Below, please find the latest articles to have appeared in print and electronic media about CSIS and its experts. For your reference, there is also a link to archived media coverage of CSIS.
Derek Mitchell, a senior fellow with the CSIS International Security Program, was quoted by US News and World Report, "Political Obstacles Slow Disaster Aid for Myanmar."
Myanmar's deep reluctance to admit the additional teams left a small number of aid workers already in the country struggling to cobble together deliveries of food and water to as many as 1 million people left homeless. "This regime is extremely paranoid and isolated and xenophobic," says Derek Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The prospect of having all kinds of people from all over the world doing work they cannot really control or even monitor is troubling to them." The U.S. military offered to send Navy ships to aid in relief efforts. But the regime in Myanmar might not find that to be a reassuring offer, particularly after listening to years of senior U.S. officials' condemnations of the country's military leaders. "Even under the best of circumstances, nations that know the United States is out to get them would be suspicious," says Mitchell.Read more
May 7
Frank Verrastro, director of the CSIS Energy and National Security Program, was quoted by Reuters, "Senate Democrats Unveil New Energy Tax Plan."
Democrats in the Senate on Wednesday unveiled a new energy package that would revoke $17 billion in tax breaks extended to big oil companies like Exxon Mobil Corp and slap a 25 percent windfall profits tax on firms that don't invest in new energy sources. The day that U.S. oil prices hit an all-time peak of $123.93 a barrel, Democrats moved to act on soaring gasoline pump prices, which are a growing political liability in the November presidential election. "It's placate and pander and point the finger - that's where the politics are going right now," said Frank Verrastro, an energy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Somebody has got to tighten their belt." Read the article
May 6
Michael Green, a CSIS senior advisor, was quoted by the Los Angeles Times, "Cyclone Death Toll Could Top 10,000, Myanmar Says."
he government of Myanmar said today that the death toll from a weekend cyclone would surpass 10,000, with potentially hundreds of thousands of people left homeless. The new toll marked a sharp escalation from the previous official tally of 351. Mike Green, a former National Security Council expert on Asia, said in an interview that it was unclear whether the cyclone would provide an opportunity for the United States to engage Myanmar, because "the government has been hermit-like." "This will be a real test case," said Green, who is a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, adding that any acceptance of U.S. assistance "would be significant." Read the article
May 6
Michael Green, a CSIS senior adviser, was quoted by United Press International, "Aid Programs Ready to Help Myanmar."
The Myanmar government says more people were killed by a tidal wave sweeping away entire villages than by the monster cyclone triggering the wall of water. The weekend cyclone's destruction forced the military junta ruling Myanmar, formerly Burma, to reluctantly accept international aid and foreign humanitarian workers to supply food, water and shelter, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.Mike Green, a former National Security Council expert on Asia, told the Times it was unclear whether the cyclone would thaw relations between the United States and the isolationist Myanmar military leadership."This will be a real test case," said Green, a senior adviser at the Washington think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies. Accepting U.S. assistance "would be significant."Read the article
May 6
Michael Green, a CSIS senior adviser, was quoted by the Associated Press, "First Lady Ever Prominent as Diplomat."
When President Bush spoke Tuesday about the U.S. response to the killer cyclone in Myanmar, first lady Laura Bush was standing right behind him in the Oval Office. But really, she was the one out front. Mrs. Bush presided in the White House briefing room one day before the president spoke on the devastation in South Asia. She blistered military leaders in Myanmar as being "very inept" for repressing citizens and decimating an economy, and urged them to accept humanitarian aid to help a shaken nation recover. The Myanmar example shows how Mrs. Bush can make a difference on foreign affairs, said Mike Green, a former senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council under President Bush. In one fell swoop, she can take on an issue that is not bitterly divisive at home, empower democracy efforts in Myanmar and lobby first ladies in Asia during her travels. Washington bureaucrats also know to make Myanmar a priority when they might not otherwise. "They know it's from her lips to the president's ears without anyone getting in between," said Green, who is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Read the article
Arnaud de Borchgrave, a CSIS senior advisor, published a commentary in the United Press International, "From riches to rags."
Globalization was supposed to lift all boats, some faster than others. And the proliferation of democracies around the world would put the seal of good government on this peaceful process. But globalization has also spawned multiple uncertainties. Players improvise the rules as they go along. Hedge funds and derivatives have left government regulators in the dust. And the middle classes see their standard of living heading south. A plethora of books by geopolitical heavyweights is now ringing alarm bells. In "The Return of History and the End of Dreams," Robert Kagan says we are now back in a world of clashing national ambitions and interests, closer to the 19th century than to the 1990s.Read the article
May 5
Dr. Simon Serfaty, the CSIS Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, had his book Architects of Delusion: Europe, America, and the Iraq War, reviewed by Foreign Affairs.
Serfaty, an expert on Europe and U.S. foreign policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Old Dominion University, brings a historical perspective to this study of transatlantic relations in regard to the Iraq war. Drawing on an intimate knowledge of postwar European history, he sees continuities with the past in the way key players on both sides approached the issue: France, for example, concluding that it could maximize its influence by standing up to the United States and the United Kingdom trying to do so by standing alongside it. But there were also discontinuities. Serfaty is as unsparing in his criticism of Germany's unilateralism -- a sharp break with German tradition -- as he is in his criticism of the Bush administration. Less a narrative about the Iraq diplomacy than an essay about the strategic cultures on both sides of the Atlantic, Architects of Delusion is marked by the author's palpable regret that neither European nor U.S. leaders put the premium on transatlantic (and intra-European) solidarity, which he believes is both necessary and possible. Serfaty rejects the popular thesis that Europe and the United States are inevitably growing apart, but the sad tale he tells in this book will leave readers wondering whether the transatlantic alliance that existed before the Iraq war can really be restored.Read more
May 5
James Lewis, director of the CSIS Technology and Public Policy Program, was quoted by Defense News, "General: EU, NATO, Need Better Tech Cooperation."
NATO and the European Union need to work more effectively toward defense technology cooperation because current military committee meetings aren't producing "much added value to the capability process," Norwegian Rear Adm. Jorgen Berrgrav of NATO's Allied Command Transformation said May 5. Berrgrav spoke as part of a trans-Atlantic teleconference in Washington and Brussels on the future of defense cooperation between the European Union and NATO. "The EU is under-investing across the board," said Jim Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. But many innovations that will become increasingly important - robotics, new power sources, sensor developments - come from European companies, he said. There is therefore a possibility for Europe "to speed up itself." Read the Article
May 4
Anthony Cordesman, the CSIS Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, was quoted by the Washington Post, "U.S. Seeks Contractors to Train Iraqi Military."
U.S. commanders in Iraq are for the first time seeking private contractors to form part of the small military teams that train and live with Iraqi military units across the country, according to a notice for prospective bidders published last week. The solicitation, issued by the Joint Contracting Command in Baghdad, says the individuals that a contractor recruits — who would include former members of the U.S. Special Forces and ex-Iraqi army officers — will be trained in the United States with military transition teams (MiTTs) and shipped as a single team to Iraq. The recruits will live on Iraqi military bases "under Iraqi living conditions and participate with MiTT special operations and convoy duties," the solicitation says. Anthony H. Cordesman, a former Pentagon official and now a scholar with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, described the new effort as an understandable step, given the current stresses facing the U.S. military. "There is a lot of pressure on the active Army, and during this transition period where the military is converting to noncombat roles, a shift to contractors as trainers for the expanding Iraqi military is a natural step." He added, however, that the outcome "depends on the quality of those the contractors recruit." Read the article
May 4
Jon Alterman, director of the CSIS Middle East Program, was quoted by the Washington Post, "Analysts Divided on Clinton's Arab Defense Plan."
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) has ratcheted up her rhetoric against Iran, pledging recently to extend U.S. nuclear protection to friendly Arab nations against Iran's nuclear ambitions and asserting that if Tehran considers attacking Israel, "we would be able to totally obliterate them." The Iranian government lashed out last week in response, with an Iranian diplomat at the United Nations condemning Clinton's statement as "provocative, unwarranted and irresponsible." In a letter to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Iran's deputy U.N. ambassador, Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi, also referred to Clinton's threat as a "flagrant violation" of the U.N. Charter. Clinton's campaign dismissed the letter. Jon B. Alterman, a Middle East specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, called Clinton's proposal "a lose-lose-lose proposition." Alterman, who is not affiliated with any candidate, said: "I don't think it changes Iranian thinking. I don't think it changes Arab thinking. And it obligates the United States and puts U.S. decision making in a corner without any appreciable benefit." Read the article
May 4
Anthony Cordesman, the CSIS Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, had an op-ed published in the New York Times, "Make an Orderly Exit."
IF the United States is to succeed in Iraq, if the Bush administration is to manage a credible transition to the next president and if there is to be any hope of a bipartisan approach to the war there, we need a clear plan to move forward. Good plans cannot guarantee the future, but they can provide good options. Over the next few years, the United States should seek to decrease its forces from the 15 combat brigades planned for July to no more than five, and reduce their role to a largely advisory one. This would largely eliminate the heavy loss in lives and reduce the cost of the war from $12 billion a month during the peak of the surge in 2007 to about $12 billion a year.Read the article
May 3
Julianne Smith, director of the CSIS Europe Program, was quoted by the New York Times, "Pentagon Considers Adding Forces in Afghanistan."
The Pentagon is considering sending as many as 7,000 more American troops to Afghanistan next year to make up for a shortfall in contributions from NATO allies, senior Bush administration officials said. They said the step would push the number of American forces there to roughly 40,000, the highest level since the war began more than six years ago, and would require at least a modest reduction in troops from Iraq. The planning began in recent weeks, reflecting a growing resignation to the fact that NATO is unable or unwilling to contribute more troops despite public pledges of an intensified effort in Afghanistan from the presidents and prime ministers who attended an alliance summit meeting in Bucharest, Romania, last month. Julianne Smith, director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a nonpartisan policy institute, said the meeting did not live up to the expectations or the public celebration during the session. “If you look at what the NATO commanders got, it’s hard to see the silver lining,” she said.Read the article
May 2
Frank Verrastro, director of the CSIS Energy and National Security Program, was quoted by the Wall Street Journal, "Exxon's $10.89 Billion Net Disappoints Investors, Fuels Gathering Political Storm."
Exxon Mobil Corp.'s $10.89 billion first-quarter profit report Thursday ranks as one of the biggest hauls in U.S. corporate history. But the results disappointed Wall Street and added to concerns about the future of the industry. Exxon, the world's biggest non-government controlled oil company by market capitalization, notched a 17.3% increase in profit over the year-earlier period largely from the surge in oil prices, which set new records earlier this year. Yet the earnings discouraged investors, who at one point sent Exxon shares down as much as 5.1% in intraday composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the stock's ...Read the article
May 2
Michael Green, a CSIS senior adviser, was quoted by the New York Times, "Stores Hint at Change Under New Castro."
Can a rice maker possibly be revolutionary?There they were, piled up one atop another, Chinese-made rice makers selling for $70 each. Beside them, sleek DVD players. Across the well-stocked electronics store were computers and televisions and other household appliances that President Raúl Castro recently decreed ought to be made available to average Cubans, or at least those who could afford them."Is it possible for Raúl Castro to move beyond the cult of personality of his brother Fidel, who is in the same league with Mao?" asked Michael Green, a former Bush administration Asia specialist who is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Cuba could turn out to be more like North Korea, Mr. Green said, which undertook market-oriented reforms in 2002 that brought little change in the grim conditions there.Read the article
May 2
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by Bloomberg, "Bolivian Autonomy Vote May Undercut Morales, Spark Violence."
Bolivia's wealthiest province votes this weekend on whether to back autonomy from the central government in a vote President Evo Morales says is "illegal" and backed by a "radical" opposition. Voters in the eastern province of Santa Cruz, where the country's natural gas industry is based, cast ballots May 4 on a statute for more control over security, energy and farming policies in a challenge to central government rule.[...] "This is a real challenge to the government and to Morales's skills as a leader," said Peter DeShazo, director of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.Read the article
May 2
David Pumphrey, deputy director of the CSIS Energy and National Security Program, was quoted by the Christian Science Monitor, "What Has Driven Up Oil Prices."
The recipe for record US gasoline prices goes like this: Take a tight oil supply and growing world demand. Add a falling dollar and lots of investment money flowing into oil and other commodities. Finish with market turbulence caused by the annual switch from winter to summer gasoline blends. The result: an average US retail price for regular of more than $3.60 a gallon. [...] "Since 2000, we have hit a more mature period in terms of supply. At the same time, we've had the demand shock come into play," says David Pumphrey, deputy director of the energy and national security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Read the article
Arnaud de Borchgrave, a CSIS senior advisor, published a commentary in the Washington Times, "Mirrors and misconceptions."
Every lie contains a truth and every truth contains a lie is a safe rule of thumb when Shakespeare's powers of observation are applied to the Middle East. With each shake of the kaleidoscope, the configuration of the key players becomes a wilderness of mirrors. Add to the mix a whispering campaign in which rumors and innuendo are spread to conceal ulterior motives, and sorting fact from fancy is frequently mission impossible. Good disinformation contains a kernel of truth spun with a tissue of lies.Read the commentary
May 1
Michael Green, a CSIS Senior Adviser, was quoted by The Economist, "North Korea and Syria: Oh What a Tangled Web They Weave."
Judging by its past behaviour, North Korea would do pretty much anything for cash; there are suspicions that it helped the Khan network supply nuclear material to Libya. That said, providing engineers and designs for Syria's reactor may chiefly have been meant to tweak America's nose, says Michael Green, a former Bush administration official now at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a think-tank in Washington, DC. The Bush administration and North Korea fell out badly in 2002 over charges that Kim Jong Il's regime had secretly been trying to enrich uranium (also a potential bomb ingredient) while plutonium production was frozen by a previous agreement. The following year North Korea privately threatened to expand its “deterrent”, test it (which it later did) and even sell it. With little to export beyond counterfeit currency, drugs and crises, says Mr Green, North Korea used Syria to up the ante—and the expected compensation for later agreeing to desist. Read more
May 1
Frank Verrastro, director of the CSIS Energy and National Security Program, was quoted by the Associated Press, "Proposals to Slash Gas Prices Abound in White House Race."
Get rid of the federal gas tax — at least for the summer. Tax Big Oil to help the rest of us out. Get drilling in that Alaska refuge. Soaring gasoline prices are suddenly the nation's No. 1 crisis, and all the presidential candidates are offering cures. Never mind that economists and energy experts see little value in such measures, at least in the short run. Or that even some top congressional leaders are raising eyebrows. It's election season, and presidential contenders and other politicians are jumping on the bandwagon. "I think we are in a political crazy time. Some of this stuff being proposed borders on the irresponsible," said Frank Verrastro, director of the energy and national security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In particular, said Verrastro, the talk of suspending the federal 18.4-cents per gallon federal tax on gasoline and 24.4-cents per gallon tax on diesel fuel during the summer driving season "is just absurd. Economics 101 will tell you if you cut the price, you increase demand. That means you tighten the market. Then the price goes back up. It goes to oil companies." Read the article
May 1
Jon Alterman, director of the CSIS Middle East Program, appeared on CNN's Situation Room, "Iran Calls Clinton's Comments 'Provocative' and 'Irresponsible.'"
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And to our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, a president dragged down by war -- five years after that so-called "Mission Accomplished" speech, President Bush faces historic disapproval. Disapproval of a different kind for Hillary Clinton. We're going to show you what's behind Iranian outrage at her and a complaint that's actually been leveled over at the United Nations against her.[...] JON ALTERMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: I don't think anybody is sure how to deal with Iran. And the fact is, Iran has a presidential election of its own coming up in June 2009. And that may change the tone.Read the transcript
Arnaud de Borchgrave, a CSIS senior advisor, published a commentary in the United Press International, "Commentary: Wilderness of mirrors."
"Every lie contains a truth and every truth contains a lie" is a safe rule of thumb when Shakespeare's powers of observation are applied to the Middle East. With each shake of the kaleidoscope, the configuration of the key players becomes a wilderness of mirrors. Add to the mix a whispering campaign in which rumors and innuendo are spread to conceal ulterior motives, and sorting fact from fancy is frequently mission impossible. Good disinformation contains a kernel of truth spun with a tissue of lies. Even if you understand the game, there is still no Rosetta Stone that can decipher the Middle East's geopolitical hieroglyphics. Read the commentary
April 30
Rick Barton, Teresita Schaffer, Gerald Hyman, and Karin Von Hippel, were quoted by the Associated Press of Pakistan, "Pakistani Leadership Can Bring Far-Reaching Reforms Through Political Will."
The Pakistani leadership can enact far-reaching democratic reforms through demonstration of political will as February 18 polls have produced a unique opportunity for such a transformation, US experts returning from a just-concluded visit to the country said. The experts, who belong to various Washington think tanks, interacted with a cross-section of the Pakistani society and found a widespread desire for democratic progress and reforms at this defining moment for the nation. [...] Ambassador Teresita Schaffer, who had several diplomatic assignments in South Asia in her career, sparked the discussion with observation that Pakistan is in a “moment of transition” and that by virtue of staying power of the new government, there may be “greater potential for remedying institutional problems.” [...] Rick Barton, who specializes in International Security Programme at the CSIS, said he found the Pakistanis oozing confidence about the fact that they see a real turning point in the current moment. “The Pakistani leaders want to do things, they feel since the public is backing them, they can deliver—the public leaders are now having a higher degree of responsibility, some are even performing beyond expectations,” he said, citing the new government leaders getting down to business in various fields. [...] Gerald Hyman, president of the CSIS’s Hills Programme on Governance concluded from his wide-ranging interactions that “support for democracy is quite deep among Pakistanis and there is a broad support for going back to 1973 Constitution.” [...] Karin Von Hippel, a senior fellow at the CSIS, said as stated by Pakistanis, the objective behind the pacts approach is to isolate foreign terrorist elements. She noted there is skepticism about the outcome of peace deals with militants in the United States because of the past experiences. However, she said, Washington should work cooperatively with Pakistan and help develop greater expertise of the South Asian country in curbing terrorism. Read the article
The CSIS Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency was the basis for an article in Government Computer News, "Experts Struggle with Cybersecurity Agenda."
Whoever becomes our next president will inherit a cyber infrastructure under almost constant attack and at greater risk than eight years ago, and a handful of experts and legislators have come together to ensure that cybersecurity has a high priority in his or her administration. The Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency, set up in November by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, held the second of five planned public meetings Monday to hear recommendations on issues of information security, identity theft and government leadership.Read more
Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, a CSIS senior associate, was quoted by Reuters, "Gates Urges Congress to Avoid 'Slap' at Mexico."
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday urged Congress to approve a $500 million anti-drug program for Mexico, saying not to do so would be "a slap" against a crucial neighbor beset by drug violence. Gates, only the second U.S. defense chief ever to visit Mexico, told reporters that U.S. congressional inaction on the program known as the Merida initiative would undermine Washington's ability to aid Mexico's counternarcotics fight. Armand Peschard-Sverdrup of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies agreed with Gates' position that U.S. congressional failure could insult Mexico. "You'll have the president of Mexico looking like he had to walk away empty handed, and that could conceivably be seen as yet another snub," he said. Read the article
April 28
Michael Green, a CSIS senior adviser, was quoted by Reuters, "Congressional Calculus Triggered Syria Disclosures."
WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - If U.S. President George W. Bush wants to make progress on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions before he leaves office next year, he first has to close the deal with the U.S. Congress."Congress has been asking for the specifics on Syria before they would agree to any sanctions lifting," said Mike Green, a former Bush administration Asia specialist now at the CSIS think tank. "The administration had no choice but to brief."Read more
April 28
A CSIS Americas Program event with Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom was quoted by the Miami Herald, "Bush Pledges Support for Guatemala."
WASHINGTON -- With his Guatemalan counterpart looking on, President Bush Monday urged Congress to approve a $550 million package of anti-drug trafficking assistance for Mexico and Central America.He has also taken a tough line against drug traffickers, telling a gathering at the Center for Strategic and International Studies that he was embarked on a ''frontal assault'' against the drug trade and cooperating with Mexico and the United States more.Read more
The CSIS Commission on Smart Power was quoted by a column in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "Business Forum: Economic Power can Help Calm Conflicts."
The federal government seems to be on hold these days as it waits for the new occupant of the White House. Regardless of who wins in November, it will be the American people, as always, who will bear the brunt of the decisions.Smart power: A relatively new term being used by the Center for Strategic and International Studies to describe how a nation wisely can use hard and soft power. It assumes that, because the world is being affected dramatically by global interdependence, its problems cannot be solved by hard power or soft power independently. The two must be integrated to work effectively with those countries that have similar interests and values. Read More
April 26
Michael Green, a CSIS senior advisor, had an op-ed published in the Boston Globe, "New Urgency in Burma."
Last summer, thousands of saffron-robed monks marched peacefully with ordinary citizens to demand freedom and justice for the 51 million people of Burma. They were shot, arrested, and tortured by the military junta that has ruled Burma since 1988, and in response the international community demanded change. The United States and Europe introduced new financial sanctions targeting the regime leadership. Burma's Southeast Asian neighbors issued an unusually harsh statement condemning the brutality. Even Chinese leaders called for "reform" and a "democratic process."Read more
April 26
Stephen Morrison, director of the CSIS Africa Program, was quoted by the Washington Post, "U.S. Scrambles to Address International Food Crisis."
The Bush administration and Congress have been caught flat-footed by rapidly escalating global food prices and are scrambling to respond to a crisis that they increasingly view as a threat to U.S. national security, according to government officials, congressional staffers and human rights experts. [ . . .] J. Stephen Morrison, head of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the United States deserves credit for its generosity but should do far more in the current crisis. He and other experts said an outpouring of assistance could help repair the country's image in the wake of the Iraq war and other international controversies. Read More
Jon Wolfsthal, a senior fellow with the CSIS International Security Program, was quoted by Agence France Presse, "U.S. Says it Does Not Trust North Korea."
A day after accusing North Korea of helping Syria build a covert nuclear reactor, the United States said Friday it did not trust the hardline communist state, which is negotiating to end its atomic weapons drive. "They can effectively argue that 'we don't need North Korea to provide a declaration (of its proliferation) because we already know what they have done with Syria and then perhaps it can be deemphasized in the negotiations," said Jon Wolfsthal, a weapons expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. Read More
April 25
Anthony Cordesman, the CSIS Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, was quoted by the Christian Science Monitor, "With Syria 'Reactor' Video, U.S. Sends a Warning."
Washington - US intelligence officials have a message for potential nuclear proliferators: We're watching you, and we see more than you think. "This is very striking data to make public. It's clearly intended as a broader message to both the Syrian and North Korean governments," says Anthony Cordesman, a senior military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. It is also possible that the US is sending a warning to Iran, says Mr. Cordesman. If Syria was developing a nuclear-weapons program, it would need fissile fuel for the reactor, a means of processing spent fuel, and design help, as well as the reactor itself. Read more
April 25
Anthony Cordesman, the CSIS Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, was quoted by the USA Today, "Mideast Peace Quest Test Endurance."
WASHINGTON — President Bush wrapped up two days of meetings with key Middle East leaders Thursday as he prepares for his second trip to the region this year in search of an increasingly elusive Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.Anthony Cordesman, a senior military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a broad agreement isn't possible without addressing specific issues such as the borders of a Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees and Israeli security. "Where every square meter counts, nobody on either side can talk about broad, sweeping goals. Everything gets down to specifics," he said. "Is there any sign that we have made major substantive progress towards peace? The answer is 'no.' "Read more
April 25
Jon Alterman, director of the CSIS Middle East Program, was quoted by the Los Angeles Times, "Bush Wants a Deal on Palestinian State By End of Term."
WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Thursday that he wanted to lock in the outlines of a Palestinian state before he left office, even as Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, said the road was "paved with obstacles." "Mahmoud Abbas has to not only convince the Palestinians he can get things from the Israelis and the Americans, but that he can get more than any other Palestinian leader. I don't think he has made that case," said Jon B. Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank. Alterman also is a former member of the State Department policy planning staff.Read more
April 25
Jon Alterman, director of the CSIS Middle East Program, was quoted by the New York Times, "Bush Meets Abbas, but Criticizes Plans for Trip."
WASHINGTON — As he prepares for his second trip this year to the Middle East, President Bush is facing mounting criticism from some Palestinians who are upset that he will go to Israel for its 60th birthday celebration without marking the flip side of that event: the flight of Palestinians from their homes.Jon Alterman, an expert on the Middle East at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said, “You’re certainly adding insult to injury when you travel to Israel, and the Palestinians have to travel to Egypt to see you.”Read more
A CSIS Statesmen's Forum with U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey was quoted by the Washington Post, "Justice Dept. Sees Surge in Global Crime Networks."
At least three times this year, from a computer station in Romania, a hacker nicknamed Vladuz posed as an eBay customer service representative in a bid to steal sensitive information from Americans who visited the popular auction Web site. The man, part of a fraud ring controlled by a foreign criminal syndicate, was captured by Romanian police last week with the help of agents from the FBI and the Secret Service. Justice Department officials cited the case of Vladuz, also known as Vlad Duiculescu, to sound an alarm yesterday about a resurgence in organized crime that recognizes no national borders. Speaking to an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey offered praise for the successful efforts by Robert F. Kennedy decades ago to break the back of the Italian American mafia but told listeners that the current threat from international syndicates poses even greater challenges. Read the article
April 24
Nathan Freier, a senior fellow with the CSIS International Security Program, was quoted by the Chicago Tribune, "Bush Elevates Petraeus to Run Both Wars."
WASHINGTON — With the decision announced Wednesday to elevate Gen. David Petraeus to lead the U.S. Central Command and Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno to succeed Petraeus as the commander in Iraq, the Bush administration laid the groundwork for the next president with a pair of generals who have spoken sternly about Iran and cautioned against pulling out of Iraq too quickly.Army Lt. Col. Nathan Freier, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said it was logical to promote Petraeus and Odierno to keep the "momentum" of the security gains in Iraq since the troop buildup was implemented last year.Read more
April 24
Nathan Freier, a senior fellow with the CSIS International Security Program, was quoted by the Washington Post, "Bush Nominates Patraeus to Lead Central Command."
Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq and the public face of the war effort there, became President Bush's nominee yesterday to supervise U.S. military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia as head of Central Command, putting him in position to oversee American strategy in Iraq for years to come. "Petraeus has the opportunity to hand off with confidence and expand his area of control and responsibility," said Lt. Col. Nathan P. Freier, a former adviser to Odierno in Iraq.Read more
April 24
Frank Verrastro, director of the CSIS Energy and National Security Program, was quoted by Reuters, "U.S. Arms Sales to OPEC at Risk over Oil -- Senators."
Democrats in the U.S. Senate stepped up their attacks on OPEC oil producers on Thursday, threatening to block billions of dollars in arms sales to suppliers such as Saudi Arabia if they fail to take action to tame record oil prices. Tying oil prices to arms sales could motivate Middle East producers to seek cozier arms-for-oil agreements with countries such as Russia and China, said Frank Verrastro, an energy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Read More
April 23
A CSIS Statesmen’s Forum with U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey was quoted by Reuters, "'Mobsters Without Borders' are Global Threat: U.S."
Crime groups operating as "mobsters without borders" have gained significant footholds in global markets and provide logistic support to terrorists, the United States said on Wednesday. Launching a campaign against such international criminals, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said they were more adaptable and sophisticated than La Cosa Nostra and other syndicates the U.S. government set out to defeat half a century ago. "These international criminals pose real national security threats to this country," Mukasey said in a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. He cited recent cases, many with links to the former Soviet bloc.Read the article
A CSIS Statesmen's Forum with U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey was quoted by the Los Angeles Times, "Attorney General Targeting International Organized Crime."
Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey offered a stark assessment Wednesday of a rising threat from international organized crime, saying that a new breed of mobsters around the world was infiltrating strategic industries, providing logistical support to terrorists and becoming capable of "creating havoc in our economic infrastructure." Launching one of his first new law enforcement initiatives since becoming attorney general last fall, Mukasey said he recently revived a multiagency group first established in the Johnson administration with the goal of identifying the most urgent organized crime threats around the world and developing strategies to combat them. Read the article
Anthony Cordesman, the CSIS Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, was quoted by the USA Today, "Iraq Frees, Pardons Detainees."
Mohammed Hussain Ghafur dabbed his watery eyes moments after his two young sons jumped into his waiting arms. In the 20 months he languished in jail without charges, this had been his dream. His crime? Ghafur, 37, says he sold a car that was later used in a terrorist bombing. "They traced the address to me, and that was it," he said. He says he cooperated with police after he was arrested by U.S.-led coalition forces, but despite his pleas, "they never allowed me to defend myself or see a lawyer." Last summer's U.S. troop increase or "surge," which packed coalition and Iraqi jails, also poses a headache for those whose job is to hold them, says Anthony Cordesman, an Iraq expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "Overcrowded facilities filled with a mix of real insurgents, part-timers and the innocent … become breeding grounds and training centers for the insurgency," he said. "The amnesty and release procedures are probably doing more good than harm, but much depends on what happens when young men return home."Read the article
April 22
Christine Wormuth, a senior fellow with the CSIS International Security Program, was quoted by the Washington Post, "Military Waivers for Ex-Convicts Increase."
The Army admitted about one-fourth more recruits last year with a record of legal problems ranging from felony convictions and serious misdemeanors to drug crimes and traffic offenses, as pressure to increase the size of U.S. ground forces led the military to grant more waivers for criminal conduct, according to new data released yesterday."It is absolutely an important indicator," said Christine Wormuth, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "But," she added, "it won't mean 100 more Hadithas or cases of soldier abuse," referring to the November 2005 killing of as many as two dozen civilians by Marines in Haditha, Iraq. Read more
April 22
Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, a CSIS senior associate, was quoted by the Dallas Morning News, "Calderon Lauds Immigrants Contribution to U.S. Economy."
In signaling the contribution of Mexicans, Mr. Calderon is using a preemptive strategy aimed at "offsetting what might be a growing anti-Mexican sentiment in a country that's navigating through some hard, difficult economic times," said Armand Peschard Sverdrup, a Washington-based political consultant at Peschard & Associates. "There is a risk of a sharpening of anti-immigration sentiment in this country and up to now, that side of the story has yet to be heard in this country because nobody has been very effective in communicating that message." Read more
Kathleen Hicks, a senior fellow with the CSIS International Security Program, was quoted by the Christian Science Monitor, "A New U.S. Focus on Nation-Building."
George W. Bush resisted calls to do nation-building during his 2000 campaign, but eight years later, his cabinet is making fundamental changes to reorganize the way the American government can prop up countries around the world. As the US spends billions to build the military and governance capacity of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush administration finds it has no choice but to support such efforts in other emerging countries. "I would argue that what it will do over time is just continue to emasculate the civilian agencies," says Kathleen Hicks, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington. "[The State Department] is never going to be able to compete with money and people, and if the mission goes, then you'll continue to rely on the military." Read the article
April 22
The CSIS Cohen-Nunn Dialogues was the basis of a column by Scripps-Howard News Service, "Improving America Abroad from Within."
In an age of terrorism when strong, trusted leadership is essential, America's global image has plunged to depths that were unthinkable even a few years ago. So, today we present the results of an urgent investigative quest for new, super-smart weapons and ways to restore the United States' worldwide reputation. Naturally, we hit all the best sources: A former Defense Secretary, a former Senate Armed Services Chairman, a former Marine general -- and a suburban Washington D.C. dentist whose office has a brand new slide show in a picture frame. Our first stop was George Washington University, where a prestigious think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, gathered former Defense Secretary William Cohen, former Senate Armed Services Chairman Sam Nunn, the former commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, Pew Research Center President Andrew Kohut and CNN chief diplomatic correspondent Christiane Amanpour. This was the first of a series of what is billed as the "Cohen-Nunn Dialogues,'' discussions on new national directions. Read More
April 21
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the Associated Press, "Bush's Final North American Summit."
President Bush is tending to his country's relationship with Canada and Mexico one last time, trumpeting trade over the "scare tactics" of economic isolation. Bush joins Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon today in New Orleans for his fourth and final North American Leaders' Summit. [...] "The progress tends to be incremental, and therefore is not widely understood," said Peter DeShazo, a top State Department official for Western Hemisphere affairs during Bush's first term. "But in the big picture, there's a more coherent relationship." Read the article
April 21
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by Agence France Press, "North American Leaders to Meet on NAFTA."
The leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States will meet here Monday for an annual summit on the North American Free Trade Agreement, amid sharp criticism of the pact in the US presidential race. As US President George W. Bush meets with his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in New Orleans, US workers' unions and the Democratic White House hopefuls have lambasted NAFTA. [...] "The leaders will probably use the event to underscore the importance of NAFTA at a time when the agreement is coming under fire from the Democratic candidates in the primary race," said Peter DeShazo at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Read the article
April 21
Anthony Cordesman, the CSIS Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, was quoted by Reuters, "Experts: Iraq's Sadr Can Not Be Defeated by Force."
Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr says the next step is "open war". The U.S.-backed government shows no sign of backing down. Suddenly, after many months in which the news from Iraq has been mostly about falling violence, the country is reeling towards a rebellion by millions of Sadr's followers against a government crackdown on his black-masked Mehdi Army militia. [...] "It is important to note... that the Sadrists did not win any previous clashes with (U.S. and British forces), have not won any significant clashes in this round of fighting, seem to have lost in Basra and have not had any overt Iranian encouragement and support," Cordesman said in an e-mail. Read the article
April 21
Arnaud de Borchgrave, a CSIS senior advisor, published a commentary in the United Press International, "Not by bread alone."
WASHINGTON, April 21 (UPI) -- With the world consuming more food than it produces and global grain stocks at their lowest in 30 years, food prices are soaring from Indonesia to Indiana. Some experts called it the perfect storm and others a tsunami. More intense and more frequent weather disasters put an increasing number of people at risk of hunger. Food riots broke out in widely scattered parts of the world, even hounding the Haitian prime minister out of office. The global food crisis has a common denominator with the still unfolding subprime mortgage debacle whose losses the International Monetary Fund now estimates at $1.1 trillion: greed. Predatory lending coupled with criminal profiteering was behind the subprime mess. It is the largest loss of wealth in modern U.S. history. And greed also played a big part in the pell-mell rush to move land out of food production and into ethanol biofuels. Corn at $6 a bushel is up 30 percent in four months. Wheat prices jumped 130 percent in a year, and wheat stocks are at their lowest in 60 years. Globally, rice hit historical levels, partly driven by Australia's six years of drought.Read the commentary
April 21
Anthony Cordesman, the CSIS Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, was quoted by Reuters, "U.S. Risks Deepening Role in Iraqi Shi'ite Feud."
he Bush administration's support for the Iraqi government crackdown on Shi'ite militias risks drawing the United States into a dangerous confrontation between rival Shi'ite sects, analysts warn. Washington has billed the security operation launched last month by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as a defining battle for Iraq between the rule of law and Iranian-backed outlaw militias dubbed by U.S. officials as "special groups" that thrive as criminal syndicates. "The great uncertainty is just how much this Shi'ite power struggle is going to be violent and how much will end up with elements the U.S. can work with," said Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Read the article
April 21
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by Agence France Press, "North American Leaders Meet on NAFTA."
The leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States were meeting here Monday for an annual summit with the North American Free Trade Agreement taking center stage, amid criticism of the pact in the US presidential race. As US President George W. Bush meets with his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, US unions and Democratic White House hopefuls have lambasted the three countries' free trade agreement. [...]"The leaders will probably use the event to underscore the importance of NAFTA at a time when the agreement is coming under fire from the Democratic candidates in the primary race," said Peter DeShazo at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Read the article
Derek Mitchell, a senior fellow with the CSIS International Security Program, was quoted by the Washington Post, "Bush, S. Korean President Suggest More Patience with Kim Jong Il."
President Bush and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak urged patience yesterday in nuclear talks with North Korea, arguing that recent concessions proposed by the United States could lead to tangible progress in stalled negotiations with Pyongyang. Bush and Lee, appearing at the U.S. presidential retreat at Camp David, sought to tamp down criticism from many of Bush's fellow Republicans, who say the United States is yielding too much ground in six-nation negotiations with the North Korean government. [...] But Derek J. Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Lee's focus on issues such as the beef pact and visa waivers suggests he is "laying the groundwork" for relations with the next U.S. president. "I think he's looking a bit past this administration," Mitchell said. "He's saying, 'We're back as an ally, and we're going to change as a place to do business and invest.' " Read the article
April 20
Jon Alterman, director of the CSIS Middle East Program, was quoted by Reuters, "Iraq and U.S. to Urge Arabs to Boost Ties with Baghdad."
Iraq and the United States will press Arab nations to strengthen ties with the Baghdad government at a meeting in Kuwait on Tuesday at a time when Iran's influence in the war-racked country is growing. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who will attend the meeting of Iraq's neighbors, said last week she wants Arab states to shield Iraq from Iran's "nefarious influences." [...] Clashes have erupted again with the Mehdi Army militia of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, but the Iranian intervention showed Tehran's clout in Iraq, said Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington thinktank. "It is not coincidental that the Iranian president travelled to Iraq in a visit that was announced long in advance or that the Iranians were deeply involved in the ceasefire with the Mehdi Army," Alterman said. Read the article
April 20
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the Houston Chronicle, "Trade Talk of Summit, But Controversy Looms."
With free trade issues looming large in the race to replace him, President Bush this week convenes his final North American Leaders' Summit, focusing on trade, economic and security issues with counterparts from Mexico and Canada. Bush is hosting Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in New Orleans for a two-day conference starting today. It is the fourth annual meeting of a summit that first convened in 2005 in Waco. [...] "I think in general there is a high level of coordination and consultation," said Peter DeShazo, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "There are always bilateral issues that are points of discord because variables in relationships are so great ... (but) the overall importance of the relationships is considerable." Read the article
April 20
A CSIS Statesmen’s Forum H.E. Samir Sumada’ie, Iraqi Ambassador to the United States, was quoted by Bloomberg, "Rice Plans to Press Allies, Neighbors, to Support Iraq."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will urge Iraq's neighbors and Arab allies this week to bolster their diplomatic support of Baghdad, arguing that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is making progress on political reconciliation. "I think it's fair to say that the neighbors could do more to live up to their obligations, because I do think the Iraqis are living up to theirs," Rice told reporters traveling with her before a refueling stop in Shannon, Ireland, on her way to Bahrain today and then on to Kuwait. Neighboring countries have "certain phobias and unrealistic expectations of Iraq," said Iraq's ambassador to the U.S., Samir Sumaida'ie, in a speech in Washington earlier this month. "Our Arab neighbors have disappointed us," he said at an event organized by the Washington-based nonprofit Center for Strategic and International Studies. "I think it's necessary for them to share some of the burden because a destabilized Iraq, a failed Iraq, would be a disaster for them." Read the article
A CSIS Africa Program event on the future of Kenya was quoted by the Washington Times, "Rivals Power Deal Fragile."
Kenya's new grand coalition government, sworn in this week to end a bloody political crisis that claimed over 1,500 lives, is just a "holding operation" that could still fail if deeper constitutional reforms are not enacted quickly, a top opposition party official said yesterday. Peter Anyang Nyongo, secretary-general of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), warned on a Washington visit that the power-sharing deal with the ruling Party of National Unity is fragile and could still break apart. "It's going to be a difficult marriage," Mr. Nyongo predicted in a briefing at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, "but the two partners have to put up with each other for the sake of the children. Once we have a new constitution, we may very well divorce." Read the article
April 18
Julianne Smith, director of the CSIS Europe Program, was quoted by the Wall Street Journal, "Bush, Brown Stress Unity Amidst Financial Tumult."
WASHINGTON -- President Bush and Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown showed a united front on a host of thorny global issues Thursday, with Mr. Brown proclaiming that the alliance between the U.S. and the United Kingdom is "stronger than ever." "For his purposes, the goal for Brown is twofold: to put a brave face on the Bush-Brown relations and talk about things like Iraq, and show that the U.S. and U.K. relationship is not in decline and we are not going through a frosty period," said Julianne Smith, director of the Europe Program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.Read more
April 18
Nathan Freier, a senior fellow with the CSIS International Security Program, was quoted by the Associated Press, "Son of Dutch Defense Chief Killed in Afghanistan."
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The son of the Dutch defense chief was killed Friday by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, and the Taliban claimed they deliberately made the young lieutenant a high-profile target.Lt. Col. Nathan Freier, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said there is an ongoing debate in the military about putting high-profile soldiers in the field. Soldiers with well-known parents often come from families with a military tradition, and holding them back can become a point of contention within the family, Freier said.Read more
April 17
Julianne Smith, director of the CSIS Europe Program, was quoted by the Associated Press, "British PM Seeks Ties with Bush, Presidential Candidates."
WASHINGTON (AP) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has not had an especially close relationship with President Bush, but he may be looking for a tighter bond with his successor, whoever that might be.''That's remarkable,'' said Julianne Smith, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Europe program. ''Few foreign leaders could secure these kinds of meetings in the middle of a campaign. That speaks to how the candidates view relations with Britain.''Read more
April 17
Brian Harding, a research associate with the International Security Program, had a commentary published by World Politics Review, "Engaging ASEAN, One Step at a Time."
In a move hailed by Southeast Asian heads of state and ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, the U.S. Senate April 9 confirmed Scot Marciel as the first U.S. ambassador for ASEAN affairs. The move comes at a key time in the development of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as an institution, after the organization adopted a landmark charter in November 2007 that, among other things, obliges member countries to appoint permanent, senior representatives to the ASEAN secretariat in Jakarta. The appointment of Marciel is a significant gesture, making the United States the first ASEAN partner country to create such a position. It also arrives on the heels of a significant U.S. pledge in February to help ASEAN's organizational evolution and suggests that the United States has recognized the importance of high-level, proactive U.S. policy toward ASEAN. This new attention is overdue. The United States has paid little notice to Southeast Asia in recent years due to more pressing concerns in the Middle East and South Asia, and with its scant attention to East Asia focused on China. During this time, the United States has gradually ceded its predominant influence in Southeast Asia as a rising China, reassertive Japan, and emerging India have moved in to become major regional players alongside it.Read the article
April 17
Arnaud de Borchgrave, a CSIS senior advisor, published a commentary in the Washington Times, "Visionary vicissitudes."
We are beginning to use words, phrases and assertions without any regard to their meaning. The predicate "Islamist extremism is the defining characteristic of the 21st century," ignores we are now in year 8 of this century — with 92 more years to go. No one can possibly know what will define our century over the next nine decades. What is now emerging in neurosciences at George Mason University or in the convergence of information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology and robotics at Arizona State University, is bound to have more of an impact on this century than Taliban's flat-Earth clerics in Pakistan and Afghanistan and al Qaeda's volunteers for suicide terrorism against modernity.Read the commentary
April 16
Arnaud de Borchgrave, a CSIS senior advisor, published a commentary in the United Press International, "Puncturing Mideast myths."
WASHINGTON, April 16 (UPI) -- To paraphrase Winston Churchill on the Battle of Britain: Never in the field of Middle Eastern reporting was so much owed by so many to so few. In fact, to one man.Martin Sieff's "Politically Incorrect Guide to the Middle East" is a superb compendium that should be required reading for anyone reporting on what diplomats prefer to call the Near East. Whether Middle or Near, it's where political correctness can kill. And no one knows this better than Sieff, a brilliant journalist with an encyclopedic knowledge and understanding of world history. Puncturing myths is one of his strong suits.Read the commentary
April 16
A CSIS Colloquium in honor of Zbigniew Brzezinksi was the basis of a column for Yahoo News, "Zbigniew Brzezinski: Master of Foreign Policy."
Suppose the nation's most brilliant and balanced foreign policy thinker were turning 80? Suppose we could listen in on what he is thinking in this turbulent era for the great ongoing experiment that is our nation? What might he be saying? First, he would tell us, almost in an echo of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "nothing to fear but fear itself," not to be afraid. "For the last 20 years, I have become aware we are living on the edge of a great challenge and calamity," he would say. "I worry about the susceptibility of our great country to demagoguery and fear. (Remember, Nazi Germany had been a democracy.) I don't want America to start redefining the world in black and white. I sense that is happening, and it worries me." Read the article
April 16
Robert Ebel, a senior adviser with the CSIS Energy and National Security Program, was quoted by the Juneau Empire, "Energy Expert to Speak on National Policy."
The Juneau World Affairs Council will host a presentation, "What U.S. Energy Policy Should Be," by Robert Ebel, head of the Energy and National Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., at 5:30 p.m. today at the Juneau Arts & Culture Center. "I've been asked to talk about what makes for a good energy policy for the U.S.," Ebel said. Ebel, who has been with CSIS for 15 years, has held leadership positions in the CIA, Interior and Energy departments, as well as directed ENSERCH Corp. and the Washington Export Council. According to the Juneau World Affairs Council, Ebel is an expert on energy and energy policy and can speak on the world oil supplies, oil prices, OPEC, energy security, imports, renewable energy and world energy supplies. Read more
April 15
Sarah Mendelson, a senior fellow with the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program, was quoted by National Journal, “The Last Dance."
President Bush had barely settled into the White House when FBI agent Robert Hanssen was unmasked as a Russian spy of 22 years' standing. The new chief executive, who had forcefully criticized Russian conduct in Chechnya during the 2000 campaign, decided to send a tough message to Moscow: Fifty Russian diplomats were expelled over the worst breach in American counterespionage in more than a generation. That was seven years and a lot of ups and downs ago. The early clarity got smudged. After Bush met Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time (and peered into the ex-KGB man's soul) in June 2001, just four months after Hanssen's arrest, he decided that the U.S. and Russia could get along quite well, actually. [...]Putin had a couple of good days. He showcased the continuity of Russian leadership with the presence of Medvedev. He demonstrated to Russia and its neighbors that the American president would come and talk to him. And he enlisted Bush's help in providing some branding for Sochi, where the Winter Olympics will be held in 2014. At a moment when protests are disrupting Olympic torch ceremonies on the road to Beijing, says Sarah Mendelson, a senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Putin gained Bush's imprimatur for Sochi, which is in the North Caucasus, not far from the ruins of Chechnya.Read the article
April 14
Arnaud de Borchgrave, a CSIS senior advisor, published a commentary in the United Press International, "92 years to go."
WASHINGTON, April 14 (UPI) -- We are beginning to use words, phrases and assertions without any regard to their meaning. The predicate "Islamist extremism is the defining characteristic of the 21st century" ignores we are now in year eight of this century -- with 92 more years to go. No one can possibly know what will define our century over the next nine decades.What is now emerging in neurosciences at George Mason University or in the convergence of information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology and robotics at Arizona State University is bound to have more of an impact on this century than the Taliban's flat-Earth clerics in Pakistan and Afghanistan and al-Qaida's volunteers for suicide terrorism against modernity. Next to the magnitude of coming scientific attractions, a Shariah-based, global-terror caliphate will hold little appeal for "volunteer" suicide bombers. An act of terrorism with weapons of mass destruction would only accelerate al-Qaida's demise.Read the commentary
April 14
A CSIS Colloquium in honor of CSIS Counselor and Trustee Zbigniew Brzezinski’s 80th birthday was cited in the Washington Times,, "Embassy Row."
It wasn't exactly a roast, but a pantheon of geostrategic A-listers turned out last week to mark the 80th birthday of former National Security Adviser and prolific author Zbigniew Brzezinski. At a packed symposium at the Mayflower Hotel organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser under the first President Bush, reminisced about the day the Soviet Union collapsed; and Henry Kissinger, secretary of state under Presidents Nixon and Ford, broke down the winners and losers in last century's Great Power Game; and CBS News correspondent Bob Schieffer interviewed Mr. Brzezinski on the strategic road ahead. Read More
Johanna Mendelson Forman, a CSIS Senior Associate, was quoted by the Wall Street Journal, "Haiti Seeks Leader to Tackle Food Prices."
After its prime minister lost his job last weekend, Haiti must find a new political leader and someone who can resolve a seemingly intractable problem: How does one of the world's poorest countries help its people overcome rising food prices? A week of riots sparked by rising prices for staples such as rice and beans led to the ouster Saturday of Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis, who was fired by opposition senators. Mr. Alexis is likely to remain in office until a new government leader and cabinet can be chosen — no easy task in Haiti, where political differences often ... Read the article
Anthony Cordesman, the CSIS Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, was quoted by the USA Today, "Bush Embraces Halt in U.S. Troop Withdrawals."
President Bush's decision Thursday to give his top commander in Iraq "all the time he needs" before proposing any further troop reductions sets up a battle later this month over the next $108 billion funding request and another this fall over the war's political fallout. In a 17-minute White House speech, Bush endorsed Gen. David Petraeus' recommendation to keep U.S. troop levels at about 140,000 after five brigades are withdrawn by this summer. [...] His emphasis on Iran recognizes that it is "a key argument politically now for staying the course in Iraq," said Anthony Cordesman, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Iraq is a key buffer in containing Iran right now." Read the article
April 11
Anthony Cordesman, the CSIS Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, was quoted by United Press International, "Iraq Oil Circus Came to Town."
This week the circus came to town. Not Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, but Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, and with it the three rings of a five-plus year war and occupation, politicians in their populist best pitches and the media echo of what's going on with Iraq's oil revenue. [ . . .] Anthony Cordesman, Iraq expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, points to a Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction report published in January that between 2003 and 2008, $50.6 billion of Iraq's money was spent on reconstruction, $47.5 billion was spent in U.S. funds and nearly $16 billion in other donations. Read More
