Word: britain
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Uncertainty is one of the most corrosive elements in politics, and as days melt into weeks with no firm decision from President Barack Obama on whether the U.S. will increase troop levels in Afghanistan, the remaining British consensus on the issue is threatening to dissolve. Public support for Britain's contribution to the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan has curdled as the body count of British troops has spiraled, reaching 98 this year alone. An opinion poll taken earlier this month after an Afghan policeman shot dead five British soldiers at a checkpoint in Helmand province revealed that three-quarters...
...That may sound distasteful to a public more used to rhetoric about eradicating the Taliban, not buying them off. But if any new consensus is emerging around the Afghan mission in Britain, it is that hopes of a military solution have long evaporated. "Our goal is not a fight to the death. It is to demonstrate clearly that [the Taliban] cannot win, and to provide a way back into their communities for those who are prepared to live peacefully," said Britain's Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, in an address to the NATO assembly the same day British defense chiefs launched...
Similarly, until she was appointed Britain's European Commissioner last year, only hardened London politicos were familiar with Baroness Catherine Ashton's name. But she is now the E.U.'s Foreign Minister-designate, with the unwieldy title of High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. (See the 10 greatest speeches of all time...
...Christian Democrat, from the family of center-right parties that dominate European governments and the European Parliament. The President of the Commission, Portugal's José Manuel Barroso, is also from the center right. Ashton was a dark horse, but she was seen as a consolation prize for Britain's center-left Prime Minister Gordon Brown, after his attempt to secure the presidency for Blair was rebuffed. For E.U. leaders struggling to meet the criteria - a task that one official likened to "three-dimensional chess" - they could at least claim that the Van Rompuy-Ashton duo hit most of their...
...Constitution and Declaration of Independence. The roots of military law stretch back to ancient Rome, where it was adopted to enforce discipline within the ranks, especially among mercenaries. In 1775, the Continental Congress met at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War and adopted the Articles of War based on Britain's military code. The system was not heavily used in World War I, but in World War II some 2 million people were court-martialed for varying offenses, resulting in 80,000 felony convictions. Among the best known was that of Private Eddie Slovik, a Michigan native who abandoned...