State Department

Syrian Diplomat Forced To Leave William Howard Taft House

The Huffington Post | Michael Grass | Posted 05.29.2012

Read More: Video, DC Real Estate, Syrian Embassy DC, Syrian Embassy Washington, William Howard Taft, U.S. State Department, Kalorama, Syria Massacre, Syria, State Department, Syrian Revolution, DC News

WASHINGTON -- While the intricacies of international diplomacy might be slow and boring, Tuesday's coordinated action by the State Department to expel...

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Standing Up for All the Fallen

Christopher Holshek | Posted 05.25.2012

Read More: Iraq War, Usaid, Civil War, Firefighters, Memorial Day, Police, National Security, War Casualties, Veterans Day, National Service, 9/11, Civilian Casualties, Memorial Day Weekend, World War II, State Department, Peace Corps, Afghanistan War, Veterans, US Military, Armed Forces, Impact News
Christopher Holshek

We should respect each other's commitment to community and country. There is no reason why we cannot stand up for all the fallen, so that Memorial Day will honor all those who gave their lives in the service of their neighbors as well as their nation.

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White House Applauds Activist's Exit From China

AP | Posted 05.19.2012

Read More: Ben Rhodes, Chen Guangcheng China, Video, Chinese Activist to u.s., Chen Guangcheng u.s., Camp David, Chen-Guangcheng, Chinese Activist White House, Chen Guangcheng White House, China, State Department, Politics News

CAMP DAVID, Md. -- The White House has welcomed the arrangement allowing a blind Chinese activist to leave Beijing and fly to the United States with h...

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ACLU: State Department Violates Constitutional Rights

Peter Van Buren | Posted 05.17.2012

Read More: We-Meant-Well, Aclu, Hillary Clinton, First Amendment, State Department, Free Speech, Politics News
Peter Van Buren

(For those joining our story already in progress, here's the Twitter-length summary: I've worked for the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer...

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Billions Wasted, Again: State Likely to Give Up on Costly Efforts to Train Iraqi Police

Peter Van Buren | Posted 05.14.2012

Read More: Baghdad, Dynacorp, Police Training, Hillary Clinton, Iraq, State Department, Nides, Politics News
Peter Van Buren

The New York Times reports that the State Department, in the face of massive costs and Iraqi officials who say they never wanted it in the first place...

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U.S. May Scrap Costly Effort To Train Iraqi Police

New York Times | Posted 05.13.2012

Read More: Iraq Police, Iraq War, Iraq Police Training, Iraq, War in Iraq, State Department, World News

BAGHDAD — In the face of spiraling costs and Iraqi officials who say they never wanted it in the first place, the State Department has slashed — a...

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'Should I Join the U.S. Foreign Service?'

Peter Van Buren | Posted 05.10.2012

Read More: Foreign Service, State Department, Fsot, Fsoa, US Foreign Service, Politics News
Peter Van Buren

It was only after my book came out that State decided I could not work there. Something vague about not suddenly having judgement anymore, like losing one's mojo I guess.

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Internet Freedom Is a Human Right

Sen. Chris Coons | Posted 05.10.2012

Read More: Syria, Internet Freedom, Chris Smith, Iran, Intellectual Property, Mark Kirk, Bob Casey, Internet Censorship, Hillary Clinton, Congress, Internet Security, China, State Department, Senate, Internet Freedom Act, Politics News
Sen. Chris Coons

Internet freedom -- the freedom to exchange thought, opinion, expression, and association to meet political, social, education, or religious objectives -- should not be restricted for law-abiding citizens in the United States or anywhere in the world.

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Former Kennedy, Johnson Aide Dies

AP | BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI | Posted 05.10.2012

Read More: Lee Harvey Oswald, Lbj, John F Kennedy, Video, Nicholas Katzenbach Dead, Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Mbugua, Nicholas Katzenbach Dies, Obituary, Nicholas Katzenbach, Jfk, State Department, Robert Kennedy, Politics News

TRENTON, N.J. — While researching his epic series on Lyndon Johnson, Robert Caro found himself again and again calling upon Nicholas deB. Katzen...

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Joshua Hersh

In Tough Primary Fight, Lugar Eschews Foreign Policy Legacy

HuffingtonPost.com | Joshua Hersh | Posted 05.07.2012

Read More: Foreign Aid, Video, Egypt, Revolution in Egypt, Elections 2012, Richard Mourdock, Gop, US Foreign Assistance, Tea Party, State Department, Richard Lugar, Foreign Policy, Politics News

In February of 2011, a few days after a surprising popular revolt brought down the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-I...

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Wishful Thinking and Poor Planning: State Department Wastes $80 Million in Afghanistan

Peter Van Buren | Posted 05.07.2012

Read More: Iraq War, Hillary Clinton, Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, State Department, Mazar-E-Sharif, Washington Post, Politics News
Peter Van Buren

Why does the State Department consistently make poor decisions? Everyone makes mistakes, but what we have here is a long, long litany of obvious bad decisions, so obviously bad one cannot help but wonder how smart people made them.

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Lessons Learned From the Frontlines of Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships

Perry Yeatman | Posted 05.01.2012

Read More: Impact Investing, Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships, Public Private Partnerships, State Department, Business Partnerships, Business Management, Impact News
Perry Yeatman

When it comes to multi-stakeholder partnerships, knowing what YOU want is the right starting point. But even that isn't enough to succeed. Here are five more lessons we've learned from our work that might be helpful.

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The Hunt for Impact Investments

Maura O'Neill | Posted 04.30.2012

Read More: Usaid, Innovation, Social Innovation, Social Entrepreneurship, Investment, State Department, Impact, Impact News
Maura O'Neill

If a boat is financial capital, and deals are the fish, investors want to be floating in a river where the fish are jumping.

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Dear Daniel Ellsberg

Peter Van Buren | Posted 04.24.2012

Read More: Daniel Ellsberg, Ron Ridenhour Prizes, John Lewis, State Department, Vietnam War, Whistleblowers, Pentagon Papers, Politics News
Peter Van Buren

When I faced a crisis of conscience, to tell what I knew because it needed to be told, coming to realize I was risking at the least my job if not jail, I remembered the Pentagon Papers from 1971 you risked the same and more to release.

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U.S. Diplomat Peter Van Buren Speaks About American Public Diplomacy

John Brown | Posted 04.24.2012

Read More: Public Diplomacy, Alec Ross, Iraq, Public Affairs, Foreign Service, Cold War, Facebook, Voice of America, Twitter, Committee on Public Information, Propaganda, PETER VAN BUREN, United States Information Agency, State Department, Edward R. Murrow, Bbg, Haditha Massacre, Hillary Clinton, Afghanistan, World News
John Brown

"Any communications strategy plays second to reality. So as long as deaths from misplaced drone attacks, atrocities by soldiers and videos of Abu Ghraib exist, you are not going to fool anyone regardless of how many tweets you send out."

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POLL: Is It Too Easy To Lose The TSA's Trust?

Christopher Elliott | Posted 04.23.2012

Read More: Tsa-Precheck-Program, Airport Security, Airport, State Department, Screening, Precheck, Tsa, Travel Blogs, Travel News
Christopher Elliott

As the TSA moves toward what it calls an "intelligence-driven, risk-based approach to security," maybe it's worth asking how intelligent some of its new systems really are.

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D.C.'s Search for the Next Steve Jobs & Other Artistic Pursuits

Roshanak Taghavi | Posted 04.20.2012

Read More: Steve Jobs, Pechakucha, Art, Artwork, Breakdancing, Washington, Architecture, Curators, Washington DC, Dance, Tokyo, Education Reform, Fashion, State Department, Art Galleries, Dc Arts, DC News
Roshanak Taghavi

Have you ever wondered how we'll find the next Steve Jobs?

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American Muslim Alleges FBI Had A Hand In His Torture Overseas

Mother Jones | Nick Baumann | Posted 04.17.2012

Read More: Mustafa Elogbi, Yonas Fikre, Fbi, Michael Migliore, Gadeir Abbas, State Department, Rendition, United Arab Emirates, Council on American Islamic Relations, Gulet Mohamed, American Civil Liberties Union, Yahya Wehelie, Thomas Nelson, Jamal Tarhuni, Bad News, Yusuf Wehelie, Sharif Mobley, Amir Meshal, Naji Hamdan, Muslim, Torture, Crime News

Last June, while Yonas Fikre was visiting the United Arab Emirates, the Muslim American from Portland, Oregon was suddenly arrested and detained by E...

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Strengthening Trade for Security and Prosperity

Sir Peter Westmacott | Posted 04.13.2012

Read More: US/UK Defence Trade Cooperation Treaty, Security, Military, Defense, Defence, State Department, British American Relations, US UK Relations, Video, World News
Sir Peter Westmacott

The new U.S./U.K. Defence Trade Cooperation treaty ensures that Britain and America can share our world-class defence capabilities more efficiently and more effectively.

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State Dept., Florida Lawmakers Cited For Free Speech Violations

AP | ZINIE CHEN SAMPSON | Posted 04.12.2012

Read More: Sam Houston State University, Norfolk Police Department, Catawba Valley Community College, First Amendment, Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, Free Speech, Muzzle Awards, Lake of the Ozarks Camdenton R-III School District, Thomas Jefferson, Shawn Goode, Wayne Garner, State Department, Salem Public Library, Video, Rick Scott, Joe Kirk, Owen North, Censorship, Virginia Department of Corrections, Dylan Thomas, Josh Wheeler, Politics News

RICHMOND, Va. — Enacting a law that bars doctors from discussing gun safety with their patients. Slicing the "f-word" from a designated free-spe...

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Is Lack of Diversity a Factor in Our Failure in Afghanistan?

Richard Dickerson | Posted 04.10.2012

Read More: Afghan War, Afghanistan War, Soldiers, Military, US Military, War in Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Diversity, Diversity in the Military, Usaid, Afghanistan War Leadership, State Department, Black Voices News
Richard Dickerson

When you constantly pick the same people with similar backgrounds to serve and lead, it's hard for new and different ideas to be considered -- or even discussed. There is a value to different perspectives that come from different experiences, including a minority experience.

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Syrian abuses captured in satellite photos

The Center for Public Integrity | Posted 04.05.2012

Read More: Bosnia, State Department, Bashar Al-Assad, Syria, World News
The Center for Public Integrity

By R. Jeffrey Smith, iWatch NewsIn 1995, U.S. spy satellites photographed telling moments in the massacre over four days of an estimated 7,800 Bosn...

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No Visas For You! U.S. Rejects Cuban Diplomats' Travel For Marxist Panel

AP | MATTHEW LEE | Posted 03.24.2012

Read More: Video, Marxism, US-Cuba Relations, Cuban Diplomats Denied Visa, State Department, Cuba, Cuban Diplomats, Latino Voices News

WASHINGTON -- The State Department says it has rejected applications from two senior Cuban diplomats to travel to New York to take part in a panel dis...

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Speaking Truth to Power

William Astore | Posted 05.21.2012

Read More: Whistleblowers, Clinton State Department, Speaking Truth to Power, Peter-Van-Buren, Afghanistan, PETER VAN BUREN, Iraq, Power, State Department, Politics News
William Astore

Peter Van Buren's story is a cautionary tale of waste, mismanagement, and hubris, one that should serve to discourage (or at least to inform) current efforts in Afghanistan.

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State Dept. Drops Plan To Protect Foreign Exchange Students Despite Abuse Allegations

AP | HOLBROOK MOHR and MITCH WEISS | Posted 05.14.2012

Read More: Boy Scouts, Foreign Students, Girl Scouts, Foreign-Students-US-Studying, Exchange Students, State Department, High School Students, Office of the Inspector General, Foreign Exchange Students, Exchange Visitor Program, High School, Foreign High School Students, US State Department, Students, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Education News

JACKSON, Miss. — Despite dozens of allegations of neglect and sexual abuse over the years, the U.S. State Department abandoned a plan to require...

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