Titles:

• UBS report says death of Euro will lead to doomsday
• Is Erdogen fooling the people over ties with the Jewish State?
• Likelihood of all-out Middle East war increasing
• Saudi prince: U.S. missed chance for Afghan withdrawal
• Karachi violence: MQM tells US they are outgunned in Karachi

 

Details:

 

UBS report says death of Euro will lead to doomsday
According to a report released by the Union Bank of Switzerland entitled "Euro Break Up-The Consequences," the death of the euro is inevitable and the long-term effects of such an event will potentially include civil war, the collapse of international trade and sovereign default.The report lays the foundation of its assertions by declaring, "Under the current structure and with the current membership, the Euro does not work. Either the current structure will have to change, or the current membership will have to change."The same report calculates the cost of the withdrawal of any country from the euro zone, with much of the attention focused on Germany. The report reads:"Were a stronger country such as Germany to leave the Euro, the consequences would include corporate default, recapitalization of the banking system and collapse of international trade. If Germany were to leave, we believe the cost to be around EUR6,000 to EUR8,000 for every German adult and child in the first year, and a range of EUR3,500 to EUR4,500 per person per year thereafter. That is the equivalent of 20 percent to 25 percent of GDP in the first year." Some contend that focus on Germany may indicate that Germany may already be considering withdrawing from the euro. Zero Hedge reports: "The scariest thing, however, by far, is that for this report to have been issued, it means that Germany is now actively considering dumping the euro."

 

Is Erdogen fooling the people over ties with the Jewish State?
The Turkish government and opposition exchanged criticism over Turkey's handling of deteriorating relations with Israel on Wednesday, with the opposition claiming that Erdoğan's administration had led to UN legitimization of Israel's naval blockade on Gaza and a blow to Turkish prestige. Turkey will defend its honor against Israel regardless of the cost, responded Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan according to the Turkish daily Hurriyet. "Whatever the cost, be it 15 million dollars, or 150 million dollars... Turkey will not give value to that when necessary. What matters for us is to not let anyone trample on our honor," Erdoğan vowed.  Turkey's opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu of the Republican People's Party (CHP) also dismissed the recent downgrade in Turkish-Israeli diplomatic relations, saying that they "have no function other than deceiving the Turkish people," and claiming that the US radar to be placed in Turkey will be used to protect Israel.

 

Likelihood of all-out Middle East war increasing
The likelihood of an all-out regional war in the Middle East is increasing, the head of the Jewish State's Home Front Command said on Monday.  Speaking to the Institute for National Security Studies, Major General Eyal Eisenberg said that such a conflict could potentially include the use of weapons of mass destruction. Eisenberg cautioned that the Arab Spring could turn into the "Radical Islamic Winter".

 

Saudi prince: U.S. missed chance for Afghan withdrawal
The United States should have used the killing of Osama bin Laden to declare victory and quickly withdraw from Afghanistan and now faces an increasingly nationalist uprising in the country, a senior Saudi prince said on Wednesday. Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi intelligence chief and ambassador to Britain and the United States, said the Obama administration had not been given enough credit for removing the al Qaeda leader, who was shot dead by U.S. special forces in Pakistan on May 1. Al-Faisal said Obama should have used bin Laden's death to announce an immediate military withdrawal. "I don't mean withdrawing your embassy, your economic aid or your other support, but having troops on the ground in Afghanistan has never succeeded," he said. "I'm afraid America will come to a time -- whether it is next year or the year after or the year after -- when it will inevitably have to withdraw, and this would have been the perfect moment to leave with a victory and not to go on and sort of continue in this endless (conflict)." Al-Faisal, who over his career has had extensive contacts with a range of Afghan political factions, said it was clear the conflict no longer just involved the Islamist Taliban and its supporters in Pashtun tribal areas. "The Afghan people will not accept foreign troops ... They are going to fight them," he said. "It's not just Pashtuns who are fighting back against Americans, now it is gaining a nationwide complexion."Asked if U.S. efforts to move toward political talks with the Taliban led by Mullah Omar would bear fruit, al-Faisal said the time for that may have already passed. "I think now frankly Mullah Omar is extraneous," al-Faisal said. "All the information that we see is that he is probably somewhere in Pakistan, not even in Afghanistan, and it is becoming more of a nationalist resistance movement to the presence of foreign troops. So Mullah Omar will be one of many ... who are conducting the resistance."

 

Karachi violence: MQM tells US they are outgunned in Karachi 
The Muttahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) told the United States that the Mohajirs were outgunned by the Pashtuns in Karachi and talked of a conspiracy by the Pakistani establishment designed to keep Punjabis in power, claimed an April 2009 secret US embassy cable, released by Wikileaks. The wire, headlined MQM principles and conspiracy, covers a meeting of US Embassy Charge d'Affairs Gerald Feierstein with MQM leaders Farooq Sattar and Abbas Haider Rizvi. It said Rizvi became animated at the mention of his hometown. He reminded the US diplomat that he represented one of the most ethnically diverse districts in Karachi and, therefore, one of the most volatile. He claimed Taliban maintain safe houses and weapon stashes in Pashtun neighborhoods. Glossing over his own party's reputation for political retribution, Rizvi claimed Mohajirs were outgunned by the Pashtun. Sattar and Rizvi again asserted the conspiracy of Pakistan's establishment stoking ethnic rivalry, designed to keep Punjabis in power. The Charged d'Affairs met with Sattar and Rizvi to discuss their party's stance against the recently signed Nizam-e-Adl Regulation, their ideas for a GOP (government of Pakistan) response and the potential for violence in the mega-city their party controls. Sattar said he had predicted the failure of dialogue with the frontier militants and advocated a strong military response. He asserted that, though part of the ruling coalition, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) had not confided any counter-terrorism strategic plans and surprised MQM (and apparently PPP members too) with an April 13 parliamentary resolution, endorsing the regulations. He suggested that all major political parties approach the Army to request immediate action against the Taliban. Rizvi complained that fellow coalition partner Awami National Party (ANP) was fanning Pashtun ethno-nationalism in Karachi, and still moving forward with plans for a controversial May 12 commemoration of 2007 intra-party violence.