Morning Brief: Tackling “Af-Pak”
Top Story The latest U.S. drone attack killed four people in Northwest Pakistan as the U.S. offered a $5 million reward for two al Qaeda leaders believed to be in the area. A well-known radical cleric in the area proclaimed that the widening U.S. drone operation in the region would justify jihad against U.S. forces ...
Top Story
Top Story
The latest U.S. drone attack killed four people in Northwest Pakistan as the U.S. offered a $5 million reward for two al Qaeda leaders believed to be in the area. A well-known radical cleric in the area proclaimed that the widening U.S. drone operation in the region would justify jihad against U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. is drawing up a list of drone targets along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border with the help of Pakistani intelligence. The situation is somewhat delicate since U.S. officials also believe that Pakistan’s military intelligence agency, the ISI, is providing support for Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
The results of a major U.S. policy review on Afghanistan are expected tomorrow. President Barack Obama said yesterday that the review would call for better coordination between NATO allies. The U.S. will be hosting an international conference on the future of Afghanistan at The Hague next Tuesday. Iran has accepted the United States’ invitation to attend.
Americas
Visiting Mexico City, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton acknowledged that the U.S. was to blame for much of Mexico’s drug violence.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will announce sweeping new regulations for the financial sector on Thursday.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is asking the U.S. for a bailout for Latin America.
Asia
54 people were killed by shelling in Northern Sri Lanka. Thousands more are trapped between government forces and the Tamil Tiger rebels.
China criticized a U.S. report on its growing military.
20,000 protesters marched in Bangkok to demand the resignation of Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Middle East
An Egyptian government official says his government is moderating a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas that involves captured IDF officer Gilad Shalit.
A technically illegal West Bank settlement appears to be receiving Israeli government funding, the BBC reports.
A car bombing killed 16 at a bus stop in Baghdad.
Africa
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is visiting DR Congo to meet with President Joseph Kabila.
Indicted Sudanese leader Omar al Bashir traveled to Libya to meet with Muammar al Qadaffi.
Somalia’s new interior minister was wounded by a roadside bomb.
Europe
A third man has been charged in Northern Ireland’s recent police shooting.
The collapse of the Czech Republic’s government could put the nail in the coffin of the EU’s Lisbon treaty.
The leader of Chechnya says separatist rebels have been nearly wiped out the Russian region will soon be able to stop anti-rebel operations soon.
KARIM KHAN/AFP/Getty Images
Joshua Keating is a former associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating
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