Britain’s defense secretary on Monday announced the deployment of 1,400 extra troops to Afghanistan. It bolsters NATO’s mission to oust the resurgent Taliban only days after Prime Minister Tony Blair disclosed plans to trim British forces in Iraq. The deployment will bring British troop levels in Afghanistan to around 7,700 until 2009, meaning Britain will have more forces based there than in Iraq for the first time since the 2003 Iraq invasion.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is facing a new round of sharp criticism at home after he said Iran’s nuclear program is an unstoppable train without brakes. Reformers and conservatives said such tough talk only inflames the West, which is considering further sanctions.
Iraq’s Shiite vice president escaped an apparent assassination attempt Monday after a bomb exploded in municipal offices where he was making a speech. The blast left at least 10 people dead. Adil Abdul-Mahdi was bruised and hospitalized for medical exams. Police said the explosives were apparently planted inside the building.
The Iraqi Cabinet approved a long-awaited draft oil law on Monday, sending it to parliament for consideration. The Iraqi prime minister called the agreement “another founding stone in state-building.” Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government had promised a new oil law by the end of 2006, but it missed the deadline due to objections.
