The U.S. Wants Snowden. Why Won't The World Cooperate?

The U.S. Wants Snowden. Why Won't The World Cooperate?

    Wednesday, June 26, 2013   No comments

China appeared perfectly happy to let Edward Snowden slip away despite a U.S. request for his

Why is it proving so difficult for a superpower to get a bit of international cooperation over Snowden? He has acknowledged leaking details of U.S. government surveillance programs, and has been charged with espionage and other offenses.

President Obama recently met his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in hopes of setting a positive tone for what is widely regarded as the single most important international relationship.

And the Obama administration has often touted its "reset" with Russia and its President Vladimir Putin, though there's been plenty of ongoing friction.

Writing in The Wall Street Journal, columnist Bret Stephens sees the Snowden episode as part of a broader decline in American influence.

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arrest. Russia appears to enjoy thumbing its nose at Washington as Snowden cools his heels at a Moscow airport. Ecuador is toying with the notion of granting him asylum.

Two people were killed and dozens injured in street fighting on Wednesday north of Cairo

Two people were killed and dozens injured in street fighting on Wednesday north of Cairo

    Wednesday, June 26, 2013   No comments

Two people were killed and dozens injured in street fighting on Wednesday north of Cairo between supporters and opponents of Egypt’s Islamist president, hours before Mohamed Mursi was to address the nation.

With Egypt gripped by fears of a showdown between Islamists and their opponents, security sources said 90 people wounded in the city of Mansoura after hundreds of men were involved in rock-throwing street skirmishes. Witnesses heard gunfire and state television showed a man in hospital with birdshot wounds.

Similar outbursts of violence, often prompted by one side or the other staging rallies, have hit towns across the country in recent days. At least two men died last weekend. The opposition plans mass protests this weekend, calling for Mursi to resign.

He shows no sign of doing that and is expected to blame the deadlock that has aggravated an economic crisis on resistance from those loyal to his ousted predecessor Hosni Mubarak.

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How did China, Russia, Cuba, and Ecuador become the champions of political freedom?

How did China, Russia, Cuba, and Ecuador become the champions of political freedom?

    Wednesday, June 26, 2013   No comments

It may be years before the full cost of Edward Snowden’s intelligence leaks can be measured. But his disclosures about top-secret surveillance programs have already come at a price for the U.S. government: America’s foes have been handed an immensely powerful tool for portraying Washington as a hypocritical proponent of democratic values that it doesn’t abide by at home.

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When China and Russia become protectors of activists, the West’s double is highlighted

When China and Russia become protectors of activists, the West’s double is highlighted

    Wednesday, June 26, 2013   No comments

How does the case of Edward Snowden stand in comparison to those of Chen Guangcheng, Boris Berezovsky, and Andrei Borodin?

Russia and China are more than resisting pressure from the U.S. for their role in harboring Edward Snowden, Chinese and Russian leaders might use it to limit the West’s support of activists in the two countries. Consider the following official statements and editorials to get a sense of the reversal of roles and the declining U.S. credibility when it comes to foreign policy.

Alexei Pushkov, the head of the State Duma's international affairs committee :

 "By promising asylum to Snowden, Moscow has taken upon itself the protection of those persecuted for political reasons… There will be hysterics in the US. They only recognize this right for themselves.”

As an editorial in the Guardian pointed out, one of the recurring themes in Russian foreign policy is to slam the West for having “double standards,” such as judging pro-Western dictatorships by a totally different yardstick from anti-Western ones, a tactic that works extremely well because it is so often true. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov most recently used that line in a tough statement hammering Western hypocrisy about Syria. Speaking in a recent interview with America's CBS network released on Monday evening, Lavrov said the West had a policy of double standards in approaching foreign regimes, particularly in the current Syrian conflict between the government and rebel forces.

“You either deny terrorists any acceptance in international life, or you make your double standard policy work the way it has been working - 'I don't like that guy in this country, so we will be calling him a dictator and topple him. This guy in another country is also dictatorial, but he's our dictator.”

Here are a couple of news items and editorials that stress the same points. Of particular interest is the case of academic freedom stemming from NYU support of the Chinese activist and buckling under pressure to save an expansion opportunity.

Chinesedissident Chen Guangcheng: NYU is forcing me out

Chen’sdeparture shows US moral dilemma

 

As The Arab Spring Fades And The Turkish Model Collapses, Can Islam Foster Prosperity?

As The Arab Spring Fades And The Turkish Model Collapses, Can Islam Foster Prosperity?

    Tuesday, June 25, 2013   No comments

There’s nothing wrong with hope, but it should always be balanced with a little truth. But the optimism which has been hanging over so much of the discussion about the middle east and central Asia, has been a bit long on hope and short on truth.

The Arab Spring has more than lived down to the predictions of critics (like me: link here), but no one had any long-term reputation invested in that. However, the much vaunted ‘Turkish Model, is another thing altogether. It is has long been the great multicultural hope for mankind, an Islamic modern democracy. Investors were told to get on board before losing a great chance. The rest of the equatorial world was told to behold the new world of Islamic modernity. The recent ordeal of oppression and uprising more impression, must come as a crushing disappointment. That could have been avoided by simply consulting history.

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Turkey's Alevi community doubtful of government initiatives

Turkey's Alevi community doubtful of government initiatives

    Tuesday, June 25, 2013   No comments

The government is working on a new plan to broaden the rights of Alevis, members of the second-largest Islamic sect in the country, but these fresh attempts have received a suspicious reaction from the community.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has asked for a study and report on the issue, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ revealed in a televised interview over the weekend, adding that a broad range of negotiations would follow after the new steps.

Bozdağ’s remarks came days before the anniversary of the July 1-2 killings of 35 people in an arson attack in 1993 led by a mob at a hotel where many Alevi intellectuals and artists who had come to Sivas for a conference were staying. On June 23, thousands gathered in Istanbul’s Anatolian district of Kadıköy to mark the day.

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The West should intervene in Syria for many reasons. One is to stem the rise of Persian power

The West should intervene in Syria for many reasons. One is to stem the rise of Persian power

    Tuesday, June 25, 2013   No comments

The growing risk of a nuclear Iran is one reason why the West should intervene decisively in Syria not just by arming the rebels, but also by establishing a no-fly zone. That would deprive Mr Assad of his most effective weapon—bombs dropped from planes—and allow the rebels to establish military bases inside Syria. This newspaper has argued many times for doing so on humanitarian grounds; but Iran’s growing clout is another reason to intervene, for it is not in the West’s interest that a state that sponsors terrorism and rejects Israel’s right to exist should become the regional hegemon.

The West still has the economic and military clout to influence events in the region, and an interest in doing so. When Persian power is on the rise, it is not the time to back away from the Middle East.

read more from the article... , or read a sample from Readers' Comment below:

wow... I'm kind of stunned. I understand everyone has a bias but this article is seriously crossing the line. For the Economist to remain respected surely it has to really check what it's preaching.

From what I have read, you are advocating increasing the weapons supply in one country (therefore the carnage, loss of life etc..) so that you can affect things in an entirely different country (Iran). On top of that the only reason for doing this is so that another small country (Israel) remains militarily supreme in the region.

In other words your willing to use the lives of Syrian people so that Israel can dictate to it's neighbors how things are.

This is not some xbox game, these are real people you advocating "sacrificing" for some greater political good of another country. That's kind of nuts.

How about this... If Israel wants that supremacy. Why doesn't it go to Iran and directly fight it out and put its own people on the line rather than "use" the Syrians?

It's like you (Economist) are willing to put up with any level of destruction or any country as long as Israel can be top dog. It's such a strange position to take.

Israel have enough military power to defend themselves against anyone. So what if other nations get better weapons? Does it mean Israel cannot defend it self? Or do they think every country around them has a suicidal death wish and they just cant wait for everyone to be nuked?

It feels like the west/israel want the ability to impose themselves on others rather than defend their right to exist. That seems kind of mad, and dare I say it, evil in itself.

Albsure

Lebanese army storms Islamist mosque as Syria crisis spreads

Lebanese army storms Islamist mosque as Syria crisis spreads

    Monday, June 24, 2013   No comments

 Lebanese soldiers stormed a complex holding gunmen loyal to a radical Islamist cleric in the city of Sidon on Monday and arrested dozens of his supporters, security sources said, in a second day of clashes fuelled by neighboring Syria's civil war.

The fighting is the deadliest outbreak in Lebanon since Syria's two-year conflict began. The army said 12 soldiers were killed in the southern Mediterranean port city, while security sources gave a higher army toll of 18 dead and 128 wounded.

A medic told Reuters that 22 bodies had been pulled from the mosque complex but he expected the final death count to be higher. He said 94 wounded had been treated by the Red Cross.

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State secrets: Kerry’s department downplays Iran’s role in Latin America; likely to anger Congress

State secrets: Kerry’s department downplays Iran’s role in Latin America; likely to anger Congress

    Monday, June 24, 2013   No comments

Iran is not supporting active terrorist cells in the Western Hemisphere, according to a State Department report set to be released this week that is likely to ignite a major battle with Capitol Hill.
Although the number of Iranian officials operating in Latin America has increased in recent years, Tehran has far less influence and activities than some congressional Republicans have suggested, sources familiar with the report said.
The analysis found no reliable information pointing to imminent Iranian-backed terrorist plots in the Western Hemisphere, said sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the secretive nature of the report and because it had not yet been sent to Congress.
The State Department declined to comment on the document, which is expected to be delivered to House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Edward R. Royce, California Republican, at the end of this week.
The findings are likely to baffle lawmakers who pushed legislation that mandated the State Department to produce the report, along with a strategy for countering “Iran’s growing hostile presence and activity in the Western Hemisphere.”

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Video shows Turkish police badly beating Gezi protesters for minutes in Antalya

Video shows Turkish police badly beating Gezi protesters for minutes in Antalya

    Monday, June 24, 2013   No comments

A group of young people who were hiding in a parking lot in the southern province of Antalya after a police intervention in a protest were badly beaten, according to camera footage obtained by lawyers.

The young people hid in a parking lot owned by the municipality in central Antalya before being caught there by a group of policemen with batons, on June 2, the video showed. The policemen then badly beat the young people, especially two males, for a few minutes.

Other instances of police brutality used against peaceful protesters in Turkey:






 

Turkey's prime minister has brushed off criticism by human rights groups and some European countries, insisting police officers have displayed "legendary heroism" in quelling weeks of anti-government protests.

Addressing police academy graduates at a ceremony in Ankara Monday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was protesters – not police – that were violent, and praised the security forces for showing restraint.