NIGHTWATCH: China-India-Russia Confer on Afghanistan

China-India: Chinese media reported that India and China have agreed to start a dialogue on Afghanistan. An “in-principle” agreement on official-level dialogue has been reached and dates for the first meeting are being worked out. Earlier this week, Indian National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon travelled to Moscow for the first three-way dialogue between India, Russia …

NIGHTWATCH: French Handling of Mali an Indictment of US in Africa

Mali: Update. French airstrikes targeted the fuel depots and desert hideouts of Islamic extremists in northern Mali on Monday. A military spokeswoman said that French forces plan to hand control of Timbuktu to the Malian army this week. Five hundred French soldiers left Timbuktu on Monday, beginning a staged withdrawal. A group of Touareg rebels …

NIGHTWATCH: French Advance, Islamic Militant Tourism Up, Touaregs Discover Government Better than Islamists

Mali: On the fourth day of the French military action in Mali, Islamist rebels seized another town in southern Mali, but were driven out of Konna. French officials said Diabaly, 400km (250 miles) from the capital, Bamako, was taken in a counter-attack. French aircraft continued to bomb rebel gathering areas in the north and northeast. …

NIGHTWATCH: Afghanistan – Panetta Postures, Taliban Waits

Afghanistan: US Defense Secretary Panetta had talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the Pentagon on Thursday. Panetta told the media the two countries were “at the last chapter” in their effort to rebuild Afghanistan’s institutions and security. Panetta said, “We’ve come a long way towards a shared goal of establishing a nation that you …

NIGHTWATCH: Pakistan Nuances Not Understood — Same in Syria

Pakistan: Pakistani news outlets have denounced the death of Maulvi/Mullah Nazir by a US drone attack last week. A prominent national security commentator, Mahmood Jan Bar, said that “it is a loss for Pakistan.” Babar said Mullah Nazir and his supporters believed that “Pakistan is an Islamic country and no aggression is being carried out …

NIGHTWATCH: Restrospective Review of Global Trends 2010

NightWatch Special Comment: A Summary Evaluation of the National Intelligence Council’s report Global Trends 2010. Last week NightWatch promised to review the earliest Global Trends report it could find. The first report was published in 1997 and was entitled, Global Trends 2010. NightWatch has been spending a lot of time just trying to understand the …