Looking for Trouble

Georgia and Russia share blame for war

An EU-sponsored report into the Russia-Georgia war in 2008 has blamed both countries for the conflict and said both countries violated international humanitarian law.

The report released Wednesday said about 850 people were killed in the August 2008 war, and that more than 100,000 fled their homes, about 35,000 of whom are still displaced.

Both Georgia and Russia issued statements welcoming the report. And both countries called it a vindication of their respective actions and during the war.

The report blames Georgia for starting the conflict, although it adds that Georgia had been provoked.

The five-day war started on Aug. 7, 2008, when Georgia shelled the breakaway region of South Ossetia, in an attempt to regain control over it and claiming that Russian forces were invading. The previous months had seen a series of clashes between Georgia and the Russian-backed forces.

The Russian military quickly repelled the assault, and pushed further into Georgia before a ceasefire was reached. Russia pulled back, but continued to build up its military presence in both South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another disputed region.

Russia has recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent and has vowed to protect them. But Georgia and the most of the international community still view them as part of Georgia, and the report’s author, Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini, said Russia’s recognition “must be considered as being not valid in the context of international law, and as violations of Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

The report also warned of a “serious” risk of new confrontation in the region.

Overall, the report appears to be good news for Russia, which had been accused by Georgia of launching an invasion. For Georgia, the report is not so good. Georgia had been seen as the brave underdog, standing up to its giant, aggressive neighbor. That definitely was the view pushed by Georgia’s president, Mikheil Saakashvili, who has withstood calls to resign over the conflict.

It will be interesting to see how the citizens of Georgia view this report. Salome Samadashvili, Georgia’s ambassador to the EU, has already made his government’s position on the report clear Wednesday.

“The allegations of my country have been proven. It was Georgia which came under invasion from another country, in violation of the international law,” he said.

Leadership lacking on Honduras

It has been three months since Honduras’ democratically elected president, Manuel Zelaya, was forcibly removed from office. Zelaya, who on June 28 was put on a plane out of the country by the Honduran military, is now back in Honduras. He is holed up in Brazil’s embassy in the capital, Tegucigalpa, which is surrounded by police and military forces.

News reports today say that the coup-installed government has silenced two dissident broadcasters, Radio Globo and Channel 36 TV, just hours after it suspended civil liberties to prevent what it called an uprising by Zelaya backers. On Sunday, he had called for mass protests.

The government’s suspension of civil liberties violates the Honduran Constitution. The decree issued by the government prohibits unauthorized gatherings and allows police to arrest without a warrant.

The United Nations and the international community have condemned the coup and continue to demand that the deposed president be reinstated and allowed to complete his term which ends in January.

Since this attack on democracy is taking place in our own backyard, you might think that the United States would be using every diplomatic weapon at its disposal to make sure that the democratically elected president was returned to power.

But the reality is, despite its condemnation of the illegal government in Honduras and the suspension of $30 million in assistance to Honduras, the Obama administration has been sitting back, (the United States won’t even officially call this coup a coup) perhaps waiting for a negotiated accord hammered out by Costa Rica President Oscar Arias, to run its course. The San Jose Accord calls for Zelaya’s return to power, the creation of a unity government and early elections. But it has already been rejected by the coup government of Honduras. Other negotiations are under way.

The U.S. response has been decidedly tepid. Could it be that this administration is holding back because Zelaya, like many other Latin American leaders, is a little left of center? I thought we ended that way of thinking when Obama was elected.

Leaders focus on Iran, ignore Israel

It’s good to know that world leaders are on top of any effort by Iran to build nuclear weapons. President Barack Obama and the leaders of France and Britain said on Friday that Iran needs to make full disclosure about its nuclear program and allow international inspectors inside a previously undisclosed site.

The leaders threatened new sanctions against Iran if it fails to comply.

All good, I suppose. We definitely need fewer nuclear arms in the world, not more. (The current roster of nuclear-armed nations, including the U.S., France and Britain, would do the world an enormous service by beginning to dismantle their stockpile.) And Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has not endeared himself to the world community over the years. That unpopularity combined with Iran’s violent response to the disputed presidential vote makes him and his country an easy target. Maybe too easy.

Turns out this previously undisclosed site, which Iran, itself, told the International Atomic Energy Agency about in a letter earlier this week, was well known to our intelligence community. Also, after the statement on possible new sanctions, Iran said it would allow inspectors to visit the site.

So, this all seems a little overblown. Wasn’t there enough to concentrate on at the G-20 economic summit? Does this mean that the economy is rosy? I don’t think so.

Also, I’m starting to understand why these world leaders are often accused of having a double-standard regarding certain nations of the world.

Obama, in his statement Friday said, “The Iranian government must now demonstrate through deeds its peaceful intentions or be held accountable to international standards and international law.”

There is another nation in that part of the world that has defied “international standards and international laws” for years yet neither the United States, France, nor Britain has called for sanctions against it.

Yes, I’m talking about Israel.

Israel has been the subject of 138 resolutions. Not surprisingly, most of those resolutions call upon Israel to comply, in its actions towards Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, with basic principles of international law embodied by the UN Charter.
Way back in 1967, the UN Security Council, under Resolution 237, called upon Israel to “ensure the safety, welfare and security of the inhabitants, facilitate the return of those inhabitants who have fled the areas since the outbreak of the hostilities and recommends the scrupulous respect of the humanitarian principles contained in the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949.”

Israel ignored the Security Council and defied the world community and today, 42 years after that resolution, it continues to defy it and all related resolutions since then.

When was the last time you heard a U.S. president, or a French or British president, call for sanctions against Israel?

Oh, and, by the way, Israel has a “secret” nuclear weapons program and a nuclear arsenal.

General’s Afghan report just PR?

I have been trying to come up with a reason everyone but President Obama seems to have seen a top general’s request for more troops in Afghanistan. The request, which is part of a report that is expected to arrive at the Pentagon later this week, came from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The report won’t be seen by the president until some still undisclosed time, according to published reports out of the Pentagon.

McChrystal warned in his report that the war in Afghanistan will be lost unless more troops are sent within the next year. U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan is already scheduled to reach 68,000 by the end of this year. But McChrystal is asking for an additional 21,000.

Even more remarkable, considering Obama still hasn’t had a look at McChrystal’s assessment, Gen. David Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command, said Wednesday that he and the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, endorsed McChrystal views of the situation.

As far back as the presidential election campaign, Obama talked of getting out of Iraq and beefing up forces in Afghanistan. But public opinion polls of late show that the majority of U.S. citizens are against sending more troops to Afghanistan.

So, does this mean there is a major rift between the administration and military leaders? Or is something else at work here? Could this whole discussion of McChrystal’s report being played out in the news media simply be a roundabout way of building up public support for what is now being viewed by the administration and the Pentagon as an unpopular decision to expand the war in Afghanistan?

What do you think?

Longley a “Genius” for Mideast Work

Seattle’s own filmmaker, James Longley, who has kept Iraqis and Palestinians at the forefront of his documentary films, has been awarded one of the prestigious MacArthur Awards for 2009. In addition to an incredible amount of kudos, the award, better known as the “genius award,” includes $500,000. That should fund a lot more people-focused coverage of the Middle East, which we all know is badly needed.

In an interview on YouTube about his film, Iraq in Fragments, Longley talks about the difficulty of shooting the lives of ordinary people during a war – with no crew, only a camera and a laptop, for the two years he spent in the country. Because of the danger of bombings, assassinations and kidnappings, most other foreign media types were holed up in the Green Zone, sending local, Iraqi journalists out to get photos and news. Not Longley. He took tremendous risks to get up close and personal with the people.

I first met Longley in 2002 when we traveled to Iraq with a group called the Iraqi Peace Team, which went there to work in clinics, food distribution sites, hospitals and other sites to make an anti-war statement and, if necessary, to act as human shields if war started while they were there. He was there on his own to shoot video about Iraqis struggling to live under brutal sanctions. I was sent there by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer to write about people living under the threat of the war that began in 2003.

Longley was quiet, serious and very dedicated to his work. It’s obvious he still is. This award couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

James Longley during a PBS interview. (PBS photo)

White House pressured to end probe

President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder are coming under pressure to kill the investigation of torture and other war crimes that involve CIA officials and former White House officials.

Recently, seven CIA directors, including three who are subjects of the probe, asked the president to reign in the attorney general, telling Obama that, “public disclosure about past intelligence operations can only help Al-Qaida elude U.S. intelligence and plan future operations.”

Obama has said that no one is above the law, and it is obvious that the CIA is worried about the very real prospects that several top officials may face war crimes charges if this investigation continues.

But in order for the United States to regain the respect and cooperation of the international community and for Americans to regain a sense of self-respect, the investigation has to be carried out and if officials are charged with war crimes, they must be put on trial.

ConsortiumNews.com has all the sordid details about the CIA directors and the letter to Obama in an article by Ray McGovern. He also writes about the involvement of government officials leading all the way up to former president George W. Bush.

McGovern should know what he is talking about. He was a CIA analyst for 27 years, working under nine CIA directors and seven presidents. He now serves on the Steering Group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity.

Climate Change Seen in Typhoon

There have been big events in Taiwan since Typhoon Morakot blew across the southern part of the island on Aug. 8, leaving at least 700 people dead or missing.

The prime minister, Liu Chao-Shiuan, resigned on Sept. 8 after the government came under fire for its handling of the response to Taiwan’s worst typhoon in 50 years. And more recently, the president, Ma Ying-jeou, has suggested an almost revolutionary approach to these massive storms.

Ma told a Taipei newspaper that it is getting more and more difficult to forecast the strength and power of natural disasters in the face of global climate change so government agencies should note which areas are not safe for people to live in, and relocate residents to safer ground.

The Dalai Lama also weighed in on climate change. The exiled spiritual leader of Tibet was moved by the disaster to visit Taiwan to offer support to the victims. It was his third visit and, as usual, it was heavily criticized by China, which considers Taiwan a province of the mainland. During a tour of the stricken area, the Dalai Lama urged Taiwan citizens to pay greater attention to the threat posed by global warming and, while praising Ma’s government for building better relations with China, he urged Taiwanese to “preserve democracy.”

The statements on global warming by President Ma and the Dalai Lama echo those of many water resources experts. One, Lee Hong-yuan, told The Journalist magazine that he believes that when people settle in a place they are not supposed to be, overdevelop the land, especially on hill slopes, they will eventually face nature’s backlash. He suggested that government should roll out overall policies regarding relocation, employment, and schooling.

It seems to me that a lot of other nations (states and cities) should start considering the idea of relocating people instead of just rebuilding over and over again after a natural disaster.

United Nations War Crimes Report

The recent United Nations report, which condemned both Israel and the Palestinian authorities for war crimes during Israel’s military invasion of Gaza from December 27 to January 18, primarily blasted Israel for “actions amounting to war crimes, possibly crimes against humanity.” That is, perhaps, not surprising in a lopsided 22-day conflict that saw more than 1,400 Palestinians killed, the great majority civilians, and only 13 Israelis killed, the majority soldiers.

According to the U.N. press release on the report, “the Mission found that, in the lead up to the Israeli military assault on Gaza, Israel imposed a blockade amounting to collective punishment and carried out a systematic policy of progressive isolation and deprivation of the Gaza Strip. During the Israeli military operation, code-named ‘Operation Cast Lead,’ houses, factories, wells, schools, hospitals, police stations and other public buildings were destroyed. Families are still living amid the rubble of their former homes long after the attacks ended, as reconstruction has been impossible due to the continuing blockade.”

The press release goes on to say, “Significant trauma, both immediate and long-term, has been suffered by the population of Gaza…” And that, “The report concludes that the Israeli military operation was directed at the people of Gaza as a whole, in furtherance of an overall and continuing policy aimed at punishing the Gaza population, and in a deliberate policy of disproportionate force aimed at the civilian population. The destruction of food supply installations, water sanitation systems, concrete factories and residential houses was the result of a deliberate and systematic policy which has made the daily process of living, and dignified living, more difficult for the civilian population.”

That is one of the most chilling parts of the report to me – the details of deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure. Not only for its implications for the ongoing efforts at peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but also for its implications about international law and international justice.

During the first Gulf War and again in 2003, the United States deliberately targeted Iraq’s electrical grid and its water sanitation systems. And, in fact, for years leading up to the second Gulf War, the United States and the United Nations, itself, enforced a draconian sanctions regime against Iraq, which caused the deaths of, at a minimum, hundreds of thousands of people, mostly the young and the elderly, in a misguided effort to get the civilian population to rise up against Saddam Hussein.

To date there have been no legal repercussions for the United States or the United Nations for that particular “systematic policy… which made the daily process of living, and dignified living, more difficult for the civilian population.”

International News

It seems like the more the United States gets involved around the world, the less international news we have. The news media has cut its foreign coverage to the bare minimum . Foreign news seems to be the last item, if at all, on everyone’s news budgets.

For that reason, and because the subject is dear to my heart, I have taken the plunge into blogging. If I can add a little bit of international news and opinion to the public consciousness, I will be happy.

I’ll be focusing on the countries I’ve reported on, like China and Taiwan, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. But I will also report on developments elsewhere in the world, especially from places like Afghanistan.

Hopefully, if you all start reading this blog, you will have suggestions on stories/countries to write about.

I can only hope.