Mr. Obama, about your Iran policy - can you spell f-e-c-k-l-e-s-s?

Feckless: adjective ineffective; incompetent; futile

That pretty sums up the present Iran policy of the Obama Administration. I hate to keep harping on this - it seems that most of my writings and comments of late deal with this subject. Either the President is persistent or he just doesn’t get it, but his policy of “engaging” Iran has proven to be ineffective, incompetent and futile, yes, feckless.

The latest indication that they - by “they” I mean the President and equally inept Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - don’t get it came today. Faced with an outright Iranian rejection of an American-supported plan by which Iran would export most of its enriched uranium for processing into proliferation-safe fuel rods, the Administration announced that it wanted to “give some space to Iran to work through this. It’s a tough issue for them, quite obviously, and we’re hoping for an early positive answer from the Iranians.”

An early positive answer from the Iranians? Mr. Obama, how many times do you have to be told no before you understand that you are being manipualted by the Iranians? They agree, then backpedal, then agree to talk about more talks, then send signals that they hope they can still reach a deal, and offer to talk about more talks. All you have gotten out of the Iranians is an offer to talk about talks. You have gotten not one concrete concession from Tehran.

On the other hand, the Iranians have played you like a cheap ‘ud (lute). They have been able to lure you into one-on-one talks in Iraq that went nowhere - Iran still provides money, weapons and training to Shi’a militias that have American blood on their hands. Not only are they supporting the Iraqi militias, they are now funneling improvised explosive device components to the Taliban in Afghanistan - more American blood on their hands.

Now the Iranians threaten to try three young American hikers on espionage charges. I guess “engaging” hasn’t really helped that aspect of our relationship, has it?

What else have they gained from your naivete? By sponsoring the enriched uranium export agreement, you have legitimized their nuclear research program. You even agreed to more one-on-one talks, further legitimizing the regime. When demands that Iran stop enriching uranium were ignored, rather than successfully orchestrating the imposition of economic sanctions, you have given them more time, over and over. Of course, they have offered to talk. I guess to you, that is the same as “engaging.”

Now you are willing to give the Iranians until the end of the year to agree to the export arrangement. Why? They have had months, even years to accommodate the demands of the West about their nuclear ambition - they have chosen not to. They repeatedly ignore the United Nations and various coalitions of nations, each time agreeing to more talks. While they are playing you and delaying any resolution of the nuclear issue, they continue to enrich uranium and conduct research into weapons design and development.

Mr. President, it’s time to do something other than let the Iranians agree to talk. That is not progress, nor is it success, well not for you - it is a huge success for Iranian foreign policy.

“Engaging” is not working. Continuing it in the face of repeated failures makes you look weak, yes, even feckless.

The Global Economic Crisis and the Imperialist Quest for Africa’sResources

The Global Economic Crisis and the Imperialist Quest for Africa’s Resources

Capitalist meltdown escalates western drive for continental control

By Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Over the last two years more than 7 million workers inside the United States have lost their jobs according to official figures supplied by the federal government. The impact has been felt in all sectors of the economy including heavy and light industry, retail, high technology, public service, education, healthcare and culture.

This economic downturn has resulted in an estimated 34 million workers being left either unemployed or underemployed. As of November 2009, the unemployment rate stands at 10.2 percent and there is no reasonable forecast that predicts a sudden upswing in employment during the immediate period.

Real wages have been in severe decline and trillions of the dollars in housing, savings, healthcare benefits, educational resources and pension funds have been taken from working families and the oppressed and turned over to the financial sector and the Pentagon. Despite the election of a Democratic congress and administration, the conditions for working people and the nationally oppressed has worsened during 2009.

This economic crisis which originated in the United States and other western imperialist states has had a tremendous impact on the oppressed nations that are former colonies and semi-colonies of Europe and the United States. In Africa tens of millions of people have been thrust into unemployment and poverty over the last two years.

At a recent meeting in Ethiopia of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), a United Nations sponsored research organization, U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro delivered a major address in which she outlined the impact of the world financial crisis on the African continent. Migiro related the current situation to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for 2015 which stated that poverty in Africa would be reduced by 50 percent.

The Deputy Secretary-General pointed out that “Despite some notable achievements, progress is off track across the continent.” (UNECA, November 9) Even though there was limited growth in Africa between 2000 and 2008, the recessions in the western countries have plunged the continent into a new round of economic decline resulting in social distress that has breed internal instability.

Migiro says that the growth rates during the earlier part of the decade were commendable, “But that good news is in peril. The economic crisis, for which Africa bears no responsibility, has drastically reversed recent trends.”

The growth rate for Africa in 2009 is projected to reach a paltry 1.7 percent. “Progress towards the Millennium Development Goals is likely to be adversely affected. The food and energy crises, as well as climate change, will also complicate our work.” (UNECA, November 9)

A task force of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) known as the Africa Steering Group, which was formed in July 2008, is scheduled to meet in New York on November 23. The Group is chaired by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and is calling for initiatives in the areas of education, health, agriculture and infrastructure designed to speed up progress towards the alleviation of poverty.

In regard to agricultural development, the Africa Steering Group has called for the international community to supply $750 million to assist in the short-term objectives resulting from the rapidly rising costs of food. The Steering Group also urged African states to work with other regions to launch a so-called “Green Revolution” in agriculture.

According to Migiro, “The economic crisis makes the need for action even more urgent. The crisis has pushed about 100 million people back into extreme poverty across the world. It has cost more than 50 million jobs this year alone.”

The U.N. official continued by saying that “Although some markets are bouncing back, the early signs of recovery have not produced many new jobs. For the crisis to be over, those who want to work should be able to find stable and productive jobs.”

The Global Crisis and the Drive for Africa’s Resources

Since the rise of the imperialist occupations in Afghanistan and Iraq, more people in the Middle-East and Asia have intensified their resistance against United States foreign policy aims in these regions. Well over four thousand U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq and over thirty thousand have been wounded. Hundreds of thousands of others have suffered permanent physical and psychological injuries as a result of the occupations.

In Afghanistan the rate of death among U.S. soldiers is escalating at a tremendous rate. In October 2009, approximately 60 occupation troops were killed along with other personnel from the United Nations which is serving as a conduit of the occupying NATO forces. The military budget of the United States is at its largest in history despite the fact that the majority of people inside the country want a withdrawal from both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Moreover the impact of the occupations are most dramatic among the affected populations in Afghanistan, Iraq and now Pakistan. Various reports indicate that over million people have died in these countries since the beginning of the occupations and the expansion of the U.S. war into Pakistan.

On the African continent in the Horn of Africa nation of Somalia since the U.S.-backed Ethiopian invasion in December 2006, millions of people have been displaced both internally and outside the country. Flotillas of warships from the imperialist nations and other states are currently patrolling the Gulf of Aden in a purported anti-piracy campaign, while people inside the region are suffering from the worst food deficits in over two decades.

During the course of the recent period, the U.S. oil industry is relying more on exports of petroleum from the African continent. This reliance on oil exports has coincided with greater U.S. military involvement in West Africa.

In Ghana for example, the recent discovery of oil reserves off the coast of the country has set into motion a new scramble for these resources by the imperialist-based oil firms from the U.S., the U.K. and France. These efforts by the multi-national oil companies are clashing with the offers from the People’s Republic of China which is stepping up its economic cooperation efforts in Africa.

The activities of a Dallas-based oil firm Kosmos has angered officials in Accra as the company has been accused of attempting to reap windfall profits from the sale of its interests in the oil industry that were negotiated under a previous more conservative government.

In a recent report published in Ghana Public Agenda, it states that “Sources close to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) have described Kosmos’ behavior as recalcitrant and selfish. ‘They have misbehaved and are now resorting to tricks to cover their misdeeds.’ Kosmos’ alleged share-trading deal with Exxon Mobil, was described by Ghanaian officials as having no effect.” (Public Agenda, October 27)

This report continues by pointing out that “The move by the Texas-based company was clearly intended to hype the value of its stake and use that in its subsequent negotiation with the Ghanaian government. Kosmos again has been accused by GNPC as showing bad faith by disclosing vital technical and financial data to third parties without the express consent of its partners in the Jubilee Field (Ghana oil resources), including GNPC, an act for which GNPC is bent on exacting its pound of flesh.” (Public Agenda, October 27)

Illustrating the role of the PRC in this process, the article stresses that “Realising that it was losing ground to the Chinese, who have made generous overtures to the Ghanaian Government and are willing to go beyond helping GNPC to finance its purchase of Kosmos’ stake to providing some budgetary support to Ghana, Exxon Mobil has made a U-turn on its alleged deal with Kosmos and is now courting GNPC for the coveted shares.”

Other multi-national oil firms are also maneuvering for a share in Ghana’s oil wealth. British Petroleum (BP) is being advised by Goldman Sachs of New York on how to finance its expansion into the burgeoning West African oil industry. In addition, the French-based Total corporation is also interested in purchasing a stake in the quest for black gold.

In an article published on the Joyonline website it points out that there are so many western firms pressing hard for a portion of the newly-discovered oil resources. Joyonline asks “Why is the stake so valuable? It just so happens that Jubilee (the oil fields) may lie at the eastern edge of a 700-mile structure that could finish up at the western edge in Sierra Leone. Oil was discovered there recently in nearly 6,000 feet of water by a group that included Anadarko Petroleum, and Spain’s Repsol, along with the U.K.’s Tullow Oil and Australia’s Woodside Oil.” (Joyonline, October 28)

Other Resources Sought in Eastern and Southern Africa

In addition to the efforts by oil firms based in the western imperialist countries, in Somalia the efforts by the military and naval forces off its coasts and throughout the East Africa region are designed to control the flow of resources and goods through the Gulf of Aden as well as the Indian Ocean. Also the collapse of the Somalia government in 1991 provided the opportunity for western countries to take control of the enormous seafood resources in the region which had supplied a livelihood for people in the fishing industry.

Other reports have indicated that for many years the nuclear and chemical producing states have used the waters off Somalia to dump waste which have contaminated the waters and the shores. World Sentinel makes reference to this ongoing tragedy by citing a recently published article from the London-based Independent newspaper documenting the health effects of the dumping of toxic waste off the coast of Somalia.

“As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died”. (World Sentinel, November

This article continues by pointing out that “this is the context in which Somali ‘pirates’ have emerged. Somali fisherman, Volunteer Coastguards, took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers. And ordinary Somalis agree. The independent Somali news site WardheerNews found that 70 percent ‘strongly supported the piracy as a form of national defence.’” (World Sentinel, November

In the Southern African nation of Zimbabwe where the government of President Robert Mugabe and the ruling ZANU-PF party have been battling for a decade to stave off attempts at regime-change carried out by the imperialist states of Britain, the U.S. and the European Union, a recent round of attacks have been leveled at the country in attempts to ban its diamonds from being distributed on the international market.

An Associated Press article stated that “The world’s diamond control body is calling on Zimbabwe to clean up a lawless field, but has stopped short of suspending the country from a process meant to keep ‘blood’ gems off the market. “ (AP, November 6)

These efforts can only be aimed at continuing the same imperialist aims of overthrowing the ZANU-PF government which has entered into an inclusive alliance with the western-backed MDC-T opposition party. The MDC-T is being funded by the U.S. as a parallel government and recently engaged in another attempt break up the inclusive arrangement in response to the arrest and threatened prosecution of a white settler businessman who was accused of smuggling arms into to the country for the purpose of staging a violent attack on the president and his party which fought for the national liberation of the country during the 1960s and 1970s.

The Role of AFRICOM Must be Challenged

For over a year now the U.S. Africa Command has been officially in operation in the western European state of Germany. The efforts of the U.S. imperialists to base AFRICOM directly on the continent generated considerable controversy and opposition during 2007 and early 2008. Consequently, the AFRICOM project has sought more subtle methods of enhancing U.S. military intervention on the continent.

The U.S. has established a military base in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti at Camp Lemonier where some 2,000 troops are stationed. This base hosts the Combined Joint Task Force which is ostensibly set up to combat “terrorism” in the region.

In a recent article by Rick Rozoff published on the globalresearch.ca website based in Toronto, the author reviews the numerous U.S. military efforts on the African continent and the various countries involved in joint operations currently taking place under the Obama administration. These military operations are closely related to the desire on the part of the U.S. to control the flow of oil and other strategic resources from the African continent into the imperialist states.

For example the oil-producing West African nation of Gabon was the site of a large-scale military exercise involving the U.S. and a number of countries on the continent. Rozoff states in the article that “On September 29 AFRICOM led the militaries of 30 African nations in the ten-day Africa Endeavor 2009 maneuvers in Gabon off the coast of the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea.

“‘The U.S. military has begun an exercise in the African nation of Gabon…to improve command and control between forces for possible peacekeeping or anti-terrorism missions. AFRICOM… is sponsoring the exercise and much of the instruction is done by U.S. military personnel based in Europe and the United States.’” (Global Research, October 27 and AP, September 30)

In addition to the exercise in the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa, in East Africa “From October 16-25 the U.S. headed a multinational military exercise, Natural Fire 10, in Uganda in which ‘More than 1,000 American and East African troops were…deployed…as the United States carried out its biggest military exercise in Africa this year.” (Global Research, October 27)

This article continues by stating that “Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi provided troops that joined 450 U.S. military personnel in drills which ‘involve live fire in the field as well as convoy operations, crowd control and vehicle checkpoints….” The author cites an African newspaper that was critical of the recent joint military exercise between various regional states and the United States. The article put forward the notion that the East African maneuvers were geared towards providing security for the U.S.-backed regime in Uganda which has been challenged for years by a rebel group in the north of the country. (The East African, October 12)

These U.S. military exercises are escalating at a critical period when the economies of both the imperialist states and the developing countries are undergoing tremendous upheaval and distress. Anti-war and anti-imperialist forces inside the United States and other western industrialized states must raise opposing views on the increasing military involvement in Africa as a major source of the continuing underdevelopment and destabilization on the continent.

The military maneuvers and exploitation of resources in Africa have not provided any relief to the hundreds of millions of people suffering from unemployment, poverty and food deficits on the continent. In conjunction with the workers, farmers and their organizations in Africa, the progressive forces in the United States must oppose all efforts aimed at the further exploitation of the continent’s resources as well as the occupation of its lands by the international capitalists and their military forces.

Thousands of conflict-displaced Yemenis receive vital UN food aid

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Millions in the United States lack access to affordable, adequate housing - UN

An independent United Nations expert has warned that the United States is an increasingly expensive place to find housing, leaving many more people homeless at a time when the financial crisis is hitting hard across the country.

Ban calls on new Lebanese cabinet to fulfil terms ending Israeli-Hizbollah war

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged Lebanon’s new national unity government to fully implement the Security Council resolution that ended the war between Israel and Hizbollah three years ago.

Head of UN agency applauds China-Africa forum’s commitment on food security

The head of the United Nations food agency today welcomed the declaration by the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation underlining the critical role that investment in food security, agriculture and infrastructure plays in feeding people on the continent.

UN envoy cites need to deal with underlying causes of DR Congo conflict

While the crisis that plagued eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last year and threatened to engulf the entire region has eased, some of the factors that led to the fierce fighting and the displacement of hundred of thousands must still be dealt with, a senior United Nations envoy said today.

Today on New Scientist: 9 November 2009

Today’s stories on newscientist.com, at a glance, including: the quest to explore the solar system’s oceans, a plan to drill into a monster urban volcano, and where you can listen to an Arabesque for flatworms

UN officials remember fall of Berlin Wall, 20 years on

The fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago today is a reminder of the difference that ordinary people can make for the greater good, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, urging the world to salute those fighting to enhance human rights and freedoms.

DR Congo and UN launch stabilization and recovery fund

The United Nations and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have launched a fund to help the vast country recover from years of devastating civil war that ended earlier this decade, and continuing strife in its eastern provinces that has displaced more than a million people.