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Commentary Week In Review

Posted By Guy Taylor 22 Sep 2007 The Commentary Week in Review is posted on the blog every Friday. Drawing from more than two dozen English-language news outlets worldwide, the column highlights notable op-eds on major issues from the past week.

Hedging Against Democracy

Prompted by a recent New York Times article on the extent to which American companies and investors are involved in the creation and maintenance of China's increasingly sophisticated internal surveillance system, the past week saw more than one noteworthy op-ed about the progressively capitalist nature of China's big brother state.

Harold Meyerson mused in the Sept. 19 Washington Post that the "American economy may be teetering on the brink of a recession, but there's an industry our hedge fund gurus believe has an almost limitless future: the Chinese police state."

Meyerson summarized the Times article's claims that 660 Chinese cities have begun installing high-tech surveillance systems, and that by one estimate, high-end surveillance will expand from a $500 million industry in 2003 to a $43 billion industry by 2010.

Explaining that China Security and Surveillance Technology, a company soon to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, "has received $110 million in convertible loans from the Citadel Group, a Chicago-based hedge fund, which it has used to buy up smaller Chinese surveillance companies," Meyerson asserted:

Some Wall Street executives have even defended their investments by equating the Chinese surveillance system with the surveillance cameras of London and New York. To be sure, leading American companies have a long and sordid record of investing in totalitarian states, including Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia and axis-of-evil Iran (hello, Halliburton). ...Once China turned communist repression into an investment opportunity ... capitalism responded as capitalism is supposed to respond: It wanted in. There are mega-bucks to be made, the hedge funds concluded, in hedging against democracy.

American-Made Big Brother

In a Sept. 18 piece posted on the Web site of The New Republic, Joshua Kurlantzick went a step further, arguing that "anyone shocked to hear that a Chinese surveillance company was raising capital in America just hasn't been paying attention."

"For years now, not only have big American Internet companies contributed to Internet censorship; smaller, lesser-known foreign firms have provided the technology that helped China, Saudi Arabia, and other authoritarian governments crack down on online dissent," he wrote. "Like other search engines operating in China, Google has agreed to filter out websites Beijing does not approve, like ones criticizing the Communist Party, discussing the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, or featuring prominent figures critical of China like the Dalai Lama."

"Others have gone much farther," wrote Kurlantzick, who explained:

Yahoo reportedly gave the Chinese government personal information that may have been used to arrest Shi Tao, a leading Chinese journalist and activist. An Open Net Initiative study of Internet filtering suggests that Cisco Systems may have designed and developed a specific firewall for China.

"The stakes are much higher in closed societies like Saudi Arabia or China," he went on. "In those countries, Internet-based phone services and chat services have become almost the only secure ways for activists to communicate with each other and with the outside world."

China's Military Modernization

A technological evolution of another sort is also afoot in Asia these days, according to Robert D. Kaplan, who wrote in the Sept. 21 New York Times that "while the American government has been occupied in Mesopotamia, and our European allies continue to starve their defense programs, Asian militaries -- in particular those of China, India, Japan and South Korea -- have been quietly modernizing and in some cases enlarging."

Claiming that China's "production and acquisition of submarines is now five times that of America's," Kaplan wrote that Beijing has also been focusing "on naval mines, ballistic missiles that can hit moving objects at sea, and technology that blocks G.P.S. satellites."

"The goal," according to Kaplan, "is 'sea denial': dissuading American carrier strike groups from closing in on the Asian mainland wherever and whenever we like."

He mused further that:

The twin trends of a rising Asia and a politically crumbling Middle East will most likely lead to a naval emphasis on the Indian Ocean and its surrounding seas, the sites of the "brown water" choke points of world commerce — the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, the Bab el Mandeb at the mouth of the Red Sea, and Malacca. ...To wit, China is giving Pakistan $200 million to build a deep-water port at Gwadar, just 390 nautical miles from the Strait of Hormuz. Beijing is also trying to work with the military junta in Myanmar to create another deep-water port on the Bay of Bengal. It has even hinted at financing a canal across the 30-mile Isthmus of Kra in Thailand that would open a new connection between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.

Less Opium in the Golden Triangle

Speaking of developments in Asia, Thomas Fuller wrote in the Sept. 16 New York Times that "after years of producing the lion's share of the world's opium, the Golden Triangle [Laos, Thailand and Myanmar] is now only a bit player in the global heroin trade."

Posing the question to himself of "What happened?" Fuller explained:

Economic pressure from China, crackdowns on opium farmers , and a switch by criminal syndicates to methamphetamine production, appear to have had the biggest impact. At the same time, some insurgent groups that once were financed with drug money now say they are urging farmers to eradicate their poppy fields. As a result, the Golden Triangle has been eclipsed by the Golden Crescent -- the poppy-growing area in and around Afghanistan that is now the source of an estimated 92 percent of the world's opium, according to the United Nations.

"A striking aspect of the decline of the Golden Triangle is the role China has played in pressing opium-growing regions to eradicate poppy crops," added Fuller, who noted that as "a major market for Golden Triangle heroin, China has seen a spike in addicts and H.I.V. infections from contaminated needles."

Lebanon at Historic Crossroads

Away from Asia, there is a major election coming in the Middle East, according to Eli Khoury, who wrote in the Sept. 20 Boston Globe that "Americans would be wise to pay attention" later this month when "the Lebanese parliament is supposed to choose a new president in a region of the world where American soldiers are fighting and where American interests are inextricably tied."

Noting that Lebanon "lives with interference by Iran and Syria ... borders Israel ... has a strong Hezbollah presence in the south, and an army that is fighting terrorism while also trying to spread its control over the country's territory," Khoury asserted that "today, Lebanon stands at a historic crossroads between being integrated into the international community or remaining under the influences of external forces."

"In one sense, Lebanese citizens have already voted with their feet," he argued, noting that "in the 'Cedar Revolution' of March 2005 over a million Lebanese marched to demand freedom from Syrian domination and control over their political lives."

But Khoury maintained that:

At any moment, Lebanon could be dragged back into chaos or full-scale war. The parliamentary process could be delayed by political maneuvering or manipulation by any minority party that fears it can't win. Violence and more terrorism may be part of the pre-election cycle. The United States and its European allies need to support Lebanon and protect the upcoming presidential elections from foreign intimidation, so that a freely elected president can consolidate Lebanese sovereignty, protect Lebanon from regional conflict, and secure Lebanon's fragile democracy.

The Commentary Week In Review draws from links aggregated every weekday morning in WPR's Media Roundup, which you can receive by email for free by registering now.

New Feature: Top 10 WPR Articles

Posted By The Editors 21 Sep 2007 In the bottom left corner of our front page, we post links to the eight articles that are the most emailed using the "email to a friend" button that can be found on the blue tool bar at the bottom of each article.

But you might be wondering which articles on WPR are the most read period, regardless of whether they're emailed or not. Well, we've got the answers.

Every Friday on the blog, we'll be posting the top 10 most popular articles of the week, and of the previous 30 days. (Just one caveat: At the risk of seeming undemocratic, we would point out the obvious fact that, especially due to the vagaries of Internet linking, some very good articles won't make the list. If one of your favorite articles gets shafted, send around that link and see if it can make next week's list!)

Top 10 This Week*

1. Why Israel Won't Invade Gaza -- For Now
2. Southern German Towns Become Hub of Jihadism
3. Roh-Bush Confrontation Underscores Korean Peace Problem
4. Corridors of Power: U.K. Ambassador Tells All, Open Skies Finalized, and More
5. Israel and Hezbollah: Their Weapons of War
6. Israeli Planes in Syria's Skies: Theories, Threats and Warnings
7. Sex in Ramallah: Between Islam and Globalization
8. Russian Bombers Rehearse Nuclear Attacks Against the United States
9. Firestone Faces Criticism From Liberia Over Working Conditions
10. Security Clampdown Ramps Up Tension Along Kazakh-Uzbek Border

*Our stat program begins counting each week on Monday.

Top 10 Last 30 Days

1. Sex in Ramallah: Between Islam and Globalization
2. Coast Guard in Dispute With Defense Contractors Amid Equipment Crisis
3. Russian Bombers Rehearse Nuclear Attacks Against the United States
4. Israeli Planes in Syria's Skies: Theories, Threats and Warnings
5. As Oil Revenues Boom, Islamic Banking Goes Global
6. Oil Money Remains a Poisonous Influence in International Politics
7. Women of Hezbollah: Growing Discontent May Fracture Loyalties
8. Corridors of Power: Bush, Blair, the Law of the Sea and More
9. Rejection of U.S. Food Aid by NGO Signals Change in Global Hunger Policy
10. Cuba and U.S. Politics: My Evening With Castro

Pol Pot's No. 2 Arrested in Cambodia

Posted By Simon Roughneen 20 Sep 2007 DILI, East Timor -- The most senior surviving member of the genocidal Khmer Rouge leadership has been arrested at his home in rural Cambodia, close to the Thai border.

Nuon Chea, known by his Orwellian nom de guerre "Brother No. 2," will face trial for crimes against humanity at the United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal established in Cambodia last year.

He was Pol Pot's right-hand man during the 1975-1979 reign of terror of the Khmer Rouge, during which almost 2 million people perished due to starvation, disease, enslavement, or execution, all in the name of utopian agrarian reforms, of which Chea was a central architect. Formal education, property rights, religious profession and currency were all abolished, as the Khmer Rouge sought to turn the country into a large-scale collective farm-cum-labor camp before being overthrown by an invading Vietnamese army in 1979. The number of people killed due the relentless brutality under the ultra-Maoists amounted to almost 20 percent of the population of Cambodia.

As Chea was led to the helicopter deployed to fly him to Phnom Penh to face trial, a neighbor told Agence France-Presse that "he was shaking, he looked like his legs would collapse." A penchant for Gucci sunglasses aside, Chea lived austerely in a wooden jungle house.

The $50 million U.N. tribunal has been undermined so far by delays and slow implementation. Trials are not likely to begin until next year, and with Chea now a frail 82, and only one other suspect arrested, it remains to be seen whether Cambodians will receive justice for the mass human suffering and death caused by the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot -- Brother No. 1 -- died in custody in 1998.

The other tribunal indictee is Kaing Guek Eav, a.k.a. "Duch," who ran the S21 detention centre in Phnom Penh, site of the torture and murder of almost 20,000 men, women and children.

Four others are under investigation by the tribunal. While these names have not been released, it is believed that former President Khieu Samphan, a neighbor of Chea's in the Thai borderland, is on the list.

Current Cambodian Prime Minster Hun Sen is a former Khmer Rouge member, as are many of his government colleagues. The tribunal took nine years to establish, apparently because the government sought to ensure the virtual immunity of many senior officials who were mid or low-ranking members of the Khmer Rouge.

The tribunal, properly known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), is a mixed Cambodian-U.N. entity. Only those "most responsible for serious crimes" will be tried -- likely to be fewer than 10 and guilty verdicts require a "super-majority" of 4 out of 5 judges -- 3 Cambodian and 2 international. The hybrid national-international nature of the tribunal is redolent of other initiatives, such as the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

However while the west African tribunal has netted big fish such as Liberia's former warlord President Charles Taylor, the Cambodian ECCC has been further jeopardized by Cambodian government disbandment threats, as the officials believe any ECCC attempt to have Cambodia's retired King Sihanouk testify would amount to discrediting the monarchy. The former King has immunity from prosecution under the Cambodian constitution.

But now it seems the U.N.-backed tribunal is slipping into gear, and for Cambodians, the sight of Brother No. 2 being led away to stand trial will doubtless be a cathartic moment.

Simon Roughneen has worked as a journalist in Sudan and across Africa, and for the U.N. Mission in East Timor.

See also: this podcast about the tribunal, and this interview with an investigator of the Cambodian genocide. For more on the Sierra Leone tribunal, see this article.

For more Cambodia coverage, see the WPR archives.

Gelb on Mearsheimer and Walt

Posted By The Editors 19 Sep 2007 The New York Times has just posted to the Web (ahead of its appearance in print on Sunday) a review by Leslie Gelb of the new book on the Israel Lobby by Mearsheimer and Walt. It's worth a read for the calm and convincing way in which Gelb rebuts the book's thesis, which is that the Israel lobby jeopardizes U.S. national security:

. . . I believe that the authors are mostly wrong, as well as dangerously misleading. But Mearsheimer and Walt are raising the very same fundamental, gut-check issues about American security and who controls policy that many Middle East experts talk about mostly in private. Former President Jimmy Carter made similar points, if rather hotly and self-righteously, in his recent book, "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid." Mearsheimer and Walt, together with Carter and their phalanx of backers at universities and research institutes, have to be answered, not by calling them anti-Semites, but on the merits.

Mearsheimer and Walt live in the same foreign policy world I inhabit, and no one familiar with their extensive scholarship or their lives ever accused them of harboring anti-Semitic sentiments . . . until the appearance of their article last year. And such charges are not unusual in this little world. But as my mother often said, "They asked for trouble" -- by the way they make their arguments, by their puzzlingly shoddy scholarship, by what they emphasize and de-emphasize, by what they leave out and by writing on this sensitive topic without doing extensive interviews with the lobbyists and the lobbied.

After dealing with all of the books major arguments, Gelb concludes that the issue of the Israeli lobby is a distraction from the real strategic problem in the Middle East:

America's central strategic problem in the region -- the main reason to worry about future terrorists, nuclear proliferation and energy supplies -- is that we need our corrupt, inept and unpopular Arab allies because the likely alternative to them is far worse. There is no reliable and strong Arab moderate force in the Middle East at present. Washington's long-term goal must be to help build one. Yet Mearsheimer and Walt offer us no counsel on how to do this.

It's important to remember that the shah of Iran was overthrown not because he enjoyed good relations with Israel, which he did, but because a majority of his own people came to hate his regime and also his ties to the United States. There was no sustainable moderate center between the shah and the fanatical mullahs. And the lack of such a center is precisely what Washington needs to worry about now in places like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

As it happens, America's commitment to Israel rests far more on moral and historical grounds than on strict strategic ones. Israel does not harm American security interests to anywhere near the degree that Mearsheimer and Walt claim it does. And the major reality is that despite whatever difficulties the Israeli-American relationship might cause, the United States is helping to protect one of the few nations in the world that share American values and interests, a true democracy. This is the greatest strategic bond between the two countries. (And not to be overlooked is the fact that when push has come to shove, Israel has always defended itself.)

Read the whole thing here. For more on foreign lobbying's influence on U.S. foreign policy, see here and here.

The Roh-Bush Smackdown

Posted By The Editors 19 Sep 2007 The row (pun intended) between President Bush and South Korean President Roh last week in Sydney was about as publicly frosty as exchanges between the leaders of two allied countries can get. Richard Weitz has an analysis in our commentary section. Here's the key excerpt from a State Department transcript of the exchange:

ROH: I think I might be wrong -- I think I did not hear President Bush mention the -- a declaration to end the Korean War just now. Did you say so, President Bush?

BUSH: I said it's up to Kim Jong-il as to whether or not we're able to sign a peace treaty to end the Korean War. He's got to get rid of his weapons in a verifiable fashion. And we're making progress toward that goal. It's up to him.

ROH: I believe that they are the same thing, Mr. President. If you could be a little bit clearer in your message, I think --

BUSH: I can't make it any more clear, Mr. President. We look forward to the day when we can end the Korean War. That will end -- will happen when Kim Jong-il verifiably gets rid of his weapons programs and his weapons.

Thank you, sir.

Bush then walked out of the press conference.

Keeping Track of Iraq

Posted By The Editors 19 Sep 2007 Yet another report on Iraq was released this week, this time by the Pentagon. DOD is required by Congress to release quarterly reports called "Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq." The latest one (pdf file) released to the public Sept. 17, covers June, July and August.

The Washington Post report on the report focuses on the deteriorating situation in southern Iraq, "as rival Shiite militias vying for power have stepped up their attacks after moving out of Baghdad" in response to the "surge." But the report featured both good and bad news:

Overall, the report detailed both progress and setbacks. It highlighted positive trends such as a recent nationwide drop in sectarian violence, high-profile bombings and total attacks -- albeit from the record-high of approximately 5,200 "enemy initiated" attacks in May. Total monthly attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces and civilians fell to about 4,800 in July and to 3,500 in August, the report said, reflecting what it called "a substantial improvement in overall security."

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal scored an interview with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and once again Gates seems to be out ahead of the president on making changes in Iraq. Here is the opening to that story:

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates sketched out a long-term vision for securing Iraq that includes a continuing American military force that is a fraction the size of the one there today, no permanent U.S. bases and a significant Navy and Air Force presence in the Persian Gulf region.

In an interview in the Pentagon, Mr. Gates also said part of the long-range security structure would be stronger military partnerships with some of America's friends in the Gulf area, helping them build better counterterrorism forces as well as regional air- and missile-defense systems to check Iranian ambitions.

What was missing from his vision for Iraq and the broader region was talk about transforming the region and spreading democracy. Instead, the Pentagon chief seemed much more focused on transforming the debate in Washington so the next president inherits a long-term strategy for Iraq and the region that both Republicans and Democrats can support.

Elsewhere, the New York Times reports on data collected by the Iraqi Red Crescent Organization on internal migration in the country. Perhaps surprisingly, the data show migration patterns haven't made partition an easier prospect:

BAGHDAD, Sept. 18 — A vast internal migration is radically reshaping Iraq's ethnic and sectarian landscape, according to new data collected by thousands of relief workers, but displacement in the most populous and mixed areas is surprisingly complex, suggesting that partitioning the country into semiautonomous Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish enclaves would not be easy.

You can track Iraq news with our media roundup search function.

Photo Feature: Floods in India's Bihar State

Posted By Jason Motlagh 17 Sep 2007 BIHAR STATE, India -- The worst floods to hit India's northern Bihar state in distant memory have already affected more than 20 million people -- roughly equivalent to the population of New York state -- and killed hundreds. More rains are on the way.

A deadly cocktail of poverty, state corruption, inept disaster management and climate change is to blame for the disaster. Yet India has the capacity to deal with such large-scale crises, and must do so as a step toward finally integrating vast swaths of its "backward" rural areas that stagnate as urban centers boom. Failure to do so could prove fatal to the country's long-term growth and stability.

Reporting with a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, frequent World Politics Review contributor Jason Motlagh gives us a closer look at the toll of nature and neglect on India's most desperate.


Laborers unload 50-kilogram sacks of rice and wheat at a village aid depot.



A cow marooned by flood waters in the Muzaffarpur district.



One of the many flood victims who says the government has failed to provide relief. Her home was damaged and belongings lost.



Villagers returning by boat to their marooned homes with sacks of wheat distributed by the government.



Chaitu Sahani says he and his family have been living on an embankment for weeks after their village was overrun by flood waters, yet food trucks continue to pass them by.



Whether by boat, or on foot, thousands must travel long distances to collect relief from state distribution points across northern Bihar.

See also: "Climate Change, Corruption Contribute to Deadly effects of Northern India Floods"

For more on Motlagh's reporting in India, see his project page on the Web site of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

The Materials Seized at the 'Multi-Kultur-Haus' in Neu-Ulm

Posted By John Rosenthal 17 Sep 2007 In his report on the Islamist scene in the southern German towns of Ulm and Neu-Ulm, Roland Ströbele mentions the "incendiary" materials, "inciting hatred" toward Christians and Jews, that were seized by local police during a raid on the "Multi-Kultur-Haus" (MHK), an Islamic cultural center in Neu-Ulm. In a press release issued on December 28, 2005, the Bavarian Interior Ministry explained its decision to have the Multi-Kultur-Haus shut down and provided some examples of the materials seized. Here a translated excerpt:

- For example, in a paper back edition in the MKH library titled "The Beliefs of the Sunni Community," Christian and Jews are presented as enemies who must be executed if they do not show remorse and convert to Islam. A citation: "It is our belief that if anyone claims that any other currently existing religion -- any other religion than Islam, that is: for example, Christianity, Judaism, etc. -- is acceptable to Allah, then this person is an unbeliever. He should be encouraged to show remorse and if he does not do so, he must be put to death as an apostate (murtad), since he has denied the Quran."

- A textbook titled "Jihad in God's Cause" that was seized on August 23, 2005, in the so-called "Women's Prayer Room" of the MKH contains the following passage: "The special meaning of Jihad runs as follows: Kill the unbelievers, once they have received the call to convert to Islam and have been made familiar with its true meaning. . . ." Another passage of this book asserts: ". . . if non-Muslims should refuse to follow the example of the believers, there is an obligation to kill them."

- The audiocassettes "No to the Jews / The Thousand-Appeals of the Khalidin" and "El Rawabi El Jihadi", seized on August 23, 2005, in the MKH library, openly call for the killing of Jews. A citation: "Oh, Most Worthy One, . . . send us bombs to kill the Jews. No to the Jews! No to the Jews!" . . . The CD "Iraq", which was seized in the kitchenette of the MKH on August 23 2005, contains, for instance, the following: "To triumph does not only mean killing the unbelievers, but also killing oneself in order to strike back at the unbelievers! . . . Whoever fights against the Christians, the Jews, and their allies is a martyr . . ."

Commentary Week In Review

Posted By Guy Taylor 15 Sep 2007 The Commentary Week in Review is posted on the blog every Friday. Drawing from more than two dozen English-language news outlets worldwide, the column highlights notable op-eds on major issues from the past week.

Bin Laden's New Image

The sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks prompted a surge of op-eds analyzing how Osama bin Laden's image has changed since 2001, why he hasn't been captured, and what the future may hold for him.

Fawaz A. Gerges argued in the Sept. 13 Christian Science Monitor that a recent bin Laden videotape showed how he is now "venturing into a new ideological terrain" and "blurring the lines between jihadist messianism and Marxist utopia, which might, in turn, throw his die-hard Salafi supporters off balance."

In the tape, according to Gerges, bin Laden projects a younger look that past tapes. He also:

Gives his most ideological address since the early 1990s with an assault on capitalism and liberal democracy loaded with Marxist and socialist terms. Indeed, this new bin Laden sounds more like Che Guevara, the Marxist revolutionary, than some of his rifle-toting Al Qaeda cohorts. ...He has exchanged his fatigues and Kalashnikov for a white robe, circular cap, and beige cloak, giving him an aura of clerical wisdom. The new bin Laden portrays himself as a spiritual figure, not a grizzled soldier. His gray beard is dyed black and trimmed neatly, which is actually an old tradition dating back to the birth of Islam; the prophet Muhammad reportedly dyed his hair and recommended, while at war, that his commanders and soldiers dye theirs to strike fear in the enemy.

Osama at Large

Ian Williams maintained in the Sept. 10 Guardian that "the latest OBL tape -- which apart from its invocation to Islamic conversion could indeed read like a Guardian editorial on geopolitics -- does raise the question of what he is still doing at large, with access to video cameras, hair dye and barbers?"

Williams went on to ponder:

Is it significant that OBL did not discourse on issues such as gay marriage, evolution, abortion and faith-based organizations, where his black heart beats in close harmony with those of the conservative right? Conspiracy theorists should be asking the question: "Objectively, who benefits from allowing this malevolent, self-confessed mass murderer to remain at large?"

Williams asserted:

On the realist side, the spectacular incompetence and mendacity of this White House is demonstrable. They did indeed get the wrong man and go after Saddam Hussein who had nothing to do with 9/11 -- while letting the man in the turban escape.

Scarier Than Bin Laden

Bruce Hoffman, meanwhile, wrote in the Sept. 9 Washington Post that "it's time to recognize the strategic vision that has driven and shaped the terrorist movement for the past six years."

"We need to drop our preoccupation with Osama bin Laden, which is once again being fueled by his latest video," wrote Hoffman. "Bin Laden's days as the movement's guiding star are over. The United States' most formidable nemesis now is not the Saudi terrorist leader but his nominal deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri."

Hoffman asserted that al-Zawahiri "has not only revived the movement's fortunes but has also made it once again the global threat poised to strike the United States that was depicted in the National Intelligence Estimate released in July."

Also, according to Hoffman:

Over the past two years, the Egyptian terrorist has issued about 30 statements on a range of subjects ... [and] overseen a quadrupling of al-Qaeda video releases ... He may lack bin Laden's charisma, but ... thanks to Zawahiri, instead of al-Qaeda R.I.P., we're facing an al-Qaeda that has risen from the grave.

Mexico's Established President

Away from the subject of Osama bin Laden, Marifeli Perez-Stable caught our attention with her assertion in the Sept. 13 Miami Herald that Mexican President Felipe Calderón "deserves high praise for his part in bringing Mexico back from last year's political brink."

She explained:

Once in office, he deployed the military against organized crime. Even if controversial and with uncertain results, the decision earned him the majority's respect. He also worked with Congress to pass the 2007 budget and a reform of the federal pension system. Mexicans once again have a resolute president.

Perez-Stable maintained that credit is also due elsewhere, including within the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). For instance:

The PRI -- old fox that it is -- rose from the ashes of the drubbing in last year's presidential race. The PRI elected as its president Beatriz Paredes, a savvy and honest politician who has a good working relationship with Calderón.

But, still, "not all goes well in Mexico," according to Perez-Stable, who noted that "for the second time in two months, the Popular Revolutionary Army attacked state-owned oil and gas installations."

"Thankfully no one was hurt, but the economic losses are steep," she wrote, adding that "Calderón must act to protect Mexico's vital interests lest the guerrilla group resurface yet again."

What Israeli Aggression?

Reflecting on the alleged Sept. 6 violation of Syrian airspace by Israeli fighter jets, Larry Derfner wrote in the Sept. 10 Jerusalem Post that "for once, Israelis seem to believe that Syria is telling the truth ... that Syria fired at [the Israeli] jets but missed."

"The reason Israelis believe the Syrian story is because if it wasn't true, Israel would deny it," wrote Derfner. "So Israeli leaders have nothing to say about the Syrian reports. This is the diplomatic equivalent of a wink. Everyone understands."

"What is hard to understand," he wrote, "is how the Israeli media can be so docile, so obedient, in the face of such a reckless Israeli act."

Reflecting on what he'd seen on Israeli television, Derfner asserted:

None of the journalists, who clearly assumed that this incident had really taken place, thought it worth mentioning that Israel had just risked starting a war with Syria. None of them challenged Israeli officials on the wisdom of this. All they talked about was what Syria might do now, whether Syria would go to war. That Israel had just provoked Syria, had just escalated the conflict, was the elephant in the newsroom that they pretended not to see. ...It's almost surrealistic. It's like there's a conspiracy of silence. The people who are supposed to ask questions act as if they've been lobotomized. I feel a little bit like I'm living in a police state.

What would have happened if Syria had shot down one of [Israel's] jets? We would have been at war with a country on our northern border that has biological and chemical weapons as well as lots of missiles -- and Israel would be guilty of having provoked the war.

The Commentary Week In Review draws from links aggregated every weekday morning in WPR's Media Roundup, which you can receive by email for free by registering now.

Meanwhile in Afghanistan . . .

Posted By The Editors 13 Sep 2007 The day after Petraeus and Crocker gave the U.S. Senate an Iraq update, with the accompanying media circus, a press conference at NATO headquarters about Afghanistan went virtually unnoticed. Watch below what ISAF Commander Gen. Dan McNeil and NATO Senior Civilian Representative Amb. Daan Everts have to say about progress in that other war: