The World This Week

March 7, 2008 View this newsletter as a web page on CFR.org In this Issue: • Trouble in the Andes • Anticipating the Next Green President • U.S. Military Ties With Pakistan Uncertain • McCain Wins, Dems Fight On Trouble in the Andes A Colombian incursion into Ecuador sparks a regional diplomatic crisis at a time of increased arms spending across South America. Read more Interactive Timeline: Venezuela's Chavez Era Gwertzman Interview with Francisco R. Rodriguez: Chavez Using Attack on FARC to Bolster Diminishing Popularity Backgrounder: Colombia's Right-Wing Paramilitaries and Splinter Groups Council Report: Andes 2020 - A New Strategy for the Challenges of Colombia and the Region CFR Experts on the Andean Region Anticipating the Next Green President Expectations are high that the next U.S. president will take stronger steps to mitigate climate change but pessimism abounds over sustainable energy policy. Read more Council Special Report: Climate Change and National Security - An Agenda for Action Campaign 2008 Issue Tracker: The Candidates on Energy Policy Podcast with Michael A. Levi: The Next President's Role on Climate Change CFR Experts on Energy and Climate Change U.S. Military Ties With Pakistan Uncertain Washington worries the new civilian government in Islamabad may put a halt to its plans for increased U.S. military action within Pakistan. Read more Backgrounder: Pakistan's Constitution Podcast with Husain Haqqani, Director, Center for International Relations on Pakistan's New Army Chief Interactive Timeline: U.S.-Pakistan Relations CFR Meeting Transcript: A Conversation with Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. CFR Experts on Pakistan McCain Wins, Dems Fight On Hillary Clinton takes Ohio and Texas, extending her fight for the Democratic presidential nomination against Barack Obama. Read more Op-ed: "Obama's Free-Trade Credentials Top Clinton's" by Jagdish Bhagwati (Financial Times) Campaign 2008 Issue Tracker: The Candidates on Trade Backgrounder: Foreign Policy and the 2008 Presidential Nominating Campaigns CFR Experts on U.S. Politics and Strategy CFR Meeting with Campaign Foreign Policy Advisers Click here to listen to Clinton, McCain, and Obama foreign policy advisers discuss the foreign policy platforms of their respective candidates. CFR Experts in the News U.S. Popularity (3/7): Michael Gerson writes that "a successful president should strive for America to be liked—and expect, on occasion, for America to be resented in a good cause," in the Washington Post. Sovereign Wealth Funds (3/7): Benn Steil discusses sovereign wealth funds and California's retirement system, in the Wall Street Journal. Iraq (3/6): Stephen Biddle argues that Iraq's prognosis is better today than it has been for a long time, in the National Interest. U.S. Presidential Election (3/5): Michael Gerson writes that Hillary Clinton is the GOP's dream candidate, in the Washington Post. Iraq War (3/5): Amity Shlaes argues that most estimates on the cost of the Iraq war are far too low, on Bloomberg.com. Energy (3/4): David Victor explains why the U.S. is doomed to be an energy outlaw, in Newsweek. Iran (3/4): Charles Kupchan and Ray Takeyh argue that U.S. policy toward Iran should pursue patient diplomacy and regional integration, in the Los Angeles Times. Nuclear Strategy (3/4): Michael Levi urges the U.S. to allow scientists to play a role in the development of nuclear policy, in SEED. Russia (3/4): Jeffrey Mankoff argues that Medvedev's victory provides an opportunity for the U.S. to mend relations with Russia, in the Boston Globe. Trade (3/3): Sebastian Mallaby looks at the Democrats' trade agenda, in the Washington Post. Conservatism (3/3): Michael Gerson writes that William F. Buckley's death is a loss to conservatism and America, in Newsweek.