The president of the US George Bush delivered his State of the Union Address on 28 January 2008. In the economy, Bush urged the Congress to adopt a $150 billion economic stimulus package of tax rebates for an estimated 117 million families and tax breaks for businesses. He also stressed that the U.S should not turn its back on Iraq. “Violence has been reduced, but the timing of U.S. troop withdrawals will depend on continued success in securing that country”.
DI - 27/11/2007
This year edition of the HDReport is focused on climate change and how it will create long-run low human development traps, pushing vulnerable people into a downward spiral of deprivation. The failure to respond to this challenge will stall and then reverse international efforts to reduce poverty. Also, there is useful information of the 2007/2008 Human Development Index rankings.
The document adopted by the leaders of the world's seven richest nations - the US, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada – and Russia at the St.Petersburg Summit held from 15 to 17 July. Global energy security, development of modern education systems and fight against infectious diseases were the priority themes, as well as globalization, international trade and Africa
The WESS is a publication of the UN Development Policy and Analysis Division (DPAD), which provides objective analysis of pressing long-term social and economic development issues, and discusses the positive and negative impact of corresponding policies. Diverging growth and development is the theme of 2006 report, which shows that in the industrialized world the income level over the last five decades has grown steadily. This has not occurred in many developing countries, thereby causing a rise in already high world inequality
The EU-US Summit was held on 21 June in Vienna to discuss foreign policy co-operation, energy security, economy and trade, and other global challenges. This document bring together the Summit declaration and four reports on political and security issues, economic initiative, EU-US regulatory cooperation, and the enforcement of intellectual property rights
The Legal Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) has presented this document which shows collusion of the Council of Europe member states with the U.S. clandestine “spider’s web” of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers. The committee said hundreds of persons had become entrapped in this web – in some cases when they were merely suspected of sympathising with a presumed terrorist organisation. (See also Draft Resolution and recommendation)
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International LabourOffice (ILO) have jointly produced the first handbook to assist States in their efforts to develop new policy approaches, solutions, and practical measures for better management of labour migration in countries of origin and of destination. It was launched at the 14th OSCE Economic Forum in Prague
This Amnesty International Report -presented on 23 March in London- says that “2005 was defined by hope wrestling against the duplicity, double speak and failed promises of governments”. The document shows that 104 countries out of the 150 countries analysed have tortured or ill-treated people. Guantánamo prison camp, Darfur’s crisis, the “war on terror” and growing human rights deficit in Europe are also highlighted as key factors in 2005
The Fund for Peace, an independent research organisation, and FOREIGN POLICY magazine have presented the second annual Failed States Index. Using 12 social, economic, political and military indicators, it ranks 148 states in order of their vulnerability to violent internal conflict and societal dysfunction
Final statement of the Third International Conference on Early Warning which took place in Bonn, Germany from 27 to 29 March under the auspices of the United Nations. Guided by the slogan "From concept to action", the Conference strongly emphasized the role of local communities in effective early warning. The Conference and its preparations resulted in the following documents: “Compendium of Early Warning Projects” and “Developing Early Warning Systems: A Key Checklist”
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March. European institutions -such as Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the European Union’s European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC), and the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) - make a joint statement on this occasion
President George W. Bush presented a New National Security Strategy for the US on 16 March 2006. The new strategy backs the policy of pre-emptive war and singles out Iran as the greatest single current danger. It also stresses US preference for "transformational diplomacy" and coalition building, but not necessarily within United Nations or Nato frameworks. This document also highlights a string of other global issues such as the spread of Aids, the threat of pandemic flu and the prospect of natural and environmental disasters
United States and India Joint Statement (2 March 2006). President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reaffirm their commitment to expand the ties between their two countries in the following areas: international economy and trade, energy security, environment, innovation and knowledge economy, global safety and security
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announces the release of the State Department's 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practice (8 March 2006). The reports, provide analyses of the human rights conditions in 196 countries around the world
The GEO Year Book 2006 is the third annual survey of the changing global environment produced by the United Nations Environment Programme, in collaboration with many world experts in environmental research and action. The Year Book includes global and regional overviews. It highlights the linkages between environmental well-being, vulnerability and poverty; records recent findings on the value of ecosystem services; and describes new research findings on polar and ocean changes that may prove a turning point in the urgency of our awareness and response to global change
The present joint report is submitted by five holders of mandates of special procedures of the Commission on Human Rights who have been jointly following the situation of detainees held at theUnited States Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay since June 2004.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel emerged from talks with President George W. Bush in Washington to say that US-German relations were back on track and that they shared common ground on many issues, including Iran.
“The United States is a nation engaged in what will be a long war. Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, our Nation has fought a global war against violent extremists who use terrorism as their weapon of choice, and who seek to destroy our free way of life. Our enemies seek weapons of mass destruction and, if they are successful, will likely attempt to use them in their confl ict with free people everywhere. Currently, the struggle is centered in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we will need to be prepared and arranged to successfully defend our Nation and its interests around the globe for years to come. Th is 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review is submitted in the fifth year of this long war."
The IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution requesting the IAEA Director General to report to the UN Security Council all IAEA reports and resolutions, as adopted, relating to the implementation of safeguards in Iran. The Resolution was adopted by vote of 27 in favour, 3 against and 5 abstentions
New evidence demonstrated in 2005 that torture and mistreatment have been a deliberate part of the Bush administration’s counterterrorism strategy, undermining the global defence of human rights, Human Rights Watch said in releasing its World Report 2006. The evidence showed that abusive interrogation cannot be reduced to the misdeeds of a few low-ranking soldiers, but was a conscious policy choice by senior U.S. government officials. The policy has hampered Washington’s ability to cajole or pressure other states into respecting international law, said the volume’s introductory essay.
With the end of the Cold War, a popular parlor game in foreign ministries, think tanks, and academia has been to develop a theory of international relations that best explains the new international order. Although there is widespread agreement that the United States is the world’s most powerful country in military, economic, and diplomatic terms, and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future, there is little agreement as to how the rest of the world will react to America’s lead. Theory has an even more difficult time explaining the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom (UK), especially its remarkable endurance over the past 6 decades.
The following document articulates the broad strategy President Bush set forth in 2003 and provides an update on american progress as well as the challenges remaining. “The United States has no intention of determining the precise form of Iraq’s new government. That choice belongs to the Iraqi people. Yet, we will ensure that one brutal dictator is not replaced by another. All Iraqis must have a voice in the new government, and all citizens must have their rights protected. Rebuilding Iraq will require a sustained commitment from many nations, including our own: we will remain in Iraq as long as necessary, and not a day more.”
President Bush Speech at the United States Naval Academy. “Iraqis know their people, they know their language, and they know their culture -- and they know who the terrorists are. Iraqi forces are earning the trust of their countrymen -- who are willing to help them in the fight against the enemy. As the Iraqi forces grow in number, they're helping to keep a better hold on the cities taken from the enemy. And as the Iraqi forces grow more capable, they are increasingly taking the lead in the fight against the terrorists. Our goal is to train enough Iraqi forces so they can carry the fight -- and this will take time and patience. And it's worth the time, and it's worth the effort – because Iraqis and Americans share a common enemy, and when that enemy is defeated in Iraq, Americans will be safer here at home”
The Fallout: The hurricane's shock waves are already hurting at the gas pump. But the ultimate price tag depends on how fast America's energy hub can recover.
The human tragedy wrought by Hurricane Katrina, so visible in the anguished faces of her victims and shocking portraits of devastation dominating the national news media, is incalculable. The historic city of New Orleans, the cradle of important elements of American culture like jazz and its distinctive cuisine, has been laid waste, and given her precarious relationship with the sea, may never be the same. Rebuilding and recovery in the broader region likely will be costly, take years, and will require enormous sacrifice from its people and help from the nation.
Once the floodwaters have been pumped out of New Orleans —which may take weeks—insurers expect a deluge of claims. Estimates of the losses range from $9 billion to $25 billion. The high end of this range would make Katrina the most expensive natural disaster in America’s history for underwriters, topping the $21 billion paid out after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
“From overhauling basic management practices and building a more transparent, efficient and effective United Nations system to revamping our major intergovernmental institutions so that they reflect today’s world and advance the priorities set forth in the present report, we must reshape the Organization in ways not previously imagined and with a boldness and speed not previously shown”. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, 2005
“If our commanders on the ground say we need more troops, I will send them. But our commanders tell me they have the number of troops they need to do their job. Sending more Americans would undermine our strategy of encouraging Iraqis to take the lead in this fight. And sending more Americans would suggest that we intend to stay forever, when we are, in fact, working for the day when Iraq can defend itself and we can leave. As we determine the right force level, our troops can know that I will continue to be guided by the advice that matters: the sober judgment of our military leaders.”
Anti-Americanism in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, which surged as a result of the U.S. war in Iraq, shows modest signs of abating. But the United States remains broadly disliked in most countries surveyed, and the opinion of the American people is not as positive as it once was. The magnitude of America's image problem is such that even popular U.S. policies have done little to repair it.
Transatlantic relations stand at a crucial point. The mood of pragmatism evident since Mr Bush's re-election last November continues to prevail on both sides of the Atlantic. But it has more of the hallmarks of a fragile ceasefire than of a new phase of strategic transatlantic engagement. And its rhetoric has yet to be translated into action. How can the US administration and its European counterparts best build on their stated desire to place transatlantic co-ordination at the heart of their foreign policies? We suggest a different approach. Today, trying to build new institutional structures of coordination to replace those that sustained the Atlantic Alliance during the cold war is premature. We should not underestimate the deep damage done to transatlantic relations during the bruising debate over Iraq two years ago. While some sort of US-EU, one-plus-one arrangement might be necessary in future, now is the time to rebuild transatlantic trust through the development of specific common solutions to specific common challenges- the nature of, and solutions to which, we should be able to agree. There is no shortage of pressing issues on the transatlantic agenda.
President Bush is determined to strengthen transatlantic ties. As the President said in his recent Inaugural Address: "All that we seek to achieve in the world requires that America and Europe remain close partners." "We have not always seen eye to eye; however, on how to address different threats. We have had our disagreements. But it is time to turn away from the disagreements of the past. It is time to open a new chapter in our relationship, and a new chapter in our alliance."
"As a new Congress gathers, all of us in the elected branches of government share a great privilege: We've been placed in office by the votes of the people we serve. And tonight that is a privilege we share with newly-elected leaders of Afghanistan, the Palestinian Territories, Ukraine, and a free and sovereign Iraq. Two weeks ago, I stood on the steps of this Capitol and renewed the commitment of our nation to the guiding ideal of liberty for all. This evening I will set forth policies to advance that ideal at home and around the world."
In his Inaugural Address, President Bush said, "On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution, and recall the deep commitments that unite our country. I am grateful for the honor of this hour, mindful of the consequential times in which we live, and determined to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed."
For the better part of the past 50 years, each successive U.S. Administration has eventually come to the same conclusion about America’s relations with Europe. Every effort at closer European integration is to be welcomed tepidly, as it is assumed that a prosperous Europe would prove more pro-free market, more pro-Atlanticist, and more pro-American. However, in the wake of the transatlantic divide over the Iraq war and the public diplomacy calamity that has followed, such a simplistic analysis does not explain the schism at the heart of the post–Cold War transatlantic relationship
CNN's exit polls offer a breakdown of voting patterns in the 2004 US Presidential Elections
Since last fall, a worrying new front has emergend in the still tense relationship between the United States and Europe. The front lies not in the Middle East, but in China. The idea that the EU leaders might lift their arms embargo on China in December is a deep source of concern, not only for US Policy makers, but also for many of their European counterparts
A new Working Paper published by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) with contributions by Didier Bigo, Jeremy Shapiro and Andrei Fedorov
Lecture by José María Aznar, former Spanish Prime Minister; Georgetown University, 21/9/2004
After the intense debates and disagreements of the past three years, the transatlantic community is divided. While Americans and Europeans have similar threat perceptions, they differ markedly on how best to deal with these threats and under what aegis. One result of this division is that many Europeans, while wanting to cooperate with the United States, also want to play a more independent role in the world. By contrast, Americans seek a closer partnership with a strong European Union even if it would not always agree with US perceptions or prescriptions
September 9/11, 2001, was a day of unprecedented shock and suffering in the history of the United States. The nation was unprepared. How did this happen, and how can we avoid such tragedy again? To answer these questions, the Congress and the President created the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
The World Economic Outlook presents IMF staff's analysis and projections of economic developments at the global level, in major country groups (classified by region, stage of development, etc.), and in many individual countries. It focuses on major economic policy issues as well as on the analysis of economic developments and prospects
Despite the rising death toll of American fighting men and women in Iraq and continued news coverage of insurrection and anger against Americans in that country, a majority of Americans remain convinced that U.S. involvement in Iraq has been worth it so far, and that sending troops there was not a mistake (From Gallup News Service)
Transparency International provides an overview of the state of corruption around the world. This year the Global Corruption Report focuses on political corruption
A year after the war in Iraq, discontent with America and its policies has intensified rather than diminished. Opinion of the United States in France and Germany is at least as negative now as at the war’s conclusion, and British views are decidedly more critical. Perceptions of American unilateralism remain widespread in European and Muslim nations, and the war in Iraq has undermined America’s credibility abroad
In its latest European edition, the US weekly Time Magazine has a special feature on Spain, 'Spain Takes on the World'. The report offers full coverage of the main aspects of Spain's political, cultural and social scene
