Friday, September 30, 2011

Obama’s Palestinian Veto: Let’s Be Honest Henry Siegman

Obama’s Palestinian Veto: Let’s Be Honest

America's Unrequited Love of Alternative Energy

Written by Llewellyn King

China Currency Measure Is A Desperate Mistake

9/30/2011
http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2011/09/30/china-currency-measure-is-a-desperate-mistake/

China Currency Measure Is A Desperate Mistake

The Weapons That Were Not There By THOMAS POWERS

The Weapons That Were Not There

By THOMAS POWERS

'Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy'

By PAUL R. PILLAR
Reviewed by THOMAS POWERS

The intelligence breakdown that led to the Iraq war was caused by political pressures on the C.I.A, an analyst says.

Turkey Embraces Its Rise to Leadership

Chesapeake rakes in more successes in Ohio's Utica Shale

America’s Foreign Policy Fiasco

Russia seeks 'guarantees' on Euro shield

Russia seeks 'guarantees' on Euro shield
United Nations, N.Y. (UPI) Sep 29, 2011 - Moscow needs "solid legal guarantees" that a European missile defense shield wouldn't alter the balance of power, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says. Speaking Tuesday before the 66th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, the top Russian diplomat said the potential of a U.S.-backed missile defense system in Europe to compromise Moscow's security is "far too serious" ... more

Outside View: Free trade Is failing U.S.

Outside View: Free trade Is failing U.S.
College Park, Md. (UPI) Sep 29, 2011 - No economic policy could better serve Americans than genuine free trade but open-trade policies are failing Americans. The basic idea is compelling. Let each nation do more of what it does best and specialization will raise productivity and incomes. Americans aren't sharing in those benefits because U.S. President Barack Obama, like President George W. Bush, permits China and oth ... more

Elitist Nonsense on the Defense Budget from Winslow Wheeler

Just as the leaders of US national security thinking led America into the war in Iraq based on the false premise of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction and reckless, but politically powerful, rhetoric, Washington's elite are now circling the wagons around the defense budget. They are using the same disingenuous tactics and the same kind of rhetorical gibberish. While they have successfully intimidated the rest of the political system, they are also making huge fools of themselves.

I express my views on this and some defense budget facts you have not heard from these people in a commentary. Titled "The Stench of Elitism in Defense Spending," it is available at the Politics page of the Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/winslow-t-wheeler/defense-budget_b_987144.html. Under the better mannered title "Elites Are Wrong," an edit is also available at AOL Defense at http://defense.aol.com/.

My text follows:

The Stench of Elitism in Defense Spending

The stench of elitism is permeating Washington, just as it did a decade ago when everyone of consequence bought the proposition that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction—and even if there was room for doubt, he was a threat and “had to go.” Today, the subject matter is different, but the methods are the same: say things that are demonstrably false but use enough extreme rhetoric from four star admirals, cabinet secretaries and congressional chairmen to establish a middle ground that eliminates opposition. Those who fear being labeled out of the mainstream, especially the major media, are buying it just as mindlessly as they did before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.

This time the subject matter is the defense budget. Cutting it is the target of rhetorical gibberish, just as President George Bush warned of a “mushroom cloud” over America if we didn’t invade Iraq. Nonetheless, it is politically potent and intimidating to opponents who might otherwise speak up.

The most extreme language and the most Rumsfeld-esque display of “facts” are coming from the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Buck McKeon (R-CA). His latest is to forecast the military draft if the defense budget is cut. He also told his staff to display numbers to up his ante. They dutifully wrote an “Assessment of Impact of Budget Cuts” (at http://www.politico.com/static/PPM192_budget_impact_assessment.html) that listed various reductions they found unavoidable if the defense budget is cut: 200,000 fewer Soldiers and Marines; fighter aircraft reduced by a 24 percent, and an overall spending level that “degrades our ability to deter a rising China from challenging other allies.”

So eager were McKeon’s staff drones to comply with their prejudiced instruction that their analysis did not once contain the words “waste,” “fraud,” “abuse,” “overhead” or “officer creep” in a budget so notorious for same that it has kept itself exempt from financial audits for decades—and plans to do so for the foreseeable future.

McKeon and his servile staff are hardly alone. The ether is full of oratory that makes McKeon’s assertions seem unremarkable and his facts what everybody should know. Leading the charge is, of course, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta who almost daily uses terminology like “doomsday,” “catastrophe,” and more recently “shooting ourselves in the head” to describe anything less than a defense budget perpetually growing from this year on out.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen provides the needed tinge of authority (just like McKeon’s committee staff) by referring to a budget “abyss” to Congress. His choice of words, however, provide a useful insight about Mullen’s seamless relationship with the defense industry: “abyss” is precisely the term just previously used by Marion Blakey, the chief executive officer of the Aerospace Industries Association comprising DOD’s top corporate manufacturers. Nevertheless, Mullen’s words were injected into news articles as if they were full of import and meaning, rather than crass politicization.

In today’s context, the media presents the views dissenting from any of this as an aside, almost universally in the final paragraphs in articles, to ape balance while implying to readers that such views, while presented, are not to be given credence by those in the know.

Consider just what these people find so disturbing.

The Defense Department recently released a report on China’s military, estimating its defense budget at $91.5 billion. Skeptical that was all, DOD re-estimated all “military-related” Chinese spending at $160 billion. (Find the report at http://www.defense.gov/pubs/pdfs/2011_cmpr_final.pdf.)

If the worst of the worst happens under the debt deal President Obama made with the Republicans last August and the so-called “doomsday mechanism” is triggered to cut Pentagon spending, it might go down as low as $472 billion, the same level as in 2007.

If returned to that 2007 level, the base DOD budget would be $73 billion higher than it was in 2000, the year before the various wars started. If spending were to be continued at the $472 billion level for the next 10 years, base Defense Department spending would be three quarters of a trillion dollars above the levels extant in 2000. And, not a penny of the additional monies to be spent on the wars would be eliminated.

At the 2007 level, US military spending would be almost three times that of China. And yet, Congress McKeon, his staff, and his diverse bobble-heads would have you believe that we cannot maintain “our ability to deter a rising China from challenging other allies.”

Actually, it is more than three times larger; if we calculate “military-related” spending for the US, I come to a total—including additional spending for the wars, nuclear weapons, defense commodity stockpiles, homeland security, veterans’ care, military and economic aid and some other military related accounts—over $800 billion.

If “military-related” is the measure, our spending—even at the “doomsday” level—comes to at least fives times that of China.

The gargantuan size of the “doomsday” budget—even for the smaller category of just Pentagon spending—can be appreciated in other ways.

The 2007 Pentagon budget was a new peak in spending, not a valley. It exceeded every year but one since the end of the Cold War, and it exceeded average annual spending during the Cold War ($434 billion) by $38 billion. (Find an analysis of previous spending at http://www.cdi.org/pdfs/GreenbookInflationMay11.pdf.)

In the absence of a hostile Soviet Union and an implacably communist China, today’s defense leadership finds an increase of $38 billion over Cold War levels to be “doomsday,” an “abyss.”

McKeon and these hysterics would also have you believe the $472 billion level of spending would require decimating our forces. In 2007 we had a Navy “battleforce” fleet of 279 ships, not the 238 the HASC staff says we could barely afford, and we had a larger inventory of fighter aircraft than we do today, not the 25 percent reduction the HASC foresees.

The problem is not money. Under this worse case scenario, the Pentagon would be left quite flush with money – plenty of it in historical terms.

But the Pentagon, as it currently exists, is incapable of surviving with less money. In fact, it is incapable of surviving with more money.

Since 2000, presidents and Congresses have added $1 trillion to the base (non-war) Pentagon budget. During that period our forces decayed. Between 2001 and 2012, the Navy’s combat fleet shrank from 316 ships and submarines to 287, a 10 percent decline, and the number of active and reserve fighter and bomber squadrons declined from 142 to 72—49 percent less. These are not smaller but more modern forces; major equipment age in all the services is higher today, on average, not lower. Our forces also get less training time in the US than before 9/11, and maintenance backlogs are longer, not shorter.

That is precisely where Congressman McKeon, Secretary Panetta, and Admiral Mullen demonstrate their colossal failure to cope with the problem. They believe that spending levels are the key determinant of military viability. They fail to acknowledge that for the past decade—actually longer—more money has meant smaller, older, less ready forces.

Their worship of the money flow means they cannot conceive how our forces might actually improve at lower levels of spending, and they quake in fear at the prospect of Pentagon spending being only thrice that of China. Indeed, they have no inkling how to reduce spending without reducing the viability of our forces. At lower budget levels, they will indeed decimate our forces.

Before they are given a chance to do that, they should be replaced. Congressman McKeon has literally proven he is incapable of coping effectively with a lower budget level at the Pentagon. The Republican caucus should replace him as Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee with someone who can.

The same applies to Leon Panetta, who has proven in the Office of the Secretary of Defense that politicians in executive jobs are politicians, not executives. Admiral Mullen, while now going, is being replaced by a likely facsimile, but events and rhetoric will determine if General Martin Dempsey is any different.

Time, while running out, remains. Currently, we must endure a vacuum of leadership from the White House and the absence of any meaningful pushback to the McKeon/Panetta hysteria from any other Democrats—or Republicans. As a result, no decision to effect serious defense budget cuts will take place until after the 2012 elections. Then, our overstuffed, pampered Pentagon will be acknowledged as a stark reality—one that our political system can no longer ignore.

The cuts are coming; they will need a leadership that can cope with them. The sweet smell of today’s elitist wisdom will become a little over ripe. While the new leaders are currently unknown, operative olfactory nerves will be a requirement.

Winslow T. Wheeler worked on Capitol Hill for 31 years for Republicans and Democrats, and the Government Accountability Office, on national security issues. He is now the Director of the Straus Military Reform Project of the Center for Defense Information and the editor of “The Pentagon Labyrinth: 10 Short Essays to Help You Through It,” available at http://dnipogo.org/labyrinth/.

_____________________________
Winslow T. Wheeler
Director
Straus Military Reform Project
Center for Defense Information
301 791-2397 (home office)
301 221-3897 (cell)

Forward

Winslow Wheeler

show details 10:04 AM (41 minutes ago)

My text follows:

The Stench of Elitism in Defense Spending

The stench of elitism is permeating Washington, just as it did a decade ago when everyone of consequence bought the proposition that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction-and even if there was room for doubt, he was a threat and "had to go." Today, the subject matter is different, but the methods are the same: say things that are demonstrably false but use enough extreme rhetoric from four star admirals, cabinet secretaries and congressional chairmen to establish a middle ground that eliminates opposition. Those who fear being labeled out of the mainstream, especially the major media, are buying it just as mindlessly as they did before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.

This time the subject matter is the defense budget. Cutting it is the target of rhetorical gibberish, just as President George Bush warned of a "mushroom cloud" over America if we didn't invade Iraq. Nonetheless, it is politically potent and intimidating to opponents who might otherwise speak up.

The most extreme language and the most Rumsfeld-esque display of "facts" are coming from the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Buck McKeon (R-CA). His latest is to forecast the military draft if the defense budget is cut. He also told his staff to display numbers to up his ante. They dutifully wrote an "Assessment of Impact of Budget Cuts" (at http://www.politico.com/static/PPM192_budget_impact_assessment.html) that listed various reductions they found unavoidable if the defense budget is cut: 200,000 fewer Soldiers and Marines; fighter aircraft reduced by a 24 percent, and an overall spending level that "degrades our ability to deter a rising China from challenging other allies."

So eager were McKeon's staff drones to comply with their prejudiced instruction that their analysis did not once contain the words "waste," "fraud," "abuse," "overhead" or "officer creep" in a budget so notorious for same that it has kept itself exempt from financial audits for decades-and plans to do so for the foreseeable future.

McKeon and his servile staff are hardly alone. The ether is full of oratory that makes McKeon's assertions seem unremarkable and his facts what everybody should know. Leading the charge is, of course, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta who almost daily uses terminology like "doomsday," "catastrophe," and more recently "shooting ourselves in the head" to describe anything less than a defense budget perpetually growing from this year on out.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen provides the needed tinge of authority (just like McKeon's committee staff) by referring to a budget "abyss" to Congress. His choice of words, however, provide a useful insight about Mullen's seamless relationship with the defense industry: "abyss" is precisely the term just previously used by Marion Blakey, the chief executive officer of the Aerospace Industries Association comprising DOD's top corporate manufacturers. Nevertheless, Mullen's words were injected into news articles as if they were full of import and meaning, rather than crass politicization.

In today's context, the media presents the views dissenting from any of this as an aside, almost universally in the final paragraphs in articles, to ape balance while implying to readers that such views, while presented, are not to be given credence by those in the know.

Consider just what these people find so disturbing.

The Defense Department recently released a report on China's military, estimating its defense budget at $91.5 billion. Skeptical that was all, DOD re-estimated all "military-related" Chinese spending at $160 billion. (Find the report at http://www.defense.gov/pubs/pdfs/2011_cmpr_final.pdf.)

If the worst of the worst happens under the debt deal President Obama made with the Republicans last August and the so-called "doomsday mechanism" is triggered to cut Pentagon spending, it might go down as low as $472 billion, the same level as in 2007.

At the 2007 level, US military spending would be almost three times that of China. And yet, Congress McKeon, his staff, and his diverse bobble-heads would have you believe that we cannot maintain "our ability to deter a rising China from challenging other allies."

Actually, it is more than three times larger; if we calculate "military-related" spending for the US, I come to a total-including additional spending for the wars, nuclear weapons, defense commodity stockpiles, homeland security, veterans' care, military and economic aid and some other military related accounts-over $800 billion.

If "military-related" is the measure, our spending-even at the "doomsday" level-comes to at least fives times that of China.

The gargantuan size of the "doomsday" budget-even for the smaller category of just Pentagon spending-can be appreciated in other ways.

In the absence of a hostile Soviet Union and an implacably communist China, today's defense leadership finds an increase of $38 billion over Cold War levels to be "doomsday," an "abyss."

McKeon and these hysterics would also have you believe the $472 billion level of spending would require decimating our forces. In 2007 we had a Navy "battleforce" fleet of 279 ships, not the 238 the HASC staff says we could barely afford, and we had a larger inventory of fighter aircraft than we do today, not the 25 percent reduction the HASC foresees.

The problem is not money. Under this worse case scenario, the Pentagon would be left quite flush with money - plenty of it in historical terms.

But the Pentagon, as it currently exists, is incapable of surviving with less money. In fact, it is incapable of surviving with more money.

Since 2000, presidents and Congresses have added $1 trillion to the base (non-war) Pentagon budget. During that period our forces decayed. Between 2001 and 2012, the Navy's combat fleet shrank from 316 ships and submarines to 287, a 10 percent decline, and the number of active and reserve fighter and bomber squadrons declined from 142 to 72-49 percent less. These are not smaller but more modern forces; major equipment age in all the services is higher today, on average, not lower. Our forces also get less training time in the US than before 9/11, and maintenance backlogs are longer, not shorter.

That is precisely where Congressman McKeon, Secretary Panetta, and Admiral Mullen demonstrate their colossal failure to cope with the problem. They believe that spending levels are the key determinant of military viability. They fail to acknowledge that for the past decade-actually longer-more money has meant smaller, older, less ready forces.

Time, while running out, remains. Currently, we must endure a vacuum of leadership from the White House and the absence of any meaningful pushback to the McKeon/Panetta hysteria from any other Democrats-or Republicans. As a result, no decision to effect serious defense budget cuts will take place until after the 2012 elections. Then, our overstuffed, pampered Pentagon will be acknowledged as a stark reality-one that our political system can no longer ignore.

The cuts are coming; they will need a leadership that can cope with them. The sweet smell of today's elitist wisdom will become a little over ripe. While the new leaders are currently unknown, operative olfactory nerves will be a requirement.

Winslow T. Wheeler worked on Capitol Hill for 31 years for Republicans and Democrats, and the Government Accountability Office, on national security issues. He is now the Director of the Straus Military Reform Project of the Center for Defense Information and the editor of "The Pentagon Labyrinth: 10 Short Essays to Help You Through It," available at http://dnipogo.org/labyrinth/.

_____________________________
Winslow T. Wheeler
Director
Straus Military Reform Project
Center for Defense Information
301 791-2397 (home office)
301 221-3897 (cell)

How the Haqqani Network is Expanding From Waziristan

Michael Semple

The network of militants operating in Pakistan's tribal areas are playing an increasingly destabilizing role in NATO's possible negotiations with the Taliban. Read

Anwar al-Awlaki, American-Born Qaeda Leader, Is Killed in Yemen By: LAURA KASINOF and ALAN COWELL | The New York Times

Anwar al-Awlaki, American-Born Qaeda Leader, Is Killed in Yemen

By: LAURA KASINOF and ALAN COWELL | The New York Times

Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born preacher depicted as a leading figure in Al Qaeda's outpost in Yemen, was killed on Friday morning, a senior Obama administration official confirmed.

World Citizen: Gadhafi's Downfall Highlights Years of Western Hypocrisy By: Frida Ghitis | Column

World Citizen: Gadhafi's Downfall Highlights Years of Western Hypocrisy

By: Frida Ghitis | Column

With the remaining loyalists of Moammar Gadhafi's deposed regime facing their inevitable demise, it comes as no surprise that human rights groups and journalists are finding ample evidence that torture was a routine affair in Gadhafi's Libya. But as Gadhafi's bloody excesses return to the spotlight, so too does the corruption and cynicism exhibited by the regime's fellow travelers from beyond Libya's borders.

The Role of NGOs in Global Governance By: Peter Willetts | Feature

The Role of NGOs in Global Governance

By: Peter Willetts | Feature

It has become fashionable to assert that the role of nongovernmental organizations in world politics has grown in importance since the early 1990s. This assertion is true, but not because there is anything new about NGOs exercising influence, as is often claimed. Nevertheless, there have been some significant changes in recent years, leaving NGOs central to global political processes.

Global Insights: Putin not a Game-Changer for U.S.-Russia Ties By: Richard Weitz | Column

Global Insights: Putin not a Game-Changer for U.S.-Russia Ties

By: Richard Weitz | Column
The news this past weekend of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's impending return to the presidency has elicited a wide range of commentary on the potential impact it might have on Russia's foreign policy and, in particular, on U.S.-Russia relations. But several key factors make it unlikely that we will see major changes in Russia's foreign and defense policy when Moscow's "bad cop" returns to the Kremlin.

Chris Hedges on Occupy Wall Street

Chris Hedges on Occupy Wall Street
"The Best Among Us" -- Those on the streets around Wall Street are the physical embodiment of hope.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_best_among_us_20110929/

Israel and America on the Wrong Side of History Gareth Evans

Israel and America on the Wrong Side of History

Gareth Evans

Palestine: US on the wrong side of history

By AIJAZ ZAKA SYED

Palestine: US on the wrong side of history

How the State Department Came After Me

For telling the truth about what I saw in Iraq.

Palestinians plan to oust Tony Blair from his role as Middle East peace envoy over 'bias to Israel'

PLO motion to declare former PM persona non grata to be held later this week

Targeting bin Laden

Targeting bin Laden
http://documentary.darkgovernment.com/targeting-bin-laden/

From the hunt, the planning and the execution of the final plans, targeting bin
Laden is a documentary / chronology of the events leading up to the killing by
seal team 6 of the United States' most wanted man.

The Foreign Service Officer Who Rants Against the State Department

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/09/foreign-service-officer-who-rants-against-state-department/43060/

The Foreign Service Officer Who Rants Against the State Department

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

China Warns Asia Not to Hide Behind U.S. Military

* JAPAN NEWS * SEPTEMBER 27, 2011 Japan, Philippines Seek Tighter Ties to Counter China

JAPAN NEWS
SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

Japan, Philippines Seek Tighter Ties to Counter China

Last Man Standing: Is America Fading in the New Middle East? Hillel Fradkin and Lewis Libby

Last Man Standing: Is America Fading in the New Middle East?

Hillel Fradkin and Lewis Libby

How close is Iran to the bomb? Depends who you ask Fredrik Dahl

How close is Iran to the bomb? Depends who you ask

Fredrik Dahl

US threatens sanctions on China banks over Iran

Washington threatens to penalise China’s four biggest state banks if they are found doing business with Iranian insurance firm.

Gary Shilling: The Economy Is Slowing, Yields Will Plunge, Deflation Is Coming And Stocks Are Headed Lower from Clusterstock by Joe Weisenthal

Gary Shilling: The Economy Is Slowing, Yields Will Plunge, Deflation Is Coming And Stocks Are Headed Lower

from Clusterstock by Joe Weisenthal

Executive Order 9066 resulted in the relocation of Japanese-Americans to internment camps.

Executive Order 9066

Published September 28, 2011

United States Executive Order 9066 was an executive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, “authorizing the Secretary of War to Prescribe Military Areas”. It resulted in the relocation of Japanese-Americans to internment camps.
Executive Order No. 9066
The President
Executive Order
Authorizing the Secretary of War to Prescribe Military Areas
Whereas the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities as defined in Section 4, Act of April 20, 1918, 40 Stat. 533, as amended by the Act of November 30, 1940, 54 Stat. 1220, and the Act of August 21, 1941, 55 Stat. 655 (U.S.C., Title 50, Sec. 104);
Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate, whenever he or any designated Commander deems such action necessary or desirable, to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized to provide for residents of any such area who are excluded therefrom, such transportation, food, shelter, and other accommodations as may be necessary, in the judgment of the Secretary of War or the said Military Commander, and until other arrangements are made, to accomplish the purpose of this order. The designation of military areas in any region or locality shall supersede designations of prohibited and restricted areas by the Attorney General under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941, and shall supersede the responsibility and authority of the Attorney General under the said Proclamations in respect of such prohibited and restricted areas.
I hereby further authorize and direct the Secretary of War and the said Military Commanders to take such other steps as he or the appropriate Military Commander may deem advisable to enforce compliance with the restrictions applicable to each Military area hereinabove authorized to be designated, including the use of Federal troops and other Federal Agencies, with authority to accept assistance of state and local agencies.
I hereby further authorize and direct all Executive Departments, independent establishments and other Federal Agencies, to assist the Secretary of War or the said Military Commanders in carrying out this Executive Order, including the furnishing of medical aid, hospitalization, food, clothing, transportation, use of land, shelter, and other supplies, equipment, utilities, facilities, and services.
This order shall not be construed as modifying or limiting in any way the authority heretofore granted under Executive Order No. 8972, dated December 12, 1941, nor shall it be construed as limiting or modifying the duty and responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with respect to the investigation of alleged acts of sabotage or the duty and responsibility of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941, prescribing regulations for the conduct and control of alien enemies, except as such duty and responsibility is superseded by the designation of military areas hereunder.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
The White House,
February 19, 1942.

Essential Documents are vital primary sources underpinning the foreign policy debate.

A Tougher U.S. Tack on Pakistan

Ties with China hailed: Gilani cautions US on negative messaging

President Mugabe Says NATO Abusing UN Charter to Control Libyan Oil

Energy Innovation Should be the Primary Goal of Policy Makers

Polls: Americans Want Our Liberties Restored, Our Troops Brought Home and the Federal Reserve Reined In

from Washington's Blog by WashingtonsBlog

Don’t Peak: On Ill-Considered Peak Oil Debates

Gassing Up: Why America's Future Job Growth Lies In Traditional Energy Industries

Why Liberals Are Lame: McCarthyite Identity Politics as Cover for Bankrupt Policies

Tallying the Toll of U.S.-China Trade Wall Street Journal

Why the U.S. Should Support Palestinian Statehood at the U.N.

http://www.tnr.com/print/article/john-judis/95166/israel-palestine-netanyahu-abbas-un-obama

John B. Judis

Health insurance costs deal blow to Obama

Health insurance costs deal blow to Obama Premiums for family benefits jump 9% in a year, with critics citing the report as evidence that the law is failing
http://link.ft.com/r/9ULF66/GD9G26/GKXE28/B5MSFT/GDQ1YR/36/h?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=28

U.S. Knows Pressure on Pakistan Won't Change Policy Analysis by Gareth Porter*

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=105262

U.S. Knows Pressure on Pakistan Won't Change Policy
Analysis by Gareth Porter*

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Implications of Putin's Return

from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - Publications and Events by Matthew Rojansky

1 person liked this

Matthew Rojansky on Putin and U.S. relations

If Russian Prime Minister Putin is elected Russia’s next president, it will likely not have a significant impact on the success of the reset in U.S.-Russian bilateral relations.

The Decline of American Client States

BLANKLEY: President’s foreign-policy failures increase

Obama missteps have even liberal journalists questioning his competence

U.S. Retains Title of "Lord of War" By Flooding the World With Weapons

from AlterNet.org by Jim Lobe, IPS News

Once again, the U.S. saturates the developing world, and just about everywhere else, with arms, according to new U.S. government report.

IMF meeting makes little difference in current crisis by Leon Hadar

IMF meeting makes little difference in current crisis

The main obstacles to resolving the economic woes are political in nature

By LEON HADAR
WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT

DOE releases first Quadrennial Technology Review

from Nature News Blog by jtollefson

The US Department of Energy released its inaugural Quadrennial Technology Review on Tuesday, laying out a longer-term strategic agenda to help integrate energy research and development programmes.
Modeled on the Defense Quadrennial Review, an influential analysis that sets the tone and direction of US defense policy, the document explores the Energy Department's role in driving basic energy research and helping shift more mature technologies into the commercial sector.

Turkey Threatens Greek Cypriots Against Unilateral Oil and Gas Exploration In the Eastern Mediteranean

Iran says could deploy navy near U.S. coast: report

American Jews Are Not Single-Issue Voters

Putin's gamble: a bet on high oil prices

The magic number to understanding oil is 40 per cent

Robin Mills
http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/industry-insights/energy/the-magic-number-to-understanding-oil-is-40-per-cent?pageCount=0

Sep 27, 2011

Abdalla El Badri, the Opec secretary general, who spoke in Dubai last week, made a comment that explains why oil prices have been so high in the past decade, as well as offering a clue to future strategy.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the US's energy information administration forecast Opec's share of output to increase steadily - but, in complete contrast, Mr El Badri mentioned that, as far off as 2035, the organisation would keep its share of world oil production at about 40 per cent.
This 40 per cent is the magic number - the key to understanding the past decade in oil, and the next.

How McChrystal and Petraeus Built an Indiscriminate "Killing Machine"

http://www.truth-out.org/how-mcchrystal-and-petraeus-built-indiscriminate-killing-machine/1317052524

How McChrystal and Petraeus Built an Indiscriminate "Killing Machine"

Monday 26 September 2011

by: Gareth Porter, Truthout | News Analysis

Pakistan hosts top Chinese security official and war games with Saudi as ties with US plunge

U.S. Foreign Policy In Post-SOFA Iraq By Eric Davis

Many would consider this piece very much too optimistic about the degree of U.S. influence in a post-occupation Iraq (a less euphemistic way of saying post-Status of Forces Agreement Iraq). One suspects too that the Saudis and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries as well as Egypt would regard the policies Professor Davis advocates to be far too favorable to the Shiite parties and insufficiently challenging to their alignment with Iran. Iraqi Arabs might consider them too deferential to Kurdish separatism. Still, this piece is one of the few in the United States to consider the future of Iraq after the U.S. departure and the points it makes need to be part of a national discussion. http://www.fpri.org/enotes/2011/201109.davis.iraq.html

U.S. Foreign Policy In Post-SOFA Iraq

By Eric Davis

September 2011

Eric Davis is professor of political science at Rutgers University and former director of Rutgers’ Center for Middle Eastern Studies. He is the author of Memories of State: Politics, History, and Collective Identity in Modern Iraq (University of California Press, 2005) and the forthcoming Taking Democracy Seriously in Iraq (Cambridge University Press, 2012).

Class Warfare?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-ackerman/class-warfare_3_b_982888.html

Bruce Ackerman and Anne Alstott

Class Warfare?

The U.S. at the U.N.: The foreign-policy version of the S&P downgrade

By Laura Rozen | The Envoy

Arab Banking & Finance: An FT Special Report

The wave of popular unrest is prompting governments to spend more on infrastructure and social programmes.

Inside this report

Prospects for new business pinned on an old remedy
Simeon Kerr says that the wave of popular unrest is prompting governments to spend more on infrastructure and social programmes.

Merchant families: Calls for stronger internal controls
James Drummond considers the fallout from a dispute between two large groups.

Private equity: Years of oil-soaked expansion are over
The industry's bloom has faded, writes Robin Wigglesworth.

Islamic finance: Niche market defies its critics
But some are less than enthusiastic, says Robin Wigglesworth.

Egypt: Confidence and liquidity help ease the turmoil
The economy has taken a dive but lenders have been cushioned, writes Heba Saleh.

Plus much more...

U.S. Must Consider Energy Security in Canadian Oil Debate

Obama's Interior Chokehold on America By Jim Adams

Obama's Interior Chokehold on America

By Jim Adams

German Army’s Peak Oil Report Predicts Rising Oil Prices, Another Recession and The Demise of Banks

The Federal Reserve Plans To Identify “Key Bloggers” And Monitor Billions Of Conversations About The Fed On Facebook, Twitter...

Founding Fathers' advice to deficit 'super committee': Bring US troops home

The Christian Science Monitor - http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/0921/Founding-Fathers-advice-to-deficit-super-committee-Bring-US-troops-home

Founding Fathers' advice to deficit 'super committee': Bring US troops home

If the deficit 'super committee' is serious about finding $1.5 trillion in cuts over the next decade, they will have no choice but to do as the Founding Fathers would have done – bring the troops home and drastically reduce America's foreign military presence.

By David J. Theroux
posted September 21, 2011

The Occupied Turn Occupiers By David Swanson

The Occupied Turn Occupiers

By David Swanson
http://warisacrime.org/content/occupied-turn-occupiers

A power shift in Asia By Robert D. Kaplan,

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-power-shift-in-asia/2011/09/23/gIQAhIdjrK_print.html

A power shift in Asia

By Robert D. Kaplan, Published: September 23

In Riddle of Mideast Upheaval, Turkey Offers Itself as an Answer

The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/world/europe/in-mideast-riddle-turkey-offers-itself-as-an-answer.html?_r=1

September 26, 2011

In Riddle of Mideast Upheaval, Turkey Offers Itself as an Answer

By ANTHONY SHADID

Simon Schama: Israel’s false friends on the US right

It’s the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, so in the interest of a happy one amidst the gathering global gloom can I make a request of Republican Christian evangelical politicians professing to be Friends of Israel?

Next time the temptation to sound off on the best interests of the Jewish state strikes, CAN IT! Israel has enough on its plate without being exploited as campaign fodder by blowhards who, every time, they open their mouths on the subject reveal their shocking ignorance of its past history, present political reality and future security.
http://link.ft.com/r/6NPSBB/PF1API/QFRUDM/JEI1HH/JEJTL5/PJ/h?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=27

Stuxnet the start of new CyberWar Era

Christian Science Monitor - One year ago a malicious software program called Stuxnet exploded onto the world stage as the first publicly confirmed cyber superweapon – a digital guided missile that could emerge from cyber space to destroy a physical target in the real world.

Israel must act, not react, before it's too late By AHMED ABD RABOU

Israel must act, not react, before it's too late

By AHMED ABD RABOU

More Collateral Damage from Missile Defense

Monday, September 26, 2011

Government Twists Science of 9/11 – Just As With Iraq, the Gulf Oil Spill and Fukushima – to Promote Its Policy Objectives

from Washington's Blog by WashingtonsBlog

IMPERIAL INERTIA

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-brenner/imperial-inertia_b_969594.html

IMPERIAL INERTIA

Michael Brenner

19 September 2011

Does the Euro Have a Future? George Soros To resolve a c

Does the Euro Have a Future?

George Soros

To resolve a crisis in which the impossible becomes possible it is necessary to think about the unthinkable. To start with, it is imperative to prepare for the possibility of default and defection from the eurozone in the case of Greece, Portugal, and perhaps Ireland. To prevent a financial meltdown, four sets of measures would have to be taken.

So, Was This a War for Oil? By: Terry Macalister | The Guardian

So, Was This a War for Oil?
By: Terry Macalister | The GuardianThe dust in Libya has not yet settled, but already the struggle has begun over who gets what

China Rebuffs Hopes for Bailout By: BOB DAVIS | The Wall Street Journal

China Rebuffs Hopes for Bailout

By: BOB DAVIS | The Wall Street Journal

China to Europe: Don't expect a bailout from us. That was the message delivered by a number of Chinese officials during meetings at the International Monetary Fund, where China was widely seen as an answer to the euro zone's problems.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204010604576592851514658060.html?mod=WSJ_World_MIDDLENews

Global Economy's High-Risk Moment

Currency Crisis German Central Bank Opposed to Merkel's Euro Course

Currency Crisis

German Central Bank Opposed to Merkel's Euro Course

Zero hour for the euro

Global economy: Five warning signs to watch

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/20df9584-e5c8-11e0-8e99-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=traffic/email/content/editor//memmkt#axzz1Z4c2HSBc

Global economy: Five warning signs to watch

By Chris Giles

As the outlook grows gloomier, a series of crucial indicators will decide the direction of travel

Busting More Than Just Bunkers

Paul Pillar

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Friday, September 30, 2011

Obama’s Palestinian Veto: Let’s Be Honest

China Currency Measure Is A Desperate Mistake

The Weapons That Were Not There

By THOMAS POWERS

By PAUL R. PILLAR Reviewed by THOMAS POWERS

Chesapeake rakes in more successes in Ohio's Utica Shale

Israel and America on the Wrong Side of History

Palestine: US on the wrong side of history

For telling the truth about what I saw in Iraq.

Palestinians plan to oust Tony Blair from his role as Middle East peace envoy over 'bias to Israel'

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

China Warns Asia Not to Hide Behind U.S. Military

Japan, Philippines Seek Tighter Ties to Counter China

How close is Iran to the bomb? Depends who you ask

Executive Order 9066

A Tougher U.S. Tack on Pakistan

Ties with China hailed: Gilani cautions US on negative messaging

Don’t Peak: On Ill-Considered Peak Oil Debates

Gassing Up: Why America's Future Job Growth Lies In Traditional Energy Industries

Why the U.S. Should Support Palestinian Statehood at the U.N.

John B. Judis

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Decline of American Client States

BLANKLEY: President’s foreign-policy failures increase

Obama missteps have even liberal journalists questioning his competence

Iran says could deploy navy near U.S. coast: report

American Jews Are Not Single-Issue Voters

The magic number to understanding oil is 40 per cent

Pakistan hosts top Chinese security official and war games with Saudi as ties with US plunge

U.S. Foreign Policy In Post-SOFA Iraq

The U.S. at the U.N.: The foreign-policy version of the S&P downgrade

U.S. Must Consider Energy Security in Canadian Oil Debate

Obama's Interior Chokehold on America

Founding Fathers' advice to deficit 'super committee': Bring US troops home

The Occupied Turn Occupiers

A power shift in Asia

By Robert D. Kaplan, Published: September 23

In Riddle of Mideast Upheaval, Turkey Offers Itself as an Answer

By ANTHONY SHADID

Israel must act, not react, before it's too late

More Collateral Damage from Missile Defense

Monday, September 26, 2011

By PAUL R. PILLAR
Reviewed by THOMAS POWERS