Morning Brief, Friday, September 15

The detainee debate on Capitol Hill The Senate Armed Services Committee rejected yesterday Bush's plan to interrogate and try terror suspects, arguing that it would gut the Geneva Conventions. The rebellion, led by three Republicans with impeccable military credentials, leaves the Republican strategy on national security in jeopardy just a few weeks before the midterm ...

The detainee debate on Capitol Hill

The detainee debate on Capitol Hill

The Senate Armed Services Committee rejected yesterday Bush's plan to interrogate and try terror suspects, arguing that it would gut the Geneva Conventions. The rebellion, led by three Republicans with impeccable military credentials, leaves the Republican strategy on national security in jeopardy just a few weeks before the midterm elections. Bush will hold a news conference later this morning.

Iraq

The Post reports on the conflicting U.S. strategies at play in Anbar province:

[On the one hand]…the heavy focus of many regular U.S. military units on sweeping combat operations; and the more fine-grained, patient work Special Forces teams put into building rapport with local leaders, security forces and the people — work that experts consider vital in a counterinsurgency.

The latest plan to secure Baghdad? Dig trenches around the city.

Iran

Charles Krauthammer weighs in today on the Tehran calculus: The costs of taking out Iran's nuclear facilities will be great, the costs of not doing anything are just as bad, and we've got a year to make a decision.

Elsewhere

Taliban fighters seize a district in the west of Afghanistan. Muslim anger grows over the Pope's recent speech. Tom Friedman loves Brazilian ethanol.

Researchers publish a report in Science stating that, at a minimum, 200,000 people have died in Darfur. Zimbabwe cracks down on unions. Youths in the Ivory Coast beat the transport minister over a toxic waste dump scandal.

Spain admits it may have hosted CIA rendition stopovers. A Radio Free Europe journalist dies in a Turkmen jail. Japan gets its first glimpse of its new prince. And Oriana Fallaci has died at the age of 76.

Carolyn O'Hara is a senior editor at Foreign Policy.

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.