Just Foreign Policy wishes its Jewish readers a happy new year and its Muslim readers an easy fast. May you be inscribed in the Book of Life, and may every new year find you in peace.
Summary: U.S. On the strength of President Chavez' endorsement in his UN speech, Noam Chomsky's book Hegemony or Survival is now #1 on the top sellers on Amazon.
The New York Times and the Washington Post editorialize today against the deal that Senators Warner, McCain & Graham negotiated with the White House on the treatment of detainees. The ink was barely dry when the White House started trying to wiggle out of its one real concession, the Times notes, suggesting the administration might renege on its agreement to drop its insistence on allowing prosecutors to introduce classified evidence kept secret from defendants. Meanwhile, the compromise does not bar coerced evidence, allows detention without trial, and chokes off judicial review. Bush intends to continue using the CIA to secretly detain and abuse terrorist suspects by issuing his own interpretation of the Geneva Conventions and relying on questionable Justice Department opinions that authorize such practices as exposing prisoners to hypothermia and prolonged sleep deprivation, the Post notes.
Strains on the Army from the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan have become so severe that Army officials may be forced to make greater use of the National Guard to provide troops for overseas deployments, the Times reports. The prospect presents the Bush administration with a problem: how to balance the pressing need for troops in the field against promises to limit overseas deployments for the Guard.
Former President Clinton said Thursday the U.S. should try talking to Iran about its nuclear weapons ambitions without imposing a lot of conditions.
President Bush's announcement this month that the CIA has emptied out its secret prisons has raised new questions about what has happened to dozens of Al Qaeda suspects who were believed to have been in US custody. Human rights groups say the fate of dozens of detainees who were in CIA custody is still unknown.
Iran The US has agreed, once again, to extend the "weeks, not months" deadline it set in June for Iran to stop uranium enrichment or face Security Council sanctions, the Times reports. The new deadline: early October.
President Ahmadinejad said Thursday his government is prepared to consider suspending its uranium-enrichment program if Western governments meet unspecified conditions, the Post reports.
Lebanon The latest maneuver in the battle for Lebanon's political future is Hezbollah's call for a national unity government that would threaten the slim majority held by pro-Western parties, the Times reports. The surge in popularity Hezbollah has enjoyed since this summer's war has alarmed those trying to pull Lebanon more securely into the American orbit, since they fear political gains for Hezbollah translate into political gains for Iran. Pro-Western Lebanese politicians have watched with dismay as Iranian influence has spread across the region, largely with the help, they say, of American foreign policy.
Pakistan President Musharraf of Pakistan said yesterday that after the Sept. 11 attacks the US threatened to bomb his country if it did not cooperate with the American campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Musharraf said the threat came from Richard Armitage, then deputy secretary of state. According to Musharraf, Armitage said: " 'Be prepared to be bombed. Be prepared to go back to the Stone Age.' " Musharraf added, "I think it was a very rude remark." Ironically, "very rude" was the characterization by Secretary General Annan of the pieing of the IMF Managing Director in Bangkok the previous year.
Afghanistan The U.S. military plans no troop cuts in Afghanistan before March, as fighting intensifies against Taliban forces. There are approximately 20,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the highest number since the U.S. invasion in 2001.
Thailand On Thursday, General Sonthi banned political gatherings and warned Thai media executives against publishing "expressions of public opinion."
Bolivia In an interview with Democracy Now, Bolivian President Evo Morales called for the U.S. to extradite former Bolivian president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada to face trial for killing over 100 people. Of oil companies operating in Bolivia, he said, "The investor has the right to recuperate their investment and to a reasonable profit. But we can't allow for the sacking of the country and only the companies benefiting, not the people." During his address to the General Assembly Tuesday, Morales vowed to never yield to U.S. pressure to criminalize coca production.
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-------- Robert Naiman Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org
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