Foreign Policy Blogs

Tag Archives: United States

Metrics and Af-Pak

The Obama Administration released yesterday its list of 50 metrics, under three objectives, to designate progress in the war in Central Asia. While it’s important to have a cohesive set of tactics for the war itself—and this document makes our goals much more lucid than before—what strategy does the war itself fit? Are we once […]

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Imports to Venezuela Plummet During First Half of 2009

El Universal reported that a decline in revenue from oil sales caused imports into Venezuela to drop by 49% during the first six months of 2009. Despite a recent increase the value of petroleum, Venezuela has experienced a sharp reduction in available funds since the price of a barrel of oil is just over $65, […]

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In the Shadow of the Dragon: Vietnam

In the Shadow of the Dragon: Vietnam

Shawn W Crispin has an interesting article in Asian Times concerning the Vietnamese government’s  latest freedom of speech crackdown that has specifically targeted bloggers who had publicly expressed anti-Chinese sentiment.  Hanoi fears it cannot control the more than two million Vietnamese based blogs, a common source of uncensored news.  While a general fear of the […]

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Venezuelan Public Sector Now Employs One in Every Five Workers

When he first ran for office, Hugo Chávez declared that he wanted to reduce the size of government, and to make it more efficient. However, Venezuela’s National Institute of Statistics released figures showing that there are now 2,372,587 government workers, an increase of 70% during Chávez’s time in office. The percentage of all persons employed […]

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Is Chavez's Influence in Decline? (and Lessons for US Policy with Potential Adversaries)

In an editorial within today’s Washington Post, Edward Schumacher-Matos presents a nice summary of what might be considered a waning in the power of Venezuelan President, Hugo Chávez. As Schumacher-Matos describes, on a number of fronts other South American nations have been acting counter to Chávez’s wishes. Ecuador, though considered an ally, has reached out […]

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Secy. Clinton Officially Confirms: The Eagle Has re-Landed

Secy. Clinton Officially Confirms: The Eagle Has re-Landed

At the recent ASEAN Regional Forum in Thailand, U.S. Secretary of State Clinton, before the the 25 nations present, officially confirmed a substantial shift in U.S. foreign policy when she stated: ‘On behalf of our country and the Obama administration, I want to send a very clear message that the United States is back, that we […]

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U.S. Expands Trade in Southeast Asia to Check China

U.S. Expands Trade in Southeast Asia to Check China

The United States maybe  in the initial stages of a Southeast Asian foreign policy overhaul; the Obama Administration is not only reconsidering its sanctions against Myanmar, but also reevaluating America’s policy toward the entire Southeast Asian region.  Brian McCartan has an informative article on the recent removal of Cambodia and Laos from the United States’ […]

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China's Space Program and its Moon Landing

China's Space Program and its Moon Landing

On Sunday, Chinese authorties reported that the Chang’e-1 space probe made a successful and planned crash landing on the Moon. This is the first time any Chinese spacecraft has touched the Moon. China’s Xinhua state-controlled news service explains that the Chang’e probes are part of an extended mission aimed at eventually sending recoverable and manned missions to the Moon. Xinhua reports:

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A word on missile defense

The Obama Administration has scuttled plans for radar and ballistic missile interceptor sites in the Czezch Republic and Poland, respectively. This is a most welcome change in policy and will go ways to repairing America’s relationship with Russia. But what does it mean for the Czech Republic and Poland? It is only twenty years ago […]

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