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- The Case for Leadership, Will Straw, Matt
Browne, Sabina Dewan, and Nina Hachigian
- Should We Be Grateful to China for Buying
U.S. Treasuries?, Scott Lilly
- Can You Hear Congo Now?, John Prendergast
- What Leaders Should Focus on at the G20,
Will Straw and Sabina Dewan
- Mr. Obama in London, Spencer Boyer and
Archana Menon
- Next Likely Step for Terror Networks is
More Attacks in the Heart of Pakistan, Brian Katulis and Peter Juul
- An Analysis of Possibilities, Ziad Majed
- A Standoff in Central Baghdad, Brian
Katulis
- Building the G20, the Right Way, Nina
Hachigian
- Will the Real Obama Middle East Strategy
Please Stand Up?, Brian Katulis
- Obama's European Listening Tour, Rudy
deLeon and Spencer Boyer
- Coalition Building Play-by-Play, Ben
Caspit
- Seven Reasons Why We Need to Engage in
Afghanistan, Center for American Progress
- Early Thoughts on Obama's Legacy in
Africa, Colin Thomas-Jensen
- Conflict Minerals in Congo, John Norris
- European Allies' Reluctance Remains, P.J.
Crowley
- A Sustainable Security for Pakistan,
Brian Katulis
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Will Straw, Matt Browne, Sabina Dewan, and
Nina Hachigian, "The Case for Leadership: Strengthening the Group of 20
to Tackle Key Global Crises," Center for American
Progress, March 31, 2009
We believe President Obama should propose at the very beginning of the
London Summit that he and other leaders agree to permanently establish
a G-20 leaders forum to ensure that whatever is agreed upon at the
London summit is implemented effectively to deal with the world’s
immediate crises. The members of this forum would initially be the
current leaders of the G-20 countries, but the forum would have a
built-in mechanism to allow for flexibility in the future.
Click here to
read the full report.
Scott Lilly, "Should
We Be Grateful to China for Buying U.S. Treasuries?," Center for
American Progress, April 1, 2009
The current economic relationship between the United States and
China is perilous for both countries. The nature of that peril is quite
different than is commonly perceived. China’s large and rapidly
growing stash of U.S. treasuries is only
part of much larger debt issue that is driven by trade deficits rather
than the size or direction of U.S. fiscal policy. In fact, there is
little evidence to support a significant connection between budget
deficits and trade deficits given U.S. experience over the past 18
years.
Click here to
read the full report.
John Prendergast, "Can You Hear Congo Now?," Enough
Project, April 1, 2009
The time has come to expose a sinister
reality: Our insatiable demand for electronics products such as cell
phones and laptops is helping fuel waves of sexual violence in a place
that most of us will never go, affecting people most of us will never
meet. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the scene of the
deadliest conflict globally since World War II. There are few other
conflicts in the world where the link between our consumer appetites
and mass human suffering is so direct.
Click here to
read the full report.
Will Straw and Sabina Dewan, "What President Obama and
Other Leaders Should Focus on at the G20," Center for American
Progress, April 1, 2009
The second meeting of the G20 leaders in
London on Thursday provides an
opportunity for key global leaders to agree on a set of tangible
measures to break the downward economic spiral of shrinking growth,
falling trade, rising unemployment, and declining wages. For President
Barack Obama, who represents the world’s largest economy, the
upcoming
summit allows him to lead America toward a more cooperative,
multilateral, and effective approach to addressing global economic
challenges causing real pain for people around the world.
Click here to
read the full article.
Spencer Boyer and Archana Menon, "Mr. Obama
in London," The
Root, April 1, 2009
If there were ever a time for the average American to pay close
attention to a president’s trip to an international summit, this
would
be it. Hopefully, this week’s G-20 summit in London will help to
turn
around the ailing global economy, but also, it may remind the American
people—understandably preoccupied with domestic economic
woes—that
we’re all in this economic mess together.
Click here
to read the full article.
Brian Katulis and Peter Juul, "The Next Likely Step
for Terror Networks is More Attacks in the Heart of Pakistan," Center
for American Progress, March 31, 2009
As more American troops head to
Afghanistan to shore up the effort
there, Pakistan is unfortunately likely to see more terrorist attacks
in its urban centers. For example, Punjab—the province in which
Lahore
resides—can be expected to come under particular pressure given
the roots domestic militant groups
such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi have there. The flow of
militants from the Afghanistan border areas to “settled”
areas of
Pakistan, especially Punjab, will likely increase as pressure from
added U.S. troops and more frequent Predator missile strikes
necessitates a flow away from the Afghan front. The Pakistani
government is apparently willing to give up large swaths of territory
outside the tribal regions to militants, and there is no reason for the
militants not to challenge a Pakistani government they would rationally
see as weak—especially facing a renewed American push across the
border.
Click here to read the full article.
[T]his will be the first election,
probably in modern Lebanese history, that is between two blocs, two
alliances. These alliances will be present in all electoral districts
in Lebanon. One alliance is called the March 8 alliance ... On the
other side there is the March 14 alliance, and of course March 8 and
March 14 are the two days of the two demonstrations: one that was in
favor of the Syrian presence in Lebanon and the second was opposed to
that presence and hegemony after the assassination of Rafik Hariri.
... [T]he battle that will really determine which camp will be the
majority in the next parliament will happen in four or five districts:
Jbeil/Byblos, Kesrwan, Metn, Baabda, Zahle, and the first district of
Beirut, Achrafieh.
Click here
to read the full interview.
The standoff between two U.S. “allies” this weekend in the
heart of
Baghdad is a harbinger of things to come in Iraq. The showdown between
Iraq’s central government security forces and members of Sunni
militias, known as "Awakenings," had nothing to do with the size of the
U.S. troop presence in Iraq and almost everything to do with enduring
tensions in Iraq—multiple struggles for power between competing
Iraqi
factions.
Click here to
read the full article.
Nina Hachigian, "Building the G20, the Right Way," The Guardian Comment is Free, March
30, 2009
The what of the G20 summit is
critical, but so is the how
will travel to London this week. There, we must all hope, this group
will overcome its differences and agree to coordinated stimulus
measures that break the fall of the global economy; beat back the wave
of beggar-thy-neighbour trade policies; ensure that low carbon
strategies animate the global economic recovery; find a way to assist
the developing world; revamp the roles of the .
Along with eight prime ministers, eleven other presidents, one
chancellor, one king and a smattering of international organisation
leaders, President Barack ObamaInternational Monetary Fund and World
Bank;
and hammer out principles - or, even better, a new architecture –
for
banking and financial regulation so this kind of financial disaster
cannot happen again.
Click here to
read the full article.
See also:
Nina Hachigian at the Good blog
on what to expect at the G20.
Brian Katulis, "Will
the Real Obama Middle East Strategy Please Stand Up?," Foreign Policy's Abu Aardvark blog, March 27, 2009
I posted several times on several topics
on my Gulf trip here
- on the role
of the Gulf on many fronts of U.S. policy, the military
arms spending spree in the region, the regional movement towards
nuclear
energy, and views
on Afghanistan in Muslim-majority countries -- but the one overriding
question that inquiring minds wanted to know the answer to on our trip
was: what
is the Obama administration's strategy for the Middle East and South
Asia?
Click here to
read the full article.
Rudy deLeon and
Spencer Boyer, "Obama's European Listening Tour," The Guardian Comment is
Free, March 26, 2009
At the 45th Munich conference on security policy in February,
vice-president Joe Biden reminded America's European allies that the
United States is ready to listen again. Referring to President Barack
Obama's strategic review of US policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan in
advance of Nato's 60th anniversary summit, Biden noted: "We seek ideas
and input from you and all of our partners." This
is welcome news. The US hurt its leadership position over the past
several years by refusing to hear what the world was telling us. But in
order for the transatlantic security relationship to be one between
full partners again, the US will need some help.
Click here to
read the full article.
Ben
Caspit, "A Play-by-Play of Coalition Building: What it Means," Middle
East Bulletin interview, March 26, 2009
Netanyahu of 2009 is not the Netanyahu of 1996. He is 60 today, and
then he was 47. He is more experienced, a little calmer and he knows he
won't get a third chance. ... [T]he thing that scares Netanyahu the
most, horrifies him, is what will happen with the U.S. government. This
is why he paid so much to have Labor in the government. He wanted Labor
to back him on his first visit to Washington rather than go there as
the head of a narrow right-wing government. This is why he is now
considering appointing Alon Pinkas as Israel's ambassador to
Washington. The other name being raised is Dore Gold, which is bad
news. But Pinkas, not a classic supporter of Netanyahu, who is close to
Ehud Olmert, Ehud Barak and Shimon Peres, a person who knows the U.S.
system and the Democratic Party, signals how important relations with
the United States are to Netanyahu.
Click
here
to read the full interview.
"Seven Reasons Why We Need to Engage in Afghanistan,"
Center for American Progress, March 26, 2009
Afghanistan was a forgotten front for
too long under the Bush
administration. Yet a sustained effort in the country is crucial to
keeping the United States and its allies safe and to restoring
stability to the entire region. A new sustainable security approach to
operations in Afghanistan that combines defense, diplomacy, and
development can combat Al Qaeda and the Taliban and build Afghan
government capacity and legitimacy. We must reengage in Afghanistan,
and here’s why.
Click here to
read the full article.
Colin Thomas-Jensen,
"Early Thoughts on Obama's Legacy in Africa," Huffington Post, March 23, 2009
As the son of an African, President
Obama could have a truly
transformative effect on the lives of ordinary Africans. His
administration will of course work assiduously to address urgent crises
in Sudan, DRC, Somalia, Zimbabwe, and elsewhere. However, given the
extraordinary popularity that President Obama already enjoys in
Africa, the Obama administration is in a position to press for
meaningful progress toward more democratic and transparent governance.
If the administration seizes this opportunity, President Obama's legacy
will be to have positioned Africa in the mainstream of U.S. foreign
policy by replacing recycled and hollow platitudes about governance,
democracy, development, and stability with nuanced policies to improve
the everyday lives of people across the continent.
Click here to
read the full article.
Fortune - Enough Project director
John Norris calls for greater awareness of the prevalence of "conflict
minerals": "The consumer electronics industry is the largest end user
of the
minerals that are fueling the fighting in eastern Congo.... These
companies have an
obligation to ensure they are not financing armed groups by demanding
more information and better behavior from their suppliers."
Reuters - Senior Fellow P.J. Crowley
expects a reluctance from European allies to commit more resources to
the Afghan conflict during President Obama's visit to the G20 and NATO
summits this week: "Because he is popular and he isn't George W. Bush,
European leaders
are going to have an interest in this being seen as a successful first
encounter... [but this] doesn't necessarily solve the problem that
Afghanistan is a very complex situation."
Ask the Expert
- Senior Fellow Brian Katulis says that the U.S. must look at Pakistan
as a
challenge that requires the full range of U.S. powers: "I think
Pakistan
is probably the best test case of this because there is no way that the
U.S. is going to have a very large military presence on the ground in
Pakistan. So we need to look at how we can work politically,
diplomatically, and economically to help the country stabilize itself."
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A New Way Forward in
Afghanistan
April 3, 2009
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
The Center
for American Progress will host an event to discuss the
implications of the Obama administration's strategy for Afghanistan and
the region, announced on March 27, and the release of the Center's
own Afghanistan
strategy, “Sustainable Security in Afghanistan: Crafting an
Effective
and Responsible Strategy for the Forgotten Front.” Bearing in
mind the vital U.S interests in
the country and South Asia, the report concludes that the United States
must attempt to build a national representative government that is able
to govern, defend, and sustain itself.
Please join the Center for American Progress for a
discussion on these issues.
Featured Panelists:
Minister Ali Jalali, Former Afghan Interior
Minister; Distinguished Professor, National Defense University
Dr. Frederick W. Kagan, Resident Scholar,
American Enterprise Institute
Fred Kaplan, "War Stories" columnist, Slate
Magazine
Moderated by:
Lawrence Korb,
Senior Fellow, Center for
American Progress
For more information and to RSVP, click here.
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