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A Giant is Gone But His Legacy Lives On
Nelson Mandela at age 95, lost his battle with respiratory failure, reportedly, the result of recurring infections contracted during his years of prison confinement. Mr. Mandela had spent almost 27 years in a prison cell, eighteen years of which were...
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Al-Qaeda Has Not Been Decimated
In my May 2012 article, “The Republic of Yemen: Al-Qaeda’s backyard” I highlighted concerns about al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and the instability that these Islamists could create in the region. Osama bin Laden had family ties to the...
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Al-Shabaab Continues to be a Threat
The Federal Republic of Somalia was ruled by the brutal dictator Siad Barre until 1991, when a coalition of warlords deposed him. Shortly thereafter the U.S. embassy in the capital Mogadishu was shuttered, leaving a diplomatic void for over twenty-two...
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Arab Monarchies Support Islamist Extremists
Al Jazeera, the international satellite television network owned by Qatar, in October 2003 broadcast Osama bin Laden’s warning: “I say to the American people we will continue to fight you and continue to conduct martyrdom operations inside and outside...
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Education in Somalia Essential to Promoting Peace
The Washington Times Nearly taken for granted by the West, education is a noble struggle in Somalia, requiring generous contributions from citizens and foreign donors to help ensure a future of stability and prosperity for Somali children. Devastated...
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Education is Best Way to Defeat Radical Islam
On June 10, 2014 our family returned to Africa as we do every year. Kenya’s Masai Mara was again selected. There were fourteen of us, including twelve family members and two close friends, ranging in age from eight to eighty. The youngest family member...
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Failure to Protect the Diplomatic Troops
“The Secretary of State is responsible for the overall coordination and supervision of all United States Government activities and operations abroad…. The Secretary of State must protect all United States Government personnel on official duty abroad….”...
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Global War on Terror has Become More Dangerous
The Obama Administration has increased the risk of Islamist attacks against Americans with the release of five–most dangerous and seasoned–jihadists from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp (GITMO). They are as brutal as Osama bin Laden, and capable of...
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Mali’s Elected President Must Unite the Country
Mali’s second-round presidential election runoff on August 11 ended without major incident. The ministry for territorial administration on Monday reported that the voter turnout was 46 percent, slightly less than voter participation in the first-round....
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Mali’s Recovery Depends on International Donors
In Mali’s recent presidential election Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was declared the winner, garnering over 78 percent of the vote. President Barrack Obama in congratulating Mr. Keita noted, “The election was a first step in restoring democracy”. In The Hill...
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If one hasn’t experienced certain aspects of life, it is easy to criticize another person’s position. Even though it may be a false premise, repeating it over and over again, it becomes real in their mind. With a lack of experience as an entrepreneur...
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Obama to Assad: Weapons Cache Must be Verifiable, or There Will be Consequences
On Friday President Barrack Obama told Kuwait’s Emir Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah that any diplomatic solution in Syria depended on President Bashar al-Assad listing all of the chemical weapons in his arsenal, and signing on to the Chemical Weapons...
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Partitioning May Be a Peaceful Solution
The goal of building democratic institutions in North Africa and the Middle East could prove to be futile. The Arab Spring uprisings that brought about regime change in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen did not bring peace to the region. The U.S. push...
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President Obama must keep the promises he made in Africa
“Poverty’s companion is hopelessness” As most Africans continue to eke-out a living, surviving on $1.25 a day, President Obama and his family are preparing for their August vacation at a $20 million estate on the Massachusetts seashore. This comes on...
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Regime Change Will Not Diminish Al-Qaeda Attacks
In Syria how will the U.S. clearly define moderate opposition groups? That has become a major difficulty as well in Libya. Rebel groups break down into tribes, clans, and broader religious factions—some with fundamentalist beliefs, while others have a...
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Rounding Up al-Shabaab Militants
Please note these highlights from a recent AP story: “Somali militants gather, recruit at border town” By Jason Straziuso- Associated Press Monday, January 2, 2012 “Militants from the insurgent group al-Shabab appeared to be gathering hundreds of...
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Russia’s Takeover of Crimea Needs Careful Action
On Friday March 21 President Vladimir Putin signed the annexation treaty making Ukraine’s autonomous Crimea region a part of Russia. The port city of Sevastopol on the Black Sea, home to Russia’s naval fleet in the region, was included. Russia flexing...
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Somalia: Education is the Best Way to Defeat Al-Shabaab
In Somalia each day dozens of children twelve years and older are recruited into the ranks of al-Shabaab, the local terrorist organization. Killing an Islamist leader or two will not change the attacks they incur at home, in neighboring countries, and...
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Special Panel on Benghazi Needed for Answers
We could have learned a lesson from the terrorist attacks on the U.S. embassies in Lebanon and Kuwait in 1983. The State Department did not heed these early warnings. In 1998 terrorists again attacked two U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The State...
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State Department Failed to Protect Diplomatic Troops
“The Secretary of State has responsibility for the coordination and supervision of all U.S. government activities and operations abroad...must protect all United States Government personnel on official duty….” President George W. Bush noted in his...