The Candidates and The World

Transition 2012

A guide to foreign policy and the 2012 U.S. presidential transition.

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Showing posts for "Syria"

Syria Update: The Candidates’ Slim Policy Differences

by Newsteam Staff
Free Syrian Army soldiers at the Bab Al-Salam border crossing to Turkey July 22, 2012 (Umit Bektas/Courtesy Reuters). Free Syrian Army soldiers at the Bab Al-Salam border crossing to Turkey July 22, 2012 (Umit Bektas/Courtesy Reuters).

The question of what the U.S. role should be in the ongoing Syrian conflict continues to spark debate on the campaign trail.

In the Christian Science Monitor, CFR Research Associate Andrew C. Miller sees little policy differences between the two candidates on Syria, noting that they both have rejected Libya-style military intervention and the Obama administration has largely pursued diplomatic policies and sanctions– efforts that GOP candidate Mitt Romney’s foreign policy team supports. Read more »

Foreign Policy Update: What’s the Goal of Romney’s Trip?

by Newsteam Staff
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney arrives at 10 Downing Street to meet with British Prime Minister David Cameron in London, July 26, 2012 (Jason Reed/Courtesy Reuters). Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney arrives at 10 Downing Street in London, July 26, 2012 (Jason Reed/Courtesy Reuters).

During his trip abroad, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has pledged not to criticize President Barack Obama’s foreign policy as some analysts are debating the actual point of his trip. Read more »

Midday Update: Romney Meets with Leaders in London

by Newsteam Staff
Photo of the Day: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney meets with British Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street in London, July 26, 2012 (Jason Reed/Courtesy Reuters). Photo of the Day: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney meets with British Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street in London, July 26, 2012 (Jason Reed/Courtesy Reuters).

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney kicked off his overseas trip with a series of meetings with British leaders (AP), including Prime Minister David Cameron. Read more »

Syria Update: Obama’s Next Move Debated

by Newsteam Staff
Men carry the coffin of a man protesters say was killed by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad near Damascus July 21, 2012 (Shaam News Network/Courtesy Reuters). Men carry the coffin of a man protesters say was killed by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad near Damascus July 21, 2012 (Shaam News Network/Courtesy Reuters).

As violence in Syria mounts, U.S. presidential candidates and analysts continue to debate the role of the United States and the United Nations in the conflict.

Following vetoes from Russia and China (Reuters) on a UN resolution calling for sanction against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last week, the White House called the vetoes “deplorable and regrettable.” Read more »

Weekly Video Brief: Arab Revolutions

by Toni Johnson

This week we have a video from CFR’s Steven A. Cook examining what the winner of the 2012 presidential election will face in the Middle East following 2011′s Arab revolutions, which has sparked political change in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt as well as turmoil in Syria and Bahrain. The next U.S. president, he says, will have to grapple with the fact that the regional political order “that made it relatively easier and relatively less expensive for the United States to pursue its interests in the Middle East has been turned over.”

Watch below:
Read more »

Syria Update: Candidates Continue to Differ on Action

by Newsteam Staff
A child with the Syrian opposition flag painted on his face in front of a burnt picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a demonstration against the Syrian and Russian governments in south Lebanon June 17, 2012 (Ali Hashisho/Courtesy Reuters) A child with the Syrian opposition flag on his face in front of a burnt picture of President Bashar al-Assad in south Lebanon June 17, 2012 (Ali Hashisho/Courtesy Reuters)

President Barack Obama’s attempts to find common ground with Russia on how to deal with the Syrian crisis and the fate of President Bashar al-Assad are highlighting the differing approaches to Syria of Obama and presumptive GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney on the issue. Read more »

Midday Update: Obama Turns Attention to G20

by Newsteam Staff
Photo of the Day: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks to a crowd outside K's Hamburger Shop in Troy, Ohio, June 17, 2012 (Larry Downing/Courtesy Reuters). Photo of the Day: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks to a crowd outside K's Hamburger Shop in Troy, Ohio, June 17, 2012 (Larry Downing/Courtesy Reuters).

President Barack Obama took time out from the campaign trail to attend the G20 summit in Mexico (WSJ), hoping to persuade the European Union to resolve its crisis before it further weakens the U.S. recovery and his reelection prospects. Read more »

Russia Update: Obama’s Russia ‘Reset’ Policy Under Fire

by Newsteam Staff
President Barack Obama meets Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow July 7, 2009 (Jim Young/Courtesy Reuters). U.S. President Barack Obama meets Vladimir Putin, then Russia's prime minister, in Moscow, July 2009 (Jim Young/Courtesy Reuters).

The United States’ fraying relationship with Russia, exacerbated by differences over how to respond to escalating violence in Syria, is likely to inform the U.S. presidential election in November, analysts suggest.  Read more »

Midday Update: Dueling Economic Speeches in Ohio

by Newsteam Staff
Photo of the Day: President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Israeli President Shimon Peres in Washington June 13, 2012 (Jason Reed/Courtesy Reuters). Photo of the Day: President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Israeli President Shimon Peres in Washington June 13, 2012 (Jason Reed/Courtesy Reuters).

President Barack Obama and presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney are set to deliver dueling economic speeches this afternoon (AP) from opposite ends of Ohio, a crucial battleground state in this year’s election. Read more »

Midday Update: Dems Paint Europe as a Cautionary Tale

by Newsteam Staff
Photo of the Day: Protesters against arctic drilling for oil greet the motorcade carrying President Barack Obama in San Francisco, June 6, 2012 (Larry Downing/Courtesy Reuters). Photo of the Day: Protesters against arctic drilling for oil greet the motorcade carrying President Barack Obama in San Francisco, June 6, 2012 (Larry Downing/Courtesy Reuters).

President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are holding up allies across the Atlantic as the poster children for bad economic policies and arguing that Mitt Romney and the GOP’s focus on spending cuts is following Europe down a dismal austerity-first path (NYT). Read more »