Tom Donilon, the U.S. national security advisor, was at the Asia Society in New York last week to talk (transcript here; video here) about the Obama administration’s effort to shift Washington’s strategic focus away from the military quagmires of the Greater Middle East to the dynamism of Asia – a region where, as the president […]
“When force is necessary, we will continue to do so in a way that reflects our values and strengthens our legitimacy, and we will seek broad international support, working with such institutions as NATO and the U.N. Security Council.” — President Obama (2010 National Security Strategy) Is it time for the international community to […]
By Sarwar Kashmeri “Great Britain has lost an empire and has not yet found a role,” former Secretary of State Dean Acheson presciently observed in his 1962 speech at the U.S. Military Academy/West Point. It is the epigram with which David Hannay, the former British diplomat, and one of Britain’s most distinguished foreign service veterans, introduces […]
Currently, remote warfare — namely, drone warfare and issues around cyber attacks — is occupying a large part of the national security debate in the United States. Developments like the Mandiant report, which implicated China’s military in cyber attacks on U.S. business and government, and Rand Paul’s Senate filibuster of now-CIA chief John Brennan’s nomination, […]
Up until recently, the debate over drone policy has largely been the territory of a small group of vocal critics — a persistent if not particularly high-profile media issue, but not one that particularly troubled the U.S. public. Polls indicated broad popular support for the use of drone strikes abroad, mainly out of a belief […]
Like many Americans, I’ve been watching the budget impasse with a mix of consternation and disgust. It seems like our politicians are playing a game of chicken with our country’s welfare hanging in the balance. Of course, the most talked about implication of the so-called sequester is the certain impact it will have on the […]
Did America enter a post-racial era with the election of a black president? The answer still appears to be a resounding “no.” Race relations in the American media continue to be a contentious topic with many Americans still not ready to see each other as simply Americans. Economic policies have also played a role in […]
With Secretary Kerry currently traveling on his inaugural trip overseas as secretary of state, the Pew Center has compiled data on public opinion of the U.S. in the countries that he is visiting. Public opinion in the various countries on his agenda (though Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi were not in the Pew report) […]
Since in the summer of 2010, Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at that time, has argued that the national debt constitutes “the most significant threat to our national security.” As he elaborated, it became clear that his real concern was the strength of the U.S. economy, the basis for […]
When the last conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI was underway, a colleague stopped by my office and remarked on CNN’s seemingly nonstop coverage. My non-Catholic colleague’s point boiled down to: “I don’t get it. Why should we care about this?” Stipulating that the world’s many Catholics care deeply, why should it matter to […]
In 2011, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group forged a partnership to create a new model for collaboration between the private sector and the UN. Founded in 2005 under the leadership of the Governments of Turkey and Spain with former Secretary-General Kofi Annan as the head of a group of experts, […]
Zero Dark Thirty was among the few of the year’s major Oscar-nominated films that I had not seen, so I went earlier this month, somewhat reluctantly. Many far more informed than I (including Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John McCain (R-AZ) and Carl Levin (D-MI) in a letter to the CIA, as well as Steve Coll in the […]
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