GCOM Summary (only) 2010 Aug 24

[Felix The Assassin]

GCOM Summary 2010 Aug 24
U.S. Joint Forces Command
Global Current Operations Media Summary
Operations Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom/Noble Eagle
Current as of August 24, 2010

New Developments
•34 Killed In Pakistan Bombings. Three bomb blasts killed 34 people Monday in northwestern Pakistan, authorities said. Though no one claimed responsibility for the attacks, they came at a time when government officials have been warning that Islamic militants might try to exploit the strain that this summer's catastrophic floods have put on the country's military and government by unleashing a new wave of violence. One of the attacks occurred in South Waziristan, a tribal area along the Afghan border long regarded as a stronghold for the Pakistani Taliban. A teenage suicide bomber appeared at a mosque in the town of Wana where 200 worshipers were praying and detonated explosives strapped to his body, witnesses said. The blast killed 25 people and injured 36, hospital officials said. (Los Angeles Times – see attached)

•U.S. General Cites Goals To Train Afghan Forces. The American commander in charge of building up Afghanistan’s security forces said Monday that in the next 15 months he would have to recruit and train 141,000 new soldiers and police officers – more than the current size of the Afghan Army – to meet President Obama’s ambitious goals for getting Afghan forces to fight the war on their own. The commander, Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, said the large recruiting number was to allow for attrition rates in some units of nearly 50 percent. Over all, General Caldwell said it would not be until October 2011 – three months after the deadline for the start of American withdrawals set by Mr. Obama – that he will have finished building the Afghan security forces to their full capacity. For now, he said, “they cannot operate independently.” (New York Times – see attached)

•Afghan Officials Challenge U.S. On Aid Contract Abuses. A spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai challenged the United States on Monday to clean up fraud and corruption within the hundreds of millions of dollars of aid contracts it distributes to Afghan companies each year, saying that abuse is far worse than any irregularities in the Karzai administration. Waheed Omer used his weekly news conference to take the offensive in the ongoing political battle between the Karzai government and U.S. officials over the mismanagement of international money. Of every $100 million of aid coming into the country, Omer said, 80 percent is controlled by the United States and NATO. Therefore, he said, it is up to international officials to enact safeguards and root out illegal practices. (Washington Post – see attached)

•CIA Man Is Key To U.S. Relations With Karzai. The Obama administration has turned to the Central Intelligence Agency's station chief in Afghanistan to troubleshoot Washington's precarious relationship with President Hamid Karzai, propelling the undercover officer into a critical role normally reserved for diplomats and military chiefs. The station chief has become a pivotal behind-the-scenes power broker in Kabul, according to U.S. officials as well as current and former diplomats and military figures. In April, when Mr. Karzai lashed out against his Western partners, it was the station chief who was tapped by the White House to calm the Afghan president. The station chief's position became more crucial following the June firing of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, perhaps the only other senior American who had a close relationship with Mr. Karzai, U.S. officials say. (Wall Street Journal – see attached)

Military Coverage
•Arms Dealer Faces New Charges. Efraim E. Diveroli, the brash young Miami Beach arms dealer who landed a $300 million contract with the Pentagon to buy and ship munitions to Afghanistan only to have it unravel in a sprawling criminal case, was in custody again in Florida on Monday, facing new federal charges. Mr. Diveroli, 24, was arrested Friday in Brevard County, Fla., and charged with possession of firearms as a convicted felon and with possession of firearms while under indictment for a felony offense. After a brief appearance at a detention hearing on Monday in Federal District Court in Orlando, he was ordered held without bail in the Orange County Corrections Department. (New York Times – see attached)

World Developments
•Ayatollah Rebukes Warring Factions. Iran’s supreme leader has taken the unprecedented step of publicly rebuking his political allies after cracks emerged between the conservative and radical fundamentalists who dominate the government. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who wields ultimate power, issued a “serious warning” to the country’s senior politicians, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to stop the infighting rocking the regime. After the defeat of reformist opponents, whose protests against last year’s disputed election have been suppressed, the fundamentalists have turned on each other to settle old scores. (London Financial Times – see attached)

•Africa Sends More Troops To Stem Somali Militancy. Two African nations are sending fresh troops to Somalia, in an effort to turn the tide against an insurgency that poses a growing threat to the region. The troop increases come a month after Somali militant group al Shabaab launched a bloody attack on the Ugandan capital, which the militants said was retaliation for Ugandan involvement in Mogadishu. The majority of African Union troops in Somalia – currently about 6,000 – come from Uganda and Burundi. On Monday, Wafula Wamunyinyi, deputy head of the AU mission in Somalia, known as Amisom, said that Uganda had begun to send more troops to Mogadishu, and that the first group of new soldiers had arrived on Friday. Burundi also plans to send a battalion, he said, which is around 1,000 troops. (Wall Street Journal – see attached)

•Philippines Defends Handling Of Bus Hostage Crisis. Philippine authorities defended on Tuesday their handling of a bus hostage crisis in which eight Hong Kong tourists were killed, but missteps were seen as signs of deeper deficiencies in a country beset by security problems. Eight hostages and their disgruntled ex-policemen kidnapper were killed at the end of a day-long siege in the capital after signs earlier that the crisis would be resolved peacefully. Hong Kong advised residents against travel to the Philippines, a blow to the poor Southeast Asian nation's hopes to double tourist numbers to six million a year to help lift economic growth. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III admitted there were deficiencies in the operation, but said the gunman's access to TV and radio made it hard for police to launch a rescue mission on a bus that was parked some distance from cover. (Reuters)

•Spanish Hostages Freed By Al-Qaida Arrive In Spain. Two Spanish aid workers kidnapped almost nine months ago by an al-Qaida affiliate arrived Tuesday in Barcelona after a multi-million-dollar ransom was reportedly paid for their freedom – a sign of the terrorist group's growing sophistication in bankrolling operations through kidnappings, experts said. Aid workers Roque Pascual and Albert Vilalta were abducted last November when their convoy of 4-by-4s was attacked by gunmen on a stretch of road in Mauritania. They were whisked away to Mali, whose northern half is now one of the many stretches of remote desert where al-Qaida of Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, has stretched its tentacles. Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that Spain had paid €3.8 million in ransom to secure the aid workers' release. (NPR/AP)

•Carter Heading To N. Korea To Free American. Former President Jimmy Carter was preparing to leave for North Korea on Tuesday to try to gain the freedom of an American imprisoned for illegally entering the communist nation, U.S. officials said Monday night. North Korea agreed to release Aijalon Mahli Gomes if Carter were to come to bring him home, a senior U.S. official told AP. Gomes, of Boston, who was arrested on Jan. 25 after entering North Korea, was sentenced in April to eight years in prison and fined $700,000. Carter was expected to spend a single night in North Korea and return with Gomes on Thursday, a second U.S. official said. As was the case when former President Bill Clinton went to North Korea last summer to win the release of two detained American reporters, no U.S. officials will travel with Carter, the senior official said. (Chicago Daily Herald/AP)

Public Opinion
•6 In 10 Oppose Afghan Fighting. A majority of Americans see no end in sight in Afghanistan, and nearly six in 10 oppose the nine-year-old war as President Barack Obama sends tens of thousands more troops to the fight, according to a new AP-GfK poll. With just more than 10 weeks before elections that could define the remainder of Obama’s first term, only 38% say they support his expanded war effort in Afghanistan – a drop from 46% in March. Just 19% expect the situation to improve during the next year, while 29% think it will get worse. Some 49% think it will remain the same. Strong dissent – 58% oppose the war – could depress Democratic turnout when the party desperately needs to energize its supporters for midterm congressional elections. (Worcester Telegram/AP)