The Week in Review
Middle East
An appeals panel in Iraq said on Thursday that the approximately 500 candidates who were banned from participating in next month’s parliamentary elections, supposedly because of their ties with Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, could now run in the elections. The Shiite-dominated government promptly condemned the lifting of the ban, saying it was illegal. Under the ruling by the appeals panel, a decision on whether the banned candidates could hold office would be postponed until after the elections. Reuters reports, “It was unclear if the government could contest the panel’s decision—much of the process of banning the candidates has involved creative interpretations of the law and the legality of the commission that drew up the list is also in question.” The reality is, the Iranian-supported Shiite-dominated government simply wants to retain—and increase—its own power. If the Shiites are successful in excluding Sunnis from power, however, an eruption of Sunni violence could result.
Iran continues its game of cat-and-mouse with the West over its nuclear program, with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad saying on Tuesday that Tehran was willing to send its enriched uranium abroad in exchange for nuclear fuel—reversing what appeared to be his previous position. Despite Iran’s obvious ongoing duplicity over its nuclear program, a U.S. official said Washington was prepared to listen to any new proposal by Tehran. Under the original United Nations-brokered deal, Iran would send enough enriched uranium abroad to ensure it would not have enough for a nuclear weapon if it were further refined. We can be sure, however, that any short-term concessions Iran may make to thwart penalties from the international community will not deter it from its ultimate goal of nuclear weapons capability.
Meanwhile, Iran test-fired a domestically made satellite-carrier rocket on Wednesday, Iranian media reported. “Iran successfully launches home-built Kavoshgar-3 satellite rocket,” English-language television station Press tv said. As the long-range ballistic technology used to launch satellite rockets can be used to launch conventional or nuclear-armed warheads, this could be an indication of progress by Iran in developing a missile delivery system for a nuclear bomb.
On Monday, Iran commenced 11 days of celebrations to mark the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. The revolution’s leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, returned from a 15-year exile in France on Feb. 1, 1979.
Also this week, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki visited Turkey to attend a meeting of the Turkish-Iranian Joint Economic Commission on Wednesday. The warming Iranian-Turkish relationship is deeply troubling to Israel, whose alliance with Turkey is definitely cooling.
Europe
Greece has another €40 billion of hidden debt, a commission of experts told the nation’s parliament early this week. On Wednesday, European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia announced that he would take the unprecedented step of monitoring the Greek government’s spending. The government is trying to control spending, but its austerity measures are already provoking strikes. Tax collectors and customs officials walked out on Thursday. Doctors, civil servants and Communist-backed lawyers will strike on February 10, and a general strike is scheduled for February 24. National bankruptcy is a very real possibility. Both French and German ministers have announced that they will not bail out their Club Med neighbor. But if Greece were to implement the massive spending cuts needed to bring its deficit under control, it would likely plunge the nation into a deep recession. Yet if Germany and France allow Greece to continue defying its monetary agreements, there would be little to stop other deeply indebted countries such as Spain, Portugal and Italy from also reneging on their monetary commitments, compromising the credibility of the euro. The eurozone appears to be at a crossroads, and all eyes seem to be turning to Europe’s biggest economy—Germany—for the answer.
Britain is facing an assault by a historic foe: the pope. Benedict xvi verbally attacked the British Labor Party Monday, assailing its “equality legislation,” which could be interpreted to force churches to hire homosexuals or transsexuals even if doing so violates their religious beliefs. Times correspondent Ruth Gledhill noted the broader significance of the pope’s phrasing: “[I]n the broader context, his attack could be regarded as not just on the Equality Bill but on the whole of Britain’s Labor administration. … It is highly unusual for a foreign head of state or church leader to intervene directly in the legislative process of a Protestant state” (February 1).
Spain’s liberal compulsory sex education classes were exposed this week. The organization “Professionals for Ethics” said that third-grade students in the city of Cordoba are being taught that sex can be freely practiced, even with animals. Such depraved teaching is likely to rouse the Vatican into action. Watch for its attempt to combat such immorality and extend its influence into Europe’s education system.
Asia
Thousands of angry citizens from across Japan marched through the streets of Tokyo on Saturday to protest the continued U.S. military presence on Okinawa. Cabinet minister Mizuho Fukushima reassured the protestors that she would fight to get the military base off the island. Since the end of the Second World War, the U.S. has maintained a military presence in Japan, and, at present, around 47,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed throughout the country. More than half of these troops are at the Futenma Air Station located on Okinawa. Claiming the U.S. military base is a major source of noise, pollution and crime in the area, a growing number of Japanese are demanding it be removed. In 2006, Tokyo and Washington agreed to relocate the facility to a less-populated area on Okinawa, but polls show that a clear majority of Japanese want a total end to the U.S. military presence in Japan. The pressure on Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is not just coming from the public. Fukushima, who leads Hatoyama’s coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (sdp), said her party may quit the coalition if Japan allows the U.S. to stay in Okinawa. Without the sdp, Hatoyama loses his majority in Japan’s upper house, and would be unable to pass legislation. This protest is just the latest of many indications of a clear change in the relationship between the U.S. and Japan. The U.S. can no longer count on Japan’s support.
Latin America/Africa
The European Union plans to restart talks with Mercosur, the Latin American trade bloc, this year to cement a free-trade agreement. Mercosur, led by Argentina and Brazil, was engaged in talks with the EU for such a deal in early 2008, but the discussions stalled. After a two-year hiatus, both parties are poised to resume the negotiations to forge the colossal trade bloc that would leave America out in the cold. Herbert W. Armstrong’s Plain Truth magazine forecast in 1962, “[T]he United States is going to be left out in the cold as twogigantic trade blocs, Europe and Latin America,mesh together and begin calling the shots in world commerce.” Expect relations between the EU and Mercosur to keep improving, and for the U.S. to become increasingly isolated. For more information on Latin America’s future with the EU, read “Recolonizing Latin America?”
Islamist terrorists, who control most of rural Somalia, launched an attack on Friday against international peacekeeping forces and government soldiers in the war-torn capital city. The assault came just days before the transitional government’s one-year anniversary, suggesting that it was timed to coincide with planned anniversary celebrations. The conflict is the latest indication that the government’s grip on security is steadily slipping. A United Nations report shows that the Somali insurgents are able to maintain control over such a vast area largely because of backing from Islamic governments and organizations sympathetic to their cause such as Hezbollah, Libya, Egypt and Iran.
America
On Thursday, the American stock market dipped below 10,000 on a volatile day of trading and selloffs laced with fears about the U.S. job market and about European debt loads. It marked the first time since last November that the Dow fell below 10,000, and put the index down more than 4 percent for the year.
Also on Thursday, the House of Representatives approved the federal government to go into debt by $1.9 trillion more, an average of $6,000 more per American. The Washington Times reported that the 217-212 vote raised the cap on federal debt to $14.3 trillion and keeps Congress from having to vote on debt again before the midterm elections.
Meanwhile, more major snowstorms were poised to disrupt school, traffic, flights, electricity and life in general late in the week all the way from the plains to the northeast. More strong storms are forecast for next week.
The New York attorney general has charged the former ceo of Bank of America with fraud. He accused the bank of hiding the fact that Merrill Lynch had more than $16 billion in actual losses in order to convince shareholders to buy the company.
