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[Robert Naiman]

Just Foreign Policy News
November 8, 2006

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Summary:
U.S./Top News
Opponents of US foreign policy around the world rejoiced over the
defeat of President Bush in the Congressional elections. Democrats
regained the House and were poised to regain the Senate, with 50
confirmed seats in the Senate and a tentative victory in Virginia,
pending a possible recount. More than 200 Socialist members of the
European Parliament hailed the American election results as "the
beginning of the end of a six-year nightmare for the world" and
gloated that they left the Bush administration "seriously weakened."

A majority of voters in Champaign-Urbana supported referenda in favor
of withdrawing from Iraq and impeaching Bush and Cheney. Several other
Illinois cities passed referenda supporting US withdrawal from Iraq.
Republican Rep. Tim Johnson (IL-15) conceded that US involvement in
Iraq had become a "quagmire" and that Americans would not tolerate
another two years of the status quo.

Voters in more than one-third of Massachusetts' cities and towns
delivered a resounding protest against the Iraq war, the Boston Globe
reports. With 52 percent of the votes counted in the 36 House
districts where an anti war question appeared, voters instructed their
state representatives, 147,202 to 99,140, to approve a resolution
calling on President Bush and Congress to end the war immediately and
bring the troops home.

Defense Secretary resigned Wednesday, after opposition to the war in
Iraq contributed to heavy Republican Party losses. President Bush said
he would nominate Robert Gates, a former CIA director, to replace
Rumsfeld.

Over 20 Congressional supporters of the controversial School of the
Americas were defeated yesterday, SOA Watch reports, suggesting
improved prospects for shutting down the military training school,
widely reviled for its role in promoting torture, assassination, and
military coups in Latin America.

CNN and AP called the Montana Senate race for Democrats, giving them
50 seats. Democrats led in Virginia as well, giving them 51 seats, but
a recount was expected there.

A meeting of six nations working on a resolution to curb Iran's
nuclear ambitions broke up Tuesday evening with the ambassadors
reporting widening disagreements and lessening prospects of a swift
accord, the New York Times reports.

Daniel Ortega's (Nicaraguan) opponent in Nicaragua's presidential
election conceded defeat. Ortega promised to keep the country open to
foreign investment and to seek consensus with his political opponents
to battle poverty, the New York Times reports.

Congressional scandals have damaged America's standing on a global
list that ranks freedom from corruption. The US ranked 20th least
corrupt among 163 countries, down from 17th last year, according to
Transparency International. In more bad news for the US, Iraq was
next-to-last on the list, Bloomberg reports.

Iran
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Wednesday the US was wrong to think
the world opposed Tehran's nuclear program. "The majority of countries
of the world believe that nuclear energy should be freed from the
monopoly of a few self-proclaimed powers," he said.

Israel
Israel fired artillery shells containing white phosphorus in Lebanon,
according to an investigation by the UN. White phosphorus is banned
under the Geneva Convention when used against civilians or in civilian
areas, although Israel insists that the shells were directed against
solely military targets, reports the Independent.

Palestine
Israeli tank shells ripped through a residential neighborhood in the
northern Gaza Strip Wednesday, killing at least 18 members of an
extended family, including eight children, and wounding dozens of
others, AP reports.

Cyprus
The European Commission gave Turkey a December deadline Wednesday to
open its ports to shipping from Cyprus or face consequences for its
troubled European Union membership bid. But Ankara rejected any
linkage between the Cyprus issue and its accession process, Reuters
reports, in an article carried by the New York Times. Reuters recounts
that Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 and does not recognize what Reuters
calls the "Greek Cypriot" government, referring to the internationally
recognized government, which represents Cyprus not only in the EU, but
also in the United Nations. The Reuters article refers to the island
as "divided" without mentioning that the northern third of it is
occupied by thousands of Turkish troops. It also fails to note that
the Turkish invasion in 1974 was backed by the United States.

Indonesia
Human rights activists were alarmed by the early parole in Indonesia
of Tommy Suharto, son of the former dictator, who had been jailed for
paying hit men to kill a Supreme Court justice, the Washington Post
reports.

Contents:
U.S./Top News
1) World Gloats Over Bush Defeat
Associated Press, 9:50 a.m. EST, November 8, 2006
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/08/vote.world.reax.ap/index.html
The seismic shift that midterm elections brought to Washington's
political landscape was welcomed by many Wednesday in a world sharply
opposed to the war in Iraq and outraged over the harsh methods the
Bush administration has employed in fighting terrorism.

>From Paris to Pakistan, politicians, analysts and ordinary citizens
said they hoped the Democratic takeover of the House of
Representatives would force President Bush to adopt a more
conciliatory approach to the globe's laundry list of crises, and teach
a president many see as a "cowboy" a lesson in humility.

Regardless of the effect on world events, global giddiness that Bush
was finally handed a political black-eye was almost palpable
throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

In an extraordinary joint statement, more than 200 Socialist members
of the European Parliament hailed the American election results as
"the beginning of the end of a six-year nightmare for the world" and
gloated that they left the Bush administration "seriously weakened."

2) Champaign-Urbana, Other Illinois Cities, Vote to End War;
Republican Rep. Tim Johnson Calls Iraq "Quagmire," says Americans
won't tolerate two more years
Robert Naiman, Huffington Post, November 8, 2006
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-weisbrot-and-robert-naiman/champaignurbana-votes-to_b_33644.html

C-U voters want U.S.out of Iraq
Mike Monson, Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, Wednesday, November 8, 2006
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2006/11/08/c-u_voters_want_usout_of_iraq

A majority of voters in Champaign-Urbana supported referenda in favor
of withdrawing from Iraq and impeaching Bush and Cheney. Several other
Illinois cities passed referenda supporting US withdrawal from Iraq.
Republican Rep. Tim Johnson (IL-15) conceded that US involvement in
Iraq had become a "quagmire" and that Americans would not tolerate
another two years of the status quo.
 3) Referendum against Iraq War Gaining Ground
Brian MacQuarrie, Boston Globe, Wednesday, November 8, 2006
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1108-07.htm
>From the Berkshires to parts of Boston yesterday, voters in more than
one-third of Massachusetts' cities and towns delivered a resounding
protest against the Iraq war. With 52 percent of the votes counted in
the 36 House districts where an anti war question appeared, voters
instructed their state representatives, 147,202 to 99,140, to approve
a resolution calling on President Bush and Congress to end the war
immediately and bring the troops home.

The nonbinding question, which appeared on the ballot in all or part
of 139 municipalities, was one of the nation's most ambitious antiwar
referendums considered yesterday, said Paul Shannon, statewide
coordinator of the ballot effort for the American Friends Service
Committee.

"I'm just absolutely thrilled that so many people are starting to see
through the lies about this war," he said. "You see people pushing
from the ground floor up, putting pressure on the top. There is a real
groundswell that is insisting that the government change its policy
absolutely, radically."

4) Rumsfeld Resigns in Disgrace
Associated Press, November 8, 2006
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/08/rumsfeld.ap/index.html
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld stepped down Wednesday, one day
after congressional elections in which opposition to the war in Iraq
contributed to heavy Republican Party losses. President George W. Bush
said he would nominate Robert Gates, a former CIA director, to replace
Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.

Asked whether his announcement signaled a new direction in the war
that has claimed the lives of more than 2,800 U.S. troops and
thousands of Iraqis, Bush said, "Well, there's certainly going to be
new leadership at the Pentagon."

5) Over 20 SOA Supporters Lose Their Seats
School of the Americas Watch, November 8, 2006
http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=1413
Over 20 of our opponents of the June 2006 amendment have lost their
seats in the House surpassing the 15 vote margin we need to win a vote
in Congress. With this new and more favorable Congress, we expect a
successful vote on the SOA/ WHINSEC. The next few months will be a
crucial time for SOA Watch as we work to connect with these new
Members of Congress, educate them about this important issue, and urge
them to support closure of the school.

6) Dems Tie, Claim Win in Senate
CNN, November 8, 2006
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/08/election.senate/index.html
CNN projects that Montana state Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, will
defeat Republican Sen. Conrad Burns. With the victory, Democrats would
hold 50 seats, counting two independents who will caucus with them, in
the Senate and Republicans would have 49. The Virginia race remains
undecided and would determine which party controls the chamber.

Tester leads Burns by about 2,800 votes -- less than 1 percentage
point -- with 100 percent of precincts reporting. Montana's secretary
of state has not officially announced a winner. Earlier Wednesday,
Tester declared victory in an interview with CNN. "We feel good about
winning this election and feel good about going to Washington, D.C.,"
he said.

Burns has not commented on Tester's declaration or conceded defeat. In
Montana, a recount can be requested by the loser if the margin of
votes between two candidates is less than one-quarter of 1 percent. If
the margin is between one-half of 1 percent and one-quarter of 1
percent, the loser can petition for a recount if the candidate is
willing to pay for it.

In another hotly contested Senate race, Virginia Democrat Jim Webb
declared victory against Republican Sen. George Allen early Wednesday,
though a recount appeared likely. "The votes are in, and we won," said
Webb, who led Allen by about 8,000 votes, with 99 percent of precincts
reporting. Allen, however, told supporters that "this has been an
interesting election, and the election continues."

Republican Sen. Jim Talent conceded the Missouri race to Democrat
Claire McCaskill, saying, "The head wind was just very, very strong
this year."

7) At the U.N., Discord Over Confronting Iran's Nuclear Ambitions
Warren Hoge, New York Times, November 8, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/world/middleeast/08nations.html
A meeting of six nations working on a resolution to curb Iran's
nuclear ambitions broke up Tuesday evening with the ambassadors
reporting widening disagreements and lessening prospects of a swift
accord.

"The mood is not right for serious discussions," said Wang Guangya,
the ambassador of China, emerging from the meeting of the five
permanent members of the Security Council and Germany. "Clearly, I
think in a number of difficult areas that the differences cannot be
bridged," he said. "So I believe there ought to be more reflections in
the capitals, and also I believe that we need to talk to each other."

John Bolton, the American ambassador, left the session hurriedly
without making his customary comment. Asked how the session had gone,
Vitaly I. Churkin, the Russian ambassador, had a flippant response:
"Nothing spectacular. Another day at the office."

Earlier in the day, Bolton charged that Russia had pulled back from an
agreement made in July by the foreign ministers of the six nations to
impose sanctions on Iran if it did not meet an Aug. 31 deadline to
suspend its uranium enrichment. That meeting was held in St.
Petersburg, Russia. "I don't know how we're going to work it out
because the Russian version is very different than what we think the
foreign ministers agreed to," Bolton said.

Told of Bolton's comments, Churkin chided the American. "You know,
after our last meeting our colleagues asked me not to criticize their
draft," he said. "I said I would not, on the condition that they would
not be criticizing our approach." Contesting Bolton's point, Churkin
said, "We believe that our attitude, approach and our proposals are
fully in conformity with the understanding by the ministers."

Siding with the Russian, Wang said, "The readout that we are hearing
from the ambassadors here is not the same that we agreed to."

Churkin also disputed an American attempt to insert into the text a
description of Iran's action as a threat to international peace and
security, a phrase used in Security Council resolutions to justify
harsher action. "We don't see it that way," Churkin said. "We don't
believe we're at that stage."

The ambassadors were working from a draft resolution drawn up two
weeks ago by Britain, France and Germany, with amendments suggested by
Russia and the US. The resolution would prohibit any technical or
financial assistance that could benefit Iran's nuclear and ballistic
missile programs, freeze the assets of any Iranians involved in
nuclear activities and bar them from international travel.

In general, the Russian changes seek to limit punitive actions against
the Iranians and stress the need for further negotiation with Tehran,
and the proposals from Washington broaden the measure's sweep and
toughen the punishment. "The problem is that we think that our tool
kit is full of tools," Churkin said, "and for some reason, for some
people, there is only demand and sanctions - the hammer and sickle.
"In our view it's much more than that. So we are trying to use the
entire diplomatic tool kit in order to address the situation."

8) Nicaraguans' Votes Are In, and Ortega Is Back
James C. McKinley Jr., New York Times, November 8, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/world/americas/08nicaragua.html
As election officials finished the final vote tallies on Tuesday and
his leading opponent conceded defeat, Daniel Ortega, the onetime
cold-war nemesis of the US, was assured of winning the presidency here
and fulfilling his 16-year struggle to regain power.

With 91 percent of the vote counted from Sunday's balloting, Ortega
led five other candidates with 38 percent of the vote, while the
second-place candidate, Eduardo Montealegre, a conservative, trailed
with 29 percent, election officials said Tuesday night. The
third-place candidate, José Rizo, received 26 percent.

"With his triumph, he has taken on an enormous responsibility,"
Montealegre, a 51-year-old Harvard-trained banker, said as he stepped
aside moments after the results were announced. "He has to govern
democratically."

Later in the evening, Ortega and Montealegre appeared together at the
Sandinista headquarters, where they pledged to put aside past
differences. Ortega promised to keep the country open to foreign
investment and to seek consensus with his political opponents to
battle poverty. "Here we cannot talk about winners or losers," he
said. "Here simply we have a process where really everyone will work
together for the good of Nicaragua."

About 300 of Ortega's supporters rallied outside the headquarters,
waving their party's black and red flags and chanting "The people
united will never be defeated." Across the city, fireworks and car
horns went off in celebration.

9) Corruption Watchdog Downgrades U.S.
Scandals Hurt America's Standing; Iraq Ranks Next-to-Worst
Patrick Donahue, Bloomberg, Wednesday, November 8, 2006; A25
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/07/AR2006110701253.html
Congressional scandals have damaged America's standing on a global
list that ranks freedom from corruption. The US ranked 20th least
corrupt among 163 countries, down from 17th last year, and scored 7.3
out of 10, a drop of 0.3 compared with 2005, according to the
Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2006.

Finland, Iceland and New Zealand tied for least corrupt, each with an
almost-perfect 9.6 ranking. In more bad news for the US, Iraq was
next-to-last on the list.

The group's chairwoman, Huguette Labelle, linked corruption to global
poverty as bribe money siphons off meager incomes and the perception
of wrongdoing stanches foreign investment. About $2.8 billion in bribe
money changes hands every day, equal to half the investment in
sub-Saharan Africa in 2000, she said.

"Corruption eats away at the economies of poor countries," Labelle
told reporters in Berlin, where Transparency International is based.
"The perception of endemic corruption scares off foreign investors and
has a knock-on effect on economic growth."

Almost three-quarters of the countries surveyed scored below 5 points,
which means the majority of those judging them detect corruption.
"Rampant" corruption is said to be apparent in 71 countries. Haiti was
at the bottom with 1.8 points, and Iraq placed just above with 1.9.

The report cites among U.S. examples the case of former House majority
leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), who is under indictment in a Texas case
stemming from a campaign finance investigation and who has a former
aide who pleaded guilty in the corruption probe of lobbyist Jack
Abramoff.

Much campaign money has been diverted to ostensibly non-party groups,
known as "527s," that are underregulated, according to Transparency.
As in 2005, the group called into question the U.S. bidding system for
public contracts in Iraq.

Corruption in Iraq has increased as sectarian violence between the
country's Shiite and Sunni Muslims has spun out of control after the
Feb. 22 bombing of the Shiite Golden Mosque in Samarra. Mass killings
are common in communities in central Iraq, including the capital,
Baghdad.

"Corruption in Iraq is very bad because there's been conflict across
the country," David Nussbaum, the group's chief executive, said this
week. "That tends to mean the systems that uphold the country aren't
working."

Iran
10) Iran Says U.S. Misjudges World View on Nuclear Row
Reuters, November 8, 2006, Filed at 12:09 p.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-nuclear-iran.html
Iran's most powerful figure, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said on
Wednesday the US was wrong to think the world opposed Tehran's nuclear
program. Major powers are currently split over a draft U.N. Security
Council sanctions resolution drawn up by Britain, France and Germany
that seeks to put pressure on Iran to curb its nuclear program. The US
wants to beef up the text, but Russia wants it watered down.

"The Americans open their mouths and shut their eyes as usual, and
they say whatever comes to their mouths: 'The world opposes Iran's
uranium enrichment'. No, you do not know the world, and you do not see
it," Khamenei said in a speech in the city of Semnan, east of the
capital Tehran.

"The majority of countries of the world believe that nuclear energy
should be freed from the monopoly of a few self-proclaimed powers," he
said in the speech, broadcast on state television.

Israel
11)  Phosphorus Shells Used in Lebanon Invasion, UN Says
Steve Connor, The Independent, Wednesday, November 8, 2006
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1108-03.htm
Israel fired artillery shells containing white phosphorus in its
recent conflict with Hizbollah militants in the Lebanon, according to
an official investigation by the UN.

White phosphorus is banned under the Geneva Convention when used
against civilians or in civilian areas, although Israel insists that
the shells were directed against solely military targets.

However, the UN team failed to find any evidence that Israel used
depleted uranium, enriched uranium or any other radioactive material
in bombs dropped on Lebanon during the month-long war, which ended on
14 August.

Achim Steiner, under-secretary general and executive director of the
UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said that samples taken by scientists
had confirmed the use of white phosphorus in artillery and mortar
ammunition.

Steiner also said that the scientific analysis found no evidence of
penetrators or other metallic bomb components made of depleted or
enriched uranium, as claimed by two British activists in a report last
month. The samples taken by the UN for analysis were collected between
30 September and 21 October. Three independent laboratories in Europe
undertook the tests on behalf of the UN.

The findings conflict with a report by Chris Busby, a Green Party
activist, and his colleague Dai Williams, an occupational
psychologist, who claimed to have found evidence of enriched uranium
in a sample collected from a bomb site in southern Lebanon.

Palestine
12) Israeli Shells Kill 18 Palestinians in Gaza
Associated Press, November 8, 2006, Filed at 10:52 a.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Israel-Palestinians.html
Israeli tank shells ripped through a residential neighborhood in the
northern Gaza Strip early Wednesday, killing at least 18 members of an
extended family, including eight children, and wounding dozens of
others, health officials said.

Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal said that a truce with Israel was finished
and his group's militants could resume fighting. The military wing of
the Palestinians' ruling group called on Muslims around the world to
attack U.S. targets, a call disavowed by the Hamas-led Palestinian
government.

Prime Minister Olmert expressed regret over the deaths and, along with
Defense Minister Amir Peretz, offered "urgent humanitarian aid" to the
Palestinian Authority and immediate medical treatment to the wounded.

Israel halted artillery attacks in Gaza while it investigated the
incident, but said it would press forward with operations meant to
halt Palestinian rocket fire on Israeli communities.

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh suspended talks on forming a more
moderate government with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and both
men declared a three-day mourning period. Abbas said the negotiations
must continue.

Cyprus
13) EU Gives Turkey Deadline on Cyprus but Turks Demur
Reuters, November 8, 2006, Filed at 10:48 a.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-eu-turkey.html
The European Commission set Turkey a mid-December deadline on
Wednesday to open its ports to shipping from Cyprus or face
consequences for its troubled European Union membership bid. But
Ankara rejected any linkage between the Cyprus issue and its accession
process, urging EU leaders to act responsibly and keep their own
promises to Turkey when they review its progress at a summit next
month.

The EU executive's annual report on Turkey's progress was issued amid
growing public skepticism about further enlargement. "Failure to
implement its obligations in full will affect the overall progress in
the negotiations," the report said.

Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Brussels had decided to
give a chance for diplomatic efforts, led by the Finnish EU
presidency, to find a solution on the Cyprus issue. The Commission
said it would make "relevant recommendations" before a December 14-15
summit of the 25 EU leaders if Turkey did not comply. Enlargement
Commissioner Olli Rehn declined to say if that might entail a partial
or total suspension of the talks.

The Turkish government responded by saying in a statement that "the
Cyprus question is a political question and is not an obligation in
the context of our accession process." Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
dismissed talk of a possible collapse of the talks, due to last at
least a decade, but he acknowledged some negotiating 'chapters' might
be held back.

In the sharpest reaction among EU member states, France said that if
Turkey did not comply by next month, the EU would have to review its
timetable for Turkish accession.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Ankara was committed to fulfilling
all the EU's entry conditions but that everyone must "take a step
forward" to resolve the Cyprus issue. Analysts said it would be hard
for the government to make the concession sought by the EU without
incurring a nationalist backlash in the run-up to a general election
next year.

The Turkish lira fell more than 1 percent against the dollar with
traders citing the Cyprus obstacle as a negative factor.

Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 in response to a coup by Greek Cypriots
seeking union with Greece. It does not recognize the Greek Cypriot
government that represents the divided island in the EU, but does back
a Turkish Cypriot republic in northern Cyprus, shunned by the
international community.

Indonesia
14) Parole of Suharto's Son Riles Rights Activists
Release Renews Worries About Indonesian Legal System 8 Years After
Dictator's Ouster
Joe Cochrane, Washington Post, Wednesday, November 8, 2006; A20
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/07/AR2006110701214.html

It was the kind of smile that has long defined Tommy Suharto:
charismatic, confident, even triumphant. The youngest son of
Indonesia's former strongman president may have been feeling all three
as he mugged for the cameras while being whisked out of Jakarta's
Cipinang Prison last week. He was a parolee less than five years after
being jailed for paying two hit men to kill a Supreme Court justice
who had done him wrong.

Hutomo Mandala Putra, 44, known as Tommy Suharto, a multimillionaire
businessman with a reputation as a playboy, was not your average
jailbird. With almost limitless financial resources, powerful friends
and a surname that still causes people to tremble, Tommy may have made
Indonesian legal history by having 41 months shaved off his 10-year
prison sentence for "good behavior" and being a "team leader" in
prison.

Legal analysts and human rights activists were left to fume, and more
significantly, ponder the state of Indonesia's legal system eight
years after pro-democracy demonstrators forced Tommy's father, the
former president Suharto, to resign after 32 years in power.

J.E. Sahetapy, chairman of Indonesia's National Law Commission,
suggested that there was reason to be suspicious of the early release
but that there wasn't much he could do about it. "No one can prove
whether there is money or influence in this particular case," he said.

Tommy Suharto's release was not the only news to trouble rights
activists recently. Last week, senior government officials rejected
calls for a U.N.-led investigation into the 2004 murder of Munir Said
Thalib, Indonesia's most prominent human rights activist.

Munir, 38, was poisoned with arsenic while flying from Jakarta to
Amsterdam aboard Garuda Indonesia airlines, the country's national
flag carrier. A special fact-finding team implicated senior
intelligence officials in the death, but two police investigations
have gone nowhere. The only person tried in connection with the case,
an off-duty Garuda pilot, saw his murder conviction and 14-year
sentence overturned by the Supreme Court last month.

"The Tommy and Munir cases are just two shocking links in a long chain
of impunity," said Matthew Easton of Human Rights First, a U.S.-based
group that has lobbied Congress and the State Department to pressure
the Jakarta government on the Munir investigation. "Not one major
human rights case has been successfully prosecuted," Easton said, "and
until that changes, the ghosts of Indonesia's authoritarian past are
still with us."

-
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org

Just Foreign Policy is a membership organization devoted to reforming
U.S. foreign policy so it reflects the values and interests of the
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