Author: Rebecca Brocato

In the Wall Street Journal today, Cindy McCain, the wife of former presidential candidate and Arizona senator John McCain, authored an op-ed highlighting the crisis in eastern Congo. Mrs. McCain has traveled to the region numerous times since 1994, most recently late last month. She writes that the United States should lead efforts to save lives in Congo, further noting: Only the international community and the struggling government of the Democratic Republic of Congo can restore real order to the country. But until then, the United States -- the single largest contributor of food aid to these people -- must ...

Recent news out of Zimbabwe strikes a blow at the unity government’s attempts to foment legitimacy in the midst of its continued calls for international assistance. According to wire reports, an editor and journalist affiliated with one of the very few independent newspapers in Harare have been arrested for allegedly, “publishing articles that could hurt the credibility of law enforcement agencies.” Independent journalism barely exists in Zimbabwe, and these arrests highlight the dangers facing those who still work to report news in a nuanced way in the country. Reformers within the Government of National Unity continue to push for international ...

A press release out today from the State Department castigates recent violence in eastern Chad between the Chadian government and Sudan-based rebel movements: The United States condemns the current attacks by Chadian rebels coming across the border from Sudan. We support the security, stability, and territorial integrity of Chad. We call on the rebels to desist from all offensive operations, renounce violence, and enter into negotiations with the Government of Chad to re-enter Chadian society. We also call on the Government of Sudan to disarm and demobilize any Chadian rebels on its territory now or in the future and urge ...

For several months now, Somalia’s piracy problem has been a rather regular feature in the news circuit, sparking Americans’ interest in how the U.S. government will engage with the east African country. Enough's latest strategy paper, Beyond Piracy: Next Steps in Somalia, analyzes the current situation in Somalia and provides recommendations for how the United States and others can help Somalis address multiple security threats that put their country, the region, and even further-flung countries at risk. The paper, authored by Ken Menkhaus, John Prendergast, and Colin Thomas-Jensen, argues that while short-term measures to curb pirate attacks are certainly necessary, ...

Actress and activist Mia Farrow is in the midst of the 10th day of her hunger strike to raise awareness about the conflict in Darfur. Activists around the country are supporting her cause, living on a refugee diet, or fasting with her. On her website, she is blogging and posting videos narrating her experience to raise awareness about the situation in Darfur. New York Times' The Lede blog highlighted Mia's strike today and included this video from her website: To learn more about how other activists are following Mia's lead, visit www.fastdarfur.org ...

Tendai Biti, Zimbabwe’s well regarded finance minister and a loyal member of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change, recently completed a fundraising tour of the United States and Europe aimed at making the case that international aid is necessary for Zimbabwe’s success. Politically astute Zimbabwean officials have put MDC officials -- such as Biti and Tsvangirai -- in the international spotlight, and Biti has become the de facto spokesman for the unity government. In meetings at the IMF, World Bank, and African Development Bank, as well as with American officials in the administration and on Capitol Hill, Biti ...

Out last week, the State Department’s annual set of Country Reports on Terrorism offers insights into the government’s thinking regarding al Qaeda and other terrorist threats. The report identifies four countries -- Iran, Syria, Cuba, and Sudan -- as “state sponsors of terrorism,” which they define as countries that “provide critical support to non-state terrorist groups.” The Sudan report offers a critique of Khartoum, but also takes pains to emphasize that Sudan remains a “cooperative partner in global counterterrorism efforts.” Such hedging inside the report has found a critic in Senator Russ Feingold, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee ...

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Update: News reports today indicate that the Sri Lankan government is ignoring calls by the Tamil Tigers to establish a ceasefire. According to the New York Times, the Tigers said they are responding to calls from the United Nations and a number of foreign governments for both sides to recognize a humanitarian ceasefire so that the tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the war zone can move to safety. The government rejected both the ceasefire and the Tigers' claim: "They were not fighting with us; they were running from us,” said Sri Lanka's defense secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, according to ...

Reacting to what was, by most accounts, an unproductive “humanitarian ceasefire”– intended to enable civilians trapped in the crossfire between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to travel to safety – some Western governments had strong words for Colombo. “Democratic governments are rightly held to higher standards for civilian protection than terrorist organizations,” the British and French foreign ministries said in a joint statement. The comments from the U.S. State Department were more oblique: “The Sri Lankan government, as the legitimate sovereign power, has before it an opportunity to put an end to this ...