The interview of Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki in Der Spiegel is bound to cause a sensation because in it, the Iraqi Prime Minister seems to signal that he prefers Obama’s 16 month timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq to other arrangements.
SPIEGEL: Mr. Prime Minister, the war and its consequences have cost more than 100,000 lives and caused great suffering in your country. Saddam Hussein and his regime are now part of the past. Was all of this worth the price?
Maliki: The casualties have been and continue to be enormous. But anyone who was familiar with the dictator’s nature and his intentions knows what could have been in store for us instead of this war. Saddam waged wars against Iran and Kuwait, and against Iraqis in the north and south of his own country, wars in which hundreds of thousands died. And he was capable of instigating even more wars. Yes, the casualties are great, but I see our struggle as an enormous effort to avoid other such wars in the future.
SPIEGEL: Germany was opposed to the war. German Economics Minister Michael Glos was in Baghdad the week before last, Daimler AG plans to build trucks in Iraq, and you will travel to Berlin this week. Has everything been smoothed out between Germany and Iraq?
Maliki: We want closer relations, and it is my impression that the Germans — the government, the people and German companies — want the same thing. Our task is to rebuild a country, and the Germans are famous for effective and efficient work. We have great confidence in them and want to involve them in the development of our country.
SPIEGEL: And there is truly no resentment against a country that opposed the war in 2003?
Maliki: We do not judge our partners on the basis of whether or not they were militarily involved in toppling Saddam. The decisions back then corresponded to the national will of the countries, and we respect that.
SPIEGEL: What exactly do you expect from the Germans and from German companies?
Maliki: We want to get to know them, and we want to know what they want — and the things they fear when thinking about Iraq. We have to start over again in many areas, including oil production, the development of the power grid and all industries. There is much to be done.
“It depends on the conditions, depends on the missions set, depends on the enemy,” Petraeus, who is to meet Obama when he visits Iraq soon, told NBC News today. “The enemy does get a vote and is sometimes an independent variable. Lots of different factors I think that would be tied up in that. The dialogue on that and the amount of risk, because it eventually comes down to how much risk various options entail. That’s the kind of discussion I think that is very important as we look to the future.”
Meanwhile the White House announced the United States and Iraq had agreed on a “general time horizon” for the further drawing down of US troops in Iraq as the security situation improves. Via the New York Time:
The United States and Iraq have agreed to set a “general time horizon” for the “further reduction of U.S. combat forces in Iraq” following the improvement in security conditions in the country, the White House said Friday.
The breakthrough, which was reached between President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki in discussions via video link on Thursday, could lead to the successful completion of a long-term security agreement covering American operations in Iraq — from combat missions to detaining Iraqis — by the end of this month, a White House official said.
“We’re converging on an agreement,” the official said, referring to ongoing negotiations between Iraq and the United States on the deal.
The suspicious minds amongst us might think that there is a conspiracy to steal Obama’s thunder on the Iraq issue. The sane might just admit the surge has worked. Still doesn’t make the war right but that is an issue that no longer matters. What matters are the conditions on the ground now and the prospects for a peaceful and prosperous Iraq and those are much improved. Not out of the woods yet either but heading in the right direction.
Here is the Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 edition of interesting reads from around the world.
Iraq Calls For US Pullout Timetable
Iraq’s prime minister has for the first time publicly called for a US troop withdrawal timetable. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Monday that a military agreement the two countries are negotiating should include provisions for the withdrawal of American troops. More from Al Jazeera. It should be interesting to see how this plays in the US Presidential election.
G-8 Agrees Climate Change Deal to Halve Emissions
Leaders of G-8 agree to adopt goal of at least halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. 2050? And they are calling this a breakthrough. I shudder to think what their definition of failure is. The UK Guardian has all the bloody details.
Meanwhile, African leaders have pressed the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations to control oil and food prices. This story from Al Jazeera. And a video report on the summit from the Associated Press:
India Won’t Accept Carbon Emissions Targets
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said emphatically that India would not accept any targets that may be set by international bodies reducing its carbon emissions. Full details in The Hindu. Prime Minister Singh is to meet with US President Bush and other G-8 leaders tomorrow. On the table for US-India talks is the US-India Nuclear Agreement. More this story also from The Hindu.
India Suspends Maize Exports Until October 15, 2008
The Indian Government has already banned exports of wheat, non-basmati rice, edible oil and pulses. This just further puts pressure on global food markets but India is thinking of its own food security. To me, this reads as a repeat of the 1930s when countries acted to protect their own interests and thereby exacerbated the Stock Market Crash of October 1929 and turned it into a world-wide depression that lasted over a decade. India is the sixth largest supplier of corn in the world so its retreat from the global markets is not insignificant. Couple this with the mess in Argentina and we have a real crisis on our hands. This follows a very worrisome report out of China earlier this week that China faces a grain shortage. All About Feed has the details on this story.
China faces serious challenges in ensuring it will have enough grain to feed its population in the decades to come, according to Premier Wen Jiabao.
Industrialisation, urbanisation and a growing population are boosting grain demand while “shrinking arable land, water shortage and climate change is an increasing constraint on output,” Wen told a cabinet meeting.
“The long-term demand and supply will be balanced but tight and ensuring grain security faces serious challenges,” he said.
The meeting approved a mid- and long-term grain security plan that aims to keep the nation’s annual grain output above 500 million tonnes by 2010 and increase production to more than 540 million tonnes a year by 2020.
Litvinenko Murder Intrigue Resurfaces
The murder of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko was carried out with the backing of the Russian state, Whitehall sources have told the BBC.
Sondhi Limthongkul’s Corporatist Vision for Thailand
With Thailand now of its second month of intense political protests, opposition leader Sondhi Limthongkul is proposing reforms that to me sound rather corporatist. Sondhi Limthongkul, the core leader of the People’s Alliance for Democracy, has called for a “New Politics.”
The New Politics turns out to be a startlingly reactionary proposal to move Thailand’s parliamentary system towards a form of appointed corporatism, or what might be called a selectoral democracy. Thirty percent of MPs would come from elections, perhaps one per province, and the rest of MPS would derive from various occupations and associations. Sondhi says the proportion is not fixed, it’s up for debate.
The rationale for wanting to dismantle Thailand’s electoral system is evident: pro-Thaksin forces keep winning elections. And as Thaksin is said to represent everything bad about Thai politics, he can not be allowed to wield power directly or indirectly. Thus, for Sondhi, and it would seem the PAD leadership as whole, there is now a need to bring about a revolution in political representation.
Taiwan Exports Rise to Record Levels
Taiwan’s exports in June rose 21.3% from a year earlier to a record high of US$24.35 billion on rising demand from parts of Asia and Europe, the government said July 7. The June figure compared with a 20.5% rise to $23.60 billion recorded in May. More from Industry Week.
11 Bodies Found in Tijuana Over 3 Days
As a Colombian, I have seen this all before and it is worrisome that it is happening now in Mexico. What we have endured in Colombia is not something that I would wish on anyone. It is thus that I say with alarm that Mexico’s drug wars require serious attention. We will see bombings. Drug mafias will stop at nothing and only a strong response from the state and civil society can stop them. They will infiltrate politics. They can buy anything and anyone. Act now.
Police discovered the tortured and burned bodies of six men in an empty lot Monday morning, ending a period of relative calm in this border city beset by drug war violence.
Eleven bodies have been discovered since Saturday in violence believed to be drug-related, including the corpse of a woman found in a barrel, state and federal authorities said.
The weekend tally pushed the city’s death toll this year to more than 260, compared with about 152 homicides at this time last year, and underscored authorities’ difficulties curbing organized crime.
The full story from the Los Angeles Times. A 71% rise in drug-related homocides in Tijuana is not something to be taken lightly.
Syria To Restore Diplomatic Ties with France
Syria’s top diplomat in London says Damascus will soon send a new ambassador to Paris and end a freeze on diplomatic ties. Sami Khiyami says a new representative will likely be sent to France in the very near future. Syria has not had an ambassador in Paris since 2006. The report is from Haaretz.
Here is the Monday, July 7th, 2008 edition of interesting reads and events from around the world.
The United Arab Emirates Forgives Iraq’s Debt
The United Arab Emirates has cancelled almost $7 billion of debt including interest and arrears payments owed by Baghdad, becoming the first Gulf Arab country to forgive all of Iraq’s debt. It’s a wonderful move and other countries should follow suit. It’s time to rebuild Iraq. The full story in the International Herald Tribune.
Car Bomb in Kabul
Afghan officials say a suicide car bomber has killed at least seven people in an attack outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul. Details in the BBC and the UK Telegraph.
South African Plan for Zimbabwe
South African President Thabo Mbeki has presented a plan to Zimbabwe’s political leaders that would allow Robert Mugabe to remain as a titular head of state. More from Johannesburg’s Mail and Guardian. Under the plan, Mugagbw would be President of Zimbabwe in name only and real power would rest with the opposition MDC. In other news from Zimbabwe, the Los Angeles Times reports that Mugagbe’s ruling ZANU-PF party has some 900 camps for political dissidents where women are treated as “sex slaves.” Mugagbe must go.
The Uptick in Japanese Capital Punishment
Japan’s justice minister, dubbed the “grim reaper” for ordering a record number of executions, has defended the death penalty as “civilised” but said he loses sleep over signing the orders. I oppose the death penalty. Systemic genocide might be my only exception and even then I am not so sure. In Japan, 13 people have been hanged since Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama took office last August, a record high for the period. Japan lifted a de facto moratorium on executions in 1993. More from Agence France Presse.
Correa in Ecuador Commutes the Sentences of 1,200 Drug Couriers
President Rafael Correa of Ecuador has communted the sentences of some 1,200 mulas, or drug couriers. Under the pardon, prisoners (largely young poor women) who have served at least a year of their sentence and were carrying under 2 kilos of drugs (in their stomachs) are eligible for the pardon. It is estimated that approximately 1,200 prisoners in Ecuadorian jails will thus have their sentences commuted. It is a fair plan. The drug trade has many victims especially amongst the poor in Latin America. More in Spanish from Noticias 24. If you have never seen the award-winning Colombian movie, Maria, llena eres de gracia (Mary, Full of Grace), you should rent it. It covers the plight of these women called mulas or mules. The lead actress, Catalina Sandino Moreno, received an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of young Colombian mula.
German Finance Minister Opines on Sarkozy’s EU Presidency
The French presidency of the European Union will be an exercise in “crisis management”, according to Peer Steinbrück, the German finance minister, in particular with rocketing oil prices and the rejection of the Lisbon treaty by Irish voters.
The undiplomatic assessment echoes analysts’ expectations that France’s presidency, which began last week, will be short on new projects and instead have to focus on salvaging Lisbon and seeking answers to the global energy shortage.
“I think the French presidency will be very much influenced by the current challenges. As far as I know they understand themselves that they are sitting in the chair more in terms of crisis management,” Mr Steinbrück told the Financial Times in an interview.
Cristina Fernández de Kitchner Wins Round 1
Argentina’s lower house of congress has approved a controversial package of export taxes on grain which prompted widespread strikes and food shortages earlier in the year. The measures were passed by 129 votes to 122 on Saturday after 18 hours of heated debate. Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kitchner decreed a more than 10%, sliding-scale increase in export taxes on soy, corn and other grains on March 11 setting off a widespread revolt against her government and her popularity level drop to 20%. The measures now go before the Argentine Senate. More from Al Jazeera.
Bertha Becomes First Hurricane of the Atlantic Season
Tropical storm Bertha has strengthened to become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season. As of 5 am EDT Monday, Hurricane Bertha was about 845 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands.
Senator Barack Obama said Thursday that he might “refine” his plans for a phased withdrawal from Iraq after meeting with military commanders there later this summer. Here’s what he said:
Mr. Obama said at his news conference that he planned a “thorough assessment” of his Iraq policy when he visits the country later this summer. “I’ve always said that the pace of withdrawal would be dictated by the safety and security of our troops and the need to maintain stability,” he said. “That assessment has not changed. And when I go to Iraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I’m sure I’ll have more information and will continue to refine my policies.”
These comments, of course, set off the Obama Fan Base into a tizzy. What can he mean? And, of course, there were broad smiles all around on the GOP side for Obama had dug himself a hole of his own making. McCain is scoring points at Obama’s expense as the situation in Iraq turns the corner into a realm of more stability and a sense of normalcy pervades over Baghdad. So Obama attempts to stay in the conversation and sound well relevant or even competent and then comes off as neither.
It’s another edition of backtracking with Barack:
We’re going to try this again,” Mr. Obama said. “Apparently, I wasn’t clear enough this morning on my position with respect to the war in Iraq.”
Apart from the fact that you opposed the war in March 2002, and this is now July 2008, no you haven’t been clear. And it’s catching up with you. The full story from the New York Times.
Below the fold the backtracking with Barack transcript: (more…)
Here is the Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 edition of interesting reads and events from around the world.
Zimbabwe Opposition Rejects Talks
Zimbabwe’s opposition leader on Wednesday rejected a call from the African Union to begin talks with President Robert Mugabe, citing the continuing violence orchestrated by the government. The full story from the New York Times. Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports on why the African Union is not exactly moving quickly on the crisis in Zimbabwe.
Thailand’s Political Crisis
The Asia Sentinel updates the latest on the crisis in Thailand that threatens to topple the government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.
Mongolia’s Elections
The former communist Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) has won the national elections, the General Election Committee said on Thursday as it dismissed allegations of vote rigging. The MPRP won 47 of the 76 seats in parliament, while its main rival the Democratic Party won 26 seats, spokesman Purevdorjiin Naranbat said. A full report from Straits Times. The riots, so far, have killed five in Ulan Bator.
Optimism in Iraq
There is an unexpected air of normalcy prevailing in Baghdad these days, with consumption flourishing and confidence in the government growing. Iraq beat China in a qualifying match for the 2010 World Cup. Violence is down. The progress is astonishing, but can it last? Der Spiegel provides the coverage.
Europe Worries About Stagflation
As rising energy and food prices continue to fuel inflation, the economies in industrialized countries are beginning to stagnate. The mix, known as stagflation, presents politicians and central bankers with virtually insurmountable problems. Der Spiegel has the full report.
Here is the Monday, June 30th, 2008 edition of interesting reads and events from around the world.
Iraq Opens Its Oil Sector to Foreign Investment
Iraq opened international bidding for eight enormous oil and gas fields Monday, paving the way for investment in a nation with some of the world’s largest petroleum reserves. More from the Christian Science Monitor and the Wall Street Journal.
African Union Summit
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Monday called for the suspension of Robert Mugabe from the African Union, until he allows a “free and fair” election. More from All Africa News and from the New York Times.
Ex Head of Chile’s DINA Sentenced for 1974 Murder of General Prats
General Manuel Contreras, the former head of Chile’s Intelligence Services, the DINA, was sentenced to two life prison sentences today for his role in the assassination of the former Chilean Army Chief of Staff in 1974 then in exile in Buenos Aires. From the Miami Herald.
A Chilean judge sentenced the country’s former intelligence chief, retired Gen. Manuel Contreras, to two life prison sentences Monday for masterminding the 1974 assassinations of former army chief Gen. Carlos Prats and his wife.
The historic decision, which can be appealed, helps to close one of the most notorious chapters of the 1973-1990 regime of dictator Augusto Pinochet, which ordered the politically motivated deaths and disappearances of some 3,000 people.
Pinochet’s replacement of Prats as army chief set the stage for the 1973 coup that ousted socialist President Salvador Allende. The Pinochet regime then sent U.S. citizen Michael Townley to plant a bomb under Prats’ car in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Prats had sought refuge. Townley went on to assassinate former Chilean Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier in Washington.
The Saga of Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister and finance minister now leading Malaysia’s resurgent opposition coalition, is once again in a fight for his political life after being charged with new sexual perversion allegations. Stories from the Asia Sentinel and the Wall Street Journal.
France Assumes European Union Presidency Tomorrow
It’s an opportunity for French President Nicolas Sarkozy to have a lasting imprint on Europe or it may be his final dance of the macabre, a failed Presidency. Saying “something isn’t right” with Europe, President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday called for profound changes in building the European Union as France was poised to take the helm of the 27-nation bloc. Sarkozy isn’t tipping his hand, however. Stories from International Herald Tribune, the UK Guardian, and The Times of Malta.
Two good pieces on Al Qaeda landed in my Newsreader this week and they both point in the same direction, albeit in different terms. The first one is from Tony Karon who questions the current relevance of Al Qaeda as the big post-9/11 bogeyman. For Karon, Al Qaeda is irrelevant and always was. In this respect, Al Qaeda is comparable to Trotsky… Huh? How does the comparison apply?
“Al-Qaeda is irrelevant, and yet U.S. hegemony in the Middle East is facing an unprecedented challenge from Islamist-nationalist groups. To understand the link between al-Qaeda’s weakness and the greatly expanded strength of groups such as Hamas, Hizballah, the Muslim Brotherhood and, of course, Iran, over the past seven years, it’s worth turning to the 20th century precedent: Leon Trotsky and his followers vs. the larger, nationally-focused parties of the left in the mid 20th century.
Trotsky rejected pragmatism and compromise by nationally-based leftist movements and insisted, instead, that they subordinate their specific national interests and objectives to the fantasy of “world revolution.” And as a result, long before his murder by Stalin, he found himself holed up in Mexico City, manically firing off communiques denouncing all compromise, and being largely ignored by the more substantial parties of the left world-wide. He had become an irrelevant chatterbox, caught up in a frenzy of his own rhetoric while world events simply passed him by. The same can be said of Bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri — it is not al-Qaeda, but the likes of Iran, Hamas, Hizballah, and the Muslim Brotherhood that represent the future of the nationalist-Islamist challenge to Western power in the Middle East.”
What makes Al Qaeda seemingly powerful are two factors: the one mentioned by Karon, that is, the fact that the United States treats Al Qaeda as this omnipresent threat of global proportion and reacts to every action as if it were the beginnings of a terrorist apocalypse. The second one, which I think is relevant here and contributes to the first, is that fact that Al Qaeda, being a non-state group, articulates itself opportunistically to nation-based movements (Algeria, Philippines, Indonesia, or Iraq). (more…)
Here is the Friday, June 20th, 2008 edition of interesting reads and events from around the world.
The EU Lifts All Sanctions on Cuba
The European Union agreed to lift limited sanctions against Cuba, a hotly contested move designed to encourage the country’s new government under Raúl Castro to liberalize. Reports from Deutsche Welle and the Wall Street Journal.
Israeli Military Exercise Seen as Trial Run for an Attack on Iran
Israel carried out a major military exercise earlier this month that American officials say appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The New York Times broke the story.
Oil Giants to Invest in Iraq
Iraq is preparing to allow four of the biggest western oil companies to renew exploitation of the country’s vast reserves for the first time in almost four decades. The UK Guardian provides the coverage.
The Death of US Manufacturing
GE’s announcement a week ago that it would accept offers for its appliances business marked the death-knell of yet another US manufacturing business, one among so many in US manufacturing’s long and seemingly unstoppable downtrend since 1980. A report from the Asia Times.
Do US and Europe Have Different Geo-Political Goals?
American and European policymakers have taken divergent paths of late because they have interpreted key trends differently, writes David P. Calleo. He traces the developments that have divided the formerly close Atlantic partners and assesses the outlook for the relationship. From Europe’s World.
