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In The News

• Samak Pulls the Emergency Cord The Economist
  Thailand's foreign minister, Tej Bunnag, has been trying to reassure the world that the chaotic scenes it has been seeing on its television screens from Bangkok are just “part of Thailand’s political evolution and the democratic process”.
• Secession Dreams By: Sumit Ganguly and Kanti Bajpai | Newsweek
  Secession, it seems, is now in vogue, thanks to Vladimir Putin and Russian tanks, which came steamrolling into Georgia a few weeks ago in defense of South Ossetia. Basques in Spain, Baluchis in Pakistan, Turkmen and Tibetans in China and other secessionists all over the world will be watching the reactions of the international community closely.
• Syria Hosts Pivotal Four-Way Summit By: Sana Abdallah | The Middle East Times
  Syria took international center stage Thursday as the isolated country stepped into the spotlight to host a major four-way summit that implicitly recognized the political weight of President Bashar Assad as a pivotal player in negotiations to establish peace and stability in the turbulent Middle East.
• Israel Military Sees World of Threats By: Paul Wood | BBC News
  Israelis sometimes say they can lose only one war. They worry that defeat could mean the destruction of their state. That's why this tiny nation has, reputedly, the world's sixth largest nuclear arsenal. It is a reason to think the Israelis aren't bluffing when they talk of attacking Iran to stop the Iranians getting their own nuclear weapons.
• Plan Would Shift Forces From Iraq to Afghanistan By: Michael R. Gordon and Thom Shanker | The New York Times
  The United States would carry out a modest shift of American forces from Iraq to Afghanistan by early next year under a confidential recommendation to President Bush by the Pentagon’s top civilian and military leaders, according to Bush administration officials.
• U.S. Spied on Iraqi Leaders, Book Says By: Steve Luxenburg | The Washington Post
  The Bush administration has conducted an extensive spying operation on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, his staff and others in the Iraqi government, according to a new book by Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward.
• Sarkozy Says Iran May Provoke Israeli Attack, Causing Disaster By: Francois de Beaupuy | Bloomberg News
  French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Iran's nuclear program may provoke an attack by Israel, urging the Islamic republic to accept international inspections.
• Oil-Rich and Impoverished, Angola Votes By: Robyn Dixon | Los Angeles Times
  The African nation goes to the polls to elect lawmakers for the first time in 16 years. The ruling party is expected to win, but there is a hunger for change.
• Mugabe Threatens to Appoint Cabinet By: Celia W. Dugger | The New York Times
  Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe, said he will name a new cabinet if opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai refuses to sign a power-sharing deal by Thursday, the state-owned newspaper reported on Thursday — a deal that both sides have confirmed would leave Mr. Mugabe himself in command.
• Gul Accepts Invitation to Armenia By: Gareth Jenkins | Eurasia Daily Monitor
  On September 3 Turkish President Abdullah Gul announced that he had accepted an invitation from Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian to attend the soccer match between the two countries in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on September 6 as part of the qualifying group stages for the 2008 World Cup. It will be the first time a Turkish head of state has ever visited Armenia.
• Brussels Told to Pursue Azerbaijan Pipe Dream By: David Gow | The Guardian
  The EU must redouble its efforts to build the $12bn Nabucco gas pipeline and reduce its dependence on imports from Russia in the wake of the Georgian crisis, its energy commissioner said yesterday.
• Cheney Backs Membership in NATO for Georgia By: Steven Lee Meyers | The New York Times
  Vice President Dick Cheney flew here on Thursday to deliver a forceful American pledge to rebuild Georgia and its economy, to preserve its sovereignty and its territory and to bring it into the NATO alliance in defiance of Russia.
• Why Ukraine's Pro-Western Coalition Split By: Yuri Zarakhovich | Time
  Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in Ukraine Thursday to bolster its pro-Western government in the wake of the Georgia debacle, but he's unlikely to save it from collapse.
• Moscow Forced to Shore Up Rouble By: Charles Clover and Peter Garnham | Financial Times
  Russia’s central bank intervened heavily to support the rouble on Thursday as analysts said $21bn of foreign capital might have been pulled out of the country as Moscow paid the price for its conflict with Georgia.
• U.S. Attempts to Strengthen Ties in Azerbaijan By: Shahin Abbasov | Eurasianet
  For Azerbaijan, the Cheney visit signals the rapid approach of a moment when it will have to choose geopolitical sides between the United States and Russia, local experts say.
• Bhutto Widower With Clouded Past Is Set to Lead By: Jane Perlez | The New York Times
  Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto, is set to become president on Saturday, an accidental ascent for a man known more as a wheeler-dealer than a leader. He will start his tenure burdened by a history of corruption allegations that cloud his reputation even as they remain unproved.
• U.S. May Step Up Raids in Pakistan By: Julian E. Barnes and Greg Miller | Los Angeles Times
  Despite growing protests in Pakistan over a raid, many Pentagon officials favor a more aggressive approach to counter attacks in Afghanistan carried out by militants based in Pakistan.
• U.S. Seeks Clarification on North Korea's Reactor By: Ed Johnson and Heejin Koo | Bloomberg News
  The Bush administration is seeking clarification on whether North Korea is reassembling its nuclear reactor, as envoys meet in Beijing today for talks on preventing the disarmament process from stalling.
• Flooding in India: Why Wasn't the Government Ready? By: Mark Sappenfield | The Christian Science Monitor
  Three million people have been displaced. Critics call for more help from the Indian Army.

In Commentary

• Republic of Blowback By: Ken Menkhaus and Karin von Hippel | International Herald Tribune
  American diplomatic, intelligence and military activity designed to reduce Islamic radicalism and the threat of terrorism in Somalia have instead helped to catalyze a much more powerful, popular, shockingly violent and stridently anti-American jihadist movement.
• Angola: A Vote for the Books By: Andrew D. Bishop | ISN Security Watch
  Angolan elections will determine whether the civil war ends tomorrow, or never.
• How to Exit Iraq By: John Nagl, Colin Kahl and Shawn Brimley | The New York Times
  Basra is as an example of what an exit strategy might look like -- and of the dangers of getting it wrong.
• Al Anbar: Who Would Have Thought! By: Tariq Alhomayed | Asharq Alawsat
  Who would’ve thought that Al Anbar -- Iraq’s largest province and its most famous cities being Ramadi and Fallujah -- would be handed back to the Iraqis since it was one of Iraq’s most dangerous regions, which led to the country losing control of the province almost two years ago.
• Maliki Drops the Mask By: Jonathan Steele | The Guardian
  What's up with Nouri al-Maliki? As security anxieties subside in this slowly calming city, political speculation has rarely been so intense. First, it was Maliki's demand that all US troops leave Iraq by the end of 2011. Then came signs that his government wants to undermine the Sunni tribal militias.
• The Kurds and Baghdad: Marriage Without Divorce By: Hiwa Osman | The Daily Star
  In the absence of a permanent United States presence in Kurdistan -- something that would be welcomed by almost every Kurd -- the Iraq that the Kurds and most Iraqis want when US troops withdraw is one that is at peace with itself and the world.
• A New Mayor for Jerusalem By: Alex Stein | The Guardian
  The city's forthcoming election hints at what might happen in Israeli elections if the peace vs. security debate wasn't dominant.
• Progressive Nation Can Help Region By: Frida Ghitis | Miami Herald
  In less than two weeks, the process for replacing Israel's prime minister will begin in earnest when the ruling Kadima party holds primary elections. The leading candidates, as one would expect, have been discussing the familiar litany of problems facing the country.
• Is Al Qaeda in Gaza? By: Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed | Asharq Alawsat
  In terms of activities and recruitment, I think that Gaza is one of the easiest places in the world for Al Qaeda or any similar organization. Due to its historically tragic situation under the Israeli occupation, troubled Gaza has always been fertile ground for those seeking revenge or a challenge.
• Tasks for Zardari By: Farhan Bokhari and Daniel Dombey | Financial Times
  Bhutto’s widower, Pakistan’s likely next president, is poised to become a central figure in the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban -- but faces constraints.
• Independent at Last By: Ludwig Chibirov | The Moscow Times
  August 2008 will enter the annals of South Ossetian history as a month of epochal importance. For the first time in their history, Ossetians living beyond the Caucasus ridge gained their independence, giving official status to the Republic of South Ossetia.
• The West Should Use Economics to Rein in Russia By: Anders Aslund | Financial Times
  The conventional wisdom is that the west can do little to punish Russia. True, western governments have limited leverage, but in economic terms the Russian invasion has already hit it hard, even before western governments lifted a finger. This economic blow shows the west how it can punish Russia’s leaders.
• Flirting With Stalin By: Arkady Ostrovsky | Prospect Magazine
  While 1917 saw a cultural flowering in Russia, the post-Soviet intelligentsia has failed to articulate a liberal vision and produced only shallow art. Little wonder that Putin has been able to exploit nostalgia for Soviet "greatness."
• China Still On-Side With Russia By: Yu Bin | Asia Times
  The West is engaged in a premature celebration of the death of the China-Russia relationship following Beijing's perceived lack of support for Moscow's intervention in Georgia. This is a misreading of China's evolution to normal ties with Russia after going though "honeymoon" and "divorce" periods over the past 60 years.
• Big Spenders in Beijing? By: Stephen Green | The Wall Street Journal
  It's official: China's economy is slowing. This year, the mainland economy is forecast to expand 9.9% in real terms, down from 11.9% last year. The Ministry of Finance is hard at work on a fiscal stimulus package, and the State Council could approve it within a matter of weeks.
• Inflation Is Trumping George Soros in Hong Kong By: William Pesek | Bloomberg News
  It's a lucky thing for Donald Tsang that he isn't on the ballot for this weekend's election in Hong Kong. The city's chief executive officer would probably lose.
• Pundits of Doom By: Philip Bowring | International Herald Tribune
  Not content with causing mayhem in the financial markets of the United States and Europe, it seems that some investment banks and private equity managers have again set their sights on Asia, scene of the devastation they helped create a decade ago.
• How to Manage Savagery By: Bret Stephens | The Wall Street Journal
  At the time of its writing, "The Clash of Civilizations?" had, beyond the virtues of pithiness and historical sweep, something to recommend it on purely empirical grounds. It seemed especially plausible as applied to the "crescent-shaped Islamic bloc" from the Maghreb to the East Indies.
• Time to Go Nuclear By: Austin Bay | The Washington Times
  Reliance on one or only a handful of energy sources is a bad idea -- which is why solar, geothermal, tidal, wind, conservation and increased energy efficiency are part of any sound strategic energy policy.

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