CIAO DATE: 03/2011
March 2011
Dan Morgan
Without so much as a farewell tip of the hat, President Barack Obama has pulled the plug on his much-promoted goal of comprehensive climate-change legislation. In his agenda-setting State of the Union address, he dropped any U.S. move toward EU-style cap and trade. Significantly, the word “climate” was never uttered.
BOSNIA: THE NEGLECTED CHALLENGE
European Affairs
Bosnia, which held elections late last year, is a piece of unfinished business for the international community in the Balkans. Four experts assess the situation and offer contrasting roadmaps for going forward. Read their views in the four articles below.
Time to Reconsider Partition For Bosnia
Ted Galen Carpenter
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned the feuding ethnic factions in Bosnia and Herzegovina that if they did not resolve their differences, their country was in danger of missing its opportunity to join the European Union and NATO and become a vibrant part of the modern, democratic West. Unfortunately, there are few indications that her message will be heeded.
The Siren Call of Partition Could Lead Only to Disaster for Bosnia
Daniel Serwer
Whenever the going gets rough in Bosnia, someone revives the idea of separating Croats,Bosniak Muslims and Serbs to preserve the peace. This idea is wrong.
Bosnia is on a slow road to hopefully joining the European Union...behind more muscular policies by EU members -- nudging bosnia toward membership in the EU.
Berlin Reportedly Mulling New Approach To Stagnancy of Bosnia
In a succinct up-date report on Bosnia, the geo-political analysis website, Stratfor, predicts a German-led initiative on the Western Balkans. Here is an excerpt on Bosnia from the larger Stratfor analysis of the Balkans.
"Make It In America" by Andrew Liveris
William Marmon
How Can the U.S. Come Back as an Exporting Power? Germany Holds Lessons on Manufacturing Striving to bring back the U.S. from economic slump and recover from an opposition victory in recent Congressional elections, President Barack Obama has put his political capital behind the idea that the U.S. can rebound economically by pushing innovation and thus increasing exports.
On-line Theft of Intellectual Property Threatens National Security
Andy Purdy, Nick Hopkinson
Much of the public discussion about threats in cyberspace has focused on cyber war, crime and short-term malicious activity for economic, political, or public relations gain. Too often each threat is seen as a discrete problem that is approached in a reactive manner geared to the intended targets. Instead, the problem should be viewed as a larger, interconnected issue – really, a continuum of malicious activity -- that requires a strategic and proactive approach by key government and private-sector stakeholders working together, both nationally and internationally.
Internet Must Stay Free of Intergovernmental Control
Ambassador Philip L. Verveer
In the space of half a generation, the Internet has become one of the most important mechanisms on the planet. Every human being, whether aware of it or not, depends upon it for material well being and for broader, non-economic benefits in social, cultural, political, and other realms.The Internet’s unprecedented growth is not the only unusual thing about it.
Perspectives: Boeing Sees WTO Rulings Setting Key Precedents for Global Trade
Ted Austell
In his recent article in European Affairs, Airbus consultant Charles Hamilton asserts that, five years after the U.S. filed a case with the World Trade Organization against European government subsidies to Airbus, “nothing has changed.”