Morning Brief, Monday, September 11

Ceremonies to remember the thousands who died in the attacks of September 11 are underway in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania – and around the world, no doubt. Bush will give a live speech from the Oval Office tonight at 9PM EST. Deborah Sontag delivers a great piece on the politics of delay at Ground Zero.

The NYT asked writers from Nairobi to London to Mumbai to reflect on the terror attacks that have befallen their cities. A new Zawahiri tape is aired on Al Jazeera warning of renewed al Qaeda attacks on the Gulf and Israel. 

Iraq

Watch for the name Col. Pete Devlin. Will his classified assessment that the prospects for Iraq’s Anbar province are so dim as to verge on being lost earn him vilification? An early retirement? Or kudos for speaking the truth? From Thomas Ricks’s report in the WaPo:

One Army officer summarized [the report] as arguing that in Anbar province, “We haven’t been defeated militarily but we have been defeated politically — and that’s where wars are won and lost.”

Sunni legislators boycotted parliament on Sunday to protest a bill that would allow factions to create autonomous states in Iraq. A bomb kills more than a dozen outside an army recruiting center in Baghdad. But don’t dare question how the war is being carried out or whether U.S. strategies are sound. If you do, Dick Cheney thinks you’re helping the terrorists. But he also still thinks there was a strong relationship between prewar Iraq and al Qaeda, even though the Senate Intelligence Commitee on Friday threw cold water on the link.

Gaza/Israel/Lebanon

Abbas announced today that Fatah and Hamas have finally reached an agreement for a unity government. But what will it look like? Haaretz reports that Hamas has agreed to an “indirect recognition” of Israel. 

Tony Blair, on a visit to Lebanon, is received with angry protests. 

Elsewhere

The funeral for an Afghan governor killed over the weekend by the Taliban – the highest level official to be killed by the insurgency – is interrupted by a blast that kills at least five. 

China, whose trade surplus reached yet another record high in August, imposes new restrictions on foreign news in the country. 

The EU’s Javier Solana says progress has been made in talks with Iran’s top nuclear negotiator. Unrest continues in Baluchistan (and why it matters). Pro-EU party in Montenegro claims victory after a weekend vote. And, in case you missed it, FP‘s own James Forsyth appeared in yesterday’s WaPo Outlook section arguing that American institutions should issue a moratorium on hiring Blair once he leaves office.