POTUS Probs — Hot on the heels of Fareed Zakaria’s TIME cover analysis of the U.S. president’s international agenda, Foreign Policy‘s Rosa Brooks delves into whether there’s an emerging Obama doctrine. The conclusion: “President …
Europe
London’s Russian Tycoon Trial: How Boris Berezovsky Has Already Triumphed
Roman Abramovich recently threw an $8 million New Year’s Eve party. He once dropped $86 million on a Francis Bacon painting. And he owns a $90 million vacation home in St. Bart’s. That’s in addition to his chateau on the …
Sarkozy Considers Withdrawal from Afghanistan After Death of French Soldiers
Is the outraged French response to the shooting death of four of its forces in Afghanistan by a suspected Afghan soldier Friday a sign that Paris may speed the pull out of its troops from the NATO-led operation? Or is the …
Republic of Jamaica: Why Ditching the British Queen Isn’t Enough
Jamaicans don’t have a lot to celebrate as they mark their golden anniversary of independence this year. Their unemployment rate is almost twice that of the Caribbean region as a whole; their government is still reeling from a …
Sarkozy Hopes To Lift Grim Re-Election Odds with Unexpected Reform Drive
For readers following the up-hill re-election efforts ofFrench President Nicolas Sarkozy, I’d like to point out a couple of good pieces on the “social summit” the Elysée is hosting Wednesday in its attempts to push through …
Global Briefing, Jan. 18, 2012; Intervention, Inaction, Independence, Iran — and Iceland’s Funnyman Mayor
“It’s Time to Think Seriously About Intervening in Syria”— CFR fellow Steven A. Cook argues in the Atlantic the West must reconsider the assumption Bashar al-Assad’s regime will fall on its own. Meanwhile, the Guardian‘s Middle …
For Now, the Eurozone and the Markets Pooh-pooh the Downgrades. But the Long-Term Looms
Modestly positive trading on European stock markets Monday morning appeared to confirm what euro zone leaders had predicted for weeks: that the decision Friday by Standard & Poor’s to cut the credit rating of nine European …
As France Gets Downgraded, Sarkozy’s Re-Election Chances Get Slimmer
To get an idea about the state of France’s looming presidential election, think of it as something like the American situation in reverse—especially in the all-important “likeability” factor. In France, the incumbent is …
Did British Spies Collude in the Rendition and Torture of Libyan Rebels?
On Sept. 15, 2011, as Colonel Muammar Gaddafi scurried from one hideout to another, British Prime Minister David Cameron traveled to Benghazi to congratulate rebel leaders on their victory. Aware that the U.K. had supported their …
The New Braveheart? Scotland’s Salmond Eyes Independence from the U.K.
What would independence mean for Scotland? On Jan. 10, the country’s First Minister Alex Salmond pledged that a referendum on Scottish secession from the United Kingdom would take place in 2014. Here’s an expert, Professor Henry …
French Inquiry Clears Rwanda’s Kagame Of the Attack That Sparked a Genocide
Findings revealed on Tuesday from a new French inquiry into events that preceded the 1994 Rwandan genocide reverse the conclusions of a previous investigation that held Tutsi forces and individuals now part of Rwanda’s …
Soccer Legend Eric Cantona’s New Goal? The French Presidency
During his varied and fruitful life, Frenchman Eric Cantona has been a soccer hero, ad man, philosopher, kung-fu enthusiast, actor and musician, living legend, and even a king. Were that not enough, the 45 year-old Cantona is …
Sarkozy’s Tobin Tax Push: Wooing French Voters and Annoying E.U. Leaders
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has a knack of vexing his European partners—and he’s demonstrated that talent again with his pledge to unilaterally impose a so-called “Tobin Tax” on financial market transactions in France if …