Roguely Stated

A roundup of the day’s national and international security news: Contractor deaths in Iraq soar, Blair visits Baghdad amid Green Zone strikes, Fatah/Hamas ceasefire reported, House looks to fund Israeli missile defense, opium addiction grows in Afghanistan, Venezuela and Russia seek to stifle dissent, and Russia talks nukes with Burma.

[NYT] More than 12,000 contractors wounded in Iraq, nearly 1,000 killed.

[NYT] Blair makes his farewell visit to Iraq amid Green Zone strikes.

[AFP, Al-Jazeera] Reports: for the 5th time this week, a ceasefire has been agreed to in Fatah/Hamas fighting.

[Al-Jazeerah, JPost] The House has included $205m for Israeli missile defense in a new spending package.

[Al-Jazeerah] Afghanistan’s addiction to opium is growing.

[IHT] Muffling dissent, Chavez government pulls license of opposition TV station. Supreme Court declines to intervene. Russia also moves against journalists.

[Democratic Voice of Burma] Russia and Burma talk nukes, but only preliminarily. FP|Passport: watch closely.

Tags: Afghanistan, Blair, Burma, Chavez, Contractors, Fatah, Green Zone, Hamas, Iraq, Israel, Missile Defense, Nukes, Opium, Palestine, Putin, Russia, Venezuela
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