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 […]
Author: Michael Shank
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 10/10/2013 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) […]
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 […]
Kerry Says US raid in Libya was ‘Legal’, Vows Such Operations Will Go On
RT 10/07/13 Secretary of State John Kerry has justified the capture by US forces of a terrorism suspect in Tripoli as ‘legal and appropriate’. He thus responded to Libya governments’ demand for explanations over what happened. Kerry has reacted to the ‘kidnapping’ complaint from the Libyan government by recommending it […]
America’s Police Are Looking More and More Like the Military
THE GUARDIAN 10/07/13 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) […]
The Next Step for Myanmar
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 10/01/13 By Michael Shank and Vani Sathisan Last week, the Elders, led by ex-U.S. president Jimmy Carter, called for an end to impunity over the anti-Muslim attacks in Myanmar and the “meaningful realization of the right to freedom of religion.” But their three-day visit with […]