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To: TobagoJack who wrote (49702)	5/9/2004 11:16:05 PM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 74559

<<defeat is inevitably what US is doomed to suffer.>> I told you that pizza was the only solution. <<The choice now is between the long, hard slog to victory -- and negotiating terms of surrender.>> Now the best choice is bring Saddam back and withdraw. Campaigning on Defeat washingtonpost.com By Fred Thompson Friday, April 16, 2004; Page A21 Even the most partisan critics of the war in Iraq insist they are every bit as determined as President Bush to secure a democratic peace there. Regardless of whether the administration's decision to go to war was correct, they say, the United States cannot now afford to cut and run. Yet, even as the president's opponents give lip service to the importance of victory, they seize upon every setback suffered, exploit every challenge ahead, to suggest that defeat is inevitably what our nation is doomed to suffer. Their fatalism is often veiled -- allusions to Vietnam, innuendo about quagmires -- but the implications are clear. For the president's critics, there is a domestic constituency to be won from failure abroad. They are campaigning on defeat. To be sure, there can and should be a robust debate this year about the tactics and strategy adopted by the Bush administration in the global war on terrorism, including its choice to remove Saddam Hussein from power. But that should be a debate about how to win. Those who believe going after the Middle East's most brutal dictator was a distraction that has exacerbated the problem of terrorism still have an obligation to explain what they would do in Iraq now that we're there. How would they secure victory? But instead of trying to chart a path of progress, many of the president's critics have devoted themselves to fomenting public despair over a war that, they keep repeating, should never have been fought. They lament the money "wasted" on the Iraqi people and the damage done to America's reputation in its struggle against Islamist insurgents. They even suggest that Iraq is worse off today for having been freed from the grip of a tyrant -- never mind what the majority of Iraqis themselves might think. While some cynics may dismiss the hand-wringing from the halls of Congress and elsewhere as little more than electioneering, its effects are far more profound. This is not just a question of political honesty. The global war on terrorism is not a game from which we can simply walk away when it seems it isn't going our way. At the same time critics of the Bush administration insist it should have done more to combat al Qaeda in Afghanistan before Sept. 11 (on the basis of intelligence far weaker than that pointing to Hussein's weapons of mass destruction), they miss the more profound lesson that national tragedy should have instilled: that the only deterrent to terrorism is strength and that weakness -- real and perceived -- is an incitement to further attacks. What is weakness? Weakness is when America's leaders compare Iraq to Vietnam, announcing to the world a faltering resolve to see our mission through. To our allies in the Middle East and beyond, these predictions of defeat send a clear and chilling message to hedge their bets, because the United States cannot be counted on. And to our enemies, they send an equally clear message: You can win. Let there be no doubt: Every time there is a call to abandon Iraq to the United Nations or unnamed "international allies," our enemies know this is a call to cut and run. And they are heartened. The president's critics cannot have it both ways. They cannot claim to be in favor of winning the war and also oppose fighting it, funding it and offering any coherent strategy for succeeding at it. They cannot credibly claim to be in favor of winning the war while decrying it as a "mistake" that cannot be won. Iraq is no longer a war of choice, if indeed it ever was. The choice now is between the long, hard slog to victory -- and negotiating terms of surrender. The writer is a former Republican senator from Tennessee. He is currently a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. © 2004 The Washington Post Company

To: TobagoJack who wrote (49702)	5/10/2004 3:41:35 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 74559

European stocks tumble on inflation fears By Neil Dennis Published: May 10 2004 7:29 \| Last Updated: May 10 2004 8:21 European equity markets were sharply lower on Monday morning as fears of high oil prices driving up inflation and a robust recovery in the US labour market fanned the flames of interest rate rise concerns. In early trade, the FTSE Eurotop 300 fell 1.5 per cent to 980.26, while Frankfurt's Xetra Dax shed 2.2 per cent to 3,810.57. In Paris, the CAC 40 was down 1.8 per cent to 3,587.67 and London's FTSE 100 lost 1.3 per cent to 4,441.8. "A surge in US jobs growth in April fuelled fears that the Federal Reserve will hike US rates sooner rather than later," said Gary Parkinson at Financial Spreads. That saw Wall Street tumble 123 points and triggered a 600-point plunge by the Nikkei average in Japan." Asian stock markets fell sharply after Friday's weak session on Wall Street, which left the Dow Jones Industrial Average 1.2 per cent lower at 10,117.34 and the Nasdaq Composite down 1 per cent at 1,917.96. In Tokyo on Monday, the Nikkei 225 Average tumbled 4.8 per cent to 10,884.7. In London, Marks and Spencer announced it had begun the search for a new chairman after Luc Vandevelde said he was stepping down because he felt he was unable to devote enough time to the job. The retailer's fourth-quarter sales last month, came in much worse than expected, knocking the shares to a year low. The shares were down 0.5 per cent to 275½p. Bayer, the German chemicals manufacturer, was down 2.6 per cent to €21.25 after reporting first-quarter pre-exceptional earnings were slightly lower than in the same quarter a year ago. The numbers were in line with the company's guidance and Bayer said they underlined hopes that the sector was recovering. Arcelor, the world's largest steel producer, said it beat expectations with first-quarter profits up 8.5 per cent as demand continued to grow in the US and China. The company forecast rising earnings in the second quarter as the US recovery gathered pace and said plans in China to slow economic growth would have little impact. Profit taking ensured Arcelor was the biggest percentage loser on the CAC 40, with shares down 3.8 per cent to $13.23. French media company Lagardere, publisher of Elle, reported a 5.4 per cent rise in first-quarter sales, helped by revenue growth at its books and broadcast divisions. Shares were down 1.8 per cent to €49.60.

To: TobagoJack who wrote (49702)	5/10/2004 3:42:03 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74559

Emerging market traders fear 'meltdown' aftermath By Päivi Munter in London Published: May 9 2004 22:11 \| Last Updated: May 9 2004 22:11 Emerging market debt traders will on Monday return to their desks in an apprehensive mood after fears of higher US interest rates last week drove about $10bn in investments out of the asset class. JP Morgan's EMBI+ emerging bond index fell 5.4 per cent on the week, representing the steepest mark-down in two years and enveloping the entire market. Paul Luke, chairman of UK hedge fund Convivo Capital Management, said: This is a real meltdown - all the assets have fallen. The last time we saw something like this was in 1998 during the Russian crisis." Last week's selling started as US economic data early in the week raised the spectre of a rise in interest rates. By Thursday, when weekly jobless claims figures fell sharply, the momentum was fierce, and Friday's jump in the number of new jobs left investors running for cover. Jonathan Bayliss, head of quantitative strategy at JP Morgan, said: "Most of the selling has been from hedge funds, but as the week wore on it broadened to real-money investors." Hedge funds are by nature more aggressive investors as they can "short" the market, or sell securities they do not own. "Real-money" investors, such as pension funds, tend to be more conservative. Signs of their apparent surrender left market participants worried about a further slide in bond prices. "As the selling continues, there is a risk that people may start questioning the asset class as a strategic proposition," Mr Bayliss said. Five years ago, Russia defaulted on $40bn in domestic debt, leaving many international investors badly out of pocket and emerging markets with a bad name. But subsequent emerging market crises have been more limited, giving rise to perceptions that the asset class had "matured" since its inception in the early 1990s. The exceptionally low global interest rates over the past three years helped rehabilitate emerging market debt, because risk appetite rises when money becomes cheaper and yields on mainstream assets fall. But the creditworthiness of developing countries improved, too, as they abandoned currency pegs and lifted their budgets into the black. The policies of big emerging market governments - such as Brazil and Turkey - have recently been more disciplined and predictable. John Cleary, chief investment officer at Standard Asset Management, said: "Emerging economies and politics are broadly positive. The volatility has been driven by exogenous, rather than fundamental factors." But the economic environment is marred by uncertainties, such as oil prices approaching $40 per barrel. Susan Payne, chief executive officer at Emergent Asset Management, said: "We are negative - we think the market correction will go further."