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US's fancy
guns are trained on China
Just as the Pentagon and its corporate allies touted the "Soviet threat" during
the Cold War to stampede Congress and the American public into supporting
ever-increasing spending on advanced weapons, so a hypothetical "China threat"
is now being conjured up to achieve the same purpose - and it's costing
multi-billions of dollars. - Michael T Klare (Mar
7, '08)
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War is hell - and hellishly
expensive
The estimated cost of one week of the United States' global wars is US$3.5
billion. But exactly where is that money going? When Congress passed the latest
Pentagon war-fighting supplemental request, it was said to be "for the troops",
but a surprisingly small amount actually goes to them. Newfangled weapons,
private security contractors and big business eat up a large portion, yet
hundreds of millions of dollars are unaccounted for. - William D Hartung
(Mar 7, '08)
Pakistan's generals come down hard
Faced with a spike in suicide attacks on the military, Pakistan's top brass
have thrown their weight behind embattled President Pervez Musharraf and his
"war on terror", in the process slamming the door on any chance of
reconciliation with Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Mar 7, '08)
Suspicions over Singapore
jailbreak
The daring and as-yet unexplained escape of Singapore's most wanted terror
fugitive, Mas Selamat Kastari, has called the island nation's terror-fighting
credentials into question. The government's bumbling has stoked speculation of
a cover-up, and until Mas Selamat is caught foreign confidence in Singapore's
security will be hard to restore. - Alex Au
(Mar 7, '08)
China card still wild in White House
race
Washington's China policy is expected to soon become a major issue in the White
House race, from currency concerns and product safety to military buildup. But
despite whatever campaign rhetoric is flung about, there is no getting away
from the fact that the most important relationship in the world is taking
shape. - Jing-dong Yuan (Mar 7, '08)
 SEX
IN DEPTH
When freaky-deaky
equals hara-kiri
The population of Japan is in decline, the birthrate is plummeting, and the
consequences look grim. Some studies put the blame on Japanese men whose
appetite for masturbation, sex toys and virtual tete-a-tetes are turning them
off the real thing. The future, one might say, is in their hands.
(Mar 7, '08)
William Sparrow writes a weekly column looking at issues relating to sex
in Asia.
BOOK REVIEW
Bare bones of Suharto's
secrets
Sukarno and the Indonesian Coup by
Helen-Louise Hunter
The tumultuous events of 1965 that led to the end of Sukarno's rule
and the rise of Suharto's New Order regime have been described as some of the
most significant of the 20th century, not just for Indonesia but
internationally. Yet questions linger as to Suharto's role in making things
happen and the dark hand of the United States. - Andrew Symon
(Mar 7, '08)
THE ROVING EYE
As alliances shift, Iran wins -
again
The George W Bush administration promoted a Turkey-Israel axis, a Sunni Arab
"axis of fear" and then a Saudi-Israeli nexus, always trying to isolate Iran.
None of these concoctions has worked, and there are even hints that Washington
and Tehran have concluded a secret deal brokered by Saudi Arabia to hammer out
contentious issues. This might be fanciful, but the bottom line is that Iran
sees itself as the ultimate victor of the US war on Iraq. - Pepe Escobar
(Mar 6, '08)
Iran-Iraq ties show US the way
Tehran's enormous influence in Iraq is there to stay, given Iran's proximity
and religious and historical connections, highlighted by President Mahmud
Ahmadinejad's recent visit. This leaves the US with little choice but to adjust
its anti-Iran policy to accommodate Iran's regional clout. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi
(Mar 6, '08)
Why the dollar is so cheap
When George W Bush was inaugurated in 2001, the euro was trading at 94 cents
and gold cost $266 an ounce. Now they are trading at $1.52 and $985 an ounce.
That is a plain vote of no confidence in the government's economic model, and
international investors are fleeing the dollar for the best available
substitute - the euro and gold. - Peter Morici (Mar
6, '08)
THE MOGAMBO GURU
Drunk with absolute purchasing
power
If people could buy oil with gold, the price would have been unchanged for 60
years! Now you see the beauty of gold as money; your purchasing power is
absolute! Prices never change! Now when will those suckers earning a measly 5%
interest on financing US spending sprees demand a yield that offsets inflation
... ? (Mar 6, '08)
INTERVIEW
Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar to Abdullah: It's nothing
personal
Since his release from prison on politically motivated charges, Malaysian
opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim has refashioned his image as a pious crusader for
social justice and racial equality. Critics say Anwar simply tells people what
they want to hear, but the veteran politician tells Ioannis Gatsiounis he's
matured after his time in the political wilderness and he's fed up with what he
sees as the ruling government's incompetence. (Mar
6, '08)
A blow to the Korean soul
It was with much horror and deep shame that South Koreans watched their
610-year-old "National Treasure Number One", Namdaemun (Great South Gate), burn
to the ground last month. The venerable edifice was for many the embodiment of
the spirit of the Korean people, and the resulting national trauma says much
about the psychology of what the Korean nation has been, how it views itself
today and how it aspires to seen by the outside world. - Sung-Yoon Lee
(Mar 6, '08)
SPEAKING FREELY
Don't be lazy, snooze at work
Asia's culture of napping has reached a new level in China, where the state has
authorized sleeping on the job, at least for a little while. It's time to wake
up to the age of the "cubicle nap" and experts say the results are eye-opening.
Increased productivity, safety and morale surely put to bed any Western notions
of the dangers of a work-day doze. - Matt Young
(Mar 6, '08)
THE SUBPRIME ICEBERG
A year later, the band plays on
A year after the subprime crisis came to public attention, the rot in the
financial system continues to spread, leaving the US Federal Reserve with
at least one very important question to answer - should it come directly to the
rescue? As the Fed and other actors dance the subprime twostep, the tune is
reminiscent of the music on the Titanic as the lifeboats sailed away. - Julian
Delasantellis (Mar 5, '08)
Pakistan's grand bargain falls
apart
Pakistan has no option, given pressure from the United States, but to continue
military operations against Taliban and al-Qaeda militants in the tribal areas.
Yet under a scheme devised by the new top brass, the militants were to be given
an easy ride as long as they retreated to remote border areas. Militants,
initially receptive, have shown through a spate of suicide attacks on the
military in cities across the country that they are having grave second
thoughts. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Mar
5, '08)
Iran's gas: China waits as India
wavers
 The
possibility of India buying Iranian gas by way of a pipeline running through
mutual neighbor Pakistan has been a talking point for the past decade. Yet as
Islamabad and Tehran prepare to sign a gas purchase agreement this month, India
is holding back amid security concerns and US disapproval of the plan.
Energy-hungry China may seize the opportunity. - Siddharth Srivastava
(Mar 5, '08)
 ASIA
HAND
Mixed
reviews for
Thai capital controls
Thailand's new government, which this week removed capital controls imposed by
its military-led predecessor, seems willing to sacrifice exports for more
domestic demand-led economic growth. Overlooked are other capital controls
still in place, while inflation and the prospect of an ever-stronger currency
will challenge policymakers. - Shawn W Crispin (Mar
5, '08)
Sunnis make merry on US's dime
Iraq's Sunni-dominated Awakening Councils, bankrolled by the United States,
have certainly blunted al-Qaeda, but they continue attacks on US and Iraqi
forces. The Sunnis, using a "fight, bargain, subvert, fight" approach, are all
the while working towards their ultimate goal of the complete withdrawal of US
troops and reducing the power of the Shi'ite-dominated government. - Gareth
Porter (Mar 4, '08)
Pre-election hopes for Malaysian
opposition
The weekend's elections in Malaysia have been called the best chance the
opposition has had to weaken the ruling party's grip on power in at least a
decade. Economic and social problems have beset Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi,
but the opposition may struggle to convert popular discontent into votes. - Ioannis
Gatsiounis (Mar 4, '08)
 SUN
WUKONG
Green whirlwind sweeps China
China's National People's Congress this week upgrades its State Environmental
Protection Administration into a mega-sized environmental ministry. This is
part of a green policy geared to strengthening the country's "toothless tiger"
laws. Whether other departments and provinces cooperate is another matter,
particularly when their own interests are at risk. - Wu Zhong
(Mar 4, '08)
The 'laptop of mass destruction'
The "laptop documents" - 1,000 pages of data allegedly stolen from an Iranian
computer - have been the US's hardest evidence of Iran's supposed intentions to
build a nuclear weapon and an obstacle to the International Atomic Energy
Agency declaring that Iran has resolved all questions about its nuclear
program. Now there are indications the documents were obtained from Israel's
Mossad via a terrorist organization. - Gareth Porter
(Mar 3, '08)
Iran makes its mark in Iraq
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad is making the most of his red-carpet
treatment in Iraq, handing out platitudes as well as the offer of a US$1
billion loan. Baghdad's government needs all the support it can get, and plenty
comes from Tehran. What it does not need is Iran's backing of the
al-Qaeda-backed insurgency. But for Iran, this is a separate issue that has
everything to do with Afghanistan. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Mar 3, '08)
INTERVIEW
Let's talk about bombs
Matthew Bunn, non-proliferation expert
Given Iran's extended period of violating its nuclear safeguards agreement,
says US award-winning Bunn, many countries will probably not accept Tehran's
claim that all of the information that suggests weaponization activities is
fabricated and baseless. Nevertheless, there is still room to negotiate, he
tells Kaveh Afrasiabi. (Mar 3, '08)
 CHAN
AKYA
Dead dollar sketch
The demise of the world's reserve currency reads like a financial version of
the infamous Monty Python Dead Parrot sketch. The arguments of US dollar
supporters appear increasingly hollow. The implications are much more
geopolitical than merely economic. (Mar 3, '08)
 SPENGLER
Sing, o muse, the
wrath of Michelle
The release of Michelle Obama's undergraduate thesis from Princeton has
revealed more about the woman who could be America's First Lady. Complete with
rage and guilt, it is, among many things, a poignant cry from the heart of a
young black woman from a working-class Chicago home. It also furthers the
supposition that her wrath could keep her husband from the White House.
(Mar 3, '08)
Medvedev ready for his Russian
moment
 Judging
by his record, the presumptive next president of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, can
be expected to pursue a concerted liberalization of politics as the next
logical stage in the country's evolution. He aims to make business in Russia
the most profitable in the world. And in foreign policy, the likely leitmotif
is that security will be enhanced when countries share risk - that is, the West
and Russia should cooperate. - Nicolai N Petro
(Feb 29, '08)
THE ROVING EYE
A long road from Kosovo to
Kurdistan
The embrace by Washington of Kosovo's declaration of independence has less to
do with democracy than with hard-nosed pragmatism. The US's biggest foreign
military base since the Vietnam War - Camp Bondsteel - is in Kosovo, and the
region will be home to a US$1.1 billion pipeline that will get oil from the
Caspian Sea ultimately to refineries in the US. Kurds in Iraq, believing Kosovo
to be a precedent for an independent Kurdistan, will be disappointed: the
US-sanctioned Turkish invasion of northern Iraq has seen to that. - Pepe Escobar
(Feb 28, '08)
IN THE DRAGON'S LAIR
US prowls for China in the
Philippines
With China fast becoming the US's greatest competitor, Washington
needs the Philippines more than ever. Not only is it ideally located, its
government has been far more willing than other Southeast Asian countries to
align itself with the demands of the US. Thus Washington is steadily
transforming and deepening its military presence and intervention in the
Philippines in preparation for any face-off with China. In return, Beijing is
aggressively courting Manila. - Herbert Docena
(Feb 27, '08)
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MARKET RAP
Local
charts handy
in troubled waters
The siren song of an Ambac Financial bail-out was an unreliable guide for US
investors seeking passage through this week's trading shoals. Investors across
Asia also shipped water, but their experience of quieter eddies points to a
continued divergence of currents in the world's financial markets.
R M Cutler runs his eye over the ups and downs in the week's markets.
Jet-pace growth for
Indian tourism
World travellers are adding India to their flight schedules in record numbers,
lured in part by an award-winning promotion scheme. Strong growth in domestic
tourism is further brightening prospects for the industry, yet the government
shows little inclination to help strengthen an infrastructure under stress. - Raja
M
Worthless money - guaranteed!
There is no known example, in the history of the world, where a fiat
currency was debased in a wild fractional-reserve multiplication by the greedy
banks that did NOT end badly. And 100% of the time is as close as you can get
to guaranteed. It is time to be frightened. Really frightened.
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Microsoft's pants down
Microsoft's top executives have at least one thing in common with their
customers - deep disenchantment with the company's latest products. Email
exchanges at the top also reveal that the software giant lowered its own
requirements so that partner Intel could maintain earnings.
Martin J Young
surveys the week's developments in computing,
gaming and gizmos.
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CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN
No simple repeat
of LTCM fiasco
The crisis at award-winning Peloton Partners highlights that this is no repeat
of the LTCM meltdown of 1998. The American economic rot goes far, far deeper.
Meanwhile, the Fed, blind to its impotence regarding risk asset prices, should
start attending to currency markets, where it might at least have some impact.
(Mar 3, '08)
Doug Noland reviews the previous week's events each Monday.
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[Re Why the
dollar is so cheap, Mar7] ... The ghost of renewed protectionism will
stall trade and bring formerly fruitful transaction to a snail's pace. The
smart money may benefit from higher gold prices [and] higher oil prices but the
fallout effect spells recession.
Mel Cooper
Singapore
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ATol Specials
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The
Gates
Inheritance
By
Roger Morris
(June '07) |
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Syed Saleem Shahzad reports on
the Afghan war from the Taliban side
(Dec '06)
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How
Hezbollah defeated Israel
By
Mark Perry and
Alastair Crooke
(Oct '06)
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Mark
Perry and
Alastair Crooke
talk to the 'terrorists'
(Mar '06)
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China:
The
Impossible
Revolution
By
Francesco Sisci
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The Coming
Trade War
By Henry C K Liu
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A series
by Henry C K Liu
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Sinoroving
Pepe Escobar in China
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Money, Power
and
Modern Art
A series by Henry C K Liu
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Andre Gunder Frank on Uncle Sam and his
shrinking dollar
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By Pepe Escobar with
photographs by Kevin Nortz
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Nir Rosen goes inside the Iraqi
resistance
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Nir Rosen rides with the US 3rd
Armored Cavalry in western Iraq
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