24 June SWJ Roundup
Afghanistan
Obama Refocuses the Mission with Drawdown – S&S
Withdrawal Timeline Raises Questions of Election Politics – S&S
Obama: US Will Not Abandon Afghanistan Despite Troop Cuts – VOA
Obama’s Troop Move a Calculated Risk – LAT
Civilian Surge Peaks as Pentagon Begins Pullback – CSM
Americans React to President’s Plans for Afghanistan – VOA
Clinton Defends Obama’s ‘Tough Call’ on Afghan Troop Levels – VOA
Clinton: U.S. Employs Three-Part Plan in Afghanistan – AFPS
Flournoy: Afghanistan Drawdown Matches Strategy – AFPS
Mullen, Petraeus Back Drawdown Plan, Acknowledge Risks – WP
Afghan Drawdown Poses Risk, US Military Warns – Reuters
Mullen Backs Afghan Pullout Plan but Calls It Riskier – NYT
Mullen Sees Risk in Obama’s Afghanistan Withdrawal – AP
Afghanistan Drawdown Risky, US Joint Chiefs Head Says – BBC
Mullen Endorses Afghanistan Drawdown Plan – AFPS
Petraeus: Drawdown ‘More Aggressive’ than Military Leaders Wanted – VOA
Petraeus Supports Obama’s Decison on Afghanistan – VOA
Reaction Mixed in London to US Plans for Afghanistan – VOA
Europeans Hail US Drawdown from Afghanistan – AP
Britain, Germany, France All Plan Afghan Troop Withdrawals – VOA
France Plans Reduction of Its Afghan Troops – NYT
France Follows US in Troop Withdrawal – BBC
Pakistan, India Assess US Withdrawal Plans – LAT
Afghans Have Mixed Feelings About US Troop Withdrawal – WP
Karzai Welcomes Withdrawal, but Many Afghans Are Wary – NYT
Afghans Fear Drawdown will Allow Taliban to Regroup – LAT
Karzai: Afghan Youth Must Lead After US Troops Leave – VOA
Karzai Surrounding Himself With Anti-US Advisers – AP
The Limits of Targeting Taliban Leaders – CSM
Afghan Court Ruling Seeks to Alter Election Results – NYT
ISAF Operations Roundup – AFPS
Obama’s Failed State – WT editorial
America Turns Away From the World – OC opinion
Military Leaders Know Obama’s Decision is a Disaster – WP opinion
A Pivot Point in Afghanistan – LAT opinion
Pakistan
Seized Phone Offers Clues to Bin Laden’s Pakistani Links – NYT
Phone Gives Clues to Bin Laden’s Pakistan Links – Reuters
Majors Quizzed Over ‘Links With Extremists’ – BBC
Clinton Warns Pakistan on US Military Aid – Reuters
In Pakistan, Pro-American Sentiment is Rare – WP
With Afghan Withdrawal, US Focus Turns to Pakistan – AP
Senators Grill Clinton on Pakistan Inconstancy – WT
Senators Wary of Pakistan’s Role in Afghan Terror Strategy – WT
Syria
Syria’s Ailing Economy Poses a Threat to Assad – NYT
Syrian Military Advance Forces Hundreds More into Turkey – VOA
Syrian Troops Said to Mass on Border with Turkey – LAT
Refugees Flee Border Camps as Troops Deploy – BBC
Syrian Troops Storm Town on Turkish Border – NYT
Syrian Troops Push to Turkey Border, Villagers Run – AP
US Concerned at Syria Border Moves, Fears Escalation – Reuters
Syria: Dying Illusions and a Slow-burning Fuse – AP
In Syria, Assad Must Go – LAT editorial
Libya
NATO Chief Says Alliance Will Finish Job in Libya – Reuters
Libyan Rebels Defend NATO After Errant Strikes – VOA
ICC Sets Date for Gaddafi Arrest Warrant Ruling – BBC
Cries of Support at Pro-Gadhafi Rally in Tripoli – AP
Leading Defector Predicts Gaddafi Will Quit Libya – Reuters
Libya’s Money for Libyans – LAT opinion
Yemen
US Says All in Yemen Struggle Worry About al-Qaida – AP
Yemeni President Not Returning Home Soon – Reuters
President Saleh ‘was Injured by Palace Bomb’ – BBC
Israel / Palestinians
Palestinians Mull Options in Asking UN for Recognition – VOA
Palestinians: Talks With Israel Won’t Stop UN Bid – AP
Palestinians Ready to Ease Demands – AP
Gilad Shalit: Red Cross Demands Proof Israeli is Alive – BBC
Hamas Refuses Plea to Prove Israeli Is Alive – NYT
Iraq
3 Bombs in Baghdad Market Kill More than 20 – WP
At Least 40 Iraqis Killed in Blasts in Baghdad – LAT
Blasts Rip Through Western Baghdad, Killing 40 – AP
Many Killed in Triple Blasts in South Baghdad – BBC
Iraq Struggles to Boost Oil Production – WP
Trying to Find Beauty in the Darkness of Iraq – LAT
Iran
Iran Insists Nuclear Bomb Not on Agenda – VOA
Ahmadinejad Ally Resigns Under Pressure from Hard-liners – LAT
Iran Rift Deepens With Arrest of President’s Ally – NYT
Member of Ahmadinejad Circle Arrested – WP
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Ally Malekzadeh ‘Arrested’ – BBC
Iran is Target of New US Sanctions – WP
US Sanctions Iranian Port Operator, Airline – Reuters
US Imposes Economic Sanctions on Iran Air – BBC
Middle East / North Africa
Turkey is Shaping the ‘Arab Spring’ – WT
UN Chief to Bahrain: Reconsider Harsh Sentences – AP
UN Chief Alarmed by Bahrain Opposition Sentences – Reuters
Egypt’s Would-be President Faces Tough Balancing Act – LAT
Amnesty Head Says Egypt Needs More Than Fair Vote – Reuters
US Department of Defense
Gates Thanks Troops, Bids Farewell – AFPS
Gates Faced Tests in Iraq, Afghanistan – AFPS
The Secretary’s Unfinished Business – AFPS
Gates Details Efforts to Change Pentagon Culture – AFPS
New Prosecutor Chosen for Gitmo Military Tribunals – AP
United States
The Afghan War and America’s Innovation Future – WP
Senate Offers Revised Rules for Suspects of Terrorism – NYT
Petraeus Suggests Interrogation Policy for Emergencies – LAT
Petraeus Says He’ll Leave Army Behind as CIA Chief – AP
Marine Reservist Charged in D.C.-area Military Shootings – WP
Pair Accused of Plotting Seattle Attack – LAT
Veteran of Iraq War Now Fights His Own Deportation – NYT
Long Elusive, Mob Legend Ended Up a Recluse – NYT
Boston Mob Boss Hiding in Plain Sight – AP
Who Takes Us to War? – WP opinon
International Energy Agency
IEA: Countries to Release 60M Barrels of Oil – AP
Oil Price Drops on Reserve Sale – BBC
Oil Tumbles on Plan to Release Int’l Reserves – AP
World
‘New Drugs’ Offset Cocaine and Heroin Gains, Says UN – BBC
G-20 Agree on Steps to Stabilize Food Prices and Supplies – NYT
Africa
First Lady Focuses on Women in South Africa – NYT
Sudan’s Abyei: US Proposes UN Peacekeeper Force – BBC
Sudan: 4,200 Ethiopian Troops Proposed for Abyei – AP
General Says Mugabe Rival Is a Threat to Zimbabwe – NYT
Senegal Riots Prompt Wade U-turn – BBC
After Protests, Senegal’s President Backs Off Election Change – NYT
Ivory Coast: Gbagbo, Ouattara Forces Engaged in War Crimes – Reuters
Ivory Coast Ouattara Troops Kill 8, Some Executed – Reuters
Americas
Central America Struggles with Drugs – WP
Mexico Arrest May do Little to Change the Cartel Equation – LAT
Mexico President Defends Attack on Organized Crime – AP
Mexican President Apologizes to Drug War Victims – Reuters
US AK-47s Linked to Mexican Attorney’s Slaying – LAT
Mexico Urges Inquiry as US Agent Shoots Man on Border – BBC
UN: Colombia Coca Production Declined – LAT
Brazil: Eight ‘Drug Dealers’ Die in Rio Raid – BBC
Venezuela: Chávez’s Cuba Visit Stirs a Debate at Home – NYT
Jailed American Awaits Cuban Court Decision – Reuters
Asia Pacific
Chinese Warships Cross High Seas Off Okinawa – AP
Angry Okinawa Leaders Question PM About Futenma – S&S
China Urges Freed Artist to Abide By Bail Release Terms – VOA
Ai Weiwei ‘Cannot Leave Beijing’ – BBC
Now Free, a Chinese Dissident Muzzles Himself – NYT
China’s Communist Party Members Exceed 80 Million – AP
New China-Vatican Row Brewing Over Bishops – AP
US ‘Worried over Thai Succession’ – BBC
Key Trial of Khmer Rouge Leaders Starts in Cambodia – VOA
Philippines and Japan Want US Help – WP opinion
Europe
EU Ties Fray over Debt Crisis, Border Control – LAT
EU Eases Greek Access to EU Development Funds – AP
Dutch Anti-Islam Lawmaker Acquitted of Hate Speech – AP
Turkey’s Kurds Threaten to Boycott Parliament – Reuters
South Asia
India Starts to Slow Down – WP
Indian and Pakistani Diplomats Hold key Islamabad Talks – BBC
