Items related to "Human Security Gateway: Armed Conflict". Sat, 17 May 2008 0:30:28 +0000 Sat, 17 May 2008 0:30:28 +0000 robert_hartfiel@sfu.ca (Robert Hartfiel) Fri, 16 May 2008 15:30:10 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24416 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24416 Sharp increases in food prices have generated a new wave of anti-occupation and anti-U.S. sentiment in Fallujah. "This is a country that was damned by the Americans the moment they stepped on our soil," Burhan Jassim, a farmer from Sichir village just outside Fallujah told IPS. "This is Iraqi land that has always been blessed by Allah with the best production in quality and quantity, but now see how it has been turned into a wasteland." Fallujah faces this new crisis after much of the city was destroyed by U.S. military operations in 2004. The area around Fallujah city, which lies 70 km west of Baghdad, has traditionally been one of the most agriculturally productive in Iraq. Farmers planted tomatoes and cucumbers north of Fallujah, others grew potatoes south of the city near Amiriya. Both areas had plenty of date palm trees and small fruit plantations. Now production is down to a fraction of what it was. SOURCE: Inter Press Service // Global Policy Forum Inter Press Service // Global Policy Forum Fri, 16 May 2008 15:29:10 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24415 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24415 Several hundred kilometres from the simmering conflicts between pastoralists and farmers [over natural resources] in Sudan's Darfur region, the two communities in the village of Gereigikh in North Kordofan State have learnt to cool the tension with watermelons. "Our farmers discovered that whenever the Kawahla tribe [traditionally pastoral] brought their livestock into the fields, the animal droppings helped improve production, so the members of the Gawamha [traditionally farmers] started planting watermelons to attract the livestock to the field," recalled Ad-Dukhri Al-Sayed, a community leader in Gereigikh, about 100km northeast of the state capital, El Obeid. "The situation has improved so much. Now everyone lives in peace, we never have problems." Most of Sudan comprises arid land or desert, and lies in the Sahel, a region described by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) as the most vulnerable in the world to droughts. Historically, there has always been tension over land and grazing rights between nomads and farmers, according to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) conflict resolution project document . "But recently, some parts of the country have been caught in a complex tangle of severe droughts and dwindling resources." As a result, the pressure on scarce resources like water and pasture has become the trigger of most conflicts, and climate change is set to exacerbate the situation. SOURCE: Integrated Regional Information Networks // Global Policy Forum Integrated Regional Information Networks // Global Policy Forum Fri, 16 May 2008 15:25:22 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24413 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24413 After months of political deadlock in Lebanon, large-scale violence erupted in Beirut on May 9, bringing analysts to question whether the conflict there might bubble over into civil war. Hezbollah fighters seized large parts of west Beirut (NYT), forcing pro-government groups out of the area and shutting down media outlets. Meanwhile, rocket attacks targeted the residence of Saad al-Hariri (al-Jazeera), the leader of Lebanon’s ruling coalition. CFR’s Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow Mohamad Bazzi, on the ground in Beirut, describes the simmering violence, which was sparked by a government decision to try to dismantle the militant group Hezbollah’s telephone network. He notes that Hezbollah fighters have not generally held the positions they seized, choosing rather to force out their opponents and then hand the areas over to the Lebanese army. He notes comment from the United States and Arab League, but says many observers question how much power the international community has to reconcile Lebanon’s political deadlock. He says the next concrete event to watch for is the response of Lebanon’s Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. SOURCE: Council on Foreign Relations Council on Foreign Relations Fri, 16 May 2008 15:20:55 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24411 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24411 Sorting out the victor from the vanquished in Iraq's internal skirmishes is proving increasingly difficult. A deal reached on May 10 (Voices of Iraq) between lawmakers loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and those allied with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki brought a wave of contradictory proclamations from the Western media punditry. McClatchy Newspapers called the deal to disarm the cleric's Mahdi Army in Sadr City a "surprising capitulation" sure to be hailed as a major win for Maliki's government. The Independent, meanwhile, declared Sadr "the great survivor of Iraqi politics." Attacks on U.S. forces days into the truce raises questions (NYT) about whether the deal will amount to anything in the end. SOURCE: Council on Foreign Relations Council on Foreign Relations Fri, 16 May 2008 15:20:05 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24410 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24410 Muqtada al-Sadr is a young, fiercely anti-American messianic cleric and the head of the Mahdi Army, an armed militia that has waged an intermittent insurgency against U.S. and Iraqi forces. Virtually unknown before the collapse of Saddam Hussein's government in 2003, Sadr has since emerged as one of the most important Shiite leaders in the country. Bolstered by a base of predominantly poor urban Shiites, Sadr has led a series of uprisings against U.S., Iraqi, and rival Shia forces. A series of violent clashes in Najaf, Basra, and Sadr City since 2004 depleted the cleric's forces, but experts say his influence as a military, political, and religious figure have climbed amid the U.S.-led occupation. In 2007 Sadr announced plans to attend seminary, and is believed to be in the Iranian city of Qom—raising questions about Tehran's influence on the cleric. Born in the early 1970s, Sadr is the son of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, a prominent cleric and early champion of Shiite social causes. Sadr City—a vast Baghdad slum of 2.5 million previously called Saddam City—was renamed for the senior Sadr after Saddam's fall. SOURCE: Council on Foreign Relations Council on Foreign Relations Fri, 16 May 2008 12:46:22 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24406 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24406 We present the last installment of Michael Bhatia's exploration of post-9/11 Afghanistan. As his photographs reveal, the simple process of walking broadens one's conceptions of the country. He concludes that our view of Afghanistan should incorporate the twin realities of placid everyday life — and of conflict and insurgency. SOURCE: The Globalist The Globalist Fri, 16 May 2008 12:45:30 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24405 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24405 We present the second installment of Michael Bhatia's three-part photogallery examining post-9/11 life in Afghanistan. His photographs reveal a different view of the country outside of security concerns and meta-descriptions — revealing an Afghanistan of trade and poverty, of reconstruction and continued deprivation, and of daily life next to and within conflict. SOURCE: The Globalist The Globalist Fri, 16 May 2008 12:31:53 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24404 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24404 Although Iraq dominates the headlines, Afghanistan remains a crucial battleground. This week, we present Michael Bhatia’s three-part photo essay examining life in post-9/11 Afghanistan. Today’s gallery features images of combatants going through the disarmament process — and depicts the continued role of commanders in Afghan daily life. SOURCE: The Globalist The Globalist Fri, 16 May 2008 11:48:56 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24400 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24400 Last weekend’s daring raid on greater Khartoum by Darfur’s rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has shaken the regime and effectively disrupted the already morbid peace process in West Sudan. Though often referred to as a Darfur rebel group, JEM in fact has a national agenda, much like John Garang’s Sudanese Peoples’ Liberation Army (SPLA), which always maintained it was a movement of national liberation rather than a southern separatist group. Until 2006, JEM was also involved militarily in the revolt of the Beja and Rashaida Arabs of Eastern Sudan against Khartoum. The Zaghawa tribe that straddles Darfur and Chad dominates the JEM leadership, marking a major challenge to traditional Arab superiority in Sudan (see Terrorism Monitor, March 7). While some of the leaders of Darfur’s badly-divided rebel groups have fought the rebellion from the cafés of Paris, JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim has remained at the front, forging a disparate group of refugees, farmers and ex-military men into the strongest military force in Darfur and the greatest threat to the Sudanese regime. SOURCE: Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation Fri, 16 May 2008 11:47:12 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24399 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24399 The Kurdish area in northern Iraq has become one of the most complex fronts in the war in Iraq, a place where Iranian, Turkish, Kurdish, Iraqi and American interests clash. An often perplexing role in the region’s conflicts is played by the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK), an Iranian Kurdish offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that engages in frequent clashes with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. PJAK claims its aims “are to unite the Kurdish and Iranian opposition, to change the oppressive Islamic regime in Iran and to establish a free democratic confederal system for the Kurds and the Iranian peoples” (PJAK Press Release, May 7). Iran regularly accuses the movement of being a U.S.-funded proxy, but recent PJAK claims that Turkey used U.S. intelligence and U.S.-made bombs in an air raid on a PJAK target have brought the U.S.-PJAK relationship into question. SOURCE: Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation Fri, 16 May 2008 11:46:10 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24398 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24398 Politics in Yemen has always been a violent affair. Two of its four presidents have died unnaturally—one in a hotel room surrounded by drugs and prostitutes; his successor, suddenly and absurdly, by an exploding briefcase. The next man to take office, a young tank commander named Ali Abdullah Saleh, was not expected to fare much better. He did, though, and is approaching his thirtieth year in power. He survived and, through his intimate knowledge of Yemen’s tribal politics, consolidated his rule. He oversaw the unification of his country with the formerly socialist South Yemen, and then crushed the south in a civil war. He never fully expanded his government’s writ over the chaotic, tribal north, but he stayed in power and kept his country together better than anyone could have predicted. SOURCE: Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation Fri, 16 May 2008 11:27:04 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24396 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24396 On May 10, one of Darfur's key rebel factions, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), struck military targets within Omdurman, the twin city of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Although rumored for days, the long-distance rebel attack seemed to catch the ruling National Islamic Front (NIF) regime by surprise. This was an extraordinary military event, one without precedent under the regime, and its leaders have been badly rattled--perhaps the primary ambition of an assault that had no chance for sustainable military success. But satisfying as the attack may have been for JEM, it is likely to prove extremely bad news for the people of Darfur. There have already been multiple reports from human rights groups and the Sudanese diaspora that Darfuris are being beaten, arrested, and in some cases, summarily executed. Most have been Zaghawa, the Darfur tribal group dominant in JEM and its leadership. SOURCE: Reeves, Eric Reeves, Eric Fri, 16 May 2008 10:32:11 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24394 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24394 Make no mistake, there will continue to be bloodshed in Iraqi streets until Iraq’s leaders decide otherwise—even though various Iraqi leaders have signaled a truce in the ongoing battle for control of Sadr City in downtown Baghdad. And that won’t happen until the United States signals a date certain for the redeployment of U.S. forces out of the country. No matter whether the United States exercises what President Bush and U.S. Army General David Petraeus call “strategic patience”—an indefinite commitment of 140,000 U.S. troops—or begins a reduction and redeployment of U.S. forces, the lasting political accommodations necessary to produce a stable and democratic Iraq will not occur until the United States issues a definitive timeline for troop reduction. Only then will Iraq’s leaders work to find political solutions to the country’s instability. SOURCE: Center for American Progress Center for American Progress Fri, 16 May 2008 09:38:53 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24393 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24393 The Afghan War is not an unreported war in the media, but it is a largely unreported war in terms of useful, unclassified reporting by governments and NATO/ISAF. Only the UN has provided consistent analytic reporting on the progress of the war, and its reporting only goes into significant detail in the area of counternarcotics. The US government has cut back on its reporting over time, and its web pages now do little more that report on current events. Unlike the Iraq War, there is no Department of Defense quarterly report on the progress of the war, and on efforts to create effective Afghan security, governance, and development. There is no equivalent to the State Department weekly status report. Testimony to Congress, while useful, does not provide detailed statements or back up slide with maps, graphs, and other data on the course of the war. SOURCE: Center for Strategic and International Studies Center for Strategic and International Studies Thu, 15 May 2008 15:03:48 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24389 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24389 The main question at the core of this article is why do certain ethnic conflicts spread violently to neighboring countries and threaten regional stability, while others remain confined to their initial frontiers? Case studies of two ethnic conflicts that, despite having a high potential for regional diffusion, have followed different paths in their evolution, can provide useful insights regarding risk factors that enhance the diffusion potential of ethnic conflicts. The ethnic conflicts involving Serb and Albanian minorities in Macedonia and the conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan were chosen in order to test several exploratory hypotheses. SOURCE: Peace Studies Journal Peace Studies Journal Thu, 15 May 2008 14:53:05 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24387 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24387 This paper will focus on the continuing conditions of poverty within globality and poverty’s interrelation with violence and inequitable usages of capital. These conditions are both supported and maintained by systems contained within globality. Elite classes in the North and South (arguably the helm of globality) who control movements of capital, dissemble concern towards issues of poverty while maintaining systems that ensure both poverty and violence will continue, the most prominent systems being global capitalism and war (whether selling arms for, or fanning the flames of). This global overclass (see Rorty, 1999) responsible for major global economic decisions has subsumed nation-state politics and law resulting in political inaction that rarely contributes to any significant reductions in global poverty or global violence. However citizen-driven action and here ‘citizen’ refers specifically to those whose defining purpose is to make the world better than they found it (see Reardon 2001, Singer 2002 & Bauman 2006) has kept both the issues of poverty and violence against the unrepresented on governmental and international agendas, consistently demanding that the root causes of poverty and violence be tackled, and that a sustainable rights-driven agenda be adopted, one that correctly identifies poverty as violence against the urepresented. SOURCE: Peace Studies Journal Peace Studies Journal Thu, 15 May 2008 13:03:29 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24386 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24386 It seems possible that the Council will take up the situation in Lebanon in the coming days. The recent fighting in Beirut brought back memories of the Civil War and underlined to all how fragile the situation has become with the ongoing political crisis. An Arab League delegation is arriving in Beirut today to try to mediate between the two sides. The “Friends of Lebanon” have called for the immediate cessation of fighting. Some Council members are currently considering whether the Council can add its voice in a constructive way to reinforcing these initiatives and calming the crisis. However, at press time, the timing and the format of any Council action remained unclear. SOURCE: Security Council Report Security Council Report Thu, 15 May 2008 12:37:54 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24383 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24383 Hizbollah’s takeover of much of West Beirut began as a cost-of-living strike on 7 May 2008. Yet the course of events, their speed and ultimately violent turn exposed the true stakes. For almost four years, Lebanon has been in a crisis alternatively revolving around the government’s composition, its program, the international tribunal investigating Rafiq al-Hariri’s assassination, the choice of a new president and the electoral law. All attempts at peaceful resolution having failed, it has reverted, more dangerously than ever, to its origins: an existential struggle over Hizbollah’s arms. The government’s 14 May decision to reverse the measures – removal of the airport security chief and questioning Hizbollah’s parallel telephone system, a key part of its military apparatus, precipitated the crisis – is welcome as is the Arab League-mediated solution. The onus is now on all Lebanese parties to agree a package deal that breaks the political logjam and restricts how Hizbollah can use its military strength without disarming it for now. SOURCE: International Crisis Group International Crisis Group Thu, 15 May 2008 12:27:44 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24382 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24382 Military operations against armed opposition groups in Pakistan have displaced hundreds of thousands of people in recent months, according to the limited information available. While many of the internally displaced people (IDPs) have apparently been able to return to their areas of origin after an end to the fighting, others remain displaced with little access to hu-manitarian assistance. In the North West Frontier Province’s Swat Valley, conflict between an armed opposition group and the army led to Asia’s biggest new displacement in 2007, with between 400,000 and 900,000 people forced to flee their homes towards the end of the year. Many people re-turned as soon as possible, but some of them found their homes and property damaged. SOURCE: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre Thu, 15 May 2008 12:10:58 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24380 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24380 Two agreements signed since the end of 2007 offer some hope for an end to more than a decade of violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), even if fighting has continued and a lasting solution has yet to be found to the presence in the region of Rwandan Hutu rebels, according to analysts. Since the DRC government and various armed groups in the chronically unstable North Kivu province signed a ceasefire in January, the truce has been repeatedly violated and the number of displaced civilians in the province has increased. The ceasefire was one of the highlights of an ‘Act of Engagement’ signed on 23 January in Goma, capital of North Kivu province, where some 847,000 people are displaced. SOURCE: Integrated Regional Information Networks Integrated Regional Information Networks Thu, 15 May 2008 09:08:02 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24376 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24376 The paper, authored by Raspal Khosa, argues that Australia’s security interests are tied to the success of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission. The paper advances three key recommendations on how to increase the effectiveness of Australia’s commitment at little additional cost. First, we must focus on security sector reform by training competent Afghan security forces. Second, we must improve reconstruction and development efforts through better coordination of civil and military resources. Third, we must engage with Pakistan more closely to contain cross-border insurgent activity. The paper argues that the only way to expedite our withdrawal and protect our interests is to work towards a sustainable, democratic and secure Afghanistan. SOURCE: Australian Strategic Policy Institute Australian Strategic Policy Institute Wed, 14 May 2008 15:19:11 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24367 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24367 Ainsi donc le Royaume-Uni s’est enfin décidé à choisir le groupe industriel qui fournira la première tranche des plate-formes de son programme de forces médianes terrestres « Futur Rapid Effect System » (FRES) (tranche dite de plate-formes d’usage non spécifique, en fait de transport d’infanterie). Comme prévu de longue date par quelques-uns, c’est le groupe nord-américain General Dynamics qui a été désigné comme le concurrent préféré à l’issue d’une compétition au cours de laquelle, dans sa pénultième phase, trois concurrents se sont opposés ardemment. Naturellement, chacun d’entre eux avait de bonnes raisons de penser qu’aux plans militaire, technique et surtout politique son produit avait un avantage compétitif décisif. SOURCE: Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques Wed, 14 May 2008 14:01:54 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24364 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24364 Comprehensive stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan are not possible given the current fragmentation of responsibilities, narrow lines of authorities, and archaic funding mechanisms. Afghans are supportive of U.S. and international efforts, and there are occasional signs of progress, but the insurgent threat grows as U.S. military and civilian agencies and the international community struggle to bring stability to this volatile region. Integrated security, stabilization, and reconstruction activities must be implemented quickly and efficiently if failure is to be averted. Much more than a course correction is needed to provide tangible benefits to the population, develop effective leadership capacity in the government, and invest wisely in reconstruction that leads to sustainable economic growth. A proactive, comprehensive reconstruction and stabilization plan for Afghanistan is crucial to counter the regional terrorist insurgency, much as the Marshall Plan was necessary to combat the communist threat from the Soviet Union.1 This paper examines the health sector as a microcosm of the larger problems facing the United States and its allies in efforts to stabilize Afghanistan. SOURCE: Center for Technology and National Security Policy // National Defense University Center for Technology and National Security Policy // National Defense University Wed, 14 May 2008 12:38:00 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24352 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24352 Since the horrific events of 9/11, Western leaders have held up international terrorism as the greatest threat to world security. However, it is not enough to simply insist that terrorism is the greatest threat to the world, when the evidence does not support this claim. In fact, our research paints a very different picture of the fundamental threats that we all face, with these threats coming from four interconnected trends: 1) Climate change Displacement of peoples, severe natural disasters and food shortages, leading to much higher levels of migration, increased human suffering and greater social unrest. 2) Competition over resources Competition for increasingly scarce resources, especially from unstable parts of the world – such as oil from the Persian Gulf. 3) Marginalisation of the majority world Increasing socio-economic divisions and the marginalisation of the vast majority of the world’s population. 4) Global militarisation The increased use of military force and the further spread of military technologies (including weapons of WMD). SOURCE: Oxford Research Group Oxford Research Group Wed, 14 May 2008 12:22:22 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24350 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24350 Le risque d’une reprise des violences en Ituri est aujourd’hui limité du fait de la présence de la Mission des Nations unies (MONUC), du démantèlement de la plu­part des groupes armés et de la lassitude de la popu­la­tion après des années de souffrance et de destructions. Cependant, les problèmes de fond à l’origine des violences extrêmes qu’a connu le district pendant la guerre – un accès équitable à la terre et une gestion transparente des revenus issus de l’exploitation des ressources naturelles et minières – restent entiers. L’absence de réconciliation intercommunautaire et l’impunité pour la grande majorité des crimes commis pendant la guerre sont également extrêmement inquié­tants en perspective d’élections locales en 2009. Afin d’éviter toute reprise de la violence, dont les femmes seraient les premières à souffrir, les éléments fonda­men­taux d’une paix durable doivent être urgemment mis en place dans le cadre d’une stratégie intégrée impliquant les institutions nationales et provinciales avec le soutien actif de la MONUC et des bailleurs de fonds du Congo. SOURCE: International Crisis Group International Crisis Group Wed, 14 May 2008 12:04:38 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24344 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24344 The past week once again saw the international media intensely focus on the capture and death of prominent Islamist leaders. On May 8, hundreds of reports appeared that al-Qaeda’s commander in Iraq Abu Ayub al-Masri (a.k.a. Abu Hamza al-Muhajir) had been captured by U.S. and Iraqi forces in Mosul; this claim proved false (Telegraph, May 9). Then on May 11, Western media flocked to an al-Qaeda internet communiqué announcing that one of its senior field commanders, Abu Suleiman al-Otaibi, had been killed in Afghanistan in a “fierce battle with the worshippers of the cross” after returning from fighting in Iraq (Reuters, May 11). On the same day, the British media focused on the arrest at Manchester airport of an Islamist named Hassan Butt, who is reputed to have helped “200 British Muslims train for jihad” (Guardian, May 11). SOURCE: Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation Global Terrorism Analysis // The Jamestown Foundation Wed, 14 May 2008 11:48:38 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24341 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24341 The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 6 of Security Council resolution 1769 (2007), by which the Council requested me to report every 30 days on the status of financial, logistical and administrative arrangements for the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and on the extent of progress by UNAMID towards full operational capability. The report covers significant developments during the month of April 2008, including the security and humanitarian situation in Darfur. It also provides an update on the Darfur political process. SOURCE: United Nations Secretary General Report United Nations Secretary General Report Wed, 14 May 2008 11:08:23 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24336 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24336 Né en 1954 à Jérusalem, Moustapha Barghouti est médecin, formé dans les universités de Moscou, Jérusalem et Stanford. Il est secrétaire général d’Al-Mubadara (Initiative nationale palestinienne, INP), une organisation politique laïque. Il a été ministre de l’information dans le gouvernement palestinien d’union nationale constitué en 2007 après les élections législatives. Il fut aussi, en 2006, candidat à l’élection présidentielle. Il obtint un tiers des voix et se classa en seconde position, derrière le président actuel de l’Autorité palestinienne, M. Mahmoud Abbas. Leader de la principale organisation de Résistance de masse qui s’appuie sur la force de la non-violence, le Dr Barghouti a pour modèle de référence Gandhi, le père de l’indépendance de l’Inde, obtenue contre les Britanniques au moyen d’une stratégie de non-violence. Au sein d’une société palestinienne malmenée par six décennies de conflits, lasse de la corruption du Fatah et méfiante à l’égard du fondamentalisme religieux du Hamas, le soutien populaire, en particulier des couches laïques, aux thèses d’Al Mubadara se renforce sans cesse. SOURCE: Le Monde Diplomatique Le Monde Diplomatique Wed, 14 May 2008 10:25:02 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24332 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24332 Ce document porte sur le conflit des Grands Lacs en Afrique, qui a donné naissance au génocide rwandais en 1994 avant d'aboutir à l'affrontement de sept pays sur le même sol de la république démocratique du congo. Ces nombreux affrontements de plus de quarante ans qui ont opposé les hutu et les tutsi ont coûté beaucoup à l'Afrique, particulièrement sur le plan économique. Il a fallu attendre les années 2004 pour qu'un espoir de paix se fasse jour ; une paix à laquelle la communauté internationale veut apporter un timide soutien. Le portail propose également une rubrique "Repères", ainsi qu'une carte géographique du continent africain. Table des matières : Introduction I- Un conflit ancien 1.Hutu et Tutsi : 40 ans d'affrontements 2.Le génocide rwandais de 1994 3.Le premier conflit du Zaïre 1996-1997 II- La régionalisation du conflit 1998-2003 1.Sept pays en guerre sur le sol de la Rép. dém. du Congo (RDC) 2.Un conflit meurtrier 3.Le pillage des ressources naturelles III- La RDC entre paix et guerre depuis 2003 1.La transition démocratique 2.Persistance des violences SOURCE: La Documentation française, Paris, France La Documentation française, Paris, France Wed, 14 May 2008 10:22:14 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24331 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24331 U.S.-backed security operations in the southern Philippines are making progress but are also confusing counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency with dangerous implications for conflict in the region. The “Mindanao Model” – using classic counter-insurgency techniques to achieve counter-terror goals – has been directed against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and has helped force its fighters out of their traditional stronghold on Basilan. But it runs the risk of pushing them into the arms of the broader insurgencies in Mindanao, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The U.S. and the Philippines need to revive mechanisms to keep these conflicts apart and refocus energies on peace processes with these groups. That imperative has become particularly acute since the Malaysian government announced with­drawal, beginning on 10 May, from the International Monitoring Team (IMT) that has helped keep a lid on conflict since 2004. If renewed attention to a peace agreement is not forth­coming by the time the IMT mandate ends in August, hostilities could quickly resume. SOURCE: International Crisis Group International Crisis Group Wed, 14 May 2008 10:19:28 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24330 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24330 L'auteur fait une analyse de l'image négative présentée par l'Afrique sub-saharienne aux yeux non seulement des Occidentaux mais aussi des Africains eux-même. Il souligne l'existence d'une double vision. En effet, l'afropessimisme qui résulte des guerres et autres catastrophes prend de plus en plus le pas sur l'afrooptimisme qui a marqué les esprits au sortir des indépendances. Pour sortir cette région de son immobilisme, l'auteur présente quelques pistes de solutions notamment la maîtrise de l'expansion démographique et urbaine, le développement durable du monde rural et la formation. Il conclut en envisageant une renaissance de ce sous-continent qui passe par l’invention de son propre modèle de développement. SOURCE: Université de Perpignan. France Université de Perpignan. France Wed, 14 May 2008 10:01:53 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24328 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24328 L'adhésion des Africains au rejet de la guerre ne faisant aucun doute comme l'attestent le sens de leur vote à l'Assemblée générale des Nations Unies, les dispositions de la charte de l'O.U.A ainsi que les autres normes élaborées à cette fin, ce document cherche à comprendre les facteurs explicatifs de la persistance des conflits, et pose la question de savoir comment résoudre les conflits sur le continent. SOURCE: Université Cheikh Anta Diop. Faculté des Sciences juridiques et politiques. Dakar. Sénégal Université Cheikh Anta Diop. Faculté des Sciences juridiques et politiques. Dakar. Sénégal Tue, 13 May 2008 12:33:24 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24326 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24326 The risk of renewed violence in Ituri is limited today by the presence of the UN Mission in the Congo (MONUC), the dismantling of the majority of armed groups and the local population’s war weariness after years of suffering and destruction. To ensure lasting stabilisation, however, it is essential to tackle simultaneously the conflict’s root causes and abandon purely reactive or short-term approaches. Those root causes persist, including unequal access to land and unfair sharing of revenues from exploitation of natural resources. As local elections in 2009 approach, the absence of inter-community reconciliation and persistence of impunity for the majority of crimes committed during the war are also extremely worrying. To prevent new violence, which would affect women particularly, an integrated peacebuilding strategy has to be implemented, involving national and provincial institutions and with the active support of MONUC and donors. SOURCE: International Crisis Group International Crisis Group Tue, 13 May 2008 12:16:32 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24324 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24324 It has been three years since Uzbek government forces killed hundreds of unarmed protesters in the eastern city of Andijan on May 13, 2005, following an attack by armed men. Yet even today the government continues vigorously to seek out and persecute anyone it deems to have a connection to or information about the Andijan events. This is particularly true for many of the relatives of hundreds of persons who fled to Kyrgyzstan in the immediate aftermath of the massacre and were later resettled in third countries, as well as those who fled but later returned to Andijan. These groups remain under intense government pressure. They have been subjected to interrogations, constant surveillance, ostracism, and in at least one case an overt threat to life. As a result, three years after the massacre, government persecution continues to generate new refugees from Andijan. SOURCE: Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch Tue, 13 May 2008 11:56:38 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24323 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24323 The armed conflict and humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan has become a rallying cry for Western civil society, and is held to represent the worst series of ongoing human rights violations in the world today.Yet try as it might, the international community has not been able to stall the bloodshed, nor has the government in Khartoum shown great interest in pacifying the restive region. On Wednesday April 9, FRIDE held a closed seminar on international organisations’ response to the Darfur crisis. It is generally accepted that the outcome of the missions (UNAMID and EUFOR) in the region is highly unpredictable, and that the UN, the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) are facing one of the largest humanitarian crises of the 21st century, testing the credibility and reputation of all three organisations. SOURCE: Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior Tue, 13 May 2008 11:48:30 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24321 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24321 On 13 October 2005, the International Criminal Court unsealed warrants of arrest for five senior leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) for the forced conscription of children and other war crimes in northern Uganda. We compiled a database of 25,231 children and youth who had been registered by receptions centers in northern Uganda after their return from the LRA. Most of the LRA returnees were thirteen to eighteen years old (37 percent) and nineteen to thirty years old (24 percent). Twenty-four percent of the LRA returnees were female and 76 percent were male. The average length of abduction was 342 days, and the median number of days of abduction was ninety-two days. Among women aged nineteen to thirty years old, the average length of abduction was four and one half years. At the multivariate level, gender, age, and the interaction between them were associated with length of captivity (F-Statistic = 229.8, p-value = 0.0001). Using triangulation methods, we estimate the LRA abducted 54,000 to 75,000 people, including 25,000 to 38,000 children, into their ranks between 1986 and 2006. SOURCE: Human Rights Quarterly Human Rights Quarterly Tue, 13 May 2008 10:52:54 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24319 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24319 By deploying tanks and armoured engineers to Afghanistan in October 2006 and supporting the acquisition of the Leopard 2, the leadership of the Canadian Forces (CF) has acknowledged the importance of maintaining heavy armour in a balanced force. While the continued development of sensors and technology will be extremely important to achieving improved situational awareness (SA) on the battlefield, the hard-earned experiences of the Canadian Army and our allies in sustained combat in Afghanistan and Iraq have proven we must be prepared to get our hands dirty and come into physical contact with the enemy if we wish to define their strength, composition and intentions, and subsequently kill them. Canadian tanks and armoured engineers have better protected our dismounted infantry soldiers in Southern Afghanistan, allowing them to close with and destroy a fanatical and determined enemy in extremely complex terrain. SOURCE: The Canadian Army Journal The Canadian Army Journal Tue, 13 May 2008 10:43:22 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24318 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24318 In the final days of 1979, the Soviet Union, under the direction of the Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, invaded Afghanistan. Soviet Special Forces and KGB agents assaulted Tajbeg Palace and executed President Hafizullah Amin the evening of December 27th as Soviet ground forces started their entry across the northern border. Brezhnev had decided to intervene when it became clear that Soviet advisory and aviation support to the threatened Afghan government was insufficient. Recent governments had attempted to reform the country too rapidly, making Afghanistan vulnerable to an Islamic overthrow similar to that of Iran. This, combined with numerous other reasons, led Moscow to its decision. Soviet forces faced an immense challenge. It was presented with not only the vast and rough terrain of Afghanistan, but also by its xenophobic Islamic population, which at the time was in a state of civil war. Fighting from ambush sites inherited from their ancestors and aided by men and material from around the world, the Afghan mujahideen fought a protracted insurgency against the Soviets. Although Soviet military forces completed every military task they were assigned, the tactical victories combined to result in strategic failure. Analysis through the lens of an appropriate model clearly demonstrates why. SOURCE: The Canadian Army Journal The Canadian Army Journal Tue, 13 May 2008 10:25:03 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24317 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24317 As John F. Kennedy observed of the Vietnam War in 1962, this type of warfare is again at the centre of the present and future operating environment. The Canadian Forces (CF) in Afghanistan are attempting to bring stability to the country as it suffers such an insurgency, and this environment demands new approaches and new capabilities inspired by old lessons. With respect to ‘how’ Canada would engage such environments, its policy was made clear in April 2005. The government of the day stated that our approach to intervention on the international stage, and in Afghanistan in particular, would be based on a 3D + C (diplomacy + development + defence and commerce) model. This approach is one in which diplomacy, defence, and development work together to synchronize efforts, improve effectiveness, and maximize the impact of Canada’s contribution. It is an approach that demands a coherent policy and integrated activities by all elements of power within the government. SOURCE: The Canadian Army Journal The Canadian Army Journal Mon, 12 May 2008 14:59:22 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24311 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24311 The Central African Republic is striving to turn the page on decades of armed violence linked to mutinies, coups and attempted coups. Hundreds of thousands of civilians remain displaced, many of them unable, or too afraid, to farm their land. This is an overview of the various armed groups, government security forces and international military missions in the country. SOURCE: Integrated Regional Information Networks Integrated Regional Information Networks Mon, 12 May 2008 13:36:20 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24303 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24303 The brutality of the Khartoum regime's military actions in the Darfur region of western Sudan continually forces a question that seems to have no morally intelligible answer: Is there no act of civilian destruction so cruel, so savage, that the international community will finally respond vigorously and unambiguously? On May 4, at about 4 p.m., a school was bombed in the village of Shegeg Karo in North Darfur; one classroom was destroyed, killing six students and injuring others. The village marketplace was also bombed, killing several people and destroying most of the shops in this vestige of a shattered agricultural economy. SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor // Reeves, Eric Christian Science Monitor // Reeves, Eric Mon, 12 May 2008 13:08:12 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24300 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24300 In the spring of 1999, American political leaders debated how to respond to the ongoing military and humanitarian crisis in the Kosovo region of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, where armed Serbs under the control of then- Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic appeared to be conducting an ethnic cleansing campaign against the province’s predominantly Albanian population. Six months earlier in the fall of 1998, the Yugoslav army had forced members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), an armed separatist group comprised of ethnic Albanians, into the remote mountains of Kosovo, along with thousands of civilians. With winter approaching and the civilians in danger of freezing, the United States and other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) threatened attacks against Serb forces unless civilians were allowed to return to their homes unmolested. Serbian leaders relented and drew back their forces, but in March 1999 they launched yet another military campaign in defiance of international warnings. Once again, Albanian Kosovars fled the assault, this time in even greater numbers; thousands of refugees crossed into neighboring countries, recounting stories of summary executions and forced expulsions by Serbian forces. NATO responded on 24 March 1999, after the failure of negotiations in Rambouillet, France, by bombing Serbian targets for eleven consecutive weeks until Yugoslav forces finally withdrew from the province in early June. NATO ground troops then entered Kosovo and began escorting the refugees back to their homes. SOURCE: University of Ottawa // Paris, Roland University of Ottawa // Paris, Roland Mon, 12 May 2008 12:40:48 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24290 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24290 Kenya, a nation of about 36.9 million people, has been an important ally of the United States for decades. Kenya moved from a one-party state to a multi-party democracy in 1992. Kenyans voted in record numbers in the country’s first multiparty election in almost 26 years. President Daniel arap Moi defeated opposition candidates by a small margin. In 1997, Kenya held its second multi-party elections, at the height of tensions between the opposition and the ruling party. President Moi was re-elected with 40% of the votes cast, while his nearest rival, Mwai Kibaki, won 31%. In the 2002 presidential and parliamentary elections, the opposition National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) defeated the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU). In the presidential election, NARC leader Kibaki defeated Uhuru Kenyatta, the leader of KANU. SOURCE: Congressional Research Service Congressional Research Service Mon, 12 May 2008 12:39:17 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24289 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24289 Sudan, geographically the largest country in Africa, has been ravaged by civil war intermittently for four decades. More than 2 million people have died in Southern Sudan over the past two decades due to war-related causes and famine, and millions have been displaced from their homes. There were many failed attempts to end the civil war in southern Sudan, including efforts by Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, former President Jimmy Carter, and the United States. In July 2002, the Sudan government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) signed a peace framework agreement in Kenya. On May 26, 2004, the government of Sudan and the SPLM signed three protocols on Power Sharing, on the Nuba Mountains and southern Blue Nile, and on the long disputed Abyei area. The signing of these protocols resolved all outstanding issues between the parties. On June 5, 2004, the parties signed “the Nairobi Declaration on the Final Phase of Peace in the Sudan.” On January 9, 2005, the government of Sudan and the SPLM signed the final peace agreement at a ceremony held in Nairobi, Kenya. SOURCE: Congressional Research Service Congressional Research Service Fri, 09 May 2008 14:41:52 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24281 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24281 Pirates hijacked a record number of ships off the Somali coast this year, fighting in Mogadishu has driven hundreds of thousands from the city, and the aid workers that supply critical food and medical supplies to displaced Somalis are now targeted by Islamic insurgents (TIME). Yet perhaps the most telling indicator of Somalia’s deepening crisis is this: Not only has the country’s weak transitional government failed to protect civilians, according to a new report from Amnesty International, it routinely targets them. Somalia’s transitional federal government has tried to legitimize its hold over the country since December 2006, when Ethiopian troops invaded to oust the Islamic Courts Union, a fundamentalist militia. Some eighteen months later, the Ethiopian troops remain, the Islamist insurgency has intensified, and moderate elements of the Islamists that split from the courts are refusing to negotiate with the transitional government. As this Backgrounder describes, the transitional government is an amalgam of warlords vying for power. The United States has backed it in the hopes of eliminating the country’s Islamic extremists, but many experts say that strategy has led to further radicalization. SOURCE: Council on Foreign Relations Council on Foreign Relations Fri, 09 May 2008 11:28:17 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24276 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24276 While the field of cross-cultural assessment and treatment of the psychosocial effects of conflictrelated trauma is gaining increasing attention in the scientific literature, there is still enormous room for research and the development of ‘best practices’ in the discipline. The Technical Advisory Group meeting of August 1-2, 2000 was hosted by World Vision, co-facilitated with Johns Hopkins University and sponsored by CERTI (Linking Complex Emergencies Response and Transition Initiative, a program sponsored by USAID and others). The meeting was called to provide technical feedback on recent research initiatives conducted in Rwanda, and to discuss the best ways forward. Participants in the meeting represented World Vision, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, Columbia University, Tulane University, Randolph-Macon College, Christian Children’s Fund, the Commission on Mental Health Services (based in Washington DC) and the American Red Cross. The diversity in backgrounds among participants ensured that the process benefited from a broad spectrum of approaches and expertise. SOURCE: United States Agency for International Development // Complex Emergency Response Transition Initiative United States Agency for International Development // Complex Emergency Response Transition Initiative Fri, 09 May 2008 11:23:08 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24275 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24275 In the course of its 15-year effort to catalog what is now known about strategies for constructively handling destructive, intractable conflict, the Beyond Intractability project and its parent, the Conflict Information Consortium,* have identified a great many areas in which innovative, new approaches are desperately needed. This has led us to identify 20 broad challenges that we believe lie at the "frontier" of the conflict, peace, and security fields. While some of these challenges involve the acquisition of new knowledge, others focus on overcoming obstacles to the utilization of existing knowledge. After all, great ideas are of little value unless obstacles to their implementation can be overcome. SOURCE: Beyond Intractability Beyond Intractability Fri, 09 May 2008 11:15:48 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24272 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24272 The last decade of the twentieth century witnessed a profound change in the nature of conflict around the world. Observers celebrated the declining number of inter-state conflicts, just as a proliferation of complicated intra-state disputes, conflicts and emergencies began to take hold. These situations have presented an altogether different class of crisis, and in case after case the international community has been unable to recognize, forestall or even mitigate the effects of a rapid collapse in human security. In this paper we revisit the idea of human security. We argue that a narrow focus on material resources has prevented analysts from identifying the true sources of vulnerability or resilience in a population, and we set out a conceptual approach which pays due attention to the psychological and social bases of community stability. In other words, we aim to engage the recurring question of what makes conflict more likely in one place rather than another by exploring the underlying conditions or factors that support constructive coping mechanisms in the face of threats or hazards. How was it that peace could ‘break out’ in Mozambique, a hotbed of insurgency and ideological confrontation, while in Rwanda, long viewed as a model of development, unmanageable violence lay so close beneath the surface of society? SOURCE: United States Agency for International Development // Complex Emergency Response Transition Initiative United States Agency for International Development // Complex Emergency Response Transition Initiative Fri, 09 May 2008 11:12:36 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24271 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24271 This case study uses the analytical lens of human security to conduct a retrospective analysis of the conflict and humanitarian crisis of the last ten years (1991-2001) in Angola. This study develops a set of indicators to measure rising instability that might be effective for predicting conflict or crises in other settings. The close analysis of the situation in Angola also illustrates how an ex ante human security assessment might have improved the international community’s interpretation and possible response to the shifting conditions on the ground over the last decade of civil war. SOURCE: United States Agency for International Development // Complex Emergency Response Transition Initiative United States Agency for International Development // Complex Emergency Response Transition Initiative Fri, 09 May 2008 10:53:48 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24269 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24269 The Winter Supplementary Estimate presented by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) requests additional provision of £2,033 million, of which £1,919 million is to meet the estimated additional costs of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in the financial year 2007–08. The MoD waits until the Winter Supplementary Estimates (in November) to present to Parliament the estimated costs of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as the unpredictable nature of operations makes it difficult to forecast their cost with accuracy at the beginning of the financial year. We continue to argue that the estimated costs of military operations should be set out in the Main Estimates (in April); but, as a compromise, we recommend that the MoD provide in its estimates memorandum for the Main Estimates an account of its planning assumptions for the costs of military operations in the financial year ahead. SOURCE: United Kingdom House of Commons // Defence Committee United Kingdom House of Commons // Defence Committee