Foreign Policy

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 […]

UN Summit Already Successful: $50 Billion Divested From Fossil Fuels

NATIONAL JOURNAL 09/22/14 By Michael Shank The United Nations climate summit in New York, where I’m writing from this week, is already a success. With Rockefeller Brothers Fund announcing this week that they’re divesting entirely from fossil fuels, pulling $860 million of RBF funds out of fossil fuel stocks, the […]

Don’t Let China Dominate

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 09/18/14 By Michael Shank, Elena Krieger and Julia Trezona Peek This month’s report on renewable energy markets from the International Energy Agency indicates that by 2020, China will account for almost 40 percent of the growth in renewable energy capacity. The United States, meanwhile, lags […]

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 […]

Why Congress Needs to Act Now on Super-Pollutants

POLITIX 09/16/14 By Michael Shank As the United Nations convenes world leaders this month in New York to discuss ways to reduce global warming, the United States Senate has the opportunity to discuss the most important lever the U.S. government can pull to cool the planet and make our air […]

Africa Needs More From Obama Than Promises

CDN 08/08/14 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, August 8, 2014 — As the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit concludes with well over $30 billion in commitments from the U.S. government, World Bank and private companies, it is important for President Barack Obama to move beyond the Summit’s primary focus on big business expansion, […]

Military-First is the Wrong Approach Toward Africa

POLITIX 08/07/14 By Michael Shank As President Barack Obama hosts the Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington D.C. this week, it’s important for the president to put on the front-burner policies that promote peace on the continent. Instead of prioritizing counter-terrorism, resource extractive or aid-only agendas – which is what has […]

Ebola Research Flows Away From Poor: Other Views

USA TODAY 08/06/14 Steven Hoffman and Julia Belluz, Vox.com: “Ebola will continue to move through Africa — this time, and again in the future — not only because of the viral reservoirs and broken health systems specific to the continent. There are much larger issues at play here. … Most […]