Democratic Convention Madness…

By: Scott Nelson
Staff Writer

The eyes of the world turn today to the Democratic Convention in Denver to watch Barack Obama’s next step in his bid for the United States Presidency.

There’s a burning questions on the minds of all of us here at the Global Affairs Council; will the Clintons hijack the convention?

Senator Obama was forced to grant many concessions to Hillary Clinton, giving both her and husband, former President Bill Clinton, key prime time speaking slots on Monday and Wednesday as well as allowing the Clintons to show a video on the life of Hillary. Further, on Thursday Clinton delegates will be allowed to make a “symbolic” role call vote for Senator Clinton’s nomination.

We see several possible outcomes.

Outcome One: the Clintons will successfully hijack the convention. Senator Obama hasn’t won anything yet, and with his recent slide in the polls against Senator McCain, delegates that had previously agreed to support Senator Obama could realistically switch their support to Mrs. Clinton; giving her the nomination.

Outcome Two: The Clintons will disrupt the convention enough to cast further doubts on Senator Obama’s leadership and weaken him enough to give Senator McCain the strength to win the general election. Under this strategy a refortified Senator Clinton will sweep in four years from now to run again against aging incumbent McCain.

Outcome Three: Everyone will play nice and Senator Obama will waltz out of the convention with a clear mandate and solid party nomination.

Of the three outcomes, we here at the Global Affairs Council tend to lean towards outcome number two. But one thing is for sure; if history tells us anything it is that nothing is impossible at a party convention.

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August 25, 2008 | Filed Under U.S. Presidential Election | Leave a Comment 

The Russian / Georgian War

By John Alexander
Executive Director

Russia’s attack on Georgia signals a shift in the balance of power within the region and perhaps throughout the world that will have significant implications on all of Europe as well as the United States and China.

BACKGROUND:

On August 7th, 2008 troops from the Republic of Georgia invaded territory held by South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia that had declared its independence back in the early 1990’s. That independence had not been diplomatically acknowledged by the United Nations, who still saw South Ossetia as a part of Georgia.

On August 8th, Russian troops entered South Ossetia, citing a kind of informal alliance between the two “countries”. By August 10th, Russia had secured their position in South Ossetia and begin to eyeball Georgia proper, which they then invaded the next day.

ANALYSIS:

This raises several obvious questions to us here at the Global Affairs Council. Why did Georgia invade South Ossetia in the first place? How was Russia able to react so quickly and effectively? Did Russia lure Georgia in so that the could use the “invasion” as a pretext to invade themselves? Why did this happen now, when the eyes of the world are turned to the Olympics in Beijing? Will the United States react, or will they be unable to stop Russia?

Bogged down with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, contemplating another action in Iran, and facing a Presidential election that will soon sweep the current administration out of office, the United States is seemingly overdrawn and unable to answer the situation in Georgia.

This action seems to re-establish Russia’s military might after its crushing defeat during the fall of the former Soviet Union and is seen as an attempt to re-establish Russia’s sphere of influence and signal to the world a comeback of Russian power under the rule of Vladimir Putin.

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August 21, 2008 | Filed Under Russia | Leave a Comment 

China Leader Hua Guofeng Dies Today At Age 87

By: John Alexander
Executive Director

Hua Guofeng, the communist leader who ruled China shortly as the Communist Party Chairman after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, died today at the age of 87 in Beijing.

Hua Guofeng was famous for his “Two Whatever’s” campaign, which directed the Party to:

   1. Uphold whatever policy decision Mao had previously made.
   2. Adhere to whatever instructions Mao had given.

The “Two Whatever’s” campaign was widely criticized by Deng Xiaoping at the 3rd Plenum of the 11th Central Committee in 1978 and ultimately used to push Hua out of power, giving rise to the reign of reformers led by Deng.

Before Mao died, he was notoriously quoted as saying of Hua; “With you in charge, I am at ease”. In an attempt to create his own cult of personality, Hua attempted to mimic Mao, affecting his same hair style, mode of dress, and mannerisms.

Before being ousted from power, Hua Guofeng famously arrested the “Gang of Four”, the group that led China through the Cultural Revolution and included Mao’s wife Jiang Qing.

Hua was notable for being one of the first Chinese leaders not to be purged, killed, or banished to a distant province upon his fall from power. He remained a member of the Communist Party’s Central Committee until 2002. China’s state-run News Agency hailed him as a “loyal communist warrior”.

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August 20, 2008 | Filed Under China | Leave a Comment 

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