Author: Michael Shank

Climate Crisis and the Will to Act

THE HILL 10/22/13 By Michael Shank and US Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) In the past month, the U.S. has faced two grave threats, one domestic and one international. Both pose serious consequences to the United States and the world at large, and no one knows how either will end. The […]

DC Defunds Youth Courts, Pushes Kids Into Criminal Justice System

HUFFINGTON POST 10/21/13 By Michael Shank A damning report, released this week by Opportunity Nation, says that 6 million young people – or 15 percent of American youth — are neither in school nor working. This shocking statistic has particular importance for Washington, D.C. This coming fiscal year, which began […]

In Afghanistan, End the Fighting and Stop the Meddling

WASHINGTON POST 10/18/13 By Michael Shank Regarding the Oct. 15 editorial “Afghanistan’s future”: Afghan President Hamid Karzai will ultimately favor a deal allowing a U.S. force to remain in Afghanistan after 2014 because he knows that the Kabul administration would otherwise fall within months of the United States pulling out. […]

Why the Kerry-Karzai Afghan Security Deal Won’t Work

HUFFINGTON POST 10/17/13 By Michael Shank The Bilateral Security Agreement deal, forged by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, will be quickly undone since the U.S. is not focused on the right kind of settlement. Attacks on Afghan officials in the last week show how […]

Five Steps America Must Take Now to Combat Climate Change

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 10/15/13 By Michael Shank and Matt Lichtash The government shutdown, even after it ends, will slow much of the president’s second-term agenda items. Obamacare isn’t the only policy on the political chopping block.  Despite reports by U.N. scientists and Nature researchers this month that the […]

No Immunity for US Troops: Why Hamid Karzai Punted to Loya Jirga

HUFFINGTON POST 10/14/13 By Michael Shank As U.S, Secretary of State John Kerry heralds the near-complete negotiations over a Bilateral Security Agreement with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, one thing is certain: immunity for U.S. troops post-2014 isn’t going to happen. It’s a political non-starter. No Afghan presidential candidate, queuing for […]

Pentagon’s Militarization of Our Main Streets and Municipal Police

HUFFINGTON POST 10/10/13 By Michael Shank and Elizabeth Beavers America’s streets are looking more and more like a war zone. Last week, in a small county in upstate New York with a population of roughly 120,000 people, county legislators approved the receipt of a 20-ton Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) […]

Next Steps in Syria

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 10/10/13 By Michael Shank and Lawrence Wilkerson As inspectors begin destroying Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile, the days and weeks ahead are absolutely critical. While we laud the progress initially instigated by talks between the U.S. and Russia, we feel strongly that our diplomatic efforts going […]

With Raids, Obama Renews Limited Force Doctrine

AFP 10/07/13 WASHINGTON (AFP) – By ordering risky raids against Islamic extremists in Somalia and Libya, US President Barack Obama has shown a renewed readiness to use force while trying to keep the scope limited. The twin commando operations in the lawless African states came even while the US government […]