UPI International Intelligence articles from March 2008

UPI International Intelligence archives from March 2008

Walker's World: After Russia's election.
March 3, 2008... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, March 3 (UPI) -- Hillary Clinton, in what may turn out to have been one of her last appearances as a serious contender for her party's presidential nomination, was asked during last week's TV debate if she...

Analysis: Mideast situation heats up.
March 3, 2008... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, March 3 (UPI) -- Like a macabre jigsaw puzzle, the pieces for a generalized Middle East flare-up are slowly -- and dangerously -- falling into place. All the ingredients are there: Relations between...

Analysis: Einstein and U.S. cybersecurity.
March 3, 2008... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, March 3 (UPI) -- The Einstein program -- the most significant element yet unveiled of the classified multibillion-dollar cybersecurity initiative President Bush signed last month -- will still leave the...

Iraq Press Roundup.
March 3, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD In its editorial with the headline "Have the Americans won in Iraq?" the independent Kul Al Iraq newspaper said Monday most analysts agree the United States has failed in Iraq and is trying to get out of the cul-de-sac...

Feature: Persistence, luck pay off in Iraq.
March 4, 2008... Byline: RICHARD TOMKINS AITHA, Iraq, March 4 (UPI) -- U.S. and Iraqi security forces chip away at al-Qaida's pool of IED makers and planters in Saladin province in nightly raids dependent on luck as well as good intelligence. Take,...

Analysis: Experts: Ricin terror overblown.
March 4, 2008... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, March 4 (UPI) -- Ricin has been a byword for terrorism in the mass media since Colin Powell used it to link Iraq-based terrorists to groups plotting attacks in Europe as part of the U.S. case for invasion...

Iraq Press Roundup.
March 4, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD Al Basaer newspaper in an editorial Tuesday -- "A change needed in the cortex not the core" -- said divisions and accusations within the government were based on an incorrect premise. The editorial said the...

Analysis: OMB report on feds' IT security.
March 4, 2008... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, March 4 (UPI) -- The White House Office of Management and Budget says that the number of computer security incidents reported by federal network managers more than doubled last year, largely due to big...

Walker's World: Fearing the unknown.
March 5, 2008... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, March 5 (UPI) -- It is not quite official, but when Warren Buffet says there's a recession, and when Alan Greenspan says growth is zero, there is a recession. The only question is how long and how severe...

Analysis: Medvedev victory sparks hope.
March 5, 2008... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, March 5 (UPI) -- European officials hope that Russia's future President Dmitry Medvedev will break the ice in relations with the West. Medvedev won more than 70 percent in Sunday's presidential election,...

Atlantic Eye: Momentum won, momentum lost.
March 5, 2008... Byline: MARC ELLENBOGEN COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 5 (UPI) -- Ohio was on my mind as I began my day with my laptop being stolen between Brussels and Amsterdam. It is a columnist's worst nightmare. One second of lapsed concentration and you are...

Iraq Press Roundup.
March 5, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD In its editorial with the headline "Tehran's agenda in Iraq, a weapon to kick the U.S. away from its nuclear project," Azzaman newspaper said Wednesday Iraqis, after the change in 2003, faced suffering and pain from...

Analysis: Chinese cyberattacks on experts.
March 6, 2008... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN Defense-related think tanks and contractors, as well as the Pentagon and other U.S. agencies, were the target of repeated computer network intrusions last year apparently originating in China, the Department of...

Commentary: Klepto-capitalism.
March 6, 2008... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) -- The bursting of the housing bubble, which punctured the credit bubble, was a criminal enterprise at the outset, pooh-poohed at first by those who should have known better, that has...

Analysis: Obama wants more from Europe.
March 6, 2008... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, March 6 (UPI) -- No matter which candidate wins the U.S. presidency, European powers will be asked to do more of the fighting in Afghanistan. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has promised European powers...

Iraq Press Roundup.
March 6, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD The Kurdish Al Ahali Newspaper said Thursday that after Turkish forces carried out their military campaign against Iraqi land, they decided to stop. The paper said answers to questions such as why the Turkish forces...

Dogs of War: Round laws, square holes.
March 7, 2008... Byline: DAVID ISENBERG WASHINGTON, March 7 (UPI) -- It was inevitable that at some point the two Democratic contenders for their party's presidential nomination should skirmish on the political hot-button issue of U.S. use of private...

Analysis: India eyes fake currency flow.
March 7, 2008... Byline: KUSHAL JEENA NEW DELHI, March 7 (UPI) -- Indian intelligence and security agencies have asked the government to formulate a comprehensive strategy and launch a countrywide crackdown against terrorist groups that have been...

Iraq Press Roundup.
March 7, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD Al Sabah newspaper said Friday the visit to Iraq by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proves Iran is trying to break its international isolation the United States is trying to impose on it. The editorial, titled...

Analysis: Israel intel warns of new threat.
March 10, 2008... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, March 10 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush had promised he would help usher in peace in the Middle East through his efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute -- the core conflict in the Middle...

Analysis: DHS stages cyberwar exercise.
March 10, 2008... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, March 10 (UPI) -- Officials from 18 federal agencies, nine states, four foreign governments and more than three dozen private companies will take part in a cyberwar exercise staged by the U.S. Department...

Iraq Press Roundup.
March 10, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's Al Ittihad newspaper carried an editorial Monday with the headline, "In the commemoration of the March intifada." It said Iraqis commemorate the March 1991 uprising, or intifada,...

Walker's World: The U.K. economy falters.
March 10, 2008... Byline: MARTIN WALKER LONDON, March 10 (UPI) -- The fall of the dollar has had some interesting statistical consequences, among them the demotion of the United States from being the world's largest economy to becoming No. 2, behind the...

Analysis: New threats for NATO.
March 11, 2008... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, March 11 (UPI) -- As threats become increasingly asymmetrical, NATO and national military powers are under pressure to update the look and feel of their armed forces. NATO, once an alliance aimed at...

Iraq Press Roundup.
March 11, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD On Tuesday, the Association of Muslim Scholars' Al Basaer newspaper carried an editorial titled "The American-Iranian dispute: Is it a maneuver, a coalition or a struggle?" It said the Gulf region doesn't comply...

Walker's World: Europe's flawed lawmakers.
March 12, 2008... Byline: MARTIN WALKER LONDON, March 12 (UPI) -- Americans may not know this, but like everyone else on the planet, they are increasingly living by European rules without knowing much about who sets them. Microsoft has already learned to...

Analysis: Serbia at the crossroads.
March 12, 2008... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, March 12 (UPI) -- Serbs, in the upcoming snap elections, will have to choose between closer ties with Europe or moving toward Russia, and thus further isolation. On Monday the Serbian government coalition...

Feature: Journalists defy death sentence.
March 12, 2008... Byline: RICHARD TOMKINS MOSUL, Iraq, March 12 (UPI) -- In a city known as al-Qaida's last urban stronghold, fear of sudden death dictates how people live their daily lives. For 21 men condemned to death by terrorists here, survival has...

Iraq Press Roundup.
March 12, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD The Iraqi Hezbollah Party's Al Bayyna Newspaper had an editorial with the title "A militia of widows and orphans" and said violence has become the basic way for people to gain their rights in Iraq. The editorial...

Analysis: India looks to bolster CBI.
March 13, 2008... Byline: KUSHAL JEENA NEW DELHI, March 13 (UPI) -- An Indian parliamentary panel has asked the government to grant statutory powers to the Central Bureau of Investigation to directly look into crimes related to terrorist attacks and human...

Analysis: Lebanon pregnant with danger.
March 13, 2008... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- It was late November 2007 when the already extended mandate of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud expired, the former president wished his staff at the presidential palace in Baabda good...

U.S.-Iraqi raids net 30 suspects.
March 13, 2008... BAGHDAD, March 13 (UPI) -- U.S. and Iraqi military forces conducted joint raids, arresting 30 suspects, and U.S. precision missiles later destroyed a weapons transport vehicle. Iraqi Special Forces units requested the assistance of the U.S....

Iraqis break ground on new hospital.
March 13, 2008... AMARAH, Iraq, March 13 (UPI) -- U.S. officials and Iraqi representatives attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a new surgical hospital in Iraq's eastern Maysan province. Barry Stuart, an engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,...

U.S. highlights 'new approach' in Iraq.
March 13, 2008... WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- A quarterly report before the U.S. Congress emphasizes the strategic goals in Iraq, highlights the work yet to be done and points to the future. The Pentagon report, "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq,"...

Iraq, U.S. discuss status of forces.
March 13, 2008... BAGHDAD, March 13 (UPI) -- Senior U.S. State Department officials and the Iraqi foreign minister discussed the blueprint for the status of forces agreement framing the U.S. role in Iraq. U.S. President Bush and Iraqi President Jalal...

Talabani greets Arab delegates.
March 13, 2008... ERBIL, Iraq, March 13 (UPI) -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani welcomed members of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union for their biannual meeting in Erbil Wednesday calling for Arab solidarity. "We are pleased to have you in Erbil, the...

India: Plot at BSE foiled.
March 13, 2008... NEW DELHI, March 13 (UPI) -- Indian police said they have shot and killed two suspected rebels who were planning to attack the Bombay Stock Exchange. The Anti-Terrorism Squad killed two alleged terrorists Wednesday on the outskirts of...

India: Rebels eye government buildings.
March 13, 2008... NEW DELHI, March 13 (UPI) -- Indian intelligence agencies say the Al Badr group, which New Delhi regards as a terrorist group, is planning to target government installations. The Interior Ministry said two suspected Al Badr members arrested...

Hayden names new director for intelligence.
March 13, 2008... WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency announced changes to senior leadership including the appointment of a new director for intelligence. CIA Director Mike Hayden announced current Associate Deputy Director...

GM of Commercial Airports Security named.
March 13, 2008... WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. Transportation Security Administration announced the appointment of a new general manager of the agency's Commercial Airports Security division. The Commercial Airports Security division is part of the...

Sharpening of Afghan U.N. mandate urged.
March 13, 2008... UNITED NATIONS, March 13 (UPI) -- A top U.N. official says the ruthlessness of the insurgency in Afghanistan requires a refocused approach from the U.N. Security Council. U.N. Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie...

Somali leaders to meet, discuss stability.
March 13, 2008... MOGADISHU, Somalia, March 13 (UPI) -- The Transitional Federal Government in Somalia says it has agreed to hold talks with opposition leaders after years of violence have ravaged the country. Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, Prime...

Rebuilding Iraq from the ground up.
March 13, 2008... BAGHDAD, March 13 (UPI) -- A top U.S. commander of military forces in Iraq said as progress is made on the security front, the mission moves to reconstruct Iraq from the ground up. Army Maj. Gen. Lynch, commander of Multi-National...

U.S. using new strategy for Iraqi inmates.
March 13, 2008... BAGHDAD, March 13 (UPI) -- A top U.S. military commander in charge of detainee affairs said a new approach for handling Iraqi prisoners is paying off with intelligence and reconciliation. Marine Maj. Gen. Douglas Stone outlined several...

Sistani meets U.N. officials in Najaf.
March 13, 2008... NAJAF, Iraq, March 13 (UPI) -- Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali al-Sistani stressed the need for reconciliation and free and fair Iraqi elections in a meeting with senior U.N. officials. Sistani met with head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in...

Iraqi forces kill al-Qaida commander.
March 13, 2008... TIKRIT, Iraq, March 13 (UPI) -- Iraqi and Sons of Iraq forces conducted operations near the Iraqi city of Tikrit Thursday, killing a suspected al-Qaida commander. Intelligence reports indicated an al-Qaida commander, Ghazwn al-Jarad, was...

Iraq Press Roundup.
March 13, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD Kitabat newspaper carried an editorial Thursday with the title, "The most dangerous dictatorship possible in the South of Iraq." It said that five years ago the term "dictatorship" used to be used frequently to...

Talvitie calls for Armenian dialogue.
March 13, 2008... VIENNA, March 13 (UPI) -- OSCE officials are calling on the U.S. government to end the Armenian conflict with opposition leaders. Special envoy of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe chairman-in-office, Ambassador Heikki...

Analysis: Iraq progress missing women.
March 14, 2008... Byline: BEN LANDO WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- Iraqi women say they are increasingly targeted for anything from their clothes to driving to attending school, as society shifts from Saddam Hussein's brutality to one facing violence in the...

Dogs of War: Employees, what employees?
March 14, 2008... Byline: DAVID ISENBERG WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- Articles about private military or security contractors have a depressing tendency to be formulaic. They are predictably mistrustful of business, suspicious of people carrying guns and...

Outside View: Iran upstages U.S. in Iraq.
March 14, 2008... Byline: LEON HADAR WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- They say a picture is worth a thousand words. And the image of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad glowing -- radiating a Bush-like smugness, some might say -- during a red-carpet welcome...

India sets up security commission.
March 14, 2008... NEW DELHI, March 14 (UPI) -- The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has set up a security commission to deal with terrorism and human rights. The state government said the move was aimed at improving the work culture of the police in the state...

India, Israel discuss counter-terrorism.
March 14, 2008... NEW DELHI, March 14 (UPI) -- India said it held detailed talks with Israel on issues relating to counter-terrorism. The two nations concluded the seventh meeting of the joint working group on counter-terrorism and the fourth meeting on...

Commentary: Fox Fallon's fall.
March 14, 2008... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- The abrupt resignation of Middle Eastern commander Adm. William J. "Fox" Fallon over a controversial interview and profile in Esquire magazine was a carefully choreographed exit...

Analysis: Chad eyes China role in conflict.
March 14, 2008... Byline: ADELIA SAUNDERS UNITED NATIONS, March 14 (UPI) -- Rebel forces have attacked N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, twice in the past two years, and each time the world's eyes turned to Beijing. At the time of the first attacks in...

U.S. has bin Laden's translator in custody.
March 14, 2008... WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- U.S. authorities have transferred to the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a man they say was a translator for Osama bin Laden. Afghan national Muhammed Rahim was turned over to the U.S....

Ban calls for greater cooperation with OIC.
March 14, 2008... DAKAR, Senegal, March 14 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in Senegal Thursday that the U.N. and the Organization of the Islamic Conference must work together to combat terrorism. Ban attended the OIC's summit in Dakar,...

Eastern Chad refugees pose serious concern.
March 14, 2008... N'DJAMENA, Chad, March 14 (UPI) -- U.N. officials say the thousands of refugees and displaced people who have fled violence in Darfur and Chad are posing serious humanitarian concerns. Kingsley Amaning, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for...

U.N. demands surrender of Rwandan rebels.
March 14, 2008... UNITED NATIONS, March 14 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council has passed a resolution demanding that Rwandan armed rebel groups surrender immediately to Congolese authorities. The unanimously passed resolution is an effort to halt the...

Bill would ban import of nuclear waste.
March 14, 2008... WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- A senior member of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee has introduced a bill that would prevent the importation of foreign-generated nuclear waste. U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., is urging lawmakers...

Canine units to sniff out explosives.
March 14, 2008... WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Transportation Security Administration announced a new security initiative with the launch of a canine explosives detection program. TSA officials say more than 400 explosives detection canine teams...

DHS sets up cyber dbase for private sector.
March 14, 2008... WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is setting up an online database of computer network usage information to improve cybersecurity in the private sector. The database, to be called the Protected...

Iraqi girls' school goes online.
March 14, 2008... AL KUT, Iraq, March 14 (UPI) -- Although many major buildings in Iraq are outdated or suffered damage from the war, an all-girls school got an upgrade with computers and Internet service. As part of a women's program working with the Wasit...

Iraqi army uncovers insurgents' weapons.
March 14, 2008... HILLAH, Iraq, March 14 (UPI) -- Iraqi security forces Friday uncovered several weapons caches and arrested several members of a group believed to be behind roadside bomb attacks. An Iraqi army unit operating near Hillah, about 60 miles...

Talabani calls for foreign investments.
March 14, 2008... ERBIL, Iraq, March 14 (UPI) -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani addressed a delegation of Arab leaders on the final day of a summit in Erbil, calling for increased foreign investment. Talabani addressed a delegation from the United Arab...

U.N. picks Iraqi electoral directors.
March 14, 2008... BAGHDAD, March 14 (UPI) -- The U.N. mission in Iraq said it completed screening applications for director positions with the provincial electoral offices. A panel of international experts working with the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq...

Iraqi judges set to return to duty.
March 14, 2008... SALMAN PAK, Iraq, March 14 (UPI) -- The security situation and progress on the reconstruction front allowed a group of Iraqi judges to review a new government center in Salman Pak. Several area judges in the community, located about 50...

Analysis: Tibet crackdown spreads to Web.
March 17, 2008... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, March 17 (UPI) -- The Chinese authorities' crackdown on Tibetan protests spread to the Internet at the weekend, with censors blocking YouTube and other sites as the Dalai Lama accused the regime of...

German-Turk did Afghan suicide attack.
March 17, 2008... BERLIN, March 17 (UPI) -- Authorities are investigating whether a recent suicide attack in Afghanistan was staged by a German-born Turk, reports at the weekend said. Der Spiegel reported that Berlin's Joint Counter-Terrorism Center, known...

Analysis: Iraq, 5 years and gaffes later.
March 17, 2008... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, March 17 (UPI) -- This Wednesday will mark the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Five years during which time America has been at war; make that wars, in the plural. While Iraq, due to the sheer...

Analyst: Taliban will exploit Dutch film.
March 17, 2008... WASHINGTON, March 17 (UPI) -- The Taliban are exploiting popular anger in Afghanistan about a forthcoming Dutch film attacking the Koran, leading to security fears for Dutch troops there. In an analysis from a new Afghan think tank, the...

India to cut army in anti-insurgency ops.
March 17, 2008... NEW DELHI, March 17 (UPI) -- India said it is trying to reduce the use of the army in anti-insurgent operations in the country. Defense Minister A.K. Antony told Parliament Monday the government was making efforts to keep deployment of the...

Indian ordnance firms ink foreign pacts.
March 17, 2008... NEW DELHI, March 17 (UPI) -- India said it has allowed major ordnance factories to have advanced-technology tie-ups with foreign companies. The move was allowed to enable state-run ordnance factories to roll out advanced lightweight...

Commentary: Demonocracy, not democracy.
March 17, 2008... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, March 17 (UPI) -- Washington's Pakistan kibitzers will soon rue the day they squeezed President Pervez Musharraf to restore democracy. "Demonocracy" is what has now emerged, or an unholy alliance of...

U.K. prime minister to get U.S.-style NSC.
March 17, 2008... LONDON, March 17 (UPI) -- The British Prime Minister will this week unveil a U.S.-style National Security Council of politicians and officials, a newspaper reported Monday. The Daily Telegraph said the new body, "based on the U.S....

Walker's World: China in Tibet.
March 17, 2008... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, March 17 (UPI) -- One sobering aspect of the tragedy of Tibet is to consider a list of the places in the world where abuses of human rights are most common. Darfur in Sudan, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Myanmar...

Iraq Press Roundup.
March 17, 2008... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD In its editorial "Moqtada has awakened," Kitabat newspaper addressed Moqtada Sadr's realization that his Mahdi Army was deepening sectarian divisions. It said this realization, though late, is positive compared to...

Operations break up bomb-making network.
March 17, 2008... LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, March 17 (UPI) -- Recent coalition forces operations in Afghanistan's volatile Khowst and Helmand provinces broke up a militant bomb-making network. Officials say the operations led to the death of a number of...

Afghanistan will require perseverance.
March 17, 2008... OTTAWA, March 17 (UPI) -- Despite recent threats of a Canadian troop pullout from Afghanistan, Canada's top defense official says rebuilding the country will require perseverance. Canadian Minister of National Defense and Minister of the...

Local Afghans, key to success.
March 17, 2008... KABUL, Afghanistan, March 17 (UPI) -- British troops say the success they've achieved recently against the Taliban in Afghanistan has come from partnering with local citizens. British troops from Number One Company, 1st Battalion Coldstream...

U.N. urges Serbian commitment to mandate.
March 17, 2008... BELGRADE, Serbia, March 17 (UPI) -- A top U.N. official is calling on the Serbian government to end violations against pledges to the U.N. mandate in Kosovo. Larry Rossin, the U.N. secretary-general's deputy special representative,...

International engagement in Sudan urged.
March 17, 2008... BRUSSELS, March 17 (UPI) -- A new International Crisis Group report says that without international engagement, the conflict between the North and South of Sudan will remain unstable. The report titled "Sudan's Comprehensive Peace...

Iraqi forces uncover 'significant' cache.
March 17, 2008... BAGHDAD, March 17 (UPI) -- Special Iraqi security divisions uncovered a weapons cache and arrested several suspects in a roadside bombing ring in various raids. An Iraqi Special Weapons and Tactics team operating in the northern Ninawa...

Baghdad boys' school opens.
March 17, 2008... BAGHDAD, March 17 (UPI) -- Progress on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of a boys' school in Baghdad moved along quickly enough to reopen the school a month ahead of schedule. Insurgent violence in the capital city last summer...