The NYT’s Seth Mydans takes a closer look at why, exactly, Burma’s ruling military junta is moving the country’s capital 200 miles to the north. His conclusion: no one knows for sure. Could be for reasons of astrological auspiciousness; could be so the paranoid brass can ensconce themselves in the jungle in preparation for an American invasion:
Not long ago, according to one story making the rounds in Myanmar, a military officer was asked the purpose of obligatory civil defense training for civilian men. “You are the holding action against the Americans until the Chinese come to our aid,” the officer said, according to David I. Steinberg, a professor at Georgetown University who is a leading expert on Myanmar.
Mr. Steinberg said rumors of an American “rescue” circulate among opponents of the government – a current of wishful thinking that is as extravagant as the fears of the ruling generals.
“The joke going around is, ‘After diamonds, gold,’ ” he said. In the Burmese language, “sein” – as in Saddam Hussein – means diamonds. “Shwe” – as in Gen. Than Shwe, the leader of the military junta – means gold.