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| November 3, 2003 |
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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. * * * 1//The Toronto Star, Canada--LESSONS OF BEIRUT BOMBING LOST IN BAGHDAD (But in Beirut, people see common parallels as well: unflattering views of both U.S. deployments as naïve, muddled and at times arrogant adventures into two infinitely complex corners of Mideast geopolitics. "The lessons of Beirut are still there: if you cannot make people come to terms for an internal peace, you are lost," said Lebanese author and academic Joseph Maila, whose recent book From Manhattan to Baghdad explores themes of militant Islam...Nasser Kandil, a Lebanese legislator, observed that the projects of Beirut and Baghdad involve two of the same American hawks: Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and close Bush administration ally Richard Perle. Rumsfeld was named Reagan's special Middle East envoy shortly after the Beirut blast; Perle was then assistant defence secretary..."Twenty years ago, they only listened to those who agreed with them. And that is the same issue playing out in Baghdad.") 2//The Japan Times, Japan--JAPAN MAY ASK COALITION FORCES TO GUARD SDF IN IRAQ: KOIZUMI (Japan may ask U.S. and British coalition forces to guard Self-Defense Forces troops in Iraq due to the worsening security situation there, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Sunday...The prime minister, in a series of morning television shows, also reiterated his desire to legitimize the SDF as the "national military" by revising the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution.) 3//Albawaba.com, Jordan--LEADER OF DANISH PARTY INVITES SADDAM TO SEEK POLITICAL (The leader of the Danish Republican Party, Sooslashren Mosegaard has invited Saddam Hussein to seek political asylum in Denmark. In a statement conveyed to Al Bawaba via email, Mosegaard said the offer is "on behalf of the Danish people.") 4//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--CUDDLE UP TO INDIA, US URGED (Washington must devote "sustained and high-level attention" to India and Pakistan and be "more active" in helping the two nuclear-armed neighbors manage their conflicts, argues the "Chairmen's Report" of a joint task force on India and South Asia co-sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations and the Asia Society. At the same time, the administration of US President George W Bush must devote more resources and broaden the popular base and authority of the government of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai by supporting the deployment of international peacekeeping forces beyond Kabul, particularly in Pashtun areas where the Taliban and its allies appear to be making a comeback...Of the three countries covered by the report, the task force was most upbeat about India which, "with its political stability and a decade of steady economic advance, has the potential for long-term political and security partnership and substantially expanded trade and economic relations with the United States".) 5//The Independent, UK-NEWS ANALYSIS: THE THING IS: RUSSIA'S CREDIT REPUTATION IS ON THE ROPES (How things have changed. Last weekend's arrest of the Yukos chief executive, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, threatens to blacken the county's reputation as a safe place to do business...The Yukos affair has fractured Mr Putin's government into three camps: the liberals, the pro-oligarchs and those who want to see Russia's rich tycoons locked up. In a warning to Mr Putin, Arkady Dvorkovich, the deputy-trade minister and a member of the liberal camp, said on Thursday that there was a danger the Yukos investigation could spread to other companies. "The risk that past sins will be re-examined exists," he said.) * * * 1//The
Toronto Star Nov. 2, 2003. 12:55 PM LESSONS OF BEIRUT BOMBING LOST IN BAGHDAD BEIRUT-Through Lebanese eyes, the incendiary images of Baghdad in flames evoke memories far too close for comfort: Twenty-year-old memories of Beirut as the quagmire, and hundreds of U.S. troops erased by America's earliest encounter with suicide terror. (snip) For Lebanon, the reluctance to look back is understandable. More than a decade after an imposed peace brought the country's 15-year civil war to a close, the sectarian tensions that ignited the conflict rage on today beneath a thin façade of Syrian-controlled stability. Looking back is bad voodoo. It is America's reluctance to learn from the tragedy of Beirut, however, that leaves many here shaking their heads. Observers have a sense of déjà vu watching events unfold in Iraq. Beirut then and Baghdad now are different in almost innumerable ways. There was a Cold War then, but no CNN. And then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan sent the marines ostensibly to make peace with Muslims, not war. But in Beirut, people see common parallels as well: unflattering views of both U.S. deployments as naïve, muddled and at times arrogant adventures into two infinitely complex corners of Mideast geopolitics. "The lessons of Beirut are still there: if you cannot make people come to terms for an internal peace, you are lost," said Lebanese author and academic Joseph Maila, whose recent book From Manhattan to Baghdad explores themes of militant Islam. "You cannot impose peace from the top down. You must give people the idea they are going to rule, and if you don't tell people when you are going to leave it will cost you. (SNIP) Nasser Kandil, a Lebanese legislator, observed that the projects of Beirut and Baghdad involve two of the same American hawks: Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and close Bush administration ally Richard Perle. Rumsfeld was named Reagan's special Middle East envoy shortly after the Beirut blast; Perle was then assistant defence secretary. "Rumsfeld and Perle brought the Americans to both places, Beirut and Baghdad. They are the same team. And that is probably the biggest mistake America has repeated," said Kandil. "Twenty years ago, they only listened to those who agreed with them. And that is the same issue playing out in Baghdad." The U.S. Embassy in Beirut made no remembrance this year for the 20th anniversary of the barracks bombing. (MORE)
JAPAN MAY ASK COALITION FORCES TO GUARD SDF IN IRAQ: KOIZUMI Japan may ask U.S. and British coalition forces to guard Self-Defense Forces troops in Iraq due to the worsening security situation there, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Sunday. "Because there are terrorists attacking the International Red Cross, there could be cases where we cannot provide medical assistance at hospitals without protection from the U.S. and British forces," Koizumi said on a Fuji TV program. The prime minister, in a series of morning television shows, also reiterated his desire to legitimize the SDF as the "national military" by revising the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution. Koizumi appeared on the shows with leaders of other political parties as part of campaigning for the House of Representatives general election next week. Turning to the issue of North Korea, Koizumi ruled out adopting the hardline position of seeking immediate economic sanctions over its abductions of Japanese nationals. "Action by one country is ineffective," he said. "I'm not considering that at the moment." (MORE)
LEADER OF DANISH PARTY INVITES SADDAM TO SEEK POLITICAL The leader of the Danish Republican Party, Sooslashren Mosegaard has invited Saddam Hussein to seek political asylum in Denmark. In a statement conveyed to Al Bawaba via email, Mosegaard said the offer is "on behalf of the Danish people." (SNIP) According to the Danish law, as an asylum applicant in Denmark, Saddam Hussein can not be extradited to USA or other countries who employ torture or death penalty, the statement added.
CUDDLE UP TO INDIA, US URGED WASHINGTON - Despite its current preoccupation with Iraq, the US administration should step up its engagement in the Indian sub-continent, which can no longer be considered peripheral to US interests, says a major new report by two key think tanks. Washington must devote "sustained and high-level attention" to India and Pakistan and be "more active" in helping the two nuclear-armed neighbors manage their conflicts, argues the "Chairmen's Report" of a joint task force on India and South Asia co-sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations and the Asia Society. At the same time, the administration of US President George W Bush must devote more resources and broaden the popular base and authority of the government of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai by supporting the deployment of international peacekeeping forces beyond Kabul, particularly in Pashtun areas where the Taliban and its allies appear to be making a comeback. "We are at a pivotal point in Afghanistan," warned task force co-chairman and former US ambassador to India, Frank Wisner, at the report's launch on Thursday. "We've got to get the security issue right." Added Dennis Kux, who directed the task force, "There would be an enormous impact on Pakistan if the Taliban were to come back to power." The 93-page report, "New Priorities in South Asia", offers a general framework for how Washington should treat the region in coming years. In addition to Wisner, other co-chairs included Asia Society president and former US ambassador to Pakistan Nicholas Platt, and Marshall Bouton, president of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations. (SNIP) The group's "core conclusion", according to Wisner, was that South Asia has achieved an unprecedented importance to the US on a range of issues and that Washington needs to treat it accordingly. Of the three countries covered by the report, the task force was most upbeat about India which, "with its political stability and a decade of steady economic advance, has the potential for long-term political and security partnership and substantially expanded trade and economic relations with the United States". (MORE)
New Analysis For the past three-and-a-half weeks Russia has proudly worn a badge of respectability with the world's investment community. Vladimir Putin's government has long yearned for it and when credit rating agency Moody's finally awarded Russia its first investment grade status, the country celebrated. Never mind that the announcement was tainted with suspicions of insider dealing in the Russian bond markets, the upgrade meant that the country was no longer considered dodgy, unstable, corrupt or risky. It was front-page news in Moscow and Russia's stock market rallied. How things have changed. Last weekend's arrest of the Yukos chief executive, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, threatens to blacken the county's reputation as a safe place to do business. (SNIP) The Yukos affair has fractured Mr Putin's government into three camps: the liberals, the pro-oligarchs and those who want to see Russia's rich tycoons locked up. In a warning to Mr Putin, Arkady Dvorkovich, the deputy-trade minister and a member of the liberal camp, said on Thursday that there was a danger the Yukos investigation could spread to other companies. "The risk that past sins will be re-examined exists," he said. Investors were further unnerved by the resignation of the Kremlin chief of staff, Alexander Voloshin, who was widely seen as pro-oligarch. This means that the balance of power has shifted to the siloviki, the secretive former KGB clan, which is said to be fuelling the campaign against the oligarchs. Perversely, the Yukos affair has helped to unite Russia's oligarchs, who have always been suspicious of each other. Together, they are attempting to highlight the dangers of any escalation in the probe. (MORE) | |||||
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