Egypt’s rocky transition to democracy has been further complicated by a judicial ruling today that dissolved parliament and sets the stage for renewed public protests and intensifying political struggle. A presidential runoff election is scheduled to begin Saturday, but the next president is likely to inherit a country with few …
Sometime in the next week, most likely this weekend, China will launch Shenzhou-IX, its fourth crewed mission into space. If all proceeds according to plan, this mission will see the Chinese engage in their first manned docking, as the Shenzou-IX spacecraft links with the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab. The Chinese …
In a ceremony in Bogota on June 11, the position of Secretary General of UNASUR passed from Colombian Maria Emma Mejia to Venezuela’s Ali Rodriguez. An ex-Marxist guerrilla, former foreign and energy minister, and former Ambassador to Cuba, the anti-American Chavista will serve as General Secretary for the next year. …
Progress on the ability of U.S. firms to take advantage of new business opportunities when Russia joins the World Trade Organization (WTO) took a step forward yesterday when Senate leaders acknowledged that legislation to promote human rights will be a condition needed for permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to move …
On May 17, Robin J. Lerner, deputy assistant secretary for private sector exchange at the State Department, made a valiant attempt to correct the troubling disparity in the public diplomacy competition between the Chinese and American governments, a competition in which the Chinese are clearly pulling ahead. The issue in …
Ten years ago tomorrow, the United States formally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which has defined strategic thinking for about 30 years. On Wednesday, The Heritage Foundation will host an event commemorating the 10th anniversary of the withdrawal from the treaty. The treaty banned the United States and the …
Twenty-five years ago today, President Ronald Reagan stood in West Berlin on a temporarily erected platform. The gray buildings of Soviet-dominated East Berlin were visible through the Brandenburg Gate behind the podium. Standing inches away from the tangible manifestation of the Iron Curtain, Reagan faced the crowd of West Berliners …
June 12 marks the 25th anniversary of President Reagan’s historic speech at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. Over the objections of advisors who thought the lines were too provocative, President Reagan made a dramatic demand: There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the …
Without a government for over two decades, Somalia is the model of a failed state. It is torn apart by civil war and plagued by terrorism, among numerous maladies, and there are few countries willing send government personnel to Somalia. Yet, last November, Turkey reopened its embassy there and is …
