Democratic.net: [RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, August 7, 2009

Friday, August 7, 2009

[RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, August 7, 2009

August 7, 2009

View this newsletter as a web page on CFR's website.

Top of the Agenda: Secretary Clinton Meets South African Leaders

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged South African leaders (AP) to pressure Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to comply with his country's power-sharing agreement. In Pretoria, Clinton and South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane announced new bilateral committees to boost economic and political cooperation between the United States and South Africa.

Clinton will meet on Saturday with President Jacob Zuma in Durban, where she plans to ask what South Africa can do to "strengthen the reform movement" in Zimbabwe (AFP).

Earlier, Clinton reiterated U.S. support (allAfrica) for the Somali Transitional Federal Government's efforts against the al-Shabaab militant group. She promised "additional funds in the coming months" (WSJ) for the government, although she did not specify an amount.

Clinton also threatened to "take action" against Eritrea, saying the neighboring country has been supplying arms to al-Shabaab. Clinton met with Somali leaders in Nairobi rather than Mogadishu, which was considered too dangerous.

Background
CFR has an interactive map of the volatile Horn of Africa.

A CFR Backgrounder examines corruption in sub-Saharan Africa, using Kenya as a case study.

CFR profiles al-Shabaab in this Backgrounder.

Analysis
Foreign Policy offers a Briefing Book on the international security risks presented by the chaos in Somalia.

Newsweek says the Obama administration should take a tougher stance toward Africa's dictators.

A World Politics Review briefing says it is "too early to tell" whether Africa will become a strategic priority for the Obama administration.

In a video, Ernest Aryeetey, Director of the Africa Growth Initiative, says Clinton's trip signals to African nations that the Obama administration takes them seriously, and that African leaders are optimistic about U.S.-African relations.

AFRICA: Rwanda-DRC Agreement

Leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda announced a "new era" (New Times) in relations between the countries, after agreeing to boost cooperation on military and economic issues. They also said they would work together to extract natural gas reserves in Lake Kivu, which sits between the two countries.

SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA: Pakistan Taliban Chief Believed Dead

Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud is believed to have been killed in a U.S. drone strike (News International) in South Waziristan, U.S. and Pakistani officials say. Pakistani officials have said Mehsud was behind several major terrorist attacks, including the assassination in 2007 of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Sri Lanka: Sri Lankan authorities have arrested the self-proclaimed new head of the Tamil Tiger rebels (Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation), Selvarasa Pathmanathan. He is believed to have been in charge of the Tamil Tigers' arms procurement operation, and is wanted by Interpol and by the Indian government for his alleged involvement in a 1991 terrorist attack that killed former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

MIDEAST: Fatah Postpones Elections

Fatah delayed elections (NYT) that were supposed to take place Thursday, and announced its party congress would continue for an additional two days, since Hamas has prevented hundreds of Fatah delegates from leaving Gaza to attend.

Iraq: The Washington Post looks at the Iraqi forces' takeover of security duty in Baghdad's Green Zone. U.S. troops, until recently, had handled the task.

PACIFIC RIM: Compensation for Hiroshima Victims

On the sixty-fourth anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso signed an agreement ending a six-year legal battle and recognizing 306 plaintiffs who say they suffer from illnesses caused by the attacks (Japan Times). The measure sets up a fund to compensate the plaintiffs.

South Korea: South Korean workers ended the occupation (Korea Times) of the Ssangyong auto plant after seventy-seven days. Ssangyong management and the union reached a deal to keep about half the 1,000 protesting workers on unpaid long-term leave instead of laying them off. The company initially planned to cut about 2,600 workers, 36 percent of its staff.

AMERICAS: Cash for Clunkers Boosted

The U.S. Senate voted to infuse $2 billion (FT) into the "Cash for Clunkers" program. The program, which qualifies customers trading in an old car for a new one with better mileage for a subsidy of up to $4,500, exhausted its initial budget of $1 billion in a matter of days.

Guantanamo: John Brennan, senior counterterrorism adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama, said he is not certain (WSJ) that the administration will meet its January deadline for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Still, Brennan said, the administration is "doing everything possible" to advance the goal that Obama set out at the beginning of his presidency.

EUROPE: Russia-Turkey Energy Deals

Russia has signed a deal with Turkey to build a gas pipeline (Deutsche Welle) under Turkish waters in the Black Sea. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said construction could begin as early as November 2010 and should be completed by 2020.

Russia also agreed that its firms would build Turkey's first nuclear power plant (RIA Novosti). The plant will be built on the Mediterranean coast, and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said construction would begin shortly.

TRANSNATIONAL: Submarines on Patrol

In light of recent reports that Russian submarines have been spotted off the coast of the United States, Slate explains what submarines do while on patrol.

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