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Tehran, Iran -- In looking away from the Hungarian uprising in 1956, the United States honoured the commitment it made to the USSR at the Yalta Conference and paved the way for detente, realpolitik and periodic dialogue. In hindsight, these alternatives achieved long-term objectives, winning the peace without starting yet another war.
Tehran, Iran -- The G8 must show that it is in touch and relevant. The group has risen above two world wars and has been ideologically united against conflict over the last 100 years. Such unity is now necessary to engage festering issues. Transparency, an even hand and (financial) muscle, are needed.
Tehran, Iran - First, accept "political Islam" as a reality in the region. Second, create a supreme international arbitration panel and call for an immediate ceasefire.
Tehran, Iran - The break-up of Iraq will cause regional conflicts and will lead to a massive devaluation of America's political capital as a superpower. It would be a spectacular failure that must be avoided.
Tehran, Iran - Cuba may prove to be the trophy prize of Latin America. Washington wants to reverse the spread of populism and socialism in Latin America. Champions of the movement like Chavez meanwhile prepare for another victory in Cuba. To change the island's future, the U.S. must meaningfully engage it.
Tehran, Iran - The United States' excessive spending in the Mideast and fiscal recklessness has led to a massive debt. This worries Asian countries that supply the U.S. goods. Like Bashir says, China might escape the consequences of this shifting U.S. demand for goods, but the impact on more fragile economies in the region will be significant.
Tehran, Iran - I have spent more than five hours today searching Google and world newspapers for articles about the Iran nuclear deal. Thanks to modern technology, I found more than 2100 headlines-- and that is just in English! What amazes me is not Google's search technology, but rather the hype and impatience around the discussion. Diplomacy and negotiations have been rudely overtaken by spin and imagination.
Tehran, Iran - Democratic nations often congratulate themselves by claiming that their policies are the product of national consensus. It boggles the mind then that Americans are the only ones in the world who aren't sure of their own economic and military might. They are only too ready to prove their disconnection from the rest of the world. It reminds me of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Franz Kafka's story characters that were unhappy with their self-crafted identities.
Tehran, Iran -- America must understand Iraq before advocating devolution. No plan will succeed if it ignores Iraq's economic problems. 50% are jobless. With many more in exile, the dignity of its people must be restored.
Tehran, Iran- It seems that North Korea has taken its best shot with its nuclear program. It first opted out of NPT, then tested its 1960's vintage missile technology and it has now experimented with a crude nuclear device.
Tehran, Iran - Many forget that the American system is a republic and not a direct democracy. As we can read in The Washington Post every day, this system is subject to heavy influence by special-interest groups and lobbies, and fierce battles of polls and mathematical models can decide elections.
Tehran, Iran - This fascinating question to put to a panel of foreign commentators. Even though it is mostly a domestic matter in the United States, no part of the global village can be indifferent to the tectonic shift in Washington.
Tehran, Iran - All wars must end. The United States must face reality in Iraq and announce a scheduled withdrawal. This move must be accompanied by several others actions in order to achieve stability.
Tehran, Iran- Washington needs to think hard and change course. There are some signals that it's doing so, such as Vice President Cheney's "80 percent solution".
Tehran, Iran - I write from a tough neighborhood at the hub of it all. It seems that all political forces have ganged up to stop the local economy in Iran.
Europe’s opinion of the U.S. and Iran points to something profound. In their assessment, they compared countries on the basis of their principles. America's righteous, exclusive and intolerant posture contrasts with Iran's desire for fairness and justice.
About 11 days ago, 15 members of a foreign naval force in uniform, bearing arms and the British flag in service of Her Majesty’s Government, had trespassed into Iranian waters. Media hype ensued and a campaign of disinformation by the British government attempted to paint it as a UN peacekeeping mission. Nevertheless, these soldiers did not bear the UN flag or the internationally recognisable “Blue Helmets” insignia. In all, it was yet another round of media spin tricks: Eisenhower and his televised denials of violating Soviet airspace with an American U-2; Colin Powel and his satellite photos of mobile WMD labs in Iraq; George Bush and his facts on Iraqi purchase of uranium in Niger.
The situation in Iraq is not simply a matter of invasion without conquest, a failing puppet state. Iraq was already a minefield, and the invasion’s waltz of quickstep missions turned that minefield into a very complex disaster zone.
I trust Amar Bakshi plans to set aside a good few months to explore this fragile topic in Iran. He ought to study the matter intensely! As with other first-time visitors to Iran, he will return and reinterpret much of what the English language press has said about Iran.
The quick and simple answer to the question is plainly positive. The Romans didn’t have what America has today: military programs and cooperation with more than 110 countries around the globe, instant communication via satellite, the Internet (which brings this article to readers) and the attention of the world. American English is the Lingua Franca and the de facto medium for exchange of scientific and, increasingly, cultural information.
It is a tough time to be the President of the United States. Aside from America’s increasing international isolation, the domestic scene is full of urgent issues: reminders of Hurricane Katrina, crushing consumer debt, Wall Street’s adventures in sub-prime mortgages, record home foreclosures, and stagflation coupled with both denial and hype. The country’s largest mortgage lender just announced it would lay off 12,000 people following the release of disappointing national employment statistics.
Few subjects set off explosions of national rage in Turkey like the fate of one and a half million Armenians in the darkest days of the First World War. First, some background: Armenians insist they were victims of the first mass genocide of the 20th century, driven from their homes in eastern Anatolia; only a few hundred thousand made it to Syria and Mesopotamia, today's Iraq. Turks, while acknowledging that many Armenians died in 1915-17, have always denied the genocide, despite widely reported evidence of massacres.
We have to accept that we live in an era of intellectual rip-offs, tactics sold as policy and instant strategies broadcast live on TV. The show on the plastic box and talking-head spin-meisters will do the thinking and planning for us all. Accordingly, we lower expectations and shall not be surprised when we see childish games are sold as a mimic of statesmanship. His Excellency, the president of a superpower, is now demanding that the world forget what it knows and listen to his version of stories.
America and its economy are at a significant crossroads: uncontrolled asset inflation, massive consumer debt and a large budget deficit have converged on a structural fault line (not to mention the impact of its military endeavors and political isolation.) Baby boomer consumption is slower, a new generation is taking over and American demographics are moving toward a Hispanic majority within the next two decades.
The U.S. economy is also making up an ever-smaller proportion of world GDP, and that’s a trend we should get used to. The euro zone is now the world’s top economic producer (with a GDP of about $16.3 trillion), while China, India and the returning Russia are all enjoying fundamental growth.
Has any of this gone unnoticed by the rest of the world? No. But Americans carefully and intentionally avoid these fundamental issues as topics of conversation. American politicians and presidential candidates divert the debate to 9/11 (now six years ago), foreign policy, Iraq and the armed forces.
Dear Presidential Aspirant,
You have indeed picked an important moment in the history of your country. Oh, boy, have you ever! You are either incredibly motivated or extremely out of touch. I hope you are prepared to inherit a Japanese-style chronic recession after fifteen years of stealth asset inflation laced with hype and reckless short-sighted finance. Meanwhile, you will preside over a massive federal deficit that has left all IMF sermons on fiscal discipline in its rearview mirror. All international players, friends and foe alike, will awaken you to the fact that you find your country in a deep isolation. Demoralized taxpayers and their rapidly changing demographics will demand quick fixes and a relapse to yesteryears, the good times jazz age and massive fins on the back of their oversized cars. The foreign policy aspirations of your country might well have a whiff of USSR to them, all saddled with a global warming problem. Being president is a tough job and completely different from your occupation during the election campaign, which is about statistics and rapid reaction to instant polls.
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