The Economist (May 14)
The mess that has followed the once hopeful Arab spring, “is not so much a clash of civilisations as a war within Arab civilisation. Outsiders cannot fix it—though their actions could help make things a bit better, or a lot worse. First and foremost, a settlement must come from Arabs themselves.”
Tags: Arab, Arab spring, Civilisations, Clash, Outsiders, Settlement, War
Washington Post (May 21)
The world’s newest nation is descending into “war, chaos and human suffering.” The United States helped birth the nation four years ago and “now must exercise more leverage and commitment to save South Sudan.”
Tags: Chaos, Human suffering, Nation, New, South Sudan, U.S., War
Forbes (April 15)
It’s easy to underestimate the loss of Greece. “While it may be true that the economic damage of a Greek collapse would largely be confined to Greece itself, it nonetheless would undermine the great post-WWII dream of a united Europe that would never experience another catastrophic war….. Thanks to remarkably bad leadership, Europe’s post-WWII order is in mortal danger, threatening unimaginable political and economic repercussions.”
Tags: Collapse, Danger, Economic damage, Europe, Greece, Leadership, War, WWII
Los Angeles Times (February 4)
“To say that the truce in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed breakaway ‘republics’ are battling the pro-Western Kiev government, isn’t holding is like saying the Titanic sprung a leak. The cease-fire signed in September is a dead letter. There’s a full-blown war afoot.” This does not, however, mean that the U.S. should arm the Ukrainians. “The presumption that Putin will back off once Kiev gets U.S. weaponry is not based on evidence but hope. And hope is not a strategy.”
New York Times (November 23)
“We don’t need to change course, or kill jobs, or wage war on anybody or anything” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All we need to do is continue increasing energy efficiency, which has been key to economic progress. “Without energy productivity improvements, America’s energy needs would have tripled since 1970…. Actual growth was only one-fifth of that. Energy efficiency has emerged as the largest and cheapest alternative to burning fossil fuels to generate electricity.”
Tags: Economic progress, Efficiency, Electricity, Emissions, Energy, Fossil fuels, GHG, Growth, Jobs, Productivity, U.S., War
Financial Times (September 10)
“China and Japan are heading towards military conflict, according to a majority of Chinese surveyed on ties between the Asian powers in a Sino-Japanese poll.” According to the poll by Genron/China Daily, 87% of Chinese respondents view the Japanese unfavorably and 53% think the two countries will go to war. The same survey found 93% of Japanese view the Chinese unfavorably, but only 29% expect war to break out.
Tags: China, Japan, Military conflict, Survey, Unfavorably, War
The Economist (August 2)
Israel is “winning the battle, losing the war. For all its military might, Israel faces a grim future unless it can secure peace” and it is slipping in the international court of public opinion.
Wall Street Journal (July 23)
“Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine continues as usual.” Except for instilling outlandish hopes, the shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 changed nothing. “The world’s media hang on any hint of conciliation from President Putin, as if he will suddenly turn into Vlad the Peacemaker. He won’t change until he concludes that the cost of his aggression is too high to sustain. So far the costs have been minuscule, and Mr. Putin is reacting with predictable contempt.”
Tags: Aggression, Costs, Flight 17, Malaysia Airlines, Media, Putin, Shoot-down, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, War
Washington Post (February 27, 2014)
“The United States is committed by treaty to defend Japanese administrative control in the Senkaku Islands…．But the United States doesn’t want to get dragged into war over a few crags of rock, either, so Washington is also urging caution to Tokyo.”
Tags: China, Defense, Japan, Senkaku islands, Tokyo, Treaty, U.S., War, Washington
Washington Post (January 11, 2014)
China’s ambassador to the U.S., who served as ambassador to Japan from 2007 to 2009, writes “Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent homage at the Yasukuni war shrine deeply disturbed people in China and much of Asia. The dispute surrounding his actions is about more than symbolism; it goes to the heart of his intentions for Japan’s future and his willingness to build an atmosphere of trust, respect and equality in East Asia.”
Tags: Ambassador, Asia, China, Dispute, East Asia, Equality, Future, Intentions, Japan, Respect, Shinzo Abe, Shrine, Symbolism, Trust, U.S., War, Willingness, Yasukuni
