National Security | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Nat’l Security / Foreign Affairs: September 27th, 2012
- Predator Drones Are the Best Option We Have
- 5 Reasons to Intervene in Syria Now
- At U.N., Egypt and Yemen Urge Curbs on Free Speech
- Markets Falter in Europe Amid Protests on Austerity
- Beijing Worrying Many Neighbors
Excerpts and more top news and analysis
DRONES: Predator Drones Are the Best Option We Have – ATLANTIC
Joshua Foust: A new report excoriates the United States’ unmanned aerial strikes against terrorists in South Asia. But are there better alternatives?
SYRIA: 5 Reasons to Intervene in Syria Now -NYT, OP-ED
By MICHAEL DORAN and MAX BOOT: President Obama needs to apply his own doctrine on foreign conflict spots where it would benefit the United States most: Syria.
SYRIA: Syria exodus seen at 700,000 by year-end – FT
Tuesday’s fighting in Syria claims more than 300 lives, the highest single-day death toll since the uprising started 18 months ago
SYRIA: Rebels Make Gains in Blunting Syrian Air Attacks - NYT
For the rebels, managing to deny the use of an important airfield has undermined the government’s ability to exert its full authority in some parts of the country.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY: At U.N., Egypt and Yemen Urge Curbs on Free Speech – NYT
Two new Middle Eastern leaders, despite being swept to power by popular uprisings, issued rebuttals to President Obama’s defense of Western values at the United Nations.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY: IRAN: Conflicts Resonate in Iranian’s U.N. Farewell – WSJ
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s farewell appearance at the U.N. General Assembly exposed the political fissures inside Tehran, in a surprising finale to eight annual U.S. speeches known for insults and threats.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY: SYRIA: U.N. Says Syrian Refugee Numbers Are Surging – NYT
The number of Syrians fleeing to neighboring countries for safety and aid is likely to exceed 700,000 by the end of the year, humanitarian agencies said.
EUROZONE: Markets Falter in Europe Amid Protests on Austerity- NYT
Demonstrators took to the streets Wednesday in Greece to protest new cuts being discussed, and protesters in Spain surrounded Parliament for a second day over the prime minister’s austerity program.
EUROZONE: Confidence Weakens in Euro Zone’s Core - WSJ
ECB President Mario Draghi’s campaign to save the euro has had little or no immediate impact on the region’s shrinking economy, figures showed.
EUROZONE: GERMANY: German Jobless Claims Rise Again – WSJ
German jobless claims increased for a sixth-straight month in September, indicating that Europe’s erstwhile job machine is sputtering.
EUROZONE: SPAIN: Focus Turns to Spanish Budget Plan – WSJ
Mariano Rajoy’s government has a chance to shore up investor confidence in the economy when it announces its 2013 budget plan, together with other changes aimed at improving the way the economy functions.
*More Eurozone News and analysis Below
CHINA: Beijing Worrying Many Neighbors – THE AUSTRALIAN VIA RCW
Something very strange is happening at the moment in the East China Sea and in the South China Sea, and Australia should be taking serious notice of these developments. In both areas Beijing is pushing disputed Chinese territorial claims with an aggressiveness that is remarkable and hasn’t been seen for many a year.
CHINA/JAPAN: Cross-currents - ECONOMIST
With millennia of influence and perhaps only decades of war between them, surely China and Japan can see things another way
CHINA: China pours $58bn into money markets -FT
Beijing injects record amount over 3 days in an effort to alleviate the cash crunch that has driven up borrowing costs, the largest weekly figure in history
IRAN: Eight Ways to Deal With Iran - FP
The Iranian nuclear program is a complex threat to international peace and stability. In this ambitious paper, former national security advisor Stephen J. Hadley says that stopping it requires an equally complex and sophisticated strategy.
LIBYA: Clinton Suggests Link to Qaeda Offshoot in Deadly Libya Attack – NYT
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton suggested an affiliate of Al Qaeda in North Africa was behind the attack on the United States mission in Benghazi.
ISLAM: What the Salafists Want: An Interview with the Blind Sheik’s Son - TIME.COM
He wants his father freed and he wants shari’a imposed unquestioningly on Egypt. Other than that, Mohammed Abdel Rahman doesn’t want to cause trouble
MIDDLE-EAST: Mideast Minorities on the Brink – THE NATIONAL, EDITORIAL VIA RCW
Michael Young: Mideast’s religious minorities approach point of no return
COLOMBIA: Colombia’s Santos Champions FARC Peace Talks – REUTERS
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Wednesday praised his government’s plans for peace talks with the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), pledging a substantial progress report, if not a peace agreement, by next year’s UN General Assembly.
SUDAN/S.SUDAN: South Sudan and Sudan Set Oil Deal – REUTERS
The agreement is crucial to reviving the nations’ economies after their armies came close to all-out war along a disputed frontier in April.
UK: Regulator warns on raising bank capital - FT
New financial regulator the Financial Policy Committee says low earnings growth will force UK banks to turn to markets to raise capital
S. KOREA: South Korea wallows in existential angst - FT
The country appears to be in the throes of a nervous breakdown just as it gains confidence on the world stage, writes David Pilling
MORE EUROZONE NEWS & ANALYSIS:
EUROZONE: SPAIN: The shape of modern Spain is being questioned - GUARDIAN, VIA RCW
Violence in Madrid captured headlines but the post-Franco democratic settlement was crumbling in Catalonia
EUROZONE: Data Point to Further Gloom in Euro Zone - NYT
Confidence among European businesses and consumers continued to decline in September, the European Commission reported.
EUROZONE: Europe to Seek Sanctions Against U.S. Over Boeing Subsidies - NYT
In the latest move in a seven-year dispute, the European Union said it would ask the World Trade Organization for permission to levy up to $12 billion in sanctions.
EUROZONE: SPAIN: Spanish deposits fall as crisis deepens - FT
As protesters descended on Spain’s parliament in Madrid for a second night, Mariano Rajoy called on Spaniards to ignore ‘short-term interests’
EUROZONE: Europe Is Mad as Hell - THE GUARDIAN, EDITORIAL
This is a pan-southern-European pushback against austerity happening while the package is still being negotiated
The Common Good publishes an international news digest every weekday, available here.
