Cooperation Is the Key, John Podesta, Andrew Light, and Julian Wong Using U.S. Leverage to Strengthen Afghan Governance, Brian Katulis Remembering Yitzhak Rabin, Amnon Lipkin-Shahak Afghan Election Commission's Independence Questionable, Brian Katulis Local Counterinsurgency Partnerships Can Carry Human Rights Costs, Brian Katulis Don't Over-Analogize in Afghanistan, Brian Katulis Assessing Obama's First Year, Michael Werz John Podesta, Andrew Light, and Julian Wong, "Cooperation Is the Key," Center for American Progress, November 4, 2009 The United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen is less than 35 days away. Nations will negotiate a framework for a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. Any successful outcome at Copenhagen will require a commitment from the world’s major economies, not least of which are China and the United States, the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases and two largest consumers of energy. The Center for American Progress launches today a new report with the Asia Society, “A Roadmap for U.S.-China Collaboration on Carbon Capture and Sequestration,” which sets out a detailed plan for how these two countries can mutually benefit from working together to achieve greater emissions reductions than they can alone. Click here to read the full report. Brian Katulis, "Using U.S. Leverage to Strengthen Afghan Governance," Center for American Progress, November 2, 2009 The Obama administration has rightly been in a holding pattern, waiting to see the results of what has been a messy and mismanaged electoral process. Now the pressure will understandably increase on the Obama administration to outline its revised strategy for the country. If there’s a silver lining to the messy electoral process, it is that the elections in Afghanistan brought to the forefront the significant challenges of corruption, poor governance, and leadership deficits that exist in Afghanistan. Click here to read the full article. Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, "Fulfilling Yitzhak Rabin's Legacy," Middle East Bulletin interview, November 3, 2009 Rabin understood that solving the Israeli-Palestinian and the Israeli-Syrian conflicts is a strategic Israeli interest necessary to strengthen the state of Israel. Undoubtedly, he also promoted additional agendas that defined his worldview, including minimizing the socio-economic gaps between Arabs and Jews in Israel, investing massively in education, allocating resources for infrastructure to connect the periphery with the center of the country and others. But, more than anything else, the issue over which he was murdered—solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—sticks out. I think that Rabin understood that continuing to control the lives of millions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza is a huge burden on the state of Israel, not only with the international community but also internally ... As long as we don't solve the dispute on the future direction of the State of Israel—what the boundaries of the state are, what the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is—we will find it difficult to deal seriously with other issues. Click here to read the full interview. PRI - Brian Katulis notes questions about the independence of Afghanistan's independent election commission: "The parliament in Afghanistan had tried to acquire some sort of voice in this earlier this year...  Karzai essentially rejected it." American Prospect - Brian Katulis says that the compromises  with local powerbrokers called for in counterinsurgencys strategy can have human rights consequences, despite the doctrine's emphasis on winning popular support: "It's one of the weak points of the implementation of the COIN ideals. … It's not necessarily our own actions or what our own troops do; it's also what our partners are capable of and willing to do. Reuters - Brian Katulis says that while U.S. casualties in Afghanistan are a concern for President Obama as he conducts his strategy review, we should not over-draw parallels to previous eras: "This is not like the Soviet times in Afghanistan in the 1980s... the fundamentals are different here." Westdeutscher Rundfunk (in German) - Michael Werz reviews President Obama's first year in office and argues that, given the financial and national security challenges facing him from the start of his term, he has been as successful as one can possibly be. Reconciliation and Insurgency November 5, 2:00-3:30 PM In the midst of Abdullah Abdullah's withdrawal from the presidential race and President Hamid Karzai's de facto victory, the Obama administration is assessing how to move forward in Afghanistan.  Meanwhile, the Taliban insurgency's strength has grown. Policymakers have discussed negotiating with elements of the insurgency to stem its momentum. The diverse range of motivations feeding into the insurgency has convinced many that some Taliban fighters can be persuaded to switch sides in the war in Afghanistan. Little progress has been made thus far in these reconciliation efforts, however, despite overtures by President Karzai and high-level Saudi-brokered efforts. Please join the Center for American Progress and the New America Foundation for the second in a series of discussions with experts debating key aspects of the ongoing mission in Afghanistan. The panelists will analyze the impact of Karzai's presidential victory on the insurgency, discuss the costs and opportunities offered by negotiation efforts, and share their thoughts on U.S. strategy moving forward. Featured Panelists: Gilles Dorronsoro, Visiting Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Michael Semple, Harvard University Joanna Nathan, Independent Consultant Moderated by: Caroline Wadhams, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for American Progress For more information and to RSVP, please click here. Sign up: Policy e-newsletters The Progress Report To unsubscribe, click here Support the Center for American Progress Comments, questions: Email Us National Security Policy Weekly is a product of the Center for American Progress www.americanprogress.org | contact us | unsubscribe