Together We Train
The Washington Post leads with a lengthy article on the
reasons--stated and unstated--that U.S. special forces help train foreign
troops, even in countries under U.S. sanctions. The Los Angeles
Times goes with the increased use of methamphetamines (speed, crystal
meth, etc.) in western cities, as documented by a newly released Justice
Department report. The good news (which catches an inside headline at the
WP ) is that cocaine rates are falling nationwide. The New York
Times leads with farm troubles in the northern plains, caused by low
wheat and livestock prices. There's no quick fix but plenty of partisan
debate--Democrats want to increase farm subsidies, while Republicans want to
find new markets. (The Senate just approved the sale of U.S. wheat to Pakistan,
which is under U.S. sanctions.)
The WP lead, the first of a three-part series, raises interesting
questions about the U.S. military special forces' overseas activities. A 1991
law allows the special forces to conduct overseas exercises if the "primary
purpose is to train U.S. soldiers" (in the WP 's words). Some of these
missions involve training foreign troops, even in countries like Pakistan,
Indonesia, and Turkey which are under U.S. sanctions or whose militaries have
dubious human rights records. Does training foreign troops--and sometimes even
financing their participation in the training--genuinely advance the training
of our own troops? (Lamest answer cited in the WP : "by training foreign
troops, U.S. forces [learn] how to train foreign troops.") Do we really want
U.S. special forces to coach foreign troops--especially in unstable
countries--on crackdowns tactics? The sheer variety of rationales for the joint
training exercises--as given by officials quoted in the WP --suggests
that the original purpose of the 1991 law has been superceded by case-by-case
concerns.
The NYT front and WP inside both run stories on the latest
political news from Indonesia: an ally of current President Habibie was elected
to head the dominant political party. This development should bolster the
country's stability at least for the short-term, though the NYT says
that Habibie's hold on power is still fragile.
Ousted CNN producer April Oliver takes her battle-cry to the WP
Outlook section. She defends the retracted CNN story on nerve gas used against
American defectors in Vietnam as "solid with the facts," and alleges that she
is the victim of a dark CNN public relations conspiracy.
And Wall Street is getting ahead of itself, according to the NYT
front page. Come Monday, it will be December 29, 1999 for test computers, and
scripted mock-trading over the next few weeks will preview how the industry
will handle the Year 2000 bug. If well-prepared Wall Street trips over the Y2K,
then we may all be in trouble.
