As published in The Hill

By Heather B. Hamilton - 07/15/10 06:02 PM ET

As the Senate begins debate on the U.S.-Russia New START arms-reduction treaty, we must not lose sight of a glaring problem in our national security: the impact that the U.S. failure to join major multilateral treaties has on our capacity to exercise global leadership. This failure threatens to make us, in a sad parody of Madeleine Albright's famous phrase, the "dispensable nation."

The Ploughshares Fund is making small grants of up to $5,000 available for organizations to work in specific cities around the U.S. to increase audience turnout engagement around the theatrical release of the film Countdown to Zero.

This morning, President Obama issued a message (PDF) to the attendees of the NGO Nuclear Security Summit, thanking them for their dedication and contributions to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons.

The message stressed that efforts to address the danger of terroists using nuclear weapons was for governments to work together with civil society, including NGOs, international organizations, industry and the media.

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.