Tuesday, December 15, 2009

[RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, December 15, 2009

 

From the Council on Foreign Relations

December 15, 2009

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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-China and U.S. spar at Copenhagen.
-Coordinated bombs hit Baghdad.
-Japan delays U.S. air base decision.
-Clinton outlines human rights agenda.

Top of the Agenda: Tensions Grow at Copenhagen

UN climate talks have resumed (BBC) after developing countries won concessions from the developed world to focus on long-term financing for poor countries. Meanwhile, China said it would not accept Western money for these purposes, a politically sensitive issue for U.S. legislators who refuse to allow domestic carbon-cutting measures to include paying China, the United States' biggest economic rival. Tensions between China and the United States are growing (GlobalTimes), as China has rejected U.S. demands that its emissions cuts be verified internationally. China says the United States and other rich countries have a historical responsibility to cut emissions and that a country's development level should be a factor in determining its emissions cuts. So far, it has sided with developing countries that are demanding financial resources from the developed world.

The slow progress of the climate talks could prove problematic (NYT) as the heads of government begin arriving later this week . There are typically not as many technical and financial issues and grievances left unsettled when national leaders sit down to negotiate.

Analysis

In the Guardian, George Monbiot says the Copenhagen climate summit reveals that the world is no longer split between conservatives and liberals but instead between "expanders and restrainers."

In the Wall Street Journal, Bjorn Lomborg says a smarter approach to global warming is to invest in energy research and development rather than mandated emissions cuts.

Background

A CFR Backgrounder examines Copenhagen's many agendas.

MIDDLE EAST: Baghdad Bombing

Three car bombs hit Baghdad Tuesday, killing four people (al-Jazeera) in the fourth wave of coordinated attacks in recent months.

Lebanon: U.S. President Barack Obama pressed Lebanon (Haaretz) to crack down on arms smuggling to Hezbollah during a meeting with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman in Washington.

Israel: A British court issued and then withdrew (Guardian) an arrest warrant for Israel's former foreign minister Tzipi Livni over war crimes allegedly committed in Gaza this year, potentially harming UK-Israeli relations.

PACIFIC RIM: Japan's U.S. Air Base

The Japanese government delayed a decision (Xinhua) on where to relocate the U.S. air base in Futenma until next year, as the United States stepped up its demands to have the issue resolved.

On CFR.org, Sheila Smith discusses the need for a broader approach by the United States and Japan to provide new options on relocating the U.S. Marines.

Myanmar: Opium production in Myanmar increased by 11 percent (GlobalTimes) this year, fueling arms sales to Myanmar rebels, according to a report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA: Pakistan Bombing

Twenty-three people were killed in a bomb attack (Dawn) in the Pakistani town of Dera Ghazi Khan, the latest in a series of suicide and other explosions that have killed more than five hundred people in Pakistan since October.

Afghanistan: Eight people were killed in a suicide bombing (Quqnoos) in Kabul Tuesday in the district of Wazir Akbar Khan, the home of many embassies and foreign offices.

AFRICA: UN Aid Support to Congo

UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo suspended cooperation (UNNews) with certain units of the DRC's National Armed Forces following a report that fourteen hundred civilians had been killed by Congolese or Rwandan troops receiving support from UN peacekeepers.

Africa: African negotiators temporarily walked out (DailyNation) of the climate change talks in Copenhagen, accusing developed countries of ignoring their basic demands.

AMERICAS: Clinton Human Rights Speech

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlined the Obama administration's human rights agenda at a speech at Georgetown University amid criticism that Obama has not been firm enough on these issues.

EUROPE: Berlusconi Attack

Italy's interior ministry says the attack on Italian President Silvio Berlusconi was premeditated (BBC), as Italian politicians are accusing one another of creating an "atmosphere of hate" that encouraged the attack.

Greece: In a speech Monday, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou called for drastic cuts (DeutscheWelle) to public spending under a "new social deal" to end its economic crisis.

TRANSNATIONAL: Urban Refugees

An increasing number of the world's refugees are urban-dwellers rather than "tent-bound victims of forced migration," prompting a shift in focus for the United Nations refugee agency, the Economist reports.

 

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