[RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, August 6, 2010

 

August 6, 2010 View this newsletter as a web page on CFR's website. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - Pakistan's Flood Damage Deepens - Terrorism Blamed for Tanker Attack - Russia Bans Grain Exports, Prices Soar - Al-Qaeda Remains Top U.S. Threat Top of the Agenda: Pakistan's Flood Damage Deepens Two weeks after the first rains soaked Pakistan's rural northwest provinces, a devastating wall of water is spreading south into the country's agricultural heartland (Dawn). Authorities have evacuated a half a million people in at-risk regions, and the floodwaters have already claimed the lives of roughly 1,600 people. The UN is warning of a "major catastrophe." The flooding comes at a difficult time for Pakistan's leaders. Gripped by persistent terrorism challenges and a recent spike in violence in its largest city, Karachi, political opponents and the media are now turning their anger toward the country's president, Asif Ali Zardari, who remains on a diplomatic mission in Europe (NYT). Analysis The crisis has also illustrated the wide gap between Pakistan's civilian institutions and its army. Army officers have offered to donate a day's salary to the relief effort (Dawn), while the government's ability to cope with the disaster is being challenged (VOA). As one political observer writes, as the world comes to Pakistan's aid, its president remains holed up in a French chateau (TheNews). Background The UAE-based National documents the devastation with a narrated slide show. This Analysis Brief offers a detailed look at the confluence of challenges bearing down on Pakistan. MIDDLE EAST: Terrorism Blamed for Tanker Attack A Japanese tanker damaged while navigating the Strait of Hormuz off Oman was the target of terrorism (National), according to the United Arab Emirates. The report was the first official confirmation that a large dent in the hull of the M. Star was an attack. A little known al-Qaeda-linked group, the Brigades of Abdullah Azzam, claimed responsibility (al-Jazeera). Iran: A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer has fled to Turkey (WSJ) after Iranian authorities issued a warrant for his arrest and detained family members. Mohamad Mostafaei, 35, had most recently defended an Iranian woman convicted of adultery and sentenced to death by stoning. Iraq: In his first interview since being captured seven years ago, former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz says the United States is "leaving Iraq to the wolves" by pressing ahead with a planned drawdown of combat forces (Guardian). SOUTH ASIA: NATO Admits Civilians Killed As many as a dozen civilians were killed in a coalition air strike in Nangarhar province, NATO officials have confirmed (TheNews). At the scene, a reporter for the New York Times counted twelve freshly dug graves. The strike comes just one day after the commanding general of forces in Afghanistan, David Petraeus, issued new rules (SmallWarsJournal) meant to protect Afghan civilians from excessive force. Afghanistan: A bid by President Hamid Karzai to assert control over U.S.-backed corruption investigations has strained U.S.-Afghan ties and prompted questions about the president's commitment to rooting out graft in his administration (WashPost). Cambodia: Officials from Phnom Penh will travel to Iran next week to ink new deals in oil cooperation (Reuters). PACIFIC RIM: Flood Fears in Northeast China Torrential rains in northeast China are testing the region's flood control dams and reservoirs. In Jilin Province, thousands have been dispatched to monitor flood control systems, Global Times reports. Across the border in North Korea flooding has swept away homes, inundated crops, and damaged power systems. Forecasts call for even more rain along the waterlogged Yalu River system (Bloomberg). Japan: With a representative from the United States attending for the first time, the Japanese city of Hiroshima observed the sixty-fifth anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack (BBC). AFRICA: Praise for Kenya's New Constitution Voters approved a new constitution in largely peaceful balloting, with 67 percent of those casting votes approving of the measure. The voting drew praise from across the globe. But as the Christian Science Monitor notes, the hard work is just beginning. Rwanda: South Africa has recalled its ambassador to Rwanda following the shooting of an exiled Rwandan general in Johannesburg. Nonetheless, South Africa insists diplomatic ties have not been severed (Radio France International). AMERICAS: Pop Star Announces Bid for Haiti's Presidency Wyclef Jean, a Haitian-born hip-hop star who has spent most of his life in the United States, officially registered as a candidate (CNN) for Haiti's presidential elections scheduled this fall. Jean made his announcement on CNN's Larry King Live. Some have expressed skepticism (CNN) that Jean would bring the necessary skills to help Haiti rebuild following a devastating earthquake in January. And as the Miami Herald reports, Jean faces an uphill climb proving his eligibility. United States: Solicitor General Elena Kagan was confirmed as a justice to the U.S. Supreme Court by a Senate vote of 63-37 (WashPost). She is the fourth woman to sit on the court, and when it convenes in the fall, one-third of its bench will be women, the most in the history of the court (NYT). United States: Despite setbacks in the border region of Pakistan, al-Qaeda and its affiliates remains the top national security threat to the United States (CNN), according to the latest State Department report on terrorism. Additionally, the AP reports that al-Qaeda has named a former U.S. resident chief of its global operations. EUROPE: Russia Bans Grain Exports, Prices Soar Russia has banned all grain exports amid a devastating drought and wave of wildfires (NYT) that are ripping through the country. The move, which comes as millions of acres of Russian wheat have withered under parched conditions, immediately drove up global wheat prices. The Financial Times reports that the export ban has triggered a panic in commodities markets and threatens to send wheat prices to their highest level since the 2007 food crisis. Scotland: The August 2009 release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset Al-Megrahi by Scotland was authorized despite a lack of consensus among doctors treating him (WSJ) that his poor health justified a "compassionate release." But a doctor who examined the bomber insists there is no way he could have faked his illness (BBC). Britain: Prime Minister David Cameron is set to sit down with Pakistan's president for formal talks, days after a public spat following Cameron's comments that Pakistan effectively exports terrorism beyond its borders (Telegraph).

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