GCOM Summary (only) 2010 Aug 16

[Felix The Assassin]

GCOM Summary 2010 AUG 16
U.S. Joint Forces Command
Global Current Operations Media Summary
Operations Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom/Noble Eagle
Current as of August 16, 2010


New Developments
•U.S. Hopes To Begin Afghan Security Transfer By Spring. With training of Afghanistan's army and police ahead of schedule, American officials now believe the U.S.-led military coalition could begin transferring some security responsibilities to Afghan forces as early as spring. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in an interview that given faster-than-expected progress in training army units, it was likely that those forces could assume primary responsibility for security sooner in less violent areas of the country, freeing up NATO troops for operations elsewhere. "With more Afghan forces, we can be on a path to transition in more places around the country," Gates said. "The success with the [Afghan] army in particular, I think, bodes well for in fact beginning to have some transitions maybe as early as this spring, but certainly beginning in the summer." (Los Angeles Times – see attached)

•Gen. David Petraeus Says Afghanistan War Strategy 'Fundamentally Sound'. In his first six weeks as the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David H. Petraeus has seen insurgent attacks on coalition forces spike to record levels, violence metastasize to previously stable areas, and the country's president undercut anti-corruption units backed by Washington. But after burrowing into operations here and traveling to the far reaches of this country, Petraeus has concluded that the U.S. strategy to win the nearly nine-year-old war is "fundamentally sound." In a wide-ranging hour-long interview with The Washington Post, he said he sees incipient signs of progress in parts of the volatile south, in new initiatives to create community defense forces and in nascent steps to reintegrate low-level insurgents who want to stop fighting. (Washington Post – see attached)

•Iraq Weighs New Post To Help Form Government. Senior Iraqi politicians involved in forming a new government said they are weighing the creation of a new federal position that could break the nearly-six-month logjam over which faction gets the coveted premiership. Since March elections, the two top vote-getting blocs have failed to secure the majority needed in Parliament to form a government. Politicians from some of the biggest factions have warmed to the idea of creating an executive post they hope would better balance out power between the two sides, said people taking part in negotiations. (Wall Street Journal – see attached)

•Military Deaths Pass 2,000 As Afghan War Review Looms. Total foreign military deaths in Afghanistan have passed 2,000 since the war began in late 2001, unofficial tallies showed on Sunday, in the approach to U.S. and Afghan elections and a U.S. strategy review. The U.S. military accounted for more than 60% of the deaths but the total still lags the list of Afghan civilian casualties, which a U.N. report last week showed had risen sharply despite a drop in the number blamed on foreign troops. The deaths of at least one more U.S. service member, an Australian and a Briton announced in the past two days have pushed the total of foreign military deaths to 2,002 since the Taliban were ousted in late 2001 by a U.S.-led coalition. The total is less than half that suffered during the seven years of the Iraq war but is a significant milestone nonetheless, with NATO allies like the Netherlands pulling out of the alliance and others reviewing their future roles. (Reuters)

Military Coverage
•S. Korea, U.S. Launch War Games. Tens of thousands of South Korean and U.S. troops launched a fresh round of military drills Monday despite North Korea's warning that it would retaliate with a "merciless counterblow" for the exercises Pyongyang considers rehearsal for invasion. The 11-day drills, dubbed Ulchi Freedom Guardian, are annual computer-simulated war games that involve about 56,000 South Korean soldiers and 30,000 U.S. troops in South Korea and abroad, South Korea's Defense Ministry and the U.S. command in Seoul said Monday. They follow massive joint naval drills last month off South Korea's east coast that Washington and Seoul said were a show of unity following the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in March. The allies blame North Korea for the torpedo attack that killed 46 sailors. Pyongyang denies involvement. (CBS News/AP)

World Developments
•U.S. Issues Arms Deal Ultimatum To Turkey. President Barack Obama has personally warned Turkey’s prime minister that unless Ankara shifts its position on Israel and Iran it stands little chance of obtaining the U.S. weapons it wants to buy. Mr. Obama’s warning to Recep Tayyip Erdogan is particularly significant as Ankara wants to buy American drone aircraft – such as the missile-bearing Reaper – to attack the Kurdish separatist PKK after the U.S. military pulls out of Iraq at the end of 2011. The PKK has traditionally maintained bases in the remote mountains in the north of Iraq, near the Turkish border. (London Financial Times – see attached)

•Talks With N. Ireland Dissidents No Betrayal: Police Chief. Northern Ireland's police chief said on Sunday that opening talks with armed groups would not amount to a betrayal, despite recent bomb attacks that have targeted members of the police and army. Chief Constable Matt Baggott said dissident republicans, who are seeking to derail the province's peace process and have been blamed for the attacks, had to be confronted to bring an end to the violence. The weekend was marked by fresh violence in Northern Ireland during which police came under attack. A bomb blast on Saturday in Lurgan, County Armagh, left three children with minor injuries. Police have said the bomb, which was hidden in a bin, was planted to injure or kill its officers. After the blast, rioters targeted police officers with petrol bombs and other missiles. No one was injured, said authorities. (Google/AFP)

•Cancer Expert Regrets Role In Releasing Lockerbie Bomber. The regrets of a cancer expert who assessed the only man ever convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie jetliner bombing have intensified the anger felt by victims' relatives over Scotland's decision to release the Libyan on compassionate grounds. Professor Karol Sikora and other experts had said Abdel Baset al-Megrahi probably had only three months to live when he was freed from a Scottish jail last August and allowed to return home to Libya. But one year later, Al-Megrahi, who is being treated for prostate cancer, is still alive. Sikora was quoted by Britain's Observer newspaper Sunday as saying he should have been more cautious about the chances of survival. Scottish authorities deny that the opinions of Sikora and the other experts who advised Libya entered into the decision to release al-Megrahi, though families contend that the advice must have played a role. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP)

•Indian Prime Minister Appeals For Calm In Kashmir. India's leader has used part of his Independence Day address to call for an end to violence in Kashmir. The appeal for an end to the ongoing street protests in Kashmir by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came one day after two more protestors were killed in clashes with security forces in Indian controlled Kashmir. The protests have lead to 57 deaths over the past two months. The protestors have set official buildings and vehicles on fire during the almost daily protests. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both countries. However, anti-India sentiment runs deep in the Indian controlled portion, with most reportedly favoring either independence from India or a merger with Pakistan. (Voice of America)

•Police Evacuate Lourdes Shrine After Bomb Warning. A telephoned bomb warning caused French police to evacuate the Catholic shrine of Lourdes where around 30,000 pilgrims had gathered on Sunday. Bomb disposal experts were on the scene after the anonymous tip-off to police that four bombs would explode on the site at 3 p.m., a spokesman told Reuters. The pilgrims, who were attending services celebrating the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, were led to safety. "Everything is taking place in an orderly manner," the spokesman said. The Lourdes shrine is in southwestern France, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a young shepherdess in the 19th century. Assumption day is one of the busiest days of the year for Lourdes. (Reuters)

ØPublic Opinion
•Rasmussen: Nearly Half Say U.S. Will Be Nuked. Seventy-six percent (76%) of Americans say it is at least somewhat likely that a terrorist group will detonate a nuclear weapon in the next 25 years, and that includes 45% who say it is Very Likely. A Rasmussen Reports national survey conducted last week finds that 17% think terrorists are unlikely to detonate a nuclear weapon in that time frame, with just two percent (2%) who say it’s Not At All Likely. (NewsMax.com)