Iran Joins Countries Against U.S.-Backed Syria Force

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. January 16, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Iran Joins Countries Against U.S.-Backed Syria Force Iran has condemned a U.S. plan (AP) for a Kurdish-led border force to comprise some thirty thousand troops in northeastern Syria, joining Russia, Turkey, and the Syrian government in protest of the move. A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition fighting the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Syria said that the coalition is working with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to train a new Syrian Border Defense Force (Al Jazeera), drawing up to fifteen thousand of its members from SDF ranks. On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened action against Kurdish forces along his country's southern border, where the new U.S. force is to be stationed, saying an offensive there "may begin at any time" (Rudaw). ANALYSIS "Amid all the vacillations in Turkish policy on Syria there has been one constant throughout: Ankara's unequivocal opposition to [Syrian-Kurdish Democratic Union Party]-controlled territory along its borders," Suraj Sharma writes for Middle East Eye. "The SDF is basically a new occupying power that is imposing a rigid, dictatorial one-party system and completely ignoring the struggle for freedom and change that began in 2011," Yassin al Haj Saleh said in an interview with Muftah. "The Syrian conflict is on a trajectory to continue to expand during 2018," Jennifer Cafarella said in an interview with the Carnegie Middle East Center. PACIFIC RIM Oil Spill Growing off China China's state oceanic agency said on Tuesday that an oil slick in the East China Sea grew to fifty-two square miles (NYT) from just four square miles a day earlier after a January 6 collision involving an Iranian oil tanker. All of the ship's thirty-two Iranian and Bangladeshi crew members are believed to be dead. PHILIPPINES: The government has ordered an influential media site critical of President Rodrigo Duterte to close down, saying it violated rules on foreign ownership (FT). SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Israel's Netanyahu Visits India Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to "further cement the close friendship" (Al Jazeera) between Israel and India as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in New Delhi on Sunday. The two leaders signed deals on defense, agriculture, and aviation (BBC). PAKISTAN: Some 1,800 party leaders and religious scholars issued a fatwa condemning suicide bombings (RFE/RL) as un-Islamic in a Tuesday ceremony (Dawn) with President Mamnoon Hussain. Shuja Nawaz writes in Foreign Affairs that Trump's policy in Pakistan is flawed. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Palestinian Leader Says Israel 'Killed' Oslo Accord Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a Sunday speech, rejected the United States as a mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and said that Israel has "killed" the 1993 Oslo Accords (NYT). A top decision-making body of the Palestinian Liberation Organization voted on Monday to suspend recognition of Israel (Middle East Eye) and back an international movement to boycott the country. In Salon, CFR's Steven A. Cook discusses the unlikelihood of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Ethiopia to Release Five Hundred Detainees Ethiopia's general prosecutor said that charges will be dropped (VOA) for more than 528 people arrested in recent years in connection with anti-government protests. The chairman of an opposition party is among the prisoners expected to be released (Bloomberg) on Wednesday. SOUTH AFRICA: A South African court has ordered the consulting firm McKinsey to surrender its share (FT) in a $129 million contract involving a close associate of the Gupta brothers, a prominent business family accused of corruption. EUROPE Refugee Numbers Drop Sharply in Germany Germany registered 186,644 asylum seekers (DW) in 2017, about one hundred thousand fewer than the year before and well under its 2015 peak of some 890,000. In this CFR interview, the International Rescue Committee's David Miliband discusses the ongoing historic displacement of millions of people. SPAIN: Spain has overtaken the United States (BBC) as the world's second-most popular tourist destination, according to the UN tourism agency. France continues to hold the top spot. AMERICAS Pope, in Chile, Asks Forgiveness Over Sexual Abuse in Catholic Church Pope Francis, during a trip to Chile on Tuesday, asked Chileans for forgiveness for the "irreparable damage" done to children who suffered sexual abuse by church ministers (AP). The Catholic leader made the comments in a speech to President Michelle Bachelet and lawmakers. UNITED STATES BP Adds $1.7 Billion to 2010 Oil Spill Bill Oil giant BP said $1.7 billion of its fourth-quarter earnings will go toward settlement claims stemming from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill (WSJ). The total cost of the offshore spill, the worst in U.S. history, is estimated to be more than $63 billion.   GLOBAL Democracy in Retreat Across Globe, Says Watchdog The research and advocacy group Freedom House said in a new report that there are more countries seeing declines in democracy (VOA) than ones experiencing democratic advances. The group said the United States has abdicated its role (RFE/RL) as "both a champion and an exemplar of democracy" in recent years. Oil briefly traded on Tuesday (NYT) for above $70 per barrel, a price not seen since late 2014 (Reuters).          Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org

Date: January 16, 2018 at 11:09PM