DENMARK

DENMARK

Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, Viby, Feb. 18: Barack Obama has recognized that the greatest and most difficult military challenge to the United States is Afghanistan and Pakistan. That was made clear by his appointment of experienced diplomat Richard Holbrooke as his special envoy there.

The convergence of Pakistan and Afghanistan into Asia’s largest and most dangerous area of conflict is now a fact.

It is a logical consequence of the failed attempt to defeat al-Qaida and the Pakistani government’s efforts to prevent Pakistan from falling into the hands of militant Islamists.

Zardari’s warning

It is now clear how relevant Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari recent warning is: Taliban and al-Qaida are a threat reaching far beyond the Pakistani-Afghan border.

The Pakistani government’s announcement that it will allow the Islamic sharia law in the border region makes the region a de facto Taliban sanctuary from which militant Islamists can freely operate across the border into Afghanistan.

JAPAN

Yomiuri Shimbun, Tokyo, Feb. 17: The Japanese economy appears to have strayed into a tunnel of a grueling recession the likes of which it has never experienced.

The global recession caused Japan’s engine of growth, which is fueled by overseas demand, into reverse and the country’s economy is nose-diving even more steeply than those of Europe and the United States, where the current economic downturn originated.

Slashing the workforce

The deteriorating economies overseas slammed the brakes on the country’s exports, causing production and capital investment to be scaled down. The corporate sector’s accelerated drive to slash workforce is causing a rapid increase in the number of jobless people.

Bills required to execute the second fiscal 2008 supplementary budget are not expected to pass the Diet until next week or even later. Deliberations on the bills must not be dragged out any further and necessary economic measures should be implemented quickly.

We hope that the valuable budget will be effectively used on growing fields in the future, including energy conservation and environmentally friendly technology, and to strengthen safety and security, including making schools and public facilities earthquake-resistant.

BRITAIN

The Times, London, Feb. 18: The U.S. missile strike that killed 30 suspected militants in a tribal area of Pakistan ... was the fourth such strike since Barack Obama came to office. For all its proclaimed reassessment of the fight against al-Qaida and Islamist extremism, the administration appears intent on continuing a policy of decapitation of the terrorist leadership. It has proved remarkably successful. The drones have hit houses where al-Qaida’s leaders were known to be meeting, killing several senior commanders, disrupting operations and increasing the pressure on them to leave the tribal areas that had sheltered them.

Extremist tide

The beleaguered government has faltered in its attempt to halt this extremist tide, however. It has tried therefore to appease opinion, repeatedly denying that Washington is running any operations, open or covert, on Pakistani territory. The denials may be a necessary subterfuge as the government tries to distance itself from the U.S. operation to defeat the Taliban while offering the logistic support needed.

That is welcome evidence of pragmatism. Much less welcome, however, is the deal just concluded with the leaders of the Swat uprising allowing the introduction of Sharia and bringing the rule of Islamic law to within 80 miles of the capital.