National Security | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Nat’l Security / Foreign Affairs: September 10th, 2012
Excerpts and more top stories
EUROZONE/GERMANY: German Envoy Goes to Greece to Mend Ties -NYT
Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, a jovial, brass-band-loving Black Forester, has been sent to Greece to help mend frayed relations between the two countries.
EUROZONE: Draghi’s Cold Berlin Shower - WSJ
The German government is playing a double game. It supports the European Central Bank’s bond-buying plan yet steps carefully for fear of the political blowback at home.
EUROZONE/FRANCE: France’s Hollande Outlines Austerity Goals - WSJ
French President Hollande outlined a raft of austerity measures, including a controversial tax on the rich.
EUROZONE/GEORGE SOROS: Lead or leave euro’, Soros tells Germany - FT
Berlin urged to abandon deflationary stance
SYRIA: Syria Faults France for Supporting Rebels - NYT
Syria on Sunday accused France of undermining the new United Nations envoy by aiding opposition fighters.
SYRIA: Leadership Rifts Hobble Syrian Rebels - WSJ
Competition between two rebel leaders, at once allies and rivals, captures the challenges facing Syria’s insurgents as they struggle to cobble together a cohesive fighting force and topple President Assad.
SYRIA/TURKEY: Turkey cracks down on Syrian refugees - WP
Turkish authorities have demanded that the refugees either enter refugee camps or move deeper inland.
*MORE SYRIA NEWS AND ANALYSIS BELOW:
CHINA: China Economy Shows Frailty - WSJ
China reported falling imports and lackluster growth in exports for August, the latest set of worrying data to come out of the world’s second-largest economy.
CHINA: Rally stalls after soft China data - FT
Sentiment supported by hopes of QE3 after weak US jobs report
CHINA: What Keeps the Chinese Up at Night - NYT OP-ED, GERARD LEMOS
In China, a spiritual hunger has taken hold even as physical hunger has receded.
*MORE CHINA NEWS AND ANALYSIS BELOW:
EGYPT: U.S. Visit Aims to Spur Egypt Growth - WSJ
A delegation of more than 100 American business leaders is touring Cairo this week, part of a White House-led effort to burnish Egypt’s image as an investment destination and help restore the country’s flagging economy.
NATIONAL SECURITY/POLICY: Cyberattack: New Kind of Warfare - NYT EDITORIAL
Nations are developing disruptive offensive software – at great potential risk.
ASIA: Territorial Spats Overshadow Asian-Pacific Summit - WSJ
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting made scant progress, beset by disputes over territorial claims, future trade initiatives and security issues in the Middle East.
IRAN: Nuclear Mullahs v Pre-emptive War - NYT OP-ED, BILL KELLER
So what if Iran gets the bomb? It might be less risky than a pre-emptive war
IRAN: Iranian Oil Goes Private - WSJ
Iran has exported a crudeoil cargo through the private sector for the first time, Iranian media said, as it seeks new ways to circumvent mounting sanctions
AFGHANISTAN: U.S. transfers control of Afghan prison - WP
President Hamid Karzai considered U.S.-run detention center an affront to Afghan sovereignty.
AFGHANISTAN: Ethnic Groups Clash in Kabul- WSJ
A minor traffic incident in Kabul this weekend escalated into a deadly gunbattle between rival ethnic groups that threatened to rekindle civil-war tensions and marred a major government celebration.
AFGHANISTAN: Suicide bomber kills 6 outside NATO forces headquarters in Kabul - WP
Richard Leiby: Bomber penetrates one of capital’s highest-security zones before detonation, killing mostly children.
PAKISTAN: The Haqqani Network Blacklisted: Three Things to Know - CFR
The U.S. designation of the Haqqani network as a foreign terrorist organization may heighten tensions with Islamabad, but was the “right decision” because it provides clarity within the U.S. government and to Pakistani authorities.
ISRAEL: What Happens When the Two Israels Meet - NYT OP-ED
SHANI BOIANJIU: The expiration of the law exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from serving in the Israeli army places female soldiers in a more uncertain position.
IRAQ: Vice President of Iraq Rejects as ‘Unjust’ His Death Sentence -NYT
Tariq al-Hashimi, a prominent Sunni Muslim who was convicted of murder in a trial conducted in absentia, depicted the court’s finding on Monday as “an acquittal, confirming my innocence.”
JAPAN: US needs Japan as its best ally in Asia - FT
The relationship should be a Nato for economic statecraft
JAPAN: Japan Airlines Prices IPO - WSJ
Japan Airlines plans to raise $8.5 billion after pricing its IPO at the top of its price range, in what would be the world’s second-biggest offering the year.
JAPAN: Japan Financial Services Minister Dies - WSJ
Tadahiro Matsushita, whose agency leads insider-trading probes, was found dead in what police said was a possible suicide. He was 73.
PALESTINE/GAZA: Extreme Poverty in Gaza’s Isolated Enclave - NYT
JODI RUDOREN: A United Nations report cited shortages of food, water, electricity, jobs, hospital beds and classrooms amid a growing population in Gaza’s Forgotten Neighborhood.
BANGLADESH: Fighting for Bangladesh Labor, and Ending Up in Pauper’s Grave - NYT
The murder of a labor organizer bore a grim familiarity in a country with a brutal legacy of politically motivated killings.
LIBYA: The Fading of Libya’s Post-Revolutionary Glow - WSJ OP-ED
Ann Marlowe: At a site once venerated as a landmark of the rebellion now sit inflatable Batman and Spiderman children’s slides.
MEXICO: Mexicans snap up ‘Made in U.S.A.’ - WP
The growing middle class that is fast becoming Mexico’s majority is buying more U.S. goods than ever, while turning Mexico into a more democratic, dynamic and prosperous American ally.
MEXICO: Troubles Vex Mexico Crime-Fighting Force - WSJ
When Federal Police officers allegedly tried to kill two U.S. government employees last month, doubts surfaced about whether the agency can be trusted to lead Mexico’s charge against organized crime.
QUEBEC/CANADA: Separatist Victory in Quebec, but Not Separation - NYT EDITORIAL
The recent election was more about ousting the tired and corruption-tainted Liberal Party than about independence.
FRANCE/BELGIUM: : Bernard Arnault, France’s Richest Man, Seeks Belgian Citizenship - WSJ
LVMH Chief Executive Bernard Arnault is seeking Belgian citizenship, a move that comes as France adds a tax on the wealthy.
FRANCE/BELGIUM: Belgium’s New Billionaire - WSJ OP-ED
Arnault says tax rates have nothing to do with his new passport. Sure.
EU/AFRICA: Learning Europe’s Lessons in Africa - CFR
Why five East African countries are trying to follow in the European Union’s footsteps—minus the common currency.
NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: North Korea Is Ready to Discuss Aid From Seoul - NYT
North Korea said on Monday that it was ready to discuss humanitarian aid from the South to alleviate damage caused by flooding and typhoons.
BRAZIL: The Brazilian Ego Falters Along With Country’s Economy - BLOOMBERG OP-ED, Dom Phillips
Brazil’s government dreamed of a 4 percent economic expansion for 2012. With second-quarter statistics in the Central Bank now says expectations are that the year will close on a figure of 1.64 percent.
*MORE CHINA NEWS AND ANALYSIS:
CHINA: Pro-Beijing Parties Gain in Hong Kong Vote - NYT
KEITH BRADSHER: Pro-democracy candidates captured fewer seats than expected in legislative elections on Sunday.
CHINA: Construction and Real Estate Hinder China’s Growth - NYT
Investment in new buildings and other fixed assets, once a mainstay of the nation’s economy, grew at the second-lowest pace since 2002.
CHINA: Gulag Reform: Will China Stop Sending Its Dissidents to Labor Camps? - TIME
A recent story in a nationalist, Beijing-based newspaper suggests China might be re-thinking labor camps.
*MORE SYRIA NEWS AND ANALYSIS:
SYRIA: Dissent Among the Alawites: Syria’s Ruling Sect Does Not Speak with One Voice - TIME
Considered heretics by many mainstream Sunnis, the Alawites have long been perceived as a solid bloc of support for their co-religionists in the Assad dynasty.
SYRIA/MIDDLE EAST: Avoiding a sectarian split in the Middle East - WP OP-ED, James Jeffrey
The sense that Assad’s days are numbered has prompted worries that militant Sunni
extremists might claw their way to the top in Damascus.
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