Democratic.net: [RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, July 23, 2009

Thursday, July 23, 2009

[RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, July 23, 2009

July 23, 2009

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

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

-Maliki meets with Obama in Washington.
-Pakistan Supreme Court summons Musharraf.
-Violent protests in South Africa.
-Obama on health care legislation.

Top of the Agenda: Maliki in Washington

Talks in Washington between U.S. President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki focused on curbing sectarian strife in Iraq. Obama said the United States remains on track to withdraw combat troops by the end of August 2010 (NYT).

Obama also pledged to help rid Iraq of the UN sanctions (WSJ) that were imposed in 1991 after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. Eliminating the sanctions could save Iraq billions of dollars that it now pays to Kuwait in reparations for the Gulf War.

Full text of the remarks from their joint press conference is available here.

Maliki will spend four days in Washington meeting with U.S. economic, trade, and diplomatic officials (WashPost).

Analysis:
In a recent contingency memo, CFR's Stephen Biddle assesses four interrelated scenarios in Iraq that could derail the prospects for peace and stability in the short to medium term and posits concrete policy options to limit U.S. vulnerability to the possibility of such reversals.

In an interview with CFR, Daniel Serwer, who served as executive director of the Baker-Hamilton Commission on Iraq, says the "serious" crisis between Kurdistan and the central Iraqi government "needs to be resolved" to some degree before the U.S. troops leave.

CFR's Daniel Senor, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, discusses the escalating conflict between Iraq's Arabs and Kurds. He says President Obama must give a clear signal that he is prepared to slow down planned U.S. troop withdrawals.

Sam Parker of the U.S. Institute of Peace profiles Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki in Foreign Policy. He argues Maliki today is the dominant force in Iraqi politics, has consolidated much of the emerging Iraqi state into his own hands, and has won a measure of democratic legitimacy after January's provincial elections.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill discusses the scaled-back role of U.S. forces in Iraq, and plans to reduce the size of the massive U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

Background: This CFR Backgrounder looks at U.S. security agreements with Iraq.

MIDEAST: Gaza Blast

An explosion at the wedding of Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan’s nephew in Gaza injured at least 50 people (Arab News). Dahlan accused Hamas members of planting the bomb.

SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA: Musharraf Summoned

Pakistan’s Supreme Court summoned the former president, Pervez Musharraf, for questioning on his 2007 imposition of emergency rule, and the firing of dozens of judges from the country’s top court (Daily Times). Musharraf, who is currently in London, can appear in person or send his lawyer in court on July 29.

This CFR Backgrounder profiles the changes Musharraf made to the constitution when in power.

Bin Laden: NPR reports that according to U.S. officials, Osama bin Laden’s son, Saad bin Laden, was killed by a U.S. missile (NPR) in Pakistan sometime this year.

Kyrgyzstan: Kyrgyzstan will hold its presidential election on Thursday. RFE/RL says Kyrgyzstan’s reputation as the most democratic state in Central Asia could be tainted, as opposition candidates say the media and campaign rules favor incumbent President Kurmanbek Bakiev.

Afghanistan: In a Q&A with al-Jazeera, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, argues that the United States is not an occupying force in Afghanistan, and says he is “comfortable” with the current troop levels in the country.

PACIFIC RIM: Indonesia’s Antiterror Campaign

Terrorism experts are reexamining the Indonesian government’s widely praised antiterror strategy (NYT) after last week’s bombings in Jakarta. Critics say Indonesia has been too focused on catching individual terrorists, rather than looking at the root causes of the violence.

China: A new International Monetary Fund report praised China’s economic stimulus program, and said the country can further increase stimulus spending beyond the existing $585 billion package (Bloomberg).

AFRICA: Protests in South Africa

Violent protests have spread through South Africa’s townships (AFP) over mass discontent with housing options and public services.

Nigeria: Militants from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) released six crew members (BBC) they seized from an oil tanker during a raid three weeks ago. MEND said the release was part of the sixty-day cease-fire it agreed to last week.

The Financial Times has a special report on Nigeria’s politics and economy.

AMERICAS: Obama on Health Care

In a televised press conference, Obama lobbied for the embattled health care reform plan (WashPost) he hopes to push through Congress. Obama tied health care to solving the economic crisis, and promised insurance market changes that would allow most Americans to receive health coverage.

This CFR Backgrounder looks at universal health care policy options.

Mexico: The flow of immigrants from Mexico to the United States has hit its lowest level in a decade, but Mexican immigrants already in the United States do not appear to be returning home, a new Pew Hispanic Center report shows.

A CFR Task Force report highlights the need for U.S. immigration reform.

EUROPE: Biden in Georgia

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, visiting Georgia, reaffirmed U.S. support (Reuters) for the former Soviet republic a year after its conflict with Russia.

Vice President Biden's remarks at an official dinner in Tbilisi on Wednesday are available here.

Ukraine: A former senior Interior Ministry official, Oleksiy Pukach, confessed to the high-profile murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze (Kyiv Post) in 2000. Gongadze was an investigative journalist who had exposed high-level political corruption.

TRANSNATIONAL: Arab Human Development

The UN Development Program’s new Arab Human Development Report emphasizes the need for “human security” in the Arab world, listing security threats like environmental problems and too much economic dependence on oil, among others.

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