April 16, 2008
By Rodger Baker
The April 9 Olympic torch relay in San Francisco opened a window into the organizational capabilities of the Chinese government and its intelligence collection apparatus inside the United States. From the coordinating efforts of the city’s Chinese Consulate, down through local Chinese business and social organizations, and on to the pro-China supporters who photographed the event, the operation showed an efficiency and organizational capability not seen among the anti-China demonstrators. The run also revealed a high level of sophistication, planning and control in the pro-China camp.

April 16, 2008
by Gerry Gilmore 
American Forces Press Service  
U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commanding general, Multi-National Force - Iraq, discusses issues with Rusafa Security District Commander Brig. Gen. Abdullah. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Lorie Jewell)WASHINGTON (April 10, 2008) —The Iraqi government wants to establish itself as an independent entity that one day can stand on its own feet without U.S. assistance, the top U.S. military officer in Iraq testified before the House Armed Services Committee here Wednesday.

China is an island. We do not mean it is surrounded by water; we mean China is surrounded by territory that is difficult to traverse. Therefore, China is hard to invade; given its size and population, it is even harder to occupy. This also makes it hard for the Chinese to invade others; not utterly impossible, but quite difficult. Containing a fifth of the world’s population, China can wall itself off from the world, as it did prior to the United Kingdom’s forced entry in the 19th century and under Mao Zedong. All of this means China is a great power, but one that has to behave very differently than other great powers.

The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a new communiqué released on April 5, 2008 by the Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement in Somalia. The statement welcomed the recognition of Shabaab as an international terrorist organization by the U.S. government: "As we are a part of the Salafi-Jihadi Islamic trend which opposes the dominance of the crusaders and the aggression led by America, we do not find it unlikely that America would add us to the names of these other honorable men, for whom we are honored to join, at the bottom of their list.”