http://www.project-syndicate.org/about_us/rss en 17:48:05 21-Mar-2010 webmaster@project-syndicate.org http://www.interglacial.com/rss/about.html http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/castaneda28/1 The OAS will have to decide on March 24 whether to re-elect Chilean diplomat and politician José Miguel Insulza as its Secretary General. But the OAS is facing a broader challenge in the threatened departure of the so-called ALBA countries - Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Paraguay - which are seeking to establish a rival organization. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/haass30/1 Hisotry tends to be punctuated by major developments – battles, assassinations, breakthroughs – that have consequences that are felt for years. Thirty-one years after the revolution that ousted the Shah and brought Islamic rule to Iran, we are at one of those turning points. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/rocard29/1 There is no unanimity requirement or veto in the UN General Assembly, which might well be why it has not been called upon in the effort to fight climate change. Yet the General Assembly is the only place where obstruction by major countries – for example, by China and the United States at December’s global climate talks in Copenhagen – can be bypassed. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/castaneda27/1 Three years ago this month, Mexican President Felipe Calderón donned military fatigues and declared a full-scale war on drugs, ordering the Army into Mexico’s streets, highways, and villages. Like George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq, it was a war of choice, and it should never have been waged, because it can never be won. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/haass28/1 The Cold War was won as a result of military "containment" of Soviet expansion, the Soviet bloc's own internal weaknesses, and efforts to provoke a crisis of confidence among communist leaders. The same combination of factors should be considered when confronting regimes like those in Iran and North Korea. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/rocard28/1 By awarding its Peace Prize for 2009 to Barack Obama, the Nobel Committee took a big risk. But the risk of devaluing the prize may have been worth it, because peace is hard to achieve and needs to be nurtured. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/castaneda26/1 In early September, Colombia’s biggest businesses surprised everyone by declaring their wholehearted support for the country’s president, Alvaro Uribe, in his deepening conflict with Venezuela. But Uribe will probably have to step down as president before Colombia can enlist allies in its case against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/haass27/1 As world leaders prepare for the December's summit on Climate change in Copenhagen, it should come as no surprise that there is little consensus on a comprehensive accord that would have a meaningful impact. But, while a universal agreement with binding limits on carbon emissions seems out of the question, smaller steps can, and should, be taken. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/rocard26/1 We are now in a strange period in which governments, bankers, and journalists herald the end of the economic crisis just because large banks are no longer failing every week. But nothing has been solved, and unemployment continues to rise. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/castaneda25/1 After 47 years, the Organization of American States, at its annual General Assembly, has repealed its suspension of Cuba’s membership. The outcome signals the growing assertiveness of Latin America's hard-left regimes, as well as the unwillingness of its democracies to confront them. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/haass26/1 In contrast to George W. Bush's “idealist” advocacy of making democracy promotion the main priority for US foreign policy, the Obama administration is engineering a return to "realism" that is both desirable and necessary. While encouraging the rule of law and the growth of civil society, the US still needs to work with other governments, democratic and otherwise. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/rocard25/1 As the recent NATO summit in Strasbourg showed, the inability to discuss, clearly and forthrightly, strategic doctrine continues to hamper the Alliance. The key questions are whether NATO’s doctrine of common defense is currently directed at one country in particular, and whether nuclear force remains the Alliance’s major defensive tool.