New York Times
Conflicts between oil producers and residents of the Niger River delta in Nigeria burst into the world's consciousness in 1995 with the government's execution of an environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa. The disputes are still raging, with residents' groups threatening to attack oil facilities unless the government begins talks on giving the states control of more oil revenues and the oil companies start hiring more local residents.
Nigeria's dictatorship was replaced by an elected government three years ago, when Olusegun Obasanjo became president. But so far, civilian rule has not changed the government's habitual use of harsh repression nor dented the delta's overwhelming poverty. Although delta oil brings in more than 80 percent of Nigeria's hard currency, the delta's seven million residents are among the poorest in the nation.
The government must also change its reflexive use of force. One horrifying incident came early in Mr. Obasanjo's tenure, when soldiers destroyed the town of Odi after gangs killed 12 police officers. No soldier has been punished. It will take real improvements in delta life for the poisonous atmosphere to clear, but such a change is crucial not only for the delta but for the future of oil production.
Washington Times
Russian President Vladimir Putin is surely finding his ranch-rambling, soul-bearing friendship with President Bush to be paying dividends. Last week, the White House said it would recognize Russia as a market economy, a critical step toward Russia's eventual entrance into the World Trade Organization. This recognition comes shortly after Russia was invited to join NATO as a kind of junior member. Under Mr. Putin's presidency, Russia is making progress integrating economically, politically and strategically with the West. But despite Mr. Bush's soul-gazing affection for Mr. Putin, the U.S. president should ensure that Russia is fully qualified to enter any international organizations before it is ushered in. ...
By bringing the Kremlin closer to the West, Mr. Bush has decisively weakened an emerging alliance of rogue states which sought to counter America's global reach. With the loss of Russia, the alliance has lost, for the time being, its primary nuclear component.
But the White House would erode the relevance of both the WTO and NATO if the conditions for Russia's membership or association with these bodies were made too lax. While Mr. Bush is certainly wise to woo Mr. Putin closer to the West with steaks a la Crawford and a commitment to integration, America must stand firmly behind the integrity of these organizations.
Houston Chronicle
The gathering of the loya jirga in Kabul this week is the first step toward democracy that Afghanistan has experienced in more than two decades.
The United States, of course, has little control over the actions of the more than 1,500 delegates assembled, nor should it. But Americans have a very important interest in the outcome, as recent history and our war on terrorism have shown.
The delegates are to form Afghanistan's interim government until elections are held in 2004, and it appears likely they will choose Hamid Karzai to head it.
Fortunately, Karzai is favored by Washington and appears to be liked by a sizable majority of the loya jirga, or national council, individuals chosen as representatives from around the country.
The loya jirga is also expected to choose a cabinet, and perhaps even a parliament. It will be shaping Afghanistan's future by making decisions that will determine whether the devastated country will survive economically and as some form of a democracy, or slide back into chaos and tyranny and again be a breeding ground for unrest and instability in a critical part of the world.
All of this will be carried out in an atmosphere explosive with tribal and ethnic feuds, by people whose memories are long and who are slow to forgive perceived transgressions.
The stakes are high. But considering that less than a year ago Afghanistan was virtually isolated from the rest of the world and in the grips of nearly a quarter-century of continuous warfare, the hopes also are high.
Chicago Tribune
A parade of Middle East supplicants has traveled to Washington in recent days to press their case before President Bush sets out his ideas for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Secretary of State Colin Powell said this week that a Bush proposal would come "in the very near future."
Bush is being pulled in opposite directions by world leaders. He is receiving conflicting advice from members of his own administration on the subject.
If he presses Israel for concessions, he risks antagonizing the Christian right and other conservatives in his political base who are perceived as staunchly in favor of Israel and its current leader, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Bush is loath to scold Sharon for his military forays into Palestinian areas -- forays designed to foil suicide bombers and other terrorists -- when he himself is leading a global war on terrorism.
Though Sharon told members of Congress this week that he is ready to make "painful concessions" toward a peace agreement, Sharon's actions suggest that he feels that going nowhere is preferable to moving in a direction that could spell danger for the Jewish state. He set preconditions for movement that the other side will not meet, including the curtailment of Yasser Arafat's autocratic power.
A clear statement of intentions from Bush will be welcome. For the residents of the region, who have seen nearly 1,900 people killed in the 21 months of the Palestinian intifada, doing nothing risks continuation of the hideous spiral of violence and hardening of extremist attitudes that have only put an eventual peace settlement further out of reach.
(Compiled by United Press International)
