Foreign Policy Commentary News Update July 20, 2007

Foreign Policy Commentary News Update July 20, 2007

CREATING AN INTEGRATED U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY - GORDON ADAMS (BULLETIN
OF ATOMIC SCIENTISTS, JULY 19): What if our Middle East assistance programs had
been as large and as detailed as the investments we've made since 2002 in
combating HIV/AIDS in Africa or in encouraging sound governments and economic
policies through the Millennium Challenge Corporation? This brings us to public
diplomacy. What if we had provided funds or stimulated private funds to
encourage exchange and dialogue among the world's religions, especially between
Christians and Muslims? What if we had encouraged our European allies to support
such a program? What if State had the capability to engage in long-term
strategic and budgetary planning so that all of our diplomatic and foreign
assistance tools were integrated and focused on long-term objectives in the
Middle East and Persian Gulf region?
http://www.thebulletin.org/columns/gordon-...s/20070719.html

RESPONSE TO WESTBROOK SULLIVAN AT WEEKEND ECONOMIST, 11 APR 07 ? (CJMEWETT,
JULY 19): Abandoning Afghanistan to the Taliban and al-Qaeda, however attractive
it may seem in light of the attention and effort commanded by the steady
dissolution of the nascent free Iraq, would be a perfect public diplomacy storm
of military failure, sacrificed international goodwill, and eroded American
credibility.
http://cjmewett.wordpress.com/2007/07/19/r...mist-11-apr-07/

TURKEY: A MAJOR REGIONAL POWER TO ENGAGE OR CONFRONT IRAN (2) - MEHMET
ÖÐÜTÇÜ (TODAY'S ZAMAN, JULY 20): Turkey has agreed to put the Iraq-based
People's Mujahedeen, Iran's main opposition group, on its terror list. Iran?s
involvement in the PKK/PEJAK problem has proven to be a successful public
diplomacy tool, winning over Turkish public opinion. Unlike during the 1990s,
when most Turks took issue with Tehran due to its support for the PKK and other
issues (e.g., the assassination of secular Turkish intellectuals by Islamist
terrorist cells), the Turkish media now portray Iran as a friendly country that
is helping Ankara against the PKK.
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar...amp;link=117116

ENLISTING MADISON AVENUE - SWEDISH MEATBALLS CONFIDENTIAL, JULY 18): There
is a new RAND Corporation paper -- prepared for the United States Joint Forces
Command -- on Strategic Influence strategies for use in Iraq and Afghanistan:
Enlisting Madison Avenue: The Marketing Approach to Earning Popular Support in
Theaters of Operation (241 page pdf)
http://swedemeat.blogspot.com/2007/07/enli...son-avenue.html

DOD SEEKS WAYS TO FIGHT ONLINE PROPAGANDA WAR - SEBASTIAN SPRENGER (FCW.COM,
VA, JULY 13)
http://www.fcw.com/article103216-07-13-07-Web

IRAN USES ACTIVISTS FOR PROPAGANDA: INTERVIEWS WITH TWO DETAINED
IRANIAN-AMERICAN ACTIVISTS RAN ON STATE-RUN IRANIAN TELEVISION WEDNESDAY.
ANALYSTS SAY THEIR SELF-IMPLICATING STATEMENTS WERE COERCED - SCOTT PETERSON
(CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, JULY 20)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0720/p06s03-wome.html

CLINTON AIDS 'ENEMY PROPAGANDA' WITH TALK OF PULLOUT, OFFICIAL SAYS -
RUSSELL BERMAN (NEW YORK SUN, JULY 20): The acrimony between Senator Clinton and
the Defense Department over the Iraq war is escalating after a top Pentagon
official scolded the presidential hopeful for reinforcing "enemy propaganda"
with talk of a withdrawal of American troops.
http://www.nysun.com/article/58851

HOW MUCH CREDENCE SHOULD GEN. PETRAEUS' REPORTS BE GIVEN? - GLENN GREENWALD
(SALON, JULY 19): General Petraeus, leading the surge in Iraq, in particular has
demonstrated that his statements merit particularly potent scrutiny. So many of
the misleading government claims over the past several years about The Great
Victory we are Achieving in Iraq have been based upon optimistic claims from
Petraeus that turned out to be highly questionable, to put it generously.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/200...aeus/index.html

THE 20 PERCENT SOLUTION - CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER (WASHINGTON POST, JULY 20):
The Petraeus-Crocker plan is the 20 percent solution: peel the Sunnis away from
the insurgency by giving them the security and weaponry to fight the new common
enemy -- al-Qaeda in Iraq.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...1901969_pf.html

TROUBLE WITH THE NEIGHBORS - MICHAEL GERSON (WASHINGTON POST, JULY 20):
Realistic responses to the serious provocations of Iran and Syria are ramping up
economic pressure on both regimes; intensifying operations within Iraq against
foreign influence; and taking limited but forceful action against Syria's Ho Chi
Minh Trail of terrorists. In combination with the strategy of commander David
Petraeus, these measures hold out the promise of something unthinkable a few
months ago: America, once again, on the strategic offensive.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...1901958_pf.html

AFTER IRAQ: PART II - THOMAS SOWELL (WASHINGTON TIMES, JULY 20): What has
gone right is that the Iraq war is already over. Our troops won it. But our
politicians may once more lose the peace -- and with disastrous consequences for
us and for the world.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...mplate=printart
SEE ALSO
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/200...1012/commentary

SEVEN WITHDRAWAL SCENARIOS AUSTIN BAY (WASHINGTON TIMES, JULY 20):
Scenario (7) -- The Iraqi center holds: The democratic government proves
resilient. The assumption behind this scenario is that Iraq's government is just
responsive enough and its security forces are just strong enough to withstand
attacks by extremists and give Iran pause. After several months of brutal
warfare, the Iraqi Army destroys insurgent groups. Out of seven "rapid
withdrawal" scenarios only one -- No. 7 -- clearly benefits the majority of
Iraqis.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...mplate=printart

WHEN THE BEAR CRIES WOLF: TRYING TO UNDERSTAND VLADIMIR PUTIN - SERGE
SCHMEMANN (NEW YORK TIMES, JULY 19): In the view of a large majority of
Russians, Putin has restored order and national pride after all the chaos and
humiliations of the first post-communist years. That was also a time when
Russians went from admiring the United States to resenting it, and not without
cause.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/19/opinion/...agewanted=print

FACING AL-QAEDA: WITH THE TERRORISTS GROWING STRONGER, THEIR SANCTUARY IN
PAKISTAN MUST BE ELIMINATED EDITORIAL (WASHINGTON POST, JULY 19)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...1802225_pf.html

OUR VIEW ON THE WAR ON TERROR: SOBERING INTELLIGENCE REPORT UNDERCUTS BUSH'S
STORY LINE EDITORIAL (USA TODAY, JULY 19): The best way forward is to refocus
on defeating the enemy that attacked the United States. Options range from
sending more troops and money to Afghanistan to smarter efforts to oust bin
Laden and his commanders from Pakistan, where they're thought to be hiding.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/07/our-view-on-the.html

REREADING THE TERROR REPORT: THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE REMINDS THAT
THE WAR ON TERROR ISN'T JUST ABOUT IRAQ - EDITORIAL (LOS ANGELES TIMES, JULY
19): The passage of time without another terrorist outrage on American soil has
inspired complacency about continuing dangers and a reluctance to address issues
-- such as the proper balance between liberty and security in an age of terror
-- that are certain to recur.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editor...ment-editorials

A REALLY BAD CASE OF 'REALITY': ONCE JUST AN ADMINISTRATION FANTASY, A
POWERFUL AL QAEDA IN IRAQ FUELED BY ISLAMIC EXTREMISM HAS BECOME THE WORLD'S
NIGHTMARE - ROSA BROOKS (LOS ANGELES TIMES, JULY 20): Today, Al Qaeda is no
longer a single organization. Now it's a franchise, with new gangs of terrorists
around the world proudly seizing the "Al Qaeda" affiliation.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commen...omment-opinions

N[IE] DUCKS KEY ISSUES: BUSH'S WOODEN-HEADEDNESS KILLS - RAY MCGOVERN
(COUNTERPUNCH, JULY 19): The latest National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) titled
"The Terrorist Threat to the US Homeland," is a disappointment. The message
seems to be simply: Be afraid. Let us "assess" and "judge," but don't ask us
about sources or provenance.
http://www.counterpunch.org/mcgovern07192007.html

TERROR ESTIMATE REVIEW & OUTLOOK (WALL STREET JOURNAL, JULY 19): The
Administration has consistently warned that the war against terror would be
unlike any other the U.S. has fought, and that it would be a long one. So it is
hardly surprising that al Qaeda and other terrorist groups have adapted their
methods to changing circumstances.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1184806570...days_us_opinion
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A KEY JOB IS FINALLY FILLED - YOCHI J. DREAZEN (WALL STREET JOURNAL, JULY
19): It took more than two months, but the White House has finally found a new
deputy national security adviser. And in the end, the administration didn?t have
to look very far. President Bush will appoint Ambassador James Jeffrey, a
high-level State Department official who coordinates its Iran policy, according
to people familiar with the matter.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2007/07/19/a...finally-filled/
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