UPI International Intelligence articles from November 2007

UPI International Intelligence archives from November 2007

Atlantic Eye: Wisdom from the street.
November 1, 2007... Byline: MARC S. ELLENBOGEN TORONTO, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- A few weeks ago, on one of my regular visits to the United Kingdom, I found myself talking to the cabbie driving me through London. He asked me if I was from the United States. I said...

Analysis: India's anti-bioterror plan.
November 1, 2007... Byline: KUSHAL JEENA NEW DELHI, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- India has set up a group of experts to formulate a plan to counter the threat of biological terrorism. "Intelligence on terror strikes will remain with the concerned central security...

Analysis: 84 days with the Taliban.
November 1, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- A German man who was the Taliban's hostage for three months has for the first time spoken about his ordeal. It's a tale of terrorism, corruption and psychological warfare up in the mountains of...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 1, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- The Sunni Al Basaer newspaper Thursday criticized Iraq's Kurds in an editorial. "We need to make it clear that the Kurds have outlined their agenda since the U.S.-Iraq clashes in 1991 and...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 2, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Al Sabah newspaper in an editorial Friday said the U.S. strategy in the region in general and in Iraq in particular was built on securing long-term U.S. interests that "ensure to it and its...

Commentary: Geopolitical nightmare.
November 5, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- One of the world's eight nuclear powers, Pakistan is now a failing state out of control where Taliban, al-Qaida and their supporters have secured their privileged sanctuaries in the...

Walker's World: A desperate Musharraf.
November 5, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- The declaration of emergency rule in Pakistan has not resolved the country's deep political and constitutional crisis. It may not even long delay the inevitable climax. There are now...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 5, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Al Sabah newspaper carried an article with the headline "A seminar on Bremer's year in Iraq." It said the political studies department at Al Nahrein University in Baghdad held a seminar on...

Analysis: Germany to stay in Middle East.
November 5, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Germany is not presenting exit strategies for its stability missions in Lebanon and Afghanistan, despite worsening security in the region. The German public, it seems, will have to get used to...

Analysis: Say when, madam secretary.
November 6, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has borrowed a chapter or two from Henry Kissinger's book of applied negotiations as she headed back out to the Middle East for her eighth visit to...

Analysis: India lures Maoists with money.
November 7, 2007... Byline: KUSHAL JEENA NEW DELHI, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- The Indian state of Jharkhand, which has been hit by Maoist violence, has formulated a surrender policy for rebels under which former militants will be paid a monthly salary along with a...

Analysis: PKK issue clouds Turkish EU bid.
November 7, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Turkey's conflict with Kurdish rebels has managed to undermine the country's chances for swift EU membership. On Tuesday, the European Union sent some strong signals in Ankara's direction,...

Walker's World: Franco-Pak-Turk connection.
November 7, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Three big international issues have dominated U.S. President George Bush's agenda this week. The first was the crisis in Pakistan after Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared emergency rule...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 7, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- The Kurdish Al Ahali Newspaper carried an editorial today titled "The U.S. policy toward the Kurds: Between yesterday and today." It detailed President Nixon's visit to Tehran in 1972, when...

Commentary: New terrorist nexus.
November 8, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Iraq and President Bush's war on terrorism -- and Washington's inability to focus on more than one major foreign crisis at a time -- have overshadowed the geographic nexus of...

Outside View: Pakistan army rule or chaos?
November 8, 2007... Byline: PYOTR GONCHAROV MOSCOW, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday in an attempt to stop his opponents, who actually made him face a choice between dictatorship...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 8, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- The Association of Muslim Scholars' Al Basaer newspaper carried an editorial with the headline "America attempts to improve its image for the world." In details, the paper said people hate...

Analysis: Niger Delta hopeful for now.
November 9, 2007... Byline: CARMEN GENTILE PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- One the streets of Potts Johnson, a Port Harcourt neighborhood where gang violence and gunfire are considered the normal fare, a guarded sense of hope has emerged among some...

Analysis: Georgia in turmoil.
November 9, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Georgia's political crisis took a surprising turn when its pro-Western leader Mikheil Saakashvili Thursday announced early presidential elections. The Georgian president announced early...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 9, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The Iraqi, Saudi-based Al Basaer newspaper carried an editorial Friday with the headline: "The U.S. swirl in Iraq between withdrawing and staying." It said the U.S. "bleeding" continues as...

Analysis: Egypt sees another war on terror.
November 12, 2007... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN CAIRO, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- The leaders of Egypt, one of the key U.S. allies in its war on terrorism, see that conflict in a very different way than U.S. policymakers do. U.S. officials have repeatedly talked about a...

Atlantic Eye: Radek Sikorski's patriotism.
November 12, 2007... Byline: MARC S. ELLENBOGEN LONDON, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- The people of Poland have spoken. Thankfully, they have dumped Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his xenophobic Law and Justice Party, or PiS, for Donald Tusk. Tusk is the head of the centrist,...

Analysis: Biothreats in the Middle East.
November 12, 2007... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A conference in Abu Dhabi opening Monday will examine the preparedness of Middle Eastern nations to deal with biosecurity threats, aiming to boost their capabilities to respond to a...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 12, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Shabab al-Iraq newspaper carried an editorial Monday with the headline: "Bush: The worst president in the U.S." It said President Bush had frustrated his people more than any other...

Analysis: Nigeria sees al-Qaida oil threat.
November 12, 2007... PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Nigerian Security officials say they foiled a terrorist plot that included bombing attacks by suspects linked to al-Qaida, officials said Monday. The undisclosed number of suspects were arrested over...

Walker's World: Kabuki in Karachi?
November 13, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER NEW YORK, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Pakistanis have learned to be cynical about the conduct of their politicians and about the promises of their generals. And they know the difference, having spent 32 of the 60 years since...

Analysis: Attacks on education up.
November 13, 2007... Byline: ADELIA SAUNDERS UNITED NATIONS, N.Y., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Targeted attacks against students, teachers and school facilities around the world have spiked in recent years, perpetuating conflicts, stalling reconstruction efforts and...

Analysis: Poppy project controversial.
November 13, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Afghan villages could grow opium poppy legally to produce medicines -- that's the proposal of the Senlis Council, a U.K.-based think tank. While the idea has the backing of the European...

Feature: Marines target smugglers.
November 13, 2007... Byline: RICHARD TOMKINS CAMP RIPPER, Iraq, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- As insurgent and terrorist violence in western Anbar province continues to fall, a small band of U.S. Marines at Al Asad Air Base are increasingly drawing their beads on bands of...

Analysis: In the shah's footsteps?
November 13, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A close adviser to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf promises full democracy will return to Pakistan by February 2008. However, given today's prevailing political climate, much can...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 13, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Kul Al Iraq newspaper carried an editorial Tuesday with the headline, "The PKK and Mujahedin Khalq." It said that an agreement between U.S. President Bush and Turkish Prime Minister Recep...

Walker's World: Will Europe fight?
November 14, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy is offering a dramatic change in French strategic policy and a new embrace of the NATO alliance -- but only at a price. The price is that the 27-member...

Outside View: Saakashvili's Tbilisi gamble.
November 14, 2007... Byline: BESIK PIPIA MOSCOW, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Protesters crowded in front of the Georgian Parliament for six days, chanting: "Misha, tsadi!" (Step down, Mike!). President Mikheil Saakashvili has astonishingly followed the advice and is...

Analysis: Fraud doubts CIA, FBI security.
November 14, 2007... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- A midlevel CIA operations officer and former FBI special agent pleaded guilty Tuesday to fraudulently obtaining her U.S. citizenship and to using her access to FBI computers to check on...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 14, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Shabab Al Iraq carried an editorial Wednesday with the headline "Bush administration wraps its waist with an explosives belt." It said the Bush administration hurt the United States in the...

Commentary: Know your enemy.
November 15, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Radical Islam, or Islamo-fascism as conservatives are prone to call it, conveys the impression of a political movement. It is no such animal. Al-Qaida's suicide bombers and assorted...

Outside View: Azerbaijan's Iran problem?
November 15, 2007... Byline: PAUL GOBLE VIENNA, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Azerbaijanis, among the most secular people in the Muslim world, have long self-confidently joked that even Osama bin Laden could not put a chador on an Azerbaijani woman. But recent events...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 15, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- The Hezbollah-backed, Basra-based Al Baina newspaper in an editorial Thursday titled "U.S. State Department's performance will restrict the next president's identity" said the issue of Iraq...

Analysis: EU force may reach Chad in Jan.
November 16, 2007... Byline: LEANDER SCHAERLAECKENS BRUSSELS, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- EU security forces are gearing up to assist NATO and African Union troops in securing refugee camps in eastern Chad and the Central African Republic that are home to millions...

Analysis: Minorities panel blasts India.
November 16, 2007... Byline: KUSHAL JEENA NEW DELHI, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- An Indian government-backed report has accused a state government of torture, comparing Andhra Pradesh's treatment of terrorist-bombing suspects to tales from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "The...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 16, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Al Sabah Al Jadeed Newspaper said Friday in an editorial titled "Who can open the U.S. door for Iraqi refugees" that displacement and immigration has been one of Iraq's many nightmares. ...

Walker's World: Iran's baby bust.
November 19, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The most dramatic demographic shift in human history appears to be taking place in today's Iran. Thirty years ago, as the shah was being driven into exile and the Islamic republic was...

Analysis: Problems for former dictators.
November 19, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The Bush administration has kicked into high gear its diplomatic efforts to end the political crisis in Pakistan by dispatching John Negroponte, its seasoned and second-highest ranking...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 19, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- In an editorial titled "U.S. policy in Iraq could aid Iran," Shabab Al Iraq newspaper on Monday quoted the International Crisis Group as saying President Bush's support to the Supreme Iraqi...

Analysis: Teatime war in Afghanistan?
November 20, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The German army has refuted accusations its helicopters left Norwegian and Afghan troops alone in a battle in order to make it to home base before dusk, but the incident still underscores how...

Analysis: Swiss uranium for Iran?
November 20, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Is the proposal to have Iran enrich uranium in Switzerland a way out of the international crisis sparked by Tehran's nuclear program? Most experts don't think so, but the Swiss may be of other...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 20, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The Kurdish Al Itihad Newspaper said Tuesday in its editorial titled "The military and politics" that the U.S. military has been repeating its criticism of the Iraqi government in a way that...

Walker's World: A Mideast nuclear war?
November 21, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Anthony Cordesman may be the most influential man in Washington that most people have never heard of. A former director of intelligence assessment for the secretary of defense and director...

Analysis: No more oranges for Iran.
November 21, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Europe is increasingly willing to agree to harsher economic sanctions against Iran, which seems to be the price to pay to prevent a U.S. military strike against the Islamic republic. ...

Outside View: Iran nuclear divisions.
November 21, 2007... Byline: PYOTR GONCHAROV MOSCOW, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- For the first time, divisions within the Iranian political elite over its nuclear program are starting to emerge into the open. Former presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 21, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Shabab Al Iraq newspaper carried an editorial Thursday titled "Will Iraqi forces succeed in suppressing the violence around Baghdad?" "Today, in a widespread security operation, Iraqi...

Analysis: Delta funding not just for arms.
November 21, 2007... Byline: CARMEN GENTILE PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- The Nigerian government is denying speculation that large sums of the 2008 budget earmarked for security in the Niger Delta will go toward arms for the military in its ongoing...

Feature: Marines build ties in Anbar.
November 23, 2007... Byline: RICHARD TOMKINS AL ASAD, Iraq, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- From a height of 500 feet, the topographical features of western Anbar province are almost indistinguishable -- mile upon mile of hard, flat Earth, only broken by an occasional oasis,...

Analysis: Iraqi refugees forced into sex.(Reprint)
November 23, 2007... Byline: ALICE NASCIMENTO UNITED NATIONS, N.Y., Nov. 23 (UPI) -- From the sharp decline in civilian and U.S. soldier deaths to the notable drop in rocket and mortar attacks, the good news coming out of Iraq has left many optimistic about...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 23, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Shabab Al Iraq carried an editorial with the headline "Analysis of the reasons for the improvement in the security situation in Iraq." It said that in order to accurately diagnose the...

Commentary: New geoeconomic paradigm.
November 26, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- In Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and the Far East, the correlation of geoeconomic forces appears to be moving against the United States. And greed, the Rh-negative...

Walker's World: Sarko's semi-victory.
November 26, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER PARIS, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- The trains in France are running on time again, mostly. The strikers are going back to work, mostly, having failed to win public support for their battle against the government's plans to...

Analysis: Lebanon's un-independence.
November 26, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- The deadline set by the Lebanese Constitution for the country's Parliament to elect a new president expired at midnight Friday. No consensus was reached, and the departing president,...

Analysis: Last chance for deal on Kosovo.
November 26, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA MUNICH, Germany, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Serbian and Kosovar leaders Monday began a final attempt to resolve the status of the breakaway Serbian province, but there is little hope for a breakthrough. The three-day summit...

Atlantic Eye: Howard's painful finale.
November 26, 2007... Byline: MARC S. ELLENBOGEN SEATTLE, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- The writing had been on the wall for more than a year. But even 48 hours ago I did not quite believe that Prime Minister Howard would lose the Australian federal elections. I certainly...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 26, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Al Mada newspaper in an editorial Monday headlined "When is the U.S. going to admit that Israel has nuclear weapons?" said Iran was not the country creating an "arms race" in the region. ...

Feature: Palestinian pocket in Iraq chaos.
November 27, 2007... Byline: RICHARD TOMKINS AL-WALEED, Iraq, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- In a barren corner of Iraq's Anbar province, nearly 2,000 Palestinians have sought safety in a makeshift, trash-strewn camp from what they say is anti-Palestinian violence in...

Outside View: Steps toward an EU-NATO link.
November 27, 2007... Byline: DANIEL KORSKI BRUSSELS, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- NATO and the European Union have a new opportunity to collaborate in ways that would help both organizations deal with fragile and failing states. But it will require practical steps to...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 27, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- The Baghdad-based Al Mada newspaper carried an editorial Tuesday with the headline: "The U.S. occupation and dealing with sectarianism." "Every logical study of the state of Iraq's future...

Commentary: Osama's echo chamber.
November 28, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- What do the Archbishop of Canterbury, Patrick J. Buchanan and Osama bin Laden have in common? All three believe America is on a path to national suicide. Bin Laden, of course, is...

Analysis: New Internet security threats.
November 28, 2007... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- A new survey of Internet security threats says the biggest problem faced by U.S. companies and government agencies is the growing sophistication of cyber-criminals and spies, who are...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 28, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- The Saudi-based Al Basaer newspaper in an editorial Wednesday said those who accept the occupation and help its goals won't find a way to escape a fall. "We see them more desirous to...

Analysis: Russia's referendum for Putin.
November 29, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- The Russian parliamentary elections this Sunday have turned into a referendum on the future of President Vladimir Putin, and for that matter, the entire country. Russia, aided by its vast...

Feature: U.S. works hearts, minds.
November 29, 2007... Byline: RICHARD TOMKINS RUTBAH, Iraq, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- The United States is in perhaps its most difficult phase to date in the war and occupation of Iraq -- counterinsurgency and all the strategy and tactics it entails. On the one...

Verasun and U.S. BioEnergy to merge.
November 29, 2007... BROOKINGS, S.D., Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Verasun Energy Corp. and U.S. BioEnergy Corp. are entering into a merger agreement. The ethanol producers announced they have entered into an all-stock definitive merger agreement, which has been...

Outside View: Euro thaw not what it seems.
November 30, 2007... Byline: LEON HADAR WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Against the backdrop of the warm welcome bestowed by President Bush upon German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy during their recent U.S. visits, American pundits...

Outside View: Kosovo eyes independence.
November 30, 2007... Byline: YELENA SHESTERNINA MOSCOW, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- The last-ditch attempt to reconcile Serb and ethnic Albanian leaders in the Austrian resort city of Baden has proven to be a total failure. The mediating Troika -- Russia, the...

Analysis: Military deal far off for Koreas.
November 30, 2007... Byline: LEE JONG-HEON SEOUL, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- North and South Korea have a long way to go to end military tensions across their heavily fortified border despite progress on nuclear disarmament in the communist country. The two Koreas...

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 30, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Kitabat newspaper in an editorial headlined "Long-term occupation" on Thursday said Iraqi politicians on Nov. 26 signed a cooperation statement with the United States on the long-term U.S....

Iraq Press Roundup.
November 30, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Shabab Al Iraq newspaper carried an editorial Friday with the headline: "Annapolis: Another chance Arabs grant to U.S. and Israel." It said Arab governments have been waiting for several...

Feature: Iraq transition coaching not easy.
November 30, 2007... Byline: RICHARD TOMKINS AL-WALEED, Iraq, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- The Pentagon's intent to have more U.S. units train and mentor their Iraqi counterparts underlines the new phase of operations in the country and should be good news to those who...

Outside View: Iran war dangers.
November 30, 2007... Byline: ALEXANDER KOLDOBSKY MOSCOW, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Nicolas Sarkozy recently said in Washington that the Iranian nuclear problem could be solved through U.N. and EU sanctions, but hastened to add a reservation about the "readiness for a...