President Obama signed a one-year extension to the PATRIOT Act on Saturday, one day before certain provisions were to expire. Only three of the Act’s sections will be extended, including the continued use of roving wire-taps, surveillance of “lone wolf” foreign terrorist suspects inside the United States, and seizure of records and property in anti-terrorism operations.
Read more at: Washington Post
The much anticipated talks between India and Pakistan were finally held on Thursday, with leaders from the two nations sitting down in New Delhi to discuss terrorism, Kashmir, and plans for future talks. Though the talks made little headway into resolving the divisive issues, the meeting marks an important first step in resuming communications after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
As expected, India stressed its concern that Pakistan had not done enough to fight terrorists based within the country, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group blamed for the Mumbai attacks. In response, Pakistan reiterated that both nations have been the target of terrorist attack, and urged India to consider matters besides Mumbai. Pakistan’s primary concern centered on Kashmir, which Pakistan maintains India is dimissing by focusing almost exclusively on the Mumbai issue.
Although both sides noted their intention to continue talks, no immediate plans have been bade for the next meeting. The tenuous situation between India and Pakistan continues to concern the United States, as the possibility of a destabilized South Asia may complicate an already troublesome operation in Afghanistan.
Read more at: Washington Post, Dawn.com.
The Financial Action Task Force, based at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, said Iran has failed to crack down on money laundering and terrorist financing and reiterated a warning from last year that its members implement “effective countermeasures to protect their financial sectors from money laundering and financing of terrorism risks emanating from Iran.”
Though the task force noted Iran’s recent, though possibly symbolic, signs of engagement on terror financing issues, it indicated a concern that Iran’s failure to address the problem poses a serious threat to the global financial system. The report comes as the Unites States is seeking tougher sanctions on Iran for its nuclear activities.
Iran is a primary supporter of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group and Palestinian Hamas. Both represent significant terrorism risks to Israel and Iran is not likely to decrease funding to the groups given existing sanctions.
More from the AP and The New York Times.
During his recent trip to Syrian, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with both, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah. The trip to Syria comes just days after appointment of a new US ambassador, a move many thought would signal improvements between the countries. Nevertheless, al-Assad claimed he would not distance himself from Iran despite American wishes. Al-Assad also defended Iran’s right to enrich uranium. Ahmadinejad reiterated the strong connection between the two countries and argued that the US could not destroy that relationship, noting, “Tehran and Damascus had brotherly, deep and sustainable ties and no-one could harm the ties even slightly.”
Nasrallah made a rare public appearance and joined the two presidents for a dinner. Both Syria and Iran have long supported Hezbollah through financial and military means. Topics discussed at the dinner included regional developments, Israeli terrorism and the specific “Zionist threat” against Lebanon and Syria.
Iranian officials captured Abdolmalek Rigi, the leader of a Sunni rebel group the Jundallah insurgency, on Tuesday. Rigi was allegedly captured coming from a U.S. military base. On state television Rigi “confessed” that an American agent had promised “finances, military aid, arms and ammunitions as well as a military base in Afghanistan close to the Iranian borders” if he cooperated. The Pentagon rejected the claims as propaganda.
The Jundallah insurgency has claimed responsibility for bombing attacks in Iran against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. This includes an October 18 that killed at least forty Iranian and fifteen Revolutionary Guard members. The group claims to be fighting for Sunni rights in the Shi’ite dominated Iran. Iran has hanged at least fourteen members of the group in the past.
The Jundallah insurgency also appointed a new leader, al-Hajj Mohammed Dhahir Baluch. The new leader was announced on the group’s website along with the statement in Arabic that: “The movement is more than its leader . . . With firm determination and strong will it will continue on the path of jihad till the last drop of blood.”
In its sixty-two year history the Air Force has seen its mission change multiple times as the U.S. has engaged in different types of warfare. With recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the Air Force may be changing its very core identity. Central to the mission and identity shift is the Predator Drone and whether those who operate it can be called pilots. The Air Force has long held fighter pilots in position of honor. However, it is not until Defense Secretary Robert Gates appointed Norton Schwartz to lead the Air Force that Predator pilots have received similar acknowledgment for their importance to the Air Force. Schwartz has also shaken the Air Force up by allowing servicemen who have not flown planes to fly the predator drones. This was done in part to meet the rising demand for the Predator Drone missions.
Despite it rise in prevalence the Air Force’s Predator pilots leave some major questions unanswered. What awards does a Predator pilot receive for saving the lives of his or her fellow soldiers? Are the Predator pilots facing “combat”? If a mission goes wrong or a pilot inexcusably kills civilians what legal repercussions does he or she face? The answer to these and other questions will define the Air Force and U.S. and the nature of war for decades to come.
Read more at the Washington Post.
This week, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad derided what they termed U.S. colonialism and envisioned a Middle East without Israel. This bellicosity follows on the heels of overtures by the Obama administration to rebuild diplomacy with Syria. Earlier this week the United States lifted its travel advisory for Syria, although the Arab nation is still on Washington’s list of state sponsors of terrorism. In response to the comments made by the Iranian and Syrian presidents, Israel would like the United States to decide not to send a new U.S. ambassador to Syria; this would be the first since former President George W. Bush withdrew the U.S. ambassador five years ago. For all of the Obama administration’s attempts at renewed diplomacy, it appears that Syria values its ties to Iran more.
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Last week two shootings occurred on Tuesday and Thursday, resulting in the deaths of ten drug cartel members and injuries to ten Mexican soldiers and at least one police officer. One of them occurred in the city of Matamoros, on the border with Brownsville, Texas. As such, the U.S. Consulate General in Matamoros has issued a warning regarding the gun battles that have been taking place.
Additionally, the Consular Agency in the Mexican city of Reynosa, an extension of the Consulate General, has temporarily closed its doors. Reynosa lies on the Mexican border approximately 15 minutes from McAllen, Texas and an hour from Matamoros. According to U.S. officials, the shootings between gang members have been numerous lately and are believed to be related to narcotics trafficking. Travel restrictions were issued by the U.S. State Department following the violence along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Read more at AlJazeera.net.
The Department of Defense announced a new policy that would allow troops to use social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Allowing the military to use social media outlets has been an issue for years. Though obvious security issues are involved, the Department of Defense has decided that allowing troops a social media outlet may be necessary in the twenty-first century. The use is limited because commanders are allowed to take the necessary steps to guard against cyber attacks and to secure mission information. Besides “pornography, gambling and hate-crime related” sites, the new procedure will lift the ban on all other sites. Then higher ranking officers will have the discretion to restrict access if needed.
Read more at the NY Times.
North Korea has arrested four South Koreans on allegations that they entered the country illegally. These arrests come in the wake of North Korea’s announcement that they will “powerfully” retaliate against the U.S. and South Korea if they continue with their planned military exercises on March 8th. The U.S. and South Korea have declared that the military exercises are purely defensive, and said they are done regularly on an annual basis. The U.S. maintains 28,500 troops in South Korea.
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