WORLD MEDIA WATCH

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

1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong
US HOMES IN ON MILITANTS IN PAKISTAN [1]

Another piece of the United States' regional jigsaw is in place with the completion of a military base in Afghanistan's Kunar province, just three kilometers from Bajaur Agency in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Pakistani intelligence quarters have confirmed to Asia Times Online that the base, on a mountain top in Ghakhi Pass overlooking Pakistan, is now operational. (This correspondent visited the area last July and could clearly see construction underway.) The new US base is expected to serve as the center of clandestine special forces' operations in the border region. The George W Bush administration is itching to take more positive action - including inside Pakistan - against Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda militants increasingly active in the area and bolstering the insurgency in Afghanistan. ... In response, the initial militant action is expected to be the relocation of its key leadership away from the immediate danger area. Efforts to disrupt the vital supply lines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from Pakistan into Afghanistan will be stepped up. A further option is to increase terror operations inside Pakistan as a warning that the militants should be left alone. ... The pressing problem is to find a new safe haven for the high profile al-Qaeda leadership. The area on both sides of the border - the Chitral - is characterized by inhospitable jungles and mazes of mountains and rivers, stretching from Noorestan and Kunar provinces in Afghanistan to the Bajaur Valley. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is known to have stayed in the area. It is now a question of finding a safer location for him - if he is still in the area - and his colleagues. ... Last Saturday, Pakistani security forces unearthed a militant cell operating from the military city of Rawalpindi and recovered a huge cache of weapons. It is believed militants were planning devastating attacks on military installations. However, massive terrors operations in the federal capital of Islamabad are the biggest fear. Some believe these might be just round the corner. But the real danger is the aim to drive a wedge between Islamabad and the NATO-Washington nexus, which would leave Pakistan potentially fatally exposed to the militants.

AN EXPANDED EXCERPT OF THIS FEATURED ARTICLE FOLLOWS THE SUMMARIES

2//Azzaman in English, Iraq
INQUIRY DEMANDED AFTER BANK ARSON [2]

Iraqi members of parliament have asked the government to set up a commission to investigate the fires that devastated large sections of the Central Bank building in Baghdad. The MPs say the blazing fires were premeditated and were an attempt by certain senior officials to obliterate documents implicating them in corruption. A statement read by Norrideen Hayali on behalf of the MPs representing several parliamentary blocks said the building housing the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs was also set on fire. "The fires have turned into ash important documents condemning officials for corruption," the statement said. Both fires caused no casualties and officials said Central Bank's possessions of gold and hard cash were safe. ... Despite reports of massive corruption in which senior officials are said to be involved, the government has brought no one to justice so far. Independent transparency agencies rank Iraq as number one in corruption in the world. Prime Minister Noori al-Maliki has refused orders for his relatives and other members of his government to stand trial.

3//Gulfnews.com, United Arab Emirates
QATAR CONSIDERS SEVERING DOLLAR PEG [3]

Qatar is considering dropping its dollar peg in favour of a basket of currencies or revaluing its riyal among policy options to fight rising inflation, the local Gulf Times said, citing an economic adviser to the ruler. "Pegging the riyal to only one currency has many disadvantages, especially if that country adopts monetary policies that clash with ours," said Ebrahim Al Ebrahim, chairman of Qatar's General Secretariat for Development Planning, according to the newspaper on Tuesday.

As with other states in the world's biggest oil-exporting region, Qatar is constrained in its fight against inflation because the dollar peg forces it to track US monetary policy at a time when the Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates. ... The government is studying several measures to curb inflation, Al Ebrahim said. Inflation was 13.7 per cent in September, just below a record.

"These [measures] include depegging from the US dollar, revaluation of the riyal, increase in salaries and subsidising food items," Al Ebrahim said at a meeting organised by the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Both Qatar and the UAE are likely to drop their pegs to the dollar this year and track currency baskets, Deutsche Bank said last week. ... Facing the region's highest inflation, Qatar is planning to sell bonds to soak up liquidity, as well as tighten restrictions on rent rises and other price controls.

4//JoongAng Daily, South Korea
TRANSITION PLAN IS STEP TOO FAR, ROH WON'T SIGN [4]

Refusing to be treated like a "vegetable," President Roh Moo-hyun said in a press conference yesterday that he will not sign a sweeping government reform bill backed by his incoming successor. The plan, which would drastically shrink the government, runs counter to his philosophy and goes too far, he said. "The transition team is exceeding its authority and ordering [my] public servants to evaluate the policies of my administration and then demand that they come up with revisions that suit the taste of the new administration," Roh said. "The transition team has turned the incumbent president into a vegetable. I ask them to do only what they are allowed to do legally." This is the second time Roh has said he is willing to veto the reforms if they are passed by the National Assembly before his term ends. It puts the incoming administration in a dilemma because it may have to wait until after the April legislative elections for an Assembly that is expected to be dominated by conservatives. Liberal parties still hold a decisive edge in the Assembly and it is unlikely a presidential veto could be over- ridden. The bill, which calls for the closure of five ministries -- gender equality, science, information, marine affairs and unification -- is one of 45 bills submitted by the transition team working for President-elect Lee Myung-bak. The gender equality and science ministries were expanded by Roh during his term, and their dismantling is a particular slap in the face for him. The Unification Ministry's downgrade has also been denounced by Roh's government. "Did they [transition team] try to understand why these ministries came into being in the first place?" Roh asked. "What is the philosophy that says the administration will run more effectively if they are downsized and merged into a bigger bloc?

"They are shaking the philosophical basis of the Roh administration to its roots." Roh also expressed anger toward the media and some lawmakers, alleging they are biased toward Lee. ... Roh said he is concerned about the aftershocks that abrupt change will bring and he still has a job to do. "Where else in the world demands that a president sign what a president-elect made up in two weeks to tear apart the work done over five years?" Roh said Lee can wait until he takes office to make changes.

5//The Independent, UK
SERBS QUEUE IN THE COLD FOR FREE SHARES OF NATIONALISED FIRMS [5]

Serbs queued in the cold at post offices across the country yesterday to collect free shares in six of Serbia's state-owned companies, hoping that after years of war and economic hardship their luck will change. The Serbian government has passed a law to allow people to sign up for a stake in oil, telecoms and pharmaceuticals firms due to be privatised this year. ... The Economy Minister, Mladjan Dinkic, has estimated that the sell-off of the six companies - the National Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS), Yugoslav Airlines, Electricity Production System, Telecom Serbia, Belgrade Airport and the pharmaceutical firm Galenika - will mean "that four million people will have at least €1,000 in their pockets". Serbia was battered by more than a decade of war in the 1990s, when the economy collapsed and private savings worth an estimated $4.5bn (£2.2bn) were seized by the regime of former president Slobodan Milosevic. Under the privatisation law, the public gets 15 per cent of the companies, an additional 15 per cent will go to 150,000 employees, the state will keep 21 per cent, and 49 per cent is intended to be sold to international companies. But some economists say the government's estimate that the six firms could be sold for more than €12bn euros, is too optimistic. The sale of 51 per cent of the National Oil Industry last week has only heightened those fears; it was sold to Russia's Gazprom for €400m euros instead of the €2bn that had once been mooted. Sceptics also point out that the announcement of the free shares for the public has also come in the middle of the two rounds of the presidential election. The Ultra-nationalist candidate, Tomislav Nikolic, clocked up a five point lead over the pro-Western incumbent Boris Tadic in the 20 January first round. Political observers say the share offers, viewed by some Serbs as a form of social justice, could help tip the balance in Mr Tadic's favour in this Sunday's run-off vote.

FEATURED ARTICLE

1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Jan 30, 2008 [6]

US HOMES IN ON MILITANTS IN PAKISTAN

By Syed Saleem Shahzad

KARACHI - Another piece of the United States' regional jigsaw is in place with the completion of a military base in Afghanistan's Kunar province, just three kilometers from Bajaur Agency in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Pakistani intelligence quarters have confirmed to Asia Times Online that the base, on a mountain top in Ghakhi Pass overlooking Pakistan, is now operational. (This correspondent visited the area last July and could clearly see construction underway.)

The new US base is expected to serve as the center of clandestine special forces' operations in the border region. The George W Bush administration is itching to take more positive action - including inside Pakistan - against Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda militants increasingly active in the area and bolstering the insurgency in Afghanistan.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has officially rejected US proposals to expand the US presence in Pakistan, either through unilateral covert Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operations or by joint operations with Pakistani security forces, but this is not necessarily the end of the matter, especially as the situation in Afghanistan deteriorates. According to reports, Mike McConnell, the director of US national intelligence, and CIA director General Michael Hayden visited Pakistan this month to meet with Musharraf.

A senior Pakistani security official explained to Asia Times Online, "American special forces have carried out clandestine operations in the past, and Pakistan was not informed. The Taliban and al-Qaeda also did not realize what was happening with the quick-as-a-wink hit-and-run operations in the tribal areas. Pakistani intelligence only knew of the operations after they happened. They included the killing of high-value Taliban and al-Qaeda commanders and high-value arrests," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"However, with the new Kunar base, American special forces will carry out extended operations, which means a limited war against Taliban and al-Qaeda assets in the tribal areas. These clandestine operations can be done with or without Pakistan's consent."

In response, the initial militant action is expected to be the relocation of its key leadership away from the immediate danger area. Efforts to disrupt the vital supply lines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)from Pakistan into Afghanistan will be stepped up. A further option is to increase terror operations inside Pakistan as a warning that the militants should be left alone.

(SNIP)

The pressing problem is to find a new safe haven for the high profile al-Qaeda leadership. The area on both sides of the border - the Chitral - is characterized by inhospitable jungles and mazes of mountains and rivers, stretching from Noorestan and Kunar provinces in Afghanistan to the Bajaur Valley. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is known to have stayed in the area. It is now a question of finding a safer location for him - if he is still in the area - and his colleagues.

US intelligence spotted bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, twice in Bajaur Agency and attacked the area with Predator drones. Zawahiri was unscathed, but several militants and civilians were killed. Local Taliban sources tell Asia Times Online that Zawahiri had been moving in the area for more than 30 hours before he was spotted and targeted. Apparently, he was to meet with bin Laden.

(SNIP)

Change in militants' tactics

Last week, militants used improvised explosive devices near Peshawar to blow up a military convoy. This is the first such incident of its kind near a city against the Pakistani army. Previously, such events only happened in the tribal areas.

This indicates that while the tribesmen might be facing a modern army, rather than the thin British force of years ago, the army now faces an urban guerrilla battle, not one limited to remote mountains.

(SNIP)

The overriding objective of the Tafkiris goes beyond simple terror attacks. They aim to force Islamabad to either follow their dictates or become ensnared in the conflict against NATO.

(SNIP)

Last Saturday, Pakistani security forces unearthed a militant cell operating from the military city of Rawalpindi and recovered a huge cache of weapons. It is believed militants were planning devastating attacks on military installations. However, massive terrors operations in the federal capital of Islamabad are the biggest fear. Some believe these might be just round the corner.

But the real danger is the aim to drive a wedge between Islamabad and the NATO-Washington nexus, which would leave Pakistan potentially fatally exposed to the militants.

Copyright 2008, Gloria R. Lalumia

WORLD MEDIA WATCH
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