PAKISTAN News:

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"But as McCain greets two breakfast-eating business partners, one from Stamford [Connecticut] and the other from Bridgeport [Connecticut], the topic turns to the presidential race. The two men tell the senator they support [Republican] President George W. Bush, and to that end, McCain says, "(Osama) Bin Laden may have just given us a little boost. Amazing, huh?".... " ... "The two men, who requested anonymity, nod their heads in agreement. Later, while riding with Shays on an RV to a rally at the Stamford Government Center, McCain further explains, "(The video) is helpful to President Bush because it puts the focus on the war on terrorism.""

Barack Obama - John McCain - 2008 Election - Military - Terrorism - Israel - Palestine - Iraq - Pakistan - US - Indiana - North Carolina - "Obama: McCain is 'losing his bearings'." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama chastised [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain Thursday for engaging in “smear” politics, and defended himself from critics who question whether he is capable of being commander-in-chief, during a wide-ranging interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer — his first sit-down since the Indiana and North Carolina primaries." ... "“This is offensive, and I think it's disappointing,” Obama told Blitzer, when asked his thoughts about McCain’s comments that the terrorist organization Hamas wants Obama to be president. “Because John McCain always says ‘I am not going to run that kind of politics,’ and to engage in that kind of smear is unfortunate, particularly because my policy toward Hamas has been no different than his." ... "“I’ve said it’s a terrorist organization and we should not negotiate with them unless they recognize Israel, renounce violence, and unless they are willing to abide by previous accords between the Palestinians and the Israelis. So for him to toss out comments like that I think is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination. We don’t need name calling in this debate.”" ... "(Related: Obama: World wants to see U.S. lead)" ... "On the topic of national security, Obama said that the American people are looking for a leader with “good judgment” — a trait the Democratic presidential hopeful said he possessed." ... "“Whether it’s my judgment on Iraq and recognizing that that was going to be a strategic blunder, to my insistence that we need to talk not just to countries we like, but countries we don’t, to my assessment in terms of how we had over-invested in the Musharraf government in Pakistan and that was going to be setting us up for failure later on,” Obama said. “I think I’ve consistently displayed the kind of judgment that the American people are looking for in the next president.”" -By Mark Preston and Alexander Mooney -CNN

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US- Pakistan - Afghanistan - Iraq - Military - Terrorism - Intelligence - "US report says al-Qaida gaining strength." ... "Al-Qaida has rebuilt some of its pre-[September]Sept. 11 capabilities from remote hiding places in Pakistan, leading to a major spike in attacks last year in that country and neighboring Afghanistan, the [Republican President] Bush administration said Wednesday." ... "Attacks in Pakistan more than doubled from 375 to 887 between 2006 and 2007, and the number of fatalities jumped by almost 300 percent from 335 to 1,335, the State Department said in its annual terrorism report." ... "In Afghanistan, the number of attacks rose 16 percent, to 1,127 incidents last year, killing 1,966 people, 55 percent more than the 1,257 who died in 2006, it said." ... "The report said attacks in Iraq dipped slightly between 2006 and 2007, but they still accounted for 60 percent of worldwide terrorism fatalities, including 17 of the 19 Americans who were killed in attacks last year. The other two were killed in Afghanistan." -By Matthew Lee -AP via -SeattleTimes

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US - Pakistan - Afghanistan - Global - Usama bin Ladin - Military - Terrorism - Intelligence - "Country Reports on Terrorism 2007." ... "Chapter 1 -- Strategic Assessment." ... "AL-QA’IDA AND ASSOCIATED TRENDS: Al-Qa’ida (AQ) and associated networks remained the greatest terrorist threat to the United States and its partners in 2007. It has reconstituted some of its pre-9/11 operational capabilities through the exploitation of Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), replacement of captured or killed operational lieutenants, and the restoration of some central control by its top leadership, in particular Ayman al-Zawahiri. Although Usama bin Ladin remained the group’s ideological figurehead, Zawahiri has emerged as AQ’s strategic and operational planner." ... "AQ and its affiliates seek to exploit local grievances for their own local and global purposes. They pursue their own goals, often at large personal cost to the local population. These networks are adaptive, quickly evolving new methods in response to countermeasures. AQ utilizes terrorism, as well as subversion, propaganda, and open warfare; it seeks weapons of mass destruction in order to inflict the maximum possible damage on anyone who stands in its way, including other Muslims and/or elders, women, and children." ... "Despite the efforts of both Afghan and Pakistani security forces, instability, coupled with the Islamabad [Pakistan's capital] brokered cease-fire agreement in effect for the first half of 2007 along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier, appeared to have provided AQ leadership greater mobility and ability to conduct training and operational planning, particularly that targeting Western Europe and the United States. Numerous senior AQ operatives have been captured or killed, but AQ leaders continued to plot attacks and to cultivate stronger operational connections that radiated outward from Pakistan to affiliates throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe." -State.gov 

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Barack Obama - John McCain - US - Iraq - Afghanistan - Pakistan - Military - Terrorism - Intelligence - Osama bin Laden - North Carolina - Illinois - Arizona - 2008 Election - "Obama says Iraq war has hurt U.S. security." ... "[2008 Election Democratic] Presidential hopeful Barack Obama traveled Wednesday to a community college near Ft. Bragg [North Carolina], home of the 82nd Airborne Division and the Army Special Operations Command, to argue that the Iraq war had opened a "security gap" for the United States." ... "Speaking on the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, the Illinois senator said it had emboldened enemies such as Iran and Al Qaeda while weakening U.S. support in the Middle East." ... "And Obama teased [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain, a supporter of the war and the presumptive Republican nominee for president, for a mix-up Tuesday during a visit to the Middle East." ... ""Just yesterday, we heard [Arizona Senator] Sen. McCain confuse Sunni and Shia, Iran and Al Qaeda," Obama said. "Maybe that is why he voted to go to war with a country that had no Al Qaeda ties. Maybe that is why he completely fails to understand that the war in Iraq has done more to embolden America's enemies than any strategic choice that we have made in decades."" ... "Likewise, Obama targeted McCain's frequent vow that as president he would pursue Osama bin Laden "to the gates of hell." Obama argued that the promise was meaningless given McCain's focus on the conflict in Iraq rather than devoting greater military resources to Afghanistan and the Pakistani border regions, where Bin Laden is believed to be hiding." ... ""We have a security gap when candidates say they will follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell but refuse to follow him where he actually goes," Obama said." -By Mike Dorning -ChicagoTribune via -LAtimes 

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Pakistan - People - Politics - "Musharraf 'obstacle to stability' By Jill McGivering BBC News: A majority of Pakistanis say stability and security in Pakistan would improve if President Pervez Musharraf resigned, according to a BBC World Service poll." ... "The survey of more than 1,400 people across Pakistan suggested support for Mr Musharraf has fallen dramatically." ... "Pakistanis are preparing to vote in parliamentary polls on Monday that many fear could be rigged." ... "Mr Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, has promised that the elections will be fair." ... "Pakistanis polled by the BBC World Service were divided about whether the general elections scheduled for 18 February would be free and fair." ... "The results of the latest poll found a particularly low approval rating for his [Musharraf's] performance. Only 15% of people asked said they approved of the job he was doing, while 72% disapproved." ... "That compared with an approval rate of 30% at the end of last year. Three-quarters of the people asked said they would like him to resign." ... "In recent months, a series of events have helped to change the political landscape. The murder of [former Prime Minister Benazir] Ms Bhutto on 27 December created a wave of sympathy for the opposition." ... "Her widower and the new co-chair of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Asif Zardari, has so far managed to keep his party unified and opinion polls suggest that the PPP may have strengthened its position." -BBC/News 

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Food - Oil - Money - Poverty -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - "A New, Global Oil Quandary: Costly Fuel Means Costly Calories." ... "Rising prices for cooking oil are forcing residents of Asia’s largest slum, in Mumbai, India, to ration every drop. Bakeries in the United States are fretting over higher shortening costs. And here in Malaysia, brand-new factories built to convert vegetable oil into diesel sit idle, their owners unable to afford the raw material." ... "This is the other oil shock. From India to Indiana, shortages and soaring prices for palm oil, soybean oil and many other types of vegetable oils are the latest, most striking example of a developing global problem: costly food." ... "The food price index of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, based on export prices for 60 internationally traded foodstuffs, climbed 37 percent last year. That was on top of a 14 percent increase in 2006, and the trend has accelerated this winter." ... "In some poor countries, desperation is taking hold. Just in the last week, protests have erupted in Pakistan over wheat shortages, and in Indonesia over soybean shortages. Egypt has banned rice exports to keep food at home, and China has put price controls on cooking oil, grain, meat, milk and eggs." ... "According to the F.A.O., food riots have erupted in recent months in Guinea, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, Uzbekistan and Yemen." ... "A startling change is unfolding in the world’s food markets. Soaring fuel prices have altered the equation for growing food and transporting it across the globe. Huge demand for biofuels has created tension between using land to produce fuel and using it for food." ... "Cooking oil may seem a trifling expense in the West. But in the developing world, cooking oil is an important source of calories and represents one of the biggest cash outlays for poor families, which grow much of their own food but have to buy oil in which to cook it." (1, 2, 3) -By Keith Bradsher with contributions by Andrew Martin, Anand Giridharadas, and Michael Rubenstein -NYTimes 

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