My Top News

For those that don't know, the arrest of Mullah Baradar by the CIA and US in a joint operation just around a week ago was initially heralded as a huge success and the most significant capture since 9/11.

However with more information out there and time passed, the opinion pieces positive look on the capture has been hampered a little. An article from the NY Times claims the biggest winner was Pakistan, earning itself a seat at the table for any negotiation to end the war in Afghanistan.

Worse is the announcement by the Pakistani senior minister that #2 Baradar will not be handed over to the US along with two other high-value militants. Instead if they are found to have not done anything, they will be deported to Afghanistan.

In addition, the NY Times reported that Pakistani security officers didn't even know who they had captured - a US offical called it a "lucky accident". Acting on a US tip, the security officials met no resistance during the raid. Lastly a push by the CIA to transfer Mullah Baradar to an American-run prison in Afghanistan was prompted by the reported refusal by the Militant to provide information on insurgents.

Unfortunately what was a big capture that was not only a big impact of the man being captured, but what appeared to be a big reversal in US-Pakistani relations, the state of closeness of the ISI and the Taliban as well as the wealth of knowledge Baradar had on Taliban operations, camps, etc.

I don't want to be a pessimist, as the capture is still a big deal as he was the senior military leader of the Taliban, but instead frustration with Pakistan. For some reason they still (or the ISI doesn't) view Taliban as a threat to them, instead only India. Now let me note they are just articles not with the best sources so let's hope they turn out wrong and the initial assesment of Pakistani change in policy towards the Taliban has finally changes for the better. (for us)

For the doubters they had arrested two shadow governors of Afghanistan and there refusal to simply turn over three high value targets to the CIA is understandable. It will be interesting to see how this story develops.

The United Arab Emirates has seized a cargo of North Korean weapons being shipped to Iran, which would have violated a U.N. embargo on arms exports from the communist state, Western diplomats said on Friday.

The weapons seized on Aug. 14 included rocket launchers, detonators, munitions and ammunition for rocket-propelled grenades, they said. The ship, called the ANL-Australia, was Australian-owned and flying a Bahamas flag. - Reuters

The latest US missile defence test, conducted last night in Hawaii waters, was deemed a success as tensions continue with North Korea over that country's missile programme.

A short-range ballistic missile was fired from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kauai and then was shot down by a three-stage interceptor missile from a destroyer, the USS Hopper. - Daily Mail

The Russian government has agreed to allow American troops and weapons bound for Afghanistan to fly over Russian territory, providing an important new corridor for the United States military as it escalates efforts to win the eight-year-old war, officials from both sides said Friday.

The agreement, to be formally announced when President Obama visits here on Monday and Tuesday, represents one of the most concrete achievements of the effort to rebuild a relationship severely strained. - NY Times

U.S. Marines pushed deeper into Taliban areas of southern Afghanistan on Friday, seeking to cut insurgent supply lines and win over local elders on the second day of the biggest U.S. military operation here since the American-led invasion of 2001.

The 4,000-strong U.S. force met little resistance Friday as troops fanned out into villages in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, although one Marine was killed and several others were wounded the day before, U.S. officials said. - AP

North Korea may be preparing for its third nuclear test, a show of defiance as the United Nations considers new sanctions on the dictatorship for conducting an underground nuclear explosion in May, according to a U.S. government official.

The White House National Security Council would not comment on the assessment of a possible third nuclear test in the works.

Today was the 65th anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy (D-Day), the largest amphibious invasion of all time - June 6, 1944.

160,000 troops landed at Normandy in 5 different sectors to re-take France from German hands. Along with the US, the Canadians, Norway, UK, Poland and "Free France" also participated in Operation Overlord.

Around 10,000 altogether perished in the 24-day battle.