Double Responsibility
Published in El País
(Spain) on 10 November 2014
by Editorial (link to original)
(Spain) on 10 November 2014
by Editorial (link to original)
Translated from
by Cydney Seigerman.
Edited by Helaine Schweitzer.
The outrageous loss by the Democrats in the midterm elections that took place in the United States last week, and the consequent new ruling power in Washington, now that the Republican Party is completely in control of Congress with a Democratic president in the White House, will, without a doubt, impact two critical issues regarding the global economy and international security.
The first is the negotiation of a nuclear agreement with Iran, which would be a key instrument for stability. Barack Obama has embarked on a strategy that assumes the inevitable need to reach an agreement with Tehran that would allow Iran to peacefully develop a nuclear industry and, above all, require the country to renounce the development of a nuclear weapon arsenal of its own. The development of a nuclear weapon collection could trigger a series of unpredictable events in the Middle East. To negotiate with Iran, Obama has opted to approach the Ayatollah's regime. Most recently, Obama sent a personal letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in which Obama highlighted the need to collaborate in the fight against the Islamic State.
Republican Party members, whose position on this strategy is not unanimous, should decide if they will support the president — who is not very popular, belongs to the rival party, and has only two years left in office — or act on the sideline. It is a delicate matter, especially when the presidential elections are relatively close. Israel, the United States' historical ally in the region, does not want to hear or speak of any agreement with Iran.
The other topic is the Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement, which the United States and the European Union have been negotiating since last year. It has to do with a project of immense economic and political importance that will interconnect the trade relations and interests of the United States with Europe like never before in history. At a time when the center of world importance, in terms of economic influence, has shifted to the Pacific, the agreement is the great — and perhaps last — opportunity for Europe to stop remaining distant from the decision-making centers in the new world scene.
Neither issue can wait for the political tussles in the 1900 meters that run between Capitol Hill and the White House. There is too much at stake for both Europe and the rest of the world.
The first is the negotiation of a nuclear agreement with Iran, which would be a key instrument for stability. Barack Obama has embarked on a strategy that assumes the inevitable need to reach an agreement with Tehran that would allow Iran to peacefully develop a nuclear industry and, above all, require the country to renounce the development of a nuclear weapon arsenal of its own. The development of a nuclear weapon collection could trigger a series of unpredictable events in the Middle East. To negotiate with Iran, Obama has opted to approach the Ayatollah's regime. Most recently, Obama sent a personal letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in which Obama highlighted the need to collaborate in the fight against the Islamic State.
Republican Party members, whose position on this strategy is not unanimous, should decide if they will support the president — who is not very popular, belongs to the rival party, and has only two years left in office — or act on the sideline. It is a delicate matter, especially when the presidential elections are relatively close. Israel, the United States' historical ally in the region, does not want to hear or speak of any agreement with Iran.
The other topic is the Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement, which the United States and the European Union have been negotiating since last year. It has to do with a project of immense economic and political importance that will interconnect the trade relations and interests of the United States with Europe like never before in history. At a time when the center of world importance, in terms of economic influence, has shifted to the Pacific, the agreement is the great — and perhaps last — opportunity for Europe to stop remaining distant from the decision-making centers in the new world scene.
Neither issue can wait for the political tussles in the 1900 meters that run between Capitol Hill and the White House. There is too much at stake for both Europe and the rest of the world.