APSNet Semi-Weekly Bulletin, September 15, 2010

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APSNet 15 September 2010

  1. Police deny Densus 88 tortured detainees
  2. Timor’s deputy PM resigns
  3. Probes on deal to fly troops
  4. Karzai’s cronies make Afghan election a farce
  5. The Battle for Afghanistan: Militancy and Conflict in Zabul and Uruzgan
  6. Strategy right after nine years at war: Houston
  7. Thousands of Iraqi detainees at risk of torture after US handover
  8. Kan wins leadership race, but he still must deal with Ozawa and more opposition

1. Police deny Densus 88 tortured detainees, Erwida Maulia, Jakarta Post, 2010-09-14

Indonesian Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Marwoto Suto, denied that Detachment 88 had anything to do with the alleged arrests, saying it was not part of the unit’s job description, which is to specifically handle terrorism suspects. Marwoto said the police might conduct an internal investigation into the alleged torture, but only after the Australian government sent an official letter regarding the plan to investigate the case.

2. Timor’s deputy PM resigns, AAP, SMH,  2010-09-08

Vice Prime Minister for State Administration Mario Carrascalao submitted his resignation on Wednesday declaring he could not tolerate Gusmao’s insults. Gusmao appointed Carrascalao in January 2009 with a special mandate to eradicate corruption and handle government procurement. But the pair’s relationship deteriorated in recent months due to disagreements over graft and the handling of government contracts.

3. Probes on deal to fly troops, Richard Baker, Age,  2010-09-13

Multiple official investigations have been launched into Defence Department contracts to fly Australian troops to the Middle East that have cost taxpayers more than $100 million. 

4. Karzai’s cronies make Afghan election a farce,  Jason Thomas, SMH,  2010-09-15

Democracy in Afghanistan is wasted because of President Hamid Karzai’s refusal to tackle corruption. The fact is, the Taliban are out-governing the Karzai government, whose warlord and elite cronies continue to run their own corrupt fiefdoms in the provinces.

5. The Battle for Afghanistan: Militancy and Conflict in Zabul and Uruzgan, Martine van Bijlert, New America Foundation, September 2010 [PDF, 1.4MB]

The relatively early resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan and Zabul provinces is linked to a combination of factors, including (1) the historical links of the Taliban movement to the area; (2) the behavior of local Karzai-era strongmen who used their links to the government and the U.S.-led war to target and marginalize their rivals; (3) the general backwardness of the area and the near-total lack of attention by the government; and (4) the existence and expansion of cross-border resourcing and militant command-and-control networks in Pakistan.

6. Strategy right after nine years at war: Houston, Sabra Lane, ABC, 2010-09-14

The Defence chief also made a surprising admission during the opening statement of his regular update on the war today. “Now we have the right strategy and associated resources for the first time since 2001,” he said.

7. Thousands of Iraqi detainees at risk of torture after US handover, Amnesty International, 2010-09-13

Tens of thousands of detainees held without trial in Iraq, many of whom were recently transferred from US custody, remain at risk of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, Amnesty International said.

8. Kan wins leadership race, but he still must deal with Ozawa and more opposition, Asahi Shimbun, 2010-09-15

Naoto Kan won a mandate to continue leading the country as prime minister on Tuesday, but he now walks the tightest of tightropes. Kan’s rival, former DPJ Secretary-General and veteran powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa, garnered 200 votes from DPJ lawmakers, or about half the total cast. In effect, Kan must now accommodate a potentially large resistance force within his own party. A source close to Kan said, “We cannot run the government without Ozawa’s cooperation.”

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