Having a Democrat President may not do much for key foreign policy issues
Recently, when VP Cheney was asked by ABC News correspondent
Martha Raddatz about polls showing that an overwhelming majority of US citizens oppose the war in Iraq, he replied, “So?” “So – you don’t care what the American people think?” Raddatz asked. “No,” Cheney replied, and explained, “I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in public opinion polls.” Later, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, explaining Cheney’s comments, was asked whether the public should have “input.” Her reply: “You had your input. The American people have input every four years, and that’s the way our system is set up.” That’s correct. Every four years, the Americans can choose between candidates whose views they reject, and then they should shut up.
With its unbounded disregard for public opinion, the Bush administration has been far to the radical nationalist and adventurist extreme of the policy spectrum, and was subjected to unprecedented mainstream criticism for that reason. A Democratic candidate is likely to shift more toward the centrist norm. However, the spectrum is narrow. Looking at the records and statements of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, it is hard to see much reason to expect significant changes in policy.
It is important to bear in mind that neither Democratic candidate has expressed a principled objection to the invasion of Iraq. By that I mean the kind of objection that was universally expressed when the Russians invaded Afghanistan or when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait: condemnation on the grounds that aggression is a crime – in fact the “supreme international crime,” as the Nuremberg Tribunal determined. No one criticized those invasions merely as a “strategic blunder” or as involvement in “another country’s civil war, a war (they) can’t win” (Obama, Clinton, respectively, on the Iraq invasion). The criticism of the Iraq war is on grounds of cost and failure; what are called “pragmatic reasons,” considered hardheaded, serious, moderate – in the case of Western crimes.
In brief, the Republican proposal is that Iraq is to remain a client state, agreeing to allow permanent US military installations and ensuring US investors priority in accessing its huge oil resources – a reasonably clear statement of goals of the invasion.
What are the alternatives of the Democrats? Gen. Kevin Ryan (retd.), senior fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center of International Affairs, analysed their proposals for The Boston Globe. The proposals permit the President to waive their restrictions in the interests of “national security,” which leaves the door wide open, Ryan writes. They permit troops to remain in Iraq “as long as they are performing one of three specific missions: protecting US facilities, citizens or forces; combating al-Qaida or international terrorists; and training Iraqi security forces.”
With regard to Iran, Obama is considered more moderate than Clinton, and his leading slogan is “change.” So let us keep to him. Obama calls for more willingness to negotiate with Iran, but within the standard constraints. His reported position is that he “would offer economic inducements and a possible promise not to seek ‘regime change’ if Iran stopped meddling in Iraq and cooperated on terrorism and nuclear issues,” and stopped “acting irresponsibly” by supporting Shiite militant groups in Iraq. Like all other viable candidates, Obama has insisted throughout the electoral campaign that the US must threaten Iran with attack (the standard phrase is: “keep all options open”), a violation of the UN Charter, if anyone cares. But a large majority of Americans have disagreed: 75% favor building better relations with Iran...”, according to PIPA.
Circumstances may change, and perhaps the candidates with them, to the benefit of US and the region. Public opinion may not remain easily ignored. The concentrations of domestic economic power that largely shapes policy may come to recognize that their interests are better served by joining the general public, and the rest of the world, than by accepting Washington’s hard line.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
Recently, when VP Cheney was asked by ABC News correspondent
Martha Raddatz about polls showing that an overwhelming majority of US citizens oppose the war in Iraq, he replied, “So?” “So – you don’t care what the American people think?” Raddatz asked. “No,” Cheney replied, and explained, “I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in public opinion polls.” Later, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, explaining Cheney’s comments, was asked whether the public should have “input.” Her reply: “You had your input. The American people have input every four years, and that’s the way our system is set up.” That’s correct. Every four years, the Americans can choose between candidates whose views they reject, and then they should shut up.With its unbounded disregard for public opinion, the Bush administration has been far to the radical nationalist and adventurist extreme of the policy spectrum, and was subjected to unprecedented mainstream criticism for that reason. A Democratic candidate is likely to shift more toward the centrist norm. However, the spectrum is narrow. Looking at the records and statements of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, it is hard to see much reason to expect significant changes in policy.
It is important to bear in mind that neither Democratic candidate has expressed a principled objection to the invasion of Iraq. By that I mean the kind of objection that was universally expressed when the Russians invaded Afghanistan or when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait: condemnation on the grounds that aggression is a crime – in fact the “supreme international crime,” as the Nuremberg Tribunal determined. No one criticized those invasions merely as a “strategic blunder” or as involvement in “another country’s civil war, a war (they) can’t win” (Obama, Clinton, respectively, on the Iraq invasion). The criticism of the Iraq war is on grounds of cost and failure; what are called “pragmatic reasons,” considered hardheaded, serious, moderate – in the case of Western crimes.
In brief, the Republican proposal is that Iraq is to remain a client state, agreeing to allow permanent US military installations and ensuring US investors priority in accessing its huge oil resources – a reasonably clear statement of goals of the invasion.
What are the alternatives of the Democrats? Gen. Kevin Ryan (retd.), senior fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center of International Affairs, analysed their proposals for The Boston Globe. The proposals permit the President to waive their restrictions in the interests of “national security,” which leaves the door wide open, Ryan writes. They permit troops to remain in Iraq “as long as they are performing one of three specific missions: protecting US facilities, citizens or forces; combating al-Qaida or international terrorists; and training Iraqi security forces.”
With regard to Iran, Obama is considered more moderate than Clinton, and his leading slogan is “change.” So let us keep to him. Obama calls for more willingness to negotiate with Iran, but within the standard constraints. His reported position is that he “would offer economic inducements and a possible promise not to seek ‘regime change’ if Iran stopped meddling in Iraq and cooperated on terrorism and nuclear issues,” and stopped “acting irresponsibly” by supporting Shiite militant groups in Iraq. Like all other viable candidates, Obama has insisted throughout the electoral campaign that the US must threaten Iran with attack (the standard phrase is: “keep all options open”), a violation of the UN Charter, if anyone cares. But a large majority of Americans have disagreed: 75% favor building better relations with Iran...”, according to PIPA.
Circumstances may change, and perhaps the candidates with them, to the benefit of US and the region. Public opinion may not remain easily ignored. The concentrations of domestic economic power that largely shapes policy may come to recognize that their interests are better served by joining the general public, and the rest of the world, than by accepting Washington’s hard line.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
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latest at PepsiCo. This $115.6 billion giant (nyse), which today commands an incredible global market share of 31.1% (as per Beverage digest) has fallen in love with a healthy, juice producing Russian company, christened ‘JSC Lebedyansky’ (world’s sixth-largest juice manufacturer). The marriage dowry however is ‘beyond’ fair at $1.4 billion for a 75.53% stake in Lebedyansky.
it had to go the right way… the fact that sports is getting privatised and the most popular sport – cricket is getting privatised; it’s a whole new sense of opportunity for not just us but for every sportsperson who’s interested in the game. Also, India has a population of one billion and only one cricket team till now. There are so many talented cricketers, and young talent that needs to be discovered.
the glamour brigade – the movers and shakers from Mumbai’s suburbia, who were seen shopping aggressively for players to brighten their bouquets. In fact, superstar Shahrukh Khan, co-owner of the Calcutta franchise, even appointed music duo Vishal and Shekhar to come up with an uplifting anthem for his team. “There’s a lot of glamour in there, along with business acumen,” said Tim Wright, Senior Vice President at IMG, the group that manages IPL. “The franchises have undertaken consultation services from across the world, and there is a sound strategy behind the bidding so that they can zero in on the players of their choice.”
experts, associated with the CIA of America tried their level best to assassinate the man. Well, before the fanatic Christian evangelist Pat Robertson asked for the head of Hugo Chavez (for his effrontery in declaring Uncle Sam as the public enemy No. 1 of Venezuela), Americans wanted this man, dead. He is none other than Dr. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, the scarlet pimpernel of the Red Revolution, who has defied mighty America for over five decades. Castro is intimately linked with the mystique of the poster boy of revolution-Che Guevara. Hounded by ill health, Castro has finally announced his retirement.
performance based budgeting. It is a unique and most advanced way of budgeting, in which the ultimate goal of policy makers becomes a set of performance factors – and developing strategies to achieve them. There are three pillars of this form of budgeting, which are often called 3E! Economy: focusing on cost of inputs with appropriate quality and quantity of financial, human resources. Efficiency: evaluating the relation between output and input. Effectiveness: what is the extent to which goals have been achieved. The speciality of performance budgeting is that it sets up targets to be achieved, comparing the country with the international arena using a few key performance indicators (KPIs) to relate performance with available resources; added to this is the performance scorecard approach, where KPIs are examined and the connections between causes and effects are established.
The answer appears to be straightforward No. Last week HDFC – India’s largest mortgager, decided to cut lending rates citing ‘improved operational efficiency and good quality portfolio’ as the main reason; by the way, just for your knowledge, this was the first rate cut since 2003!
the fag end of 2007 are beginning to spread, engulfing developed & developing economies across the globe. The all pervasive dollar decline coupled with food shortages across the globe are the chief causes of concern in the recently released Global Risk Report 2008, released ahead of the ongoing World Economic Form summit. “The discussions in Davos will certainly be dominated by the economic challenges we have at the moment,” says Klaus Schwab, the founder of the Davos forum.
blames this sudden Sensex fall on the imminent American recession? Yes, the news about the US slowdown had been filtering in since the past one year. But that was only a ‘slowdown’. Factually speaking, it was only on January 9, 2008, when for the first time ever in recent past, a most reputed securities firm [Goldman Sachs (GS)] shouted across fears of a possible ‘recession’ in the US. Goldman Sachs, in a research note, gave the massively unnerving statement that the US economy may already be in a recession, or will fall into one within three months. “The unemployment rate has now risen by more than 1/3 percentage points from the cycle trough. Historically, this has invariably been associated with recession, typically starting immediately and almost always within three months,” said Jan Hatzius, Goldman Sachs’s chief economist for America. This ‘recession’ call is now being mirrored by various other investment bankers as well (Lehman Bros., Morgan Stanley et al).
million American adults keeping warm this winter will mean borrowing money and 20 million will use credit cards to be able to afford their heating bills. Nearly 12% of Americans say they will need to borrow money to pay winter heating bills; 9% will need credit cards to afford their heating bills.