" 'The civilian population does not want to collaborate,' [a guerrilla deserter] added. 'There is a complete rejection. Even civilians are telling guerrillas: 'Desert. Don't let yourself get killed.'
Last year, 2,480 rebels abandoned the FARC, up from 1,558 the previous year, according to the Defense Ministry. Most are classified as 'men in arms,' fighters on the front lines of a simmering conflict. About 40 percent are plainclothes militiamen who carry out intelligence operations and supply provisions to FARC units...The deserters also say that increasingly paranoid commanders have started to stage more 'war councils,' jungle trials in which guerrillas face execution if found guilty of treachery."
NYT: new coalition in Pakistan to try new approach with militants: negotiation
“ 'We are dealing with our own people,' said Mr. Sharif, who was twice prime minister in the 1990s. 'We will deal with them very sensibly. And when you have a problem in your own family, you don’t kill your own family. You sit and talk. After all, Britain also got the solution of the problem of Ireland. So what’s the harm in conducting negotiations?' ”
CFR: (this approach doesn't seem all that new to SV; see "peace deals with tribal areas")
BBC: Pakistan People's Party to nominate prime minister today
SWJ: non-commissioned officers' reflections on their deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq
LAT: women imprisoned and abused in Iraq
WP: how the US bullied allies in the run-up to the Iraq invasion
LAT: violence by all sides in Tibetan protests
"Tibetans randomly beat and killed Chinese solely on the basis of their ethnicity: a young motorcyclist bludgeoned in the head with paving stones and probably killed; a teenage boy in school uniform being dragged by a mob. When authorities did regroup, paramilitary troops fired live ammunition into the crowds. Witnesses did not see protesters armed with anything other than stones, bottles of gasoline or a few traditional Tibetan knives.
Despite a massive deployment of Chinese forces, the protests show no signs of abating."
Gdn: China deploying more troops, paramilitaries
WP: also using unconventional means: pro-Tibet groups face cyber attacks
WP: Hezbollah said to be mobilizing in Lebanon for another confrontation with Israel
BBC: in refugee camp in southern Lebanon, fighting between Fatah-backed militia and pro-Syria Islamist group
Ind: British minister for International Development warns of future wars over water
Ind: the power of pop: young Afghans attend 'idol' competition despite militant threats
AP: clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurds celebrating spring festival
BBC: DRC bans Bandu dia Kongo after fighting in west
BBC: Armenian opposition to protest elections again
WP: Nepalis on the verge of voting
Slate: a creative compromise to end the Democratic battle (but eh, one that SV finds unpalatable)
Slate: what if Hillary gave a speech on gender a la Obama's on race? (and why she can't/won't)
Slate: public service announcement from SV: if you're on spring break somewhere delightfully warm, enjoying a coast, beware of jumping fish
Slate: and when you get back, catch up on how the economy's been crumbling
WSJ: maybe the US should switch to Bhutan's approach and measure Gross National Happiness instead. then again, that may not work out too well either...
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