Radical Avenue

Burmese military leaders should stand trial for hijacking their country’s government and terrorizing innocent Burmese civilians. Instead, the ruling junta has placed Aung San Suu Kyi on trial for violating the terms of her imprisonment.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial is a farce, and her confinement is illegitimate. She faces an additional five years of isolation if convicted, but the Burmese military leaders have given no indication that they intend to free her under any circumstances.

Burma’s rich natural resources have attracted foreign investors for decades and politicians around the world are protecting those investments. The Burmese military continues to enjoy the tacit support of its powerful neighbors. As India celebrates another election in their country, the Indian government says nothing about the ongoing repression of democracy in Burma.

Humanitarian organizations will have their hands full this summer.

Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan army triumphed in their war on the insurgent Tamil Tigers, but winning the peace may be more difficult. The war displaced thousands of Tamil families and Sri Lankan officials have denied relief organizations access to the refugees.

According to numerous accounts, villages in northern Sri Lanka have been devastated by the fighting. It’s still not clear how the government will integrate the refugees back into peaceful society.

Somalia
Somalia’s government has been unstable for decades. Recently, fighting between government forces and rebel factions has intensified and forced around 67,000 people from their homes in Mogadishu. The refugees mostly live in squalor outside the war zones.

Pakistan
As the Pakistani army steps up its offensive against Taliban forces in the Swat valley, refugees are steaming south towards Islamabad. Military officials in Pakistan have made it clear that the war will continue in the coming months, with Pakistani forces driving north towards the Russian border.

2.4 million Pakistani’s have already been displaced this year, with thousands more fleeing the battles every day.

President Obama understands the virtues of centrist policies. On a couple of occasions last week, the president showed that he’s open to all points of view when it comes to protecting national security. His deliberative approach stands in stark contrast to the “my way or the highway” postures of his predecessor. And Mr. Obama has had the perfect foil in Dick Cheney, a man not known for taking advice from anyone.

Despite promises of transparency and accountability in his administration, President Obama will continue to oppose the release of photographs of alleged detainee abuse during the Bush years. The pictures are the subject of a Freedom of Information lawsuit dating back to 2003, and may be released to the public later anyway. Until then, Mr. Obama will follow the advice of his generals, something else he promised to do during the campaign.

Last Saturday, President Obama appointed John Huntsman, the Republican Governor of Utah, as his ambassador to China. Appointing a popular GOP politician to such an important post indicates that Obama takes diplomacy seriously. Huntsman is no Obama crony, and won’t sugarcoat his reports to the president in order to curry political favors.

In the meantime, former Vice President Cheney seems hell bent on defending the efficacy of institutionalized torture. Of course Cheney is the also the guy who had no doubt that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction in 2002, which was the reason given for the US invasion of Iraq. Dick Cheney’s history of recklessness on issues of national security makes the current administration look prudent by comparison.

The budding military alliance between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US against Taliban forces should come as no surprise to anyone following events of the past eight years. The US has supported Afghan and Pakistani efforts to defeat the Taliban for nearly a decade. And Taliban fighters have shown no inclination to lay down their arms and make peace.

Now, Pakistani military officers are working directly with US officers in the deployment of a devastating new weapon. Aerial drones guided by pilots at a base in Afghanistan have given the allies a close up view of Taliban movements in the Swat region of Pakistan.

Knowing where to find enemy fighters gives the Pakistani military an obvious advantage. Once a drone identifies a Taliban fighter, it can track that fighter for days without being detected. One Taliban soldier leads the drones to other soldiers. This allows Pakistani forces to know exactly where and when to attack. Pakistani officers won’t even need to use the drones for firing on enemy forces. Pakistani soldiers on the ground can handle that, thanks to their tactical superiority.

In the past, residents of mountainous northern Pakistan held a natural advantage in battles against invading armies because they knew the terrain so well. But in 2009, Taliban fighters are up against well trained, fully equipped Pakistani soldiers who are already acclimated to the conditions.

According to reports, Pakistan is planning to take the fight directly to Taliban strongholds in Waziristan. If true, it indicates that the Pakistani army intends to completely neutralize the Taliban, rather than just drive them out of the Swat valley.

The Pakistani Taliban’s campaign of terror over the past few months in the Swat Valley now threatens Islamabad. With civilians suffering under the iron hand of Taliban fighters, Pakistanis were beginning to wonder if their government would continue to look the other way. Apparently the answer is no.

Taliban militants may have committed a grave mistake by alienating so many Pakistanis. It allows President Zardari to tell the world that he gave the Taliban an opportunity to lay down their arms and live peacefully in the Swat Valley, but they refused. Ordering the army to intervene should improve Mr. Zardari’s standing inside his country.

The US Air Force has deployed a fleet of unmanned aerial drones over the skies of northern Pakistan. These new weapons provide enormous tactical advantages to their owners. The drones can see through clouds in the middle of the night, track enemy fighters for hours at time from two miles in the sky and use heat signatures to identify recently fired weapons. Drone pilots fire on targets inside Pakistan while sitting in front of computer screens on military bases inside the US. The US military also plans to put more boots on the ground in Afghanistan this summer.

Pakistani soldiers will receive intelligence and logistical support from their allies. International humanitarian organizations will provide food and shelter to displaced Pakistanis. The Taliban has far less capacity to withstand a war of attrition. The coming offensive should test Taliban fighters, but they’ve proven to be resilient in the past.

The Mexican government moved decisively last week in response to world wide concerns over spreading of the deadly H1N1 virus. Warnings went out, health professionals were invited in and public events were severely curtailed. Thanks in part to these extraordinary measures; life in Mexico may soon return to normal. Mexico has now earned a reputation as a nation which reacts swiftly and strongly to public health threats.

Apparently a number of countries learned lessons from the lethal SARS epidemic six years ago. Only a few people will seek to blame the Mexican government for the initial H1N1 virus outbreak, but nearly everyone expected a meaningful response once the severity of the threat became known. Mexicans deserve credit for their willingness to tolerate short term economic pain in order to assure the world that Mexico is a safe place.

If H1N1 turns out to be less dangerous than once feared, public health officials across the continent should be commended for their vigilance in containing the virus. Without quick action, the virus could have easily infected many more people than it has so far.

New sidewalks haven’t changed much over the past fifty years or so in the US. Our foot paths always look drab and dreary, like the colors of a rainy day. That’s where Red Shovel Glass Co. comes in. Red Shovel Glass helps the citizens of San Francisco, California recycle broken glass and pottery into landscaping materials.

Municipal governments hire organizations to collect recycled products anyway. By picking out glass or terra cotta and grinding off the rough edges, Red Shovel Glass creates substances that resemble multi-colored sandstones. Landscaping companies then mix the recycled materials in with concrete to liven up patios and walkways. Sculptors use the reflective glass in public art displays. And homeowners can throw a bag of colored stones into a fish pond or rock garden.

The San Francisco recycling program and others like it decrease the cost of government by effectively utilizing currently available resources, trash in this case, to produce income. Everyone benefits from this type of public investment.