National Security | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Nat’l Security / Foreign Affairs: September 5th, 2012
Excerpts and more top stories
SYRIA/IRAN/IRAQ: Iran Relies on Iraqi Airspace to Aid Syrian Military - NYT
MICHAEL R. GORDON: Iran has resumed shipping military equipment to Syria over Iraqi airspace despite pressure from Washington on Baghdad, showing the limits of American influence in the region.
SYRIA: United Nations Says 100,000 Refugees Fled Syria in August - NYT
DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK, HWAIDA SAAD:The flow of refugees out of the country grew sharply after President Bashar al-Assad’s government started using airstrikes against towns and neighborhoods that support rebels.
SYRIA/TURKEY: Turkey’s Anti-Assad Policy Ricochets Back – WSJ
The Turkish government, which is spearheading efforts to force Syria’s president from power, is facing public skepticism over its Syria policy as the civil war next door increasingly spills across the border.
CHINA: China Holds Firm on Key Disputes During Visit by Clinton - NYT
STEVEN LEE MYERS, JANE PERLEZ: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, failed to narrow the gaps over the Syrian conflict and disputes in the South China Sea.
CHINA: No Movement on Key Disputes as Clinton Meets With Chinese Leaders - NYT
The United States and China clashed openly on Wednesday on two of the most contentious issues riling their relationship, the violence in Syria and growing tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
CHINA/INDIA: India and China Agree to Resume Joint Military Exercises – NYT
The defense ministers of India and China agreed Tuesday to resume joint military exercises, which were frozen two years ago, signaling a thaw in relations.
ELECTIONS 2012/ CHINA: To Chinese, Obama and Romney Aren’t So Different - BLOOMBERG OP-ED
ADAM MINTER: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s promise to get tough with China may fall on receptive ears in the U.S., but in China his vow has barely registered, much less caused alarm.
*MORE CHINA NEWS AND ANALYSIS
EUROZONE: Euro Zone in Deepening Slide - WSJ
In one of the strongest signs yet that the euro zone is heading into recession, survey data showed business activity in the crisis-hit currency area shrank at an accelerated rate in August.
EUROZONE/GREECE: Eurozone demands six-day week for Greece - THE GUARDIAN via CFR
The country’s troika of international creditors–the European Commission, ECB, and IMF–are calling on the government to introduce a six-day work week as part of the austerity program it must implement to receive its second bailout package.
EUROZONE: ECB Plan Said To Pledge Unlimited, Sterilized Bond-Buying – BLOOMBERG
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s bond-buying proposal involves unlimited purchases of government debt that will be sterilized to assuage concerns about printing money
EUROZONE/SPAIN: Spain Seeks to Stem Its Banking Crisis - WSJ
Nearly three months after Spain requested a bailout for its banks, the problems facing the country’s frail banking system are deepening, putting pressure on the ECB to act.
*MORE EUROZONE NEWS AND ANALYSIS
COLOMBIA: Colombia Will Restart Peace Process With FARC - NYT
President Juan Manuel Santos and the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia said the two sides would soon sit down for new talks.
QUEBEC/CANADA: Shootings Mar Separatists’ Election Party in Quebec - NYT
IAN AUSTEN: One man was dead and another was in critical condition after a gunman opened fire during the victory speech by Pauline Marois, leader of separatist Parti Québécois.
EGYPT: Egypt’s Economic Struggle - NYT EDITORIAL
The United States, the I.M.F. and the Egyptian government must work together to revive the country’s economy.
EGYPT: Egypt to Try Ex-Official on Charge of Corruption – NYT
Farouk Hosni, who for more than two decades served as culture minister under President Hosni Mubarak, was charged with corruption on Tuesday
EGYPT: As Egypt’s Islamists Cement Their Rule, Can Secularists Reclaim the Revolution? - TIME
ASHRAF KHALIL: The secularists and liberals who helped oust the Mubarak dictatorship have been marginalized by the Muslim Brotherhood. Can Egypt’s secularists win back power?
PAKISTAN: Call the Haqqani netword terrorist group - WP EDITORIAL
Haqqani network should be designated a terrorist group
AFGHANISTAN:Bomber Kills at Least 25 at Afghan Funeral - NYT
KHALID ALOKOZAY, ROD NORDLAND: Dozens of people were killed Tuesday by a suicide bomber in an area of eastern Afghanistan where members of the Shinwari tribe have long been engaged in internal tribal warfare.
AFGHANISTAN: Hundreds of Afghan soldiers ousted – WP
Sayed Salahuddin, Richard Leiby: Afghan military says arrests, dismissals are part of effort to stop wave of deadly insider attacks.
ISRAEL/OBAMA: The Truth About Obama and Israel - NYT Op-Ed HAIM SABAN
By every measure, President Obama’s support for Israel’s security and well-being has been rock solid.
ISRAEL/IRAN: Israeli PM Breaks Up Iran Meeting, Citing Leaks - NYT
Israel’s prime minister has angrily cut short a key gathering of top security officials, accusing an unnamed participant of leaking details of the sensitive meeting to the media.
ISRAEL/IRAN: Worried About Israel Bombing Iran Before November? You Can Relax - TIME
TONY KARON: By demanding a U.S. statement of ‘red lines’ in exchange for Israeli restraint, Netanyahu appears to be seeking a retreat from an untenable position
IRAN/OBAMA: President Obama Has Failed on Iran - REAL CLEAR WORLD OP-ED, RICK SANTORUM
The choice Americans will make in November is not just about who can turn around the economy and help create jobs, but also about presidential leadership on the world stage.
IRAN: In Iran, sanctions take toll on the sick - WP
Medical experts say cancer patients and those being treated for complex disorders are suffering as deliveries of medicine dry up.
ELECTIONS 2012/ROMNEY FOREIGN POLICY: It’s Mitt’s World - NYT OP-ED, Thomas L. Friedman
The world has become more interdependent, and this new reality requires a new kind of American leadership
JAPAN: Reports: Japan to buy empty islands - WP
Chico Harlan: Land also claimed by China, Taiwan; purchase halts competing bid from Tokyo’s ultra-nationalist governor.
NORTH KOREA: North Korea May Be Preparing Economic Changes - NYT
CHOE SANG-HUN: South Korean analysts said a meeting of North Korea’s Parliament later this month may officially introduce Kim Jong-un’s program to revitalize his country’s moribund
economy.
INDIA: India’s premier becomes tragic figure – WP
Manmohan Singh has seen his reputation plummet, over his failure to push through reforms, prevent a sharp
*MORE CHINA NEWS AND ANALYSIS:
CHINA:Labor Group Says Samsung Violates Rights in China - WSJ
A U.S.-based watchdog says Samsung Electronics forces employees at its Chinese factories to work excessive overtime, bans them from sitting down and denies basic labor rights.
CHINA: Chinese Bank Takes Great Leap Forward - WSJ
State-controlled lender China Development Bank has stepped into some of the biggest private deals in Asia recently.
CHINA: A Chinese City Moves to Limit New Cars - NYT
KEITH BRADSHER: Guangzhou wants to improve quality of life through license plate auctions and lotteries expected to halve the number of new cars on the streets.
CHINA: What Roosevelt Would Do in South China Sea - FT OP-ED, Clad & Manning,
CHINA: Hillary Clinton Visits Beijing, but China’s Likely Next Leader Is a No-Show – TIME
Despite Vice President Xi Jinping’s cancellation, Clinton met with President Hu Jintao and other top Chinese leaders in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday.
CHINA: Former Police Chief Charged in China Scandal - WSJ
The former police chief of the Chinese city of Chongqing, who fled to a U.S. consulate in February, triggering the scandal surrounding his boss Bo Xilai, has been charged with defection, power abuse, bribe-taking and “bending the law for selfish ends.”
*MORE EUROZONE AND ANALYSIS:
EUROZONE: Mood improves on hopes for ECB action - FT
Global growth concerns temper risk asset gains.
EUROZONE: In euro crisis, U.S. lessons unlearned – WP
Howard Schneider: U.S. steps to end its financial crisis were controversial — but came quickly and with money attached. Not so in Europe.
EUROPE/OIL: EU Opens Probe Into Gazprom - WSJ
EU regulators launched investigations into whether Russian gas giant Gazprom violated antitrust rules by hindering competition in gas markets in central and eastern Europe.
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