1. For the First Time, a Real Blueprint for Peace in Iraq
2. Iraq: Australians ‘Would Accept Troop Deaths’
3. Iraq: US Security Plan Focuses on Broader Region
4. Toothless Tiger ASEAN Hopes to Replace Polite Silence with a Roar
5. East Timor: Apology and Truth May Earn Amnesty
6. Snapped – One Fugitive, One Rocket Launcher
7. Olympic Dam Set for China Offensive

1. For the First Time, a Real Blueprint for Peace in Iraq, Ali Allawi, Independent, 2007-01-05

   First, the solution to the Iraq crisis must be generated internally and then regionally. Second, the forces unleashed by the invasion of Iraq must be acknowledged and accommodated. Third, the Sunni Arab community must be convinced that its loss of undivided power will not lead to marginalisation and discrimination. Fourth, Iran and Turkey must be introduced into a new security structure for the Middle East.

   • Ali Allawi, Wikipedia [regularly updated]

      

2. Australians ‘Would Accept Troop Deaths’, Brendan Nicholson and Misha Schubert, Age, 2007-01-11

   The head of the army has told Australian troops in Iraq that he believes the public would accept deaths in their ranks because the job they were doing was vital. Lieutenant-General Peter Leahy told the soldiers, “From my understanding of the Australian public, I think that they would be prepared to accept casualties.”

    

3. Security Plan Focuses on Broader Region, Officials Say, Sara Wood, American Forces Press Service, 2007-01-12

   In response to President Bush’s plan to send more than 20,000 troops to Baghdad and Anbar province, a senior defense official said US interests in the Middle East go well beyond Iraq. The deployments of the USS Stennis Carrier Strike Group and the 3rd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Regiment, are focused on this broader, region-based strategy. Success in Iraq largely depends on stabilizing the region, the military official said.

   • Renewal in Iraq, Background Briefings to President Bush’s Speech, The White House, 2007-01-10

   • Highlights of the Iraq Strategy Review, National Security Council, January 2007 [PDF]

   • Subject: Iraq, Doorstop Interview in Los Angeles, Minister Alexander Downer, Foreign Affairs Department, 2007-01-10 [transcript]

   • Subject: Iraq (and other matters), Prime Minister John Howard, Prime Minster’s Department, 2007-01-11 [transcript]

      

4. Toothless Tiger ASEAN Hopes to Replace Polite Silence with a Roar, Connie Levett, SMH, 2007-01-13

   The proposal to end ASEAN’s policy of non-interference in a member state’s domestic affairs is part of proposals by a group formed to draft a legally binding ASEAN charter. Under the proposed changes, the ASEAN Summit would be replaced by an ASEAN council comprising the leaders of member states and supported by three ministerial-level councils overseeing political, security, economic and socio-cultural issues.

   • Overview, Association of South East Asian Nations, [regularly updated]

      

5. Apology and Truth May Earn Amnesty, Lindsay Murdoch, SMH, 2007-01-15

   A Joint Indonesian-East Timorese commission will recommend amnesties for people responsible for atrocities in East Timor in 1999 if they admit their involvement and apologise to their victims. The Commission of Truth and Friendship will invite 70 people, including senior Indonesian military officers and political leaders from both countries. They will be expected to say what they know about the atrocities at hearings in Indonesia and East Timor over the next six months.

    

6. Snapped – One Fugitive, One Rocket Launcher, Tom Hyland, Age, 2007-01-14

   Weapons have been at the centre of a security scare in Australia, where stolen rockets allegedly fell into the hands of terrorists. Police are still trying to find six of the missing launchers. So where did East Timor rebel leader Alfredo Reinado get this one?

    

7. Olympic Dam Set for China Offensive, Barry FitzGerald, SMH, 2007-01-08

   Ratification of the nuclear safeguard agreements with China has cleared the way for BHP Billiton to begin pinning down contracts for the additional $2 billion a year in uranium it is planning to produce from its Olympic Dam mine in South Australia.

   • Australia and China Ratify Nuclear Safeguards Agreements, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Media Release, 2007-01-05

   • Review of Treaties Tabled on 8 August 2006 (2), Report 81, Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, 2006-12-06

      

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