Americas Articles

An old idea, that the US military should play an active and extensive role in the “reconstruction” of conflict zones in which it is involved, is gaining renewed popularity among US authorities. There is strong sociological evidence that this tilt is a strategic mistake. I first briefly report on the new calls for increased dedication of military assets and training to this mission, then lay out the reasons this course cannot be followed.

Within the last decade, several presidents, especially in resource-reliant countries, have attempted to remold their countries' constitutional design for their own benefit by removing presidential term limits. It appears that these attempts have been largely successful in allowing incumbents to stay in power. Just slightly more than a week ago, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez won a referendum that allows him to run for re-election indefinitely after his tenure expires in 2012.

Mr. President, you are internationally recognized as an advocate on behalf of the developing world. How has the international arms trade—“licit” and illicit—affected the economic growth of the world’s poorest nations? More specifically, how has weapons trading impacted the economies of Latin America?

As US competitiveness is increasingly challenged on all sides, the forced attrition of women from the science, engineering, technology, and mathematics (STEM) workforce represents an annual cost of billions of dollars. This loss comes at a time when the United States is facing an absolute decline in entry-level engineers and growing rivalry from foreign innovators. Most discussions hold that gender equality is the primary benefit of, and reason for, getting more women into science. But this is not the primary benefit. Instead, the failure to expand women’s participation in science is not simply an issue of “feminism” or civil rights but increasingly a problem for US economic security.