RT 10/07/13 Secretary of State John Kerry has justified the capture by US forces of a terrorism suspect in Tripoli as ‘legal and appropriate’. He thus responded to Libya governments’ demand for explanations over what happened. Kerry has reacted to the ‘kidnapping’ complaint from the Libyan government by recommending it […]
THE GUARDIAN 10/07/13 By Michael Shank and Elizabeth Beavers America’s streets are looking more and more like a war zone. Last week, in a small county in upstate New York with a population of roughly 120,000 people, county legislators approved the receipt of a 20-ton Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 10/01/13 By Michael Shank and Vani Sathisan Last week, the Elders, led by ex-U.S. president Jimmy Carter, called for an end to impunity over the anti-Muslim attacks in Myanmar and the “meaningful realization of the right to freedom of religion.” But their three-day visit with […]
CNN 09/27/13 By Michael Shank, Matt Hoh and Danny L. Davis Editor’s note: Matthew Hoh served with the U.S. Marines in Iraq and on State Department teams in Afghanistan and Iraq and is a Senior Fellow with the Center for International Policy. Michael Shank is director of foreign policy at […]
HUFFINGTON POST 09/24/13 By Michael Shank Watching President Barack Obama’s speech to heads of state at the UN General Assembly summit this week in New York — specifically his pointed prioritization of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process — I was reminded of a column I penned with U.S. Congressman Gregory Meeks […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 09/24/13 By Michael Shank President Barack Obama’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly today deserves some fact checking. There were multiple assertions that skewed reality and are worth debunking as a result. First, Obama questioned “whether the United Nations can meet the tests of […]
USA TODAY 9/23/13 By Michael Shank Focus on African security missing development needs. Last month, at the beginning of a trip to Somalia, my twitter feed started buzzing with breaking news about explosions in Mogadishu. A local rebel group, al-Shabab, claimed credit. Their tactic was fairly unsophisticated: break the Ramadan […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 09/19/13 By Michael Shank This week, as U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy testified before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power regarding the administration’s climate change policy, there was the palpable absence of constituent opinion. […]
CNN 09/17/13 By Michael Shank and Emily Wirzba Editor’s note: Michael Shank is director of foreign policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Emily Wirzba is program assistant for Sustainable Energy and the Environment at FCNL. The views expressed are their own. The agreement forged by Russia and the […]
NATIONAL JOURNAL 09/16/13 By Michael Shank and Emily Wirzba What few people in Washington are talking about when it comes to the Syria crisis is the connection to climate change. While it may seem remote and implausible to Washington realists, the connection is clear. What is most disconcerting, however – […]