Don Kraus

Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana lost his Republican primary yesterday to Tea Party backed conservative Richard Mourdock, after more than 35 years in the Senate. The defeat of this statesman is not just a defeat for Lugar and his supporters, but a defeat for American national security and indeed the...

It breaks my heart to watch Syria explode into violence. Let's face it: the international community has failed miserably in Syria, giving President Bashar al-Assad a "license to kill," in the words of the Qatari foreign minister. Over the weekend, Russia and China again irresponsibly used their veto...

This year as we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King's 83rd birthday, I'm struck by the vast difference between his beliefs and today's "peace candidate", Representative Ron Paul. In New Hampshire, Paul received 47 percent of the under 30 vote compared to 25 percent for Mitt Romney. It's easy to understand...

Syria lives in a very flammable neighborhood, surrounded by Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Israel. The neighbors are getting very worried that the escalation of violence in Syria could quickly spread to surrounding nations, and are taking steps to prevent this from happening. It's time for the UN Security Council...

Today, the people of Syria are waiting. Waiting for the world to wake up and take action as their oppressive leader Bashir Al-Assad's regime has killed over 2,700 people since March, and continues to jail and torture civilians who only ask for the right to protest their government.
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Ten years ago, while driving to work, I watched in horror as smoke and flames billowed from the Pentagon from across the Potomac River. Later, huddled in a basement office, our small staff overcame its fear that this was "the beginning of the end" and got to work.

The message...

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced an extreme bill (HR 2829) that holds UN funding, as well as U.S. leadership, prestige, and influence at the U.N., hostage if her outrageous demands aren't met. Ros-Lehtinen is willing to sacrifice the benefits of U.S....

Great nations should pay their bills. But in the last two weeks, House Republicans on two important panels voted on party lines to sharply decrease funding for international organizations, peacekeeping missions, and human rights, putting the United States back on the world community's "dead beat" list. In a climate of...

Along with barbecues and a high heat index, July brings us our nation's birthday, which allows us to reflect on the beginning of America's history. Just as there is today, there was the presence of war and debates over taxes, but there was also strong diplomatic action. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin...

Yesterday, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously reelected Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to a second term. The Secretary General certainly deserved reelection, but the election process itself was appalling. I talked about this on the BBC radio show, The World Today.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon certainly deserved to...

On Monday, April 18, Citizens for Global Solutions ran a full page advertisement in the New York Times that calls for three essential actions for the U.N. to take in Libya. We are reaching out to Americans because we now...

Last night I had a conversation with a senator, who I consider a friend, about Libya. It was a private conversation so I won't mention his name. But after listening to President Obama's speech, he was still very concerned about what the U.S. was doing in Libya. For him, the...

I recently returned from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where I gave a speech on UN reform at a conference on "Global Strategic Developments: A Futuristic Vision". It was an incredibly interesting place to get a perspective on the conflict in Libya. Speakers at the...

Recent events in the Middle East have shown that civil society can bring about big change in the world. The people of Egypt were able to revolutionize their government in only 18 days and civil society groups are increasingly using emerging technologies to connect to one another and make their...

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), the new Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has thrown down her gauntlet. In her first briefing as chairwoman, she had the opportunity to focus on any number of timely issues like the referendum in Sudan, human rights in China or reconstruction...

Getting two-thirds of the Senate to agree on anything is a daunting task. So it was no small feat when the Senate approved New START, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, during its December lame duck session. New START was the first major international agreement passed by the Senate...

The United States Senate agreed to the New START Treaty during the last hours of the 111th Congress. The bilateral nuclear arms treaty passed with bipartisan support by a 71 to 26 margin. Today's vote came after months of highly partisan debate and despite a packed Senate schedule....

The New START nukes treaty is at a critical make it or break it moment. The administration and Majority Leader Reid are determined to ratify this important disarmament agreement. Senator Reid is going to make the vote happen. Will the right number of Senators acknowledge their responsibilities to keep this...

Harry, it looks like you defied the odds in Nevada and are going to be in D.C. for another six years. Amen. But winning elections is one thing. If you seriously want to prove that you still have the chops to remain Majority leader in the next Congress, it's time...

It took four years and some very bad mistakes (Iraq), but the Bush Administration realized sometime during its second term that international cooperation is a means to an end, a common sense tool that actually produces more results than a "my way or the highway attitude." The election of President...