Washington Downplays, Islamabad Slams Wikileaks Exposé

"However illegally these documents came to light, they raise serious questions about the reality of America's policy toward Pakistan and Afghanistan," said Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry, D-MA. "Those policies are at a critical stage and these documents may very well underscore the stakes and make the calibrations needed to get the policy right more urgent." Pakistani envoy rejects Wikileaks Afghan war information | The Cable

The U.S.-Iran Spy Duel: The Plot Thickens!

"Other information that has now emerged about Amiri suggests that the story that he was a long-term CIA asset was a falsehood aimed at sowing distrust of Amiri in Tehran." t r u t h o u t | Clues Suggest Amiri Defection Was an Iranian Plant

Recipe for Afghan Peace - or Fragmentation?

“They would not be militias,” said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon spokesman, at a briefing in Washington on Wednesday. “These would be government-formed, government-paid, government-uniformed local police units who would keep any eye out for bad guys — in their neighborhoods, in their communities — and who would, in turn, work with the Afghan police forces and the Afghan Army, to keep them out of their towns.” Afghans to Form Local Forces to Fight Taliban - NYTimes.com

Rare Glimpse Into The U.S.-Iran Spy Sparring

"The case has emerged as a source of embarrassment for both governments. The Obama administration faces the departure of someone whose defection had been considered an intelligence coup. Iran described Amiri's desire to the leave the United States as a setback for American efforts, but Amiri may have compromised the secrecy of Iran's nuclear endeavors." Iranian nuclear scientist heads homeward in anger (Washington Post)

Tax-Exempt Funds Aiding West Bank Settlements

As the United States seeks to end a four-decade Jewish settlement enterprise, the American Treasury helps sustain the settlements through tax-exempt funds. NYTimes.com

Afghanistan After McChrystal

"[A] senior White House official suggested using General McChrystal’s exit as an excuse for a housecleaning, according to senior officials. That was rejected as too disruptive during a military campaign that relies heavily on civilian support, these people said." After Afghan Shift, Top U.S. Civilians Face Tricky Future - NYTimes.com

Anthropologists in the Afghan COINS

"...Human Terrain System, a U.S. Army-funded program launched in Iraq and expanded in Afghanistan ... pairs social scientists with warfighters. Its backers contend that civilian specialists — particularly anthropologists — with in-depth field experience are best suited to "map" the country's complex tribal structures and fault lines. In turn, they can identify key power brokers and projects needed to build public support that will marginalize the Taliban, advancing the Pentagon's counterinsurgency." Should Anthropologists Help the U.S. Contain the Taliban? - TIME