News Nuggets 630

 A cobblestone street in Annecy, France.  From National Geographic.

Obama Seeks Reset in Arab World from the New York Times
"The first sign of this “reset” could come as early as next week, when Mr. Obama plans to give a speech on the Middle East in which he will seek to put Bin Laden’s death in the context of the region’s broader political transformation. The message, said one of his deputy national security advisers, Benjamin J. Rhodes, will be that “Bin Laden is the past; what’s happening in the region is the future.”"

Qatari Military Advisers on the Ground, Helping Libyan Rebels Get into Shape from the Washington Post
"The United States, European allies and other nations have dispatched representatives to the Libyan opposition’s ruling council. But on the ground here, credit for helping to get the rebel army into shape goes to military advisers from the tiny Arabian Peninsula emirate of Qatar."
Ok ... Sooo the inexperienced rebels are getting training from those military "Masters of the Universe," the Qataris.  Is there something a little off with this picture?  No -- I'm just being facetious.  I think it's just fine for these folks.  One of the things I've been looking at the last year or so is the need for other countries, alliances and coalitions to become better trained, more effective and more accustomed to inserting themselves into situations such as in Libya or the Ivory Coast when humanitarian nightmares loom.  As we've been seeing in several situations with the 'Arab Spring' and elsewhere recently, a condition has developed where, when some humanitarian situation erupts (such as Darfur, Egypt, etc.) everyone looks to the US to do something.  One of the reasons for this is that the Europeans have not only dramatically cut back their own defense budgets that they don't have the capacity to act in place of the US.  This was dramatically showcased in the opening days of the Libya operation where it ONLY THE US had the capability of striking Qaddafi's air defenses in ways that assured few NATO casualties.  A related point to this (one clearly on display so far in Libya) is that our NATO allies and the Europeans generally seem to have become VERY ineffective at actually coordinating and leading these types of operations.  The US has no one to blame but themselves on this score -- American officials have always insisted on being in charge of such operations in the past, and NATO or coalition forces have let it go.  Fortunately, NATO leaders seem to be slowly getting their s@#$ together in Libya.  The key point here though is that, so long as everyone looks to the US to deal with international crises (and we're the only ones with the technical and leadership experience and capabilities) the US will be (to some degree) on the hook.  This condition has been unsustainable for some time.  Serious defense cuts are in the offing in the US -- and other countries, alliances and coalitions will need to step up.

Rebels Gain Ground in Misurata (COOL MAP) from the New York Times
"Rebels took control this week of areas to the west and south of Misurata."

Pakistan is Missing the U.S. Message on Terrorism (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post
"The Pakistani military promises action but hedges its bets; the United States pledges cooperation but acts unilaterally. As the problem festers, mutual mistrust increases. The story moves inexorably toward the U.S. raid on bin Laden’s compound, which ripped the veneer of cooperation. Repairing relations in the aftermath would require a degree of honesty and partnership that neither side seems able to muster. One key policymaker grimly predicts: “This comes to a bad end.”"

A two-fer today from Ignatius!
The Double Mirror in Pakistan (David Ignatius) from Time Magazine
"The notes brought back to me the strange duality of the ISI, which I encountered in my first meetings in Pakistan with its senior leaders in 2009. They proved to be passionate correspondents. With their public face, they wanted to be understood — liked, even. But their private face was coldly ruthless, to the point of silently condoning attacks on U.S. soldiers by their allies."

Now That He’s Dead, Let’s End bin Laden’s Grip on Us (Eugene Robinson) from the Washington Post
"...it’s hard to overstate the significance of bin Laden’s killing. Operationally and psychologically, he defined the Age of Terror — not just for Americans and other targets of his depredations but also for the terrorists who followed his writ. With his last breath, an era died."

Thou Shalt (Sometimes) Kill (Molly Worthen) from Foreign Policy Magazine
Bin Laden's killing has divided Christians. While Americans celebrated, liberal Europeans felt unease -- but they're the ones who may need to take another look at the Bible."

After Osama bin Laden, You Can Feel History Shift (John Yemma) from the Christian Science Monitor
"Old globes are comforting relics. They show how old rivalries and threats fade -- just as today's will do. ... To old-school imperialists, romantics, and lovers of costume dramas, that may seem a little sad. But you can also derive comfort from examining a bygone world. All the wars and fears of that era – the clash of colonial powers, the imperious treatment of native peoples – have faded. When you take the long view, you can see that today’s passions over ideology, nationality, resources, and religion will eventually fade as well."

Bin Laden Did Far More Damage to Iraqis than the Americans (Amran al-Abaidi) from Al-Sabaah [of Iraq in English]
"America did the right thing by throwing bin Laden's corpse into the sea - not because there wasn't a country that would have accepted his corpse, but because bin Laden doesn't deserve even a cemetery grave. We believe that the whales will be the first to reach his flesh, but doubt that they'll want anything to do with it."

In Syria, a Regime's Defiance Fails to Conceal its Weakness from the Editorial Board of the Independent [of the UK]
"One crucial point is that today's turmoil is causing huge damage to the Syrian economy."

Signs of Chaos in Syria’s Intense Crackdown (Anthony Shadid) from the New York Times
"Residents have reported that hundreds of detainees are being held in soccer stadiums, schools and government buildings in various towns and cities across the country, some of them arrested in door-to-door raids by black-clad forces carrying lists of activists."

The Dogs of War: Beloved Comrades in Afghanistan from the New York Times
"Marines were on a foot patrol last fall in the Taliban stronghold of Marja, Afghanistan, when they shot and killed a lethal threat: a local dog that made the mistake of attacking the Marines’ Labrador retriever. ... As Captain Zepeda put it that day, “We consider the dog another Marine.”"

On Palestinian Unity (Stephen M. Walt) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"I think the unity agreement is in fact in everyone's interest. It is certainly in the Palestinians' interest, as they are already weak and vulnerable and internal divisions just make that situation worse. And given the current balance of power and the broader international situation, violence is not the Palestinians' best tactic..."

Annals of the Great Not-So-White North: the Coming Nuuk-lear Arms Race (David Rothkopf) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"It is currently estimated that perhaps a quarter of the world's untapped oil and gas reserves lie within the Arctic Circle. In a world of scarce resources, growing demand, and an increasing capability to actually to tap into those hitherto unreachable fields, that would be enough to make the Nuuk meetings and the Arctic Council process increasingly important."

Japan Nuclear Reactor Damage Worse Than Expected from the Associated Press via the Huffington Post
"One of the reactors at Japan's crippled nuclear power plant has been damaged more severely than originally thought, officials said Thursday – a serious setback for efforts to stabilize the radiation-leaking complex."

The Race Factor: White Racial Attitudes and Opinions of Obama (Alan I. Abramowitz) from the Univ of Virginia Center for Politics
"Until now, debates about the influence of racial attitudes on opinions of Obama have been severely hampered by a lack of survey data including relevant questions. However, the availability of a new data set now makes it possible to directly examine the impact of racial attitudes on whites’ evaluations of President Obama."

The Wall Street Journal Attacks Mitt Romney (Jacob Heilbrunn) from the National Interest
"The Wall Street Journal, isn't satisfied with Romney. In a lengthy and extraordinary editorial, it calls [3] him the worst epithet a conservative could probably think of—"Obama's Running Mate.""
Wow -- with friends like this...  HERE is the Wall Street Journal's critique of Romney.

THREE stories on the gradual dawning that is occurring for the Tea Party freshman and the House Republicans generally:
GOP Freshman Taste Own Medicare Medicine from Politico
"Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) called on the president to condemn the scare tactics Democrats have used against Republicans on Medicare — the same type of attacks Republicans used against Democrats throughout the 2010 campaign that helped put many of the GOP freshmen in office. ... Republican freshmen have to defend their own votes on Medicare and say they’re hoping to use their outsider status to change the tone in Washington. Their struggles on this issue are the latest sign of how the ambitious freshman class is adjusting to the realities of governing."

GOP Chokes on Own Medicare Kool-Aid (Gene Lyons) from Salon
"A funny thing happened along the Roadmap for America's Future. Ordinary citizens smoked out its actual impact on their lives while much of the Washington celebrity pundit class were still uttering hosannas to Rep. Paul Ryan's, R-Wis., alleged intellectual honesty and courage. As a result, congressional Republicans unceremoniously abandoned their crackpot scheme to privatize Medicare within three weeks of voting almost unanimously to endorse it"

They Drank the Tea (Tim Rutten) from the McClatchy News Service
"Congressional negotiators fail to resolve their impasse over the federal debt ceiling, we may recall this moment in history as one of the nation's worst since the morning Custer awoke thinking it might be amusing to go and annoy Sitting Bull. Ensuring the U.S. government's full faith and credit is a matter of such consequence to the global financial system that everything else concerning the budget seems a sideshow. Still, some of the latter are intriguing, and none more so than the bizarre little costume pageant played out by leaders of the "tea party" movement and some of their congressional admirers in Washington on Monday."

Jon Huntsman: The Would-Be Republican Presidential Candidate Democrats Most Fear from Time Magazine
"Though Huntsman's path to the nomination is a certified long shot, you have to wonder why so many on both the right and left seem to be freaking out at the prospect of his jumping into the race."

LIBRARY NUGGET!!
Why Libraries Still Matter (Laura Miller) from Salon
"Critics say they're obsolete, but New York's main branch is a reminder of what the Internet can never do."
The main branch of the New York Public Library is my FAVORITE library in the world!

BLACK HOLLYWOOD NUGGET!!
Maid in Hollywood: From 'Corrina, Corrina' to 'The Help' (Lynn Nottag) from The Root
"Playing a maid seems to be a rite of passage for black actresses, from Hattie McDaniel to Whoopi to Oprah -- even today. Now, Sanaa Lathan plays one off-Broadway in a new comedy."

MISSISSIPPI FLOODS PHOTOS NUGGET!!
Mississippi Flooding (PHOTOS) from the Atlantic
"The Mississippi River crested in Memphis at nearly 48 feet yesterday -- not quite surpassing its all-time record set in 1937, but still soaking low-lying areas with enough water to require a massive cleanup."

COOL ARCHITECTURE NUGGET!!
The Arbor of Seville from the New York Times
"In the global race to erect iconic structures that command attention and therefore tourists, the city of Seville, Spain, recently opened the Metropol Parasol, an inventive wooden canopy of six interconnected parasols, built using fire-treated wooden beams. "