NEWSWEEK: International Editions: Highlights and Exclusives, January 21, 2008

NEWSWEEK: International Editions: Highlights and Exclusives, January 21, 2008

COVER: Musharraf's Last Stand. (All overseas editions). Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria writes that by clinging to power, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is making Pakistan fight the wrong enemy- him, rather than the extremists destabilizing the nuclear-armed nation. "Pakistan is a messy place, with only unpalatable choices, which is why many believe that in this land of the blind, Pervez Musharraf is king," Zakaria writes. "Over the past year, Musharraf has embarked on a series of moves that have destroyed his claims to being a modernizer, his reputation as a statesman, and his popularity with his own people." Musharraf's struggle to stay in power has reinforced his alliance with thoroughly illiberal forces. Having packed the courts, amended the constitution, muzzled the media and battled with the major political parties, Musharraf has alienated all the modern, secular and liberal forces in Pakistan, with the exception of some businessmen and his own community of "mohajirs" (refugees from India) in Sindh.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/91662

(Photo:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080113/NYSA004 )

INTERVIEW: 'Pakistanis Know I Can Be Tough.' In an interview with Newsweek's Zakaria, President Musharraf says his country is "totally against" a military operation when asked about the United States' idea of launching CIA operations in Pakistan. "We are a sovereign country. We will ask for assistance from outsiders. They won't impose their will on us," he says. Musharraf also says that Hillary Clinton's idea of having the U.S. and Britain help Pakistan secure its nuclear weapons isn't necessary. "Does she know how secure [the weapons] are and what we are doing to keep them so? They are very secure. We will ask if we need assistance. Nobody should tell us what to do. And I'd ask anyone who says such things, do you know how our strategic assets are handled, stored and developed-do you know it?"

http://www.newsweek.com/id/91693

Aid and the Unraveling of Pakistan. Guest columnists Devesh Kapur, the director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania, and Arvind Subramanian, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, write that democracy suffered a string of setbacks in 2007, thanks to oil. Pakistan has reaped it own unearned manna, largely from massive military and other forms of aid. The impact of all this cash on Pakistan has been just as destructive as oil wealth elsewhere: bloating the military and creating a culture of violent instability, in which assassinations like that of Benazir Bhutto are sadly inevitable, they write.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/91625

Anybody But Bush. London Bureau Chief Stryker McGuire reports that until now the 2008 election has meant only one thing to most Europeans: the departure of George W. Bush. But Bush's would-be successors are suddenly grabbing the attention of Europeans. In their diversity and eccentricities, the principal candidates still in the running are portrayed in the European media as wonderful characters straight out of Main Street, U.S.A. "There is no better piece of political theater than what's going on in America at the moment," says Jeremy O'Grady, editor in chief of The Week in London.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/91614

Leaders For a New Age. Special Correspondent Jeremy Kahn reports that as the post-boomers take power, they could bring big change in the U.S., Europe and beyond. With strong support in the polls from younger generations, leaders such as Sen. Barack Obama are establishing their place in the political landscape. But America is far from the only nation where baby-faced politicians are dominating the headlines. In Europe as well, men and women too young to have been shaped by either of the two major ideological contests of the 20th century -- the battle against fascism and the long twilight struggle against communism -- are reaching the highest echelons of political power.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/91615

Supply-Side Nation. Senior Editor and Columnist Daniel Gross writes that the long-raging battle of the 20th century between the forces of market capitalism and government control essentially ended in the fall of 1989. "Since those peaceful revolutions, the global economy has been in the throes of a continuous revolution that has turned what used to be a collection of largely independent systems into a single, massive, integrated one ... For post-boomers, recessions are like bell-bottom jeans -- a relic of the 1970s," he writes.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/91616

Sorry, Not Interested. Special Correspondent Michael Levitin reports that this week Washington heads to the United Nations Security Council's debate on Kosovo, with most of Europe alongside it, pressing for independence. But Serbia's Parliament has overwhelmingly rejected any future EU-imposed mission in Kosovo, and stands with the support of Russia and a growing list of countries including China, Indonesia and South Africa in its refusal to part with the region -- even, according to Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, if it means shelving EU membership talks.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/91617

The Factory Of Factories. Special Correspondent Stefan Theil reports that Germany's nimble manufacturers are not only besting their Western rivals, but the Chinese as well. Of the world's major economies, only Germany and China have boosted their share of world exports since 2000. Germany's share is up 5 percent, while France, Japan and the United States have steadily slipped -- minus 10, 25 and 30 percent, respectively. And while other Western countries worry about a slowdown, Germany seems to be chugging right along.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/91613

GLOBAL INVESTOR: Passing the Devalued Buck. Peter Schiff, president of the brokerage firm Euro Pacific Capital, writes that the United States' dependence on foreign-supplied capital is becoming ever more apparent. Buyers are being enticed with very favorable terms in the form of preferred shares with high dividend streams. "While these deals are necessary," Schiff writes, "they are nothing to celebrate. After all, Americans are simply selling off assets to satisfy our debts and to fuel consumption. This is known as selling the cow to buy milk."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/91629

WORLD VIEW: A 'Cinnamon-Skinned' President. Jorge Castaneda, Mexico's former foreign minister writes, "The main difference an [Barack] Obama presidency would make is his race." "For the first time, the United States would have a chief of state who looks like what most of the earth's inhabitants believe they look like," he writes. "He looks like one of the billions of dwellers of the poorer two thirds of the planet."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/91621

THE LAST WORD: Oscar-Nominated Actor Kenneth Branagh. Branagh shares his thoughts on redirecting the classic 1975 Ingmar Bergman version of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" and the criticism he has gotten from it. "If you have a passion for an original take on the classics, you have the right to take that work on ... If it is as simple as not liking my work, that is fine. But sometimes [people] think that the very act of doing it is an insult to the previous revered work. I say it is inspiration and a celebration, and half the time it will send people back to the original and brilliant conception."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/91626

PRNewswire -- Jan. 13

Photo: NewsCom:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080113/NYSA004
AP Archive:

http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN11
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Newsweek

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