RSS

H.D.S. Greenway, International Herald Tribune, October 23, 2008 At Boston University, Andrew Bacevich railed against what Reinhold Niebuhr dubbed the “dreams of managing history” – the neocon rallying call that blends arrogance and narcissism and states that power is paramount. ++ Expansion worked for the US, for a time. ++ The Vietnam War, however, ended that. ++ Subsequently, “Further efforts at ...More

Seth Cropsey, The Hudson Institute | October 23, 2008 “Old” and “new” Europe parallel the blue and red state split in the US. ++ In old (western) Europe Obama is viewed as a “ray of hope;” new (central and eastern) Europe raises the question, “Who is Obama?” ++ This can be attributed to a difference in threat perceptions. ++ Nowhere is this exemplified more than in ...More

Editorial, Asahi (Japan) | October 23, 2008 Japan's Lower House is expected to approve a bill extending the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean. ++ The presiding committee failed to use this opportunity to discuss other important foreign policy issues, such as contributions to Afghanistan and the deteriorating situation in Pakistan, the primary recipient of Japanese fuel. ...More

Witold Gadomski, Gazeta Wyborcza | October 22, 2008 Crying to re-found democratic capitalism and create a new global economic order, world leaders are simply trying to divert attention away from their own helplessness and cover the confusion they have been thrown into by a crisis they failed to predict and prevent. ++ These are empty political platitudes – there will be no revolution. ++ The creation of a ...More

Gideon Rachman, Financial Times | October 22, 2008 National governments of the EU have dealt with the financial crisis, ignoring the power of EU institutions. ++ State aid laws have been neglected aiming to “prevent EU governments from subsidising national companies.” ++ President Sarkozy is calling for tighter “supervision of the international banking systems” and for a “crackdown ...More

David Ignatius, The Washington Post | October 22, 2008 With the status-of-forces agreement at an impasse, policy makers are unnerved by the ominous signs in Iraq. ++ If an agreement is not reached by December 31, US troops will have to return to their bases; "Without legal authority to operate, we do not operate." ++ Recent gains in Iraq were predicated on US security guarantees - without them, "tensions are ...More

Balkan Devlen, Izmir University of Economics | October 22, 2008 The financial crash will have serious geopolitical consequences. ++ Russia will reassert itself as a global player. ++ As its stock market does not play as crucial a role as in Western markets, and as Russia has a lot of money due to the boom in oil and natural gas markets, it will be the greatest winner in the aftermath of the crisis. ++ The US will also, in ...More

Peter Blechschmidt, Süddeutsche Zeitung | October 22, 2008 More German soldiers were killed by a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan. ++ The German people’s reaction towards the extension of the German mandate, as well as on the killings, seems to be restrained. ++ Once more the attacks have proven that military protection is a prerequisite for reconstruction efforts. ++ By withdrawing their troops, Germany would ...More

Antxón Olabe & Mikel González (in Spanish) | October 21, 2008 Climate change "is not a traditional problem of national security, but one related to our collective security in a fragile and increasingly interdependent world." ++ The European Commission recently released a report saying that climate change is indeed an international security issue. ++ The growing scarcity of water will increase migration, and the struggle ...More

Editorial, The Washington Post | October 21, 2008 Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama has demanded the headlines. ++ While endorsements can be forgotten, his other message should not. ++ Obama is not a Muslim, nor an Arab, but "What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?" ++ Where Obama failed - by not knocking down the rumors for fear of giving credence to the idea ...More