Headlines:

• Russia Warns Saudi Arabia against Giving Rebels Missiles

• Iraqi Leaders Give Conflicting Answers on Reported Iran Arms Deal

• US Planning Full Afghan Pullout, Obama tells Karzai

• Pakistan to Launch Military Campaign against Taliban

Details:

Russia Warns Saudi Arabia against Giving Rebels Missiles

Tuesday, Russia warned Saudi Arabia against supplying Syrian rebels with shoulder-launched missile launchers, saying such a move would endanger security across the Middle East and beyond. Russian Foreign Ministry said that it was "deeply concerned" by news reports that Saudi Arabia was planning to buy Pakistani-made shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles and anti-tank systems for armed Syrian rebels based in Jordan. It said that the aim was to alter the balance of power in a planned spring offensive by rebels on the regime of President Bashar Assad. "If this sensitive weapon falls into the hands of extremists and terrorists who have flooded Syria, there is a great probability that in the end it will be used far from the borders of this Middle Eastern country." Long-existing tensions between Russia and Saudi Arabia have intensified further as a result of the Syria conflict, with Moscow standing by Assad but Riyadh offering open support for the rebels. [The Daily Star Lebanon]

Iraqi Leaders Give Conflicting Answers on Reported Iran Arms Deal

Iraqi officials gave contradictory accounts on Tuesday about whether or not Baghdad had agreed to buy $195 million worth of arms and ammunition from Iran as reported by Reuters, a deal that if confirmed could damage Iraqi-US relations. The Defence Ministry denied any such deal had been done, while a senior Iraqi government lawmaker who heads parliament's security and defence committee said Baghdad had bought "some light weapons and ammunition" from Tehran. The United States has demanded explanations from Iraq since such a deal would violate US and UN sanctions imposed on Iran over its disputed nuclear program. An influential US senator said the sale of 24 Apache attack helicopters to Iraq should be reconsidered until the matter was cleared up. The United States has supplied weaponry to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government to help it combat al Qaeda militants and related splinter groups. However, Maliki's Shi'ite Muslim-dominated government has strong relations with Iran, the biggest regional Shi'ite power. Washington has been vying with Tehran for influence in Iraq since the 2003 fall of Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein to a US-led invasion. The last US troops left Iraq in December 2011. Reuters, citing documents it had obtained, reported on Monday that Iraq struck the arms deal with Iran at the end of November after Maliki returned from Washington where he had lobbied for extra weapons to fight al-Qaeda. Some in Washington worry about providing sensitive US military equipment to a country they worry is becoming too close to Iran. Several Iraqi lawmakers said Maliki had made the deal because he was fed up with delays in US arms deliveries. [Source: Reuters]

US Planning Full Afghan Pullout, Obama Tells Karzai

President Barack Obama has warned his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai that the US may pull all of its troops out of his country by the year's end. Mr Obama conveyed the message in a phone call to Mr Karzai, who has refused to sign a security agreement. The US insists this agreement must be in place before it commits to leaving some troops behind for counter-insurgent operations and training. The US has had troops in Afghanistan since 2001 when it toppled the Taliban. Its forces went into the country following the 9/11 attacks on the US. With Afghan and Western allies, they quickly overthrew the Taliban authorities, but have faced insurgent attacks since then. Correspondents say the disagreement over the bilateral security agreement (BSA) is the latest step in the long and deteriorating relationship between Washington and Mr Karzai, who was once seen as a key US ally. The BSA, which offers legal protection for US troops and defines a post-2014 NATO training and anti-insurgent mission, was agreed by the two countries last year after months of negotiation. It was endorsed at a national gathering (Loya Jirga) of Afghan elders in Kabul in November. But Mr Karzai has refused to sign the deal until a peace process is under way with the Taliban, adding that if he were to sign it, he would become responsible if Afghans were killed by US bombs. "President Obama told President Karzai that because he has demonstrated that it is unlikely that he will sign the BSA (Bilateral Security Agreement), the United States is moving forward with additional contingency planning," the White House said in a statement. "Specifically, President Obama has asked the Pentagon to ensure that it has adequate plans in place to accomplish an orderly withdrawal by the end of the year should the United States not keep any troops in Afghanistan after 2014. "Furthermore, the longer we go without a BSA, the more likely it will be that any post-2014 US mission will be smaller in scale and ambition." [Source: BBC]

Pakistan to Launch Military Campaign against Taliban

The Pakistani military has grown frustrated with what it says are insincere peace talks with representatives from the local Taliban, and says it will launch an aggressive military campaign into its northern, ungoverned regions along the border with Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban, known as the TTP, claimed credit last week for the brutal execution of 23 Pakistani army troops held captive since 2010, while it simultaneously maintains peace talks through delegates with the administration of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. A senior Pakistani government official says troops and aerial assets are already in place to begin a military campaign to confront this threat in Waziristan as well anywhere else considered "necessary." Experts say the latest talks and the new offensive explains the recent lull in US drone strikes in Pakistan, the last of which took place more than 60 days ago and marks a record drought for the Obama administration. "We would prefer a negotiated settlement. But just in case, like all militaries, we are prepared with a contingency," said the Pakistani official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity at a Tuesday meeting with reporters in Washington, D.C., organized by the Center for Media and Security. "There will be operations. Not only in northern Waziristan but wherever necessary."

"Something has to be done to resolve this terrorism issue in Pakistan," he said. Ground forces are already in Waziristan to conduct operations, he added. The military simply needs to give them specific directions. Karl Kaltenthaler, an expert on drone strikes and conflict in Pakistan, believes both the Pakistani military and Taliban networks knew the latest negotiations would achieve nothing. The Taliban's recent acts of aggression, including killing the 23 captives, served as a clear signal they weren't serious about peace, he says. "Both sides knew conflict was coming, that this was going to be settled militarily," says Kaltenthaler, a professor at the University of Akron. "Both sides were buying time." The Obama administration appears to be clearing the way for the Pakistani government to engage the Taliban directly, despite the major problems its insurgent fighters continue to pose for allied forces in Afghanistan. [Source: USNews.com]