Briefing Archive

Editor’s Note: Today we present the second installment of Transatlantic Intelligencer, a new column written by World Politics Review translations editor John Rosenthal. Drawing from predominantly European foreign-language news sources, Rosenthal posts each “Trans-Int” item on the WPR blog as he uncovers it. At the start of the next week, we publish all of the items in this full column in our news section. GERARD SCHRÖDER, NOW AND THEN — With important elections upcoming later this month in the German states of Hesse and Lower Saxony and next month in Hamburg, former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has returned to the public […]

CHINA UNDER FIRE FOR ACTIVIST DETENTION — While Hu Jia is not the only human rights activist to face detention in recent months, his Dec. 27 arrest has garnered special attention from human rights groups and governments, which are attempting to use the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games to press China to improve its human rights record. The European Parliament and U.S. State Department have joined calls for Hu’s immediate release. Chinese authorities maintain Hu is being investigated for subversion in accordance with Chinese law. Hu, a longtime environmental and rights activist, rose to prominence due to his advocacy on behalf […]

Citing unnamed EU diplomats, the International Herald Tribune reports that the United States and Germany are prepared to green-light Kosovo’s independence soon after Serbia’s two-stage elections conclude in the first week of February. Once Kosovo declares independence, according to the paper, U.S. President George W. Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will move quickly to recognize the predominantly Albanian enclave, with the rest of Europe’s major powers — Britain, France and Italy — following suit. In a world as complex as ours — and in a region as messy as the Balkans — Washington seldom has the luxury of choosing […]

It is, perhaps, surprising how much President George W. Bush has talked about democracy and freedom in the Middle East. Last weekend in Abu Dhabi, he delivered his third speech dedicated largely to that topic, which is three more than any previous U.S. president. Bush’s dedication to the theme of freedom in the Middle East is genuine. In his formulation, appreciation for the rights of the individual in the Middle East would expand liberty, undermine extremism, and enhance the security of Americans, Arabs, and others. As the president has seen things, Middle Eastern governments have been the obstacles to realizing […]

BELGRADE, Serbia — The two leading contenders in Serbia’s presidential election are mixing their messages on Europe, Russia and nationalism. Campaign posters across the country show Democratic Party candidate President Boris Tadic, a pro-European, in front of the national flag. The tricolor, however, is difficult to spot on nationalist Tomislav Nikolic’s posters. Instead, he is telling all he is a lifelong pro-European, despite also saying that EU membership will have to wait until Serbia’s sovereignty over the province of Kosovo is assured. That outcome is far from certain with Kosovo’s declaration of independence set to come soon after the presidential […]

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez’s call to remove Colombia’s guerrilla groups from lists of foreign terrorist organizations has been met with widespread condemnation by the Colombian government and has exacerbated the existing diplomatic crisis between the two neighboring nations. Last week, Colombia rejoiced following the much-anticipated release of two female hostages. But celebrations were quickly overshadowed by Chávez’s controversial declaration that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the smaller National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group are not terrorists but rather “real armies who occupy a space in Colombia.” “FARC and the ELN are insurgent forces who […]

Ask anyone in Kabul who Tulsi is and you’re sure to see eyes light up. “Tulsi? Of course! She’s the victim. Her daughter-in-law hates her and her two-timing husband has a younger woman. She was right to leave home with her three kids,” people will tell you with a huge grin of satisfaction. Then passersby will get dragged in as the discussion shifts to the latest episodes of Afghanistan’s best-loved TV serial. The title is a tad tortuous, but it translates roughly as: “Because the Mother-in-law Was Once a Daughter-in-law Too.” It’s the latest trend in Afghan popular culture: Indian […]

PARIS — It was one of the most surprising and revealing images of the New Year in French politics: José Bové, the famously mustachioed “anti-globalization” activist and self-appointed scourge of genetically-modified crops, being greeted by France’s prim and proper Deputy Minister of Ecology Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet . . . with a kiss. The highly publicized encounter took place with cameras rolling on Jan. 3 in front of the French Ministry of Ecology in Paris. Technically, Bové was supposed to be in prison, serving a four-month jail sentence as a consequence of his role in vandalizing a field of genetically-modified (GM) corn […]

Although Donald Tusk has only been Polish prime minister since early November, he has already made clear that reconciling with Russia is a key goal for his new government. He told a recent news conference that, “The improvement of relations between Moscow and Warsaw is a priority goal of current Polish foreign policy.” The two sides have resolved some strains and begun addressing others. The key issue now facing the Polish government is the extent to which it can both satisfy Moscow and enhance its leverage with Washington without antagonizing either party. Tusk, a former Solidarity activist and leader of […]

For years Israelis have worried that the international community would give up its efforts to contain the threat from Iran’s militant regime and leave Israel to confront it alone. Israelis, who say muscular diplomatic sanctions are the best route, have maintained that despite Iran’s specific taunts and threats against Israel, the danger posed by the Islamic Republic extends not only to the entire Middle East but far beyond. Just when it looked like Israel was about to fail in its efforts to convince the world about the dangers posed by Iran, the Iranian regime itself stepped in to help Israel […]

SEOUL, South Korea — Two weeks after North Korea failed to meet a Dec. 31 deadline to denuclearize, Washington is refraining from setting any new timetables, but has reiterated calls for North Korea to live up to agreements it made in October as part of six-party talks. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the top U.S. envoy to North Korea, has returned to Washington after making stops in the capitals of the states involved in the six-party talks with North Korea and the United States: Japan, South Korea, China and Russia. He did not meet with nor visit any Pyongyang […]

DENPASAR, Indonesia — Some want him pardoned and remembered as the “Father of Development.” Others say his name should forever be linked to the crimes he committed. Almost 10 years since he was deposed by a student-led movement, former dictator Suharto still divides Indonesia. As he teeters on the edge of death in a hospital in Jakarta, the battle over his legacy has begun. The result of the battle will be a strong indicator of the current state of democracy and the rule of law in Indonesia. Suharto reigned over a brutal and corrupt military regime that kept Indonesia under […]

Beijing likely will interpret the overwhelming victory of Taiwan’s opposition Nationalist (Kuomintang) Party in this weekend’s nationwide legislative elections over the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as confirming the wisdom of continuing China’s atypically moderate pre-ballot approach toward the island. The results, combined with other developments, could reduce the risks of war across the Taiwan Strait. Such a confrontation would wreak havoc on world markets and could escalate into a direct battle between the Chinese and U.S. militaries. According to Taiwan’s Central Election Commission, the Kuomintang (KMT) won 81 seats, the DPP secured 27, and independents and representatives of minor […]

SARKO ON THE RECORD — Eat your heart out, President Bush. Around 600 media types from 40 countries attended French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s press conference last week. That’s more than twice as many as a normal White House presidential press conference. Predictably, the real news was swamped by coverage of what Sarko had to say about his relationship with Italian girlfriend Carla Bruni. But Sarkozy was living up to his campaign promise to change France. He talked of making the three national television channels commercial free, financing them by raising taxes on independent channels and mobile phones, and by taxing […]

Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani joined many commentators earlier this month in making the case for doubling U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan from the current 27,000. He and others argue that more troops would address escalating violence in the country and hedge against the increasing fragility of neighboring Pakistan’s government. Such a large-scale U.S. troop increase, however, could be disastrous in the region, where maintaining a relatively light U.S. footprint and building a more significant allied one is the paradoxical key to defeating al-Qaida and the Taliban. Even the 3,000-man increase that U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is currently considering […]

SADDAM’S MONEY IN FRANCE — AND IN AMERICAN PUBLISHING? — In an article that appeared last month (Dec. 21) in the daily Le Figaro, French journalist George Malbrunot reports that the French government is continuing to resist Iraqi efforts to recover the financial assets of Saddam Hussein in France. According to Malbrunot’s report, some €23.48 million of Saddam’s money remains blocked in French banks. (The original report placed the money in the Banque de France: a claim that has since been denied by the French national bank.) France would thus be in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1483 of […]

TAYLOR TRIAL RESUMES — At the Hague Jan. 7, prosecutors began presenting their case against former Liberian President Charles Taylor. A Canadian “blood diamond” expert was called as the first of 144 expected witnesses for the prosecution. Taylor faces 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged role trading weapons for diamonds in the brutal 1991-2002 Sierra Leone war. Additionally, the prosecution alleges that the diamond trade through Liberia that earned the Revolutionary United Front — which was responsible for much of the war’s violence — $125 million a year could not have happened without the […]