Views & Voices
The Huffington Post The Importance of “Democracy Promotion” J. Brian Atwood November 16, 2009 “Out with the old; in with the new.” This aphorism has produced some strange results over the years as one administration succeeds another as the curator of American foreign policy. In the Reagan era, for example, it was forbidden to use [...]
The Washington Post-On Leadership Column “The Richest leaders, the Poorest women” Ritu Sharma November 11, 2009 Ritu Sharma is co-founder and president of Women Thrive Worldwide , the leading organization in Washington D.C. advocating for U.S. policies that prioritize the needs of women and girls worldwide. She has a second-grade education. I have two higher [...]
All Africa “U.S. Peace Corps to Bring New Focus to Food Security” Andre van Wyk November 11, 2009 The Obama administration earlier this year named a former United States Peace Corps volunteer, Aaron S. Williams, as the program’s new director. The Peace Corps, which will soon celebrate its 50th anniversary, draws thousands of Americans who [...]
Secretary Clinton’s Interview With Kim Ghattas of BBC Kazan, Russia; October 14, 2009 QUESTION: I’d like to draw attention to something that you often draw attention to, which is the civilian aspect of this strategy. There is a lot of focus on troop numbers and how many boots on the ground there are. But the [...]
By Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the UN, Amartya Sen and Michel Camdessus, former managing director of the IMF – The Austrailian The Australian, September 25, 2009 First, G20 leaders need to follow through with the commitments they’ve made to a Global Plan for Recovery and Reform. Having recognised its “collective responsibility to mitigate [...]
By Paul Kagame Washington Post, September 21, 2009 Africa and the United States may be on the verge of a new partnership, not one of dependency and aid but one of shared ideas, vision and investments that increase our mutual prosperities. To begin this improved relationship, both must accept urgent and substantial changes in the [...]
Jim Kunder, Former USAID Acting Deputy Administrator GMF Blog The American humorist Mark Twain once famously exhorted: “Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” Just before the Labor Day weekend, the Obama Administration gratified the advocates of enhanced U.S. foreign aid, and probably astonished some cynics, by announcing a [...]
Andrew J. Shapiro, Assistant Secretary, Political-Military Affairs Keynote Address to ComDef 2009, September 9, 2009 Good morning, and thank you to the organizers of ComDef 2009 for this opportunity to talk to you about smart power, and how it will shape our priorities in the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. As Secretary Clinton is [...]
Chuck Hagel, former Senator and USGLC Advisory Council Member Washington Post, Thursday, September 3, 2009 The other night I watched the film “The Deer Hunter.” Afterward, I remembered why it took me so many years to be able to watch Vietnam movies. It all came tumbling back — the tragedy, the innocent victims, the waste. [...]
William Easterly Aid Watch Blog, September 1, 2009 One of the oldest ideas in economics is gains from specialization. Adam Smith talked about it 233 years ago. All of us are good at a small number of things and suck at most everything else. The economy as a whole produces more because we each specialize [...]
