APSNet 04 March 2010

1. Passport probe: AFP officers in Israel
2. Joint approach to stabilise and rebuild Afghanistan
3. Bailout broke laws, says Indonesia’s divided house
4. U.S. floats plan to lift ban on training Indonesia’s Kopassus unit
5. Angelita Pires acquitted of Timorese plot to kill
6. In Afghanistan, Karzai’s invitation to Taliban creates discord and confusion
7. Afghan police still out of step

1. Passport probe: AFP officers in Israel, Anne Barker, ABC News, 2010-03-03

An Australian Federal Police (AFP) team has arrived in Israel to investigate the misuse of Australian passports by suspects in the assassination of a Hamas commander in Dubai.

• Israel passports probe ‘a waste of money’, John Lyons, Australian, 2010-03-04
• Spat with Israel does no harm, John Kerin, AFR*, 2010-03-02
  *[Subscription required]

2. Joint approach to stabilise and rebuild Afghanistan, Media Release, Department of Defence, 2010-03-02

Australia’s military, police and civilian agencies are taking a joint approach to stabilise and rebuild Afghanistan. Working together, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), AusAID, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Defence Force (ADF), are improving security, governance and development in Oruzgan Province.

3. Bailout broke laws, says Indonesia’s divided house, Anita Rachman, Febriamy Hutapea and Muninggar Sri Saraswat, Jakarta Globe, 2010-03-04

A divided House of Representatives declared that the bailout of Bank Century in 2008 violated laws and recommended that law enforcement agencies investigate indications of corruption, banking crimes and general crimes, as well as any officials deemed responsible for the Rp 6.7 trillion ($723 million) rescue.

4. U.S. floats plan to lift ban on training Indonesia’s Kopassus unit, John Pomfret, Washington Post, 2010-03-03

President Obama’s administration is seeking to reverse a 12-year-old ban on training an elite unit of the Indonesian military whose members have been convicted of beatings, kidnappings and other abuses. The administration is seeking to thread that needle by training and conducting joint exercises only with Kopassus soldiers who, because of their age, could not have been involved in the unit’s earlier abuses.

• RI welcomes US plan to boost military cooperation, Abdul Khalik, Jakarta Post, 2010-03-01

5. Angelita Pires acquitted of Timorese plot to kill, Lindsay Murdoch, Age, 2010-03-04

Angelita Pires, the Australian lover of slain rebel leader Alfredo Reinado, has been acquitted of conspiring to kill East Timor’s top two politicians. Three judges found 23 of Reinado’s men guilty of crimes relating to the February 11, 2008, attacks on East Timor’s President Jose Ramos Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

6. In Afghanistan, Karzai’s invitation to Taliban creates discord and confusion, Karen DeYoung and Joshua Partlow, Washington Post, 2010-03-03

Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s public invitation to the Taliban to attend a peace conference this spring has sparked disagreement and confusion among the many players in Afghanistan over the shape and speed of negotiations and what they should ultimately accomplish.

7. Afghan police still out of step, Pratap Chatterjee, Asia Times, 2010-03-02

Afghan police are widely considered corrupt, unable to shoot straight, and die at twice the rate of Afghan soldiers and North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops. After US$7 billion spent on training and salaries in the past eight years, several United States government investigations are asking why.