Top of the Agenda: Syrian Defectors Attack Military Base
Syrian army defectors--part of the so-called Free Syria Army--opened fire on an air force intelligence complex (al-Jazeera) outside Damascus, according to the Syrian Revolution General Commission. The attack followed a series of coordinated defections from the Syrian military. DESERTORES REORGANIZADOS ¿SERÁN MUCHOS?
The high-profile assault comes as Arab League foreign ministers meet in the Moroccan capital of Rabat toformally suspend Syria (BBC) from the organization. Syria said it will not attend the meeting.
International pressure (NYT) continued to mount on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, as the Russian government--a long-time ally of Syria--met with the Syrian opposition in Moscow. Turkey, another ally, moved to reduce its economic ties with Syria by shelving a plan to explore for oil in the country and threatening to reduce the electricity it sells to Damascus.
Analysis
The Arab League's decision to suspend Syria if it fails to end its violence must be followed by economic and political sanctions, including trade and oil embargoes, explains this CFR Analysis Brief.
Under the weight of sanctions and eight months of protests, the Syrian economy is starting to buckle. But that doesn't mean business leaders will abandon the regime, writes Stephen Starr in Foreign Policy.
The Arab revolts of 2011 offer the Arab League a new opportunity to pursue necessary reforms, increase legitimacy, and prove its relevance, explains this CFR Backgrounder.
PACIFIC RIM
Australia and U.S. Strengthen Military Ties
Meeting in Canberra, U.S. President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced plans for up to twenty-five hundred U.S. Marines (Australian) to be stationed in Australia, intended to counter China's growing military presence in the region.
PHILIPPINES: In a visit to Manila, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the Philippines and China to resolve territorial disputes (WSJ) in the highly contested South China Sea peacefully. Clinton said the United States would not take a position on any territorial claims in the region.
In a recent op-ed for Project Syndicate, CFR President Richard N. Haass argues that U.S. foreign policy had become preoccupied with the Middle East, but it is now correctly refocused on East Asia and the Pacific.
SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA
Afghan Tribal Leaders Meet in Kabul
At a conference of two thousand tribal and regional leaders in Kabul, Afghan President Hamid Karzai underlined the need to build a "strong partnership" (al-Jazeera) with the United States and NATO as coalition troops continue a gradual drawdown from Afghanistan.
This CFR Timeline examines the events that precipitated the U.S. war in Afghanistan as well as the history of the war.
PAKISTAN: U.S. drones attacked a Taliban base (ExpressTribune) in South Waziristan, killing sixteen militants, including two from the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.
EUROPE
Germany Calls on UK to Help Eurozone
Germany said the United Kingdom should participate in a proposed Europe-wide financial transactions tax (Telegraph), which UK Prime Minister David Cameron has blocked. Cameron will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Friday to discuss the ongoing eurozone crisis.
NETHERLANDS: Amid rising borrowing costs throughout the core of the eurozone, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called for a mechanism to eject weak countries (Guardian) from the single-currency union.
The eurozone, once seen as a crowning achievement in the decades-long path of European integratiHon, is buffeted by a sovereign debt crisis of nations whose membership in the currency union has been poorly policed, explains this CFR Backgrounder.
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