Manhattan Subway Deal Goes to China State Firm: Giving it All Up To China Makes No Sense

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I am one who favors a constructive partnership with China in solving many of the tough global challenges out there — and believe that Zachary Karabell is right that the two economies’ fortunes are fused together for some time, and policy makers need to get their heads around what that means.

Who is Hot and Who was Blocked (or Forgotten) at First White House State Dinner

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The White House just released the list of those attending the State Dinner honoring India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Cool list actually. But not just because it’s India night — but because there are a lot of folks that could push other agendas in Obama Land.

Guest Post by Faith Smith: On the 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index

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The 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released last week rates Somalia as the World’s most corrupt country and New Zealand the least. The CPI is a project of Transparency International, a global non-profit, that analyzes business and expert surveys to measure “the perceived level of public-sector corruption in 180 countries and territories around the world.

Pricing Out an Afghan Surge: $65 Bill Could Go to $105 Billion per Year

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The Pentagon, which favors a surge in US troops to Afghanistan knows how defense bidding goes. They’ve seen enough of it from the large defense contractors to know that you bid low and reconcile at a multiple of two or three times higher than the contract later.

Guest Post by Patrick Doherty: Obama Signals, Berman Leads, Pelosi Protects

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(Photo credit: The White House) Patrick Doherty directs the New America Foundation/U.S.-Cuba 21st Century Policy Initiative. Yesterday, three significant statements were made regarding the United States’ policy towards Cuba. President Barack Obama, responding to dissident Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez, signaled to Congress and Havana his willingness to break the stalemate on Cuba policy.

JFK Remembered: What Kennedy Would Approve of and Be Disappointed By in the Time of Obama

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This is a guest note by Ted Sorensen, whose most recent book is Counseler: A Life at the Edge of History. Sorensen, former special counsel and adviser to President John F. Kennedy, is a widely published author on the presidency and foreign affairs.

Who Will deliver the Palestinian State?

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The is a guest note by Fadi Elsalameen, publisher of the Palestine Note. For the past several years Palestine Prime Minister Salam Fayyad‘s name on the streets of the West Bank and Gaza has become synonymous with the words credibility, honesty, and transparency.