Thursday, August 22, 2002
Of Holidays and Scotland In the meantime, have a read of my colleague Holly Kirkwood's assessment of the Scottish Parliament's first three years.
Something to read until we come back
Mooraq and I are going away for the British Bank Holiday. We will be laptop-free, which means no postings until Tuesday.
posted by Carla Passino at 6:40 PM
America and the World Glenn, John, allow me to disagree. Individual Americans are undoubtedly happier to stay at home and have no desire whatsoever to rule the world. The same, however, does not always apply to American companies - many of which have indulged in temptations of world domination - and, as a result, to American governments intent on protecting the interests of these companies and of America in general. Contrary to what Naomi Klein and the raving No Global movement think, however, this is not necessarily a bad thing. I, for one, am employed by an American company and very happy to be. More importantly, the first spot of Saddam-bashing in the Gulf War happened because Bush senior wanted to protect American interests, as Kuwait was an important oil supplier to the US - and a good thing it was. In Northern Ireland, the peace process benefitted from Bill Clinton's vigorous impulse - and, again, it was a very good thing. Indeed, as Glenn figured, much of the world would very much like America to rule it. Some, like me, think that America has a moral obligation to do its fair share for the world - as does the European Union. In some countries, however (Costarica and Peru spring to mind), American interest has often meant interference in their internal politics, which has generated, in some cases, strong anti-American feelings (have a read of Manuel Scorza's Drums for Rancas on this). More: political perceptions of a country are often formed over a longish period of time, and I suspect America is now paying the price of its active involvement in world affairs during the Cold War years, when it did play a role in the politics of countries near and far with mixed success (Italy's Gladio network being a case in point). The times called for it, and the then Soviet Union meddled far more, with much more devastating effects (Hungary 1956, Czechoslovakia 1968...). Nevertheless, rule they did. The truth is, when non-Americans speak of America's desire for hegemony, they rarely refer to the American people and their desires. It's governments that they have in mind: governments and McDonald's.
Americans may not want to rule the world, but the rest of us still think they do
"Americans on the whole would rather drive bamboo shoots under their fingernails than rule the world," writes John Hawkins (via Instapundit). "And I wonder," adds Glenn Reynolds, "if the fact that we really don't want to conquer other countries irritates them?"
posted by Carla Passino at 1:36 PM
Shortcut or Shortsight It might seem a necessity of war that the enemy of my enemy becomes my friend, but I am afraid what seems as an appealing shortcut might end up being a big case of shortsightness. Both the Taliban regime and the present Iraqi dictator are offsprings of a similar strategy employed few years ago. The Islamic fundamentalists seemed an easy ally against the red army, and Saddam was a sympathetic figure opposing the Iran of the Ayatollahs. History has the bad habit of repeating itself and I would not be surprised if, in ten years, some of today's friendly regimes might turn out to be the next big problem. With this, I do not advocate that the US should start a war with any dictator around the world. But definitely more could be done to encourage the spread of democracy, which ultimately is the only sure way to peace. The present administration should stop cozying up to friendly dictators in an effort to gain another military base or condone their trampling of civil liberties, even when they are used to arrest terrorist suspects. President Bush has to realize that liberty and democracy are not just ends but also means and they should be as readily employed as an infantry division to win this war.
Why the war on terror risks fulfilling its own prophecy
US international policy in the last 12 months has been shaped by the terrible events of 9/11. From the war in Afghanistan to the (expected) war in Iraq, all efforts have been made to target terrorist groups and states and eradicate them. On the way, though, the US bandwagon picked up some unsavory passengers including a lot of dictators that could easily pass all the tests to join the "axis of evil club". General Musharraf of
Pakistan, whose latest measures will make a farce of the last vestiges of democracy left in his country, is one of them.
posted by Mooraq at 1:32 PM
Wednesday, August 21, 2002
A Different View on the Middle East Conflict Predictably, the perspective is different. Where Ha'aretz writes that 'ministers mull 'Gaza First' as violence rocks truce plan', the Jordan Times titles that 'Israel assassinates brother of PFLP leader.' Much along the same lines, the Oman Daily Observer opens with 'Brother of detained PFLP chief shot dead.' Saudi Arabia's Arab News comes down even stronger, writing that 'Israel presses on with killings despite accord,' and publishing a photograph of 15-year-old Ayman Zorab, who was shot dead by Israeli troops at the Khan Younis refugee camp on Tuesday. While mainstream newspapers reflect the views of their respective camps, Ariga, an independent online publication, strives to bring the emphasis back on the peace process. Editor Robert Rosenberg opens with Haifa Mayor Amram Mitzna's announcement that he will run for prime minister. Mitzna is the political heir of Yitzhak Rabin. His chosen policy, says Rosenberg, is 'the simple, straightforward argument that talk, talk, talk is better than shoot, shoot, shoot.' If only there were more Robert Rosenbergs and more Amram Mitznas.
While mainstream papers mirror the views of their respective camps, Ariga strives to place the emphasis on the peace process
I tend to read most of the Middle East news on BBC Online and CNN.com, occasionally checking Ha'aretz for more details. But I felt I was getting a one-sided picture, so I decided to have a read of the Arab press instead. Since Ajeeb, which I use to translate from Arabic into English, is stubbornly refusing to work for me today, I have only managed to get a limited view from English-language papers.
posted by Carla Passino at 10:42 AM
Tuesday, August 20, 2002
Is This Democracy? Spain is facing such dilemma (in spanish) these days, as its Parliament has to decide on banning Herri Batasuna, the Basque party linked to the ETA terrorist group. I personally don't think that banning the party will stop terrorism. It will just stop a political, if completely misguided, voice from talking. And when one is not allowed to talk through political channels, other means of expressions will be sought and things can only get worse. I understand the grief and the hate that ETA attacks have provoked around Spain, but I am not sure banning HB will solve anything. Isolating it on a political level and reducing it to a marginal voice would achieve much more than creating a political martyr out of it.
Spanish Parliament might decide to ban political party linked to separatist terrorist group
Free speach is one of the pillars of democracy, I know. Still, sometimes one wonders if people who advocate blowing fellow human beings to bits, children included, should be allowed a voice at all.
posted by Mooraq at 2:55 PM
Israeli troops enter Tul Karm camp as Fatah rejects deal
The agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority doesn't seem to be going anywhere so far. Although the Israeli army has pulled out of Bethlehem last night, with Palestinian police moving in to patrol the area, another Palestinian militant group - the military wing of Yasser Arafat's own Fatah movement - has renounced the deal. Meanwhile, Israeli troops have entered the refugee camp of Tul Karm, in the West Bank, on Tuesday morning to conduct house-to-house searches, and allegedly killed two Palestinians. Tul Karm is seen by the Israeli as the epicentre of an extensive terrorist network.
posted by Carla Passino at 9:19 AM
Monday, August 19, 2002
Deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority could take place from tonight
Israel could withdraw from Bethlehem as early as this evening, reports Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz. The Israeli government had offered yesterday to pull its troops out of Bethlehem and the Gaza strip on condition that the Palestinian Authority enforce a crackdown on militant attacks. Palestinian groups Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, however, have rejected the deal.
posted by Carla Passino at 3:49 PM
Why Taki's view on Pinochet is untenable - and factually wrong
"To those of us who know better, Pinochet was, is and will always remain a great man," writes Taki on this week's The Spectator. "Those Chileans who disappeared got their just deserts for trying to impose a Marxist dictatorship." Taki is clearly oblivious to the fact that - whatever one may think of his political vision for Chile - Salvador Allende and his Popular Unity coalition had won a democratic election. Like President Bush in the last US elections, Allende won by a very small measure (some 40,000 votes) and only managed to be elected president because the Christian Democrats gave him support in Congress. Nevertheless, elected he was. Pinochet, on the other hand, seized power with a military coup. He did so - incidentally - on an ominous date: September 11, 1973. There is no doubt that General Pinochet was a good ally to Britain. But this doesn't justify - nor should it make us blind to - the fact that his regime imprisoned, tortured and killed thousands of Chileans. Far from being the raving Marxist fanatics that Taki implies, many of the desaparecidos were murdered because they upheld democracy and freedom of speech. Some were targeted simply because they believed in a different brand of capitalism from that proposed by Pinochet and his military junta. Of the few who managed to flee Chile, some came to Britain precisely because this country protects basic civil liberties. But then again, how could Taki know? He has hardly braved life under an illiberal dictatorship. He was too busy sipping gin and tonic with the beau monde in Gstaad, London and the French Riviera.
posted by Carla Passino at 9:05 AM
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