In the tiny Lebanese village of Bar Elias, about two dozen Syrian women with solemn, worry-lined faces, some with infants in their laps, sat on floor mats in a dimly lit tent set up by the UNHCR. They had gathered for the “Women’s Group” meeting – an opportunity to share concerns and get advice on how to care for their families and cope with the overwhelming challenges of life as refugees. But on this day, the conversation was not about the usual family issues. Every last woman who spoke expressed alarm at the Lebanese government’s new residency regulations for refugees. Complex and costly, these rules threaten the fragile security that these they and their families had managed to find since
U.S. plans to move forward with deploying its foremost advanced missile defense system, the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD), to South Korea in emergency situations, has raised hackles in Northeast Asia. For years, the idea of deploying THAAD on the Korean peninsula has been a source of contention between the two treaty allies and China and Russia who now accuse the allies of sacrificing regional security for their own. This is an accusation Seoul has rebuffed in no uncertain terms. However, this latest diplomatic exchange not only highlights the challenging position Korea is in between China, its largest trading partner, and the U.S., its guarantor of security, but also a
In his latest book, author James Mann takes on the George W. Bush presidency, a presidency defined by the terrorist attacks of September 11 and characterized by increasing controversy. Mann, a Fellow at the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute and author of The Obamians, Rise of the Vulcans, and several other popular works, recently spoke at SAIS about his book, George W. Bush, the newest volume in The American Presidents Series. Mann opened his discussion by asking if what he labeled the “Truman Syndrome” would be applied to Bush’s historical legacy. Harry Truman’s presidency, which ended amidst intense debate over his policies, has been the object of positive revisionist reassessment. Also, draw