Paul Oliver

Last week, in Afghanistan, a small act of carelessness or blatant disrespect – it doesn’t really matter at this point which one it was – resulted in the burning of Qurans and incited protests throughout Afghanistan. Now it looks like the Koran…

Last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other world leaders met in Tunisia to discuss options to stop the brutal violence gripping Syria. Little was accomplished except for the issuing of strong statements against the regime of President…

The riots that erupted last week during an Egyptian soccer match in Port Said were the latest aftershocks in the Egyptian revolution. The deadly violence – 74 killed and more than 1,000 injured – reminded everyone of the peak tensions in last year’s…

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the Egyptian revolution that ousted former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and resulted in new parliamentary elections. The past year was a roller coaster of emotions and drama fit for the big screen.…

Last Thursday, President Obama traveled to the Pentagon to announce a new defense strategy that meets the challenges and realities of the 21st century. The purpose of the strategy is twofold: To adapt the U.S. military to the changing geopolitical…

Last week, Amnesty International released a press statement urging the governments of Zambia, Tanzania, and Ethiopia to arrest former President George W. Bush during his visit to Africa. Bush was overseas to raise awareness of cervical and breast…

The word of the year is “crisis.” Debt crisis. Jobs crisis. Budget crisis. Nuclear crisis. Famine crisis. Institutional crisis. Global warming crisis. Moral crisis. The list could go on and on. Wherever we look, we see too much of one thing and not…

The Iraq War is about to end. Osama bin Laden and dozens of other Al-Qaeda operatives are dead. NATO successfully intervened to protect civilians and aid in the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. This is a string of success that former President George…

Last week, the Slovakian parliament voted in favor of a bill that grants more powers to the European Financial Stability Facility, the fund largely responsible for mitigating the European debt crisis. The vote reversed a decision from two days…

It seems like the conflict in Libya will never end. If you are like me, you are probably asking yourself, “How hard can it be to find Gaddafi? How many bombs must be dropped, how many days of fighting around Gaddafi’s home town of Sirte?” But in…

Last week's killing of Al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki was another major blow to al-Qaeda and other terrorist networks. It was a sign of the effective, though controversial, use of American drone attacks in counterterrorism efforts around the globe.…

This week, the Palestinian delegation to the UN will request full recognition of statehood, a status long denied for the territories. And as with any diplomatic event involving Israel and Palestine, controversy abounds. American and Israeli…

As the rebel overthrow of the Gaddafi regime in Libya nears completion, the intervention by a multinational military force looks more and more like a success. The decision by the United States and many of its NATO allies to intervene in the Libyan…

English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote in the 19th century that the pen is mightier than the sword. The same could be said for social media in the 21st century. As former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine…

Last Thursday, the Israeli military accidentally killed five members of the Egyptian security forces during a border shootout. The army was retaliating against attacks by Gaza-based militants who killed eight Israelis and wounded 30 others. While…

The trial against former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak began last week among widespread protest and international media attention. The Mubarak trial is another major milestone in the Egyptian revolution that resulted not only in the ouster of…

Anders Behring Breivik is an archetype of terrorism. He is a non-state actor who committed an attack against a non-military target for political means. It is difficult to understand how a citizen of one of the most peaceful, wealthy, and equitable…

Somalia is currently experiencing its worst famine in 60 years. Thousands of Somali refugees are fleeing across the border to Kenya and Ethiopia every day, overwhelming aid workers and putting a strain on already overpopulated refugee camps. Images…

Egypt’s courts are fanning the flames of revolution. After appealing to reformers by mandating the dissolution of municipal councils, the courts reversed their trend last week with two highly controversial decisions. First, a court decided to…