[OPE] Mr Obama's first news conference...

From: Jurriaan Bendien <adsl675281@tiscali.nl>
Date: Tue Feb 10 2009 - 08:52:25 EST

"My administration inherited a deficit of over $1 trillion, but because we also inherited the most profound economic emergency since the Great Depression, doing too little or nothing at all will result in an even greater deficit of jobs, incomes; and confidence. That is a deficit that could turn a crisis into a catastrophe. (...) We stand to lose about $1 trillion worth of demand this year and another trillion next year. And what that means is you've got this gaping hole in the economy." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/09/obamas-opening-remarks-at_n_165440.html

Yep, but then, in reply to a Reuters reporter (Karen Boeing):

"we're clear about the fact that a nuclear Iran could set off a nuclear arms race in the region that would be profoundly destabilizing."

Huh? Where is the real evidence for that? Russia, Pakistan, as well as Israel and India (with US help and approval) already have nuclear weapons; US nuclear weapons are also stored in Turkey (along with US weapons stored in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Italy). Possibly, Syria is interested in developing a nuclear weapons stockpile, but if it did so, it would face the real possibility of a pre-emptive Israeli attack.

But which Middle East countries would be interested in procuring or very substantially increasing their nuclear arsenal?

The only likely candidates so far are Saudi Arabia and the Arabic emirates, but they are generally within the US sphere of influence. In addition, it is very difficult now for countries who do not have nuclear weapons already, to procure them.

It looks to me that the real "weapons of mass destruction" are disintegrating economies, which create all kinds of desperado's capable of wreaking havoc. The reference to a "nuclear arms race" in the Middle East is rhetoric - the real aim is merely to curb the real or potential power of Iran in the region. This is also the sense of Israeli press propaganda such as http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123379548035950207.html

Lord Turner, the chairman of the UK Financial Services Authority http://www.fsa.gov.uk/, drily stated recently "There has never been an IMF report on the US financial system because the US didn't want one". http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/deeper-recession-will-lead-to-financial-crime-wave-1605492.html

In other words, the fatcat bureaucrats in charge of policy analysis aren't even capable of any realistic risk assessment, because any sign of critical thought threatens their fat salaries and cushy jobs.

But actually, in 2008, the IMF informed Mr Bernanke it would undertake a general after-the-fact audit of the US financial system ("Financial Sector Assessment Program"), something previously unheard of. Point is, when the final report is released in 2010, the people in charge at the critical moment are already long gone - off to new rich pickings somewhere else.

The same type of people who failed to anticipate the current problems, are also the type of people who will give the world more disastrous policies in the Midde East.

Jurriaan

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Received on Tue Feb 10 12:52:48 2009

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