I think it will have a positive effect. There might be a downward blip come Monday but then the Dow will rebound.
For too long it’s been clear we had no business staying there. Neighboring Pakistan had persistently undermined our efforts to prop up the anti Taliban regime in Kabul.
Biden’s decision to pull out, which I believe was the right one, accelerated what was long felt to be an inevitable outcome. Afghans who were not on the Taliban’s side did not put enough effort into preparing for the resistance.
Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan’s president, flew out earlier today to Tajikistan, a former Soviet Republic that shares a border.
Hamid Karzai, a previous president, has stayed behind with his three daughters and has offered to take part in the transition of power, but it’s all up to the Taliban.
Will the new regime be as backwards and repressive as the one that we displaced in 2001?
There is reason to believe they may not. Our twenty year presence has left an imprint and largely positive. We have left evidence of how things can be done differently.
Next door, in Iran, a more modern version of a Muslim government is in place, one which allows women to go to school, work and even hold political office. Maybe that will influence the new rulers.
We will see.
Does the fall of Afghanistan represent a political setback for Biden? I don’t think so, though many will try to depict it as such.
Initial reports from Kabul say that the evacuation of foreign diplomats is proceeding unhindered. President Biden sent additional troops to facilitate the process.
A few days ago, Biden signed into law a new version of the Child Tax credit. The intent is to bolster the income of poor families in America, in need of relief from the growing cost of raising their children.
From its inception, in 1997, the tax credit has been limited to families who have been employed and thus paid taxes.
Critics now counter that many of the new beneficiaries have neither worked nor paid taxes.
But according to the Treasury department, 97% of the families set to benefit do have wages or self employment income and the other 3% are grandparents or have health issues.
The expectations are that 35 million families will receive the benefit ($500 a month for child under 5, and $250 per child between 5 and 17) and so help lift them out of poverty.
Although presently scheduled to last one year, the hope is the revised law will be extended.
Here is a conversation between a supporter and an opponent of the new measure.
Wayne – It’s giveaway money. Biden looking for extra votes. Do these people really work?
Tricia – Biden says they do, many being self employed.
Wayne – Smells like giveaway.
Tricia – Wayne…. the majority are poor people. It takes money to provide for kids’ necessities, keep enough food on the table, send them to school.
Wayne – So why not call it Free Money for people who don’t practice contraception?
Tricia – Poverty is poverty, contraception or not.
Wayne – Think about it, pop a kid and get 5 hundred a month til they are 5, then 250 til they are 17. Have 5 kids, that’s 2500 a month. What a deal.
Tricia – Really? Let’s do the math. $2500 a month x 12 equals $30000 a year, to take care of 5 kids. I can tell you have no idea of what it takes to raise a kid.
Wayne – (not persuaded) Add to it the Supplemental Nutritional program, then apply for section 8 so you can get free housing and you don’t have to lift a finger. All courtesy of the US government. Oh, I forgot Medicaid for the healthcare part and throw in dental, vision and hearing. You can just sit home and raise kids. No wonder the national debt keeps rising. These people will never work, and they’ll teach their kids to not do so themselves.
Tricia – Okay… so we let them live in poverty? Or are you saying that what they’re getting is middle class fare? Because if you think that, then you’re deluded. Everything you’ve mentioned are measures to keep alive in the 21st century. No more than that.
If they don’t get housing they get to camp out on the street. If they don’t get medical care, then they catch an infectious disease and they transmit it to others. Or they are crippled by it and it’s worse.
All the ‘goodies’ you’ve described, and which you object to giving, are bare essentials in modern living.
Are there people who are satisfied with just that? Yes, indeed. But the majority would like to do something with their lives, and it’s our responsibility to assist them.
Wayne – Our responsibility? Not at all. That’s where we disagree. It is their responsibility. Their responsibility to take risks and make the sustained efforts to move up the ladder.
Tricia – What ladder? If you don’t get a decent education, then you don’t get a chance to put a foot on the ladder. Never mind climbing it. Your argument, Wayne, is most unpsychological.
Where do you think people in those circumstances get to live? What schools do they get to attend? What educational enrichment assistance are they offered?
The answer is none.
Those are the kids who are likely to grow up in the midst of maladapted folks, people who teach the bad habits and ensure the cycle of poverty is perpetuated. Call it passing on social deformities. Abuse, drug dependence, gang affiliations. And so the gap widens.
The point of providing assistance is to break that pernicious sequence.
And it can happen if we invest. And invest consistently, year after year.
Wayne – Why have kids if you can’t support them?
Tricia – People who have been knocked down by life may have only their children to give them hope.
Wayne – That reasoning sounds like passing the buck. What these people should be asking is, ‘what’s wrong with me? What do I have to do to fix it?
Tricia – You and I have a decent income… we’ve had the fortune of having got an education… we take care of our necessities and have room to spare. The people who this tax credit is intended to help, have none of that. When they thought of conceiving a child, perhaps they had already done much soul searching and yet not found in themselves the strength to go on. A child is a source of joy, and for most of us, a new beginning.
Wayne – At our expense. You and I paying the taxes.
They pause.
Tricia – Let’s talk demographics for a minute.
Wayne – I know where you’re headed. Low fertility rates. But automation will take care of that.
Tricia – No it won’t. We need people. You’ll agree that, on average, the better educated women are, the fewer the children they’re likely to have, right?
Wayne – Sure.
Tricia – I’ve had only two children. I thought of a third but then decided against it because I wanted to spend my time doing other things than raising a child.
Wayne – Understood.
Tricia – And no matter how well I provide for my children, how stimulating an environment I give them, there is no guarantee that they will have the intellectual and emotional equipment to be trail blazers. No guarantee that they will open new horizons for humankind to move toward.
Wayne – You think great talent can come from anywhere?
Tricia – Oh, yes. And so it is our duty to safeguard those possibilities.
Wayne – I’ll have to think about that one.
Tricia – It is our duty to treat every single child, no matter what poverty they were born into, with all they need so they can develop whatever talents nature endowed them with.
Wayne – For the good of the future of society?
Tricia – Yes. But there’s still another reason to support the Child Tax credit. A selfish one.
Wayne – What’s that?
Tricia – It reinforces our humanity. It is us saying, ‘let us help children be all they can be… for they will not forget… and give back to us in return.’
Wayne – I just worry that we’re taken advantage of. I don’t like that.
Tricia – Neither do I. Some people will misuse the funds…
Wayne – Just like there are rich people who cheat on taxes.
Tricia – Exactly. But there will be far more who will be grateful… and so help raise better citizens…
Wayne – I hope you’re right.
I admit that sometimes we are too slow in responding to health crises. I had a cousin who died of an opioid overdose 10 years ago. We were still recovering from the housing crisis.
Tricia – Sorry about that. Were you close to him?
Wayne – Not really. We grew up together but then I moved and didn’t keep up with him. He had been working in a factory but it closed and he couldn’t find another job.
Tricia – Rough.
Wayne – The thing is… I thought he was a little lazy… not tough enough… but I missed the fact that he was in pain. I’m ashamed about that.
Tricia reaches over and rubs Wayne’s shoulder.
Wayne – I went to the funeral… talked to my aunt, his mother… she told me he really tried to get help… but there was very little around… the state had been too slow to respond.
Now I call my aunt every couple of months to see how she’s doing… if she needs anything.
Tricia – That’s nice of you.
Wayne – I wish I’d done it before. He never did reach out to me. Maybe his pride got in the way.
She’s raising his son. He’s 12 now.
Tricia – What about the child’s mother?
Wayne – She left after my cousin died. She hasn’t heard from her since. Couldn’t cope with it, said my aunt. The loss.
Tricia – Maybe one day she’ll find her way back.
Wayne – Hope so.
He turns to look a Tricia.
Wayne – I hadn’t talked about this in a while. Thanks.
Tricia – You’re welcome.
Wayne – It’s easy to miss the pain others are going through.
Read your speech on Afghanistan today at the White House.
Thank you for that.
Even though you speak of American support for the Afghan forces, there’s the growing doubt that the army we helped train, does not inspire the confidence they will fight the good fight once we leave.
You have assured us we are doing much to secure the safety of those who worked with us, through the granting of visas to the US or temporary relocation outside of Afghanistan until such visas are granted.
Thank you for that.
And yet some people have not chosen such option, instead preferring to stay, at least for now.
Surely they are animated by the desire to stand up for their nation.
I have read elsewhere (the Wall Street Journal) that hundreds of thousands of Afghan nationals, fearing the worst, have already left the country.
Your anecdote about a schoolgirl saying she wanted to be a doctor and asking America not to leave because otherwise she wouldn’t realize her dreams, was poignant.
Throughout your speech, there was a tone of inevitability mixed with much hope.
You said we had not gone there to nation build. You are right.
Yes, Afghans have their fate in their hands. They always did.
In the WS Journal article, I read of a woman who is a musician. That is what she loves. And yet to the Taliban her music is un-Islamic. Where will she fit? She won’t.
The article mentions that Kabul has been transformed into a cosmopolitan center where western influence is all around.
And yet to the Taliban that will surely be anathema.
The clash of cultures is inevitable.
Western influence brought freedom of expression and career opportunities that were quickly taken advantage of by the locals and yet a movement of sufficient strength to resist the Taliban was not formed.
The sharp divide with the culture prevailing in the countryside remained. And the brutality of the Taliban kept growing. Surely there is much envy at the root of such discord. But it was not addressed.
For one reason or another, a strong leader did not emerge to stand up for all the advantages western influence brought to that country.
A strong leader did not emerge to remind the westernized section, that their gains had to be defended, that discipline and sacrifice would have to be called upon to defend what they were enjoying and helping them prosper.
I’ve read that tribal leaders in Afghanistan continue to section the country to their advantage but to the detriment of a united front. To date, there has been no willingness to compromise in the interest of national unity.
It is a sad story.
There was Hamid Karzai before and now Ashraf Ghani, but neither was able to stir a spirit of national unity that Afghans were willing to defend. Such struggle never became an essential task.
At a time when here in America we are profoundly divided, we can learn a great deal from the Afghan story.
We have to talk to each other. It is now a national priority. Right up there with climate change and immigration reform and infrastructure building and better education and healthcare and improved broadband.
The task is sufficiently important to require a cabinet position and your constant attention.
Talking to each other is key to any enterprise we wish to embark on as a nation.
If we don’t get back to building those bridges to each other, the spirit of collective purpose will keep waning, and the price we will pay for it will grow dearer.
On June 13th Robert Gates, who served as secretary of defense between 2006 and 2011 under Bush and Obama, wrote an article for the NYTs entitled ‘We Cannot Afford to Turn our Backs on Afghanistan.’
He speaks in favor of continued support for the existing government and for international funds to assist that nation.
He speaks of the strong likelihood that once America is gone, the Taliban will overrun the capital and eventually seek assistance from China.
So far, our share of human losses has come to over 2300 dead and more than 20000 wounded. And then there are the billions and billions poured into the effort, nearly a trillion now, not including associated costs for the care of veterans.
Is Mr Gates asking for another 5 years, maybe 10, of continued efforts on our part and NATO?
He acknowledges that the corruption of Afghan officials and members of their security forces undermined the massive international effort to change the course of that country.
When it was happening, we could have taken a strong position on not allowing such corruption.
We did not.
Mr Gates states that in the Fall of 2006 the president of Pakistan made a deal with the Taliban permitting them safe harbor in their land. Mind you, this was the president of a country where the US is one of the largest foreign direct investors, and for whom we are their largest export destination and to whom we provide significant assistance.
And still we could not keep them from supporting our enemy next door in Afghanistan.
There was a time to act and we now have to accept our losses.
If the Afghans could not refrain from undermining our efforts to help them build their nation, then we are not a good match.
We now need to invest our finite resources here at home, improving our infrastructure, our educational and health care systems and reducing inequality.
Mr Gates raises the specter that Al Qaeda will once again see an opportunity to come and bomb us.
Perhaps. But much has been learned in the last 20 years to help protect our skies and our borders.
Threats from abroad will persist, but the threats from within cannot be ignored. And those will rise if our inequalities and disagreements are not addressed.
I believe Mr Gates is right when he anticipates that once we leave, the Taliban will take full control of the country.
We should prepare for it.
It must include being able to clearly convey to the American people why we chose to leave and to assure them that we have taken all steps needed to provide for our safety.
We should avoid a repeat of the painful sights at our embassy in Saigon as we exited Vietnam, when local people who had assisted us rushed desperately toward the last helicopters lifting off pleading for a hand to help them up. Many were left behind.
It was a sad and hasty exit.
Surely Mr Biden watched as those scenes unfolded.
He has time to plan so we do better this time.
Bombing the Taliban as they encircle Kabul in their effort to seize it would come at the risk of injuring innocent people.
I hear that there are plans for Turkish and Pakistani troops to ensure the safety of the airport, with us paying the bill. But they won’t be able to hold off the encroaching Taliban. Turks and Pakistanis, too, will get in their choppers and planes and wave goodbye to that troubled land.
My hope is that Mr Biden, with his long history of dealing with difficult crises, will manage this one well.
But something is wrong in America and we have to fix it.
We should not retreat from the world but our resources are not limitless and we have to choose well.
We have lost Afghanistan and now we need to learn from it.
As we leave, China will step in. So be it. Maybe the intolerant and repressive Taliban will find kinship with the Chinese.
But something is wrong in America and we cannot just point the finger at the opposing party.
Something is wrong in America and there is fault in all of us.
Let us join together to fix it.
Let us join together to deal squarely with the enemy within.
Mr Biden has committed to the US exiting that nation. It was not an easy decision. But after 20 years of occupation, I think it is the right decision to make.
What has made it so hard?
We went there in pursuit of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. That has been accomplished.
An enormous commitment in manpower and investment in the Afghan people was made to attempt to rebuild that nation, at least the sectors open to it. But the Taliban has proved eminently resourceful and, with the support of Pakistan, has managed to undermine American and NATO allies’ effort.
We have been grieving for a long time the loss of our effectiveness in Afghanistan, grieving that we could not do more for their people.
But we now have to face up to the failure of our ambitions.
We wanted to persuade the potential Taliban supporter that democracy was a better option. We could not do so. For one reason or another, what the Taliban preached was able to prevail and so convert enough Afghans to their side, and thus continue bombing schools and centers of learning and killing their brothers and sisters. The Taliban were willing to sacrifice their lives in praise of their god while seeing us as the devil.
After all these years, Afghans remain a profoundly divided nation, at war with themselves and immersed in a mortal struggle for their identity and their affirmation as a people.
We cannot fight their fight.
Twenty years we were there and failed to fire up in them the drive to counter teachings that restrict the possibilities of human beings.
Twenty years we were there and failed to impact their culture in a meaningful way.
It was a very ambitious goal to begin with, and maybe it could have been approached differently, but we did the best we could given our own level of development.
Now we must retrench. Now we must look at ourselves squarely and examine what has gone unattended within.
Maybe we can continue to offer some measure of support and keep the Taliban from overrunning the government that we and our allies, at great cost in blood and treasure, have helped put in place.
I hope so.
But as we pull out we grieve the limits of our power.
And as we grieve we must confront the inequality within that has weakened us and lessened our effectiveness abroad.
Addressing such inequality will make us more effective when we again attempt to help other nations.
Had we been a fairer nation, had we been known for treating African Americans with respect, we probably would not have been a target for Osama bin Laden.
The Twin Towers were a symbol of White Power in America.
Had power not been so concentrated in a group perhaps such attack would have never happened.
The image we project as a nation matters. If we project an image that all ethnic groups in our land have a seat at the table when decisions of consequence are made, then the perceptions the world has of us will be different.
And so it is critical that we integrate all of our minorities. As we do, we will project an image that we are a reflection of the world in its entirety. That because groups from all over the earth have a place in our nation, then we are the world.
If all religions and languages, all colors and types can live and prosper in our land and we can still see ourselves as one nation, does that not tell the world that we are them and they are us?
Yes, it does.
And our effectiveness as mediators and resolvers of conflicts would be multiplied twenty-fold.
And we would be seen as a place where transformative choices occur – a laboratory for human interaction – from which others can learn just as we learn from them.
Are we up for the challenge?
I say we are.
We are because all it takes is courage, intelligence, civility, humanity and the ambition to power it through.
Rockets and bombs have been flying and casualties have been rising while inside Israel there have been clashes between Israelis and Arab Israelis.
US diplomats spoke out against Hamas fighters firing rockets into Israel while asserting that Israel has a right to defend itself as indeed it has.
But left in the background is the spark for the raging conflict. The forceful evictions by Israel of long time Palestinian settlers in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
Instead of keeping it in the background, what’s happened in Sheikh Jarrah should be put front and center.
Why should the Palestinian settlers be forcefully evicted? It is wrong for Hamas to be firing missiles into Israel so that should stop immediately.
And so, too, should the crushing Israeli counteroffensive that is likely to soon become an invasion of Gaza by ground forces.
Surely, as the casualties mount on both sides, the numbers for the Palestinians will be much larger. And that includes children.
It seems very clear, with the long history of warfare between the two rivals, that it doesn’t take much to ignite a broader conflict.
Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu knew full well of the possible consequences of Israelis displacing Palestinian settlers from Sheikh Jarrah. But he let it happen anyway.
Property rights in the area have been disputed in the courts for years, and still he let it happen. I suppose it burnishes his image as a get tough on Palestinians kind of guy.
But we here in America, who spend lots of money subsidizing that state’s defense forces, should demand a thorough accounting of what is happening there.
We can’t just have Antony Blinken make a statement calling for Hamas to stop the firing of the missiles – which have resulted in a few Israeli deaths but which have been mostly intercepted by Israel’s powerful Iron Dome antimissile system.
We cannot have the administration be only insisting that Israel has a right to defend itself, which it has, and not put blame on Mr Netanyahu for letting the displacement of Palestinian settlers be carried out.
The American people deserve better.
The Biden administration must do better.
Antony Blinken and company should know better.
The genesis of this painful and costly clash – where Palestinian casualties will surely, by far, exceed Israel’s – needs to be brought to the table right now. And we should ask, why was it allowed to happen in the first place, when it seemed pretty clear what the consequences would be?
If President Biden can confront Saudi Arabia’s crown prince on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and label Putin a killer for the attempted murder on Alexei Navalny, surely he can call in Mr Netanyahu and tell him that his behavior is atrocious and repugnant.
They have benefitted enormously from the West, absorbing its science, technology and ways of doing things – everything they found worthwhile in every area of development – and then rose and rose, surpassing Russia and the Eurozone and pulling itself up to become a rival to America.
That they are seeking world dominance they won’t say but judging by the manner in which they carry on their appetite seems insatiable.
At no time has there been a greater challenge to democracy.
China is saying to us, ‘You cannot move up as fast as we can, and we will overcome you for we are unstoppable. We have become the factory to the world and all hurry to be part of our enormous markets.’
Turning to its people, China’s leadership says, ‘The world comes to us because they want money. We have that through our labor force, talented people and enormous markets. And because we have been so successful enriching others we have enriched ourselves. So we can make a bargain with all of you, fellow citizens. We will protect you, grant you the benefits of continued prosperity and provide you with all the conveniences of modern life. Furthermore, we promise you will grow proud as China rises to be the dominant nation on Earth. What we want from you in turn, is that you surrender your freedom of speech. We want from you, that you consent to being constantly surveilled to ensure there will be no dissent against the Chinese Communist Party. Think about this. It is a small concession to make, considering all the gains we will achieve as a united nation, not torn apart by petty political differences like in the rest of the West and particularly in America. What we, Chinese, are doing now, has never been done before. No nation has ever risen so fast from so low. We are a nation of destiny, showing the world by our actions, that we have discovered the best system to rule its citizens. For too long, Americans have believed that their system of government was the best. They speak grandly of exceptionalism. But take a good look at how they have treated their minorities, Blacks in particular, for centuries. And still they want to preach to the world. How dare they. At look at how money buys political influence. You make money and you go right to the front of the line, even if you are inept politically. Only in America can you turn an expertise in building hotels into a credential to lead a country. And Americans fell for it. And they did because they lack political education. Unlike here in our great land, where the hard working communist party, with 91 million members, devote their life to keeping the system flowing.
But back to America. Look at how they kill themselves because of their unrestricted access to guns. Take a city like Chicago – the South side – the killings go on and on, administration after administration, whether it be Obama or Trump, they just keep killing each other. And look at how poverty is widespread. As for their cultural life, sure, now and then they will make a good movie or write a good song, but we, too, are working on that. Fellow Chinese citizens, the restrictions that we have imposed on free speech and surveillance will not last forever. We estimate, that with proper political instruction and our steady development it will take us no more than another 25 years – a conservative estimate – before we become the most powerful and most advanced nation in the world. In that time, we will have achieved total superiority. And yes, everyone in America will be wanting to speak Mandarin for that is the most beautiful language the world has ever heard. Your children and your grandchildren and heirs to follow, will revere you for the sacrifices you are now making on their behalf. The fact that we will achieve superiority will not mean that we will impose our system on others, but as other nations see how effective we are they will try to emulate us. And yes, eventually Taiwan will be part of the mainland, in the same way Hong Kong is returning to our embrace. The big Panda embrace. How can you not like that feeling?
Others will follow our lead willingly, joyously, for we will lead through our example.
In America, today, Joe Biden is trying to get his citizens to renew themselves, but our leadership feels his efforts have come too late.
Joe Biden has ambitions plans for the renewal of infrastructure, for education, for research and development, but already the Republican party is objecting, so Biden’s ambitious reforms will be trimmed, which is good for China.
America is just too divided while we are united, which is our great strength.
We believe that America will not be able to make the necessary reforms to their system to catch up with us.
Let us give you one example. China tried to be part of the International Space station but we were no accepted. They were afraid we would learn too much. And so we have started to create our own. On April 28th we launched Tianhe or ‘Harmony of The Heavens,’ the first of three modules that will form our own space station by the end of 2022. Does that not make you feel proud of what our system can do?
Slowly, over time, America will acknowledge our superiority, but there will be those who will want to resort to violence. Leaders who prefer to fight an enemy without than confront the enemy within. Envious people. But we will be prepared. We are building more and more nuclear weapons to act as a deterrent.’
That is the message the Chinese leadership is giving to their people.
What will Russia do in the face of China’s rise?
Putin has cast a spell on the Russian people which has interfered with their political development but my take is that the Russian people lean more to the West than to China.
Eventually, as Russia emerges from their stupor, they will elect a more pro-Western government.
But can America answer China’s challenge?
Can we make the necessary structural changes and shine?
Can we evolve to having a dialogue amongst ourselves and eradicate racism?
Can we improve our education and health systems sufficiently that every citizen will have the opportunity they need to be the best they can be?
Can we defeat crime?
Can we stop the high level of incarceration that is a sign of poor investment in our people?
Can we stop killing ourselves?
The answer lies in pulling ourselves together and working toward a common purpose. To do it we need bipartisan leadership willing to dialogue.
Alexei Navalny, who’s been in prison since January after returning to Russia from Germany – where he was treated for poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok – went on a hunger strike at the end of March after prison authorities did not allow his family to visit him following his reports that he had developed back pain and loss of feeling in his legs.
The prison replied he’s receiving adequate medical care.
But two days ago, the Associated Press reported that a physician who reviewed lab results of Navalny’s brought to him by his family, says his blood levels of potassium and creatinine are elevated and puts the patient in danger of death.
Here’s the problem: Putin would not mind it one bit if Navalny dies.
But the Russian people would lose an important leader.
Supporters of Navalny should insist that he give up the hunger strike immediately.
There are fights that can’t be won and that is one of them.
The Russian people are not ready to go into an uproar if Navalny were to die now.
Much work remains to be done and for that Navalny has to be alive.
Who knows what will bring Russians out of the stupor they find themselves in, allowing a man like Putin to rule them since 1999.
But the movement that Navalny has led has been making progress, slowly confronting Russians with the denial they are stuck in.
His dying in prison won’t help.
Prisons are bad places. Who knows what kind of pressures Navalny is being subjected to by fellow prisoners at the behest of the government, which may have led to the hunger strike.
Navalny has to focus on staying alive, not gamble with his health.
His supporters need to act fast while there is still time.
The New York Times said yesterday that an open letter had been addressed to Putin by prominent personalities asking that Navalny be allowed the care needed immediately.
This morning, the Associated Press stated that demonstrations on Navalny’s behalf are planned for this weekend in Moscow and St Petersburg.
The hope is that Putin will acknowledge the request.
But there is a good chance he’ll drag his feet and, in the meantime, Navalny’s health will worsen.
I can imagine Putin in his private residence, sipping from a glass of fine wine, as he muses over the events, relishing his returning to the spotlight he so enjoyed while Trump was president.
Now Biden is getting all the attention.
‘And to think he dared call me a killer, on national television,’ says Putin to himself, referring to Biden, a feeling of bitterness rising in him. ‘And now they want me to be charitable with my enemies… their Trojan Horse… because that’s all that Navalny is, an American agent.’
He ponders the thought and then, smiling to himself, says ‘Dear Alexei… to think that I feared you would one day dethrone me.’
Putin long ago signed a pact with the Devil. He has aided the brutal repression in Burma, propped up Assad in Syria.
One day soon, the Russian people will awaken. Alexei Navalny has been trying hard to do that.
But he has to stay alive.
For that, he has to quit the hunger strike.
In addition to the letters of prominent people in his support, we must encourage the effort to have Navalny be pushed forward as the choice for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
Alexei Navalny, with his enormous courage, walks in the steps of Andrei Sakharov, the Russian physicist and human rights activist who won the same prize in 1975.
That award did much to raise the consciousness of the world and prepare the Russian people for the change that followed when the Soviet Union collapsed on December 26th 1991.
On February 25th , President Biden made a phone call to King Salman to discuss state matters.
Present in the Oval Office for the call were Vice President Harris, Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, and Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor.
The king and the President had already discussed Iran and Yemen, with Mr Biden emphasizing that Iran would not be allowed to have nuclear weapons which would pose a threat to the kingdom as well as other neighbor countries.
President – King Salman… we will be releasing an intelligence report on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi in Ankara, in October 2018.
King – We have been expecting it.
President – I want to make clear that the question of human rights will be high on my agenda during my term. We owe it to the world. From the start, I have sharply disagreed with the way my predecessor handled the assassination of Mr Khashoggi, a US resident and respected journalist and contributor to the Washington Post. It is inconceivable for us that such action would be carried out without the Prince’s consent.
King – I understand.
President – King Salman, did you know of the operation?
King – I did not.
President – For us to keep quiet about this would make our nation an accomplice. We cannot tolerate that.
King – I understand. As you know, Saudi Arabia is trying hard to become a modern nation, but there is much work to do. As long time allies, we ask for your patience and tolerance.
President – I welcome your government’s opening up opportunities for women. And the release of the young woman activist who had been held for a year. But she still will not be allowed to travel abroad.
King – Mr President, give us time. We want to join the rest of the world, we do. My son, the Prince, has good ideas. Due to my age, I am now 85, I’ve entrusted him with the day to day operations in the Kingdom, but I assure you that I have now resumed oversight of key decisions so as to prevent a repeat of what happened to Mr Khashoggi.
President – That is welcome news.
King – I have also considered, the possibility of reparations for the family of Mr Khashoggi and his fiancée and intend to pursue the matter.
President – I hope you will. It will not bring back Jamal Khashoggi but it is an acknowledgment of responsibility.
King – Yes. The actions were committed by Saudi Arabians in positions of influence, by Saudi Arabians in my service.
President – Thank you, King Salman. I look forward to a fruitful relationship. We will talk again. Best.
I, too, am very pleased to see your country elect a new president. I think Mr Biden and I will get along.
You speak of the power of renewal. You are right in this. Renewal for us means providing the conditions so that every person can change their lives.
Because we are such a large nation – more than 1.4 billion people – our projects for renewal require massive amounts of investment, planning and a strong commitment to make sure they are completed on time.
The People’s Republic of China is doing this and the Chinese people see that it is being done. They see the roads being built and the new homes go up. They drink better water because of the aqueducts. They can go to the doctor because of the health clinics. They see themselves advance because of the schools and universities. They can play sports because of the fields and stadiums we have built. They can fly to see relatives because of the airports. They can travel on the ground with speed because of our bullet trains. It is a huge project to bring modern facilities to our citizens but we are doing it. The government is doing it.
We have come such a long way in such a short time.
You speak of democracy. I am not against it. I think it is a wonderful concept. We would all like to express our feelings and thoughts. But as Mr Biden himself said at the inauguration, democracy is fragile. Just two weeks before, a mob broke into congress intending to strip him of his victory. The electoral ballots could have been destroyed. And it happened as the television cameras rolled.
Democracy is too fragile for China at this stage of our development.
We cannot afford to derail the great project of providing the infrastructure the country needs.
We cannot afford some charismatic person who decides they want to be king, to set about distracting our citizens from the grand task of building China.
And what person doesn’t want to be king?
Our collective leadership, which I am so honored to guide forward, recognizes this human failing. We recognize, too, that censorship is an imposition on our people but our citizens understand it is a sacrifice that must be made for the future of China.
Otherwise there would be chaos.
Your nation has a great tradition and as Mr Biden’s election shows, you are able to change direction. But look how hard it was to elect the two senators from Georgia that you need to have a majority? If you had not had so much money pouring into that election, the Senate may have stayed Republican, and what would that have meant for the future of your nation?
Deadlock. Obstruction. Lawmakers who want to be king interfering with the growth of the country.
We Chinese do not believe our economic model is for everyone but it works for us.
Yes, there are problems and we must censor speech at this stage, but soon we will have achieved all that is needed so that every citizen has a chance to develop as much as their capabilities allow.
Our nations are different so let us have mutual respect.
The Chinese people wishes for your nation to prosper as you pursue your path while we pursue our own.
Thank you
Xi Jinping
Chairman
People’s Republic of China
Founded October 1 1949
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Oscar Valdes 