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-   -   Open Source Daily INTSUM: Friday, Nov. 18, 2005 (http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9007)

Airbornelawyer 11-18-2005 10:37
Open Source Daily INTSUM: Friday, Nov. 18, 2005
 
From Various Sources:

Middle East
  • Task Force Soldiers Respond to Khanaqin Bombings "Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry, 101st Airborne Division are assisting Iraqi security forces in response to twin bombings in Khanaqin, Iraq. More than 150 Iraqi civilians were killed or wounded in the terrorist attacks that destroyed two Shiite mosques during Friday prayer services, according to the unit’s latest report. The medical evacuation of bombing victims was conducted by Iraqi authorities. U.S. forces have sent medical specialists and supplies to assist the Iraqis. Iraqi explosive ordnance disposal teams searched the area for additional explosives. U.S. Soldiers assisted the local Iraqi forces by providing a security cordon around the area to allow emergency teams to work in safety." (Source: U.S. Central Command)
  • 3rd Iraqi Army Brigade ready to take over Wasit Province "The 3rd Brigade 8th Iraqi Army Division from Al Kut has just successfully accomplished the certification process. From 12 to 16 Nov military instructors from MNDCS have tested combat readiness of 3rd BDE IA HQ and subunits. The exam confirmed the 3 BDE is ready to plan and conduct military activities independently. It opens the way to hand over the responsibility for safe and secure environment in Wasit Province from Coalition Forces to Iraqi Army units.…" (Source: Multinational Division Central-South)
  • S.Korea says plans to cut Iraq troops by a third "South Korea plans to pull out about one-third of its 3,200 troops in Iraq beginning in the first half of next year, the defence ministry said on Friday, but Seoul's foreign minister said no final decision had been made. The ministry confirmed the proposed plan a day after U.S. President George W. Bush expressed gratitude for Seoul's reconstruction efforts in Iraq at a meeting with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. South Korea has the third-largest contingent of foreign troops in Iraq and the United States and Britain.…" (Source: Reuters Alertnet)

South & Central Asia
  • Afghan and CJTF76 Forces Attack North of Kandahar "Afghan and U.S. forces conducted offensive operations north of Kandahar today, engaging 10 to 15 enemy forces with small arms and attack helicopters. During these operations, Afghan and U.S. forces came across an estimated 10 to 15 enemy personnel positioned near a ridgeline. These forces opened fire with small-arms and rocket-propelled grenades on the Afghan and U.S. patrol. Afghan and U.S. forces returned fire and called nearby attack helicopters forcing the enemy forces to flee.…" (Source: U.S. Central Command)
  • First Portuguese soldier killed in Afghanistan "An explosion caused by an old land mine killed a Portuguese soldier and wounded three others serving with NATO-led peacekeepers in Afghanistan on Friday, a spokesman for the mission said. The death is the first suffered by Portugal in Afghanistan, where it has 200 soldiers serving with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Lieutenant-Colonel Riccardo Cristoni, also of ISAF, said one of the wounded soldiers was in serious condition while the other two suffered slight injuries.…" (Source: Reuters Alertnet)
  • "Nepal rebels seen ready to accept democracy" "Nepal's Maoist rebels are ready to accept multiparty democracy, stop terrorising civilians and return to the political mainstream of the revolt-torn country, a top Nepali politician said on Friday. Representatives of Nepal's seven main political parties had met Maoist leaders to join protests against King Gyanendra, said Madhav Kumar Nepal, a former deputy prime minister. …" (Source: Reuters Alertnet)

East Asia & the Pacific

  • US Military Wants More Interaction With Indonesia "The U.S. Defense Department would like to increase its military interaction with Indonesia, but in a vote earlier this month the U.S. Congress continued its practice of imposing restrictions on that interaction until Indonesia improves its human rights record. For this second of two reports on U.S.-Indonesia military relations, VOA Defense Correspondent Al Pessin at the Pentagon spoke to the U.S. Pacific commander and others involved in the controversy to find out how the limitations affect U.S.-Indonesian military relations and the broader strategic situation in the region.…" (Source: Voice of America)


The Americas

Africa
  • Armoured Grizzlies on their way to Sudan "The first of more than a 100 Canadian armoured personnel carriers are on their way to Sudan to be used by African Union peacekeepers in the Darfur region. Soldiers with the African Union will use the 105 armoured Grizzlies to help enforce a truce between the government-backed Arab militias and African southern rebels. The vehicles, which left Canada over the summer, have been sitting in Senegal for months because the Sudanese government wouldn't let them into the country. Sudan's government said they feared the southern rebels would get their hands on them. Two transport planes, carrying a half a dozen armoured vehicled bound for Sudan, left Senegal Thursday.…" (Source: CBC)
  • Ivorians 'breaching' arms embargo "Ivory Coast is trying to rebuild its air force which could breach its arms embargo, the United Nations has warned. UN experts have reported that foreign technicians have been rebuilding and maintaining the small fleet, but a presidential aide denied repair work. The French forces in Ivory Coast destroyed most of the Ivorian air force after warplanes attacked a French base last November in rebel-held Bouake.…" (Source: BBC)

Europe
  • Britons enlist in terror foreign legion " ABU MUSAB AL-ZARQAWI uses his website to boast about the British recruits who have joined his “foreign legion” in Iraq. He recently claimed that a unit of British jihadis had helped to ambush and kill an American patrol “like moles and flies”. Western intelligence agencies insist that al-Zarqawi grossly exaggerates the numbers of foreign volunteers for his own self-aggrandisement. “The more countries al-Zarqawi claims he draws recruits from, the more important he makes himself look,” said one security source. But at least eight men from Britain have reportedly died in Iraq since the insurgency began, including three in suicide attacks on coalition troops, and up to forty are reported to have travelled to Iraq, though their whereabouts are unclear.…" (Source: The Times of London)

Airbornelawyer 11-18-2005 10:38
From the RFE/RL Newsline:

Russia
  • JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER SAYS PROGRESS UNLIKELY IN KURILE ISLANDS DISPUTE DURING RUSSIAN PRESIDENT'S VISIT.
    Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on 17 November that progress on resolving the Russian-Japanese dispute over the Kurile Islands is unlikely to be made during his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian news agencies reported the same day. "We should think twice whether it is worth focusing on this issue at present," Koizumi told a news conference in Tokyo, RIA-Novosti reported. "The sides will hardly reach any agreement [during Putin's 20-22 November visit] on this complex issue, which has existed for 60 years." "It will take time and further discussions," he added. Koizumi said on 13 November that Russia and Japan could improve their relations despite the dispute. On 15 November, Putin's foreign-affairs adviser, Sergei Prikhodko, accused Tokyo of taking an "uncompromising" stance on the issue. The same day, Ambassador to Japan Aleksander Losyukov denied media reports that a deal on the islands is in the works.
  • RUSSIAN, U.S. PRESIDENTS MEET AT APEC SUMMIT
    President Putin met with U.S. President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea on 18 November, Russian and international news agencies reported the same day. Putin's foreign-affairs adviser Prikhodko, said the two leaders discussed the crises over Iran's and North Korea's nuclear programs and the situation in Syria, ITAR-TASS reported. Prikhodko also said Putin thanked Bush for Washington's support for Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization. A U.S. official told dpa that during their brief talk Bush stressed the importance of Russian-U.S. ties. "We value your advice, and we value the strategic relationship we've built," the official quoted Bush as telling Putin. "We've virtually had permanent contacts on almost all bilateral and international issues."
  • RUSSIA REPORTEDLY TO SUPPLY PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY WITH HELICOPTERS AND ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES
    Russia will supply the Palestinian Authority with two transport helicopters and several dozen all-terrain vehicles, Interfax reported on 17 November, citing an unidentified Russian government official. The official told Interfax that Russia originally planned to supply the Palestinian Authority with BRDM-2 reconnaissance and patrol vehicles, but Israel objected to the plan. After "taking into consideration Israel's position," the official said Russia decided to supply the Palestinians with UAZ all-terrain vehicles instead. The official did not reveal the terms of the deal, but said the vehicles will only be used by police, and the helicopters will only be used to transport Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other top Palestinian leaders.

Transcaucasus and Central Asia
  • ARMENIA, KARABAKH DENY REPORTED CEASE-FIRE VIOLATIONS
    Spokesmen for the defense ministries of Armenia and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic told Arminfo on 17 November that Armenian forces have not "recently" violated the cease-fire along the Line of Contact, according to kavkazweb.net. They rejected as untrue Azerbaijani media claims that Armenian forces opened fire twice on Azerbaijani positions on 15 November.
  • SOUTH OSSETIA TALKS INCONCLUSIVE
    The OSCE-sponsored talks in Ljubljana on the South Ossetian conflict ended early on 17 November with the signing of a protocol that called for a meeting between the presidents of Russia and Georgia to discuss the conflict, Caucasus Press reported. Unidentified officials from the unrecognized Republic of South Ossetia and from the Republic of North Ossetia would also attend those talks. On 16 November, Georgian Minister for Conflict Resolution Giorgi Khaindrava walked out of the Ljubljana talks to protest the proposal by Russian representative Ambassador Valerii Kenyaikin to convene a meeting by the end of this month of the top leaders of all four polities to discuss the conflict, but later resumed his participation.
  • ABKHAZ AUTHORITIES DENY UPPING POLICE MILITARY, PRESENCE IN GALI
    Abkhaz Interior Minister Otar Khetsia denied on 17 November that additional police and armored vehicles have been deployed to Gali Raion, apsny.ru reported. Caucasus Press quoted unnamed local observers as linking that deployment to an upcoming visit by President Saakashvili to the west Georgian region of Mingrelia, and to the threat last week by the White Legion Georgian guerrilla formation to resume attacks on Abkhaz in Gali.

Southwestern Asia And The Middle East
  • AFGHAN LEADER SEES NO TIMETABLE FOR U.S. MILITARY WITHDRAWAL...
    President Hamid Karzai told a news conference in Vienna on 15 November that he cannot set a timetable for the withdrawal of the U.S.-led forces from his country, "Pak Tribune" reported on 17 November. Afghanistan needs the presence of the U.S.-led forces until it "develops its own capacity, its own...army, police, and other relevant institutions," Karzai said. "I can't set a timetable [for the withdrawal of foreign troops]. I hoped it will be soon but nation-building takes its own time," Karzai told the news conference. In an interview with Vienna's ORF Television on 16 November, the Afghan leader said that international forces might have to stay in his country for "five, 10, 15 years." Plans are under way to join the command of the current U.S.-led forces with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and reduce the number of U.S. forces, which stands at around 18,000 although there are also more NATO and troops from non-NATO member states.
  • ...AND SAYS THAT TALIBAN IDEOLOGY IS DEFEATED
    In an interview published by the Vienna daily "Der Standard" on 17 November, President Karzai said that the Taliban ideology has been defeated. Responding to a question on how to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban ideology, Karzai responded: "this ideology has been defeated once and for all." The Afghan leader further emphasized the point by adding that the "Taliban and their ideology are a thing of the past; there is no doubt about that." He did acknowledge that 2005 has "definitely not [been] an easy year." Karzai said that there is a need to ponder the reasons for the escalation in violence. Thus far in 2005, 87 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan compared to 44 in 2004; 30 in 2003; 22 in 2002 and 3 in 2001, "USA Today" reported on 17 November.
  • IRAN ALLEGEDLY SUPPLIES HIZBALLAH WITH ROCKETS
    Israel's deputy chief of mission in Washington, Jeremy Issacharoff, said on 17 November that Iran has supplied Lebanese Hizballah with 10,000 rockets that have a 110-kilometer range, AP reported. He said the rockets are deployed mostly in southern Lebanon and are aimed at Israel.


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