slippery standards

NYT: adversaries meet in Kenya but reach no agreement (or grounds for further negotiations)
BBC: killings, arson continue in the Rift Valley

BBC: Zimbabwe to vote in March

BBC: witnesses in trial against Charles Taylor say they've received death threats

BBC: (confirmed) death of Ugandan rebel leader may complicate talks there

NYT: US asks for more legal leeway in Iraq
"The American negotiating position for a formal military-to-military relationship, one that would replace the current United Nations mandate, is laid out in a draft proposal that was described by White House, Pentagon, State Department and military officials on ground rules of anonymity. It also includes less controversial demands that American troops be immune from Iraqi prosecution, and that they maintain the power to detain Iraqi prisoners. However, the American quest for protections for civilian contractors is expected to be particularly vexing, because in no other country are contractors working with the American military granted protection from local laws."

Slate: the US military reduces its standards. again.
"...now that it's focusing on "asymmetric warfare," especially counterinsurgency campaigns, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan, the requirements are different. The crucial engagements—in many ways, the crucial decisions—take place in the streets, door to door, not by armored divisions or brigades but by infantry companies and squads. And when the targets include hearts and minds, every soldier's judgment and actions have an impact...So, there's a double spiral in effect. The war keeps more good soldiers from enlisting. The lack of good candidates compels the Army to recruit more bad candidates. The swelling ranks of ill-suited soldiers make it harder to fight these kinds of wars effectively."
BBC: UK calls for better training of its Army after 'abuses' in Iraq

Gdn: in central Afghanistan, US mistakenly kills 9 police officers

BBC: bomb in Christian suburb of Beirut kills 5

BBC: Kashmir militant claimed dead on Indian side
"Bashir Ahmad, also known as Sabha, was wanted by the police in connection with blasts in Kashmir and northern Uttar Pradesh state, police say. Ahmad was the top commander of the pro-Pakistani Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (Huji) militant group, police said."

BBC: mass graves, 16 bodies found in government-controlled territory in Sri Lanka
BBC: government weighs institutional changes, decentralization

Gdn: police arrest Russian mafia leader in Moscow

WP: paramilitary justice and peace, and the aftermath of the Chengue massacre in Colombia 7 years ago
NYT: amateur bullfighting: for some, probability of being maimed in Colombia not high enough

Gdn: Burmese junta said to intensify oppression
Slate: Burma? Rambo can handle it