JUAN COLE: OBAMA’S AFGHAN END GAME (METRO TIMES)

PRESIDENT UNDER PRESSURE (WP): War and tragedy are putting President Obama through the most wrenching period of his young administration. Visibly thinner, admittedly skipping meals, he is learning every day the challenges of a wartime presidency.

PARIS: France may have been marking the end of the first world war in l918, but I spent the night watching a documentary about 1929 and the Great Depression. It was a big hit on French TV. Directed by William Karel, edited by Michelle Hollander, it was a two hour special showing how we ignore history at our peril. The film featuring French economists and US experts like historian Howard Zinn and Steve Fraser showed the parallels—the frenzy, the greed, the unwillingness to hear warnings and then the panic, half hearted gestures, decision to return to “normal” in l937– that led to a deeper depression etc etc. Watching what happened brought me face to face with why I am here: to show my film PLUNDER in a continuing effort to fight the continuing denial and our willingness to grasp at every sign of “recovery” to conclude that the crisis is over.

While the financial crisis may have been checked, the economic and social crisis is sharpening. Interesting was a section in the film about how business and the right tried to demonize FDR with all sorts of name –calling—fascist, socialist, communist etc. etc. There’s a clip in the film I hadn’t seen before of that President calling them on it. Some things don’t change…

In the news…

LOU DOBBS RESIGNS FROM CNN

CNN host Lou Dobbs resigned from the network today, saying that he has been urged by political and business leaders to leave his television platform to “engage in constructive problem-solving” on national issues. He said today’s show was his last.
“Over the past six months, it’s become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffetting this country and affecting all of us,” Dobbs said, adding that he’s considering pursuing a number of options.

“As for the important work of restoring inspiration to our great free society and our market economy, I will strive to be a leader in that national conversation,” he said.

Dobbs’ break with CNN comes after he worked at the network for more than a quarter century, starting with its inception in 1980, often clashing with network executives in the process. While he originally led the network’s business coverage, in recent years Dobbs developed a populist persona that has increasingly been out of step with the network’s emphasis on neutral reporting. He has railed about the country’s immigration policy and used his show to raise questions about the validity of President Obama’s birth certificate.

Several months ago, CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein discussed with Dobbs tamping down the opinion on his show, something he agreed to do. But his presence on CNN continued to be a source of friction within the network. Liberal groups have been calling for CNN to let him go and on Wednesday celebrated his resignation.

“Our contention all along was that Lou Dobbs – who has a long record of spreading lies and conspiracy theories about immigrants and Latinos – does not belong on the ‘most trusted name in news,’ ” said Roberto Lovato, co-founder of Presente.org, a national online advocacy organization coordinating BastaDobbs.com, a Latino-led coalition. “We are thrilled that Dobbs no longer has this legitimate platform from which to incite fear and hate.”

STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT OF CNN

CNN President Jon Klein issued the following statement today: “Lou Dobbs is a valued founding member of the CNN family. For decades, Lou fearlessly and tirlessly pursued some of the most important and complex stories of our time, often well ahead of the pack. All of us will miss his appetite for big ideas, the megawatt smile and larger than life presence he brought to our newsroom, and we’re grateful to have known and worked with him over the years. With charactertistic forthrightness, Lou has now decided to carry the banner of advocacy journalism elsewhere. We respect his decision and wish him, Debi, and his family the very best.”

ABC News’ Brian Ross’ Contacts with al Qaeda: Network’s ‘investigative correspondent’ used ‘electronic means’ to connect with terrorists…

The Brad Blog Reports:

How many times does he have to get these stories wrong before ABC News cans their hapless and constantly wrong “investigative correspondent” Brian Ross? We suspect he’ll be allowed to keep screwing up, again and again and again, so long as his screw-ups result in lots of media attention. Little wonder Ross is one of the only broadcast network news stooges invited on Bill O’Reilly’s show, again and again and again.

As it turns out, Ross’ big “scoop” yesterday, which swept both the wingnut and non-wingnut media alike, cooked up the alleged Fort Hood shooter Army Major Nidal Malik “Hasan’s Contacts with al Qaeda”.

Those “contacts with al Qaeda”? Um, not so much as it turns out in actuality, at least based on Ross misreported “evidence”.

Furthermore, Ross’ own admissions now — as measured by ABC News’ own “standards” — would seem to suggest that Ross himself may well be an al-Qaeda terrorist!…

Walter Reed Officials Asked: Was Hasan Psychotic?
By Daniel Zwerdling - National Public Radio

“Was Hasan psychotic?

“Put it this way,” says one official, “Everybody felt that if you were deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, you would not want Nidal Hasan in your foxhole.”

When Soldiers and Their Families Become Expendable

Dahr Jamail, Truthout: “The military operates through indoctrination. Soldiers are programmed to develop a mindset that resists any acknowledgment of injury and sickness, be it physical or psychological. As a consequence, tens of thousands of soldiers continue to serve, even being deployed to combat zones like Iraq and/or Afghanistan, despite persistent injuries. According to military records, over 43,000 troops classified as ‘nondeployable for medical reasons’ have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan nevertheless.”

US REPUDIATES HERSH PAKISTAN REPORT

By Al Jazeera

Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer prize-winning writer, said in his report that the US and Pakistan have agreed on a security protocol allowing a special US team to assist in the guarding of Pakistan’s nuclear armaments.

VIA UN WIRE: TALIBAN STRONGER THAN AL QAIDA

The power balance between militant groups operating in Afghanistan has slid, with the Taliban emerging as a more prominent threat than al-Qaida at a time when the Barack Obama administration seeks tens of thousands of more troops to fight the enemy. U.S. estimates hold that some 300 al-Qaida insurgents are holed up in the tribal wilds of Pakistan, while tens of thousands of Taliban agents operate freely on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The inversion might be drawing al-Qaida into the orbit of former Taliban cabinet minister Jalaluddin Haqqani and away from Mohammad Omar, who has distanced himself from al-Qaida in recent months. The Washington Post (11/11)

THE FREE WORLD AT WORK: SEIG HEIL

SEIG HEIL

Two army officers and their commander have been suspended after it emerged they had worn nazi insignia while serving with the occupation force in Afghanistan.

Czech Defence Minister Martin Bartak said that it was “unacceptable” that two commanders of a Czech rapid reaction brigade had worn symbols of World War II nazi SS divisions on their helmets while serving in Logar province.

Mr Bartak said: “Fundamental measures will be taken - if it is proved that there were soldiers in high command structures among those responsible, they will also bear the consequences.”

Lieutenant Jan Cermak wore the emblem of the infamous SS Dirlewanger brigade and sergeant Hynek Matonoha wore the symbol of the 9th SS panzer division Hohenstaufen.

FOREIGN POLICY: Stephen M. Walt: Department of meaningless gestures

Two eminent mainstream journalists — Tom Friedman and Joe Klein — recently called for United States to disengage from the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, on the grounds that Palestinians were too divided to make a deal and the Israelis were not interested in one. Friedman couldn’t bring himself to draw the logical conclusion — if the United States truly going to “disengage,” that also means cutting off its economic and military assistance — but Klein did.

I have a certain sympathy for this position (and even wrote similar things myself before I wised up), but there are two problems with this specific idea. The first is that it is a meaningless prescription: There’s no way to cut the aid package (or even put a hold on it, which is what Klein recommends) so long as Congress is in hock to AIPAC and the other groups in the status quo lobby. And unless I’ve missed something, I doubt groups like J Street would support it either.

Friedman and Klein’s statements do convey how discourse in the United States is changing, but the specific recommendation they offer here is a non-starter. Remember: we are dealing with a Congress that just voted to condemn the Goldstone Report by a vote of 344-24. The aid package may be indirectly subsidizing the settlements and threatening Israel’s future as a Jewish majority state, but a supine House and Senate will still sign the annual check.

The second problem, I fear, is that it is too little, too late. Having dithered, delayed and dissembled ever since the Oslo Accords — while the number of settlers more than doubled — we are about to face an entirely different problem. The sun is now setting on the “two-state solution” — if it is not already well below the horizon — and pretty soon everyone will have to admit that they are sitting around in the dark and pretending they see daylight.

Be careful what you wish for. Israel is going to get what it has long sought: permanent control of the West Bank (along with de facto control over Gaza). The Palestinian Authority is increasingly irrelevant and may soon collapse, General Keith Dayton’s mission to train reliable and professional Palestinian security forces will end, and Israel will once again have full responsibility for some 5.2 million Palestinian Arabs under its control. And the issue will gradually shift from the creation of a viable Palestinian state — which was the central idea behind the Oslo process and the subsequent “Road Map” — to a struggle for civil and political rights within an Israel that controls all of mandate Palestine. And on what basis could the United States oppose such a campaign, without explicitly betraying its own core values?

In this regard, it was telling that Martin Indyk — a key figure in the lobby and far from a harsh critic of Israeli policy — is quoted in the Times saying “more than likely, we are entering a new era.” I think he’s right, and he sounds worried. He should be, because the Obama administration isn’t remotely ready for it.

PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS: ISRAEL ROUTS US AS DOLLAR DIES

US MORE DEPENDENT ON CHINA THAN EVER

When U.S. President Barack Obama visits China this weekend, he will encounter a rival that sees the financial crisis as more of an opportunity than a threat. America, on the other hand, has been fundamentally weakened by the global crunch - and is more dependent on the goodwill of the rising superpower than ever.

The scientists at the National University of Defense Technology in Changsha, China, had plenty to celebrate: They had developed a supercomputer that could perform more than a quadrillion calculations per second.

The announcement, released just in time for U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to China this weekend, had symbolic value: With their new computer, dubbed “Tianhe” (”Milky Way”), the Chinese claim they will be the first country to become a direct rival to the superpower.

China is bursting with self-confidence. The new world power sees itself as a winner in the financial crisis, with its economy growing by an impressive 9 percent in the third quarter, while the economies of the West struggle to recover from a deep recession. And while the Americans are focused on their own problems, China is expanding its influence, both in Asia and among resource-rich African countries.

China’s leaders are challenging the Americans more and more aggressively, not least to demonstrate to their own population of 1.3 billion how far the country has progressed under their leadership.

PUBLIC OPINION ON CHINA

As Hu Jin Tao, Obama Prepare to Meet, World Public Gives China, US Low Marks on Climate Change


With President Barack Obama on his way to meet his Chinese counterpart in Beijing for talks on global climate change and a range of other issues, a poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org shows that publics in more than half of 20 nations disapprove of the way China and the United States are dealing with global warming.

The poll asked respondents to grade China and the US on several dimensions. China gets poor marks for how it handles human rights–on average 52% say China does not respect human rights while just 36% say it does. The US does better, with 50% saying it is respectful and 38% it is not. 

People around the world regard both superpowers as cooperative, but they also see both countries, especially the US, as using the threat of military force to coerce other nations. 

Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao are expected to focus on climate change, economic concerns, and nuclear issues related to Iran and North Korea when they meet Nov. 16 and 17. The climate change question is of particular importance in the run-up to December’s conference in Copenhagen, where 192 countries will attempt to conclude a new treaty on climate change. All eyes will be on China, the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gases, and the United States, which long held that distinction.

The WPO poll, conducted during April and May, finds that people in 11 nations disapprove of how [China] is “dealing with the issue of climate change.” Clear majorities in six nations — France (74%), Britain (73%), Germany (72%), the United States (69%), South Korea (69%), and Egypt (58%) — are disapproving, along with pluralities is five other nations. Only in Pakistan (93%), Nigeria (69%), Kenya (64%), and Indonesia (55%) do majorities approve.

(Photos: Pete Souza/White House Photo, Office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom)


FINANCIAL TIMES: China hints at renminbi appreciation

China gave its first hint on Wednesday of a possible appreciation in the renminbi amid mounting international criticism over its currency policy and ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit to China next week. Full Story

FT: Inquiry ordered after Brazilian blackout

Brazil’s president ordered an urgent investigation on Wednesday into why more than half the country was left without electric power for hours on Tuesday night.