ISW News Roundup - February 5, 2009
Iraq's Provincial Elections
CNN - Iraq nervously awaits results of elections, by Jomana Karadsheh
LA Times - Sunni rivals clash over elections in Iraq's Anbar province, by Monte Morin and Caesar Ahmed
Washington Post - Anbar Counts Votes, Sheiks Voice Defiance, by Sudarsan Raghavan
Reuters - Iraq PM bloc wins big in Baghdad and Basra, by Peter Graff and Waleed Ibrahim
Reuters - Maliki Iraq poll win would mark shift from religion, by Mohammed Abbas
New York Times - Iraqi Government Aims to Calm Tensions in Anbar Over Allegations of Election Fraud, by Sam Dagher
Aswat al-Iraq - Urgent/PM's list garners 38% of votes in Baghdad
Aswat al-Iraq - Parliament to select new speaker on Saturday
Aswat al-Iraq - IHEC announces 90% of election results
Aswat al-Iraq - Al-Maliki ready to form alliances in provincial councils
Iraq Security
Times Online UK - Al-Qaeda damaged by arrest of 'rape and suicide bomb' woman, by Deborah Haynes
Aswat al-Iraq - 2 security plans in Najaf, Karbala for Shiite occasion
Washington Times - Researchers rip Iraq death-toll study author, by Matthew Lee of AP
Associated Press - Officials: Suicide bomber kills 12 in Iraq's north, by Hadeel al-Shalchi
Aswat al-Iraq - Sadrists say loyalist killed, 20 arrested in Diwaniya
Reuters - FACTBOX: Security developments in Iraq, Feb 5
BBC - Deadly bombing at Iraq restaurant
Aswat al-Iraq - Khanaqin blast casualties up to 28
Afghanistan and Pakistan
Wall Street Journal - Russia Appears to Tie Afghan Help to Shift in U.S. Policy, from AP
Washington Times - Afghan war may enter new phase, by Eli Lake
Reuters - Afghanistan says foreign fighters coming from Iraq, by Sayed Salahuddin
Long War Journal - Taliban capture, release 30 security personnel in Swat, by Bill Roggio
BBC - Iraq militants 'in Afghan switch'
Washington Times - Democracy slow to come to Afghan women, by James Palmer
BBC - Fresh attack on Pakistan lorries
LA Times - Taliban burns 10 trucks on Afghanistan-Pakistan supply route, by Zulfiqar Ali and Laura King
LA Times - Police say bomb near Shiite mosque in central Pakistan kills 7 people, wounds 30, from AP
Times Online UK - 'Black Panthers' prepare to take out Taleban in Afghanistan, by Michael Evans
Reuters - India says Pakistan's spy agency linked to Mumbai raid planners
Israel-Hamas Conflict
Associated Press - Israeli navy: Lebanese aid boat impounded, by Steve Weizman
BBC - Israel seizes Gaza-bound aid ship
Reuters - Seized Gaza freighter docks in Israeli port, by Amir Cohen
Associated Press - Israel still dealing with international fallout, by Matti Friedman
LA Times - International Criminal Court to consider Gaza investigation, by Sebastian Rotella
New York Times - Agency Says Hamas Took Aid Intended for Needy, by Isabel Kershner and Taghreed El-Khodary
Reuters - Hamas to respond to truce proposals Saturday: Egypt
LA Times - Much at stake for Egypt in Palestinian-Israel talks, by Jeffrey Fleishman
Reuters - Israel admits its troops killed Gaza girls, by Joseph Nasr
Reuters - Hamas and Israel blamed for obstructing Gaza recovery, by Nidal al-Mughrabi
Region
Iran
Associated Press - Iraq elections a setback for Iran, by Robert H. Reid
Reuters - World powers welcome Obama's talk offer to Iran, by Marilyn Gerlach
Jerusalem Post - Russian official: Iran's Bushehr plant to be operational in 2009
Times Online UK - British Council pulls out of Tehran after 'intimidation'
Ex-Soviet States and Russia
Washington Times - Ex-Soviet states form rapid reaction force, by Vladimir Isachenkov of AP
Times Online UK - World Agenda: Russia builds its new empire with finance, not fear, by Tony Halpin
Wall Street Journal - Moscow Moves to Counter U.S. Power in Central Asia, by Alan Cullison and Yochi J. Dreazen
Kyrgyz Base
Associated Press - Kyrgyzstan: talks on US base continue, by Leila Saralayeva
Reuters - Kyrgyz parliament to vote on U.S. base next week, by Olga Dzyubenko
Defenselink Mil - Potential Closure of Manas Air Base Won't Disrupt Afghanistan Ops, by Donna Miles
New York Times - U.S. searches for Alternative to Kyrgyz Base, by Elisabeth Bumiller and Ellen Barry