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RUMSFELD
TERMINATES CRUSADER
A
controversial weapon system is abandoned
Despite objections from the military and defense contractors,
secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld decided to put an end to what
promised to be an extremely costly and largely useless piece of
military hardware. (Rumsfeld Press conference, May 8, 2002)
Paul
Wolfowitz-Tom White Briefing on Crusader
(Pentagon briefing, May 8, 2002)
ISRAELI
DEFENSE FORCE DIVIDED ABOUT INVADING GAZA
There is growing concern over arms being smuggled in from
Egypt. A secret cross border tunnel was discovered Thursday--the
fourth in less than a week. (Ha'aretz. Friday May 10, 2002)
ISRAELI
ANTI-WAR MAGAZINE REPORTS PLANS FOR GAZA ATTACK WERE FINALIZED SIX
WEEKS AGO
Kol Ha'ir says the objective is the destruction of
Palestinian instituions as well as heavily armed terrorist cells
in order to prepare the way for an alternative Palestinian government.
The Israeli army expects some 20,000 explosive devices to be used
against its forces. It is prepared for heavy losses. (Kol Ha'ir,
May 9, 2002)
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Sharon
Cuts Short His Trip to Washington
Pool
Hall Attack Promises Continuing Violence
A suicide bomber carrying a suitcase loaded with explosives killed
15 people and injured 42 others in an attack at the Spiel pool hall
in the new industrial zone of Rishon Letzion last night, (Ha'Aretz
May 8, 2002)
Sharon
Weighs Harsh Response
Enraged by the attack and holding Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
responsible, Sharon told reporters that "all those who believe
that they can make gains through the use of terror will cease to
exist." (Ha'aretz, May 8, 2002)
Jordan's
King Abdullah Tried to Launch a New Initiative Before Bombing
After 5 trips to Washington, King Abdullah wastrying to encourage
an over-all solution rather than a gradualist approach. (Ha'aretz,
may 8, 2002)
Sharon
Wanted to Dump Arafat Before the Bombing
Ariel Sharon kicked off his trip to Washington with a meeting with
Donald Rumsfeld. Sharon’s heavy ammo is a 100-page book detailing
Arafat’s direct involvement in terrorism. The longterm goal
is to get the U.S. to accept an alternative Palestinian leader and
to get the Palestinians to stop terrorist attacks in exchange for
the Israelis permitting the creation of a new Palestinian Authority
that does not support terrorism. (By Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post,
May 5, 2002)
Arafat
Resists Changes in the Palestinian Authority
Arafat faced defections in his own camp after refusing to yield
ground during an angry cabinet meeting. (By Lamia Lahoud in the
Jerusalem Post, May 5, 2002)
Colin
Powell on ABC over the weekend
Powell
on NBC
The
Madrid Four
A solution in the Middle East may depend on a joint
effort involving the U.S. the European Union, Russia and the U.N.
Colin Powell briefs reporters (Colin Powell, State Dept.,May 2,
2002)
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Jenin
May Not Have Been a Massacre, But According to Human Rights Watch,
It Crossed a Boundary...
There was 57-year old Kamal Zghair, who was moving down the street
in his wheel-chair, waving a white flag, when Israeli soldiers shot
him and then drove over his body with a tank. and then, there was
Jamal Fayid, 37, a paralyzed man who was crushed to death by an
IDF bulldozer, because Israeli soldiers refused to allow his family
to carry him out of his house. A 40-page report on the fighting
in Jenin by Human Rights Watch, poses serious questions about what
is acceptable in modern warfare. (Human Rights Watch, May 2, 2002)
Fighting
Terrorists, or Punishing a Population?
Amnesty International cites Sharon's recent public statements as
an indication that Israel has set out to punish Palestinians rather
than focus on the more difficult task of restricting itself to legitimate
terrorist targets. The result, Amnesty says, has been to push both
sides into increasingly extreme positions that create a fertile
environment for future terrorism.(Amnesty International, May 2002)
Rushing
Towards Armageddon?
Given the escalation of violence in the Middle East, the use of
weapons of mass destruction by one side or the other may be inevitable.
This report assesses strategy and motivations of the most likely
candidates. (By Gary Ackerman & Laura Snyder, Bulletin of the
Atomic Scientist, May-June 2002)
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BURMA
(MYANMAR)
Aung
San Suu Kyi Released
Her refusal to compromise with the ruling military junta turned
Aung San Suu Ki into the sole repository of her country’s aspirations
for freedom and democracy. In the end, speaking in measured tones
and without expressing anger, this seemingly frail woman brought
a group of violence-prone gangsters to their knees. (the BBC provides
streaming video and text of the release, May 6, 2002)
The
Free Burma Coalition web page provides
a comprehensive index to Aung San Suu Kyi’s recent writing
and articles about her.
U.S.
DIPLOMACY
The
U.S. Rejects the International Court of Criminal Justice
Mark Grossman, Undersecretary for Political Affairs, lists the Bush
administration’s objections to U.S. participation in the court
which is intended to judge war criminals and perpetrators of crimes
against humanity. (State Dept, May 6, 2002)
66
Countries Have Already Ratified the Court,
Human Rights Watch argues that the decision places the U.S. on the
"Wrong Side" of History.HRW provides
a comprehensive guide to the relevant texts.
War
on Terrorism Phase-2
Former CIA counter-terrorism chief Vincent Cannistraro says that
the war against Al-Qaeda is now entering a delicate phase which
calls for maximum cooperation between intelligence and police agencies.
As the terrorists become more decentralized, the definition of who
is a terrorist is likely to grow hazier. (By Vincent Cannistraro
in the New York Times, May 2, 2002)
Is
a Washington Cabal Dragging the U.S. into a New War?
The CIA reports no Iraqi involvement in terrorism, and yet the U.S.
appears to be inexorably drawn into a new war. Con Hallinan, provost
at the University of California at Santa Clara argues that a right-wing
cabal surrounding George Bush has hijacked U.S. foreign policy.
Its objective: to "shape" the world to preclude the "rise
of another global rival for the indefinite future. " (Con Hallinan,
Foreign Policy in Focus, May 3, 2002)
The
U.S. is Quietly Purging Foreign Diplomats Deemed Out-of-Step with
the Bush Administration
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Organization for
the Prevention of Chemical Weapons, the Inter-Governmental Panel
on Climate Change have all lost their leaders in the last few weeks,
thanks to intense behind-the-scenes lobbying by the Bush administration.
Kofi Annan could be next. (By Ian Williams, Foreign Policy in Focus,
April 30, 2002)
JAPAN
Think
the U.S. Dominates World Culture? Make Way for Pokemon
Japan is quietly learning how to appeal to the masses.
The latest fad for teenagers in Tokyo’s Shibuya District is
likely to be on the streets of Los Angeles tomorrow. But there are
significant differences in the way Japan and America approach cultural
imperialism. (By Douglas McKay, in Foreign Policy, May 2002)
EUROPE
Le
Pen Is Out of the Picture, But Europe's Malaise Remains
The extreme right politician handed incumbent French
president Jacques Chirac the greatest election victory in French
history, but the underlying reasons for Le Pen’s surprising
support are still there. The New York Times’ Steven Erlanger
analyzes European nervousness over waning national identity.
The
European Union Is Powerful, But Still Unable to Make Its Voice Heard
in a Crisis
In terms of population, the European Union is larger than the United
States and relatively well educated, but internal differences still
make it difficult for Europeans to respond coherently to international
crises. (International Crisis Group, April 29, 2002)
CENTRAL
ASIA
Caspian
Oil
The Caspian Sea holds vast untapped reserves oil. Exploiting the
fields and getting the oil to market will require the multinational
cooperation in a region where trust is a rare commodity. A recent
meeting of regional leaders was not very promising. (By David Stern
in Ashgabat, The Institute for War & Peace Reporting, May 2,
2002)
Why
not run a Pipeline through Afghanistan?
For the last several years, oil companies and political
strategists have dreamed about eventually running a pipeline from
Central Asia through Afghanistan to a port in Pakistan. In an article
in Petroleum World last January, the Far Eastern Economic Review’s
Murray Hiebert explained why investors are not likely to go for
the idea. (Murray Hiebert, Petroleum World, January 27, 2002)
UZBEKISTAN:
Crushing the Islamists
Uzbek strongman Islam Karimov is not to worried about violating
human rights when it comes to stamping out his home grown Islamic
funamentalist movement, the Hizb ut-Tahrir. Karimov insists that
he has the full support of Moscow and Washington, and since the
U.S. is counting on Karimov to provide airbases for operations into
Afghanistan, he makes a convincing case. Karimov’s opponents
insist that he is only radicalizing the groups even more, and that
the consequences could be felt by Karimov’s erstwhile allies
as well as the Uzbeks. (By By Galima Bukharbaeva in Tashkent, Institute
for War & Peace Reporting, May 2, 2002)
SPACE
War
in Space
As part of a joint project with the U.S. Air
Force, RAND provides a definitive, up-to-date analysis of the future
of war in space. Which weapons are being developed now and who has
them. (downloadable in Adobe Acrobat PDF. A reader is available
at the site). (RAND, 2002)
Canada
Could Take the Lead in Demilitarizing Space
George Bush’s termination of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
on June 13, is expected to usher in a new arms race to weaponize
space. A group of Canadians are pushing for a Space Preservation
Treaty to prevent that from happening. (By James George, Dr. Carol
Rosin and Alfred Webre, in the Toronto Star, April 30, 2002)
The
U.S. Is Losing Out in the Crucial Satellite Market
Transferring the satellite business to the State Department from
the Department of Commerce has cut U.S. exports in satellite technology
by 40%, drastically reducing production by U.S. companies. One result:
U.S. defense establishments may not get the private sector Reasearch
& Development they depend on for their own operations. (Center
for Strategic and International Studies, May 2002)
Missile
Defense
So far the Bush administration is basing its hopes for a functional
system on smaller area defense set-ups. Philip Coyle at the center
for Defense Information provides a thorough overview of what those
systems are and where the program is headed. (Philip Coyle in Arms
control today, May 2002)
The
House Finishes tinkering with the U.S. Defense Budget
Item by item changes. (Council for a Livable World, May 1, 2002)
The
Palestinian Who WasToo Reasonable
In better times,
David Remnick’s essay on Sari Nusseibeh might be considered
just a standard piece of very good reporting. Given the current
climate, it is considerably more than that. In short, it is a piece
that no one who wants an understanding of what is happening in the
Middle East right now should overlook. Although the piece is no
longer listed on the New Yorker’s website, you
can still access it by clicking here. (David
Remnick, The New Yorker, April 29, 2002)
It's
Not easy Being Mean
Mark Bowden’s
exceptional article on Saddam Hussein is now available on-line from
the Atlantic Monthly. Instead of the usual trashing of Saddam, Bowden
explores the human cost of being a tyrant and notes that, in a sense,
Saddam has turned out to be nothing more than an out-of-control
exaggeration of the traditional Iraqi clan leader, anxious to get
what he can for his own family at the expense of just about everyone
else. Bowden also provides some delicious descriptions of the mad
son, Uday, dressed in his own high-fashion concoctions (sports coats
with only one lapel, outsized bow ties) and with a penchant for
jazzing up his disco parties by firing an AK-47 at the ceiling.
(Mark Bowden, The Atlantic, May 2002)
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