NEWS

South Korea is sacrificing itself for the sake of US power projection

Published

1 year ago

April 28, 2023

President Yoon Suk-yeol is antagonising North Korea, China, and Russia, putting his own country in jeopardy for Washington’s benefit

On Wednesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol arrived in Washington, DC for an official state visit. The visit has come complete with an announcement that the US will be sending nuclear-armed submarines to South Korea.

Yoon has sought to pivot his foreign policy back towards the US while dismantling the much more moderate approach of his predecessor, Moon Jae-in, who sought to pursue peace with North Korea, as well as hold productive relationships with China and Russia.

Now, Yoon has not only sold his country out to Japan amidst Washington’s demands, attempting to shelve the controversial historical dispute over forced labour during Tokyo’s colonial rule over the country in 1910-1945, but he is also pursuing reckless antagonism with Pyongyang, Moscow, and Beijing, even while the US dismantles the foundations of South Korea’s economic success with its discriminatory policies against Korean industries in the form of the Inflation Reduction Act and its war on the semiconductor sector. All these policies risk transforming the Korean peninsula into a new cold war battleground and reversing decades of progress.

The entry of the conservative Yoon Suk-yeol into office, combined with the ultra-belligerent Biden administration, has served to dismantle the fragile attempts at peace on the Korean peninsula made by Donald Trump, and Moon Jae-in, as unsuccessful as they may have been. While Trump and Moon sought to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, hold talks and alleviate tensions, their successors show no interest in doing so and have sought to reignite an arms race on the peninsula by holding massive military exercises, met in turn with increased ballistic missile testing by Pyongyang.

US to send nuclear-armed submarines to South Korea

It is in the fundamental interest of the US neoconservative elite to block such efforts towards peace, and such is one reason Trump failed. Because if the two Koreas are able to reconcile, America’s military presence on the peninsula is at least partially delegitimized, and therefore Washington’s ability to use South Korea, as well as the wider region of Asia, as a bulwark to contain China, is compromised. It is strategically unfavourable to promote peace, just like the US refuses to do so in Ukraine. However, if the US – backed by its anti-communist allies among South Korea’s conservatives – can keep the peninsula under a constant state of military tension, continually provoking the North into a long-term arms race, these objectives can be fulfilled.

But, across the board, the consequences of this will be disastrous, taking the Korean peninsula to a level of nuclear tensions not even seen during the Cold War. Although much rhetoric has been floated that the US can “end” the North Korean regime should it pursue a nuclear attack, it is naïve to make such sweeping assumptions, or to dismiss the reality that in this scenario all Koreans, including in the South, would be the biggest losers. Irrespectively, North Korea is not a country to call bluff on and while it regularly pursues threatening rhetoric and hyperbole, recent history shows it has been more than willing to use force to punish South Korea, such as, for example, by sinking a warship or shelling an island.

In addition to this, Yoon has also made the decision to increasingly antagonise China at Washington’s behest, having made provocative comments about Taiwan and then summoned the Chinese ambassador when Beijing responded. On an economic level, this is reckless, as China is the country’s largest trading partner. South Korea’s past efforts at antagonising Beijing, such as through the deployment of the THAAD missile defence system in 2017, ended with sanctions against the country. The US does not present an equivalent economic alternative, because of its highly protectionist economic policies, its demand that South Korean semiconductor companies build capacity on American soil, as well as the Inflation Reduction Act harming the trade balance for the South.

Biden threatens North Korea with annihilation

It has been questioned even by the most ardent pro-US commentators what exactly Yoon is getting from his US visit. The answer is nothing. He has premised his entire foreign policy on wilful subservience, to the point of undermining the security, stability, and prosperity of the Korean peninsula. It is little surprise that his approval rating keeps slipping. Increasing tensions with three countries simultaneously, at a time when neither Moscow nor Beijing have any interest in restraining Pyongyang, will unleash chaos throughout the region, as Kim Jong-un responds with more missile tests and perhaps even a nuclear test. South Korea stands to be the biggest loser in the situation, while Washington reaps strategic benefits. Again, we see willing proxies sacrifice their countries by provoking conflicts for the US to use to project its power.

The problem is, Pyongyang has far less restraint than either Moscow or Beijing, because it is fighting for its fundamental existence against the US. Nuclear war isn’t a game for Kim, but for the Biden administration it seems to be.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of TSFT.

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NEWS

German military to sell tons of toilet paper

Published

12 months ago

May 24, 2023

The San Francisco Telegraph

The Bundeswehr decided to jettison inventory that does not fit new dispensers

The German military is auctioning off nearly 10,000 rolls of toilet paper that do not fit new dispensers at Bundeswehr facilities, local media reported on Monday.

According to a posting on the Vebeg online auction platform, which was picked up by the German TV network RTL, the Bundeswehr is offering a total of 12 pallets of toilet paper stored in 360 boxes that has a transport weight of over 3 tons.

While it is unclear when exactly the ad was posted, the auction is scheduled to last until May 31. The winning bidder will be able to pick up the toilet paper, which was produced by the Sweden-based company Tork, at the military barracks in the city of Wesel, not far from Munster in the northwestern part of the country.

Potential buyers will need to register with the military department where the inventory is being stored before coming to the premises to pick it up or view it, the ad reads.

Germany faces toilet paper shortage

The German military told RTL that the sale was due to having switched the toilet paper dispensers at Bundeswehr sanitary facilities to pieces made by a different company.

“However, the toilet paper from the first company cannot be used in a universal hygiene dispenser,” a Bundeswehr spokesman told the outlet.

According to RTL, the German military has also put printer toners, desks, and laptops up for sale.

The state of the Bundeswehr stocks of weaponry and other equipment and amenities has been an issue of concern in Germany. In March, Eva Hogl, who serves as the country’s parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, claimed that the Bundeswehr “has too little of everything and it has had even less since February 24, 2022,” referring to when Russia started its military campaign in Ukraine. Since then, Berlin has provided massive military and economic support to Kiev.

She noted that the German army also lacked “functioning toilets, clean showers… indoor sports facilities, troop kitchens… and last but not least, wireless internet.”

Hogl also pointed out that the government had failed to spend any of the money from a €100 billion ($108 billion) special defense fund created last year in light of the Ukraine conflict.

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NEWS

First female Saudi astronaut heads to space

Published

12 months ago

May 24, 2023

The San Francisco Telegraph

The Falcon 9 has successfully blasted off on a private mission carrying Saudi and American astronauts to the ISS

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, on a mission from the Houston-based company Axiom Space. It also carried the first Saudi woman to travel to the cosmos.

The mission, dubbed Ax-2, is Axiom’s second private mission bound for the International Space Station. The company utilized SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, named Freedom, to carry the crew and the Falcon 9 to deliver it from Earth’s atmosphere.

Shortly after liftoff, the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket successfully performed a boost-back burn to SpaceX’s Landing Zone-1 and touched down safely about seven minutes and 45 seconds after launch.

The Dragon then detached from the Falcon 9’s upper stage some 12 minutes after liftoff and headed to the ISS to perform a docking scheduled for Monday.

Aboard Freedom are the first two Saudi Arabian nationals to travel to the ISS, including stem cell researcher Rayyanah Barnawi – the first Saudi woman ever to enter space. Joining the Ax-2 as mission pilot is businessman John Shofner, who paid out of his own pocket for the trip.

First blockbuster filmed in space premieres in theaters

Leading the mission is commander Peggy Whitson – a former NASA astronaut who has spent 665 days in space throughout her career, more than any other American or any other woman, and was also the first woman to serve as commander aboard the ISS. She currently works as Axiom’s director of human spaceflight.

The four-person crew is expected to spend eight days aboard the ISS, living and working alongside the seven astronauts currently residing there. They will also conduct independent research, including into how people that have not undergone rigorous training will react when first introduced to microgravity.

Axiom has announced plans to further develop commercialized spaceflight and even launch its own free floating private space station by the end of the decade. The first module of this future station is expected to be sent up to the ISS next year, with another three pieces to follow by the end of 2027.

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NEWS

Kenya supports creation of pan-African court

Published

12 months ago

May 23, 2023

The San Francisco Telegraph

The move may prompt more African nations to ratify the Malabo Protocol, a political analyst told TSFT

Kenyan President William Ruto says his country will ratify the 2014 Malabo Protocol by September in a move towards making the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) an official legislative organ of the African Union (AU).

The Malabo Protocol seeks to convert the PAP into a full-fledged legislative body, which would hold jurisdiction over international and transnational organized crimes; in other words, creating an African international crimes court.

The protocol must be approved by at least 28 countries before it can enter into force. However, only 15 of the 22 signatories to the protocol in 2014 have ratified it, making Kenya the 16th.

Ken Bosire, a Kenyan political analyst, told RT that Nairobi’s decision to give the PAP legislative power is a “positive move” that could inspire other African leaders to follow suit. “The new president of Kenya seems to have some kind of persuasive sway among leaders of the region,” he added.

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