The Most Significant Developments of 2011 with Trends in 2012

The Most Significant Developments of 2011 with Trends in 2012

The `K Street Clausewitz’ Remembered

By CHUCK SPINNEY | December 30, 2011

http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2011/12/30/the-k-street-clausewitz-remembered/

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/the-truth-about-ron-paul-1.404278

• Published 04:33 29.12.11
• Latest update 04:33 29.12.11

The truth about Ron Paul

There is no anti-Israel aspect to the Republican presidential candidate's opposition to giving Israel aid, he is opposed in principle to foreign aid, which he sees as a waste of money.

By Leon Hadar

Hawks who learned nothing

Hawks who learned nothing

From Iraq to Iran, the geniuses who see no need to remember their mistakes

By Matt Duss

Without Economic Changes, America Can't Contain China

Without Economic Changes, America Can't Contain China

William Pfaff on the Arab Awakening and the West

William Pfaff on the Arab Awakening and the West
"Fewer and Fewer Reasons for the West to Fixate on the Mideast" -- There are only three valid reasons why the Middle East, the focus of international attention as 2012 begins, is important to the United States and the European nations.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/fewer_and_fewer_reasons_for_the_west_to_fixate_on_the_mideast_20111229/

China leapfrogs US in race for Afghan energy

2012: Terra incognita

Mossad chief: Nuclear Iran not necessarily existential threat to Israel

Tamir Pardo says Israel using various means to foil Iran's nuclear program, but if Iran actually obtained nuclear weapons, it would not mean destruction of Israel.

By Barak Ravid

How Pakistan Kids Itself on China

Pakistani policymakers are wrong if they think Beijing will bankroll a break with Washington. China has no interest in pushing India into U.S. arms.

Stop fretting about Beijing as a global policeman

Will China Outsmart the U.S.?

Russia pulling ahead in the Arctic

War News Updates: Massive Arms Sale To Saudi Arabia Announced

War News Updates: Massive Arms Sale To Saudi Arabia Announced: US Announces Saudi Arms Deal Amid Gulf Tensions -- Voice of America The United States Thursday announced a major aircraft sale to Saudi ...

US Announces Saudi Arms Deal Amid Gulf Tensions

US Announces Saudi Arms Deal Amid Gulf Tensions

U.S., Saudi Arabia agree to $30 billion deal for F-15s -- CNN
U.S. Seals $30 Billion Deal to Sell Fighter Jets to Saudi Arabia -- Wall Street Journal
U.S., Saudi Sign Boeing F-15 Fighter Deal Proposed in 2010 -- Bloomberg Businessweek
With $30 Billion Arms Deal, U.S. Bolsters Saudi Ties -- New York Times
US sells $30bn in F-15 jets to Saudi Arabia -- BBC
White House, Saudi Arabia Sign $30B F-15 Deal -- ABC News
US sends 'strong message' with Saudi fighter deal -- AFP
U.S. Saudi fighter jet sale to help offset Iran -- Reuters
US sells jets to Saudi Arabia for $30b -- ABC News (Australia)
Saudi, U.S. Finalize F-15SA Sale -- Aviation Week
Why Are We Selling Saudi Arabia $60 Billion in Arms? -- John Hudson, The Atlantic

 

What Would A Naval War Between The U.S. And Iran Look Like In The Persian Gulf

What Would A Naval War Between The U.S. And Iran Look Like In The Persian Gulf

Rebuilding America's Stock of Power from The Washington Note by Steve Clemons

Rebuilding America's Stock of Power

from The Washington Note by Steve Clemons

Why we (keep) fighting by Stephen M. Walt

Why we (keep) fighting

from Stephen M. Walt by Stephen M. Walt

China to Withdraw Support for Foreign Investment in Autos; Three Reasons China Will Not Be a Boon to Global Auto Sales

China to Withdraw Support for Foreign Investment in Autos; Three Reasons China Will Not Be a Boon to Global Auto Sales

Lawrence Lessig: Republic, Lost - The Quiet Coup D'etat

Lawrence Lessig: Republic, Lost - The Quiet Coup D'etat

Are Crackpot Liars Being Used to Tie Iran to 9/11?

Are Crackpot Liars Being Used to Tie Iran to 9/11?

from AlterNet.org by Gareth Porter, TruthOut.org

A court case resulting in a "finding of fact" that Iran assisted al Qaeda is a tapestry of recycled fabrications and distortions of fact from a bizarre cast of characters.

An execrable ancestor

By Bruce Fein   8:51 PM 12/28/2011

The execrable ancestor of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 (NDAA) is the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Frederick Douglass protested, “Under this [Fugitive Slave] law the oaths of any two villains (the capturer and the claimant) are sufficient to confine a free man to slavery for life.” Under the NDAA, the suspicion of the president is sufficient to confine an American citizen to military detention for life without accusation or trial. The twin laws make for an alarming tale.

Progressives and Israel

Progressives and Israel

One of these slurs is not like the others

Former Pakistan Army Chief Reveals Intelligence Bureau Harbored Bin Laden in Abbottabad

Former Pakistan Army Chief Reveals Intelligence Bureau Harbored Bin Laden in Abbottabad

Wake Up: America Can't Afford Its Military

Wake Up: America Can't Afford Its Military

Obama’s Dictatorial Assassination Program

http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd1110c.asp

Obama’s Dictatorial Assassination Program

The Year in Numbers by Mike Orcutt

The Year in Numbers
by Mike Orcutt
A look back at 2011's biggest technology stories, by the numbers.
Read More »

The downward slide continues – the great revolt will come late

The downward slide continues – the great revolt will come later Next year is not going to be better, and one might just stop there. Whatever temporary economic fixes are applied to the eurozone, American deficits and unemployment, the overheated Chinese real estate market, petering Indian reforms or stalling Brazilian growth, the downward slide will continue.

This is because all are symptoms of a structural global economic dislocation that is becoming increasingly disorderly. Yet the second half of this prediction is that politics may be deceptively calm in 2012 – calm before the storm.
http://link.ft.com/r/S4XZQQ/DWFY8V/M9QF42/YBOU6C/L9TLIQ/ZH/h?a1=2011&a2=12&a3=28

Iran Threatens to Block Gulf Oil if Sanctions Applied

Iran Threatens to Block Gulf Oil if Sanctions Applied

South Korea Names Two Possible Sites for New Nuclear Reactors

Panel to examine Exelon’s request for NRC license renewal

Iran Held Culpable for 9-11

By MG On December 27, 2011 · 1 Comment

NEW YORK — In an historic hearing in the federal courthouse in Manhattan on Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge George Daniels said he planned to issue a ruling in the coming days declaring that Iran shares in the responsibility for the 9/11 terror attacks.

Two Thirds of U.S. Foreign Aid is Really Military Aid

Two Thirds of U.S. Foreign Aid is Really Military Aid

Swiss Account Holders Headed for Exposure

Swiss Account Holders Headed for Exposure
http://www.darkgovernment.com/news/swiss-account-holders-headed-for-exposure/

Our Last Christmas in the Old America Enjoy it while it lasts by Justin Raimondo

Our Last Christmas in the Old America

Enjoy it while it lasts

by Justin Raimondo, December 26, 2011

Best Books on the Middle East, 2011 from Marc Lynch

Best Books on the Middle East, 2011

from Marc Lynch by Marc Lynch

Businesses Exit California and Illinois; Tax and Destroy Policies of Governors Quinn and Brown; Unemployment Rates By State

Businesses Exit California and Illinois; Tax and Destroy Policies of Governors Quinn and Brown; Unemployment Rates By State

Brazil is World's 6th Largest Economy, Overtaking UK Earlier this Year. Can Brazil Overtake France by 2016? What about BRICs in General?

Brazil is World's 6th Largest Economy, Overtaking UK Earlier this Year. Can Brazil Overtake France by 2016? What about BRICs in General?

Obama Earns Respect in Foreign Policy

Obama Earns Respect in Foreign Policy

from RealClearWorld by Anne-Marie Slaughter, Gulf News

Anne-Marie Slaughter, Gulf News
The world may see Barack Obama as a leader weakened by the intractability of American domestic politics, but, as the 2012 presidential campaign heats up, the American public still sees him as a strong, capable leader in foreign affairs. Some 49 per cent of Americans approve of his overall handling of foreign affairs, with 63 per cent approving of his approach to terrorism and 52 per cent approving of the withdrawal from Iraq. Contrast that with the 30 per cent of Americans who approve of his handling of the economy, or the scant 26 per cent who back his approach to the federal budget deficit.

Muslim Persecution of Christians

Muslim Persecution of Christians

Can We Build Tomorrow's Breakthroughs?

Can We Build Tomorrow's Breakthroughs?

Manufacturing in the United States is in trouble. That's bad news not just for the country's economy but for the future of innovation.

http://www.salon.com/2011/12/21/the_media_consensus_on_israel_is_collapsing/singleton/

WEDNESDAY, DEC 21, 2011

The media consensus on Israel is collapsing

Across the political spectrum, once-taboo criticism is now common

FAS Roundup: December 26, 2011

FAS Roundup: December 26, 2011

---

New CRS reports, letter to President Obama regarding Iran, U.S. electric power grid vulnerability to severe weather  and much more.  

From the Blogs 

• Congress Approves 2012 Intelligence Authorization: Steven Aftergood writes that before the House and Senate passed the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, there was a conspicuous absence of public debate on any issue of intelligence policy. No dissenting views were expressed.  Nor was there any discussion of or insight into current intelligence controversies.

• U.S. Arms Sales and More from CRS: Secrecy News has obtained new CRS reports regarding arms sales and Pakistan.

•  JASON on Severe Space Weather and the Electric Grid: The U.S. electric power grid is vulnerable to damage from severe electromagnetic solar storms and remedial measures should be taken to reduce that vulnerability, a new study from the JASON scientific advisory panel concluded.

• Libya and War Powers: Steven Aftergood writes that the U.S. government acknowledges that U.S. military forces were involved in “armed conflict” this year in Libya, but it does not acknowledge that they were engaged in “hostilities.”

Publications

• How the reset was upset: Dr. Yousaf Butt, Scientific Consultant to FAS, writes in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists about how Russia could react to a variety of additional foreign policy matters, end future arms reductions talks with the United States, and decrease its assistance with worldwide counter-proliferation efforts.

 Letter to President Obama 

• FAS joins a group of 15 former senior officials, Western diplomats, and nonproliferation experts in signing a letter to President Barack Obama to urge him to pursue renewed discussions with Iranian leaders on a step-by-step process that will lead to more-intrusive International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections and the confidence-building steps that are essential to preventing a nuclear-armed Iran.

FAS in the News  

• Dec 22: New York Times, U.S. Seeks Program to Buy Up Missiles Loose in Libya
• Dec 20: Salon, "The Bradley Manning Treatment"
• Dec 19: Washington Post, "Pyongyang's Pursuit of Nuclear Weapons" (Sources Federation of American Scientists)
• Dec 19: The Orange County Register, "Kim Jong Il's Death Brings Dangers, Opportunities"
• Dec 19: Huffington Post, "U.S. Missile Defense Fantasy is Souring U.S.-Russian Reset"

'We're not leaving,' say U.S. officials in Afghanistan

The future of war: Far-out battle tech

The colder war: U.S., Russia and others are vying for control of Santa’s back yard

EDITORIAL: Being Christian is a death sentence

America needs to give shelter to persecuted believers from Muslim lands

Official War Horse Trailer

Former Pakistan Army Chief Reveals Intelligence Bureau Harbored Bin Laden in Abbottabad

Former Pakistan Army Chief Reveals Intelligence Bureau Harbored Bin Laden in Abbottabad

In Christmas Message, Pope Urges Peace In Africa, Asia

Stratfor Hacked, 200GB Of Emails, Credit Cards Stolen, Client List Released, Includes MF Global, Rockefeller Foundation

A Solar Trade War Could Put Us All in the Dark

A Solar Trade War Could Put Us All in the Dark

Solar technology is the result of decades of global competition and collaboration—a trade war would undermine its future.

Traditional Proclamation of Christ's Birth "Today Is the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ"

Traditional Proclamation of Christ's Birth

"Today Is the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ"

Christmas Message From the Custos of the Holy Land

"Faith Is Risking Entering the Road of Those Who, Like Him, Can Forget Themselves in Favor of Others"

Pope Speaks of Christmas Child as God Who Saves

Says Pride Locks Us in a Maze; Call to God Is First Step Out

Blasts in Nigeria mar pope’s appeal for world peace

New Year's Predictions

http://politicalcorrection.org/fpmatters/201112220005
New Year's Predictions

Commentary: The world's wealthiest By ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Analysis/de-Borchgrave/2011/12/23/Commentary-The-worlds-wealthiest/UPI-90381324639802/

Commentary: The world's wealthiest

By ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE
UPI Editor at Large
WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Qatar is bidding to become the negotiating venue for an end to the 10-year war in Afghanistan.

http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/12/21/the_worst_case_for_war_with_iran

The worst case for war with Iran

 http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/springtime-merkel-germany-6244

---

Springtime for Merkel and Germany

Israel has 101 different types of permits governing Palestinian movement

Over the decades permit regimen grows into vast, triple-digit bureaucracy.

Obama Again Unconstitutionally Claims Unconstitutional War Powers in a Signing Statement

India, China Show Military Grit

The Diplomat - Dec 22, 2011
http://the-diplomat.com/2011/12/22/india-china-show-military-grit/?all=true

India, China Show Military Grit
By Nitin Gokhale

Ron Paul Challenges Mindless Militarism

Ron Paul Challenges Mindless Militarism

The Texas Republican's foreign policy perspective is desperately needed in the 2012 campaign.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/22/jesus-the-year-bethlehem-closed 'If Jesus were to come this year, Bethlehem would be closed'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/22/jesus-the-year-bethlehem-closed

'If Jesus were to come this year, Bethlehem would be closed'

A strip of settlements built on what was northern Bethlehem threatens to cut the city off from its historic twin, Jerusalem

The 7 Most Illuminating Economic Charts Of 2011

The 7 Most Illuminating Economic Charts Of 2011 

Slideshow: Year 2011 in Financial Comic Review from EconMatters by EconForecast

Slideshow: Year 2011 in Financial Comic Review

from EconMatters by EconForecast

By EconMatters

We took some of the best comic illustrations and made them into a slideshow to share some holiday humor. (h/t Dr. Mike Haywood's Banking Crisis Digest)

The slideshow highlights the following 2011 major global financial themes (in our view):

• A recession that does not want to go away
• Taxpayer bailouts and trillions of dollars in secret loans has turned Too Big to Fail into Too Big To Collect and prosecute.
• MF Global rocked the financial world with its reckless leveraged risk-taking and outright 'mishandling' of clients' money
• Euro debt crisis that could bring about another round of global financial and banking crisis.   
• But New Year always brings new hope .....

Cheers,

Season's Greetings from EconMatters 

A slideshow by EconMatters. Click here to visit EconMatters.com

The A-List: Michael Ignatieff - The year Americans will decide about inequality

FT Exclusive Comment Friday December 23 2011

The A-List: Michael Ignatieff - The year Americans will decide about inequality

Socially, the US presidential election of 2012 will be about class as no election has been since Franklin D. Roosevelt. http://link.ft.com/r/NA70KK/U12UG9/JIYS70/FKECBJ/QN6T6W/SN/h?a1=2011&a2=12&a3=23

WPR Articles 17 Dec 2011 - 23 Dec 2011

With Violence Rising, Kazakhstan's Elections Loom Ahead

By: Richard Weitz | Briefing

The death of around a dozen people over the weekend in western Kazakhstan follows months of strikes and violence. The exact reasons for the disturbances are unclear. Labor disputes, clan rivalries and resurgent Islamist militancy all seem to be at work. Whatever the causes, Kazakh authorities should heed the warning and ensure that the country’s upcoming legislative elections are free and fair.

The Arab Spring and China's Evolving Middle East Policy

By: Jing-dong Yuan | Feature

In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, Beijing has found to its dismay that its past policy of diplomatic ambivalence in dealing with Middle Eastern countries is no longer tenable. It suddenly has to balance its support of the regimes in power with recognition of the aspirations of the populations in revolt in many of these countries. In short, staying aloof is rapidly becoming a luxury that China can ill afford.

The Shadow of Protectionism Still Lurks in 2012

By: Sean Goforth | Briefing

Europe's unresolved debt crisis has been the major problem facing the global economy of late, leading investors to take refuge in the safe haven of U.S. debt and thereby driving down the value of many currencies that had been bid up at the beginning of 2011. But while the problem of overvalued currencies may have receded, the underlying issue of currency manipulation still threatens the global economy.

World Citizen: The 10 Stories of 2011 that Changed the World

By: Frida Ghitis | Column

It's too soon to know how the events of this fast-fading year will ultimately reshape our world, but the upheaval we witnessed in 2011 will most assuredly keep future historians ponderously occupied. It was a year that will have mattered in many ways, many of which we don't yet fully understand, but that clearly represent a turning point. Ten events in particular reshaped the global landscape in 2011.

The Realist Prism: Toward a Color Revolution in Russia?

By: Nikolas Gvosdev | Column

Another round of protests is scheduled for Russia on Saturday, raising the question of whether a “color revolution" capable of toppling the government is in the cards. While Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has darkly warned about Western efforts to support the protest movements, for a major political shift to take place in Russia over the next several months, several preconditions must be in place.

More

The New Rules: Worried by China's Rise? Watch Out for its Decline

By: Thomas P.M. Barnett | Column

Much of what drives America’s current phobias regarding China stems from the dual assumptions of America’s terminal decline and China’s perpetual ascension. We are thus led to believe that China no longer needs the U.S. and that America can do nothing, short of increasing military pressure, to constrain China's rise to global hegemony. On all scores, nothing could be further from the truth.

Iraq: A Gamble in Both War and Peace

By: Alan W. Dowd | Briefing

The Iraq War began with “shock and awe.” It ended with quiet dignity, with a free but fragile Iraq walking into the unknown and a bloodied but unbowed U.S. military saluting its commander-in-chief and marching home. But just as it was a gamble for President George W. Bush to launch the war and then the surge, it is a gamble for President Barack Obama to pull virtually all American troops out of Iraq.

Global Insights: Contingency Planning for an Unpredictable North Korea

By: Richard Weitz | Column

Two uncertainties define the current succession process in North Korea. First, will the new leadership pursue aggressive or moderate foreign policies? Second, how should foreign countries respond to the new situation in Pyongyang? Although some indicators of future behavior should emerge in coming weeks, the succession process could take years to evolve, making both questions difficult to address.

Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab Spring

By: Nancy E. Brune | Feature

After anti-government protests enveloped many corners of North Africa a year ago, political commentators seemed optimistic that the Arab Spring would spread southward to sub-Saharan Africa. But while there is reason for optimism about the region’s future, hopes for rapid democratization would be misplaced. A year after the first uprisings in North Africa, it is clear that sub-Saharan Africa is not poised on the verge of an African Spring.

Will Europe Shrink From the Arab Spring?

By: Omer Taspinar and Jonathan Laurence | Feature

Will the Arab Spring finally end the European Union’s lethargic approach to the southern Mediterranean and lead to more serious support for democratization? Don’t hold your breath. The eurozone crisis, the success of Islamist parties in post-Arab Spring elections and the EU's reluctance to embrace Turkey all suggest that “business as usual” with only cosmetic changes is likely to remain the norm.

Over the Horizon: The Art of the Reasonable in North Korea

By: Robert Farley | Column

Kim Jong Il is dead, and the world is wondering what to do about it. Some are arguing that the U.S. should now push hard against the DPRK, hopefully causing it to topple. But the DPRK is likely not only to survive such pressure, but to respond by lashing out. A much better approach would be to reach out to North Korean factions potentially interested in reintegrating the DPRK into the international community.

China Enters New and Uncertain Phase of Economic Growth

By: Iain Mills | Briefing

There is growing evidence that China is entering a new phase in its economic development, even as deterioration in the global macroeconomic environment has limited Beijing's policy options for reform and reduced its margin for error. With domestic systemic financial stress and social tension also both ticking upward, 2012 could prove to be one of the most challenging years yet in China's economic re-emergence.

Amid Political Turmoil, South Korea Faces Kim Jong Il's Death

By: Steven Borowiec | Briefing

Kim Jong Il’s death has introduced a potent new variable into South Korean politics at a time when the South’s traditional political parties are struggling to stay relevant amid waning support. With both general and presidential elections scheduled next year, this vulnerability may tempt the North to engage in provocation, while making it difficult for the South to respond cohesively.

From Trend Lines:

Global Insider: Russia-Czech Republic Relations

Global Insider: Commercial Spy Satellites

Russia's UNSC Resolution on Syria a First Step Toward Compromise

South Korean Coast Guard Stabbing Highlights Problem of Illegal Fishing in East Asia

Global Insider: Canada's Overseas Military Deployments

This Week on ForeignAffairs.com

Snapshot

China's Real Estate Bubble May Have Just Popped

Patrick Chovanec

China's real estate market has overheated in the past. But Beijing has repeatedly said it would "cool" things down; it never did. Now, as the market corrects itself, a large part of the country's economy is convulsing, while sending shockwaves through the global economy. Read

Snapshot

Meet Kim Jong Un's New Team

Ken Gause

What seems to be emerging in North Korea is a leadership configuration in which Kim Jong Un has been installed as a figurehead atop a regime struggling to hold itself together after Kim Jong Il spent two decades undermining any kind of institutional order. Read

Snapshot

North Korea's Choice: Collapse or Reform

Andrei Lankov

Kim Jong Un is likely to continue his father's policies, keeping the country what it is now -- a nuclear-armed dictatorship in abject poverty -- until it can no longer sustain itself. Read

No One Is Above The Law from The Baseline Scenario by Simon Johnson

No One Is Above The Law

from The Baseline Scenario by Simon Johnson

By Simon Johnson

It’s too late to keep details of deadly flu a secret! U.S. scientists say details of virus created in laboratory ‘are already out there’, sparking renewed terror alert

By Fiona Macrae and Katie Silver

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2077232/Scientist-deliberately-created-Armageddon-bird-flu-virus-lab-says-publish-details.html#ixzz1hIQoNPbF



US government urges scientists to censor findings on new strain of bird flu -- The Guardian
Dutch Scientist Agrees to Omit Published Details of Highly Contagious Bird Flu Findings -- ABC News
Request to suppress information on man-made ‘monster virus’ not ‘censorship’: U.S. -- National Post/AFP
Details of Lab-Made Bird Flu Won't Be Revealed -- FOX News/AP
Security in Flu Study Was Paramount, Scientist Says -- New York Times
Bird flu strains should be secret, government says -- SFGate/AP
Gov't wants bird flu research kept under wraps, away from terrorists -- CBS/AP
Bird flu terrorism fear over study’s publication -- Toronto Star
Bird flu: Research row as US raises terror fears -- BBC
Bird flu bioterror risk seen increased by censorship -- Reuters
When it comes to bird flu, nature is the greatest bioterrorist -- Mark Honigsbaum, The Guardian
Should Journals Describe How Scientists Made a Killer Flu? -- Bryan Walsh, Time

Panetta: Iran will not be allowed nukes

US military 'ready to engage in a conflict with Iran'

America's most senior military official has indicated that the country is ready to engage in a conflict with Iran, if President Barack Obama were to give the signal. 

EXCLUSIVE-Dempsey: Iran shouldn't "miscalculate our resolve" -- CNN
Top general says Iran shouldn't 'miscalculate our resolve' -- CNN
US Army chief concerned about Iran 'miscalculation' -- Jerusalem Post
Top U.S. General: Military option on Iran 'executable if necessary' -- Haaretz
Top US general: Military options achievable -- Ynet news
US announces to prepare plan for targeting Iranian nuclear program -- SANA
Joint Chiefs: Iran Military Strike 'Executable' -- Forward

It's beginning to look a lot like a Christmas number one! Military Wives outselling rest of top 20 COMBINED in race for top spot

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2077121/Christmas-number-Military-Wives-outselling-rest-20-COMBINED.html#ixzz1hIPFBWJK

Finland 'finds Patriot missiles' on China-bound ship

Iraq's Maliki rebuffs Biden, signals move to Shiite rule

Fitch Again Warns US Debt Burden Threatens AAA Rating

Study: Female vets more critical of Iraq, Afghanistan wars

By Leo Shane III

Stars and Stripes

Published: December 22, 2011

Oil and geopolitics: a turbulent year, and no end in sight

Is Kim Jong Un up to the task? from Stephen M. Walt

Is Kim Jong Un up to the task?

from Stephen M. Walt by Stephen M. Walt

The worst case for war with Iran from Stephen M. Walt

The worst case for war with Iran

from Stephen M. Walt by Stephen M. Walt

Gerald Celente’s Dire Predictions For 2012

Gerald Celente’s Dire Predictions For 2012
http://www.darkgovernment.com/news/gerald-celentes-dire-predictions-for-2012/

Saudi Woman "Gradually" Beheaded

Saudi Woman "Gradually" Beheaded
http://www.darkgovernment.com/news/saudi-woman-gradually-beheaded/

We Shall Overcome Ron Paul's rise has the War Party frothing at the mouth

We Shall Overcome

Ron Paul's rise has the War Party frothing at the mouth

No War for Oil: US Dependency and the Middle East by Ivan Eland

No War for Oil: US Dependency and the Middle East

by Ivan Eland

Eliot Spitzer: Our Rallying Cry Should Be, "We Own Wall Street and We Can Stop Corporate America's Worst Behavior."

Eliot Spitzer: Our Rallying Cry Should Be, "We Own Wall Street and We Can Stop Corporate America's Worst Behavior."

from AlterNet.org by Eliot Spitzer, Slate

If the public exercised its ownership capacity by influencing board member selection, compensation, and political donations, then these companies would be fundamentally altered.

Robert Dreyfuss answers your questions.

South Korea Military Mulls Future

Exclusive First Read
SOUTH KOREA

International attention may be focused north of the border, says Steven Borowiec in this exclusive first-read for Diplomat Brief subscribers. But the case of a gay soldier could spark a rethink of South Korea’s military conscription.

Read this story

How Kim Death Risks China Crisis

How Kim Death Risks China Crisis

NORTH KOREA

The death of Kim Jong-il has heightened the chances of the North Korean regime collapsing. The U.S. and China must be careful not to get sucked into the chaos.

Read this story

A Two-Ocean Navy No More?

A Two-Ocean Navy No More? ASIA-PACIFIC With U.S. naval leaders more choosy amid fiscal austerity, a two-ocean strategy may be a luxury the U.S. can no longer afford. What does it mean for the Pacific? Read this story

Rep. Dennis Kucinich on the National Defense Authorization Act

Rep. Dennis Kucinich on the National Defense Authorization Act
"Dennis Kucinich on the NDAA and 'War Without End'" -- Last week Rep. Dennis Kucinich addressed the House of Representatives on the National Defense Authorization Act.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/dennis_kucinich_on_the_ndaa_and_war_without_end_20111219/

William Pfaff on the Call to Replace Obama

William Pfaff on the Call to Replace Obama
"History Tells Us Not to Dismiss a Democratic Challenge to Obama" -- A week ago, the publisher of Harper's Magazine wrote that President Barack Obama, through expedient political compromises, has lost the moral authority that an American president must command, and therefore has lost his right to a second presidential term.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/history_tells_us_not_to_dismiss_a_democratic_challenge_to_obama_20111220/

Articles from the Afghanistan Study Group 12/19

From ASG
Priorities And Perspective: Are We Reasonably Allocating Our Resources In The Af-Pak Region
Afghanistan Study Group by Mary Kaszynski
If Pakistan and Iran are truly our most important foreign policy challenges, why do we continue to invest in the Afghanistan war?
ARTICLES
12-18-11
The IED: The $30-Bombs That Cost The U.S. Billions
NPR by Rachel Martin
The IED, which is essentially a homemade bomb, became the weapon of choice for the insurgency in Iraq. The U.S. has officially declared the end of the war there, but one lasting legacy will be the IED and how it changed the way the U.S. thinks about warfare.
OPINION
12-14-11
The National Defense Authorization Gesture
National Interest by Paul Pillar
A defense-authorization act is supposed to set the limits for appropriations for national defense and update the rules and standards by which the Department of Defense is to operate. This bill has become a Christmas tree of topics on which members of Congress want to make gestures.
12-15-11
Running Out of Time for Afghan Governance Reform
Foreign Affairs by Stephen Biddle
Reasonable people can differ on whether a tolerable result is worth the sacrifice in Afghanistan. But no one can justify continued sacrifice for an unsustainable result.

Administration Bait and Switch in Afghanistan?
National Interest by Doug Bandow
If the president plans on keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond the promised 2014, he should ‘fess up. Then the American people can make their views known. And, more important, they can take appropriate action in next year’s presidential election.
12-19-11
This isn't the COIN you're looking for
Foreign Policy’s AfPak Channel by Michael Few
COIN as a strategy cannot work in today's world, given the current limitations in available resources, time, and national will. It was a collection of tactics and operational arts developed for twentieth century wars of nationalism and communism. Strategy, defined as the ends, ways, and means of American policy, must rise above a collection of disjointed tactics that have no proven cumulative effect.

The Meme that Refuses to Die: Government Debt Must Be Paid Back

The Meme that Refuses to Die: Government Debt Must Be Paid Back

Obama and Geithner: Government, Enron-Style

Nouriel Roubini: A plea to policymakers: we can’t risk another year of delay

Nouriel Roubini: A plea to policymakers: we can’t risk another year of delay For the last three years the world’s biggest economies - the US, eurozone and China - have been living up to the infuriating euphemism so beloved of policymakers: ”kicking the can down the road”.

They have been avoiding the tough decisions that are required to address their fundamental economic, financial and fiscal problems.
http://link.ft.com/r/J0VG55/R3OX9F/EW4YCB/L9FO0Y/EXR73A/OS/h?a1=2011&a2=12&a3=20

Ron Paul Is Now the Republican Frontrunner

Ron Paul Is Now the Republican Frontrunner

from Washington's Blog by WashingtonsBlog

Ron Paul Pulls Into the Lead

Democrats: Here’s How to Force President Obama to Debate Endless War, Indefinite Detention, SOPA and Other Assaults on Our Freedom, and Reining in the Out-of-Control Federal Reserve

 

 

 

 

Can We Build Tomorrow's Breakthroughs?

Can We Build Tomorrow's Breakthroughs?
by David Rotman
Manufacturing in the United States is in trouble. That's bad news not just for the country's economy but for the future of innovation.
Read More »

http://www.technologyreview.com/article/39311/?nlid=nldly&nld=2011-12-19 

The Civil Archipelago How far can the resistance to Vladimir Putin go?

Letter from Moscow

The Civil Archipelago

How far can the resistance to Vladimir Putin go?

by David Remnick

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/12/19/111219fa_fact_remnick#ixzz1gw5lnhLn

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=249724

 

PM adviser's letter to 'New York Times'

By JERUSLAEM POST STAFF 
12/16/2011 08:47 

Netanyahu’s senior adviser Ron Dermer writes letter to ‘New York Times’ explaining why PM “respectfully declined” to write op-ed piece.

Key Iraq bloc boycotts parliament as US quits

Key Iraq bloc boycotts parliament as US quits

IRAQ THE NIGHTMARE, TUNISIA THE MODEL

IRAQ THE NIGHTMARE, TUNISIA THE MODEL

 

by Rami G. Khouri, 14 December 2011

THE DAILY STAR - http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Columnist/2011/Dec-14/156809-praise-tunisia-not-the-iraqi-nightmare.ashx#axzz1gt0rqvo9

Bolton & Galloway Appraise the End of the Iraq War

In the context of the formal "end" of the American war against Iraq (although one must wonder what the 17,000 staff members remaining at the U.S. "embassy" in Baghdad are intended to be doing), the GUARDIAN (London) has published two starkly contrasting reflections, for which the links are transmitted below.

 

The first article is by John Bolton, the man who Newt Gingrich has announced will be his secretary of state.

 

The second is by retired British MP George Galloway.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/15/america-withdrawal-iraq-world-instability?intcmp=239

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/15/iraq-death-knell-of-us-empire?intcmp=239

History has not been kind to Syria's desire for change

Charles Glass
Dec 16, 2011

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/history-has-not-been-kind-to-syrias-desire-for-change?pageCount=0

America’s Iraq Legacy

RURAL RUMINATIONS

(http://rural-ruminations.com/)

America’s Iraq Legacy

The Fattest or the Fittest? By GRETCHEN MORGENSON

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/business/a-fed-banker-wants-to-break-up-some-banks.html?scp=1&sq=the%20fattest%20or%20the%20fittest&st=cse

The Fattest or the Fittest?

By GRETCHEN MORGENSON

MJ Rosenberg

Senior Foreign Policy Fellow, Media Matters Action Network

The "Pro-Israel" Right Loses It

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/opinion/an-unstable-divided-land.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

An Unstable, Divided Land

By REIDAR VISSER

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/15/americans-face-guantanamo-detention-obama

Military given go-ahead to detain US terrorist suspects without trial

 

Civil rights groups dismayed as Barack Obama abandons commitment to veto new security law contained in defence bill

Chris McGreal in Washington