| Iraq | Israel/Palestine | Latin America | ||
| General US Foreign Policy | Civil Liberties, etc. | 2004 Elections |
Sunday, September 28, 2003
Friday, September 26, 2003
U.S. Dominates Arms Sales to Third World
The United States retained its dominance of the Third World arms market for the eighth year in a row in 2002, according to the latest in an annual series of reports produced by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).... U.S. sales to Middle Eastern clients accounted for 76 percent of its total arms sales since 1999 and about the same percentage of all sales to the region in that period. It also became the dominant supplier to Latin America in the last three years....
US aggression breeds terror: UN chief
Mr Annan said the use of military force against terrorist groups could encourage more terrorism, while pre-emptive strikes could lead to a lawless world where nations attack one another "with or without justification". Without mentioning the US or its allies in Iraq by name, he told a New York conference on terrorism that nations were deluded if they believed military action alone could end terrorism.
U.S. Abortion Policy Hits Clinics Abroad - Study
President Bush's anti-abortion policy has hit clinics in poor countries hard, forcing some to close and leave entire communities without healthcare, according to a report issued on Wednesday.
Annan Challenges U.S. Doctrine of Preventive Action
"My concern is that, if it were to be adopted, it could set precedents that resulted in a proliferation of the unilateral and lawless use of force, with or without credible justification," Annan warned in a text of his speech released in advance.
World Leaders Warn Terror War Abuses Fuel Militants
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned world leaders on Monday that the war against terrorism must go beyond simply fighting extremists but also hold out the promise of a "better and fairer world."... Annan told more than 20 heads of state at the conference that human rights violations, like targeted assassinations, which Israel has carried out against Palestinian militants, as well as civilian deaths from off-target bombings in Afghanistan and Iraq ran the risk of winning over converts and spurring new terrorist acts.
Bush Steps Up Fight Against European Safety Testing
President George Bush is mounting an intensive campaign to force European countries to drop safety tests expected to save thousands of lives each year....
[UK] Army's new tank gun will end use of controversial uranium-tipped shells
The phasing out of depleted uranium rounds, which are used because of their armour piercing qualities, will please critics of the munition, including veterans of both the 1991 Gulf war and the Kosovo campaign. They have long argued that the shells can be directly linked to leukaemia, kidney damage and lung cancer and is also one of the causes of Gulf war syndrome.
Economic Forecast Gloomy for Poor, Says Alternative Outlook
The world economy is poised for growth this year and in 2004 as the U.S. economy gains pace, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Thursday. But critics of the financial powerhouse say in a new ''alternative outlook", that the global economy -- as structured by politicians and bankers in the North -- is actually fueled by "sucking" wealth from poor countries and re-channeling it to an elite in the richest nations, particularly the United States.
Afghanistan: Current Trends Spell Disaster, Warns CARE
The United States and other donors must do far more in Afghanistan if the country is to avoid renewed conflict, if not disintegration, according to an unusually frank new policy brief released Wednesday by the U.S. relief organization, CARE and the Center on International Cooperation (CIC).
Senate OKs Bush's nuclear ambitions
The Senate on Tuesday approved Bush administration plans to research new battlefield uses for nuclear weapons and improve the United States' capacity to make and test them.
Rich nations 'renege on pledge to reform trade and help poor'
A draft agreement to be signed by 148 World Trade Organization members shattered hopes that the European Union and US had given in to developing countries' demands on the aid they hand out to their farmers. It also failed to heed poor countries' pleas to scrap plans to start new negotiations on a single global package of laws on foreign investment and domestic business competition systems. Ministers last night began a marathon negotiation process in the hope of hammering out a new text that can be signed before the meeting ends tonight.
America set to torpedo trade talks
A high level source in the UK delegation told The Observer...: 'It's difficult to know what the Americans want. They're staying in their hotel. They're behaving like the Soviet Union in the Eighties. It's making it difficult to know what they want.'
WTO/Cancun: How the World's Poor Changed Dynamics of Global Politics
A new alliance of some of the world's poorest countries forged during the last week's global trade talks has changed the entire dynamics of world politics, the foreign minister of Brazil told The Independent yesterday.
Suicide at WTO Meeting Highlights Farmers' Plight from OneWorld.net, 9/12/03
Despite their professed devotion to free-trade principles, major economic powers--particularly the European Union (news - web sites) (EU) and the United States--have used their influence in the WTO to retain the ability to subsidize their agricultural producers, which they continue to do at the rate of some US$300 billion a year. These subsidies have enabled the EU and the U.S., in particular, to flood much of the rest of the world with their food exports at prices that are far below the actual costs of production, making it even more difficult for small farmers in poorer countries, including South Korea--which has become the highest per capita consumer of U.S. farm products in the world--to compete.
Thursday, September 25, 2003
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Europe, U.S. Are Bully-Boys of World Trade, NGOs Charge 9/9/03
The United States has a long-established reputation for tough bargaining in global trade negotiations, particularly under the administration of President George W. Bush, which has threatened to economically blacklist WTO members that do not toe its line and has even forced governments to withdraw specific negotiators whom Washington deemed uncooperative, according to the new report.
Former U.S. Envoy Challenges Bush on N. Korea 9/8/03
Pritchard endorsed the six-party format that the administration demanded. But in addition, "what is required is the sustained involvement by the United States with the North Koreans... You cannot get to the point where you understand who your opponent is unless you have continuous contact," he said.
