Petraeus’ visit focuses on military assistance – The Washington Times
August 14th, 2008
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/14/petraeus-visit-focuses-on-military-assistance/
BEIRUT — Gearing up to take over the U.S. Central Command for the Middle East in September, Gen. David H. Petraeus last week paid a surprise visit to Beirut to meet Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.
The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon said the meetings “focused on the United States´ assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces, so it can maintain peace and stability, and safeguard the Lebanese people.”
Shot-up banner of Saad Hariri, Tripoli (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
Irish party says U.S. ‘opposed to EU integration’ – The Washington Times
April 30th, 2008
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080430/FOREIGN/383010006/1001
DUBLIN — The party once led by the current European Union ambassador to Washington is claiming that the U.S. is actively opposing European integration, posing a potential embarrassment as Prime Minister Bertie Ahern prepares to address a joint session of Congress today.
Lucinda Creighton, a spokeswoman for Ireland’s largest opposition party, Fine Gael, says in a Web posting that “U.S. foreign policy has traditionally been opposed to EU integration.”
“The U.S. supports the EU as an economic bloc but nothing more. The idea of a politically strong EU, acting as a check or counterbalance on the U.S. does not sit well with our trans-Atlantic friends,” says the spokeswoman, a member of Ireland’s Parliament. (more…)
US Woes danger to Celtic Tiger – The Washington Times
April 8th, 2008
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/apr/08/us-woes-danger-to-celtic-tiger/
Croagh Patrick, on top of which St Patrick emulated Christ's 40 days in the desert. Each St Patricks Day the Irish PM meets the US President at the While House (Simon Roughneen)
DUBLIN — Before his recent resignation, outgoing Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern prefaced the annual St. Patrick”s Day pilgrimage to the White House by predicting “a hard year” ahead for the Irish economy.
The banking crisis and credit crunch in the United States, as well as the falling dollar, worry Irish policy-makers. Ireland has 25 percent of its trade in dollars and has bet much of its recent economic boom on a 12 percent corporate tax rate — an enormous incentive for U.S. multinationals such as Intel and Microsoft to run pan-European operations out of Ireland.
Google has the headquarters of its European and Middle East operations in Dublin.
“The company is very pleased with how the Dublin operation continues to develop,” a Google spokesman said.
The spokesman, who asked not to be named in keeping with company policy, said the company “was attracted to Ireland for a number of reasons, including its highly educated work force, multilingual talent pool, where there are in excess of 140 languages spoken, and its solid economic environment.”
The unanswered question is: How will the present economic slowdown in the U.S. affect Ireland?
Dublin”s Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) is predicting the lowest economic growth in 20 years, at just 1.6 percent. Others are even more pessimistic, predicting zero growth. (more…)
Rioters torch U.S. Embassy in Belgrade – The Washington Times
February 22nd, 2008
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/feb/22/rioters-torch-us-embassy-in-belgrade/
PRISTINA, Kosovo — A torched U.S. Embassy building in Belgrade became the latest target of Serbian anger yesterday, as the United States faced growing consequences of its support for Kosovo’s independence.
Despite billions of dollars spent on security upgrades in the decade since al Qaeda bombed two embassies in Africa — including $1 billion budgeted for 2008 — rioters managed to break into an outer embassy building in Belgrade and set it ablaze to cheers from rioting mobs outside.
Embassies have been either rebuilt or reinforced with multiple security barriers whenever possible.
Congress has backed the effort, with funds for construction, a worldwide guard force and security staffing for more than 1,300 personnel deployed worldwide to protect U.S. staff and facilities, according to a House Appropriations Committee report in June.
Even before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, $3.5 billion already was budgeted for U.S. Embassy security upgrades and the amount has continued to grow.
Whether the investment paid off in Belgrade yesterday will be determined in a “forensic investigation” promised by the U.S. State Department yesterday.
A charred body was later found in the embassy, prompting a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman to assure Agence France-Presse it was not that of a staff member. (more…)
Pakistan to get over US$5bn in quake aid – ISN
November 21st, 2005
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=13572
Governments and international organizations have pledged to give over US$5 billion in aid to earthquake-stricken Pakistan.
At a UN- and Pakistani government-sponsored conference, attended by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, over 50 nations and donor organizations on Saturday made promises exceeding the amount sought by the Pakistani government, the UN, and the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
The money, which is to be given over to emergency relief and long-term reconstruction, is mainly in the form of low interest soft loans. (more…)
Unhappy Prospects for Afghan Security – OCGG
September 1st, 2004
http://www.oxfordgovernance.org/fileadmin/Publications/SB004.pdf
‘The security situation in Afghanistan is volatile, having seriously deteriorated in certain parts of the country. Attacks on national and international forces and on electoral, government and humanitarian workers and their premises in southern Afghanistan have intensified. At the same time, in a disturbing development, several of the most serious acts of violence since the start of the Bonn process took place in the north and west of the country, areas that had been considered low-risk’.
(more…)
