ICC Stand Leads to Aid Cut

The US has cut aid to countries that are not signing on to granting our soldiers immunity from the International Community Court. The US has long been concerned that our military men and women would be exposed while serving in another country and be charged with a crime against humanity by the ICC. Some legal experts pooh-pooh the concern, but they are either disingenuous or naive. One only needs to look at Spain's Socialist Super Judge Balthazar Garzon to see how one judge could see fit to charge anyone that he sees fit. Extreme Anti-American elements would only be too happy to utilize the ICC to upset US policy abroad. I am not sure that cutting aid to nations that don't support us in this effort is the best way to go, but our displeasure must be made clear. As to the argument that our cuts in aid hurt our efforts in the drug war and against terrorism - we would save a whole bunch of money and effort by ending the drug war.

Another Day, Another UN Scandal

Yes there is another report of inept management at the UN. Fortunately this one does not involve corruption or peacekeepers running amok. According to the UN's personnel office Carina Perelli, the UN's top electoral official, presided over an office that tolerated sexual harassment. Can you imagine how bad the situation must have been for the UN to investigate one of its own? There was also an investigation into financial impropriety but Perelli was cleared.

Dead Despot Watch

Ferdinand Marcos is making a comeback! Fortunately he's dead so there is just so much damage that he can do. It's always amazing the nostalgia that tends to surround deposed and deceist strongmen. We shouldn't be surprised by the popularity of Marcos there is pratically a cult of Stalin in Russia.

King Abdullah Lied to Condi

The WashTimes reports that King Abduallah told Condi that Saudi Arabia will have an elected government in 10 to 15 years. Abduallah has always been percieved to be less western than his brother so this would be a surprising turn.

Welcome Back New Zealand

After 20 years of cool realtions the US and New Zealand are getting friendly again. New Zealand fell outside of the US security umbrella after it got all swept up in the nuclear freeze movement in the 80's and refused a visit by US warship. Ronnie did not suffer fools and cooly dropped New Zealand from ANZUS. This week they were invited to participate in joint manuevers with the US and other Asian countries.

The Flattening World

I sincerely despise the title of Tom Friedman's new book. I also hate the fact that he repeats it 4,396 times in his book, but this story about Wi-Fi being used to hook up rural Indians to the net is an example of what he is talking about. It is fascinating that developing nations could leapfrog us in the communications revolution since they are skipping bulky 20th century infrastructure investments and going straight to the digital/wireless age. We are so dependent and dare I say comfortable with in our little wired world that going wireless is not a priority.

Despot Watch

The New Republic's delightful Today in Despotism fills us in on what is happening Burma, Libya, Syria, Belarus and N. Korea. Anyone interested in human rights and democracy should make it a point to check in regularly. openDemocracy lets us know what is going on in Zimbawe by republishing four short (incredibly depressing) articles giving us a sense of the misery that Mugabe is bringing to his country.

Why the UN Annoys Me - Reason 1,587

Here's a catchy slogan - "Today Gaza, Tomorrow the West Bank and Jerusalem." The phrase may have the full support of Hamas and may have been put out by the Palestinian Authority but a propaganda campaign featuring it was funded by the United Nations Development Program. To give credit where credit is due the PA made sure that every banner, bumper sticker, mug and t-shirt bearing the slogan had a UNDP logo slapped on it. Responding to criticism a UNDP administrator stated that "it was not at all acceptable" for the logo to appear on the materials and said that, "We cannot be involved in political messaging." What the hell does that mean? Does it mean that the political messaging that they funded would have been fine if their logo was not on it. Why is the UN funding a propaganda campaign by an entity that incites terrorism and crushes dissent? John Bolton has justly ripped the UNDP for its involvement.

The Coup in Mauritania

Maybe you can't find it on the map but Mauritania is/was an important ally in the GWOT. After the coup it is hard to say where things stand. A Policy Watch put out by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy does a good job of recapping why the coup happened and what it means. It also stresses the importance of Mauritania in our fight against terror.

The Aussies and US

Dan Blumenthal who hangs his hat at AEI talks about the warm and fuzzy feelings that the Aussies and the US have for each other. A lot of credit for this relationship needs to go to PM John Howard.

Jeffrey Sachs Unplugged

CFR just put up a transcript of the rock star economist Jeffrey Sachs's discussion of June 14. I'm posting without reading it so no commentary from me.

Fareed Zakaria PBS Backstreet Boy

The Village Voice of all publications has a profile of Fareed Zakaria. The focus is on Zakaria's new PBS show Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria and his sex symbol status. More than once the article labels Zakaria as a recovering neo-con, but he was never one to begin with. VV is so far out to the left that when they look to their right everyone just looks the same. Zakaria has always been a realist as evidenced by his doctoral thesis From Wealth to Power. His last book The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad which argued that democracy in and of itself was not a cure all for what ails the world is a realist masterpiece. I will say this - Pat Buchanan also knocked the importance of propping up or encouraging the establishment of democratic regimes in a 1990 piece in The National Interest and I don't recall him either being called a sex symbol or the subject of a fawning piece in the Village Voice.

Bombs Over Bangladesh Update

It turns out that there were over 100 bombs set off the other day. 50 people have been questioned thus far.

Memo Says We Didn't Plan for Post War Iraq

Lorne W. Craner then the the assistant secretary democracy, human rights and labor; Arthur E. Dewey, assistant secretary for population, refugees and migration; and Paul E. Simons, then acting assistant secretary for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs submitted a joint memo on February 7, 2003 expressing concern about "serious planning gaps for post-conflict public security and humanitarian assistance." When asked about this a State Dept. said that this wasn't a new story. They're right, sort of. In the Jan/Feb 2004 issue of The Atlantic Monthly James Fallows put out a lengthy article arguing that there was in fact plenty of planning, but that we went "blind into Baghdad" because the people in charge (Rumsfeld) didn't pay attention.

Bombs in Baghdad

I normally don't post stories on Iraqi bombs because there seems to be a new incident everytime I check the web. The bombs yesterday had a different affect than previous bombings according to the WaPost.

Rumsfeld and Toledo

The Defense Secretary meets with the Peruvian President today. I'm just wondering who polls better in Peru. The WaPost link does mention that Toledo's support is in single digits.

Our Man for Latin America

Replacing Roger Noriega as America's face to the Western Hemisphere is Thomas A. Shannon. In keeping with the trend thus far in W's second administration Shannon represents a change of style rather than substance. Although Oppenheimer opines that there will be less of a focus on Cuba. Well I assume that it's Oppenheimer since the pathetic Miami Herald site doesn't say who wrote the piece and if you click to read his columns it's not listed...God I hate the Herald.

The Return of Realism

Gideon Rose has an excellent piece on the new realist bent in the current administration. As he correctly notes this is a back to roots movement for Bush since this is how he originally campaigned in 2000, it wasn't until 9/11 that he kicked into full Wilsonian gear. As Rose points out when discussing Condi Rice this realism is not a full blooded realpolitik in the European tradition, but rather a realism that takes into account American principles. He doesn't call it this but amongst Republicans it is referred to as Reaganism. Kissinger touched on it in his book Diplomacy and writing in the Spring 2004 issue of National Interest (Rose should read up on his competition) Rich Lowry wrote about the Reaganite/Neo-Reaganite schism in conservative movement. Subscription is required for the National Interest link so I'll just quote a piece here:

Much of the intra-conservative debate turns on this key question: the malleability of much of the world, and the suitability of the U.S. government as an agent for fundamentally changing it. Conservatives have a strong dose of Reaganite optimism but are also clear-eyed in their view both of human progress and of America's ability to promote liberal values around the world. Since Burke, conservatives have sought just this balance between respect for reality as it exists and the possibilities for change.

Neoconservatism displays impatience at any reminder that the world is not infinitely plastic and that not all problems will break down under the solvent of American power. It assumes a universal admiration for America that does not exist, and it tends to dismiss the desire of local actors to have a say in how a project is carried out. For neoconservatives, liberal democracy can be achieved simply by an American invasion, or a set of sanctions, or a ritual invocation of the policy of "regime change." The government of China will fall as long as the United States doesn't grant it "most favored" trading privileges. Proponents of such free trade are latter-day Neville Chamberlains (never mind that the rest of the world will keep trading with Beijing). Russian President Vladimir Putin will see the advantages of liberalism if President Bush just scolds enough. And regime change--as much a wish as a policy--is promulgated as the U.S. strategy for every nasty government in the world. Those who are skeptical of this strategy might, according to their rhetorical barbs, have a "casual animus" about U.S. power.

Iraq Has Republicans Worried

I'm sure that this article is true, but I would give it more credence if it was carried in any paper other than the NYT. If W is slipping because of Iraq it has to do with the fact that the American people signed up and backed him for a war against terrorism. They signed up to topple Saddam Hussein, they did not sign up to occupy a less than conquered country and establish a democracy.

No Constitution in Iraq? No Problem, For Now

Writing in the New Republic Larry Diamond says the delay in putting out a constitution isn't all that terrible when you consider how bad things could have gone -

It is useful to ponder what did not happen on August 15. Iraq's Transitional National Assembly did not adopt a provision (advocated by Shiite Islamist delegates) that would have forbidden legislation contradicting Islamic law. As Juan Cole has recently argued, this could have been "a Trojan horse for making Iraq into an Islamic republic," by making Islamic clerics constitutional arbiters. The Assembly did not create a super-region of the nine predominantly Shiite provinces in the oil-rich south, which would be completely unacceptable to the Sunnis (as well as to many Shiites who believe in a united Iraq). It did not yield to a Kurdish demand for the right to hold a vote on secession--a referendum that, in the foreseeable future, would probably go overwhelmingly for secession.

Neither did the Assembly majority force a constitution down the throats of unwilling minorities. The Kurdish and Shiite delegates did not tell the unelected (and only recently added) Sunni committee members to accept their offer or take a hike. The ruling Shiite alliance did not use its narrow majority to scrap the interim constitutional provisions it didn't like, particularly the one enabling any three provinces to veto the constitution in the referendum.

W & Hu

Hu Jintao and W are set to meet next month and Willy Lam from the Jamestown Foundation seems to think that Hu is looking for some sort of breakthrough. It would not be surprising if he achieves one. In his book About Face author James Mann noted that progress in the Sino-US is usually made by administrations that start off on less than friendly terms with the Red Chinese.

Bye-Bye Schroeder?

Angie Merkel the head of the conservative CSU/CDU launched her campaign against Gerhard Schroeder. The Chancellor is running scared so he has upped his anti-American rhetoric unfortunately for him W's not biting.

Graft for Taft

It has nothing to do with international affairs or foreign policy, but I am disgusted by the ethics scandal surrounding a prominent Republican. No I am not talking about Tom Delay or Jack Abramoff I am talking about Ohio Governor Bob Taft. Taft comes from a line of prominent and honorable line of politicians. His great-grandfather was a so-so President who founded his true calling presiding over the Supreme Court. His grandfather was a senator and perennial presidential candidate who was known as Mr. Republican. True he would have been a disaster as president (he was an unreconstructed isolationist), but he was a good man. Gov. Taft has cashed in on his family's name and insulted the memory of his predecessors he should resign and retire from public life.

Poles and Ruskies in a Spat

Poland and Russia are in a heated tit for tat that was sparked when the children of Russian diplomats were assaulted in a Warsaw park. There has been retribution in Russia against Poles and there has been an accusation of a "wave of anti-Russia hysteria" by Poles. I'm sorry but there is no country in the world that could have a better reason to be plagued with anti-Russian hysteria than Poland.

Bombs Over Bangladesh - Radical Islam at Work

At least 19 bombs go off in different parts of Bangladesh and reports indicate that radical islamists are to blame.

MAS Problems in Bolivia

This is one of those situations that gives foreign aid a bad name. The US in its eagerness to find someone, anyone in Bolivia supporting the eradication of the coca crop funded a "former" member of Evo Morales's Movement To Socialism (MAS). The "former" MAS member, Cimar Victoria, allegedly used the funds provided to him by USAID to solidify power in his region and smash opposition. It is also alleged that he encouraged coca cultivation and helped lead the protests that brought down the pro-US Bolivian President Carlos Mesa. The US is cutting him off, but the damage is done.

The Solution to the Crisis in Bolivia

Donald Rumsfeld is in South America drumming up support for the fragile democracies there. One of his concerns is the alleged funding of terrorist activities by drug dealers and smugglers. An unnamed defense official even stated that some radical Islamic groups are funded by these entities. There is a very simple way to shore up Bolivia's tottering government, marginalize the radical Evo Morales, limit Chavez's influence and cut off Hamas and Hezbollah - legalize the cultivation of the coca plant. US efforts to eradicate coca production has decimated support for mainstream political parties in the indigenous population and sent it running to the open arms of the socialist firebrand and Chavez wannabe Evo Morales. By operating in the formal economy the cartel would be smashed, gains would not be directed to nefarious groups and Morales would not have an issue to rally around.