Greece: A Country Left with No Good Choices
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To get a bailout from the rest of Europe, Greece will impose more "austerity measures," the kind that led to riots and burning in Athens last week. Will there be economic recovery or "pain with no gain?" Why is it so important to the United States? Also, UN investigators accuse top Syrian officials of crimes against humanity, and the GOP candidates and threats of war on Iran.
Banner image: The EU flag files in front of the Parthenon on the Acropolis on February 17, 2012 in Athens, Greece. Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images
Making News
UN Investigators Accuse Top Syrian Officials of Crimes against Humanity ()
United Nations investigators have compiled confidential lists of top Syrian officials ordering crimes against humanity, including abductions, torture and murder. The information will be held for possible future prosecutions. Mark Leon Goldberg writes the UN global affairs blog, UN Dispatch.
Guests:
- Mark Leon Goldberg: UN Dispatch, @marklgoldberg
Main Topic
Greek Austerity and the Spreading EuroZone Crisis ()
One Greek writer says, if you have to choose between death and a bailout, you choose the bailout. But that doesn't mean that life will get any better. With a show of hands in an almost empty chamber, the Greek Parliament today accepted a €107 billion bailout, its second from other EuroZone countries. It also approved a 53 percent "haircut" for private bondholders, in a package that's expected to mean a fifth year of recession. Yet there are widespread predictions that things will only get worse. New austerity measures are more likely to increase unemployment and decrease pensions and public services than produce economic recovery. We hear why so many Greeks are leaving the country and why its problems are so dangerous for the rest of Europe and the United States.
Guests:
- Nick Malkoutzis: Kathimerini, @NickMalkoutzis
- Russell Shorto: John Adams Institute, @RussellShorto
- Charles Wyplosz: International Center for Money and Banking Studies
- Jennifer McKeown: Capital Economics
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Reporter's Notebook
The Republican Debate and Foreign Policy ()
Last night's televised debate may be the last of its kind before the Republican presidential nomination has been decided. For all their apparent differences, all but one of the candidates agree on one thing: the threat of force to stop Iran from getting an atom bomb. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum all tried to outdo each other with appeals to the party's most conservative voters. All but Ron Paul called for military action to pre-empt Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Guests:
- Uri Friedman: Foreign Policy magazine, @UriLF
- Scott Clement: Washington Post
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