IRAN AND IRAQ INCREASE TIES AS SHIITES TAKE GREATER CONTROL

Iran and Iraq have agreed to "form a joint commission to oversee border issues" between the two countries. The Iran/Iraq border is some 700 miles long, and the US has repeatedly accussed Iran of funnelling 'foreign fighters' into Iraq across this extremely vulnerable territory.

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said, during a visit to Iraq, the primary task of the joint commission would be to block "saboteurs", widely viewed as a veiled description of spies, secret agents and special forces operatives from Israel and the US.

Naturally, Israel and the US deny they are infiltrating Iran via Iraq, and in turn claim that Iranians Shiite fighters are flooding into Iraq and smuggling weapons.

"We plan to form a joint commission between Iran and Iraq to control our borders and block the way to saboteurs whose aim is to destabilize the security of the two countries," he said in Najaf after talks with Iraq's most powerful Shiite religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Mr. Mottaki, whose visit was only the second by an official Iranian government delegation since the downfall of Saddam Hussein, said improved border controls would be part of a wide effort to build close ties between the countries, including $1 billion in Iranian economic assistance to Shiite and Kurdish areas of Iraq.

American military commanders and diplomats have been focusing on what they say is strong evidence that a covert flow of weapons and money from Iran to Shiite militia groups in Iraq has fueled sectarian violence here. The Americans have urged the new Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to tighten security on the weakly patrolled Iran-Iraq border.

The issue is fraught with political complexity in Iraq, where the Maliki government includes Shiite leaders with links to at least two militias. The militias have been accused of participating in a brutal cycle of sectarian violence that has killed hundreds of people in recent months, in revenge for the relentless attacks on Shiites by Sunni insurgent groups.

The US is pressuring the new Iraqi government to contain movements across the border, claiming that Shiite fighters are joining some of the fractured anti-Sunni insurgency groups, and bringing in weapons from Iran, including new generation IEDs.

Iran denies this, as does the new Iraqi PM, though not as directly as Iran.

The US is now watching on in disbelief as a fundamentalist Islamic government takes control of greater Iraq, and increases ties with Iran, dominated by Shiite tribes and factions.

The Sunni-dominated insurgency, meanwhile, appears to be fighting both the Shiites and the US, while the US now stands accussed of training and arming Shiite 'death squads', in the process of ramping up the formation of new Iraqi Army brigades and strengthening the police force.

It is widely accepted in the Middle East that Iraq government-backed soldiers and police have been conducting executions of Sunnis, sometimes as many as thirty or forty a day, and forcing residents from their homes, either by force or by fear.

It is a shocking story of ethnic cleansing, barely acknowledged by the Western media, or the key leaders of the Western Coalition backing the new Iraq government.

Go here for the full story.

US MARINES COULD FACE DEATH PENALTY OVER HADITHA CIVILIAN MASSACRE

AT LEAST SIX CHILDREN EXECUTED IN RAMPAGE OF "REVENGE"

The UK Independent On Sunday is reporting that US Marines responsible for the execution-style murder of more than 20 Iraqi civilians, including men, women and at least six children, could face the death penalty for their crimes.

At least one marine took photographs of the scene of the slaughter on his mobile phone.

The photographs, seized by the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), show many victims shot at close range in the head and chest, execution-style, according to sources who have seen them. One image shows a mother and young child bent over on the floor as if in prayer. Both have been shot dead.

Similar photographs taken by a Marines intelligence team which arrived on the scene later show that soldiers "suffered a total breakdown in morality and leadership, with tragic results", according to a US official quoted by the Los Angeles Times yesterday.

The killing of more than 20 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha last November, first reported in the IoS two months ago, has become an international scandal after evidence from two official investigations was shown to Congressmen in the past 10 days.

Democrat John Murtha, a former Marines colonel who has retained close links to the military despite his denunciation of the Iraq occupation, said Marines "killed innocent civilians in cold blood".

According to reports in the US, military prosecutors may seek the death penalty for those found guilty of murder. Three Marines officers have already been relieved of duty, and more may be disciplined in a separate investigation into whether there was a cover-up after the killings.

The official account of what happened in Haditha on 19 November has gradually unravelled since the initial claim that one Marine, 20-year-old Lance-Corporal Miguel Terrazas, and 15 Iraqi civilians were killed when a roadside bomb went off next to a convoy of Humvees passing through the town.

Gunmen "attacked the convoy with small-arms fire", a statement added, and the Marines returned fire, killing eight insurgents and wounding one.

It appears that the wounded man later died, bringing the number of Iraqis killed to 24. The Marines did not begin to change their story until an Iraqi human rights group obtained the journalism student's video, which showed that no Iraqis were killed in the bomb explosion. The houses where they died were bullet-riddled inside, but had no external marks, casting doubts on the soldiers' claims that there had been a firefight.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that victims of the massacre begged for their lives.

Witnesses...say the Americans shot men, women and children at close range in retaliation for the death of a lance corporal in a roadside bombing.

Aws Fahmi, a Haditha resident....recalled hearing his neighbour across the street, Younis Salim Khafif, plead in English for the lives of himself and his family. "I heard Younis speaking to the Americans, saying: 'I am a friend. I am good,' " said Fahmi.

"But they killed him, and his wife and daughters."

The 24 Iraqi civilians killed on November 19 included children and the women who were trying to shield them, witnesses told a Washington Post correspondent in Haditha this week.

The girls killed inside Mr Khafif's house were aged 14, 10, 5, 3 and 1.

WITNESSES DESCRIBE THE HADITHA CIVILIAN SLAYINGS

BABY, 3 YEAR OLD, 76 YEAR OLD EXECUTED - US MILITARY BRACES FOR MAJOR SCANDAL

REVEALED : HOW US MARINES MASSACRED 24 CIVILIANS

1000 UK SOLDIERS DESERT/ABANDON THE 'WAR ON TERROR'

From the BBC : More than 1000 members of the British military have deserted the armed forces since the start of the 2003 Iraq War...

It comes as Parliament debates a law that will forbid military personnel refusing to participate in the occupation of a foreign country.

Some 900 have evaded capture since the Iraq war started, official figures say.

Ben Griffin was a member of the elite SAS. Earlier this year he told his commanding officer earlier he was not prepared to return to Iraq because he said he saw American forces carrying out what he thought were illegal acts.

"I was disturbed by the general day-to-day attitude of the American troops. They treated Iraqis with contempt, not like human beings. They had a complete disregard for Iraqi lives and property."

".... there's a lot of dissent in the Army about the legality of war and concerns that they're spending too much time there".

He says Iraq is different to other conflicts because, in other operations, the main aim is to improve life for the local population and he believes that is not what has happened in Iraq.

"There's contempt for the locals. We don't even know how many have been killed."

AUSTRALIA 'INVADES' EAST TIMOR

DEPLOYS 150 COMMANDOS, 1300 TROOPS, WARSHIPS, HELICOPTERS

9 OFFICERS KILLED IN DILI POLICE STATION MASSACRE

From the Your New Reality blog :

So seriously does the Australian government view the chaos and carnage now spreading in East Timor, that they have deployed a military force to the neighbouring nation larger than either of the 'War On Terror' deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

On the streets of the capital Dili, and in the east and west of Timor, police are shooting at other police, and soldiers have turned against fellow soldiers.

More than 600 soldiers were sacked from the Army in late April, after a dispute over wages, recognition and what they called a general lack of respect. Ethnic tensions between Eas Timor and Indonesia-controlled West Timor are fraying the edges of the dispute and racheting up the fighting.

The ousted soldiers, and their supporters, staged protests in the streets of Dili in late April and early May, and began negotiations with the East Timorese president, but gun fights broke out amongst the sacked soldiers, local police, militias and their former comrades in the East Timorese Army.

Most of the 600-plus sacked soldiers took to the hills outside of Dili and have since been joined by other soldiers and police who have officially defected.

The situation on the ground is so dangerous, prime Minister John Howard fears there will be casualties among the Australian soldiers and commandos now deployed.

The leader of the breakaway military group, Major Alfredo Reinado, says he will not allow his troops to shoot or engage in conflict with Australian soldiers. He wants to work with the Australians to return order to Dili, and the rest of East Timor.

"Don't worry, I'm with you. I'm with Australia," he told the ABC News.

"I'm with peacekeeping forces. I'm ready to cooperate with them based on any agreement that will be reached by our President (Xanana Gusmao)."

So what's his problem? While he backs Gusmao, the major has rejected the authority of the rest of the government of East Timor, who he claims are an entity for communist forces who want to destroy the democracy and independence of five year old nation.

Major Reinado recieved top level military training in Australia last year, as did a number of the soldiers who have joined his breakaway faction.

As Australian troops go in to round them up, it is likely that the 'rebel' troops will come face to face with some of the Australian soldiers who trained them.

Go to the Your New Reality blog for full coverage.

HOW THE US FIGHTS THE HI-TECH INFORMATION WAR

BUT THE SUPER-HYPED NET-CENTRIC WARFARE HASN'T REACHED MOST OF THE GRUNTS ON THE GROUND YET

From Popular Science : "With the right technologies, soldiers should be able to communicate better and have a clearer picture of the battlefield. Their movements become lightning-quick and lethally effective. Think of it as combat on Internet time.

"Every war becomes a proving ground for new tactics and new technologies. Battleships rose to prominence in World War I; tanks and bombers determined the course of World War II; Vietnam brought air power definitively into the Jet Age. The current conflict is no different.

"The Pentagon began this war believing its new, networked technologies would help make U.S. ground forces practically unstoppable in Iraq.

"Slow-moving, unwired armies like Saddam Hussein's were the kind of foe network-centric warriors were designed to carve up quickly.

"During the invasion in March 2003, that proved to be largely the case-despite most of the soldiers not being wired up at all. It was enough that their commanders had systems like BFT, which let them march to Baghdad faster than anyone imagined possible, with half the troops it took to fight the Gulf War in 1991.

"But now, more than three years into sectarian conflict and a violent insurgency that has cost nearly 2,400 American lives, an investigation of the current state of network-centric warfare reveals that frontline troops have a critical need for networked gear-gear that hasn't come yet.

"'There is a connectivity gap,' states a recent Army War College report. 'Information is not reaching the lowest levels.'

This is a dangerous problem, because the insurgents are stitching together their own communications network. Using cellphones and e-mail accounts, these guerrillas rely on a loose web of connections rather than a top-down command structure. And they don't fight in large groups that can be easily tracked by high-tech command posts. They have to be hunted down in dark neighborhoods, amid thousands of civilians, and taken out one by one.

"....it can take years for frontline soldiers to benefit from the technologies that high-ranking officers quickly take for granted.

"Bringing frontline infantrymen into the network isn't as easy as wiring up a headquarters. Battlefield gear has to be wireless, durable, secure, and completely effortless to use in the chaos of combat. The network is slowly expanding to meet the grunts.

"But the Department of Defense's lumbering process for buying new equipment still virtually ensures that ground-level soldiers won't be linked-in until early next decade."

The whole Popular Science article makes for a fascinating read.

"AN ARMY OF MERCENARIES"

GET THE US CORPORATIONS TO PAY THE BILLS FOR MILITARY INTERVENTION WHERE THEIR 'INTERESTS' ARE MOST THREATENED

One of the most influential voices in US media, Ted Koppel, former host of the high-rating current affairs show Nightline, wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times last week where he floated the idea that it may be time for America's corporations to start paying the bills for the US military interventions, occasionally, undertaken on their behalf.

There are some 50,000 private contractors currently working in the Iraq warzone. At least three quarters of these workers are been estimated to be security workers, acting as body guards, security guards for embassies and private businesses, but an unknown number are now rumoured to be already providing support to, and filling in some of the gaps left by, the US Military. Many are former soldiers, SAS, cops, they are armed and usually well-trained.

So why not create an Army Of Mercernaries, suggested Koppel, and get the corporations who benefit most from US intervention to pay the bills, instead of US taxpayers?

This would be, he wrote, "the inevitable response of a market economy to a host of seemingly intractable public policy and security problems."

This need for a private army that could be deployed into the world's trouble spots, where American corporations have interests, or "American interests" as President Bush has called them, is Koppel's solution to an over-stretched US military, and the desire of American business to sink corporate roots into highly-volatile, but vastly profitable, territories like Iraq and Darfur.

"Just as the all-volunteer military relieved the government of much of the political pressure that had accompanied the draft," wrote Koppel, "so a rent-a-force, harnessing the privilege of every putative warrior to hire himself out for more than he could ever make in the direct service of Uncle Sam, might relieve us of an array of current political pressures.

"So, if there are personnel shortages in the military (and with units in their second and third rotations into Iraq and Afghanistan, there are), then what's wrong with having civilian contractors? Expense is a possible issue; but a resumption of the draft would be significantly more controversial....

"So, what about the inevitable next step — a defensive military force paid for directly by the corporations that would most benefit from its protection? If, for example, an insurrection in Nigeria threatens that nation's ability to export oil (and it does), why not have Chevron or Exxon Mobil underwrite the dispatch of a battalion or two of mercenaries?"

Koppel pointed out that Blackwater USA, the security outfit run by former US Army and CIA officers, "has publicly said that his company would be prepared to take on the Darfur account."

Koppel wrapped up his interesting opinion piece with this : "The United States may not be about to subcontract out the actual fighting in the war on terrorism, but the growing role of security companies on behalf of a wide range of corporate interests is a harbinger of things to come."

(Koppel quotes sourced from : Editor And Publisher)

US PROPOSES A MISSILE SHIELD FOR EUROPE

CITES IRAN AND NORTH KOREAN MISSILES AS THREAT TO US ALLIES

There is a Fortress Europe mentality amongst US Defence Department officials, and US Defence Department contractors, as the plan to spread US bases and influence across the Middle East appears not to be moving forward.

If the US can't spread bases across the Middle East, as democracy spreads, then Fortress Europe may well be the fallback plan.

The idea is for the US to strategically install missiles 'defence' systems across the EU, to buffer future possible threats from Russia and Iran, primarily. The US will cite the need to protect "American interests in the region", meaning corporate interests and US businesses, which may eventually over-rule the money and power of struggling democracies like Poland, now in line to take US missiles under the 'Missile Shield' plan.

But there is as much a dual purpose to the US pressure on the EU for a 'Missile Shield' as there is to the missiles themselves.

Allowing the US to deploy missile 'defence' systems in countries such as Poland, or Germany, also allows the US to then install small bases of soldiers, military staff and weaponry needed to defend these sites from terrorist attacks or enemy infiltration.

The larger the possible threat to these nests of US missiles, the larger the deployment of military to protect them. This way, US bases in the territories that take on the 'Missile Shield' can increase in size, strength and capability.

There has also been plenty of suspicion from Russia and China about whether the Shield missiles are not solely for defence purposes. In theory, these deployed missiles could easily be converted to offensive missiles.

From The New York Times : "The Bush administration is moving to establish a new antimissile site in Europe that would be designed to stop attacks by Iran against the United States and its European allies.

"The administration's proposal, which comes amid rising concerns about Iran's suspected program to develop nuclear weapons, calls for installing 10 antimissile interceptors at a European site by 2011. Poland and the Czech Republic are among the nations under consideration.

"The final cost, including the interceptors themselves, is estimated at $1.6 billion.

"The establishment of an antimissile base in Eastern Europe would have enormous political implications. The deployment of interceptors in Poland, for example, would create the first permanent American military presence on that nation's soil and further solidify the close ties between the defense establishments of the two nations.

"Gen. Yuri N. Baluyevsky, the chief of the Russian military's general staff, has sought to stir up Polish opposition to the plan.

"'What can we do?' General Baluyevsky told the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza in December. 'Go ahead and build that shield. You have to think, though, what will fall on your heads afterward. I do not foresee a nuclear conflict between Russia and the West. We do not have such plans. However, it is understandable that countries that are part of such a shield increase their risk.'

"By building an antimissile base in Europe, the Pentagon is seeking to position the interceptors close to the projected flight path of Iranian missiles that would be aimed toward Europe or continue on a polar route to the United States.

"Iran does not have intercontinental-range missiles and has yet to conduct a flight test of a multistage rocket....some experts say it is a long way from developing such a system.

"Iran (after their war with Iraq) embarked on an effort to secure additional missiles and missile technology from foreign suppliers, including North Korea. The Iranian Shahab-3, a liquid-fueled missile that is based on North Korea's No-dong missile, has the range to strike Israel, Turkey and other countries in the region.

"Defense Department officials argue that Iran could collaborate with North Korea to speed up the development of long-range systems. Given the time it would take the United States to install an antimissile site in Europe, some officials said it was not too soon to begin work.

"The installation of 10 interceptors in Eastern Europe would have no significant ability to defend against Russia's sizable nuclear arsenal....the Russians are unhappy with the idea and have portrayed it as a step that would jeopardize cooperation between NATO and Russia, including on antimissile systems."

WORLD NEWS AT A GLANCE

One of the first actions taken by the new Iraq Government was for the Foreign Minister to announce that Iraq is ready to renew and strengthen ties and expand relations with Iran.

....the Iraqi foreign minister underlined that his country will strive to further broaden all out good neighborly ties with all countries, particularly its neighbors, and called for exchange of visits by officials of both countries to discuss issues of mutual interests.

He also expressed satisfaction about the upcoming visit of Iranian foreign minister to Baghdad and described the visit as a sign of Iran's determination to support the Iraqi government.

US FUMES AS IRAQ MAKES MOVES TO JOIN ARAB BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL


British PM Tony Blair has cut a secret deal with US President Bush for the whitdrawal of British troops from Iraq based around the 'turning point' of Iraq announcing it's new government. More than 2000 British troops are currently in Iraq, and they faced more than 40 direct attacks in the past two weeks in and around Basra,


Meanwhile, Iran is blaming the US and Britain for skirmishes on its border with Iraq.

Iranian police said on Saturday they had found papers linking Britain and the United States to vaguely identified "bandits" in a border province which is a drug smuggling center and a base for Sunni Muslim guerrillas.

A British diplomat in Tehran said Britain had nothing to do with mounting lawlessness in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan. The United States has no embassy in Iran.

Iran has previously blamed Britain and the United States for bombings and killings in its increasingly volatile frontier regions where unrest is simmering among Kurdish, Arab and Baluch minorities. Washington and London deny any involvement.

INDIA : Seeks Closer Ties With China's Massive Military Forces

JAPAN : Draws Up Plans For Fast Withdrawal From Iraq

NORTH KOREA : Long Range Missiles Launch Rattles US

AFHGANISTAN : Worst Days Of Fighting Since 2001.

SYRIA : Ties On Regional Security Firm With Iran

IRAN : Israel Continues To Urge US To Launch Attacks

EGYPT : Strains Show In Relationship With US, President Accusses US Of "Double Standards"

IRAQ : Italy Will Draw Up Plans Next Week To Begin Withdrawal

ISRAEL : French Foreign Minister Warns Against Redrawing Of Borders Without Negotiations With Palestinians

PALESTINE : Hamas And Hamas Police Forces Battle It Out In The Streets

VENEZUELA : Key US Media Begins Promoting Country As Terrorist State

CUBA : Signs 'Co-Operation Agreement' With North Korea

PAKISTAN : Rejects Claims From Kabul That It Back, Supports Taleban Fighting On Border With Afghanistan

AUSTRALIA : Caving-In Under Pressure, Will Now Officially Recognise West Papua As Territory Of Indonesia

KASHMIR : Seven Killed As Militants Fire Into Crowd At Indian Congress

IRAQI MIDDLE CLASSES FLEE EXECUTION SQUADS AND RANDOM BOMBINGS

"WE ARE LIKE SHEEP AT A SLAUGHTER FARM"

NEW ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER CALLS WAR "MISTAKE", PLEDGES WITHDRAWALS

From the New York Times : In the latest indication of the crushing hardships weighing on the lives of Iraqis, increasing portions of the middle class seem to be doing everything they can to leave the country. In the last 10 months, the state has issued new passports to 1.85 million Iraqis, 7 percent of the population and a quarter of the country's estimated middle class.

The school system offers another clue: Since 2004, the Ministry of Education has issued 39,554 letters permitting parents to take their children's academic records abroad. The number of such letters issued in 2005 was double that in 2004, according to the director of the ministry's examination department. Iraqi officials and international organizations put the number of Iraqis in Jordan at close to a million. Syrian cities also have growing Iraqi populations.

Since the bombing of a shrine in Samarra in February touched off a sectarian rampage, crime and killing have spread further through Iraqi society, paralyzing neighborhoods and smashing families. Now, on the brink of a new, permanent government, Iraqis are expressing the darkest view of their future in three years.

"We're like sheep at a slaughter farm," said a businessman, who is arranging a move to Jordan. "We are just waiting for our time."

The Samarra bombing produced a new kind of sectarian violence. Gangs of Shiites in Baghdad pulled Sunni Arabs out of houses and mosques and killed them in a spree that prompted retaliatory attacks and displaced 14,500 families in three months, according to the Ministry for Migration.

Most frightening, many middle-class Iraqis say, was how little the government did to stop the violence. That failure boded ominously for the future, leaving them feeling that the government was incapable of protecting them and more darkly, that perhaps it helped in the killing. Shiite-dominated government forces have been accused of carrying out sectarian killings.

It is more than just the killing that has sapped hope for the future. Iraqis have waited for five months for a permanent government, after voting in a national election in December, and though political leaders are on the brink of announcing it, some Iraqis say the amount of haggling it took to form it makes them skeptical that it will be able to solve bigger problems.

Go here for the full story.

Italy's new Prime Minister has pledged to withdraw all Italian forces from the War On Iraq.

"The government intends to propose to parliament the return of our soldiers," Prodi said in his first major speech as prime minister.

"The war in Iraq and the occupation of the country is a grave mistake."

He believes the unending violence in the country, kicked off by the US-led invasion, had vastly "complicated the problem of security."

"This war, as the American ambassador in Baghdad admitted recently, has uncovered a Pandora's box which risks igniting the entire region."

Italy sent 3000 troops into Iraq in June-July, 2003, and at least 2600 troops still remain in war zone.

70 CIVILIANS SLAUGHTERED IN IRAQ EVERY DAY, MORTUARIES OVERWHELMED

"WHY DID MY SON DIE IN VAIN?" US FATHER ASKS AFTER SON IS KILLED IN IRAQ, "WHY ARE WE STILL FIGHTING...WHY?"

US LAWMAKERS SAYS US TROOPS WERE INVOLVED IN CIVILIAN MASSACRE

RUMSFELD GOES BEGGING FOR $67 BILLION MORE TO FIGHT IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN WARS

IRAQ : THE BORDER WAR WITH TURKEY AND IRAN

THE KURDISH FIGHT FOR A HOMELAND AND WHY THE UNITED STATES DOESN'T WANT TO GET INVOLVED

Unless you're well read about the convoluted, intricated history of the Kurds, you may have had a hard time getting your head around what is going on in Northern Iraq today, and how Iran, Turkey and Syria fit into the big picture.

This article from the Asia Times is the most straightforward outline of the current clashes in Northern Iraq, and the looming problems for Iraq and the United States, that we've found so far.

From the Asia Times :

"Both Turkey and Iran have been launching military raids into northern Iraq against a Kurdish paramilitary group that is based there, posing a dangerous new threat to stability both within Iraq and to the region.

"The Iraq-based Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), labeled a terrorist group by the United States, Britain and the European Union, is a paramilitary party that preaches Kurdish nationalism, especially in Turkey, where it is demanding political rights and better living standards for the country's 12 million Kurds.

Turkey recently launched a massive military operation involving more than 250,000 troops against the PKK (nearly double the number of US troops in Iraq), concentrated in the mountains along Turkey's borders with Iran and Iraq.

"Extensive incursions into Northern Iraq have been reported, aimed at cutting off the PKK's supply lines to Turkey from its camps in northern Iraq. Turkey also claims that "the PKK has recently increased its activities and obtained weapons from Iraq".

"Iran, meanwhile, has begun attacks on PKK units based in Iran, and the Iranian military has entered Iraqi territory in hot pursuit of PKK militants. This represents a different approach from recent years, when Turkey regularly accused Tehran of turning a blind eye to the PKK in Iran.

"The Baghdad government has objected, claiming a violation of its sovereignty, but both countries insist that they are acting in self-defense.

"The PKK wants to create a Kurdish state out of southeastern Turkey, northeastern Iraq, northeastern Syria and northwestern Iran.

"PKK broadcasts have claimed that 2006 would be "a year of destiny" for Kurdish nationalism. The PKK rebellion, which has hit Turkey the hardest, has led to the death of 35,000 Turks (including 5,000 soldiers) and cost the Turks billions of dollars.

"The PKK's long history of violence - and the violence used in turn by the authorities - all but ceased after its leader Abdullah Ocelan was arrested in 1998, but it resumed activities in June 2004, claiming that the Turkish military was still attacking it.

"'In a message to Iraq, Turkey said, 'They [PKK] are the infiltrators and we are protecting our border. Do not allow the terror network to use your territory. Fight against the terrorists who will only terrorize you in the future.'

"Another communique issued by Turkey addressing the Iraqis read, 'We are not considering ending our activity there [in Iraq] for as long as the PKK is also present and active in that area.'

"The Turks claim that up to 4,000 members of the PKK have been using Iraq to launch attacks on Turkey."

The Asia Times story also has an interesting analysis on exactly what are the problems and major difficulties facing the new Iraqi government today, and how the different religious groups are jostling for position, and power.

Read the rest of this story here.

SOMALIA : US HIRES WARLORDS IN FIGHT AGAINST TERROR ACROSS THE HORN OF AFRICA

SAME FIGHTERS FROM 'BLACK HAWK DOWN' BATTLES MAY NOW BE ON US PAYROLL

WARNINGS OF US FUNDS AIDING NEW GENERATION OF TERRORISTS AND FUELING CIVIL WAR

From The Washington Post : "More than a decade after U.S. troops withdrew from Somalia following a disastrous military intervention, officials of Somalia's interim government and some U.S. analysts of Africa policy say the United States has returned to the African country, secretly supporting secular warlords who have been waging fierce battles against Islamic groups for control of the capital, Mogadishu.

"The latest clashes, last week and over the weekend, were some of the most violent in Mogadishu since the end of the American intervention in 1994, and left 150 dead and hundreds more wounded. Leaders of the interim government blamed U.S. support of the militias for provoking the clashes.

"U.S. officials have declined to directly address on the record the question of backing Somali warlords, who have styled themselves as a counterterrorism coalition in an open bid for American support.

Leaders of the transitional government said they have warned U.S. officials that working with the warlords is shortsighted and dangerous.

"'We would prefer that the U.S. work with the transitional government and not with criminals,' the prime minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi, said in an interview.

"'This is a dangerous game. Somalia is not a stable place and we want the U.S. in Somalia. But in a more constructive way. Clearly we have a common objective to stabilize Somalia, but the U.S. is using the wrong channels.'

"Many of the warlords have their own agendas, Somali officials said, and some reportedly fought against the United States in 1993 during street battles that culminated in an attack that downed two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters and left 18 Army Rangers dead.

"'The U.S. government funded the warlords in the recent battle in Mogadishu, there is no doubt about that,' government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari told journalists by telephone from Baidoa. 'This cooperation . . . only fuels further civil war.'

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack was quoted as saying the United States works with "responsible individuals" in the fight against terror, and the creation of new havens for Al Qaeda. But this means they are arming, training and paying those who are willing to take on the Islamists in the region.

It's got the whiff of 1980s Afghanistan all over it.

Create and support local militias to take on the enemy of the day, and lay the groundwork for the rise of a possible new enemy of tomorrow, well-armed and well-trained.

'NO FRIENDS BUT THE MOUNTAINS'

TURKEY, IRAN LINE UP TO CRUSH KURDISH UPRISING

US FACES DIFFICULT CHOICE OF BACKING KURDS

THE FIGHT FOR A HOMELAND IN THE LATEST BATTLE ZONE OF WORLD WAR IV

Patrick Cockburn of the UK Independent writes : "Shell craters and dead branches torn off the trees by explosions mark the places in the mountains of northern Iraq targeted by Iranian artillery firing across the border in a serious escalation of the confrontation between Iran and the US.

"Frightened villagers, whose farms cling to the sides of the deep valleys below Kandil mountain, ran for their lives as Iran opened fire on Iraqi territory for the first time since the US invasion in 2003. Local officials said about 2,000 shells were fired in four hours.

"The old saying of the Kurds that they 'have no friends but the mountains' is truest here among the towering peaks along on the frontier with Iran.

"For the first time in their tragic history the Kurds believe they are close to being recognised as a nation within Iraq but they fear that their powerful neighbours - Iran, Syria and Turkey - will snatch away their victory at the last moment.

"For several years the area has been controlled by heavily armed Kurdish guerrillas from the Turkish Kurd PKK movement, which conducts operations across the border in Iran."

From The Assyrian International News Agency : "In Turkey...armored personnel carriers and tanks rumble along its remote border with Iraq's Kurdish zone. Turkey has sent tens of thousands of fresh soldiers in the last few weeks to beef up an already formidable force there.

"The Kurdish provinces of northern Iraq are the country's most stable and prosperous area. But to neighboring Iran and Turkey, both with large Kurdish minorities, they are something else: an inspiration and a support base for the Kurdish militants in their own countries.

"So Iran and Turkey are sending troops, tanks and artillery to the frontier to seal off the borders and send a message: If the U.S.-backed Iraqi government doesn't clamp down on Kurdish guerrillas who use Iraq as a base, they could do it themselves.

"That has left the United States in a quandary. If U.S. forces take action, they risk alienating Iraqi Kurds, the most pro-American group in the region. And if they don't, they risk increased tensions -- and possibly worse -- with two powerful rivals.

"The traditional Kurdish region spans Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria and the guerrillas are based in a mountain range of northern Iraq that stretches into Turkey and Iran. They seem determined to keep up their decades-long struggle (for an independent homeland).

"Some analysts say that besides sealing off their borders to the guerrillas, both Iran and Turkey may be trying to intimidate Iraqi Kurds. The Iranians and Turks fear Kurdish success in creating an autonomous region in northern Iraq, and the prosperity of their enclave, could encourage their own Kurdish minorities.

"Turkish officials have hinted to the United States that they are considering a large-scale military operation across the border.

"In a visit to Turkey in late April, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned against any major strike.

"'We want anything we do to contribute to stability in Iraq and not to threaten that stability or to make a difficult situation worse,' Rice said."

TURKEY AND IRAN LAUNCH RAIDS INTO IRAQ

TUKEY BOMBS CHRISTIAN VILLAGE IN KURDISTAN

THREAT TO EUROPEAN UNITY AS TURKEY-KURD CLASHSES INCREASE

TURKEY WARNS THAT KURDISH UPRISINGS WILL BE THREAT TO IRAQ

CHINA'S BIGGEST MILITARY EXPANSION IN DECADES SHOCKS UNITED STATES

50 SUBS OPERATIONAL, AIR POWER INCREASED, HUNDREDS OF NEW INTERCONTINENTAL MISSILES BEING DEPLOYED

RUMSFELD PENTAGON CAUGHT OFF GUARD BY CHINA'S RISE TO A FIRST WORLD MILITARY POWER

From The Jakarta Post : U.S. military planners and analysts are becoming increasingly concerned at China's programs to counter the long established dominance of American aircraft carriers and their naval escorts in the western Pacific. These flotillas are a key component of U.S. global power, enabling Washington to position a powerful maritime strike force in seas around the world to support a wide range of missions from intervention to humanitarian assistance.

In Asia so far, there has been little to threaten the U.S. leviathans and their combat planes. Just over a decade ago, when China fired ballistic missiles into waters around Taiwan to deter possible moves towards independence, U.S. President Bill Clinton sent two aircraft carrier battle groups into the region to protect the island.

China is now deploying its latest generation of short range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) in southeast China, across from Taiwain.

It's alleged to be adding some 100 surface to surface missiles every twelve months, with a ready stock of SRBMs and cruise missiles numbering an estimated 700.

China is also focusing its strategy of sea denial, particularly important since it wants to ensure such shipping routes as the Malaka Straits stay open and free to keep energy supplies from Australia and Iran (among other countries) coming in. For this reason, China is rapidly expanding its fleet of submarines, diversifying across four different classes, both nuclear and deisel.

Russia is supplying the last eight of a 2002 order armed with 300 km range cruise missiles for land attack and torpedoes capable of whipping through the water at speeds of 200 km/h.

The Jakarta Post claims "China is getting most of its foreign military equipment from Russia, with former Soviet states such as Ukraine providing some advanced systems. Russia is evidently selling advanced arms and technology to fund its next generation weapons development."

In 2001-2002, China brought four Sovremenny-class destroyers from Russia, armed with Sunburn, Club and Yakhont missiles. The Russian shopping list also included at least two dozen Il-76 planes, which can be used for airborne control and warning as well as air-refueling for the Russia supplied squadrons of Su-27 and Su-30 multi-role fighters.

The Jakarta Post also claims China plans to "upgrade its long-range strike capability by acquiring Tu-22M-3 Backfire bombers from Russia. The Backfire uses a range of supersonic and subsonic precision-guided munitions that would greatly enhance China's ability to carry out sea denial or sea control operations. Should Beijing get the Backfire bomber, U.S. carrier battle groups and forward bases will face a significantly increased threat.

"With a combat radius of over 2,000 miles, the Backfire could reach U.S. military bases on Okinawa and on Guam..."

China now has at least 50 submarines at operational capacity. At least 25 of these are regarded as "highly lethal."

To the shock of U.S. intelligence, and the Rumsfeld Pentagon, China suddenly shifted from being something a bit beyond a Third World military power in 2004, and is rapidly closing the gap to be able to compete militarily with United States.

A stunning development, virtually un-mentioned in the world's press, but causing great concern for the United States, and US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, in particular.

Rumsfeld wrote an editorial for France Le Figaro, published in early May, where he said : “Some aspects of the Chinese attitude are worrying and complicate our relations. A notorious lack of transparency (on military spending) is of course worrying for China’s neighbours.”

China's defence budget has climbed in recent years to more than $35 billion in 2006. In comparison Australia's defence budget for 2006-2007 is almost $20 billion. The US, meanwhile, has a defence budget spiralling into the hundreds of billions of dollars a year, as it makes plans to expand its War On Terror.

Commander of US Pacific Forces Given Week Long Tour Of Chinese Military Installations

ISRAEL DEFENCE FORCE FIRED 5100 SHELLS INTO NORTHERN GAZA IN SIX WEEKS

HAMAS DECLARES IT WILL RECOGNISE ISRAEL WITHIN '67 BORDERS

From Haaretz.com : "IDF artillery batteries deployed along the Gaza Strip border have fired more than 5,100 shells at 'launch areas' for Qassam rockets since March 31, mainly in northern Gaza, according to the army's figures.

"The IDF stepped up its response to Qassam rocket fire two and a half months ago. Most of the artillery response consists of explosive shells fired by a battery deployed near Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

"Five Palestinian civilians have been killed as a result of IDF artillery in the past ten weeks, including a young girl and a teenager.

"The artillery shelling was initiated by former prime minister Ariel Sharon shortly after the completion of the IDF's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September, though Sharon had been talking about the need for a beefed-up response to Qassam rockets long before then.

"The IDF has since reduced the distance of its artillery fire from Palestinian homes and farmland, from 300 meters to only 100 meters."

ISRAEL HAS 200-300 NUKES, ALTERED US CRUISE MISSILES TO CARRY NUCLEAR WARHEADS

CLAIM : 62% OF ISRAELIS WANT ALL ARABS OUT OF ISRAEL

HAMAS TO RECOGNISE ISRAEL....ONLY WITHIN BORDERS DEFINED IN 1967

ISRAEL BACKS OFF FROM MAJOR HAMAS CONFRONTATION AFTER US, EU PRESSURE, WILL FREE UP PALESTINIAN TAXES, MEDICINES, FUEL AS 'SIEGE' DRAWS TO A CLOSE

BUSH WILL USE MILITARY TO CLOSE BORDERS

'WAR' ON BORDER WITH MEXICO HEATS UP AS RUMSFELD DRAWN INTO NEGOTIATIONS

The local police and US Army units already deployed (un-officially) into Arizona and Texas to fight the invasion of illegal Mexican immigrants already regard the ongoing clashes as "war".

The fight to stop tens of thousands of illegal immigrants crossing over into the US is growing more tense, more violent, with each week that passes.

The fact that President Bush is now considering the Military option to appease Americans, and to slow the "invasion" signals just how incredibly serious these clashes are becoming.

In fact, President Bush will use a nationally televised address to the nation on Monday to make the announcement that National Guard units will join in the fight.

Word of Bush's plans were leaked all over the US media over the weekend to allow newspapers, radio, TV to cover the story and discuss the deployment of the National Guard, likely backed by US Army troops and equipment, in an 'advisory' capacity, particularly on the all-important Sunday night news and news magazine-style programs.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has already held talks in Washington with his Mexican equivalent, General Clemente Ricardo Vega over the border crisis.

But the securing of the borders by the use of US Military is not just focused one way, on the illegal immigrants trying to flee Mexico.

Thousands of US citizens, on the run from the law, or fleeing personal problems or domestic disputes, cross over into Mexico every year.

The Military assets deployed along the border will be expected to stop the illegal passage of US citizens into Mexico as well, thereby effectively closing the border.

12 Foot High Metal Wall Stretches 83 Miles Along 2000 Mile US/Mexico Border. CCTV Cameras, Guard Towers Watch For Illegals. Plans For Massive Expansion Of Wall

'Border Patrol' Videogame Causes Outrage As Players Shoot Pregnant Women And Children Crossing US Border

Civilian 'MinuteMen' Border Patrol Groups Protest In Washington

CHAVEZ AND MORALES TELL EUROPEAN UNION NEW POLITICAL ERA HAS ARRIVED

CONCERNS OVER ENERGY SUPPLIES FROM LATIN AMERICA RAISE WORLDWIDE TENSIONS

CHAVEZ : "THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE IS NOW BEING HEARD"

In front of a major meeting of world leaders in Vienna, including UK Prime Ministe Tony Blair, and UN Chief Kofi Annan, and the leaders of Spain and Brazil, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales laid down the law on how their gas and oil rich countries would now deal with the rest of the world.

The socialist left presidents refused demands by the EU to slow down their radical policies on returning the wealth of their nations to the indigineous peoples who had long missed out on the massive profits siphoned away by foreign energy corporations.

But Morales and Chavez declared a new era of politics for, and by, the people has arrived.

The meeting brought together more than 60 leaders of the European Union and Caribbean and Latin American countries. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair demanded Chavez and Morales show a "responsible approach" to the ongoing debate.

Both Venezeuala and Bolivia are taking back control of the oil and gas mining and processing operations that have delivered spectacular profits to some of the largest energy companies in the world for years, but returned little to the people of those countries.

Bolivia is now seizing natural gas mining and processing facilities in a program of nationalising the valuable assets, and demanding the foreign-owned corporations sign new contracts (which are expected to deliver larger profits to Bolivians), if they wish to continue to do business there.

Likewise, Venezuela is nationalising the once privately owned energy companies that operate within its borders, extracting oil from one of the biggest natural reserves in the world.

Chavez made it clear, in an address to the gathered leaders, that he has big plans and he has only just begun his monumental shake up the old systems.

"Neo-liberalism has begun its decline and has come to an end," Chavez said.

"Now a new era has begun in Latin America. Some call it populism, trying to disfigure our beauty. But it is the ... voice of the people that is being heard."

Chavez and Morales are just two of the new leaders of a wave of leftist politicians elected across Latin America, after years of much-heralded IMF and World Bank economic reforms, and globalisation programs, failed to lift the countries out of poverty.

UK PM Tony Blair was quoted as saying in response to the speeches by Morales and Chavez, "What countries do in their energy policy when they are energy producers like Bolivia and Venezuela matters enormously to all of us. My only plea is that people exercise the power they have got in this regard responsibly for the whole of the international community ... people are worried about energy supply in the future."

The governments of Brazil and Spain, at the Vienna meeting, raised strong concerns about the energy interests they own in Bolivia, fearing loss of control, and loss of profits, through Morales radical plans for nationalisation.

Like the UK, Spain and Brazil are vastly worried about whether these new Morales-backed programs of reform will affect the flow of energy from Bolivia, as such interruptions would have direct effects across numerous businesses and industries in Spain and Brazil.

Likewise, other EU leaders expressed similar concerns, led by Tony Blair.

The UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, told Morales and Chavez that international investors had to have guarantees of ongoing and long-term stability during the major reforms.

"Without that assurance," Annan said, "you may be disrupting all economic activities."

The foreign minister of Brazil demanded Bolivia pay compensation to Petroleo Brasileiro (Brazil's state owned oil company) if Morales seizes control of the company's assets during the new contract negotiations.

"If investments [assets] are passed to a different owner, they need to be compensated," the Brazilian foreign minister, Celso Amorim, said during the Vienna summit.

Bolivia's Morales tried to reassure the Spanish foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, by releasing a statement to reporters which read : "We hope that in the term of 180 days we can establish to decide new contracts of mutual interest ...so true and lasting legal security exists for companies."

But the UK and the EU may need much more solid reassurances than a media release. For the moment, Morales and Chavez are standing their ground, while the United States, through Secretary of State, Condaleeza Rice, continue to pile on the pressure.

But intensifying diplomatic demands may do little to change the minds of Chavez and Morales. They were elected partly due to their plans to reform the oil and gas industries of their countries, and deliver more profits back to their people.

So far, they are keeping to their promises.

(Sources : Associated Press, Rueters, The Guardian, The London Times)

US Business Owners Ramp Up Trade And Deals With Venezuela

Fuel Is Cheaper Than Water In Venezuela

Chavez Voices Support For Islamic Republic Of Iran - "We Pray To 'Allah' No War Will Be Launched"

Bolivia's Morales Urges Columbia, Ecuador, Peru To Abandon Free Trade Dealings With US

TURKEY AND IRAN ATTACK KURDS IN IRAQ

250,000 IRANIAN TROOPS DEPLOYED, DOUBLE THE US FORCES

TEHRAN, WASHINGTON, ANKARA, DAMASCUS AND BAGHDAD LOCKED IN A VICIOUS FIGHT BARELY REPORTED IN THE WEST

From the Asia Times : "Both Turkey and Iran have been launching military raids into northern Iraq against a Kurdish paramilitary group that is based there, posing a dangerous new threat to stability both within Iraq and to the region.

"The Iraq-based Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), labeled a terrorist group by the United States, Britain and the European Union, is a paramilitary party that preaches Kurdish nationalism, especially in Turkey, where it is demanding political rights and better living standards for the country's 12 million Kurds.

"Turkey recently launched a massive military operation involving more than 250,000 troops against the PKK (nearly double the number of US troops in Iraq), concentrated in the mountains along Turkey's borders with Iran and Iraq.

"Iran, meanwhile, has begun attacks on PKK units based in Iran, and the Iranian military has entered Iraqi territory in hot pursuit of PKK militants. This represents a different approach from recent years, when Turkey regularly accused Tehran of turning a blind eye to the PKK in Iran.

"The Baghdad government has objected, claiming a violation of its sovereignty, but both countries insist that they are acting in self-defense. "

"To avoid a confrontation, a flurry of diplomacy has taken place in Turkey. Over the past week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Ankara. So did members of the US House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee, and Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and chief negotiator on Iran's nuclear portfolio.

"...Turkey has found an ally in the form of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, who has shown the will - and the army - to support the Turks in combating the PKK.

"Ahmadinejad's support for Turkey's offensive on the PKK in Iraq is naturally in Iran's own interests, but it is also aimed at acquiring a new, strong friend for Tehran in its confrontation with the international community over its nuclear program. Reportedly, Ahmadinejad even told the Turks that he would share his nuclear technology with them.

"For their part, the Kurds have been trying to appease the Turks to avoid a head-on clash, knowing that the consequences would bring devastation to the safe and booming region of Kurdistan, crippling security and foreign investment.

"The only ones, sadly, who have no agenda for Iraq are the Iraqis themselves, caught as they now are in a vicious battle among Tehran, Washington, Ankara, Damascus and Baghdad. "

The whole story is definitely worth a read, go here.

AUSTRALIA DEPLOYS WARSHIPS OFF EAST TIMOR COAST

EAST TIMOR SUPRISED BY THE MOVE

"THERE IS NO WAR IN EAST TIMOR"

From the Sydney Morning Herald : "Two navy warships have been despatched to northern Australian waters, ready to race to the aid of East Timor if violence returns to the fledgling nation.

"But Timor is adamant it has no need for military assistance, despite the death of a police officer during one of two violent protests that have rocked the country in the past fortnight.

"In the latest flare-up, about 100 people were arrested after a stone-throwing mob attacked a government office in a town southwest of Dili, killing the officer.

"The previous week, violence erupted during a protest by soldiers sacked for desertion, leaving at least five people dead.

Australia said last week it would consider sending troops, if asked.

"Prime Minister John Howard today said the navy's amphibious transport ships HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Manoora had been deployed and were ready to be called into service, if required.

"East Timor's ambassador in Australia, Hernani Coelho Da Silva, said the Australian government had not informed Timor about its plans to send ships to Australia's northern waters."

All the trouble has flared up just as the UN mission was due to a come to an end, on May 19. The UN is now considering a request to extend the mission by a month, at the minimu.

From News.com : "East Timor does not need foreign peacekeepers, foreign minister Jose Ramos-Horta said today, shortly after Australia said it had sent two warships close to Timorese waters.

"The East Timorese capital Dili was rocked by a riot on April 28 sparked by the sacking of 600 soldiers. At least five people were killed and thousands fled the city in fear of further violence.

"'East Timor does not need a peacekeeping force, because there is no war in East Timor,' Mr Ramos-Horta."

The two warships have been fast-deployed with as few as 50 crew members on each vessel. Should further trouble break out to a level that East Timor calls on Australia to send in troops, they can be moved onto the vessels via RAN catamarans and helicopters.

The low number of crew members on Kanimbla and Manoora points to the speed with which they have been sent into the far north Australian waters, but they may have also been purposely deployed with few crew so there is room for the 1000 Australians living and working in East Timor who may be evacuated if fighting increases.

RUSSIA'S FOREIGN SECRETARY CALLS FOR WORLD GOVERNMENT

The Russian Foreign Secretary, Sergueiil Lavrov is calling for tensions between the US and Russia to end, and for both countries to join together in the formation of a 'World Government'.

Lavrov's call comes at a time of a chilling of relations between Moscow and Washington and amidst signs of a new Cold War. Moscow is wary of the establishment by America of a front of "New Democracies" in Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Georgia to counter "the Russian Bear," which is powerfully awakening.

....Lavrov said that bringing together a "chorus" of major nations into a world government will eliminate the jockeying for power that creates imbalances. Lavrov was certain that "most countries will welcome such a grouping of leadership."

He also said that there is no place in Russian politics for animosity toward the U.S., and that the basic goals of American and Russian foreign policy were nearly identical. He made clear that the policies of both countries are to create a more secure and predictable world.

From Lavrov's point of view, the political differences between Moscow and Washington are essentially philosophical. He explained that the apparent difference in opinion concerning the emerging international system is due to mutual misunderstanding. He added that this misunderstanding is far less significant than that which existed during the previous era, when there was a "negative stability" between two poles, namely the United States and the Soviet Union.

Lavrov pointed out that "absolute security" cannot be achieved through excessive military superiority, and he pointed out that in special cases, differences in interests are completely natural.

THE 'WOLF' GROWLS, BUT THE 'BEAR' ROARS BACK

US DEFENCE SECRETARY RUMSFELD CALLS RUSSIA "NOT CO-OPERATIVE", FEARS FUTURE PLANS, MILITARY EXPANSION

VLADIMIR PUTIN'S 'BRAVE NEW RUSSIA' STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH, IN FULL

TALIBAN BEGIN SPRING OFFENSIVE IN AFGHANISTAN

PAKISTAN IN VIEW AS AL QAEDA ISSUES NEW ORDERS

US TELLS PAKISTAN TO GO TO WAR ON TALIBAN

From the Asian Times : "KARACHI - Across the jihadi world, there is a strong conviction that by the end of this year Taliban leader Mullah Omar will be back in power in Afghanistan, from where he was driven by US-led forces in 2001.

"Realistically, eight months is likely to be too ambitious a time frame for a Taliban victory, if victory is achievable at all.

"Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the Taliban movement is poised to enhance its nuisance level significantly in the United States' strategic back yards in the region - notably Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"Acutely aware of this, the US is leaning heavily on Pakistan, its key ally in the 'War On Terror' in the region, to go on the offensive against the strong Taliban foothold in the North and South Waziristan tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan.

"The situation is now dangerously poised. Musharraf, under US pressure, is prepared for an all-out attack on the Taliban and al-Qaeda. At the same time, the military rulers are well aware of the renewed strength of the jihadis, and are extremely reluctant to go for the "final solution" and all it would involve.

"Asia Times Online contacts claim that in this explosive environment, some sort of a compromise deal, as in the past, might be worked out, with both sides agreeing to back off for the time being.

"In such an eventuality, the only winners would be the Taliban and al-Qaeda: they can only go from strength to strength, and they will not give up on their ultimate goal of toppling the administrations in Kabul and Islamabad."

Al Qaeda's Number Two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, recently gave a directive a widely seen broadcast for Pakistanis sympathetic to Al Qaeda and the Taliban to take down President General Pervez Musharraf. Al-Zawahirir called Musharraf "a bribe-taking, treacherous criminal".

Al-Zawahiri has repeatedly called for the Pakistan army to rise up and stage a mutiny against their president.

If you want to get a good idea of what is actually going on in Afghanistan, outside of the US, UK, Australian spin - "we're making good progress" - you might want to read the whole Asia Times story here.

MASSIVE US ARMS SHIPMENT GOES MISSING IN IRAQ

CLAIM : 200,000 AK47s MEANT FOR IRAQI SECURITY FORCES MAY HAVE REACHED AL QAEDA AND THE IRAQI INSURGENCY INSTEAD

UK's The Mirror is reporting today : Some 200,000 guns the US sent to Iraqi security forces may have been smuggled to terrorists....

"The 99-tonne cache of AK47s was to have been secretly flown out from a US base in Bosnia. But the four planeloads of arms have vanished."

The okay for the monumental weapons order came from the US Department of Defence. To get the high powered machine guns to the Iraqi Security forces, an intricate web of arms dealers, many privately owned, was activated.

The same Moldovan airline that was supposed to get the guns into Iraq is the same company the UN ripped into in 2003 for their complicity in smuggling arms to Liberia.

Amnesty chief spokesman Mike Blakemore said: "It's unbelievable that no one can account for 200,000 assault rifles. If these weapons have gone missing it's a terrifying prospect."

The AK47s had been sitting in storage for years, after being seized during the Bosnian War in the 1990s.

The Mirror claims : Nato and US officials have already voiced fears that Bosnian arms - sold by US, British and Swiss firms - are being passed to insurgents.

"There's no tracking mechanism to ensure they don't fall into the wrong hands," a NATO spokesman told The Mirror.

"There are concerns that some may have been siphoned off."

This incredible scandal follows earlier claims that two UK arms firms were caught up in a shipment that went drastically wrong (for unspecified reasons) and resulted in thousands of weapons meant to reach the Iraqi security forces falling into the hands of Al Qaeda instead.

The arms industry is hardly the most respectable industry in the world, despite being one of the biggest. Arms dealers, and arms deals, are rarely reported in the media, even in the business sections of newspapers, even when they're worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and the industry is a magnet for smugglers and criminals, if only because of the influence and prestige that having access to high velocity weapons and powerful missiles and explosives can bring to the traders and smugglers.

The profit factor is something else altogether.

The Mirror claims that an arms broker's lawyer reportedly admitted another shipment of some 1500 AK47s went missing during transportation into the Iraq war zone.

Probably most stunning of all, other arms deals tied directly to the US Department of Defence are going wrong and falling through the cracks of regulators. The Mirror claims a US official said more than £270million of equipment was not traceable.

That's a quarter of a billion dollars worth of killing gear gone missing.

These very same weapons, falling into the hands of Al Qaeda and the Iraqi Insurgency are being used to kill American and British troops.

For now, Amnesty International is doing more to fight the illegal trade of weapons into Iraq than either the US or British governments.

Amnesty spokeswoman Kate Allen was quoted in The Mirror thus, "(the worldwide arms trade) is out of control and costing hundreds of thousands of lives every year."

True, but thousands of people are making billions of dollars along the way.

The global arms trade is not one of the three biggest, and most profitable, industries in the world because those involved are uniquely concerned with morality or ethics.

What's the life of an American soldier, or a Liberian civilian, worth to these kinds of people?

Nothing except the profit that can made from the weapons, and the bullets, that kill them.

US FACES MASSIVE INTERNAL AND INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE TO BEGIN NEGOTIATIONS WITH IRAN

While US President Bush continues to insist that diplomacy is the first step, and the best way forward, on dealing with the Iran Crisis, he has a strange version of what the word means. He refuses flat-out to even talk to the Iranian President, or any senior Iranian officials, and Secretary of State, Condaleeza Rice, continues to demand Iran stop work on a nuclear weapons program that Russia and China, and now Germany and France, are not convinced is even underway.

It will be at least two weeks before the UN Security Council meets again to discuss the Iran Crisis, much to the chagrin of the US, who was hoping the involvement of France and Germany would help pressure China and Russia into backing calls for sanctions against Iran.

But China and Russia have refused to play ball, fearing any support for sanctions against Iran may lead to war. In short, Russia and China no longer trust the US, despite President Bush repeatedly insisting that there are no plans for War On Iran, or military strikes.

But he has toned down the rhetoric. Bush no longer says "all options are on the table". Now he talks almost exclusively about the power and wonders of diplomacy.

"In the short term ... we'll keep diplomacy going, knitted up with as many nations as possible," said Bush.

"I think it's very important for good negotiators to keep their cards close to the chest and at the appropriate time, make it clear what our intentions are. This is a serious issue, taking a lot of our time as it should."

From the Washington Post : The Bush administration is facing pressure both in the United States and overseas to drop its long-standing refusal to talk directly with Iran about its nuclear program, particularly in the wake of the unusual 18-page letter sent this week to President Bush by Iran's president.

Germany is one of the three European Union countries that have jointly held inconclusive talks with Tehran. German officials have made little secret of their belief that diplomacy will not succeed without direct U.S. intervention.

Ruprecht Polenz, the influential chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the German parliament and an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, lashed out last Friday against the administration's policy after returning from a two-day visit to Iran. "Washington's refusal to join direct talks with Iran won't make it any easier to achieve a diplomatic solution to the current nuclear dispute," he said.

(Secretary of State) Rice asserted yesterday that "the absence of communication is not a problem with the Iranians" because there have been plenty of proposals advanced through the Europeans and the Russians. But, alluding to Iran's alleged failure to respond constructively to those proposals, she asked: "What is to be gained if Iran is not prepared to show that it is ready to accede to the demands of the international community?"

Critics of the administration's approach assert that diplomacy has failed thus far because Iran has little incentive to deal as long as its main antagonist, the United States, is not at the table. They also note that the failure of the United State to negotiate with Iran is only hardening suspicions that Bush secretly intends a military strike, making it increasingly difficult to isolate Tehran.

Iran Ready To Negotiate With US, Still Regards Israel As A "Tyrannical Regime"

Iran Faults Rice's Dismissal Of President's Letter

AFGHANISTAN AWASH WITH HEROIN, CASH AND ISLAMIC MILITANTS

TALIBAN FUELLING, PROTECTING POPPY PRODUCTION FROM WESTERN BACKED ERADICATION PROGRAMS

"IF I ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS I WILL BE DEAD WITHIN THREE DAYS"

3000 BRITISH TROOPS HEADING FOR MOST DANGEROUS REGION

From the UK Independent :Two hours' drive from the Afghan city of Kandahar, "the perfect storm" is about to break in the fields of Helmand province.

Here, in the place where British troops are to spend the next three years, a combination of factors have conspired to produce what is probably the biggest opium harvest in the history of a province that, last year, produced more than 20 per cent of the world's heroin on its own.

A law and order vacuum has allowed an increasingly well-organised drugs cartel, a corrupt local government and resurgent Taliban to structure the poppy cultivation of the province as never before. That has combined with fine growing conditions this year to produce what, if these were wine producers, might be considered a memorable vintage. And, country-wide it is now clear the poppy harvest will be close to record levels again. It is a dispiriting blow for the international counter-narcotics effort as 86 per cent of the world's heroin comes from Afghanistan.

It is a stunning irony that, in the years before September 11, the Taliban was created by Pakistan, in part, to control and stamp out the production of heroin. Now they are running the show and they are using the profits to fund the Islamist insurgency.

When the British, Australian and American troops turn up in poverty-riddled regions of the country to help destroy crops, they are not welcomed. They are seen mostly as the enemy because the eradication of poppy crops takes away a major part of the local economy.

Aid programs were supposed to help Afghanistan farmers turn away from opium production to less harmful, and far less profitable, ventures. But the aid programs are not working for most Afghans, and in comparison to starting up factories, or learning how to make use of the so-called 'new economy', it is far easier, far more profitable to simply go back to what they know best - turning out some of the finest quality opium in the world.

Just under a hectare of poppies can produce a quanity or opium worth more than $US5000 a year. Considering that average monthly wages for those lucky enough to have full-time work can be as low as $50 a month for government employees and $10 a month for farmers, the incentive to farm poppies is massive. One hectare of poppies can provide income, food and protection for whole villages.

From the UK Independent : In his office in Kandahar, the province's director of drugs control, Gul Mohammad Shukran, shifted uncomfortably as The Independent ran through a list of well known millionaire drug smugglers in the province. "If I answer your questions I will be dead within three days," he said, showing us to the door.

Meanwhile, a campaign of Taliban intimidation and assassination is targeting government officials working across the south.

In Helmand it has been what one Western source called "a methodical slaughter". Four out of 12 district police chiefs have been killed in six months, further undermining the effort to establish some sort of order.

The smugglers and the Taliban were increasingly close, with the Islamic fighters suspending their operations during the poppy harvest to ensure it is safely out of the way before the Taliban's promised campaign of summer violence. The Taliban have a vested interest as they take a tax on opium produced in the region, which could be worth tens of millions of dollars this year.

IN A TIME OF CRISIS, HOW MUCH IS ONE 18 PAGE LETTER WORTH?

A FEW BILLION. OIL PRICE PLUNGES, SOME EXPERTS PIN IT TO IRAN'S LETTER TO THE US

RUSSIA FEARS US PUSH FOR SANCTIONS FIRST STEPS TO WAR

The President of Iran has broken a twenty seven year long diplomatic freeze between Iran and the United States by writing an 18 page letter to the US president, proposing "a way forward" and ideas "to move beyond" the current stalemate over the future of Iran's nuclear energy program.

The letter was passed from the Iranian foreign minister to Sweden's ambassador to Tehran, who then delivered it to US officials. Iran has decided not to make the contents of the letter public at this time, respecting diplomacy, though they may release the full letter to the media later.

Within hours of news of the letter becoming public, Secretary of State, Condaleeza Rice said the letter "changes nothing" and the US right-wing attack blogs went into a mild-frenzy about how Iran is "stalling", "trying to control the time frames" and "begging us not to nuke the fuck out of them".

"This letter is not the place that one would find an opening to engage on the nuclear issue or anything of the sort," Rice said. "It isn't addressing the issues that we're dealing with in a concrete way."

While the US President and the Australian Prime Minister has said there is little they can do to lower the price of fuel in their respective countries, it seems ironic that it was the President of Iran who has now actually brought some relief at the pumps.

Crude Oil Fell Below $70 A Barrel In New York After News Of The Letter Broke.

Russia has offered a proposal aimed at breaking the international deadlock by processing Iran's nuclear fuel on Russian territory and shipping it back to Iran. The plan is ``still on the table,'' Hamid Reza Asefi, a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, said on April 30, without elaborating.

From The Independent : The United States is backing attempts by Britain and France to win Security Council approval for a UN resolution that would threaten possible further measures if Iran does not suspend uranium enrichment - a process that can produce fuel for nuclear reactors to generate electricity or material for atomic warheads.

The Western nations want to invoke Chapter 7 of the UN Charter that would allow economic sanctions or military action, if necessary, to force Iran to comply with the Security Council's demand that it cease enrichment.

But Russia and China, the other two veto-holding members of the Security Council, oppose such moves.

Russia Doesn't Trust The US Enough To Vote For UN Resolutions That Would Allow Sanctions, Fearing the US, and UK, Would Use This Resolution To Begin Bombing Iran

Yury Fedotov, the Russian ambassador in London, said his country opposed the Chapter VII reference because it evoked memories of past UN resolutions on Yugoslavia and Iraq that led to US-led military action which had not been authorised by the Security Council.

Russia's partners in the Security Council had argued in the past that the reference was needed to obtain "robust language," he said. But "afterwards it was used to justify unilateral action. In the case of Yugoslavia, for example, we were told at the beginning that references to Chapter VII were necessary to send political signals, and it finally ended up with the Nato bombardments."