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United States Reference Service
Public Affairs Section
June 2008
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Web
Alert is produced by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Mission to
Australia as a free service to our subscribers.
The views expressed in these documents are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the
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South
Asia, Afghanistan and Central Asia
International economic issues, trade and investment
Terrorism and homeland security
Climate Change and Environment
Fisheries
and marine environment
Transportation and infrastructure
Media, communications and information
technology
Justice,
law enforcement and intellectual property
Markets and
Democracy
U.S.
Dept of State, Office of International Information Programs, eJournal USA, June 2008
http://www.america.gov/publications/ejournalusa/0608.html
“Is
it possible to have free markets without democracy? Which develops first? Can
the incentive of economic growth lead to greater democracy in countries that
are not democratic? The 12 international experts we’ve assembled in this issue
take up different aspects of the conundrum and offer their answers to these
questions…” The full text of this issue of eJournal
USA is at http://www.america.gov/media/pdf/ejs/0608.pdf
U.S. Policy toward
Asia
Address
by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the Heritage Foundation, June
18, 2008
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2008/06/106034.htm
U.S.-Japan
Relations: An Overview
Hearing
before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, June 12,
2008
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=1005
For
transcripts, please go to http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/testimony.asp and scroll
down.
The Anatomy of
China’s Export Growth
World
Bank policy research working paper, May 2008
The China-North
Korea Relationship
Backgrounder
by Jayshree Bajoria, Council on Foreign Relations, updated June 18, 2008
http://www.cfr.org/publication/11097/
The United States
and Vietnam: Expanding Relations
Fact
sheet, U.S. Dept of State, June 24, 2008
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2008/jun/106220.htm
The Malay-Muslim
Insurgency in Southern Thailand: Understanding the Conflict’s Evolving Dynamic
Peter
Chalk, RAND, 2008
http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/2008/RAND_OP198.pdf
Remarks at
Conference in Support of Palestinian Civil Security and Rule of Law
Remarks
by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at conference in Berlin, June 24,
2008
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2008/06/106196.htm
More Than Just
Enrichment: Iran’s Strategic Aspirations and the Future of the Middle East
Hearing
before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, June 5,
2008
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=998
For
transcripts, please go to http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/testimony.asp and scroll
down.
Mullahs, Money, and
Militias: How Iran Exerts Its Influence in the Middle East
Barbara
Slavin, U.S. Institute of Peace, June 2008
http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr206.pdf
Energy in Danger:
Iran, Oil, and the West
Simon
Henderson, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, June 2008
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC04.php?CID=291
P5+1 Incentives
Media
note, U.S. Dept of State, June 17, 2008
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2008/jun/105992.htm
The
P5+1 partners are the United States, United Kingdom,
France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union)
Religion and
Politics in Iran
Backgrounder
by Greg Bruno, Council on Foreign Relations, June 19, 2008
http://www.cfr.org/publication/16599/
The Future of
U.S.-Iraqi Relations: The Perspective of the Iraqi Parliament
Hearing
before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, June 4,
2008
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=996
For
transcripts, please go to http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/testimony.asp and scroll
down.
Status of Forces
Agreement (SOFA): What Is It, and How Might One be Utilized in Iraq?
Congressional
Research Service report, June 16, 2008
http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL34531_20080616.pdf
U.S. Security
Agreements and Iraq
Backgrounder
by Greg Bruno, Council on Foreign Relations, updated June 6, 2008
http://www.cfr.org/publication/16448/
Securing,
Stabilizing, and Rebuilding Iraq: Progress Report: Some Gains Made, Updated
Strategy
Needed
Government
Accountability Office (GAO) report, June 2008
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08837.pdf
Iraq’s Interior
Ministry: Frustrating Reform
Briefing
by Robert M. Perito, U.S. Institute of Peace, May 2008
http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2008/0523_iraq_interior_ministry.html
America and the
Emerging Iraqi Reality: New Goals, No Illusions
Ellen
Laipson, the Century Foundation, June 2008
http://www.tcf.org/publications/internationalaffairs/laipson.pdf
There
is a news release at http://www.tcf.org/list.asp?type=PR&pubid=140
Half Full or Half
Empty: Assessing Prospects for Peace in Lebanon
Briefing
by Alistair Harris, U.S. Institute of Peace, May 2008
http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2008/0530_peace_lebanon.html
China-Gulf Economic
Relations
Backgrounder
by Lee Hudson Teslik, Council on Foreign Relations, June 4, 2008
http://www.cfr.org/publication/16398/
SOUTH ASIA, AFGHANISTAN and CENTRAL
ASIA
Summary of U.S.
Assistance: International Conference in Support of Afghanistan
Media
note, U.S. Dept of State, June 12, 2008
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2008/jun/105847.htm
Remarks
by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the conference are at http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2008/06/105862.htm
Total U.S. Security
and Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan
Fact
sheet, U.S. Dept of State, June 10, 2008
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2008/jun/105770.htm
This
fact sheet covers the period from Fiscal Year 2001 to Fiscal Year 2008.
Afghanistan: Not
Lost, But Needs More Attention
Briefing
by Mohammad Stanekzai, U.S. Institute of Peace, June 2008
http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2008/0611_afghanistan.html
Why NATO Must Win
in Afghanistan: A Central Front in the War on Terrorism
Backgrounder
by Sally McNamara, Heritage Foundation, June 23, 2008
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Europe/bg2148.cfm
Counterinsurgency
in Afghanistan
Seth
G. Jones, RAND, 2008
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2008/RAND_MG595.pdf
There
is a summary of this 177-page publication at http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG595/, and a news
release, “Taliban’s Sanctuary Bases in Pakistan Must be Eliminated”,
June 9, 2008, at http://www.rand.org/news/press/2008/06/09/index.html
China in Africa:
Implications for U.S. Policy
Hearing
before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, June 4, 2008
http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2008/hrg080604a.html
China, Africa, and
Oil
Backgrounder
by Stephanie Hanson, Council on Foreign Relations, June 6, 2008
http://www.cfr.org/publication/9557/
India in Africa:
Moving Beyond Oil
CSIS
South Asia Program, June 10, 2008
http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/sam119.pdf
Bringing Peace to
the Niger Delta
Kelly
Campbell, U.S. Institute of Peace, May 2008
http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2008/0602_niger_delta.html
Hope Fades for Free
Elections in Zimbabwe during Government Campaign of Terror
Fact
sheet, U.S. Dept of State, June 18, 2008
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/104399.htm
Zimbabwe: 2008
Elections and Implications for U.S. Policy
Congressional
Research Service report, May 22, 2008
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/106142.pdf
Russia, Iran, and
Nuclear Weapons: Implications of the Proposed U.S.-Russia Agreement
Hearing
before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, June 12, 2008
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=1002
For
transcripts, please go to http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/testimony.asp and scroll down.
Testimony by U.S. Acting Under Secretary of State John
C. Rood is also at http://www.state.gov/t/us/rm/105880.htm
Russia’s Economic
Performance and Policies and Their Implications for the United States
Congressional
Research Service report, May 30, 2008
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/106151.pdf
Looking Forward to
the Medvedev Administration in Russia
Testimony
by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried before the Commission on
Security and Cooperation in Europe, May 8, 2008
http://www.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/104496.htm
U.S.-Russian
Civilian Nuclear Cooperation Agreement: Issues for Congress
Congressional
Research Service report, June 9, 2008
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/106180.pdf
Remarks at the 38th
General Assembly of the Organization of American States
Remarks
by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte, to the 38th
General Assembly of the OAS in Medellin, Colombia, June 2, 2008
http://www.state.gov/s/d/2008/105508.htm
The New Challenge:
China in the Western Hemisphere
Hearing
before the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, U.S. House Committee on
Foreign Affairs, June 11, 2008
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=1004
For
transcripts, please go to http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/testimony.asp and scroll down.
The Merida
Initiative: Examining U.S. Efforts to Combat Transnational Criminal
Organizations
Hearing
before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, June 5,
2008
http://homeland.house.gov/Hearings/index.asp?ID=146
Colombia’s
Crossroads: The FARC and the Future of the Hostages
Briefing
by Virginia M. Bouvier, U.S. Institute of Peace, June 2008
http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2008/0617_colombia_farc.html
Economy and Markets
Address
by U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Henry M. Paulson Jr, June 19, 2008
http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/hp1040.htm
Economic Stimulus
Payments
Hearing
before the Subcommittee on Oversight, U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means,
June 19, 2008
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=detail&hearing=636
Reducing Systemic
Risk in a Dynamic Financial System
Address
by Timothy F. Geithner, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of New York,
June 9, 2008
http://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/speeches/2008/tfg080609.html
The State of the
Banking Industry: Part II
Hearing
before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, June 5,
2008
Financial Stability
and Central Banks
Remarks
by Jeffrey M. Lacker, President, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, to a seminar
in London, June 5, 2008
http://www.richmondfed.org/news_and_speeches/presidents_speeches/index.cfm/id=107
Money Markets and
Financial Stability
Speech
by Donald L. Kohn, Vice Chairman, Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal
Reserve, May 29, 2008
http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/kohn20080529a.htm
Outstanding Issues
in the Analysis of Inflation
Speech
by Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman, Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve,
June 9, 2008
http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/bernanke20080609a.htm
Storms on the Horizon
Address
by Richard W. Fisher, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, May
28, 2008
http://dallasfed.org/news/speeches/fisher/2008/fs080528.cfm
The Potential Impact
of Climate Change on Insurance Regulation
Draft
report by National Association of Insurance Commissioners, May 28, 2008
http://www.naic.org/documents/committees_ex_climate_impacts.pdf
There
is a news release on this 19-page white paper at http://www.naic.org/Releases/2008_docs/climate_study.htm
High-Impact Firms:
Gazelles Revisited
Small
Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, June 2008
http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs328tot.pdf
There
is a summary at http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs328.pdf, and a news
release,
“’High-Impact’
Firms Create Most Jobs and Growth”, at http://www.sba.gov/advo/press/08-16.html
Looking Past Today:
Staying Competitive in a Changing Global Economy
Speech by U.S. Under Secretary of the Treasury
David H. McCormick, in Pittsburgh, June 3, 2008
http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/hp1004.htm
Global Economic
Gloom: China and India Notable Exceptions
Pew
Global Attitudes Project, June 12, 2008
http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=260
The
full report (150 pages) is at http://pewglobal.org/reports/pdf/260.pdf
Sovereign Wealth
Funds: Foreign Policy Consequences in an Era of New Money
Hearing
before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, June 11, 2008
http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2008/hrg080611a.html
Economic and U.S.
Income Tax Issues Raised by Sovereign Wealth Fund Investments in the United States
A
report by the staff of the Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress, June 17,
2008
http://www.jct.gov/x-49-08.pdf
Open
Investment
Remarks
by U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Henry M. Paulson Jr before the U.S.-UAE
Business Council, in Abu Dhabi, June 2, 2008
http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/hp1001.htm
While Doha Sleeps:
Securing Economic Growth Through Trade
Facilitation
Daniel
Ikenson, Cato Institute Center for Trade Policy Studies, June 17, 2008
http://www.freetrade.org/files/pubs/pas/tpa-037.pdf
There
is a summary at http://www.freetrade.org/pubs/pas/tpa-037es.html
Oversight of U.S.
Trade Preference Programs
Hearing
before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, June 12, 2008
http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/hearing061208.htm
The Effects of
Trade with Low-Income Countries on U.S. Industry
Working
paper by Raphael Auer and Andreas M. Fischer, Globalization and Monetary Policy
Institute, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, June 2008
http://dallasfed.org/gmpi/wpapers/2008/gmpi0014.pdf
The
authors of this paper are affiliated with the Swiss National Bank.
Millennium
Challenge Corporation: Independent Reviews and Consistent Approaches Will Strengthen Projections of Program Impact
Government
Accountability Office (GAO) report, June 2008
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08730.pdf
The Growth Report:
Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development
Commission
on Growth and Development, May 2008
http://www.growthcommission.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=96&Itemid=169
Also
available as a full PDF document at http://www.growthcommission.org/storage/cgdev/documents/Report/GrowthReportfull.pdf
The
Commission on Growth and Development is supported by the Governments of
Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, by the William and
Flora Hewlett Foundation, and by the World Bank.
The 15th
Replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA) and the 11th Replenishment of the African Development
Fund (AfDF)
Hearing
before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, June 18, 2008
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/hr061808.shtml
Microfinance Meets
the Market
World
Bank policy research working paper, May 2008
Meeting the
Challenges of the Global Food Crisis
Remarks
by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte, June 13, 2008
http://www.state.gov/s/d/2008/105902.htm
Promoting Food
Security Worldwide
Fact
sheet, U.S. Dept of State, May 30, 2008
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/105385.pdf
Global Food
Security: Briefing Room
U.S.
Dept of Agriculture (USDA), Economic Research Service, 2008
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/GlobalFoodSecurity/
Factors in Food
Commodity Price Increases
Information
resources compiled by USDA’s Economic Research Service, updated May 2008
http://www.ers.usda.gov/features/commoditypricefactors/
High Agricultural
Commodity Prices: What Are the Issues?
Congressional
Research Service report, updated May 29, 2008
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/106150.pdf
International
Disaster Assistance: Policy Options
Hearing
before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, June 17, 2008
http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2008/hrg080617p.html
The Dilemma of
Humanitarian Intervention
Backgrounder
by Jayshree Bajoria, Council on Foreign Relations, June 12, 2008