NightWatch

For the Night of 30 September 2009

North Korea: For the record. The government in Pyongyang rejected U.N. Security Council Resolution 1887 on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, Xinhua reported 30 September, citing the KCNA news agency.

China: Reminder: 1 October is national day which featured a large military parade. President Hu presided.

Thailand: Update. The Royal Household issued its 11^th update on the King’s health. He is “greatly improved.” The National News Bureau broadcast,

“The Committee of Royal Physicians reported that His Majesty's general condition had greatly improved. He is currently able to consume more of his food and sleep better while his body temperature has returned to normal. His Majesty continues to receive physical therapy, intravenous nourishment and antibiotics.”

Based on the above, he nearly died and probably is not fully conscious. They would have said.

Pakistan-US: Responding to a statement but the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan which was published in The Washington Post that Pakistan's city of Quetta in Baluchistan province is a haven for Taliban militants, Pakistani military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said 30 September that "there are no Taliban in Baluchistan," Geo TV reported. Abbas said that, of the Quetta Shura leaders named by U.S. and Afghan officials, up to 10 of them have been killed, "two are in Afghanistan, and two are insignificant." He added that any statement that Taliban leader Mullah Omar is the "mayor of Quetta" is incorrect.

Major General Abbas is an able defender of the interests of the Pakistan Army, but his statement today is just plain false, bordering on comical. Omar and his advisors live near and operate from Quetta, just as certainly as Zawahiri and his merry men are in the Pakistani tribal area.

Russia-Iran: A spokesperson for President Medvedev said today that Russia’s position on Iran depends on Tehran's readiness to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Russia expects Iran to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog. The spokesperson also said Russia's position on the issue will depend on the outcome of the 1 October talks between Iran and the P-5+1 (Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Germany.

Some commentators suggested President Medvedev misspoke when he said Russia might support stronger sanctions against Iran. Today’s clarification contradicts those commentaries. On the other hand, as explained in a prior edition, NW judges Russia will not back strong sanctions.

European Union-Georgia: An EU-sponsored report concluded that the war in Georgia last year was started by a Georgian attack that was unjustified by international law, the BBC reported today.

The attack came after months of provocation and both Russia and Georgia violated international law, according to the report. Georgia claimed the investigation revealed that Russia had been preparing for the war well before it began.

There are no surprises here. President Saakashvili and whoever was advising him gambled on a NATO bailout and lost two provinces because they guessed wrong.

Saudi Arabia: For the record. An influential Saudi cleric criticized a new Saudi university for allowing men and women to take classes together, The Associated Press reported. Sheikh Saad Bin Naser al-Sheshri, a member of Supreme Council of Islamic Scholars, told the Al-Watan daily that coeducational classes at the new King Abdullah Science and Technology University should end.

Women have the power to modernize Saudi Arabian social mores. And they will.

Also for the record. Saudi Arabia officially and vehemently denied a British press report that it had given Israel overflight permission for an attack against Iran.

Somalia: A spokesman for the Shura council of Hezbal Islam told a press conference today that if fighting begins in Kismayo it will spread into all areas controlled by either Hezbal Islam or al Shabaab, the African Press Agency reported. "We want to tell them that a very big war will erupt if they fire even a single pistol bullet," the spokesman said.

Al Shabaab lost control of Kismayo to another Islamist group. Fratricide in al Shabaab’s rear affords some relief to the transitional government in Mogadishu plus the African Union forces and clan militias that support it. The threat to Mogadishu has diminished, though the risk has not changed.

End of NightWatch for 30 September.