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Tokyo itches to take on pirates
 If
pacifist Japan has thus far disappointed the global community by failing to
step into the fight against Somali pirates, it may be more to do with
legislative gridlock than any lack of political will. Japan, with the world's
second-most powerful navy, could play a lead role in resolving the
hijacking crisis, but only if Tokyo can keep this issue apart from refueling
the United States-led war in Afghanistan. - Kosuke Takahashi
(Nov 20,'08)
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China all at sea off Africa
Hijackings of Chinese vessels off the coast of Africa underline the mistakes
Beijing has made in taking on hazardous resource and arms deals in volatile
parts of the continent. The risky strategy has given China a competitive edge,
but now the vulnerability of these ventures is being laid bare. - Bright Simons
(Nov 20,'08)
The jolly life of a pirate ring
Through guile, fearlessness and terror, a ragtag bunch of modern-day buccaneers
from impoverished Somalia is defying the world's great navies, pillaging
merchant ships at will, and tightening its grip on essential trade lines to
Europe and Asia. The world, despite its romantic notions of free-wheeling
pirate kings, has had enough. Is it time for a "Captain Jack Sparrow wing at
Guantanamo"? (Nov 20,'08)
The US strikes deeper in Pakistan
The missile attack on Wednesday by a United States Predator drone on a village
in North-West Frontier Province is of extreme importance, not so much because
it might have killed members of al-Qaeda's inner council, but because it is the
first such action outside of Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal areas. The US is
now taking the fight to the militants, wherever they might be. The next stop is
the cities. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Nov
20,'08)
UMNO has stubborn staying power
The days of Malaysia's ruling United Malays National Organization may not be
numbered, despite its loss of electoral ground to the Anwar Ibrahim-led
opposition in the March general election, and a history of race-based politics
and repression of dissent. Much depends on the performance of incoming UMNO
leader Najib Razak, and whether the opposition can translate its gains into
meaningful action. - Ioannis Gatsiounis (Nov
20,'08)
Syria and Britain all ears now
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has made it clear from Damascus that
Syria is a problem-solver, rather than a problem-seeker in the Arab world. This
signals a new start in relations between the two countries and bodes well for
tackling problems in Lebanon and Iraq. Some intelligence-sharing is also a
help. - Sami Moubayed (Nov 20,'08)
Tibet movement veers from 'middle way'
Angered by Beijing's constant stonewalling, the Tibetan government-in-exile is
considering dumping the Dalai Lama's decades-old, non-violent "middle way" in
exchange for a dramatic new path to full independence by all means. This
radical shift from compromise towards bloodshed, being touted by younger
groups, could cost the movement its wide-ranging international support.
(Nov 20,'08)
Asia held hostage on the high seas
It has been centuries since armed robbery on the high seas has taken on the
dramatic geopolitical dimensions it has today. But piracy is back, and the
brazen recent successes of Somali buccaneers has shocked governments and
navies, and thrown oil companies and shipowners into panic. As this week's
hijacking of a Saudi oil supertanker shows, the risk of pillage and plunder is
getting worse, and leaders from Japan to South Korea to Hong Kong and India
want action to protect their trade routes. - Keith Wallis
(Nov 19,'08)
Chinese rocket fuel lands US scientist in
jail
China has big plans for space, and big plans require big rockets. To properly
handle an essential supply of liquefied hydrogen for its new launch facility on
Hainan Island, China needed help from abroad, and an American physicist from
Virginia was perhaps too eager to lend a hand. - Peter J Brown
(Nov 19,'08)
US template wrong for China
Calls for China to boost domestic demand to help haul the world out of its
financial predicament are misplaced and ignore key fundamentals of China's
economy. The advice from George Soros that something else has to take the place
of the US consumerist model is far closer to the mark.
South Korea aims broadside at pirates
Seoul, stung by the repeated targeting of South Korean commercial ships, is set
to deploy a 4,500-ton stealth destroyer to battle pirates off the coast of
Somalia. This means South Korean troops will close down their operations in
Iraq to focus on protecting the trade routes to and from Asia. Other Asian
nations may not be far behind. - Donald Kirk (Nov
19,'08)
Taliban, US wrestle for the upper
hand
The Taliban have escalated their attacks on supply convoys passing through
Pakistan on the way to Afghanistan, while United States-led coalition forces
have stepped up activities in the Afghan province of Kunar in an attempt to
contain the cross-border flow of militants. Both sides are fighting to gain an
advantage ahead of bigger battles to come. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Nov 19,'08)
Iraq bids farewell to US arms
The security pact between the United States and Iraq closes the door to a
further US military presence beyond 2011 even more tightly than the previous
draft and locks in a swift end to Iraqi dependence on the US military that
appears to be irreversible. What was supposed to be a client regime was instead
waiting for the right moment to assert real control. - Gareth Porter
(Nov 19,'08)
When inflation comes a-knockin'
The notion that woeful facts such as collapsing auto sales, rising unemployment
and massive credit card defaults mean that inflation is dying if not dead
ignores the amount of new money that will be churned out to resolve these
crises. Inflation is bad and will get worse. (Nov
19,'08)
Japan economists call for 'Obama
bonds'
The prospect of the United States seeking to repay its vast and fast-increasing
debt obligations in a devalued dollar is prompting Japanese economists to call
for the issue of US Treasuries in other currencies, such as the yen. If Jimmy
Carter could take a similar step, why not Barack Obama? - Kosuke Takahashi
(Nov 18,'08)
Plus and minus: How to win
in Afghanistan
Whether it is policymakers in the next United States administration or a
renegade veteran of the Afghan war with horror stories to tell, Operation
Enduring Freedom of 2001 has become an operation of enduring disaster. A
military-plus solution to the conflict - centered on a "surge" - cannot work,
while a military-minus solution, involving the mobilization of all the regional
actors, might. This would represent a true break from present US policy. -
Tariq Ali (Nov 18,'08)
Obama-tied group wants
'dramatic' shift
A new report released in Washington, the product of a year-long study that
included consultations with experts on South Asia expected to be included in
president-elect Barack Obama's administration, calls for a "dramatic strategic
shift" in the US's policy towards Pakistan. Failing this, counter-insurgency
efforts against al-Qaeda and militants are unlikely to succeed. - Jim Lobe
(Nov 18,'08)
Al-Qaeda 'awakens' in Iraq
The policy of al-Qaeda in Iraq in its fight against Awakening Councils in Sunni
tribal areas has been to assassinate the movement's leaders. Al-Qaeda has now
set its sights on recruiting council youths disenchanted by the Iraqi
government's attempts to integrate them into the regular security forces.
(Nov 18,'08)
 SPENGLER
Scandal exposes
Islam's weakness
In an odd little byway of academia, Professor Muhammad Sven Kalisch, a German
convert to Islam who teaches Muslim theology, has laid a Gnostic egg in the
nest of Islam by declaring that the Prophet Mohammed never existed, at least
not as Islamic tradition claims he did. It is another crack in the edifice of
Islam, but a most dangerous one, because it came from the inside.
(Nov 17,'08)
Obama urged to forgo Iran
threats
The battle for president-elect Barack Obama's ear on the Iran nuclear issue has
intensified, with a recent high-level report recommending rapprochement through
careful diplomacy, while hawkish groups want to keep the attack option open.
All the while, the jockeying for a place on Obama's foreign policy team
continues apace. - Jim Lobe (Nov 17,'08)
Nigeria's Chinese-built
satellite goes dark
Just a week after China launched Venesat-1, Venezuela's first
communications satellite, Nigeria lost touch with its NIGCOMSAT-1, another
Chinese-built satellite launched by China last year. The fact that these two
satellites share a lot in common has folks very nervous in Beijing and Caracas.
- Peter J Brown (Nov 17,'08)
THE ROVING EYE
A pact with the devil
Influential Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr is already threatening fire
and brimstone over the Iraqi cabinet's approval of a draft security agreement
with the United States. But Muqtada, currently studying in Iran, is in a
difficult position: he has to confront the problem that in strategic terms,
Tehran subscribes to not attacking US troops as the best way for the Americans
to eventually leave. - Pepe Escobar
(Nov 17,'08)
 CHAN
AKYA
Blind leading the
one-eyed
The Group of 20's Washington summit on the global financial crisis can
be charitably described as a waste of time. The world's leaders agreed to fluff
with no bearing on today's structural problems and maintained confidence in the
institutions that led the world into this mess. As bad, leaders of countries
such as Brazil, China and India bought into this malarkey .
(Nov 17,'08)
US again misfires on
Iranian arms
For more than 18 months, the United States has scrambled to link Iran to covert
arms assistance to Iraq's Shi'ite militias. But a US military task force has
now found that Iranian-made weapons are less than 1% of the total weapons found
in Shi'ite caches, suggesting that weapons are arriving from local and
international arms markets rather than an Iran-sponsored smuggling network.
- Gareth Porter (Nov 17,'08)
US's road to recovery runs
through Beijing
America's economic model is broken and no recovery is possible unless
households can save. To do this, Americans must sell goods and services to
someone else, ideally China. Such a grand partnership will help China's great
economic shift and may be the United States' only road to recovery. The two
countries have far more to gain from cooperation than from conflict. -
Francesco Sisci and David P Goldman (Nov 14,'08)
A CHANGE OF BALANCE, Part 2
The party's
beginning
Emerging countries, particularly those in Asia, have a brighter chance of
making government intervention work if only because of higher profit potential
and the low level of debt relative to potential gross domestic product. This is
the crux of the argument of turning the world around, not the well-worn ideas
of propping up the leading industrialized countries. - Chan Akya
(Nov 14,'08)
This concludes a two-part report.
 Part 1:
The party's
over
Afghanistan abyss awaits Obama
The manner in which the United States and Britain have established a
stranglehold on setting policy for the war in Afghanistan all but ensures that
president-elect Barack Obama will lose his way and will never get anywhere near
a settlement for the country - unless he is prepared to take some very bold
decisions. Talking to Iran and Russia would be a start. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Nov 14,'08)
Who will finance America's
deficit?
The US government's hugely increased borrowing needs, even before numerous
spending programs promised by president-elect Barack Obama, raise fundamental
questions of where the cash will come from. A bizarre jump in the US Treasury's
real cost of borrowing - a case of the dog that barked, but shouldn't have -
points to severe market disruption if the Treasury deficit continues to rise.
The administration's response to the financial crisis, and Obama's probable
economic program, will deepen and prolong the economic downturn. - David P
Goldman (Nov 12, '08)
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China
serves up mega-buck banquet
The sparse details emerging of China's much-touted economic stimulus package
suggest that it will strengthen the hand of government and squeeze out private
enterprises, while benefits for the less well off could prove elusive. One
thing looks certain - the race to spend is serving up a trillion-yuan banquet
for officials. - Stephen Wong
SPEAKING FREELY
The evil of the US dollar
The failures of the Western economic model, based on a banking system tied to a
fiat currency, are now evident for all to see - and suffer. An alternative does
exist. - Asif Salahuddin
TARP flip-flop true to form
From the Iraq occupation, through Hurricane Katrina to the US$700 billion
bailout package labeled as TARP, President George W Bush and his officials
appear deliberately to have sabotaged their own efforts at effective
administration. The laissez-faire conservatives in power have always contended
that government can do nothing right; they have done much to prove their point.
- Julian Delasantellis
Bankruptcy is key
for Detroit survival
The US Congress should let ailing US automakers reorganize under Chapter 11
bankruptcy rather than respond to their calls for help with billions of dollars
of rescue money. In testimony to US legislators, Peter Morici says
the Detroit Three could then emerge with new labor deals, less debt and
stronger management able to make cars at costs comparable to those enjoyed by
foreign rivals assembling vehicles in the US.
 Fed
up with
Fed credit
It is beyond amazing that more than half the total Fed-supplied credit to banks
since 1913 was added in the past nine weeks alone. With president-elect Barack
Obama planning to add to this with increased infrastructure spending, sure-fire
investments for the next decade are obviously cement and inflation - and, of
course, gold!!!
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CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN
The only cure for a bubble
We are now witnessing policymaking out of desperation and the global
abandonment of any semblance of monetary or fiscal discipline is a hallmark of
this extraordinary period of bursting bubbles. Stable "money" may be the key -
but it's also nowhere to be seen. (Nov 17,'08)
Doug Noland looks at the previous week's events each Monday.
THE WEEK AHEAD
MARKET RAP
Shanghai flicker of life
The Chinese market stood out last week on the strength of an announcement in
Beijing of increased infrastructure spending. With details still being teased
out, it is far from clear whether China can replace the American public as the
world economy’s consumer of last resort. (Nov
17,'08)
R M Cutler runs his eye over the ups and downs in the week's markets.
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The article Asia held
hostage on the high seas [Nov 19] by Keith Wallis highlights a problem
that has existed for quite a while in the modern era ... It is also
enlightening to see that recognized powers use "the piracy angle" in furthering
their goals. I can also easily see an al-Qaeda link with these pirates, as both
would stand to gain in an alliance.
Chrysantha Wijeyasingha
Clinton, USA
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| Go
to Letters to the Editor |
On The Edge
As China's national status rises, this shenanigan of ceremonial homage to the
Dalai Lama will fade in significance and the Tibetan exiles will slowly be
assimilated into whatever society they are residing in, if they are lucky
enough to be accepted. The Dalai lineage, if continued, would be fodder for
tabloid news rather than political headlines on respectable publications.
chenliyen
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to the readers' forum topic,
Predictions
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ATol Specials
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VIDEO
Taliban's new breed of leader
(May '08) |
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The
Gates
Inheritance
By
Roger Morris
(June '07) |
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Syed Saleem Shahzad reports on
the Afghan war from the Taliban side
(Dec '06)
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How
Hezbollah defeated Israel
By
Mark Perry and
Alastair Crooke
(Oct '06)
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Mark
Perry and
Alastair Crooke
talk to the 'terrorists'
(Mar '06)
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China:
The
Impossible
Revolution
By
Francesco Sisci
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The Coming
Trade War
By Henry C K Liu
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A series
by Henry C K Liu
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Sinoroving
Pepe Escobar in China
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Money, Power
and
Modern Art
A series by Henry C K Liu
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Andre Gunder Frank on Uncle Sam and his
shrinking dollar
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By Pepe Escobar with
photographs by Kevin Nortz
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Nir Rosen goes inside the Iraqi
resistance
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Nir Rosen rides with the US 3rd
Armored Cavalry in western Iraq
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