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Apr 5, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From the Democratic Presidential hopeful...Regardless of how successful the United States is in waging war against Iraq, it will take a new president to rebuild the country's damaged relationships with the rest of the world, Sen. John Kerry said Wednesday. [AP]
Are we to presume that that new President is supposed to be you? And what "damaged relationships" are you talking about? The terrorist supporters on the United Nations Secuirty Council? Saddam's military suppliers and cheering squad in Russia and France? Shouldn't it be they who have to repair the relationship, since America's actions are right and their actions are morally despicable? (Hat Tip Chip Joyce)
Apr 4, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
In the opening paragraphs of InterMarket Forecasting's April 4, 2003 edition of Investor Alert, Economist Richard Salsman writes:Now, more than ever, equity investors should pay attention to the message being delivered by gold. Let the neophytes get their 'news' from biased reporters like Peter Arnett and Geraldo Rivera -- or from the media sheep who nip at the heels of U.S. military leaders in daily briefings at Central Command in Qatar. And let the Keynesians persist in dismissing gold as a 'barbaric relic.' It's no such thing -- and in recent weeks it's been predicting a swift and decisive U.S. defeat of the real barbaric relic, a.k.a. Saddam Hussein.
A rising dollar-gold price reflects a depreciating dollar and a 'flight to safety' -- which is bearish for U.S. equities. In contrast, a declining gold price reflects an appreciating dollar and a return to risk taking -- which is bullish for U.S. equities. Gold provides an objective, market-based measure of how the war is going, whether the U.S. is likely to achieve victory and how long the war will last. During the early 1970s, amid the disastrous Viet Nam War, the gold price increased by nearly 430%, from $35/ounce in 1968 to a peak of $185.4/ounce (average) in December 1974; thereafter the gold price began to decline -- an indication that the badly-fought war would soon end. It did -- when the last U.S. troops pulled out five months later (in May 1975). [Richard Salsman, CFA, Investor Alert, April 4, 2003]
Several pages later Mr. Salsman adds a few caveats, under the sub-title "How to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory":
Much as we're pleased with the U.S. war effort to date -- and see it as (near-term) bullish for U.S. equities -- we're not nearly as bullish as we could be.
There are two main reasons for this. First, current evidence indicates that the U.S. government might resume, after its military victory, its haggling with the terrorist-sponsoring U.N. and giving it (and its anti-liberty principles) sway in Iraq. If the U.S. does that, its military victory will have been wasted and, however slowly, Iraq again could become a threat. After all, similar mistakes were made in Afghanistan -- where Al Qaeda and the Taliban (and the U.N.) still have a presence... [Richard Salsman, CFA, Investor Alert, April 4, 2003]
All in all a very good read.
Apr 4, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
"The Iraqi people have not been mobilized by the coalition because the opposition was excluded from the initial phases. They have to feel this is liberation, not occupation. The people have to feel they are allied with the United States. They have to feel confident Saddam is gone and that he will not kill them," [Iraqi opposition leader Ahmad Chalabi said from northern Iraq]... Mr. Chalabi also spoke out against the efforts of some who are pushing for a big role for the United Nations in post-war Iraq. He prefers that America head up the effort. Mr. Chalabi said there is no love for the U.N. among Iraqis because the international body has let them down so many times over the years. In particular, Mr. Chalabi said the Iraqi people remember the U.N.'s failure to implement Security Council Resolution 688, passed in 1991, demanding an end to repression by the Saddam's regime. "The U.N. has been hostile. They have little credibility in Iraq," Mr. Chalabi said, adding that the U.N.'s record of exposing Saddam's brutal human rights violations is "abysmal." Of the U.N.'s officials, Mr. Chalabi said: "They have expensive salaries and do little work...The Iraqi people would rather deal directly with the U.S. and with President Bush, who has helped with their liberation rather than U.N. bureaucrats who don't share their agenda." [New York Sun, 4/3/03]
Meanwhile, there's a struggle between the State Department and Defense Department as to who will get the funds provided for Iraqi reconstruction after the war. From the same article:
The White House prefers that money for Iraq's reconstruction, included in Mr. Bush's $75 billion supplemental budget request, be given to the Pentagon. But Tuesday, congressional appropriators in committee moved to give the $2.5 billion earmarked for postwar Iraq to Secretary of State Powell. The White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer, objected to the decision and said the issue is not dead. "We disagree with the committees about whether it should be the State Department or the Defense Department that should be authorized to expend the funds. And that is an issue that we'll take up with the House and the Senate when it comes to the floor," Mr. Fleischer said yesterday.
An editorial elaborates:
To get a sense of just how deliberately and enormously the State Department is maneuvering against the White House's policy on Iraq, just follow the money....It strains credibility to think that Congress moved this money to State without checking with State first--or without pressure from State to do so, contravening the president's wishes....[I]n the struggle for influence in postwar Iraq, the State Department is pushing a man, Adnan Pachachi, who has proclaimed that he has a "soft spot for Khrushchev"... The State Department, and particularly the deputy state secretary, Richard Armitage, is so desperate to smear Mr. Chalabi and undercut the Pentagon that it has gone beyond lobbying congressional appropriators. It has, we're told, resorted to leaking confidential government documents to the newspapers. These documents, we are told, may be an attempt to dredge up a phony decade-old banking "scandal" involving Mr. Chalabi, or they may try to claim that he has weak support among the Iraqi people. Don't be fooled. [New York Sun, 4/3/03]
Apr 4, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
Austrian far-right leader Joerg Haider... a long-time friend of [Iraqi] Foreign Minister Naji Sabri... was asked if Sabri could count on refuge in Carinthia, where Haider is governor, if the Iraqi leadership is forced to flee. "There is always room in my home for a friend," Haider told the Austrian magazine News....Haider accused the United States of going to war for Iraq's oil. "I personally would be delighted if the Iraqis succeed in defending themselves from this aggression," Haider told News. [Reuters, 4/3/03]
Apr 4, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
Gore defends the Dixie Half-Wits:
The Dixie Chicks controversy continues with the trio getting some support from former Vice President Al Gore. Gore spoke to a college audience last week on the subject of fewer companies owning more media outlets, and what he sees as the increasing lack of tolerance for opposing views. According to the Tennessean, Gore used recent attacks on the Dixie Chicks that followed anti-war comments by Natalie Maines as an example. Gore told the audience, "They were made to feel un-American and risked economic retaliation because of what was said. Our democracy has taken a hit. Our best protection is free and open debate." [Yahoo Launch]
So "free and open debate" is only permissible for those who support anti-American causes, but not for those who oppose them? Excuse me, Mr. Gore, but this isn't Cuba.
Dollar: Faith Hill Supports Troops
Compare the bile of the Dixie Chicks to actions of Faith Hill and her husband Tim McGraw, who have held free concerts in support of American troops:
More than 10,000 men and women stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina showed up to see Faith Hill perform a free concert at Hedrick Stadium. Outside the stadium, thousands lined the street hoping to catch a glimpse of Hill. The superstar arrived in the state Wednesday (February 12) night accompanied by her husband, Tim McGraw. Upon her arrival, Hill met with base commanders and various military personnel before meeting with more than 100 enlisted who are being deployed to the Middle East. "That was an experience that I will never forget," said Hill...The trip itself was a morale booster for the troops, but also for Hill. "This trip has made me proud--proud to be an American, and proud to see how music can serve a higher cause," said Hill. "I have given what I can, my music, and I hope that it will allow these brave men and women to escape (if for only a few moments) the seriousness of their situation and to help them in some way to deal with whatever might lie ahead. I cannot thank the people at ABC, Fort Bragg, and Pope Air Force Base enough for making this a truly unforgettable experience and for allowing me the honor of performing for them." Hill's current album, Cry, has sold more than two million copies.[Yahoo Launch , 2/11/2003]
Faith Hill and Tim McGraw will perform at a benefit concert for the USS Cole Fund on December 2 at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. The concert was added to the last leg of the couple's wildly successful Soul 2 Soul tour in an effort to support the families of the 17 American sailors who were killed in the bombing of the USS Cole in October. Of the concert, Rear Admiral Christopher W. Cole said, "The Navy is very grateful that two incredibly talented performers like Faith Hill and Tim McGraw have volunteered their support to the families of the sailors from the U.S.S. Cole who sacrificed their lives for their country. It is wonderful to see our nation come together in this very challenging time." [Yahoo Launch, 11/9/2002]
Message to readers: Exercise some free speech, by voting with your pockets books, and buy albums from Faith Hill and her husband Tim McGraw instead of the Chicks.
Apr 4, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
In a recent email sent to us, MRC's Brent Baker reports:To MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann, an American gas station employing the publicity gimmick of giving away some free gas to those with cars displaying a U.S. flag is "purchased patriotism" just as despicable as the Iraqi regime using civilians as human shields and "forced suicide bombers" because, amongst those "waiting for their five free gallons, were a few who weren't really that gung ho about the war but just stuck a flag in their windshield wiper to get the gasoline gratis." Olbermann mightily lambasted: "Purchased patriotism is one of the things we're fighting against."
Here is the actual text of the MSNBC report as taken down by MRC analyst Brad Wilmouth:
"And we leave you tonight with one final Countdown item. There is supporting the troops, and there is waving the flag, and then for about an hour-and-a-half earlier this week, there was free gasoline in exchange for patriotism. The fine folks of Sunoco A Plus in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, decided to give $10 of free gas to quote unquote, 'patriotic vehicles.' Now, obviously this is silly. It's silly in that sweet way just like when the body shop in Southern California in the late 1970s posted a sign reading, 'Lube Jobs for POWs.'
"But beyond that, there are two unfortunate aspects here. One, insightfully or naively, some anti-war protesters are claiming an unfortunate link between this conflict and big oil, meantime somebody else is giving away gas to anybody who will paint their mud flaps red, white and blue, and how bad does that look?
"And secondly, and more seriously, I don't think I'm going way out on a limb here to assume that somewhere in that block's long line of drivers near Lake Ronkonkoma waiting for their five free gallons, were a few who weren't really that gung ho about the war but just stuck a flag in their windshield wiper to get the gasoline gratis. Unintentional or not, that's purchased patriotism. And as we are reminded every time we hear about Iraqi human shields and forced suicide bombers, purchased patriotism is one of the things we're fighting against."
Isn't "purchased patriotism"--the giving away of free gas for flying the American flag--protected by the right to free speech, property, and liberty, just as the evil nonsense espoused by the "anti-war protestors," that Olberman takes so much effort to quote, is protected? So who are the "we" that are "fighting against" it? Perhaps Olbermann is angry because there is no free gas for those Peacemongers who burn the American flag ad opposed to flying it. Ah, the "corruption" and "discrimination" of American capitalism. MSNC has some nerve calling itself "America's News Channel."
Apr 4, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From BBC News Online, Kuwait:Kuwaitis watch Arab satellite TV channels beamed in from across the Middle East. In recent weeks, most of the output has made for uncomfortable viewing in a nation which stands almost alone in the region in its active support for the US-led war in Iraq. One Arab channel recently aired a film montage of air strikes on Baghdad, dead civilians, distraught survivors, and British soldiers storming Iraqi homes. Particularly gruesome sequences were run in slow motion and repeated. The film was accompanied by a doleful 'cello solo. Such coverage of the war a few miles to the north has enraged many Kuwaitis. Al-Arabiya, based in Dubai, has reportedly been told its operation in the emirate might be closed down by the authorities if it does not remedy alleged "bias" in its war reports. "Some Arab channels are not showing the good, they do not show when the Americans bring help to the Iraqi people. They show just one side," says Balqis Aziz, who joined up to 2,000 other Kuwaitis at an open air meeting to reaffirm their support for the efforts to unseat Saddam Hussein. [...] Many Kuwaitis admit to being annoyed that little attention was given to the missiles lobbed at civilian targets in this country, further confirmation in their eyes that the war against Saddam Hussein is just.
However, not is all well in Kuwait:
[...] not all Kuwaitis are so happy to be a closely allied with the US. Local newspapers have quoted one Islamic charity worker who fears the real aim of the war is to "flood" the region with western values and culture. Already, affluent Kuwaiti teens appear to be drawn more to McDonald's than to Mecca. However, leading Muslim cleric Mohammed Hagif Al-Mutairi - a fierce opponent of innovations such as female suffrage - says he is confident the American influence is "limited" and that Kuwait's social and religious traditions can be maintained.
Not when the two--"American influence" (freedom and its results) and "religious traditions" (theocratic totalitarianism) explicitly contradict each other.
[...] "America's support for Israel is disturbing. How can America liberate Iraqi people on one side and support the denying Palestinians of freedom on the other? This contradiction needs to be resolved. But oppression in Palestine is no excuse for oppression in Iraq." [BBC News, "Kuwaitis in no mood to be labelled poodles", 2003/04/04]
Perhaps this is because Palestine is the oppressor--after all are they not in bed with Saddam? After all who funds there suicide missions?
Apr 4, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
Letter to the editor in today's New York Sun from State Senator Martin Golden of Brooklyn:
Question: What should happen to an untenured professor, who calls for the defeat and death of the American military, at a university that receives very significant amounts of government funding ["Professor Is Condemned for Speech, But Likely Will Keep Post at Columbia," Julie Satow, page 2, 2003]? Answer: He should be relieved of his duties immediately. It's as simple as that. [...] On April 9, Columbia University is organizing "Lobby Day" in our nation's capital. Students are set to meet with Congress and staff members on Capitol Hill to express their support for federal student aid and urge funding for projects that will enhance their educational opportunities. I urge members of Congress to keep in mind Mr. De Genova's remarks as they are asked by Columbia students for assistance. In the past, the federal and state governments have been extremely generous in funding school projects and assistance programs. While I do not challenge--and actually support--our government's funding of educational institutions such as Columbia, I must say that if Columbia is unappreciative of our troops, maybe we should consider spending the money elsewhere. Maybe we can use this money to increase the pay for our military servicemen and women who have for so long sought an increase in salary.
Two things.
First: Are people really so blind as not to realize that you can't fire professors for their views without a major institutional change taking place? Even if the guy's not tenured, you're never going to get it through until the universities adopt a rational notion of "academic freedom." Golden probably thinks he's being radical by advocating De Genova's firing--but how about something really radical, say abolishing tenure as a first step?
Second, here we have a vivid example of the threat posed by government funding of ideas. Initially, the government provides money more or less indiscriminately, providing support for people who couldn't earn it by offering something of value to willing customers. Then when the irresponsibility of this policy becomes too outrageous, the government cracks down: It inevitably gets drawn into becoming the arbiter of ideology, by means of the threat to withdraw funding. Of course the man supports government funding of institutions like Columbia. Look at the power it gives the government.Apr 4, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
Here's the latest development after Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld suggested removing troops from the front lines in North Korea:South Korea's National Assembly on Wednesday authorized the dispatch of non-combat troops to support the U.S.-led war on Iraq....For days, [President Roh Moo-hyun] has struggled to muster support for the deployment of 600 South Korean military engineers and 100 medics in the Gulf, as the parliament wavered amid anti-war sentiment and delayed voting on the bill twice last week...."I came to the conclusion that helping the United States in difficult times and maintaining friendly U.S.-South Korean relations will help a lot in peacefully resolving the North Korean nuclear issue," he [told Parliament]. [Associated Press, 4/3/03]
Remember, the new South Korean president got elected on an somewhat anti-American, peacenik platform.
Apr 4, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
In the giddy spirit of the day, nothing could quite top the wish list bellowed out by one man in the throng of people greeting American troops from the 101st Airborne Division who marched into town today. What, the man was asked, did he hope to see now that the Baath Party had been driven from power in his town? What would the Americans bring? "Democracy," the man said, his voice rising to lift each word to greater prominence. "Whiskey. And sexy!" Around him, the crowd roared its approval. [New York Times, 4/3/03]
But there's so much more to us than that…Apr 4, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
The Iraqi man who tipped U.S. Marines to the location of American POW Jessica Lynch said Thursday he did so after he saw her Iraqi captor slap her twice as she lay wounded in a hospital....After he saw Lynch slapped, the lawyer slipped into her room at the Saddam Hospital in Nasiriyah and told her, "Don't worry." ..."I love America. I like America. Why, I don't know," Mohammed said...Mohammed said he told his wife to take their daughter to his father's house for safety, and then set off on foot to find the American troops he had heard were occupying the edges of Nasiriyah. "This was very dangerous for me because American soldiers shoot," he said...They asked him to return to the six-story, 234-bed hospital to gather information on its layout, its hallways, stairways and doors, its basement and whether a helicopter could land on its roof...."I drew them a map. I drew them five maps," he said, plainly relishing his cloak-and-dagger missions into the heart of Saddam's terror network. Fedayeen raided his house the next day, he said, taking away all his possessions and even his car, a Russian-made Muscovitch Brazilia 680. He said a neighbor was shot and her body dragged through the streets just for waving at a U.S. helicopter... Mohammed and his family are now officially "temporary refugees." ... "I am very happy," he said, adding that his wife wants to work in a hospital helping Americans and that he is eager to help the Marines any way he can until he can return home to Nasiriyah and resume his normal life...."Believe me, not only I, all the people of Iraq, not the people in the government, like Americans," Mohammed said. "They want to help the Americans, but they are all afraid." [Kansas City Star, 4/3/03]
Apr 4, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
Apparently, Colin Powell has learned nothing:
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer ... who met Tuesday with Secretary of State Colin Powell and other senior US officials, said those within the administration of President George W. Bush who opposed any UN role in Iraq had lost the argument. Key US officials remain angered... and had fought to prevent the world body gaining a role in Iraq's reconstruction, he said. "But I think that view, if it hasn't changed, that argument has been won by those who believe there should be a role for the UN," Downer told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio. "I think the idea of a United Nations special representative or special coordinator is one they feel comfortable with as well," he said, acknowledging though that the United States would "inevitably" control Iraq for an interim period after the war before handing authority back to Iraqis. [Agence France Presse, 4/2/03]
It's possible that this is more of Powell's "street fighting," attempting to make it appear as if he's won the argument when things are really still up in the air. At any rate, this is outrageous and deserves voluminous complaint. Would that GWB would just fire the man.
