Dec. 24 - Some news from Pakistan: Pakistan's President Agrees to Quit Army Post. Musharraf will resign from the army by the end of 2004, scale back the special powers he granted to himself under the Legal Framework Order (which gave him the right to force the PM to resign and disband Parliament,) and ask for a vote of confidence in Parliament within a month of resigning from the army.

The Daily Telegraph (UK) is carrying a report that says Pakistan could be the nuclear quartermaster for the Axis of Evil.

Pakistan admitted for the first time yesterday that some of its scientists "motivated by personal ambition or greed" might have sold nuclear technology to Iran.

Faced with growing evidence that Pakistani nuclear know-how made its way to several "rogue states" - including Iran, North Korea and perhaps also Libya - Islamabad tried to argue that any transfer of technology was the work of individuals rather than of the government.

But President Pervaiz Musharraf will not easily fend off accusations that Pakistan, despite presenting itself as a vital ally in the war on terrorism, may in fact be the nuclear quartermaster for the "axis of evil".

[...]

Until this week, Pakistan dismissed all accusations of nuclear proliferation as part of a Western plot to divert attention from the action of Western companies that sold nuclear-related technology to "rogue states".

Western intelligence agencies have long suspected that Pakistan provided nuclear technology to North Korea in return for help with its missile programme.

But Iran's decision this year reluctantly to open up its nuclear facilities to UN inspectors has revealed a trail of hard evidence leading to Pakistan.

In particular, the uranium enrichment centrifuges discovered in the Iranian town of Natanz were based on European designs that Khan is accused of stealing in the Seventies.

UPDATE: And there has been yet another attempt to assassinate Musharraf.

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Dec. 1 - Attackers, several dressed as muhajadeen, ambushed 2 convoys in Samarra yesterday as they were delivering new Iraqi dinars to banks. No US soldiers were killed, although 5 were injured (one critically) and one civilian was hurt. Between 46-54 enemy were killed.

US officials are speculating that the New Iraqi currency is a lure for attacks because they need to pay off the bounties they've placed on the heads of coalition forces and personnel.

Fox reports that 8 enemies were captured and 18 injured and that 8 Iraqi civilians were killed.

Fox also reports that shortly after the firefight, 2 South Korean contractors were killed and another two wounded in a third ambush near Samarra. They were electricians building power lines for Seoul based Omu Electric Co.

Both the Japanese and South Korean governments have stated that the attacks will not deter them from supplying reconstruction efforts in Iraq. South Korea will be sending up to 3,000 troops to Iraq.

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