A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) roundtable discussion at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace discussed the future role of the United States in the global development process.
“We…can improve and strengthen our own interests as a country by helping to improve the lives of others all around the world,” said Reuben Brigety, Director of the Sustainable Security Program at the Center for American Progress. This is “quite revolutionary in the eyes of some people who consider themselves proper foreign policy experts or security experts.” Brigety spoke of the need for the United States to lead a multilateral effort with the UNDP in developing countries, avoiding natural disasters and strengthening national security. “I think that…there are enormous security challenges in many parts of the world, but I also think we are at a stage where we have the greatest political opportunity to address them,” said Brigety.
“There are thousands of people interested in this [foreign aid reform], and it’s not just the development community, it’s the foreign policy community, its the national security community that are not just supporting foreign aid reform and modernizing, they’re demanding it,” said George Ingram, Vice President & Executive Director of the Education Policy and Data Center at the Academy for Educational Development. “Obama has called for doubling the foreign assistance budget by 2021,” said Ingram, referring to the role the incoming administration has promised to embrace as a multilateral leader of global development.
“Multilateralism is…merged into some vague evil concept of supernationalism,” said Bruce Jenks, UN Assistant Secretary-General & Director of Partnership Bureau of the UNDP, “to me the irony is…it’s the opposite.” Jenks described that there was an enormous opportunity for the United States to lead a multilateral coalition. “Multilateralism needs to be seen as an instrument of choice in the national interest,” said Jenks. There’s “a myth…that multilateralism is an alternative to leadership…There’s no such thing as un-lead multilateralism or blind multilateralism, multilateralism must be lead.”

American style education in the Middle East may be a way to improve development and also assist U.S./Middle East relations, suggests David Arnold, President of the American University in Cairo.
The Brookings Institution discussion on “American Education in the Middle East: Smart Power for a New Era” encouraged the creation of American University branches in the Middle East, which have been popular expansion methods for several American Universities in the past decade.
Arnold believes using Liberal Arts education models in the Middle East will best prepare youths for the job market, which he believes is rapidly transitioning from the public sector to the private sector. Although higher education models in the Middle East have been heavily geared towards preparing students for work in government institutions in the past, Arnold believes changing to American models will make students more competitive in the international market and speed economic development.

The Washington Bureau is covering the Middle East Institute’s conference on the “U.S. Middle East Policy: Pathways to Renewal”, a discussion on “Prospects for U.S.-U.N. Cooperation on Global Development”, and a discussion on “American Education in the Middle East: Smart Power for a New Era”.

To mark Universal Children’s Day and the 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, spoke with reporters about the tragic consequences for young persons who are forced to go into combat.
She cited education as a key goal— to train communities about the devastating long-term effects on children who are brought into war. Eighty percent of women and children become victims during armed conflicts.
Mr. Alan Doss, Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will meet with Ms. Coomaraswamy’s office next week to discuss better protection for children and strengthening peacekeeping. She will request more commitment be made on the recruitment of the internally displaced, especially in the Eastern Congo.
UNICEF representative Mr. Houry said he sees the process  “as a  collective responsibility of all those parties involved to protect children and to realize all children are zones of peace–we have to look at whole continuum of the situation.”
Grave violations against children in armed conflict include killing or maiming, rape, abduction, and attacks at schools or hospitals.
Former child soldiers Ishmael Beah from Sierra Leone, Grace Akallo from Uganda, and Kon Kelei from Sudan launched a network for action today to work with countries in a coordinated approach to promote advocacy, encourage dialogue and negotiations with armed groups and to send a message to the rest of the world for governments and armed groups to stop recruiting children.

Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) offers his advice to Obama for success in the next administration.

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During a press conference on bailing out the auto industry, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), said that the CEO’s from the Big 3 automakers will have a second chance bid for financial aid, but only if their plan provides more accountability. (0:43)

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During a press conference on a bailout for the auto industry held by the Democratic leadership of the House and Senate, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said, “Until we see a plan where the auto industry is held accountable and a plan for viability on how they go into the future…we cannot show them the money.” (0:19)

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The Democratic leadership from the House and Senate held a press conference to announce that since the auto industry has failed to convince Congress that their suggested rescue plan will not be their last request, there will be no agreement on a bailout this week. However, the CEOs from the Big 3 automakers will have another opportunity to make their case to Congress
“We’re requesting that they submit a plan to Congress through Chairman Frank and Chairman Dodd no later than December 2nd. These two very able men will review the plan if necessary hold hearings during the week of December 2nd to fully vet the auto industry’s proposal,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
Reid stated that Congress was prepared to come back in session the week of December 8th, but only if the Big 3 auto makers submitted a plan that will provide accountability.
“Until we see a plan where the auto industry is held accountable and a plan for viability on how they go into the future…we cannot show them the money,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Pelosi went on to reject the calls that have been made for the automakers to declare bankruptcy.
“This is our response to those who would say ‘let them go, let them go and deal with it after that’. This is an important industry in our country and we intend to save it. We can only do this if we work together and the auto industry has to come up with a plan for innovation, accountability, and viability,” said Pelosi.

With increasing economic regulation and new national security challenges against terrorism, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said judges will be treading into an area of decision making with little precedence. At the 2008 National Lawyers Convention by the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy, Chertoff (who is not a member of the Federalist Society) said “with the emerging issues in national security, both domestically and over seas, the question of the judge’s proper role is once again going to come to the floor,” Chertoff said.
Judicial modesty, or restrictions on the ‘judicial creativity and manipulation’ of lawyers and judges, should be a “transparent, open, and objective process” said Chertoff. He added that partisanship should be subordinate to judicial modesty, even if it means passing law against one’s subjective interpretation of the law.
Chertoff described four problems that will arise from lack of judicial modesty: 1.) Private interpretation of an objective law, 2.) Deficient separation of power, 3.) Lawmakers’ skill sets aren’t adequate for all areas, and do not always have complete information (i.e. in the case of military strategy), 4.) Accepting rulings as authoritative and correct without legitimacy.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff explains why the U.S. can’t withdraw from the international arena simply “because we disagree wiht international courts.” (0:30)

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