The withdrawal of the last US combat unit from Iraq and the announced American withdrawal from Afghanistan are motivated primarily by domestic considerations and questionable in security terms, writes the liberal daily Sme: "Of course there is a chance that things will not revert to what they were in Iraq, and that the withdrawal of the US combat troops will not turn out to be a devastating mistake. But even many Iraqi government representatives cannot be certain of this, and presumably now regret pushing so hard for the American withdrawal. The announcement of the withdrawal from Afghanistan came at a time when far from improving, the situation in the country was getting worse from day to day. ... Obama has made clear to the local opponents of the Taliban that for all intents and purposes he was leaving them to their fate, irrespective of the situation in the country." (20/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » U.S., » Iraq, » Afghanistan
All available articles from » Peter Morvay

The US is withdrawing its troops from an operation war that never should have been launched, writes the left-liberal daily El País: "And it is doing so under conditions in which it can neither proclaim victory nor acknowledge defeat because the alleged causes for invading Iraq were false, the strategy was wrong for the terrain and the objectives imprecise and changeable. After the weapons of mass destruction which served as the excuse for this war turned out to be a deliberate manipulation its advocates resorted to justifying it as an attempt to bring democracy to Iraq. In other words, they tried to hide their abominable means behind a noble cause." (20/08/2010)

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

This is the inglorious end to a war that has been lost in every way, writes the liberal daily La Stampa commenting on the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq: "It began like Star Wars and is ending with this quiet withdrawal. ... Between the heroic beginning and the silent end lies an era of decline in US history. ... Iraq marks the end of the innocence of a great nation without the alibi of a great battle, of a grand ideological passion like that which drove the war in Vietnam. ... The mediocre war of a mediocre US presidency, the only symbol of which remains the image of a naked man being tortured with electric cables - but with a face covered by a hood. A sign that not even the enemy is recognisable any longer, even if you torture him." (20/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » U.S., » Iraq
All available articles from » Lucia Annunziata

The daily Sydsvenska Dagbladet is carefully optimistic regarding the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq: "Many arguments that were put forward by the Bush administration, not least the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, have dispersed into thin air. Nevertheless: a blood-smeared dictator has been deposed and Iraq has started down the arduous path to democracy. It is still by no means certain if it will reach this goal. But with Saddam in power this path would certainly have remained blocked. Iraq will need the world's support for years to come for this goal to be achieved, and the US continues to bear a heavy responsibility. The move does not represent a new paragraph, but at best a new line in this ongoing saga." (20/08/2010)

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

The Swiss peace movement Group for a Switzerland without an Army (GSoA) has launched a campaign gathering signatures for a referendum on the abolition of compulsory military service. But a Switzerland without an army could longer remain credibly neutral, the conservative daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung admonishes: "For the purpose of neutrality Switzerland's army is designed for defending the country, not for operations abroad. However the examples set by other countries show that political neutrality is indeed compatible with a defence policy that goes beyond the national borders. ... The long-term goal of the GSoA is to demilitarise Switzerland. This raises the question of whether a demilitarised Switzerland would be able to plausibly claim to be neutral. It would be a country that could only feel 'safe' thanks to the peacemaking efforts of Nato, the EU and the UN. Should Switzerland really pursue the goal of a 'free ride' at the expense of alliances to which it does not wish to belong politically?" (19/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Switzerland
All available articles from » Marc DeVore

As in other European countries, in Finland too there is a debate about the integration of Roma from Eastern Europe. Frank Johansson, the director of Amnesty International Finland, writes in the daily Helsingin Sanomat that the country has been successful in integrating the minority and should become more active on the Roma issue at an EU level: "The EU anti-racism and discrimination guideline are not being effectively implemented and the situation of the Roma is not being taken into account in the utilisation of structural funds. The reason for this is the lack of political will. To create the political will and break this vicious circle we will have to listen to the poor. ... Finland has done more to improve the situation of the Roma living in the country than many other countries. Therefore it should assume an active role on European committees to guarantee the rights of the Roma minorities. The government should provide political support and sufficient resources for Finland to do this." (20/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Migration, » Minorities, » Finland, » Europe

Widespread self-deception during the communist era is at the root of Hungary's current political, economic and social crisis, writes the literary critic László F. Földényi in the liberal daily Élet és Irodalom: "In the eyes of the world Hungary sets a bad example in every respect today. Not only because of its economic misery, but also with the rise of the extreme right. ... What happened? The reasons for today's malaise stem from the time before the fall of communism in 1989. At that time Hungary was considered a 'quirky camp' in the East Bloc and the seat of 'goulash communism' in the West. Prior to 1989 a large part of Hungarian society had concluded a pact with the communist regime. This consisted of a trade-off: at the price of self-deception, denying reality and moral cowardice people were able to secure for themselves negligible freedoms and personal advantages. ... Between 1956 [the crushing of the Revolution by the Soviets] and 1989 we achieved a degree of self-deception that was unparalleled in Europe. Today we're paying the price for these decades of self-delusion." (19/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » History, » Economic Policy, » Hungary
All available articles from » F. László Földényi

The US company Intel has bought McAfee, the US producer of anti-virus software and security programmes, for 7.68 billion dollars. The liberal daily Financial Times Germany praises move by the world's biggest producer of computer chips: "When more and more devices can access the Internet they are also increasingly susceptible to viruses and mailware. This becomes all the more dangerous the more sensitive data is transported and sent by business mobile phones and laptops. Over the past two years McAffee has equipped itself well for this market of the future. ... Nowadays it is no longer enough just to produce good hardware. Particularly in the mobile market, only those devices have been successful which are so aligned with operating systems that they can be used quickly and are nevertheless easy on batteries. Intel has already reacted to this trend by developing the ultra low voltage processor Atom and the new Meego operating system together with Nokia." (20/08/2010)

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The Greeks buy more imported products than products made in their own country, consumer statistics recently published by the Bank of Greece reveal. The left-liberal daily To Vima sees lacking competitiveness as the cause: "This trend is very worrying and highlights one of the main problems with Greece's economy: low competitiveness. We produce too few products which then don't sell because they can't compete with foreign products. They're too expensive and of poor quality. ... The biggest problem with Greek products is the lack of a company culture. ... The country needs successful entrepreneurs who are not dependent on the state. ... Strengthening its entrepreneurship and boosting the competitiveness of Greek products are fundamental for freeing the economy from the shackles of the state." (20/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Consumers, » Economic Policy, » Greece
All available articles from » Giorgos Papaioannou

At the start of July Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia agreed on the start of a new customs union as of January 1, 2011. The news portal Delfi sees the move as Russia's attempt to compensate for the hitherto unsuccessful negotiations over its membership in the World Trade Organisation. "At the same time, however, the world fails (or does not want) to recognise the repercussions the tariff union project could have for the entire region, from Ukraine and the Caucasus stretching all the way to the Baltic states, which will suffer from reduced exports to the countries of the customs union. Let's not forget, the Baltic countries are members of the EU and Nato, so the large member states of Nato and the EU should put more stock in their security than in accommodating Russia. After all, the customs union could merely be a means on the part of Russian Prime Minister Putin to create an institution in the post-Soviet zone that will exert considerable influence over the entire region. The common trade area would then be no more than a means to his true end." (19/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Lithuania, » Russia, » Europe
All available articles from » Alvydas Medalinskas

A study by the Chartered Management Institute shows that nowadays women mostly receive the same pay as men. The problem today is that highly-paid jobs entail more and more working hours, writes the conservative daily The Times: "Globalisation means that more and more people operate across time zones and face an insatiable client base that never sleeps. Advisory businesses such as law, accountancy and IT are particularly vulnerable to the demands of clients who themselves work increasingly long hours. The internet, the iPhone and the BlackBerry have obliterated the line between work and leisure. ... Being dedicated to your job means that you cannot be dedicated to your partner, children or relatives. High-powered men can cancel a date and still impress. High-powered women cancel a date and get dumped - making it even harder to have children. ... Women have broken through most barriers in the workplace. But the macho model of extreme working will pose a big challenge. The battle over pay is largely over. The battle over hours is only just beginning." (20/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Social movements, » Demographics, » Social affairs, » Labour, » Gender equality, » Global
All available articles from » Camilla Cavendish

France began on Thursday with the deportation of Roma to Romania. The conservative daily România Liberă examines the reasons for their failed integration in Romania: "We too are defending the cultural identity of the Gypsies in a feeble bout of multiculturalism. The authorities in Bucharest, first and foremost head of state Băsescu, talked of the 'nomadic' character of the Gypsy culture and of the injustice of collective solutions. But this is precisely the reason why the integration programmes don't work. It's simply not enough to reserve a couple of university places [for Roma], to finance social housing for them and organise a couple of dozen imposing seminars per year. Integrating these people is not about the idea of cultivating the pleasures of the 'nomadic' cultures but about changing them, as scandalous as that may sound. Multiculturalism is nothing but a monstrous intellectual sham which has nothing to do with 'tolerance' or 'openness' but does plenty to undermine one's own culture." (20/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU enlargement, » EU Policy, » Migration, » Integration, » Minorities, » France, » Romania, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Cristian Campeanu

The social online network Facebook has started a geotagging service in the US that allows members to disclose their location at any time. The business paper Les Echos warns Internet users of the dangers such disclosures present in the hands of profit-hungry businesses: "In the age of the Internet and social networks the digital citizens of the 21st century leave far too many traces behind them. At the start of the new digital era Internet users must put their relative passivity behind them and adopt a more critical attitude. Torn between the temptation to revolutionise communication and the desire to make money from their inventions, the large Internet companies have always maintained they would never do anything bad. However they are no longer non-profit start ups, but companies that want to make profits. Citizens must become vigilant consumers and adopt a more critical attitude as far as they are concerned." (20/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Online media, » Global
All available articles from » David Barroux

The new football season kicks off officially in Germany today. The conservative daily Lidové noviny notes the enhanced appeal of the German Bundesliga (the country's primary football competition), which began to grow with the 2006 World Cup in Germany: "It's true that British footballer Gary Lineker's definition is still valid, according to which football is a game with 22 players which the Germans always win in the end. But there is a key difference now compared with the past: Nowadays watching the games is really worthwhile. ... Back in the old days high-calibre stars like Raúl or Van Nistelrooy would have preferred to stay somewhere like England or Spain. The increased appeal only exacerbates the feelings of insecurity about the Czech Republic's own low-quality football because anyone who wants to see proper football only need cross the border." (20/08/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Sport, » Germany, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Petr Adam