Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

Jan. 24

The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tennessee, on Netanyahu invitation breaching protocol:

As part of its serial rebuttals to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address - remembered largely for GOP Sen. Joni Ernst's reminiscences of using Wonder Bread bags as foul weather footwear - the House Republican leadership has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress on Feb. 11.

"I don't believe I'm poking anyone in the eye," House Speaker John Boehner said of the invitation, although of course it was, a direct jab at Obama and a gross breach of traditional protocol.

Congress can invite whomever it wishes to speak to it, but when the guest is a foreign leader the White House as a matter of courtesy is consulted, or at least informed, well in advance.

Obama learned of the invitation just shortly before Boehner announced it publicly.

Netanyahu has never been reluctant about meddling in U.S. politics.

He lobbied strenuously, and thankfully unsuccessfully, for a U.S. airstrike on Iran's nuclear facilities, an attack whose results would have been problematic given Iran's defensive preparations.

In the current political climate, Netanyahu would add weight to Republican lawmakers' push to impose additional sanctions on Iran despite Obama's threat to veto them and diplomatic warnings that new sanctions would blow up talks with Tehran about scrapping its development of a nuclear weapons capability. In addition, it might fracture the coalition of nations that have joined with the U.S. in those talks.

Progress in those talks has been painfully slow and they might ultimately fail, but there is no Plan B other than an increasingly hostile Iran determined to assert itself by stepped-up military meddling in Iraq and Syria.

Congressional Republicans themselves do not have clean hands when it comes to meddling in Israeli politics. Netanyahu's Likud Party is behind the opposition Labor Party in polls leading up to Israeli elections in March. The prestige of an address to the U.S. Congress on the eve of the voting could give him a significant boost.

The old maxim that partisan politics stops at the water's edge, although infrequently honored more in the breach than in reality, has served this country well.

The Republicans may get yet another chance to run U.S. foreign policy after 2016. They should wait until the voters decide whether they deserve that chance.

In the meantime, they have more than enough problems to keep them occupied at home.

Online:

http://www.commercialappeal.com

Jan. 27

Dothan (Alabama) Eagle on upcoming Bloody Sunday anniversary:

There's a disappointing controversy clouding the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march in Selma that became the tipping point for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. President Barack Obama has scheduled a trip to coincide with the anniversary of the March 7, 1965, march, cut short by a violent standoff with law enforcement at Edmund Pettus Bridge. However, March 7 is a Saturday, and the anniversary march is scheduled for the next day, Sunday the 8th, just as it has always been observed on the Sunday nearest to March 7.

Hence the kerfuffle - Congressman John Lewis, who was badly beaten in the 1965 march, invited the president to Selma on March 7, and local black leaders are insistent that the Sunday observance is sacred and must not be rescheduled.

What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

Considering that the Bloody Sunday march is about something far greater than a presidential visit, rescheduling the observance to fit the schedule of a dignitary is unreasonable. State Sen. Hank Sanders, Tuskegee Mayor Johnny Ford and others who have stood firm on the scheduling should be commended.

However, it would not be unreasonable to extend the observance of the 50th anniversary of this pivotal civil rights event into a weekend, with anniversary events planned for both Saturday, when the president is scheduled to arrive, and Sunday, the somber gathering on Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Far greater obstacles have been cleared in the course of civil rights in America.

Online:

http://www.dothaneagle.com

Jan. 23

Orange County Register, Santa Ana, California, on crowded potential GOP field:

These are nervous times for Republicans. After losing an election that should have been a cakewalk, Mitt Romney is back for more. After years of middling performance and sagging approval, Barack Obama's ratings have risen to roughly where Ronald Reagan's and George W. Bush's were at the same point in their presidencies. No wonder that seemingly every well-known Republican officeholder wants to run for president.

The list is long and growing longer. Beyond the predictable - Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Chris Christie and so on - the GOP has on offer the likes of Carly Fiorina and Sen. Lindsey Graham.

The temptation for Republicans is to worry that too many candidates will crowd the field. Since George W. Bush left office, every presidential primary has acquired more than a whiff of a freak show - with dud candidates like Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich creating political circuses that ultimately amounted to nothing. It all compounds the adage that the quicker a nominee is selected, the sooner he or she can train fire on the other party's pick.

On balance, however, Republicans ought to relax. Today, the GOP is stuffed to the gills with varying ideas and varying kinds of talent. It's natural to see successful politicians whose careers have matured throw their hat in the ring. And, after two consecutive defeats, it's natural that this horse race to be lacks a runaway leader.

Look at the Democrats' experience in 1992 - the year they crawled back from political oblivion. In that election cycle, their field of presidential hopefuls was derided as a pack of dwarves. Ross Perot commanded more attention. But the party tidied up its ideological house, homing in on a theme and a style that came to serve them - in spite of it all - better than they'd been served in a generation. Clintonism is still alive in the Democratic Party. In fact, it's difficult to imagine where the Left would go without it.

In the same way, Republicans have a chance to let their crowded field winnow itself down to a few clear and coherent choices. Sure, the primary season might be a disaster. It might lead to the internecine war that so many Republicans have long feared.

Then again, the Right has a way of smoothing things out when it's crunch time. Why not define today's GOP along the way?

Online:

http://www.ocregister.com

Jan. 27

New York Times on new chapter for America and India:

After years of near misses and unfulfilled promises, President Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India appear to have set relations between their democracies on a deeper, perhaps even revolutionary, path.

Part of the improvement in bilateral relations has to do with the personal chemistry between the two, which by all accounts appears warm and genuine. Obama had barely gotten off his plane in New Delhi when he and Modi embraced like old friends. They share humble roots. A visit by Modi to the White House in September went exceptionally well. And there was plenty of colorful symbolism in New Delhi: Obama became the first American president to attend the annual Republic Day parade.

There are strategic imperatives at work as well. Both leaders need to expand their economies, and both see the other as a crucial partner in offsetting China's increasingly assertive role in Asia. The potential for cooperation is considerable. Much of the public focus on the visit was on trade, energy and breaking a logjam that has held up the sale of American nuclear energy technology to India. But when Modi and Obama sat down to talk, the first 45 minutes of the discussion was consumed by China.

Although it has a history of suspicion and rivalry with China, India has acted independently in foreign policy and resisted American efforts to forge a common front. That seems to be changing with Modi, who shares concerns about China's growing economic and military strength and has shown remarkable confidence in striking a new path. He signed a joint statement with Obama chiding the Chinese government for provoking conflict with its neighbors over the South China Sea; suggested reviving a security network involving the United States, India, Japan and Australia; and expressed interest in playing a greater role in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in which India could help balance China's influence.

China was not happy, dismissing the visit as a "superficial rapprochement." The trick for Obama and Modi will be to stand firm in support of a stable, rules-based order in Asia while not provoking China.

That could be tested by their decision to renew a 10-year defense pact as well as agreements to proceed jointly on developing military hardware, including Raven drones, systems for Lockheed's C-130 transport planes and jet engine technology. India is the world's biggest weapons importer and, just last year, the United States overtook Russia as India's main arms supplier. Modi, who has made economic growth his first priority, is determined to develop an indigenous defense industry. The question is how to do that without fueling a regional arms race.

No real breakthroughs were announced on trade. The Americans have been frustrated with the slow pace of Modi's economic reforms; and the solution that the two leaders claimed to have found to the Indian liability law that has blocked the sales of American nuclear fuel and reactors struck observers as vague and inconclusive. The impasse has long marred a 2006 nuclear deal that was supposed to help energy-hungry India.

The modest movement on climate change was disappointing. India agreed to move to phase down hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, in line with a treaty called the Montreal Protocol. But it set no specific goals limiting greenhouse gases, as China did in its meeting with Obama in November. India is the third-largest carbon polluter behind the United States and China but has resisted bolder measures, citing its need to lift hundreds of millions out of poverty. Without India on board with commitments, the best efforts of the rest of the world will not be enough.

Obama could not leave India without addressing human rights. In a speech on Tuesday, he urged India to protect the rights of girls and women, combat human trafficking and slavery, promote religious and racial tolerance, and empower young people. Hopes have faded that Modi would rein in the divisive agenda of his militant Hindu-nationalist supporters. But his plans to build India into an economic powerhouse will mean nothing if the country devolves into division and bloodshed.

With their talk of an "enduring commitment," Obama and Modi have raised expectations and set a firm basis for moving forward. Even so, the countries have no obvious plans to deal with Pakistan or the India-Pakistan nuclear competition that threatens the region, and it cannot be assumed that all past differences will fade. Building a true partnership will take sustained efforts over many decades.

Online:

http://www.nytimes.com

Jan. 29

Khaleej Times, Dubai, on Kim's Russian itinerary:

The reclusive North Korean leader has swung a diplomatic surprise. Kim Jong-un's decision to visit Russia is of far-reaching significance, as this marks his debut international travel since he took over the reins of power in 2011. The choice of Kremlin makes it altogether more important because the Kims were traditionally obsessed with making a sojourn only to Beijing, thus sending across the message of geopolitical fraternity in all humility. The late leader Kim Jong-il undertook several visits to China and that too by train, seeking notes and listening all the way to his aides during the long journey.

The proposed visit to Leningrad, to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War-II, is likely to mark a milestone in Kim's career, as he will rub shoulders with host of leaders from Europe and elsewhere. The probability of Russian President Vladimir Putin inviting his US counterpart Barack Obama is, however, too low - given ... the war of attrition that is underway between the two countries, especially in the backdrop of Edward Snowden and Ukrainian crisis. But if realpolitik cards fell that way, Kim will have a rare opportunity to unlearn from the finer principles of diplomatic reciprocity and reach out to the Western world in a more forthcoming manner.

The young leader, who had surprised the world at large and even its most strategically allied friend, China, through his trigger-happy tendencies, as he tested nuclear devices and fired missiles across the Sea of Japan, should spell out his foreign policy priorities before embarking on Russia's visit. Pyongyang's decision to prefer Moscow to Beijing is widely being seen as a snub to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who had taken exception to Kim's way of dealing with regional allies in the last three years. The bad blood apparently set in as China backed UN resolutions last year calling for strengthening sanctions on North Korea after its missile and nuclear tests in the year 2013.

In the wider scheme of things, nonetheless, it is Putin who has made his mark by luring Kim to look at Russia, as the Stalinist country crosses swords with the United States. The recent standoff over Sony Studio's film and sanctions that came Pyongyang's way is a case in point. Russia's yatra is an opportunity for Kim to grant his country with a multi-dimensional defense and diplomatic perspective and open up to all those who wish to see a more interdependent and proactive communist state across the Armistice line.

Online:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com