Post Conflict Reconstruction

Publication Date: 2007/06/05

Publication / Source: The Brookings Institution

Author: Lael Brainard

On the 60th anniversary of the Marshall Plan, the author critically analyizes whether similar foreign policy initiatives that help to defeat communism can be adapted and adopted for the 21st century.

Publication Date: 2007/04/04

Publication / Source: The Baltimore Sun

Author: Karl Inderfurth

Today, countries around the globe, from Congo to Tajikistan and from Lebanon to Vietnam, are observing the International Day for Mine Awareness. Ten years ago, the international community finally awoke to the true extent of the global land mine crisis, with tens of millions of these hidden killers scattered in more than 80 countries. A decade later - acre by acre, field by field - significant progress is being made to eliminate the threat posed by these indiscriminate and inhumane weapons.

Publication Date: 2007/03/29

Publication / Source: The Washington Post

Author: Desmond Tutu and Madeleine Albright

Zimbabwe, long plagued by the repressive leadership of President Robert Mugabe, has reached the point of crisis. Leaders of the democratic opposition were arrested and beaten, and one was killed, while attempting to hold a peaceful prayer meeting on March 11. The crisis in Zimbabwe raises familiar questions about the responsibilities of the international community.

Publication Date: 2007/03/13

Publication / Source: The Washington Post

Author: Richard Holbrooke

Obsessed with Iraq, the Bush administration and the public have paid too little attention to a series of Russian challenges to the stability of Europe. There is no doubt that President Vladimir Putin, emboldened by America's difficulties and the effectiveness of his energy diplomacy (which sometimes looks like blackmail), is seeking to regain ground lost in the decade after the Soviet Union's collapse, while at home Putin pursues increasingly authoritarian, often brutal, policies. Now a key test of Russia's relationship with the West is at hand, and Russia's actions could determine whether there is another war in Europe.

Publication Date: 2007/02/15

Publication / Source: The Washington Post

Author: Dennis Ross

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will travel to the Middle East this weekend and hold a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Her stated purpose is to discuss permanent-status issues with an eye toward producing an agreement on a political horizon for ending the conflict. For many, such a political horizon has been long overdue; with it, they argue, both Israelis and Palestinians will know how the conflict ends and find it easier to confront those who oppose peace.

Publication Date: 2007/01/19

Publication / Source: The Century Foundation

Author: Carl Robichaud

As the administration prepares to send another 20,000 soldiers to Iraq, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates traveled to Afghanistan. There he met U.S. and NATO commanders that find themselves shorthanded against a renewed insurgency. In 2006, armed attacks tripled, to over twelve per day. With only 20,000 U.S. soldiers in all of Afghanistan, split between the NATO command and the U.S.-led coalition, there are not enough troops to go around.

Publication Date: 2006/08/29

Publication / Source: TPMCafe, America Abroad

Author: Ernest Wilson

"American Prospect on-line has published a thoughtful and provocative essay that goes straight to the heart of our contemporary debates on U.S. foreign policy: “What does it mean to have a ‘progressive’ foreign policy?”An excellent start, but it doesn't really answer the question. Here's another answer."

Publication Date: 2006/08/29

Publication / Source: Miami Herald

Author: Dennis Jett

In the volatile politics of the Middle East, no wager is a sure thing. But here is a safe bet -- the enhanced peacekeeping operation being deployed in Lebanon will fail.

Publication Date: 12/22/2005

Publication / Source: International Herald Tribune; Brookings Institution

Author: Walter Kälin

Ten years after the Dayton accord brought an end to the worst fighting Western Europe had witnessed since the World War II, there is much to celebrate. Nevertheless, the scars of war are far from healed. Much remains to be done before the Dayton accords can truly be considered a success.