ISW News Roundup - February 24, 2009
Pakistan
Washington Times - Pakistani Taliban unite against U.S., by Raza Qazi and Sara A. Carter
LA Times - Confusion hangs over Pakistan's pact with Taliban, by Laura King
Long War Journal - Waziristan Taliban alliance declares support for Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar, by Bill Roggio
Reuters - Pakistani Taliban announce indefinite truce in Swat, by Junaid Khan
RFE/RL - Girls Return To School In Pakistan's Swat Valley
Associated Press - Taliban extend cease-fire in Pakistani valley, by Stephen Graham
Reuters - Pakistan army halts operations in Swat, by Simon Cameron-Moore
Reuters - Pakistani forces close to securing key tribal region, by Zeeshan Haider
Afghanistan
Reuters - In the north, Afghans fight hunger, not the Taliban, by Jonathan Burch
CNN - 4 coalition members killed in Afghanistan
Reuters - New Zealand extends Afghan troop deployment
Associated Press - Japan to pay 80,000 Afghanistan police salaries, by Jay Alabaster
Reuters - NATO confident of Afghan election reinforcements, by Jon Hemming
Reuters - "I'll talk to Taliban": Afghan presidential hopeful, by Sayed Salahuddin
New York Times - From a Carrier, Another View of America's Air War in Afghanistan, by Elisabeth Bumiller
Iraq
Associated Press - Baghdad museum reopens after 6 years
LA Times - Chandeliers put a sparkle in Iraqis' eyes, by Tina Susman and Usama Redha
Associated Press - Iraq arrests Shiite gang accused of killing Sunnis
Christian Science Monitor - As war ebbs, Europe returns to Iraq, by William Boston
Reuters - Iraq arrests police in law-and-order crackdown, by Ahmed Rasheed
BBC - Iraq marshes face grave new threat, by Jim Muir
Associated Press - Iraq Sunni politician calls for full abuse probes, by Hamid Ahmed
CNN - Official: Ministry infiltrators killed Iraqi VP's sister in '06
LA Times - Fighting in Iraq kills 3 U.S. troops, interpreter, from AP
Washington Post - Iraq Researcher Sanctioned, from AP
New York Times - Iraq Accuses 12 Policemen in a String of Killings, by Campbell Robertson
Associated Press - Seoul, Baghdad sign $3.55B deal to rebuild Iraq
U.S. Department of Defense - Violence in Iraq Drops to Six-Year Low, by John J. Kruzel
Region
Israel
Associated Press - US official: Gaza reconstruction aid to top $900M, by Matti Friedman
Associated Press - Israel's Envoy on Gaza Is Removed
Associated Press - Truce deal could mean return of Palestinian leader, by Ben Hubbard and Mohammed Daraghmeh
Somalia
Long War Journal - Zawahiri praises Shabaab's takeover of southern Somalia, by Bill Roggio
New York Times - Militants Drew Recruit in U.S., F.B.I. Says, by David Johnston
BBC - Mogadishu rocket by fierce battle
Iran
Washington Post - Veteran Mideast Envoy Ross Named to Advise Clinton on Iran Strategy, by Glenn Kessler
Egypt
Associated Press - Time bomb used in deadly Cairo bazaar explosion, by Maggie Michael
North Korea
Associated Press - North deploys new missile
Reuters - North Korea says preparing rocket launch, by Jon Herskovitz
Prisoner Release
Times Online UK - One in ten freed Guantanamo detainees goes back to terrorism, says Pentagon, by Tom Baldwin and Michael Evans