Afghanistan policy is in shambles. As the U.S. struggles with how to proceed against the mass murderer among the troops against a background of peaceful civilian anti-American protests, the Taliban launch violent attacks on the government, Afghanis as well as Obama and Cameron look for rapid withdrawal and Panetta calls for business as usual:
- Afghans Angry that Shooting Suspect Flown Out of Country (Christian Science Monitor)
- A Look at Military Justice in Afghanistan Killing Case (AP / Guardian)
- Afghanistan Shooting: Protests Are Peaceful, but Era of Cooperation Closing (Christian Science Monitor)
- Karzai Demands U.S. Troops Leave Village Outposts; Taliban Suspends Peace Talks with U.S. (Washington Post with Foreign Policy)
- Taliban Fire on Afghan President’s Brothers at Shooting Memorial Service (Christian Science Monitor)
- Afghan Support for U.S. Pullout Grows After Shooting Spree, Attack on Delegation (Washington Post with Foreign Policy)
- Obama and Cameron Pledge Not to Delay to Afghanistan Withdrawal (Guardian)
- Panetta Says Massacre Must Not Deter Afghan Mission (Guardian)
Parti Québécois engages in a disinformation campaign against halal meat:
- Muslim Community Calls PQ Alarmist over Halal Meat (Globe and Mail)
Among the charges against the whistle-blower is “using ‘bad judgement’ by criticizing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then-presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann on his blog”:
- State Dept. Moves to Fire Peter Van Buren, Author of Book Critical of Iraq Reconstruction Effort (Washington Post)
Saleh’s presence, along with top family members and loyalists in the country’s most sensitive positions, has contributed to the inability of the newly inaugurated president to carry out reforms within the ranks of the military” leaving “parts of Yemen, especially in the south, with a security vacuum which al-Qaida militants have exploited”:
- Yemen’s Saleh Lists New Condition for Leaving (AP / abc News)
Unless defections from Assad’s army match that of the late shah of Iran’s, the Syrian dictator’s fall will be a messy affair that outside military intervention can only make messier:
- On Syria, Obama Defends His Decision Not to Intervene (Washington Post)
- Why Syria’s Assad Could Hang On for a Decade or More (Christian Science Monitor)
As a protected minority, many Iranian Jews “are affluent merchants” and the current holder of their guaranteed seat in parliament says, “No matter who dares to attack our country, we will stand against the threats like other Iranian people…. The Iranian Jewish community will stand by their compatriots under any circumstance, foreverâ€:
- Worries over Iranian Jews if Israel Attacks (AP / Time)
We still await explanations as to “why police kept intelligence files on innocuous mosque sermons and plans for peaceful protests[,] … why police noted which restaurants served ‘devout’ Muslims, why police maintained lists of Muslims who changed their names or why innocent people attending Friday prayer services were photographed and videotaped”:
- Q&A: NYPD Spies on Muslims. Legal? Good Policy? (AP / Houston Chronicle)
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