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Fostering Legitimate Governance
A federal system has allowed contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan to commit fraud -- then get hired again and again. The report suggested that the government stop using contractors so routinely, start taking oversight more seriously and establish strong interagency standards.
"India is no stranger to protest movements, hunger strikes, and the mass mobilization of citizens for a popular cause. But the recent fast by the Gandhian leader Anna Hazare, culminating in an extraordinary Saturday session of Parliament to pass a resolution acceding to his main demands, marked a dramatic departure in the country's politics." -- from article
"Congress faces historically low approval ratings as it wades into the debate over the $447 billion jobs package proposed by President Obama, with just 12 percent of Americans now approving of the way Congress is handling its job" -- from article
This article, adapted from a chapter of the newly released "Top Secret America: The Rise of the New American Security State," by Washington Post reporters Dana Priest and William M. Arkin, chronicles JSOC's spectacular rise, much of which has not been publicly disclosed before. Two presidents and three secretaries of defense routinely have asked JSOC to mount intelligence-gathering missions and lethal raids, mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also in countries with which the United States was not at war, including Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia, the Philippines, Nigeria and Syria.
Recently the terms "governance" and "good governance" are being increasingly used in development literature. This article tries to explain, as simply as possible, what "governance" and "good governance" means.
The article discusses an annual corruption index issued by Transparency International that ranks governments around the world for their honesty. The most corrupt countries are the poorest, and the most honest are the richest. Donors who give out foreign aid use the rankings as a guide of what countries deserve economic assistance.
This article takes the rarely publicized view of the positive aspects of Afghanistan's current state. The article includes a video interview of the First Lady of White House Press Corps, Helen Thomas, as she promotes tolerance in the media.
Obama explains his specific plans for increasing government transparency under his administration.
President Obama identified corruption as the 'root of many of Africa's troubles' and identified it as a primary focus of future U.S.-Africa relations.
