Tag Archives: United States
20 August 2012
According to former and current Iraqi and United States government officials and experts on the Iraqi banking sector, Iraq has been aiding Iran to circumvent international financial sanctions, imposed on Iran because of its nuclear program.
One bank, the Elaf Islamic Bank in Baghdad was barred from any dealings with the banking system of the United States. According to President Obama, this bank has ‘facilitated transactions worth millions of dollars on behalf of Iranian banks that are subject to sanctions for their links to Iran’s illicit proliferation activities’.
Iranian organizations gained, according to said sources, ‘effective control over at least four Iraqi commercial banks through Iraqi intermediaries’, giving Iran access to the international financial system.
Source: New York Times | U.S. Says Iraqis Are Helping Iran to Skirt Sanctions
27 July 2012
As part of U.S. efforts to fight drugs, an elite unit of Ghana’s counternarcotics police is trained by U.S. officials. There are plans to train other counternarcotics police squads in Kenya and Nigeria under the so-called ‘West Africa Cooperative Security Initiative’.
(West) Africa is increasingly seen as ‘the new frontier’ in terms of counternarcotics, since cartels from Latin American are more and more using pooly governed states in Africa to smuggle cocaine into Europe.
Source: New York Times | U.S. Drug War Expands to Africa, a Newer Hub for Cartels
3 July 2012
The United States have asked Rwanda to stop arming or otherwise supporting armed rebels in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, including the M23 led by Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. The request follows a UN report released on 29 June, which raised the allegations of aid and assistance provided by Rwanda.
Source: The Wall Street Journal | U.N. Report Fuels Congo-Rwanda Rift
Source: Reuters | U.S. tells Rwanda to halt support for Congo rebels
13 June 2012
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused Russia of providing the Syrian government with attack helicoptors. The accusations coincide with the UN’s characterization of the armed conflict in Syria as civil war.
Source: New York Times | Heavier Weapons Push Syrian Crisis Toward Civil War
Source: The Guardian | Syria: US accuses Russia of sending attack helicopters
10 June 2012
Security researchers think a data-mining computer virus named ‘Flame’ is sponsored by the same entities that ordered the ‘Stuxnet’ virus. In 2010, the Stuxnet virus, which was co-sponsored by Israel and the United States, severely damaged centrifuges in Iran that were used for Iran’s nuclear programme.
Source: Bits | Google Issues New Warning for State-Sponsored Attacks
Source: New York Times | Expert Issues a Cyberwar Warning