News Articles
USAID Administrator nominee, Dr. Rajiv Shah, was unanimously approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today after testifying last Tuesday, December 1st. It’s anticipated the full Senate will vote on his confirmation before Congress recesses for the Christmas holiday. During his hearing, Shah provided his views on the need for a strong USAID and the [...]
The Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) Working Groups turned in their initial interim reports to the Core QDDR team on Dec. 4th. These reports focused on assessing the challenges, opportunities, current policies and policy gaps in each of the five working groups: (1) Building a Global Architecture of Cooperation, (2) Leading and Supporting Whole [...]
Last week, a strong bipartisan group of 10 Senators and 10 Representatives circulated “Dear Colleague” letters in both chambers urging their fellow Members of Congress to sign-on to a letter to the President in support of a robust FY11 International Affairs Budget. The letters are being led by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), [...]
More than a month into fiscal year 2010, House and Senate Appropriators would like to finish all the FY10 Appropriations bills sometime before Thanksgiving, but reaching this goal is looking increasingly unlikely. While the House has passed all 12 appropriations bills, the Senate still hasn’t acted on five bills, including the $48.7 billion FY10 State, [...]
QDDR Powwow By Laura Rozen Politico; October 14, 2009 Some 400 people jammed the Willard Hotel ballroom to hear Deputy Secretary of State Jack Lew, Policy Planning chief Anne-Marie Slaughter, and acting USAID administrator Alonzo Fulgham explain the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review process they’re undertaking, an NGO official who attended relays. The large attendance [...]
Vacancy at Helm of U.S. Aid Agency Spurns Concern By Michele Keleman NPR; October 15, 2009 The Obama administration has been reviewing U.S. aid programs around the world. A memo leaked recently suggests that it may bypass contractors and nongovernmental organizations and give aid directly to countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan. That has many in [...]
USAID Awaits its Fate By Josh Rogin The Cable (Foreign Policy blog); October 14, 2009 As the long wait for an appointment of an administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development continues, the development community in Washington is looking at the State Department’s once-in-four-years policy review for clues about the fate of the agency. [...]
How the US Military Shapes Foreign Policy By Michael Cohen Democracy Arsenal; October 15, 2009 Yesterday, I attended a conference in Washington DC hosted by the US Global Leadership Coalition that was the first public review of the State Department’s Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR). All the usual suspects where there – Deputy Secretary of [...]
KRISTI HEIM The Seattle Times February 10, 2009 Washington state is in the soft power business. Dozens of local organizations involved in global affairs have a stake in defining the U.S. role in the world, and they’re calling for an overhaul of some basic principles. They’re hoping to influence policy in the other Washington to [...]
Joint Chiefs chairman makes case for non-military solutions By Julian E. Barnes Los Angeles Times; January 13, 2009 The country’s top uniformed officer said Monday that the Defense Department should be ready to tell civilian leaders when military force is not the best response — and be prepared to transfer resources to other agencies during [...]
