Council on Foreign Relations

-U.S. Army base shooting spree raises mental health concerns.
-Saudi Arabia says military strikes against Yemen to continue.
-U.S. imposes duties on Chinese steel.
-European Central Bank signals economic policy easing.

A fatal shooting spree has roiled a huge U.S. Army base that deploys tens of thousands of troops to Iraq and that has been the focus of attempts to reduce post-traumatic stress disorder in the military. The gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan killed thirteen people (NYT) and wounded thirty others Thursday.  Hassan, an Army psychologist, was about to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Hassan was unconscious (NPR) and on a ventilator Friday. His motive in the shooting remains unclear.

Suicides in the Army hit a record high (al-Jazeera) of at least 128 last year and are expected to reach a new high this year, which would surpass the rate among the wider civilian population. U.S. officials believe repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan have played a role in the uptick in suicides, post-traumatic stress and depression.

Analysis

Army officials say they do not know (WashPost) how much psychological stress the Army can sustain, and that health is a major factor in President Barack Obama's consideration of whether to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. An estimated 30 percent of U.S. soldiers returning from combat experience mental health problems which intensify with repeated deployments, according to Army surveys.

Background

A U.S. Army report produced by the fifth Mental Health Advisory Team discusses the mental health and morale of soldiers deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Saudi Arabia says it carried out airstrikes (AP) against "infiltrators" from Yemen along the countries' shared border, and that it will continue military action until the border is secure.

Israel: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says he will not seek re-election (Haaretz) in January 2010 due to stalled peace negotiations with Israel.

The United States has imposed duties (Sydney Morning Herald) on Chinese steel pipes after complaints by American steel producers that they were being "dumped" on by underpriced Chinese imports.

Japan: A week before U.S. President Barack Obama's arrival in Japan, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has tried to ease strained relations (South China Morning Post) with the country over a U.S. military base on Okinawa Island.

Ahead of Obama's trip, CFR's Sheila Smith, Joshua Kurlantzick, Elizabeth Economy, and Scott Snyder headline the security and economic issues that will dominate his agenda.

Sri Lanka faces EU tariffs (al-Jazeera) that could cost it $116 million in trade concessions that help its garment industry if it fails to respond by Friday to an EU human-rights report highlighting the plight of Tamil war refugees.

Pakistan: Pakistani forces have captured (BBC) the strategically important town of Ladha from the Taliban in their ongoing South Waziristan offensive.

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai ended his boycott (Independent) of the government and agreed to give President Robert Mugabe a month to negotiate a new power-sharing deal.

Anti-Poverty: African efforts to meet the 2015 deadline of the UN Millennium Development Goals' anti-poverty targets have been derailed (UN News Service) by the global financial crisis, according to a UN official.

The deal to end the four-month political crisis in Honduras has collapsed (Reuters) after de facto leader Roberto Micheletti said he would stay in power as the head of what was intended to be a unity government with ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

Mexico: Mexican mayors and state governors are searching (WSJ) for local solutions  to stem the tide of drug-related violence that has killed some fourteen thousand since President Felipe Calderón took office in 2006.

A CFR Backgrounder examines Mexico's fight against the drug trade. 

The European Central Bank has left eurozone interest rates unchanged at 1 percent but indicated (EUObserver) it would begin easing emergency lending measures.

Climate Change: European leaders say chances are slim (Deutsche Welle) for reaching agreement on a UN climate treaty at December's Copenhagen climate summit and will likely require another year of negotiations before a deal can be reached.

In Foreign Policy, Karen Armstrong examines the role of God in global public debate since September 11, 2001 and considers whether religion is a force of good in the world today.