“I recently arrived here in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, to be with the best and most experienced military in the history of the world. These young men and women are doing extraordinary work for our country and I’m honored to share their stories with you.

Our brave men and women in uniform are enduring 100 degree heat in the deserts of Afghanistan, protecting our freedom and ensuring that terrorists won’t be allowed to establish a safe haven in this country. They are working hard on our behalf, and we should do all we can to help them.

Please help Freedom Alliance with a generous gift as they support our men and women in uniform.”

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By LARA JAKES

Qais al-Khazali, then the top aide of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and leader of a militant group called Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or League of the Righteous, inspects the damage after overnight fighting in Najaf, Iraq.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Shiite militias backed by Iran have ramped up attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq, making June the deadliest month in two years for American forces. The militiamen’s goal is to prevent the U.S. military from extending its presence in the country past the end of this year.

Three separate militias have been involved in the attacks, particularly a small but deadly group known as the Hezbollah Brigades, believed to be funded and trained by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard and its special operations wing, the Quds Force.

The militia attacks — mainly in the Shiite heartland in southern Iraq — raise the prospect of increased violence against Americans if a residual U.S. force remains in the country past 2011, a possibility being considered by the Baghdad government to help maintain a still fragile security.

They also point to the persistent efforts by Shiite-majority Iran, the United States’ top regional rival, to influence Iraq after the Americans’ exit.

In the latest American deaths, a senior U.S. official in Baghdad said Thursday that three U.S. troops were killed a day earlier when a huge rocket known as an IRAM struck a remote desert base just a few miles (kilometers) from the Iranian border in Iraq’s southern Wasit province.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jRnM0IQ0agf01gntM3RCEAAoJ4Kw?docId=eed0694eef7e4e0c9f0536dfaa60fd65

“A heavily armed commando executed the police chief of Santa Catarina, Germain Perez Quiroz. He was gunned down inside his own office at the police headquarters of the agency located in community of Infonavit La Huasteca.

At 1530 hours about 15 masked men on board at least three late model trucks and two cars entered the front door of the police station and threatened employees inside until they located the police chief.

Witnesses mentioned that the attackers were wearing badges similar to those used by police.

Following the murder the gunmen took three municipal police officers hostage and were ultimately abducted at gunpoint, their whereabouts are presently unknown.”

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/

RAWALPINDI: Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar said on Wednesday that Pakistan has told the United States to leave “drone” airbase.

“We have told them (the US officials) to leave the Shamsi airbase,” said the minister while talking to journalists at his office. He said the trust between the US and Pakistan had reduced to a great extent after the May 2 incident. “This mistrust could be reduced by sitting together and taking joint actions.”

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\06\30\story_30-6-2011_pg1_2

“… Where does this leave us, or more importantly, lead us? As much as Obama has a visceral dislike for war and, unlike George W Bush, is not trigger-happy, he has made up his mind that he will not be gun shy when it comes to enforcing the key elements of his plan to end the war in Afghanistan, which means tossing away the counterinsurgency (COIN) in Afghanistan, in favour of a counter-terrorism effort along the Durand Line.

Buoyed by the results of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, Obama will not reinvent the wheel and intends to apply the same model for both the Haqqani network and the ‘irreconcilable’ Afghan Taliban. The primary US focus will now be on the Pakistan-supported insurgents.

Contrarily, Pakistan is tempted to wait out the US and may overplay its hand while trying to hedge its bets in Afghanistan. The inaction against the militant safe havens in North Waziristan (NW) and the talk about military action in the Kurram Agency suggest no course correction on the part of Pakistan.

Reports from Upper Kurram state that the locals are being asked by Pakistani security agencies to disarm, effectively leaving them at the mercy of the Haqqani network and its affiliates. It is unlikely that the Turi and Bangash tribes will disarm and become sitting ducks for the jihadists.

The chaos that can ensue, including massive internal displacement of people, provides an opportunity for the Pakistani establishment to retract and hide its proxies in the affected areas, as they become more vulnerable in NW and along the Durand Line.”

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\06\30\story_30-6-2011_pg3_2

A uranium disc intended for use in the manufacture of nuclear weapons, worth approximately $200,000 Photo: CORBIS

“Six people have been detained for smuggling an unspecified amount of the form of uranium that can be used to make a nuclear weapon, an official said on Wednesday.

Interior Ministry official Vitalie Briceag said the uranium-235 was brought in from Russia. He said the smugglers were trying to sell it to a North African country for €20 million (£18 million).

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/moldova/8607235/Six-people-arrested-in-Moldova-over-bomb-grade-uranium.html

By Lena Groeger

“When Clay Hunt returned home to Texas after two combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, the struggle didn’t end. Tormented by flashbacks and post-traumatic stress, he sought medical help from the Department of Veteran Affairs – but faced a pile of paperwork. While waiting for help, he turned his energy towards helping his fellow veterans, raising money for the wounded and appearing in public service announcements for veterans struggling, like him, with the psychological trauma of war.

Hunt took his own life on March 31, 2011. His disability checks arrived five weeks later.

Tragically, Clay’s story is not unique.”

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/06/veterans-die-red-tape/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29

By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent

Earlier this month, William Hague announced new sanctions against Iran Photo: PA

“Iran has carried out secret tests of nuclear missiles, Britain has claimed, drawing an angry denial from Tehran.

The claim comes as the Iranian regime mounts a visible show of its military technology with 10 days of missile tests. One tested this week was capable of reaching Israel or the Gulf states.

Mr Hague told the Commons that Iran “has been carrying out covert ballistic missile tests and rocket launches, including testing missiles capable of delivering a nuclear payload”.

Those tests were in clear contravention of United Nations Security Council resolutions forbidding Iran from developing a military nuclear programme, he said.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/8606973/Iran-carrying-out-secret-nuclear-missile-tests.html