This week's TTR preps you for the big issues at the upcoming Copenhagen Summit on climate change, checks in on Pakistan's counterinsurgency capabilities, tracks the economic decline, and keeps an eye out on which U.S. cities are best weathering the crisis. We're also pleased to welcome our final fall intern, Melissa Harrison.
- Will China and the U.S. cooperate on Green policy? [PDF] With the Copenhagen Conference on global warming looming, the U.S. and China are feeling the heat on energy policy, argues Kenneth Lieberthal of the Brookings Institution. The past year has marked large strides in cooperation between the two countries on clean-energy issues, but there has been very little real progress in terms of legislation. Cap-and-trade policy, a sticky subject for both countries, needs to be the point of agreement. With the support of cohesive U.S. and Chinese policy, it is much more likely that the Copenhagen Conference will be able to meet the world's expectations. -- JL
- Can Pakistan wage a counter-insurgency campaign? [PDF] The New America Foundation assesses the military contributions Pakistan can make along the Afghanistan-Pakistan Border. Many are calling on Pakistan to employ counterinsurgency (COIN) tactics to fight the Taliban: “build[ing] popular support for a government while marginalizing the insurgents.” However, the study is skeptical that Pakistan is up for the task because India remains its most pressing national security concern, and American support for a counterinsurgency campaign could do more harm than good by stoking anti-American sentiment. -- PL
- The decline continues. [PDF] A September 2009 report from the Center for American Progress rounds up the latest economic statistics as unemployment rates and job losses deepen. Last month, the U.S. economy lost 216,000 jobs -- upping the national unemployment rate to 9.7 percent. African Americans and Hispanics are most affected by job loss, with their unemployment rates at 15.1 percent and 13 percent, respectively. That’s second only to youth unemployment, which now stands at 25.5 percent. -- MH
- Texas wins. The Brookings second-quarter MetroMonitor reports most cities in Texas outperforming other cities in the country on employment, unemployment, gross metropolitan product, and housing price indicators. Our own Washington metro area deserves a mention as one of three cities that has recovered to pre-recession levels of economic output. By contrast, the cities that experienced the sharpest declines from April to June 2009 compared to the first quarter were concentrated in Central California and Florida. The pace of urban recovery varied widely across regions and industries, but those areas engaged in a diverse set of economic activities have been shielded from the worst. -- LL
-- TAP Staff
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