by Gloria R. Lalumia
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
Dawn, Pakistan--US WAR EXERCISES IN GULF NEXT WEEK (Thousands of US soldiers
and senior commanders will participate in a week-long exercise next week
to test the military's communication links during a war in the Arabian
Gulf region, military officials said Wednesday...The navy and the Marine
Corps have regional headquarters in Bahrain. If the war does not break
out, Gen Franks and his senior staff will return to Florida by mid-December
after the exercise but US military personnel will retain the portable
headquarters in Qatar "for the time being," one of the CENTCOM
officials told reporters.)
2//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKES: PM WEIGHS
UN RULES CHANGE (Despite hostile reaction, Australia is still considering
supporting changes to United Nations regulations allowing nations to launch
pre-emptive strikes against terrorists on foreign soil, the Prime Minister,
John Howard, said yesterday. Mr Howard's remarks undercut assurances given
by the Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, to ambassadors from Association
of South-East Asian Nations on Wednesday night in a meeting called to
cool tensions with Australia.)
3//Arab News, Saudi Arabia--AN IRAQ GOVERNMENT THAT NEEDS IRAQIS (...Thus the conference that Iraqi opposition groups are scheduled to hold in London next week will not be distributing seats in an imaginary government. The question is: what will it do?)
4//Janes's
Intelligence Digest, UK--RUSSIA STEPS UP ESPIONAGE (JID's intelligence
sources indicate that Russia is engaged in a massive stepping-up of espionage
activities in Europe and North America. This has been confirmed by a former
high-ranking member of the Russian domestic security service, the Federalnaya
Sluzba Bezopastnosti (Federal Security Bureau or FSB).
5//The Independent, UK--GAYS TO WIN SAME RIGHTS AS MARRIED COUPLES (Barbara
Roche, the Minister for Social Exclusion and Equalities, has concluded
there is a "clear and strong" case for allowing same-sex couples
the chance to register their relationships. Mrs Roche told The Independent
the proposals aimed to confer property and inheritance rights on homosexual
men and women for the first time. Under the plans, to be published in
the form of a consultation paper, those who register their partnership
will also receive next-of-kin status.)
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1//The
Dawn 06 December 2002 Friday 01 Shawwal 1423
http://www.dawn.com/2002/12/06/top15.htm
US
WAR EXERCISES IN GULF NEXT WEEK
Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, Dec 5: Thousands of US soldiers and senior commanders will participate in a week-long exercise next week to test the military's communication links during a war in the Arabian Gulf region, military officials said Wednesday.
The tiny Gulf state of Qatar will play a key role in the exercise, which will bring more than a thousand US military personnel to the emirate.
The exercise will involve thousands of US troops worldwide who will be controlled from a portable command headquarters to be set up in Qatar.
Gen Tommy Franks, commander-in-chief US Central Command, will lead the exercise, which begins Monday and continues through Dec 16 or 17.
Phase one of "Internal Look" started last month when Central Command brought the portable command and control communications center and moved it to As Sayliyah military base, near Qatar's capital, Doha.
As Sayliyah will probably serve as the CENTCOM headquarters if the United States goes to war against Iraq.
(SNIP)
Phase two, which starts Monday, is the playing of war games inside the prefab buildings in the desert, CENTCOM officials said.
'Internal Look' will not involve ground troops, but will test the ability of senior commanders to coordinate with the portable headquarters.
(SNIP)
The navy and the Marine Corps have regional headquarters in Bahrain. If the war does not break out, Gen Franks and his senior staff will return to Florida by mid-December after the exercise but US military personnel will retain the portable headquarters in Qatar "for the time being," one of the CENTCOM officials told reporters.
The CENTCOM battle staff and military personnel are going to participate in realistic, but obviously fictitious military scenarios.
2//The Sydney Morning Herald December 6 2002
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/05/1038950147512.html
PRE-EMPTIVE
STRIKES: PM WEIGHS UN RULES CHANGE
By Tom Allard, Foreign Affairs Writer
Despite hostile reaction, Australia is still considering supporting changes to United Nations regulations allowing nations to launch pre-emptive strikes against terrorists on foreign soil, the Prime Minister, John Howard, said yesterday.
Mr Howard's remarks undercut assurances given by the Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, to ambassadors from Association of South-East Asian Nations on Wednesday night in a meeting called to cool tensions with Australia.
ASEAN nations - especially the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia - were enraged by Mr Howard's statement on Sunday that Australia would strike unilaterally to remove a terrorist threat in a neighbouring country.
Mr Howard made no mention of first seeking regional co-operation.
Mr Downer told the ASEAN representatives Canberra was not pushing to change the UN rules and would co-operate with neighbouring countries in the event a terrorist threat was uncovered. "Where there may be some terrorist plan to launch an attack on Australia, we would expect that government to deal with that problem," he said after the meeting.
However, Mr Howard told Parliament yesterday that, while the Government had yet to make a decision on whether UN laws should be altered, "there ought to be debate about changes".
(SNIP)
The Labor leader, Simon Crean, yesterday described the Prime Minister's remarks on Sunday as "provocative and unnecessary" and called on him to telephone leaders in the region and apologise. "Of course, the complaints [from Asian countries] were justified if they were made by so many of our neighbours," he said.
"They have clearly taken a signal from this message that they don't like. And it is the responsibility of the Prime Minister to correct the record."
Mr Howard refused to apologise, saying Mr Crean's response had been driven by protests from overseas and media coverage, rather than conviction.
Labor Party sources said last night that while convinced Mr Howard should be condemned for comments that were unnecessary and damaging to Australia's security interests, the Prime Minister had more than likely scored domestic political points on the issue.
"I'm not sure it does us much good to ask questions that Howard doesn't answer," a Labor source said.
3//Arab News 06 December 2002 / 1 Shawwal 1423
http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=20879
AN
IRAQ GOVERNMENT THAT NEEDS IRAQIS
By Amir Taheri, Arab News Staff
Arab News Opinion 6 December 2002
In an earlier column I modestly suggested that the Iraqi opposition should abandon plans for forming a government or a parliament in exile.
It now seems that the advice, which also came from other quarters, has been taken. Thus the conference that Iraqi opposition groups are scheduled to hold in London next week will not be distributing seats in an imaginary government.
The question is: what will it do?
The United States, whose ultimate military action against the present regime might be the crucial factor in ensuring change in Iraq, has already sent a letter to the participants to tell them what to do. The Iraqis gathering in London should read the letter, take its recommendations into account, but take their own decisions.
This is not for the sake of any fake show of anti-Americanism, of the kind some Arabs excel in. The Iraqis should take their own decisions because the Bush administration is divided on the crucial issue of the type of regime that should succeed the present Baathist rule.
(SNIP)
The administration's internal divisions on Iraq have already led it into a problematic experiment with weapons inspections. They have also made it impossible for the United States to develop a coherent vision of a future Iraq. Such a vision, however, must come from somewhere. If the Iraqi opposition were to reflect divisions within the Bush administration, there would be no chance of developing an alternative vision.
This is why the London conference could play a crucial role. The participants must start with a close look at some lessons of history.
One lesson is that the only effective way to shed a legacy of despotism is to distance oneself from it as much as possible. A future Iraqi regime can succeed only if it is as far from the present regime as possible. What does this mean in practice?
(SNIP)
Thus the future Iraqi regime must be one that is utterly dependent on the people, for money through taxes, for votes through elections, and for national defense in case of foreign aggression. This is why there will have to be numerous elections, under international supervision, in the initial stages of the new regime: to approve a new constitution, to elect local and municipal authorities and, ultimately to choose a new parliament.
Clearly, the London conferees cannot pretend that they alone can create such a regime. Forces within the country must play the central role.
You may wonder where such forces might come from, especially in a tyranny with a history of brutal repression.
Well, you could be surprised.
There are enough live forces inside Iraq to provide the principal elements of a new regime. All that is needed is a space for them to come to the fore.
The principal task of the exiles is to try and create that space as quickly as possible.
4//Janes's Intelligence Digest 03 December 2002
http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jid/jid021203_1_n.shtml
RUSSIA STEPS UP ESPIONAGE
JID's intelligence sources indicate that Russia is engaged in a massive stepping-up of espionage activities in Europe and North America. This has been confirmed by a former high-ranking member of the Russian domestic security service, the Federalnaya Sluzba Bezopastnosti (Federal Security Bureau or FSB).
The Sluzba Vneshnei Razvedka (SVR), Russia's civilian intelligence service, is said to have received a direct order from Russian President Vladimir Putin to radically increase foreign intelligence-gathering activities.
In their efforts to recruit members of Russian émigré communities abroad, the FSB and SVR often use coercive methods. These include threats to fabricate prosecution cases against potential targets, who may be accused of committing various crimes in Russia prior to emigrating.
Lt Colonel Alexander Litvinenko, a former FSB officer granted political asylum in the UK, claimed he has evidence that both the FSB and SVR are trying to recruit Russians living abroad in an effort to step up espionage activities.
(SNIP)
Putin and his associates appear to prey on Russian entrepreneurs who operate successful businesses that are key to transforming Russia's staggering economy and transforming the country into a functional democracy.
Putin (a former head of the FSB) has surrounded himself with former KGB/FSB officers who serve in various ministerial posts in the Russian government.
Meanwhile, Russian intelligence operations in the West appear to be rapidly escalating. JID sources suggest that the number of SVR officers operating out of the Russian embassy in London has increased from just one in 1991 to the present figure of 33.
5//The Independent 6 December 2002 02:13 GMT
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=358955
GAYS
TO WIN SAME RIGHTS AS MARRIED COUPLES
By Paul Waugh Deputy Political Editor
Gay men, lesbians and bisexuals are to be offered the same rights as married couples under revolutionary Government plans to create legally-recognised civil partnerships.
Barbara Roche, the Minister for Social Exclusion and Equalities, has concluded there is a "clear and strong" case for allowing same-sex couples the chance to register their relationships. Mrs Roche told The Independent the proposals aimed to confer property and inheritance rights on homosexual men and women for the first time. Under the plans, to be published in the form of a consultation paper, those who register their partnership will also receive next-of-kin status.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is keen to avoid the term "gay marriage" because a ceremony will not be necessary for couples to sign the proposed legal contract recognising their relationship.
Mrs Roche moved to head off accusations of "political correctness", stressing that the changes would recognise that British society had become more tolerant. Eight EU countries, Canada and several American states already gave legal status to civil partnerships and it was time the UK caught up, the minister said.
(MORE)
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©
2002, Gloria R. Lalumia
insight@zianet.com
Updated listings of Radio for Progressives on the internet at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
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