US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 05/29/14 By Michael Shank and Elizabeth Beavers It’s time to end the president’s ability to wage nearly limitless war. Congress finally appears to be realizing that it has been providing neither checks nor balances to the president’s war powers for the last 13 years. While […]
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 […]
POLITIX 05/07/14 By Michael Shank 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 where I spent the last week, the transitional government cannot be trusted, nor […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 05/06/14 By Michael Shank Yemen needs international support to overcome serious political and economic hurdles. SANAA, YEMEN – Building a nation after an Arab Spring-like revolution isn’t easy, especially when corruption is rampant, the population is starving and the country is running out of water. […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 04/29/14 By Michael Shank and Daniel L. Davis Before allowing pride to further cloud sound judgment in global engagement, it is critical for America to bring back into balance an appropriate recognition of our country’s strengths – and a sober recognition of its weaknesses – […]