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| June 19, 2002 | atimes.com | ||
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Taxing Japan: How stupid can you get? Japan is experiencing a nascent economic recovery, although it is beyond argument that the country faces fundamental problems that need to be remedied. It is utterly absurd, therefore, even to contemplate raising taxes in a depressed, deflationary environment. (Jun 18) Full text Philippines: Dirty war, stupid targets An advance party of US special forces is due to arrive on the Philippines island of Basilan in the start of a new chapter in Washington's campaign against terrorism. In their sights is a rag-tag, kidnap-for-ransom group of bandits who are really nothing more than a stupid, if symbolic and convenient target. Ignoring the real problem - for purely political reasons - is no way to fight a war. (Feb 15) Full text Give war a chance Is George W Bush declaring Trotsky-style "permanent revolution" in which wars afford the opportunity of speeding up the liberation process? Have we just witnessed the birth of George W Bush the revolutionary? Well, tell us it is so, George! Tell us that the US henceforward will shun alliances with rotten regimes. Tell us that the very definition of the American national interest and purpose forecloses making rotten compromises not just with Iraq, Iran or North Korea, but also with the likes of Abdullah's Saudi Arabia and Karimov's Uzbekistan. (Jan 31) Full text Philippines: Constitutional hypocrisy After much hullabaloo, the Philippines National Security Council has assented to the presence of US troops in the Philippines. Why all the fuss? Why all this talk about the sanctity of the Philippines' constitution by two politicians who came into their present positions by blatant violation of that once again sacred document? (Jan 24) Full text Terror crackdown opportunism As the United States-led campaign against terrorism spreads, increasing numbers of governments are jumping on the bandwagon and using the excuse of cracking down on terrorist groups to target legitimate opposition forces. While in the present climate this can be tolerated, in the long run it cannot be allowed to continue. (Jan 9) Full text From Kabul to Berlin: Wrong road To put it mildly, the idea of staging an all-Afghan conference in Berlin next Monday is not particularly brilliant. Events on the ground in Afghanistan are still moving far too quickly for there to be any assurance that the true representatives of the country's ethnic groups will attend. (Nov 21) Full text War: Victories on the economic front Today's Islamic terrorists abhor all forms of economic progress, which is why the Doha agreement on a new global round of trade negotiations and the laying of a foundation between Washington and Moscow for Russia to leave behind the economic misery of the 1990s are of significant importance in the war against terrorism. (Nov 16) Full text Rotten deals bound to prolong war A just war to eradicate global terrorism has in effect been reduced to a war against a government - and even that's going badly enough for there to be no early end in sight. The problem, as usual, is politics. That's what has the US telling the Northern Alliance to back off from Kabul when the capital's seizure would deal the Taliban a decisive blow and spare Afghanistan prolonged suffering. (Nov 12) Full text Bush and Putin: Strategic opportunity In the words of US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, the United States and Russia need to "get out of a particular frame of mind" about their relations. One test of whether they are doing so is the extent to which issues other than nukes and missiles figure in the talks between presidents Bush and Putin this coming week. On the US side, we would like to see an acknowledgement that a politically stable, economically and militarily secure Russia could become a valuable strategic partner. (Nov 9) Full text The political left and Afghanistan: To hell together It's all clear as daylight to the political left: The arrogant new imperialist Americans brought September 11 upon themselves, and now they are arrogantly and callously bombing the hell out of one of the world's poorest nations. But for the better part of the less left-sophisticated populace of Western and Asian nations alike, such sophistry holds little water. Mass murder was committed on September 11. (Nov 7) Full text Afghanistan quagmire or strategic deception? There are many who question just what the United States is up to in Afghanistan, with no apparent signs of military success in the field and the danger of being sucked into a protracted struggle. What should be borne in mind is that Washington has never said that it would be a quick campaign, and that dragging out the Afghanistan action may be intentional and serve a broader strategic purpose. (Oct 29) Full text Collateral damage ... and how to limit it Regional governments, upset about seeing their political-risk ratings downgraded and economic fortunes plummet, may believe that toning down their support for and limiting their actions in the war on terrorism will buy some added security and get them out of the firing line. That would be a fundamental mistake. In war, halfway measures lead to setbacks and defeat. (Oct 25) Full text Have Gun, Will Travel The whereabouts of the targets of the US operation in Afghanistan remain unknown, as do its precise objectives and an exit strategy, as no one seems quite certain what would constitute victory. This must make especially US Secretary of State Colin Powell uneasy. In 1991, as head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, he directed the highly successful Gulf War operations in accordance with the "Weinberger Doctrine", a set of excellently thought-out and enduring principles on the conduct of war. (Sep 28) Full text An "Afghan solution"? There is some merit in the United States making use of the forces of the Afghan Northern Alliance to track down Osama bin Laden and destroy his bases. There are also a lot of risks in "Afghanization" of the war on terrorism - and none greater than allowing Afghanistan to become another serious source of friction between two countries that have a particular interest in its affairs - India and Pakistan. (Sep 26) Full text Beware unintended consequences United States pressure on various moderate Arab states, and also on Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia, to respond to the terror attacks in the US could lead to Islamist upheavals and serious threats to political stability in these countries - which would play right into the hands of the very people who are suspected of initiating the attacks - Osama bin Laden and his followers. (Sep 25) Full text US economy: Not dead by a long shot We are confident of the early recovery potential of the US economy. Regarding equity markets, at least some New York and London traders will heed the advice of Nathan Meyer Rothschild during the Napoleonic wars: "Buy to the sound of cannons and sell to the sound of trumpets [of peace]." Our considered view is that the panic reactions many predict and are bracing for will not come to pass. (Sep 17) Full text When intelligence fails There is no argument that the terrorist strikes against the United States represent an intelligence and security failure. The Central Intelligence Agency has become a bureaucratically bloated, risk-averse and arrogant intelligence (so-called) organization that has failed its country. If the US is intelligently serious about its declaration of war on international terrorism, it will have to redress this situation. Full text (Sep 14) Full text |
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