International Prosecutor to Seek Inquiry Into Kenya Violence – NYTimes.com

The ICC already faces a pr problem in Africa, viewed by some according to this article in NYT as a “white man’s court.”  Still, many cheered the move in Kenya:

After months of stonewalling by Kenyan politicians, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced Thursday that crimes against humanity had been committed during the postelection period and that he would seek a formal investigation into them.

via International Prosecutor to Seek Inquiry Into Kenya Violence – NYTimes.com.

White House’s New Sudan Strategy Fits Envoy’s Pragmatic Style – NYTimes.com

I new negotiator in town for US policy on Sudan–and he’s a soldier, Maj. General Gration.   But that doesn’t mean he opposes diplo-chat…in fact, he’s the strongest proponent for such a plan, involving a package of incentives and threats:

“You think we can fix the crisis without talking to Khartoum? That’s impossible,” he said. “You think we can resolve the southern war without talking to Khartoum? Impossible.”People close to the talks said views fell generally into two main camps: one advocating a tougher line against Sudan led by the United Nations ambassador, Susan E. Rice, and the other calling for a more conciliatory approach, led by General Gration.

via White House’s New Sudan Strategy Fits Envoy’s Pragmatic Style – NYTimes.com.

In Somalia, a New Template for Fighting Terrorism – NYTimes.com

Word yesterday that the US was taking a different tack on Somalia to apply carrots and sticks (read: diplomacy).  Critics were pleased that Pres. Obama wasn’t too hard or soft in his policy.  (Does that mean they were happy? No way–that’s not what critics do. Note to self: develop thick skin for future in politics)

Black Hawk Down made the United States gun-shy for years, contributing to its failure to intervene against genocide in Rwanda and, for a time, in Bosnia, too. The battle itself was immortalized in a so-so film and a great book — required reading for some courses at West Point.  “Never again, that was the message,” said John Nagl, a retired Army officer who was on the team that wrote the military’s new counterinsurgency field manual. “People were saying this is what happens when we get involved in small wars in places we don’t understand.”

But American policy has pivoted since 1993 to another question: What happens when we don’t get involved? The experience in Somalia speaks to that concern as well — to the problems of ignoring any patch of ungoverned territory, especially in the Muslim world, whose anarchy might tempt the arrival of the likes of Al Qaeda.

via In Somalia, a New Template for Fighting Terrorism – NYTimes.com.

Zimbabwe Imprisons and Indicts Opponent – NYTimes.com

More trouble in Zimbabwe among the power-sharing ‘equal’ partners:

Roy Bennett, a leader of the political party that long fought Zimbabwe’s president but now shares power with him, was sent back to prison on Wednesday in the eastern city of Mutare and formally indicted on terrorism charges.

Mr. Bennett, who was supposed to serve as a deputy agriculture minister in the eight-month-old coalition government, is scheduled to go to trial on Monday

via Zimbabwe Imprisons and Indicts Opponent – NYTimes.com.

Country Study | Guinea Falls Apart

Find it on the map of West Africa–in the same region as two of the three African LDS temples–and sit down.  Its hard to imagine how bad things are in Guinea, not just now but over the last fifty years:

The country has been ruled by iron-fisted military leaders since its independence. The current junta leader, Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara, seized power in 2008 and vowed to clean up the country. He pledged not to run in the January 2010 presidential election, but has since changed his mind, sparking protests.

On Sept. 28, 2009, government troops went on a brutal rampage at an opposition rally protesting Mr. Camara’s government. Soldiers reportedly shot, stabbed, raped and assaulted dozens of men and women in the packed stadium.

Two Steps Forward, But HIV Efforts “on a treadmill”

The bad news seems to outweigh the good news:

“In the space of one year, you’re seeing a huge ramping up of AIDS services,” said Mark Stirling, regional director for the United Nations’ efforts against AIDS in eastern and southern Africa. “It’s unprecedented. In the acceleration and intensification of reach, 2008 was an extraordinary year.”

But the United Nations’ progress report on AIDS also contained sobering news. While more than a million people were put on drugs in the past year — drugs they will need for the rest of their lives — 2.7 million people were newly infected with H.I.V. in 2007, the latest year for which there were estimates.

via U.N. Cites Global Rise in Detection and Treatment of AIDS – NYTimes.com.

Take a look at the epidemic map, where you can see how Sub-Saharan Africa has 70% of the total world HIV-positive population.  Or this sobering graphic:

Classic Moments in UN Public Speaking | What to Think about Gadhafi

Gadhafi at the UN–never a dull moment, in meetings always filled with dull moments.  (Its already being called a “disaster” which is diplospeak for “tune into the fun.”)  Hopefully you didn’t’ miss it–this will go down in the official history as one of those moments:

In his first appearance, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi issued a slashing attack on the United Nations Security Council and chastised the world body on Wednesday for failing to intervene or prevent some 65 wars since the U.N. was founded in 1945.

Gadhafi called for reform of the Security Council — abolishing the veto power of the five permanent members — or expanding the body with additional member states to make it more representative.

“It should not be called the Security Council, it should be called the “terror council,” he said.

The veto-wielding Security Council powers — the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia — treat smaller countries as “second class, despised” nations, Gadhafi said.

“Now, brothers, there is no respect for the United Nations, no regard for the General Assembly,” Gadhafi said.

via The Associated Press: Gadhafi says UN failed to stop 65 wars.

Its not all crazy talk.  One argument from TNR that Gadhafi’s speech is the UN at its best—providing proof postive of a leader who has tried to gain credibility a chance to lose his wagon wheels:

But while there is plenty wrong with the United Nations–and while liberals tend to overestimate both its moral legitimacy and what it can realistically accomplish–the international body does serve at least one genuinely valuable function: It provides a place where leaders and their representatives can gather in one spot and speak their minds–clarifying for the world who these leaders are and what, exactly, they believe.

That was what happened today with Qaddafi. Conservatives will probably offer his 90-minute-long rant as more evidence for the pointlessness of the U.N. But I would argue that it proves the opposite. It’s been all too easy to forget in recent years that Qaddafi is an unadulterated lunatic. He agreed to disband his nuclear program back in 2003. He got published on the op-ed page of The New York Times. (Then his son did.) He became head of the African Union, and other African leaders seemed perfectly willing to ratify the veneer of respectability he was acquiring.

and (I know how the GA President feels somedays)  … more wonderful photos …

Zimbabwe Welcomes Political Visit by Europeans – NYTimes.com

President Robert Mugabe welcomed the first top-level European Union delegation to visit Zimbabwe in seven years on Saturday, and he said that talks on carrying out a power-sharing deal went well.

Mr. Mugabe’s change in tone suggested that he might be more willing to cooperate with Western powers crucial to Zimbabwe’s efforts to secure billions of dollars in aid and foreign investment.

via Zimbabwe Welcomes Political Visit by Europeans – NYTimes.com.

Should the EU be engaging and will this lead to progress? It appears that the power-sharing agreement isn’t fully implemented–at least according to opposition leader-cum PM Morgan Tsvangirai.

Rage or Misunderstanding? Differing Views on Why Libya Welcomed Abdul Baset Megrahi

A good example of the role an ambassador plays is seen in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal.  The story of the release of a Libyan has largely sounded like this:

• “over ferocious American objections”…
• “compassionate release on the face of it is insane for a convicted mass murderer”
• “a tiny slice of justice [lost]“
• and from President Obama…”a mistake”

To provide a response and from an entirely different perspective, Ali Aujali, the Libyan Ambassador to the U.S. offered this mea culpa and some additional reasons to calm down:

While many take Mr. Megrahi’s guilt for granted, there is a large and growing body of evidence that casts serious doubt on his conviction and suggests that an innocent man may have been languishing in prison. This is a view shared by many observers—not only in Tripoli, but in Edinburgh, London, New York, Washington and even among many families of the victims of that terrible act. This perspective has been absent from much of the reporting that has surrounded Mr. Megrahi’s return.

via Ali Aujali: Why Libya Welcomed Abdul Baset Megrahi – WSJ.com.

What do you think? Compelling argument or did the media herd get it right? Or somewhere in between? And what about the interested oil companies?  What role did Gordon Brown play?  Is this just a story of money, turned into politics fueling nationalism and questions of justice/mercy?

Sometimes its helpful to step beyond the dueling headlines into some deeper journalism, such as Foreign Policy’s Passsport blog which substantiates doubts about fairness of the conviction (via a London Review of Books article in 2007) and concludes:

In this context the outrage over al-Megrahi’s release by Scotland last week–because he has terminal cancer –might need to be reevaluated. The same goes for resultant anger over Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi’s visit to the U.N. and New York in September. Following up on the London Review of Books’ blog this week, Glen Newey makes the astute, if impolitic point that the release, and drop of al-Megrahi’s appeal, was likely best for the political fortunes of everyone involved:

“It served nobody’s interests to have the Lockerbie bombing conviction debated in open court. Hence the great good fortune of al-Megrahi’s terminal prostate cancer, which sped his release from Greenock. With a ‘compassionate’ wave of the biro, the SNP administration has rid itselfof a high-profile prisoner with an unsafe conviction and enhanced, orcreated, its international profile. The UK government can keep in withthe Libyans and protect its commercial contracts, on the plea ofrespecting devolved powers. Meanwhile, in a rerun of the Cold War great game, we need to oil our way into the Colonel’s tent ahead of the Bear: recently Russia has been angling for a naval base in Benghazi. So even the Obama administration has reason to mute its complaints. It’s almost enough to make one believe in divine providence.”

U.N. Reports on Developing Nations’ Energy Needs – NYTimes.com

And you thought dating was expensive? Try picking up the tab for the developing worlds’ energy needs…500-600 billion per year for 10 years!  The actual request at a recent meeting, was slightly more reasonable:

Developing nations want a commitment from the developed world of financial support for reducing current and future emissions, but no concrete commitments have been forthcoming. At the summit meeting of African Union leaders this week in Tripoli, Libya, members agreed to ask the industrialized world for $67 billion annually, including compensation for the consequences of global warming it created, according to news reports.

via U.N. Reports on Developing Nations’ Energy Needs – NYTimes.com.