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JUNE 2009
[Re South Korea in a new
Asia initiative, Jun 29] Zhiqun Zhu has high hopes for South Korean
President Lee Myung-bak's "New Asia initiative" in an odd way. It is bound for
failure. Professor Zhu rightly observes that Seoul's vocation is to help and
aid North Korea. Yet, Lee's policy towards Pyongyang since his assumption of
power has been overtly hostile. In fact, he can pride himself on the fact that
he has relaunched a cold war between South and North Korea by scrapping the
Sunshine policy. His policy has largely contributed to the current unrest on
the divided Korean Peninsula. By trying to pose as a regional leader, Lee is
engaging in a policy of self delusion. The tragic suicide of former president
Roh Moo-hyun is proof positive that internally, Lee hardly enjoys the full
support of his people. He hardly commands an economy which has escaped the
ravages of the global recession; and more than that, he is coordinating his
foreign policy with the current right-wing government in Japan, fueling
tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Such tensions do not encourage a climate for
even Association of Southeast Nations members to join Lee's "New Asia
initiative".
Mel Cooper
Singapore (Jun 30,'09)
[Re Obama creates
a deadly power vacuum, Jun 29] It's time to ask Spengler to change to a
different job at a Tel Aviv synagogue or in a Texas ranch. He does not make
much sense.
Khondakar (Jun 30,'09)
[Re Beijing losing the
gambling battle, Jun 26] Gambling has been second nature to Chinese for
millennia. Documentation on their "favorite pastime" goes back thousands of
years. If the Chinese Communist Party in its heroic and revolutionary persona
could not curb it in the past, what makes the current party rulers think that
they can. After all, China has taken the capitalist road in economic reform,
and capitalism in essence is the biggest gambling game going.
Mel Cooper
Singapore (Jun 29,'09)
The current efforts to pry open the vaults of opacity and obfuscation buried in
the US Federal Reserve system is, of course, long overdue. Created in 1913 to
centralize monetary policy, the "Fed" also served to insinuate international
banking's tentacles deep into the heart of America's nascent world-dominating
financial system. That Edward House, former president Woodrow Wilson's prime
internationalist, masterminded both it and the federal income tax, certainly
bolsters the case that the Fed was a critical brick in the edifice of making
America the planet's safe haven for profits. It is no coincidence that World
War I broke out the next year, nor is it coincidence that the Great Depression
occurred, not just under its watch, but with its "active acquiescence". The
Fed's critics are many and wholly justified, but as long as Wall Street is the
de facto US government, any illusions about its charter not being renewed will
be vacationing with Elvis and a unicorn named Betty. The Fed is the supreme
creator of bubbles, because it is the artificial inflation and deflation of
commodities and equities that enormously profits the Fed's plutocratic
supporters. The "free hand" of the market is a clenched fist used to smash
honest, naive, doe-eyed believers in the American Fantasy. The collateral
damage caused by such manipulation, the wrecking of societies and countries, is
easily dismissed by the Fed's wonderful public relations machine, manned by
such incompetent hacks as former Fed chairman Alan
"How-Could-Anyone-Have-Seen-the-Edge-of-the-Cliff?" Greenspan, whose own
carefully cultivated celebrity status makes legitimate criticisms seem churlish
and envious. He continues to parade his spectacular failures to an endless
parade of Congressional committees, with one incredible excuse after another,
all the while his tame interlocutors nod their heads and await their kickbacks.
President Barack Obama, the latest front man for the Fed's crimes, has little
say in the machinations. Whether "mavericks" (the favorite politically correct
slur of the guilty onto justice-seekers) like Congressman Ron Paul (the
quintessential oxymoron, a sensible Republican) can expose the Fed's web of
intrigue is naturally very doubtful; even an audit of the Fed will be perceived
as the first siege tower used to storm this bastion of international
capitalism's control, and that of course is unacceptable. But some of us
believe the effort to find justice and re-assert national sovereignty are still
worthwhile endeavors, regardless of the forest of windmills ahead. Fight on,
Ron Quixote.
Hardy Campbell
Houston TX USA (Jun 29,'09)
[Re Hezbollah
keeps its eye on the ball, Jun 27] Sami Moubayed omitted mentioning
that the March 8 alliance won the popular vote 55% to 45%, most people in
Lebanon did not vote for the winning [March 14] coalition! Also this line: "and
legally speaking, since his group does not enjoy a majority any longer, the
post of speaker should go to a member of March 14" is not fully correct.
Actually, the post of speaker has to go to a Shi'ite (the largest plurality in
the country gets the lowest post in the government of course), and there are
very few if any Shi'ites in March 14 ... Moubayed also said: "[N]o matter what,
a Shi'ite cannot rule Lebanon." This is based on a tacit understanding of
sectarian distribution of the posts. However, Hezbollah has been calling for
proportional representation. Who knows, maybe one day this could happen, making
Moubayed's definitive statement of "no matter what" wrong.
Shab Mirz (Jun 29,'09)
Ever since Iran has became the cause du jour in the past few weeks, to state
that there is a huge deficit of knowledge about that country is to state the
obvious. As was noted in ("US
misunderstanding on Iran lingers," June 27) But, this does not stop the
incessant chatter in the media (most of it wrong), nor the think-tanks - each
featuring their own Iran "expert" - nor uninformed comments by former officials
whose job was to follow events in Iran. All the chatter and print is
speculation based on wishful thinking and ignorance, not real facts. That is
the tragic outcome of 30 years of attempts to isolate Iran. This has achieved
nothing but to leave the United States bereft of reliable information. The lack
of knowledge and misconceptions is appalling. Witness the noise coming out of
the neo-conservatives and their right-wing supporters in Congress and the
media. For example, Senator John McCain's concern for the Iranian people is
nice, but his criticism of President Barack Obama for not speaking more
forcefully in support of demonstrating Iranians would have been more believable
had it not come from the same person who, during the recent election, wanted to
bomb Iran. Same goes for Senator Lindsey Graham and his frequent attempts to
evoke the feigned toughness of former president Ronald Reagan. He hopes
everyone has forgotten that it was Reagan who traded arms for hostages
(Iran-Contra), establishing relations with the same clerics who are now being
vilified by the right. For these people, there is no shortage of hypocrisy,
ignorance of history and crocodile tears for the Iranian people. The Obama
administration's measured and balanced response is absolutely right. What
happens in Iran must be determined by the Iranian people. America's
national-security interests in the region demand that every effort is made to
open a dialogue with Iran, no matter what happens in the foreseeable future.
Anything less is to repeat the same stupid mistakes of the past and achieve the
same stupid results.
Fariborz S Fatemi
Virginia, USA (Jun 29,'09)
A UN snub: Two regimes
in a tub [Jun 25] is interesting in supposition and detail. Yet, no one
really has the foggiest idea what the North Korean vessel Kang Nam 1 is
carrying nor its final destination, which pundits think is Myanmar. Armed with
United Nations Resolution 1758, the USS John McCain is tracking it,
anxiously awaiting the moment the merchant ship pulls into a third party port
to refuel, in order to try to board it. This is a bold move which could provoke
military action by Pyongyang. This said, the world is watching once again the
replay of an old game of North Korea trying to beard Uncle Sam's cat. Consider
Pyongyang's capture of the Pueblo more than 40 years ago. Washington and
certainly United States President Barack Obama have learnt a lesson from the
egg on the Richard Nixon administration's face. Ultimately, the US had to sit
down and negotiate with North Korea, which it did to obtain the release of the Peublo's
captain and crew. Still, the US has yet to absorb the impact of that incident.
Instead of playing the dangerous game of chicken with Pyongyang, Washington has
to meet Pyongyang on a level diplomatic playing field and hammer out almost 60
years of differences.
Mel Cooper
Singapore (Jun 26,'09)
[Re Iran's streets
are lost, but hope returns", Jun 24] It is becoming increasingly
apparent that the challenge put up by Hussein Mir Mousavi was not simply to
dispute the election results, which were fair, but to shake up the whole
political structure of Iran and remove the present regime from power. It is sad
and unfortunate that this election crisis is being prolonged unnecessarily and
could lead to Iran's disintegration. It is also pathetic that the Iranian
middle class is helping a foreign conspiracy destabilize their country. I
suspect that the West would like these demonstrations to become more violent
because it wants to see the Iranian mullahs and their regime demonized in the
world. This would provide an excuse for the Israelis and the US to attack
Iranian nuclear installations by air or increase support to their clandestine
operations already inside Iran aimed at dismantling it. The West would like to
see a boot-licking regime of the likes of Iraqi President Nuri al-Maliki so it
can control Iran's oil reserves and natural resources. By doing this it could
manipulate the whole of the Middle East and Central Asia. Mousavi could easily
fit in Maliki's shoes and he would hand over Iranian oil wells and nuclear
installations to the West in obligation if the West removed the mullahs from
power by hook or by crook or by bullets and bombs.
Saqib Khan
UK (Jun 26,'09)
I marvel at the persistence in defending capitalism as a "good thing that only
needs to be reined in from time to time". Sort of like the man-eating crocodile
that has a taste for bad people but finds the good ones unappetizing; by the
time it finds out which is which ... Alas, like the reptile, capitalism's
appetite does not distinguish between moral titles. It exists only to take
advantage of the human need to one-up fellow citizens without regard to social
needs, religious creeds or a quaint definition of patriotism. All "innocent
bystanders" will be victims. Though it was once very fashionable to pooh-pooh
Marxist pronouncements about capitalist exploitation as historic sour grapes,
the ugly truths of socialism are once again rising from the grave. Imperialism,
racism and capitalism are the same sides of the same coin, an incestuous trio
of the more vile debasements of human frailty and greed. And make no mistake
about it; greed is to capitalism as water is to a fish. Without rapacious
greed, capitalism's ability to conquer and subjugate loses its raison d'etre.
The idea that a so-called democratically elected representative government
would remain unsullied or polluted by filthy lucre and remain pristine and
dedicated to selfless public service is now such a paean to naivete that no
thinking bi-ped takes it seriously. The insidious nature of capitalism is its
ability to hide under the rubric of democracy and freedom when in fact it
depends exclusively on tyranny, subversion, slavery, debt, war, theft and
corruption. Capitalism gave us the Atlantic slave trade, a Great Depression,
communism, two world wars, massacres and genocides, the drug trade, the
cigarette industry, dysfunctional health care, environmental destruction,
collapsed economies, and kleptocratic pseudo-governments. Yet millions of
Americans have accepted as holy writ that the two are synonymous, a ploy that
has repeatedly brought us to the sorry state of bursting balloons, shattered
industrial bases and ruined lives. Globalization was the latest brainwash
technique to make capitalism's rape of nations seem like benign planetary
lovemaking, but that rose has wilted so that only ripping thorns are left.
People are snapping to the awful realization that this is just another way
capitalism disguises its relentless locust-like rampage to strip whole
societies of their worth and wealth. Or maybe I should say indiscriminate
crocodiles.
Hardy Campbell
Houston TX USA (Jun 26,'09)
[Re Iran's streets
are lost, but hope returns, Jun 24] Keep on dreaming Pepe Escobar! As
long as there are people in the majority who are ordinary working-class folks,
such as farmers, teachers and clerics, Iran will have a democratically elected
government, as was decided on June 12. The middle classes and the yuppies do
not represent the majority as much as they would like to prove that by
demonstrations. In Iran under Islamic rule there will never ever be a
government run by the rich and the Westernized yuppies. They can forget it or
they can emigrate. Iran under President Mahmud Ahmadinejad stands tall and
proud and no one dare attack it, not even Israel. It has made tremendous
technological and social progress. Today, those who were regarded as
unimportant people, the barefoot masses, have seen their lives improve. The
social programs implemented by Ahmadinejad may have caused inflation for the
middle classes, but for the poor, who never had any money, it has given them
purchasing power. Of course, the rich are not happy to pay additional taxes and
increased prices for the luxuries they are used to. The elections were won fair
and square by Ahmadinejad and no amount of false reporting will change that.
Ahmadinejad, like [Venezuelan President] Hugo Chavez, enjoys massive support
not only in Iran but across the Third World. Millions of poor people around the
world are hoping that the same kind of revolutions that took place in Venezuela
and Iran come their shores to overthrow the neo-liberal economic order.
Vincent Maadi Cape Town
South Africa (Jun 25,'09)
After reading the article
India tightens the screw on Maoists[Jun 24], by Siddharth Srivastava,
the reader is left with the impression that the Naxalite movement, as bad as it
is, is a result of New Delhi's land acquisition policies. As the article
states, "Although there are several causes for the Naxalite violence, one main
reason is the absence of land reform and persistence of extreme poverty." If
this is true, then India's decision to declare the Naxalites a terrorist group,
with all the implications that go with it - including closing their bank
accounts and dealing with them in a heightened military manner - may not solve
the problem until the issue of land reform is dealt with. The article goes on
to state, "India's rich coal-mining activity is concentrated in the states
which have large tribal concentrations. These provinces though rich in natural
resources, score very low on human development indices." Obviously, this is a
subject that needs in-depth coverage and exposure to the world so New Delhi
gets sufficient pressure from the United Nations to address the unrepresented
voices of the many people directly affected by India's lack of policies.
Chrysantha Wijeyasingha
Clinton, USA (Jun 25,'09)
Israeli propaganda and misinformation (never to be confused with "control of
the media", the favorite trigger-words of the Jewish attack-squads) would have
the ignorant of the world think of them as innocent, hardworking, unbigoted
defenders of American-Judeo-Christian values in a sea of Muslim fanaticism and
terror. Their own history, vetted and filtered until it is as false and white
as mendacious snow, would support this idealized version of the truth.
Unmentioned would be Israel's own origins in terrorism, its secret Mossad
assassination teams, support of bloodthirsty Third World dictators, violation
of nuclear non-proliferation protocols, complicity in money laundering and
criminal enterprises, its own settlement-building Zionist Taliban, continued
contempt for United Nations resolutions, arms-smuggling to every conflict
around the globe that can turn a profit, and numerous occasions when they have
spied on the US as well as other "friends". To hear their version of history,
they and they alone were the only ones victimized by the Nazis in World War 2,
ignoring the millions of non-Jews that were also murdered. Israeli history
would have you believe that they acquired all that territory in the Six-Day War
as a result of Egyptian aggression, ignoring their own pre-emptive strikes that
started the conflict. They will defend their role in Lebanon's agony as
defensive in nature, and forget to mention the Sabra and Shatila massacres [in
1982]. Israel's continued existence appears to rest on this
corrupted-to-pristine vision of the past, so here's hoping this little bit of
revelation can contribute to changing this unacceptable status quo.
Hardy Campbell
Houston TX USA (Jun 25,'09)
[Re China makes a choice
in Iran, Jun 24] China practices "real Politik". It is playing a
wait-and-see game in the turmoil that is currently gripping Iran after the
hasty proclamation of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's election victory.
Francesco Sisci has imaginatively separated the wheat from the chaff in
Beijing's decision to call for calm and a peaceful resolution of the current
crisis playing out in Tehran. The regional stakes and global interests in the
struggle for power in Iran weigh heavily on China. The same in a way can be
said for US President Barack Obama's measured and calculated response. He needs
Iran just as much as China does. Without Tehran's hand in a geopolitical
solution in Central Asia, Beijing and Washington have much to fear.
Mel Cooper
Singapore (Jun 25,'09)
In her article Israel
stunned by Washington's tough love [Jun 23] Seema Sirohi asserts that
US President Barack Obama, by leveling the playing field in the Middle East,
has dealt Israel some "tough love". Perhaps she's correct, but so what? Arabs,
Muslims and especially the Palestinians aren't asking Obama for any Middle East
solution, peace plan, level playing field or anything else. What they're asking
for with regard to Israel is what they've always been asking for; they're
simply asking that Israel implement United Nations resolutions and comply with
international law. That's it. If Obama can impose that on Israel, that will be
change the world can believe in. If he can't, then what good is he?
S Kalil
Canada (Jun 24,'09)
[Re Israel stunned
by Washington's tough love, Jun 23] It just goes to show you how a few
words by an American president can flip the Israeli government. It also goes to
show you how unprepared Jerusalem, famously noted for its acute political savvy
and influence in Washington, was when US President Barack Obama read from a
slightly modified script on the Israeli-Palestine issue.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (Jun 24,'09)
[Re Israel stunned
by Washington's tough love, Jun 23] It has always deeply saddened me
when people of goodwill and decency, who are endeavoring to be even handed, are
continually labeled, even vilified. One such example is [Israeli bloggers]
calling US President Barack Obama "anti-Semitic". How by any stretch of the
human imagination could any reasonable person describe Obama as being
"anti-Semitic"? To me that expression is reserved exclusively for those people
with warped sick mentalities harking back to the 1933-45 era of Nazi Germany
and before. To use that expression against sincere, genuine people who see and
oppose the manifold excesses in the policies of successive Israeli governments
does nothing for the memory of those folks who endured, suffered terribly and
perished in the Holocaust. I personally resent it deeply. Shame on these people
who should be mounting proper and legitimate arguments in defense of their
positions, not resorting to continual emotional blackmail for which none of my
generation, nor Obama, are or could be held responsible. Far better they look
in their own backyards at their own "anti-this, anti-that" attitudes which
often are equally reprehensible. Current entrenched attitudes are not going to
move the world forward.
Ian C Purdie
Sydney, Australia (Jun 24,'09)
[Re 'Color'
revolution fizzles in Iran, Jun 22, and
Meet Shah Ali Khamenei, Jun 22] Today's articles by M K Bhadrakumar and
Pepe Escobar about Iran are both really interesting and sound - and totally
contradictory. It made me really happy to see them next to each other. As a
journalist with Iran experience, I can only say they both reflect - in sincere
and bright ways - the paradoxes of the country and the present situation. Thank
you, Asia Times Online, for such wonderful journalism.
U Rathgeb (Jun 23,'09)
[Re Kim Jong-il at the
opera, Jun 22] Playing Sigmund Freud brings little understanding to our
grasp on North Korea of today or yesterday. The influence of Russia's writers
and composers on the communist and non-communist countries of East and
Southeast Asia is well known - if you care to scratch the surface. Consider the
example of the North Korean opera Sea of blood. The theme refers to a
moment in North Korea's history when North Koreans defended their country's
honor and pride. It is no secret that Pyongyang is the cradle of staunch and
fierce nationalism. It is proud of its resistance to the Japanese occupier
during World War II and its survival as a nation during the stalemated Korean
War. Western North Korean watchers may smirk at China's Taking Tiger Mountain by
Strategy, but in no way would they demean China's school of socialist
realism in the striking fashion that they "dis" North Korea's. It is little
wonder that Kim Jong-il bristles at outsiders' attempts to turn his country and
his people and their history into trivia.
Mel Cooper
Singapore (Jun 23,'09)
The French, the Russian, the Chinese and now the Iranian revolutions share a
few common features. The first was that from the outset faced existential
threats from foreign powers. To survive, each nation after the revolution had
to have buffer states and international friends so that even if geopolitical
expansion beyond its border was not part of the original agenda it inevitably
became the most important part of the strategy for survival. Any sacrifice was
warranted. China, for example, sent large quantities of food to North Korea,
North Vietnam and even president Sukarno's Indonesia while the Chinese people
were starving. For the same reason, I think, according to the article by Shahir
Shahidsaless The
IRGC shakes its iron fist [Jun 18] that Iranian President Mahmud
Ahmedinejad's government through the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps has
been using the money from oil and other sources to fund their activities in
Iraq and Lebanon, etc. Of course, this has been done at the expense of the
domestic economy which entailed sacrifices and sufferings for the Iranian
people. It is also to be expected that the people would reach a breaking point
sooner or later. From this perspective, the presidential election in Iran is
counter-productive as it will inevitably become the focal point for venting
frustrations by the masses and exploitation by rival politicians, leading to
widespread turmoil. If the Iranian elite learn he correct lesson from the
events of the last few days, this could be their last presidential election. As
many of us know, revolution is not about elections and elections do not
guarantee the survival of the revolution or the nation.
Jason
United Kingdom (Jun 23,'09)
'Color' revolution
fizzles in Iran [Jun 22], is a good insight into what is happening in
Iran. The British media has been hysterical about Mahmud Ahmadinejad becoming
president of Iran again. Most of us wonder when their rage will stop. On one
day we also had North Korea under attack along with Sudan and Zimbabwe. You can
now bypass four or five pages of this propaganda in the so-called serious
newspapers before finding something interesting to read. Every day the war
psychosis is exercised with reports of "Boy's Own" stories from Afghanistan.
The resistance there is accused of using nihilistic violence against the
"peace-keepers". There are regular army parades through the streets of England.
Anti-war Muslim protesters have been intimidated and called extremists, which
has resulted in racist attacks. Yet despite all this flag-waving and false
patriotism the majority of the UK population is against war. Unjust wars have a
habit of undermining the society of the perpetrators. There is more violence in
the streets from disgruntled youth who have no future. With all this happening
the majority of people are not interested in what is happening in Iran. But I
do wish to say thanks again to M K Bhadrakumar for an interesting article.
Wilson John Haire
London (Jun 23,'09)
[Re US neo-cons
sniff a chance, Jun 19] We had the "yellow revolution" during 1986 in
the Philippines when the people were brought into the streets to change one
elite for another. The United States knew that Ferdinand Marcos - its client -
was encouraging communist insurrection by his brutal rule. The only benefit a
tiny section of people got out of this was street-cleaning jobs at starvation
wages ... Then we had the "rose revolution" during November 2003 in Georgia
when the US-financed Mikheil Saakashvili tried to take Georgia out of the
Russian orbit and into the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO). That didn't really work, though in Tblisi, the capital,
there is still a [former US president] George W Bush Avenue. And Saakashvili
turned out to be a brutal ruler who the people of Georgia are finding hard to
get rid of. How long before that avenue is re-named after current US President
Barack Obama? Next came the "orange revolution" in Ukraine during November 2004
and January 2005. An effort was being made to bring this country in the US-EU
orbit and be a member of NATO. [This was also unsuccessful.] The "green
revolution" is being tried in Iran today. It also doesn't seem to be working.
Iran is the only independent country left in the Middle East and it is vital
that it stays that way in order to fight US/EU/NATO hegemony.
Wilson John Haire
London (Jun 22,'09)
The level of venomous and vituperative comments against Iran by the
neo-conservatives and their cronies in Congress and elsewhere has never reached
such a crescendo as now. Daniel Luben does an excellent job in his article
US neo-cons sniff a chance [June 19] by discussing a few of these
neo-cons. But two [that are] missing must be particularly mentioned. John
Bolton, who served as United Nations ambassador in the George W Bush
administration, writing in the pages of the Wall Street Journal, encourages
Israel to attack Iran. And David Brooks, a regular columnist for the New York
Times, gleefully advocates the overthrow of the government. These rantings are
shocking even by yellow journalism standards. The list of these loonies of the
right should also include [Patrick] Clawson, [Frank] Gaffney, [Richard] Perle,
[Paul] Wolfowitz and [R James] Woolsey, to name a few. They all act as if the
last eight years of [former president George W] Bush and [ex-vice president
Dick] Cheney and their failed policies, domestically and internationally, and
the November election of 2008 - a total refutation of those bankrupt policies -
never happened. The [President Barack] Obama administration is right to ignore
their pleadings, for it knows from the history of US-Iran relations that all
Iranians remember the hated [Shah Mohammad Reza] Pahlavi regime and the US role
in bringing it to power. By helping to overthrow the freely elected
constitutional government of Iran in 1953, led by its national heroes Mohammed
Mossedeq and Hussein Fatemi, the US unleashed the enmity of generations of
Iranians against the United States. It was stupid to meddle in Iranian affairs
then, as it is now. What happens in Iran is for Iranians to decide. This is
what the former Bush/Cheney administration never understood and the remnants of
that clique still do not understand. The Obama administration's policy of
engaging in direct talks without pre-conditions and based on mutual respect,
must not change, irrespective of what transpires in the foreseeable future. For
it is imperative for our national security in the region, especially in Iraq,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, to break down this wall of hatred and ignorance that has
separated Iran and the United States. The nuclear issue, that drives the
neo-cons into a frenzy, must also be mentioned. In a little-noticed event on
June 16, Israeli Mossad chief Meir Dagan told the Knesset [Israeli senate]
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the Mossad believed "If the project
has no technical glitches, and if Iran's progress does not malfunction in any
way, they will have a bomb by 2014." This is exactly what the 2007 US National
Estimate on Iran's Nuclear Program said. At the time, it was dismissed by
Israel and the Israel can-do-no-wrong crowd in the United States. Until now,
they had been predicting Iran would have that capacity in a year.
Fariborz S Fatemi
Langley, Virginia (Jun 22,'09)
Another insightful analysis by M K Bhadrakumar in his article
Beijing cautions US over Iran [Jun 22]. Bhadrakumar was right, of
course. Compared to the Chinese, the Americans haven't got a clue about this
Iranian political "eruption". If anybody knows about revolutions it is the
Chinese who had almost 2,000 years of it. Chinese President Hu Jintao could
have given Iranian President Mahmud Ahmedinejad a knowing smile and said, "What
have election and 'people power' got to do with it?" Mao Zedong launched a coup
against his comrades in the Cultural Revolution to preserve the purity of his
revolutionary line. Deng Xiaoping, the "reformist", staged a "palace coup" to
demolish the communist revolution of Mao. Expectedly, other people have the
same idea. This time they used the so-called "people power" to stage that
incident in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, to "change heaven" or bian tian.
I would like Asia Times Online to set up a collection of Bhadrakumar's writings
like you did for Henry C K Liu, Pepe Escobar and others.
Jason
UK (Jun 22,'09)
Beijing cautions
US over Iran [Jun 22] by M K Bhadrakumar is an excellent article
that takes the reader into the fascinating world of international politics. It
is said "the devil is in the details," and Bhadrakumar outlines the complexity
of the Iranian post-election upheaval with great clarity.
Chrysantha Wijeyasingha
Clinton, USA (Jun 22,'09)
[Re Beijing toys with
tougher tactics, Jun 19] Beijing may be "toying" with thoughts of
twisting Pyongyang's arm to rejoin the six-party talks and hold off on rocket
launches and nuclear tests, but recent moves by [US President Barack] Obama's
administration will in the end put a damper on such thinking. Washington is
currently tracking a North Korea vessel it "suspects" of carrying nuclear
technology without the slightest shred of proof. And since Pyongyang's
announcement of another long-range missile test, US Secretary of Defense Robert
Gates has upped the color of warning on the islands of Hawaii. These moves are
encouraging the wild beating of the drums of war in America's political and
military circles, much aided and abetted by the media. China may well look at
America's escalating responses to North Korea as a far more serious concern;
they represent a destabilizing force in Northeast Asia, and an "existential
threat" to its own security. And war on its doorstep is an unacceptable option
for Beijing.
Mel Cooper
Singapore (Jun 22,'09)
[Re BRIC
plotters stage a farce, Jun 19] Chan Akya seems to imply that because
of the trade disputes amongst the countries in BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India and
China], they are not going to be effective. Is he blind to the fact that there
are disputes among North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries as well? Are
there no spats amongst the United States and its allies like South Korea and
Japan? It is to be expected that there will be differences between nations. The
main thing to note is if they have some common ground. Their demands may seem
weak, but it is a start to call for equal representation in all the
international organs which have always been tools of Western interests only.
Wendy Cai
USA (Jun 22,'09)
[Re Malaysia
tries for economic reset, Jun 18] Re-baptizing the Kuala Lumpur
Composite Index (KCLI) the FBM KCLI to better reflect the economic pulse of
Malaysia might bring the country's economic health into a reasonable balance.
Yet Malaysia needs more far-reaching reforms. Already its foreign investment
laws are changing. Foreigners can own 70% of a company when before their share
could never go beyond 49%. This tied foreign capital to the heavy hand of
corruption and political cronyism endemic in Malaysia. Corruption and undue
political influence won't disappear under the new arrangement but at least
there is reason to hope that it will diminish. Prime Minister Najib Razak holds
the reins to a party that needs reform. [Razak's party] must open up to
minority opposition parties and the Chinese and Indian minorities that are
blocked from the fruits of economic recovery. His United Malays National
Organization may continue running Malaysia, but the question is whether it is
capable of real reform, transparency, and openness. Without reform, and in
spite of rising commodity prices, it is problematic that Malaysia can live up
to its economic potential.
Mel Cooper
Singapore (Jun 19,'09)
I like Asia Times Online's articles very much and really think it is fair and
balanced. Please keep it up. However, I've noticed that the letter section has
been used as a platform for attacking. You can see the weekly, if not daily,
attacks against China, but I do not see the counter-attacks from the Chinese.
Is the letter section also fair and balanced?
John
California (Jun 19,'09)
There have just been fewer letters from China recently. - ATol
Kaveh Afrasiabi never hesitates to venture an opinion backed by analysis, but
he oddly withholds any commentary on Iran's presidential election in
Mousavi states his case [Jun 18]. He is content to confine himself
to a point-by-point dismissal of Mousavi's complaint to the Guardians Council.
Do we take this to mean that Afrasiabi believes the election results were
legitimate? I look forward to his insights.
Kenneth Rund
USA (Jun 19,'09)
It was good to get an update on Nepal's situation in
A tough start for Nepal[Jun 16] by Dhruba Adhikary. The latest
developments in Nepal have come as a shock, not because the Maoist-led
government failed but because the person who sits as prime minister today,
Madhav Kumar Nepal, was rejected in two earlier constituency elections. People
like me now wonder if there was any value to the vote we cast because we
clearly didn't choose him. What seems more dangerous is the thought that the
constitution is being written not in Nepal but in a neighboring land. Maybe
that's the reason the elected members are involving themselves in a tug of war
for ministerial positions. It would be the darkest day in our country if the
draft for the constitution comes to Nepal from somewhere else. We are now
talking about border encroachment and the displacement of hundreds of people,
but if such a day comes then the number will be hundreds of thousands. I don't
think anyone like me would go back to Nepal in such a situation where one day,
I myself may be a second-class citizen. Corruption, misuse of budget and fights
for position seem very minor in front of the grave situation the leaders of our
country are pushing us into. I hope and pray that their souls will not allow
them to sell their motherland.
Naitik Pradhan
UAE (Jun 19,'09)
[Re Divine
assessment vs people power, Jun 18] One cannot help but be impressed
with the dogged determination of Americans; they persist in believing that if a
pigeon can fly, it must want to be an eagle. All of the talking-head pundit
wannabe instant-Iran experts are advocating this or that hard-line or soft-line
stance on the Iranian's election turmoil. All these positions are based on the
assumption that the Iranians are just darker, smaller Americans who yearn to
enjoy the same freedoms we imagine we still have. These US commentators shake
their heads with stern self-righteous Western disapproval at the tragic deaths
associated with the protests, implying, of course, that such barbarities could
never happen here in the land of the free-to-intervene and home of the brave
imperialist. Oh, but if only they could. If only Americans could have shown the
same passion and dedication to ideals when George W Bush stole two elections
and thousands of poor, minority Americans had their votes wiped off the books.
What joy our founding fathers would have shown if Americans had risen up in the
streets demanding that their elections be cleaned and restored to democratic
principles. Imagine if my fellow citizens had prized their heritage enough to
man the barricades, enraged at how they have had squandered the bounty they
inherited. But no, that day is long past when Americans cared enough about
their so-called democracy to do anything other than shake their head and look
at the television while foreigners show how Americans should act in defending
their freedom from tyranny.
Hardy Campbell
Houston TX USA (Jun 19,'09)
[Re Divine
assessment vs people power, Jun 18] Once again, Pepe Escobar, article,
your Marxist underpinnings pop out no matter how hard you try to hide them. I
guess you live up to the icon showed on the Asia Times Online website - as a
cross between Che Guevara and a neo-Marxist aging hippie right out of San
Francisco. Yes, down with the right-wing theocratic thugs running the show in
Iran and up with the mob and their color revolution. And yet, wisely, US
President Barack Obama just happens to have briefly turned away from his own
self-absorbed navel gazing to grunt out the most historic and eloquent quote
ever put forth by mankind since humans squirmed upright from the goo millennia
ago: "Something has happened in Iran." Wow, makes the Bible, the New Testament,
the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, the Gettysburg Address,
or the speech given by General Douglas MacArthur on the battleship Missouri
at the end of World War II seem nanoscale in comparison. I think even the
mindless buffoon Homer Simpson could have babbled out a better response. Yet,
no account on how nary a peep is protested as Lord Obama and his Obots are
trying to bring the Marxist/Leninist/Stalinist/Maoist utopian socialist
totalitarian proletariat dictatorship to the majestic purple mountains all the
way from sea to shining sea. Obviously, the global political elites of the
world have decided that the political process as offered by the Chinese
communists to their teeming masses is the best and is to be proffered up as the
new world order. Once all is said and done there won't be a fly speck of
difference between the governments of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the European Union,
the United Nations, China, Russia and the Obama administration in the near
future. All will rule with neither the consent of the people nor with their
best intentions in mind. But I guess this all depends on which side of the
chicken wing you're nibbling on.
William Weaver (Jun 19,'09)
The article Obama lights
North Korea's fuse [Jun 17] by Donald Kirk omitted a key player in
North Korea's nuclear strategy and that is China. Currently, North Korea is
under international sanctions and embargoes, so what is keeping North Korea
from collapsing? China. If not for China's direct support, the North Korean
economy would have collapsed under these sanctions. China has also used her
veto power in the United Nations Security Council whenever it feels that the
pressure on North Korea is hitting too close to home. The US is also well aware
of the economic clout that China wields over the US and her allies. If not for
China, North Korea would not be so bold in taking on the US. The very fact that
the Obama administration blatantly omits mentioning China as the main obstacle
in solving the North Korean nuclear issue defines the limitations of the US
administration in taking any direct military action.
Chrysantha Wijeyasingha
Clinton, USA (Jun 18,'09)
[Re Public
interest RIP, Jun 17] Julian Delasantellis speaks of the "oligarchy"
acting against the public interest as though this is something new. For a very
long time the oligarchy has acted in the manner of a criminal enterprise. What
is new is that the mask has been lifted and we see that the American people are
and have been in the grip of a mafia-like group. We no longer own the
government; government is owned by the financial criminals; and we are owned by
the government.
Tom Gerber
USA (Jun 18,'09)
[Re Sri Lanka
drifts closer to the East, Jun 17] After more than a quarter century of
fighting the Tamil Tigers, Sri Lanka has to put its house in order. Colombo is
unwilling to dance to the West's tune for aid, and sensibly is following
another source of money. Hence, its tilt towards the cash-rich Shanghai
Cooperation Organization. There is little surprise in Sri Lanka's gambit.
Mel Cooper
Singapore (Jun 18,'09)
[Re BRIC group
plans its own revolution, Jun 16] The revolution has been a long time
coming. BRIC (Brazil, China, India, China) is an acronym thought up by
financial analysts which these four countries have now adopted as their own.
Stripped to the essential point, the BRIC countries are hedging their bets
against the US dollar. Collectively, the four own a goodly size of America's
debt. They want a better return on their monies. Like the holders of "toxic
debt", they are looking for a safe port in a financial hurricane, the better to
wait till their return on dollars comes up to their expectations. Furthermore,
they are sending up flares to Washington that the US dollar ain't what it used
to be. Still, like it or not, BRIC has to take it in lumps for the US dollar is
not easily challenged as the world medium of exchange.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (Jun 17,'09)
[Re Pyongyang sends a
radioactive riposte, Jun 15] It's time someone in the Third World
confessed their hidden admiration for Kim Jong-il. The diminutive leader of
North Korea, routinely reviled and denigrated in the West as a "madman" or
"lunatic", has made the so-called superpower look like a wet paper kitten. His
lunacy stems from his audacious belief that he can call Uncle Sam's
increasingly feeble bluff and get away with it. So far, he has been proven
correct, if not visionary. The mighty US, defender of democracy and global
freedom, allows the last Stalinist on Earth to toy with its affections with an
elaborate ballet of obfuscation, procrastination, retreat, agreement and
intransigence. And how did such an economically destitute country manage to
pull off this trick? We all know the answer to that, of course, and so does
everyone else tired of Anglo-Saxon bullying and intimidation.
Hardy Campbell
Houston TX (Jun 17,'09)
[Re Resettling Uyghurs
no easy task, Jun 16] The United States is again shooting itself in the
foot on this matter. When these Uyghurs were kidnapped, they were thought to be
terrorists plotting to harm Americans. They were found not to be terrorists
later on and America thought too hard where to locate them. America is again
making things difficult when they are so simple. If these Uyghurs were caught
because they were thought to be terrorists and were found to be innocent of
such guilt, there are a couple of options for America. The first option is to
return them to the place where they were caught. Second option is to return
them to China as they are Chinese. What does America care if they are tried by
China for suspicion of being separatists. It is not for America to think how
these people will be treated. China has its own laws for its citizens. Now
America has to fork out tons of money which it does not have to these island
hosts who are just milking the US. China is now thinking what America's real
motive is in keeping these Uyghurs.
Wendy Cai
USA (Jun 17,'09)
[Re Ahmadinejad
tries to douse the flames, Jun 16] I honestly believe that this massive
protest against Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad is not in favor of Hussein
Mousavi and would have never happened if George W Bush were still United States
president. I also honestly believe it is the power of the pen, intelligence and
wisdom used by President Barack Hussein Obama in dealing with the Iranian
nuclear issue that has convinced the Iranian intelligentsia that he is the man
who could bring about the change they desire. I also believe that this protest
is not about vote rigging alone, and should send alarm and point to the
beginning of an end to the mullahs' rigid regime of the last 30 years.
Saqib Khan
UK (Jun 17,'09)
[Re Rafsanjani's
gambit backfires, Jun 15] The article is well-written and
well-informed. However there are a couple of factual errors worth highlighting.
Firstly the "Shark " or kooseh reference to former premier Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani had nothing to do with his capabilities and modus operandi within
parliament but was a derogatory reference to his inability to grow a proper
beard, which is of symbolic importance among the clergy. The second issue on
which M K Bhadrakumar makes an error is with respect to his clerical standing.
Although he accurately claims that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
ranks low within the religious clerical hierarchy, Rafsanjani himself is also
considered to be a low-ranking cleric. This is why he is not referred to as an
"ayatollah" the highest rank among the clergy and why it would have been a
stretch for him to assume the role of the supreme leader.
Alex Arjomand (Jun 17,'09)
[Re The meaning of
the Tehran spring and
Rafsanjani's gambit backfires, Jun 15] The only two Asia Times Online
writers who seem to know what they are talking about when it comes to Iran are
Pepe Escobar and M K Bhadrakumar. My thanks to these well-informed writers who
have no ax to grind and write the truth as they see it, mostly correctly.
Congratulations to both. As for Spengler, he seems to pursue the agenda in his
notebook crammed full of wishful thinking that falls apart in a world beset
with demographic and resource problems and the religiosity to which he admits
having discovered all the more ardently as it came to him late. Mercifully,
Kaveh Afrasiabi has refrained from adding another wordy defense of the
ever-more deranged Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. Let us hear more from
the former two and less from the latter two contributors.
Fatema Soudavar Farmanfarmaian (Jun 17,'09)
[Re Pyongyang sends a
radioactive riposte, Jun 15] US President Barack Obama's knee-jerk
reaction to North Korea's launch of a satellite on a long-range rocket set off
the events which have elicited Pyongyang's "radioactive riposte". No two ways
about it - Obama's extension of America's nuclear umbrella over South Korea is
but the logical outcome of Seoul's president Lee Myung-bak's blinkered,
short-sighted and hostile policy towards Pyongyang. Furthermore, Obama's
military and political advisors on Korea are in the main hardliners. Therefore,
it should come as no surprise that the American president has encaged himself
in a mousetrap of his own making. We alas are seeing in a heightened form the
replay of a shadow play of the past. Washington, it seems, remains a victim of
its own received wisdom, incapable of breaking out of its own hidebound
thinking.
Mel Cooper
Singapore (Jun 16,'09)
As an astute observer of international politics, Asia Times Online enjoys a
devoted clientele, myself included. However, I find it intriguing that your
site rarely makes mention of the secretive gatherings of the global illuminati,
such as the Bilderberg Group or Trilateral Commission, whose members typically
rank among the top ranks of the financial/industrial/political movers and
shakers on the planet. Whether or not such meetings are as benign and devoid of
conspiratorial plottings as its members routinely profess, one wonders why even
your site seems reluctant to publicize or speculate on their secretive meetings
in a time of recurring crises. More than one tome on said meetings postulates
that they scheme to subvert popular resistance to one world government, using
the psychological methodology of repeated mental and emotional strain. It does
seem bizarre that the media in this country are virtually silent on these
institutions (and let's by no means ignore an equally notorious entity, the
Council on Foreign Relations), even though many of the members of one may serve
on the others, and are active CEOs or sitting politicians directly involved in
the momentous events occurring today. That these groups typically do not allow
any reporting of their meetings and seems to evince no outrage or even mild
disapproval from an always-ready-to-pounce media, should surprise no one,
though. Most if not all the major media outlets are owned by members of the Big
Three of Non-Transparent Global Manipulation. The disappearance of any
semblance of adherence to basic fundamental democratic principles has all but
vanished in the western nations that scream "Democracy' at the drop of a Third
World hat, yet they will use the fantasy to bamboozle their sucker-citizens
into giving up their childrens' lives. I find it quite amusing that the Iranian
people seem to have more passion about democratic theory than quiescent, supine
Americans have shown in surrendering their own liberties to one presidential
tyrant after another. Yet we always wag our finger at them and their
undemocratic ways, so convinced are we that white is now black.
Hardy Campbell (Jun 16,'09)
Indeed, over the years we have covered the Bilderberg Group. For one of the
more insightful articles, see Pepe Escobar's
Bilderberg strikes again - ATol
The article It's
official - cheap oil era is over[Jun 15] by Michael T Klare is very
clear on the use of oil for energy, but the article fails to emphasize the
consequences for all the oil-based industries ranging from plastics, rubber
etc. As rapidly evolving technology finds a greater use for oil in ever more
industrial fields, it will take center stage especially when compared to just
using oil for energy and transportation. One has to conclude that this
unrenewable source of energy is being recklessly and rapidly consumed for
mundane aspects of energy and transportation, instead of being conserved for
much wider and better uses in the future.
Chrysantha Wijeyasingha
Clinton, USA (Jun 16,'09)
In the article Rafsanjani's
gambit backfires[Jun 15] by M K Bhadrakumar, there are a few places
where [former Iranian president Mohammad] "Khatami" is mistakenly substituted
for [Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] "Khamenei".
KRund (Jun 16,'09)
This has now been amended. - ATol
[Re Pakistan fights
for its tribal soul, Jun 11] Syed Saleem Shahzad, once again I commend
and thank you for this informative article. As usual, your reporting and
analysis are outstanding. I, for one, always look forward to your articles.
Stephanino(Jun 15,'09)
[Re India blasts
rivals' role in Sri Lanka, Jun 10] India's stand on this issue is a
contradiction in terms. I just returned from a trip to Sri Lanka and have been
in discussion with some officials. India's fear that Sri Lanka may be harnessed
by China in a larger game of directly encircling her influence in the Indian
Ocean is probably the last issue Colombo wants at this time. It has other
things on its mind after ending a 30-year long civil war that could have ended
a long time ago if not for Norwegian and Swedish "peacekeepers", who through
good intentions protracted the war by insisting on "peace deals" that were used
by the Tamil Tigers to their military advantage. They were immediately expelled
by President [Mahinda] Rajapakse before his government decisively ended the
civil war. His government is currently in the process of resettling the Tamil
refugees and has little time for international intrigue. India has a misplaced
notion of its power. This can be seen in the comment by India's national
security advisor, M K Narayanan, in 2007: "We in India are a big power in the
region. We don't want the Sri Lankan government to go to Pakistan or China.
Whatever may be their requirement. The Sri Lankan government should come to
us". First of all, the Sri Lankan government did, on many occasions, ask for
help from New Delhi but was turned down because of the clout of her southern
state of Tamil Nadu. Secondly, Sri Lanka is not beholden to India on any
account. As an independent sovereign nation, India has no claim on Sri Lanka's
foreign policies. Chrysantha Wijeyasingha
Clinton, USA (Jun 15,'09)
[Re North Korea
resolution lacks teeth , Jun 12] It should come as no surprise that the
United States-sponsored United Nations Security Council Resolution on North
Korea lacks teeth. US President Barack Obama - in order to get a unanimous vote
on the resolution - had to find the lowest common denominator of agreement.
Although China and Russia, for example, entertain a very different view on
dealing with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea),
the American president had to accommodate them. Thus we find Obama exercising
for consensus in a well-oiled practice known as "horse trading".
Mel Cooper
Singapore (Jun 15,'09)
[Re The coming
robot wars, Jun 12] Regarding an army's need to recruit tech-savvy
soldiers, consider that the youth of the world and especially those of the
United States have been weaned on video games, which are not all that
dissimilar from the weapons systems forecast in this book. Like the
14th-century English longbowmen, recreational training is easily converted to
military uses.
Charles Taylor (Jun 15,'09)
Syed Saleem Shahzad in the article
Pakistan fights for its tribal soul [Jun 11] , seems to have completely
ignored two important facts that would make the present military operation the
final stand of the Taliban. First, the two political parties that are fully
backing this military operation, the Awami National Party and the Pakistan
People's Party, are in a coalition not only in North-West Frontier Province
(NWFP) but also in Islamabad. Both these parties represent most of the
population of NWFP and therefore unlike the previous military operations under
former president General Pervez Musharraf this operation has vast public
support, not only in Pakistan but particularly in NWFP, which has first-hand
experience of Taliban brutality. Second, while the ANP was forced to do a peace
deal with the Taliban in the Swat Valley, it was the Taliban that broke the
peace deal and not the government, under US pressure (as claimed in the
article). This act of the Taliban really turned Pakistani public opinion
against them. The Pakistani armed forces have been largely successful in
driving the Taliban out of Malakand Agency where in some places the local
population welcomed the army after experiencing the brutality of the Taliban.
The army has now taken the fight to the tribal areas, with Waziristan as the
final battlefield. The strategy of the army is simple and has already been
employed in a few areas - soften up the Taliban/al-Qaeda nexus with artillery
and gunship helicopters and then let the lashkars (armed village/tribal
militia) loose on the retreating Taliban. The local Pashtuns have a score to
settle with the Taliban which they do efficiently and ruthlessly as revenge is
the main tenet of Pashtunwali (Pashtun code of life). The Pashtuns know
exactly who the culprits are hence they will kill the Taliban with minimal
collateral damage. In cases where the Taliban resist and put up a fight, the
military gunships fly to the lashkar's support. This has been tried
efficiently in upper Dir and Bajaur and will be the model going forward. The
Taliban seem to have realized the effectiveness of this approach, hence they
have panicked and are hitting at soft targets wherever they can (Peshawar,
Lahore etc) but all these terrorist acts will only further galvanize public
opinion against them.
Yusaf Khan
London, UK (Jun 15,'09)
US moves into
back seat [Jun 9] and
Dollar's wounds reopen [Jun 5] by W Joseph Stroupe place the blame for
the shift of economic power from the West to the East on stupidity instead of
the greed-driven engineering that has been practiced by the likes of
Rockefeller, Kissinger, Brzezinski, Greenspan, Paulson, Geithner, Bernanke and
the rest of the Bilderberg Group, for decades. These thieves have been groomed
for the looting of America/Europe to facilitate their "New World Order" and
every US president from George H Bush to our current actor-in-chief have
followed the script to the letter. Stroupe is spot on that we in America are
done, soon to be thrown from the vehicle entirely, never mind being in the back
seat ...
Sile McGrath (Jun 15,'09)
[Re What China shouldn't
learn from the US, Jun 11] James V DeLong can sleep easily at night.
China full well knows what lessons in political science it shouldn't, nor has
learned from the US. The recent convening of the Chinese Communist Party's
Congress fully speaks to that. Scratching the surface, China is a maze of
political contradictions, byzantine squabbles and machinations which can very
serve as lessons for the US not to learn. China's rule of thumb is simple. Will
it benefit China? Deng Xiaoping thought so when he lifted the formula of
economic growth from Milton Friedman, and shunted the beam of communist purity
onto the path of capitalism. Still, it is laudable that DeLong can from his
lofty perch teach China new tricks.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (Jun 12,'09)
[Re The race for
cheerleader-in-chief, Jun 11] Patrick Clawson and others of the
Washington Institute for Near East Policy crowd are ones to speak. After two
stolen national elections (2000, 2004) and a two-year hyper-commercialized,
Goldman Sachs-funded Barack Obama campaign, the US has hardly convinced the
rest of the world that its banker-and-corporate-run political system does not
prop up its own cheerleader class of polished advocates in chief, replete with
all the bells and whistles of a perpetual Hollywood psycho-drama. Washington
and London have taken their lessons from Plato's Republic, and we have
taken ours.
R Davoodi
Tehran, Iran (Jun 12,'09)
Siddharth Srivastava writing on June 11 (India
blasts rivals' role in Sri Lanka) seems to be either unaware or
ignoring the following facts:
1. India has been giving military, advisory and financial aid to the government
of Sri Lanka for a number of years and the Indian bureaucrats were fully aware
that part of that money was used to buy Pakistani and Chinese arms.
2. Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shanker Menon, speaking to a group of Sri
Lankan Sinhala editors said a couple of days ago that Rajapakse, president of
Sri Lanka, was right in saying that the Sinhalese were fighting India's war
against the Tamils. He also said "it is neither the job of India nor Norway to
prescribe what is best for Sri Lanka". Menon was "quite impressed by Rajapakse
and India will back him in whatever decisions he thinks best suited for Sri
Lanka".
3. Wen Liao, chairwoman of Longford Advisors, writing in the article "China's
stability doctrine" in the Korea Times on June 10, said, "Without Chinese
backing, Rajapaksa's government would have neither the wherewithal nor the will
to ignore world opinion in its offensive against the Tigers."
Whereas China and Pakistan were helping their friend Sri Lanka, India was
fighting to destroy the Tamils of the island of Sri Lanka. When Krishna Menon
(yes, a member of the same Kerala Klan that the current foreign secretary
belongs to) was defense minister under former India president Jawaharlal Nehru,
in the heady days of "Indo-Chine Bhai Bhai", China invaded India and almost
reached New Delhi in a few days but withdrew voluntarily having "taught a
lesson" to India. The abrasive and arrogant Krishna Menon was fired. Tamil
women from the island of Sri Lanka sold their precious little jewelry to fund
India's war against China, then. Now we got done over by India. It is now in
the best interest of the Tamils of the island to befriend China, which is far
more dependable. Tamils should never trust the Indians nor fall into the trap
of India using them to balance the Sri Lanka's friendship with Pakistan and
China. India planned for nearly 20 years for this eventuality: To destroy the
Tamil freedom movement and the Tamil nation and then to bring in some rotten
lentils and stale rice as hand out to the would be desperate Tamil refugees and
play the benefactor. Tamils should remember these years and Indian's
shenanigans for at least the rest of the century.
Ethan (Jun 12,'09)
[Re You just
have to laugh, Jun 10] Although all ordinary people must salute the
Mighty Mogambo Guru (MMG) for sharing his almighty wisdom with us in language
that non-economists can understand, there is one issue that I cannot figure
out. In a recent article the MMG mentioned that the Chinese are now wisely
replacing some of their vast reserves of dollars with gold. But what are they
purchasing it with? Their reserves are largely virtual: basically over the last
decades China has invested massively in setting up huge government-sponsored
production systems that far outstrip any natural demand. To artificially create
a demand to consume this unnatural supply they have partnered with the US and
turned it into a black hole of limitless consumption - financed by borrowing
from the Chinese, who lend America money that they don't actually have (since
America can't pay them) so that the US can keep spending, because how else
would China sell what it produces! So all that China really has is a bunch of
worthless IOU notes. What exactly are they buying gold with, and who is selling
it to them? All this relates to James V DeLong's article
What China shouldn't learn from the US [Jun 11], both China and America
have followed the kind of highly irresponsible relationship that existed
between subprime mortgage lenders and borrowers in the US real estate bubble.
The difference between them is accountability. In the Chinese system there is
no way to hold the communist dictatorship accountable for its actions, and all
information is tightly controlled and completely manipulated. Chinese
policymakers have got their country into as much trouble as the US policymakers
have done for the US, its just that there is no way for the Chinese people to
know that or do anything about it.
Amit Sharma
Cincinnati, OH, USA (Jun 12,'09)
[Re Hezbollah
handed a stinging defeat, Jun 8 and
Iran's elections a soft-power boon, Jun 11] I simply wish to
congratulate Asia Times Online for its excellent articles on the elections in
Lebanon and Iran, especially those written by Kaveh L Afrasiabi. His keen
analyses ranks as some of the best on current international affairs and
certainly better than what we get here in Canada.
Tim
Toronto (Jun 11,'09)
[Re China: Pyongyang
just wants attention, Jun 10] At last a reasonable approach to
fathoming North Korea's motives. China has always preached patience in dealing
with Pyongyang to the US. Finer minds in Washington knew better. Patience is
not an easy virtue for the US. It would rather bite the bullet than talk
directly to North Korea. Hence the rush towards brinksmanship. Antoaneta
Bezlova simply puts her journalistic finger in the puffery of dire warnings
that we read in the press either from Washington or Pyongyang. She is spot-on
in reporting that Beijing sees that Kim Jong-il is seeking to "grab" America's
attention. Washington still holds a long standing animus towards North Korea,
for its inability to roll back the "Red Menace" during the Korean War which
ended in a stalemate. For any resolution of the current standoff, the Obama
administration has to deal directly with North Korea. It can no longer put off
its obligations by trying to use surrogates or ruses.
Mel Cooper
Singapore (Jun 11,'09)
"More than the nuclear issue, what the conservative oil sheikdoms in the
Persian Gulf fear is Iran's brand of Islamist democracy that has mobilized
masses of Iranians. The long-demobilized and politically docile populations in
the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait,
Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates) could use Iran as a reference society
and question the legitimacy of their archaic and tribal political systems that
are perpetuated by the US for the sake of geo-economic and geostrategic
interests." The above paragraph from
Iran's elections a soft-power boon[ Jun 11] clearly shows why Arabs are
afraid of Iranian progress not only in the scientific arena but more so on the
political arena. This brings about a question: wasn't the above-mentioned
consideration and concerns of Arabs the reason for the eight years of imposed
war on Iran? Iran astutely has learned that the only way for the Middle East to
have a better future is for it to become a role model for that region, a role
model for independent, democracy, and prosperity, with dignity the Iranian way,
which is best suited for that region; not the American way that was brought to
them through the barrels of guns.
M Hashemi
Dallas TX (Jun 11,'09)
[Re You just
have to laugh, Jun 10] With my limited command of the English language,
I seemed to have understood Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to be saying,
"You're freaking doomed if you don't buy gold, morons!" when the Beijing
University students burst out in laughter, no doubt in response to being
labeled moronic. On the other hand, if we could get The Mogambo Guru himself to
deliver his apocalyptic tocsin to the Chinese, I’m sure they’d be more likely
to act and less inclined to respond with a guffaw. Come to think of it, with
China accumulating gold sub rosa in recent months, one can’t help but suspect
that the country’s leaders are in fact avid Asia Times Online readers. Don't
look now, but when the gold price gallops to north of $1,500 an ounce, The
Mogambo Guru might just become a cult hero to the 1.3 billion Chinese citizens,
who, while feverishly pumping their fists in the air, would ardently chant in
unison, "Long live Chairman Mo!"
John Chen
USA (Jun 11,'09)
[Re US shackled by
Pyongyang's ploy, Jun 9] Say what you will about North Korea, US
President Barack Obama has been hoisted with his own petard in dealing with
Pyongyang. He began a fight with the Kim Jong-il regime that he cannot win. He
over-reacted to North Korea's peaceful launch of a telecommunications satellite
on a long-range rocket by immediately turning to the United Nations Security
Council. On a spurious reading of Resolution 1718, he pushed for sanctions
against Pyongyang. And that began the sorry political theater that we read
about every day in newspapers. Amid Obama's wishful thinking policy towards
North Korea, we find the fate of two seasoned journalists who in pursuit of a
story illegally entered North Korean territory. And now the American president
finds himself caught in his own trap. He now has to back down on his
ill-conceived escalation of the standoff with North Korea by appealing to the
very government that he in thundering rhetoric promised a harsh dose of tough
love. Obama on one hand talks of compassion for Laura Ling and Euna Lee, yet on
the other is willing to risk war with Pyongyang by boarding its ships on the
high seas. Will he, like Henry IV at Canossa, send former vice president Al
Gore as petitioner for mercy? Will he put a mute on his rhetoric trumpet which
bodes a heightening of tensions, implying a nuclear response?
Mel Cooper
Singapore (Jun 10,'09)
Donald Kirk seems to tell us in
US shackled by Pyongyang's ploy [Jun 9] that the US has no options but
to surrender to North Korea to achieve the release of the two reporters. I
believe he is completely wrong. The first step the US needs to take is to
inform the Chinese that the US considers the two women Chinese prisoners and
until China stops providing more than 80% of North Korea's aid and trade, the
US will hold China responsible for the hostages' fate. If China was to close
the oil pipeline to North Korea for "repairs", you would be surprised how fast
the Kim Jong-il regime would release the reporters. Also I don't believe these
two women will ever see the inside of a real North Korean gulag, because the
North could not allow two reporters access to a gulag and then free them to
tell the world of the horrors of a North Korean prison. A good step to increase
pressure on North Korea would be for Laura Ling to inform the North Koreans
that she is going to put together an hour-long segment on North Korean gulags
to air on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah Winfrey is extremely powerful in the US
media, and I just saw a news program about how she has 6 million viewers in the
Arab world through satellite television. The last thing the Kim regime needs
now is for millions of people around the world that are not that familiar with
North Korea to hear the shocking truth about their gulags. If the North Koreans
want an apology, I would give them that because it is meaningless, beyond that
I would not give the North Koreans the time of day in a clock shop.
Dennis O'Connell
USA (Jun 10,'09)
When the wreckage that was once America is finally hauled off to the ash heap
of history, Chinese and European historians will doubtless gather together in
august academic seminars and ask, "How did this happen?" How did the world's
greatest superpower, not just squander its immense wealth and unprecedented
global domination, but repeatedly ignore all the warning signs of impending
trouble while consistently exacerbating and accelerating its demise by making
ever more horrendous mistakes? It will seem to these distinguished scholars of
empires ancient and modern that even the proverbial monkeys in a room full of
typewriters could have come across a better way to avoid the catastrophe, by
sheer chance if nothing else. They will pore over the collected documents and
shake their heads at the way US President Barack Obama took the worst parts of
socialism and the worst parts of capitalism to create an all devouring monster
that spared nothing and no one, a hybrid Frankenstein that reeked awful revenge
on its creators. Perhaps these professors need to seek answers from
astrophysicists, though, for the best explanation. Instead of looking for human
behavior as an expositor of the whys and wherefores of this nation-death, look
to the stars and their inexorable cosmic fates. The more massive stars, with
their tremendous gravitational pull, affecting all the celestial bodies around
it, may last billions of years but, inevitably, they consume so much of
themselves in the generation of energy to avoid gravitational collapse that the
day of stellar reckoning can no longer be delayed. When that day comes, the
entire massive star, billions of tons of it, will instantly shrink into a point
of no volume but infinite density, a black hole. These bizarre objects are well
known for their capacity to trap anything, including light, in a virtually
inescapable prison of gravity where time and space know longer have any
meaning. Likewise the US expended tremendous efforts to sustain its massive
hegemony, spending more and more to defeat communism and terrorism, promote
democracy and freedom, build a worldwide military-industrial complex and enable
its citizenry to live an ever more satisfying materialistic existence. Alas,
like any massively influential star, the energy to sustain this ambition began
feeding on itself, until, spent of fuel, the whole edifice of bloated
consumerist-capitalist-imperialist-corporatist rot collapsed. For millions of
Americans today, time and space have no meaning; they are already sitting in a
black hole with no hope of escape.
Hardy Campbell
Houston TX (Jun 10,'09)
[Re Obama's hearts
and minds trifecta, Jun 8] US President Barack Obama's charm offense to
the Arab and Muslim worlds has received high marks because of Obama's oratory
skills and his calculated approach to its contents. However, will it bear the
fruits of his labor? That remains to be seen. Donald Emmerson knows more of
Southeast Asian Islam than of the Arabic world. Consequently, he colors his
remarks from his own area of expertise. The American president's flowery
speech, in spite of its omissions and commissions, responds to the mood of his
Arab and Muslim listeners - who value oratory. In that sense, the 10-page
quotes from Arabs and Muslims handed out with alacrity by the White House press
machine proves that Obama has hit the bull's eye, relatively speaking. As the
expression goes, the proof is in the pudding. Obama has stirred its
ingredients, yet will they gel? It is too soon to wax triumphant on Obama's
apparent oratorical tour de force.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (Jun 9,'09)
[Re West and
Russia spar, China wins, Jun 8] Once again, Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
reveals what is going on behind what seems to be going on. And as a
consequence, he casts a rather unflattering light on the (lack of) competence
exhibited by our European "leaders", whose anti-Russian biases and worship of
the United States allow them to be "as tenderly led by the nose as asses are".
They may be acting in "a free and open nature", however, I must be permitted to
doubt.
M Henri Day
Stockholm (Jun 9,'09)
I've read and appreciated some excellent articles on the current global
economic crisis at Asia Times Online. We all know by now what has caused this
crisis. My sense is that we may need to focus more on the solutions.
Amber (Jun 9,'09)
[Re A sombre scoop for
Pyongyang's pawns , Jun 5] Has the trial of Laura Ling and Euna Lee
begun? No one can say for sure [North Korea's state-run news agency
reported on Monday that the pair were each sentenced to 12 years hard labor].
We, however, can be certain that their trial will go ahead. No one really looks
at Ling and Lee for what they really are. They are journalists. They were
pursuing a story - the plight of North Koreans fleeing across the border into
China. As seasoned reporters, they took risks. They were caught on North Korean
territory without proper papers. And for that, they will stand trial.
Unfortunately for them, they were caught during extreme tensions between the US
and North Korea. So, it should come as no surprise that their day in court will
be characterized as a "show trial". And much ink will flow about the fairness
of Pyongyang's justice. We, nonetheless, should never lose sight of the fact
that these two women are professionals; they were doing their job to the best
of their ability. They took risks, and they stepped over a border and got
caught. We may not approve of North Korea, but the truth of the matter is that
Ling and Lee are but two reporters in a long list of journalists who went the
extra length to get a story, and they got arrested and will be judged by
foreign courts for infringing the laws of another country.
Mel Cooper
Singapore (Jun 8,'09)
[Re Miracles to
laugh at, Jun 5] The Mogambo Guru is quite incorrect when he writes
that a Krugerrand contains only "91.7% of an ounce of gold". He is also
mistaken when he writes that a gold Eagle coin is "99.999%" pure gold". A
(South African) Krugerrand, a (US) Eagle, a (Chinese) Panda and an (Euro)
Philharmonic each contain a troy ounce of gold, actual gold weight or AGW. A
Krugerrand weighs 33.9305 grams and is 91.7% gold. An Eagle weighs 33.931 grams
and is 91.67% gold. The Panda and the Philharmonic each weigh over 31.1 grams
and are 99.9% gold.
rwe2late
USA (Jun 8,'09)
Greetings from Wonderland, the country that can make financial Chernobyls seem
like brisk winter strolls. In Wonderland, the latest news is the slowing
unemployment, the buoyant stock market and the soothing words of the snake-oil
president about massive bailouts with fake "WonderMoney". Look! the
"WonderJournalists" proclaim, at the rate of descent as we plummet from the
summit of "Mount Reckless"; it is actually declining. But that sidewalk seems
to be closer than it was before! News flash! What is amazing to visitors to
Wonderland is how the same mountain guides who led so many over the cliff are
still working the slopes. This time they are taking WonderMoney from the
"WonderFeds", who are convinced that that these guides just need more practice
at this mountains-go-up-then-down thing to get it right. Some have questioned
the "WF's" wisdom, but the numbers issued by the "Woofers" seem convincing. Of
course, some have questioned the accounting methods, which seem to ignore
people who have given up looking for work, because they will never work again
in industries that will never touch our "WonderShores" again, and those who
work but have to live in cars or tents because burger flippers do not require
PhDs. In Wonderland, this is called "Wondertunity", a delightful opportunity to
learn new skills. Of course, the price of gold and oil, commodities that
Wonderland has declining stocks of, are going up, but the "WonderCats", the
real rulers, aren't worried. They will succeed in convincing the unstable
employed, the hopeful unemployed, the desperate unemployed and the permanently
unemployed that their best interest lies with them; just keeping voting the
WonderCat politicians into office, like you have for the last 40 years, and
watch how things will improve! One intrepid foreign reporter did offer some
insight into the Wonderland mentality. After all, he observed, jumping off
cliffs is part of their nature; they are all descended from lemmings.
Hardy Campbell
Houston TX, USA (Jun 8,'09)
[Re Hong Kong holds a
candle, Jun 5] There is no excusing suppression of marking events like
Tiananmen Square, but I wish for more honesty in the discourse. There is no
ballyhoo or great anniversary memorials over events like the Kent State
university protest [in 1970], when US troops shot and killed peaceful
protesters.
PenDragon (Jun 8,'09)
[Re Hezbollah
waits for its moment, Jun 5] by Stephen Starr was a timely piece.
The sad part is Lebanon is going through a democratic process but everybody is
trying to bully each other. The US has already threatened to cut back
assistance if Hezbollah wins. My question is then why the fake tears for
democracy? True democracy means the people's confidence in a certain party
whichever that is. Hezbollah has proved its political maturity. I guess for the
first time a patriotic party will be a part of a government. It will be
unfortunate if the hypocritical Western powers don't accept this. Hezbollah has
big hurdles ahead of them. If they win they have to prove their political
maturity by not acting like a guerrilla based political party. They can take
their lessons from Turkey. Economic improvements should be their number one
priority. Let's see what happens. If dark anti-Muslim forces like Saudi Arabia
and Egypt win then I will feel sorry for the people of Lebanon. We have to
remember US or Israel isn't the main enemy.
Adnan Nafis
Dhaka, Bangladesh (Jun 8,'09)
For a round-up of Sunday's election, please see
Hezbollah handed a stinging defeat - ATol
Hezbollah spices
up Israel-Iran mix by Kaveh L Afrasiabi is a very resourceful and
timely article. Israel spares no resources in its attempts to destabilize the
region and the United States has been sucked into it. Israel knows if there is
peace in the region then they will be under scrutiny by the US for their
actions. Israel is forgetting that by financing "Jundallah" it is supporting
al-Qaeda. Isn't it hypocrisy? Despite evidence of al-Qaeda's involvement with
Jundallah and its Sunni crusade against the Shi'ite Iranian regime, the US is
dragging it feet because of the pro-Israel lobby. So in a sense, Israel is
against American interests in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I am really curious how
the Barack Obama administration will handle this situation. There is a common
misconception that all Muslims are against the state of Israel - but this is
not true. Muslims are not against the state of Israel but against the actions
of Israel. Saudi Arabia is the main culprit for this lingering Palestine
problem. Hezbollah is a different entity now, they know they cannot act like
before - they are shouldering bigger responsibility now. It would be wise for
the US and Israel to sit down with Hezbollah and find a permanent solution.
Iran is no different. It just needs acknowledgement and due and deserving
respect. I guess just nodding your head to your neighbor will reduce tension in
the region.
Adnan Nafis
Dhaka, Bangladesh (Jun 5,'09)
M K Bhadrakumar provides good background material in
Obama can dream an AfPak dream[Jun 4]. It would be unfair to judge some
of his remarks since he wrote them before hearing US President Barack Obama's
speech at Cairo University. However, considering Islamabad's forceful response
to the Taliban in the Swat Valley, it appears the weak civilian government has
finally realized the immediate threat is from within and not from India. The
Taliban showed bad faith in dealing with the Asif Ali Zardari government; more,
they even attacked the military and intelligence services which had offered
them protection and cover. The realization that the nation was in peril, along
with overwhelming popular support, did the trick. By seizing the time and hour,
Islamabad has pushed the Taliban back towards the Afghan frontier, and into the
arms of North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces. And in this sense, Islamabad
has nurtured Obama's dreams of defeating the fundamentalists. And this should
not be lost from sight.
Mel Cooper
Singapore (Jun 5,'09)
[Re Obama's Iran
overture derailed, Jun 3] This excellent analysis and many like it in
recent months unfortunately are still caught in the downdraft of the past eight
years of former president and vice president George W Bush and Dick Cheney.
This is the President Barack Obama era where common sense, purpose and
possibilities go hand-in-hand and it takes a while for people to catch on. Two
examples: starting with Iran, the president is determined to start a dialogue
with no preconditions, no matter what the chatter. He knows better than any
president in recent memory that Iran can contribute solutions to so many
problems vexing the United States in the Middle East. There may be many turns
and twists because a lot of people are vested on both sides to keep that
conflict going. But consider where the president came from to become president
and you can understand he will not be deterred. The president knows that after
eight years of the worst radicalization of the Middle East by the previous
administration, if there is to be peace, there must be change. That is, change
that the people of the Middle East can believe in. It is in America's
national-security interest to end this 30-year animosity between Iran and the
US. Second, it is also in America's national-security interest that the
Palestinians and the Israelis implement the policies on which they have agreed.
And only an American president banging heads can bring that about. That is why
a settlement freeze is a must, no matter how much Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu wiggles. No one doubts that Israel will always be protected
and its security guaranteed by the United States, but along with that there
must be a viable Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace. Implementation
is the key and those who doubt Obama on Iran and on the Palestinian/Israeli
conflict are only fooling themselves.
Fariborz S Fatemi
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Virginia, USA (Jun 5,'09)
[Re Pyongyang better
left to its devices, June 3] Francesco Sisci's article is a welcome
view of Pyongyang viewed from Beijing. In spite of the double entendre of his
article, a recounting of the events leading up to the current detonation of
North Korea's nuclear devices lends little understanding to today's standoff.
Kim Jong-il's "hardline" response is defensive in nature. It is a reaction to
US President Barack Obama's ill-advised response to Pyongyang's launch of a
satellite on a long-range rocket in early April. This is the trip wire which
has produced the current tension and renewed feared of North Korea. Obama is
clueless as to how to talk across the oceans to Kim. It reminds one of the
young former US president John F Kennedy's missteps in meeting Soviet premier
Nikita Khruschchev in Vienna. Ultimately, Washington will have to talk directly
to Pyongyang once its "war fever" subsides. Today's New York Times online
announces that Kim's youngest son Kim Jong-un is his heir apparent. US
intelligence agencies also remain as clueless as its president on things North
Korean. All we get is a rehash of hoary theories. Nakamura Junzo
Guam (Jun 4,'09)
[Re Fighting the
wrong fight in Afghanistan, Jun 2] [New US Commander in Afghanistan]
Stan McChrystal's testimony before Congress regarding the new velvet-fisted US
counter-insurgency (COIN) doctrine, which is supposedly based on "protecting
civilians at all cost", was murky and does not square at all with his command
of Task Force 6-26 and targeted assassinations in the "shadow wars". Putting
aside the lack of honor and ethics (hence credibility) in the US strategy of
using flying drones to kill; as stated by Philip Smucker, the "accuracy" of
these flying decapitation missions is highly questionable. The United States
was brought to its knees in Iraq and only stalemated when Iraqis stopped
killing each other and used the time and money the US presence provided to
benefit themselves. In fourth-generation warfare, disparate attempts at
asymmetrical strategies, whether in Iran's Zahedan, Pakistan's Balochistan, the
Swat Valley, North and South Waziristan and North-West Frontier Province, will
only expose the weak and tattered nature of the US network. What is "crystal"
clear is that the US's COIN network is untrusted, uninformed, lacks credibility
and is therefore simply used like a hand rag. In the dark waters of
South-Central Asia, the new giant base in Helmand province, Afghanistan, is on
the starboard bow and the US cannot act fast or meaningfully enough to avoid
the rag-tag Af-Pak iceberg.
Jubin Ajdari (Jun 4,'09)
[Re Wrong venue
for Obama's Muslim speech, Jun 1] In response to Spengler's article on
Obama's speech, Ayesha Ijaz Khan [letter Jun 3] compares it to him making a
speech to Jews in Germany. Her analogy is obvious - that India to Muslims is
the equivalent of erstwhile Germany to the Jews. What is ironic is that it is
Pakistan that is responsible for more Muslim deaths than any other country in
the world. Pakistan's atrocities on its own Muslim population of East Pakistan
(Bangladesh) are well documented with deaths in the hundreds of thousands and
rapes in the multiples of thousands. Add to that the Punjabi-dominated Pakistan
army's actions in Balochistan and Karachi provinces against the Mohajir
minority and you get a sense of the state's atrocities against its own Muslims.
The Pakistani role in the destruction of Afghanistan through its support of
bloodthirsty warlords like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the Taliban also make the
state complicit in atrocities visited on the Afghan population. Next time
Ayesha Ijaz Khan wants to compare treatment of Muslims relative to Jews in
Germany, she may well be advised to think of Pakistan rather than neighboring
India.
Parag Vohra (Jun 4,'09)
[Re Wrong venue
for Obama's Muslim speech, Jun 1] Dear Spengler, For the first time
ever, I have found your writing to be absurd! You answered your own question
why US President Barack Obama should talk to "Muslim world" in Egypt. It is the
US's closest ally in the Middle East, the most populous and important state in
the region and it has a peace treaty with Israel. Going to India to address the
"Muslim world" would be like going to New York to speak to the "Jewish world".
It is the context that matters to support the vision of a two-state solution to
the Palestine-Israel conflict!
Michael Polan (Jun 3,'09)
[Re Better than
war, Jun 2] As unpalatable as it may sound, let's hope Julian
Delasantellis' first scenario to end the recession, ie partial ownership of US
equities by foreigners, plays out over the second possibility involving a major
war, for resorting to military adventure to end economic hardship would be a
highly risky business. True, America has benefited immensely in the past from
military conflagrations, but one can play with fire only so many times without
being burned. And while the US has freely ignited the flame of war on foreign
soil during the last half century, there's simply no guarantee that in a new
round of conflict the US mainland would be spared.
John Chen
USA (Jun 3,'09)
[Re Wrong venue
for Obama's Muslim speech, Jun 1] In yet another cantankerous piece,
Spengler suggests that US President Barack Obama should deliver his speech to
the Muslim world in New Delhi. This makes about as much sense as saying that
had he been delivering a speech to the Jews, he should go to Germany to do it.
Moreover, the text of the speech he proposes is more unreasonable than the
worst of former president George W Bush's speeches. Obama seeks to repair the
damage done by the likes of Bush and former vice president Dick Cheney, not
exacerbate it. He wisely realizes that we are soon looking at a multi-polar
world and the US needs to tread carefully. Thanks to the policies of his
predecessor, America faces an enormous economic crisis and two ill-handled
wars. The way around this is by mending relations around the world and not by
delivering ultimatums, as Spengler proposes. What is interesting is that in
spite of the fact that voices like Spengler's were given a free hand during
eight years of Bush rule, out of nowhere, Obama (a relatively unknown
politician who many Americans as late as 2007 thought was "unelectable")
ascended to the Presidency of the United States of America. God, or shall I say
Allah, works in mysterious ways indeed! Ayesha Ijaz Khan
London, UK (Jun 3,'09)
One can only speculate, of course, on how al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is
greeting the latest news for America. Doubtless he is gloating over American
capitalism's quivering, spasmodic demise, entirely in keeping with his plan to
wreck America's economy by dragging them into the quicksand. I suspect strongly
he is chuckling over the ease with which Americans accepted the deconstruction
of their precious constitution and the abandonment of the liberties they so
eagerly give up their lives for. And he can't help but smile when he sees
Americans on the right and left increasingly unable to find any common ground
at all in their increasingly shrill, hysterical rhetorical exchanges. ...
Hardy Campbell (Jun 3,'09)
There are two kinds of people that still believe Osama bin Laden is alive: The
"Wars for Empire and the Israel" crowd, who just can't let go of their "Team
Osama" brand that has proven to be so lucrative. Philip Smucker of
Al-Qaeda spreads its tentacles [May 29] seems to fall in the latter
category. The biggest culprits in Pakistan and Afghanistan are the ones blowing
up wedding parties and hovels with Predator drones and "smart bombs" dropped
from F-16s from 15,000 feet. It's not a good idea to win hearts and minds by
blowing apart their bodies.
Greg Bacon
Ava, MO USA (Jun 2,'09)
[Re Vietnam
farmers fall to bauxite bulldozers, Jun 1] The Vietnamese Communist
Party bosses know what they want. They care not a fig for the people. They are
"red capitalists", hungry for private gain. Fie on the ecology or on the rights
of the Central Highlanders! And speaking of the Central Highlanders, they are
minority tribes, thereby easier to exploit and if that is not reason enough,
many fought for the Saigon government and the US military against the National
Liberation Front during the Vietnam War. Such is Ho Chi Minh's legacy to his
country.
Mel Cooper
Singapore (Jun 2,'09)
[Re US core no
longer the magnet, Jun 1] It's difficult to imagine the dollar going
down without much of a whimper, and along that line, we'll likely see a few
last-ditch efforts by the Fed to save the greenback. One such attempt, which
likely will tank the stock markets, may take place later on this year. Before
that, however, there may even be a dry run within the next several weeks, when
the markets drop a few hundred points in several days, offering a preview of
market participants' reaction to a large-scale sell-off caused by a
strengthening dollar.
John Chen
USA (Jun 2,'09)
Stephen Kurczy's report
ASEAN, EU lock horns over Myanmar, [May 30] was a really good piece on
Myanmar. I liked it. I wish someone would have held Singapore Foreign Minister
George Yeo (with all due respect) accountable on his "Myanmar as friends"
position. Not sure how anyone can call the brutal regime and its subscribers "a
friend", unless one condones everything that has and is happening in Myanmar.
Roshan Jason
Secretariat - ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Jun 2,'09)
The US has been badly outplayed geopolitically by the major players in the
"Great Game", such as Russia, China and India, as well as mid-level and minor
players, such as Brazil, Pakistan, Venezuela and Iran; and minor players as in
Iraq, Georgia and Nigeria. The US is absolutely naked against North Korea, Iran
and the top-tier countries vis-a-vis account deficits, as in Germany and China.
Having lived and planned to die in Spain, I cannot believe the financial state
of Espana. My heart. The game for the "dollar" is, as Henry C K Liu has stated:
over! To pretend otherwise is pure and empty jingoism.
Jubin Ajdari (Jun 1,'09)
[Re Pyongyang shakes up
pacifist Japan, May 29] It isn't the first or the last time that
Pyongyang will shake up pacifist Japan. No matter how elaborate the plans that
the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) comes up with, it cannot escape the
fact that it is bound hand and foot by the US-imposed constitution, which
forbids Japan from having a standing army. It, however, it is true that Japan
has managed to tweak the constitution by the creation of the Special Defense
Forces (SDF); on the other hand, the SDF is mainly an officers corp without the
foot soldiers that Japan would need to fight a war. Japanese public opinion
still tilts in favor of a Japan under American's military umbrella. Were Japan
to amend its "Peace Constitution", thereby creating a highly trained and armed
army with the most advanced materiel and military technology, it would put the
fright of the gods into its South Korean ally and China, which never misses a
chance to chastise Japan for the atrocities the Showa emperor visited on the
Chinese people. Washington may not sit well with the idea of upgrading Japan's
military, for many reasons, not the least of which Tokyo might stop paying for
American troops stationed on its soil. In sum, Japan's North Korean analyst
Satoru Miyamot has the last word: the LDP's new military guidelines are worth
nothing more than the paper they are written on. North Korea simply has given
Japan the excuse to beat its chest in empty threats.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam (Jun 1,'09)
Amid all the problems facing America, there exists a time bomb ready to go off
in some as yet undetermined future. The thousands of veterans of the twin
debacles in the Middle East who return to the US will face a daunting
challenge. As if adjusting to a "normal" life after having to live with a
24-hour kill-or-be-killed mentality isn't hard enough, they will face few job
prospects in a country torn by massive unemployment and collapsing
institutions. The contempt they developed in these wars for all life, including
their own, will have to withstand a barrage of emotionally and mentally
debilitating challenges, any one of which could trigger violent, angry
responses. Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh serves as the poster boy for what
can happen to returning veterans who see the world through darker lenses than
the rose-colored ones they entered their wars with. And McViegh's war (the 1991
Gulf War) was hardly even worth the description, as it amounted to a walkover
after only 100 hours. But he succumbed to the beguiling temptation to use his
skills at mass violence to lash out at those he felt had betrayed America.
Tragically, the way many veterans, stressed out after innumerable tour
extensions, are dealing with these conflicting emotions is to kill themselves,
a situation that has gotten so bad that one army base (Fort Campbell) has been
closed. But there have already been reported incidents of soldiers killing
others in cold blood. It is very easy to foresee that there will be a wide
spectrum of murders, suicides and murder-suicides perpetrated by these in many
cases mentally deranged veterans. And there will be others who join clandestine
paramilitary groups, determined to resist a socialist, black president and his
plots to subvert and destroy white, Christian, capitalist America. We have not
seen the last of the McVeigh wannabes.
Hardy Campbell (Jun 1,'09)
Some letters attacking recent articles by Sudha Ramachandran and M K
Bhadrakumar [Tigers
leave unfinished business, May 19 and
The rise and fall of Prabhakaran, May 19] highlight an important fact:
usually in any debate that seems to be going on forever there are two extreme
positions and all sensible discussion in the middle gets shot at from both
sides. This is what makes the debate endless. Conversely, it can be said that
if you are being attacked by both extreme sides, you must surely be correct!
Kudos to Bhadrakumar and Ramachandran for some excellent and well-thought,
although humanly imperfect, articles and kudos to Asia Times Online for
assembling a great bunch of writers on all kinds of issues. Coming back to the
Tamil-Sinhalese issue in Sri Lanka and India's role in the mess: it is truly
odd that both sides simultaneously blame India for supporting the opposite
party, and hence for everything. For this to be true it would require a
phenomenal amount of well-conceived and well-executed machinations on India's
part, however, as anyone even vaguely familiar with India's mind-boggling
diversity should know, Indian policymakers cannot get their act together on
even the simplest of simple issues. This is why India cannot speak with one
voice nor take decisive action on almost any issue. Yes, India has definitely
played a major role in creating and aggravating the problem, but the other
players involved are no less guilty. It seems that some Tamils and Sinhalese
are indulging in the old human habit of blaming somebody else for all their
problems, and refusing to accept personal responsibility.
Amit Sharma
Cincinnati, OH, USA (Jun 1,'09)
May Letters
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