As 2006 fades into 2007, what were the big stories in terms of international events? Internationally, the war in Iraq trumps all other stories. President Bush and his erstwhile ally Tony Blair, have finally run out of ways to scare, hype, and hoodwink the masses into supporting what has become a huge debacle. As the numbers of nations supporting "The Coalition of the Willing" continue to diminish, President Bush has finally fessed up to the fact for the first time admitting that we are now "not winning" in Iraq even as he opines that we are also "not losing" in Iraq -- another example of the classic double-speak that has been consistent with the spin that his administration continues to put out. The "sectarian violence" has morphed into a full-fledged "civil war" as the number of attacks on U.S. troops continue to escalate, as they are caught in the middle of a crossfire from opposing factions. It is the Shiites vs. Sunnis, Muslim vs. Jews vs. Christians, East vs. West, good vs. evil, terrorists vs. you name it. The Iraqi people continue to bear the brunt of all of the carnage as tens of thousands have been killed, scores more physically and psychologically maimed with safety and security drastically diminished. The police work with the Coalition forces by day and against them by night. The infrastructure -- water, electricity, roads and bridges, and the extraction and refining of oil continue to be sabotaged on a daily basis while Halliburton makes record profits. Colin Powell, to his credit, has finally come full turn by indicating that we are now in a full-fledged civil war where the military option simply is no longer viable ... it was never viable. Powell's warning of the "Pottery Barn rule" -- where if you break it, you own it -- has now been truly manifested as a result of this unnecessary and ill-conceived war. The Iraqi Study group has issued its Report with its 72 recommendations. Major revelations from the Report underscore the fact that we are losing the war and that the implications for the broader Middle Eastern region are grave if things don't improve very quickly. Another telling aspect of the Report is that of the 1000 or so staff in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, there are less than a dozen fluent Arabic speakers! President Bush will ponder what to make of the 72 recommendations as he pursues ways and means to get us out of this quagmire. What President Bush has now learned is that it was only Sadam Hussein's ruthlessness that kept the warring factions together as one nation. Far from the idealist notion that we would be received as liberators, we have become ironically the only other source that has come close to uniting the Iraqi factions due to their collective hatred of the U.S., Britain, and Israel. The situation in Afghanistan is no better. The Taliban has re-emerged as the force to reckon with as they continue to retake vast regions of the nations from U.S., Afghani, and NATO troops. Kabul has become another "green zone" whereby it is the only area effectively under control of the new government. Opium has again become the king of all cash crops in Afghanistan generating funds to finance the resistance and secondarily spreading more drug infestation and misery in the ghettos and communities all over the world. Osama Bin Laden continues to hide out in the mountainous international border areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan, spewing his hatred in his holy war against the U.S. and the West. My guess is that President Bush will again give another version of the spin that says "we are not winning and not losing in Afghanistan, as well!" In Africa, major wars, death, and carnage continue to plague the African people as ruthless leaders are allowed to exploit and oppress their people for their own personal gain. The war in the Darfur region of Sudan is the largest of such conflicts with the Janjui -- the Arabs who control the military and the resources in the north continue their genocidal attacks with their scorched earth policies against the Black Africans in the south. As the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity, and others stand by helplessly, the murderous attacks reminiscent of the killing fields in Rwanda continue unabated. Millions of refugees have left Sudan for neighboring states only to find more misery and hopelessness. In another of Africa's largest nations, Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe continues his efforts to undermine democracy with an iron fist, crushing out all opposition to his rule. A recent story on CNN noted that while this nation is loaded with national resources and was a net exporter of food, sadly its people are now foraging for rats and mice to cook for dinner to stave off starvation. I am embarrassed to admit that I was part of an effort to give Mr. Mugabe an honorary doctorate while an official at the University of Massachusetts many years ago when the hope for the revolution was alive and well. As Oginga Odinga, the Kenyan revolutionary and politician noted, we still have "Not Yet Uhuru"(Freedom) in Africa with so many despotic regimes. |
| The Literary Divide/ Dr. Paul Barrows 2006 in Review: Part One, Top Stories internationally |
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