Can John Kerry change State Department Culture?
As the next Secretary of State, Senator John Kerry will need to focus on changes at the Foggy Bottom headquarters in Washington, DC. At the top of the list is redundancy—overlapping job...
View ArticleThe Next American Crusade: The U.S. Military Campaign in Africa
Despite upcoming deep cuts to the Pentagon’s budget, the United States has embarked on a military campaign in Africa. Confidential sources inside AFRICOM (the United States military’s Africa Command)...
View ArticleAmerica’s Goals and Opportunities in Latin America
President Obama at the Summit of the Americas in Colombia. Pete Souza/White House This past December marked the 190th anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine, the 1823 policy declaration by President James...
View ArticleDiscussion of Hillary Clinton’s Legacy
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Image via NPR’s On Point NPR’s “On Point” with Tom Ashbrook had a really interesting discussion on Hillary Clinton’s legacy at the U.S. State Department. Ashbrook’s...
View ArticleChuck Hagel’s Confirmation Hearing: Neocons Search for Relevance
President Barack Obama and former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. Image via WBUR Chuck Hagel’s going over at the hands of...
View ArticleJohn Brennan and the New Americanism
We should regain for ourselves the faith of our founding fathers in the dignity of man and bend every effort to see that the rights which they cherished are denied to none in our time. – Willard B....
View ArticleExamining Israel’s Syria Bombing
An Israeli military jeep near the Israel-Lebanon border. Israeli forces attacked a convoy in Syria on January 29th heightening tensions in the region. Baz Ratner/Reuters via The Boston Globe Now that...
View ArticlePeace in the Sudans: The U.S. Needs it as Much as the Sudanese
Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers in South Sudan. Hannah McNeish/IRIN In Sudan, President Omar al-Bashir has ruled for 24 years with an oppressive fist. He has acted on and furthered...
View ArticleU.S. and Africa
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Tardio briefs his squad on tactical movements while deployed at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti Writing in the Huffington Post on 28 February 2013, Robert Nolan, editor at the...
View ArticleAssessing U.S. Foreign Policy in Mali
If Washington continues to avoid direct engagement in Mali there remains a possibility that Mali’s instability could spread throughout West Africa and to the greater region. There is some evidence of...
View ArticleConsequences of Obama’s ‘Asia Pivot’
President Barack Obama at the White House In the kaleidoscopic world of power politics in Asia, the United States’ pivot to that region may yield the unintentional consequences of fostering closer...
View ArticleHamid Karzai: Champion of Alienation
Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul Although Afghan President Hamid Karzai would like the world to perceive him otherwise, Karzai finds himself in an untenable position. As the U.S. prepares to...
View ArticlePetulant Child: North Korea and Chastisement
Kim Jong-Un arrives on Mu Islet, located in southwest North Korea on the border with South Korea. Image via Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) It is treated as a petulant child, the infelicitous member...
View ArticleSyria’s Multi-Sided Chess Game
Free Syrian Army fighter Mohammad Jaffar patrols a street in Bustan Al Basha, one of Aleppo’s most volatile front lines, Oct. 22, 2012. Sebastiano Tomada/Sipa USA In some ways the Syrian civil war...
View Article25 Steps towards a Smarter U.S. Foreign Policy
Pictured: Chuck Hagel answers a question during his confirmation hearing in the Senate Armed Service Committee in Washington D.C. Major events like September 11th, the US invasion of Iraq, and the...
View ArticleThe White House’s Flawed North Korea Strategy
President Barack Obama meeting with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in the Oval Office. Pete Souza/White House In the current crisis on the Korean Peninsula the Obama administration is...
View ArticleNorth Korean Provocations will not Lead to War
Military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. Image via NOS Nieuws The media has been reporting often (with speculation) about the latest string of threats emanating from North Korea, including possible...
View ArticleThe Pentagon’s Logistics Nightmare
The USS Gridley pulls alongside a sealift command dry cargo ship in the South China Sea “The line between disorder and order lies in logistics.” – Sun Tzu Nearly two years ago on March 11th 2011, a...
View ArticleA new Legal Framework Needed to Address Drones
A MQ-9 Reaper unmanned drone comes into land at Kandahar Airbase in Helmand, Afghanistan. Source: UK Ministry of Defence To what extent should a country preserve the rights of its citizens abroad who...
View ArticleRemembering Kenneth N. Waltz
Kenneth N. Waltz The study of jurisprudence and international relations is evidently far better for your health than actually practising them. Kenneth N. Waltz was no exception, at 88 having left a...
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