Tag: diplomacy

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Eyes on the U.S. Geopolitics

From Hiroshima To Iraq, America’s Long History Of Not Apologizing

From Hiroshima To Iraq, America's Long History Of Not Apologizing
Pete Souza/White House/ZUMA

This week, President Obama will become the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, the Japanese city that the United States nearly destroyed with a nuclear bomb in 1945. While the bombing is estimated to have killed as many as 150,000 people, Obama is not expected to apologize during his visit. It’s reasonable to ask, after more than 70 years, why not apologize for Hiroshima? One well-worn argument is that the bombing of the city (and the atomic bombing of Nagasaki that followed) was morally justifiable as it was the quickest way to end World War II — a conflict […]

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Eyes on the U.S. Geopolitics Ideas

For Latin America, Obama Will Leave A Major Legacy

Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro
Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro Pete Souza/Planet Pix via ZUMA

Barack Obama’s recent trip to Cuba and Argentina are the crowning achievement on his administration’s efforts to consolidate peaceful ties with and among Latin American countries.

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Geopolitics

Unsealed In Blood: Why China Is Finally Fed Up With North Korea

North Korean soldier near the border with China
North Korean soldier near the border with China Roman Harak

-Analysis- BEIJING — China has always been clear about its “firm opposition” to North Korea“s development of a nuclear weapons program. But as the international community’s negotiation over the issue has stalled, Pyongyang continues to develop its nuclear technology. It is a provocation that leaves China little room for diplomatic maneuver. China has carried out […]

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blog

Syrian Chaos, Nikkei Soars, John Paul II’s Special Friend

Syrian Chaos, Nikkei Soars, John Paul II's Special Friend

PRE-CEASEFIRE, SYRIA FIGHTING ESCALATES Fighting has intensified in Syria just days after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov announced that an agreed ceasefire would begin by the end of this week. According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an airstrike on a Doctors Without Borders hospital 70 […]

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blog

Vatican Newspaper On Rouhani Meeting With Pope Francis

L’Osservatore Romano, Jan. 27, 2016 The meeting of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani with Pope Francis was featured on Wednesday’s Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, with the front-page headline: “A Political Solution For The Middle East.” At the 40-minute meeting at the Vatican, the first visit between a pope and Iranian president since 1999, Francis and Rouhani […]

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blog

Foreign Ministry To Japanese Diplomats: Improve Your English

Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rs1421

TOKYO — Japan isn’t accustomed to underachievement, in government or anywhere else. So it’s significant that the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is worried about the abilities of its diplomats to negotiate in English at a level comparable to counterparts from other parts of the world. To remedy the problem, the ministry has decided to […]

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Geopolitics Ideas

Signs That Iran Wants To Ease Tensions With Saudi Arabia

At a Jan.4 demonstration against Saudi Arabia in Tehran
At a Jan.4 demonstration against Saudi Arabia in Tehran Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua/ZUMA

The news continues to be troubling for Tehran: Several more Arab states have followed Saudi Arabia to cut or curb ties with Iran in the wake of a showdown over Riyadh’s execution of a Shia leader. And yet, Iran’s reformist leaders and most of the country’s media are remaining notably calm. In the immediate aftermath […]

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Saudi-Iran Fissure, China’s Stock Plunge, Star Wars In Ice

Saudi-Iran Fissure, China's Stock Plunge, Star Wars In Ice

SAUDI ARABIA CUTS DIPLOMACY WITH IRAN In a development that global leaders warn is particularly troublesome for the future of the Mideast, Saudi Arabia has cut diplomatic ties with Iran after its embassy in Tehran was attacked yesterday by Iranian protesters upset by the Saudi execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Iran is accusing […]

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New VW Scandal, Mother Teresa Miracle, Skype-Diving

New VW Scandal, Mother Teresa Miracle, Skype-Diving

ISIS STRIKES BACK, BUT FAILS More than 300 ISIS fighters launched a vast attack against Kurdish forces in several locations near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, but their assault was repelled by the Kurdish fighters backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, The Washington Post reports. At least 180 jihadist fighters are reported to have been killed […]

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Geopolitics

Turkey-Russia Feud Reignites Armenian Question

In the mountains of Nagorno-Karabakh
In the mountains of Nagorno-Karabakh Sisse Skipper Andersen via Instagram

Since Turkey shot down a Russian military jet, discord between the two sides has escalated. The upshot could be unfreezing a war between Azerbaijan and an Armenian minority who have occupied its territories.

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blog

Turkish Daily Warns Of ‘Unprecedented Crisis’ With Russia

“An unprecedented crisis,” warns Turkish daily Hürriyet on the front page of its Wednesday edition, a day after two Turkish jets shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border. Although the downing of the plane sparked fears of increased tension between the two nations, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised speech, […]

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Ideas Syria Crisis

On Syria, The West Must Now Make A Deal With Russia And Iran

Assad and Putin at the Kremlin in October.
Assad and Putin at the Kremlin in October. The Kremlin

-OpEd- PARIS — A majority of historians describe the Spanish Civil War, fought from 1936 to 1939, as a dress rehearsal for what came next, World War II. Will historians of the future be saying the same about the Syrian civil war? All you need to do is replace Nazi Germany and the Italian fascists […]

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Geopolitics Ideas

China-U.S. v China-UK: Two Very Different Kinds Of Diplomacy

Barack Obama, David Cameron and Xi Jinping at the 70th annual UN General Assembly on Sept. 28
Barack Obama, David Cameron and Xi Jinping at the 70th annual UN General Assembly on Sept. 28 Chip Somodevilla/CNP/ZUMA

BEIJING — Over the past month President Xi Jinping made a state visit to the United States and to the United Kingdom. In the U.S. he was welcomed with a 21-gun salute on the south lawn of the White House followed by a state banquet. In Britain he was greeted by the Queen, and rode […]

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blog

Citing Wine, Rouhani Snubs French Presidential Dinner

Citing Wine, Rouhani Snubs French Presidential Dinner

PARIS — Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has refused a dinner invitation at the French presidential palace with his counterpart François Hollande, because wine was on the menu, French broadcaster RTL reports. A formal dinner was planned at the Elysée to mark the end of Rouhani’s November 16-17 visit to Paris, as part of the first […]

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Burmese Political Turmoil, Rouhani’s French Snub, Crocodile Guards

Burmese Political Turmoil, Rouhani's French Snub, Crocodile Guards

MYANMAR ACCUSED OF DELAYING RESULTS The National League for Democracy (NLD), the Burmese opposition party headed for a sweeping victory after Sunday’s general elections, has accused the government of Myanmar of deliberately delaying release of the results, The Irrawaddy reports. The NLD is expected to win at least 75% of contested seats, according to party […]

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Geopolitics Ideas

Ma-Xi Summit: Why China And Taiwan Leaders Are Meeting Now

Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou and China's Xi Jinping to meet at last
Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou and China's Xi Jinping to meet at last Dragonslayer3123/Cancilleria Ecuador/Worldcrunch montage

BEIJING — The setting is Singapore, where the two sides had a semi-official contact in 1992, giving the news a pleasant whiff of nostalgia. The summit on Saturday between Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan and Xi Jinping of China is historic indeed: It is the first meeting between leaders of both sides of the Taiwan Strait […]

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Geopolitics Ideas

In Cozying Up To China, South Korea Could Threaten U.S. Alliance

Park Geun-hye and Barack Obama in Washington, DC, on Oct. 16
Park Geun-hye and Barack Obama in Washington, DC, on Oct. 16 Yin Bogu/Xinhua/ZUMA

-Editorial- TOKYO — Both to deter North Korea’s military provocations and to ensure regional stability in Asia, it’s vital that the United States and South Korea maintain their solid alliance. South Korea should be mindful not to get too close to China, or risk weakening its collaboration with the United States. U.S. President Barack Obama […]

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Geopolitics

Greece, Iran And The Formula For Successful Negotiation

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif after a meeting on Iran's nuclear program
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif after a meeting on Iran's nuclear program State Department/ZUMA

With the recent Iran and Greece agreements, diplomacy has regained its prior glory. Three former diplomats say negotiation is all about balancing tenacity and flexibility.

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Geopolitics

Putin Playing Nice – Will The World Believe Him?

Putin Playing Nice - Will The World Believe Him?

Putin Playing Nice, The World Tour by Worldcrunch

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Geopolitics Ideas

Never Again, Never Criticize: Why Germany-Israel Relationship Is In Peril

Merkel and Netanyahu have maintained good relations.
Merkel and Netanyahu have maintained good relations. Saeed Qaq/APA Images/ZUMA

Jerusalem and Berlin have strong ties in no small part because German officials virtually never criticize Israel. But that may be the seed of creeping estrangement.

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blog

Extra! Is That Iran’s Evil Eye?

Courrier International, April 9, 2015 “Should we be afraid of Iran?” asks Courrier International on its cover, featuring a cartoon of an Iranian cleric with an atomic symbol as an eyeball. With or without a nuclear deal, fears of Iran’s expansionism are sending shivers down the Middle East’s spine, according to a series of articles […]

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Eyes on the U.S. Geopolitics Ideas

The U.S. Gets It Wrong Again With Venezuela Sanctions

March 15 demonstration against U.S. sanctions in Caracas
March 15 demonstration against U.S. sanctions in Caracas [E]Avn/Xinhua/ZUMA

The White House move to impose sanctions on Venezuela was a badly timed swipe against the authoritarian government that may have imploded on its own. Instead, the U.S. gave it new life.

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Geopolitics Ideas

Iran Deal: Obama’s Smart Bet To Break The Status Quo

U.S. President Barack Obama on April 2
U.S. President Barack Obama on April 2 Olivier Douliery/CNP/ZUMA

-Editorial- PARIS — The deal reached in Lausanne on Iran’s nuclear program is a historic breakthrough. Or at least it will be if it leads to a “final” agreement by the June 30 deadline, which is by no means certain. For the first time in 12 years, when the West’s talks with Tehran began, the […]

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blog

Extra! Germany And Greece Try To ‘Melt The Ice’

I Kathimerini, March 24, 2015 Alexis Tsipras and Angela Merkel look like they were having a hard time understanding each other on Tuesday’s front page of Greek daily I Kathimerini. The German chancellor was welcoming the Greek prime minister in Berlin — his first visit to Germany since taking office in January — as Tsipras […]

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Eyes on the U.S. Geopolitics Ideas

With Venezuela, Washington Is Back To Old Tricks In Latin America

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro U.S. President Barack Obama in 2012
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro U.S. President Barack Obama in 2012 Carlos Ortega/CEET/ZUMA

Obama’s executive order slapping sanctions on Venezuelan officials is ostensibly in defense of liberty. But it could just as well be another of a long line of aggressive American interventions.

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Geopolitics Ideas

Why The Egypt-Russian Alliance Is Mere Symbolism

Russia's Vladimir Putin and Egypt's Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on Feb. 10
Russia's Vladimir Putin and Egypt's Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on Feb. 10 Pan Chaoyue/Xinhua/ZUMA

CAIRO — Much has been made about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Cairo. There has been speculation since the 2013 coup that Egypt’s ruler Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been contemplating a shift in alliances toward Russia. This has been in response to the popular belief in Egypt, propagated by the regime and its media […]

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Ideas Ukraine Winter

War Or Peace In Ukraine? It’s All About Europe

A deep chill in Kiev
A deep chill in Kiev Igor Golovniov/ZUMA

The risk is real of armed conflict between the West and Moscow on European soil. Searching for a way out means learning the lessons of Finland, and counting on leadership from France.

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Society

Cristina Kirchner’s 11 Worst Gaffes Ever

Cristina Kirchner's 11 Worst Gaffes Ever

Argentine President and faux pas expert Cristina Kirchner graced us with yet another verbal woopsie Wednesday, when she tweeted, while on a state visit to China seeking investment: Más de 1.000 asistentes al evento… ¿Serán todos de “La Cámpola” y vinieron sólo por el aloz y el petlóleo? … — Cristina Kirchner (@CFKArgentina) February 4, […]

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Extra! China’s People’s Daily Ignores Kirchner Twitter Insult

Argentinian President Cristina Kirchner came under intense criticism after she mocked Chinese pronunciation on Twitter while on a state visit to China seeking investment. But there was no mention of the diplomatic faux pas in the Thursday edition of Chinese newspaper People’s Daily, which instead chose to feature a picture of a friendly, if slightly […]

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Ideas Terror in Europe

Orientalism Revisited, Warped Views Of East And West Sow Conflict

In the Coptic quarter of Cairo
In the Coptic quarter of Cairo Kyle Taylor

The discourse of East and West, and specifically Islamic East and Christian West, is flawed and implicitly destined for conflict. A view from Latin America as Paris burns.

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blog

Why Did Argentina’s Kirchner Snub Paris March?

Why Did Argentina's Kirchner Snub Paris March?

PARIS — Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner instructed her Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman, who happened to be in Paris this past weekend, to skip Sunday’s march to honor the victims of last week’s terror attacks, Buenos Aires daily Clarín reports. The march, which followed the deadly Jan. 7 attack on the Paris-based satirical weekly […]

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Economy Eyes on the U.S. Geopolitics Ideas

The Business Logic Driving Cuba-U.S. Rapprochement

In Havana, a long ride ahead
In Havana, a long ride ahead Giam

If nothing else, the United States and Cuba stand to earn plenty of cash with a future end to sanctions feeding booms of American exports, Cuban tourism and infrastructure development.

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Eyes on the U.S. Geopolitics Ideas

Cuba-U.S. Close Cold War, What It Means For Latin America

Raul Castro with Bolivian President Evo Morales
Raul Castro with Bolivian President Evo Morales Avn/Xinhua/ZUMA

The decision by the United States and Cuba to restore diplomatic ties looks like good news for now: for Cuban families, for regional democracy and for peace in war-torn Colombia.

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Ideas Society

Hong Kong: Is It Just A Question Of Confidence?

Hesitant in Hong Kong?
Hesitant in Hong Kong? xyza bacani

HONG KONG — A journalist from mainland China asked me recently whether the current unrest in Hong Kong is perhaps because residents there “are losing their confidence.” The question took me by surprise. I’ve heard people in Hong Kong complain and criticize a lot, particularly with regards to Chinese mainlanders, but I never thought these […]

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Geopolitics Ideas

A Shifting Middle East Chessboard, With Iran At The Center

A woman helds up a poster of Iran president Hassan Rouhani
A woman helds up a poster of Iran president Hassan Rouhani Morteza Nikoubazl/ZUMA

-Analysis- One year since taking office, Iran President Hassan Rouhani and his government are confronted with an extremely unstable geopolitical situation across the Middle East. Tehran had long been seen as the main beneficiary of the 2003 U.S. intervention in Iraq, but it must now face unexpected difficulties in its neighboring country and former sworn […]

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Geopolitics

South China Sea Standoff And A Fishermen Trial In The Philippines

Caught in the middle?
Caught in the middle? Jason Strother/KBR

PALAWAN — Chito Villarin starts up the engine of his small fishing boat. The 36-year old makes his living by sailing into the waters of the South China Sea, off Palawan’s west coast, in the hopes of bringing back a good catch. “I catch different types of fish and octopus,” he says, adding that he travels about 20 kilometers into the water. But Filipino fishermen like Villarin aren’t the only ones casting off into these waters. Foreign poachers are frequently found off the coast of Palawan, and the authorities here are trying to stop them. “Narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism, […]

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Geopolitics Society

The Bollywood Kiss Heard ‘Round The World

India's Emraan Hashmi and Pakistan's Humaima Malick's locking lips in "Raja Natwarlal."
India's Emraan Hashmi and Pakistan's Humaima Malick's locking lips in "Raja Natwarlal." UTV Motion Pictures - screenshot

India and Pakistan are arch enemies whose ongoing Kashmir conflict shows no signs of ending. So will the film kiss between a beloved Pakistani actress and an India heartthrob be censored?

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Geopolitics Ideas

After Maliki, Abadi Is Iraq’s Next Great Hope

Haider al-Abadi
Haider al-Abadi Facebook page

The U.S. has a poor record on Iraq, but it’s optimistic that cooperation with the country’s new prime minister can help him win the war against terrorists and restore regional stability.

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Eyes on the U.S. Geopolitics Ideas

On Iraq, Obama Is A President Without A Plan

Obama's speaks from the White House lawn about Iraq, before leaving for vacation.
Obama's speaks from the White House lawn about Iraq, before leaving for vacation. Prensa Internacional/ZUMA

President Barack Obama’s decision on the limited U.S. intervention in Iraq seems to have no long-term strategy behind it. Even Obama seems to know that.

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Geopolitics Ideas

What Gaza Reveals About The State Of U.S. Diplomacy

Barack Obama at a press conference during the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington on Aug. 6
Barack Obama at a press conference during the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington on Aug. 6 Yin Bogu/Xinhua/ZUMA

-Analysis- WASHINGTON — It was almost as a spectator earlier this week that the United States welcomed Egypt’s announcement of a 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza between the Israeli army and Hamas, which has since ended. The clearest sign yet of how Washington has begun to lose control over events came Aug. 1 when U.S. President […]

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