The Current Discussion: With Castro gone, will Cuba become America's 51st state?

America's obsession with Cuba is an interesting study of how the U.S. responds to those who stand up to it. Throughout the Bay of Pigs incident, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the even since the fall of Soviet Union, Fidel Castro's dogged determination not to let Cuba change has been a constant irritation to Washington. Fidel Castro belonged to an era of revolutionaries, and there’s no doubt he and Che fought a dictatorial government. One wonders the course of Cuba-U.S. relations would have been different if, during Castro’s visit to Washington in April 1959, President Eisenhower had met him instead of going off to play golf. Perhaps things wouldn’t have changed much, as Castro's nationalization of private property had put him on a collision course with free enterprise. His repression of former Batista supporters meant there was not much to cheer about for the Castro camp.

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The Current Discussion: Are the U.S. and Europe right to recognize Kosovo and continue to poke Russia with a stick?

The U.S. and European policies on Kosovo and the Balkans have been rare in seeking to protect and stabilize the region. While the idea of independent countries being carved out of the former Yugoslavia is difficult to swallow for federal-minded observers, the fact remains that the ethnic cleansing of the region resulted in the need for a comprehensive solution. Though some may argue that U.S. and European self-interest might well be driving their policy there can be no denying that in Kosovo and others in the Balkans, it was the right thing to do. If there is to be a triumph of U.S. policy, then this is clearly it.

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So what if the Governor of New York hired a prostitute? Did he force her? Not pay her for the service? If so, then that might be an issue. Perhaps it’s illegal, but then how can you regulate the oldest profession in the world? I am against human trafficking, and forcing people against their will. But the question is not what he did – the real question is, because of who he is, should he have done it? Does being with a prostitute impair his ability to govern the State of New York? Probably not.

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The Current Discussion:A new poll finds widespread mistrust of world leaders. Are trustworthy national leaders a thing of the past? If not, who's an exception?

Over the past few decades there has been a dearth of world leaders. Perhaps that’s because we are not producing Statesmen, only people who want to lead on their own terms. Maybe it’s because our expectations of these leaders exceed their capabilities, or perhaps the divisive nature of the world political scene is such that you have to either be 'for or against' someone or something. I used to believe that people deserve the leaders they pick, but as time has gone by I have realized that not all leaders are chosen and those who are in some electoral system are often then result of well-contrived political machinery that can even manufacture consent (a la Bush).

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The Current Discussion: The G-8 summit is Bush's last hurrah as a world leader. What's one thing he can do to strengthen his legacy?

The legacy of George W. Bush is not something many would be proud of. Political leaders are often judged in the media for their actions at a particular point in time and thus it’s always hard to make a proper assessment of the legacy without stepping back and seeing the man in the broadest perspective.

OK, I just took a few steps back. Frankly, the legacy shows little of a statesman and more of a man with a low political intellect and a propensity to resolve most things he doesn’t understand through the use of military power. His two major military adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan are political, military and social disasters. He has done nothing worthy on the domestic front. What ishis legacy, really?

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The Current Discussion: With President Zardari forced to reverse his bans on political opponents, is Pakistan on the brink or is this a positive sign? What, if anything, can the West do to help maintain stability and democracy?

When General Musharraf deposed the Chief Justice back in 2007, my reaction was that if the General did indeed have evidence of wrongdoing, he should have asked the Supreme Court itself to adjudicate their colleague rather than fire him. So the issue of reinstatement is not about whether Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry is corrupt or not, but simply a matter of what is constitutionally right.

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