The Chinese Threat-Western Complacency

The Chinese military hacked into a Pentagon computer network in June in the most successful cyber attack on the US defence department, say American ­officials.
The Pentagon acknowledged shutting down part of a computer system serving the office of Robert Gates, defence secretary, but declined to say who it believed was behind the attack.
Current and former officials have told the Financial Times an internal investigation has revealed that the incursion came from the People’s Liberation Army. Read the full story here:FT.com

Comment:

Whilst much Western attention has been focussed on Vladimir Putin China has emerged as a much greater threat to the security not alone of the US but also of Western Europe. The implications of this cyber attack if true are frightening. China has engaged in military exercises with Russia and is rapidly building up its Pacific fleet. China's military buildup includes new missiles and naval weapons designed to sink U.S. aircraft carriers and deny U.S. forces access to the Asia-Pacific region. It has threatened to invade Taiwan. It is also active in Africa and is largely responsible for the crisis in Darfur. It is pouring billions of dollars in aid into Africa. It is engaged in natural resource exploitation not alone in Africa but even in the Australian Desert and Amazonia. If China stays on the same economic track, it would become the world's largest economy in 2027, surpassing the United States, according to Goldman, Sachs & Co., a Wall Street investment bank.

China has threatened to use its $1.33 trillion (£658bn) of foreign reserves as a political weapon to counter pressure from the US Congress. In essence it is prepared to trigger a dollar crash. This act of political lunacy would cripple the Chinese economy as exports to the US would dry up.

Perhaps it is time for the EU and the US to develop stronger ties with Russia to counter the growing Chinese threat.

US-Clinton and Obama clash

For some time it has become glaringly obvious that there is mutual loathing between the Obama and Clinton Camps.




Bill and Hillary Clinton have been stressing Hillary's experience and by extension Obama's inexperience. This is a double edged sword.
In Sioux City, Iowa, Clinton argued that the party must focus on results, not rhetoric. She was accompanied by former President Bill Clinton. Bill and Hillary have been arguing that she's the candidate with the best health, economic, foreign and national security policies. Essentially Hillary and Bill are claiming that Obama's policies are an enormous sack of gas.

Obama's criticisms of Clinton have been pointed. He has criticised Hillary as a Washington insider. He has argued that she is conservative and incapable of change. As a Washington insider she is part of a system which has not delivered. This argument resonates in the country. At a Labor Day rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, Obama said, "As bad as this administration has been, it's going to take more than just a change in parties to truly turn this country around."

Differences between Obama and Clinton have been sharpening as the campaign progresses and are exposing fault lines in the Democratic Party.

George Bush in surprise visit to Iraq

In a surprise move George Bush visited Iraq on Monday September 3rd, accompanied by his defence secretary, Robert Gates, his secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, as well as the commander of America’s forces in Iraq, for a meeting with the country's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki.

While General Petraeus will will state that some progress has been made on the military front the warring Shia and Sunni factions are as far apart as ever. There is little prospect of a unified Shia and Sunni government evolving. This is the kernel of the problem. The Shia majority having long suffered at the hands of the minority Sunnis is in no mood to be too conciliatory. The situation appears hopeless. Partition is inevitable.

This visit may boost George Bushes popularity in the polls temporarily but the reality is that he must develop a coherent strategy for withdrawal of US troops. No fixed date for final withdrawal should be set. This would play into the hands of terrorists. The process of withdrawal must have begun prior the 2008 elections. It must be gradual and noticeable. Otherwise the GOP will suffer severe losses in the Congressional Elections and lose the Presidency in 2008.

The British have shown the way in Basra. A planned withdrawal is the only realistic approach. It is time for Iraqis to assume responsibility for their own affairs.

Ireland - The politics of spin

Increasingly in Ireland we are governed by the politics of spin. Willie O Dea spoke about Armageddon when he criticised the axing of the Shannon- Heathrow route by Aer Lingus.

Similarly other FF TDs and councillors in the Mid West rushed to the media to lambast the decision. Noel Dempsey Minister for Communications is confident that no FF TDs will break ranks in the Dail and vote against the Government on the issue. The Government refuses to call an EGM of Aer Lingus shareholders. If this is Armagheddon Willie O'Dea and other FF TDs have no option but to vote against the Government. Of course this will not happen. At local level FF TDs are against the decision. In the Dail they vote for it. They are pretending to do something about the Aer Lingus decision. They are not serious.

Now apparently John Gormley of the Green Party and Minister for the Environment is opposed to incineration. Yet he is a member of a government that has incineration as a fundamental plank in its environmental policy. He is learning quickly from his FF colleagues. Mr Gormley admitted that changes he proposed could make incinerators less financially attractive for developers. However, he said the existing policy gave undue incentive to for these facilities to be used.

He knows quite well that he has little prospect of derailing the governments incineration policy. The FF and PD Ministers support it. He will be outvoted at Cabinet level. He is engaged in the politics of spin. He is pretending to do something about incineration.

All Ireland Hurling Final -07

Kilkenny defeated Limerick with an awesome display of physical power and skill. This All Ireland was brimful of skilful striking if a little one sided. Limerick's physical approach was no match for the silken skills of the Cats. Ollie Moran and Mark Foley were the only Limerick players with the class to trouble Kilkenny. There were no weak links on the Kilkenny team. I particularly liked the hurling of Jackie Tyrrell, John Tennyson, Tommy Walsh ,Eddie Brennan, Cha Fitzpatrick and Eoin Larkin.
Some of the Limerick players have concentrated on inter county Gaelic Football in recent years. This has restricted the development of their hurling skills. Hurling and Gaelic Football do not mix. In marked contrast to this the Kilkenny players concentrate on hurling. Hence the yawning gap in class yesterday.
Henry Shefflin's acceptance speech was the finest I have ever heard at Croke Park.
He was helped by Darragh McGarry as he raised the McCarthy Cup. The 11-year-old's mother Vanessa was killed in a road crash this summer. Vanessa was wife of Kilkenny hurler James McGarry. Shefflin dedicated the victory to her memory.

Ireland -Cowen calls a spade a shovel at Humbert Summer School

It is often said of Brian Cowen that he calls a spade a spade. This is certainly not true in relation to his speech at the Humbert Summer School. Here he called a spade a shovel. Black is white.




This is particularly true in relation to his charge of bias against the media.
He states the following: "Equally clear from this publicly available research is the softness of the coverage of Fine Gael in general and their leader in particular." This is the typical bogus FF persecution complex designed by the leadership to motivate the grassroots on the basis that" everyone is against us." Of course it is a great motivating ploy. The reality is certainly much different. FF received strong support from the Sunday Independent. The Late Late Show on the Friday night prior to the election featured two pro FF guests John Waters and Eoghan Harris and one anti FF guest namely Eamon Dunphy. Perhaps Brian would prefer that all three were pro FF. I have no doubt that this debate was the clincher.

He criticizes FG-Labour pre-election pacts. Again he ignores the reality . In 1973 FG and Labour had a pre election pact. They won the General Election. In the 1977 General Election Labour suffered much less than FG. The give away FF Manifesto-which wrecked the economy - saw to that. The Mullingar Accord did not result in large Labour seat losses. FG recovered most of the seats it had lost to Independents and PDs in 2002.

Labour lost several potential seats because of organisational difficulties. The Mullingar Accord did not stymy the election of new Labour TDs such as Joanna Tuffy and Sean Sherlock.

When Labour entered coalition with FF it alienated the strong anti- FF support that it received.
Labour's biggest blunder was to agree a Tax Amnesty with FF. This cost it dearly and has never been forgotten by some elements of the electorate.

He speaks about FG populism. Perhaps he should take a look at his own party. In the Mid West FF TDs and councillors have "allied" themselves with the local populace against their own Party.

There is another subliminal message in his speech also. FF is the architect of the Celtic Tiger and is not responsible for any economic difficulties that may arise. Economic cycles are responsible for these. Economic cycles -as far as Brian is concerned- are not responsible for the booms. The sole responsibility for these rests with FF.

A more populist candidate for the FF leadership may yet cost Brian the elusive prize.

Ireland-Why FG is consistent on Shannon to Heathrow issue

When the Government decided to part privatize Aer Lingus it justified its decision on the basis that the national interest would be protected by the retention of a 25% shareholding. It is in the national interest that the Aer Lingus maintains the Shannon to Heathrow route. So there is no contradiction in FG's stance of opposition to the Aer Lingus decision to axe the Shannon to Heathrow route. It is now calling on the Government to use the 25% shareholding in the national interest as was promised at privatisation. Multinational Companies, tourist interests and the general public in the Mid West are up in arms over this. These groups are not card carrying Socialists.

IF Aer Lingus were a fully privatized company and if FG voted for full privatisation then FG could not justify any attempted state interference. The State is still a large shareholder so it is as entitled as any other shareholder to defend its interests. A certain bogus orthodoxy appears to have developed around this issue. It is claimed that this smacks of socialism. Not so. If the FF-PD-Green Party Coalition has no intention of using the 25% state shareholding in the national interest, it should sell it.