Development

Rwanda: A Country Still in Need

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 04/08/14 By Michael Shank and Innocent Rugaragu Twenty years ago this week, an estimated 1 million Rwandans were killed in that country’s genocide. Needless to say, the post-genocide era has been difficult and pregnant with fears and hopes. Had the leadership at the time – […]

Caustic Encounters: Western Demands on Putin Escalate Crimea Crisis

CDN 03/22/14 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, March 22, 2014 — Returning home last week from Poland and Germany, as part of a United States and European Union transatlantic policymaker conversation on the crisis in Ukraine, Crimea and Russia, as well as other salient U.S.-E.U. issues like trade, climate change and […]

U.S.-E.U. Rhetoric on Russia as Destructive as a Chekhovian Duel

HUFFINGTON POST 03/22/14 By Michael Shank Returning home last week from Poland and Germany, as part of a United States and European Union transatlantic policymaker conversation on the crisis in Ukraine, Crimea and Russia, as well as other salient U.S.-E.U. issues like trade, climate change, and income inequality, I found […]

Puntland Is for Pirates

FOREIGN POLICY MAGAZINE 03/20/14 By Jillian Keenan Why are convicted high-seas bandits being sent to the Somali region that profits from their crimes? HARGEISA, Somalia — Mowlid Ahmed Abidoon stands quietly in the small prison cell where he has lived for nearly two years. Slot windows on one wall let […]

Jobs: A Human Right

ROLL CALL 02/12/14 By Michael Shank There are several signs in the House of Representatives that indicate that members of Congress are taking seriously the call to create quality employment for Americans. This is a good thing and something of which we need to see more, especially with 50 million […]

Tea Party Republican Joins with LA Democrat and Introduces Legislation to Assist Long-Term Unemployed Americans

CALIFORNIA NEWSWIRE 02/11/14 By Christopher Simmons SAN FERNANDO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Seeking to lower the number of long-term unemployed Americans, a Tea Party Republican joined with a Los Angeles Democrat today, introducing legislation in Washington D.C. that would provide long-term unemployed Americans with assistance in moving to search for […]

Defense Department in Somalia

CDN 01/13/14 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, January 13, 2014 — As the U.S. Department of Defense announced last week that American soldiers are re-entering Somalia after 20-plus years avoiding the country, the need for new solutions to this crisis is critical. The answer to the rebel group al-Shabaab’s growth in […]

U.S. Soldiers in Somalia and the Pentagon’s Unlearned Lessons

HUFFINGTON POST 01/11/14 By Michael Shank News that the Pentagon is sending its military back into Somalia, after 20 years, shows that America is still missing the point on the Horn of Africa when it comes to preventing violence. Has the Defense Department learned that little in its many misadventures […]

U.S. Credibility Around the World Damaged by Afghanistan War

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 12/16/13 By Michael Shank, Daniel L. Davis, and Shukria Dellawar As the December 31st deadline for the U.S.-Afghan Bilateral Security Agreement gets pushed back, given unresolved disagreements over the post-2014 U.S. presence, it is clear that American clout in Kabul is not what it once […]

Helping Cuba on the Road to Reform

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 11/26/13 By Michael Shank Earlier this month, five Cuban nationals – sponsored by the Center for Democracy in the Americas – made the trek from Havana to Washington to discuss the openings they, and Cubans like them, are pursuing in the nascent private economy. Having […]