In The News

Stratfor: Wall No Help on US-Mexico Border Dilemma

Scott Stewart January 23, 2019
The US government shutdown continues as the Donald Trump demands $5 billion to construct a wall along the US-Mexican border. Most analysts suggest a wall is unnecessary. Countries have reason to control borders, including crime control, but a wall will not end the greed behind delivery of illegal drugs and low-wage workers. Terrorists do not enter the United States from the southern border,...

Guardian: Disfigured Syrian Girl Refused US Visa

Amanda Holpuch January 23, 2019
Under Donald Trump’s travel ban, the United States denied a visa to a 16-year-old Syrian refugee seeking medical treatment for burns from a bomb attack that left her disfigured. The Guardian notes that Marwa had settled in Nuremberg, Germany, with her family. There, doctors advised the family to seek advance treatment in the United States, “following 13 operations to repair trauma from third-...

BBC: Militants Attack Afghan Intelligence Base

January 22, 2019
Afghanistan’s citizens have reason to worry about security. The United States signaled plans in December to reduce its troop presence and has met with the Taliban for peace talks in Qatar without the Afghan government’s participation. Still, Taliban attacks continue. Extremists attacked an intelligence security base near Kabul, with car bombs, suicide bombers and gunmen, killing more than 40 and...

Japan Times: How Will AI Change Global Politics?

Kuni Miyake January 15, 2019
Japan is a leader in developing artificial intelligence and robots. While other countries explore military applications for artificial intelligence, Japan does not. High-tech innovations can determine dominance and allow less developed countries like China to leapfrog over more advanced nations, including the United States and Japan. Due to AI technology, China is catching up and even surpassing...

Foreign Affairs: The Crisis of Peacekeeping

Séverine Autesserre January 14, 2019
More than 100,000 UN blue-helmeted soldiers and civilians are based in 14 nations as peacekeepers to maintain security. “Peacekeepers set out to protect civilians, train police forces, disarm militias, monitor human rights abuses, organize elections, provide emergency relief, rebuild court systems, inspect prisons, and promote gender equality,” explains Séverine Autesserre for Foreign Affairs....

Washington Post: Trump-Putin Revelations

Anne Applebaum January 14, 2019
News reports increasingly suggest that Donald Trump is serving Russian interests – an assertion that follows reports of Russian meddling during the 2016 presidential election including a social media campaign. “Trump’s connection to Putin has been out in the open for years, long before he decided to run for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination,” explains Washington Post columnist Anne...

New York Times: US Vision for Mideast – For Now

Declan Walsh and David E. Sanger January 11, 2019
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo followed the lead of former US President Barack Obama by visiting a Cairo university to present a vision of US foreign policy in the Middle East. A global audience can only conclude that the United States is an unreliable partner due to a polarized electorate, failing with consistent long-turn strategy, and perhaps for the short term, too, as Trump administration...