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 22, the Connect U.S. Fund convened a group of civil society leaders representing both the environmental and development communities to discuss a set of common asks for The Treasury Department’s top climate and energy official, William Pizer.

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.

For World Politics Review (March 2, 2010)

TRI-VALLEY CAREs' ANALYSIS OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2011 BUDGET REQUEST FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Biggest Nuclear Weapons Activities Budget EVER Proposed.

For our hot-off-the-press analysis of the Dept. of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) budget request for nuclear weapons activities, go to http://www.trivalleycares.org/new/reports/FY2011BUDGETRPT.pdf

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.

Progress toward a world rid of nuclear weapons depends on the world’s young people. Johan Bergenäs, 28, is a research associate in Washington, D.C., for the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and is a former reporter and current freelance writer for newspapers in Sweden and the United States.

Dr. Gordon Adams, Professor of International Relations at American University and Distinguished Fellow at the Stimson Center, urged the Congress on Tuesday, February 23 to include the defense budget in the discretionary spending freeze the administration proposed in its FY 2011 budget request delivered February 1, 2010.  Doing so would save the American taxpayer significant resources, since more than half of America's discretionary spending is in the defense budget, which the administration exempted from its freeze proposal.

On February 18th, I attended a briefing and round table discussion about foreign assistance and humanitarian relief post Haiti at the Connect U.S. Fund. The discussion was led by U.S. in the World and featured representatives from the NGO community. It was an honor and privilege to be sitting next to and across the table from such figures as the International Rescue Committee's VP of Government Relations & Advocacy, and Interaction's, Senior Director of Policy and Communication, respecitively.

Advocates and communication experts from the Connect U.S. Fund community gathered on February 18 to discuss how to connect relief efforts from the Haiti earthquake to sustained development efforts. Priscilla Lewis of U.S. in the World presented some basic guidance on foreign assistance messaging (available in the USITW guide, "Talking Global Issues with Americans: A Practical Guide").

Recently, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) ordered the ICC judges to re-examine whether charges of genocide should be added to an existing arrest warrant for Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir for crimes of war and crimes against humanity. Currently, Sudan’s ruling party does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC and Bashir has threatened to expel humanitarian agencies from Sudan as he did in 2009.

A key question is how publics in Muslim countries are likely to react to the ICC taking further action against Bashir.

NRDC Analysis of the Department of Energy FY 2011 Budget Request For Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Nonproliferation, and Nuclear Energy

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

Since the White House unveiled the proposed FY2011 budget, members of the Connect U.S. Fund community have begun to take a closer look at the details of budgeting for security and international affairs. Here are some analyses and reports - contribute more at the Connect U.S. Fund website, either by posting to the comments or adding a new blog post (login required).

Keep reading for analysis from the Institute for Policy Studies, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Center for a New American Security, Stimson, U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, and the National Priorities Project.

In a speech at the National Defense University yesterday, Vice President Joe Biden talked about the future of the United States’ nuclear deterrent capabilities and laid out the plan for implementing the President’s nonproliferation and nuclear security agenda.

by Miriam Pemberton and Anita Dancs

By exempting not just military spending, but also non-military international engagement and homeland security from his proposed spending freeze, the President has sent an important message: Strengthening non-military tools is essential to U.S. security.

Alexandra Toma joined Jeff Farias to discuss nuclear weapons in the FY2011 budget, progress on the Srategic Arms Reduction Treaty, why the nuclear "status quo" is unsustainable, vulnerable fissile materials, nuclear terrorism, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the nonproliferation agenda in the Senate.

The show was recorded live on Thursday, Feb. 4.

Alex is the Program Director of the Connect U.S. Fund, and co-chairs the Fissile Materials Working Group.

Priscilla Lewis and Sue Veres Royal, US in the World

(Co-authored by Taylor Marie Young)

It shadows Haiti like a swooping albatross, a qualifier that both explains and disregards the island nation and its people so concisely: the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. If countries had subtitles, this would be Haiti's.