World Where You Live--11 Jan 2006 Edition

Let's take a quick spin 'round the globe, starting with... nuclear gamesmanship in Iran:

Reuters - Blair seeks U.N. agreement on Iran
Britain called on Wednesday for the U.N. Security Council to consider action against Iran after it resumed nuclear fuel research, but Iran's hardline president said his country would pursue its course regardless.

Iran removed U.N. seals at uranium enrichment research facilities on Tuesday and announced it would resume "research and development" on producing uranium fuel, prompting angry reactions from Washington, the European Union and Russia.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair told parliament he aimed to secure international agreement to haul Iran before the Security Council, which can impose punitive measures.
[...]
Blair made no direct reference to military force, but his remarks seemed stronger than those of Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who said on Tuesday military action was not on Britain's agenda and that he believed it was not on anyone else's.

From Turkey, an update on the bird flu crisis:

Guardian (London) - UN warning over Turkish bird flu outbreak
The UN food agency today said bird flu could become endemic in Turkey. Officials at the Food and Agriculture Organisation also said bird flu posed "a serious risk" to Turkey's neighbours, calling on countries to educate their populations on how to recognise and react to suspected outbreaks.
[...]
Speaking at a news conference in Ankara, the WHO's regional director for Europe, Marc Danzon, said there was "no reason to panic" and warned that fear would "only cause a bad outcome".

"The situation [in Turkey] has been taken seriously from the beginning," he said. "From the WHO point of view, we are working easily with the health ministry and there is transparency.
[...]
Dr McCracken, a former president of the British Veterinary Association, said the danger of bird flu would be at its greatest during the migratory season for wild ducks, the most likely species to bring the virus to the UK. "The most likely place that wild infected ducks are likely to land in the UK is in lakeways and waterways," he told the BBC's Today programme.

Speaking of the Brits, here's a critique of US Army performance in Iraq by a senior British officer:

WaPo - Army's Iraq Work Assailed by Briton
In an article published this week in the Army magazine Military Review, British Brig. Nigel Aylwin-Foster, who was deputy commander of a program to train the Iraqi military, said American officers in Iraq displayed such "cultural insensitivity" that it "arguably amounted to institutional racism" and may have spurred the growth of the insurgency. The Army has been slow to adapt its tactics, he argues, and its approach during the early stages of the occupation "exacerbated the task it now faces by alienating significant sections of the population."

The decision by the Army magazine to publish the essay -- which already has provoked an intense reaction among American officers -- is part of a broader self-examination occurring in many parts of the Army as it approaches the end of its third year of fighting in Iraq.
[...]
The Army is full of soldiers showing qualities such as patriotism, duty, passion and talent, writes Aylwin-Foster, whose rank is equivalent to a U.S. one-star general. "Yet," he continues, "it seemed weighed down by bureaucracy, a stiflingly hierarchical outlook, a predisposition to offensive operations, and a sense that duty required all issues to be confronted head-on."

Those traits reflect the Army's traditional focus on conventional state-on-state wars and are seen by some experts as less appropriate for counterinsurgency, which they say requires patience, cultural understanding and a willingness to use innovative and counterintuitive approaches, such as employing only the minimal amount of force necessary. In counterinsurgency campaigns, Aylwin-Foster argues, "the quick solution is often the wrong one."

And, by the by, if you're worried about violence spiraling out of control in Iraq, President Bush has a message for you:

WaPo - Turmoil in Iraq Is Part of Progress, Bush Says
President Bush warned Americans yesterday that they can expect to see more violence in Iraq over the next year but called this the price of progress as the country stands up its own security forces and moves toward democracy.

Speaking to members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Bush said that in the coming weeks Iraq is likely to be the scene of "a good deal of political turmoil" as factions jockey for position and vie for power. Rather than being alarmed by those developments, he said, "we should welcome this for what it is: freedom in action."

Good news for the Seattle economy, via India:

Agence France Presse - Air India signs deal for 68 Boeing aircraft
State-run Air India signed a formal agreement to buy 68 Boeing airliners with a list price of 11 billion dollars in one of the biggest deals in Indian aviation history.

And finally in Belgium, a scene right out of a wacky Hollywood farce:

Expatica - HEAD
Rush hour traffic was stopped in its tracks for hours on Tuesday after a lorry carrying sunflower oil accidentally shed its load on Belgium's busiest motorway.

Motorists faced traffic chaos after the sunflower oil spilled onto the E-40 towards Liege and the E19 direction Antwerp. The fire brigade was forced to clean up the 4km mess with canons firing hot water.

Where in the world is Old Fogey? Her cruise is stopping at Devil's Island off French Guiana--which was made famous by the movie Papillon (with Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen).