I just finished previewing an upcoming PBS program on the drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The segment is part of the Great Decisions in Foreign Policy television series produced by the Foreign Policy Association and hosted by former CNN World Affairs Correspondent Ralph Begleiter. This is the 42nd season it has been […]
“He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient…” Last week President Obama fulfilled his constitutional obligation and gave what some have come to refer to as our annual “national pep talk.” When […]
What are the prospects for a diplomatic settlement to the simmering dispute with Iran over its nuclear program, now threatening to boil over? On the positive side of the ledger, as Peter Crail spelled out in an Arms Control Association issue brief on Jan. 25, the P5 + 1 group (China, France, Germany, Russia, the […]
A recent article by Nathan Brown in the FP (Americans, put away your quills), eloquently argues against the advocacy and promotion of “American constitutional ideas” (and ideals) in Arab countries currently in transition due to the Arab Spring. Although the history of U.S. constitutional transplantation is mixed at best (failed in Latin America in the […]
How can you not love California if you’re an environmentalist? I’ve lauded the Golden State a few times here for its forward-thinking, smart, and economically advantageous approach to power, transportation, planning, building and curtailing greenhouse gases. The federal government has so many times taken California’s lead, most recently in pumping up the Corporate Average Fuel […]
One of the biggest priorities in 2012 is to decrease child labor. According to the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) most recent global estimate, 215 million children worldwide are involved in child labor. On the positive side, the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) latest 2010 global report, Accelerating action against child labour, showed a slight […]
Members of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, in an article posted on Science’s website on Jan. 30, explain their reasons for asking researchers to omit published details of their work, in which they manipulated the genetic composition of the N1N5 virus to make it transmissible mammal to mammal, through the air. The article […]
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – shortened to CEDAW – celebrates its 31st birthday in September 2012 (counting from when it entered into force). If you happen to be in New York City before March 2012, you have the opportunity to experience ‘international law as art’ at Croatian […]
Director of National Intelligence chief James Clapper testified today in front of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, on intelligence community conclusions contained in the DNI’s annual Worldwide Threat Assessment. In unclassified testimony, Clapper stated that Iran is “keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons, in part by developing various nuclear capabilities that better […]
2,500 years ago the warrior philosopher Sun Zsu said: “The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road to safety or to ruin. Therefore, it is a subject that must be thoroughly studied.” I start out with a quote from the old guy […]
After the Nuclear Threat Initiative released its Nuclear Materials Security Index, the Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis in New Delhi posted a rebuke of sorts by Dr. Ch. Viyyanna Sastry, a Research Fellow, and Rajiv Nayan, a Senior Research Associate, both at the IDSA. In it, Sastry and Nayan allege that the NTI index […]
“Is the US at risk?” is the extremely relevant question raised by this outstanding discussion, part of the 2012 Great Decision eight mini-episodes, on the threat of cybersecurity. Cyberthreats have been at the heart of a new body of literature in International Relations and Security Studies, an inspiration for movie makers, an obsession for policy-makers, […]
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