Archive - Oct 19, 2009

• Pakistani Military Offensive Continues in South Waziristan
• White House Announces New Sudan Policy
• Chomsky Book Barred from Gitmo Detainee Library
• Accusations Against Muslim NGO Stir Fears of Intolerance
• Ocean Policy Task Force Meets in New Orleans

• UN panel says 1/3 of Karzai votes could be fraudulent – run off still unclear
• Somali fundamentalists ban all humanitarian aid organizations from the country
• Iran reluctant to outsource uranium enrichment – accuses US of complicity in bombing
• Obama administration supports state laws that allow medical marijuana
• EU concedes on dairy supports – farmers prevail
• Retailers pull “illegal alien” Halloween costume

The Pakistani Army continues the offensive it launched late last week in South Waziristan. Fighting has moved deep into the semi-autonomous region, where the Taliban and Al Qaeda have bases of support. The conflict is pushing 500 people a day to flee the region, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. This adds to some 200,000 civilians who reportedly fled the area in the lead up to the assault.

Spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, Andrej Mahecic says his agency is providing relief items to the displaced persons.

"We have stocks of relief supplies in the area to assist new waves of displaced people. More can be dispatched within 24 hours from various stockpiles in Pakistan. But the key challenge is security and humanitarian access to people. We don't expect further outflows of people on the scale that we saw coming out of Swat, Buner, Shangla and Dir earlier this year."

The UN says a curfew is in effect in parts of Waziristan and troops have moved in, preventing civilians from fleeing.

A similar military campaign in the Swat Valley, which ended in July, caused the displacement of some 2.3 million people.

In Washington DC today, the Obama administration announced a new policy for Sudan after months of deliberations and pressure from activists. The announcement coincides with the appearance of a Sudanese rebel leader before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. The court will determine if Bahr Idriss Abu Garda should stand trial for an attack in 2007 that murdered 12 peacekeepers. The White House says it plans to offer incentives to the Sudanese government, without working directly with President Omar al-Bashir. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.

Noam Chomsky's book, Interventions, has been banned at the Guantanamo Bay prisoners' library. The book by the noted linguist was released by City Lights Books and features op-eds published between 2002 and 2007. An Arabic-language copy of the book was donated by a Pentagon lawyer, but officials at the detention facility refused to add Interventions to the collection of materials available to detainees. Reporter Aura Bogado spoke with Professor Chomsky about the decision.

Four Republican Congress members have accused the Council on American Islamic Relations of infiltrating Capitol Hill. They say CAIR is placing interns in Congressional offices to spy on members. Some Muslims worry the allegations are stirring up a new wave of fear and intolerance. Tanya Snyder reports.

The Obama administration is holding an ocean policy task force meeting today in New Orleans as part of a move to overhaul national regulations that govern oceans, coastal areas, and the Great Lakes. Today's meeting is one of six to gather public comment around the country...and is the only task force meeting planned for the Gulf Coast region.  Shannon Young spoke with Aaron Viles, campaign director with the Gulf Restoration Network.