opinion

Intense questions and necessary answers
by Raúl Leis --- rauulleisr@hotmail.com

Former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt published in the Die Zeit daily newspaper various questions directed to the primary candidates for the presidency of the United States, of which we should point out some and add others.

Will the United Nations Charter continue to be the basis of international law that's in effect for the United States? After the rejection by two US presidents of the Kyoto Protocol, will the United States join in a contractual limitation on greenhouse gases? Will the United States cease to base its growth on the monopolization of other countries' savings and capital? Are you in favor of participating in a reinforced vigilance over highly speculative world financial markets?

How do you think you will put an end to the war in Iraq? What means are you thinking about employing? What should Iraq be like at the end? What is your objective in Afghanistan? Is it just the elimination of al-Qaeda or also of the Taliban, or are you trying to build a democracy?

Now that the US intelligence services have proven that Iran abandoned its attempts to get nuclear weapons, what will be the future policy of the United States toward Iran? One-quarter of the countries in the world are entirely Muslim, or have a strong Muslim component. Does that imply to you a religious and cultural tolerance of Islam, and will you oppose those who preach a clash of civilizations with Islam?

What is your strategy to reach a peaceful solution of the conflict that has lasted now more than a half century between Israel and its Arab neighbors? Does it imply to you the creation of a Palestinian state, or is the Annapolis Conference just one more of such episodes? Do you accept the role of world political and economic actor that China is playing? Will you finally invite China to summit meetings?

I'd like to add other questions to Schmidt's: Will the United States clean or assume the cost of cleaning the firing ranges contaminated with unexploded ordnance and other hazardous materials that it left behind in Panama? Are you disposed toward an economic relationship based on fair trade, without the imposition of economic models or accords that affect this country? Will respect for people's self-determination be a fundamental point of bilateral relations?

Recently Cardinal Tarsicio Bertone, the Secretary of State for the Vatican, declared about the embargo on Cuba, which is widely rejected by the international community, that "The Holy See exactly confirms the words of John Paul II: the embargo is ethically unacceptable. It's an oppression for the Cuban people.... It's a violation of a people's independence. This is the truth. The Vatican confirms this judgment and is attempting to move the United States to eliminate this embargo." The question is urgent: When?