Featured Articles — June 8, 2009

June 8, 2009 by Jonathan Movroydis | Filed Under Featured Articles 

Interesting Takes From Home And Abroad:

In Egypt, a theologian in chief By Stephen Prothero, USA Today
President Obama, a master of local politics, reopened the dialogue with Muslims — on their soil. He talked of the need for religious tolerance and, as important, religious humility. So the stage for hope and change is set — if the people are willing to act.

Obama Needs to Brush Up on Middle East History By Michael Barone, DC Examiner
For a man of his impressive educational credentials, Barack Obama has sometimes shown a surprising ignorance of history. During the 2008 campaign, when challenged on his pledge to meet with foreign tyrants without preconditions, he said that presidents from Franklin Roosevelt on had met with leaders of enemy nations.

Sotomayor and the Politics of Race By Shelby Steele, The Wall Street Journal
President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court points to a dilemma that will likely plague his presidency: How does a “post-racialist” president play identity politics?

Iran’s George W. Bush By Laura Secor, The New Republic
On June 12, Iranian voters will choose among four leading candidates for president, but their real choice is singular: whether to continue on the course plotted by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This ought to be a no-brainer: Ahmadinejad has made a mess of the economy, clamped down on political dissent and social freedoms, militarized the state, and earned the enmity of much of the world.

Gordon the Unlucky By Paul Krugman, The Wall Street Journal
While Prime Minister Gordon Brown may deserve to be punished for the economic crisis, his opponents don’t deserve to be rewarded.

The Power and the Story By Michael Wolff, Vanity Fair
The Obamas may have the smartest, most finely calibrated press operation in White House history, parceling out scoops (The New York Times), partisan talking points (the Huffington Post), and First Family tidbits (the celebrity mags) to a desperate media. Just don’t ask them to admit it.

Ayatollah Khamenei’s Obama dilemma By Meir Javedanfar, Guardian
The supreme leader must tread carefully in his dealings with the US for fear of fracturing Iran’s already unstable administration.

Iraq Steps Out of Iran’s Shadow By Larry Kaplow, Newsweek
Decades later, the memory still rankles Iraq’s prime minister. Nuri al-Maliki was an exile in southern Iran at the time, running covert Iraqi networks against Saddam Hussein, and Iran and Iraq were at war.

The Taliban: if you’re not beating them, you’re losing By Sean McLain, The National
In late March, Barack Obama made his long-awaited speech on Afghanistan in which he framed what could be termed as the point of the war: to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qa’eda in Pakistan and Afghanistan and to prevent their return to either country in the future.

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