Foreign Policy: Media Appearances and Press Releases

New America and Terror Free Tomorrow Study in Washington Times editorial| 'Pakistan's Pendulum Swings'

Communications — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:17:00 -0400

New America in the News:
...Any Pakistani government must reckon with the fact that its countrymen prefer negotiation over military action against al Qaeda, the Taliban and other terrorist militants. In a recent study by Terror Free Tomorrow and the New America Foundation, more than half of Pakistanis said the United States was to blame for violence inside the country today, as compared to only 8 percent blaming al Qaeda. This is a perception gap of enormous proportions, and a similarly epic public-diplomacy failure... LINK

Peter Bergen in the Washington Independent | 'Al Qaeda Goes Viral'

Communications — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:41:00 -0400

New America in the News:
...al-Suri is as famous to terrorists as he is unknown to the general American public. Lawrence Wright of The New Yorker penned the only substantive American profile of him in 2006, but apparently only had access to portions of "The Call." al-Suri "is highly intelligent, well read, focused, intense, no sense of humor, [and] speaks Arabic and Spanish and French, very little English" said Peter Bergen, a senior fellow at The New America Foundation and author of two influential books about Al Qaeda. In 1997, Bergen became one of the only Western journalists to interview al-Suri. "He seemed like a real intellectual," Bergen said, "but also a man of action..." LINK

Peter Bergen on CNN | 'Pakistan Targets Militant Offensive Near Afghan Border'

Communications — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:47:00 -0400

New America in the News:
...ROBERTS: This morning in Pakistan government forces are pounding Taliban targets for a third day in a row. The offensive comes after militants have been threatening the city of Peshawar.

Peter Bergen is CNN's terrorism analyst. He joins us now from our bureau in Washington. Peter, just how great is the threat to the city of Peshawar and why is it so important strategically?

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATL. SECURITY ANALYST: Well, John, as you know, this is the city through which a lot of supplies -- you know, supplying U.S. and NATO troop go through Peshawar on their way to Afghanistan. So the Taliban calculation is that they can put pressure on the city of Peshawar. They can really strangle the supply route to Afghanistan. So that's why it's critically important.

Of course, also, it is a major city in Pakistan. It will be -- if the Taliban can show that they have an ability to control it, it would be a huge victory for them... LINK to transcript

Daniel Levy in Mother Jones blog | 'Iran Panic? Talk About It With the Experts'

Communications — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:17:00 -0400

New America in the News:
Daniel Levy, a former Middle East peace negotiator, is Director of the Prospects for Peace Initiative at The Century Foundation, and of the Middle East Initiative at the New America Foundation:

"I'm going to look at the Israeli side of the equation as I think this is the direction that any action is most likely to come from, although the blowback would of course most likely impact the US (and perhaps embroil it in a war with Iran). Also I will not address how disastrous the consequences of a military strike would be in my opinion, notably for Israel and its supporters in the US..." LINK

Parag Khanna in Khaleej Times | 'UAE a Rare Success Story'

Communications — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:11:00 -0400

New America in the News:

American author and international relations analyst Parag Khanna yesterday called the UAE a "rare success story", attributing it to its geographical location, globalisation and blend of foreign legacies with indigenous power structures.

Speaking on the role of the emirates in the geopolitical market place, Khanna, Fellow and Director of Global Governance Initiative at the New America Foundation, a non-partisan, public policy institute in Washington DC, termed the UAE "a meeting point for first world European technology and third world labour".

"The UAE has a culture of Eurasia. It is a story of foreign legacies blended with indigenous power structures in a post-colonial world. It is also a success story of globalisation, which is rare in post-colonial countries," said Khanna, who was a geopolitical advisor to the United States Special Operations Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007... LINK

Parag Khanna in XPress | 'UAE more influential'

Communications — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 09:16:00 -0400

New America in the News:
Flooded with oil money and foreign investments, the UAE is influencing international developments like never before, said a visiting US scholar on Sunday.

From putting boots on the ground in war-torn Afghanistan – for reconstruction efforts – to bailing out giant companies from the recent property crash in America, the Emirates is now a ‘player’ in world affairs, Parag Khanna, the director of the Global Governance Initiative, told reporters at the Dubai Press Club... LINK

Ted Widmer in US News & World Report | 'Allied With France, the Enemy of Our Enemy'

Communications — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:14:00 -0400

New America in the News:
..."Without a doubt, they had accomplished something just short of miraculous by winning a war against a superior adversary, securing the support of a historic enemy, and then running roughshod over the interests of both in the treaty that ended the war," writes historian Ted Widmer in his forthcoming book, The Ark of Liberties. "But it was a curiously nonidealistic way to advance America's famous idealism..." LINK

Steven Clemons in the New York Times | 'Bush Rebuffs Hard-Liners to Ease North Korean Curbs'

Communications — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:52:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Two days ago, during an off-the-record session with a group of foreign policy experts, Vice President Dick Cheney got a question he did not want to answer. “Mr. Vice President,” asked one of them, “I understand that on Wednesday or Thursday, we are going to de-list North Korea from the terrorism blacklist. Could you please set the context for this decision?”

Mr. Cheney froze, according to four participants at the Old Executive Office Building meeting. For more than 30 minutes he had been taking and answering questions, without missing a beat. But now, for several long seconds, he stared, unsmilingly, at his questioner, Steven Clemons of the New America Foundation, a public policy institution...LINK

Steve Coll in the Telegraph (Calcutta, India) | Book Review

Communications — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 06:57:00 -0400

New America in the News:

...Steve Coll follows up his Pulitzer winning bestseller, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001, with this extensively researched family history of the bin Ladens. It will be an understatement to describe it as just another rags-to-riches tale. It is a breathtaking saga of the fluctuating fortunes of a Yemen-based family that emerged from obscurity to become one of the richest and the most influential groups of people, not only in south Asia, but also in the world...LINK

Peter Bergen in Prospect Magazine | 'Is Bin Laden Losing?'

Communications — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:44:00 -0400

New America in the News:
In May, two articles by western experts on al Qaeda suggested that Bin Laden's terrorist organisation might be in sharp decline. Both were meticulously researched and received wide attention. Peter Bergen and Paul Cruickshank, research fellows at New York University, and Lawrence Wright of the New Yorker are all authoritative observers of Islamic militancy. The article by the former pair, in the New Republic, focused on disillusion among ex-militants with the strategy adopted over the last ten years by the al Qaeda leadership of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. This discontent, they said, was the result partly of the strategy's failure to achieve its aims and partly the appalling effects of the violence it has entailed, and they linked it to a broader decline in the popularity of al Qaeda and its ideology across both the Islamic world and immigrant communities in the west... LINK

Peter Bergen in Council of Foreign Relations | 'U.S-Pakistan Military Cooperation'

Communications — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:10:00 -0400

New America in the News:
...Yet longtime observers of the delicate partnership say events in 2008—like the June air strike and Pakistan's February elections—have increased tensions and strained the alliance. "One could say it's on a downward trajectory," says Shuja Nawaz, a Pakistani journalist and author of Crossed Swords, a history of the Pakistani military. "However, it's not irreconcilable differences in my view. This is something that can be resolved … bearing in mind the talks should come directly from the U.S. to Pakistan—not publicly, and not by Afghanistan." Peter Bergen, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, says Washington can do more to heal the relationship and increase Pakistan's counterterrorism capabilities...

Steven Clemons the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age | 'N Korea Soon off Terrorist Blacklist'

Communications — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:58:00 -0400

New America in the News:

...Steven Clemons, who also writes the blog The Washington Note, said there were signs within the Administration and the State Department that the lifting of the terrorism designation was imminent.

"This is seen as a key confidence-building step by North Korea and China in moving towards North Korea's eventual return to the nuclear non-proliferation club," he wrote.

But he said the office of the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, was a dissenting voice in the Administration's internal discussions... LINK

Peter Bergen in CNN.com | 'Hundreds Held in Saudi Terror Swoop'

Communications — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:15:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Saudi authorities announced a massive anti-terrorism sweep Wednesday that netted more than 500 members of a purported al Qaeda-linked terrorist cell said to be planning attacks on Saudi targets, including major oil installations...

...The announcement is a reminder that al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia remains a real threat, despite the successes that Saudi authorities have had since their campaign against the group began in 2003, CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen said... LINK

American Strategy Program event with Sen. Feingold | 'Feingold: Why Can't Dems Can Be Tough On Security And Civil Liberties?'

Communications — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:03:00 -0400

New America in the News:
...As FISA returns to the Senate this week -- now with a near-certain immunity clause for the telephone companies that aided President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program -- -Feingold himself said Monday that he expects to lose "too many Democrats" to the Republican block in the Senate.

"I'm blue in the face already," he told a gathering at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C on Monday. "We're gonna fall over on this and I'm very unhappy about that."...FULL STORY

Further information and New America event video: http://www.newamerica.net/events/2008/confronting_foreign_intelligence_and_information_gaps

Parag Khanna in Turkish Daily News | 'Redifining Turkey's Strategic Orientation'

Communications — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:39:00 -0400

New America in the News:

...The implications from denying Turkey an avenue to the European Union are not limited to damaging Turkey, however, but also diminish Europe itself. As Parag Khanna affirmed, “Europe increasingly needs Turkey,” which he defines as representing a “geopolitical asset (that) Europe cannot do without...” LINK

Sen. Russ Feingold Triggers a Discussion on Intelligence Reform

Communications — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:20:00 -0400

Washington, DC -- Today, at the New America Foundation, Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) lead a thought provoking discussion "Confronting Foreign Intelligence and Information Gaps"and made his first public remarks on his proposed Intelligence Authorization bill (S. 3041) that would create a non-partisan Foreign Intelligence and Information Commission. Sen. Feingold pointed to the "deficits in information collection, as well as reporting and analysis" and underscored the need for the commission to make independent assessments on issues including budget allocations, human resources, diplomatic reporting, and open source information. Sen. Feingold sponsored the bill, along with Chuck Hagel (R-NE); both Sens. Feingold and Hagel are members of the Senate Intelligence… more

American Strategy Program event with Sen. Feingold in The Consortium Report | 'FISA, Feingold, and a Filibuster?'

Communications — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:24:00 -0400

New America in the News:

In the wake of the House of Representatives’ passage of a bill last week that grants the White House wide latitude to spy on American citizens, and that effectively forces courts to throw out lawsuits against lawbreaking telecommunications companies, Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wisc., predicted today that the Senate would likely follow suit, despite strong protests from civil liberties groups and a majority of Democratic party members.

“I’m very worried we’re not going to be able to prevail,” Feingold said.

Feingold was the featured guest at a New America Foundation event where he discussed systemic gaps in the country’s collection of foreign intelligence. But during a question and answer session, he fielded several questions about the controversial wiretapping law...FULL STORY

Further information and New America event video: http://www.newamerica.net/events/2008/confronting_foreign_intelligence_and_information_gaps

American Strategy Program event with Sen. Feingold in JS Online | 'Feingold: the U.S. Has No Coherent Plan to Fight Terrorism'

Communications — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:10:00 -0400

New America in the News:
Nearly seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States has not yet come up with a "coherent plan of action" to fight terrorism, Sen. Russ Feingold said Monday during a speech at the New America Foundation.

"Instead, we remain mired in and distracted politically and financially by Iraq," Feingold told the audience. "As a consequence, many of the same serious problems that made us vulnerable to al Qaeda’s attack -- in strategic planning, institutional readiness and allocation of resources -- still remain."...

Feingold addressed the Washington think tank as the Senate is set to vote on a measure this week that would allow the federal government to tap telephone calls and e-mails between the United States and foreign countries. The bill also would allow federal courts to waive existing lawsuits against third parties that assisted President Bush’s warrantless surveillance program....LINK

Further information and the New America Foundation event video: http://www.newamerica.net/events/2008/confronting_foreign_intelligence_and_information_gaps

American Strategy Program event with Sen. Russ Feingold in CQ Today | 'Surveillance Showdown Promised'

Communications — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:34:00 -0400

New America in the News:
...“We’ll be requiring key procedural votes, and also taking some time on the floor this week, to indicate the problems of this legislation,” Russ Feingold , D-Wis., said Monday of himself and Christopher J. Dodd , D-Conn., speaking at the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank. “We’re not just going to let it quickly pass...” LINK

Peter Bergen on CNN Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer | Reporting on Al Qaida in Iraq

Communications — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:03:00 -0400

New America in the News:

WOLF BLITZER: ...And also joining us here in Washington, our CNN terrorism analyst, Peter Bergen. His most recent book is entitled "The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of Al Qaida's Leader."...

Are the United States and its allies losing ground in the war on terror right now?

PETER BERGEN: Well, it depends where you are. I mean, as Ahmed has pointed out, certainly Al Qaida on the Afghan/Pakistan border has resurged, as the national intelligence estimate said in 2007.

Certainly the Taliban are able to conduct these large-scale operations. But if you move to Iraq, where I recently returned from a trip that was sponsored by the Defense Department, it's quite clear Al Qaida in Iraq has scored a series of tremendous goals. It isn't defeated as a terrorist organization, but it's being defeated as an insurgency there.

And in fact, there is some evidence, now, that people within Al Qaida are leaving Iraq for Afghanistan, which they see as a, sort of, more fruitful area of jihad than Iraq itself...LINK