Africa

15 Items

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Saudi Arabia Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Hangzhou International Expo Center in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, Sept. 4, 2016.

AP

Analysis & Opinions - Foreign Policy

Vladimir of Arabia

| November 2, 2016

"Despite being on different sides of the Syrian civil war, Putin has managed to bring Riyadh into its diplomatic orbit through cooperation on oil policy, given how both Saudi-led OPEC states and Russia need substantially higher prices for government budgets to break even."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry presides over a meeting of more than 60 anti-ISIL coalition parties held on December 3, 2014, at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

U.S. State Dept.

Analysis & Opinions - The Washington Post

The Jihadi Threat to International Order

| May 15, 2015

"The Islamic State, on the other hand, reached prominence in the chaotic aftermath of the Arab uprisings and at a time of great U.S. reluctance to intervene in the Middle East. It focused on gaining territory and establishing a caliphate as measures that would further increase its power as it attempts to remake the international system. The Islamic State also promoted a particularly radical ideology, genocidal toward Shiites and other Middle Eastern minorities and ruthless toward Sunnis who refuse to submit to its authority. As a result, not only does it manifest an even more expansive challenge to the international order, it is also better equipped to threaten this order."

Analysis & Opinions - Columbia Journalism Review

Here’s how to produce strong Ebola stories

| Oct. 06, 2014

The first American case of Ebola, diagnosed last week in Dallas, TX, was a real-time test for government officials seeking to quell public fears about the prospect of a major outbreak here—and for journalists reporting the story at the local, national, and international levels. By and large, both public health experts and mainstream media get good marks in terms of clear communication about the Texas Ebola case, despite some medical mishaps in Dallas and cable news hyperbole.

President Barack Obama delivers his Middle East speech at the State Department in Washington,  May 19, 2011.

AP Photo

Analysis & Opinions - The National Interest

The End of the American Era

| November-December 2011

"...[T]he biggest challenge the United States faces today is not a looming great-power rival; it is the triple whammy of accumulated debt, eroding infrastructure and a sluggish economy. The only way to have the world's most capable military forces both now and into the future is to have the world's most advanced economy, and that means having better schools, the best universities, a scientific establishment that is second to none, and a national infrastructure that enhances productivity and dazzles those who visit from abroad. These things all cost money, of course, but they would do far more to safeguard our long-term security than spending a lot of blood and treasure determining who should run Afghanistan, Kosovo, South Sudan, Libya, Yemen or any number of other strategic backwaters."

China's President Hu Jintao (C) delivers a speech at the BRICS summit in Sanya, China, Apr. 14, 2011. A statement adopted by the 5 BRICS states offered strong backing to reform the international financial order.

AP Photo

Analysis & Opinions - The Wall Street Journal

Another Overhyped Challenge to U.S. Power

| July 20, 2011

"In political terms, China, India and Russia are competitors for power in Asia. Russia worries about China's proximity and influence in Siberia, and India is worried about Chinese encroachment into the Indian Ocean as well as their Himalayan border disputes. As a challenge to the United States, BRICS is unlikely to become a serious alliance or even a political organization of like-minded states."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, arrives for a hearing on Iraq,  Feb. 3, 2011, in Washington. Earlier, he said the U.S. has to do "a better job of encouraging democracy" in the Middle East.

AP Photo

Analysis & Opinions - Foreign Policy

Wishful Thinking

| April 29, 2011

"A central tenet of both neo-conservatism and liberal internationalism/interventionism is the idea that democracy is both the ideal form of government but also one that is relatively easy to export to other societies. Never mind that democratization tends to shift the distribution of power within different societies, thereby provoking potentially violent struggles for power between different ethnic or social groups within society. Pay no attention to the fact that it took several centuries for stable democracies to emerge in the Western world, and that process was frequently bloody and difficult."

Pro-Iranian government female demonstrators protest against U.S. President Barack Obama & Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in support of anti-government Libyan & Yemeni protestors in front of the UN office in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 24, 2011.

AP Photo

Analysis & Opinions - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Iran's Interests and Values and the 'Arab Spring'

| April 20, 2011

"Iran seeks closer relations with the future government of Egypt, irrespective of whether its character is secular-nationalistic or Islamic-ideological. Egypt has sidelined former President Hosni Mubarak's policy of leading an anti-Iranian coalition in the Arab world—and Iran would like to capitalize on this development."

UK PM David Cameron listens to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the London Conference on Libya, Mar. 29, 2011. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, the Arab League, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen, & up to 40 foreign ministers also attended.

AP Photo

Analysis & Opinions - Politico

From Lone Ranger to Smart Arranger

| April 7, 2011

"...Obama was careful not to create a global narrative of a third U.S. military attack on a Muslim country, which would have reverberated from Morocco to Indonesia. Instead, he waited until the Arab League and U.N. Security Council resolutions provided a narrative of a legitimate enforcement of humanitarian responsibility to protect civilians."