What will they call this place once the glaciers are gone?
A century ago, this sweep of mountains on the Canadian border boasted some 150 ice sheets, many of them scores of feet thick, plastered across summits and tucked into rocky fissures high above parabolic valleys. Today, perhaps 25 survive.
President Obama has signaled a “new phase” in the fight against the Islamic State as we send 1,500 additional Americans into Iraq to train and advise the Iraqi army to “start going on some offense.” Doing so will be no small task for the ill-equipped Iraqi troops as witnessed by many divisions falling apart over the past several months. Recent reports also suggest that the US is no longer coordinating with the Free Syria Army, rather, we are now told we’re building “a new ground force” to focus on fighting the Islamic State.
Whether our efforts are to “destroy” or “contain” the Islamic State, with every passing day we wade a little deeper into this conflict with little local support. Our presence will only be constructive if we are seen to support local stakeholders and real progress will only be made if these groups are sufficiently well-aligned, well-equipped, and well-trained.
Let’s take a step back. With the success of the U.S. Marshall Plan after World War II, international aid and development became a cornerstone of American foreign policy. The establishment of USAID in 1961 represented another milestone, and, over the past several decades, U.S. policy has slowly but steadily broadened to encompass a commitment to building democratic institutions and strengthening the citizenry of countries around the world. According to the White House, the Obama administration has invested more than $2.7 billion in efforts to strengthen civil society since 2010.
In spite of this momentum, however, as described above, a less promising trend is emerging. Foreign policy wonks bemoan our lack of influence in faraway lands as we attempt to “lead from behind” in crisis after crisis. The uprising in the Ukraine, the Arab Spring, the Green movement in Iran, and the current humanitarian disasters in Iraq and Syria, lay bare a stark truth: we cannot affect change internationally without reliable or well-reputed allies on the ground. A country spending billions of dollars promoting democratic institutions and strengthening civil society cannot afford to find itself in this predicament.
Alliances with stakeholders are complicated and involve players nationally and internationally with different and often conflicting agendas. In the paragraphs below, I propose a simple but not simplistic approach to nurturing a more fertile ground for effective and impactful partnerships with local groups leading to stronger alliances and less instability when crises develop.
1. HUMILITY – Our credibility is at an all-time low. Many parts of the world no longer welcome nor seek our input. An acknowledgment that our errors have led to undesirable outcomes, hurting not only our national security but also costing other countries dearly is a necessary and key element. Regaining our credibility begins with a significant dose of humility and a recognition of our shortcomings.
2. DIVERSITY – The second critical ingredient is a re-evaluation of our approach to identifying potential partners. Too often, US organizations working on the ground engage with groups representing shared interests. The world is diverse and our partners need to reflect the different voices of their communities. Our embassies must work diligently to identify new and reliable sources that will in turn introduce us to a wider range of actors on the ground.
If we are committed to piecing together the landscapes in which we operate this element cannot be undermined. Unless this diversity is represented at the discussion table, we will not be able to contribute to lasting peace and growth in these countries.
3. INCLUSIVITY – Many countries around the world are highly divisive, especially along ethnic and religious lines and the US cannot be seen as further polarizing these environments. Every effort must be made to be as inclusive of different interest groups as possible. Unless power sharing is recognized and supported, our efforts will not be sustainable. We must encourage national dialogues, build coalitions and support a distribution of power at every level of our work.
4. COMPASSIONATE LISTENING – The final ingredient for this recipe and the most critical for establishing trust and respect is the ability to listen. I have worked with development experts from all over the world and it is a fair observation that none engage the voices of local partners as poorly as colleagues from the US. It is astonishing how little we seek guidance, input, or feedback from local CSOs. We often make assumptions about the needs on the ground and devise smart but prescriptive programs.
The technical expertise involved in strengthening civil society, supporting the growth of democratic institutions, transparency, and accountability is an area of strength for the US. We are fortunate to have highly skilled organizations and individuals committed to providing the very best methodologies available. But the effectiveness and impact of this expertise is compromised when it does not respond to the needs of the environments in which we operate. For instance, the feedback we receive from partners by way of local needs assessments or national development strategies are fundamental to our ability to design and implement programs that respond to their priorities.
While maintaining our national security interests, we must earn back the respect of the community of nations by demonstrating that the priorities of other countries are relevant to our long-term strategic thinking. Only then – after investing in humility, diversity, inclusivity and compassionate listening – can we seed relations based on mutual trust and respect. And, only then, will our engagement foster the commonality and consensus of the civil society ideal in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.
So, why are certain celebrities suing video game companies? Well, it has a little somethin’ to do with right of publicity law. This week, we broke down Lindsey Lohan’s battle with Rockstar games, reviewed the Fire HD 6, toured the world’s most…
KATY, Texas (AP) — A woman injured in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing who had several surgeries before having part of her leg amputated recently was discharged from a rehab facility Saturday and has vowed to run the race next year.
Rebekah DiMartino said she looks forward to getting her stitches out in early December and being fitted for a prosthetic left leg. “The prognosis is great. I chopped off what was holding me back,” DiMartino said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press as she packed up to leave. “The prognosis, is you’ll see me running the Boston Marathon next year.”
DiMartino had more than a dozen operations but still dealt with lingering pain. She had surgery Nov. 10 at Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital to remove her left leg below the knee. She entered rehab Nov. 14 and was going home Saturday to nearby Richmond.
Rebekah Gregory was watching last year’s Boston Marathon when bombs exploded. Her son, now 7, and her then-boyfriend, Peter DiMartino, were also hurt. The couple wed last spring in Asheville, North Carolina.
Their Houston-area home still needs some modifications for accessibility, she said.
“I have been wheelchair bound for the last 18 months basically, so when we built our house we built it with wider doors,” said DiMartino, 27.
She does not expect her loss of a limb to adversely affect the rest of her life.
“This is about to be Rebekah unleashed. They haven’t seen anything yet. This is the good part of the story,” DiMartino said. “Not only am I moving on, I am trying to do my part in changing the world while doing it.”
A suspect charged in the bombing, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, awaits trial. His older brother, Tamerlan, was killed in a shootout with police after the bombing that killed three people and injured more than 260.
This is quite possibly the best F-15E Strike Eagle video of all time. F-15E cockpit videos are rare to begin with, but one that shows the ‘Mud Hen’ in its natural, low-level environment in brilliant HD is even rarer . Amazing.
On Friday, Ready for Hillary, a super PAC that has been described as “a make-work program for former Clinton hands,” and that is busy building a database of donors and volunteers that the group will eventually sell or rent to an official Clinton campaign, held an all-day meeting at the Sheraton on Fifty-third Street, in New York.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A woman featured in a reality TV show about a polygamous family is going public about sex abuse she claims she suffered as a child in hopes of changing a culture of secrecy plaguing plural families in Utah.
Rosemary Williams of “My Five Wives” on TLC says she was molested more than two decades ago by her father, Lynn A. Thompson and published her claims in a blog. He is the leader of the one of largest organized polygamy groups in Utah, the Apostolic United Brethren, or AUB.
The AUB is estimated to be the second-largest polygamist church in Utah behind Warren Jeffs’ Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on the Utah-Arizona border. Unlike Jeffs’ group, which has been plagued for years by allegations of abuse and child brides, the Apostolic United Brethren in northern Utah has a clean reputation.
Thompson said the allegations were not true when contacted by The Associated Press on Friday. He did not immediately respond to a phone message on Saturday.
Rosemary Williams says her father fondled her when she was 12 years old. She told The Associated Press that she does not plan to file a criminal accusation or a lawsuit against her father because she doesn’t think that will do any good. She says she wants to prevent him from abusing others, especially given his recent appointment as president of the AUB, which has up to 7,500 followers across the West.
Williams also hopes to be an advocate for abuse victims in patriarchal societies like the one she was raised in, where families are often fearful to report crimes out of concern they may be prosecuted under polygamy laws. She doesn’t believe sex abuse is widespread among the polygamous group, but she wants mothers to be able to come forward and report it and other forms of abuse when they occur.
“The reason people are afraid to say anything is because they are upholding somebody in a position of authority and they’re taught to respect them,” Williams said. “They are afraid of the repercussions. They are afraid of Utah coming down on them and carrying their kids out of their home.”
A search of criminal charges available online show no record of any criminal convictions for Thompson, and the Utah Attorney General’s Office is unaware of any formal complaints submitted against Thompson, said spokeswoman Missy Larsen. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said he couldn’t comment on the matter.
David Watson, a spokesman for the AUB, didn’t return multiple phone calls from The AP.
Rosemary Williams is Brady Williams’ third wife. He and his five wives and their combined 24 children are featured in the TLC reality show, “My Five Wives.” They decided to do the show in part to demonstrate that polygamy can be healthy and stable. They live in a rural community outside of Salt Lake City Lake City where most people belong to the group Thompson leads.
They no longer are members of the group. They slowly withdrew during the mid-2000s after re-evaluating their core beliefs. They still practice polygamy, but only because they are happy doing so, not out of the fear of hell or the promise of heaven, Brady Williams says.
She said she recently confronted her father about what happened. He said he didn’t remember and that he would pray to God to remember what happened. She reported the abuse recently to another high-ranking church leader, but nothing was done, she said.
Rosemary Williams became choked up and was unable to talk while discussing the reaction she expects from family and friends who are still members of the polygamous group.
“She knows that it will be very strong reprisal,” said Brady Williams, explaining why his wife couldn’t speak. “Her family will probably disown her along with many of her friends.”
There was no immediate response from TLC.
Chevrolet’s Colorado ZR2 Concept pickup picks up where its all-new for 2015 Colorado Z71 bro leaves off, and for a host of recreational off-roading fans that means where the pavement ends. ‘Course, you might like the Colorado ZR2 Concept pickup as a daily driver, which is too bad because as a concept it’s not available for purchase… yet.
It should’ve taken Tim Robbins twenty years to dig his way to freedom through solid concrete; and this year marks the 20th anniversary of The Shawshank Redemption. That gives you a good reason to re-watch possibly the greatest movie of all time. But heck, you really don’t need a reason.
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