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Bush and Bin Laden's virtual war
The George W Bush administration's "war on terror" could be summed up in three
words - "fragmentation, diminution, destruction". That's fragmentation brought
about by "creative destabilization", as in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine;
diminution of American prestige, both military and political, and thus of
American power; destruction of political consensus within the US for a strong
global role. And all this to the advantage of Osama bin Laden. - Mark Danner
(Mar 27, '08)
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SPEAKING FREELY
September 11 was a third-rate
operation
From the day of the attack, evidence has accumulated that September 11, 2001,
was never more than a third-rate operation. This is evident from what the plot
achieved, and what it didn't attempt, or do. The American public shares the
blame for the plot's success, causes and ensuing ramifications; through its
collective narcissism, dereliction of responsibility, and fear. - Bohdan
Pilacinski (Mar 27, '08)
Muqtada cuts free
Fighting in the south of Iraq between Muqtada al-Sadr's Madhi Army and a rival
Shi'ite organization fitted in uniforms of the Iraqi security forces mark the
end of Muqtada's self-imposed ceasefire. It also signals a major defeat for the
US military command's strategy of weakening the Mahdi Army. - Gareth Porter
(Mar 27, '08)
Sri Lanka's wounded Tigers growl at
Delhi
India's perceived "state welcome" for a Sri Lankan army chief has drawn heavy
criticism from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who have called it an
"historic blunder". Some have dismissed the statements as a cry of desperation
from an organization suffering severe setbacks, others warn that strident
remarks could presage attacks on Indian soil or interests in Sri Lanka. - Sudha
Ramachandran (Mar 27, '08)
Tibet, China, the West: Back to
stereotypes
The riots in Tibet have blown a formidable flicker into China's Olympic flame,
and any chance of keeping the sporting event free of politics has been
extinguished. All the same, the Games still offer China the opportunity to
educate the world on the daunting challenges it faces as a still-developing
nation. - Kent Ewing (Mar 27, '08)
First ladies part ways in the
Philippines
The hospitalization this week of Corazon Aquino has forced the former
Philippine president to retreat from the front line of activists calling for
the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the only other woman to ever
lead the country. It may be something of a relief to embattled Arroyo, but it
has left the opposition reeling. As one long-time analyst opines, "We
ain't got much by way of options." - Donald Kirk
(Mar 27, '08)
A sheikha, a queen and a first lady
The dazzling arrivals of three young first ladies to power in Doha, Amman and
Damascus have unveiled a new and important realm of possibilities for the wives
of Arab leaders. The "Big Three" have enchanted much of the world with their
grace and elegance, and have taken increasingly active roles as businesswomen,
entrepreneurs and nation-builders. - Sami Moubayed (Mar
27, '08) |
US moves towards engaging Iran
Sunday's mortar attacks on the Green Zone in Baghdad may be a harbinger of
things to come unless the United States accommodates Iranian interests. And
with the George W Bush administration's grudging admission of the realities of
the political alignment in Tehran, "unconditional talks" between the countries
are in the offing. The real issue now is whether the emboldened leadership in
Tehran shares Washington's sense of urgency. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Mar 26, '08)
The fateful Battle of Baghdad
In its five years under American occupation, Baghdad has been transformed from
a metropolis into an urban desert, and various American "surges" have proven,
in the end, disastrous. For the residents of the battered city, it's an endless
wait for the Americans to leave. - Michael Schwartz
(Mar 26, '08)
Crisis looms for Myanmar's riven
junta
With top junta members under investigation for corruption and the health of
senior general Than Shwe deteriorating, Myanmar's leadership is in a state of
paralysis. But all the while, tension between rival junta factions is building
and something will likely give soon, in the form of a mutiny, purge, or palace
coup. - Larry Jagan (Mar 26, '08)
India all at sea over US defense
ties
A report by an independent watchdog has shot holes through a US$50-million deal
the Indian navy inked to acquire the US battleship USS Trenton. The findings
run from the ship's toxic leaks to fine print that prohibits it from any
offensive action. The controversy has the potential to sink possible big-dollar
India-US defense deals. - Siddharth Srivastava
(Mar 26, '08)
THE BEAR'S LAIR
Wall
St greed to feel the squeeze
The present unwinding of the US financial system, with serious and repeated
losses still to come, will lead to fundamental change in the regulatory
environment. Even as some new rules will prove as counterproductive as those
they replace, the altered Wall Street that will emerge will be less exciting
for the greedy - providing one of the few unequivocal benefits of the miserable
recession ahead. - Martin Hutchinson (Mar 26,
'08)
THE SHAPE OF US POPULISM
Part 3:
The progressive era
Ideological ferment at the close of the 19th century left the US with
impressive political and economic reforms for future generations to build on.
Yet fundamental issues - notably those involving race and economic
centralization at the expense of economic democracy - dating back to the
nation's birth have even now not been resolved. - Henry C K Liu
(Mar 26, '08)
This is the third part in a series.
 Part 1:
A rich free-market legacy - for some
Part 2:
Long-term effects of the Civil War
 KEBABBLE
Turkey seeks a
more modern Islam
Turkish highest religious authority has instructed top theologians to
re-evaluate the oral traditions relating to the Prophet Mohammad. It's an
ambitious attempt at a fundamental revision of the holy texts and Turkey has
the capacity to do nothing less than recreate Islam, changing it from a
religion whose rules must be obeyed, to one designed to serve the needs of
people in a modern secular democracy. - Fazile Zahir (Mar
26, '08)
Tibet, the 'great game' and the CIA
The main beneficiary of the death and destruction in Tibet could
be the United States. For Washington and the Central Intelligence Agency,
with its deep involvement in the Free Tibet Movement, this is a
heaven-sent opportunity to create significant leverage against Beijing,
with little risk to American interests. For China, the seriousness with which
it is treating the unrest is illustrated by the deployment of a large number of
important army units. - Richard M Bennett (Mar
25, '08)
 SPENGLER
The mustard seed
in global strategy
With Pope Benedict's baptism of Magdi Allam, a prominent Muslim-born journalist
who converted to Catholicism during Easter services, the global agenda is
changed through the soul of a single man. Since September 2001, the would-be
wizards of Western strategy have tried to conjure variations of Islamic
"reform" or "democracy". None of this matters now, as Magdi Allam's case
confirms.
(Mar 25, '08)
 CAMPAIGN
OUTSIDER
Black and white and
barely read at all
US presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama gave an intelligent speech on
race relations to the wrong country. America doesn't want to think about much,
least of all about a topic on which everyone's already an expert. -
Muhammad Cohen (Mar 25, '08)
What
Obama's pastor really said (video)
DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
Bonfire of puppy-tossers, and the
beer test
A widely viewed Internet video of a US Marine throwing a cute puppy to its
death in a ditch in Iraq has Americans gnashing their teeth at the appalling
actions of a native son. It's disturbing stuff, but where's America's
all-consuming concern for the hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqi humans? It's
this dicshotomy that exposes the real reasons for the war, and the real risks
that those who advocate its quick conclusion are taking. - Julian Delasantellis
(Mar 25, '08)
Pakistan's new leaders target
militants
Freshly installed Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani has already made
his mark by freeing judges detained last year on President Pervez Musharraf's
orders. In dealing with militancy, many expect the government to similarly
unravel Musharraf's policies by treading softly. This will not mean an easy
ride for al-Qaeda and radical jihadis, however. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Mar 25, '08)
THE MOGAMBO GURU
Economic stupidity is no
solution
The International Monetary Fund surprises nobody with its call for taxpayers to
bail out everybody caught in the subprime crisis. But it's another matter when
a Financial Times editorial urges inflation. Don't folk understand that keeping
the existing structure intact requires the same degree of economic stupidity
all over again? (Mar 25, '08)
Same game, new rules in Afghanistan
Obituaries for the Taliban's spring offensive are premature, though instead of
trying to engage opposition forces head-on, the Taliban will open up new fronts
in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. In return, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
and United States-led troops will target the Taliban's safe havens straddling
the border with Pakistan. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Mar 20, '08)
 CHAN
AKYA
Why markets love dictators
This week's developments once again highlight the reasons for markets to prefer
dictatorships over freewheeling democracies. Clarity in decision-making is
more important than preserving the rights of individuals, for the benefit of
society at large, as seen by the market reactions to recent political changes
in India, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia and China. (Mar
20, '08)
 SEX
IN DEPTH
My short time with Tito
It all started innocently enough: a simple research outing to uncover the
underworld of Western sex workers in Asia. But then, at the unsubtle urging of
an over-bulked Baltic bouncer named Tito, the venture became a tour of the sex
trade "circuit". What came out was the naked truth about organized crime,
immigration, sex and the story behind some of Asia's most notorious ports of
call girls.
William Sparrow writes a weekly column looking at issues relating to sex
in Asia. (Mar 20, '08)
Why Spitzer was Bushwhacked
Disgraced New York State governor Eliot Spitzer had cause to feel frisky when
he visited Washington in February. As he was paying off a call girl, the press
was preparing to run a Spitzer broadside against the world's biggest financial
powers and President George W Bush, whom he described as a fugitive from
justice and a partner in crime with predator lenders. It was a politically
fatal coincidence. - F William Engdahl
(Mar 19, '08)
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What's up
with
Asian currencies?
The strength of the yen and euro has been a dominant recent feature of global
markets. Yet Asian currencies, even the Chinese yuan, have yet to show
comparable gains against the US dollar. Economic fundamentals argue that these
gains should come; local politics can argue otherwise. Therein lie the risks
and the opportunities. - Axel Merk
India hungers for
BlackBerry juice
The Indian government, claiming terrorism-related concerns, wants to get hold
of the codes that give users of BlackBerry-enabled mobile devices secure
Internet access. Capitulation will expose high-level businessmen and
politicians to prying eyes and undermine the country's near $2 billion
e-commerce market. And just who are these authorities demanding the codes? - Raja
M
Markets' weak spot
is bad ad vice
Capitalism "discovers" wants that people did not realize they had - and is
sustained by conversion of greed and envy into virtues. As globalization and
wage inequalities become ever more evident and the US economic model appears in
disarray, a solution is not to abolish markets but to remoralize wants. The
simplest way of doing this is to restrict advertising and create room for other
motives to fourish. - Robert Skidelsky
Flight, pain mark latest
China revolution
Small-time foreign investors in China are closing their factory doors and
catching the next flight home, leaving debts and unpaid workers behind, as they
fail to keep pace with the country's changing industrial focus. Taking their
place on incoming flights are better-heeled investors, more fully equipped to
survive in the fast-modernizing economy.
Inflation in heart-attack
territory
It makes you choke on the breakfast cereal - not just that wheat prices are up
by a third in one year or that things cost roughly 10 times what they did 48
years ago. The US national debt is 32 times higher than it was in 1960! Our
only prayer is that gold can rise faster than everything else - and we know
that just isn't going to happen.
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CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN
Nationalization and dislocation
Many investors may believe the Fed and the administration have discovered the
right antidote to the credit crisis - witness the recent stocks rally. Yet rule
changes regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are nothing less than a transfer
of massive prospective credit losses directly to the taxpayer and the US and
global markets in reality had "dislocation" written all over them.
(Mar 25, '08)
Doug Noland reviews the previous week's events each Monday.
MARKET RAP
What goes up must come down
The purchase of Bear Stearns by JP Morgan Chase marks another turn in the US
financial drama as it deepens even further into a solvency crisis. The Fed's
latest rates cut persuaded few investors that the end is in sight, with most
markets barely breaking their downward slide on the news.
(Mar 20, '08)
R M Cutler runs his eye over the ups and downs in the week's
markets.
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I am writing this letter to point out the fallacies in Spengler's argument in
The mustard seed in global strategy, Mar 26] ... There is more
violence, and more support for violence and hatred in the Old Testament than
one would find in any other religious book. It's unfortunate a book with "more
errors in it than there are words in it" ... continues to sway over so many
otherwise intelligent persons.
Abul
USA
Dear Abul, thank you for writing. I don't proselytize for any religion. That is
not my job. But I am glad that you have begun to read the Bible, and hope you
learn more about it. As Benjamin Franklin put it, "A city and a maidenhead are
lost once they begin to parley." - Spengler |
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to Letters to the Editor |
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One down, many to go
"Spam King" Robert Soloway's guilty plea in a Seattle court this week marked a
notable victory in the battle against junk mail, but Internet users have no
reason yet to lower their defenses against unwanted emails.
Martin J Young
surveys the week's developments in computing,
gaming and gizmos.
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ATol Specials
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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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