-Caveat Lector- >From the SundayHerald (UK) Stray bombs raise doubts over Nato's military strength By David Wragg Publication Date: May 23 1999 THE Nato bomb which missed a Serb barracks and struck a hospital's maternity wing may be an indication of the way in which the war in the Balkans is evolving. Hardly a week goes by without a bomb or missile missing its target and killing civilians. Neutral Sweden and Switzerland have now been added to the countries angered by accidental damage to an embassy or a diplomatic residence. Operations over the former Yugoslavia have highlighted a growing shortage of ammunition, most marked among the so-called "smart" munitions - those which should guarantee accuracy. Collateral damage has been a real problem throughout due to poor weather and the desire to avoid Nato losses, which has forced aircraft to aim from the relatively high altitude of 15,000ft. Now there are questions over the Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. Supposedly one of the most potent weapons systems available, and essential if ground forces are to be dep loyed, it cannot carry a full warload at 10,000ft to fly over Yugoslavia's mountains. More than 60 of these aircraft are on order for the British Army. The United States Air Force has received emergency funding to convert 92 air-launched cruise missiles from nuclear to conventional warheads, to replace those already expended in the campaign, at a cost of $5.1 million. The USAF is pressing for the work to be speeded up and demanding similar treatment for another 230 missiles. The Royal Navy also wants quicker deliveries of its submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have been fired more quickly than can be replaced by deliveries of two a month. On Monday, in The Herald, Ian Bruce drew attention to the Ministry of Defence's request to Saudi Arabia for the "loan" of 1,000lb bombs supplied under the terms of the Al Yamamah arms contract. The growing shortage of muni tions exposes the weaknesses of many Nato powers. Successive defence budget cuts - with that for the UK being cut by the equivalent of £6 billion to £22bn in real terms since 1990 - have undermined effectiveness. Rather than cut units and manpower, hidden cuts such as ammunition procurement have been an easy option. The problem arises because of the high cost of smart wea pons. A cruise missile costs upwards of £650,000, with the Royal Navy spending £150 million on 65 Tomahawk cruise missiles and the expensive conversion of an initial four nuclear submarines to carry these. Suppliers are cagey about discussing prices, but a typical "dumb" bomb could cost between £5000 and £20,000, depending on size and type of explosives, with a laser-guided weapon costing more than double that. There have been undeclared cuts in capability. It was known that the Royal Navy would keep just two of its three Invincible-class aircraft carriers operational, but the two Sea Harrier squadrons were cut from eight aircraft to seven without ann ouncement or debate. Operationally, this means just three pairs of aircraft are available at any one time, with one held in reserve. With Illustrious in the Gulf, Invincible in the Adriatic, and Ark Royal starting a two-year refit at Rosyth, the carrier force is under strain. Nato membership of former Warsaw Pact countries, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, has simply added forces short of up-to-date equipment, having been cut off from Russian supplies for some years. Nato needs to help these nations to re-equip and retrain to Nato standards. The alliance is now in the embarrassing position of failing to cope with a regional conflict. There have always been differences in commitment amongst the partners, with Denmark and Belgium seldom meeting Nato expectations, while France was also outside the command structure for many years. What is worrying is the revelation that Nato is now far weaker than had been supposed, with potentially disastrous consequences for any war on the ground. >From TheNewAustralian www.newaus.com.au US Report Telling it like it is<Picture>The New Australian Deconstructing Clinton with the Pinocchio test By James Henry No. 120, 24-30 May 1999 Deconstructing Clinton is a lot easier than parsing sentences. Language has its own structure and rules, what we call grammar and syntax. It is these things that allow us to communicate efficiently with each other, even when we are not schooled in the rules of language. But in Clinton's post-modernist world there are no rules because there is no reality. Existence is a matter of opinion and reality is what I think it ought to be. In such a world facts are fiction and fiction is reality with each reality being as good as any other. Hence whatever I say happened even if it didn't happen because reality is subjective. But if reality is subjective what of morality? Simple. Morality is whatever I say it is. This leads to the ultimate in relativism in which even suttee (the ancient Hindu practice of throwing women on the funeral pyres of their dead husbands) becomes as moral as wearing black as a symbol of mourning. The only morality that is not to tolerated consists of Christian-Judeo values. Such a world makes Wonderland look like a rationalist's paradise. Unfortunately, this kind of nonsense is what passes through our universities, mocking their traditions, ridiculing their history and subverting their integrity. From there it gradually percolates through society where it is promoted and defended by intellectual imposters until its corrosive effect can be found in good ol' Bill Clinton who can deconstruct language by redefining "is" and asking the meaning of "alone". Who can brazenly tell lies to the public because to him they are not lies because lies can have no meaning where the truth cannot exist. In this world the Constitution does not mean what it says because the text has no meaning other than that anyone cares to attach to it. But underneath it all, Clinton knows that he is an intellectual and moral sham and that there are moral absolutes. Polygraphs can be used to detect lying because the truth does exist. Trying to conceal lies involves tension and inner conflict. It is these things that expose the liar. But if reality is only a social construct, a figment of the imagination in which truth has no meaning, how can lies be detected? But now we have nature on our side with the Pinocchio test. Yes, the nose does expand and become itchy when we lie, or at least tell serious lies. Why? Because that inner tension and conflict caused by trying to maintain the pretence is causing a physical reaction. It is saying you are lying. That there is an objective reality and you cannot successfully deny it. Reality always makes itself felt — even in the form of the President's nose growing when he lied to a jury and held the law in contempt. The reality of this man, his presidency, his legacy, his treason, is so awful, so morally damning that it is likely to leave an indelible stain on the nation's body politic. Why did the American people surrender their inherent decency and common sense to this creature? The principle reason, I believe, is because they have become imbued with the false notion that morality, integrity, courage and a sense of honor are private matters that have no bearing on character or matters of leadership. But the cry from the Clinton cheer squad that these things are private was merely a device to hide from the public the awful fact that he was bereft of any of these virtues. For this the Republic will pay a heavy price. As Teddy Roosevelt put it a great many years ago: "We cannot expect our republic to endure permanently if we do not demand honesty in our public officials....Liar is just as ugly a word as thief, because it implies the presence of just as ugly a sin....If a man...perjures himself or suborns perjury, he is guilty under the statute law. Under the higher law, under the great law of morality and righteousness, he is precisely as guilty if, instead of lying in a court, he lies in a newspaper or on the stump; and in all probability, the evil effects of his conduct are infinitely more widespread and more pernicious." The New Australian - <Picture>Looking Out Peter Zhang's Column Clinton, blackmail and Beijing's political profiles The New Australian No. 120, 24-30 May 1999 Writing on Sino-American affairs in the current situation makes me acutely aware of how little of what I hear can be substantiated. It is for this reason that I have chosen to keep much of what I have been told confidential. However, there are times when what at first appear to be baseless, if not bizarre, rumours turn out to have a great deal of credibility. How many Americans would have believed that their president would literally sell his countries secrets to a potential enemy. And yet this has happened. Even now, despite the overwhelming evidence, many still refuse to accept what he has done, including some of his political enemies. No president could be so venal in his actions and contemptuous of the American people's security. This is wishful thinking. Several things need to be understood. It is true that there have been misunderstandings between American and Beijing in the past. This is only to be expected given the latter's inability to fully understand how democratic states function. But to draw on this to rationalise Clinton's behaviour on the grounds that the two parties have misread each other's intentions is to rationalise his behaviour. This simply will not do. There was no misunderstanding. I can assure readers that Chinese officials understood the nature of the arrangements. After all, it was they who laid down the conditions which, in plain language, amounted to walking away with America's military secrets. It matters not who was first to initiate contact as no move would have been made unless both parties were sure that there was common ground. This brings us to the bombing of China's Belgrade embassy. Regardless of what some Washington 'insiders' evidently think, Beijing does not believe it was deliberate or some kind of payback by the CIA. Though put out at first, the regime quickly came to welcome the bombing as an excuse to whip up anti-American feeling and crackdown on pro- democracy activists. Remember, this is a state that still tortures its opponents and carries out summary executions as a matter of course. The lives of others have always been given little regard by despots and the present rulers are basically no different. It was made clear in private conversations that the bombing is considered a political gift of considerable proportions. And as the British say: "Never look a gift horse in the mouth." So though the popular outrage is real, official protestations are to be taken with a barrel of salt. The extent to which Beijing still pulls Clinton's strings can be gauged somewhat from his grovelling apologies. That an apology was in order is beyond dispute. But for any leader, especially the leader of the world's only super power, to virtually prostrate himself before these arrogant mandarins should give many Americans serious pause for thought. This was not a case of cowardice — there is much, much more to it than that. Let me remind you that Clinton made four abject apologies to Beijing in addition to those made by Albright and Cohen when one was sufficient. This was a humiliating display of Beijing's influence over Clinton and has been remarked upon in other Asian capitals. So, as you Americans say, what gives? This raises the very ugly word blackmail. A couple of months ago I made a reference to audio and video tapes in Beijing safes. This was not a figure of speech nor was it idle gossip. There are those in Beijing who strongly suspected that the regime holds incriminating evidence on Clinton. His kow towing only served to transform those suspicions into a conviction. I must confess that the information that was passed on to me (without supporting evidence) emphatically states that the threat of blackmail has been applied. Furthermore, it is not just Clinton. I revealed (No. 118, 10- 16 May 1999) that officials had confided in me that Clinton had appointed Reno has his 'gatekeeper' with instructions to block investigations into Chinese spying activities, not to mention his campaign funding allegations. What is important is that Chinese officials know and that believe Clinton is blackmailing Reno. I'm absolutely sure that they did not come by this information via Clinton. This is where it seems to get bizarre. Sometime ago I was told that Reno was a very active lesbian with a taste for a certain kind of female and that a well-known organised crime figure exploited this (how should I put it?) weakness by arranging a 'party' for her. The resulting activities were then videotaped. An official assures me that Clinton has a copy but couldn't say whether Beijing had also been supplied. It seems that this knowledge strengthened Beijing's confidence that it would be granted sufficient protection by Reno's Justice Department to continue its espionage activities. Of course it is not just Reno, the rot now permeates a great many agencies. There is nothing, so it would appear, that escapes corruption once Clinton comes in contact with it. But we must not overlook the role that ideology still plays in this squalid affair. The regime has a dossier on every American Senator and Congressman. Everyone of them has been politically profiled. Beijing knows which ones will spring to Clinton's defence, even in the present climate. One such man is Democrat Rep. Henry A. Waxman of California. He claimed that there is no evidence that the DNC or Clinton knew certain funds were illegal and originated with Chinese intelligence. Readers will no doubt note that he did not say no one knew, only that no one can prove, at least at this stage, that anyone knew. He has obviously been taking linguistic lessons from your president. I raised Waxman because his political profile predicted his response. He is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who are committed to implementing the kind of policies that killed millions of Chinese and Russians. To these people capitalism is evil and America is the leading capitalist state. It follows that anything that weakens America is to be welcomed if not actually defended. Beijing's profiles are rarely wrong and that is why they are perfectly happy with the likes of Waxman and Reno. But where does that leave the American people? The New Australian A<>E<>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Schiller, German Writer (1759-1805) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." 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