The World
The Enemy Can Surge, Too
It was the deadliest attack in the history of a storied division since the Vietnam War-and for American ground forces since December 2005, when a roadside bomb killed 10 marines near Fallujah. Suicide bombers last week drove two dump trucks into a patrol outpost in Iraq's Diyala province, killing nine 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers in the explosions and building collapse that followed.
The attack served as a stark warning that even as American troops "surge" into the capital in an effort to clamp down on violence, al Qaeda in Iraq is doing some surging of its own, say military officials. In a discussion with reporters after closed-door congressional meetings last week, the commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, pointed out that sectarian murders in Baghdad are one third of what they were in January. "Having said that," Petraeus added, "the ability of al Qaeda to conduct horrific" attacks "obviously has represented a setback."
Another comes in the realm of public opinion: Some 55 percent of Americans, according to an NBC poll, believe that victory in Iraq is no longer possible.
The Chill in U.S.-Russia Relations
Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, played to his tough-guy persona last week. In his annual address to parliament, Putin declared that Moscow will suspend its obligations under a post-Cold War conventional arms reduction treaty because of what the Kremlin regards as threatening moves by the United States and the NATO alliance. To the Russians, Putin's stand was presented as a bold pushback against encroachment by the western powers. But, alternatively, his action can be seen as evidence of Russian defensiveness, even weakness, as NATO has added members from the old Soviet sphere of influence and as the United States moves to extend limited missile defenses to eastern Europe.
The Bush administration had a chilly response-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Russian concerns about missile defenses "purely ludicrous"-though the administration unilaterally abandoned a key arms accord, the antiballistic missile treaty, in 2002 in order to pursue missile defense development.
From Bin Laden's Lair to Guantánamo
The CIA, after emptying its secret prisons last September, last week turned over to the Pentagon's Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention center a man said to be one of Osama bin Laden's top deputies, Abdul al-Hadi al-Iraqi. Officials said he was captured late last year as he was trying to return to his native country, Iraq, but gave few other details. Al-Hadi allegedly directed cross-border attacks from Pakistan against U.S. forces in Afghanistan and plots against al Qaeda opponents, including Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.
In a separate development, police in Saudi Arabia reported arresting 172 militants over a period of months. They allegedly were planning attacks on oil fields, refineries, prisons, and public figures in plots that included the use of aircraft.
The Politics of Abortion in Mexico
There were cheers-and tears-in the streets of Mexico's capital after Mexico City lawmakers voted 46 to 19 to legalize first-trimester abortions. Nationally, Mexico allows abortion only in instances of rape or severe birth defects, or if the mother's life is at risk. The new law requires the city's hospitals to provide the procedure, which will be almost free for the city's poor or uninsured residents. The city's predominantly leftist lawmakers defied pressure from Mexico's conservative president, Felipe Calderón, and threats of excommunication from Roman Catholic Church leaders. Abortion-rights groups say an estimated 200,000 women a year have illegal abortions in Mexico, and perhaps 2,000 women die as a result. Antiabortion groups plan to ask Mexico's Supreme Court to overturn the new law.
Pre-Olympics Mix: Sports and Politics
Despite Olympic ideals, it's tough to separate politics and sports. Example No. 1: The United States is inviting potential Olympic wrestlers and other athletes from Iran to train in America. But Iranian officials are balking because they dislike the post-9/11 regulation requiring foreign visitors to be fingerprinted. In January, an American wrestling team went to Iran to participate in a wrestling competition.
Example No. 2: The 85,000-mile Olympic Torch relay, a prelude to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, may skip a planned stop in Taiwan. The self-governing island, which China's leaders regard as a breakaway province, objects to being included as one of the roughly 100 domestic Chinese stops as opposed to being part of the international route for the torch. In addition, Tibetan rights groups object to plans for the torch to scale Mount Everest in the Himalayan region that China has controlled for more than half a century.
With Anna Mulrine and Associated Press
This story appears in the May 7, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.