BRITAIN

BRITAIN
The Guardian, London, Dec. 3: Donald Rumsfeld can be criticized for a lot of things. But the U.S. defense secretary's use of English is not one of them. The Plain English Campaign has shot itself in the foot this week by giving Mr. Rumsfeld its annual Foot in Mouth award for this comment, delivered at a press conference earlier in the year:
"Reports that say something hasn't happened are always interesting to me," Mr. Rumsfeld said, "because, as we know, there are known knowns, there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."
Kantian thought
This is indeed a complex, almost Kantian, thought. It needs a little concentration to follow it. Yet it is anything but foolish. It is also perfectly clear. It is expressed in admirably plain English, with not a word of jargon or gobbledygook in it. A Cambridge literary theorist, U.S. Air Force war gamer or Treasury tax law draftsman would be sacked for producing such a useful thought so simply expressed in good Anglo-Saxon words. So let Rummy be. The Plain English Campaign should find itself a more deserving target for its misplaced mockery.
JAPAN
Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo, Nov. 28: U.S. trade actions are sending the wrong message. If the United States continues its present trade policy, it will become even more isolated in its diplomatic and security policy, and the aim of containing terror that the international community seeks will recede further into the background.
The United States maintains that imports of steel products threaten the domestic industry. But the real problem lies with the American steel industry, where many manufacturers operate obsolete plants and machinery and have little competitive edge in either domestic or foreign markets.
Even in the United States, many viewed the safeguard measure as purely a vote-getting expedient in the run-up to the midterm election in the fall of 2002 and said it went against the principle of free trade.
International ground rules
The United States should lift its restrictions on imports. It must decide to either have uncompetitive businesses make a graceful exit from the market or grope for ways to revive them under recognized international ground rules -- which is what the United States has always advocated.
INDIA
The Hindustan Times, Delhi, Nov. 29: The American troops were pleasantly surprised, of course, to see their commander in chief suddenly in their midst. There is little doubt that the visit will serve as a morale booster for them in a battlefield where their mission is still far from being accomplished.
For the Iraqis, however, the visit will carry a mixed message. That the first American president ever to visit their country should have done so under the cover of darkness and left hurriedly to avoid the thugs and assassins to whom he referred in his speech, merely underscored the abnormality of the scene in Iraq.
Arguably, it can be said to have become worse considering that no such secrecy shrouded the earlier visits of Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Even as Mr. Bush flitted in and out of Iraq, Democratic Party Sen. Hillary Clinton was in Afghanistan, another terrorist hot spot, in a well-publicized visit.
Flash in the pan
If Mr. Bush's visit to Great Britain was meant to show that the U.S. was not without friends in the world, the objective of the Iraq visit apart from demonstrating his own commitment was to thank the soldiers, many of whom may be wondering what they are doing in a faraway country. Unless the conditions improve, however, the visit will be no more than a flash in the pan.