Word: war
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...simply to forestall a U.S. attack. Now, with the U.S. mired in Afghanistan and Iraq, they are less afraid and thus less willing to deal. Similarly, the Taliban have little incentive to break with al-Qaeda so long as they feel they're gaining momentum in the Afghan war. It will be hard for Obama to win at the negotiating table what he can't win on the battlefield. After all, despite Nixon's intricate diplomacy with Moscow and Beijing, neither communist superpower helped him where he wanted it most - in preventing a U.S. defeat in Vietnam...
...Downside of Downsizing In general, Obama's bid to shrink the war on terrorism makes sense. Since the U.S. lacks the capacity to eliminate Hizballah, Hamas and the Taliban and since we are probably unable to overthrow the regimes in Syria and Iran, we need to rethink our goals. Many on the American right believe the lesson of the Reagan years is that the U.S. can bludgeon our enemies into submission if only we don't lose our will. But Ronald Reagan didn't bludgeon Mikhail Gorbachev into submission; he seduced him with intensive diplomatic engagement and arms-control agreements...
...Obama's effort to downsize the war on terrorism can also free up time and resources for the rest of American foreign policy. During the Bush Administration, the post-9/11 agenda often seemed to constitute a good 75% of the U.S.'s international agenda. If Obama could eventually get that down to, say, 50%, it would free him up to devote attention to long-term challenges like climate change and the global economy that Bush gave short shrift...
...eight months since have been a mixed bag. Yes, Turkey has agreed to diplomatic normalization with neighbor and historic foe Armenia, and announced plans to end a two-decade war against Kurdish rebels that threatens to spill over into Iraq. But both developments have yet to be formalized. And Ankara has stirred hostility against Israel, a traditional ally, and its pursuit of closer commercial and political ties with the Muslim world, including Iran, has raised fears of a drift eastwards. (See the top 10 players in Iran's power struggle...
...that Jerusalem was not always the capital of Israel - the city was ruled for centuries by Christian and Muslim empires. Today, its status remains disputed. The City of David and the Old City are located in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel from Jordan during the war of 1967, although its right to sovereignty over that portion of the city is not recognized by the international community. The Oslo Accords of 1993, aimed at creating two states, designated Jerusalem a "final status" issue for negotiation between Israel and the Palestinians, and it has been a working assumption...