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.

What Does Europe Think of Ergenekon?

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Europe is correct to be skeptical of Turkey’s European Union accession prospects – but Brussels should be wary not because Turkey is not “part of Europe,” but because its democracy remains fragile and its liberalism incomplete. The most obvious evidence of Turkey’s uneven progress is the ongoing Ergenekon investigation that continues to roil the country….

Afghan Endgame: WNYC’s Brian Lehrer & Steve Clemons

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This is an audio clip of an extensive discussion with Brian Lehrer on WNYC National Public Radio today about Barack Obama’s options in Afghanistan. I am pleased and applaud President Obama for requiring his advisers to come to him with plans including serious “exit strategies.

Interview with former UK Ambassador to US Christopher Meyer on the Afghanistan Debacle and 500 Years of British Foreign Policy Success

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I interviewed former UK Ambassador to the United States Sir Christopher Meyer on his new book Getting Our Way: Five Hundred Years Of International Diplomacy. I have begun the book — and it’s a terrific review of five centuries of the world’s big moments and how competitive statecraft in very difficult circumstances turned out.

State Department “Dismayed” at Israel Actions in East Jerusalem: Mitchell Makes Zero Progress

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This is a priceless exchange between journalist “Matt” and State Department spokesman Ian Kelly. Who is Matt? Terrific job on his part — not so terrific on George Mitchell’s team’s part. . . Daily Press Briefings : Daily Press Briefing – November 17 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:29:30 -0600 http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2009/nov/132024.