Free Republic

ALGIERS, Algeria - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held meetings Saturday with terrorism-fighting allies in North Africa, a region of growing strategic importance. After talks with Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci in this vital oil- and gas-producing nation, Rice planned to see President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Her visit comes as Algeria has experienced a surge in terrorist attacks, most claimed by a local extremist group that has linked with al-Qaida.

Talks this week on the reunification of Cyprus look more hopeful than many would have dared to think possible. But the discovery of remains from some of those killed during the 1974 Turkish invasion is refreshing old grievances, as Tabitha Morgan reports. (snip) On 21 December 1963 Mustafa Arif, a senior officer at Nicosia prison, was admitted to hospital in what is today the Greek Cypriot side of the city to be treated for a heart condition. By the next day relations between the two communities had collapsed. Riots broke out in Nicosia, shops were looted and burned and the...

Africa Becoming a Biofuel Battleground By Horand Knaup Western companies are pushing to acquire vast stretches of African land to meet the world's biofuel needs. Local farmers and governments are being showered with promises. But is this just another form of economic colonialism? Everything will turn out alright. Correction: everything is going to get better. There will be new roads, a new school, a pharmacy, even a proper water supply. Most of all, there will be jobs -- 5,000, at the very least. "If there are jobs for us, then it's a good thing," says Juma Njagu, 26, who hopes...

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan reserves the right to appropriately retaliate against unilateral attacks by coalition forces from Afghanistan, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Tariq Majid said on Friday. “Pakistan reserves the right to appropriately retaliate in future,” General Tariq told German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung who called on him at the Joint Staff Headquarters. Condemning the attack by US forces at Angoor Ada, the CJCSC said such cross-border strikes would alienate locals. General Tariq said that Afghanistan was levelling allegations against Pakistan to cover its failures.

Israel too vulnerable to think of Iran attack More News: www.balitapinoy.net Israel is too vulnerable to think of Iran attack, government spokesman, Gholam-Hossein Elham, said on Saturday. He made the remarks commenting on a recent statement made by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France in Syria who had said Iran was at risk of being attacked by Israel. Speaking to reporters at his weekly press conference, Elham said statements such as what was made by President Sarkozy had rooted from "weakness." "Such remarks prove the Israeli war-mongering and terrorist nature which uses every chance to pose threat to the global security,"...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing on Saturday in a rare visit to China coinciding with the start of the Paralympic Games. Hu said in welcoming words to Ahmadinejad at the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square that the two would discuss Sino-Iranian relations, among other issues, during their meeting. "I would like to further exchange opinions with you Mr President about issues like Sino-Iranian relations," Hu told the Iranian President. "I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank you and other Iranian leaders for the assistance your government provided...

"When it comes to action over Georgia, Russia has the European Union over a barrel. In fact, 1.2 million barrels. That’s how much Russian crude is pumped westward every day down the Druzhba pipeline to fuel Europe’s economies.” So began an article in The International Herald Tribune, one of many last week explaining why Europe — and the west — has little choice but to sacrifice parts of Georgia, and maybe a lot more, to Russia’s ambitions. “Russia knows that when it comes to conducting a serious foreign and security policy, Europe is all mouth,” says Lord Chris Patten, the...

The 10 most decadent dictators A revolving gold statue, pink champagne and a "Pleasure Brigade" of nubile retainers all feature in Times Money's list of history's most decadent dictators. While their people suffered, these men - and sometimes their wives and children - agonised over how best to spend their ill-gotten gains... 1. Kim Jong-il, "Dear Leader" of North Korea since 1994. The son of the communist state's "Great Leader" Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il has super-expensive tastes, with 17 palaces, and collections of hundreds of cars and around 20,000 video tapes. On one state visit to Russia, he reportedly had...

MoD breaches EU rules by training Chinese officer Michael Smith THE government has breached EU rules banning military cooperation with China by allowing a Chinese army officer to study at Sandhurst. Officer Cadet Liu Liu, who graduated from the Royal Military Academy last month, has spent the past year training alongside British army cadets. A second Chinese People's Liberation Army officer is expected to join the new intake at Sandhurst this week. The move will infuriate the US which has warned that a relaxation of the EU arms embargo to allow training would help China to work out ways of...

Taipei, Sept 03: Taiwan called on Wednesday for expansion in cooperation on oil exploration and development with China amid warming ties between the two rivals. The CPC Corp, Taiwan, the island's state-run oil refiner, said it has proposed to work with China's CNOOC Ltd to explore possible oil reserves in the East China Sea. "We have expressed the willingness to CNOOC to work together in the East China Sea," CPC Vice President Chu Shao-hua told media. "CPC is waiting for CNOOC's response, hoping both sides will kick off talks on the proposal," he said. CPC and CNOOC set up a...

During a firefight, Americans called airstrikes on soldiers from Pakistan.The mystery was solved by residents. “When Americans started bombing the Taliban, the Frontier Corps started shooting at the Americans,”.Pakistan's wild, ungoverned tribal areas have become an untouchable base.The survival of Pakistan’s leaders depended on a double game: assuring the US they were vigorously repressing Islamic militants while simultaneously assisting them.It reaps billions in aid to boost the Pakistani economy and military and Islamist proxies.What happens when the bluff no longer works?To great fanfare, the Pakistani military began a decisive offensive to rout the Taliban.A few days into the operation, I...

In combative mood the US Vice-President stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the besieged Georgian President Dick Cheney delivered a bellicose warning to Russia yesterday during a brief visit to war-torn Georgia, promising that America's small Caucasus ally would one day join the Nato alliance . In combative mood, the US Vice-President stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Mikhail Saakashvili, the Georgian President, and bluntly reinforced Russia's worst fears — that Washington would not stop pushing for Georgian membership in Nato. He also attacked Moscow for trying to redraw the country's borders by force. “Georgia will be in our alliance,” he said, in defiance of the...

Journalist Bob Woodward discusses "secret operational capabilities" against militia and insurgent leaders in Iraq, and spying on Iraq's prime minister.

Russia's role in the Iran crisis By Ray Takeyh and Nikolas Gvosdev September 6, 2008 IT IS ONE of the rites of passage of the fall - every September, the Bush administration returns to the United Nation for another sanctions resolution against Iran. However, this time there is much consternation in Washington that Russia's invasion of Georgia - and the subsequent chill that has descended on relations between Russia and the West - has ended any possibility of cooperation between the United States and Russia in dealing with Iran's nuclear imbroglio. Such fears are overblown. Russia's assault on Georgia may...

ABOARD THE USS MOUNT WHITNEY (AP) — The flagship of the U.S. Navy's Mediterranean fleet has delivered 17 tons of humanitarian aid to a strategic Georgian port — and Russian troops have been watching every move. (snip) U.S. Naval officers say a Russian warship trailed the American ship across the Black Sea. They also say Russian military forces onshore were keeping a close eye on the Mount Whitney from a position just 3 miles away...

Iran dismissed on Saturday a warning by France's president that the Islamic Republic was taking a dangerous gamble over its nuclear program because one day its arch-foe Israel could strike. Government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham accused Israel of threatening global peace but reiterated Tehran's publicly stated view that it was not in a position to attack Iran. Separately, a senior commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying that new long-range missiles had strengthened Iran's defensive capabilities.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, visiting Libya, said on Thursday that Iran and North Korea should emulate Libya’s example. What she meant by that was, like Libya, they should reach an accommodation with the United States while abandoning policies that the United States opposes. That seems like a fairly uninteresting statement, except for the fact that Iran was mentioned. We have heard nothing from the Bush administration on Iran since before the war in Georgia — although a State Department official told us on Thursday that the last official statement was issued by the U.S. Treasury on Aug. 12....

MOSCOW — Russia’s stock market is suffering its worst correction in nearly a decade as sliding oil prices, political attacks on private companies and instability after last month’s war in Georgia spook investors. On a bad day globally for stocks, Russia’s markets took an exceptional fall Friday. The Russian Trading System index lost 7.6 percent and recovered later to close down 4.45 percent after rumors circulated that the government would use state oil money to halt the decline. A Russian central bank official said the bank had sold large amounts of foreign currency a day earlier to shore up the...

After further falls on Friday, the Russian stock market has plunged more than 30% since the country's invasion of Georgia last month. Investor confidence has been hit hard by the conflict. Some international banks estimating that between up to $20bn (£11bn)in foreign capital has been pulled out of Russia in the last month alone. Since the invasion the value of the rouble has slumped, reportedly leading to the central bank stepping in. So whereas Russia may have got away with a slap on the wrist from Europe for its invasion, Moscow is being punished much more directly by international investors....

UPI's Arnaud De Borchgrave is reporting that one of the reasons that Russia started a war with Georgia last month was as a pretext to raid two airfields that Tbilisi allowed Israel to use as forward bases for an attack against Iran's nuclear facilities. In a secret agreement between Israel and Georgia, two military airfields in southern Georgia had been earmarked for the use of Israeli fighter-bombers in the event of pre-emptive attacks against Iranian nuclear installations. This would sharply reduce the distance Israeli fighter-bombers would have to fly to hit targets in Iran. And to reach Georgian airstrips, the...

So Far, It Just Isn't Looking Like Asia's Century By Joshua Kurlantzick Sunday, September 7, 2008; Page B03 So much for the Asian century. The Thais are bickering with themselves, and when they're done doing that, they'll bicker with the Cambodians -- again. China may be Japan's biggest trading partner, but they hate each other anyway. Malaysia and Indonesia? Two countries divided by the same language. I've spent a lot of time in Asia over the past decade, as an expat and a traveler. From where I stand, the place is a geopolitical mess. Hogtied by nationalism and narrow self-interest,...

Zardari wins Pakistan presidential election: officials 46 minutes ago ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, was elected president of Pakistan on Saturday, officials said.

/begin my translation Kim Jong-il's Health Issue Resurfaces Out of public view for three weeks Five Chinese doctors sent to N. Korea Ahn Yong-hyon Kim Jong-il(age:66) has not been seen in public for three weeks. With the report of five Chinese doctors being dispatched to N. Korea, a possibility is being raised again that there is a problem with Kim's health. Kim dropped out of public view after KCNA reported in Aug. 14 that he inspected KPA Unit 1319. He has maintained active public schedule lately, 11 public appearances in June, 16 in July, and 13 in August. Government sources...

Iran says oil price is right at $100 a barrel Angela Jameson Pressure for a cut in oil output at next week's Opec meeting in Vienna stepped up today when Iran’s Opec governor said an oil price of $100 per barrel was “appropriate” in current conditions. Mohammad Ali Khatibi made his comments as the price of Brent crude fell by $1.77 to $104.30 today while US oil also declined to $106.12. Oil is now trading nearly 30 per cent lower than its peak of $147.27 on July 11. Mr Khatibi also reiterated Iran’s view that Opec's 13 members, who are...

$19bn taken out of country since invasion of Georgia began on August 8 For Russia's leadership, it seemed everything had gone right. In three weeks, the country had invaded Georgia, crushed its military and defied international opinion by recognising the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Western threats came to nothing. Russia's attack on Georgia went unpunished. But victory has been undermined by an alarming flight of capital. Analysts estimate that, since the war began on August 8, $19bn (£10.7bn) has been withdrawn from the country. The Kremlin is also facing other economic problems. They include a rapid drop...

US Vice-President Dick Cheney has said Ukraine has the right to live without fear of invasion, adding that the US stands by its bid for Nato membership. Mr Cheney met both the prime minister and president in Kiev, the last stop of a tour aimed at underlining support for US allies in the former Soviet Union. Mr Cheney reassured the president that the US had a "deep and abiding interest" in Ukraine's security. Analysts fear Ukraine could be the next flashpoint between Russia and the West. "We believe in the right of men and women to live without the threat...

The European Union has wobbled woefully, yet Russia too will pay dearly for its Georgian adventure IT IS now close to a month since the reckless Georgian effort to retake breakaway South Ossetia by force sparked off what Russia is now calling its August war. There is no new iron curtain descending across Europe, no ideologically based “new cold war”; but there is a deep, wounding division that stretches far beyond wrecked Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, from Tallinn on the Baltic to Tbilisi and beyond, the violence of the past month, along with Russia’s assertions...

A US Navy flagship carrying humanitarian aid yesterday steamed into a Georgian port where Russian troops are still stationed, stoking tensions once again in the tinderbox Caucasus region. A previous trip by US warships was cancelled at the last minute a week ago amid fears that an armed stand-off could intensify in the Black Sea port of Poti. The arrival of the USS Mount Whitney, flagship of the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, came as Moscow accused Dick Cheney, the hawkish US Vice-President, of stoking tensions during a visit to Tbilisi this week. After meeting President Saakashvili, Mr Cheney vowed...

A US warship anchored at the disputed Georgian port of Poti as Russia declared it would not challenge Nato vessels bringing relief to the beleaguered democracy through the Black Sea. The USS Whitney, flagship of America's Mediterranean Sixth Fleet, arrived in the port which was bombed and occupied by Russian forces during the incursion into Georgia last month. A small Russian detachment remains dug in on the outskirts of the town. America had previously aborted an attempt to dock the guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul at the port, fearing an accidental clash with the Russians. Russia said it would not authorise...

European Union nations are considering a call for an international inquiry as to which country is responsible for starting the conflict between Georgia and Russia.

President Bush has done a lot of really amazing things during his two terms (insert obligatory mitigative reference to Harriet Miers here). But in this environment redolent with Bush Derangement Syndrome; conservatives' disappointment in Bush's lack of ability successfully to communicate his ideals and fight back; and general exhaustion caused by the left's permatantrumâ„¢, it will fall to history to recognize many of Bush's stunning achievements.One of those is our relationship with India, which the president took from one of mistrust and enmity to one of budding alliance. The value of friendly relations with a country of one billion people...

Pakistan closed the Torkham border crossing in the Khyber tribal agency. The road through the Khyber Pass is NATO's primary supply line into Afghanistan. The government claimed Taliban threats and poor security on the strategic road into Afghanistan forced the closure. The road has been shut down exclusively for NATO traffic. "All Afghanistan-bound supplies for the International Security Assistance Force have been stopped as the [Torkham] highway is vulnerable," the Khyber Agency’s political agent told Daily Times. According to Dawn, the closure only applies to fuel trucks heading to Afghanistan. But trucks carrting supplies other than fuel have been held...

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 5 (Reuters) - An increasingly wealthy and confident Russia has been testing the West with its invasion of Georgia and it is likely there will be more such crises in the region, a senior Czech official said on Friday. "We (in the West) are being tested; we should be careful and we should be firm," said Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Tomas Pojar, who met with senior U.S. officials in Washington this week on Czech plans to host part of a missile shield. In an interview with a small group of reporters at the United Nations, Pojar said...

The US military provided combat training to 80 Georgian special forces commandos only months prior to Georgia's army assault in South Ossetia in August. The revelation, based on recruitment documents and interviews with US military trainers obtained by the Financial Times, could add fuel to accusations by Vladimir Putin, Russian prime minister, last month that the US had "orchestrated" the war in the Georgian enclave. The training was provided by senior US soldiers and two military contractors. There is no evidence that the contractors or the Pentagon, which hired them, knew that the commandos they were training were likely be...

JUVAL AVIV is one of those characters who have floated to prominence in the hall of mirrors where counter-terrorism, intelligence and entertainment present bewildering multiple images...

Intense fighting in the Bajaur tribal district in north Pakistan has forced more than 200,000 people to flee their villages. "There is a real war shaking the Bajaur region at the moment," said Pascal Cuttat, the head of the ICRC Pakistan delegation, with government forces "facing heavy opposition." Pakistan's forces have launched a number of major military offensives in recent weeks against militants in the Bajaur district, which is thought to be an Al-Qaeda stronghold."In the last few weeks, we have a dramatic intensification of the armed conflict which has its flare-ups and this is the most difficult one," Cuttat...

Condoleezza Rice last night became the most senior US official to visit Libya in more than half a century when she arrived for a meeting with its leader, Muammar Gadafy. The visit, which Rice described as historic, was a reward for Gadafy's strategic decision over the past seven years to distance himself from extremism and give up weapons of mass destruction, providing a positive example to Iran.

US VICE-PRESIDENT Dick Cheney angered Russia yesterday by urging Ukraine's feuding leaders to unite in their bid to take the country into Nato and ward off the "threat of tyranny, economic blackmail and military invasion". The clear reference to the perceived danger posed by Russia to its neighbours in the aftermath of the Georgia conflict provoked a furious response from Moscow and its main ally in Ukraine, opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich.

PRESIDENT Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s failing health may have worsened in the last few days contrary to official claims that all is well with the president. Saturday Tribune sources in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday night confirmed that in the last few days the Nigerian President’s health had worsened as he was said to be too weak and his body too fragile to withstand the proposed kidney trasplant. But details of his condition were not available as at the press time yesterday. Also, it was learnt that the security around the hospital had been beefed up as most Nigerian government officials...

snip Informed sources in both Moscow and Kiev have told TIME that Tymoshenko has reached a deal with the Kremlin, under which she would be more considerate of Russia's needs — particularly for long-term rights to its Black Sea naval base at Sevastopol — and would tone down her traditional anti-Moscow diatribes, and in return she may find Russia more flexible when it comes to negotiating next year's prices for the natural gas on which Ukraine depends. However, Tymoshenko firmly denies rumors of any accommodation with foreign powers, insisting that she abides only by the interests of Ukraine. Rumors of...

I was in Moscow just before the collapse of the Soviet Union and spent most of three days at the Russian Parliament building, watching as Boris Yeltsin, standing atop a tank, rallied thousands of fellow Russians to defend their emerging democracy against a then-in-progress coup attempt by Soviet hard-liners.The day after the failed coup, tens of thousands of Muscovites celebrated in a large square behind the Parliament building. As the Soviet flag was lowered and the traditional Russian colors of red, white and blue were raised, the crowd chanted in unison: "Swaboda, swaboda, swaboda" — "Freedom, freedom, freedom." How long...

Just as the dollar is being pushed up by predictions that the United States may survive its current economic troubles and potentially lead a global recovery, recent developments have threatened to dispel America's remaining economic mystique, which in large part is responsible for its apparent prosperity.With its invasion of U.S. ally Georgia, Russia has boldly asserted its regional power and has shaken up global economic calculations. Although Russia's move again showcases America's murky strategic foresight, more important will be the U.S. response. If America overplays her hand, which I fear she might, the nation will be revealed to be a...

Malaysia deploys navy to Somalia Malaysia is sending three navy ships to the coast of Somalia to protect merchant vessels from piracy.The ships, carrying troops and helicopters, are expected to begin patrolling in the Gulf of Aden in the next few days. Two Malaysian tankers from the shipping line MISC Berhad were seized last month by Somali pirates. The seas off Somalia, close to busy shipping routes, have some of the highest rates of piracy in the world. The country has been without a functioning central government for 17 years and has suffered from continual civil strife. Malaysian Deputy Prime...

LA PAZ (AFP) - Rebel governors in the east of Bolivia are mounting a "civil coup" against the government, President Evo Morales has charged, as a political crisis gripping the country edged closer to confrontation. Two weeks of road blocks and other anti-government protests in the relatively prosperous states of Santa Cruz, Chuquisaca and Tarija have started to stall the local economies there, national and regional media reported Friday. < > The building crisis stems from Morales's efforts to change the constitution to redistribute land and national wealth for the benefit of Bolivia's indigenous majority, which accounts for 60 percent...

President Dimitri Medvedev has thanked Jordan’s King Abdallah II for offering humanitarian aid to South Ossetia, a separatist region of Georgia where fighting broke out last month. Medvedev held talks with the king at the Black Sea resort of Sochi on August 24 -- their third meeting over the past six months -- to discuss a wide range of issues from the situation in the Middle East to economic cooperation. “I want to separately thank you for your offer of humanitarian aid to South Ossetia following what happened in the region”, Medvedev said at the beginning of the meeting, broadcast...

Serbian government officials insisted Friday that an energy deal with Russia is of the utmost national interest, but the opposition Liberals described it as humiliating. The multibillion-dollar agreement envisages that part of a pan-European gas pipeline will run through Serbia, and that Russia will buy Serbia's state oil monopoly, NIS. Serbia and Russia signed the agreement in January, but it must be approved in parliament before it can be fully implemented. The deal has sparked criticism from some pro-Western officials in Serbia who have said that the price of €400 million (US$580 million) offered by the Russians for the majority...

The State Department’s letter to Congress said that the United States could immediately halt nuclear sales to India if India conducted any nuclear tests and that the United States planned to withhold technology that poses a security risk. The letter was released by Representative Howard L. Berman, Democrat of California and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

A US navy flagship has steamed into a Georgian port where Russian troops are still stationed, stoking tensions once again in the tinderbox Caucasus region. A previous trip by American warships was cancelled at the last minute a week ago amid fears that an armed stand off could erupt in the Black Sea port of Poti.

When Connecticut voters re-elected Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman as an independent in 2006, they knew two important things about him: He was ambitious; and he was a foreign-policy wonk who never would be confused with former New York Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, famous (or infamous) for behaving more like an alderman than a senator. Amid all the hubbub about his recent dabblings in Republican politics and causes, and his unabashed support for GOP presidential candidate John McCain, Sen. Lieberman still knows what he's talking about on foreign policy. Those who read his op-ed column, "Russia's Aggression Is a Challenge to World...

WASHINGTON - President Bush is poised to punish Moscow for its invasion of Georgia by canceling a once-celebrated deal for civilian nuclear cooperation between the U.S. and Russia. ADVERTISEMENT With relations between the two nations in a nearly Cold Warlike freeze over Russia's actions against its neighbor last month, planning is under way at the White House for the largely symbolic move by Bush, according to senior administration officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision was not yet final. Action could come quickly, within days at the most, and officials see no need to wait until Vice...