Posted by Alexander McLaren on Aug 25, 2008 - 08:47 AM
![President Bush meets U.S. Olympic athletes in Beijing, August 2008. [State Dept. Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/UNGA/field/2008_0825_president_olympics_bh_m.jpg)
Just hours before the opening ceremony, President Bush had a meeting with the entire U.S. Olympic team, and we were there. As you might expect, anything involving the President of the United States has to be planned in advance. There are security concerns, scheduling issues and just practical issues like where will he enter and where the cars in his motorcade can park. This was even more complicated than a "normal" Presidential visit because his father, the former President, his daughter Barbara, the U.S. Ambassador to China and many other VIPs were coming as well. Plus it was on the Olympic Green just before the opening ceremony. So we had meetings, and we drew maps and planned everything to the last detail.
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Posted by Sean McCormack on Aug 22, 2008 - 11:20 AM
![The sun sets beind a telecommunications tower in western Baghdad, Iraq Feb. 18, 2008. [AP]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/UNGA/field/2008_0822_iraq_telecommunic_m.jpg)
I don’t want to talk about the state of the strategic framework agreement with Iraq or the status of forces agreement. I’ve heard enough about both today, and we’ll hear much more about them and what they mean for the U.S., Iraq, and our relationship in the days, weeks and months ahead. Instead, I want to talk about Blackberries and a wireless network in Baghdad.
For as long as I have been going to Iraq, a bit more than three years now, Blackberries have not worked in Baghdad. Those of you with these electronic tethers know this state cuts both ways, but for us it cut mostly against being able to efficiently do our jobs in limited stays on the ground. I had just grown…
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Posted by Sean McCormack on Aug 21, 2008 - 09:20 AM
![Secretary Rice steps off the plane while arriving at Baghdad, Iraq on Nov. 11, 2005. [State Dept.]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/UNGA/field/2008_0821_rice_bh_m.png)
The two hour ride on the C-17 aircraft from Turkey into Baghdad was relaxed and uneventful. Shortly after we leveled off in flight, Secretary Rice came down from the flight deck to speak with the 13 reporters traveling with us for a short briefing to set up our four-hour (scheduled) trip to Baghdad. If you've ever been inside a C-17 in flight you'll know that it can be a bit hard to hear over the engine noise, but the reporters huddled around her in a tight enough circle so that they could all hear one another. After about 10 minutes with journalists, she went back up to the flight deck, and the journalists could be seen typing furiously on their laptops with digital recorders to their ears.
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Posted by Brenda Sprague on Aug 20, 2008 - 11:01 AM
![Luis Castellanos, Brenda Sprague, and Ryan Dooley at the Port of Miami, Aug. 18, 2008. [State Dept.]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/UNGA/field/2008_0820_miami_conference__m.jpg)
It was a dark and stormy night… no, actually, Monday was a dark and stormy day, and as Tropical Storm Fay roared toward southern Florida, I was preparing for a press conference. As the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Passport Services, I was in Miami to launch the Department of State's new passport product, the U.S. Passport Card. The press conference was held at the Port of Miami on August 18. With a cruise ships in the background, I addressed, in Spanish and English, print reporters about the newly-minted passport and its advantages for the traveler's wallet: its convenient size and affordable cost.
Below I’ve tried to answers a few of the questions you may have about this new passport…
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Posted by Salmah Y. Rizvi on Aug 15, 2008 - 01:49 PM
![Secretary Rice shaking hands, USAID bag being unloaded, and an unarmed aerial vehicle. [AP photos]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/UNGA/field/2008_0815_ct_bh_m.jpg)
In regions where economic opportunities are few, access to fair education is limited, ethnic conflict influences everyday life, and religious zeal is manipulated for corrupt purposes, extremists leaders will exploit these conditions to create what the National Intelligence Council calls a "perfect storm" -- the most efficient breeding ground for terrorists.
These malevolent non-state actors will use a variety of techniques to create safe havens -- physical space, cyber space, and ideological space…
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