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Snow and stars blanket Copenhagen little more than 24 hours before 192 countries are scheduled to reach a political agreement on greenhouse gas emissions. Former Vice President Al Gore, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Secretary Hillary Clinton, Senator John Kerry, business CEOs by the dozens, Ministers and Heads of State from almost every nation fill Bella Center. Outside, a wind-driven snow and below freezing temperatures create a sober backdrop for the increasing sense of urgency. UNFCC Executive Director Yvo de Boer and Danish Climate Minister Connie Hedegaard held a press conference 48 hours before 113 Heads of State and Ministers decide whether a political deal will be struck in Copenhagen to limit greenhouse gas emissions. A general concession has emerged that a legally binding agreement won’t be reached, and press questions focused on the complexity of the climate issue and on concerns about transparency and the slow pace of negotiations. Read more » As part of CSPC’s Small and Mid-sized Business Issue Team Paper rollout last week, Ambassador Francis Rooney, one of our Small and Mid-sized Business co-chairs, sat down for an interview touching on subjects ranging from President Obama’s plans for small business and the small business voice in the health care debate, to what the Executive and Legislative Branches are doing to help create new jobs for small business owners. As Washington has been debating the strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the potential deployment of more troops, General Jim Jones, the National Security Advisor, has emphasized that we need “strategy before resources.” A true strategy aims to utilize all elements of national and international power. This is an oversight. There has been a shocking silence as to how NATO can be remobilized for these efforts. A jobs report released last Friday by the Labor Department, served as an unnecessary reminder that times are still tough for the U.S. economy. The report states that unemployment has inched upwards to 9.8 percent, a twenty-six year high. While Administration officials are quick to point out that unemployment figures are lagging indicators and the economy is in fact recovering, many Americans remain unemployed, partially employed, or worried about their job future as businesses continue to tread water. The economic growth seen thus far has proven to be shaky, leaving many companies and their employees with the ability to stay in business, but unable to hire new workers or extend current working hours for employees. One of the most striking statistics of this jobs report is that the average American is only working 33 hours a week—a telling sign of an economy struggling to recover. The current war in Afghanistan places the United States in a historically familiar conundrum—how to strategically move forward when pressured to act immediately. General McChrystal’s recently-leaked memo, in which he advocates for more troops in Afghanistan and a new counter insurgency approach, has ignited a debate within the Administration, Congress and the military. At issue is whether to move forward with the counter insurgence strategy espoused in March or to step back and reappraise the situation at the risk of appearing weak in our resolve to defeat the Taliban. Fortunately, we can look back to the lessons of history to understand the precarious position the Administration faces today. Iran’s acknowledgment this week that it possessed a second nuclear clandestine testing facility unbeknownst to other G20 participants raised serious questions about the power of U.S. diplomacy abroad. With news that the facility is capable of conducting mid-range missile tests, Iran has again defied the international community. This week in New York City, President Obama presented the UN General Assembly with the challenge of collectively taking on the world’s most pressing issues. In a break from the go-it-alone policy of the previous Administration, Obama stressed the need for a new era of engagement:”Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.” Obama’s call for unity coincided with the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, which advocates shared responsibility to address major global problems. Joe Duffey, former United States Information Agency Director and co-chair of our Restoring America’s Trust and Influence Abroad (RATIA) issue team, attended this summit. We asked him to share his thoughts on this week’s events. |