Secretary hails historic trip as US officially renews ties with former foe
AFP Sep 5, 08 2:34 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Iran and North Korea, take heed: America’s reconciliation with Libya proves that Washington has no permanent enemies, Condoleezza Rice said today. The secretary of state, meeting in Tripoli with onetime international pariah Moammar Gadhafi, said her historic trip “demonstrates that when countries are prepared to make strategic changes in direction, the United States is prepared to respond,” AFP reports.
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OPINION
Beijing may draw closer to DC: FT
Financial Times (UK) Aug 28, 08 2:23 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Moscow may physically stand in between Beijing and Washington, but Russia’s aggressive behavior could bring the US and China closer together, Geoff Dyer argues in the Financial Times . The Kremlin’s interference in Georgia has Washington seething, and “a low-level confrontation in Georgia that pits Russia against the US helps China’s short-term interests rather well,” writes Dyer.
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First Saddam-era oil deal to be revived
since invasion
Associated Press Aug 28, 08 7:45 AM CDT
(AP)
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China and Iraq have dusted off an oil deal that was in the works before the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, giving China the rights to develop the Ahdab field, reports the AP. The agreement—which has grown from an estimated $1.2 billion to $3 billion—was originally struck by the Saddam Hussein government in 1997, to take effect once UN sanctions on Iraq's oil industry were lifted.
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Could strike US as Category 3
Associated Press Aug 27, 08 11:09 AM CDT
(AP)
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Thousands fled their homes as Hurricane Gustav triggered flooding and landslides that killed at least 11 people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti before weakening to a tropical storm, but forecasters said today that he still represents a major threat to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. They suggested the storm could head toward the US Gulf Coast as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane next week—with a likely forecast track pointing toward Louisiana.
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New fury at Russia's formal recognition of breakaway states
Reuters Aug 27, 08 2:25 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The West is preparing to crank up diplomatic pressure on Russia after its challenging move formally recognizing breakaway Ossetia and Abkhazia in the wake of its invasion of Georgia. The US, Europe and NATO have condemned the action, but Russia remains defiant. "We are not afraid of anything, including a new cold war," said Russian President Dmitri Medvedev after formally recognizing Georgia's restive states. "If Europeans want a worsening in relations, they will get it of course."
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Associated Press Aug 23, 08 8:59 AM CDT
(AP)
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The US men's and women's teams swept the 1600-meter relays today, ending a string of frustrations for the Americans that included dropped batons in two earlier races. For the women, Sanya Richards anchored her team in a come-from-behind victory over Russia in 3:18.54, the world's fastest time since 1993. On the men's side, Jeremy Wariner crossed the line 12 strides ahead of Christopher Brown of the Bahamas, finishing in 2:55.39 to break the Olympic record by 0.35 second.
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'Peacekeeping' posts appear likely to remain on Georgian soil
New York Times Aug 22, 08 3:14 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Having withdrawn from the Georgian city of Gori, Russia said tonight it is in full compliance with a cease-fire agreement, the New York Times reports. Despite criticism from the US and France, nations that helped broker the deal, Moscow continues to occupy the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, plus perimeter posts on Georgian soil—installations it says are permanent and part of a “peacekeeping” mission.
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Exports to US from Japan fall for 11th consecutive month
MarketWatch Aug 21, 08 3:21 PM CDT
(Newser)
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China imported $11.8 billion in Japanese goods in July, MarketWatch reports, barely surpassing the US as the world’s largest importer of products and services from Japan for the first time. The 11.5% drop in shipments to the US was the 11th consecutive month of declines; exports to China rose 16.8%, and shipments to Western Europe rose 4.1%
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OPINION
Increased engagement with the bear will avert more crises: Meier
Los Angeles Times Aug 20, 08 12:53 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The kneejerk impulse to punish Russia for its Georgia incursion by withdrawing NATO civilities is exactly wrong, Andrew Meier writes in the Los Angeles Times. The only way the West can get leverage, given the case of nerves the Russians have over NATO’s expansion into former Soviet states, is to invite them into the club, too.
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OPINION
Russian minister blasts misguided US
Wall Street Journal Aug 20, 08 10:29 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The US should quit blaming Russia for starting the war in Georgia, writes Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Wall Street Journal , and think hard before backing Tbilisi to the detriment of relations with Moscow. Georgia's "ruthless military assault" in South Ossetia forced the hand of Russia. "When the positions of your peacekeepers and the civilian population they have been mandated to protect are shelled, the sources of such attacks are legitimate targets."
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But American base is decried by Russia
Associated Press Aug 20, 08 6:56 AM CDT
(AP)
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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski signed a deal today that will put an American missile defense base in Poland, a plan that has provoked increasingly belligerent opposition from Russia. The formal signing comes 6 days after the two countries agreed to the agreement that would locate 10 US interceptor missiles just 115 miles from Russia's border.
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OPINION
US encouraged Georgian bluster; provoked Russian paranoia
Boston Globe Aug 19, 08 3:45 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Georgian war crystallizes the failure of the Bush administration's foreign policy, writes HDS Greenway in the Boston Globe . Besides the ready-made justification the Iraq war provides to any invading country, America