Posted Wednesday, September 22, 12:57 AM CDT, 1:57 AM EDT, 0657 BST.
Top editorial and op-ed commentaries in the ednesday editions of the leading U. S. newspapers:
1) The New York Times affords space to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the occasion of his visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “The next six months will test international cooperation more severely than at any time since 1945. That may seem strange to say after a year of global crisis that has demanded unity on an immense scale, yet five urgent challenges confront us and we cannot delay our responses…. We cannot solve these problems immediately, of course, but momentous decisions are demanded now toward halting climate change, renewing economic prosperity, fighting terrorism, ending nuclear proliferation and overcoming poverty.”
2) Thomas Friedman argues in the NYT that there may be a bona fide opportunity to negotiate concessions from the Iranian regime regarding its nuclear program. “I wouldn’t exaggerate this because this regime has never minded inflicting pain on its people, but this time it may be more vulnerable. That is why we may be in a position to say to the Iranian regime that continuing to grow its stockpiles of low-enriched uranium outside international controls, and suffering real economic sanctions, could threaten its survival more than it would help.”
3) Michael Gerson in the Washington Post criticizes the Obama administration for its refusal to invite the Dalai Lama to the White House during his scheduled October trip. The administration “includes some very principled, liberal defenders of human rights such as U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice and National Security Council staffer Samantha Power. But it seems dominated, for the moment, by those who consider the human rights enterprise as morally arrogant and an obstacle to mature diplomacy.”
4) In the WP, Kathleen Parker recounts her interview with Marcel Reid, dissident former ACORN board member and head of reform group ACORN 8. “Reid would like to see all board members and all senior staff gone. She thinks the Justice Department should investigate the charges of civil rights violations under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act that ACORN 8 filed in January.”
5) Also in the WP, George Will lambastes the Obama administration for its decision to slap a 35% tariff on Chinese tire imports. “The 215 percent increase in tire imports from China is largely the fault, so to speak, of lower-income Americans, many of whom will respond to the presidential increase in the cost of low-end tires by driving longer on their worn tires. How many injuries and deaths will this cause? How many jobs will it cost in tire replacement businesses or among longshoremen who handle imports? We will find out.”
6) In the Wall Street Journal, Mark Helprin attacks the Obama administration’s decision to back away from its predecessor’s plans for a missile defense shield in Europe. “Last week, the Iranian president and the Russian prime minister put Mr. Obama to the test, and he blinked not once but twice. The price of such infirmity has always proven immensely high, even if, as is the custom these days, the bill has yet to come.”