I’ve spent much of the summer helping out my 86-years-young mom in Alabama so haven’t been able to blog much. I decided to reward myself by getting my geek on at the Aspen Security Forum, one of my favorite venues for seeing what’s new and interesting in the world of national security. The forum is […]
This past week was one that offered sharp reminders that – under the veneer of white papers and white lies — reality can bite. In other words – hello, why are you surprised at these “surprises.” Let’s start with an easy one. Who is surprised that at least some elements of Pakistan’s government probably […]
After the fall from power in 2011 of Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi, Libya’s de facto ruler for forty-two years, there was no lack of backslapping bonhomie among NATO country members who had helped overthrow the despot from power. Indeed, the West’s bombing sorties had been skillfully executed, with France and Great Britain playing key roles in a campaign […]
Lac Megantic, Quebec, is a little town near the border with Maine, and it’s the kind of place where news doesn’t get made. Unfortunately for the people there, the town made headlines on July 6 when a number of oil tanker cars somehow rolled a few miles from the train’s locomotive, derailed and exploded. The […]
In which sector of the economy are women disproportionately (over)represented? And even though they are in the majority, still get paid less than their male counterparts? There may of course be more than one answer to these questions, however for the purposes of this blog post, the one I’m going with is “the informal economy,” […]
Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have made progress in improving their accountability and transparency over the last five years, but more can and should be done. That’s the assessment of Dr. Edwin M. (Ted) Truman, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former senior Treasury and Federal Reserve official. Truman’s pioneering […]
As old as Cortez and colonialism, the quest to satisfy modern appetites underlines economic scarcity and, increasingly, political instability. Mining in less-mature economies runs the same risks as its fossil fuel cousins. Over several days in late May, protestors in Kyrgyzstan cut off power to its Kumtor gold mine, vital to the country’s economy; they […]
The impact of Edward Snowden’s revelations is broadening in scope. When his initial leaks appeared in late May, they were greeted as a forcing event. Whether one saw Snowden as a patriot or a traitor – he’s certainly a lawbreaker – his revelations appeared to be an attempt to bookend the changes in intelligence policy […]
Britain continues to hold the distinction of being home to the largest offshore wind farm in the world. And with as much offshore wind capacity already installed across the U.K. as the rest of the world combined, it will likely maintain its global industry leadership for years to come. Prime Minister David Cameron was on […]
Executive Order 13647 of U.S. President Barack Obama, signed June 26, 2013, and published July 1, 2013, eponymously established the White House Council on Native American Affairs (the Council). This move reaffirms Obama’s stated commitment to the principles of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The tasks and duties charged to this […]
The fact that the end users, the Free Syrian Army, to whom the US government has decided to send ‘lethal aid,’ is closely affiliated with individuals and organizations still listed on the Department of Treasury’s ‘SDN’ List, people and groups the Office of Financial Assets Control (OFAC) has banned as importers or recipients of US goods (especially weapons), doesn’t seem to bother the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Perhaps the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is confused? Unaware that a transfer of weapons from the US, directly or through an intermediate buyer, to any organization or individual listed on OFAC’s list would constitute an illegal arms sale?
Apparently President Obama has received some criticism over taking the “easy road” in his visit to Africa earlier this week. Instead of drawing attention to more troubled spots on the continent such as Nigeria or Kenya, he choose to visit the relatively safe, stable, and democratically potent (at least in terms of Africa) Tanzania, South […]
Ten years ago, The Economist ran a cover with the title “Africa: Hopeless Continent.” One year ago, The Economist ran a cover titled “Africa Rising.” The African Myth that the world’s longest inhabited continent is still one of seemingly infinite despair, has been proven wrong by the resilience of those who continue to populate it. […]
Last March, after seeing its nearly 20,000-strong peacekeeping force embarrassed by Congolese rebels in armed clashes outside of Goma, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) second biggest city, the U.N. Security Council decided unanimously to deploy 3,000 troops to act as an “intervention brigade” in the eastern part of the country. The intervention brigade was given […]
I’ve contended in previous posts (here, here and here) that President Obama’s failure to enforce his numerous threats against the use of chemical weapons by the Bashir al-Assad regime in Damascus is a significant reason to doubt the credibility of his repeated vows to use military force to stop Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. So is my argument undermined now […]