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 […]
ALBANY DEMOCRAT-HERALD 12/18/13 By Ray Kauffman The Oct. 25 issue of U. S. News and World Report has an article titled “Books on the Ground, Not Unmanned Robots in the Sky,” written by Michael Shank, director of foreign policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, and adjunct faculty at […]
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 […]
HUFFINGTON POST 12/10/13 By Michael Shank It appears that Fethullah Gülen, a U.S.-based Islamic preacher from Turkey who promotes peace and tolerance, and the schools associated with his religious Hizmet movement can’t get a break. They were first targeted in America, via discrimination aimed at the Turkish American community centered […]
REUTERS 12/09/13 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Michael Honda The annual United Nations climate change talks, which concluded last month in Warsaw, unfortunately found little common ground on carbon. The talks broke down over the world’s richest nations’ inability to agree with the poorest on how to address the […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 12/06/13 By Michael Shank and Kate Gould With the United States and Iran finally on a path toward resolving the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, a member of Congress on the House Armed Services Committee is playing the spoiler, urging the United States to prepare […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 12/02/13 By Michael Shank It appears that Fethullah Gülen, a U.S.-based Islamic preacher from Turkey who promotes peace and tolerance, and the schools associated with his religious Hizmet movement can’t get a break. They were first targeted in America, via discrimination aimed at the Turkish […]
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 […]
WASHINGTON TIMES 11/26/13 By Michael Shank and Kim Toogood WASHINGTON, November 26, 2013 — The Republic of Turkmenistan has turned a new corner. It is a country that has spent the last few years shedding its ultra-conservative status, thanks to a slightly more progressive President. As a result, the country […]
CNN 11/22/13 By Michael Shank and Madeline Rose Editor’s note: Michael Shank is director of foreign policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Madeline Rose is legislative associate for foreign policy at FCNL. The views expressed are their own. Despite dire warnings of anarchy, mass violence, and potential genocide, […]