News – Running in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

In a sports stadium in Shiberghan, General Abdul Rashid Dostum launches his bid for the presidency of Afghanistan. His forces have a reputation for ruthlessness, and he’s denied a past allegation that they allowed hundreds of Taliban prisoners to suffocate in shipping containers after they surrendered in the north in late 2001. He’s a self proclaimed champion of Afghanistan’s minority Uzbeks and Turkmens, and loyal followers call him “Dostum Pacha,” or King Dostum. He says he wants to promote national unity and has spoken out saying that Karzai’s government had created an atmosphere of “mistrust,” and criticized him for failing to crush the Taliban and allies including al Qaeda.

Iraq

US warplanes bomb a suspected insurgent hideout in Falluja. There have also been attacks on homes in Sadr City as operations against insurgents ramp up.

Two UK soldiers are killed in Basra when their patrol is ambushed.

The Pentagon is musing shortening tours of duty in Iraq, as a means of persuading them to reenlist.

Israel/Palestine

Another Israeli raid, this time in the West Bank. A military source says they were looking for militants and explosives in Jenin refugee camp. One man was shot and killed, though the story of it varies from witnesses saying he was shot as he came out of his house and Israeli military saying he was warned when he climbed a fence and approached troops, ignoring three warnings. The Palestinian in question was locally known to have mental problems.

A fist fight broke out at the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ between Christians. It seems that Franciscans had left open the door to a Greek Orthodox chapel, which was taken as a show of disrespect.

International Papers eye the death of Ezzedine al-Sheik Khalil, a Hamas operative killed in Damascus, Syria by a carbomb.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi militants switch to hit and run shootings of westerners after their series of suicide bombings.

US

Though terrorism remains a concern, the perception of terrorist threats is down to levels pre-9/11. It was an inevitability. Terrorism is no longer a critical threat to most people. They recognize the necessity to deal with it, but don’t feel as much urgency, I’d think.

The FBI still hasn’t enough translators to handle the backlog of Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and Pashto documents they have.

The national average for gas has popped up five cents and diesel prices have reached a new record. We can expect the prices to remain like this until Iraq is stable and some other world events have calmed down.

A new website, ActBlue, lets anyone form a political action committee.

Opponents of the Induce Act say the latest offering of it has pretty much the same language as the first version.

General

Today’s Papers has opinion that the terrorists are losing, a show of the uneven vulnerability between US solders and new Iraqi guardsmen, assertions hat reports out of Falluja on civilian deaths are propaganda(while the US military doesn’t keep its own numbers of civilian collateral damage) and more in the one page news.

Amusements

Teen runs away to Scotland on parents’ credit card

New video game lets you command Kerry and his swift boat

Inexperienced armed robbers rush into store, fumble about and accidentally shoot one another. Madcap hilarity ensues

Nude student gets tazed and tackled

Total work stoppage paralyzes Norwegian air traffic. Controllers say they are not sick and not on strike — they just don’t feel like working

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