http://www.realclearworld.com/ en Copyright 2008 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:45:58 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.33 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:04:41 -0600 Bilal Saab, The National Interest It is neither premature nor defeatist for the United States to start preparing for the possibility that Iran will acquire nuclear weapons. It is not inevitable. But the longer Americans wait to engage in an honest and calm debate about a nuclear-armed Iran, the less prepared they will be should that fateful day arrive.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/time_to_prepare_for_a_nuclear_iran_132719.htmlhttp://nationalinterest.org/commentary/no-hotline-tehran-6489 100132719 PM Update 123876 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:58:46 -0600 Joanna Kakissis, Time The agreement came after days of drama and delay. In the end, Greek political leaders finally acceded to tough new austerity measures in exchange for more bailout loans. But no one was celebrating.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/greeks_ponder_return_of_dreaded_drachma_132727.htmlhttp://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2106606,00.html? 100132727 PM Update 123924 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:03:44 -0600 Zhang Lijia, The Diplomat As China's rural and migrant workers become more educated and well-travelled they are growing increasingly aware of their rights. And increasingly willing to stand up for them.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/chinas_angry_bulls_132700.htmlhttp://the-diplomat.com/2012/02/10/china%E2%80%99s-angry-bulls/ 100132700 PM Update 123865 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:06:14 -0600 Simon Tilford, CER   President Sarkozy wants France to become more like Germany. In a recent speech he made 15 positive references to the German economic model. Unlike France, he argued, Germany had reformed its economy and was reaping the rewards in terms of improved competitiveness and superior economic performance. He bemoaned the alleged decline in French industrial prowess and praised Germany's success at defending its industrial base. Is Sarkozy right to be so critical of French performance? And would it make sense for France to emulate the German model? Sarkozy is certainly right that...]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2012/02/10/france_doesnt_need_to_be_more_like_germany_99892.htmlhttp://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2012/02/10/france_doesnt_need_to_be_more_like_germany_99892.html 200132722 PM Update 123867 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:10:24 -0600 Matt Duss, Salon In February 2003, less than a month before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Gen. Eric Shinseki told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee that “Something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers” would be required to occupy Iraq in order to stabilize it in the wake of an invasion.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/the_neocons_big_iran_lie_132715.htmlhttp://www.salon.com/2012/02/10/the_neocons_big_iran_lie/singleton/ 100132715 PM Update 123894 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:19:17 -0600 Bolton & Markey, CS Monitor For over half a century, stopping the spread of nuclear weapons has been a fundamental American foreign-policy objective. The Obama administration took office with a nonproliferation goal of “a world without nuclear weapons.” But it recently announced a change of course that will enable more nuclear weapons to end up in the hands of unstable regimes.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/obama_helps_unstable_regimes_get_nukes_132723.htmlhttp://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2012/0210/How-an-Obama-shift-helps-unstable-regimes-get-nuclear-weapons 100132723 PM Update 123910 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:12:50 -0600 Caroline Glick, Jerusalem Post On Monday afternoon, the Palestinians destroyed officially whatever was left of the concept of a peace process with Israel.When PA Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas signed a deal with Hamas terror-master Khaled Mashaal in Doha, Qatar, the notion that there is a significant segment of Palestinian society that is not committed to the destruction of Israel was finally and truly sunk.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/the_fatah-hamas_peace_process_132716.htmlhttp://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=257237 100132716 PM Update 123895 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:28:15 -0600 Randall Palmer, Reuters   OTTAWA (Reuters) - For Brits grappling with the idea of Scottish independence, it may be worth looking across the Atlantic. In 1995, residents of Quebec voted on whether the province should separate from Canada. That referendum - narrowly won by the pro-Canada camp with just 50.6 percent of the vote - has an important lesson for Scots keen to end Scotland's 300-year union with England, and for the British establishment, which wants them to stay: the wording of the referendum question and the rules around it can help determine whether the country will stay in one...]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2012/02/10/quebec_lessons_for_scotland_in_how_to_pop_the_question_99891.htmlhttp://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2012/02/10/quebec_lessons_for_scotland_in_how_to_pop_the_question_99891.html 200132714 PM Update 123893 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:51:50 -0600 Paul Wells, Maclean's TV reporters travelling with Stephen Harper to China this week are desperate for some colour to go with all the talk of pipelines. The Prime Minister's Office, more adept at serving up pageantry than it used to be, has served up a couple of old standbys. Mark Rowswell, a television entertainer who has been famous in China as "Dashan" for longer than Harper has been in politics, was designated as Canada's goodwill ambassador to China. And in this trip's worst-kept secret, a Saturday visit to the Chongqing Zoo is designed to ensure the Harpers will be followed...]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/the_great_call_of_china_132726.htmlhttp://www2.macleans.ca/2012/02/10/the-great-call-of-china/ 100132726 PM Update 123865 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:06:08 -0600 Hassan Mneimneh, German Marshall Fund   When it began last March, the Syrian revolution appeared to be a textbook example for a peaceful uprising by a people united against state brutality. For weeks, videos documented the determination of the mostly youthful protesters, chanting their demands for freedom and political participation only to be faced with bullets, arrests, torture, and execution. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reacted with a series of gestures whose insincerity was swiftly revealed. A few hundred prisoners were released while thousands more were arrested, with many dying in custody. The decades-old state of...]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2012/02/10/syria_stares_into_the_abyss_99887.htmlhttp://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2012/02/10/syria_stares_into_the_abyss_99887.html 200132688 PM Update 123785 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:15:26 -0600 Jeremy Warner, Daily Telegraph There's nothing like the long Christmas break for calming things down. Back in early December, it looked as if the euro was on its last legs. Then everyone went on holiday, and by the time they got back, seemed quite to have forgotten what they were originally panicking about. No one honestly believes the eurozone crisis has been vanquished, but since early January there has been a lull in the storm and even a sense of beginning to get on top of things. The European Central Bank's promise of unlimited liquidity for the stricken banking system seems to be turning things around....]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/euro_crisis_averted_dont_believe_it_132694.htmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9072214/Euro-crisis-averted-Dont-believe-a-word-of-it.html 100132694 AM Update 123800 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:43:58 -0600 Niall Ferguson, Foreign Policy The debate about whether America or China will ultimately triumph is a red herring that distracts us from the real contest of our time.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/were_all_state_capitalists_now_132698.htmlhttp://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/02/09/we_re_all_state_capitalists_now 100132698 AM Update 123863 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:47:28 -0600 Frank Ching, Yale Global China is spending billions to extend its reach to all corners of the world, primarily through the state-controlled Xinhua news agency - and its CNC World television news network since 2010 - as well as China Central Television (CCTV), which started broadcasting from its Washington hub this week.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2012/02/10/chinas_soft_power_mission_99888.htmlhttp://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2012/02/10/chinas_soft_power_mission_99888.html 200132704 AM Update 123366 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:51:22 -0600 James Traub, TNR The prudential problem has to do with legitimacy. It is not a good idea to invade another country, and especially for a Western military to invade a Muslim country, unless it has the approval of the neighborhood.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/syria_intervention_is_morally_just_-_and_impractical_132699.htmlhttp://www.tnr.com/article/world/100615/syria-symposium-intervention-arab-league 100132699 AM Update 123638 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:22:30 -0600 Patrick Seale, Gulf News With their vetoes, Russia and China are saying they too have interests in the Middle East, which they are bent on protecting.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/a_familiar_cold_war_in_the_middle_east_132703.htmlhttp://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/syrian-crisis-and-the-familiar-rumblings-of-a-cold-war-1.978411 100132703 AM Update 123868 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:08:48 -0600 Michael Bohm, Moscow Times Here we go again - another round of anti-Americanism from the Kremlin and state-controlled media. We have heard claims that the United States is trying to orchestrate an Orange Revolution in Russia many times before, but it was never this intense.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/putin_chasing_imaginary_american_ghosts_132709.htmlhttp://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/putin-chasing-imaginary-american-ghosts/452802.html 100132709 AM Update 123877 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:26:19 -0600 Roger Owen, Bloomberg Since the Muslim Brotherhood swept to political power in the recent national elections, the generals' relationship with this party has also become a source of concern. Like it or not, the two groups have to deal with each other in the new constitutional order, with the brothers pushing for a version of the parliamentary system with a relatively weak presidency and the army wanting to be protected from political oversight and accountability.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/egypts_multiple_revolutions_rage_on_132697.htmlhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-10/one-year-later-egypt-s-many-revolutions-rage-on-commentary-by-roger-owen.html 100132697 AM Update 123859 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:05:53 -0600 Hossein Mousavian, Foreign Affairs Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, two major schools of thought have influenced Iran's foreign policy toward the United States. The first maintains that Iran and the United States can reach a compromise based on mutual respect, noninterference in domestic affairs, and the advancement of shared interests. Those who hold this view acknowledge the animosity and historical grievances between the two countries but argue that it is possible to normalize their relations. The second school is more pessimistic. It deeply distrusts the United States and believes that Washington is neither...]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/how_to_engage_tehran_132708.htmlhttp://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137095/hossein-mousavian/how-to-engage-iran 100132708 AM Update 123876 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:34:36 -0600 Michael Theodoulou, National Ordinary Iranians complain that they, rather than their defiant and resilient regime, are bearing the brunt of sanctions that are compounding problems caused by the government's economic mismanagement.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/ordinary_iranians_bear_brunt_of_sanctions_132705.htmlhttp://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/tehran-can-limp-along-under-sanctions-but-ordinary-iranians-are-bearing-the-brunt#full 100132705 AM Update 123869 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:06:27 -0600 Stephen Platt, New York Times It is instead the Taiping Rebellion, which nearly toppled the Qing Dynasty 50 years earlier, that bears the strongest warnings for the current government. The revolt, which claimed at least 20 million lives before it was quelled, making it the bloodiest civil war in history, suggests caution for those who hope for a popular uprising - a Chinese Spring - today.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/is_china_ripe_for_a_revolution_132695.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/opinion/sunday/is-china-ripe-for-a-revolution.html 100132695 AM Update 123857 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:44:11 -0600 Steven Kim, East Asia Forum The death of Kim Jong-il, though not entirely unexpected given the state of his health following a debilitating stroke in August 2008, has had a powerful psychological impact both domestically and globally.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/north_koreas_tough_strategic_decisions_132690.htmlhttp://www.eastasiaforum.org/2012/02/09/north-korea-succession-kim-jong-un-faces-tough-strategic-decisions/ 100132690 AM Update 123788 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:44:19 -0600 Prakash Katoch, Outlook India The Indian establishment is in quandary as to where is Maldives headed, the media naturally agitated. The signs of fundamentalism seeping into this paradise of resorts have been there for some years now and the unrest has eventually manifested into the current situation where even some policemen have sided with the protestors and are openly clashing with the military on the streets.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/where_is_maldives_headed_132691.htmlhttp://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?279889 100132691 AM Update 123789 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:07:21 -0600 Conrad Black, NRO Many of the outrages are perpetrated by groups the West is conditioned to thinking of as minorities, especially Muslims in general. But the response of the Western secular leaders to these monstrous events has been achingly slow.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/west_cant_ignore_global_persecution_of_christians_132701.htmlhttp://www.nationalreview.com/articles/290498/global-persecution-christians-conrad-black 100132701 AM Update 121054 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:43:45 -0600 Wenran Jiang, Financial Post All eyes are on Prime Minister Harper's second visit to Beijing, where his repeated emphasis on diversification to the China market got a major boost with the signing of nine economic co-operation documents, including the highly anticipated Foreign Investment Protection Agreement.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/energy_binds_china_and_canada_132693.htmlhttp://opinion.financialpost.com/2012/02/09/energy-the-first-step-in-china-strategy/ 100132693 AM Update 123799 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:18:18 -0600 Richard Waghorne, Daily Mail Well into the last hundred days before he faces voters for re-election, French president Nicholas Sarkozy has announced two referendums. Both the timing and the subjects at issue prompt instant cynicism.]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/10/sarkozys_pick-n-mix_referendums_132702.htmlhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2098948/Immigration-unemployment-Europe-Sarkozys-pick-n-mix-referendums.html 100132702 AM Update 123867 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:14:38 -0600 Christopher Caldwell, Weekly Standard Last week Germany reclaimed its status as the leading power in Europe. In the two years since it became apparent that Greece was, essentially, bankrupt, there have been dozens of emergency meetings of the countries that use the common European currency, the euro. Most of the euro-using states believe that Germany—with a booming industrial economy, vast trade surpluses, a reputation for fiscal probity, and a history that makes it reluctant to reject the counsel of France—ought to cover the bill. Germany has long argued that Greece must become competitive again by selling...]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/09/europes_german_future_132655.htmlhttp://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/ber-alles-after-all_620949.html 100132655 AM Update 123635 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:25:17 -0600 Timothy Garton Ash, The Guardian In 1953 the novelist Thomas Mann appealed to an audience of students in Hamburg to strive for not a German Europe but a European Germany. This stirring pledge was endlessly repeated at the time of German unification. Today we have a variation that few foresaw: a European Germany in a German Europe.   Angela Merkel's Berlin republic is a European Germany, in the rich, positive sense that the great novelist had come to use the term. It is free, civilised, democratic, law-bound, and socially and environmentally conscious. It's far from perfect, obviously, but as good...]]>http://www.realclearworld.com/2012/02/09/merkel_needs_all_the_help_she_can_get_132659.htmlhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/08/angela-merkel-all-help-can-get 100132659 AM Update 123275