Author: Chakrian Hovsep

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Aug 25 2008

Turks dislike Obama’s selection of Joe Biden as running mate

A considerable number of Turkish daily newspapers yesterday covered US
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s selection of Senator
Joe Biden as a running mate, with headlines expressing displeasure at
Obama’s choice.

The Associated Press (AP) commented that Obama’s selection of Biden
was designed to blunt criticism from Republican John McCain, who was
drawing virtually even in the polls by attacking the Illinois senator
as an inexperienced elitist not ready for the White House.

"Biden, who is 65, was clearly chosen over lesser-known Democrats to
plug holes in Obama’s relatively thin resume on the national political
scene and to blunt McCain’s relentless attacks on his lack of
experience at a time when the United States is fighting two wars.

While polls show voters are most concerned about the country’s wobbly
economy — home mortgage foreclosures, high fuel costs and growing
unemployment — McCain’s appeal appears to be growing out of the
lingering shock to Americans’ sense of security from the Sept. 11,
2001, terror attacks. McCain called Biden a ‘wise selection.’ But
McCain indicated that he believed there was still plenty to
criticize," AP also reported.

In Turkey, the Sunday editions of newspapers covering Obama’s
selection focused on Biden’s policies related to Turkey and a
considerable part of which are not in line with those of Ankara.

"[Obama] made ‘inconsiderate’ Biden his right-hand man,"
Hürriyet said on its front page, reminding readers of a 1999
conversation between Biden, who is close to both Greek and Armenian
lobbies, and late Bülent Ecevit, then prime minister of Turkey.

"If you do not solve the Cyprus problem, then I will not approve the
financial aid package of $5 billion which you expect from us, from the
Congress," Biden was then reported to have told Ecevit in a bid to put
pressure on the Turkish government.

Ecevit, in response, was reported to have emphasized the Turkish
Cypriots’ concerns and rights, while pointing out that they had
reached an agreement with then-President Bill Clinton that "there will
be no going back to the period before 1974 as far as safety and
security are concerned."

Hürriyet said following the conversation between Biden and
Ecevit, Turkish media labeled the US politician as "inconsiderate."

Biden’s call two years ago to divide Iraq into autonomous regions
along sectarian and ethnic lines was another factor highlighted by the
Turkish media. The call completely contradicted Ankara’s firm policy
focusing on protection of territorial integrity and political unity of
the neighboring country.

Biden proposed in a 2006 op-ed article in The New York Times that Iraq
should be divided into separate Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni regions to
defuse the wave of sectarian violence sweeping the country then. In
the 2006 article, Biden and co-author Leslie Gelb said the proposal
was aimed at maintaining "a united Iraq by decentralizing it" so that
each major sectarian and ethnic group would have "room to run its own
affairs." Nevertheless, Iraq has a long history as a centralized
state, and concepts such as federalism and regional autonomy have
proven a hard sell, as AP noted.

"Separatist partner for Obama," Star daily said in its title,
referring to Biden’s call for division of Iraq, while it also reminded
its readers of the fact that Biden has been a keen supporter of
Armenian lobby efforts at the US Congress for official recognition of
the killings of Anatolian Armenians during the early 20th century as
"genocide."

"Obama’s right-hand man had divided Iraq into three," Yeni
Å?afak daily said, also referring to Biden’s proposal for
dividing Iraq. Milliyet, meanwhile, covered Obama’s choice of Biden
with a headline saying "Obama chose Greek Cypriot-Armenian lobbyists."

In first months of the 2007, following the killing of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink in January, a sentence in a preliminary draft
drawn up by Biden, chairman of Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee,
said, "Mr. Dink underwent prosecution under Article 301 of the Turkish
Criminal Code, as he spoke about the Armenian genocide." Following an
objection by Republican Richard Lugar, the sentence was changed to
"Legal measures were taken about Mr. Dink, as he regarded the events
that happened in 1915 as genocide."

Armenia says some 1.5 million Armenians suffered genocide at Ottoman
Turkish hands, but Turkey denies systematic genocide of Armenians took
place, saying large numbers of Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks
died in inter-ethnic fighting during World War I.

Retired Ambassador Nüzhet Kandemir, speaking with Milliyet,
said, "Biden has so far been involved in all kinds of movements which
are against Turkey," and that "Biden’s anti-Turkey manner has
ossified," apparently hinting that Biden’s attitude would not change
even when he takes on responsibilities as vice president. Biden was
among a delegation of US senators who visited Ankara in February this
year, when they also met with both President Abdullah Gül and
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an.

Then, Biden, along with John Kerry and Chuck Hagel, spoke with
Gül and ErdoÄ?an, praising both the relations between
their country and Turkey and Ankara’s support in restive parts of the
world such as Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Their visit to Ankara was part of a tour that included stops in India
and Pakistan. Speaking to reporters after a one-hour meeting with
ErdoÄ?an, Biden then said Turkey and the United States shared
strategic interests and objectives.

KınıklÄ&#x B1;oÄ?lu planning to hold talks with
McCain, Obama consultants

Amid concerns within domestic public opinion over US Democratic
presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama’s selection of Senate
colleague Joe Biden as his running mate since Biden is well known for
his policies that run against the interests of Ankara, a leading
deputy of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is
considering visiting the United States in October.

Suat KınıklıoÄ?lu , the AK Party’s
Ã?ankırı deputy, told Today’s Zaman yesterday that
he has been planning to meet with figures from both the campaigns of
Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain and Obama when
he travels to the United States in October.

"I must say that I’m surprised with Obama’s selection of Biden. It is
not easy to be happy with this selection when looking from Turkey and
considering Biden’s almost two-decade-long firm support of the
Armenian disapora’s efforts for recognition of their allegations of a
genocide," KınıklıoÄ?lu , who was head of
the German Marshall Fund’s Turkey office before being elected to
Parliament in July 2007, said when reminded of the fact that a
considerable number of Turkish daily newspapers yesterday disapproved
of Obama’s selection of Biden as a running mate. "The only thing we
can do now as citizens of Turkey is to wish Obama and Biden luck,
although this combination is not very hope-inspiring from Turkey’s
perspective. However, the most important duty for nongovernmental
organizations and the media as well as politicians is to thoroughly
inform the Obama camp about Turkey’s policies and understanding on
certain issues. We should engage both the McCain and Obama camps
before one of them is elected, not after the election is over,"
KınıklÄ&#xB 1;oÄ?lu said.

"I believe domestic public opinion will follow McCain’s strategies
during the electioneering more closely than before given the
disappointment over Biden’s selection," he, nonetheless, added. Emine
Kart Ankara

25 August 2008, Monday
TODAY’S ZAMAN ANKARA

Youth of Turkey call for opening border with Armenia

2008-08-23 10:57:00

ArmInfo. The democratic youth movement of Turkey "Young Civilians" has
called on authorities to open Turkey’s border with Armenia for 24 hours
on Sept 6 in connection with the Armenia-Turkey FIFA 2010 qualification
match in Yerevan, reports Today’s Zaman.

The Movement says that this will make it easier for supporters to get
to Yerevan. "We just want to see the game and then return home," say
the youth and note that this match is an excellent chance for Turkey
and Armenia to normalize their relations.

157 GOODS WAGONS WITH CARGO FOR ARMENIA, INCLUDING 107 WITH WHEAT ARE IN GEORGIA

ArmInfo
2008-08-22 13:12:00

ArmInfo. At present there are 157 goods wagons with cargo for Armenia,
including 107 with wheat are in Georgia, Armenian prime minister’s
adviser, coordinator of the working group on cargo delivery to Armenia
Gagik Martirosyan told Arminfo correspondent.

At the same time he declined to comment on the reasons of the Georgian
party refusal to use an alternative railway bridge.

AUCTION HELD ON PLACEMENT OF STATE BONDS OF AMGT39215098 ISSUE

Noyan Tapan

Au g 22, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, NOYAN TAPAN. An action on placement of state
(treasury) short-term bonds of AMGT39215098 issue with a redemption
period of 39 weeks was held on August 21.

The bonds subject to placement amounted to 1.5 billion drams, the
demand made 2 bln 523 mln 427 thousand drams. The placement of bonds
made 1.5 bln drams. The placement proceeds made 1 bln 411 mln 309
thousand 529 drams. The weighted average yield from placement made
8.2869%, the maxiumum yield – 8.4700%.

According to the press center of the RA ministry of finance, ten
dealers participated in the auction.

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION FALLS DOWN IN SOFIA’S CENTER

Focus News
Aug 19 2008
Bulgaria

Sofia. There had been a terrible explosion at about 14.30 at the
region of the former Military Museum, Petko Petkov, witness of the
accident told FOCUS News Agency. He had send pictures of the fallen
scaffolding. His liwe had called 112 immediately.

Petkov said that the windows of the building, which replaces the
military museum, were put yesterday. This is an Armenian object and
Ministry of Defense will probably use it.

There had been two men at the scaffolding at the region of the
former Military Historical Museum when it fell down. One of them hade
been taken to Pirogov hospital. According to the initial diagnoses
the 44-year- old man, named St.M. was that he had wound and broken
coxofemoral joint. The other one had not been injured, chief inspector
at National Service "Fire Safety and Population Protection" Dimitar
Ivanov said. The reason for the accident hasn’t been known. The owner
of the object has been waiting at the place of the incident.

The police and the fire brigade have been stepped up in the area. The
traffic along "Knyaz Boris I" has been closed off because even the
slightest vibration can demolish the rest of the scaffolding. It
had smashed at about ten cars, which were parked at the region of
the building.

A human mistake was the reason for the falling of the scaffolding
at the building of the "National Armenian Complex," the owner of the
Hufu Company Dimitar Atanasov said. According to him the incident had
happen during the dismantling of the scaffolding. One of company’s
workers had been injured. Hufu is a big company, specialized in the
work with scaffoldings. The worker hadn’t been injured seriously and
probably the company will pay for him treatment.

The "Hu- Fu" building company has been the chief executer of the
National Armenian Complex construction, where there had been an
explosion on Tuesday afternoon and one of the workers had been injured,
Ministry of Defense press center reports.

The company had been chosen in 2004 by a public procurement under the
Public Procurement Act. Ministry of Defense press center said that
according to item 14 from the agreement signed between the executors
"Hu-Fu" company and the contradicting authority- the former Military
Clubs and Information Executive Agency the "Executor takes all the
responsibility for the safety of all kinds of works and activities
at the object, for the safety of the workers and the observing of
the safety rules and guidance of the work."

The owner of the scaffolding, from which the worker at the national
Armenian Complex object had fallen, is the Black Pearl Company but it
had been let out. Company’s engagement is to assemble and dismantle
the scaffolding, person in charge of the technical sector in the
company Dani Dundov said. According to him the scaffolding had been
assembled at this object at about a year ago. They haven’t received
any information for it’s dismantling. He added that no matter who is
the owner of the scaffolding the company, which had taken it for rent,
takes the responsibility for its proper use.

According to Dundov the probable reason for the explosion is the
removing of installation elements but he added that this is only
his theory.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

THE YOUTH CONFERENCE IS LAUNCHED IN BIKFAYYA

"The meaning of the church cannot be explained in its sanctity only, but in
the realization of its mission, in which our youth should participate"

SAYS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I

The youth conference organized by the Catholicosate of Cilicia’s Youth
Department was officially launched in the Saint Mary Monastery in Bikfaya on
August 14. The conference convenes under the theme "The Armenian Youth in
the face of the challenges of the 21st century."

The conference is held under the auspices of His Holiness Aram I, who also
presided over the opening ceremony and addressed the young delegates
participating the conference from Armenian communities worldwide. The
conference brought together over 100 young Armenians from the Eastern and
Western prelacies of North America, Istanbul, Cyprus, Kuwait, the Arab Gulf
countries, Tehran and Isfahan, Syria and Lebanon. The prelacies of Greece
and Azerbaijan in Iran did not send representatives.

In his opening remarks the director of the Catholicosate of Cilicia’s Youth
Department, Rev. Sahag Yemishian, underlined the unique character of the
conference and its promising prospects. He wished that the conference
participants would appropriately discuss the ideas and proposals expressed
during the sessions with a view to plan new projects that would improve the
lives of young Armenians.

The opening ceremony became all the more exciting with the encouraging words
of His Holiness Aram I- a hearty Pontifical message spoken to the Armenian
youth. The young participants intently listened to the wise words of the
Catholicos who, fully aware of present circumstances, inspired them to face
all the challenges they encounter.

His Holiness welcomed the young Armenians that had come to Bikfaya from
around the world and presented a thorough analysis of the difficulties that
the Armenian youth face both at the global and national levels. Referring to
the characteristics relevant to a person’s adolescent life, he underlined
the importance of Christian formation and a purpose-goal life. His Holiness
considered that the Church, as a source of morality, is a compass, a path
leading to Christ, an institution that organizes social life based mutual
respect of the laws governing society.

"In the life of present-day society, religion has started becoming an
existential presence. In the past, particularly in the West, religion was an
individual matter. Today, it is a matter of public concern. Inter-faith
meetings are held today with utmost seriousness and uninterrupted
continuity- a non-existing phenomenon in the past. The youth cannot remain
indifferent towards this. However, where is the youth in all this?" wondered
His Holiness.

In his message, the Pontiff stressed the importance of participation. "The
youth and passivity are opposing concepts. The youth should be present in
our collective life. Its role is not marginal; it is important, it is
central. Look at today’s world and you will see that those occupying
important position are mostly the youth. This is so because it is through
your work that our life flourishes and develops. Otherwise, our collective
life will become immobile like a swamp. Our church needs your fresh forces
and minds," he said.

In the last part of his speech, the Pontiff spoke about the dangers
threatening the life of the youth. "We are becoming witness to mentalities
and lifestyles that do not correspond to our traditions and are based on
morally different perceptions. The youth is quickly affected by such
phenomena. It is true that in the current world we cannot build up walls
around ourselves or live in isolation. However, with the guidance of the
Church the youth can find its true path, renewing the church in its mission
and service. The meaning of the church cannot be explained in its sanctity
only, but in the realization of its mission, in which our youth should
participate," His Holiness stressed.

The Pontiff’s message became a guideline for the conference. During the
following session, Garo Hovhannessian delivered a presentation entitles:
"Where is the Armenian youth in face of the challenges of the 21st century
and how does he overcome them?" Hovhannessian stressed the concepts of
national identity and the need for an understanding of national belonging
among the youth. He made a call for reviewing the concept of "culture" and
underlined the importance of preserving the Armenian Language for the
preservation of Armenian identity. Referring to the contribution expected
from the youth, he said: "In our history we have not had a period when we’ve
had so many of our youngsters enrolled in universities. However, we feel the
lack of man force everywhere today. Degrees have no meaning if they do not
contribute to our highest national interests and to the realization of our
primary goals."

Following the lecture, the participants were divided into workshops to
discuss more deeply the issues at hand and prepare brief reports of the
ideas and thoughts expressed. The workshops became serious discussions,
healthy criticism, fiery debates and attempts to reach the truth through the
exchange of viewpoints.

One of the sessions was dedicated to the exchange of information on the
experiences of the youth living in different geographic locations and
communities. The session was also rich in relevant topics with young
Armenians providing information about their respective communities and
environments, explaining their concerns and the obstacles they face. The
dangers threatening the life of the youth were also discussed with a view to
seek preventive measures.

The conference started with the morning service, at the end of which
spiritual contemplation was performed by Rev. Magar Ashkarian. After the
day-long sessions, the participants attended the Evening Mass in the St.
Mary Monastery.

##
View the photos here:
c/Photos/Photos298.htm
http://www.armenianorthodox church.org/v04/doc/Photos/Photos299.htm

*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the youth
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

CSTO MEMBER-STATES COORDINATE STANCES ON AGENDA OF 63RD SESSION OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

arminfo
2008-08-15 11:59:00

ArmInfo. CSTO member-states coordinated their stances on the agenda
of the 63rd session of UN General Assembly, CSTO Information Office
Adviser Vitaliy Strugovec told ArmInfo.

CSTO member-states focused on strengthening of versatile
initiatives in world affairs, the increase of UN’s role in search
for adequate responses to new challenges and threats, and reforms
of the Organization. Security and stability especially in the CSTO
responsibility area were outlined during the consultations. Russian
party informed the participants of the developments in South
Ossetia. Representatives of CSTO member-states discussed the settlement
of conflicts in particular in Afghanistan, Iraq and the situation
after the unilateral independence of Kosovo. They agreed to continue
effective practice of consultations to coordinate the stances of CSTO
member-states on key international problems including through their
permanent representatives at international organizations in New York,
Geneva, Vienna and Brussels.

Representatives of all the member-states participated in the
consultations chaired by Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry
Department for International Organizations Vladimir Zayomsky.

THE LOBBY LIKE NO OTHER WANTS A WAR LIKE NO OTHER
by Michael Scheuer

Antiwar.com
August 14, 2008
CA

Having watched John McCain and Barack Obama resolutely pledge their
allegiance – and their countrymen’s lives and treasure – to the
defense of Israel via AIPAC, the media, and personal meetings with
Israeli leaders, it is worth asking what could possibly drive these
men to so ardently commit America to participation in other people’s
religious wars. This question is particularly important today as the
Bush administration and the Israel-firsters continue to push for an
unprovoked U.S. attack on Iran.

Let me say that I harbor no resentment over the actions of Israel’s
leaders. For more than 60 years, they have knowingly made their country
a pariah in the Arab and Islamic worlds, just as the Palestinians
have made themselves pariahs in much of the West. This is, of course,
the right of both parties, but neither seems to want to face the
consequences of their decisions. With demographic realities and
increasingly radical, well-armed Arabs making them panicky about
Israel’s security, Israel’s leaders naturally to try to lock down as
much U.S. support as possible. Having consciously – if unwisely –
put all their eggs in the U.S. basket since the 1973 War, Israel’s
leaders must do everything possible to protect their relationship
with Washington.

The U.S. invasion of Iraq, it seems, was not enough for the
Israel-firsters. Now, according to Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a
U.S.-launched war on Iran is needed because "the threat that the
U.S. and Israel face from the Islamic Republic of Iran is today
greater than ever." Though based on the fantasy that Ahmedinejad’s
tin-pot regime is a threat to the world’s only superpower, this is a
perfectly commonsense position for Israel and its U.S.-citizen backers
in AIPAC to champion. In their view, U.S. wars with Muslims are the
ultimate good for Israel. Recall, if you will, the perfectly accurate
April 2008, words of Benjamin Netanyahu, likely Israel’s next prime
minister: "We [Israel] are benefiting from one thing, and that is the
attack on the twin towers and the Pentagon, and the American struggle
in Iraq." These wars, Netanyahu said, have "swung American public
opinion in our favor." How much more must Netanyahu and AIPAC believe
that a U.S. war with Iran would add to this "swing" in Israel’s favor?

My own anger falls not on Israel, then, or on Palestine, for that
matter; as I have written elsewhere, America would do just fine and
would be better off without either or both. It falls rather on the
lobbying efforts of AIPAC, that organization’s blatant purchasing
of fealty from U.S. politicians in both parties, and the media’s
obsequious parroting of specious canards about "Israel’s right to
exist" and "the duty of Americans to support an island of democracy
in the Middle East."

While few would question the right of AIPAC leaders to lobby
U.S. politicians, legally bribe them with campaign contributions, or
limit their right to speak as they please in public, not matter how
scurrilous or libelous their words, I sometimes wonder if Americans
have focused on what AIPAC lobbies for and what its acolytes in
politics and the media support.

It is a commonplace to say that lobbying is a pervasive activity
in U.S. politics at all levels of government, especially at the
federal level. People lobby for tax advantages for business or tax
breaks for individuals; for the right to own guns or laws to ban
them; for subsidies for agriculture or vouchers for private schools;
for universal health care or smaller government. Across this diverse
array of lobbyists there are two common threads: (A) None are working
to push the United States to participate in other peoples’ wars; and
(B) All are arguing for things that will – from their perspective –
improve America, whether by making it richer, better protected, more
competently educated, healthier, freer, etc. The anti-gun lobby,
for example, is no less confident than the NRA and its affiliates
that they are working for the best interests of Americans. One or the
other is wrong, but their activities are shaped by their perception
of what is best for America.

It is this last point that separates the lobbyists working for and
with AIPAC – most of whom are U.S. citizens – from almost all other
U.S.-based lobbyists. AIPAC does not lobby, bribe, and libel to make
Americans and America better off. It lobbies solely, forthrightly,
and cynically to make Israel richer, better protected, and able to
do as it pleases in its relations with Muslim states. AIPAC makes
no pretense of doing things meant to benefit America; rather, its
members take pride in seeking a goal that runs directly counter to
the economic welfare and physical security of almost all other U.S
citizens by seeking to keep them involved in a religious war in which
no U.S. national interest is at stake.

Now, there are a few other similar anti-American lobbies – those for
Armenia, Lebanon, Greece, etc. – but AIPAC is clearly primus inter
pares in this dastardly group. And given that every AIPAC success
is a net loss for U.S. security and the U.S. Treasury, it seems odd
that our so-called political leaders take orders and funds from this
fundamentally anti-U.S. organization. Odd or not, however, that is
the reality. Senators Obama and McCain have become AIPAC poster boys,
each strengthening his support for Israel over the course of the
current presidential campaign. Obama’s position, in fact, has changed
so drastically in a pro-Israel direction that the Illinois senator
appears to have no mind of his own on this issue. He has simply and
obsequiously adopted the Democrats’ traditional abject subservience
to their small but powerful pro-Israel constituency.

McCain is an Israel-firster of the deepest hue. Coached by Joe
Lieberman – who argues there is a U.S. duty to ensure God’s promise to
Abraham about Israel is kept – McCain is now considering Republican
Congressman Eric Cantor for his running mate. Rep. Cantor, needless
to say, is eager to spend American blood and treasure to secure
Israel. Speaking in Israel, Cantor pushed the same false assertion
that is the staple of U.S. leaders in both parties. "What befalls
Jerusalem," Cantor said, "threatens the security of the United States
and its allies worldwide. That’s because Jerusalem and Israel are
Ground Zero in the global battle between tyranny and democracy,
radicalism and moderation, terrorism and freedom."

This, of course, is nonsense of a high order, and Lieberman and
Cantor know it. Both men are committed to Israel as a religious idea,
not because it has anything to do with U.S. security. According to
Lieberman, "The rabbis say in the Talmud that a lot of rabbinic
law is to put a fence around the Torah so you don’t get near
to violating it. Well, McCain has a series of very clear-headed
policies toward terrorism and Islamic extremism [that put] extra
layers behind his support for Israel." He also told a conference
of Christians United for Israel that he was pleased they recognized
it was America’s duty to defend Israel, blithely lying to them that
"President Washington and the Founding Fathers" would support America
fighting Israel’s wars. Cantor, playing to both the Israel-firsters
and their U.S. evangelical allies, also has made clear where his
primary loyalty lies:

"Jerusalem is not merely the capital of Israel but the spiritual
capital of Jews and Christians everywhere. It’s the site of the
First and Second Temples, which housed the Holy of Holies, and it’s
the direction in which we Jews face when we pray. This glorious City
of David is bound to the Jewish people by an undeniable 3,000-year
historical link."

My own view is that if God promised Palestine to the Israelis, God
is perfectly capable of keeping that promise, and America is no way
committed to expend the lives of its soldier-children in a war over
conflicting interpretations of God’s word. The Israelis and the Muslims
should be perfectly free to fight over whether Yahweh and Abraham or
Allah and Mohammed are right, and Americans should be perfectly free
to draw the correct conclusion, that the United States does not have
a dog in this fight. In addition, there is a genuine constitutional
question of church-state separation on this issue. Why should American
taxpayers have their earnings and children’s lives spent to defend
a theocracy in Israel or, for that matter, to protect an Islamic
theocracy in Saudi Arabia.? (Imagine the howls of protest and torrents
of church-state separation rhetoric from the media and both parties
if a congressman introduced a bill calling for the U.S. to designate
that an amount equivalent to what’s spent to protect Israel and Saudi
Arabia be sent to the Vatican – a nation-state like Israel and Saudi
Arabia – to improve its defenses against the now well-articulated
threat from al-Qaeda and other Islamists.)

Objectively, three realities are clear: (1) U.S. survival is not at
stake in the Israeli-Muslim war; (2) the taxes of Americans should
not be spent to defend theocratic states; and (3) holy books are
insane tools to use as guides for U.S. foreign policy. In America,
however, these realities lie unspoken because of the lobbying efforts
of AIPAC and the pro-Israel mantras of the politicians it purchases
with campaign contributions and promises of media exposure, including
McCain and Obama. By their consistent anti-American actions, AIPAC and
the U.S. politicians who do its bidding have fully validated the words
of the real George Washington – not the figment of Washington painted
by Joe Lieberman. "Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence,"
President Washington wrote in 1796, "the jealousy of a free people
ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove
that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican
government."

GETTING GEORGIA’S WAR ON
By Mark Ames Reprinted with permission from The Nation

CBS News
August 12, 2008
NY

The Nation: What We Should Expect If John McCain Becomes Our Nation’s
Commander In Chief Comments 12

The outbreak of war in Georgia on Friday offers a disturbing and
somewhat surreal taste of what to expect from John McCain should he
become our nation’s Commander in Chief. As the centuries-old ethnic
animosities between Georgia and Ossetia boiled over into another armed
conflict, drawing in neighboring Russia, McCain issued a stark-raving
statement from Des Moines that is disturbingly reminiscent of the
language used in the lead-up to NATO’s war against Yugoslavia in 1999,
a war McCain zealously pushed for:

"We should immediately call a meeting of the North Atlantic Council
to assess Georgia’s security and review measures NATO can take to
contribute to stabilizing this very dangerous situation," McCain said.

Calling on NATO to "stabilize this dangerous situation" is not going
down well with Russia, where images of dead Russian peacekeepers and
of frightened Ossetian refugees streaming across its borders have
put the country in a very vengeful mood. It’s hard to imagine what
measures NATO could take under a McCain presidency, but in the mind
of a man who thinks US troops should stay in Iraq for 100 years, and
who runs around singing "Bomb Bomb Iran!" it’s not hard to guess —
and even harder not to be horrified by what it may mean come January
2009, should he win.

McCain’s call to NATO-ize the war is not only frightening, it’s also
delusional: both NATO and US forces are already stretched beyond the
breaking point, even by Joint Chief of Staff chairman Michael Millen’s
own recent assessment.

But McCain’s brain remains undeterred by reality, a fact that became
painfully clear today in Des Moines when he also demanded, "The US
should immediately convene an emergency session of the United Nations
Security Council to call on Russia to reverse course."

The problem with McCain’s bold demand about going to the UN is that
Russia already tried doing exactly what McCain called for — and got
rejected by McCain’s neocon pals in the Bush Administration. Early
this morning, Russia convened an emergency session of the UN Security
Council, calling on both sides to immediately cease hostilities,
return to the negotiating table and renounce the use of force —
but the last part about renouncing the use of force is exactly what
Georgia’s president Mikhail Saakashvili refuses to do.

The Bush Administration showed that it too has no patience with crunchy
"renounce the use of force" resolutions. According to a Reuters report
from earlier in the day:

At the request of Russia, the U.N. Security Council held an emergency
session in New York but failed to reach consensus early Friday on a
Russian-drafted statement.

The council concluded it was at a stalemate after the United States,
Britain and some other members backed the Georgians in rejecting a
phrase in the three-sentence draft statement that would have required
both sides "to renounce the use of force," council diplomats said.

The meaning of this is clear: the United States and Britain are backing
Saakashvili’s invasion. Why would we back Saakashvili’s reckless
war, when last year even Bush was denouncing the Pinochet-wannabe’s
violent attack on his own people during a peaceful opposition protest
in Georgia’s capital, as well as shutting down the opposition media
and exiling of political opponents? That would be a brain-teaser if
the last seven years hadn’t answered this question so many painful
times already.

But with McCain, answering this is a little trickier. When he issued
today’s Des Moines statement calling for Russia to do what Russia
already did a few hours earlier, you have to ask yourself: either
McCain’s short-term memory is totally shot, encased in an impenetrable
tomb of aluminum-zirconium plaque… or worse, McCain simply doesn’t
give a damn about reality, he just wants to get Georgia’s war on,
as badly as Saakashvili does.

The awful truth is probably a combination of the two, which is the
worst of all worlds, considering McCain’s raving Russophobia, and
his campaign team’s financial and ideological ties to Saakashvili. As
has been reported, McCain’s top foreign policy advisor, neocon Randy
Scheunemann, has a long financial relationship with Saakashvili to
lobby his interests in the United States.

According to the Wall Street Journal:

In 2005, Mr. Scheunemann asked Sen. McCain to introduce a Senate
resolution expressing support for peace in the Russian-influenced
region of South Ossetia that wants to break away from Georgia, the
records show.

Such resolutions of Senate support are symbolic but helpful
to countries in their diplomatic relations. The Senate approved
Sen. McCain’s resolution in December 2005, and the Georgian Embassy
posted the text on its Web site.

Sen. McCain has endorsed Georgia’s goal of entering NATO, a matter
for which the country hired Mr. Scheunemann to lobby. In 2006,
Senator McCain gave a speech at the Munich Conference on Security
in Germany in which he said "Georgia has implemented far-reaching
political, economic, and military reforms" and should enter NATO,
a text of his speech on the conference Web site shows.

Scheunemann, a bearded, pear-faced gun geek who looks like what might
have happened to a GI Joe doll if it had spent years stuffing its face
at pricey restaurants while power-schmoozing politicians and petty
dictators, also worked for recently-disgraced Bush fundraiser Stephen
Payne, lobbying for his Caspian Alliance oil business. The Caspian
oil pipeline runs through Georgia, the main reason that country has
tugged the heartstrings of neocons and oil plutocrats for at least
a decade or more.

In 2006, McCain visited Georgia and denounced the South Ossetian
separatists, proving that Scheunemann wasn’t wasting his Georgian
sponsor’s money. At a speech he gave in a Georgian army base in
Senaki, McCain declared that Georgia was America’s "best friend,"
and that Russian peacekeepers should be thrown out.

Today, Georgian forces from that same Senaki base are part of the
invasion force into South Ossetia, an invasion that has left scores
— perhaps hundreds — of dead locals, at least ten dead Russian
peacekeepers, and 140 million pissed-off Russians calling for blood.

Lost in all of this is not only the question of why America would risk
an apocalypse to help a petty dictator like Saakashvili get control
of a region that doesn’t want any part of him. But no one’s bothering
to ask what the Ossetians themselves think about it, or why they’re
fighting for their independence in the first place. That’s because the
Georgians — with help from lobbyists like Scheunemann — have been
pushing the line that South Ossetia is a fiction, a construct of evil
Kremlin neo-Stalinists, rather than a people with a genuine grievance.

A few years ago, I had an Ossetian working as the sales director for
my now-defunct newspaper, The eXile. After listening to me rave about
how much I always (and still do) like the Georgians, he finally lost
it and told me another side to Georgian history, explaining how the
Georgians had always mistreated the Ossetians, and how the South
Ossetians wanted to reunite with North Ossetia in order to avoid
being swallowed up, and how this conflict goes way back, long before
the Soviet Union days. It was clear that the Ossetian-Georgian hatred
was old and deep, like many ethnic conflicts in this region. Indeed, a
number of Caucasian ethnic groups still harbor deep resentment towards
Georgia, accusing them of imperialism, chauvinism and arrogance.

One example of this can be found in historian Bruce Lincoln’s book,
"Red Victory", in which he writes about the period of Georgia’s
brief independence from 1917 to 1921, a time when Georgia was backed
by Britain:

the Georgian leaders quickly moved to widen their borders at
the expense of their Armenian and Azerbaijani neighbors, and
their territorial greed astounded foreign observers. ‘The free and
independent socialist democratic state of Georgia will always remain
in my memory as a classic example of an imperialist small nation,"
one British journalist wrote…. "Both in territory snatching outside
and bureaucratic tyranny inside, its chauvinism was beyond all bounds."

On Thursday, following intense Georgian shelling and katyusha
rocketing into Tskhinvali, refugees streamed out of South Ossetia
telling reporters that the Georgians had completely leveled entire
villages and most of Tskhinvali, leaving "piles of corpses" in the
streets, over 1,000 by some counts. Among the dead are at least
ten Russian peacekeepers, who fell after their base was attacked by
Georgian forces. Reports also say that Georgian forces destroyed a
hotel where Russian journalists were staying.

In response, Russian jets bombed Georgian positions both inside
South Ossetia and into Georgia proper, attacking one base where
American military instructors are quartered (no Americans were
reported hurt). By mid-afternoon Moscow time, as local television
showed burning homes and Ossetian women and children huddling in
bomb shelters, armored Russian columns were crossing into Georgian
territory, and Georgia’s President called for a total mobilization
of military-aged men for war with Russia.

The invasion was backed up by a PR offensive so layered and
sophisticated that I even got an hysterical call today from a hedge
fund manager in New York, screaming about an "investor call" that
Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze made this morning with some
fifty leading Western investment bank managers and analysts. I’ve
since seen a J.P. Morgan summary of the conference call, which pretty
much reflects the talking points later picked up by the US media.

These kinds of conference calls are generally conducted by the heads
of companies in order to give banking analysts guidance. But as the
hedge fund manager told me today, "The reason Lado did this is because
he knew the enormous PR value that Georgia would gain by going to
the money people and analysts, particularly since Georgia is clearly
the aggressor this time." As a former investment banker who worked in
London and who used to head the Bank of Georgia, Gurgenidze knew what
he was doing. "Lado is a former banker himself, so he knew that by
framing the conflict for the most influential bankers and analysts in
New York, that these power bankers would then write up reports and go
on CNBC and argue Lado Gurgenidze’s talking points. It was brilliant,
and now you’re starting to see the American media shift its coverage
from calling it Georgia invading Ossetian territory, to the new spin,
that it’s Russian imperial aggression against tiny little Georgia."

The really scary thing about this investor conference call is that
it suggests real planning. As the hedge fund manager told me, "These
things aren’t set up on an hour’s notice."

Where this war is leading is impossible to say, but as Iraq
and Afghanistan, not to mention Chechnya, have shown, wars have a
funny way of lasting longer, costing more in money and lives, and
snuffing out whatever individual liberties the affected populations
may have. As good as this war is for Saakashvili, who has become
increasingly unpopular at home and abroad, or for McCain, whose poll
numbers seem to rise every time the plaque devours another lobe of
his brain, it also bodes well for the resurgent Prime Minister Putin,
who seems to have become increasingly peeved with his hand-picked
successor, President Dmitry Medvedev’s flickering independence and
his liberalizer shtick. There’s nothing like a good war to snuff out
an uppity sois-disant liberal who’s getting in your way–even McCain
can still grasp this concept.

As I’m filing this, Russian forces are battling to take back
Tskhinvali, while Saakashvili has been alternately claiming to have
pulled his forces back, or that his forces are in full control of
the city and defeating the Russians. Meanwhile, Georgia has been on a
massive, successful, multi-layered PR offensive in the West, helped
by years of cultivating people like John McCain as well as the army
of neocons and old cold warriors who naturally gravitate to a fight
with Russia.

GERMANY OFFERS TO EVACUATE EU CITIZENS IN GEORGIA

Deutsche Welle
11.08.2008

GroÃ~_ansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Residential areas
have been damaged in the fighting The German embassy has organized
busses to to transport citizens out of Georgia. The German emgassy
reports that 200 have already left due to the fighting and another
100 are expected to leave by late Monday, Aug. 11.

The bus is headed for the Armenian capital Yerevan, the German foreign
ministry said. The German embassy emphasized that the citizens are
not being "evacuated" but are leaving the country voluntarily.

Some 300 German citizens are still in Georgia. They are being contacted
and offered the chance to leave if they wish, ministry spokesman Jens
Ploetner told a news conference Monday.

Ploetner said that the German embassy in Tbilisi was also prepared
to help citizens from other European countries.

Germans in Georgia told to contact embassy

"There is no reason for panic but we are calling on all German
citizens… to contact the embassy," he said.

Russia has bombed radars near the Georgian capital of Tbilisi and
has hit residential areas in the Georgian city of Gori near the South
Ossetian border. The United Nations refugee agency said that nearly
80 percent of Gori’s 50,000 residents have fled due to the bombings.

Merkel urges end to violence

German Chancellor Angela Merkel repeated her call for an end to
the violence in a Monday morning phone conversation with Georgian
President Mikheil Saakashvili, her spokesman Thomas Steg said.

Merkel also gave her full support to French President Nicolas Sarkozy,
who plans to travel to Moscow, Steg added. France currently holds
the European Union’s rotating presidency.

Merkel said it was "essential that there is an immediate and
non-conditional ceasefire and for all armed forces to withdraw to
the positions held before the conflict" and that "the territorial
integrity of Georgia should be respected," Steg said.

Merkel plans to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday,
but said that the meeting will entirely focus on the current conflict.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has also spoken
several times by phone with his Russian and Georgian counterparts,
and also took part in a conference call on Sunday with other EU
foreign ministers, Ploetner said.

–Boundary_(ID_AbBOuSQotg4rRsGWEVWBTw)–