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Middle East

Vatican renews negotiations with Palestinians: Vatican officials met with representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Ramallah on January 29 to resume bilateral negotiations. The Vatican is seeking “a formal agreement regulating and promoting the presence and activity of the Catholic Church in the Palestinian territories,” according to the Catholic News Service. “[T]he talks took place in a positive atmosphere to strengthen further the special relations between the two sides,” a joint communiqué on the meeting said. The Vatican presented a draft agreement that both sides will look at before meeting at the Vatican “in the near future,” it said. The Vatican desperately wants control of Jerusalem, which makes such negotiations important to watch. For more information on its agenda in the area, read our article “Why Does the Vatican Want a Palestinian State?” from the latest print edition of the Trumpet magazine.

U.S. leaving Afghanistan earlier than planned: The United States has announced it will end its combat role in Afghanistan a year earlier than expected, apparently taking Kabul by surprise. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Wednesday that the U.S. would stop combat operations before the end of 2013. Washington had previously said it would withdraw most combat troops by the end of 2014. “A decision to push this a year earlier throws out the whole transition plan,” a senior Afghan security official told Reuters. “The transition has been planned against a timetable and this makes us rush all our preparations.” The announcement will assuredly provide a lift to the Taliban though, who are holding out for the day they can take over. In a classified report leaked to British media, nato says that the Taliban remain confident they can gain control of the country. “Taliban commanders, along with rank and file members, increasingly believe their control of Afghanistan is inevitable. Though the Taliban suffered severely in 2011, its strength, motivation, funding and tactical proficiency remains intact,” according to an excerpt of the report, published by the Times of London and the bbc.

Iran increasing support for terrorism: Iran is stepping up its support for international terrorism and intelligence operations against the U.S, the director of national intelligence told Congress on Tuesday. “The 2011 plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States shows that some Iranian officials—probably including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei—have changed their calculus and are now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived actions that threaten the regime,” James Clapper said in a statement to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Because of the low cost Iran had to pay for that plot, its leaders “have changed their calculus and are now more willing” to sponsor attacks against the U.S. at home and abroad, he said. He pointed out the danger posed by Iran’s nuclear program and its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, as well as its advancement of ballistic missiles. Iran is “expanding the scale, reach and sophistication of its ballistic missile forces, many of which are inherently capable of carrying a nuclear payload,” he said. Clapper also said Tehran “is attempting to undermine any strategic relationship” between the U.S. and the Afghan government. Other threats Clapper highlighted were those posed by al Qaeda’s regional affiliates in the Middle East and Africa, as well as by cyberespionage.