Responding to an Undervalued Yuan
Dean Baker offers one of many, many alternative responses we could take to China's policy of an undervalued yuan. As has been pointed out attempting to apply rhetorical pressure to the Chinese authorities is counter-productive but such a move need not require putting overt pressure on the Chinese nor would it require their cooperation: Just as China can set a ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 17, 2009 11:21
Cognitive Dissonance on the Lessons to be Learned from China
Time features an article on the “Five Things the U.S. Can Learn from China” that I can only characterize as surreal. Here are the five lessons: Be Ambitious Education Matters Look After the Elderly Save More Look over the Horizon For the details you'll just have to read the article. On ambition, the article's author, Bill Powell, returns to a theme often sounded by Tom Friedman ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 16, 2009 12:53
Piling on China
Inspired no doubt by President Obama's visit to China, American editorial writers and columnists are seizing on the opportunity to pile on China. In his column today Paul Krugman takes China to task over its policy on its currency: Despite huge trade surpluses and the desire of many investors to buy into this fast-growing economy — forces that should have ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 16, 2009 11:37
Protocol
The picture at the right has created something of a kerfuffle in the blogosphere. It captures President Barack Obama being introducted to Japanese Emperor Akihito and bowing profoundly. Scott Johnson is overly exercised: Obama's breach of protocol is of a piece with the substance of his foreign policy. He means to teach Americans to bow before monarchs and tyrants. ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 15, 2009 13:14
Searching for the Exit?
The scuttlebutt that's coming out now in Washington is that President Obama doesn't much like the plans for Afghanistan offered by his advisors: WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security team, pushing instead for revisions to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 12, 2009 13:37
OTB Radio – Tonight at 5:30 Eastern
The next episode of OTB Radio, our BlogTalkRadio program, will record and air live from 5:30-6:30 Eastern. Dave Schuler and I will talk about the Fort Hood massacre and be joined by Steve Verdon to talk about the House passing its version of healthcare reform. Other topics will likely come up as well. We'll also be taking calls at (646) 716-7030. ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 10, 2009 18:16
Taking “No” As Iran’s Answer
The editors of the Washington Post articulate a position similar to the one that I took yesterday: The Obama administration and European governments have set the end of the year as a deadline for the transfer of the uranium out of Iran and for progress in the overall negotiations. But the administration must consider whether it makes sense to grant the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 6, 2009 13:27
Update on the Fort Hood Massacre
The picture that is emerging of Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, the American-born Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people and wounded dozens of others at Fort Hood yesterday is of a deeply troubled and conflicted individual: As authorities scrambled to figure out what happened at Fort Hood, a hazy and contradictory picture emerged of this son of Palestinian immigrants, a man who ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 6, 2009 13:19
Breaking: Shootings at Fort Hood (Updated)
Seven people are reported to have been killed and twenty injured in a shooting at Fort Hood in Texas: At least seven people are dead and 20 wounded in a mass shooting Thursday at Fort Hood, Texas, and at least one suspect is believed to be holed up in a building and shooting at SWAT team members, NBC News and affiliate ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 5, 2009 17:19
Marking the Anniversary of the Embassy Seizure
Today marks the 30th anniversary of the seizing of the U. S. embassy in Tehran by factions of the revolution that overthrew the shah. President Obama has issued a statement on the occasion which I will reproduce in full here: Thirty years ago today, the American Embassy in Tehran was seized. The 444 days that began on November 4, 1979 ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 5, 2009 10:58
Haggling With the Iranians
In her address yesterday to a joint session of Congress German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated her country's insistence that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment program in compliance with multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions: Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, yesterday delivered a stern warning to Iran's hard-line leader amid signs that the west's patience with Tehran's prevarication on its nuclear programme ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 4, 2009 11:59
Destruction of a What?
There's a fascinating article in Spiegel Online (in English) on “Operation Orchard”, the operation in September 2007 in Syria in which the Israeli air force destroyed what many have termed a “nuclear plant”, what the article calls “Syria's Al Kibar nuclear reactor”, and the Syrians have characterized as a conventional military facility. Spiegel has interviewed Syrian, Israeli, and American ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 4, 2009 11:16
What’s Next in Afghanistan?
President Karzai narrowly won a clearly fraudulent election. His main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, has withdrawn from consideration as a candidate, ruling out a run-off election. That leaves us with an Afghan government of little or no legitimacy, unworthy of our confidence or that of the Afghan people. Classical counter-insurgency strategy requires a government with the support ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on November 3, 2009 12:50
Friedman’s Vote on Afghanistan
Columnist Thomas Friedman has put in his vote for what we should do in Afghanistan: Don't Build Up It is crunch time on Afghanistan, so here’s my vote: We need to be thinking about how to reduce our footprint and our goals there in a responsible way, not dig in deeper. We simply do not have the Afghan partners, the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on October 28, 2009 12:19
Maintaining Commitments to Iraq and Afghanistan
Month to date there have been four U. S. casualties in Iraq. Each death remains a tragedy but that's a far cry from a year ago or two years ago. Fatalities in the Iraqi security forces have declined, too, each month of this year seeing fewer casualties than in the corresponding month of last year. Things are ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on October 25, 2009 19:07
