What the world is reading

Since policy makers in Washington D.C. decided to provide financial support to Pakistan to aid in its battle with extremists,the country’s urban middle-class has grown increasingly wary of the partnership. Mosharraff Zaidi writes that the American Congress ignored poll data which pointed to the mounting discontent among Pakistanis over the aid. America will continue to dish out $1.5 billion per year over the next five years towards fighting Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Middle-class Pakistan’s frustration isn’t unfounded,Zaidi writes,“Every time a Pakistani government bends over backward to please Washington,it suffers domestically. Why they bend over so readily is no secret: elite Pakistan (military,feudal and capitalist) loves a good sugar daddy,and Uncle Sam is among the best.” Zaidi writes that American lawmakers may be ignoring the Pakistani prerogative because they simply can’t understand how people opposing violent extremists can also frown upon American support in combating the violence.

Antiwar.com

On the Eve of WWIII?

Gordon Prather writes that we may be on the eve of World War III because the Tehran Research Reactor that produces radioactive isotopes for use in medicine will need refuelling with Uranium U-235 soon. But because of the sanctions already imposed on Iran by the United States and the UN,procuring the material is highly unlikely. But that doesn’t put an end to the danger,writes Prather. If Iran decides to ship its uranium,enriched to about 4 per cent,to Russia,where it would be further enriched to about 20 per cent,it would call for Russia to sub-contract the production of the highly-enriched uranium (HEU) to a French entity. The French,however,have demanded that all the Iranian HEU be shipped to them from Russia at one time,not in batches. “It seems they believe that if the Iranians are allowed to send their LEU to Russia and their HEU,thence,to France in batches,the Israelis will feel that they will have no alternative but to attack and destroy the IAEA-safeguarded facilities at Natanz,Arak and elsewhere,” Prather writes.

The Daily Telegraph

Russia ‘Simulates’ Nuclear Attack on Poland

Documents obtained by a Polish news magazine state that the Russian armed forces have “carried out war games in which nuclear missiles were fired and troops practised an amphibious landing on the country’s coast.” Apparently,in September,the armies of Russia and Belarus consolidated 13,000 troops for the activity,according to The Daily Telegraph. “Russia has laid bare its real intentions with respect to Poland. Every Pole most now get off the fence and be counted as a patriot or a traitor,” a Polish man identified as Ted for the news article has been quoted as saying. 

CNN.com

Somali Group with Al Qaeda Ties Threatens Israel

For the first time,a group with outspoken ties to Al Qaeda has made a direct threat to the state of Israel. The group Al-Shabab,fighting for control over Somalia,has accused Israel of “starting to destroy” the Al Asqa mosque where “standoffs have taken place recently between Israeli police and Palestinians,” the CNN article says. Although it remains unclear whether the group has the capacity to act on its threats,its leaders claim it has been “mutating from a nationalist group into a terrorist organisation more like Al Qaeda,which was behind the September 11,2001 attacks on the United States,” the article says.

Associated Press

Cyber Attacks Traced to North Korea

A report out of Seoul,South Korea,points to the North Korean government as the source of the “high-profile” Internet-based attack which caused outages on prominent government-run websites in South Korea and the United States,including those of the White House and South Korea’s Presidential Blue House. The Internet Protocol (IP) address which served as the source of the attacks has been traced to North Korea’s Ministry of Post and Telecommunications,said a senior member of one of the main spy agencies in South Korea. The ministry apparently leased the IP address from China.