Open Source Daily INTSUM: Monday, Nov. 7, 2005

[Airbornelawyer]

From Various Sources:

Middle East

• Security incidents in Iraq, Nov 7 (Source: Reuters Alertnet)

• Operation Steel Curtain update " Fighting continued into the second day of Operation al Hajip Elfulathi (Steel Curtain) in the town of Husaybah near the Iraq-Syria border. …" (Source: Multi-National Force Iraq)

• Car bomb kills 9 Iraqis in south Baghdad-police "A suicide car bomber killed nine people, including six Iraqi policemen, in the southern Dora district of Baghdad on Monday, police said. …" (Source: Reuters Alertnet)

• In Context: Day Two of Steel Curtain in Husaybah and the Anbar Campaign "Combat operation continue in and around Husaybah as day two of Operation Steel Curtain completes. Fighting has been reported as both sporadic and alternatively intense. Marine Lt. Col. Dale Alford, commander of the 3rd, Battalion, 6th Regiment reported Coalition forces encountered "pockets of resistance throughout the day." Insurgents attempted to attack a Marine company providing security for the assault force, but were repelled. " (Source: Bill Roggio's blog, The Fourth Rail)

Asia-Pacific

• Canadian to lead hunt for Afghan insurgents "A Canadian general is to take command early next year of all coalition forces hunting Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents in the treacherous mountainous terrain of southern Afghanistan. Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, currently based in Edmonton, is to replace an American commander. He will oversee 2,200 Canadian troops being deployed to Kandahar, an elite fighting brigade that will include more than 4,000 U.S., British, Dutch and Australian troops, and warplanes from the U.S., Britain and the Netherlands. …" (Source: Ottawa Citizen, via Canada.com)

• Sri Lanka: Security Situation Report. (Source: Sri Lanka Army)

• South Asia Terrorism Update (Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal)

Africa

• Somali PM Unhurt in Deadly Attack on Convoy "A deadly explosion has hit a convoy escorting Somalia's prime minister in the capital of Mogadishu, but he escaped unhurt and later appeared in public. …" (Source: Voice of America)

• U.S. Navy EOD Team Removes Inert RPG Remnant From Cruise Liner "The U.S. Navy responded Nov. 7 to a request to dispose of suspected unexploded ordnance left over from a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) that struck the cruise liner Seabourn Spirit during a Nov. 5 attack by pirates near the coast of Somalia. …" (Source: U.S. Central Command)

• Maritime Union Wants Somali Coast Declared a War Zone "A British maritime organization has called for the waters off Somalia to be declared a war zone following Saturday's pirate attack on a luxury cruise ship. …" (Source: Voice of America)

• Burundi army says rebels in Congo plan joint attack "Three militias in eastern Congo are plotting a joint attack on Burundi and Rwanda, Burundi's army said on Monday as it prepared to welcome U.N. Security Council officials touring Africa's troubled Great Lakes region. …" (Source: Reuters Alertnet)

The Americas

• USSOUTHCOM Headline News (Microsoft Word format)

• Ex-Peruvian President Arrested in Chile "Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has been arrested in Chile, just hours after his unexpected arrival there. Officials in Lima and Santiago say Mr. Fujimori was arrested at his hotel by Chilean police Monday. He is wanted in Peru on charges of corruption and human rights abuses related to the death squad murders of 25 people. …" (Source: Voice of America)

Europe

• Third Air Force inactivates " Third Air Force inactivated Nov. 2 during a ceremony here as part of U.S. European Command’s strategic theater transformation." (Source: U.S. European Command)

From the RFE/RL Newsline:

Southeastern Europe

• BOSNIA IDENTIFIES TERROR SUSPECTS
  Bosnia-Herzegovina's State Prosecutor's Office announced on 4 November the identities of two people arrested on 19 October on suspicion of planning attacks on unspecified Western diplomatic missions in that country, dpa reported. Mirsad Bektasevic is a Swedish citizen whose family comes from the Sandzak region of Serbia. The second man held on suspicion of involvement in "terrorism and illegal possession of weapons or explosives" is Cesur Abdulkadir, a Turkish citizen. Police reportedly found weapons, explosives, and vests packed with explosives in the Sarajevo flat shared by the two men. The Prosecutor's Office declined to release more details regarding the case "due to the sensitivity of this investigation." In Denmark, police recently arrested six men and one woman believed to be linked to Bektasevic and Abdulkadir.

• SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO RATIFIES NATO AGREEMENT
  The parliament of Serbia and Montenegro voted on 4 November to ratify an agreement with NATO enabling the Atlantic alliance to transit the Balkan state's territory to support its peacekeeping missions, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported. Supporters of the treaty said that it is a necessary part of Belgrade's Euro-Atlantic integration. The agreement has nonetheless been the subject of much debate in Serbia and Montenegro, where many still associate NATO with the 1999 bombing campaign, even though the military wants to join the Partnership for Peace program.

Southwestern Asia And The Middle East

• U.S. MARINES, IRAQI FORCES LAUNCH NEW OPERATION IN WESTERN IRAQ
  Thirty-five hundred U.S. and Iraqi troops launched Operation Steel Curtain on 5 November, aimed at rooting out insurgents in the western Al-Anbar Governorate, international media reported. The operation comes just six weeks ahead of the December parliamentary elections. In Husaybah, troops attempted to round up insurgents through house-to-house searches, according to a U.S. Central Command press release on 5 November that said nine air strikes were conducted on the operation's first day. "The Iraqi and U.S. forces have encountered sporadic resistance -- mostly small-arms fire and improvised explosive devices -- from Al-Qaeda in Iraq-led terrorists throughout the city," the statement said, and embedded Iraqi scout platoons, formed from specially recruited soldiers hailing from the Al-Qa'im region, "are helping to identify terrorist strong points and areas known to contain...homemade bombs." The operation succeeded in securing 11 neighborhoods in Al-Qa'im by 6 November, washigntonpost.com cited witnesses as saying on 7 November. An Iraqi Army captain told the newspaper that only small pockets of fighters remained in the city. Seventeen suspected insurgents have been confirmed dead, and multinational forces expect the number to rise, AFP reported on 7 November.

• IRAQI PRESIDENT MEETS MEMBERS OF FORMER IRAQI ARMY
  President Jalal Talabani met with former Iraqi commanders, army chiefs, and officers dismissed after the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime in Baghdad on 6 November and encouraged them to return to work, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reported. Talabani told reporters that the men can contribute to Iraqi security by leading effective army units, instructing recruits at military academies, and working in the Defense Ministry's strategic planning departments. He said that the men should not be punished for serving under the Hussein regime, and noted that many "were forced to take part in wars because they had to carry out orders or else they would be executed." Other officers were jailed, expelled, or left homeless by the Hussein regime. "Therefore, I believe that our officers...are not guilty of, or responsible for, what they were forced to do. I believe that those officers deserve all respect and appreciation," the president noted, adding that he hopes to build a model army whose first loyalty is to the nation and not a particular party or person. National Security Adviser Wafiq al-Samarra'i told Al-Jazeera television on 10 November that those holding the rank of major or lower have been asked to rejoin the army.

[CoLawman]

IRAQI PRESIDENT MEETS MEMBERS OF FORMER IRAQI ARMY
President Jalal Talabani met with former Iraqi commanders, army chiefs, and officers dismissed after the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime in Baghdad on 6 November and encouraged them to return to work, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reported. Talabani told reporters that the men can contribute to Iraqi security by leading effective army units, instructing recruits at military academies, and working in the Defense Ministry's strategic planning departments. He said that the men should not be punished for serving under the Hussein regime, and noted that many "were forced to take part in wars because they had to carry out orders or else they would be executed." Other officers were jailed, expelled, or left homeless by the Hussein regime. "Therefore, I believe that our officers...are not guilty of, or responsible for, what they were forced to do. I believe that those officers deserve all respect and appreciation," the president noted, adding that he hopes to build a model army whose first loyalty is to the nation and not a particular party or person. National Security Adviser Wafiq al-Samarra'i told Al-Jazeera television on 10 November that those holding the rank of major or lower have been asked to rejoin the army.

This, in my laypersons opinion, is long overdue. I understand the risks associated with such a move....however the benefits outweigh the risks.

[aricbcool]

Originally Posted by Airbornelawyer

Operation Steel Curtain update " Fighting continued into the second day of Operation al Hajip Elfulathi (Steel Curtain) in the town of Husaybah near the Iraq-Syria border. …" (Source: Multi-National Force Iraq)

Thanks for this, and the accompanying web-site. I like to keep up with what's going on in Iraq and www.mnf-iraq.com looks like the best place to do it.

Regards,
Aric