All Security Watch
- 9/11 trial to resume at Guantánamo, ending quest for civilian trial
The Pentagon yesterday authorized five 9/11 suspects, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, to be tried in a military commission on the US base in Guantánamo Bay.
- Deadly blast at Somali theater mars Mogadishu's budding peace
At least 10 people were killed in a suicide bombing at Somalia's national theater in Mogadishu. The capital of the wartorn country had been experiencing a revival of sorts.
- Netanyahu says Iran sanctions aren't working. His UN ambassador disagrees.
Who to believe?
- France arrests 10 suspected militants in latest post-Toulouse raids
While President Nicolas Sarkozy denies the crackdown on alleged Islamist militants in France has anything to do with last month's shootings in Toulouse, today's raids were the second series since the incident.
- To the victor in Egypt's presidential race: a terrible economy
The Muslim Brotherhood has fronted a candidate. A former ally of Mubarak may even run. But whoever wins will start with less than half the foreign reserves Egypt had before the revolution.
- US tightens screws on Pakistan with $10 million bounty
Yesterday the US announced a $10 million bounty for Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the leader of the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba who lives openly in Pakistan.
- Dubai kicks out US democracy NGO, too
Though far more deftly than Egypt did.
- Weapons flowing from Iraqi Sunnis to Syria's rebels?
So says a fairly credible CNN report.
- Why Israel is even less likely to strike Iran now
Obama appears to be hemming in Israel at every turn. Case in point: A report in which unnamed US officials allege that Israel has obtained access to bases in Azerbaijan, on Iran's border.
- Syria 'friends' to pay salaries of rebels fighting Assad
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations are setting up a fund to pay members of the Free Syrian Army as part of a larger international commitment.
- Israeli efforts to defuse 'Land Day' tensions fail as clashes erupt at checkpoint
Some Palestinian protesters threw rocks at Israeli soldiers amid Land Day commemorations of the 1976 killing of six Palestinian citizens of Israel. Israeli forces responded with tear gas.
- Report: North Korea gassing up rocket, imperiling diplomacy
A Japanese newspaper report that North Korea has begun fueling a rocket for a launch next month comes after similar reports of preparations.
- Syria violence raises concerns Assad is only buying time with UN cease-fire deal
The day after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reportedly agreed to UN envoy Kofi Annan's cease-fire plan, fighting continued in several cities.
- Reports: Afghan soldiers complicit in a suicide plot against their own government
The alleged discovery of nearly a dozen suicide vests at the Afghan Ministry of Defense deepens concerns about the loyalty of Afghan security forces, which have already killed 16 coalition troops this year.
- Iraq's ominous trendline of violence
Terrorism is up in Iraq, as are political tensions.
- Turkey closes its Syria embassy, boosts aid to opposition
The embassy closure by such a key regional player is likely to increase pressure on the Syrian government. Turkey also pledged, along with the US, to increase 'non-lethal aid' to Syrian rebels.
- EU expands Syrian sanctions to include Assad's fashionable British wife
The European Union has announced that it will freeze the assets of four members of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's family, including his British wife Asma.
- NATO fatalities in Afghanistan: 22 percent this year at hands of Afghan Army, police
Gen. John Allen urged Congress yesterday to 'stay the course' but offered little encouraging data.
- UN Security Council poised to threaten Syria's Assad - with Russia's blessing
The United Nations Security Council secured Russia's critical backing yesterday for a statement backing envoy Kofi Annan's peacemaking plan. The step marks a distinct shift in Russia's stance.
- A faulty argument for staying on in Afghanistan
Marc Thiessen of the Washington Post's op-ed page is promising doom when US troops pull out of Afghanistan. There is no reason to believe he's close to correct.