Category: Uncategorized

A recently unearthed government memorandum prepared for the U.S. Congress addresses the power of the administration to postpone elections. But more notably, it reviews actions the executive branch might take that could preclude large numbers of Americans from casting a ballot in the coming presidential vote. The memorandum highlights that should such disenfranchisement occur, the … Continue reading “Memo: ‘Terror’ Election Barring Voters Could Stand”

COLOMBO – Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Asia’s longest running autocratic leader, is under international pressure to stop the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in the Indian Ocean archipelago. Colombo-based diplomats, who declined to be named, said a high-powered European Union delegation from EU-member missions based in Colombo was expected to fly to the capital Male … Continue reading “Maldives Unrest Worries International Community”

NEW DELHI – Credit must go to women if the insurgency-hit northeastern Indian state of Manipur, bordering Burma, finally gets rid of the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act or AFSPA, imposed a quarter of a century ago. Already the women, protesting for more than a month now, have compelled the provincial government to lift … Continue reading “Women Press for End to Draconian Indian Law”

BANGKOK – By throwing his weight behind the legitimacy of Burma’s opposition party, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has deprived Burmese Prime Minister Khin Nyunt of claiming political progress to mark his first anniversary in office. Annan’s statement on Tuesday goes to the heart of what the Burmese military government has been avoiding – to permit … Continue reading “UN Sees Opportunity to Turn Screws on Burma”

The case that I have been making in this space – that, from a non-interventionist perspective, John Kerry may be worse than Bush when it comes to foreign policy – was boosted, if not proved, with the Democrats’ denunciation of the President’s plan to withdraw some 70,000 troops from abroad and close some of those … Continue reading “Kerry Is Clueless on Bases”

GENEVA – The bomb attack on the United Nations offices in Baghdad a year ago Thursday posed "wrenching, fundamental questions" for the world body with respect to security, to which answers have not yet been found. Speaking on the first anniversary of the suicide bombing of the Canal Hotel, where the UN had its offices … Continue reading “‘Wrenching Questions’ Remain a Year After UN Baghdad Bombing”

At first it looked fairly interesting, perhaps even modestly promising, from the perspective of somebody who worries about the United States being overcommitted overseas and stretched rather thin militarily to meet some of the challenges that could arise from chronic overcommitment. But the more one looks at President Bush’s ostensibly dramatic announcement that he plans … Continue reading “Repositioning on the Titanic”

The war in Iraq and other foreign affairs are more important to voters in the coming presidential election than the economy, marking the first time since the Vietnam era that U.S. citizens are putting more weight on foreign policy than domestic concerns, according to a poll released Wednesday. Forty-one percent of voting-age adults rated "war, … Continue reading “War Overtakes Economy as US Voters’ Top Concern”

Unsure how to judge the Bush administration? Read former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr’s book on the Clinton administration. Bob Barr is an unusual person, a prosecutor who cares about civil liberty. Barr served four terms (1995-2003) as a Republican congressman from Georgia. He was one of the more intelligent members of the House. Barr is … Continue reading “The Sins of Clinton vs. Bush”

MONTEVIDEO – The links put in place by Operation Condor, created by the military regimes ruling South America in the 1970s to cooperate in the elimination of dissidents, still exist, Chilean Senator Carmen Frei told IPS on a visit to the Uruguayan capital. Signs that the coordination was still active emerged in 1991 and 1992, … Continue reading “Operation Condor Still Alive in South America”