Thursday's global agenda: Clinton takes on Boko Haram

By Julian Pecquet - 08/09/12 09:00 AM ET

Your morning global affairs speed-read

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan, today as Africa's largest oil producer faces an Islamist insurgency. Boko Haram, which is believed to have killed more than 1,400 people in northern and central Nigeria since 2010, is expected to be a major focus of their meeting. [ANP/AFP]

Some lawmakers — including House Homeland Security panel members Pete King (R-N.Y.) and Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.) — are pressing the State Department to label Boko Haram a terrorist organization. The Obama administration has so far refused, however, in part because the group is domestic-focused, despite its links to al Qaeda.

Cleanup time: The United States today begins cleaning up the Agent Orange defoliant it dumped 12 million gallons of over Vietnam during the decade-long war there. The federal government is providing $41 million to clean up the chemical, which has been linked to cancer and birth defects. [Reuters]

Trade ya: The U.S. Treasury Department releases trade balance figures for goods and services for the month of June this morning. The nation's trade deficit narrowed in May to $48.7 billion, down 3.8 percent from April, as near-record exports and lower energy prices helped shrink the gap.

In other news:

The United States and its Arab allies are knitting together a regional missile defense system across the Persian Gulf to protect cities, oil refineries, pipelines and military bases from an attack by Iran, The New York Times reports.

Republican Gov. Haley Barbour invites French millionaires to avoid the socialist government's new surtax by settling in Mississippi. [Foreign Policy]

In other news from France, former President Nicolas Sarkozy caused a firestorm by stepping out of retirement to urge for foreign intervention in Syria. [The New York Times]

What you might have missed on Global Affairs:

Obama offers condolences to India's prime minister over Sikh temple shooting

Official: State-DOD team preparing to contain shoulder-fired missiles in Syria

Romney's national-security pick criticized by conservatives

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Note to readers: This morning roundup will be published at 8 a.m. during the summer recess and will go dark the week of Aug. 13.