Former CIA, NSA chief Michael Hayden: Open spy programs to reassure U.S. public
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/30/former-cia-nsa-chief-michael-hayden-open-spy-progr/?utm_source=feedly
The U.S. economy continues to have a hard time recovering from the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. |
Diplomatic Fallout: Can Nigeria and Turkey Serve as Regional Policemen?By: Richard Gowan | Column
Can regional powers replace the U.S. and Europe in policing
perennial trouble spots such as the Middle East and West Africa? Or are
their own weaknesses going to create new problems for the West? Recent
events in Turkey and Nigeria have illustrated the dilemmas involved. It
has become obvious that the middle powers the West nominated as regional
policemen need to improve their internal policing instead.
Global Insider: Syria’s Creative Maneuvers to Evade Sanctions Prove InsufficientBy: The Editors | Trend Lines
In an email interview, Samer Abboud, an assistant professor
at Arcadia University who has researched Syria’s political economy,
explained the history of sanctions against Syria and the sectors most
deeply affected by them.
Ending the Pretense: Reinventing the Trans-Atlantic RelationshipBy: Judy Dempsey | Feature
The trans-Atlantic relationship is in a deep crisis for one
main reason: The U.S. has come to see that NATO has outlived much of
its usefulness. For Washington, it’s time for both sides to define their
mutual interests and values as they stand today. The Europeans, in
contrast, continue to believe that the old tenets of Atlanticism can be
preserved. U.S. leaders will have to tell them, unequivocally, that the
old relationship is over. Only then can both sides start building a new
one.
Global Insights: Past Yields Little Hope for Afghan Peace Talk ProspectsBy: Richard Weitz | Column
After many months of false starts, Afghan peace talks may
finally begin in Doha, Qatar. But a newly published study of almost
three decades of negotiations with Afghan resistance movements should
remind us that the likelihood of reaching a peace deal with the Taliban
remains small: Although generalizing lessons from history is always
precarious, none of the past negotiations ever yielded a peace
agreement.
India-Pakistan Energy Cooperation Could Get Boost Under SharifBy: Sam Tranum | Briefing
Nawaz Sharif took over as Pakistani prime minister this
month, pledging to improve relations with India and address his
country's crippling energy shortage. Pakistani and Indian officials met
earlier this month to discuss cross-border energy cooperation, perhaps
signaling that Sharif’s new government aims to follow through on plans
its predecessor spent years talking about. That would be good for both
countries.
Invisible Benefits: Why Bashing the EU Is So EasyBy: John Peterson | Feature
The European Union is widely considered by students of
international relations to be the most successful experiment in
international cooperation in human history. Yet, the Union is also the
subject of increasingly vitriolic criticism by populist parties across
Europe, who attack it as an elitist, undemocratic albatross. If the EU
is so easy to bash, it is in part because of how quickly the benefits of
European integration have become taken for granted as part of the “new
normal.”
New Elections Unlikely to End Kuwait’s Political TurmoilBy: Catherine Cheney | Trend Lines
In Kuwait, where the Constitutional Court has ordered the
dissolution of parliament for the second time in a year, the Cabinet
decided in an emergency meeting to call parliamentary elections—the
sixth set of elections in seven years.
Pakistan’s Sharif Must Navigate Between Wary Military and Assertive JudiciaryBy: Shehzad H. Qazi | Briefing
Today’s Pakistan features not just a tussle for power
between the civilian government and the military, but also an assertive
judiciary. This puts Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a tough spot, as in
the past he has battled both institutions. Now, in addition to solving
major policy problems, one of Sharif’s major challenges will be
navigating his way around a powerful military and an activist judiciary.
Abe Brings Japan Political Stability, but at High CostBy: Shihoko Goto | Briefing
If there was ever a threat to Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe’s leadership in recent months, it was annihilated in the
Tokyo government elections last weekend, when not a single candidate
from Abe’s Liberal Democratic party lost. But Japan’s economic and
political future remains shaky at best, and the lack of any meaningful
opposition to the LDP can only bode ill for the country’s longer-term
prospects.
Ukraine’s Arms Sector Remains Tightly Controlled, Highly SecretiveBy: The Editors | Trend Lines
This month, there were reports that Ukraine was considering
seeking arms deals with both Mexico and Turkey. In an email interview,
Taras Kuzio, a fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced
International Studies and an expert in Ukrainian security and politics,
explained the recent history and current state of Ukraine’s arms
industry.
With Elections Looming, Zimbabwe Not Yet Open for BusinessBy: Richard Downie | Briefing
As Zimbabwe steels itself for upcoming elections,
international investors are watching political developments with
interest. Excitement about economic opportunities in Zimbabwe has fueled
a growing desire to explore alternatives to the political stalemate,
with some risk-tolerant investors waiting in the wings for the political
hurdles to be removed. But is this sense of cautious optimism
justified?
World Citizen: Egypt Set for Explosive Morsi AnniversaryBy: Frida Ghitis | Column
One year ago this Sunday,
Mohammed Morsi became president of Egypt, 18 months after revolutionary
euphoria flooded Cairo’s streets. It would count as a massive
understatement to call Morsi’s first year in office a disappointment. To
see just how thoroughly Egyptians feel Morsi has let them down, follow
events in the country this Sunday, as the country marks the anniversary with expected massive protests.
Pakistani Taliban Attempt to Show Strength by Attacking ForeignersBy: Catherine Cheney | Trend Lines
The Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), commonly known as the
Pakistani Taliban, has claimed responsibility for an attack over the
weekend that killed nine foreign mountain climbers and their local
guide, calling it retribution for a U.S. drone strike last month that
killed Waliur Rehman, the deputy head of the terrorist organization.
Protests a Needed Tonic for Turkey's DemocracyBy: Bayram Balci | Briefing
The protests that began in Istanbul and soon spread
throughout Turkey have become a globally watched demonstration against
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent policies. The protests will
undoubtedly represent a turning point in the country’s political life.
However, the past month’s events do not represent the worst-case
scenario for Turkish democracy that many have made them out to be.
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Statement by Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Hispanic Evangelical Association, on the Senate's Passing of Immigration Reform Bill
SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) commends and applauds the United States
Senate for its bipartisan efforts in passing immigration reform
legislation today, demonstrating that our elected officials stand
capable of exhibiting prophetic courage by reconciling conviction with
compassion.
CONTACT: To arrange an
interview with Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, please contact Kristin Cole or
Larry Ross at 972.267.1111 (Kristin@alarryross.com or
alr@alarryross.com) (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120912/CL72800LOGO ) Engaging a biblical narrative as a metaphor, as a result of this historic vote, the immigration cause no longer resides in the Egypt of political apathy or the desert of inevitable deportation. Today, 11 million people stepped into the Jordan called reform; just a few steps away lies a land full of secured borders, families, communities and above all, our most cherished values. Now the question arises, can the House of Representatives demonstrate similar courage? Can the House repudiate pathetic political expediency and engage in prophetic legislative deliberation? On behalf of the more than 40,100 NHCLC member churches and millions of God-fearing, family-loving Hispanic Americans, we call upon the members of the House to finish the work their Congressional colleagues started. As Evangelicals, born-again believers, and the spiritual heirs to the combined mantles of Billy Graham and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we affirm our conviction that now is the time to reconcile border security with the security of our values, which include faith and family. At the end of the day, passing immigration reform is not about advancing the agenda of the donkey or the elephant, but rather about living out the agenda of the Lamb. The NHCLC is the largest Hispanic Christian organization representing millions of Evangelicals and more than 40,000 U.S. Churches. Seeking to reconcile evangelist Billy Graham's message of salvation with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s march of prophetic activism, the NHCLC emphasizes "7 Directives" of Life, Family, Compassionate Evangelism, Stewardship, Justice, Education and Youth. For additional information, visit http://www.nhclc.org . SOURCE National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference Web Site: http://www.nhclc.org |
http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=7102978&access=EH |
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