Breaking news, American born AQ member Adam Gadahn caught:

KARACHI, Pakistan – The American-born spokesman for al-Qaida has been arrested by Pakistani intelligence officers in the southern city of Karachi, two officers and a government official said Sunday as video emerged of him urging U.S. Muslims to attack their own country.

The arrest of Adam Gadahn is a major victory in the U.S.-led battle against al-Qaida and will be taken as a sign that Pakistan, criticized in the past for being an untrustworthy ally, is cooperating more fully with Washington. It follows the recent detentions of several Afghan Taliban commanders in Karachi, including the movement’s No. 2 commander.

This is a major victory on top of the string of successful strikes and arrests of AQ and Taliban leaders in Pakistan. The real question we’ll start asking is, since he at least was an American citizen, how he will be treated? POW, enemy combatant, criminal? This debate is going to be started all over again. Considering we’ve intentionally targeted him with UAV strikes in the past, my assumption is he will not be treated as an American citizen, especially since he has publicly renounced his citizenship which makes him legally stateless.

Apparently not. Seems nobody is sure at the moment.

France, unlike other European countries, seems to be willing to draw clear lines regarding what citizenship and French values mean, and to deny it without concern over leftist or politically correct criticism. A recent case:

The French government has refused to grant citizenship to a foreign national on the grounds that he forced his wife to wear the full Islamic veil. The man, whose current nationality was not given, needed citizenship to settle in the country with his French wife.

But Immigration Minister Eric Besson said this was being refused because he was depriving his wife of the liberty to come and go with her face uncovered. Last week, a parliamentary committee proposed a partial ban on full veils. It also recommended that anyone showing visible signs of “radical religious practice” be refused residence permits and citizenship.

I salute France in standing up for its values. No foreigner has a right to citizenship or even residence and twisted ideas of about fairness, political correctness and tolerance have led countries to act against their own interest by allowing in those who do not share even the most fundamental values of the land. For particularly sick examples see the Netherlands and Great Britain.

As immigration from the developing countries to industrialized countries continues to grow, and communication and transportation technology increases the movement of people across national borders, the question of the value and meaning of citizenship is something that must be raised again. If citizenship boils down to birth location or having the correct paperwork, then it is meaningless. Readers, what does citizenship mean today, particularly in a time of multiple loyalties?

The 2001 Anthrax attacks have yet to be solved and the case is still open.

I think this is something some of us know but the details of the article will interest you. For the sake of conjecture, I’d posit there are several possible scenarios here:

1) The FBI simply can’t solve the case. Either the crime was committed too well or the FBI and other government agencies screwed up. No big mystery or conspiracy. Just incompetence. (an all too frequent explanation of government behavior)

2) Someone in the USG knows or has a very good idea who the perpetrator(s) was/were but is unwilling to acknowledge it and is perhaps impeding the investigation due to the ramifications. E.g. it could be another state such as Russia or North Korea in which case the US would have to declare war, or perhaps an alleged ally like Saudi, or rogue elements from within an allied state?

3) The USG wants the public to believe the case is closed while it continues to investigate quietly to avoid embarassment.

Readers, any further theories?

Chirol was highly critical of the US and international response in providing aid for the Haiti earthquake victims, which set off a comment thread with overwhelming criticism of Chirol’s premise that realistically, Haiti has always always been a disaster and we should not commit resources into black hole because of media and popular excitement. Although I didn’t comment, I basically agreed with most readers who spoke out that Chirol’s stated position was isolationist, especially considering that the country was so close and the problems so manageable with basics not available in Haiti. (Other criticisms—that he was being cruel or callous—didn’t really register with me because appearing cruel is part of the very nature of stone cold realism.) But there are careful realist calculations behind the motives of the three most active participants in Haiti—the US, China and Taiwan.

As it happens, today the Japanese Mainichi Shinbun has an article (Japanese only, sorry) with this title: “Haiti Earthquake: Aid to Victims Displays ‘Diplomatic War’; US, China, Others” summarizes the key player’s (realist) goals. Taking that article and some other articles, the interests of the major countries providing aid are:

• The US, by dispatching one nuclear aircraft carrier and two former presidents, has created the most obvious presence in Haiti and is looking to flex its muscle in the region and show off its power, yet in a peaceful way that is aimed at bettering relations with Central and South American countries. The primary diplomatic targets are Cuba and Venezuela, who could easily win friends and show off their influence if they were seen as being active in the region. I think this also gets to the Monroe Doctrine, where the US long held, from the turn of the 19th century until the end of the Cold War, that no other power could interfere in the Western Hemisphere. That policy was basically abandoned under Bill Clinton during the first Haiti intervention, but I believe it should be vigorously maintained to make sure that all foreign policy fronts are

• China has been ramping up its activity in Central and South America and has tried to become an alternative to US-sourced credit and business, and in cutting off Taiwan from its global friends in the region. China has long been active in Haiti and had 148 peacekeepers in Haiti, of whom 8 were killed in the earthquake—read one of the very first ever ComingAnarchy posts on that topic here. It has dispatched an additional 50 aid workers and donated about a million dollars in aid.

• Taiwan initially offered $500,000 in aid, but when China announced that it would double that, it quickly announced it would provide $5 million in aid, most likely to preserve and protect its status as the legitimate Chinese government as recognized by the Haiti government. Of the 23 countries that have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, 12 are in Central and South America. This is despite the fact that, under the current Taiwanese government, Beijing and Taipei have called a “ceasefire” in their war for recognition, but the events in Haiti show that this war is still being waged, albeit more quietly.

Even with that, the position of Australia on the list of countries providing aid surprised me—but keep in mind this list incorporates donations by regional governments, but not those by individuals and NGOs.

• US: $100 million (disaster teams, aircraft carrier, hospital ships, soldiers)
• Australia: $9 million (including donations by regional governments)
• China: $5.4 million (including aid workers)
• Taiwan: $5 million
• Japan: $5.3 million
• Norway: $5 million
• England: $1.4 million
• World Bank: $1 million

While I imagine the headlines will be filled with tales of Haiti, from some individual tidbits to get your attention to tales of woe about its unlucky history, perhaps blaming outsiders, it’s time for a bit of realism. First of all, let me be clear that I see the problem from two different perspectives, both of which, by their nature, will lead to different solutions. First is the human or small picture perspective. The earthquake devastated a country already in the 7th level of hell. The human cost is horrifying. Based on on a more human focused and sympathetic understanding, one would want to immediately send aid in the form of money, material and people.

However, the second more big picture perspective, acknowledges that somethign truly awful did occur but widens its view to more than the last two days. Haiti has consistently been the worst place in the Western Hemisphere in every way for decades, if not longer. While the earthquake did do unparalleled damage, one has to honestly admit it won’t make that much of a difference in the long run. The country’s only period of relative success was in the early 1900s when it was run by the US Marines Corps. Before and after, it has remained in squalor and rife with horrific violence.

While I’m certain it’s politically unfeasible at the moment, the government should seriously consider how much taxpayer money and taxpayer funded services (in the form of material, military help) it should give. We have far more pressing problems at the moment and the government has no business wasting Americans’ money on a tiny country of no value to us that has essentially no chance of recovery. Private charity should be encouraged and commended, but the USG simply has nothing to gain from expending resources in Haiti, especially relative to our other interests at home and abroad.

I’m well aware this idea will be met with disagreement and even outrage by some. However, I believe that if we have learned anything from the past year, then it is to start crafting and carrying out US policy with the realization that we have limited resources and should begin to act like it. Too many people operate on the assumption that every world event somehow involves or needs to involve the US. But that’s something I’ll be addressing soon.

I just got back from the public opening of the Burj Dubai Burj Khalifa. It turns out that today, the tower was renamed, taking the name of the current president of the UAE and emir of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, who spent the past year bailing out Dubai for its excessive international debts. In other news, my neighborhood, Downtown Burj Dubai, was renamed Downtown Burj Khalifa—clearly Dubai realizes how to submit, at least nominally and trivially, to its new lords and masters.

The final height was announced to be 828 meters, notably higher than previously reported. Some pictures from the event appear below.

The Burj several hours before the opening ceremony.

Read the rest of this entry »

Fresh from the WSJ this morning.It seems Iraqi insurgents are beginning to steal signals from US drones. Evidence backing John Robb’s Global Guerillas theory seems to mount daily. Here’s the article

Militants in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need to evade or monitor U.S. military operations.

Senior defense and intelligence officials said Iranian-backed insurgents intercepted the video feeds by taking advantage of an unprotected communications link in some of the remotely flown planes’ systems. Shiite fighters in Iraq used software programs such as SkyGrabber—available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet—to regularly capture drone video feeds, according to a person familiar with reports on the matter.

U.S. officials say there is no evidence that militants were able to take control of the drones or otherwise interfere with their flights. Still, the intercepts could give America’s enemies battlefield advantages by removing the element of surprise from certain missions and making it easier for insurgents to determine which roads and buildings are under U.S. surveillance.

Read the rest.

Comment: This is the other side of technology that we haven’t heard much about. While certainly it is not a surprise to many experts, it is an area that seems largely undiscussed in public. I would hope the military is already planning for contingencies that include the enemy taking control of unmanned land, sea and air vehicles. But the article continuously stating that things are ok, and no damage was done makes this author rather suspicious. One has to wonder whether this is also occuring in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The ‘honeymoon phase’ of unmanned vehicles is slowlycoming to an end.

Given that territorial disputes and separatism are great interests of mine, I took note of yesterday’s news that a new state will be created in India. It is important to note though that, “The process of forming the state of Telangana will be initiated” and thus while likely, there is no guarantee.

India announced on Thursday that it planned to create the country’s 29th state, after a hunger strike by a regional leader and escalating protests from supporters. Home Minister P. Chidambaram said the government would begin work to found the separate state of Telangana, which will be carved out of Andhra Pradesh in the southeast. [...]

Since the partition of British-ruled India in 1947, various separatist and state movements have raged across the vast nation. Three new states were created in 2000, when Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were divided to give rise to Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.

Although a precedent by no means, it may still take years to actually come into being and around 60 state legislaters that day turned in resignations in protest. By today, that number is up to around 130.

Background

After Indian independence in 1947, events not unlike today’s played out. In an effort to gain an independent state, and protect the interests of the Telugu people of Madras State, Amarajeevi Potti Sreeramulu fasted until death. Public outcry and civil unrest after his death forced the government to announce the formation of a new state for Telugu speaking people. Andhra attained statehood on 1 October 1953, with Kurnool as its capital.

And yet, three years later, on 1 November 1956, the Andhra State merged with the Telangana region of Hyderabad State to form the state of Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad, the former capital of the Hyderabad State, was made the capital of the new state Andhra Pradesh.

Just over a year ago, in November 2008, the Nava Telangana Party declared the region’s statehood. Thus, today’s announcement is no surprise given the regions 60+ years of unrest and seeking autonomy/independence.

Questions

1) Will this new state be economically viable? How will it earn revenue with a smaller, poorer tax base?

2) Will a new smaller state with a more homogenous population and thus government actually be able to govern more effectively?

3) Will this further propel the Hyderabad region upwards as it no longer has the anchor of poorer regions dragging it down?

4) How will this affect the balance of power between the individual states? And how will it affect the balance between political parties? Andhra Pradesh will lose voting power nationally with the creation of a new state and the new Telangana is far more likely to gravitate left than right. What does this mean for the major politically parties like the INC and BJP?

5) How will this affect the endless other separatist groups (violent and nonviolent) and ethnic minorities agitating for more autonomy? Will this make India more or less stable?

6) What will the long term effects be of this new states success or failure?

Final Comments
Although it is unlikely this issue will receive much more international attention, it will be of interest to India watchers and especially those interested in devolution, separatism and related issues. Newly independent states such as Kosovo are often the most studied while developments such as this inside functioning states and that are legally sanctioned receive less attention. I’ll try to keep an eye on this and would always appreciate further comments from readers who may have more to add.

Readers will note that the members of Coming Anarchy have traveled and lived all over the world. Thus, our perspective and personal values are often influenced by this and leave us at times feeling a bit ‘foreign’ ourselves when at home. With that, I bring you a short departure from geopolitics and towards culture.

One issue that has interested me over the years, and about which I’ve been on both sides of the argument, is that of Sundays. Those who have visited or lived in Europe will recall that on Sunday, stores are generally closed with very few exceptions (gas stations, some restaurants). Americans generally react with a combination of annoyance at being inconvenienced and indignation at the alleged lack of freedom. Indeed, there is validty to both of these points, but they fail to understand that there are simply different values driving such policies and the merit to them.

Germany’s Der Spiegel (which I normally hesitate to link to) has a good article discussing the reactions to a recent Supreme Court decision upholding Sunday as a day of rest. Surprising to most people is the fact that it is actually established in the German constitution. Reactions from around the country include arguments based on religion, secularism, economics, family policies, workers rights and individual liberties. I’ve included a selected few below for comparison but recommend reading the article in its entirety (it’s rather short anyway).

(From a center-right paper)

The great diversity of working lives brings with it the fact that members of a single family are forced into different and sometimes incompatible working hours. If the state does not use some of its regulatory power to give a dependable rhythm to at least one free day—and that is still Sunday—then the family faces the threat of being pulled further apart.”

“If they have no time with each other and for each other, then the formal notion of belonging together loses value. This danger faces many families in society. … The fact that in the face of growing commercialization and fewer jobs hardly any employee ever dares to ask for a free Saturday, led the labor unions to join the churches in their campaign—with noticeable success.”

(from a center-left paper)

“It may sound old fashioned but it is still correct: Sunday is Sunday because it is unlike other days. This is not about tradition or religion or a social heritage. Sunday is more than just a day off for individuals. It that were so, then it wouldn’t matter if someone took a day off on Tuesday or Thursday. It is a day to synchronize society, that is what makes it so important. Without Sunday, every day would be a working day and a fixed point in the week would disappear. Of course there can be exceptions, there have always been particular professions who work on Sundays. But when the exception becomes the rule, then the commercialization of Sundays will not end at the department stores.”

(from a left leaning paper)

“Sunday as a day off is a great gift. The treadmill is closed for 24 hours. The court has given relaxation, rest and ‘spiritual elevation’ precedence over the thirst for profit and the right to a consumer fix. However, it made it clear in its ruling that Sunday was not just for those who wanted to practise their religion undisturbed. It is also to play cards, go for a walk or simply to laze around. After all even the strictest atheist needs the switching off that Sundays allow.”

After years of life in Germany and initially being against the restrictions on Sundays, I am now a strong supporter. While I deeply sympathize with both the economic and especially individual liberties arguments, I actually feel that maintaining Sundays off protects the freedom of many people to actually enjoy their lives, as opposed to being forced to work. It also helps to strengthen families and other personal relationships,increase mental and physical health through time off and adds to overall quality of life and happiness. In short, I would support such a measure at home, including of course exceptions for certain businesses (as in Europe). Readers, your thoughts?

For those still peddling the line that piracy is carried out by poor, starving Africans, victimized by evil European fisherman, this article not only provides evidence to the contrary, but speaks to the advanced nature of it in both a business and social sense.

It is a lucrative business that has drawn financiers from the Somali diaspora and other nations—and now the gangs in Haradheere have set up an exchange to manage their investments.

[...] “Four months ago, during the monsoon rains, we decided to set up this stock exchange. We started with 15 ‘maritime companies’ and now we are hosting 72. Ten of them have so far been successful at hijacking,” Mohammed said. “The shares are open to all and everybody can take part, whether personally at sea or on land by providing cash, weapons or useful materials … we’ve made piracy a community activity.”
[...] “The district gets a percentage of every ransom from ships that have been released, and that goes on public infrastructure, including our hospital and our public schools.”

Reading the article, I almost think I’m reading Global Guerillas. As pirates continue to extend their reach offshore, and Western nations continue to needlessly devise ridiculous non-lethal anti-pirate weapons, despite the fact that the problem of piracy was solved centuries ago with firearms, it would seem naive to believe a few semi-coordinated naval ships unwilling to actually use lethal force will solve the problem. If anything, I’d wager that piracy will actually increase due to the international naval presence as that will drive up the profit margin for successful raids, similar to the failed American War on Drugs where the DEA serves only to maintain and ensure the profitibility of drugs.

Lastly, given a previous Wired article discussion of the international side of the business, this blogger wonders whether such a new “stock exchange” will further internationalize the business past the traditional diaspora connections and secondly, whether this could be an early attempt, or even precedent for similar “black stock exchanges” in other illicit businesses such as drugs, weapons, people and other smuggling for example. If decentralization and internationalization are key driving forces in crime and terrorism, it would seem that “publicly traded criminal enterprise” may be a logical extension. Readers?