My friend and colleague Charlie Kupchan and I agree on much: Europe faces policy challenges, the EU’s constitution and concern with internal democracy don’t help, and a united Europe is performing well on Iran, Turkey and other issues.
Will the real president please stand up? There in our midst was the real president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, who charmed Washington Thursday as she made the rounds in this village.
OK, I can’t resist. Associated Press is reporting that Iraq’s prime minister Nouri al-Maliki has ordered a daytime driving ban in Baghdad and Baquoba provice (where Abu Musab al Zarqawi was killed) to prevent car bomb attacks. The driving ban will be from 11am to 3pm.
In an editorial about the Council of Europe’s report about alleged secret detentions in Europe, the Financial Times wrote on Thursday: “Europe’s foremost guardian of human rights yesterday painted a chilling picture of how more than a dozen European countries became part of a global “spider’s web” spun by the US to kidnap and transport…
Steve probably did not intend for his guest bloggers to transform TWN to a sports weblog. So, I apologize in advance for the following entry related to the Soccer World Cup which started in my home country of Germany yesterday. Please, bear with me if I direct your attention to an important game.
Interesting week so far. Abu Musab al Zarqawi, “the Sheikh of the Slaughterers,” has been slain. Everybody wants a piece of this. The Jordanians are claiming a role. The Americans of course, Iraq’s security forces.
Dr. Mendelson Forman is speaking today at the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area meeting. Here’s an advance look at her speech. The drumbeat of reform at the UN has grown louder each day as the Bush administration continues it ongoing saga of having it both ways.
I first met Steve Clemons in Japan in the early 1990s when industrial policy was the subject du jour for up-and-coming policy wonks like him and sympathetic journalists like myself. How to resuscitate America’s manufacturing base to compete against the Japanese threat, we wondered. Times change.
My essay on privacy: The most common retort against privacy advocates — by those in favor of ID checks, cameras, databases, data mining and other wholesale surveillance measures — is this line: “If you aren’t doing anything wrong, what do you have to hide?” Some clever answers: “If I’m not doing anything wrong, then you…
I agree with Andy that the EU, despite the constitutional crisis, has scored several successes of late. To his list, I would add the EU’s ability to hang together on Iran and take the lead in searching for a diplomatic solution.
