US Scatters Bases to Control Eurasia--ATimes

[Gloria]

In the new World Media Watch...full excerpts and links to the following articles up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com


1//The Independent, UK--BLOW TO HOWARD AS ACTIVISTS BACK FLIGHT (Michael Howard failed in his attempt to end the turmoil in the Conservative Party over his decision to sack Howard Flight as a Tory MP. The crisis, which has derailed the Tories' general election campaign, deepened when senior local activists in Mr Flight's Arundel and South Downs constituency demanded that he be given the chance to address them before they accept his deselection. The MP had suggested at a private dinner last week that the Tories would cut spending by more than the £35bn they have admitted. . … . But senior Tories admitted privately that the continuing stand-off with Mr Flight, who is refusing to go quietly and was also sacked as a deputy chairman of the party, had put a question mark over Mr Howard's attempt to show strong leadership. "It's a shambles," said one shadow minister. "A week ago, we were setting the agenda in the election; now we look in disarray." . … . Ian McCartney, the Labour Party chairman, said the sacking of Mr Flight was a case of "unfair dismissal". He refused to say whether his party had been involved in taping Mr Flight's outspoken remarks and passing them to the press. "This is a desperate attempt at diversion by the Tory party and their friends in the Tory press. This is an attempt to divert us from the big issues," he said.)



2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--US SCATTERS BASES TO CONTROL EURASIA (The United States is beefing up its military presence in Afghanistan, at the same time encircling Iran. Washington will set up nine new bases in Afghanistan in the provinces of Helmand, Herat, Nimrouz, Balkh, Khost and Paktia. Reports also make it clear that the decision to set up new US military bases was made during Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's visit to Kabul last December. Subsequently, Afghan President Hamid Karzai accepted the Pentagon diktat. Not that Karzai had a choice: US intelligence is of the view that he will not be able to hold on to his throne beyond June unless the US Army can speed up training of a large number of Afghan army recruits and protect Kabul. Even today, the inner core of Karzai's security is run by the US State Department with personnel provided by private US contractors. . … . Media reports coming out of the South Asian subcontinent point to a US intent that goes beyond bringing Afghanistan under control, to playing a determining role in the vast Eurasian region. In fact, one can argue that the landing of US troops in Afghanistan in the winter of 2001 was a deliberate policy to set up forward bases at the crossroads of three major areas: the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia. Not only is the area energy-rich, but it is also the meeting point of three growing powers - China, India and Russia.)



3//The Daily Star, Lebanon—U.S. TALKS WITH SYRIAN OPPOSITION GROUP DIVIDES DISSIDENTS (A State Department reception granted to a small U.S.-based Syrian opposition group last week has divided Syrian dissidents, with some expressing concern that Washington is lining up their country as the next candidate for regime change. The Reform Party of Syria (RPS) put out a statement in Beirut hailing its meeting Thursday with deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs Elizabeth Cheney which it said had "had a galvanizing effect on the Syrian community as a whole." "They realized the call for democracy in Syria is a matter being taken seriously at the highest levels of the Bush administration," said the statement. But the group's readiness to identify so openly with a U.S. administration which enforces unilateral sanctions against Syria was a step too far for several Damascus-based dissidents. . … . But pro-reform writer Michel Kilo expressed strong opposition. "We're struggling for democracy in Syria to make our country stronger in the face of the U.S. threat, not so that it is torn apart by the Americans.")


4//The News International, Pakistan--KASURI RULES OUT US ATTACK ON IRAN FROM PAK SOIL (Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri reiterated on Tuesday that Pakistan would never allow the use of its territory by a third country against the interests of Iran. "Our relations with Iran are growing as seen by the recent visit of the prime minister (to Iran) on February 22-25, 2005 during which a number of agreements in the economic and trading field were signed," he told a news conference at the State Guest House here. The foreign minister said the acquisition of F-16 fighter planes from the United States would not strain efforts to end decades of bitter relations with rival India. Kasuri said the jets would strengthen country’s defence and ensure a balance of power in South Asia.)



5//The Turkish Daily News, Turkey--MEDIA CRIMES TO INCUR HEAVY PENALTIES (If the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) comes into force on April 1 without any changes, it will turn into a sort of April Fools joke for the media. In its current form a strict set of rules will tie the hands of the media, and journalists will face the threat of lengthy prison terms, in blatant disregard of the dictum that the punishment should fit the crime.)