Assessing Obama's "Report Card" (QATAR)

The first 100 days in office is traditionally a honeymoon period for US presidents.

The marker is an artificial deadline perpetuated by the media to have an excuse to issue a school style "report card" on a new president and may not reflect how the rest of a president's term will unfold.

Nonetheless, it gives the public a chance to get a sense of the president's direction as he selects his team and finds his stride.

Barack Obama has already made his name as one of the most active presidents in US history during this period.

FULL ARTICLE

After the First 100 Days (UAE)

Analysts and experts usually analyze the performance of any newly elected president hundred days after he assumes power. They believe that this period is enough to assess his performance, as it allows him to draw his agenda, choose his aides, and review the proposed dossiers at the domestic and foreign fronts.

Attention is currently shifting, in an unprecedented manner, to President Obama who has completed the first hundred days of his tenure. This is because Obama's personality is exciting and worth analyzing, while his policies influence all the hot files in the world.

At the personal level, the Afro-American president of the United States still enjoys a dominant popularity, supported by his continued appearance in the media and direct communication with millions of Americans who volunteered in his electoral campaign. This popularity is also strengthened by his wife Michele. Together, they constitute the couple that was the most admired and appreciated in the White House ever since late President John Kennedy.

FULL ARTICLE

100 Points of Light (INDIA)

Today marks the end of 100 days since US President Barack Obama’s inauguration. There were many factors about him and his campaign that appealed to most Americans. This included his use of technology, age and oratory skills. Crucially, his promise of change quickly gained popularity at home and abroad. Whether such change has been incorporated into US foreign policy is questionable.

One of the foreign policy highlights of the Obama administration has been the rapid engagement with Muslims and Muslim-dominated States. Policies such as the closure of Guantanamo Bay and Central Intelligence Agency ghost prisons, among others, have been both a sign of good faith and a message of change. Nevertheless, Obama has failed to go the extra mile by refusing to communicate with terrorist groups, despite Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal praising his approach to the West Asia conflict.

FULL ARTICLE

Faltering U.S. Strategy (PAKISTAN)

The new US policymakers led by President Obama must now shelve the messy canvas that was left for them by George W Bush. That canvas is in shreds and beyond repair. In order to redeem the image of the great American nation in the eyes of the world the Obama's administration will have to carve a new legacy for themselves distinctly different from the Bush legacy.

First, A resolution must come forth from all the stakeholders—i.e., the USA, the UN Security Council, NATO, the UK, other major EU and NATO countries, and from Russia, China, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India—that they all resolve to bring peace to southwest Asia by replacing military activity with developmental activity. A unilateral ceasefire should be announced by US and NATO Forces saying that military operations, henceforth, will only be undertaken in self-defence. Simultaneously, the offer of peace talks must be made to the Taliban.

Secondly, The USA must also announce unilaterally that after the preliminary rounds of peace talks it shall relocate its forces in a non-combat posture as a prelude to an eventual and complete military evacuation within a foreseeable time frame.

FULL ARTICLE

GM: Better Late Than Never (CANADA)

General Motors Corp. is wise not to have waited until the 11th hour to deliver a strenuous restructuring plan, as Chrysler LLC has done. General Motors has thus left itself a little more than a month to haggle over and refine the specifics, before the end-of-May deadline imposed by the U.S. government.

Chrysler is up against a similar deadline only a few days away, but the company may have scraped through by reaching agreements with the Canadian Auto Workers and the United Auto Workers.

The current upshot for the two insolvent automobile manufacturers is curious. General Motors is in effect orchestrating its own nationalization by the U.S. government, while Chrysler is submitting to a foreign takeover by Fiat SpA, in obedience to that same government.

FULL ARTICLE

A New Partnership with Jakarta (INDONESIA)

One could say that observing Indonesia-US relations has become more interesting since the Obama administration came into power, particularly after the visit of US state secretary Hillary Clinton to Jakarta in February 2009.

Indonesia-US relations have been and will always be a very important factor for both countries' foreign affairs. As the largest country in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is home to the largest Muslim population in the world and is the fourth most populous country in the world.

At the same time, as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono mentioned during a speech at the London School of Economic and Political Sciences, Indonesia's history has never been an easy one, an epic story of survival against the odds.

However, such a picture of disorder and uncertainty no longer captures the Indonesia of today. Having overcome its trials and tribulations, Indonesia is now a resilient country that plays an active role in many strategic international issues such as climate change, interfaith dialogue, democracy as well as peace and security.

FULL ARTICLE

A Canadian Model? (CANADA)

I grew up during a time when it was said that everything that happened in the United States would eventually come to Canada. For me, the most evocative annual illustration of this was the auto show at Toronto's Exhibition Place, where Detroit's latest contributions to mobility and status were put on display for aspirational Ontarians to drool over. I beamed with pride the day my dad brought home a spanking new 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air two-tone salmon and grey convertible. We were rich - just as rich as my Michigan cousins.

Even beyond the world of commerce, as the tempestuous sixties began to take shape, the idealism of the civil-rights and anti-Vietnam War movements, both obviously products of America and its political culture, spilled over the border. My generation of Canadians, especially those of us who were the first in our families to go to university, joyfully brought to campus ersatz versions of the idealism our American baby boomer cousins displayed.

FULL ARTICLE

King, Queen Return Home From US Visit (JORDAN)

AMMAN (JT) -Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania returned on Sunday following a several-day working visit to the US.

Meanwhile, King Abdullah received a letter yesterday from Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasir Al Mohammad Al Ahmad Al Sabah on means to foster bilateral ties in different fields and developments in the region.

The letter was handed by Kuwaiti Ambassador in Amman Sheikh Feisal Al Hmoud Al Malek Al Sabah to Royal Court Chief Nasser Lozi. In the US, King Abdullah met with US President Barack Obama last Tuesday and with several US administration officials and congressmen through Friday.

Discussions covered means to strengthen ties and efforts to bring about peace in the region. A summit held with Obama during the visit focused on means to bring about a comprehensive peace in the Middle East and resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution.

FULL ARTICLE

A Message Obama Can’t Ignore (EGYPT)

AMMAN: President Barack Obama received a message from the Arab world when he met King Abdallah of Jordan in Washington earlier this month. It was an important message that the American president and his administration should appreciate because of its timing and content.

The message that King Abdallah carried was carefully phrased in Amman on 10 April when six Arab foreign ministers met along with the Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa. The message outlined the Arab position on the peace process as stated and reiterated in the Arab peace initiative. It also warned against Israel’s policies of expanding settlements and changing the nature of Arab East Jerusalem.

The Arab position is not new. Since the peace initiative was adopted in Beirut in 2002, the Arab side has adhered to it in spite of Israeli vacillation and rejection of its basic tenets.

Obama and his aides heard warnings that unless the two-state solution is implemented soon, the Arab-Israeli conflict will enter a critical phase. Arab leaderships are under pressure to abandon the peace offering if Israel continues to ignore it.

FULL ARTICLE

Ousting a Terrible Enfant (RUSSIA)

There is a good reason the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has not rushed to defend Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who is essentially under 24-hour siege by angry protestors. As the opposition demonstrations continue in Tbilisi, with thousands of Georgians expressing their rage against the authoritarian regime, the mood in Washington has shifted.

No longer the poster boy for democracy, Saakashvili is now seen as an irresponsible enfant terrible whose political capital has been squandered by foolish mistakes and a stubborn refusal to deal with Russia.

One of Obama's first priorities will be to repair the damage to U.S.-Russian relations. He is a healer by nature, not a divider. Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton clearly see Saakashvili as a liability and an unsavory leftover from the past. Saakashvili should resign from power and return the government back to the Georgian people.

FULL ARTICLE

Critics Unleash the F-word at Obama (CANADA)

The F-word jumped out at me as I read the Savannah Morning News during a recent visit to this historic Deep South city.

It was buried in a column by syndicated conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer, who wrote: "Some find in this descent into large-scale industrial policy a whiff of 1930s-style fascist corporatism."

Krauthammer was writing about the pressure U.S. President Barack Obama put on GM boss Rick Wagoner to quit.

While he offered a tepid disavowal, adding, "I have my doubts" to the comment, I was stunned that a columnist had dared to link an American president to fascism.

FULL ARTICLE

Obama's Torture Policy (IRAN)

Obama authorized the release of graphic “torture memos” that outlined the harsh interrogation tactics the CIA used during the administration of George W. Bush, but getting the abuses behind him is turning out to be more complicated than it may have seemed at first.

The disclosures have divided Obama’s administration; some intelligence officials argued against the release. Also, Obama’s decision to shield from prosecution those who carried out the practices is being challenged by human-rights activists and some Democrats.

FULL ARTICLE

Obama’s Energy Independence (KOREA)

Thirty years ago then-president Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the White House roof to heat water for the staff eating area. He said it demonstrated the nation's move toward ``true energy security and abundant, readily available energy supplies."

Oops.

When Ronald Reagan became president, Carter's solar panels were removed. They were stored until 1990 when they were sent to Unity College in Maine, where, with Hollywood fanfare, they were used to heat water in the cafeteria until they stopped working about 2005. They are now an exhibit in the Carter Library in Georgia.

Three decades later, in another effort to push the nation toward energy independence, President Obama is touting wind power. Traveling to a wind turbine tower plant in Newton, Iowa, on Earth Day on Wednesday, he said renewable energy would help the environment, make the nation safer and create jobs.

FULL ARTICLE

Where are the Carrots? (LEBANON)

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's latest pronouncement on possible new sanctions on Iran has been explicit: a series of punishments that will be as "tight and crippling" as possible.

Iran will understand force, and the use of state power in the form of sanctions. But which state or political organization wouldn't? Like other states, Iran is well-versed in the exercise of power, whether domestically, through its nuclear program, or through regional allies like Hizbullah and Hamas, and their rocket arsenals. Violence is what states do, and Iran, like other states, can comprehend the implications of weapons such as sanctions.

FULL ARTICLE

U.S. Shifting Mideast Policy (JAPAN)

It is almost possible to hear the tectonic plates grinding. The whole international landscape is once again on the move, tumbling old structures and turning old assumptions upside-down.

The catalyst this time is the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama on the world scene and the major shift in American foreign policy and attitudes that this appears to signify. But in reality the shift has been going on for some time, even under Obama's much-criticized predecessor, George W. Bush.

U.S. dominance has been declining for almost a decade. The balance of power and wealth has shifted to Asia, with the present global financial chaos accelerating this trend. A new map of the Middle East is emerging, with Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia as the major regional powers, competing with Iran.

FULL ARTICLE

Obama's Af-Pak Quandary (INDIA)

Breaking away from President George W Bush's goal of democratisation of the Islamic world, President Barack Obama has placed
defeating the al-Qaida terrorist network at the centre of the US's policy goal in Afghanistan and Pakistan. While popular and logical from the American perspective, this approach fails to take into account the interest of the US's indispensable ally Pakistan, which is concerned with not just al-Qaida, but also with what it sees as growing Indian influence in Afghanistan and the threat of subversion.

Recent interviews with senior Pakistani military officials make it clear that Pakistani cooperation will depend on the Obama administration's readiness to contain India's anti-Pakistan efforts in Afghanistan. While US troop strength in Afghanistan has increased, US officials have repeatedly said that al-Qaida leadership is now located in Pakistan. How deep America will go, and how it will choose between employing drone attacks or deploying troops in the pursuit of al-Qaida will depend on Pakistani cooperation.

FULL ARTICLE

Obama Must Stop Point-Scoring (UK)

Barack Obama has been busy mending fences broken by the previous, careless attendant of the White House borders. But the latest sua culpa – the disclosure of Central Intelligence Agency interrogation techniques under the previous administration – has led him into having to try to repair a breach all his own. Yesterday he was at the CIA attempting to explain why he had taken away any mystery from detention by revealing the details of waterboarding and other vile ways of extracting information in the effort to prevent murderous attacks.

Waterboarding – or "near drowning" if you prefer your euphemisms less evasive – may well be unconstitutional and its ending could allow him more effectively to build relations with America's detractors.

FULL ARTICLE

Why Does Obama Smile at Dictators? (ISRAEL)

The picture of the president of the United States smiling broadly as he met President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela startled me. Our president is a nice guy. Chavez is anything but.

The State Department maintains that Chávez has attacked democratic traditions and has put Venezuelan democracy on life support with unchecked concentration of power, political persecution, and intimidation. Foreign Affairs magazine says that Chávez is a power-hungry dictator with autocratic and megalomaniacal tendencies whose authoritarian vision and policies are a serious threat to his people. In testimony before the US Senate, the South American project director for the Center for Strategic International Studies said that Chavez's government engages in "arresting opposition leaders, torturing some members of the opposition (according to human rights organizations) and encouraging, if not directing, its squads of Bolivarian Circles to beat up members of Congress and intimidate voters-all with impunity."

FULL ARTICLE

Too Harsh and Uncompromising? (ISRAEL)

It has become commonplace to assume that the transition from US president George W. Bush to Barack Obama signals a move away from a unilateral, harsh, uncompromising and even militant approach toward Iran to a newfound willingness to embrace dialogue and engagement on the basis of an acceptance of the current regime.

Many seem to believe that the past failures to deal effectively with Iran's nuclear ambitions are due to the uncompromising approach of the Bush administration; they hold high hopes for the new US president who is finally willing to reasonably sort out the problem by sitting down to talk to Iranian leaders on equal standing and with respect. His extended hand to Iran's leaders can be expected to encourage Iran to unclench its fist.

But how accurate is this depiction of the past, and how realistic are the hopes that by expressing willingness to negotiate unconditionally, Obama will be in a better position to improve relations with Iran? Most importantly, will this defuse the crisis surrounding Iran's nuclear ambitions?

FULL ARTICLE

A Strong Start for Obama (JAPAN)

U.S. President Barack Obama campaigned on a platform of "change." Change was plainly visible throughout his first overseas trip as president. Perhaps the most compelling sign of change was not of his doing: Throughout the weeklong tour of Europe, Mr. Obama was greeted with an enthusiasm that posed a stark contrast to the reception of his predecessor and should put to rest any thoughts about the erosion of U.S. standing in the world. Go beyond the atmospherics, however, and the change is a little more difficult to discern. While Mr. Obama has promised a different foreign policy, his nation's interests and the problems he and other leaders face remain the same.

The hype surrounding Mr. Obama was evident throughout his first stop, the Group of 20 meeting in London. The president's schedule overflowed with bilateral meetings with heads of state. Mr. Obama had tete-a-tetes with his host, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Chinese President Hu Jintao, South Korean President Lee Myung Bak and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, among others. His public appearances, like those of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her recent visit to Asia, were greeted by rapturous crowds.

In all those sessions, Mr. Obama sent the same message. The United States was eager to work with partners to tackle the key problems that the world faces.

FULL ARTICLE

Creating a New Reset Button (RUSSIA)

This year is the 100th anniversary of Russia's parliamentary diplomacy. The State Duma, which was founded in 1906, organized its first visit to the West in 1909, when deputies visited Britain and France and were received at a very high level.

The diplomatic activity of today's Duma deputies is less formal than it was 100 years ago but no less effective. On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate-Federation Council working group held its latest meeting in Moscow with the participation of U.S. Senators Carl Levin, Bill Nelson and Susan Collins. This interparliamentary group alternately gathers in Russia and the United States to discuss the most important issues that have accumulated in U.S.-Russian relations. Based on the results of the meeting, each participant writes recommendations to their respective presidents and other top members of their executive branches.

FULL ARTICLE

An Afghan solution Involving Pakistan (LEBANON)

In Washington we have yet another acronym: AfPak, which stands for Afghanistan and Pakistan. More specifically, the contraction relates to the area of responsibilities of Ambassador Richard Holbrook, the special adviser to President Barack Obama for the two aforementioned countries.

Beyond the swelling of the field of acronym-ology, the term AfPak sends a clear message that the United States regards success of current counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism operations as well as longer-term state-building projects in Afghanistan as directly linked with Pakistan.

FULL ARTICLE

World is Waiting, Mr Obama! (UAE)

A rather perceptive colleague is tired of my endless adulation for Barack Obama. Every time I talk about him, she rolls her eyes to point out all that America’s new president has done is talk, talk and talk. There are no actions to back up his rhetoric.

She accuses me of ‘betraying the cause’ when she sees my repugnance of George W Bush give way to hopeless admiration for his successor. And I ask her to pit Obama against W. and see the difference. I ask her to imagine the alternate scenario if the Americans had NOT voted for Obama.

We would be stuck with John McCain today, the 72-year old warhorse from Bush’s party who talked of staying in Iraq and Afghanistan forever and promise to ‘bomb-bomb’ Iran.

Obama may not have produced any pigeons out of his hat yet. But look at what he has already set out to do. It gives you real hope about the ‘change we can.’ Next week, he will be completing three months in office. These have been perhaps the most eventful and epoch-making twelve weeks of any leader in the US history with implications that go far beyond America’s borders.

FULL ARTICLE

Iran Should Honor Obama's Courage (JORDAN)

The American government‘s decision to join the international negotiations with Iran over the latter’s nuclear energy programme is a historic marker of immense importance - certainly one of the most important diplomatic turning points of our time, in my view. It marks the first time in recent memory when a developing country branded as part of the “axis of evil” by the last American administration forces the president in Washington to reverse American policy and make what might appear to be a humiliating about-face - more or less admitting defeat in the face of Iranian resistance, defiance and persistence.

FULL ARTICLE

Restoration of US-Turkey Relations? (EGYPT)

President Barack Hussein Obama swooped into Turkey on April 6 for two days of fence-mending bilateral relations with erstwhile, if sometimes prickly, ally Turkey while disseminating a message of friendship to the wider Muslim world. Obama cut a dashing figure, mesmerizing the normally skeptical Turkish public with self-deprecating references to his inspirational life story of struggle and achievement.

This trip can be characterized as a success in terms of public diplomacy. Opinion polls indicate that Turks have a growing favorable attitude toward Obama. Turkey's media was also mostly upbeat, bringing into sharp focus the contrast between the positive vibes toward Obama and the negative perceptions of former President George W Bush. Meanwhile, President Obama heaped praise on Turkey's European perspective, democratic and secular traditions, and regional aspirations in the Middle East. He deftly maneuvered around the hot Armenian issue without conceding on his points of principle.

Obama also awed audiences beyond Turkey.

FULL ARTICLE

Slow Change in Cuba Suits Everyone (UK)

A good rule of thumb in predicting Barack Obama's foreign policy in a given area has been to reverse the course taken by George W Bush. This week has seen a sterling example, in the shape of relations with Cuba. Cuban-Americans will now be able to visit relatives annually, rather than every three years; limits on the amounts they can send back to their families have been removed; and US communications firms and broadcasters are free to transact with the island.

But, tellingly, the President did not present these changes himself. That was left to his press secretary Robert Gibbs, who made the announcement on the afternoon of Easter Monday, a piece of stagecraft designed to bury the news as far down the evening bulletins as possible.

FULL ARTICLE

Foreign Policy Maze Ahead of Obama (FRANCE)

It’s no surprise that President Obama’s foreign policy challenges are unsavoury, diverse and numerous, but most worrisome is the degree to which they overlap in the worst ways possible. For Americans, our allies’ concerns, our enemies’ threats and victims’ pleas are inextricably tied to one another — by nature, or the hand of political leaders and institutions across the globe. Solving one problem seems impossible without solving the rest, or at least pretending to do so.

Iraq and Afghanistan are seldom far from our doorstep for obvious reasons; but with Obama’s focus on renewing old alliances and forging newer (convenient) ones, many others are requesting an audience. Unfortunately, it is impossible for Obama to address each or even most of them. And inevitably the process of prioritising is going to get ugly.

Here are just a few of Obama’s more important foreign policy goals:

FULL ARTICLE

How Will Iran Respond (GERMANY)

US President Barack Obama has given Tehran the choice: The mullah regime can either give up its nuclear program and get rewarded for doing so, or it will face intensified sanctions. But Iran has made significant progress with its nuclear facilities and is unprepared to agree to a moratorium.

It's going to be his day of festival, the "Day of the Atom." To celebrate the event, Iran's president will travel on Wednesday to Isfahan, the pride of the nation and jewel of ancient Persia, one of the most impressive centers of culture in the Islamic world. It was in Isfahan that his predecessors, the Safawiden rulers, resided and established a great civilization at the end of the 16th century.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is arriving in Isfahan from the capital Tehran on his presidential aircraft, an aging Boeing 707, and the only foreign journalists on board are reporters from SPIEGEL -- a first. The provincial capital's powerful and important people are standing at attention on the tarmac: mullahs, military officials and bureaucrats.

FULL ARTICLE

Ceding Iran's Nuclear Rights? (HONG KONG)

When the wastes of Qyzylqum and Karakum blossom in early spring, the enchanting sight can pain one's heart. But the killer deserts are deceptive in appearance, especially Qyzylqum, which is in the tract of land between the two great rivers in Central Asia - the Amu Darya and Sirdarya.

In the spring of 1220, when Genghis Khan abruptly rode out of the Qyzylqum with a few hundred Mongol horsemen to take the Amir of Bukhara by surprise, the Amir never imagined that the desert would so easily concede safe passage to a Mongol stranger. Bukhara - one of the biggest cities at that time along with Cordoba, Cairo and Baghdad - paid heavily for the desert's treachery. Bukhara took over two centuries to recover from "God's wrath", which the austere Khan insisted he was administering to the slothful, opulent city for its sinful ways.

It is again early spring in the Central Asian steppes.

FULL ARTICLE

Iran Should Reciprocate Obama's Courage (LEBANON)

The Obama administration's decision to join the international negotiations with Iran over the latter's nuclear energy program is a historical marker or immense importance - certainly one of the most important diplomatic turning points of our time, in my view. It marks the first time in recent memory that a developing country, one branded as part of the "Axis of Evil" by the precious American administration, forced the current president in Washington to make what might appear to be a humiliating about-face, more or less admitting defeat in the face of Iranian defiance and persistence.

The core of this reversal comes from the fact that Washington now agrees to begin negotiating with Iran even if it moves ahead with uranium enrichment. Previously, the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany) had negotiated fruitlessly with Iran amid the Bush administration's insistence that Tehran needed to suspend its enrichment program before talks could advance. This led to several UN Security Council sanctions against Iran.

This is not a sign of weakness by the United States, but rather a sign of wisdom and realism for which it should be commended.

FULL ARTICLE

Obama Abroad (ISRAEL)

This is day 81 in the countdown toward the 100th day of Barack Obama's presidency. The benchmark probably dates back to Franklin D. Roosevelt, who came into office with no particular ideology but promising "action, and action now" - and a readiness to pursue pragmatic policies.

Obama has returned to Washington after his most significant trip abroad since taking office. The president enjoys strong support from the majority of Americans who voted for him (Democrats give him an 88 percent approval rating) though he has made few strides in winning over John McCain's supporters (only 27% of Republicans think he's doing a good job). Obama's critics complain he spent too much time overseas in "excuse me, excuse my predecessor, or excuse my country" mode.

Still, Obama's message - "I'm personally committed to a new chapter of American engagement" - set a new tone for US foreign policy among Washington's ostensible allies in Europe, Turkey and Iraq.

FULL ARTICLE

Obama Factor Reaches Iran (UK)

A year after becoming president in 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that the 20th day in the Persian month of Farvardin would officially be known as National Nuclear Technology day. On this day, which falls on Thursday 9 April this year, the government and people of Iran are to celebrate their country's nuclear achievements.

Ahmadinejad is not in charge of Iran's nuclear programme. The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is. Nevertheless, he allows Ahmadinejad to use the occasion to inform the people of Iran about the technical progress made by Iran's nuclear programme during the past year. Last year, Ahmadinejad declared that "Iran was ready to install some 6,000 new centrifuges at the nuclear facility in the central province of Natanz".

This year, National Nuclear Technology day will have added importance for the president. While Ahmadinejad will be making his yearly speech about Iran's nuclear accomplishments, he will be well aware that from that day, only 64 days remain until the presidential elections, scheduled for 12 June.

FULL ARTICLE

Hands across the Atlantic (CANADA)

"I think we did okay," concluded U.S. President Barack Obama after last week's London G20 summit on the world financial crisis. It was a verdict that could reasonably be applied to all three summits - Prague and Strasbourg, as well as London - and to the numerous bilateral meetings the President attended on his whirlwind European tour that ends today in Turkey.

Where security permitted, Mr. Obama received his usual rock-star welcome from large crowds of young Europeans. He established good personal relations with all the major European leaders. And he delivered a bold substantive speech calling for the popular goal of curbing nuclear proliferation.

Americans at home will conclude from the news coverage that their new President has restored America's reputation somewhat. All the summits ended in some kind of agreement. Mr. Obama's bilateral meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was cordial. And the overall impression from the tour is that the Atlantic alliance is recovering nicely to tackle some important but soluble economic and security questions.

Okay seems a fair verdict - and maybe slightly better than okay.

FULL ARTICLE

Obama Is No Jimmy Carter (AUSTRALIA)

Barack Obama's European tour has been a public relations bonanza that has not yet reaped commensurate rewards in allied policies. Yet his speeches and answers to questions have revealed aspects of his foreign policy thinking that belie the original scepticism of many who feared his inexperience would result in the naivety and incoherence that plagued the Carter administration. Despite blunders in the appointments process, Obama has shown a wisdom, intellectual clarity and moral humility that Jimmy Carter lacked, and that augurs well for dealing with the tremendous threats to US and Western security.

The blunders in the second-tier appointments process are not likely Obama's fault but those of his aides. Distinguished retired four-star general Anthony Zinni was offered the important position of ambassador to Iraq, which he accepted, only to see the offer withdrawn in the most insulting manner, so former North Korea negotiator Christopher Hill could take it.

FULL ARTICLE

The "G-2"? (TAIWAN)

All indications are that the first summit meeting between the new American president, Barack Obama, and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, went extremely well. The American leader has already accepted an invitation to visit Beijing later this year.

Beijing made sure the summit would go well by not pushing a confrontation that occurred between the two countries in the South China Sea last month. The incident was mentioned by Obama in the meeting with Hu, but both sides decided not to dwell on it. Instead, they have agreed on a new, high-level dialogue mechanism, called the Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SAED). Under this arrangement, there will be Cabinet-level dialogues involving both political and economic issues every year.

FULL ARTICLE

What Obama didn't see in Iraq (HONG KONG)

United States President Barack Obama's sudden arrival in Baghdad from Turkey on Tuesday - his first trip to Iraq since becoming president in January - took priority over other news coming out of the Iraqi capital, but meaningful events were also taking place elsewhere.

On the same day, Iraqi National Dialogue Minister Akram al-Hakim landed in Cairo to meet with former Ba'athists and ex-officers from the Iraqi army in exile. He had been sent to Egypt by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to ask the supporters of former president Saddam Hussein to renounce violence and to return to participate in government.

FULL ARTICLE

Nuclear Dream a Noble Cause (IRELAND)

President George Bush senior proclaimed a "new world order" after the fall of communism. It never happened. Can it happen now under a president so different from him in his generation, background and mode of thinking?

Over these last days, Barack Obama has starred in one show after another: the G20, the NATO commemorative meeting and the US-EU summit. But President Obama is the star of every show, in the conference hall or on the streets. What matters is not the show but what he has demonstrated of his substance this week.

Unquestionably the G20 summit was a success, but not a complete success. The global financial system has not been repaired. The signs of economic recovery are still feeble. And Mr Obama, backed by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, still has differences with the major European continental nations. But the participants reached a large measure of agreement on the road to travel.

FULL ARTICLE

Taliban: US Troops Will Not End Afghan War (India)

Thousands of extra US troops headed to Afghanistan will not stop the Taliban insurgency but fuel further attacks, the militia said on Monday in a statement directed at the top US military commander. Admiral Mike Mullen told reporters in Kabul on Sunday that an extra 17,000 US troops to be deployed to Afghanistan in coming weeks would allow security forces to start to turn the tide against insurgents in the south.

Mullen has been holding two days of talks in Afghanistan with US envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke.

"As much as the foreign forces increase, fighting will increase and there will be increased civilian casualties," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP in a telephone call from an undisclosed location.

FULL ARTICLE

The Vanishing Bomb (EGYPT)

The agreement by the American and Russian presidents to renew strategic arms reductions has revived hope for the global abolition of nuclear arms. The urgency can hardly be exaggerated: nuclear weapons may come into the possession of states that might use them, as well as of stateless terrorists — creating new threats of unimaginable proportion.

A noble dream just several years ago, the elimination of nuclear arms is no longer the idea only of populists and pacifists; it has now been adopted by professionals — politicians known for their realism and academics known for their sense of responsibility.

The invention of nuclear weapons — which served the goal of deterrence during the Cold War, when the world was divided into two opposing blocs — answered the needs and risks of the time. Security rested on a balance of fear, as reflected in the concept of mutually assured destruction.

FULL ARTICLE

Obama to Turkey: "Upgrade," Not "Reset" (TURKEY)

US President Barack Obama's first visit to a Muslim-majority nation will take place Sunday in Turkey. This is a wise choice, and if relations with Russia are to receive a "reset," US-Turkish relations are in need of a serious "upgrade."

Obama's visit comes at a critical juncture in US-Turkish relations and represents a golden opportunity for both allies to take the relationship to a higher level.

The Turkey that Obama will visit is a very different place from the "moderate Islamic model" that President George W. Bush touted five years ago. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has been riding a wave of popular sentiment that blends a previously irreconcilable mix of religious and secular nationalism. In this context, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's dramatic walkout at the World Economic Forum in Davos, his call for Israel to be removed from the UN and his posturing against an International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement to help Turkey weather the economic crisis illustrate the potential repercussions if Turkey were to detach completely from its Western anchors.

FULL ARTICLE

US-Russia Ties on a New Trajectory (HONG KONG)

Face-to-face meetings between the leaderships of the United States and Russia have a history of inspiring optimism that eventually turns out to be illusory and short-lived. The summit meeting at the Black Sea resort of Sochi a year ago was a perfect instance. The Sochi summit produced a grandiloquent declaration spelling out the contours of strategic cooperation between the two big powers.

But no sooner had the summit ended, acrimony broke out and US-Russia ties plunged into free fall. The ties grew increasingly strained. The conflict in the South Caucasus last August led to a dangerous drift in relations between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It added to the list of contentious issues already complicating the US-Russia relationship - deployment of components of the US missile defense system in Central Europe, NATO's eastward expansion, rivalries over Caspian energy resources, simmering discords in the Black Sea region, and so on. Enveloping all these issues, an atmosphere of distrust descended on US-Russia ties.

FULL ARTICLE

The West's Fatal Overdose

Now they're celebrating again. An "historic compromise" had been reached, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the conclusion of the G-20 summit in London, while US President Barack Obama spoke of a "turning point" in the fight against the global downturn. Behind the two leaders, the summit's motto could clearly be seen: "stability, growth, jobs."

When the celebrations have died down, it will be easier to look at what actually happened in London with a cool eye. The summit participants took the easy way out. Their decision to pump a further $5 trillion (€3.72 trillion) into the collapsing world economy within the foreseeable future, could indeed prove to be a historical turning point -- but a turning point downwards. In combating this crisis, the international community is in fact laying the foundation for the next crisis, which will be larger. It would probably have been more honest if the summit participants had written "debt, unemployment, inflation" on the wall.

The crucial questions went unanswered because they weren't even asked. Why are we in the current situation anyway? Who or what has got us into this mess?

FULL ARTICLE

In London, U.S-Russian Pragmatism (RUSSIA)

The promise by U.S. President Barack Obama's administration to "press the reset button" in its relations with Russia holds promise for rapid progress in the near future as well as for dealing with serious problems down the line.

By the end of President George W. Bush's last term in office, the level of mutual trust between Russia and the United States had fallen to a 30-year low. The meaningful communication needed for at least a modicum of mutual understanding had all but stopped between Moscow and Washington. The barbs they traded over the Russia-Georgia war in August demonstrated that a continuation of this state of affairs had the potential to escalate the verbal volley with Washington into an armed conflict.

Washington's restrained reaction to the announcement that Bishkek would cancel the lease on the U.S. military base in Manas was a sign that the Obama administration was taking a different approach to foreign policy. It isn't difficult to imagine what an uproar the same decision would have elicited from former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. We now hear far fewer of the unequivocal pronouncements about democracy and human rights that characterized the former occupants of the White House and State Department. It would seem that, in addition to pushing the "reset button," Obama has decided to turn down the volume as well.

FULL ARTICLE

Obama Can Save Iran from Israeli Bombs (UK)

An Israeli colleague was sent on an assignment so secret and sensitive that it was years before he would share the full story with friends.

He was dispatched by Menachem Begin, then the Prime Minister, to European capitals with orders to meet editors, politicians and opinion makers to spread the word that Israel was increasingly concerned about Iraq's nuclear programme and would do anything to stop Saddam Hussein building the bomb. The warnings, intended to prepare Western public opinion, were largely dismissed as sabre-rattling (one editor insisted on discussing a new lavatory system designed on a kibbutz) - until June 1981, when Israeli Air Force F16s bombed the plant to rubble.

FULL ARTICLE

US Sees Devil in Cross-Strait Detente (HONG KONG)

In the past three decades since China and the United States established formal diplomatic ties, Washington has attempted to maintain the status quo on the Taiwan Strait, as this best serves US interests. Under this policy, Washington wants to see neither Taiwan's independence nor the two sides across the strait moving closer too quickly.

The Barack Obama administration will surely stick to this policy, despite warming Sino-US ties. From this view, it is understandable why the US House of Representatives has adopted a resolution that reiterates US support for Taiwan's defense at a time when mainland China-Taiwan ties are warming dramatically and rapidly.

On February 24, the House voted to adopt a resolution marking the "30th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA)". Two days later, the resolution was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs of the US Congress by 17 representatives. China responded by expressing strong dissatisfaction and lodged objections over the issue.

FULL ARTICLE

Obama Off Form, Brown Basks (UK)

We now know the form with these events: British PM pays deferential homage to the American president, who repays the compliment with warm words for the special ties the US feels for Britain. The dynamic is usually clear: the Brit is grateful simply to be standing next to the most powerful man in the world. He is yapping spaniel; the American is top dog.

Occasionally, that alters. When Tony Blair visited Bill Clinton in early 1998, the latter was mired in the Monica Lewinsky scandal – he needed Blair there calling him "friend". George W Bush, too, found he needed Blair, chiefly because the PM could explain Bush's war on terror more articulately than Bush could.

Wednesday's joint press conference of Gordon Brown and Barack Obama had no such dynamic at work: Obama remains the global superstar with a fresh mandate, Brown the ailing prime minister with anemic poll numbers whose last victory in a competitive election was for his Kirkcaldy seat.

FULL ARTICLE

End of the War on Terror? Nope. (CANADA)

The Obama administration inherited many toxic legacies from its Bush/Cheney predecessor. At the top of the list has to be the “war on terror,” first proclaimed shortly after 9/11 and set in doctrinal stone in the 2002 U.S. National Security Strategy. Many Obama supporters, in the United States and abroad, would like nothing better than to forget the whole thing and concentrate on the rest of a full hand of troubles – the economy, energy transformation, the climate, the health of the planet. But the war on terror isn't going away.

Dick Cheney famously proclaimed that the U.S. would have to go over “to the dark side” to combat terrorist threats. That dark side gave us Guantanamo, a whole string of executive orders that flouted the law and stretched presidential prerogatives, CIA secret prisons abroad, and “extraordinary rendition” of suspected terrorists into the willing hands of jailors in a variety of Middle Eastern countries.

Barack Obama's challenge is to extract counterterrorism strategy from the dark side and infuse it with a renewed respect for legal and democratic norms, and a concern for America's reputation abroad. There will have to be a serious effort not just to launch missiles against terrorists but also to wage a sustained hearts and minds campaign.

FULL ARTICLE