Friday, December 4, 2009

[RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, December 04, 2009

 

From the Council on Foreign Relations

December 4, 2009

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

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

-NATO pledges an additional seven thousand troops for Afghanistan.
-India says it will not accept binding emissions targets at Copenhagen.
-Obama will announce details on jobs plan next week.
-UK and France call off Friday talks.

Top of the Agenda: NATO sends more troops

NATO leaders announced they will support the escalation (WashPost) of U.S. troops in Afghanistan with seven thousand additional troops, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urges American allies to specify their commitments. In Brussels Friday morning, Clinton met with foreign ministers from NATO and other countries contributing forces in Afghanistan. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen declined to give country-by-country specifics about the additional troops pledged and said more countries "probably will be in a position to announce further contributions during the coming weeks and months." The Obama administration is pressing for an additional ten thousand troops to support the thirty thousand American forces pledge by President Barack Obama Monday. Some countries, including Germany and France, are unlikely to make commitments before an international conference on Afghanistan scheduled for January 28 in London. The United States asked Germany for additional troops "in the low four figures," according to a senior diplomat; it requested fifteen hundred troops from France.

Clinton said it was essential for supplementary troops and non-military assistance to come as soon as possible. "The need for additional forces is urgent, but their presence will not be indefinite," she said. Many NATO governments face more skeptical publics (BBC) about the Afghanistan mission than those in the United States and Britain.

Analysis

In the Daily Telegraph, Clinton says violent extremism threatens the interests of America's friends and allies and that all nations must play a role in the Afghanistan mission.

In Foreign Policy, U.S. Senator John McCain says Obama made the right decision in deploying additional troops but the wrong one in announcing a withdrawal date.

In the Washington Post, Rasmussen writes Afghanistan is not Obama's war, that NATO countries face the same threats of terrorism and extremism from Afghanistan, and that the plan to transfer responsibility to the Afghans is not an "exit strategy."

CFR's Jim Lindsay says a Pew-CFR survey showing a surge in Americans' isolationist sentiment, stimulated by the financial crisis, poses added hurdles for Obama's Afghan strategy.

In Foreign Affairs, CFR's Kim Barker addresses the problems U.S. forces will face and what can be done to overcome them as the Obama administration prepares to send more troops to Afghanistan.

Background

A CFR Backgrounder examines the role of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

MIDDLE EAST: Iraqi Election Law

Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi postponed his decision (al-Jazeera) on whether to veto an amended version of Iraq's election law until Sunday.

In a CFR Expert Brief, Rachel Schneller says Iraqi political factions should be given time to sort out their power-sharing rules rather than be rushed into elections in January 2010, a date pegged to U.S. troop withdrawals.

Iran: Iran says it will give nuclear inspectors six months' notice (BBC) before beginning to operate ten planned nuclear sites.

PACIFIC RIM: Philippine Massacre

Philippine troops stormed the homes (AFP) of a clan suspected of involvement in the massacre that killed fifty-seven people, after authorities found a cache of weapons believed to be used in the killings buried near the Ampatuan family's compound.

Myanmar: Myanmar's supreme court agreed to hear an appeal (SydneyMorningHerald) against the house arrest of pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA: Pakistan Suicide Bomb

At least thirty people were killed by a suicide bomb (Dawn) at a mosque in Rawalpindi Friday. Attacks have intensified as the Pakistani military pursues offensives against Taliban strongholds in northwest Pakistan.

India: India says it will negotiate (TimesofIndia) slowed growth of its carbon emissions but refuses to accept a binding target.

AFRICA: Somali Bombing

Al-Shabab, a Somali group opposed to the Somali government, denied responsibility (al-Jazeera) for a suicide bombing that killed at least twenty-two people Wednesday in Mogadishu.

Guinea: Aide de camp Aboubacar Toumba Diakite shot and injured (allAfrica) junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara Thursday.

AMERICAS: U.S. Jobs Plan

Balancing increasing political pressure and budgetary constraints, President Obama announced at a White House job summit that next week he will unveil specifics (WashPost) of his administration's plan to help temper unemployment.

Bolivia: Bolivian president Evo Morales is likely to be reelected (MercoPress) on Sunday but is fighting to maintain a ruling coalition in the Senate.

EUROPE: UK-France Talks

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown Friday was cancelled, fueling speculation (BBC) that the appointment of a Frenchman as the EU's financial regulator caused tensions between the two leaders.

Russia: The United States is unlikely to sign (DeutscheWelle) a successor to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) to reduce both countries' nuclear arsenals by the time the treaty expires on September 5.

TRANSNATIONAL: Climate Pact Costs

Many countries have agreed to the idea of cutting greenhouse gas emissions, but global leaders are divided on how to pay for it (WSJ).
 

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