NEWSWEEK: Media Lead Sheet/December 8, 2008 Issue (on newsstands Monday, December 1)

Nov. 30 NY-Nwswk-media-leads


"How to Fix the World" (p. 34). Newsweek International Editor Fareed
Zakaria argues that before last week's terror attacks in India, the subject of
foreign policy had disappeared, overshadowed by the economic crisis.   For
foreign policy to receive the appropriate attention, we must hope that
President Obama "does more than select a good team, delegate well and react
intelligently to the problems that he will confront. He must have his
administration build a broader framework through which to view the world and
America's relations with it -- a grand strategy." This is a rare moment in
history, when a more responsive America could help bring stability, prosperity
and dignity to the lives of billions of people.


http://www.newsweek.com/id/171249

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081130/NYSU003 )


"Think Again: What's Our Definition of Victory?" (p. 38).  Andrew J.
Bacevich, a professor of history and international relations at Boston
University and author of "The Limits of Power: The End of American
Exceptionalism," writes that in Afghanistan, the U.S. and its allies are using
the wrong means to pursue the wrong mission, and sending more troops to the
region would be a mistake.   "An operation launched with expectations of a
quick, decisive victory has failed signally to accomplish that objective ...
The real problem is that Washington has misunderstood the nature of the
challenge Afghanistan poses and misread America's interests there."


http://www.newsweek.com/id/171254



"Talk Tough With Tehran" (p. 38). Dennis Ross, a former U.S. Middle East
envoy and a Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East
Policy, writes that the dangers of a nuclear Iran are great, but it's not too
late to stop it from happening.  Though Tehran wants nukes for both defensive
and offensive purposes, it's not clear the Supreme Leader would sacrifice
anything to get nuclear weapons, and history shows his government responds to
outside pressure.  "Iran has continued to pursue nuclear weapons because the
Bush administration hasn't applied enough pressure -- or offered Iran enough
rewards for reversing course."


http://www.newsweek.com/id/171256



"Don't Isolate, Integrate" (p. 40).  Contributer Richard N. Haass,
president of the Council on Foreign Relations, writes that the most important
challenge for the new administration -- one with the potential to shape the
21st century -- is China, and a new "integrated" approach is necessary.
"Integration should be for this era what containment was for the previous one.
Our goal should be to make China a pillar of a globalized world, too deeply
invested to disrupt its smooth functioning. The aim is ambitious, even
optimistic, but not unrealistic."


http://www.newsweek.com/id/171259




"Ease Moscow's Suspicions" (p. 40). Michael Mandelbaum, the Herter
professor of American foreign policy at the Johns Hopkins University School of
Advanced International Studies, writes that Russia's feelings of betrayal
because of NATO expansion has left the West with no good options.  In the wake
of Russia's war with Georgia last summer, some in the U.S. renewed the call to
welcome Georgia into NATO, but making the former Soviet nation a member would
mean we'd have to come to the country's aid should fighting with Russia break
out again.


http://www.newsweek.com/id/171258



"Know the Limits of U.S. Power" (p. 41). John J. Mearsheimer, a professor
of political science at the University of Chicago and coauthor of "The Israel
Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," writes that the United States is in deep
trouble in the Middle East, and a radically different strategy for the region
is necessary.  Mearsheimer suggests a strategy that has proved effective in
the past: "offshore balancing."   "The United States would station its
military forces outside the region. And 'balancing' would mean we'd rely on
regional powers like Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia to check each other ...
America would put boots on the ground only if the local balance of power
seriously broke down and one country threatened to dominate the others."


http://www.newsweek.com/id/171261



"This Fire Needs to Be Put Out" (p. 28). Newsweek International Editor
Fareed Zakaria writes that the attacks in Mumbai, which are being calling
India's 9/11, should be a call to arms to the region.  The terror attacks have
highlighted one of modern India's weaknesses -- its public sector.  "If this
is India's 9/11, then it should be a spur to the country to finally get its
house in order and reform itself to succeed in an age that requires smart
government."


http://www.newsweek.com/id/171248



"Rubin's Detail Deficit" (p. 44). Editor-at-Large Evan Thomas and Senior
Editor Michael Hirsh write about former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who
played a part in the risky market moves that helped create the financial
crisis that Obama must now fix.  "He may not have been the architect of the
financial world that has been imploding for the last year or so.  But he was,
as the great Cold War Secretary of State Dean Acheson once wrote of his own
role, 'present at the creation.'"


http://www.newsweek.com/id/171243



"The Price of Loyalty" (p. 46). Jacob Weisberg, editor in chief of The
Slate Group and author of "The Bush Tragedy," writes that critics of Hillary
Clinton's possible appointment as Secretary of State have focused on the issue
of whether she'll be loyal to Barack Obama, an issue that the president-elect
does not spend much time worrying about.  "Those who fixate on personal
allegiance, like Johnson, Nixon and George W. Bush, tend to perform far worse
in office than those, like FDR, Truman, JFK, Reagan and Clinton, who can
tolerate strong, independent actors on their teams."


http://www.newsweek.com/id/171239



"Bloodshed on the Border" (p. 50). Miami Bureau Chief Arian Campo-Flores
reports on the increasing number of patients who are crossing the Mexico-Texas
border to be treated at Thomason Hospital in El Paso, Texas. This year, more
than 40 patients wounded in Juarez have sought treatment at Thomason,
including a 1-year-old girl who was pinned against a wall by a truck involved
in a drug-related shooting. The border between El Paso (population: 600,000)
and Juarez (population: 1.5 million) is the most menacing spot along America's
southern underbelly. Juarez looks a lot like a failed state, with no
government entity capable of imposing order and a profusion of powerful
organizations that kill and plunder at will. It's as if the United States
faced another lawless Waziristan -- except this one happens to be right at the
nation's doorstep.


http://www.newsweek.com/id/171251




"Luxury Shame" (p. 55). Senior Writer Johnnie L. Roberts writes that
across America's upper strata, the very rich are experiencing "luxury shame"
in these recessionary times.  The trend is horrible news for the $175 billion
global luxury market, which is already absorbing the blows of plummeting
personal wealth.


http://www.newsweek.com/id/171246



SOURCE  Newsweek