U.S. Pres junkets as East/West descends into Cold War 2

Syrian opposition to
 U.S. interference

Leader-impersonators throw away years: Result: regression

Editing, re-reporting, commentary by Carolyn Bennett

The Reagan and post-Reagan years failed to seize a gaping opportunity begging for the founding of a more progressive era. Officials particularly in Washington wasted critical years, choosing instead an ever-expanding siege of violence: global, perpetual wars.

Today's news

 

Further destabilizing Middle East

Provocation USA on Jordan/Syria border 

Though Washington and Amman have imposed a news blackout on U.S. deployment of troops on Jordanian soil, news sources are reporting that more than “1,000 U.S. troops arrived in the Jordanian port of Aqaba via Israel earlier in the week”; and “under heavy Jordanian military escort,” these troops (members of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Force)… have headed toward the kingdom’s (Jordan’s) border area with Syria.”

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced in April that Washington was sending 200 military troops to Jordan “to help contain the violence in Syria,” increasing speculation among international media that the United States “is setting the stage for intervention” in another Middle Eastern country.

Russia echoes Cold War

For the purpose of shoring up the nation’s security, Russian officials said this week that their country has deployed a permanent naval unit ─ 16 warships and three ship-based helicopters to the Mediterranean Sea region. Russian president Vladimir Putin while denying mere “saber-rattling” noted that the Mediterranean Sea is “‘a strategically important region” and his nation has “tasks to carry out” in the region “to provide for the national security of the Russian Federation.”

Russia’s revitalization of its military power was also indicated in an earlier announcement that the country intends “to resume patrols by nuclear-armed submarines in the southern seas.”

Cold War 2 ─  The first nuclear-powered Russian Borei-class submarine was put into service in January and five months later an anonymous source on the Russian General Staff tells the Itar-Tass news agency that “Moscow is planning to deploy submarines equipped with nuclear ballistic missiles to southern international waters for the first time since the collapse of the former Soviet Union.”

Expanding, Deepening Conflict spells Regression

The continuing U.S. aggression against and destabilization of the Middle East region is at odds not only with the needs of the inhabitants of this region but with concerns of Eastern Europe and South/Central Asia and the Middle East.

Kofi Annan
Peace Envoy, Mediator
Former UN Secretary-General

Despite proposals time and again calling for relations of inclusion of all affected nations and proposals for nonviolence, political resolution of conflict, peaceful negotiation and conversation, U.S. officials have as many times obstructed these attempts ─ this includes relatively recently the attempts by UN envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan. U.S. officials one after another have effectively destroyed the unity, principles and conventions of “United Nations” and continued a foreign relations policy in violence: arrogance and condescension, belligerence, invasion and occupation.

Jordanians protest
44th U.S. President Barack Obama

Jordanian official’s dissent

On the U.S. ratcheting up of violence on the Jordan/Syrian border, Jordan’s opposition party, the Islamic Action Front, has denounced the presence of American troops in the kingdom and asked the government to review its decision to authorize the deployment of foreign troops on Jordan’s soil.

Russian official’s dissent and reprimand

Leading into the Geneva 2 conference on Syria tentatively scheduled for July, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, Jennifer Psaki, reportedly claimed that participants in a preparatory meeting  ─ the trilateral meeting held on Wednesday with the participation of UN-Arab League Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and representatives from Russia and the United States ─ had agreed that the Geneva conference should focus on overthrow and replacement of Syria’s head of state: “the forthcoming talks on Syria should focus on the formation of a transitional government to which the current administration should give up all powers.”

Speaking to the press the following day (yesterday), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov essentially said the U.S. official was lying or, more kindly, had misrepresented what had occurred in the preparatory meeting. “If this was really said by the U.S. State Department,” Lavrov said, “it is a very strong distortion of what the talks were about.”

Also contrary to U.S. and other Western obstructionism and arrogance, Lavrov reemphasized Moscow’s “push for Iran’s participation in the upcoming Geneva conference.

UN official’s dissent

 

Though the preparatory meeting failed to set a firm date for the Geneva meeting and U.S. officials have again been stalling on peaceful resolution to the conflict, the UN-Arab League Special Representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, expressed hope that the Geneva conference will convene in July.

Mairead Corrigan Maguire

Northern Irish peace activist

Co-founder of Peace People 

(Community of the Peace People)

Assessment and a way forward

A corrupt, distracted and inept national leadership in Washington over the past several years (Reagan onward) has given up the chance to change the ethos and character of U.S. foreign relations. The world is neither the enemy of World War II victor-states nor the enemy of the Cold War West nor should the West be afraid or paranoid about leaders or factions of the East and South. A flawed sameness has gone on for far too long and, for all its technological gadgetry (or because of it), the West has entered a sharp descent into regress (Is this the intent of the “take back America-ites” or sundry nationalists and “Patriots” or the “occupiers”?).

I think nations of the West and particularly my country (land that I love) should: 

Start accepting leaders and nations, without judging or lecturing them

Start engaging leaders and factions nonviolently, respectfully, as equals

Instead of ridiculing, lecturing, condescending to and disparaging difference, seek understanding directly from the rich varieties of cultures and peoples of which we are pathetically lacking, dangerously ignorant, and stupidly dismissive.

Sources and notes

“U.S. Marines deployed along Jordan border with Syria: Report” (Press TV latest update), June 7, 2013 2:5PM GMT, http://www.presstv.ir/detail/307672.html

“Russia deploys permanent naval unit to Mediterranean Sea,” June 7, 2013 8:22AM GMT,

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/307620.html

“Russia slams U.S. for distorting results of trilateral talks on Syria,” June 7, 2013 5:38AM GMT, http://www.presstv.ir/detail/307605.html

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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy

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International Arms Trade Treaty essential for world peoples ─ UN tries again

Civilian populations trapped in armed violence in settings of crime and conflict, in conditions of poverty, deprivation, extreme inequality suffer most in a world of unregulated arms ─ ATT essential 

Editing, re-reporting, brief comment by Carolyn Bennett

U

nfortunately, the United States of America together with its arms industry ─ while leading the world in global arms transfers (sales, exports, trafficking) ─ obstructs progress. As it tried to do with the cluster bomb treaty and the convention on the rights of the child, the United States is standing in the way of the United Nations international Arms Trade Treaty.

A March 2013 United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs paper “The impact of poorly regulated Arms transfers on the work of the United Nations” lays out the essentiality of the treaty. The paper leads:

The poorly regulated arms trade has devastating, multifaceted effect.

These include fueling violence and armed conflict, hindering efforts to promote socioeconomic development and creating a permanent atmosphere of fear and instability in conflict settings.

While millions of civilians have paid the high price of the lack of legally binding rules in the area of arms trade, women and children are among the most vulnerable groups affected by this gap.

Flows of arms into conflict and post-conflict situations, not only impede the ability of the United Nations to discharge its mandates and assist the governments and populations that it is called to assist; but flows of arms also pose a direct threat to United Nations personnel and assets.

T

he ready availability of weapons and ammunition in all parts of the world has led to human suffering, political repression, crime and terror among civilian populations. Irresponsible transfers of conventional weapons can destabilize security in (geographical or geopolitical) region(s); enable the violation of Security Council arms embargoes and contribute to human rights abuses. Investment is discouraged and development disrupted in countries experiencing conflict and high levels of violence. The situation also affects countries’ ability to attain the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Eight UN Millennium Development Goals for 2015

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

M

any areas of world trade are covered by regulations that bind countries into agreed conduct. An eclectic set of national and regional control measures and a few global instruments on arms transfers exist. But there is no global set of rules governing the trade in conventional weapons; and the absence of a global framework regulating the international trade in all conventional arms has obscured transparency, comparability and accountability.

Contrary to propaganda, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs notes, will not:

Interfere with the domestic arms trade and the way a country regulates civilian possession

Ban or prohibit the export of any type of weapons

Impair States’ legitimate right to self-defense

Lower arms regulation standards in countries where these are already at a high level

United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs

Why Arms Trade Treaty matters

The writers of the UNODA paper continue, “Most present-day international challenges—from global warming and the financial crisis to terrorism and underdevelopment— have complex origins. Similarly, there is no (single) relationship between the poorly regulated arms trade on the one hand, and conflict, crime and insecurity, armed violence and grave human rights abuses on the other. Often, however, connections can be established between the misuse of arms by national armed and security forces and the poor judgment ─ or lack of responsibility ─ on the part of the original providers of such arms.

Similarly, one can establish a link between massive amounts of illicit arms and ammunition in circulation and lax national controls.

W

eapons are force multipliers and thus enable the user to enhance the ability to project power and to exercise coercive control within and across borders. With every transfer it authorizes, a government deciding on exporting weapons must realize the profound international responsibility of that decision. And, conversely, an importing government must ensure that it will use these weapons only to provide for the safety and security of its citizens and that it has the capacity to safeguard all weapons within its possession throughout their life cycle.

Working to improve lives and livelihoods around the world, the United Nations system is directly confronted with the consequences stemming from the often brutal repression of political dissent, armed conflict, rampant crime or armed violence and the widespread human suffering that they cause. 

Whether it is maintaining international peace and security, protecting human rights, providing humanitarian aid, promoting social and economic development, conducting peacekeeping, assisting in crime prevention and criminal justice, promoting women’s empowerment, protecting children, improving public health or building safer cities, all too often armed insecurity fueled by poorly regulated arms transfers prevents [the UN] from reaching the goals laid out by Member States. In these contexts, United Nations personnel also face security risks on an unprecedented scale—from drivers of trucks transporting food aid, peacekeepers on patrol, United Nations personnel running refugee camps to international and local staff working at United Nations compounds.

C

ivil society organizations concerned about the misuse of weaponry around the world mobilized governments and parliamentarians to call for the global regulation of the conventional arms trade. Countries have discussed this matter within the UN since 2006. The UN Department for Disarmament Affairs extends as far back as the 1980s.

The first round of UN negotiations on the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty held in July of 2012 produced no agreement on treaty text. The Final Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty is being held this week and next (March 18-28) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

In statements leading into this year’s conference, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recalled that armed violence every year in the world kills 66,000 women and girls, a total of more than half a million people.

The Arms Trade Treaty further complements and supplements existing international tools from the Program of Action on Small Arms to the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms and beyond, he said; and it “will strengthen the rule of law by contributing to the development of an emerging network of international norms against trafficking, misuse, and the illicit proliferation of weapons and ammunition.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon(center)
Arms Trade Treaty Conference
 March 18-28, 2013

L

ast year’s conference in New York, the Secretary-General said, “came close to reaching an agreement on a draft treaty text. 

We must now build on this work and conclude our historic journey over the next nine days.

Now is the time to overcome past setbacks and deliver.

Now is the time for the focus and political will to negotiate the final details of the treaty and arrive at a consensus outcome by the 28th March.

U

Final Conference on
Arms Trade Treaty March 18-28
New York

NODA’s March paper concludes, “Unlike other areas of world trade, which are covered by rules that bind countries into agreed conduct, the transfer of weapons is currently not covered by binding global rules other than Security Council arms embargoes. The absence of a global framework regulating the international trade in conventional arms makes it easier for weapons and ammunition to fall into the wrong hands. 

“Those suffering most are civilian populations trapped in situations of armed violence in settings of both crime and conflict, often in conditions of poverty, deprivation and extreme inequality, where they are all too frequently on the receiving end of the misuse of arms by State armed and security forces, non-State armed groups and organized criminal groups, many of which are subject to United Nations Security Council sanctions. Small arms are the weapons of choice in modern-day intra-State armed conflict and armed violence.

 

“Civilian populations, including children, bear the brunt of armed conflict more than ever. But there is plenty of evidence of heavier categories of weapons being used against civilians as well. Therefore, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) should cover all conventional arms. But regulation of the international arms trade should not be limited to regulating transfers of weapons.

“While arms can have a lifespan of decades and are often recycled from conflict to conflict, their value and the ability to sustain armed conflict or violence depend on the availability of an uninterrupted supply of ammunition. Thus, for the ATT to be effective, it should also regulate the international trade in ammunition.”

We in the United States of America must finally grow up. Cease in our self-inflicted crisis and attendant paranoia, and destructive self-centeredness. Courageously join the world in nonviolence, in cooperation, in mutual coexistence for the good of all. 

Sources and notes

UNODA Occasional Papers, No. 23, March 2013, THE IMPACT OF POORLY REGULATED

ARMS TRANSFERS ON THE WORK OF THE UNITED NATIONS, United Nations Coordinating Action on Small Arms (CASA) 2013,

http://www.un.org/disarmament/HomePage/ODAPublications/OccasionalPapers/PDF/OP23.pdf

This paper aims to develop a coherent United Nations approach to support the international community’s efforts to improve the regulation of international transfers of conventional arms. It records the United Nations Organization’s advocacy over the past years of a robust and comprehensive Arms Trade Treaty that covers the full array of conventional weapons as well as ammunition and that includes provisions that arms not be transferred where there is a clear risk that they will be used to commit violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law or seriously undermine development.

United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)

The Department for Disarmament Affairs was originally established in 1982 upon the recommendation of the General Assembly’s second special session on disarmament (SSOD II). In 1992, its name was changed to Centre for Disarmament Affairs, under the Department of Political Affairs. At the end of 1997, it was renamed Department for Disarmament Affairs

In January 1998 UNODA was established as the Department for Disarmament Affairs, part of the Secretary-General’s program for reform in accordance with his report to the General Assembly (A/51/950), the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA). In 2007, it became the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs promotes:

Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation

Strengthening of the disarmament regimes in respect to other weapons of mass destruction, and chemical and biological weapons

Disarmament efforts in the area of conventional weapons, especially landmines and small arms, which are the weapons of choice in contemporary conflicts

“UNODA supports the development and implementation of practical disarmament measures after a conflict, such as disarming and demobilizing former combatants and helping them to reintegrate in civil society.”

http://www.un.org/disarmament/HomePage/about_us/aboutus.shtml

Secretary-General’s remarks to Final United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) (UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon), New York, March18, 2013 - http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=6662

UN chief voices support for arms trade treaty ahead of upcoming conference

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44410&Cr=arms+trade&Cr1=&Kw1=arms&Kw2=&Kw3=

The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) will not:

Interfere with the domestic arms trade and the way a country regulates civilian possession

Ban, or prohibit the export of, any type of weapons

Impair States’ legitimate right to self-defense

Lower arms regulation standards in countries where these are already at a high level

 An Arms Trade Treaty will aim to create a level playing field for international arms transfers by requiring all States to abide by a set of standards for transfer controls, which will ultimately benefit the safety and security of people everywhere in the world.

http://www.un.org/disarmament/ATT/

http://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/ArmsTrade/

The Millennium Development Goals

In September of the year 2000, leaders of 189 countries met at the United Nations in New York and endorsed the Millennium Declaration, a commitment to work together to build a safer, more prosperous and equitable world.

The Declaration was translated into a roadmap setting out eight time-bound and measurable goals to be reached by 2015, known as the Millennium Development Goals, http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview.html

For more information, please visit: www.un.org/millenniumgoals

http://www.un.org/en/mdg/summit2010/pdf/List%20of%20MDGs%20English.pdf

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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy
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