Huffington Post 06/01/2012 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Michael Honda (D-CA) With NATO’s recent meeting in Chicago building consensus on critical next steps vis-a-vis anticipated withdrawals and deadlines, discussion of the development agenda post-withdrawal in Afghanistan must not slip from our radar screen. The truth is that development in […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 05/31/12 By Michael Shank and U.S. Representative Michael Honda (D-CA) With NATO’s meeting in Chicago two weekends ago building consensus on critical next steps vis-a-vis anticipated withdrawals and deadlines, discussion of the development agenda post-withdrawal in Afghanistan must not slip from our radar screen. The […]
THE NEW AMERICAN 05/30/12 By Joe Wolverton, II In Greek mythology, the Hydra was a serpent-like beast that possessed many heads. Perhaps the most frightening quality of this fearsome amphibian was the fact that for each head that was cut off two grew in its place and the breath from […]
ROLL CALL 05/23/12 By Michael Shank Recent Istanbul negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 and this week’s Baghdad negotiations have tempered, albeit temporarily, the cry for war. It was close under President George W. Bush, who rallied regime-changers to invade, but it is worse now. The Pentagon publicly prepares plans, […]
Huffington Post 05/23/2012 By Michael Shank Recent Istanbul negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 and this week’s Baghdad negotiations have tempered, albeit temporarily, the cry for war. It was close under President George W. Bush, who rallied regime-changers to invade, but it is worse now. The Pentagon publicly prepares plans, […]
RUSSIA TODAY 05/22/12 Reauthorizing the indefinite detention of US citizens without charge might be the scariest provision in next year’s defense spending bill, but it certainly isn’t the only one worth worrying about. An amendment tagged on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 would allow for the […]
MSN 05/21/12 By Bill Briggs America’s tranquility centers appear to be a strange brew of sleepy corners, college hubs and bustling urban swaths, according to new research. The 2012 Metropolitan Peace Index, which the Institute for Economics and Peace published in April, ranks the nation’s 61 largest metropolitan statistical areas […]
FINANCIAL TIMES 05/21/12 By Michael Shank Sir, Edward Luce is spot on regarding Capitol Hill appraisal of partisanship pulling punches on solutions (“Why Washington gridlock is here to stay”, Book Review, May 14). One solution – speaking as a left-leaning voter who once worked for a Republican Congressman – is […]
BuzzFeed 05/21/2012 By Michael Hastings and Rebecca Elliott The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to mark up the defense authorization bill tomorrow morning, making crucial decisions on an amendment that seeks to “strike the current ban on domestic dissemination” of propaganda. The amendment received bi-partisan support in the House […]
BUZZFEED 05/18/12 By Michael Hastings An amendment that would legalize the use of propaganda on American audiences is being inserted into the latest defense authorization bill, BuzzFeed has learned. The amendment would “strike the current ban on domestic dissemination” of propaganda material produced by the State Department and the Pentagon, […]