USA Today 07/14/2008 By Michael Shank That China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa nudged the richer G8 nations to “take the lead in achieving…greenhouse gas emissions reductions” is entirely appropriate, despite the fact that it flies in the face of American finger-pointing (“Bush lauds G-8 leaders for work on […]
THE HILL 07/10/08 By Michael Shank That Congress is pressuring oil companies to “use it or lose it” on public lands is understandable enough given constituent discontent with rocketing petrol prices (article, “Energy bill out of gas,” July 8). But this narrow and nebulous agenda is near-sighted for two reasons. […]
FINANCIAL TIMES 07/01/08 By Michael Shank Sir, Let us for a moment consider the merits of engagement (“A very small step: Pyongyang’s nuclear declaration is no breakthrough”, editorial, June 27). Three successes in 2008 are particularly salient and worth citing. US ambassador Christopher Hill’s persistent diplomatic penetration of North Korea’s […]
Economist 06/28/2008 By Michael Shank SIR – I attended the recent conference on Islam in Kuala Lumpur and can confirm that the Dutch preference for pre-empting religious flare-ups was well expounded not only by a Dutch lawyer, Famile Fatma Arslan, whom you mentioned, but also by an adviser to the […]
Richmond Times-Dispatch 06/17/2008 By Michael Shank Last week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, suffering internal political setbacks and susceptible to overthrow by opposition, hosted a major tete-a-tete on the growing gap between the Muslim world and the West. The prime minister is a moderate; his agenda was […]
THE HILL 05/21/08 By Michael Shank That Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) cavalierly quips about first-term presidential accomplishments is not only deeply disconcerting, but also morally irresponsible (article, “McCain vows unprecedented transparency,” May 15). Half-baked heroism has handily usurped the Straight Talk Express. The only unprecedented part of McCain’s presidential pitch […]
FINANCIAL TIMES 05/16/08 By Michael Shank Sir, Heavy on protestation, light on substance, Robert Kagan’s call for a concert of democratic countries begs a hypothetical test run (“The case for a league of democracies”, May 14). Test three of the globe’s burning blisters – genocide, climate change and human rights […]
JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL PEACE OPERATIONS Vol 3, No. 6 May-June 08 By Michael Shank For all of Washington’s white papers on the war in Iraq, testimonies by General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, and wonkish retching over the war’s latest development – the recent routing of Iraq Prime Minister Nouri […]
Journal of International Peace Operations Volume 3, Number 6, May-June 2008 Conducted by Michael Shank Michael Shank interviewed Afghanistan’s Ambassador to the US on March 6, 2008, regarding Afghanistan’s poppy and poverty problems, relations with Pakistan, U.S. presidential candidates’ policies vis-a-vis Afghanistan, Paddy Ashdown, and talks with the Taliban. JIPO: […]
THE HILL 04/22/08 By Michael Shank and Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) Earth Day, for some, is comparable to a sacred holiday, reminding us to tread carefully on nature’s hallowed ground. For others, Earth Day serves as a starter on the basics of recycling and light-bulb changing. Regardless of the myriad […]