US foreign policy

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Wife to US: Stand Up to China and Free My Husband

Human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng held incommunicado for a year

(Newser) - Geng He can’t do anything for her human rights lawyer husband, who she says was "kidnapped" by the Chinese government a year ago today and is being held somewhere incommunicado. But the United States can, and must. “China will listen to the United States,” she writes....

Chinese: Google Flap Is a US Conspiracy

But government tries to tamp down drama

(Newser) - Google is a puppet of US foreign policy, Chinese state-owned media are reporting, calling the company's threat to pull out of China unless censorship is dropped a conspiracy by the US government to interfere in Chinese politics. One paper quotes a political scientist saying, "the Google incident is not...

Military Stymies Obama Nuke Reduction Plan

Catches lurk everywhere, from stockpile to strategy

(Newser) - A truculent military and national security apparatus has bogged down President Obama’s push to reconsider the size and mission of the US nuclear arsenal, just as it did during the Clinton administration. Insiders tell the Los Angeles Times that there are multiple areas of concern, including how much of...

Obama's Overseas To-Do List for 2010
 Obama's Overseas 
 To-Do List for 2010 
ANALYSIS

Obama's Overseas To-Do List for 2010

Afghanistan, Iran top list that domestic politics could kill anyway

(Newser) - As President Obama noted in his Nobel speech, it’s a scary world out there, and Kevin Whitelaw takes a look at some of the things on his foreign-policy to-do list in 2010:
  • Pacify Afghanistan to some extent: Now that it’s “undeniably Obama’s war,” Whitelaw writes
...

Obama to Give Afghan Speech at West Point

Tuesday troop surge announcement comes as approval falters

(Newser) - President Obama will announce his decision to send 20,000 to 40,000 more troops to fight in Afghanistan in a speech to West Point cadets next Tuesday at 8pm. His remarks will outline a surge, but administration officials say the president is not making a case for an open-ended...

9/11 Defendants to Explain Why They Did It

Men plan to air their grievances against US

(Newser) - The five men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks will plead not guilty, but only so they have an opportunity to air their grievances against the US. The accused freely admit organizing the devastating terrorist attack, but wish to “explain what happened and why they did it," said...

B+ for Obama Foreign Policy, F for Not Owning It
B+ for Obama Foreign Policy, F for Not Owning It
JUAN COLE

B+ for Obama Foreign Policy, F for Not Owning It

New prez is doing fine in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, but no one notices

(Newser) - Despite the howls of protest over President Obama's Nobel Prize and the administration’s "dithering" on Afghanistan, the fact is that the new president’s foreign endeavors deserve good marks, says Juan Cole. Cole gives Obama an A for his Iranian statesmanship, a B for pulling out of Iraq...

Shame on Obama for Skipping Berlin Festivities

(Newser) - Skipping the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall is a bad choice by President Obama, Rick Richman writes, for several reasons:
  • It’s a snub of a personal invitation from German Chancellor Angela Merkel—a key ally and one going all out for the festivities.
  • It’s
...

I'm Not Marginalized, I Delegate: Clinton

Obama's Peace Prize is deserved, but won't sway war policy, she says

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton would rather you view her apparent absence from big foreign policy issues like Iran and Afghanistan as an example of “delegating power” and not marginalization. Ann Curry used a variant of that word in an interview on MSNBC, which Clinton finds "absurd." “I would...

Obama Approval Down to 50%
 Obama Approval Down to 50% 

Obama Approval Down to 50%

Only 38% approve of his handling of health care, a Quinnipiac poll shows

(Newser) - President Obama’s approval rating took another dip this week, as health care reform and the deficit continue to trouble some Americans, Bloomberg reports. Exactly half the registered voters surveyed said they approve of the job Obama is doing, according to a Quinnipiac poll released today. That's down from an...

'Strategic Patience' Will Neuter Al Qaeda
 'Strategic Patience' 
 Will Neuter Al Qaeda 
ANALYSIS

'Strategic Patience' Will Neuter Al Qaeda

(Newser) - Al Qaeda is weak militarily and “has been rejected by a great majority of Muslims,” Steve Coll writes in the New Yorker, but the terrorist organization and its affiliates can still create a “shock” like today's bombings in Jakarta. Despite the group's apparent inability to pull off...

Loyal but Tough, Clinton Returns to Fore
Loyal but
Tough, Clinton Returns to Fore
ANALYSIS

Loyal but Tough, Clinton Returns to Fore

Facing do-everything White House, Hillary reasserts herself

(Newser) - Yesterday Hillary Clinton delivered an ambitious, muscular speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, in which she warned Iran of further sanctions while defending Barack Obama's policy of multifront diplomacy with rogue states. After months in the shadows, writes New York Times reporter Mark Landler, the secretary of State wanted...

Obama's 5-Step Foreign Policy Plan
 Obama's 5-Step 
 Foreign Policy Plan 
ANALYSIS

Obama's 5-Step Foreign Policy Plan

(Newser) - President Obama is several months into a second campaign: a bid to win the world’s approval. But what shapes his foreign policy? Michael Scherer outlines five key parts for Time:
  • Pull from personal history: Obama has been pushing stories of his Indonesian childhood and Kenyan grandfather while overseas, and
...

They May Love Obama, But Still Don't Like US

(Newser) - President Obama is viewed favorably around the world, but his popularity hasn't worked any magic on the image of the US, Tom Schaller writes on FiveThirtyEight. A new poll of people in 20 countries finds the average global opinion of the role the US plays in the world is 41%...

Obama's Honduras Response Defuses Ch&aacute;vez Bluster
Obama's Honduras Response Defuses Chávez Bluster
ANALYSIS

Obama's Honduras Response Defuses Chávez Bluster

Condemnation of Honduran coup parries accusations of US complicity

(Newser) - President Obama confounded Hugo Chávez’s attempts to implicate Washington in the Honduran coup by calling for President Manuel Zelaya’s reinstatement, Simon Romero writes for the New York Times. When the coup was announced, Chávez immediately suggested that the US was financing Zelaya’s opponents or, as...

Honduran Coup an Opportunity for Obama
Honduran Coup an Opportunity for Obama
ANALYSIS

Honduran Coup an Opportunity for Obama

President should demonstrate US commitment to democracy: expert

(Newser) - The Honduran military coup overthrowing President Manuel Zelaya offers the Obama administration a chance to rehabilitate the battered reputation of the US in Latin America, Reuters reports. "This is a golden opportunity to make a clear break with the past and show that he is unequivocally siding with democracy”...

Obama's Wrong: He Must Take Sides in Iran
Obama's Wrong:
He Must Take Sides in Iran
OPINION

Obama's Wrong: He Must Take Sides in Iran

He's deserting the brave revolutionaries: Krauthammer

(Newser) - Electoral fraud fueled the protests in Iran, but now there is a full-fledged revolution brewing—and according to Charles Krauthammer, the demonstrators are desperate for just one signal that the US supports them. Instead, President Obama has pledged "dialogue" with a "clerical dictator" and left the green revolutionaries...

Obama's Right: Pragmatism Is Only Way
Obama's Right:
Pragmatism
Is Only Way
OPINION

Obama's Right: Pragmatism Is Only Way

It may anger neocons, but he should keep his hands clean: Stephens

(Newser) - Barack Obama and his team clearly want to support the Iranian opposition, writes Philip Stephens, and Republicans such as John McCain have hammered the president for not condemning an election viewed as a sham. But for the Financial Times columnist, Obama is striking a shrewd balance between idealism and real-world...

Pakistan: 1000 Taliban Dead in Swat Offensive

Move could signal a shift to bloody urban battles

(Newser) - Pakistani security forces fought Taliban militants in the northwest's Swat Valley and entered two Taliban-held towns there, the army said today, foreshadowing what could become bloody urban battles. A top government official said the offensive had already killed more than 1000 Taliban fighters, while a group of pro-government religious leaders...

Obama Hates America: Santorum
Obama Hates America: Santorum
OPINION

Obama Hates America: Santorum

Ex-senator blasts president for State Dept. nomination

(Newser) - President Obama doesn’t respect American values—he made that clear when he apologized for the “arrogance” of the Bush years in France last week, former US senator Rick Santorum writes for the Philadelphia Inquirer. But the president has outdone himself by nominating Harold Koh to be the top...

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