US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 07/31/14 By Michael Shank and Kate Edelen Oil thefts are growing in Nigeria and threaten stability in the region. An SEC rule could help stem oil-related violence in the Niger Delta. As America’s news coverage of Nigeria continues to focus on the plight of kidnapped […]
CNN 06/26/14 By Michael Shank and Najla Elmangoush Editor’s note: Najla Elmangoush is the dean of Centre of Gender Studies at the Libya Institute for Advanced Studies in Tripoli. Michael Shank is the associate director for legislative affairs at the Friends Committee on National Legislation and adjunct faculty at George […]
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 […]
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 […]
NATIONAL REVIEW 05/22/14 By Michael Shank The drone memo matters, but what the West is failing to do on the ground matters more. In Washington, D.C., it is rare for any adversarial country to remain in the forefront of foreign policy for very long. Yemen is an excellent example of […]
NATIONAL REVIEW 05/12/14 By Michael Shank What should be haram (“forbidden” in Arabic) in dealing with Nigeria’s now infamous and increasingly violent Boko Haram, after the group kidnapped more than 250 schoolgirls last month, is an approach that is as rudimentary as that of the kidnappers themselves. The group, officially […]
CDN 05/09/14 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, May 9, 2014 — Trust is essential for any society to function. If it’s not there, political and economic progress is impossible. That’s exactly what’s happening in Yemen right now. From the public’s perspective in Sana’a, the transitional government cannot be trusted, nor can […]
HUFFINGTON POST 05/09/14 By Michael Shank This week in Yemen – with foreign reporters getting deported and the blood of dead Yemeni soldiers staining the grounds of the presidential palace – is reaffirming for many in Washington the preconditioned negative image of the country, one predominantly characterized by al Qaeda’s […]
ROLL CALL 05/08/14 By Michael Shank For many in Congress, Yemen evokes a predominantly negative image, one characterized by al-Qaida. Recent targeting of German and Russian nationals in Sana’a doesn’t help. Preparing for my recent trip there, I was warned about kidnapping. While kidnapping of foreigners is not uncommon, my […]
BBC NEWS 05/07/14 By Michael Shank A review of the best commentary on and around the world… Today’s must-read Yemen A nation in dire need of help – Yemen is facing the seemingly impossible task of trying to build a nation torn apart by an “Arab Spring-like revolution”, writes Michael […]