February 18, 2011 View this newsletter as a web page on CFR's website. In this Issue: The U.S. Budget's Tightrope Act A Politically 'Comatose' Mideast Awakens Dangers in U.S.-Pakistan Rift The U.S. Budget's Tightrope Act The White House's proposed budget for FY2012 tries to balance spending cuts with investment to boost competitiveness. Sebastian Mallaby, Adam Segal, Laurie Garrett, and Micah Zenko examine how well it handles deficit reduction, defense, foreign aid, and spurring innovation. Read more Article: "Eight Nightmares in 2011" by Leslie Gelb (The Daily Beast) Op-ed: "Chance Can Be a Better Way To Save" by Peter Orzsag (Financial Times) Blog: "Obama's Budget Strategy" by James Lindsay ("The Water's Edge") Foreign Affairs: "A G-Zero World - The New Economic Club Will Produce Conflict, Not Cooperation" by Ian Bremmer and Nouriel Roubini Op-ed: "A Soft Power Bargain" by Micah Zenko and Rebecca Friedman (Los Angeles Times) Blog: "Beware the Strategic Consequences of Slashing International Climate Assistance" by Michael Levi ("Energy, Security, and Climate") CFR experts on U.S. Strategy and Politics A Politically 'Comatose' Mideast Awakens The ouster of autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt has awakened a hunger for change in the Arab world, says CFR's Thomas Lippman, but it's unlikely to result in a widespread fall of regimes. Read more Expert Brief: "Indonesia's Lessons for Egypt" by Karen Brooks Op-ed: "Reflections on the Revolution in Egypt" by Richard Haass (Project Syndicate) First Take: "Egyptian Military's Moment of Truth" by Steven Cook Podcast: "Al-Jazeera - The World Through Arab Eyes" with Abderrahim Foukara, al-Jazeera Arabic Foreign Affairs: "Postcolonial Time Disorder - Egypt and the Middle East, Stuck in the Past" by James Le Sueur CFR experts on the Middle East Dangers in U.S.-Pakistan Rift U.S.-Pakistan tensions over a U.S. Embassy employee accused of murder point to the challenges of balancing a long-term partnership with short-term priorities. Analysts say Washington should focus on opening up trade and other strategies that help Pakistanis. Read more Task Force Report: U.S. Strategy for Pakistan and Afghanistan by Richard Armitage, Samuel Berger, and Daniel Markey Video Interview: "U.S.-Pakistan Relations and Raymond Davis Crisis" with Daniel Markey Expert Brief: "Explaining the Salman Taseer Murder" by Ed Husain Interview: "Pakistan's Road to Disintegration" with Stephen Cohen, Brookings Institution Analysis Brief: Will Pakistan follow Egypt's example? Interactive: Crisis Guide - Pakistan CFR experts on Pakistan   Promoting Democracy: The Whys and Hows CFR fellow Mark Lagon identifies actions historically taken by the United States, and uses them to construct a blueprint for how to effectively promote democracy abroad, in a Markets and Democracy Brief from the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initiative.     Multimedia Resources on Rising Food Prices CFR Senior Fellow Laurie Garrett discusses the drivers of rising global food prices—including biofuels, price speculation, severe weather events, and increasing demand for meat—and their implications for global health, in new video interviews. On CFR.org, Garrett discusses on the impact of food prices on global stability. Read the interview.     On the CFR Blogs THE WATER'S EDGE Lindsay wraps up the week's U.S. foreign policy news in today's "Friday File." ASIA UNBOUND Joshua Kurlantzick examines why China's instability does not resemble that in the Middle East. PRESSURE POINTS Elliott Abrams urges the U.S. to push countries in the Middle East to enact reforms. AFRICA IN TRANSITION John Campbell argues that crises in Cote d'Ivoire and Sudan are far from over. FROM THE POTOMAC TO THE EUPHRATES Steven Cook discusses the Egyptian military's "moment of truth." ENERGY, SECURITY AND CLIMATE Michael Levi argues that a new report on the economic impact of climate change is misleading. GEO-GRAPHICS A new chart demonstrates that declines in defense spending have historically been accounted for by inflation or real GDP growth – not by spending cuts. Read and weigh in on CFR's expert blogs.     EXPLORE CFR's WEBSITE:     Regions      Issues      Experts     Publications     About CFR Find CFR on Twitter and Facebook. Privacy Policy The Council on Foreign Relations does not share email addresses with third parties. Council on Foreign Relations 58 East 68th Street New York, NY 10065 Tel. +1 212.434.9400 Fax: +1 212.434.9800