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Today's financial crisis in America looks remarkably like the crisis that struck Japan 20 years ago, when a stock market meltdown exposed years of speculative lending, mostly dependent on real estate, and led to an economic collapse. The United States can take lessons from the Japanese experience as it attempts to engineer its own recovery.
Efforts to re-invigorate a movement to abolish nuclear weapons are rising on the international agenda. The next U.S. president should emphasize the goal of abolishing nuclear weapons in an effort to: prevent proliferation, prevent nuclear terrorism, reduce the threat of nuclear annihilation, and foster new optimism for U.S. global leadership.
In this phase of the financial crisis, struggling countries are looking to rising powers for help, rather than turning to the conditional aid traditionally offered by the IMF. This trend highlights the shifting global financial order and indicates that emerging powers will undoubtedly play a larger role as the international community attempts to define a new global financial system.
Iran continues to be a critical national security challenge for the United States, despite decades of effort to change Tehran’s behavior by isolating the country politically and economically. The relevant question is not whether to talk to Iran but how. Engagement should focus on six critical issues: Iraq, Afghanistan, nuclear proliferation, the Arab–Israeli conflict, energy, and terrorism.
The next president must revise Washington's approach to Iran if the United States hopes to halt Iran's enrichment activities and address Iran's role in other issues of critical importance to the United States.
Although no one can yet predict the full implications of the financial crisis, it may have a silver lining for the U.S. if it is able to maintain its position of power while learning valuable lessons in humility. In the future, the U.S. may be more cautious about taking on massive debt, less reckless with its military spending, and more willing to cooperate on global problems.
The United States is witnessing, at least temporarily, the collapse of effective liquidity for the complex financial instruments that have long been used to conduct transactions. But the real crisis is a Keynesian downward spiral, whereby declining consumption and declining investment reinforce each other.
Amidst an economic crisis that should give the advantage to democrats, McCain has kept the race close by stressing the importance of a candidate’s character, drawing focus away from policy issues. McCain has branded himself as an American hero, and regardless of who wins in November, the "hero" strategy has already succeeded in giving McCain a critical boost in a tough year for republicans.
As the economic crisis unfolds, the drama of impending calamity has spurred politicians to take action without fully understanding the crisis. Nobody knows if the bailout will work, and moreover, it fails to address any of the underlying economic problems that we face. Moving forward, our leaders must exercise much more thought and caution in addressing this wide array of economic challenges.
Relations between Russia and the U.S. have entered a dangerous stalemate. America cannot accept Russia's aggressive posture, but U.S. anger is only making the situation worse. Because of this political climate the foundations of U.S. policy toward Russia must be revised, starting by acknowledging Russia’s security interests.
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