Bush Administration Should News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

The Montenegrin parliament is delaying approval of the government's package of free-market measures, designed to improve the investment environment and encourage informal small and medium businesses to enter the formal market. The package includes a reduction of employers' payroll taxes and contributions to pension and health care. This time, however, reform is being held up by the World Bank, not by local interests or politics.

French strategists increasingly are taking the view that a waragainst Iraq is inevitable, and Paris has signaled its intent to send troops and an aircraft carrier group to the Gulf should theregime in Baghdad fail to disarm voluntarily.

Because the Balkans' future depends on integration into aEuro-Atlantic framework within the next decade, the BushAdministration should encourage the leveraging of EU economicincentives to bring about a resolution of Kosovo's final statusthat opens the door to NATO accession for qualifying Balkancountries and allows for drawdown and redeployment of the 7,000American troops stationed in Kosovo.

The muted U.S. responses to recent power shifts in Ukraine andBelarus demonstrate that the U.S. is unwilling to challengeMoscow's growing influence. The U.S. should support Ukrainiangroups that are committed to democracy, support sovereignty andterritorial integrity of all post-Soviet states, and expandhigh-level diplomatic dialogue with Moscow about contentiousissues.

Washington must adopt a pragmatic, realistic approach towardworking with Germany. Realpolitik should be the order of the day.As the EU member with the largest economy and largest population,Germany is simply too important to be ignored. It is in the U.S.interest to engage Berlin on an issue-by-issue basis, workingtogether where agreement can be reached.