Drawing on his experiences as U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Ambassador Princeton Lyman highlights the decision making trade-offs he and his colleagues faced when they weighed the risks associated with the various forms of intervention they considered to mitigate the mass atrocities in Darfur. He also discusses similar trade-offs raised about the genocide in East Pakistan…
Counterinsurgency in Eastern Afghanistan 2004-2008: Development
Chronic instability, beginning before the Soviet invasion, helped destroy Afghanistan’s already underdeveloped economy. After 9/11, the United States dedicated billions of dollars and significant human effort in the eastern part of the country and elsewhere in the form of aid, infrastructure projects, agriculture development, and investment in education. A number of agencies — including the Department… Read More "Counterinsurgency in Eastern Afghanistan 2004-2008: Development"
Counterinsurgency in Eastern Afghanistan 2004-2008 — An Overview
It is impossible to understand the War in Afghanistan, now the longest war in American history, much less the motives for the United States to lead this international engagement, without first understanding Afghanistan itself and considering the historical context preceding and surrounding the war. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States’ foreign… Read More "Counterinsurgency in Eastern Afghanistan 2004-2008 — An Overview"
Counterinsurgency in Eastern Afghanistan — Security
In December 2001, as per the Bonn Agreement signed in reaction to the September 11 attacks, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) created the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for a mission of security and state-building in Afghanistan. The purpose was to train Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), stabilize the government of Afghanistan (GOA), and… Read More "Counterinsurgency in Eastern Afghanistan — Security"
Counterinsurgency in Eastern Afghanistan — Governance
After 9/11, the United States recognized the instability within made Afghanistan a sanctuary and breeding ground for terrorism — evident in the growing presence of al-Qaeda in the eastern half of the country. U.S. policy pivoted from containment to counterterrorism (CT) and counter-insurgency (COIN) and focused on the three pillars of security, governance, and economic development.… Read More "Counterinsurgency in Eastern Afghanistan — Governance"
Suicide Bombers and the Rapper M.I.A. — The Sad Legacy of the Sri Lankan Civil War
Artistic inspiration, such as it is, can come from the most unexpected of places. Case in point, Grammy-nominated one-hit wonder rapper M.I.A. (2007’s “Paper Planes”), who fills many of her songs with references to the violent conflict in Sri Lanka. Her father, Arul Pragasam, founded the Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students (EROS), a political Tamil… Read More "Suicide Bombers and the Rapper M.I.A. — The Sad Legacy of the Sri Lankan Civil War"
The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan — December 1979
It was to last nearly a decade and would plant the seeds for the rise of the Taliban and Islamic terrorism and the subsequent invasion by the U.S. more than 20 years later. On December 24, 1979, the Soviet Union sent thousands of troops into Afghanistan and immediately assumed complete military and political control of… Read More "The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan — December 1979"
The Bhopal Chemical Disaster
On December 3, 1984, a gas leak began at a pesticide plant owned by Union Carbide located in Bhopal, India. Due to the leak of more than thirty tons of chemicals and the highly toxic gas, methyl isocyanate, over half a million people were exposed to the toxic substances immediately that night as densely populated… Read More "The Bhopal Chemical Disaster"
Not-So Full Disclosure
So you have been entrusted with a very important mission — in this case, trying to convince several countries in the 1950’s to allow take-off and landing of a new, super-secret aircraft, the U-2, which would allow the U.S. to conduct surveillance over the USSR at such a high altitude that Soviet MiG-17s would be… Read More "Not-So Full Disclosure"
Egos and Architecture — The Joys of Embassy Building in the 1980s
The design of U.S. embassies has swung through varying phases over the past several decades. Some embassies, such as the one in Athens, were designed by world-renowned architects like Walter Gropius. Security concerns beginning after the Embassy Beirut bombing in 1983 led to the construction of embassies with blast-proof walls and long setbacks, which were… Read More "Egos and Architecture — The Joys of Embassy Building in the 1980s"