-
Thailand
Malaysia to ‘arrest, deport’ Thai refugees
-
Afghanistan
A roadside blast killed one NATO soldier and injured two others in eastern Afghanistan. NATO troops launched an offensive in the South. Sen. McCain calls on NATO partners to provide more troops to fight the Taliban.
-
Iraq
PM Maliki announced at a two-day conference to end sectarian violence an Iraqi army campaign to recruit former officers. Maliki also said that he hopes for a swift ruling on Saddam’s appeal. Military planners and White House budget analysts have been asked to provide President Bush with options for increasing U.S. forces. An Iraqi court sentenced a Libyan member of al Qaeda in Iraq to death.
-
United States
Suspicious package near UN Headquarters not a threat
-
Sri Lanka
LTTE leader Prabhakaran declared three days for mourning for his best friend Anton Balasingham, the LTTE’s chief negotiator and ideologue, who died from cancer. A powerful roadside bomb was found in northern Sri Lanka shortly before an army convoy was to pass through. 3000 Tamils flee the troubled South to government-held territory.
-
Palestinian Territories
President Abbas, of Fatah, calls for early Palestinian elections. Hamas decried the announcement as a coup. Tens of thousands gathered in Gaza City yesterday to support PM Haniyeh, of Hamas, after an attempt on his life.
-
Somalia
Civilians flee the area of Baidoa as both the TFG and UIC prepare for combat. The ICU-issued deadline for Ethopians to leave the country by Tuesday draws closer. Pakistan issued a denial that it supports the UIC.
-
Battling the Insurgency in Fallujah
The Fallujah security situation; a nighttime raid with Charlie Company 1/24 As the the Iraqi Army, Fallujah Police and U.S. military work to secure Fallujah, the war in the shadows continues. Insurgents rarely fight in the open. Their tactics consist of intimidation, drive by shootings, roadside bombs, indirect mortar fire and the increasingly dangerous sniper attacks. The units currently here in Fallujah have yet to encounter a coordinated attack where the enemy maintained contact. On Sunday, insurgents mortared an Entry Control Point just outside the city. One Fallujah Police officer was killed, and three civilians were wounded. The officer’s lieutenant…
-
Palestinian Territories
PM Haniya returned home to quell the wave of violence in Gaza. A judge in Hamas was assasinated by gunmen. In Gaza City, a gun battle broke out when police came to arrest a Hamas-affiliated militant. Palestinians fired a rocket into Israel, but there were no casualties.
-
Pakistan
The appointment of Maulvi Muhammad Nazir as the new emir of the Taliban in South Waziristan is causing divisions between commanders. Maulvi Muhammad Nazir has appointed a foreign religious scholar to set up a Peace Committee to oversee the implementation of sha’riah in South Waziristan. FATA Security Secretary Arbab Mohammad Arif is rejecting allegations that the Taliban has set up a parallel government in the tribal areas.
-
Taliban want no part in tribal peace talks
-
Iraq
Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in a conflict with the Iraqi Shi’ites if the US leaves Iraq. A number of radical clerics including Safar al-Hawali have called upon the Muslim world to mobilize against Shi’ites in Iraq.
-
Sadr Office in Al-Kut raided by Iraqi Army
-
Egyptian police probing Muslim Brotherhood militia
-
Ex-Janjaweed Fighter’s Story
-
Iran
Ahmadinejad says, “The Zionist regime will disappear soon, the same way the Soviet Union disappeared.” The Iranian Holocaust conference, which drew criticism from the US, Germany, and many other sources, closed today.
-
Somalia
Thousands of ICU fighters have surrounded Baidoa, the only remaining town under the control of Somalia TFG. Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi claims that as many as 3,000 foreign fighters are fighting alongside the ICU with more arriving every day.
-
Embed Update, CSM & Pakistan
A Change of Plans I’ve decided to change the travel plan, and will not visit Ramadi. There are several reasons. I will lose a couple of days transiting to Ramadi, days that can be well spent embedded. Here at the Government Center in Fallujah, the Military Transition Team, the Police Transition Team, and Charlie 1/24 Marines are all in the same compound. I’ve spent some time with the MTT and went on a night raid with Charlie 1/24, and want to interact with these units here in Fallujah. I will provide detailed updates on the missions of the PTT and…
-
Spirit of America in Anbar
Originally posted at Spirit of America on December 6. Major Britt Rosenberry, the Army Special Operations Liason officer serving in Fallujah, has just placed an order with Spirit of America for bulk of school supplies. The order consists of several thousand backpacks filled with notepads, books, pens, pencils and other school materials for the children throughout the Al Anbar Province. I met Major Rosenberry at Camp Fallujah and discussed the difficult situation with the schools and how the supplies will help the children throughout Al Anbar Province.
-
Iraq
A Cold Wind Blows
-
Israel
Olmert, in Europe, hints Israel has nuclear arms
-
Palestinian Territories
In Gaza City gunmen riddled the car of an intelligence chief linked to the Fatah Party with bullets, killing his three sons. Armed gunmen also attempted Sunday to assassinate Palestinian Interior Minister Said Siam, a member of the Islamic Hamas ruling party. Palestinian PM Haniyeh, of the Hamas party, warns that early elections would lead to chaos. Israel blocked a U.N. fact-finding mission to Beit Hanoun that was to be led by Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu.
-
Lebanon
Both sides appear cornered in Beirut
-
Iran
Iran opens Holocaust conference
-
Pakistan
Taliban and Allies Tighten Grip in North of Pakistan
-
United Kingdom
British Home Secretary: Christmas terror strike ‘highly likely’
-
Palestinian Territories
Gaza gunmen shoot at Hamas minister’s convoy
-
Sudan
Sudan: Gunmen on horseback kill at least 30 civilians
-
Iraq
For Iraq’s Sunnis, Conflict Closes In
-
Lebanon
Lebanon: President Lahoud refuses to endorse Hariri tribunal, calls government illegal
