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| November 7, 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//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--RUMSFELD'S NEW MODEL ARMY (The US military looks increasingly like a temp agency on steroids: a massive organization of part-time workers armed with the latest in firepower...Besides increasingly relying on temp soldiers, the "transformation" army is also trying to apply private industry practices to public service. Rumsfeld is seeking the right to hire, fire and promote some 700,000 civilian Pentagon employees on "merit" alone, free of government employment regulations. "The risk that this system will be politicized and characterized by cronyism in hiring, firing, pay promotion and discipline is immense," says Bobby Harnatge, president of the American Federation of Government Employees.) 2//The Turkish Daily News, Turkey--US COOL TO MORE TURKISH TROOPS IN NORTHERN IRAQ (Washington has signaled it would not welcome more Turkish troops in northern Iraq to eliminate a terrorist presence in the region and said it was taking every measure to contain the threat..."We have made it clear that the PKK and KADEK are terrorist organizations and that we are undertaking every step to ensure that their activities are constrained, or are not allowed, and that appropriate steps to move against them are taken," Adam Ereli, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department said when asked on Tuesday to comment on Turkish statements. Ereli did not comment on recent accusations by Turkish Ambassador Faruk Logoglu of favoritism for Iraqi Kurds.) 3//The Chosun Ilbo, South Korea--MOSUL NO LONGER DISPATCH LOCATION (The U.S. Army had planned to replace the 101st with a multinational division. But the international force has not materialized, and the Pentagon has been forced to call on other U.S. forces to fill the gap, reports said. As a result, Seoul and Washington are back to ground zero to discuss the location for the troop dispatch. South Korean and U.S. officials concentrated talks on the size and characteristics of the troops according to the new U.S. rotation plan, but failed to reach agreements.) 4//The Daily Times, Pakistan--BOOKLET URGES AFGHAN MILITANTS TO FOLLOW NEW WAR STRATEGY (Resistance forces against coalition troops in Afghanistan have published a pamphlet to incite mujahideen to follow a new strategy in their resistance. The pamphlet is meant for those militants who have been recruited into the newly-established Secret Army of Mujahideen (SAM), which includes militants who were active during the former Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan.) 5//The Daily Star, Lebanon--BEIRUT FRETS SETTLEMENT OF PALESTINIANS (Lebanese officials were taken aback on Wednesday at the similarities between two proposals calling for the resettlement of Palestinian refugees in their host countries. One proposal was submitted by US Congresswoman Ileana Ross-Lehtinen of Florida and the other by European MP Emilio Menendez del Valle, but both proposals call for resettling the Palestinians in their current host countries...Information Minister Michel Samaha said that the US-backed plan for resettling Palestinian refugees in their current host countries was related to the US Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act...He claimed that the congresswoman behind the proposal was one of the hawks in the US government, and had voted for the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act.) * * * 1//Asia
Times Online November 5, 2003 RUMSFELD'S NEW MODEL ARMY (SNIP) Even the final victory in Iraq was not exactly a triumph for the "revolution". It wasn't swift-moving, light troops that took Baghdad and Basra, but the conventional, tank-heavy US 3rd Infantry Division, and the British 7th Armored Division. In short, the "old model army". (SNIP) Part of the problem is the "transformation" army itself. The US military looks increasingly like a temp agency on steroids: a massive organization of part-time workers armed with the latest in firepower. Since September 11, 2001, some 292,000 National Guard and reserve troops have been called to active duty, and more than 190,000 are still serving. The Pentagon just announced a further call-up of 30,000. Reserve and National Guard units now make up 46 percent of the military. (SNIP) Besides increasingly relying on temp soldiers, the "transformation" army is also trying to apply private industry practices to public service. Rumsfeld is seeking the right to hire, fire and promote some 700,000 civilian Pentagon employees on "merit" alone, free of government employment regulations. "The risk that this system will be politicized and characterized by cronyism in hiring, firing, pay promotion and discipline is immense," says Bobby Harnatge, president of the American Federation of Government Employees. While the manpower crisis on the ground is bad - there are just not enough troops available to match the administration's imperial sprawl - it is likely to get a whole lot worse. A recent poll by the military newspaper Stars and Stripes found that only 49 percent of the reserves intend to re-enlist. So is this blind folly? Or does "transformation" offer an unseen benefit? "The arguments in support of technological monism echo down the halls of the Pentagon," Major-General Robert Scales (Retired) told the House Armed Service Committee on October 21, "precisely because they involve the expenditures of huge sums of money to defense contractors." In the 2002 election cycle, US arms corporations' political action committees spent US$7,620,741, two-thirds of which went to the Republican Party. "Transformation" might not work well once the initial "shock and awe"of battle is over, but it can be a formidable re-election machine. When the "Young Turks" of the French army adopted the doctrine of elan, they were certain it was a formula for victory. The battle of the Marne convinced them otherwise, and the French abandoned the tactic. Of course the French general staff wasn't running for office.
US COOL TO MORE TURKISH TROOPS IN NORTHERN IRAQ ANKARA - Washington has signaled it would not welcome more Turkish troops in northern Iraq to eliminate a terrorist presence in the region and said it was taking every measure to contain the threat. Turkish government officials said earlier this week that
Turkey would not hesitate to intervene if a security threat
arose from northern Iraq, where some 5,000 terrorists of
the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), also known as KADEK,
are based, and warned Turkey could also boost its forces
already deployed in the region if needed. Turkish and U.S. officials have discussed ways to eliminate the PKK- KADEK presence, and U.S. authorities have assured Turkey that there would be no place in Iraq for the terrorist group. But there was no sign that there would be a joint crackdown on the group with the Turkish military. Ereli did not comment on recent accusations by Turkish Ambassador Faruk Logoglu of favoritism for Iraqi Kurds and said the U.S. policy was "to help the Iraqis develop a political system that represents the views and interests of all Iraqis, and that is capable of having the legitimacy and credibility in taking over that country." (MORE) MOSUL NO LONGER DISPATCH LOCATION WASHINGTON - South Korean and U.S. officials met here Wednesday for assistant-secretary-level talks regarding the proposed dispatch of South Korean troops to Iraq, while Washington said that multinational units would be newly formed before next May and that many U.S. troops in Iraq would be replaced. Officials are discussing the terms of the dispatch such as size, location, and troop characteristics, but have yet to reach a consensus. U.S. media outlets reported that the Pentagon would apparently replace the 101st Airborne Division in the northern Iraq city of Mosul with a smaller group of U.S. forces. The U.S. Army had planned to replace the 101st with a multinational division. But the international force has not materialized, and the Pentagon has been forced to call on other U.S. forces to fill the gap, reports said. As a result, Seoul and Washington are back to ground zero to discuss the location for the troop dispatch. South Korean and U.S. officials concentrated talks on the size and characteristics of the troops according to the new U.S. rotation plan, but failed to reach agreements. (MORE)
BOOKLET URGES AFGHAN MILITANTS TO FOLLOW NEW WAR STRATEGY ISLAMABAD: Resistance forces against coalition troops in Afghanistan have published a pamphlet to incite mujahideen to follow a new strategy in their resistance. The pamphlet is meant for those militants who have been recruited into the newly-established Secret Army of Mujahideen (SAM), which includes militants who were active during the former Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan. According to the pamphlet, the SAM has been divided into seven groups who will separately target US-led forces and the Afghanistan government. It says that people from six major militant organisations and the Taliban were inducted into the SAM, including members of the Hizb-e-Islami (Khalis) Hizb-e-Islami (Hekmatyar) Jamiat-e-Islami of Professor Burhan-ud-Din Rabbani, Ittehad-e-Islami of Professor Abdul Rasool, Jumbash-e-Milli of Sibghatullah Mujadaddi, and Al Qaeda. The 16-page booklet's main thrust concerns how to attack coalition forces, what kind of weapons would be used, and what kind of area should be chosen for the attack. It stresses that only 15 militants should take part in attacks and two militants would capture footage of the attack from a safe distance. The weapons to be used in attacks include mines, Kalashnikov assault rifles, Peeka Guns and hand grenades. (SNIP) The pamphlet makes clear that many of those states supporting the US-led coalition operations are also legitimate targets. "Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are part and parcel of the coalition because they provided air bases to the US-led international forces." Iran is also a target - the pamphlet says that Iran supported the international forces indirectly and used its influence on Shias in the Northern Alliance to convince them to work with coalition forces in order to help them secure influence in the Afghan interim government.
BEIRUT FRETS SETTLEMENT OF PALESTINIANS Elie Hourani Lebanese officials were taken aback on Wednesday at the similarities between two proposals calling for the resettlement of Palestinian refugees in their host countries. One proposal was submitted by US Congresswoman Ileana Ross-Lehtinen of Florida and the other by European MP Emilio Menendez del Valle, but both proposals call for resettling the Palestinians in their current host countries. President Emile Lahoud told EU special envoy Alfredo Manteca Wednesday that Lebanon was "totally opposed to resettling the Palestinian refugees on Lebanese soil regardless of the reasons." He told the EU representative that this situation had been clarified in the constitution and the people are in total agreement regarding this issue. Lahoud said that the country "cannot play down such an issue (resettlement) because it destabilizes the country's prevailing demographic equilibrium and threatens the country's civil peace." Sources close to the Foreign Ministry called for a concerted Arab effort to counter both proposals in Europe and the US. Speaker Nabih Berri criticized the US and European proposals arguing that they were aimed at undermining the Palestinian right of return. Speaking to reporters Wednesday after conferring with Lahoud at Baabda Presidential Palace, Berri said that he and Lahoud jointly opposed any plan for resettling roughly 350,000 Palestinian refugees in the country. (SNIP) In her proposal the congresswoman called on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to make arrangements for the refugees to settle in their current host countries on a permanent basis. Information Minister Michel Samaha said that the US-backed plan for resettling Palestinian refugees in their current host countries was related to the US Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act. (SNIP) He claimed that the congresswoman behind the proposal was one of the hawks in the US government, and had voted for the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act. (MORE) | |||||
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