Foreign Policy News and Commentary Update September 8, 2007

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2007 PRESS BRIEFING WITH NEW PROVINCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TEAM (PRT) LEADERS, FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS JOHN MATEL AND PAUL WEDDERIEN (STATE DEPARTMENT WATCHER, SEPTEMBER 6): http://statedepartmentwatcher.blogspot.com/2007/09/press-briefing-with-new-provincial.html

LESSONS AMERICA SHOULD HAVE LEARNED FROM 9/11 - DAVID A. ANDELMAN (FORBES, SEPTEMBER 7): As the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, known as the 9/11 Commission, says in its report on America's response to the World Trade Center attacks, "the most important failure was the failure of imagination." "Al Qaeda represents an ideological movement, not a finite group of people," the report continues. "It initiates and inspires." The problem is that the United States still has found no reliable means of inspiring the world's vast Muslim population. That remains the first and most fundamental failure. "Long-term success demands the use of all elements of national power: diplomacy, intelligence, covert action, law enforcement, economic policy, foreign aid, public diplomacy and homeland defense."
http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2007/09/06/andelman-terrorists-911-oped-cx_daa_0907andelman.html

CHAT ROOM DIPLOMACY: BLOGS AND VIRTUAL CONSULATES ARE THE NEW DIPLOMATIC TOOLS IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT'S EFFORTS TO CHANGE PUBLIC OPINION ABROAD - BEN BAIN (FCW.COM, SEPTEMBER 3): http://www.fcw.com/article103633-09-03-07-Print

SYRIA AND IRAN: THE THREATS THAT AREN'T - MICHAEL SCHEUER (ANTIWAR.COM, SEPTEMBER 6): While Iran is a threat to Israel, there is surely no threat to America in Iran's less-than-impressive military forces, nuclear development program, or unattractive public diplomacy.
http://www.antiwar.com/scheuer/?articleid=11559


EXTREMISTS ARE MASTERS OF THE WEB ADMIN (INTERNET.CO.BA, SEPTEMBER 7): Radicals and extremists have mastered the use of the internet as a tool for propaganda, organizing and education, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre said in a new report. Released on a CD-Rom, the report compiles more than 7000 websites, blogs and chat rooms for Islamic extremism.
http://internet.co.ba/news/?p=80

BIN LADEN URGES AMERICANS TO CONVERT - LEE KEATH (AP, SEPTEMBER 7): Bin Laden's attacks in his latest video on capitalism, multinational corporations and globalization led several current and former government officials to believe an American -- 28-year-old Adam Gadahn -- may have written at least part of the speech. Gadahn, who has been charged with treason and supporting terrorism for serving as an al-Qaida propagandist, has appeared in several past al-Qaida-produced videos, lecturing against capitalism and globalization and making insider references to American culture.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j_RU6i5sT389jH5n9FQ7Oj_q8b2w

IRAN'S UNLIKELY TV HIT: SHOW SYMPATHETIC TO PLIGHT OF JEWS DURING THE HOLOCAUST DRAWS MILLIONS EACH WEEK - FARNAZ FASSIHI (WALL STREET JOURNAL, SEPTEMBER 7): The hour-long drama, "Zero Degree Turn," centers on a love story between an Iranian-Palestinian Muslim man and a French Jewish woman. Iran has long used TV to shape public opinion, where newspapers and the Internet are seen as media for the elite. In July, Iran launched a 24-hour English-language satellite news channel called Press TV, joining the ranks of the BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera. Its Arabic news channel, Al Alam, has been broadcasting news with an Iranian slant in the Arab world for several years.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118912609718220156.html?mod=hps_us_editors_picks
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GLOBAL POLL: MAJORITY WANTS TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ WITHIN A YEAR (WORLDPUBLICOPINION.ORG, SEPTEMBER 6): A majority of citizens across the world (67%) think US-led forces should leave Iraq within a year, according to a BBC World Service poll of 23,000 people across 22 countries. Just one in four(23%) think foreign troops should remain in Iraq until security improves.
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/home_page/394.php?nid=&id=&pnt=394&lb=hmpg1

HELMAN: BUSH'S STAGE-MANAGED PHOTO OP WITH SUNNI SHEIKHS MAY SPELL TROUBLE IN FUTURE - GERALD B. HELMAN (INFORMED COMMENT THOUGHTS ON THE MIDDLE EAST, HISTORY, AND RELIGION, SEPTEMBER 6): The point of the elaborately staged Anbar soundbite was not to tout the claimed (modest) success of the Surge -- that has been done many multiple times in the briefings, the "dog and pony shows," given to visiting congressmen, journalists, and analysts. Rather, it was to build up an alternative story of political success in response to the clear failure of political reconciliation among the contending parties in the Government of Iraq.
http://www.juancole.com/2007/09/helman-bushs-stage-managed-photo-op.html

CONGRESS TOLD OF PROBLEMS IN REBUILDING PROVINCES - JAMES GLANZ (NEW YORK TIMES, SEPTEMBER 6): Just 29 of the 610 people deployed in Iraq as part of the provincial reconstruction program (P.R.T?s) have extensive knowledge of Arabic culture, history and language. Rick Barton, co-director of the post-conflict reconstruction project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a research organization in Washington, said that the so-called P.R.T.?s, may have little impact on life in Iraq.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/washington/06reconstruct.html?pagewanted=print

EXPERTS DOUBT DROP IN VIOLENCE IN IRAQ: MILITARY STATISTICS CALLED INTO QUESTION - KAREN DEYOUNG (WASHINGTON POST, SEPTEMBER 6)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/05/AR2007090502466_pf.html

THE MYTH OF AQI - ANDREW TILGHMAN (WASHINGTON MONTHLY, OCTOBER): Fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq is the last big argument for keeping U.S. troops in the country. But the military's estimation of the threat is alarmingly wrong.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0710.tilghman.html
VIA
http://swedemeat.blogspot.com/2007/09/continuing-aqi-info-op.html

REPORTING FROM BAGHDAD - SCOTT RITTER (TRUTHDIG, SEPTEMBER 7/COMMON DREAMS): As the United States places the finishing touches on Fortress America, the new half-billion-dollar Embassy complex in the heart of the Green Zone in downtown Baghdad, and more troops pour into mega-bases throughout Iraq, the reality(and futility) of permanent occupation has yet to sink in.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/07/3677/

IRAQ: PLIGHT OF DISPLACED WORSENS - SUMEDHA SENANAYAKE (RFE/RL, SEPTEMBER 7): Four years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the Iraqi refugee crisis has become one of the world's most severe humanitarian issues.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/09/7c905996-6dfb-4cac-a409-fa3fae5b1b17.html

HOW TO CHANGE IRAQ: BUSH SHOULD START BY ADMITTING FAULT - MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT (WASHINGTON POST, SEPTEMBER 6): The president is beseeching us to fear failure, but he has yet to explain how our military can succeed given Iraq's tangled politics and his administration's lack of credibility. The Balkans are at peace today through the joint efforts of the United States, the European Union and the United Nations -- all of which worked to help moderate leaders inside the region. A similar strategy should have been part of our Iraq policy from the outset but has never been seriously attempted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/05/AR2007090502044_pf.html

TIME TO TAKE A STAND - PAUL KRUGMAN (NEW YORK TIMES, SEPTEMBER 7): Here's what will definitely happen when Gen. David Petraeus testifies before Congress next week: he'll assert that the surge has reduced violence in Iraq as long as you don't count Sunnis killed by Sunnis, Shiites killed by Shiites, Iraqis killed by car bombs and people shot in the front of the head.
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/09/07/opinion/07krugman.html?pagewanted=print
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THE PETRAEUS WORKOUT: PETRAEUS DESCRIBES THE IRAQ WAR AS A WAR OF FIGURATIVE INCHES. BEFORE CONGRESS, HE'S LIKELY TO EMPHASIZE THESE SMALLER ACHIEVEMENTS INSTEAD OF THE BIGGER PICTURE -- WHICH IS UNQUESTIONABLY BLEAK - SPENCER ACKERMAN (AMERICAN PROSPECT, SEPTEMBER 4):
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_petraeus_workout

THE MEASURE OF PROGRESS ' REVIEW & OUTLOOK (WALL STREET JOURNAL, SEPTEMBER 7): The "surge" is working and we are at last on our way toward a positive military outcome.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118911452890719814.html?mod=opinion_main_review_and_outlooks
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HOW VIPS GET 'BRAINWASHED' ON IRAQ ? ROBERT PARRY (MIDDLE EAST ONLINE, SEPTEMBER 6): In Washington, Bush has played off this "good news" in Anbar and in some neighborhoods of Baghdad to establish a new conventional wisdom: the "surge" is succeeding and Bush deserves another blank check for the war, says Robert Parry.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/opinion/?id=22027
VIA
http://swedemeat.blogspot.com/2007/09/codels-brainwashing-and-anbar-awakening.html

GAO DISINFORMATION ? EDITORIAL (WASHINGTON TIMES, SEPTEMBER 6): The Government Accountability Office (GAO) "progress report" issued Tuesday on Iraq has served its purpose for critics of the war: to get a credible-sounding report that would discredit the war effort issued in advance of the September 15 report from Gen. David Petraeus on the progress of the "surge."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070906/EDITORIAL/109060012&template=printart

COUNTERINSURGENCY COMEBACK - MACKUBIN THOMAS OWENS (WALL STREET JOURNAL, SEPTEMBER 6): Events have vindicated the claims of those who argued that President Bush's "surge" strategy in Iraq could work. Security, the sine qua non for ultimate success, has improved. This is especially true in Anbar and other Sunni-dominated provinces where the Sunni sheiks, who may have previously supported al Qaeda, have concluded that the Americans are now the "strongest tribe" in the region and have turned against their erstwhile allies.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118904373504818920.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries
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THE PARTITIONING OF IRAQ - CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER (WASHINGTON POST, SEPTEMBER 7): A democratic, unified Iraq might someday emerge. Perhaps today's ground-up reconciliation in the provinces will translate into tomorrow's ground-up national reconciliation. Possible, but highly doubtful. What is far more certain is what we are getting: ground-up partition.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/06/AR2007090602270_pf.html

WAR QUESTION - DIANA WEST (WASHINGTON TIMES, SEPTEMBER 7): Maybe the U.S. needs to get out of the real reconciliation business, and fast. There's a world of trouble outside Iraq. At the very least, it's debatable whether building bridges between Sunnis and Shi'ites inside Iraq should remain American Priority No. 1.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070907/EDITORIAL04/109070008/1013&template=printart

HOW I DIDN?T DISMANTLE IRAQ'S ARMY - L. PAUL BREMER III (NEW YORK TIMES, SEPTEMBER 6): 'It has become conventional wisdom that the decision to disband Saddam Hussein's army was a mistake, was contrary to American prewar planning and was a decision I made on my own. In fact the policy was carefully considered by top civilian and military members of the American government. And it was the right decision.'
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/opinion/06bremer.html?pagewanted=print

IRAN: IT'S ABOUT TIME - JAMES A. LYONS JR. (WASHINGTON TIMES, SEPTEMBER 6): ?While I believe it is doubtful economic sanctions will work against Iran, designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization opens the possibility of sanctions with teeth as well as potential military options against key IRGC infrastructure facilities. It is one way to start putting Iran on the defensive.?
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070906/COMMENTARY/109060017/1012&template=printart

THE TROUBLE TO COME [REVIEW OF THE IRANIAN TIMEBOMB BY MICHAEL LEDEEN] - ARTHUR HERMAN (WALL STREET JOURNAL, SEPTEMBER 7): The idea of a military confrontation with Iran usually brings to mind air strikes to take out Iran's nuclear facilities or to cripple its infrastructure. Mr. Ledeen is opposed to such a move, and understandably so, given the risks. But there is another military option: using U.S. air power to protect a naval blockade of the Hormuz Straits, cutting off Iran's supply of gasoline and other vital materials. At the same time, American special forces would seize Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf so that the mullahs would lose their source of revenue and, one might hope, their legitimacy.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118913197175420283.html

ADDING CENTRIFUGES TO THE FIRE - CLAUDE SALHANI (WASHINGTON TIMES, SEPTEMBER 7): New reports from Iran say the Islamic Republic is running more than 3,000 centrifuges, which is certain to augment fears in Washington and Western Europe that Iran's nuclear program is for military, rather than civilian, use, as Iran's leadership insists. The announcement by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Sunday also will likely augment the likelihood of an attack by the United States on Iran's nuclear production plants and installations.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070907/COMMENTARY/109070020/1012&template=printart

IRAN'S MURKY PRISONER RELEASE: THE FREEING OF TWO AMERICANS IS MOST WELCOME BUT UNDERSCORES THE NEED TO LEARN TO TALK TO TEHRAN ? EDITORIAL (LOS ANGELES TIMES, SEPTEMBER 5): After 27 years of severed relations, US understanding of Iran appears to be shallowerthan ever, even as Iranian politics remain a black box. With tensions rising between the two adversaries, that's a dangerous disconnect. U.S. and Iranian officials are slated to meet for a third round of talks about Iraq. Now is the time to broaden the agenda and begin a real conversation.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-iran5sep05,0,2667482.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail

A PROSECUTORIAL BRIEF AGAINST ISRAEL AND ITS SUPPORTERS [REVIEW OF THE ISRAEL LOBBY AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY BY JOHN J. MEARSHEIMER AND STEPHEN M. WALT] - WILLIAM GRIMES (NEW YORK TIMES, SEPTEMBER 6): ?It is time,? Mr. Mearsheimer and Mr. Walt write, ?for the United States to treat Israel not as a special case but as a normal state, and to deal with it much as it deals with any other country.? But it?s not. And America won?t. That?s realism.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/books/06grim.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1189087532-ldGYllYRFvbDjbQISOH4fQ&pagewanted=print
SEE ALSO
http://www.antiwar.com/ips/akhavi.php?articleid=11567
http://www.juancole.com/2007/09/mesa-letter-on-mearsheimer-walt.html
http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/20070904_fresh_air_probes_the_israel_lobby/

GETTING TO YES WITH NORTH K? EDITORIAL (BOSTON GLOBE, SEPTEMBER 6): There may still be sniping from hard-liners such as John Bolton, former US ambassador to the United Nations, but the process of negotiating North Korea's denuclearization is gathering unmistakable momentum. This is one of the few bright spots in the struggle against nuclear proliferation. It represents a welcome turnaround by President Bush and merits bipartisan support at home and cooperation from America's allies in Asia.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2007/09/06/getting_to_yes_with_north_korea?mode=PF

THE DETAINEE QUAGMIRE - MICHAEL GERSON (WASHINGTON POST, SEPTEMBER 7): Emergency measures taken in the aftermath of Sept. 11, such as Guantanamo Bay, were understandable and appropriate on a temporary basis. But now, six years later, we need a better system, and a broader consensus, to protect ourselves in a long war.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/06/AR2007090602269_pf.html

AMERICAN SECURITY PROJECT REPORT FINDS THE U.S. IS NOT WINNING THE WAR ON TERROR ? PRESS RELEASE EMEDIAWIRE, SEPTEMBER 5)
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/9/emw551570.htm

U.S. BOOSTING MILITARY AID IN TERRORISM FIGHT: STUDY - DAVID MORGAN, REUTERS (WASHINGTON POST, SEPTEMBER 6): The Bush administration is sharply increasing its use of military aid as a reward for countries that cooperate with its war on terrorism, despite concerns about human rights and political instability, researchers said on Thursday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/06/AR2007090602285.html

FORGET AT OUR PERIL - CAL THOMAS (WASHINGTON TIMES, SEPTEMBER 7): 9/11 might be forgotten -- or relegated to a "Jeopardy" answer -- but only if we win the war against Islamofascism.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070907/COMMENTARY09/109070022/1012&template=printart

INSPECTION NOTES ERRORS IN TERROR LIST - PHILIP SHENON (NEW YORK TIMES, SEPTEMBER 7): The government's principal terrorist watch list is rife with errors and fails to include significant information about known terrorists, the Justice Department's internal watchdog said Thursday in an audit report.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/07/us/07watch.html?pagewanted=print

BUSH MAKES A MILLION SCREW-UPS IN 10 MINUTES: PRESIDENT BUSH JUNIOR SCREWED UP EVEN MORE THAN NORMAL DURING BRIEF REMARKS [AT APEC] ? WONKETTE (SEPTEMBER 7)
http://wonkette.com/politics/dept%27-of-international-affairs/bush-makes-a-million-screw+ups-in-10-minutes-297527.php