Roguely Stated

A roundup of the day’s national and international security news: Dems spar over Iraq, worrisome assessment of Baghdad security, Pakistan and China increase censorship, and Putin talks tough.

[AP] Democratic presidential candidates spar over Iraq in a televised debate.

[NYT] An internal military “assessment, completed in late May, found that American and Iraqi forces were able to ‘protect the population’ and ‘maintain physical influence over’ only 146 of the 457 Baghdad neighborhoods.”

[NYT] Amb. Crocker says stabilizing Iraq “will take a lot longer than September,” in response to LTG Sanchez, who said the U.S. could, at best, achieve “a stalemate — if you will — not a stalemate, but at least stave off defeat.”

[WaPo] Pakistan’s Musharraf cracks down on TV stations covering the chief justice crisis.

[NYT] Former Prime Minister Bhutto hinted she may return to Pakistan.

[AP] Putin threatens to aim missiles at U.S. bases in Europe if America continues its planned missile defense system.  Iran weighs in.

[Army Times] SecDef Gates claims progress in Afghanistan.

[WaPo] China freezes licensing of new Internet cafes to conduct nation-wide inspections.