Concision

In what is perhaps the shortest news article I have ever seen, Hamas claims to have hit an Israeli Air Force base outside of Tel Aviv today with rockets fired from the Gaza strip.  As Josh Nanus points out, this might be the first time Hamas' has targeted something other than defenseless civilians.  

Common Interests

Gen. David Petraeus spoke in D.C. yesterday about some shared interests the United States and Iran may have in Afghanistan.  Though making it clear that any increased cooperation was to be decided by policymakers, Petraeus did say that Iran does not want "ultrafundamentalist extremist Sunni forces" to gain control, nor see opium production increase.  

The idea coincides nicely with the incoming president, who has voiced considerations of a dialogue with Iran.  

'Having said that," the general said, "I'm sure there's an element (in Iran) that is determining how they can make life miserable for the coalition and the alliance and Afghan forces as well. NATO troops in Afghanistan have intercepted small amounts of weapons coming in from Iran.  

Also interesting is the reporter's use of the word "loggerheads" in describing the relationship between the US and Iran in the last paragraph.  Loggerheads?  Really?  

Mad in Malaysia

Malaysians, led by the Malaysian Muslim Consumer Association (MMCA), are boycotting in great numbers US products for the United State's support of Israel in the Gaza conflict.  

Coca-Cola has been pulled from many grocer's shelves and more than 2,000 Muslim restaurant menus.  A spokesman for Coca-Cola said, though deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza strip, the boycott would do little more than hurt the local Malaysian economy.  The company employs 1,700 Maylasians, 60% of which are Malay Muslims.  

"A boycott is the best way for us to protest Zionist cruelty . . . as consumers (we) can weaken the economy of countries like Israel and its ally the U.S.," said a MMCA leader.  Good luck on that last one, guys.  

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has called for sanctions on Israel.  

Op-Ed

Here's an op-ed in US News & World Report arguing why the military strike in Gaza may be counterproductive to Israeli interests.  It explains more explicitly a statement made in an earlier post by Norman's International regarding the effect the strike will have once a cease fire is reached and it's time to come to the negotiating table.  

In sum, ". . . the consequence is not the pacification of the target population but an intensification of violence."

Or, maybe not.  Here's an Op-Ed that says, while unfortunate, there is literally no other option --Israel must respond with overwhelming force if anything is to change; if Israel is to continue existing, something has to change.  

Strategic Partnership

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Georgian Foreign Affairs Minister Grigol Vashadze gathered at the White House today to sign the United States-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership.  Vashadze looks forward to growing engagement with the west, while Condi looks forward to feeling that mustache scratch softly at her face.    

The Future of Capitalism

French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed financial experts in Paris to discuss "the future of capitalism," seeking to create a new system of international financial governance and institutions.  

Merkel suggested a "powerful new economic council at the UN," reports France24.com.  Both urged the US not to stand in the way of tighter financial regulation, which they blame the current crisis on -- a good sign for those of us eager to get past the Reagan-Thatcher era.  

The goal, said European leaders involved in the two-day event dubbed "New World, New Capitalism," was not to end capitalism or finance as we know it, but to foster the "return of the state" as a regulator.  

Tony Blair, chairing the event, told attendees -- Amartya Sen, Pascal Lamy and Joseph Stiglitz, among other notables -- that the current system of seven powerful economies making global financial decisions is an "absurdity" in these times, calling for the inclusion of a wide array of emerging economies and interested parties.  

"We have mid-20th century international institutions governing a 21st century world," he said, calling for the reformation of the IMF and the World Bank.  

Hug It Out

Gazprom officials are meeting with diplomats in Brussels right now in an effort to hug it out over the ongoing Russia-Ukraine gas dispute -- one of those rare gas disputes that cannot be blamed on the dog.  Russia's conflict with Ukraine over a gas pipeline has caused the loss of heating gas to much of Europe, leaving plenty in the cold.  

Gazprom says they want EU monitors in Ukraine to watch the pipes and ensure Ukraine is not stealing gas en route to Europe.  The EU says they'll do it if both Ukraine and Russia agree to restore the flow of gas to Europe.  

The German paper Deutsche Welle points out that, while cold Europeans are the immediate concern, of a longer-term concern is the reputation of Russia as a reliable provider of gas for Europe (a very similar dispute disrupted flows in 2006).  With Ukraine vying for a spot in NATO, and Russia trying to deny them that spot, Europeans may be better off seeking gas elsewhere.  (Turkmenistan?)     

Team Intelligence

As Obama makes the announcements official, some are questioning the Panetta-Blair team.  

Blair is being scrutinized for his part in U.S. involvement in East Timor a decade ago.  A paramilitary group with Indonesian and American backing slaughtered 200,000 East Timorese over a two decade period.  Blair sought to work with the Indonesian military, including training, in an attempt to gain leverage in the situation -- a move many are critical of. 

In 1999 Blair met with military leaders in Indonesia to resume talks about training aid.  Days before the discussions, Indonesian-trained militias slaughtered almost 60 people seeking refuge in a Church.  Blair said he did not find out about the slaughter until after the meeting.  

Blair also faces questioning regarding a conflict of interest investigation when in 2006, working for a Pentagon think tank, he sat on the membership board of two of the defense contractors whom the think tank was reviewing.  

Q&A

Columbian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos will be approaching the new Obama administration to plead that it maintain its $556-million-a-year drug eradication program Plan Columbia.  In the face of a never-before-seen deficit, he faces a steep battle.  

The LA Times ran a Q&A with Santos today.  

Santos told the LA Times Plan Columbia is responsible for bringing Columbia from the brink of a failed state to a working democracy and subduing of the FARC.  

In closing remarks, Santos said:

"Look, we're a success story here, asking for minimal financial commitment compared with your other problems, so don't sacrifice something that's much more important than the value of the dollars you have invested.  It's in the interest of the U.S. to maintain a strong democracy in Columbia.  And Plan Columbia is one of the determinants."  

Hooray!

Finally.

Turkmenistan

Some Europeans are now looking to the autocratic Turkmenistan as a new source of gas after the Russia-Ukraine dispute that halted gas shipments to much of Europe.  

Which reminds me, please read this.  

20,000

U.S. Deputy of Foreign Affairs Richard Boucher met with Afghanistan's foreign minister today, assuring him 20,000 more American troops into Afghanistan by August.  

Two Down

Two top al-Queda leaders, known locally as 'the Lion' and 'the Engineer', were killed by a drone aircraft last week, US officials say.  

Both born in Kenya and killed in Pakistan, Usama al-Kini and Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan were involved in numerous bombings on embassies and other western targets over the past decade.  

China

Two of China's major economic hubs, Guangdong and Shanghai, are, like much of the world, facing severe market troubles. As a result, nearly a third of all migrant workers in southern China have returned to their homes throughout the country.   

Overlooked

Here's editorial from Haaretz, though belated, worth reading.  I think the moment has passed, but it would have been a great move. 

Unaided

UN aid has been suspended after Israeli fire hit a UN convoy and killed two fork-lift operators with the UN.  Operations will continue once Israel can guarantee security, says the UN.

Unworkable

Israel released a statement on what they called the 'unworkable' U.N. cease fire proposal, saying "the IDF will continue to act in order to obtain the objectives of the operation -- to bring about a change in the security situation in the south of the country -- this in accordance with the plans that have been approved upon embarking on this mission."

Sounds a lot like they're moving on to phase 3, as earlier predicted by Norman's International.

The Beat Goes On

Showing the impotency of the institution, the U.N.'s declared cease fire was ignored by both sides of the conflict in Gaza today.  Israel continued on with a fresh wave of aerial bombardments and Hamas continued firing rockets into southern Israel.  

Questions of war crimes on Israel's part were raised in the U.N. on account of an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reporting that claims IDF forces ignored the emergency medical needs for civilians required by international law.  In perhaps the only good news to come from the discourse, the U.N. has demanded human rights monitors be deployed to the area to monitor the situation.  

Israel continued it's brief window of calm to let in aid this morning, during which time Hamas fired an undetermined number of rockets into Israel, who returned fire.  

14 of the 15 U.N. security members signed on to the cease fire demands, with one abstaining.  You guessed it -- the United States.  

Bail-Out

A five-member congressional oversight panel is releasing the findings of their study of the Treasury Department's $700 billion bail-out package today.  The findings report that the plan has no clear goals, poor mechanisms for oversight and "significant gaps in the Treasury's ability to track hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money."  

Of central concern to the bipartisan panel was the plan's complete avoidance in dealing with the massive amounts of foreclosures and borrowers struggling with homes worth less than their mortgages cost.  

Their were also no means of guaranteeing that the money lent to credit-lending institutions would in turn be lent out, the declared goal of the program.  

This is sure to stoke the deepest fears of government-big business collusion.  Financial institutions were given a cash injection with no monitoring of where that investment went, saving themselves and doing very little for the taxpayer.  

If it isn't corruption, it is somehow a surprisingly resistant strain of belief in trickle-down economics.  We need to get beyond this.

Obama's transition team is working hard on fixing the future of the bail-out, as is Rep. Barney Franks (D-Mass.), who has worked on legislation to require closer monitoring of aid packages and restricting executive bonuses.  Go get 'em Barney.