INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
The Neoconservatives' New Fight

With little notoriety, a major political storm is brewing over the ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). On one side, an impressive coalition has formed, uniting the Bush administration, business groups, environmentalists, oil companies, a large bipartisan majority of U.S. senators, and 155 different nations under one tent. On the other side, a small contingent of knee-jerk isolationists is threatening to sink a seemingly non-controversial treaty that would "create a system for negotiating drilling, mining, and fishing rights." Revealing their core distrust of multilateralism, a familiar cadre of right-wing voices such as former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, neconservative hawk Frank Gaffney, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), and others are aggressively attempting to thwart passage of the UNCLOS treaty. "The opposition to the Law of the Sea is based entirely on a visceral hatred for multilateral cooperation," writes Scott Paul, deputy director of government relations for Citizens for Global Solutions. "Its champions detest all forms of international organization and believe the purpose of international law is to constrain U.S. behavior." The same far-right ideologues who have argued that the United States should feel unencumbered by international law to go to war, torture, and pollute are now raising their heads in opposition to the UNCLOS treaty. For that reason, the convention is the "the perfect issue for progressives to rally around," writes The American Prospect's Kate Sheppard, because "it reveals the outrage from the outer edges of the right for what it really is: anti-cooperative isolationism that is both unfounded in fact and counter to American interests." Moreover, winning the battle over the Law of the Sea is an important step toward restoring America's international reputation and paving the path for future international agreements on climate change, weapons proliferation, and a host of other issues.

THE NEED FOR UNCLOS: Beginning in 1973 and ending in 1982, representatives from 160 nations met regularly under U.N. auspices to "hash out concerns about military navigation rights, territorial boundaries, environmental protections, and use of the ocean's resources." The convention also established tribunals that would resolve disputes that might arise between nations' interpretation of their sea rights. Since 1982, the Law of the Sea has languished without U.S. ratification. But new leadership in the Senate has bolstered hopes of passage. Seventy percent of the earth's surface is covered by ocean, and the mission of UNCLOS is to preserve marine resources for future generations. The treaty binds all nations to protect the "marine environment, protect fish stocks, and prevent pollution with as much care as the U.S. does." Former Republican Secretaries of State James Baker and George Schultz write that the longer the United States delays ratification, the more it "compromises our nation's authority to exercise its sovereign interests, jeopardizes its national and economic security, and limits its leadership role in international ocean policy." The UNCLOS would help address such issues as the current scrambling over the Arctic's mineral and energy reserves, helping stave off military confrontations that could arise.

HELD CAPTIVE BY THE FAR RIGHT: The far right has engaged in hyperbolic misrepresentations and fear-mongering to rally the activist base against the treaty. CNN's right-wing pundit Glenn Beck characterized it as a "socialist, globalist, elitist" accord. Inhofe, who annually leads an effort to defund the United Nations, called it the "greatest raid on sovereignty" in his lifetime. Bolton has been lobbying lawmakers to oppose the treaty, despite the fact that just a couple of years ago, he repeatedly advocated for it. Gaffney has formed the Coalition to Preserve American Sovereignty, which is stoking fear in the right-wing base over the impact of a multi-national sea accord. Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-MS) has pledged his opposition, explaining, "I'm not going to get in a twit about what the Swiss or Belgians may think about us." Sens. John Sununu (R-NH), Norm Coleman (R-MN), and George Voinovich (R-OH), who all voted for the Law of the Sea in 2004, are now reconsidering their votes in a clear pander to the activists. Even the Republican presidential candidates are chiming in. "Let's stop the Law of Sea Treaty," former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) said recently at the Values Voters Summit, drawing an ovation from religious conservatives.

A TEST FOR PROGRESSIVES: The battle of the UNCLOS treaty is a defining issue for progressives, both because it reveals the failed unilateralist approach and restores the principles of global cooperation. "You have an agreement that's endorsed by a Republican president, the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Coast Guard, an overwhelming number of senators from both political parties, business groups, trade associations, and you already have 155 countries that are party to the treaty. It seems like if you can't get that through, I don't know what kind of treaty you can get through the Senate," said Spencer Boyer, director of international law and diplomacy for the Center for American Progress. Scott Paul, who has been spearheading the awareness campaign on the left, adds, "Winning the ratification battle would seriously de-fang the same pugnacious nationalists who are on the opposite side of almost every important foreign policy issue facing the U.S."

Under the Radar

IRAQ -- CHALABI REEMERGES AS 'IMPORTANT PART' OF PETRAEUS STRATEGY: Yesterday, McClatchy revealed that Ahmad Chalabi, the disgraced Iraqi politician who embellished reports of Iraq's WMDs to encourage an American attack, has "re-emerged as a central figure in the latest U.S. strategy for Iraq." As the new head of the services committee, charged with bringing electricity, health, and other services to Baghdad, Chalabi serves at "the heart of the surge plan." Col. Steven Boylan, spokesman for Gen. David Petraeus, heralded Chalabi as "an important part of the process." Chalabi became the darling of the Bush administration after "providing White House and Pentagon officials and journalists with a stream of bogus or exaggerated intelligence about Iraq's weapons programs and ties to terrorists." Since then, he has revealed U.S. intelligence secrets to Iran, "sabotaged" U.S.-backed de-Baathification reforms, allegedly engaged in a counterfeiting operation in Iraq, and was convicted of embezzlement.

ADMINISTRATION -- FEMA OFFICIAL INVOLVED IN FAKE PRESS CONFERENCE RESIGNS: On Tuesday, while wildfires raged in California, FEMA staged a live press conference at which agency staffers posed as journalists and lobbed softball questions. On Saturday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff called FEMA's fake press conference "one of the dumbest and most inappropriate things I've seen since I've been in government," and promised "appropriate disciplinary action" for those involved. The White House also condemned the fake presser. Last week, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino denied having previous knowledge of the presser and said, "It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House. ...  FEMA is responsible." Yet one of the FEMA staffers who asked questions at the staged event and took responsibility for the charade, Director of External Affairs John "Pat" Philbin, has since resigned. He has instead landed an "amazing opportunity" to head public affairs at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

IRAN -- ELBARADEI: MILITARY STRIKE ON IRAN 'WOULD LEAD ABSOLUTELY A DISASTER': Yesterday on CNN, International Atomic Energy chairman Mohammad ElBaradei sounded alarms about the Bush administration's increasingly hawkish rhetoric in regards to Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions. "We have the time" to use diplomacy, ElBaradei urged. "I very much have concern about confrontation...because that would lead absolutely to a disaster. I see no military solution," he said. While ElBaradei did not rule out Iran having an "intent" to obtain nuclear weapons, he explained that there is no evidence that Iran is currently pursuing such a program: "I have not received any information that there is a concrete, active nuclear weapon program going on right now. ... [H]ave we seen having the nuclear material that can be readily used into a weapon? No. Have we seen an active weaponization program? No," he declared. ElBaradei urged the United States to halt its fiery rhetoric and directly engage Iran: "The earlier we go into negotiation, the earlier we follow the North Korean model, the better for everybody." Bush's hawkish Iran rhetoric "escalates the danger of a military confrontation," said Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE).

Think Fast

Despite President Bush's tough rhetoric on the genocide in Darfur, "the situation on the ground in Darfur is little changed." Critics say Bush is "allowing initiatives to drop because of inertia or failure to follow up, while proving unable to mobilize either his bureaucracy or the international community."

"A suicide bomber on a bicycle killed 28 Iraqi policemen doing their morning exercises at their base north of Baghdad on Monday, police said, in one of the deadliest strikes on security forces in months."

Former Bush aide Dan Bartlett will announce today that he is "moving to Texas to join Public Strategies Inc., one of the nation's best-connected public affairs firms." At the firm, Bartlett will reunite with Mark McKinnon, "who directed the advertising efforts for Bush's 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns."

"More than a year after Congress told the Energy Department to harden the nation's nuclear bomb factories and laboratories against terrorist raids, at least 5 of the 11 sites are certain to miss their deadlines, some by many years."

Oil prices today "broke through $93 a barrel for the first time, hitting $93.20 before easing back slightly to $93.06." 

"Islamofascism" is "not an ideology; it's a figment of the neocon imagination," writes Paul Krugman in The New York Times today. "The term came into vogue only because it was a way for Iraq hawks to gloss over the awkward transition from pursuing Osama bin Laden, who attacked America, to Saddam Hussein, who didn't."

"Dozens of construction projects launched by the Army Corps of Engineers to protect the New Orleans region from the most catastrophic floods are behind schedule by an average of nearly eight months, an internal audit shows."

New claims by former Secretary of State Colin Powell further detail the close ties between President Bush and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair: "In the end Blair would always support the president. ... Jack [Straw] and I would get him all pumped up about an issue. And he'd be ready to say, 'Look here, George'. But as soon as he saw the president he would lose all his steam."

And finally: Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has taken a "sartorial cue" from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). "Whitehouse's trademark black Pumas...so inspired Brown" that he "asked Whitehouse where to find the sneaks, promptly bought a pair and now sports them with his work attire." Brown's spokesman said that the senator was "mindful of just how hard those unforgiving marble floors can be on one's feet, back and neck, and he was covetous of his fellow freshman's sleek-but-cushioned footwear."

Good News

Argentina elects its first woman president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

State Watch

NEW JERSEY: Gay couples say New Jersey's civil unions law has "not provided the protections they had hoped for."

MISSOURI: "Gov. Matt Blunt (R), an abortion opponent, has launched the state on a scientific quest to determine how abortions affect women."

MINNESOTA: School district "is fighting a string of court decisions ordering the school to allow a gay-straight alliance access to school facilities."

Blog Watch

THINK PROGRESS: The Washington Post in 2002 and 2007: President Bush is trying to "prevent" war.

GLENN GREENWALD: A bizarre exchange between a blogger and Gen. David Petraeus's chief spokesman in Iraq.

ABU AARDVARK: Too much focus on weekly body counts in Iraq misses the point that "there is no possible winning strategy anymore."

TPM MUCKRAKER: The House Judiciary Committee accidentally reveals whistleblower e-mail addresses.

Daily Grill

"Anyone who knows what waterboarding is could not be unsure. It is a horrible torture technique. ... People who have worn the uniform and had the experience know that this is a terrible and odious practice and should never be condoned in the U.S. We are a better nation than that."
-- Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), 10/25/07

VERSUS

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You obviously feel strongly about this. Will Mr. Mukasey have to say clearly that waterboarding is torture to get your vote for attorney general? [...]
McCAIN: I can't be that absolute.
-- McCain, 10/28/07, speaking about the Attorney General nomination of Michael Mukasey