The Government of Israel, this morning (Tuesday), 15 July 2008, decided to ratify its decision of 29 June 2008 on the release of abducted soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, in accordance with the parameters specified in the decision.
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Israel should use force to stop Iran from from obtaining nuclear weapons, Meir Amit, a former director of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, advocated in an exclusive interview with WorldNetDaily. The comments from Amit, one of the most esteemed figures in the Israeli intelligence establishment, are particularly strong since until now he has refused to support an attack against Iran.
“I am in favor of using the power of force against Iran because if we let things go as they are we will find ourselves in a very dangerous situation,” Amit said. “We have good intelligence and we shall decide what is the right timing for any attack.”
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Reports that suggest the Taliban have gained a footing in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province are “way overblown,” a Pentagon spokesman said today. Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters at a news conference that although an increased Taliban presence has been detected in the province, patrols conducted by Afghan National Police and coalition forces “found no evidence that militants control the area.”
Press reports from the region said the Taliban had taken seven villages in the area and were poised for an attack on the city of Kandahar. “While in the area, coalition forces moved freely and met no resistance,” Morrell said. “Recent reports of militant control in the area appear to be unfounded.”
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Russia says that it’s national rail company and the Russian army have deployed equipment and personnel for an operation to rebuild a strategic railway line in Abkhazia. The task should be accomplished within three months.
Georgia is warning about Russian aggression. The US say’s that it is dismayed by Russia’s Defense Ministry announcement on May 31 that it intends to send more military forces, including railroad construction troops, into the Georgian region of Abkhazia without the consent of the Georgian Government.
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A coordination meeting took place today, May 27, 2008, between the Commander of the Judea and Samaria Division, Brigadier General Noam Tibon, the Head of Civil Administration, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai and representatives from the Palestinian security forces including the Palestinian Authority Minister of Social Affairs.
During the meeting, which was held at the Palestinian Authority offices in Ramallah, the parties discussed the activity of the Palestinian security forces in the area of Jenin and northern Samaria. The Palestinians expressed their appreciation at the assistance received from the Israelis which contributed to the success of the financial conference in Bethlehem over the weekend.
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The United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) has concluded in a report that a Georgian reconnaissance drone aircraft that crashed in Abkhazia last month was shot down by the Russian air force.
UNOMIG carried out an investigation after receiving a report on the downing of an unmanned surveillance aircraft on 20 April, and brought together a team of specialists who examined eyewitness, radar and video evidence to establish what had happened, concluding that the drone had been downed by a Russian fighter jet.
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The United States says that it is deeply concerned by the shooting down of an unarmed Georgian UAV, by a presumably Russian MiG-29, over the Abkhazia region of Georgia on April 20. Such incidents escalate tensions, contradict the spirit of the UN Friends process, and risk destabilizing the entire Caucasus. We urge all parties to engage in serious discussions aimed at reaching a lasting political solution, including by engaging on the recent peace proposals made by the Government of Georgia.
We reiterate our unwavering support for Georgian sovereignty and territorial integrity and are concerned by the presence of a MiG-29 aircraft in Georgian airspace without Georgian authorization, and by the use of weapons from this aircraft in shooting down an unarmed Georgian UAV. We support UNOMIG initiatives to enhance military transparency in the region, as well as its investigation of the shooting down of the Georgian UAV.
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On the 101st day of 2008, the headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division officially became Combined Joint Task Force 101 and took command of NATO’s Regional Command East sector of Afghanistan from the 82nd Airborne Division.
Regional COmmand East is made up of 14 provinces in eastern Afghanistan, bordering Pakistan.
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The United States may send more troops to Afghanistan in 2009, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates confirmed on April 4. President Bush said during the NATO summit conference that ended today (April 4) that he expects the United States would make a significant additional contribution to the Afghanistan mission next year, Gates said.
But Gates backed off any specific commitment, saying the United States first wants to see how much support comes from other allies and how security efforts progress in 2008.
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South Ossetia is a mountainous region in Georgia. North Ossetia falls in Russia. South Ossetian ethnics speak a language remotely related to Farsi and the Georgians population in the area is less than one-third of the area population. Traditionally, the Ossetians have had good relations with Russians.
The current armed conflict between South Ossetia and Georgia can be traced to 1920, when South Ossetian’s attempted to declare independence from Georgia as a Soviet Republic. Following the 1921 Soviet invasion of Georgia, the Soviet Government declared South Ossetia to be an autonomous oblast within Georgia in April 1922.
Soviets granted South Ossetians a certain degree of autonomy over matters of language and education in their territory. Meanwhile the nationalist groups in Georgia were beginning to accumulate support, leading to renewed South Ossetian-Georgian tensions.
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The United Nations envoy tasked with helping Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia resolve their dispute over the official name of the latter country, will hold talks tomorrow with both sides at the world body’s headquarters in New York.
A substantial gap remains between the two parties’ positions despite their willingness to continue the process of UN-led negotiations, Matthew Nimetz, the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on the issue, said after a round of talks earlier this month.
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