Monday, April 16, 2012

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 16, 2012

President Barack Obama participates in a video teleconference with President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, in the Situation Room of the White House, April 12, 2012. National Security Advisor Tom Donilon and Liz Sherwood-Randall, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs, are seated with the President. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Events Do Not Wait As Obama Plays A Delay Defense -- Jackson Diehl, Washington Post

Barack Obama’s foreign policy strategy in this election year might be best summed up by William F. Buckley’s famous promise: to “stand athwart history, yelling stop.” Wherever war rages, crisis looms, or a truculent strongman glowers, the message from the White House has been the same: “Give me space.”

Those were the instantly emblematic words captured by a rogue microphone when Obama met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on March 26. They were followed by an assurance that “after my election I have more flexibility.” The next day Obama defensively protested that he was talking about arms control negotiations, and “I don’t think it’s any surprise that you can’t start that a few months before a presidential and congressional elections.”

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Afghanistan: Taliban attacks are major blow to false optimism of Western policy -- David Blair, The Telegraph

US in denial: Watershed in Afghanistan -- Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera

Attacks in Kabul Show Taliban’s Weakness -- Max Boot, Commentary

The UN Is Observing a War Zone, Not a Ceasefire in Syria -- John Hudson, The Atlantic

There are a lot of ways to be disqualified from running for president in Egypt -- Joshua Keating, Foreign Policy

Egypt, a state of confusion -- L.A. Times editorial

Why North Korea’s Rocket Mattered -- Sung-Yoon Lee, New York Times

Beyond the scandal lies a crisis at the heart of China's legitimacy -- Will Hutton, The Guardian

Iran’s nuke ‘victory’: Claims US OK on enrichment -- Amir Taheri, New York Post

A lean to the far right in Greece? -- Allison Good, Foreign Policy

Analysis: Protectionism was a major concern at Americas summit -- Andres Oppenheimer, McClatchy Newspapers

Cracking the Mexican Cartels -- Robert C. Bonner, New York Times

Is Hillary Clinton becoming an embarrassment as Secretary of State? -- Nile Gardiner, The Telegraph

The Real Reason for the Tragedy of the Titanic -- Chris Berg, Wall Street Journal

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