On January 11 NATO celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Partnership for Peace (PfP) Program, its chief cooperation program with non-NATO members in Europe and Central Asia. The State Department marked the anniversary by stating, “Partnership for Peace and other partnership programs have strengthened NATO by adding diversity and political insight while expanding its security reach.” In fact, the United...
On January 16, 2014, Congress passed the FY2014 omnibus budget bill, the first budget passed since December 2011 (FY2012). The bill, otherwise known as the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, appropriates approximately $1.1 trillion in federal discretionary spending and fully funds the federal government’s activities through September 30, 2014.
Within the omnibus are the Department of Defense (DOD) and the State Department and foreign operations (SFOPS)...
A new blog post by the Center for International Policy’s William Hartung highlights the first policy directive on conventional arms sales in almost two decades, released by the Obama administration on January 15. The language of the directive emphasizes that human rights be a key part of arms sales decision making, while also pushing for greater promotion of U.S. exports....
In the past few years, with little media attention or Congressional debate, the United States has engaged in record levels of weapons exports, many of them to the conflict-ridden Middle East and Persian Gulf region. U.S. arms sales agreements topped $60 billion last year, and in 2011, the last year for which full global statistics are available, U.S. corporate and governmental transfers accounted for three-quarters of the global...
Two of Africa’s violent conflicts made some tentative progress with a temporary ceasefire signed in South Sudan and an election of an Interim President in Central African Republic. Additionally, Nigeria will launch a special counterterrorism command. The U.S. is increasing its Africa-focused Marine force. Below is a roundup of these stories and some of the other top articles and news highlights from around Africa over the last week:
- Nigeria launched an ...
Below is a roundup of top articles and news highlights from around the region over the last week:
United States policy:
- The second round of peace talks aimed at ending the Syrian civil war, known as Geneva II, opened on Wednesday. In the opening session, tensions mounted as Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem rejected the inevitability of a transitional government that does not include Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Secretary of State John Kerry used the occasion to ...