Just Foreign Policy News
October 5, 2010
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Virtual Brown Bag with Andrew Bacevich
The video recording of our Virtual Brown Bag with Andrew Bacevich is
now online. We've also made available an audio-only version and a full
transcript.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/bacevichtalk
Why Can't Haitians Get a Fair Election?
On November 28, Haitians are expected to participate in an election
from which Haiti's largest political party has been arbitrarily
excluded, an election paid for by U.S. tax dollars. Shouldn't it be a
no-brainer that the U.S. shouldn't pay for an election in Haiti that
is profoundly anti-democratic? Representative Maxine Waters appears to
think so. She is circulating a letter to Secretary of State Clinton
urging that the U.S. not pay for an election in Haiti from which
Haiti's largest political party has been excluded. If you agree, ask
your Representative to sign the Waters letter for fair elections in
Haiti.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/10/05-7
Al Jazeera Video: Settlers blamed for mosque blaze
Prayer rugs and Quran copies burnt in a West Bank mosque, in the
village of Beit Fajjar near the Gush Etzion settlement, in fire said
to have been started by Israeli settlers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocrCzco0Z5g&;
60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll
"Only 2 in 10 Americans would go to war with Iran if they either
tested a bomb or attacked Israel."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/30/60minutes/main6915819.shtml
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Summary:
U.S./Top News
1) Militants carried out two attacks on NATO convoys in Pakistan
Monday as government closure of a vital entry point into Afghanistan
continued, the Washington Post reports. Pakistani officials
conditioned a reopening of the Torkham crossing on improved security
for convoys.
2) President Obama has told congressional leaders he has no plans for
any major changes in his Afghanistan war strategy for now, Reuters
reports. Obama asserted his intention to stick with his policy for the
war, which is increasingly unpopular among lawmakers and the public,
as part of a regular assessment for Congress required for war funding.
3) An article in the New York Times tells the story of the US soldiers
who allegedly killed Afghan civilians for sport from the perspective
of the families of the victims. The family of Mullah Allah Dad has
received no apology and no compensation for his death, his
father-in-law said. Local elders estimate that in the past eight
months at least 42 civilians have been killed in Maiwand during
American operations.
4) It is in our vital national interest that we set and execute a
definite timeline for orderly departure of our troops from
Afghanistan, argues Matthew Hoh in USA Today. Continuation of a
substantial military campaign in Afghanistan works against our
interests. It fosters local resentment, aids Taliban recruitment, and
most of all provides a strong disincentive for the kleptocratic
government of President Karzai to negotiate in earnest for a political
settlement of what is essentially an Afghan civil war.
5) Critics of President Obama have seized on Woodward's book as proof
that Obama is a weakling who doesn't have the fortitude to wage war,
writes Fareed Zakaria in the Washington Post. But they are wrong. The
war in Afghanistan cannot be waged without a sense of tradeoffs or
limits. Whenever we decide to scale back, Afghanistan is going to look
messy. Iraq remains extremely violent. It is now to be ruled by a
coalition that includes the most anti-American, pro-Iranian forces in
Iraq. And that is seen by the president's critics as a great success.
6) The Pentagon routinely employs contractors in the U.S. who exploit
workers in sweatshop conditions and fire workers who try to organize
into unions, David Moberg reports in the American Prospect. One woman
who alleges she was fired for supporting the UFCW was an Iraq veteran
who was nine months pregnant; the organizing drive quickly collapsed
after the firing.
7) The number of U.S. soldiers who have suffered amputations in
Afghanistan has increased sharply over last year as more troops move
into Taliban territory, USA Today reports. Amputations rose from 47 in
2009 to 77 through Sept. 23 of this year, or an increase of more than
60%.
Afghanistan
8) Residents of Kandahar aren't buying NATO assertions that the NATO
offensive will make them safer, Laura King reports in the Los Angeles
Times. To illustrate her case, she relates that a U.S. military
officer recently exhorted villagers to let Afghan police or US
soldiers know if the Taliban came to town, apparently unaware that 3
Taliban representatives were
