The surprise release of leading Malaysian opposition figure

The surprise release of leading Malaysian opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim from jail two weeks ago led to intense speculation about whether he would become active in politics again. The world got its answer yesterday, when Malaysias highest court denied Anwars petition to have a corruption case against him reopened, thus virtually guaranteeing he will not play a leadership role of any kind.

The decision to let Anwars corruption conviction stand delivers the final blow to his political ambitions and neutralizes a possible rival for power. The outcome is far too tidy and convenient for Abdullah's government, as well as being legally questionable.

In releasing him from jail, the court overturned a sodomy conviction that Anwar has always insisted was based on trumped up charges. That it chose not to reopen the related corruption conviction makes little sense. In essence, he stands convicted of trying to cover up a crime he did not commit.

The corruption case should have been reopened. That it was not leaves the world with the unnecessary impression that the judiciary is not as independent as it should be. The only alternative, a royal pardon, is not politically feasible for Mr Anwar because seeking one would be considered an admission of guilt.

It is a shame, then, that the latest ruling against Anwar means reforms will stop well short of opening up Malaysias political scene. more

-- South China Morning Post, Hong Kong

The factors that led to prison abuse

Two recently concluded inquiries into the abuse of prisoners by U.S. military personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad dealt only briefly with what might have been the most shocking policy failure: the neglect of U.S. officials to plan for anything but the most rosy scenario in the wake of Baghdad's capture.

The relevance of all this to the Abu Ghraib prison problem is that in October 2003, the facility held 7,000 prisoners and had a guard force of only 90 people, many of whom could not speak the languages of the detainees.

The abuses at Abu Ghraib shocked many Americans. What should be more shocking was the fact that so many top officials apparently believed the "cakewalk" theory. The first false assumption was that almost all Iraqis would be so pleased to be "liberated" that occupation would present no major problems. The second was that the remnants of the old regime would simply fade into the woodwork and not resist. The third was a failure to anticipate that occupied Iraq would become a magnet for every jihadist in the region with an itch to kill Americans and other infidels.

Bush administration hawks apparently so believed their own spin that they had no plan B or plan C. U.S. military personnel in Iraq are paying for this failure still, often with their lives. -- The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colorado

S. Korea's alleged nuclear weapons developments

Following the revelation that the Korea Atomic Energy Research (KAER) conducted experiments to enrich uranium four years ago, some foreign press agencies have raised suspicions that Korea attempted to develop nuclear weapons.

Many countries possess the technology to concentrate radioactive isotope material using lasers. The KAER also did the experiment to separate materials for medical purposes, but found out it was uneconomical and suspended the experiment.

The research team said that just before dismantling the equipment ... it experimented out of an investigative mind to see whether it was possible to enrich uranium using lasers.

It requires 15 kg of uranium to build nuclear weapons, but the amount of enriched uranium produced in the KAER's experiment was only 0.2 kg.

Moreover, Korea voluntarily reported the experiment. At the time of the experiment, the facilities of the KAER were not on the list of the inspection of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the KAER was not obliged to report its activity.

In addition, the U.S. State Department spokesman said ... "Korea is cooperating fully and proactively in order to demonstrate that the activity has been eliminated and it is no longer cause for concern." The most worrying thing is that using the issue as an excuse, North Korea may refuse to hold six-way talks to resolve its nuclear issue.

The government should try to resolve suspicion raised by the international community as soon as possible by clearly explaining the issue in detail to the IAEA inspection team.

-- Chosun Ilbo, Seoul

U.S. presidential race

A bullish George Bush has given the Republican convention in New York the message that delegates wanted to hear. Now the big test will be whether he will find it equally easy to convince the U.S. that he is the man who can keep America safe.

His objective is to re-establish his credentials with a public which still harbours doubts about the basis for the war on Iraq. But above all, Mr. Bush's strategy is to sound decisive and forceful in order to undermine his challenger, Senator John Kerry.

After a succession of attacks on the credibility of his claims about his war record, the Democrat candidate is suddenly looking vulnerable. A number of vitriolic diatribes were directed at Mr. Kerry at the Republican convention, and some have struck home.

Above all, Americans want a strong leader who can defend their country, and protect their troops overseas. The debate about whether the invasion of Iraq was justified is being eclipsed by the more pressing challenge of how best to get the troops home.

With the conventions over, both parties now launch out on the final 60-day phase of the hustings. As the candidates tour from state to state, a bitter and intense struggle can be anticipated.

Events will be watched not just in the U.S. but further afield. Even though America does not have as direct an influence on the peace process as it had in the Clinton days, the outcome could have a bearing on Northern Ireland. -- Belfast Telegraph, Northern Ireland

Los Angeles Times, on 1,000 troops perishing in Iraq:

Six U.S. soldiers were killed, two Italian aid workers were kidnapped and warplanes bombed a Sunni enclave in Fallouja, a city mostly off-limits to coalition troops. It was just another day in the war Tuesday, except for the numbers. By this morning, Iraq time, the Associated Press count of casualties stated that 1,000 U.S. troops had been killed in Iraq, aside from more than 100 other coalition soldiers and thousands of Iraqi noncombatants. And many thousands more have been wounded.

It is an obvious point at which to ask: To what end are U.S. personnel continuing to die? What is it that commanders should tell their troops as they head into lethal streets?

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday that violence was increasing because insurgents viewed peaceful balloting, set for January, and a democratic constitution as enemies. That conclusion is debatable, perhaps even a smoke screen. What's not in doubt is insurgents' view of U.S. troops as the enemy. It's a belief that unites adherents of the Sunni brand of Islam, who have forced coalition troops out of much or all of the cities of Fallouja, Ramadi and Samarra, and the Shiite Muslims who fought the Americans in the sacred city of Najaf. ...

The U.S. will not win a war of attrition. Such wars do not favor occupying armies. Enclaves off-limits to soldiers give insurgents staging areas. ...

Invading nations have an obligation to try to repair the damage they cause, but armies also need a clearly defined mission. How much are U.S. troops supposed to rebuild? Are they still meant to install democracy? Or will the U.S. settle for any kind of political stability, even if repressive clerics rule the country? ...

Soldiers and Marines deserve to know, as they head out to face snipers and roadside bombs, what they're meant to accomplish for that price. ---

Daily Telegraph, London, on Vladimir Putin and terrorism in Russia:

Vladimir Putin's refusal to negotiate with Chechen separatists ... will find a broad echo among Russians. Hatred of the Chechens was strong enough before last week. Beslan will have intensified it and thereby further legitimized Mr. Putin's refusal to compromise.

However, on solving the Chechen problem, Mr. Putin seems to have run out of options. He has tried the military one in the shape of a second war, which gave the Kremlin control of the plain, but left the population largely disaffected. He has embarked on the political one through Chechenisation, but that was probably given the coup de grace in May by the assassination of Akhmad Kadyrov, the Kremlin's protege. By treating all separatists as beyond the pale, the president has boxed himself into a corner in which political legitimacy is spuriously claimed through rigged elections.

Given the deep-seated corruption of the Russian security forces and bureaucracy, this is unlikely to be the last incident of its kind.

With each new terrorist attack, Mr. Putin's reputation as the strongman who can sort out Chechnya will suffer. At the moment, he is riding on a wave of sympathy for the dead and grieving in North Ossetia. But questions are being asked about his handling of the siege, both within Russia and abroad, notably from the Dutch presidency of the European Union and Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the French prime minister. Having propelled Mr. Putin to power, Chechnya has become a wasting asset. ---

Egyptian Gazette, Cairo, Egypt, on Ibrahim al-Douri:

The U.S.-backed interim Iraqi government hoped the capture of Saddam Hussein's second-in- command would be a feather in its cap. But the Iraqi government ended up with egg all over its face, calling into question their cohesion and credibility. First they said they'd apprehended Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri. Then they said they hadn't. The announcement was paradoxically made by senior officials in the Iraqi government. ...

(Al-Douri's) detention would not have been more timely. It would have boosted the morale of the U.S. and Iraqi forces, proving that they are moving towards re-establishing security in post-Saddam Iraq. Washington has long blamed al-Douri for orchestrating attacks against its troops. His arrest, therefore, would have deprived the anti-U.S. insurgents of a major mastermind. The problem is that early announcements that al-Douri was in Iraqi hands after a battle in Tikrit have been withdrawn. It may turn out to have been an illusion by the U.S. satraps in Baghdad. ...

The U.S. command in Iraq and the embattled government of Ayad Allawi were hoping for a propaganda coup from netting al-Douri, distracting attention away from the quasi-endemic anarchy in the country. His detention would have sealed the fate of the Saddam regime once and for all. Furthermore, it would take the lid off the atrocities perpetrated under the toppled dictator. It would certainly raise more voices to bring Saddam and his lieutenants to justice. But until, or if, al-Douri is arrested (or Sunday's first report is verified), the confusion surrounding his capture continues to demonstrate the new government's ineffectiveness and wishful thinking. ---

GetAP 1.00 -- SEP 10, 2004 00:27:44