Death to Doha
The Doha round of global trade talks in Geneva collapsed this week. Blame for the failure to agree on the expansion of world trade can be attributed to the big states that want to protect their farmers. The developing countries led by India and China want to have food security, meaning that they need tariffs to protect farmers in their domestic markets. They also want the developed countries led by the United States and the EU to drastically lower their farm subsidies in order to keep farm products from developing countries price competitive. The developed states want lower tariffs in the developing states for their farm and industrial exports, but were willing to make only modest cuts in their farm subsidies to cement the deal. As protectionism flourished after the 1929 stock market crash and the global economic downturn, it now appears the same trend is following suit. It served the international economy badly then, and will do so now. July 31, 2008
Death to Annapolis
No, the city is not suffering a pandemic. It is the plan forged there in November 2007 for progress on Middle East peace that has died. The Palestinians remain in disarray. The Israelis continue their default position of expanding settlements on the West Bank. Sealing the death knell for any peace agreement is the disarray in the Israeli government. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, under a cloud from charges of corruption, has announced his resignation, opening up a power struggle within Kadima and a potential new election where Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu would be favored. Netanyahu is a staunch opponent of peace. July 31, 2008
The Elusive Iraq End Game
July 31, 2008
Nicholas Berry
General David Petraeus could not or would not answer when asked by NPR on July 28, what the end game for victory in Iraq would be. He rambled on about the surge lowering violence, from an average of 55 attacks per day to far fewer. The surge, however, was designed to spur sectarian and ethnic political reconciliation and deals on oil, Kirkuk, and provincial elections. ...more
What Would Nixon Do on Cuba?
July 31, 2008
Patrick Doherty
He would end the embargo.
Writing just before his death in 1994, Nixon called on the U.S. to end the failed policy of regime change. Nixon, the arch-Cold Warrior, knew that with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the withdrawal of its troops from Angola, Cuba posed no threat to the United States....more
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