Say it ain’t so

Haroon says Obama is silent, and that’s bad. MJ Rosenberg says Obama is silent, and that’s good. As a matter of political principle, as painful as it is for me to say it, Obama must be silent. He is absolutely correct; with three weeks before his inauguration the US cannot be seen as speaking with a forked tongue. Bush is absolutely, 100% wrong now, as he has been on most of his Israel policy. It’s been bad for Israel, it’s been bad for Palestinians, and it’s been bad for the US. However, we must respect the Office of the President,…

Yes Virginia, it is MIT.

First hat-tip here. The NYT is not allowing perma-links on the issue. Try to check out their coverage. Tajikistan, the country with which I’m most familiar, has a great deal of potential in terms of human capital. It would be a shame if the corruption of the government kept it from realizing its potential. While the initial blush of post-Soviet headiness in the international community has faded, I believe there is enough aid and interest in Tajikistan that it still has a short window in which it could develop a sustainable economy.