McClatchy report.

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of Afghanistan's most brutal Islamist warlords, is holding tentative peace talks with the government of Afghanistan that could cause a split in the Taliban-led insurgency, Afghan politicians in Kabul said Wednesday.

Clive Stafford Smith in the Guardian's "Comment is Free".

Since I am not as temperate as a judge, I would not characterise the arguments made by Miliband as "irrational": after beginning with the term "foolish," I fear I would descend to epithets unfit to publish here. Suppressing any evidence of government criminality on grounds of national security sets a very dangerous precedent.

Guardian report, linking to the Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil & Energy Security report.

In the years approaching the credit crunch, whistleblowers were limited to a few insightful economists and financial journalists. Now whistles are blowing again about another grave threat to the global economy and the security of nations. They warn of an oil crunch: an unexpected crash in global production such that supply can no longer meet demand, even if China and India throttle back.

From the Registan blog.

Now that we are, finally, attacking an area we've been promising to attack since last October, the media is dutifully reporting on it. And by "reporting," I really mean "repeating whatever the nearest uniform happens to mumble about it." Because really, why should anyone there or in the home office check easily checked facts about Afghanistan? What matters is getting the story out, even if most of it is ISAF deliberately trying to spin a specific version of reality. So with that in mind, let's talk myths!

Trita Parsi and Alireza Nader in Foreign Policy.

History shows that intervention is easier said than done. Past U.S. attempts to sway Iranian internal affairs -- such as the CIA-fomented 1953 coup d'état against a democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mossadegh -- have proven costly for U.S. interests. Most notably, Washington's support for the shah fueled the 1979 Islamic Revolution, inspiring anti-Western movements in Pakistan, Egypt, and beyond.

Haaretz report.

Four-star General Kevin Chilton was in Israel last week. He is head of the U.S. Strategic Command, whose sphere of operations includes responsibility for missiles on submarines and in underground silos, as well as bombers and satellites, and computer-network warfare. If American forces were to take part in an offensive campaign against Iran, Chilton would play a significant part in preparing them for battle and in long-distance missile launches, although responsibility for the theater itself would be retained by Gen. David Petraeus, of Central Command.

Reuters report.

The U.S. military released a Reuters photographer in Iraq on Wednesday after holding him for almost a year and a half without charge.

Herald report.

A Scottish Muslim accused of being a "wannabe suicide bomber" has attacked the justice system for criminalising "thought crime" and destroying his family's reputation.

Mohammed Atif Siddique, a student from Alva in Clackmannanshire, spoke out as he walked free from court yesterday after judges overturned his conviction on a terrorism charge.

Juan Cole comments.

McClatchy's Saeed Shah reports that only about 1200 residents have fled the Afghan city of Marjah in Nad Ali district, ahead of a major NATO/ Afghan invasion planned for later this week. The city of 80,000 is controlled by some 2000 Taliban fighters and there are many heroin labs, the profits of which help to support the Taliban.

...

The refusal of locals to leave in any large numbers may be what prompted US commanders to begin telling the people of Marjah to 'stay inside their homes' and stay out of the way of the fighting. This message is a 180 degree reversal of the earlier message, that locals should leave.

Guardian report.

Public sector workers across Greece have begun a nationwide one-day strike in protest at the austerity measures being implemented to try to address the country's financial crisis.

Guardian article.

Three of Britain's most senior judges have ordered the government to reveal evidence of MI5 and MI6 complicity in the torture of British resident Binyam Mohamed -- unanimously dismissing objections by David Miliband, the foreign secretary.

Independent report.

Free-market, anti-climate change think-tanks such as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation in the US and the International Policy Network in the UK have received grants totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds from the multinational energy company ExxonMobil. Both organisations have funded international seminars pulling together climate change deniers from across the globe.

The Leveretts comment.

Amidst the bravado surrounding President Ahmadinejad's announcement that Iran will start enriching uranium to 20 per cent purity, the Financial Times reported yesterday that China has passed the European Union as Iran's largest trading partner.

...

The finding is indicative of a broader trend: China's growing willingness to work with the Islamic Republic, despite objections from the United States and Europe.

In Foreign Policy.

They're back! The "Bomb Iran" crowd is making a big return to the political center stage after months of puzzlement over what to do about developments in the Islamic Republic. Hawks such as Daniel Pipes and John Bolton are arguing that Iran is dead-set on its pursuit of a nuclear arsenal -- and point to developments such as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's announcement this weekend that Iran would enrich its uranium stocks to 20 percent to argue that diplomatic avenues have reached a dead end.

The Leveretts comment.

Today, however, Tehran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) -- and President Ahmadinejad announced publicly yesterday -- that Iran would begin working to enrich its own uranium to the near-20 percent level required to fabricate new fuel for the TRR.

In response to this announcement, the Obama Administration and its European partners have been flailing like the proverbial headless chicken.

Reuters report.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates spoke to leaders in Turkey, Italy and France about the "urgent need" to move forward on sanctions as soon as possible, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters.