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Unilateral Strike Called a Model For U.S. Operations in Pakistan Kamran Bokhari, director of Middle East analysis for Strategic Forecasting, a private intelligence group, said the informants could have been recruits from the Afghanistan side of the border, where the U.S. military operates freely. "People in this region don't recognize the border, which is very porous," Bokhari said. "It is very likely that our people were in contact with intelligence sources who frequent both sides and could provide some kind of targeting information." Precisely what U.S. officials knew about the "high-value target" in the al-Qaeda convoy is unclear. Libi, a 41-year-old al-Qaeda commander who had slowly climbed to the No. 5 spot on the CIA's most wanted list, was a hulking figure who stood 6 feet 4 inches tall. He spoke Libyan-accented Arabic and learned to be cautious after narrowly escaping a previous CIA strike. U.S. intelligence officials say he directed severa...

Ethiopia arrests 309 'rebel cops': Africa: News: News24 : "Addis Ababa - More than 300 police officers suspected of links with separatists rebels have been arrested in Ethiopia's restive Ogaden region as part of a government crackdown, say reports."

Electronic Lebanon: Living with the certainty of war For a while now, we've been talking about it. For a while now, I've been talking about it. Yes, there will be another war. I have said so during radio interviews, during dinner conversations, during phone calls with my family in the US. Yes, there will be another war of Israeli aggression on Lebanon. It is just a question of time, this summer or next summer, this year or next year, but, yes, there will be another war. Why are we talking of war? There are the constant rumblings from Israel, the rumblings of an arrogant, expansionist military power that was defeated and refuses its defeat. Hard to deny the comings of another war when we have our history with Israel showing us a series of wars every few years, and when the Israeli government continues to issue promises and preparations for another war against Lebanon. Talk of war has thus become quite regular, more common than talk of the weather. There are also the domestic rum...

Asia Times Online :: South Asia news, business and economy from India and Pakistan : "Incoming results from Pakistan's general elections on Monday show a landslide victory for opposition parties with the ruling party of President Pervez Musharraf and his allies headed for a crushing defeat. The greatest gains have been made by the late Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of former premier Nawaz Sharif. Stinging defeats have been handed to several stalwarts of the ruling party. Analysts say the margin of difference is so decisive that pro-Musharraf forces throughout Pakistan face an uncertain political future. Still, as no single party has won an overall majority, it seems a coalition government will need to be negotiated once the final votes are counted."

NPR: Era Coming to an End in Cuba : "Fidel Castro announced his resignation overnight in a letter online. The news won't be a shock to many Cubans, who are used to the idea that he is about to retire. The dictator has been sidelined due to illness for the past 18 months. The BBC's Cuba correspondent, Michael Voss, talks about the news."

Serbs dismiss Albanian talk of reconciliation - Europe, News - Independent.co.uk : "After a night of Albanian celebrations, Serbs made their feelings about Kosovo's self-declared independence known yesterday with co-ordinated protests in Serbian enclaves across the new-born state. The biggest was in the divided city of Mitrovica, where the two communities face each other across the Ibar river. Singing nationalistic songs, 7,000 Serbs marched down to the bridge on the north side. The protests passed peacefully."

Defiant Kosovo celebrates independence : "Revelers fired guns, waved red-and-black Albanian flags and set off fireworks over Kosovo Sunday after parliament proclaimed independence in defiance of Serbia and Russia, which condemned the declaration of the world's newest nation."

Informed Comment: Musharraf's Party Roundly Defeated; <br> Fundamentalist Coalition Collapses in NWFP; <br> PPP Likely to Form Next Government Pakistan held its elections on Monday, which are fateful for the future of the country and also probably for the Bush-Cheney foreign policy. Bush and Cheney put most of their eggs in the basket of a military dictator, Pervez Musharraf, who has been on a self-destructive downward spiral during the past year that makes Amy Winehouse look level-headed.