March 21, 2007

Marking the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war, Former Congressman Lee Hamilton spoke to the Center for American Progress about the future of U.S. policy in the region:

“We cannot have military operations succeed in Iraq without a diplomatic framework, and we simply have not had that. So participation in this regional conference is a positive step. It does begin to provide a framework. It has to be sustained. It has to be sustained at a higher level than took place last week. It will take a lot of very careful, skillful diplomacy to pull it off. The lines of communication have to be open and the agenda has to be expanded.

But my hope is that the United States is gradually shifting toward a more balanced approach – military, political, economic and diplomatic – and that’s what will be required.”Read more>>



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“We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010

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From Afghanistan and Iraq to Pakistan, Somalia, and South Sudan, the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, is engaged daily in trying to help some of the most troubled nations on the planet make a lasting transition to stability, open markets, and democracy. Few areas of the agency’s work are more challenging or more controversial.

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