Morning Brief, Tuesday, September 12
Attack on U.S. Embassy in Damascus Syrian forces say they have foiled a bomb attack on the U.S. Embassy in Damascus. It appears that no one inside the embassy was injured, but three assailants and a security guard were killed. Iraq and the war on terror If you missed it last night, here's Bush's speech. ...
Attack on U.S. Embassy in Damascus
Attack on U.S. Embassy in Damascus
Syrian forces say they have foiled a bomb attack on the U.S. Embassy in Damascus. It appears that no one inside the embassy was injured, but three assailants and a security guard were killed.
Iraq and the war on terror
If you missed it last night, here's Bush's speech. And here's some treatment:
President Bush's Oval Office speech last night was the culmination of two weeks of efforts to rally the nation behind his policies and presidency by summoning the memory ofSept. 11, 2001 . …Three previous times in the past 18 months, as public opinion has slipped, White House officials have announced that Bush would embark on a renewed effort to explain and defend his Iraq and anti-terrorism policies. None produced a lasting positive effect on how Americans view either the president or his policies.
Ellen Knickmeyer and Sudarsan Raghavan sat down recently with a top deputy of Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr, who opposes a recent bill that would partition the country. He had this to say about Sadr's vision of the future of Iraq once the Americans withdraw:
First, "there will be a civil war," said the aide, Mustafa Yaqoubi, as his three young children wandered in and out of the room. The rising violence and rivalries under the American occupation make a shaking-out all but inevitable once foreign forces go, Yaqoubi said. "I expect it." …
When the tumult ends, the Sadr aide said, Iraq's Shiite majority will finally be able to claim its due, long resisted by the Americans — freedom to usher in a Shiite religious government that Yaqoubi said would be moderate and perhaps comparable in some ways to Iran's.
Elsewhere
The NATO commander in Afghanistan says that member states "ignore" the plea for more troops in the country.
Rice says the America might consider lifting the threat of sanctions against Iran if the country suspends its enrichment work first. The press takes another beating in the Islamic Republic. Annan, after this visit there, says Iran is keen to have normal relations with the rest of the world.
The U.S. trade deficit hits a new record high. The top EU court allows Gibraltar residents to vote in EU elections. Nearly a quarter of a million attend the Pope's mass in Germany. John Tierney on Osama's PR spin doctoring (and a mention of a great FP book review). Japan's new prince is dubbed Hisahito. And more details on the Fatah-Hamas unity government.
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