The Week in Review

A new giant leak, a state department for the U.S. of E., troubles in Korea, problems with Facebook, and the immigration showdown.

Middle East

Details of more than 90,000 secret military documents relating to Afghanistan that had been leaked to the WikiLeaks website were published by the New York Times and two other newspapers on Sunday. Despite the hype surrounding the massive intelligence leak, the documents exposed thus far reveal little new about the war in Afghanistan. Perhaps the most critical information relates to Pakistan’s support of the Taliban in Afghanistan. The leaked documents accuse Pakistan of providing both supplies and sanctuary for Taliban fighters. The secret military field reports detail how Pakistan’s intelligence service has guided the Afghan insurgency, even while Islamabad receives more than $1 billion a year from Washington for its help fighting the Taliban. Stratfor points out that the Inter-Services Intelligence agency’s relationship with the Taliban is well known. It appears the WikiLeaks merely provide additional detail of a war that is not going well for the United States, and of Pakistan’s double-dealing. TheTrumpet.com has long pointed out the duplicity of Pakistan as a U.S. ally in the war in Afghanistan. “The fact that Washington must take the ‘friends’ and ‘allies’ it can—even if they fuel the passions (and the apparatus) of the very enemy the U.S. is fighting—demonstrates the compromised nature of America’s power on the world scene,” we wrote Aug. 1, 2005. And from Islamabad’s point of view, it is covering its bases, knowing that the U.S. is not in Afghanistan for the long haul. Why would it want to make an enemy of the up-and-coming power right across its border?

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was ready to begin direct negotiations with the Palestinians. Speaking to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Netanyahu said that if the Palestinians were willing to open direct talks, Israel might turn over to their control a key road in the north Jerusalem area. “This is one of the trust-building steps about which I spoke with the Americans,” he explained. The Jerusalem Post points out, however, that the Israeli prime minister’s statement does not necessarily bring direct negotiations closer. Prime Minister Netanyahu told the members of the Knesset that the Palestinians did not actually want to hold direct talks. If and when any direct talks do occur, we can know through Bible prophecy—and the history of the peace process—that they will only further erode Israel’s security rather than bring peace.

On Sunday, Yemen’s local al Qaeda node, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (aqap), attacked a military checkpoint, killing six Yemeni soldiers. This follows a July 19 attack by aqap on the southern headquarters of Yemen’s security and intelligence agency, which resulted in 11 deaths, as well as other attacks on Yemeni security officials. Stratfor reports that the strikes against Yemen’s security-intelligence establishment indicate the terrorist group has broken its long-held tacit agreement with the Yemeni government not to directly target the state. “[I]ndications are that aqap will continue its assault against both government and Western targets in Yemen,” Stratfor writes (July 27). It was al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula that claimed responsibility for the failed attempt to blow up the Denver-bound Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day last year. Nidal Hassan, the Fort Hood shooter who killed 13 last November, also had ties with aqap. It appears the terror group is gaining in strength. At the same time, Yemen is experiencing an increase in violence in the north between Shiite al-Houthi rebels—which are supported by Iran—and pro-government militias. Over 70 people have been killed in fighting that began July 15.

Europe

European foreign ministers approved the overall structure of Europe’s External Action Service (eeas) July 26, paving the way for Europe’s own diplomatic corps to become operational in December. The foreign ministers approved the structure of the eeas already agreed upon by members of the European Parliament in Madrid on June 21. Under the Madrid agreement, at least one third of eeas staff will be national diplomats from member states, with at least 60 percent being permanent EU officials. “It is historic to be able to witness the birth, at least at the decision level, of a European diplomacy,” said Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere after the July 26 meeting. EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton will now begin to appoint heads of the different embassies. However, the diplomatic service will not be able to go into operation until the European Parliament has agreed new staffing and budgetary rules. The eeas will operate 136 European embassies, employ around 6,000 people, and have a budget of around €7 billion—including EU money spent on aid and peacekeeping. Even before the latest agreement, British mep David Campbell Bannerman said, “I believe that through the Lisbon Treaty, through Baroness Ashton’s role, and the External Action Service, the European Union now has all four criteria it needs under international law to declare itself a single nation-state, a United States of Europe, and to do so overnight.” In setting up its own foreign service, Europe is taking another step toward becoming a superstate.

The International Court of Justice (icj) ruled on July 22 that Kosovo’s declaration of independence was legal under international law. The court did not rule that Kosovo was a legal state, however. The ruling, passed by a majority of 10 to 4, stated “the declaration of independence of the 17th of February, 2008, did not violate general international law.” The president of the icj, Hisashi Owada, stated that international law has no “prohibition on declarations of independence.” After he left the court, Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni said, “This is a great day for Kosovo.” The court opinion stated that Kosovo’s legitimacy as an independent nation would not come from the icj but from the countries that choose to recognize its independence. International support for an independent state is inevitable. In addition to support from the United States, Kosovo is certain to enjoy enthusiastic backing from the European Union, especially Germany and the Vatican, both of which have worked behind the scenes since 1991 engineering the dissolution of Yugoslavia. To learn more about Europe’s crafty manipulations in the Balkans, request our free booklet The Rising Beast.

Asia

North Korean despot Kim Jong Il threatened the U.S. last Saturday with nuclear war because of joint naval drills between Washington and South Korea. The exercises, held from Sunday until Wednesday, came four months after a torpedo sunk a South Korean ship, the Chonan. Involving 8,000 sailors, 200 aircraft and 20 ships, they were intended to be a display of force and unity by the U.S. and South Korea. Though they were titled “Invincible Spirit,” the lead-up to the drills reveals the spirit behind America’s alliance with South Korea to be far from invincible. Soon after a May investigation published the conclusion that North Korea was almost certainly responsible for sinking the Chonan, the U.S. and South Korea scheduled joint military exercises for early June. But America revealed that its reluctance to antagonize China outweighed its desire to stand up for Seoul when it repeatedly delayed the exercises. As an eventual compromise, the U.S. decided to hold the exercises on the east side of South Korea rather than in the Yellow Sea, as it had originally planned. Washington’s timid approach did not go unnoticed by South Korea. Stratfor wrote: “But what Seoul has seen is the U.S. hesitation to fulfill what South Koreans perceive to be a basic and fully justified request of its closest ally in an important—albeit limited—crisis. Watching the United States fail to honor that request for fear of inviting some Chinese ire … has resonated deeply in the South Korean psyche as a sign that the American security guarantee is not reliable” (July 13). No wonder Kim Jong Il is unafraid to threaten nuclear war when he sees that his bluster will effect no real consequences. “The army and people of the dprk [Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea] will legitimately counter with their powerful nuclear deterrence the largest-ever nuclear war exercises to be staged by the U.S. and the South Korean puppet forces,” North Korea’s official news agency quoted a government official as saying. The immediate Korean crisis will blow over, but Seoul’s distrust of the U.S. will linger and intensify. As the U.S.’s weak will becomes more obvious to South Korea, Seoul will draw closer to Asian nations, like China, in its search for security.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton invoked a heated response from Chinese officials on July 23 when she stated that America might step in to referee a long-simmering territorial dispute between China and its smaller neighbors in the South China Sea. Speaking at a forum of Southeast Asian countries in Vietnam, Mrs. Clinton surprised Beijing by saying America had a “national interest” in mediating the dispute over the Spratly Islands between China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia. The islands and surrounding sea floor supposedly contain large oil and gas deposits. Clinton’s statement may have evoked an abnormally heated response because she issued it just days before the U.S.-South Korean joint naval exercises. Although the war games were officially aimed at sending a message to North Korea, many in China feel they were really intended to signal to China that America is still the dominant naval power in the region. One Chinese academic accuses America of playing the last card it has to stay relevant to Asian affairs: military supremacy. America can no longer compete with China economically, so it is getting desperate to maintain its influence. State-run news media described Mrs. Clinton’s speech as “an attack” and an effort to limit Chinese power. China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi specifically warned the U.S. against interfering in the dispute. For now, America holds the most powerful military cards, and its aircraft carriers allow it to go where it wants. But as its allies in the region surely recognize, one of the earliest casualties in a collapsing economy is often a military budget. U.S. power projection in the Pacific has peaked. And American friends and foes alike know it—even if it is still not recognized by the American public.

Latin America

Tensions between Venezuela and Colombia rose this week, as outgoing Colombian President Álvaro Uribe accused Venezuela of harboring Colombian rebels. Colombia presented photographic and video evidence before the Organization of American States on July 22 that 1,500 militants and several leaders belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (farc) were taking refuge in Venezuela. They called for an international body to monitor the border. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez responded by breaking off diplomatic relations with Colombia, saying Colombia’s accusations were really American-inspired “aggression.” On July 25, Venezuela said it would cut off oil to the U.S. if Colombia attacks. “If there was any armed aggression against Venezuela from Colombian territory or from anywhere else, promoted by the Yankee empire, we would suspend oil shipments to the United States, even if we have to eat stones here,” Chávez said. “We would not send a drop more to U.S. refineries.” However, Chávez has made this threat many times before and never followed through.

Africa

The African Union (AU) has agreed to send 4,000 more troops to join its peacekeeping force in Somalia. If the extra troops materialize (not all AU nations make good on their promises), the AU will have over 10,000 soldiers in the country. Uganda, the main contributor to the peacekeeping force, has expanded its troops’ mandate beyond merely defending themselves against the rebel group al Shabaab. Following al Shabaab’s attack in Uganda early this month, Uganda told its soldiers they can now preemptively attack al Shabaab if they feel the AU’s forces are under threat. Al Shabaab is also gaining strength after a warlord in the northern part of the country, Sheik Mohamed Said Atom, allied himself with the rebel group. More warlords may follow, galvanizing against the AU and government forces.

Anglo-America

One of the five longest-serving members of the House of Representatives began facing trial in the Capitol on Thursday. Rep. Charles Rangel, 80, faced charges of a long string of unethical actions, including tax evasions and inappropriately using his congressional office to raise money. Rangel has been a member of the House for 40 years and is only the latest lawmaker to be exposed as corrupt.

msnbc.com reported on Thursday that personal details for 100 million users of Facebook have been compiled and published online in a downloadable file. An online security consultant, Ron Bowes, used a code to collect details not hidden by privacy settings and assemble a directory of personal information that is available online and has been downloaded by several thousand people. Those people can now access non-hidden information on the 100 million users, as well as other users who were “friended” by them, even if those third parties had their names hidden on Facebook.

On Wednesday, a federal district judge blocked the most contentious parts of Arizona’s new immigration law, preventing police from asking suspected illegal aliens for identification. The injunction was granted to the U.S. Department of Justice, which sued Arizona, the state that is at the epicenter of illegal immigration into America. Gov. Jan Brewer said she would take the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. Watch this situation closely for its explosive potential to exacerbate racial tensions and social unrest in the United States.