BAGHDAD, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Iraqi military plans to buy M1A1 Abrams tanks and the expected deployments along the eastern border highlight the shape of the mechanized force, a study shows.

ERBIL, Iraq, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The prime minister of Kurdistan bid farewell Wednesday to South Korean troops who will wind up their operations in Iraq at the end of December.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The Mumbai massacre postmortem is wide of the mark. It wasn't one group; it was a culture of extremism that the United States helped to create, the Muslim Holy War to defeat the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Two wholly predictable verdicts came in this week that between them suggest it's time to drop all these tired comparisons with the 1930s. As car sales collapse 30 percent to 40 percent and California goes broke, this is fast becoming a Great Depression of our own.

BRUSSELS, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Top NATO officials met in Belgium Tuesday to assess the evolving security situation in Afghanistan and discuss other ongoing NATO operations.

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A fresh surge of violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has created an increasingly desperate situation for distributing humanitarian aid.

BRUSSELS, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- NATO authorities Tuesday ratified the Individual Cooperation Program agreement with Israel in a move to strengthen security and diplomatic ties.

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- British defense officials say the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan's volatile Helmand province is increasing the level of security in the region.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The U.S.-Iraqi security accord legitimizes the continued violation of Iraqi sovereignty and extends the U.S. occupation, an American socialist party said.

BRUSSELS, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Terrorist violence in India's financial hub Mumbai topped the International Crisis Group's monthly report on global crisis situations.

TEHRAN, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The United States is making a concerted effort to hurt Iran and is therefore the primary enemy of the Islamic Republic, a leading lawmaker said Tuesday.

BAGHDAD, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi and Shiite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim met the U.S. envoy to the United Nations to discuss the bilateral security pact.

The provincial councils and possibilities of change

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Czech President Vaclav Klaus would have you think he was an anti-communist warrior. He would have you think he ran subversive seminars against the ideology. Nothing fills his ego more than overstating his role. What Vaclav Klaus did best during communism was to keep his head low and connive after his convenience.

ERBIL, Iraq, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Iraqi Kurdistan serves as a model for tolerance and respect for diversity, regional officials said, marking the 60th anniversary of a human-rights declaration.