In his address to the inaugural meeting of the Arab Forum on Asset Recovery in Doha, President Barack Obama conveyed American support for international anti-corruption and stolen asset recovery efforts in the so-called "Arab Spring" countries. It was the U.S. government's most notable statement of support for asset...

Last Friday was Robert B. Zoellick's last day as president of the World Bank Group. And while he may leave many legacies behind, perhaps the one that he will be most remembered for is embodied in the title his commencement address at the RAND Graduate School: "Getting Stuff...

When I was an Army ROTC cadet at Georgetown University, we were taught the importance of being "warrior scholars." Indeed, according to the Department of the Army's Institute of Heraldry, "the Greek helmet on the ROTC insignia is symbolic of the ancient civilization concept of the warrior scholar." Thus, as...

At NATO's 25th Summit in Chicago, both President Barak Obama and NATO Secretary General Anders Rasmussen commented on the Windy City's unique role in transatlantic relations. Based upon decades of immigration from Europe to Chicago, the city is a testament to the strong bonds that exist on both sides of...

This weekend Robert B. Zoellick, the 11th president of the World Bank Group, will preside over his last Spring Meetings. And while many of the private discussions at the international forum of ministers and development officials will likely focus on Jim Yong Kim, the Dartmouth College president recently selected to...

This month the world saw the impact of one of the first major asset recovery cases brought by a new "Arab Spring" government: the High Court in London ruled a £10 million London mansion purchased by the eldest son of deposed Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi rightfully belongs to...

It was a beautiful day off the coast of Key West. But while most people would be enjoying the sun and surf of the Keys, I found myself talking about pirates and the Law of the Sea with my hosts on a U.S. Coast Guard cutter, miles from the mainland...

The world watched as the Libyan rebels -- led by the Transitional National Council (TNC) -- fought to gain control of Tripoli and topple yet another infamous dictator. And when the TNC took control of the Libyan capital, the immediate objective turned to rebuilding the embattled nation. Unlike revolutions in...

In its second act against a head of state, and pursuant to a United Nations Security Council referral, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague recently issued arrest warrants for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, as well as his son Saif al-Islam, and his military intelligence chief, Abdullah...

After twenty-five years in comfortable exile, what convinced former president Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier to leave France and return to earthquake-shattered Haiti? Supporters will claim that he returned to help re-build his country. But if so, why did he choose to return a year after a 7.0 earthquake struck his...

A lot can turn on an active verb. Hamlet said, "To be or not to be -- that is the question." The same applies to the new Dodd-Frank financial reform bill's whistleblower provisions, signed by President Obama last week, which requires that any whistleblower providing "original information" leading to a...

Fifteen years ago today, thousands of Muslims were being slaughtered in Europe. Some were killed opportunistically, but most were killed in a full-scale military operation: hands tied and blindfolded, they were lined up before freshly dug mass graves and shot in the back.

In other cases, rather than bussing...

The Group of Twenty (G-20), a world forum bringing established economic powers such as the United States and Japan together with emerging giants such as Brazil, China, and India, concluded a summit last week in Toronto, despite violent protests on the periphery. After eclipsing the Group of Eight (G-8) last...

The long arm of justice caught up with Radovan Karadzic yesterday, as his former victims began to testify against him at a genocide trial at the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Almost fifteen years after the Srebrenica genocide, when Bosnian Serb forces rounded up over 7,500 Muslim...