Foreign Policy News and Commentary Update September 5, 2007

Foreign Policy News and Commentary Update September 5, 2007


"We're kicking ass."

--President George W. Bush, in response to how the U.S. was doing in Iraq; cited
in Tim Grieve, 'Bush on Iraq' (Salon, September 5)
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2007/09/05/kicking_ass/index.html

'It's not my exercising influence over him. I'm internalizing his world.'

--Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, regarding President George W. Bush; cited
in Michiko Kakutani, 'Bush Profiled: Big Ideas, Tiny Details' (New York Times,
September 5)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/books/05kaku.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1189001323-k4hmSk4PjjMBSZxXrJXm/w&pagewanted=print

'In the northern town of Mosul yesterday, an old man, under the impression that
I was President Bush (he apparently has poor TV reception), rushed up and
planted two very wet and hairy kisses on my cheeks.'

--Letter from former US Viceroy in Iraq L. Paul Bremer to George W. Bush, May
22, 2003 (New York Times, September 4)
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/washington/04bremer-text1.html

VIDEO

Disney Education For Death - WWII Cartoon Propaganda: The Story of One of
Hitler's Children
http://videocartoon.blogspot.com/2007/09/disney-education-for-death-wwii-cartoon.html
SEE ALSO
http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/warner-todd-huston/2007/09/05/forced-military-training-chinese-children-softened-camp-usa-toda
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/91000.pdf

CONFERENCE

From MountainRunner Blog, September 5: 'The Diego Cazzin Center for the Study of
Intelligence and Security of the University of Rome, Italy, is sponsoring an
international conference titled 'The Battle for Hearts and Minds: Soft Power in
the Struggle against Global Jihadism' in Rome 28th-30th of November 2007.'
http://mountainrunner.us/2007/09/there_are_worse_places_for_a_c.html

PERSISTENCE OF MYTHS COULD ALTER PUBLIC POLICY APPROACH SHANKAR VEDANTAM
(WASHINGTON POST, SEPTEMBER 4): Many in the Arab world are convinced that the
destruction of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 was not the work of Arab
terrorists but was a controlled demolition; that 4,000 Jews working there had
been warned to stay home that day; and that the Pentagon was struck by a missile
rather than a plane. Those notions remain widespread even though the federal
government now runs Web sites in seven languages to challenge them. Karen
Hughes, who runs the Bush administration?s campaign to win hearts and minds in
the fight against terrorism, recently painted a glowing report of the ?digital
outreach? teams working to counter misinformation and myths by challenging those
ideas on Arabic blogs. A report last year by the Pew Global Attitudes Project,
however, found that the number of Muslims worldwide who do not believe that
Arabs carried out the Sept. 11 attacks is soaring -- to 59 percent of Turks and
Egyptians, 65 percent of Indonesians, 53 percent of Jordanians, 41 percent of
Pakistanis and even 56 percent of British Muslims.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/03/AR2007090300933_pf.html

LESSONS FROM THE BLOC - ROBERT D. ENGLISH (NATION INTEREST ONLINE, SEPTEMBER
4): Even today's emboldened 'strategic debate' about Iraq is mainly limited to
tactical adjustments in our conduct of the war. Precisely because it mostly
omits a larger re-evaluation of our overall grand strategy in world affairs?from
an over-reliance on hard power, to soft-power efforts that are weak at best and
tragicomic at worst (e.g., Bush advisor Karen Hughes' much-publicized but
soon-forgotten tour of Islamic countries)?it retains the ideological blinders
that guarantee further diminution of our global leadership.
http://www.nationalinterest.org/PrinterFriendly.aspx?id=15426

CRUSADER VS. CALIPHATE...BUSH DOCTRINE: DESTROY THE HERETICS OF ISLAM!
XXWZLO (OLIVIA, SEPTEMBER 4): Bush's appeal to religious freedom (and he knows
exactly how this sounds in the West secular and/or religious) does NOT play out
in Islam: Bush -- 'We're standing with dissidents and exiles against oppressive
regimes, because we know that the dissidents of today will be the democratic
leaders of tomorrow. We're making our case through public diplomacy, stating
clearly and confidently our belief in self-determination, and the rule of law,
and religious freedom, and equal rights for women, beliefs that are right and
true in every land, and in every culture.'
http://oliviasplfdxvluqz.blogspot.com/2007/09/crusader-vs-caliphatebush-doctrine.html

QUICK UPDATE (NO LONGER AT EASE, SEPTEMBER 4): 'There's a growing
speculation that an attack on Iran is imminent, mostly based on the US build up
in the Arabian/Persian. But I think the public diplomacy build up from US admin
-- for a big step like bombing Iran and putting the world's oil supply in
jeopardy -- isn't enough. That's not to rule out that Israel might take this
brave step with American intervention later on. Either way, an attack on Iran
would the most significant US war since the Vietnam war.'
http://civilexpression.blogspot.com/2007/09/quick-update.html

CATCHING UP ON CHINA: CHINA LEADS A PEACEKEEPING OP (MOUNTAINRUNNER BLOG,
SEPTEMBER 4): The UN announced the first-ever Chinese led peacekeeping
operation. This syncs with Chinese public statements to use peacekeeping as a
way of increasing its profile with governments and people directly (like with a
hospital). The public diplomacy angle has been stated repeatedly, perhaps most
clearly when they voiced their intent to up their contribution to the Lebanese
PKO to increase their profile in the Middle East (as well as in Europe). As
China builds its expeditionary capability and while building prestige and
influence, how exactly is the US improving its image by forcing democracy at the
barrel of a gun?
http://mountainrunner.us/2007/09/catching_up_on_china_china_lea.html

BUSH TEAM LETTING BIN LADEN WIN PR WAR, RECRUIT JIHADISTS - THOMAS L.
FRIEDMAN (NEW YORK TIMES, AUGUST 26): 'Ask yourself this: If bin Laden were
running against George Bush for president, how would Karl Rove and Karen Hughes
have handled the Yazidi murders' Within an hour, they'd have had a press release
out saying: 'This genocide of Iraqi civilians was inspired by bin Laden. We
accuse bin Laden of the mass murder of 500 women and children. Bin Laden has
killed more Iraqis and Muslims than any person alive. Support bin Laden and you
support genocide against Muslims." And they would have repeated that point on
every network, every day.'
http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=68153

ROBERT PARRY REPORTING ON THE DISASTROUS BUSH PRESIDENCY, AND THE NEWS
MEDIA'S HELPING HAND (BUZZFLASH, SEPTEMBER 9): Robert Parry, a former AP and
Newsweek investigative reporter who now runs the website, Consortiumnews.com:
?When you get into the Reagan years ... You had the public diplomacy operations,
which were State, but also came out of the CIA. These groups took aim at
journalists who were getting in the way. Over these years, the pressure built up
on the mainstream media to tilt to the right. That's how you protected your
career.'
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/interviews/074

PROMOTING PEACE OR PROPAGANDA? A BLUNT-BUT-MYSTERIOUS ANTI-TERROR AD
CAMPAIGN LEAVES VIEWERS AND ANALYSTS ALIKE WONDERING WHO'S BEHIND THE CURTAINS -
MARWA HELAL (EGYPT TODAY, AUGUST): According to reports carried in the
international press, a Hollywood-based company by the name of 900 Frames
produced the $1 million advertisement for Egyptian television; a Los Angeles
warehouse district was used as a mock-Iraq for the purposes of filming.
http://www.egypttoday.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=7612
SEE ALSO CLIPS FROM THE AD AT
http://aloneinamman.blogspot.com/2007/09/coca-cola-or-terrorism.html

DISNEY-INSPIRED MIDDLE EAST PROPAGANDA CARTOON BREW (SEPTEMBER 4): Sadly,
it's come to this. Animation has been enlisted in the propaganda war between
rival Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah. This shocking video from Hamas uses
imagery inspired by Disney.
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/cartoon-culture/disney-inspired-middle-east-propaganda

OPERATION ENDURING PROPAGANDA AND COMMUNICATING VASES MENTARCH (ANOTHER
POINT OF VIEW, SEPTEMBER 4): ?On July 31, 2007, I wrote an article titled
?Operation Enduring Propaganda, concerning an unrelenting blitzkrieg-like,
coordinated propaganda counter-strike to sell the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,
while making the case for more war in the Middle-East (especially Iran), through
it all playing on the fear and insecurity of Americans.'
http://pov-mentarch1.blogspot.com/2007/09/operation-enduring-propaganda-and.html#comment-8464677144888448737

SURGE IN BUSH PROPAGANDA (BILL MOYERS POSTED BY CARROTFIRE, SEPTEMBER 4):
Bill Moyers takes a look at the vast differences between Bushco?s Potemkin Iraq
PR campaign and what is really going on in Iraq.
http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/122986/Bill_Moyers_Surge_in_Bush_Propaganda.html

ANOTHER IRAQ PHOTO OP - EDITORIAL (NEW YORK TIMES, SEPTEMBER 5): As
Americans and Iraqis continue to die -- and Iraqi politicians refuse to
reconcile -- Mr. Bush stubbornly refuses to recognize that what both countries
need is a responsible exit strategy for the United States, not more photo ops
and disingenuous claims of success.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/opinion/05wed1.html?pagewanted=print

KABUKI AT CAMP CUPCAKE - DAN FROOMKIN (WASHINGTONPOST.COM, SEPTEMBER 4):
Much of the press seems to be going along with a narrative that involves
suspense over what Petraeus and Crocker will say and what Bush will decide. It's
true that the public doesn't know the details yet, but it really couldn't be
more obvious that Bush already knows full well what Petraeus and Crocker will
tell Congress next week -- and has already decided on what he himself will tell
the nation the following week. What's going on now is not deliberation, it's a
PR campaign.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/09/04/BL2007090401128_pf.html

BUSH PR MACHINE WORKS MYTH AND MAGIC ON IRAQ - IRA CHERNUS (COMMON DREAMS,
SEPTEMBER 4): George W. Bush's trip to Iraq was the ultimate stunt in a huge
long PR campaign to turn public opinion on the war. And lets face it: Sad to
say, its working.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/04/3596/

HUBRIS V. HUMILITY: WHAT DOSTOEVSKY CAN TELL US ABOUT IRAQ - IRSHAD MANJI
(NEW REPUBLIC, SEPEMBER 5): Regarding Iraq, The White House has spoken like
Jesus Christ yet acted like the Grand Inquisitor.
http://www.tnr.com/docprint.mhtml?i=w070903&s=manji090507

BUSH RECASTING THE WAR AS NOT JUST ABOUT IRAQ: HIS RECENT SPEECHES CITE IRAN
AND AL QAEDA AS REASONS THE US MUST NOT PULL OUT - HOWARD LAFRANCHI (CHRISTIAN
SCIENCE MONITOR, SEPTEMBER 5)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0905/p02s01-usfp.html

WEIGHING THE 'SURGE': THE U.S. WAR IN IRAQ HINGES ON THE COUNTERINSURGENCY
STRATEGY OF GEN. PETRAEUS. THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN TENUOUS - SUDARSAN RAGHAVAN
(WASHINGTON POST, SEPTEMBER 4)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/03/AR2007090301486_pf.html

LETTER FROM BAGHDAD - THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN (NEW YORK TIMES, SEPTEMBER 5): So
far, the surge has created nothing that is self-sustaining. That is, pull us out
and this whole place still blows in 10 minutes.
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/opinion/05Friedman.html?hp=&pagewanted=print
PAID SUBSCRIPTION

TROOP CUTS, WHILE BRITISH FORCES HEAD FOR THE EXITS: CUT AND RUN IN IRAQ -
PATRICK COCKBURN (COUNTERPUNCH, SEPTEMBER 4): In reality, the improvement in the
US position in Anbar has nothing to do with the surge and the deployment of
30,000 extra American troops.
http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick09042007.html

THE SURGE HAS BEEN COMPLETELY USELESS - CENK UYGUR (HUFFINGTON POST,
SEPTEMBER 5)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/the-surge-has-been-comple_b_63111.html?view=print

DUELING REALITIES IN IRAQ - MICHAEL O'HANLON (WASHINGTON TIMES, SEPTEMBER
5): It hard to give up on the surge, yet hard to know how long we should keep
risking young American GIs when Iraqi top leaders dither and quarrel in another.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070905/COMMENTARY/109050024/1012&template=printart

D.C. & IRAQ: BUSH'S WAY ... - JOHN PODHORETZ (NEW YORK POST, SZEPTEMBER 5):
George W. Bush -- you know, that deeply unpopular president who has lost all
credibility with the American people, or so they say -- is going to get his way
yet again on Iraq. The new strategy in Iraq -- the so-called surge -- will
continue through the winter and into the spring.
http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/09052007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/d_c___iraq__bushs_way___.htm

THE SURGE IS WORKING - JEFF EMANUEL (WASHINGTON TIMES, SEPTEMBER 4):
Contrary to what the nightly news often seems to suggest, there is more to Iraq
and to the Coalition's efforts there than an endless cycle of violence and
bloodshed. When evaluating the United States' performance in this conflict, it
is vital not only to recognize this fact, but to take those other events and
factors into full account -- lest an observer with only a partial knowledge of
the facts cast an erroneous judgment on the whole.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070904/EDITORIAL/109040003/1013&template=printart

SUSTAINING THE SURGE: BUSH HAS MORE OPTIONS THAN PEOPLE THINK - THOMAS
DONNELLY AND GARY SCHMITT (WEEKLY STANDARD, SEPTEMBER 10)
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/044asrll.asp

THE TIDE IS TURNING IN IRAQ - KIMBERLY KAGAN (WALL STREET JOURNAL,
SEPTEMBER 4): Operations and events on the ground are already showing successes
well beyond Baghdad in Anbar, Diyala and Salahaddin provinces -- formerly al
Qaeda strongholds and hotbeds of the Sunni insurgency.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118885627242916196.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries
PAID SUBSCRIPTION

SUNNI RULE AGAIN IN IRAQ? WILLIAM M. ARKIN (WASHINGTON POST, SEPTEMBER 5):
President Bush's surprise visit to Iraq will be read by many Iraqis, and by many
others in the Islamic world, as part of America's great conspiracy to create an
American-Sunni alliance, restore the Sunni minority to power and suppress the
Shiite majority.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/2007/09/sunni_rule_again_in_iraq_1.html?nav=rss_blog

BUSH'S NEW FRIENDS: THE SUNNIS -- AS PLANS TO STABILIZE IRAQI POLITICS GO
NOWHERE FAST, EXPERTS WARN THAT THE LATEST U.S. TACTICS COULD LEAD TO GREATER
CIVIL WAR - MARK BENJAMIN (SALON, SEPTEMBER 5)
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/09/05/reconciliation/print.html

NO RELIEF FROM FEAR: DESPITE U.S. BUILDUP, FAMILIES STILL FLEEING BAGHDAD
HOMES AS VIOLENCE, RIVALRIES LOOM OVER PARALYZED IRAQI GOVERNMENT - SUDARSAN
RAGHAVAN (WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 5)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/04/AR2007090402275.html?hpid=topnews

DOWN THE RATHOLE OF IRAQ - ROBERT SCHEER (SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, SEPTEMBER
5): Instead of the liberated, united and democratic Iraq promised by this
invasion, we are left with a nation ruled by religious fiefdoms sustained now
and far into the future by U.S. taxpayers.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/09/05/ED8ARUVI9.DTL&type=printable

TROOP BUILDUP FAILS TO RECONCILE IRAQ: BAGHDAD'S NEIGHBORHOODS CONTINUE TO
SPLIT ALONG SECTARIAN LINES, VIOLENCE SHIFTS ELSEWHERE AND INFIGHTING STALLS
POLITICAL PROGRESS - TINA SUSMAN (LOS ANGELES TIMES, SEPTEMBER 4)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-surge4sep04,0,3817546.story?coll=la-home-center

CENTER FIRST GIVES WAY TO CENTER LAST - DAVID BROOKS (NEW YORK TIMES,
SEPTEMBER 4): The key questions now are: Can U.S. troops help Iraqi locals take
control of their own neighborhoods? Is it worth more American lives to help them
do so? And, if so, how?
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/opinion/04brooks.html?pagewanted=print
PAID SUBSCRIPTION

THE STATE OF IRAQ: AN UPDATE - JASON CAMPBELL, MICHAEL O'HANLAN AND AMY
UNIKEWICZ (NEW YORK TIMES, SEPTEMBER 4): Given the continuing violence, and the
absence of political progress, Iraq is not now on a trajectory toward
sustainable stability -- and America is not yet on a clear path to an exit
strategy. With sectarian tensions so high, and hatreds so freshly stoked, Iraq?s
own dynamics would probably lead to an accelerating civil war if left unchecked.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/opinion/04ohanlon.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

IRAQ'S WAR OF THE WARLORDS EDITORIAL (BOSTON GLOBE, SEPTEMBER 4): Because
Iraq has been sundered into separate fiefdoms and has descended into
Somalia-style warlordism, there is no identifiable enemy over whom President
Bush may claim victory. There are now many different wars in Iraq, but none that
America can win.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2007/09/04/iraqs_war_of_the_warlords?mode=PF

MILITARY OFFICIALS IN IRAQ FAULT GAO REPORT - KAREN DEYOUNG AND ANN SCOTT
TYSON (WASHINGTON POST SEPTEMBER 5): A bleak portrait of the political and
security situation in Iraq released yesterday by the Government Accountability
Office sparked sharp protests from the top U.S. military command in Baghdad,
whose officials described it as flawed and "factually incorrect."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/04/AR2007090402338_pf.html
SEE ALSO
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/059muaol.asp
http://www.salon.com/news/primary_sources/2007/09/04/gao_report/

GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM! - EUGENE ROBINSON (WASHINGTON POST, SEPTEMBER 4): The
most fascinating aspect of George W. Bush's no-holds-barred campaign to keep
Congress from meddling in his foolish and tragic war is the way he has begun
invoking the Vietnam War -- not as a cautionary lesson about hubris and futility
but as a reason to push ahead (whatever "ahead" might mean) in Iraq.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/03/AR2007090300802_pf.html

THIS WAR WAS LOST LONG AGO - JOSEPH A. PALERMO (HUFFINGTON POST, SEPTEMBER
4): Like Vietnam, the U.S. military has the power to destroy any city in Iraq
whenever it pleases, but like Vietnam the U.S. has won every battle but lost the
war.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-a-palermo/this-war-was-lost-long-ag_b_63066.html

GETTING OUT OF IRAQ - JEFF DANZIGER (BOSTON GLOBE, SEPTEMBER 4): It will
take skill, finesse, and careful attention to detail to leave Iraq without a
great loss of American life.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/09/04/getting_out_of_iraq?mode=PF

TRUE OR FALSE: CAN BUSH TELL DIFFERENCE? - ANDREW GREELEY (THE CHICAGO SUN
TIMES, SEPTEMBER 5/COMMON DREAMS): The war will end only when it ends, when
someone in power says, ?already, all right, enough,? and announces that the war
is over.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/05/3623/

THE END BEGINS: THE IRAQ WAR IS POLITICAL PLUTONIUM - STAN GOFF
(COUNTERPUNCH, SEPTEMBER 5): It's over. Admit it. Get over it. Get out. Bring
them home now.
http://www.counterpunch.org/goff09052007.html

US ADMISSIONS OF IRAQI REFUGEES RISE - ASSOCIATED PRESS (NEW YORK TIMES,
SEPTEMBER 4): Nearly 530 Iraqi refugees were admitted to the United States last
month, a huge bump from July but still far short of the number needed to fulfill
the Bush administration's pledge to accept 2,000 by the end of September.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-US-Iraq-Refugees.html?pagewanted=print
SEE ALSO
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-kusnetz/the-forgotten_b_63097.html

IRAQI TRANSLATORS FINALLY GET VISAS - KEVIN WHITELAW (U.S. WORLD & NEWS
REPORT, SEPTEMBER 4)
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/iraq/2007/09/04/iraqi-translators-finally-get-visas.html

THE ON-AGAIN, OFF-AGAIN IRAN ATTACK - CHERYL ROFER (WHIRLED VIEW, SEPTEMBER
3): It could be that the neocons can convince President Bush that an aerial
attack on 1200 targets in Iran will bring peace and freedom to the Middle East,
or that another smoking ruin of a country in that area is to the US?s advantage.
And it could be that the administration is working a carrot-and-stick strategy.
There?s no way to know.
http://whirledview.typepad.com/whirledview/2007/09/the-on-again-of.html

OPTIONS ON IRAN EDITORIAL (WASHINGTON TIMES, SEPTEMBER 5): Mr. Bush has
yet to come up with an effective plan for removing the Iranian nuclear threat.
http://washingtontimes.com/article/20070905/EDITORIAL/109050001/1013

TERRORIST TRAINING CAMPS IN IRAN: SHOULD THEY BE SAFE HAVENS? - WILLIAM
KRISTOL (WEEKLY STANDARD, SEPTEMBER 5): In light of fresh evidence, and in light
of the fact that the Iranians have been shelling targets in Kurdistan, in
northern Iraq, that they claim are supporting violence in Iran, one has to ask:
"Why are terror training camps in Iran, camps that are directly training
terrorists to attack U.S. troops, off limits?"
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/061vrvwi.asp

WHEN WISHFUL THINKING REPLACES RESISTANCE: WHY BUSH CAN GET AWAY WITH
ATTACKING IRAN - JEAN BRICMONT (COUNTERPUNCH, SEPTEMBER 5)
http://www.counterpunch.org/bricmont09042007.html

FRED HIATT, MICHAEL LEDEEN AND THE "BOMB IRAN CRAZIES" - GLENN GREENWALD
(SALON, SEPTEMBER 5)
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/09/05/hiatt_ledeen/index.html

WHY TURKS FEEL THREATENED BY THE US (WORLDPUBLICOPINION.ORG, SEPTEMBER 5):
Which Middle Eastern public has the largest percentage of people naming the
United States as the country that poses the greatest threat? The answer,
according to the most recent Pew Global Attitudes Project survey, is Turkey, a
NATO ally and a country that is generally touted as the type of secular,
multi-party democracy the United States should foster in the Middle East.
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/home_page/393.php?nid=&id=&pnt=393&lb=hmpg1

A NEW OPENING FOR MIDEAST PEACE - JAMES MORAN AND MARC GOPIN
(BALTIMORESUN.COM, SEPTEMBER 4): We no longer can afford in this region the kind
of peacemaking that excludes an honest engagement with those who are
impoverished, nor can we afford to leave out nations that can undo the delicate
process of rapprochement between enemies. Truly comprehensive peace is the order
of the day.
www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.izpals04sep04,0,6294031.story

AMERICA'S TALIBAN-SUPPORT PROGRAM: WITH LUCK, AFGHANISTAN COULD BECOME THE
COLOMBIA OF THE MIDDLE EAST - JACOB SULLUM (REASON, SEPTEMBER 5): Over the long
term, if history is any guide, opium poppy supply reduction measures will have
little or no impact on heroin consumption. Over the short term, they will
continue to strengthen the Taliban insurgency.
http://reason.com/news/printer/122295.html

CHINESE KIDS UNDERGO REQUIRED MILITARY TRAINING - CALUM MACLEOD (USA TODAY,
SEPTEMBER 4): People's Liberation Army (PLA) camps are part of a nationwide
training network in which a record 50 million Chinese children ages 9 to 18 will
get military education this year. The boot camps are less about militarizing
China's youth than trying to bolster teamwork and offer the "rare experience of
collective life (that) will help prevent these children from being too selfish
and conceited as their parents spoil them," says child psychologist Liu Zhe of
the Beijing Institute of Medical Psychology. Life at a PLA boot camp "resembles
Boy Scout training in Western countries," Liu says.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-09-04-bootcamp_N.htm
SEE ALSO
http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/warner-todd-huston/2007/09/05/forced-military-training-chinese-children-softened-camp-usa-toda

NEW FRENCH CONNECTION: SARKOZY REBUILDING TIES TO U.S., BUT FRANCE WILL
STILL COME 1ST - PAUL-ANTON KRUEGER (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM, SEPTEMBER 5)
www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped0905sarkozysep05,0,4905136.story

NOT GOOD ENOUGH - JAMES MORRISON (EMBASSY ROW, WASHINGTON TIMES, SEPTEMBER
4): Six European embassies warned that the latest revision of U.S. visa laws
still leaves some of the strongest U.S. allies "subject to artificial barriers"
that could disrupt travel to the United States. The embassies of the Czech
Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia said the revisions
announced last month were a "step forward." But "the legislation does not fully
meet our expectations," according to a statement posted on the Romanian Embassy
Web site.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070904/FOREIGN02/109040028/1008&template=printart
(scroll down link for item)

AMERICA'S CRAIG-LIKE CREDIBILITY GAP: THE US PREACHES DEMOCRACY AS A BROAD
POLICY MANDATE, ONLY TO REJECT IT WHEN IT PRODUCES RESULTS THE US DOESN'T LIKE -
DOUGLAS A. BORER (CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, SEPTEMBER 4): Until future US
presidents and Congresses work together to shrink the distance between America's
political rhetoric and its actions on the ground, many global citizens will look
on the US in the same way most Americans now look on people like Larry Craig.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0904/p09s01-coop.html

US MUST REASSERT GLOBAL LEADERSHIP - SAMUEL R. BERGER AND ERIC P. SCHWARTZ
(BOSTON GLOBE, SEPTEMBER 5): The time has come to disentangle ourselves from the
misadventure in Iraq and reassert America's leadership and global engagement.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/09/05/us_must_reassert_global_leadership?mode=PF

EMPIRE OF STUPIDITY TOM ENGELHARDT (TOMDISPATCH, SEPTEMBER 4): We can
dream, at least, that someday we'll live in a world where one Defense Department
is plenty, where militarized corporations don't have endless battlefields on
which to test their next techo-toys, where armies are for the defense of
country, not to traipse the world in a state of eternal war, and victory is not
vested in imperial conflict on the imagined frontiers of the planet, but in
"progress reports" concerned with making life everywhere better, saner, and more
peaceable.
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/print/174832/Tomgram%253A%2520%2520Empire%2520of%2520Stupidity

GLOBALIZATION AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY - MICHAEL LYNTON (WALL STREET JOURNAL,
SEPTEMBER 4): The global economy in general -- and the entertainment business in
particular -- is absolutely not turning the world into an American shopping
mall. Instead of creating a single, boring global village, the forces of
globalization are actually encouraging the proliferation of cultural diversity.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118885657159716199.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries
PAID SUBSCRIPTION

BOOKS: 'THE CONFIDANTE' - GLENN KESSLER, AUTHOR, "THE CONFIDANTE:
CONDOLEEZZA RICE AND THE CREATION OF THE BUSH LEGACY" (WASHINGTON POST,
SEPTEMBER 4): Washington Post Diplomacy Reporter Glenn Kessler was online
Tuesday, Sept. 4 at 2 p.m. ET to examine the complex relationship between
President Bush and Secretary of State Rice and her impacts on his second term
and U.S. diplomacy. Kessler: 'I think Secretary Rice is impressive as a
one-on-one diplomat, certainly more so than Powell, based on interviews I have
had with foreign diplomats. Her ace in the hole is her close relationship with
the president, which gives her added clout overseas in a way that neither Powell
or Albright had. But I don't think she is much loved by the people who work at
the State Department. She is viewed as an aloof, distant boss who relies on a
relatively small circle.'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/08/31/DI2007083101477_pf.html