About the Author: Susan Rice serves as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
When I left the West Coast after college in 1986, only one in 500 Americans owned a cell phone -- and these were essentially bricks about 10 inches long. IBM had just announced its first laptop, which weighed 12 pounds. The founders of Facebook, I can only imagine, were then figuring out how to master nap time and tee ball.
As I go back again this week to take part in a Twitter Town Hall in San Francisco, an event that will be carried live on Twitter and Ustream at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, the Bay Area looks quite a bit different.… more »
About the Author: Adam Graham-Silverman serves in the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization.
News of violent conflict comes from all corners of the globe with unsettling regularity. The State Department's Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS) takes a new approach to these fragile, conflict-plagued countries and regions. In 2010, S/CRS and the Civilian Response Corps, our expeditionary unit made up of experts from eight federal departments and agencies, worked in many countries central to national security, including Afghanistan, Sudan, and the Kyrgyz Republic. Our Year in Review highlights our accomplishments in conflict prevention and stabilization over the past year.
On February 9, 2011, the Office of the Spokesman released a media note providing safety information for U.S. students traveling abroad:
"As spring break approaches, many students are preparing for a trip abroad. The State Department's website for students traveling overseas provides useful safety and travel information for parents and students alike: studentsabroad.state.gov.
"The majority of students will have safe and enjoyable adventures. However, even on the best-planned trips, things can go wrong. Each year more than 2,500 U.S. citizens are arrested abroad, nearly half of them on narcotics charges, including possession of very small amounts of illegal substances. U.S. citizens have been badly injured or killed in accidents, falls, and other mishaps. Many of these incidents… more »
About the Author: David McKeeby serves as a Public Affairs Specialist in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.
Estonia, the home to Skype and one of the world's most wired-in nations, is globally renowned for its spirit of technological innovation. In cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense, our Bureau's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement recently provided an Estonian civilian demining group with a little hi-tech of our own -- cutting-edge mine detection equipment -- allowing our NATO ally to join us in helping protect post-conflict communities from Afghanistan to Georgia by safely clearing landmines and unexploded munitions.
The detector systems we donated are not your father's mine detector, and light years away from what that guy looking for change… more »
Kristin L. Kneedler serves as Assistant Information Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand.
Recently, Embassy Bangkok introduced the new U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney, using social media as the vehicle. With the help of the Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP), Ambassador Kenney filmed two short introductory videos -- the first discussing her excitement about coming to Thailand and the second highlighting her love of Thai food.
U.S. Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry and the Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Mohammad Asif Rahimi, inaugurated a Farm Mechanization Program for mid-size farmers in a ceremony at Badam Bagh farm on February 6, 2011. In the presence of fellow farmers and Afghan and U.S. officials, 40 farmers from the surrounding area purchased two-wheeled tractors and attachments at a subsidized price.
"These tractors are a small but important link in a chain that strengthens Afghan agriculture," Minister Rahimi said. "Other links in the chain include building better roads, new agribusiness, new jobs and bigger markets in Afghanistan and abroad," he added.
Luis CdeBaca, Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, held a conversation with Wade Henderson, President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. The discussion was moderated by Cheryl Benton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, and streamed live here on DipNote. A transcript of the event will be available soon. more »
About the Author: Major General (Ret) Scott Gration serves as the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan.
As I continue my 25th trip as Special Envoy to Sudan, I'm struck by the remarkable potential that an improved relationship between the United States and Sudan holds for the Sudanese people. While much of my time has been spent on Darfur and North-South issues, it's important to recognize that we seek to broaden our engagement with all of Sudan -- north, south, east, and west. Since writing from Juba, I traveled north to Khartoum, and then east for my first visit to the Red Sea State as Special Envoy.
On February 4-5, I visited Port Sudan, a city on Sudan's eastern coast and a vital economic hub. Its port and oil terminal are critical to the Sudanese economy, and though… more »
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Yemen in January, where she reunited with Nujood Ali, the first child bride in Yemen to get a divorce, and Shada Nasser, Nujood's attorney. Secretary Clinton shared her thoughts about reconnecting with Nujood in a piece for Glamour.com. The Secretary wrote:
"At a recent town hall meeting in Yemen, I reconnected with two of my heroes...Nujood Ali was just nine years old when she was forced by her own family to marry a man three times her age. As is the case with so many child brides, Nujood had to drop out of school against her will, and she was physically abused. Wanting to find a way out of her misery and suffering, Nujood boarded a bus and found… more »
President Barack Obama announced today U.S. intent to recognize Southern Sudan. In a statement, the President said:
"On behalf of the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Southern Sudan for a successful and inspiring referendum in which an overwhelmingly majority of voters chose independence. I am therefore pleased to announce the intention of the United States to formally recognize Southern Sudan as a sovereign, independent state in July 2011.
"After decades of conflict, the images of millions of southern Sudanese voters deciding their own future was an inspiration to the world and another step forward in Africa's long journey toward justice and democracy. Now, all parties have a responsibility to ensure that this historic moment of promise becomes a moment of lasting progress. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement must be fully implemented… more »
DipNote is the official blog of the U.S. Department of State —a place to share stories, discuss experiences, and inspire new ideas on the important foreign policy issues of the day. more »
One must confront two issues. One is the presumption that the land of Israel is being 'occupied' by the Jews when it really 'belongs' to the 'Palestinians'.…
more »
Assistant Secretary Crowley (Feb. 9): "North Korea...needs to take meaningful steps to improve inter-Korean relations. Clearly, meetings like this are a vehicle to accomplish that and reduce the tensions that have arisen between North and South Korea due to North Korea's provocative actions. more »
Feb. 9: The State Department's Conflict Prevention & Stabilization Operations Year in Review report examines a new approach to addressing fragile, conflict-plagued countries and regions. more »
![2010 Stabilization and Reconstruction Graphic [State Department Image]](https://web.archive.org/web/20110210111102im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0209_scrs_graphic_m.jpg)
![A group of travelers gather for a photo by the front of the Vienna State Opera House, Austria. [AP]](https://web.archive.org/web/20110210111102im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0209_spring_break_2_m.jpg)
![U.S. Army Personnel train Estonia's EOD center, December 8, 2010. [U.S. Army photo/ Public Domain]](https://web.archive.org/web/20110210111102im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0209_military_m.jpg)
![Secretary Clinton with Nujood Ali, left, and Shada Nasser, right, undated. [State Department Photo]](https://web.archive.org/web/20110210111102im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0207_clinton_child_marriage_m.jpg)
![Southern Sudanese celebrate formal announcements of referendum results in Juba, Feb. 7, 2011. [AP]](https://web.archive.org/web/20110210111102im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0207_sudan_results_m.jpg)
