All three presidential candidates are pandering to voters on trade rather than educating them to the complexity of the issue. Demagoguing it, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders simplistically blame trade pacts for disappearing jobs and dimmed future prospects. Back in 2012, Hillary Clinton, an early advocate of NAFTA. said the Transpacific Partnership was "the gold standard of trade …
Tag: Secretary of State John Kerry
Iran nuclear deal better than doing nothing
Figuring out how I feel about the Iran deal has been a struggle. But, as I have read more about it and talked with informed people over the summer, I come to the conclusion that, while the deal is far from perfect, it is a worthwhile step to take. Opponents complain that the deal leaves open a …
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Kerry Havana speech: clear-eyed, optimistic
Friday morning, a glorious day in Havana with the sun sparkling on the water along the Malecon sea wall, marked an historic event for the United States and Cuba. After 54 years of enmity, the U.S. Interests Section (for half a century under the auspices of Switzerland) was once again the American Embassy. The three marines who …
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Kerry said the “A” word; so have many Israelis
Secretary of State John Kerry prompted a diplomatic gasp and a Ted Cruz hissy fit by warning of the dangers of apartheid if Israel and the Palestinians can't achieve a workable two-state solution. Kerry's private comment was uncharacteristically undiplomatic but not without truth. A Boston Globe editorial sums up succinctly Israel's dilemma if a two-state solution fails …
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Palestine/Israel negotiations: no partners for peace
The latest bad news from the Middle East is that the Palestinian Authority (the Fatah faction) has entered a "unity pact" with militant group Hamas, which has pledged never to recognize the right of Israel to exist. The talks were set to end next week, and, even before the "unity pact," it was highly uncertain …
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Struggling with the Syria conundrum
Both writer George Santayana and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill have reminded us how those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. But, when it comes to chemical warfare in Syria, which history shall we remember and heed? Seventy-five years ago, civilized nations were deaf to early warning signs of the Holocaust, and the results …
Marjorie Arons-Barron 