About.com

Iran, Israel Central To Santorum's Foreign Policy

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:45:35 +0000

Two months ago I didn't think I would write a piece on Rick Santorum's foreign policy platform, but unexpected showings in February primaries have kept the former Pennsylvania senator alive as as Republican presidential hopeful. So here goes.

...

Read Full Post

State Department's 2013 Budget Request

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:22:23 +0000

Everything is relative, especially when it comes to the federal budget. If someone asked us to do a lot with a little, to go without a cost-of-living increase, or make last year's budget work for one more year, we immediately start thinking of things we can do without, ways we can spend smarter, or looking for other sources of revenue.

...

Read Full Post

U.N. Veto Angers U.S. Officials

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:05:13 +0000

U.S. officials vented their disapproval this week after Russia and China vetoed an Arab League plan to stop the violence in Syria. Most vocal was U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice, who said the veto "disgusted" Americans. For more comments from other officials, check here.

...

Read Full Post

U.S. Closes Embassy In Syria

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:33:57 +0000

The State Department announced February 6 that the U.S. is closing its embassy in Syria and calling Ambassador Robert Ford and embassy personnel home. An earlier wave of embassy personnel left in January after bombings in Damascus -- Syria's capital and the home of the embassy -- in January and December 2011.

...

Read Full Post

USAID In Afghanistan Is Descendant Of Great Marshall Plan

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:45:08 +0000

The foreign aid that the United States is putting into Afghanistan as part of its "fight, talk, build" strategy prior to the end of the American military mission there in 2014 is -- like all U.S. foreign aid -- a descendant of the post-World War II Marshall Plan.

...

Read Full Post

Building In Afghanistan

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:22:41 +0000

The United States is banking on USAID and building projects to ready Afghanistan for self-sufficiency after 2014. Foreign aid and help with infrastructure, education, health, and governance programs have been central to U.S. foreign policy since the end of World War II. They are now part of the U.S. plan of "fight, talk, build" for Afghanistan.

...

Read Full Post

Negotiating With The Taliban

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:13:55 +0000

The Taliban -- that fundamental, radical Islamic group that once ran Afghanistan, sheltered Osama Bin Laden and his terrorists, and has been fighting American troops in Afghanistan for more than a decade -- has opened an "office" in Qatar. That move heralds a new phase in the Afghan war, one as reliant on negotiation as combat.

...

Read Full Post

Iran Ready To Negotiate?

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:38:05 +0000

Is Iran ready to negotiate with the West about its nuclear program? Apparently so. Time.com is reporting at Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his country are ready for nuclear talks.

...

Read Full Post

Space Code? Let's Go Back First

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:11:01 +0000

Next December will be the 40th anniversary of man's last moon landing. The 40th anniversary of man's last moon landing! How can that be?

On January 17, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a U.S./European initiative to create a Code of Conduct for Space. Essentially, it's a movement to stop "congesting" space with more space junk through responsible outer space behavior. That would seemingly prevent mankind from adding to the some 22,000 trackable pieces of space debris that endanger spacecraft and satellites.

...

Read Full Post

Obama White House -- No SOPA, No Surprise

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:29:45 +0000

The U.S. Congress backed away from the SOPA/PIPA internet piracy acts in the wake of heavy opposition by internet users and websites alike. But amid the furor, few people noticed that the Obama White House had positioned itself against SOPA/PIPA well before the web blackout of sites like Wikipedia on January 18.

...

Read Full Post