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In The Spotlight
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PRESS RELEASE: PSA Names Matthew Hodes New Executive Director
WASHINGTON - Partnership for a Secure America (PSA) proudly welcomes Matthew Hodes as its new Executive Director. Mr. Hodes brings a wide range of foreign policy and national security experience to PSA, having served in various leadership roles internationally and in the United States.
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| Iran |
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Iran Vs. The West
PSA Senior Fellow, Laurie Dundon, debates the merits and consequences of the latest sanctions the EU has imposed on Iran.
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Op-ed: Overhauling U.S. Policy on Iran by Dr. Nader Hashemi
Dr. Nader Hashemi, who recently visited Washington to engage Capitol Hill audiences in a briefing series on U.S-Iran relations, published an op-ed in The National Interest discussing his views on a way forward with Iran - promoting U.S. diplomatic engagement and support for true democratic reform.
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| Recent Events |
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Congressional Fellowship Program: Fellow-Hosted Hill Briefings
Recent Hill briefings hosted by CFP Fall 2011 Fellows -
* Beyond Sanctions: Where Do We Go from Here? A look at sanctions, their effectiveness, and other policy options
* Drone Warfare: An overview of the strategic, legal, and moral implications of the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in kinetic action
* Iran's Influence in Latin America: Do they have any and what are the implications for U.S. national security?
* Careers in Foreign Policy: How to leverage your qualifications and network
* Political transition after the Arab Spring:
Discussion of secular and Islamist political parties in the Middle East
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| Nuclear Issues |
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| Congressional Fellowship Program |
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CFP Dinner with Jake Sullivan, U.S. State Department
On November 7th, PSA hosted a private CFP reception with Jake Sullivan, Director of Policy Planning at the State Department and Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary Clinton. For information on PSA's Congressional Fellowship Program, please visit www.psaonline.org/cfp.
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| U.S.-U.N. Relations |
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The Right Move for U.S.?
WASHINGTON - At a time when fierce partisanship dominates the headlines, and funding for many projects is in jeopardy, a group of 30 eminent U.S. foreign policy and national security leaders, from both political parties, are joining forces to declare that the work of the United Nations provides real national security benefits to the United States. This month, this bipartisan statement appeared as full-page ads in Politico, Roll Call, CQ Today and The Hill.
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The Latest from the PSA Blog
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The Dragon Comes to Africa
This article was written by two Fall 2011 Fellows in PSA’s Congressional Fellowship Program. All CFP articles are produced by bipartisan groups of Democrat and Republican Fellows who were challenged to develop opinion pieces that reach consensus on critical national security and foreign affairs issues.
The Dragon Comes to Africa
Africa’s development has been a focus of goodwill for the American people for decades, and a central topic of geostrategic importance for policy makers. China is working to develop Africa too—but how they aid and invest in the continent is different. This is leaving Africans with a choice about how to develop and where they end up. The countries of sub-Saharan Africa are learning quickly that even free money can come with negative effects.
China, the source of a massive influx of cash into the sub-Saharan continent, is offering sub-Saharan Africa money and technical support, ostensibly with no conditions. This is the opposite of most Western trade and aid which comes with a number of conditions for transparency, good governance, and encourages sound economic planning.
China is taking a modern version of the mercantilist approach towards its trade, aid, and investment in Africa. While the easy money may seem attractive to African leaders now, they may yet rue the day they fell under the sway of the Chinese. Most Chinese loans to African governments and private ..
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Why EU Sanctions May Hurt the West More than Iran
Today the European Union announced an escalation of their sanctions against Iran. According to the new guidelines, the 27 member nations will end any oil contracts with Iran by July 1st and any assets held by the Iranian central bank within the EU will be frozen, with a limited exemption to continue legitimate trade. While this new oil embargo will go a long way in satisfying European public opinion, it is unlikely that it will have the desired effect on the Iranian regime and, most importantly, has huge potential to backfire.
The range of possible outcomes include the following:
- The EU oil embargo holds and the Iranian economy takes a huge hit hurting the Iranian middle class and the Green Movement more than the regime;
- Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz prompting a US military response and potentially a military exchange between the US, NATO, and Iran;
- Iran refuses to give in causing a spike in oil prices that cause the price of gas and food to soar in the US and EU;
- The oil embargo is successful and Iran abandons its nuclear program.
Obviously the fourth option is the one that the EU is hoping for; however, it is the least likely and the other three possible outcomes should be of great concern to the US, Europe, and NATO. The driving force behind Iran’s nuclear ambitions lies in its desire to assert regional hegemony in the Middle East and build the strategic power necessary to counter US influence in Iraq and Northern Africa. Giving into the pressure of sanctions would destroy the ..
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Rethink our Russian Relationship
Gary Hart is a member of the PSA Advisory Board, president of Hart International, Ltd. and chairman of the American Security Project. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1975 until 1987. This article originally appeared in The Hill on January 18th, 2012 and can be found here.
As an American with more than average interest and experience in Russia, it is a mystery to me why, unlike virtually every other country on earth, U.S. policy has tended to be so dependent on the personal relationship between the respective leaders.
This was especially true of Presidents Clinton, with the late Boris Yeltsin, and George W. Bush, with then-President Vladimir Putin (“I looked the man in the eye.”). This mystery of Russian relations is not totally confined to U.S. leaders: Remember Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s famous report to President George H.W. Bush on Mikhail Gorbachev as “a man we can do business with.” A humorist might call it the vodka syndrome, except Clinton was never known as a drinker and, of course, the second President Bush had sworn off alcohol.
This is a cause for reflection, when the question is raised as to how the United States might go about organizing its Russian relationship if Vladimir Putin were to be driven to the sidelines by an emerging, though putative, Russian Spring. Recent weeks have witnessed virtually unprecedented (for Russia) mass rallies in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities of what ..
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The Latest From PSA
Lee Hamilton Urges Quick Action on Nuclear Waste PlanAfter two years of research, the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future, co-chaired by PSA Advisory Board Member Lee Hamilton, said the government has an "ethical obligation" to deal with the country's nuclear waste and to "avoid burdening future generations" with the task.
Brzezinski: Can democracies thrive with financial systems that are out of control?Brzezinski, former National Security Advisory and PSA Advisory Boardmember, is interviewed by Global Viewpoint Network editor, Nathan Gardels.
Iran vs. the WestPSA Senior Fellow, Laurie Dundon, debates the merits and consequences of the latest sanctions the EU has imposed on Iran.
Former Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA) - NTI Index LaunchFormer Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA) and PSA Advisory Board member discusses the new report: NTI Nuclear Materials Security Index. The report provides an assessment of global nuclear materials safety and recommendations for strengthening security measures.
Interview with Mark BrzezinskiFormer Board Member and newest US Ambassador to Sweden, Mark Brzezinski talks about the relationship between the US and Sweden and the opportunities for trade, knowledge transfer, and joint clean technology research and development.
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