APSNet 27 October 2008
- Intelligence Gaps Blamed For Fatal Afghan Gunfight
- Habib Says ASIO Linked To Torture
- The Seven-Year Stitch
- Afghans Sent Home to Die
- Pakistan Will Give Arms to Tribal Militias
- East Timor Tries To Buy Some Time
- The Thin Green Line Climate Change and Australian Policing
1. Intelligence Gaps Blamed For Fatal Afghan Gunfight, Tom Hyland, Age, 2008-10-26
Australian troops lacked crucial intelligence that could have prevented them killing a key Afghan ally in a chaotic gunfight, an official inquiry has revealed. The inquiry exposes basic flaws in intelligence sharing among foreign coalition forces, and in the co-operation between them and their Afghan allies.
- Inquiry Officer’s Report in the Death of Rozi Khan in Afghanistan, Department of Defence, 2008-10-22 [PDF, 1.00 MB]
- Honour Payment for Death of Tribal Governor Important: Minister, AAP, Australian, 2008-10-23
- ADF’s Afghan Victims Top Iraq, Cameron Stewart, Australian, 2008-10-25
- Troops in Contact: Airstrikes and Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch, 2008-09-08
2. Habib Says ASIO Linked To Torture, Deborah Snow, Age, 2008-10-24
A man described as an ASIO agent was among witnesses who stood by as a naked US marine wearing a condom threatened Mamdouh Habib with rape, the former Guantanamo Bay prisoner alleges.
3. The Seven-Year Stitch, Paul McGeough, SMH, 2008-10-25
All the tinkering imaginable in Afghanistan would have no effect without long-term regional diplomacy. Truly, it is a daunting task. More foreign troops, a flash new Afghan national army, billions for reconstruction, a crackdown on drugs or more pressure on Pakistan to curb its Taliban-leaning military and security services, will not work alone.
4. Afghans Sent Home to Die, Cynthia Banham, SMH, 2008-10-27
The Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, has demanded answers to allegations that up to 20 Afghan asylum seekers rejected by Australia under the Howard government’s so-called Pacific solution were killed after returning to Afghanistan, and others remain in hiding from the Taliban.
5. Pakistan Will Give Arms to Tribal Militias, Karen De Young, Washington Post*, 2008-10-25
Pakistan plans to arm tens of thousands of anti-Taliban tribal fighters in its western border region in hopes that the nascent militias can replicate the tribal “Awakening” movement that proved decisive in the battle against al-Qaeda in Iraq. The militias will receive Chinese-made AK-47 assault rifles and other small arms, a purchase arranged during a visit to Beijing this month by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
* Subscription required.
- In Pakistan, the United States Shifts Tactics, Mark Mazzetti and Eric Schmitt, New York Times, 2008-10-26
6. East Timor Tries To Buy Some Time, Matt Crook, Asia Times, 2008-10-23
UN troops are preparing to pull out of East Timor, but there are rising concerns that the new island country’s national police force is woefully ill-prepared to take over their security responsibilities, despite a series of UN training programs. East Timor is at a potential tipping point, with fears that political friction, police factionalism, an east-west divide, police-military animosity and high unemployment could lead to a repeat of the 2006 violence.
7. The Thin Green Line Climate Change and Australian Policing, Anthony Bergin and Ross Allen, ASPI Special Report, Issue 17, 2008-10-23
Why should Australian law enforcement agencies be concerned about climate change? As Australia begins to actively participate in measures designed to mitigate the rate of climate change, most critically the forthcoming Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), new legal regimes will require compliance and enforcement that may involve police agencies. Climate change may also bring with it other climate-related crime, such as water theft.
8. Nautilus Institute updated information
- Australia in Afghanistan: Reconstruction Task Force.
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Richard Tanter,
Project Co-ordinator