Patrick C. Doherty: All Publications, Events and Press

Foreign Policy Follies

Communications — Tue, 13 May 2008 04:15:00 -0400

A New America Event
05/13/2008 - 12:15pm

While one political party offers a bold, coherent, and failed vision for foreign policy, the other has proffered an inchoate and incoherent response that falls far short of a strategy. Matthew Yglesias -- a known "ringleader-of-sorts for the D.C. blogging community" -- suggests looking past both parties to offer a set of tried-and-true approaches for renewed internationalism and U.S. engagement with the world.

Beyond the Torture Debate

Communications — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:30:00 -0400

A New America Event
05/06/2008 - 3:30pm

On May 6th the American Strategy Program hosted an event with Philippe Sands, Professor of International Law at University College London and Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff for Colon Powell. Mr. Sands was in DC to testify to the House Judiciary Committee about the findings in his new book, Torture Team, which examines the legal implications of the Bush administration’s policy of torture. Col. Wilkerson was on hand for commentary on the subject. The event was moderated by Patrick Doherty, deputy director of the American Strategy program.

Mr. Doherty began the event by declaring the legalization of torture, “a dark and dismal period in American history.” After a brief introduction, Mr. Sands paraphrased his book, which is the story of a single memo, signed by Donald Rumsfeld, authorizing the use of coercive interrogation techniques on Guantanamo detainees. Mr. Sands offered his expertise in international and human rights law to this topic. He stated that “a conscious decision was made to put aside the Geneva Convention” by Rumsfeld and the administration’s legal team, which violated international law. Mr. Sands shared the sense of deep concern abroad that American leadership violated international law and attempted to cover up this violation with legal documents. Mr. Sands then expressed his optimism that America was capable of self-correcting, would find out the truth and require accountability at the highest levels. His recent experience at the House Judiciary Committee confirmed that America was concerned with justice and returning to its core values.

Col. Wilkerson agreed with Mr. Sands claim that a crime was committed, there was a cover up, and that there will be accountability. He opined that there was a need to demilitarize U.S. foreign presence abroad by balancing military personnel with diplomatic. Col Wilkerson also expressed concern about the international view of America at present; “The rest of the world judges us not by what we say, but what we do, and what we’ve been doing has not been good.”

-Faith Smith, American Strategy Intern

The 'W' Generation: How the World's Youth See America

Communications — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:15:00 -0400

A New America Event
03/28/2008 - 12:15pm

For the past year, twenty-something Washington Post reporter Amar Bakshi has traveled across the globe talking to ordinary people of his generation -- farmers, rebels, rappers, laborers -- whose primary experience of the United States has been with George W. Bush at the helm.

What he found was eye-opening. Having just returned to the U.S. this month, Amar will offer some new perspectives on the texture of pro- and anti-Americanism at the local level.

Amar C. Bakshi is currently reporting for the online editions of The Washington Post and Newsweek, traveling around the world looking at how America impacts ordinary lives in a dozen countries. Before launching How the World Sees America, Amar worked with David Ignatius, Hal Straus, and Fareed Zakaria as the first editor of PostGlobal, an international affairs forum. His daily text and video dispatches from England, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, the Philippines, Korea, Venezuela and Mexico can be found at www.washingtonpost.com/america.

Iran's Election: What the Polling Says

Communications — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 04:30:00 -0400

A New America Event
03/14/2008 - 9:30am

When the Iranian people vote for their parliamentary representatives on Friday, March 14, the results may be surprising. But will the rising dissatisfaction with the government and an increased desire for compromise with the United States translate into change?

The New America Foundation's American Strategy Program along with Terror Free Tomorrow, a leading non-partisan public opinion research organization, will discuss the full results of TFT's most recent poll of Iranian public attitudes.

For more information see Robin Wright's coverage of the TFT polling in The Washington Post.

How Far Will America's Subprime Virus Infect Europe?

Communications — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:15:00 -0500

A New America Event
02/26/2008 - 12:15pm

The New America Foundation welcomed Steffen Kampeter from the Budget Committee of Germany’s Bundestag for a discussion of the far-reaching effects of the American sub-prime mortgage crisis and the subsequent breakdown of financial markets. Patrick Doherty, Deputy Director of the American Strategy Program, moderated the session.

Herr Kampeter briefed attendees on the general state of economic affairs in Germany and throughout the European Union, along with the European reaction to the sub-prime crisis. He stated that in spite of slowing trends in growth, stability remains a strong feature of most European economies. However, as financial markets feel the strain of the credit fallout, Europeans are now witnessing several rescue scenarios come into play, particularly in Germany & the UK, and even in financially savvy Switzerland, as major firms face possible collapse. While the crisis continues to run its course, questions of accountability and regulation are brought to bear against open markets and competition.

Kampeter stressed that while the real market has not yet felt the full force of the blow, the problem-solving endeavor to minimize the negative spillover effects must take place as an international effort, focused to sustain liquidity to markets and to restore trust in the financial system. No single nation can fully remedy the problem on its own. In the debate over increased regulation, Kampeter asserted that a combination of internal self-regulative measures along with regulatory legislation should be enacted. He also cautioned that immediate action is not necessarily helpful, diplomatically affirming the critical stance of the EU against the Fed bailout in the US. His most notable criticism came against the American legal situation which allows the proffering of credit to unworthy borrowers, maintaining that the German housing market, while less profitable, is much more stable due to more strict lending requirements.

- Andrew Bolden

New America in New York Times Online | 'For Cuba Experts, Castro Presents Opportunity for Change'

Communications — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:57:00 -0500

New America in the News:

For Cuba Experts, Castro Presents Opportunity for Change (New York Times blog/The Lede)

...While some experts saw change already afoot, others on a conference call convened today by the New America Foundation were fiercely critical of Washington’s refusal to end its economic embargo of Cuba, including strict travel restrictions.

“Our policy from Cuba is a relic from the Cold War,” Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts, who was on the call, told reporters. “And quite frankly, it’s an embarrassment.” Others described the policy as “stupid,” the product of an “enormous Cold War hangover” retained by an administration saddled with a “tin ear” for Cuba policy.

Mr. McGovern announced on the call that more than 100 members of Congress had signed a letter urging the administration to “thoroughly review” its Cuba policy. Sarah Stephens of the Center for Democracy in the Americas applauded that step, but then said of the letter-signers, “They should act more boldly.”

Lawrence S. Wilkerson, a longtime aide to former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell who has become a strong critic of President Bush, said, “It’s probably going to take a new president.” (In the United States, that is.) more

Martyrs Without Borders

Communications — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 12:30:00 -0500

A New America Event
11/30/2007 - 12:30pm

The rate of suicide attacks in the Iraqi insurgency has surpassed the number of suicide operations by all previous insurgent groups combined, including those by Hezbollah in Lebanon, Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, and Hamas in Israel. Many of the suicide bombers are foreign volunteers--they come from neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia and Syria, and from as far away as North Africa and Europe. What motivates these foreign fighters to make this journey of death? Dr. Mohammed Hafez, author of Suicide Bombers in Iraq, will answer this and other vexing questions by examining the varied factions that comprise the Iraqi insurgency, the ideology and theology of martyrdom, and the prospects for a new generation of global jihadists forged in the crucible of Iraq.

Dr. Mohammed Hafez earned a Ph.D. in international relations from the London School of Economics and has received major research grants from the United States Institute of Peace and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation. He is the author of Suicide Bombers in Iraq: The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom (2007); Manufacturing Human Bombs: The Making of Palestinian Suicide Bombers (2006); and Why Muslims Rebel: Repression and Resistance in the Islamic World (2003). He regularly appears on the Jim Lehrer News Hour and National Public Radio. Next year, he will join the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, as an associate professor of national security affairs.

Tilting Toward Annapolis: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Middle East

Communications — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
11/13/2007 - 3:00pm

On November 13, Patrick Doherty and the American Strategy Program hosted the Hon. Gary Hart and Daniel Levy in the third of a series of briefings on the run-up to the upcoming Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, MD. Gary Hart represented Colorado in the United States Senate from 1975 to 1987, where he served on the Armed Services Committee and specialized in nuclear arms control, among many other topics. Sen. Hart is a distinguished fellow at the New America Foundation, and the author of sixteen books, plus one forthcoming entitled “Under the Eagle’s Wing: a National Security Strategy for the United States: 2009.” He is also the chairman of the Council for a Livable World and an endowed professor at the University of Colorado-Denver. Daniel Levy is the director of the Middle East Policy Initiative at New America and publisher of www.ProspectsForPeace.com. He has been intensively involved with Israeli/Palestinian negotiations for many years.

Sen. Hart opened by vehemently questioning the unspoken assumption that there is unlimited time to reach a final settlement between Israel and Palestine. “The amount of time to play a broker’s role is finite,” Sen. Hart said of the United States’ position in negotiations. He noted the Bush administration has neglected the situation for seven years and is lucky that there have been no major conflagrations or massive destabilization in Israel/Palestine conditions.

After recounting some of his time in Jordan, Egypt and Israel in the 1980s, Sen. Hart observed, “This situation of neglect is exacerbated by the war currently going on in Iraq.” Sen. Hart also expressed his concern over growing uncertainty in Iran’s nuclear program. The combination of little time, the Iraq war, and the potential for a regional conflict make it “difficult if not impossible to make any real progress at Annapolis,” Sen. Hart predicted.

The senator also pointed out several other factors that contribute to his belief that Annapolis will not be particularly productive: the American public’s decreasing patience for resolving the situation and the growing appeal of a more isolationist position with respect to Israel and Palestine; the erosion of U.S. moral authority in the world; and U.S. dependence on oil in the Persian Gulf. Sen. Hart worried that the loss to American standing worldwide is non-recoverable, even after President Bush is no longer in office; people could view the United States as “the great hypocrite of the world,” he stated.

Sen. Hart encouraged economic cooperation between Israel and Palestine in the hopes that increased communication and transportation between the regions will allow younger generations of Israelis and Palestinians to work together to move past old feuds.

Daniel Levy then thanked Sen. Hart for reminding everyone of the ‘big picture,’ which can get lost in day-to-day negotiations and details. Mr. Levy shared Sen. Hart’s concern that seven years of neglect by the Bush administration has done little to stabilize the region or protect American or Israeli interests. He hoped that negotiations will not be “spooked” by domestic Israeli politics this time around and warned that Annapolis could play a negative role in moving negotiations forward because it could “feed into domestic frustration” of a why-bother sentiment. “You can’t fix anything in the region now unless you fix everything,” Mr. Levy concluded, with his belief that the U.S. needs to engage Syria, Iran, and Hamas in negotiations.

Patrick Doherty moderated the following question and answer session, and the panel discussed the efficacy of American mediation given decreased standing in the world, the possibility of another party acting as peace broker, and the next administration’s agenda in the Middle East.

-Katherine Tiedemann, Research Associate for the Fellows Program

National Journal Features American Strategy New Hire Patrick Doherty

Communications — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 14:54:00 -0400

New America in the News:

The New America Foundation has hired a deputy director for its foreign-policy program and is turning its sights on Cuba. Patrick Doherty, who was communications director at the Center for National Policy, led by former Rep. Tim Roemer, D-Ind., will join Director Steven Clemons at NAF's American Strategy Program next month. "I am much more of a policy guy at heart than a communications guy," says Doherty, who has a master's degree in security studies from Tufts University's Fletcher School. Among other projects, Doherty will help the think tank grow its U.S.-Cuba policy initiative, aimed at forging a stronger relationship between the two countries.

Doherty, 37, has shaped his career around conflict resolution and peace-building in places that have historically lacked both. He spent a decade working with organizations, including Catholic Relief Services, on post-conflict reconstruction in the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans. Hailing from Buffalo, N.Y., and Cincinnati, Doherty graduated from American University in the early 1990s. He says that watching the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall as a college student sparked his interest in the field.

Doherty's experience as a blogger fits well with New America Foundation's vision of communicating ideas more rapidly and to a wider audience -- qualities that Washington think tanks aren't generally known for. ...

For the complete article, please visit The National Journal website.