So much good articles, so little time. Enjoy!
Pushing the Pentagon to Prevent Genocide
The insertion of that line into the Quadrennial Defense Review marked a paradigm shift: Previous versions of the strategic plan included no such references to stopping “mass atrocities” as a military imperative. It was a quiet victory for advocates of a new vision of U.S. national power that would make genocide prevention a military priority.
NATO and the NGOs: honeymoon over
The alliance between the international forces, the Afghan government, and the NGOs had its virtues as long as NATO forces still had the military advantage and controlled nearly 90% of Afghan territory. Up until 2005, the NGOs “embedded” in the “reconstruction of Afghanistan” were able to establish themselves in the wake of the international troops and their local allies, without worrying too much about the reaction of the then extremely weakened opposition.
The Rebirth of USAID
The restoration of USAID will take herculean reform and uncommon patience, if it is even possible at all. No doubt leaking the Presidential Study Directive this week, in advance of the National Security Strategy and months before the completion of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, was deliberate. The Obama administration (or at least a portion of it) figures it can stake out its agenda (and perhaps claim on resources) before the rest of the interagency consumes all of the policy and budget oxygen inside the Beltway. As with development itself, however, this directive will only be as good or bad as its implementation, and on that score there are many questions that will need to be addressed.
Humanitarian Aid: A Warmonger’s Best Friend?
If Polman’s Guardian interview is any indication, her book will be a huge hit for taking extreme positions and providing a wealth of quotable quotes. At one point, she is asked how she would describe the aid agencies that provided relief to Rwandan Hutus, many of them genocidaires but plenty also ordinary civilians, who fled into the now Democratic Republic of Congo in the wake of the Rwandan genocide. Polman’s response? “Perhaps war criminals.”
Christopher R. Albon is a political science Ph.D. specializing in armed conflict, public health, human security, and health diplomacy.
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