Bond “cautiously optimistic” over Obama approach to Pakistan

by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio New Service

This morning at a discussion on issues related to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-MO) broke away from his Republican colleagues by praising one of President Barack Obama’s policies.

The plan that was unveiled last Friday would increase U.S. support in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bond says the only way to address the long-term threat of terrorism in the region is to take a “smart power-counter insurgency approach.”

Recent attacks in Pakistan “underscore that the threats emanating from the region are one of the greatest national security threats and challenges of our time,” Bond said.

“The reason my optimism is guarded is because the President has split the baby between two competing camps in Washington and I believe in the White House today. The first camp focuses strictly on counter terrorism, or CT, and the second which takes a counter insurgency or coin strategy approach,” Bond said.

“We will not have success eliminating extremist elements in Afghanistan if we cannot confront them in western Pakistan. To do this we must fully engage Pakistan,” he said, adding that cooperation from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is vital to success.

“NATO must supply more military and civilian assistance personal and remove cumbersome constraints on their people in the field,” Bond said.

But, Bond said, the U.S. “must work with Pakistan to find out what will be required to achieve genuine and measurable progress against terrorists and insurgents in the federally administered tribal areas and other border regions in Pakistan.

“There are three legs of the stool that need to be addressed in the region; security, development and governance,” said Bond, adding that security will only be truly established when local Afghan and Pakistan security forces are able to hold territory themselves and when they have the incentives to do so.

Additionally, “We need to have USAID and other development organizations coordinate better with our military forces to provide what local leaders want and not just deliver to them, one year later, what we tell them they need. This means working with local councils or tribal gurges to insure we are meeting their needs.”

McGovern calls for military options in Darfur

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

One week after thirteen international aid organizations were expelled from Darfur, and one day after President Obama named Former General J. Scott Gration as a special envoy to Sudan, Congressman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said that military options to stop the genocide should not be ruled out. These military options could come to fruition as a no-fly zone. McGovern hopes the Obama administration’s diplomacy can prevail, but went on to say that time is running out and that Obama should work with NATO, the African Union, and the Arab League to stop the violence immediately, since more people are dying each day.

The Congressman said, “What we have done up to this point has not worked.” He said that genocide, violence, and rape are continuing, and now the government is “going to starve people to death.” McGovern went on to say that the Sudanese government is “determined to kill the people of Darfur” and drew similarities between the situation and the Holocaust

The Save Darfur Coalition said that since the aid organizations were expelled by President Omar al-Bashir, approximately 1.1 million civilians have been left without food aid, 1.5 million without health care, and almost 1 million without drinking water. In the crisis at large, the United Nations states that since 2003 over 200,000 people have been killed, and over 2 million people have been displaced.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir expelled the aid organizations after being indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Congressman Jim Moran (D-Va.) charged, “this expulsion of aid workers further confirms the legitimacy of the indictment,” and that the president is guilty as charged.

Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.) continued that he thinks there is no “political will” right now to send more troops into harm’s way considering America’s presence in Iraq and Afghanistan and feels that African Union forces should be left to do the job. African Union troops have unsuccessfully tried to quell the violence in the past. Smith said he believes a renewed effort by the African Union forces will yield better results.

Former United Kingdom Secretary of Defense Talks About Transatlantic Security Post-Bush

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

Former UK Secretary of Defense, Rt. Hon Des Browne, Minister of Parliament (MP), spoke today about "Transatlantic Security Post-Bush," at The Center for American Progress.

In his statement to the audience, Des Browne MP covered a number of issues affecting the transatlantic community.

With regard to his thoughts on how The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should move forward, Des Browne MP said: "I think there is an agreement across the alliance that it need to transform and by that I mean that it needs to equip itself to operate in environments in which we need to deploy our forces and support them for an extended period of time, in order to provide the security that we need to avoid conflict."

Speaking about the situation in Afghanistan he stated: "I think as far as Afghanistan is concerned what we need to do is recognize that Russia, China, Pakistan, India and Iran to name some, have an interest in the stabilization in Afghanistan, they are already involved and we just need to engage them."

On the subject of how President Obama has been received in the United Kingdom and Europe Browne said: "The big advantage Obama has is that he is already immensely popular in Europe and that includes the United Kingdom...What he needs to do, like all leaders, is he needs to deliver on the promise that he generates and the expectations...Our responsibility is to ensure that the inevitable disappointments and there will be some don't undermine the promise of his election. So we need to support him. That is the point I am making today and that was the point his Vice-President was making in security terms to the countries of Europe."

When questioned about the Iraq war Browne ended by saying: "As far as Iraq is concerned, I think there is now a consensus that we have reached the stage where Iraq's own ability to provide security and governance for their country is such that we can begin drawing down our troops...there seems to be a consensus emerging round about a date about 2011 and I don't think there is any dispute about that any longer."

Browne also expressed a desire for the rest of Europe to seriously consider following the UK example and take prisoners from Guantanamo Bay.

"The closure of Guantanamo Bay generates the immediate consequence, of what does one do with the 200 plus occupants of that part of the island of Cuba?" he concluded.

Gates: U.S. will partner with Russia on Iranian Missile Defense

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that, “we are concerned about the Iranian missile threat and as long as that threat exists we will continue to pursue missile defense.” He goes on to say that, “we want to pursue it in partnership not only with our NATO allies but also with the Russians.”

The criminal underground's aid in the Siege of Sarajevo

Have United Nations workers and other NGO volunteers always maintained peace, or have they been the central piece to a war economy?

Scholar and author Peter Andreas of “Blue Helmets and Black Markets: The Business of Survival in the Siege of Sarajevo” portrays in his new book the double-sided affects of the international involvement during the Siege of Sarajevo. Andreas stressed that the Unites Nations was a main player in the siege’s peacekeeping, but it also allowed an underground criminal economy to facilitate positive and negative forces in Sarajevo.

Andreas said, “criminality involved looting the city, but also saving it. It involved perpetuating the siege, but also ending the war. And it involved state deformation and formation at the same time”. Andreas said the criminal underground emerged in the absence of an organized army in Sarajevo, and became “overnight patriotic heroes.” In a secret tunnel beneath the Sarajevo Airport, these criminals served as profiteers---selling cigarettes, alcohol, and arms---as well as a lifeline, providing money, medical supplies and an escape for civilians.

The UN controlled the airport during the siege. It was through the airport that civilians and criminal leaders ran their market of aid and corruption. Although he recognized that NATO air strikes were significant in the siege’s conclusion, he says most of the war’s conclusion was due to the shifting military balance in the arms embargo under the UN controlled airport. International aid was significant in publicizing and aiding the siege, but Andreas’ “backstage” conclusions may be the reason there is now a new criminalized elite in Sarajevo and elsewhere in Bosnia.