Klein&#039;s Commentary

Klein's Commentary

Go beyond the headlines

The Presidential Debate We Needed, but Never Saw

One question for the undecided voters of America – are you better off now than you were 90 minutes ago? Despite a Romney landslide 67% “win” among CNN debate watchers and pundits parsing the candidates words in excruciating detail (worse than the actual number-laded debate itself), undecided voters remained decidedly, undecided. What voters needed from…

Iran’s Economy at the Edge

(UPDATE: 10/3/12 – BBC reporting protests in Tehran.) Months of tightening U.S. sanctions appear to be taking their toll on Iran’s economy. The rial plunged against the dollar (losing 25% in street value in the past week and down some 80% since 2011). Imports, paid for in dollars, have become increasingly expensive. Inflation approached 24%…

Occupy East China Sea – China, Japan Face Off Over Disputed Islands

Chinese fishing fleets continue pressing their claims to the resources of a disputed island chain in the East China Sea while Japan considers what it can do with a Coast Guard fleet to protect their administrative control. The Senkaku/Diaoyu or Diaoyu/Senkaku island debate rages on with an occupy movement in full swing. With the Japanese…

Muslims Didn’t Kill U.S. Diplomats in Benghazi

First came anger. Anger at the images of the burning consulate. Anger at the senseless loss of life, at those who rioted, and the few who killed. On the anniversary of Sept. 11th that brought tragedy to so many, now more Americans were caught in the crossfire of a fight that never ended. Then came…

CNN Commentary: Has the UN Lost Its Peacekeeping Mandate?

Now that Kofi Annan has stepped down from his position as U.N. Arab League Envoy to Syria and peacekeeping troops are being removed from the country one has to wonder – does the United Nations have any role to play in conflict resolution? The reality is that the Annan Plan, which supported an interim government…

Why Syria Matters

After months of skirting around the diplomatic edges of a year and a half old Syrian crisis the U.S. finally drew a red line. If chemical weapons enter the conflict the U.S. will act with force. That prompted two of Assad’s last remaining benefactors to step up their rhetoric against greater U.S involvement in a civil…

What Really Ails America This Election Season

The internet is abuzz with criticism of Niall Ferguson’s factually-challenged rebuke of President Obama’s performance in the latest Newsweek cover story. His views include a steady stream of slanted statistics circulating these days (which is not to say there aren’t reasonable criticisms out there). But that’s nothing new for the historian turned pundit. Consider his…

World Politics Review Article: The Crisis of the Global Middle Class

The Arab Spring uprisings were fueled by the rising expectations of a nascent middle class in the face of opportunity that for too long had been denied. Tunisia’s uprising was in essence a middle class awakening, with the fight for economic opportunity replacing political ideology as the principal force shaping the future of fragile nations….

The Week That Was (and Wasn’t)

Walking Backwards into the Future – In a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling upholding President Obama’s healthcare bill the U.S. finally joined the rest of the developed world of 60 years ago with universal coverage. China joined the space world of 50 years ago with a successful orbital docking mission, including a safe return to earth of…

A Tentative Peace, More War

China and the Philippines withdrew their ships from the Scarborough Shoal after a tense standoff in contested fishing waters. Wars have started over lesser disagreements. There’s no end sight to the cycle of provocation and pushback. ASEAN has failed to act – non-claimant states are loathe to risk their economic relations with China by siding…