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April 17, 2007
Hilary Benn "In the UK, we do not use the phrase 'war on terror'"
UK International Development Secretary Hilary Benn has recently been in the news - arguing that
In the UK, we do not use the phrase 'war on terror' because we can't win by military means alone, and because this isn't us against one organised enemy with a clear identity and coherent set of objectives
Unsurprisingly enough, I agree with this position. What's interesting to note, though, is that this policy was initially laid out in December last year when ministers were told "by the Foreign Office to drop the phrase 'war on terror' and other terms seen as liable to anger British Muslims and increase tensions more broadly in the Islamic world." Benn's decision to emphasise this now may have more to do with his political career plans than anything deeper. However, it's interesting that this 'new' announcement is getting so much more attention now than last year (as part of the story of Benn's hope to be elected deputy leader of the Labour Party).
At any rate, in terms of explaining why talking about a 'war on terror' isn't a good idea, I think Jon Stewart offers a much better justification than the Foreign Office:
We declared war on terror. We declared war on terror—it’s not even a noun, so, good luck. After we defeat it, I’m sure we’ll take on that bastard ennui.
As it happens, I'm pleased to announce that my patented ennui-buster bombs will soon be on the market.
Posted by jon_mendel at 01:17 AM | TrackBack
April 13, 2007
Downing Street petition about Navy prisoners selling stories
The Prime Minister's Downing Street website now allows member of the public to post online petitions. One petition - about the recent decision to allow those Navy personnel held prisoners by Iran - has recently been getting media attention.
The petition, and Tony Blair's response, make an interesting read. One issue with making government websites interactive is that people will - sometimes with good reason - then use these websites to call for government heads to roll...
Posted by jon_mendel at 05:18 PM | TrackBack
April 10, 2007
Mapping the killing in Darfur with Google Earth
The US Holocaust Museum has now released Google Earth layers, mapping out the crisis in Darfur. This looks like an interesting political use of the sparial and visual aspects of mapping - and apparently something that the Holocaust Museum plans to do more of in the future.
Posted by jon_mendel at 05:44 PM | TrackBack
April 09, 2007
Max Clifford on propaganda and Iran
With controversy building about the decision to allow the British Navy Personnel captured by Iran to sell their stories, the BBC has an interesting interview with the PR specialist Max Clifford - listen again here (about 10mins in).
Clifford argues that this is part of a propaganda exercise on behalf of the UK government. If so, it's an interesting example of blurring boundaries between the media and military (the navy personnel are allowed to sell their stories individually, instead of their stories just being incorporated into an 'official' military statement). Not, by the looks of it, particularly successful propaganda, though.
Posted by jon_mendel at 08:09 PM | TrackBack
April 05, 2007
The joys of serious organised crime
Just been trying to get on with my PhD work at the same time as laughing (harder than you'd think - my Dragon software doesn't know what to make of laughter). I've been listening to a Mark Thomas show - the funniest thing I've heard in a long time....
The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 has, among other things, required protests in the area around the UK parliament to get police permission - and effectively imposed limitations on them. Mark Thomas has spent months holding various protests, playing with the regulations, and very effectively taking the piss. Some interesting stuff here about critical approaches to geography - how administrative boundaries, attempts at controlling and surveilling space, etc. can be subverted - but, to be honest, the main attraction of this show is just that it's very, very funny.
Now, how do I go about holding my Defend Surrealism protest...?
Posted by jon_mendel at 01:49 PM | TrackBack
April 02, 2007
Drugs, again - discussion of legalising Afghan opium production
Interesting story in last Independent on Sunday:
The 'IoS' can reveal Tony Blair is considering calls to legalise poppy production in the Taliban's backyard. The plan could cut medical shortages of opiates worldwide, curb smuggling - and hit the insurgents
At least on the surface, this seems like a positive thing: to be blunt, attempts to limit Afghan opium production have been strikingly unsuccessful (growth reduction programmes failing to prevent the production of large and larger opium crops). At least such a move towards legalisation might stop making a bad situation worse.
However, Steve Rolles (Transform Drug Policy Foundation) argues that
Afgahanistan's status as a failed state and war zone presents insurmountable obstacles. Although such an illicit-to-licit transition has been achieved in Turkey and India, this required a high level of infrastructural investment, state intervention and security apparatus, something Afghanistan is entirely lacking in its current chaotic and lawless state.
The security situation in much of Afghanistan is such that the UN struggles to get staff in to estimate opium production. The idea that some kind of government ministry could control the opium production is completely unrealistic: you'd need an army, along with significant potential to 'project force' (which, at least for a while, would mean NATO troops would need to play a substantial role). It is also just this type of use of force which NATO has been cautious about becoming involved in - attacking a lot of relatively poor farmers with fairly easy access to weapons is likely to generate a hostile response.
As Rolles notes, demand for illegal opiates will persist even if the Afghan supply is stopped (not something which is likely to happen soon). So long as thinking on Afghan opiate production remains caught within the rubric of a 'war on drugs' - which seeks to use force to prevent the production of illegal/unregulated opium - there isn't any apparent way out of the current mess.
The trade in illegal opiates is already an excellent example of the efficacy of globalisation: these can be produced, produced and sold across a number of state borders and without effective state interference. What may be more hopeful than any rhetoric of the 'war on drugs' is to view the trade in opiates as just that - a trade - and to seek a move to a free and fair trade in Afghan poppies and poppy products. There certainly isn't any easy or 'obvious' solution to the problems in Afghanistan - but this might be one situation where globalised trade can play an important part in the solution.
