Council on Foreign Relations

Age (Australia)

• Starting Point: In an editorial, the paper says the Australian government’s just published green paper on emissions will satisfy voters and industry, but it should be seen only as a starting point.

Australian

• No Climate Sacrifice: Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan notes that neither the developed nor the developing world is prepared to give up economic growth for climate change.

Boston Globe

• Another Pariah: The paper carries an editorial on what it calls Sri Lanka’s forgotten war, and warns that unless the government there can strike a deal, it may find itself classified alongside the regimes in Burma, Zimbabwe, and Sudan as an international pariah.

Christian Science Monitor

• Converging Trends: In an editorial that points out Barack Obama and John McCain’s differences over withdrawal from Iraq, the paper says recent trends on the ground could cause the candidates' goals to generally converge, especially now that the Pentagon says Iraqi police and the Army will be fully operational by mid-2009.

Daily Star (Lebanon)

• Israel’s Lesson: In an editorial on Wednesday’s prisoner exchange, the paper says in the end the Israelis did precisely what Hizbullah's leader said they would, and adds that hopefully, when the humiliation wears off, they will have learned a valuable lesson.

Daily Times (Pakistan)

• Pakistan Invasion: In an editorial, the paper notes reports of a build up of NATO-ISAF forces on Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan and asks if Pakistan is facing an imminent invasion of its territory.

Financial Times

• Good Offer: In an editorial on Iran, the paper says the package of international economic support, security guarantees, and help with its civilian nuclear programme now on offer is one that Tehran should embrace.
• Fed’s Tightrope: In a further editorial the paper says the U.S. Federal Reserve is walking a tightrope. If it falls, the article says, it must be on the side of controlling inflation, not sustaining growth.
• Federal Struggle: Sam Natapoff of the World Policy Institute in New York describes federal support offered earlier this week to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae as the latest chapter in a 200-year-old struggle between private finance and the elected officials bent on controlling it.

Guardian

• Nuclear Gamble: Ulrich Beck of the London School of Economics writes that climate change and the oil crisis are being used to project atomic energy as a green panacea, but says this is a reckless gamble.
• Israel’s Exchange: In an editorial on Wednesday’s prisoner exchange between Israel and Hizbullah, the paper regrets that the exchange recognizes Hizbullah, rather than the Lebanese government, as Israel's negotiating partner.

Haaretz

• Blurred Distinctions: In an editorial, the paper says Israel must assess how it differentiates between the living and the dead, between exchanges involving live prisoners and dead soldiers--a differentiation, it says, that has become worryingly blurred in Israeli society.

Independent (UK)

• Hopeful Future: In an editorial, the paper says Wednesday’s prisoner exchange not only ends a lamentable chapter, but could mark the beginning of something new and better.

International Herald Tribune

• No Drilling: In an editorial, the paper calls on Congress to resist President George W. Bush's decision to lift the moratorium on offshore oil drilling first imposed by his father 18 years ago.

Jerusalem Post

• Offensive Spectacle: In an editorial, the paper comments on Lebanese celebrations of the return of four Hizbullah fighters and says the celebrations are a morally offensive spectacle.

Jordan Times

• Blair’s Verdict: In an editorial the paper notes Tony Blair’s pessimism that a deal between Israel and the Palestinians could be reached this year, and says while a damning verdict, this is no more than stating what is blindingly obvious.

New York Times

• Serious Iraq: In an editorial, the paper says the next U.S. president needs to take Iraq’s leaders at their word in their request for a withdrawal timetable.
• Important Sarkozy: Op-ed Columnist Roger Cohen describes President Nicolas Sarkozy of France as the most important European leader of the moment, pointing out that he has transformed French relations with the United States, NATO, Israel, and Mediterranean neighbors.
• Applaud ICC: Op-ed Columnist Nicholas Kristof says that we should applaud the International Criminal Court’s decision to seek an arrest warrant for the president of Sudan, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, for committing genocide.

New Zealand Herald

• League Of Democracies: The paper criticizes China and Russia for their vetoes of sanctions against Zimbabwe and voices support for John McCain’s proposal for a “League of Democracies” of countries upholding electoral rights.

Times Of India

• Decisive Indians: In an editorial, the paper acknowledges the economic challenges facing India and says it’s in everybody’s interest that the vote of confidence in the government scheduled to be held next Tuesday, has a decisive outcome.

Times of London

• Outdated Anglicans: Theo Hobson, author of a polemic on the Anglican Church, writes about the Lambeth Conference that is currently taking place, saying it illustrates how outdated the Church of England hierarchy is.
• Middle East Hostages: In an editorial, the Times says Wednesday’s prisoner exchange in the Middle East perpetuates the cycle of hostage-taking on both sides by giving an incentive to kidnap or arrest people to use them as bargaining chips in future exchanges.

Wall Street Journal

• Economic Meltdown: The paper criticizes the U.S. government’s economic policy in the last year. Washington has embarked on a stampede of easy money from the Federal Reserve, nonstimulating tax rebates from Congress, and a crisis-driven, haphazard approach to credit market triage, it says.
• Reverse Inflation: George Melloan, a former deputy editor of the Journal’s editorial page, writes that the best thing President Bush could do for his party and country, as he finishes out his term, would be to publicly give his full backing to measures that would reverse inflation.
• Useful Contacts: CFR adjunct senior fellow Dan Senor offers Barack Obama a list of people he should meet when he visits Baghdad, a visit expected in the next few days.

Washington Post

• Bailing Out: In an editorial entitled the Fannie-Freddie Dodge, the paper discusses the costs and contradictions of bailing out the two mortgage giants.
• Paulson’s Cure: Op-ed Columnist Robert Novak asks whether U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has a cure to the subprime crisis, or whether he’s just a crony.
• Watching Terrorists: Leonard Boyle, the director of the Terrorist Screening Center, writes that a vigorous debate about the best way to continue protecting our nation is vital, and the terrorist watch list should be a part of that discussion.

Washington Times

• Out-Of-Touch Obama: In an editorial, the paper says that, having opposed school choice at every turn, both the NAACP and Barack Obama remain tragically out of touch with their own constituency in addressing this present-day "civil-rights" challenge.

Ynet (Israel)

• Unadulterated Hatred: Sharon Gilad, in an op-ed on Wednesday’s prisoner exchange, writes of the pure, unadulterated, palpable hatred emanating from the surreal images of the Lebanese side of the border, showing the Lebanese people cheering for a despicable, vile murderer as if he were a long lost hero.