Saturday, November 18 06 (2)

Sri Lanka President Rajapakse asks Tamil rebel leadership to stop violence. The moral standing of allied terror bombing in WWII still sparks debate. Hereditary rule is challenged by rioters in Tonga's capital Nuku'alofa, as 150 Australia/New Zealand peacekeepers dispatched without delay. NATO political talks achieve two-stage consensus about Afghanistan crossroads: everyone agrees additional troops urgently needed, however still nobody willing to contribute. NATO faces endgame challenges in Kosovo, where the war to save Albanians now leaves them in state of enforced limbo. U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and U.S.-based not-for-profit Afropop Worldwide will combine to enhance local communications in African U.N. peace operations.

Saturday, November 18 06 (1)

One day after U.N. and Sudan negotiators establish 'agreement' over new peacekeeping troops (1,2,3,4), deal is apparently built on notion of 'assistance' to presently-beleaguered A.U. operation. Somalia's destabilization is more than domestic affair. A startling call for overthrow of President Ravalomanana by General Fidy of Madagascar. U.S. Secretary of State Rice draws attention to excessive military expenditures--by China. U.S. military brass lays out 4-6 month timeline before 'total chaos in Iraq'. In this Washington Times op-ed, President Putin lays out Russia's ambitions for Eurasian power. Afghanistan President Karzai reminds international community that Afghan instability will spill over regionally.

Thursday, November 16 06

Increasingly clear that 5-year-old Afghanistan peace operation has not improved the well-being or rights-protections of Afghan society. A quiet but strong consensus that we deserve better communications about security status and trajectory of Afghanistan peace operation, which is poised to enter new phase with old mujahideen gradually reappearing. Kabila triumphs in D.R. Congo Presidential run-off, as opponent Bemba promises legal action. Social services and infrastructure are so dilapidated in D.R. Congo that observers anticipate possible consensus behind Kabila-driven rebuilding effort. Thanks to the Genocide Intervention Network, web surfers can view each U.S. Representative's 'score' working to stop human rights abuses in Darfur and obtain information and advice to contact representatives individually by telephone. Somehow worldwide enthusiasm after U.S. mid-terms produced rumor-like suggestion that Iraq pullout might parlay into beneficial new mideast alignment (1,2). Carrying out military action in the collective name of Lebanese people was Hezbollah's earliest war crime, but fragile state left behind is the direct consequence.

Wednesday, November 15 06

D.R. Congo sits on the edge of factional violence days before results of presidential re-vote are announced. 'Independent commission' will mediate the Ethiopia-Eritria border dispute beginning with November 20 multiparty discussions in The Hague. Diplomatic wrangling continues to surround The Sudan, as Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Guehenno turns up pressure on Khartoum and U.N. Secretary General Annan pushes his 'hybrid' peacekeeping model. Robert Fisk predicts that the urge to direct responsibility for civil war back toward Iraqis will sway U.S. political writers, and Jerry West breaks the news that war is for-profit business. E.U. foreign policy chief Solana announces signing of special new 'European Neighborhood Policy' by South Caucasus countries Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Here's a useful 'backgrounder' explaining the insurgency in Iraq.

Tuesday, November 14 06 (2)

Even against international condemnation Pakistan's powerful religious lobby frequently gets its way. Australian Maj.-Gen. Gordon named as Chief of Staff for Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) in Jerusalem, which is the U.N.'s oldest peacekeeping operation. Kosovo U.N. envoy urges against 'unilateral actions' as province's status remains in limbo. Two more U.N. peacekeeping troops shot to death in Haiti. Does Africa need an increase in U.S. military presence? The definition of 'quagmire': the U.S. is now 'hostage' to Iraq, with a disastrous history of mismanagement and a divided military policy-making apparatus. As conflict worsens by the day, is massacre of civilians by local factions avoidable?

Tuesday, November 14 06 (1)

U.N. Secretary General Annan calls for meeting in Ethiopia of U.S., E.U., China and Russia. D.R. Congo anticipates November 19 presidential run-off as candidates agree to refrain from interference in operations of 'apolitical' national security forces. Test case of international law of armed conflict begins tomorrow as European Court of Human Rights considers whether French K-For peacekeeping troops are subject to the European Convention on Human Rights while operating in the field. Afghan security officials report that suicide bombers and roadside detonators all emerge from Pakistan. U.N. tribunal for suspects in assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri will be a regional battleground.

Saturday, November 11, 06

Somalia government rejects parliamentary speaker Adan's back channel attempts avert war by kickstarting Arab League-brokered talks with Islamist rebels. The international community postpones inevitable decision about Kosovo recognition in order to drain support for Serbia's nationalist parties going into January 21 election. Human rights protesters in Maldives call off public protest in Male, as government hints at violent crackdown. Are U.S. Democrats really adopting 'realism'? Doug Saunders begins the consequentialist reckoning of Iraq War II. More evidence over the last month that Pakistan's President Gen. Musharraf is either shrewd or confused: one tribal group in eastern borderlands is granted extensive political independence, and another is bombed into an unstable situation of anti-government extremism and hostility. Canada's JTF2 is a priority for new armed forces growth. In Canada, who will pay the price for expensive Afghanistan peace operation?

Friday, November 10 06 (2)

Warm democratic wishes from the Russian government to the friendly people of Nepal. UNIFIL pushes forward as Lebanese army extends control of southern Lebanon and Israeli military moves toward border. Under-Secretary-General Guehenno reported today that U.N. Peacekeeping Operations posted 81,000 military + police, and 15,000 civilians invovled in 18 missions, under a budget expanding to $7 billion. In this RFE article, South Caucasus expert Laurence Broers explains why dynamically shifting military conflicts in Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transdniester don't deserve their common nickname - 'frozen conflicts' of the Caucasus. Remains of 100 new victims of 1995 Srebernica massacre by Bosnian Serb forces are located in eastern Bosnia.

Friday, November 10 06 (1)

A question is looming over the former Yugoslavia: will the international community and UNMIK bring about international recognition of Kosovo against Serbia's constitution? Kosovo Prime Minister Ceku might be prepared to declare independence with or without an agreement. South Ossetia votes for political independence this weekend in referendum #2, but the outcome will be similar to #1: landslide for separation; virtually zero acknowledgement from the international community. Chances for U.S. Iraq operation overhaul increase dramatically after election, as military leaders prepare to lay out 'strategy changes' for Iraq, and anti-war attitudes persist. AU adds six battalions and contingent of police officers to Dafur peacekeeping deployment.

Thursday, November 9 06

Kyrgyzstan's unfolding political breakdown exposes a year's worth of tension between the government of President Bakiev and 'For Reforms!' parliamentary opposition group. Two recent Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) briefs say that a last-minute constitutional deal could avert more Bishkek streetfighting (1,2). Post-referendum Serbia asserts political identity by denying Kosovo independence aspirations. Atmosphere of 'useful political limbo' resting over Washington may benefit Iraq war planners. Child soldier cases a priority for The Hague's war crimes court (International Criminal Court (ICC)). Maj-Gen. Tommy Burns deserves some credit for 'inventing' peacekeeping back in 1955.

Wednesday, November 8 06

Negotiations between Nepalese government and Maoist insurgents finally yield agreement to put guerrilla arms under U.N. control, as U.N. Secretary General Annan urges both sides to move forward with additional peace talks. UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) illustrates how transition from military to domestic civilian security is decisive in peace operations. Standoff in Ivory Coast, as Ivorian Prime Minister Banny commits to fully support U.N. Resolution 1721 and President Gbagbo threatens to resist. Afghanistan President Karzai practices 'forgive and forget' reconciliation as alliances with former enemies are struck. Is full-scale civil war inevitable in the West Bank and Gaza strip? Celebrating the half-century anniversary of peacekeeping, Annan talks with confidence about peacekeeping's role in the international community. In this Carnegie Council publication, Lilia Shevtsova lays out a framework for internally-driven Russian liberalization.