Democratic.net: [RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, October 13, 2009

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

[RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, October 13, 2009

October 13, 2009

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

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

- Clinton meets with President Medvedev to discuss position on Iran's sanctions
- U.S. quietly increased support troops to Afghanistan by 13,000
- North Korea agrees to meet with South Korea amid missile tests
- China and Russia agree to $3.5 billion in gas and trade deals

Top of the Agenda: Clinton Meets With Russia on Iran

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Russia's president and foreign minister on Tuesday to discuss its willingness to help pressure Iran to halt its nuclear program. Clinton is seeking a more united international front on sanctions against Iran if international negotiations fail. The BBC reports that although Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has traditionally opposed tougher sanctions on Iran, he has indicated that further sanctions might be inevitable after learning that Tehran had a second uranium enrichment plant in Qom. If Russia and China reject new sanctions on Iran, the report says a coalition of countries--including the EU--may act together to halt oil sales to Iran.

Clinton is also expected to discuss with the Russian leaders (Reuters) issues related to Afghanistan, a new nuclear arms reduction treaty, human rights, and Russia's treatment of Georgia following a five-day war with the country last year. She will not meet Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is in China discussing trade, during her visit.

Analysis

Moscow Carnegie Center analyst, Maria Lipman, says in the Wall Street Journal that there is "no certainty" that Russia would agree to tighter sanctions against Iran and that the Russian government looks increasingly less willing to endorse new sanctions.

Reuters reports that the United States is hoping President Obama's decision to halt plans for an anti-missile system in Eastern Europe will induce more cooperation from Russia on Afghanistan, missile defense, and a nuclear reduction treaty.

Background

CFR's James M. Goldgeier outlines why improving U.S.-Russian relations has been so difficult since the Cold War.

A CFR backgrounder looks at the lengthening list of U.S. sanctions against Iran.

MIDEAST: U.S. Increases Troops to Afghanistan

The Washington Post reports that at least 13,000 troops have been quietly deployed to Afghanistan, in addition to the 21,000 troops announced in March this year to be sent to the region. The additional troops are mostly support forces rather than combat troops, which tend to the focus of White House announcements.

Turkey: Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu travels to Syria on Tuesday for the first meeting of a new Syrian-Turkish strategic council that will scrap travel restrictions (Al-Jazeera) between the two countries.

PACIFIC RIM: Korean Border Talks

North Korea agreed to hold talks (New York Times) with South Korea on Wednesday to discuss flood controls, despite reports that North Korea may test more missiles after the five short-range missiles it launched on Monday.

SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA: Pakistan Bombs Waziristan

Pakistani aircrafts bombed the South Waziristan region (Dawn) at the Afghan border on Tuesday in preparation for a ground offensive against the Pakistani Taliban, after forty-one people were killed by a suicide bomb on Monday.

Afghanistan: One of the two Afghans on a five-member UN-backed panel investigating fraud in Afghanistan's presidential elections resigned (BBC), citing foreigners' interference and too little input that the Afghan members had on the panel's work. The commission's ruling on its investigation is due this week and could overturn the election results, forcing incumbent Hamid Karzai into a run-off.

China: Russia and China signed gas and trade deals (Reuters) worth $3.5 billion on Tuesday, Russian Prime Minister Vladamir Putin's second day visiting Beijing. The deals would bolster Russia's weak economy by supplying Russian gas to China, though the countries continue to disagree over pricing.

AFRICA: South African Protests

Thousands of township residents in South Africa are protesting (Reuters) for better access to electricity, sanitation, and housing. South African President Jacob Zuma took office earlier this year promising to address inequality.

Guinea: The president of Nigeria has summoned the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to a summit on October 17 to discuss political unrest in Guinea. A late September massacre by Guinea's ruling junta has been condemned by ECOWAS, and the group is expected to discuss (AFP) sanctioning the state.

Meanwhile, Guinea's rulers have announced (BBC) $7 billion oil-and-gas deal with China.

AMERICAS: U.S. Healthcare Reform

President Obama's push to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system is expected to clear the Senate Finance Committee (Reuters) on Tuesday. Analysts are watching Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), whose vote could make her the first Republican to back a health reform bill. If the bill is approved, it will moves to a full Senate vote in several weeks.

EUROPE: French Physicist Charged for Ties with al-Qaeda

France: A French national of Algerian origin who works at the European Organization for Nuclear Research has been charged with having links to terrorism (Guardian). The man, suspected of links to a North African affiliate of al-Qaeda, works at the Large Hadron Collider, where researchers study the origins of the universe.

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