UPI International Intelligence articles from June 2008

UPI International Intelligence archives from June 2008

Analysis: WMD Terror Commission starts up.
June 2, 2008... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, June 2 (UPI) -- A new blue-ribbon commission set up by Congress to offer the next administration advice about keeping nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction from falling into the hands of rogue...

Walker's World: Are the BRICs crumbling?
June 2, 2008... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, June 2 (UPI) -- The Chinese media is reporting that Beijing's financial authority, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, has instructed Chinese mutual funds, on pain of "administrative punishment,"...

Analysis: Jordan defends Islam with charm.
June 2, 2008... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, June 2 (UPI) -- "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," reads part of an inscription on the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, once the gateway to the New World....

Iraq Press Roundup.
June 2, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD The newspaper of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, al-Ittihad, said in an editorial Monday that the security agreement being negotiated between the U.S. and Iraqi governments was in danger of being dead on arrival. ...

Top Iraq leaders discuss future U.S. role.
June 2, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 2 (UPI) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met Shiite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim to discuss a U.S. security deal with Iraq amid rising tensions over the agreement. Sunday's meeting with officials from Maliki's Dawa Party...

Iraqi MP backs support for women.
June 2, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 2 (UPI) -- Iraqi lawmaker Samira al-Musawi said her Woman, Family and Childhood Committee had four laws tabled to secure assistance for women and children in Iraq. Various official records put the internally displaced persons...

Political violence in Iraq plummets.
June 2, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 2 (UPI) -- U.S. military deaths in Iraq are down to their lowest levels since 2003 and nearly 30 percent for Iraqi civilians since last year, a report Monday said. The Financial Times Monday reports that May had the lowest...

Iraq allocated $4M for refugees.
June 2, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 2 (UPI) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration Monday set aside nearly $200 million to repatriate displaced Iraqi refugees living in other countries. The Iraqi daily Al-Sabah said Monday, citing government...

Macedonian proud to serve in Iraq.
June 2, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 2 (UPI) -- A Macedonian military commander contributing to the coalition effort in Iraq said it is a privilege to serve alongside U.S. military forces. "America is our main strategic partner, not only in the Balkans, but...

Teo describes 360 degrees of threats.
June 2, 2008... SINGAPORE, June 2 (UPI) -- Singapore Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean said during the Shangri-La Dialogue that the Asia-Pacific region faces security challenges from all directions. Teo, speaking during the seventh annual Shangri-La Dialogue,...

LeT terrorists killed in North Kashmir.
June 2, 2008... NEW DEHLI, India, June 2 (UPI) -- Indian defense officials said Monday two operations executed in North Kashmir frontier districts resulted in the deaths of four suspected terrorists. The operations were in the North Kashmir districts of...

Interpol, Security Council publish alert.
June 2, 2008... LYON, France, June 2 (UPI) -- France-based Interpol has jointly published an alert list with the U.N. Security Council detailing entities associated with al-Qaida and the Taliban. Interpol's Special Notices for entities list is the first...

Analysis: CIA al-Q comments provoke row.
June 2, 2008... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, June 2 (UPI) -- A gathering row over CIA Director Michael Hayden's claim that U.S. forces have al-Qaida on the defensive illustrates the highly politicized territory on which senior U.S. security and...

Livni, Steinmeier discuss Lebanon.
June 2, 2008... TEL AVIV, Israel, June 2 (UPI) -- Tzipi Livni, Israeli minister of foreign affairs, met with her German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, to discuss recent political developments in Lebanon. Steinmeier met with Livni Monday in Tel Aviv,...

Violence in Macedonia tops list.
June 2, 2008... BRUSSELS, June 2 (UPI) -- The surge in violence preceding elections in Macedonia topped the International Crisis Group's monthly analysis on world conflicts. The CrisisWatch report cited the deterioration of eight conflict situations...

Commentary: Rainbow -- or Guns of August?
June 3, 2008... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, June 3 (UPI) -- In October 2005, two months after he had become president, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- or as Jay Leno calls the tongue-twister "I'm-a-dinner-jacket" -- drew world attention when he...

Analysis: Armament makes world insecure.
June 3, 2008... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, June 3 (UPI) -- A group of German security and peace researchers warns that current armament tendencies may pose greater threats to the world than the Cold War did. The growing amount of money spent on...

Iraq Press Roundup.
June 3, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD The daily Azzaman newspaper said Tuesday that justice is the basis of governance, the independence of the judicial system is the basis of justice, and the judiciary is one of the three important authorities in new...

Left-wing extremist attacks in Berlin.
June 3, 2008... BERLIN, June 3 (UPI) -- A series of firebomb explosions has unsettled authorities in Germany's capital, Berlin. Far-left extremists over the past days have targeted mainly luxury cars in districts all over the city. Over the weekend,...

Iraq opposes U.S. security deal.
June 3, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 3 (UPI) -- Iraqi officials Tuesday rejected any draft proposal concerning a strategic relationship with the United States that would undermine Iraqi sovereignty. Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Tuesday the...

Anti-corruption moves could halt violence.
June 3, 2008... BRUSSELS, June 3 (UPI) -- A new report from the International Crisis Group calls on Russian officials to end corruption or face an escalation of violence from jihadi movements. According to a report released Tuesday by the independent...

U.N. calls for end to violence and piracy.
June 3, 2008... UNITED NATIONS, June 3 (UPI) -- The United Nations is calling for increased security after a surge in piracy off the coast of Somalia has threatened the delivery of relief supplies. The U.N. Security Council Monday unanimously passed a...

Iraqis review reconstruction bill.
June 3, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 3 (UPI) -- The Iraqi Parliament Tuesday voted on a series of draft laws including salaries for civil servants and programs targeting national reconstruction. The Tuesday session convened by Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani...

Gaza hostilities leave several wounded.
June 3, 2008... JERUSALEM, June 3 (UPI) -- Hostilities between Palestinians and Israeli troops along the security fence at the Gaza Strip resulted in multiple injuries Tuesday in separate incidents. An airstrike by the Israeli air force targeting three...

Air Force inspection finds deficiencies.
June 3, 2008... MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D., June 3 (UPI) -- A recent inspection to evaluate the nuclear operations readiness of a U.S. Air Force unit at the Minot Air Force Base found areas of deficiency. Officials say the defense nuclear surety inspection...

Meeting held to discuss securing buildings.
June 3, 2008... TULLIALLAN, Scotland, June 3 (UPI) -- A meeting held in Scotland between top police chiefs and Scottish city officials was aimed at planning ways to protect buildings against terrorism. The meeting was held at the Scottish Police College in...

Serbs plan weapons shipment to Iraq.
June 3, 2008... BELGRADE, Serbia, June 3 (UPI) -- A state-run weapons manufacturer in Serbia said Tuesday an initial shipment of $600,000 worth of handguns slated for delivery to Iraq is ahead of schedule. Zastava Weapons Co. chief Rade Gromovic said his...

Iraq in a religious civil war, expert says.
June 3, 2008... CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 3 (UPI) -- The sooner Washington understands the religious nature of the Iraqi conflict, the quicker an exit strategy can evolve, writes an expert on civil war. Monica Duffy Toft with Harvard University's John F....

$4.5 billion development planned for Erbil.
June 3, 2008... ERBIL, Iraq, June 3 (UPI) -- The Dubai-based Damac Properties Tuesday announced plans to develop a 170 million-square-foot development in Iraqi Kurdistan. Damac issued a release announcing the launch of the Tarin Hills development in...

Walker's World: A NATO test for Bush.
June 4, 2008... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- President Bush's European tour next week was supposed to be an almost ceremonial event, a farewell tour to old allies with whom most broken fences had been patched up and mended. But...

German Cabinet approves anti-terror bill.
June 4, 2008... BERLIN, June 4 (UPI) -- The German government Wednesday approved a bill that would enable the country's federal police to fight terrorism more effectively. The proposed legislation, however, has drawn criticism from civil and privacy...

Another spy scandal at Deutsche Bahn?
June 4, 2008... BERLIN, June 4 (UPI) -- The spy scandal at Deutsche Telekom may engulf yet another German industry giant. Railway company Deutsche Bahn admitted that it contracted the security company that had executed secret data spying for Telekom, the...

Atlantic Eye: Obama's vice presidents.
June 4, 2008... Byline: MARC S. ELLENBOGEN PRAGUE, Czech Republic, June 4 (UPI) -- He didn't deliver in New Hampshire. But on the last day of the primary calendar in South Dakota and Montana, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois became the presumptive Democratic...

Germany's milk crisis expands.
June 4, 2008... BERLIN, June 4 (UPI) -- Germany's milk crisis is going into its second week, with the first supermarkets running out of dairy products. German discounters such as Edeka in some regions had trouble finding dairy products to fill their...

Iraq Press Roundup.
June 4, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD The newspaper of Iraqi Hezbollah, al-Bayyna, had an editorial Wednesday with the title "In what circumstances would democracy be possible?" commenting that the people of Iraq and the world still talk about the fall of...

Kirkuk delaying provincial laws, MP says.
June 4, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 4 (UPI) -- A lawmaker with the Islamic Virtue Party said Wednesday the exploitation of religious symbols by parties in Kirkuk is holding back provincial council laws. Basem Sherif said that the use of "religious symbols and...

Lithuanian troops stay on in Iraq.
June 4, 2008... KUT, Iraq, June 4 (UPI) -- More than half of the Lithuanian soldiers assigned to security details in Iraq chose to extend their tours of duty, the U.S. military said Wednesday. The Lithuanian government voted to extend by two months the...

Army engineers upgrade Iraqi asphalt plant.
June 4, 2008... AMARA, Iraq, June 4 (UPI) -- Iraqi road crews working in the southeastern province of Maysan received a $247,500 upgrade to an asphalt plant for their construction facility. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported Wednesday the complete...

Security officers graduate in Chad.
June 4, 2008... N'DJAMENA, Chad, June 4 (UPI) -- A U.N. program to train police forces in Chad in order to increase security in the country has graduated its first class of officers. Officials say 71 Chadian police officers graduated Tuesday from a more...

AFGE calls for changes to imaging policies.
June 4, 2008... WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- The American Federation of Government Employees is calling on the Transportation Security Administration to modify its image mastery assessment policy. Officials say the IMA testing procedures are not aligned...

Injured troops evacuated directly to U.K.
June 4, 2008... KABUL, Afghanistan, June 4 (UPI) -- A specialized British reserve unit deployed to Afghanistan uses aircraft converted into flying hospital wards to evacuate injured troops back to England. The almost 100-person Royal Air Force Reservists...

Mexico, Interpol to share databases.
June 4, 2008... LYON, France, June 4 (UPI) -- Security authorities in Mexico have partnered with Interpol to connect the country's criminal database to Interpol's secure global police communications system. The partnership will provide Interpol member...

Australia extends troop deployments.
June 4, 2008... CANBERRA, Australia, June 4 (UPI) -- The Australian Ministry of Defense announced plans to extend the army's troop deployments in Afghanistan by an additional two months. The extension of operational deployments brings the current six...

Analysis: Angolan oil output tops Nigeria.
June 5, 2008... Byline: CARMEN GENTILE For the first time ever, Angolan oil output exceeded that of Nigeria, knocking the West African country out of the continent's top spot for production, according to OPEC. Angola's production levels for the month...

New Russian president visits Berlin.
June 5, 2008... BERLIN, June 5 (UPI) -- Russia's new president, Dmitry Medvedev, is paying his first official visit to Germany on Thursday. Officials in Berlin hope that Russian-German relations improve with Medvedev, who succeeded Vladimir Putin as...

Sistani speaks out on U.S.-Iraqi compact.
June 5, 2008... NAJAF, Iraq, June 5 (UPI) -- Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani Thursday set a series of conditions necessary for Iraq to consider any strategic arrangement with the United States. Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, after...

Sadrist MP blocked from leaving Sadr City.
June 5, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 5 (UPI) -- A lawmaker with the Sadrist Movement of rebel Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr said Iraqi troops prevented her motorcade from leaving Sadr City Thursday. Zanaid al-Kanani said Iraqi security forces arrested her bodyguards...

Sons of Iraq not effective in Mosul.
June 5, 2008... MOSUL, Iraq, June 5 (UPI) -- The military strategy to destroy al-Qaida in Mosul does not include tactics for the use of the Sunni paramilitary force Sons of Iraq, U.S. officials say. The Sons of Iraq are a U.S.-financed paramilitary force...

Analysis: Slovenian nuke incident.
June 5, 2008... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, June 5 (UPI) -- On Wednesday officials in Slovenia shocked the European Union with what seemed to be a rather serious accident in the country's only nuclear power plant, but a day later officials were...

6,000 al-Qaida killed in Iraq, Gen. says.
June 5, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 5 (UPI) -- Iraqi military officials said counter-terrorism operations in the country resulted in the deaths of more than 6,000 al-Qaida fighters since 2003. Inspector General for the Iraqi Minister of Defense Gen. Anwar Amin...

Analysis: Medvedev's trip to the West.
June 5, 2008... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, June 5 (UPI) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in his first official visit to the West, on Thursday in Berlin vowed to bring Russia closer to Europe, but warned that NATO's relations with Russia would be...

UNAMI reports on Iraqi border disputes.
June 5, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 5 (UPI) -- The U.N. mission in Iraq Thursday presented an analysis to the Iraqi government concerning possible resolutions to internal border disputes. The U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq examined four districts in Iraq to...

Abkhazia standoff could lead to war.
June 5, 2008... BRUSSELS, June 5 (UPI) -- The inflamed rhetoric and troop buildup around Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region could lead to war, according to the International Crisis Group. A report released Thursday by the independent non-governmental...

IED found near electrical transformer.
June 5, 2008... COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, June 5 (UPI) -- Sri Lankan security authorities say an improvised explosive devise was discovered Thursday near an electrical transformer in Ragama. Police officials suspect the IED, with more than 5 pounds of...

Turkmenistan officials discuss security.
June 5, 2008... ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, June 5 (UPI) -- Top Turkmenistan officials have promised to intensify security efforts in the country and work with the region to promote stability. Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and Foreign...

U.N. to establish mercenary accountability.
June 5, 2008... UNITED NATIONS, June 5 (UPI) -- The United Nations is working to create an international regulations system that would establish accountability for private military forces around the world. The much criticized use of private military and...

British find old bomb near Underground.
June 5, 2008... LONDON, June 5 (UPI) -- British army bomb specialists planned to remove a recently discovered unexploded bomb located near a London Underground station Thursday. The bomb was found by contractors working on the 2012 London Olympics...

Dogs of War: The Holy Grail, part four.
June 6, 2008... Byline: DAVID ISENBERG WASHINGTON, June 6 (UPI) -- LOGCAP is the Holy Grail of the private military contracting industry. LOGCAP -- the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program -- is an initiative established by the U.S. Army in 1985 to...

Iraq Press Roundup.
June 6, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD In its editorial Thursday, al-Basaer newspaper, the organ of the influential Sunni group the Association of Muslim Scholars, commented that five political parties are the only ones advocating a long-term security deal...

Commentary: AIPAC and liege fealty.
June 6, 2008... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, June 6 (UPI) -- Once a year the Israel lobby in Washington known as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee holds its annual convention where anyone who's anyone in the political world comes to...

Dawa Party renounces former Iraqi premier.
June 6, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 6 (UPI) -- The Dawa Party of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Friday renounced former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari for seeking to establish a new political party. Jaafari announced Saturday he was forming the Reform...

Iraqi forces resilient in Sadr City.
June 6, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 6 (UPI) -- The Iraqi military confiscated weapons caches in Baghdad's Sadr City and incorporated Sunni paramilitary forces into watch groups, the U.S. military said. Iraqi forces entered Sadr City following a May truce with...

Iraq Press Roundup.
June 6, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD In its Friday editorial, the daily newspaper Al-Mashriq described civil conflict as a hysteria of the people fueled by a hunger for revenge. Written under the headline "The depth of the Iraqi people saved them,"...

Agreement over Abyei could end violence.
June 6, 2008... KHARTOUM, Sudan, June 6 (UPI) -- The escalating violence and the Sudanese government's non-cooperation with the International Criminal Court were the topics of a U.N. meeting in the country. The U.N. Security Council sent a delegation to...

Task force targets violent actors.
June 6, 2008... WASHINGTON, June 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Central Command is working on an initiative to track and target extreme actors trying to spread terrorism, a top U.S. military official says. Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert Holmes, CENTCOM deputy director of...

Politics not involved in DHS grant monies.
June 6, 2008... ALBUQUERQUE, June 6 (UPI) -- A recently published study says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is distributing counter-terrorism funding according to assessed risks. The study, published in Policy Studies Journal, found through an...

Official calls on lawmakers to fund Merida.
June 6, 2008... WASHINGTON, June 6 (UPI) -- A U.S. State Department official is calling on lawmakers to support the Merida Initiative to combat transnational criminal organizations that threaten security. In a statement before the Congressional...

Muslim groups demand release of detainees.
June 6, 2008... NEW DELHI, June 6 (UPI) -- Various Muslim groups in India's northern Rajasthan state have demanded the release of all terror suspects detained by the police. The Muslims have expressed concern over the manner in which the investigation of...

Indian state strikes at insurgents.
June 6, 2008... NEW DELHI, June 6 (UPI) -- Security forces and the administration of India's Nagaland state are planning a joint offensive against insurgents. The offensive's intent is to flush out underground cadres in Dimapur district, The Shillong...

Maliki to push for better ties with Iran.
June 6, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 6 (UPI) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will discuss boosting bilateral relations with Iran during a weekend visit to Tehran, the Iraqi president said Friday. "I hope he will go there with full hands and return with...

U.S. holding Iraqi funds for security deal.
June 6, 2008... NEW YORK, June 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. government is threatening to withhold $50 billion in Iraqi funds if Baghdad doesn't sign on to a new security agreement, The Independent said Friday. The Independent's Patrick Cockburn, continuing a series...

Rebel attacks called terrorism.
June 6, 2008... KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 6 (UPI) -- A recent rebel attack on a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has prompted calls from the United Nations for an increase in security. The United Nations says the...

Analysis: If others could vote in the U.S.
June 9, 2008... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, June 9 (UPI) -- If the people of the Middle East could vote in the U.S. presidential elections, chances are that they would have voted in favor of Sen. Barack Obama over his Democratic rival, Sen. Hillary...

Analysis: Bush says goodbye to Europe.
June 9, 2008... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, June 9 (UPI) -- When U.S. President George W. Bush visits Europe for the last time in his presidential career this week, no demonstrators will line his path. It's not that Bush all of a sudden has become...

Iraq Press Roundup.
June 9, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's Al Ittihad newspaper highlighted in its Monday editorial titled "The others in Iraq" that Iraq again has turned into a "shallow well" from which other countries pour their interests....

U.S. nabs 'special groups' leader in Iraq.
June 9, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 9 (UPI) -- U.S. military officials reported the arrest of the head of an assassination squad who coordinated arms deals between Iranian agents and Iraqi fighters in Basra. The man, who was not definitively identified by U.S....

Iran: Maliki in Tehran for reconstruction.
June 9, 2008... TEHRAN, June 9 (UPI) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met with top officials in Tehran during the weekend to discuss Iraqi reconstruction issues, Iranian media reported Monday. Maliki, along with a delegation of high-ranking Cabinet...

Top Iraqi cleric warns of uprising.
June 9, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 9 (UPI) -- A leading Iraqi Shiite cleric said Monday the status of forces agreement between Washington and Baghdad could lead to an uprising in Iraq. "It is not to the benefit of the U.S. as a major power to lessen the...

New Iraqi political parties emerge.
June 9, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 9 (UPI) -- The head of the Sunni Anbar Salvation Council said Monday his party formed an alliance with four other blocs ahead of the October provincial elections in Iraq. Hamid al-Hayes said his party joined an as-yet unnamed...

Turkish PM to met Maliki soon.
June 9, 2008... BAGHDAD, June 9 (UPI) -- The Turkish prime minister plans to discuss rebuilding the Iraqi southern port city of Basra and cooperative endeavors with Iraq, a spokesman said Monday. Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told The Times of...

Extrajudicial killings are exaggerated.
June 9, 2008... MANILA, Philippines, June 9 (UPI) -- Officials from the Philippines say a U.N. report on extrajudicial killings in the country is exaggerated and that a majority of the deaths were legitimate. Ambassador Erlinda Basilio, the Philippines'...

Iraqis learning role of helicopter support.
June 9, 2008... TAJI, Iraq, June 9 (UPI) -- Iraqi airmen are receiving specialized counter-terrorism training to pilot helicopters in an effort to stand the Iraqi air force up on its own. The U.S. 770th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron at Camp Taji,...

Analysis: Mapping malware, spam on the Web.
June 9, 2008... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, June 9 (UPI) -- The growing prevalence of Web sites that can download malicious software onto the computers of unsuspecting visitors has led some to compare the Internet to the lawless Wild West, but a...

Bill to align military and civilian courts.
June 9, 2008... OTTAWA, June 9 (UPI) -- A recent decision in the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada has prompted a legislation proposal that would amend the National Defense Act. Canadian Minister of National Defense Peter MacKay has introduced...