http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/252 Sat, 25 May 2013 09:49:27 GMT 2013-05-25T09:49:27Z http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/14751 B542 No Pivot To Asia Etzioni, Amitai If anyone had doubts that the much ballyhooed 2011 pivot to Asia was not much of a move, and that all the hot spots continue to be in the near, not far, east (east viewed from an American vantage point), the recent news should have removed these doubts. Reports suggest that the first international trip the President is planning to make at the start of his second term will include stops in Israel, the West Bank and Jordan. Secretary of State John Kerry was on the phone with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders even before he reached his desk. Making peace here is said to be one of the only two international issues that President Obama is emotionally engaged in and sees as part of his legacy. (The other is equally quixotic: moving toward zero nukes – by further reducing the strategic arms the US and Russia are holding, thus “inspiring” other nations to follow.) Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/14751 2013-03-01T00:00:00Z http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/14741 B541 We Need A Coffee Party Etzioni, Amitai We need a Coffee Party to wake up the American people, and there are fewer better wake up calls than Steven Brill’s outstanding recent Time cover story, “Bitter Pill.” Indeed, if you have time to read only one essay this month, make it this one. It not only reveals how we can protect Medicare from the right-wing assaults (and a president who seems all too anxious to cut a deal) — but also what ails America’s health care system, indeed the whole political system, and what must be done to fix it. If I had to put it all in a few lines, I would say that the Tea Party is half right; often our government is not working for the people and we ought to be pissed off. Unfortunately, the Tea Party channels this anger to the wrong address. The main issue is not that the government is too big, but that it is often captured by special interests, especially corporations. It often does their bidding rather than ours. Read more at the Huffington Post. Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/14741 2013-03-11T00:00:00Z http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/14740 B540 Obama: Flailing Etzioni, Amitai If you understand where President Obama is headed in his second term, pray send me an email. I like him, wish him Godspeed, and might well support where he is going -- if I could just figure out where that is. I thought I got it during the inaugural speech. The president ran up the flag pole one, and only one, policy: climate change. As the New York Times reported, Obama's "Speech Gives Climate Goals Center Stage." I did not think it was an ideal choice, as the GOP, in collaboration with conservative Democrats, is most unlikely to support much action on this front, and there are sharp limits on what the president can do via executive order. Further, there is little we can do without global cooperation, and moving aggressively on this front might weaken the anemic economic recovery. But it is a worthy purpose, so I was all ready to suit up and see how one could help. However, this is more or less the last I heard on the subject from the president. Read more at the Huffington Post. Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/14740 2013-03-20T00:00:00Z http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/14739 B539 China Might Negotiate Cybersecurity Etzioni, Amitai Instead of responding to its offer to limit cyberattacks, the Obama Administration has chosen to berate China. The BBC reports that in a recent television interview, President Obama “upbraids” China, telling George Stephanopoulos that the United States will have “some pretty tough talk” with the Chinese over their failure to abide by international norms in cyberspace. Washington has strong reasons to protest China’s widespread industrial espionage and penetration of our civilian and military networks, including even those that govern U.S. infrastructure. But calling on China—in March 2013—to help formulate and enforce new rules of international conduct in cyberspace, without even acknowledging that China provided a detailed and surprisingly reasonable proposal for exactly that in 2011, is astonishing. It seems that the White House and the peripatetic new secretary of state—who seems out to collect even more frequent-flier miles than Secretary Clinton—are left without time to work out a China policy and did not even do their homework. Or the White House is playing to the home galleries rather than paying mind to China’s sensibilities and, in this case, ignoring the valid contributions China has made to the much-needed international dialogue on cybersecurity. Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/14739 2013-03-14T00:00:00Z http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/14738 B538 Japan, the Poisoned Chalice Etzioni, Amitai Making Japan a centerpiece of the U.S. drive to contain China is a seductive idea—but one to which Washington should not succumb. Containment may or may not be the right policy for dealing with China, but even hawks should realize that pushing the most emotive buttons of a potential adversary amounts to cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face. At first blush it may seem wise to draw upon Japan for support. As Fred Hiatt of The Washington Post put it, “Abe’s legacy is of little concern to most Americans. But as the United States seeks to contend—on a limited budget—with a rising China, the ability of its most important Asian ally to contribute…matters a great deal.” Getting Japan involved is a form of burden-sharing. Moreover, Japan hardly needs to be pushed; it is raring to go. It feels both threatened and aggrieved by China, and is shedding the pacifist plumes it acquired after World War II. Tue, 19 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/14738 2013-03-19T00:00:00Z http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/14729 Drone Debate Etzioni, Amitai Unmanned aviation systems, popularly known as drones, are playing an increased role in armed conflicts. They are used both for collecting intelligence and for deploying lethal force. In 2007 there were 74 U.S. drone strikes in Afghanistan. That year, there were five strikes in Pakistan. By 2012, the American military was executing an average of 33 drone strikes per month in Afghanistan, and the total number in Pakistan has now surpassed 330. Recently the United States has proposed further expanding its deployment of drones, developing plans to set up additional Predator drone bases in Africa that would allow these drones to cover much of the Saharan region. Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/14729 2013-03-01T00:00:00Z http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/10597 B537 The Folly of Nation Building Etzioni, Amitai Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/10597 2012-07-01T00:00:00Z http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/10596 B536 Obama’s New Old Defense Strategy Etzioni, Amitai Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/10596 2012-04-05T00:00:00Z