Category Archives: International Affairs

The Evolving U.S. Military Presence on Guam

Posted on June 15, 2017 by WatchBlog

The island of Guam located in the Pacific Ocean has been a U.S. territory since 1898. Over the years, the United States has maintained a military presence on the island to support and defend its interests in the western Pacific … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on June 15, 2017 by WatchBlog | Tagged Andersen Air Force Base, Apra Harbor, Brian Lepore, cultural artifacts, DCM, Department of Defense, DOD, endangered species, Guam, historic preservation, map, Marines, risk management

Podcast Roundup – Recent Podcasts You May Have Missed

Posted on May 12, 2017 by WatchBlog

It’s been a busy spring for podcasting! If you’re not subscribed on iTunes or our RSS feed, you may be missing out. Today’s WatchBlog catches you up on some of our recent podcasts.

Image | Posted on May 12, 2017 by WatchBlog | Tagged ASM, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Diana Maurer, DOD, DOE, HSJ, Mike Sullivan, NRE, nuclear, Shelby Oakley, violent extremism, weapons programs

GAO Translations: Reaching New Audiences

Posted on March 6, 2017 by WatchBlog

The federal government operates programs and provides assistance all over the world—and evaluating them can require foreign language skills. We will also, on occasion, issue summaries or full versions of our work in translation. For this week’s National Foreign Language … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on March 6, 2017 by WatchBlog | Tagged academic freedom, Arabic, Chinese, Cuba, David Gootnick, foreign language, French, IAT, National Foreign Language Week, Puerto Rico, Spanish, studying abroad, translate, translated, translation

Fighting to Protect Wildlife

Posted on March 3, 2017 by WatchBlog

Today is World Wildlife Day. To commemorate, the WatchBlog takes a look at the illegal trafficking of animals—like elephants and rhinos—that are on the brink of extinction. What’s it worth? The trade in illegal wildlife brings in anywhere from $7 … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on March 3, 2017 by WatchBlog | Tagged Department of Justice, DOJ, IAT, Kim Gianopoulos, Operation Crash, poaching, State Department, USAID, wildlife trafficking

Tracking Foreign Aid

Posted on January 12, 2017 by WatchBlog

You can find out how much money the United States spends on foreign assistance, and where that money is going, on ForeignAssistance.gov—an official U.S. website that publishes this data. For example, ForeignAssistance.gov indicated that foreign assistance funding will be almost … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on January 12, 2017 by WatchBlog | Tagged Foreign Aid, Foreign Assistance, Foreign Assistance Data, ForeignAssistance.gov, IAT, international aid, International Assistance, Spending Data, State Department

Securing Anthrax (and Other Dangerous Pathogens)—the Risk of “Incomplete Inactivation”

Posted on September 29, 2016 by WatchBlog

In 2015, the Department of Defense discovered that one of its laboratories had inadvertently sent live anthrax to almost 200 other labs worldwide over 12 years. Labs routinely inactivate samples of dangerous pathogens so they can be shipped to other … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on September 29, 2016 by WatchBlog | Tagged anthrax, ARM, Department of Defense, DOD, high-containment labs, laboratories, labs, mail, NRE, pathogens

Wildlife Trafficking (video)

Posted on September 28, 2016 by WatchBlog

The illegal slaughter and trade in wildlife—such as elephants, rhinoceroses, and tigers—is worth an estimated $7 billion to $23 billion a year, and is pushing some animals to the brink of extinction. A team led by Kim Gianopoulos, a director … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on September 28, 2016 by WatchBlog | Tagged Africa, CITES, elephants, IAT, illegal trade, ivory, large animals, rhinoceroses, tigers, transnational criminals

Detecting Fraud in the Immigrant Investor Visa Program (podcast)

Posted on September 26, 2016 by WatchBlog

Foreign nationals who make substantial investments in projects that create or sustain U.S. jobs can get a conditional green card and a path to citizenship under the Immigrant Investor Program. Yet the program’s reliance on voluminous paper applications leaves it … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on September 26, 2016 by WatchBlog | Tagged citizenship, EB-5 Visa Program, foreign investors, foreign nationals, green card, Immigrant Investor Program, immigrants, immigration, Seto Bagdoyan, visas

Human Trafficking in the United States

Posted on August 23, 2016 by WatchBlog

Human trafficking— using force, fraud or coercion to exploit a person for the purposes of commercial sex or to work against their will—happens in the United States. But it’s not always easy to recognize the victims or understand the scope … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on August 23, 2016 by WatchBlog | Tagged arrests, Blue Campaign, convictions, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, HSJ, human trafficking, investigations, State Department, trafficking

For World Humanitarian Day, Examining Federal Efforts in Syria

Posted on August 18, 2016 by WatchBlog

Friday, August 19 is World Humanitarian Day, designed to increase the public’s awareness about humanitarian assistance and honor humanitarian personnel (including those who lost their lives in the cause of duty). In anticipation of tomorrow’s World Humanitarian Day, the WatchBlog … Continue reading →

Image | Posted on August 18, 2016 by WatchBlog | Tagged humanitarian assistance, IAT, ISIS, Physicians for Human Rights, refugees, State Department, Syria, U.S. Agency for International Development, UN, United Nations, USAID, World Humanitarian Day