World Politics Review

A Comprehensive Peace Agreement: A Palestinian View

Posted By The Editors 25 Sep 2009 Amjad Atallah of the New America Foundation's Middle East Task Force speaks with Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO executive committee, the highest decision-making body of the PLO, which has responsibility for negotiating with Israel and the United States over a comprehensive peace agreement.

Obama Speaks to United Nations General Assembly

Posted By The Editors 24 Sep 2009 On Sept. 23, U.S. President Obama spoke before the United Nations General Assembly for the first time as president. The president outlined "four pillars" he believes are "fundamental to the future that we want for our children": "non-proliferation and disarmament; the promotion of peace and security; the preservation of our planet; and a global economy that advances opportunity for all people."

Full transcript.

Obama Administration's Vision for the U.S.-China Relationship

Posted By The Editors 24 Sep 2009 Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg delivers a keynote address on the Obama Administration's vision for the future of the U.S.-China relationship at a conference hosted by the Center for a New American Security in Washington.

Full transcript .

Obama Speaks to Press During Netanyahu, Abbas Meetings

Posted By The Editors 23 Sep 2009 After the President held separate bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel and President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, Sept. 22, he spoke to the press before beginning another trilateral meeting.

Rajiv Chandrasekaran on Obama's Afghanistan Policy

Posted By The Editors 22 Sep 2009 The Washington Post's Rajiv Chandrasekaran says Obama is considering a "pretty significant shift in policy" on Afghanistan, from a comprehensive counterinsurgency and nation-buiilding campaign to a much more narrowed mission focused on counterterrorism. The fraudulent Afghanistan elections are at least one major factor in precipitating this change from March, when the White House promulgated a much more expansive Afghanistan strategy.

Southern Thailand Insurgents Target State Schools

Posted By The Editors 22 Sep 2009 In southern Thailand, Muslim insurgents are targeting government-run schools. For the insurgents, the schools symbolize the Thai Buddhist state, and a threat to their Muslim Malay culture. Voice of America's Daniel Schearf reports from Thailand's Pattani Province.

Challenges for the G-20 in Pittsburgh

Posted By The Editors 22 Sep 2009 Uri Dadush of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace provides a preview of the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh this week. Dadush says world leaders must tread carefully as they plan for the withdrawal of government support, insist on reforms needed to prevent a future crisis, and remove the uncertainty surrounding the role of the G-20 as a forum for global economic governance

Clinton: Troop Numbers Just One Piece of Afghanistan Strategy

Posted By The Editors 22 Sep 2009 In an interview with Margaret Warner of PBS' Newshour, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the Afghanistan strategy will be constantly reassessed, and that troop levels are merely one decision that must be made as part of a larger policy process.

Full transcript .

Russia Seeks Joint Missile Defense: Top General

Posted By The Editors 22 Sep 2009 The Russian-state-sponsored television channel Russia Today quotes the chief of the Russian armed forces general staff as saying Russia would view any U.S. missile defense system negatively unless it were jointly developed with Russia. It remains to be seen whether Russia will drop its plans to deploy missiles to its westernmost Kaliningrad region, the channel reports.

Related from WPR: Global Insights: Tough Road for NATO-Russian BMD Cooperation

CIA Chief Panetta on Afghanistan, Iran, Interrogation

Posted By The Editors 21 Sep 2009 In this interview with Gary Thomas of Voice of America, CIA Director Leon Panetta says President Hamid Karzai will in all likelihood still emerge as the winner of the presidential contest in Afghanistan, even after contested votes are thrown out. Panetta also says there are differences among Iran's leaders about whether to actually build a nuclear bomb, and he talks about the CIA's reaction to the U.S. attorney general's investigation into interrogation techniques.

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