December 11, 2019
Afghan Papers Published; New NAFTA Victory; Political Chaos in the Americas; France Strikes; UK Elects; The World's Youngest Prime Minister: Sanna Marin; China's Uighur Trials; North Korea's Warnings; New Zealand Erupts; and Russia's International Sports Ban
" The American people have constantly been lied to."
-- John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, in a comment to The Washington Post ( as quoted in The Atlantic) regarding the Afghanistan war documents.
A Long Time Coming: Afghanistan Revelations
“ The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War” Craig Whitlock; Leslie Shapiro; Armand Emamdjomeh -- The Washington Post, December 9, 2019

“ 'Nobody Wants to Talk About It’: Senate Remains Idle as Afghan War Lurches On” Marianne Levine and Connor O’Brien -- Politico, December 11, 2019

“ Everyone Knew We Were Losing in Afghanistan” David Graham -- The Atlantic, December 9, 2019

“ America’s Longest War Finally Has Its Pentagon Papers Moment” Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman -- Politico, December 9, 2019

“ Senior Enlisted Leaders React to Afghanistan Papers: ‘I’ve Never Been Lied to’” Meghann Myers -- Military Times, December 9, 2019
New NAFTA Victory
“ Trump Has His New NAFTA. But Is It Any Better Than the Original?" Los Angeles Times, December 11, 2019

“ The New, New NAFTA Is Good for Canada, and It Just Got Better” The Globe and Mail, December 10, 2019

“ Border Leaders Thrilled With USMCA Breakthrough” Luis Montoya -- Rio Grande Guardian, December 10, 2019
Political Chaos in the Americas
“ As Protests Rock Chile, the People Consider Rewriting Pinochet’s Constitution” Camila Osorio -- The New Yorker, December 10, 2019

“ In a Season of Discontent, Are Latin American Democracies at Risk?” Eric Farnsworth -- World Politics Review, December 6, 2019
France Strikes
UK Election Looms
“ How the Brexit Election Was Reduced to Trivia” Steve Bloomfield -- Foreign Affairs, December 9, 2019


“ The Arrogance of the UK’s Political Class Is Ever Less Justified” Jeremy Cliffe -- New Statesman America, December 9, 2019

“ UK Election: Issues of Identity and Culture All Battle Under the Banner of Brexit” Michael Clifford -- Irish Examiner, December 11, 2019
Sanna Marin: The World's Youngest Prime Minister
“ At 34, Sanna Marin Is the World’s Youngest Sitting Head of Government” Jan Olsen and Vanessa Gera -- Time, December 10, 2019

“ How Will a 34 Year Old Woman Prime Minister in Finland Change the World?” Tulikukka de Fresnes -- The Irish Times, December 11, 2019

“ Who Is Sanna Marin, Finland’s 34-Year-Old Prime Minister?” Megan Specia -- New York Times, December 10, 2019
China's Uighur Trials

“ 'I Have Told Everything,’ Says Whistle-Blower in China Crackdown” Elian Peltier; Claire Moses; Edward Wong -- New York Times, December 7, 2019


“ As Xinjiang Makes International News, China’s Counterattacks Against the U.S. Miss the Mark” Robert Delaney -- South China Morning Post, December 10, 2019
North Korea's Warnings
“ N. Korea Conducts 'Important Test' at Once-Dismantled Site” Hyung-Jin Kim -- Associated Press, December 8, 2019

“ Is War With North Korea Unavoidable?” Crispin Rovere -- National Interest, December 8, 2019
New Zealand Erupts
“ Five Dead, Many Missing, and ‘No Signs of Life’ After Volcanic Eruption on Popular New Zealand Island” Allyson Chiu and Lateshia Beachum -- The Washington Post, December 9, 2019 

“ Should Tourists Have Been on New Zealand’s Volcanic White Island?” Julia Hollingsworth -- CNN, December 10, 2019

“ Why Did White Island Erupt?” Liam Mannix -- The Sydney Morning Herald, December 10, 2019
Russian Sports Banned
“ Explained: Why Russia Can’t Participate in Tokyo Olympics, FIFA World Cup” Mihir Vasavda -- Indian Express, December 9, 2019