News of the Day for Sunday, February 26, 2012

Afghan authorities say they suspect a "police intelligence officer", Abdul Saboor, in the killing of two U.S. army officers inside the Afghan Interior Ministry on Saturday. He is at large.

In response to the incident, ISAF Commander Gen. John Allen ordered all NATO forces withdrawn from posts in Afghan ministries.

President Hamid Karzai appeals for calm in the midst of demonstrations of outrage around the country following burning of Korans by U.S. forces at Bagram Air Base. About 30 people have been killed in various incidents, mostly Afghan demonstrators, but including 4 U.S. troops whose deaths are attributed to anger over the incident.

A U.S. drone aircraft has crashed in Pakistan's North Waziristan territory. Local militants have seized the wreckage.

A provincial official says 3 civilians, including 2 children were killed and 4 injured in a French air strike in Kapisa province.

ISAF says it has captured an important Taliban leader in Kandahar province.

Editor's Note: We are generally reticent here but I do feel compelled to comment on the current situation. American reporters dutifully follow orders and always refer to the "accidental" or "unintentional" burning of copies of the Koran by U.S. forces. In fact, we don't know exactly how or why this happened but it could hardly have been unintentional. It may well have been done without malice, out of ignorance and stupidity. But one must ask how it is possible, after 10 years of occupying the country, that the U.S. military still cannot seem to train and discipline its forces to understand and respect local culture and customs. As of now, it should be obvious to everyone that the U.S. project in Afghanistan is hopeless and pointless. It has already done irreparable damage. The longer it goes on, the worse it will get. -- C

Iraq Update

Muqtada al-Sadr attacks PM Maliki as a "dictator" hungry for acclaim.

And wouldn't you know it, Deputy PM Deputy PM Saleh al-Mutlaq of the Iraqiya (Sunni) bloc says the same thing, and refuses to apologize for it in an extensive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.

Iraqis rally to mark the one year anniversary of a demonstration in which security forces killed 16 people.