Got chemistry, can relate

Personal chemistry is going to feature in relations that Singapore conducts with its two main neighbors, Indonesia and Malaysia. When all is said and done about treaties, memoranda of understanding and complementing one another's economic strengths, it is the easy, personable relationship the leaders enjoy that would smooth out discord and disagreements which are bound to crop up in competitive bilateral relations. The personal friendship that Mr Lee Kuan Yew developed with President Soeharto in his long years as prime minister was what brought harmony to dealings between two unlikely neighbors.

Conversely, an inability to "click" will be a serious impediment to ties in a region that is anything but homogeneous in governing ideology, ethnic makeup and levels of progress, besides contrasting world views. The power trajectory of the three countries' new leaders did not intersect fully. Mr Lee Hsien Loong and Abdullah Badawi of Malaysia had known each other reasonably well before they ascended the premiership. Still, they need to cultivate each other. But neither of them can be said to be "thick" yet with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who traveled in a different orbit until quite recently.

This is added reason why Prime Minister Lee should invest in his personal relationship with Susilo. It had been noticed in Jakarta -- with much appreciation -- that Mr Lee had attended the President's inauguration last month. His official hello call in Jakarta this week drew from his host warm words of friendship. Indonesian leaders of Javanese cultural reflex set much store by personal warmth and politesse. Naturally, frequent contact will not mean much if the chemistry is not right. The three new leaders are fairly equable in temperament. None seems given to dominating the other. There is a good chance they can hit it off, to the region's overall gain.

It is Singapore's lot, however, to have its leaders stereotyped as business-like, impatient to see results. This is no handicap, provided mutuality of interest is observed. On Mr Lee's visit, the Indonesians raised matters such as an extradition treaty and sand exports. Singapore has practical concerns about economic cooperation and the region's response to the terror threat. There are sensitivities on both sides. If there is chemistry in the mix, no issue can seem forbidding. -- The Straits Times, Singapore

Taking Fallujah

The combat in Fallujah is intense and the ultimate outcome cannot be certain.

The challenges that are presented by urban warfare, not least hidden roadside bombs, have been anticipated and new technology employed to limit the damage. It is, though, impossible to outwit all possible attacks and both the United States and Iraqi forces will sustain casualties.

Fallujah is not the only rebel stronghold. There are other places where law and order is far from ideal. But Fallujah has become a symbol of a wider contest. If the United States is seen to have won on the ground in military terms and the authorities in Baghdad are perceived to have regained political control outside the capital, Iraqis will feel far more secure.

The most important objective now is to ensure that as much of Iraq as possible is in a state where free and fair elections can be completed next year and full power handed to the representatives of the people. The fight for Fallujah will largely, but not exclusively, determine whether that entirely noble aim can be realised. --- The Times, London Arctic thaw

Not only has it moved beyond the realm of science fiction, but the Arctic ice cap's melting has been much faster than anyone has suspected. That is one of the important conclusions of a report published at the behest of the Arctic Council, a forum composed of eight nations with Arctic territories, including the United States.

The report describes some of the possible environmental effects of this change. Many northern animal species, including polar bears and seals, are likely to become extinct. Vegetation and animal migration patterns around the world will shift.

But although the report's scientific conclusions will be the subject of an international conference in Reykjavik, Iceland, the authors intentionally do not offer specific recommendations, political or environmental, on how to halt or cope with these changes.

Such recommendations are supposed to come from diplomats and indigenous representatives who will also be meeting at the Reykjavik summit, however. And already, these are the subject of controversy: Some participants have accused the Bush administration of resisting a mild endorsement of the report and of rejecting even vague language suggesting that greenhouse gas reduction might be part of the solution. Given the thorough nature of this report, and given that the election is now over, that would be inexcusable. At the very least, we hope that the final language reflects a practical, commonsensical and depoliticized approach to what will certainly be one of the most pressing environmental issues of the next half-century. --- The Washington Post

Battle for Fallujah

Many British people regard the battle beginning at Fallujah and last week's casualties among the Black Watch with dismay, even revulsion. They perceive an ugly predicament in Iraq growing worse by the day, and Tony Blair allowing hapless British troops to be dragged ever deeper into it. Here, they say, are the first fruits of the re-election of George W. Bush, an ignorant and dangerous man. Heaven help those shackled to his chariot wheels, when he really gets into his stride.

There are good reasons for questioning Bush's fitness to lead the world, and for savaging his administration's handling of Iraq. Yet it seems gravely mistaken to go beyond this and start to hope -- as so many French and German people hope -- that Washington's hubris will be humbled in the Sunni triangle. Even Bush's Western critics should beware of wanting him to fail in Eyerack.

Win or lose, we are in this together. If America fails, we all fail. If Iraq dissolves into anarchy, as well it may, the world will be the loser. The fact that the United States has not used its power wisely since 2003 does not diminish our profound need for this power, to save us from the consequences of failed and failing states. In Iraq, we are where we are. Political defeat or premature withdrawal threaten not only a vacuum and even greater bloodshed, but lasting damage to world order.

If Iraq is to have any chance of becoming viable, January's elections are critical. It is impossible to make every part of the country secure for polling in the next two months, but the insurgents must be pushed back and weakened. Breaking their hold on Fallujah is a crucial step. -- The Telegraph, London

Deportation from Oman

Among factors that have given a bad image to Pakistan is illegal immigration. As a news item reveals, the deportation by Oman of 602 more Pakistanis brings the number of those expelled from that country to 33,000 in four years. If to this are added Pakistanis deported from other countries, the number reaches mind-boggling proportions. Most of them are poor and illiterate people from rural areas. They left the country because of lack of job opportunities. Which is a reflection on our ability to have a more productive agricultural sector.

Pakistan is lucky because its agriculture is dependent on irrigation and not on the vagaries of nature. Unfortunately, several factors have inhibited the growth of agriculture, the foremost being an outdated land-ownership pattern that does not give the tiller of the soil a strong stake in productivity. Invariably, our peasant is poor and illiterate. For that reason he is left with only one option -- to go to the cities in search of jobs. There, he often falls victim to "the Dubai syndrome".

The way the unscrupulous among the recruiting agents exploit these people is a story unto itself. They ask them to pledge many months' salaries in advance before being smuggled to the Gulf countries. Invariably, it is the illegal immigrants who are caught and punished and not the recruiting agents who thrive on the former's misery. The only way to stop illegal emigration is first to improve the country's economic condition and provide jobs to the people so that the compulsion to migrate is not there. At the same time, the government should keep an eye on the activities of recruiting agents.

The illiterate emigrants often do not know the basics of modern travel and immigration rules. Consequently, they lend themselves to manipulation by recruiting agents. What the government can do is to do some "debriefing" when a batch of illegal immigrants returns, find out who sent them abroad illegally and take action against those responsible. This should include jail terms, besides canceling the recruiting companies' license to operate.

-- The Dawn, Karachi

;AP; ANPA ..r.. Editorial Roundup UNDATED: to everyone. JP/

UNDATED: to everyone. [ Helsingin Sanomat, Helsinki, Finland, on the Fallujah offensive,

The second attempt by the United States to quell the insurgency in the Sunni area of Fallujah is a telling example of the bad choices the occupying force has been forced to make, caused by its own earlier mistakes and neglect. Unless Fallujah and other similar hotbeds fall under the control of the interim government, the elections planned for January cannot be plausibly held.

But if the civilian casualties and material damage caused by the offensive are great the rage of the populace could grow and the already limited ability of the government would collapse and elections become even more impossible.

The previous attempt at occupying (Fallujah) in April was suspended precisely because the price to pay was considered too great. The United States cannot afford another failure if not for anything else but its own prestige, and the recent election victory has given President George W. Bush's administration a freer hand.

However, the destructive strikes in recent days in various parts of Iraq are an indication that the insurgency is not limited to a few separate hotbeds. The United States can easily win every individual fight, but its strength and resources don't seem to be sufficient to bring peace to the whole expansive country. [ Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colorado, on the legacy of Yasser Arafat:

On Sept. 9, 1993, Yasser Arafat signed a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin pledging that the Palestine Liberation Organization "recognizes the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security." That was a lie, and it is one of many reasons the world should not mourn the passing of this petty tyrant. ...

The list of crimes the PLO chairman has incited or been associated with over the years would stain every page of a good- sized book. Highlights, however, would include the slaughter of athletes at the 1972 Olympics by Black September; the assassination of U.S. diplomats in Sudan in 1973; the massacre of schoolchildren at Maalot in 1974; a bus hijacking that killed 35 civilians in 1978; the slaying of Leon Klinghoffer on the Achille Lauro in 1985; the torture and execution of Palestinian dissidents, especially during the intifada of the late 1980s and early '90s; and the suicide bombings of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in more recent years.

... Arafat's death will provide Palestinians with an opportunity to turn away from the violence of half a century to choose a more productive course. ... --- On the Net: http://insidedenver.com/drmn/opinion/article/0,1299,DRMN-38-3306492,0 0.html ---

Bradenton Herald, Bradenton, Florida, on Bush and his political capital:

President Bush certainly is entitled to "spend the political capital" he earned by winning re-election. ... The big question is, how much will his capital buy in what could be a contentious "marketplace," a Congress and nation sharply divided by war, social-values issues and fiscal policy.

Bush's tone and demeanor at last week's post-election news conference indicated he sees his victory as a mandate for a broad agenda of domestic reforms on which he campaigned. Certainly, compared to some elections in which the victor claimed a mandate by a far smaller margin -- John F. Kennedy did so after beating Richard Nixon by 2/10 of 1 percent -- Bush's 51 to 48 percent, 3.5 million-vote margin over John Kerry could empower the president to set ambitious goals for his second term. ...

Certainly the president is entitled to push the policies that he thinks are in the nation's best interests. But it would be a mistake to do so in a partisan atmosphere. He pledged to work across party lines to help heal the rifts caused by the campaign. If he breaks that pledge, he could find himself in the same failed-second-term syndrome as some predecessors who overreached. Bush indeed has political capital. We only hope he spends it wisely. --- On the Net: http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/04/11/07/edi-editorial002.cfm --- San Francisco Chronicle, on the Fallujah attack:

The immediate military outcome of the offensive by U.S. soldiers and Marines against insurgents in control of Fallujah is hardly in doubt. Our troops, accompanied for symbolic purposes by thin ranks of newly trained Iraqis, will take charge of the city, notorious for the killings and dismemberment of four American contractors last March.

... The Fallujah offensive is supported by the interim Iraqi government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi in the hope that pacifying Fallujah will help the country to hold credible national elections in January.

Yet, questions remain about the likely success of this strategy. Some in the minority Sunni community threaten to boycott the voting, while clerical leaders of the Shiite majority see it as their path to power.

... United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is not confident that Iraqi violence can be quelled sufficiently to create an effective election climate, or that a military offensive now will aid the democratic cause. He warned against launching the Fallujah offensive. ...

The Bush administration's policy for remaking Iraq faces hard testing in the next few months. --- On the Net: http://sfgate.com ---

Lebanon Daily News, Lebanon, Pennsylvania, on the killing of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh:

Many Americans may have missed the story of how Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh was shot, had his throat cut and had a long jihadist manifesto pinned to his flesh with a knife as he cried out for mercy. This happened in Amsterdam, the most pacific and tolerant of European capitals, in broad daylight, last Tuesday.

Van Gogh, the great-grandnephew of the famous artist, was a provocative satirist and social critic with secular postmodern liberal views. His film "Submission," features a woman in a see- through burka telling the story of an abusive and violent marriage from which her own family would not protect her for religious reasons. ...

The suspect in Van Gogh's death is a 26-year-old Moroccan immigrant who belonged to the same Islamist cult as Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, who directs the jihad in Iraq. ...

... There can be no place in Western civilization for people who react to those who offend them by murdering them in cold blood or issuing religious edicts calling for their death. ...

... Also deplorable is the apparent answering crime to Van Gogh's death: The bombing of an Islamic elementary school on Sunday. The bomb, whether by design or great good fortune, went off at 3:30 a.m. The most hopeful thing we could say is that the bombers were trying to send a message without sending blood into the gutters, but hate is hate, and crime is crime, and the bombing, like the murder, was both. ---- On the Net: http://www.ldnews.com/Stories/0,1413,139101412523478,00.html --- The Post-Standard, Syracuse, New York, on morality:

Morality may be the surprise issue of the 2004 campaign. But whose morality?

According to exit poll interviews, one-fifth of the voters cited "moral values" as their chief concern. Words like "morality," "faith" and "family values" seemed to resonate as never before in the electorate. And of those voters, eight in 10 picked President Bush.

This doesn't mean challenger John Kerry is somehow less "moral" than Bush. The former altar boy who carried a rosary and Bible with him on the campaign trail has no less "faith" than the incumbent. So how come his "values" failed to impress all those American voters?

... If you don't happen to be an evangelical Christian; if your views of "morality" and "family values" don't include a ban on gay marriage or civil unions, outlawing abortion and embryonic stem-cell research; if you are uncomfortable erasing the line between church and state; this election provided only cold comfort. --- On the Net: http://www.syracuse.com/opinion/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/opinion- 3/1099648586315781.xml --- The Herald, Everett, Washington, on President Bush's second term:

If people learned anything about George W. Bush in his first term, it's that he isn't afraid to think big. Those who love him admire his zeal; those who loathe him are terrified by it.

The mild overture he made to Democrats following his re- election last week hardly signaled a retreat from his aggressive style. It was an invitation to help him implement his party's goals, not an offer to compromise them. But even in that light, the president has a rare and real opportunity to forge consensus and make historic progress on some difficult, long-standing issues.

Two of them: Social Security reform and the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.

Social Security, as Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has warned repeatedly, cannot in its current form support the impending retirement of 77 million baby boomers. Major changes must be made, and they'll be unpopular. ...

In the Middle East, the distraction of the war in Iraq kept the Israeli-Palestinian peace process on the back burner of U.S. foreign policy. Now, with a leadership change coming to the Palestinian Authority, the president should seize the moment and reassert traditional U.S. leadership. ...

Historic opportunities don't often intersect with a leader who has the vision and political capital to take advantage of them. We hope this president realizes that. --- On the Net: http://www.heraldnet.com/

GetAP 1.00 -- NOV 12, 2004 01:22:26 ;AP; ANPA ..r.. Editorial Roundup By The Associated Press= JP/

By The Associated Press= Here are excerpts from editorials in newspapers around the world: ---

--- On the Net: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion [ -- La Nacion, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on post-election Afghanistan:

For the first time in 5,000 years, Afghans have freely chosen their national leaders. Hamid Karzai was declared the winner in the first presidential elections in the country, which has been plagued for years by tyranny, wars and high levels of poverty.

After three weeks of investigating, authorities determined there was no fraud that should invalidate the result of the elections. The joint electoral committee that Afghans formed with the United Nations confirmed that Karzai earned 55.4 percent of the votes cast Oct. 9. In addition, a call has been made for opponents to cease fighting and work together to rebuild the nation. ...

The country's economy has grown by 15 percent over the last three years, small businesses have multiplied, and some 3.3 million refugees living in neighboring countries have returned. These positive facts inspire hope that the first electoral process in Afghanistan will mark an opportunity to end the enormous poverty ... that prevails in that society. --- On the Net: http://www.lanacion.com.ar/opinion/Nota.asp?nota-id=652116 [ Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Munich, Germany, on the U.S. and Iraqi offensive in Fallujah:

The offensive in Fallujah is filled with political and military symbolism, which is why America's future in Iraq could be decided in this city.

The attack by U.S. troops and Iraqi National Guard members falls between two elections.

In the United States, the commander in chief has just been freshly legitimized. ... In Iraq , elections are supposed to be held in January, by which time the offensive should long have been successfully concluded.

Such a success would strengthen the incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister, (Ayad) Allawi.

But Fallujah is more than a town -- it is now the symbol of resistance, it is the insurgents' recruitment office. ...

This, in the eyes of the occupied nation, is where its relationship with the occupiers will be decided. For the Americans, Fallujah is supposed to become an example of strength and determination.

Washington cannot accept terrorism and Islamic extremism becoming established. --- On the Net: http://www.sueddeutsche.de [ La Stampa, Turin, Italy, on Bush's administration:

With 59 million Republican votes at his side, President George W. Bush begins to design his strategy for the new four year term. ... Don't pull back a millimeter from the fight against terrorism and stay on the offensive against those States that support it, without repeating the same mistakes committed in Iraq.

Bush wants to stay on the offensive against terror because this is the mandate he received by an electorate who has rewarded the idea that only by promoting freedom worldwide, you can obtain freedom domestically.

We are now at a time when the new administration takes shape and this is the right moment for Europe to attempt to influence the course of events in Washington. It's not a coincidence that Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair is to arrive at the White House and France's Foreign Minister Michel Barnier has launched the proposal to strengthen the dialogue between the US and the European Union. Both will put Bush's intentions to the test. --- On the Net: http://www.lastampa.it/redazione/default.asp [ Stavanger Aftenbladet, Stavanger, Norway, on the U.S. elections:

It was the biggest turnout since 1960. The Kerry camp was overjoyed. Commentators in the U.S. and Europe were sure that a big turnout would help the Democrats. Instead, George W. Bush, with his message of patriotism and conservative Christian values, had the largest reserves.

For liberal America, this must be food for thought. Bush is the most controversial president since Richard Nixon. He is mired in Iraq, which costs American lives every week. He hasn't created new jobs. He has given huge tax breaks to the rich. And he has the majority on his side anyway. ...

The Republicans, the party for the economic elite, managing to mobilize average citizens is result of a weakening link between the economy and politics. ...

With the economy removed from politics, values, culture and style moved in. ... Bush has managed to play on the antipathy rural voters and laborers often feel toward the urbane, liberal elite.

(For the Democrats) a key question will be how to renew a dialogue with the social groups they alienated. --- On the Net: http://stavanger-aftenblad.no/

[

Singapore Straits Times, on Arafat's legacy:

The imminent departure of the gravely-ill Yasser Arafat will remove the only icon that Palestinians have had since their land was transformed by the United Nations into the Jewish state of Israel 56 years ago. He reinvented himself from being a civil engineer in Kuwait, part of the six-million-strong Palestinian diaspora living in various countries but not in the independent state that it yearned to have.

He was a practitioner of the in-your-face school of politics whose primary weapon was his personal veto: No to opportunities for Palestinian statehood offered by sympathetic leaders like former U.S. President Bill Clinton, no to anything other than full and complete possession of the historical Palestinian homeland -- the maximalist approach that Israel would never countenance. Like many ambitious men with a driving dream and an emotionally charged constituency, Arafat substituted stubbornness for statesmanship. That is why Palestinians now lack a clear voice for their cause. Arafat has left behind only a tattered flag for them.

That flag will never be hoisted in an independent Palestine unless the re-elected and energized U.S. President George W. Bush brings intransigent Israelis, Palestinians of all ideological hues, the overly cautious Europeans and the United Nations, to the bargaining table.

As Arafat's name becomes one for the ages, it is fair to ask: What if he had been more practical on behalf of dispossessed Palestinians and less focused on grandstanding? His flag would have stood for full-fledged statehood today, not as a symbol of a worthy cause that failed during his extraordinary lifetime. Say this for Yasser Arafat: he was sui generis but that was not enough. --- On the Net: http://www.straitstimes.com/ [ The Egyptian Gazette, Cairo, Egypt, on Arafat:

Like comatose Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian cause is clinging to life. Both have been co-related for decades. But Arafat's passing should by no means sound the death knell to the long- unresolved problem.

Arafat is an enduring symbol of his people's struggle for nationhood. He epitomizes their dream for ending Israeli oppression and forging a new future. Like all freedom fighters, Arafat's larger-than-life stature will live on. What will things be like after Arafat's departure? The question is on the minds of several sides ... the Palestinians, the Israelis and the United States.

Tel Aviv and Washington have been at pains to marginalize Arafat, depicting him as a main obstacle to making peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Arafat's physical disappearance is most likely to come to the pleasure of both Israel and the United States. They will be hankering after finding someone to step into his shoes. Of course, this hand- picked successor will have to promote the American-Israeli agenda.

Arafat's disappearance may galvanize the United States to revive efforts to broker an end to the Palestinian-Israeli feud. These endeavors should be sincere, impartial, and most important of all, based on U.N. resolutions. Sticking to these yardsticks holds the key to a happy ending to everyone. --- On the Net: http://www.eltahrir.net [ MORE[

GetAP 1.00 -- NOV 12, 2004 01:15:35