“Can U.S. foreign aid reform and a Republican-led House of Representatives coexist?” asks John Norris of the Center for American Progress. Where some see gridlock, Norris suggests the chances may actually be good. In a recent report, he points out that there is actually a good deal of common ground between President Obama’s Policy Directive [...]
A number of proposals for cutting spending have circulated recently with potential consequences for the International Affairs Budget and foreign assistance in the wake of the midterm elections. The reactions have been far-ranging, from outright dismissal to calls for making hard choices that highlight the challenges we’re facing in difficult economic times to make an [...]
While dozens of reports in recent years have focused on reforming our national security apparatus, the Council on Foreign Relations released a new report with a fresh angle. This report, authored by Kay King, looks at the role of Congress in national security and calls for a major changes. She sums up Congress’s track record [...]
An interesting reflection on the link between the foiled bomb packages from Yemen and the International Affairs Budget from our friend, Michael Kraft: “International cooperation is key in fighting international terrorism – this has been a theme of U.S. government counterterrorism statements and talking for decades. This concept was underscored by the thwarting two weeks [...]
Today, top cabinet officials touted the important role development plays in meeting U.S. national security objectives at USGLC’s annual conference.
“Today the American economy is ever more closely tied to the world economy,” began moderator Nina Easton, Washington Bureau Chief of Fortune Magazine, kicking off our second session. Panelists included Farooq Kathwari, Chairman, President and CEO, Ethan Allen Interiors Inc; Gary Knell, Board of Directors, Center for U.S. Global Leadership and President and CEO, Sesame [...]
This is the first of a series of posts tracking the USGLC”s Washington Conference. Tune in for more throughout the day. Our first session of “Smart Power at Work” began with remarks by Beau Biden, Delaware Attorney General and Captain in the Delaware Army National Guard. He joined over 1,000 veterans and supporters who have signed a [...]
Trade is the “only exit path” out of the financial crisis for the developing world, according to Pascal Lamy, Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Speaking at a conference organized recently by the Bertelsmann Foundation, he declared pointedly that domestic consumption is unlikely to jump start developing countries’ economies since their populations are [...]
After months of working quietly behind the scenes, a leaked draft of the Presidential Study Directive on Global Development (PSD-7) suggests the Administration is ready to make a major strategic commitment to elevating development as “a central pillar of our national security strategy, equal to diplomacy and defense.”
In a speech to the Nixon Center Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates highlighted anew his proposal for “pooled authorities” for international security assistance to be funded and administered jointly by State and Defense – a proposal he originally made in a letter to Secretary Clinton in December. Congressional authority for this funding, known as [...]
