[RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, August 18, 2010

 

August 18, 2010 View this newsletter as a web page on CFR's website. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - Pakistan Floods Threaten Destabilization - Lebanon Allows Palestinian Refugees Work - Thailand's Web Censorship Under Fire - U.S. to Continue Supporting Housing Top of the Agenda: Pakistan Floods Threaten Destabilization The destruction resulting from severe floods in Pakistan (WashPost) could further destabilize the country without swift international aid. The floods, which have displaced 12 percent of the population and destroyed billion of dollars in infrastructure and crops, have overwhelmed the government. Food shortages, disease, and mass migration could limit the country's ability to address existing problems of weak governance and a strong insurgency. The flood's destruction of schools, bridges, and clinics has already nullified rebuilding efforts in the Swat Valley, which endured intense fighting last year. The floods have also eroded President Asif Ali Zardari's political standing (WSJ), given his slow initial response to the crisis. Pakistan's military has been active in flood response. Its sixty thousand deployed troops have deepened the impression among many Pakistanis that the military holds more power as flood victims stage protests to demand more government help. The Pakistani government is also struggling to reassure international donors that all aid will go to flood victims and not fall into extremists' hands. U.S. ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson said fears of extremist interference were "greatly exaggerated" (BBC). Analysis: In Time, Omar Waraich says Pakistan's difficult economic conditions have given the political opposition an opportunity to criticize Zardari's reliance on the West. In the National, Mustafa Qadri says the flood provides an opportunity for the international community to improve its relationship to Pakistan by forging an "international campaign of solidarity." In an interview with CFR.org, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard C. Holbrooke says international aid to Pakistan so far has been inadequate. Background: This CFR Analysis Brief examines the economic and political costs of Pakistan's floods. MIDDLE EAST: Lebanon Allows Palestinian Refugees Work The Lebanese parliament passed a law allowing the four hundred thousand Palestinian refugees living in the country to work legally (JPost). Lebanon faces new sectarian violence, and tensions along its border with Israel threaten to boil over. CFR's Mohamad Bazzi says to help avert conflict, Washington must eventually engage with the most powerful force in Lebanon: Hezbollah. Israel: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's two-day trip to Greece signaled warming relations (DeutscheWelle) between the two countries, even as Israel and Turkey's relationship deteriorates. PACIFIC RIM: Thailand's Web Censorship under Fire Human rights groups are criticizing Thailand's efforts to curb political debate online (WSJ), as the government restricts thousands of websites after this year's deadly protests. North Korea: A North Korean plane crashed in northern China (AP), according to South Korean media, and the pilot may have been trying to defect. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA: India Considers Opening Nuclear Market India's parliament recommended a bill to open up India's $150 billion state-run nuclear power market (Reuters) to foreign firms such as General Electric and Westinghouse by toughening liability standards. This CFR Interactive looks at ecological disasters involving foreign multinationals, including one in India, and the legal and policy impact in some countries. AFRICA: United States Dismisses Somali Piracy Charges A federal judge in Virginia threw out piracy charges (NYT) against six Somali men captured after an attack on a U.S. Navy ship off the coast of East Africa. He said the government had not shown the men's actions violated U.S. piracy law. South Africa: 1.3 million public sector workers in South Africa began an open-ended strike, demanding more than the 7 percent pay raise (BBC) offered by the government in union negotiations. AMERICAS: United States to Continue Supporting Housing U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the administration plans to continue some type of role in guaranteeing mortgages (WSJ) at a housing-finance conference in Washington. Mexico: Mexican President Felipe Calderon called on legislators to participate in high-level forums later this week on how to win the war against drug cartels (NYT), in an effort to placate critics of the government's strategy. EUROPE: France Prepares to Deport Gypsies France is preparing to deport hundreds of foreign Gypsies (WSJ) to Central and Eastern Europe, after dismantling fifty-one illegal camps following a number of skirmishes this summer between Gypsies and police. Russia: A suspected car bomb injured at least twenty people (BBC) outside a cafe in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia, as violence continues to spread from Chechnya to neighboring republics.

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