Syria
President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt on Wednesday warned the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, that “your time won’t be long,” as Syrian warplanes and artillery shelled the battleground city of Aleppo and opposition groups reported heavy fighting around the Euphrates River city of Deir el-Zour. – New York Times
The United States is adding $21 million to its humanitarian aid package for people displaced by violence in Syria, U.S. officials said Wednesday amid U.N. reports that more than 100,000 Syrians fled to neighboring countries in August. – Washington Times
The fight for Aleppo has become a grueling battle of attrition in which parts of the historic city are gradually leveled amid mounting numbers of casualties — many, if not most, of them civilians hit by shrapnel and sniper bullets. – Los Angeles Times
Syria’s disparate rebel brigades are trying to unite under a new name and the leadership of a Jordan-based general, in what the fighters say is an attempt to respond to international and Arab calls for more co-ordination. – Financial Times
Syria came under scathing international criticism Wednesday, with Turkey calling the country a terrorist state and Egypt’s leader calling on President Bashar al-Assad to “learn from recent history” and step down. – Associated Press
The White House has feared arming the Syrian opposition would only make the conflict bloodier and give the Iranians cause to commit to force. Well, the civil war has grown bloodier, and the Iranians have joined in—not because of what 44 did but because of what he didn’t do. – Weekly Standard
Iraq
The State Department said Wednesday that Iraq has an obligation under United Nations Security Council resolutions to insist that Iranian planes that are suspected of flying arms to Syria over Iraqi airspace land so the cargo can be inspected. – New York Times
Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), while in Baghdad Wednesday, warned the Iraqi government not to allow Iran to use Iraqi airspace to supply Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces. – The Hill’s Defcon Hill
Iran
In a 300-year-old former caravansary, representatives from Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Amal movements, as well as Hamas and Islamic Jihad from the Palestinian territories, gathered Wednesday for the start of the third International Conference and Festival of Islamic Resistance, a two-day event. – Washington Post
During a live interview on September 4 with Iranian state television, Ahmadinejad appeared to suggest that he might remain in power beyond the end of his term. Ahmadinejad’s second term as president ends in 2013 and under Iran’s constitution, he cannot run for a third consecutive term. – RFE/RL
Russia has starkly warned Israel and the United States against attacking Iran, saying Moscow sees no evidence that Tehran’s nuclear program is aimed at developing weapons, the Interfax news agency reported on Thursday. – Reuters
Israel
In an unusual move, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly adjourned a meeting of his security cabinet Wednesday, citing leaks of its classified discussions on the Iranian nuclear program. – Washington Post
An Israeli airstrike killed at least three Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday night as they were preparing to launch a homemade rocket into Israel, witnesses and officials said. – Los Angeles Times’ World Now
Elliott Abrams writes: ‘Have you ever met anybody who read the party platform? I’ve never met anybody.” So quipped House Speaker John Boehner at the Republican convention last week. But platforms, and their changes over time, do reflect how party leaders see America and the world. Hence the justified criticism over the Democratic Party platform’s failure to identify Jerusalem as the capital of Israel—until a barrage of criticism forced a rewrite on Wednesday. – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Editorial: Israel has always lived in a dangerous neighborhood. This year, however, the danger has been heightened. Israel needs all the goodwill it can get, especially from the United States, its main ally, and virtually its only meaningful one. – National Review
Egypt
Advocates for families say they have been tracking about 60 cases, a figure they believe represents a tiny fraction of the total number of people who vanished during the height of the revolt and the period of military rule that followed. – Washington Post
More than 100 senior executives from dozens of U.S. companies, representing finance, energy, technology and other firms, will travel to Egypt on Saturday as part of the largest-ever trade delegation to the region. – CNN’s Security Clearance
Turkey
The Turkish government, which is spearheading efforts to force Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power, is facing public skepticism over its Syria policy as the civil war next door increasingly spills across the border. – Wall Street Journal
Turkish fighter planes and attack helicopters struck suspected Kurdish militant positions in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq late on Wednesday in a major air-and-ground operation, security sources and witnesses said. – Reuters
Libya
Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s intelligence chief was extradited to Libya by Mauritania on Wednesday, handing a victory to the new Tripoli government in an international tug of war over the chance to put him on trial for murder and war crimes. – New York Times
A new report from a human rights group accuses the CIA of using harsh interrogation measures on detainees who were subsequently imprisoned in Libya and cites claims by one former detainee that he was subjected to waterboarding. – Washington Post
Read the full report here.
Afghanistan
As fatal attacks on U.S. and NATO troops by their Afghan partners kept up at an alarming rate this year, Afghan officials largely blamed infiltrators they said had been sent by foreign spy agencies. But on Wednesday, the Afghan army acknowledged far wider causes, saying hundreds of its soldiers have been expelled or arrested because of deficient vetting and links to insurgents. – Washington Post
The United States military will maintain control over dozens of foreign detainees in Afghanistan for the indefinite future, even as the two countries prepare to ceremonially mark the hand-over of detention operations to the Afghan government, officials from both countries say. – New York Times
Recent attacks by Afghan security personnel on U.S. and NATO forces show Washington should speed plans to remove its troops from the war-torn southeast Asian nation, says a prominent House Democrat. – Defense News
Afghan officials are rescreening nearly every member of the approximately 352,000-strong Afghan National Security Forces in the latest attempt to end attacks by Afghan troops on their American counterparts, a top U.S. commander confirmed Wednesday. – Politico
As the war in Afghanistan grinds to a close, top American, Afghan and Pakistani officials are drafting a transition plan designed to allow top-tier Taliban leaders to participate in upcoming peace talks once U.S. forces leave in 2014. – The Hill’s Defcon Hill
FP’s Gordon Lubold sat down with Gen. John Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), in his office in Kabul on Aug. 29 — as he scrambled to stop the insider attacks against U.S. forces and just over two months before he submits his recommendation to President Barack Obama on the size of the force he thinks he’ll need through next year. – Foreign Policy
Jeffrey Dressler writes: The Haqqani Network is the most lethal terrorist network operating in in Afghanistan. It has been linked to several of the most high-profile attacks on U.S. and foreign personnel and is responsible for most spectacular attacks and high level assassinations in Kabul and northern Afghanistan. Formerly led by aging patriarch Jalaluddin Haqqani, the Haqqani Network is currently run by his sons, Sirajuddin, Badruddin and Nasiruddin and their uncle, Ibrahim. – Institute for the Study of War
Editorial: The U.S. and NATO endgame strategy for Afghanistan involves training Afghan security forces so that they can handle the fight against the Taliban on their own. Even after 2014, when that process is supposed to be completed, thousands of U.S. trainers and advisers are expected to remain embedded with the army, police and special forces. If the interpersonal trust vital to that strategy breaks down, so will the military partnership — and perhaps the Afghan army itself. – Washington Post
Pakistan
The Pakistani government has ordered foreign staff members of Save the Children to leave the country, a spokesman for the international aid group said Thursday. The group has recently come under Pakistani government scrutiny because of reports that it helped facilitate meetings between the U.S. and a doctor who allegedly helped hunt down Osama bin Laden, a charge which the group has vehemently denied. – Washington Post
China
The United States and China clashed openly on Wednesday over two of the most contentious issues riling their relationship, the violence in Syria and growing tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. – New York Times
In all, Clinton’s trip exposed real differences, frustrating difficulties and aspects of the U.S.-China relationship that remain outright puzzling after four years of engagement, strategic castigating and a search for balance between the two. – Washington Post
An unusually public spat between the North Korean government and a Chinese company is providing a rare note of visible tension between Pyongyang and its closest ally and benefactor. – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
The once-powerful police officer at the center of a scandal that felled the senior Communist leader Bo Xilai was charged Wednesday with defection, abuse of power and corruption. – New York Times
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi expressed interest on Wednesday in working together on issues like cybersecurity and theft of intellectual property, problems that have complicated the relationship between the two plugged-in countries. – National Journal
Editorial: Mrs. Clinton and Chinese officials failed to agree on two big items on her agenda: defusing tensions in the South China Sea and ending President Bashar al-Assad’s violent rampage in Syria. The result was disappointing, but not unexpected when both countries have other things on their minds. – New York Times
India
In a bid to make applying for a visa less of a hassle, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi on Wednesday announced changes in how it processes visa applications. – WSJ India Real Time
Japan
The Japanese government may not have yet confirmed reports on Wednesday that it has reached a deal to purchase part of a chain of islands at the heart of a long-standing diplomatic feud with China, but that didn’t stop China’s Foreign Ministry from issuing an emotional response. – WSJ China Real Time Report
North Korea
North Korea said Wednesday that it would convene its Parliament this month, an unusual session that South Korean analysts said might officially introduce a program by the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, to revitalize the nation’s moribund economy. – New York Times
Burma
Myanmar has eased worries that it might pursue a secret nuclear program in collaboration with pariah state North Korea, the U.S. State Department said in a new report. – Global Security Newswire
South Asia
George Shultz and Madeleine Albright write: With so many banks making headlines, it is easy to overlook news about Bangladesh’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning Grameen Bank. No, this bank does not need a bailout. Quite the contrary, it has been prospering as it continues to provide life-changing microloans to millions of poor people. The borrowers also run the bank—they are the majority owners. But the Bangladeshi government recently moved to change this arrangement. We urge the government to reconsider. – Wall Street Journal
John Deni writes: Recent disputes among some of the United States’ closest Asian allies over largely uninhabited islands in the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the South China Sea underscore the challenges facing Washington in moving beyond the classic hub-and-spoke structure of its security system in the Western Pacific and in crafting a more collective approach. – Los Angeles Times
President Vladimir Putin signaled in an interview aired on Thursday that Russia is not ready to shift its stance on Syria, and suggested Western nations were relying on groups such as al Qaeda to help drive President Bashar al-Assad from power. – Reuters
A free, democratic, and prosperous Russia, at peace, finally, with its own people, its neighbors, and the world, is among the most important geostrategic objectives of the United States. Thus, America’s stakes in the consolidation and further expansion of a vibrant civil society, the emergence of which we may have observed and recorded in this study, are undeniable and high. – American Enterprise Institute
Vladimir Putin writes: APEC’s experience is a good example of how integration contributes to economic development, giving a positive signal to businesses. We suggest that the dialogue in Vladivostok focus on freeing up trade and investment flows to stimulate economic growth, taking into account new realities such as Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization. – Wall Street Journal
United States
Democratic delegates restored to their party platform Wednesday the position that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, reversing a controversial omission that had angered some Jewish organizations and drew criticism from Republicans that President Obama was distancing the United States from its closest ally in the Middle East. – Washington Post
Condoleezza Rice, James A. Baker, George P. Shultz and Henry A. Kissinger write: Mr. Romney understands that the world remains a dangerous place. He is a staunch supporter of our alliances around the world. He believes in maintaining our military strength. He is committed to expanding free trade and investment. He will oppose the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. And he knows that no American president should ever be ashamed of espousing the democratic principles upon which our nation was founded. – Washington Times
Colombia
President Juan Manuel Santos unveiled Wednesday the negotiating team that will spearhead peace talks with the country’s most powerful insurgent group, presenting an assortment of prominent figures that includes a retired national police chief, a former vice president and the head of the influential national business federation. – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Mexico
A politician identified in Mexican news reports as the sister of Subcomandante Marcos, the long-time public face of the major armed indigenous rebel group in southeastern Mexico, has been named to the transition team of President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto. – Los Angeles Times’ World Now Blog
Canada
The return to power of the separatist Parti Québécois continued to be overshadowed on Wednesday by a shooting here that the police said might have been an assassination attempt on Quebec’s premier-designate. – New York Time
money has also brought new problems, as miners at Chinese ventures complain about safety, low pay and conflicts that have spiraled into a spate of shootings. – Wall Street Journal
A clash this week at the Gold One International’s mine east of Johannesburg, reported by police and company CEO Neal Froneman, was the latest violence to hit South Africa’s mines in months of unrest. – Associated Press
It is a mark of growing strains between the Kinshasa and Kigali governments, and of deteriorating conditions in eastern Congo, that Rwanda ordered their withdrawal on Friday, ending joint operations that began in 2010. – Financial Times
