Turkish Forum

Category: America

  • Communist China and the New World [Trade] Order

    Communist China and the New World [Trade] Order

    metzler pic
    John Metzler

    UNITED NATIONS — American exports surged last year to reach impressive new highs. Despite the recession, over $1.8 trillion dollars in U.S. goods were shipped worldwide. But before anyone thinks about popping the champagne corks to celebrate these new commercial successes, the U.S. Commerce Department also announced a dangerously high $498 billion trade deficit, representing an almost 33 percent increase which dampens the effervescence of the rebound.

    American exports are booming for many reasons. A gradual global economic recovery, the quality of the products, and a weak dollar which makes the items more attractive, are among the reasons. So too are a number of Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with key global partners. Given the Obama Administration’s politically stated goal of doubling exports, there’s reason for initial optimism. Trade partners and patterns illustrate so very much about international relations well beyond the business bottom line.

    East Asia’s growing economic weight brings the region enhanced political clout and global gravity. As recently as 1990, seven of America’s top fifteen export destinations were European. As one would expect the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Spain were on the list. So too were Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Back then, the People’s Republic of China was number 18. But fast forward twenty years and look at 2010. Five European countries (UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Belgium) made the list but new players abound. The “new world trade order” has Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, and the United Kingdom in the top five lineup. Italy has been supplanted by Singapore.

    Now let’s look at America’s imports. In 1990, four European countries (Germany, UK, France and Italy) were among the top fifteen. The top five still included Canada, Japan, Mexico, Germany and Taiwan. Fasten your seat belts please! In 2010, European countries made up five of the top fifteen sources of imports But the People’s Republic of China has shoved aside Canada, for first place, so the new top five list reads, China, Canada, Mexico, Japan and Germany.

    Equally by 2010, China became the world’s second largest economy, pushing Japan into third place.

    That the China Trade has swamped American markets, devastated industries, and decimated jobs is glaringly obvious. While American businessmen are gloating over a record $92 billion in exports to the Mainland in 2010, the USA imported $365 billion in products from the People’s Republic. Thus Washington’s trade deficit with Beijing hit a dazzlingly dangerous $273 billion and that’s in a recession! Looking at it another way, this is $273 billion sloshing around in China’s coffers gives Beijing the bling to keep up its global raw materials buying binge.

    Major American exports to China include commercial aircraft, semiconductors and sophisticated industrial machines.

    By now many readers may be saying and “what about India.?” All the hype about India overtaking China, the Dragon versus the Tiger, etc. Well last year India became the USA’s 14th top source of imports, just behind Nigeria. But look at the numbers. India imported $19 billion in goods from the U.S. while exporting $29 billion to the U.S. The trade deficit was just over $10 billion for the year. Looking at it another way, the U.S./PRC trade deficit in December alone was over $20 billion.

    To illustrate how things have changed in less than a generation, tiny but entrepreneurial Singapore (pop 5 million) now has larger two-way trade with the USA than does Italy (pop. 60 million). In today’s world high-tech items seem to surpass fine foods, wines and fashion. Clearly South Korea remains one of the USA’s top bilateral trading partners. In 2010 Korea was our 7th largest importer as well as exporter. Impressive indeed.

    Now at long last the Obama Administration has revived an earlier plan by former President George W. Bush to sign a FTA with South Korea. According to the free market oriented Cato Institute, a free trade pact with South Korea would promote both prosperity and security. The U.S./Korea Business Council adds that an additional $35 billion in exports and 345,000 American jobs would emerge from the package, yet to be ratified. Economic power is tilting towards East Asia and away from traditional West European partners. This allows Asia a growing commercial advantage as well as political weight in the global economic order.  

    John J. Metzler is a U.N. correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He writes weekly for WorldTribune.com.

    www.worldtribune.com, February 14, 2011

     

  • Euro vs. dollar

    Euro vs. dollar

    EurovsDollar

    © Photo: SXC.hu

    France is preparing a full-scale reform of the world financial system. Paris, which is chairing the G20 at present, is suggesting lowering the clout of the dollar, abandoning currency and trade wars, and focusing on economic cooperation.

    This is not the first initiative of the French authorities for radical reform of the financial system. Paris is practically the main critic of the European Central Bank’s policies and opponent of a strong Euro which is hitting national exports. This time, French Minister of Finance Christine Lagarde has put forward the idea of reforming the world financial system so as to rule out the possibility of the authorities of different countries manipulating currency rates. Dmitry Smyslov, an expert from the Institute of World Economics and International Relations at the Russian Academy of Sciences, agrees that the need for this reform is ripe.

    “The first problem is establishing an orderly, well-balanced international currency system, which is different from the one we have now, a system that is dollar-centric but not pinned to any realities or international agreements. The reason is that the Bretton Woods is no longer applied and now there are no clear-cut international boundaries within which the currency system functions.”

    The French Minister of Finance did not even try to conceal that she was first and foremost unhappy about the respective moves of the USA and China. Those two countries are rather openly pursuing weak national currency policies that are beneficial for local manufacturers but detrimental for European ones. Experts warn that for this very reason these two giants of the world economy will be against the radical reconstruction of the world financial system. Analysts recommend that Europe should start with itself, that is establish a uniform taxation system, strengthen the economic integration of the EU and, most importantly, sort out its debts. The burden of this indebtedness is what is worrying investors and discrediting the Old World currency, Dmitry Smyslov says.

    “Another issue for the EU authorities is improving how the European Currency Union functions. To achieve this aim, countries should agree upon their national budgets and centralize their coordination. Simultaneously, a permanent mechanism for helping countries in trouble should be set up.”

    It is not all that simple. Even the establishment of a 750 billion euro Rescue Fund in 2010 could not do without a scandal. Some countries openly declared that they did not want to bail out their imprudent neighbours. While the Europeans were arguing, China built up its gold reserves, adding 19% in 2010, and even began to buy up the bonds issued by European countries. This strengthened the yuan even more. The USA breathed down China’s neck, raising the value of the dollar, pumping cash into the market and selling more and more bonds to foreign investors. France is hardly likely to be able to change this situation without serious support from other members of the G20.

    , Feb 8, 2011

  • Should children learn a second language?

    Should children learn a second language?

    bilingual
    Elena Marqueto-Kelly teaches the advanced Spanish class for first- to third-graders at the Grupo Educa School. Bilingual parents have organized Sunday school at Blair East Elementary School in Pasadena to give their children more exposure to Spanish. (Axel Koester / For The Times

    By Amina Khan, Los Angeles Times

    Does being bilingual help children learn to prioritize information, provide a defense against some effects of Alzheimer’s or just provide a great workout for the brain?

    All of the above, according to studies discussed Friday at the 2011 American Assn. for the Advancement of Science meeting in Washington D.C., where a number of researchers presented on the benefits of being bilingual.

    Among the findings: that infants raised in bilingual households can tell unfamiliar foreign languages apart and that bilingual speakers who rapidly switch between languages are better mental multitaskers than their monolingual counterparts.

    Bilingual speakers rarely use the wrong language with a monolingual speaker. But knowing (and using) more than one language means that, if the listener knows both languages, speakers can switch between them to most accurately express their thoughts. This mental workout enhances what Pennsylvania State University psychology professor Judith Kroll, who spoke at the conference, called ‘cognitive control.’

    Learning to juggle two languages in the brain is a skill that probably deserves credit for bilinguals’ cognitive advantages — although, researchers stress, this doesn’t mean they learn any better than people who only speak one language.

    While the science seems to be coming to a positive consensus on bilingualism, bilingual education continues to be a controversial issue in public education policy.

    Think teaching children more than one language at a young age is good for young minds, or one that will get in the way of learning? Post your thoughts below.

    Follow me on Twitter @LAT_aminakhan.

    articles.latimes.com, February 21, 2011

  • Egypt protests: America’s secret backing for rebel leaders behind uprising

    Egypt protests: America’s secret backing for rebel leaders behind uprising

    The American government secretly backed leading figures behind the Egyptian uprising who have been planning “regime change” for the past three years, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

    By Tim Ross, Matthew Moore and Steven Swinford

    The American Embassy in Cairo helped a young dissident attend a US-sponsored summit for activists in New York, while working to keep his identity secret from Egyptian state police.

    On his return to Cairo in December 2008, the activist told US diplomats that an alliance of opposition groups had drawn up a plan to overthrow President Hosni Mubarak and install a democratic government in 2011.

    The secret document in full

    He has already been arrested by Egyptian security in connection with the demonstrations and his identity is being protected by The Daily Telegraph.

    The crisis in Egypt follows the toppling of Tunisian president Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali, who fled the country after widespread protests forced him from office.

    The disclosures, contained in previously secret US diplomatic dispatches released by the WikiLeaks website, show American officials pressed the Egyptian government to release other dissidents who had been detained by the police.

    Mr Mubarak, facing the biggest challenge to his authority in his 31 years in power, ordered the army on to the streets of Cairo yesterday as rioting erupted across Egypt.

    Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets in open defiance of a curfew. An explosion rocked the centre of Cairo as thousands defied orders to return to their homes. As the violence escalated, flames could be seen near the headquarters of the governing National Democratic Party.

    Police fired rubber bullets and used tear gas and water cannon in an attempt to disperse the crowds.

    At least five people were killed in Cairo alone yesterday and 870 injured, several with bullet wounds. Mohamed ElBaradei, the pro-reform leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, was placed under house arrest after returning to Egypt to join the dissidents. Riots also took place in Suez, Alexandria and other major cities across the country.

    William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, urged the Egyptian government to heed the “legitimate demands of protesters”. Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, said she was “deeply concerned about the use of force” to quell the protests.

    In an interview for the American news channel CNN, to be broadcast tomorrow, David Cameron said: “I think what we need is reform in Egypt. I mean, we support reform and progress in the greater strengthening of the democracy and civil rights and the rule of law.”

    The US government has previously been a supporter of Mr Mubarak’s regime. But the leaked documents show the extent to which America was offering support to pro-democracy activists in Egypt while publicly praising Mr Mubarak as an important ally in the Middle East.

    In a secret diplomatic dispatch, sent on December 30 2008, Margaret Scobey, the US Ambassador to Cairo, recorded that opposition groups had allegedly drawn up secret plans for “regime change” to take place before elections, scheduled for September this year.

    The memo, which Ambassador Scobey sent to the US Secretary of State in Washington DC, was marked “confidential” and headed: “April 6 activist on his US visit and regime change in Egypt.”

    It said the activist claimed “several opposition forces” had “agreed to support an unwritten plan for a transition to a parliamentary democracy, involving a weakened presidency and an empowered prime minister and parliament, before the scheduled 2011 presidential elections”. The embassy’s source said the plan was “so sensitive it cannot be written down”.

    Ambassador Scobey questioned whether such an “unrealistic” plot could work, or ever even existed. However, the documents showed that the activist had been approached by US diplomats and received extensive support for his pro-democracy campaign from officials in Washington. The embassy helped the campaigner attend a “summit” for youth activists in New York, which was organised by the US State Department.

    Cairo embassy officials warned Washington that the activist’s identity must be kept secret because he could face “retribution” when he returned to Egypt. He had already allegedly been tortured for three days by Egyptian state security after he was arrested for taking part in a protest some years earlier.

    The protests in Egypt are being driven by the April 6 youth movement, a group on Facebook that has attracted mainly young and educated members opposed to Mr Mubarak. The group has about 70,000 members and uses social networking sites to orchestrate protests and report on their activities.

    The documents released by WikiLeaks reveal US Embassy officials were in regular contact with the activist throughout 2008 and 2009, considering him one of their most reliable sources for information about human rights abuses.

    www.telegraph.co.uk, 28 Jan 2011

    Egypt protests: secret US document discloses support for protesters

    Here is the secret document sent from the US Embassy in Cairo to Washington disclosing the extent of American support for the protesters behind the Egypt uprising.

     

    S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 002572 SIPDIS FOR NEA/ELA, R, S/P AND H NSC FOR PASCUAL AND KUTCHA-HELBLING E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2028 TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, EG SUBJECT: APRIL 6 ACTIVIST ON HIS U.S. VISIT AND REGIME CHANGE IN EGYPT REF: A. CAIRO 2462 B. CAIRO 2454 C. CAIRO 2431 Classified By: ECPO A/Mincouns Catherine Hill-Herndon for reason 1.4 (d ).

    1. (C) Summary and comment: On December 23, April 6 activist xxxxxxxxxxxx expressed satisfaction with his participation in the December 3-5 \”Alliance of Youth Movements Summit,\” and with his subsequent meetings with USG officials, on Capitol Hill, and with think tanks. He described how State Security (SSIS) detained him at the Cairo airport upon his return and confiscated his notes for his summit presentation calling for democratic change in Egypt, and his schedule for his Congressional meetings. xxxxxxxxxxxx contended that the GOE will never undertake significant reform, and therefore, Egyptians need to replace the current regime with a parliamentary democracy. He alleged that several opposition parties and movements have accepted an unwritten plan for democratic transition by 2011; we are doubtful of this claim.

    xxxxxxxxxxxx said that although SSIS recently released two April 6 activists, it also arrested three additional group members. We have pressed the MFA for the release of these April 6 activists. April 6’s stated goal of replacing the current regime with a parliamentary democracy prior to the 2011 presidential elections is highly unrealistic, and is not supported by the mainstream opposition. End summary and comment.

    —————————- Satisfaction with the Summit —————————-

    2. (C) xxxxxxxxxxxx expressed satisfaction with the December 3-5 \”Alliance of Youth Movements Summit\” in New York, noting that he was able to meet activists from other countries and outline his movement’s goals for democratic change in Egypt. He told us that the other activists at the summit were very supportive, and that some even offered to hold public demonstrations in support of Egyptian democracy in their countries, with xxxxxxxxxxxx as an invited guest. xxxxxxxxxxxx said he discussed with the other activists how April 6 members could more effectively evade harassment and surveillance from SSIS with technical upgrades, such as consistently alternating computer \”simcards.\” However, xxxxxxxxxxxx lamented to us that because most April 6 members do not own computers, this tactic would be impossible to implement. xxxxxxxxxxxx was appreciative of the successful efforts by the Department and the summit organizers to protect his identity at the summit, and told us that his name was never mentioned publicly.

    ——————- A Cold Welcome Home ——————-

    3. (S) xxxxxxxxxxxx told us that SSIS detained and searched him at the Cairo Airport on December 18 upon his return from the U.S. According to xxxxxxxxxxxx, SSIS found and confiscated two documents in his luggage: notes for his presentation at the summit that described April 6’s demands for democratic transition in Egypt, and a schedule of his Capitol Hill meetings. xxxxxxxxxxxx described how the SSIS officer told him that State Security is compiling a file on him, and that the officer’s superiors instructed him to file a report on xxxxxxxxxxxx most recent activities.

    ——————————————— ———-

    Washington Meetings and April 6 Ideas for Regime Change

    ——————————————— ———-

    4. (C) xxxxxxxxxxxx described his Washington appointments as positive, saying that on the Hill he met with xxxxxxxxxxxx, a variety of House staff members, including from the offices of xxxxxxxxxxxx and xxxxxxxxxxxx), and with two Senate staffers. xxxxxxxxxxxx also noted that he met with several think tank members. xxxxxxxxxxxx said that xxxxxxxxxxxx’s office invited him to speak at a late January Congressional hearing on House Resolution 1303 regarding religious and political freedom in Egypt. xxxxxxxxxxxx told us he is interested in attending, but conceded he is unsure whether he will have the funds to make the trip. He indicated to us that he has not been focusing on his work as a \”fixer\” for journalists, due to his preoccupation with his U.S. trip. 5. (C) xxxxxxxxxxxx described how he tried to convince his Washington interlocutors that the USG should pressure the GOE to implement significant reforms by threatening to reveal CAIRO 00002572 002 OF 002 information about GOE officials’ alleged \”illegal\” off-shore bank accounts. He hoped that the U.S. and the international community would freeze these bank accounts, like the accounts of Zimbabwean President Mugabe’s confidantes. xxxxxxxxxxxx said he wants to convince the USG that Mubarak is worse than Mugabe and that the GOE will never accept democratic reform. xxxxxxxxxxxx asserted that Mubarak derives his legitimacy from U.S. support, and therefore charged the U.S. with \”being responsible\” for Mubarak’s \”crimes.\”

    He accused NGOs working on political and economic reform of living in a \”fantasy world,\” and not recognizing that Mubarak — \”the head of the snake\” — must step aside to enable democracy to take root.

    6. (C) xxxxxxxxxxxx claimed that several opposition forces — including the Wafd, Nasserite, Karama and Tagammu parties, and the Muslim Brotherhood, Kifaya, and Revolutionary Socialist movements — have agreed to support an unwritten plan for a transition to a parliamentary democracy, involving a weakened presidency and an empowered prime minister and parliament, before the scheduled 2011 presidential elections (ref C). According to xxxxxxxxxxxx, the opposition is interested in receiving support from the army and the police for a transitional government prior to the 2011 elections.

    xxxxxxxxxxxx asserted that this plan is so sensitive it cannot be written down. (Comment: We have no information to corroborate that these parties and movements have agreed to the unrealistic plan xxxxxxxxxxxx has outlined. Per ref C, xxxxxxxxxxxx previously told us that this plan was publicly available on the internet. End comment.)

    7. (C) xxxxxxxxxxxx said that the GOE has recently been cracking down on the April 6 movement by arresting its members. xxxxxxxxxxxx noted that although SSIS had released xxxxxxxxxxxx and xxxxxxxxxxxx \”in the past few days,\” it had arrested three other members. (Note: On December 14, we pressed the MFA for the release of xxxxxxxxxxxx and xxxxxxxxxxxx, and on December 28 we asked the MFA for the GOE to release the additional three activists. End note.) xxxxxxxxxxxx conceded that April 6 has no feasible plans for future activities.

    The group would like to call for another strike on April 6, 2009, but realizes this would be \”impossible\” due to SSIS interference, xxxxxxxxxxxx said. He lamented that the GOE has driven the group’s leadership underground, and that one of its leaders, xxxxxxxxxxxx, has been in hiding for the past week.

    8. (C) Comment: xxxxxxxxxxxx offered no roadmap of concrete steps toward April 6’s highly unrealistic goal of replacing the current regime with a parliamentary democracy prior to the 2011 presidential elections. Most opposition parties and independent NGOs work toward achieving tangible, incremental reform within the current political context, even if they may be pessimistic about their chances of success. xxxxxxxxxxxx wholesale rejection of such an approach places him outside this mainstream of opposition politicians and activists.

    SCOBEY02008-12-307386PGOV,PHUM,KDEM,EGAPRIL 6 ACTIVIST ON HIS U.S. VISIT AND REGIME CHANGE IN EGYPT

    www.telegraph.co.uk, 28 Jan 2011

     

     


  • Bank of India becomes first to offer trade settlement in yuan

    Bank of India becomes first to offer trade settlement in yuan

    Saibal Dasgupta

    yuan+dollarBEIJING: Bank of India has become the first Indian bank to offer trade settlement facility between the rupee and the Chinese RMB from Hong Kong. This follows intense persuasion by the China Banking Regulatory Commission, which is trying to gain acceptance of the RMB as an international currency.

    “We are the first Indian bank to offer real-time settlement facility in RMB to Indian exporters and importers. It will be save a lot of time because settlement in US dollars usually takes three working days,” Arun Kumar Arora, BoI’s chief executive in Hong Kong, said during a recent visit to meeting regulators in Beijing.

    Indian buyers are at present making payments in US dollars, and they often have to convert rupee into the US currency for the purpose. The US dollars will no more be the intermediary currency as the BOI is offering direct settlement between the rupee and the Chinese money.

    Chinese exporters want their money in the local currency, which is regarded as more stable compared to the US dollar. They are also in a position to have their way because Indian buyers do not have an alternative source of low-cost goods, sources said.

    The process has been facilitated by a recent memorandum of understanding signed between the Reserve Bank of India and the CBRC to enhance banking relationship between the two giant neighbors.

    BoI has opened a RMB with the Bank of China, which will provide real time settlement with buyers and sellers across all provinces of China. The move is part of a campaign by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which has persuaded 100 foreign banks to enter into arrangements with Chinese banks for trade settlement in RMB.

    “We will sell RMB against the US dollar, and companies can buy as much as they want provided they have the right papers. For individuals, the limit of 20,000 RMB a day,” Arora said. He expects settlements for an amount ranging between 200 million and 300 million in the first year.

    Hong Kong is the only offshore market for the Chinese currency. The past year saw $400 billion of Chinese yuan being traded in Hong Kong against other currencies.

    BoI is also awaiting permission from Chinese regulators to establish a branch in Beijing, where it has been running a representative office for the past four years. It has recently signed an MoU with the CBRC on converting the representative office into a branch. The bank has been running a branch in the boom city of Shenzhen for the past four years. The Shenzhen branch will also be involved in providing additional support for the trade settlement business.

    timesofindia.indiatimes.com, Feb 24, 2011,

  • A Middle East Without America?

    A Middle East Without America?

    By Pat Buchanan

    The fever sweeping the Middle East is now coursing through Libya, Yemen, Iran and Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based.

    In all four nations, state violence is being used to crush the rebels, and regime survival hangs on whether security forces and the army stand behind the government or stand aside.A new Middle East is dawning. What will it look like?

    Perhaps the nation to study is Turkey, which has already gone through a democratic and dramatic transformation.

    In 2000, Turkey was a reliable U.S. ally, a friend to Israel, an aspiring candidate for membership in the EU. Since then, Turkey has set a different course, welcomed by her people, that has measurably enhanced her prestige.Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s regime is far more Islamic than any Turkish government since the caliphate. He and his Justice and Development Party have effected constitutional reforms to curb the power of the judiciary and military, guardians of the secular state established by Kemal Ataturk in 1923. Scores of generals have been indicted for treason.

    Turkey refused President George W. Bush permission to use its territory to invade Iraq. Denied a fast track to membership in the EU, Turkey now looks to the south and east. Relations with Syria have been repaired. Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been welcomed in Istanbul.

    To the rage of Hillary Clinton, the Turks and Brazil cut a deal with Iran to transfer half the low-enriched uranium at Natanz out of the country. This was seen as undercutting U.S. policy. When the U.N. imposed the latest sanctions on Iran, Turkey voted no.

    “The Turks are out of their lane,” said a U.S. diplomat.

    Indeed they are. And as Turkey moves out of America’s orbit, she is moving back into a Muslim world much of which she ruled for centuries. A sure sign is the bristling hostility to Israel, with which Turkey has had close political and military ties.

    At Davos in 2009, in a debate with Shimon Peres about the Gaza war, Erdogan shouted at Israel’s president, “You know well how to kill,” stormed out and flew home to a hero’s welcome.Eight of the nine dissidents shot by Israeli commandos in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla trying to run the blockade were Turks. Erdogan’s backing of the flotilla and condemnation of Israel for a “bloody massacre” made him and Turkey more admired in Gaza than are Iran and Ahmadinejad.

    After that first week of demonstrations in Cairo, when Hosni Mubarak announced he would not run again for president, America dithered, but Erdogan declared that Mubarak should resign immediately.“The (Egyptian) people expect a very different decision from Mubarak,” Erdogan said. “The current administration does not inspire trust so far as the democratic change wanted by the population is concerned.”Erdogan abruptly canceled his February visit to Egypt.

    What, then, are the crucial elements of the new Turkish policy?

    First, a new deference and respect for Islam. Second, make Turkey the champion of the causes of the Arab and Muslim masses, foremost among which is the cause of the Palestinian people. Third, defy the United States and denounce Israel.What the Turks are about has been called “neo-Ottomanism,” a 21st century policy to reclaim the position they held for centuries.

    As the British elbowed aside the Ottoman Turks and the Americans shouldered aside the British after Suez, now it is America that appears to be the receding power in the Middle East and Turkey the rising power.Indeed, the American hour seems to be rapidly approaching its end.

    In weeks, President Ben Ali, our man in Tunis, was overthrown. Mubarak, our man in Egypt for 30 years, was overthrown. Hezbollah became the real power in the Lebanese government. The king of Jordan dismissed his prime minister and cabinet. For the first time, voices are speaking against the royal family, especially the king’s wife.

    The Palestinian Authority has been discredited by Wikileaks documents revealing the concessions it was prepared to make for a tiny rump state on the West Bank. Benjamin Netanyahu forced President Obama to back down completely from his demands that Israel halt new construction in East Jerusalem and all expansion of settlements on the West Bank. The Middle East peace process is dead.

    Our ally, the king of Bahrain, is now under siege. President Saleh of Yemen, our ally against al-Qaida, has been forced to pledge he will not run again in 2013, nor will his son. Pakistan is aflame with anti-Americanism.

    By year’s end, all U.S. troops are to be out of Iraq, where the influence of Iran is rising and the man behind the throne is the anti-American Muqtada al-Sadr.

    The U.S. press is transfixed by all this, but a question arises: What vital interest of a United States staring at bankruptcy would be imperiled if we got out of the way, stopped fighting these countries’ wars and paying these countries’ bills and let these people determine their own future for good or ill?

    (Patrick Joseph “Pat” Buchanan is an American conservative political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician andbroadcaster. Buchanan was a senior adviser to American Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN‘s Crossfire. He sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1992 and 1996. He ran on the Reform Party ticket in the 2000 presidential election).