August 2011
11 posts
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America's Coming Retrenchment
How Budget Cuts Will Limit the United States’ Global Role
The recent deal over the debt ceiling guarantees that the U.S. government will reduce its spending on foreign policy, which will force America to scale down its ambitions abroad, says Michael Mandelbaum.
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Bearing the Cost of War
Why the U.S. Should Raise Taxes—Just As it Has in Previous Conflicts
Most Americans have made no sacrifices at all for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The burden should be shared. It’s long past time for Congress to enact a wartime tax, something it’s done in almost every war in the past, says James Wright. Read more here.
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Back to School: Arne Duncan
Enhancing U.S. Education and Competitiveness
U.S. students now compete throughout their careers with their peers in other countries. But thinking of the future as a contest among countries vying to get larger pieces of a finite economic pie is a recipe for protectionism and global strife. Instead, Americans must realize that expanding educational attainment everywhere is the best way to grow the...
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Tent Revolt in Tel Aviv
Will the Protests in Israel Bring Down Netanyahu?
Israel is experiencing its most powerful social unrest in decades. Protesters feel that they are working harder, earning less, and paying more. Should the government fail to meet their demands, Israelis may move their protest from the streets to the ballot box. Nadav Eyal, senior columnist for Ma’ariv Daily, explains.
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Turkey's General Dilemma
Democracy and the Reverse Coup
Turkey is not yet a liberal democracy but it is moving in the right direction. Those who lament the military chief of staff’s recent resignation, arguing that the armed forces were an essential check on civilian politics, should understand that Turkey is now becoming a normal democracy, where elected officials will matter more than the military. Read more...
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The Truth About al Qaeda
Bin Laden’s Files Revealed the Terrorists in Dramatic Decline
New information discovered in Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan suggests that the United States has been vastly overstating al Qaeda’s power for a full decade. The group appears to have spent more time dodging drone strikes and complaining about money than trying to get an atomic bomb. Read more here.
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Mubarak's Trial and Errors
Transitional Justice in the New Egypt
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is expected to go on trial tomorrow for corruption and for ordering police to shoot unarmed protestors in January. By pushing the case forward, Egypt’s interim government hopes to distance itself from the former regime and to boost its own legitimacy. But with convictions far from assured, it might have promised...
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It's Hard to Say Goodbye to Iraq
Why the United States Should Withdraw this December
The White House has been pressuring Maliki to invite U.S. troops to stay in Iraq after the upcoming deadline for withdrawal. It should stop. There are no good reasons for the military to stay. Read more here.
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Partners in Help
Assisting the Poor Over the Long Term
Paul Farmer, chairman of Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, and a Founding Director of Partners In Health, reflects on aid, his theory of accompaniment, and Haiti after the earthquake.
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Istanbul on the Nile
Why the Turkish Model of Military Rule Is Wrong for Egypt
Many Egyptian military officers and some civilian politicians are interested in replicating the so-called Turkish model for Egypt, in which the military would play a leading role in guiding society and politics. Council on Foreign Relations expert Steven A. Cook explains why such a strategy is a poor fit for the country.
