WORLD MEDIA WATCH

Summaries are excerpted from the source articles; the featured article follows the summary section. 

1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong
US WAGES COVERT WAR ON IRAQ-IRAN BORDER [1] 

The United States-led war in Iraq has hardly affected the residents of Sidikan, a small Kurdish town nestled in the mountains where the borders of Iraq, Iran and Turkey converge, but the surrounding area has fast become the frontline of another conflict.  In recent weeks, residents say, Iranian artillery shells have been heard almost daily, raining down on the nearby hills where anti-Tehran guerrillas of the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) are  based on both sides of the Iran-Iraq border. Since August, thousands of Kurdish villagers on the Iraqi side of the frontier have been forced to flee their homes as a result of the barrage.  "Iran is creating a lot of problems for the Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG]," said the chief of security police in the nearby town of Soran, who only revealed his first name, Gafar. "Border areas are being shelled every day." The KRG is the governing authority of the predominantly Kurdish region of northern Iraq, or Iraqi Kurdistan. ... While the PKK has been in the international spotlight in recent weeks, with Turkey mounting cross-border raids and threatening to launch an invasion of Iraq, not so much attention has been given to the Iranian offshoot, the PJAK. The group has been waging an insurgency against Tehran since 2004, which recently has escalated. A guerrilla leader told the New York Times last month that PJAK fighters had killed at least 150 Iranian soldiers and officials in Iran since August.  Iran accuses Washington of backing the group, and while the US denies this, local and foreign intelligence sources say the accusation is most likely true. According to a former US Special Forces (SF) commando currently based in Iraq who spoke on condition of anonymity, Special Forces troops are currently operating inside Iran, working with insurgent forces like the PJAK. "That's what the SF does," he said. "They train and build up indigenous anti-government forces."       

AN EXPANDED EXCERPT OF THIS FEATURED ARTICLE FOLLOWS THE SUMMARIES 

2/Azzaman in English, Iraq
ISLAMIC ARMY SPLITS OVER WITH QAEDA [2] 

A split in the ranks of the Islamic Army of Iraq is certain to reverse the successes U.S. occupation troops allege to have made in the country in the past few months.  The Mosul sector has severed ties with the Islamic Army whose leaders have agreed to cooperate with U.S. troops and turn their guns against Qaeda fighters and elements in the country.  The Mosul sector is one of the most effective and battle hardened of the insurgent group which once claimed the execution of almost daily attacks on U.S. troops.  Mosul -  Iraq's second largest city and the districts within the borders of the Province of Nineveh, of which the city is the capital -  was the hometown of army generals and senior officers of former leader Saddam Hussein's armed forces.  From Mosul came the largest number of volunteers of the former Republican Guards, Saddam Hussein's elite forces, the Special Security and intelligence.  These disgruntled officers and security and army personnel are the commanders of the Islamic Army and the split of Mosul is bound to complicate matters for both the U.S. an the Iraq government.  While the Islamic Army has pledged to suspend all operations against U.S. troops, its Mosul sector has vowed to proceed ahead with anti-U.S. operations.  For the past three days, hundreds of leaflets have been distributed in Mosul, confirming the split and declaring that the city and its environs no longer receive their instructions form the leaders of the Islamic Army. 

3//The Independent, UK
THIRTEEN-POINT TORY LEAD OVER LABOUR IS HIGHEST FOR 19 YEARS [3] 

The Conservatives have opened a commanding 13-point lead over Labour, their biggest for 19 years, according to the latest monthly poll by ComRes for The Independent. The survey, taken after Gordon Brown's worst week since becoming Prime Minister, puts the Tories on 40 per cent (down one point on last month), Labour on 27 per cent (down six points), the Liberal Democrats on 18 per cent (up two) and other parties 14 per cent (up four). If repeated at the next election, the figures would give David Cameron an overall majority of 64 seats.  The last survey which showed such a big Tory lead was a MORI poll for The Times in August 1988, when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and her party enjoyed a 14-point advantage.  Labour's slump is bound to be attributed to a backlash over the fiasco in which sensitive personal data about 25 million people was lost by HM Revenue & Customs and doubts over whether taxpayers would recover the £24bn of government-backed loans to the troubled Northern Rock bank.  The only crumb of comfort for Mr Brown is that the Tories do not appear to be reaping the benefit from his mounting problems. There will be disappointment in Conservative circles that the party's rating has slipped by one point since last month. Those abandoning Labour seem to be switching to the Liberal Democrats or other parties.  Labour sources said the poll findings, while gloomy, suggested that the Brown Government was not in the same place as the Tories under John Major after "Black Wednesday" in 1992. From then on, Labour profited directly from the Tories' troubles, soaring ahead in the polls and retaining a big lead until it finally won power at the next election in 1997. 

4//Xinhuanet.com, China
SARKOZY CALLS ON CHINA TO SET EXAMPLE IN FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE [4] 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday called on China to join a new global pact to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and avoid the "dramatic consequences" of global warming.      In a speech at Beijing's Tsinghua University, Sarkozy said global warming posed a major environmental threat and urged China to take the lead with France against climate change for the sake of future generations.  "We are not asking you to give up your development," he told an audience of students. "Make your development an example for the world."  He said the Chinese government had pledged in its 11th Five-year Plan to take necessary measures for sustainable development and the preservation of natural resources, with plans to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent by 2010.  China could take the advantage of its scientific education, its planning ability as well as its power and reputation in the world.  "I propose that China join a new global contract, an ecological and economic New Deal to influence immediately, profoundly and  sustainably, in accordance with its size and power, the modes of production and energy consumption," he said.  "Your country can make this strategic decision."  Negotiations on the new pact, to succeed the UN Kyoto Protocol, will begin at a UN conference on climate change in Bali, Indonesia, next week.  Sarkozy urged both developed and developing countries to shoulder their responsibility to contribute under the principles of the pact.  China and France shared similar views on the relationship between man and nature, Sarkozy said. The two sides had agreed to establish bilateral consultation to employ all possible resources and technologies to protect the world environment.  Sarkozy also stressed that France had employed a "decarbonized" production style, which it could share with China, that had resulted in France having Europe's lowest emissions of carbon-dioxide.  A day earlier, China and France signed a joint statement on responding to climate change and the establishment of a partnership between the two countries in this regard.  

5//Gulfnews.com, United Arab Emirates
MORE US BANKS ON GULF RADAR [5] 

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's (Adia) acquisition of a 4.9 per cent stake in Citigroup is expected to trigger further acquisitions by Gulf-based investors in US banking assets, according to investment bankers.  A number of leading US banks' shares suffered heavy losses following the subprime crisis, making them attractive investment targets for cash-rich Gulf investors.  "This could be just the beginning of a series of such transactions. Next could be Merrill Lynch or Bear Sterns. Following the credit market meltdown, these stocks are attractively valued and most Gulf funds are flush with funds," said a DIFC-based investment banker.  The turmoil in the markets and the subprime mortgage mess has made large American financial institutions and banks vulnerable. ... On emerging opportunities in the US, he had hinted at the troubled American banking sector, where four major financial institutions announced billions in write-downs to offset bad debts arising from subprime mortgage assets. With Adia picking up a substantial stake in Citigroup, analysts said Dubai-based government-owned funds are likely to move in quickly and pick up stakes in major US institutions such as Merrill Lynch, Bear Sterns or Morgan Stanley. ...

Valuation is the key motivator in most of these investment decisions. "Many of these funds are seeing opportunities and they are waiting for further tanking of the US markets," said an analyst. ... .  Analysts said yesterday that although attractive valuations are a major factor, political pressure on Gulf investors, particularly the sovereign wealth funds could result in their opting for Asia and other emerging markets against the US and western markets.  

FEATURED ARTICLE  

1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong      Nov. 28, 2007 [6]         

US WAGES COVERT WAR ON IRAQ-IRAN BORDER

By Nelson Rand 

SIDIKAN and IRBIL, Northern Iraq - The United States-led war in Iraq has hardly affected the residents of Sidikan, a small Kurdish town nestled in the mountains where the borders of Iraq, Iran and Turkey converge, but the surrounding area has fast become the frontline of another conflict. 

In recent weeks, residents say, Iranian artillery shells have been heard almost daily, raining down on the nearby hills where anti-Tehran guerrillas of the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) are

based on both sides of the Iran-Iraq border. Since August, thousands of Kurdish villagers on the Iraqi side of the frontier have been forced to flee their homes as a result of the barrage. 

"Iran is creating a lot of problems for the Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG]," said the chief of security police in the nearby town of Soran, who only revealed his first name, Gafar. "Border areas are being shelled every day." The KRG is the governing authority of the predominantly Kurdish region of northern Iraq, or Iraqi Kurdistan. 

Seeking permission from his office to enter PJAK-controlled areas of Iraqi Kurdistan, Gafar told this correspondent that an executive order had been given at the beginning of November to forbid anybody going into such areas. This was followed by an official order announced on November 19 by the KRG banning journalists from traveling to bases of the Turkish Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), also in Iraqi Kurdistan, prompting strong criticism from media watchdogs such as Reporters Without Borders. 

"Kurdistan is one of few regions in Iraq where local and foreign journalists can move about freely without constant risk to their lives," the group said in a statement on November 20. "This ban is a serious violation of their ability to report on the clashes in Iraq between the PKK's fighters and the Turkish army." 

While the PKK has been in the international spotlight in recent weeks, with Turkey mounting cross-border raids and threatening to launch an invasion of Iraq, not so much attention has been given to the Iranian offshoot, the PJAK. The group has been waging an insurgency against Tehran since 2004, which recently has escalated. A guerrilla leader told the New York Times last month that PJAK fighters had killed at least 150 Iranian soldiers and officials in Iran since August. 

Iran accuses Washington of backing the group, and while the US denies this, local and foreign intelligence sources say the accusation is most likely true. According to a former US Special Forces (SF) commando currently based in Iraq who spoke on condition of anonymity, Special Forces troops are currently operating inside Iran, working with insurgent forces like the PJAK. "That's what the SF does," he said. "They train and build up indigenous anti-government forces." 

"The primary function of the Special Forces is to stand up guerrilla forces or counter-guerrilla forces," said another former SF soldier, retired Major Mark Smith. While he was not specifically aware of SF teams training the PJAK, he said it would not be surprising if they were. And "they would be training in an obscure border area or in a location denied to anyone not directly involved", he said. 

He added that SF teams in Iran would be conducting strategic reconnaissance of possible nuclear and biological weapons sites, army headquarters, and significant individuals. "If they're not doing these things in Iran, then they are remiss in their duties at the upper echelons of their command," he said. 

Operatives of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have also been spotted in Iraqi Kurdistan recently, according to sources familiar with the agency, including the former SF commando. These sources explained that the agency's Special Activities Division (SAD) would be conducting the main component of the agency's operations in the area. SAD, whose existence became known in the autumn of 2001, is responsible for covert paramilitary operations - those with which the US government does not want to be overtly associated. 

(MORE) 

Copyright 2007, Gloria R. Lalumia

WORLD MEDIA WATCH 

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