Assembly Thursday. OSCE officials elected Joao Soares of Portugal at the organization's yearly session...

Explosive detection dogs begin at Dulles.
July 3, 2008... WASHINGTON, July 3 (UPI) -- Three new explosive detection trained canine teams have begun their deployment at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. The dogs have been specially trained at a U.S. Transportation Security Administration...

Central Asia key to OSCE security.
July 3, 2008... ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 3 (UPI) -- The head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has called Central Asia vital to the overall security in the OSCE. Speaking at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly annual session in...

Violence in Zimbabwe tops CrisisWatch list.
July 3, 2008... BRUSSELS, July 3 (UPI) -- The violence against voters in Zimbabwe topped the list of five deteriorating conflict situations in June, according to the monthly CrisisWatch report. Written by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, the...

Walker's World: Why not scrap the G8?
July 7, 2008... Byline: MARTIN WALKER PARIS, July 7 (UPI) -- The Group of Eight summit meetings have become almost tiresomely predictable, on both sides of the fence. From deep within their secure and closeted meeting halls, the leaders of the great...

Analysis: Will terrorists go nuclear?
July 7, 2008... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, July 7 (UPI) -- One recurring question that has been at the forefront of most intelligence agencies since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by al-Qaida on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon...

Dogs of War: The founding contractors.
July 7, 2008... Byline: DAVID ISENBERG WASHINGTON, July 7 (UPI) -- While many commentators acknowledge that private military and security contractors are not mercenaries, some of them still contend that their use, both qualitatively and quantitatively, is...

Analysis: Serb assembly is a step backward.
July 7, 2008... Byline: DANIEL KORSKI BRUSSELS, July 7 (UPI) -- In the Balkans, a move forward usually is followed by one or more steps backward. And last week was no different. Objecting to Kosovo's independence, the Kosovo Serbs convened their own...

Commentary: Guns of August spiked?
July 7, 2008... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, July 7 (UPI) -- Is the United States heading into a deadly confrontation with Iran? Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, the unsuccessful maverick Republican presidential candidate, warned millions of...

Iraq Press Roundup.
July 7, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD In its Monday editorial, the daily Azzaman newspaper said the psycho-political reality in Iraq gives leftists, democratic, secular and national powers the opportunity to win seats in the upcoming parliamentary elections...

Analysis: Climate study criticizes G8.
July 7, 2008... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, July 7 (UPI) -- None of the leading industrialized nations has come close to meeting its promises on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with the United States, Canada and Russia trailing especially far behind,...

Literacy program targets Sons of Iraq.
July 7, 2008... KIRKUK, Iraq, July 7 (UPI) -- U.S. officials in Kirkuk look to nationalize a literacy program to train members of the Sunni paramilitary force Sons of Iraq for vocational work. Voluntary fighters joined the ranks of the U.S.-funded Sons of...

Aid reaching Iraqis despite violence.
July 7, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 7 (UPI) -- U.N. humanitarian aid agencies delivered fresh water, food rations and medical supplies to residents in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City despite heavy conflict. The Iraqi military, under orders from Prime Minister...

Germans, Kurds sign education agreement.
July 7, 2008... ERBIL, Iraq, July 7 (UPI) -- German officials signed a memorandum of understanding with officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government concerning teaching and language exchange programs. The program for secondary education establishes 10...

Election may shift politics in Iraq.
July 7, 2008... CAIRO, July 7 (UPI) -- The provincial elections in Iraq will reconfigure the political map along party platforms, not sectarianism, an official with the Arab League said Monday. Assistant Arab League Secretary-General for Political Affairs...

Iranian guards kill PJAK militants.
July 7, 2008... TABRIZ, Iran, July 7 (UPI) -- Iranian forces with the Revolutionary Guard killed a gunman thought to be affiliated with the militant Party of Free Life of Kurdistan in west Iran. The Party of Free Life of Kurdistan, or PJAK, operates in...

Pakistani rebels call for jihad.
July 7, 2008... ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 7 (UPI) -- Jihad must be waged against U.S. and NATO forces and their allies in Afghanistan, including members of the Pakistani government, Pakistani rebel leaders said. Shah Abdul Aziz, the imam at the Lal Masjid,...

ULFA calls for cease-fire.
July 7, 2008... DISPUR, India, July 7 (UPI) -- Two companies with the militant United Liberation Front of Assam in northern India announced a unilateral cease-fire with state officials. The ULFA is a separatist movement operating in the northern Indian...

Security in West Africa still needs work.
July 7, 2008... UNITED NATIONS, July 7 (UPI) -- Despite some improvements among the countries of West Africa, a U.N. report says the region still faces many challenges to security. The report by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in order to prevent...

Young people address terrorism at event.(Conference notes)
July 7, 2008... VIENNA, July 7 (UPI) -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe concluded a conference Monday in Vienna, Austria, in which young adults discussed terrorism. The youth conference, called the Model OSCE, included 140...

Canada to fund counter-terror initiatives.
July 7, 2008... OTTAWA, July 7 (UPI) -- The Canadian government has announced the release of more than $20 million to fund efforts to counter terrorist threats. The funds, available under Canada's chemical, biological, radiological-nuclear and explosives...

Israel bans Hamas-linked charities.
July 7, 2008... JERUSALEM, July 7 (UPI) -- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced Monday the banning of 36 charitable organizations, calling them part of Hamas' fundraising network. Barak said the Hamas-linked organizations, part of the so-called...

Report: Indonesia favors Islamist groups.
July 7, 2008... BRUSSELS, July 7 (UPI) -- The Indonesian government's allowing hard-line Islamic groups to shape policy could cause widespread unrest, a report by the International Crisis Group says. The report, released Monday by the independent...

Georgia signs deal to demilitarize bases.
July 7, 2008... TBILISI, Georgia, July 7 (UPI) -- The Georgian Defense Ministry has signed an agreement to dismantle weapons and demilitarize former and current military bases in the country. Georgian First Deputy Defense Minister Batu Kutelia signed a...

Pakistan urged to unite against terrorism.
July 7, 2008... UNITED NATIONS, July 7 (UPI) -- The United Nations is calling on leaders in Pakistan to unite against terrorist networks operating in the country. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released a statement Monday denouncing the terrorist...

Analysis: U.S. nuclear watchdog -- Part 1.
July 8, 2008... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, July 8 (UPI) -- A report from a State Department advisory panel says a coming large expansion in global nuclear power generation poses proliferation risks, but the United States must embrace it to ensure...

Iraq Press Roundup.
July 8, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD The al-Bayyna newspaper of Iraqi Hezbollah carried an editorial Tuesday with the headline "The Fuel Scenario." It said there was a shortage of oil and its products in the oil-rich Iraq and accused the Iraqi...

Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani rejects SOFA.
July 8, 2008... NAJAF, Iraq, July 8 (UPI) -- Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani Tuesday rejected the security deal between Iraq and the United States on the grounds it violates Iraqi sovereignty. Sistani met in Najaf with Iraqi national security adviser Muwafaq...

Terrorism a 'sickness,' Turkish chief says.
July 8, 2008... ANKARA, Turkey, July 8 (UPI) -- Chief of the Turkish General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said Tuesday terrorism is a "sickness" of the modern age that requires a transnational approach. "I think we all agree that terrorism is the most...

Iraq dismantles nuke testing lab.
July 8, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 8 (UPI) -- Engineers started work to disassemble nuclear components from the Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center in southern Baghdad, Iraqi officials said. Iraqi Minister of Sciences and Technology Ra'id Fahmi said his ministry...

Al-Qaida fleeing Iraq for Africa.
July 8, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 8 (UPI) -- Fighters with al-Qaida of Mesopotamia are fleeing Iraq to set up safe havens in Somalia and Sudan, Iraqi security officials said Tuesday. Former Basra police commander Maj. Gen. Abdul Jalil Khala told Gulf News...

Iraq gov't embraces 'tyrannical mentality'.
July 8, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 8 (UPI) -- The Shiite-led government of Iraq follows a "tyrannical mentality" that stokes the fires of sectarian conflict, a spokesman for the Islamic Army in Iraq said. In an interview with the NEFA Foundation, a non-profit...

ULFA expels leaders behind recent truce.
July 8, 2008... DISPUR, India, July 8 (UPI) -- The chairman of the Indian separatist movement United Liberation Front of Assam Tuesday expelled three of its leaders for declaring a unilateral cease-fire. ULFA seeks an independent and sovereign state in the...

Tariq Aziz trial postponed to July 16.
July 8, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 8 (UPI) -- An Iraqi court in Baghdad postponed to July 16 the trial of Tariq Aziz, Ali Hassan al-Majid and others for the 1992 slaying of 42 businessmen. Aziz and six co-defendants, including Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as...

Anti-terror course also protects rights.
July 8, 2008... BATUMI, Georgia, July 8 (UPI) -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe began a counter-terrorism training course in Georgia Tuesday aimed at preserving human rights. The three-day course, held in the Georgian seaside town...

Plan to guide future EU military decisions.
July 8, 2008... BRUSSELS, July 8 (UPI) -- Top European defense officials endorsed a plan Tuesday to guide future national defense investment decisions for the European Union. The Capability Development Plan, developed by the European Defense Agency, 26...

Browne announces deployment decisions.
July 8, 2008... LONDON, July 8 (UPI) -- The British Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday the Three Commando Brigade Royal Marines will become the lead British unit deployed to Afghanistan. British Defense Secretary Des Browne announced the 16 Air Assault...

Afghan army gets approval on first base.
July 8, 2008... LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, July 8 (UPI) -- A British mentoring team in Afghanistan has approved a new forward operating base built and operated by the Afghan National Army. Forward Operating Base Attal, located in Afghanistan's volatile...

Spain approves funds for Afghan battalion.
July 8, 2008... MADRID, July 8 (UPI) -- Spain approved a measure Tuesday that would fund an Afghan battalion to fight Taliban militants in Afghanistan's northwestern province of Badghis. The Spanish Ministry of Defense announced plans to fund the creation...

Meeting to address security at EU events.
July 8, 2008... ROME, July 8 (UPI) -- The United Nations is meeting with EU defense officials in Rome to establish more effective security policies for major events in Europe. The three-day meeting, which began Monday, is the culmination of four years of...

Haave to take international affairs job.
July 8, 2008... WASHINGTON, July 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. Homeland Security Department has named a 25-year national security veteran as the new assistant secretary for international affairs. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced the...

Analysis: U.S. nuclear watchdog -- Part 2.
July 9, 2008... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, July 9 (UPI) -- The United States should embrace a global expansion of civil nuclear power generation, in order to ensure that it and other supplier nations can build safeguards into the growing market,...

Walker's World: Indian nukes and the G8.
July 9, 2008... Byline: MARTIN WALKER PARIS, July 9 (UPI) -- Forget about that hollow claim from the Group of Eight summit that the main industrialized nations have agreed to halve carbon emissions by 2050. They promised that 16 years ago at the United...

Iraq Press Roundup.
July 9, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD The independent al-Mada newspaper carried an editorial Wednesday titled "Iraq and the United States C* Alienation to rapprochement." The editorial highlighted the future of U.S. and Iraqi relations and considered...

U.N. envoy in Iraq for Article 140 talks.
July 9, 2008... ERBIL, Iraq, July 9 (UPI) -- The U.N. envoy to Iraq scheduled a stop in the Iraqi Kurdistan capital, Erbil, to discuss constitutional articles on the fate of Kirkuk, Kurdish officials said. A representative for the Kurdish parliament, Tareq...

Red Cross paints bleak picture of Iraq.
July 9, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 9 (UPI) -- Internally displaced Iraqis, especially women and children, face a dire humanitarian situation, the head of the International Red Cross in Iraq said. In an interview with the International Rescue Committee, Aidan...

Jordan's king cancels Iraq visit.
July 9, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 9 (UPI) -- Jordan's King Abdullah II postponed his scheduled trip to Iraq, thought to occur Wednesday, reportedly over security concerns. The king would have been the first Arab leader to visit the region since 2003. ...

U.S. Consulate in Istanbul attacked.
July 9, 2008... ISTANBUL, Turkey, July 9 (UPI) -- A shootout between security authorities and militants Wednesday at the U.S. Consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul has left six people dead. Among those killed were three police officers and three of the...

Iraq importing $21B in Iranian goods.
July 9, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 9 (UPI) -- Iraq's imports of goods from Iran increased dramatically when the 2003 U.S.-led invasion opened the Iraqi economy to world markets, a report says. The Kurdish Chamber of Commerce said trade between the northern...

Turkish premier in Baghdad Thursday.
July 9, 2008... BAGHDAD, July 9 (UPI) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives in Baghdad Thursday to visit with top officials on bilateral relations, Iraqi officials said Wednesday. A statement from the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri...

Expelled ULFA leaders address rally.
July 9, 2008... DISPUR, India, July 9 (UPI) -- Expelled leaders of the Indian separatist group United Liberation Front of Assam addressed a rally Wednesday saying they would push a peace initiative forward. ULFA is a movement seeking an independent state...

Turkey vows to continue opposing the PKK.
July 9, 2008... ANKARA, Turkey, July 9 (UPI) -- The fight against the Kurdistan Workers' Party will go on until the organization ceases to operate, Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said Wednesday. "PKK terrorists that have found shelter in the north of...

Tajiks, OSCE hold talks on torture.
July 9, 2008... DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, July 9 (UPI) -- Officials from Tajikistan and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe concluded discussions Wednesday aimed at preventing torture. OSCE officials concluded two days of discussions in...