ISW News Roundup - November 22-23, 2008

Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)

November 22

New York Times - Protests in Baghdad on U.S. Pact, by Stephen Farrell

LA Times - Iraqi protestors burn George Bush effigy, by Tina Susman and Caesar Ahmed

Associated Press - Iraq's prime minister, president in public quarrel, by Hamza Hendawi

Washington Post - Sadr Followers Rally Against U.S. Accord, by Mary Beth Sheridan

Times Online UK - Mahdi Army warns of new insurgency in Iraq if US troops stay until 2011, by Deborah Haynes

November 23

New York Times - Iraq Needs Security Pact for Order, Officials Say, by Campbell Robertson and Katherine Zoepf

Associated Press - Key Iraqi Cabinet members defend pact with US, by Qassim Abdul-Zahra

Reuters - Iraq warns of consequences of early U.S. pullout, by Wisam Mohammed

Washington Post - Iraqi lawmakers vote on US security pact Wednesday, by Christopher Torchia and Qassim Abdul-Zahra

Washington Post - Iraqi Official Urges Pact Passage, by Mary Beth Sheridan

 

Security

November 22

Washington Post - Pentagon Urged to Reverse Mask Ban, by Ernesto Londono

Christian Science Monitor - US forces kill senior Al Qaeda in Iraq leader, by Jane Arraf

Washington Times - Turkish warplanes bomb Kurdish bases in N. Iraq

Washington Times - SKorea to withdraw troops from Iraq in December, from AP

UK Ministry of Defense - New joint security centre opens in Basra

Telegraph UK - Iraqi general claims British troops allow insurgents to rule Basra, by Thomas Harding

November 23

Associated Press- Iraq: Iranian detained by US has been released, by Sameer N. Yacoub

Reuters - U.S. frees Iranian suspected of arms smuggling to Iraq

New York Times - In Ramadi, Real Rebuilding, With Fresh Paint by James Glanz

Washington Post - Kurds in N. Iraq Receive Arms from Bulgaria, by Ernesto Londono

Telegraph UK - Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan to get life saving anti-sniper device, by Richard Alleyne

 

Afghanistan and Pakistan

November 22

LA Times - Marines got more than they bargained for in Afghanistan, by Tony Perry

LA Times - Gates wants to add to U.S. forces fighting in Afghanistan, from AP

Associated Press - US: Financial woes no excuse in funding Afghan war, by Anne Gearan

DefenseLink Mil - Gates Optimistic Troop Surge Will Ensure Smooth Afghan Election, by Donna Miles

DefenseLink Mil - "Guard Farmers" Join Counterinsurgency Fight in Afghanistan, by Jim Garamone

DefenseLink Mil - Combined Forces Kill Insurgents, Save Civilians in Afghanistan, from AFPS

Long War Journal - Attack on funeral in Pakistan's northwest kills 10, by Bill Roggio

Long War Journal - US hits Taliban safe house in North Waziristan, by Bill Roggio

Washington Times - Pakistani soldiers train to shoot drones in desert, by Zeeshan Haider

Times Online UK - Aid workers pull out as Islamists hold city to ransom, by Zahid Hussein

November 23

LA Times - Militants and military brace for winter of war in Afghanistan, by Laura King

Reuters - Obama tells Karzai Afghan security will be priority

Washington Times - US: 17 militants killed in Afghan raid, from AP

Associated Press - Blast kills French soldier in Afghanistan, by Amir Shah

Wall Street Journal - Bomb-Plot Suspect Believed Dead After U.S. Air Raid in Pakistan, by Zahid Hussain and Matthew Rosenberg

Reuters - Pakistan revives Afghan camps for its own people, by Zeeshan Haider

Washington Times - Pakistani tribesmen become war refugees, by Jason Motlagh

Long War Journal - Al Qaeda operative Rashid Rauf reported killed in North Waziristan strike, by Bill Roggio

New York Times - Ringed by Foes, Pakistanis Fear the U.S., Too, by Jane Perlez

 

Region

Iran

New York Times 11/22- Iranian Ex-President Says Chief of Atomic Agency Is Unfair, by Nazila Fathi

New York Times 11/22 - Man Charged With Spying for Israel Hanged in Iran, from AP

Turkey

Associated Press 11/22 - Explosion shuts down oil pipeline in Turkey

Israel

Associated Press 11/22 - Lame-duck US, Israeli leaders to meet a final time, by Aron Heller

Syria

Reuters 11/22 - Syria rejects more IAEA visits for nuclear probe, by Mark Heinrich

BBC 11/23 - Abbas threatens early elections

Reuters 11/23 - Israeli report urges peace progress with Syria, by Dan Williams

The Times Online UK 11/23 - Israel fears US will dither while Iran goes nuclear, by Uzi Mahnnaimi

 

New York Times Op-Eds

Linda Robertson - The Little Battles We Must Win

Frederick W. Kagan - Out of Conflict, a Partnership

Donald H. Rumsfeld - One Surge Does Not Fit All

Peter Mansoor - How to Leave Iraq Intact

Ahmad Chalabi - Thanks but You Can Go Now

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