Friday News Roundup - International
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-08-03/friday-news-roundup-international
The European Central Bank left its main interest rate unchanged, but ECB head Mario Draghi signaled the bank could purchase bonds and lower borrowing costs in the future. The battle for Aleppo raged on as Syrian rebels' handling of pro-government militiamen drew criticism. President Barack Obama announced new sanctions on Iran's energy sector. And India suffered the worst blackout in history, which left 670 million people without power. James Kitfield of National Journal, Susan Glasser of Foreign Policy magazine and David Ignatius of The Washington Post join Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories.
Guests
James Kitfield
senior correspondent for National Journal.
Susan Glasser
editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy.
David Ignatius
columnist for The Washington Post and contributor to the “Post Partisan” blog on washingtonpost.com. His latest book is titled "Bloodmoney: A Novel of Espionage."
Comments
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Israel used white phosphorus...(a chemical weapon) on the Palestinians in the Gaza. International reports. How absurd is it for Israel to be calling out another nation on chemical weapons use? I think absurd.
Both candidates are snuggling up to Israel and the I lobby by repeating unsubstantiated claims about Iran. There is no solid evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Please discuss any difference between Romney and Obama on Iran
It is clear that Romney is trying to tie up the Israel firster vote. Israel is right Palestinians wrong. Dangerous hardball with Iran based on unsubstantiate claims. But what can one expect out of Romney when his foreign policy team has Max Boot, Kagan and other warmongers on his team. And now Dennis Ross "Israel's lawyer" is staying "neutral" on the Obama/Romney race. Clearly a message from Ross to the Aipac crowd...go with Romney. Please have your guest discuss Ross's statement about being "neutral" on the race.
On MSNBC you hear host of news programs say that Assad is going down. On NPR's Scott Simons Saturday program Kelly McEvers who had been reporting directly out of Syria said that the situation is not going well for the rebels (that no one r...(tharr be more)eally knows who these people are) At the very informative website NON INTERVENTION Former head of the CIA's Bin Laden unit Micheal Scheuer has stated that "If and when the al-Assad regime falls, Americans can watch the delights that will emanate from the Mrs. Clinton-led bipartisan effort to destroy it: (a) the slaughter of some portion of Syria’s Alawite and Shia communities; (b) the triumph of Islamist forces, although they may deign to temporarily disguise themselves in more innocent garb as has Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood; (c) the opening of Syria’s prisons and the release of thousands of veteran and hardened Sunni Islamist insurgents; and (d) the looting of the Syrian military’s fully stocked arsenals of conventional arms and chemical weapons; the latter is the largest in the Middle East and perhaps in the world" Can your guest please discuss Micheal Scheuers views on the situaiton in Syria. Can you please have former head of the CIA's Bin Laden unit Micheal Sheuer on your proram? He has been on WAshington Journal numerous times
NON INTERVENTION. Micheal Scheuers website
why when there is discussion regarding Iran and Israel, there is never mention of Israel's nuclear arsenal, and the fact that they are not party to the Nuclear Proliferation treaty. Could that not be some factor to neighbors seeking out the same type of weapons. Also our (USA) own reports state the Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapon. Please discuss.
How does the Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Iran issue work out? What are the relative interests in this 3-sided affair?
Also in regard to Israel recently there were maps posted around NYC showing the loss of land between 1946 to present. They have been called out as anti-semetic. Two point, how can simple facts be considered anti-semetic, and two, Palestinians are a semetic people as well. Please discuss this as well.
When will anyone on the Diane Rehm show talk about how absurd it is that Israel who continues to refuse to sign the IAEA's Non proliferation Treaty keeps pushing the U.S. into a confrontation with Iran who has signed the Non proliferation Treaty . There is no substantiated evidence that Iran is enriching uranium which they are legally able to do as a signatory to the NPT. When will your guest talk about how contradictory and absurd this is. Israel is doing the persistent threatening.
Regarding Romney and his flip flop on health care statements, on his recent visit to Israel, he had one more gaffe that was reported on in the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, but was not reported in our news. It was stated on the 30th that" Romney ensalzó en su discurso la eficiencia de la Sanidad israelí sin decir que la gestiona el Estado y tiene una cobertura universal. Dos extremos a los que los republicanos se oponen en Estados Unidos." Which essentially means he tried to say how wonderful the Israeli health system was and how efficient it worked, but forgot to say or probably didn't know that the Israeli health care system is state run and has universal coverage!
http://www.elmundo.es/america/2012/07/30/estados_unidos/1343675585.html
Did I hear correctly?
It seems one of the guests said something to the effect that a regulatory board would not take a decision to improve the economy until after the election as such action might be seen as helping the president.
If even if that were true, the fact that we can so cavalierly put that out on the air without comment is telling of the current political climate.
I am multi-tasking so forgive if that is not what was said.
Can someone explain how an order allowing us to help the Syrian rebels can be called "secret" when everyone knows about it!
mafic9 on August 3, 2012 @ 11:32 am wrote: “. . . how can simple facts be considered anti-semetic, and two, Palestinians are a semetic people as well.”
1) It’s not the “facts” (assuming the are both correct and complete), it’s how they are used. As the old saying goes: “Figures don’t lie, but liars figure.”
2) The phrase “Anti-Semitic” refers to bias and hatred directed against Jews. It is a colloquialism. Pointing out the fact that Palestinians are a Semitic people too makes about as much sense in this context as pointing out that the term “Aryan” actually refers to a language grouping, and not a “race”.
And by the way, the term “Palestinian” is actually a geographical and nationalistic designation. There really never were any “Palestinian people” historically.
(This has no relevance to their right to a homeland, however. That’s based on International Law - the same Law that gives Israel its right to exist too!)
Natto on August 3, 2012 @ 11:51 am wrote: “Regarding Romney and his flip flop on health care statements, on his recent visit to Israel, he had one more gaffe that was reported on in the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, but was not reported in our news.”
Better re-read “our news”, there were many reports about Romney’s praise for Israel’s socialist health care system. (And for once that adjective does fit!) To name just three: MSNBC, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report were all over it.
(Okay, the last two aren’t really news outlets, but these days that’s almost a distinction without a difference!)
And to everyone obsessed with “trusting” Iran, distrusting Israel, and Syria, a few small points:
1) Iran is a signatory of the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), so it is a “big deal” should they be violating it. Israel isn’t, so whatever the merits of her being “nuclear” (and we have no proof of that, everyone just assumes it), she’s not breaking any treaties!
2) Iran has made it pretty clear, both through statements and actions, that one of its goals is to wipe Israel off the map. Has Israel ever returned the favor? No. Indeed, assuming Israel has “nukes”, her obvious restraint in not using them seems a pretty good basis for trusting her.
3) I find Romney’s “sucking up” to the Likud government as sickening as anyone. But remember: there is more to Israel than just the Likud.
4) As for whether we should intervene in Syria, and how, I just hope Mr. Scheuer has also considered the “consequences” if the Assad government prevails. Like it or not, there will be bad outcomes from all this. The question is how to achieve the best possible (instead of the worst possible) result. Doing nothing is rarely a good answer. Just ask the people in Nazi occupied Britain!
(Oh, wait, Hitler never got that far, did he? I wonder why? Could it be because other nations “intervened”?)
Ciao.
You are right! The US in Iraq also used WMD on the insurgency with phosphor and DU munitions. Today in Fallujah babies are being born deformed by the radiation and those soldiers that fired the DU munitions are contaminated and are also dying from radiation poising!! When did the US government ever tell us the whole true?
"kathleen wrote:
When will anyone on the Diane Rehm show talk about how absurd it is that Israel who continues to refuse to sign the IAEA's Non proliferation Treaty keeps pushing the U.S. into a confrontation with Iran who has signed the Non proliferation Treaty . There is no substantiated evidence that Iran is enriching uranium which they are legally able to do as a signatory to the NPT. When will your guest talk about how contradictory and absurd this is. Israel is doing the persistent threatening.
August 3, 2012 - 11:50 am"
Years ago the Palestinians acknowledged the right of Israel to exist. Then the Jews quietly escalated their demand that Palestine and the World must acknowledge the right of Israel to exist as a Jew State- an abomination to any righteous person, of course.
Likewise, the World was mildly concerned by the Iranians enriching to 20%, even though perfectly legal under the NPT which Iran has signed and observed and the Jews have not.
Then the Jews (who have nothing whatever to say about interpetation or enforcement of NPT) quietly escalated their demand to no enrichment at all for Iran which was made a precondition to talks with the EU (For G_ds Sake) by the Crypto Jew Secretary Clinton.
This after other arrangements to provide the Iranians with 20% Uranium were refused by Mrs Clinton.
"KITFIELD says
11:26:42
... They have not gone off their nuclear weapons program. Suspected -- strongly suspected, I should say... "
You wanna debate that, you two-bit Flak for the Butchers of Shatila?
"They've caused the Iranian currency to implode and lose its value by about 40 percent."
The Sanctions were not supposed to hurt the Iranian People, remember Rat??? I guess you people are pretty proud of yourselves!!
Monte Haun mchaun@hotmail.com
"Michael David wrote:
... those soldiers that fired the DU munitions are contaminated and are also dying from radiation poising!!"
Not all of them, Mike.
One, the current Congressman from california, sat on his a_s outside Fallujah and personally lobbed 36,000,000 Metric tons of Phosphorus, cluster munitions and High explosives on the hapless Civilians and he is even prettier now than when he first sailed for Iraq.
Monte Haun mchaun@hotmail.com