Diplomacy

Yemen’s a Model All Right—For Disaster

DAILY BEAST 11/13/14 By Michael Shank and Casey Harrity Guns, drones, and special forces were not enough to stabilize Yemen, and they won’t be enough to stop ISIS. Remember the so-called “Yemen model,” the seeming success story for a U.S. policy targeting terrorists that President Barack Obama pointed to a […]

Breakdown in Yemen

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 11/06/14 By Michael Shank and Casey Harrity Yemen is teetering on the verge of an all-out sectarian civil war. Recent peace deals may prove to be fleeting. The Houthis, a Zaydi-Shiite group based in northern Yemen, stormed the capital, Sanaa, over one month ago, resulting […]

Iraq’s Islamic Divisions Intensify

GLOBAL BRIEFING October 2014 By Michael Shank The USA’s air strikes on ISIS positions could inadvertently exacerbate Iraq’s problems, given the recent history of the West’s interventions in the country Iraq continues to pose a conundrum for the international community. Many in the West feel that Iraq is perpetually ungovernable […]

Rethink America’s Yemen Policy, Set New Standard for Syria, Iraq

HUFFINGTON POST 09/29/14 By Michael Shank and Casey Harrity Authors Michael Shank and Casey Harrity published a policy brief this month as part of FCNL’s “Shared Security” series. For the full 20-page “Security in Yemen” report, click here. Below is the executive summary excerpted from the report. Yemen is on […]

Yemen is on the Brink of Chaos – And Why It’s So Important

POLITIX 09/27/14 By Michael Shank and Casey Harrity Yemen is on the brink of slipping back into chaos. Outcomes from the National Dialogue Conference, which concluded in January 2014, have been slowly and inadequately implemented. Grievances among minority groups and non-state actors are growing. The economy of Yemen is in […]

Stop the ISIS War Before It Gets Worse!

DAILY BEAST 09/17/14 By Michael Shank and Jeffrey Sachs Earth Institute director Jeffrey Sachs and the Quakers’ Michael Shank call on Obama to stop the airstrikes—and stop supporting anti-Assad rebels. Too many times in recent history the United States has responded militarily to provocations and threats in ways that have resulted […]

Gaza Memo to Congress: Talk to Hamas

HUFFINGTON POST 07/31/14 By Michael Shank This week, former United States Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) reached out to me regarding a Dear Colleague letter that he wanted to circulate to his former colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Kucinich, like many of us deeply frustrated […]

U.S. Military Interventionism Has Harmed Iraq Dearly

POLITIX 06/26/14 By Michael Shank Iraq continues to pose a conundrum for the international community. Many in the West feel that Iraq is perpetually ungovernable and that its quagmire finds root cause in something inherent to Iraqi culture or sectarianism. What the West fails to realize is that military interventionism […]

How to Avoid the Same Old Mistakes in Iraq

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 06/18/14 By Michael Shank and Yemi Melka Forget military strikes. The U.S. should address sectarian tension by promoting regional cooperation. The best solution to the Middle East conflict is a policy based in regional teamwork. As fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the […]