411 Politics Fact or Fiction 11.19.07: Week 68

Posted by Brandon Crow on 11.19.2007

It's Fact or Fiction...International!!

Welcome to Week 68 of Politics Fact or Fiction! We're only two weeks out from the big 70th Birthday! I'm planning a very special birthday bash so stay tuned and be sure to check out Week 70 on Monday December 3rd!

This week, the Crow has something special lined up as well. It's the first THREE-WAY DANCE under my tenure as host. Not only that, it's an INTERNATIONAL three-way dance. This week, we have 411 Politics columnists who live outside the United States so no one can accuse of us being US-centric!

This week's participants will all be "un-Americans" and frankly, so will the questions. I can just hear the far right now…"Crow's a traitor! He hates the troops…He's trying to give us that tainted view again!"

The mighty threesome: Andy Bracken of Australia, Ray Church from Macau and the loveable moose himself, Matthew D.S. from Canada, who despite the lack of face time here at the zone, still monitors us weekly!

As a side note to Matthew D.S., tell your government to stop building that ridiculous fence along your southern border! Americans will not tolerate such immoral undertakings! If you don't want our kind hopping the border, then stop your pharmaceutical companies from producing such cheap, affordable medicines!

Ding, Ding!

1. Russian President Vladimir Putin's latest moves to consolidate power suggests he is moving Russia back to the Communist era, if not the Stalinist era.

Andy Bracken: FICTION. Likening Putin to Stalin is a similar overstatement as comparing Bush to Hitler. He has certainly moved towards authoritarianism, but there is one major difference between his regime and that of the former USSR- Putin enjoys extensive popular support. His actions when this support fades (as it inevitably will) will be far more telling. Testing the limits of his support base in order to cling to power hardly makes him unique in world politics.

Ray Church: FACT. Stalin is a bit of a stretch. Let's see: cracking down on the media? Check. Prosecution of political opponents? Check. Strong arm tactics used over his neighbors? Check. Hell, he even restored the music of the Communist national anthem (if not the lyrics). Putin is a thug, but aren't you glad to know that Bush looked into his eyes and saw his soul!

Matthew D.S.: FACT. Russia has had a rough few...well, decades, if not century, and the reforms which brought an end to the Soviet era seemed to have stalled if not regressed under the Putin regime. He has run an autocratic government out of the Kremlin which has reigned in non-governmental organizations, the press, and has strengthened the hand of the security services. While "Communist" or "Stalinist" may be strong terms, I certainly agree with the premise of this point.

0 for 1. Well, this week will obviously be tougher to get agreement.

2. The tense struggle between Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and current "president" General Pervez Musharraf has heated up quickly. Opposition leader Bhutto has even publicly called for Musharraf to step down. With mounting pressure, Musharraf will indeed step down.

Andy Bracken: FICTION. No amount of domestic pressure is going to force Musharraf out. He still has a broad base of support within the country, and the opposition is far too fractured to be able to form anything that would resemble an effective coalition against him. The only pressure that might have any effect would be if the US withdraws support for his rule. Even in that case he is astute enough to realize that he represents the best option for the current US administration and seems prepared to call their bluff. He might make some superficial concessions, but he will not relinquish control of the army.

Ray Church: FICTION. Man, this one is a coin toss. On one hand, you have the fact that Musharraf took power by force, maintained power by force and looks to use force to continue what little power he has left. On the other hand, his allies are abandoning him like fleas from a drowning rat. Even Bush turned around and said that he shouldn't be both President and Chief of the Army (umm, isn't one of the titles of the US President "Commander in Chief?"). I eventually came down on the side of fiction, basically because Bhutto gives him an excuse to continue his strong arm tactics.

Matthew D.S.: FICTION. Pakistan has too much to lose if Musharraf, America's favorite "dictator" (side diatribe: why does the US deal with "friendly" dictators and ignore their civil/political abuses while chastising "unfriendly" dictators for the same things? Anyway!), falls from power. He has cooperated, for the most part, with the alleged US "War on Terror" and has a tight grip on the armed forces. Mass demonstrations have failed to materialize thus far on the streets of the nuclear armed nation, and Bhutto has repeatedly been placed under house arrest. If Musharraf can keep protests to a minimum - whether rightly or not - and if he keeps promises to hold elections and step down as head of the Armed Forces, Musharraf will hold onto the Pakistani throne. For now.

1 for 2. Hey, agreement! To be fair, Andy wrote his response five days before Musharraf actually announced he would step down as leader of the army. Frankly, I didn't think he'd step down either. I also like how Ray Church manages to throw in a jab at the US even in a question regarding Pakistan. He truly is un-American!! And DS brings up an excellent point about "friendly" dictators.

3. During a summit of Latin American leaders, along with leaders from Spain and Portugal, Spain's King Juan Carlos told Hugo Chavez to "shut up" when Chavez referred to Spain's former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar as a fascist. King Juan Carlos should be applauded for his action because it's about time someone put Chavez in his place.

Andy Bracken: FACT. It is always nice for a self-important buffoon to be verbally smacked, even if it is by an irrelevant relic. Chavez was taught a very important lesson- that referencing class warfare and the proletarian struggle might work in front of a far-left domestic crowd, but it won't gain him any respect as an international statesman. Unfortunately, I doubt that it'll be the last time that Chavez plays the fool on the world stage.

Ray Church: FACT. If only because Chavez gives real dissidents a bad name. Yes, Aznar was a dick who managed to piss off Students, Unions, Ecologists, Left Wingers and Peace Activists, but Chavez calling anyone a fascist while he shuts down opposition in the media and human rights organizations makes this a case of rank hypocrisy. Sometimes, you smell the sulfur because it's following you around.

Matthew D.S.: FACT. I wholeheartedly agree. Spain has a sensitive side pertaining to the term "fascist," given the decades they faced under the rule of more-or-less fascist Francisco Franco, and Chavez's remark was meant to provoke. So, His Majesty, decided to provoke back, by telling the socialist to shut his yap. And why the hell not? Chavez should be able to get as well as he gives.

2 for 3. Am I the only one who likes Chavez? Ok, so he is a bit of a dictator, but his people see him as a "friendly" dictator… and I must admit, much of what I like about Chavez is that he doesn't take any shit from Bush. Our Democrats could learn a thing or two from Sr. Chavez.

4. Instead of wasting time saber rattling with Iran, the Bush administration should be focusing on Pakistan as in the end, Pakistan is a much more volatile and dangerous country to US and world interests than Iran..

Andy Bracken: FICTION. Dealing with Iran should be at the forefront of US foreign policy. There seems little doubt that Iran has ambitions on regional dominance, and the calamity in Iraq has laid out conditions where this is not only possible, but likely- particularly in the absence of a strong US deterrent. Conversely, Pakistan's regional ambitions will always be limited to what India allows, regardless of whether or not the Islamists in the north of Pakistan exert more influence. India has both the military capability and the political will to deal with a hostile Pakistan should the issue arise.

Ray Church: FICTION. Well, yeah, he should shut up about Iran, but right now I don't have confidence that Bush could organize a piss up in a brewery. Yes, Pakistan is more dangerous, but this is a case where another bone-headed move from the USA could basically unleashed a hornets nest. At the moment, because of the wide spread anti-Americanism in the Middle East, anything the US does in the region is liable to make the world more dangerous, not less.

Matthew D.S.: FACT-ISH This is a tough one. Iran is a potential nuclear power, despite protests to the contrary by President Ahmadinejad, and should they acquire this weapon, this will mark a shift in the balance of power in the Middle East, much to the fear of Iraq and Israel. Iran cannot be ignored, however this posturing by the likes of Cheney is utterly pointless, and just alienates moderates overseas to an even greater extent.

Pakistan cannot be ignored either, of course, as the US has a vested interest to keep this afore-mentioned "friendly dictator" in power. Iran is already hostile, Pakistan, at least in terms of government, is not. If Pakistan falls, a power vacuum may emerge which Bhutto may fill, but other elements, extremists and all, will try and get dibs on power also. Let's boil it down to this folks: nukes + instability = holy shit watch out world.

PS: How bout dealing with Afghanistan more, US?

2 for 4. You know, this one is DS's fault. What the heck is a FACT-ISH anyway? If you would have just said FICTION, I could have gotten a 3 out of 4 on a threesome! You know how hard that is!! Leave it to a Canadian to waffle around like a John Kerry…

Big thanks to my handsome threesome, Andy, Ray and Matthew…yes, I guess even DS… You three come back any time.

Does anyone else want to be a part of F or F? Shoot me an email; that's all it takes to be immortalized!