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David B. Rivkin Jr. & Lee A. Casey | November 19, 2008 The hijacking of a Saudi-owned oil tanker is unprecedented but only part of the recent, dramatic rise in piracy. ++ Capturing pirates in not a major problem, but due process makes dealing with captive pirates more complex than in the 1700s. ++ Universal jurisdiction should be applied in this case, allowing any state to try and punish pirates. ++ States should ...More

Henry Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury | November 19, 2008 By passing an economic rescue package, Congress intended to stabilize the banking system by “purchasing illiquid mortgages and mortgage-related securities.” ++ Rising unemployment, falling house prices and European economies in crisis have averted the desired outcome. ++ However, the next administration will have less trouble dealing with challenges ...More

Simon Jenkins, The Guardian | November 19, 2008 The lessons of Iraq, and history, have been ignored and are being repeated in Afghanistan. ++ The US and UK have only succeeded to “reduce what should be one of the world's richest countries to shambles.” ++ If there is one lesson from Iraq it is that “foreign expeditions undertaken in a spirit of jingoist revenge, with a crazed optimism and ...More

Tariq Ali, Asia Times | November 19, 2008 Afghanistan has been at war for almost 30 years. ++ The possibility of US exit strategies hovers on the horizon but winning the war would require carpet-bombing of southern Afghanistan. ++ Many Afghans hostile to the Taliban still support the resistance. ++ The British ambassador to Kabul considers the war lost. ++ General Petraeus will not be able to work ...More

Editorial, The Economist | November 19, 2008 The largely unknown British oil industry was one of the largest in the world, but is now running dry. ++ The drilling platforms off the shore of Scotland gave Prime Minister Thatcher a one-time economic boost that funded her economic policies. ++ The possibility of an independent, oil-financed Scotland has not made oil popular in the UK. ++ Production has ...More

J. Pisani-Ferry, A. Sapir & J. v. Weizsäcker, Bruegel | November 18, 2008 To answer the G20’s calls for budgetary stimulus, Europe needs a three-part recovery program. ++ EU member states must pledge to equally share the burden of recovery. ++ Because many countries will exceed EU deficit limits, budgetary boosts need to be accompanied by an agreement to strengthen the EU’s fiscal framework. ++ Member states should make a ...More

Paul Kennedy, The Guardian | November 18, 2008 The Bush administration destroyed American goodwill abroad. ++ Obama is a welcome change, but there are limits to what "soft power" can achieve. ++ White House glamour will be useless if Asia stops buying US treasury bonds. ++ As the IMF slips out of American hands, so does world economic leadership and we return to a multi-polar world. ++ Soft power counts for ...More

Editorial, The New York Times | November 18, 2008 In 2006 president Bush signed a free-trade agreement with Colombia that Congress has yet to pass, arguing Colombia’s state of human rights is unacceptable. ++ Most Colombian exports are free of tariffs, in view of efforts to combat the drug economy there. ++ The US would benefit from such an agreement by not having to pay high tariffs on exports to ...More

Brookings Institution | November 2008 Great challenges await the 44th US president, especially economic ones. The Brookings Institution lists the ten most important: Restoring Financial Stability: Strengthening the global financial system is a priority alongside the task of defeating the current financial market crisis. Such a strengthening includes increased national regulation and decreased ...More

Editorial, The Boston Globe | November 18, 2008 One of Obama’s most trying tasks as president will be to redefine NATO, which lacks “a clear mission” and has “outlived its original purpose.” ++ The thorny issue of Ukrainian and Georgian accession will need to be negotiated with other NATO members. ++ NATO’s mission in Afghanistan is an “out-of-area conflict,” ...More