Chief Constable warns terror fight will take decades
The British government’s plan to tackle violent extremism will require decades to take effect, a top police officer has said. The Prevent strategy, forged after the 2005 London bombings, aims to work with communities to avert terrorism. But West Yorkshire Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison told the BBC Two’s Generation Jihad programme it would take “probably 20 years” to bear fruit. He added the UK’s whole community including Muslims “could do more” to fight against extremism. MI5 estimates there are about 2,000 Muslims living in the UK who pose a potential terrorist threat – plus an unknown number who sympathise with extremist ideology.

U.S. missile defense aimed at Russia
The U.S. missile defense plan in Europe is directed at Russia and should be included in the talks on a new arms control deal, Russia’s top general said on Tuesday. “The development and deployment of the missile defense system is aimed at Russia,” Russia’s armed forces chief of staff, Gen. Nikolai Makarov, said in televised remarks. “Despite statements from officials that it will ensure our security, this is not the case,” he said. Russia had a negative assessment of the U.S. plan, which could weaken its strategic deterrence potential, he said. Makarov also blamed disputes over whether a new document should demonstrate links between offensive and defensive weapons for delays in signing a successor to the expired Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The plan must be part of the negotiations on a new arms reduction treaty, he said. Romania last week agreed to host anti-ballistic missile interceptors on its soil as part of the revamped U.S. missile shield.

Somali jihadis warn government against offensive
Somali Islamist on Tuesday warned Somalia’s transitional government against a planned offensive, saying it faced defeat. Hezb al-Islam militia and Al Shebab fighters said that the government and the African Union (AU) peacekeepers backing the regime will “regret” raiding them. “Our fighters are confident they will defeat the enemy of Allah however they are prepared and whatever they have with them. Allah will help us win the battle,” said Mohamed Osman Arus, the Hezb al-Islam spokesman. “We have information on the planned offensive by the apostate government against the positions we control here in Mogadishu and other regions as well, and we are fully prepared to counter-attack them,” he told AFP. The two jihadi groups seized much of Mogadishu from the government in fierce battles launched last May aimed at toppling the American backed Somali government. With the help of the AU troops, the government controls just a small area and strategic sites in Mogadishu where it continues to come under relentless attack . “Our position is clear and we are always well prepared to defend our religion from any attack,” Shebab spokesman Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage said Monday. “The preparations that the apostates are making is not new to us. They always vow to wage final war against us and it never happens,” he added.

Jewish state worried about its relationship with Turkey
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said yesterday that Israel would strive to salvage its strained relations with Turkey, despite Ankara’s “weekly” condemnations. “To sharply condemn Israel every week, to say Israeli military forces have carried out genocide, to call operations to protect our citizens ‘a crime against humanity,'” Lieberman said at the start of a three-day visit to Azerbaijan. “This sharp anti-Israeli line cannot be repeated every week.” “For 10 years we have supported very close and friendly relations with Turkey,” Lieberman said. “The recent changes in Turkey’s foreign policy concepts were unexpected and not entirely clear. We hope Turkey will make certain amendments to its foreign policy.” Tension flared last month after Lieberman’s deputy, Danny Ayalon, humiliated Turkish envoy Ahmet Oguz Celikkol during a meeting to protest an anti-Israel television program airing in Turkey. Ayalon told photographers in Hebrew: “Pay attention that he is sitting in a lower chair and we are in the higher ones, that there is only an Israeli flag on the table and that we are not smiling.”

Obama promises tough sanctions against Iran
US President Barack Obama has said the US and its allies are developing a “significant regime of sanctions” against Iran for its nuclear programme. He said the international community was unified over Iran’s “misbehaviour”. Speaking in Washington, he said despite Tehran’s denials, it was clear Iran was working to build nuclear weapons. His remarks came after Iranian state media reported that Iran had started the process of enriching uranium to 20% for use in a medical research reactor. Obama also said he was pleased at Russia’s quick disapproval of Iran’s latest move. But he said it was unclear how China would respond to a new push at the UN Security Council for another round of sanctions against Iran. China, a UN Security Council member, has called for further talks over the issue. China and Russia have been reluctant in the past to support international sanctions against Iran.

Pakistan offers Taliban talks to stem Indian influence
Pakistan has offered to mediate with Taliban factions in return for a friendly Afghanistan and ways to stem the growing Indian presence the New York Times reported citing Pakistani and American officials. Pakistan has told the US it wants a central role in resolving the Afghan war and has offered to mediate with Taliban factions who use its territory and have long served as its allies, the influential US daily said in a report from Islamabad on Wednesday. The offer, aimed at preserving Pakistan’s influence in Afghanistan once the Americans leave, could both help and hurt American interests as Washington debates reconciling with the Taliban, it said. “Pakistan’s army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, made clear Pakistan’s willingness to mediate at a meeting late last month at NATO headquarters with top American military officials,” the Times said citing a senior American military official familiar with the meeting. “The Pakistani offer makes clear that any stable solution to the war will have to take into account Afghanistan’s neighbours, in a region where Pakistan, India, China, Iran and others all jostle for power,” it said. What the Pakistanis can offer is their influence over the Taliban network of Jalaluddin and Siraj Haqqani, whose forces American commanders say are the most lethal battling American and NATO soldiers in Afghanistan. “In return for trying to rein in the Haqqanis, Pakistan will be looking for a friendly Afghanistan and for ways to stem the growing Indian presence there,” the Times said citing Pakistani and American officials.