Daily Archives: October 21, 2010

Good Morning!

Top Global Issues:

Inter-Party Reconciliation Recommended For The Palestinians

Maternity Leave Bill Passed By EU Parliament

Continued Violent Protests Over French Pension Reform Bill

Iran Doubles Amount Of Enriched Uranium

Pakistan To Receive More Military Aid From U.S. Despite Concerns

South Korea To Support Six Party Talks With North Korea If Demands Are Met

Spain’s Cabinet Reshuffle

U.S.’s $60 Billion Arms Sale To Saudi Arabia

Figures of Note:

Opinions of Note:

Evan A. Feigenbaum on why a trade war with China is unlikely

Thomas Friedman on how Israel is the U.S.’s spoiled child

My First Thought: Be Tough

I agree with Friedman’s op-ed on how the U.S. should handle Israel.  The U.S. must Israel that they have to get serious about peace talks or the U.S. will not be serious about it.  For that matter, the U.S. should do the same thing China on its currency and climate and with Iran and North Korea on nuclear weapons.  The U.S. likes to just talk about getting tough, but then not actually act when duty calls to take action against those that stand in the way.  This is partly because the U.S. is afraid of losing allies, but I think that if the U.S. had the cajones to stay tough on these problems, they would be very much respected.  Foreign policy is about making friends and not letting your enemies win, but it is also about talking the talk and walking the walk.  Now, I am not saying that the U.S. should use military force against these nations or anything that radical, but with its statements the U.S. can show that it is really meaning business because in the international community words are currency and currency is political capital.

Photo Credit: The Kansas City Star