UN - Robert Maguire on Diigo

19 Dec 09

18 Dec 09

Document Friday: Afghanistan, “Heading Towards a Catastrophe” before 9/11? « UNREDACTED

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afghanistan history waronterror colinpowell statedept reference statistics aid famine government sept11 binladen taliban bush UN warondrugs

Secretary of State Colin Powell read a memo entitled “Preventing an Afghan Humanitarian Situation Crisis.” It warned that Afghanistan was “verge of a widespread and precipitous famine,” and estimated that 3.8 million Afghans—more than 6 percent of the population—would be affected by the food shortage. Powell initialed the memo and wrote, “Keep me informed.”
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- Some alleged the aid was a reward for the Taliban’s ban on opium production; others decried that money was given to a repressive regime which was harboring Osama Bin Laden, and had recently blown up two UNESCO-designated, sixth-century Buddha statues.
- It reminds us that the government of Afghanistan was unable to independently provide for its citizens even before the NATO invasion.
- “unless immediate action is taken, the situation may deteriorate into one that is irreversible.”
- inally, the US famine relief actions show that Colin Powell’s Department of State felt that a stable Afghanistan was in the United States’ strategic interest before the attacks of 9/11 were ordered from within its territory.

16 Dec 09

-- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - Home page --

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08 Dec 09

Which Countries Are Missing From Copenhagen Talks? - The Gaggle Blog - Newsweek.com

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Taiwan: Much of the world considers Taiwan an independent country, even though some bigger powers (including the U.S.) don’t, mainly for political reasons. Since it’s not a U.N. member state, Taiwan’s interest will be represented by China, which will have prime placement at the conference. But Taiwan remains more willing to make cuts to its emissions than more-industrial China, so the interests of both aren’t perfectly aligned. Taiwanese leaders will still attend the conference, although they’ll be limited in how they can participate. They’re also hoping that face time with other leaders might help boost Taiwan’s standing.

07 Dec 09

Kevin Grandia | Marc Morano embarrasses himself on BBC

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05 Dec 09

Iran Is No Existential Threat | Foreign Policy

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iran US politics israel nuclear weapons sanctions bush obama UN

But the sanctions did not prove
"crippling," as Bush had hoped: Iran
continued to expand its nuclear infrastructure, and the risks of a military
confrontation between the United States
and Iran
climbed.
Unfortunately, Barack Obama's administration has decided
to repeat this sorry history.
8 more annotations...
- More
  broadly, U.S., British, and
  French insistence on "zero enrichment" in Iran
  makes successful nuclear diplomacy with Tehran
  impossible.
- At this point, there is no chance that Tehran
  will accept "zero enrichment" as a negotiated outcome, for at least two
  reasons: It is a country-specific formulation applied to Iran but not to anybody else, and it requires Iran
  to forswear its sovereign right to the full range of civil nuclear technology.
- A more constructive approach would seek to maximize
  international monitoring of Iran's nuclear activities by emphasizing
  country-neutral formulations for curbing nuclear proliferation in the Middle
  East. This would require international acceptance of enrichment on Iranian
  soil. Getting Iran to ratify and implement the Additional Protocol to the
  Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty would be an important step in this direction, but
  the most effective country-neutral initiative would be the establishment of a
  nuclear weapons-free zone (NWFZ) in the region.
- serious
  consideration of these ideas in U.S. foreign policy circles always stops as
  soon as Israel's nuclear status comes up.
- It is simply not analytically credible to describe
  the unresolved Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese tracks of the Middle East
  peace process as "existential threats" to Israel.
- More recently, the dominant Israeli discourse about Iran has routinely characterized an Islamic
  Republic with a nuclear "breakout" capability -- not to mention actual nuclear
  weapons -- as an "existential threat" to Israel. (Both Prime Minister
  Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have reiterated Israel's
  position that Iran's full suspension of uranium enrichment is the only
  acceptable outcome from nuclear talks with Tehran.)
- Even if Iran were to fabricate a nuclear weapon, it is not
  credible to describe that as an existential threat to Israel -- unless one has
  such a distorted view of Shiite Islam that one believes the Islamic Republic is
  so focused on damaging "the Zionist entity" that it is collectively willing to
  become history's first "suicide nation."
- But that commitment should not be confused with
  maintaining Israel's military
  hegemony over the region in perpetuity, by continuing to allow U.S. assurances of an Israeli "qualitative edge"
  for defensive purposes to be twisted into assurances of maximum freedom for Israel
  to conduct offensive military operations at will against any regional target.

17 Nov 09

Delaying an international climate treaty: not as bad as it looks | Grist

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US politics climatechange cop15 unfccc UN environment europe france brazil

Joe Romm points out that the delay offers some needed breathing room. The sense that the world is waiting will increase pressure on the Senate to pass a bill (there’s pressure from Brazil and France already). Conversely, legislation from the U.S. would increase pressure on China and India to step up to the plate with targets and timetables.

NRDC’s Jake Schmidt notes that the extra time will be beneficial if a) enough details are settled in Copenhagen and b) world leaders focus on ironing out a final agreement in the intervening months. That’s a big if.
By taking some of the pressure off Copenhagen, the two-steps agreement has avoided disaster and maintained momentum. It’s also given the Obama administration time to engage in more climate diplomacy.

U.S. ambassador dissents on Afghan troop increase - washingtonpost.com

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US afghanistan waronterror eikenberry obama mcchrystal politics karzai UN corruption hillary gates

Earlier this summer, he asked for $2.5 billion in nonmilitary spending for 2010, a 60 percent increase over what Obama had requested from Congress, but the request has languished even as the administration has debated spending billions of dollars on new troops.
roughly calculated as $1 billion per thousand troops
4 more annotations...
- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates have backed a major increase in U.S. forces to drive the Taliban from populated areas and provide Afghan security forces and the government the space to snuff out corruption and undertake development projects.
- They have argued that only a large-scale counterinsurgency effort can produce a strong Afghan government capable of preventing the country from once again become an al-Qaeda haven.
- Military planners put the additional annual cost of McChrystal's recommendation at $33 billion, although White House officials say the number is probably closer to $50 billion.
- One compromise option put forward by the Pentagon, with the backing of Gates, would deploy an additional 30,000 to 35,000 U.S. troops -- fewer than McChrystal's optimal number to carry out his strategy -- and rely on NATO allies to make up the 5,000- to 10,000-troop difference. The third option, known by military planners as "the hybrid," would send 20,000 additional U.S. troops to shore up security in 10 to 12 major population areas. In the rest of the country, the military would adopt a counterterrorism strategy targeting forces allied with the Taliban and al-Qaeda, primarily in the north and east, with fighter jets, Predator drones and Special Operations troops that leave a light U.S. footprint on the ground. The military puts the annual cost of that option at $22 billion.
  
  The most modest option calls for deploying an additional 10,000 to 15,000 troops. While under consideration at the White House, the proposal holds little merit for military planners because, after building bases to accommodate 10,000 or so additional soldiers and Marines, the marginal cost of adding troops beyond that figure would rise only slightly.

12 Nov 09

U.S. envoy resists troop increase, cites Karzai as problem - washingtonpost.com

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US afghanistan waronterror eikenberry obama mcchrystal politics karzai UN corruption statedept hillary gates costs

"They may or may not return," he said. "I don't think Afghanistan will notice it."
Earlier this summer, he asked for $2.5 billion in nonmilitary spending for 2010, a 60 percent increase over what Obama had requested from Congress, but the request has languished even as the administration has debated spending billions of dollars on new troops.
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- The ambassador also has worried that sending tens of thousands of additional American troops would increase the Afghan government's dependence on U.S. support at a time when its own security forces should be taking on more responsibility for fighting. Before serving as the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Eikenberry was in charge of the Afghan army training program.
- Each of the four options that were presented to Obama on Wednesday were accompanied by troop figures and the estimated annual costs of the additional deployments, roughly calculated as $1 billion per thousand troops. All would draw the United States deeper into the war at a time of economic hardship and rising fiscal concerns at home.
- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates have backed a major increase in U.S. forces to drive the Taliban from populated areas and provide Afghan security forces and the government the space to snuff out corruption and undertake development projects. They have argued that only a large-scale counterinsurgency effort can produce a strong Afghan government capable of preventing the country from once again become an al-Qaeda haven.
- Military planners put the additional annual cost of McChrystal's recommendation at $33 billion, although White House officials say the number is probably closer to $50 billion. The extra troops would allow U.S. forces to attempt to take back and hold several Taliban havens in the southern and eastern regions of Afghanistan.
- One compromise option put forward by the Pentagon, with the backing of Gates, would deploy an additional 30,000 to 35,000 U.S. troops -- fewer than McChrystal's optimal number to carry out his strategy -- and rely on NATO allies to make up the 5,000- to 10,000-troop difference. The third option, known by military planners as "the hybrid," would send 20,000 additional U.S. troops to shore up security in 10 to 12 major population areas. In the rest of the country, the military would adopt a counterterrorism strategy targeting forces allied with the Taliban and al-Qaeda, primarily in the north and east, with fighter jets, Predator drones and Special Operations troops that leave a light U.S. footprint on the ground. The military puts the annual cost of that option at $22 billion.
  
  The most modest option calls for deploying an additional 10,000 to 15,000 troops. While under consideration at the White House, the proposal holds little merit for military planners because, after building bases to accommodate 10,000 or so additional soldiers and Marines, the marginal cost of adding troops beyond that figure would rise only slightly.

U.S. ambassador dissents on Afghan troop increase - washingtonpost.com

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US afghanistan waronterror eikenberry obama mcchrystal politics karzai UN corruption

The U.S. ambassador in Kabul sent two classified cables to Washington in the last week expressing deep concerns about sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan until Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government demonstrates that it is willing to tackle the corruption and mismanagement that has fueled the Taliban's rise, said senior U.S. officials.
The U.S. ambassador in Kabul sent two classified cables to Washington in the past week expressing deep concerns about sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan until President Hamid Karzai's government demonstrates that it is willing to tackle the corruption and mismanagement that has fueled the Taliban's rise, senior U.S. officials said.
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- Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry
- The last-minute dissent by Eikenberry, who commanded U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, has rankled his former colleagues in the Pentagon -- as well as Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, said defense officials. McChrystal has bluntly stated that without an increase of tens of thousands of troops in Afghanistan in the next year, the mission there "will likely result in failure."
- Karl W. Eikenberry
- "The President believes that we need to make clear to the Afghan government that our commitment is not open-ended," the statement said. "After years of substantial investments by the American people, governance in Afghanistan must improve in a reasonable period of time."
- Although Eikenberry's extensive military experience was one of the main reasons he was chosen by Obama for the top diplomatic job in Afghanistan, the former general had been reluctant as ambassador to weigh in on military issues. Some officials who favor an increase in troops said they were befuddled by last-minute nature of his strongly worded cables.
- None of the scenarios calls for scaling back the U.S. presence in Afghanistan or delaying the dispatch of additional troops.
- In his communications with Washington, Eikenberry has expressed deep reservations about Karzai's erratic behavior and Afghan government corruption, particularly in the senior ranks of the Karzai government, said U.S. officials familiar with the cables.
- In addition to placing the Karzai problem prominently on the table, the cables from Eikenberry, a retired three-star general who in 2006-2007 commanded U.S. troops in Afghanistan, have rankled his former colleagues in the Pentagon -- as well as Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, defense officials said. McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has stated that without the deployment of an additional tens of thousands of troops within the next year, the mission there "will likely result in failure."
- U.S. officials were particularly irritated by a interview this week in which a defiant Karzai said that the West has little interest in Afghanistan and that its troops are there only for their own reasons. "The West is not here primarily for the sake of Afghanistan," Karzai told PBS's The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. "It is here to fight terrorism. The United States and its allies came to Afghanistan after September 11. Afghanistan was troubled like hell before that, too. Nobody bothered about us."
- Eikenberry retired from the military in April as a senior general in NATO
- "They may or may not return," Karzai said of the departing U.N. employees. "I don't think Afghanistan will notice it."
- also expressed frustration with the relative paucity of money set aside for spending on development and reconstruction this year in Afghanistan, a country wrecked by three decades of war. Earlier this summer he asked for $2.5 billion in nonmilitary spending for 2010, a 60 percent increase over what Obama had requested from Congress. But the request has languished even as the administration has debated spending tens of billions of dollars on new troops.
- Prior to serving as the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Eikenberry was in charge of the Afghan army training program.
- In these and other communications with Washington, Eikenberry has expressed deep reservations about Karzai's erratic behavior and corruption within his government, said U.S. officials familiar with the cables.
- "The West is not here primarily for the sake of Afghanistan," Karzai told PBS's "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" program. "It is here to fight terrorism. The United States and its allies came to Afghanistan after September 11. Afghanistan was troubled like hell before that, too. Nobody bothered about us."

U.S. ambassador dissents on Afghan troop increase - washingtonpost.com

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US afghanistan waronterror eikenberry obama mcchrystal politics karzai UN corruption

U.S. ambassador dissents on Afghan troop increase - washingtonpost.com

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US afghanistan waronterror eikenberry obama mcchrystal politics karzai UN corruption

06 Nov 09

Taiwan and the United Nations: Not even asking | The Economist

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Taiwan UN climatechange politics china aviation statistics reference

For the first time since 1993, Taiwan is not to ask its little band of 23 diplomatic partners to propose it for UN membership. This is not because Taiwan has suddenly given up: it has always known membership was out of the question, since China refuses to recognise its statehood. Rather, Taiwan’s new approach typifies the effort that has marked the 16-month tenure of President Ma Ying-jeou: to ease tensions with China without dashing all hopes for greater international recognition.
It wants to become, like Palestine, an observer at the International Civil Aviation Organisation. And it wants to join the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is even prepared to be flexible over the contentious issue of the name the island uses.
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- Taiwan was asked to join the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an observer, under the name “Chinese Taipei”. This was the first time it had taken part in a UN event in 38 years.
- The urgency of tackling climate change makes Taiwan’s exclusion on political grounds look egregious; likewise the importance of air safety—Taiwan’s international airport is the world’s 15th-largest air-cargo hub.

05 Nov 09

Daily brief: U.N. evacuates more than half of international workers from Afghanistan | The AfPak Channel

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US politics UK france NATO afghanistan pakistan schools statistics reference drones UN CIA italy karzai corruption

In
a landmark legal ruling, an Italian judge yesterday convicted 23
Americans, most of them CIA agents, on charges related to the 2003
rendition of a Muslim cleric from the streets of Milan to Egypt, where
Abu Omar claims he was tortured (New York Times, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Financial Times, ABC).
The trial, which began back in 2007, is the first involving the CIA's
alleged 'extraordinary rendition' program, and the CIA's Milan station
chief at the time, Robert Lady, was sentenced to eight years in prison
while the other 22 Americans convicted each received five years (BBC).

During
the three-year trial, the CIA refused to comment on the case or provide
lawyers for the accused agents, who are not in custody and were tried
in absentia (CNN, Telegraph, Los Angeles Times). A State Department spokesman said the U.S. was "disappointed" by the verdicts, which are likely to be appealed (New York Times, Bloomberg).
Militants
blew up a girls' school in the northwestern Pakistani tribal district
of Khyber earlier today, the second such attack in the last four days,
demonstrating ongoing militant commitment to attacking education in the
country (AFP, Dawn, Pajhwok). There were no reports of casualties in the attack (PTI).
And Karachi police reportedly arrested a Taliban commander from
Malakand, a northwestern district of Pakistan, earlier today (Dawn).
5 more annotations...
- The
  United Nations announced today that it is relocating more than half of
  its international staff in Afghanistan after last week's militant
  attack on a U.N. guest house in Kabul killed five staffers (New York Times, Reuters, AP, BBC, Al Jazeera, Pajhwok).
  The move, affecting about 600 of the U.N.'s roughly 1,100 international
  workers in the country, shows the organization's growing concern about
  security threats and underlines the difficulty of Western efforts to
  stabilize the country.
- Afghan villagers claim an air strike in
  Helmand last night by international forces killed nine civilians,
  including three children
- French Foreign Minister
  Bernard Kouchner told a small group of reporters earlier today that
  "Karzai is corrupt, O.K.," but "he is our guy" in Afghanistan and "we
  have to legitimize him" if NATO has any chance of leaving the country (New York Times, AFP).
- Today's
  must-read from McClatchy takes a close look at the supply lines that
  support the war in Afghanistan, highlighting that it takes 45 to 49
  days to ship supplies from the U.S. to Afghanistan and that a majority
  of attacks and pilfering on convoys happen while the trucks are waiting
  to cross the Afghan border, at the Torkham checkpoint (McClatchy).
- As
  many as 200 girls recently completed training courses in business,
  English, and information technology in Kandahar, with the aid of
  Canada's leading polytechnical institute (Pajhwok). The Afghan-Canadian Social Center, which was established in 2007, has graduated more than 600 students since then.

29 Oct 09

What's Beck's Beef? Vegetarians, This Time : TreeHugger

21 Oct 09

Taiwan: Choosing Carbon Taxes Over Carbon Tariffs - Environmental Capital - WSJ

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UN taiwan taxes economy environment climatechange statistics reference

Taiwan could become the first country in Asia to pass a carbon tax, part of the country’s plan to steadily reduce greenhouse-gas emissions to 2000 levels by 2025.
But so would carbon tariffs slapped on Taiwanese imports by the U.S. and some European countries, among them some of Taiwan’s biggest trading partners, retorts the government. The U.S. has already included carbon tariffs in the House energy and climate bill; the inclusion of carbon tariffs is gaining momentum in the Senate.
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- In Taiwanese eyes, carbon tariffs have another disadvantage: the revenues would end up in another country. At least with a carbon tax, the revenues would stay in Taiwan.
- In a very big way, Taiwan’s uncertain international status—it isn’t a member of the United Nations—has painted it into this corner. Since it isn’t part of the UN, it couldn’t sign Kyoto. It can’t officially participate in the upcoming Copenhagen climate summit that will draft Kyoto’s successor, either. It also can’t participate in the UN-run program that offers carbon credits for clean-energy projects.
- Earlier this month, Chinese and Taiwanese officials talked up greater cooperation on renewables and energy efficiency. Another idea is for Taiwanese-owned factories on the mainland to make green investments that might qualify for carbon credits in Taiwan.

19 Oct 09

U.S. Policy To Use Incentives To Engage Sudan : NPR

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18 Oct 09

Adlai Stevenson confronts the USSR at the United Nations • videosift.com

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16 Oct 09

Did Italy pay off the Taliban? | FP Passport

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italy waronterror afghanistan taliban attacks nato UN france casualties US intelligence corruption

suggesting that the Italian secret service had been secretly paying Taliban leaders to keep an area it was patrolling quiet. Worse, they reportedly didn't tell the French soldiers who took the area over, resulting in an ambush that killed ten French soldiers

Afghan ambassador blames Obama administration for rough start, suggests runoff possible | The Cable

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us politics afghanistan peter galbraith un waronterror elections democracy karzai corruption obama

The relationship between the United States and
Afghanistan deteriorated during the first months of the Obama administration,
due to a fumbled transition and the Obama team's initially cold approach to
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a top
aide of his said Thursday.
He
also suggested that Karzai, who stands accused of presiding over widespread fraud
during the Aug. 20 election, might now be open to a second round of balloting.
2 more annotations...
- "There were 7,000 international participants and
  observers, but then all of a sudden one guy, Peter Galbraith, is taking the
  crusade on himself," Jawad said, warning that Galbraith's outspokenness would
  cause "a reaction by the Afghans."
- Some in Washington and the international community
  have proposed that Karzai share power with his chief electoral rival, former
  Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.
  But Jawad also threw cold water on that idea, arguing that a coalition
  government would only promote an internal stalemate and ensure the rise of
  purely political appointees.

Robert Maguire's Library tagged UN → View Popular

copenhagen-accord-4.30pm.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Document Friday: Afghanistan, “Heading Towards a Catastrophe” before 9/11? « UNREDACTED

-- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - Home page --

Which Countries Are Missing From Copenhagen Talks? - The Gaggle Blog - Newsweek.com

Kevin Grandia | Marc Morano embarrasses himself on BBC

Iran Is No Existential Threat | Foreign Policy

Delaying an international climate treaty: not as bad as it looks | Grist

U.S. ambassador dissents on Afghan troop increase - washingtonpost.com

U.S. envoy resists troop increase, cites Karzai as problem - washingtonpost.com

U.S. ambassador dissents on Afghan troop increase - washingtonpost.com

U.S. ambassador dissents on Afghan troop increase - washingtonpost.com

U.S. ambassador dissents on Afghan troop increase - washingtonpost.com

Taiwan and the United Nations: Not even asking | The Economist

Daily brief: U.N. evacuates more than half of international workers from Afghanistan | The AfPak Channel

What's Beck's Beef? Vegetarians, This Time : TreeHugger

Taiwan: Choosing Carbon Taxes Over Carbon Tariffs - Environmental Capital - WSJ

U.S. Policy To Use Incentives To Engage Sudan : NPR

Adlai Stevenson confronts the USSR at the United Nations • videosift.com

Did Italy pay off the Taliban? | FP Passport

Afghan ambassador blames Obama administration for rough start, suggests runoff possible | The Cable

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