Emerging Threats - UPI.com

Commentary: NATO caveats

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:42:05 -0400

By ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE
UPI Editor at Large
WASHINGTON, July 10 (UPI) -- The outgoing NATO commander says multinational troops in Afghanistan are still handcuffed by dozens of caveats against fighting Taliban insurgents imposed by their parliaments and governments. It took 18 months for Gen. John Craddock to persuade allied governments to reduce the number from 80 to 73. Craddock’s valedictory.

Al-Qaida leaders in FATA, Mullen says

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:34:17 -0400

WASHINGTON, July 9 (UPI) -- The leadership of the terrorist cabal al-Qaida is hiding in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in northwest Pakistan, the top U.S. military official said.

Afghan rape culture needs reform

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:27:23 -0400

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 9 (UPI) -- Suspected rapists in Afghanistan enjoy cultural and judicial leniency while their victims suffer from social stigma, U.N. human-rights officials say.

Report: Clerical dissent unlikely in Iran

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:16:57 -0400

WASHINGTON, July 9 (UPI) -- The clerical opposition to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is from marginal groups who hold little power in the Iranian theocracy, analysts say.

More Afghan boots needed on the ground

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:14:20 -0400

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, July 9 (UPI) -- U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan say they need more Afghan forces for their push into the southern provinces despite some modest optimism.

China blames Xinjiang violence on outside forces

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:11:50 -0400

BEIJING, July 9 (UPI) -- China's top leadership addressed the recent ethnic violence in the northwestern province of Xinjiang Wednesday, blaming overseas groups, promising "severe punishment" for instigators and calling stability the "most important and pressing task."

U.S. breached contract with Iraq -- report

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:00:24 -0400

BAGHDAD, July 9 (UPI) -- Security officials in Ninawa province said U.S. forces violated a security agreement with Iraq as the country was hit with a series of deadly attacks Thursday.

Sarkozy: Syria respects Lebanon

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:55:03 -0400

L'AQUILLA, Italy, July 9 (UPI) -- The Syrian government is upholding its commitment to respect the sovereignty of Lebanon, the French president said at the G8 summit in Italy.

G8 strong on Iran

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:52:02 -0400

L'AQUILA, Italy, July 9 (UPI) -- The Group of Eight nations have given Iran until September to agree to negotiations over its controversial nuclear program or face harsher sanctions.

Al-Qaida plot foiled in Tunisia?

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:25:57 -0400

TUNIS, Tunisia, July 9 (UPI) -- Tunisian authorities arrested as many as nine suspects linked to an alleged al-Qaida plot to attack U.S. military personnel, an intelligence monitor reports.

Detainees make MI5 torture claims

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:24:22 -0400

LONDON, July 9 (UPI) -- British lawyers called on the home secretary to examine claims their clients were tortured at detention centers in Pakistan at the behest of MI5.

Religious groups infiltrate Israeli army

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:21:13 -0400

TEL AVIV, Israel, July 9 (UPI) -- Israel's military, once vaunted as an overwhelmingly secular institution of the Jewish state, is being increasingly penetrated by hard-line religious groups bent on waging a holy war against Arabs, according to critics.

Iran to release report on elections

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:45:00 -0400

TEHRAN, July 9 (UPI) -- Elections officials in Iran indicated they will release detailed reporting on the outcome of the disputed June 12 presidential elections in the coming days.

Zardari admits Pakistan nurtured terrorism

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:39:49 -0400

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 9 (UPI) -- Terrorist groups operating in the tribal frontier in northwest Pakistan were once considered strategic assets, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said.

Mumbai attackers 'depend on Gulf funds'

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:05:08 -0400

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, July 8 (UPI) -- Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Pakistan-based Islamist organization blamed for the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai, appears to be challenging al-Qaida as the spearhead of the global jihad, thanks in large part to hefty funding from its networks in the Gulf.

Russia to inspect U.S. military cargo

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:01:05 -0400

MOSCOW, July 8 (UPI) -- Moscow retains the right to inspect all U.S. military planes flying over Russian territory on the way to Afghanistan, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

U.N. irked over Iranian suppression

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:50:47 -0400

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 8 (UPI) -- U.N. human-rights officials expressed "grave concern" over the suppression of Iranian opposition voices in the wake of the disputed June 12 election.

Syria, France pledge hands off in Beirut

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:49:13 -0400

BEIRUT, Lebanon, July 8 (UPI) -- The formation of the next government in Beirut is strictly a Lebanese affair as the country moves ahead after elections, Syrian and French officials say.

Reality takes root in Iran, critics argue

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:05:43 -0400

WASHINGTON, July 8 (UPI) -- The suppression of dissent in Iran and the passive stance taken by Western leaders has spoiled any chance of reconciling with the Tehran regime, critics argue.

Taliban loyalties hinder Afghan effort

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:03:10 -0400

MEYDAN SHAHR, Afghanistan, July 8 (UPI) -- U.S. troops are met with various degrees of suspicion as they try to win over the Afghan population as part of the latest counterinsurgency doctrine.

Urumqi violence hits China hard

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:20:57 -0400

BEIJING, July 8 (UPI) -- The Urumqi ethnic riots have so shaken up China that President Hu Jintao was forced to cut short his Italy trip, canceling his highly promoted meetings with leaders of G8 and major developing countries.

Iranian ministers face questions over PMOI

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:03:18 -0400

TEHRAN, July 8 (UPI) -- Iranian lawmakers have summoned top ministers to answer questions about the alleged role of exiled Iranian dissidents in the post-election violence.

Eide issues warnings on Afghan elections

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:19:52 -0400

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 8 (UPI) -- Top government officials in Afghanistan are interfering in the national elections, skewing the process to particular candidate pools, U.N. officials say.

ICG: Baghdad, Erbil tensions problematic

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:02:31 -0400

BRUSSELS, July 8 (UPI) -- Tensions between the Kurdish and central governments in Iraq are obstacles to U.S. efforts to decrease the troop presence, a monitoring group says.

Syrian penal reform flat, critics say

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:56:24 -0400

DAMASCUS, Syria, July 8 (UPI) -- Syria amended its penal system to include mandatory minimum sentences for so-called honor killings, though rights groups complain that is not enough.