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 War
and Terror
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March 2010
Checkered record for the world's
policeman
Training national police forces has been a key dimension of United States power
abroad since the Philippines and Haiti in the colonial era through to the
Vietnam and Iraq wars and today in Afghanistan. The result has been a legacy of
torture and terror as political adversaries were dehumanized and police forces
devolved into brutal oppressors. - Jeremy Kuzmarov
(Mar 17, '10)
Battle over Afghan peace talks
intensifies
The apparent desire of United States President Barack Obama to immediately
start talks with the Taliban places him at odds with his military leadership
and the field commander in Afghanistan. Even if Obama prevails, whether Taliban
leader Mullah Omar will be invited to the table is another matter entirely. - Gareth
Porter (Mar 16, '10)
Say hello to Marjah ... or 'Little
America'
It is no surprise the United States 
rolled out its new Afghan strategy in the familiar and sympathetic environs of
Helmand. Decades ago, American engineers built most of the province's capital
city, as well as a network of irrigation and drainage canals to take water to
scattered communities, including Marjah, scene of the offensive against the
Taliban. - Peter Lee (Mar 16, '10)
 SPENGLER
Obama in more trouble
than Netanyahu over Iran
If the Barack Obama administration attempts to punish Israel for doing what
American public opinion seems to favor - striking Iran's nuclear program - then
Obama is likely to pay the political price. The US administration is hamstrung
by the investment it made in rapprochement with Tehran, which it hoped would
become the pillar on which American regional policy would rest.
(Mar 15, '10)
Pakistan sharpens its focus on
militants
General Ashfaq Parvez Kiani, the chief of Pakistan's army staff and a key ally
of the United States, is due to retire in a few months, but he will remain very
much a part of efforts to break the back of the Taliban in Afghanistan and
militants in Pakistan. The plan is to create a post that would give him
unprecedented control over all three branches of the service. For the
militants, with a spate of attacks, it's business as usual. - Syed Saleem
Shahzad (Mar 15, '10)
Iran's spies show how it's done
Iran's capture of its most wanted man, Abdulmalik Rigi, is a setback for the
subversion efforts of the United States in Iran's southeast. The seamless
apprehension of the Jundallah leader also sends an unmistakable message that in
the intelligence wars of the Middle East, Tehran has once again seized the
initiative, and that it can strike against American secret agents operating in
Pakistan and Afghanistan. - Mahan Abedin (Mar
12, '10)
A titanic power struggle in Kabul
Battle lines are being drawn for a power struggle over determining the shape of
a settlement to Afghanistan's insurgency, with main players the United States
and Britain, Pakistan, Iran and Afghan President Hamid Karzai jockeying for
influence. The stakes are high for all protagonists up to and beyond the April
29 traditional Afghan tribal council that Karzai has called in a bid to be
around to steer the transition to peace. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Mar 12, '10)
Israel puts US on notice
News of Israel's plans to construct new housing in East Jerusalem shocked
United States Vice President Joe Biden on his arrival in the country. The
Israeli government claims the explosive timing was an unfortunate error; more
likely it was a stern warning to Washington over Iran - hold Israel back from a
strike and there will be consequences. - Victor Kotsev
(Mar 12, '10)
The demise of a 'good-for-nothing
bandit'
Abdulmalik Rigi's Jundallah militants are believed to have killed at least 150
civilians and police officers over the past four years. With Rigi now arrested,
there is speculation his group will fall apart. For many people in Iran's
Sistan and Balochistan province where most of Jundallah's operations took
place, this would be a very welcome development. - Amineh Soghdi
(Mar 12, '10)
India seeks a new direction
India's regional foreign policy, largely underscored by confidence in a
relationship with the United States that has now been usurped by Pakistan, is
at a crossroads. A high-level visit by Indians to Afghan President Hamid Karzai
is recognition that new thinking has become necessary, though it might be too
late as Karzai looks to forge an alliance with Islamabad. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Mar 11, '10)
Iran wants help from a friend
During his flying visit to Kabul, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad trumpeted the
fact that Afghan and Pakistani intelligence had cooperated with Iran in the
capture of militant leader Abdulmalik Rigi. Iran wants to extend this
multilateral cooperation to the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking.
This would involve closer cooperation with the United States and foreign troops
in Afghanistan, and therein lies the problem. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi
(Mar 11, '10)
DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
Premature withdrawal in Iraq
A chorus of the usual Washington suspects is singing even louder for the Barack
Obama administration to alter its plans to get all American troops out of Iraq
by the end of 2011. Basing their arguments on their ability to divine the
future, what they forget is that after the US invasion, Iraq descended into a
monumental bloodbath - in Washington's presence. - Tom Engelhardt
(Mar 11, '10)
Marjah fears return of warlords
Now that Afghan and Western  troops
have pushed the Taliban out of the Marjah area, locals fear the return of the
warlords who once terrorized them. One notorious strongman is already preparing
to resume control. If he and others like him do regain influence, it could lead
to the return of the insurgents. - Mohammad Elyas Daee and Abubakar
Siddique (Mar 10, '10)
Marjah, the city that never was
Deemed by the United States military as a logistical hub of the Taliban in
Helmand province, Marjah - "a city of 80,000 people" - was chosen to be the
scene of a "large and loud victory". But it turns out Marjah isn't even a town,
but rather one of the clearest and most dramatic examples of a war of
perception as outlined in the US's counter-insurgency doctrine. - Gareth Porter
(Mar 9, '10)
COMMENT
Alternative reading of Hamas murder
The assassination of Palestinian Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in January in Dubai was
clearly a well-planned act, yet the calculated action inspired little more than
expressions of "outrage" from much of the international community. Was it
because the victim was Palestinian and the location of the crime an Arab
country? - Ramzy Baroud (Mar 9, '10)
THE ROVING EYE
Oscar night in Baghdad
Hollywood's take on the Iraq War, The Hurt Locker, swept Sunday's
Oscars. Who will emerge victorious from Iraq's elections is less clear.
Washington favors former premier Iyad Allawi - once an intelligence asset -
over the Shi'ite incumbent aligned with Iran, Nuri al-Maliki. But ultimately it
seems that as long as Maliki can hasten the  Americans'
exit, he will emerge triumphant.
- Pepe Escobar (Mar 9, '10)
Pakistan delivers but doubts remain
Pakistan has rounded up another al-Qaeda operative, although beyond the fact
that he is senior there is dispute over his identity. Washington will be
delighted, as this follows other recent high-profile arrests, but suspicion
lingers that the generals in Pakistan will always put their own interests
first. Something is being done about that. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Mar 8, '10)
Natural law brings AfPak crashing
The London conference on Afghanistan in January was a high-point for US special
envoy Richard Holbrooke but AfPak diplomacy began crashing no sooner than the
talking ended as Pakistan's capture of the Taliban's deputy leader stopped
reconciliation with the US in its tracks. With Afghan President Hamid Karzai
going his own way and Islamabad holding a trump card to deliver the Taliban to
the negotiating table, the US's evolving policy is in a sorry state. - M K
Bhadrakumar (Mar 5, '10)
 BOOK
REVIEW
Counter-insurgency,
then and now
A Question of Command
by Mark Moyar
Counter-insurgency thinking is once again in the limelight, just as it was 50
years ago, which is why this timely perspective will find audiences in and out
of the military. The bulk of the book comprises nine case studies ranging from
the American Civil War to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The author
has done a great deal of research, though points of disagreement are
inevitable. - Brian M Downing (Mar 5, '10)
Heroin lab menace grows in
Afghanistan
Heroin traffickers are expanding their refinery operations inside Afghanistan,
with increasing volumes of precursor chemicals used to transform poppies into
opiates being smuggled into the country. Gaps in intelligence and limited
international expertise in detecting the chemicals make it harder for
authorities to disrupt the opium supply chain. - Sananda Sahoo
(Mar 4, '10)
Top US general blunders
When General Ray Odierno, the top United States commander in Iraq, requested to
keep a combat brigade in northern Iraq beyond the August 2010 withdrawal
deadline, the Pentagon was quick to play down the issue. Some damage has been
done, though, amid fears that any US flip-flop on the pull-out timetable will
have serious consequences in the US and in Iraq. - Raed Jarrar and Erik
Leaver (Mar 3, '10)
India, Pakistan need a little help
Indian and Pakistan may have taken a step towards rapprochement, but without
United States and Shanghai Corporation Organization involvement little will
come of their high-level talks, given the hardened positions on both sides.
Meanwhile, al-Qaeda will be working overtime to exert its own influence on the
dialogue process. - Zahid U Kramet (Mar 2,
'10)
Yemen in for a fight
Yemen's claim this week to have killed a separatist leader linked to al-Qaeda
illustrates the government's ongoing efforts to use force to tackle unrest. If
President Ali Abdullah Saleh is to get increased aid from the United States,
though, he will also have to seek a political solution to the country's
troubles. - Oliver Holmes (Mar 2, '10)
An AfPak star over Central Asia
United States envoy Richard Holbrooke stepped out of his AfPak region last week
to visit Central Asia, where he soothed Georgian nerves and made the right
noises in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Holbrooke painted a futuristic
security scenario in the nature of an al-Qaeda threat, while easing concerns
regarding the US's expected reconciliation with the Taliban. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Mar 1, '10)
Pakistan holds onto its Taliban
Islamabad may have reacted to the latest United States pressure by allowing US
intelligence to expand its reach in Pakistan and by agreeing to joint
operations to find high-level Taliban operatives. But by refusing to turn over
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Islamabad is telling Washington that it will
continue to rely on the Taliban as the best guarantee of Pakistani influence in
Afghanistan. - Gareth Porter (Mar 1, '10)
Afghan police still out of step
United States government agencies 
are asking why, after US$7 billion has been spent on training and salaries,
Afghan police are still widely considered corrupt and inefficient. In
particular, the State Department is accused of failing to oversee private
contractors involved in training, and there are questions as to why there is a
severe shortage of equipment. - Pratap Chatterjee
(Mar 1, '10)
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