At a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday evening, the Pakistani government announced that they would be launching an operation against Baitullah Mehsud, the head of the Tehrik-i-Taliban terrorist faction in Pakistan, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
The toD verdict: The announcement of a "decisive offensive" is a significant break from past responses to the Taliban in the FATA, which have largely been confined to small-scale responses to individual acts of violence. The Pakistani government declared that it was no longer willing to put up with Mehsud's breaches of agreement and what they called his "miscreant activities". The plan will, no doubt, be warmly received by the US government who have been consistent in their criticism of the Pakistani government's handling of terrorists within the country
Owais Ghani, the governor of North West Frontier Province, has called Baitullah Mehsud "the root cause of all evils". Baitullah was implicated in the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto which took place in December 2007.
The government's announcement followed a bomb attack on a busy market in Dera Ismail Khan, a town in the northwest of the country, which took place earlier the same day. However, a member of the Pakistani Taliban has accused the Pakistani government of carrying out the bombing in order to justify an operation in the FATAs.
North Korea warns of imminent nuclear war
Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle. Sign up to receive toD's daily security briefings via email by clicking hereNorth Korean defiance of UN sanctions continued over the weekend, with the announcement on Saturday that the country would declare war on any nation who attempted to stop their ships under international agreement. The government went on to warn of a potential nuclear war, with several North Korean news outlets claiming that the US have been amassing weapons in South Korea and even Japan, within striking range of the North. International efforts to dispel tensions after the North Korean government purportedly carried out a nuclear test on 25 May seem to be proving futile. In addition to revealing for the first time the existence of their uranium enrichment programme, over the weekend the government in Pyongyang announced its intentions to turn all plutonium stocks into weapons in order to strength its nuclear arsenal in anticipation of the attack from the US that they believe to be imminent
Palestinian Authority snubs Israeli olive branch
During a policy speech on Sunday, widely seen as a response to US President Barack Obama's address to the Muslim world just ten days earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu endorsed, for the first time, the creation of a Palestinian state. He announced that this was the key to peace in the middle east, and urged the continuation of peace talks between his own government and their Palestinian counterparts. However, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank was hostile to Netanyahu's supposed olive branch, saying that his announcement had "sabotaged" any semblance of a peace process by placing unacceptable conditions on the Palestinians. Indeed, his statement of support for an independent Palestinian state was not one based on the two-state solution, generally recognised as the most likely way to resolve the dispute, but on the notion of a demilitarised area which would remain under Israeli control.
The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, has made it clear that only a direct statement of support for the two-state solution and the cessation of all new settlement building on Palestinian land can revive the peace process.
Iran's "free and healthy" elections trigger widespread rioting
Despite claims by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Iranian presidential elections held on 12 June were "free and healthy", supporters of the opposition came out on to the streets this weekend in what proved to be the largest and most widespread protests in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Ahmadinejad is purported to have won 62.6 per cent of the vote, with the rival reformist candidate Hossein Mousavi securing just 33.7 per cent. Mousavi has accused the government of tampering with the ballot. The street rioters were fought by Iranian police officers, and over 100 protestors and opposition members were detained for their participation. However, Ahmadinejad called the protests "unimportant" and maintained that he had won the vote fairly.
Madagascan political limbo could take a violent course
The Madagascan military were put on high alert after an announcement by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) that a military response to the problems in Madagascar had not been ruled out. This news followed the revelation that the Madagascan government had pulled out of internationally mediated talks on the political turmoil that has been a feature of the island nation for months, however Comesa's position has been criticised by France and the United Nations.
Following a coup led by Andry Rajoelina in March, which wrestled power from Marc Ravalomanana's government, the new administration has faced condemnation from several African political groups, including the South African Development Community (of which they were a member) and the African Union. The United States and the International Monetary Fund have issued a blockade on all non-humanitarian aid. However, despite worldwide reproach Rajoelina remains stubborn in his refusal to allow the return of Ravalomanana from exile, whilst the latter maintains that he is the legitimate head of state.
CIA Director attacks Cheney's "dangerous politics"
The Director of the CIA, Leon Panetta, has criticised what he calls former US Vice-President Dick Cheney's "gallow politics". Cheney has extensively criticised the Obama administration and its handling of national security issues, such as the termination of "enhanced interrogation" techniques and the planned closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention centre. Panetta says that, in setting the current government up for a fall, Cheney is creating the impression that he would welcome an attack on the country just to be proven right.
