The former Prime Minister of the Government María Aznar emphasized today that the Spanish economy has entered into a crisis which ‘could have been averted’, because ‘certain people didn’t want to believe that difficult times were arriving which were seen coming’.

Aznar reflected on this during his participation in the Global Competitiveness Forum organized by Georgetown University in Madrid, where he stressed that the Spanish economy has ‘certain problems’ in order to face the crisis.

Among them, he emphasized the increase in public expenditure and taxation, that economic freedom has ‘decreased’, the lack of structural reforms, that there has been ‘too much interference’ in the lives of companies, or that the regulating bodies have ‘deteriorated’.

‘All this is starting to affect families and companies’, added Aznar, who recalled that in Spain there are 300,000 more unemployed than four years ago, ‘double inflation, triple foreign trade deficit, and the ‘highest tax burden in the last 30 years’.

He admits Spain is facing this crisis from the stance of a wealthy nation, but warns it will have ‘never before seen financial consequences’, such as the social reaction which might take place if the more than four million immigrants who have arrived in recent years ‘are the first to suffer the consequences of unemployment’.

‘It is a good idea to keep the house in order and the accounts in order to cope with the future, because economic disorder gives rise to political disorder’, he explained.

Aznar emphasised, on the other hand, the positive transformations of the Spanish economy in recent years, in which ‘it has grown brilliantly’ and has become one of the eight richest countries in the world.

‘When one manages to enter the exclusive club of countries with more than 20,000 dollars’ income per capita, one is obliged to commit as few errors as possible, because it is very difficult to be a member of this group, but it can be relatively easy to undo all the good work’, pointed out Aznar.

The former prime minister of the Government reviewed the economic situation worldwide and stated that the errors made in recent years will have an unquestionable financial cost, especially in economies ‘which have not done their homework as well and which are affected by the crisis we are undergoing with high foreign debt and an excessive foreign trade deficit’.

‘The creation of money has been excessive and excesses are paid for dearly ‘, said Aznar, who added that ‘excesses in liquidity always cause a negative effect which has only just begun’ because ‘asset bubbles are highly dangerous and any imbalances end up being paid for’.

He indicated that interest rates being so low caused many finance entities ‘haven’t so much studied credit requests from clients but rather have gone after clients to almost give away their money and credits’, which ‘under the current economic circumstances, is going to produce severe complications’.

Aznar defended his ‘recipe’ for combating the economic crisis and permitting certain world economies to take off, such as Africa, an economy now ‘detached’ from the rest: ‘the greater the economic freedom, the more opportunities there will be for the countries that need them most’.

He also confirmed that in Spain, problems have arisen when the leaders have devoted themselves ‘to delving into our history instead of looking for solid future ambitions’, and therefore there is no need ‘to fear globalization, competition or an opening-up to the world’.

 Via: EFE

Georgetown master class for understanding the world

Former students and leaders of opinion meet in Madrid to discuss the economic and social problems of the coming decades.

On the eve of the 9 March general elections, and with the American presidential race on the boil, the American university of Georgetown gathers together in Madrid today almost one thousand alumni and experts on politics, the company and industry in order to discuss the geopolitical, economic and social challenges faced by the international community. The Global Competitiveness Forum, the first the American university will have held outside its country, will have, among others, the presence and participation of the former prime minister of the Government José María Aznar, and Anthony Lake, United States advisor on National Security during the mandate of Bill Clinton. Aznar will contribute his views on matters of globalisation and competitiveness and Lake will speak on how the world is responding to global security risks.
“This forum is a great opportunity for distinguished academics, politicians and business leaders to meet and enter into debate on the most relevant matters of our time”, pointed out the president of Georgetown University, John J. De-Giogia. “I am convinced these debates will produce significant important contributions which might enrich global understanding”. Among the former students who will participate in the conference are several hundred Spaniards who in recent years, just like Prince Felipe de Borbón, have studied at this prestigious American university. The long list (of around 2000) includes names such as Juan Lladó, now general manager of Técnicas Reunidas, Gonzalo Martín Villa, lawyer with Telefónica, Manuel Galatas, head of BBVA in Asia, Paul Isbell, director of the international sector of the Real Instituto Elcano, Rosemary Blake González, member of the González Byass family, Delia Moreno de Borbón, economist at BBVA, and María Elena Agüero, head of Institutional Relationships and Special Projects at the Club de Madrid.
Agüero, a Cuban exile, arrived at Georgetown when Franco was still governing in Spain and the city of Washington was undergoing the last events of racial violence. There, at the start of the 70s, she studied Politics and International Relations. Elena Agüero has an indelible memory of those times, marked by the search for excellence, “for learning to stand out without making a lot of noise”, she said. “Religion was not excessively obvious, but the mark of the Jesuits existed and continues to be very much present in the way they teach you to think. It is a question of preparing people for the life of a leader, but also in service”. This professional, the wife of a Uruguayan diplomat with whom she currently lives in Madrid, praises the quality of the teaching she received and the prestige of the lecturers giving the subjects, such as the historian Carroll Quigley. “He was the toughest, she said, but also the most brilliant. All his classes were master classes”. Bill Clinton has also talked more than once of the influence that Quigley has had on his thinking and political career.
Ramón Esteruelas graduated from Georgetown at the end of the 80s, when the campus had not achieved in Spain the recognition it has today. Esteruelas, who studied a Political Sciences there, one of the degrees with greatest international prestige, points out from those years the enormous commitment he acquired from his studies and multiple teachings which he brought to Spain: “It was a highly practical learning curve, with a very open way of approaching subjects and a highly precise focus on the matters being dealt with. We were encouraged to memorise, but also to reflect and try to understand the world”, he pointed out.
He also recalled the scant importance given by the first companies he applied to for work to the fact that he had an international degree. “At the start of the nineties, nobody knew this university, I don’t remember it opening any doors for me”. Esteruelas, 40 years old and general manager of ABN Amor for Spain and Portugal, also has a degree in Economics from the University of Siena and an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management of Erasmus University (Netherlands). The general manager of the Dutch bank shared classrooms and studies with one of the four Arbolí siblings, the children of a diplomat posted to Washington who at the time gave youngsters the opportunity to study at university in the United States. Inés, the second of the Arbolís, now Quality Control Manager at Microsoft España, has excellent memories of her time at the faculty of Economics and Business Studies, despite her first few university projects making her sweat blood. “I had studied at the French Lycée and wasn’t fluent in English. It was tough and difficult, but worth it”. This professional remembers the academics with devotion, many of them now with senior posts in the American government. “It was a much more practical way of teaching, always making use of case studies. There was great emphasis on preparing yourself for the future. You had to learn to speak in public fluently and accurately, to work in teams and to take decisions”, she stated.
Under the direction of renowned academics, business leaders and government civil servants, these ex students of Georgetown will recover for a few hours some of the best traditions of their university: dialogue, a meeting-place for ideas and the expounding of different points of view. International relations, and especially the relations between Spain and the United States, perhaps with new tenants in La Moncloa and the White House, will occupy a prime place in this forum, but will not be the only subjects dealt with. In other sessions questions will be discussed such as the drastic swings in the world’s financial markets, geopolitical confrontations, cultural and religious intolerance and the fight against cancer and other diseases.

Two centuries of leadership and service
Founded in 1789, the same year as the American Constitution, by the Jesuit archbishop John Caroll, Georgetown, which all students know by its nickname of Hoyas and whose motto is Utraque unun (two in one), is the oldest national catholic university in the USA. What started out as Georgetown College, a small gathering of 12 students and several lecturers, has become today an international campus which includes four university schools, postgraduate programmes, a law school and a medicine faculty. In its classrooms there study and have studied personalities from the worlds of economics and politics, as well as Prince Felipe de Borbón and the former president Bill Clinton, and most of its faculties enjoy great international prestige. At present, the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (international relations) is considered to be one of the best schools in the world in this field.
The excellence of its undergraduate and master’s degrees have enabled it to occupy repeatedly the number one position in the international ranking (established yearly by the magazine Foreign Policy) in International Relations Faculties. The teaching staff of said school currently include George Tenet, former head of the CIA, Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State (minister for foreign Affairs), Carol Lancaster, former assistant director of Usaid, and José María Aznar, former prime minister of the government of Spain, among others.
The Medicine faculty, founded in 1851, also enjoys worldwide renown, and receives admission applications from one in every five people wishing to study this degree in the United States. And the prestigious Georgetown University Law Center, the largest law school in the United States, considered to be among the five best in the world regarding academic quality.
Georgetown forms part of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), which comprises the 28 universities that the Company of Jesus runs in the United States, and it is one of the three catholic universities of the District of Columbia, together with the Catholic University of America and Trinity University.

The former Prime Minister of the Government María Aznar emphasized today that the Spanish economy has entered into a crisis which ‘could have been averted’, because ‘certain people didn’t want to believe that difficult times were arriving which were seen coming’.

Aznar reflected on this during his participation in the Global Competitiveness Forum organized by Georgetown University in Madrid, where he stressed that the Spanish economy has ‘certain problems’ in order to face the crisis.

Among them, he emphasized the increase in public expenditure and taxation, that economic freedom has ‘decreased’, the lack of structural reforms, that there has been ‘too much interference’ in the lives of companies, or that the regulating bodies have ‘deteriorated’.

‘All this is starting to affect families and companies’, added Aznar, who recalled that in Spain there are 300,000 more unemployed than four years ago, ‘double inflation, triple foreign trade deficit, and the ‘highest tax burden in the last 30 years’.

He admits Spain is facing this crisis from the stance of a wealthy nation, but warns it will have ‘never before seen financial consequences’, such as the social reaction which might take place if the more than four million immigrants who have arrived in recent years ‘are the first to suffer the consequences of unemployment’.

‘It is a good idea to keep the house in order and the accounts in order to cope with the future, because economic disorder gives rise to political disorder’, he explained.

Aznar emphasised, on the other hand, the positive transformations of the Spanish economy in recent years, in which ‘it has grown brilliantly’ and has become one of the eight richest countries in the world.

‘When one manages to enter the exclusive club of countries with more than 20,000 dollars’ income per capita, one is obliged to commit as few errors as possible, because it is very difficult to be a member of this group, but it can be relatively easy to undo all the good work’, pointed out Aznar.

The former prime minister of the Government reviewed the economic situation worldwide and stated that the errors made in recent years will have an unquestionable financial cost, especially in economies ‘which have not done their homework as well and which are affected by the crisis we are undergoing with high foreign debt and an excessive foreign trade deficit’.

‘The creation of money has been excessive and excesses are paid for dearly ‘, said Aznar, who added that ‘excesses in liquidity always cause a negative effect which has only just begun’ because ‘asset bubbles are highly dangerous and any imbalances end up being paid for’.

He indicated that interest rates being so low caused many finance entities ‘haven’t so much studied credit requests from clients but rather have gone after clients to almost give away their money and credits’, which ‘under the current economic circumstances, is going to produce severe complications’.

Aznar defended his ‘recipe’ for combating the economic crisis and permitting certain world economies to take off, such as Africa, an economy now ‘detached’ from the rest: ‘the greater the economic freedom, the more opportunities there will be for the countries that need them most’.

He also confirmed that in Spain, problems have arisen when the leaders have devoted themselves ‘to delving into our history instead of looking for solid future ambitions’, and therefore there is no need ‘to fear globalization, competition or an opening-up to the world’.

Via: Europapress

INTERVIEW WITH JOHN J. DEGIOIA. President of Georgetown University
Soledad Valle

«Nobody knows how to become a global University»

In Georgetown many raise a question about the future: What role is the University to play in the globalized world?  The president of this institution, John J. DeGioia, looks for an answer

The president of Georgetown University, John J. DeGioia, is obsessed with transforming his institution into a global University. To achieve this objective, he roams the world meeting political, financial and academic leaders. He was in Madrid and had meetings with Emilio Botín and José María Aznar. The latter has been taking part in American academic life for the last four years and, according to DeGioia, with some success. Under his presidency, in its seventh year, the highest collection of funds in Georgetown’s history has been achieved, and with no suspicion of divine intervention, since he is the first lay general administrator of the Jesuit university.

- As president of Georgetown University, are you more of an academic or a manager?
-Half and half. I still give Philosophy classes every Monday morning. But the University is enormous and complex, so it requires very careful attention in respect of all matters related to management and the strategy of the institution.

- Why do you think Georgetown has become a reference point for higher education worldwide?
-For three basic reasons: we are the oldest catholic university in the United States, we were created in 1789, which imposes on us a very high level of demand and responsibility regarding the need to reflect on and provide ethical answers to  the great questions existing in the world today. Furthermore, our location, in Washington city, has meant it has been possible to create synergies with the city and all the important institutions which have their headquarters here. Finally, the international nature which has always defined us. In the year of our foundation, 20% of the students were from outside the USA. Today we have students from 137 countries. However, I believe that nowadays the adjective which best describes us is that of global University, which is what we are becoming.

- What is the difference between being a global or an international University?
-We try to answer this question every day. We believe it has to do with the new way of relating to and being present in the world. For instance, we have a campus in Qatar where we teach international relations. Three classes have already graduated from here, with students from over 20 countries in the area.

- Do you believe the opening of this campus to be one of your greatest achievements?
-One of my greatest achievements has been to try to verify what the globalization phenomenon requires of the University. We are exploring different types of relationships. For example, here in Spain, we have signed two new agreements of a different nature. One, through the Universia platform, of which we are partners and in which there participate over 800,000 faculties and ten million students. And the other agreement is the new Global Executive MBA program, a course we are carrying out with Esade.

- Which University in Europe would be the equivalent of Georgetown in the United States?
-There are many. We have close ties with Oxford University, although I couldn’t choose just one.

- What do you think of the European schools?
-They are very good. Our intention has always been to encourage dialogue between Europe and the United States based on programmes, and by inviting European leaders to speak for us, so that they might give their visions of the significant events in the world. Moreover, two former European leaders form part of our lecturing team: José María Aznar, from Spain, and Aleksander Kwasniewski, from Poland.

- What do you think of those politicians who return to the lecture theatre?
-They offer our students a perspective of incalculable value which complements their studies. They are capable of providing a different view of events which will become historic.

- In such cases, do they offer themselves to the university, or do you invite them?
-In these two cases, I invited them.

- Do they always accept your invitations?
-Yes, almost always. They feel privileged to be able to come to Georgetown, to have a place in our university.

- Which leader would you like to have in Georgetown?
-To find out who will return to Georgetown will depend on who wins the forthcoming elections in the United States. For example, Madeleine Albright was chosen four times as best faculty member, prior to entering the Government. When her political duties with Clinton concluded, she returned to the University and, in her second year, was again chosen best member of the faculty.

- Numerous European and American universities and business schools are putting great efforts into Asia. How do you view this phenomenon?
-Focusing on China, in the last ten years this country has doubled its number of students attending university. Before, it was 10% of 18-year olds. Now, it is 20%. In the United States, a highly developed country in respect of higher education studies, it is 15%, and this is the highest percentage in our history. China has managed something extraordinary: doubling this percentage in 10 years. There are no precedents for this.

- Do you visit China in search of students?
-No, we visit China with the intention of carrying out exchanges of students, ideas and talent, to explore together new paths for development in this millennium. We have agreements with many universities in China, and our students visit these centers, and vice versa.

- Under your presidency you have achieved the highest amount of funds collected in the history of the University. How did you manage this?
-Through people’s enormous generosity. We have over 150,000 students spread around the world who have collaborated a great deal in this objective, which hasn’t been easy.

- What is the most difficult part of your job?
-The fact that there’s no straight path to success. Nobody knows how to become a global University.

SUPPORT
Prince Felipe, Aznar and Clinton

John J. DeGioia graduated with Prince Felipe. In 1995, the heir finished his master’s degree, and the university president, his doctorate.

«I was closely involved in Felipe’s year in Georgetown. He was a very good student and I believe he enjoyed being at our university greatly». Clinton is a regular at this institution. Apart from frequently giving conferences, he was a student, and DeGioia says an exceptional one. «The former president was chosen as one of the top 33 students of all American universities the year he graduated». Regarding José María Aznar, he values his view of Spanish, European and world politics: «His participations are highly thoughtful and judicious, and he offers a unique perspective of politics on an international level».

Cherie Blair, the wife of the former British prime minister, Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico, Aleksander Kwasniewski, former president of Poland, and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Philippines, are other faces which drop by the lecture theatres of Georgetown fairly often. «We are lucky to have people on campus who help our students to become aware of the true implications of political practice», the president of Georgetown University proudly concludes.

Richard Schlegel, discoverer of the HPV vaccine, explains his new projects to CF

In the 80s he started his research into the virus in cows. In 1983 he discovered the virus in cervical cancer, and since then Richard Schlegel has been studying the possibility of finding a vaccine. In 1990 he moved to Georgetown University (United States) and two years later managed to mutate the virus, which opened the way for the development of the vaccine (the two vaccines marketed at present are based on his research).

Schlegel, who was in Madrid last week attending a Georgetown University conference, explained in an interview with CF that “in comparison with other virus-based vaccines, HPV has a 100 per cent prevention rate”. Moreover, he points out that “in the Third World this could have an incredible effect, as there is neither technology nor money for expensive examinations. 250,000 women die every year due to this cancer”. But he is aware that the greatest challenge of the vaccine is its becoming universal.

“The vaccine costs 120 dollars in the United States and needs three doses, and in some countries the price goes up to 180″, he adds. Schlegel assures there are studies which show that in order to obtain suitable margins in those countries, it should cost 1 or 2 dollars. For this reason, he is working with his team on a second and third generation of this vaccine.

In the second generation, in which the University of Colorado is collaborating, they have developed the vaccine cultivating it in bacteria, and therefore it would not need the cold chain and could withstand the extreme climate in Africa. Furthermore, its price would be much lower, between one and ten dollars per dose, “which would make it a more affordable option”. This research is being supported by the United States National Cancer Institute, and a company in India is currently testing it.

The third generation is being researched under the auspices of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and has as its objective “not only preventing but curing cervical cancer. It acts on proteins E6 and E7, which are always present in this type of cancer”.

Clinical trials

Regarding the vaccine which is on the market, Schlegel confirms that the vaccine should be given at an early age, because prevention is very important. However, its use is also recommended for women over 26 who have no stable partner.

He also admits that MSD is developing studies now to determine their efficacy on anal and penile cancer, results which will see the light this spring.

Moreover, it is researching the properties of the Chinese herb artemisinin, which is used against malaria, as it has proven effective against cervical cancer. Together with Novartis it is developing a gel or foam to such end. Its efficacy has already been proven in the laboratory and on animals, and clinical trials are now starting on humans.

“The USA has been lucky since 11-S, but it’s no safer”
Cristina Blas 

“Were the USA to commence a responsible withdrawal from Iraq, this would help Germany or Spain to focus on Afghanistan”

“The Democrat Party should support the candidate with most delegates, but the danger is a non-united formation”

Diplomat, professor and advisor, Anthony Lake knows the corridors of Washington all too well.

IT SEEMS that Barack Obama really attracts. Anthony Lake was an aide to President Bill Clinton on National Security between 1993 and 1997, but in 2003 he met the candidate and was highly impressed, to the extent that he is now his foreign policy advisor. After taking part in the Georgetown Global Forum he analyses the situation in USA.

Is the USA winning the war on terrorism?
No. The Intelligence community assures us that Al Qaeda is regrouping on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The nature of the terrorist network is changing. There is one central group and other local ones which are forming terrorist cells throughout Europe, northern Africa… and which receive leadership support from Al Qaeda. Therefore, the threat is more dangerous and more difficult to deal with. Intelligence believes that we are no safer than before, and what is most worrying is the terrorists obtaining nuclear and biological matter and arms. We have been very fortunate that there have been no attacks since 11-S, but that doesn’t mean that we are any safer. The terrorist threat has to be approached from a broader perspective. Apart from going after the ‘bad guys’ with Intelligence and the Military, we also have to understand what is happening in the Muslim world and support those who are against extremism, which is the majority. Ending the war in Iraq, closing Guantanamo and preserving civil liberties in the USA are also part of this struggle.

In that case, would the solution in Iraq be the withdrawal of US troops?
We don’t know what the new policy will be. Obama and Clinton have proposed withdrawing the larger part of the troops while leaving some to protect American installations and to respond to Al Qaeda. This is still an American responsibility and we can’t just leave.

NATO is undergoing a crisis, especially due to the lack of commitment of the Europeans in Afghanistan…
It is very important to understand domestic policies. Were the USA to commence a responsible withdrawal from Iraq, this would help Germany, Spain and other countries to focus on Afghanistan. But Europe shouldn’t always follow the leadership of the USA, it is in the Europeans’ interest to combat terrorism and for NATO to be strengthened. Unless we work together not only in Afghanistan but also on many other matters, we cannot confront the risks existing in the world. We are not on the verge of defeat in Afghanistan, but many things are not going well. Things can be saved if we act promptly.

I believe I know your answer, but which of the presidential candidates—McCain, Obama or Clinton— is best prepared to be commander-in-chief of the USA, to face the challenges of safety?
I think the three would do so very well. One of the reasons why I support Obama is that he has insisted on the importance of avoiding policies that separate us.

Do you think the party will pay the price for the close fight to choose the democrat candidate and McCain will benefit?
In principle, were I to support Clinton I would say that tension is very good for the party because it keeps the attention on the candidates. But if I were an Obama supporter (which he is) I would say that the party should support the candidate with most delegates, but a non-united formation would be the worst.

In the USA the candidates change but not the interest in foreign policy. Would there be much difference between Obama or McCain winning?
The interest is the same, the policy different. I would like to see a campaign between McCain and Obama because they have very clear and pragmatic points of view, and we need a clear national debate. Barack is not an idealist. When he opposes the war in Iraq, he doesn’t say he‘s against all wars, just against the stupid ones. He’s very practical, as is McCain.

You were in the Clinton Administration during the intervention in Bosnia. Did you already think that the logical consequence would be the independence of Kosovo?
Yes, it was presumable that after the attacks by Milosevic and the abuse there would be a movement towards irreversible independence, but ensuring the rights of the Serb minorities were protected and, even more importantly, that the EU would find a way to approach Serbia and attract them.

Do you think it could become a hotbed of radical Islamism in Europe?
Bosnia isn’t, so why should Kosovo? Everything depends on there being political stability in Kosovo and on most of the population feeling they have been treated fairly.

 Anthony Lake _ Former aide to Bill Clinton on National Security and advisor to Obama:
«The option of a non-united party would be terrible for the democrats»

 Lake, in a photo taken during the interview, says that Obama is not against war; just «against stupid wars such as Iraq»

TEXT MANUEL ERICE
PHOTO JAIME GARCÍA

MADRID. From Clinton to Obama. A strange path for this foreign policy and security veteran with a doctorate from Princeton. Always in democrat territory, his progression within the US Government took him from Carter to Bill Clinton, whom he would guide towards successful intervention in Bosnia. Now, as advisor to the senator for Illinois, he analyses for ABC the hotly-contested primaries and the global solutions put forward by Obama.

-Is the war on terrorism being won or lost?
-This is not an easy answer. The intelligence services admit that, especially on the Pakistan –Afghanistan border, Al Qaida is defending itself better than we would like. The various analyses of the terrain reveal that the nature of Al Qaida is changing and this means that the struggle is more difficult. In fact, the central groups are in turn creating new small local groups, in northern Africa and elsewhere, and this in turn generates new leaderships supporting it. All this makes Al Qaida stronger and more dangerous, and the answer to this more complicated. There are areas in which it is difficult to enter into contact.

-Is the United States safer now than seven years ago?
-Fortunately, there have been no terrorist attacks in the USA since 11-S and in this sense we are safer. However, we must make a greater effort to comprehend what is happening in other parts of the world, standing strong against radicalism, but with greater sensitivity when problem-solving. For example, I don’t believe the invasion of Iraq, Guantanamo, the limitation of civil rights in the USA, have been good decisions…

-The NATO crisis is not helping in Afghanistan. How responsible are European countries which are reluctant to send more troops, as the USA is requesting? Is there a lack of commitment?
-One of the reasons why the policy towards Iraq must be changed is that this would help European countries such as Germany or Spain to place more emphasis on Afghanistan. It is clear that distractions such as Iraq have led these countries to refusing to follow the leadership of the USA, and this affects Afghanistan. If we are not capable of acting together, we will not solve the problems we have in Afghanistan.

-Returning to Iraq, a simple withdrawal of troops, as Obama proposes, doesn’t seem very realistic…
-Well, we believe we have to bring the troops back from Iraq, but maintaining a residual military presence. We don’t know what the exact situation is, which is why we would have to see what is needed to respond to Al Qaida. But what Obama does say, and this is highly significant, is that until the violence ends, military presence must remain, always in accordance with international law, depending on the responsibility the USA should hold in the world.

-What do you think of the decision by Zapatero to withdraw the troops as soon as he came into power?
-I wasn’t active within the diplomatic world at that time, so I’m unable to answer.

-Should Obama become President of the USA, he will also have to make certain compromising decisions…
-Well, Obama has already said he’s not against all wars. What he is against is stupid wars, such as the one in Iraq. The stance on war is not so much an ideological question as a practical one. Just like capturing terrorists: this must be done with all severity and efficacy, while respecting civil rights.

-How do you rate Hillary Clinton and McCain?
-They are all good candidates, in truth. One of the reasons why I’m supporting Obama has been his insistence from the outset on all moving forward together, something which should form part of modern politics. This is extraordinarily important in order for America to be united. It is the most efficient way to combat terrorism and for our country to maintain its position of leadership, also in the realms of climate change and any other.

-Don’t you think the extending of the Obama-Hillary fight until the August convention gives McCain too many options?
-There are two very clear answers. In principle… I insist, in principle, if we have to support Clinton, this would be something good for the democrats because there would be unity around one candidate, people would be listening to one single Democrat Party message… But in the end it would be logical to support the candidate who obtains most delegates prior to the convention. This would be a way of reducing McCain’s arguments.

-The problem might be that in the end the loser in the democrat primaries doesn’t support the winner. Would an Obama and Hillary ticket be essential for you?
-That’s the question. It could happen if they (Hillary’s team) do things badly. They can’t. It would be a terrible option.

-But, when the time comes, it seems easier for Obama to back Hillary than the other way round…
-I have no idea.

-Going back to foreign affairs, do you believe a risk of war exists between Colombia and Venezuela, and, in any event, do you back Uribe and those who claim Chávez and Correa have helped the FARC?
-And Ortega… I have no evidence that this is the case… In any event, things have gone too far, and I hope the American and European leaders take control of the situation. The FARC is a terrorist organization and it is understandable that Colombia has also pursued them beyond its borders… I hope everything returns to normal.

-You advised President Clinton on the intervention in Bosnia. Were you already sure then that the conclusion had to be the independence of Kosovo?
-Yes, totally. Independence has always been an irreversible objective. They have sufficient memory in the Balkans. The vast majority want to live in peace with Serbia, and this is the only way. While protecting the minorities, of course.

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