Word: foreign
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Things have not gone so well in foreign policy. In a way, that is an inevitable consequence of the strategy the President has chosen to pursue: diplomacy over bellicosity. Diplomacy moves slowly, if at all. A willingness to talk to our adversaries doesn't guarantee that they will be willing to talk to us. The President betrayed a bit of his frustration about this when he spoke to the U.N.: "Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world," he said, "cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone...
...biggest foreign policy problem Obama faces is Afghanistan. Indeed, it is an issue that has divided his foreign policy team for the first time. I'm told the Secretaries of both State and Defense and National Security Adviser Jim Jones warily favor the military's request for more troops. But Vice President Joe Biden and, perhaps, the President remain skeptics - and rightly so, since any military policy depends on whether the Afghan government can regain some credibility after the flagrantly corrupt August elections. If Hamid Karzai limps into a second term but does not make some major reforms - like removing...
...International and Security Affairs, is the Lisbon Treaty, which was designed to reform and streamline the workings of the European Union. "Without Merkel's involvement, and the role played by Germany, there would be no Lisbon Treaty now," Perthes says. But if that's the cornerstone of Merkel's foreign policy, she could see her legacy crumble less than a week after the German polls, when Ireland holds a second referendum on whether to accept or reject the treaty on Oct. 2. Another no vote would kill the treaty. As Merkel has come to know all too well...
...From her first appearance at an E.U. summit in December 2005, when Merkel helped break a deadlock between Britain and France on the budget, the Chancellor has gained a reputation as a shrewd and effective negotiator. Her low-key foreign policy has been in keeping with the consensual style of government imposed on her by an electoral system that forced her Christian Democrats (CDU) into a grand coalition with the largest opposition party, the Social Democrats (SPD). But it's also the manifestation of a history that has left Germany reluctant to intervene in the affairs of other countries. (Read...
...pragmatic approach in dealing with Russia and China, and a faith in negotiations and sanctions to bring recalcitrant countries like Iran back into constructive dialogue. Just don't look to Berlin for big ideas or robust new approaches to international problems. "There has been a passive consensus on foreign policy issues," says Jan Techau, director of the Europe Program at the German Council on Foreign Relations. "But that passivity is inappropriate now, as Germany faces increasing demands from NATO - for example, burden-sharing in Afghanistan and on the general discussion about the future of NATO." (See pictures of the Berlin...