UPI International Intelligence articles from March 2006

UPI International Intelligence archives from March 2006

Walker's World: India's strategic fears.
March 1, 2006... Byline: MARTIN WALKER NEW DELHI, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The most important message that Indian officials will try to deliver to President George W. Bush on his three-day visit this week is not that India's economy is booming and that its...

Commentary: Biggest geopolitical blunder?
March 1, 2006... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE MONTE CARLO, March 1 (UPI) -- The worst geopolitical blunder in 229 years of American history? That was how participants at a recent off-the-record conference held in Monaco viewed the U.S. decision for the...

Outside View: Smallest nation visits large.
March 1, 2006... Byline: CLEO PASKAL NEW DELHI, March 1 (UPI) -- Overlooked in all the coverage of visits from leaders from France and the United States is a just-concluded trip to India by a high-level delegation from a tiny, but strategically and...

Hu Jintao battles for China's countryside.
March 1, 2006... Byline: EDWARD LANFRANCO BEIJING, March 1 (UPI) -- The head of China's communist ideological education program said Wednesday that efforts to reinvigorate rural party members' governing skills and competency are critical as discontent...

Analysis: Waiting for Aristide.
March 1, 2006... Byline: JASON MOTLAGH WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- Haiti's beloved and detested former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide intends to return home, a prospect U.S. officials and analysts say could subvert efforts to hoist the western...

Outside View: Taiwan: a troublesome client.
March 1, 2006... Byline: TED GALEN CARPENTER WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- U.S. officials are becoming increasingly uneasy about the behavior of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian. The latest cause for concern was his February 28 decision to shut down the...

Analysis: Bush in India, Pakistan worried.
March 1, 2006... Byline: KUSHAL JEENA NEW DELHI, March 1 (UPI) -- Pakistan is concerned by U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to India, as New Delhi has emerged as more important to Washington as a strategic partner than Islamabad, Indian analysts said...

Religious leaders praise Bush.
March 1, 2006... Byline: KATHERINE GYPSON WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- Religious leaders have urged President Bush to view the present as "a critical time, a time of transition and a time of opportunity." In a Feb. 13 letter Christian, Jewish and...

Review of the Arab press.
March 1, 2006... AMMAN, Jordan, March 1 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for March 1: Jordan's al-Rai said in a commentary Wednesday that Iran's nuclear crisis and Tehran's diplomatic efforts in neighboring countries come amid a growing war of rhetoric in the...

Europe 'hunting ground' for foreign spies.
March 1, 2006... STRASBOURG, France, March 1 (UPI) -- Europe is "a happy hunting ground" for foreign spy services, according to the Council of Europe, a European human rights watchdog. "Hardly any country in Europe has any legal provisions to ensure an...

Interview: Merkel's first 100 days.
March 1, 2006... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA KEHL AM RHEIN, Germany, March 1 (UPI) -- Wednesday is exactly 100 days after Germany formed a left-right grand coalition government that named Angela Merkel its first female chancellor. Ahead of the Sept. 18 vote,...

Clock is ticking in Iran, says shah's son.
March 1, 2006... WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- Iran needs the nuclear stand-off to expand its power and divert attention from a flagging economy and internal unrest, the son of the late Shah of Iran said Wednesday. Reza Pahlavi, whose family was ousted by...

U.K. PM's wife attacks terror tactics.
March 1, 2006... Byline: HANNAH K. STRANGE LONDON, March 1 (UPI) -- Cherie Booth, the wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, spoke out Wednesday against her husband's attempts to curb the power of the judiciary in matters of national security. It was...

Analysis: Sudan resistant to U.N. help?
March 1, 2006... Byline: WILLIAM M. REILLY UNITED NATIONS, March 1 (UPI) -- Sudan, a North African nation one-quarter the size of the United States, has been plagued by conflict since independence from Britain in 1956. The infighting continues today in the...

India to warn Bush of Bangladesh terror.
March 2, 2006... Byline: MARTIN WALKER NEW DELHI, March 2 (UPI) -- Inside the Research and Analysis Wing, India's shadowy but influential intelligence service, this week's sentencing of 21 people to death in Bangladesh in connection with last year's wave...

Politics & Policies: What to do with Iran.
March 2, 2006... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, March 2 (UPI) -- At a time when rumors of regime change and pre-emptive strikes against Iran are once more the talk of the town in the nation's capital, one man is cautioning against any knee-jerk...

U.S., India to double trade.
March 2, 2006... Byline: DONNA BORAK WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- While President George W. Bush's three-day visit to India this week is aimed at hammering out a historic deal that would separate India's civilian and military nuclear programs, high on the...

Analysis: Roh and the S. Korean elections.
March 2, 2006... Byline: JONG-HEON LEE SEOUL, March 2 (UPI) -- South Korea's unpopular leader Roh Moo-hyun has geared up for upcoming local elections by mobilizing high-profile cabinet ministers for the crucial political showdown. Roh conducted a...

Ex-CIA criticizes intelligence gathering.
March 2, 2006... Byline: KATHERINE GYPSON WASHINGTON, March 2 (UPI) -- The CIA's former National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia has accused the Bush administration of misusing intelligence reports in the months leading up to the 2003...

Review of the Arab press.
March 2, 2006... AMMAN, Jordan, March 2 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for March 2: The London-based al-Hayat Thursday quoted Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas as saying there were indications that al-Qaida network is emerging in the Palestinian territories. In...

Putin: Russia's G8 vision.
March 2, 2006... MOSCOW, March 2 (UPI) -- The following is an article written by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Russia assuming the presidency of the G8 earlier this year. - At the beginning of 2006, Russia assumed the G8...

Analysis: Hated at home, loved in Germany.
March 2, 2006... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA KEHL AM RHEIN, Germany, March 2 (UPI) -- At home he is blamed for the breakup of the Soviet Union; in Germany he is celebrated like a star for helping to bring about the country's reunification. Former Russian leader...

Is al-Qaida active in Palestine?
March 2, 2006... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, March 2 (UPI) -- Is al-Qaida setting up a base in the Palestinian territories? Are Osama bin Laden's mujahedeen positioning themselves within easy striking distance of Israel? Both Israeli and Palestinian...

Analysis: Italy's election blues.
March 2, 2006... Byline: ROLAND FLAMINI WASHINGTON, March 2 (UPI) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's address to a joint sitting of the U.S. Congress Wednesday drew charges from Italy's left wing opposition that the Bush administration was giving...

The future of foreign assistance.
March 2, 2006... Byline: AMBIKA BEHAL WASHINGTON, March 2 (UPI) -- A changing world environment is a driving force in the U.S. government's need to rethink an aging foreign assistance strategy, say analysts. "Development does not take place in...

U.S., India bolster economic trade ties.
March 2, 2006... Byline: DONNA BORAK WASHINGTON, March 2 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush's first presidential visit to India this week was a clear victory for the administration, capped by an agreement to separate New Delhi's civilian and military...

Labor: Easy on the Palestinian president.
March 2, 2006... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT ALLENBY BRIDGE, West Bank, March 2 (UPI) -- The Labor Party's candidate for prime minister Thursday launched an independent channel for talks with Palestinian president and advocated a more conciliatory approach...

Walker's World: India's big nuclear win.
March 3, 2006... Byline: MARTIN WALKER NEW DELHI, March 3 (UPI) -- India has secured a stunning diplomatic success that changes the geopolitics of Asia with the nuclear cooperation agreement concluded Thursday with the visiting U.S. President George W....

Analysis: Talks for human rights council.
March 3, 2006... Byline: WILLIAM M. REILLY UNITED NATIONS, March 2 (UPI) -- The centerpiece of discussion at U.N. World Headquarters in New York is the proposed Human Rights Council and whether to bring it to a quick vote in the 191-member General Assembly...

Analysis: Congo crisis deepens.
March 3, 2006... Byline: DAVID LEPESKA UNITED NATIONS, March 2 (UPI) -- Congo's inexperienced national army agreed to ground-breaking joint operations with U.N. peacekeeping forces in late February to rescue thousands of hostages from rebel hands in its...

Analysis: Korean military talks rupture.
March 3, 2006... Byline: JONG-HEON LEE SEOUL, March 3 (UPI) -- North and South Korea ended rare military talks on Friday without any progress towards easing tension across their heavily fortified border. During the two-day high-level military dialogue,...

Israelis discuss attitude towards Hamas.
March 3, 2006... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT KIRYAT ONO, Israel, March 3 (UPI) -- Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ended his address to students at the Ben Zvi High School in Kiryat Ono and awaited questions. An 11th grade boy went to the microphone....

Analysis: Nuke deal a boost for India.
March 3, 2006... Byline: KUSHAL JEENA NEW DELHI, March 3 (UPI) -- The civilian nuclear deal signed Thursday between India and the United States will yield benefits for both countries and allow New Delhi to plug into a once restricted world of nuclear...

Common Ground: Adapting to Hamas' victory.
March 3, 2006... Byline: ROBERT MALLEY WASHINGTON, March 3 (UPI) -- Hamas' stunning electoral triumph last month has generated widespread alarm, calls to shun the Palestinian Authority and pleas to cut off aid. The reaction reflects opposition to...

Sectoral textile talks emerge in Doha.
March 3, 2006... Byline: DONNA BORAK WASHINGTON, March 3 (UPI) -- The Bush administration is considering the possibility of separating textile discussions in on-going multilateral trade negotiations amid warnings by U.S. textile groups that China will soon...

Analysis: Balkans' obstacles to recovery.
March 4, 2006... Byline: DAVID PATRICK LUNDQUIST WASHINGTON, March 4 (UPI) -- Euro-bickering dominates the political atmosphere of the Balkans, where statesmen have effectively traded their guns for writing utensils, allowing them to draft referenda and...

Analysis: Abbas al-Qaida remarks 'dubious'.
March 4, 2006... Byline: SANA ABDALLAH AMMAN, Jordan, March 4 (UPI) -- Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' recent statements suspecting al-Qaida may have a presence in the Palestinian territories have raised eyebrows and questions as Hamas struggles against...

Policy Watch: The Moscow-Tehran Agreement.
March 4, 2006... Byline: MARK N. KATZ WASHINGTON, March 4 (UPI) -- In my Policy Watch column of Feb. 24 ("Iran's Aversion to Russia"), I discussed how Iranian dislike for Russia made it unlikely that Moscow and Tehran would be able to reach an agreement...

Analysis: Al-Qaida still haunts Jordan.
March 5, 2006... Byline: SANA ABDALLAH AMMAN, Jordan, March 5 (UPI) -- The Jordanian authorities have given minor details about last week's foiled al-Qaida terrorist attempt against a "vital civilian installation" in the country, but few are questioning...

Analysis: Gitmo inmates expect rescue.
March 6, 2006... Byline: ROLAND FLAMINI WASHINGTON, March 5 (UPI) -- Secret leaders give instructions to the inmates of the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo, such as when to go on a hunger strike, and the indications are that the facility authorities...

Walker's World: China's big arms budget.
March 6, 2006... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) -- The strategic significance for Asia of the nuclear cooperation deal signed with India last week in New Delhi by U.S. President George W. Bush was underlined Saturday by the announcement...

Politics & Policies: A Muslim Manifesto.
March 6, 2006... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) -- Ever since that terrible day when three hijacked airliners slammed into the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon, the spotlight has focused on radical Muslims. It was...

Commentary: Formula for survival.
March 6, 2006... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) -- In private huddles with American interlocutors, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf agrees, in principle, with any U.S. concept or notional future option for the war on terrorism. No...

Human rights in Iraq 'dire,' says Amnesty.
March 6, 2006... Byline: HANNAH K. STRANGE LONDON, March 6 (UPI) -- Thousands of detainees are still being held without charge in Iraq in breach of international law, according to a report published Monday by Amnesty International. The group claims...

Berlin worried as Iran nuclear row heats up.
March 6, 2006... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA KEHL AM RHEIN, Germany, March 6 (UPI) -- As the United Nations nuclear watchdog met Monday in Vienna met to discuss Iran's controversial nuclear program, Germany said it is worried the ongoing row may escalate. ...

Outside View: Converging interests.
March 6, 2006... Byline: ALON BEN-MEIR NEW YORK, March 6 (UPI) -- For the first time Israeli demands for ending the violence as a precondition for any progress in negotiation with the Palestinians converge with Hamas' interests in ending the violence in...

Q&A: Threats to global security.(Interview)(Panel Discussion)
March 6, 2006... Byline: HANNAH K. STRANGE LONDON, March 6 (UPI) -- In an exclusive three-part interview, United Press International talks to Lord Timothy Garden, a former British assistant chief of defense staff, security and defense fellow at London's...

Outside View: Kill India nuke deal?
March 6, 2006... Byline: PETER MORICI COLLEGE PARK, Md., March 6 (UPI) -- The man who would rewrite the Global Climate Accord, reform China's financial markets and transform Iraq into a model democracy has turned his attention to India. This is one task I...

Israel considers unilateral withdrawals.
March 6, 2006... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT TEL AVIV, Israel, March 6 (UPI) -- As the prospects for a negotiated Israeli-Palestinian settlement fade away, some Israelis are advocating a new series of unilateral disengagements that would begin with an...

Politics & Policies: Power of movies.
March 7, 2006... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, March 7 (UPI) -- Ever since the U.S. invasion of Iraq three years ago, the Pentagon brass have periodically dusted-off a copy of Gillo Pontecorvo's epic film, "The Battle of Algiers," a black and white...

Commentary: Shifting moral high ground.
March 7, 2006... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, March 7 (UPI) -- Pity the now down-on-her-luck Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes. Her principal mission is to explain to Muslim countries in general and Middle Eastern states...

Analysis: S.Korea fears takeover bids.
March 7, 2006... Byline: JONG-HEON LEE SEOUL, March 7 (UPI) -- South Korean companies are nervous about possible hostile takeover bids by foreign investors as the country's tobacco giant is facing threats from billionaire U.S. financier Carl Icahn. ...

Review of the Arab press.
March 7, 2006... AMMAN, Jordan, March 7 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for March 7: Jordan's independent al-Ghad newspaper Tuesday blasted Syrian President Bashar Assad for ridiculing Jordanians and the Lebanese for their slogans, "Jordan first" and "Lebanon...

Outside View: U.N. rights need work.
March 7, 2006... Byline: AMANDA ABRAMS WASHINGTON, March 7 (UPI) -- The draft resolution to establish a United Nations Human Rights Council, presented recently by U.N. General Assembly President Jan Eliasson, is more than a disappointment. Its adoption by...

Outside View: Bush tornado in South Asia.
March 7, 2006... Byline: RAMAN BHASKAR NEW DELHI, March 7 (UPI) -- The visit of President George W. Bush to India and Pakistan from March 1 to 4 may finally emerge as the first watershed realignment of global power equations of the 21st century. It is a...

China sends warning to U.S. over Taiwan.
March 7, 2006... Byline: EDWARD LANFRANCO BEIJING, March 7 (UPI) -- China's foreign minister Li Zhaoxing Tuesday touched on the Taiwan hot button and its capacity to sour bilateral trade relations with the United States. At the same time he downplayed...

Common Ground: Open the gates of ijtihad.
March 7, 2006... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, March 7 (UPI) -- The solution to the turmoil gripping Muslim society today may be found in reintroducing ijtihad. Re-opening the gates of ijtihad will allow Muslims "to reinterpret Islam for the 21st...

Walker's World: No more hub and spokes.
March 7, 2006... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, March 7 (UPI) -- When Vice President Dick Cheney told the annual conference of the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee Tuesday that Iran "will not be allowed to have nuclear weapons," he may have...

Anticipating Russia's G-8 future.
March 7, 2006... Byline: AMBIKA BEHAL WASHINGTON, March 7 (UPI) -- Russia has moved away from a system of democracy and needs to work towards stabilizing its rule of law before being wholly accepted as a part of the G-8, say members of an independent task...

Analysis: Germany intel. probe goes public.
March 7, 2006... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA KEHL AM RHEIN, Germany, March 7 (UPI) -- German state lawmakers have railed against the opposition's plan to scrutinize the German intelligence role in Iraq, arguing a parliamentary inquiry would damage future...

U.K.'s Cameron sets out European vision.
March 7, 2006... Byline: HANNAH K. STRANGE LONDON, March 7 (UPI) -- A future Conservative government would set Britain on a path away from ever-closer union with Europe and reclaim powers back from Brussels to London, Conservative Party Leader David...

Analysis: U.N.'s first aid insurance plan.
March 7, 2006... Byline: JINA MOORE UNITED NATIONS, March 7 (UPI) -- Small-scale farmers in Ethiopia will soon be able to take advantage of a safety net most property owners take for granted: insurance. But this is insurance with a twist. With the help...

Outside View: Sticks beat carrots.
March 7, 2006... Byline: BARRY RUBIN JERUSALEM, March 7 (UPI) -- One of many amazing things about the Middle East is how ideas about it persist despite being repeatedly proven wrong. It simply doesn't seem to matter to many politicians, academics, and...

A nuclear double standard?
March 7, 2006... Byline: LUCY STALLWORTHY WASHINGTON, March 7 (UPI) -- The landmark U.S.-India nuclear deal, which connects the world's largest democracy and the world's richest democracy, has far-reaching and controversial implications, particularly...

Israeli campaign uses fear tacticts.
March 8, 2006... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT TEL AVIV, Israel, March 8 (UPI) -- The Likud's TV film was clearly designed to scare Israeli voters, to deter them from voting for acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's new party, Kadima. It showed masked gunmen,...

U.S., Australia won't reopen trade talks.
March 8, 2006... Byline: DONNA BORAK WASHINGTON, March 8 (UPI) -- The United States said Tuesday it would not re-open a completed bilateral trade agreement with the Australian government to expand access to U.S. sugar markets, but would work to expand...

Analysis: U.N. Secretariat reforms.
March 8, 2006... Byline: WILLIAM M. REILLY UNITED NATIONS, March 8 (UPI) -- U.N. staff members have greeted with hostility U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's plans to overhaul the world organization's secretariat to reflect strategic changes it has gone...

Outside View: India's nuclear journey.
March 8, 2006... Byline: KAUSHIK KAPISTHALAM ATLANTA, March 8 (UPI) -- The recent visit of President George W. Bush to South Asia heralds a watershed in India-U.S. relations. The highlight of the visit was the agreement on India's nuclear separation by the...

Commom Ground; Taming the volatility.
March 8, 2006... Byline: DAVID IGNATIUS WASHINGTON, March 8 (UPI) -- One of the baseline assumptions of U.S. foreign policy is that "connectedness" is a good thing. Linkage to the global economy fosters the growth of democracy and free markets, the theory...

Review of the Arab press.
March 8, 2006... AMMAN, Jordan, March 8 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for March 8: The Jordan Times commented Wednesday that with all the political privileges the Islamic movement enjoys in Jordan, some of its members "seem to place more faith in Syrian...

Q&A: Threats to global security, part two.(Interview)(Panel Discussion)
March 8, 2006... Byline: HANNAH K. STRANGE LONDON, March 8 (UPI) -- In an exclusive three-part interview, United Press International talks to Lord Timothy Garden, a former British assistant chief of defense staff, security and defense fellow at London's...

U.K. police defend shoot-to-kill tactic.
March 8, 2006... Byline: HANNAH K. STRANGE LONDON, March 8 (UPI) -- Senior British police officers have defended the use of shoot-to-kill tactics against suspected suicide bombers, in a review of the policy that led to the mistaken killing of a Brazilian...

Common Ground: Muslims and the West.
March 8, 2006... Byline: JOHN L. ESPOSITO WASHINGTON, March 8 (UPI) -- Newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed have set off an international row with dangerous consequences, both short and long term. The controversial caricatures, first published in...

Walker's World: China's big reform.
March 8, 2006... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, March 8 (UPI) -- China has embarked on a revolutionary shift in social and economic priorities in an attempt to repair some of the damage done to the environment and social system by two decades of...

Analysis: Bird flu damages EU economies.
March 8, 2006... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA KEHL AM RHEIN, Germany, March 8 (UPI) -- Bird flu is spreading its ugly wings over Western Europe, causing its first noticeable damage to national economies. Just as the average American does not want to miss out...

Atlantic Eye: The politics of small steps.
March 8, 2006... Byline: MARC S. ELLENBOGEN LONDON, March 8 (UPI) -- "It is the worst political crisis in Danish foreign policy history," said a ranking diplomat to an invited audience of 100 last week in Prague. The cartoon crisis had not just raised the...

China plays Japan victim card, again.
March 8, 2006... Byline: EDWARD LANFRANCO BEIJING, March 8 (UPI) -- Competition between China and Japan for access to energy resources is one of the most dangerous games in the geopolitical economy of the 21st century. The two countries are trying to woo...

Corridors of Power: BND helped U.S.
March 8, 2006... Byline: ROLAND FLAMINI WASHINGTON, March 8 (UPI) -- The German embassy in Washington has been receiving calls from Americans thanking Germany for its help in the Iraq war. For the Germans, that is not good news. At home, disclosures that...

U.S., Malaysia to launch free trade talks.
March 8, 2006... Byline: DONNA BORAK WASHINGTON, March 8 (UPI) -- The Bush administration Wednesday announced plans to begin free trade talks that would eliminate barriers to trade in services and agriculture with Malaysia, its tenth largest trading...

Saudi Role in Middle East Security.
March 8, 2006... Byline: LUCY STALLWORTHY WASHINGTON, March 8 (UPI) -- As U.S. attempts to foster stability in Iraq are engulfed in the ongoing bloody insurgency, attention is turning to alternative security frameworks for the Middle East. Working from...

Hamas prepares to present cabinet.
March 9, 2006... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT JERUSALEM, March 9 (UPI) -- The radical Islamic Hamas movement is likely to present its Cabinet next week and it seems the nationalist Fatah, which led the Palestinian Authority in the last decade, is not going to...

Analysis: U.N. ready for women to lead.
March 9, 2006... Byline: LAUREN MACK UNITED NATIONS, March 8 (UPI) -- As the United Nations marked the annual International Women's Day Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the world is ready for women to assume top leadership roles, including...

Review of the Arab press.
March 9, 2006... AMMAN, Jordan, March 9 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for March 9: The Iraqi Kurdish al-Taakhi daily said Thursday that at least 2,000 Iraqi women have been abducted in Iraq since the U.S.-British invasion of the country three years ago. ...

Analysis: N. Korea seeks sanctions talks.
March 9, 2006... Byline: JONG-HEON LEE SEOUL, March 9 (UPI) -- North Korea's proposal to open a new channel with the United States to discuss financial sanctions was largely welcomed in South Korea, as it purports to remove the obstacle that has stalled...