Nation

Iraqi Officers AWOL in U.S.

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At least five and as many as a dozen Iraqi officials have deserted U.S.-based military training, and are at large and unaccounted for, the Washington Times reports. Now, a pair of Texas Republicans are demanding answers from White House officials — more than a year after first inquiring about the disappearances. The desertions occurred between 2005 and 2007, and were reported to the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Neither agency would provide details on any investigations on the disappearances, and ICE said asylum requests were confidential. Meanwhile, Reps.

Democracy & Civics

The Stirrings of Islamo-Liberalism

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Plenty of media attention has been given to fundamentalist Islam and Taliban-style “Islamo-fascism.” But three recent articles bring to light the persistence of democracy movements in the Muslim world, and a tolerant spirituality in Islam’s Sufi tradition. The Netherlands-based academic Asef Bayat notes in a recent essay that democracy in the Middle East is impossible without the emergence of a new type of Muslim citizen — “teachers, students, the young, women, workers, artists, and intellectuals” — that can spur a “post-Islamist” interpretation of the Koran supportive of democratic ideals. Though oppressive governments and religious teachings have impeded “post-Islamism” thus far, Bayat says change can emerge through an informed citizenry that asserts its values through daily cultural practice and activism. In fact, youth throughout the Middle East and North Africa are coming together to achieve just that, reports Wiretap Magazine, under the banner of a “cyberdemocracy” Web site called Mideast Youth (www.mideastyouth.com/).

World

Kosovo Threatens Unilateral Independence

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Ethnic Albanian negotiators rejected a proposal for increased autonomy for their home province of Kosovo, and threatened a unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia if no deal is struck by a December 10 U.N. deadline. According to Agence France-Presse, the deal would have ensured self-governance in all of Kosovo’s economic, legal and “daily” affairs, while Serbia would retain possession of the province, as well as control over foreign policy and border security. The region has been administered by the United Nations and Nato since 1999, following military intervention in a bloody conflict between Albanian separatists and Serbian security forces. The United States and some E.U. nations said they would back independence for Kosovo, but Serbia, with the support of Russia, is steadfast in its opposition, and has called for further talks. Source:
“Deadlock in Kosovo talks”
Agence France-Presse/Sapa, November 27, 2007

Democracy & Civics

Japan to Expand Atomic Bomb Victim Definition

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More than 50 years after the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a string of court losses has forced Japan’s government to create a new standard that will recognize 20,000 new victims of diseases and health problems related to the blasts. The Kyodo news wire notes that nine kinds of diseases, including cancer and leukemia, will be recognized among the 250,000 registered bomb survivors in Japan. Under current standards, roughly 2,200 are recognized as victims.
The new standards will open the door for anyone who was within four kilometers of the blasts, or visited ground zero within 100 hours of the attacks. Source:
“New standard aims to certify more people as A-bomb disease sufferers”
Kyodo/Associated Press, November 27, 2007

World

Canadian Officials Knew of Afghan Torture, Records Show

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Secret documents obtained by court order show Canadian ministers were well aware of torture, rape and other abuse occurring at Afghan prisons filled with detainees that Canadian soldiers had turned over to Afghanistan’s secret police. According to the Globe and Mail, Canadian inspectors noted that prison floors were covered in “blood and feces” and that some prisoners were shackled at all times, according to the government report. They also knew a juvenile detention facility had been overseen by a warden accused of rape, and that the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission was barred by police from investigating abuse of detainees in the prisons. Yet Gordon O’Connor, the defense minister at the time, told the House of Commons that the Commission “has assured us … it is able to monitor all the prisoners,” despite his being told otherwise by Canadian diplomats the day before.

World

Rendition Inquiry Looks to Ukraine

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An Italian European Union minister wants human rights officials to investigate “strong and specific” evidence that the Ukrainian government was complicit in building a prison on its military base to hold and torture CIA detainees, reports the EU Observer. The minister cites a document suggesting that a Gulfstream jet known to be used by the CIA landed in the country five times in August 2005, with Ukrainian approval. The Ukrainian government calls the charges “nonsense.” A previous report, adopted by the EU legislature, concluded there were “over 1,000” secret stopover flights in the EU since 2001, and that detention facilities were known to exists, “particularly in Poland and Romania.” Source:
“EU investigator targets Ukraine in fresh CIA allegations”
EU Observer, November 14, 2007

Democracy & Civics

Tribal Loyalty May Bridge Iraq's Sectarian Divide

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Iraqi tribal chiefs from the Sunni-dominated Anbar province held talks last week with counterparts in Shia-dominated Qadissiya Province. Their goal — to find a peaceful, government-backed solution to the current sectarian violence in both provinces, according to the Azzaman newspaper. Although divided by religion, Sunnis and Shia are often members of the same tribe. Tribal leaders want to leverage this loyalty to stop the violence, oust al Qaeda forces, and support a push for “national reconciliation.” Source:
“Sunni, Shiite tribes unite to fight Qaeda”
Azzaman (Iraq), November 7, 2007

Democracy & Civics

Thailand's Muslim Conflict

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Violent conflicts between Thai armed forces and a rebel separatist group in the three Muslim-dominated southern provinces of Thailand flared up again last week when a series of small bombs planted in restaurants and karaoke bars killed a Buddhist civil servant and wounded four others. The insurgency, and the government’s campaign to crush it, have resulted in 2,500 deaths in the past decade, according to the Jakarta Post. Although Islamic reformists say they are making progress against violent ideology, the conflict has now spread to neighboring provinces and could soon affect Bangkok as well. Thailand’s population is 95 percent Buddhist, and measures to combat the rebellion increasingly appeal to religious intolerance. Thai forces are empowered by martial law and have detained dozens of people without charge.

Democracy & Civics

The Persistence of Rendition

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When President Bush publicly acknowledged the existence of secret CIA jails, he also said they would be vacated — temporarily. Today, parts of the rendition program are still being debated by U.S. courts — and investigated by foreign governments. According to the Washington Post, 14 suspected Al Qaeda militants have been taken out of CIA prisons and moved to Guantanamo, but human rights groups say up to 30 other “ghost prisoners” remain unaccounted for. Some have been transferred to their home countries, such as Libya or Pakistan, and held in government jails there. Others are suspected of remaining at several CIA “black sites.”

World

The Taliban's Volatile Mix … of Foreign Fighters

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Foreign jihadists from Pakistan and Iran are infiltrating the ranks of the ruling Afghanis Taliban in Helmand Province, according to the Institute for War & Peace Reporting. The fighters are blamed for near-daily suicide bombings, and for terrorizing the locals, committing extra-judicial killings, and arresting Afghanis who travel into government-controlled areas. The captives are accused of spying, and beaten in jail until relatives come to pay for their release. Some Afghans say the fighters are being sent by Tehran for a political — rather than religious — purpose: to keep occupation forces “pinned down” and thus unable to attack Iran as the nuclear dispute there deepens. Source:
“Foreign Taleban rile Helmand residents”
Institute for War & Peace Reporting, October 30, 2007