New York Times (October 2)
Last week, President Obama “created the largest marine preserve in the world,” expanding it more than five-fold from 87,000 square miles to nearly half a million square miles. “At a time when the world’s oceans are threatened by rampant pollution, overfishing and climate change, the benefits of Mr. Obama’s decision will be profound, particularly if other countries now follow the United States’ excellent example.”
Tags: Climate change, Marine preserve, Obama, Oceans, Overfishing, Pollution, Threatened, U.S.
Los Angeles Times (July 22)
“It’s neither pleasant nor polite to say it, but the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 may have been the best thing to happen to President Obama’s policy on Ukraine in weeks.” The U.S. had taken the lead, but the crisis had been fading from the radar as Europe’s politicians tried to avoid sacrificing business interests with Russia. Now, however, “Putin has a problem he didn’t have a week ago: Europe’s politicians and public are watching.”
Tags: Business interests, Crash, Crisis, Europe, Flight 17, Malaysia Airlines, Obama, Putin, Russia, U.S., Ukraine
Washington Post (June 20)
Iraq’s unraveling poses a “confounding” challenge for the U.S. “Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has put sectarian interests above national goals, so to join him in beating back the terrorist challenge might only widen the country’s divide. But… an al-Qaeda-style ‘caliphate’ stretching from Syria into Iraq would be too dangerous for the United States and its allies.” By sending aid and military advisers, President Obama’s modest steps toward engagement “represent a judicious start.”
Tags: Advisors, Aid, Al-Qaeda, Challenge, Engagement, Iraq, Judicious, Maliki, Obama, Sectarian, Syria, Terrorists, U.S.
New York Times (June 18)
“President Obama has, so far, struck the right note on Iraq…. He has been cautious— emphasizing the need for political reform in Iraq and reaching out to other countries that could have an impact on its fate.”
Financial Times (April 22)
“The US-Japan relationship has been the bedrock of Asian security but some see it as the remnant of a bygone era.” President Obama’s state visit to Japan comes at a “pivotal time” and could help determine the future of the alliance.
New York Times (April 21)
President Obama’s trip should provide opportunity to explain that America’s strategic tilt toward Asia does not mean the U.S. will abandon the rest of the world. “A volatile and chaotic world will continue to demand America’s attention, but Asia is the future and warrants being a top priority.”
Wall Street Journal (March 24)
The Obama administration announced plans “to give up U.S. control of the Internet to a still-to-be-determined collection of governments and international groups.” It’s hard to imagine this creating a better governing body. “It’s easy to imagine a new Internet oversight body operating like the United Nations, with repressive governments taking turns silencing critics. China could get its wish to remove FreeTibet.org from the Internet as an affront to its sovereignty. Russia could force Twitter to remove posts by Ukrainian-Americans criticizing Vladimir Putin.” Congress should override President Obama’s decision.
Tags: China, Congress, Critics, Governing body, Icann, Internet, Obama, Putin, Russia, Sovereignty, Tibet, Twitter, U.S., Ukraine, UN
The Economist (February 22, 2014)
“If not championed by leaders who understand its broad benefits,” free trade “will constantly be eroded by narrow economic nationalism. Mr Obama now appears to be surrendering to protectionists within his own party. If he cannot drag Democrats back to their senses, the world will lose its best opportunity in two decades.” Estimates have placed the combined benefit from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at $200 billion for the U.S. alone and $600 billion worldwide.
Tags: Benefits, Democrats, Free trade, Leaders, Nationalism, Obama, Opportunity, Protectionists, Surrender, TPP, TTIP, U.S.
New York Times (January 29, 2014)
President Obama delivered his sixth annual State of the Union address to Congress. It “acknowledged the obvious: Congress has become a dead end for most of the big, muscular uses of government to redress income inequality and improve the economy for all, because of implacable Republican opposition.” The President’s determination to bypass Congress and do whatever he can to get things done without legislation is realistic: “Mr. Obama should employ every tool in his box to bypass those barriers.”
Tags: Barriers, Bypass, Congress, Determination, Economy, Government, Inequality, Legislation, Obama, Opposition, President, Republicans, State of the Union
Washington Post (December 19, 2013)
“Blue-ribbon panels are often toothless and useless. But the eminences appointed by President Obama to review the out-of-control National Security Agency (NSA) have produced a surprisingly tough report filled with good recommendations.” The report bluntly stated that the NSA had obtained records on every call to or from the U.S., yet these mounds of intrusive data were essentially useless in preventing terrorism.
