Afghanistan
Most U.S. and NATO combat troops have resumed joint operations with Afghan forces, the Pentagon said Thursday, although U.S. officials said they remain worried about the threat of fratricidal “insider attacks.” – Washington Post
Seizures in Afghanistan of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, the main explosive used in Taliban bombs, more than doubled in the first seven months of 2012 compared with the same period last year, U.S. officials said. – Washington Post
A new Afghan army-issued guide explains to soldiers here that when their Western counterparts do something deeply insulting, it’s likely a product of cultural ignorance and not worthy of revenge. – Washington Post
One of Washington’s foremost analysts of military issues has some harsh words about Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s take on the insider attack problem in Afghanistan, calling it “absurd.” – CNN’s Security Clearance
It had become standard practice in recent years that when the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff visits the war zone, he takes a rotation of reporters along with him….So in Thursday’s Pentagon press briefing, Dempsey was asked to explain why he kept this visit secret. – The E-Ring
India
Editorial: The modern Congress Party retains a strong socialist slant, so Messrs. Singh and Chidambaram have an unenviable challenge. The two have worked within this constraint by pitching growth as a way to pay for safety nets, but at least convinced Mrs. Gandhi that growth comes first. Maybe someday they can convince her—and most Indians—that the best safety net is growth itself. – Wall Street Journal Asia (subscription required)
China
One of China’s top forensic experts cast doubt on official findings that British businessman Neil Heywood died of cyanide poisoning, a highly unusual contradiction of Beijing’s carefully scripted version of the events that unleashed China’s biggest political scandal in decades. – Wall Street Journal
China’s ruling Communist Party has expelled the once-powerful political leader Bo Xilai and accused him of a long list of moral and criminal sins, officials said Friday, following months of rampant rumors and signs of serious debate within China’s leadership over Bo’s fate. – Washington Post
Artist Ai Weiwei said he would refuse to pay the remainder of a $2.4 million fine for tax evasion after a Beijing court rejected his appeal on Thursday, setting the stage for another possible showdown between the media-savvy dissident and Chinese authorities. – WSJ’s China Real Time Report
China’s ruling Communist Party will hold a congress to appoint a new generation of central leaders from November 8, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday, citing the decision of a Politburo meeting. – Reuters
Wang, who did not want his full name published, is among thousands of workers housed in a vast complex where tensions aggravated by regimented and cramped living conditions boiled over on Sunday into a violent mass riot. – Reuters
East Asia
It took more than six decades, including nearly 20 years of economic stagnation, to persuade Japan’s change-averse voters to kick out the governing party long enough to move to a true two-party democracy in 2009. Now, just three years later, many voters have embraced a largely unknown new party led by a brash young leader who promises a drastic overhaul of the government. – New York Times
Two and a half times more Japanese will vote for the opposition Liberal Democratic Party than for the ruling party in an upcoming election, a newspaper poll suggested on Friday, raising the prospect of Shinzo Abe again becoming prime minister. – Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged China and Japan on Thursday to let “cool heads” prevail in a festering dispute over a cluster of East China Sea islands, but hours later Chinese and Japanese diplomats traded barbs at the United Nations. – Reuters
The islands at the center of a territorial dispute between Japan and China were seized from the Chinese in 1895 and the Japanese government’s recent purchase of them is “illegal and invalid,” Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Thursday. – Reuters
A festering territorial dispute between China and Japan has derailed talks for a free trade zone involving the two countries and South Korea, an adviser to China’s central bank said on Thursday. – Reuters
Burma
The president of Myanmar, a former general who has led the move away from a prolonged era of dictatorship, poverty and isolation, asserted on Thursday in his first United Nations speech that “amazing changes” were transforming his country and could never be reversed. – New York Times
The U.S. decision to lift a ban on exports from Myanmar could give the country its best shot at becoming the world’s next low-cost manufacturing hub as well as firm up the fragile political reforms now taking place. But business leaders say it will be…years before meaningful benefits reach its archaic industrial infrastructure and low-income households. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Once feared for its obstructionism, the Myanmar Investment Commission has put on a fresh, investor-friendly face, and its bureaucrats are scrambling to deal with a deluge of interest even as a proposed investment law creates considerable uncertainty about how foreign companies will be treated in this long-closed Southeast Asian nation. – Associated Press
Myanmar pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi got celebrity treatment from students at Harvard University on Thursday, but insisted she was not an “icon.” – Reuters
Cambodia
What to remember and what to forget is a question that torments Cambodia 14 years after the last Khmer Rouge stronghold fell here, on the Thai border. Victims clamor for justice while others, including members of the current government who once sided with the Khmer Rouge, are deeply wary of allowing a full reckoning with the past. – Washington Post
Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was on track to build an atomic bomb by summer of 2013 and exhorted the U.S. and other global powers to set a strict limit on Tehran’s nuclear fuel production as the clear “red line” that would trigger military strikes. – Wall Street Journal
Read the full text of the Prime Minister’s remarks – Israeli Prime Minister’s Office
An internal report prepared by Israel’s Foreign Ministry calls for an additional round of international sanctions against Iran, an Israeli official confirmed on Thursday, in what appeared to be a rare Israeli acknowledgment that there might still be time to try to stop the Iranian nuclear program by means other than military action. – New York Times
Not long after the speech by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday, the spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, was shoved and shouted at by a small group of protesters as he tried to cross the street near Second Avenue and East 48th Street. Police officers stepped in quickly to protect him, ordering the protesters back. – New York Times
Iran responded to Israel’s “red line” for Tehran’s nuclear program on Thursday by declaring it was strong enough to defend itself and that it reserved the right to retaliate with full force against any attack. – Reuters
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s U.N. speech about Iranian nuclear advances has dampened speculation in Israel that he could order a war this year. – Reuters
The United States expects major powers’ consultations on Iran’s nuclear program to continue and eventually lead to another round of talks with Tehran, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. – Reuters
China said on Thursday that the disagreement over Iran’s nuclear program had reached “a new, crucial stage,” calling for Tehran to begin a new round of talks with world powers, something a U.S. official said could happen at some point. – Reuters
With persistent speculation that Israel might soon attack Iran’s nuclear sites and his own increasingly tense relations with Tehran, the potential dangers facing Amano’s staff on the ground are likely a big worry for the veteran Japanese diplomat. – Reuters
Jeffrey Smith and John Bellinger writes: The threat posed by Iran’s aggressive pursuit of a nuclear weapon is grave. Obama and Romney are right to say that the United States is prepared to use force to defend the nation against this threat, if that is necessary after other means have been exhausted. But both men should also explain a clear legal basis for a military strike. They should publicly commit to seeking specific congressional authorization to bolster the president’s constitutional authority to defend the United States. And they should explain how using force against Iran would be justified under international law and under what circumstances. – Washington Post
Danielle Pletka writes: The tale of the MEK reflects poorly on all involved, from the State Department to Capitol Hill to undeclared lobbyists…At the very least, however, we will soon find out whether, freed of the opprobrium of its terrorist designation, the MEK will make any difference in our long-running battle with Iran. Somehow, I doubt it. – Foreign Policy
Syria
Rebel fighters in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo said Thursday that they had launched a major offensive against government troops in the city – New York Times
The number of Syrians fleeing to neighboring countries for safety and aid is likely to exceed 700,000 by the end of the year, according to the United Nations and humanitarian agencies that are struggling to keep pace with the surge in numbers in recent weeks. – New York Times
Rebels in Syria have disclosed new details on the Damascus regime’s chemical weapons storage sites, as a military defector last week outlined plans by Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to use the deadly arms. – Washington Free Beacon
Western and Arab states demanding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s exit are under pressure to produce a plan to make that happen, but their unwillingness to act outside a deadlocked U.N. Security Council leaves them looking fractured and powerless. – Reuters
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at Russia, China and Iran on Thursday, saying their stance on the crisis in neighboring Syria was allowing a massacre to go on unabated. – Reuters
Syrian authorities on Thursday sent text messages over cellphones nationwide with a message for rebels fighting President Bashar Assad’s regime: “Game over.” – Associated Press
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s widowed sister Bushra has left Syria and is living in the United Arab Emirates, a source close to the UAE government said on Thursday. – Reuters
Libya
U.S. intelligence agencies have determined that the attack on the U.S. mission in Libya involved a small number of militants with ties to al-Qaeda in North Africa but see no indication that the terrorist group directed the assault, U.S. officials said Thursday. – Washington Post
Sixteen days after the death of four Americans in an attack on a United States diplomatic mission here, fears about the near-total lack of security have kept F.B.I. agents from visiting the scene of the killings and forced them to try to piece together the complicated crime from Tripoli, more than 400 miles away. – New York Times
Libya’s head of state apologized to the international community on Thursday for four decades of bloodlust, terrorism and human-rights abuses perpetrated by his “lunatic despot” predecessor, Col. Moammar Gadhafi. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
A veteran al Qaeda operative indicted in connection with the bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa is alive and well in Libya, according to Western intelligence sources. – CNN’s Security Clearance
The Obama administration faced increased pressure Thursday to provide more information about the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya that left an ambassador and three other Americans dead. – DEFCON Hill
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) accused the Obama administration of covering up the events that led to the death of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Libya two weeks ago, twice referring to the incident as “Benghazi-gate.” – The Hill’s Global Affairs
The assault on the diplomatic office in Benghazi was clearly a planned assault by terrorists, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Thursday. – CNN’s Security Clearance
The United States is temporarily withdrawing more staff from its embassy in Libya’s capital for security reasons, but hopes to send them back early next week, the State Department said on Thursday. – Reuters
The head of NATO expressed concern on Thursday about armed groups operating outside government control in Libya and said he was encouraging Tripoli to accept an offer of help to reform its security sector. – Reuters
Josh Rogin reports: The two most discussed candidates to be America’s next top diplomat now find themselves on opposite sides of the Libya issue, with U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice in the role of defending the administration’s narrative and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) promising tough congressional oversight while giving the State Department room to conduct its own investigation. – The Cable
Eli Lake reports: [M]embers of Ansar al-Sharia (AAS) bragged about their successful attack against the American consulate and the U.S. ambassador, according to three U.S. intelligence officials who spoke to The Daily Beast anonymously because they were not authorized to talk to the press. – The Daily Beast
Editorial: The sensible and responsible response to this foggy situation is to refrain from further loose talk and allow the investigations by the FBI and the State Department to proceed, with the collaboration of intelligence agencies and the Libyan government and regular briefings for Congress. The probe should cover not only what occurred on Sept. 11 and who carried it out, but why U.S. facilities in such a dangerous city did not have better protection. – Washington Post
Michael Totten writes: Libyans could end up joining the Arab world’s anti-American mainstream. For now, though, they’re standing apart from all that. They need American help against the militias, and they’re worth the risk. The alternative is worse by far than anything we’re seeing in Cairo. – Wall Street Journal
North Africa
Talks are under way between senior Navy officials and their counterparts in Cairo to begin conducting joint war games for the first time since Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi took power earlier this year. – DEFCON Hill
A group of high profile liberal and leftwing politicians in Egypt has said it will quit the assembly charged with drafting the country’s new constitution within a week unless its concerns over Islamist-influenced content in the document are addressed. – Reuters
Josh Rogin reports: The State Department’s biggest new program in its fiscal 2013 budget was a $770 million new fund to help America’s diplomats and aid workers respond to the Arab Spring — but Congress didn’t fund it in the latest continuing resolution. – The Cable
Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki writes: We are in a race against poverty. At this crucial moment, the West must not abandon us. It must continue to aid Tunisia in strengthening democracy and the rule of law, securing our borders to stop arms from reaching extremists, and creating economic opportunities that give our citizens hope. – International Herald Tribune
FPI Executive Director Jamie Fly writes: In March 2011, explaining his decision to intervene in Libya to the American people, President Obama said, “Wherever people long to be free, they will find a friend in the United States. Ultimately, it is that faith–those ideals–that are the true measure of American leadership.” In his response to the tumultuous events of the Arab Spring, the president is failing his own test of American leadership. – US News and World Report’s Debate Club
Kuwait
Kuwait’s parliament will not try to convene but will turn to the emir for the next move in a political standoff between legislators and the government, the assembly speaker said, which could lead to parliament’s dissolution and fresh elections. – Reuters
Yemen
Some are al-Qaeda operatives who saw fit to rebrand in the wake of last year’s Arab uprisings. Others are radical Islamists whose goal is to impose strict religious rule on a region in political transition. All are calling themselves Ansar al-Sharia — Partisans of Islamic Law. – Washington Post
Yemen should repeal former president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s immunity from prosecution and open a new investigation into one government attack on protesters during last year’s uprising that left 45 people dead, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday – Reuters
International donors pledged another $1.46 billion in aid to Yemen on Thursday to help the poorest Arab country overcome financial challenges as it struggles to become a democracy against the backdrop of humanitarian and security crises. – Reuters
Katherine Zimmerman writes: This slide deck provides information on AQAP’s leaders, both current and former, and their networks. – AEI’s Critical Threats Project
Iraq
A group of militants laid siege to a prison near Tikrit and an ensuing gun battle left at least 15 police officers dead and more than 80 prisoners on the loose, officials said on Friday. – New York Times
Israel
Amid criticism for not meeting in person with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while he is in the U.S., President Barack Obama will likely talk with him via phone Friday, the White House said. – WSJ’s Washington Wire
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday that he has opened talks with the world body on obtaining recognition of Palestine as a nonmember state. – LA Times’ World Now
The United Nations must condemn Israel’s “racist settler colonization” of Palestinian territories if any hope of a peace agreement between the two can be salvaged, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told the United Nations on Thursday. – The Hill’s Global Affairs
Turkey
Turkey’s intelligence agency may hold talks with Kurdish militants if the time is right, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday, as his government grapples with an upsurge in separatist violence in the country’s southeast. – Reuters
Russia
A funny thing happened during the elections this fall for governor in the Russian region of Ryazan: for a few weeks, no one knew who would win. – New York Times
Alexeyeva and other Russian human rights leaders met with journalists at a small independent press center to explain how they plan to contend with the new limits Vladimir Putin has been imposing on activists since his return to the Russian presidency in May. Among their tools, although they did not use the word, is courage. – Washington Post
A senior Russian official said on Thursday he would skip a meeting of European lawmakers next week because of “Russophobic” attitudes among them, in a fresh sign of tensions between Moscow and Europe. – Reuters
Europe
The European Union inched closer to a trans-Atlantic trade war on Thursday, saying that it would ask the World Trade Organization for the right to impose up to $12 billion in annual trade sanctions against the United States in retaliation for subsidies to Boeing that Brussels says give the plane maker an unfair advantage over its European rival, Airbus. – New York Times
The pro-Western government of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili is facing its toughest electoral challenge since it was swept to power by the Rose Revolution in 2004, an event hailed by the U.S. as creating a beacon of Western-style democracy in the former Soviet Union. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls warned Islamists on Thursday that preaching hatred in France would not be tolerated, telling hardliners as he inaugurated a mosque that they would be expelled if they challenged the Republic’s principles. – Reuters
United States of America
A man believed to be behind an anti-Muslim video that spawned international protests was held without bail in Los Angeles on Thursday, after federal authorities arrested him earlier in the day for allegedly violating the terms of probation on his 2010 conviction. – Wall Street Journal
Dan Runde writes: Governor Romney sees foreign assistance as a form of “soft power.” It is clear that Governor Romney sees foreign assistance as an instrument of American power and influence and one that we should use to ensure that the 21st century is an American century. – Shadow Government
Carol Adelman writes: After months of debates over taxes, budgets, and jobs, it seems that foreign aid has become the least partisan matter. Both parties agree that in the vast sea of private resource flows, government aid is a minority shareholder and that government aid needs to be transformed. This is good news for prosperity in developing countries. – Hudson Institute
Latin America
Argentina and Iran will keep talking until they resolve diplomatically sensitive issues stemming from two 1990s attacks on Jewish targets in Buenos Aires that were allegedly sponsored by Tehran, both countries said on Thursday. – Reuters
From single mothers to construction workers, some Chavez supporters have been turning away from the president to consider new leadership. They’ve become key to the Oct. 7 presidential vote and Capriles‘ strategy. – Associated Press
Mali
U.S. Africa command head Gen. Carter Ham met with Mauritania’s president and an official says the two are discussing a possible military intervention, likely West African-led, in north Mali against al-Qaida-linked group members and their allies. – Associated Press
The European Union is looking at how it can help Mali combat an Islamist rebel takeover in the country’s north after receiving a plea for assistance ranging from military training to equipment for clearing land mines, EU officials said on Thursday. – Reuters
East Africa
Kenyan forces claimed on Friday to have captured the last major stronghold of the Shabab Islamist group in Somalia, which, if confirmed, would spell an end to the Shabab’s ability to control large tracts of territory and the beginning of an underground, and possibly even more dangerous, guerrilla phase. – New York Times
The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan signed a long-awaited cooperation agreement on Thursday, paving the way for the resumption of oil exports and casting their ailing economies a desperately needed lifeline. But several analysts said the deal came up far short. – New York Times
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe wants to hold elections in March, court papers showed on Thursday, a timetable that could cause tension with his coalition partners and regional leaders who first want reforms to avoid a repeat of 2008 poll violence. – Reuters
The United States accused Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe on Thursday of sinking to a “new low” by comparing the death of U.S. ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens to that of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. – Reuters
