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When Henry Crumpton speaks, the US Diplomacy blog listens. Henry, also know as "Hank" during his time at the CIA, played a pivotal role in overthrowing the Taliban months after Sept 11th. He is currently the Ambassador-at-Large for counterterrorism at the State Department. Crumpton understands the intricacies of the tribal nature in Afghanistan. He recognizes […]

I wrote about one of the several climate change six-hundred pound gorillas at King Coal in November.  There was a hard-hitting piece in yesterday’s “Progress Report” called Bad News For Big Coal.  (Fair warning:   “Progress Report” is a newsletter of the avowedly partisan Center for American Progress, which I’ve noted before, along with the fact […]

-Hubert H. Humphrey (1911,1978), U.S. Democratic politician, vice president speech, July 27, 1965, Detroit, Michigan. Children are all born into this world full of adventure, hope, and life. It is the men and women who go before them that mold them and shape their futures. Parents, teachers and civil leaders, are the ones who lead […]

Russia isn't known for its openness to foreign or domestic NGO's, or charities in general. Freedom and political will are bound tight in Russian philanthropy, regardless of intention or cause anyone can be placed in Russia's stranglehold. Human Rights charities bare the brunt of the governments tight fisted rule, leaving many with even more speculation […]

The President's trip to Africa has put US HIV/AIDS assistance in the papers quite a bit. Last week the LA Times wrote this article praising the program and describing the experience before and after PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) in one Kenyan village. It's a nice article, even if it is editorially […]

Frank Giustra, the mining executive who donated $131 million to the Clinton Foundation under shady circumstances, has issued a press release defending himself from what her sees as false reports. He addresses several factual errors, but doesn't really provide any evidence to support the claims. As I see it, his arguments fit into two broad […]

Last week the Heritage Foundation, the conservative, Washington-based think tank, held a discussion titled “Public Diplomacy: Reinvigorating America's Strategic Communications Policy.” The panel included presentations by Colleen Graffy, the State Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Public Diplomacy (PD) for Europe and Eurasia, Michael Doran the Department of Defense's Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for […]

Today brought the news that Barack Obama had won the vote among registered overseas Democrats, beating Hillary Clinton 65% to 32%.  Some 22,000 overseas Americans in 164 countries took part in the week-long vote. However, following the Democrats’ usual rules that award convention delegates proportionately, Obama was awarded only 2.5 delegates to Clinton's 2.0. Another […]

VIENNA, Austria (AP) ‚ A woman who was being investigated in Austria for allegedly beating an inmate to death while serving as a Nazi concentration camp guard has died, authorities said Thursday. She was 85. Erna Wallisch died in a hospital Saturday of unspecified causes, the Austrian Interior Ministry said. Because of her death, Austrian […]

Breaking news: U.S. Embassy broke into and set afire by Serbian protestors. Here's the brief from International Herald Tribune,”Serb rioters broke into the U.S. Embassy Thursday and set fire to an office after a massive protest against Kosovo's independence that drew an estimated 150,000 people. Masked attackers broke into the building, which has been closed […]

Three months ago, President Bush announced a lofty goal: Peace will be achieved and a two state solution will be at hand by the end of his term. This blog has urged President Bush and Secretary Rice to remain deeply engaged with negotiations. Three months later and it is clear that has not happened. More […]

Andrew Leonard, who blogs for Salon (free day pass required), commented yesterday on a new economics paper,  “Does Digital Divide or Provide?: The Impact of Cell Phones on Grain Markets in Niger”.  The article explains that increased access to cell phones in certain communities in Niger has had a powerful impact on grain prices. Giving […]