Monday's global agenda: Syrians unite against Assad

Your morning global affairs speed-read

The opposition to Syria's Bashar Assad will seek political recognition from the Arab League today after agreeing to unite under a 60-member body over the weekend. The new National Coalition for Revolutionary Forces on Sunday elected former Damascus Sunni cleric Moaz Khatib to lead the group as it prepares to set up a military council and elect a temporary Cabinet. [The Wall Street Journal]

The opposition leadership was under considerable American and international pressure to diversify its membership and include rebels fighting on the front lines during last week's talks in Doha, Qatar. The new group met with the Obama administration's approval but remains a far cry from the type of organized transitional government that made broad international support for rebels in Libya possible last year.

“We look forward to supporting the National Coalition as it charts a course toward the end of Assad’s bloody rule and the start of the peaceful, just, democratic future that all the people of Syria deserve,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Sunday. “We will work with the National Coalition to ensure that our humanitarian and non-lethal assistance serves the needs of the Syrian people. We also commend the government of Qatar for its steadfast leadership and support of this conference."

The news comes amid widening regional tensions as Israel fired a missile into Syrian territory for the first time since 1973 after errant gunfire hit an Israeli army post in the Golan Heights. [The Washington Post]. And Jordan is discreetly helping arm Syrian rebels, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Clinton down under: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to arrive in Perth today to cement closer defense ties with Australia as the United States “pivots” to the Asia-Pacific region in response to China's growing clout. Clinton will be joined by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta for meetings with Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr and Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith for the annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN), where they will discuss security cooperation and other regional and global issues. [The Herald Sun] 

During her weeklong trip, Clinton is also scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Julia Gillard; visit the new Western Australia–United States & Asia Centre (USAC); and travel to Adelaide to meet with Australian business leaders as well as visit Techport Australia, Australia’s largest and most advanced shipbuilding facility.

Treasury travels to Congo: Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin travels to the Republic of the Congo today for discussions with senior government officials about “key economic and structural challenges in the fourth largest oil-producing country in Africa.” The deputy secretary will discuss “the importance of sound resource revenue management, strong economic governance, transparent and accountable institutions and economic diversification,” Treasury said.

In other news: 

A U.S. embassy delegation and CIA operatives setting up a counterterrorism force in Libya visited Benghazi last week to meet and recruit fighters directly from a powerful umbrella organization of militias known as the Libyan Shield, sidestepping the country's fledgling armed services, The Washington Post reports.

Iraqi officials said they might soon free a Lebanese Hezbollah operative, Ali Musa Daqduq, who has been accused of helping to kill American troops in Iraq. [The New York Times]

The West African regional bloc ECOWAS agreed Sunday to commit 3,300 troops to help recapture northern Mali under a U.S.-backed United Nations operation that could be approved by the end of the month. [Reuters]

The Portuguese are escaping to Portugal's former colony of Mozambique to escape the euro crisis. [The Washington Post]

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