Tom's Take

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/09/art.amanpour.writer.jpg caption="Sr. Writer Tom Evans"]

Today, Joseph Sebarenzi speaks to AMANPOUR about his new memoir of barely surviving the Rwandan genocide that killed his entire family and 800,000 other Tutsis. He became a member of parliament and later a specialist on conflict resolution.  His story mirrors the story of Rwanda itself, as it struggles to come back from the abyss. There are plenty of other international headlines to tell you about today as well. Here are some perspectives on those.

Tom Evans
Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.

CHINA/U.S. – Who has the upper hand in what’s being called the world’s most important bilateral relationship after the U.S. president’s visit to China?

–         U.S. Pres. Obama ends visit to China with little of substance to show for a visit that was long on warm rhetoric between the two countries and short on significant policy agreements

–         Obama’s visit, in which he was censored by the Chinese authorities, shows how far relations between the 2 countries have changed since Bill Clinton’s freewheeling visit in 1998 when the U.S. was the world’s dominant power

–         Obama’s visit showed limits of American power and influence as U.S. and China move closer to being equals on the world stage

–         Obama went to Beijing weakened by impact of recession on U.S. and with the American military stretched by two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

QUESTION:  Has American global political, economic, and military power receded to such an extent that two centuries of Anglo-Saxon domination of world affairs are coming to an end?

U.S./ISRAEL – are America and Israel on a collision course over Jewish settlements?

–         Pres. Obama criticizes Israel for saying it will build hundreds of new apartments in a Jewish neighborhood of east Jerusalem which is claimed by the Palestinians

–         White House says U.S. “dismayed” by decision and urges both parties to avoid unilateral actions that could “pre-empt, or appear to pre-empt” negotiations

–         Israeli move comes despite Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently praising Israel for saying it will slow down, though not stop, Jewish settlement construction in West Bank

–         Palestinians now pushing for U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state without Israeli approval

QUESTION: as the chasm between the U.S. and Israel on settlements widens, and both sides appear determined to take unilateral action, have U.S. efforts to broker a peace deal come off the rails?

IRAQ – are plans to hold national elections in January unraveling?

–         Iraq’s Sunni Arab vice president vetoes vital law on upcoming elections, plunging voting plans into crisis

–         Vice President Tariq Al-Hashimi says law is unfair to Iraqis who fled their homeland because of the fighting since 2003

–         His veto reflects continuing jockeying for political advantage among Iraq’s three main ethnic groups, Shias, Sunnis, and Kurds

–         Any delay in election could postpone American plans to step up withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq and could potentially hinder any buildup in Afghanistan

QUESTION: Are Iraq’s ethnic divisions overwhelming efforts to build a political consensus toward national reconciliation and free elections in January?