FPI Overnight Brief: June 9, 2009

Chechnya

Reuters reports that "Chechnya's most wanted separatist leader has been severely wounded in a special operation that killed four of his fighters, pro-Kremlin Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said on June 8. But Kadyrov said it was too early to say whether rebel chief Doku Umarov was dead, as reported by a Russian news agency."

Russia

Lev Gudkov, Igor Klyamkin, Georgy Satarov and Lilia Shevtsova write in the Washington Post that "As intellectuals and liberal Russians, we have read with great interest many recommendations American experts have compiled for President Obama regarding the U.S.-Russian relationship. While there are several constructive ideas, many of these reports reflect a serious misunderstanding of the situation in Russia and the course it is following... We object, for example, to the basic proposition of calling for a return to realpolitik because some believe that the worsening of Russian-American relations was mainly caused by Washington's insistence on 'tying policies to values.'"

North Korea

The AP reports that "At the risk of triggering a military confrontation, the Obama administration is pressing for new U.N. steps aimed at cutting off North Korea's ability to peddle its nuclear wares, including an arrangement to interdict air and sea shipments of nuclear materials and hardware to and from North Korea. The core U.S. concern is that North Korea, in cementing its position as a nuclear power, could accelerate the global spread of nuclear knowhow and weapons, along with ballistic missiles... U.N. diplomats were to meet Monday to discuss a resolution in response to North Korea's announced underground nuclear test May 25. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg led an administration delegation to Asian capitals last week seeking to build consensus on a tougher approach to North Korea."

Senator Evan Bayh writes in the Chicago Tribune that "North Korea's recent nuclear test and short-range missile launches demonstrate again that Kim Jong Il's regime is not only dictatorial, repressive and murderous of its own citizens, it is a destabilizing threat to world security... For starters, we should block North Korean bank accounts and imported luxury goods. We should enforce UN resolutions calling for North Korean vessels to be searched for suspicious cargo. We should redouble our diplomatic efforts to persuade China and Russia to condemn the irresponsible behavior of North Korea."

The AP reports that "North Korea has warned fishermen and boat captains to stay away from the country's east coast, Japan's coast guard said Monday, in another sign the regime is planning to fire medium-range missiles in the area. Pyongyang also threatened Monday to retaliate with a 'super hard-line' response if sanctions were imposed."

India

AFP reports that "New U.S. and Indian trade negotiators met Monday in a bid to breathe life back into stalled negotiations on a global free-trade pact. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk held talks with recently appointed Indian trade minister Anand Sharma and World Trade Organization (WTO) chief Pascal Lamy on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Kirk made no comment but Sharma said the talks were 'positive' and both sides had reiterated their commitment to completing the WTO's moribund Doha Round of negotiations, which collapsed last year."

AFP also reports that "U.S. under secretary of state for political affairs William Burns was due to arrive in New Delhi this week for talks with India's newly elected government, the foreign ministry said Monday. The three-day trip starting Wednesday will be the first to India by a senior U.S. official since general elections returned the Congress party-led coalition to power last month. The announcement came as new U.S. and Indian trade negotiators met Monday in Indonesia to breathe life into stalled negotiations on a global free-trade pact. The upcoming visit by Burns also comes ahead of a planned trip to India by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July, ministry officials said."

China

The AP reports that "China has become the world's second biggest military spender behind the United States, a Swedish peace research group said Monday. Global arms spending rose 4 percent last year, but China increased its spending by 10 percent to an estimated $84.9 billion last year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in its annual report on world arms transfers. 'China is continuing to acquire both domestic and foreign arms as it seeks to equip its armed forces for conditions of modern 'informationalized' warfare,' it said. Such warfare involves the use of precision weapons and high-tech information and communications technology."

The War

CNN reports that "CIA Director Leon Panetta on Monday asked a federal judge to keep records of U.S. interrogations of top al Qaeda captives secret, arguing their release could cause 'exceptionally grave' damage to national security. In a sworn declaration, Panetta stated that releasing detailed cables from CIA agents would disclose 'sensitive intelligence and operational information' regarding the interrogation of al Qaeda figure Abu Zubaydah -- and provide 'ready-made ammunition for al Qaeda propaganda.' 'Al Qaeda has a very effective propaganda operation,' Panetta wrote. 'When the abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison was disclosed, al Qaeda made very effective use of that information in extremist Web sites that recruit jihadists and solicit financial support.' The statement came in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union..."

The AP reports that "President Barack Obama's penchant for last-minute demands, and a rebellion by liberal allies over his efforts to block the release of detainee abuse photos, have combined to sidetrack his bill to pay for an expanded war in Afghanistan as well as continuing military operations in Iraq. The $100 billion measure is awaiting a House-Senate conference committee after winning easy approval last month in both chambers, but an emerging compromise on the bill has become caught in the crosscurrents coming from both Obama's left and right on Capitol Hill. The firestorm over detainee photos comes as Obama needs liberals more than ever, since House Republican support has evaporated over the White House's desire to include a new $108 billion U.S. line of credit to help poor countries deal with their own collapsing economies as a result of the world recession."

The New York Times reports that "On May 19, Dennis C. Blair, the director of national intelligence, sent a classified memorandum announcing that his office would use its authority to select the top American spy in each country overseas. One day later, Leon E. Panetta, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sent a dispatch of his own. Ignore Mr. Blair's message, Mr. Panetta wrote to agency employees; the C.I.A. was still in charge overseas, a role that C.I.A. station chiefs had jealously guarded for decades. The dispute has posed an early test for both spymasters, with Gen. James L. Jones, the national security adviser, now trying to negotiate a truce... [I]t is Mr. Blair who appears to be garnering the support of influential lawmakers, some of whom say they are angry that the C.I.A. has not accepted its reduced role in the intelligence firmament."

Americas

The Miami Herald reports that "Cuba made its first official public announcement Monday regarding the Organization of American States' decision to withdraw its 1962 suspension from the hemispheric group: No thanks. The announcement was published Monday in the Cuban state newspaper Granma. Cuba's retired leader Fidel Castro has waxed on for weeks calling the Washington-based international organization an ''unburied cadaver.'' But Monday marked the first time Havana specifically rejected offers to rejoin the region's diplomatic circle. 'It is an organization with a role and trajectory that Cuba repudiates,' the statement said."

Iraq

The AP reports that "Iraq's current government cannot be sued for the actions of Saddam Hussein's regime, the Supreme Court said Monday as it threw out lawsuits filed by Americans who were held by the government of the now-deceased dictator. Foreign nations usually are immune from lawsuits in U.S. courts, but federal law strips that protection from countries that support terrorism. Under Saddam, Iraq was considered a state sponsor of terrorism. But the Iraqi government says the U.S.-led invasion that deposed Saddam and a federal law enacted in 2003 restored Iraq's immunity to lawsuits in American courts. The Supreme Court agreed."

Kosovo

Deutsche Welle reports that "The NATO military alliance plans to scale down its force in Kosovo. According to a senior U.S. official the troops are to be reduced to 10,000 by January 2010. Currently, Nato's KFOR troops number 15,000 soldiers."

Ideas

VOA reports that "A new Miss Tibet has been crowned. The beauty contest took place in Dharamsala, India, the de facto capital of the Tibetan government in exile. But the newly crowned winner may be shunned if she attempts to compete on the international stage, due to pressure from China.  A 20-year-old who describes herself as an 'ambitious girl' has won a controversial beauty pageant held in the seat of Tibet's exile government."