| 27.02.2009 |
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| It doesn't happen often, but sometimes someone expresses an opinion one can entirely agree with. Even more rarely this someone happens to be politician. Well, this just happened to me after reading Senator Richard Lugar's article arguing why the U.S. should reverse its long process of closing its America Centers around the world. I witnessed the closure of all U.S. government run America Centers in Germany over the years, with the last Amerika Haus operated by the U.S. government closing in Cologne in 2007. Sure, many of them have reopened through private initiative and do a great job in fostering transatlantic understanding. But I have always felt that for an issue that is as important for the U.S. as public diplomacy (as everyone has come to understood at least after 9/11) Washington should put its money where its mouth is. To be clear, the internet and other modern information tools as well as private sponsors are and should be a big part of public diplomacy. But can and should they replace a live forum, a marketplace of ideas where people in cities across the world can meet, talk and debate with Americans, not in a virtual chat room, but in a real reading room? I think not. Apropos reading room: Were the American Center in Frankfurt to reopen its library I would gladly donate the hundreds of classical Americana I schlepped away in dozens of bags after the library closed. Ok, maybe not gladly, but it would give them back. |
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| 25.02.2009 |
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| According to media reports, President Barack Obama will soon announce his decision to complete the American combat troop withdrawal from Iraq by August 2010 and the pullout of all U.S. forces by December 2011. If implemented, the withdrawal will take a few months longer than Obama pledged during the campaign. But I agree with Marc Lynch that this gap is insignificant. Obama's timetable for withdrawal shows that he is serious about keeping his commitments, while at the same time adjusting them to factors and events on the ground. By most accounts, violence in Iraq has decreased dramatically, a fact that has been underscored by peaceful recent regional elections in the country, which (perhaps for that reason) went largely unnoticed by international media. However, it's also worth pointing out, as Michael Crowley does, that the real test might come if Iraq once again descends into chaos and Obama must decide whether to bring back the American military to stabilize the country or let the Iraqis deal with it themselves. What's more, according to recent reports, escalating tensions between Iraqi Kurds and Arabs could complicate the planned American pullout. The Prime Minister of the Kurdish regional parliament demanded only a few days ago that the U.S. iron out problems between Kurds and the central government in Baghad before pulling out its troops. |
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| 24.02.2009 |
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| With the German Carnival season coming to an official end on Wednesday, here are a few highlights of Monday's traditional parades in the German Carnival capitals Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz. As everyone who has ever been to one of those cities during Carnival season knows, celebrating it properly and extensively is taken very seriously. In Cologne alone more than one million revellers watched Germany's biggest Carnival parade consisting of more than 11,000 participants and more than 100 decorated floats. Keeping with the focus of Across the Pond, all pictures feature Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, or the U.S. in general. - Obama bites Clinton (Düsseldorf Carnival Parade) - Uncle Sam's crumbling empire (Cologne Carnival Parade) - Europe on the heels of America's Obama (Düsseldorf Carnival Parade) - Obama trying to lift up the Statue of Liberty (Mainz Carnival Parade) |
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| 13.02.2009 |
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| The new U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, had to deal with a setback on her first significant issue at the UN. Libya defeated unanimous support for a U.S. draft proposal that would have condemned the increasing civilian deaths in Sudan's Darfur region and would have implicated the Sudanese government. "We had hoped to have a presidential statement that would have spoken with one voice in condemning the ongoing violence," Rice told the AP calling the situation in Darfur "ongoing genocide." The episode shows that even an administration with a multilaterialist bent, and a decidely more positive view of the United Nations than the Bush administration, doesn't necessarily guarantee progress on intractable issues. |
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| 12.02.2009 |
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| Is Hillary Clinton dissing China because she will kick off her Asia tour in Japan and visit China last? Or is it a sign that she is bowing to Asia's increasing power and thereby dissing Europe? It's fun to interpret travel plans, but I think both of the assertions above read too much into the Secretary of State's itinerary. If Clinton left out China on her trip that could truly be considered a slight of the country. She isn't. And there's also another way of looking at it. By visiting China last, her talks in Beijing will probably have the most lasting news impact of the entire trip. Example: Barack Obama's trip last year to Europe and the Middle East. He travelled to the Middle East first and also to France and Britain, but what do you most remember about the trip? His speech in Berlin, even though he really didn't spend all that much time in the German capital. What does that mean? Ultimately, content not the sequence of countries visited or time spent in capitals matters. That's also the reason why Clinton's trip to Asia is by no means a slight for Europe. Just a few days ago Vice President Joe Biden delivered a major speech about the Obama administration's foreign policy agenda at the Munich Security Forum. And in April, President Obama himself is expected in Germany and France for the NATO summit. Therefore, it makes sense that Hillary Clinton visits Asia first. If she hadn't, Asia rightly could have felt slighted. |
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| 11.02.2009 |
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| Unlike the previous administration, the Obama administration's support for a planned missile defense system in Eastern Europe is luke warm at best. Even before the inauguration, the incoming administration said it would review the plans, a clear signal that a shift in direction on the issue was coming. Recently, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reiterated the policy shift in favor of a possible sweeping nuclear arms reduction deal and better relations with Russia. Fair enough. But then why try to create a nexus - as Secretary Clinton did - between Iran's "behavior" and the setting up of the missile shield after having all but announced that the missile shield had been shelved? You can't signal the Russians and the Europeans that the missile shield is history, and at the same time want to use it as a stick vis-à-vis Tehran. That's simply not credible and therefore not exactly a stellar diplomatic moment. |
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| 10.02.2009 |
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| In an interview I did with Moisés Naím about Barack Obama's international agenda and Europe's stance toward it the Editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy called on Europe to start helping the U.S. instead of merely applauding the new president. You can read the interview here. |
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| 09.02.2009 |
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| Vice President Joe Biden's speech at the Munich Security Conference was generally well received. The AP thought Biden hit most of the right notes. Europeans liked what they heard. And the Russians were also warmed by Biden's remarks. But that's not the whole story. An analyst for the BBC pointed out that Biden's speech was applauded around the globe, the proof whether it signalled a new world order was still outstanding. In a similar vain, Politico argued that Biden, despite his conciliatory tone, returned home with no concrete results. Even more negatively were conservative commentators such as Nile Gardiner, who in his blog for the Daily Telegraph, called the speech weak-kneed and criticized the Obama administration for ceasing to use the phrase war on terror. In his blog for The Heritage Foundation, he wrote Biden gave "one of the weakest projections of U.S. leadership on foreign soil in recent memory." The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol called it vague and underwhelming. While the wish to reap instant results after a speech that was intended to break with the rhetoric and policy of the Bush administration is understandable, it is unrealistic. Just because of Biden's speech, Russia will not immediately reverse its stance on Iran, Georgia or U.S. missile defense. And neither will Germany all of sudden commit to sending more troops to Afghanistan. But without such a speech, offering a new partnership, there wouldn't be even an impetus for any of those steps to take place. Now the ball has been passed back to America's partners and adversaries. As for the criticism that Biden's speech was one of the weakest projections of U.S. Leadership, I am not sure that, at a time when America's economy and global image is lying in tatters and after eight years in which power projection appeared to many to be Washington's main political tool, the projection of U.S. leadership on foreign soil is what would be deemed very helpful right now. |
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| 06.02.2009 |
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| For all foreign policy and international affairs buffs, the plans for this weekend are clear. Check out what's happening at Munich's Security Conference. The event is for the first time being headed by Wolfgang Ischinger, Germany's former ambassador to Washington. There should not be any shortage of topics and there certainly is not shortage of high-ranking politicans. Just have a look at the opening night line up here. Obviously one of the highlights of the trip will be the outline of President Barack Obama's foreign policy plans by Vice President Joe Biden on his first trip abroad after taking office. You can watch the live stream of the conference here. |
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| 05.02.2009 |
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| In an interview I did with Jimmy Wales, the Wikipedia founder talks about Google's Knol, why Wikipedia is so big in Germany and why he wouldn't want to trade with the founders of Facebook and Google. And Wales also talks about his recent call from the Obama transition team and why he likes Jimmy Carter. You can read the interview here. |
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| 03.02.2009 |
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| I did an interview with Reid Hoffman, founder and CEO of Linkedin at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Here's what he had to say about President Barack Obama's first days in office: "I think he has been very good at being focused. That's extraordinarily important. From what I can see and I don't have inside information, but I can see him focusing on two things. One is stimulus package and fixing the economy. And he is soliciting ideas very broadly about how to do that well, which is very good, because it's open to a variety of new ideas. And the second one is the U.S. reputation internationally and communicating in the most tangible, possible way: We are a member of the world order, not ignoring it, not running roughshot over it. So I think those are the exact right things to focus on. You have to get to a bunch of other ones later, but those are the right two things to start focusing on." |
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