Choreographed political events rarely provoke serious questions, much less existential ones. After all, a key aim of the choreographers is to skirt debate lest debate reads to the wider public like dissent. In that respect, Britain’s Conservatives can judge their four-day conference in the northern English city of Manchester, which …
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Can a Stronger Chinese Currency Save the U.S. Economy?
Give Charles Schumer credit for persistence. The New York Senator first introduced legislation that targeted Chinese currency in 2003, and has been a leading congressional advocate of the view that China keeps the value of its currency, the renminbi, artificially low, giving its exporters an unfair advantage when competing against …
Is Israel Again Weighing an Attack on Iran’s Nuclear Facilities?
“I think the most effective way to deal with Iran is not on a unilateral basis,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters in Israel on Tuesday, stressing that the Israeli government needed to act in concert and consensus with the international community. Israeli reporters noted his repeated use of the word together when it came …
Why the Pentagon’s Panetta is On a Hiding to Nothing in Israel
Israel is becoming increasingly isolated, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned on Sunday, on the eve of his arrival there for talks with his Israeli counterpart, Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The — perhaps unconscious — subtext of that warning, of course, is that Israel’s isolation in the Middle East accelerates the decline of …
Yemeni Officials: Anwar Al-Awlaki Is Dead
U.S. Officials confirmed that Yemeni government news agency reports that Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical cleric has been killed, along with his bodyguards, in a military strike. He was 40-years-old. The English-speaking al Awlaki who is the best known face of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is a particularly potent …
With Latest Launch, China Plots Course for Space Station
Many countries set off fireworks to mark their national days, but few go as big as China. Sometime between 9:16 p.m. and 9:31 p.m. tonight (Thursday morning U.S. time) the country’s space program will launch Tiangong 1, an unmanned, 8-ton space lab module, into orbit, according to a statement by the China Manned Space Engineering …
Two Steps Back: Saudi Woman Sentenced to 10 Lashes for Driving
Update: Al-Jazeera reports that the Saudi King Abdullah has overturned the lashing verdict.
Just days after King Abdullah granted Saudi women the right to vote and run in municipal elections scheduled for 2015, a court convicted a woman of driving without permission and sentenced her to lashing. It is the harshest sentence yet and …
Love Actually: Labour Hearts Hugh Grant But Feels Little Passion For Its Own Leader
It’s a problem unlikely to trouble U.S. politicians any time soon: there’s so much common ground between Britain’s three largest political parties that they struggle to define themselves against their rivals. Yes, their histories and traditional values are quite different. But since Tony Blair led Labour to the center and …
After a U.N. Moment of Truth, Obama Will Struggle to Restore a Broken Mideast Peace Process
Perhaps nobody told President Barack Obama that last week’s United Nations showdown over Palestinian statehood was the proverbial “Emperor’s New Clothes” moment for his Mideast peace effort. U.S. officials are, this week, once again trying to herd the Palestinians back into the same unconditional talks that President Mahmoud Abbas …
China Strikes Back After Taiwan Weapons Deal
China will likely suspend some military ties with the U.S. following the Obama administration’s approval of a $5.85 billion package of upgrades for Taiwan’s aging fleet of F-16 fighter jets and pilot training, a senior U.S. State Department official said Monday. (A transcript of the official’s briefing was posted on the State …
Back from the UN, Mild-Mannered Abbas Hailed as Man of Steel
The man who lives in Yasser Arafat’s shadow returned from New York to a reception that suggested a measure of newfound respect from a Palestinian public that likes its leaders to show some steel.
Abu Mazen, as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is known here, always had the respect of the population that elected him in …
How Will China React to U.S. Arms Deal with Taiwan?
The U.S. announced Wednesday that it will offer Taiwan a $5.85 billion package of upgrades to its aging fleet of F-16 fighters (pdf) and training for its pilots (pdf). The deal, which falls short of Taiwan’s request for newer F-16 C/D jets, was widely expected as details of the plan leaked out in Washington in recent weeks. Perhaps …
Were Egyptians the Perpetrators of Last Month’s Terror Attack in Southern Israel?
Comes now a report in the Israeli press that purports to solve the mystery stubbornly trailing the unusual Aug. 18 terror attack on a desert highway in the far south of Israel — but the answer suggests even deeper problems for Israel: Though Israel bombed the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the attack that left eight Israelis dead, an …