All Blog Posts from World Watch

On Monday, Damascus-based Hamas poured cold water on any imminent deal for the release of an Israeli soldier captured more than three years ago, saying it was still premature to trumpet a happy ending.

Talk of a possible deal has moved to center stage with Israeli media saying that a Hamas delegation was heading to Cairo to discuss the latest list of prisoners Israel is prepared to release in a swap for Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit. Israeli President Shimon Peres heightened speculation after his talks with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Sunday, when he spoke of "real progress" in the negotiations.

"The brouhaha in the media talking about being close to reach an agreement on prisoner exchange deal is purely Israeli leaks designed to influence the feelings of our children, prisoners and their families and to try to pressure and influence on the process of indirect negotiations carried out through the German intermediary," a Hamas statement said. "Hamas will continue its efforts through the competent authority to overcome the obstacles set by the Israeli enemy in the way of completion of exchange … Although we hope to reach an honorable deal for our people as soon as possible, would like to emphasize that it is premature to talk about specific results … or close a deal."

Israeli newspapers said Hamas representatives had already crossed into Egypt from Gaza to meet the German mediator to debate a possible deal for the release of Shalit, captured by Hamas in a 2006 raid near the Israel-Gaza border. The militants tunneled into Israel and attacked an Israeli army outpost, killing two other soldiers.

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The Pentagon will swap out as many as 14,000 "clerical" and other non-combat troops for "trigger pullers" in Afghanistan — a way for commanders to boost the fighting force without altering the overall troop presence, according to a >report in the Los Angeles Times.

The report, which cites anonymous defense officials in Washington, comes on the heels of U.S. commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal handing over his report on the war to his superiors at the Pentagon and in NATO. His analysis does not make specific recommendations on troop numbers, but it is widely expected that he'll ask for an increase later this year.

Officials told the Times that rotating out thousands of non-combat troops and replacing them with their frontline-ready comrades makes sense given the intensity of the fight against Taliban insurgents.

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Jere Van Dyk, an expert on terrorism who has spent months in the villages along the Afghan-Pakistan border researching al Qaeda and the Taliban, says video of a kidnapped U.S. soldier gives reason for hope.

Van Dyk says there are signals being sent by Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl's captors in Afghanistan in the 28 minute video, which was released on various Web sites over the weekend — signals which give him reason to "hope" the 23-year-old may well survive his ordeal.

CBS Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez asked Van Dyk about the general appearance of the captive Army private, who appears in the video in a non-descript but clean Afghan robe, well-fed and generally unharmed.

"They're sending a message to the United States and its allies, and equally they're sending a message to the Afghan public: We can treat soldiers — we can treat prisoners better than the Americans are treating us," said Van Dyk, citing myriad reports of prisoner abuse in U.S.-run prisons for terror suspects in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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At least two Afghan villages have been blanketed with leaflets warning that if an American soldier kidnapped by the Taliban two weeks ago isn't freed, "you will be targeted."

Villagers near the border of two volatile provinces, Ghazni and Paktika, tell CBS News' Sami Yousafzai that aircraft dropped the leaflets during the past several days.

Military spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias confirmed that the leaflets had been produced at Bagram Air Base, the primary U.S. installation in Afghanistan, and distributed in the region, however she said they were distributed by hand, not aircraft.

The papers show on one side an image of a soldier with his head bowed so that his face is not visible. A message in the local Pashtun language over the image says, "If you do not free the American soldier, then…"

On the other side, an image shows Western troops breaking into a house. The rest of the message is printed across the photo: "…you will be targeted".

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The senior U.S. combat commander in Iraq told CBS News correspondent Cami McCormick on the eve of the U.S. urban withdrawal that the country's police and military face a tough fight from a still-viable insurgency, but they're up to the challenge.

Lt. General Charles Jacoby, who spoke to McCormick by phone from Baghdad, said the recent surge in attacks across Iraq, and particularly in the capital, was foreseeable.

"I think that the testing of the Iraqi security forces will go on for some time," he predicted, warning that there are still combatants scattered across the country.

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