You are invited to participate in an online discussion today about “Obama’s Foreign Policy—One Year On” hosted by BBC Live at Carnegie. The online event will bring together foreign policy experts and scholars Jessica Tuchman Mathews, Robert Kagan, Douglas H. Paal, Paul Salem, Robin Lustig, Ashraf Ghani to assess, “President Obama’s first year in office […]
Two days ago, just before the earthquake hit, Tyler Cowen blogged encouraging news about Haiti. In an odd twist of irony, he wrote that the small Caribbean country was experiencing a “renassaince” where economic growth was expected rise by 2.4 percent in the short term. Earlier in 2009, Haiti’s Central Bank Governor Charles Castel said […]
Perhaps one of the most ignored countries in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti found itself back in the spotlight for yet another disaster. While this disaster – a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, the strongest to hit Haiti in over 200 years – was brought on by nature and not the political drama that normally brings Haiti into […]
A massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Wednesday, has now left us filtering through the flood of disturbing images that have begun to flood in from the country. The epicenter of the quake was located just 10 miles from Port-au-Prince, leaving entire sections of the city utterly devastated. As rescue and humanitarian teams from across […]
The argument that climate change is a long-term security concern is strong (see CNA’s report, National Security and the Threat of Climate Change). The argument is also fairly strong that American power would benefit if the U.S. were to take the lead on innovating energy technology (see Thomas Friedman’s recent column, in which he warns […]
The Economist had an interesting article last week on Muslim students studying in the West – “the West” being the UK, US and Canada for this article. The piece is written in the wake of the attempted bombing of a US airliner on Christmas Day by a Nigerian man who had, until recently, attended university […]
There was a time when a bribe to obtain a driver’s license was corruption, but a bribe to obtain a contract was just business. No longer. Companies around the world are now paying attention not just to the practices of their own employees, but to those of their subsidiaries and partners. And most of the […]
The U.S. is rushing aid and assistance to the quake stricken nation of Haiti in response to the unfolding disaster. President Obama made a public statement this morning expressing the condolences and support of the American people and directing his administration to, “respond with a swift, coordinated, and aggressive effort to save lives.” Based on […]
German media reports allege that the husband of commissioner-designate for humanitarian aid and crisis response of the European Union (ECHO – 700+ million Euro budget), Rumiana Jeleva, has links to organized crime in Bulgaria*. Jeleva, a 41-year old former foreign minister in Bulgaria, underwent a tough hearing in front of the European Parliament last night […]
Good friends (Uribe and Obama) vs. Best friends (Uribe and Bush)… Sources: zimbio.com, AP. I have long argued that the Democrats have gotten it wrong on Colombia, by parroting the misinformation about this country and its President, Alvaro Uribe, circulated by US labor unions intent on stopping a free trade agreement between two staunch allies. This is […]
Stratfor is a global intelligence company founded in 1996 that is well respected for both the breadth and depth of their strategic analysis. In the following video report, Stratfor founder George Friedman examines the U.S. relationships with Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, noting U.S. goals and the likely complications that may arise in this new year. […]
Following the lead of Europe’s approach to their financial industry reforms, the Obama Administration in coming weeks is poised to take a more aggressive stance with the financial industry. In response to the proposed measures, Edward Yingling, President & CEO of the American Bankers Association (ABA), the banking sectors powerful industry lobby, said “It is perplexing to us,” why taxpayers are outraged about the bailouts and other financial indsutry behaviors.
Although we have entered upon a new year and a new decade, we still find ourselves battling the demons of the past. While we often look to the New Years it as a time for a fresh start and of renewed hope, we still find ourselves embattled in a recession. The continued recession has left […]
Even sound actions can have negative consequences. That is why in times of crisis, policy makers must remain vigilant. Easing monetary and credit policies last year and keeping them loose made sense. In an effort to avoid the mistakes of the Great Depression, when governments tightened both monetary and fiscal policies, policy makers this time around gave the wounded private sector what it […]
Planet Earth’s critical issue this decade will be whether American power will erode — and if so, what the implications will be for the liberal world order we erected after WWII. The Obama administration’s fiscal stimulus package cum bank bailout, building on the Paulson-Bush-Geithner-Bernanke efforts of 2008 and the unprecedented coordination of economic policy globally, constituted a brilliant, […]