APSNet 20 October 2010

1. Afghanistan: Leaders march in lockstep
2. Afghanistan: ‘We need a clear exit strategy’: former ADF chief Peter Gration
3. Afghan Taliban say not talking to government
4. Kabul: the awkward ally
5. Julia Gillard defends Diggers’ rules
6. Indonesia: Protests, Violence Stir Tensions Ahead of SBY’s First Anniversary
7. Abuses will not stop co-operation with Indonesia
8. Pirate attacks down off Africa, up in Asian waters

1. Leaders march in lockstep, Laura Tingle, AFR*, 20 October 2010

Australia’s political leadership is in agreement that we are now locked in to a of commitment in Afghanistan for at least a decade, a commitment which might come as a shock to a public which, as casualties rise, was waiting to hear when we would be pulling out.

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• Afghanistan: we’re staring at 10 more years, warns PM, Georgina Robinson, Age, 19 October 2010
• U.N. council renews NATO mandate in Afghanistan, Reuters, 13 October 2010

2. ‘We need a clear exit strategy’: former ADF chief Peter Gration, Cameron Stewart, Australian, October 19, 2010

Australian troops in Afghanistan need an exit strategy based on clear and measurable objectives, says former Australian Defence Force chief Peter Gration. General Gration described as “overblown” Julia Gillard’s claim this week that there were direct links between the security of Afghanistan and terrorist threats to Australians.

3. Afghan Taliban say not talking to government, Reuters, 2010-10-13

The Afghan Taliban said on Wednesday they were not talking to President Hamid Karzai’s government, rejecting recent media reports the two sides were in secret negotiations. “If you think that a minuscule numbers of former officials of the Islamic Emirate who have already surrendered … or those who were at first detained by you and now are living in Kabul under surveillance are representatives of the Islamic Emirate … then you should know that they are not,” the Taliban said.

• Dangerous Liaisons with the Afghan Taliban: The Feasibility and Risks of Negotiations, United States Institute of Peace via the Human Security Gateway, October 2010 [246 Kb PDF]

4. Kabul: the awkward ally, John Kerin, AFR*, 19 October 2010

Australia is and a war in Afghanistan killed and that is protecting one of the most corrupt governments on earth. State-organised drug running, bank fraud and endemic bribery with are some of the allegations levelled against the government of Hamid Karzai by non-government and reputable newspapers.

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• Karzai’s brother might be indicted for evading U.S. taxes, Andrew Higgins and Jerry Markon, Washington Post, 2010-10-14

5. Julia Gillard defends Diggers’ rules, Patricia Karvelas, Australian, 20 October 2010

Julia Gillard has defended the strict rules of engagement for Australian troops in Afghanistan. She inisted the defence force respects “innocent civilian life”. “Rules of engagement are central to the mission of the ADF. Strict rules of engagement are in the long-term interests of our troops in the field, but more than that: they are the difference between us and our enemy,” the Prime Minister told parliament.

• Of law and war, Tom Hyland, Age, 17 October 2010
• Defence chief says ‘no expense’ will be spared to defend soldiers facing Afghanistan charges, James Massola, Australian, 19 October 2010

6. Protests, Violence Stir Tensions Ahead of SBY’s First Anniversary, Zaky Pawas, Rahmat, Ismira Lutfia & Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta Globe, 19 October 2010

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s visit to Makassar on Tuesday was marred by hours of violent clashes between students and police. The violence began with students from the Makassar State University throwing stones at some 100 members of the Brimob paramilitary police unit. The clash quickly escalated, with students throwing Molotov cocktails at Brimob officers, who responded with tear-gas canisters and warning shots. 

7. Abuses will not stop co-operation with Indonesia, Tom Allard and Kirsty Needham, SMH, 19 October 2010

The conduct of Indonesia’s security agencies was sometimes ”not up to our standard”, the head of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Dennis Richardson, said yesterday. But Mr Richardson said the Australian government would continue to co-operate with the agencies because of the overriding objective to protect Australian lives amid a continuing threat from terrorism in Indonesia.

• Minister Mum on Papua Torture Video, but Promises Investigation, Ismira Lutfia and Nivell Rayda, Jakarta Globe, 19 October 2010
• The Images Remind of Dark Days of Former Dictator Soeharto, Kompas, 19 October 2010

8. Pirate attacks down off Africa, up in Asian waters, An Yoong (AP), Washington Post, 18 October 2010 

The number of attacks tripled to 30 in the South China Sea between January and September over the same period last year, mainly because of pirates operating off Indonesia’s coastline, according to data compiled by the London-based International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center in Malaysia. Armed pirates have been robbing mostly merchant vessels in the South China Sea off the Indonesian island of Mangkai, said Noel Choong, head of the reporting center.

• Pirates intensify attacks in new areas, with first Somali hijacking reported in Red Sea, International Maritime Bureau, 18 October 2010
• IMB Live Piracy Map 2010, International Maritime Bureau

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