![]() ![]() Third, nuclear proliferation will still plague us. So the Middle East will continue to dominate diplomatic argument and debate. It is difficult to see how any future American diplomacy based on this approach will attract Palestinian support. This looks like a green light for all those intransigent supporters of the settlers who have campaigned for the development of East Jerusalem deep into the West Bank, a line of settlements running down to the Dead Sea. Indeed, far from criticizing continuing Israeli settlement of the West Bank, Obama has pledged his support – more than some members of the Israeli Cabinet have done – to Jerusalem as an undivided capital of Israel. Even Senator Barack Obama, who has demonstrated a clear commitment to building a more open-minded, less unilateral relationship with the rest of the world, has said things about Palestine and Israel that would appear to rule out the sort of initiatives required for a peace agreement. Moreover, the American presidential campaign has shown that it is not only the absence of a responsible hands-on American policy in the last seven years that has contributed to today’s bloody stand-off. Second, the Palestine-Israel struggle will continue. It will have to take account of its historic responsibility for today’s global warming, of size of population, and of present economic strength. ![]() Most importantly, American and European leadership is required to avoid a lurch into protectionism and the consequent killing off of the Doha trade round.Īt the same time, the West needs to develop together a negotiating position on carbon emissions and climate change that will engage China and India. Consider four examples.įirst, we will still have to find better ways of managing the world’s economy, reducing its inequities, and coping with its environmental hazards. The reason we should take more notice of his departure is not what his absence will make possible, but what will remain absolutely the same. Will anyone notice? Does anyone care anymore? His wings scorched from Iraq to Guantánamo, Bush already seems to be yesterday’s story his minders carefully steer audiences into the front rows at public events, lest the absence of interest in what he is doing and saying becomes too obvious. Bush will go back to Crawford, Texas at the end of the year. Real life often seems simply to tick on like that, regardless of headline news and momentous events. They show no interest in the dramatic fall of Icarus. The world goes on, the peasants continue plowing their fields, getting on with their lives. The painting shows Icarus, his wings melted, plunging to a watery grave. Auden, was sufficiently impressed to write a poem about it. LONDON – There is a marvelous painting by Brueghel in the Brussels art gallery. This article was received from Project Syndicate, an international not-for-profit association of newspapers dedicated to hosting a global debate on the key issues shaping our world.
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