USA Today (December 16)
“For 22 years, the nations of the world have been discussing ways to prevent catastrophic damage to the Earth’s climate caused by emissions of greenhouse gases…. About the best that can be said for the accord announced in Peru on Sunday, after two weeks of talks among nearly 200 nations, is that even a weak deal is better than no deal.”
Tags: Accord, Catastrophic, Climate, Damage, Deal, Earth, Emissions, Greenhouse gases, Peru, Prevent, World
Forbes (June 16)
Putin’s oil deal with China should hardly rate a footnote. It amounts to “an annual average of $13 billion.” And rather than being a groundbreaking strategic alliance, “the deal with China underscores Russia’s core weakness. Despite its immense resources and highly educated population… Russia has a shockingly small economy that is amazingly dependent on the export of oil, gas and a few other natural resources.”
Tags: China, Deal, Dependent, Economy, Export, Gas, Natural resources, Oil, Putin, Resources, Strategic alliance, Weakness
The Economist (December 14, 2013)
Despite its modest scope, “the first global deal since the World Trade Organisation (WTO) came into existence in 1995” is an achievement. “It includes some useful stuff: by one estimate, cutting customs red tape could raise annual global output by $400 billion, with much of the gain flowing to developing economies.” With fresh approaches, this momentum can be this leveraged to achieve other modest, but noteworthy deals.
Tags: Customs, Deal, Developing economies, Fresh approaches, Global output, Momentum, Red tape, WTO
Bloomberg (November 25, 2013)
“Critics of a deal on Iran’s nuclear program, both in the U.S Congress and the Israeli government, need to answer a question: Is there a better alternative?” The Geneva deal is hardly perfect, but seen from another perspective it may provide the best opportunity. This “imperfect Iran deal may be U.S.’s least-bad option.”
Tags: Congress, Deal, Geneva, Imperfect, Iran, Israeli, Nuclear program, Opportunity, Option, U.S.
The Economist (October 19)
“A deal that allows Iran to enrich uranium with strict limits would be better than no deal at all…. Allowing Iran to go on enriching uranium is not ideal. But the choices available are not between the good and the bad, but between the bad and the less bad.”
New York Times (March 2)
The outcome of recent negotiations with Iran “was frustratingly incremental, but it keeps alive the slim possibility of a diplomatic solution…. It is hard to know whether Iran will ever abandon its nuclear ambitions.… Mistrust runs deep on all sides. Still, it makes sense for the United States and its partners to be creative in pursuit of a deal that will prevent Iran from producing a nuclear weapon.”
Tags: Deal, Diplomacy, Iran, Mistrust, Negotiations, Nuclear weapons
