Democratic.net: [RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, August 24, 2009

Monday, August 24, 2009

[RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, August 24, 2009

August 24, 2009

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

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

-Election fraud claims in Afghanistan.
-North and South Korean leaders meet.
-New Pakistani Taliban leader.
-Netanyahu visits Europe.

Top of the Agenda: Fraud Claims in Afghanistan

Mounting claims of voter intimidation and fraud (WSJ) are tainting the legitimacy of last week's presidential elections in Afghanistan and threatening Western hopes that the poll would boost the government's credibility. The Electoral Complaints Commission, an independent body, said it has received 225 complaints of fraud, voter intimidation, and violence. Preliminary results are due to be released Tuesday, but millions of ballots have not yet arrived in Kabul, NPR reports.

Al-Jazeera broadcasted Taliban footage of militants stopping Afghans at a checkpoint to see if they had voted and abducting those who had. Another report says Taliban insurgents cut off the fingers (Quqnoos), marked in ink as proof they had voted, of two Afghans in Kandahar province. Ahead of the vote, the group attempted to derail the election, pledging violence against anyone who participated.

Separately, U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan told U.S. special representative to the region Richard Holbrooke that the current number of U.S. troops in the country is insufficient for effectively fighting the Taliban (NYT).

In an interview with CNN (Bloomberg), the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, said the situation in Afghanistan is "serious and it is deteriorating." On NBC's Meet the Press, Mullen said the U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan need to "turn this thing around from a security standpoint" in the next twelve to eighteen months.

Analysis:
In an interview with CFR, Elizabeth Rubin, a journalist who has reported extensively on Afghanistan, says U.S. officials must become more closely involved in improving Afghan governance.

Background:
A CFR timeline tracks the history of the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan.

The Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism looks at the 213 percent spike in U.S. media coverage of Afghanistan since July 2009.

SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA: New Pakistani Taliban Leader

The Pakistani Taliban say a 42-member council appointed Hakimullah Mehsud as the militant group's new leader (Daily Times). U.S. and Pakistani officials believe the group's former leader, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a drone attack earlier this month.

MIDEAST: Netanyahu in Europe

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu begins a tour of Europe today, where he will meet with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, U.S. Envoy George Mitchell, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the resumption of Mideast peace talks (AFP). Netanyahu said yesterday he hopes to begin negotiations with the Palestinians, stalled since last year's Gaza conflict, after next month's UN General Assembly.

Hamas: Palestinian Authority security forces are releasing Hamas detainees in the West Bank as a reconciliation gesture for Muslim holy month of Ramadan. A Palestinian Authority official said they hoped the move would pave the way for the resumption of talks between President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction and Hamas.

Yemen: Yemeni troops say they killed more than a hundred Shia rebels (al-Jazeera), including two leaders, in a military operation in the country's north. The rebels, from the Zaidi sect, deny that their leaders were killed, and there has been no independent confirmation of the conflict's death count.

PACIFIC RIM: North-South Koreas Meet

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak met with a North Korean delegation visiting Seoul to mourn former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. This was the first such meeting (Korea Times) between the two Koreas in almost two years. North Korean officials delivered a message to Lee from their leader Kim Jong-Il, in which Kim declared his desire to improve relations between the countries.

Australia: The World Wildlife Fund called on the Australian government to reassess a $50 billion project (ABC News) that would authorize drilling along the coast of western Australia after an oilrig accident caused a major oil spill in the Timor Sea.

AFRICA: Nigeria Amnesty

Hundreds of Nigerian militants from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) turned in their weapons (BBC) as part of an amnesty offer from the government, but one faction of MEND rejected the offer, pledging to resume attacks.

Somalia: Somali insurgents rejected a call (Reuters) from Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed for a Ramadan truce, saying the holy month would be a "triumphant time for mujahideen." Rebels in the country aim to overthrow the government in favor of a one that will enforce a stricter interpretation of Islamic law.

In an Expert Brief, CFR's Bronwyn Bruton says that if the United States hopes to play a constructive role in Somalia, it must address democracy backsliding in neighboring Ethiopia.

AMERICAS: CIA Report on Detainee Abuse To Be Released

The U.S. Justice Department will release the CIA inspector general's findings on detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan today. The inspector general gathered the information in 2004, but it was never released. Ahead of the report's release, the Justice Department's ethics office recommended review of nearly a dozen prisoner-abuse cases, potentially exposing CIA employees and contractors to prosecution, the New York Times reports.

Honduras: The country's Supreme Court rejected the deal (AFP) that Costa Rican President Oscar Arias brokered to restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya to power. The Court ordered Zelaya's arrest if he reenters the country.

EUROPE: Lockerbie Consequences

Scotland's parliament has been recalled for an emergency session on Monday amid growing international outrage over last week's release of Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, convicted for the Lockerbie plane bombing. Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill will address the meeting to defend his decision to free al-Megrahi on "compassionate" grounds. Al-Megrahi was serving a life sentence for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 that killed 270 people, and received a hero's welcome on return to his home country Libya.

Bosnia: The Washington Post reports on the reemergence of ethnic tensions in Bosnia, fourteen years after NATO intervened to stop ethnic cleansing in the country.

TRANSNATIONAL: Asbestos Test

Scientists say they have developed an improved test (BBC) for the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma. The new, more sensitive test could allow for earlier detection of the disease.

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