Democratic.net: [RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, October 9, 2009

Friday, October 9, 2009

[RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, October 9, 2009

October 9, 2009

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

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

- President Obama awarded Nobel Peace Prize.
- Obama administration settles on new guidelines for dealing with Taliban.
- North Korea to send envoy to Washington.
- Czech president demands addition to Lisbon Treaty.

Top of the Agenda: Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after just over eight months in office. The Nobel Committee's decision to choose Obama from a record 205 nominees came as a surprise to many. The committee said Obama's vision of a world without nuclear weapons and his emphasis on multilateral diplomacy informed the decision. The BBC reports that Zimbabwe's prime minister and a Chinese dissident were among the favorites pegged to win the prize. The Associated Press reports that Obama's name had come up in speculation but that most believed it was too early to award him.

The BBC says the award is more encouraging of Obama's intentions than a reward for his achievements, but that his ambitions are "easier to declare than to achieve."

The Wall Street Journal says Polish ex-president and Nobel Prize laureate Lech Walesa told reporters that Obama has proposed peace initiatives but "has yet to deliver."

Analysis:
Michael Binyon says in a Times of London op-ed that the decision to award Obama the prize is an expression of Europe's gratitude for ending the Bush Administration with "obvious political and partisan intent." Binyon says the prize is likely to be compared with Henry Kissinger's 1973 prize for negotiating to end the Vietnam War despite Kissinger’s support for bombing Cambodia, since Obama's "principal preoccupation at the moment when and how to expand the war in Afghanistan."

The Wall Street Journal's Iain Martin says awarding Obama the Nobel Peace Prize so early in his presidency "sweeps aside such old-fashioned notions of reward following effort."

MIDDLE EAST: U.S. Envoy in Jerusalem

U.S. envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem in an effort to restart peace talks (JPost) in the region. The BBC reports that Hamas called for a "day of rage" (BBC) after mounting Palestinian fears that extremist Jews would enter al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

Goldstone Report: Palestinian representative to the United Nations Ibrahim Khreisheh announced he is in talks in Geneva to convene an emergency session of the UN human rights council (Al-Jazeera) to discuss the Goldstone war crimes report. His announcement came after the UN Security Council rejected Libya's request for an emergency session on the report.

PACIFIC RIM: North Korean Envoy to Washington

North Korea is planning to send Ri Gun (Reuters), its number two negotiator for the Six-Party Talks on its nuclear program, to Washington later this month, in hopes that the United States will send envoys to Pyongyang to start bilateral talks. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il indicated earlier this week the country would be willing to return to the Six-Party Talks, but wants to enter direct negotiations with the United States first.

A CFR Backgrounder looks at the Six-Party Talks.

South Korea: A top South Korea diplomat said the country plans to seek (Yonhap) North Korea's complete denuclearization through a comprehensive deal. South Korean Ambassador to the United States Han Duck-soo said South Korea is "ready to provide North Korea with a security guarantee and assistance if the North abandons its nuclear weapons and core nuclear materials in an irreversible manner."

SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA: Afghanistan Strategy

The Obama administration has established guiding principles for its revamped approach (WashPost) to the Taliban in Afghanistan. The United States and its allies will focus on weakening the Taliban so that they cannot pose a threat to the government or help al-Qaeda, apparently in concert with General Stanley McChrystal's recommendation that the strategy center on protecting civilians and bolstering the government, rather than killing insurgents and "seizing terrain."

India: Voice of America looks at the growing military relationship between the United States and India.

AFRICA: Somali Hospital Threatened

The main hospital in the capital city of Mogadishu received warning leaflets (RBC Radio) not to accept aid from foreign charities, including the International Committee of the Red Cross. The source of the leaflets is unknown.

Nigeria: Nigerian officials said over eight thousand militants surrendered their arms (AFP) under the country's government amnesty program, and called the initiative a "monumental success." A spokesman of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the region's main rebel group, called the amnesty program a "charade."

CFR profiles MEND in this Backgrounder.

AMERICAS: Toronto Terror Case

A man pleaded guilty (Toronto Star) of plotting to bomb at least three sites in Toronto, including the Toronto Stock Exchange, the offices of Canada's spy agency, and a military base, in an effort to compel Canada to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan . Zakaria Amara is the fifth member of the so-called "Toronto 18" to be convicted or plead guilty.

Haiti-Dominican Republic: In cooperation with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Haitian and Dominican leaders agreed to cooperate (Dominican Today) in a $19.9 million program to eradicate malaria from the Caribbean island by 2020. The funding will pay for house-to-house search for malaria cases, free treatment and mosquito control, and a public information campaign.

EUROPE: Lisbon Treaty Snag

Czech President Vaclav Klaus wants a new two-sentence footnote about the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights to be added to the EU's Lisbon Treaty before he will sign it (BBC). Poland and the Czech Republic are the only EU states that still have not ratified the Lisbon Treaty, which is aimed to streamline EU decision-making.

The approval of the Treaty of Lisbon could create a stronger EU partner for Washington, says CFR's Charles Kupchan, though individual European states are also growing stronger.

Barroso: European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is siding with smaller EU member states (EUObserver), concerned about the power of the role of the proposed president of the European Council, a new post established in the Lisbon Treaty. In remarks before the European Parliament, he warned, "The European Commission will not accept the idea that the president of European Council is the president of Europe."

TRANSNATIONAL: Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals

TIME looks at a new international initiative to combat the counterfeit drug trade, spearheaded by Former French President Jacques Chirac. The World Health Organization estimates that up to 30 percent of drugs sold in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America are fake, including those used to fight diseases like malaria and tuberculosis.

Note to readers: There will be no Daily Brief on Monday, October 12, in observance of Columbus Day.

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