TREND NEWS AGENCY: NATO, AZERBAIJAN MAY HAVE COMMON GROUND – SECRETARY GENERAL ASSISTANT
NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Jean Francois Bureau told press in Baku, Azerbaijan that NATO and Azerbaijan share much common ground and that he appreciated Azerbaijan’s contributions to NATO over the last 15 years as part of the Partnership for Peace Program.
Question to the Blogosphere: Do you think it is important that NATO have strong positive relations with “partner countries”, or should it accept them as members of the organization? In liberal theories of international relations, institutions decrease the possibility of war by increasing transparency and cooperation between countries in an uncertain world. Do you think that an international organization focused on military relations, parallel to the UN, should be created to increase common ground on security issues around the world? What is the incentive for Azerbaijan to increase cooperation with NATO?
THE GUARDIAN: ‘HEALTHY AND ENERGETIC’ FIDEL CASTRO HOLDS TALKS WITH US POLITICIANS
The former Cuban president Fidel Castro yesterday met members of the US Congress in an attempt to improve relations between Cuba and Washington, asking what he could do to help Obama in bilateral relations between the two countries.
“We believe it is time to open dialogue and discussion with Cuba. Cubans do want dialogue. They do want talks. They do want normal relations.” –Congresswoman Barbara Lee.
Obama has ordered an assessment of US policy toward the communist nation, and some members of Congress are pushing to lift a ban on Americans visiting the island. Jeffrey Davidow, the White House adviser for this month’s Summit of the Americas, which Obama will attend, said the US president had no plans to lift the 47-year-old trade embargo against Cuba but would soon ease travel and financial restrictions .
Question to the Blogosphere: Should we be normalizing relations with the Castro brothers, or is the improvement of relations hindering our ability to focus on pro-democracy movements within Cuba? What do you think is the significance of the fact that the representatives meeting with Fidel Castro were from the Congressional Black Caucus? What have been the benefits of the trade embargo?
Pro-Taliban cleric Sufi Mohammad has announced he has pulled out of a peace deal in the violence-plagued Swat Valley in Pakistan, saying the government is not serious about implementing sharia law in the region. His son-in-law commands the Taliban in the Swat Valley and he blamed the Pakistani government for any bloodshed that might follow his withdrawal from negotiations. Mohammad’s pullout does not automatically mean the deal is over. The Taliban has not announced whether or not it too is pulling out.
Critics of the cease-fire have called it a major concession by the Pakistani government in an attempt to hold off Taliban attacks.
Question to the Blogosphere: Should the Pakistani government make concessions to a cleric with known close ties to a terrorist organization? What is the tradeoff between security in Pakistan (and the world) and increasing the power of the Taliban through negotiations? Do you think the Pakistani government is serious about combating the Taliban in its own country? Why has the Pakistani government not signed off on the deal allowing sharia law in the Swat Valley? Is the cleric too radical to negotiate with? Does imposing sharia law in the Swat Valley pose a threat to Pakistani sovereignty over its own lands? Is there a form of sharia law that would be acceptable to implement in the area for the international community?
In Waterboro, Maine, people who want to conserve land and those who want to build communications towers on it should be at odds. But that is not the case in Waterboro, where members of the recently formed Waterboro Land Trust are about to sit down with representatives from a company that wants to build a communications tower on land promised to the trust by the town. Whether the two groups can come to an agreement remains to be seen. The town stands to gain $250,000 through the 10-year life of the proposed lease. Meanwhile, acquisition by the trust would give the nonprofit land conservation group its first parcel – and some credibility for its mission to attract donors of privately owned land. There are concerns about where power would run to the tower and road work that needs to be done to make the site accessible. Concerns about potential erosion and overall aesthetics were also raised.
Question to the Blogosphere: Would an agreement that is satisfactory to both the conservationists and the construction company be possible without face to face negotiations in Maine? How is this scenario a microcosm of other conflicts and how is it different? What about the situation in Maine makes it easier to find common ground and what about it might make it harder?
In the wake of Obama’s trip to the Middle East, journalists from the region are weighing in on what he said and did–and what that means for the future of U.S.-Muslim relations. Francis Matthew, an editor for GulfNews.com, stated that Obama made it clear that America needs better understanding and cooperation with the Muslim world for its own sake. He quoted Obama as saying in Turkey:
“We seek broader engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, we will bridge misunderstandings, and we will seek common ground. We will be respectful, even when we do not agree.”
Matthew pointed out that Obama did not try to reach out to ‘moderate Islam’, which is a Western phrase trying to distinguish between the very small and violent radical fringe and the mainstream of Islam. He also did not dodge the differences between Christianity and Islam, and he recognised that “we will not agree”. Matthew believes this is at the heart of more practical steps to promote understanding between faiths. The difficulty is that when people of different faiths meet, by definition they know that people of other faiths are wrong, according to Matthew.
By refusing to treat Islam as a problem, and by treating it with respect, Obama has opened the possibility that a whole range of religious and social dialogue will find powerful political backing.
However, he did this without backing down on his long-held objective of “denying Al Qaida a safe haven in Pakistan or Afghanistan. The world has come too far to let this region backslide, and to let Al Qaida terrorists plot further attacks.”
He was uncompromising on that struggle, with which he has the goodwill of the Muslim world.
The people from the Middle East who commented on this article online generally agreed with Matthew:
President Obama seems to be honest in his approach to the [M]uslim world. The whole [M]uslim world should give him a chance to convert his words to action. Particularly Iran should be careful dealing with Obama as he is going soft on Iranians after 30 years of aggressive policies of past Presidents. Again the whole Muslim world should think for the betterment of their people who already suffered under bad actions of the previous American Government. After all this great opportunity to pick up and act wisely towards Obama offer that seems to be based on honesty mutual respect and justice.
Syed Qurban Hussain
Dubai,UAE
Excellent. Nothing can be added. Well done, Francis.
Ali
Dubai,UAE
Question to the Blogosphere: Do you agree with this author and Obama that there will always be disagreements between members of different religions? Do you think Obama’s trip to the Middle East was stylish and substantive, or just stylish? What do you think the significance of this trip will be for the history books? Do you think the trip has changed perceptions of the U.S. in the Muslim world? Is it possible to have lasting peace through cooperation with the Muslim world, or do we have to stay at war with terrorists to ensure American security? How has our role as hegemon changed in the last 3 months since Obama entered the White House? How does the opinion of Obama vary across the Middle East?
REUTERS: ASEAN SEEKS TO CREATE ONE BIG VILLAGE
A pink dragon-like alien from outerspace (who for some odd reason is called “Blue”) is driving through space one day when he gets into a traffic accident with some space debris and falls to earth. The creature lands in Southeast Asia (where bizarre traffic accidents are commonplace) in a place called “ASEAN Village”. It is here, waiting for his spaceship to be fixed, where Blue learns about ASEAN and its acheivements over the past 40 years, and its aspiration to become one big happy ASEAN Community. This is the storyline from a new comic book and animated cartoon for schoolchildren that the ASEAN Secretariat has commissioned to propagate the idea of an ASEAN Community, one not so unlike the European Community, which the leaders of today are hoping to bequeath the children of tomorrow.
This weekend’s meeting in Pattaya, Thailand will try to find common ground in dealing with the financial crisis, which has begun to pinch Asia’s largely export-dependent economies. The leaders will sign agreements on energy, climate change, food security. They will be filled with important sounding acronyms and they will be legally pretty much worthless.
If the leaders ever begin to talk seriously, say about a single currency or monetary union as Europe did a quarter-century or so ago, then they can truly start being a community. Until that happens, ASEAN is a caucus without much focus.
Question to the Blogosphere: What do you think are the barriers to discovering common ground in the ASEAN region? Why has it been so hard to create something similar to the EU in Asia? What do you think is the significance of the story being told to Asian children about “Blue” and the “ASEAN Village”?
