Some quarters of the media love to beat up on the United Nations just for the sport of it. Even after the alien ambassador story is proven false, you have articles parroting the falsities.
President Obama is drawing attention mostly for his remarks on Middle East peace. But lest other elements of his UN speech be forgotten, at a press conference earlier today Samantha Power urged people to examine his pronouncements on good governance. As Power explained, the second half of his speech was largely a reaction to a disturbing trend in which governments are increasingly clamping down on civic rights.
With Sudan in the spotlight as the south's referendum vote looms, it's no surprise that rhetoric on the situation varies widely between actors on the ground and policymakers calling the shots on the international level. But how do the forecasts of war from external actors impact the struggle within the country to preserve the fragile peace?
The United States Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair presented the annual threat assessment of the U.S. intelligence community to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. This is tucked into page 37:
