All Opinion
Obama, Congress should push NATO missile defense program off 'fiscal cliff'As the automatic defense spending cuts loom, President Obama and Congress should cancel the flawed, expensive NATO missile-defense program.聽Ending the program would encourage greater international cooperation on security issues and free up Navy ships to address actual threats.
Different China, same risky political systemAt China's Communist Party congress, outgoing President Hu Jintao made a frank appraisal of challenges faced by the party. But he ruled out any evolution toward a more open and accountable political system. China has yet to learn from South Korea and Taiwan.
Obama's post-election Syria policy is unlikely to change, but it shouldObama鈥檚 policy of 'staying the course' in Syria should be weighed against worsening strategic realities in the country and region. Only a careful military program to help the rebels, including arming and training them, can stem the growing costs of US inaction.
Global ViewpointGeorge Soros: To survive, Europe must recapture spirit of solidarityEurope has become divided into two classes 鈥� depressed debtors like Greece and controlling creditors like Germany. To reverse this, Europe must recapture its spirit of solidarity. A good place to start is where suffering is greatest, in Greece, among thousands of mistreated migrants.
Balkan conflicts hold clear lessons on intervention in SyriaAs policymakers in Europe, the United States, the Gulf states, Turkey, and the Arab League search for ways to resolve the conflict in Syria, they should consider what the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo have to teach about outside intervention. The main lesson? Do it 鈥� to stop the killing.
To avoid 'fiscal cliff,' try mediationThe 'fiscal cliff' needs urgent attention, but the election returned the same House/Senate/White House configuration that failed to agree on the budget ceiling in 2011. More active participation by President Obama combined with mediation could help bridge the congressional divide.
Veterans Day: To regain trust, Congress should take a cue from US militaryThis Veterans Day, the military is one of America鈥檚 most trusted institutions; Congress is one of the least. Confidence in many public institutions is low because they lack a sense of duty, trust, loyalty, and teamwork 鈥� qualities US troops hold dear, and which all Americans can practice.
How President Obama can win over CongressHe may have won the election, but now President Obama faces enormous challenges in the House and Senate 鈥� among Republicans and Democrats. To succeed, he must do what does not come naturally to him: Spend lots of quality time with lawmakers of both parties.
What superstorm Sandy taught me about the failures of online learningWhen hurricane Sandy closed my campus for a few days, my students and I had to conduct our course online. It was wholly inadequate.聽Online learning cannot 鈥� and should not 鈥� replace the real-time dialogue of the in-person classroom.
Why Democrats have the tea party to thank for their winThe tea party had a huge impact on the election 鈥� but not the one it sought. It kept the Senate in Democratic hands by nominating far-right, losing candidates. It pushed Mitt Romney too far to the right. What Republicans need is their own Bill Clinton. Someone like New Jersey's Chris Christie.
Mitt Romney's flip-flopping didn't hurt himThe Obama campaign labeled Mitt Romney a flip-flopper. But Romney's position shifts did little to fundamentally harm his election prospects. Obama only narrowly defeated Romney, and election day results聽closely mirror projections from June 鈥� before Romney鈥檚 move to the middle.
Exit polls show President Obama should go on listening tour, not take victory lapMitt Romney will be chastised for his missteps. But he isn鈥檛 the only one who was tone deaf.聽Voters are ambivalent about President Obama and his record. He needs to listen to the echoes from the exit polls, broaden his approach, and seek a new direction for his second term.
As a region battered by Sandy braces for the nor'easter, I think of GrandmaWhen superstorm Sandy hit New York City, I made my way through a pitch-black hallway and down the stairs remembering Grandma 鈥� and the New York we had shared. And I thought of 9/11. That spirit of service and community has shown itself again in the aftermath of Sandy.
After Obama win, how civility can come to WashingtonAfter the election last night, President Obama and Mitt Romney rightly spoke of the need to reach out to the other side. But today's political divisiveness has been decades in the making and will take decades to undo. Here's how that can happen. It starts with citizens.
Finding uncommon community after superstorm SandyThe older Italian couple had narrowly escaped superstorm Standy. Their Staten Island home had not. As we carried debris with other volunteers, we came to know them. My friends and I spend most of our days emailing, but today, we worked 鈥� together. These encounters are too rare.
Hurricane Sandy blows climate change back on the tableToday is election day in the US, but climate change should have been on the campaign agenda months ago. It shouldn't take聽a disaster like superstorm Sandy to finally bring it back into the conversation.聽
Election day: Most predictions of the next four years will be wrongAs President Obama or Mitt Romney will discover, the only predictable thing about foreign and domestic events is unpredictability. Woodrow Wilson didn't foresee World War I. Jimmy Carter called Iran an 'island of stability.' Terrorism got only brief mention in the 2000 Bush-Gore debates.
4 smart ways to rebuild after superstorm Sandy Early estimates of the damage from superstorm Sandy are staggering. In the days ahead, once people's immediate needs are met, we must focus on rebuilding. It is increasingly clear that rebuilding efforts must consider the following four points.
Obama's economy is driving well, considering the hand brake is onSmart choices by President Obama and Congress have saved the economy from another recession and put it on the path to recovery.聽Policymakers can continue to help the economy by removing the obstacles to faster growth, such as helping struggling states retain teachers.
To grow the economy, we must shrink President Obama's big governmentUS unemployment remains high. Job creation is lackluster. GDP growth is sluggish. Each of these measure should be higher.聽Lawmakers must reverse the harm of Obama's big-government policies by stopping Taxmageddon, eliminating red tape, and reforming entitlement programs.
