Word: washington
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...cheap food is not free food, and corn comes with hidden costs. The crop is heavily fertilized - both with chemicals like nitrogen and with subsidies from Washington. Over the past decade, the Federal Government has poured more than $50 billion into the corn industry, keeping prices for the crop - at least until corn ethanol skewed the market - artificially low. That's why McDonald's can sell you a Big Mac, fries and a Coke for around $5 - a bargain, given that the meal contains nearly 1,200 calories, more than half the daily recommended requirement for adults. "Taxpayer subsidies basically...
What's the optimal outcome for the U.S. in Thursday's Afghan election? In the last presidential race in 2004, that question would have been a no-brainer. Hamid Karzai was Washington's man, campaigning as the incumbent in Afghanistan's first post-Taliban election, having been installed by international edict after the U.S.-led invasion...
...Today, however, Karzai epitomizes a political status quo deemed untenable in Washington, because its rampant corruption, cronyism and failure to deliver security and services to the citizenry has enabled a massive Taliban resurgence. "The U.S. priority in Afghanistan today is waging a counterinsurgency war, in which good governance in an important element," says Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International studies, who recently visited Afghanistan as part of the team advising U.S. commander General Stanley McChrystal. By the measure of good governance, Karzai has been a failure, and nobody expects much different if he's reelected. (See pictures...
...However, unlike in 2004, Karzai this time faces serious electoral challengers - candidates liked and respected by the U.S., and whom many in Kabul believe have been encouraged by Washington to run. While Karzai remains the frontrunner, chances are growing that his opponents could force him to contest a runoff race in October by denying him the 50% plus one vote needed for a first-round victory. (See pictures of Afghanistan's dangerous Korengal Valley...
...Washington's priority is a counterinsurgency strategy aimed at halting the Taliban's momentum by the end of next year, by providing security, the rule of law and economic development in communities where the insurgents currently hold sway. To that end, having Afghans participate at all in the election process could help legitimize the new political order in Afghanistan - which may be precisely why the Taliban is waging a campaign of violence and intimidation to keep people away from the polls on Thursday. For the Taliban, the optimal outcome is a low turnout producing a new wave of turmoil that...