Blog Entries 1 to 10 of 14
As the M23 crisis has unfolded in the eastern Congo, the US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice has emerged as a holdout within American foreign policy, a sort of minority report to the prevailing criticism of Rwanda and the M23.
The first indication of this emerged in June, when Rice delayed the publication of UN Group of Experts' interim report, insisting that Rwanda be given a chance to see the report first and respond. While these UN investigations are supposed to give the accused the opportunity to respond and explain--the Group says it was refused meetings by the Rwandan government, which Kigali denies--they rarely allow them to see the entire report before publication. In any case, the Group finally did brief a Rwandan delegation in New York in June in New York ...
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By Sarah Jane Staats, Special to CNN Editor's note: Sarah Jane Staats is director of the Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Program at the Center for Global Development. The views expressed are her own. This Thanksgiving, President Barack Obama should invite one more guest to his national security table: the administrator of the U.S. Agency for [...]
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An American official involved in formulating and editing U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice's talking points on the Benghazi attack told the Los Angeles Times that they were not edited for political reasons or to avoid undermining the Obama administration's narrative that it has severely diminished al Qaeda's capabilities. Former CIA director David Petraeus said last week [...]
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UN and western governments signed up to false accord, leaving the people of DRC at the mercy of their tormentors
When the provincial capital of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo fell to rebel forces yesterday, the rapidity of the rebel advance was shocking, but the fait accompli failure of both Congo's armed forces and the country's United Nations mission was not.
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Bus explodes in Tel Aviv as Israeli strikes continue in Gaza
Top news: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon are meeting with Egyptian, Israeli, and Palestinian leaders in an effort to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, amid ongoing fighting that has reportedly killed 140 Palestinians and five Israelis in the past week. Reports suggest that sticking points in negotiations include a Hamas demand for an end to the blockade on the Gaza Strip and an Israeli demand for a temporary ceasefire.
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Major trade and human rights legislation on Russia easily passed the House on Friday. It should go to the President's desk immediately, without a provision being pressed in the Senate that would weaken the bill.
The House bill accomplishes two priorities. First, by repealing a no-longer relevant Cold War-era law, it ensures that U.S. exporters stay in the game. With Russia joining the WTO in August, Moscow was forced to cut tariffs for every country but the United States. The repeal of the 1974 "Jackson-Vanik" trade restrictions was smart economics.
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by Tom Wittig Even as the Obama Administration backs away from making climate change an immediate priority in its second term, the world's leading companies -- some of them fossil fuel companies -- are calling for more action. Last week, Exxon reiterated its support for a carbon tax in order to "address rising emissions." And [...]
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Amidst reports of an imminent ceasefire agreement, Israeli missiles have continued to explode in Gaza while rockets hit Israel. The Friends Committee on National Legislation, meanwhile, is calling on the United States to help save lives by pressing for an immediate ceasefire that would end Israel's bombardment and blockade of Gaza and Palestinian rockets in Israel.
You can help work for an end to the violence by urging President Obama and your members of Congress to speak out for a ceasefire and lifting the blockade.
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A bumper grain crop in the Cerrado region helped US livestock farmers when drought hit America's corn production
As US cornfields withered in drought conditions last summer, Brazil's once empty Cerrado region produced a bumper crop of the grain, helping feed livestock on US farms and ease a drought-related spike in prices.
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Mitt Romney, on a call with top donors on Wednesday last week and, referred to some of the policies enacted under the Obama administration as "gifts" that helped Obama win young, minority and low-income voters. Mr Obama gave "a lot of stuff" to African Americans, Hispanics and young voters - groups key to his victory, [...]
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