Titles:

• Eurozone Crisis Could Cause Collapse of Global Banking System, Warns Citigroup’s Willem Buiter
• America’s Child Death Shame
• US Army to Fly ‘Suicide’ Drones
• Think 10 Times Before Moving into Pakistan: Army Chief Warns US

News Details:

Eurozone crisis could cause collapse of global banking system, warns Citigroup’s Willem Buiter:

The world banking system could collapse if eurozone leaders fail to curb the region’s sovereign debt crisis, according to Citigroup’s chief economist Willem Buiter. “If things get out of hand in the euro area, no bank in the financial integrated world will stand,” he told a parliamentary committee. Mr Buiter, a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, said the recapitalisation of banks and other systemically important institutions should be a priority in the region. “If they don’t, we are setting ourselves up for a financial crisis following the sovereign crisis,” he said, giving evidence at a session of the House of Lords EU Economic and Financial Affairs Sub-Committee on the eurozone crisis. Mr Buiter said he was not hopeful that “a grand plan, a grand design, [or] even a big bazooka for that matter” would emerge from the European leaders summit in Brussels on Sunday, or at the G20 summit in Cannes on November 3 and 4. “There will be some progress, but very limited,” he said. “It’s going to take months, probably well in 2012, before we have clarity about how Spain and Italy will be ring-fenced, guaranteed funding, how the banks will be recapitalised and how much of them will end up being majority state owned – I expect a significant number of them.”

The super rich a scaremongering again. They want to ensure that governments and the European people do not oppose the measure they are suggesting to ensure that their wealth is protected at the expense of all others. There foremost priority is to limit the debt crisis to a few countries and prevent a contagion, which will bring the whole system down and destroy their wealth.

America’s child death shame:

Sixty-six children under the age of 15 die from physical abuse or neglect every week in the industrialised world. Twenty-seven of those die in the US – the highest number of any other country. Every five hours a child dies from abuse or neglect in the US. The latest government figures show an estimated 1,770 children were killed as a result of maltreatment in 2009. A recent congressional report concludes the real number could be nearer 2,500. In fact, America has the worst child abuse record in the industrialised world. Scale of the abuse is mindboggling. Even when populations are taken into account, Unicef research from 2001 places the US equal bottom with Mexico on child deaths from maltreatment.

Islam has forbidden the neglect of children and has made it obligatory for parents to provide food, clothing, shelter and to meet the various other requirements of their children. The messenger (s.a.w) of Allah said, “It is enough sin for a person that he ignores those whom he is responsible for.” [Abu Dawood]. Thus, within the Islamic framework children are regarded as a blessing and the family is viewed as playing a pivotal role in the stability of society.

US Army to fly ‘suicide’ drones:

A miniature suicide drone designed to quietly hover in the sky before dive-bombing and slamming into a human target will soon be part of the US Army’s arsenal, officials say. Dubbed the “Switchblade,” the robotic aircraft represents the latest attempt by the United States to refine how it takes out suspected militants. Weighing less than two kilos, the drone is small enough to fit into a soldier’s backpack and is launched from a tube, with wings quickly folding out as it soars into the air, according to manufacturer AeroVironment. Powered by a small electric motor, the Switchblade transmits video in real time from overhead, allowing a soldier to identify an enemy, the company said in a press release last month.

At last, the US government has confirmed that suicide bombing even though it is carried out by machines is a valid tactic in military warfare.

France begins withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan:

France is set to pull out nearly 200 troops from Afghanistan in a few hours, kickstarting withdrawals announced three months ago by Paris. Another 200 soldiers are due to return home before Christmas as part of Nato’s plan to end combat mission by 2014. France has some 4,000 troops in Afghanistan and 75 of its soldiers have died in the country since 2001.Several countries, including, the US, the UK, Canada and Belgium, have also announced plans to withdraw troops. Some US and Canadian troops have already headed home, handing over responsibilities for security to Afghan forces.The US plans to withdraw 33,000 soldiers by the end of 2012.Most French soldiers are deployed in the district of Surobi and in the neighbouring province of Kapisa. “We are carrying out a proportional withdrawal,” French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet told France Inter radio ahead of Wednesday’s withdrawal.

At a time when America is contemplating an attack on Pakistan, America’s ally has decided to withdraw some of its troops. The Dutch have already withdrawn their troops and it is clear that the European contingent of NATO countries is not supporting America’s war on terror. So what is preventing Pakistan’s leadership from saying NO to America’s war on terror and severing all ties?

Think 10 times before moving into Pakistan: Army chief warns US:

Amid escalating tensions, Pakistan’s all powerful army chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, has warned the US not to launch any military offensive into his country’s tribal region. Asking the US to “think 10 times” before moving into North Waziristan region from Afghanistan, Kayani reminded the Americans that Pakistan was a nuclear power and should not be compared with Iraq or Afghanistan. The army chief, who has been smarting since US commandos intruded into Pakistan and killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani town in May, was addressing members of parliament’s defence committee on Tuesday. But Kayani did not specify what Pakistan would do if American troops, now massed on the Afghan side of the border, did move into North Waziristan hunting for the militant Haqqani network. US officials are linking the Haqqani group with Pakistani’s intelligence agencies and say it has stepped up attacks on American interests in Afghanistan, with some tacit Pakistani backing. Xinhua quoted a participant as saying that the general rejected US allegations that Pakistan was using the Taliban-linked Haqqani network for waging a proxy war in Afghanistan. Pakistan, Kayani insisted, was a part of a solution to the Afghan tangle, not the problem. The US is livid with the Pakistani establishment for not taking strong action against the Haqqani group. The Americans say Pakistan, which remains obsessed with India’s growing clout in Afghanistan, is trying to keep alive the Haqqani network so that it plays a role in any Kabul dispensation once the US army pulls out. Kayani said he had told the Americans that Pakistan would go for military action in the region if the situation demanded but not under any pressure. “If somebody convinces me that military action in North Waziristan will resolve all problems, I am ready to go for it tomorrow,” he said.

Has not the time for warning passed? If Kayani is sincere then he should immediately cut the supply linesto NATO forces, expel the US diplomatic and military staff, and actively buttress Pakistan’s ability to repel any attack. This includes mobilising nuclear weapons and making them active. Actions speak louder than words, and the time for action is here and now.

22 Dhu al-Qi’dah 1432
2011/10/20