Briefing Skipper: Africa, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, North Korea

In which we scour the transcript of the State Department’s daily presser so you don’t have to. These are the highlights of Tuesday’s briefing by spokesman P.J. Crowley:

• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke Tuesday to the delegates of the President’s Forum for Young African Leaders. "I see Africa as a continent brimming with potential, a place that has so much just waiting to be grasped," she said. Clinton also met with 37 African women entrepreneurs and addressed delegates of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) conference. President Obama will also speak to the forum and conference Tuesday.
• The extensive U.S. support for Pakistan flood relief continued Tuesday. The U.S. has now delivered 316,000 halal meals to Pakistan, with another 110,000 expected by Wednesday. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has deployed four Chinook and two Black Hawk helicopters from the 101st Airborne in Afghanistan to Pakistan, which should arrive tomorrow, weather permitting. 
• You can still text "SWAT" to 50555 to donate $10 to Pakistani flood relief through the U.N. refugee agency.
• Meanwhile, the State Department does not agree with the view of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who said while in France, "I believe that the international community, which Pakistan belongs to, is in the process of losing the war against the Taliban." Crowley said, "I understand the statement. You know, I mean, we recognize this as a difficult, long-term struggle… as our military leaders have made clear, we have not yet won. But I don’t think that I would characterize that we are losing."
• The U.S. is "extremely concerned" about a new flare up of violence along the Israel-Lebanon border, apparently over the location of a tree. No word yet on who is to blame or who rightfully owns the tree. The State Department is in touch with both parties and working with the U.N. mission there. "We urge both sides to exercise maximum restraint to avoid an escalation, and maintain the cease-fire that is now in place," Crowley said. Special Envoy George Mitchell will head back to the region "soon."
• No real comment on the news that the Treasury Department expanded sanctions targeting Iran to include companies based in Germany, Japan, Italy, and other countries." It suggests that there is a dynamic environment here. Sanctions have been in place for some time. And Iran, through various front entities, has tried to work hard to evade existing sanctions," Crowley said. Sanctions guru Bob Einhorn is in Japan today and the Japanese just announced their own new Iran sanctions as well. Quick work, Bob!
• Undersecretary for democracy and global affairs Maria Otero is in Tegucigalpa, where she will meet with government, business, and civil society leaders as well as President Pepe Lobo.
• Crowley said the recent U.S.-South Korean military exercises were not meant as a provocation to the North and that North Korean pledges for a "counterattack" were unnecessary. "We don’t want to see an expansion of tension. We don’t want to see a war of words. We don’t want to see any further provocative steps. We certainly don’t want to see a conflict in the region. And we would hope that North Korea, for its part, will avoid any further provocative actions."