Poverty

How Climate Change Sparked the Crisis in Syria

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 09/13/13 By Michael Shank and Emily Wirzba What few people in Washington are talking about when it comes to the Syria crisis is the connection to climate change. While it may seem remote and implausible to Washington realists, the connection is clear. What is most […]

Why I Oppose Syria Strikes

THE DAILY BEAST 09/05/13 By Michael Shank and US Rep Charles Rangel (D-NY) Instead of getting involved in a costly war, the president should combat poverty, gun violence, and inequality at home. By Rep. Charles Rangel and Michael Shank. America seems increasingly inclined to engage in a new military conflict […]

Finding Hope in Somalia

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 08/20/13 By Michael Shank As Doctors Without Borders announced last week that they’re quitting Somalia after 20-plus years in the country due to an increase in violent attacks, the need for new solutions to this crisis is key. The answer to the rebel group al-Shabaab’s […]

Our Moral Obligations in Somalia

WASHINGTON POST 08/19/13 By Michael Shank When pundits and politicos in Washington think of Somalia, the first thing they likely think of is al-Shabaab, the violent rebel group that sprung from the military wing of the Islamic Courts Union that once ran the country.  That’s especially true in light of […]

Somalia on the Brink

THE DAILY BEAST 08/16/13 By Michael Shank Despite the news that Doctors Without Borders is quitting Somalia after 20-plus years in the country, due to an increase in violent attacks, the biggest war waged in Somalia right now is not between the rebel group al-Shabaab, the fledging government of Somalia, […]

My Surprising, Startling Experience in Somalia This August

FOX NEWS 08/16/13 By Michael Shank When Americans think of Somalia, famine or violence comes to mind — a fair perception because the country has suffered both — or they think of the movie “Black Hawk Down” about U.S. attacks in Mogadishu. The reality in Mogadishu, however, and throughout Somalia, […]

How U.S. Dollars Fund African Horrors

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 08/08/13 By Michael Shank and Madeline Rose This month, roughly 25 members of Congress will travel to Sub-Saharan Africa for a wide range of discussions in Ethiopia, Liberia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Riding on the heels of President Obama’s trip to […]

Why We Should Keep Out of Somalia’s Affairs

CNN 08/02/13 By Michael Shank Editor’s note: Michael Shank is director of foreign Policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, an advocacy group based in Washington, DC. The views expressed are his own. Last weekend, in response to a deadly attack on the Turkish embassy in Somalia that killed […]

A New Approach to Dealing With Global Food Insecurity

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 07/29/13 By Michael Shank There are few ideas that convey the idea of “shared security” better than global warming. When the world warms up, when the sea levels rise, and when the extreme weather patterns wreak havoc, we are all in it together – either […]