Sudan and seven other sub-Saharan African countries are among the 10 nations in the world most vulnerable to violent internal conflict and deteriorating conditions, according to a private survey. In the third annual ”failed state” index, Sudan was judged most at risk of failure.
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/ 13 December 2006
Jeane J Kirkpatrick, a political science professor whose support for Ronald Reagan conservatism catapulted her into the post of United States ambassador to the United Nations, has died at 80. She was the first woman to hold the post. Initially a liberal Democrat, Kirkpatrick championed human rights, opposed Soviet Union communism and supported Israel.
American oil companies stand to gain in competing for access to oil reserves in Libya by the restoration of normal diplomatic relations and the removal of Moammar Gadaffi’s regime from a United States list of terrorism sponsors. The diplomacy that led to the renewal of ties with the North African country, which were severed in 1980, could also serve as an example to Iran.
An independent panel headed by two former United States national security advisers on Wednesday said chaos in post-war Iraq was due in part to inadequate post-war planning. Planning for reconstruction should match the serious planning that goes into making war, said the panel headed by Samuel Berger and Brent Scowcroft.
The United States resumed direct diplomatic ties with Libya on Monday after a 24-year break, even as the Bush administration pursued reports that Moammar Gadaffi had taken part in a plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s crown prince. President George Bush said recenlty that US investigators were looking into reports of such a plot.