EU-DIGEST

Moscow transforms real-world game of RISK - by Shawn McCarthy and Matthew Campbell

In early 2002, some 200 U.S. Special Forces soldiers landed in the former Soviet republic of Georgia to train the Georgian army in anti-terrorism techniques, including how to protect a planned oil pipeline from secessionist or anti-Western saboteurs. With strong encouragement from Washington, Georgia was finalizing a deal with its neighbours, Azerbaijan and Turkey, and Britain's BP PLC to build a $3.9-billion (U.S.) pipeline from the oil-rich Caspian region to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea. The 1,768-kilometre, somewhat-circuitous route bypassed major U.S. rivals in the region, Russia and Iran, as well as Armenia, the traditional enemy of Turkey and Azerbaijan.It was part of the United States' effort to reduce Russia's dominance of the region's booming oil trade, and by doing so to encourage the development of independent-minded states on its rival's southern flank.

For more than a decade, Russia watched while the U.S. and Europe played the new “great game” of energy geopolitics in its own backyard. It was 10 years ago this weekend that Russia plunged into financial crisis by devaluing the ruble and defaulting on its mounting debt. With the Georgian invasion, the Kremlin has sent notice that it now controls the Risk board. And that it is willing to use its armed forces to back up what it regards as its national interest in neighbouring states. At stake is control over one of the world's most promising new sources of crude oil – one that could rival the impact of the North Sea a generation ago. The U.S., in particular, has worked strenuously to minimize Russia's influence over this energy development.

Labels: Energy, EU, Russia, US

The last two weeks have been a disaster for U.S. foreign policy. - by Daniel Benjamin

Russia's invasion of its neighbor is a clear demonstration that the United States-led effort to integrate post-Soviet Russia into the West has failed. Whether the process can be restarted remains to be seen, but in light of the events since Aug. 8, doing so soon would be indecent.

Labels: EU, Russia, US

The statements of American officials would lead one to conclude that the crisis began when Russia sent in its troops to support its peacekeepers there. Meticulously avoided in those statements: The decision of Tbilisi to use crude military force against South Ossetia in the early hours of Aug. 8. The Georgian army used multiple rocket launchers, artillery and air force to attack the sleeping city of Tskhinvali.

It is up to the American side to decide whether it wants a relationship with Russia that our two peoples deserve. The geopolitical reality we'll have to deal with at the end of the day will inevitably force us to cooperate. To begin down the road of cooperation, it would not be a bad idea to do a very simple thing: Just admit for a moment that the course of history must not depend entirely on what the Georgian president is saying. Just admit that a democratically elected leader can lie. Just admit that you have other sources of information—and other objectives—that shape your foreign policy.

Labels: EU, Russia, US

Americans Drinking Less Alcohol - by Steven Reinberg

"Americans are drinking less alcohol, with middle-aged people consuming about one-third less than 50 years ago, researchers report. For the study, Ellison's team collected data on 8,000 people who took part in the Framingham Heart Study. People in the initial arm of the study were born before 1900 up until 1959. Those from the initial enrollment group as well as their children were interviewed every four years from 1948 to 2003 about their alcohol consumption. Ellison explained that the Framingham study consists primarily of white, middle-class individuals from the Massachusetts town of the same name. "It generally tends to reflect trends within the country among middle-class, white Americans," he said. The researchers found that, overall, people are drinking less. "People drank about a third more back in the '50s and '60s than they did in the '70s up to 2004," Ellison said."At the same time, there's been a decrease in beer and an increase in wine consumption among people. But the average intake has decreased," he said.

Labels: Alcohol Consumption, US

Please Mr. President, Don't Make Promises to Fools -"When goods don't cross borders, soldiers will."

In the Balkans, the U.S. readily accepted the results of a plebiscite in the Serbian province of Kosovo in which the population voted nine to one for independence. With American support, Kosovo became a sovereign state in February 2008. At the same time, the U.S. seemed to say that some separatist movements are more equal than others. American support for the will of the people as registered on ballots did not extend to the breakaway South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions, which had largely been beyond the control of the Georgian government since the fall of the Soviet Union. Both regions had voted overwhelmingly for separation from Georgia and had welcomed Russia troops as protectors from the Georgian military. The U.S. embassy in Tbilisi felt compelled to issue a press release to mollify its Georgian friends: "The United States has long held that each separatist conflict anywhere in the world is unique. Indeed, the situation in Kosovo is a special case and does not serve as a precedent for other regions, including the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions of Georgia."

Labels: EU, Russia, US

Missile Defense: Washington and Poland just moved the World closer to War - by F.William Engdah

"The signing on August 14 of an agreement between the governments of the United States and Poland to deploy on Polish soil US ‘interceptor missiles’ is the most dangerous move towards nuclear war the world has seen since the 1962 Cuba Missile crisis. Far from a defensive move to protect European NATO states from a Russian nuclear attack, as military strategists have pointed out, the US missiles in Poland pose a total existential threat to the future existence of the Russian nation. The Russian Government has repeatedly warned of this since US plans were first unveiled in early 2007. Now, despite repeated diplomatic attempts by Russia to come to an agreement with Washington, the Bush Administration, in the wake of a humiliating US defeat in Georgia, has pressured the Government of Poland to finally sign the pact. The consequences could be unthinkable for Europe and the planet. The preliminary deal to place elements of the US global missile defense shield was signed by Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer and US chief negotiator John Rood on August 14. Under the terms, Washington plans to place 10 interceptor missiles in Poland coupled with a radar system in the Czech Republic, which it ludicrously claims are intended to counter possible attacks from what it calls "rogue states," including Iran.

To get the agreement Washington agreed to reinforce Poland's air defenses. The deal is still to be approved by the two countries' governments and Poland's parliament. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in televised remarks that "the events in the Caucasus show clearly that such security guarantees are indispensable." The US-Polish missile talks had been dragging for months before recent hostilities in Georgia. Any illusions that a Democratic Obama Presidency would mean a rollback of such provocative NATO and US military moves of recent years should be dismissed as dangerous wishful thinking. Obama’s foreign policy team in addition to father Zbigniew Brzezinski, includes Brzezinski’s son, Ian Brzezinski, current US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Affairs. Ian Brzezinski is a devout backer of US missile defense policy, as well as Kosovo independence and NATO expansion into Ukraine and Georgia. "

Labels: EU, Missile Crises, US

IRAQ: US military deaths in Iraq war 4,143 and total coalition military casualties 4448

As of Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008, at least 4,143 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associate Press report.The British military has reported 176 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia and Georgia, three each; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, Romania, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, South Korea, one death each.

Labels: Casualties, Iraq war, US

Russia's War With Georgia May Revive U.S.-Europe Rift - by Mark Deen and Reed V. Landberg

Russia's attack on Georgia may reopen a U.S. rift with European Union leaders over how the trans-Atlantic alliance should deal with its main Cold War adversary. While President George W. Bush dispatched U.S. air and naval forces to deliver ``vigorous'' humanitarian aid to Georgia, the EU's foreign ministers have carefully avoided assigning blame for the conflict and plan to send non-military monitors to the region only later this year. Europe's caution in responding to Russia's first major offensive since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union illustrates differences with the U.S. over the military role of the EU and the development of trade and energy links with Russia.In parallel to the falling out over Iraq in 2003, divisions exist in Europe over how hard a line to take with Russia. Countries subject to Soviet rule during the Cold War are pushing for a tougher response, while the richer Western Europeans want to play down conflict.

Trade between Russia and the EU jumped 23 percent in 2007 to $284 billion, making the EU Russia's biggest trading partner and Russia the bloc's third-largest partner. The EU also depends on Russia to supply a quarter of its natural gas.

Labels: Atlantic Alliance, EU, Georgia, New Europe, Old Europe, Russia, US

Georgia War: A Neocon Election Ploy? - by Robert Scheer

Is it possible that this time the October surprise was tried in August, and that the garbage issue of brave little Georgia struggling for its survival from the grasp of the Russian bear was stoked to influence the US presidential election?

Before you dismiss that possibility, consider the role of one Randy Scheunemann, for four years a paid lobbyist for the Georgian government, ending his official lobbying connection only in March, months after he became Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain's senior foreign policy adviser. Previously, Scheunemann was best known as one of the neoconservatives who engineered the war in Iraq when he was a director of the Project for a New American Century. It was Scheunemann who, after working on the McCain 2000 presidential campaign, headed the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, which championed the US Iraq invasion.

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia, US, US elections

America Watches the War in Georgia with Dumb Goggles - by Mark Ames

Five days after Georgia invaded and seized the breakaway separatist region of South Ossetia, sparking a larger-scale Russian invasion to drive Georgian forces back and punish their leaders, Russia surprised its Western detractors by calling a halt to the country's offensive. After all, the mainstream media, egged on by hawkish neocon pundits and their candidate John McCain, had everyone believing that Russia was hellbent on the full-scale annihilation and annexation of democratic Georgia.Up until now, this war was framed as a simple tale of Good Helpless Democratic Guy Georgia versus Bad Savage Fascist Guy Russia. In fact, it is far more complex than this, morally and historically. Then there are two concentric David and Goliath narratives here. The initial war pitted the Goliath Georgia-a nation of 4.4 million, with vastly superior numbers, equipment and training thanks to US and Israeli advisers-against David-Ossetia, with a population of between 50,000-70,000 and a local militia force that is barely battalion strength. Reports coming out of South Ossetia tell of Georgian rockets and artillery leveling every building in the capital city, Tskhinvali, and of Georgian troops lobbing grenades into bomb shelters and basements sheltering women and children.

At the root of this conflict is a clash of two twentieth-century guiding principles in international relations. Georgia, backed by the West, is claiming its right as a sovereign nation to control the territory within its borders, a guiding principle since World War II. The Ossetians are claiming their right to self-determination, a guiding principle since World War I. These two guiding concepts for international relations-national sovereignty and the right to self-determination-are locked in a zero-sum battle in Georgia. Sometimes, the West takes the side of national sovereignty, as it is in the current war; other times, it sides with self-determination and redrawing of national borders, such as with Kosovo.

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia, US

US Economy - Soaring Consumer Prices and Mount - by Jason Simpkins

Consumer prices rose sharply in July even as home foreclosures spiked, making it increasingly likely the economy will stall in the year’s last half under the weight of soaring unemployment, declining home values and accelerating inflation. Banks foreclosed on 77,295 homes in July, 8% more than a month prior, and 183% more than a year ago, RealtyTrac reported. More than 680,000 homes have been repossessed since the beginning of August 2007. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped 0.8% in July, the Commerce Department said yesterday (Thursday). On a year-over-year basis, the consumer prices climbed 5.6%, their biggest surge since 1991.

Labels: Economy, US

Poland and US agree deal for missile defense shield - by Harry de Quetteville

The agreement highlights how Russia's invasion of Georgia has prompted a swift reappraisal of the region's security and alliances. The US and Poland have been talking about the missile shield for a year but rushed to cement their alliance in the wake of this week's conflict. Donald Tusk, the prime minister, said that talks had been completed on a preliminary agreement and "technical questions remained". Washington plans to site a silo of 10 interceptor missiles at the Brdy army base in northern Poland to accompany a radar installation in the Czech Republic. The radar station, probably to be sited at Gorsko, has already been agreed by Prague and is awaiting parliamentary ratification.

Note EU-Digest: This should be a wake up call for the "old" EU member states that bringing in some of the former Soviet block countries into the EU at the insistence of US was not one of the more clever decisions they made and certainly did not enhance the political stability of the EU.

Labels: EU, Missile Crises, Poland, US

Georgian Minister: Israel Sold Us Out - by Yaniv Berman

Israel's Foreign Ministry recently issued a recommendation to freeze the sale of Israeli security equipment to Georgia, fearing complications with Russia. Israeli officials believe Russia may interpret the sale of Israeli weapons to Georgia as a move that jeopardizes Russia's security. "Weapons deals in the Caucasus can reflect on weapons deals in the Middle East," Dr. Avinoam Idan, an expert on the Caucasus and Central Asia at the Haifa University told The Media Line.

According to Idan, Israel found itself with a difficult dilemma following the eruption of violence in Southern Ossetia. Russia plays a significant role in security issues in the Middle East, which have a direct effect on Israel. Among them is Russia's supply of weapons to Syria and Iran.

"Since 2000 Israel has supplied about $200-million worth of equipment, especially drones. A few former army officers were also training the Georgian army. The French and American involvement was considerably bigger," added Brudny. According to Brudny, Israel’s final decision regarding the supply of weapons to Georgia would depend on the United States. "If the American administration encourages Israel to sell weapons to Georgia, Israel cannot say no. The kinds of weapons Israel sells to Georgia have American components in them, so I suspect the Bush administration definitely wanted Israel to supply weapons to Georgia," Brudny said.

Labels: Georgia, Israel, Russia, US, Weapons Industry

Why Russia’s response to Georgia was right - by Sergei Lavrov

Last Friday, after the world’s leaders had arrived at the Beijing Olympics, Georgian troops launched an all-out assault on the region of South Ossetia, which has enjoyed de facto independence for more than 16 years. The majority of the region’s population are Russian citizens. Under the terms of the 1992 agreement to which Georgia is a party, they are afforded protection by a small number of Russian peacekeeping soldiers. The ground and air attack resulted in the killing of peacekeepers and the death of an estimated 1,600 civilians, creating a humanitarian disaster and leading to an exodus of 30,000 refugees. The Georgian regime refused to allow a humanitarian corridor to be established and bombarded a humanitarian convoy.There can be little surprise, therefore, that Russia responded to this unprovoked assault on its citizens by launching a military incursion into South Ossetia. No country in the world would idly stand by as its citizens are killed and driven from their homes. Russia repeatedly warned Tbilisi that it would protect its citizens by force if necessary, and its actions are entirely consistent with international law, including article 51 of the UN charter on the right of self-defence. Russia has been entirely proportionate in its military response to Georgia’s attack on Russian citizens and peacekeepers.

Russia’s tactical objective has been to force Georgian troops out of the region, which is off limits to them under international agreements. Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s president, has stated that “unless we stop Russia, unless the whole world stops it, Russian tanks will go to any European capital tomorrow”, adding on a separate occasion that “it’s not about Georgia any more. It’s about America”. It is clear that Georgia wants this dispute to become something more than a short if bloody conflict in the region. For decision-makers in the Nato countries of the west, it would be worth considering whether in future you want the men and women of your armed services to be answerable to Mr Saakashvili’s declarations of war in the Caucasus.

Note EU-Digest: Unfortunately it is becoming more and more clear that Mr Saakashvili does not have all his marbles together and wants to provoke a further deterioration of the conflict In a television address he said today "You have heard the statement by the U.S. president that the United States is starting a military-humanitarian operation in Georgia. This means that Georgian ports and airports will be taken under the control of the U.S. defense ministry in order to conduct humanitarian and other missions. This is a very important statement for easing tension." The US immediately refuted this statement.

Labels: EU, Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, Russia, US

Israel - Buildup to the Next War - by Noah Feldman

The prospect of an Israeli attack on Iran before the next president’s inauguration in January is not just the stuff of airport thrillers. Much of the Israeli military establishment and Israeli public currently believes that a nuclear Iran is an existential threat. This gives Israel a motive for action much stronger than that of the U.S., for whom an Iranian bomb would primarily be a blow to our interests in the gulf region. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert or whoever emerges as his successor in September might well be prepared to take risks that would not be worth it for the United States, especially given the vulnerability of our troops in Iraq.

Any Iranian movement against U.S. assets would give President Bush just about the only domestically viable political excuse for bombing Iran that is possible to imagine. Because that would put Iran at war with the United States, not just Israel, Iran might choose to hold back. That likelihood, coupled with President Bush’s visceral support for Israel, might be enough reason for the administration to tolerate an Israeli attack that did not too directly implicate the United States. Given the uncertainty surrounding a potential Obama administration, this autumn may be Israel’s last and best chance to go after Iran’s nuclear capability.In the brave new world of our immersion in Iraq, we have increasingly found ourselves waking up with strange bedfellows. Strangest of these, of course, is Iran itself, with whom we have been quietly consulting over Iraq’s affairs because neither country wants an all-out civil war in that country.

Labels: Iran, Israel, US

For the complete report by the NYTimes.com click on this link

Cyberspace Barrage Preceded Russian Invasion of Georgia - by John Markoff

Weeks before physical bombs started falling on Georgia, a security researcher in suburban Massachusetts was watching an attack against the country in cyberspace.Researchers at Shadowserver, a volunteer group that tracks malicious network activity, reported that the Web site of the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, had been rendered inoperable for 24 hours by multiple D.D.O.S. attacks. The researchers said the command and control server that directed the attack, which was based in the United States, had come online several weeks before it began the assault. As it turns out, the July attack may have been a dress rehearsal for an all-out cyberwar once the shooting started between Georgia and Russia.

According to Internet technical experts, it was the first time a cyberattack had coincided with a shooting war. But it will likely not be the last, said Bill Woodcock, the research director of the Packet Clearing House, a nonprofit that tracks Internet traffic. He said cyberattacks are so inexpensive and easy to mount, with few fingerprints, that they will almost certainly remain a feature of modern warfare. “It costs about 4 cents per machine,” Mr. Woodsock said. “You could fund an entire cyberwarfare campaign for the cost of replacing a tank tread, so you would be foolish not to.”

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia, US

Georgian conflict - Enter Sarkozy the peacemaker

With the US too close to Georgia, France has emerged as the honest broker in the conflict. The Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin - the man really calling the shots in this crisis - yesterday let fly at President Bush's administration. He was furious at the US airlift of Georgian troops to Tbilisi from Iraq, where they have been helping the Americans. France's moment in the diplomatic limelight stems partly from circumstance. As the current holder of the rotating EU presidency, France can naturally be expected to take the lead in trying to defuse the crisis, which began with Georgia's attempt to retake its breakaway province of South Ossetia. But Sarkozy also fancies his chances of pulling off a diplomatic coup because of his good relations with Moscow. France, along with Germany, opposed Bush's move to put Georgia on a fast track to Nato membership at the Nato summit in Bucharest in April.

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia, US

Mikheil Saakashvili - Beleaguered president: Gambler who risked his country and links with West - by Shaun Walker

Mr Saakashvili in recent days has looked like a man who bit off more than he could chew. It's still unclear who started this messy little war, with each side pointing accusing fingers at the other. Russia has clearly been spoiling for a fight, but it seems hard not to conclude that the vital hand in a very risky card game was played by Mr Saakashvili himself when he ordered a full-on assault of South Ossetia last Thursday night. He called Mr Putin's bluff, and Mr Putin, with some trademark harsh words, laid down a full house – not just repelling the Georgian assault on South Ossetia but launching attacks all over Georgia.

For now, in a time of war, the Georgian people are swept up by patriotic fervour and standing behind their leader. But with military defeat in South Ossetia, and a Russian response that will scare away foreign investors for some time to come, when the dust settles, its first political victim could be Mr Saakashvili himself.

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia, US

ANALYSIS-"Fire in neighbour's house" has Turkey on edge

The conflict between Russia and Georgia threatens to undermine NATO member Turkey's ambitions to become an energy hub and could exacerbate misgivings among EU states about expanding the bloc right up to the Caucasus. The fighting over the breakaway region of South Ossetia, which has unsettled oil markets, is another reminder of the strategic importance of Turkey, a country that wants to join the European Union and sits in a volatile region bordering Iran, Syria, Iraq and former Soviet republics. With no energy resources of its own, Turkey has worked hard to become a transit route for Caspian and Central Asian oil and gas exports as Europe tries to reduce its dependence on Russia.

Along with neighbour Georgia, Turkey hosts the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which brings 1 million barrels per day of Azeri oil to Turkey's Mediterranean coast for Western export. It also hopes to host parts of the European Union-backed Nabucco pipeline, expected to be operational in 2013.

Confidence in the pipelines' security was dented last week when Kurdish terrorists claimed responsibility for an explosion that started a fire on the Turkish section of the BTC pipeline. "The East-West energy corridor and Turkey being an energy hub for the West is one of the principal arguments of Turkey in its application for the EU and the need to have a good relationship with Turkey," said Hugh Pope, senior analyst at International Crisis Group. "This conflict casts a shadow over Turkey's foreign policy platform of creating an area of stability."

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia, US

Bringing the UK to Europe’s core —by Mark Eyskens

While General de Gaulle once spoke of a Europe stretching from the Atlantic to the Urals, defining Europe in purely geographical terms omits other criteria — including the European social model and the scale of values on which it is based — of what it means to “belong” to Europe. British EMU membership remains very desirable. If the EU is to progress beyond the limits of a common economic and monetary policy and develop a defence and security policy along with a common foreign policy, the UK must be on board. Exchange-rate fluctuations between sterling and the euro disturb market forces among member states, and at times even have a negative impact in London. In the long run, the UK risks serious isolation if the euro zone starts to exert even greater power.But other European countries must also understand British arguments in favour of the UK maintaining its own currency, given London’s importance as an international financial centre as well as its privileged relations with more than 50 Commonwealth countries.

The euro zone should therefore offer the UK an honourable compromise in which Britain would be allowed to become a full member of the EMU and take a seat in all of its institutions like the European Central Bank and the ministerial Eurogroup, while also being able to keep the pound in its relations with third countries.The euro would, however, have to be accepted as legal tender in the UK, alongside the pound, and in the commonwealth countries, and this would demand close cooperation between the Bank of England and the ECB.

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia, US

The Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, today ordered an end to the military offensive in Georgia, the Kremlin said. Medvedev said Russian forces had punished Georgia and re-established security for Russian peacekeepers and civilians in the separatist South Ossetia region. "I have taken the decision to bring to an end the operation to force the Georgian authorities to peace," a Kremlin spokesman quoted the president as saying. However, Medvedev also told troops to defend themselves against any further "aggressive" action or armed resistance by Georgian forces.

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia, US

US left with little influence in Georgia crisis

Washington has little room for maneuver in the Caucasus conflict amid perceptions that it helped fuel the crisis by over-inflating Georgia's hopes of US support for its young democracy, analysts say. "This is probably a conflict where the United States would not be accepted by both sides as a mediator," said analyst Steven Pifer, a former US ambassador in Kiev. "The Georgians would welcome American participation. I suspect the Russians would probably not accept us because in Moscow, we are seen as too close to Georgia," added the analyst from the Brookings Institute.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who is leading the mediation mission for the EU, said Monday the United States was "in a sense part of the conflict," between Russia and Georgia. "You talk about the Americans, of course they are in a sense part of the conflict, that is why we must emphasize the presence and the strength of the European Union," Kouchner told French radio.

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia, US

Europe taking a diplomatic approach to Caucasus conflict - Katrin Bennhold

Despite calls from some U.S. officials - notably Vice President Dick Cheney - to get tough with Russia, European leaders and diplomats, attached and accustomed to the exercise of soft power, are trying for a cease-fire. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which currently presides over the European Union, is to meet President Dmitri Medvedev of Russia in Moscow as early as Tuesday. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany will follow suit later this week in long-scheduled meetings with Medvedev and, more important, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.German and French diplomats said that the past few days had made any rapid Georgian accession to NATO less, not more, likely. "In evaluating a country's fitness to join NATO, the strategic environment matters," said one senior diplomat. "NATO's mission is more security for all. If we have a policy that leads to less security for Georgia and the rest of the alliance, we are not fulfilling that mission."

Note EU-Digest: This is the best approach for the EU in dealing with the conflict. Russia is potentially a far more important ally for Europe than the US and more importantly they are also part of the European continent and culture. Like General Charles de Gaulle once said that he was dreaming of a Europe which stretched from the Atlantic to the Ural Mountains. That is where Europe's future is not in the US"

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia, US

Travelers' Laptops May Be Detained At US Border - by Ellen Nakashima

US Federal agents may take a traveler's laptop computer or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed. Also, US officials may share copies of the laptop's contents with other agencies and private entities for language translation, data decryption or other reasons, according to the policies, dated July 16 and issued by two DHS agencies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Labels: border controls, Electronics, homeland security, US

Conflict in Georgia will affect the Eastern-European economy - by Sandra Taimre

Evli Securities strategist Peeter Koppel said that the actions in Georgia affect the Eastern-European stock and currency markets, crude oil price has stood untouched so far. He admitted that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipe is under question but this would affect the oil market less and rather emotionally, Koppel told postimees.ee. According to Koppel the Russian actions may scare away the capital form Eastern-Europe. One of the businessmen who have invested in Georgia is Mati Väärtnõu, CEO of Kellakeskus Ltd. He says that he may now lose his investment of about one million kroons that he made in a jewellery and fashion store in Thbilisi, capital of Georgia. “We have a valid rent contract by the end of the year,” he said. Robert Antropov, chairman of Paldiski Port, said that the war in Georgia will affect the country’s economy and force out foreign investors.

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia, US

Iraq demands US withdrawal timeline

The US must provide a "clear timeline" to withdraw its troops from Iraq as part of an agreement allowing them to operate in Iraq beyond this year, Hoshiyar Zebari, Iraq's foreign minister, has said. Iraq's leaders have become more confident of their ability to provide security as the country has become safer, but Zebari's comments came as fighting and bomb attacks across Iraq killed at least 11 people, including a US soldier.

Labels: Iraq, US

EU-Digest Special Report - Russia, Georgia and US: "The infernal logic of mutual escalation"

The blogosphere has been buzzing with comments about the escalating conflict between Georgia and Russia. Based on these circulating reports the following picture seems to emerge.

It is clear now that Georgia 'invaded' South Ossetia first to reclaim what they consider to be their territory. According to Reuters - they have also attacked Ossetian separatists with jets and troops. Also pretty certain now is that the pro-US Georgian leadership, which has ambitions to join NATO, had some sort of assent from Washington before it invaded South Ossetia. Georgia's accession to NATO would commit other NATO countries to defend Georgia's borders, even as independence movements in South Ossetia, Abkhazia - both of which have declared themselves separate from Georgia - and Ajaria take off.

The bottom-line seems to be that the escalation of violence in the area has also become a battle between Washington and Moscow over political control of the oil and gas rich Central Asian territories. It is clear to most observers that the US Administration used the opportunity supplied by 9/11 to position military bases across the region, encircling Russia's southern flank with their own "iron curtain" thereby giving the US crucial military leverage against potentially hostile popular movements.

In respect to Georgia, the Bush administration has always supported the so-called "rose revolution" of the pro-US Mikhail Saakashvili. The US National Endowment for Democracy was heavily involved in Mikheil Saakashvili's political campaign for the Presidency, while at the same time the US State Department halved aid to the country before the elections, in order to apply financial pressure to Saakashvili's oponent. Unfortunately, like the other color-coded 'revolutions', the Georgian one also represented a superficial change in leadership with a new global orientation towards Washington, not a substantial change in the society. In the meantime Saakashvili popularity dropped from an astonishing 94% in the autumn of 2003 to 23% two years later. Washington has consequently repeatedly bailed out the floundering "rose" leadership with aid, and grants, purportedly rewarding it for what they called 'democratic' reforms. These so called democratic reforms including Georgia sending troops to Iraq and allowing US forces to be stationed on their territory and train their military. In 2006 alone former Soviet states have received $565 million in aid programs courtesy of the US Senate, to protect them from "authoritarian Russia". Obviously given the pro-independence separatists trends in Georgia, which benefit the policies of the Putin-Medvedev government, the US is eager to stop this deteriorating situation.

Observers also have concluded that Russia is really not doing anything surprising here: its control of gas and oil in the region is one of its few strengths, and it is exploiting it in the same way the Pentagon does with their military strength. Russia's other strength has been its nuclear arsenal, which it has firmly tucked in its back pocket as a deterrent to other nuclear powers.

As to the conflict with Georgia, Russia can look at the US and refer to Kosovo, where the roles were reversed. South Ossetia has held independence referendums in 1991 and 2006 with no consequences on the ground in either case. Kosovo too did hold a referendum in 1992 without diminishing the apartheid-like Serbian power on the ground. On the other hand, internationally coordinated and recognized independence of Kosovo in February 2008 came through no referendum but by Nato Force. This clearly shows that what people on the ground wish for does not by itself make much of a difference at the end of the day. A factual difference between the two situations are the small population of South Ossetia with 70,000 people versus that of Kosovo with over 2 million.

Russia also knows and fears that the US government's policy seem to be focused on 'neutralizing' Russia's nuclear advantage in the region by aiming to develop a 'missile defense' system around the latter's perimeter, Russia consequently is working aggressively to escalate itsown weapons systems (which are still dwarfed in comparison to the American systems), intimidate rivals, and build up local support - forging new relations with Turkmenistan for example, with a new pipeline to import gas from this country, thus increasing its hold on supplies of energy to Europe.

As it stands now Washington could easily escalate the situation. Looking further into the future one can also see a potential new Brzezinski-advised Obama Administration focussing far more intently on shoring up US power in Central Asia than continuing to fight the costly Iraq insurgency. Present and future US Administrations, in pursuing a "new Cold War strategy", will continue to introduce an infernal logic of mutual escalation, so that even if this present Georgian crisis simmers down, a new one is bound to emerge somewhere soon. The much-vaunted new world order is increasingly resembling the old one, but with more nuclear weapons and less stability for the world.

The position of the EU in all this is negligible. Probably the only positive action some of its members took was to force a delay by the NATO to accept Georgia as a member. Unfortunately, by their own choice, and lack of long term vision by many of its leaders, the EU has no physical force or "spine" to back-up whatever they might decide. Unfortunately this weakness also means that most of the time the Europeans are relegated to follow policies established by Washington, which so far has had more negatives than positives for Europe.

Labels: EU, Georgia, New World Order, Oil, Russia, US

US partly to blame says ex Georgian FM

Many experts say the military conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia is not in Russia’s interests. The Former Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili says the United States could be partly responsible for the violence in South Ossetia. In an interview with the France-Presse news agency she commented on the possible reasons behind the military conflict. "There are many Americans in Georgia training the military forces of the country and monitoring the situation. As I understand, they also supervise the strategic corridor – the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.The main purpose behind the conflict is the further strategic orientation of Georgia and an opportunity for the West, I mean the USA and the EU, to count on Georgia and the Caucasus in ensuring the strategic provision of oil". Professor Gerhard Mangott, from the Department of political science at the University of Innsbruck, shared his opinion on who stands to gain from the military escalation in the conflict zone.

"The military assault in South Ossetia was launched deliberately, and the question is by whom? Definitely, not by Russia, as it’s not in the country’s interests,” he said.

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia, US

EU diplomats fly out to mediate in Russia-Georgia war - by Philippa Runne

EU diplomats have arrived in Georgia on Saturday (9 August) to try to broker a ceasefire in a fast-escalating conflict between Georgia and Russia.Russian jets have bombed the town of Gori near Tbilisi and oil installations in the southern Georgian port of Poti. Georgia has evacuated government buildings in the capital and president Mikhail Saakashvili has moved to a "safe location," where he formally asked parliament to impose martial law.The French EU presidency says it has had "multiple contacts" and is "in liaison with all the protagonists" to try and stop the fighting, while EU top diplomat Javier Solana has spoken by phone with the Georgian and Russian foreign ministers. Prospects for a diplomatic solution remain uncertain, however, after a second meeting of the UN security council on Friday failed to agree on a ceasefire resolution, with the US and the UK at odds with Russia on the wording of the text. France, Germany, the UK and NATO have all urged an immediate end to hostilities, but steered clear of apportioning blame. The US statement was the most hawkish.

Labels: EU, Georgia, Russia, US

US has political, economic stake in far-flung spat

There's more than meets the eye to the frantic U.S. efforts Friday to talk Russia and U.S. ally Georgia out of war over an obscure mountain tract most Americans have never heard of. A look at the map and your gas credit card bill shows why.The pipeline that crosses Georgia can pump slightly more than 1 million barrels of crude oil per day, or more than 1 percent of the world's daily crude output. The 1,100-mile pipeline carries oil from Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea fields, estimated to hold the world's third-largest reserves. Its potential vulnerability was already in the spotlight after it was sabotaged this week, apparently by Kurdish separatists.At the Pentagon, a senior defense official said Georgian authorities have asked the United States for help getting its approximately 2,000 troops out of Iraq. The request is apparently related to the fighting in South Ossetia. Georgia has been the third-largest contributor of combat troops after the United States and Britain. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions have been private, said no formal decision has been made on whether to support the departure, but said it is likely the U.S. will do so.

Labels: Conflict, Georgia, Oil, Russia, US

NATO, Energy and War - Georgia pays price for its Nato ambitions- by Robert Parsons

Two key events well beyond Georgia's borders have triggered Russia's fury. The first was Kosovo's declaration of independence in February and the new country's subsequent recognition by many Western states. This brought a public warning from Moscow that Kosovo's move to independence could set a precedent for Georgia's two breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The second was Nato's pledge at the Bucharest summit in April that membership of the Atlantic Alliance for both Georgia and Ukraine was not a matter of "if" but "when", although in deference to Russian objections, no timetable for entry was granted. This provoked Vladimir Putin, then still Russia's president, to promise more support for Georgia's breakaway regions.

Note EU-Digest : "Georgia's bid to join NATO is driven by its desire to drag other countries into its bloody undertakings, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a meeting Vladikavkaz to discuss measures to help those affected by the South Ossetian conflict. "I think both in Georgia and Russia, and in the rest of the world it has become absolutely clear that the desire of Georgian authorities to join NATO is motivated not by their ambition to form part of a global security system and contribute to the strengthening of international peace. Tbilisi's NATO bid is determined by other considerations, namely an attempt to embroil other nations in its bloody undertakings," Putin stressed.

The EU should react with calm to this explosive situation and not get embroiled in the emotional fallout by former Eastern European states in reaction to this conflict. The basic issue is that the subtle but very real expansion of power by NATO (US) towards the Russian border is seen by the Russians as threatening to their national security.

Labels: EU, EU Russia, Georgia, Nato, US

The U.S. economy and bad government policies - by Rodrigue Tremblay

There have been many policy missteps over the last 20 some years, and this has amounted to a mismanagement of the U.S. economy. The result has been an unhealthy mixture of greed, shortsightedness and market manipulation. And now, all the chickens are coming home to roost and the crisis is deepening. This does not mean that the private side of the U.S. economy is not resilient and strong. It only means that government policies have often been misguided and have damaged the private economy and hurt the people economically. Essentially, at the government level, each new economic crisis seems to have been “solved” by creating the conditions for the next one. This is particularly true in regards to regulation policy, monetary policy, and fiscal policy. Each time a policy choice had to be made, it seems that short-term benefits were often privileged at the expense of long-term costs.

Labels: Economy, US

The War With Iran - by Douglas Herman

The war began as planned. The Israeli pilots took off well before dawn and streaked across Lebanon and northern Iraq, high above Kirkuk. Flying US-made F-15 and F-16s, the Israelis separated over the mountains of western Iran, the pilots gesturing a last minute show of confidence in their mission, maintaining radio silence. At 9:15 AM, Baghdad time, the first Iranian missile struck the Green Zone. For the next thirty minutes a torrent of missiles landed on GPS coordinates carefully selected by Shiite militiamen with cell phones positioned outside the Green Zone and other permanent US bases. Although US and Israeli bomber pilots had destroyed 90% of the Iranian missiles, enough Shahabs remained to fully destroy the Green Zone, the Baghdad airport, and a US Marine base. Thousands of unsuspecting US soldiers died in the early morning barrage. Not surprisingly, CNN and Fox withheld the great number of casualties from American viewers.

By 9:30 AM, gas stations on the US east coast began to raise their prices. Slowly at first and then altogether in a panic, the prices rose. $4 a gallon, and then $5 and then $6, the prices skyrocketed. Worried motorists, rushing from work, roared into the nearest gas station, radios blaring the latest reports of the pre-emptive attack on Iran. While fistfights broke out in gas stations everywhere, the third Middle Eastern war had begun.

Labels: Iran, US, War

China's Climate Change Playbook is Worth Reading - by Jonathan Lash and Deborah Nelson

The Olympics are an opportunity for the U.S. and China to better understand each other and move forward together on fighting climate change.The Olympics offers an opportunity for the U.S. and China to better understand each other and move forward together on fighting climate change.China and the U.S. are the world’s two biggest producers of greenhouse gases. The U.S. can no longer use China as an excuse for inaction. Contrary to popular belief, China is already implementing a comprehensive energy policy that addresses climate change. While China’s climate-change challenge equals the U.S. in scale, China’s emissions footprint is fundamentally different. In the U.S., one-third of energy use and CO2 emissions come from transportation. In China, transport accounts for just 10 percent of emissions, and industry is the biggest contributor by far.

Labels: China, Olympics, Pollution and the environment, US

Lebanese FM says U.S. must rein in Israel nuclear arsenal

Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Fawzi Salloukh has called on the United States as the main backer of the Zionist regime to take action against Tel Aviv for stockpiling nuclear weapons. “Israel is full of nuclear warheads and the United States and international organizations have the duty to respond to this issue,” Salloukh told the Mehr News Agency on the sidelines of the 15th meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement foreign ministers last Wednesday.

Labels: Israel, Nuclear capability, US