Friday News Roundup - International
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-03-01/friday-news-roundup-international
Secretary of State Kerry announced a plan to provide the Free Syrian Army with food and medical supplies. The U.S. will also more than double humanitarian aid for rebel-controlled areas. But the administration's first public commitment of support for the armed opposition fell short of their request for weapons. Nuclear talks between six world powers and Iran ended with only an agreement to hold further meetings this spring. Pope Benedict officially entered retirement. And Italy's inconclusive election reignited fears about the European Union's debt crisis. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories.
Guests
Moises Naim
chief international columnist for El Pais and author of the forthcoming book, "The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being in Charge Isn't What It Used to Be."
Courtney Kube
national security producer for NBC News.
Mark Landler
current White House correspondent and former diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times.
Comments
Please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use before posting your comments.
Former Bush administration officials and middle east analyst Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett have written that at least 50% of the Syrian population supports Assad. Professor Juan Cole has also reported this at his website Informed Comment. Who is it that Secretary of State Kerry is giving funds to in Syria? Who are the Syrian rebels? Is this another case of the US funding affiliates of Al Qeada? Will this come back to bite the Obama administration in the behind like the Libyan overthrow of Qaddafi?
Can your guest please discuss the new resolution that Senators Graham and Menendez put forward yesterday further isolating Iran based on unsubtantiated claims?
How can the Secretary of State, or any other member of the administration, make aid commitments when the federal government is being sequestered and we have no budget?
Are foreign countries not concerned with the sequester?
Why isn't it subject to the sequestration?
Iran signed the Non Proliferation Treaty years ago. They have the legal right to enrich to 20% for peaceful purposes. Israel has not signed the Non Proliferation Treaty and has massive stockpiles of nuclear weapons that go un inspected by the IAEA as the Iranian program is inspected. Please discuss this massive hypocrisy. I have read many letters from leaders in the middle east to the head of the IAEA over the decades about the serious concerns that many middle east nations have about Israel's massive stockpiles of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and their unwillingness to sign the Non Proliferation Treaty. Please address
Iran signed the Non Proliferation Treaty years ago. They have the legal right to enrich to 20% for peaceful purposes. Israel has not signed the Non Proliferation Treaty and has massive stockpiles of nuclear weapons that go un inspected by the IAEA as the Iranian program is inspected. Please discuss this massive hypocrisy. I have read many letters from leaders in the middle east to the head of the IAEA over the decades about the serious concerns that many middle east nations have over Israel's massive stockpiles of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and their unwillingness to sign the Non Proliferation Treaty. Please address
Please discuss the resolution that Senators Graham and Menendez put forward yesterday promoting further isolation of Iran based on unsubstantiated claims? Do your guest think that Israel and the I lobby will be successful at pushing the US into a military confrontation with Iran based on these false claims about Iran?
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/28/senators-press-to-green...
RE: Syria.
"We'll do politics later"
Isn't that what Kerensky said in 1917?
There's a little difference between Israel & all those middle eastern countries. Israel has not once said anything even hinting that those countries shouldn't exist, but many of those middle east country have declared that Israel has no right to exist or that one of their goals is the annihilation of Israel.
Not knowing what Israel has in the way of nuclear weapons appears to be enough to keep those countries from actually carrying out their threats.
When that changes, perhaps we can treat all the countries in the middle east the same. In the meantime, how would you feel if you were completely surrounded by neighbors who want to exterminate you?
Hello Diane,
In response to a caller who was disturbed by the teaching of Pope Benedict regarding condom use in Africa, Mark Landler stated that the Pope's statements about condom use were made under the doctrine of infallible teaching. This was not the case. A later caller called to ask that a correction be made regarding this.
You chose Courtney to reply to that caller and her answer was not on point and did not correctly address the issue either. You followed that up with an excuse about the lack of expertise of your panel. That lack of expertise was clear, and should have informed your guests to be careful in the language they used when discussing this topic.
Sadly both responses were dismissive of your caller and his concerns. I have been a fan of yours for many years, but this was not one of your finest moments.
Here are a couple of references for you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_infallibility
'In July 2005 Pope Benedict XVI stated during an impromptu address to priests in Aosta that: "The Pope is not an oracle; he is infallible in very rare situations, as we know" '
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/PopeNotInfallibleonCondoms.asp
It would be nice if on next Friday's show a correction was mentioned and an apology offered for the dismissive tone taken during this exchange.