MEDIA LEAD SHEET/DECEMBER 8, 2008 ISSUE (on newsstands Monday, December 1). To book correspondents, contact Katherine Barna at 212-445-4859-Katherine.Barna@Newsweek.com-or Grace Huh at 212-445-5831-Grace.Huh@Newsweek.com. Read the issue and Web exclusives at www.Newsweek.com.
"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
"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 Juárez 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 Juárez (population: 1.5 million) is the most menacing spot along America's southern underbelly. Juárez 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
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