Viewpoints -- December 15, 2009

	Blair Sold Iraq on WMDs, but Only Regime Change Adds Up  by Hans Blix
	Why Did They Go to Pakistan?  by Jacob G. Hornberger
	Old US Allies Are Hedging Their Strategic Bets  by Leon T. Hadar

	The Slope of Masada  by Akiva Eldar
	Parting Thoughts, for Now  by William S. Lind
	The Nobel War Prize  by Thaddeus Russell

Highlights

Letter from Berlin

Details on Afghanistan Bombing Have Merkel on the Defensive

Has Germany begun targeted killings of Taliban leaders? As details about a German-ordered bombing in Kunduz continue to emerge, the list of questions surrounding the incident is growing longer. Both Chancellor Angela Merkel and Defense Minister Guttenberg face intense criticism. By Charles Hawley more...

A Greek Tragedy

Should the EU Save Athens from Bankruptcy?

In Berlin and Brussels there is growing doubt over whether Greece can solve its debt problems without external help. If nothing is done, the country risks falling into bankruptcy -- with unforeseeable consequences for the European currency. By Wolfgang Reuter more...

• Interview with Greek Finance Minister: 'Punitive Measures Are Not Appropriate'

Washington Post Editorial: 'The coming debt panic'

Monday, December 14, 2009  
IT'S TIME to stop worrying about the deficit -- and start panicking about the debt. To put it another way, short-term deficits aren't the real problem. The punishing hangover of borrowed money is. The ballooning national debt once looked like a long-term problem. Now, the long-term has become the middle-term, fast-forwarded by the cratering economy and the unavoidable and immense spending in the service of saving it. go to article

Coperhagen Cimate Summit, Dec. 14, 2009

Hopes of global emissions deal at Copenhagen begin to fade

200 more arrests as police take zero-tolerance approach to protesters

• Developing countries return to climate talks
• Sun sets on sceptics' case against climate change
• Let's get our act together, Miliband tells climate ministers
• Mark Lynas's Copenhagen Notebook
• Tens of thousands stage largest ever climate march

Protesters Mostly Quiet After Day of Action

By TOM ZELLER Jr.

Scattered protests continued on Sunday, but climate activists in Copenhagen were largely quiet after a day of mass demonstrations resulted in nearly 1,000 arrests.

Australia’s Rudd Looks for Success in Copenhagen

By MERAIAH FOLEY 6:55 AM ET

The Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is expected to play a key, behind-the-scenes role at the climate talks.

On Green Technology, Germany Is the Envy of the World

Danish statistician Bjørn Lomborg argued in SPIEGEL last week that efforts to halt global warming should be postponed. Fritz Vahrenholt, head of the renewable energy operations at German energy company RWE, disagrees. Never before has there been a better chance for a global climate deal, he says. more...

• SPIEGEL ONLINE's Climate Countdown: Developing Nations Stage Copenhagen Walkout