PRAGUE UNDER WATER
Washington may dismiss Kyoto and global warming as exaggerations but Europeans are fast becoming believers. Authorities in the Czech Republic executed an emergency plan Monday to evacuate 50,000 people from the center of Prague's old town after the city was hit by the worst floods in a century. Prague's trams were operated without charge to move people out as quickly as possible. The Prague Post, August 13, 2002.

DONALD RUMSFELD AND GENERAL RICHARD MYERS BRIEF THE PRESS ON IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN AND OTHER TOPICS
While no definitive exit is in sight for Afghanistan, Rumsfeld expresses his "wish list" for a post-Saddam Iraq. On continued attacks against Americans in Afghanistan, Rumsfeld notes:"War is, of course, fought in fog and shadows. One cannot know precisely where the enemy is or what they'll do next..." Pentagon, August 9, 2002

CHILE AND SINGAPORE WILL TEST THE ADMINISTRATION'S USE OF FAST TRACK
Now that Congress has granted President Bush carte blanche in the form of the "Trade Promotion Authority" a.k.a. "Fast Track, " it remains to be seen whether the executive branch can balance the interests of labor and the environment against pressure from major industrial and corporate lobbies. The first test will be trade deals with Chile and Singapore. Both countries have shown a willingness to incorporate labor and environmental protections into a comprehensive agreement. The question is how much will Bush actually ask for?
By Sandra Polaski, The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, August 9, 2002

WANT TO FIND AL-QAEDA IN INDONESIA? CHECK OUT THE "NGRUKI NETWORK"
Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim nation, but until now all of the followers of Al-Qaeda have come from the "Ngruki Network" which emerged in the 1970s. At the movement's core is a religious boarding school, the Pondok Nguki, named after the village where the school is located. Many of its members share memories of political imprisonment and repression in Indonesia in the 1980s. others play an important role in Indonesian society today.
The International Crisis Group provides a background on the movement and its personalities.
The international Crisis Group, August 12, 2002.

THE END OF PAX AMERICANA?
Will the same factors that led to American hegemony lead to its decline? Immanuel Wallerstein, writing in Foreign Policy, points out that these days, it is the Conservatives who seem to think that America is in real danger. But Wallerstein suggests that America's long term prospects may be decided by historial developments that are beyond its control, and in fact, the Eagle may already have crash landed. By Immanuel Wallerstein, Foreign Policy, July-August 2002.

IS THE NOTION OF THE "WEST" LOSING ITS MEANING?
We usually think of the U.S. and Russia in terms of East vs. West, but with Europe and the United States following diverging paths, the concept of the West as a political block is starting to lose its meaning. Russian analyst, Alexander Yanov points out in the Moscow News that Europe is making a transition from a collection of highly nationalistic nation states to a federation in the form of the European Union, while the U.S. is fast turning into a monolithic super state. As a consequence Europe favors integration and international cooperation, while the U.S. increasingly opposes anything that smacks of a loss of sovereignty. Diverging political objectives have encouraged the U.S. to run counter to the rest of the world on issues ranging from global warming to the International Court of Criminal Justice.
By Alexander Yanov in Center for Defense Information's Russia Report, August 7-13, 2002

A PALACE WORTHY OF A NEW TSAR?
If President bush can spend a month's vacation rebased at his ranch in Texas, what's wrong with Russia's Vladimir Putin also taking a little time off? In fact, Putin is planning to spend somewhat under $200 million to refurbish the 1,000-room Konstantinovsky Palace near St. Petersburg as a summer getaway. Forget that many Russian government ministries lack the cash to function on a daily basis, or that many ordinary citizens are crammed with two or three families to a single flat. The Palace is reachable in Putin's personal yacht from a private jetty and it has its own canals, so the Russian leader won't be exposed to the decaying grime of St. Petersburg's dismal workers' housing projects. Putin claims that the funding is being volunteered by Russia's newly privatized industries, such as Gazprom. The fact that Putin has a hand in selecting the CEOs of most of these industries may have sweetened the deal, but St. Petersburg, at least, expects a badly needed cash bonanza from the project. By Chris Stephen in the Scotsman (CDI Russia Report, August 8, 2002)

RUSSIA'S CHECHEN WAR SPILLS INTO GEORGIA
Russian news media regularly denounce Tiblisi for an alleged softness on terrorism and for being overly friendly towards the U.S. As tempers have flared, each country has closed its airspace to the other's aircraft. The core of the dispute is Russia's frustration over its inability to eliminate the last guerrilla resistance in Chechnya. Now, a growing succession of Russian politicians are telling Putin to extend the Chechen War across the border into Georgian territory.
By Mikhail Vignanksy, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, in Tbilisi (IWPR, August 9, 2002)
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov insists that force is the only option. Ivanov wants Georgia to let Russian troops chase down Chechens in the Pankisi Gorge just as the U.S. hunted down al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. The Georgians think that U.S. aid is a better option, but the pressure is mounting. Moscow Times, August 12, 2002.

U.S. EFFORTS TO TRAIN AND EQUIP GEORGIAN ARMY FLOUNDERING ON LACK OF CONFIDENCE
Since last April, the U.S. has been trying to train four Georgian anti-terrorist battalions. Joint tactical exercises for an initial 400-man battalion are slated for August 27. But recruiters who hoped to have at least 600 candidates to choose from, received only 98 applications by early July, and these candidates were in terrible physical shape. One had a failing kidney, and another had serious heart problems. The colonel commanding the program quit, insisting that there is no point in training troops unless you also clothe and feed them. Georgia has been trying to accelerate its admission to NATO, but a recent delegation of eight U.S. Congressmen who inspected the progress of U.S. efforts to train Georgian troops were noticeably reticent talking to newsmen afterwards.
By Mikhail Vignanksy IWPR in Tbilisi (IWPR, August 9, 2002)

ISRAELI SURVIVERS FACE POST TERROR STRESS
Tamar Sharvit helped direct traffic after a Haifa bombing in May. Now she has flashbacks and when she walks down the street, she seesin which she sees lumps of bleeding flesh. She and other survivors are beginning to realize that post traumatic stress therapy is a better alternative to endless nightmares.
By Tamar Rotem in Ha'aretz, August 13, 2002.

SUDAN ENTERS PHASE-2 OF PEACETALKS
Negotiators from both sides of Sudan's civil war are meeting in Machakos, Kenya this week. While the fighting has stopped, the opposing parties still have enormous differences over the final outcome of a settlement. One of the most controversial issues is a proposed referendum which will ultimately decide whether to keep Sudan unified. Egypt opposes the referendum, and it may take stepped up U.S. pressure to bring Cairo and the other international participants on board. The international Crisis Group, August 12, 2002.

SOUTH ASIA'S BALLISTIC MISSILES
Weapons of Mass Destruction are disturbing enough, but the equations for a future cataclysm are really defined by the delivery mechanisms that enable these weapons to reach their targets and which can force potentially fatal decisions to be made in a matter of minutes. Michael Swaine and Loren Runyon examine the missiles that are already in place in India and Pakistan. By Michael Swaine and Loren Runyon, The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, August 9, 2002.

NUCLEAR LESSONS FOR SOUTH ASIA
A new report suggests that many of the techniques that were developed for negotiating nuclear controls between Russia and the United States can now be applied to controlling the nuclear weapons of India and Pakistan. By Rose Gottmoeller and Rebecca Longsworth, The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

SUDDENLY EVERYONE IN ASIA WANTS TO BUY SUBMARINES
Will the U.S. be prepared to risk an underwater attack in order to send aircraft carriers to rescue Taiwan? Neither China nor Twaiwan are wating for an answer, and submarine manufacturers are cashing in on the bonanza created by the underwater arms race. The Asia Times, August 12, 2002

U.S. STEPS UP ARMS EXPORTS TO HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE 1997
American arms sales last year included 2,879 weapons sold to 23 countries ranging from Taiwan to Brazil, Spain and the Middle East. It was the highest number since 1997. The sudden surge was largely due to israel which received 2/3rds of the total. Sales to israel included, 1,902 M-26 rockets and 41 other missile systems. In contrast, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, and Jordan together took receipt of 106 U.S. weapons. Washington reported exporting 269 weapons, most of which were ship-launched missiles, to Taiwan. Spain acquired 114 missiles, almost all of which were for arming ships; and Brazil received 91 tanks, seven warships, and two airplanes for maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare.
The figures are part of the U.S. report on conventional arms transfers listed in the U.N. Registry of Conventional Arms. The Registry was created in 1992 to make arms sales more transparent to the public. In Arms Control Today, August 7, 2002.

RUMSFELD WANTS MORE COVERT MILITARY OPERATIONS TO COUNTER POTENTIAL TERRORISTS
The document outlining the changes, JP3-05, makes for fascinating reading. The Federation of American Scientists, August 12, 2002.

North Korea has two citizens. They are both named Kim, and one is already dead
Kim Jong Il would like to be president, but he can't. North Korea's constitution was rewritten to make Kim's father, Kim il Sung, president for eternity--even after death. As a result, the presidential palace has become one of the world's greatest mausoleum's. Koreans must distinguish between the Great Leader and the Dear Leader. Only those who are ideologically appropriate are permitted to see Kim il Sung's 8-year old corpse. By Anonymous in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist, July-August 2002.

BALANCING JUSTICE IN INDONESIA AGAINST THE WAR ON TERRORISM
When the Washington based International Labor Rights Fund filed a suit in Washington against ExxonMobil for alleged complicity in human rights violations last April, the judge, Louis F. Obordorfer, decided to delay his verdict until the U.S. State Department could weigh in with an opinion on the cost to America's operations overseas. The suit charges that Indonesian army soldiers working for ExxonMobil engaged in murder, torture and rape while "protecting" gas fields in Indonesia's Aceh Province. One of the most serious charges is that Indonesian soldiers threw a four month-old baby to the ground and poured boiling water over her in front of her mother. The baby was scalded to death. The State Department replied that the suit is likely to disturb relations with Jakarta and could hinder America's war on terrorism. ExxonMobil denies any direct involvement in the alleged atrocities. The New York Times, August 8, 2002
For a copy of the State Department's letter, the International Labor Rights Fund's complaint and the motion against dismissing the case, click here.

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