POLITIX 05/07/14 By Michael Shank Trust is essential for any society to function. If it’s not there, political and economic progress is impossible. That’s exactly what’s happening in Yemen right now. From the public’s perspective in Sana’a where I spent the last week, the transitional government cannot be trusted, nor […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 05/06/14 By Michael Shank Yemen needs international support to overcome serious political and economic hurdles. SANAA, YEMEN – Building a nation after an Arab Spring-like revolution isn’t easy, especially when corruption is rampant, the population is starving and the country is running out of water. […]
CDN 04/27/14 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, April 27, 2014 — America is leaving a devastating legacy in Yemen thanks to its program of drone strikes. Without question, America’s approach is doing much to destabilize this impoverished country, undermine constitutional and electoral efforts to unify her people, and devastate the local […]
HUFFINGTON POST 04/25/14 By Michael Shank Following on the heels of the “massive and unprecedented” U.S. drone strikes in Yemen this month, which killed scores of Yemenis, I’m headed there for a week’s worth of research. Admittedly, the timing isn’t great as al-Qaeda is likely keen to counter the Obama […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 04/14/14 By Michael Shank The United States Department of Defense used it recently in Yemen and Pakistan. The U.S. State Department is using it right now in Afghanistan and Nigeria. The U.S. Agency for International Development used it in the last elections in Kenya. It’s […]
FOX NEWS 02/01/14 By Michael Shank From a political perspective, defending Turkey’s blend of political Islam and neoliberal economic policies was not terribly difficult a decade ago. After all, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan helped build the 17th largest economy in the world and what would be the sixth largest […]
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 […]
WASHINGTON TIMES 11/12/13 By Michael Shank and Kate Gould WASHINGTON, November 12, 2013 — Even without a final nuclear deal with Iran, this weekend’s intensive negotiations in Geneva resulted in major diplomatic achievements that warrant mention. First and foremost, since direct contact between U.S. and Iranian diplomats has long been […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 10/25/13 By Michael Shank Irrespective of the latest reports on possible collusion between U.S. and Pakistani spy agencies, Amnesty International’s newest report on the unlawful American drone killings in Pakistan – that kill more civilians than the White House admits and could amount to war […]
THE HILL 10/22/13 By Michael Shank and US Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) In the past month, the U.S. has faced two grave threats, one domestic and one international. Both pose serious consequences to the United States and the world at large, and no one knows how either will end. The […]