Top of the Agenda: Obama Proposes $447 Billion Jobs Plan In a speech to a joint session of Congress Thursday evening, U.S. President Barack Obama laid out a $447 billion package of tax cuts and new spending (NYT) to spur job creation and bring down an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent. International investors, worried about the onset of a global double-dip recession (Reuters), were not reassured by the president's proposals. U.S. stock futures fell ahead of trading this morning. The plan consists of payroll-tax cuts for employers and employees, new spending on unemployment insurance benefits, increased funds for states, and spending on infrastructure (WSJ)--including $10 billion for a national infrastructure bank. Obama urged Congress to quickly pass his plan, the "American Jobs Act" (BBC), saying it would create new jobs for construction workers and teachers, among others, and boost the U.S. economy. The president said he would provide Congress with a comprehensive outline by September 19 of how to pay for his plan and cut the U.S. deficit (WashPost) over the long term. Analysis An aggressive president, at last, challenges the defeat-everything Congress to do something to reignite the economy, says this New York Times editorial. You have to really believe in hope and change to think that another $300-$400 billion in new deficit spending and temporary tax cuts will do any better than the $4 trillion in debt that the Obama years have already piled up, argues this Wall Street Journal editorial. Ailing U.S. infrastructure is seen as threatening U.S. competitiveness, but spending to fix it is a growing topic of debate between Republicans and Democrats as President Obama presses a new jobs program, explains this CFR Analysis Brief. This Center for Geoeconomic Studies' quarterly report examines data--including GDP, household debt, and industrial production--to show the weakness of the current recovery compared to previous post-war rebounds.  | | Tenth Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks This CFR Issue Guide provides expert analysis and essential background on the central questions facing U.S. policymakers ten years after the September 11 terrorist attacks. |
MIDDLE EAST Interpol Issues Red Alert for Qaddafi The International Criminal Police Organization issued a red arrest alert--the highest level --for deposed Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi, restricting his ability to cross international borders (al-Jazeera). At least fourteen Qaddafi officials crossed into neighboring Niger on Thursday. TURKEY: Turkish Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the country would provide armed escorts (Telegraph) for a new flotilla bringing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, accelerating a diplomatic dispute with Israel. This CFR Crisis Guide offers an in-depth look at the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its geopolitical repercussions. PACIFIC RIM U.S. Envoy Visits Burma U.S. Special Representative Derek Mitchell has arrived for his first visit to Myanmar for talks with the country's new military-backed civilian government to discuss democracy and human rights (BBC). Mitchell will also meet with recently freed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. CHINA: Detained Chinese rights activist Wang Lihong (Guardian) was sentenced to nine months in prison for protesting against the Communist party-controlled government last year. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Taliban Demands Prisoner Swap in Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban called on the Pakistani government to release scores of Taliban prisoners in exchange forthirty boys (al-Jazeera) who were captured by the Taliban last Friday along the border with Afghanistan Pakistan's stability is of great consequence to regional and international security. Examine the roots of its challenges, what it means for the region and the world, and explore some plausible futures for the country in this CFR Crisis Guide. INDIA: Indian officials received an e-mail warning of an impending terrorist attack (TimesofIndia). The message follows similar e-mails from radical Islamist groups Harkat-ul-Jihadi and Indian Mujahideen, both claiming responsibility for Wednesday's deadly bombing at the high court in New Delhi. In a policy paper from the National Bureau of Asian Research, C. Christine Fair addresses the organizational nature and security situation of two Islamic groups in India: the Students Islamic Movement of India and the Islamic Mujahideen. AFRICA Somalia Denies Hosting U.S. Detention Center Somalia denied a report by the UK human rights group Reprieve that claims the United States runs an underground detention center beneath the Somali presidential compound (BBC) in Mogadishu. The facility is allegedly used by the CIA for interrogating terror suspects. SUDAN: Sudan and South Sudan agreed to temporarily withdraw (Reuters) their respective troops from the disputed Abyei region. Khartoum and Juba have failed to reach an agreement over which country will control the territory. AMERICAS U.S. Investigates 'Credible' Terror Threat The United States has "credible" intelligence that al-Qaeda (WSJ) was planning an attack on New York or Washington to coincide with the ten-year anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001, officials acknowledged Thursday. The September 11 terrorist attacks marked a watershed moment for U.S. foreign policy, as the country sought to measure its response to an unprecedented assault from an emerging transnational threat, says this CFR Issue Guide. EUROPE ECB Considers Rate Cut European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet signaled that the bank was prepared to cut interest rates if the eurozone (FT) economic situation worsens. But Trichet denied that Europe faced a banking liquidity crisis, as recently suggested by International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde. FRANCE: The French parliament approved the country's approximately $21 billion contribution (DeutscheWelle) to a second eurozone bailout of debt-laden Greece, the first country to do so. Sharp new fears of an escalation in eurozone debt troubles have intensified debate over whether to spur fiscal integration or risk a wider crisis with serious consequences for U.S. financial markets, experts say in this CFR Analysis Brief. | 
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