LOST and Found: Senate Moves Toward Ratification of U.N.'s 'Law of the Sea Treaty'

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., is advocating ratification of a treaty that critics warn could give the U.N. powers over American waterways (Reuters).

The Senate is gearing up to ratify a decades-old U.N. treaty that critics warn could create a massive U.N. bureaucracy that could even claim powers over American waterways.

By Joseph Abrams

The Senate is gearing up to ratify a Nixon-era U.N. treaty meant to create universal laws to govern the seas -- a treaty critics say will create a massive U.N. bureaucracy that could even claim powers over American waterways.

LOST -- the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, also called the Law of the Sea Treaty -- regulates all things oceanic, from fishing rights, navigation lanes and environmental concerns to what lies beneath: the seabed's oil and mineral wealth that companies hope to explore and exploit in coming years.

But critics say the treaty, which declares the sea and its bounty the "universal heritage of mankind," would redistribute American profits and have a reach extending into rivers and streams all the way up the mighty Mississippi.

The U.N. began working on LOST in 1973, and 157 nations have signed on to the treaty since it was concluded in 1982. Yet it has been stuck in dry dock for nearly 30 years in the U.S. and never even been brought to a full vote before the Senate.

But swelling approval in the Senate and the combined support of the White House, State Department and U.S. Navy mean LOST may be ready to unfurl its sails again.

Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said during a January confirmation hearing that he intends to push for ratification. "We are now laying the groundwork for and expect to try to take up the Law of the Sea Treaty. So that will be one of the priorities of the committee, and the key here is just timing -- how we proceed."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying the treaty is vital for American businesses and the Navy, told Kerry that his committee "will have a very receptive audience in our State Department and in our administration."

LOST apportions "Exclusive Economic Zones" that stretch 200 miles from a country's coast and establishes the International Seabed Authority to administer the communal territory farther out. The treaty's proponents say it clears up a murky legal area that has prevented companies from taking advantage of the deep seas' wealth.

"American firms and businesses want legal certainty so they can compete with foreign companies for marine resources," said Spencer Boyer, director of international law and diplomacy at the Center for American Progress. Without the clearly defined authority established by the treaty, "there's confusion -- a lot of businesses don't want to take that risk."

The American military is looking for another kind of certainty from LOST -- a guarantee of safe passage through all seaways, a right China sought to deny an unarmed Navy vessel Monday in its own Exclusive Economic Zone in the South China Sea.

"The Convention codifies navigation and overflight rights and high seas freedoms that are essential for the global mobility of our armed forces," the Joint Chiefs of Staff wrote in a June 2007 letter to Senate leadership.

LOST has even managed to unify environmental groups and deep-sea miners, who both see something to gain in the treaty.

"We gain sovereignty, we gain territory, we gain access to places that we have not had access to as easily," said Don Kraus, president of Citizens for Global Solutions, a group that advocates strengthening international institutions. "We don't stand to lose anything."

But critics say clauses built into the treaty could directly harm American interests. They say it could force the U.S. to comply with unspecified environmental codes, and that the treaty gives environmental activists the legal standing to sue over river pollution and shut down industry, simply because rivers feed into the sea.

The treaty allows environmental groups to bring lawsuits to the Law of the Sea Tribunal in Germany, a panel of 21 U.N. judges who would have say over pollution levels in American rivers. Their rulings would have the force law in the U.S., according to a reading in a 2008 Supreme Court decision by Justice John Paul Stevens.

"You've got an unaccountable tribunal that will surely be stacked with jurists hostile to our interests," said Chris Horner, author of "Red Hot Lies," a book critical of environmentalists. "This would never pass muster if the Senate held an open, public debate about this."

Legal experts also warn that the treaty demands aid for landlocked countries that lack the access and technology to mine the deep seas -- and that it might not even benefit the U.S. at all.

"You have to pay royalties on the value of anything you extract (from the deep seabed), those royalties to be distributed as the new bureaucracy sees fit, primarily to landlocked countries and underdeveloped countries," said Steven Groves, a fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. American money would also go to fund the International Seabed Authority, which Groves warned "would have the potential to become the most massive U.N. bureaucracy on the planet."

"The whole theory of the treaty is that the world's oceans and everything below them are the common heritage of mankind," said Groves. "Very socialist."

Any nation that is party to the treaty can have a seat on the tribunal and seabed authority -- even ones that don't have access to the sea. The current vice president of the tribunal represents Austria, a landlocked nation that hasn't had a sea berth since the Austro-Hungarian Empire was dissolved in the First World War.

Some legal experts worry that without ratification, the U.S. will lose a seat at the table as maritime law continues to be codified and resources get divvied up. But opponents note that many of the benefits offered the U.S., such as navigation rights, are already international custom, and that the U.S. has effected the treaty without being party to it. President Reagan's initial opposition on the basis of seabed laws forced the rewriting of the original treaty in 1994, which led the U.S. to sign it, but not to ratify it.

Its complexity, however, still beguiles even experts, who say it is unlikely to be understood when brought to a vote in the Senate.

"The thing is about 150 pages long -- meaning there are exactly zero people in the Senate who have read it," said Groves.

Obama: US should reach out to Taliban moderates

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says he hopes U.S. troops can identify moderate elements of the Taliban and move them toward reconciliation.

Asked in an interview with The New York Times if the United States is winning in Afghanistan, Obama said "no," while adding "our troops are doing an extraordinary job in a very difficult situation."

"But you've seen conditions deteriorate over the last couple of years. The Taliban is bolder than it was. I think ... in the southern regions of the country, you're seeing them attack in ways that we have not seen previously," Obama said in the interview, which was posted Saturday on the Times' Web site.

"The national government still has not gained the confidence of the Afghan people," he said. "And so it's going to be critical for us to not only, get through these national elections to stabilize the security situation, but we've got to recast our policy so that our military, diplomatic and development goals are all aligned to ensure that al-Qaida and extremists that would do us harm don't have the kinds of safe havens that allow them to operate."

There may be opportunities to reach out to moderates in the Taliban, but the situation in Afghanistan is more complicated than the challenges the American military faced in Iraq, Obama said.

U.S. troops were able to persuade Sunni Muslim insurgents in Iraq to cooperate in some instances because they had been alienated by the tactics of al-Qaida terrorists.

Obama cautioned that Afghanistan is a less-governed region with a history of fierce independence among tribes, creating a tough set of circumstances for the United States to deal with.

The idea of cooperation with some in the Taliban has been talked about for many months by American military commanders including Gen. David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command.

"If you talk to Gen. Petraeus, I think he would argue that part of the success in Iraq involved reaching out to people that we would consider to be Islamic fundamentalists, but who were willing to work with us," said Obama.

"There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and the Pakistani region, but the situation in Afghanistan is, if anything, more complex," Obama added.

Last month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that Washington could accept a political agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban if the insurgents will lay down their arms and accept the government's terms.

At the same time, Obama left open the possibility that U.S. operatives might capture terror suspects abroad without the cooperation of a country where they were found.

"There could be situations — and I emphasize 'could be' because we haven't made a determination yet — where, let's say that we have a well-known al-Qaida operative that doesn't surface very often, appears in a third country with whom we don't have an extradition relationship or would not be willing to prosecute, but we think is a very dangerous person," he said.

Obama added that the U.S. doesn't torture its suspects and noted in some cases those being held would have an opportunity to challenge their detention in federal courts.

Obama's Blockbuster Gift for Brown: 25 DVDs

While the British prime minister presented Obama with uniquely historic gifts symbolizing America's relationship with England, the president gave Brown a set of movies. Let's hope he's a Star Wars fan.

President Obama gave British Prime Minister Gordon Brown a set of 25 classic American films to mark his historic visit to the White House, British media reported on Friday.

Brown, the first European leader to visit Obama since his Jan. 20 inauguration, was presented with a "special collector's box" of DVDs during his two-day visit to Washington.

Downing Street, which reportedly tried to keep the present a secret, declined to say what movies were included in the set.

"One reason for the secrecy might be that the gift seems markedly less generous and thoughtful than the presents taken to Washington by the Prime Minister," London's Evening Standard newspaper reported.

The Daily Mail, however, reported the movie set included ET, Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz and was produced by the American Film Institute on "special request" from the White House.

Brown, who is not known to be a movie buff, gave the president and his children several uniquely historical gifts.

The first of which is a pen holder fashioned from the oak timber of HMS Gannet, a Navy vessel that served on anti-slavery missions off Africa.

Another treasure given to Obama is a framed commissioning paper for HMS Resolute, a Royal Navy ship that came to symbolize British-American goodwill when it was rescued by the U.S. from icebergs and given to Queen Victoria. It is the sister ship of the HMS Gannet.

Finally, Brown gave Obama a first edition of Martin Gilbert's seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill, whose World War II partnership with President Franklin Roosevelt symbolized the U.S.-Anglo alliance.

For Sasha and Malia, Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister's wife, gave each an outfit from Topshop, a British chain of clothing stores, and selected six children's books by British authors which have yet to be published in the U.S.

In return, First Lady Michelle Obama presented the prime minister's two boys with toy helicopters modeled after Marine One.

Obama was so touched by the gifts, he called Brown on board his private jet on Thursday to thank him. The call was placed after Brown addressed a joint meeting of Congress, the White House said. The two reportedly spoke for 10 minutes.

The White House later issued a press briefing to put on record how much Obama appreciated the gifts.

"The pen set is being displayed on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office and the books are in the President's personal study adjoining the Oval Office," the White House said in a statement.

During Brown's first trip to America in the summer of 2007, he was given a fur-trimmed brown leather bomber jacket by President George W. Bush.

The prime minister's reaction to the DVD set is not known.

N. Korea Vows to Punish U.S., S. Korea 'Warmongers'

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea vowed Tuesday to punish U.S. and South Korean "warmongers" after the American military said it would go ahead with annual joint exercises that Pyongyang calls an invasion rehearsal.

Tensions in Northeast Asia have spiked amid mounting concern over the North's apparent plan to test-launch a missile believed capable of reaching the U.S. west coast.

Many analysts have said the launch threat is a bid to draw President Barack Obama's attention as his administration formulates its North Korea policy to move stalled international disarmament talks forward. Obama's new envoy to North Korea arrived in Bejing on Tuesday to the region for talks with his counterparts to the nuclear talks.

North Koreas's military demanded Monday that the U.S.-South Korean drills be called off during rare talks with U.S.-led U.N. forces on the Korean peninsula, according to media reports.

But U.S. military spokesman Kim Yong-kyu said Tuesday the exercises — involving 26,000 American troops, an unspecified number of South Korean soldiers, and a U.S. aircraft carrier — would go ahead at sites across South Korea from March 9-20.

On Tuesday, the North's state media said the U.S.-South Korean military maneuvers were aimed at "rounding off the capability to make a military strike."

"The revolutionary armed forces of (North Korea) are in full combat readiness to resolutely shatter any provocation of the enemy," the Minju Joson newspaper said in a commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea has routinely condemned any military exercises as rehearsal for an attack. Washington and Seoul say they have no such intention.

Further escalating the stand off, the North said last week it would launch a communications satellite into orbit. But neighboring governments believe the claim may be a cover for a long-range missile test and have warned the regime such a move would invite international sanctions. Analysts say satellites and missiles use similar delivery systems.

South Korea's new Unification Minister Hyun In-taek urged the North on Tuesday to halt any provocative acts and agree to defuse tension through dialogue.

Japan plans to deploy an Aegis-radar equipped destroyer carrying a missile interceptor, reported Kyodo news agency, quoting unnamed defense sources. The North test-fired a ballistic missile over Japan in 1998, a launch the regime also claimed was a satellite.

Japan's Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said it is "natural" for Tokyo to "respond to any situations" when asked whether the navy plans to shoot down a North Korean missile. He did not elaborate.

North Korea unsuccessfully test-fired a long-range missile in 2006, but is believed to have made improvements in its missile capabilities. Analysts say satellite images reveal brisk activity at a launch pad in North Korea's northeast.

The new American special envoy for North Korean nuclear talks, Stephen W. Bosworth, will meet with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, who heads the Chinese delegation in talks, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.

Bosworth will also travel Japan and South Korea, and will consult with Russian officials who will travel separately to the region.

Mullen: Iran has fissile materials for bomb

WASHINGTON – The top U.S. military official said Sunday that Iran has sufficient fissile material for a nuclear weapon, declaring it would be a "very, very bad outcome" should Tehran move forward with a bomb.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, offered the assessment when questioned in a broadcast interview about a recent report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog on the state of Iran's uranium enrichment program, which can create nuclear fuel and may be sufficiently advanced to produce the core of warheads.

Mullen was asked if Iran now had enough fissile material to make a bomb. He responded, "We think they do, quite frankly. And Iran having a nuclear weapon I've believed for a long time is a very, very bad outcome for the region and for the world."

State Department spokesman Robert A. Wood said Sunday that it was not possible say how much fissile material Iran has accumulated.

"There are differing view not only outside government but also inside the government" on how far Iran has gone, Wood said. He added that while he was not suggesting Mullen was incorrect, "We just don't know" exactly how much fissile material Iran now holds.

"We are concerned they are getting close" to having enough to build a nuclear weapon, he added. Wood spoke to reporters traveling with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Egypt.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran has processed the 2,222 pounds (1,010 kilograms) of low-enriched uranium. But the report left unclear whether Iran is now capable, even if it wanted, of further processing that material into a sufficient quantity of highly enriched uranium to arm one weapon.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who like Mullen appeared on the Sunday talk shows, did not go as far as Mullen. The Iranians, Gates said, are "not close to a weapon at this point and so there is some time" for continued diplomatic efforts.

And the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, recently told National Public Radio that the IAEA report "confirms what we all had feared and anticipated, which is that Iran remains in pursuit of its nuclear program."

Iran, now subjected to various penalties by the U.N., the U.S. and others over its nuclear program, denies it wants to build a bomb. It asserts its program is intended to provide the country with the homegrown ability to generate electricity from nuclear reactors.

So far, the U.S. has not relented in its claims that Iran has ambitions to join the club of nuclear-armed nations. Mullen seemed to restate that position in his remarks on CNN's "State of the Union." He was not asked to elaborate.

Under an international nuclear treaty it has signed, Iran has the right to develop a civilian program for the nuclear generation of electricity. But any such program must be open to international inspection. Iran has balked at that after it became know in past years that the country had hidden portions of its nuclear effort that could be linked to a weapons program.

At issue now is Iran's uranium enrichment efforts. The Bush administration insisted that was a precursor to making weapons-grade materials. President Barack Obama has sought to change course with Iran, offering diplomatic engagement in a bid to prove Tehran has more to lose by ignoring the wishes of other countries than it has to gain through its nuclear efforts.

"The question is whether you can increase the level of the sanctions and the cost to the Iranians of pursuing that program at the same time you show them an open door if they want to engage with the Europeans, with us and so on if they walk away from that program," Gates said. "Our chances of being successful, it seems to me, are a lot better at $35 or $40 oil than they were at $140 oil because there are economic costs to this program, they do have economic challenges at home."

Days after Obama announced his plan to withdraw U.S. combat forces from Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010, Mullen and Gates made clear their support for the commander in chief's approach.

Mullen said he was comfortable with the decision, while noting he was reluctant to talk about "winning and losing" in Iraq. Rather, he said, the conditions are in place for the Baghdad government to successfully take control of the country.

Mullen said Obama listened extensively to the American military leadership and U.S. commanders in Iraq before announcing withdrawal. Under the president's order, the 142,000 U.S. forces in Iraq would be drawn down to between 35,000 and 50,000 troops by the 2010 date. All forces would be withdrawn by the last day of 2011.

Gates said he thought it was "fairly remote" that conditions in Iraq would change enough to alter significantly the Obama plan. He said the president has said he retains the authority to change a plan if it's in the national security interests of the United States.

"Our soldiers will be consolidated into a limited number of bases in order to provide protection for themselves and for civilians who are out working in the Iraqi neighborhoods and countryside as well," Gates said. "The risk to our troops will be substantially less than certainly was last year, and it has, has gradually declined."

Gates appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," while Mullen also was interviewed on "Fox News Sunday."

___

Associated Press Writer Robert Burns contributed to this story from Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt.

Big Spender Obama

We got change all right! He has spent more in the last 6 weeks as president than the other presidents when they came in office. Can't he just do his speeches from the White House like other presidents? Save the tax payers money. Let your stimulous package start to work. Stand behind the military. Don't bring them home too soon! My son is serving and loves what he does. Pray for our men and women in uniform.

Crystal D.

Obama plan to pullout soldiers from Iraq

Iraqis Offer Mixed Reaction to Obama Pullout Plan

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AP

Feb. 27: U.S. soldiers walk the streets during a routine patrol in central Baghdad.

BAGHDAD — Iraqis offered varying reactions Friday to President Barack Obama's plan to remove U.S. combat forces by August 2010 — some applauding the withdrawal, but others questioning whether Iraq's security forces were up to the task alone.

Several Iraqi TV stations broadcast live coverage of Obama's speech at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

"Iraq will regain independence and sovereignty, and the United States will get rid of many military and economic problems," said Raji Abbas, a Shiite from the southern city of Najaf, where U.S. forces battled militias in 2004.

"But, before leaving Iraq, the U.S. Army should do their best to train and equip the Iraqi security forces so they can confront the dangers that are threatening the country," he said.

Obama's plan calls for withdrawing American combat troops by Aug. 31, 2010, leaving up to 50,000 troops to advise, train and provide counterterrorism support.

The pace of withdrawal suggests that the bulk of the current U.S. military presence in Iraq — some 140,000 troops — will remain in Iraq through nationwide elections later this year.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said he welcomes the withdrawal and has urged that it be done "orderly and responsibly." Obama called al-Maliki with the details of the plan before delivering his speech, White House officials said.

Sunni lawmaker Mustafa al-Hiti said Obama's plan met "the aspirations of many Iraqis who want to see the occupying troops out of their country."

"We have enough confidence in our security forces and we think that there is no chance for a new round of violence in Iraq," he said.

In Saddam Hussein's hometown, Tikrit, 40-year-old Sunni government worker Hazim Ali Hamid was stung by Obama's praise of U.S. forces for removing Saddam.

"But, in fact, the U.S. forces achieved one thing — that is, destroying Iraq," he said. "We hope the U.S. soldiers will leave our country sooner rather than later to end one of the bloodiest pages in Iraq's history."

In the self-ruled Kurdish north, Shwan Mahmoud said that if the U.S. wants a "moral and responsible withdrawal, it should solve the ethnic and sectarian disputes in Iraq before pulling out."

Mahmoud, 43, a publisher in Sulaimaniyah, said he believes the country will descend into a civil war if the ethnic and sectarian issues are not solved before American forces leave.

In Baghdad, an influential Shiite cleric said the plan does not go far enough and demanded the reduction of American Embassy staff as well.

During a sermon Friday, Sheik Saleh al-Haidari said there was no longer a need for such a large American diplomatic presence. The U.S. Embassy sits on a 104-acre site in the heavily fortified Green Zone. It has more than 1,000 employees.

Hello Friends,

Please take a moment to look at this website... Bro. Ron Pittman (Missionary to our Spanish speaking friends at Bible-Way Missionary Baptist Church) sent me info on. As Christians and Pro-Life advocates, WE need to get busy contacting our Representatives and Mr. Obama and FIGHT FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act) and preserve unborn babies. For more info, click on the link below:

www.fightfoca.com

I am tired of Liberals, Left Wing Supporters & Politicians, Sodomites, Democrats, Socialist and Big Government Spenders speaking out while Christians sit silently by watching our world go down the toilet!

Citi, U.S. Reach Deal on Government Stake

Embattled bank giant and federal government reach an agreement in which the government will substantially increase its stake in the bank and in return will demand a boardroom shakeup.

The Wall Street Journal

Embattled Citigroup Inc. and the U.S. have reached an agreement in which the government will substantially increase its stake in the bank and in return will demand a boardroom shakeup, according to people familiar with the matter.

Under a deal expected to be announced early Friday morning, the Treasury Department has agreed to convert some of its current holdings of preferred Citigroup shares into common stock. The government will convert its stake only to the extent that Citigroup can persuade private investors to do so alongside the government, the people said. The Treasury will match the private investors' conversions dollar-for-dollar up to $25 billion.

The size of the government's new stake will hinge on the amount of preferred shares that private investors, including sovereign wealth funds, agree to convert into common stock. The Treasury's stake is expected to rise to 30% to 40% of Citigroup's shares, the people said.

As a condition to the agreement, which is designed to ease investor jitters about the adequacy of Citigroup's capital base, the government is demanding that the New York company overhaul its board of directors, the people said. Treasury will call for Citigroup's board to be comprised of a majority of independent directors.

Chief Executive Vikram Pandit is expected to keep his job under the agreement.

The conditions imposed by the government were hammered out over a week of negotiations. They are designed to make up for the fact that taxpayers will bear greater risk holding common stock rather than preferred. The common shares also won't pay dividends, unlike the preferred stock.

The Citigroup deal has been closely watched not only due to its importance to Citigroup's financial health, but also because it is expected to serve as a model for future federal conversions of preferred shares into common stock in some of the nation's biggest banks.

Key details of the Citigroup-U.S. pact remain unclear.

Gitmo Deemed "Humane"

Gitmo standards deemed humane

The Pentagon has concluded that the military detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, meets the standards for humane treatment of...

By Josh Meyer

Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has concluded that the military detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, meets the standards for humane treatment of detainees established in the Geneva Conventions accords.

In a report for President Obama on conditions at Guantánamo, the Pentagon recommended some changes — primarily providing some of the most troublesome inmates with more group recreation and opportunities for prayer — according to an administration official who has read the report and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The lengthy report was done by a top Navy official, Adm. Patrick Walsh, in response to Obama's Jan. 22 executive order to close the facility within a year.

Some of the most dangerous inmates at the naval facility in Cuba have been barred from meeting with other prisoners for prayer or socialization; instead they are kept in their cells for up to 23 hours a day.

Obama has criticized the detention center, and human-rights advocates have condemned it as violating the Geneva Conventions, established to protect the rights of those held in detention by other countries, including in times of war.

Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday appointed a senior Justice Department official, Matthew Olsen, to head a task force looking into how to close Guantánamo and deal with the more than 200 men being detained there.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration said Friday it is not ready to extend legal rights to the prisoners held at the U.S. air base in Afghanistan.

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