By Daniel McAdams*

US involvement in Iraq War 3.0 was initially sold as a limited, humanitarian rescue operation to save members of a religious minority the administration claimed were threatened by ISIS’s long march through northern Iraq. Who could object to rescuing a poor religious minority without sounding like a complete monster?

As expected, many otherwise suspicious of the use of military force in the US embraced this mission as an example of how the US military can be used as a force for good. Principled non-interventionists found themselves surrounded on all sides by those clamoring for a humanitarian rescue mission. Opposition having been mostly neutralized, the mission, of course, was launched.

The foot was in the door.

Soon we were told that the operation needed to expand a bit to protect US diplomatic and military facilities in northern Iraq from the marauding hordes of ISIS. Who could object to using the military to protect US diplomatic and military personnel? Skeptics were accused of not caring about American citizens or perhaps even wishing them harm. No thought was given to simply evacuating US government personnel from northern Iraq in the face of danger, as the US did recently in Libya when US-sponsored “liberation” didn’t work out as planned and terrorists took over the country.

Then, in September 2014, we were told by the president that ISIS was the “greatest threat” to the American people and the military operation had to be expanded to include more airstrikes designed to, in the president’s words, “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIS. This mission could be accomplished solely through airstrikes, he said, there would be no question of US boots again on the ground in Iraq.

Also in September we were told that because a group even more dangerous than ISIS, which the White House called the “Khorasan Group,” was  operating in Syria, the US must begin bombing a sovereign country without its request or permission, thereby violating US and international law. The Khorasan Group turned out to be plain old al-Qaeda given a new, scary-sounding name. The “threat” was just some well-packaged propaganda put out by the Pentagon to serve as a pretext to bomb Syria. The Obama Administration had been denied that opportunity a year earlier as a public groundswell at home rose in opposition to the president’s plans to attack Syria.

Americans were not told by the Obama Administration that there were already boots on the ground and planes in the sky fighting ISIS in Syria — that is because those boots and planes belonged to Syrian President Assad, who the US had been working three years to overthrow. The US was against ISIS and against the enemies of ISIS. Many wondered whether such a contradiction could ever make sense in the real world.

Two months later, in November, we were told that the president has decided to double the number of boots on the ground that he promised would not be involved in Iraq. There would be thenceforth 3,000 American boots on the ground in Iraq. But they would not be combat troops, we were told.

The bombing continued. Civilians in Iraq and Syria continued to be killed by US and NATO bombs, including some 50 civilians killed in a single attack in early January. The strike was unannounced by the Pentagon and was discovered by media. A cover up of the disaster is suspected. The US has dropped more than 5,000 bombs on Iraq and Syria at a cost well over a billion dollars. ISIS continues to advance.

Then this week the mask fully slipped from the incrementalism of Iraq War 3.0 to reveal that…it was really all about Syria War 1.5! Though the US has been backing rebels, including imported jihadists (like the two shooters in the recent attack in Paris), in their attempt to overthrow secular Syrian president Assad, the Syrian Arab Army has been continually been making slow but steady progress against the Islamist onslaught. The proxy war was not going according to US plan, partly due to the very low level of support among the population for the kind of radical Islam espoused by many of the US-backed rebels. The war had long ceased to be classifiable as a “peoples’ uprising” and in fact was very much a foreign invasion.

Then came perhaps the coup de grace. The Pentagon announced late last week that it would be sending up to 1,000 — and maybe more — US troops to the Middle East to begin training the forces seeking to overthrow Assad. The US would deploy its military forces to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar to begin training up to 5,000 rebels who would then infiltrate Syrian territory and carry out their orders.

The Pentagon promised that only “moderates” would qualify for the training program, but as we have seen numerous times in the recent past, the screening program leaves quite a bit to be desired. Late last year, two of the main rebel groups receiving weapons from the United States surrendered themselves and their weapons to al-Qaeda. This month alone, some 3,000 “moderates” from the US-backed Free Syrian Army defected to join ISIS.

How many more fighters will the US train for ISIS’s gain?

How are we to believe that the US is really at war with ISIS when it continues to take actions that result in the empowerment of ISIS and the weakening of the enemies of ISIS in the Syrian and Iranian governments? Will the American people find their voices again to stand up against a policy so incomprehensible it appears to have been drawn up by madmen?

And, importantly, we learned again earlier this month that blowback is real. Aggressive western policy in the Middle East creates enemies who will seek to strike back at what they view is the source of their misery and that of their families and friends. Paris shows us that 9/11 was not an anomaly. Interventionism in the Middle East and elsewhere is deadly for the citizens of those meddling countries. We are sold the false idea that we are over there so they won’t come over here, but in fact we have learned once again that they come over here because we are over there killing them by the thousands — directly and through proxies.

The interventionists are going to get us all killed if we don’t put a stop to them. As Ron Paul wrote in his assessment for 2015:

[W]hat we need to do is wake the American people up earlier and get them to realize that the resistance has to be heard from the people when the government is preparing for war, not after the war has begun or even ended.

That time is now.

*This article was published by RonPaul Institute.

The post Will New US Training Program Produce More ISIS Fighters In Syria? – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

The UK-led Beagle 2 Mars Lander, thought lost on Mars since 2003, has been found partially deployed on the surface of the planet, ending the mystery of what happened to the mission more than a decade ago.

This find shows that the Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) sequence for Beagle 2 worked and the lander did successfully touchdown on Mars on Christmas Day 2003. Beagle 2 hitched a ride to Mars on ESA’s Mars Express mission and was a collaboration between industry and academia. It would have delivered world-class science from the surface of the Red Planet. Many UK academic groups and industrial companies contributed to Beagle 2.

Images taken by the HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and initially searched by Michael Croon of Trier, Germany, a former member of ESA’s Mars Express operations team at ESOC, have identified clear evidence for the lander and convincing evidence for key entry and descent components on the surface of Mars within the expected landing area of Isidis Planitia (an impact basin close to the equator).

Since the loss of Beagle 2 following its landing on Christmas Day 2003, Michael has, in parallel with members of the Beagle 2 industrial and scientific teams, been patiently screening images from HiRISE looking for signs of Beagle 2. Subsequent re-imaging and analysis by the Beagle 2 team, HiRISE team and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has confirmed that the targets discovered, are of the correct size, shape, colour and dispersion (i.e. separation) to be Beagle 2.

The images, following analysis by members of the Beagle 2 team and NASA, show the Beagle 2 lander in what appears to be a partially deployed configuration, with what is thought to be the rear cover with its pilot/drogue chute (still attached) and main parachute close by. Due to the small size of Beagle 2 (less than 2m across for the deployed lander) it is right at the limit of detection of imaging systems (cameras) orbiting Mars. The targets are within the expected landing area at a distance of ~5km from its centre.

Several interpretations of the image of the lander have been identified, consistent with the lander’s size and shape. The imaging data is however consistent with only a partial deployment following landing. This would explain why no signal or data was received from the lander – as full deployment of all solar panels was needed to expose the RF antenna which would transmit data and receive commands from Earth.

Unfortunately given the partial deployment (and covering of the RF antenna) it would not be possible to revive Beagle 2 and recover data from it.

Professor Colin Pillinger from the Open University who led the Beagle 2 project with inspirational enthusiasm died in May 2014. Others that provided major contributions to Beagle 2 were Professor George Fraser of the University of Leicester and Professor David Barnes of Aberystwyth University who also died in 2014.

The post UK-Led Beagle 2 Lander Found On Mars appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Russia’s government bond rating to Baa3/Prime 3 (P-3) from Baa2/Prime 2 (P-2) on Friday, and said the rating was also placed on review for further downgrade.

According to Moody’s, the decision behind the downgrade was driven by expectations that the substantial oil price and exchange rate shock will further undermine the country’s already subdued growth prospects over the medium term, as well as nearer-term concerns over the negative impact on the government’s financial strength of the erosion in official foreign exchange buffers and fiscal revenues.

In the review for further downgrade, Moody’s said it will assess the resiliency of the government’s balance sheet, in particular its foreign currency reserves cushion, to both the rating agency’s baseline forecast for oil prices and to the risk of a further decline in oil prices at a time when international market access is restricted for Russian borrowers due to sanctions.

Moody’s said the review will also focus on the efficacy of policy actions that the Russian central bank and fiscal policymakers may take to address the oil and exchange rate shock in an effort to preserve economic and government financial strength.

Moody’s said it also lowered Russia’s country ceilings for foreign currency debt to Baa3/Prime 3 (P-3) from Baa2/Prime 2 (P-2) to align it with the sovereign rating, and reduced the long-term country ceilings for local currency debt and deposits to Baa2 from Baa1, while leaving unchanged the country ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits at Ba1/Non Prime (NP).

The post Moody’s Lowers Russia’s Government Bond Rating To Baa3 appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By Obinna Anyadike*

The terrible news keeps on coming from Nigeria’s embattled northeast. Two suspected child suicide bombers reportedly blew themselves up in a crowded market on Sunday – the second such attack in two days linked to Boko Haram in which young girls were strapped with explosives. Meanwhile, the Islamic extremist group has maintained the momentum of its more conventional attacks, capturing the town of Baga last week on the border with Chad and deliberately executing civilians (earlier reports of up to 2,000 dead by Amnesty International have been disputed by the military. But the true figure remains unknown).

IRIN considers five key questions as Nigeria embarks on an election campaign against the grim backdrop of continued violence.

Do the latest attacks indicate a change in Boko Haram strategy?

No. The use of girl suicide bombers is not new. In December, a 13-year old wearing a suicide vest entered a market in the northern city of Kano, but she did not detonate her explosives: the teenager had been ordered to carry the bomb by her father, a Boko Haram member. Two other teenage girls deployed by Boko Haram at the same time did complete their mission, killing four people and themselves in the blasts.

Neither is the military’s failure to hold territory anything new. Boko Haram declared a caliphate in captured territory in August last year, including 10 major towns in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. In Borno, Boko Haram holds 13 out of 27 Local Government Areas (LGAs), and two LGAs in both Adamawa and Yobe, although the situation is extremely fluid. The military’s response has often been either silence or bluster. The trending hashtag #JeSuisBaga was a poignant comment on the high-profile reaction of the French government (and the world, including the Nigerian authorities) to the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris, and the hush of Abuja to the tragedy in Baga. Boko Haram seems to have singled out the town for special punishment after capturing it on 7 January. That may be due to the defiance of the community-rooted vigilante “Civilian JTF”, which reportedly had done much of the hard fighting to try to hold the town after the military barracks fell on 3 January. The irony is the Nigerian military also laid waste to Baga, allegedly killing 183 people in a reprisal raid in 2013, according to Human Rights Watch. That was during an earlier phase of the war, when the government’s hearts-and-minds campaign amounted to a self-defeating, insurgency-stoking, brutal shock-and-awe strategy targeting entire communities, with little differentiation between civilians and combatants.

What is life like in Boko Haram territory?

Details are sketchy. The reaction of most people to the arrival of Boko Haram is to flee; and the Salafist group is not exactly welcoming towards journalists. The accounts that do emerge suggest that, as promised, the militants impose a strict version of Sharia law, which has included amputations. There have also been reports of forced marriages by Boko Haram fighters. Movement is controlled with vehicles banned, apparently to prevent escape. The squeeze on local markets as a consequence of the closure of transport links has been exacerbated by a system of price controls. In some cases traders have had their wares “liberated” and distributed. There are hints that Boko Haram does not have enough men to garrison its towns effectively, and occupation therefore quickly dwindles to a few road blocks, with no real attempt at an alternative administration. So, life continues pretty much as normal if you are, for example, a traditional farmer.

Why is the military’s performance so lamentable?

Nigeria is proof that military spending does not necessarily buy security. The 2014 defence budget was $2.1 billion and the overall security allotment $5.8 billion – the largest slice of the government’s expenditure pie. And yet the regular excuse is that its soldiers are out-gunned by Boko Haram, despite the helicopter gunships, ground-attack aircraft, and surveillance drones in the official inventory. Closer to the reality on the ground was the report of a recent court martial, in which soldiers complained they were issued with 60 rounds of ammunition and expected to transport themselves to the front in a tipper truck. They were owed five months’ back pay.

Corruption is said to the biggest enemy, with money and fuel meant for the troops siphoned off by senior officers. The repeated failure to destroy munitions and equipment before positions are surrendered to Boko Haram is another factor, as is – sadly, given Nigeria’s peacekeeping pedigree – military incompetence. When the troops are well led and properly supplied they win their battles. But there have been repeated reports of the military even failing to make use of reliable intelligence provided by its allies. And now the government has splurged on opaque defence contracts, with more helicopter gunships, mine-resistant armoured vehicles and possibly a squadron of new, never-before flown by any other air force, counter-insurgency aircraft.

What is the humanitarian fallout?

The government says the fighting has displaced 1.5 million people within the country. There are questions over the methodology used by the National Emergency Management Agency, which produced that number, but the UN uses the figure. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, people typically flee to the neighbouring states of Bauchi, Gombe, and Taraba, and to central Nigeria and the Middle Belt region. These areas, to a lesser extent, are also affected by violence, “increasing competition for resources between IDPs [internally displaced persons] and host communities in flashpoint areas”.

Worsening food security in a region with already some of the worst nutrition and child mortality indicators in the country is another cause for concern. As a result of the disruption to local markets and the fall in agricultural incomes, the Famine Early Warning System Network has advised that “in the absence of well-targeted humanitarian assistance, as many as three million people will be unable to meet basic food needs by July 2015”.

What happens next?

All this will have an impact on already dangerously charged and highly polarized elections on 14 February. The entourage around President Goodluck Jonathan, a southerner, has long whispered that Boko Haram has been a conspiracy by northern politicians to scupper his tenure. The populist theory prevailing in the north, which will vote in huge numbers for his rival Muhammadu Buhari, is that Boko Haram is the creation of the government to undermine their region.

The Independent National Electoral Commission claims that 80 percent of the people entitled to vote in the northeast have their official voting cards – an almost incredible result given the extent of insecurity in the region. But there is confusion over how the poll can be run under the current electoral laws in conflict-affected areas. With the grubby history and perennial violence of Nigerian elections, it is unlikely that the ballot will be peaceful, or that either side will accept defeat with grace and sang-froid. Regardless of who is deemed the winner, there may well be unrest and bloody protest, from which only Boko Haram can profit. But the positive take is that there is a growing social and political consciousness demanding change. And if saner heads prevail, out of this process Nigeria’s democracy can emerge stronger, striking a more effective blow against extremism.

* Obinna Anyadike, Editor-at-Large for IRIN.

The post Boko Haram And Nigeria’s Future: Five Key Questions Answered – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.

The northeastern region of India is still a relatively secluded region. Under the pretext of national security and economic development, however, the activities of the Indian state are posing dreadful environmental threats to the region.

By Hriday Ch. Sarma*

The state of India is striving to forge the local environment of the northeastern region of the country in a way that suits national interests. A steadfast process of destruction of the region’s inherently rich biodiversity in order to establish unhindered access for the Indian military along the country’s disputed eastern borders is presently underway. Extensive infrastructure development across the region, which has profound ramifications, is a prerequisite for the military to ensconce in this difficult terrain.

The Northeast region of India, located at the southern foothills of the Himalayas, is still a relatively secluded region. It is a region that is immensely rich in terms of its biodiversity, with certain exotic flora and fauna species, like Assam lemon plants, ghost pepper plants and one-horned rhinoceros. However the entire region is in danger of falling into an inescapable whirlpool of calamities due to its delicate spatial conditions; such as the active seismic zone diametrically beneath; and a number of silt laden, voluminous rivers heavily-inundating the land throughout the year.

From India’s independence in 1947 until the country’s initiation of economic liberalization polices in the early nineties, New Delhi maintained ignorant attitudes towards the region in terms of ensuring sustainable development. During this period, New Delhi’s primary emphasis was to dilute the self-determining aspirations of the local ethno-national communities and neutralize their armed struggles by enforcing strict military subjugation of the region. From an environmental perspective this period was, in fact, a disguised blessing for the region as it managed to escape imposed economic development.

With a striking dip in the level of violence perpetuated by local secessionist (terrorist) groups from the start of the Twenty-First century, the Indian government has been trying to heavily industrialize the region. A small section of the local population in the region, mostly the local entrepreneurial class, is happy with this; but majority sections of the indigenous populace are grieving. Many local environmental activist groups have recently come to the fore as a form of counter-resistance to Indian-government sponsored economic initiatives. Unfortunately all of these environmental activist groups have met with negligent or minimal success successes in their respective endeavors.

One exception is Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) – an Assam-based peasant movement led by anti-dam activist Akhil Gogoi- that has effectively mobilized the local population on different environmental issues. Both the organization and its leader were recently honoured by consortium of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) India, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Toxics Link and Peace Institute Charitable Trust with prestigious ‘Bhagirath Prayas Samman’ for advocating the idea of urgently pressurng the Indian Government to negotiate with neighbouring countries in order to declare the Brahmaputra river (also known as Yarlung Tsangpo) an international neutral river.

The government of India has always viewed development in the Northeast region through the prism of national security. There are many reasons for pursuing this strategy. Two of the most important are China’s persistent assertion that Arunachal Pradesh is a part of southern Tibet and the growing influx of Islamist non-state actors from Bangladesh. The hilly terrain and excessive forest cover over the region makes it easier for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to take strategic advantage of China’s higher latitudinal location as and when it desires. Also, the Islamist non-state actors based in Bangladesh, which have strong links with Af-Pak Taliban, can easily spill-over into the region due to the presence of numerous pores along the borders between the two countries.

The same geographic factors that put India’s external adversaries on the front foot in the Northeast region make it difficult for the Indian military and institutions to efficiently monitor and administer the region. Hence India has now taken-up a grand plan of tightly-connecting the border areas and the entire Northeast region with the mainland region through a network of physical inter-connections, like roadways, railways and airways. This ambitious project, which holds national strategic importance for India, threatens environmental sensitivities of the region.

India has officially signed and ratified the Environmental Modification Convention (ENMOD) – which prohibits the military or other hostile use of environmental modification techniques that have widespread, long-lasting or severe effects. However, the present actions of different organs of the state (i.e. government, the population and surveillance forces) in the Northeast region under the pretext of national security and economic development are posing dreadful environmental threats to the region. It is high time the international community speaks-up in support of the environmental concerns of the local people of the Northeast region.

Building inter-dependent economic and socio-cultural linkages between both sides of international borders is definitely the best way to escape any future inter-state conflict. India’s attempt to sanctify the British-gifted international borders along its eastern flank, which in-fact barely exists on-the-ground, is self-defeating and environmentally disastrous for the Northeast region and beyond.

* Hriday Ch. Sarma is the founder and president of the India-based NGO, Green-Cosmos. He is also associated with several different international organizations.

The post India’s Northeastern Region Environmentally Threatened – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By Siham Ali

Morocco is toughening up its laws to prevent citizens from leaving the country to join foreign terrorist groups.

A Moroccan parliamentary commission on Wednesday (December 14th) agreed to impose 5-15 year prison sentences on citizens attempting to join Daesh jihadists in Syria or Iraq,

Having already strengthened laws against money laundering, the government has been working on legislation to criminalise participation in the Islamic State (ISIS) and other foreign terror organisations.

Parliament last month transferred the bill to the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) for review.

In its written opinion, the CNDH called for the language in the bill to be made clearer, in order to adhere to international law.

The council also recommended that legislators add a provision to the draft to classify the recruitment of children by terror groups as an aggravating factor.

Furthermore, the council called on the government to consider introducing alternative sentences and court supervision measures, such as electronic tagging, to punish attempts to join terrorist groups and/or undertake foreign training.

When the text of the new law was referred back to the legislature for further discussion on December 24th, MPs agreed with the CNDH recommendations to adopt a complete and precise law to crack down on terrorism.

The bill amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to allow any Moroccan within the country or abroad, as well as any foreign national in Morocco, to be prosecuted for terrorist offences committed outside Morocco.

“It is essential to crack down on terrorism by strengthening the country’s laws,” said Mohamed Ben Abdessadak, an MP representing the Party of Justice and Development.

Justice Minister Mustapha Ramid told MPs that the purpose of criminalising the act of travelling to join terrorist entities abroad was to protect young Moroccans and maintain national security.

The government was also targeting propaganda intended to recruit young Moroccans and encourage them to wage jihad, the minister added.

Many young Moroccans have already been indoctrinated.

The justice minister said that of the 1,212 Moroccans who had joined the Islamic State (ISIS), 147 had returned home.

Given the large number of Moroccan fighters, as well as the number of cells dismantled in the kingdom in recent months, new legislation to combat the terrorist threat is imperative, Ramid said.

Morocco has no option but to toughen its counter-terrorism laws, especially since the country is a target, political analyst Jamal Farhani said. But the legislation must respect human rights and avoid falling into the trap of incriminating innocent people, he added.

Rahma Chatibi, a sociologist, argued that the government should do more than merely strengthen the law in its efforts to curb terrorism.

“We need to tackle the causes that spur young people to join the ranks of fighters,” she told Magharebia.

“Some studies have shown that the main causes that motivate them to go and fight alongside jihadists in Iraq and Syria are social in nature and not related to religion, contrary to what one might think,” she said.

The post Morocco Toughens Terror Laws appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By Waleed Abu al-Khair

The “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL) earlier this week claimed the kidnapping of nearly two dozen Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya, drawing condemnation across both countries.

The “ISIL branch in Libya” said it is holding 21 Christians and published pictures of them in a statement posted to extremist websites, AFP reported Monday (January 12th).

The group did not specify the nationality of the abductees but is seemingly referring to two separate kidnapping incidents confirmed by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: the December 30th kidnapping of seven Egyptian Coptic Christians and the January 3rd abduction of 13 Egyptian Coptic Christians in the Libyan city of Sirte, the news agency said.

The ministry announced that it formed a crisis task force that is in continuous session and that it is in contact with Libyan parties to follow up on the issue of the abductees.

Fayez Jibril, Libya’s ambassador to Cairo, confirmed that the abductions were carried out by the Libyan branch of ISIL and was directed against Christians.

This “cowardly criminal” act bears no relation to Libyan customs and traditions, he said in a statement.

“The kidnapping of Egyptian Copts in Libya is but an attempt by ISIL to sow sectarian strife among Egyptians,” said Sami Gheit, a researcher at Al-Sharq Centre for Regional and Strategic Studies.

This “criminal act committed in the name of Islam offends Islam primarily”, he added.

Gheit said the kidnapping came after terrorist groups failed to expand in the Sinai and were dealt successive blows, which lost them their momentum.

In addition, control was tightened over Egypt’s border crossings with Libya, particularly after Sinai gunmen pledged allegiance to ISIL, he said.

‘Cowardly act’

Rajeh Sabri of the Egyptian Ministry of Endowment’s directorate of guidance described the kidnapping of the Egyptian Copts as “a cowardly act”.

“These men went to Libya in search of an honest livelihood and to improve their and their families’ financial and living situations,” he said. “Their abduction has no connection to Islam whatsoever, for the Islamic religion called for respecting and protecting the followers of other divine religions.”

Sabri said this issue affects Egypt’s Muslims and Christians alike.

Rev. Mikhail Bacchus of St. Mina Coptic Orthodox Church in Giza also condemned the kidnapping.

“When it comes to terrorism, there is no difference between an Egyptian Muslim and an Egyptian Copt,” he told Al-Shorfa. “So, we consider this kidnapping to be directed against Egypt and all Egyptians.”

It is not the first time that Egyptians in Libya have been victims of kidnapping or murder, as Muslims have been abducted too, he said.

Islam is innocent of these practices, which “bear no relation to Islam at all”, Bacchus said.

The post Libya: Targeting Of Copts By Islamic State Widely Condemned appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By MD Rasooldeen

Saudi Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, held talks in Riyadh with US Sen. John McCain, chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee, who led a delegation to the capital on Saturday.

The discussion took place at the crown prince’s ranch in Dirriya in the capital. Prince Mohamed bin Salman, state minister and head of the crown prince’s court, and US Ambassador Joseph W. Westphal were among those who took part in the discussion.

During the brief visit, the visiting senator also met with intelligence chief Prince Khaled bin Bandar and discussed matters of mutual interests.

Stewart Wight, assistant information officer at the US Embassy, told Arab News that the visit was focused on enhancing Saudi-US cooperation.

He said Sen. McCain and his accompanying delegation arrived in Riyadh to meet with senior Saudi government officials.

“The delegation came to discuss a range of issues, including the coalition campaign against the so-called Islamic State and enhanced US-Saudi cooperation,” he said.

The post Saudi Arabia: McCain Meets With Crown Prince Salman In Riyadh appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

The Russian position on the Syrian crisis is beyond comprehension. There are no defense treaties and the Syrian regime does not add any strategic value to Moscow in the regional conflict. In addition to that, Syria is certainly not influential in the international balance; it does not have water crossings, sources of energy or major consumer markets. Moreover, the Syrian opposition did not clash with Russia — on the contrary, it tried to institute ties with the Russians despite the massive support Moscow sent to the Syrian regime after military setbacks. If there are no worthy interests, strategic values, or military and financial deals, why is the Russian policy still clinging to a worn-out regime that has no future?

During the past two years, I asked many activists and political observers hoping to understand the Russian way of thinking, but no one was able to give me a convincing explanation for Moscow’s commitment to supporting Assad in Damascus. I was told that it is a relationship that falls within a greater relationship with Iran, but this would make it a minor issue then. I was also told that they are using the Syrian crisis to negotiate with the West, but the West is not interested in who will rule Damascus tomorrow.

They said that the Kremlin supports Assad because of the Tartus port, which is the only Mediterranean base for the Russian navy, but I know that the Syrian opposition promised to respect an agreement regarding this port. They also said that the Russians are financially exploiting Syria, but this is irrelevant compared to their greater trade with the Gulf countries, especially that the payments of the trades with Syria are usually delayed or bartered with Iran.

I was also told that Russia supports the regime because it wants to fight terrorists in Syria, but we know that this pro-Assad stance dates way back to before the emergence of the ISIS and Al-Nusrah Front. The Russians were keen to support the regime in order to distress the moderate opposition. Also, the moderate opposition had already offered to cooperate with Russia to fight extremist groups that emerged from Russian regions of influence, such as Khorasan and Chechnya.

Indeed, there is no logical explanation for it, especially that the Russians have made the same mistake before, when they supported the Assad regime after its involvement in the assassination of Rafik Hariri. Russia had disrupted international efforts to punish Syria and supported it economically. When the regime achieved a breakthrough in its relations with France after Sarkozy took office, Assad requested Paris’ mediation to reinstate ties with the Americans. At that time, an Arab official told me that the Russians were upset because Assad exploited their support and then embraced the West. The Russians have said they know Assad will return one day to ask for their help.

Of course, the policies are based on interests, and if we found there to be one worthy interest behind the Russian stance supporting the Syrian regime, we would have better understood this. Now, Moscow does not only send its military experts to fight the rebels with ammunition and explosive barrels, but it also wants to rehabilitate Assad to hold on to his presidency!

It is trying to hold conferences aiming to wipe out the opposition, proposing a political plan to form a joint government between the regime and the opposition under the leadership of Assad. However, the opposition, representing more than two-thirds of the Syrian people, will surely reject the Russian plan. These strategies will not succeed no matter what the Russians and Iranians seek to impose.

The post Russia’s Incomprehensible Syria Policy – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

These days there are unfortunately few discernible positive signs of putting an end to the ongoing destruction and theft of our global heritage in Syria and even those one must search to uncover. But there are some.

To date, it has been primarily the Syrian people themselves, without much international and practically no American help, taking the lead to protect and preserve this cradle of civilization which has hosted nearly a dozen empires over ten thousand years. Among the Syrian guardians of our shared archeological past are the rural and urban elders, scores of whom this observer has visited over the past few years, whose revealed lives, identities, birth and death places, even their weather-beaten wrinkled facial skin inform foreigners that they are genetically melded with this great country’s past and are nearly unanimous in their commitment to protect and preserve it. They can often be seen, and yet more others invisibly felt, watching and guarding our shared archeological sites.

Many local residents are sometimes risking their lives by shielding their localities from looters and perverted religious fanatics and fools who, often with little knowledge of their own heritage, feel threatened by it and seek to erase our species identity. Destruction of international cultural sites in Syria has mushroomed in recent years where the civil war has led to the shelling of medieval cities, damage to five UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and the theft of countless thousands of historical objects dating back more than 6,000 years which include some of the earliest forms of writing.

Frequently encouraged by their elders, young Syrian activists such as the dazzlingly energetic and optimistic local NGO, Fingerprints for Syria with more than 30,000 members across their country, and who this month celebrated their founding across Syria, are helping ameliorate many effects of the current crisis among the most vulnerable. In addition, they and students, academics, civic minded business people, village leaders, military personalities and government officials on the scene, are taking the lead to educate the public to protect, preserve, and sometimes even recover from looters, our shared global heritage.

Another promising reaction to the countless assaults on mankind’s history and identity in Syria is the growing international awareness of the plethora of cultural identity problems resulting from the current military and sectarian maelstrom. Some perceive a nascent but jelling groundswell of global concern by many who want to stop the carnage increasingly directed at Syria’s society and her custody of our civilization. Among these is a growing community of international responses from new NGO’s and old committed archeology focused organizations who are endeavoring to achieve a comprehensive protection of cultural heritage in Syria.

With respect to the American public, as with every country, more can and needs to be done to help. The American people are known general around this part for often wanting to help others. These days in this region, their focus is often to undo or ameliorate some aspects of the criminally destructive wars in their names by their own government. Wars for reasons that history and much of the American public have and will continue to condemn.

But Americans must do more to direct our politicians to focus and act on this crisis including the return of the incalculable number of looted antiquities flooding the countries bordering Syria. At New Year’s this observer was invited to celebrate with a lovely family south of Beirut in the mountains of the Chouf above Damor on the sea. The company was pleasant, the food delicious and the children precious and lovely. I was surprised, but not completely shocked, when another guest nonchalantly pulled from his jacket pocket maybe twenty or so stapled photo-copied pages with photos of artifacts from Syria. He offered the guests “very cheap prices” for the objects. The gentleman was ignorant, as were the rest of us present, about the period of history, location and surrounding identity the stolen Syria antiquities came from. What was also surprising is that none of us spoke out and objected to this increasingly common practice in Beirut of flogging looted Syrian antiquities. The dealer in looted antiquities did admit, “I don’t know the value in the market of these treasures. But buy one for your wife or children’s education and sell it later in the west. Each of these objects I am offering may be worth millions! Who knows! So take the gamble.” And most of the two dozen people present laughed, some raising their glasses of holiday cheer. And three gave deposits.

Some American political leaders are beginning to focus on this problem but they need more encouragement from those of us who elect them. To his credit, given all his other work these days, Secretary of State John Kerry and even President Obama have spoken out. Last month at New York’s Natural History Museum Kerry made an impassioned plea for his countrymen and all people of good will to help protect Syria’s shared cultural heritage.

The White House should support, indeed it should get strongly behind the bipartisan bill introduced this month in Congress, H. R. 5703, the Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act which aims to generate a robust United States’ response to looting in Syria. One of its declared rasion d’etre is “Protecting international cultural property is a vital part of United States cultural diplomacy, showing the respect of the American people for other cultures and the common heritage of humanity,

The White House and Congress must be pushed by public opinion to take immediate measures to stop the flow of stolen artifact into our country. Obama administration officials should meet with the proposed legislation sponsors and get behind the draft bills objective which is to “deny terrorists and criminals the ability to profit from instability by looting the world of its greatest treasures.”

If passed, the White House will appoint a Coordinator for International Cultural Property Protection to oversee such efforts. It will require that the Secretary of State, the Administrator of USAID, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney to all submit reports on their department’s efforts to protect international cultural property to the new Coordinator. While many countries have offices and agencies dedicated to protecting their own cultural heritage, the establishment of an official post to safeguard foreign cultural heritage is unprecedented and could have a significant impact.

The bill also allows for any international agency involved in the protection of cultural heritage overseas to enter into agreements with the American Smithsonian Institution to use their personnel for assistance — even on military, diplomatic, and law enforcement missions — and pay their salaries. Additionally, the Secretary of State will be able to make grants to private individuals and organizations that are protecting cultural heritage where political instability or natural disasters threaten it.

The proposed legislation, which can easily pass with White House and Congressional cooperation, would also mandate emergency protection for Syrian cultural property, imports of which rose 145% in the United States between 2011 and 2013, according to cultural heritage experts at Harvard University and UNESCO with whom this observer has consulted.

In addition, the US President will be authorized by Congress to apply restrictions on importing items of “archaeological, historical, cultural, rare scientific or religious importance unlawfully removed from Syria on or after August 18, 2011. Some who have been in Syria over the past few years surveying the damage to archeological sites have reported that the greatest consistent source of income for Da’ish (ISIS), after oil, derives from looted goods. Part of cash in from “taxes” which is collected from jihadist brigades of female and male looters, of all ages currently being assigned to more than 5000 archaeological located in areas controlled by Da’ish (ISIS). These areas are expanding inexorably as thousands of jihadists arrive every month and are assigned to what are considered “useful tasks for the Caliphate.”

These days, when many Americans are questioning the evident defects in our democracy, an excellent way to improve it for us and our children would be for us to insist on our government following our wishes and taking a lead in preserving and protecting our cultural heritage in Syria.

The post Help Preserve Our Shared Cultural Heritage In Syria – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

The Spanish government said that regional services will have a common framework and will be geared to professional guidance for the unemployed.

In this manner, the budget for active employment policies has been increased by 16.8% in 2015.

Among the agreements reached on Friday by the Spanish Council of Ministers, the Vice-President of the Government highlighted a new regulation that comes within the framework of the “most significant cornerstone of the agenda” of this government: job creation. This is a Common Portfolio of Services under the National Employment System, that seeks “to guarantee equality in access to employment services for all workers throughout the country,” said Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.

As a result of this Royal Decree, for the first time since the transfer of powers on this issue to the regional governments, “a common framework has been established with the measures that must be implemented by the different regional employment services”, explained the Vice-President of the Government. The regional government may extend or complement this portfolio, she added.
Reduce length of unemployment

The Minister for Employment and Social Security, Fátima Báñez, asserted that in 2014 Spanish society and the government reforms “have set in motion the job machine for the first time” following seven years of crisis. “Thanks to the joint efforts of all concerned, including the regional governments and social stakeholders, more than 1,600 jobs were created each day”, she pointed out.

The government is aware that “there is still a long way to go”, and that the main priority is to reduce “the length of time from unemployment to employment”, said Fátima Báñez. This is the aim of the Spanish Strategy for Job Creation implemented by the government, and the common portfolio of services presented on Friday is just one more step in that direction. “This is the silent job market reform, because we have been working with the social stakeholders and with the regional governments for a long time to make the public employment services that are available to the unemployed more effective and to assist in their return to the job market”, said Fátima Báñez.

According to the Minister for Employment, active employment policies have not historically lacked resources: between 2008 and 2011 more than 30 billion euros were made available to them, but in this period unemployment rose by 3.3 million. Fátima Báñez also remarked that 47% of the unemployed have no contact whatsoever with their public employment office, and only 30% expect call from this office. She pointed out that the problem is to adapt and attend to the new needs of the unemployed. To date, the public services have focused on managing benefits and subsidies, and hence it is necessary to modernise them so that they can also guide the unemployed and help them return to the job market.

Personalised attention

The minister declared that the new common portfolio of services will not only guarantee equal access to any public office throughout the country, but will also allow for “the services on offer to be monitored and personalised attention to be given to the unemployed”, and “to make the public resources result-based”.

In this regard, 2015 will be the first year that 60% of the resources allocated to employment policies will be paid out to regional governments according to compliance with the goals set. Fátima Báñez stressed that the situation that arose in 2014 whereby 76% of these budgetary resources were not used “concerns” the government and will mean that “these amounts cannot be allocated in the following financial year”.

Under this reform, the employment services will be focused on professional orientation, from the preparation of an individualised profile of the unemployed individual to advice on market trends. They will also perform an intermediary role with companies, in terms of training, and finally, of providing advice for the self-employed and entrepreneurs.

Fátima Báñez underlined that the government will allocate 4.76 billion euros to active employment policies in 2015, an increase of 16.8% on 2014. 43% will be allocated to training actions and 31.5% to discounts for hiring the unemployment with the greatest difficulties in returning to the job market. In addition, 260 million euros will be allocated to especially vulnerable groups and those at risk of exclusion, 251 million euros to career advice, 110 million euros to collaboration with private recruitment agencies and 100 million euros to modernising the employment services.

The post Spain: Government Guarantees Equality In Access To Employment Services appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By Jax Jacobsen

For all the crackdowns on civil society throughout the post-Soviet sphere and Middle East, we’ve heard surprisingly little about Azerbaijan, ruled by Ilham Aliyev since he inherited the position from his father Heydar in 2003.

His latest move to silence opposition from international groups is to have police raid the office of US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Dec. 26, detaining journalists for hours. Former journalists of the station have also been questioned by police. According to Jeffery Gedmin, former president of RFE/RL and currently at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, at least 10 RFE/RL journalists in Baku were compelled to the prosecutor’s office for additional questioning.

The station had also been shut down in 2009, along with the BBC and Voice of America, but listeners were able to access broadcasts via internet and satellite.

U.S. Representative Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Committee for Foreign Affairs, called on “leaders in Baku to allow RFE/RL to resume its work and to stop harassment of RFE/RL employees.”

The raid comes after the Dec. 5 arrest and detention of investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who worked with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and also hosted a daily show on RFE/RL. On Dec. 10, Meydan TV – one of the few independent media outlets to operate in Baku – shut down operations in the capital, citing concerns for its employees’ safety.

“This is absurd, but this is a political reality in Azerbaijan that has very serious implications on our work,” Emin Milli, who heads the outlet, said Dec. 10.

Earlier in December, the U.S. deputy chief of mission at the embassy in Baku confirmed that the government “sees no need” to continue the work of the organization in the country. The Peace Corps launched its Azerbaijan chapter in 2003.

Other foreign-funded programs – notably the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) and the National Democratic Institute – were shuttered in the country in 2014, as well as the Oslo-based Human Rights House Network, all for failing to have proper registration documents.

The clampdown on independent outlets has picked up speed in recent months, analysts note. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Azerbaijan is in the list of top 10 jailers of reporters, and jailed 9 journalists as well as four activists for creating Facebook groups which posted articles critical of government corruption. Azerbaijan has twice as many political prisoners as do Russia and Belarus combined, McCain Institute Senior Director David J. Kramer said in a Jan. 4 editorial in The Wall Street Journal.

The campaign against journalists and activists comes as Ramiz Mehdiyev, seen as a key ally to President Aliyev, released a bizarre 60-page report which accused the United States of funding non-governmental organizations in an effort to overthrow the president.

So far, Washington has had a muted response to the ejections and criticisms coming from Baku, but one activist said this might not continue to be the case.

“The fact that the U.S. hasn’t responded in some kind of really tough way so far shouldn’t lead the Azeri government to think that it never will,” the National Endowment for Democracy’s Miriam Lanskoy told Contact.az at the end of Deccember. Lanskoy is the director for Russia and Eurasia at NED.

Washington is “very concerned” and “deeply troubled” by the imprisonment of Ismayilova and the intimidation of other journalists in the country, according to a Dec. 10 statement from the US State Department, but failed to say more than that.

One reason for the United States’ hesitation to openly criticize the Aliyev regime may stem from energy politics: Azerbaijan is a major gas producer, and talks have been underway over the past few years to build a pipeline that would transport Azeri gas to Europe. The EU, like the United States, is focused on lessening its dependence on Russian oil and gas to heat the continent, having pursued negotiations with Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey to secure an alternate source. However, it’s worth noting that Azerbaijan’s gas reserves are limited, with 35 trillion cubic feet (EIA estimates), versus Russia’s estimated 1.688 trillion cubic feet in reserves.

This article was published by Geopolitical Monitor.com.

The post Azerbaijan’s Hidden Crackdown On Civil Society – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By Frank Lekaba*

Many opinion makers have come forth to applaud how the West responded promptly to the “terrorist” attacks in France and further used this opportunity to call for the same support against acts of terror in the African continent, particularly against Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Instructive of those making this call is Ignatius Kaigama, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Jos in central Nigeria. The Mail and Guardian reported the Bishop as saying, “I see the very positive response of the French government tackling this issue of religious violence after the killing of their citizens”. He further said, “We need that spirit to be spread around, not just when it happens in Europe, [but] when it happens in Nigeria, in Niger, Cameroon and many poor countries, that we mobilise our international resources to confront the people who bring such sadness to many families”.

The profoundness of what the bishop is saying lies in the fact that he sees himself as part of the people who must solve the problem faced by the country. He doesn’t exonerate himself and fence-sit, in talking about the problem. Many have cast aspersions on the leadership of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Chief among those is the well-respected academic, Professor Adekeye Adebajo, who posits that “Boko Haram has exposed Jonathan’s ineptitude”. He reduces the solution of the problem to one individual: President Jonathan Goodluck.

A very instructive lesson from the “Je Sui Charlie” campaign should be the promptness of the State against the acts of terror, the voluntary participation of the general public in supporting the State, and lastly support from the international community. Over and above, Boko Haram is correctly reported as an “insurgent” group, clearly meaning there are conditions concretising the cause of Boko Haram, not its attacks and explosions. Prof Adebajo has indicated this fact in his article, raising the question of abject poverty in the North compared to the South of Nigeria. This fact makes the comparison between Boko Haram and the attackers of ‘Charlie Hebdo’ different. Something many opinion makers fail to nuance and comprehend. Diverting primary attention on the explosions Boko Haram is undertaking doesn’t come close to defeating it but invites more sympathy towards it from the communities in the North of Nigeria and elsewhere outside the country. The legitimacy of Boko Haram in the North is not rooted in the permanent conditions prevalent in that part of Nigeria, rather on socio-economic conditions that can be addressed by the State to stop this insurgent group.

So the spirit of collectiveness displayed by all who supported the France’s reaction to the crisis should inspire the same resolve in dealing with the conditions giving rise to Boko Haram itself. The progressive outcome of the Nigeria’s economic rebase which signaled a great boom should be translated into people’s socio-economic development and prosperity. In the end, the action against the attacks of Boko Haram requires collective efforts from within the borders of Nigeria, then the rest of the world would join the campaign and, yes, indeed Nigeria needs the same support as France.

* Frank Lekaba, a Junior Researcher at the Africa Institute of South Africa in the Human Sciences Research Council.

* THE VIEWS OF THE ABOVE ARTICLE ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR/S AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE PAMBAZUKA NEWS EDITORIAL TEAM

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The EU’s High Representative and Vice President Federica Mogherini said Saturday some steps in the right direction have been taken during this week’s round of Libya talks hosted by the UN in Geneva, while at the same time adding that this “initial progress is a start and should be welcomed even if there’s still a long way to go.”

According to Mogherini, “The participants have shown a constructive attitude and expressed commitment to finding, through dialogue, a peaceful solution to the crisis in Libya.”

Mogherini said she encourages all invited representatives, including those who did not attend this round, to participate in the second round of talks next week with the same spirit of respect and consensus.

“The gravity of the situation in Libya requires that all Libyans place the interest of their nation above their differences and reach an agreement that can finally put an end to the deepening political and security crisis in the country,” Mogherini said.

The post Mogherini Says Libya Talks In Geneva ‘Steps In Right Direction’ appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By Dr. S. Chandrasekharan

It should be conceded that Bhutan as a young democracy is still on a learning curve and mistakes do happen. There will be teething problems. Except for the entrenched bureaucrats all the rest involved in the administration directly and indirectly like the politicians, parliamentarians, ministers and the National Council members could make mistakes and these should be taken in the stride.

As Prime Minister Tobgay said in his Press conference on the completion of one year and two months, that the government has got the fundamentals of governance correct. This should be more than sufficient for a young democracy.

As it happens in any young democracy, the former DPT government and also the present government found the bureaucrats too assertive and dominating. In due ,the politicians would get the better of the bureaucrats. In India too in the initial stages of independence, the bureaucrats dominated until the politicians learnt the tricks of the trade but unfortunately in the Indian case both the politicians and the bureaucrats joined hands to loot the country! Here is a lesson for Bhutan.

The case of the three Secretaries:

On December 12, the Government of Bhutan sacked three senior Secretaries that included the Cabinet Secretary Dasho Penden Wangchuk, Economic Affairs Secretary Dasho Sonam Tshering and Foreign Secretary Yeshey Dorji and “surrendered” them to the Royal Civil Service Commission for further action. The use of the term “surrender” appears to be inappropriate.

The charges against the three Secretaries included- exceeding their mandate, breaching rules, misusing the institution of a committee of Secretaries, misrepresenting the government and not keeping the Prime Minister informed of the committee’s discussions and decisions.

These are serious allegations but if one goes into details it looks that the Prime Minister and his cabinet over reacted. An avoidable controversy was thus created. The Royal Commission has asked for evidence and full details and this placed the PM and his cabinet in a very embarrassing situation.

It all started with an Indian magazine ENERTIA making certain allegations of corruption against the Economic Secretary Sonam Tshering on the appointment of one Bhutan Trading Company as a representative agent of Bharath Heavy Electricals. There were two articles.

Stung by the articles, the Economic Secretary raised the issue in the committee of secretaries and in pursuance of the discussions, the foreign Secretary sent a formal letter to Govt. Of India requesting the latter’s intervention.

The foreign Secretary did not inform the Foreign Minister and the Cabinet Secretary did not keep the Prime Minister also informed of the actions taken. In fact the Attorney General advised against raising the issue with a friendly government before verifying the allegations.

This was a small matter that could have been settled and mistakes have been made by the three secretaries in writing directly to the GOI without following the protocol and without informing the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister.

The end result is that the Committee of Secretaries has been abolished and it is hoped the three Secretaries are not handed out dismissals on a minor matter like this. In Bhutan there are only 11 secretaries and to remove three of them on one go on a “breach of protocol” is not an appropriate response!

The King’s National Day Speech and the birthday celebrations of Gyalpo 4

In the episode on the three Secretaries what had angered the Economic Secretary were the baseless allegations of corruption made against him and this made him go overboard. It is good that the government takes the issue of corruption very seriously before it starts eating into the vitals of governance as it is happening elsewhere.

The King in his address to the nation on December 19 rightly referred to the issue of corruption as the highest probable risk to development. More significantly he pointed out that the greater threat is “ignoring corruption.” The allegations made in the Indian magazine should be seen in this context.

The king in his speech also referred to the contributions made by his father Gyalpo 4, in bringing the country from “darkness to light”. As mark of respect , a year-long celebrations are being planned on the 60th birth anniversary for Gyalpo 4, the former King. Prime Minister Tobgay in his address called on the nation to come together in paying tribute to the selfless deeds of former Gyalpo.

An official website has been launched (drukgyalzhipaat60.bt) on this occasion and this would contain a photo gallery, a time line of national milestones and other interesting features.

The media in praising the contribution of former Gyalpo 4, made some interesting points. These included:

• He metamorphosed Bhutan from an “isolated idyllic Himalayan country” to one with will developed infrastructure, transport and connectivity.
• Responsible for a smooth and peaceful transition for Bhutan from hereditary monarchy to Asia’s newest democracy.
• He introduced the concept of GNH- Gross National Happiness for measuring natural wealth and development as an enduring legacy.

His greatest contribution was perhaps the concept of GNH. Though it was initially ridiculed by many analysts, now it is gaining acceptance in many other countries as an alternative concept on the country’s development.

One cannot but admire the reverence shown by the people even now. Even some necessary amendments to the constitution needed have been given up as it was felt that the constitution given by the former King should not be disturbed too soon!

He was a benign monarch and the only complaint I had and still have is that he could have been more generous to the hapless refugee community that languished in the camps in eastern Nepal

In another sense perhaps he has been right in not taking them back as most of these refugees have moved to third countries and are doing exceptionally well. Perhaps one day these people who no longer are refugees could come back and contribute to the well being and development of Bhutan!

The Economy

It is now getting clear that the ambitious programme of achieving 10,000 megawatts by 2020 will not be possible. This would require another 12 new projects to be developed with investment of US$ 11.2 Billion within the short time of another five years. This is almost impossible. The best the country can aim for will be that by 2022 it could generate 6476 MW. Even this needs heavy investments and the cooperation of GOI.

More serious is the fact that the country showed a growth of only 2.05 percent in 2013 which was lowest in a decade. There was a general decline in manufacturing, social sector, personal services and in construction sector.

It does not look that serious as is made out to be as the economic situation will considerably improve once the ongoing hydro electric projects come on stream. As has been pointed by some analysts, Bhutan’s growth is mainly driven by government expenditure, investment in construction and private investment. All these activities almost came to a halt at the end of the plan period and even the government’s expenditure saw a decline of 22.5 percent.

The Government appears to be unnecessarily in a panic mode in forming a “task force” to identify the issues that led to the drop in the GDP to 2.05 percent, when the reasons that are temporary are well known.

The post Bhutan: The Tale Of Three Secretaries – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By Ryan O’Regan*

The Obama Administration has began instituting new policies regarding travel, trade, and commerce between Cuba and the United States. Following over 50 years of staunchly regressive policies regarding the Cuban Republic, these changes are now being widely welcomed on both sides of the Florida Strait.

A Host of New Policies

As posted on the White House website, highlights of the new policies include:

• An expansion of general licenses available to U.S. citizens wishing to travel to Cuba, including: “(1) family visits; (2) official business of the U.S. government, foreign governments, and certain intergovernmental organizations; (3) journalistic activity; (4) professional research and professional meetings; (5) educational activities; (6) religious activities; (7) public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions, and exhibitions; (8) support for the Cuban people; (9) humanitarian projects; (10) activities of private foundations or research or educational institutes; (11) exportation, importation, or transmission of information or information materials; and (12) certain export transactions that may be considered for authorization under existing regulations and guidelines.”
• A raise in allowed quarterly remittance levels from $500 to $2,000 for cash sent from Cuban-Americans to relatives across the Strait. Importantly, remittances headed to independent startups will no longer require a specific license, thus easing the way for U.S. residents to aid Cuba’s budding entrepreneurial class.
• Legalization of certain exports to the island, such as building materials, agricultural equipment, and business-related goods.
• Allowance of imports by licensed travelers up to $400 worth of goods from Cuba, “of which no more than $100 can consist of tobacco products and alcohol combined.”
• Financial relaxations allowing the creation of correspondent accounts in Cuba by U.S. institutions, and the use of debit and credit cards on the island.[1]

Moreover, the Obama Administration has also announced a review of Cuba’s often-criticized status as an alleged State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST).[2]

Progress: Present and Future

While these reforms are hardly revolutionary, they represent a step in the right direction, and should the administration overcome steep opposition in the newly elected Republican Congress, continued progress could catalyze genuine transformation for Cuba and its citizenry.

By cutting some of the red tape surrounding U.S. commercial activity with the island, the new policies will grant private enterprise a notable, much-needed boost. Remittances have long served as start-up capital for new businesses on the island. By simplifying the process of sending cash for entrepreneurial purposes, and raising limits on how much cash can be sent every quarter, these new policies could spur continued growth in private-sector enterprise in Cuba, already strong in the wake of reforms on the part of Raúl Castro’s government.[3] New rules on equipment exports should also help to alleviate some of the shortages caused by the ongoing U.S. embargo.

These reforms’ positive impact on Cuba will almost certainly extend beyond the private sphere. U.S. remittances already serve as a vital source of foreign currency for the Castro government, and by raising potential influxes by 300 percent. the new rules should help to secure imports for an island that, as of 2014 imported 80 percent of its food.[4] At a time when Cuba is seeking to increase its reserves (currently at $10 billion) over possible political and economic turmoil in Venezuela, remittances will only become more vital as a source of hard currency for the island.[5]

Of all the new policies announced, however, the review of Cuba’s status on the U.S. list of SSTs provides the greatest portent of change. Since 1982, Cuba has stood accused by the United States of sponsoring left-wing terrorism in Africa and Latin America. Cuba’s place on the list, long criticized as illegitimate and unfair, has been put forward as the motivation for a large portion of U.S. sanctions against it. A review could very likely result in Havana’s removal from the list. This would automatically remove a host of sanctions, grant it access to international institutions such as the IMF, and help open the way for greater rapprochement between the United States and Cuba.

Conclusions

On the whole, the newly-implemented policies, combined with the recent prisoner exhange and Cuba’s subsequent release of 53 political activists, establish the bedrock for progress towards a more just U.S.-Cuba relationship, but fall far short of what is necessary if the United States truly intends to normalize relations with the island.[6] If relations are to move forward, the administration must follow through with its removal of Cuba’s status as an SST, but President Obama can only do so much. The true challenge to normalization lies in the embargo itself, and Republicans in Congress must be cajoled into finally repealing the cluster of laws that make up its core.

* Ryan O’Regan, Research Associate for the Council on Hemispheric Affairs.

References:
[1] “FACT SHEET: Charting a New Course on Cuba.” The White House. December 17, 2014. Accessed January 16, 2015. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/17/fact-sheet-charting-new-course-cuba

[2] Ibid.

[3] Feinberg, Richard. “Middle Classes in Socialist Cuba.” The Brookings Institution. November 8, 2013. Accessed January 16, 2015. http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2013/11/08-middle-classes-socialist-cuba-feinberg

[4] Blue, Sarah A. 2013. Internationalism’s Remittances: The Impact of Temporary Migration on Cuban Society. International Journal of Cuban Studies.

[5] Frank, Marc. “Cuba Inches toward Transparency, Seeking Investment and Credit.” Reuters. December 24, 2014. Accessed January 16, 2015. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/24/cuba-economy-debt-idUSL1N0U80YL20141224

[6] Calamur, Krishnadev. ” Prisoner Exchange With Cuba Led To Freedom For Top U.S. Intelligence Agent.” The Two-Way Breaking News from NPR. December 17, 2014. Accessed January 16, 2015. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/12/17/371453374/prisoner-exchange-with-cuba-led-to-freedom-for-top-u-s-spy

The post Obama Administration Breaks With Historic Cuba Policy: Implements Dramatic Changes – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Iranian reformists gathered on Thursday January 15 to prepare for the parliamentary elections announced this week for March 2016. The Coordination Council of the Reformist Front issued a statement calling for guarantees that the elections will be free and fair.

The participants spoke out against the recent heckling in Parliament.

Tehran Member of Parliament Ali Motahari was interrupted by a number of MPs and forced to cut his statement short in Parliament. The conservative factions of Parliament prevented Motahari from reiterating his concern about the house arrest of opposition leaders MirHosein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi and Zahra Rahnavard.

A number of participants also called for the release of the opposition leaders at Thursday’s Reformist Convention.

The head of the Expediency Council, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, called on the convention to make every effort to enlist maximum participation in the elections through official political and party activity.

Former president and top reformist figure Mohammad Khatami did not attend the convention, instead sending a message of support.

The reformists had not been able to have a convention since the controversial 2009 presidential election, which led to widespread allegations of fraud and mass protests. Reformist candidates from the 2009 election have been under house arrest since 2011.

The post Iran: Reformists Make Plans For 2016 Parliamentary Elections appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By Bao Tong*

A few days ago I wrote a few words to express my thoughts on Zhao Ziyang, whose legacy and love for the people continues in the hearts and minds of many.

His legacy can be found in tape recording on the progress of reforms made more than 30 years ago. Zhao Ziyang devoted all his energy to the progress of Chinese society. Everyone who shared his goal will without doubt wish to acknowledge it, continue to cooperate, and remember him.

For the past twenty-six years, the authorities have done everything they can to erase the name of Zhao Ziyang. But he remains in the memory of those who want to tell the truth about China’s contemporary history.

His spirit endures in free communication, which is a form of commemoration for Zhao Ziyang, who consistently held different views from [late supreme leader] Deng Xiaoping, and who was treated as a criminal for them.

Big issue

People have reason to be worried: In a system that doesn’t rule out speech crime, how do we start to talk about anything? It would be a lasting memorial to Zhao Ziyang if we could resolve once and for all this big issue that remains for most people.

The Chinese tragedy that is speech crime has been with us for a long time. In recent times, it has propagated without end. At first, in the ranks of the party, all those who didn’t agree with the opinions of the “core” leadership were sacrificed, one by one, on the altar of Bolshevik iron discipline.

Later, it also extended outside the party, so that non-party members who resolutely refused to accept the leadership of the party were sacrificed, one by one, to the dictatorship of the proletariat (also known as the people’s democratic dictatorship).

Zhao Ziyang wasn’t the first. Hu Yaobang was also sacrificed, as were Peng Dehuai and Xi Zhongxun before the Cultural Revolution. And it wasn’t just confined to the party. Outside its ranks, the same thing happened to Zhang Bojun, Luo Longji and Chu Anping.

Nor was it confined to the upper echelons of party and government, but regular citizens Lin Zhao, Wang Shenxi and Li Jiulian were all sacrificed, too.

Neither is it confined to the past. Right now, Yu Shiwen, Gao Yu, Pu Zhiqiang and Guo Yushan are all behind bars…

Criminalizing words

This list of people accused of speech crimes could be much longer. It could include, you, me, him, everyone, endlessly, for as long we have a dictatorship in China that criminalizes words.

After Mao Zedong died, the words “don’t let the tragedy repeat itself,” were often heard within party ranks, but perhaps they were only saying it and didn’t mean it.

Xi Zhongxun was never satisfied with just saying things. He witnessed many a process in which someone was accused of a crime for disagreeing with the core leadership.

During his tenure as executive vice chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC) standing committee, he concluded: “China needs a law to protect different opinions.” Such was Xi’s unique vision.

Everything he went through, the lessons he learned from the Chinese Communist Party before 1921, and those gained from the whole country after 1949, even from the Comintern movement of 1903, were all written in blood freshly shed by tens of thousands of people.

This was a problem that many people, from [early Russian Marxist Georgi] Plekhanov to Zhao Ziyang, wanted to solve, but without the use of force.

Respecting different opinions

Xi Zhongxun, in his wisdom, came up with his once-and-for-all, easy-to-implement solution that would need no investment nor for anyone to get hurt: the “law to protect different opinions,” that would ensure long-term peace and stability for the country.

The law to protect different opinions shouldn’t just be regarded as a way of commemorating Zhao Ziyang, but as a necessity for the continued peaceful existence of every citizen of China.

Xi Zhongxun’s political wisdom should be allowed to become common sense in government and in society.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie.

* Bao Tong, political aide to the late ousted premier Zhao Ziyang, is currently under house arrest at his home in Beijing.

The post No More Speech Crimes: A Lasting Memorial To Zhao Ziyang – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

In May of 2014, financial firm Credit Suisse AG pled guilty to serious criminal charges. The giant bank aided and assisted approximately 22,000 wealthy U.S. taxpayers (whose names Credit Suisse AG escaped having to send to the Justice Department for law enforcement) for over a decade in filing false income tax returns and other documents with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The full extent of these crimes, according to a Department of Justice news release, are as follows: “assisting clients in using sham entities to hide undeclared accounts;” “soliciting IRS forms that falsely stated, under penalties of perjury, that the sham entities were the beneficial owners of the assets in the accounts;” “failing to maintain in the United States records related to the accounts;” “destroying account records sent to the United States for client review;” “using Credit Suisse managers and employees as unregistered investment advisors on undeclared accounts;” “facilitating withdrawals of funds from the undeclared accounts by either providing hand-delivered cash in the United States or using Credit Suisse’s correspondent bank accounts in the United States;” “structuring transfers of funds to evade currency transaction reporting requirements;” and “providing offshore credit and debit cards to repatriate funds in the undeclared accounts.”

These elaborate illegal acts over many years are quite revealing. They show a deliberate willingness by Credit Suisse AG officials to knowingly engage in profitable activities that defrauded the United States Treasury and burdened honest taxpayers. Credit Suisse paid a $2.6 billion fine—small compared to the size of the crimes and the company’s large revenues. These crimes were yet another sordid chapter in the ever-burgeoning tax-evading business that makes its waves with wealthy Americans and massive corporate entities. But the Credit Suisse story does not end there.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA, was enacted to protect the retirement savings of retirement plan participants. The law, in theory, automatically disqualifies institutions like Credit Suisse AG who have committed serious crimes or pled guilty to serious crimes from serving as a “qualified professional asset manager” (QPAM) of ERISA assets or pension plans.

Unfortunately, the Department of Labor has not adequately enforced this law or its regulations in this area. Since waivers started being granted in 1997, 23 culpable firms have been granted exemptions from this disqualification rule and been allowed to continue their business of advising pension and other investment funds. Six of these waivers were granted to QPAMs that, like Credit Suisse AG, violated serious laws either in the United States or abroad. Remarkably, no waivers formally demanded by their corporate law firms have been rejected.

The Department of Labor (DOL) already has granted Credit Suisse a temporary waiver to continue conducting their pension management business. On January 15th, the DOL held a public hearing—where I testified— to discuss whether Credit Suisse and its affiliates can continue this troubling trend of avoiding the consequences of their actions indefinitely. Credit Suisse AG is hoping to completely sidestep the mechanisms of justice for their admittedly serious crimes and carry on business as usual—a result that in itself is, unfortunately, business as usual. Is it not astounding to think a company, which knowingly engaged in such illegal activities, would not be deterred from engaging in activities that could be harmful to retirees as well?

Public Citizen’s Bartlett Naylor wrote in a public comment to the Department of Labor:

“Firms that engage in criminal activity should face real consequences. Where those consequences are excused, the firm is invited to become a repeat offender; and the deterrence effect for other firms is nullified. Pension fund beneficiaries are especially vulnerable to Wall Street abuse because their savings may be managed by firms they do not even choose, let alone control. As overseer of the nation’s ERISA-governed funds, the Department of Labor bears the heavy responsibility of policing the integrity of the pension fund management industry. The DOL must apply all its tools to achieve this lofty goal. They should be used, not routinely discarded.”

This routine ability to evade proper punishment is the root of the issue of so much corporate and Wall Street crime—a slap on the wrist leads to a perpetual cycle of wrongdoing with no end in sight. Their corporate lawyers turn laws into “no-law” laws. Corporate crime pays.

James Henry, former chief economist at McKinsey & Co. and current chair of the Global Alliance for Tax Justice, estimates that the United States loses between $170 billion to $200 billion a year in tax revenue through offshore tax havens. He told the Corporate Crime Reporter in 2013:

“The idea that you would actually permit big ticket tax dodgers to walk off of the stage with a slap on the wrist — like the proposed [Credit] Swiss settlement — or that you would let companies like Apple and Microsoft, General Electric and Google — shift their most valuable corporate assets to places where they have almost no activity and evade corporate income taxes at a time when we are slashing aid to kids in schools, money for seniors — this is outrageous.”

The Department of Labor, which exists to defend workers, now has a unique opportunity to stand proudly at its post and to send a clear message—a firm signal—to other Qualified Professional Asset Managers that if they commit unthinkable criminal violations, they lose the ability to handle pension funds. On the other hand, allowing these institutions to continue to receive permanent waivers would be a clear signal that the DOL will tolerate cutting corners and criminal wrongdoing by powerful financial institutions at the expense of workers, complying taxpayers, democracy, and the rule of law.

Now is the time for advocates and citizens alike to speak out strongly against this manner of blatantly averting justice and fostering a culture of continual corporate criminality. Contact the Office of Exemption Determinations at the Department of Labor and let them know.

The post Ralph Nader: Credit Suisse, Big Crimes Become Big Business – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

By John Feffer*

In the first Crusade, on their way to fight the Muslim infidels in Jerusalem, the armed pilgrims asked themselves a provocative question: Why should we trek so far to kill people we barely know when we can just as well massacre infidels closer to home?

And thus the crusaders of the 11^th century embarked on some of Europe’s first pogroms against Jews. These anti-Semitic rampages in the heart of the continent had the added advantage of helping to finance that first Crusade, as the pilgrims expropriated the wealth of the Jews they killed.

Europe is once again witnessing the collateral damage of conflicts in the Middle East. Extremists who are involved in a modern-day crusade in the Middle East — or have been thwarted from making the journey to Iraq or Syria — have asked themselves a question very similar to that of their 11^th-century counterparts: Why not kill the infidel at hand rather than the infidel afar?

The question — and the answer as it played out last week in the offices of Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket in Paris — is as ugly today as it was more than 900 years ago.

In both cases, the crusaders believed that their actions were of world-historical importance. In the 11^th century, it was Pope Urban II who issued the call to arms that turned sedentary Christians into global marauders. Today, it is the Islamic State and al-Qaeda who are calling for their followers to slay the ungodly.

But as with those initial pogroms — not to mention the 2011 massacre by Anders Breivik in Norway or the serial murders of ethnic Turks in Germany by neo-Nazis between 2000 and 2007 — the recent atrocities in France are nothing but criminal acts.

This is not, in other words, a showdown between the forces of Enlightenment and the forces of barbarism. I have nothing but sorrow for the victims and nothing but rage at the perpetrators. But we must resist the temptation to confer the status of combatant on the murderers or the status of defenders of civilization on Charlie Hebdo.

The Real Battle

If these murders do not constitute a war, they nonetheless point to a deep conflict inside Europe. This conflict is not over whose religion is the one true religion. It is about the very identity of Europe.

In the 11^th century, what animated the crusaders was not just the status of Jerusalem but the fear that Islam was lapping at the shores of Europe itself (and indeed, Islam already had a firm foothold on the Iberian peninsula). Today, a similar fear animates the Islamophobes and immigrant-bashers of the continent.

They fear that their old-fashioned vision of an overwhelmingly white, Christian Europe — with reassuring borders that define who is French and who is German and who doesn’t belong in the cozy culture of “Western civilization” — is fast disappearing. They disapprove as much of the border-erasing trajectory of European integration as of the demographic transformations of European immigration. They desperately stick their fingers in the civilizational dike to preserve the Christian heritage of the continent.

But the Europe of their imaginations, to the limited extent that it ever existed in reality, has already passed into history.

Immigration to Europe is nothing new, of course. Particularly after World War II, colonial connections diversified the continent as Indonesians came to Holland, Algerians to France, and Trinidadians to the UK. During the labor shortages of the 1960s and 1970s, guest workers from the Balkans, Turkey, and North Africa poured into countries like Germany and Switzerland, which had little or no colonial connections, to supply surplus labor. Many guest workers returned home, but some stayed to raise families and create multiculturalism avant la lettre.

Those changes prompted the first wave of anti-immigrant sentiment. In 1968, Enoch Powell gave his infamous “rivers of blood” speech to his fellow British Conservatives in which he predicted future violence because of the influx of Commonwealth immigrants. The National Front began mobilizing anti-immigrant sentiment in France as early as 1970. The similarly xenophobic Republican Party in Germany started up in 1983.

Although Powell’s “rivers of blood” did not come to pass, the anti-immigrant strain in European politics has only grown more virulent. And Europe has continued to change. The wars of the post-Cold War era — in Bosnia, Kosovo, across North Africa, and in the Middle East — brought in refugees and migrants, and the attractions of a unified Europe drew people from all over the world.

The demographic shifts in Europe over the last decade have been dramatic.

Between 2005 and 2013, according to UN population surveys, the immigrant population in Switzerland jumped from 22.9 to 28.9 percent, in Spain from 10.7 to 13.8 percent, in Italy from 4.2 to 9.8 percent, in Sweden from 12.3 to 15.9 percent, in Denmark from 7.2 to 9.9 percent, in Finland from 2.9 to 5.4 percent, and in the UK from 8.9 to 12.4 percent.

Such rapid increases in a short period of time have created anxiety in populations that do not consider their countries to be “immigrant societies” like the United States or Australia.

An Islamophobia of Convenience

In the German heartland, the organization Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West (Pegida) has proven to be both enormously popular and an embarrassment to top German politicians.

This week, Pegida organizers went ahead with a rally in Dresden in the wake of the French killings and attracted 25,000 people despite calls by German Premier Angela Merkel and other leading political figures for people to stay home. Although a counter-demonstration in Dresden attracted 35,000 people, Pegida is on a roll, with more rallies planned in other German cities and even in other countries.

The leaders of Pegida grew up in East Germany, and their Monday marches recall the Monday demonstrations that took place in Leipzig in 1989. Some of Pegida’s rhetoric mirrors the chants of the East Germany democracy movement — such as “We are the People” — but with a more sinister slant.

Not surprisingly, given its anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim message, the group has attracted a hard core of extremists associated with football clubs and motorcycle gangs. But make no mistake: anti-immigrant and Islamophobic sentiment is very popular even among the so-called respectable elements in Germany.

Thilo Sarrazin was a prominent member of the Social Democratic Party when he published Germany Abolishing Itself, which described immigration as the weapon by which the country was committing suicide. The screed became a bestseller, and it was not because racist skinheads suddenly became avid book-buyers. In a German poll last month, half of the respondents declared their sympathy with Pegida and its anti-Muslim agenda.

In England, meanwhile, anti-immigrant fervor has catapulted the UK Independence Party into third place in the polls. In the wake of the tragedies in France, UKIP leader Nigel Farage spoke of a “fifth column” inside European countries “holding our passports, who hate us,” a sentiment that led to an uptick in his popularity. (Of course, Farage is an equal-opportunity bigot. In the spring, after new labor regulations went into force that allowed Romanians the right to work anywhere in the EU, he said, “Any normal and fair-minded person would have a perfect right to be concerned if a group of Romanian people suddenly moved in next door.”)

But the organization best positioned to leverage the Islamophobia welling up in Europe is France’s National Front. Before the recent killings, Marine Le Pen was already leading early polling for the 2017 presidential contest, and her party was on top of the polls for local elections in March. Le Pen has called for a reinstatement of both border controls and the death penalty, which would put France at odds with the rest of Europe. She is the face of the new extremism: sufficiently liberal in some respects (divorced, pro-choice) to reach out to the mainstream but just as aggressively intolerant as her predecessors to appeal to the base.

The Islamophobia of these far-right movements is largely incidental. They traffic in anti-Islamic sentiment because it is both popular and more palatable than, say, racism or run-of-the-mill xenophobia. Charlie Hebdo, after all, wasn’t running cartoons that made fun of black people or Roma. But it’s open season, intolerance-wise, on Muslims. This Islamophobia, however, is the tip of the spear. The real thrust of the far right is to keep out immigrants of all stripes.

Preventing the Rivers of Blood

The first Crusade “liberated” Jerusalem in 1099 in a great outpouring of blood as the crusaders slaughtered Muslims and Jews alike in the great city.

It was but the first of a half-dozen crusades that raged across Europe and across the next couple centuries. The victims of later Crusades included pagans, Orthodox Christians, Albigensian heretics, and even, during the fourth Crusade, the Catholic population of Zara in present-day Croatia. The cycle of violence initiated by Pope Urban II’s call to religious arms claimed victims of all faiths and backgrounds, and produced a good deal of European-on-European violence as well.

Extremists on all sides would love to see the return of the Crusades. The Islamic State and al-Qaeda would like to see rivers of blood in the streets of Europe. And the far right understands that an all-out war with a committed enemy is one path to political power. Once in charge, they will recreate their own 9/11 moment in order to reverse European integration, build up a huge fence around Europe, and begin deportations.

Forget the false frame of the West versus Islam. It’s not historically or conceptually accurate, and the two are basically on the same side against the crimes of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. The real battle is over the soul of Europe. And the far right is rallying like it’s 1099.

* John Feffer is the director of Foreign Policy In Focus.

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