Category Archives: Foreign affairs

Pulling Strings in Foreign Relations

Seems to be an awful lot of “testing” going on. Mutiny in Georgia!!! Iran attacks Kurdish guerillas in Iraq with helicopters Pakistan is melting down!!! Chinese Ships Come Dangerously Close to American Vessel

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Send in the SEALS

Well, here’s a true foreign crisis to test the President with. My response is noted in the title. And we should kill the pirates. In fact, after rescued the hostages, and killed the pirates, we should get all Jeffersonian with … Continue reading

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Iraq – We’re Winning!!!

A funny thing happened on the way to Iraq, President Obama declared that we’re winning. Anyone who’s been keeping up to date knows we’ve been making great progress, and I say, winning in Iraq. President Obama acknowledges the courage and … Continue reading

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The Permission for Resistance

Brief except of a talk at the 92nd Street Y between Salman Rushdie and Irshad Manji, discussing the possibility of reform against extremism in the Islamic faith. Rushdie draws a fine parallel with the experience of the Western left during … Continue reading

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Abrogation of the Soul

Somewhat tortuously, the State Department has congratulated the victory of Hugo Chavez’s referendum to revoke term limits on his rule as a victory for participatory democracy, while faintly recommending a new respect for multiparty pluralism. Consider for a moment if … Continue reading

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Bleh, Sullivan.

Just when I was thinking that Andrew Sullivan must have hit some sort of moral and intellectual bottom by now, I read his retrospective on neoconservatism. It turns out the philosophy was actually a vast Zionist conspiracy: The closer you … Continue reading

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David Cay Johnston Puts on his Bad Idea Jeans

(Edit: Mr. Johnston graciously replies in the comments section. It seems the invasion was a bit of a modest proposal that I failed to pick up on. While there are things to disagree with in the rest of the article, … Continue reading

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Rejecting Hamas

Here’s a bit of good news from earlier. As you may have seen, reports have been swirling about a plan by Obama to open direct talks with Hamas. Those reports are evidently groundless, as a statement from Brooke Anderson was … Continue reading

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Gaza War Arrives in Second Life

And amid the protests, obscenities, and intolerance we find a scene that you’d only find virtual worlds like Second Life:

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Frank Miller’s Geostrategic Theory

Frank Lovece sat down with Frank Miller for Newsday to discuss his upcoming film The Spirit. Toward the end of it Lovece asked Miller about remarks he’d made in 2007 in support of the Iraq War, and offered him an … Continue reading

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Implications of the Pletka Purge

Roland picks up an interesting piece by Jacob Heilbrunn for the National Interest, describing an ongoing purge of neoconservative intellectuals from the American Enterprise Institute, allegedly instigated by Vice President Danielle Pletka. So far Michael Ledeen and Reuel Marc Gerecht … Continue reading

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The West as Nuclear Proliferator

(NYT) The New York Times has a fascinating little chart today, illustrating the primary sources of nuclear weapons proliferation over time. In looking at the diagram, one cannot escape the overall impression that until recently the West has been the … Continue reading

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A Separate Cause on Gitmo

In commenting on Barack Obama’s renewed pledge to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, Con Coughlin observes that most of the assembled army of Al Qaeda jihadists currently confined there would likely be released for lack of evidence, if the … Continue reading

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A Scandal in Seven Hills

The premier of New South Wales, Mr. Nathan Rees, was reportedly surprised to discover that an illegal brothel was in operation above his offices, in a commercial building in the Seven Hills area outside Sydney. Unfortunately for the brothel’s owners, … Continue reading

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Malaysia’s War on Tomboys

Malaysia’s National Fatwa Council issued a warning to human rights groups yesterday that should they criticize its efforts to repress “tomboy behaviour” among Malaysian women, it could result in…further repression. One has to marvel at this sort of thinking. How … Continue reading

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The Voice of Murder

The subject of the bloody 1965 Indonesian mass murder of suspected communists is not often openly discussed history even in today’s Indonesia. Given the pervasive silence, estimates vary on the actual number of people killed, but it’s generally accepted as … Continue reading

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Sarkozy The Georgian Hero?

Not sure how true this is, but here’s what the London Times says about how close Putin came to over throwing the Georgian government. With Russian tanks only 30 miles from Tbilisi on August 12, Mr Sarkozy told Mr Putin … Continue reading

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Getting Drunk with Oilfield Trash

I was sitting in an airport lounge yesterday and got to chatting with a member of the self-described “oilfield trash” who was bound for Lagos, and then for an FPSO in the Gulf of Guinea. These are rough and ready … Continue reading

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Flaccid in Mexico City

When you think of the numerous problems routinely facing residents of Mexico City, things like an astronomical violent crime rate, standstill traffic, urban poverty, collapsing infrastructure, chronic water shortages, claustrophobia-inducing overcrowding and toxic pollution might come to mind. Even aircraft … Continue reading

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Poison from Austria

If the public outpouring of mourning for the loss of fascist sympathizer Jörg Haider were not enough to injure your esteem for contemporary Austrian public affairs, here’s another such moment. Klaus Emmerich, the highly esteemed former editor of Austria’s state … Continue reading

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Fair Trade Wars, Act I

South Korea is getting jittery about prospects for its long sought Free Trade Agreement with the United States, which is still yet to be approved by both countries, and is now under threat from a potentially protectionist Obama administration. In … Continue reading

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The Post-Post-American World

So, did you enjoy the much discussed post-American world order? Hope you didn’t miss it. Surely it didn’t lack for advertising. But if you did happen to step out for a moment, we just lived through the end of market … Continue reading

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The Philippines as Red State

Filipino writer Benjamin Pimentel is surprised to discover that his countrymen were among the very few foreign populations to prefer John McCain to Barack Obama in a Gallup international survey. A happy place for Republicans in a lonely world apparently, as … Continue reading

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A Man Without a Season

Stéphane Dion, leader of the defeated Canadian Liberal Party, has rather ignominiously resigned his position today. Thereby he becomes the first Liberal Party leader since the 19th century to have never become Prime Minister of Canada. Given his dismal political … Continue reading

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Stock and Awe in Baghdad

The Markets have spoken, the best place to invest in the world is…Iraq! Now it’s stock and awe in Baghdad! As the Dow plummeted nearly 700 points yesterday to fall well below the 9,000 mark, the Iraqi stock exchange – … Continue reading

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Georgia’s Tapes

Who jumped first in South Ossetia has become a bit of a information war between Georgia and Russia. Today, the Georgian government went a ways toward resolving it by releasing recordings of intercepted radio traffic preceding the Russian invasion. The … Continue reading

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When They Came for Kenny…

Photos of Russian kids mounting a street protest against the banning of South Park by the state. This is no small or meaningless act. As daily experience, one of the worst aspects of living under a repressive fascist regime is … Continue reading

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The New Russian Diplomacy of Profanity

Russian FM Sergei Lavrov reportedly went berserk on David Miliband in phone discussions over the Georgia war. Apparently he was raving, shouting obscenities, and ridiculing Miliband’s knowledge of history. There’s something incredibly deranged about that government. They’ve taken the traditional … Continue reading

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Four Hours to Tbilisi

Well, well. Mr. Putin held a press conference and there’s much to condemn as usual. Not the least of which is Putin’s continued delusion that Russia was invaded by Georgia. But foremost perhaps, is an education for those who argued … Continue reading

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Be Thankful for Insurance Companies

Don’t like them? Cuba hasn’t any…and thus hurricane damage is forever. Ike is thereby beating down on towns in Cuba still unrepaired from Hurricane Charlie, in 2004. “It’s been four years since Charlie and we’re still waiting for new homes,” … Continue reading

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Buying Tymoshenko

As the European Union commendably attempts to pull Ukraine closer into the safety of the West, Russia has reportedly earmarked $1 billion to fund suddenly pro-Kremlin Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, against heroically pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko in the 2010 presidential … Continue reading

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Ruining Ramadan in Egypt

Ramadan always means new soap operas in the Arab world. I learned today it also means not even thinking about masturbation. A small thing to you perhaps, but in a repressive sexual society where the curves of the female figure … Continue reading

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A Shattered Idol in the Black Garden

(photo: Rahim Alizadeh) In Verdi’s opera Nabucco –the namesake of the western gas pipeline to Europe that holds the promise of partial independence from Russian energy reliance– the Jewish patriots take the daughter of the Babylonian king hostage, in order … Continue reading

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Uneven Anti-Western Attitudes in Russia

A survey finds that public perspectives in Russia are turning sharply anti-Western in matters of international relations. But what’s particularly interesting about this, is that such sentiments have grown fastest and strongest in Russia’s most cosmopolitan and urban regions, whereas … Continue reading

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Independence to Scale

Another splendid ad for SOSGeorgia. I say again, in the conceptual appeal to world opinion, the Georgians are simply better at this sort of thing than their far better financed adversaries. (Carpetblog)

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Containing Russia – The Battle for Ukraine

Westhawk“Ukraine is the big prize and thus a dangerous flash point between Russia and the West. For the West, a firm alliance with Ukraine would anchor the containment of Russia. But for Russia, such an alliance would be a step … Continue reading

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Medvedev’s Caribbean Dream

A depressingly confused analogy from Medvedev on US aid to Georgia: “I wonder how they would like it if we sent humanitarian assistance using our navy to countries of the Caribbean that have suffered from the recent hurricanes.” (AFP) We’d … Continue reading

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A Test for French Will in Afghanistan

In the wake of a horrific magazine spread depicting Taliban fighters showing off war trophies looted from the bodies of French soldiers, President Sarkozy has been predictably and commendably resolute. France isn’t going to run away for a change. Unfortunately … Continue reading

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Substantive Debate vs Pot Shots vs Mudslinging

An interesting debate occurred through email over my short jab at Obama’s experience. Now, I think it’s great when we have substantive debate about important issues, but I’m not above taking pot shots at our political class. A little sarcasm … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Politics, Election 2008, Foreign affairs, Keith's Page, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Anders Aslund on the Russian Economy

After forcefully savaging the Russian invasion of Georgia, controversial Swedish economist Anders Aslund lays out ten reasons he expects an impending economic collapse in Russia. Each point is sound, although some are more problematic than others. Particularly cogent are the … Continue reading

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Declinism as Exceptionalism

Francis Fukuyama argues in the Financial Times that the United States should have traded European missile defense and/or Kosovar independence in order to pacify a resurgent Russia. This strange proposal of strategic charity work for the Kremlin, is animated by … Continue reading

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China and Provincial Secessionism

Extremely interesting post from Seth Weinberger on the opportunity for pulling China in the pro-Georgia camp, after the SCO failed to endorse Russian actions in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Seth is as mystified as I am that the Russian foreign … Continue reading

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Black Signs at the Exhibition

The IMF has come through for Georgia in an enormous way, approving a $750 million credit line for the beleaguered republic. Beyond the much needed aid, it’s a powerful political reminder for Russia of the gargantuan economic advantage the West … Continue reading

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The Captives of Years

On Monday the United States officially returned all security duties for Anbar province to Iraqi police and military. The collapse of the Sunni insurgency there now appears to be almost total, with attacks having declined 90% from only two years … Continue reading

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To be the King of Libya

When Muammar al-Gaddafi was a student at the Benghazi Academy in the 1960s, he swore to destroy monarchism in Libya. In September 1969, when his military coup finally overthrew the monarchy, Libya was proclaimed a republic by Gaddafi. Shortly thereafter, … Continue reading

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Albright Supports Georgian NATO Membership

I often find former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s supporting arguments irksome and occasionally even masochistic. But she has a certain knack for ending up in the right place by the wrong course. It’s a unique skill really. Thus it … Continue reading

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Christopher Hitchens on Robert Mugabe

I’d heard that Hitch addressed the situation in Zimbabwe in his introductory remarks at the Freedom Fest 2008 debate with Dinesh D’Souza, but I hadn’t seen the video of it until today. It’s worth a watch. The subject of the … Continue reading

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War of Conquest

A couple of days into Russian-declared, universally unrecognized independence (excluding Hamas and Belarus), South Ossetian officials have expressed their desire to be annexed by Russia. The brave new defenders of Russian imperialism on the American Left have thus suddenly found … Continue reading

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Woops.

Geography, people: Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Kevin Rudd sent extra diplomatic and police officials to west Africa to help investigate the kidnapping in Somalia of a group of reporters, including an Australian photojournalist. “We have deployed additional staff … Continue reading

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Rumors from the Necrocracy

Kim Jong Il as Colonel Sanders by Jonathan Barnbrook (photo: acb | The Null Device) North Korea is already a formal necrocracy (government by the dead), given that Kim Il-sung –who has been dead since 1994– remains the titular head … Continue reading

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