Uncommon Commentary™ from Agence Global

Mr. Putin Makes an Audacious Offer   by Immanuel Wallerstein
In a recent visit to Germany, Vladimir Putin proposed an “economic community stretching from Lisbon to Vladivostok." This should probably worry U.S. leaders more than the modest revelations of Wikileaks.
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Respect and Policy Rule Islamic-Western Ties   by Rami G. Khouri
A new Gallop poll shows that respect and policy, rather than religion, are the critical issues in Islamic-Western ties or tensions.
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Russia’s Challenge to America’s Middle East Diplomacy   by Patrick Seale
As a recent conference in Malta indicated, the tendency in the European Union and in Russia is now to challenge America’s monopoly of the Arab-Israeli peace-process -- which has proved ineffective -- and to demand firm joint action.
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American Mediation Faces Its Biggest Test   by Rami G. Khouri
The first thing Obama will have to decide is whether he is mediating Arab-Israeli peace or negotiating American-Israeli domestic politics. The two are not synonymous.
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Restoring Lost Liberties   by David Cole (The Nation)
The drug war has been waged not only on traffickers and users but on liberty and equality.
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GOP Monkey-Wrench Gang   by Robert Dreyfuss (The Nation)
If Obama is looking for a reason to scale back his foreign policy ambitions, the GOP takeover of the House is the perfect excuse.
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Don’t Dissolve, Rejuvenate the PA   by Rami G. Khouri
Rejuvenated and re-legitimized national governance is the number one priority of the Palestinians now, and Abbas has the power to initiate a process to move in this direction.
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