Bush ponders Iraq withdrawal, terrorism.openDemocracy

KVB Tharoor — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:01:55 +0000

White House ponders withdrawal from Iraq

Facing a collapse of support within the Republican party, the Bush administration is nearing the announcement of a plan to begin a phased withdrawal of US troops from hotspots within Iraq. Such a strategic about-face would comply with the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group report, the analysis the administration soundly rejected last December.

Iraqi officials have voiced concern over the consequences of a rushed US withdrawal from their country.

Lal Masjid on the brink

Pakistani officials are convinced that al-Qaida-affiliated radicals have deposed the leadership of the besieged Red Mosque in Islamabad, and are preparing to raid the complex in a bid to end the week-long stand-off.

On Sunday, a senior military official was killed, as commandos blasted holes into the mosque compound's perimeter walls.

Thousands of "tribesmen" in the Bajaur district of Pakistan's northwestern tribal areas joined a rally decrying the siege of the mosque, threatening retaliation.

Afghan intelligence claims that Pakistani security forces have captured four senior Taliban commanders in the border town of Quetta.

Three Chinese engineers working in the northern city of Peshawar were shot by militants. Earlier, militants at the mosque seized 7 Chinese in Islamabad accused of running a "vice den".

Al-Qaida threatens Iran

The umbrella militant al-Qaida-linked group Islamic State in Iraq has threatened to "wage war" on Iran should Tehran continue to back Iraqi Shia militias. Washington has long accused Iran of the same offence, a charge Tehran continues to deny.

Arab League to visit Israel

The Arab League will send their first delegation to Israel in a bid to push the Arab Peace Initiative forward. Israel has freed 250 Fatah prisoners to strengthen the hand of the Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority.

UK bomb plot investigation continues

Explore the conspiracies and connections surrounding the London-Glasgow bomb plots in this graphic map.

The director of Interpol has slammed British security forces for conducting only 50 checks per month of immigrants against a terrorist suspects database. France conducts 700,000 such tests per month.

A London court has found three men connected to the failed bomb attacks of 21 July, 2005 guilty of plotting to carry out the attacks.

Switzerland next?

The centre-right Counterterrorism blog wonders whether Switzerland will be the next target of Islamist terrorism.

Human Rights Watch exchanges letters with Swiss leaders warning them to uphold international legal standards and not abet the recent American practice of "extraordinary rendition".

Algiers: cultural capital

Sonja Zekri visits Algiers and explores what remains of a vibrant artistic city buffeted by terror and authoritarianism.

Mogadishu market comes under repeated attack

The open-air Bakara market in Mogadishu sustained a second attack by militants in so many days, with five grenade blasts around the market and "indiscriminate" firing by Somali government troops.

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Bush ponders Iraq withdrawal, terrorism.openDemocracy