National Security | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Nat’l Security / Foreign Affairs: September 7th, 2012
Excerpts and more top stories
EUROZONE: Huge Step Taken by Europe’s Bank to Abate a Crisis – NYT
The European Central Bank took its broadest step yet toward easing the euro zone crisis, throwing its financial clout behind an effort to fend off financial collapse for Spain and Italy.
EUROZONE: The Latest Attempt to Save the Euro – NYT, EDITORIAL
A new bond-buying plan from the European Central Bank is promising and comes not a moment too soon.
EUROZONE: In Autumn’s Challenges, a Series of Existential Crises for the Euro - TIME
The fate of the euro will be repeatedly tested in coming weeks, as the European Central Bank, markets, legal experts and politicians all weigh in from opposing sides in the struggle to preserve the tormented common currency
EUROZONE: Tick tock – ECONOMIST
Events as early as next week could challenge the assumption that time is on the euro zone’s side
EUROZONE: Markets Cheer E.C.B. Plan to Shore Up Euro - NYT
Stocks and the euro rose and borrowing costs fell on Friday, even as German media and political reaction condemned the central bank’s bond-buying plan as unwise.
EUROZONE: Draghi helps out Obama campaign – FT
Mario Draghi’s plan for the ECB to buy bonds of troubled Eurozone stabilises the Eurozone and will impact the US economy and its election
EUROZONE: GREECE: Greek Decline Accelerates - WSJ
The Greek economy contracted at a faster pace than previously estimated, confirming the country remains mired in recession as spending and exports both fell.
FRANCE/SYRIA: France Sends Funds to 5 Syrian Civic Groups in Rebel-Held Areas – NYT
A senior French diplomat said the government was providing funds to five revolutionary councils in rebel-held parts of Syria to help them restore water supplies, sanitation, health services and bakeries.
PAKISTAN: Girl Is Granted Bail in Pakistan Blasphemy Case – NYT
A Pakistani judge’s decision on Friday to grant bail to a Christian girl accused of burning an Islamic textbook offered a potential breakthrough in the case.
COLOMBIA: Cocaine Godmothers and Colombian Guerrillas: Why Cuba Peace Talks Matter – TIME
Cuba is a fitting setting for the upcoming peace talks between the Colombian government and Marxist guerrillas – if only because it’s a cautionary example for both the right and the left in Latin America.
COLOMBIA: Colombia Rejects Cease-Fire With FARC - AL-JAZEERA, VIA CFR
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos yesterday dismissed a proposal by the leftist FARC rebel group to implement a cease-fire during upcoming peace negotiations, saying a government offensive against the rebels would not subside “until we get the final agreement”.
RUSSIA: Russia Wants to Avoid ‘Gas War’ - WSJ
Russia wants to avoid a “gas war” with the EU over its probe of Gazprom and would welcome a negotiated settlement between the energy giant and European authorities, its ambassador to Brussels said.
RUSSIA: Putin Says Missile Deal Is More Likely With Obama – NYT
President Vladimir V. Putin praised President Obama and said that if he is re-elected, a compromise could be reached on the contentious issue of American plans for a missile defense system in Europe.
ISRAEL/DNC: Never Mind the Democrats’ Jerusalem Kerfuffle, Where’s the Peace Process? – TIME
There may be a bipartisan consensus on backing hawkish Israeli positions, but Washington has little to offer the Palestinians for sticking to the U.S. script
ISRAEL/US: U.S.-Israel clash over Iran alleged - WP
Lawmaker describes an argument about strategy in confronting Iran over its nuclear program.
AFGHANISTAN: U.S. Backs Blacklisting Militant Organization - NYT
The Haqqani network is responsible for some of the deadliest attacks against American troops in Afghanistan, and the Obama administration has deemed it a terrorist organization.
CHINA: EU investigates Chinese companies for unfair trade – WSJ
The European Union launched an unfair-trade investigation into allegations Chinese companies are selling solar panels at artificially low prices in Europe and undermining the continent’s solar panel industry, EU authorities announced yesterday.
CHINA: Earthquakes in China Kill at Least 50 – NYT
A series of earthquakes in southwest China shook two rural provinces populated by some of the country’s poorest people, damaging 20,000 homes, an official said.
CHINA: Chinese Shares Surge on Hopes Based on Stimulus Plan – NYT
The rally was set off by the announcement this week of the accelerated approval of dozens of large-scale state infrastructure projects that analysts said could be worth more than $100 billion.
CHINA: China to Spend $156 Billion on Infrastructure - WSJ
China has approved an estimated $156 billion in new infrastructure projects in recent days, giving markets a boost, even as economists are fretting that the country is behind the curve in responding to the economic slowdown.
GUANTANAMO: Judge Rejects New Rules on Access to Prisoners – NYT
A federal court ruled that the Obama administration was overstepping its authority, and violating the separation of powers in regards to restrictions on lawyers’ access to prisoners at Guantánamo Bay.
EGYPT: Family Life According to the Brotherhood – NYT
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is committed to upholding patriarchal and traditional values around a woman’s place in society, and many Egyptian women need no convincing.
SUDAN/S. SUDAN: U.S. Warns of Sudan Border Conflict - AP, VIA CFR
Following a UN Security Council meeting yesterday, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice expressed concern over a lack of urgency on the part of Sudan and South Sudan in implementing an African Union plan for resolving border and oil disputes, while warning of renewed “outright conflict”.
S. KOREA: Dispute with Japan over defense drills - YONHAP, VIA CFR
South Korea today conducted defense drills near the Dokdo Islands in the East Sea amid a diplomatic dispute with Japan, which also lays claim to the South Korean-controlled islands.
MALI: Why Mali Matters – NYT, OP-ED
For many people, Timbuktu has long represented the essence of remoteness: a mythical, faraway place located on the boundaries of our collective consciousness. But like many of the myths associated with colonialism, the reality is very different.
YEMEN: How Yemen May Defeat al-Qaeda – TIME
In this week’s magazine, TIME reports from the frontlines of Yemen’s war with the al-Qaeda franchise in its midst. It’s a battle the Yemenis are winning.
MEXICO: Alleged Drug Cartel Leader Arrested – BBC
Police yesterday arrested an alleged leader of the Independent Cartel of Acapulco, known as Juan Diego, and eleven other suspected members of the drug cartel.
VENEZUELA: Diplomat’s murder in Kenya shocks Venezuelans - WP
President Hugo Chavez’s opponents have seized on the Fonseca murder case to argue that Venezuela’s diplomatic corps is in shambles.
KENYA: Violence in Kenya’s coastal province – REUTERS, VIA CFR
Armed attackers yesterday set fire to houses and killed at least eleven people in the village of Tana Delta in Kenya’s Coastal province, in a row over grazing land and water resources (Reuters), the Red Cross confirmed today.
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