THE TELEGRAPH/UK – Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, was speaking as he arrived in Beijing on Sunday for four days of talks aimed at renewing ties between the US and Chinese armed forces. However his visit has been overshadowed by a series of announcements by the Chinese about the growing strength of their missile technology, naval capabilities and other … Read More
AL JAZEERA– The United Nations Security Council has overwhelmingly agreed to a new package of economic sanctions against Iran. 12 of the council’s 15 members voted on Wednesday to approve the sanctions resolution. Turkey and Brazil both voted against the resolution, while Lebanon abstained.Barack Obama, the US president, called the resolution “the toughest sanctions ever faced” by the Iranian government.“We recognize … Read More
NY TIMES– Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in the country’s booming illegal opium trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency, and has for much of the past eight years, according to current and former American officials. The agency pays Mr. Karzai for a variety of services, including helping to recruit … Read More
WASHINGTON POST– The National Security Archive at George Washington University has published a series of declassified U.S. documents detailing the U.S. embrace of Saddam Hussein in the early 1980’s. The collection of documents, published on the Web, include briefing materials, diplomatic reports of two Rumsfeld trips to Baghdad, reports on Iraqi chemical weapons use during the Reagan administration and presidential … Read More
