The Global Citizen

Egypt's Dangerous Game

jbunting — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:46:40 +0000

Egyptians just celebrated the one-year anniversary of their revolution last January, but you wouldn't know it from the actions of their military. Indeed, the Egyptian military is operating business as usual, using repressive tactics to maintain an autocratic grip on power. The military has been accused by Egyptian revolutionaries of cracking down on subsequent protests, particularly last fall, when the military violently suppressed demonstrations resulting in at least 100 deaths and wounding thousands more. This extreme response to protests and demonstrations has earned the Egyptian military a reputation of opposing a real transition of power to a new democratically elected government.

Keeping the Peace

cblake — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:15:03 +0000

This weekend, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton was in Germany speaking at an event supporting women in international security. Secretary Clinton remarked "that when we think about peacemaking, which is, after all, one of the critical tasks of any of us in international security, that something is missing. And that is women. There are not enough women at the table, not enough women's voices being heard". Women are underrepresented in peacekeeping forces and in international peace negotiations. This is an unfortunate revelation, considering studies and experiences have show that the presence of women in peacekeeping operations can be extremely beneficial to the success of the effort.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Holds Hearing on Ahmadinejad's “Tour of Tyrants”

cblake — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:14:51 +0000

The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on Iran entitled “Ahmadinejad’s Tour of Tyrants and Iran's Agenda in the Western Hemisphere” last Thursday. The consensus of the committee was that Iran’s presence in Latin America is too close for comfort. The “Tour of Tyrants,” which spanned Venezuela, Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Cuba, raised questions as to what intentions Iran has for Latin America. Ahmadinejad continues to attempt to reach out to these counties, even recently releasing an Iranian Spanish channel.

Thinking Outside the Box

rlarosa — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:58:50 +0000

Last night I attended a great event titled In Search of Accountability: Justice after Nuremberg. The panel discussion, organized by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, focused on international justice and the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Michael Abramowitz, director of the Committee on Conscience at the museum, guided the discussion so that the three panelists would focus on the questions most significant to global justice: Are the mechanisms established in the first war crimes tribunals enough to deliver justice to perpetrators today? Since the Nuremberg trials, what new strategies have emerged?

Obama Stands Up for International Affairs Funding at Google+ Hangout

jstrasser — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:02:15 +0000

Monday night President Obama participated in the first Presidential virtual interview ever! This Google+ Hangout event was part of the White House's continued public outreach following the State of the Union Address last Tuesday. Since the president's address last week, the White House has been requesting that people send in questions via all forms of social media, and has been holding Twitter interviews with many of the senior administration officials. This Hangout was the culmination of that week, and it turned out to be a great moment for foreign policy!

Facing a Nuclear Iran

cblake — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:32:47 +0000

The Center for National Policy recently hosted a panel discussion on the future of Iran's nuclear program and U.S. options in face of a nuclear armed Iran. Iran's nuclear energy program was originally developed through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Their program has expanded over the years, and eventually resulted in suspicions about Iran's plans for developing nuclear weapons. Many years and IAEA Board of Governors meetings later, sanctions have been imposed on Iran and many other international actions have been taken in response to the country's enrichment activities. Panelists at the discussion indicated that Iran has not yet decided if it will pursue nuclear weapons, but the past two U.S. administrations have stated that a nuclear Iran is not an option.

Syria: A Game of Politics

aweaver — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:32:08 +0000

"No chance, no chance, no chance...ever," said Vitaly I. Churkin, Russian envoy to the United Nations Security Council, in response to whether or not Russia would ever support economic sanctions in Syria.

Gaddafi's Son Creates a New Conflict, ICC vs Libya

rlarosa — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:06:49 +0000

Although the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for him, Court judges have not yet decided whether the trial of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi will take place in The Hague or Libya. UN Security Council referred the case to ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, followed by the warrant for Saif in June 2011. After months of violence and the death of Moammar Gaddafi (Saif's father), Libyan officials are pushing to hold Saif's trial in their own country and refuse to hand over Gaddafi to the Court or even inform prosecutors of his location. This is causing confusion in the media and showcasing the lack of cooperation between non-member nations and the ICC.

An Insider's View of the #SOTU

jbunting — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:38:18 +0000

The Tweet-Up was an amazing opportunity to actively participate in the State of the Union address! To give a brief recap, the speech heavily focused on the economy and job creation through American innovation. In fact, the President only devoted 13% of his address to international affairs, astounding considering the United States and the world are facing many global challenges.

Two Julias Tweet-Up at the White House

jstrasser — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:35:24 +0000

Just six months ago I was not a huge social media user, and never dreamed that Twitter would turn out to be my ticket to the White House. My coworker Julia Bunting and I were invited to watch the State of the Union address at the White House in a room full of advocacy tweeters, and then participated in a live discussion with senior Administration officials afterwards. The live “Tweet-Up” was an amazing experience and I wanted to give you a glimpse of the action.