James A. Baker III

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Why Gorbachev Mattered

ReflexionesTestimonios,

No world leader has a bigger place in the history of the late 20th century than Mikhail Gorbachev, for the pivotal role he played in the peaceful end of the Cold War. The free world will be forever grateful to him, even if many of his fellow citizens are not.

In the 1950s and ’60s the Soviet Union rolled in the tanks to keep its empire together amid several similar anti-Soviet uprisings: In East Germany in 1953, in Hungary in 1956 and in Czechoslovakia in 1968.

But on Oct. 6, 1989, Gorbachev charted a new path. In a speech at the People’s Assembly building in East Berlin he concluded that every country in Eastern Europe should find its own path to socialism.…  Seguir leyendo »

A Savanna elephant is photographed at Kruger National Park in South Africa in March 2020. (Jerome Delay/AP)

MundoAsia,

As the world watches the Tokyo Olympics, our thoughts turn to the international peace and cooperation that the Games have come to symbolize. Each of us, in the administrations we served, wedded these traditional concerns of state to the conservation of nature — and of wildlife species in particular. The growth of wildlife trafficking by sophisticated criminal syndicates has heightened our conviction that the world must speak with one voice.

With that in mind, we believe Tokyo has now a singular opportunity to finally eliminate the sale and trade of elephant ivory in Japan while improving its reputation as a global leader and financial capital.…  Seguir leyendo »

James A. Baker III served as the 61st U.S. secretary of state from 1989 to 1992 and as the U.N. secretary-general’s personal envoy for Western Sahara from 1997 to 2004.

MundoÁfricaMundoAmérica, , ,

President Trump’s recent proclamation recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara was an astounding retreat from the principles of international law and diplomacy that the United States has espoused and respected for many years. This rash move disguised as diplomacy will contribute to the existing deadlock in resolving the long-standing conflict between Morocco and the people of Western Sahara over the status of that territory. Further, it threatens to complicate our relations with Algeria, an important strategic partner, and has negative consequences on the overall situation in North Africa.

The Abraham Accords and efforts to widen them are, of course, laudable ways to promote peace in the Middle East by establishing formal relations between Israel and Arab countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and now Morocco, especially if they would help in addressing the Palestinian dimension.…  Seguir leyendo »

Kenya Wildlife Services rangers arrange elephant tusks recovered from an ivory-smuggling gang, on July 22. (Joseph Okanga/Reuters)

MundoÁfricaReflexionesNaturaleza,

Throughout my life, I have been an avid hunter, fisherman and outdoorsman. I hunt quail, wild turkey, dove and other birds. I’ve been on safari in Africa a number of times to hunt Cape buffalo and other plains game. I hunt elk in the Rocky Mountains every year. In my native Texas, I fish the Gulf Coast’s bays for redfish and trout, and I fish Wyoming’s cool streams for freshwater trout.

Like most sportsmen, I am also a conservationist. From the days of Teddy Roosevelt, American hunters — and, indeed, the Republican Party that Roosevelt represented — have held a deep reverence for nature and the wildlife found there.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesTestimonios, ,

I vividly remember the time and place when I knew that the Cold War had ended. It was Aug. 3, 1990, at Vnukovo II Airport outside Moscow. I stood shoulder to shoulder with the foreign minister of the Soviet Union as history was made when we jointly declared our countries’ opposition to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and called for an arms embargo on Iraq, then a Soviet client state. My counterpart was Eduard Shevardnadze. While he was an adversary, he was also a trusted diplomatic partner. In time, he would become a close friend. My biases should therefore be clear: I liked and admired the man.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica

The change sweeping the Arab world has brought to the forefront a controversy dating to the early days of our Republic. Should American military might be used for idealistic reasons or as an expression of a vital national interest? Or both? Having served four U.S. presidents during a variety of international crises, we view the choice between “idealism” and “realism” as a false one. Just as ideals must be applied in concrete circumstances, realism requires context for our nation’s values to be meaningful. To separate them risks building policy on sand.

Like most Americans, we believe that the United States should always support democracy and human rights politically, economically and diplomatically, just as we championed freedom for the captive peoples of the Soviet empire during the Cold War.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAméricaInternacionalOrden Mundial,

Republican presidents have long led the crucial fight to protect the United States against nuclear dangers. That is why Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush negotiated the SALT I, START I and START II agreements. It is why President George W. Bush negotiated the Moscow Treaty. All four recognized that reducing the number of nuclear arms in an open, verifiable manner would reduce the risk of nuclear catastrophe and increase the stability of America's relationship with the Soviet Union and, later, the Russian Federation. The world is safer today because of the decades-long effort to reduce its supply of nuclear weapons.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica

As the Honduran daily newspaper El Heraldo proclaimed in a recent editorial, "the current situation is untenable." And it threatens to grow worse. Unrest and protest are mounting as Honduras's constitutional crisis continues. Matters will only deteriorate if the international community refuses to recognize the results of the coming Honduran elections, scheduled for Nov. 29. In the United States, the crisis risks reawakening the divisive domestic political debates between the left and right that were the rule before 1990.

It doesn't have to be this way. A lesson from the administration of President George H.W. Bush can help resolve the conflict, but only if all sides agree to a forward-looking approach and quit trying to apportion blame for the current impasse.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica

The most agonizing decision we make as a nation is whether to go to war. Our Constitution ambiguously divides war powers between the president (who is the commander in chief) and Congress (which has the power of the purse and the power to declare war). The founders hoped that the executive and legislative branches would work together, but in practice the two branches don’t always consult. And even when they do, they often dispute their respective powers.

A bipartisan group that we led, the National War Powers Commission, has unanimously concluded after a year of study that the law purporting to govern the decision to engage in war — the 1973 War Powers Resolution — should be replaced by a new law that would, except for emergencies, require the president and Congressional leaders to discuss the matter before going to war.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

I wholeheartedly agree with a point Lee Hamilton made in his March 25 op-ed, " A Partnership on Iraq," regarding the need for a unity of effort in Iraq. He is correct that the United States will probably falter unless President Bush and Congress reach a bipartisan consensus in the coming months.

Unfortunately, more than 100 days after the Iraq Study Group released its report, we are further than ever from a consensus. Recent narrow votes in the House and Senate, largely along partisan lines, illustrate our country's continuing division on this critical issue.

The best, and perhaps only, way to build national agreement on the path forward is for the president and Congress to embrace the only set of recommendations that has generated bipartisan support: the Iraq Study Group report.…  Seguir leyendo »