What is it about Libyan despot Mouamar Qaddafi that Western leaders find so irresistible? There’s no mystery about that, nor the unmistakable hypocrisy it represents. Expressing bile over Western tolerance for the man known in Libya as ‘the Guide,’ this editorial from France’s Le Monde sums it up this way: “His record is damning. The dashing officer who modeled himself on Egypt’s...

Victory Day in Russia, 1945 Continuing with our coverage of the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, this article from Izvestia reflects the outrage Russians feel about being called allies of Hitler, as responsible as Germany for the last ‘War to End All Wars.’ For Izvestia, Vyacheslav Nikonov writes in part: “What a remarkable thing: the more time passes since the Second World...

I am and have been in favor of publicly honoring our fallen heroes when they touch American soil for the last time at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. My personal motto is “Nothing to hide here. Everything to Honor.” A lot of controversy and apprehension had surrounded this issue. Finally, on February 26, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced a policy consistent with what we presently have at Arlington...

His name may not have been as well known as some others but Borlaug, who died this past Saturday at the age of 95, was quite probably one of the most important figures of the 20th century. He was called the father of the Green Revolution, a sweeping transformation of agriculture that occurred during the middle part of the century. Perhaps his most famous achievement was the development of dwarf wheat, a special...

ON GLASSES: ‘CARE PLAN’TITLE: ‘FRAGILE’ Gravitas and the power of “the word.” Gravitas is that ancient Roman measure of a leader’s influence and credibility – and “the word” is a key tool that leaders must use to exercise that ancient virtue. Continuing with our sampling of global reaction to the issue of health care in America, according to columnist...

As we have been seeing for months, when it comes to provisioning the population with health care, the behavior of U.S. Republicans is far more incomprehensible to Europeans than even for most U.S. Democrats. According to columnist David Francis of Germany’s Financial Times Deutschland, President Obama’s speech to a joint session of Congress on health care came close to sealing the deal while exposing...

Has America’s reaction to September 11 – its invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq – accelerated the end of U.S. dominance of the international system? According to commentator He Liangliang of Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV – one of the few privately-owned cable operators permitted by Beijing authorities to broadcast to the Mainland – America’s days as a global cop are well and...

India’s favourite spiritual book, The Bhagavad Gita, has made a dramatic impact at Harvard, Wharton and other business schools with its universal message of “concentration, consistency, and cooperation”. In a nutshell: “You can’t succeed in business (or war) unless you develop the intellect, which controls the mind and body.” The Gita remains relevant in the conduct of any...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is making news today with his splash of an arrival at the Venice Film Festival for the premier of Oliver Stone’s movie about his life called South of the Border. Italian news agency Adnkronos gave this somewhat detailed account of Chavez’ arrival in Venice and his comments in praise of Oliver Stone, President Obama and the Italian actresses that have stolen his...

As the fighting in Afghanistan intensifies; as that war claims more and more casualties; and as critical decisions loom on national objectives, strategy and corresponding troop levels and deployments there, the debate also intensifies. I have stated my views on the Afghanistan war here and here, and so have other TMV contributors. I am probably oversimplifying things, but I see the major debate settling around...

NATO’s first Secretary General, Lord Ismay, famously stated the organization’s goal was “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down”. The world is a different place now. Some have even begin to question the need for keeping NATO alive in the post-Cold War era. Mary Dejevsky says in The Independent: “Nato’s dissolution is long overdue… Where more...

When one wants to get a sense of how people on the Afghan-Pakistan border feel about something, Pakistan’s Frontier Post, based in Quetta, Pakistan, is a good place to look. In this indignant editorial reaction to yesterday’s ill-fated NATO attack in Afghanistan’s Kunduz Province, the Frontier Post equates NATO forces with Taliban fighters, attacks the sincerity of the West’s stance...

Part of the spirit and the culture of the U.S. military is the creed that you don’t leave anyone behind—whether injured, captured, or dead. For example, the U.S. Army Ranger Creed, the oath Army Rangers take, includes these words: “I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy …” Several books and numerous articles have been devoted to this honorable subject. The risks...

I’m not gloating but two New York Times columnists agree with my assessment that U.S. military presence in Afghanistan is untenable although neither go as far as my desire to pull out all our troops. Normally, opinions by New York Times columnists are not those that sway the powers in Washington. But in the case of Afghanistan the White House and Pentagon should be taking notes. One columnist is Thomas...

It may be due to my Dutch heritage; it may be because it is just good beer, but I just love Heineken beer. Back in February of this year, when our economy and the Dutch economy were going to hell in a hand basket, I wrote an article taking some comfort in the fact that Heineken sales in 2008 had risen 27 percent, boosted mainly by the company’s acquisition of Scottish & Newcastle. Six months later,...

Continuing with our European coverage of the 70th anniversary of World War II, Izvestia columnist Anna Kaledina complains that while debate rages among Western leaders about who is most responsible for starting the war, most of their populations haven’t the foggiest notion of who fought, when they fought or who was at fault – nor do they care. And this, she warns – is dangerous – because...

In a satire piece, “Obama’s Health Care Reform Will Decimate Our Population,” I posted a compilation of quotes by GOP and anti-healthcare reform officials, personalities and organizations. It started out as follows: No wonder Americans are increasingly opposed to Obama’s socialist, radical vision of a nationalized health care system. Just look at what Obama will do to you, to me and to our loved...

With President Obama confronting a confluence of issues that appear to threaten his chances of having a successful term in office, his supporters in Europe are also sounding alarmed. For France’s Liberation, columnist Bernard Guetta writes in part: “The likelihood is that Obama has already failed to become a new Roosevelt, an architect of a modern New Deal that without increasing health spending...

While many Americans were accused of not supporting our troops, of being unpatriotic, and worse, for criticizing our involvement in Iraq and the way that war was being managed, I will not accuse Conservative George Will of anything. In ‘Why are we still in Afghanistan?”, (replace “Afghanistan with “Iraq” and see how familiar that sounds), George Will is having second thoughts about...

Judging by these articles from Dutch and German newspapers we posted during the weekend, it doesn’t look like Europeans have much sympathy for Dick Cheney’s view of the virtues of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques,’ or dire Republican warnings about ’socialized medicine.’ The first, an editorial from Germany’s Financial Times Deutschland, counsels President Obama that...

Libyan intelligence agent Abdel Basset al-Megrahi after stepping aboard the Libyan aircraft that would whisk him away to Libya, August 20. Did ‘the powers that be’ decide that pursuing the best leads after the Lockerbie bombing, aka/Pan Am Flight 103, was politically inconvenient? According to this analysis by Pierre Prier of France’s Le Figaro, the need to keep Iran and Syria ‘on board’...

The Economist magazine announces in almost celebratory tone that “big business” is back. But a spirited discussion follows in the comments section on the merits and demerits of big corporations. Recalls The Economist: “In 1996, in one of his most celebrated phrases, Bill Clinton declared that ‘the era of big government is over’. He might have added that the era of big companies...

Carnage outside the Iraqi Foreign Ministry in Baghdad, August 19. At least 100 were killed. For those tempted to think that America’s involvement in Iraq is drawing to a close, this article by Fateh Abdulsalam of Iraq’s Azzaman newspaper might come as a rude awakening. According to Abdulsalam, the government is either winking at or directly involved in the truck bombings and attacks of recent...

After the flood of reaction from Britain and Ireland yesterday, newspapers in other parts of the world have begun to chime in on the death of Senator Edward Kennedy. In the first Ted Kennedy-related translation we’ve done from Latin America, the editorial board of Colombia’s El Tiempo praises the senator for a number of things that have gone unmentioned in the European press. The El Tiempo editorial...

Only a few hours after the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, there is a flood of stories on the life and the accomplishments of the Lion of the Senate. The vast majority of the stories are complimentary of the Senator. There are some exceptions. As all humans, Ted Kennedy had his flaws and made his share of mistakes. I understand that the Senator will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Perhaps,...