[Peace-discuss] Just Foreign Policy News, July 5, 2006

[Robert Naiman]

Just Foreign Policy News - Abridged
July 5, 2006

[If you would like to receive the full text of the articles by email,
contact naiman at justforeignpolicy.org.]

In this issue:
1) Nuclear Talks Are Postponed, Official Says
2) Iran Postpones EU Discussions by a Day
3) In Ramadi, Fetid Quarters and Unrelenting Battles
4) Iran and Venezuela Team Up as Anti - US "Odd Couple"
5) US: N.Korea May Want Nuclear Spotlight From Iran
6) Analysis: N. Korea Impact Being Weighed
7) Ayatollah's Moves Hint Iran Wants To Engage
Supreme Leader Sets Course for WTO Membership
8) Missing Votes Add to Turmoil in Mexico
9) Vote-by-Vote Recount Is Demanded in Mexico
10) Anti-War Protesters Begin July 4 Fast

Summary:
Just Foreign Policy NewsBrief
July 5, 2006

Summary:
Iran postponed nuclear talks with the European Union on Wednesday. The
meeting will go ahead on Thursday. Reuters attributed the delay to
Iran's anger at an exiled opposition leader's visit to the European
Parliament. An EU diplomat said the Iranians had cited a visit to the
European Parliament on the same day by the leader of the National
Council of Resistance of Iran, described by Tehran as a terrorist
group. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he would meet
Larijani in Brussels on Thursday and again on July 11, keeping up
Western pressure for a clear answer on an incentives package before
leaders of the Group of Eight industrial powers meet in St. Petersburg
on July 15. Iran has said it will give its response by August 22.
Diplomats said divisions in the U.N. Security Council over what action
to take on Iran meant there had been little chance of Tehran
responding either at the Brussels meetings or before the G8 summit in
Russia. Since Russia and China are unlikely to back any U.N. sanctions
against Iran at this stage, the West is in no position to set
deadlines.

North Korea's test-firing of a long-range missile in defiance of world
pressure may have been aimed at stealing the nuclear spotlight away
from Iran, U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said Tuesday.
"Obviously, it is a bit of an effort to get attention, perhaps because
so much attention has been focused on the Iranians,'' Hadley said.
Sandy Berger, the National Security Adviser in the Clinton
administration, said on CNN the United States ultimately would have to
enter direct talks with North Korea because six-party talks have
failed.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, announced a new
privatization program aimed at preparing Iran for eventual membership
in the World Trade Organization, the Washington Post reports. Analysts
said Khamenei's announcements served to reinforce the assumption of
U.S. and European officials that Iran wants to be more integrated in
the world. The formation of a new foreign relations panel may also
indicate dissatisfaction with the foreign policy performance of
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Khamenei named as the panel's chairman
Kamal Kharrazi, the man Ahmadinejad removed as foreign minister after
taking office last year. "I think it's significant," said a European
diplomat in Tehran. "I think it amounts to trying to put limits to the
president."

Right-wing Venezuelan and U.S. media have attacked Venezuela's growing
ties with Iran, Reuters notes. In their most fanciful conspiracy
theory, Iran is planning to ship nuclear warheads to Venezuela in a
re-run of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. In 2003, U.S. concerns that
Arab money-launderers on the Venezuelan island of Margarita could help
terrorists mushroomed into unsubstantiated charges that Iranian-backed
Hizbollah fighters had set up training camps there. Iran is
increasingly courting the 114-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) for
leverage in a dispute over its atomic work, arguing that it is only
the United States and Western European countries that reckon Tehran is
seeking nuclear missiles. NAM stalwart Venezuela was one of only three
countries to vote against referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council
at the International Atomic Energy Agency meeting in February.
Officials and analysts say this was a symbolic act in a vote the
United States and its allies were always going to win. Deep down, they
argue, there are clear limits to how close Caracas and Tehran can
afford to become. "What is a vote in the agency? Nothing. The
Venezuelans know the real red line with Iran is arms. They both say
they will repel any U.S. attack but they cannot join up on weapons,''
said a Latin American ambassador in Tehran, noting how quickly Defense
Minister Orlando Maniglia cooled speculation in May that Venezuela
could sell its old F-16 jet-fighters to Iran.

For three years the Marine Corps and the Army have tried nearly
everything to bring Ramadi, the epicenter of the Iraqi insurgency,
under control, the New York Times reports. Nothing has worked. Now
American commanders are trying something new. Instead of continuing to
fight for the downtown, or rebuild it, they are going to get rid of
it, or at least a very large part of it. They say they are planning to
bulldoze about three blocks in the middle of the city, part of which
has been reduced to ruins by the fighting, and convert them into a
Green Zone, a version of the fortified and largely stable area that
houses the Iraqi and American leadership in Baghdad.

The margin between the two leading candidates for president in Mexico
narrowed Tuesday after election authorities revealed that about 2.5
million votes had been missing from earlier counts. The announcement
meant the race between Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Felipe Calderon
was still too close to call. Election authorities acknowledged Tuesday
that the preliminary count did not include vote totals from more than
11,000 stations where "irregularities" were noted in official
paperwork. Late Tuesday, election officials added the 2.5 million
votes to the public count. Lopez Obrador outpolled Calderon on these
ballots by more than 145,000 votes, narrowing Calderon's lead to
slightly more than 257,000 ballots, or 0.6 percentage point. Election
authorities said that as many as 900,000 votes remained to be added to
the official tally because polling station results had not yet arrived
at regional election headquarters. An undetermined number are from the
remotest rural areas of southern Mexico, which lean toward Lopez
Obrador. The new figures were released after Lopez Obrador charged
Monday that more than 3 million votes had been "lost" from the
preliminary tallies released by the Federal Electoral Tribunal. The
head of the election commission reminded Mexicans in a television
interview Tuesday that the preliminary count issued by the institute
had no legal standing. The official winner will be determined after a
recount of the polling reports begins today. Yesterday Obrador
demanded a vote-by-vote recount. Obrador's challenge made it clear
that this country was about to live through its own version of the
drawn-out legal battle that Americans experienced in the 2000
presidential race. Mexico's dispute, however, instead of being focused
on one state, could be nationwide.

Actors Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon and anti-war campaigners led by
bereaved mother Cindy Sheehan launched a hunger strike yesterday,
demanding the immediate return of US troops from Iraq. "We've marched,
held vigils, lobbied Congress, camped out at Bush's ranch, we've even
gone to jail, now it's time to do more," said Sheehan.

Articles:
1) Nuclear Talks Are Postponed, Official Says
Reuters
July 5, 2006
Filed at 7:15 a.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-nuclear-iran.html

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Iran postponed crucial nuclear talks with the
European Union on Wednesday in apparent anger at an exiled opposition
leader's visit to the European Parliament, but the meeting will go
ahead on Thursday.


2) Iran Postpones EU Discussions by a Day
Associated Press
July 5, 2006
Filed at 7:47 a.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Iran-Nuclear.html

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Iran has postponed its talks with the
European Union on a package of incentives designed to defuse the
standoff over Tehran's atomic program by a day, the EU said Wednesday.

3) In Ramadi, Fetid Quarters and Unrelenting Battles
Insurgency Hotbed
Dexter Filkins
New York Times
July 5, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/05/world/middleeast/05ramadi.html

RAMADI, Iraq, July 4 — The Government Center in the middle of this
devastated town resembles a fortress on the wild edge of some
frontier: it is sandbagged, barricaded, full of men ready to shoot,
surrounded by rubble and enemies eager to get inside.

In three years here the Marine Corps and the Army have tried nearly
everything to bring this provincial capital of 400,000 under control.
Nothing has worked.

Now American commanders are trying something new.

Instead of continuing to fight for the downtown, or rebuild it, they
are going to get rid of it, or at least a very large part of it.

4) Iran and Venezuela Team Up as Anti - US "Odd Couple"
Reuters
July 4, 2006
Filed at 9:05 p.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-iran-venezuela.html

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Right-wing Venezuelan and U.S. media have attacked
Chavez's growing ties with Tehran. In their most fanciful conspiracy
theory, Iran is planning to ship nuclear warheads to Venezuela in a
re-run of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

In 2003, U.S. concerns that Arab money-launderers on the Venezuelan
island of Margarita could help terrorists mushroomed into
unsubstantiated charges that Iranian-backed Hizbollah fighters had set
up training camps there.


5) US: N.Korea May Want Nuclear Spotlight From Iran
July 4, 2006
Reuters
Filed at 10:54 p.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-korea-north-attention.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea's test-firing of a long-range
missile in defiance of world pressure may have been aimed at stealing
the nuclear spotlight away from Iran, U.S. National Security Adviser
Stephen Hadley said on Tuesday.

6) Analysis: N. Korea Impact Being Weighed
Associated Press
July 4, 2006
Filed at 9:20 p.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-North-Korea-Impact.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Six-party talks: Dead? Tensions around the Sea of
Japan: Off the charts. And in Washington: What do we do now?

North Korea delivered some unwanted fireworks to the Bush
administration on the Fourth of July, shooting off missiles in an act
heard around the globe. Now the White House must figure out how to
transform what it calls a ''provocation'' into an opportunity.


7) Ayatollah's Moves Hint Iran Wants To Engage
Supreme Leader Sets Course for WTO Membership
Karl Vick
Washington Post
Wednesday, July 5, 2006; A10
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/04/AR2006070400750.html

ISTANBUL -- As diplomatic maneuvering continues over Iran's nuclear
program, the cleric who holds ultimate authority in the country has
signaled twice in recent days that Iran intends to engage the wider
world it long held at bay.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, announced the formation
of a new council to advise him on foreign affairs and a new
privatization program aimed at preparing Iran for eventual membership
in the World Trade Organization.

8) Missing Votes Add to Turmoil in Mexico
About 2.5 million ballots left out of the initial count narrow the
lead Calderon holds over Lopez Obrador to 0.6 percentage point.
Héctor Tobar and Carlos Martínez
Los Angeles Times
July 5, 2006
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico5jul05,0,7378360.story

MEXICO CITY — The margin between the two leading candidates for
president narrowed suddenly Tuesday after election authorities
revealed that about 2.5 million votes had been missing from earlier
counts. The announcement meant the race between leftist Andres Manuel
Lopez Obrador and conservative Felipe Calderon was still too close to
call.

The news of uncounted votes heightened the sense of disarray since
Mexico's polls closed Sunday night.

An initial count of the ballots gave a slim but apparently
insurmountable lead to Calderon. On Monday evening, Calderon was
leading Lopez Obrador by 402,708 votes, with 98.45% of polling
stations "processed," according to official reports.

But election authorities acknowledged Tuesday that the preliminary
count did not include vote totals from more than 11,000 stations where
"irregularities" were noted in official paperwork. Those stations were
listed as "processed" in the official reports, but their votes were
not included in the tally.

Late Tuesday, election officials added the 2.5 million votes to the
public count. Lopez Obrador outpolled Calderon on these ballots by
more than 145,000 votes, narrowing Calderon's lead to slightly more
than 257,000 ballots, or 0.6 percentage point.

9) Vote-by-Vote Recount Is Demanded in Mexico
James C. Mckinley Jr. And Ginger Thompson
New York Times
July 5, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/05/world/americas/05mexico.html

MEXICO CITY, July 4 — The Mexican electoral crisis deepened Tuesday,
as the leftist candidate demanded a vote-by-vote recount and election
officials acknowledged that up to three million votes had not been
tallied in the preliminary results.

The ballots counted so far showed the conservative, Felipe Calderón,
with the narrowest of leads, fewer than 400,000 votes, over his
leftist opponent, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Mr. López Obrador's challenge made it clear that this country was
about to live through its own version of the drawn-out legal battle
that Americans experienced in the 2000 presidential race. Mexico's
dispute, however, instead of being focused on one state, could be
nationwide.

10) Anti-War Protesters Begin July 4 Fast
Agence France Presse
Tuesday, July 4, 2006
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0704-01.htm

Star Hollywood actor-activists including Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon
and anti-war campaigners led by bereaved mother Cindy Sheehan plan to
launch a hunger strike, demanding the immediate return of US troops
from Iraq.

As Americans get set to fire up barbeques in patriotic celebration of
US Independence Day on July 4, anti-war protestors planned to savour a
last meal outside the White House, before embarking on a 'Troops Home
Fast' at midnight.

"We've marched, held vigils, lobbied Congress, camped out at Bush's
ranch, we've even gone to jail, now it's time to do more," said
Sheehan, who emerged as an anti-war icon after losing her 24-year-old
son Casey in Iraq.

--
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy