Calamity Corps
We make a plea for a UN
quick-response civil disaster
agency, using the armed services
of participating nations. We
argue that there is a
probability that over the years
ahead many, perhaps most, of the
armed forces personnel in
democracies, may never hear a
shot fired in anger, yet there
are many civil crises globally
when only military
teams can do what needs to be
done. Our PAKISTAN report
illustrates the horrifying
calamity scenario in that
unfortunate nation.
North
Korea
We anticipate that
the succession to the
leadership of ‘the hermit
nation,’ the smallest and most
belligerent member of the
world’s nine nuclear-armed
powers, will shortly be
revealed.
Philippines
Early in the reform
administration of newly
elected President Aquino,
comes a savage reminder of the
levels of violence in this
Pacific nation and the
challenge that he confronts.
Taiwan
It appears that China is
achieving peacefully what it
could not do militarily, in
bringing the island republic
under its control. The
Economic Framework
Co-operation Agreement (EFCA)
in our reading, combined with
a KMT government does give
economic control to Beijing.
After that, political
re-unification becomes less
urgent for China, and may be
expected to follow in due
course.
Syria
and Iraq
IRAN, TURKEY, SAUDI ARABIA
all neighbours of IRAQ,
as well as the USA seek to
influence the future of events
there. As well as updating the
Iraqi political picture in the
wake of US troop withdrawals,
we describe how SYRIA,
the only secular state in the
neighbourhood and hosting some
hundreds of thousands of Iraqi
refugees, is particularly well
placed to influence events in
IRAQ.
South
Africa: Worm in the Apple
We greatly admired South
Africa’s staging of the world
cup – a triumph given the
doomsayers predictions, but
within weeks a wave of strikes
(of a particularly ugly
nature), threatens to undo the
favourable image earned, as
strikers target doctors and
nurses for not
deserting their patients.
Other stories emerge of
President Zuma’s nephew, not a
known commercial ‘player’
before this presidency,
acquiring corporate assets,
receiving directorships and
partnerships, being awarded
mining concessions and oil
exploration rights.
We see the once admirable ANC
which campaigned for so long
to achieve final success, has
now become a political
monolith contiguous with the
state, rather than a political
party of government, with its
funding remaining a closed
book, but suspected of being
financed by kick-backs from
deals done at government
level.
Dr
David Kelly: his death and the
consequences
The UK is a nation
that glories in its loyalty to
the rule of law. Hence we add
our voice to the calls for a
coroner’s inquest on this
violent death, which had been
subsumed by a government
appointed political enquiry.
It just won’t do when the
government itself, or its
agencies or allies, are
themselves leading 'suspects',
to put such an issue on a
political level, rather than
through the due process of
law.
Russia’s second tier of
leadership and Mayor Luzkhov
We look at how the
leaders of Russia’s 89
component republics and
territories are chosen, and
how one in particular, the
highly successful Mayor of
Moscow might be moving on.
Iran;
Opposition to Ahmadinejad from
the Right
Certain it is that things have
not settled down since the
presidential election.
Unhappy Afghanistan
There is now much
informed comment on engaging
with the Taleban off the
battlefield to seek a
political solution. We ask in
terms of a settlement, what
about the Northern Alliance of
Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazara whom
the west then supported and
who won their brutal civil
war? Afghanistan is about
religious sectarianism but
also tribalism - the nation is
a miscellany of different
tribes with the Taleban mainly
being from the numerous
Pashtun - and tribalism is
more meaningful than
nationalism, still a frail
concept.
Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia,
Bulgaria, Romania
We have Updates of these
Balkan and SE European states.
The
‘Stans of Central Asia
KYRGYZSTAN is to hold
elections on 10th September
which some say will be the
freest yet. Also Updates from
UZBEKISTAN, KAZAKHSTAN
and from TURKMENISTAN,
now emerging as one of the
energy giants of all time.
Russia,
Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia
In our last issue we described
Russia attaining its foreign
policy objective of
consolidating its ‘Greater
Russia’ influence in its
non-Moslem near-abroad. How
these nations fit emerges from
their Updates. GEORGIA
presently does not fit, but
ARMENIA
certainly does and
UKRAINE’s new
government is a reward for
Moscow’s patience.
Turkey
&Azerbaijan
Allies since the times of
Tsars and Sultans,
nevertheless RUSSIA
whilst supporting
ARMENIA does not want
to completely lose former
Soviet AZERBAIJAN
to the west.
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