On the heels of the outcry over the Blackwater massacre, comes another atrocity by a private contractor in Iraq. A particular ugly irony is that this time the victims were members of one of Iraq's threatened minorities—the Armenians, whose very precarious existence in Iraq largely goes unnoticed by the outside world. The painful irony is compounded by the Bush administrations' ongoing betrayal of the historical memory of the World War I-era Armenian genocide, which is once again in the headlines at the moment. From AP, Oct. 11:

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, speaking to the Association of the United States Army in Washington DC Oct. 10, said the US Army of the future will need to concentrate more on training foreign militaries, mastering other languages and customs, and honing its ability to fight small insurgent forces. (AP, Oct. 10). Calling the post-9-11 War on Terrorism "our first protracted conflict with an all-volunteer force since the American Revolution," Gates outlined the challenges facing US forces as this pattern extends indefinitely into the future. Some excerpts from the text, which is online at Defenselink.mil:

Pakistani soldiers and tribal fighters in North Waziristan are observing an unofficial ceasefire while tribesmen bury their fallen killed in air raids. At least 250, including dozens of soldiers, have died and thousands have fled in five days of fierce battles. Residents say up to 50 were killed in Oct. 9 air strikes, some while shopping at a village bazaar. (AlJazeera, Oct. 10) The fighting pitted militants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the Pashtun tribal force led by Baitullah Meshud against Pakistani army and paramilitary forces. A jirga of leading North Waziristan clerics led by a former member of the National Assembly, Maulana Nek Zaman Haqqani, following day-long negotiations received the bodies of 30 slain soldiers from the jihadis and handed them over to military officials. The clashes, centered on the Mir Ali area, started after the Uzbek fighters ambushed a security forces convoy Oct. 6. (Rediff, India, Oct. 10)

Just a week after Baghdad and Ankara made a public show of pledging cooperation against the PKK, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his military staff Oct. 9 for the first time formally approved unilateral incursions into Iraqi territory to route the Kurdish separatist guerillas. “To put an end to the terrorist organization operating in Iraq, the order has been given to take every kind of measure, legal, economic, political, including also a cross-border operation if necessary," said an official statement issued after the security summit in Ankara. The decision came after 15 Turkish soldiers were killed in guerilla attacks Oct. 7 and 8. The White House reacted by again stressing the need for co-operation between the US, Turkey and Iraq. (AKI, Italy, Oct. 9)

Turkey reacted angrily to the Oct. 10 vote by the House Foreign Relations Committee approving a measure that condemns the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey during World War I as an act of genocide. Said President Abdullah Gul in a statement to the Anatolian News Agency: "Unfortunately, some politicians in the United States have once more dismissed calls for common sense, and made an attempt to sacrifice big issues for minor domestic political games. This is not a type of attitude that works to the benefit of, and suits, representatives of a great power like the Unites States of America. This unacceptable decision of the committee, like similar ones in the past, has no validity and is not worthy of the respect of the Turkish people." Turkey has recalled its ambassador in Washington for consultations on the issue. (NYT, Oct. 12) The White House lobbied heavily against the measure, arguing with refreshing blatancy that historical memory should take a back seat to realpolitik. From an AFP account, Oct. 10:

Former Buenos Aires provincial police chaplain Christian von Wernich was sentenced to life imprisonment Oct. 9 for crimes against humanity committed under the 1976-83 military dictatorship. Human Rights Secretrary Eduardo L. Duhalde hailed the verdict as "historic and strictly legal." The first clergyman to be convicted in atrocities carried out during Argentina's "dirty war" against left-wing dissidents, von Wernich was found guilty of every charge against him, including seven counts of murder (as "co-author"), 41 of kidnapping and 32 of torture.

In several radio interviews Oct. 9, Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe charged the country's Supreme Court offered benefits including a reduced sentence to imprisoned paramilitary commander José Moncada in exchange for testifying that the president ordered the killing of another incarcerated paramilitary boss, Alcides de Jesús Durango, in 2003. Uribe released a letter he received from Moncada in which he claimed he was bribed into making the charge. Uribe said he called a Supreme Court justice to discuss the matter and asked his prosecutor general to investigate. Supreme Court president Cesar Valencia dismissed Moncada's accusation and said Uribe was "obstructing the court's investigative work" and trying to "delegitimize" the institution.

On Oct. 10, rural popular organizations mobilized in several regions of Colombia, marching towards the capitals of their respective departments. They are protesting the pending free trade agreement with the United States, legislation which would roll back Colombia's agrarian reform program, and continuing repression by the army and paramilitary groups. Among their demands are the resignation of President Alvaro Uribe. Tens of thousands are said to be participating. The call for the protests was put out by the Campesino Association of the Cimitarra Valley (ACVC). (IMC, Oct. 9)