Five Million and Counting — Iraqi Refugees Weigh on Our National Conscience

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Critics of the administration have recently turned to take up the cause of Iraqi refugees as an instantiation of US moral failure in the region, to which Steve Clemons and Nir Rosen among others have drawn attention.

Beyond Rangoon: Stories Beneath the Surface of Myanmar Reporting

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As all eyes turn to Myanmar with brutal crackdowns by the military junta (including reports of a Japanese reporter murdered and school children being fired upon), international condemnations, speculation of a “saffron revolution,” and China caught between a policy of noninterference and brutal crackdown on its borders that could turn into a public relations disaster,…

Buying Out Thugs – A View In Retrospect

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Juan Cole has picked up stories from Reuters and Harpers on a transcript of President Bush’s conversation with Spanish President Aznar that confirms that he had no intention of seriously pursuing UN Security Council support and was exceedingly optimistic over the outcomes of Iraq.

Beyond the Bleak Binary Choice Revisited: Countering a Nuclear-Armed Iran with Dr. Gary Samore

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Note the correction — the event will be from 3:00pm-4:30pm If you are near Dupont Circle on Thursday afternoon, you should drop by the New America Foundation to hear Council on Foreign Relations Vice President and Director of Studies, Dr. Gary Samore, in an event hosted by Dr.

Update on Darfur: Egypt Steps Up as the US Stands Down

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(US Defense Secretary Robert Gates with the Egyptian Military, soon to be deploying troops to Darfur) Arab states have taken numerous hits in the media — some unwarranted, some deserved — for not taking a stronger role in condemning the violence in Darfur and arm-twisting the Sudanese government to allow for peacekeepers or peace talks….

Micro-Finance in a Keystroke

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The first question former President Clinton posed Afghan President Hamid Karzai was one of investment in Afghanistan. While the two touted the foreign investment starting to enter the country, Clinton suggested that everyone could contribute to average Afghans trying to make a living through Kiva.org — an online microfinance network like lendingtree.

<em>Reporting from the UN</em>: Ahmadinejad Steals the Show

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(Photo of people at the UN watching Ahmadinejad’s speech) When UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon kicked off the special session on climate change in the hopes of capturing the news cycle to build political momentum toward the December UNFCCC meeting in Bali.

<em>Reporting from the UN</em>: Schwarzenegger Steps Up, Moves Beyond Kyoto

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The recent Pew Global Attitudes Project survey, which revealed both a deficit in US leadership as well as a growing international concern over the global environment, afforded the US a unique opportunity to address both for the price of one.