ROLL CALL 12/03/09 By Michael Shank Last week I went to Afghanistan, not on a Congressional delegation, but on my own. My boss, Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), is chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ Afghanistan Taskforce and has a keen interest in rethinking U.S. strategy in this country. With the […]
THE GUARDIAN 12/03/08 By Michael Shank and Shukria Dellawar With Robert Gates remaining at the helm of the US defence department for another term, Barack Obama signals that the Pentagon’s modus operandi changes little. There are pros and cons to this. The good news: lessons learned from George Bush’s administration […]
THE HILL 09/12/08 By Michael Shank (Regarding article “McCain, Obama applaud Musharraf’s resignation,” Aug. 18.) Have presidential candidates Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) learned nothing from the resignation of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf? Both noted the exit of coup-installed Musharraf should “open the door to cooperation…in the […]
FINANCIAL TIMES 04/12/08 By Michael Shank Sir, With reference to your report, “US seeks Afghan heroin action” (April 5/6): the American proclivity for short-term, high-visibility gains precludes, yet again, sound strategy. Aerial spraying does not constitute an effective poppy eradication programme. Critically, this counter-narcotics strategy ignores the demand side. If […]
FINANCIAL TIMES 01/17/08 By Michael Shank Sir, At long last, US strategy in Afghanistan is wising up (“From poppies to pomegranates”, January 14). Putting crop eradication on the back burner, a move aided by concern from the government in Kabul, the US is pursuing ways in which high-value produce can […]
JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL PEACE OPERATIONS Vol 2, No. 5, March-April 07 By Michael Shank The 43rd MÜNICH Conference on Security Policy, an annual February forum discussing security and foreign policy challenges in European and American relations, brought the latest chastisement of United States security policy, this time by the Germans. […]
CONTEMPORARY ISLAM No. 11562, March 07 By Michael Shank Preface By the time this article is published, much will have transpired in recent months within Somalia. Between December 2006 and January 2007, the Ethiopian and United States governments invaded Somalia by land and air, respectively, ousting the ruling Union of […]