* ‘If Israel strikes Iran, U.S. will likely join’ The United States would find it difficult not to join an Israeli air strike in the event that Jerusalem decides to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.

* Hamas refuses to disarm as part of truce Hamas’ discontent with an Egyptian-brokered deal with its rival, Fatah, rose to new heights Tuesday.

* Painful Mideast Truth: Force Trumps Diplomacy As the Obama administration tries to broker a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is a dark truth lurking: force has produced clearer results in this dispute than talk.

* Afghan election goes to run-off Afghanistan will hold a deciding round of its problem-plagued presidential election on 7 November.

* Arab League chief eyes Egyptian presidency The head of the Arab League indicated in an interview published Tuesday that he may consider running for Egypt’s presidency in elections scheduled for 2011.

* Pope Approves Plan to Bring Anglicans Into the Fold The Vatican has made it easier for Anglicans to join the Catholic Church, responding to the disillusionment of some Anglicans over the election of openly gay bishops and the blessing of same-sex unions.

* ‘Water reserves may be drained by 2010’ If this winter is as lacking in rainfall as the last one, then by next summer Israel will have to take drastic steps such as importing water.

* U.S. Seeks to Keep Watching Russia’s Weapons With a key arms control treaty set to expire soon, the Obama administration is searching for ways to keep inspectors in Russia.

* Encouraging Jewish Ties to Temple Mount A large-scale gathering will take place in central Jerusalem next week featuring rabbis and public figures calling on the Jewish public to visit the Temple Mount “in purity.”.

* Iran: We won’t stop uranium enrichment Teheran reiterated that it would never abandon its “legal and obvious” right to nuclear technology nor will it stop uranium enrichment.

By: Col. Bob Maginnis – Human Events

President Obama’s political advisers are sabotaging any chance our troops in Afghanistan will get the best war strategy anytime soon. Obama should ignore his political advisers to make a non-partisan strategy decision and then focus on winning the war. Unless he’s already made up his mind to not make up his mind.

Yesterday, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s chief political adviser, bought his boss more time — read further endangering our troops — to make the politically volatile decision on a new Afghanistan strategy. Emanuel wants to restart the Afghan debate by altogether forestalling the central question of choosing the best war strategy by interposing a preliminary question: “whether in fact there’s an Afghan partner.”

Emanuel’s maneuver is typical of the Obama administration’s politically-inspired Afghan strategy decision-making process. Even Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) shares the view that politics play a key role in Obama’s war planning. “It’s well known … that there are individuals, including the vice president of the United States, now, unfortunately, the national security adviser [retired Marine Gen. James Jones], the chief political adviser to the president, Mr. Rahm Emanuel who don’t want to alienate the left base of the Democrat Party,” said McCain.

Jones disputes McCain’s criticism that politics is at play in Obama’s war planning. “The strategy does not belong to any political party, and I can assure you that the president of the United States is not playing to any political base,” said Jones. But McCain did not back down from his criticism.

The prospect that politics is influencing our war planning is chilling. And it is well-nigh impossible to believe that Emanuel wasn’t stating precisely what the president himself believes.

Recently, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, America’s commander in Afghanistan, delivered to the president a 60-day review of the security situation which recommends a counter-insurgency strategy that requires sending as many as 40,000 more troops to the war zone. McChrystal warned the U.S. could fail in Afghanistan if it doesn’t quickly adopt that recommendation.

In McChrystal’s words, the next twelve months (which apparently commenced on the date of his report, August 30) are critical. His report warns that if we aren’t successful in that time, defeating the Taliban insurgency may become impossible.

Failure in Afghanistan could have serious long-term security implications for America. The region could slip into a maelstrom of conflict that leaves Afghanistan in anarchy and Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state, vulnerable to extremists. It could embolden opponents around the world and betray the Afghan people.

Recognizing the growing problem in Afghanistan Obama gathered his national security team five times since August — most recently last Wednesday — to study McChrystal’s report and to identify the appropriate response. But Obama’s war strategy decision-making process, as McCain alleges, is influenced by domestic politics and not just battlefield challenges. Consider three examples.

Emanuel’s politically-inspired debate topic change is a straw man. We already have an Afghan partner, President Hamid Karzai, who will be re-elected after an expected runoff election. Pretending Obama needs to delay his strategy decision in order to conduct more “analysis” to determine if we have “an Afghan partner ready to … become a true partner in governing” stretches credulity to its limits. Rahm, we’re talking about Afghanistan. It’s one of the most corrupt places on the planet and no matter how long we search we won’t find a corruption-free leader. Let’s accept Karzai, warts and all, and get on with the war and stop playing political games.

Vice President Joe Biden is Obama’s leading pessimist on Afghanistan and is providing Obama with politically-inspired war advice. Press reports indicate Biden advised Obama to reduce the scope of the Afghan mission in part because he believes Democratic Party support for the war is not sustainable and overall domestic support is turning against the war, with just 29 percent supporting more troops in a recent CBS News poll. Perhaps Biden also believes that Obama’s presidency could become linked to a war that may not be winnable.

Reportedly, Biden rejects McChrystal’s recommendation that we need more troops for the mission. Rather, the vice president favors a counter-terrorism approach that theoretically uses special forces and drone aircraft to hunts down the insurgents, a more politically acceptable mission because it could be done – again, theoretically – without additional troops.

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, disfavors the politically hot “additional combat forces to Afghanistan” request as well. He recommends Obama refocus the mission on increasing and accelerating our efforts to support the Afghan security forces to become self-sufficient in delivering security to their nation.

Levin’s proposal “…could form the core of a compromise approach to the conflict,” according to the Wall Street Journal. The Journal states it would give Obama a “face-saving way” to turn-down McChrystal’s politically unpopular troop increase request in favor of a small plus-up of military trainers. A defense appointee characterized Levin’s proposal as “…the least-bad of a bunch of really bad options.”

Such politically-inspired advice is unlikely to deliver victory. Rather, victory in Afghanistan, according to McChrystal, requires a counter-insurgency strategy which he believes will produce the desired end state- a stable region that denies sanctuary to al Qaeda and its allies.

Consider the elements of a non-partisan strategy that uses McChrystal’s recommendation and avoids the so-called “really bad options.”

First, we need a clear strategy. Gen. McChrystal recommends a long-term counter-insurgency approach which moves troops closer to larger population centers with a goal of better protecting Afghans from insurgents. Just how long the counter-insurgency will take to deliver victory remains an open-ended question but the approach worked in Iraq. Yes, Afghanistan is different from Iraq but so is McChrystal’s application of the strategy. And don’t pollute McChrystal’s counter-insurgency plan with Biden’s counter-terrorism approach to formulate a “strategy lite.” That would be disastrous.

Part of McChrystal’s effort in population centers must include provisions for turning the Taliban. The general said there is little ideological loyalty between local Pashtuns and the Taliban. Therefore, the coalition should incentivize non-Taliban Pashtun fighters to abandon the militia using amnesty, cash, jobs, weapons and prestige. But the hardcore Islamic leaders will have to be killed or captured.

Second, set realistic time limits. Press reports suggest Obama is trying to put the Afghan war on Washington’s political clock. That explains why senior administration officials like Secretary of Defense Robert Gates insist we have only a small window – maybe 18 months – to show results in Afghanistan. But counter-insurgencies typically last years to gain security and stability. It’s the president’s job to keep the nation focused on the end state and not the clock.

Third, provide sufficient resources. The worse case scenario would be to insist McChrystal conduct a counter-insurgency strategy without sufficient troops and equipment. That would only kill more troops and guarantee failure.

McChrystal rightly argues the core of his strategy is to regain the initiative. That will require a substantial surge of forces – maybe 40,000 or even more – to wrestle back the initiative from the Taliban which now controls much of southern and eastern Afghanistan.

Presumably, McChrystal’s request for more troops isn’t tainted by partisan politics. He should ask for the appropriate number of troops after conducting a troops-to-task analysis. He must understand that salami tactics that gradually build-up a much larger force won’t work because, if he comes back to ask for more troops later his credibility will be shot and the nation will balk.

Fourth, don’t rush the Afghan train-up. Reportedly Obama wants to double the size of Afghan security forces, speed-up their training and then quickly turn-over Afghanistan’s security to the newly minted force.

Obama’s Afghan train-up faces many challenges which can’t be hurried. A 2009 Rand Corporation study, “The Long March: Building an Afghan National Army,” states the army’s ethnic balance is critical especially among Pashtuns who make-up half the population and most of the Taliban. The army’s current ethnic mix must change if we hope to entice the Pashtuns away from the Taliban and have a credible national army. There are also funding, discipline, equipment and logistics problems. And the requirement for more trainers and embedded U.S. teams with Afghan units will continue for many years.

The Rand study concludes that the Afghan army is “…a long way from being able to assume primary responsibility for Afghanistan’s security … [which is clearly] a matter of years” away.

Finally, Pakistan must become a true partner. Last weekend Pakistan began operations in South Waziristan, the heartland of Taliban and al Qaeda activity. We should encourage Islamabad via aid and cooperation to sustain such operations because our victory in Afghanistan depends to a large measure on Pakistan’s efforts to defeat our common Islamist enemies along the 1,610 mile common border.

Partisan politics has no place in the National Security Council. Our young people fighting in Afghanistan deserve the best, non-partisan military strategy backed with sufficient resources to defeat the enemy.

* Ahead of nuclear talks, Iran signals it may not strike deal Iran signaled ahead of international talks Monday that it will not meet Western demands for a deal that would move most of its enriched uranium out of the country and delay its gaining the ability to make a nuclear bomb.

* Iran accuses Pakistan over attack Iran’s president has accused Pakistani agents of involvement in a suicide bombing in south-east of the country targeting a group of the elite Revolutionary Guards force.

* Russia’s Leaders See China as Template for Ruling Nearly two decades after the collapse of the Communist Party, Russia’s rulers have hit upon a model for future success: the Communist Party.

* Iraq cabinet ratifies oil deals Iraq’s cabinet has ratified a deal with two foreign energy companies to develop the giant southern oilfield in Rumaila.

* Karzai stripped of outright win A panel probing fraud claims in the Afghan election has found Hamid Karzai did not gain enough valid votes for an outright win, the BBC understands.

* Abdullah: US focusing too much on Iran Jordan’s king that the US administration seems to be focusing more of its attention on Iran and less on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying time was running out to make peace.

* Resumption of peace talks very close Israel is “very close” to making a deal to restart negotiations with the Palestinians, Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor said.

* Record Number of Visitors to Western Wall A record number of people – 1.5 million visitors – came to the Western Wall during the Hebrew month of Tishrei.

* Europe unwilling to condemn Israel for war crimes at UN European countries on the council opposed the resolution or abstained from the vote after heavy diplomatic pressure from Tel Aviv.

* Hamas TV program: English is enemy’s language The Hamas children’s television program, Tomorrow’s Pioneers, last week included a part in which children were told it is important to know English, because it is “the language of their enemy.”

By: Clifford J. Levy – The New York Times

Nearly two decades after the collapse of the Communist Party, Russia’s rulers have hit upon a model for future success: the Communist Party.

Or at least, the one that reigns next door.

Like an envious underachiever, Vladimir V. Putin’s party, United Russia, is increasingly examining how it can emulate the Chinese Communist Party, especially its skill in shepherding China through the financial crisis relatively unbowed.

United Russia’s leaders even convened a special meeting this month with senior Chinese Communist Party officials to hear firsthand how they wield power.

In truth, the Russians express no desire to return to Communism as a far-reaching Marxist-Leninist ideology, whether the Soviet version or the much attenuated one in Beijing. What they admire, it seems, is the Chinese ability to use a one-party system to keep tight control over the country while still driving significant economic growth.

It is a historical turnabout that resonates, given that the Chinese Communists were inspired by the Soviets, before the two sides had a lengthy rift.

For the Russians, what matters is the countries’ divergent paths in recent decades. They are acutely aware that even as Russia has endured many dark days in its transition to a market economy, China appears to have carried out a fairly similar shift more artfully.

The Russians also seem almost ashamed that their economy is highly dependent on oil, gas and other natural resources, as if Russia were a third world nation, while China excels at manufacturing products sought by the world.

“The accomplishments of China’s Communist Party in developing its government deserve the highest marks,” Aleksandr D. Zhukov, a deputy prime minister and senior Putin aide, declared at the meeting with Chinese officials on Oct. 9 in the border city of Suifenhe, China, northwest of Vladivostok. “The practical experience they have should be intensely studied.”

Mr. Zhukov invited President Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, to United Russia’s convention, in November in St. Petersburg.

The meeting in Suifenhe capped several months of increased contacts between the political parties. In the spring, a high-level United Russia delegation visited Beijing for several days of talks, and United Russia announced that it would open an office in Beijing for its research arm.

The fascination with the Chinese Communist Party underscores United Russia’s lack of a core philosophy. The party has functioned largely as an arm of Mr. Putin’s authority, even campaigning on the slogan “Putin’s Plan.” Lately, it has championed “Russian Conservatism,” without detailing what exactly that is.

Indeed, whether United Russia’s effort to learn from the Chinese Communist Party is anything more than an intellectual exercise is an open question.

Whatever the motivation, Russia in recent years has started moving toward the Chinese model politically and economically. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia plunged into capitalism haphazardly, selling off many industries and loosening regulation. Under Mr. Putin, the government has reversed course, seizing more control over many sectors.

Today, both countries govern with a potent centralized authority, overseeing economies with a mix of private and state industries, although the Russians have long seemed less disciplined in doing so.

Corruption is worse in Russia than China, according to global indexes, and foreign companies generally consider Russia’s investment climate less hospitable as well, in part because of less respect for property rights.

Russia has also been unable to match China in modernizing roads, airports, power plants and other infrastructure. And Russia is grappling with myriad health and social problems that have reduced the average life expectancy for men to 60. One consequence is a demographic crisis that is expected to drag down growth.

The world financial crisis accentuated comparisons between the economies, drawing attention to Moscow’s policies. In June, the World Bank projected that China’s economy would grow by 7.2 percent in 2009, while Russia’s would shrink by 7.9 percent.

Politically, Russia remains more open than China, with independent (though often co-opted) opposition parties and more freedom of speech. The most obvious contrast involves the Internet, which is censored in China but not in Russia.

Even so, Mr. Putin’s political aides have long studied how to move the political system to the kind that took root for many decades in countries like Japan and Mexico, with a de facto one-party government under a democratic guise, political analysts said. The Russians tend to gloss over the fact that in many of those countries, long-serving ruling parties have fallen.

The Kremlin’s strategy was apparent in regional elections last week, when United Russia lieutenants and government officials used strong-arm tactics to squeeze out opposition parties, according to nonpartisan monitoring organizations. United Russia won the vast majority of contests across the country.

Far behind was the Russian Communist Party, which styles itself as the successor to the Soviet one and has some popularity among older people. The Russian Communists have also sought to build ties to their Chinese brethren, but the Chinese leadership prefers to deal with Mr. Putin’s party.

The regional elections highlighted how the Russian government and United Russia have become ever more intertwined. State-run television channels offer highly favorable coverage of the party, and the courts rarely if ever rule against it. United Russia leaders openly acknowledged that they wanted to study how the Chinese maintained the correct balance between the party and government.

“We are interested in the experience of the party and government structures in China, where cooperation exists between the ruling party and the judicial, legislative and executive authorities,” Vladimir E. Matkhanov, a deputy in Russia’s Parliament, said at the Suifenhe meeting, according to a transcript.

United Russia praises the Chinese system without mentioning its repressive aspects. And the party’s stance also appears to clash with repeated declarations by Mr. Putin, the former president and current prime minister, and President Dmitri A. Medvedev that Russia needs a robust multiparty system to thrive.

The two endorsed the results of Sunday’s local elections, despite widespread reports of fraud, prompting opposition politicians to call their words hollow.

Sergei S. Mitrokhin, leader of Yabloko, a liberal, pro-Western party that was trounced, said the elections revealed the Kremlin’s true aspirations. And the China talks made them all the more clear, Mr. Mitrokhin said.

“To me, the China meeting demonstrated that United Russia wants to establish a single-party dictatorship in Russia, for all time,” he said.

Throughout recent centuries, Russia has flirted with both the West and East, its identity never quite settled, and analysts said that under Mr. Putin, the political leadership had grown scornful of the idea that the country had to embrace Western notions of democracy or governing.

That in part stems from the backlash stirred in the 1990s, after the Soviet fall, when Russia faced economic hardship and political chaos, which many Putin supporters say the West helped to cause.

Dmitri Kosyrev, a political commentator for Russia’s state news agency and author of detective novels set in Asia, said it was only natural that the Kremlin would cast its gaze to the East.

“When they discovered that there was a way to reform a formally socialist nation into something much better and more efficient, of course they would take note,” Mr. Kosyrev said. “Everyone here sees China as the model, because Russia is not the model.”

* Pakistan begins Taliban assault Fierce fighting has broken out as Pakistan’s army launched an air and ground offensive against Taliban militants in the South Waziristan area.

* Netanyahu: Prepare for long struggle against Goldstone Gaza report Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Friday that Israel must prepare for a protracted struggle against a damning United Nations report on its winter offensive in Gaza.

* Jordan’s king warns Israel on Jerusalem ‘red line’ Jordan’s King Abdullah II warned Israel of “disastrous repercussions” if it crosses a “red line” on Jerusalem.

* Afghanistan awaits vote results The result of the presidential election in Afghanistan is due to be announced this weekend – two months after the poll marred by fraud allegations.

* Strained Israel-Turkey ties concern US American diplomats asked Turkish Foreign Ministry officials on Friday to work towards easing tensions with Israel.

* UN backs Gaza ‘war crimes’ report The UN Human Rights Council has backed a report into the Israeli offensive in Gaza that accuses both Israel and Palestinian militants of war crimes.

* Abbas says will announce election date on October 25 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that he will announce the date for the next general elections in the Palestinian Authority on October 25.

* UK, France to PM: Israel has right to self-defense British Premier Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu overnight.

* Egypt: Fatah-Hamas deal deferred due to ‘inappropriate conditions’ Egypt announced on Saturday the latest postponement of a reconciliation agreement between rival Palestinian movements Hamas and Fatah was due to “inappropriate conditions.”

* Czech president says Lisbon too far gone to block The European Union’s Lisbon reform treaty has progressed too far to stop.

* US rethinks intelligence report on Iran nuclear program US spy agencies are considering whether to rewrite a controversial 2007 intelligence report that asserted Tehran halted its efforts to build nuclear weapons in 2003.

* Deadly bomb shakes Pakistani city Twelve people have died and 15 have been injured in a bombing in Peshawar in north-western Pakistan, police say.

* China strongly opposes Iranian nukes China is firmly opposed to an Iranian nuclear arms program, Beijing’s ambassador to Israel, Zhao Jun said.

* UNHRC endorses Goldstone’s report Despite Israeli lobbying efforts against the Goldstone report, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva endorsed the document on Friday.

* One million refugees headed for Israel IDF units responsible for guarding Israel’s expansive western border with Egypt said Thursday that there are one million would-be infiltrators from Africa waiting to cross the mostly barrier-less border and enter Israel illegally.

* Israel: Endorsement of Goldstone Report promotes terror State officials respond to UN Human Rights Council’s decision to adopt report saying IDF committed war crimes in Gaza.

* Despite promises to Obama, construction continues in dozens of W. Bank settlements Human rights activists monitoring the West Bank report that despite commitments Israel made to President Barack Obama’s administration last month, widespread building activity commenced three weeks ago in at least 12 settlements.

* Sarkozy suggests Blair EU presidency problematic French president Nicolas Sarkozy has indicated that British ex-prime minister Tony Blair may not be acceptable as a future president of the European Council because the UK remains outside the eurozone.

* Pope calls for determined action on hunger The world must take “determined and effective” action against hunger after the global economic crisis pushed the ranks of the undernourished to a record 1 billion, Pope Benedict XVI said Friday.

* Quake shakes Indonesian capital A 6.1-magnitude earthquake has struck the Indonesian island of Java, causing buildings to sway in the capital, Jakarta, officials have said.

By: Robert Maginnis – Human Events

Winning the war in Afghanistan requires Islamabad’s cooperation. However, the Pakistanis feel that they have been ‘dissed’ by the Americans who seemingly are distrustful of the Pakistan military by tying badly needed aid to a series of unacceptable, overly intrusive certifications.

This is but one of many challenges President Obama must address in his new regional strategy if he intends to win the Afghan war. Otherwise, he risks losing Afghanistan to jihadists who will once again use that country to launch global operations and then overrun nuclear-armed Pakistan. The growing violence in Pakistan such as the weekend assault on the Pakistani Army headquarters in Rawalpindi demonstrates that time for action is short.

Consider past mistakes that contributed to the Afghanistan mess and what we can do with ally Pakistan to help resolve the brewing crisis.

In the 1980s, the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) with America’s Central Intelligence Agency created the Taliban in Afghanistan to fight the occupying Soviets. After Russia abandoned Afghanistan we failed to go into that country to rehabilitate the Taliban to prevent radicals like the al Qaida from taking root.

We had another chance in the mid-1990s to change the course of that country. President Clinton knew al Qaeda was nesting with the Taliban in Afghanistan. But Clinton refused to plant humanitarian missions in that country to keep it from deteriorating into a radical Islamic state that threatened global peace.

After al-Qaida attacked America in September 2001, the U.S. defeated the Taliban with the help of the Northern Alliance, ethnic Tajiks. At the time we mistakenly assumed that all Pashtuns – the ethnic group that makes up half the Afghan population – were radical Taliban. This naiveté and our follow-up actions alienated many non-Taliban Pashtun while our real enemy, al-Qaeda, slipped into the Pakistani mountains where they remain today.

Obama’s forthcoming Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy must learn from these past mistakes and partner with the Pakistanis to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan, stop the Talibanization of Pakistan and destroy al Qaida. This will require President Obama to address a number of significant challenges.

First, the U.S. should not “diss” its war ally. Unfortunately, the U.S. Congress just sent an aid bill to President Obama for signature that Pakistani politicians described as “insulting and unacceptable” and reflects lack of trust. A U.S. State Department spokesman admitted “…we need to perhaps communicate better about what this bill entails.”

Pakistani chief of staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani expressed “serious concerns” over the legislation because it links aid to increased monitoring of its anti-terror efforts and Pakistan’s nuclear program. Kiyani’s objections send a message about the limits of civilian control in a country with a history of military rule.

The bill, named after its chief sponsors, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), triples the amount of U.S. economic assistance to Pakistan. But it alienates the Pakistanis by mandating regular administration certification that Pakistan is adhering to a wide range of sovereignty-related requirements. Dr. Ashraf says the bill singles out the military as “the bad people in Pakistan.”

Second, the U.S. must conduct a comprehensive counterinsurgency in the Pashtun area of Afghanistan along the Pakistan border. This will likely require more troops and close cooperation with the Pakistanis who are poised for a campaign in Waziristan, a border region.

We should “provide security for the people” in large populated areas and “hit [the enemy] hard” inflicting “major losses,” said Dr. Nasim Ashraf, a former member of Pakistani President Muscharaf’s cabinet and now with a Washington, DC-think tank. He believes “major defeats” of the Taliban will turn the tide in Afghanistan.

Third, we need to grow the Afghan National Army (ANA) with Pashtun recruits. The Pashtuns must become a significant part of the ANA if it is to be credible. Even though the Pashtun make-up half of all Afghans they account for less than a third of the ANA.

“We need an ethnic balance in the ANA,” said Dr. Ashraf. He argues that Pashtuns have been excluded from the army which hurts the effort to re-integrate them and defeat the Taliban.

Fourth, the Afghan refugee camps near Quetta, Pakistan, should be relocated inside Afghanistan. These camps, which hold up to 2 million Afghan refugees, have become Taliban recruiting grounds and the base of operations for Mullah Mohammed Omar, who was the former head of the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

The Quetta camps and others that dot the Durand Line – the 1,610 mile Afghanistan- Pakistan border fixed by the British in 1893 – have populations that rival many large European cities. It’s time Afghanistan formulates a roadmap to repatriate these people to remove a huge burden on Pakistan and to help mitigate the associated security problems.

Fifth, the U.S. must help equip Pakistan with the resources to sustain the fight. Foreign minister Qureshi told the Washington Times that Pakistani forces are poised to move into South Waziristan – the heart of Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) resistance – once they receive promised military resources from the U.S. This planned offensive is the most ambitious thus far and is intended to integrate the impoverished tribal population into mainstream society. But American help cannot come too soon.

The TTP isn’t waiting for the Pakistani army to strike South Waziristan. On Oct. 10, the TTP assaulted the Pakistani Army headquarters, which demonstrates the extent of militant penetration into the Pakistani military and is indicative of the type of attacks that will continue. Since last week, there have been four grisly TTP attacks which are allegedly part of the Tailban’s effort to recruit militants across Pakistan.

Sixth, tensions between arch rivals Pakistan and India must be addressed. Last week’s suicide attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul exposed this front in the regional war. The Afghan foreign ministry said the attack “… was planned and implemented from outside of Afghan borders” by the same group responsible for the July 2008 suicide bombing. That bombing was blamed on Pakistan’s ISI.

But the Obama administration excludes India from the security issues between Afghanistan and Pakistan. There is no doubt both India and Pakistan leverage the disaffection. “The U.S. should have been more engaged in a comprehensive policy,” said Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, former ambassador of Pakistan to the U.S. and currently at the Woodrow Wilson Center. She argues the region’s security issues are interconnected and “We need a process to discuss” the differences otherwise the problems are compounded. Talks between the two rivals are stalled because of the 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai by Pakistani militants.

Seventh, Afghanistan needs an indigenous process to form a stable, representative government. The West should never have imposed an alien form of government on the Afghans but should encourage the creation of a National Compact that has a proven history of stability in that country.

Dr. Lodhi suggests the Afghans need to embrace “a political process of national reconciliation,” perhaps a National Compact. This indigenous process should integrate the non-ideological Taliban that disavow al Qaeda. She recommends the Taliban form a political party that gives them an engagement avenue other than fighting.

Eighth, the Pakistanis should have unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for counter-terrorist operations. But the U.S. doesn’t want to transfer drones to Pakistan because of the technology loss.

U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan have killed innocent civilians and thus lose “the hearts and minds of the tribes” and using them can give “the enemy the means to get pity,” said Dr. Lodhi. She favors giving the Pakistanis drones that will serve a “broader strategy” that includes police, intelligence, and economic development. Also, the Pakistani public would be more tolerant of civilian casualties caused by drones operated by the country’s own forces.

Finally, the U.S. must make a long-term commitment. Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said “The people in the region have to be reassured that the U.S. has a long-term vision not just for Afghanistan and Pakistan but the entire region.” He called on Washington to learn from “the mistakes of the past.”

Partnering with Pakistan will be the most important part of the president’s emerging strategy. He must avoid past mistakes and make needed adjustments if we have any hope of stabilizing that region before withdrawing our troops.

* Pakistan rocked by fresh attacks A series of attacks on security forces in Pakistan has killed at least 38 people.

* Hamas rejects Fatah reconciliation bid The Syrian-based leadership of Hamas said Thursday it has rejected an Egyptian-mediated proposal to reconcile with Fatah.

* Iranian Supreme Leader Rumored to be Dead Once again, rumors have begun circulating that Iran’s top Muslim leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has died.

* Majority of Nobel jury ‘objected to Obama prize’ Three of the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee had objections to the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to US President Barack Obama.

* ‘Syrian long-range missiles in Lebanon’ Syria has transferred nearly a quarter of its long-and medium-range missile arsenal to Hizbullah.

* Allies push Israel for Gaza probe Israel has come under pressure from its allies to investigate UN allegations of possible war crimes by its army during its Gaza offensive last winter.

* New Egypt front opposes father-son succession A group of Egypt’s opposition forces, including a former presidential candidate, launched a campaign Wednesday to oppose what is widely seen as the increasingly inevitable succession of the long-ruling president’s son.

* Iraq calls on Turkey to stop cross-border raids Iraq asked Turkey on Thursday to respect its sovereignty and stop cross-border military operations against Kurdish rebels.

* And Gog says to Magog: How about a little Armageddon at Megiddo? Talk about a biblical reference. Greenpeace and World March activists staged a “die-in” to protest nuclear weapons at Mount Megiddo.

* Outlines emerging of new EU commission The next European Commission is set to be filled with conservative and liberal commissioners.

* Russia may revise use of nuclear weapons in new military doctrine Russia’s new military doctrine will contain some changes to the situations that could trigger the use of nuclear weapons or preventive strikes against potential foes.

* Israeli Firm Patents Unmanned Helicopter Muslim terrorists’ newest nightmare? Steadicopter, an Israeli company, has developed an unmanned helicopter using patented technology that enables the chopper to stay stable while airborne.

* Fayad: We won’t take Mickey Mouse state Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayad on Wednesday called the demilitarized Palestinian state envisioned by Israel “a Mickey Mouse state.”

* New flying reptile fossils found Researchers in China and the UK say they have discovered the fossils of a new type of flying reptile that lived more than 160 million years ago.

* Syria: We held exercise with Turkey Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of using phosphorous bombs on Gaza’s children.

* Berlusconi backs Blair for EU job Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has endorsed Tony Blair as his preferred candidate to be president of the European Union.

* Officials: Hizbullah hiding arms in homes Thousands of weapons caches have been placed in homes scattered in 160 villages in southern Lebanon.

* Parliament chief reminds EU of historical facts on Stalin The Polish head of the EU parliament on Wednesday (14 October) underlined some basic facts about Joseph Stalin at an event held in the context of mounting historical revisionism in Russia.

* Putin warns against intimidating Iran Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday warned major powers against intimidating Iran.

* Klaus keeps EU guessing on future of Lisbon Treaty The Czech constitutional court will hear a challenge to the EU’s Lisbon Treaty at the end of October.

* Don’t pressure Iran, says Russia Pressuring Iran and threatening further sanctions over its nuclear program would be counter-productive, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says.

* US wants bunker-buster fast, denies Iran is reason The Pentagon is speeding up delivery of a colossal bomb designed to destroy hidden weapons bunkers buried underground and shielded by 10,000 pounds of reinforced concrete.

* Russia and China Reaffirm Gas Deal Plans The main Russian gas exporter signed a general trade agreement with China’s largest state-run energy company.

* Peres: Hizbullah Turning Lebanon into a ‘Powder Keg’ Hizbullah has turned Lebanon, formerly known as the “Switzerland of the Middle East,” into a “powder keg” of explosives.

* Russia Gas Pipeline Heightens East Europe’s Fears With an ambitious new pipeline planned to run along the bed of the Baltic Sea, the Russian natural gas giant Gazprom is driving a political wedge between Eastern and Western Europe.

* Egyptian MP: Storm Israeli Embassies If Jews Visit Temple Mount An Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood legislator told the parliament that Arabs around the world should break into Israeli embassies in every country if Israelis visit the Temple Mount.

* Turkey, Syria sign cooperation deal The Turkish and Syrian foreign ministers signed a civil and defense cooperation treaty.

* Gambling firm tips Blair for EU president job Irish gambling firm Paddy Power has tipped former UK premier Tony Blair to become the first EU president.

* Silvan Shalom to Turks: Come to your senses As Turkey signals its increasing distance from Israel and its deepening ties with Syria, Jerusalem is starting to lose patience.

* Fatah: Hopes in Obama ‘evaporated’ An internal document circulated among members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s political party says all hopes placed in the Obama administration “have evaporated”.