JEFFREY WINTERS
Associate professor of political economy at Northwestern University, author of Power in Motion: Capital Mobility and the Indonesian State and co-author of the forthcoming Reinventing the World Bank, Winters said today: “Hardly anything has been accomplished at past Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meetings and very little economics will be discussed at this one. It is mainly an opportunity for Bush to pressure Asian leaders on the U.S. military campaign as well as for some of them to strengthen their opposition to it, which is greater than has been reported. Bush may attempt to buy support, including ironically by resuming arms shipments to the Indonesian military which terrorizes its own people.”

ROBERT WEIL
Author of Red Cat, White Cat: China and the Contradictions of “Market Socialism,” Weil said today: “China is being very foolish and shortsighted in its lending general support to the U.S. war in Afghanistan. The reason for that Chinese government policy — at least in part — is its conflict with separatist Muslim forces in its own northwest. But the record shows that the U.S. government uses such situations only for its immediate goals and then quickly reverses its stand once it has accomplished its own purposes. In the meantime, the Chinese government will have opened the door for a U.S. presence in Central Asia and for U.S. intervention wherever it chooses in the world. This cannot be in the long-term interest of China or any other nation.”

JULES LOBEL
MICHAEL RATNER
Lobel is professor of constitutional and international law at the University of Pittsburgh. Ratner is vice president of the Center for Constitutional Rights. They co-wrote the recent article “An Alternative to the U.S. Employment of Military Force.” They said today: “The U.S. has not gotten approval for the bombing of Afghanistan from the UN Security Council. Just as many predicted, the U.S. bombing is destabilizing Pakistan, killing more innocents, creating massive numbers of refugees who are facing starvation and further fueling resentment towards the U.S. — thus virtually assuring more terrorism against us. On totally pragmatic grounds, Americans should be terrified at what our government is doing. The evidence that Blair put forward against bin Laden is circumstantial. What’s the downside to pausing the bombing and negotiating — the Taliban have put forward proposals for turning over bin Laden — while letting the humanitarian organizations feed some people?”
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LAMIS ANDONI
An independent journalist and Middle East analyst, Andoni has been monitoring the Al-Jazeera network. She said today: “Al-Jazeera shows critical views, including persecuted opposition groups and intellectuals as well as the pro-U.S. views of most of the governments, along with the statements of U.S. government officials. Other perspectives are needed — there are positions besides being for Bush or being for bin Laden. Al-Jazeera features news from people in Afghanistan and Pakistan, it still has a correspondent in Kabul, regular news from the occupied Palestinian territories, serious discussion of international law, definitions of terrorism and critical reports on Arab governments.”
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; David Zupan, (541) 484-9167