Diplomacy

No Rear-View Mirrors: Managing the Economic Crisis

Lance Simmens | Posted 12.03.2008 | Business

Read More: Barack Obama, State Governments, Democrats and Republics, Cabinet, Economy, Economic Crisis, Diplomacy, January 20th, Governors, Working Together, Mayors, Business News

This is not just smart politics, it is smart policy. Obama realizes he needs broad support for the hard choices that need to be made, and he is going about securing that support.

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France To Host Dialogue On Afghanistan Amidst Renewed Franco-American Relations

Denise Dennis | Posted 12.03.2008 | World

Read More: France, Pakistan, Terrorism, President Nicolas Sarkozy, Bernard Kouchner, India, US-French Relations, Afghanistan, Diplomacy, President-Elect Obama, Mumbai, Foreign Policy, Obama and Sarkozy, Bush Administration France, France Hosts Meeting Afghanistan, World News

Throughout the long presidential campaign, on the campaign trail and in the debates, President-elect Obama reiterated his commitment to a multilateral...

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Will Barack Obama Think Twice about Afghanistan?

Stephen C. Rose | Posted 12.02.2008 | World

Read More: World, War in Afghanistan, Terrorism, Osama Bin Laden, President Obama, War, Diplomacy, Taliban, Obama Cabinet, Salon, Barack Obama, Gary Kamiya, National Security, Counter-Insurgency, New York Times, Michael Gordon, Afghanistan, Great Game, World News

If Michael Gordon's New York Times report is indicative, the window for a real debate leading to alternatives to an extended military event in Afghanistan (and Pakistan) is only open a crack.

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Chuck Hagel Will Help Obama Find his "Inner Nixon"

Steve Clemons | Posted 10.15.2008 | Politics

Read More: Syria, Toxic Financial Products, Bill Clinton, Hugo Chavez, John McCain, Michelle Obama, Boris Yeltsin, Latin America, Colin Powell, US Foreign Policy, Lilibet Hagel, Diplomacy, Chuck Hagel, China, Japan, Barack Obama, Global Financial Crisis, Iran, International Financial Crisis, Richard Nixon, Middle East, South Korea, Georgia, Russia, Israel, Cuba, Secretary of State, Politics News

Rumors are swirling that Chuck Hagel -- and Colin Powell -- may both endorse Barack Obama in the days shortly after this debate. I have no idea if that is true -- and to some degree it doesn't matter.

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General Petraeus: Talks with the Taliban Are Kosher

Robert Naiman | Posted 10.10.2008 | Politics

Read More: John McCain, David Petraeus, Taliban, Diplomacy, General Petraeus, Presidential Debates, Barack Obama, Afghanistan War, Politics News

Did our incoming commander in Afghanistan just compare the Taliban to our Founding Fathers?

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Obama's Iran Policy More Likely To End Nuclear Proliferation

Ronald Mirman | Posted 09.26.2008 | Home

Read More: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Pressure, Nuclear Energy, Iran, Nuclear Proliferation, Diplomacy, Election 2008, Israel, Engagement, Syria, Barack Obama, John McCain, Iran Nuclear Weapons, Home News

Nuclear weapons are possessed by at least nine countries, posing a grave danger to humanity; the more countries the greater the danger. Uncontrollabl...

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Next President Must Have Broader Foreign Policy Priorities

Olivier Kamanda | Posted 09.19.2008 | Home

Read More: Reputation, War on Terror, Standing in World, Terrorism, Pakistan, Nuclear Proliferation, International Diplomacy, Diplomacy, US Image, Barack Obama; John Mccain; Foreign Policy; Iraq War; Afghanistan, Home News

The most pressing challenge for the next occupant of the White House is rebuilding U.S. credibility in the rest of the world. We can't effectively control infectious diseases, combat terrorism, or contain loose nuclear material without respect and help from our peers.

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Reflecting on Our Response to 9/11

Jim Wallis | Posted 09.12.2008 | Politics

Read More: Religion, Nonviolence, Human Rights, Terrorism, Sept. 11, War, September 11, 9/11, Diplomacy, 9-11, Faith, Peacemaking, Torture, Politics News

Seven years later, as we remember that day, it is appropriate to reflect on the statement and to wonder how the world would be different if its counsel had been heeded.

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Jordan's King Visits Iraq, Urges Arabs To Support

AP | QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA | Posted 08.11.2008 | Home

Read More: Iraq, War Wire, Jordan, Nouri Al Maliki, Diplomacy, Iran, Home News

BAGHDAD — Jordan's King Abdullah II held talks Monday with Iraq's prime minister after coming to Baghdad on an unannounced visit, the first by a...

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Meet the Bloggers: Darcy Burner Can End the Iraq War Responsibly

ZP Heller | Posted 08.09.2008 | Politics

When it comes to the Iraq war, the question is no longer whether the U.S. should end it, but how. On yesterday's Meet the Bloggers, special guest Darcy Burner made the case for A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq, which she co-authored earlier this year.

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Friday Talking Points [41] -- The Silly Season

Chris Weigant | Posted 08.01.2008 | Politics

Read More: Paris Hilton, Ads, Gas Prices, Mudslinging, Britney Spears, Homosexual, Iraq, Diplomacy, Media, Campaign, Withdrawal, Republican, California, Iran, Television, Specifics, 2008, Sofa, Midotw, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, 2008 Campaign, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Celebrity, Status of Forces, Keating Five, Andres McCain, Rove, John McCain, Gas, Karl Rove, Gasoline, Deval Patrick, Timeline, War, Campaign Ads, Democrat, Massachusetts, 2008 Elections, 08, Gay, 2008 Election, Barack Obama, Election, 08 Election, Price of Oil, Elections, 08 Campaign, Mddotw, Convention, 2008 Presidential Race, Oil, Maliki, News, Britney, Media Bias, Gay Marriage, Politics News

I have a confession to make. I actually watch the network news. Maybe I should enter into a twelve-step program or something. But I don't watch the ...

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North Korea and The New York Philharmonic: The "Why" Question Gets Answered

Ben Rosen | Posted 07.28.2008 | Politics

Read More: Pyongyang, New York Philharmonic, Nuclear Weapons, John Bolton, Condoleezza Rice, Axis of Evil, Bill Perry, Diplomacy, Kim Jong Il, North Korea, Dick Cheney, Politics News

My answer: To initiate a dialog between the people of two adversaries, the first of such talks in 58 years.

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Talking Does Not Make a Foreign Policy

Amitai Etzioni | Posted 07.23.2008 | Politics

Read More: Foriegn Policy, Barack Obama, Diplomacy, Talking to Enemies, Politics News

I believe talking and diplomacy are a good ideas, and a vast improvement over the Bush administration's bankrupt unilateralism. But they are merely means to an end. The question is: to what end?

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Getting Ahead of the Power Curve

Richard Klass | Posted 07.20.2008 | Politics

Read More: Iraq, Diplomacy, Obama Foreign Policy, McCain Iraq, Foreign Policy, Politics News

Obama has talked about new ways of thinking about military power and international relations and has more clearly seen world realities and possibilities for creative ways to deal with those realities.

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Iran: Reading Tehran With Lolita (Time to Publish Iranian Writers)

Jeff Biggers | Posted 07.19.2008 | Politics

Read More: Iran, George W. Bush and Iran, Writers, Poets, Novelists, Diplomacy, PEN American Center, Schools, Iranian Culture, Iranian Literature, Politics News

While Azar Nafisi's bestselling Reading Lolita in Tehran, chronicled her efforts to teach forbidden Western literature, most Americans would be hard pressed to recall a single novel from Nafisi's native country.

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Friday Talking Points [39] -- Republican Elitism Edition

Chris Weigant | Posted 07.18.2008 | Politics

Read More: Al Gore, Timetable, Cindy McCain, Gas Tax Holiday, Campaign, Withdrawal, Ubs, Tax Haven, N-Word, Pete Stark, Nuts, UBS Bank, 2008, Condoleezza Rice, Dennis Kucinich, Midotw, Nancy Pelosi, Contraception, Swiss Bank, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Carl Levin, Health Care, Override, Abortion, The Pill, Elitist, John Conyers, Impeach, Time Horizon, Private Plane, Barrel, Non-Carbon, Congress, Joe Biden, Green, 08, Imperial Presidency, Barack Obama, Election, Ted Kennedy, 08 Election, Elections, Birth Control, Mddotw, Elitism, Contraceptive, Maliki, Gas Prices, Impeachment, Iraq, Arizona, Diplomacy, Bush, Iran, Electricity, Elite, Phil Gramm, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, 2008 Campaign, Hhs, Health and Human Services, Offshore Account, John McCain, War, Let Them Eat Cake, 2008 Elections, Jesse Jackson, 2008 Election, Golf, 08 Campaign, 2008 Presidential Race, Aspirational Goals, Oil Prices, Medicare, Veto, Fundraising, Politics News

For only the fourth (or fifth, depending on how you count) time in his presidency, George W. Bush had a veto overridden by both houses of Congress thi...

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Stigmatizing War

Robert Koehler | Posted 07.16.2008 | Politics

Read More: Cluster Bombs, War, Cluster Bomb Treaty, Cluster Munitions, Dublin Cluster Bomb Ban, Diplomacy, Rules of Engagement, Politics News

The moral center of humanity slowly asserts itself. Only the most powerful are too afraid to join. You may have missed the news: At the end of May, 1...

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Fault Lines Emanating From Zimbabwe

Joe Lauria | Posted 07.13.2008 | Politics

Read More: Darfur, Zalmay Khalilzad, Sudan, Zimbabwe Violence, Zimbabwe, United Nations, Russia, Zimbabwe Elections, China, Robert Mugabe, Sanctions, Africa, Diplomacy, Politics News

The vetoed sanctions resolution against Zimbabwe at the Security Council has exposed international tensions that divide the West from Africa, Russia from the West and the US from South Africa.

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The McCain Campaign Tries Cross-Dressing on Iran

Daniel Levy | Posted 07.11.2008 | Politics

Read More: Mccain Foreign Policy, John McCain, Iran, Mccain Multilateral, Diplomacy, Unilateral Strikes, Obama Foreign Policy, McCain Obama Iran, Politics News

So here was the McCain campaign accusing Obama of being insufficiently multilateral and pro-diplomacy in its foreign policy. It's hard to know where to begin.

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McCain Camp Slams Obama as Weak on Iran - McCain Campaign 7.9 Press Conference Call Audio

OffTheBus Listening Post | Posted 07.09.2008 | Home

Read More: Barack Obama Iran Statement, Barack Obama, Randy Scheuneman, John Thune, Iran Missile, Randy Scheunemann John McCain, Iran Missle Tests, Diplomacy, Kori Schake, John McCain 2008, John Mccain Press Conference Calls, Home News

WHO: Sen. John Thune, Senior Foreign Policy Advisors Randy Scheunemann and Kori Schake WHAT: Press conference call to discuss Sen. Barack Obama's...

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A Decent Respect for the Opinions of Mankind: Iran Literacy Quiz

Robert Naiman | Posted 07.03.2008 | Politics

Read More: Congress, Iran, Diplomacy, Iran Nuclear Program, War With Iran, Iran Nuclear Weapons, Politics News

Since it doesn't look like Washington has any intention of swearing off its bombing addiction anytime soon, in the spirit of '76, I offer the following quiz for the edification of the general public.

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Bombs Away?

Steven Solomon and David Kaye | Posted 07.01.2008 | Politics

Read More: Dublin, Cluster Bomb Treaty, Cluster Bombs, Nato, European Union, Diplomacy, Foreign Policy, Politics News

A variety of pressures compelled the NATO powers in Dublin to support a ban in principle while preserving American flexibility to use cluster munitions in joint operations with allies that might join the treaty.

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Politicians Play General, Generals Play Politics (Part 5)

Russ Wellen | Posted 06.24.2008 | Politics

Read More: Iran, Negotiations, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Energy, Military, Bush Administration, Russia, Diplomacy, Cold War, Iaea, Foreign Policy, Politics News

In the conclusion of our series on Jeff Huber, columnist at Military.com and author of a new novel, Bathtub Admirals, we asked him more questions on f...

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Empire or Democracy: Are We Ready for the Fall?

John W. Whitehead | Posted 06.16.2008 | Politics

Read More: Empire, Morality, Democracy, War in Iraq, Economy, Fascism, Military Industrial Complex, Rome, Environment, Immigration, Diplomacy, Credit Crunch, Politics News

As resources are drained, the principles inherent in a democratic republic will be compromised by what is needed to sustain a militaristic empire like the US.

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Even Bigger than The Hype: Obama's Candidacy as World-Historical

Shahid Buttar | Posted 06.12.2008 | Politics

Read More: Reverend Wright and Racism, Colonialism, John McCain, Mccain, Grassroots, 2008 Recession, Obama, Immigration, Diplomacy, Post-Colonialism, Equal Opportunity, Recession, Racial Profiling, Barack Obama, McCain Iraq, Obama Diplomacy, Nelson Mandela, John McCain 2008, Benazir Bhutto, Economic Recession, Obama 2008, Racism, Discrimination, Middle East Diplomacy, McCain 2008, History, Politics News

But even though racial inequities persist, there is no doubt that the first black President will be a milestone, a watershed seemingly unthinkable before Obama's meteoric candidacy.

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