Left Flank

The 'five generals' have devised a serious and remarkable global platform to reinvigorate conservatism for the 21st Century.

The key threats are:

· Political fanaticism and religious fundamentalism.

· The "dark side" of globalisation, meaning international terrorism, organised crime and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

· Climate change and energy security, entailing a contest for resources and potential "environmental" migration on a mass scale.

· The weakening of the nation state as well as of organisations such as the UN, Nato and the EU.

To prevail, the generals call for an overhaul of Nato decision-taking methods, a new "directorate" of US, European and Nato leaders to respond rapidly to crises, and an end to EU "obstruction" of and rivalry with Nato. Among the most radical changes demanded are:

· A shift from consensus decision-taking in Nato bodies to majority voting, meaning faster action through an end to national vetoes.

· The abolition of national caveats in Nato operations of the kind that plague the Afghan campaign.

· No role in decision-taking on Nato operations for alliance members who are not taking part in the operations.

· The use of force without UN security council authorisation when "immediate action is needed to protect large numbers of human beings".

Cato's Stanley Kober matches bombast with concision: it's all about Afghanistan! Or, is it about fighting irrelevance?

Look East, NATO, to nurturing a liberal, European Russia!

On the other hand, why not just send in 'Saint Jude'?

1. Raise Hand, Now Lie!

"The Chinese authorities are really stepping up their anti-Dalai Lama rhetoric and propaganda," Anne Holmes, acting director of the Free Tibet Campaign, said in an e-mail on Sunday.

During a public meeting in December in Lithang in the Kham area of Gansu province, which is populated largely by Tibetans, residents were asked to raise their hands if they opposed the Dalai Lama's return. No one obliged, the campaign group said.

Residents were then asked to raise their hands if they did not have weapons at home. As it is illegal to possess firearms, everyone raised their hand. A photo was then taken and sent to state media, claiming residents were opposed to the Dalai Lama's return, the Free Tibet Campaign said.

2. No "Smut" in China

3. More Nuclear Secrets between Enemies

4. Just Called to Say "I Need You!"

5. You Can Never Return Home to North Korea

6. Take the Authoritarian Challenge!

7. Paul Krugman's Article about China (Not the One about Obama)

8. The Dark Side of the Rosy China Scenario

9. Baby Steps in Foreign Aid

10. Iowa Aftermath

The possibility of a North Korean-supplied nuclear reactor keeps getting play in American papers, despite the lack of corroboration, Bush administration denials and concern about the ramifications on Six-Party talks, and plenty of other interesting revelations. Now, the LAT is amplifying the NYT's Sunday article, where unnamed American and foreign officials talked about hazy intelligence.

Many details remain unclear, most notably how much progress the Syrians had made in construction before the Israelis struck, the role of any assistance provided by North Korea, and whether the Syrians could make a plausible case that the reactor was intended to produce electricity. In Washington and Israel, information about the raid has been wrapped in extraordinary secrecy and restricted to just a handful of officials, while the Israeli press has been prohibited from publishing information about the attack.

The New York Times reported this week that a debate had begun within the Bush administration about whether the information secretly cited by Israel to justify its attack should be interpreted by the United States as reason to toughen its approach to Syria and North Korea. In later interviews, officials made clear that the disagreements within the administration began this summer, as a debate about whether an Israeli attack on the incomplete reactor was warranted then.

The officials did not say that the administration had ultimately opposed the Israeli strike, but that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates were particularly concerned about the ramifications of a pre-emptive strike in the absence of an urgent threat.

But, what does seem interesting is another theory about what Israel did to Syria's air defenses, and what continues to happen in Israel. After all, that the Bush administration's worst enemy is its own infighting is no secret.

Ambassador Christopher Hill discusses his last gig in Beijing, and there's not much controversial to add - except about his love for the Red Sox - until the last few minutes. Hill endorses the argument, that the Koreans did not play a role in their own division. And then, he talks briefly about why the US has abandoned its previous diplomatic strategy, CVID or bust.