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Defense and Security

The World Next Week: Confirmation Hearings Begin for Obama’s Cabinet Nominees, Biden Visits Europe, and the WTO Searches for Its Next Director-General

<p>U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) testifies at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on his nomination to be secretary of state (Gary Cameron/Courtesy Reuters).</p>
U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) testifies at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on his nomination to be secretary of state (Gary Cameron/Courtesy Reuters).

By experts and staff

Published
  • James M. LindsayCFR Expert
    Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy

The World Next Week podcast is up. Bob McMahon and I discussed the confirmation hearings for President Obama’s cabinet nominees, Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Europe, and the World Trade Organization’s search for its next director-general.

[audio: https://www.cfr.org/content/publications/media/editorial/2013/20130124_T…]

The highlights:

For more on the topics we discussed in the podcast check out:

The Senate holds hearings on President Obama’s cabinet nominees: The Hill reports on the beginning of Senator John Kerry’s hearing. The New York Times covers secretary of defense nominee Chuck Hagel’s recent meeting with Senator John McCain. The Washington Post argues that the Senate should use confirmation hearings as an opportunity to weigh in on Obama’s foreign policy.

Joe Biden visits Europe: The Hill outlines Biden’s European itinerary. Radio Free Europe reports that Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov hopes to meet with Biden while in Munich. The U.S. Embassy in Germany has a transcript of Biden’s speech at the 2009 Munich Security Conference. The New York Times reports on Prime Minister David Cameron’s call for a referendum on Britain’s EU membership and on Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon urging London not to jeopardize its relationship with the EU.

The World Trade Organization looks for a new Director-General: AFP reports on the director-general selection process and the nine candidates. The World Trade Organization has biographies of each of the candidates. The Globe and Mail covers candidates’ “campaign stop” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Economist discusses the WTO’s stalled Doha talks and suggests ways to move ahead.