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"Your Liberty is Our Interest"
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Jefferson Review |
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"Your Liberty is Our Interest" |
March 15, 2004 | |
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Reason's Weekly Dispatch March 9, 2004
1. Squeeze Play 1. Squeeze Play If dispatches form overseas can be believed -- a very big if -- an extremely important al Qaeda link has been arrested by Pakistan's security forces. Khalid al-Zawahiri, son of supposed terror mastermind Ayman, was recently picked up along with his wife and others in the remote area of Waziristan. Needless to say, nabbing al-Zawahiri and his inner circle could lead to both Osama bin Laden and the elder al-Zawahiri, whom the U.S. blames for much of the recent unrest in Iraq. Someone is certainly taking this information seriously. U.S. special ops troops are reportedly flooding into Afghanistan in anticipation of a spring push into the Tora Bora region. The British are said to be supplying a healthy SAS component, with the Pakistanis also pouring troops into the largely autonomous Tribal Areas. The central government has also has reportedly won the cooperation of at least some of the local tribesmen, a claim that -- given the baseline popularity of bin Laden in the region -- should be treated with suspicion. From afar the goings-on look like an attempt by the Pakistanis to drive bin Laden into the arms of the U.S. and British, preferably on the Afghan side of the border. But recall that slipping through a cordon of Afghan troops is supposedly how bin Laden made his initial Tora Bora escape shortly after the fall of the Taliban. For that very reason, one would expect Coalition troops to operate on both sides of the border, perhaps with SAS taking the lead in Afghan territory. Chances for a Bush-boosting October surprise thus look rather remote. If bin Laden in going to be caught, it will have to happen quickly. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/03/07/1078594232028.html 2. Piece Keeping Efforts As expected, the situation in Haiti continues to be explosive: Thousands of people have been taking to the streets, and armed gangs are roving the countryside. U.S. Marines have already been forced to intercede in the running battles, with the average Haitian clearly viewing the U.S. as responsible for restoring order to the country. The trouble is that the 2,500-strong joint French-American force is too small to do that. A force double that size might be big enough, provided there was a functional Haitian police force to maintain everyday calm. But despite years of U.S. efforts to build such a force, the Haitian police seem to have melted away, if they have not joined actively in the violence. The U.S. is absolutely stretched to limit with regard to any further deployment, and the French do not seem eager to absorb any more of the cost of rebuilding Haiti. That leaves the UN, never the place to turn for quick action. The result is a situation that is likely to get worse before it starts resembling anything better. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3540937.stm 3. The USA! USA! Network Rural America may soon get its news straight from the Pentagon, at least with regard to events in Afghanistan and Iraq. The military's express purpose will be to deliver unfiltered, happy news to outlets hungry for no-strings-attached video and camera-ready copy. The effort is being dubbed a "military public affairs project," which is a bit of propaganda for the propaganda. The Pentagon has decided that the average American gets a "slanted" picture of what is going on in the current battle-zones, evidently feeling that soldiers not killed are as newsworthy as those who are killed. There is also an apparent belief that focusing on the public works projects completed in both countries will translate into a better understanding of the conflicts. But by beginning with the premise that they must deliver "positive" news, the Pentagon undermines the credibility of its effort. For example, would a feel-good story about the graduation day of a new crop of Iraqi or Afghan army recruits be followed up by a report of any casualties the unit eventually sustains? If not, why not? Either the unit is newsworthy or it isn't. The same with U.S. National Guard units. There could conceivably be real value in the Pentagon filing stories on Guard units for the benefit of communities back home. But it cannot be all barbecues and school-supply round-ups. That would just deceive the folks back home with a different "slant." Or could that be the whole idea? http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=1675781 4. Quick Hits Quote of the Week "Our breasts are not criminal." -- Liz Book, a 42-year-old Brownie troop leader, who took her shirt off to protest Daytona Beach's public nudity laws. She was arrested. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040307/325/enwqp.html
The Enemy Within Rep. Peter King (R-NY) claims that leaders of 85 percent of American mosques are involved in terrorist activities. Kings says research for a recent novel he published convinced him of this fact. http://apnews.excite.com/article/20040307/D815JNG00.html Muddy Boots Another U.S. armored brigade dismounts to fight as infantry, then heads to Iraq as part of a massive troop rotation now underway. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/07/international/middleeast/07INFA.html?ex=107967 Double Water, on the Rocks Both Martian rovers now report finding signs of past water on the Red Planet. As the vehicles are thousands of miles apart, this pretty much confirms that Mars was, at some point, very wet. http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994747 5. New at Reason Online Lards And Stripes 6. The Print Edition Get your personal copy of the latest issue of Reason's print edition each month -- before it hits the newsstands and before it's posted on the Web! Subscribe Today! 7. News and Events Buy Reason T-shirts and coffee mugs! Click here for the latest on media appearances by Reason writers. Want even more Reason? Sign up for Reason Alert to get regular news from Reason Magazine and Reason Public Policy Instiute, as well as advance notice about media appearances and events. We encourage you to forward Reason Express. If you received this issue from a forward, please subscribe. It's Free! ---
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