Must Reads!!

• Wiesel asks “Why is Assad still in power?” before Obama speech
• Dobbs: Obama, Samantha Power, and the “Problem from Hell”
• In Egypt, battle is joined on the role of Islam in the state
• GsGf: Future Air War in the Pacific 
• NATO commanders express confidences in Afghan forces
• Wings Over Iraq: World Updates and Daily Defense Briefing
• Khalilzad: US can wind down Afghan mission w/interests intact
• US troops have fired into Pakistan from Afghanistan 4 times in year
• US saw Chinese police chief as risky candidate for asylum
• Kurd Pres. Barzani opposes sale of F-16s while Maliki in power
• Pentagon establishes new unit to bolster intelligence efforts

The White House said Monday the U.S. would impose sanctions on companies, agencies and individuals inside Syria and Iran that use digital technology to help the two nations' governments crush dissent. – Wall Street Journal

Analysis: President Obama was both eloquent and practical on Monday in a speech that showed the complexities facing a president who wants to provide moral leadership globally while being pragmatic about the limits of projecting American military power. It is not an easy blend and one that could disappoint those who want the United States to step in forcefully and immediately whenever massive human-rights abuses occur overseas. – National Journal

Michael Dobbs writes: There is an interesting back story to Barack Obama's call today for stronger action to prevent genocide that directly relates to the subject of this blog. The president's speech at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum announcing new sanctions against perpetrators of mass atrocities was shaped in large part by senior aides with first-hand experience in places like Bosnia and Rwanda. – Foreign Policy’s Mladic in the Hague Blog