Morning Brief, Thursday, November 16
Iraq Gen. Abizaid hit the Senate committee circuit yesterday and did two things: 1) Deflated the Dems’ call for a phased troop withdrawal by asserting fewer troops=more violence and 2) Confirmed publicly for the first time what Gen. Shinseki said years ago: That the biggest mistake in Iraq was not deploying more troops. The ...
Iraq
Iraq
Gen. Abizaid hit the Senate committee circuit yesterday and did two things: 1) Deflated the Dems’ call for a phased troop withdrawal by asserting fewer troops=more violence and 2) Confirmed publicly for the first time what Gen. Shinseki said years ago: That the biggest mistake in Iraq was not deploying more troops.
The debate in the Senate committee hearing was spirited, but the political subtext was all 2008. The “stay or leave” debate is raging in Baghdad, too. If there’s one thing that terrifies Iraq’s neighbors during this whole discussion, it’s the idea that dividing Iraq into three parts will suddently seem like a good plan.
Bush’s trip to Asia
President Bush opens his tour to Asia with a plea for more help taking a hardline against North Korea. His audience is sensitive to the fact that trade deals may soon become few and far between with a new party in power in Congress. Vietnam keeps the pesky dissidents at bay while all the heavies are in town for APEC.
Elsewhere
The new U.N. Human Rights Council is worse than the old one.
Annan has a new plan for a Darfur peacekeeping force.
Spain, Italy, and France launch a new peace initiative for the Middle East.
Turkey freezes military ties with France over a proposed French bill that outlaws denying the Armenian genocide.
And calls for calm in Congo as incumbent Joseph Kabila is declared the winner of the run-off presidential poll.
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Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.
Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage
The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.
The West’s False Choice in Ukraine
The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.
The Masterminds
Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.
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