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State Department

State Department Warns Kerry Of "Serious Substantive Concerns" With Iran Sanctions Bill

The Cable | Josh Rogin | Posted 12.14.2009 | World

Read More: Iran Sanctions, Chris Dodd, Iran, State Department, John Kerry, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, World News

Next week is going to be a big week for Iran sanctions, particularly on Capitol Hill. As administration officials change their tone and talk more abou...

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Obama's Peace Prize Presents Protocol Puzzle

Linda R. Monk, J.D. | Posted 12.07.2009 | Politics

Read More: Desiree Rogers, Hillary Clinton, Nobel Peace Prize, State Department, Barack Obama, Capricia Marshall, King of Norway, Politics News
Linda R. Monk, J.D.

President Obama will face an intriguing dilemma in international protocol during his Oslo trip, concerning the bow. Immediately before the Nobel ceremony, he will have an audience with King Harald V, of Norway.

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Obama Announces State Department Nominations For OSCE, Portugal And Others

Posted 11.30.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama, Barack Obama, President Obama, Nominations, Ambassador, Obama Nominations, Obama Nominees, Obama Ambassador, State Department, White House, Politics News

President Barack Obama announced five nominees for administration posts on Monday, including several ambassadors. The full list, pending confirmation...

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Obama's War: The Next Best Steps in Afghanistan?

Patricia DeGennaro | Posted 12.02.2009 | World

Read More: Gen. Stanley McCrystal, Afghanistan Surge, War in Afghanistan, Afghanistan, President Barack Obama, Afghan War, US Aid, War, West Point, State Department, Afganistan, U.S. Military, Gen-Stanley-Mccrystal, Afghan Taliban, Us Troops Afghanistan, Counterinsurgency, World News
Patricia DeGennaro

Both military and civilian leaders need to revisit their management and cooperation efforts, and better define their "jobs" if any progress is to be made.

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Natural Home Decorates Blair House For Magazine Holiday Design Showcase

Robyn Griggs Lawrence | Posted 11.30.2009 | Style

Read More: Christmas Trees, Mpa, Washington DC, Traditional Home, Eco-Friendly Christmas Decorations, Blair House, Magazine Holiday Design Showcase, Green Holiday Design, Green Design, White House Christmas, Recycled Christmas Ornaments, Natural Home, Adams Room, Mother Earth News, Magazine Publishers of America, Presidential Guest House, Presidential Guest Suite, Eco-Friendly Holiday Design, Green Decor, Jackson Conference Room, Monroe Room, This Old House, President's Guest House, Eco-Friendly Holiday Decor, Recycled Holiday Decor, U.S. State Department Harry S. Truman Building, Washington Dc Blair House, Barack Obama, State Department, Green Holiday Decor, Recycled Christmas Decoration, Martha Stewart, Better Homes and Gardens, Hillary Clinton, Natural Home Magazine, Harry S Truman Building, Style News
Robyn Griggs Lawrence

With our decoration of the Blair House, we aim to show that simple, elegant, and responsibly made holiday décor is an attainable and viable option for everyone.

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An Open Letter To Secretary Clinton About The Gross Neglect Of Women's Reproductive Rights In India

Nancy Northup | Posted 11.25.2009 | World

Read More: Hillary Clinton, India, Secretary of State, Maternal Health, State Department, Reproductive Rights, Maternal Mortality, Women's Rights, Center for Reproductive Rights, World News
Nancy Northup

Maternal mortality in India is public health crisis. The Indian government must be held accountable for its inaction in the face of this gross neglect of women's reproductive rights.

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Honduran Dictatorship Is A Threat to Democracy In the Hemisphere

Mark Weisbrot | Posted 11.23.2009 | World

Read More: Honduras Coup, Honduras Zelaya, Honduras, Hillary Clinton, Latin America, State Department, Barack Obama, World News
Mark Weisbrot

Why is it that Latin American governments can recognize the threat to democracy in Honduras while Washington cannot?

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Did Clinton Just Change US Policy on Hezbollah?

Sharmine Narwani | Posted 11.12.2009 | Politics

Read More: Netanyahu, Saad Hariri, John Brennan, Israel, Lebanon, Obama, Hezbollah, State Department, Hillary Clinton, Politics News
Sharmine Narwani

They say talk is cheap, but is it possible that recent comments by Hillary Clinton are signaling a radical change in US foreign policy?

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Cairo to Fort Hood: Broader Engagement at Home and Abroad

Qanta Ahmed, MD | Posted 11.11.2009 | Politics

Read More: US Science Envoy Program, Islam, Fort Hood, Physicians, Veterans Day, Anderson Cooper, In the Land of Invisible Women, Taliban, Waco, State Department, Barack Obama, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Al Qaeda, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Veterans, Zakat, Islamophobia, Unabomber, Jihad, Armistice Day, Saudi Arabia, Cnn, Insomnia, New York Times, Nidal Malik Hasan, Hillary Clinton, Muslim, Obama Cairo Speech, Ground Zero, Politics News
Qanta Ahmed, MD

Mass murders have become a depressingly familiar punctuation in the rhythm of modern day American despair.

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An Open Letter to President Obama About Afghanistan From William R. Polk

The Nation | Posted 11.11.2009 | World

Read More: Russia, Afghanistan War, Nato, Afghan Election, Tribes, Durand Line, Kabul, Middle East, Taliban, Policy, Hamid Karzai, Afghan War, Chicago, Afghan Strategy, Un, South Waziristan, Soviet Union, Pentagon, Britain, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Troop Levels, Terrorism, Pashtun, Foreign Policy, Kashmir, Insurgency, Al Qaida, State Department, Pashtunwali, Soviet Afghan War, Counterinsurgency, World News

I was an early supporter of yours. So I hope you will accept the following analysis and proposals as being from a friend as well as a person with cons...

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Zelaya: US-Brokered Pact For Honduran Crisis Fails

AP | MARTHA MENDOZA and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ | Posted 11.06.2009 | World

Read More: Honduras Coup, Honduras Talks, Honduras, Zelaya Honduras, State Department, Zelaya, Honduras Plan, World News

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — They can't both be right. Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says a deal that could have returned him to power is d...

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Blackwater Still In Business: State Department Fumbles Effort To Oust Them From Iraq

Newsweek | Mark Hosenball | Posted 11.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: State Department Iraq, State Department, Government Contractors Iraq, Blackwater, Dyncorp Iraq, Iraq War, Dyncorp, War in Iraq, Government Contractors, Blackwater Iraq, Politics News

Your tax dollars at work: as part of their effort to stop doing business in Iraq with companies affiliated with the controversial paramilitary contrac...

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President Obama's Credibility on the Line in Honduras

Mark Weisbrot | Posted 11.05.2009 | World

Read More: Honduras Coup, Latin America, Latin America Policy, Manuel Zelaya, Honduras, Honduras Zelaya, Hillary Clinton, Thomas Shannon, Barack Obama, State Department, Foreign Policy, World News
Mark Weisbrot

The Obama team brokered the accord in Honduras, and got a commitment from the coup leaders. If they go back on it, how much will the Obama administration's word be worth on anything else?

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Think Tank's Advice To Europe: Stop 'Fetishizing' American Relationship

Spiegel Online | Gregor Peter Schmitz | Posted 11.03.2009 | World

Read More: Russia, Uk, India, Bulgaria, France, Middle East, Obama, Spain, Diplomacy, Dc, Merkel, Nato, White House, Poland, Germany, European Council on Foreign Relations, Czech Republic, Cold War, Think Tank, Us, Israel, Fetishization, Afghanistan, Post American, European Union, Eu, Warburg Prize, Foreign Policy, Trans-Atlantic Economic Council, Wwii, State Department, Eu Usa Summit, Special Relationship, Angela Merkel, Europe, China, Soros, George Soros, World News

The council released a study on Monday called "Toward a Post-American Europe," based on wide-ranging interviews and research conducted in the 27 EU me...

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The Little Coup that Couldn't

Laura Carlsen | Posted 10.31.2009 | World

Read More: Democracy, Honduras, Human Rights, Latin America, Coup, State Department, Manuel Zelaya, Roberto Micheletti, Hillary Clinton, Tom Shannon, World News
Laura Carlsen

If the agreement brokered this week holds, Honduran society will have turned the ugly precedent of a modern-day military coup d'etat into an example of the strength of nonviolent grassroots resistance.

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The Myth of Collateral Damage: Truth, Consequences and a Challenge to 'Say It Plain'

Luis Carlos Montalván | Posted 10.30.2009 | World

Read More: Iraq War, Iraq Refugees, Department of Defense, Afghanistan, Middle East, Iraq, Refugees, State Department, Barack Obama, World News
Luis Carlos Montalván

The Iraqi refugee tragedy continues to unfold. It is time for proactive policy and action, for Americans to make friends of the people we were seeking to help by doing the right things.

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Mapping Congo's Militarized Mines

David Sullivan | Posted 10.30.2009 | World

Read More: Jim McDermott, Conflict Minerals, Department of Defense, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mining, Defense Authorization Act, Africa, United Nations, Electronics, State Department, War Wire, World News
David Sullivan

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 has been making news because of all the things left out of it, including billions of dollars in cuts to expensive weapons systems.

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Basic Truths in Hoh Resignation Letter Were True When He Took His Job

David Quigg | Posted 10.30.2009 | World

Read More: Andrew Bacevich, President Obama, Andrew Sullivan, Garrison Keillor, George W. Bush, 9/11, Matthew Hoh, United States, State Department, Hoh Resignation, Barack Obama, Troops, Andrew Exum, Afghanistan War, Politics News, Steve Coll, Rory Stewart, Counterinsurgency, Richard Holbrooke, Michael Semple, Warwire, Military, Washington Post, Afghanistan, Christopher Buckley, Terrorism, Counterterrorism, World News
David Quigg

The basic grim truths that Matthew Hoh wrote about in his much-quoted resignation letter were all basically true when he took his job a few months ago.

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A Modest Proposal: Make the Pentagon Our Very Own Ministry of Culture!

John Brown | Posted 10.28.2009 | World

Read More: Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Gates, Cultural Diplomacy, Public Diplomacy, State Department, Clowns, World News
John Brown

The Obama-Biden team announced it would "expand cultural and arts exchanges throughout the world." But these words, despite their honorable intentions, have not resulted in much noticeable action.

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Matthew Hoh Resigns: State Department Official Quits Over Afghan War

Posted 10.28.2009 | Politics

Read More: Pentagon, Abdullah Abdullah, White House, Karzai, Department of Defense, Afghanistan, Troop Levels, Pakistan, Afghan War, President Obama, Kabul, Taliban, Afghanistan Troop Levels, Afghanistan War, Obama Decision, Mcchrystal, Marines, Military, War Games, Hoh, State Department, Nato, Matthew Hoh, More Troops, Iraq, Gates, Mullen, Politics News

WASHINGTON — A former Marine who fought in Iraq, joined the State Department after leaving the military and was a diplomat in a Taliban strongho...

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U.S. Embassy In Baghdad Has "Multiple" Construction Flaws: Report

McClatchy | Warren P. Strobel | McClatchy Newspapers | Posted 10.22.2009 | World

Read More: Charles Williams, Army Maj. Gen. Charles Williams, State Department, Iraq War, US Embassy Baghdad, War Wire, Baghdad, Foreign Affairs, Iraq, US Embassy Iraq, World News

WASHINGTON -- The $736 million new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, which American diplomats have occupied for 18 months, contains "multiple significant const...

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State's Human Rights Guy Needs to Man Up Fast

Jeff Ballinger | Posted 10.21.2009 | Politics

Read More: Usaid, Workers, Unions, Public Diplomacy, State Department, President Obama, Politics News
Jeff Ballinger

Now that Michael Posner has been officially installed as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, it's about time we get started down the road to righting a whole slew of global wrongs.

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Hillary Is Still the Best President That Wasn't

Earl Ofari Hutchinson | Posted 10.17.2009 | Politics

Read More: Gallup Poll, Democratic Party, State Department, Obama, Presidential Experience, Presidency, Hillary Clinton, Republicans, 2012, Politics News
Earl Ofari Hutchinson

Millions still have a deep respect, admiration, and appreciation for her tireless work as a women's rights advocate, her fight for health care reform, civil rights, and international diplomacy.

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Obama Administration To Unveil New Sudan Policy

AP | MATTHEW LEE | Posted 10.17.2009 | World

Read More: Obama Administration, Sudan, Hillary Clinton, Khartoum, Darfur, State Department, World News

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration plans to roll out a new policy toward Sudan with an eye toward engaging the government in Khartoum but als...

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Matt Damon Narrates Video Against World Hunger

Posted 10.16.2009 | Impact

Read More: Hunger, Secretary of State, Poverty, World Hunger, Hillary Clinton Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, Matt Damon, World Food Day, State Department, Impact News

The U.S. State Department released a video narrated by Matt Damon in late September to YouTube, describing the world food crisis and how global climat...

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