[Peace-discuss] Just Foreign Policy News, August 29, 2006

Tue Aug 29 11:09:09 CDT 2006

Just Foreign Policy News
August 29, 2006

Summary:
U.S.
Federal authorities have prevented two relatives of a father and son
convicted recently in a terrorism-related case from returning home to
California from Pakistan unless they agree to be interviewed by the
F.B.I. The two men are U.S. citizens. "If the government had evidence
instead of innuendo," their ACLU attorney said, "then they would be
charged with a crime instead of being held hostage in a foreign land."
Iran
An investigation into a Japanese manufacturer suspected of exporting
sophisticated measuring devices to Libya's former atomic weapons
program has increasingly focused on whether the company also sold
similar equipment to Iran, a Japanese government official said Monday.
Iraq
A group of Iraqi soldiers recently refused to go to Baghdad to help
restore order there, a senior American military officer said Monday.
The new Iraqi government wants to build a national military, one that
is ethnically diverse and can be deployed anywhere in Iraq. But many
Iraqis are reluctant to serve far from their home provinces. Turkey is
marshaling forces along its border with Iraq as diplomatic efforts
have done little to curb a separatist Kurdish group using bases in
Iraq to launch attacks against Turkish forces.The Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK) has also been accused of being behind several bombings
throughout Turkey.
Lebanon
U.N. Secretary General Annan urged Lebanese leaders Monday to work for
the swift release of two Israeli soldiers, saying their return was
imperative to stabilize the cease-fire. Annan said he was working to
persuade Israel to lift the air and sea blockade of Lebanon and
complete a military withdrawal from the southern border zone. But he
said Lebanon had its own obligations under the Security Council
cease-fire resolution. He faulted Israel and Hezbollah for not
adhering to key provisions, and warned fighting could resume if the
parties did not abide by the full resolution. Prime Minister Siniora
said Monday that Lebanon could control its border with Syria without
the assistance of international troops and had already confiscated
illegal arms in the south.
Israel
Prime Minister Olmert announced Monday the formation of two government
committees to investigate the handling of Israel's military campaign
in Lebanon after ruling out a review by an independent state
commission. Some Israelis have called for a "commission of inquiry" to
investigate the government's war management. Such commissions have
subpoena powers and their final recommendations are binding. The most
likely candidates to head a state commission would be senior justices
of Israel's high court, who Olmert's advisers reportedly fear would
recommend his removal from office.
Palestine
A well-known Hamas official has deplored the collapse of Gazan life
into chaos and has said that much of the blame belongs to Palestinians
themselves. He said various armed groups in the Gaza Strip were
responsible for the chaos. He also questioned the utility of firing
rockets into Israel that cause few casualties but result in many
Palestinian deaths when the Israelis retaliate. He seemed to be
arguing for other armed groups to follow the Hamas decision to halt
rocket fire into Israel.
Syria
An Islamic revival for women in Syria could add up to a potent
challenge to this determinedly secular state, the New York Times
reports. Syria is becoming increasingly religious and its national
identity is weakening. If Islam replaces that identity, it may
undermine the unity of a society that is ruled by a religious minority
and includes many religious groups.
Mexico
Felipe Calderón seemed assured of being designated president of Mexico
next week after the country's highest electoral tribunal on Monday
threw out legal challenges from his opponent.
Bolivia
President Morales on Monday replaced the head of Bolivia's state oil
company YPFB, who had faced accusations of corruption months after he
was appointed to the post.
Venezuela
The U.S. government is spending millions of dollars in the name of
democracy in Venezuela. But the money is raising deep suspicions among
supporters of President Chavez, in part because the U.S. has refused
to name many of the groups it's supporting. Details of the spending
emerge in 1,600 pages of grant contracts obtained by The Associated
Press through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In this issue:
U.S.
1) U.S. Blocks Men's Return to California From Pakistan
Iran
2) Japanese Company Suspected of Selling Nuclear Equipment to Iran
Iraq
3) Iraqi Soldiers Refuse to Go to Baghdad, Defying Order
4) Turkey sharpens response to upsurge in Kurd violence
Lebanon
5) Annan Visits Peacekeepers on Middle East Tour
6) Lebanon Insists It Can Control the Syrian Border
7) Annan Urges Blockade Lift, Captives' Release
Israel
8) Olmert Orders Limited War Probe
9) America's Rottweiler
Palestine
10) Hamas Spokesman Blames Palestinians for Gaza Chaos
Syria
11) Islamic Revival Led by Women Tests Syria's Secularism
Mexico
12) Court Rejects Challenges to Mexico Presidential Vote
Bolivia
13) Bolivia's Morales Replaces Head of State Oil Firm
Venezuela
14) U.S. Aid Stirs Venezuela's Suspicion

Contents:
U.S.
1) U.S. Blocks Men's Return to California From Pakistan
Randal C. Archibold, New York Times, August 29, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/29/us/29hayat.html
Federal authorities have prevented two relatives of a father and son
convicted recently in a terrorism-related case from returning home to
California from Pakistan unless they agree to be interviewed by the
F.B.I. The Ismails discovered they were on the federal government's
no-fly list of people not allowed to enter the US after they were
refused permission to board a connecting flight in Hong Kong on April
21, said Julia Harumi Mass of the ACLU, who is representing them.
Jaber Ismail, who was born in the US, was questioned by the F.B.I. at
the American Embassy in Islamabad, but his father, a naturalized US
citizen from Pakistan, declined to participate, Mass said. Jaber
Ismail has refused further interrogation without a lawyer and has
declined to take a polygraph test; Mass said the men were told these
conditions had to be met before the authorities would consider letting
them back into the US. She said the men had not been involved in
terrorist activities. "If the government had evidence instead of
innuendo," Mass said, "then they would be charged with a crime instead
of being held hostage in a foreign land." She said she had filed a
complaint with the Department of Homeland Security, seeking the
removal of the Ismails from the no-fly list and an explanation for why
they were considered a threat.

Iran
2) Japanese Company Suspected of Selling Nuclear Equipment to Iran
Martin Fackler, New York Times, August 29, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/29/world/asia/29japan.html
An investigation into a Japanese manufacturer suspected of exporting
sophisticated measuring devices to Libya's former atomic weapons
program has increasingly focused on whether the company also sold
similar equipment to Iran, a Japanese government official said Monday.
The police and regulators have broadened their investigation of the
company, the Mitutoyo Corporation, a maker of precision instruments,
as evidence has emerged that it may have also sold equipment to Iran
for use in making centrifuges to enrich uranium, said an official in
the Trade Ministry, which administers export restrictions.

Iraq
3) Iraqi Soldiers Refuse to Go to Baghdad, Defying Order
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/29/world/middleeast/29military.html
Michael R. Gordon, New York Times, August 29, 2006
A group of Iraqi soldiers recently refused to go to Baghdad to help
restore order there, a senior American military officer said Monday.
The officer, Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard, said the episode involved about
100 Iraqi soldiers based in Maysan Province, which borders Iran. "The
majority of this particular unit was Shia, and they felt like they
were needed down there in Maysan," General Pittard said. The new Iraqi
government wants to build a national military, one that is ethnically
diverse and can be deployed anywhere in Iraq. It does not want to
field a military that is essentially a collection of local units with
regional loyalties. But many Iraqis are reluctant to serve far from
their home provinces. Sunnis in Anbar Province are reluctant to join
the army if they will be sent far from home to predominantly Shiite
areas. Shiites are often hesitant to serve in overwhelmingly Sunni
regions. "The Iraqi Army is supposed to be a national army," said
General Pittard. "They were recruited regionally, and for the most
part they've been operating regionally. So that's where the difficulty
is."

4) Turkey sharpens response to upsurge in Kurd violence
The banned PKK is accused of bombings throughout Turkey, prompting
Turkey and Iran to shell camps on Iraq's border.
Yigal Schleifer, Christian Science Monitor, August 29, 2006
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0829/p10s01-woeu.html
Turkey is marshaling forces along its border with Iraq as diplomatic
efforts have done little to curb a separatist Kurdish group using
bases in Iraq to launch attacks against Turkish forces.The Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) has also been accused of being behind several
bombings throughout Turkey. Monday two people died and at least seven
others were injured in a blast in Turkey's Mediterranean city Antalya.
It came hours after three bombs went off in the resort town of
Marmaris injuring 21 and another blast Sunday in Istanbul that injured
six people. Local Marmaris officials said they suspected the outlawed
PKK was involved in at least those blasts. The attacks, if proven to
have been carried out by the PKK, illustrates the strength of the
group Ankara had hoped would have been quashed when the United States
military invaded neighboring Iraq in 2003, which the PKK uses as a
base of operations. But to the Turks' frustration, the war in Iraq
seems to have only emboldened the group as fellow Iraqi Kurds just
over the border have grown stronger and more autonomous since the
invasion.

Lebanon
5) Annan Visits Peacekeepers on Middle East Tour
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Mideast.html
After talks with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, the U.N. chief faulted
both Israel and Hezbollah for not living up to key sections of the
cease-fire resolution, and warned that fighting could resume if the
parties did not abide by the full resolution. He also toured a
bombed-out neighborhood in the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut,
where hundreds of residents booed him as he toured the ruins.
Meanwhile, an Italian task force gathered off southern Italy on
Tuesday to carry troops and aircraft to south Lebanon. Italy on Monday
approved sending 2,500 troops, the largest national contingent so far.
The plan awaits Parliament's approval, but ships were to set sail
before the vote and reach Lebanon on Friday. On Monday, Turkey's
Cabinet decided in favor of sending peacekeepers and its parliament
was to debate the deployment later this week or early next week.
Turkey ruled Lebanon for some 400 years during the Ottoman Empire and
many Turkish officials want their country to have a say in an area
that they regard as their country's backyard. The US, the EU and
Israel were pressing Turkey, the only Muslim member of NATO and a
country with close ties to Israel and Arab countries, to send
peacekeepers.

6) Lebanon Insists It Can Control the Syrian Border
Warren Hoge, New York Times, August 29, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/29/world/middleeast/29nations.html
Prime Minister Siniora said Monday that Lebanon could control its
border with Syria without the assistance of international troops and
had already confiscated illegal arms in the south. Mr. Siniora said
that he had deployed 8,600 Lebanese Army soldiers along the border and
that he had accepted an offer from Germany for technical equipment and
training to help prevent the entry of unauthorized weapons into
Lebanon. "The army will confiscate every piece of weapon that it
finds, and that is what is happening now, in a firm but friendly
manner," he said. The control of the border has emerged as a major
concern in the international effort to dismantle the Hezbollah militia
in southern Lebanon and to prevent its re-establishment with weaponry
coming in from Syria. Syrian President Assad said last week that he
would close the border if Beirut stationed foreign troops there. While
Siniora made no direct reference to the threat, he explained that one
reason he was discouraging the placement of UN soldiers at crossing
points was that "we don't want to make new issues." "The use of guards
is not very helpful," he said. "It will complicate the picture without
achievement or benefit."

7) Annan Urges Blockade Lift, Captives' Release
U.N. Chief Presses Lebanese Leaders To Intervene With Hezbollah Militia
Edward Cody, Washington Post, Tuesday, August 29, 2006; A10
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/27/AR2006082700267.html
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan urged Lebanese leaders Monday to
work for the swift release of two Israeli soldiers held captive,
saying their return home was imperative to stabilize a two-week-old
cease-fire on the border with Israel. Annan said he was working to
persuade Israel to lift the air and sea blockade of Lebanon and
complete a military withdrawal from the southern border zone, two key
Lebanese demands. But he said Lebanon had its own obligations under
the Security Council resolution that ended 33 days of warfare, in
particular the release of the prisoners. "It is a fixed menu," he said
of the cease-fire resolution. "It is not a buffet where you can take
what you want." Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah, said Sunday evening
that U.N. and Italian officials had initiated contacts to try to
arrange a prisoner exchange with Israel. Annan said that the two
soldiers should be turned over to the International Committee of the
Red Cross. "We must also address the issue of all the other
prisoners," he added, referring to the Lebanese held by Israel.
Lebanese officials have expressed confidence that a new exchange could
be arranged within a short time.

Israel
8) Olmert Orders Limited War Probe
Israeli Premier Defends 11th-Hour Expansion Into Lebanon
Scott Wilson, Washington Post, Tuesday, August 29, 2006; A11
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/28/AR2006082800480.html
Prime Minister Olmert announced Monday the formation of two government
committees to investigate the handling of Israel's military campaign
in Lebanon after ruling out a review by an independent state
commission as "not what the country needs." Olmert defended his
expansion of the ground operation against the Shiite militia Hezbollah
in the final days before a U.N.-brokered cease-fire took effect. The
drive resulted in heavy Israeli casualties, but Olmert said it was
essential to secure a cease-fire on Israel's terms. Some Israeli
political leaders have called for a formal state "commission of
inquiry" to investigate the government's war management, like past
ones that examined other controversies, including Israel's role in the
1982 massacres in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in west Beirut.
Such commissions have subpoena powers and their final recommendations
are binding, including those calling for the dismissal of top
officials. But Olmert said a state commission would take too long and
force Israel's security establishment into a defensive crouch at a
time when it should be concentrating on continuing threats from
Hezbollah and its chief sponsor, Iran. The most likely candidates to
head a state commission would be senior justices of Israel's high
court, who Olmert's advisers reportedly fear would recommend his
removal from office.

9) America's Rottweiler
Uri Avnery, Gush Shalom, 26-08-2006
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1156640109/
In his latest speech, which infuriated so many people, Syrian
President Assad uttered a sentence that deserves attention: "Every new
Arab generation hates Israel more than the previous one." Of all that
has been said about the Second Lebanon War, these are perhaps the most
important words. The main product of this war is hatred. The pictures
of death and destruction in Lebanon entered every Arab home, indeed
every Muslim home, from Indonesia to Morocco, from Yemen to the Muslim
ghettos in London and Berlin. Not for an hour, not for a day, but for
33 successive days. The mangled bodies of babies, the women weeping
over the ruins of their homes, Israeli children writing "greetings" on
shells about to be fired at villages, Ehud Olmert blabbering about
"the most moral army in the world" while the screen showed a heap of
bodies. Israelis ignored these sights, indeed they were scarcely shown
on our TV. But it is a terrible mistake to ignore this result of the
war. It is far more important than the stationing of a few thousand
European troops along our border.

Palestine
10) Hamas Spokesman Blames Palestinians for Gaza Chaos
Steven Erlanger, New York Times, August 29, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/29/world/middleeast/29israel.html
In an unusual instance of self-criticism, a well-known Hamas official
has deplored the collapse of Gazan life into chaos and has said that
much of the blame belongs to Palestinians themselves. "Gaza is
suffering under the yoke of anarchy and the swords of thugs," Ghazi
Hamad, a former Hamas newspaper editor and the spokesman for the
current Hamas government, wrote in an article published Sunday in Al
Ayyam, the Palestinian newspaper. After so much optimism when Israelis
pulled out of Gaza a year ago, he wrote, "life became a nightmare and
an intolerable burden."He urged Palestinians to look to themselves,
not to Israel, for the causes. He said various armed groups in the
Gaza Strip were responsible for the chaos. He addressed the armed
groups: "Please have mercy on Gaza. Have mercy on us from your
demagogy, chaos, guns, thugs, infighting. Let Gaza breathe a bit. Let
it live." He also questioned the utility of firing rockets into Israel
that cause few casualties but result in many Palestinian deaths when
the Israelis retaliate. He seemed to be arguing for other armed groups
to follow the Hamas decision to halt rocket fire into Israel.

Syria
11) Islamic Revival Led by Women Tests Syria's Secularism
Katherine Zoepf, New York Times, August 29, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/29/world/middleeast/29syria.html
Women who identify one another by the distinctive way they tie their
head scarves gather for meetings of a secret Islamic women's society
known as the Qubaisiate. At those meetings they are tutored further in
the faith and are even taught how to influence some of their
well-connected fathers and husbands to accept a greater presence of
Islam in public life. An Islamic revival for women in Syria could add
up to a potent challenge to this determinedly secular state. Syria is
becoming increasingly religious and its national identity is
weakening. If Islam replaces that identity, it may undermine the unity
of a society that is ruled by a Muslim religious minority, the
Alawites, and includes many religious groups. Though men across the
Islamic world usually interpret Scripture and lead prayers, Syria,
virtually alone in the Arab world, is seeing the resurrection of a
centuries-old tradition of sheikhas, or women who are religious
scholars. The growth of girls' madrasas has outpaced those for boys,
religious teachers here say. For many years any kind of religious
piety was viewed here with skepticism. But while men suspected of
Islamist activity are frequently interrogated and jailed, subjecting
women to such treatment would cause a public outcry that the
government cannot risk. Women have taken advantage of their relatively
greater freedom to form Islamic groups, becoming a deeply rooted and
potentially subversive force to spread stricter and more conservative
Islamic practices in their families and communities.

Mexico
12) Court Rejects Challenges to Mexico Presidential Vote
August 29, 2006
James C. McKinley Jr.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/29/world/americas/29mexico.html
Felipe Calderón seemed assured of being designated president of Mexico
next week after the country's highest electoral tribunal on Monday
threw out legal challenges from his opponent, who claims that
widespread fraud warped the results of last month's national election.
The tribunal ruled unanimously that the opponent, López Obrador, had
failed to prove that irregularities in many polling places stemmed
from fraud, nor that the errors affected him more than his opponent.
The judges said Monday that they had ordered the votes from scores of
polling places annulled for irregularities found in a partial recount,
but that the final result would not change. Based on mistakes poll
workers made in counting and recording ballots, López Obrador has
convinced many of his followers that the government cheated them of
victory. In more than half the 130,000 polling places, he said, the
poll workers did a poor job of keeping track of ballots. In thousands
of cases, they recorded that they had received fewer blank ballots in
the morning than were found in the ballot boxes at the end of the day,
suggesting that extra votes were added. In thousands of others, the
ballots cast added to those left over were less than the number of
ballots poll workers had received in the morning, suggesting that some
ballots were missing. Federal election officials have said those
discrepancies are the result of human errors, even though they
surfaced in about 70,000 polling places. Different workers were in
charge of counting the ballots received, the ballots cast, the ballots
left over and the number of voters. They often made mistakes,
officials acknowledged.

Bolivia
13) Bolivia's Morales Replaces Head of State Oil Firm
Reuters, August 28, 2006, Filed at 6:27 p.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-energy-bolivia.html
President Morales on Monday replaced the head of Bolivia's state oil
company YPFB, who had faced accusations of corruption months after he
was appointed to the post. The Bolivian leader named Juan Carlos
Ortiz, a top YPFB official, to take over from Jorge Alvarado. Ortiz
previously worked for foreign energy companies including Brazil's
Petrobras, the biggest investor in Bolivia's gas and oil industry. The
corruption scandal has tarnished the nationalization drive by Morales,
who took office pledging to spread the country's natural gas riches
among the impoverished majority and stamp out graft. Last week, Energy
Minister Andres Soliz accused Alvarado of fraud over a barter deal to
exchange crude oil for diesel with Brazilian company Iberoamerica at a
price well under the market value. Along with Soliz, Alvarado was one
of the most public faces of the nationalization of the energy sector
announced by Morales on May 1.

Venezuela
14) U.S. Aid Stirs Venezuela's Suspicion
Ian James, Associated Press, Saturday, August 26, 2006; 8:26 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/26/AR2006082600287.html
The U.S. government is spending millions of dollars in the name of
democracy in Venezuela. But the money is raising deep suspicions among
supporters of President Chavez, in part because the U.S. has refused
to name many of the groups it's supporting. Details of the spending
emerge in 1,600 pages of grant contracts obtained by The Associated
Press through a Freedom of Information Act request. The U.S. Agency
for International Development released copies of 132 contracts in all,
but whited out the names and other identifying details of nearly half
the grantees. While USAID oversees much of the public U.S. spending on
Latin America, President Bush's government also has stepped up covert
efforts in the region. This month, Washington named a career CIA agent
as the "mission manager" to oversee U.S. intelligence on Cuba and
Venezuela. Much of the spending is overseen by USAID's Office of
Transition Initiatives, which also works in such "priority countries"
as Iraq, Afghanistan, Bolivia and Haiti. OTI says it has overseen more
than $26 million for programs in Venezuela since 2002, when it began
work here after a failed coup against Chavez. Much of it has gone
toward more than 220 small grants as part of USAID's "Venezuela
Confidence Building Initiative." Some projects remain so vague as to
raise concern among Chavistas, such as a $47,459 grant for a
"democratic leadership campaign," $37,614 for citizen meetings to
discuss a "shared vision" for society, or $56,124 to analyze
Venezuela's new constitution of 1999. All went to unidentified
recipients.

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Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org