Foreign Policy News and Commentary Updtate December 3, 2007

THE SMART WAY TO BEAT TYRANTS LIKE CHÁVEZ - DONALD RUMSFELD (WASHINGTON POST, DECEMBER 2): http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113001800_pf.html

MONEY WOES AT THE PENTAGON WILLIAM M. ARKIN (WASHINGTONPOST.COM,NOVEMBER 30): http://blog.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/2007/11/solving_the_financial_crisis_a.html?nav=rss_blog

PENTAGON CHIEF VISITS TROOPS IN DJIBOUTI REUTERS (NEW YORK TIMES, DECEMBER 3): .
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-djibouti-usa-gates.html?pagewanted=print

SMART POWER JOSEPH NYE (HUFFINGTON POST, NOVEMBER 29):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-nye/smart-power_b_74725.html

WHAT THE SECDEF DIDN'T CALL FOR, BUT SHOULD HAVE (UPDATED) (MOUNTAINRUNNER, NOVEMBER 29): http://mountainrunner.us/2007/11/what_the_secdef_didnt_call_for.html
SMALL WAR JOURNAL LINK
http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2007/11/what-the-secdef-didnt-call-for/

THE GREAT FOREIGN POLICY DIVIDE - MICHAEL MCCORD (SEACOASTONLINE.ORG, DECEMBER 2): Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said he would close Guantanamo Bay, pay Iraqis to bulldoze Abu Ghraib prison, and use public diplomacy to reverse attitudes in the world such as George Bush and his administration being more dangerous to the world than Osama bin Laden.
http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071202/OPINION/712020333/-1/NEWS

DEMOCRATS SHOULDN'T LEAVE US OUT OF THE LOOP - L. CHARM TENENBAUM (SUN-SENTINEL.COM, FL, DECEMBER 3): http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-forum03primarysbdec03,0,6869065.story

AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES GO GLOBAL ? (ALJAZEERA.NET NOVEMBER 29): Riz Khan speaks with one of the leaders of American higher education, Richard Levin, for his insights on the globalisation of American education.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5FAEECBB-720C-4AF6-9EA1-012BA7E6E60D.htm

HOW TO BUILD YOUR VOCABULARY ? AND FEED THE WORLD: A CHARITY WEBSITE DONATES RICE TO THE UN EVERY TIME YOU CHOOSE THE CORRECT DEFINITION OF A WORD - CAITLIN CARPENTER (CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, DECEMBER 3): Freerice.com, which debuted in October, donates 20 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program (WFP) every time a player selects the correct definition for a particular word. Paid for with advertising income, 4 billion grains have been won for the WFP so far. That's 160 metric tons, or enough to feed 200,000 people for one day.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1203/p13s02-lign.html

KIDNAPPING NOT A CRIME, CLAIMS BUSH JUSTICE DEPARTMENT - SCOTT HORTON (HARPER?S, DECEMBER 2): Continuing its recent spree of criminality in the alleged pursuit of law enforcement, the Bush Justice Department formally advised a British Court last week that it is fully entitled to kidnap foreigners (i.e., Britons) off the street around the world and carry them off to secret prisons. The claim was formerly thought to relate to terrorists. But no longer.
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/12/hbc-90001815

IRAQ AS A PENTAGON CONSTRUCTION SITE: HOW THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION "ENDURES" - TOM ENGELHARDT (TOMDISPATCH, DECEMBER 2): http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174869/a_basis_for_enduring_relationships_in_iraq

CHENEY AND KURDS MEET ABOUT OIL: U.S. HAD INSISTED ON IRAQI UNITY - STEVEN MUFSON (WASHINGTON, DECEMBER 1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113002178_pf.html

NONSTOP THEFT AND BRIBERY ARE STAGGERING IRAQ - DAMIEN CAVE (NEW YORK TIMES, DECEMBER 2): Corruption and theft are not new to Iraq, and government officials have promised to address the problem. But as Iraqis and American officials assess the effects of this year?s American troop increase, there is a growing sense that, even as security has improved, Iraq has slipped to new depths of lawlessness. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/world/middleeast/02baghdad.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

THE KALEIDOSCOPIC WAR (2)? GEORGE PACKER (NEW YORKER, NOVEMBER 29): One irony of the current phase is that the center of Iraq, which has always been its most violent part, has become more stable, with far more American attention, if not actual control, whereas the supposedly more peaceful north and south, where we are spread thin or have no troops at all, are moving in their own directions, under the influence of other foreign countries -- Iran, Syria, Turkey.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/georgepacker

SAUDI WHIPLASH: A REGIME THAT INFLICTS MEDIEVAL PUNISHMENT ON RAPE VICTIMS IS CELEBRATED IN ANNAPOLIS EDITORIAL (WASHINGTON POST, DECEMBER 2): http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/01/AR2007120101379.html

FUSES IN GAZA - JACKSON DIEHL (WASHINGTON POST, DECEMBER 3): The one option that doesn't seem to be getting serious consideration is perhaps the only one that Hamas itself might accept: a cease-fire with Israel that would end attacks by both sides, open Gaza to normal commerce and allow the peace negotiations to go forward without interference. Such a deal, which is favored by the out-of-power Israeli left, doesn't fit with the Bush administration's vision of a polarized Middle East in which Iran and its allies are irreconcilable.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/02/AR2007120201603_pf.html

MIDDLE EAST PEACE THROUGH ANXIETY - MICHAEL B. OREN (NEW YORK TIMES, DECEMBER 2): http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/opinion/02oren.html?n=Top/Opinion/Editorials%20and%20Op-Ed/Op-Ed/Contributors&pagewanted=print

PEACE? SURE, I'LL SEE WHAT I CAN DO - SHERYL GAY STOLBERG (NEW YORK TIMES, DECEMBER 2): Foreign policy experts say that if the Palestinians and Israelis are to settle their differences, it will take substantial presidential involvement. It won?t be enough for Mr. Bush to leave the work to his secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/weekinreview/02stolberg.html?pagewanted=print

BUSH DRAWS SKEPTICISM WITH HANDS-OFF APPROACH TO MIDEAST: LIMITING THE U.S. ROLE WILL BECOME MORE DIFFICULT AS THE PEACE PROCESS MOVES FORWARD, DIPLOMATS AND ANALYSTS SAY - PAUL RICHTER (LOS ANGELES TIMES, DECEMBER 2)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-usmideast2dec02,1,4929352.story

FOR MIDEAST PEACE, THINK BIGGER: REGIONAL STABILITY INVOLVES MORE THAN THE ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS - HELENA COBBAN (CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, DECEMBER 3): Bush should understand that success in the post-Annapolis peacemaking effort requires a lot more commitment and vision than he and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have shown to date. Specifically, it requires much stronger direct involvement from the president himself and resurrection of the fine, old vision of an Israel at peace with all of its neighbors.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1203/p09s01-coop.htm

DÉJÀ VU IN ANNAPOLIS - ROBERT FISK (TRUTHDIG, NOVEMBER 29): The Middle East is currently a hell disaster and the President of the United States thinks he is going to produce the crown jewels from a cabinet and forget Afghanistan and Iraq and Iran -- and Pakistan, for that matter. The worst element of the whole Annapolis shindig is that once again millions of people across the Middle East -- Muslims, Jews and Christians -- will believe all this and will then turn -- after its failure -- with fury on their antagonists for breaking these agreements.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20071129_deja_vu_in_annapolis/

FOLLOW THE LEADERS - HENDRIK HERTZBERG (NEW YORKER, DECEMBER 10): Last week's gathering of Israeli and (Sunni) Arab leaders at Annapolis was a sign that it has finally dawned on the Bush Administration that its six-year policy of ignoring the Israeli-Palestinian morass has aggravated America' troubles in the Middle East.
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2007/12/10/071210taco_talk_hertzberg?printable=true

THE ROAD FROM ANNAPOLIS - DAVID IGNATIUS (WASHINGTON POST, DECEMBER 2): The view at the State Department -- beyond relief that the occasionally chaotic logistics of the conference worked out -- is that a number of diplomatic opportunities are opening up. The pieces of the Middle East puzzle are starting to move, creating room for openings involving not just the Palestinians but also Syria, Lebanon and perhaps eventually Iran.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113001786_pf.html

RIGGING PAKISTAN'S ELECTION? - ROBERT D. NOVAK (WASHINGTON POST, DECEMBER 3): The U.S. return on its massive investment in Pakistan has been disappointing
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/02/AR2007120201637_pf.html

AMERICA'S MAN IN PYONGYANG ? REVIEW & OUTLOOK (WALL STREET JOURNAL, DECEMBER 3): http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119663425965211052.html?mod=opinion_main_europe_asia

VENEZUELA'S PRESIDENT AND PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1: DESPITE HIS ANTI-U.S. RHETORIC AND AMBITIONS, THE ONLY COUNTRY THAT HUGO CHAVEZ REALLY THREATENS IS HIS OWN - SERGIO MUNOZ (LOS ANGELES TIMES, DECEMBER 2): As for the U.S., Venezuela depends more on America than we do on it.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-munoz2dec02,0,2004411.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

THE LIMITS OF 21ST-CENTURY REVOLUTION - ROGER COHEN (NEW YORK TIMES, DECEMBER 3): Chávez wants to parlay his petrorevenue and pseudorevolution into a global anti-American role.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/opinion/03cohen.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

SARKOZY'S GRAND BARGAIN - JIM HOAGLAND (WASHINGTON POST, DECEMBER 2): During a visit to Washington last month, Sarkozy suggested to American officials that he has already made the decision to rejoin NATO -- if the United States accepts a greater role for Europe in decision making for transatlantic defense.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113001783_pf.html

A VOTE THAT PUTIN FEARS - MASHA LIPMAN (WASHINGTON POST, DECEMBER 1):http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113001635_pf.html

WHAT THE PUBLICS WANT - CHERYL ROFER (WHIRLED VIEW, NOVEMBER 28): http://whirledview.typepad.com/whirledview/2007/11/what-the-public.html

'I WILL NEVER LEAVE GUANTANAMO' - SABIN WILLETT (BOSTON GLOBE, DECEMBER 3): Guantanamo is now far older than any World-War-II POW camp. Hope fled the sunless gloom of Camp Six long ago.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/12/03/i_will_never_leave_guantanamo?mode=PF

WE'RE ON THE BRINK OF APOCALYPSE! AGAIN! THE PURITANICAL ROOTS OF OUR FATALISM AND ANXIETY OVER AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM - GREGORY RODRIGUEZ (LOS ANGELES TIMES, DECEMBER 3): http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-rodriguez3dec03,0,4262325.column?coll=la-opinion-rightrail

ORWELLED ? PETER C. BAKER (NATION, NOVEMBER 29): The title of What Orwell Didn't Know suggests a catalog of facts that Orwell overlooked, like how India benefited from British colonization or the upside of constant video surveillance. In fact, most of the book's twenty essays -- a significant minority of them by Nation contributors -- focus on the present-day usefulness of Orwell's brand of vigilant skepticism about language, politics and the media.
http://www.thenation.com/docprem.mhtml?i=20071217&s=baker

GAY RUMOURS ECLIPSE CONDI'S GLORY MOMENT (SUNDAY TIMES, DECEMBER 2): It should have been Condoleezza Rice's finest hour as US secretary of state: at last President George W. Bush was hosting a Middle East peace conference that she had been struggling to organise for months. Yet when Rice's photograph appeared on the front page of America's bestselling weekly newspaper last week, it had nothing to do with her peacemaking efforts. She had been dragged into a National Enquirer article headlined 'Who's Gay and Who's Not."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article2983771.ece

U.S. DEBT: $30,000 PER AMERICAN - AP (USA TODAY, DECEMBER 3): Like a ticking time bomb, the national debt is an explosion waiting to happen. It's expanding by about $1.4 billion a day -- or early $1 million a minute. What's that mean to you? It means almost $30,000 in debt for each man, woman, child and infant in the United States.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-12-03-debt_N.htm




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