Last week, the Connect U.S. Fund convened leaders from human rights NGOs for a discussion with administration officials on advancing the international human rights agenda. The meeting was co-hosted by Elisa Massimino of Human Rights first and Ted Piccone of the Brookings Institution.

On February 16 The Connect U.S. Fund, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Global Systems Initiatives convened a one-day conversation on U.S. Global Engagement in the Age of Interconnectedness: An Inquiry into a Systems Approach to Policy-Making.

In an article in Foreign Affairs magazine, Human Rights Watch Executive Director Ken Roth citicizes President Obama's incomplete implemention of his human rights promises.

By Fritjof Capra, Ph.D.
[This paper was the foundation of Dr. Capra's opening remarks at the February 16 Systems and Policy Roundtable]

By James O'Dea

On Monday, February 1, the Administration will transmit to Congress two important documents that will affect the work of the Connect U.S. community:  the 2011 budget and the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR).  The Pentagon plans an 11:00 am briefing on the two, which should be streamed live on http://www.pentagonchannel.mil/.   Comptroller Robert Hale for DoD will speak for budget, and QDR will be presented by Michelle Flornoy, the Under-Secretary of Defense for Policy.

On November 18, Connect U.S. Fund staff and community members met with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Mona Sutphen to discuss the prospects for Senate ratification of key international treaties in the coming years.  The administration was also represented by National Security Council Director for Multilateral Affairs Jeffrey Brown and Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy.

Today the U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues Stephen Rapp announced that the U.S. will be attending the International Criminal Court's Assembly of States Parties meeting as an observer, the first time the U.S.

In an expansive interview with Spencer Ackerman on the Quadrennial Defense and Development Review, State Department Director of Policy Planning Anne Marie Slaughter ruled out dissolving AID and merging it into the State Department:

Only one policy option has been ruled out: dissolving USAID and moving development work to the State Department. "There will be no merger," Slaughter said. "Secretary Clinton has made clear she wants a strong AID, a well-resourced AID, [and] wants diplomacy and development well-integrated."

When I first heard the news that President Obama had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I wondered what the heck the Nobel Committee was thinking when they awarded the prize to a man who's been in office for only nine months.  Indeed, judging by the political commentary and my Facebook and Twitter feeds, I wasn't alone in my skepticism.

But then I started thinking about the past nine months.