Word: ii
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...cover photographs TIME could have used to illustrate the war in Afghanistan, why choose a soldier who is, indefensibly, smoking? During World War II, the cigarette companies, aided by the media, helped create a culture in which soldiers and smoking went hand in hand. I thought we had moved far beyond such an ill-founded association. Richard Rivenes, Sugar Land, Texas...
...fair, foreign media sometimes exaggerate the incidents. Calling out to the American President in front of Queen Elizabeth II, after the official photo op at the G-20 in London ("Mr. Obamaaa! I'm Mr. Berlusconi!") was a lovely Borat moment - harmless, and quite funny. Talking on his mobile while Angela Merkel was waiting for him at the NATO summit? He was just showing off ("I can convince Turkish leader Erdogan to accept Rasmussen as head at NATO. Leave it to me, guys.") And when he told earthquake victims in Abruzzo to think of their situation "like a weekend...
Berlusconi is a seasoned politician (he was first in office in 1994, and he's the only European head of government born before World War II), and he knows that international misunderstandings don't harm him at home - and often quite the contrary. Those who criticize him don't vote for him anyway...
...predecessors, and he sells himself better. He hasn't solved Italy's perennial problems - runaway public debt, red tape, organized crime, corruption, a grinding justice system and aging infrastructure - but at least he's provided stability. Italy averaged almost a government a year between the end of World War II and the turn of the century. Berlusconi completed his term between 2001 and 2006; re-elected in 2008, he may well last until 2013. (Read: "Why Berlusconi Loves a Good Gaffe...
...These strategies will admittedly not come cheap. Though there are some ways to cut costs—implementing a World War II-style lend-lease act with the Pakistani government, for example, in which arms are provided for the purpose of combating the Taliban with the expectation that they will be returned—any international effort is bound to have significant costs. Illogical though it may seem to give foreign aid during a recession period, though, Americans should be prepared to contribute significant funds to Pakistan. Destroying the Taliban is an expensive investment now, but will yield large dividends...