Going local
American forces have a new weapon at their disposal in the ongoing anti-Taliban counter-insurgency campaign, but it's no daisy-cutter or remote-controlled drone. Instead, by accompanying US troops in the war-torn country, soft-spoken anthropologists and sociologists are adding a degree of nuance and sensitivity to the soldiers' dealings with the local population. Officers are encouraged by the impact of such "Human Terrain Teams", which have allegedly helped to reduce the number of combat operations required in certain areas. Academics elsewhere, however, have been quick to express concern over the placing of social sciences in the hands of the military and state.
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Sign up to receive toD's daily security briefings via email by clicking hereIn toD in July, Marcus Skinner argued that counter-insurgency efforts would fail in Afghanistan without greater cultural sophistication and understanding.
Turkey's secular angst
Nuray Mert in the Turkish magazine Radikal argues that when it comes to Turkey, European "secularism" has no meaning at all.
In the New York Review of Books, Christopher de Bellaigue examines the current political options available to the ruling AKP party and is generous with President Abdullah Gul's vision of Turkish secularism as "a rule for social peace no less than it is an empowering model for different ways of life within democracy."
Haditha marines to avoid murder charges
The four US marines allegedly involved in one of the most infamous episodes of violence in Iraq - the killings of seventeen civilians in Haditha in 2005 - are likely to not face murder charges after investigators had trouble gathering evidence.
Seventeen civilians in a Shia village near the town of Baquba have been killed as the result of an American air raid.
Three key allies of US forces in the Sunni heartlands of Iraq were killed in separate attacks pinned on al-Qaida in Iraq. A new dimension of al-Qaida's penetration into the fabric of life in parts of Iraq was uncovered when Iraqi police arrested a couple whose marriage certificate was authorised by the insurgent group.
Torture authorised?
The White House is scrambling to deny reports that former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales authorised certain torture methods - including simulated drowning, exposure to extreme temperatures, and head-slapping - in a series of memos.
Musharraf, Bhutto make pact
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has reached an understanding with the Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party that will ensure the PPP's support for him in upcoming presidential elections while providing Bhutto with indemnity from corruption charges.
US Ramadan recognition
The US House of Representatives has adopted a resolution officially recognising the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and expressing "the deepest respect to Muslims in the United States and throughout the world."
Hamas blame Fatah for Gaza bomb
Bloody feuding seems to be continuing within the Gaza Strip between Hamas and Fatah forces, with Hamas accusing Fatah of planting a roadside bomb that wounded three members of Hamas' Executive Forces after Hamas had taken over a Fatah building in Gaza City.
Spain's Basque arrests
Spanish police have allegedly detained the entire leadership of banned Basque separatist party Batasuna. Madrid believes Batasuna is the political wing of the militant group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, which is responsible for more than 800 deaths since the 1960s.
Some hardline Basque nationalists have described the arrests as a "declaration of war", calling for protests across the Basque Country.
