U.S. President Barack Obama outlines an initial series of reforms aimed at helping to thwart future attacks like the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day, following a security summit at the White House in Washington January 5, 2010. Credit: REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueFour Global Crisis Spots -- Michael O'Hanlon, Washington Times
American decisions shape security.
Of course, any American president has umpteen international issues to address in any given year - including those that can be foreseen as well as those that pop up. Managing the three big wars (Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan), the three additional major crisis spots (North Korea, Iran, the Arab-Israeli "peace process"), and the three big, new rising or declining powers of the early 21st century (Russia, China, India) takes a huge amount of time and effort. So do other broad transnational issues including energy and climate change, nuclear nonproliferation, international crime, immigration. And the global economy continues to be perhaps the most important issue of all in many ways.
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
Just tell me where bin Laden is and I’ll take him out myself -- Shaukat Qadir, The National
Christmas Bombing and Intelligence -- George Friedman, Stratfor
Pakistan deals with its devils -- Zahid U Kramet, Asia Times
The Beginning of the End?: The Iranian Regime's Fear of the People -- Dieter Bednarz and Erich Follath, Der SPiegel
Afghanistan, now and then -- Eric Olson, L.A. Times
Impunity in Guatemala -- Colin Murphy, Le Monde Diplomatique
Yemen: This is no country to do business with -- Victoria Clark, Independent
Putinism masks the true Russia -- Nina Khrushcheva, Sydney Morning Herald