Countdown

Three Strikes, Still Not Out…

Volume VII, No. 14
Posted on Tuesday April 11, 2006

Three Strikes, Still Not Out…

As the popularity of the Iraq war continues to nosedive, appeals for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld have predictably intensified. What is raising eyebrows, however, is the growing corps of former generals joining the call. Last week, Countdown reported on the critiques outlined by former Mideast envoy General Anthony Zinni. Joining Zinni is the Army general who was responsible for training the Iraqi military, General Paul Eaton, who blasted Rumsfeld as “not competent to lead America’s armed forces.” The most recent retired officer to enter the fray is Marine Lieut. General Greg Newbold, the former chief operations officer at the Pentagon. “My sincere view is that the commitment of our forces to this fight was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions—or bury the results,” Newbold wrote in Time.

Breaking New Ground

In a groundbreaking study on Syria by the United Nations Development Fund for Women, 25% of married women say they have experienced violence at the hands of their husbands. Carried out by the quasi-governmental General Union of Women, the study included nearly 1,900 families. “In Syria there was simply no data on violence against women; formal studies hadn’t ever been done before,” U.N. project manager Shirin Shukri is quoted as saying. “The issue of violence against women was kept silent here for many years. But we’re making people in Syria aware that this is something that happens everywhere in Europe, in Asia, in the United States, and this is opening up discussion.” Women’s advocates welcomed the dialogue on this subject, but wonder if government action to address the issue will follow, according to the New York Times. Where’s the Syrian Oprah?

One Step Forward, Three Steps Back

Looks like the march towards democracy in the Arab World has hit a detour. The New York Times, reports that Arab governments are using “legal maneuvers and official changes of heart” to stymie the American-inspired democratization process in many countries. The growing strength of “Islamists, the chaos in Iraq” and what is seen as the growing influence of Iran through domestic Shiite constituencies are giving many Arab countries pause. “It feels like everything is going back to the bad old days, as if we never went through any changes at all,” Saudi columnist Sulaiman al-Hattlan is quoted as saying. “Everyone is convinced now that there was no serious or genuine belief in change from the governments. It was just a reaction to pressure by the international media in the U.S.” The Times reports that the Bush Administration’s low poll numbers and imminent lame-duck status have relieved pressure on many governments to reform. Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are taken to tasks for not following up on democratization initiatives, while some grassroots activists criticized the US for allowing these countries to backslide. Let’s hope this detour doesn’t turn into a U-turn.

Are We There Yet?

The new conventional wisdom in Washington is that Iraq is on the brink—but hasn’t yet reached—civil war. This leads to the inevitable question, will we know when we’re there? Is it akin to Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s description of pornography—will we know it when we see it? A recent report from the Boston Globe offers some stark numbers to back up the growing cadre of political analysts who argue that Iraq is already engulfed in civil war. “Nearly eight times as many Iraqis died last month in execution-style sectarian killings as in terrorist bombings carried out by insurgents,” reports the Globe. Recent news accounts challenge the perception that most of the violence is being perpetrated by a Sunni-led insurgency. “Victims, an average of 36 per day, included Sunni men found with holes drilled through their heads and Shi’ite men with the words ‘traitor’ written or carved across their bodies.” This rise in sectarian tension also complicates US withdrawal plans as the “same militias that provided new recruits for the US-trained police and military are now being accused of murder.” For those who lived through Lebanon’s civil war, this is horrible deja vu.

We Are America

The immigration debate, which has been on the political back-burner for months, reached full boil this week with millions taking to the streets across the country demanding comprehensive immigration reform. Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria offers valuable insight into the aspects of the American immigration system that have made it such a success. “Many Americans have become enamored of the European approach to immigration—perhaps without realizing it. Guest workers, penalties, sanctions and deportation are all a part of Europe’s mode of dealing with immigrants. The results of this approach have been on display recently in France, where rioting migrant youths again burned cars last week. Across Europe one sees disaffected, alienated immigrants, ripe for radicalism. The immigrant communities deserve their fair share of blame for this, but there’s a cycle at work. European societies exclude the immigrants, who become alienated and reject their societies. One puzzle about post-9/11 America is that it has not had a subsequent terror attack—even a small backpack bomb in a movie theater—while there have been dozens in Europe. My own explanation is that American immigrant communities, even Arab and Muslim ones, are not very radicalized…Compared with every other country in the world, America does immigration superbly. Do we really want to junk that for the French approach?”