US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter blamed Iraqi military forces for the fall of the city of Ramadi. Carter noted that the Iraqi forces were not outnumbered by the forces of the Islamic State, but that they lacked the will to fight. The admission is a striking confession that the current US strategy of simply arming and training Iraqi forces was not working, but he offered no alternative. The city is about 100 kilometers from the capital city of Baghdad. But Shi’ite militias, backed by Iran, are mobilizing to retake the city. Once again, the US is dependent upon its erstwhile enemy to defend its interests. It’s not clear how long the US will continue this willful game of denying reality.
After four months of negotiations, the Greek Finance Minister indicated that there is not enough money to satisfy the IMF when its debt comes due next month. The statement is the most explicit one so far indicating that Greece is likely to experience a credit “event.” A credit event is actually a formal designation of the inability to pay which is made by a completely private organization called the International Swaps and Derivatives Association. The power to declare a credit event is extraordinary and it is made by a committee as described by the ISDA:
The ISDA Credit Derivatives Determinations Committees (DCs) each comprise 10 sell-side and five buy-side voting firms, alongside three consultative firms and central counterparty observer members. Their role is to apply the terms of market-standard credit derivatives contracts to specific cases, and make factual determinations on Credit Events, Successor Reference Entities and other issues, based on information provided to the DCs by credit default swap (CDS) market participants.
Note that there is no representative from any government or international organization that could be held accountable by any transparent mechanism such as an election. The fate of millions of people is determined by a small committee comprised of entities whose names we never know.
An international group of women activists completed a peace march across the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea. The group of 30 wmoen were led by Gloria Steinem, the Irish Nobel Peace Prize-winner Mairead Maguire, and the Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee. They were met by angry protesters from South Korea who were angry that the women had cooperated with the North Korean regime which the protesters regard as an illegitimate regime.
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