Schroeder is Scum

The elections in Germany are getting close and Schroeder has to pull out all the stops to get on top. To that end he has unveiled a new campaign poster featuring dead soldiers. Schroeder the hate-monger will probably (hopefully) still lose but his tactics may be enough to put the SDP into a grand coalition with CDU/CSU.

Tony Blair: Kyoto is Dead

I honestly don't read too much from James Pinkerton. I bought into the Pinkerton hype when he was in the Bush 41 admin. He eventually resigned in a huff frustrated at the lack of vision at the White House. Pinkerton was soon here and there touting the "New Paradigm," his vision for the future. Then he was given a big advance to write about it and the result, What Comes Next: The End of Big Government-And the New Paradigm Ahead was the most mind-numbing turgid book ever written. Just out of fear of suffering flashbacks I normally skip anything with his byline...well I'm glad I didn't today.

He reports that Tony Blair has seen the light (powered by fossil fuels) and realized that Kyoto is never going to work. No one is going to be willing to slash growth to meet Kyoto requirements especially when the powers of tomorrow, China and India, aren't even covered in Kyoto. Blair went on to outline his vision for combatting global warming. It may be underwhelming but it is realistic, which is what we need.

Pinkerton also reports that the White House (Condi) is envious of France at least once it comes to its use of nuke power. This is nice, honest and the direction to go...now if we could just get past that whole NIMBY thing.

Donnelly on China's Military

Thomas Donnelly co-chaired a hearing of the congressionally appointed US-China Economic and Security Commission yesterday. He made expressed his concern over China's growing military capability:

With this hearing, the Commission returns to one of its core concerns: assessing the growing military power of the People’s Republic of China, its impact on American interests and, in particular, the increasingly unstable balance across the Taiwan Strait. In its past reports--and I expect again this year--the Commission has well chronicled the rapid, substantial, and intensely focused development of the People’s Liberation Army. While experts and intelligence analysts differ on the details, the undeniable truth is that this trend reflects a long-term commitment by Beijing, pursued through changes in leadership and despite the fact that, as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has observed, China has no enemies.

Indeed, the Pentagon now regards surging Chinese military strength as one of the emerging strategic realities for the 21st century. The current Quadrennial Defense Review speaks of a variety of challenges, the most profound of which it has dubbed as “disruptive,” implying an ability to alter the post-Soviet international order. Only a rising China possesses the present and potential power to challenge the American peace, either as a leader of a rival “bloc” or, in time, by itself.

This is not simply a challenge to American security and political interests. It is, inevitably, a challenge to American principles of liberty and individual rights. It is also a challenge to our friends and allies who share these universal principles.

As always I look forward to the Commission's report. Our (my) favorite commission member will be co-chairing today's hearings.

Net Sellouts in China

Writing at openDemocracy.com Isabel Hilton takes on Yahoo and Google. It was hoped at one time that the net would tear down the walls that separate us but the Red Chinese have found a way to use the net in putting their own citizens behind three walls and bars. Their key informants are US tech companies eager to make a buck.

New Cuban Journal

The Insitute for Cuba and Cuban American Affairs at the University of Miami is launching an e-jounal not so originally christened - Cuban Affairs Journal. The paperless publication will set you back $25 for an individual subscription $95 for institutional. The Debut is set for next year.

German Election Update

Tech Central Station is disappointed at the way that the Flat Tax Fight is shaping up in Germany. CSM profiles a new party in Germany that could end up raining on Angie's parade. The Left Party is currently oupolling SPD partners, the Greens, and the hopeful partners of the CDU/CSU the Free Democrats.

A Belarusian in New York

Slate checks up on the Belarus "President" and Stalin wannabe Alexander Lukashenko to see what he'll be doing in the Big Apple during the World Summit. It is clear that he won't be doing much before heading back home.

Milosevic on Trial

The latest dispatch from Slate's visit to the surreal Milosevic trial.

Iran to Share Nuke Tech

Iran is eager to share all it knows about nukes to all of its friends. Despite this (or because of it) most developing countries are backing its play in not referring the Iran nuke stalemate to the Security Council. It appears that China and Russia are also ambivalent.

Light Blogging Friday and Saturday

Today is Mexican Independence Day (no it is not Cinco de Mayo). I mention this because having married a Mexican I am obligated to celebrate it. Considering that the party at La Valentina (alas the original mariachis have moved on) does not start until 11PM I don't figure to get up too early. When I do decide to shake of the tequila induced haze we will be taking the baby for his shots. Based on anecdotal reports he is not going to be happy and even less so when we drag him to baby massage class. What I am trying to say is that I am not going to be in any shape to post tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be up and running Saturday.

Setting the Standard II

For the second time this month WaPost celebrates the Weekly Standard's 10th birthday. True to form the Standard is marking its anniversary by asking its most popular contributers to talk about the issues they have changed their minds on in the past 10 years. Some of the answers may surprise you.

Iraqi Insurgency Consolidating

At the start of the Spanish Civil War a number of leftist groups fought alongside the Republican forces but they were eventually either co-opted or wiped out by those that toed the Soviet line. This is more or less what is happening in Iraq with al Zarqawi. He is pulling together smaller groups and bringing them into his organization. Even the supposed secular Baathists work for him.

Bashar's Brother

As the UN continues its investigation into the assasination of former Lebanese PM Rafiq Hariri it is entirely possible that Bashar Assad's may be implicated.

North Korea: Show Me the Money!

If we want them to stop making nukes we have to pay for a reactor for N. Korea.

Getting To Know Her: Angie Merkel

Both the WaPost and NYT talk about Angie Merkel today. NYT focuses on her father who moved the family to E. Germany when she was an infant. The WaPost has a more extensive profile on the next Chancellor of Germany (I probably just jinxed her). Not mentioned in either story is the fact her lead over SDP candidate and incumbent Scroeder has been cut in half. The main reason for the drop appears to be her choice of Finance Minister and his call for a 25% Flat Tax. By the way if the Germans get a Flat Tax we need to follow.

UN Round Up Day 2

There is a consensus in the major papers that the W that appeared at the UN yesterday was very different than the one who had been there before. An analysis piece at WaPost notes the "different tone" W took towards the UN "praising the 'vital work and great ideals of this institution' and its efforts to take the 'first steps' toward managerial and structural reforms." The NYT in its own analysis, although it was not listed as such, noted W's "conciliatory tone." They even quote him:

No nation can remain isolated and indifferent to the struggles of others," he said in a hall that remained, by tradition, largely silent. "When a country or a region is filled with despair and resentment and vulnerable to violent and aggressive ideologies, the threat passes easily across oceans and borders and could threaten the security of any peaceful country.

After mentioning W's continued push for democracy in the Mid East NYT pulls this out:

Nonetheless, American officials traveling with Mr. Bush said that they wondered how successful the White House would be in allocating more reconstruction aid for Iraq now that the hurricane damage will soak up so many American resources. "It seems clear," said one senior official traveling with Mr. Bush, "that the days of American largesse for Iraq are coming to a close."

How important is an official traveling with W? Perhaps more important than me but not by much (and trust me I'm a nobody). If the source was attached to the White House he or she would have been identified as such. Since NYT didn't say White House it is safe to assume that the leak is from State Dept. mandarin who has as much pull with W as Britney Spears.

The WaPost also noted the connection Bush made between anti-terrorism and anti-poverty programs. I've never been a big fan of this particular theory of causation, none of the 9/11 hijackers were exactly starving, but I was thrilled to read that he promised drop US tariffs.

The LAT noted that both Kofi Annan and W chided the UN for not enacting more reform but true to form the paper of record in the left coast said that many countries held the US responsible for this failure. In the next line however they admit that W accepted what had been our biggest objection:

But Bush also surprised delegates by reversing U.S. stances on trade and development that had nearly scuttled weeks of negotiation on the reforms. "To spread a vision of hope, the United States is determined to help nations that are struggling with poverty," Bush said. "We are committed to the Millennium Development Goals."

Those goals include cutting poverty and hunger in half, ensuring universal education and stemming the spread of AIDS by 2015. "In this young century, the far corners of the world are linked more closely than ever before, and no nation can remain isolated and indifferent to the struggles of others," Bush said in a keynote speech at the opening of the three-day World Summit.

In a separate piece the LAT found that the UN's bid for reform "exposes its woes."

The conservative WashTimes meanwhile is all confused. They highlight Bush's knocks at the UN for not taking on corruption and its failures in the arena of human rights:

"When this great institution's member states choose notorious abusers of human rights to sit on the U.N. Human Rights Commission, they discredit a noble effort and undermine the credibility of the whole organization," Mr. Bush told the U.N. General Assembly.

In past years, Libya and Sudan have served on the commission.

"If member countries want the United Nations to be respected and effective, they should begin by making sure it is worthy of respect," he said.

Although Mr. Bush did not mention the multibillion-dollar oil-for-food debacle that has rocked the United Nations, he called on the world body to move past scandal.

"The United Nations must be strong and efficient, free of corruption and accountable to the people it serves," he said. "The United Nations must stand for integrity and live by the high standards it sets for others."

In desperate need to find someone to say something bad about Iran the WashTimes had to turn to French PM Dominique de Villepin. Speaking of Iran the former terrorist and current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was anything but conciliatory. He knocked the US and didn't even bother mentioning his nuke program.

In case anyone cares Mexican President Vincente Fox supports the reform package at the UN. He also said that the Group of 15 nations will get together later to come to a consensus on the new Human Rights Council...I can hardly wait. Did I mention that Algeria (p. 10), Egypt, Venezuela (p. 109), and Zimbawe (p. 127) are in the G15?

Elections Afghan Style

There are 5700 candidates for 249 seats. Diversity is the name of the game here and if it works it will be democracy at its best and if it doesn't we don't want to see what happens...

Slodoban on Trial

Slate is still hanging around the farce that is Milosevic's trial.

9/11 Commission Heads on Katrina

Lee Hamilton and Thomas Kean were intereviewd by CSM and commented on Homeland Security's (I hate that name) response to Katrina:

"A number of our recommendations were in the area of emergency preparedness. Many of those recommendations have not been implemented. We believe had they been implemented that the tragedy might have been less severe in terms of human lives," Mr. Kean said at a Monitor breakfast. "Do we have to wait for another national emergency to get some of these things done?"

Hurricane Katrina has altered Mr. Hamilton's assessment of overall security. "We often said during ... the 9/11 hearings that we were safer but not safe," he said. "What struck me after Katrina was that we were not as safe as I thought we were."

Two reforms are vital in the post-Katrina world, they argue. One is to make clear who is in charge at the federal level during emergencies. The other, they say, is to require every state to adopt a detailed command-and-control plan for disasters - and link it to receiving funding from the US Department of Homeland Security.

Don't Call it a Comeback: The Daniel Ortega Chronicles

It would only be human of Daniel Ortega to be envious of Hugo down in Venezuela. After all he was Fidel's first real sidekick in Latin America. Hugo may get Danny Glover to sing his praises but Ortega had Jackson Browne (who literally sang his praises) and the then less mannish looking Darryl Hannah. Nicaragua was literally crawling with Sandalistas - idealistic (moronic) leftists (fellow-travellers) eager to help the Sandinistas build a new society. All in all Daniel Ortega was the man until he called for elections that he was certain he'd win. Elections that even the first Bush administration fully expected Ortega to take with ease. Then the people of Nicaragua threw him a curve.

That was fifteen years ago and Ortega is trying to come back again. The road back for him is much harder than it appears so as long as we keep our mouths shut we should be ok. The moderate left former Sandanista and fomer mayor of Managua Herty Lewites is the clear front-runner. By the way in the CSM link provided the photo caption of Ortega with a young girl is more than a little disturbing considering the molestation charges launched by his stepdaughter several years ago.

Book Pages - The Osama Book

Remember when Duke U. was criticized for asking incoming frosh to read the Koran. I thought the reaction was rather overblown and even thought that it was even a good idea...I forgot that I was dealing with academia. A Dukie prof of religion, Bruce Lawrence, has edited and written a forward to a book of speeches by Osama bin Laden. Here is the good professor in his own words:

“No one has ever looked at all of his writings,” Lawrence said, adding that most of the resources about bin Laden are not written down, existing primarily as audio-cassettes or videos from al-Jazeera, an Arabic-language news network.

Lawrence said the new book focuses on understanding what makes bin Laden tick. “If you read him in his own words, he sounds like somebody who would be a very high-minded and welcome voice in global politics,” Lawrence said

Abbas Wants Militias Disbanded

PA leader Abbas said that armed groups would need to disband after the January elections. It would be better to disband before participating in the elections, but either way it is a tall order.

UN Round-Up

It's finally here! The UN World Summit is finally here! Can't you feel the excitement? Yesterday the General Assembly passed a watered down 35 page declaration that is to be approved during the Summit. According to the NYT the key elements of the document include:

• Resolves to create a Human Rights Council that would promote universal respect for human rights. But it drops proposals for members to be elected by a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly and doesn't bar known rights violators.
• Backs Annan's call for an internal ethics office and asks that the internal U.N. watchdog, the Office of Internal Oversight Services, be strengthened "as a matter of urgency."
• Creates a peacebuilding commission, envisioned as an advisory body that would help nations emerging from war to recover.
• Seeks a comprehensive terrorism convention but doesn't call for a definition of terrorism that rules out attacks on civilians, as Secretary-General Kofi Annan had wanted.
• Includes 16 pages on development, including support for the Millennium Development Goals and those countries that set aside 0.7 percent of gross national product for development aid.
• Nations should work together to protect civilians from genocide but creates no new obligations to intervene in such cases, as some nations had sought.
• Elements that were taken out include language on nonproliferation and disarmament, as well as a mention of the International Criminal Court.

NYT is extremely disappointed with the declaration and blames Bolton and the ambivalence toward MDG. Honestly how can someone not be ambivalent about MDG? Sure it feels really nice to say that you are against poverty but when was the last time that a centrally directed UN program actually eradicated poverty? And Jeffrey Sachs? Puhlease...what in the man's record indicates that he even has a clue about what he is doing?

Speaking of the MDG the NYT also has a story on the squabble and even includes a quote from the appropriately named Charity Kaluki Ngilu who protested the Bush Admin.'s objections:

"The thing that shocked me personally was that they're trying to shift and change goal posts. If this is the case, we African leaders might as well go home and find other methods of developing ourselves."

Now there's an idea! By the way if she is serious about this then I recommend Lee Kuan Yew's From Third World to First.

More Nukes

Speaking of fruitless efforts to stem nuke proliferation the six party talks with N. Korea started up again. Needless to say there has been no progress.

Pressuring Iran Through PowerPoint

The administration is trying to persuade UN members that Iran's nuke program may not just have civilian uses. It appears that the US is going about town showing a PowerPoint presentation to make our point. A number of developing states "share our concern", but think Security Council action would be to harsh. Seriously when was the last time anything coming from Security Council hurt anyone (Colin Powell's reputation doesn't count).

Troop Reduction in Afghanistan

There are some hitches to the plan but the US would like to reduce its force in Afghanistan by as much as 20%. The stumbling block is of course NATO.

Biden Time in Iraq

I don't like anything about Sen. Biden. I don't like his hairplugs, his sanctimonious manner of speaking and the fact that the best politician that he could plagiarize was Neil Kinnock. Until now that is. Feeling that it is probably much better to steal from loser politicians at home than abroad he has opted to tear a page from John Kerry's campaign book, rework it a bit and plaster his name on it. How else to explain Biden's totally inane op-ed in the WaPost? He wants us to get the international community to help us deal with the insurgency in Iraq. You see if the Sunnis, Syrians and Iranians all see how serious we all are then they will stop. After all this has been going so swimingly well in the nuke talks with Iran. I may not know how to fix the situation in Iraq but getting everyone to say that they don't agree with people blowing up people is not going to do a darned thing.

The Latest Draft of the Iraqi Constitution

As expected some changes have been made to the draft of the Iraqi Constitution. Unfortunately the only notable change seems to placate the Arab League and not the Sunnis. This may help the Iraqis with their neighbors but it does not guarantee that the document will pass as it is written right now.

Bombs in Baghdad

Depending upon who you read anywhere between 73 to 80 people were killed by a suicide car bomber in Baghdad. Shiites were the target.

Kaplantastic Kaplangasm

We waited and we were not disappointed. Curzon at cominganarchy rounds the bases and brings it home...sorry this NL Wild Card thing has me a tad distracted. He also mentions the Bacevitch review in The Nation which said a whole lot more about Bacevitch than it did about Kaplan or Imperial Grunts. As I mentioned somewhere once (I honestly don't recall where) Bacevitch is a latter day Smedley Butler. He is honestly disturbed at seeing men and women who decided to stay in uniform being to be venerated in any way. Maybe he thinks that all soldiers should be treated like he was when he got back from Vietnam?

Bacevitch is also seems obsessed and openly hostile to protestantism. I understand that his Catholic faith is important to him, but why he sees protestants as the bogeymen that threaten our armed forces and our republic is beyond me. By the way as a practicing Catholic who underwent 13 years of Catholic school indoctrination I can assure you that this isn't the faith as it was taught to me. True, the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary did tell me that all you protestants were going to hell but we should be nice to you just the same...I'm kidding...please believe me or Sister Mary of the Angels will rise from the dead and whack me with that blasted yardstick of hers.

Bacevich's Take on Imperial Grunts

I'm not going to post excerpts yet but I am not going to deprive any of you of the opportunity to read Andrew Bacevich's review of Imperial Grunts. Needless to say he was not taken by it. Anyone who read New American Militarism should find his arguments familiar.

Whither Kaplangasm?

Despite the much anticipated Kaplangasm I have yet to witness any hysterics at cominganarchy...maybe they're smoking a cigarette.

Talabani: Timetable? What Timetable?

The back peddle continues. This time we get to hear it from the horse's mouth. Standing next to W at a press conference today the Iraqi President proclaimed that there was no timetable for withdrawal. A draw down of 50,000 troops would have represented over a third of the force currently in country. As Michael O'Hanlon of Brookings mentioned perhaps Talabani being a Kurd had a different perception of the current situation in Iraq, but if he is so eager to let us come home why are we so eager to talk him out of it?

UN World Summit - Kicks Off Tomorrow

Let's face we are a little self-absorbed here in the States so it should come as no great surprise that the only story that I've read today on the UN World Summit is about the traffic mayhem it is going to create in the Big Apple. So here is here is an overview of the UN World Summit - hat tip G8 blog.

Why I Hate the UN: Part 3

I used to have a completely made up number for my "Why the UN Annoys Me" and "Why I Hate the UN" ledes, but I figure that I am going to have so many reasons to gripe about the UN that I can safely commence with an accurate figure. My latest complaint has to do with information that I found on a site, Eye on the UN, apparently associated with the conservative Hudson Institute. Granted I am sure the figures have been massaged somewhat according to their tabulations the top five countries subject to human rights criticism at the UN in 2004 were: Israel, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire and United States of America (tied). Eye on the UN even has a comparative map with the data that they are used. I understand that some of you may not be huge fans of Israel but how can there be 100 knocks on Israel and honor-killing-no-woman-driving-no-christians-churches-allowed Saudis only called to the table 11 times? Don't even get me started on US.

Oh Me of Little Faith - theCardinal on International Law

I would not necessarily classify myself as a John Bolton type but I am skeptical of international law. You don't need to look any further than the trial of former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic to see why. Milosevic is obviously a war criminal of that there is little doubt. Then why is it that he has essentially been on trial since 2002? If it is this hard to keep an unrepentant genocidal maniac behind bars then how hard would it be to put someone like Fidel Castro in prison if he was ever deposed? The answer of course you wouldn't. After witnessing this farce perhaps the US should sign on to the ICC - if any 19 year old soldier would ever be charged he'd be a card carrying AARP member before standing trial.

Imperial Grunts is Out Today!

Since I already mentioned cominganarchy.com it only seems fair that I also bring up the fact that Robert Kaplan's new book, Imperial Grunts, should be in your favorite bookstore by now. For those of you have not figured it out this is our favorite bookstore.

Big in Japan (with Apologies to Alphaville)

I'm a little late in the game on this so I am going to defer to Curzon at ComingAnarchy.com. I too am excited at the prospect of the Koizumi being a able to pass genuine reform in Japan. You can read some of Curzon's posts here and here. NYT did take a more sanguine view of the outcome.

Porno for Pyros (and Terrorists)

The WashTimes reports that the separtist the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) has been financing some of its activities by making porno movies. They have been kidnapping tribal boys and girls and forcing to perform in these movies. The truly ironic thing about all this, which is not mentioned in the story, is that the NLFT seeks to break away from New Delhi to create a Christian fundamentalist state.

Gaza a Hobbesian Nightmare

In case you haven't notice Gaza, post-pullout, has degenerated into a post-hurricane New Orleans sans flooding. Ok I'm exaggerating - to the best of my knowledge there are no confirmed reports of kidnappings or two hour shootouts in NO. Richard Cohen reflects on the Palestinian Authority, the murder of Moussa Arafat and what the future holds:

But blunt talk is precisely what's needed. In the case of the Palestinians, they have to be told to shape up. The murder of Moussa Arafat is just the latest self-induced catastrophe. The very funeral of cousin Yasser was accompanied by mayhem and a gun battle in the mourning tent. Abbas, who was there to pay his respects, was shoved to the ground by his security detail. This was not an assassination attempt, everyone said, but merely a way of delivering a message. Abbas apparently got it. It may explain why he has moved with such timidity against the various militias. His life is on the line.

Gaza is lawless. Kidnappings are common. Armed gangs roam the streets. Under these conditions, it will be impossible for the Palestinians to secure outside investors. Who's going to put money in a business when there's virtually no rule of law? In fact, it took altruistic American Jewish investors to put up the money ($14 million) to buy the machinery -- computers and the like -- that kept Gaza's greenhouses running. From what one of them told me, the Palestinians themselves were so intent on not accepting any "tainted" aid that they were reconciled to losing the greenhouses and the jobs that came with them. It was a sorry spectacle.

Abbas has his work cut out for him. But he would be helped if his fellow Arabs and others in the international community held Palestinians as accountable as they do Israelis. The murder of Moussa Arafat and the ordinary lawlessness of Gaza show that when it comes to enemies, Palestinians don't need Israel. They do just fine on their own.

W & Pervez

W is being accused of being a hypocrite. Sure it is nothing new but he would have been able to avoid it this time if he would have based his foreign policy on realist assumptions and not Wilsonianism on steriods. Pakistani Prez Musharraf still holds two hats - head of state and head of the military - despite promises to drop his role in the military. Let's face it we needed Pervez to go into Afghanistan and pressuring him to democratize was never going to help us meet our short term goals. More important is for us to work with him on finding Osama, coming to terms with India and nuke proliferation.

Why the Sunnis Won't Deal

There is a good reason the Sunnis don't want to deal - the insurgency. This is what Gary Schmitt says writing in the WaPost. Until the insurgency is crushed and the sea of sympathy they operate in is destroyed it is unlikely that the Sunnis will be looking for a political solution.

Tall Tale at Tall Afar

The Iraqi PM Ibrahim Jafari toured Tall Afar to " to congratulate Iraqi forces for ousting militants from their stronghold." Two problems with this - first of all Iraqi TV which reported the story had no footage of the tour. When was the last time a pol toured anything without a camera? Ivan Eland also doubts that the insurgents were ousted it is more likely that they fled elsewhere. He's probably right but don't look at Eland for balance.

Talabani Speaks About US Troop withdrawal, Syria and Saddam's Confessions

I personally don't have anything against the Iraqi President, the unfortunately named Jalal Talabani, but his statements are further evidence of the muddle that is the occupation of Iraq. First he says that 50,000 US troops should be out by year's end. The Pentagon and White House get wind of this via WaPost and an aide for the Iraqi prez back-peddles. Speaking on the same day that US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad essentially issued an ultimatum to Syria, Talabani preferred not to speak critically of his neighbor. Finally Talabani insists that Saddam confessed to killing Kurds in the '80's, something that the deposed dictatot's attorneys continue to deny. What the heck is going on here? Can't anyone involved in Iraq speak with authority? If the White House can't tell Talabani what to say shouldn't they at least be talking to him to see what he is going to say? It is nothing short of embarrassing that the administration can't get on the same page with Talabani at this stage of the game.

Isn't It Sad...

that I get more blogging done at work than at home? Well I'm at home today so you can pretty much figure out what my output is going to be. By the way I would like to thank all of you have stumbled onto our little blog the last couple of weeks...I've learned so much from the e-mails and the comments.