THE WASHINGTON POST, 14/03/10:
The Post asked former officials and policy experts whether there is a divide between the Obama administration and the Jewish state. Below are responses from Elliott Abrams, David Makovsky, Aaron David Miller, Danielle Pletka, and Hussein Agha and Robert Malley.
By Elliott Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
The current friction in U.S.-Israel relations has one source: the mishandling of those relations by the Obama administration. Poll data show that Israel is as popular as ever among Americans. Strategically we face the same enemies — such as terrorism and… Seguir leyendo
By Amil Khan, a former Reuters Middle East correspondent who now works in London on documentaries (THE GUARDIAN, 14/03/10):
What exactly is Pakistan all about? The international media will tell you it’s one of the most dangerous places on earth, beset by sectarian warfare and religious extremism. Well-heeled Pakistanis beg to differ. Their country, they say, is made up of an irrepressible population that likes to buy the latest fashions, listen to the latest music and read poetry about mysticism.
In reality, Pakistan is both of those things and many more in between. The country has spent most of its… Seguir leyendo
By Blaine Brownell, the author of Transmaterial: A Catalog of Materials that Redefine our Physical Environment an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School of Architecture (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 13/03/10):
Come April, the first tenants may finally be able to move into Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, now the tallest building in the world. Despite a series of setbacks since its ostensible opening two months ago, including the closing of the observation deck, the tower has already prompted an exuberant proliferation of record-breaking statistics: it soars more than half a mile high, stands twice the height of the Empire State… Seguir leyendo
By Hussain Abdul-Hussain, Washington correspondent for the Kuwaiti daily Al Rai and a visiting fellow with Chatham House, London (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 13/03/10):
“Here is another ballot, go vote again and let him take your picture,” Nabil al-Janabi, the Iraqi chargé d’affaires in Beirut, said while handing me a paper on the Day of the Great Crawl, when we — Iraqis at home and abroad — were required to vote for the only presidential candidate, Saddam Hussein.
It was in October 2002, and since I had to drive to the Iraqi Embassy in the upscale Beirut suburb of Hazmiyeh,… Seguir leyendo
By John R. Thomson, a geopolitical analyst and former diplomat, writes on the developing world (THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 13/03/10):
Contrary to widespread pundit opinion, Hugo Chavez is not invincible. The past several months have seen a steady decline in his popularity at home and abroad. In short, his bid to revolutionize Latin America and the Caribbean, once hailed as inevitable, has faltered; the balloon of success has seriously deflated.
Since the FMLN’s victory with Mauricio Funes in El Salvador’s March 2009 presidential election, things have not gone well for the Venezuelan despot’s goal to create Bolivarian socialist governments throughout the… Seguir leyendo
By Robin Chase, the founder and former chief executive of Zipcar. He is on the Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Advisory Committee for the United States Department of Transportation (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 12/03/10):
In the wake of the Congressional hearings on the Toyota recalls, we have heard various proposals for countering unintended acceleration in automobiles.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently said the federal government may recommend that carmakers install “smart pedals” that give brakes priority when both brake and accelerator pedals are pressed simultaneously. Meanwhile, Toyota has said that, in contested acceleration accidents, it will give regulators access codes to… Seguir leyendo
By Gary Solis, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and the author of The Law of Armed Conflict (THE WASHINGTON POST, 12/03/10):
In our current armed conflicts, there are two U.S. drone offensives. One is conducted by our armed forces, the other by the CIA. Every day, CIA agents and CIA contractors arm and pilot armed unmanned drones over combat zones in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including Pakistani tribal areas, to search out and kill Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters. In terms of international armed conflict, those CIA agents are, unlike their military counterparts but like the fighters they target,… Seguir leyendo
By Desmond Tutu, archbishop emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 (THE WASHINGTON POST, 12/03/10):
Hate has no place in the house of God. No one should be excluded from our love, our compassion or our concern because of race or gender, faith or ethnicity — or because of their sexual orientation. Nor should anyone be excluded from health care on any of these grounds. In my country of South Africa, we struggled for years against the evil system of apartheid that divided human beings, children of the same God, by racial classification… Seguir leyendo
By Vin Weber, a former Rep. managing partner of Clark and Weinstock. He served as chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy from 2000 to 2008 (THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 11/03/10):
One of my greatest satisfactions since leaving the U.S. Congress in 1993 has been the opportunity to spend nine years on the board of directors of the National Endowment for Democracy, eight as NED’s chairman. You can imagine my disappointment when I read the call for eliminating funding for NED on these pages (“Busting the well-endowed,” Feb. 25). Shikha Dalmia argues that NED is “dogged by controversy” and that its… Seguir leyendo
By Richard A. Schmidt, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. An earlier version of this article misstated the name of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 11/03/10):
The Obama administration has said that it may require automakers to install “smart pedals” on all new cars. This kind of system — already used in BMWs, Chryslers, Volkswagens and some of the newest Toyotas — deactivates the car’s accelerator when the brake pedal is pressed so that the car can stop safely even if its throttle sticks open.
The idea is to… Seguir leyendo
Por Josu Montalbán, diputado del PSE-PSOE (EL MUNDO, 11/03/10):
Empieza a ser preocupante el ensañamiento de la derecha española con el presidente del Gobierno. No tanto lo es el que mantiene el PP con el PSOE. Da igual qué tipo de problema se plantee y si el ámbito de afección es público o privado; al final siempre encuentran un resquicio por el que las críticas y descalificaciones desembocan en Zapatero. La obstinación recuerda a aquella de mediados de los 90 cuando Aznar puso de moda la famosa frase «Váyase señor González».
Ni los tiempos ni las circunstancias son iguales, pero… Seguir leyendo
Por Jesús Neira, profesor de Derecho Constitucional (EL MUNDO, 11/03/10):
El Reino Unido posee un régimen político que permite que el Gobierno disfrute de una posición estable en la Cámara de los Comunes de la que depende. Basta recordar los últimos 30 años y observar que ha disfrutado de amplias mayorías tanto cuando lo ha liderado el Partido Conservador como cuando lo ha hecho, como ahora, el Laborista. Lo logró Margaret Thatcher en repetidas elecciones y también, años después, Tony Blair. El hecho es que unos y otros han podido enfrentar los diversos problemas del país desde una posición de… Seguir leyendo
Por Cecilia Malström, comisaria de Asuntos de Interior de la UE, y Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, ministro del Interior (EL PAÍS, 11/03/10):
Las efemérides y los actos de homenaje tienen un sentido profundo que va más allá de lo formal, de lo protocolario. Si, además, es la efeméride de un hecho terrible y si el homenaje es a las víctimas de la violencia terrorista, esa percepción adquiere mayor relevancia si cabe. Rememorar lo ocurrido no supone reabrir heridas. Por el contrario, recordar es un acto de respeto, de justicia y de dignidad.
Por eso debemos empezar recordando aquel fatídico 11 de… Seguir leyendo
Por Fernando Reinares, catedrático de Ciencia Política en la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. Acaba de ser elegido director académico de la International Counter Terrorism Academic Community. Una versión más extensa de este artículo aparecerá en el próximo número de Survival, la revista del Instituto Internacional de Estudios Estratégicos de Londres (EL PAÍS, 11/03/10):
No es casual que la ponderada sentencia sobre los atentados de Madrid aludiese a quienes fueron procesados y condenados por tales hechos, si exceptuamos a los criminales españoles de los cuales obtuvieron los explosivos, como “miembros de células y grupos de tipo yihadista”. Al contrario de lo… Seguir leyendo
Por Diego López Garrido, secretario de Estado para la Unión Europea (EL PAÍS, 11/03/10):
El semestre español al frente del Consejo de la Unión se está definiendo desde el principio como una presidencia contra la crisis económica. Las últimas presidencias europeas han tenido todas ellas su particular crisis. Francia (2008) sufrió la crisis de Georgia y el inicio de la crisis financiera. La República Checa (2009, primer semestre) fue sorprendida por la crisis energética entre Rusia y Ucrania. Y Suecia preparó el tránsito (Tratado de Lisboa) para que la presidencia española actual pudiera enfrentarse institucionalmente a lo que es la… Seguir leyendo