In a written statement submitted for his July 31 Senate confirmation hearing, Gen. James E. Cartwright, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command and the Bush administration’s nominee to become the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, revealed that the administration has decided not to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) after it expires in Dec. 5, 2009. In his written description of his vision for developing a conventional, non-nuclear, prompt global strike capability, Gen. Cartwright included the following question: “Does the Administration’s decision not to extend the START Treaty have any impact on development of a [...]
Editor’s Note: In March, Kurt Pelda, Africa Bureau Chief of the Swiss daily the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, traveled to eastern Chad on the border with the Sudanese crisis region of Darfur. Over 200,000 Sudanese refugees live in eastern Chad, having fled the violence in Darfur. The region likewise serves as staging grounds for the Darfur rebels fighting against the Sudanese government. During his three weeks traveling in the region, Pelda kept a diary, which provides a portrait of the Darfur conflict that is perhaps unrivaled in its detail and nuance. World Politics Review presents this important document for the first [...]
‘FULL AND FRANK’ — While President Bush insisted that the change of leadership in Britain had not altered U.S.-British relations, Gordon Brown’s first official visit to Washington as prime minister somehow managed to place the partnership in a more distant, formal context. “Full and frank” — Brown’s description of his talks with Bush — recalls the Cold War, when it was diplospeak for “we disagreed,” and one step above “useful exchange of views.” We are a long way from Tony Blair’s warm, intense, and (at least in public) full endorsement of George Bush’s policies. European diplomats in Washington, briefed by [...]
