News roundup 04.14.2006

The long war in Iraq (and who conducts it)

The New York Times: "Al Qaeda's Man in Iraq Gets Encouragement From His HQ"

A.P. via the Boston Globe: "US faltering in Iraq, Qaeda deputy declares"

Al Jazeera:

Leading Shia politicians are to meet Iraq's president to decide the fate of the embattled prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

Bassem Sharif, spokesman of the Fadila party, said on Friday: "This afternoon at 4pm (1200 GMT) the seven heads of Shia parties within the alliance will meet the president to discuss the issue of prime minister."

A.P. via the Chicago Tribune:

ABU GHRAIB, Iraq -- U.S. and Iraqi commanders are increasingly critical of a policy that lets Iraqi soldiers leave their units virtually at will -- essentially deserting with no punishment. They say the lax rule drains Iraqi ranks confronting the insurgency, in some cases by 30 percent or even half.

Don Rumsfeld


A.P. via the Baltimore Sun:

WASHINGTON // Crusty and unapologetic, Donald H. Rumsfeld is the public face of an unpopular war and a target of unrelenting criticism. A growing number of commanders who served under him say he has botched the Iraq operation, ignored the advice of his generals and should be replaced.

The New Yok Times: "More Retired Generals Call for Rumsfeld's Resignation"

CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste, one of several retired generals who has recently called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, said Friday there is no coordinated anti-Rumsfeld effort among the generals, and that he hasn't talked to the others.

Iran

BBC News: "US in warning to 'defiant' Iran"

The New York Times: "Meeting Yields No Progress on Curbing Iran Nuclear Bid"

The Independent:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued a typically inflammatory statement only hours before Mr ElBaradei arrived in Tehran. "Our answer to those who are angry about Iran obtaining the full nuclear cycle is one phrase, we say: Be angry and die of this anger," he said.

A.P. via the Washington Post:

MOSCOW -- Russia will host another round of talks next week with the United States, the European Union and China on Iran's nuclear program, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.

The Baltimore Sun:

WASHINGTON // The government has far greater confidence in the assessments of Iran's weapons capabilities than it did in those on Iraq because analysis has improved as a result of "lessons learned" from the Iraq intelligence failures, senior U.S. intelligence officials said yesterday.

Reuters: "Oil rises as Iran jitters trump swelling stocks"

The Christian Science Monitor:

"After 9/11, there was an awakening," says analyst Richard Perle, a member of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board from 2001 to 2003. "The administration has to believe that it's possible to wait too long to deal with a problem, the contours of which could have been seen easily before. Is it safe to do that again?"

Just the international major stories for today.