LONDON (Reuters): ” If Pakistan’s battle against the Taliban seems difficult, a much tougher challenge lies ahead: deciding what to do about the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group it once nurtured to fight India in Kashmir.

Security experts from the United States and India believe the Pakistan Army and its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency could shut down the group blamed for last year’s attacks on Mumbai — if they choose to do so.

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“The Pakistan Army could do it and the ISI could tell them where to find those guys in a heartbeat,” said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer who led a review of strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan for President Barack Obama.

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“If they wanted to shut them down they could,” said B. Raman, a former Additional Secretary at India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) intelligence agency. “They can do it, but they don’t want to do it because they look upon it as a strategic asset.”

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But Samina Yasmeen, a professor at the University of Western Australia who is researching a book on the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), said the reality on the ground may be more complicated.”

Babak Rahimi, assistant professor of Iranian and Islamic Studies at the University of California, reports on the Iranian election from its capital Tehran:

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NOW on PBS: “The official view, espoused by pro-government supporters, is that Ahmadinejad has been and continues to be popular in the rural and provincial regions of the country.

He has many supporters primarily because of his welfare programs that target the urban poor and the rural population. With the expansion of huge state subsidies and the distribution of state funds to various provinces, where he has regularly visited since 2005, the president has managed to muster enough support to legitimately claim victory.

In many ways, the pro-Mousavi faction has simply misunderstood the force behind the populist campaign of the president that has largely evolved around anti-corruption and social justice.”

I recently joined the HUMANE CHAIN - An initiative of the WSPA to “end the intolerable cruelty of live sheep export.”

“You are what you eat, so when you eat animals that have spent months in a confined space on a cargo ship, you are eating fear, anxiety and stress. Not to mention the myriad of harmful toxins the animal produces whilst enduring prolonged states of extremely inhumane treatment. And that is just your side of the story - Ever thought about the animals well-being? Live animal export is an extremely cruel method of transport and needs to be stopped. It’s time the Australian Government woke up and took some responsibility.”

Stop live animal export

Join up and help put an end to animal cruelty.

To join please visit: www.humanechain.org

For more information also visit: www.wspa.org.au

Associate Professor Jake Lynch, Director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney, and inspirational pioneer for Peace Journalism, has led the charge for the academic boycott of Israel.

In a series of articles, Lynch outlines the importance of such a boycott, and then replies to an influx of response from the initial piece. Not all of which were constructive, as you can imagine. Highly recomended reading:

Why I’m joining the academic boycott of Israel:   “I’ve led a call for the University of Sydney to cancel institutional arrangements with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Technion University, in Haifa. Though small in scale, these contacts are symbolic of a commitment to help Israel enjoy normal relations with the outside world, despite its record. For this to cease now would be our contribution, however minor, to raising the social, economic and political cost of militarism as an alternative to dialogue and negotiation. And that would bring a long overdue boost to the cause of peace with justice.

 
I’ve led a call for the University of Sydney to cancel institutional arrangements with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Technion University, in Haifa. Though small in scale, these contacts are symbolic of a commitment to help Israel enjoy normal relations with the outside world, despite its record. For this to cease now would be our contribution, however minor, to raising the social, economic and political cost of militarism as an alternative to dialogue and negotiation. And that would bring a long overdue boost to the cause of peace with justice.”

More on Boycott of Israel:  “Above all, the academic boycott call is an expression of solidarity with Palestinian academics, Omar Barghouti, Lisa Taraki and colleagues, who are trying to wage a non-violent struggle against oppression. Jonathan Freedland, influential columnist for the London Guardian, noted that President Barack Obama, in his Cairo speech, used words that “resonate in Muslim discourse”, notably his references to “dignity” and “justice”. To take a Lederachian view, for this conflict to be transformed will require reconciliation, and reconciliation is impossible without justice.”

Exactly how much does it cost to have your voice heard in Washington?

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Mother Jones: In his memo to Afghanistan’s finance minister, Omar Zakhiwal, which is dated April 21 and marked “confidential,” Ambassador Said Tayeb Jawad surveys the competition. Pakistan, he writes, employs nine American lobbying firms, including two “that alone represent and promote President Asif Ali Zardari’s interests in Washington.”

According to the ambassador’s missive, these include Locke Lord Strategies-LP, which since May 2008 has been on retainer from the Pakistan government for more than $100,000 per month, and JWT Asiatic and Hill & Knowlton, which together collect a monthly payment exceeding $100,000.

All told, according to Jawad’s estimate, Islamabad spent at least $3 million on Washington lobbyists in 2008 alone.

Remember the Iraq war rhetoric? No? Well it doesn’t really matter because its all being recycled in Pakistan - At least the US are “going green” in their war mongering. Recycle, re-use, just change the country. Makes admin a whole lot easier:

REUTERS: WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - CIA Director Leon Panetta said on Thursday the U.S. intelligence agency believes al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan and hopes joint operations with Pakistani forces will find him.

Asked whether he was sure that bin Laden was in Pakistan, Panetta told reporters: “The last information we had, that’s still the case.”

Bin Laden, who has eluded a U.S. manhunt since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, has issued audio and videotapes over the years demonstrating that he is still alive.

Finding bin Laden is “one of our major priorities,” Panetta said. “One of our hopes is that the Pakistanis move in militarily, combined with our operations, we may be able to have a better chance” to find the al Qaeda leader, he said.

Panetta said al Qaeda “remains the most serious security threat” to the United States and its leaders, particularly in Pakistan, continue to plot against America.

There are “a number of people” on the ground in Pakistan providing intelligence on al Qaeda targets to the United States, he said.

The intelligence agency also is focusing on countries where al Qaeda might find safe haven, like Somalia and Yemen, Panetta said.