Ames, Iowa, GOP Debate: Paul Schools Santorum, Bachmann on Iran, War

by Thomas R. Eddlem
Friday, 12 August 2011

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) schooled former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Penn.) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on foreign policy issues in the August 11 GOP presidential debate in Ames, Iowa.

Asked by Fox News channel anchor Chris Wallace why Paul was "soft" on Iran in his opposition to economic sanctions against the country, Paul told the debate audience that the threat from Iran was small when looked at through the lens of history: "Just think of what we went through in the Cold War when I was in the Air Force, after I was drafted into the Air Force, all through the Sixties. We were standing up against the Soviets. They had like 30,000 nuclear weapons with intercontinental missiles. Just think of the agitation and the worry about a country that might get a nuclear weapon some day."

Paul concluded of sanctions: "That makes it much worse. Why would that be so strange if the Soviets and the Chinese had nuclear weapons, we tolerated the Soviets. We didn't attack them. And they were a much greater danger. They were the greatest danger to us in our whole history. But you don't go to war with them."

Paul also asked the audience to consider the nuclear issue from the perspective of the Iranian people:

Just think of how many nuclear weapons surround Iran. The Chinese are there. The Indians are there. The Pakistanis are there. The Israelis are there. The United States is there. All these countries ... why wouldn't it be natural if they might want a weapon? Internationally, they might be given more respect. Why should we write people off? In the Fifties, we at least talked to them. At least our leaders and Reagan talked to the Soviets. What's so terribly bad about this? And countries you put sanctions on you are more likely to fight them. I say a policy of peace is free trade, stay out of their internal business, don't get involved in these wars and just bring our troops home.

Paul's statements did not sit well with neo-conservatives at the debate podium. Rick Santorum, who had authored a sanctions bill against Iran as a Senator, took particular umbrage at Paul's analysis:

Iran is not Iceland, Ron. Iran is a country that has been at war with us since 1979. Iran is a country that has killed more American men and women in uniform in Iraq and Afghanistan than the Iraqis and the Afghans have. The Iranians are the existential threat to the state of Israel.

While Santorum's claim about more Americans being killed by Iranians in Iraq and Afghanistan than by the natives of those countries is patently false, Paul responded with a deeper historical analysis, noting:

The senator is wrong on his history. We've been at war in Iran for a lot longer than '79. We started it in 1953 when we sent in a coup, installed the Shah, and the reaction — the blowback — came in 1979. It's been going on and on because we just don't mind our own business. That's our problem.

Santorum defended the U.S. government's use of the CIA in the 1950s to install the brutal dictatorship of the Shah in Iran, which ended in an anti-American revolution in 1979. Santorum even called the Shah's reign freedom for the Iranian people:

He sees it exactly as Barack Obama sees it. That we have to go around and apologize for the fact that we've gone out and exerted our influence to create freedom around the world. I don't apologize for that. I don't apologize for the Iranian people being free for a long time, and now they're under a malocracy [sic] that tramples the rights of women, tramples the rights of gays, tramples the rights of people all throughout their society and is the greatest supporter of terrorism in the Middle East and around the world — and — is setting up training camps and is working with Venezuela and other countries south of our border to threaten us.

Representative Michele Bachmann agreed with Santorum, stating,

Regarding Iran, Iran is the central issue in the Middle East and their capacity to become a nuclear power. They are one of the four state sponsors of terror in the world. I sit on the House Select Committee on Intelligence. I can't reveal classified information, but I can say this: As President of the United States, I will do everything to make sure that Iran does not become a nuclear power.

Paul concluded,

You've heard the war propaganda that is liable to lead us into the sixth war and I worry about that position. Iran is a threat because they have some militants there, but believe me, they're all around the world and they're not a whole lot different than others. Iran does not have an air force that can come here. They can't even make enough gasoline for themselves.

Paul said that the propaganda about Iran matched the propaganda drumming up support for war against Iraq in 2002 — all of the claims of which ended up being exaggerated or patently false. "They're building up this case just like we did with Iraq. Build up the war propaganda. There was no al Qaeda in Iraq." He noted that war propagandists claimed "they had nuclear weapons and we had to go in," and then, referring to Santorum, added: I'm sure you supported that war as well." (Santorum nodded that he did support the Iraq war from the beginning.) Paul concluded: "It's time we quit this. It's trillions of dollars we are spending on these wars."

Paul campaign staffer Jack Hunter blogged on the Paul presidential campaign website,

Paul is the only candidate tonight that hasn’t unilaterally declared war on Iran, (or if you’re Rick Santorum, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Syria) for the same vague and likely unfounded reasons as the last war. Most importantly — and this is key — Paul is the only candidate who has mentioned that we can no longer afford trillions of dollars to fight wars that don’t make sense.

Source: The News American.
Link: http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/foreign-policy/8572-ames-iowa-gop-debate-paul-schools-santorum-bachmann-on-iran-war.

UN says cholera epidemic in Somalia

August 12, 2011 — GENEVA (AP) — World Health Organization officials said Friday that famine-hit Somalia faces a cholera epidemic as dirty water and poor sanitation are leading to an increase in outbreaks of the disease.

Officials say cases of acute watery diarrhea — an important indicator of the risk of cholera — are now at 4,272 in Somalia — an 11 percent rise on last week's WHO reported figure of 3,839. WHO public health adviser Dr. Michel Yao told reporters in Geneva on Friday that the number of cholera cases has also risen sharply this year, with officials confirming 18 cases in the 30 lab samples taken in recent days from people living in the capital, Mogadishu.

Yao said the 60 percent infection rate confirms there is a "high risk" of the disease spreading quickly — "so we can say we have an epidemic." The random samples, which were tested in a lab in the capital, were drawn from among 4,272 samples from people who have suffered the diarrhea, he said. So far, he said, there have been 181 acute watery diarrhea-related deaths.

WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said last week that a few cases of cholera have been confirmed in Somalia and the diarrhea is also on the rise. She said of the 3,839 reported cases, 77 percent afflicted children younger than 5-years old in Mogadishu.

The World Health Organization has said it is very concerned about disease outbreaks in drought-hit East Africa, due to a lack of clean water for drinking and bathing, overcrowding in camps and the low tolerance to disease of starving young children.

The United States estimates drought and famine in Somalia have killed more than 29,000 children under the age of 5. Millions face the risk of starvation amid Somalia's worst drought in 60 years. UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado said Friday that tens of thousands of children have died and countless more are particularly at risk of cholera and other diseases because of drought and violence in East Africa.

Bollywood film on caste stirs controversy in India Bollywood film on caste stirs controversy in India

August 12, 2011 — NEW DELHI (AP) — A star-filled Bollywood film on India's caste system churned up passionate debate as it opened Friday, with angry lower caste groups trying to torpedo its release, saying it reinforces social prejudices against them.

The furor makes clear that caste — the millennia-old Hindu custom that divides people in a strict social hierarchy based on their family's traditional livelihood and ethnicity — remains a deeply sensitive subject in modern India, despite government programs to erase such distinctions.

At least three big states have banned the film "Aarakshan" from opening on schedule Friday over fears it could stir up caste tensions. Its director, Prakash Jha, filed an urgent appeal to the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the bans.

The film's stars were given police bodyguards, and police also guarded theaters that did show the film, searching moviegoers and barring them from bringing bags inside, authorities said. The movie's title means "reservation," a reference to affirmative action quotas for India's untouchables, also known as dalits, in jobs and education.

Dalits, who form nearly a fourth of India's billion-plus population, say the film belittles them and shows them in a negative light. Jha disputed their interpretation of his movie, but he agreed to edit out parts they may find offensive. The edited version, however, was not available as it opened across the country over this lucrative Independence Day three-day weekend.

The film's star, famed actor Amitabh Bachchan, sounded anguished on his Twitter account Friday, accusing people of condemning the film without even watching it. "Have cried at our helplessness in not making people understand that this art needs to be seen not banned!" he tweeted.

On his blog, Bachchan quoted his character in the film, the principal of a college: "Two Indias reside in this country ... and in truth, if we have to see any progress in our society, then the distance between these two Indias must be erased."

Caste discrimination runs deep in India despite government efforts since independence in 1947 to use affirmative action to wipe it out. India's economic boom has further sharpened the divide, with much of its dividends accruing to the upper castes.

Nevertheless, large sections of India's upper castes are incensed over the quota policy, which ensures lower castes get spaces in the country's highly sought-after medical and engineering schools, universities and jobs.

"Aarakshan" had created a buzz, with the films lead actors — also including action hero Saif Ali Khan and Bollywood starlet Deepika Padukone — traveling the country to promote its release. In the film, Bachchan plays the idealistic head of a college who ends up being pushed out amid tensions between dalit and upper caste students over the quota system.

Another objection raised by some lower caste groups is that the Dalit protagtonist, is played by Khan, who belongs to an erstwhile royal family in India. "This objection is unfair. By this logic, are they saying a Dalit cannot play the role of a king in a film?" asks Jha.

With dalit groups saying the film is biased against the quota system, the government of Uttar Pradesh, India's biggest state, banned the film Wednesday. A day later, the governments of Punjab and Andhra Pradesh followed suit.

The ban could cost the film more than 150 million rupees ($3.5 million) in earnings, as filmgoers were expected to crowd theaters over the long weekend, trade analysts said. A government panel for the welfare of lower castes also has asked the country's film authorities to review the clearance given to the film.

"We have written to the Censor Board to review the film and remove at least five objectionable dialogues from the movie," said P. L. Punia, who heads the panel. "These changes can be made without affecting the narrative of the film."

Another objection raised by some lower caste groups is the casting of Khan, who belongs to one of the royal families that previously ruled parts of India, as the Dalit protagonist. "This objection is unfair. By this logic, are they saying a Dalit cannot play the role of a king in a film?" asks Jha.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai film fraternity is closing ranks in support of the movie. "There is nothing objectionable in the film. When people see it, they will realize that there is nothing controversial," said Ajay Devgn, a leading Bollywood action star.

Muslim Brotherhood party leaders meet with Russian diplomat

Thursday 11 Aug 2011

Leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party met with the acting Russian ambassador to Cairo Ivan Molotocov in the party’s headquarters Wednesday morning.

In a phone call with the Moscow News Agency, party officials confirmed the news, adding that the party’s chairman, Mohamed Morsi, and the party’s general secretary, Saad El-Katanany, attended the meeting.

The meeting comes a few weeks after a US diplomat announced that Washington will resume its contacts with the Brotherhood. The group's leaders said that any communication with the international realm is welcomed by them.

The Russian diplomat stated that the reason behind that visit was to know the vision of the party regarding the future of Egypt through direct contact with the party and its leaders.

Morsi, for his part, underlined the importance of Egyptian-Russian relations, saying there was a similarity between Egypt and Russia in regards to democratic transition.

The Brotherhood-affiliated party officials answered questions from the acting Russian ambassador regarding the party's policies, particularly if it favors a religious state, something party officials strongly deny.

Source: Ahram.
Link: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/18635.aspx.

Germany to forgive $340 million in Egyptian debt

August 12, 2011 — BERLIN (AP) — Germany is pledging to cancel debts of up to €240 million ($340 million) owed by Egypt and invest the money in supporting the country's democratic reform process.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Egyptian counterpart Mohammed Amr on Friday issued a joint statement that called for debt forgiveness over the next four years. Westerwelle said the money would go to "jointly agreed reform measures." He said Germany separately is giving Egypt €150 million to help build democratic institutions.

Friday's statement says that Germany will support the setting-up of an Egyptian forensic lab among other measures. Westerwelle has long stressed the importance of backing up democratic change in Egypt by ensuring that the economy gets back on its feet.

Japan calls for China to explain aircraft carrier

Tokyo (AFP)
Aug 12, 2011

Japan's defense minister called on China Friday to explain why it needs an aircraft carrier, after Beijing sparked increased concerns over its military expansion by starting sea trials for the vessel.

"As an aircraft carrier, it is of a highly maneuverable and offensive nature. We want China to explain the reasons why it needs it," Toshimi Kitazawa told reporters.

"There is no doubt that it will have a big impact on the region," he added.

China put the revamped Soviet-built aircraft carrier Varyag to sea on Wednesday, prompting the United States to call for an explanation.

Beijing has sought to play down the vessel's capability, saying it will mainly be used for training and "research".

In its annual defense report last week, Japan expressed concern over China's growing assertiveness and widening naval reach in nearby waters and the Pacific and over what it called the "opaqueness" of Beijing's military budget.

China criticized the report as "irresponsible", insisting its drive to modernize its forces was entirely defensive.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Japan_calls_for_China_to_explain_aircraft_carrier_999.html.

US urges China, Russia, India action on Syria

Washington (AFP)
Aug 11, 2011

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday urged China, India and Russia to step up pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to curtail his government's brutal crackdown on protests.

In an interview with CBS News, Clinton suggested that China and India impose energy sanctions on Syria while she urged Russia to stop selling arms to Damascus, which has been a customer for decades from Moscow.

"What we really need to do to put the pressure on Assad is to sanction the oil and gas industry. And we want to see Europe take more steps in that direction," Clinton said.

"And we want to China take steps with us. We want to see India, because India and China have large energy investments inside of Syria. We want to see Russia cease selling arms to the Assad regime," the chief US diplomat said.

Clinton's spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters earlier that she did not know when Russia last made an arms delivery to Russia.

But when asked if Washington had asked Russia to stop arms sales, Nuland replied: "We have repeatedly, yes, and over many, many years and more than one administration."

Clinton meanwhile welcomed the fact that China and Russia, after refusing to condemn Syria, backed a UN Security Council statement last week denouncing the Syrian regime...

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/US_urges_China_Russia_India_action_on_Syria_999.html.