Okay, I admit it:  at first glance there seems to be little overlap between core beliefs of the Trump Administration and the logic of foreign assistance programs managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).... Read More

“A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”—Oscar Wilde

The Cardin-Lugar anti-corruption rule was voted off the books Friday, Feb. 3, executed at dawn during a highly unusual morning Senate session that began at 6:30 am. The 52-47 vote came swiftly, following a brief debate and vote in the House of Representatives Wednesday, and a few hours of Senate debate around dinner time Thursday.  There were no subcommittee reviews, no committee hearings: Congress took fewer than five days from the beginning of the legislative process to the end.... Read More

Today marks the 56^th anniversary of President Dwight Eisenhower’s Farewell speech.  It was delivered on television three days before he left office fourteen presidential terms ago.  The speech is best known for his admonition to guard against the accumulation of too much power and influence by the growing “military-industrial complex.” Coming from Eisenhower, a leader of unsurpassed military prominence in his era, this was a powerful and credible warning to the nation.... Read More

At Wednesday’s confirmation hearing for Exxon-Mobil chief Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State, Sen. Tim Kaine (D, Va.) introduced into the record a 2008 report prepared by Sen. Lugar’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff: “The Petroleum and Poverty Paradox: Assessing U.S. and International Community Efforts to Fight the Resource Curse.”  The 125-page report was the launch pad for the drafting and eventual passage of the Cardin-Lugar amendment aimed at fighting corruption in mineral-rich developing countries.... Read More

Bipartisanship in politics may sound like a good thing, but does it really make a difference in today’s polarized Congress?... Read More