ABC News says the US is checking up on the claim that al Qaeda assassinated Bhutto:

Bhutto had been outspoken in her opposition to al Qaeda and had criticized the government of President Pervez Musharraf for failing to take strong action against the Islamic terrorists.

"She openly threatened al Qaeda, and she had American support," said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, the former White House counterterrorism adviser. "If al Qaeda could try to kill Musharraf twice, it could easily do this," he said.

Al Qaeda had claimed responsibility for the bomb attack Oct. 18 during Bhutto's homecoming rally that killed 140 people but left the former prime minister uninjured.

Senior U.S. officials say it will take several days to sort out who was responsible and that it will be "a test of credibility for the Pakistani government."

Labels: GWOT, Pakistan

Posted by Ryan S. at 2:51 PM | Permalink | |

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 — A new assessment by American intelligence agencies concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains frozen, contradicting judgment two years ago that Tehran was working relentlessly toward building a nuclear bomb.

The conclusions of the new assessment are likely to reshape the final year of the Bush administration, which has made halting Iran’s nuclear program a cornerstone of its foreign policy.

The assessment, a National Intelligence Estimate that represents the consensus view of all 16 American spy agencies, states that Tehran is likely keeping its options open with respect to building a weapon, but that intelligence agencies “do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons.”

Invade Iraq, end WMDs in Libya and Iran. Whoddathunkit?

Labels: GWOT, Iran, Iraq

Posted by Ryan S. at 9:17 PM | Permalink | |

A shocker this week, as my hero is the United Nations. Yes, you read that correctly. Here's what happened:

UNITED NATIONS — The Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Friday expanding the United Nations’ role in Iraq in a move aimed at reconciling the country’s rival groups, winning support from neighboring countries and tackling Iraq’s humanitarian crisis.

The resolution authorizes the UN, at the request of the Iraqi government, to promote political talks among the country’s ethnic and religious groups and a regional dialogue on issues including border security, energy and refugees.

The United States and Britain, who have the largest military forces in Iraq and cosponsored the resolution, believe the UN should play a greater part there because the world body is viewed by many as a more neutral party that can facilitate talks among feuding parties.

To me, this seems like an indicator that the surge may be going well, because this isn't a peacekeeping role --they aren't sending in the blue helmets-- meaning that the country is militarily stable enough to allow the UN to conduct talks. It also shows that the international community at large is investing in this project, something that they haven't been since we made the decision to invade.

My hack this week is Stu Bykofsky of the Philadelphia Daily News. He is "thinking another 9/11 would help America" out:

America's fabric is pulling apart like a cheap sweater.

What would sew us back together?

Another 9/11 attack.

The Golden Gate Bridge. Mount Rushmore. Chicago's Wrigley Field. The Philadelphia subway system. The U.S. is a target-rich environment for al Qaeda.

I sympathize with Stu, I do. I think it is sad that Americans are divided like we seem to be during wartime. However, Stu does not recognize two important things. One, Iraq is part of the Global War on Terror. Always has been. But here's what is surprising: Stu forgets about Afghanstan. He says we've forgotten who the "bad guys" are, but the bad guys are the Islamic extremists and those who harbor and support them. Even Hillary knows that.

Honorable mention for hack this week goes to AT&T for censoring Pearl Jam. AT&T is backtracking on that action, saying it was the company it hired to film/broadcast the performance, but I think the censorship in the first place was dumb. What Eddie Vedder sang was dumb to, but he should be allowed to say dumb things.

Labels: GWOT, Iraq, Music, UN

Posted by Ryan S. at 11:21 AM | Permalink | |

American pterodollars are essentially funding both ends of the War on Terror, especially where Saudi Arabia is concerned.

Mark Steyn has a fascinating column about how the Saudis are crushing opposition overseas using the UK legal system. For example, there is no UK edition of this book (and it has nothing to do with executive privilege!). Read it for the details, but this is his conclusion on why this happens:

We've gotten used to one-way multiculturalism: The world accepts that you can't open an Episcopal or Congregational church in Jeddah or Riyadh, but every week the Saudis can open radical mosques and madrassahs and pro-Saudi think-tanks in London and Toronto and Dearborn, Mich., and Falls Church, Va. And their global reach extends a little further day by day, inch by inch, in the lengthening shadows, as the lights go out one by one around the world.

Labels: GWOT, Mark Steyn

Posted by Ryan S. at 7:06 PM | Permalink | |

The myth so far this Presidential campaign is that Democrats, arguing that we need to pull out of Iraq, will be less likely to go to war in 2009-2012. Given Obama's statement about Pakistan recently, it shows that even he, the one who was against "dumb wars" shares Bush's worldview on this.

Democrats tend to intervene militarily at least as much as Republicans (especially in the Clinton school), albeit for different motivations sometimes. Nick Schweitzer elaborates:

The Democrat's playbook is clear. Iraq is "Bush's War", and as much as possible will be "The Republican's War" to hurt Rudy, Thompson², McCain (is he still running?) and the rest (except Ron Paul). But in order to look strong on the War on Terror, they will have to find a war of their very own. Obama is picking on Pakistan and Edwards is picking Saudi Arabia. Iran is too closely tied to Iraq to be a good target, so they're avoiding it. It will be interesting to see who attracts the ire of Mrs. Clinton.

The exception to this rule would be the "peace candidate" of Dennis Kucinich and the "ostrich candidate" Ron Paul.

Labels: 2008 Watch, Barack Obama, GWOT, Iraq

Posted by Ryan S. at 10:58 AM | Permalink | |