Picture Of Kazakhstan

Mr. Chairman and other distinguished Committee members, I am pleased to participate in your examination of U.S. foreign assistance programs. U.S. assistance is key to achieving our foreign policy goals in Europe and Eurasia, and we greatly appreciate your current and past support in providing us with this important diplomatic tool. I am pleased to have with me today Dr. Kent Hill, my counterpart from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Also, sitting behind me is Ambassador Carlos Pascual, the Coordinator of Assistance to Europe and Eurasia. We are fortunate to have in our Bureau a Coordinator with statutory authority over assistance in our region; we think this helps maintain a strong link between foreign policy objectives and assistance programs. A ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Byliner: Condoleezza Rice Says Iraq Clearly Lying About its Weapons

Iraq's declaration even resorted to unabashed plagiarism, with lengthy passages of United Nations reports copied word-for-word (or edited to remove any criticism of Iraq) and presented as original text. Far from informing, the declaration is intended to cloud and confuse the true picture of Iraq's arsenal. It is a reflection of the regime's well-earned reputation for dishonesty and constitutes a material breach of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441, which set up the current inspections program. ... [Read More]

The United States Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria: Why We Know Iraq Is Lying

Iraq's declaration even resorted to unabashed plagiarism, with lengthy passages of United Nations reports copied word-for-word (or edited to remove any criticism of Iraq) and presented as original text. Far from informing, the declaration is intended to cloud and confuse the true picture of Iraq's arsenal. It is a reflection of the regime's well-earned reputation for dishonesty and constitutes a material breach of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441, which set up the current inspections program. ... [Read More]

For the Record Newsletter – European Programs Branch

Two-hundred and sixty fellows took part in the 2003-3004 Muskie Commencement Seminar on June 16-18 in Washington, DC. After completing their one- or two-year graduate programs in fields ranging from business to library sciences, the Muskie fellows came together one last time before returning to their native countries. The Commencement Seminar included congratulatory speeches from Dr. Dan Davidson, President, American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, Alex Irwin, Deputy Director, Network Scholarship Program, Open Society Institute, and Ambassador B. Lynn Pascoe, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State; policy forums and site visits related to the fellows' fields of study; a team-building Olympiad; "My Muskie Experience" video ... [Read More]

"For the Record" Alumni Newsletter – Office of Academic Exchange Programs, European Programs Branch

One hundred and one FSA Contemporary Issues fellows and Regional Scholars arrived in Washington during the dog days of late August for their program orientation before beginning four months of research. In addition to attending sessions on American culture and research methodology, the fellows learned about academic publishing and public speaking in the U.S. Barry Ballow, Director of the Office of Academic Exchange Programs, toasted the Regional Scholars at the Library of Congress, Madison Building and Michele Logsdon, Deputy Director, Office of Press and Public Diplomacy, spoke to the Contemporary Issues fellows at the Rayburn House Office Building. The Voice of America interviewed Regional Scholar Olga Plakhotn ... [Read More]

U.S. Engagement in Central Asia and the Caucasus: Staying Our Course Along the Silk Road

The Roots of Extremism: This is perhaps the clearest example where our diplomacy and assistance programs need to work hand-in-glove. In Central Asia, poor economic and social conditions are contributing to the appeal of extremist Islam in the volatile Ferghana Valley. We seek to head off conflict by improving infrastructure, creating employment opportunities, and helping develop and strengthen civil society. We are creating jobs through marketing assistance and establishing credit for agricultural processors. We are maintaining a high level of student and professional exchanges. In addition, we hope to expand highly successful pilot health reform projects, including the establishment of private medical clinics that are not dependent on the central system. These clinics will have an insurance co-payment system, primary care physician training, and management of their own funds. We have put our money where our mouth is. While admittedly foreign aid can never substitute for the pol ... [Read More]

Protecting the Environment, Managing Natural Resources: Highlights of U.S. Activities in Europe and Eurasia

Leveraging Environmental Projects U.S. projects strive to maximize impact by identifying opportunities to leverage their investments. Examples include: Poland Rural Environmental Protection Project—USEPA worked with the Government of Poland on this project. This project assisted more than 1,000 farmers to make environmental investments and allowed the development of nutrient managem ... [Read More]

11. Europe and the New Independent States

To provide more focused attention to these new nations, the Department of State created the Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary of State and Ambassador at Large for the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union (S/NIS) in April 1993, and Strobe Talbott assumed the post of chief policy official responsible to the Secretary of State for all aspects of U.S. relations with the 12 states. He also assumed responsibility for the office of the special negotiator, which was also established in 1993, for the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh and other NIS regional conflicts and provided policy guidance to the Office of the Coordinator for U.S. assistance to the NIS. At the same time, the countries of Central Europe, freed from the Soviet sphere, remained in the Bureau of European Affairs. In June 1998, Canada, the United States' leading trading partner under the North American Free Trade Agreement, moved from the Bureau of European Affairs into the ... [Read More]

Evaluations in Progress – Office of Policy and Evaluation

The International Visitor Program (IV Program), established in 1940, is a professional exchange program designed to build mutual understanding through communication at the personal and professional levels. The program accomplishes this goal by facilitating opportunities for foreign visitors to meet with their professional counterparts in the United States, as well as enjoy hospitality in American homes. Visitors travel individually or in groups and represent countries from around the world. The program supports visitors' professional interests as well as foreign policy goals of the State Department and U.S. Embassies abroad. Individual IVLP projects focus on issues of timely importance to the United States and the visitors' countries; such as foreign policy, democracy, the rule of law, U.S. government and politics, diversity and tolerance, the arts, and NGO ... [Read More]

For the Record Newsletter – European Programs Branch

FOR THE RECORD is a bimonthly web-based electronic newsletter that focuses on recent academic exchange and alumni highlights and is published by the Office of Academic Exchange Programs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). ECA conducts a variety of exchange programs with Europe and Eurasia. These academic exchange programs provide various opportunities for university study as well as research at doctoral levels. The programs are authorized through the Fulbright-Hays Act, the FREEDOM Support Act and the Support for Eastern European Democracy Act.    [Read More]