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As far as foreign policy goes, Barack Obama comes to the presidency totally unburdened by his past (this is truly his first act in the international political theater) and unusually credentialed as a presumed agent of future change (e.g., his biracial background alone), so he’s a relatively free agent, ideologically speaking. That’s a huge asset as he follows the highly ideological Bush-Cheney administration, because he encounters a world of labeled players, most of whom are eager to come in from whatever “cold” standing vis-à-vis the United States that their current designation implies. That doesn’t mean these regimes necessarily seek our […]

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — Early Sunday morning, the Indonesian government executed three men convicted of the 2002 Bali Bombings, ending a controversial period of postponements, court appeals and international media attention. Now, counter-terrorism officials and the public are braced for possible retaliatory attacks that the men — who operated under Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the al-Qaida-linked terrorist group held responsible for most of the bombings that hit the country from 2000 to 2005 — had promised. The 2002 Bali bombings killed over 200 people and remain the deadliest terrorist attack after 9/11. The executions, the first of Muslim extremists carried out under […]

How is President-elect Barack Obama planning to shape the foreign policy of his administration? Is he a Wilsonian idealist? A progressive realist? Some mix of the two? How Obama will define his foreign policy still remains somewhat of a mystery. Between now and when he actually begins his term of office, I expect that his rhetoric about U.S. foreign policy and America’s place in the world will become more expansive and lyrical. After all, this is to be expected. American chief executives traditionally use the post-election period, culminating in the Inaugural Address, as a time to appeal to our loftiest […]

FROM SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE TO PRESIDENT-ELECT — Amid the global euphoria — to say nothing of the often grudging admiration for the United States — following Barack Obama’s landslide victory, European ambassadors in Washington were already cautioning their governments that the new president will be no pushover. One ambassador said Friday, “On many major issues, there’s not a lot of difference in substance between an Obama administration and a McCain administration. However, where McCain could have been unpredictable, the Obama leitmotif has been mending international fences, so we can expect him to be tough, but hopefully open to reason.” While it’s […]

To hear some people tell the story, anti-Americanism will end now that Barack Obama has been elected president, bringing with him a traditional American respect for foreign cultures, international law, and multilateral diplomacy. The Bush legacy will fade from view, and Americans will once again be beloved around the globe, especially in Arab countries. The world, however, is not so simple. Anti-American riots first filled the streets of foreign nations more than a century ago, as the United States became a global power. They continued through the Cold War and beyond. Anti-American terrorism is not new, either. While some argue […]

SKOPJE, Macedonia — Kosovo’s regional recognition can be considered almost completed with Macedonia’s and Montenegro’s acceptance of its statehood early last month. In what was obviously coordinated action, the governments in Skopje and Podgorica recognized Kosovo on Oct. 9, following resolutions by the parliaments of the two countries recommending recognition. Belgrade was enraged by the move and promptly expelled both countries’ ambassadors, a measure it had not taken in response to previous recognitions. The coordinated Podgorica-Skopje action means that Kosovo is now recognized by all of its neighbors, with the exception of Serbia. Belgrade considers Kosovo part of its integral […]

Two weeks ago, the parliament of South Africa — essentially an arm of the ruling African National Congress party — voted to abolish the Directorate of Special Operations and fold their jurisdiction into the work of the National Police. The move surprised no one but has angered many. Over the course of its nine year existence, the independent crime fighting unit of the National Prosecuting Authority, colorfully known as the Scorpions, has brought charges against current ANC head — and presidential heir-apparent — Jacob Zuma, as well as other high-profile ANC-supported figures such as former National Police Chief Jackie Selebi […]

NEW DELHI — The Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline — a proposed $7.5 billion, 2,700-kilometer pipeline linking Iran’s abundant natural gas reserves to energy-hungry Pakistan and India — has been under consideration for years. But despite both India’s and Pakistan’s desperate need for energy sources, progress on the project has been hampered so far by strategic calculations, mutual suspicions and disagreements on pricing and tariffs. Indications, however, are that the Iran-Pakistan stretch of the pipeline may take off soon. And with the U.S.-India nuclear agreement now concluded, India might be giving it more serious consideration, too. Officials in India’s foreign ministry […]

No matter who is elected president today, the next leader of the United States should make reforming the U.S. national security system a top priority. That’s the conclusion of the Project on National Security Reform (PNSR), a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization funded and supported by Congress, foundations, and the private sector. After more than a year spent analyzing case studies of how the U.S. government mitigated, prepared for, responded to, and recovered from various national security challenges, the PNSR research indicates that the U.S. national security system’s performance is inconsistent. And America needs better to address the challenges it will […]

As much as anything, the great secular ritual of voting defines the United States as a nation. Yesterday, through the peaceful casting of ballots rather than the violent clash of arms, Americans chose Barack Obama to lead them. As a maker of history, foremost among the world’s powers, America’s choices for president are always historic, but more so this year than in the past. A generational transition occurred. And more significantly, America demonstrated to itself and to the world that it can live up to its ideals and face its difficult racial past. The United States is too resilient for […]

Ever wondered what exactly it means when a country goes bankrupt? This Der Spiegel article about Ukraine, Hungary, Iceland and Venezuela on the brink explains. We’ve gotten used to hearing the phrase “too big to fail” bandied about quite a bit recently. The problem is that at the same time a concerted effort is being made to get cash-rich nations to recapitalize the IMF’s bailout fund (as if that weren’t scary enough), there are hedge funds (and probably sovereign wealth fund managers) that are literally waiting to bottomfeed on entire countries. How exactly, in a globalized capital market, do you […]

Somewhere there’s a doctoral thesis waiting to be written on Hollywood and the rehabilitation of war in the post-Vietnam era. I’d suggest that G.I. Jane represents the culmination of a trend that began with Officer and a Gentleman and Taps, fully integrating the third wave feminist movement into the military code of honor and combat. I mention it only because by some odd coincidence, I watched G.I. Jane (overdubbed into French) on the télé last night, only to stumble across this Army Times review of a new PBS documentary, “Lioness” (on women who have served in combat roles in Iraq) […]

BURMA LEADER MARKS 13 YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT — The first lady of Burmese politics, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, marked 13 years under house arrest on Oct. 25, as supporters around the world continued their calls for her release. Australia’s The Age called the date a prominent illustration of the “bitter tyranny” existing in Burma, noting that “the Lady’s unjust imprisonment is a powerful reminder of a brief moment of freedom realized by Burma’s people and the dream that remains unfulfilled.” The anniversary happened to coincide this year with the seventh Asia-Europe summit meeting, a major gathering of government […]

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — “What America needs now is a drink,” Franklin Roosevelt famously declared upon repealing Prohibition in 1933, amidst a bleak economic climate. But according to the U.N.’s top anti-drug official, consumers of prohibited substances — particularly cocaine — might not have the same reaction to today’s comparable economic turmoil. “There is no doubt the [economic] crisis will have an impact [on the drug trade],” Antonio María Costa, the director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, told Reuters last week. “It may turn cocaine into a much less desirable discretionary income expenditure.” Costa was referring to European […]