US President Barack Obama is just sitting on his hands, writes the daily The Times, calling for more decisiveness on Obama's part: "In war, morale matters. Coalition troops must risk death every day, without knowing what their ultimate purpose is, whether that purpose will change, or even if they have one at all. The resignation in September, but revealed this week, of Matthew Hoh, a senior US official, is a sympton of drift and despair. Mr Hoh is a former Marine captain, and was cited for 'uncommon bravery' in Iraq. 'My resignation is based not on how we are pursuing this war,' he said, 'but why, and to what end.' Only Mr Obama can answer that question, and he must do so soon. Until he does so, people will continue to die without knowing why. The President must show at least as much resolve as his British allies. It does not seem a lot to ask." (29/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » U.S., » Afghanistan

The daily Der Standard writes that the mountain of questions about the US stratagy in Afghanistan and Pakistan grows with every attack in the region. Both internal and external critics "are saying that the US presence is doing more harm than good. The critical statements of Matthew Hoh, a highly-decorated US Marine Captain who went on to work for the State Department have drawn much attention. He accuses the government not only of participating in a civil war - and thereby taking sides with the corrupt, incompetent Afghan leadership - but also of doing much to fuel the conflict. The Pashtuns' war against the US, Nato and the Afghan government is basically a rebellion against an occupying power, Hoh says. ... It's often easier to diagnose an illness than it is to find the right medicine. But posing basic questions about the deployment in AfPak can only help the situation." (29/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » U.S., » Afghanistan, » Pakistan
All available articles from » Gudrun Harrer

The daily Dagens Nyheter asks why is it necessary to continue backing the democratic forces in the region, answering: "For the average Afghan and Pakistani the terrorist logic must seem horrendous - regardless of their attitude toward the presence of foreign [troops] in Afghanistan. The Taliban oppose democracy on principle. But the reason they didn't take part in the elections is that they know that they don't have the support of the majority - otherwise they would have tried to undermine it from within the democratic system. The international community should therefore continue its efforts to strengthen democracy in the region and at the same time support the Afghan and Pakistani governments in their efforts to maintain law and order. And until Afghanistan's government has its territory under control military support will also be required. The alternative would be to abandon the field to a hoard of brutal murderers." (29/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Afghanistan, » Pakistan
All available articles from » Håkan Boström

Shortly after the arrival of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Pakistan on Wednesday more than 90 people were killed in an attack in the provincial capital of Peshawar. The conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes that only sending more troops can help the situation: "In Pakistan the power of the state is being challenged by militant Islamists and their terrorist accomplices with unimaginable brutality. They are taking revenge for the security forces finally having stood up to the Islamist threat, and are now trying to plunge the country into civil war. ... Should President Obama react to the recent wave of terrorist attacks by deciding not to send additional troops it will not further security in the slightest, but it will allow the Taliban to strike victory poses. And that will in turn impress the West's local partners. And let's not forget, terror has once more taken hold of Iraq after the Americans withdrew from the major cities there." (29/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » U.S., » Western Europe, » Pakistan
All available articles from » Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger

In a speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has argued that Britain should have a stronger commitment to Europe. The daily Le Monde comments that the party is very late in coming: "Strange indeed, these British Labour MPs! They've been in power for thirteen years now without ever having been the least attracted by the European Union. And now, no doubt on the eve of a Tory victory in the next parliamentay elections, they've been struck with a love for Europe the likes of which the Kingdom has never seen. In an important speech what was hitherto the backbone of British foreign policy - the privileged relations with the United States - was put on the back burner. David Miliband, who may well be called upon to lead Labour, put another priority in its place: Europe, or more exactly the absolute necessity for the Europeans to develop a joint foreign policy. That's all very well and good. The only problem is that they've now missed the boat." (29/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » United Kingdom, » Europe

In Spain a number of corruption scandals involving several leading politicians from different regions and parties are coming to light. El País comments on the bad name these politicians are giving democracy: "Now, the most serious aspect in this situation is that the political class is little disposed and even less able to even understand the causes of this loss of prestige, never mind face its perverse consequences, which are apparent to everyone. The poor reputation of politicians which is already damaging the institutions has its roots in two malformations characteristic of modern democracies: many of the parliamentary tasks are carried out by the parties, and these parties have no respect for their internal democracy." (29/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Spain

On the occasion of the meeting of the EU heads of state and government which starts today in Brussels, the daily Le Quotidien calls for a common asylum policy: "At the moment when it is set to choose a single European president Europe is more than ever fragmented on a key issue, that of refugees. This question has become even more thorny with the explosion in immigration in the past ten years and the slowdown in growth. A harmonisation of asylum policies is indispensable in the fight against clandestine immigration networks, which profit from the differences that exist between individual countries. Efforts have already been made in this area, but they must be reinforced. If we fail to achieve harmonisation we will continue to have a sort of 'asylum seekers' lottery'." (29/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Luxembourg, » Europe

Following the revelations of large-scale plans for terrorist attacks against targets in Denmark the daily Berlingske Tidende calls on journalists to keep a cool head and politicians to adopt practical measures: "According to a recently published … study, three out of four Danes feel that the media magnify fears in almost all areas. … The story of the plans for attacks against targets in Denmark needs to be told and explained. But it is crucial that this should be done in a calm manner. The uncovered terrorist plans including connections to Pakistan above all highlight the need to combat the hubs of terrorism in the Pakistani tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan. The Pakistani army on the one side and the Nato coalition on the other must and will win … the battle of the democracies against religious terror. How can Denmark contribute to stabilising democracy, law and order in Afghanistan and Pakistan? More than anything else this is the question politicians should be concentrating on." (29/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Denmark, » Global, » Middle East, » Pakistan

The EU wants to appoint the new Commission on November 13, provided Czech President Václav Klaus has signed the Lisbon Treaty by then. Klaus has made his signature conditional on the addition of a clause upholding the Beneš decrees. Bohumil Doležal, Klaus' former chief advisor, writes in the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung that Klaus' real goal is to work through his own personal complexes: "His behaviour is questionable both in political and moral terms. Firstly his cheap populism is based on panic-mongering (they'll come and take it all) and soothing reassurance (but don't worry, I'm still here to protect you from danger). Secondly the Beneš decrees were not only based on principles that are incompatible with European law (collective guilt, assumed guilt, retroactive application). They also contradict much earlier Commandments ('Thou shalt not steal'). ... It is objectionable to use the decrees as a stick against exactly those people from whom we expect something in return, and as a carrot for those whose support we need to obtain it." (29/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » EU Constitution, » Czech Republic, » Europe
All available articles from » Bohumil Doležal

In an interview with the daily Polska Aleksander Gudzowaty, general director of the Polish gas trading company Bartimpex, gives vent to his annoyance about the gas delivery agreement between Poland and Russia and criticises Russia's negotiating tactics: "Moscow is pursuing a consistent strategy of making Poland dependent on it. It's only a matter of time before they start contesting our stake in EuRoPol Gaz [the leading Polish-Russian gas intermediary company]. The plans to diversify gas suppliers are just a media gag and our politicians are behaving like idiots. … [The Russians] are negotiating on all fronts simultaneously. Their specialists are talking to our experts, their ambassadors are courting our ambassadors, their politicians are agreeing on a standpoint with our politicians and their prime minister is putting our prime minister under pressure. This kind of offensive is meticulously planned and executed, leads to chaos, and you need to have the right skills to deal with it." (29/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Energy, » Economic Policy, » Poland
All available articles from » Agaton Koziński

The most important Belgian share index, the Bel20, suffered heavy losses for the seventh time in a row on Wednesday. For business paper De Tijd this is a sign that the crisis is not yet over: "Economies run like four-cylinder engines: you have the state, the companies, the consumers and foreign countries. Up to now the last three cylinders had virtually stopped functioning and it was above all the state that kept the economy going. But it can't go on doing this for years on end and accumulate even more debts. The big question now is who will take over? The consumers? Unemployment is rising and will perhaps remain high. … The companies? Many are making a profit once more, but that's only because they have cut costs, not because they are selling more products or services. … Other countries? The rest of Europe is still having problems. … Even that traditional saviour of the global economy, the US consumer, is not what he once was. … The ugly truth is that we still haven't digested the crisis."  (29/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Consumers, » Economic Policy, » Financial Markets, » Belgium, » Global
All available articles from » Bart Haeck

The bi-weekly literary magazine London Review of Books (LRB) is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The daily The Guardian seizes the occasion to praise the publication: "Among the many reasons it seems so essential to Britain's intellectual life, two stand out. First is the standard it keeps up. Over its lifetime, all the best British writers have contributed - Philip Larkin, Seamus Heaney, Angela Carter, Martin Amis, Hilary Mantel ... . And every one of those long, often taxing, sometimes playful essays on every conceivable subject has clearly had to make a very high grade. The editorial care taken is a cause for wonder and cheer. Second, the LRB is small (if 50,000 subscribers is small), independently owned, and has the freedom to be itself. It's often quirky and occasionally controversial. It doesn't mind if its reviews are late so long as they're the best; it operates far enough outside the usual literary circles to make it resistant to hype." (29/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Literature, » Print media, » United Kingdom

The left-liberal daily La Repubblica describes the election of Bishop of Hanover Margot Käßmann from Lower Saxony to the office of council chairwoman of the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD ) as a female revolution: "Margot Käßmann was elected for the courage she has shown in living her life in the public eye 'as a bishop and a woman', as well as for her popularity and her image, which has earned her the nicknames of the pop bishop or the Demi Moore of the Church. … She is progressive on the subject of equal opportunities, for which she herself has become a symbol, but on ethical matters she sometimes takes a traditional stance. Many see her as being on the left politically, close to the Greens, but she has nonetheless praised Chancellor Angela Merkel as an exceptional woman on several occasions. … A woman at the head of the Protestant Church in Germany, and an exceedingly unconventional one at that, could reignite the debates in the Catholic world which this Church finds so trying. For her part Margot Käßmann holds out her hand to the Catholics." (29/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Germany
All available articles from » Andrea Tarquini

A court in the Netherlands has ruled that the city of Eindhoven must grant the right of entry to a convicted paedophile who has served his sentence, and that the man, Sytze van der V., be allowed to live there in peace. Society must find a way of interacting with such people, writes the daily Trouw: "If you can't impose restrictions on a notorious repeat offender you can be sure problems won't be long in coming. This is practically an appeal to society to take the law into its own hands. And in fact, now that the first photos of Sytze van der V. have appeared in the Internet we can expect that a witchhunt will soon ensue. Nevertheless Eindhoven may not ban him. The attempt to deny him entry was feckless, because all it could accomplish would be to shift the problem to another location until all paedophiles end up on an island somewhere. As difficult as it may be, this judgement forces us to reflect soberly on paedophilia." (29/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Netherlands

A fake meteorite strike staged by Swedish mobile phone company Tele2 at the end of October has garnered international attention for Latvia, the daily Lietuvos Rytas writes: "Up until last week Latvia's name was mentioned mostly in connection with the financial crisis and the country's narrowly avoided national bankruptcy. But now the situation has changed radically: Latvia's name has gone round the world and the odd Brit or German has no doubt thought to himself: 'That Latvia isn't so uninteresting after all!'. … If the meteorite had been real everything would probably have quietened down by now, and only a couple of scientists would be left crawling round the crater. But as things stand, on YouTube alone the images have been clicked on more than 400,000 times. Lithuania's PR managers must now be biting their tongues: Our neighbours have outstripped us, the cheeky monkeys." (29/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Online media, » Media policy, » Lithuania, » Latvia
All available articles from » Vakaris Deksnys