Republican Palace
(New York) – January 1, 2009. A new year has come and an old one has gone, in a sign of the progress in Iraq the United States has made it has handed over control of the Green Zone to Iraqi forces. The 5.6-square-mile area in the heart of Baghdad also known as the International Zone will be under full control of the Iraqi’s, although there will be a United States presence there, the US is even paying rent now. (more…)
This is part one of a two part series covering the future of Guantánamo Bay.
(NEW YORK) Guantánamo Bay is a bay located in Guantánamo Province at the south-eastern end of Cuba. Most people however know the bay by the U.S. Naval base there. The land granted to the United States was granted to them in the terms of the Cuban-American treaty of 1903 which effectively leases the land indefinitely to the United States. Currently the United States leases the land for $4,085 annually.
In the American controlled Guantánamo Bay Naval Base are more than ships, barracks and an airfield. There are various food franchises owned by the Department of the Navy. There’s a Taco Bell, Subway, KFC, A&W, pubs, bowling allies, and even Cuba’s first and only McDonald’s.
Guantanamo Bay inmates upon arrival
The base is best known for the now infamous Guantánamo Bay Naval Base Detention Camp, where many detainees are held.
There has been controversy time and time again regarding the base. From the treatment of inmates, to the conditions they’re held in, to the ages of them.
Barack Obama campaigned on the promise of closing down the Detention Camp. He will not be closing down the base itself as the base is vital to the Navy’s interests and is a key strategic location in the Caribbean. The closing of the detention center on the base he has said is one of his top priorities.
There are very few, if any people who are against shutting down the detention center. But there’s a question which looms large and seems to have gone unnoticed by the media. What happens after the Detention center at Guantánamo Bay is closed?
(more…)
Polish Troops in Afghanistan
After 90 years Poland has ended its program of conscription into the military. All men 18 years and older must serve 9 months in Poland’s military.
Poland for most of its history was under threat of invasion. Recently these threats have loomed large yet again. These threats coming mostly from its neighbor to the east with the largest land army in the world. The Russian invasion of Georgia this summer reminded Poland how easy it would be for them to be next.
Recently however with the last election there were promises to the many youths that in exchange for their vote, the politicians would end the draft. So now the time has come for the government to end the draft. They kept their promises.
Last week the last group of of drafted soldiers would be the final group. This followed 90 years of mandatory service. All of this coming as an effort to modernize its army.
Poland has shown its eagerness to tackle military problems lately as a member of NATO and of the EU. With troops in Chad, Afghanistan and recently finished its tour of duty in Iraq. Poland has shown to be a vital ally to the United States and its Western European allies.
Poland is facing the same problems as many other nations at this time. The global economic recession has taken finances away from the armed services. Then there is the added pressure of outdated and failing equipment. The new policy of ending conscription has led to yet another problem to be addressed.
Not having a steady supply of men to serve in its armed forces Poland has had to start running commercials and raising financial compensation for its soldiers. After these draftee’s have finished their 9 month tours of duty Poland will officially have a professional army.
British troops in Basra
According to the latest BBC reports UK forces are scheduled to leave Iraq early next year. They are reporting the troops are scheduled to begin leaving in March of 2009.
Most British soldiers are in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Currently the UK has 4,100 of the few Non-American coalition troops left in Iraq. This would make Romania the next largest contributor of soldiers to the occupation in Iraq with around 500 troops.
This news follows the Iraqi governments decision to force US troops to pull out of the cities by mid 2009 and to withdraw completely by December 2011.
Many inside the Department of Defence in the UK are saying the troops could be moved over to help fight the Taliban. Soldiers, helicopters and other equipment are needed urgently to keep the Taliban from regaining land.
In an article published in the July/August 2007 article of Foreign Affairs President Elect Obama wrote about his plan for the future of American foreign policy. I encourage you to read the article and learn how an Obama Presidency will change the course set by the last 8 years of Republican and Neo-Conservative thinking.
Barack Obama in Berlin
Hopefully the man so anxiously wanted by our allies to lead our nation will welcome his foreign policy with as much zeal.
Obviously President Elect Obama has stated time and time again that we should focus more on Afghanistan and working with Pakistan to deal with Al Qaeda. Therefore those sections will be omitted. Read more below regarding how Barack Obama will deal with terrorist threats in a time where our biggest ships and strongest tanks are no match for the asymmetrical warfare of the 21st Century. (more…)
Well well well…after being laughed at and disrespected in public by both John McCain and George Bush, Barack Obama has proven (once again) to be correct: Diplomacy is indeed the best option. The Bush Adminstration has decided that they will send diplomats to Switzerland where they will meet Iranian diplomats the discuss the escalating tensions between the two nations.
Could it be that our founding fathers were actually intellegent? Could their philosophy of non-interventionism actually works? Could I ask any more obvious questions? People describe Barack Obama as an insane liberal who is going to raise your taxes and let gays have rights. Yet, what could be more “conservative” than returning to a foreign policy of reason? No more wars of agression, no more manipulation, no more unnecessary spending on governments that supress democracy. Barack Obama is apparently no more radical than the Declaration of Independence.
From Barackobama.com
The Problem: The United States is trapped by the Bush-Cheney approach to diplomacy that refuses to talk to leaders we don’t like. Not talking doesn’t make us look tough – it makes us look arrogant, it denies us opportunities to make progress, and it makes it harder for America to rally international support for our leadership. On challenges ranging from terrorism to disease, nuclear weapons to climate change, we cannot make progress unless we can draw on strong international support.
A leader who looks at the world and sees oppurtunity, hope, and potential progress? Pinch me I must be dreaming.
Yes it’s that time again where we use a theme and a cheesy phrase to complete an objective piece of writing. Welcome to the Blue Review where I will review movies, books, anything with a political spirit to it. Today I am here to give the greatest of praise to the book, “The Post-American World” written by Fareed Zakaria. For those of you who don’t know him, Fareed Zakaria is the Editor of Newsweek Magazine, has a new show called “GPS” on CNN, and is a regular on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The book is an excellent and intellegent look at world politics. He skillfully displays how the world is moving from an era of Anti-Americanism, to We-Don’t-Care-About-America-Anymoreism. He highlights the fast growing nations around the world (namely Russia, Brazil, Turkey, and of course, China and India) and the fear that this inspires in the American mind. America is so comfortable being the world’s only superpower that when other nations start to rise, we immediately begin to panic. Looking at the facts, the biggest movie industry is in India, the largest ferris wheel is in Singapore, the largest casino is in Macao, the tallest building is in Taipei (soon to be overtaken by Dubai), the richest man is Mexican, the largest publicly traded corporation is Chinese, the world’s biggest plane is built in Russia and Ukraine, the largest factories belong to China, London is becoming the Financal capital of the world…you get the point. The world is becoming a global community, and yet we still spend billions of dollars more than every nation on the planet COMBINED on our military (we’re still number 1 on that one) and we are not afraid to show it. We have an airfield on Muslim holy land, we have invaded two Muslim nations, we ignore the UN, the EU, NATO, we give millions and billions of dollars in military assistance to virtually every country in the Middle East, and yet we wonder why the world laughs at our name. I won’t give away everything about a book but I highly recommend it. Fareed has openly stated that Barack Obama would be the best choice for the American name; to restore the good reputation we once had in the world. He states in an article on CNN.com: “There’s no question that Sen. Obama winning would have an impact on America’s image for the better. It would boost America’s image, it would give people a sense of the promise of America, the “only in America” type of story. ” Read the book. Review the facts. Judge for yourself.
I’ll leave you all with this quote from his book that gave me goosebumps as I read and realized the deep truth to the statement.
“Generations from now , when historians write about these times, they might note that, in the early decades of the twenty-first century, the United States succeeded in its great and historic mission-it globalized the world. But along the way, they might write, it forgot to globalize itself”
Rating (out of 5):
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