Scholars, advocates, and activists seeking to make the U.S. a more responsible global partner.
War & Peace

Expect No Change in Second Term Foreign Policy

by , | Oct 1, 2005

If President Bush wins a second term, can the world expect a radically different foreign policy in the Middle East and elsewhere? Optimists suggest that the answer is yes. As evidence, they argue that the White House has rejected the counsel of neoconservatives and is reaching out to moderate Republicans in search of a more balanced foreign policy. In turn, realists suggest that recent events leave little hope for change. What would a second term foreign policy look like?

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Forget Battles, Think Bridges

by , | Sep 30, 2005

Since September 11, 2001, American public diplomacy has been on a communication treadmill trying to find the “right” message that will win the hearts and minds of skeptical foreign publics. America’s message isn’t the problem. America’s strategy is the problem.

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Balancing Security and Democracy

by , | Sep 30, 2005

The Bush administration heralds Indonesia as the world’s largest Muslim democracy and a crucial ally in the war on terrorism. Since 9-11 it has pushed Congress to allow it to bolster the Indonesian military with weapons and military training. For many years, the United States was Indonesia’s largest weapons source, equipping the country with everything from F-16 fighter planes to M-16 combat rifles. But during the 90s the spectacle of how Indonesia was using these gifts–to repress and brutalize its own people–provoked an international outcry. The U.S. Congress responded by cutting most military ties with the Indonesia.

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For Scary Halloween Reading, Dig Deeper into the Duelfer Report

by , | Sep 30, 2005

America received a frightening jolt when the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that heavy-duty explosives perfectly suited for terrorist bombing attacks had gone missing from critical sites in Iraq. But a far more terrifying revelation was made in the Central Intelligence Agency’s publicly released Duelfer Report on October 6. It took some effort, but anyone who dug deep enough into this document submitted by Charles Duelfer, fully titled the Comprehensive Report of the Special Adviser to the Director of Central Intelligence on Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction, found reading far more scary than any of the ghost stories you might hear this Halloween.

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The Iraq Quagmire Deepens

by , | Sep 30, 2005

The Bush administration has begun to strike Fallujah with 10,000-15,000 U.S. soldiers, starting with gunships indiscriminately raking the city with cannon fire. By the end of the first day, warplanes had carried out some two dozen sorties against the city, and four 500-pound bombs were dropped over Fallujah.

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