Event Archives: 2009

French intervention in Mali earlier this year quickly dislodged insurgents from their strongholds in the northern part of the country, but even before victory had been secured, Paris began making moves to bring its troops home. Most of the 4,000 French troops sent to Mali remain there today, but they plan to hand over security operations to a UN-mandated African force in the coming weeks. With continued unrest and regular attacks by insurgents, any withdrawal at this stage leaves northern Mali vulnerable to becoming a safe haven again for al-Qaeda and others.

On March 15, Ben Emmerson, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counterterrorism, released a statement that categorically declared the CIA drone program a “violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty.” That statement followed three days of secret meetings with Pakistani officials, who told Emmerson that they had confirmed 400 civilian deaths in drone strikes since the program began in 2004.

Jonathan Cohn’s recent article for The New Republic highlighted the tragic outcomes stemming from our inadequate, unequal, and largely unregulated child care system. Stressed by workplace demands and constrained by a dearth of good daycare options, families face difficult decisions. Many child care workers are poorly compensated and inadequately trained, and most workplaces are not set up to support parents desperate for better options.