South Asia Center Senior Fellow Rajan Menon writes in the National Interest on the threat of North Korea.

Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post on US support for the mainstream Syrian opposition.

Michele Dunne, director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, contributed a piece to the New York Times' Room for Debate forum on "What Can Obama Accomplish in the Middle East?"

J. Peter Pham, director of the Michael S. Ansari Africa Center, joined Elaine Reyes to discuss long-term strategies towards stabilizing the situation in the Central African Republic on China Central Television News.

Michele Dunne, director of the Hariri Middle East Center, speaks on Al Jazeera (Arabic) about the shortcomings of US policy in Egypt since the revolution, and criticizes the Obama administration for failing to engage with Egyptians more broadly.

In a letter to President Barack Obama, a distinguished group of former diplomats, analysts, and journalists call on the president and his national security team to move beyond the current counterterrorism approach and embrace a long-term strategy that prioritizes helping the Yemeni government address the very factors that allow extremist ideology to spread: the absence of basic social services, a worsening food shortage, and chronic unemployment.

Former US ambassador to Yemen Barbara Bodine, former director of policy planning for the US Department of State Anne-Marie Slaughter, and David Kramer of Freedom House, among others call on the Obama administration to revisit its policy toward Yemen, and outline the following policy recommendations:

• Leverage the US government’s close relationship with President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi of Yemen to strongly encourage his government meet the reform benchmarks to which he has committed and address human rights violations
   
• Support the National Dialogue in ways that empower independent voices—not only political party elites—and include more extensive outreach to Southerners and Yemenis outside of Sanaa and other urban areas
   
• Work within the Friends of Yemen group to ensure that the generous pledges committed to Yemen are delivered and that the government of Yemen has the capacity and resources it needs to implement projects
   
• Implement a more robust public diplomacy strategy to demonstrate that US interests in Yemen are not limited to counterterrorism and security issue

• Reevaluate reliance on drone strikes with the recognition that this approach generates significant anti-American sentiment and could strengthen the appeal of extremist groups
   
• Ensure that security restructuring achieves a unified command structure under civilian leadership and that US military assistance does not perpetuate the same mistakes made during former President Saleh’s tenure
   
• Increase economic assistance and draw upon regional funds to support Yemen, in addition to a bilateral assistance package

The Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and the Project on Middle East Democracy lead the Yemen Policy Initiative, which calls on the Obama administration to reevaluate US policy in Yemen and to prioritize long-term investments in political, economic, and human development in order to promote stability in Yemen and protect US security interests. Last June, the initiative sent a letter to the president with the support of twenty-seven foreign policy experts, which yielded significant media attention and prompted a response from John Brennan in a public address.

MEDIA MENTIONS

• A debate about drones – Michael Peel, Financial Times
   
• Global counter-terrorism strategy—Yemen, the drones and extremism – Yemen Post
   
• Dear President Obama: Let’s Help Yemen Instead of Droning It – Juan Cole, Informed Comment: Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion
   
• Letter to Obama Calls for Change in US Policy Towards Yemen - Pierre Ghanem, Al-Arabiya (Arabic)
   
• The Shift in the Drone Debate – John Glaser, Antiwar.com
   
• U.S. Approach to Yemen Short-Sighted, “Counterproductive” – The POMEDWire
   
• U.S. Approach to Yemen Short-Sighted, “Counterproductive” – NationalYemen
   
• Op-Ed: More critics claim that US drone strikes are counterproductive – Ken Hanley, Digital Journal
   
• Fewer drones could earn Yemenis’ trust – Stars and Stripes
   
• Drone Policy Hurts the U.S.’s image in Yemen – Al-Sahwah
   
• Time to Curb Drones in Yemen – Gulf News
   
• Time for U.S. to curb drone flights over Yemen – The Japan Times
   

Michele Dunne, Hariri Middle East Center director, joins Gwen Ifill on PBS NewsHour in a discussion on US Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent travel to the Middle East and Afghanistan, what it says about current US foreign policy priorities, and how Kerry compares to his predecessor.

Michele Dunne, director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, speaks with CNN International's Max Foster on the success of US President Barack Obama’s recent visit to the Middle East.

South Asia Center Senior Fellow Rajan Menon joins Wisconsin Public Radio on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq war to discuss progress and challenges still ahead.

On March 21, Atlantic Council Board Director Stuart Eizenstat spoke at the Wilson Center on the issue of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Read his remarks.