August 10, 2009

NAFTA summit:

Swine flu, drugs and trade issues are expected to dominate the summit meeting of the leaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada, meeting Monday in Guadalajara.

U.S. President Barack Obama met with Mexican President Felipe Calderon Sunday night for dinner. They were later joined by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Formal sessions in what has been billed the "three amigos" summit begin Monday.

While agreement is expected over measures to contain the H1N1 swine flu virus, trade is expected to be more contentious as all three countries deal with the effects of the global recession. The United States currently bans long-haul trucks from Mexico entering the United States, citing safety concerns.

Mexico sees the measure as protectionist and retaliated in March with $2.4 billion in tariffs on U.S. goods entering Mexico. Mexico also wants Canada to lift its visa requirement for Mexicans.

Obama Sunday expressed support for Calderon's war against Mexico's drug lords. The initiative is losing popular support in Mexico because of the heightened violence it has triggered.

Afghan drug traffickers:

Fifty suspected Afghan drug traffickers have been placed on a U.S. military hit list, the New York Times reports. They join a larger list of insurgent leaders targeted for capture or killing.

The 50 are suspected of helping fund Taliban operations with drug profits. The information is from a report to be issued this week by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The move represents a shift in U.S. drug policy in Afghanistan. Previously this had focused on destroying poppy fields. Now the connection with the Taliban will be more narrowly targeted.

Meanwhile violence has increased in the country as the Aug. 20 elections for president and provincial councils approach. In the most recent incident Taliban occupied a government building in Logar province, near Kabul, and fired on the governor's office with rockets and small-arms.

CIA torture investigation:

Attorney General Eric Holder seems about ready to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate possible criminal abuses in the interrogation of detainees. Current and former U.S. officials spoke to several newspapers on the matter during the weekend.

Holder already has a short list for the prosecutor's position, sources said.

The scope of any investigation is expected to be narrow, aimed at determining whether interrogators went beyond the methods permitted in memos on the matter issued by the Bush administration.

Critics of the Bush policy on interrogation say the memos and their authors should be investigated for torture, not lower level operatives.

China mass evacuation:

One million people left their homes along China's eastern coastal areas, fleeing typhoon Morakot. The storm made landfall Sunday afternoon,

Some 1,800 houses were reported to have collapsed in Zhejiang province. In Fujian province, an estimated 136,000 properties suffered damage.

The typhoon passed over northern Taiwan before hitting the mainland. It dropped the most rain ever recorded in a 48-hour period on the island.

The rains caused a mudslide in one village leaving 100 people still unaccounted for. A six-story hotel in Taidong collapsed into a river after floodwaters weakened its foundations. Guests and staff had already been evacuated.