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Clinton snub marks new Sino-US rivalry
Chinese leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping's snub of visiting US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton and Beijing's harsh rebuff to soft US criticism on the Syrian
crisis underlines China's increasingly assertive stance towards its sole
competitor for global influence. China now has the clout to back up strong
words, helped by a decade establishing economic ties around the world rather
than building costly military bases. - Brendan O'Reilly
(Sep 6, '12)
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 THE
ROVING EYE
Still in search of the American
dream
Former US president Bill Clinton all but single-handedly sealed President
Barack Obama's re-election with a meticulous deconstruction of Republican
"issues" at the Democratic Party convention. On two key questions the campaign
raises - is the US is better off now than four years ago and is Obama just a
cog in the infernal machine? - there's no possible positive spin. - Pepe Escobar
(Sep 6, '12)
COMMENT
Karzai culture spreads
disillusionment
 The
international community's failure to pressure the Hamid Karzai government over
its refusal to decentralize power has spawned a culture of unaccountability
that is fueling the insurgency as disillusionment spreads among average
Afghans. If the West can expand elected government and help democracy mature,
it could yet rescue its Afghan legacy.
- Inge Fryklund (Sep 6, '12)
POPULATION PANGS
How to make more Singaporean
babies
Concerns that dipping birth rates in Singapore spell demographic doom for the
city-state have seen the government invite ideas from the public about how to
encourage people to have children. While some critics say healthy economic
growth has led people to put off parenthood to focus on their careers, others
blame the high-pressure education system.
- Kalinga Seneviratne (Sep 6, '12)
Nearer the Church, farther
from birth goals
As Philippines President Benigno Aquino garners support for a reproductive bill
that would offer contraceptive options against the teachings of the Catholic
Church, a minority of lawmakers are determined to filibuster. Meanwhile,
unintended pregnancies and maternal mortality rates keep on rising.
- Marwaan Macan-Markar (Sep 6, '12) |
Palestinian refugees from Syria
betrayed
In the 64 years since the Nakba, the exodus from their homeland after the
establishment of the State of Israel, the plight of Palestinian refugees has
been a non-stop talking point for Arab leaders. Their actions, however, have
been far less resonant than their words, as demonstrated most recently by the
cruel fate of Palestinians fleeing the civil war in Syria to Jordan and
Lebanon. - Ramzy Baroud (Sep 6, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Security vs liberty:
competition or conflict?
The raft of anti-terror measures Europe has taken to stay in step with
post-9/11 US efforts highlight the inherent tensions between security concerns
and civil rights. Once a champion of human rights and data protection, the
scant resistance Brussels has shown to US demands suggests it has abandoned
founding EU principles. - Hossein Aghaie (Sep
6, '12)
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Netanyahu mulls a Six-Day War
surprise
A military reshuffle in Israel, previously delayed amid preparations for
attacking Iran, has added to speculation that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
is listening to advice to postpone a confrontation until 2013. However,
surprise preemptive strikes - as launched in the 1967 Six-Day War - are
emblematic of the country's military doctrine, and top-brass machinations could
yet soften the watchfulness of enemies. - Victor Kotsev
(Sep 5, '12)
Dempsey muscle may yet force
rethink
Military muscle, in the shape of US General Martin Dempsey, has given the White
House more traction to distance itself from Israel's warlike stance on Iran.
The warning that the US won't be complicit in a strike on Iran's nuclear
facilities, and a Republican refusal to place Iran near the center of its
election strategy, is forcing Israel to rethink its campaign of belligerence. - Jim
Lobe and Gareth Porter (Sep 5, '12)
 Afghanistan's
base bonanza
A reminder of the profligate madness of war comes with news that to withdraw US
combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, the US military may have to
send in extra troops to sort out the logistics for more than $60 billion worth
of equipment in its vast network of bases. It's not so much an urge but a surge
to depart. - Nick Turse (Sep 5, '12)
Taiwanese frigate captures Chinese
cadre
Chinese Vice Transport Minister Xu Zuyuan last week made history by boarding a
Taiwanese frigate in a joint maritime search and rescue drill. After Taiwanese
activists upset the United States-Japanese alliance by sailing to disputed East
China Sea islands, the photo-opportunity created by the exercise gives Beijing
further excuse to cast doubts on Washington's role as Taipei's guarantor of
security. - Jens Kastner (Sep 5, '12)
'Teachable moments' loom in
Syrian conflict
The Western strategy in Libya of low cost, low intensity, illegitimate warfare
combined with aggressive nuclear posturing is likely to be pursued in Syria,
though the former devastated Libya's infrastructure and divided it along tribal
and ethnic lines. With international stakeholders not to be trusted and
Damascus still delivering relative stability, delegating political influence
offers a better long-term chance of discouraging violence. - Christof Lehmann
(Sep 5, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
Myanmar reform on a familiar
track
As Western countries cheer reform efforts in Myanmar, internal critics see the
process as a cynical culmination of the "seven-step roadmap" drawn up by the
military regime before President Thein Sein took power through elections. The
plan, which envisions the emergence of a "genuine and disciplined democratic
system", guarantees the safety of ex-junta generals involved in widespread
human rights abuses while opening the country to foreign investment. - Saw Yan
Naing (Sep 5, '12)
Chinese, overseas ... and insecure
The remarkable rise in the number of Chinese projects and workers overseas,
notably in Africa, brings a concomitant increase in the security risk facing
company property and individuals. The government in Beijing must tread softly -
and brave domestic claims of weakness - or take a stronger stance that would
bring charges of "imperialism". - Jacob Zenn (Sep
5, '12)
Germany is a euro victim
The euro crisis has pushed Germany into an increasingly dominant position in
Europe, yet by its own past and current global standards the country's economic
performance during the euro years has weakened. Germany has been the loser, not
the winner in an iniquitous reallocation of capital. - Gunnar Beck
(Sep 5, '12)
Calling the China-Russia spilt isn't
heresy
Beijing is not amused at the Kremlin's refusal to reciprocate over the United
States' "pivot" in the Asia-Pacific, especially since returns from its
diplomatic support for Moscow's embattled ally in Damascus are expected. The
symbolism of Russia hosting the Vietnamese president and the Japanese foreign
minister in quick succession in July was not lost on China either - and so the
Sino-Soviet chill now descending is a far easier call than in cold days of the
1950s, when such forecasts were greeted as acts of heresy.
- M K Bhadrakumar (Sep 4, '12)
US complicit in Israel war
plans for Iran
Top US generals like Martin Dempsey are adamant that they do not want to be
held "complicit" if Israel attacks Iran in a unilateral strike. But by giving
Israel the military means to do just that, the claims ring hollow. Seen from
Tehran, the attempt to jettison itself out of the equation - to protect its
forces in the region - is actually an inducement to strike, much as it is
interpreted in Israel and the West as a sign of US disapproval. - Kaveh L
Afrasiabi (Sep 4, '12)
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Nuclear
fuel bank or nuclear graveyard?
A plan to build a low-enriched uranium fuel bank in East Kazakhstan province
under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency is being
enthusiastically promoted by the government. While the country's nuclear past
makes it a good choice to host the facility, some suspect darker purposes. - Zhulduz
Baizakova
China, Europe export
gangsters
to Africa
Recent police shootings of striking miners in South Africa who had been seeking
better pay have underscored the role of European firms in the exploitation of
workers. At the same time, there is little to differentiate Chinese and
European organized crime in Africa. - Emanuele Scimia
India's coal output failure
An independent audit has uncovered massive mismanagement of India's coal
sector, but even this indictment does not reveal the whole picture, which is
black indeed. While demand for electricity soars, production of coal, the
predominant fuel for generating power, has stagnated. - Siddharth Srivastava
CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN
Jackson Hole and 'Risk 3'
The word "bubble" is nowhere to be found in Federal Reserve chairman Ben
Bernanke's paper delivered at Jackson Hole. Yet the Fed is once again
accommodating a government finance bubble, creating today's prevailing -
potentially catastrophic - policy risk.
Doug Noland looks at the previous week's events each Monday.
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TONY ALLISON (1953-2012)
Asia Times Online's Editor-in-Chief Anthony Allison died on June 20 after a
short illness. We extend our sympathy to Tony's family for their tragic and
premature loss.
Obituary
Tributes
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Beware
of US adulations
It wouldn’t have been difficult at all for the Washington Post reporter to get
the apt quotations to embellish his highly critical piece on Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh. What matters is the overall disenchantment of the American
media with the PM...
- M K Bhadrakumar
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Modern pioneers of 21st-century finance view their victims through the same
prism of condescending contempt as their predecessors, who were convinced that
social Darwinism and God's grace preordained their acquisition of wealth, by
fair means or foul.
H Campbell
Texas
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