Josh Rogin has a great piece about the differences between Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the independence and responsibilities of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Clinton wants to integrate USAID’s development missions with diplomatic and defense efforts, particularly in More…
Time is almost up for the Obama administration’s “dual-tracked” approach to Iran. As the Islamic Republic keeps rejecting the administration’s diplomatic outreach and moving forward with its nuclear program, the administration is primed to turn to the U.N. Security Council early next year to seek authorization for a program of More…
Mark Leon Goldberg reports that John Bolton, the Bush administration’s former ambassador to the United Nations, has a new book out. It’s called ConUNdrum — get it? — and apparently continues Bolton’s quest to shave several more floors from the U.N.’s Turtle Bay offices. But what’s More…
Last week I broke the story of a proposal from Stuart Bowen, the inspector general for the Iraq war, to create a new agency for coordinating and directing civilian governance and development activities in war zones. Bowen wants the envisioned agency, known as the U.S. Office for Contingency Operations More…
Today’s the deadline for Iran’s leadership to embrace or reject the deal its negotiators endorsed in Vienna to ship uranium out of the country for enrichment into fuel-producing-and-not-weapons-grade material. Whether that happens or not, Laura Rozen reports an interesting Vienna backstory:
Diplomatic sources tell POLITICO that among the
Seated across the table in Vienna from the United States and its allies, the Iranian regime is considering an ambitious diplomatic offer to ship its uranium out of the country, a move designed to tamp down years’ worth of nuclear tensions. It isn’t clear if the Iranians will take the More…
Much as Barack Obama may deserve the Nobel Peace Prize for changing the climate toward international diplomacy and recognizing the value in cooperating with the rest of the world, the prize seems more about congratulating the United States for breaking with the Bush go-it-alone attitude than for any More…
Just out from the White House:
Good morning, everybody. I want to just make a brief comment about the fact that the two young journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, are safely back with their families. We are obviously extraordinarily relieved. I had an opportunity to speak with the families
Not really, but what in the world would convince a diplomat with nearly 50 years’ worth of experience that he should remark on the beauty of women he understands to be the daughters of Pashtun tribesmen? (Via Andrew Exum/Via Christian.) BruceR, with whom I’m unfortunately unfamiliar, More…
Laura Rozen at the Cable has the scoop. This will provide an interesting test of the Clintons’ marriage. Will the Haitian government view Clinton’s envoyship for the United Nations as a backchannel to the Obama administration and the Hillary Rodham Clinton-run State Department? How can a husband and wife More…
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