FINANCIAL TIMES 11/30/07 By Michael Shank Sir, Saudi Arabia and Syria hardly constitute a coalition of the craven (“Iran looms large over Arab ‘coalition of the frightened’ “, November 28). The appearance of these and other Arab states at the Annapolis peace summit is anything but an exhibition of anxiety […]
News Outlet
Annapolis Holds Opportunity for Mideast Peace
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH 11/25/07 By Michael Shank and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) The time has come for the world’s leaders to face hard truths concerning the Middle East, specifically the conflict between Palestine and Israel. On Tuesday, President George Bush will provide such an opportunity as leaders of the U.S., Israel, […]
Pakistan Tempts the Democrats
Foreign Policy in Focus 11/18/2007 By Michael Shank The Democratic presidential candidates have been salivating for a situation like Pakistan to come along the campaign trail. Eternally looking soft on security and stuck with no road map for Iraq and Afghanistan, Pakistan offers the candidates an opportunity to brandish new […]
Pakistan Isn’t Iran
USA Today 11/13/2007 By Michael Shank Michael Shank, Government Relations Adviser, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University – Arlington, VA. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., believes that Pakistan in 2007 is similar to how Iran was in the late 1970s. The senator is exhibiting an unfortunate lack of […]
Tough Stand on Musharraf is Critical for U.S.’s Credibility
THE HILL 11/07/07 By Michael Shank In the Nov. 6 article “Pakistan’s emergency may mean its aid is cut,” Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) are teaching the U.S. Defense and State departments a valuable lesson vis-a-vis the critical importance of a consistent U.S. foreign policy. Contrary to […]
Steer Concerned Celebrities Instead of Stifling Them
FINANCIAL TIMES 11/01/07 By Michael Shank Sir, Gideon Rachman (“The aid crusade and Bono’s brigade”, October 30) has it right: it is better to have rock stars roiling for debt relief than resorting to hotel room romping. Yet Mr Rachman sides with the cynics on celebrity campaigning by taking issue […]
Selling America
News International 10/31/2007 By Michael Shank Brand America has taken some knocks of late. Apparently, the not-so-burnished brand is hurting business sales abroad (so much so that ad execs met in New York last month to troubleshoot) and eroding our reputation as a positive force in world affairs. The tide […]
The Soil that Saves
Foreign Policy in Focus 10/04/2007 By Michael Shank It is generally understood that trees are good for the environment. That the forest will be an important ally in preventing global warming is a less known fact. The European Union (EU), however, seems bound to change that. Deforestation and fossil fuel use […]
Biofuels are Helpful but no Panacea for Relieving America’s Dependence on Oil
THE HILL 09/27/07 By Michael Shank, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) House and Senate conferees working on the omnibus energy bill should include provisions in the conference report that will support the expansion of sustainable biofuels. To do that, several myths about biofuels need to be […]
An Opium Alternative for Afghanistan
Foreign Policy in Focus 09/25/2007 By Michael Shank and Shukria Dellawar Afghanistan’s president Hamid Karzai recently came out swinging at the West again, this time on the topic of opium eradication. Responding to the latest UN report showing an opium production increase of 17% in 2007, Karzai accused the international […]