"The president wants to play on Al Qaeda because he thinks Americans understand the threat Al Qaeda poses. But what I don't think he demonstrates is that fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq precludes Al Qaeda from attacking America here tomorrow. Al Qaeda ... thrives on the American occupation."
The Bush Administration has issued a mixed review of the political, economic, and military progress of Iraq's government, which has made satisfactory progress on only eight of 18 benchmarks set by Congress. Meanwhile, the House voted to bring troops home by the spring despite a veto threat from President Bush, and influential senators continue to debate withdrawing troops, rescinding the original authorization for the war, and implementing the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group. Brookings scholars examine the choices now facing Congress and the White House.
President George W. Bush has announced an international conference this fall to help restart Mideast peace talks. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who attends a meeting of the Middle East Quartet—the U.S., European Union, United Nations, and Russia—in Lisbon, Portugal this week, will preside over the session which would include Israel, the Palestinian authority and some of their Arab neighbors.
New White House estimates show the deficit falling to $205 billion for fiscal 2007. Meanwhile, Democrats note that the nation's fiscal outlook is far worse now than when Bush took office in 2001. Brookings' Budgeting for National Priorities project is seeking a common ground among experts and policymakers.
The Hamilton Project at Brookings hosted a forum on health care reform and released four alternative policy proposals for achieving universal health care coverage for all Americans.
Transcript forthcoming
Failed Diplomacy: The Tragic Story of How North Korea Got the Bomb
Brookings, SAIS, and the Korea Economic Institute hosted a discussion of Failed Diplomacy: The Tragic Story of How North Korea Got the Bomb , including a conversation on North Korea and the six-party talks.
A recent Supreme Court ruling appears to effectively reverse a prohibition on the use of general treasury funds by corporations and unions to run certain political ads right up until election day. Tom Mann argues that the decision gutted a good faith effort by Congress to limit the influence of money in politics, and engages in an online debate with Former FEC Commissioner Bradley Smith.
Opportunity 08 aims to help presidential candidates and the public focus on critical issues facing the nation, providing ideas, policy forums, and information on a broad range of domestic and foreign policy questions.
Pietro Nivola argues that the U.S. federal government has grown inordinately preoccupied with concerns better left to local authorities. The result is an overextended government, too often distracted from higher priorities. Nivola offers several suggestions for how particular policy pursuits might be devolved.
The 60th anniversary of the Marshall Plan is a reminder of the profound effect that U.S. action can have in rebuilding countries ravaged by war, encouraging free trade, and spreading democracy. It is also a reminder of the essential role that Brookings has played throughout the years, from making the Marshall Plan a reality to helping design the UN to pushing for deregulation and tax simplification.
In Congressional testimony, Lael Brainard explains how America's "soft power"—foreign assistance—is also its "smart power, working to advance national security, national interests and national values."
In a series of visits to various corporate headquarters, discover how private-sector leaders address organizational challenges; and learn new leadership and management ideas that will be invaluable to those in the public sector. July 23-27, Washington, DC
Inside Congress: Understanding the Legislative Process
Meetings with elected representatives, staffers, journalists, and lobbyists will thrust participants into the daily workings of Capitol Hill and give them firsthand exposure to what makes Congress tick.
September. 10-14, Washington, D.C.
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