Censorship, Secession & the Sun
| IN A NUTSHELL: MUST READ |
Trump Delivers His Afghanistan Plan: President Trump emerged from his Twitter haze to deliver a nationally televised prime-time speech Monday night outlining his plan for dealing with the war in Afghanistan. Speaking before a military audience at Fort Myer, VA, the president said his original instinct was to pull out, but that after lengthy deliberation, culminating in a meeting at Camp David with his war cabinet, Trump said he had been convinced that “a hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum for terrorists, including ISIS, and Al Qaeda.” Instead, he signaled there would be a deeper involvement in the almost 16-year-old-conflict, with more troop commitment, but no “blank check” for the new effort. He provided no explanation of the conditions by which he would judge the success of the mission there. Trump continued his speech by saying that the US would put significant new pressure on Pakistan to crack down on the terrorist sanctuaries that line its border with Afghanistan. The president heaped ample criticism on former President Obama and promised to avoid his predecessor’s mistakes. But by relying on a mix of conventional military force and diplomatic pressure on Pakistan, Trump’s strategy, in substance, was not all that different from that of Obama. And remarkably, while not defining what victory would look like, nor illuminating how his plan would differ from what he labeled the failed strategies of previous presidents, Trump nevertheless declared: “In the end, we will win.” |
| NUTS AND BOLTS: SHOULD READ |
President Buhari Returns Home To Nigeria: President Muhammadu Buhari arrived in Nigeria on Saturday after spending more than 100 days in London, where he was receiving treatment for a still unidentified illness. In his absence, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was officially in charge and by most accounts exercised steady and effective leadership. Buhari gave a speech on Monday that attempted to smooth over political disputes that had boiled over while he was away. Buhari’s long absences for an illness (that officials consistently refuse to identify) have exacerbated tensions in the country, setting off protests from separatists in the south, from poor residents of oil communities who have insisted for years that they do not receive a fair share of oil revenues, and from ordinary citizens who wanted him to return home or resign. With more than 180 million people, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, and itsoil-dependent economy, now in recession, is the largest on the continent. Buhari must now address the faltering economy and political tensions, and also face a war against Boko Haram that has worsened in his absence. After months of losing territory, the militant group has resorted to suicide bombings in markets and camps for displaced people, and attacks against military convoys. Much of the world associates Boko Haram with the April 2014 kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok. “Most people simplify this crisis into one hashtag: Bring Back Our Girls,” said Sean Hoy, Ireland’s ambassador to Nigeria. But the war with Boko Haram is far more complicated. Millions are still suffering from the humanitarian crisis set off by eight years of war with the militant group. Since the violence started in 2009, nearly two million people in northeastern Nigeria have fled their homes. Cambridge University Press Defies Attempted Censorship By Chinese Government: Cambridge University Press (CUP), the world’s oldest publishing house, quickly reversed on Monday a controversial decision made the day before to comply with a Chinese request to block online access to more than 300 articles from the China Quarterly. The retraction was announced by Cambridge University, which owns the publisher and the journal, one of the most respected in its field. The initial decision prompted international protests, including a petition signed by more than 600 academics around the world, and the threat of having CUP publications boycotted. China has become increasingly authoritarian under President Xi Jinping, who has clamped down on opposition voices including academics and journalists, human rights lawyers and their supporters, and now, the world’s oldest publishing house. Tim Pringle, China Quarterly’s editor, said the request by the Chinese government “is a reflection of the Xi Jinping era. It’s a stronger shade of authoritarian government that is less pragmatic, or certainly appears to be less pragmatic [that the previous administration].” CUP had initially agreed to censor critical articles on subjects such as the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Cultural Revolution, and President Xi. The university’s leadership reviewed the publisher’s decision and agreed to reinstate the blocked content–with immediate effect–to “uphold the principle of academic freedom on which the university’s work is founded.” |
| KEEPING OUR EYE ON |
Germany Accuses Turkey Of Using Interpol To Track Down Political Opponents: Turkey may be using Interpol, the multinational police organization, to hunt down political dissidents living abroad who are critical of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a German government spokesperson said Monday. The accusation follows the arrest and release of a prominent Turkish-German writer, the latest indication of the deterioration of ties between Turkey and Germany over what Germany perceives to be Turkey’s interference in its internal politics. A 60-year-old critic of the Erdogan government, Dogan Akhanli was born in Turkey but has lived in Germany since 1992. He was detained Saturday while on vacation in Spain and released the next day after a court hearing, but on the condition that he remain in Madrid. The reason for Akhanli’s arrest was not provided, but in the past he has written about the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey in 1915. The subject is hugely controversial in Turkey, which rejects the conclusion of much of the international community that the killings constituted genocide.
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| LOOSE NUTS |
For those of you in the United States that witnessed the solar eclipse of the century but are now a bit worried about the health of your eyes, here is a very convenient one-step check. You’re welcome! |
