National Security | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Nat’l Security / Foreign Affairs: September 11th, 2012
Excerpts and more top stories
9-11/WARNINGS: The Deafness Before the Storm - NYT OP-ED
The Bush administration was told, as early as May 2001, about the threat of an attack by Al Qaeda.
9-11/JIHAD: 11 Years After 9/11, the Holy World War Is Over and All Jihad is Local - TIME
Al-Qaeda is in retreat and Osama bin Laden’s dream lies in ruins. So what next for Washington and its struggle against extremist jihadists?
9-11/AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan After 9/11: A Mission Unaccomplished – TIME
ISHAAN THAROOR: The legacy of the war in Afghanistan will be about much more than the attacks of 9/11 and the defeat of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda
ISRAEL/IRAN: Israeli Leader Sharpens Call on U.S. to Set Limits on Iran - NYT
RICK GLADSTONE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the Obama administration on Tuesday over statements that the United States would not set deadlines for Iran to halt its uranium enrichment activities.
ISRAEL/IRAN: U.S. Rejects Israeli Calls For Tougher Iran Moves -WSJ
The Obama administration rejected Israeli calls for clearer U.S. “red lines” that Iran can’t pass without risking military conflict, highlighting tensions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama.
EUROZONE/DRAGHI: Super Mario to the Rescue - NYT OP-ED, Roger Cohen
One way to view Mario Draghi’s battle with the Bundesbank is this: A big idea (Europe) versus a smaller one (price stability).
EUROZONE: Cycling against windmills - THE ECONOMIST
What does the euro crisis mean for everyday politics? The forthcoming Dutch elections offer a clue
EUROZONE: IMF boosts Irish debt relief case - FT
EU urged to invest directly in country’s lenders
EUROZONE: Judgment day for eurozone bailout fund - FT
Germany’s constitutional court to rule on ESM
*MORE EUROZONE NEWS AND ANALYSIS BELOW:
CHINA/JAPAN: Deploying Ships, China Accuses Japan of Stealing Islands- NYT
China dispatched two maritime law enforcement ships to a group of disputed islands after Japan announced that it had bought them.
CHINA: Communist Leader’s Absence Sets Off Rumor Mills in China - NYT
IAN JOHNSON: Speculation intensified over the whereabouts of Xi Jinping, China’s presumptive new president, who has been missing from public view in recent days.
CHINA: Chinese Mystery: Where Is Xi? - WSJ
Xi Jinping, the man expected to start to take the reins as China’s top leader in a few weeks, canceled a meeting with Denmark’s prime minister after missing other high-profile events, fueling speculation about his health.
CHINA: A Missing Heir Apparent and a Leadership Transfer Without a Timetable -TIME
A missing man, who holds unknown views on issues that will shape the global economy, will take over at an undesignated point in the near future. Or so we think.
*MORE CHINA NEWS AND ANALYSIS BELOW:
SYRIA/IRAQ: Is the Regional Showdown in Syria Rekindling Iraq’s Civil War? - TIME
It may have been checked off President Obama’s to-do list, but the Iraq war is far from over.
SYRIA: Syrian waiting game - WP EDITORIAL
Sectarian violence spreads as U.S. stands by.
SYRIA: Mideast renews effort to stop Syrian war - FT
Top Assad defector warns against foreign military intervention
SYRIA: Syria weighs heavily on France - WP
Lessons from Libya suggest that taking down Syria‘s al-Assad would be impossible without U.S. help.
AFGHANISTAN: The Afghan Detainee Fiasco - WSJ OP-ED
Karzai is reneging on a deal to ensure Taliban killers stay in prison.
AFGHANISTAN: Bomber Kills 15 in Divided Afghan Province - WSJ
A suicide bomber killed 15 people and injured dozens more in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, officials said, escalating ethnic tensions after the recent outbreak of violence between Tajik militiamen and Pashtun villagers.
AL-QAEDA/YEMEN: In Yemen, a fierce battle with al-Qaeda - WP
A shadowy conflict emerges after a U.S.-backed offensive this summer drove out jihadists from swaths of southern Yemen.
FOREIGN POLICY/BALANCE OF POWER: The Rise of the Middle Powers - NYT OP-ED, BRUCE GILLEY
Relying on middle powers like Indonesia and Egypt to negotiate with China and resolve regional disputes will benefit American foreign policy.
EGYPT: Egypt’s Liberals Try to Unite - WSJ
Some of Egypt’s fractious non-Islamist political leaders are trying to get past the clash of egos and ideologies that has divided them and join forces against the Islamist political machine that increasingly dominates the country’s young democracy.
RUSSIA: Russian Parliament Targets a Dissenter - WSJ
Russia’s Parliament moved to expel an outspoken member of the opposition for alleged ethics violations, a step critics called a major escalation of the Kremlin’s crackdown on dissent.
PALESTINE: Palestinian Protests Focus on Leaders- NYT
Demonstrations against rising prices and economic hardship erupted Monday into rioting against the Palestinian Authority.
PALESTINE: Palestine Cuts Fuel Prices Amid Unrest - WSJ
The Palestinian Authority will decrease fuel prices and cut salaries of top officials, the prime minister pledged after days of protests in the West Bank against the high cost of living.
FRANCE: French Tax Debate Spurs New Tension - WSJ
The conflict over a French billionaire’s decision to apply for Belgian citizenship escalated on Monday after a newspaper ran a front-page headline reading “Get lost, you rich jerk,” prompting the industrialist to threaten a lawsuit.
TURKEY: Suicide Bomber Hits Istanbul Police - WSJ
A suicide bombing at a police station in Istanbul killed a Turkish policeman and wounded at least seven people.
MALI: Amputations Shake an Embattled Mali - NYT
Radical Islamists cut off the hands and feet of four robbery suspects in the city of Gao in northern Mali on Monday. Above, fighters in Gao.
MEXICO: Mexican Leftist Plans to Start Political Party - WSJ
Mexican leftist leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who lost a bid for the presidency in the July 1 election, said he wants to create his own political party, a move that would further fragment the country’s political spectrum.
*MORE CHINA NEWS AND ANALYSIS:
CHINA: Wen promises to boost Chinese growth - FT
China premier defends legacy at World Economic Forum
CHINA: As China Muscles Into the Pacific, the U.S. Lacks a Strategy - WSJ OP-ED, John Bolton
Beijing’s navy and weapons systems are intended to push the U.S. back from the Western Pacific.
*MORE EUROZONE NEWS AND ANALYSIS:
EUROZONE: Austerity is not enough- WP OP-ED, Lally Weymouth
An interview with Italy’s Mario Monti.
EUROZONE: Democracy the loser in struggle to save the euro - FT
By promising “unlimited” purchases of sovereign bonds, ECB president Mario Draghi may have kept his pledge to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro. But in rescuing the currency, Draghi’s magic bullet has badly wounded something even more important — democracy in Europe.
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