The Impudent Observer - Global Liberal Issues Analyzes issues of liberal concern and gives readers a digest of what is reported in over forty newspapers throughout the world to engage them in critical thinking issues. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 32 11436

Articles from The Impudent Observer - Global Liberal Issues

US Second Thoughts About Pakistan? 2007-10-21 17:42:39 The violent attack upon former prime minister Benazir Bhutto during her return from exile has raised uncomfortable second thoughts in the minds of the Bush administration. It was Bush who pushed for a power-shaing deal between the Pakistan People’s Party leader, Benazir Bhutto and President Musharraf. He feared Musharraf required additional political support in order to maintain power in the face of strong opposition from fundamentalist groups. After the attack, Mrs. Bhutto made several veiled allusions to possible actions by supporters of Musharraf in carrying out the bombing attack. During the past few years, Bush officials have courted Bhutto while she was in exile as they searched for additional support for Musharraf. They feared the return of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifm who is an acknowledged enemy of Musharraf would leave him without sufficient support. There are reports members of the American State Department from the beginning opposed power sharing between Bhu ...

Turkish Army and Kurdish Rebels Clash In Mountains 2007-10-21 17:13:12 Fighting on the Turkish-Iraq border escalated as units of the Turkish army clashed with rebels who belong to the Kurdish Workers Party. The Kurds infiltrated in early morning hours and attacked a Turkish patrol killing 12 soldiers. About thirty three Kurdish rebels were also killed in the fighting. Elsewhere in the mountains, Kurdish insurgents wounded at least 16 Turkish soldiers. There are reports the Turkish army is using artillery in order to blast Kurdish positions. The losses on both sides, as of this point, are rather minor, but the implications are major. Continued deaths of Turkish soldiers will only result in further escalation of fighting until it reaches the point where the Kurdish government might decide to get involved. Such a decision would pose enormous problems for Iraq which would have to make a choice between defending its territorial integrity or antagonizing Turkey. ...

Iran Gains Power By Israel Mistakes In Lebanon 2007-10-21 16:52:40 Banafshenh Keynoush, former translator for President Ahmadinejaf of Iran said Israel’s invasion of Lebanon last year and inept Saudi Arabian policies have strengthened the hand of Iran in the Middle East. He noted a result of Israel’s failed invasion was to enhance the image of Iran which furnished aid and strengthen the power of Hizbullah which stepped into the void created by Israel’s destruction of homes, roads, and bridges by assuming responsibility for giving aid to people. Keynoush believes Saudi Arabia has lost influence because it gave Saddam Hussein $50 billion to support the invasion of Iran and it continues being connected to American foreign policy. He also noted Hamas and Fatah, two Palestinian groups maintain offices in Iran and work closely with Iranian officials. The Bush policy of isolating Iran does not move America toward meeting its goals of a stable and peaceful Middle East. The United States has antagonized groups like Hizbullah and Hamas allowi ...

Tony Blair–President Of Europe? 2007-10-21 11:48:06 The European Union has changed its system of who serves in the role of President of Europe. Up to this point in time, it has been held on a rotating process in which various countries take turns selecting the person who will fill the position. However, in the coming months a new process will have the position filled by an individual who will serve a two and a half year term. Tony Blair, former prime minister of England is viewed by many as the person who should take over the job. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France described Blair as “the most European of all Britons” and said he would be an excellent choice. However, many Europeans have misgivings because of Blair’s close ties with George Bush and his support of the Iraq war. Another question is whether Blair would accept a job that is more symbolic than having power. The position of president of Europe may well begin with limited power for the possessor of the job, but, time and circumstances could well increase po ... President

American Knowledge Of Middle East— Needs Improvement! 2007-10-20 15:29:25 A recent survey of the American public’s knowledge of Kuwait reveals extensive ignorance. Few understand Kuwait has elections in which women have rights and vote. The poll found 62% of Americans do not know women vote in Kuwait, 58% do not realize there are democratic elections and in a somewhat confusing pattern, 12% believe Kuwait is a “center of terrorism” while 13% believe it is “an ally of the United States.” Although Kuwait has a booming economy in which numerous American businesses are involved, only 5% of Americans believe it is a good place to do business. The poll results are not surprising given that few Americans ever study about the Middle East or the Muslim religion in their academic career. Information about the area is gleamed from sound bites appearing on the six o’clock news that are presented by individuals who have limited knowledge themselves about topics they are discussing. ...

Nightmare Of Human Trafficking-Modern Slavery? 2007-10-20 12:17:32 Chief Justice Pius Langa of South Africa attacked the growing presence of human trafficking in his nation. He described human trafficking as “an evil as terrible as the slave trade of the past and it requires a concerted response from civil society and the government.” He estimated world wide human trafficking as involving between 800,000-900,000 people each year and believed there are at least 28,000 children in South africa who are caught up in the process. Most experts believe the majority of people involved in the human trafficking trade come from southern regions of Africa, eastern Europe or Thailand and China. Langa says a common approach to human trafficking in his nation is for those accorded refugee status to send home for women who are then confronted with either enter prostitution or return to poverty. He also believes many women who cross the border of their nation find refuge in “safe houses” where they again are confronted with a dilemma of coopera ...

Congressional Black Caucus Feel Insulted By Military 2007-10-20 11:55:41 The integration of the armed forces of the United States following World War II was among the most significant success stories of reaching affirmative action goals. However, in recent years there has been a noticeable decline in the number of top ranking officers who are of African American backgrounds. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., believes minorities are less inclined to pursue the long road to promotion than other people resulting in more leaving the service to enter the private sector. Two weeks ago, members of the Black Caucus went to the Pentagon expecting to meet with the Joint Chiefs of Staff only to discover they were meeting with assistants to the top leaders. The Congressmen left in anger. Apparently, there had been a miscommunication which was finally resolved this week with meeting members of the Joint Chiefs. Congressional Black Caucus members are attempting to walk the thin line between appearing to force promotions and ensuring that promotions meet affirmative action gui ...

Bhutto Names Attackers In Letter To Musharraf 2007-10-20 10:45:07 Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto wrote a letter to President Musharraf prior to arriving back home in Pakistan in which she gave him the names of people plotting suicide attacks on her. She said secret sources had told her of impending suicide attacks once she landed in Pakistan. “It was conveyed to me by a brotherly country that one suicide squad was from the Taliban elements, one from the Al Qaeda, the third was from among the Pakistani Taliban, and the fourth was from Karachi.” She also indicated the possibility her enemies had infiltrated the police and army units and warned police who might be sent to guard her residence could also be connected to her enemies. Bhutto called upon all moderate political forces in Pakistan to unite in a grand coalition to fight against extremism. “It is important for all of us to fight to save Pakistan by saving democracy.” Bhutto’s rhetoric of democracy so far has not been matched by a commitment to honesty in gove ...

Iran:We Will Retaliate If Attacked 2007-10-20 10:23:52 General Mahmoud Chaharbagh, a top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, threatened immediate military action if his nation was attacked. “Enemy bases and positions have been identified…The Guards ground force will fire 11,000 rockets into identified enemy positions within the first minute of any aggression against Iranian territory.” Granted, there is typical military hubris in claiming one’s forces are capable of defeating an enemy, but there is scant doubt Iran has missiles and is capable of firing them at American and Israel positions. If one assumes 90% of the rockets are destroyed prior to landing, that still leaves about a thousand missiles crashing into Israel or American positions. If such an attack happened it would invariably result in further American/Israel attacks on Iran, and, most probably, a land invasion. That would be a disaster for America and Israel as well as for the entire Middle East. War with Iran dooms any chance for resolutio ...

Glimmer Of Hope-Burmese Junta Ready For Talks 2007-10-20 08:06:30 The New Light, official publication of Myanmar’s military junta, printed an article asking opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to engage in discussions in order to resolve problems. “There should be some form of compromise,” said the publication. “If one side makes concessions, the other side should do so. The situation will get worse if both sides are arrogantly intransigent refusing to budge from their stand.” It appears the military junta is finally ready to enter into serious negotiations in light of world wide concern for the people of Burma. UN envoy, Ibrahim Gambrini, in an interview with the Jakarta Post urged such a meeting “the sooner the better” because both sides have to work out a transition plan for the future. Grambrini is very worried about making sudden changes because he fears it would result in the type of chaos presently in Iraq due to President Bush’s decision to quickly dismantle the Iraqi armed forces. The UN envoy i ...

No Place To Hide For Iraqi Christians 2007-10-20 07:47:07 Iraq has been home to a Christian population for over 1500 years. The original Assyrian Christians were living in the area hundreds of years prior to the emergence of the Muslim religion. An unfortunate out growth of the ill conceived and ill planned Bush invasion of Iraq was the necessity for Christians to flee for their lives in the aftermath of violence and sectarian hatred. Thousands of these refugees headed for Kurdistan in order to distance themselves from bitter fighting in Baghdad and other areas of the country. There are now at least 6,000 Assyrian Christians located in the northwest region of Kurdistan close to the border of Turkey. By a quirk of fate, they are now caught between an angry Turkish army to the west and Kurdish rebels of the KKK to the east. According to a bishop in the Assyrian church, their villages already are being bombarded by Turkish forces. “The bombardment lasted for more than four hours striking farmlands, killing livestock and destroying orchards ...

Egypt Ranks At Bottom In Press Freedom 2007-10-19 16:23:38 President Mubarak is a firm ally of George Bush in the fight to extend democracy to the world. Unfortunately, the just released World Press Freedom Index ranks Egypt at the bottom of the list of countries failing to support the concept of freedom of the press. Egypt came out 146 of 169 countries that were listed. Eritrea holds the 169th position due to President Issalas Afeworki’s crackdown which has ended he idea of any independent newspapers and resulted in four reporters dying while in detention. The editors of four leading Egyptian independent newspapers have been sentenced to one year in jail for “publishing false information(about the health of President Mubarak) likely o disturb public order.” The chief editor of al-Ahram and two reporters for the paper received two year prison terms for misquoting the Minister of Justice. Reda Helal, an editor for al-Ahram, disappeared four years ago on her way home from work. This pattern of cracking down on newspapers and r ...

Gays Need Not Apply To Our Ad For Gay Recruits-Confused? 2007-10-19 14:18:37 The Army, Air Force, and Navy have been advertising for recruits on GLEE.com, a networking Web site for gay professionals. Upon realizing the advertising campaign was aimed at gay recruits, Major Michael Baptista said:”We don’t knowingly advertise on that particular Web site” because it does not “meet the moral standards of the military.” Most military jobs that were posted were aimed at finding people to fill positions they have been encountering difficulty in filling. Steve Rails of the Service members Legal Defense Network, a gay advocacy group, commented that gays “have been drummed out of the armed forces for using sites like GLEE.” At which point will the silliness and immorality cease of allowing men and women to die who are gays and lesbians while at the same time insisting they are not wanted? The positions being advertised are difficult to fill, wouldn’t it make sense to get qualified people to fill them? I find it most ironic t ...

Is Iraq Coalition Of The Willing Not Willing? 2007-10-19 14:01:22 Foreign Minister Schwarzenberg of the Czech Republic indicated his support to withdraw their troops from the present mission of protecting Basra. The British are pulling out of the area which leaves Czech troops in a rather untenable position. The foreign minister is part of a coalition government and his Green Party is hostile to the Iraq war. The Czech Republic parliament has voted to extend the presence of their armed forces for several more months. However, Schwarzenberg and his party appear interested in ending the Iraq commitment. Withdrawal of the massive Czech Republic contingent of 100 troops might result in disastrous consequences for the entire Iraq venture. One by one the coalition of the willing is unwinding as nations in the world grow to realize they were suckered into a war that could not be won by a president who doesn’t have a clue how to successfully conduct foreign policy. ...

Who Was Behind Attack On Benazir Bhutto In Pakistan? 2007-10-19 13:39:48 Ahmed Rashid, writing from Pakistan told Der Spiegel there were rumors circulating concerning who was behind the bombings at Benazir Bhutto’s return which left at least 120 dead. Although, she was told by the nation’s security there was a risk of violence if she had an open parade, Bhutto insisted on showing herself to adoring crowds. “She had to show the whole country that she had many supporters and followers,” says Rashid. She was also sending a message to President Musharraf that she had greater popularity among the masses of Pakistanis. Rashid says it is unclear who was behind the bombings, but “there is speculation that the attack was not carried out by Islamists, but by certain groups within the regime who don’t want Bhutto in the country.” Although over 20,000 soldiers were sent to protect the parade, many of them came from the provinces where there is intense dislike of Bhutto. The bombings undoubtedly will impact the election process ...