http://www.realclearworld.com/ en Copyright 2008 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:34:09 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.33 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss While supportive of popular protesters and regime change in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, at no point has the Shi'a militant group Hezbollah signaled any intention of scaling back its support for the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. To the contrary, its support has steadily escalated from threats in 2011 to shift attention away from Syria to potential escalation along the UN Blue Line separating Israel and Lebanon to an increasing military role in Syria starting in 2012. It was at least in part thanks to Hezbollah that the Syrian military was able to retake the strategic... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/19/hezbollahs_necessary_war_of_choice_in_syria_105248.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/19/hezbollahs_necessary_war_of_choice_in_syria_105248.html Aram Nerguizian Aram Nerguizian 2013/06 06/19/2013/00/00/00 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:34:07 -0500 0 Originally published in Radikal. ISTANBUL - If I were inclined, I could wax all day about the new National Intelligence Agency law. I could opine, for example, that "Even George Orwell could not dream of an intelligence agency that would keep the urine samples of its people." But that's for another day. I could also explain how the law about gatherings and demonstrations is wrongly enforced. How the horrible record of human rights violations of recent weeks - the woman in red being gassed in the face, gassing the Divan Hotel and shutting the doors - are perfect examples of... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/19/erdogan_driving_turkey_off_a_cliff_105250.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/19/erdogan_driving_turkey_off_a_cliff_105250.html Orhan Cengiz Orhan Cengiz 2013/06 06/19/2013/00/00/00 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:03:19 -0500 The Gulf of Guinea. He said it without a hint of irony or embarrassment. This was one of U.S. Africa Command's big success stories. The Gulf... of Guinea. Never mind that most Americans couldn't find it on a map and haven't heard of the nations on its shores like Gabon, Benin, and Togo. Never mind that just five days before I talked with AFRICOM's chief spokesman, the Economist had asked if the Gulf of Guinea was on the verge of becoming "another Somalia," because piracy there had jumped 41% from 2011 to 2012 and was on track to be even worse in 2013. The Gulf of... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/19/how_the_us_military_is_wrecking_africa_105249.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/19/how_the_us_military_is_wrecking_africa_105249.html Nick Turse Nick Turse 2013/06 06/19/2013/00/00/00 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:47:15 -0500 193930 The victory of cleric Hassan Rowhani in Iran's presidential election on Friday is the latest in a series of Middle East events that seem to have caught everyone by surprise. As recently as last week, many viewed hardline conservative Saeed Jalili as the most likely winner; he is very close to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and he ran on a platform of continued confrontation with the West. "Rowhani's election could be the best news in many years for the future of the whole region," wrote former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, citing his past experience... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/18/pragmatist_rouhani_wins_--_now_what_105247.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/18/pragmatist_rouhani_wins_--_now_what_105247.html Matthew Duss Matthew Duss 2013/06 06/18/2013/00/00/00 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:50:15 -0500 193933 ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (AP) -- Deep differences over Syria's fierce civil war clouded a summit of world leaders Monday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin defiantly rejecting calls from the U.S., Britain and France to halt his political and military support for Syrian leader Bashar Assad's regime. But there were also fissures among the three Western nations, despite their shared belief that Assad must leave power. Britain and France appear unwilling - at least for now - to join President Barack Obama in arming the Syrian rebels, a step the U.S. president reluctantly... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/18/g8_exposes_rift_among_leaders_on_syria_105246.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/18/g8_exposes_rift_among_leaders_on_syria_105246.html Julie Pace Julie Pace 2013/06 06/18/2013/00/00/00 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:02:26 -0500 194038 This article originally appeared in Le Monde. The end of a term often smells of blood and defeat, and it couldn't be more true in the Islamic Republic. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad couldn't prevent the Revolution from taking his most trusted followers away from him, one by one. Iranians went to the polls to pick a successor, with results Saturday showing centrist candidate Hassan Rouhani won in the first round of balloting. But as the country transitions to a new president, it is worth looking back on Ahmadinejad's tumultuous eight years in office, where his fall from grace was as... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/17/the_rise_and_fall_of_mahmoud_ahmadinejad_105245.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/17/the_rise_and_fall_of_mahmoud_ahmadinejad_105245.html Christophe Ayad Christophe Ayad 2013/06 06/17/2013/00/00/00 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 07:27:24 -0500 Hassan Rouhani's surprising first round victory in the presidential elections represents a significant shift in the Iranian political landscape. In a field of candidates dominated by conservatives, Rouhani ran as a moderate. He questioned the necessity of the expanding security state and the constant oversight of student and civil society associations by the security agencies. He spoke of the need for greater freedom of press and speech. He devoted attention to women's rights issues and promised to establish a ministry for women's affairs. On the economy, while all the... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/16/what_rouhani_victory_means_for_iran_105244.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/16/what_rouhani_victory_means_for_iran_105244.html Shaul Bakhash Shaul Bakhash 2013/06 06/16/2013/00/00/00 Sun, 16 Jun 2013 06:47:58 -0500 0 BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) -- When President Obama comes to Belfast, he's expected to praise a country at peace and call for walls that separate Irish Catholics and British Protestants to come tumbling down. Barely a 10-minute walk from where the U.S. leader is speaking Monday, those walls have kept growing in size and number throughout two decades of slow-blooming peace. Residents today on both sides of so-called "peace lines" - barricades of brick, steel and barbed wire that divide neighborhoods, roads and even one Belfast playground - insist the physical divisions must... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/16/for_belfast_keeping_peace_means_a_city_of_walls_105243.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/16/for_belfast_keeping_peace_means_a_city_of_walls_105243.html Shawn Pogatchnik Shawn Pogatchnik 2013/06 06/16/2013/00/00/00 Sun, 16 Jun 2013 06:33:15 -0500 193749 In a country divided between east and west, a park in the center of Istanbul has sparked what activists are calling "Taksim Solidarity," others the "Turkish Spring." The reality is that the events in Turkey are neither. The conquest of Taksim Square on June 1 was not a continuation of the demonstrations in Cairo's Tahrir square but rather, at least in part, a reaction to it. The sudden ascent of Islamic democracies in post-authoritarian states in the Middle East has engendered a sense of urgency within secular, liberal and nationalist constituencies in Turkey. Given... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/16/tyranny_of_the_majority_in_turkey_105242.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/16/tyranny_of_the_majority_in_turkey_105242.html Mathew Markman Mathew Markman 2013/06 06/16/2013/00/00/00 Sun, 16 Jun 2013 06:28:20 -0500 For the past two years, members of the international community have worked closely together to pressure Iran to halt its pursuit of nuclear weapons. In particular, the United States and the European Union have enacted increasingly tough sanctions, which have sent Iran's currency -- the rial -- plummeting by some 80 percent. Unfortunately, one important banking center in Europe has consistently undermined these efforts by refusing to adopt the very sanctions that have had the most impact -- Switzerland. It is time for Switzerland to start behaving like a responsible member of the... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/15/time_for_switzerland_to_end_irresponsible_business_with_iran.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/15/time_for_switzerland_to_end_irresponsible_business_with_iran.html Mark Wallace Mark Wallace 2013/06 06/15/2013/00/00/00 Sat, 15 Jun 2013 06:03:31 -0500 The time has come for the United States to take decisive action in Syria. It cannot do so without running all of the risks that have existed since the crisis began. It cannot control all the arms it sends and some may fall into the hands terrorist and extremists. It cannot control the government that emerges if Bashar al-Assad falls. It cannot be sure that an extreme Sunni Islamist regime will not emerge that will be more of a threat to friendly Arab states and Israel than Assad and make the prospect of a war between Sunnis and Shi'ites/Alewites in the Islamic world even worse. The... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/15/america_needs_to_move_decisively_in_syria_105240.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/15/america_needs_to_move_decisively_in_syria_105240.html Anthony Cordesman Anthony Cordesman 2013/06 06/15/2013/00/00/00 Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:25:43 -0500 193617 On the margins of a multilateral summit in Guatemala last week, Secretary of State John Kerry met with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jose Jaua, marking the Obama administration's latest attempt to reset relations with the South American nation. What's worrisome is that Secretary Kerry's enthusiasm to find, in his words, a "new way forward" with Venezuela could end up legitimizing Chavez-successor Nicolas Maduro's quest for power and undermining the country's democratic opposition and state institutions. Since the death of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/15/how_obama_is_sinking_venezuelas_opposition_105239.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/15/how_obama_is_sinking_venezuelas_opposition_105239.html Patrick Christy Patrick Christy 2013/06 06/15/2013/00/00/00 Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:10:44 -0500 193647 Turkey's political stability under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and its integration into the globalized economy helped turn it into a regional power. But the global connections now seem to challenge ErdoÄŸan's increasingly authoritarian style. Protests led by young urbanites, empowered by social media but alienated, are giving pause to foreign investors who helped spark Turkey's economic boom. The decade-long rule of the Justice and Development Party - Adalat ve Kalk'nma Partisi, or AK Party - led by ErdoÄŸan may be past its zenith. The demonstrations, resulting in... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/14/turkeys_economic_miracle_under_fire.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/14/turkeys_economic_miracle_under_fire.html Dilip Hiro Dilip Hiro 2013/06 06/14/2013/00/00/00 Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:32:00 -0500 0 NEW DELHI - India's population is set to outstrip China's as much as 15 years earlier than previous estimates, according to a new United Nations report. But the real concern is that the scary UN numbers could trigger a drastic and counterproductive government response. "This is bound to cause a kneejerk reaction," said demographer A.R. Nanda, a former secretary in India's ministry of health and family welfare. "[But] a state-directed, top-down, targeted approach of sterilization creates more problems, as well as adverse outcomes for women's... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/14/indias_population_to_overtake_chinas_sooner_than_expected_105238.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/14/indias_population_to_overtake_chinas_sooner_than_expected_105238.html Jason Overdorf Jason Overdorf 2013/06 06/14/2013/00/00/00 Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:23:18 -0500 This article was originally published in Clarin. BUENOS AIRES - The meeting between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Venezuelan counterpart, Elias Jaua, was certainly one of the most significant during the recent annual assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Guatemala. During their 40-minute encounter, the two top diplomats agreed to reopen a dialogue at the highest level despite the profound differences that continue to separate the two countries. Following this first step of rapprochement between Washington and Caracas, might something similar occur with... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/14/argentina_or_venezuela_which_one_will_get_a_us_reset_105237.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/14/argentina_or_venezuela_which_one_will_get_a_us_reset_105237.html Ana Baron Ana Baron 2013/06 06/14/2013/00/00/00 Fri, 14 Jun 2013 06:22:44 -0500 TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's top leader gave a salty rebuke Friday to U.S. questions over the openness of the presidential contest in the Islamic Republic, telling Washington "the hell with you" after casting his ballot in a race widely criticized in the West as rigged in favor of Tehran's ruling system. The vote - bringing an end to the eight-year era of the combative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - has taken unexpected turns in the past days as reform-minded Iranians surged behind the lone moderate left on the six-candidate ballot. A victory by former nuclear negotiator... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/14/irans_leader_jabs_us_as_presidential_vote_begins_105236.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/14/irans_leader_jabs_us_as_presidential_vote_begins_105236.html Nasser Karimi Nasser Karimi 2013/06 06/14/2013/00/00/00 Fri, 14 Jun 2013 06:01:48 -0500 0 Significant movements in world affairs often go unnoticed by the media. For what fits inside the strictures of hard news are usually dramatic statements by politicians, dramatic actions by military units or dramatic economic shifts. But what also really changes history are the gradual developments that accrue over time. That's one of the reasons you are liable to learn more by reading serious books or scholarly reports than by reading newspapers. Asia is a case in point. The news about Asia is relentlessly repetitive and often insignificant, however tragic in human terms sometimes.... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/13/asias_new_power_brokers.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/13/asias_new_power_brokers.html Robert Kaplan Robert Kaplan 2013/06 06/13/2013/00/00/00 Thu, 13 Jun 2013 06:26:16 -0500 Until recently, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank used to arrest Palestinians who criticized its leaders, especially Mahmoud Abbas. But now the Palestinian Authority has resumed using thugs to break the bones of its critics. It is an easy and quick way to deal with the critics and deter others from speaking out against Palestinian Authority leaders. The thugs are often members of Abbas's ruling Fatah faction. However, they do not hold any official position in the Palestinian Authority; they do not belong to Palestinian Authority security forces or any government-related agency... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/13/the_palestinian_authoritys_reign_of_terror_105233.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/13/the_palestinian_authoritys_reign_of_terror_105233.html Khaled Abu Toameh Khaled Abu Toameh 2013/06 06/13/2013/00/00/00 Thu, 13 Jun 2013 05:46:11 -0500 0 France 2 foreign correspondent Gilles Jacquier was one of the first Western journalists to be killed in Syria, in January 2012, as he and a regime-sanctioned delegation of reporters were allowed into the battleground city of Homs. Damascus blames his death on a mortar fired by rebels at his location in Zahira, an Alawite neighborhood of Homs. But now his widow, Caroline Poiron, who was with Jacquier the day he died, has just published a book, Attentat Express: Qui a Tue Gilles Jacquier?, in which she concludes that her husband was in fact murdered by the Syrian mukhabarat. NOW interviewed... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/13/the_regime_killed_my_husband_105232.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/13/the_regime_killed_my_husband_105232.html Michael Weiss Michael Weiss 2013/06 06/13/2013/00/00/00 Thu, 13 Jun 2013 05:21:03 -0500 President Juan Manuel Santos proposes to bring Colombia into NATO, even if it is through the back door. I think it's a responsible initiative. NATO is the most formidable military coalition in history. It was created by Harry Truman in 1949, in the middle of the Cold War, when the Soviet Union was going through its worst imperial spasm. Although named North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the institution does not take that geographic circumstance too seriously. Italy, Greece and Turkey reside in another neighborhood, yet they are members of NATO. Actually, NATO was not created to make war... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/13/colombia_a_good_fit_for_nato_105231.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/13/colombia_a_good_fit_for_nato_105231.html Carlos Alberto Montaner Carlos Alberto Montaner 2013/06 06/13/2013/00/00/00 Thu, 13 Jun 2013 05:03:24 -0500 0 At a time when news headlines from the Middle East are dominated by battles in Syria, growing Sunni-Shi'ite conflict in Iraq and Lebanon, and mass disturbances in Turkey, it is easy to forget about Iran's nuclear program; but early warning indicators are signaling an impending, explosive crisis over Iran's refusal to halt its covert nuclear weapons program. At enrichment facilities in Natanz and Fordow, Iran is continuing to inch closer to the point of nuclear breakout, as a report by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently noted. The report confirmed... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/12/another_iran_crisis_is_looming_105230.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/12/another_iran_crisis_is_looming_105230.html Yaakov Lappin Yaakov Lappin 2013/06 06/12/2013/00/00/00 Wed, 12 Jun 2013 05:00:54 -0500 0 The appointment of Samantha Power as America's UN ambassador, combined with recent US foreign policy statements reinforces concerns the administration is accelerating its policies of global withdrawal, engaging rather than confronting rogue states, and appeasing Islamic extremism. Power is on record dismissing concerns about the Iranian nuclear threat. In addition, while favoring greater US assertiveness in relation to human rights issues, she seems to have a somewhat jaundiced moral relativist approach, jointly bracketing Israelis and Palestinian "crimes." On one occasion she... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/12/what_will_israel_do_as_america_retreats_from_the_world_105229.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/12/what_will_israel_do_as_america_retreats_from_the_world_105229.html Isi Leibler Isi Leibler 2013/06 06/12/2013/00/00/00 Wed, 12 Jun 2013 04:00:59 -0500 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Government crackdowns against protesters in Turkey could test the close ties between President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a strategically important U.S. ally in a tumultuous region. The demonstrations in Turkey, now entering their second week, cropped up after Erdogan's visit to the White House last month, which highlighted a variety of issues on which the U.S. needs Turkey's help. They include quelling the violence in Syria, stabilizing Iraq and stemming Iran's nuclear ambitions. Erdogan, known for his brash and stubborn... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/11/protests_test_the_tight_obama-erdogan_ties_105228.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/11/protests_test_the_tight_obama-erdogan_ties_105228.html Julie Pace Julie Pace 2013/06 06/11/2013/00/00/00 Tue, 11 Jun 2013 05:55:08 -0500 0 There is a point where three great powers -- Russia, Turkey and Persia -- meet: the Caucasus. At the moment they converge in a country called Azerbaijan. That fact makes Azerbaijan a battleground for these three great powers, which have competed with each other along various borders for centuries. Until 1991 Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union, as was the rest of the South Caucasus. But as the Russian border moved north, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan were once more unveiled by history. Of the three, Azerbaijan won the geopolitical prize of bordering the three great regional powers. It... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/11/why_azerbaijan_should_matter_to_america_105227.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/11/why_azerbaijan_should_matter_to_america_105227.html George Friedman George Friedman 2013/06 06/11/2013/00/00/00 Tue, 11 Jun 2013 04:49:24 -0500 Originally published in Suddeutsche Zeitung. MUNICH - It's not exactly what we had in mind by transparency. The American National Security Agency (NSA) has turned the Internet into a global surveillance apparatus -- or at least that's the impression you get when wrapping your brain around the massive effort that's gone into scouring all channels of communication for suspicious keywords. Once again, our understanding of the nature of the Internet -- and with it, our conception of the digital society -- has been shaken. Instead of envisioning the web as an unknown continent that... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/10/thanks_america_for_turning_the_web_into_a_spy_glass_105226.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/10/thanks_america_for_turning_the_web_into_a_spy_glass_105226.html Andrian Kreye Andrian Kreye 2013/06 06/10/2013/00/00/00 Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:42:00 -0500 I'VE made the point before - I have a fraught relationship with France. What's not to love about boeuf bourguignon, the Riviera and Sancerre white wine? And how good are tarte tatin, the Musee D'Orsay and Carcasonne? (OK, Carcasonne is a bit tacky these days.) But when it comes to running an economy, let's face it, the French have no bleedin' idea. Let me pose this question: when did the French government last run a budget surplus? Here's a hint: Wyatt Roy's parents were still at school and probably didn't know each other. The answer is 1974-75. But,... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/08/french_are_clueless_about_the_economy_105225.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/08/french_are_clueless_about_the_economy_105225.html Judith Sloan Judith Sloan 2013/06 06/08/2013/00/00/00 Sat, 08 Jun 2013 07:08:46 -0500 Emerging from the ranks of one of the world's poorest nations to second only to the United States, China is destined for a place in the history books. But history may also record the heavy price paid by the Chinese people and will continue to pay for years to come. China's steady rise against the backdrop of a sluggish global economy has emboldened Chinese leaders to claim "firm confidence" in their development model. Meanwhile, seemingly robust authoritarian capitalism in China has convinced some American scholars that the model offers a viable alternative to... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/07/chinas_rapid_growth_has_taken_an_awful_toll_105224.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/07/chinas_rapid_growth_has_taken_an_awful_toll_105224.html Yanzhong Huang Yanzhong Huang 2013/06 06/07/2013/00/00/00 Fri, 07 Jun 2013 08:18:00 -0500 0 Stop me if you've heard this one before: "In short, a natural politician, Erdogan has a common touch and an ability to communicate his empathy for the plight and aspirations of the common citizen. He projects the image of the Tribune of Anatolia, ready to take on corruption and privilege and to defend conservative traditions." America's former ambassador to Turkey, Eric Edelman, writing what he thought was a classified memo in 2004, was at least good enough to furnish the U.S. State Department with a few prescient caveats about this natural politician, all related to... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/07/erdogan_the_bulldozer_105221.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/07/erdogan_the_bulldozer_105221.html Michael Weiss Michael Weiss 2013/06 06/07/2013/00/00/00 Fri, 07 Jun 2013 04:59:52 -0500 Here is the problem when it comes to the aftermath of events such as beheading of one of our soldiers in Woolwich recently. It is not that almost every Muslim community spokesperson didn't come out and say that the beheading was bad. That is what they have done before and will continue to do after - and quite rightly so. It is of course a pretty low place to position the bar. Applauding anyone for coming out against beheading is just a symptom of a malaise: "Hurrah - you're for us keeping our heads." But the other part of the horror is that there are too many people - far... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/07/why_are_we_even_having_a_debate_about_beheadings_105223.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/07/why_are_we_even_having_a_debate_about_beheadings_105223.html Douglas Murray Douglas Murray 2013/06 06/07/2013/00/00/00 Fri, 07 Jun 2013 04:13:02 -0500 190397 In the weeks since the Boston Marathon bombing, a number of Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have made pointed comments on America's indirect encounter with the ongoing conflict between the Russian government and Islamist insurgents in the North Caucasus region. The message can be summarized in two phrases: "We told you so" and "We're all in the same boat now." The first phrase is meant to remind Americans that Russian officials, and especially Putin, have long argued that the persistent unrest in the North Caucasus is not motivated by... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/07/the_lies_of_vladimir_putin_105222.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/07/the_lies_of_vladimir_putin_105222.html Arch Puddington Arch Puddington 2013/06 06/07/2013/00/00/00 Fri, 07 Jun 2013 04:06:59 -0500 192511 On September 30, 2000, at the beginning of the Palestinian terrorist offensive against Israel called since then the "second intifada," a particularly violent clash took place at the Netzarim junction in the Gaza Strip. As shots were exchanged between Arab militiamen and Israeli soldiers, cameramen from various television channels were nearby, filming news reports. One of these reports quickly spread around the world and became a ubiquitous tool for anti-Israeli Arab propaganda. It showed a young boy huddling against his father, the two unsuccessfully trying to protect themselves... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/06/frances_blood_libel_against_israel_105220.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/06/frances_blood_libel_against_israel_105220.html Guy Milliere Guy Milliere 2013/06 06/06/2013/00/00/00 Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:25:10 -0500 0 This week's summit meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama offers a historic opportunity to improve U.S.-China relations - but only if both sides frankly discuss the critical issues now dividing them and lay the basis for an ongoing process of mutual threat reduction. Fortunately, there is one major area where the two leaders have already found common ground and can move the relationship forward - countering the nuclear threat from North Korea. To their credit, Obama administration officials are approaching the summit in a positive frame of mind. National... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/06/heres_how_the_us_and_china_could_get_along_105218.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/06/heres_how_the_us_and_china_could_get_along_105218.html Donald Gross Donald Gross 2013/06 06/06/2013/00/00/00 Thu, 06 Jun 2013 04:25:57 -0500 0 Few people comprehend Russia's vulnerabilities like its leader, Vladimir Putin. He must try to govern a country that extends through nearly half the longitudes of the earth but that has fewer people than Bangladesh. What's more, Russia's population is declining, not increasing. All the Arctic seas to Russia's north are ice-blocked many months of the year, so with the exception of its Far East, Russia is essentially a landlocked nation. Moreover, Russia's flat topography affords little natural protection and is therefore bereft of natural borders. Land powers, as they... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/06/seeing_the_world_through_putins_eyes_105219.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/06/seeing_the_world_through_putins_eyes_105219.html Robert Kaplan Robert Kaplan 2013/06 06/06/2013/00/00/00 Thu, 06 Jun 2013 04:20:48 -0500 With China's aggressive assertion of its territorial claims causing general concern, it has taken to wooing one of its major rivals - India. While not spurning China's move, India is striving to broaden its diplomatic and military support. After ignoring India and its security concerns, Beijing's new political leaders decided to make India a foreign-policy priority with the Chinese premier selecting India for his first foreign visit. Days after the Chinese incursion into Indian territory, the Indian prime minister, though, traveled to another rival of China's - Japan - and... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/06/asias_new_triangle_105217.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/06/asias_new_triangle_105217.html Harsh Pant Harsh Pant 2013/06 06/06/2013/00/00/00 Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:58:07 -0500 192255 "What belongs to us belongs to us," Benigno S. Aquino III, President of the Philippines, said in a speech marking the 115th anniversary of the country's navy. In January of this year the Philippines, rather boldly, and all alone, took China to an international tribunal over its nine-dash line on a map marking vast areas of the South China Sea over which China claims sovereignty. The broken line blithely includes islands that lie within 270 kilometres of the Philippines coast and which the Philippines claims is theirs under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/05/philippines_vs_china_moves_to_the_un_105216.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/05/philippines_vs_china_moves_to_the_un_105216.html Stuart McMillan Stuart McMillan 2013/06 06/05/2013/00/00/00 Wed, 05 Jun 2013 09:58:57 -0500 192210 Originally published in the Economic Observer. Who are the happiest people in China? In a survey conducted by Xiaokang (meaning basically well-off) magazine last year, in the eyes of the public, civil servant comes top of the list as a profession. However, the newly published 2012 China Workplace Mental Health Research Report has shown that officials' own sense of self is the unhappiest of all. For the outsiders, governmental officials have an "iron bowl" -- a steady job and they enjoy relatively high welfare. Although the grassroots civil servants do not have high wages, they... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/05/the_pursuit_of_happiness_in_modern_china_105215.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/05/the_pursuit_of_happiness_in_modern_china_105215.html Sun Le Sun Le 2013/06 06/05/2013/00/00/00 Wed, 05 Jun 2013 05:10:10 -0500 For the past week, major anti-government demonstrations have swept across Turkey. Beginning as a fifty-person protest against the razing of trees in an urban park in Istanbul, protests have spread to over 60 cities and towns, reaching every region of the country. Chanting "Hukumet Istifa, Tayyip istifa" (‘Government Resign, Tayyip, Resign'), the protestors are demanding that Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan step down after 12 years in power. Erdogan and his Islamist-oriented AKP (Justice and Development Party), first came to power after winning... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/05/turkeys_protests_may_shape_the_entire_middle_east_105214.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/05/turkeys_protests_may_shape_the_entire_middle_east_105214.html Micha'el Tanchum Micha'el Tanchum 2013/06 06/05/2013/00/00/00 Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:45:16 -0500 It is hard to determine why Iraq receives so little U.S. attention as it drifts towards sectarian conflict, civil war, and alignment with Iran. Tensions in Iraq have been rising for well over a year, and the UN warned on June 1, 2013 that "1,045 Iraqis were killed and another 2,397 were wounded in acts of terrorism and acts of violence in May. The number of civilians killed was 963 (including 181 civilian police), and the number of civilians injured was 2,191 (including 359 civilian police). A further 82 members of the Iraqi Security Forces were killed and 206 were injured." This... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/05/why_is_obama_ignoring_iraq_105213.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/05/why_is_obama_ignoring_iraq_105213.html Anthony Cordesman Anthony Cordesman 2013/06 06/05/2013/00/00/00 Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:17:13 -0500 192149 Putting the blame of Europe's economic woes on sinister forces operating behind the scenes has always had its charm and its advocates. Suffice it to recall General de Gaulle's invectives against what he used to name the "gnomes of Zürich," i.e. the financial markets, guilty in his view of the travails of the French franc in the 1960s. The crisis that the Eurozone is currently going through has provided a unique terrain for conspiracy theories to blossom one more time. A race is on among politicians and economists who try to identify which sly interests have... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/05/the_eurozones_conspiracy_theories_105209.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/05/the_eurozones_conspiracy_theories_105209.html Fabio Rafael Fiallo Fabio Rafael Fiallo 2013/06 06/05/2013/00/00/00 Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:13:56 -0500 0 I have always dreamed of standing on Omaha Beach on a rainy and cold morning at low tide, standing by the edge of the water and looking inward. Until recently, I never had. No matter how many times I had visited France before, I always needed to be somewhere else, or was too busy to really imagine. I could never devote my mind to the water and the beach and the memories that, for me, were history but for those who took part in the D-Day landing were the pivot of their lives. Imagining a battle long gone is an act of will and imperfect in the best of circumstances, in spite of the fact that I... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/04/thoughts_on_omaha_beach_105212.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/04/thoughts_on_omaha_beach_105212.html George Friedman George Friedman 2013/06 06/04/2013/00/00/00 Tue, 04 Jun 2013 06:13:25 -0500 According to a new State Department report, Iran's support for international terrorism is at an all time high. We also recently learned that Iran continues to aggressively expand its nuclear program, and funnel troops and weapons into Syria. President Barack Obama concedes that Iran is the world's most dangerous country, but he still refuses to do anything about it. This inaction will have deadly consequences for the world, and for America. No recent news story so clearly articulated Obama's failure on Iran as the report that Tehran was sending $4 billion to Syria to prop up... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/04/obama_admits_iran_is_more_dangerous_than_ever_yet_does_nothing_105210.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/04/obama_admits_iran_is_more_dangerous_than_ever_yet_does_nothing_105210.html David Meyers David Meyers 2013/06 06/04/2013/00/00/00 Tue, 04 Jun 2013 06:07:11 -0500 0 As secrets go, this one is multiples beyond scoring access to KFC's 11 secret herbs and spices and the Coke recipe rolled into one:  Hackers have breached the digital firewalls protecting plans for several dozen major U.S. weapons systems. According to the U.S. Defense Science Board (DSB), whose report broke the news, the digital download includes plans for the Patriot and Aegis missile systems, the F/A-18 fighter jet and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, as well as the Blackhawk helicopter. The words "China" and "Chinese" appear just three times in the 146 page... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/04/china_from_cyberwar_to_supply_chain_sabotage_105211.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/04/china_from_cyberwar_to_supply_chain_sabotage_105211.html Daniel McGroarty Daniel McGroarty 2013/06 06/04/2013/00/00/00 Tue, 04 Jun 2013 05:54:05 -0500 191980 The press room podium in the European Union's headquarters is usually the domain of men in conservatively cut dark suits. Last week however, the stage was a profusion of flowing robes, broad-brimmed fedoras, gleaming gold chains, turbans, ecclesiastical dog collars and a shimmering blue-grey sari, as the EU's leadership sought to take the continent's spiritual pulse at their annual meeting with religious representatives. With its popularity battered in the midst of the economic crisis, the EU was seeking some solace and support. "You the religious authorities, help us with... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/03/europes_other_crisis_religion_105208.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/03/europes_other_crisis_religion_105208.html Paul Ames Paul Ames 2013/06 06/03/2013/00/00/00 Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:27:59 -0500 Champagne corks are not popping in Turkey. On the contrary, Turkey took one more step on May 24 towards becoming an Islamic republic. In the early hours of the morning, Turkey's governing AKP [Justice and Development Party] took advantage of its parliamentary majority to rush through Parliament a bill which will impose severe restrictions on the sale and consumption of alcohol in Turkey. However, this comes as no surprise: Prime Minister Erdogan has made clear his personal dislike of alcohol, and recommended that people eat fruit instead of drinking it. At the Global Alcohol Symposium... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/03/turkeys_secular_backlash_105207.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/03/turkeys_secular_backlash_105207.html Robert Ellis Robert Ellis 2013/06 06/03/2013/00/00/00 Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:01:43 -0500 191880 Thanks to the bountiful oil under its desert sands and an equally plentiful supply of foreign labor - skilled and non-skilled - Saudi Arabia has enjoyed a booming economy. Prices of crude oil, nearly $100 a barrel for two years running, have largely spared Saudi Arabia the ill effects of the economic downturn that stalled many nations across the globe. Thanks to the prosperity, the kingdom has also survived, relatively unscathed, the seismic events of the Arab Spring, spurred in large part by feelings of economic deprivation and political marginalization among Arab youths. But as more young... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/02/the_limits_of_saudi_oil_power_105206.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/02/the_limits_of_saudi_oil_power_105206.html Fahad Nazer Fahad Nazer 2013/06 06/02/2013/00/00/00 Sun, 02 Jun 2013 07:59:26 -0500 184424 Diplomats often have a hard time being frank for the entirely understandable reason that they have to talk to the same foreigners day after day. Their love of process - the elevation of means over ends - exists for the same reason. Being amicable and persevering, even in unpleasant situations, is both natural and self-serving. It would be surprising not to see former prominent American and Canadian diplomats promote continuing dialogue with Tehran over its nuclear program. And in Washington and Ottawa, we now see folks, ex-diplomats foremost among them, asserting that sanctions against Tehran... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/01/forget_diplomacy_iran_needs_pressure_105203.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/01/forget_diplomacy_iran_needs_pressure_105203.html Reuel Marc Gerecht & Mark Dubowitz Reuel Marc Gerecht & Mark Dubowitz 2013/06 06/01/2013/00/00/00 Sat, 01 Jun 2013 07:46:26 -0500 0 Did Washington just give Israel the green light for a future attack on Iran via an arms deal? Did Russia just signal its further support for Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime via an arms deal? Are the Russians, the Chinese, and the Americans all heightening regional tensions in Asia via arms deals? Is it possible that we're witnessing the beginnings of a new Cold War in two key regions of the planet -- and that the harbingers of this unnerving development are arms deals? International weapons sales have proved to be a thriving global business in economically tough times. According... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/01/welcome_to_cold_war_ii_105205.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/01/welcome_to_cold_war_ii_105205.html Michael Klare Michael Klare 2013/06 06/01/2013/00/00/00 Fri, 31 May 2013 20:07:24 -0500 0 Israel's long search for impregnable security in the region has in its own view been aided by the stability of neighbouring autocracie. Egypt under Hosni Mubarak, Jordan under King Hussein and now King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia under the House of Saud, and even Syria under Hafez and now Bashar Assad - all recognised the power of Israel and were all too aware of Israel's ultimate nuclear capability. Israel was the regional superpower, even if that could never be acknowledged. True, uncertainty in Lebanon (and to a degree over Gaza) remained an exception to the pattern, with Syria's... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/01/syria_complicates_israels_quest_for_security_105204.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/06/01/syria_complicates_israels_quest_for_security_105204.html Paul Rogers Paul Rogers 2013/06 06/01/2013/00/00/00 Fri, 31 May 2013 18:07:29 -0500 191611 Western powers appear to have at last recognized that they can have no real role in shaping the outcome of the Syrian conflict unless they credibly advance the threat of direct or indirect military intervention. As it now stands, preparations for a more confrontational mode with the Assad regime comes at a time when the United States and European Union are nominally committed to talking a regime, which has been deploying more and more chemical weapons, into capitulating. One European statesman I met at the weekend said that even before the EU's Sunday vote to remove the arms embargo on... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/05/31/no_syria_intervention_--_yet_105200.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/05/31/no_syria_intervention_--_yet_105200.html Michael Weiss Michael Weiss 2013/05 05/31/2013/00/00/00 Fri, 31 May 2013 06:12:59 -0500 TOKYO - From time to time, conservative Japanese politicians get into trouble for denying that Imperial Japan forced women of occupied countries, known euphemistically as "comfort women," to work in military brothels serving Japanese troops during World War II. Nobody however has managed to get into as much hot water over this issue as Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, who doubles as the co-leader, with former Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara, of the new Japan Restoration Party, the third largest party in parliament. Ever since he opined with Osaka reporters and on social media that the... http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/05/31/little_comfort_for_toru_hashimoto_105199.html http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/05/31/little_comfort_for_toru_hashimoto_105199.html Todd Crowell Todd Crowell 2013/05 05/31/2013/00/00/00 Fri, 31 May 2013 06:12:19 -0500 0