Only ten days ago, when UK Prime Minister David Cameron put up the flag for a no-fly zone over Libya, nobody saluted. Now the British and French are drafting a UN Security Council Resolution. After all, you cannot just sit and watch the dictator wield overhwelming force so he and his disgusting son can hang onto power and not think something should be done to stop him.
True enough – but you should think very, very carefully about what can and should be done. Continue reading
Posted in Conflict & peace, Power
Tagged Afghanistan, Cameron, Iraq, Karate Kid, Libya, Middle East, Mr Myagi, Qaddafi, Robert Gates, Samuel Johnson, UN
News from Brussels: Council and Parliament still want the Commission’s policy and planning officers for peacebuilding and crisis response to transfer to the External Action service. Continue reading
Posted in Conflict & peace, Power
Tagged EU, EU External Action service, European politics, peacebuilding
The EU’s new External Action Service was officially launched on 1 December as High Representative Catherine Ashton addressed a meeting of EU ambassadors. But the tussle over whether it will include key peacebuilding staff from the Commission continues (see my post of 22 Nov). The Commission’s position hasn’t changed and neither has the Parliament’s. Continue reading
Posted in Conflict & peace, Power
Tagged Ashton, EU, EU Council, EU External Action service, European Parliament, European politics, peacebuilding
The air in Brussels is thick with a storm over the European External Action Service, basically caused by the European Commission trying to break its word. Continue reading
Just before the summer shutdown, the last key decisions were taken to establish the EU’s new External Action Service – the European Parliament on 8 July and the Council of the EU on the 20th. As the EAS starts to become real, what can and should we expect from it? Continue reading
Posted in Conflict & peace, Power
Tagged adaptation, Ashton, carbon emissions, China, Climate change, Copenhagen, energy security, EU, EU External Action service, European politics, food security, fragile states, green economy, International development, Israel, Middle East, Palestine, peacebuilding, trade
This past week the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton presented “her” proposal for the new European External Action Service (quotation marks on “her” because, of course, it is not hers alone – even in draft it is already a compromise). So far she has not won all her battles but nor has she lost them. In fact, those battles are not over. All options are open still and those of us who want a genuine Action service need to keep our sleeves rolled up and engage in the arguments ahead. Continue reading
Baroness Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s High Representative, is facing a mountain of a job and a rockfall of criticism across Europe after her first 100 days. But most of the negativity is a matter of Brussels gossip, bruised little egos and out-dated thinking about international politics. Ashton has got things more right than her critics. Rightly, she is focused on the long game rather than short-term headlines (which some journalists find impossible to forgive and others equally impossible to understand). Continue reading
Posted in Power
Tagged Ashton, Climate change, EU, EU External Action service, European politics, international politics, peace and security, Quatremer, trade
President Barack Obama has handed himself his sharpest challenge yet: a year of showing his unclenched fist to Iran has produced nothing and now he is toughening up his stance with a missile shield for the US naval forces in the Gulf. What will this do to his presidency? There was so much hope and much of that energy remains, even if it is not being so effectively tapped, but in confronting Iran, might Obama seriously lose his way?
Posted in Conflict & peace, Power
Tagged Bush, Clinton, IAEA, international politics, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Middle East, Nixon, nuclear weapons, Obama, Palestine, Reagan, UN
