The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is meeting in Rancho Mirage, California, and US President Obama is serving as host to the meeting. President Obama is hoping that ASEAN will coalesce around a stronger position vis-a-vis China on a variety of trade and maritime issues. Typically, ASEAN operates by consensus which has been hard to obtain since Cambodia and Laos are closely tied to China. But the growing fear of Chinese dominance in the region is forcing many members of the group to seek closer relations with the US to serve as a counterweight to Chinese power.
Russian air power in Syria has certainly turned the tide of battle in favor of Syrian President Assad. But some analysts believe that Russia is also deliberately creating refugees in Syria in order to place pressure on Turkey and Europe to adopt a more conciliatory stance toward Russian positions. There is little question that civilians have not received the attention from attacks that they deserve, and the air attacks certainly seem to be indiscriminate. Yesterday, four hospitals and a school were hit by air attacks.
Kizza Besigye, the chief opponent to current President Yoweri Museveni in the upcoming Ugandan elections, has charged that the elections will not be free or fair. A Besigye supporter was killed yesterday in a political rally and there is concern that the police and security forces are being used to intimidate the opposition. Museveni came to power in 1986 and has ruled exclusively in Uganda since that time. The economic situation in Uganda is perilous and the government has not been effective in stimulating the economy.
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