A New Phase of Russian Politics is Underway
Henry A. Kissinger, former US national security adviser | July 4, 2008
Conventional wisdom which treated President Medvedev as a mere continuation of Putin is oversimplified. ++ We are witnessing one of the most promising periods in Russian history. ++ The new Russian government with two centers of power may mark the beginning of an evolution toward a form of checks and balances. ++ Geopolitical realities with respect to nuclear weapons and Iran require Russian-US cooperation. ++ US can affect more by patience and historical understanding than by offended disengagement and public exhortations.
Climate change and economic “stagflation” threaten the very future of our planet. ++ The only way to solve these challenges is to act globally. ++ Essentially, to resolve the food crisis, export restrictions need to be lifted and a second “green revolution,” - what once transformed Southeast Asia - needs to take place. ++ Climate change can be stopped if new limits are set for greenhouse gases and consumption patterns are adapted in the developed world. ++ If we are serious about promoting change, goals need to be set for as soon as 2020, not 2050.
The Dalai Lama seems to be more interested in fanning up international pressure on China than in talking seriously with the central government. ++ However, after the Olympics, his influence in the West will probably fade. ++ His concept of “high-level” or “maximum” autonomy cannot possibly be accommodated within the Chinese Constitution as it would mean the restoration of theocracy. ++ It is time for Dalai Lama to focus on the future of Tibet and respond to the central government’s attempts to negotiate.
Few will mourn the end of the Bush Administration, yet many fail to realize that his legacy has long-term implications. ++ Beside operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, Bush has managed to shift the path of America’s foreign policy. ++ Defining an “age of terror” with a “global war” as a response, promulgating preemptive war, and making power projection a matter of defense are only a few examples. ++ Bush critics are now debating how both presidential candidates may promote or reshape this new, rather malignant alignment.
Despite the West’s fear and loathing of America’s perceived overdrawn and poorly executed military initiatives in Iraq, the nation’s expats across the Middle East are singing a different, more optimistic tune. ++ Artists and businessmen alike are looking forward to the day they can return to their homes in hopes of a peaceful era. ++ However, according to many of them, this is contingent on the Americans remaining in Iraq as a stabilizing factor until it is ascertained by who and how the country should be governed.
