Mexico
Mexico: US backpedals on “failed state” claim
National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair, contradicting a recent Pentagon report, told reporters in Washington: “Mexico is in no danger of becoming a failed state.”
Planet Watch
$100 million still owed from Exxon Valdez oil spill
On the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the federal and Alaska state governments have yet to collect the $92 million that the oil company agreed to pay.
Greater Middle East
Turkey: colonel arrested in Kurdistan killings
A Turkish officer, Col. Cemal Temizoz, was arrested in connection with suspected extrajudicial killings in the country’s predominantly Kurdish southeast in the 1990s.
South Asia
Lashkar-e-Taiba rocks Kashmir
Pakistan is failing to control the Lashkar-e-Taiba group in the disputed territory of Kashmir and between 40 and 50 terrorist camps are operational in the region, Indian army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor said March 25, the same day the army… Read moreLashkar-e-Taiba rocks Kashmir
Africa
Did Israel bomb Sudan?
An airstrike on a convoy of arm smugglers in Sudan in January was launched by Israel and not US, according to growing reports. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert boasted: “We operate everywhere.”
Palestine
Netanyahu expects blank check from Obama; green light for Israeli far-right?
Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu boasted that he expects no serious pressure from Washington—as Israel’s ultra-right pledged more provocative marches in Arab towns.
Watching the Shadows
UK to investigate MI5 role in US detainee abuse
UK Attorney General Baroness Scotland said police will conduct an investigation into claims that MI5 agents took part in the abusive interrogation of ex-Gitmo detainee Binyam Mohamed.
Afghanistan
Pakistan between two poles of terrorism
At least 11 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack at a restaurant in northwest Pakistan ‘s South Waziristan—the same day a US drone attack killed four in North Waziristan.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan between two poles of terrorism
Afghans are again protesting a reckless US raid that left five dead this week in Kunduz province—days after a suicide blast killed another five in Nangarhar province.
Iraq
Iraq: al-Qaeda plot to spark Kurdish conflict?
Kuwait’s Arab Times speculates that with the deadly suicide blast in the contested city of Jalawla, al-Qaeda in Iraq is trying to spark an Arab-Kurdish war.
Greater Middle East
Yemen denies al-Qaeda infiltration of security forces
Yemen’s defense ministry denied claims that al-Qaeda has infiltrated the country’s security forces following a deadly suicide attack on South Korean tourists.
Watching the Shadows
Obama administration drops GWOT nomenclature
The Obama administration has formally abandoned the phrase “Global War on Terrorism” for the more clinical and antiseptic “Overseas Contingency Operation.”