Morning Brief, Tuesday, December 19
Iraq and Middle East Insurgents have nearly cut the electricity to Baghdad, and attacks on U.S. and Iraqi targets are at a record high. The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. military are now questioning whether the White House would use a surge of 15-30,000 troops effectively. A Libyan court has condemned six Bulgarian ...
Iraq and Middle East
Insurgents have nearly cut the electricity to Baghdad, and attacks on U.S. and Iraqi targets are at a record high. The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. military are now questioning whether the White House would use a surge of 15-30,000 troops effectively.
A Libyan court has condemned six Bulgarian nurses to death for, allegedly, deliberately infecting Libyan children with HIV/AIDS.
Iraq and Middle East
Insurgents have nearly cut the electricity to Baghdad, and attacks on U.S. and Iraqi targets are at a record high. The Joint Chiefs
A Libyan court has condemned six Bulgarian nurses to death for, allegedly, deliberately infecting Libyan children with HIV/AIDS.
There’s supposed to be a truce in Gaza, but the fighting goes on between Fatah and Hamas-aligned gunmen.
Europe
Another story that hasn’t gotten much attention this year: it’s boom-time in Germany.
Wondering why Jacques Chirac has been so nice to Vladimir Putin lately? Wonder no more: Russia’s Gazprom has inked a deal to supply Gaz de France with 12 million cubic meters of natural gas per year for the next 24 years.
‘Islamophobia’ is on the rise in Europe, says a new report.
Asia
What’s the matter with Thailand? Thai stocks took a nosedive yesterday in the biggest sell-off since the Asian crisis began there in 1997. The trigger? Strict new controls on capital. Thailand will now reverse course.
The six-party talks continue in Beijing. North Korea says that financial restrictions must be lifted, or there’s no deal over its nuclear weapons.
Elsewhere
The trial of a top death-squad boss may implicate some members of Colombia’s political elite, undermining the Uribe government.
Newsweek‘s Fareed Zakaria says: “For the sake of his own freedom agenda, President Bush must move beyond Iraq.”
More from Foreign Policy


Is Cold War Inevitable?
A new biography of George Kennan, the father of containment, raises questions about whether the old Cold War—and the emerging one with China—could have been avoided.


So You Want to Buy an Ambassadorship
The United States is the only Western government that routinely rewards mega-donors with top diplomatic posts.


Can China Pull Off Its Charm Offensive?
Why Beijing’s foreign-policy reset will—or won’t—work out.


Turkey’s Problem Isn’t Sweden. It’s the United States.
Erdogan has focused on Stockholm’s stance toward Kurdish exile groups, but Ankara’s real demand is the end of U.S. support for Kurds in Syria.