Morning Brief, Thursday, September 6

2008 Paul Drinkwater/NBC Universal Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson officially announced his candidacy for U.S. president, overshadowing Thursday night’s Republican debate with an appearance on Jay Leno’s show. Europe German authorities are seeking 10 more men thought to be involved in a foiled terror plot. A deadly mosquito-borne virus arrives in Europe. Serbia is threatening ...

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599568_070905_thompson_05.jpg

2008

2008

Paul Drinkwater/NBC Universal

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson officially announced his candidacy for U.S. president, overshadowing Thursday night’s Republican debate with an appearance on Jay Leno’s show.

Europe

German authorities are seeking 10 more men thought to be involved in a foiled terror plot.

A deadly mosquito-borne virus arrives in Europe.

Serbia is threatening to keep Kosovo by force.

Concerned about a credit crunch, Europe’s central bank dumped liquidity into the markets again Thursday.

Middle East

Breaking: Syria says it fired on Israeli jets.

An independent report by retired U.S. military officers says that Iraq’s security forces are a mess

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki discussed the idea of setting up “a government of technocrats” with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf.

Congressional Democrats are showing new flexibility on Iraq.

Sixteen Saudis returned from Guantanamo Bay prison.

Asia

Monks in Myanmar briefly took some 20 government officials hostage. U.S. First Lady Laura Bush has made Myanmar her personal cause.

In Sydney, Australia, U.S. President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao discussed a range of contentious issues. Bush also met with Australia’s likely next prime minister

Elsewhere

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon found himself “humbled and shocked” in Darfur, Sudan.

Sierra Leone’s upcoming presidential run-off election is proving to be tense.

Apple shares dropped 5.1 percent after the computer maker cut $200 from the price of its iPhone and unveiled a new line of iPods.

Beloved operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 71.

Today’s Agenda

Yesterday on Passport

More from Foreign Policy

A photo collage illustration shows U.S. political figures plotted on a foreign-policy spectrum from most assertive to least. From left: Dick Cheney, Nikki Haley, Joe Biden, George H.W. Bush, Ron Desantis, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Bernie Sanders.
A photo collage illustration shows U.S. political figures plotted on a foreign-policy spectrum from most assertive to least. From left: Dick Cheney, Nikki Haley, Joe Biden, George H.W. Bush, Ron Desantis, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Bernie Sanders.

The Scrambled Spectrum of U.S. Foreign-Policy Thinking

Presidents, officials, and candidates tend to fall into six camps that don’t follow party lines.

A girl touches a photograph of her relative on the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine in the Russian-Ukrainian war in Kyiv.
A girl touches a photograph of her relative on the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine in the Russian-Ukrainian war in Kyiv.

What Does Victory Look Like in Ukraine?

Ukrainians differ on what would keep their nation safe from Russia.

A man is seen in profile standing several yards away from a prison.
A man is seen in profile standing several yards away from a prison.

The Biden Administration Is Dangerously Downplaying the Global Terrorism Threat

Today, there are more terror groups in existence, in more countries around the world, and with more territory under their control than ever before.

Then-Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez arrives for a closed-door briefing by intelligence officials at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
Then-Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez arrives for a closed-door briefing by intelligence officials at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Blue Hawk Down

Sen. Bob Menendez’s indictment will shape the future of Congress’s foreign policy.