December 11, 2000

Acela Express: Nonstop Debt Trip?
Clinton Not Giving Up On Israel
EU Creates First Eurocorps Force

Acela Express: Nonstop Debt Trip?

North America's first high-speed passenger train, which can reach speeds of 150 mph, began regular service today with a scheduled run from Washington to Boston, according to Reuters.

The Acela Express left Union Station in the nation's capital on schedule at 5 a.m. EST and was expected to reach Boston shortly after 11:30 a.m. An Acela Express return trip was scheduled for the afternoon. The initiative is central to Amtrak's long-term survival plans as Congress has ordered the federally subsidized passenger railroad to stand on its own financially by 2003.

The Cato Handbook for Congress calls for the privatization of Amtrak and explains that "its services are neither essential for social equity nor a result of market failures." In "Amtrak at Twenty-Five: End of the Line for Taxpayer Subsidies," Jean Love, Wendell Cox and Stephen Moore explain that "virtually every stated justification for continued Amtrak subsidies is based on myth, not reality."

Clinton Not Giving Up On Israel

After President Clinton was notified of Ehud Barak's resignation as Prime Minister of Israel, the White House issued a statement indicating the president had not given up on the peace process, according to the Associated Press.

"Regardless of developments in Israel, both sides still must focus on two objectives -- ending the violence and finding a way back to the peace process," said the statement.

At the same time, both the White House and State Department said they were not getting involved in Israel's internal politics. And the White House reiterated a long-standing position that "the peace process belongs to the parties" and "what happens between now and the end of the administration is up to the parties in the region."

In "U.S. Should Stay Out of Arab-Israeli Conflict" and "Timeout for U.S. Diplomacy in the Middle East," Research Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies Leon Hadar argues that the conflict does not threaten any significant national interests and that the United States would be best served by staying out of the looming war.

EU Creates First Eurocorps Force

European leaders officially launched plans to create a 60,000-member rapid reaction force on Saturday, but assuaged U.S. concerns by making the new force dependent on NATO for its command structure, planning and intelligence capabilities, according to The Washington Post.

Under the new defense policy endorsed by the 15 European Union leaders gathered in this Mediterranean city, the European force would be used mainly for peacekeeping operations or other military missions in which U.S.-led NATO declined to get involved.

NATO would have the right of first refusal of carrying out any military mission. After that, the Europeans could proceed on their own, using forces and equipment normally allocated to NATO.

The Cato Institute hosted the policy forum "Creating a European Security and Defense Identity: Fact or Fantasy?" where defense scholars questioned whether the creation of an independent European security and defense identity (EDSI) is a good idea from the standpoint of American security interests. Video of the forum as well as a transcript is available on the Cato Web site.

In "The Eurocorps: A Fresh Start In Europe," Jonathan G. Clarke endorses a non-interventionist role for NATO in the post-Cold War world and the lauds the idea of allowing "the Europeans to assume responsibility for their own defense."

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