GCOM Summary (only) 2010 Sep 02

[Felix The Assassin]

GCOM Summary 2010 Sep 02
U.S. Joint Forces Command
Global Current Operations Media Summary
Operations Enduring Freedom/New Dawn/Noble Eagle
Current as of September 2, 2010

Ø New Developments
•U.S., Iraqis Mark End Of Combat Under Cloud Of Pessimism. In a crystal-chandeliered palace once occupied by Saddam Hussein, American and Iraqi leaders gathered Wednesday for the latest ceremony to herald an independent, democratic Iraq. But in the same city, both inside and outside the domed palace serving as America's military headquarters at the walled-off Baghdad airport compound, a more sober mood prevailed. As the American combat mission officially ended, Iraqi politicians, security officers and civil servants spoke of a daunting series of challenges they face until the end of 2011, when the last of nearly 50,000 remaining U.S. troops assisting Iraqi forces are scheduled to depart. At the top of the list are how to combat steadily rising violence and how to cope with the lack of a new government six months after inconclusive national elections were held. (Los Angeles Times – see attached)
•U.S. Charges Pakistani Taliban Leader With Killing Americans. The U.S. government designated the Pakistani Taliban a terrorist group Wednesday and accused its leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, of involvement in a December suicide bombing that killed seven Americans at a forward CIA post in eastern Afghanistan. A criminal complaint, filed Aug. 20 by the Justice Department in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia and unsealed Wednesday, charges Mehsud with conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens abroad and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, namely explosives, against them. Mehsud was thought to have been killed by a U.S. drone strike in January, but he resurfaced in May in videos in which he vowed to attack U.S. cities. (Washington Post – see attached)
•Suicide Bombers In Pakistan Kill Dozens Of Shiites. Three suicide bombers struck a procession of Shiite Muslim worshipers on Wednesday in Lahore in eastern Pakistan, killing at least 25 people and touching off violent clashes between local police forces and mourners and protesters infuriated by the attack. Pakistani officials said two attackers detonated explosives as the gathering was dispersing, scattering bodies into the streets and sowing panic and anger among the thousands observing an annual Shiite day of mourning. A third bomber struck about 20 minutes later in a packed city square as many of the worshipers were leaving. At least 200 people were wounded in the attack, said Sajjad Bhutta, a district administrator, who added that he expected the number of dead and wounded to rise. (New York Times – see attached)
•U.S. Funding Boost Is Sought For Yemen Forces. U.S. Central Command has proposed pumping as much as $1.2 billion over five years into building up Yemen's security forces, a major investment in a shaky government, in a sign of Washington's fears of al Qaeda's growing foothold on the Arabian Peninsula. The timing and the final funding amount will depend on how supporters of the effort overcome resistance from some officials at the State Department and the Pentagon, who have doubts about Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the ability of his government, seen by many as corrupt, to effectively use a flood of American-taxpayer money. The threat to the U.S. from al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen has become a priority concern for the Obama administration, fueling a robust internal debate over how to calibrate assistance to address what many officials see as the biggest counterterrorism challenge outside Afghanistan and Pakistan. (Wall Street Journal – see attached)
•3 Afghan Oxfam Workers Dead In Bombing. British aid group Oxfam says it is temporarily suspending its work in Badakhshan province in Afghanistan after a bombing that killed three people. Two of the victims were members of the group's Afghan staff and the third a local volunteer, Oxfam said. Two people, a volunteer and staff member, were hurt in the roadside bombing Monday. "They were deeply committed to improving the lives of other Afghans and our thoughts are with their families at this time," Oxfam said in a statement. Badakhshan in northern Afghanistan has only recently been hit by the violence that has overwhelmed other areas. In August, 10 medical volunteers were killed in a part of the province that borders more violent areas. The Oxfam bombing was near the border with Tajikistan, The Guardian reported. That area, while home to drug-trafficking networks, had been thought to be free of political violence. (UPI)

Ø Military Coverage
•As U.S. Deaths In Afghanistan Rise, Military Families Grow Critical. As American combat deaths have reached record levels this summer, public support is eroding for the 9-year-old conflict. Several recent opinion polls found that more than half of those surveyed oppose the war, with the high casualty rate among concerns most often cited. American combat deaths reached 60 in June, 65 in July, and 55 in August, according to icasualties.org. That is by far the highest three-month total of the war. Criticism is mounting among military families too. An antiwar group of families of service members in Afghanistan and Iraq has called for an end to the Afghanistan war. At the same time, families like the Osborns, who describe themselves as conservative, are questioning the way the war is being waged. (Los Angeles Times – see attached)
•WikiLeaks Case Lawyer Questions Soldier's Sanity. An Army private is undergoing medical tests to determine his mental state in a case alleging he leaked classified material to WikiLeaks, his lawyer said Wednesday. Pfc. Bradley Manning is undergoing the mental health examination to determine whether he understood his behavior from November through May, when he allegedly gave a classified video and diplomatic cables to an unauthorized person while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq, attorney David E. Coombs said. The exam by three Army mental health professionals could determine whether the 22-year-old soldier from Crescent, Oklahoma, will stand trial for allegations that could send him to prison for 52 years, Coombs said in written comments e-mailed to The Associated Press. Coombs said Manning is under psychiatric care in the brig at the Quantico Marine Corps Base in northern Virginia, partly out of concern that he is suicidal. (MSNBC/AP)

Ø Homeland Security
•Dutch Free Two Men Held In Terror Scare. Dutch prosecuting authorities have freed two Yemeni men arrested in Amsterdam on suspicion of terrorism. The men were taken into custody when they arrived Monday in Amsterdam on a United Airlines flight from Chicago. U.S. officials say they found a cell phone taped to a small bottle, multiple cell phones and watches taped together, a knife and a box cutter in their checked luggage. At the request of the United States, Dutch officials initially detained the men on suspicion of conspiring to carry out a terrorist act. But officials say Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al-Soofi and Hezam al-Murisi were freed without charge Wednesday due to a lack of evidence of their involvement in a terror plot. The Dutch prosecutors said tests conducted in the U.S. on the men's luggage did not reveal any signs of explosive material. (Voice of America)

Ø World Developments
•Obama Urges Middle East Leaders To Make Peace. On the eve of the first direct Middle East peace negotiations since he took office, President Obama urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders Wednesday to seize "this moment of opportunity" and to end their decades-long conflict, pledging to throw his administration's "full weight" behind their effort to do so. Speaking in the Rose Garden after a day of preparatory meetings, Obama sternly addressed both parties and the region's Arab leaders, whom he scolded for endorsing the creation of a Palestinian state in principle while often doing little to help bring one about. But he said that, ultimately, only Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas could make the compromises necessary to secure peace between their peoples. (Washington Post – see attached)
•In Somali Civil War, Both Sides Embrace Pirates. For years, Somalia’s heavily armed pirate gangs seemed content to rob and hijack on the high seas and not get sucked into the messy civil war on land. Now, that may be changing, and the pirates are taking sides – both sides. While local government officials in Hobyo have deputized pirate gangs to ring off coastal villages and block out the Shabab militant group, down the beach in Xarardheere, another pirate lair, elders said that other pirates recently agreed to split their ransoms with the Shabab and Hizbul Islam, another Islamist insurgent group. This seems to be the beginning of the West’s worst Somali nightmare, with two of the country’s biggest growth industries – piracy and Islamist radicalism – joining hands. (New York Times – see attached)
•UK Islamist Says Like-Minded U.S. Groups Expanding. Radical U.S. Muslim discussion groups are growing in influence much as similar forums did in 1990s Britain, a hardline British preacher said on Wednesday, referring to a period when London was Europe's Islamist hub. Anjem Choudary, accused by his critics of poisoning young Muslim minds with virulent anti-Western propaganda, added that a ban on a group he had led had backfired on UK authorities by boosting his standing among European and U.S. Muslims who shared his aim of establishing sharia (Islamic law) in the West. Choudary told Reuters global publicity about Britain's January 2010 prohibition of Islam4UK had provoked the creation or expansion of similar groups in Belgium, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark and even in Australia and Indonesia. He had visited France, Belgium and Indonesia this year to meet sympathizers, he said. (Reuters)
•Russian President To Azerbaijan Amid Karabakh Tensions. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is due to open an official visit to Azerbaijan Thursday amid heightened tensions between Azerbaijan and neighboring rival Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory. The Russian president's visit follows reported deadly clashes on August 31 between Azerbaijani forces and ethnic Armenians in Karabakh. The two sides have given conflicting casualty tolls, with Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry saying three Armenian and two Azerbaijani soldiers were killed, while Karabakh Armenian officials said four Azerbaijani troops were killed and one Armenian was wounded. Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a six-year war over the territory, an Armenian-majority enclave located inside Azerbaijan, that ended with a cease-fire in 1994. However, the territory's final status remains unresolved. (Radio Free Europe)

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

Look, Felix, you need to meet me halfway here. You need to tell us if you think things are good or bad, and then SpiritWarrior can disagree, then TL and John can chime in, and then I silently process what the four of you say and triangulate what must be the truth. This is the natural order of things. Are you actually going to make me read everything and think for myself when I've hit upon a winning formula here?

[Bungleau]

Hmmm.... triangulating with four sources instead of the usual three.... she's good, folks!

[SpiritWarrior]

Obviously, said triangulation always leads her to my location. Trufax.

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

Originally Posted by Bungleau Hmmm.... triangulating with four sources instead of the usual three.... she's good, folks!

Someday I'll show you how I divide by zero :p

[Felix The Assassin]

Very interesting, "it" whines when it fails to comprehend, yet jumps to the clouds when it receives recognition, even when whining about things that it cannot comprehend.

Such things should be left for cogitation of one's own free will.