Tag Archives: afghanistan

‘Costs of War’ Project: Iraq War: 190,000 lives, $2.2 trillion

By Guest PostMarch 16, 2013Politicsafghanistan, boston university, brown university, catherine lutz, costs of war, democratic governance, international studies, Iraq, iraq reconstruction, iraq refugee crisis, iraq war, iraqi women, neta c crawford, Pakistan, political science, president eisenhower, project, security, trillion, united nations, us invasion, us military, violence, war in iraq, watson institute

More than 190,000 people have been killed in the 10 years since the war in Iraq began. The war will cost the U.S. $2.2 trillion, including substantial costs for veterans care through 2053, far exceeding the initial government estimate of $50 to $60 billion, according to a new report by scholars with the “Costs of War” project at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies. The 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq is March 19, 2013.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Ten years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq on March 19, 2003, researchers have released the first comprehensive analysis of direct and indirect human and economic costs of the war that followed. According to the report, the war has killed at least 190,000 people, including men and women in uniform, contractors, and civilians and will cost the United States $2.2 trillion — a figure that far exceeds the initial 2002 estimates by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget of $50 to $60 billion. (more…)

The Vikings: Yale Historian Looks at the Myths vs. the History

By Guest PostMarch 12, 2013Culture, Generalafghanistan, alcuin, anders winroth, anglo saxon army, arab caliphate, arabs, battle, canterbury cathedral, charlemagne court, coast of england, Europe, john clarke ridpath, legendary raiders, middle ages, myths, northern europe, pyrrhic victory, romantic myth, Scandinavia, stanford bridge, the history, the north, the vikings, tom ashbrook, viking age, yale historian

As a lead-up to the forthcoming History Channel series “Vikings,” Tom Ashbrook, host of NPR’s “On Point,” talked with a foremost authority on the subject — Yale’s Anders Winroth — to de-mystify the legendary raiders of the North.

Winroth is professor and director of graduate studies in history. His most recently published book is “The Conversion of Scandinavia: Vikings, Merchants, and Missionaries in the Remaking of Northern Europe” (Yale University Press, 2011). His forthcoming volume, “A New History of the Viking Age,” will be published by Princeton University Press in 2014. YaleNews spoke with Winroth recently about some of the issues raised in his “On Point” interview. The following is an edited transcript. (more…)

Istanbul Panel Offers Multiple Perspectives on Middle East-West Issues

By Guest PostMarch 5, 2013Politicsafghanistan, arab spring, bogazici university, british army officer, conflict in syria, defense, deniz tanyolac, diplomacy, emma sky, field army, global affairs, graeme lamb, hakan yilmaz, Iraq, islam, issues, istanbul panel, jackson institute, Jerusalem, jim levinsohn, marmara group foundation, middle east, Pakistan, ryan crocker, tendency in west, tusiad, uk government, US, us ambassador, uskudar american college, west, yale

“There is a tendency in the West to stay ignorant to what Islam stands for,” noted Ryan Crocker, a former U.S. ambassador who is currently senior fellow at Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, speaking at a panel held in Istanbul on Feb. 21.

The panel, which focused on issues that impact the West’s interests in the Middle East, was held in cooperation with Boğaziçi University–TÜSİAD Foreign Policy Forum. Crocker — who served in many countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan — was one of three senior fellows from the Jackson Institute to share their insights with the assembled guests. (more…)

Madeleine Albright Chats with Henry Paulson about Career, Foreign Policy

By Guest PostFebruary 17, 2013Politicsafghanistan, albright capital management, albright stonebridge group, american involvement, arab leaders, best decision making, Britain, central, China, chinese embassy, co ed, conflict in bosnia, decision-making, do ability doctrine, eastern europe, economic, environmental challenges, foreign policy issues, france, global strategy firm, investment advisory firm, jon huntsman, madeleine albright, medal of freedom, multilateralism, munich agreement, native czechoslovakia, nazi germany, no fly zone, paulson institute, president barack obama, president bill clinton, presidential, robert b zoellick, secretary of state, soviet union, state department, syria, united states, university of chicago, US, us government history, us treasury secretary, world affairs, world bank, world war, years of communism

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told an audience at the University of Chicago that her worldview was shaped early in life, when she witnessed the impact the United States had during and immediately following World War II.

Albright explained how terrible things happened to her native Czechoslovakia, when Britain and France signed the Munich Agreement in 1938, allowing Nazi Germany to annex parts of Czechoslovakia without its consent. Only when the United States entered World War II did Czechoslovakia’s plight improve. However, after the war, when the United States and its allies allowed the Soviet Union to liberate Central and Eastern Europe, it led to 50 years of communism. (more…)

Kofi Annan to students: ‘It’s your world now’

By Guest PostFebruary 13, 2013General, Politicsabsolutely essential, afghanistan, africa, arab league, city college, civil war, cuny, east timor, economic prospects, egypt, geneva, global food security, India, international monetary fund, jackson institute, Japan, jean krasno, john negroponte, kofi annan, kosovo, latin america, macalestar college, minnesota, native ghana, new york, nigeria, nutrition, Pakistan, political, radical change, russia, security council, sub-saharan africa, switzerland, syria, town hall meeting, un secretary general, united states, violent world conflicts, world economy

Former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan predicted during a campus visit that the civil war in Syria will become even more tragic before the international community takes action to help resolve the conflict, but said he is optimistic about the political and economic prospects for Africa in the years ahead. (more…)

Syria Policy Warning over Weapons of Mass Destruction Risk

By Guest PostDecember 26, 2012Politicsafghanistan, alternative path, andrew rathmell, anti assad coalition, bitter insurgency, catastrophic, catastrophic success, conflict, east timor, gareth stansfield, insurgent threat, intervention, Iraq, iraq veteran, jonathan githens mazer, kosovo, libya, mass destruction, middle eastern, military action, nato, northern ireland, paradox, post assad society, regime, risk, scholar, sierra leone, syria policy warning, syrian security forces, university of exeter, us disengagement, weapons, western strategic messages, worst option. sir paul newton

Policy-makers have been warned that premature military action in Syria could lead to uncontrolled access to weapons of mass destruction and a prolonged, bitter insurgency following any intervention that resulted in the sudden collapse of the Syrian security forces.

Despite the desire to prevent further bloodshed, taking direct action to try to end the conflict could be the “worst option” and could only serve to further destabilise the situation in the volatile country.

General (Retd) Professor Sir Paul Newton co-wrote the report alongside distinguished Middle Eastern scholars at the University of Exeter’s Strategy and Security Institute, of which he is Director. He said: “Although it may appear attractive in the short-term, the one scenario that must be avoided is sudden, uncontrolled state collapse. This may seem like a paradox given the pressing need to end humanitarian suffering and the risk of the conflict spreading. However, it could be catastrophic. If unmanaged disintegration of the Syrian state were to occur, access to weapons of mass destruction would be uncontrolled.” (more…)

‘Disposable Heroes’

By Guest PostDecember 8, 2012Politicsafghanistan, african american soldiers, african american veterans, alford a young, army veteran, Baltimore, benjamin fleury steiner, betrayal, black veterans, crime, disposable heroes, gi bill benefits, homeless veterans, independence house, Iraq, martin luther king, military service, national guardsman, neglect, operation desert storm, poverty, sacrifice, saudi arabia, scud missiles, soldiers, streets of wilmington, trauma of war, university of delaware, Vietnam, war, war on drugs

UD sociologist writes book about ‘betrayal’ of African American veterans

For the University of Delaware’s Benjamin Fleury-Steiner, research for his new book Disposable Heroes: The Betrayal of African American Veterans was uncomfortable and disquieting.

An associate professor of sociology, Fleury-Steiner spent months interviewing black veterans of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan in the back streets of Wilmington, Del., to learn more about their service to their country and their experiences upon returning home.

The topic had long been on Fleury-Steiner’s mind, himself an Army veteran of Operation Desert Storm who had ducked Scud missiles in Saudi Arabia. (more…)

PTSD Consortium

By Guest PostNovember 1, 2012Healthadult, afghanistan, americans, bad experience, behavior, behavioral epigenetic, brain, brain imaging, cambridge, car accident, cardiovascular disease, chemical change, combat troops, david diamond, delaware, diagnose, disorder, DNA, dna methylation, draper laboratory, gene, hormone level, Iraq, military, molecular change, molecular modification, objective biomarker, panic attack, posttraumatic, ptsd, rate, rodent model, south florida, stress, stress disorder, tania roth, trauma, university, victim, violent crime, war

Researchers seek better ways to diagnose, treat disorder

Tania Roth studies what happens to the brain when stress occurs early in life, seeking to pinpoint how those kinds of bad experiences can cause molecular changes to DNA.

Now, by participating in a national consortium of researchers, the assistant professor of psychology at the University of Delaware is hoping to use her expertise to contribute to a better understanding of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). (more…)