News Nuggets 672

Temples in the morning mist in Bagan, Myanmar.  From National Geographic.

'Mission Accomplished' (Leslie Gelb) from the Daily Beast
"Obama didn’t say it, but he should have. Leslie H. Gelb on how thoroughly the surge worked—and why the president needs to start nation-building here at home."

Seized Phone Offers Clues to Bin Laden’s Pakistani Links from the New York Times
"The discovery indicates that Bin Laden used the group, Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, as part of his support network inside the country, the officials and others said. But it also raised tantalizing questions about whether the group and others like it helped shelter and support Bin Laden on behalf of Pakistan’s spy agency, given that it had mentored Harakat and allowed it to operate in Pakistan for at least 20 years, the officials and analysts said."
No surprise.  Sadly, this news will send the Pakistanis into a new spasm of victimization and "kill-the-messenger" self-denial.  It will not be pretty.

In Pakistan, Pro-American Sentiment is Rare from the Washington Post
"The United States and Pakistan have been allies for decades, but it has rarely been easy to be pro-American here. Now, following last month’s killing by U.S. Navy SEALs of Osama bin Laden, speaking out on behalf of the United States requires a degree of boldness that verges on a death wish."

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Ally Arrested in Iran on Corruption Charges from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Arrest of Muhammad Sharif Malekzadeh comes amid growing rift between president and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei."

Showdown in Tehran (Vali Nasr) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is fighting for his political survival. But that doesn't mean his clerical enemies will be the winners."

How European Elites Lost a Generation from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"The European Union is in bad shape. Not only is the common currency in a shambles and the economies of many member states moribund, but young Europeans no longer see how the EU helps them. Millions of them are taking to the streets to demand a future."

Why Eric Cantor Won’t Make the Budget Deal (Ezra Klein) from the Washington Post
"Cantor is putting personal power before country here, and in a very dangerous way. If Boehner actually does manage to cut a decent deal despite Cantor’s effort to throw him under the bus, he may not hold on as leader of his party, but unlike Cantor, he’ll deserve to. For better or worse, this is when we learn whether anyone on the Republican Party’s leadership team is actually prepared to lead."
I can't say that I am surprised.

Babies Born to Ethnic Minorities Outnumber White Toddlers for First Time in U.S. History from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Ethnic minorities now make up the majority of babies in the United States, official figures revealed today. It is the first time that this has been the case and the change reflects a growing age divide between mostly white, older Americans and predominantly minority youths that could reshape government policies."

New GOP Governors Tanking Nationwide from Talking Points Memo
"We've already told you about the collapsing poll numbers for first-term Republican governors across the country. Now, thanks to the team at Bill Schneider's Inside Politics Newsletter, we've got a snapshot of the epic polling fail in a convenient visual form."

Is Rick Running? from the Wall Street Journal
"A Republican campaign veteran tells us that Texas Governor Rick Perry has decided to run for President, though the official word from Team Perry is still a definite maybe."

Ready to Rumble (Charlie Cook) from National Journal
"If Rick Perry enters the presidential race, look for him and Michele Bachmann to duke it out."

Tea Party Dilemma: What to Do about Mitt Romney from Politico
"The anybody-but-Mitt Romney faction developing within the tea party may pose a problem for the former Massachusetts governor’s presidential ambitions, but some tea party organizers worry it could also backfire against the movement itself."

Poll: Tea Party Poses ‘Real Danger’ to GOP in Florida from Raw Story
"Aligning yourself too closely to the tea party could be a great way to lose an election in Florida, apparently. So says a recent poll by Gainesville, Florida based polling firm War Room Logistics. In the poll, registered Florida voters said 2:1 that the tea party did not represent their views. War Room's Alex Patton says this could pose "a real danger to Republican candidates"."
See yesterday's story on Huntsman's strategy involving Florida.  Bet his people had already privately polled something like this.

Handicapping the Republican Field: Part I, the Top Tier (Nate Silver) from the New York Times
"What will follow, in a three-part series, is the way I would handicap the Republican field as of today. In this piece, we’ll look at the four top candidates, in my view."

ASIAN CULTURE NUGGET!!
Mongolia's Luxury Frontier from the Wall Street Journal
"What happens when a country previously hindered by vastness and foreign rule awakens to wealth on its doorstep? With Louis Vuitton on one corner and one of the world's largest gold deposits down the road, the previously nomadic society of Mongolia is putting down some rich roots."
The way that Mongolia is modernizing strikes me as dramatically unbalanced and troubling.