Posted on 08/04/2014 8:02:06 PM PDT by Second Amendment First
So, what else has been going on? Sadly, we seem to be in a period when a normal massive crisis with international implications just isn’t enough to get our attention. With missiles flying over Gaza, a civil war in Ukraine and the worst Ebola outbreak in history spreading through West Africa, a host of crises that would normally have been front-page news have received hardly any interest in the U.S. media. Here’s a look at what we’ve been missing.
The Disintegration of Libya
Libya’s already fragile post-Moammar Gadhafi political order has descended into chaos as rival militias have descended on Tripoli and are locked in a heated battle over the capital’s airport. Meanwhile, in Benghazi, a renegade former Gadhafi general and his forces are warring with local Islamist militia groups. A wave of kidnappings and assassinations has continued, and U.S., French and British diplomats have fled the country.
Carnage in Syria and Iraq
While nobody was paying attention, the civil war in Syria entered its bloodiest phase yet, with 700 people killed in just two days of fighting between Bashar Assad’s forces and the Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS). Meanwhile, across the border in Iraq, the rapid territorial gains that ISIS enjoyed in June have slowed, but the conflict has settled into a bloody stalemate with the rebels consolidating control in areas they’ve conquered and Iraq’s government unable to forge the kind of political coalition generally seen as necessary to combat them. Last weekend, ISIS seized three towns from Iraqi Kurdish forces, and just yesterday it gained control of the country’s largest dam, which, if destroyed, could result in the flooding of some of Iraq’s biggest cities.
Americans Arrested in Iran
Imagine, for a moment, the political outcry that would normally result from Iran’s arresting three American journalists in the midst of high-stakes diplomatic talks. Jason Rezaian, a joint U.S.-Iranian citizen and a reporter for the Washington Post, along with his Iranian wife, Yeganeh Salehi, were taken into custody when authorities raided their house on July 22. Another American couple, at least one of whom is believed to be a journalist, were also arrested. The arrests came shortly after the United States and other countries agreed to extend the talks for an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.
Afghanistan on the Brink
A political unity agreement negotiated with the help of Secretary of State John Kerry in early July between the rival candidates in Afghanistan’s presidential election may have put off a full-scale civil war. (It’s typical of Kerry’s luck that this rare and legitimate achievement happened at a time when no one was paying attention.) But the deal is fragile and the two candidates, Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, have failed to reach an agreement on how to audit votes from the recent election or share power. Meanwhile, the Taliban is making significant military gains near Kabul, recently carried out the country’s worst suicide bombing since 2001 and launched an audacious attack on Kabul’s airport. After recent events in Iraq, it’s hard to feel too confident about the U.S.-trained Afghan forces’ ability to control the situation once their American patrons leave.
Boko Haram’s Reign of Terror
The country that leads the world in terrorism fatalities right now isn’t Iraq, Afghanistan or Somalia. According to a recent report by British analysts, it’s Nigeria, where 2,053 people have been killed in 95 attacks by Boko Haram in the first half of this year. Thousands fled on July 21 after the extremist group seized Damboa, a large town in northeast Nigeria near the village where hundreds of schoolgirls were kidnapped in April. Most of the girls still have not been returned. Boko Haram has also been increasing its activities across the border in Cameroon and recently kidnapped the wife of the country’s vice prime minister.
But Not Everything Is Terrible
There’s not a lot of cause for hope in the news these days, but a few positive developments have been overlooked. At the 20th International AIDS Conference in Australia, the event marred by the deaths of several prominent researchers in the MH17 crash, it was announced that AIDS deaths and new infections have fallen more than a third over the last decade. Thanks largely to new retroviral treatments, South Africa’s average life expectancy has increased by more than a decade. And according to UNAIDS, last year, for the first time ever, more people were added to HIV treatment than were newly infected with the disease.
And there’s more: A vaccine that dramatically reduces the incidence of malaria—a disease that kills more people than this current Ebola outbreak every day—is nearing approval by regulators. A Ugandan court struck down the country’s vicious anti-gay law. While it looked a bit dicey for a while, the world’s fourth-largest country, Indonesia, completed its fourth peaceful democratic election with Joko Widodo defeating Suharto-era Gen. Prabowo Subianto. Four of the world’s five largest countries—with a combined population of more than 2 billion—are now solidly democratic.
Even in a summer of catastrophe, there’s some cause for hope.
There’s not a lot of cause for hope in the news these days, but a few positive developments have been overlooked. At the 20th International AIDS Conference in Australia, the event marred by the deaths of several prominent researchers in the MH17 crash, it was announced that AIDS deaths and new infections have fallen more than a third over the last decade. Thanks largely to new retroviral treatments, South Africa’s average life expectancy has increased by more than a decade. And according to UNAIDS, last year, for the first time ever, more people were added to HIV treatment than were newly infected with the disease.
Thank God they will survive disease to be slaughtered.
The foreign policy of our country has never been worse.
There I go, being racist again
President Joko Widodo?
“A political unity agreement negotiated with the help of Secretary of State John Kerry in early July between the rival candidates in Afghanistan’s presidential election may have put off a full-scale civil war. (It’s typical of Kerry’s luck that this rare and legitimate achievement happened at a time when no one was paying attention.)”
Poor Kerry. But at least it’s one more achievement than his predecessor.
President Joko Widodo, may I introduce you to Boutrous Boutros Ghali.
I was born in 1946. I have never seen the world in such chaos. There have been Democrats and there have been Republicans in the White House during that time and U.S. Presidents have always been key in maintaining order in the world.
Now we have O bow wow, the evil, the spawn of the dark one and chaos reigns! Isn’t this biblical?
“President Joko Widodo, may I introduce you to Boutrous Boutros Ghali.”
...and Dong Dong feels left out.
Rush had a lot of fun with that name. Image having to be the lawyer that has to defend someone with a name like that against child porn.
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