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Written by Brooke Stevens
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The legacy of Rahm Emmanuel will not be one of partisanship, but productivity. It’s no secret the Chief of Staff is brash, over-the-top, and antagonistic, but that is precisely what makes him good at what he does. He lost his middle finger in an accident with a meat slicer while working at an Arby’s as a teenager, an action that President Obama joked, “rendered him practically mute.”
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Unilateralism? Just Words |
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Written by Ryan Decker
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President Obama’s foreign policy campaign promises included phrases like “change,” “unilateralism,” and “just words?” He promised a new approach to the world and was explicit about how his policies would contrast with “failed” Bush policies. Primary among his accusations was that Bush’s foreign policies were belligerent and unilateral. Obama’s policies would break markedly from Bush’s. This would mean more multilateralism, accommodation of allies, and success in achieving U.S. interests and global stability.
After nearly a year in office, have Obama’s foreign policy “changes” made progress towards promised outcomes? North Korea and Iran are closer to proliferation. Iraq and Afghanistan are still plagued with bombings despite Obama’s much-acclaimed speech to Muslims in Cairo. Russia is still distributing passports in Crimea and refuses to substantively cooperate on Iranian proliferation despite Obama’s unilateral missile defense concessions and toothless resolutions (to which Tehran responded by increasing enrichment). The Guantanamo Bay prison facility, the subject of Obama’s triumphant first-day photo op, remains open (and Obama says he will not close the facility as soon as promised). If Obama’s approach is a “change” from Bush, why has Washington made no progress towards improved foreign policy outcomes?
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Afghanistan: Out in 2011? |
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Written by Nathan Jack - Staff Writer
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In his address at West Point last Tuesday, President Obama announced the deployment of 30,000 troops in Afghanistan. He also outlined his administration’s war strategy, announcing troop withdrawal beginning July 2011. Through the course of the evening, Obama also addressed liberal and conservative concerns regarding the course of the war.
Explaining the necessity of a 30,000 troop increase, he answered questions from the left regarding the legitimacy of America’s presence there, specifically noting distinctions between this war and Vietnam.
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Conservatives: Twisting America's Foundation Heritage |
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Written by Alex Struk - Foreign Correspondent
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Many of the politically serious and respectable ideas of conservatism have been squeezed out of the public space by a glut of far-right populism, a phenomenon irresponsibly fueled by pundits and popular media barons. While many of their tactics are off-putting, one aspect of right-wing populism is especially alarming: the tendency to appropriate and distort the nation’s founding to support their own political agenda. The political and philosophical legacy left by the founding fathers leaves room for spirited disagreement and broad interpretation. We should be wary whenever any one group or movement claims to speak authoritatively for the founders’ intent.
It would seem uncharitable to classify this pathology as ‘far-right fundamentalism,’ but it seems appropriate. A common characteristic of any sort of fundamentalism is the longing to return to a lapsed ‘golden age’ or set of undiluted and uncorrupted principles.
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Written by Lauren Smith - Managing Editor
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It seems that the more demands the United Nations and the United States make, the more defiant Iran becomes. The U.S. has two interests vested in Iran. One is the continued struggle for freedom in the Middle East, which has been hampered by the disasters unfolding in Iraq and Afghanistan. The other is the fear that the Iranian government will obtain nuclear weapons. But by taking a hard-line approach on nuclear proliferation, the U.S. is undermining Iran’s democracy. Showering attention on Iranian President Ahmadinejad and his rhetoric only increases his legitimacy at home and abroad.
This summer, suspected corruption in Iranian presidential elections, which Ahmadinejad won, brought an immediate outcry from the Iranian people and the Western world. Called the “biggest unrest since the 1979 revolution,” protests in Iran became increasingly violent as security forces moved to suppress them.
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