The Korea Herald

[David Ignatius] Syrian rebels’ turn for the jilt

Jul 17, 2013

WASHINGTON ― One of the worst recurring features of U.S. foreign policy is a process that might bluntly be described as “seduction and abandonment.” Now it’s happening in Syria. The seduction part begins with an overeager rhetorical embrace. Nearly two years ago, on Aug. 18, 2011, President Obama first proclaimed “the time has come for President Assad to step aside.” He didn’t back up his call for regime change with any specific plan, but this hasn’t stopped him from repeating the “Assad must go
EU-U.S. trade negotiations riddled with difficulties

Jul 17, 2013

STANFORD ― Negotiations have now commenced between the United States and the European Union on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), potentially the largest regional free-trade agreement in history. If successful, it would cover more than 40 percent of global GDP and account for large shares of world trade and foreign direct investment. The U.S. and EU have set an ambitious goal of completing negotiations by the end of 2014. Historically, however, most trade agreements have
Snowden derails Putin’s shirtless summer tour

Jul 17, 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin is normally trolling the global media at this time of year by posing shirtless and engaging in various camera-friendly summer sports like swimming and fishing. But this summer, he’s being out-trolled and is stuck answering questions about an entitled American twerp living in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.Secret-leaking former NSA contractor Edward Snowden recently attended a press conference inside the airport’s transit zone and indicated that he would seek asylu
[Jeffrey D. Sachs] Bring back Egypt’s duly elected government

Jul 17, 2013

NEW YORK ― Putting an end to Egypt’s deepening polarization and rising bloodshed requires one urgent first step: the reinstatement of Mohammed Morsi as Egypt’s duly elected president. His removal by military coup was unjustified. While it is true that millions of demonstrators opposed Morsi’s rule, even massive street protests do not constitute a valid case for a military coup in the name of the “people” when election results repeatedly say otherwise.There is no doubt that Egyptian society is de
China’s economy depends on its politics

Jul 16, 2013

The news that China’s gross domestic product grew 7.5 percent from April to June ― down from 7.7 percent in the first quarter ― has provoked fewer gasps of horror than one might have expected. Chinese officials have been talking down the importance of the number for days. The mainland economy might ultimately grow 7 percent this year instead of at its usual double-digit rate, they’ve hinted. Nothing to worry about. These officials, from Prime Minister Li Keqiang on down, are speaking to two audi
[William Pesek] Foregone election in Japan

Jul 16, 2013

With elections to the upper house of parliament on July 21, Japanese voters seem ready to hand Prime Minister Shinzo Abe one of the bigger blank checks in memory. No one has forgotten there’s an election. It’s impossible to escape the cacophony of campaign sound trucks, blaring slogans out of tinny loudspeakers. What’s most noticeable, though, is the silence of the citizenry. Try finding the slightest hint that voters are fired up. If recent contests have been notable at all, it’s for setting lo
The case against retrying George Zimmerman

Jul 16, 2013

When in 1992 a California jury acquitted the four officers who beat Rodney King, the result was a race riot of a kind not seen since the late 1960s ― followed by a federal civil-rights prosecution that convicted two of the officers. The acquittal of George Zimmerman for killing Trayvon Martin hasn’t produced rioting, but it has spawned a growing demand, led by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, for a federal trial to recharge Zimmerman with violating Martin’s civil r
What hasn’t changed in post-racial America

Jul 16, 2013

In January 2009 much of the nation watched with a kind of stunned jubilation as the first black president was sworn into office. In the intoxication of that moment, some suggested the U.S. had finally moved beyond the racial quagmire that has defined its history and circumscribed its democracy. In a country where violent disfranchisement was still within living memory, the fact that 69 million voters ― of all racial backgrounds ― voted for a presidential candidate of African descent validated fa
[Kim Seong-kon] Don’t leave home without respect for others

Jul 16, 2013

Those who lived in the States during the 1970s probably remember the highly successful American Express card television ad, featuring Academy Award-winner Karl Malden. On the TV screen, Malden would flash American Express travelers’ checks and say the trademark phrase: “Don’t leave home without them.” When the slogan was used to advertise American Express cards later on, it was simply changed to “Don’t leave home without it.” The catchy ad has been parodied a number of times. For example, I reme
[James Phillips] U.S. behind the curve on Syria

Jul 15, 2013

White House officials recently made a low-key announcement that President Obama has authorized the transfer of arms to Syria’s rebels. This 180-degree shift in the administration’s policy, after two years of hand-wringing and diplomatic posturing, was announced by an obscure National Security Council official rather than the president.President Obama has distanced himself from the Syrian crisis for several reasons. The bloodbath in Syria, which has claimed more than 90,000 lives, contradicts his
To restart nukes, Japan must raze ‘nuclear village’

Jul 15, 2013

The governing coalition led by Japan’s pro-nuclear Liberal Democratic Party is predicted to win a majority in the July 21 Upper House elections. That prospect might alarm the almost half of all Japanese citizens who say they don’t want to restart the 48 nuclear reactors that remain offline for safety checks after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered a catastrophic meltdown. Even now, engineers are struggling to contain the radioactive water seeping into the groundwater under the
Protection of individual privacy and FISA court

Jul 15, 2013

When Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was asked about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court during his confirmation hearings, he replied: “It’s not what we usually think of when we think of a court.” And he was absolutely right.As Roberts noted, most Americans think of a court as open to the public, where “lawyers argue, and it’s subject to the glare of publicity. And the judges explain their decision to the public and they can examine them.” But the federal FISA court ― created by Congre
Road to White House may start with Virginia contest

Jul 15, 2013

In 1991, Zell Miller, then governor of Georgia and a Democrat, advised his colleague Bill Clinton of Arkansas that there were two guys he needed to run his likely presidential campaign: James Carville and Paul Begala. “Who are they?” asked Clinton, a man well-versed in Democratic politics. Even though they had had successes, including Miller’s election, Carville and Begala didn’t become a big deal until they ran Harris Wofford’s campaign in a special Pennsylvania senate election in 1991. It was
[Virginia Postrel] Serendipity and samples can save Barnes & Noble

Jul 15, 2013

Turmoil at Barnes & Noble Inc., where Chief Executive Officer William Lynch resigned last week after the company posted an unexpectedly large loss in the quarter ended April 30, has people in the publishing industry worried. “We’re all forced to ask: What would the book discovery environment look like without Barnes & Noble?” writes Rich Fahle, a former Borders executive who runs a marketing agency for authors. The question zeroes in on a growing problem for the U.S. book industry. Although read
Radical Buddhism threatens Myanmar’s democratization

Jul 14, 2013

Two years into its transition from dictatorship to democracy, Myanmar is finding out how dangerous freedom can be. Since June 2012, when fighting broke out between Buddhists and Muslims in western Arakan state, attacks against Myanmar’s tiny Muslim minority have spread throughout the country. More than 200 people have been killed in Buddhist-Muslim riots, and more than 150,000 rendered homeless ― most of them Muslims. Many Burmese think that former regime figures are stoking the attacks, hoping