Around the world in 800 words.
It is rare that weather stories replace the news of the world in the media’s spotlight, but it’s happened. Cleaning up after Katrina and bracing for Rita has (understandably) forced virtually all of America to miss stories of vast international and domestic importance.
Mauritania
Given that I remain one of the sole writers in the universe who expresses any concern about the future of Mauritania, I feel I have a responsibility to evaluate its current situation — or at least to give it a try. The trouble is that it’s difficult to determine exactly what’s happening in Mauritania. The bloodless coup that ousted the former president — who supported the War on Terror, the U.S., and Israel — should have been opposed by the world with zeal. It was not. So far, the only people who seem to be upset are me and the former president.
The very positive news is that, contrary to what some anticipated, there has not been an obvious shift in the foreign policy of this new government — at least to a certain extent. “The leaders of last month's coup in Mauritania…have not changed the country's foreign policy of maintaining close relations with the United States and Israel,” notes a Voice of America article. “The sparsely populated, impoverished country in the Sahara desert, analysts say, is a front-line…against the spread of Islamic extremism into western Africa.” That’s lovely. What’s problematic about the new government’s stance on Israel, however, is that it’s so unclear; on the one hand, they say, former President Maaouiya Ould Taya was too close to Israel on the question of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Yet, on the other hand, the just-established government claims to support Israel.
On the U.S. question, we must also wonder what Mauritanians truly believe. They claim to cherish their close ties to America — but, according to this same article, they also “reserve the right to disagree with U.S. policies in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East….” Iraq, admittedly, holds a great deal of controversy — but Afghanistan? If the new government doesn’t support the United States in Afghanistan, which part of the War on Terror does it support, exactly?
The U.S. needn’t take any action at this point, publicly or otherwise, but we must monitor the situation vigilantly. Africa may prove to play an important role in our ever-expanding strategy against terrorism.
Japan
On a much happier note, one of the most overlooked stories of the year is the landslide reelection of Japan’s very pro-U.S. Prime Minister Koizumi. Koizumi’s principal campaign pledge was the privatization of the postal service, an idea the United States might wish to think about. Evidently not wanting to waste any time, the Japanese government this week approved a package of bills aimed at that very goal. “Opponents argue that the project threatens to reduce delivery services in the countryside and puts citizens' hard-earned savings at risk. But Koizumi campaigned on the idea that privatization would improve efficiency, cut the bloated bureaucracy and jump-start the nation's sluggish economy, the world's second-largest,” the Associated Press reported.
I would like to note, for the possible benefit of Americans who continue to question the wisdom behind the Iraq war, that this preceding paragraph was about Japan — not France, Australia, or Canada. Japan, once our most dangerous, hated enemy, just had yet another democratic election. Imagine what FDR would say about that, were he able to comment on the politics of 2005. Rather than the future of democracy in Asia or the problems of imperialism, the most contentious issue between the U.S. and Japan today is the new ban on Japan’s Kobe Beef. “Senators want to retaliate against Japan,” noted an article out of the Canadian press, “…for refusing to lift a mad cow-related ban.” This is progress.
Iraq
Just as the United States did not abandon Japan — or Western Europe — after the Second World War, we will stay the course in the free state of Iraq. President Bush, consistent as ever, reiterated the position of the United States in remarks in Washington: “Some Americans want us to withdraw our troops so that we can escape the violence. I recognize their good intentions, but their position is wrong.”
Iraq will be free, just as Japan is. And someday, not too far from now, the biggest headline out of Baghdad will be about beef.
isterrett@hotmail.com
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