1) Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear, with a half-hearted apology, that there will be no change
to the Israeli policy decision on settlements. Is the U.S. going to
move beyond the "we condemn the settlements" statement and take any
action whatsoever against Israel? Or will just be more of the same light scolding while giving Israel the upper hand on all matters?
2) Condemnation won't be enough for the deaths in Cuidad Juarez
yesterday. What will the U.S. do, tangibly, in retaliation for the
brutal assassination of the three connected to the U.S. Consulate in
Mexico?
3) Was that really a democratic victory in Iraq last week? More independent monitor reports are coming out this week.
4) Since investigative journalists are doing the leg work, will Congress follow with their own investigation into private contractors hired as hitmen?
5) Are Thai protesters going to be successful in getting their parliament dissovled?
1) Eric Massa resigned last week and now embattled New York Governor David
Paterson may appoint a replacement for Massa, if state law permits him
to. Otherwise, it's a special election. What kind of push will we see
on that from Democrats who don't want to risk losing a seat to Republicans?
3) George Mitchell doesn't have the clout to pull off the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks alone with this crowd. So, the new tag team duo of Mitchell and Joe Biden are off to Jerusalem. But Biden's experience with Israeli-Palestinian issues is severely limited and if there was ever an opportunity for Biden to say the wrong thing, this is it. Will bringing Biden help or hurt the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks?
4) With the Turkish ambassador to the United States called home for consultation over the House Foreign Affairs Committee vote confirming the Armenian Genocide, when will the ambassador return and what will U.S.-Turkish relations be like?
5) There's always a shake-up at the top of any administration after the first year. And there seems to be a lot of pressure for David Axelrod to be the first to go. Will there be a shape-up or ship-out policy any time soon?
1) Hillary Clinton is in the Middle East this week. Yesterday she was in
Qatar and for the next two days she will be in Saudi Arabia to get regional support and coordination on Iran
and (at least with Saudi Arabia) the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Her talk is tough, but will she walk away from the region with anything
substantial?
3) Does the Pune bombing spell disaster for the
India-Pakistan peace talks? How will the process evolve as this plays
out in the coming days? Or can we expect troops in the Kashmir for
another 30 years?
4) Gen. McChrystal apologized for the NATO rockets that killed 12 innocent Afghan civilians, but will it be enough to continue to win the hearts and minds of Afghanistan?
5) Is an out-of-office Dick Cheney going to continue to direct the points of discussion in the Obama administration after his appearance on This Week yesterday?
1) What additional details about the Bernie Madoff scam will we find out this week as a lawsuit will be filed against more of his family for their involvement in the crime?
Epic swindler Bernard Madoff's
two sons, his brother and a niece will be sued this week for $198
million, the trustee winding down the Madoff firm told CBS News' "60
Minutes" broadcast on Sunday.
Sons Mark and Andrew, brother Peter and niece Shana all held
executive positions with the firm and should have known about the
multibillion-dollar, worldwide 20-year-long Ponzi scheme, trustee
Irving Picard and his chief counsel David Sheehan, told the program.
2) How are Californians going to take Dianne Feinstein's openness to moving Gitmo detainees to the Golden State?
4) After focusing on international politics during the U.N. and G-20 meetings, what will President Obama choose to tackle first? Is he spread too thin?
5) Is Turkey aligning with Iran by calling into question the probable escalating sanctions? And what will that do to U.S. relations?
1) Ahmadinejad's proposed cabinet will be up for parliamentary approval on Wednesday, but how will it go? It seems that numerous parliamentary members are still planning on rejecting several of the candidates, mostly due to a lack of experience. In most circumstances, this would be understandable.
When he first named the candidates, I had serious questions as to how genuine he was about this.
Two thoughts:
1) Wasn't the whole point of Ahmadinejad
nominating new faces to appease Mousavi and all of his supporters? Can
we really be surprised that the nominees would be shot down by a
(largely) complacent/complicit parliament?
And you can guess the next move...
The ones who have experience are tada: the ones who have been regime-friendly.
Isn't it nice how that works out?
2) How much experience is really needed under an authoritarian regime anyway?
2) Also on Iran, the Iran Six group will meet to discuss the possibility of harsher sanctions on Iran on Wednesday. What will the outcome be?
On Saturday, Republican members of the House of Representatives
gathered in Myrtle Beach and debated whether to call for the governor
to resign or to try to impeach him. No conclusion was reached among the
56 members of the legislature present, but many expressed outrage at
the governor’s conduct.
1) Will the UK rethink their military strategy in Afghanistan after a recent poll
shows that a majority of people did not think fighting this war was improving
British security? 69% of those polled said that the British troops should not
be fighting in Afghanistan.
2) This Tuesday the White House and Congressional Budget Office will release a report that projects the 2009 fiscal year deficit at $1.58 trillion. President
Obama has announced that during his four years in office he hopes to reduce the
deficit by 50%. But with a strong domestic policy agenda that includes
healthcare legislation, will President Obama’s reforms be put on hold due to
GOP plans for the deficit?
3) The attackers of last week’s truck bombings in Iraq paid
$10,000 to pass the security checkpoint from Muqdadiyah
to the Finance Ministry. Will the U.S. put more pressure on the Iraqi
government to increase security at checkpoints? This weekend, the Iraqi Prime
Minister called for a comprehensive review on current security systems.
5) This week Benjamin Netanyahu is hold a series of meetings regarding a peace process with Palestinians. Wednesday, if he keeps his appointment this time, he will meet with U.S. envoy George Mitchell. Netanyahu claims we're nearing a deal to move forward while Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, likening the situation to the Oslo Accords that were signed 16 years ago: "Even in another 16 years, we won't have an agreement."
1) What will the discussion between President Obama and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak be like today? We know Israeli-Palestinian peace is the purpose of Mubarak's trip, but will Obama be able to convince him to go back to the region and advocate for countries to normalize relations with Israel?
1) Will Allen Sanford be able to cough up the cash to afford Karl Rove's lawyer? Or anybody else for that matter? Gotta think Sanford is going to rely on a public defender at this point, because his cash is gooooone. Might as well be Fred Sanford at this point.
The largest U.S. bank had agreed on August 3 to pay $33 million to
resolve an SEC civil lawsuit accusing it of misleading shareholders by
not disclosing it had authorized the payment of up to $5.8 billion of
bonuses to Merrill employees. About $3.6 billion was awarded.
But at a hearing on Monday, Judge Jed Rakoff of the federal court in
Manhattan said he needed a "much more detailed account of the
underlying facts" before signing off. He suggested the settlement might
not be "remotely reasonable" if the SEC were right that the bank lied
about the bonuses.
3) How hard is Hillary going to have to work in Africa this week to show she's Secretary of State and not Bill, despite his heroic act in North Korea?
1) Tim Geithner and Larry Summers both made comments that taxes may have to be increased to pay for healthcare as the federal deficit is out of control. How will the administration begin to sell this to the American public?
2) While Obama's Middle East team is having a tough go of getting Netanyahu to back down on, well, anything, what will Obama's response be to neocon critics at home who are hitting hard and with lots of ammunition?
3) Will we finally get rid of Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman this week, as he promises to step down if he's indicted on charges of accepting $2.5 million in illegal campaign contributions? Besides, he's just an all around ass.
4) Are we going to see a decision from Obama on what to do with Guantanamo Bay prisoners? He's apparently nearing a decision on moving the prisoners to Michigan--an economy that could severely use the income.
5) Today, President Obama will head to George Mason University to celebrate the implementation of the post-9/11 G.I. Bill. Secretary of Veteral Affairs General Shinseki will be by his side, but will the rest of the troops be satisfied with the rehabbed benefits package?
2) What will the response be from Iran's interior ministry to yesterday's request from Mir Hussein Mousavi to hold a memorial service on Thursday for those killed in the Iranian protests.
During a visit that will last about six hours on Monday, Gates is to
meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak
to discuss those and other bilateral defense issues, a senior U.S.
defense official said.
"We're talking about the threats and challenges that we see in the
region," the official told a small group of reporters on Friday. He
said the Israelis were "antsy" about Iran but were not leaning on the Obama administration to halt its effort at expanded direct diplomatic engagement with Tehran.
Allen McDuffee is a political reporter, investigative journalist and blogger. From 2011 to 2013 he covered policy, politics, ideas and think tanks for The Washington Post and has also written for The Nation, The American Prospect, Huffington Post and New York Observer, among others. Read more.
Allen McDuffee is a political reporter, investigative journalist and blogger. From 2011 to 2013 he covered policy, politics, ideas and think tanks for The Washington Post and has also written for The Nation, The American Prospect, Huffington Post and New York Observer, among others.
