 RFE/RL Headlines 8/13/2009 5:19:28 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Afghan Strategy More Than Counterinsurgency, Holbrooke Says Richard Holbrooke, the special U.S. envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, says an important part of Washington's strategy to defeated the Taliban and Al-Qaeda is recognizing that Afghanistan doesn't exist in a vacuum. More  EU Condemns Murder Of Chechnya Charity Head European Union president Sweden has condemned the murder of the head of a children's charity and her husband in Russia's Chechnya and called for a thorough investigation of the killings. More U.S. Sees Limited Iranian Aid To Afghan Insurgency The United States believes that Iran has supplied arms to insurgents in neighboring Afghanistan but top advisers to President Barack Obama have said that the information was conflicting and any threat appeared unsubstantial. More  Separatist Leader Says Kadyrov Not Behind Killings Akhmed Zakayev, the London-based head of the Chechen Republic-Ichkeria, says he doesn't believe pro-Moscow Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov is behind the recent killings of human rights activist Natalya Estemirova or a children's aid worker and her husband in Chechnya, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Facing New Attacks, Shi'ite Factions Show Restraint -- For Now A wave of bombings in Shi'ite areas of Iraq has raised fears that there could be a resurgence of sectarian violence in the country. Some suggest Al-Qaeda may be trying to foment a civil war. Others say a turf war may be emerging between rival Iraqi factions following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from urban areas. So far, Shi'ite leaders have been urging their followers to show restraint. More  Campaigning Karzai Downplays Security Failings Peace, reconciliation, and economic development are the key themes of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's election manifesto. Unlike his challengers, he has the arduous task of defending his past performance and selling his future vision to an increasingly skeptical Afghan electorate. More  A Symbolic Unity? Officials from both the pro-independence Chechen government in exile and the Moscow-backed Chechen administration have announced plans to hold a World Congress of Chechens later this year. Will that gathering contribute to the hoped-for consolidation of the Chechen people? Or is it just intended primarily to enhance the image of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov? More  Veneer Of Devoted Optimism Wears Thin Large, Big Brother-like pictures of Chechnya's stocky 32-year-old leader hang everywhere, along with signs of praise and thanks. But as RFE/RL correspondent Gregory Feifer discovered during an August 2009 visit to interview Ramzan Kadyrov, there are signs of a deep fear beneath the veneer of devoted optimism. More  Russian Military's 'Unparalleled' Transformation In the aftermath of the Russia-Georgia war of August 2008, Russia's political and military elites embarked on a highly ambitious program to reform and modernize the armed forces by 2020. That program envisages abandoning the mass-mobilization principle in favor of forming mobile, permanent-readiness forces, capable of reacting to the order to deploy within "one hour." But many aspects of the reform agenda are so radical, far-reaching, and multifaceted that Western and Russian commentators have failed to identify the key elements. More |
