1. Japanese Police to Train in Australia for Peacekeeping
2. Iraq: Delay Decision on Major Cuts, Petraeus Says
3. Afghan Bombings Increase
4. Australia and Indonesia: Current Problems, Future Prospects
5. East Timor: Unfulfilled Protection and Assistance Needs Hamper the Return of the Displaced
6. EU still Considering Response to Fresh Fiji Emergency Rule
7. Tentative Peace Talks for Thai South

1. Japanese Police to Train in Australia for Peacekeeping, Brendan Nicholson, Age, 2007-09-10

   Japan and Australia step up their co-operation on defence and security. Police, intelligence agencies and technical specialists will also work together to reduce the threat posed to aircraft by shoulder-launched missiles in terrorist hands. Defence and security officials will meet more often to share information, plan to deal with natural disasters and terrorism, and co-ordinate their responses to international threats.

2. Delay Decision on Major Cuts, Petraeus Says, Michael R. Gordon, NYT, 2007-09-10

   The top American commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus, has recommended that decisions on the contentious issue of reducing the main body of the American troops in Iraq be put off for six months, American officials. General Petraeus, , has informed President Bush that troop cuts may begin in mid-December, with the withdrawal of one of the 20 American combat brigades in Iraq.

   • What Lies Ahead? The Iraq War and International Politics, Lowy Institute, 2007-08-30

   • Refugees: The Missing Iraq Benchmark, Brian Katulis and Anita Sharma, Open Democracy, 2007-09-07

3. Afghan Bombings Increase, NYT, Age, 2007-09-10

   Taliban insurgents carried out 103 suicide bombings in Afghanistan in the first eight months of the year, a 69 per cent increase over this period 12 months ago, a UN report says. More than 200 people, 80 per cent of whom were civilians, were killed.

   • Suicide Attacks in Afghanistan (2001-2007), The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, 2007-09-09 [PDF]

   • Casualties – Civilian, Australia in Afghanistan, Nautilus Institute, 2007-07-26

4. Australia and Indonesia: Current Problems, Future Prospects, Professor Jamie Mackie, Lowy Institute, September 2007 [PDF]

   Indonesia’s democratisation has brought the two neighbours’ political systems more in line with each other. Yet, this has not led to quieter times. This paper evaluates the sources of this volatility and ways the two governments can counteract them and the potential problems if things stay as they are.

   • No Threat Yet but We Ignore it at Our Peril, Paul Dibb, SMH, 2007-09-08

5. Unfulfilled Protection and Assistance Needs Hamper the Return of the Displaced, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), 2007-09-07

   It is estimated that 100,000 people remain displaced in the country, with approximately 30,000 living in camps in Dili and 70,000 living in the rural districts, mainly with host families. While most of the assistance has focused on Dili, people are most vulnerable in the eastern districts, where the influx of displaced people has placed great strain on the very limited resources available to host communities.

   • Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (27 January to 20 August 2007), Security Council, UN, 2007-08-28

6. EU still Considering Response to Fresh Fiji Emergency Rule, RNZI, 2007-09-10

   The European Union is still considering whether to suspend millions of dollars in aid to Fiji after saying there was no justification for the military to re-introduce emergency regulations. But at the same time, there are worries that the whole Fiji issue will dominate the Pacific Islands Forum summit in Tonga next month.

7. Tentative Peace Talks for Thai South, Bertil Lintner, Asia Times, 2007-09-08

   Informal meetings between Thai officials and insurgent representatives have taken place in Switzerland aimed at ending the violence in Thailand’s three southernmost provinces. Details are tentative, and there is no indication that the heart of the problem has been addressed: the apparent lack of understanding on the Thai side of the insurgents’ long list of complaints and grievances.

   • Who’s Who in Thailand’s Muslim Insurgency, Asia Times, Bertil Lintner, Asia Times, 2007-09-08

   • No One is Safe: Insurgent Attacks on Civilians in Thailand’s Southern Border Provinces, Volume 19, No. 13(C), HRW, August 2007

   • Recent Reports and Briefings: Thailand, ICG, 2007

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