SECURITY NEWS - 24 MARCH 2006
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Germany's intelligence probe
Germany's foreign intelligence service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), will be coming under rare scrutiny sometime in the next few weeks following disclosures that it provided important information to US forces on Saddam Hussein's military dispositions before and during the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, even though Gerhard Schroeder, the then chancellor, was vehemently opposed to the war in public.
[Jane's Intelligence Digest - first posted to http://jid.janes.com - 22 March 2006]
Yaalon fuels Iran strike debate
Former Israeli chief of staff General Moshe Yaalon commented recently that Israel has a military option with respect to Iran and that this must not be ruled out. JID's Middle East correspondent reports from Jerusalem on the background to this significant comment.
[Jane's Intelligence Digest - first posted to http://jid.janes.com - 22 March 2006]
Israel and Iran: nuclear test cases
The condemnation by the US and other Western nations of Iran's decision to resume uranium enrichment highlights the difference between the treatment of countries such as Iran that are within the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) and suspected of developing nuclear weapons, and those outside the treaty - most notably, Israel - which already have nuclear arsenals, but are non-signatories. In signing the NPT Iran can be held responsible for non-compliance. Israel, however, has a well-established nuclear weapons programme and capability that, as a key US ally, avoids censure.
[Jane's Intelligence Digest - first posted to http://jid.janes.com - 22 March 2006]
Serbia's new channels for foreign investment
A long-delayed licensing tender is signalling a major shake-up in the Serbian TV market. * Would-be foreign investors recognise the large potential of advertising revenue, with German, Greek and Cypriot companies bidding for licences. * Analysts expect the comparatively high cost of the licences to force the closure or ownership change of dozens of TV stations including BKTV, owned by Serbian oligarch Bogoljub Karic.
[Jane's Foreign Report - first posted to http://frp.janes.com - 22 March 2006]
Brazil gets the numbers right
Brazil's long-term strategy of fiscal austerity is reaping dividends, with the country's finances now in such a buoyant state that Brasilia can pay down both sovereign and multilateral debt. * However, the economy has not fared so well, leading to calls for higher social spending amid criticism that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has failed to fulfil his election pledges to reduce poverty. * Lula will hope that the economy picks up in time to boost his re-election campaign, outweighing lingering damage done by revelations of a corruption scandal within his party.
[Jane's Foreign Report - first posted to http://frp.janes.com - 22 March 2006]
Bird flu spreads to Africa
The discovery of the H5N1 avian influenza virus in Africa has raised fears about the continent's ability to tackle the threat. * A lack of adequate testing facilities and protective equipment has already been highlighted. * Weak healthcare systems are particularly worrisome should the virus mutate into a form that is transmissible between humans.
[Jane's Foreign Report - first posted to http://frp.janes.com - 22 March 2006]
Emergency in the Philippines?
On the 20th anniversary celebration of the end of martial law, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency. * Although the emergency claimed an alliance between communists and military mutineers, its likely real purpose was to clamp down on various forms of public, military and parliamentary opposition. * Ironically, the only winners of the debacle are communist insurgents and the leftist opposition who have won sympathy from large sectors of the public.
[Jane's Foreign Report - first posted to http://frp.janes.com - 22 March 2006]
Pakistan's Kasuri: the born optimist
In an interview with Jane's, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri asserted that Pakistan sought the same terms from the US that the country is currently offering India in a nuclear deal. - The foreign minister also stated that the slow Indo-Pakistan peace process has proved frustrating. - Although the 2005 earthquake may have had the effect of slowing militancy in Kashmir, the window of opportunity for India to deal with President Musharraf may be closing due to presidential elections next year.
[Jane's Islamic Affairs Analyst - first posted to http://jiaa.janes.com - 22 February 2006]
Peru's Shining Path survives decimation to return to the fray
Peru's Shining Path insurgent group is beginning to step up its activity against the security forces, confounding expectations that the group would fade away after being decimated in the 1990s. * It is now adapting its recruitment tactics and drawing support from coca growers who are disillusioned by the government's coca eradication programmes and failure to improve social conditions. * Due to fiscal constraints, the security forces' ability to crack down on subversive elements has deteriorated severely from the 1990s, and they are unlikely to be able to stamp out the remnants of the Shining Path
[Jane's Intelligence Review - first posted to http://jir.janes.com - 16 February 2006]
Nixon 1973: "I am not a crook!"
Clinton 1998 wagging finger: "I did not have sex with that woman!"
Bush 2005 wagging finger: "I did nothing illegal!"
+ $1,809,593,591,481 Social Security Trust Fund
– $8,017,618,068,106The Gross National Debt
Time will tell all the Truth.
VT
Sean Lewis/VirtualTruth/VT
Founder AOL Group OpenDebateForum
Founder Google Group Open Debate Political Forum IMHO
Founder of Blog http://VTSL.blogspot.com
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