The U.S. joined WWII allies to commemorate Victory in Europe Day on Sunday. Although such allied commemorations are not new, you may be surprised to learn that this was the first time that the U.S. participated in an event hosted by Russia. As The New York Times reports: … this year, American soldiers were invited […]
I am interested in how the issue of nuclear non-proliferation is addressed with a variety of audiences and, to what extent, this existential discussion is driven by non-governmental organizations. The following are a few selected links (many more are available) that highlight how this most global of matters is being engaged: 1. The Nuclear Threat […]
Last week, Senator Joseph Lieberman (I – Conn) introduced the “Terrorist Expatriation Act” – legislation that would allow the State Department to revoke the citizenship of Americans who provide support to a foreign terrorist organization. Yesterday morning, Attorney General Eric Holder and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani discussed last week’s attempted terrorist attack in Times Square […]
On April 27, a little-noticed hearing took place on Capitol Hill regarding an important and controversial issue that has been a sore spot in U.S.-Russian relations for some time: the status of the historic Jackson-Vanik Amendment. Not only is this issue worth examining for its effect on the Obama Administration’s “Russian Reset” agenda, it is […]
The role of U.S. films in cultural diplomacy is not new, nor is the distribution of American films around the globe. But those phenomena bear a reexamination every once in a while. In this case, it is through the movie Shrek,a worldwide blockbuster (with various sequels and spin-offs). That big green ogre has something to […]
While many of us are looking towards the sea, wondering how the oil mess will get cleaned up, I thought I’d direct reader attention up from sad waters. James Fallows at the Atlantic has been adding to a useful series on his blog (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) regarding the ever-improving air quality in […]
The 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons begins in New York today. All of the statements given will be published on the official website. Iran’s President Ahmadinejad was notably not invited to President Obama’s Nuclear Security Summit last month, but he will be attending this conference, […]
Last week I served on the national selection panel for the Boren Fellowships of the National Security Education Program (NSEP). The fellowships are for graduate students (in rare cases for recent undergrads). NSEP also runs a scholarship program for undergrads (I know less about this). Both are administered by the Institute for International Education. Information […]
Speculation over the likely fraudulent results of Sudan’s April 11-15 elections continues, with a particular focus on what the re-election of incumbent President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir will mean for southern Sudan’s upcoming referendum on independence. Sudan’s 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that mandated these elections also includes the condition that in January 2011, southern Sudan […]
The Washington Diplomat gets D.C.-based foreign diplomats to talk in a surprising amount of detail about how Facebook and Twitter fit into their public diplomacy strategies here.
Yesterday I participated in a conference on Turkish foreign policy held at the State University of New York’s Levin Institute for International Relations and Commerce in New York City. The event was co-sponsored by SUNY’s Office of International Programs (the office that also operates the innovative and wildly successful dual diploma program between SUNY and […]
An article in today’s New York Times describes the electricity woes of Pakistanis, who are becoming increasingly frustrated with frequent power outages and restrictive new energy-saving measures. Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, has assured Pakistan that the United States “will continue to [put more emphasis on energy issues] up to absolute limits […]
Veteran advisor on Arab-Israeli negotiations, Aaron David Miller, details in a Foreign Policy article why he has lost his once-steadfast faith in America’s ability to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Comparing the peace process to a “false religion,” Miller reflects on the fact that each U.S. president since the October 1973 war – most recently President […]
The Washington Post recently noted some of the challenges that stand in the way of the Obama Administration’s goals for the upcoming Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) review. The Post’s analysis highlights a number of cases that illustrate the deeper, underlying strategic threat to President Obama’s vision for a Nuclear-Free World: the unchanged calculus that membership […]
In the midst of Israeli accusations that Syria has been sending long-range Scud missiles to Hezbollah, Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, testified last week in front of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, pushing for U.S. diplomatic efforts in Syria. In a hearing entitled “Neither Appeasement nor Improvement? […]