Headlines:

• Anti-Muslim adverts to run in New York subway
• U.S., U.K. Lead 25-Nation Armada in Persian Gulf
• NATO's Afghan strategy in jeopardy: experts
• Top American senator seeks to cut all US aid to Pakistan

Details:

Anti-Muslim adverts to run in New York subway

The head of a group that has won its fight to run controversial adverts in New York subway stations referring to some Muslims as "savage" has told Sky News that she will fight "to the death" for the right to offend people. Pamela Geller runs the American Freedom Defence Initiative (AFDI), which has taken out ads that read: "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad." The posters are due to appear in ten New York City subway stations next week. They were initially rejected by the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) because of the use of demeaning language. But in July, a Manhattan court judge ruled that this was a violation of the first amendment rights of the AFDI and they should be allowed to run. Ms Geller told Sky News that she was unconcerned the ads might make the subway network a target for violence. She said: "Were there similar ads on the London buses and trains on 7/7? You know there weren't. "I will not abridge my freedoms so as not to offend savages. "I won't take responsibility for other people being violent. "I live in America and in America we have the first amendment." Ms Geller, who is a prominent supporter of Israel, stressed that she was not referring to all Muslims as savages, only those who engaged in what she characterises as "Jihad". She believes that America is under threat from some Muslims who wish to impose Sharia law on the country, and her group has launched similar campaigns before. The release of the adverts coincides with widespread anger in parts of the Middle East over an anti-Muslim film made in the US and released on the internet. Next week, heads of state from all over the world will be converging on the city amid heightened security for the UN General Assembly. The Washington DC MTA has deferred the placement of the controversial ads "out of concern for public safety, given current world events". But New York MTA Transportation spokesman Aaron Donovan said: "Our hands are tied." There had been some suggestions that the city's transit body was trying to find a way to stop the adverts appearing. However, another spokesperson for the MTA told Sky News that it appeared the ads are definitely going ahead, although he was unable to say on which day, and at which subway stations. Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American Islamic Relations, told Sky News: "Our basic position is that the first amendment means that everyone is free to be a bigot or even an idiot like Pamela Geller. "We wish she wasn't provoking and inciting hatred, but in America that's her right. "We encourage Muslims to exercise the same right to publicly denounce such adverts. "The real danger is the spread of hatred in our society, which can lead to attacks on innocent people."

U.S., U.K. Lead 25-Nation Armada in Persian Gulf

The United States and Great Britain are leading an armada of cruisers, aircraft carriers, and mine sweepers from 25 countries for 12 days of the largest exercise of "war games" in the history of the Persian Gulf region, the Guardian of London reported over the past weekend. The multi-national naval force includes three U.S. Nimitz-class carrier groups, "each of which has more aircraft than the entire complement of the Iranian air force," the British paper reported. They are accompanied by at least 12 battleships, including ballistic missile cruisers, frigates, destroyers, and assault ships carrying thousands of U.S. Marines and Special Forces. The British force consists of minesweepers and a logistics vessel. The UK destroyer HMS Diamond, one of the most powerful ships in the British fleet, will also be operating in the region, the Guardian said. The coalition forces are expected to practice tactics in breaching a potential Iranian blockade. The exercises, including minesweeping drills, are in anticipation of a potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, which would likely occur if Israel carries out its threat to launch air strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities if Israeli or Western intelligence determines that Iran is on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. The long-standing feud over Iran's nuclear program has increased tensions in the region, despite Iran's insistence that it is developing nuclear power for energy and for medical uses. A blockade would raise havoc with world energy prices. About 18 million barrels, or a third of the world's oil that is traded by sea, pass each day through the Strait of Hormuz, which is only 21 miles wide at its narrowest point. Iran has threatened a blockade in the past in retaliation for an embargo on Iranian oil by Western nations. But the Tehran government is promising far more than a blockade if either Israel or the United States launches a military attack over the disputed nuclear sites. The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned September 16 that "nothing will remain" of Israel if it takes military action against his country. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said Iran's response to any attack would begin near the Israeli border. Iran maintains close ties with militants in Gaza and Lebanon, both of which border Israel. Jafari also said oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz will be in jeopardy if a war breaks out between Iran and the United States. Speaking at a news conference, the general said Iran, if attacked, would no longer be bound by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that authorizes UN inspectors to visit the country's nuclear sites, though he added that did not mean Iran would build a nuclear bomb.

NATO's Afghan strategy in jeopardy: experts

Coalition leaders say otherwise, but experts warn that NATO's decision to limit joint operations with Afghan forces threatens the alliance's strategy to hand over power and withdraw by 2014. Announced on Tuesday, the move marks a setback to the US-led strategy for containing an 11-year Taliban insurgency, as a phased withdrawal of Western troops hinges on training and advising Afghan forces to take their place. The decision was taken in a powder keg environment as protests sweep the Muslim world, and after an uptick in insidious blue-on-green attacks that have seen 51 NATO personnel shot dead by their local colleagues so far this year. "It's a serious challenge to the strategy," Stephen Biddle, a George Washington University professor specializing in Afghanistan, told AFP. NATO aims to train 350,000 Afghan soldiers and police by the end of 2014 as it transfers all security responsibilities to President Hamid Karzai's local forces. The alliance is gradually withdrawing the 112,600 troops remaining in its ISAF force. The Pentagon said last week that there are currently 77,000 US troops in Afghanistan. Jeffrey Dressler, senior research analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, said the effect on NATO's drawdown strategy depends on how long the limitations on joint operations remain in place. "It's a minor setback at this point, but the significance of it obviously will increase with the length of time that the order stands," Dressler said. "If it continues for months, then it's definitely going to have an impact." Australian Brigadier-General Roger Noble, deputy to ISAF's operations' chief, admitted the recent string of green-on-blue attacks had been dispiriting. "The problem with the insider attack is it strikes right at the heart of our resolve," he told Pentagon journalists from Kabul. "It's one thing to be killed in action by the insurgents. It's quite another to be shot in the back of the head at night by your friends." Noble said the decision to scale back joint operations was "just normal military business and common sense," and insisted it would not derail the drawdown effort. "The bottom line is that beneath the noise and turbulence of day-to-day operations and events, the campaign remains on track to achieve its objectives," he said. President Barack Obama's administration is under pressure from some to rethink its strategy, with three leading senators asking for a "strategic pause" to troop withdrawals.

Top American senator seeks to cut all US aid to Pakistan

A top American senator has written to the members of the US House of Representatives asking for their support in passing a bill that seeks to cut all American aid to Pakistan. Senator Rand Paul, in his ‘Dear Colleague' letter written on Tuesday, urged the members to pass the bill which seeks to cut all foreign aid to any country that "fails to secure" US embassies. The bill also demands financial accountability from countries like Pakistan, Egypt and Libya, which recently saw violence directed against US embassies. Paul's move came within hours of Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar's arrival in Washington to hold talks with US officials and lawmakers. Paul, the senator from Kentucky, issued a similar letter to his colleagues in the Senate, underlining his intention to obstruct any pending legislation until the Senate addresses these matters. "This week is likely our last chance to address the on going violence, to promote security at our diplomatic facilities, and to take appropriate steps to ensure cooperation from the governments of Pakistan, Egypt and Libya," Paul said in his letter. "First, we must demand accountability from the government of Pakistan, which receives over $3 billion from us every year, yet routinely plays both sides of some of the most important issues while openly thwarting our objectives in the region," he wrote. "They should be subject to the same conditions applied to Egypt, Libya, and the others," Paul wrote seeking release of Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani doctor who has been found guilty of treason for helping CIA track Osama bin Laden. "Dr Afridi remains under arrest for his role in finding bin Laden, and no country that arrests a man for helping to find bin Laden is an ally of the US. If Pakistan wants to be our ally and receive foreign aid for being one, then they should act like it, and they must start by releasing Dr Afridi," Paul said. As this is likely to be the final week of legislative session for both the House and Senate before an extended recess, Paul urged the lawmakers to take immediate action to pass the bill. "The bill should send a strong clear message to these entities that you do not get foreign aid unless you are an unwavering ally of the US," he argued. Paul said the US must ensure that unless there is full cooperation in bringing the attackers on embassies to justice, no foreign aid will be provided in the future. "We must insist that any country which expects assistance from the US cannot permit the growth and influence of violent ideologies within their borders, especially when the practitioners of these ideologies are intent on murdering our diplomatic personnel abroad," he wrote, seeking full investigation into the cases of recent attacks.