Category: General

I learned today that recently arrested, alleged Russian spy Mikhail Semenko had my business card. “Really?!” I asked. “Really,” I was told back.

The Washington Post‘s Howard Kurtz profiles reactions to Tea-Partyism today and notes that Senator Lindsey Graham, who once told me that his favorite film was Seven Days in May and that one of his biggest fears for the country was national security and military demagoguery, doesn’t have much time for the Tea Party.

(Photo Credit: Svenwerk’s Photostream) Ian Lesser‘s most recent “On Turkey” brief for the German Marshall Fund raises a number of important issues surrounding the United States’ relationship with Turkey. Most importantly, Lesser notes that those seeking to understand Turkey’s emerging regional role should examine Turkey’s internal political dynamics more closely.

This is a guest post from Anya Landau French, who directs the New America Foundation/U.S.-Cuba Policy Initiative. This post originally appeared at The Havana Note. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, a conservative Democrat from Minnesota, is generally a soft-spoken, easy-going legislator who eschews demagoguery.

Headlining the July/August issue of Foreign Policy magazine is their always-fascinating “Failed States Index” measuring stability around the world. In partnership with Foreign Policy, the New America Foundation will host a discussion TODAY from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm of this year’s index and the causes of this insecurity in different parts of the globe….

In recent days, i attended an off the record discussion with several senior Obama administration officials involved in international “stuff” — some foreign policy, some commerce, some defense and intelligence sector deal-making.

Wow. Thanks to Dan Fletcher and the team at Time who picked The Washington Note as one of their favorite blogs of the year. We are really honored — and caught off guard by the salute from Time.

(Photo Credit: White House Photostream) Joshua Walker has a good piece at Foreign Policy that takes a broad view of U.S.-Turkey relations and arrives at largely positive conclusions about the long-term prospects for the alliance.

Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) has died at 92. I had the privilege of speaking with Senator Byrd on many occasions but the most memorable was after his vote against the Iraq War Resolution.

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan may not be everyone’s cup of tea. I have no issues with her and think that she is a disciplined, fair-minded, creative thinker who will add a lot to the highest court in the land.