National Security | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Nat’l Security / Foreign Affairs: August 17th, 2012
- Assad Rejected Iran Entreaty, U.S. Officials Say
- For Europe’s Economy, a Lost Decade Looms
- In Paper, Chief of Egypt Army Criticized U.S.
- Feith: What Obama Isn’t Saying About Iran
- Assange Faces Long Stay in Ecuador’s London Embassy
Excerpts and more top stories
SYRIA: Assad Rejected Iran Entreaty, U.S. Officials Say WSJ
SYRIA: Syrian Rebels Said to Be Holding Elite Fighters From Iran WSJ
SYRIA: In Lebanon, Sunnis Threaten Shiites as Kidnappings of Syrians Rise NYT
DAMIEN CAVE - The expanded kidnapping wave occurred as the war in Syria staggered on, with battles in Aleppo and dozens of bodies found in a landfill outside Damascus.
LEBANON/SYRIA: Kidnappings, Riots Hit Lebanon WSJ
EUROZONE/ECONOMY: For Europe’s Economy, a Lost Decade Looms NYT
JACK EWING – With the exception of Germany, none of Europe’s biggest economies have returned to the level of economic output they had at the beginning of 2008.
EGYPT: In Paper, Chief of Egypt Army Criticized U.S. NYT
DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK, KAREEM FAHIM – Gen. Sedky Sobhi argued that the American military presence in the Middle East and the “one-sided” support of Israel had mired the United States in an unwinnable war against Islamist militants.
EGYPT/ISRAEL: How Israel Accidentally Saved Egypt’s Brotherhood BLOOMBERG
NOAH FELDMAN, OPINION- “Egypt has just experienced its second coup in as many years. The event was surprising in two ways. First, it will actually strengthen Egyptian democracy. Second, whether they meant to or not, the Israelis helped make it possible.”
EGYPT: President Morsi’s Rebalancing Act NYT
EDITORIAL – While much is obscure about Egyptian politics, the new president seems to be seeking a fine line between an Army accustomed to power and Islamists hungry for it.
EGYPT/CENSORSHIP: Muslim Brotherhood Clamps Down on Dissent Walter Russell Mead, TAI
IRAN: Feith: What Obama Isn’t Saying About Iran WSJ OPINION
DAVID FEITH – The sanctions aren’t ‘crippling,’ Tehran isn’t isolated, and there aren’t any tough American red lines.
ECUADOR/UK/ASSANGE: Assange Faces Long Stay in Ecuador’s London Embassy NYT
JOHN F. BURNS – The word the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has used more than any other is free, but he now finds himself in a genteel prison, without limit of sentence.
SOUTH AFRICA: Mine Strike Mayhem Stuns South Africa as Police Open Fire NYT
LYDIA POLGREEN – The police fired on workers engaged in a strike at a platinum mine. The news agency SAPA reported that 18 people had been killed.
ISRAEL: Is Israel’s Rush to Strike Iran Based on U.S. Politics? BLOOMBERG, EDITORIAL
Why are officials now warning they might launch an attack against Iran? “Using the campaign season to pull in the U.S. makes tactical sense” for the Israeli government, but it also risks damage to Israel’s “most important strategic partnership.”
ISRAEL/BULGARIA BOMBING: Bulgaria Seeks Aid in Bombing Probe WSJ
ISRAEL: Israel’s Iran Itch NYT OPINION
ROGER COHEN – The drumbeat for an attack resumes: Israel should resist it. In patience lies strength.
AFGHANISTAN: Afghan Strategy Causing Troops to Get Killed - Steve Huntley, Chicago ST
AFGHANISTAN: U.S. Copter Crashes, Killing 11 in Afghanistan WSJ
AFGHANISTAN: Kabul Court Discovers Forensics WSJ
The U.S. introduces science to the justice system in Afghanistan which long relied on coerced evidence.
IRAQ: Iraq Attacks Kill at Least 22 WSJ
JAPAN: Can Japan’s Hobbled Giants Adapt? WSJ
Endoscopes, car batteries, and light bulbs could be the salvation for Japan’s embattled consumer-electronics firms. Last of a three-part series.
JAPAN/S.KOREA: Japan Presses South Korea on Disputed Islands WSJ
Japan raised the stakes in its territorial dispute with South Korea on Friday, saying it would seek to take its claim of sovereignty over disputed islets to the International Court of Justice.
CHINA /AFRICA Pursuing Soft Power, China Puts Stamp on Africa’s News NYT
ANDREW JACOBS – China’s state-run news media are rapidly growing in Africa, hoping to bolster Beijing’s influence in a region rich in the resources needed to fuel China’s powerhouse industries.
CHINA/INDIA: China and India Lose Their Hunger for Gold WSJ
INDIA: Putting $1 Trillion in Good Hands Gets Results WSJ, OPINION
William Pesek – In India, “no challenge is bigger, perhaps, than attracting the investment needed to fill gaps in infrastructure underscored in July by spectacular outages that cut power to almost 700 million people.”
GUANTANAMO: The Right to Counsel at Guantánamo Bay NYT, EDITORIAL
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