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 SUN
WUKONG
China plays Tibet card to the full
China has acted with unprecedented outspokenness to French President Nicolas
Sarkozy's weekend meeting with the exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama.
Beijing warns of a threat not only to trade ties with France, but also with the
European Union. The irate Chinese leaders clearly have an eye on next year's
50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama fleeing Tibet, while at the same time
they're whipping up some nationalism in trying economic times. - Wu Zhong
(Dec 9,'08)
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COMMENT
An unnecessary quarrel
The French president's meeting with the Dalai Lama was a kick in the teeth for
China, which has gone out of its way to be a good international citizen. The
European Union needs to stop relying on inaccurate, romantic views of Tibet if
it wants to avoid such unnecessary quarrels with a resurgent Beijing. - David
Gosset (Dec 9,'08)
THE OUTSIDER
Captain Bush's great white whale
Only one man can rescue Pakistan from the consequences of the Mumbai attacks:
Osama bin Laden. But President Asif Ali Zardari's administration isn't the only
teetering government that would need an uncustomary burst of competence to make
this happen. Washington would need uncharacteristic finesse to broker bin
Laden's capture - but it could just alter history's verdict on George W Bush. - Muhammad
Cohen (Dec 9,'08)
Indian voters defy predictions
Despite widespread public anger over the Indian government's failure to prevent
the Mumbai attack, voters have handed the ruling party surprising victories in
key state elections. The results are a rejection of the opposition's divisive
attempts to exploit suffering for political mileage. - Sudha Ramachandran
(Dec 9,'08)
Japan's Aso already a lame duck
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, giving up power only once since 1955
for just 10 months, is in danger of losing the next election. Prime Minister
Taro Aso's numerous gaffes have led to dramatic plunges in public support,
exacerbated by the government's inaction on an ailing economy. Internal party
criticism, meanwhile, is steadily growing. - Kosuke Takahashi
(Dec 9,'08)
Hopes pinned on Iran's 'chocolate'
man
As President Mahmud Ahmadinejad enters the final months of his first term,
growing economic and political tensions have led to clashes on the streets of
the capital. Reformers believe former president Mohammad Khatami is the man to
bring about change, but if the color of his robe is anything to go by, he's
feeling far too "gray" for another stab at the top office. - Sami Moubayed
(Dec 9,'08)
SPEAKING FREELY
History haunts Saudi strategy with
Syria
When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia supplied men, arms,
equipment and money to the Afghan resistance. Yet this chastening experience -
that of sponsoring a religious war only to receive severe blowback some time
later - does not appear to have altered Saudi strategic thinking. There is
growing evidence that they are now doing precisely the same thing in Lebanon. - David
B Roberts (Dec 9,'08)
India, Russia regain elan of
friendship
The Mumbai attacks may prove to be a watershed in New Delhi's regional
strategies, with China, Iran and Russia assuming new levels of importance. The
gravitation towards the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and its possible role
in a regional initiative in Afghanistan proves New Delhi has come a long way.
Surely, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev returned to Moscow from Delhi last
week with a smile on his face. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Dec 8,'08)
 SPENGLER
Benedict XVI is
magnificently right
Pope Benedict XVI argued when he was still Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger that an
unethical economy will destroy itself, and that economics cannot determine
whether any activity is ethical or not. If the present economic crisis helps
the West to reflect on its moral weakness, the cost well may be worth it.
(Dec 8,'08)
Militants strike as Pakistan cracks
down
In two incidents on Sunday, militants in Pakistan destroyed hundreds of North
Atlantic Treaty Organization supply containers bound for Afghanistan. The scale
and audacity of the raids overshadowed Islamabad's crackdown on a Pakistani
militant group linked to the attacks in India last month. The episodes are not
unrelated, and neither is the likelihood of a resurgence of al-Qaeda in the
region, notably in India. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Dec 8,'08)
India wants its 'Osama' back
Fifty-two-year-old Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar has 26 aliases, is known to have used
at least 11 passports and is a mainstay on lists of the world's most-wanted
criminals. The mafia overlord is also a key suspect behind the Mumbai attacks,
but Pakistan won't even admit he is in the country, let alone extradite him, as
Delhi demands. Anyway, the Indian version of Osama bin Laden may have stories
that powerbrokers on both sides of the border might not want the world to hear.
- Raja Murthy (Dec 8,'08)
Arroyo's risky politics of
patronage
By surrounding herself with military and police allies, Philippine President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has avoided the mutinies and coup threats which have
plagued her previous years in office. But analysts say the sheer number of
ex-generals she has elevated to plum posts threatens to turn her democratically
elected administration into a "military junta" beholden to the security forces.
- Joel D Adriano (Dec 8,'08)
India quakes over China's water plan
As Beijing forges ahead with its massive water diversion project, already
strained relations with New Delhi are likely to worsen, given the implications
of the project on India and Bangladesh, both environmentally and security-wise.
Indeed, China's water plans have been likened to a declaration of war against
South Asia. - Sudha Ramachandran (Dec 8,'08)
THE MOGAMBO GURU
Hyperinflation countdown
Hyperinflation is something that happens to other countries where desperate
governments produce ever-increasing amounts of excess money? Not in the
well-regulated, cautious, ever-watchful US? Think again - and look ahead 18
months. And buy gold!!! (Dec 8,'08)
India sets sights on Pakistani camps
The deadly attacks in Mumbai may have provided enough impetus for India to
attack militant camps inside Pakistan-administered Kashmir, according to a
senior Indian official. New Delhi has already set up a federal anti-terror
agency and has sought out Israel for assistance. It's all fine by Washington,
as long as it doesn't lead to all-out war with Pakistan. - Siddharth Srivastava
(Dec 5,'08)
Deep in the land of the Taliban
If there is an exact location marking the West's failures in Afghanistan, it is
the modest police checkpoint that sits on the main highway 20 minutes south of
Kabul. The post signals the edge of the capital. Beyond this point, the
American-backed government of Afghanistan no longer exists and the territory
becomes that of the Taliban, a decentralized slippery melange of nationalists,
Islamists and bandits that morphs from district to district. - Anand Gopal
(Dec 5,'08)
Iran's breakout incapability
Claims in the United States that Iran is rapidly approaching "nuclear breakout
capability" are mostly based on assumptions and conjecture. The real hope for a
breakthrough in US-Iran relations hinges on avoiding rehashed calls for
"coercive diplomacy" and recognition of Tehran's willingness to embrace
transparency demands. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Dec
5,'08)
CHINA AND THE GLOBAL CRISIS
Beijing holds key to prosperity
China's best contribution to stabilizing the world economy is to develop the
country's domestic market, raise earnings and pursue full employment - a
strategy opposite to that being pursued in the United States. It should also
cease importing dysfunctional economic systems such as predatory, neo-liberal,
cowboy market capitalism. - Henry C K Liu
This is the concluding article in a two-part series.
 Part 1:
Denial as the storm gathered (Dec 5,'08)
 ASIA
HAND
A right royal silence
Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej was ill on Thursday and unable to make his
annual birthday speech, a nationally televised address usually on matters of
national urgency. This year, with his adoring nation engulfed in political
chaos, his words were anxiously anticipated. While many wish the aging monarch
had righteously intervened, his silence spoke volumes to a divided nation. - Shawn
W Crispin (Dec 5,'08)
'Roses' lost before translation in China
On the lookout for anything that could spark unrest now that global economic
woes are hitting China, its leaders were quick to ban Chinese Democracy, the
latest album by rock band Guns N' Roses. But rather than fear the ramblings of
an aging, egomaniacal rock star, they should use Axl Rose as an example of the
shriveling intellect of the West. - Kent Ewing
(Dec 4,'08)
China's yuan set to reverse
course
China's currency this week posted its biggest decline in value since the nation
scrapped a fixed exchange rate in 2005 and allowed the yuan to slowly
strengthen. The global consequences of the policy about-turn could be
considerable, and bring this thorny currency issue back to center stage in the
China-US relationship. - Kosuke Takahashi (Dec
4,'08)
Neo-cons still preparing for Iran
attack
Neo-conservatives are alive and well in Washington think-tanks, and still
plotting an American assault on Iran. A familiar coalition of hawks, hardliners
and neo-conservatives expects president-elect Barack Obama's proposed talks
with Tehran will fail and are already positioning themselves for the imposition
of an escalating set of measures leading to the attack they have wanted for so
long. - Robert Dreyfuss (Dec 3,'08)
A bedside guide for Henry
Paulson
Some relationships find that a little spark of danger, a little risk, can spice
up intimate moments; and when that fades, some more risk is called for. Now US
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is finding the truth of the hard-to-please
syndrome. - Julian Delasantellis (Dec 2,'08)
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Francesco Sisci
(Dec 5, '08)
The round of bilateral [talks] on economic cooperation on December 4 ... is de
facto a G-2 - the summit of the two most important countries in the world now. |
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Evraz
board shuffle clouds China bid
A reshuffle at Russia's Evraz group may signal a blow to the steel giant's
plans to secure China's Delong Holdings. The share values of both companies
have plummeted, while Russian state bank VEB and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
look set to take a closer interest in how Evraz handles its affairs. - John
Helmer
China: Carpe Diem!
The US Federal Reserve has decided to take China's place in buying US debt. Let
the Fed pursue its dangerous experiment. China meanwhile should use its
reserves to help transform the economy for the future. That means a focus on
innovation - not making more toys. - Axel Merk
Cheap-oil era is over
The International Energy Association, in a step unprecedented in its three
decades of existence, has inventoried global oil supplies. It concludes that
the era of cheap oil is over. That would be bad enough were its use of data not
so wildly optimistic. - Joe Costello
THE BEAR'S LAIR
Worse than the
Great Depression
Frightening though the latest rise of US joblessness may be, declines in
national output remain a far cry from those of the Great Depression. Stretch
the outlook to a decade and a half, and things look more grim. - Martin
Hutchinson
FROM THE BLOG
Depressing - but not so
bad
Are credit spreads, now wider than at any time in 70 years, cheap? The
empirical evidence isn't there. The Great Depression was much, much worse. - David
P Goldman
 The
$85 billion non-event
The reduction of US$85 billion in a week in the amount of Total Fed Credit
might seem a large amount, but given that the US Federal Reserve has doubled
the stock of high-powered money to over $2 trillion in just the past couple of
months, it's a non-event.
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MARKET RAP
Skirting the precipice
A relatively strong showing by Shanghai stocks will have cheered some
investors, yet here as elsewhere there is little to remove concern that further
precipitous falls are still possible. (Dec 5,'08)
R M Cutler runs his eye over the ups and downs in the week's markets.
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[Re US-China
dialogue is Paulson's vital legacy, Dec 9] [Economist John Maynard]
Keynes put it this way: if you owe the bank a million dollars, you are the
bank's prisoner. If you owe them a hundred million, the bank is your prisoner.
In spite of the multi-billion dollar holdings of US debt, in the short and long
run China is the US's prisoner.
Nakamura Junzo
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| Go
to Letters to the Editor |
On The Edge
India needs to be careful and keep relations with China strictly business.
Chinese intelligence agencies have much closer relations with Pakistani
intelligence agencies, and it would be naive to think that the methods/contacts
and intelligence won't be passed back to Pakistan.
Mallu
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to the readers' forum topic,
Indian, Chinese troops to walk 'Hand in Hand'
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ATol Specials
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VIDEO
Taliban's new breed of leader
(May '08) |
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The
Gates
Inheritance
By
Roger Morris
(June '07) |
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Syed Saleem Shahzad reports on
the Afghan war from the Taliban side
(Dec '06)
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How
Hezbollah defeated Israel
By
Mark Perry and
Alastair Crooke
(Oct '06)
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Mark
Perry and
Alastair Crooke
talk to the 'terrorists'
(Mar '06)
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China:
The
Impossible
Revolution
By
Francesco Sisci
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The Coming
Trade War
By Henry C K Liu
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A series
by Henry C K Liu
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Sinoroving
Pepe Escobar in China
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Money, Power
and
Modern Art
A series by Henry C K Liu
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Andre Gunder Frank on Uncle Sam and his
shrinking dollar
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By Pepe Escobar with
photographs by Kevin Nortz
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Nir Rosen goes inside the Iraqi
resistance
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Nir Rosen rides with the US 3rd
Armored Cavalry in western Iraq
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