The two top American officials in Iraq met Monday with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki after his endorsement over the weekend of a recount in the parliamentary elections incited fears of a political crisis in a country not accustomed to peaceful transfers of power. In the political vacuum created by the delay in the tally of the March 7 vote, suspicions have run deep that fraud and political tampering could cast doubt on the validity of the elections. But American diplomats said they were assured that there was no crisis, after conversations between Mr. Maliki and the two officials, Gen. Ray Odierno, the top American military commander in Iraq, and Christopher R. Hill, the American ambassador.
A delegation from one of the most important insurgent groups fighting Afghan and NATO forces met for the first time with President Hamid Karzai on Monday for preliminary discussions on a possible peace plan with the government. Spokesmen for Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of the insurgent group, the Islamic Party, and Mr. Karzai confirmed the meeting, saying the delegation was also meeting with others in the government and leaders of other political movements. Mr. Karzai is planning a peace jirga, or assembly, for the end of April, and he is inviting a number of insurgent groups, as well as various factions in Parliament and representatives of Afghan civil society organizations.
Nearly three months after an al-Qaeda double agent obliterated an important CIA team in Afghanistan, veteran spies remain agitated over the incident and the agency’s seeming inability to fix longtime operational flaws. The latest eruption over the Dec. 30 incident that killed seven CIA officers and contractors in a powerful suicide fireball comes from Robert Baer, the former clandestine operations officer who has been pillorying his former employer in books, articles and television interviews since shortly the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But other agency veterans have been weighing in as well, and increasingly, on the record. Writing in the April issue of GQ magazine, Baer depicts a spy agency where "the operatives' sun started to set" in the 1990s and never recovered.
Afghanistan and Pakistan
Officials Give Update on Afghanistan Operations - AFPS
Karzai Meets with Taliban-Allied Insurgent Group - Voice of America
Afghan President Meets With Insurgents - New York Times
Karzai Studying Peace Offer from Militant Group - Associated Press
Hekmatyar Talks Peace, but Brings Little to Table - Christian Science Monitor
U.S. Air Support Troops Learn to Hold Back - Los Angeles Times
Uneasy Quiet, then a Taliban Ambush - Stars and Stripes
Pakistan Army Chief Begins U.S. Strategic Dialogue - BBC News
Ex-spies Still Agitated over CIA's Afghan Losses - Washington Post
Iraq
U.S. Officials Meet Iraqi Leader After Recount Call - New York Times
Iran
Washington and Tehran Rhetoric Heats Up - Christian Science Monitor
Pakistan May Investigate Nuclear Scientist’s Ties to Iran - New York Times
Iran's Exiles - New York Times opinion
Cyber Warfare
Cyber Attacks Growing, Diverse, Destructive - Voice of America
United States
Cartwright Calls for Balance in Missile Defense Construct - AFPS
United Kingdom
Nuclear Terror Risk to Britain from al-Qaeda - Daily Telegraph
500 Soldiers Face Sack Amid Funding Crisis - The Times
MoD 'Could Cancel Kit Orders Amid Budget Cuts' - Daily Telegraph
Canada
Gates, Canadian Counterpart Meet at Pentagon - AFPS
Africa
South Sudan's Former Rebels Use Polls to Rally Support - VOA
Nigeria's Acting Leader May Meet Obama - Associated Press
Bid to Weaken Ban on Ivory Sales Fails - Washington Post
Americas
Mexico Military Faces Political Risks over Drug War - Los Angeles Times
Clinton Heads to Mexico for Talks on Drug War - Associated Press
Gates, Mullen to Join U.S. Delegation to Mexico - AFPS
Chavez Foe Arrested over Drug Haven Comment - Associated Press
Haiti’s Food Needs Still Urgent 10 Weeks After Earthquake - Voice of America
General Keen’s Blog: Coordinate and Collaborate in Haiti - AFPS
Asia Pacific
Google Won't Censor Search Results in China - Washington Post
Google Shuts China Site in Dispute Over Censorship - New York Times
Google Shuts Site but Keeps Presence in China - The Times
Rio Tinto Workers Admit Taking Bribes in China - New York Times
North Korea Says a Detained U.S. Citizen Will Face Trial - New York Times
Opposition to Sue Myanmar Junta over Election Laws - Associated Press
Europe
Turkey’s Governing Party Proposes Changes in the Constitution - New York Times
European Disunion - New York Times editorial
Middle East
Clinton Says Middle East Status Quo 'Unsustainable' - Voice of America
Hillary Clinton Stands Firm on Israel Construction - Los Angeles Times
U.S., Israel Try to Reduce Tensions - Washington Post
Netanyahu Takes Hard Line on Jerusalem Housing - New York Times
Israel Defies Obama over Jerusalem Settlements - The Times
Netanyahu Warns that 'Jerusalem is Not a Settlement' - Daily Telegraph
U.S. Envoy Urges Israel, Palestinians to Exercise Restraint - VOA
Settlements Strain Israel's Relationships with U.S. - Washington Post
South Asia
India’s Power Struggles - New York Times
Pakistani Parliament Moves to Curb Zardari - Washington Post
