International Herald Tribune/Daily Star Egypt 08/14/2007 By Michael Shank For those of us who believe in diplomacy, Senator Barack Obama’s recent pledge to dialogue with Cuba, North Korea and Iran offered a much-needed ray of hope. Amidst the security tough-talk by Democratic presidential hopefuls, at least one leading candidate was […]
Richmond Times-Dispatch 08/14/2007 By Michael Shank and Sandra Cheldelin Virginia Tech’s tragedy remains a stark reminder for those working in emergency medical services — particularly in mental health — that existing detection and response systems are dysfunctional. As exemplified all too painfully in the case of Tech’s Seung-Hui Cho, the […]
International Herald Tribune/Daily Star Egypt 08/12/2007 By Michael Shank and Samatalis Haille Prominent Somali intellectuals and parliamentarians from sub-clans once constituting the core of the defeated Islamic Courts Union claim that old rivals are dominating the government and unwilling to share power. Oddly, the international community tolerates this refusal and […]
News International 08/06/2007 By Michael Shank United States Presidential Candidate and Senator Barack Obama’s speech on August 1, 2007 at the Wilson Center, a think tank in Washington D.C., confirmed what many feared: the Democrats will continue, unabated, a war on terror that bears exact resemblance to the one waged […]
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 […]
News International 06/30/2007 By Michael Shank A disconcerting trend is making its rounds among democratic nations. Countries are closing their doors to one of democracy’s key tenets, that of free speech. The United States paved the way in Iraq by closing newspapers that failed to report favourably. Now US allies […]
Richmond Times-Dispatch 06/28/2007 By Michael Shank Regardless of whether or not one believes in climate change, no American wants the United States to be the world’s top greenhouse-gas emitter. Thus, Americans were thankful that China was queuing up to surpass the U.S. as the globe’s No. 1 producer of carbon […]
International Herald Tribune/Daily Star Egypt 06/26/2007 By Michael Shank and Khadija Ali Somalia’s decision to delay yet again the National Reconciliation Congress comes as no surprise. The Transitional Federal Government’s (TFG) latest attempt at reconciliation was foiled long before the first session of congress began. While many fingers point to […]
The Politico 05/01/2007 By Michael Shank and Saira Yamin Order and stability in Pakistan, a high priority for the national security policy of the United States, is in jeopardy. The American military presence and Pakistan’s strong-arm tactics have fomented a rebellion in its tribal regions. Now the region—mainly the Waziristan […]
Foreign Policy in Focus 04/27/2007 By Michael Shank and Marwan Kabalan House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) apparently has a penchant for badness. For visiting Syria, the Speaker received a harsh reprimand by Vice President Dick Cheney who thought it “bad behavior.” Though the Speaker remained relatively un-phased by the scolding, […]