Security and Development Intertwined in Africa

Harvard professor and Kenya native, Calestous Juma spoke at U.S. Africa headquarters. “I would like to argue, and I have publicly argued that in fact the militaries in African countries need to play a much bigger role in providing the foundation for economic transformation. A lot of it has to do primarily with the first part, which is infrastructure development. Secondly, the ability to safeguard trade routes; and thirdly I think that really there is a very important part to play in the area of technology transformation,” Juma said.

When Air Force One landed in the sands of the Arabian Peninsula yesterday with President Barack Obama aboard, my mind traveled back to Nov. 4, last year. On the day Obama was elected president of the United States, I was in Amman, Jordan, listening to jaded Arab men declare that nothing would change in the Middle East, no matter who lived in the White House. Fast forward exactly seven months later, and the Arab world is abuzz with excitement. President Obama has traveled to the Middle East to prove my Jordanian interlocutors wrong, and to demonstrate that the relationship between […]

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A polarized Lebanese electorate goes to the polls this Sunday in a hotly contested general election that will determine Lebanon’s cabinet and government for the next four years. It is a high-stakes race, with more than 15 political parties and over 700 candidates jockeying for power. As always in this country of roughly four million citizens, the internal faultlines have become a proxy to geopolitical interests and regional turf battles. The multitude of parties could easily be misconstrued as the genuine sign of democracy and freedom of speech, often lacking in the Middle East. But to a […]

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The outcome of this Sunday’s legislative elections in Lebanon is both a certainty and a mystery. On the one hand, the main Sunni, Shiite and Druze parties are sure to win big in their regional strongholds. But the Christian vote is very much in play. With the Sunnis and Druze firmly in the pro-Western “March 14” camp led by Sunni leader Saad Hariri, and the Shiites solidly behind the Syrian-backed “March 8” opposition bloc, the balance between them will be tilted by Maronite voters in their strongholds around Beirut and Mount Lebanon. These will be split between […]

When U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo tomorrow, they may want to focus some attention on the most enduring but unexamined component of the U.S.-Egypt relationship: military cooperation. Over the past 30 years, military cooperation has yielded great benefits for both countries. But that cooperation now shows signs of strain, and a course correction is in order. Operationally, the U.S. enjoys privileged access to Egypt’s air space and waterways. That meant expedited permission for more than 35,000 over-flights and 850 naval transits from 2001 to 2005. Strategically, Egypt has largely supported — or else […]

In April, the U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort sailed from Virginia with 900 doctors, nurses, engineers and civilian volunteers aboard. Comfort’s mission: to deliver humanitarian aid to seven Latin American countries over a four-month period, “building relations with many countries, and strengthening already-strong bonds,” in the words of mission commander Bob Lineberry, a Navy captain. In the first two months of their tour, Comfort’s staff treated 29,000 patients, including performing more than 500 surgeries. They also helped rebuild hospitals and conducted medical training with local health professionals. Operation Continuing Promise is aimed at reinforcing existing U.S. ties with Antigua, Colombia, […]

President Barack Obama’s historic address to the Muslim world in Cairo tomorrow offers a prime opportunity to outline a new U.S. vision for democracy and human rights in the region. To accomplish this goal, Obama must firmly reject the notion that safeguarding America’s strategic interests in the Middle East somehow runs counter to the goal of advancing political reform. Instead he must craft a balanced message that recognizes that reform is synonymous with U.S. interests in the region. Unfortunately, if early signs are any indication, the president seems to be striking the wrong balance. The delayed appointments of key democracy […]

Following years of frustrating carrot-and-stick diplomacy, the debate over how to solve the issue of Iran’s nuclear program is nearing its end. Neither coercive diplomacy, whether direct or indirect, nor deterrent threats of military attack are likely to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon. To the contrary, a world in which Iran is a nuclear power is becoming a growing likelihood, one that by pessimistic forecasts may be upon us by 2012-2013. President Barack Obama’s efforts to engage Iran’s leadership suggest optimism about the possibility of altering Tehran’s behavior peacefully before it crosses the nuclear threshhold. As noted in […]

ISLAMABAD — The showdown in Waziristan hinted at by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari 10 days ago may have already begun with the killing of Taliban militants by security forces in South Waziristan, and the deployment of hundreds of additional troops to the troubled region in the last few days. In response, Pakistan-based Taliban have launched multiple suicide and bomb attacks in two major cities and threatened to further target others. A local official in South Waziristan — who spoke on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to comment — told World Politics Review that security forces killed […]

PEREIRA, Colombia — For the past three years, Felipe Ruiz has made his living as a landscape gardener in Connecticut. Recently, though, he was laid off, prompting his return to his hometown of Pereira, in the heart of Colombia’s coffee-growing region. “I didn’t expect to return home so soon,” said the 32-year-old Ruiz. “It was the last resort. My savings had dried up.” Every month, Ruiz had typically sent home $400 from his wages. Over the years, the money had been a key source of income for the family of five, who relied on the remittances to make ends meet […]

Last week’s Economist carried a feature on a recent wave of farmland purchases in poorer parts of the world. The buyers? Cash-rich emerging markets and Arab oil states looking to insure themselves against future food shortages. And if you think that’s just a reaction to last year’s stunning spike in prices, think again. The new trend speaks to the impact global warming will have on where food will be produced in abundance in coming decades. In terms of global grain production, which is what this investment frenzy is all about, the world is decidedly unflat. In fact, four major regions […]

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