Heads of state from across the developing world arrived in New York last week for the annual United Nations meetings. Heading up the agenda this year was a summit examining the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These leaders – generally clad in expensive suits and heading enormous entourages – again shamelessly moaned and complained over the lack of adequate progress on the MDGs as if they and their governments were helpless bystanders in whether or not the MDGs are met. There is nothing egregious about the eight MDG targets. Halving …
Proponents of domestic and international global warming regulations like to argue that human-induced climate change could affect the safety of not only the U.S. but other countries as well. They suggest that global warming will lead to more natural disasters, which will in turn lead to increased global conflict. Even the Department of Defense now considers climate change a threat to U.S. security. Exercises from the National Defense University concluded that “over the next 20 to 30 years, vulnerable regions, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South and Southeast …
After a very protracted gestation and calls from Congress for its release, DOD today finally unveiled the latest report on China’s military capabilities, as called for under the FY 2000 National Defense Authorization Act. What is surprising in this report of some 83 pages is how little of its content is actually surprising. For example, the report reminds us that, not only is the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) a large force, but it is also increasingly sophisticated. This sophistication is reflected in its growing ability to conduct joint operations (i.e., …
Like Presidents Clinton and Bush before him, Obama now has a Robert Mugabe problem. Foreign Policy Magazine recently awarded Mugabe, president of failed Zimbabwe, the dubious distinction of being the world’s second worst dictator, finishing just behind North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il. Robert Mugabe is a liberation ‘hero’ in the struggle for independence who has since transformed himself into a murderous despot, Mugabe has arrested and tortured the opposition, squeezed his economy into astounding negative growth and billion-percent inflation, and funneled off a juicy cut for himself using currency manipulation and …
Remember Hotel Rwanda? That movie depicts the true story of a man fighting impossible odds to save everyone he could during the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. Hotel Rwanda was a symbol of desperate hope for survival. Almost two decades later, by contrast, Rwanda has many symbols of hope for a brighter future. As a matter of fact, those hopes for the future have already been transformed into the reality of greater prosperity and opportunity for many Rwandans. Indeed, recent years’ economic reforms have made Rwanda one of the notable economies …
The April 22-25 visits of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Zimbabwe and to Uganda highlight Iran’s unrelenting quest for international partners ready to either associate with its anti-U.S., anti-West program or soften potential sanctions taking shape in the UN Security Council. The visits also allowed Iran to once-more denounce the meddling of the Obama Administration and proclaim itself the victim of U.S. discrimination and double standards. In Africa, Iran repeated tactics it is employing successfully in Latin America with Venezuela’s Chavez and Brazil’s influential but misguided President Lula da Silva, who promises …
On April 5, in a speech at Harvard University Secretary of State Clinton’s lead diplomat for Africa Johnnie Carson outlined policy guidelines for sub-Saharan Africa. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Carson is a seasoned, three-time ambassador to Africa with an illustrious career as a diplomat and an analyst of African affairs. His speech stressed the importance of strengthening African governments and institutions, promoting economic progress, addressing health challenges, preventing and resolving conflicts, and meeting transnational challenges from climate change to drug trafficking. In short, Carson followed the familiar, …
The election of President Barack Obama resonated loudly throughout Africa. His victory raised expectations that Africa would assume a more prominent place in U.S. foreign policy. This was not in 2009 to be the case. To its credit, the Obama Administration has in its first year done a good job reminding Africans of the challenges they face. In July, the President spent a day in Ghana and delivered strong messages in his Africa policy speech. He talked about importance of good governance, stronger institutions, and ending festering conflicts. The future, …
International expectations went through the roof one year ago today with the election of Barack Obama. The United Stated had elected the man whom many across the globe expected to be the anti-Bush. As controversial abroad as President Bush’s stance on the long war against terrorism had been, just as euphoric was the reaction to the election of the Democratic presidential nominee. The jubilation reflected a belief that as president, Obama would think less like an American and more like the rest of the world – however that was defined. …
This week marks the one year anniversary of the president’s election to commander chief, but it seems more like an occasion for concern than for slapping high-fives. It is not hard to craft comparisons between Carter and the current occupant of the Oval Office. Both entered office with high expectations; both vowed to change the tone in Washington and remake the world. Carter had a terrible sophomore slump. America’s enemies took stock of his foreign policy in his first year in office. The next year they exploited the weaknesses they found. …
