FCN 07/05/13 By Jehron Muhammad (FinalCall.com) – President Obama’s trip to Africa maybe more wolf in sheep’s clothing. His trip is scheduled to include West, South and East Africa, and the nations of Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. The trip may be too little too late. “To some in Africa,” […]
Tag: military
America Must Rethink the War on Terror
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 05/24/13 By Michael Shank and Matthew Southworth As President Barack Obama defended the nation’s ever-evolving counter-terrorism policy yesterday at the National Defense University and opened the parameters for military action in places outside of the traditional battlefield, the risk of writing into law permission for […]
Afghanistan Exit Strategy Must Focus on Development
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 05/31/12 By Michael Shank and U.S. Representative Michael Honda (D-CA) With NATO’s meeting in Chicago two weekends ago building consensus on critical next steps vis-a-vis anticipated withdrawals and deadlines, discussion of the development agenda post-withdrawal in Afghanistan must not slip from our radar screen. The […]
Congressmen Propose Domestic Distribution of Pro-U.S. Propaganda
THE NEW AMERICAN 05/30/12 By Joe Wolverton, II In Greek mythology, the Hydra was a serpent-like beast that possessed many heads. Perhaps the most frightening quality of this fearsome amphibian was the fact that for each head that was cut off two grew in its place and the breath from […]
Congressmen Seek to Lift Propaganda Ban
BUZZFEED 05/18/12 By Michael Hastings An amendment that would legalize the use of propaganda on American audiences is being inserted into the latest defense authorization bill, BuzzFeed has learned. The amendment would “strike the current ban on domestic dissemination” of propaganda material produced by the State Department and the Pentagon, […]
Is It Time to Withdraw From Afghanistan?
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 03/06/12 By Tierney Sneed Violent protests in Afghanistan after an inadvertent Koran-burning lead some to argue that it is time for America to get out Three months since withdrawing from Iraq, the Obama administration is acknowledging the challenges American forces are facing in another President […]
Afghans Want U.S. to Stay but Do Things Differently
ROLL CALL 12/03/09 By Michael Shank Last week I went to Afghanistan, not on a Congressional delegation, but on my own. My boss, Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), is chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ Afghanistan Taskforce and has a keen interest in rethinking U.S. strategy in this country. With the […]
Obama, McCain Don’t Grasp Roots of Pakistan’s Instability
THE HILL 09/12/08 By Michael Shank (Regarding article “McCain, Obama applaud Musharraf’s resignation,” Aug. 18.) Have presidential candidates Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) learned nothing from the resignation of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf? Both noted the exit of coup-installed Musharraf should “open the door to cooperation…in the […]
Afghan Domestic Opinion Neglected in Ashdown Plan
FINANCIAL TIMES 02/15/08 By Michael Shank Sir, Paddy Ashdown still does not get it. His three-pronged policy prescription for Afghanistan (“A strategy to save Afghanistan”, February 13), while meritorious on many levels, nowhere implies consultation with Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai. This approach, unfortunately, is consistent with years of interventionist neglect […]
Reducing Taliban Recruitment by Development
JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL PEACE OPERATIONS Vol. 3, No. 1, July-Aug 07 By Michael Shank United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ recent commentary that “things are slowly, cautiously headed in the right direction” in Afghanistan convinced very few. General Dan McNeill, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, seconded the […]