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World Media Watch
by Gloria R. Lalumia
BUZZFLASH NOTE: Once again, these are the views and perspectives of the individual papers, not of BuzzFlash or Gloria. They offer BuzzFlash readers a way of reading what other nations are saying about the crisis, whether we like it or not. We repeat: This is not an endorsement of their viewpoints.
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1//The Independent, UK--TROOPS GOING TO WAR FACE NEW RISK: LACK OF KEY MEDICAL STAFF (The crisis is most acute in those areas that will be critical during battle, Ministry of Defence figures show. The shortfall ranges from 58 to 87 per cent among accident and emergency surgeons, anaesthetists and burns specialists... But senior MoD officials accept that the reforms, due to take effect in April, will be too late for a new Gulf war, which is widely expected to start before the weather in the region starts to become too hot from March.)
2//TurkishPress.com, USA-OPINIONS: ACTIVE PEACE DIPLOMACY (Though its level of support is still unknown, Turkey is likely to take part in a possible US operation in Iraq. That's why Gul is currently paying visits to Arab countries....Turkey's active peace diplomacy should also be seen as an effort to gain support from Arab countries, since we can never fully trust the US' ulterior plans for the region. Turkey wants to establish strong cooperation between Muslim countries in case of a possible US betrayal.)
3//Iraqi News Agency, Iraq--MILITARY SPOKESMAN SAYS THE U.S. AND BRITISH WARPLANES CONTINUE THEIR DAILY AGGRESSION ON IRAQI CITIES (A spokesman for the air defense command told Ina that the enemy warplanes on Monday carried out 43-armed stories coming from their bases in Kuwait backed by an awacs inside the Saudi spaces and an e2c inside the Kuwaiti spaces.... The gross number of the armed stories carried out by the U.S.- British warplanes coming from Kuwait, Turkey and Saudi Arabia since dec. 17, 1998 till now totaled 46803 stories, the spokesman concluded.)
4//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--KOREA CRISIS: STRAIGHT SHOOTER AND LOSS OF FACE (The Bush people don't want to be drawn into negotiations with North Korea because they don't want to reward that rogue regime for bad behavior. Their newly unveiled policy of "tailored containment" would be laughable if the situation weren't so serious...Most fundamentally, Bush policy makers fail to realize that North Korea's Dear Leader Kim Jong-il doesn't want more food aid or fuel or even nuclear weapons, really. What he wants most of all is face.)
5//The Japan Times, Japan--EDITORIAL: DEBATE SUFFERS AS RULING PARTIES DOMINATE (The shape of politics is changing in the world's main democracies in a manner that Japan may find familiar. But the implications are only starting to seep through...Of course, it is not the fault of ruling parties if they achieve dominant status -- and the decline of Britain's once mighty Conservatives shows how even the best-oiled machine can run into the buffers. Still, the dangers of turning politics into a small-circle activity divorced from the concerns of ordinary people are evident. Though many politicians seem to find it hard to accept, electoral success is not the end of the matter, only the beginning.)
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1//The
Independent 07 January 2003
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=367018
TROOPS
GOING TO WAR FACE NEW RISK: LACK OF KEY MEDICAL STAFF
By Kim Sengupta
Britain's armed forces are facing massive shortages of medical staff as they prepare for a possible war in Iraq.
The crisis is most acute in those areas that will be critical during battle, Ministry of Defence figures show. The shortfall ranges from 58 to 87 per cent among accident and emergency surgeons, anaesthetists and burns specialists.
The MoD is so worried by the shortfall that it has adopted drastic measures to attract more medical staff, including a £50,000 "golden hello" for some, and a radical overhaul of its pay structure. Staff at the Defence Medical Service (DMS) will no longer be paid according to their rank, but based on their experience, and the salary scales will be improved.
But senior MoD officials accept that the reforms, due to take effect in April, will be too late for a new Gulf war, which is widely expected to start before the weather in the region starts to become too hot from March.
The
Government could call up all medical reservists in the event of a conflict.
That would put enormous pressure on the National Health Service, already
suffering from its own shortages, and, in any event, would not provide
anything close to adequate numbers for a war.
(SNIP)
The latest MoD figures show that overall number of regular medical service personnel, standing at about 6,500, is 23 per cent down on the planned full strength of 8,500. The total of volunteer medical reserves, currently at 4,829, is 36 per cent less than the projected total of 7,550.
Out of 872 posts for doctors in the forces, only 368 - less than half - have been filled. The worst gaps are among A&E staff, with 87 per cent of posts unfilled, anaesthetists with 81 per cent and burns specialists with about 70 per cent unfilled. Among nurses the shortage amounts to more than 800 posts, or 38 per cent.
So
stretched are the resources that if the MoD mobilised all its full-time
doctors for a war in Iraq, only 18 surgeons, 29 consultant anaesthetists
and eight orthopaedic surgeons could be deployed for a 40,000-strong British
force.
(MORE)
2//TurkishPress.com BYEGM: Monday, January 06, 2003
http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=8433
Opinions
ACTIVE PEACE DIPLOMACY
STAR- Columnist Zeynep Gurcanli writes on Turkey's Iraq policy. A summary of her column is as follows:
(SNIP)
There's actually only one reason behind Prime Minister Abdullah Gul's visit to Arab countries including Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia: Everybody is now well aware that the US is planning to overthrow Saddam Hussein at all costs. Though its level of support is still unknown, Turkey is likely to take part in a possible US operation in Iraq. That's why Gul is currently paying visits to Arab countries.
Turkey is now pursuing active peace diplomacy in order to minimize the possible devastating results of such an operation. Ankara is discussing what is likely to happen in northern Iraq in a postwar period. Our government wants to control the region since possible turmoil in Turkey's neighborhood might threaten our territorial integrity. Arab countries will probably oppose Turkey's entrance into northern Iraq, which is why we're trying to persuade them that the Turkish Army needs to enter northern Iraq to protect our territories.
Despite possible and probably strong Arab opposition, Turkish Army's entering the region is not in doubt. Turkey and Arab countries are currently discussing ways to protect Iraq's territorial integrity during a postwar period.
Turkey's active peace diplomacy should also be seen as an effort to gain support from Arab countries, since we can never fully trust the US' ulterior plans for the region. Turkey wants to establish strong cooperation between Muslim countries in case of a possible US betrayal.
(MORE)
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION
3//Iraqi News Agency Baghdad, Jan. 7, Ina
http://www.uruklink.net/iraqnews/enews11.htm
MILITARY SPOKESMAN SAYS THE U.S. AND BRITISH WARPLANES CONTINUE THEIR DAILY AGGRESSION ON IRAQI CITIES
The U.S. and British warplanes committed a new crime added to their record of crimes against the Iraqi civilians.
A spokesman for the air defense command told Ina that the enemy warplanes on Monday carried out 43-armed stories coming from their bases in Kuwait backed by an awacs inside the Saudi spaces and an e2c inside the Kuwaiti spaces.
(SNIP)
The Iraqi brave anti-aircraft defences intercepted the warplanes and forced them to retreat back to their nests of evil, the spokesman added.
The spokesman made it clear that total number of the armed sorties launched by the U.S. and British warplanes coming from Kuwait since dec. 17, 1998 till drafting this statement reached 19333.
The gross number of the armed stories carried out by the U.S.- British warplanes coming from Kuwait, Turkey and Saudi Arabia since dec. 17, 1998 till now totaled 46803 stories, the spokesman concluded.
4//Asia Times Online January 8, 2003
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/EA08Dg02.html
KOREA
CRISIS: STRAIGHT SHOOTER AND LOSS OF FACE
By Gary LaMoshi
HONG KONG - While the administration of US President George W Bush blandly assures all that it can handle nuclear-armed North Korea through diplomacy, it refuses to deploy the best diplomatic tool, direct talks. Ignoring the apparent non sequitur, the position also betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of Asian cultures, one that has plagued US policy in the region for decades.
The Bush people don't want to be drawn into negotiations with North Korea because they don't want to reward that rogue regime for bad behavior. Their newly unveiled policy of "tailored containment" would be laughable if the situation weren't so serious.
This strategy relies on isolating North Korea to bring about its collapse. News flash: 50 years of isolation have made North Korea - the Hermit Kingdom - what it is today, the most dangerous state on the planet. Moreover, this policy requiring "maximum multilateral cooperation", according to a senior Bush administration official, doesn't have any of North Korea's neighbors on board.
Letting South Korea take the diplomat lead in the neighborhood would have been a smart US move to win that cooperation. However, it appears that South Korea, which has the most to lose from a nuclear North, has jumped into the void left by the Bush administration in search of a way out.
Face Facts
Most fundamentally, Bush policy makers fail to realize that North Korea's Dear Leader Kim Jong-il doesn't want more food aid or fuel or even nuclear weapons, really. What he wants most of all is face.
The concept of giving face is not unique to Asia, but it is most highly prized here. It means showing respect in a public way that acknowledges the status of the other fellow. It's similar to what goes on in Western business between bosses and peons. But unlike corporate brown-nosing, it doesn't imply a subordinate relationship. Giving face is not necessarily about lowering yourself - then you would lose face - it's about respecting and acknowledging the status of the other guy in full view of others.
(MORE)
5//The Japan Times Wednesday, January 8, 2003
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/geted.pl5?eo20030108a1.htm
EDITORIAL:
DEBATE SUFFERS AS RULING PARTIES DOMINATE
By Jonathan Fenby
Special to The Japan Times
Jonathan Fenby, former editor of The Observer and the South China Morning Post, is a commentator on international affairs based in London.
LONDON -- The shape of politics is changing in the world's main democracies in a manner that Japan may find familiar. But the implications are only starting to seep through.
(SNIP)
If elections were held tomorrow, there can be little doubt that Bush, Blair, Chirac, Berlusconi and Putin would be returned without any difficulty. Each leader, of course, faces a degree of discontent, often arising from worries about the economy or, in the case of Britain, from the performance of the public services. But, for the moment, the traditional alternation of power, or the balance between the White House and Congress in the case of the U.S., has been suspended.
That may be a comforting position for those in power. But, as the example of the long dominance of the Liberal Democrats in Japan has shown, it brings with it a different set of challenges that are all too easy to overlook in the wake of electoral triumphs such as the Republicans gaining control of both Houses of Congress in November or Chirac ending five years of uneasy "cohabitation" with the left through his victories in the presidential and National Assembly elections last spring.
Factional clan politics within the leading party, rather than debate between parties with different ideologies, becomes the arena for determining policy. Thus, with the Democrats only now finding it in themselves to query the way the war of terror has been waged, the foreign policy and strategy debate has been between unilateralists and multilateralists within the administration, not between the two major parties. Discussion of economic policy revolves around tax cutters on one side, and deficit cutters on the other -- with the Democrats floundering as they seek a policy that can rally their troops and attract swing voters.
(SNIP)
The debate, in most cases, is conducted through aides and press leaks -- the ruling group still does not feel confident enough to admit to internal splits. This deprives voters of a proper debate from which to draw their opinions, and makes life difficult for the opposition. That, naturally, suits the dominant party since it is held less accountable and, as seen in the modulations of U.S. policy over Iraq, is able to trim its sails to events and public opinion without admitting that it is doing so.
The danger is twofold. If things go badly -- whether over the economy or in a war against Baghdad -- the rulers will find it hard to share the blame. They will be exposed, sometimes in situations where there should have been a broader consensus in the first place.
In addition, voters may well be even more turned off politics than they were already. Lower popular participation increases the importance of single-issue groups that can get out their voters, and distorts the magnitude of victory.
Look behind the Republican performance in the midterm elections and you see how narrow some of the races were. Abstention rates in European elections have been rising significantly. The climate of apathy surrounding mainstream politics has produced shock-wave performances by some extremist parties.
Of course, it is not the fault of ruling parties if they achieve dominant status -- and the decline of Britain's once mighty Conservatives shows how even the best-oiled machine can run into the buffers. Still, the dangers of turning politics into a small-circle activity divorced from the concerns of ordinary people are evident. Though many politicians seem to find it hard to accept, electoral success is not the end of the matter, only the beginning.
Few findings could be more symbolic of the way things are than an opinion poll in Britain at the end of 2002. This showed satisfaction with Blair falling from 51 to 38 percent during the year, and dissatisfaction rising from 39 to 54 percent. But, if there was a snap general election, it predicted that Labour would increase the number of seats it won over its sweeping victory in 2001. While voters may find fault with the men who rule them, they do not see a viable alternative -- but isn't that the essence of democracy?
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©
2003, Gloria R. Lalumia, insight@zianet.com
Radio for Progressives at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical/radio.htm
Updated 12/26/2002 with many new listings.
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