Posted by seumasach on December 19, 2011
Gareth Porter
16th December, 2011
WASHINGTON, Dec 16, 2011 (IPS) – Defence Secretary Leon Panetta’s suggestion that the end of the U.S. troop presence in Iraq is part of a U.S. military success story ignores the fact that the George W. Bush administration and the U.S. military had planned to maintain a semi-permanent military presence in Iraq.
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Posted by seumasach on December 19, 2011
M.K.Bhadrakumar
The plot was believed to be as follows: Washington wanted to keep long-term US military presence in Iraq but the popular opinion in Iraq militated against it, which ultimately left the Barack Obama administration no choice but to comply with the Status of Forces Agreement [SOFA] and to withdraw all the troops by the stipulated deadline of December 2011.
Posted in Iraq | Tagged: gareth porter, m.k.bhadrakumar, Status of Forces Agreement [SOFA] | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on December 19, 2011
Cailean Bochanan
19th December, 2011
On a day when one of Britain’s last surviving europhiles, Iain MacWhirter, referred to the eurozone as an “economic suicide pact”, I feel the need to return again to the question of Britain and Europe and , specifically, the state of opinion in this country on the issue.
Posted in Battle for Europe | Tagged: bankrupt iceland, End of empire, join the euro!, Multipolar world | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on December 19, 2011
Posted in Ecological and Public Health Crisis | Tagged: EM radiation health hazard | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on December 18, 2011
Posted in Battle for Europe | Tagged: Laboratoire européen d’anticipation politique LEAP | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on December 18, 2011
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: MF Global | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on December 18, 2011
18th December, 2011
Russia will try to stop any military attack on Iranian nuclear facilities as any threat to the Islamic Republic is a problem for Moscow, a Russian military expert tells Press TV.
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Posted by seumasach on December 18, 2011
Libye – Les dernières nouvelles du front (17-12-2011)
17th December, 2011
Please use google-translate
Alors que les forces du CNT sont venus quadriller la ville de Tripoli, puisque le président dudit machin, Moustapha Abdeljalil, accueillait le ministre français des Affaires étrangères Alain Juppé, des combats se poursuivaient à Bani Walid, entre les terroristes et sous-fifres de l’OTAN, et l’armée loyaliste et résistance verte libyenne. Résultat des courses, la tribu des Werfalla a retrouvé l’intégralité de la ville. Plus de 400 rebelles ont été terrassés. Excusez du peu. Bani Walid, le vert vous va si bien !
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Posted by seumasach on December 17, 2011
16th december, 2011
A draft intergovernmental treaty to tighten fiscal discipline in the eurozone has received the green light from the European Council’s legal service, paving the way for a final text to be agreed by the end of January, EU officials said on Friday (16 December).
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Posted by seumasach on December 16, 2011
15th December, 2011
Speaking at the close of what was his final summit with the EU as Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev offered his solidarity with the bloc, saying Russia was willing to contribute to the rescue plan managed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the struggling euro currency.
“We are ready to invest all financial means to back the European economy and the eurozone,” Medvedev said following talks with European leaders.
The EU must be “preserved as a powerful political and economic force … [and the euro] preserved as one of the most important reserve currencies,” he added. The EU is Russia’s biggest trading partner.
Although the president didn’t mention specific figures, his economic advisor, Arkady Dvorkovich, said earlier on Thursday Moscow was prepared to offer up to 20 billion euros ($26 billion). That figure was dependent on progress towards a 200-billion-euro boost for the IMF agreed by European Union leaders, Dvorkovich said.
EU states have until Monday to work out the details of a number of bilateral loans to the IMF which are to be used in efforts to stabilize the eurozone.
With 41 percent of Russia’s currency reserves held in the euro and half of all Russian external trade conducted with the EU, Russia’s interests in the survival of the euro are clear.
“Europe has a stake in Russia’s success as I believe Russia has a stake in Europe’s success,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso commented on Thursday. “We should strive for a comprehensive and broad agreement with ambitious trade and energy chapters.”
Posted in Battle for Europe, Multipolar world | Tagged: EU-Russian relations | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on December 16, 2011
16th December, 2011
The new fiscal compact that was agreed to at last week’s EU summit is supposed to help Europe out of the debt crisis. But it represents a briar patch of thorny legal and political questions. Until now, Chancellor Merkel’s government has adopted a take-it-or-leave-it approach with its euro rescue efforts. With the new pact, that is likely to change.
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In These New Times 