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//Arabia.com, United Arab Emirates--HOON PLEDGES TO MINIMIZE CIVILIAN CASUALTIES DURING IRAQ WAR (Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon has pledged to minimize the risk of civilian casualties during military action against Iraq and to deal with prisoners of war in accordance with humanitarian and international law..."An enormous effort is being made during the course of any military operation, including bombing operations, to ensure that targets addressed do not cause unnecessary risk to a civilian population," he told MPs...In a written answer to the House of Commons on Tuesday, Hoons ministerial colleague Clare Short admitted that she had no discussions with Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia or Iran with regard to accepting Iraq refugees from the conflict.)
2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--BUSH'S TRUSTY NEW MIDEAST POINT MAN (This month's surprise - some in the State Department might say shocking - appointment of Iran-contra veteran Elliott Abrams as the top White House Mideast adviser has bolstered the notion that President George W Bush sees the Israeli-Palestinian conflict very differently from his father... With Abrams overseeing the flow of paper onto to the president's desk, other foreign policy players - especially the State Department, Washington's European allies and even the old guard around Bush Sr - will find it much more difficult to get a hearing at the White House.)
3//Frankfurter Allgemeine-F.A.Z. Weekly, Germany--U.S. IRKED BY GERMAN AIRING OF CONTROVERSIAL DOCUMENTARY (The U.S. government has criticized the showing by Germany's main public broadcaster, ARD, of a controversial documentary dealing with an alleged massacre of Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan... It was produced by the independent Irish journalist Jamie Doran, and has been shown on Britain's Channel 5 and the Italian public broadcaster RAI, ARD said... A spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Berlin told F.A.Z. Weekly that no official protest had been lodged, out of respect for press freedom,...)
4//TheNewsMexico.com, Mexico--A WAR IN IRAQ COULD HIT OIL-DEPENDENT MEXICO HARD (Once a war breaks out, they say, world petroleum markets could be thrown into chaos. Put this together with Mexico's heavy dependency on oil, which provides one third of government revenue, and analysts say a war could send state income - and the economy at large - on a downward spiral...Mexico has been burned by its oil dependency before. Plunging petroleum prices in 1982 triggered debt default, devaluation and a banking collapse.)
5//The News International, Pakistan--SAFMA FLAYS DRACONIAN LAWS AGAINST PRESS FREEDOM (The speakers at Media Freedom Conference Thursday criticized the laws curtailing Press Freedom, and stressed that any government control over the proposed Press Council would negate the independence of media for which it was being formed. They stressed Press was critical to the functioning of democracy, and was a vital regulatory mechanism for economy and good governance and taught people to protect and exercise their rights and responsibilities.)
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1//Arabia.com
December 20, 2002
http://www.arabia.com/newsfeed/article/english/0,14183,353093,00.html
HOON
PLEDGES TO MINIMIZE CIVILIAN CASUALTIES DURING IRAQ WAR
December 19, 2002, 10:58 PM
"The defense secretary rejected comparing Israels breaches of UN resolutions with Iraqs, when asked by Labour MP Llew Smith whether .."
LONDON - Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon has pledged to minimize the risk of civilian casualties during military action against Iraq and to deal with prisoners of war in accordance with humanitarian and international law.
In a separate development, International Development Secretary Clare Short revealed that she has held no discussion with any of Iraqs neighbors, including Iran, with regard to the expected flood of refugees resulting from any US-led attack.
While outlining British preparations for a possible war against Iraq on Wednesday, the defense secretary insisted that huge attempts were being made to limit the collateral mayhem, involving children and innocent people. "An enormous effort is being made during the course of any military operation, including bombing operations, to ensure that targets addressed do not cause unnecessary risk to a civilian population," he told MPs.
(SNIP)
The defense secretary rejected comparing Israels breaches of UN resolutions
with Iraqs, when asked by Labour MP Llew Smith whether similar military
preparations were being made for a war with Israel. "The comparison
is not helpful," he said and suggested that his parliamentary colleague
would not ask such a question if he looked carefully at the resolutions.
In a written answer to the House of Commons on Tuesday, Hoons ministerial colleague Clare Short admitted that she had no discussions with Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia or Iran with regard to accepting Iraq refugees from the conflict.
- Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). Redistributed via Press International News Agency (PINA).
2//Asia Times Online December 19, 2002
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/DL19Ak01.html
BUSH'S
TRUSTY NEW MIDEAST POINT MAN
By Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON - This month's surprise - some in the State Department might say shocking - appointment of Iran-contra veteran Elliott Abrams as the top White House Mideast adviser has bolstered the notion that President George W Bush sees the Israeli-Palestinian conflict very differently from his father.
The appointment, announced by Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, two weeks ago, places a dyed-in-the-wool neo-conservative, whose views on the region have long been close to those of the Israel's Likud Party, in one of the most sensitive and powerful posts in the foreign policy apparatus. Although he has never been known as an Arab-Israeli specialist, what he has written on the subject is consistent with the positions of a number of prominent neo-cons such as Defense Policy Board chairman Richard Perle.
Abrams, 54, who first came to national prominence as a controversial political appointee in the Ronald Reagan administration and who later pleaded guilty to lying to Congress regarding his role in the Iran-Contra scandal, has been a staunch critic of the Oslo peace process, and he has even opposed the "Land for Peace" formula that has guided US policy in the Arab-Israeli conflict since the 1967 war.
"Yet another Likudnik is moving to a position where they control Washington's agenda on the Mideast," said Rashid Khalidi, a Mideast historian at the University of Chicago. "This is a tragedy for the Israeli and American people."
(SNIP)
"This is a very major move, both for Iraq and the Mideast peace process," according to Joseph Wilson, a retired US diplomat who served as charge d'affaires in Baghdad during the Gulf War. "Abrams serves his constituency's interest," he added, referring to the pro-Likud neo-conservatives such as Perle, Wolfowitz and the Pentagon's Undersecretary for Policy Douglas Feith.
(SNIP)
More important, efforts by "the Quartet" - the European Union, the UN, Russia and the United States - to produce a "road map" leading to the creation of a viable and independent Palestinian state in 2005 have come to a screeching halt since Abrams' appointment. Over the strenuous objections of the State Department, as well as other Quartet members, the White House has decreed that work on the roadmap will remain frozen until at least after the elections in Israel January 28. The decision represents a total caving in to demands by Sharon, who stands to profit tremendously by the fact that international pressure on him to move toward renewed peace talks or accept a peace plan will now be nil, at least until the elections are finished.
"This represents a signal victory for those who have argued that the road to peace in the Middle East runs through Baghdad, rather than Jerusalem," said one State Department official who warned that the absence of pressure on Israel at a time when Washington is preparing for war with Iraq will exacerbate resentment against the US in Arab public opinion.
(SNIP)
With Abrams overseeing the flow of paper onto to the president's desk, other foreign policy players - especially the State Department, Washington's European allies and even the old guard around Bush Sr - will find it much more difficult to get a hearing at the White House. Abrams is not only zealous in pursuit of his views; by all accounts, he is also a very canny political operator with his own network of support both inside and outside the administration. He also enjoys the strong support not only from the neo-con network in which he was nurtured, but also among more mainstream figures, notably his former boss at the State Department, George Shultz. "He is a formidable player," said one retired diplomat.
3//Frankfurter Allgemeine-F.A.Z. Weekly December 19, 2002
http://www.faz.com/IN/INtemplates/eFAZ/docmain.asp?rub={B1311FCC-FBFB-11D2-B228-00105A9CAF88}&doc={6F0B569A-E2C1-499D-9A60-787BA331D8A4}
U.S.
IRKED BY GERMAN AIRING OF CONTROVERSIAL DOCUMENTARY
By Michael Gavin
The U.S. government has criticized the showing by Germany's main public broadcaster, ARD, of a controversial documentary dealing with an alleged massacre of Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan.
The documentary alleges that U.S. troops watched as opposition Northern Alliance troops killed between 1,500 and 3,000 Taliban prisoners in November last year - an allegation flatly rejected by the U.S. government.
The documentary was broadcast on Wednesday evening under the title "Das Massaker in Afghanistan - haben die Amerikaner zugesehen?" (the massacre in Afghanistan - did the Americans stand by and watch?). It was produced by the independent Irish journalist Jamie Doran, and has been shown on Britain's Channel 5 and the Italian public broadcaster RAI, ARD said.
The documentary cites several eyewitnesses who claim that several thousand Taliban fighters being transferred to a prison were diverted en route and killed by members of the Northern Alliance, which was allied with the United States when it attacked Afghanistan to remove the ruling Taliban and Al Qaeda forces following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Taliban were either shot or packed into containers, where they suffocated, the witnesses claim.
Doran claims that at least 150 U.S. troops, plus an unknown number of CIA operatives, were working with the Northern Alliance in the area and could not possibly have been unaware of what was going on. Doran said he had no sympathy with terrorists, "but killing prisoners is a war crime."
(SNIP)
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Berlin told F.A.Z. Weekly that no official protest had been lodged, out of respect for press freedom, but that ARD had been made aware of the U.S. position that "no U.S. troops were present at that site at that time."
(MORE)
4//TheNewsMexico.com 12/19/2002
http://www.thenewsmexico.com/noticia.asp?id=42471
A
WAR IN IRAQ COULD HIT OIL-DEPENDENT MEXICO HARD
Jason Lange, TheNewsMexico.com
This year, Washington's repeated threats to invade Iraq have made for good business for the Mexican government.
Each time the Bush administration mentions war, oil prices climb higher. Thanks to a five-dollar per barrel war premium, official figures indicate Mexico's state-run oil industry will rake in 2.6 billion dollars more than predicted in this year's export sales.
But analysts warn the good times might not last.
Once a war breaks out, they say, world petroleum markets could be thrown into chaos. Put this together with Mexico's heavy dependency on oil, which provides one third of government revenue, and analysts say a war could send state income - and the economy at large - on a downward spiral.
"That the government has made so much money off U.S./Iraq tensions isn't necessarily a good thing," said Edgar Camargo, head economist at Bank of America in Mexico. "What it shows is how vulnerable government revenue really is to world oil markets."
Mexico has been burned by its oil dependency before. Plunging petroleum prices in 1982 triggered debt default, devaluation and a banking collapse.
Analysts agree the outcome of the brewing conflict between the U.S. and Iraq will be a crucial factor in the development of crude prices over the coming months and years.
(MORE)
5//The News International Friday December 20, 2002-- Shawwal 15,
1423 A.H.
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/
SAFMA
FLAYS DRACONIAN LAWS AGAINST PRESS FREEDOM
Fazl says masses, establishment on collision course
By Asim Hussain
LAHORE: The speakers at Media Freedom Conference Thursday criticized the laws curtailing Press Freedom, and stressed that any government control over the proposed Press Council would negate the independence of media for which it was being formed.
They stressed Press was critical to the functioning of democracy, and was a vital regulatory mechanism for economy and good governance and taught people to protect and exercise their rights and responsibilities.
The speakers including politicians and senior journalists vowed to struggle for media freedom, which guaranteed a free, democratic society. The two-day National Conference, "Freedom of Media and Governance," was organized by South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) and sponsored by Free Media Foundation. The conference aims to invite proposals from senior journalists and intellectuals for evolving a comprehensive draft of the proposed Press Council or other laws governing press freedom and responsibilities, and seek parliament's help for necessary legislation in this regard.
(SNIP)
The MMA parliamentary leader and Secretary General, Maulana Fazlur Rehman assured the Conference that MMA would fully support the struggle against 'black laws' against Press Freedom, and the alliance would join Press in the struggle. He also promised that he would initiate legislation in the Parliament on the basis of proposals approved by the Conference. He said that MMA was vying for restoration of democracy and democratic institutions in their real form, which was impossible without a free press.
In his address, which mainly mentioned MMA's struggle before and after the elections, to restore Constitution and democracy in their real forms, to get rid of the LFO, and make President Musharraf quit army slot and become President through constitutional process, Fazl emphasized that the focus of MMA's struggle was to protect the Constitution, which united the multi-lingual and multi-cultural Pakistani society. He warned that if the Constitution was altered Pakistani society would disintegrate and suffer irreparable loss.
Reminding journalists of their professional responsibilities, Fazl said Quran and Sunnah stressed authentication of reports. He said journalism was a trust, which could not be preserved without honesty. Liberty without discipline is nothing, but waywardness, he added.
(SNIP)
He, however, said at present interests of the establishment and the people were on a collision course as one side was bent upon altering the Constitution in an unconstitutional manner, while the other was trying to protect it.
(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
