EU Accuses US of New Protectionism (Radio NETHERLANDS)

The European Union and Canada have voiced fierce criticism over new plans by US President Barack Obama to save the American economy. The economic rescue package, worth 800 billion US dollars, contains a clause which stipulates that American investors should use only US-made iron, steel and manufactured goods in projects funded by the package. A clear case of protectionism, the EU and Canada say.

The EU and Canada have already called upon the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to take action against this so-called "Buy American" clause in the package. Protectionism is not in line with the rules set by the WTO, of which the USA is a high profile member.

Disappointment
The EU has already expressed its disappointment with the clause, afraid that it might affect European exports to the US. The European Parliamentary Committee for International Trade (INTA) issued a statement on Monday, urging President Obama to withdraw the clause.

Vice-chairwoman of the INTA is Dutch MEP Corien Wortman of the conservative EPP-ED group in the European Parliament. She hopes the WTO will summon the US to change its mind:

"This is not according to international rules of the game. If [the Americans] do go ahead with it, I'm really afraid that we will get a kind of protectionism not only in America, but that it will also feed protectionism in Europe, China and Africa as well. We should keep the Americans to their obligations in the WTO framework".

FULL ARTICLE

Unclenching Fist in Iran and Syria (Khaleej Times, UAE)

In an interesting development, the White House has sought to distance itself from reports that some advisers to President Barack Obama had held ‘discreet’ talks with ‘very, very top’ Syrian and Iranian officials during his transition.

In fact, some of those talks were reportedly held even before Obama’s election on November 4. The talks were held with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in Damascus and included Ellen Laipson, a former White House adviser and a member of the Obama transition team. That meeting took place as recently as January 11.

More important, some nuclear non-proliferation experts have had contacts in the last few months with top Iranian leadership. Now the White House spokesperson insists Obama had made it clear to his team of advisers that there would be no contacts with foreign governments. This however does not change the fact that the incoming president had indeed initiated or 
sanctioned engagement with Teheran and Damascus.

In fact, we see no reason why the Obama administration should get defensive about establishing direct contacts with the two countries that have been at loggerheads with the US for the past several years. The US friction with these two countries has dangerously destabilised the entire neighbourhood. As if the US didn’t have enough problems with Iran, the Bush administration managed to alienate Syria, forcing it into the welcoming arms of the Iranians. This policy had not been inspired by the US national interest but under pressure from Israel. Which is why all Syrian efforts to patch up with Washington ran into a blind wall. The hostility to Iran was also largely driven by the Israeli factor, rather than by mutual US-Iran interests.

FULL ARTICLE

Afghanistan: Obama's Vietnam? (Japan Times, JAPAN)

You aren't really the U.S. president until you've ordered an airstrike on somebody, so Barack Obama is certainly president now: two in his first week in office. But now that he has been bloodied, can we talk a little about this expanded war he's planning to fight in Afghanistan?

It's not a question of whether the intelligence on which the attacks were based was accurate. The question is: Do these killings actually serve any useful purpose? And the same question applies to the entire U.S. war in Afghanistan.

Obama may be planning to shut Guantanamo, but the broader concept of a "war on terror" is still alive and well in Washington. Most of the people he has appointed to run his defense and foreign policies believe in it, and there is no sign that he himself questions it. Yet even 15 years ago the notion would have been treated with contempt in every military staff college in the country.

That generation of American officers learned two things from their miserable experience in Vietnam. One was that going halfway around the world to fight a conventional military campaign against an ideology (communism then, Islamism now) was a truly stupid idea. The other was that no matter how strenuously the other side insists that it is motivated by a world-spanning ideology, its real motives are mostly political and quite local (Vietnamese nationalism then, Iraqi and Afghan nationalism now).

FULL ARTICLE

Obama Backing Down on China (China Post, TAIWAN)

The Obama administration backed away from a confrontation with China after Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said during confirmation hearings that “President Obama — backed by the conclusions of a broad range of economists — believes that China is manipulating its currency.”

China immediately hit back, denying that it manipulated its currency to get an unfair trade advantage. Within days, Vice President Joe Biden said on television: “There's been no judgment based in the administration that there has been a manipulation.” That word, he explained, “triggers within trade agreements certain responses.”

And President Obama himself telephoned Hu Jintao to give his Chinese counterpart further reassurances. Obama has received much advice on the importance of China, including making that country the destination of his first foreign trip, but he has rejected it, deciding instead to visit Canada instead. Even where telephone calls are concerned, he followed tradition by first calling Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso before calling President Hu.

According to the White House, in the telephone conversation the two leaders pledged to “build a more positive and constructive U.S.-China relationship.” They discussed a wide range of issues, including global trade imbalances, and agreed to work together to stimulate economic growth and to smooth credit flows. They agreed to meet in April in London for summit talks on the economic crisis. Other issues discussed include the North Korean nuclear weapons program as well as Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, counter-terrorism and climate change.

FULL ARTICLE

Uncle Sam Out of Patience? (Globe & Mail, CANADA)

As President Barack Obama's visit to Canada draws near, Canadians should realize that how the war in Afghanistan will be conducted on the ground will change little, if at all, under his leadership.

Changes already put in train by the Bush administration following the recommendations of General David Petraeus will continue on schedule. Gen. Petraeus, the new head of U.S. Central Command and responsible for the Iraq and Afghan campaigns, was previously the commander of U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq. As such, he was the architect of the troop "surge" and the concept of paying local tribes in the Sunni communities in Anbar province to become part of the security solution rather than the problem. The dramatic reduction in violence has given the concept some credibility.

In the past few years, it became painfully obvious that most of the 26 NATO member countries were unwilling to honour their obligations under the NATO Charter to provide adequate boots on the ground to defeat the Afghan insurgents. As a result, Gen. Petraeus successfully persuaded the Bush administration to reinforce the U.S. troop contribution to NATO's International Security Assistance Force by some 30,000 troops over the next year. He also proposed to organize local defence committees throughout Afghanistan to assist in providing security to local populations.

FULL ARTICLE

Hillary's Challenge to China (Taipei Times, TAIWAN)

Buried in US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s testimony in her confirmation hearing before Congress two weeks ago was a subtle challenge to China wrapped in an evident preface to US President Barack Obama’s emerging policy toward Beijing.

Shortly after, and almost on cue, Beijing published a White Paper on defense that pointed warily to what they saw as an increase in US power in Asia. The US, the White Paper said, has been “consolidating its military alliances, adjusting its military deployment and enhancing its military capabilities” in the Asia-Pacific region.

Clinton, who was confirmed as secretary the day after Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 20, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: “We want a positive and cooperative relationship with China.” She said, however, that “this is not a one-way effort. Much of what we will do depends on the choices China makes about its future at home and abroad.”

In a written report, Clinton answered earlier questions from the committee and elaborated on what the US expects. “We can encourage them to become a full and responsible participant in the international community — to join the world in addressing common challengers like climate change and nuclear proliferation — and to make greater progress toward a more open and market-based society. But it is ultimately up to them,” she said.

FULL ARTICLE

Berlin Squabbling Over Obama (Der Spiegel, GERMANY)

US President Barack Obama is driving a wedge between the parties in Germany's grand coalition government. Angela Merkel is keeping her distance while Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is making overtures to the new president -- and ruffling feathers in the process.

Barack Obama grew up knowing that there were two Germanys. Then the Berlin Wall fell, and he became accustomed to the idea that there was only one Germany. Now that he is president he has discovered, during his first few days in office, that Germany is divided once again.

But this time the country is not divided into East and West Germany, but between Merkel's Germany and Steinmeier's Germany. And when it comes to their relationship with the new America, these two Germanys could not be more different.

Chancellor Angela Merkel takes a reserved view of Obama, waiting to see what his administration's policies will look like. There is not even a trace of enthusiasm for the man on whom the world's hopes are now pinned. Merkel is not prepared to quickly accommodate the Americans on the first concrete issue for trans-Atlantic relations, namely the acceptance of detainees from Guantanamo.

FULL ARTICLE

Obama in Discreet Talks with Iran and Syria (Daily Times, PAKISTAN)

Nuclear non-proliferation experts had several ‘very, very high-level’ contacts with Iranian leaders in last few months.
**
U.S. President Barack Obama has already used experts within the last few months to hold high-level but discreet talks with both Iran and Syria, organisers of the meetings told AFP.

Officially, Obama’s overtures toward both Tehran and Damascus have remained limited. In an interview broadcast on Monday, Obama said the United States would offer arch-foe Iran an extended hand of diplomacy if the Islamic Republic’s leaders “unclenched their fist”. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that the Israeli-Syrian track of the Middle East peace negotiations took a back seat to the Israeli-Palestinian track, especially because of the recent war in Gaza. However, even before winning the November 4 election, Obama unofficially used what experts call “track two” discussions to approach America’s two foes in the region.

High-level contacts: Nuclear non-proliferation experts had several “very, very high-level” contacts in the last few months with Iranian leaders, said Jeffrey Boutwell, executive director for the US branch of the Pugwash group, an international organisation of scientists which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995.

FULL ARTICLE

U.S. and the Muslim World (Irish Times, IRELAND)

Every new president flatters himself that he, kinder and gentler, is beginning the world anew. Yet, when Barack Obama in his inaugural address reached out to Muslims with “to the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect,” his formulation was needlessly defensive and apologetic.

Is it “new” to acknowledge Muslim interests and show respect to the Muslim world? Obama doesn’t just think so, he said so again to millions in his al-Arabiya interview, insisting on the need to “restore” the “same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago”. Astonishing. In these most recent 20 years – the alleged winter of our disrespect of the Islamic world – America did not just respect Muslims, it bled for them. It engaged in five military campaigns, every one of which involved – and resulted in – the liberation of a Muslim people: Bosnia, Kosovo, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq.

FULL ARTICLE

Beyond Obama's Skin Color (Jakarta Post, INDONESIA)

Many of Americans are not unaware that Barack Obama's mother was a white woman from Kansas. Nor do I think that Americans need a wake up call, with the invasive ring tone "Obama is not black!"

Obama's victory is worthy of being referred to as "historical." Moreover, not only is his achievement novel, it is also significant because of the fact that the United States of America is a country wherein just decades ago, the color of one's skin, determines whether one is inferior/superior to another.

The fact is that skin color is salient, and it used to be of consequence in the history of the United States. So when the day came that I saw a man of a color moving beyond the impasse, proving that humanity can progress, my heart was moved.

And forgive me if I rushed and bought newspapers and magazines the morning after the election to get myself a piece of history. I do not think anyone consciously intends to repeat racial stereotypes by referring to Barack Obama as the first "black" president.

FULL ARTICLE

Obama Magic Unlikely to Work with India (Japan Times, JAPAN)

While the rest of the world swoons over the new U.S. president, India is conspicuous by the discomfort that the new political dispensation is generating in the corridors of power in New Delhi.

After eight great years under George W. Bush, U.S.-India relations may be entering another tumultuous era. Barack Obama, to the extent that his views on issues that impinge on Indian interests are known, is coming to office with a very different set of priorities. Earlier indications of these priorities do not bode well for the future of U.S.-India relations.

Obama took a very tough stand against outsourcing during the campaign and talked of a tax agenda that punishes companies that "ship jobs overseas." Instead, he underscored the need to give tax benefits to companies that invest in the United States itself, those "who will keep jobs at home."

FULL ARTICLE

Talking to Gaza (Haaretz, ISRAEL)

"Hamas is responsible for everything that goes on in the Gaza Strip," Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said. "Hamas is responsible for planning the [recent bombing] attack and perhaps even more," Defense Minister Ehud Barak told us, adding that Hamas is responsible for both harming civilians and for Gilad Shalit's well being.

But Hamas is not only "responsible" - it is playing a central role in the ongoing talks in Egypt to extend the cease-fire and to reopen the border crossings. Hamas will set the conditions for a reconciliation with the Palestinian Authority; Europe is reevaluating its policy toward the group; Turkey believes it should become a political organization that "does not carry weapons," and Hamas is suggesting that U.S. President Barack Obama negotiate with it.

On the face of it, history can now rejoice. It has taught the same lesson to nearly every leader confronting a national movement. The IRA in Ireland was a terrorist group until it became a partner to the peace talks; the United States administration in Iraq struck an alliance with "terrorists" to restore order and even supported incorporating such groups into the new Iraqi army; senior army officers in Afghanistan favor deals with tribal chiefs who once acted as the heads of terrorist groups, because the central government lacks power and authority in the periphery of the country; some Islamic terrorist groups in Egypt were embraced by the regime for seeing the "light," and the PA, Israel's partner in the diplomatic process, was once seen as a terrorist organization that should be contained.

FULL ARTICLE