The US policy toward North Korea since Barack Obama has assumed the US presidency is very different from the promises of engagement which he made during his election campaign. This policy presents a striking example of the disparity between the preelection promises and the action taken thus far during the Obama presidency.

On the first day of the new administration, sanctions were authorized against three North Korean firms under the Arms Export Control Act, along with several nonproliferation executive orders. The three firms were KOMID, which had been sanctioned by other administrations,  Sino-Ki and Moksong Trading Company, which were being sanctioned for the first time. (1)

The hostile direction of Obama’s policy, however, has been signaled most clearly by the change made when the new administration failed to reappoint Christopher Hill to his position as Undersecretary of State for East Asia and the head of the US negotiation team for… weiter lesen

 
What is the significance of the recent Presidential election in the US? Barack Obama won the Presidency through a great effort by people in the US and around the world. Also, however, the election demonstrated the great weakness of the political party system in the US as there was little difference expressed on many of the issues in the run-up to the election. Instead of the election being a means for a broad ranging public discussion of the many problems facing the American people, and people around the world, the personality of the two candidates and their perceived capability became a basis for speculating on whether their election would be the basis for a hopeful outcome or not.

While some of the mainstream media have continued the hype of the election process by speculating on whether or not… weiter lesen

I have been in Berlin, Germany for the last two weeks of the 2008 U.S. presidential election campaign. This has made it possible to get a different perspective on the U.S. election than is obvious in the U.S. In general, for the Europeans I have spoken with, it appears that the election has been framed so it appears that the two candidates of the major parties represent the majority of Americans. This is not the reality. In general, many Americans see themselves as independents, not represented by either the Republican or Democratic Party. Yet there is little in the media coverage to help Europeans recognize this reality.

In the English language media coverage of the election I have observed, mainly BBC or CNN, the reporters have focused on those who support either the Republican candidate John McCain or the Democratic candidate Barack Obama. The large number of Americans who are… weiter lesen